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diagonal-queen · 6 months

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Hellooo, I think Ur requests are open, so can I request Teccho and jouno cuddle hcs (if u write for them ofc) and please fem! reader [[:

Cuddling Headcanons

♡ pairing: Tecchou Suehiro, Jouno Saigiku x fem!Reader

♡ synopsis: Cuddling with them HCs :)

♡ cw: Swearing, female/AFAB reader (she/her pronounce), mentions of boob (could be interpreted as NSFW but not necessarily intended that way? idk), slight NSFW themes

note: do you guys wanna know something? at first i didn't really care for the hunting dogs, i was just neutral towards them. but i've gotten SO many reqs for them and written for them so much that they've grown on me and now they're all my little pookie bears especially tecchou <3 apologies for errors and as always I hope you enjoy x

Tecchou:

I feel like I've talked about cuddling Tecchou a lot. He's literally just a giant teddy bear

Even though he's fuckin' ripped and also a giant (I don't actually know his height but I HC that he's tall) he's just so soft like a pillow

He bear-hugs. You're trapped in his arms, and you most likely won't be able to escape until he lets you go. There are ways you can make him let you leave his embrace though, like if you need to go to the bathroom he'll let you, but otherwise you're stuck forever

He will wrap his arms and legs around you and nuzzle his head into your chest or the crook of your neck (yes, he will smush his face into your boobs no matter their size)

He doesn't have a preference- he likes being both the big and little spoon. Whether he's cuddling you or you're cuddling him, he'll be happy

Tecchou has a hard time falling asleep unless he's cuddling you. If you wake up in the middle of the night to go get some water or something chances are he'll wake up too

He really likes when you two are burrito-wrapped in a blanket together

(Can you tell he's comforted by the physical proximity)

He loves to randomly place kisses on your neck and collarbone while you cuddle

Usually you have little talks with one another while you cuddle, just about random autistic stuff, but sometimes it'll just be silent cuddles and that's just as good 😌

May or may not lead into sexual activities depending on your guys' mood. Most of the time it's just lazing around in each others' presence

Because of the nature of his work, he really enjoys his down time, especially when it's something relaxing and cosy, and even more especially when it's with you.

Jouno:

He's a gentle cuddler

Jouno's hands are always moving, whether he's carding his fingers through your hair or lightly patting you on the back

He likes to stroke your cheek with his finger and feel your soft skin against his

He also really likes it when you fall asleep in his arms. It reinforces your trust in him. And as a highkey sadistic maniac that means a lot to him <3

Jouno doesn't really like being the little spoon, he prefers to have you wrapped up in his arms. He has a thing about being openly vulnerable like that...just give him some time, he'll come around

Unlike Tecchou he won't directly smush his face into your tits, but that doesn't stop him from really wanting to

His favourite cuddles are the ones where he gets home from work, and he's just tired, and wants to stare into his lover's eyes as he holds her tenderly and peppers her face with kisses

He's a softy at heart :')

His heart does SO MANY FLIPS when you cup his cheeks in your hands and kiss him back. He loves it so much and thinks it's adorable, and my god he loves you so much you lucky bug

He likes to praise you when you're cuddling. He'll flirt and throw compliments at you like it's the last time he'll ever get the chance, and he loves to see your flustered red face. Bonus points if you return his energy

(This may or may not lead to sex. That's up to you)

Jouno really loves your scent, and also likes to listen to your heartbeat and steady breathing. It's incredibly soothing to him

Before he knows it, he's already asleep. And he'll be very confused when he wakes up a couple hours later on the couch in the dark with a sore neck and the sound of the shower running in the background

Me too Jouno. Me too

taglist~ ♡ @gettinshiggywithit, @fyodorhatr, @flower-of-darkness, @bejeweledgirl, @kokoenjiandco, @pansexualproblemchild

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sushisocks · 10 months

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Okay, another Sean and Lenny meta post, this time also featuring some stuff about Javier. I wanna talk about why I think Sean and Lenny would side with Arthur at the end of RDR2, and bring forth all my reasoning as to why I will die on this hill.

Rant under the read more to spare my mutuals. (Fair warning this is a LONG one babes, there is so much meta)

So, to start, I don't actually think the story of RDR2 would look the same, if at all, were Sean and Lenny not to die their scripted deaths. Even in a version of things where they survive and they go to the same camps, the unfolding of events would by necessity be different due to the impact their personalities and frames of thinking would have on the people around them. However, let's for arguments sake say that in this hypothetical, things are mostly the same, and we're down to that last scene in Beaver Hollow, the last showdown, with Dutch and Micah on one side, and Arthur and John on the other. We know where Javier and Bill go, but where would Sean and Lenny gravitate?

I've already made my stance on the matter clear, so let's really get into why I think Lenny and Sean would choose Arthur's side over Dutch's.

First off, I think it's important to remember that it isn't JUST Dutch vs Arthur, in this scene. In its essential form, it is Dutch & Micah vs Arthur & John. Arthur points at Micah as the rat, and Dutch believes Micah over Arthur. John arrives and accuses Dutch for leaving him to bleed out and die, and Arthur believes John -- not that Dutch denies it.

The point here is, though, that it's not JUST Dutch or Arthur, they're choosing. It is also the people who side with those individuals, whom we must take into account.

Sean and Lenny are canonically Micah-haters, if you will. There are several instances throughout the game, while the two are alive, where they loudly proclaim their dislike of Micah. Sean calling him an 'oily turd' and getting offended at being compared to him, is a near and dear line from the game, for me. And I doubt I have to explain why Lenny isn't besties with the most outwardly racist member of the gang.

"Oh, but Teki!" I hear you say. "Javier is also shown to dislike Micah, and yet he sides with Dutch in the end!" And, see, now you have activated my trap card, so let's really take a look at Javier, before going any further.

Javier is among the most loyal members of the gang -- Arthur literally says this as a camp interaction with him, long before chapter 5 or 6. The fact that Arthur is the one saying it, should tell us something -- this is coming from the man whose loyalty is such a strong character trait it turns into a flaw, and ultimately leads to his demise. And if you think about it, Javier being exceedingly loyal - to the gang, to Dutch - should not be surprising!

When Dutch met Javier, Javier didn't even know English. Javier was starving, on the run, with no safety or know-how, in a country he didn't know nor understand. Javier's story with the gang literally STARTS with Dutch saving him. He is brought into the gang, and in the four years he's there, he is taught English and also shown more respect and compassion than many other places in the US at the time. There are many examples of how Javier is treated as a Mexican in the US, throughout the game, and he, like the other POC in the gang, is allowed to stand up for himself and punish other gang members who slight him (Micah and Bill, in particular). In many ways, Dutch provides through the gang a safety net Javier probably didn't even dream of achieving when he crossed the border.

And then Guarma happens.

I, personally, cannot overstate enough how much I think Javier's experiences on Guarma reinforce his loyalty and blind faith in Dutch. He is tortured, ridiculed, and humiliated, and who is it that opens that cage door and literally pulls Javier out of it all? Carries him over his shoulder out of a compound of Cubans that would rather see their heads on pikes?

You guessed it, it's Dutch. Yes, Arthur does a lot of the heavy lifting, but let's be real - Dutch is the one who gets the credit, as usual. He made the plan, after all, and notably, he IS actually the one grabbing Javier and hauling him out of there.

That means, that the two times we know of, where Javier has been at his absolute worst, Dutch is the one who has saved him. Javier, who is so loyal even Arthur acknowledges the immensity of it. So who is then surprised that he doubles down even harder, when they return to the US, and things take a turn for the worse in Beaver Hollow?

In that moment, at the end of chapter 6, Javier cares more about siding with Dutch, than he cares about Dutch siding with Micah.

And I'll argue a similar case for Bill; he has speeches, camp events, where he straight up says Dutch saved him, saved the people of the gang. This is literally The Thing, with these two, that makes their choices at the end really make sense, in my eyes.

It's also important to note that Javier is literally the most clueless among them when he makes that choice. He wasn't there for most of the conversation leading up to it -- he literally just came from being on watch, to warn them about the encroaching Pinkertons. And, as everyone knows, he doesn't point his gun at Arthur and John, and he nor Bill are there for the horse chase scene, blah blah, those points have been done a million times, you already know them.

"Okay, but Teki," you say, trying to reason with my rambling fanatic self. "How do you know Lenny and Sean wouldn't go down similar paths, if they survived past their scripted deaths?" And I say onto you, verily; because neither of them really have similar savior stories with Dutch, thematically.

I mean for goodness' sake, Sean tried to ROB Dutch and Hosea, upon meeting them intially. They just liked his guts and invited him along, and Sean was like, 'shit why not, aint got nothin better to do!' - paraphrased, of course, but in my heart of hearts that's what he said.

All we know definitely with Lenny is that he joined the gang while traversing the Grizzlies, the year before the events of the game. Whether it was a savior situation or a mutually beneficial situation, isn't actually fully known. We can make assumptions and speculate until we're all blue in the face, but I have stronger points for Lenny's case so let's move on.

So, as I've talked about before, Lenny is acknowledged as among the smarter members of the gang, despite his youth. He is one of the only ones who intellectually challenges Dutch, and he is clearly not afraid to criticise Dutch's ideas and ideals -- when prompted.

(Side note, as I said at the start but want to really emphasize here, I really think chapter 6 is the one that would be the most impacted by Lenny's survival. He has shown himself remarkably aware of societal issues contemporary to his time, so look me in the eyes and tell me you genuinely believe he, as a black man, wouldn't attempt to intervene in some way when Dutch starts fucking with the Wapiti. That kid has balls of steel and audacity up the whazoo, and he's excruciatingly aware of how black people in the US have been royally fucked over by white men. You think he'd see the Wapiti struggling, Dutch scheming, and be like 'oh yay more white man shenanigans! lets go!' ?? bffr!)

Lenny ALSO is among the newer members of the gang; it provides him safety and respect that's hard found outside it, yes, but in my opinion he straight up does not have enough cost sunk into this fallacy, for it to fallacy properly in his head, if you catch my drift. I think if it's not for the fact that he has genuine bonds with people in the gang by the time chapter 6 rolls around, like Charles and Sadie do at that point, he probably would be smart enough to dip, like other characters do.

And that's sort of the thing, too, with both Lenny and Sean. They don't actually have daddy issues in the same way Arthur and John do.

Lenny and Sean are very similar in that they had good relationships with their fathers, and are proud of their parentage -- what wisdom and teachings their fathers managed to impart upon their sons before passing, has stuck with them. They are not in need of a new father figure, and they certainly do not seek it in Dutch(nor Hosea), not like Arthur and John do.

They find a sense of brotherhood in the gang, sure, and they view the other members as family (you can pry their little brother statuses from my cold dead hands), but Dutch is their leader, not their guardian, not their teacher, and certainly not anything close to a father, in their eyes. The fact that Lenny discusses literature with him is indicative of this -- the conversation is one of opinion between would-be equals, not of mentor and protege. The fact that Dutch only really seems interested in Sean as far as he serves as camp clown is also indicative of how Sean might feel about him, too. Dutch literally yells at Sean for taking a break from being the silly goofy distraction, in one camp interaction -- and from the way Sean talks about him, I don't think that sort of behavior has a lot of fatherly associations for the 'irish terrier'.

And that leads us to my pièce de résistance, dear fellow cowboy maniacs (you must be, if you've read thus far). Lenny and Sean are both closer, and friendlier with Arthur, than they are with Dutch. Example: Both of them poking fun at Arthur in ways they do not with Dutch. Sean telling Arthur he loves him - like an insane amount of times. Lenny chooses Arthur to go riding with, time and time again.

And guess what? When we see Sean and Lenny at their lowest, who is it that helps them out?

If you answered Arthur Morgan, give yourself a pat on the back and a gold star sticker!

We are literally introduced to Sean while Arthur leads Javier and Charles into saving him from bounty hunters. Arthur is the one cutting him down from that tree, bringing him upright, making sure he is okay. Arthur is also the one who saves him from being shot to death on the train robbery in Pouring Forth Oil. When Lenny comes to tell the gang about Micah being in jail in Strawberry, he has also just narrowly escaped being lynched, and it is Arthur who brings him away from that experience, calms him down and allows him to relax and let loose again.

Both Sean and Lenny have a deeper, more profound connection to Arthur, than they have Dutch. And consequently, if they were to survive until the end of chapter 6 and were the then much-more-unlikely showdown scene to happen, they would certainly not side with Dutch & Micah, over Arthur & John.

#rdr2 #red dead redemption 2 #sean macguire #lenny summers #arthur morgan #dutch van der linde #javier escuella #rdr2 meta #rdr thoughts #teki talks #long post #if you read all of this ily #this is several rants and a half but ive been meaning to write it all up for AGES #i get so unironically mad abt ppl saying sean and lenny would side with dutch. this is the hill i die on (among many)

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capn-twitchery · 1 month

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do you have any tips for drawing expressions? it’s one thing that I always notice about your art, I love how expressive your characters are.

thank you so much!! it really means a ton bc expressions are one of the things i've focused & worked the hardest on over the years :D ♥

which ALSO MEANS--HA, YOU ACTIVATED MY SPECIAL INTEREST TRAP CARD i am now going to talk at you all for far too long about it >:) buckle up!

prefacing this by saying i Love animation, this makes me biased as hell with where i get my sources + how i study art. anyway!

i think my biggest #1 tip is don't be afraid to get goofy with it--characters don't have to look cool and stoic all the time, they can be silly! if an expression reads better, but looks a little off-model, do it anyway! make that guy look weird!

i draw little thumbnail expressions a Lot, whether for actual art or for just fun doodling. i don't have any recent ones to hand-- but here's some from a while ago. they help a ton to figure out what works quickly without worrying about actual facial features

they also help to see if i can push an expression further, it's easier to test out weird things on a tiny round doodle and then translate that into an actual drawing later on. pushing expressions To The Limits is a really good exercise in itself!

gonna put the rest under the cut bc it's getting long & i have a lot more to say

ok this in itself is a whole topic i can go on about for hours, but i'll try to keep it semi brief--i Love considering how different characters would show emotions! how one character would express sadness, how that would be different to another, how one character would smile vs. another, stuff like that!

related, giving characters individual expression quirks. twitch's :3 mouth & lazy lidded eyes if you could see them anyway & Very Smug Eyebrows, while grace has heavy low eyebrows & sad puppy eyes & usually looks at least 10% unsure at all times. it makes every single twitch smile look slightly not genuine and makes grace look. well. you know. the quirks are really fun to think of, and it makes drawing expressions feel a lot more fun when you personalise them!!

expressions can be easier to think of when you put characters in scenarios & consider how they'd react. it can also help to think of the character Moving/talking, instead of as a static image. mini comics or just adding dialogue to art helps a lot with this, i've only just started doing it and i'm having a blast!!

ok this one is weird and hard to explain and might only be applicable to me bc i can't see images in my brain-- but i'll throw it out there just in case! lots of artists make faces in the mirror to reference their own expressions, but it's never worked for me

i Do still act stuff out in my brain & make faces irl, but instead of doing it in the mirror, i just make the expression & consider how my face is moving in Words? ok for example This Comic, last panel for twitch--i'd run through the dialogue in my head and move around how i feel like they would, and list it off in Words--raised eyebrows, closed eyes, tilted head, etc etc. then i have a framework to base the expression on! and i don't need to stare into my own face in the mirror for reference. no mirror needed at all, actually. win/win. i do this for body language too

(yes this makes you look insane btw. sorry. if you do it too long best case scenario you get very dextrous eyebrows and worst case scenario you might start making cartoon character faces irl (or both) (i'm both))

not sure how much it helps specifically with expressions outside of animation, but it's a fun exercise--learning the limits of a character's face, animation calls it squash & stretch. drawing a face in the two most extreme states. so on character expression sheets you'll see weird faces like this⤵️ that's what that is

another exercise, i always have a ton of art saved that i like the expressions of. usually a lot of concept art for films. i'll do studies of them & redraw them, and/or take ocs and redraw them with those expressions! it's a great way to look at how other artists do stuff and yoink bits you like.

you'll hear this a lot if you look up Any art tips, but references & studies are great. i get a lot of inspo from disney concept art bc their artists are very talented people, but currently i hope disney studios' own hubris eats it alive. i want to see mickey mouse buried in a hole, the rat bastard. anyway some places i personally take inspiration from:

i look at a lot of animation concept art, some good sources are characterdesignreferences, livinglineslibrary, there's pdfs of animation art books all over the place too.

specific concept artists i like are jin kim & shiyoon kim !! they do Great expressions.

outside of film industry, tealin and tracy butler of lackadaisy cats are some inspirations! tracy butler has a great expressions tutorial here

if you find this stuff interesting & like reading, the illusion of life by ollie johnston & frank thomas is an incredible insight into the thought process behind stuff like this! there's a pdf here, unfortunately just a scanned copy but worth a read if you like this stuff!! specifically chapters 'character development', 'animating expressions & dialogue', and 'acting & emotions'

sorry that was an essay and a half but hopefully it was a little bit helpful!! i always love talking about this stuff so if you want anything clarified/just wanna talk about it more i am Always ready to go off >:3

#inquiries #solreefs #i have no idea how to explain these things in a way that feels Tangibly Helpful but i do love talking about it #hopefully it helps a Bit!! ty for giving me the excuse to go off hehehe #i wanted to do doodles to go along with stuff but my arms are achey today #alas. words will have to do #fredspeaks

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facetsofthecloset · 4 days

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What order would you suggest reading Discworld in? :0

Oh my friend you have opened an entire Amazon warehouse of a can of worms, which is going under a cut because I'm so sorry, you've activated my trap card

1: Preamble

First, a caveat: I have not read ALL of the Discworld books yet. There's a bunch of the short stories and sort of "bonus content"-y stuff that I haven't got round to, and the last two books he wrote before he passed, (I Shall Wear Midnight and Shepherd's Crown) but I have read everything else!

So!

Ok, there are lots of “recommended reading order” lists out there for Discworld, and what they generally do is group books into subcategories based on the protagonists.

These are fine as a base structural framework to work from, but if you're asking me I'm guessing you want a more personalized recommendation, SO

It really depends on your interests! When I started Discworld I'd already been pilled on tumblr, seeing posts cross my dash every now and then (probably due to the Glorious 25th of May actually, which I'm spamming right now) about how great it was and how many books there were.

So I picked up the first book (The Color of Magic) even though everyone said don't start there, and I stuck to it because I'd kind of already decided to like the series, or at least be incredibly open-minded about it.

Listen. The Color of Magic was published in 1983, it was one of his earliest novels, and it's definitely a bit rough. But! Full of personality and chaos, from which stars will be born later on.

You can think of it as the primordial ooze, full of nutrients and ideas and things that could evolve, but kind of formless and a bit confused at the moment

2: The List

So if you're not a bit naive and desperate for a new fantasy series to be obsessed with as an adult and trusting wholeheartedly a lot of strangers online that things get really really good, and you want some proof upfront, this is my list of potential starters:

Reaper Man (Death subseries #2)

Witches Abroad (Witches subseries #3)

Feet of Clay (City Watch subseries #3)

The Truth (Industrial Revolution subseries #2)

The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents (YA standalone that takes place in the Discworld)

Going Postal (Industrial Revolution #4 or Moist von Lipwig subseries #1)

You'll notice that I've picked almost none of the "first book" in a subseries and I have good reasons for that! I'll talk about each book individually, but my main reason for starting you off a little ways into each subseries is that the Vibes(tm) of the very first book in a subseries are very different to the actual overall Vibes(tm) of the subseries generally, once it's had time to fill out and ripen a bit.

The books I've picked are the "early but recognizable" stages of most of the series', because I think you can go back to read the first ones as a sort of prequel treat for yourself later once you've started to run out of books in the series, which happens faster than you think given there's 41 of them.

But I'll go into more detail about that with the individual books! Again, I am so sorry this is so bloody long. I'm having coffee as we speak

3: List Breakdown

Reaper Man (Death subseries #2):

“What can the harvest hope for, if not for the care of the Reaper Man?”

Protagonist: Death (the anthropomorphic personification)

Summary: Death is fired from his job for caring too much, and has to go live as a farmhand. In his absence, things start to get weird, leading to zombie wizards and sentient shopping carts.

Why start here: Death as a character shows up all over the place in Discworld, and he's wonderful. This is the 11th book in publishing order, and one of the first that had me almost crying at the end. A lot of the earlier books had me kinda going "ok that was fun but I feel like I'm missing something, why is it people keep going on about this series?" and while this book doesn't quite yet answer that question, it gave me a hell of a lot of motivation to keep going.

The Death subseries book before this, Mort, is also good! If you want to start there, that's fine. But to me, it's a prologue, and doesn't give you an accurate picture of what the Overall Vibes of the series are. Reaper Man is still also kind of a prologue in that sense, seeing as Death is not even the protagonist for all of the Death books, but I still say it's a good place to start. It sets the groundwork for future books but also...

...man that quote about the harvest, and yes the summary sounds absurd and it is because it's not just fantasy, it's parody and comedy, but in the same book you'll have moments where you just have to stare at the wall for a bit unsure if you're going to reach enlightenment or burst into tears.

Reaper Man is a very wholesome, funny, and casually profound place to start your Discworld journey. It's early in the timeline of the Disc, you get a taste of the Wizards subseries as well, and you can see how important settings like Ankh-Morpork, the main city, start out. One thing I love about Discworld is how it grows, so starting out earlier in the in-universe timeline can be nice to get the full effect of seeing that.

A later Death book, Hogfather, is one I would recommend someone read if they were under some kind of curse where they could only ever read 3 Discworld books ever, and of course you could jump right to that one.

But if you want a bit of build up and additional context, you can start with Reaper Man.

Witches Abroad (Witches subseries #3):

Lily: You'd have done the same. Granny: No. I'd have thought the same, but I wouldn't have done it. Lily: What difference does that make, deep down? Nanny Ogg: You mean you don't know?

Protagonist: The Witches/Granny Weatherwax

Summary: Magrat Garlick, youngest of Lancre's witch coven trio, inherits a fairy godmother's wand, and thus also a fairy goddaughter, named Emberella. Unfortunately, Emberella lives very far away in Genua, and none of the witches really know how to make the wand work, and hardly any of them have left Lancre much at all before, let alone gone all the way to fantasy New Orleans. And Magrat's the one who got the wand, so she really should be the one taking point on this, but Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax can hardly let the youngest, soppiest, and wettest-behind-the-ears witch of their coven go off and make fairy tales on her own, can they? They've got a happy ending to make, and a bad witch to find...

Why start here: More into witches and fairy tales? Like a good Cinderella parody? Want to know how to stop spelling bananananana daquiri? Well, Nanny Ogg actually can't help you there, but you can get the other stuff.

Granny Weatherwax, along with Samuel Vimes of the City Watch subseries, is the beating heart and deeply, calmly furious soul of Discworld.

She is THE Witch. Witches don't have leaders, but Granny is the First among equals.

You can meet her earlier in the series, in Equal Rites or Wyrd Sisters, but Witches Abroad are when things start to come together in terms of tone and style for the Witches subseries, at least for me. Like Reaper Man, Witches Abroad is fairly early in the in-universe timeline as well as #12 in the publishing order, right after Reaper Man. Between the two, you can get a decent idea of the early form of the Disc, though I'd add in Guards! Guards! to complete that picture.

On its own, it's a fun romp full of recognizable parodies and interesting twists, a good old fashioned road trip. And it punches you in the face later about the nature of morality and how people think, about identity and choosing who you're going to be.

It won't make sense unless you've read it, but I think about a scene towards the end and the line "This one," all the time. Start here, read the other Witches books, have a Granny Weatherwax permanently etched into the back of your mind, reminding you about the difference between thinking and doing.

Feet of Clay (City Watch subseries #3):

“You couldn't say 'I had orders.' You couldn't say 'It's not fair.' No one was listening. There were no Words. You owned yourself. [...] Not 'Thou Shalt Not'. Say 'I Will Not'.”

Protagonist: Samuel Vimes

Summary: Commander of the City Watch, Samuel Vimes, now officially a Sir and married into the ranks of Ankh-Morporks elite, must have a coat of arms made. Thank gods there's been a murder for him to focus on instead. Someone's poisoning the Patrician--Lord Vetinari--too, and something strange is happening with the city's golems...

Why start here: This is it. For me, this was the book that made me go "Oh. That's why everyone loves this series." Every book up to this point had been interesting, funny, engaging, but as yet a little underbaked compared to the hype--until here.

Feet of Clay was the point of no return for me as a Discworld fan. This is the start of Sam Vimes, the man who IS Ankh-Morpork in many ways, the character you think of first when someone says "Discworld" (or boots. The "Sam Vimes Boots Theory of Economics" seems to travel outside of Discworld circles sometimes, from what I've heard.)

The City Watch books prior to this are all important to the formation of Sam Vimes as we know him mainly, which is why most people tend to start you off with Guards! Guards!. Totally legitimate place to start, but if you're going into it after being stuffed full of hype on tumblr and elsewhere, you're going to go "Hm. Is that it?"

Feet of Clay is #19 in publishing order, around midway through the series and part of what I've seen referred to as the "golden age" of Discworld books. As far as in-universe time goes, it's a bit farther along than Reaper Man or Witches Abroad, but not hugely. Things are established and the swing has been grasped, and Sam Vimes in freshly fully baked. (I keep using the word because it's relevant to the story lol) He'll go on from here to even greater heights, but this is a damn good start into Vimes being Vimes.

Now I will caveat this with a warning that if you are so ACAB that even seeing the word "cop" makes you break out in hives, then you probably shouldn't read City Watch books.

But I will say, policing as Sam Vimes does it is different from the modern American police. Obviously. This is fiction, it's based more on older English policing, it's a fantasy world, and Sam Vimes would be the first person to tell you that a cop who isn't a bastard is a liar, which is just another type of bastard.

It isn't pure uncritical copaganda, it's closer to Brooklyn 99, not CSI Miami, but if your stance is that making the protagonist a police officer we are meant to relate to at all is irredeemable, then yeah, this isn't going to work for you.

But so much of the Watch series--arguably all of it-- is about asking the question How do you be a good copper? What is a good copper? What is good? How do you be 'good' when you know that inside your head you're a messy, problematic bastard who thinks he knows better than everyone and has authority to abuse?

Who watches the watchmen? Sam Vimes. He watches himself, all the time. Maybe you won't agree with his conclusions, and I've heard people say the later Watch books where Terry's Alzheimers was progressing were too White Savior, but that's something you'd have to decide for yourself if you decide to keep reading.

For me, the City Watch books are the heart of Discworld, and they are absolutely worth engaging with.

Feet of Clay is a pretty classic and fun murder mystery, coupled with serious discussions of personhood and slavery, and has a plotline dealing with a lot of gender stuff that is expanded on in later books. It's far enough along in the series that the basics are established, and early enough that there is a lot of interesting development to look forward to.

I haven't reread it in a while, but it will always hold a special place in my heart for being the book where Discworld clicked home and became a permanent part of my psyche.

The Truth (Industrial Revolution subseries #2):

“The truth has got its boots on,” he said. “It’s going to start kicking.”

Protagonist: William de Worde, standalone

Summary: Printing presses were not allowed in Ankh-Morpork. Alas, times were moving on, and brought with them The Times, Ankh-Morpork's very first newspaper. William de Worde finds himself falling into the role of the Disc's first journalist. It starts with innocent stories of humorous vegetables and debates over when the coldest winter was, and ends with an attempted assassination (several, in fact), a shadowy conspiracy, a dog's testimony, and daddy issues (doesn't it always).

They say a lie can run around the world before the truth has got its boots on, but William's got a shoehorn and is prepared to tie some laces.

Why start here: Drop into an almost fully-established and stabilized Ankh-Morpork, watch a new technology drop into it and see the ripples. The Truth is categorized as an Industrial Revolution book, but it's also a standalone. You can know nothing about the Discworld and still have a damn good time.

It's honestly one of my favorites, possibly the favorite, owing to the presence of Otto Chriek, vampire photographer (called iconographers on the Disc) to The Times and also my favorite Discworld character ever number 1 no contest hands down don't talk to me. (Are there "better" and "more important" Discworld characters? Of course. Doesn't mean jack when it comes to personal favorites though, does it. Otto Chriek my beloved my darling my heart and soul this is his first appearance and after this he only gets mentioned in passing in the background of other books although he occasionally does get a whole scene and some dialogue I'm Normal About Him)

Ahem. Anyway.

If you want a good taste of what Terry Pratchett's writing is like overall, just one good sampler, this is a pretty decent choice. It's neat and contained but also has a lot of ties to the rest of the series that you could easily pull on if you wanted to. It's sometime after Feet of Clay, timeline-wise, but is really the start of the Industrial Revolution of Discworld proper, and you can make an argument for it starting off a second stage (maybe a silver era?) of Discworld books, in terms of publication order. There's Ankh-Morpork pre-newspaper, then there's Ankh-Morpork post-newspaper, and this is obviously the dividing line.

Because of that, it's possible that it would be slightly disorienting to read this first and then go back to an older pre-newspaper Discworld, because the dynamics are different. But that's one aspect of the series that I love, how it has its own historical eras. "Ah, this story is still in the Century of the Fruitbat, before the introduction of printing presses in Ankh-Morpork" or "Oh, this is from the post-clacks society," stuff like that.

It's a huge part of what makes Discworld feel like a real, entire universe, and how different books in the series feel like snapshots of their history. And history can be funny, profound, horrific, ironic, fascinating, and above all, human.

Even if "human" in the Disc doesn't cover nearly everyone. Barley anyone, you could argue. They have a lot of different species.

The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents (YA standalone):

“People were people, even if they had four legs and had called themselves names like Dangerous Beans, which is the kind of name you gave yourself if you learned to read before you understood what all the words actually meant.”

Protagonist: debatable but I'll say Maurice (a cat. standalone)

Summary: The trouble with magic is that you never know what it'll do. Sometimes, it turns a bunch of rats (and one cat) from dumb animals into The Clan and Maurice, who work together with a human boy named Keith to run a Pied Piper scam.

Keith is human, and talks to other humans, offering to rid them of their town's rats, and The Clan pretend to be charmed by his flute and make a show of leaving town. Maurice--well, he's the brains of the outfit and makes sure no one grows too much of a conscience over the grift, and that he they get paid properly. And everyone likes cats.

One of the towns they come across, though...something is wrong here. There are no rats, or...are there? What is a rat, anyway? What's the difference between a rat and a Clan rat? What's the difference between a Clan rat and a human? Or a Maurice?

That was the problem with thinking. Once you started, you went on doing it.

Why start here: Similar to The Truth, a good way to get a decent, well-rounded sampling of Prachettian writing. You've got the parodic element in the Pied Pier story, some genuine horror in the antagonist of the story, existential questions on the nature of sentience and personhood, puns that you won't even realize are puns until you come across an explanatory post on tumblr, as well as the puns that hit you in the face and kick you in the fork and make you go "Fucking hell. More please!" Just because it's YA doesn't mean it's any lesser, it's just a slightly different tone of voice.

I don't remember exactly what era of Discworld it takes place in, but it's later in the publication order and I think timeline-wise, definitely after The Truth? I'm pretty sure newspapers exist at this point. It doesn't matter as much, since most of the story takes place outside of Ankh-Morpork. Either way, it's very accessible, a decent one-and-done. There's a rat named Dangerous Beans, who was voiced by David Tenant in the recent animated film. (Not a good adaptation but you could watch it. It's. Well not the worst, as Discworld adaptations go, but it's like. Fine. Kinda weird. Kinda boring. Read the book.)

Going Postal (Industrial Revolution #4, or Moist von Lipwig #1):

“Raise the stakes! Always push your luck because no one else would push it for you.”

Protagonist: Moist von Lipwig

Summary: Professional conman Albert Spangler is hanged for his crimes, and reborn as Moist von Lipwig--his actual birth name. His new lease on life comes with the caveat of resurrecting the long-defunct Ankh-Morpork Post Office as Postmaster General. As a consummate liar and career criminal, he's a perfect fit for government service.

And he's just in time--The Grand Trunk clacks company, under its newest management, has been plagued by enshittification. Once able to relay messages across the continent "at the speed of light," now it's expensive, breaks down constantly, and runs on the blood of its workers. But messages still have to get through, and you can't send a package by semaphore. The world needs the Post, and the Post needs Moist von Lipwig.

Him? He needs a new name. And a way to get rid of his golem parole officer...

Why start here: Moist von Lipwig is a late addition to the canon and only stars in 3 books (one of which is distinctly different in style, owing to the advancement of Pratchett's Alzheimer's at time of writing), but he is just about as crucial to Discworld as Granny Weatherwax, Sam Vimes, and Lord Vetinari. He's a grifter who's all about style, and holy shit is he good at it.

To me, Going Postal is a perfect book, and the sequel Making Money is somehow even better. I got my friend hooked on Discworld by reading a passage out of the sequel to her and subsequently read her the entire book and Going Postal after. Get past his name, and Moist von Lipwig is all you've ever dreamed of in terms of entertainment.

The Moist books (lol) are formatted a little bit differently to the others, as it's one of the only Discworld books to have formal chapters and sort of chapter summaries? I'm not sure why this is but I think it has to do with Moist being, well, Moist. Everything in his life is a show and so his books also have a bit of extra set dressing.

I think if you read Going Postal and Making Money and those were the only Discworld books you ever knew about you'd still be obsessed madly in love and fanatic about the whole series. Moist comes into things when Ankh-Morpork is already pretty much fully-fledged, and he could have been the beginning to a new era. As his presence inclusion in the Industrial Revolution series implies, he brings about a lot of huge structural/technological changes to the Disc and it's amazing to watch it unfold.

Going Postal also has the distinction of having one of the only decent Discworld screen adaptations (look I haven't watched all of them and I'm really sorry if there's a BBC version or something that you really love, but the ones that I've seen so far are mostly...either really low-budget and weird or just boring). I'd say if you watched the movie version and liked it, you'd like the book even more but not in spite of the movie, you know? Charles Dance is in it as Lord Vetinari and aside from his hair not being black he's fucking perfect. You cannot go wrong here.

4: Conclusions

I'm sorry this got so LONG AHH

But! What you choose to read as your first Discworld book imo depends hugely on what your interests are and why you're interested in the series to begin with.

If you just want a quick way to see what all the fuss is about, I'd say any of the standalones or Moist books.

If you want a sample of how it unfolds and grows and are willing to put some time into it, start with Reaper Man and maybe read down the list I made, then go back and read the other books in their respective subseries. Or pick one that you liked a lot and follow that subseries first!

If you're really willing to put in the time and want to understand the series as a whole, do what I did and start with The Color of Magic and go by publication order. You're going to need a bit of patience and be generous at first, wait for things to develop, but for me it's been worth it. Again, if you have the time though. I mean, it is 41 books.

Or, if you're into a bit more chaos than that...use a random number generator and read whatever it tells you. Honestly, even books in longer subseries's are self-contained and pretty readable on their own, you just get more context if you read it "in order." The roulette approach is perfectly viable.

I mean, I do have Discworld books that I'm not as fond of, but none where I'd say you should never read it.

Even my least favorite (Interesting Times, part of the Wizards series) has a lot of redeeming qualities and I reread it a couple times before I decided maybe I didn't like it as much. (It's mostly because they go to fantasy East Asia and it's a bit Asian Monolith-y. Look I love Pratchett but he was a white British man who started writing in the late 70s/early 80s y'know? He's good but not perfect. The Wizards series has a lot of traveling around the Disc and a lot of like, racial stereotypes involved. Which is a shame because I do love the main protagonist of the series (Rincewind), it just personally makes me a little uncomfortable.)

That said, I don't hate it.

There are no Discworld books I regret reading. There's just ones I enjoyed even more than the others, and ones that have been permanently absorbed into my soul. You really can't go wrong.

This concludes my Starter Discworld dissertation I'm so sorry but you did ask 💦

#thank you for asking though aslkdfjlaksdjfs #discworld #facets answers #there are really no wrong ways to start discworld though #and i didn't even mention all my favorites #look up the standalones and pick one at random!#urgh monstrous regiment my beloved i didn't even allude to you

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emberglowfox · 8 months

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haiii helloooo

i have fallen in love with the keeper and angel, and if you recognize me from my reblogs, no you don't :) /lh

however, i wanted to learn more about your other ocs !!! the silly steelheart redux guys

if you have the time and are willing to talk about them, i would love to hear about them !! they seem very cool, i just struggle with finding all of the information easily and reading through stuff /gen

apologies if you have received asks like this before, you don't have to answer if you don't want to !!

YOU FOOL YOU'VE ACTIVATED MY TRAP CARD!!!!!

ok ok ok so. Off the bat, for story stuff, you can find like a loose summary here, and a bit more of an in-depth one here. Generally, if you're looking for information about the world and the characters as opposed to just the random art, the #steelheart redux lore tag is a good place to start, though admittedly it's a little sparse.

There's no real like... compilation of all the information I've shared through art on here, but to be honest that's kind of by design? Because this is a story I want-- and intend!-- to tell, eventually, and thus there are some things I can't share. I'm just addicted to posting vaguely out of context spoilers for it haha

but if you don't feel like tag-hopping (valid), here's a brief rundown: 15-year-old boy (arthur steele) ends up neurologically connected to a sentient robo-dragon-vehicle (zarian) by accident (as you do) which leads to a Lot Of Problems For Both Of Them. in the aftermath of this, they end up getting involved with trying to end the ongoing war between the robo-dragons (mysteriously corrupted and violent) and the people living in the country, and things just get increasingly more chaotic and complicated from there. it's serious at times but there's a lot of silliness and fun times. i'm very fond of the guys.

bonus: character primer of the guys you'll see the most of if u tag-trawl:

arthur steele - 15 y/o boy from the city of Orello; pleasant, polite, and king of hoping his impulsive decisions just "work out"

zarian - the DRACO (robo-dragon) arthur ends up connected to. functionally also 15. kind of snarky, really just nervous all the time

lindsay jackson - 16 y/o girl from the city of Callia; cheerful, confident, and very very curious. loves space and science, wants to be a doctor like her mom

david manalo - lead engineer (or something similar) at Defenex, works on the PULSARs; a bit lonely, but generally pretty happy and relaxed. enjoys his routine and predictable life (lol). hes like 30

KATHOS - basically a tech helper AI at Defenex

if you have any specific questions, PLEASE PLEASE feel free to dm me, i loooove talking about it. i will answer as much as i can that's not overt important spoilers <3

#ask #anon #thank youuu i love asks like this. hopefully this helps :]#sparks speaks #steelheart redux #steelheart redux lore #character summaries are kind of ehhh cause theres a Lot to all the characters and they change a lot through the story #those are kind of snapshots from the start #long post

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shirajellyfish · 4 days

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Director’s cut! What inspired you to write As Long As We Are Loved? Was it something specific or just the general concept of living dolls that caught your interest?

And a follow up question, you mentioned your original concept was different than what you decided in the end (that dolls coming to life was a world established thing). What was your original idea going to involve?

UHHH this got long. I'm sorry!! I'm gonna put it under the read more because oh no, you activated my trap card and the trap is I talk too much

There's an idea I've thought about a lot. Robots are often said to be immortal in fics and other media, but that isn't necessarily true, is it? A mechanical being must be maintained. What happens when one day, there's no one who will maintain them? Or no one who will make for them the replacement parts they require? A robot might live for a very very long time, or they might live for only a few years before being discarded. They have no set lifespan, they will live for as long as they are loved.

I think that's what grabbed me. The idea of something that literally requires someone's caring to survive. Realizing that unaging is not the same as immortal, seeing how neglect can eat at anything. The idea of being able to give that needed love and care, to take something nearly lost to neglect and to love them until they are well again. Plus I just really, really enjoy slowburn healing.

My original idea was a future where many people have robots of their own. All very pretty, all very perfect, all very well maintained. Each one perfect, so much so that one might assume they will be perfect forever. Then Reader would discover what happens when one is no longer wanted. They'd randomly see a Sun (one they'd never met before) in a dumpster, holding tight to a badly mangled Moon. The Sun would be still active, but not really reacting anymore. Resigned, just waiting for his battery to run out. Reader would then of course be horrified, taking the two in and fixing them up. The original idea also had a separate body Sun and Moon that would become two AIs in one body as Moon's original body was going to be too broken to fix.

I decided to go doll AU for two reasons. Firstly, because an animatronic version of this story wouldn't be anything new for me to write. I See You Sundrop already has a lot of long repair scenes. It already has repair as a form of care and kindness. It already has situations where an animatronic's life is likely to end soon, but that is prevented because someone cares too much to allow that to happen. I didn't want to write the same thing all over again, so I needed something else.

That's where the second reason comes in- I just really wanted more doll AUs. There are only a few floating around on AO3, and none are quite the genre I was hoping for with that concept. If what you want to read doesn't exist, you have to write it yourself, right? Well here we are, an opportunity to write it myself haha (My biggest hope is that someone will read my fic and go "We should write more doll fics actually." Feed me the content.)

I decided to make living dolls normal in this universe just because with this concept, I felt like the whole "omg magic doll" stuff would get in the way of the fic's actual themes. I did once have a "spooky haunted jester dolls off ebay" concept once, but that one never grabbed me hard enough to actually invest the time to write it- or at least it hasn't yet. Dolls or animatronics or something else, I always wanted to make everything going on 'normal' for the universe it was set in.

#ask #Oops I talk too much #Many thoughts head full

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decepti-thots · 1 year

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Theres something super fascinating about the whole thing with springer and tarantulas, springer being literally created bc tarantulas wanted to make a 'child' but being a race which doesnt have children. Tarantulas avoid the pitfall most human parents fall into of not respecting their child autonomy. The idea of tarantulas loving and respecting who his child is enough that his own personal feelings (wanting to raise/teach ostaros) are put by the waysaid and he does leave Springer to live his own life and doesnt change go into the past and change anything. Damn. It's not the kinda story you can write with human characters and while I dont like a lot of idw stuff I really enjoy tarantulas' and Springer's whole thing

It's SO interesting to me anon, you have activated my trap card by bringing it up, LMAO. I think the element of it being taken one step out of context by virtue of them coming from a culture that doesn't have a conception of it in-fiction really does give it this extra bit of almost. Narrative elasticity? Stories about parenthood and being a parent or being a child are so locked into these really deep underlying assumptions baked into whatever culture they're being written in. You can go along with them or go against them or interrogate them but at the end of the day you typically do have to have characters who engage with them, when you're writing human characters. They have to be immersed in those things like fish in water.

Whereas a story like Sins and Wrequiem can have those characters engage with basically the same concepts but one layer removed. They don't exist in a world where they have diagetic pre-existing ideas about it, or social expectations to agree with or reject, or any of that. It's there in the story, but the characters have a little more leeway, and it opens the whole thing up a little. I've said before that one thing I really like about Sins is that at no point is there a sense of Springer being inherently obligated to any of these people he's finding out he has unasked for ties to. It's refreshingly free of the 'family is family no matter what' subtext. (I like Prowl trying to tell Springer we'll talk about this after and Springer flatly putting a stop to that very much.) And there's room too to see how certain things can suddenly feel sort of different when taken out of a context where they're just expected... that whole sense of finding out about the idea you 'have parents' as almost a little bit part of the horror, because the idea of having ties to people you have no control over reads differently in that context.

And then with Tarantulas you have this story that is very sad and really tied up in questions of autonomy full stop- Tarantulas' story in Sins and then Wrequiem is at base one about someone who loses all agency violently and then tries to turn the tables equally violently. So for the end to turn on how much and how willingly he affords it to Springer works very neatly. It's just. REALLY good. I love it, I could talk about the family-as-horror reading forever, honestly.

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blacktobackmesa · 1 year

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who’s the most likely to play/stream horror games? i can see benrey streaming them and inviting bubby as a guest to scare the shit out of him

Ahh, Horror Games. So much territory to cover here.

Gordon's not SUPER passionate about horror games, but you can count on seeing them around Halloween. Or when one comes out that either appeals to him personally or nobody will shut up about.

I haven't written Benrey as having his own twitch channel-- maybe he makes one eventually, but it's a lot more fun to hijack Gordon's or Bubby's. He's the most likely to play those cheap and marketable mascot jumpscare games, though he'd also be interested in real surreal stuff. Is LSD Dream Emulator for the PS1 considered a horror game?

Bubby likes to stream horror games that his friends recommend to him. And then get so very scared and yell so much. I've said it before-- this is the kind of guy who cries on a roller coaster and gets right back in line.

Everyone gets to play Phasmaphobia together, it's a wonderful time. It's like if Ghost Adventures was hosted by the Scooby Doo gang.

You didn't ask me to talk about OCs; however, you have activated my trap card, because Fang LOVES horror. He loves horror games in that Film Studies way where he can be on the edge of his seat and covered in goosebumps all while gushing about how well this use of atmosphere works and how the symbolism really worms its way into your subconscious and AH THERES THE SPOOKY GUY YOU GOTTA GO GO GO

Bubby tends to stream horror with either Benrey, Coomer, or Fang. All are simultaneously emotional support and severely unhelpful in their own ways.

I feel like at least ONE of the gang is really into RPGMaker Horror but I can't decide. This is an open discussion

#hlvrai #gordon streamman #streamer!bubby #fang0riously

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faeriekit · 1 year

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hello! ive been thinking about pursuing an education in library science amd qas wondering about the process and what the types of careers would entail. would u mind talking a bit about it? if not, its no problem, i was just curious. thanks

Bonjour!!! You have activated my trap card: talking about library stuff!!

Have you had any experience with working in libraries before? If you haven't, try volunteering with your local library for a few months and see if you like it first! One of the things I noticed really early on in library school was that people with a different background, like a background in teaching or in academia, often struggled with concepts that came naturally to people who worked within the system a lot. People think it's the same. It's not. It's close! but there are key differences in when and how you operate and the vocab and concepts utilized. Getting into libraries really lets you understand the rhythms and patterns of library work before you dedicate your life to it!

I went into library school already working in a public library, so I didn't really explore a whole lot of other opportunities, but lots of people like to get their masters with a specialty in other adjacent niches, like archival work, medical librarianship (maintaining a medical library at a medical school, I think it needs a medical degree of some sort?), academic librarianship (library in a college), teacher librarian (kids + kids' schools, requires an teaching degree), law library (ditto #1), and, of course, public! Which is what IIIIIIIIII doooooo and which no one really makes any money doing ❤️❤️❤️

Unless you're admin. They love paying for admin.

A Masters in Librarianship and Informational Sciences (MLS or MLIS) is often referred to as library school by all attendees ever, but it's generally as rigorous as any other masters degree...especially if you're already working full time. Every ALA (American Library Association)-accredited program has its own application requirements, such as your GRE score and letters of recommendation, but they scooted me in based off of a clean GPA during early covid, so I got away without taking harder tests ✨ And if you're in the US, you're going to WANT to go to an ALA accredited program, or else zero people will hire you ever. The ALA has a searchable directory for finding an accredited program that suits your needs, including online, synchronous, by state, so on and so forth. Use it. It's worth it. Once you have a few programs you like, you could see what they ask for application wise, or what the prices look like.

Librarianship, especially public librarianship, is hard to break into! I was rejected from the first part time job I applied for based off of...probably nothing, honestly- because the field is just so over saturated with applicants. You spend months applying to the scant few open positions that pop up. Everyone is vying for the veeeeery few fulltime jobs that are available. Networking is necessary-- join your state library association as soon as you know that this is your forever career, and your union as soon as you know you have a job, and talk to people! Talk to your local librarian now! Get the lay of the land and other great info about local options from your local library!

And no one wants to paaaaaay you unless you're in a really rural place and everyone thinks you just sit around reeeeeaading and meanwhile you're up to your eyeballs in library publications and program development and research and maybe even kids media, but I went into this job as someone already working in a library, so I had a better handle on hauling myself up into a full time position and out of a part-time depression. And I love my work!! Kids are hilarious and I love picture books as an art form and my coworkers are great, which isn't luck everyone has. I decided I liked libraries and the system I was working in before jumping in all the way, which helps so, so, so much.

Have hobbies, find a niche, learn how to maximize your skills in a library setting.

📖 Hey, it may be for you! 📖

#faer winds #library posting #librarianship

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almea · 20 days

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I've got random 2.2 thoughts because I had such a good time with it.

I'm so glad I didn't try to power through the rest of the story before going to sleep last night because the boss fight was so hype that I don't know if I would have been able to fall asleep after it. I will never get over slamming the Express into the boss, and Stelle looks SO PRETTY in the animation when you use it. I loved Robin and the rest of the crew having a line the first five times you activate it. Himeko's line fucking took me out. Hoyo… truly knows what my weaknesses are.

I heard you still have the Express's help in the Echo of War version of the fight but you don't get the animation of Stelle and Clockie summoning it and that's just. A crime. I'm pretty sure they still show Dan Heng in the Echo of War Phantylia fight, so why don't we get Stelle and Clockie? Like, I guess??? It could be weird if you're using Destruction or Preservation Stelle in the fight and then it's the Harmony version in the animation, but it would be the same situation as using 4 star Dan Heng against Phantylia. I'm just so sad I'll never get to see it again in the game.

I loved the whole part where Stelle's trapped in the Order's dream because I was just like. What is happening? This is feels so abrupt and I'm so disoriented and, bitch, I know the boss has two more phases and there were cutscenes in the trailer that still haven't happened yet. And then as soon as Topaz was like "Everyone has agreed to work together to help Penacony" I was like. Yeah. No. This is 100% a dream lmao.

Also, I don't know if this was just an audio glitch, but when I went back to the train, the music was reset to the default song, so I was like. Um???

When Black Swan said the card she gave Stelle was an empty light cone, there was a moment where I thought she would use it make a light cone using Stelle's memories and I was so disappointed that didn't happen. I really want a light cone with Stelle in it one day...

Harmony Stelle's animations are so good, I'm in love with her. There's so much personality and sass to them!! I'm surprised Stelle and Caelus's ultimate animations are almost exactly the same except for one part because their other ultimate animations look very different from each other while conveying the same thing. It's probably my bias speaking, but I feel like, aside from that really cool knee slide only Caelus has, the rest of the dance looks like it was animated a little more with Stelle in mind than Caelus.

I love Harmony Stelle so much that I'm going to start building break DPSs for her. And Ruan Mei lmao. I've been sitting on Ruan Mei for ages as I farmed relics for other characters. I was already planning to build Xueyi eventually because I used a trial version in one of the combat events and she was very fun and now I have another reason to do it.

I'm thrilled that Stelle got to talk and say cool shit in the cutscenes. I love her and she's so precious and I love that she gets to be cool!!! I always want Stelle to talk more.

Dan Heng's interactions with Boothill are so funny. He's just like. I don't want this man to ever speak for the rest of his life, I will murder him if he claims to be a Nameless again.

I was like. This close to crying when Dan Heng said his companions are once-in-a-lifetime treasures. My fucking heart, man.

All the Nameless stuff makes me so emotional and I'm not even entirely sure why. There's something about the way they present it that always has me dead on the ground. Like, the fact that the Astral Express has been around for so, so, so much longer than the current crew and they will continue to visit worlds that were visited and loved by their predecessors. The way the Nameless who left the Express still held it so close to their hearts. I love the reverence they have for the past Nameless. Stelle kneeling in front Mikhail after she received his hat was so beautiful.

I cried over Misha getting his memories back, and how only the other trailblazers were able to see him. The 2.0 explanation that only honest people with childlike innocence could see Clockie was very funny and I had thought it was a Stellaron thing since Stelle being able to see weird things related to Stellarons is an established thing, but the fact it's actually that you need to share the same spirit of trailblazing that Mikhail had is so uggggghhhhh.

Acheron finding Tiernan and helping him find peace and move on was soooo sweet. Now that we very concretely know the final fates of two of the three Nameless that stayed on Penacony, I'm curious whether we'll eventually get a more concrete ending for Razalina since I think her fate was still a little ambiguous.

I fucking LOVE bookends, so Acheron repeating what she told Stelle during their first meeting being one of the last things that happened in 2.2 and asking her the same questions she asked at the beginning... Those were personal attacks on me.

I'm still not 100% clear on the meaning behind Acheron's red text. I know it's related to red being the colour of existence (I think that's what she said) but I don't know what it's supposed to mean in the context of the red text. My first thought was that the red text is her breaking through the Order's dream's influence, but I don't remember if that fits with all her red text. And her red text appears when she's talking to Tiernan too, and I don't think that was part of a dream.

So I really don't know. Maybe her red text isn't that deep and everyone freaked out when they saw it for no reason lmao.

I have no idea what Sparkle was up to. I thought her buttons would do something during the last boss fight, but no? That doesn't seem to be it? I guess the Charmony Festival technically didn't start yet, so it's might be setup for something in 2.3. Either that or it's more of her red herring imagery.

#Annie plays HSR #hsr 2.2 spoilers #I've also got Stellaron Hunter thoughts for another post

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pbandjesse · 1 month

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We are at the wedding!! Waiting for it to start. Today has been a pretty nice day. Right now they are speaking to us in what I think is Ugandan and now they are switching to English. I am so excited for Sam and Paul.

He started with "You are very welcome." And I do feel so welcomed. That is the number one thing I have felt from the people here.

There is still a little time before the ceremony so they are going to have someone sing for us. This is very cool.

Today has been a lot of hurry up and wait. But honestly I needed that. I slept okay last night. And we actually slept in until 8. When we got up we washed our faces and put on casual clothes and went to breakfast. I still wasn't tasting much of anything so I didn't enjoy it as much but that was okay. James went to find me a breakfast soda (unsuccessful) and I ordered them a coffee so it would be there when they got back.

I did not feel like myself though. I desperately needed some source of caffeine. And thankfully I considered that and had brought my crystal light packs and would have one after breakfast. It is funny though, in all my research I did not consider that there is no diet coke in all of Uganda. So I was very sleepy and kind of quiet and stuck in my head.

When we got back to the room James took a shower and read for a bit before heading to Paul's room to get ready with the guys.

I would doze. The original plan was we were supposed to be at the lobby at 12. But then the guys didn't leave until 1145. So we had some extra time.

I would woke up at 1030 and finished drinking my caffeine tea. And discovered that James had taken my key card to the room so I couldn't turn the lights on. Annoying. I texted them but they were taking pictures so they didn't get back to me and return the card until 1130. So I did my makeup by sunlight best I could. And honestly I felt beautiful. I feel really beautiful today. It's great.

James would come up and give me a last smooch when they returned my card. I finished getting dressed. And I absolutely love my dress. This is the first time I've worn it and I am just so proud of the dye job I did. I will be telling everyone.

I took pictures outside and felt so good. And then went down to the lobby. Except the groomsmen were all still there. Ugh oh. So we would be minimum 45 minutes behind.

They would leave them though and I would chill in the atrium until Aelianna came down. She looks magical. She is ridiculously beautiful and she keeps telling me how pretty I am so you know that feels nice.

She invited me to go sit at the bar with her because she needed to eat something. She ordered us water and she got samosas. And we just talked. I was half vaccinated and could tell because I just become so stupidly talkative. I was telling her all kinds of stories. About moving to Baltimore, and meeting James, and being married and in love. She was a very good active listener.

She also told me about last night. A bunch of them went to a club. Me and James were invited but it isn't our scene and we knew sleep was going to be really important for us. But apparently some stuff went wrong. Someone didn't pay someone when they should have and they got trapped in an alley for 15 minutes in a really scary situation. And she got her phone (and wallet phone case) stolen. And that has to be terrifying. She had her work phone still but it has to feel so violating and scary. She is being really brave about it and the hotel is trying to help track it. I hope she can get everything situated soon. But today is the wedding! And we are all just going to try and focus on that.

The bus still wasn't there at 1240. So I went outside to find Paul's mom and dad and aunts and uncles and some cousins. And I was very caffeinated at this point and I was in full yapping mode. And we had such nice talks. About work and travel and the pandemic and community and how people have reacted to me here. And I loved talking to them. They are all so lovely and I am so so happy for them on this wedding day!! Their baby is getting married! Their family is expanding!! Love multiples!!

At 115 the bus finally came! But then Sydney and Devin were missing. Paul's dad had to ask the hotel to call their room. And at 120 they came down and finally were on our way!

It was not a bad drive. It was so nice seeing all of the nature and stuff here at the compound. As we had not seen that yet.

We had parked down the road so we all walked over here. And everyone is so beautiful and I love love love everyone's different outfits. It's a mix of American and African clothing. And I am just so happy to be here.

The ceremony is starting!

That was beautiful. I liked how much it it was in Ugandan. And I for sure cried. When Sam came in she was just so beautiful. Today everyone was wearing their American style formal wear. And they all just looked so sharp. The groomsmen came in first, with sunglasses on looking like secret service. Followed by Paul. Then the bridesmaids in all their colors. And then Sam! And it was so great.

The minister struggled to say "Samantha" and kept saying "Mantha" which was a little funny. But he would get it by the end. The structure was more religious then I'm used to. And the MC seemed a little more talkative then I expected. But it was still really nice. And they have live saxophone and violin. Which sounds great. There was multiple prayers. And that was nice. I cried during the vows.

After the vows they exchanged rings and I thought it would be kiss and then done. But there was more prayers. And then the ushers handed out water for everyone. And then weirdly they handed Paul the torn up box that water has come in?? And the minister asked for donations, we assume for the church, and Paul and Sam seemed a little confused. They would at least cover the torn up box with a cloth so it didn't look so rough but they could have gotten a better box. And no one was sure what to do but the Ugandan people started going up to make donations and then the Americans. But it was a little unclear.

But then they were married and we were happy and clapping.

And now we are heading to the reception site!

We had to go down the road and up a little hill. Armed guards at the front. But the tent and space is beautiful. Sam's parents did such a good job.

It was a little chaotic at first to figure out seats. But I took charge and got our group at 2 tables. And I seriously picked such a good spot. We are right next to the band! And I have loved there performances.

Once everyone was here they handed out drinks the show started. And I was obsessed. First of all they are beautiful. Their costumes are beautiful. And I loved the music. I was dancing in my seat with them it was wonderful.

And each little set was long! And they kept those smiles going, it was so impressive. For like 10+ minutes!

It was fun watching them but it was even more exciting when the bridal party finally came. The dancers danced in a line and the grooms men and bridesmaids came in and it was so lovely. So much dancing. I loved it.

And the dancing would continue. And it was great. I was so happy. I was tip tapping on my chair and one of the people in the band noticed and gave me an instrument!! It was a shaker of some kind with what I think are nuts or small gords. And I was enjoying copying the man who handed it to me and I think I did a good job! It was a little exhausting because it was 10 minutes of shaking and keeping time but I was having a great time and everyone was enjoying it, I think people thought it was funny and objectively it was! I was having a blast.

There were speeches and more dances and soon it was time for food.

While we had been laying attention to the shows people from the village outside of the compound had started sitting on the wall. And it was funny to see the group grow. But I think eventually the staff shooed them away. But eventually it seems that some of them would sneak in and join the buffet line. Honestly the more the merrier. I am glad they got some food too.

And the food was good. There was all kinds. I liked the pasta salad and coleslaw and three different kinds of rice. There was also some different meats but I did not have that. I would go back for fruits and a little bit of sponge cake. Which was bright red but just tasted like vanilla. I was having a lot of fun though. I got to try sugar cane juice. And I also had a sprite. And I am just having a blast.

James would come give me a smooch. And I would wander around to the other side of the tent where the groomsmen table is and hung out with James for a bit. And they introduced me to a little league world champion (2015) who one of the guys knew. He was nice.

And then me and James went to take pictures on the cliff overlooking the lake. It is truly just so beautiful here. James is just a little tipsy and so sweet.

I would head back to my table. Stopping to take talk to my favorite of the dancers. I told her how beautiful she was and she was like "no you!!". I am loving meeting people so much.

Now they are cutting the cake and it is very sweet. They also played the show game. And I hope we dance more soon.

They would have a mother son dance and a daddy daughter dance. Sam's dad was briefly missing so her uncle stepped in but the moment her dad came back and stepped in the waterworks started and I was crying she looked so relieved and just cried in happiness. And I was so happy for her.

We danced hardcore. I love love loved watched James dance their heart out. And as soon as we were invited to I joined them I was right over there.

And I had such a a wonderful night. I danced and danced. I drank water and crystal light. And had plenty of wired energy for dancing and chatting.

And chat I did. I made a bunch of friends. I danced with a bunch of people. I would wander off to the cliff edge a bit. To enjoy the breeze. And once the sun went down it was a lot nicer. I don't think I got burned. I was careful about sunscreen. And someone lent me their big spray. So I don't even think I got bit.

I really did love dancing. I am not terrible at it and it was just so nice feeling like I wasn't weird. I was having fun. I was happy.

I would get handed a baby named Skyler and we danced for a long while. I was just having a blast.

I would eventually catch a Sphinx moth. And danced with that in my hand and made all the aunties laugh in horror. But it opened the conversation and I was able to show them photos of our trip to the conservatory and the Nile and they wanted to know how I felt about Uganda. And I could really genuinely tell them how much I have loved their country.

I would accidentally upset James and I felt like I took the wind out of the sails and it made me feel like a monster. We would recover but the energy took some time to come back. But we would dance together and kiss and laugh and it was just a wonderful night.

While I was showing the aunties the pictures on my phone they started playing Ugandan music. And that got so many of the guests out of their seats and dancing traditional dances. And they showed us how to as well!! Me and James would learn three different dances and the young women were so excited to share and were high fiving and saying thank you for engaging with their culture and I was just like. Oh my God I am so grateful that they shared with me. The girls would take a selfie with me at the very end of the night and everyone seemed very concerned they were going to try and pickpocket me but I didn't have anything available and my phone was in my hands or in the front of my dress all evening.

I also had a few people give me their phone numbers to send them pictures. I have no idea if it will actually get to them. But I got the numbers and sent them along. It was so sweet. I was so happy. Both for Paul and Sam and just that we got to experience this amazing trip.

We would gather up at 11. And after getting a bunch of hugs and goodbyes we loaded up the bus. And that's where we are now.

Some kids were saying hello through the window. And we are all chatting and excited still. I am excited to get clean. And then tomorrow they have canceled the brunch in favor of dinner. Which I think is for the best. So we will try and swim and who knows what else. Just some last things before we start the journey home.

I feel so lucky. And so happy. I hope you all have a great night. Sleep well everyone. I love you all.

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katyspersonal · 10 months

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Idk why you get hate when your blog is one of the most honest i have come across and your lore posts are so meta that i don’t even think most bb youtubers have discovered what you have lol. Y’all just got jealous haters.

It is far not the first time I've heard explanation that people are just jealous, really :') 👍 Like... That Alfred-chan (aka Clod Frollo) simply hated me and was jealous and latched onto the first chance to justify the unending wish to remove me is painfully apparent at this rate. Inventing up bigotry, harm and opinions that were never there to get the chance to declare someone you hate a "witch" is the oldest trick in the book! If you convince people the person is bad and harmful, you are automatically justified to treat them however you want.

It might be my lore, because they were really mad at the fact that I write essays on multiple occasions? Like, they try to paint it as me "having no life" or "being mad", but. dude. dude you are projecting. If the only way you could write essay on a topic you care about is abandoning all your chores and needs and/or getting mad at someone, then I have bad news for your intellect? :/ This is a very common attitude from people that cannot say anything interesting on their own and just post the same two-sentence brainlet takes about how much male characters/fans suck or how their [LGBT headcanon] is the only true interpretation and everyone who disagrees can't analyse media. 🤔 So how can they feel better about not having as many interesting headcanons or good theories? They've picked the low-effort way - to attempt destroying the value of "lore essays" by painting them as a bad thing! I will be real tho - they've gotten like, two asks about their headcanons in a lifetime (both about the same character, ironically) and shown that they CAN post something good when they want to, so eventually it is the matter of choosing low-effort way. Destroying is easier than creating!

It could also be freedom, and honesty, like you said. Some people's only trump card is being """good"""! Some people think if they put 'transphobes DNI' in their bio and regularly seek to call out bigotry that isn't here they are automatically a good person who is now allowed to stalk, harass, be toxic in general and push even genuinely innocent people under the bus. But I do not have to compensate for lack of personality and latch onto any ideology or activism - I am already a pretty awesome and interesting individual on my own. 😎 Not to mention how they have to put on the hard show of fighting "for the common good" to keep their following engaged, meanwhile I still have very genuine and deep support even despite my honest fuck-ups (forget the fabricated accusations!). I don't have any other theory than them knowing (maybe subconsciously) that by surrounding themselves by witch-hunters ideological soldiers, they've trapped themselves in the situation where if THEY fuck up - their "fans" will turn on them, if not cancel them. Building following based on ideology instead of shared interest (or one's own unique radiant personality, like mine 😎) is the worst thing you can do to yourself. Because... guess what? Correct, because that sort of people eats their own.

________________________

I'd appreciate no more personal asks like this for some time, because I genuinely start to feel guilty talking about myself so much (in my personal blog.... hmmm logical...). But again, kids, remember - you must make your worth with cool shit like talent, great personality traits, positively encouraging others, etc and not in ideology and making up witches you could "defeat". That person has the capacity by having some nice ideas, being able to craft stuff, drawing. They could easily win all the supporters they've lost back and outgrow me by LARGE merit if they apologised, admitted mistakes and committed to cultivating positive emotions, discussions and content. It is basically so easy and it is so much cringe to take so many Ls because of jealousy and obsession?

#personal #ask replies #/drama #honestly? positive emotions are STRONGER #they're harder to create yes #but the last time i got pissed at a bad g3hrman take for example?#i combated it not with vaguepost but with creating a very wholesome poll about him that everyone liked #i am slowly turning into local toxic positivity freak i know but:#my depressed ass found it more helpful to react at the takes i hate by nurturing my takes #hate a ship? post headcanons about a ship you prefer instead!#hate a character? utilize their 'awfullness' in a fanfic or fanart or boost the character you do like #hate a take? write an essay with your counter-take without vagueblogging #why waste time and energy on a person you already 'defeated' instead of rebuilding what you've lost to do that?#my friends told me there is a demand for 'moral victory' too because i still enjoy my videogame and mutuals #and like that's against the rules i guess? hell if i know anymore #like... okay keep convincing yourself that you are harming me for 'a good cause'.#because admitting how much of a mess you've made and how untrue your accusations were would crash the narcissist won't it?#i tend to make enemies whose whole problem is them figuring out they misjudged me but they NEED to stay in denial #that person literally never admits their mistakes - not in regards to people nor in fandom/headcanons stuff #even though doing so would only paint them in a good light #dude. duuuuude. being 'always right' just makes you look like a prick. admitting mistakes attracts hella more simps trust me

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orowyrm · 1 year

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#1: I love finding someone with a unique/rare ship or headcannon.

#2: the interaction with Sigma and Sombra, where Sigma is saying Moira is going to run some tests on him, how do you think Ramattra would respond to hearing that?

#3 do they have any nick names for each other?

AW TEEHEE THANKYOU!!! its been a while since ive had the motivation to like, draw or write anything for em but rest assured im thinking about them so so so much... youve activated my autism trap card though i have an INSANE amount of convoluted opinions on the nature of character dynamics between sigma and sombra as well as sigma and moira and im taking this opportunity to babble about it. sorry in advance.

as for the interaction, personally im of the opinion that said 'tests' are literallly.... just tests. as in like, yknow, bloodwork, scans to make sure the implants and augments he has are actually working to redirect excess pressure and kinetic energy from his vital organs when using his abilities ... ive talked about how i think that sorta stuff works more in this post but tldr is that a lot of the tech and equipment hes using is of his own design and VERY experimental, hes pretty much flying blind here so he kind of has to make changes as he goes and so it's kinda important that his health and safety are taken into account. and he also has a bit of a uhhh. demonstrable history of disregarding his own safety for the sake of his research. it would kind of make sense that theyd be going out of their way to make sure someone stays on him about actually doing the damn tests and keeping track of the results. it just so happens that he's really averse to letting just anyone Examine (tm) him because of. yknow. the everything. and moira happens to fit the bill of being A. someone he feels he can trust to not take things too far (whether or not he's making a good choice here is up for debate, but i think he could do worse) and B. actually have a degree of knowing what she's doing. i definitely think that the only reason she's bothering at least initially is her own curiosity about everything he's got going on, but he also does just really feel like the type to jsut kind of naturally be very endearing . ive said before that a lot of their interactions read as playful to me, at least on his end - he DEFINITELY sounds like he's messing with her on purpose. i think he does genuinely regard her as a friend, and for the most part, he's probably right - even if she's a bit cranky about it. i have a LOT of thoughts about their relationship too honestly probably far too many to cram into this one post LMFAO i think about the dynamic a lot. im a moira apologist idc i think that she is capable of being nice sometimes. just because shes kind of a cunt sometimes doesnt mean shes needlessly cruel, like not only do i feel like messing with his head and experimenting on him given his history would be kinda kicking him while he's down. but ALSO, i feel like she's smart enough to know that making him an enemy would be a baaaad idea. he can literally explode people with his mind. she knows better than to give him any reason to be genuinely mad at her, and i do think he would absolutely NOT tolerate any kind of treatment like that ever again unless it was on his terms and he had the power to just leave if it got to be too much. even as it is, i think the entire process is a bit of a sore spot for him and not exactly something he's thrilled about, hence his hesitation in that interaction - not because it's happening against his will so much as he's regarding it the same way i think about having to go get blood drawn. it's not fun, but it's gotta happen somehow.

all that to say, i think upon overhearing discussion of said 'tests' without further context mattra would NOT be happy about it, likely getting defensive the same way sombra does. he'd probably be a lot harder to dissuade than she is tbh, i dont know if he'd really take moira's word for it that there's nothing underhanded going on here unless sig told him so himself, and even then it would still put his hackles up. he's probably very nosy about it for a very long time. just to be safe.

as far as nicknames/pet names go, in my mind theyre both very... awkward about these kinda things i guess if that makes sense? emotional vulnerability comes easily for NEITHER of them, between sig still recovering from decades of isolation and mattra just naturally being very guarded and bitter (for good reason!) and not used to outwardly expressing his care for others, especially not for some random human who seems to have decided that they're friends. to me, their dynamic is very much one of tentativeness and battling with distrust and insecurity. i think it would take a very, very long time to get there, and even longer to actually be able to casually say stuff like that without wanting to explode and die on the spot. i do think sig is a bit more outwardly affectionate than mattra, but even then, a lot of it is kinda tempered by the fact that he's just very forward with everyone about everything at this point - he's kind of desperate for positive connections with others that he can hold onto, so he's reached a point where it doesn't take much to get him to consider someone a friend and he's not exactly hiding it anymore. oh, i dropped something and you picked it up before i had a chance to? sick, we are now besties and i would kill for you.

i think that sort of attitude would catch ramattra off guard and he'd not really know how to react to any of it. sig could call him anything at this point, but if it's in an affectionate tone he WILL bluescreen about it. ramattra.exe has encountered an error and must restart

i do really like sig's valentines voiceline, so i might just roll with 'starlight' even if it's a bit cheesy... hell, now that i think about it, i think he'd do that specifically BECAUSE it's cheesy and will probably elicit an eye-roll or a 'stop that'. he seems to enjoy pushing people's buttons. maybe bothering his friends is his love language idk

#SORRY if none of these are sufficient answers i am in a rambly mood tonight and this #got me thinkin and thonkin #thankyou so much though i love excuses to talk about them. im so normal about them #overwatch #sigmattra

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ghoulangerlee · 10 months

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ssooo tell me about this 'you share not the blood of our, our, ours' fic of yours (does not go to Ghost school but will happily listen to her friend tell her about their story :3)

you've activated my trap card bwhahaha ily you're the best <3

SO. it is 99% self indulgent and 1% true to real life Ghost lore, starting from the moment that Papa III is killed and Cardinal Copia takes over as the lead singer of the Ghost project. the title comes from Ghost's La Mantra Mori which i listen to entirely too much for a song that repeats the same thing over and over. there is something haunting about the cadence of him singing we focus on your death, we focus on your death, you share not the blood of our, our, ours, thus we focus on your death

It is arguably very self indulgent because I've marketed this fic as the slowburn polyghouls/Copia AU that I wanted to see in the world and it's somehow turn more into (currently 40k) of internal feelings about doing the right thing and corruption in the Satanic church.

Also including: bonding with your ghouls and trying to summon more so you have a full band to play instruments before you have to go out on tour all while writing an album so you have music to play on tour otherwise you've got to just sing all the songs from the dead Papas who were all beloved :) and like what if you mess up? will people like you as much as they liked the others? there might be some underhandedness afoot with the Clergy making it very clear that if you toe out of line you will be Dealt With (read: killed just like the predecessors)

here is a snip of the meat and bones plan of the current chapter im writing:

other stuff happens in the chapter but this one is v plot forward because I really need to get this man and his band out of the church and on the road jfc.

tiny lil preview even tho it's not ur wheelhouse and is most likely v confusing hahaha.

Dew stares at him for a long moment, his head tilted upwards a bit, a curious expression on his face, “You’re so quick to give the knife to me,” he says slowly, “With no worry about what I might do with it beyond a little cut on your hand.” “You wouldn’t hurt me, Dewdrop,” Copia says, “I’d give you the knife and let you put it to my throat if that’s what was required.” he glances down at the dagger in his hand, “Do you want this?” he asks, “A bond with me, like I have with Aether and Rain, like you have with them?" For a moment, Dew’s expression flickers a bit, self-consciousness leaking into it as he stares at Copia; and then, all at once, he drops the dagger and dives forward, nearly tackling Copia to the bed in his haste to try and fold himself into his arms. “I would never put a knife to your throat,” he says, resolute and firm, though his voice is muffled by Copia’s shirt. “I’m sorry,” he whispers, “I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s wrong with me right now. I want to do this, I want this, I want to be a part of it, but I keep getting stuck on the what ifs.”

ANYWAY thank you for coming to my ted talk on this fic that i joked about being 100k but is going to be at least 100k with at least 2 arcs lmaoooo. we're really basking in the self indulgence here.

#ask replies #i heart u so much honestly #my writing

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jacqcrisis · 2 years

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Hello! Sorry, yet another person here to absolutely fawn over your fallout au, which I finally just finished. I've really enjoyed reading through all of the tumblr posts all morning, I had a thousand qs I'd ask about the characters and story if I could but just… WHY IS NOBODY TALKING ABOUT PAT AND ACHILLES. How do they find out. Is Hermes just like "yup, guess we should go back to see Achilles" one day and Patroclus is like "Hold up what the fuck did you just say"?

Anyway I appreciate this story ended a while ago and you're probably out of charmes inspiration these days so don't worry if you have nothing to say, I am going to go and stare into space and think about Charon and Hermes smooching instead of doing my day job thanks

A) thank you so much for all your kind words, including your comments. I'm just very bad at responding to those but I am grateful and extremely happy you enjoyed my stuff!

And b) while I am burned out of Hades content, you did unfortunately activate my trap card that is talking about sad old ghouls and centuries long pining. So I'm using this as an excuse to detail how Achilles and Patroclus finally meet each other once again.

So, after everything in fallout au, Zagreus starts what I like to call the White Boy Soul Search™. He runs away from Asphodel and his father several times in order to try and find out more about himself and who made him (Persephone) all while the dynamic duo of Theseus and Asterius are tasked with bringing him back (which they succeed several times cause, listen, Zag did beat the mutant in a 1v1 but they are still an ex-Brotherhood Paladin and an ex-Unity Nightkin tag-teaming dragging an android man back to daddy).

On these travels, Zag meets up with Hermes quite often, as Hermes is secretly checking up on him under the guise of 'haha wow we crossed travels again, cuz! Crazy, amiright haha'. At one point early on, Zag laments how his power supply seems to run out so quick and he just can’t understand why but if he could fix that, then he could continue his investigation longer while leaving the guards tailing him in the dust. Hermes, upon hearing this, is all too eager to drag him off to go see the friendly neighborhood android doctor, Pat, who welcomes them in with less than enthusiastic arms.

Now, Zag has, in the past, read most if not all of Achilles' journals he keeps around in his private rooms, and is well versed in his personal history and his long lost love he still dreams of and sees false images of in the crowds at the arena. So when Patrolcus introduces himself with that long dead lover's name, while also being a ghoul, Zag starts to get curious. While Hermes is off getting bullied by goats and a rooster, Zag starts asking questions as Pat is looking him over: what'd you do before the war, where were you stationed, what have you been doing since, anyone you miss from that time?

Pat is dodging all of these as he has always done, but just as he's wondering if he should force a sleep cycle on this new synth, Zag just comes out and asks if he knew anyone named Achilles. That's a name Pat hasn't heard in decades, one even he doesn't dare to speak aloud and, as you would expect, he drops whatever he's holding. He assumes he misheard, but when Zagreus clarifies that he knows a ghoul named Achilles who writes often of a Patroclus he knew before the bombs dropped, Pat forcibly enters him into sleep mode.

When Zag awakens, his power supply problem has been fixed and, in payment, Patrolcus demands he leave and never speak about this 'person' again as it is impossible his Achilles survived the bombs, suffered from ghoulification, and lived for as long as Pat has. By his words, it is cruel to string a old man along like that with the hope such a person could be alive only to dash it once its revealed he's speaking of the wrong person. Zag tries to argue but Pat is adamant and sends him and Hermes on their way, considering the topic null and void.

So Zag goes back to town, heads directly to Achilles, and tells him about Patroclus, expecting at least one of them to be happy to hear about the other. Achilles indeed is, in disbelief and elated beyond measure Patroclus is alive but that happiness fades. There’s a sadness to him as Zag describes Pat’s condition and reaction and, when he suggests Achilles go and see him, Achilles refuses, stating it's for the best he stays away.

It takes a while for either of them to budge. Achilles is wracked with guilt over having abandoned Pat during what could have been their final moments, and the idea of seeing him again, and seeing what would be justified anger and hatred at his actions, would be too much to bear. Patroclus, on the other hand, refuses to believe this Achilles is the one he knew, that upon seeing this person, that being faced with one final confirmation that his Achilles is dead, it’ll become all too real for his steadily declining grip on reality. They’ve both spent nearly two centuries mourning someone and neither wants to have that festered, scar reopened, to go through it all again.

Eventually, Zagreus appeals to a sense of catharsis in Achilles, that perhaps apologizing, even if it's to a closed door, will bring him some peace. So he agrees to go without Zagreus as this is something he needs to do alone, and after a boat ride and a long lonely walk with his thoughts, practicing an apology over and over again, he finds himself at the quaint isolated farm. At the sight of a man across the fields tending to his crops and his animals, Achilles nearly turns right back around, centuries of guilt and grief and hope hitting him like a freight train.

He doesn’t get to as some of the goats spot him, bleating and tottering over to the frozen ghoul in their curiosity, alerting their master to the visitor’s presence. Patroclus moves closer, not recognizing the person standing among the tall grass, about halfway to his homestead from the fence, with his hand on the pistol at his hip. He calls out as he continues to step closer, tells the ghoul he doesn’t take in wanderers and the stranger will need to move on now if he wants to avoid the deathclaw’s sunset hunting hours.

They've both changed physically, recognizable features sloughed away as their skin and soft cartilage dried and fell off throughout the years but one thing that hasn’t is the way Achilles says Patroclus’ name, choked in disbelief and a reverence that carries unaltered by the breeze. It’s Patroclus who stops in his slow approach, hand falling from the pistol and the breath knocked out of him. Achilles takes a cautious step forward, saying something but Patroclus doesn’t hear it, falling to his knees as he begins laughing.

He’s certain he’s finally lost it, that the radiation burning away at his brain has finally done its job, that this is some hallucination, and as Achilles comes to his side, touches him cautiously, his laughter turns to weeping. He falls into Achilles’ embrace, assured by the physicality of it that this is real. That’s he’s real, that he’s alive, oh God, he’s alive and has been just a few days' travel away for years...

It’s happiness. It’s guilt. It’s mourning once again, but this time not someone lost, instead years, decades, centuries wasted alone when it could have been together.

But, as a similarly crying Achilles promises, that doesn’t matter. There’s explaining to be done, apologizing to be had but they’re together now. They have time now and he’s not going anywhere this time if Patroclus doesn’t want him to.

#fall out hades au #ive been WAITING #FOR ANYONE TO ASK #kind of not really #but ive thought a lot about it #mmmm love sad happy things #Achilles comes back a happier man and zag immedaitely starts asking for the dirty deets #like he does #idk if you read the other long charmes fic i did but i do reccomend it #if you want shit thats just....really drawn out then watch the tide come in is the fic for you #anyways thanks again!

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