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bumblebee-moreno · 1 year

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TLOU characters as cats?

general warning for possible spoilers? probably won't go too into detail, but... you've been warned. Also warning: I do not personally own cats, however, I have worked in the veterinary field for over 3 years. So that's where my opinions are coming from lmao

I'm starting with only characters we've met so far in hbo's series (first 6 episodes as of this post), and definitely didn't include everyone, but I might add more later (or if others add on, even better).

--inspired by previous reblog

Pre-outbreak Joel:

You won’t see or hear from him all day… BUT. The moment you’re about to get up to do something, he will curl up in your lap and by law, once an aloof cat is in your lap, you cannot move. You’re running late for an appointment? better just cancel because he’s not moving until the MOMENT the appointment is scheduled to end. You have to pee? You better have a bladder of steel because he’s making biscuits RIGHT THERE. You were getting up to make dinner? No you’re not.

Regularly leaves mouse/rat/bird carcasses for you to find, because clearly you cannot hunt for yourself.

You won’t see him for a week, but then you come home late from work ONE TIME, and he WILL shit in your bed before disappearing into the void again

isn’t outright spicy at the vet, but he WILL be as uncooperative as physically possible: time to go back in the carrier? you now have a starfish cat. Need him to sit still for a blood draw? The whole world will hear about how he’s the most tortured, abused, and unloved cat in existence. Need to catch him for xrays? Better get the stool because he’s on top of the cabinets.

If his water is not moving (like a water fountain type situation), he WILL dump it on the floor, turn on the sink for a sip, and then just. leave the sink on.

Will follow strangers around the house, watching them from a distance. If they try to pet him, he’ll run and hide. Once you’ve gained his trust, though, he can be very affectionate when the mood strikes him. There’s even occasional moments of playfulness

Post-outbreak Joel:

Post-outbreak Joel: absolute scrapper. one of those feral cats that look like they’ve been chewed up and spat back out at least 3 times.

He's very unlikely to approach people, but he will not hesitate to steal their stuff if they leave their garage open.

It’s almost impossible to gain his trust, but once you do, he’s a sweetheart… but only when he’s alone with you—if someone else walks into the room he WILL bite you and run away as if he weren’t just purring and making biscuits on your lap

Will sit on your chest and watch you sleep. If you catch him dosing off… no you didn’t.

Will only ever sleep inside if it’s offered by someone he really trusts, and only on incredibly cold/wet nights. If anyone tried to make him a house cat, he’d be miserable

Don’t even try to take him to the vet. But if you do, be ready to pay for a pharmacy-worth of sedatives, and let the staff know to have the cat gloves ready if they value their limbs.

You will not see him for at least a week afterwards, but you will know he’s nearby because there will be a fresh dead thing on your doormat every morning (hey, he’s mad at you, but he can’t let you starve!)

Ellie Williams:

Will stampede through the house at 3am for no reason.

If you set anything remotely breakable on the counter, she will look you straight in the eye and knock it onto the floor.

I’ve been my old boss’ house sitter for years now. One of her cats LOVES cuddles… unfortunately, in her kitty brain, ‘cuddles’ means sleeping directly on your face. If you try to move her or roll over in your sleep, you WILL get bit. Not hard enough to do any real damage, but just enough to kinda hurt, y’know? I feel like that’d be Ellie.

Loves hunting, but rarely actually catches anything. If she does, it’s a toss-up whether she’ll kill it or just rip a few limbs off and get bored. (I obviously don’t see human Ellie as doing anything like this, but I can definitely see a cat version of her doing it)

Will stick her paws as far under the bathroom door the whole time you’re in there, but as soon as you finish and open the door, she’s nowhere to be found.

There’s no doubt that she’s very much a feral cat, but unlike Joel and Tess who are the overly cautious type, Ellie is the cat that will act friendly for a meal and warm spot to sleep, but if you try to contain her beyond her own terms, she will go apeshit and destroy everything in her attempt to get out.

If she’s in the house, any window that has a screen must be left either FULLY closed, or FULLY open. If it’s not 100% in either direction, she will climb between the screen and the window, get stuck, and promptly SCREAM like a ravenous banshee until someone helps her out… She will claw the arms of whoever dares help her until she is fully free, before hissing and disappearing into the void to sulk.

If you're doing something important, she WILL sit directly on top of it and refuse to move. But only if the thing is important. If she's not interrupting something that you actually have to get done, she's not interested.

Sarah Miller:

If zoom were a thing at the time, she’d be one of those cats that interrupts the entire meeting by sitting directly on top of her person’s keyboard.

Will sit on the other side of your bedroom door and scream until you let her in, only to turn around and scream until you let her back out again. it’s an endless cycle.

Has a million and one toys. Will dump them all on the floor and sit inside the box. If she’s feeling extra fancy, she might take a break from the box to unravel every single toilet paper roll she can reach, before promptly returning to her box

Has a hoard of stolen socks under the couch. Some of the socks clearly do not belong to anyone in the house. It’s extra strange because she’s an indoor cat.

Is the reason her family can never bring food to potlucks… there is nothing that can keep her off the counters, and she thinks she is VERY helpful in the kitchen. The pantry has a baby lock because she figured out how to open doors.

It doesn't matter how much trouble she gets into, because the second she looks at you with that face, it's impossible to stay upset.

Tess Servopoulos:

Much like post-outbreak Joel, she’s a bit of a scrapper, and doesn’t trust easy. If you sit still long enough, she might settle in your lap, but if you acknowledge her in any way (including trying to pet her), she will get up and leave.

She’s pretty friendly, but very skittish.

If she's tried escaping and her boundaries continue to be pushed, she's not afraid to get her claws or teeth involved. Unlike Joel, they're just not her go-to.

She’s been known to take refuge in the occasional garage, but unless hell has frozen over, she will not be coming inside anyone’s house.

I feel like pre-outbreak Tess would be one of those cats that brings home random kittens of unknown origins, despite being spayed. I have no evidence for this, it’s a vibe she gives off.

Tommy Miller:

y’know those cats that convince like. 4 different people that they’re the owners/families of said cat in order to get fed and loved on by 4 different families? that’s Tommy

If his dish is empty, he will act as if he’s being starved to death. As soon as you fill it, he loses interest and ignores the dish entirely. He wasn’t actually hungry, he just likes knowing the food is there.

He’s one of those cats that everyone adores.

Despite being one of the friendliest cats you could ever meet, it takes a LONG time for him to find a family he’ll actually allow to take him in. Until then, he’s very much a street cat, and will allow as many families to THINK he belongs to them as will feed him, but if they tried to limit his freedom in any way, he’d be miserable. Once he’s found the right home to settle down in, though, he doesn’t go too far past the yard, or occasionally the neighbour’s yard.

When he’s on the streets, he’ll never pick a fight, but he’ll sure as hell win if someone else starts anything.

#the last of us #the last of us spoilers #tlou #tlou spoilers #hbo the last of us #tlou characters as cats apparently #joel miller #ellie williams #sarah miller #tommy miller #tess servopoulos #if anyone wants to add on or say anything about characters I didn't include please do!#there were quite a few characters I didn't include either bc i couldn't think of much or for the sake of time/space #tlou headcanons #I spent way more time on this than i should have

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smooth-goat · 2 years

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1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10 (is it hats? 👀), 11, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 26, 30 sorry for so many lol

aafjdskal thank u for so many !! its totally fine and encouraged in fact

Art programs you have but don't use

I still have the downloads for a full adobe suite--I needed them for college. But I've since let my subscriptions lapse when I dropped out.

3. What ideas come from when you were little?

I've had this one novel idea bouncing around in my head since I was eleven, where in the 1300s this massive trade city in modern-day Pakistan was set under strict quarantine as the Black Plague came over from the Gobi Desert westward. Years pass, better trading routes are found, and the city is lost--except the survivors of the plague's descendants still inhabit it as a small village, unknown to the outside world. Now, around 1909, a disgraced Russian archaeologist and his niece go down to this lost city in hopes of saving his job, only to find there's still people there. The story is about the little family hosting them and the line between academic study and colonialism. It's always been on a back burner because any real development would require paid consultants, but I do privately write little things for it.

4. Fav character/subject that's a bitch to draw

Hmmmm I think young children. I don't have a lot of experience drawing them so it's a struggle for me to communicate their age with proper proportions.

7. A medium of art you don't work in but appreciate

Digital, really. I do work in it sometimes but really only when making animatics/animation, since I don't have a cost-effective setup to do so otherwise.

8. What's an old project idea that you've lost interest in?

A few years ago, I spent a great deal of time on an animatic for TAZ Balance set to "Ball Cap" by Mother Mother. I had almost the whole thing in rough boards but lost steam refining them.

9. What are your file name conventions?

Just a brief description, mostly. Not really ever a proper ~artsy~ title. Examples would include "Sea Lion.jpeg" or "sisu v_01.png" the "v_01" stands for "version 1". For animatics I put keep everything in the auto-generated folders and just rely on the little image preview to keep things straight. My writing is filed under the actual published title, or a wip title. An example of that would be "moominpappa gets wrecked.docx" which, if properly titled, would surely be turned into something more moody and pretentious.

10. Favorite piece of clothing to draw

Yes it is hats!! For technical or research aspects I love all sorts of different clothing. When I'm working out clothing patterns I love figuring out complex construction details like 1890s cycling skirts or the flap neckline in the Herjolfsnes find undershirt. But strictly drawying: it's hats. The swoopy lines are so much fun and they add so much character and mood.

11. Do you listen to anything while drawing? If so, what?

I am a creature of ADHD; I have to have something on when I'm drawing. Sometimes it's a youtube video that I'm just listening to. I also have Spotify playlists I've made for different characters or relationships or AUs I have. I've spent most of my time on the Hunter animatic listening to Innuendo Studios' series "The Alt-Right Playbook".

14. Any favorite motifs?

No shocker here: disability. In my more private drawings I focus a lot on chronic pain and interactions with the inaccessible physical world. I'm also a sucker for Victorian floriography, as anyone who's browsed my ao3 works' titles could notice. Also in unpublished works (visual and written) I like working in the intersection of disability and sex. About how the body moves in sexual acts, how to accommodate for disability, the extreme vulnerability sex places on a disabled person, and the interaction of pain and pleasure that happens when sex is a physically painful act.

15. *Where* do you draw?

For digital art I have this whole setup at my desk, where the drawer is pulled out for my tablet and my laptop on the desk proper--all for Good Grade In Occupational Therapy purposes. (really because I'm 5'2 and the height of the chair I'd need to comfortably draw on the desk doesn't let my feet touch the floor). Sketching I do on the couch or in bed. I bring my sketchbook around a lot and will do it on the go. Sometimes when I'm going on drives, I pull over with a good vista and draw there sitting on the hood.

16. Something you are good at but don't really have fun doing

colored pencil!! 1000%. i do Not like working with colored pencils. The grip required for them is too small without buying a separate grip, which I have to take off and on every time I switch colors, which is Often. and they work sooo slowlyyyy. i like media like watercolor, oil, and markers--stuff that lays down lots of color quickly and can be refined later. i like a certain messiness or rawness. paint impasto, visible canvas grain, fingerprints, water splotches, etc

19. Do you eat/drink when drawing? If so, what?

Not always sketching because I'll do that in lots of places. Digitally yes always. I know I shouldn't because of the spill risk but I am a simple man and I always need to have a little drink. Usually soda or hibiscus La Croix.

20. Something everyone else finds hard to draw but you enjoy

I really like drawing hands! I know they're the classic artists' bane but sux to be you because I have lots of fun with them. (For the longest time I thought I was messing them up because I'd use my own hands as reference and they'd come out looking Wrong. Years later I've realized the Wrongness I was seeing was a combination of my hypermobility and large arthritis knuckles.)

21. Art styles nothing like your own but like anyways

oh, lots! the hyper-stylized, cartoony stuff is so interesting to me. the functions of digital art are largely a mystery to me so it's just fascinating how well people use the medium. Especially the color-block lineless art that reminds me of papercut art. And I've always enjoyed how the Professor Layton games approached character design--a great deal of stylization and caricature which is so different from my own drawings of people. i also really enjoy 17th century english woodblock prints. when i paint its usually kind of impressionistic with lots of blurry lines, so the stark black and white and geometric shapes they have is so different and cool to me.

26. What's a piece that got wildly different interpretation from what you intended?

wrt art I can't really think of any! most of the finished pieces I've done were for classes and therefore weren't highly-creative projects open to a great degree of interpretation.

wrt writing For Sure that time i got accused of being a pro-lifer when I wrote "Ginger Tea and Parsley Oil" lmao. i have no idea how any competent reading of the text would come to that conclusion

30. What piece of yours do you think is underrated?

wrt my visual art, most of it isn't published online but rather shared in art classes or with friends. In those cases, I think the response was pretty appropriate relative to time spent and my own opinions of it. From what's been posted online, definitely my icon! I probably spent 50 hours on that drawing cause it's actually two complete drawings laid on top of each other, with the top one torn to reveal the sepia one beneath. But ain't that just the way--whatever you spend the most time on will never get as much acclaim as what you only spend a few minutes sketching. wrt my writing, most underrated is probably "Black Cohosh". It's the piece with the second-lowest hit count but also one of my favorites. I get why it's low--it's dark and moody in a fandom that enjoys fluff and focuses a lot on canon/oc interaction. But I really love it fjdskla

#long post #birdsong #ask meme #asked and answered

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vanillabeenflower · 2 years

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Blush Blush Controversial Opinion ™️

The title is a joke, I don’t think this is really that controversial but I’m not sure

(Heads up for long kinda-ranting and long-winded nitpicking)

So I have gotten the news that Seth has been added as a dateable boy and I went to the Crush Crush wiki to look at the new info added on the pages and to also save some pictures for reference (I normally do this) and after a few days, I have come to a conclusion that idk if anyone else has about Seth, but I don’t think that his design is very… “demonic”, I guess?

I’m not saying his current design isn’t good, I LOVE his design and how cool it looks, and I think his animal form is one of the coolest looking in the game yet, it’s just that his fully changed form isn’t that demonic-looking at all. I have also had this thought when I did his Phone Fling, he just looked like a Regular Guy, and when he was added as a dateable character, this just confirmed that thought for me.

His hybrid form looks more like a demon than his actual form!

I’m not in any way criticizing the artist for this game, they can draw things I wish I knew how to draw, and to be fair, it is an anime (?) game and they do have to make the boys look somewhat like that. I can just headcanon that this is just a form Seth takes on in the Overworld to avoid drawing attention to himself, but I also wanted to edit some things, just for me and for some practice on how to do this. I’ll just say that I made a form that he takes on at the house, where he is not as susceptible to being spotted by people. Keep in mind that you don’t have to agree with me on this, this is all just my thoughts on this.

Breakdown

So, I wanted to go over each feature that I thought needed some work in order to give a better understanding of the things I am talking about.

First are his eyes.

Seth’s eye color is pretty unusual for a human (red), but in this world humans can have any eye color including purple (Dmitri), yellow (Volks), and orange (Eli, although in some expressions his eyes are brown). At least I expected more unnatural eyes, like slit pupils. Nothing too extravagant, but at least that. I will add this to my comparison.

Second are his physical features.

There is nothing to know that he is a demon apart from his horns. Not even little things like making his teeth (or just his fangs) slightly bigger than normal or little details like that. If you took away the horns, you wouldn’t even know he was a demon, but I like the creativity that his hood has horns to hide his actual horns. The horns are a bit too small and almost look decorative, not like an actual part of his body. I at least expected a type of tail. I will once again headcanon this as he hides his tail when in public to reduce suspicion of him, but I will add the tail in my revision. I also made his ears pointier, which I thought was a hallmark of demonic creatures, but that’s probably just me.

Third is a major pet peeve of mine, the hair. (Oh my gosh, I need to put a small rant warning here):

I have noticed that this is a problem with almost all of the guys, the lack of almost any body hair. They all either have no body hair at all or when it is drawn, it looks like an afterthought. They all look completely hairless and weirdly shiny like they’re covered in oil, when skin usually has a matte texture (not shiny/glossy). Men have a higher amount of body hair, and I am not saying to just completely blanket them in hair, but at least add something like arm or leg hair or something. I have noticed this after a while and since then, and today, it looks weird every time I do. It’s like SPS is almost scared to add anything but facial hair to them. It can be a hard task to add hair to a character since it looks off sometimes, but you get better at it over time and it gets more natural every time you do it. I’ve been scared of adding facial hair and body hair in general because of how weird it would look, but I’ve gotten more comfortable with it. And idk if anyone has said this yet, but facial hair can do wonders in aging a character. Every male character I’ve added facial hair on immediately looked somewhat older. It sounds like I’m overreacting, but holy crap, it makes a HUGE difference. I know that everyone is not into body/facial hair, but it was just bothering me. Seth is a 918 year old demon, he should have some sign of aging! But then again, idk if his age in “human years” is something younger, since I assume demons are immortal, so this is just a speculation that he should look slightly older than he did look. I tried not adding too much hair on his body and face, and I tried following the male body hair pattern, but I’m still pretty new to this. I also fixed his head shape since I thought it looked kinda weird.

Revision

Here is my revision of Seth (I used the Lover event photo b/c it shows what I was talking about better). Idk if I overdid it or made him look too old or what, but I think I did pretty good overall.

And here is a gif comparison between the original

Feel free to tell me what you think!

Again, this is just my opinion on him. You do not even have to agree with me, I just wanted to share my thoughts and see if anyone else felt the same way.

#stuff i made #blush blush #blush blush game #long #stuff i wrote #long post #redesign rants

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ohthehypocrisy · 3 months

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Galarian Slowbro for Pokemon Unite!

Season 1

Season 2

Prev: Cradily - Hatterene - Tropius - Cacturne - Ditto - Weavile - Ogerpon - Coalossal - Gogoat

Slowbro in Pokemon Unite is a pretty solid Defender, being able to use Scald to hinder physical attackers or Surf to juggle crowds of enemies. Being able to stop enemies with its Unite Move, Slow Beam, has been the saving grace for teams, allowing them to deal with difficult enemies.

But I believe that its Galarian cousin has plenty of potential in Pokemon Unite as well. Not to put regular Slowbro down or anything, but I like the twist Galarian Slowbro brings to the table, trading in a bulky shell for an armored hand blaster.

I think Galarian Slowbro deserves a shot in Pokemon Unite. Let’s see how it can hit the mark.

Because Galarian Slowbro opted to put the shell on its arm instead of its tail, it lacks many of the defensive qualities regular Slowbro has. In contrast, Galarian Slowbro boasts higher attacking stats than Slowbro, coupled with decently high HP and Defense. It lacks the Sp. Defense and Speed to stay in battle for long, but compared to regular Slowbro, it has many opportunities to hit hard and often. There’s also the fact that its little Shellder buddy has morphed into the shape of a cone perfectly suited for firing poisonous projectiles. All things considered, I think Galarian Slowbro makes an easy case for the role of an...

Attacker

Basic Attack - Ranged/Sp. Attack

Becomes a boosted attack after three attacks. The boosted attack deals more damage and adds a psychic round to your PsyPoison Reserve. After using a move, using a basic attack unloads your PsyPoison Reserve on the damaged enemy or enemies. The basic attack gains the effect of the used Move in this way. Up to 6 rounds can be kept in your PsyPoison Reserve.

The PsyPoison Reserve is Galarian Slowbro’s unique mechanic and behaves similarly to the number of bullets in a revolver. You get one psychic round when you deal damage with your boosted basic attack and you can hold up to 6 at a time.

After using any of Galarian Slowbro’s Moves, you can completely unload your PsyPoison Reserve to fire all shots to hone in and damage the enemy hit by your Moves. You cannot use this effect if the move misses or fails to deal damage.

If multiple enemies are damaged, multiple psychic rounds are shot for each round in your PsyPoison Reserve.

After landing a Move, you have 6 frames, or 1/10th of a second, to press the basic attack button to unload your PsyPoison Reserve.

The shots fired from your PsyPoison Reserve gain the effect of the used Move. They can be body blocked by other enemies. Galarian Slowbro can move while unloading its PsyPoison Reserve.

Many Attackers get most of their damage output from a unique basic attack mechanic, and Galarian Slowbro is no different. In addition to a normal basic attack meter, it also has something called a ‘PsyPoison Reserve’ that keeps a load of psychic rounds within its holster. Get used to that word, because Galarian Slowbro’s entire moveset revolves around this loaded mechanic.

As mentioned above, Galarian Slowbro can keep 6 rounds in its PsyPoison Reserve, which it can then unload immediately after using a Move, where the rounds then gain the effects of the used Move. We’ll be going into more detail in that regard later, but for now, Galarian Slowbro is a little, well, slow in accumulating psychic rounds to fill its PsyPoison Reserve. You get a round for using a boosted basic attack, but it takes three hits to boost it up, meaning you’ll need to take a moment to farm if you want to join a fight with a fully loaded PsyPoison Reserve.

Luckily, Galarian Slowbro has other methods of accumulating rounds other than its basic attack.

Ability: Gluttony/Quick Draw

Gluttony (Galarian Slowpoke)

Consuming a berry adds a psychic round to your PsyPoison Reserve. Occasionally you will gain 2 psychic rounds instead of 1.

Quick Draw (Galarian Slowbro)

Consuming a berry adds 1 or 2 psychic rounds to your PsyPoison Reserve. When you damage an enemy preparing an attack, you will gain a psychic round. If your PsyPosion Reserve is already full, the damage dealt is increased greatly.

Gluttony and Quick Draw both add a psychic round to your PsyPoison Reserve when you eat a berry, but will occasionally add 2 instead. The odds for Gluttony to double the psychic rounds gained is 30%, whereas Quick Draw increases the odds to 50%.

Quick Draw will also add a psychic round to your PsyPoison Reserve if you deal damage to an enemy preparing an attack. More specifically, this occurs when the enemy is holding the attack button and aiming with it in anticipation of an approaching enemy.

If your PsyPoison Reserve is full when Quick Draw would add a psychic round in this way, the damage is increased by 200% instead.

Quick Draw is effective on Wild Pokemon that telegraph their attacks with red outlines, as this is technically the attack being prepared.

At the start of the game, Gluttony is Galarian Slowpoke’s ability, and it’s a bit useless when you're engaging in fights in the middle of the lane. You may have gotten 1 or 2 rounds from clearing out the Bunnelby on your way to the middle, but with Gluttony, you can stock up on more rounds by eating the berries when they spawn. Just make sure they don’t get nabbed while you’re distracted.

Quick Draw is where things get dangerous. You have an improved version of Gluttony working for you throughout the game, but the real firepower comes from attacking trigger happy enemies. Quick Draw gives you a free psychic round when you damage an enemy that was preparing an attack. To be specific, if a Galarian Slowbro hits you while you’re holding a Move in preparation for an approaching enemy, Galarian Slowbro gets a psychic round for free for their PsyPoison Reserve.

You might be thinking, ‘Huh, that probably isn’t gonna happen all that often’, and normally you’d be right. But there are plenty of Moves that trigger Quick Draw because of the way they work. For example, Decidueye’s Spirit Shackle can be charged until it’s released, during which a hit from Galarian Slowbro activates Quick Draw. Inteleon’s Snipe Shot also activates Quick Draw because of the time the player needs to aim. Other effects like Tyranitar’s Ancient Power, Lucario’s Power-Up Punch, Urshifu’s Wicked Blow, and Blaziken’s Overheat all activate Quick Draw because of their charge times, and these are just the ones you can see.

It should also be noted that any damage dealt activates Quick Draw, including the psychic rounds unloaded from your PsyPoison Reserve. Nimble enemies like Cinderace or Absol might use their moves evasively to try to create some distance from you, so if a stray bullet strikes them as they’re attempting to make a getaway, you’ll get a refund on your PsyPoison Reserve for having such an itchy trigger finger.

Also the damage dealt is doubled if Quick Draw activates while you already have a fully loaded PsyPoison Reserve, but this realistically only happens when you use your Moves. Speaking of which, let’s take a look at what you’re packing.

At the start of the match, Galarian Slowbro will start out as Galarian Slowpoke. You can choose between Acid and Curse as your first move. By Level 3, you’ll have learned both.

Move 1: Acid (Ranged)

Fires a poison shot at the target, ignoring the enemy’s shield. 8s cooldown.

Acid can damage multiple enemies.

In terms of simplicity, I don’t think you can make things any shorter than this. Acid is a long range shot of poison that deals piercing damage, but that’s about it. We could talk about the cooldown, but given that most Attackers use their Moves to secure KO’s from afar, it’s par for the course.

What we can talk about is how the PsyPoison Reserve interacts with Acid. Since you can unload your reserve immediately after using Acid, the psychic rounds gains the effect of the move used. This means that, after using Acid, each followup shot of psychic rounds will gain the effect of dealing piercing damage to enemies, which is a powerful effect for dealing with Defenders in the early game or for taking over the opposing Goal Zone.

But getting enough psychic rounds for your PsyPoison Reserve is gonna be the tough part, even with your ability and boosted basic attack. We just need one more push to fully stock up on ammunition.

Move 2: Curse (Buff)

Increases your attack power and defense for a short while, as well as adding a psychic round to your PsyPoison Reserve. Your next attack that damages the enemy will also restore some HP. 10s cooldown.

Your Sp. Attack, Defense, and Sp. Defense increase by 50% for 5 seconds. A psychic round is added to your PsyPoison Reserve as well.

Your next attack that deals damage, whether it be a basic attack, Acid, Shell Side Arm, or Psyshock, will restore your HP by 50% of the damage you deal. If you unload your PsyPoison Reserve after using Shell Side Arm or Psyshock, each following hit will also restore your HP in this way.

In spite of Galarian Slowbro’s drastic shift in occupation, it’s still a little Slowpoke at heart. Sometimes it just wants to sit back and curse, you know?

Not only does Curse boost your Sp. Attack, Defense, and Sp. Defense for a short while, it’ll also add a psychic round to your PsyPoison Reserve, free of charge. This is useful if you’re one round away from a loaded holster and you think that one extra bullet will secure the KO on the opposing Speedster.

There’s also the fact that your next hit of damage will restore HP equal to 50% of the damage you managed to deal. It can be something small like an unboosted basic attack, or something big like a direct hit with Acid. Oh, and since Curse technically adds an effect to Acid, your PsyPoison Reserve will also gain the effects of Curse, causing each psychic round to heal you relative to half of the damage they manage to deal. It’s a big chance to heal a lot of HP, especially if you’ve fully loaded your PsyPoison Reserve.

But Acid is a bit on the weak side to take advantage of this effect. Better power up even further by evolving.

At Level 5, Galarian Slowpoke will evolve into Galarian Slowbro. At the same time, Acid becomes either Shell Side Arm or Psyshock.

Move 1a: Shell Side Arm (Melee/Ranged)

This move has two different effects, depending on the proximity of opposing pokemon. When an enemy is close by, Shell Side Arm deals Melee piercing damage that briefly Stuns and deals increased damage to debuffed enemies. When enemies are further away, Shell Side Arm fires 3 shots of poison, reducing the Sp. Defense of enemies and inflicting poison which deals damage-over-time and increases the damage of poison the more hits the enemy receives. The two attacks have separate cooldowns and can be used separately while the other is on cooldown. 12s cooldown.

At Level 11, Shell Side Arm becomes Shell Side Arm+.

Reduces the cooldown of the move.

The two versions of Shell Side Arm are used depending on the proximity of targets within range. The Melee version of Shell Side Arm takes priority over the Ranged Version.

Melee Shell Side Arm deals piercing damage and Stuns the enemy for 0.5 seconds. It also deals 150% more damage to enemies afflicted with a debuff. The rounds in your PsyPoison Reserve gain all of these effects if used.

The Ranged version of Shell Side Arm fires 3 shots of poison, each one inflicting a poison damage-over-time hindrance that lasts for 7 seconds. The damage dealt by the hindrance increases the more hits of Shell Side Arm the affected enemy received, but does not extend the duration of the hindrance. It also reduces the Sp. Defense of enemies by 75% for 7 seconds. The rounds in your PsyPoison Reserve will also exacerbate the poison damage if used, but the Sp. Defense debuff will only have its duration reset.

Both versions of Shell Side Arm have their own cooldowns separate from each other, which is displayed similarly to how moves with multiple uses are displayed. On the HUD, Shell Side Arm has two different icons which denote which version is available, Melee and Ranged.

Shell Side Arm+ reduces the cooldown of the move to 10 seconds.

Shell Side Arm is unique in that this move has two different versions of itself depending on the range of enemies. When enemies are far away, it launches 3 poison shots which poison enemies and reduces their Sp. Defense. When enemies are nearby, it’s a club attack that deals piercing damage, Stuns enemies, and deals extra damage to debuffed enemies.

Not only that, both versions of this move can be used independently of one another, even though they share the same moveslot and cooldown. It’s similar to how Moves with multiple uses operate, in that the Melee Version will go on cooldown for 12 seconds whereas the Ranged Version can still be used.

Breaking it down even further, ranged Shell Side Arm inflicts a poison hindrance which deals damage over time, the power of which increases the more poison shots the enemy was hit with. Your PsyPoison Reserve adds damage to the poison hindrance when used right away, resulting in a lot of passive damage with a fully loaded holster.

Alternatively, you can combine the Sp. Defense debuff with the Melee version of Shell Side Arm, which deals more damage to debuffed enemies. Not only does it Stun and deals piercing damage, these effects carry over to the psychic rounds in your PsyPoison Reserve, potentially incapacitating nearby enemies and dealing heavy damage to even shielded enemies. Also, the extra damage to debuffed enemies carries over, so a good combo is following up the ranged version of Shell Side Arm with the Melee version, then unloading your PsyPoison Reserve at the damaged enemy. It’s a lot of damage, even for a Burst Damage Attacker like Galarian Slowbro, but it does require a lot of setup.

The upgrade to Shell Side Arm reduces the cooldown of the move by a bit, but that’s more than enough as the attack can be used repeatedly thanks to packing two attacks in one Move. As long as you space out both effects, the cooldown of the move feels like a nonissue, though that can be challenging to keep track of in the heat of battle.

If you prefer something simpler, Psyshock is a little more straightforward.

Move 1b: Psyshock

The user charges up power before firing a single psychic blast that explodes on contact with an enemy or a wall. The cooldown of this move is reduced for each enemy damaged. When this move KO’s an enemy, gain a psychic round in your PsyPoison Reserve. 10s cooldown.

At Level 11, Psyshock becomes Psyshock+.

The blast size increases.

Psyshock takes 1 second to build up power before Galarian Slowbro launches the attack. Galarian Slowbro can move while charging, though the chosen direction remains constant.

Psyshock has its cooldown reduced by 1 second for each enemy on the opposing team damaged. The psychic rounds in your PsyPoison Reserve gain this effect as well.

You gain a psychic round for your PsyPoison Reserve if Psyshock KO’s an enemy on the opposing team. The psychic rounds in your PsyPoison Reserve gain this effect as well.

Psyshock+ doubles the blast radius.

Compared to Shell Side Arm, Psyshock makes your little handcannon feel more like an RPG Launcher. By concentrating psychic power into the shell chamber, Galarian Slowbro launches a condensed ball of psychic power that creates an explosion at the point of impact.

As with most ranged attacks, Psyshock behaves like a physical projectile in the sense that a direct hit with an enemy or wall will cause the attack to blow up at the point of impact. This makes crowded fights a little tough to get the most out of the explosion, but threading the needle in this way gets you the most benefits.

Psyshock has an additional effect where the cooldown of the move is reduced for each enemy you hit with the resulting blast. Although you’ll only get 5 seconds shaved off at most when you hit the entire team with this attack, your PsyPoison Reserve gains the cooldown reducing effect, making it easier to reload Psyshock for another shot.

Of course, this means you’d have to give up your hard earned psychic rounds when engaging a smaller group to fully abuse Psyshock, but the Move has one more trick to it. Scoring a KO with this move, or with the psychic rounds unloaded from your PsyPoison Reserve immediately after using Psyshock, will grant you another psychic round. This effectively means that unloading your PsyPoison Reserve to secure a KO in this way gets you a small refund to your ammo.

For crowded fights, what this means is that Psyshock can be used repeatedly if you engage with a fully loaded PsyPoison Reserve. Simply use Psyshock, unload your psychic rounds, use Psyshock again, and then unload your PsyPoison Reserve once more if you managed to KO enemies during your second go at Psyshock. Your preferred target will be fragile Attackers and Speedsters, but they tend to keep their distance when engaging the entire enemy team, so make do with the crowd size you have.

The upgraded version of Psyshock solely increases the blast size of the psychic shot, making it easier to catch multiple enemies and tapping them with your PsyPoison Reserve. This also makes it easier to reduce the cooldown of the move, but the plan of attack is still the same. It does mean that it might hit Attackers and Speedsters more easily, even if they’re a bit further away from the team fight, but don’t sacrifice big damage just to secure one KO.

Gee, for a sharpshooter, Galarian Slowbro has a bit of difficulty landng hits on the enemy. There's a way to fix that, but you'll need to level up even more to each your full potential.

At Level 7, Curse becomes either Psychic or Psych Up.

Move 2a: Psychic (Sure Hit/Debuff)

Mark an enemy with psychic power. When you use the Ranged version of Shell Side Arm or Psyshock, the projectiles fired from those moves will gain a homing effect and hone in on the marked enemy. The marked enemy receives more damage from these attacks and deals reduced damage to you for a short while. Additionally, any shield damage you deal to the marked enemy with your basic attack will be given to you as your own shield. 10s cooldown.

At Level 13, Psychic becomes Psychic+.

Reduces the enemy’s movement speed while the psychic mark is in effect.

Psychic marks enemies with a graphic that resembles an eye and a shoot reticle combined. This mark lasts for 7 seconds and causes the Ranged version of Shell Side Arm or Psyshock to swerve and hone in on the targeted enemy.

Psychic will also cause Ranged Shell Side Arm or Psyshock to linger in the air for longer than they normally would, as they won’t stop flying until they hit the marked enemy. Psyshock will still explode on contact with a wall or a different enemy.

If these moves hit different enemies while moving towards the marked enemy, you can only unload your PsyPoison Reserve to damage enemies nearby and within view.

Psychic increases the damage dealt by Shell Side Arm or Psyshock by 50%. This effect carries over to the psychic rounds in your PsyPoison Reserve.

The marked enemy also deals 50% less damage to you while Psychic is in effect.

Dealing basic attack damage to a marked enemy with a shield will transfer 100% of the shield damage dealt back to you, gaining a shield equal to the damage you deal. This includes the damage dealt by your PsyPoison Reserve.

Psychic+ reduces the Movement Speed of marked enemies by 50%.

A major aspect of target practice is the mental fortitude it takes to land every single shot perfectly. Say what you will about the Slowpoke family, but if there's one thing they've got going for them, it's mental discipline in spades.

So what happens when you give a psychic a gun? Mind powers that can trick bullets to never miss, that's what. Marking an enemy with Psychic causes Galarian Slowbro to think of that enemy when it uses Psyshock or the Ranged version of Shell Side Arm, causing the projectiles of those attacks to swerve and hone in on that enemy, even from afar.

Psychic also adds a whole host of debuffs to the afflicted enemy. Not only does Shell Side Arm and Psyshock deal more damage to the marked enemy, it also reduces the damage they deal to you while marked. This Move can trivialize some 1-on-1 fights for you as it allows you to deal more damage while reducing the damage you receive from the opposing pokemon.

The move has one more bonus effect, and that's how dealing basic attack damage basically steals shields while hitting a marked enemy. By itself, it's not a big deal, especially with a slow basic attack like yours. But remember, the psychic rounds in your PsyPoison Reserve also count as basic attack damage, meaning you can totally rob a Defender of their precious shield at gunpoint (these gun metaphors are getting a bit out of hand...), provided your holster is full.

These combined effects make Psychic a powerful debuffing Move to debilitate a single target. It's handy when the opposing team has sent their bulky All-Rounder to the Central Area and they've got the EXP lead on you. It's also just as good at shutting down Speedsters by ensuring that your projectiles always hit the mark on an evasive enemy.

The upgrade effect adds in a Movement Speed debuff that hinders the enemy while they're marked. On top of the increased damage, decreased attack power, and shield stealing effect, reducing their movement speed further enfeebles single targets. You can really ruin someone's day by hitting them with Psychic, as you've singled out the most problematic enemy on the opposing team.

In practice, you're using this move to focus on a single enemy out of a group, so it may not be the most useful attack in a team fight. It also doesn't buff you like Curse does, especially without any healing effects. If you prefer a reliable buff like that, you'll choose Psych Up instead.

Move 2b: Psych Up (Buff)

Target an enemy and copy their positive boosts, as well as gaining a Sp. Attack, Defense, and Sp. Defense boost. While Psyched Up, your moves and basic attacks restore some HP relative to the amount of damage dealt. Gain two psychic rounds to your PsyPoison Reserve. 8.5s cooldown.

At Level 13, Psych Up becomes Psych Up+.

Increases the boosts gained and increases the HP recovery effect.

Psych Up targets an enemy and copies their positive boosts, as well as boosting your Sp. Attack, Defense, and Sp. Defense by 75% for 6 seconds. The copied boosts also last for 6 seconds, regardless of the original duration of the targeted boost.

Psych Up will only copy stat boosts, not boosts to moves or resistance to specific damage. Any copied boost will be displayed in the active buff section of the screen and will show which stat is being boosted by Psych Up.

All the damage you deal while Psych Up is active will restore your HP equal to 50% of the damage dealt.

Psych Up+ increases Sp. Attack, Defense, Sp. Defense by 100% and also increases your HP recovery by 75% of the damage you deal to opposing pokemon.

Envy is a powerful emotion, as it causes you to desire that which others have, even abstract things like emotions and status. The Slowpoke family have very little to desire or envy, so when they want something, that means they understand what is valued. With their psychic powers, they can feasibly attain anything they want, even feelings and boosts through placebo. Maybe that's why they're so lax all the time...

Psych Up has Galarian Slowbro read an enemy for all of their positive boosts and tricks itself into granting itself that power. The residual psychic power boosts its Sp. Attack, Defense, and Sp. Defense for a short while, allowing a brief moment of power regardless of who you target with this move. The boosts you do manage to copy will run for the same duration as your Psych Up boosts, no matter how short or how close to running out the copied buffs were. This is handy for when you are fighting an opposing team composition that isn't running any boosting moves or items, but that is extremely rare.

For the most part, Psych Up is great for copying the boosts from opposing X Attack or X Speed users, but it also copies boosts from moves as well, like Crustle's Shell Smash or Sylveon's Calm Mind. Psych Up will not, however, copy esoteric boosts that power up things that aren't stats, like Dragonite's Dragon Dance. I mean, yes, the attack and speed boost are copied, but not the boost to Dragonite's Hyper Beam, since Galarian Slowbro can't use that move. For a more literal example, Blissey's Helping Hand will not be copied with Psych Up, since the basic attack speed is not a stat that the Move can copy.

At the very least, Psych Up retains the HP recovery effect of Curse, but carries it across all of the damage you can deal while the buff is active. It goes without saying, but unloading your PsyPoison Reserve is the strongest and best way to recover HP with this effect, especially with a full holster. The upgraded version of the move not only makes the boosts stronger, but also restores more HP through this effect.

Of course, choosing this move over Psychic means you give up the ability to focus damage on a single enemy, trading in that security for a more reliable buff. But if you enjoy being able to fire shots that can never miss, you'll love Galarian Slowbro's Unite Move.

Unite Move: Toxic Bullets (Sure Hit)

Upon activation, the pokemon will be aware of all enemies in the vicinity. The pokemon will then fire a poison shot at each enemy, firing an additional shot for each psychic round in your PsyPoison Reserve. Each shot deals increasing damage.

All nearby enemies on screen will be revealed to Galarian Slowbro, whether they are invisible or hiding in Tall Grass.

Each revealed enemy will be struck by a toxic bullet, plus an extra bullet for each psychic round in your PsyPoison Reserve. This does not exhaust your psychic rounds.

Each bullet shot deals an increasing 15% damage as they are fired, maxing out to 90% after 7 shots.

In practice, with a fully loaded PsyPoison Reserve, the first shot deals normal damage, with the second shot dealing 15% more, then 30% with the next one, and so on and so forth. In this way, the total damage output equals 320% on a single enemy.

Toxic Bullets will target all enemies on screen and will fire shots at them, even if they leave the area. The shots will fly until they reach the targeted enemy. New enemies that appear will not be targeted.

Toxic Bullets can be intercepted by Wild or opposing pokemon, though the increasing damage will not reset. In this way, however, the damage cap is reduced for each shot blocked.

Enemies will know they’ve been targeted by Toxic Bullets as a purple reticle appears over their character and will linger until all shots have been fired.

The terrifying firepower of a gunman that never misses is increased exponentially when those shots are poisonous and can hunt you down like a vindictive wasp. You can't hide from this attack either, as this Unite Move reveals all hiding enemies on screen, even the invisible ones. Once Galarian Slowbro has a lock on you, it's lights out, especially if you're a frail Attacker or Speedster.

Now, by itself, Toxic Bullets will only fire one shot, which deals pitiful damage. But if you have any psychic rounds in your PsyPoison Reserve, you'll automatically unload your entire clip at all targeted enemies. These rounds are amplified by the Unite Move, dealing increasing damage the more shots the enemy gets hit with, causing the overall damage output to skyrocket. Frail enemies like Attackers and Speedsters can easily be KO'd if you manage to fire 7 bullets with this move.

But that's gonna be the hard part. As you've read thus far, Galarian Slowbro uses its PsyPoison Reserve for a lot of extra effects, such as combining it with Shell Side Arm or Psyshock for increased damage and boons. As such, in order to stay on top of the 'high damage' game, it needs to constantly fill and expend its PsyPoison Reserve throughout the fight. Realistically speaking, when are you gonna have a fully loaded holster at the same time your Unite Move is available?

This is where the 'skill' comes into play when it comes to using Toxic Bullets. The most optimal way to get the most damage with this Unite Move is to start a team fight with a full PsyPoison Reserve, preferably while boosted with Psych Up or an X Attack. But good players can manage with half or even none of their psychic rounds in their back pocket, as they can generate rounds midfight with Quick Draw, Psyshock, Psych Up, or even with aggressive mashing of the basic attack button. You also maintain an offensive presence by constantly threatening high damage and hindrances with smart and timely uses of your moves, which is how an Attacker is supposed to work.

However you handle it, stand your ground. Don't start pointless fights, but be prepared to finish them.

Achievements

Max out your PsyPoison Reserve and unload it 8 times in one battle.

Because of how integral the PsyPoison Reserve is to your damage output, the Achievement reflects that by challenging the player to load it fully and unloading it multiple times in one game.

And for good reason, as you get so much out of timely shooting with your moves. From extra damage to extra stuns, to abusing your buffs and keeping your HP full with your recovery effects, being able to master the PsyPoison Reserve means mastering Galarian Slowbro as a pokemon.

I've already gone on long enough about this unique mechanic, so let's wrap up this post.

Holowear

Normal Slowbro has been in the game since launch, as such, its wardrobe of Holowear is a very impressive collection of style and application. However, Galarian Slowbro has a different style when it comes to clothing, due to its higher power level. Thus, we'll need to tailor the Holowear to not only highlight Galarian Slowbro's uniqueness, but also for how different it is from its Kantonian cousin.

To start, Western Style Holowear is an easy enough suit to put on, with a cowboy hat, leather vest, scruffy cowl, and rugged belt to make Galarian Slowbro look like a true gunslinger. Next, Summer Style Holowear gives it some diving goggles, water wings, an inner tube, and a plastic water gun to inspire some splash and fun in the sun. Wizard Style Holowear gives Galarian Slowbro a big conical hat and a starry cloak and maybe some extra flair effects for moving and attacking. With Punk Style Holowear, Galarian Slowbro gets a spiky black leather jacket, spiky bracelets, and a super spiky wig on its head to look more intimidating. Lastly, Painter Style Holowear gives it a beret, a long white dress shirt, and paint cans dangling from its tail, all the while Galarian Slowbro is covered in paint splatters on its body and clothing, all holographic, of course.

You'd think having a gun stuck to your hand would limit the career choices of Galarian Slowbro, but there are plenty of ways to utilize the ability to shoot poison from your hand, as it turns out.

Strategy

Because of its unique mechanic, the PsyPoison Reserve, Galarian Slowbro's most important button would be the basic attack button. Much like Cinderace and Alolan Ninetales, optimizing your damage output means learning how to get the most out of the A or B Button (or just the basic attack button if you're playing on Mobile...).

The easy answer might be to just stack up basic attack boosters like Rapid Fire Scarf or the Muscle Band, but keep in mind that Galarian Slowbro is a Special Attacker, so the Attack boosts would be wasted. Not only that, depending solely on the basic attack button is a very slow way to fill the PsyPoison Reserve. You'll need to utilize Quick Draw and its Moves to not only build up psychic rounds, but also to recycle them.

First off, Psyshock grants you a psychic round when you use the move to KO an enemy, and this effect carries over to the PsyPoison Reserve when you unload it on an enemy. Up against frail Attackers and Speedsters, you'll be loading and unloading like the white painted curb of an airport. There are diminishing returns with this effect, though, as you can never fully reload your PsyPoison Reserve off of just KO's. I'm not saying you can't get a 5 KO streak with this move, but 6 is greater than 5, you know?

Psych Up is the easiest and quickest way to load multiple rounds of your PsyPoison Reserve, but it requires a visible target to lock and load with. It's a fair trade, though, as loading up with Psych Up means there are enemies immediately within range to engage with. It also means you have a great opportunity to generate psychic rounds through Quick Draw or your basic attack, though it requires you to avoid getting KO'd yourself.

Speaking of Quick Draw, since any lucky attack will grant you a psychic round, you can quickly power up if you can hit enemies while they're aiming their moves. Some Moves are more telegraphed than others, like Decidueye's Spirit Shackle or Blaziken's Overheat, but others will require intuition and battle experience and maybe an itchy trigger finger to activate. Quite frankly, if you know what move the enemy can use and when they'll use it, you'll master Quick Draw and can end any encounter with a fully loaded PsyPoison Reserve.

So, what is the opposing team supposed to do? Well, not get hit for one. I'm not being facetious, that is a genuine way of dealing with Galarian Slowbro. Look, the most dangerous attack in its toolkit is a fully loaded PsyPoison Reserve, but it can only use that if it lands a hit with either Shell Side Arm or Psyshock. It can fix this by using Psychic, but the move along with Psych Up require targets to be within range and visible for the attacks to connect. Taking Galarian Slowbro by surprise is a lot easier to do than handling Regular Slowbro, as Galarian Slowbro has the stats of a mildly bulky Attacker. It's also a lot easier to take on with an exhausted PsyPoison Reserve, so if a Defender or bulky All-Rounder can draw its initial fire, the rest of the team can have an easier time taking care of it.

Galarian Slowbro gets stronger as the fight drags on, but it can also be overwhelmed with debuffs and hindrances, just like any other Attacker. A gunman is at their weakest when they need to reload, so when the opportunity presents itself, rush in.

And that's Galarian Slowbro for Pokemon Unite! I would love it if they added more alternative forms of pokemon that are already in the roster, especially cool ones like the ones from Hisui.

You might be thinking, why isn't Galarian Slowbro a part of a duo evolution with Galarian Slowking? Well, ideally I'd like for a possible team of Slowbro, Slowking, and the Galarian Duo to come to Pokemon Unite, maybe even throw in a Cloyster. To that end, I think Galarian Slowbro and Galarian Slowking should be separate licenses. If you disagree, I'd love to hear your ideas (because I don't know how that split license would work...).

That'll be it from me. We've got a fan favorite coming next week, hailing all the way from Sinnoh. You don't wanna miss it!

#Galarian Slowbro #Galarian Slowpoke #Pokemon Unite

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maglors-anion-gap · 1 year

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15, 22, 32

-@outofangband

[from this ask game]

15. How do you write smut scenes? Do you get very visual or detailed? How important is it to be realistic?

In the technical sense, I outline smut scenes the way I outline most scenes: I start with my brainstorm outline, which is very basic physical blocking, very plain subject verb object style. Then I add emotional indicators. Then I add dialogue. Then I go back and edit for all of the good and juicy bits, figurative or otherwise evocative language etc. I workshop the grammar a little bit, vary things up a bit. I like to pick an author to ape, see how close I can get to their pastiche. You've read it already ;) but my MSV fic is coming out tomorrow and I tried to mimic cormac mccarthy (all the pretty horses) - I don't think I super succeeded, but it was a fun exercise and I like what I produced.

I'm getting better at being detailed. In general I have an issue writing anything lengthy, but as I get more comfortable with writing I get more comfortable with this too. And I have a certain amount of stylistic liberty with fic that I wouldn't have with original fiction because fan communities are pretty chill about viewing erotica as a valid means for communicating themes. I'm not a big fan of erotica that is very physical/visual to the point that it's not detailed in other ways? I'm very big on, like, the atmosphere and character introspection, openness or reticence between characters, what is communicated between the character and reader, or narrator and reader. I like to include those sorts of details, and physical details that are metaphorical or fantastical. I spent a lot of time thinking about horses during the aforementioned MSV fic, and wildness and skittishness and beauty like that, the equine and the erotic etc etc.

Paradoxically, I like to be realistic but I love to write things that aren't realistic. Like, there's a certain amount of eroticism to the fantastical and the unachievable, you know? People don't have inflation kinks because they think it's attainable, it's just hot (to them, ig). I kind of just expect people to go into the scene with good faith like "is this hot? then it's good." Tiresomely picking apart the realism of a scene is boring to me and annoying. Don't yuck other people's yum. Otoh I definitely draw from real life; one of the best things I read recently was a treatise on gay sex written by a gay guy who likes reading gay fanfiction. It was kind of validating to hear him say "no you don't need three fingers... or any fingers... I don't know where people got this idea," because I was like "gotta include the fingers, or people will accuse me of being a Fake Gay Guy and an Irresponsible Fetishist" (people love saying this about trans men online) - when like. yeah ymmv but many ppl really don't need the fingers.

22. Are there certain types of writing you won’t do? (style, pov, genre, tropes, etc)

Hmm so I really hate the hard and fast "you should never do X" rules. The general rule I operate on is that anything is valid if you can do it really really well. Make that rule your bitch. I just don't labor under the delusion that I'm good at everything, and because this is a fannish pursuit of mine I don't spend energy honing the styles that I don't enjoy all that much. So that said, I don't do first person POV. I dislike writing first person POV for the same reason I don't enjoy reading first person POV or reader insert fic - I don't want to be in the story, I am not there, I am a voyeur. Is this dysphoria? Is this a desire to dissociate (?) completely into the character themself? Sure. I don't write second person, but as much as some people hate it, this is actually less off-putting to me than first person, and there are a couple writers who have successfully broken the mold and done the impossible - really good second person pov fic. Maybe I like it better because it has the same vibe as those narrator monologues from the Iliad or Shakespear - "speak, oh muse…" etc etc. I'm not sure why. It's the "being ordered around" of it all - it's your POV but it's being dictated to you, you're being steered around by the narrative, you're a puppet not a person (no, don't do anything freudian with that, aha). I won't say there's a trope I won't do, but I'm not a fan of high school, and I rarely do modern AUs. I'm very confused why fanfiction.net had a special genre tag for "westerns."

32. Name three of your favorite fanfic writers.

You know this is a really difficult question, right? And there are zero right answers? There are less fraught questions posed by mothers in law. (ily)

Actually, you're one of them! You have no idea how often I refer back to your ecology master lists! You really occupy this niche that no one else is; no one is doing the secondborn-posting like you are! except maybe user Elwing, so I'm gonna say the two of you are tied for "my favorite secondborn writers in the fandom."

Something really cool I saw recently was in a fic Skyeventide wrote, using a ton of footnotes? It was like, part fic, part research paper, there were notes all over the place explaining linguistic etymology and settings and stuff like it was an in-world text? I'm probably not remembering this quite right, and this is not really sounding super flattering, I promise that it is. I love that sort of style and it was really cool to read because my favorite thing is to read annotated books (shakespear, jane eyre, translations of non-english texts) where I can flip back and forth and read the commentary and exposition as I go through the book. What is lost in the translation, or changed in the translation, or what is unique about this idiom and what can we learn from that, what are the double meanings, what is the impact on the tone, etc etc. There was just a lot of effort put into it and it was really cool. Also, separate fic (i think), convinced me that eol and curufin hooked up once and yes. i'll integrate that into my worldview.

person number three is i-am-a-lonely-visitor because no one else is doing trans porn, trans tears, and trans love like i-a-a-l-v. Singlehandedly gotten me on the trans man celebrian bandwagon. singing your praises kissing your feet etc etc.

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normal-horoscopes · 3 years

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Deconstructing The Psychic Self Defense Personal Training Manual by Maricia L Pickands

Chapter 1: Why Learn to Defend Yourself Psychically?

“Like it or not, you must recognize the world you live in is not always safe, physically or spiritually.”

Tread carefully dear reader, the cloak of Lady Night hides all manor of danger. We cannot know the extent of the world beyond, but fear not! For every sword, there is a shield, for every Goliath, there is a David, for every monster, there is a monster hunter. In this case, that hunter is a mom from Maine named Maricia.

The Psychic Self Defense Personal Training Manual is a humble thing. Maricia L. Pickands is not here to waste our time with rambling essays on higher mysteries. Her prose is terse, effective, purposeful. She is here to teach us how to stay safe.

The preface begins by laying out the metaphysics we are working with. This section is a strong start. The author lays the foundation upon which the text shall be built. We’ve got all our standard new-age building blocks: The Aura, The Third Eye, and The Platonic Elements.

Now, I am not a fan of using terms like The Third Eye in a western esoteric context, and here is a much longer conversation to be had about the new-age and Orientalism, but delving into that would make this review much longer than it needs to be. For our purposes, there are two important things to remember: New-Age occultism steals a lot from Dharmic religions, and Pickands is sticking to the basics of New-Age occultism.

We open the door to chapter 1, immediately faced with an “Aura Stretching Exercise.” Delightful. Sure. Why not? From a purely occult perspective, this is actually a solid opening. Magic is a skill like anything else, it must be practiced for a proper understanding, so why not ground the ideas in the language of, say, a martial arts class? The exercise itself is consistent with the metaphysics laid out earlier. It involves a pair of partners using gestures and mental chanting to practice forming and severing a connection between auras. Pickands herself has a background in martial arts, and her description of the exercise is reminiscent of Tai Chi. A second form of the exercise practices a sort of basic blocking technique with similar gestures and chanting. All that said, the idea that you can sprain your aura is very silly.

“But C.T!” I hear you cry, “Why would I need to block psychic attacks? Who will be raining blows upon my supple aura, intent on stealing my precious life energy?”

Why gentle reader, who else but psychic vampires? “I’m sure you know someone who can make you tired simply by being around and talking at you for more than five minutes. We all have this type of acquaintance or relative in our lives. Knowingly or not, this variety of individual is a psychic vampire!”

Now dear reader, you may be surprised to learn, but annoying people are not actively sapping your life energy and you do not need to learn how to psychic Street Fighter parry them.

Chapter 2: The Basics of Self Defense

This chapter begins with a description of how one's psychic abilities develop. The author draws a portrait of an initiate six months into daily practice. Minor shifts in their mental state cause noticeable differences in physical strength, auras are more apparent and easy to manipulate due to constant visualization, they have increased ability to manipulate others, but due to a raw and untrained psychic ability, can also be more easily manipulated by others. This marks the point where the initiate is ready for additional exercises which the author details. Now, I am calling them exercises, because that is what the author calls them, but let's not kid ourselves here. These are spells.

We add some new spells to the initiates kit:

Aura Siphon: Temporarily steal a chunk of an opponent's aura to use the energy against them.

Grounding: Stationary breathing meditation to regenerate and repair the aura.

Heavy Aura Shield: A strong but slow spell to defend against serious attacks

Instant Aura Shield: A fast but low-energy spell-parry.

Dispel: Cleanse the aura of negative energy it may have accumulated.

Finally, we have a spell called the Middle Pillar Exercise. A spell invented by the occultist Israel Regardie. This will require a bit of an aside.

Regardie was born in 1907 to an Orthodox Jewish family, but did not share his family's religious devotion. He was an influential addition to the ranks of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and perhaps the worst possible choice to serve as personal secretary to noted antisemite Aliester Crowley. Regardie became disillusioned with occultism after a decade and change of a professional love-hate relationship with Crowley, later calling him a “contemptible bitch.”

That said, during his time with the Golden Dawn, Regardie was an influential and widely respected member. He was considered a whiz with ritual design, and many of the rituals central to the Golden Dawn are his work. Work that is very Jewish.

There is a deeper conversation to be had here about the appropriateness of “Hermetic Qabalah,” but as a non-Jewish occultist, it is not a conversation I can lead. From my understanding of the history, this is not a practice I can recommend, and I would encourage anyone interested in the topic to speak to a Jewish practitioner.

Chapter 3: Survival Training vs Psychic Self Defense

“As I have mentioned before, human beings have both physical and spiritual bodies. Both types of bodies must be cared for, since they obviously affect each other.”

Credit where credit is due, this is a clear and concise description of the metaphysics at hand, many authors get lost trying to describe the relationship between body, mind, and soul, but this lays out a solid foundation. There is you, your meat body, and your spirit body.

This is the point in which Pickands introduces the concept of divinity: “Psychic self-defense does not insure the spiritual survival of your true self. It may, in fact, be dangerous even to study the more advanced technical aspects of the discipline before a meaningful working relationship with Divinity has been established.”

While it is always nice to see an occult author urging caution, this quote exposes what I would call a critical flaw. A “relationship with Divinity,” as Pickands writes, is not necessary for understanding the occult. Her reasoning becomes clear as she elaborates an all-too-familiar view of “Divinity.”

“Most Spiritual Traditions have two things in common. The first is a belief in some Supreme Being(s) who is (are) the source of our existence. The second is a stern warning to anyone who would dare establish a true relationship with that Divinity. I have listed a few of these warnings below.

“Narrow and rough is the road that leads to life (Jesus).”

“The way is narrow, as narrow as a razor’s edge (Hindu Scripture).”

“No mere mortal may behold the greatest glory of the Holy Countenance and live (Western Inner Tradition).””

To start, Buddhism has no Supreme Being, and no creation myth. Greco-Roman mythology has a creation myth, but I am unsure if Chaos could be considered a Supreme Being in the sense that Pickands intends.

The first quote is Matthew 7:14. The footnote for the second citation reads “I cannot remember where this comes from.” I will say I admire the author’s honesty. The quote is originally from the Katha Upanshiad, a Hindu text. The third quote comes from William G. Gray’s The Rite of Light, another Golden Dawn contemporary of Crowley, more on Gray later.

From here, the author stresses the importance of “walking the razors edge” which she essentially defines as “maintaining a balance between ones ordinary and spiritual lives.” Which isn’t quite what those earlier quotes were trying to say, but hey, balance is good. There is absolutely a history of people becoming interested in the occult, only to descend into woo and snake oil. If this can keep people from doing that, more power to them.

This chapter loses focus a bit. Pickands tries to combine too many dense concepts at once, calling on central ideas from several world religions, and using them as pillars for a rickety bridge of “The Spiritual Journey.” I think I see what she is going for. Pickands attempts to give the text some weight by rooting it in deeper occultism, but the tonal shift is a bit jarring, and the reader gets lost in the reeds.

Chapter 4: Signs of Psychic Disturbance and Psychic First Aid

- A feeling of weight pressing down on your chest while you're asleep or dreaming.

- A continuous and intensifying sense of oppression or fear. (Note: Those who are sensitive will feel this sensation before anything actually goes wrong. Consider it as part of your intuitive “Early Warning System.”)

- Nervous exhaustion or wasting away to “skin and bone” when there is no observable physical cause or disease process.

- Being terrified of going to sleep.

- Dreaming of fighting with something and waking up with bruises in all the “right” places. (This is known as the Phenomenon of Repercussion.)

- Obnoxious odors that come and go with no apparent physical cause. (These odors will be noticed by anyone who is around when they are present. These are not the phantom odors associated with some kinds of psychosis.)

- Seeing odd footprints that come from no particular place and stop with no destination.

- Inexplicable outbreaks of fire. (This is often associated with Elemental activity.)

- Poltergeist Activity.

- Inexplicable precipitation of slime or powdery substances.

If you’ve experienced any of these symptoms in the last 24 hours, you may be experiencing the effects of Psychic Attack, according to the author. According to me, you should talk to a medical professional.

Anxiety is not a “Magical Early Warning System,” nervous exhaustion and weight loss are symptoms of extreme stress. Fear of sleeping (Somnophobia) is a common symptom of PTSD. Waking up with bruises is something to talk to a doctor about, phantom smells can be associated with psychosis but sometimes things just smell weird. If things keep catching fire it's probably due to an OSHA fire code violation. Poltergeist activity can have numerous ordinary explanations, and please make sure that inexplicable showers of slime are not toxic mold. But this only covers the anatomy of psychic injury, what about Psychic first aid?

According to Pickands, the psychic first-aid kit should contain several things. Allow me to paraphrase:

Agate (banded) - Charges recover health

Adventurine - Charges heal perception debuffs

Bloodstone - Charges temporarily buff STR and max HP

Carnelian - Charges heal the Depression debuff

Basil - Consumption temporarily gives advantage on speech skill checks.

Blueberry - Consumption temporarily increases physical and magical DEF.

Carnations - AoE Health and Magic regen when equipped.

Chapter 5: The Best Defense is a Good Offense

“Those of us who are called to serve as Guardians of the Light within this world need to know how to protect ourselves, our loved ones, and those who come to us in need of help. Because of our vocation, we must seek training beyond what is necessary for the average person who has just begun to deal with the invisible forces and forms which affect their lives.”

This section appeals to a need. A deep, powerful, powerful, and very human desire. Indeed, like the biological drives towards food, shelter, sleep, and companionship, there was a need set in the very bones of every weird teenager in the 1980s who later became interested in the occult: Wanting To Be A Paladin. And who among us could judge them? Not I, dear reader, and not you. For was it not Aristotle who said those immortal words of wisdom: “Paladins are objectively rad as hell.”

The appeal of the paladin is universal. So universal, that the idea appealed to one Wm. G. Grey, whose work Pickands repeats in this text. Grey is a less controversial figure than Regardie, but not for a good reason. All one needs to know about Wm G. Grey is that he was white, and founded a magical group called the Sangreal Society in South Africa in 1980.

The rest of the review is on my patreon

#long post #Occult Book Reviews #Book Reviews

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liquinn · 2 years

Photo

heres everybody who has horns! just because

though im sure everybody has different horn hc’s for the dsmp cast, like ranboo having horn ect.

who from the dsmp cast do YOU think has horns?

also heres my mspainting process under the cut just for shits and giggles

1) first i gather up pre-existing designs i already have and then references for canon designs. (this is also where you come up with your colour palette, at least it is for me, i decided to use a mostly monochromatic one, with slight pops of colour from the pre-existing colours in the palette.((all pre-existing art is made by me btw! i DO sometimes use other peoples art as references for style ideas, though often enough i like my own designs well by themselves!(((the schlatt + tubbo drawing is actually all the way from january of 2021!))

2) then comes the beta sketching! this is where you come up with composition for the piece and make notes for later on in the drawing process. think of this step more as thumbnail sketching, youre here to make the VAGUEST and the most CLEAREST messy sketch possible. i also like using a very light sketching colour, because it shows up (because of the lack of layers) when you start to make your clean sketch on top. (and you COULD use a normal pixel brush for this step and then just draw in black over top with the pixel brush again and then use the black and white trick to erase the sketch, but this is easier for me)

3) now its time to make your alpha sketch! this is where you start to define shapes, and the faces! now is also time for details that you wanna keep track of like buttons and fingers

4) then its time for the colours! i forgot to copy the drawing before i started to clean up the colours with lineart, but captainpuffy jschlatt and tubbo are all still all without lineart! this is also where you wanna fine tweaking your drawing, like for example making puffy taller (she looked a bit too squished!) and all that. i just made a quick copy of the puffy drawing and gave her longer legs, as well as cleaning up her legs.

5) then its lineart time! add all the details you missed and remember to look back at your references to see if you want to add anything! (i added tubbos scars here, as well as eryns devil horn, and schlatts legs lmao. i forgor the legs before this) technically, you can literally change literally anything at literally at anytime. mspaints flexible like that. though if the lack of layers scares you, i recommend making copies of the pieces of the drawing you want to fix or start over on! because of how bad the undo redo mechanics are, i just recommend the copy strategy, as that way you dont loose any progress on having to erase something if you dont like it.

this is what my canvas looks like actually! i work on a pretty big canvas, which comes in handy when you need to move stuff around, and wanna keep your references close by for guidance

last tips:

+ i recommend making a physical colour palette on the canvas itself, as the little colour palette youre given only fits a certain amount of colours on it. (i usually have it either right next to my drawing, or with the refrences corner)

+ i recommend having very big canvas settings! you can always trim and shuffle stuff around if you want to, but the bigger the canvas the better for your process so nothing gets interrupted by bumping into the edges of the border (though beware of saving anything bigger than 5000 x 5000! you might not be able to open it ever again...)

+ putting in your references on your canvas firsts helps a lot with the blank space fear! so its a lot easier to start doodling if theres already stuff on the page.

+ when youre moving stuff around on the selection tool, i recommend using the transparency setting thing, that makes it so that the colour of your background is transparent instead of one solid piece youre moving around. helps a lot!

+ i recommend picking one singular background colour to work with to make things easier, i like using the plain white colour because it comes automatically, but you can actually pick literally any colour you like! you can of course change it at any time, but its a bit harder to change the background colour later on

#dsmp #dream smp #captain puffy #jschlatt #tubbo #eryn dsmp #callahan #dsmp fanart #liquidraws #my art #mspaint #mspaint process #tutorial #basucally a tutorial i mean

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onceupon · 3 years

Text

London Boy - Part 4: Just friends

summary: You wake up to find Rafe Cameron in your bed. Even though nothing happened, you’re still left trying to make sense of it all.

pairing: Rafe x reader (slowburn)

warnings: swearing, drinking

word count: 5k

a/n: thank you so much to all of you who have been reading along <333 sorry in advance if you want this to progress faster haha, it simply must be this slow, sorry I don't make the rules (even tho I do lol). Not canon Rafe!!

masterlist

Your eyes slowly flutter open as the early morning rays wake you up. You didn’t even remember falling asleep. As you slowly gain consciousness you’re startled by the weight of Rafe’s arm draped across your body. What the hell? When did that happen? He spent the night in your bed?

Your mind races at a million miles an hour as you slowly slip out from under his hold. You were careful not to wake him up, not wanting to face any awkwardness. You throw on fresh clothes and grab your backpack, desperate to make your escape. You had wanted to get to school early today to work on some homework anyways, never before so eager to trade in the comfort of your bed for the library.

After a quick pit stop to pick up a coffee and a croissant, you swing the heavy wooden doors open. You liked campus at this hour, the morning light still soft, the air crisp, and the atmosphere silent. As you scan your eyes for a spot to sit, you notice the unmistakable sight of fluffy brown hair hunched over a table.

“Liam?” your whisper. “What the hell are doing here?”

That classic cheeky grin spreads across his face as he looks up to find you standing in front of him. “I go here, Y/n. Forget already?”

You roll your eyes, “I just didn’t know you were the studious type.”

“Not gonna lie to you babe, I’m not. But Rogers is already all the way up my ass over this class, and I’m not letting that prick hold me back a year.”

You pull out the chair across from him and go to sit down, spreading your books out on the table.

“Who said you could sit with?” he asks, and you shoot him a look. You’re not in the mood. “Geez alright, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed… you good Y/n?” he slows, taking in your disheveled appearance. You hadn’t so much as brushed your hair.

“Can you promise not to tell anyone,” you stare dead into his eyes.

“On my life,” he extends his pinky, and you accept.

“Rafe… slept over last night…”

“Oh shit!” he exclaims, and your eyes widen at his echoing voice.

“Not like that,” you hiss, not wanting to draw anymore attention to the two of you. “Nothing happened… like he just came over to watch a show and then we talked for a while and just accidentally… fell asleep. I panicked when I woke up and realized he was still in my bed so I ran out of there as fast as I could and now…. well now I’m here.” You nervously chug your coffee, heart racing.

“So he hung out with you all night and didn’t make a move?”

You nod, nervously awaiting his analysis as you take a bite of your croissant.

“Damn, boy must really like you,” he muses.

“What? Definitely not,” you scoff.

“Y/n, let me tell you a little something about guys. If we really like you, we’re gonna make the time to hang out with you, no matter what. The fact that he’s coming over your room to watch a show and hanging out with you until he physically can’t stay awake - I mean I can’t make it any more obvious to you.”

“I don’t know I just don’t think so… You don’t know Rafe like that, he’s a total player back home. He can pull any girl he wants, so if he liked me like that he would’ve done something by now. This is probably how he is with all his friends and I’m just reading too much into it. I’m sure Lily Colts will be in his bed soon enough,” you mumble. That last part stings in particular, you had already thought it, but saying it out loud made you feel… icky.

“I may not know Rafe like that, but I know guys like him. I am guys like him. He likes you Y/n. So what if he pulls a lot of chicks, he doesn’t actually care about them. But he cares about you, probably can’t even understand why, and now it’s like bam Uno reverse. He can’t pull the cards he normally does, and now you’ve got him confused and he doesn’t know what to do. Man’s down bad. Give him time though, he’ll come around,” he explains to you calmly, stealing your coffee cup from you and taking a sip.

“Honestly can I just start paying you to figure my life out for me. You make everything seem so simple.”

“Because it is simple. You insist on complicating it. But I know how you could pay me,” he adds with a wink and you shoot him a glare. You know he’s just joking (partially), he loves pushing your buttons.

“Well whatever. I’ll believe it when I see it,” you resign on the Rafe matter. You wanted to believe what Liam was saying but it didn’t quite make sense to you. You were only going to drive yourself crazy trying to read between lines that you weren’t sure existed. Rafe was just used to situations like this with girls. To him last night was probably no big deal. It was to you though. You would never let ‘just a friend’ stay over like that, with his arm around you no less. But Rafe didn’t need to know that, you decide.

—-

You manage to avoid Rafe all day, not having any classes with him on Friday’s. As soon as your last class is over, you sprint home, relieved when you’re the first back at the flat and can quickly slip into your room undetected. You set down your bag and sit on the edge of your bed. Your hand slowly runs over your comforter, still ruffled from where Rafe had been laying the night before. The indent of his head is still on your pillow; you can almost smell the scent of him lingering in your room and hear the sound of his soft whispers. You wonder what his first thoughts were when he woke up in your bed alone - was he confused? Embarrassed? He probably thought nothing of it at all. You can just picture him casually getting up with a stretch, like it’s the start of any typical day.

You slip into the shower and let the water wash over your body. It’s warm and soothing, and it’s reminding you of Rafe laying next to you, of his arm wrapped around you. God if there was only a way to shut your brain off once in a while. As much as you tried to suppress it, there had been a tiny part of you that was happy to have woken up in his embrace, giddy like a school girl with a crush. You’d always wondered how a moment like that would feel, or how a moment like that with him would feel. You had conveniently failed to mention the “arm” detail to Liam, maybe because in the back of your mind you knew it would only help prove his theory right.

When you make your way back to your room, your phone buzzes and the Royal Fam 🇬🇧🇺🇸 group chat appears.

Olivia: who wants to go out tonight 😈

Topper: me and Rafe have to be up early tmrw for soccer - rain check on this one ladies

Olivia: :(

Olivia: girls night out??

Millie: you know I’m there!

You’re a little bummed that Rafe won’t be there tonight. But a girls night sounds like just what you need to get him off your mind.

Y/n: I’m in :)

Not even a few minutes later Olivia and Millie are barging into your room, causing you to let out a startled yelp.

“My god, heard of knocking,” you exhale with your hand coming to your chest. Your statement falls on death ears.

“Which jeans with this top,” Olivia asks, holding the clothing items against her body.

“Should I curl or straighten my hair with this,” Millie follows, holding her outfit up.

“Uhh,” your mind scrambles, “those jeans Liv. And straight, Mills,” you reply, shocked by your own decidedness. “But now you guys have to help me, I have no clue what to wear.”

“Say less,” Olivia flashes a smile.

Within minutes they tear through your closet, picking out your outfit. Things were always much more clear with a fresh set of eyes. The three of you discuss the night’s logistics before making your way to the kitchen - couldn’t go drinking on an empty stomach. Rafe and Topper are already there, and you try your best to act natural even though your stomach ties itself in a knot the moment you catch a glimpse of his face. You haven’t seen him since you ran out this morning.

“Uh hey I’m gonna run to Sainsbury’s real quick, I wanna get a chaser, anyone need anything,” you ask, avoiding eye contact with Rafe. Your nerves get the best of you and in terms of fight or flight, you were ready to flee.

“Hey wait I’ll come with you. Gotta pick something up for dinner,” Rafe stands grabbing his jacket, and before you can interject, he’s leading the way down the hall and out your shared flat.

“So what are you chasing tonight?��

“What?” you ask startled, his question pulling you back to reality. Your mind had been running in a loop, trying to read him and the thoughts in his head. You wished now more than ever that you knew what Rafe was like behind closed doors back home, so you could somehow make sense of it all.

He chuckles at you, lost in your own world. “You said you needed a chaser?” Those intimidating blue eyes have found their way to yours again and you hastily look away, focusing in front of you instead.

“Oh yeah- uh just for the vodka,” you laugh nervously.

“Basic,” he mocks. You scoff in surprise and lightly hit him on the chest as the laughter leaves your lips. He’s sporting a shit-eating grin, having successfully egged you on.

“You’re funny if you think I’m gonna do shots of whiskey before going to a club.”

“Well you do owe me one…” he says.

“Oh so he remembers?” you reply, amused.

“Of course,” he states so calm and so sure. Your head swirls at that, his cool confidence making you melt. The automatic doors slide open in front of you, fluorescent lights stealing your attention from the boy you were finding dangerously more attractive by the second.

“I thought we’re supposed to take it together? But someone’s being lame and not coming out tonight,” you say sarcastically, playing it as cool as you can manage. Rafe’s confidence seemed to come naturally, but you were more of a fake-it-till-you-make-it kind of gal.

“Hey you know I have soccer,” he defends. The Kook Prince was not one to turn down a party without cause.

“Excuses excuses,” you shake your head.

“Actually, speaking of soccer, you uh- you and the girls should come tomorrow. If you’re not doing anything. Or not too hungover I should say. Game’s at 12.”

“Can’t make any promises Cameron, but we’ll see,” you smile, earning a satisfied smile from him in return.

You make your way to the frozen food aisle, Rafe explaining to you how they call a soccer field a football pitch here, as you laugh at him grabbing 5 frozen pizzas (dinner solved for the next week, of course). You ask him which chaser you should pick. He points out a cola, so naturally you decide to get blackberry seltzer water, Rafe twisting his face in disgust (who would voluntarily drink that tv static). You always felt so nervous at first, to be in Rafe’s presence, but all it ever took was a few minutes for you to completely relax around him. He was intimidating, yet inviting. Mysterious, yet open. He was somehow the cause of your anxious nerves and yet the source of your comfort. The fear of facing Rafe after running out this morning had paralyzed your thoughts all day, and now you could hardly remember why. He hadn’t mentioned it at all, as if nothing happened. His normalcy confirmed for you that him sleeping over was in fact no big deal, and you almost want to laugh at yourself for how much you had worked it up in your head. You two were just friends, and perhaps Rafe was used to being… a friendlier friend than what you were used to. But that was okay, you could learn to be friendlier too.

—-

Rafe and Topper had decided to accompany you guys in the kitchen as you pregamed. They slowly sipped beers as you, Millie, and Olivia pounded back shots, laughing at the way you guys got progressively drunker and progressively louder before finally heading out. And much to your surprise, the boys were still seated in the same spot hours later, when the three of you stumble back into the flat, McDonalds in hand.

“Oh look who’s still up,” Olivia slurs, taking a bite of her cheeseburger.

“We can’t go out, we have soccer,” Millie mocks, almost falling to the floor as she trips over her heel, Topper and Rafe not making any effort to hide their clear amusement.

“Fun night huh?” Topper quirks his brow.

“The funnest,” Millie holds her head high, sinking down against the wall until she’s sat on the floor. You had made a beeline for the dining room table, silently admiring your chicken nuggets. In that moment, they were the best thing you had ever tasted.

“I want Jake,” Olivia pouts, and before anyone can say a word she’s turned on her heel, burger in hand, off to crawl into her boyfriend’s bed.

“Alright you drunk, let’s get you to bed,” Topper laughs, scooping an incoherent Millie up to her feet by her elbows.

“M’not drunk,” Millie protests, even though she’s leaning her full body weight against Topper who sarcastically nods at her, escorting her down the hallway. Rafe sits on the couch, silently playing with the cards in his hand again, not the least bit uncomfortable with sharing your company in silence.

“I’m mad at you,” you say matter of factly, taking a bite of a french fry. At this point, the alcohol is doing the talking.

“Mad at me?” Rafe stops shuffling the cards and raises his head to look at you, intrigued.

“Yeah because you didn’t come to the club,” you furrow your brows, chucking a fry at him. He catches it instantly, laughing to himself with a shake of his head.

“Don’t worry I saw all your guys’ snaps, I feel like I was practically there.”

“That’s not the same,” you frown, throwing another fry which he catches yet again.

“I’ll try to be there next time,” he laughs.

“That’s better I guess,” you grumble, eating another chicken nugget. The room grows quiet, Rafe training his attention back to the cards.

“When are we watching the next episode Cameron,” you break the silence, chucking another fry. He barely has to look up to catch your latest throw, shaking his head with a chuckle. He puts the cards down and makes his way over to the dining table, standing right above you now.

“Come on, time for you to go to bed,” he beckons you toward him with his arm, to which you only furrow your brows in indignation.

“I’m not done with my food,” you protest.

“Now you are,” he says, grabbing your last fry and finishing it with one bite. “Now c’mon.” You reluctantly grab onto his extended arm to help you get up. You walk down the hall together and he opens your door for you, letting you in as he leans against the frame. You immediately fall back and collapse on to your bed with a gasp, you didn’t remember it feeling so soft when you were sober.

“Goodnight L/n,” Rafe laughs, staring down at you.

“Goodnight Rafe,” you mumble, seconds away from passing out. He smiles to himself at the sight of you still in the outfit and shoes you had been out in, bent in surely the most uncomfortable position possible, legs half way off the bed, yet somehow already asleep. He’s about to head back to his room, but he hesitates, turning back to you with a sigh. As slowly and quietly as he can, he pulls your shoes off for you, lifts your legs onto the bed, and covers you in your blanket. And just as quick, he slips out of your room and back into his.

—-

You wake up the next morning, letting out a groan when you realize you’re still in the outfit you had worn clubbing. Your head dully aches and your throat is desert dry so you force yourself up and to the kitchen. When you see the aftermath of McDonald’s containers on the table, vague memories start flooding your brain in horror. You couldn’t have… could you? Did you actually throw french fries at him? You close your eyes and slowly run your hand over your face in realization. Great, you think to yourself, Rafe probably thinks you’re an annoying idiot. Good grief.

You hear the door of the flat opening and Olivia appears in the kitchen, holding a plate of breakfast sandwiches, your mouth watering at the sight.

“Thank the lovely lads in apartment 4E,” she laughs, placing them on the table. “Oh god, we went hard last night didn’t we,” she says, taking in the sight of the flat.

“A little too hard…” you remark.

“No such thing, darling! Now eat up and get dressed, we’ve got a match to catch,” she declares before disappearing down the hall where you can hear muffled groans of Millie being reluctantly dragged out of her bed. You sigh and sink down into a chair, grabbing a sandwich and taking a bite. Heaven. You make a mental note to thank Jake for his chef skills. You had completely forgotten that you and the girls were supposed to go watch Rafe and Topper’s match today. Your worries about having to face Rafe yesterday had been quick to melt away, but today they were back with a new vengeance.

—-

“Okay no one wander off when we get there. Y/n, fair warning, these games get… rowdy,” Millie says, as the three of you walk toward the field, arms linked.

“Things get pretty crazy at Kildare too,” you laugh, “so yeah, don’t fucking let me out of your sight.”

The three of you shake off your fits of laughter as you stumble toward the stands, finding a spot amongst the already packed crowd. You’re finally able to take in your surroundings, glancing at the field ahead. The opposing team is warming up on the pitch, clad in red. Westheath’s team is off to the side, the boys stretching and getting ready in their white uniforms. The dirty blonde immediately catches your eye. He’s jumping and jogging in place, headphones in as though he’s tuning out the physical noise around him, and probably the mental noise too. You wonder if he’s listening to one of the songs he showed you the other night.

He pauses his jogging to stretch out his arms, his eyes glazing over the stands, when suddenly they lock with yours. Your cheeks flush pink, embarrassed at having been caught staring, but his face just pulls into a wide grin and he gives you a wave. You wave back, and he does a quick hand motion that everyone does at Kildare games back home. You laugh and do the responding gesture, as he smiles cheekily at you before a teammate comes up to him, pulling his focus away. The exchange was brief, but oddly intimate. There was a whole field and a couple dozen people between you, and yet you two were the only witnesses to the interaction. You smile to yourself, relief in the fact that maybe getting a french fry chucked at him wasn’t enough to make him hate you after all. You wonder briefly if Rafe spends half as much time overanalyzing things the way you do. Liam was right, you do insist on overcomplicating things.

“Hey, earth to Y/n!” Olivia laughs, waving her hand in front of your face. “The game is starting!”

—

The final score flashes on the screen: 4-2, a win for Westheath. The students are going nuts, rushing the field. Olivia and Millie lead the way, pushing through the crowd until you guys reach Rafe and Topper.

“Let’s go boys!!” Olivia yells, jumping up and down with the sea of bodies and beer around you. Rafe and Topper react with equal enthusiasm, pulling each of you in for a hug. You and Rafe are the last to hug, him pulling you in brief but close against his large sweaty body, arms wrapped around you. You don’t even mind the stickiness of the hug, feeling deja vu at the warm feeling of being in his embrace again; a feeling that is foreign yet familiar, one you hadn’t felt before.

“Did you guys see Rafe’s goal in the second half!?” Topper asks, clapping his friend on the back.

“Of course we did, super star!” Millie cheers, giving Rafe a high five as he humbly shakes his head and laughs at his friends. The mental image of his goal was burned in your head, one that your mind would certainly play for you involuntarily over the next coming days.

“Alright we gotta go do some stuff with the team, but everyone’s going to Central Bar later. See you guys there?” Rafe asks.

“You got it,” Olivia replies, and they jog off with quick waves, you meeting those blue eyes in silent acknowledgement once again. It was that gaze that always made the rest of the world seem to disappear while his eyes met yours, making your heart skip a beat. He’s just a friend, you remind yourself. Just a tall, attractive, soccer-playing friend…

—

“Y/n! Liv! We’re doing a round!” Jake calls you and Olivia over to where him and Liam are already at the bar, four shot glasses ordered and lined up.

“On three! One, two-“ Liam chants, as the four of you down the alcohol. Central Bar had been buzzing with what felt like half of Westheath’s student body all day. After the game, you and the girls had gone back to your flat to nap and eat, before meeting up with Jake, Liam, and the rest of their boys to head to the bar. Rafe and Topper were already pretty buzzed when you guys got there, playing a round of table tennis with you before the rest of the soccer team and their other friends pulled their attention away. You couldn’t help the way your whole body tensed when Rafe greeted Lily with a tight hug, humbling you with the confirmation that Rafe’s actions toward you weren’t anything special. You resolved yourself to a night of drinking and dancing your worries away with Liv and Liam instead.

“Alright, round of table tennis? You two against me and Y/n?” Liam challenges.

“Please, I saw Y/n playing before, you guys have nothing on us,” Olivia flashes an evil smile, her competitive side coming out.

“Oh it’s on Liv,” you laugh, as your foursome stakes your claim at the pong table. While Olivia and Jake gather the balls and paddles, you notice Liam grimacing off into the distance. You follow his line of sight, landing on Topper and Millie drunkenly dancing together across the bar, a bit too close for comfort.

“What is she doing with that geezer,” he mumbles.

“Liam! Jealousy is unbecoming of you,” you gasp in mock disbelief.

“I’m not jealous,” he scoffs, and you quickly realize that he actually is, even though you had just been joking. Your jaw falls slack as you put two and two together. Liam and Millie were always by each other’s side, at school, at the pub, when you were all watching a movie at his apartment a few nights ago. He would tease her relentlessly and his own words rang in your ears If we really like you, we’re gonna make the time to hang out with you, no matter what.

“Shut up! Shut up!,” you whisper yell, hand coming to your mouth. “I should have realized this whole time… of course you like Millie! Everything you’ve been telling me you think exists between me and Rafe has actually been about her! She’s your Uno reverse card!” You’re shocking even yourself at these revelations.

“No no no, you can’t use my own words of wisdom against me, that’s not how this works Y/n. So what, maybe I slightly give a shit about Millie? Who cares. Her and I both know that’s never gonna happen. I still stand by everything I said about you and Rafe so don’t think your getting off so easy on that.”

“Then tell me why you’re staring at Millie while Rafe hasn’t so much as glanced my way since the minute Lily Colts got here, hmm?”

“Oh Y/n, Y/n Y/n Y/n,” Liam tuts, shaking his head laughing as he turns to the game your group of four is about to begin. You don’t have the energy to argue with Liam over the matter right now, oblivious to the fact that Rafe had indeed been glancing your way, several times. In fact, he was glancing at you right now, as Liam reached his arm over yours to help you actually hold the paddle the right way. You just hadn’t been glancing back to notice, scared of what you may or may not see between him and Lily if you did.

—

The night dies down and it’s time for the pilgrimage back to your building. You’re walking with Millie when Liam quickly falls in step with you two. You give him a knowing smirk, to which he responds with a glare behind Millie’s back, but you let the two banter as you fall behind, now walking alone. You stare ahead, eyes mindlessly settling on Lily walking in between Callum and Henry at the front of the pack. You don’t notice the pair of legs that begin moving in pace next to your own.

“Tonight, by the way,” Rafe’s voice startles you as you jump next to him. He chuckles at the confusion written all over your face. “You asked last night when we’re watching the next episode. And my answer is tonight, L/n,” he states.

“Haven’t you been up since like the crack of dawn? Aren’t you tired?” you ask incredulously.

“Too tired for Game of Thrones? Never,” he scoffs, Liam’s words ringing in your ear. If we really like you, we’re gonna make the time to hang out with you, no matter what.

“Well then tonight it is,” you smile. “Sorry about the french fries last night by the way,” you say meekly, looking down at the sidewalk in front of you, cheeks burning.

“Seriously L/n, talk about a horrible throw. Room for improvement,” he jokes with a comforting smile, saving you from yourself.

“Good game by the way,” you add, grateful for the way he was letting you off.

“Thanks,” he looks at you, shoving his hands in his pocket. You turn to look at him too, and after a few moments laughter is taking you both apart. Nothing funny was said. Neither of you knew why you were laughing. And yet it felt natural, not an ounce of awkwardness in the air.

As your whole group walks into the building, people begin to peel off, splitting towards staircases and off elevator stops.

“I’m fucking beat,” yawns Topper, as you and all your flatmates file into your hall.

“I’m gonna sleep like a baby tonight,” Millie yawns in agreement. One by one everyone files off into their rooms. You open your door, backing into yours, Rafe across the hall from you backing into his. Laughter tugs at both your faces once again, as you let your doors close. You manage to change into your sweats and brush your teeth before you hear the light rap on your door. Rafe enters, in a t-shirt and gray sweatpants, your weakness. But you feel comfortable being alone with him now. The Rafe jitters had finally began to subside.

“Alright L/n, episode 4, you ready for this?” he asks, plopping down in his spot next to you.

“Oh I’m very ready,” you reply, sitting up to reach for your laptop which was resting by your feet. As you lean back, you find yourself in Rafe’s arm. He had extended it out before you sat back, effortlessly catching you against him. His hand rests casually on your arm, and you gulp, pressing play. You pray he can’t feel the way your heartbeat quickens and your body flushes. So much for those jitters being gone.

The episode plays, you and Rafe making comments here and there before your chatter eventually dies down, leaving just the sound of the show to fill the room. You can feel Rafe’s body lean further and further down, becoming heavier and breathing slower. You very slowly turn to check, and sure enough he’s fast asleep. You sigh, and shut your laptop, careful not to stir him. You could easily shake him awake, tell him to go to his bed, but for some reason you don’t. You don’t mind him here. In fact, you almost prefer it, his body heat keeping you warm. He had already slept over once before and it clearly hadn’t been a big deal, so what was the harm in letting it happen again? You’re just friends after all, you remind yourself, not sure who you’re trying to convince. And so, the two friends fall asleep in the same bed again.

---

🏷: @hopebaker @pogueslandia @mardema

#rafe cameron #rafe cameron x reader #rafe cameron x y/n #rafe cameron x you #rafe cameron imagine

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