#they very very very rarely take into account that extra layer
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I’m aro af and I am always the first person to say “just let them be friends ffs” in response to popular straight ships, but I really do think it’s a different deal when it comes to gay ones. Don’t rain on peoples’ gay parades, you’re just punching sideways. Imo the only exception to this is when the character is canonically aro and I genuinely can’t name a single one💀
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#total drama#fandom takes#bat anon#fr why do ppl insist on shipping aro characters#there’s like three canon aro charcaters I can think of and one of them is from hazbin hotel#‘oh but it’s a spectrum aro people can still date’ so now we acknowledge that it’s a spectrum 🤨#they very very very rarely take into account that extra layer#sorry for the tangent bat anon I know it was just a little thing in your ask but it’s a pet peeve of mine
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3. Cake Mania 3 (2008)
𝓟𝓵𝓸𝓽: The developments of Cake Mania 2 led to two very important developments in Jill’s life. The silver lining of sniffing sea creatures while trying to serve cake was the romance that bloomed between her and her friend Jack, which led to a marriage proposal. Alongside that, her journey into the future where she revived the tradition of cake baking led to her being gifted with the time bender. Cake Mania 3′s plot is an intersection of these two endings of Cake Mania 2. Jill is preparing for her wedding day and everything is normal, until the time bender which was just hanging around (for some reason) gets knocked over and broken into 5 pieces. Each piece sends one member of Jill’s entourage back into a different time period (Ancient Egypt, Some Chinese Dynasty idk which one, Jurassic Era, Revolutionary-Era France, and Medieval England). Jill, yet again, has to use the power of baking to rescue her family and friends.
𝒲𝒽𝒶𝓉'𝓈 𝒩𝑒𝓌
Animated Cutscenes with Voice Acting: They are incredibly uncanny looking because the only animation are the characters’ eyes blinking and the mouth moving. I personally prefer the original format because I don’t feel like this has really added anything.
Cheaper Cakes: Cakes in this game are much cheaper. One single layer cake is ~$18-25 instead of ~$30-something in the previous two games. A 2x tier cake is ~$30 and a 3x tier cake is $40. This has a lot of implications for upgrading, especially since there are. . . .
More Expensive Upgrades: The strategy that I proposed to dominating every Cake Mania game still stands, but it has a minor bump now. Cake decorators have an interesting upgrade style, where each topping is >$1000 and comes along with a speed upgrade. So rather than having to pay for all the toppings and then the speed upgrades afterwards, you can now increase toppings and speed at the same time. In the first few levels this is a little inconvenient since you can’t purchase a topping for cheap and then churn out more expensive cakes, but the profit goals have been adjusted to account for the cake prices. The baking equipment is also more expensive now, with the fastest oven upgrade being $4000.
Phone: You can buy a phone that will occasionally ring (typically not more than once, but there were a few times were it rang twice for me) to give you an extra order. You won’t get penalized if you don’t pick it up if you are too busy at the moment, which is nice. I think this is something that is nice to have if you aren’t quite reaching those baking goals so you can get an extra~ customer if you’re also having trouble clearing them out. Otherwise it is just a nice bonus
Drink Station: The developers added a little treat to help branch off from just making cakes and included the option for customers to get some tea, coffee, or hot chocolate as well. It is a nice break to have to do only one task for an order rather than up to 5 so I think this is a welcome addition.
Power-ups: There are several power-ups in this game to help you manage dealing with customers. Most of them are stage-dependent and you can use them once per level.
Ancient Egypt
I didn’t find this one to be all that helpful because it didn’t feel like a substantial amount of time was added on.
Medieval England
This power-up was nice to have around, but I don’t think it made gameplay significantly easier since imo it doesn’t take a long time for a customer to make up their mind
Revolutionary-Era France
I think this one a pretty useful to have, especially if you’re prone to making mistakes. Not to flex, but I also didn’t find this one to be useful because I rarely make these kinds of errors and just stick the mistake cakes into the cake display fridge lol
Jurassic Era
I, surprise surprise, also never needed to use this one. I think this is useful if you are dealing with too many customers going ballistic or borderline ballistic to keep the line moving.
Chinese Dynasty
This one is the only power-up that I used regularly. Sometimes you just don’t feel like having to put down what you’re doing and give everyone in line a distraction cookie, or have to strategize on what TV show to put on (especially when that opera star is around).
𝔽𝕌𝕌𝕋𝕌ℝ𝔼
I also didn’t use this one. Holy shit, I really didn’t need any of these power-ups besides just for the novelty.
There are two additional power-ups that you can use that are re-charged by playing the mini-games. They are both located in the bottom left corner of the screen and are called “stop time” and “lightning feet.” These really weren’t all that amazing or helpful, and lightning feet becomes especially useless once you get Jill some better shoes. Sometimes I forgot these were even an option.
Mini-games: Every four levels in each stage a mini game becomes available to play where you can earn extra cash. There are three available to play and the difficulty of the game increases as you move across the stages.
Serve-O-Rama
This is a fairly easy game to play. Even when the game speeds up and the stakes are higher, I can keep up with it fairly well. Not much to say.
Copy Cakes
This is the easiest mini-game in this entire game. Even when the cakes you have to copy become extremely elaborate, you can put the most piece of shit composition together and still pass with a B. You have to try to get a bad score. The only thing you will probably miss out on as the game gets difficult is extra points and cash you can win for the “time bonus.”
Cakey Makey
Man fuck this game. As the game speeds up and gets more difficult you basically can not make a single mistake or pause because so much shit is flying at you. Sure, if I really tried I could make this work and beat the levels. However, this is not worth the effort. I stop playing this mini-game once it becomes too much trouble.
Cake Display Upgrade
This upgrade was revolutionary for the Cake Mania series. With this update we can bake the most expensive cakes, have them on display, and not be penalized if they don’t sell out by the end of the level. The common strategy with this new display update for players is to wait until the last customers leaves and not collect the currency laid out by the customers (because that signals the end of the level), bake 3 cakes with the most expensive toppings, and put them in the display case you have some solid $$-making cakes that you can just dish right out for the next level.
Sugar Rush
As you get more upgrades to increase the speed of the equipment, you can churn out more cakes in a short amount of time. By the time you are able to get the really fast stuff, you’re going to be in the levels when customers are consistently ordering more and more elaborate cakes. The combination of these two factors creates the perfect environment for the sugar rush bonus. Literally just continually doing more and more tasks in a short amount of time causes the above bar to fill up, and once it is full you get the sugar rush where everything you do automatically happens (i.e. the cake immediately pops out and immediately gets frosted and decorated as well).
Now it is time to go over the various locations and the customers that are present there. Before I do, there is something interesting to point out.
Back when I was a kid and I played this game mindlessly, I would just pick the first location to play at random. Unlike Cake Mania 2 where you only had the option to pick between 2 stages to progress through the game, in this game you have all 5 locations laid out and can pick whichever one you want to play next. I would want to spice it up each time I played this game and let’s just say I wasn’t the best at strategically upgrading my equipment at that point. What would end up happening is that I would practically be unable to reach even the minimum baking goal because I would be well into the game with shoddy equipment and the customers at full speed.
Well, here is why
𝓔𝓰𝔂𝓹𝓽
Pharaoh
Favorite TV Channel: Caveman Comedy
♥Queen♥
Favorite TV Channel: Soap Opera
Since she makes customers happy, she gets a heart. Other customers that have the same effect will get the heart as well
Lady-in-Waiting
Favorite TV Channel: Caveman Comedy
♥Horus♥
Favorite TV Channel: News
Anubis
Favorite TV Channel: News
This is the first game with the Blue Bubble customer. Blue Bubble customers always do some fuckshit to the other customer which messes up the flow of the game. This dog of the dead turns the other customers into mummies after a few seconds have passed. What that means is, you will be 3/4 of the way done with an order and then Anubis shows up. You are hoping that the ammonite shell topping will be added on before Anubis does the inevitable. Then you remember that all of your equipment is of the snail green variety, and when the topping is half way added on Anubis changes the customer to a mummy. Not only does the customer change, but their order changes as well. Hope you have a cake stand to put the cake on!
Speaking of mummies....
Mummy
Favorite TV Channel: Bad Girls Club
This is the first game where the effects that customers have on each other is as subtle as a stop sign. While the Queen and Horus make your life easier, the mummy is going to be the reason why you’re $10 off from reaching the superstar baking goal. The mummy is especially egregious because it feels like it shows up so often compared to other horrible customers. This is why many other players online recommend that you play Egypt first, so you can deal with the negative consequences of the mummy with lower stakes.
𝓜𝓮𝓭𝓲𝓮𝓿𝓪𝓵 𝓔𝓷𝓰𝓵𝓪𝓷𝓭
Is that a Pharaoh and Egyptian lady-in-waiting in line as well? Yes. The time bender didn’t just affect present-day!
Wizard
Favorite TV channel: Caveman Comedy
♥“Unicorn”♥
Favorite TV Channel: News
Looks like the sad sack finally got a promotion
Fairy
Favorite TV Channel: Caveman Comedy
Witch
Favorite TV Channel: Soap Opera
Not only does she piss other customers off, but she comes in with a nasty ass attitude with like 2 hearts present. What a customer.
Blue Bubble Witch
Favorite TV Channel: Soap Opera
She is the Anubis equivalent of this stage, where she turns customers into Monkeys instead.
Robin Hood
Favorite TV Channel: Bad Girls Club
This is the other Blue Bubble customer for this stage. The strategy in Cake Mania and Cake Mania 2 when levels started getting crazy was to serve the customers that were present and not pick up the money they leave until all the present customers were served. I mentioned in the Cake Mania review that this strategy wouldn’t be useful all the time, and this is where it is not. Robin Hood’s quirk is that he steals money that you leave out on the counter :) Him and the Witch are most likely the reasons why Medieval England is encouraged to be the second stage when things are still relatively calm.
𝓒𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓮𝓼𝓮 𝓓𝔂𝓷𝓪𝓼𝓽𝔂
Empress
Favorite TV Channel: Caveman Comedy
Palace Guard
Favorite TV Channel: Caveman Comedy
♥Opera Star♥
Favorite TV Channel: Soap Opera
Watch out! When you put on the TV, the opera star will automatically change the channel to the soap opera. Good thing we have this stage’s power up when we need it.
♥Golden Dragon♥
Favorite TV Channel: Bad Girls Club
If two golden dragons are in line together, they pair up.
Green Dragon
Favorite TV Channel: Bad Girls Club
The Green Dragon orders multiple times.
Emperor
Favorite TV Channel: Bad Girls Club
He pisses everyone off, including me! I lose profit because people get so pissed they leave!
Blue Bubble Emperor
Favorite TV Channel: Bad Girls Club
This guy is super fun because his Blue Bubble power is to demand to be served before everyone else and blocks off contact between you and other customers.
𝓡𝓮𝓿𝓸𝓵𝓾𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓪𝓻𝔂-𝓔𝓻𝓪 𝓕𝓻𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮
♥Marquis♥
Favorite TV Channel: Soap Opera
♥Sugar Rush Marquis♥
Favorite TV Channel: Soap Opera
The moment he arrives, you get the sugar rush bonus. His presence really helps make this overall stage easier to play.
Executioner
Favorite TV Channel: Caveman Comedy
Quasimodo
Favorite TV Channel: Caveman Comedy
Marie Antoinette
Favorite TV Channel: Soap Opera
Jill is serving cakes. Marie Antoinette is serving LOOKS. She belongs at the Met Gala.
Napoleon
Favorite TV Channel: Bad Girls Club
He does the same thing as the Blue Bubble Emperor.
Once you get to this level, you should have most of your shit together which should make it less difficult.
𝓙𝓾𝓻𝓪𝓼𝓼𝓲𝓬 𝓔𝓻𝓪
T-Rex
Favorite TV Channel: News
Lady D(iana)
Favorite Channel: Caveman Comedy
Hominid Ancestor
Favorite Channel: News
Rhino
Favorite Channel: Caveman Comedy
♥Monkey♥
Favorite Channel: News
♥Purple Monkey♥
Favorite Channel: News
They pair up with each other in line
None of the customers in this stage are over-the-top, and there are no Blue Bubble customers from this era which is why this stage is recommended to play last. At worst, you just get super impatient customers like the T-Rex, but the later stages of these games always get sped up with impatient customers.
Now that we helped rescue the members of Jill’s entourage, there is still the problem with everyone else appearing in the wrong time periods. To finish off Jill’s third hero’s journey, we must travel into the 𝔽𝕌𝕌𝕋𝕌ℝ𝔼:
I think these levels are fun since not all the customers from each stage get to “time travel” into subsequent stages, but in the 𝔽𝕌𝕌𝕋𝕌ℝ𝔼 levels we get to see everyone again.
When order is finally restored across the space-time continuum, Jill can finally have her wedding! You have the ability to design her cake. This is what I ended up making:
I had to honor the time-bender.
𝓣𝓻𝓸𝓹𝓱𝓲𝓮𝓼
Trophies are given out like candy in this game. There’s trophies for getting superstar baking goal for every level, which makes sense. After all, you had to go above and beyond during gameplay to achieve that. There are trophies for getting the high score in storymode and in the mini-games, which also makes sense. Then we get trophies for fully upgrading equipment like the oven and the fridge. It’s like..okay..sure, I guess? That’s more like fulfilling a requirement on a checklist than an accomplishment that needs a trophy, but OK. There are also trophies for beating the different stages, as well trophies for beating each of the stages first. I suppose that is there to increase the replay value on the game. The oddest ones are trophies for using the “stop time” and “lightning feet” power-ups 3 times. Like……? I don’t know about y’all, but I’m more of a “quality” over “quantity” kind of gal and this is a bit much.
Here is my collection:
I don’t gaf enough about filling the trophy room to overcome my apathy towards the “lightning feet” power-up (I got the trophy for the other power-up just by sheer coincidence) and my hatred towards cakey-makey.
𝓞𝓿𝓮𝓻𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝓞𝓹𝓲𝓷𝓲𝓸𝓷
Gameplay wise, this is just the Cake Mania that we all know and love. This is fine because this recipe has held up so far. I’ve hinted in previous reviews that these games become much more elaborate with each new installation, and Cake Mania 3 does represent an exponential increase regarding elaborate presentation. Everything is much more bright and animated, which is definitely much nicer to look at, but how much of this is just underbaked fluff?
Most of the power-ups for this game didn’t add anything for me, but they also didn’t detract from the game either (especially considering I forgot they were even an option sometimes). I think the stage-specific ones are a cute idea since it gives the stage a little something extra. However, for me it just felt decorative. I think they can be helpful in the earlier levels when you’re still upgrading equipment, but a lot of these become kind of useless once you upgrade the equipment. I think the “Tao of Cake” is the most helpful overall. The one power-up that I really like is the sugar rush power-up, since the boost from it does beat even the fastest equipment. The mini-games are another addition that I didn’t love or hate since, again, it was just kind of there for me.
The addition of extra money-making strategies like the phone and the drink station is not something that I desperately needed from this game, but honestly I’m not mad. It’s simple and it weaves itself right in to the main gameplay. There are even times where I would hope to get some customers who just wanted tea once everything got crazy.
The customers in this game are the biggest improvement compared to previous games. I think the behavior of these customers is partly a continuation of what the approach was in Cake Mania 2 where there are mostly normal-behaving customers and then the crazies. This game also took a step further and made it very obvious who the bad customers were (there were even sfx to indicate when a bad customer would arrive) as well as the addition of the Blue Bubble customers. I think this did a great job of helping break the monotony of later levels, which is really the problem I think this type of game faces as you keep playing.
I think this is a solid game overall, and the attempts at adding new features to the game was fairly okay. At worst, it just felt decorative and unnecessary which in the grand scheme of things isn’t really bad. I can understand wanting to do something besides changing up the plot and making it wackier to justify a sequel, so I don’t really blame them for experimenting a little bit. However, a lot of this is really surface level and I think more can be done to spice sugar up the franchise. The customers are much more interesting this time around, and I think the “sugar rush” and drink station can stay, so it wasn’t all fluff
I give this game a-little-too-much-buttercream-frosting on an otherwise good cake/10
I wonder what is next for these two lovebirds?
Before I forget, here are some choice screenshots
She’s right!
#cake mania#cake mania 3#old web#2000s#2000s nostalgia#pc game#computer game#Time Management#childhood game#the tumblr post editor was soooo insufferable for this blogpost i wanted to kms#hopefully for the next game I can make an even more elaborate post if tumblr post editor complies!
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<h1>The Whatever You Need To Understand Overview To Gold Iras</h1>
They will certainly then mail the check to you to ahead or they will certainly send it straight to the custodian in your place. You after that have 60 days to re-deposit those funds right into your new individual retirement account. Failing to reinvest the cashes into an IRS-approved plan within the set aside 60 days produces a taxed event and if you are under 59.5 years of age, you will certainly likewise incur a 10% fine.
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Best Gold Dealers With Expenses & Reviews
These firms allow brand-new customers to set up gold Individual retirement accounts within a couple of days or much less and also supply professional help from investment specialists. A respectable gold IRA firm, such as one from our list, can assist you promote your gold purchase and also walk you through the steps of opening your new gold IRA account. These companies know the ins and also outs of IRS guidelines for retirement accounts, giving you the advice you need to keep a lucrative portfolio. You can buy gold, silver palladium, platinum and also bitcoin, and also cryptocurrencies in this individual retirement account. You can now purchase all these assets with one hassle-free account from many gold individual retirement account business. As soon as your company's gold individual retirement account company funds have been moved to your brand-new account and also you pay no fees, you can buy gold.
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Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E127 (March 2, 2021)
Tonight’s guests are, of course, Ashley Johnson and Marisha Ray!
Marisha, on her thought process behind the date: “It was a fascinating study on designing something with another player in trying to navigating how to do that in a way that makes sense and wouldn’t be too metagamey or overly scripted or anything like that. I had a bunch of ideas thought out, then I just typed it out and sent it over to him, and then he interpreted it as such.” Liam had ideas, but Marisha wanted him to keep the details a surprise. The theme of “let’s start over” was the leading motif for the design. Three acts: pre-game cocktails at the Nestled Nook, picnic in a field of Xhorhasian wildflowers, and then close it with after-dinner drinks and hot tub at the Steam’s Respite. And the very last thing was “and all the cats were dogs”. Brian: “What was his response to that?” Marisha: “He texted me and was like, ‘Are you serious or is this dog thing a joke?’”
Ashley is asked what it was like to know it was coming but not know the specifics. “For both of us, I don’t think we thought it was going to be right then. I think because it’s been so long in the relationship between Beau and Yasha and it felt like such a natural progression for the two of them, and they’re both awkward together. I think there was something to just being thrown into it.” She spent time thinking about what things Yasha would talk to Beau about on a date. “We got to maybe one of them. It was just so fun! Exploring romance in D&D can be super weird, especially when you’re streaming. But it felt like that’s where our characters were going. There was that excitement of trying something that is out of my comfort zone, and I think so much of Marisha was part of that, as being the initiator as Beau, where I was like, okay, this is where it’s going it. Let’s do it, let’s see what happens!” She mentions how “fun and freeing” it is to trust your improv partner in something like this.
Marisha: “I just wanted Beau to be a fuckboi!” But she highlights that it’s hard to deny the deeper connections that come up in D&D scenarios. “They’ve been with each other through so much that it’s difficult to deny when those bonds start to happen.” She texted Liam in a panic before the game. “What do I wear? And he said, ‘In the game or in real life?’ Both!”
Marisha was expecting a Sam curveball at some point. “My/Beau’s reaction of ‘I love you!’ was pretty accurate. She does care! She’s not just a troll trying to ruin our shit.”
Marisha on Yasha liking dogs: “I clocked that shit when you bought a dog figurine.” She keeps notes about all the members of the party when they reveal things like that.
Ashley has started taking more detailed notes, partly to play catch-up for events she may have missed earlier. “Turns out, notes are very helpful and can help you in your RPing!”
Favorite parts? Marisha: “The fade-to-black moment at the very end, and I think it’s because Ashley’s eyes--maybe this is going to get weird--we had this moment where we were in the hot tub at the end, and I looked over and was like, ‘hey’, and you looked over and were like, ‘hey’, and I was just dead. I will never forget the look on Ashley’s face. There was just a pure moment.” Ashley: “That’s so funny, because I was going to talk about this one moment with Marisha. It’s just clicking into the scene and clicking into the moment.” Marisha talks about how the moments associated with the game have real, tangible emotional connections. Brian highlights that the emotional side of things is what you remember the most after the campaign is done.
Character thoughts on Kima? Marisha: “I was like, step on me! Please! Both of you! We’d be friends.” Ashley: “It’s also that nostalgia that feels so good at the table. These characters we know and love are still living and breathing and happy together and just kicking ass. For Yasha it was an amazing example of a relationship that works in this world, and something beautiful that these people who are different but are connecting. It was a lot of-- it was cool. I think Yasha’s a very big fan of Kima and Allura. When she gave over the sword, Travis texted me and was like, it’s the Holy Avenger. Looking it up and talking about it, it was like, holy mackerel, this sword is insane. But there’s going to have to be some conversations had to attune with the sword. But I like that Matt presented that challenge, that this isn’t necessarily in your class, but let’s do some RP and see what happens.”
Where’s Yasha at with the Stormlord right now? “I’m curious to explore that more, but knowing that the Stormlord was the first person to bring her back to her own will, of pulling her out of whatever was happening with Oban and the Laughing Hand for however long. It’s also weird to see the relationship that the clerics have, and I think Yasha’s still figuring out how to be her own person, but also... not serving somebody, but still trying to figure out that relationship with her god. But again, he saved her from a very, very dark place, and I think that’s something she values and holds on to.”
Cosplay of the Week: An amazing Essek! (Blushingvioletcosplay on Instagram)
How is Beau handling the Eyes? “All the theories! It’s hard for it to not feel like a ticking time bomb. I always have to try and separate my theories from Beau’s theories. That’s acting and shit. I, Marisha, am very interested if I can somehow utilize this to our advantage. Beau, also interested but simultaneously terrified that it might be a bad idea and I might just get further initiated. When it comes to Matt, you know there’s always something more lurking underneath all of this. As players it’s kind of our job to navigate that.”
How about Yasha? “I think it’s one of the things that didn’t really come up in the date, which is funny, because it’s something I was thinking about. Me as a player, that’s something I’m extremely stressed about. We don’t know what’s going to happen. We kind of got into it, but I think the fact that Lucien was listening, and the Eyes, I think it made me as a player as Yasha very nervous about interacting with Beau, because I don’t know what they’re picking up on. There’s so much we don’t know, and Lucien is so confusing, and the Eyes, and with Matt... we don’t know! It’s a point of extreme concern for Yasha, especially someone that she has feelings for and cares about, it’s an extra level of I don’t know what this means and I can’t lose this person, but I need to protect at all costs.”
What was it like for Beau to discover that Dairon and the Soul not only listened but took action? “That moment was so deeply powerful. Honestly, I was just as taken aback as Beau was. I never in both mine or Beau’s thought process did I think Matt would take action in that way, or that would ever be handled. And I think that’s what makes it so emotional. You condition yourself to think these things just happen, so much so that they permeate your D&D game. So rarely do abusers get held accountable for their actions. What was powerful about it was that he was, and other people cared. That alone was so emotionally impactful, and I was completely thrown by it. I feel like I had to walk away from that situation kind of unpacking those things. What does that say, what does that mean? Same thing for Beau, where the cycle of abuse has happened repeatedly to her with no repercussions to anyone who’s causing it. It’s why she’s always had a weird tenuous relationship with the Soul. It throws you into these layers of reconciliation and thought. I didn’t think this was going to be addressed. What does that say about society? So many different layers to peel back. It all speaks to so many real-life experiences that happen every damn day to so many people. There’s not many examples in media of abusers getting handled, and especially not in a way that’s not some sort of device to motivate somebody.” She highlights how rare it is that the abuser was handled without pulling the victim into the mess. I’m definitely not doing what she’s saying justice with my speed-typing.
How is Yasha feeling about solidifying her identity as a protector? “Putting together this character and starting to play as her, there was a part of me that wanted-- when I work on characters, you go through the list of questions you have as an actor, what’s your motivation and all that stuff. But I very much wanted to see if I could have a character that doesn’t necessarily know what their purpose is, because I feel like a lot of people feel that way. I think when we see movies or TV shows, there’s always a character who says, I know what my purpose is. I wanted to explore what it meant to not know what that is. I left that open with Yasha, and I didn’t want to set that for her, because I thought that was an interesting thing. I still like that idea, but in the conversation with Beau and knowing the date was coming up, there were a lot of internal conversations I was having of how is Yasha feeling in this moment. At the end of the day, I feel that’s a very solid purpose for Yasha in this moment, of all I can really provide is protection - and of course she can provide more than that. But now I’m just, yeah, I think protection for her is the best way she knows how to describe her purpose.” Brian: “And once we arrive there, the goal is to find a greater purpose, to be of service.” Ashley has tied in Yasha’s protectiveness with her grappling with loss.
Fan art of the week: A second amazing Essek! (by Saturday_sky)
Thoughts on the amulets: set-up or bad luck? Ashley: “I thought they were a set-up!” Marisha: “I think [Astrid’s] an opportunist. But I think it’d be much more convenient if anyone other than her killed Trent. To what end, I don’t know.” Ashley: “Me, personally, how I interpreted her crying in that alleyway, I felt like she was crying because of a betrayal. But I don’t know! I think she definitely cares for Caleb.” Marisha: “I also got betrayal tears. That felt like guilt-crying to me.” Brian: “I don’t like any of this.”
What prompted Beau going full assassin? “If they were to get in and out and I could have jumped over that tower without killing that guy, I would have.” She didn’t have a lot of options as a monk and not a rogue assassin, but needed a quick and quiet way to get him out of the way. “I went through so many ideas in my head. I thought of an idea to dump all of the ball bearings under him, then light fireworks” to try to get him to fall off the edge.
Is Yasha’s hope for Molly still alive? “Yes. I think that because Yasha has been on the other end of doing terrible things under someone else’s influence, she has a lot of forgiveness for people. At this point, of course, it’s hope that he’ll come back or have some type of recognition of his life as Molly. There’s a lot of questions. I don’t think she’ll ever give up on him.” The only moment of hesitation was when Lucien was cool with Gelidon leaving with Beau.
How are they feeling about their odds? Ashley: “I feel really great about the ideas that the group has to get out of tricky situations. This one I’m nervous about.” Marisha: “I agree. We have our little side player thread, minus Matt, and I don’t see how we’re getting out of this without some sort of compromise that’s not necessarily in our favor. I think we’re going to get out of it, but I don’t think we’re going to get out of it completely.”
Ashley didn’t tell Brian about the date after the episode ended, but wound up blurting it out right before he was about to watch the episode for Talks.
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Old School X is a project interviewing X-Files fanfic authors who were posting fic during the original run of the show. New interviews are posted every Tuesday.
Interview with Audrey Roget
Audrey Roget has 10 fics at Gossamer, with some different ones at AO3, fanfiction.net, and her website. You might know her from her very good fics or as part of Musea, a collective that all wrote fic and posted X-Files fic recs. I’ve recced some of my favorites of her stories here before, including Three Times Dana Scully Didn’t Go to San Diego for Christmas and The Shirt. Big thanks to Audrey for doing this interview.
Does it surprise you that people are still interested in reading your X-Files fanfics and others that were posted during the original run of the show (1993-2002)?
A little, yes. Not so much by folks who were around in those days. I sometimes go hunting for beloved stories from the early years, both those I read and loved, and those I never got around to. I am always delighted to hear that later generations of fans have stumbled across my stuff, especially since I haven’t posted anything new in a number of years. It’s fantastic that both years-long fans and new ones are out there continuing to rec fic from all eras, and to maintain archives for fans yet-to-be born.
What do you think of when you think about your X-Files fandom experience? What did you take away from it? What did you take away from your experience with X-Files fic or with the fandom in general?
It may sound corny, but the main thing I think of, and the thing that has ultimately been most valuable and lasting, has been the friendships. The feeling of having found a tribe – not just of TXF fans, but of other people who could be as enthusiastically engaged as I was (if not more so) with fictional stories and characters – was mind-blowing. Since I was a kid, I had often mulled over the books/movies/TV I loved and speculated internally about what happened off the page or off-screen, or created new stories for characters in my head. But, except for an elementary school phase where I and my two BFFs regularly played Charlie’s Angels, I hadn’t engaged in that kind of gleeful immersion in a fictional world with others until TXF fandom. My involvement in fandom followed pretty quickly from getting hooked on the show, so for me, it’s all one big ball of experiences. Even as my interest in/involvement in fandom has waxed and waned over the years, I’ve been lucky to remain friends with wonderful people who I originally connected with as fellow fans.
Social media didn't really exist during the show's original run. How were you most involved with the X-Files online (atxc, message board, email mailing list, etc.)? What got you involved with X-Files fanfic?
My initial entrée to the fandom was through fanfiction. I didn’t get interested in the show until mid-season 5. Around the same time, I read an article in a zine called Might (co-founded by Dave Eggers) about this thing called fanfiction that people would write and publish online. At first I thought it was satire or a joke – the fic cited involved Wilma Flintstone and a polished sabre tooth, as I recall – but then realized this was an actual thing. So I figured that a show then at the peak of pop culture must have fanfiction, and I went looking. Early on, I scrolled atxc on a daily basis and downloaded stories. But I didn’t engage in discussions about the show on Usenet, since I only knew how to access it with my Earthlink email client, and I didn’t want to post using my real name.
Later, I set up a pseud address with Yahoo and subscribed to a couple of email fanfic/discussion lists, and stayed subscribed to those for years. There was also a period in there somewhere – of maybe only a year or so, when I think about it – when I’d often nerd out into the wee hours with other fans via IM chat groups. That was around the time the small writers’ collective Musea was founded, and we were active for several years after the show’s initial run. In the early aughts, I followed many authors to LiveJournal and eventually set up my own account and stayed involved in fandom that way, until it mostly dispersed as well.
What was it that got you hooked on the X-Files as a show?
In a word: Chemistry. I had casually watched a couple of episodes during the first four seasons, but I’m not a huge sci-fi/horror fan at heart, and the story lines didn’t immediately grab me. But I happened to tune into The Red and the Black in 1998, and BOOM. For the first time, the intense layers of emotion and attraction between Mulder and Scully really struck me – and then of course, upon further viewing, I realized it was unmissable, an essential element in the fabric of the show. As a wise woman once said, a switch had been flicked. Mulder and Scully’s magnetism was like nothing I’d ever seen, and though I eventually came to appreciate the storytelling, humor, production values, and other components that made the series so successful, watching those characters interact has always been what kept me coming back.
Were you involved with any fandoms after the X-Files? If so, what was it like compared to X-Files?
I was part of a list-serv discussion group for The West Wing for a while, which was a fun melding of character and plot analysis with political discussion. Later, I got into the House, MD fandom, again mostly as a fanfic reader/writer. I was finding that other fandoms, unlike TXF, were more dispersed, the networks of people structured more loosely, if at all. There were fanfic and discussion communities on LiveJournal, and fanfiction.net was the other main hub for posting and reading, but if there was anything centralized like Gossamer, Ephemeral, or the Haven, I never found it. Within all those fan communities, as in TXF, there were partisans for various characters and pairings, and flame wars erupted over plot developments that outraged this faction or that. One main difference was that those other shows had larger, ensemble casts and more varied subplots. So on one hand, there was more opportunity to explore back stories and multiple perspectives. In House MD in particular, there were several entrenched rival shipper camps, which were about equally grounded in canon, rather than TXF’s central ship. I was less into TWW fic, but my impression was that readers were less militant about their pairing preferences than TXF or House fans.
Who are some of your favorite fictional characters? Why?
I was deeply fascinated by Greg House for several years. (And the love-hate chemistry between him and Lisa Cuddy was a strong draw for me.) House MD came early in a wave of TV shows centered on anti-heroes, and Hugh Laurie brought amazing complexity and thoughtfulness to the character.
Philip and Elizabeth Jennings (The Americans) are a lethal pair of antiheroes. The inherent moral conflict of a sympathetic narrative from their POVs, and the global political conflict they embody was TV catnip for me. The internal struggles at the hearts of those characters were so exquisitely written and performed, they completely fascinate me.
The West Wing felt so much like a show created specifically for me. I’m especially fond of story arcs and scenes that centered on CJ Cregg, Charlie Young, and Josh Lyman. Though I loved Martin Sheen’s human portrayal of Jed Bartlet, the fact that he was the President always made him a little untouchable in my mind. But CJ, Charlie, and Josh were basically hard-working functionaries who were ambitious and idealistic and funny and flawed, and they spoke to me.
What is your relationship like now to X-Files fandom? Do you ever still watch The X-Files or think about Mulder and Scully? Do you ever still read X-Files fic? Fic in another fandom?
I do continue to think about Mulder and Scully and watch episodes somewhat often. I’ll sometimes run a favorite episode as background when I want something comforting on. I read TXF fic pretty regularly, which can inspire me to go back and watch a particular episode or story arc I haven’t thought about in years. Just recently, I started listening to The X-Files Diaries podcast (@XFDPodcast, @admiralty-xfd), and that’s a fun dive into the characters, and how other fans react to and interpret episodes.
Every once in a while, a TV show or movie – and more particularly, the characters – will grab my attention and make me curious about how fanfic writers have interpreted the original material. Random example, I saw Singin’ in the Rain for the first time in a theatre a couple of years ago, and the chemistry of the three leads sent me to AO3 as soon as I got home. I also loved the first season of Mercy Street and found some well-done stories in that fandom. I usually peruse the Yuletide gifts every year and have been amazed by the sheer variety, creativity and cheekiness of the output. There are a bunch of other shows I’ve followed faithfully, and sought out fanfic – Broadchurch, The Killing, Agents of SHIELD, Elementary, The Good Wife. Although I’ve found some well-written stuff in those fandoms, I’ve rarely gotten the same charge from them as reading TXF fic.
Do you have any favorite X-Files fanfic stories or authors?
syntax6 (@syntax6) – Universal Invariants/Laws of Motion. I’d also shout out to syn’s Hunter fics, too – well worth reading even for those who have never seen or particularly loved the show itself.
JET – I re-read Small Lives Awake every year around Thanksgiving time. Other annual holiday re-reads: Revely’s The Dreaming Sea and Jordan’s Through the Fire (both set at Halloween).
Amal Nahurriyeh’s Casey universe – the rare post-col fic that felt hopeful, made extra intriguing by a kick-ass original character. [Lilydale note: the series starts with Machines of Freedom and has lots of additional fics and snippets.]
Prufrock’s Love – Finding Rokovoko was genuinely terrifying and tender.
melforbes (@melforbes) – Seaglass Blue is a recent favorite, lyrical and bittersweet.
These are just a few (apologies to those that didn’t come to mind immediately). Fortunately for readers, there’s an astonishing number of authors who have written in TXF fandom whom you can depend on for a good yarn, insightful character study, and/or ingenious “fixes” where 1013 went awry.
What is your favorite of your own fics, X-Files and/or otherwise?
Probably the two set in my own (former) backyard of Southern California: Enivrez-vous and Ravenous. I’d first read the Baudelaire poem that was the source of the former’s title back in university days, so I was tickled to be able to use a few lines as an epigraph.
Do you think you'll ever write another X-Files story? Or dust off and post an oldie that for whatever reason never made it online?
It’s not out of the realm possibility. I’d meant for “Three Times Dana Scully Didn’t Go to San Diego for Christmas” to be followed up with “And One Time She Did.” In fact, the idea for that never-finished story was what inspired “Three Times” in the first place. I have a couple of scenes sketched out and – unusually for me – even know exactly how to end it. Every year, November rolls around, and I think I should finish and post it…maybe in 2021?
Where do you get ideas for stories?
Sometimes it’s from my environment. “Enivrez-vous” and “Ravenous” describe places that I’m fond of, that made me want to place Mulder and Scully there. “What Not to Wear” has that element too – I set it in Memphis as a tribute to a great trip there with a sister Musean. But WNTW was also inspired by a kink challenge in a years-ago LiveJournal thread, so sometimes ideas come from fandom discussions or even other fanfics. In the House MD fandom, a fic by another writer made me want to continue the story, and the author kindly allowed an authorized sequel.
What's the story behind your pen name?
I wanted my pseudonym to sound like it could be a real person’s name – or at least, maybe like a romance writer’s pen name – rather than an online handle. I also wanted to use a slightly obscure fictional character, to amuse anyone in the know. I had long had a bit of an obsession with Whit Stillman’s 1990s film trilogy, which started with Metropolitan; the 3rd installment, Last Days of Disco, came out the same year I started down the TXF rabbit hole: 1998. The central heroine of Metropolitan – who is mentioned in or makes a cameo in the other two – is Audrey Rouget, a lover of Austen and, eventually, a book editor. I altered the spelling of the last name as a nod to every writer’s companion, Roget’s Thesaurus.
Do your friends and family know about your fic and, if so, what have been their reactions?
I have a few close friends – from outside TXF fandom – who know that I’ve written fanfic. I don’t know if they know my pseud; if they do, or if they’ve ready any of the fic, they haven’t said so to me. They are fannish sorts themselves, but not really TXF fans. A smattering of other friends and family members know or could intuit that I’ve been a fangrl on some level for years. My boss, whom I’ve known for about 3 years, recently mentioned off-handedly that she was really obsessed with TXF “back in the day,” and I am DYING to know if she got involved in fandom, but don’t think I’ll ever work up the courage to ask.
Is there a place online (tumblr, twitter, AO3, etc.) where people can find you and/or your stories now?
Most of the X-Files stuff continues to be generously and steadfastly archived by Forte at The Basement Office. The House MD stories and some TXF things are at fanfiction.net; same for AO3. If ever post anything new, it will probably go to TBO and AO3. I really ought to get it all together in one place, one of these days…
(Posted by Lilydale on April 6, 2021)
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Damie Vibecca exes AU part 4
post directory
[em note: this one is LONG i had to split it!!!]
obsetress: deflecting to viola protecting becs
obsetress: once they are dating
obsetress: and thinkin thoughts
em: viola asks rebecca if she wants to put a hit out on peter and rebestiecca is like????
em: that’s hot but
em: u can do that? also maybe don’t. but mostly that’s hot
obsetress: i was literally gonna say peter is still her ex and he's a persistent fucker even though it's been a year at least and viola's response is... not far off from canon!
obsetress: becca just stares at her for a minute and then she's cupping viola's cheek and murmuring "come here" and pulling her down
obsetress: they're like kissing or whatever and rebecca's murmuring "that was hot, you know" between kisses and viola's like "oh?" and becca's like "don't be cheeky, you know it was" and vi just grins against her mouth
em: I’m Really Invested In This Crack Ship
obsetress: ok but rebecca tells jamie and dani about vi offering to put a hit on peter and they're both understandably and reasonably aghast and rebecca's just like (takes a sip of wine, ducks head, smiles to self) i think it's sweet
obsetress: dani and jamie look at each other out of the corners of their eyes
obsetress: (later, dani agrees how absolutely out of line it is but also admits that it sure does feel nice to be so taken care of sometimes)
obsetress: (jamie throws a pillow at her)
obsetress: also thinking about secret soft vibecca are sometimes and how horrified dani and jamie are the first time they see it with their own eyes
em: jamie and dani excessive PDA queens get a taste of their own medicine
em: it’s so funny that i’m like. always on the verge of viola horny posting but as soon as it’s vibecca i’m like look at these babies. these beautiful babies
obsetress: viola and rebecca kissing one (1) time at brunch and jamie, arm slung around dani’s shoulders, is like “oi, no one wants to see that” and dani, leaning into jamie, one hand in her lap, crinkles her nose and rebecca’s like “y— you’re kidding, right?”
obsetress: also like. we talk a lot about what vi does for rebecca but also like
obsetress: vi massive abandonment issues and rebecca just
obsetress: she just stays
em: ur gonna Kill me here lies em
obsetress: i know i didn’t mean to and then i just
obsetress: i can’t think too hard abt them or i will Melt Down but just like
em: look if rebecca can see the best in someone as awful as peter
em: viola isnt nearly as terrible
obsetress: esp vi post dani like
obsetress: she’s obnoxious and haughty and neoliberal but
obsetress: radical love goes a long way!
obsetress: rebecca grounding her thru touch and rebecca slipping her hands around vi’s and easing them loose when vi’s hands start to clench and rebecca just pressing a kiss to viola’s temple and murmuring “i’m here, yeah? with you. not going anywhere”
em: like i just think after eddie dani wouldnt like, just go w the flw any more. like i think abt her challenging viola occasionally
em: lovingly! gently
but like, holding her accountable
em: also violas absolutely little spoon
em: like i know blah blah viola top rebecca top leaning switch but viola little spoon
obsetress: “actually viola” (vi always knows she’s in trouble when dani calls her viola) “that was really hurtful” “i’m sorry you feel that way, dani, but—“ “i don’t need you to be sorry for how i feel. i need you to show me you’re sorry for what you did”
em: dani calls vi the Full Name and viola knows shes in trouble bc thats at least 4 extra vowels w danis midwest accent
em: it is always v surprising how much like, working w kids equips you to work w adults. b/c at least w kids you dont have layers and layers of social nuance to work through. u can just say 'hey. that was hurtful and your apology sucks'
obsetress: meanwhile dani’s over here trying to explain to vi intent vs impact and how no, it’s not semantics or nuance, it’s actually kind of a chasm
em: i kind of love like um. look viola is terrible but she wasnt born terrible
obsetress: she just has a lot to unlearn
em: and id belive that even if i wasnt a ghostfucker thats just rogers theory of self actualisation babyeee
obsetress: dani viola big fight n dani's like
obsetress: "i'm sorry and i love you but it's not my job to fix you, vi" and she just breaks down and she's like "it's not"
obsetress: jesus why did my brain take THAT turn
em: wrow
em: its ok i was gonna be like 'so they obvs break up at some point....'
obsetress: anyway viola just stares at her for a second and then she's like "you put the 'i'm sorry' before the 'i love you'"
obsetress: and dani just stares at her for a long time and she's like "yeah. i guess i did"
em: HANNAH
em: BESTIE
obsetress: i KNOW what the FUCK
obsetress: anyway dani's like "i guess i did" and vi's like "is that it then?" and dani just looks at her with her puffy eyes and is like "i think so"
obsetress: dani clayton queen of saying "i love you" over and over in the midst of breaking up w someone
em: well! she has a lot of love to give but, she also has to love herself sometimes!
em: i was thinking abt scenarios n i just remembered that. whole video rental shop thing so i think that slots in nicely
[em edit: u can read here]
obsetress: god i love that lil scene
em: dani sends viola a tentative little meme peace offering and they get back to talking and its nice but maybe a bit awkward and viola mentions like, going to therapy and seeing someone for help n its
obsetress: vi's stewing on "i can't fix you" for weeks and then she's begrudgingly. BEGRUDGINGLY calling a therapist
em: like its still awkward and dani is still nursing some wounds but she can ALSO be happy for someone she used to care about
em: still cares about!
obsetress: she's always gonna love her in some way or another
obsetress: but yeah also like. smth to viola being too stubborn to do anything she doesn't wanna do except suddenly when dani clayton gets involved and that feels p canon in its own way too
em: 'i cant fix u' weird bc every time i see viola im like 'i can fix her'
obsetress: it's like ur in my head bestie
em: how do u think viola and rebestiecca met
em: not that u think abt it or anything
obsetress: MAN i was just thnking
obsetress: in this universe how did dani and jamie meet but i guess it can still just be bly tbh
obsetress: as for vi and bestiecca hmmm
em: am so caught up in the joy of fucked up interpersnal dynamics i forgot a meet cute
obsetress: honestly part of me wants to be like
obsetress: on some dating app but a dating app for posh people yk
obsetress: but then i'm like
obsetress: that takes all the meet cute fun out of it
obsetress: oh GOD
obsetress: i got it
obsetress: ready
obsetress: so like viola landlord we know this
obsetress: and then i was watching whatever ep three the other day and bex mentions wanting to do public law right
em: oooooh
obsetress: bex public housing attorney
em: OOH
obsetress: they meet at some conference
obsetress: hit it off prob fuck lbr
obsetress: and then
obsetress: comedy of errors
obsetress: whoever stays the night, they sleep together again in the morning, breakfast in bed, bex is like "so what do you do, anyway"
em: hjgbjshmdnfbmngbmhnbgs,hndg m,shndgds
em: YES
obsetress: and then they just
em: WHEEZES
obsetress: also i like to think rebecca invites vi back to her hotel room and vi is so charmed by her taking charge ("""taking charge""") that she lets her
obsetress: and then like
obsetress: god for a while what if they just like
obsetress: they're so mortified and morally and fundamentally at odds but like
obsetress: the sex is so good???????
obsetress: that they keep just meeting up and then
em: romeo and juliet situation
obsetress: yk how it goes
obsetress: the sex is good and they see each other as like
em: thats so fucking good thank u hannah
obsetress: super rare intellectual equals whatever
obsetress: thank u i am exceedingly proud rn
obsetress: honestly at this point i'm
obsetress: rebecca and vi uhaul change my mind
obsetress: like not too quick because isabel but, quick enough to be considered
em: so the joke is like. obviously 'extremely pda damie' but when rebecca and vi are alone they Also cannot get their hands off each other
obsetress: they both just. worry about appearances too much meanwhile
obsetress: tweedle dee and tweedle dum in the overalls and mom jeans dgaf
em: accidentally seeing ur friends compromised is just part of the package of being friends w damie. however jamie accidentally catches vibecca in the act and shes Horrified
em: hypocrits
em: danis like yeah what do u. think theyre doing
em: dani is nonchallant bc shes dated viola of all people
obsetress: i mean could you imagine
obsetress: between vi and dani's just
obsetress: insatiable libido
em: HADNT IMAGINED UNTIL NOW BUT YEAH
obsetress: dani, very seriously: jamie, when two women love each other––
em: dani likes dating jamie bc it means she can top occasionally :) maybe even more than occasionally
em: jamies like ooh my god i knw i know how are u so casual about... rebecca... and ... viola... (dani just pulls her in fr a smooch)
obsetress: they have each other's clothes half off and dani's like "i'm so casual because i dated her too, babe" and jamie's like "can we not have this conversation right n"
obsetress: also i still have this on my clipboard from earlier we bopped around so fast but
obsetress: vi and bex hooking up early on:
obsetress: rebecca knocks on vi's door at, like, 6:00 pm after work, vi opens it, rebecca just grabs her and kisses her, vi pulls her in, becca kicks it closed behind her, vi shoves her against the door and they're kissing against it, then vi's ducking her head to kiss along rebecca's neck and rebecca's like "how many people did you evict today" as she angles her head and then viola's finding her lips again and tugging at her lower lip with her teeth "probably not as many landlords as you shortchanged today" and rebecca's laughing and pushing her backwards down the hall as viola tugs at her blouse
em: GOD. viola is probably like
em: ok, disclaimer: fuck all landlords
em: but at least in this fantasy world perhaps viola is 'fairly' 'reasonable' n shes absolutely playing it up for the hate sex angle n rebecca Maybe Assumes shes lying but
em: stupid morons in love
obsetress: yeah
obsetress: i think i've mentioned this before but like
obsetress: now that it's more fleshed out
obsetress: then they're at drinks one night (and when did it go from just sex to drinks? neither of them could tell you) and viola's kinda quiet n moody (n rebecca already knows she Gets Like This sometimes and that she'll usually say whatever she's thinking eventually) and finally she's like
obsetress: "i have... a daughter" and rebecca's just like "tell me about her" like it's the easiest thing in the world
obsetress: and viola's head snaps over and she stares because she was.... not expecting that
obsetress: and so viola does
obsetress: and rebecca's just like "i'd love to meet her one day"
em: soft.....
obsetress: they always turn back to soft
obsetress: like they have a fuckin mind of their own
em: rapidly oscillate between horny and soft
obsetress: that's the mood
em: violas probably like. yknow, rebecca's young and up and cming n she probably assumes rebesticca isnt interested as something as full on as a kid but shes like 'do you have any photos'
obsetress: fuck!!!!!!!!!
em: rebeccas like do u think i didnt. see the photos at ur apartment lmao
em: theres a childs drawing on the fridge
obsetress: rebecca has known almost from the jump but was
obsetress: giving viola her time
obsetress: also smth smth giving her time instead of time wearing her away etc etc we're all in hell
em: cracks knuckles
em: bestie....
obsetress: pls
obsetress: it's what i deserve
obsetress: first tho
obsetress: consider
obsetress: the way viola's face lights up when she's talking about isabel and showing rebecca all the pictures
obsetress: hold pls
em: soft......
obsetress: this one chief
obsetress: right here
#the dani jamie viola rebecca exes au#i have some old ones i wanna get through so bad just for the joy of#jamie: actually viola i DONT think cocaine is vega#vegan i meant vegan#but tumblr user obsetress mentioned the break up so! so. a recent convo
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How to Download Marvel comics for free!
I’ve been thinking about writing this for a while especially since we’re all stick inside but last week Marvel made the shitty decision to transition various print titles to digital only, meaning they’re directly taking revenue away from local shops rather than delay the titles, so since Marvel thinks digital comics is such a cool idea I’m gonna show you how to download as many as you’d like! (oh also this is for windows only, idk how to do it if you own a mac but also you’re rich anyways so who cares buy the comics richie)
I don’t want to take money away from the people that need it, not the actual companies of Marvel and DC fuck them they’re dying and they deserve it, but for my own rationalizing I want to take a minute to plug the Hero Initiative, basically what it is an organization that provides for comic creators that are having hard times, comics are a rough industry and you don’t get into it to get rich, I won’t go into it too much you can read for yourself but it’s been endorsed by Stan Lee, Justin Ponsor, Mike Grell, Skottie Young, Rags Morales, a lot of big names, so I’d ask if you do follow this guide and download some comics for free please consider donating to the Hero Initiative (they also sell autographed prints and you can commission some really famous artists)
anyways onto the good stuff! I’m going to be doing a fairly brief but easy to follow guide, there will be links at the bottom of the post so look for those, I’ll probably be making a few other posts with some more info so also check back for those if my blog is still here
What do I need?
You’re going to need 4 basic things if you want to do this as easily and safely as you can
1) a good anti-virus
2) anonymous web browser (Tor)
4) a safe and reliable source for the comics
4) a torrent program to download the comics
Also optional: VPN
Anti-Virus
it’s good to remember when torrenting that no one is your friend, everyone is out to trick you and no one cares, honestly you should also have a good anti-virus though, I’m not really gonna tell you which one you should have but Norton 360 is pretty good but say that in a room of CS majors is the quickest way to start a fist fight, honestly just google it, you’re gonna have to do some research, but really you’re good as long as you don’t go with Avast or Kaspersky, I’m going to go over typical tricks and traps later to ensure safety, this is just basic overall security thing
Anonymous Web Browser (Tor)
next we’re gonna download Tor (you can do this before getting a VPN, like I said either one is going to put you on a list but using one to cover you getting the other at least mitigates it lol) Tor is a great open source project that allows for basically complete anonymous web browsing, it’s a project dedicated to privacy and disruption of corporations ability to control every aspect of our lives, also a friend of mine bought K off silk road with it once in highschool, really not too much you need to know about it before using it, just download it, let it configure and you’re good, also use Duck Duck go that it comes with, don’t switch it to chrome or anything, Duck Duck go is anonymous search service which better lends to Tor’s protection
Where to get the torrents
Now this is really important because you can have everything else set up but without a safe reliable source none of this is gonna do any good, but this is the dangerous part, torrent sites are notorious traps (I bricked more than on family PC on limewire) and this is why I said earlier to remember these people are not your friends and are out to hurt you, don’t click banner ads, don’t believe pop ups, make sure your virus protection is on and it’s a very good idea to have an adblocker on, also look out for another post I’ll be making on what download buttons to trust for different popular torrent sites
when talking comics (and remember specifically only Marvel comics) there’s no other name out there than Nemesis43, he is a god and he’s going to be your new best friend, there are groups and sites out there that do comic scans that you have to pay to join or like apply to join, that shit’s dumb as hell and I’ve never used them once and I’ve got more comic than I can read in my lifetime, you don’t need em and you especially don’t need to give them money, donate to the Hero Initiative instead
Nemesis has moved around a bit in the past (if you remember the WWT debacle) right now the main site for him is ettv (there will be a link at the end of the post) sites a bit barren but he’s there, he also has a reddit he gives updates on very rarely, generally if he moves he adds where his new home is in a text doc in his recent uploads, I fully trust him and his uploads, he’s been doing this for years and I’d never have a second thought downloading from him, also because he uploads so much he’s often very highly rated and verified on whatever site he’s on
The second place I’d recommend is getcomic (again there will be a link at the end), now this is very important, never donate to them, they kinda suck, basically they’re plugged into a bunch of different scanner groups and just steal those scans and put them up and then ask for donations, basically they’re just an aggregate (Nem kinda is too but he doesn’t ask for donations and stuff), they usually use browser downloads which are a complete pain so I’d really recommend Nemesis over them but they do have TheComicGuy on torrent galaxy for larger files but that updates a lot less frequently then the main site, again I trust these guys (as long as you’re on the actual site) but don’t trust any banner ads or pop ups, also for downloading they give multiple options, a lot are very sketchy, just use the main server
also there’s other sites like readcomics or newcomics, never used em, don’t like em, use at your own behest
On sites like ettv you’re gonna want to use the magnet, someone years ago told me it was safer and I just believed them and have always used em, not sure if it’s true but it’s worked so whatever, really you shouldn’t be too worried about this stuff and if you follow this guide you’re going to be way over prepared to download comics, really no one cares about comic torrenting, movies, video games, tv shows that’s the stuff people really get caught on, this is just nerd shit
I’m going to be making another post showing how to use these sites, and other sites comic can be found on so look back at my blog for that
Torrent program
This is pretty basic, just get utorrent, it’s what I’ve always used, it works, whatever, definitely look this up with a VPN on or on Tor, it’s simple to use, I’ll be doing a short tutorial on how to make it even safer
Lastly this one is optional but a pretty good idea, for more than just this
VPN aka Virtual Privacy Network
honestly you can get the anonymous web browser (Tor) or the VPN first, their both going to help cover you downloading the other and honestly both are going to put you on a list for googling them (which is why I suggest looking for someone who just already has the .exes ((I always keep them on a thumbdrive for when I have to reset one of my computers)), I might try to make a google drive with em but also I might not bc that sounds like work and I’m already typing all this up), anyways I’m not really gonna explain what a VPN is, there’s a lot of resources that can explain it better than I can but basically it masks what you do on the internet, there’s a lot of choices when picking a VPN but the big thing I looked for when choosing mine was 1) non-US based so it’s harder for US investigation agencies to request stuff for them or get anything from them 2) one that doesn’t keep logs, honestly they all do even if they say they don’t, but you wanna look for one that hasn’t turned over many logs to US agencies and 3) unlimited peer 2 peer connections which is complicated but basically means you can torrent stuff anonymously and with decent speed. Like Anti-Virus there are a ton of different VPN’s out there, you really have to do research because there are actual accounts of FBI agencies crating VPN’s telling people they’re anonymous when really they had direct access to all the info, I haven’t done any research but NordVPN seems kinda like one of these, really the more they advertise the more suspicious I am, Just google “best vpn 2020″ and look at like 5 lists and read the the stuff, personally I use IPvanish which unfortunately is US based and while it gave over logs in 2016 even thought they said they didn’t keep any but now they’re owned by a new company that super double promises they don’t (again who cares they all do) but they’ve allow P2P and use 256-bit AES encryption
I wanna take a second to mention that this isn’t going to be free, this is the only place you’re going to be spending money (besides donating to Heroe Initative of course), a good VPN is about $100 a year which all in all isn’t terrible, technically you can just get by on the anonymous browser but this gives you an extra layer of security to pretty much ensure you won’t get caught and plus in the ever worsening internet hell world a VPN is becoming more and more important, I’m sure you can find articles about it but yea you don’t technically need a VPN but it’s useful for more than just this
How to work it all
Ok so this is gonna be a little stream of consciousness, as this all kinda has been, so sorry but I’m gonna try and explain it as best I can and also feel free to ask any questions on this blog, I’ll check back eventually I’m sure
So first thing first, make sure you’re virus protection is on and you’re connected on your VPN if you’re using it (you can google “what is my IP” to double check it’s working) then load up Tor, let it load and connect up and whatever, then go to https://www.ettvdl.com/user/Nemesis43 (I’m just gonna show this with Nemesis43, maybe I’ll make another one for getcomics but that’s pretty straight forward, also nem is better)
now remember we’re only here for Marvel comics, so scroll past all those thousands of other comics this would work exactly the same for, I’m gonna go for Ant-Man #4 which was released on the 13 as a digital only comic despite the first three issues being physical copies and now sit on my shelf forever unfinished making me look like a complete penis
it may take a while but it’s going to look like this, click on the blue words, it’s gonna take you to a page that looks like this
now from here we’re going to get the magnet link, right click and select copy link address, I like doing this because it limits my interactions with the page, note the advertisement at the top telling me I need a VPN despite thinking I’m in Guadalajara (which for legal reasons I am)
just copy that and then go to utorrent and click the add link
it’ll open a little box, it should add the link automatically, if it doesn’t just hit ctrl+V
hit ok and it’ll load it up, it might need to download some metadata but after that it should be good, oh also it might bring up a window basically asking where you want to save it and what to name it, you can set all that up in preferences, I did so I just turned that window off and can’t be assed to turn it back on, just hit ok if you don’t wanna bother with that stuff, it’ll go into your downloads by default
and that’s it really, it’s that easy, I might make another thing talking about how to make utorrent more anonymous or whatever so look for that, but stock it’s fine, also when it’s finished downloading it’s gonna start seeding (like uploading to someone else) I’ve always been a scumbag and I never seed but Nemesis seeds stuff so much you really don’t need to anyways, just select it and hit the stop button (the black square on the tool bar)
here are all the links I could think of
Hero Initiative
download Tor
here’s a guide for VPNs
download utorrent
song I found recently that I like
getcomics
Nemesis
so yea that’s pretty much the basics, be smart, be safe, any viruses you get are on you but I hope you found this helpful and feel free to ask any questions
oh and also this is all parody and I’ve never actually torrented anything, I don’t even own a computer
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Okay, but why am I imagining the Coffee Shop AU prompt #18 about Reggie 🤭 (though I think these prompts were supposed to be ship related... oops. Feel free to throw in a ship in there!)
ahh this was really fun to write, let Reggie have a puppy in s2 @ jatp writers. i hope you like it!! xox
coffee shops aus!
18. The owners don’t allow animals in the café and I can’t help but notice that your jacket is making noises
Reggie had a plan. It was a very well thought out plan, if he did say so himself. It involved a hoodie and a makeshift baby sling and smelling faintly like bacon. But it was a plan. And it was going to work.
This was going to be one of those rare times when Alex was wrong.
Patting his chest, Reggie pushes open the door to the cafe, inhaling the smell of coffee and fresh bread, and makes his way over to the counter where Julie is watching him with a funny look. Crap, he forgot to take into account that Julie was at work. But it’s fine! His plan is going to work.
“Julie! Hey! How’s it hanging?” He leans an elbow on the counter, turning his body so it’s facing away while keeping his face towards her. Just a casual stance, he stands like this all the time.
“Fine,” she’s still looking at him funny, her brows drawn together and her lips quivering, like she can’t decide if she wants to laugh at him or not. “What can I get you?”
“One hot chocolate, with extra cream and marshmallows and hm,” he makes a show of scanning the menu and the glass fronted fridge next to him before looking back at Julie with a grin, “One of those amazing panines you know I like so much.”
She rolls her eyes at him, but Reggie can see the fondness in the gesture. It’s the same way Alex shoots down his ideas for dinner and the same way Julie tells Carlos off when he barges into her room. It’s the same way he looks at Pep when she wakes him up at 4am to go to the toilet.
“We’ll bring it over when it’s ready,” Julie nods to the table he usually sits at and Reggie shoots her a thumbs up as he backs away after paying. He practically skips to the table, a wide smile on his face because she hadn’t suspected a thing. It’s all going according to plan.
The second he sits down he can feel Pep’s paws on his chest, trying to push away from him and a small whine escapes through the layers of fabric. Someone at the table next to him shoots him a look and Reggie stretches his arms over his head, trying to yawn in the same tone. He’s pretty sure it’s worked because the guy frowns a little but looks away. No one is any wiser. God he’s a genius!
Pep whines again and Reggie’s eyes shoot around the cafe quickly before he unzips the top of his jacket a little and pulls at the collar of his hoodie, looking down into the semi-darkness at the two eyes looking at him.
“Shush lil buddy, we’re on a secret mission, remember?” he whispers, one finger over his lips but he can’t resist the urge to reach into the collar of his hoodie and stroke a finger down Pep’s nose, she follows after him with her tongue and Reggie smiles. “Have you eaten all your snacks already?” Another lick to his finger. “Okay, don’t worry, I’ll save you some of mine.” He taps on her on the head again before pulling out his hand, trying to act like he was just readjusting his t-shirt.
Every time Pep moves a little, Reggie moves with her and he’s pretty confident no one suspects a thing. He’s going to get to eat lunch with his favourite pup in his favourite cafe and Alex will have to eat his words.
“Here you go,” Julie mutters, putting a mug and a plate down in front of him and Reggie smiles up at her, a thank you on the tip of his tongue when she puts down a plate of bacon scraps, “And this is for Pep.”
“Wha––” he starts but, at the sound of her name from her second favourite human Pep starts wiggling again. Reggie tries to hide it, to follow the movements but, when a furry little head pushes it away through the collar of his hoodie he’s pretty sure he’s been caught.
“Hi sweetie,” Julie whispers, fingers stroking under Pep’s chin in the places she likes best.
Reggie pouts at his friend, sinking down a little in his chair, “How’d you know?”
“Your jacket has been moving since you got here and Reg, there’s a dog shaped lump on your chest,” she laughs, continuing her tickling of Pep and fond smiles.
“Damn it. Do I have to leave now?” And he was so close to finally getting his perfect lunch.
Julie looks around the cafe, there’s an eldery lady at a table by the door which is just shutting behind the guy who had been at the table next to him otherwise, the cafe was empty. Chewing on her bottom lip Julie looks at Pep again before blowing out a sigh, “Just this once you can both stay.”
“Yes! Jules, you are the best!” If he didn’t have a dog trapped between his jacket and his chest he’d leap up to hug her. Instead Pep licks her fingers, nose bumping into her open palm and that seems to be thanks enough.
#ask#for-bittenlove#julie and the phantoms#reggie peters#julie molina#jatp#*fics#also the dogs full name is pepperoni#pep for short#*prompts
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I really wouldn't mind you aiding me with some tutorials love
giffing tutorial/resources
hi anon! sorry it took me so long to answer. i figured this might be helpful for others out there who have asked me similar questions, so i’ve compiled a pretty comprehensive list of tutorials/resources. idk about others but when i was new to giffing, it took me a lot of painful effort to go around and look for resources, so i’m putting it all here to make it a little easier!
i download videos using 4k video downloader. it will download very good quality 1080p videos in .mp4 format. if you’re downloading a 4k video, make sure to change the setting option to .mkv so that you get 4k and not 1080p—for obvious reasons since you want the highest quality.
i rely on kpopexciting to get .ts files — which are basically raw, very high quality video files for live performances. they are much less grainy than .mp4 versions of live performances—which are the ones you’ll see uploaded to youtube. i’ve found that 4k videos (in .mkv) are just as good quality as .ts, but obviously you will rarely see live performances in 4k, so get .ts when you can!! you can also try to find .ts files on twitter, but you may have to do a lot of digging. i wish i could recommend you twitter accounts, but the ones i used to go to have been very inactive/taken down all their drives :( but this website is really nice and updated frequently so i would recommend it!
vapoursynth links + download. the reason you would use vapoursynth is to resize your gif, while maintaining the optimal quality of the gif. if you gif without vapoursynth (.ie only using photoshop), it will still be fine, but the image quality may be grainier. also, you will definitely need vapoursynth to gif .ts files —more will be explained in the tutorial i’ve linked below. i would recommend that you have a high processing/lots of ram/newer desktop or laptop to use vapoursynth so that 1, your computer isn’t fried and 2, your vapoursynth process will go a lot faster. i am using a 2017 macbook pro for all my work, and it runs pretty well, but my laptop still gets pretty hot so just make sure you’re not running a million things in the background while using adobe products and vapoursynth lol. i used a pretty old and beat up 2011 model macbook air back then, and i will say that yes vapoursynth worked and ran on it, but it took much longer, and basically fried the laptop’s battery (aka i had to get the battery changed twice and the laptop would die randomly) but issok it was a school borrowed laptop so i didn’t feel too bad lol. im just saying this as a precaution, to preserve the health of your electronic devices!! but don’t be afraid to use vapoursynth! you should still try it at least once.
thank you to @realstraykids for this super detailed, really nice tutorial! it includes how and where to download videos, how to gif using vapoursynth, using photoshop, comparisons, coloring, and pretty much all you need to know. 10/10 would recommend
thank you to @dreamcolouring for this lifesaver!!! the best and easiest way to blur out unwanted captions/objects in your gifs. i recommend doing this step after converting your frames to video timeline and before you do sharpening and coloring. another tip i’ll add is to feather the selection you’ve made right before you click on “add vector mask” —this will make sense once you’ve read through the tutorial. feathering it will make the blurred spot less noticeable and more subtle.
i use this generator to create gradient colored captions! copy and paste your text, then select the colors you want. generate the code, and copy it. change the settings of the text editor on your post to HTML. paste the code, preview, and voila! add elements <blockquote>,<b>,<i>, etc as needed. see more on colored captions in this tutorial by @kylos --i believe op mentioned a different and better color generator but for some reason it won’t work for me :( hopefully it works for u! basically same idea as the previous generator i mentioned.
my own mini tutorial/workflow process of making gifs. this includes working with a .ts file, vapoursynth, photoshop, coloring, watermarking, etc. and a few of my own tips below:
if you are working with an .mp4, you do not have to make any changes to the preprocessor/denoise filters/sharpening in the resizing part of vapoursynth—it doesn’t make that big of a difference if you do. but if you are working with a .ts file, definitely do make those changes,, that’s the whole reason you have vapoursynth. with an .mp4, i like to use vapoursynth to just resize, but i don’t add any additional settings. i use smart sharpen in photoshop to sharpen it, which is pretty good on it’s own (at least in photoshop 2020!).
my rule of thumb is to do add .02 seconds when i am setting frame delay. so if when you first import the frames, they are at 0.04 seconds, i usually change them to 0.06. of course, this is my personal taste—you can make all your gifs faster or slower depending on how you want em to look.
if you are on a mac, you can screen record by pressing Command+Shift+5 (it’s a shortcut to quicktime screen recording). I only screen record for things like the beyond live concert or other live streamed events. the image quality of the screen recording, in my experience, is actually pretty good. when you gif the screen recording however, you may notice that it adds extra frames that you don’t need. by that i mean duplicate frames. you could keep the duplicate frames but that just means the size of your gif is going to be much bigger (keep in mind the limit is 8mb). in order to remove those duplicates, my only solution has been to remove them manually (by holding Command while selecting), or when you are importing the video to frames, select the option to “limit to every 2 frames”—but this method will be less precise and still not as good as manually removing frames. if you remove the duplicate frames, this means you will need to set the frame delay even slower, to make up for lost frames. in my experience, fps(frames per second) and frame delay work in conjunction. so for example, if i delete every other frame because they are duplicates, but the starting frame delay is 0.02, i am now going to change it to something like 0.05 (so i added 0.03 seconds rather than my usual 0.02). if the duration length and the image dimensions of the gif are short/small, feel free to keep the duplicate frames in—i only delete duplicate frames in order to keep my gif under the 8mb limit. then, if you keep the duplicate frames in, continue with your standard frame delay preferences. now that i’m writing this im realizing this might not make a lot of sense lol.. but don’t worry about it for now and if you run into trouble w screen recorded gifs then you can come back to this for reference. again, this is only my experience recording on a mac—it may be a lot different if you use a screen recording program or are on a pc.
i don’t really use .psd templates because i like to give every gif/gifset it’s own unique coloring—so i remake the coloring every time, but if you get into a rhythm it’s pretty easy. there are a lot of nice coloring tutorials out there, too! my personal coloring adjustments in order: levels, exposure, color balance, selective color (if needed), vibrance, photo filter (if needed), color lookup (i use 2strip most often and i put it on ‘color’ blending mode). don’t forget to adjust the opacities and fills of the ‘color lookup’ adjustment layer in case it’s too strong. go back to correct each adjustment layer as needed. then, when you’re done and satisfied, group all those layers, copy the group (you can do an easy command+c), and paste it onto the next gif you’re working on for easy workflow.
if for some reason you can’t see the frames when you import your layers/video, it’s likely because your ‘timeline’ window isn’t showing up. just go to the window menu on photoshop, go to the bottom and you’ll see ‘timeline.’ make sure it has a check next to it.
i recommend watermarking your gifs because a lot of people like to repost tings these days 😠 - so make sure u got your brand on it! i keep my watermark saved to my ‘libraries’ in photoshop so it’s ready when i need it. i use the blending mode ‘overlay’ and adjust the opacity, but if you don’t want to do that you can also add a stroke/shadow to your watermark/do all sorts.
tag #nctinc for your nct creations and #jenonet for your jeno creations!!
here’s my own mini tutorial (well not much of a tutorial ig more like a work process vid?): took about ten minutes including the time to search and download the video (but i didn’t record that part i trust yall know how to do that), vapoursynth, and exporting. i hope this helps somewhat! feel free to ask more questions whenever :)
youtube
keep in mind that giffing takes a lot of patience, energy, and experience—so don’t worry if it takes you a bit to figure things out or if your gifs don’t turn out the way you want them to the first time around. we all start at the same place and all run into problems. i know giffing can sound intimidating and seem like a lot of work, but i promise, once you get into a routine, giffing is going to happen in minutes—and you’ll get beautiful gifs. have fun! 😊
#anon#answered#tut#tuts#giffing tutorial#should i make a tut/resources post on gfx? not rly sure if gfx can be taught.. it's like a lottt about personal style imo lol#hope this helps!#not just for anon but for anyone
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