#editing later with proper formatting

[rat-detector-413]

i saw some amazing art on the HSD and it reminded me of this blog which has a lot in drafts just sitting there. anyways, i dont know the artist for the following, but ratstuck detected!!!

(ill edit with proper formatting later i promise)

[zukkaoru]

for the prompts thingie:

"things you said when you were drunk" + skk or tachigin?

"drabble prompts," i said, and then proceeded to write 2.3k words. oops

the moment of truth in your lies

It’s half past ten, and Michizou dials the only number he has memorized. // It’s half past ten, and Gin watches their phone ring until it sends Tachihara to voicemail.

or: five things tachihara said while he was drunk

(read it on ao3)

(prompt requests are still open but no promises on when or if i will get to it)

[kloofspeaks]

The Creation of a Physical Copy of Coming Home (But Not to You) - The complete summary

Since, I promised I would update this as soon as I started working on it and boy, has it been several hours of me trying to learn how to use Microsoft word, hundreds of songs in my Jayvik playlist and perhaps, a small minor emotional breakdown. I have gotten Coming Home (But Not to You) formatted for bookbinding.

I hope @lesbianherald knows that they have not only written about 678 pages of a glorious and beautiful story but when in book format, that comes out to be 340 pages which is bigger than Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare (which.. you out wrote him twice). I swear, I promised to update you and that’s literally all I have besides a minor practice signature before I venture out to find a book suitable to hold the piece and paper that looks a tad more vintage.

The first draft pages in word looked like this, this was also MY final concept before I went out of my way to make a little page design in procreate. (Featured later)

The Artist featured also gave me permission to use this for this personal project. Please, check them out with this link here: X (their art is gorgeous)

[Written January 3rd, 2025]

─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───

Okay, we’ve settled on some covers. Might be wondering why I didn’t want to make one from scratch? I didn’t want to weather it, personally. It’s a lot more work and the threading and binding itself is going to take most of my time. I’m working on A4 (Actually, it ended up being smaller than A4 at about 11 by 8.25 but when folded it’s 5.5 by 8.25) paper format, having to adjust my measurements as we go because they were drastically different in the word document. I edited some of the features of the pages and actually sketched out a design for my Cricut to use for the cover and chapter page emblems for just a little personal flare!

I actually went to the thrift store and broke apart books that werent in use to provide me a proper book board because the ones I had were too thick! Reuse and recycle, baby! (All for the power of Jayvik)

A little thing about this project is that I actually bought weathered paper for this! Yeah, that.. it didn’t end up coming LMAO. I did buy some book corners for some metal flare. The hexcore design I drew out, myself, in procreate and also cut out in Cricut (thank you, TikTok tutorials).

A little fact as well; I haven’t bookbinded in 3 years! My books when I started were actually GOD awful— which is also part of why I chose a base book frame because that was my biggest weakness when it came to this. The binding itself was actually the easiest part to me when I started! I kid you not, I did very much come out of retirement because of Jayvik. I wanted a physical book I could mark and leave notes on, so why not make it myself? I’m extremely thankful, I got permission to do this and plan on doing this with another one of my favorite Jayvik fanfictions once it is completed, so perhaps… maybe. I don’t know, after I had gotten all the signatures out I had realized that the book covers used WERE TOO SMALL! This is the book before pressing for over 48 hours and in a middle of a snowstorm!

[Written on January 6th, 2025]

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And the book is binded! I had used wax thread which is already thicker and way more durable and actually made for bookbinding. It has already had about two layers of glue on the binding but I tend to do about four just for extra strength and protection. It should be going in the book in about a day or two, which will lead to the final update of this!

It took me about three well-spread out days, six hours of actual sewing and teaching myself how to use a curved needle without violently stabbing my skin but I was able to get the box-stitch in.. I tried to even out the layers as I had binded too fast in one part and two signatures ended up being uneven, whoops. I fixed that with a tap of a literal hammer (No pun intended) but this was truly an experience. The parts with the open black page on front is when the stitching was glued and the book pages were placed on. This also meant I had the actual book for it to sit in ready. Which was crazy to think about.

Would you believe me if I told you I measured this all by eye and had to cut the pages four different ways to make this book actually become a book. The next paragraphs will be glamor shots. Thank you for sticking with me— encouraging me on this because of my LACK of experience in this entire field and prayers for my poor fingers.

[Written on January 13th, 2025]

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And we’re here, it’s finished and settled. Here are the glamor shots. I do plan on doing more bookbinding in the future as I DID enjoy the process but folding and making signatures will forever be my enemy. Here’s the glamor shots and underneath the cut is all my reactions and build up to finishing this monster of a book.

A couple things, I never want to do this again. If I ever do a fanfiction THIS big again. I’m spilting it into two books, perhaps even three depending on how big it is. The symbol on the front is the Piltover symbol, I tried to find Jayce’s Talis house symbol and THERES NOTHING, I literally tried drawing and everything. My Cricut didn’t want to cut it and trust me, I tried for over three hours with the symbol.

What only matters is that I think it’s cute. I think the simplicity and mix of tears added to the final design a lot more than I thought it would.

If I ever do this again. (Knowing me, I will.) I plan on revisiting this, probably make another version when I have more bookbinding knowledge under my belt LMAO, but enjoy this lengthy post. I’m now going to go to bed.

Also huge shout out to my Zelda art book for being my primary book press for this entire thing. I really need a book press.

[Finished, January 14th at 12:08 AM, 2025]

─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───

[untoldsoup]

This is part TWO of the three part re-upload of my 'Change' comic. Part One can be found Here. Part One is a complete redraw. Part two (and three) did not need a redraw, but I did resize them to the proper A4 format the rest of my comics are in, updated the speech bubbles, added some new onomatopoeia, and did some small art edits/minor redraws to some of the rougher panels. Overall this entire remaster was a huge project that took months in the making, but I am so Glad I did it. I was gunna post this later in the week but I got up early before work and had time to organize everything.

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

part one: Here

part Two: You are here

Part three: Here

original 2023 comic here.

[baldieboi]

You prank the Primarchs (wholesome pranks). How do you prank them and what's their reaction? Part 2

@ghrgrsfdesfrfg

Vulkan

Vulkan, the Lord of Drakes, was known for his warmth and compassion, making him the perfect target for a lighthearted jest. In his forge on Nocturne you left a small, handcrafted 'miniature dragon' made of clay, except its 'flames' were actually streamers of bright, glittery ribbon that fluttered with the heat vents.

A note sat beside it: 'Even Salamanders need a little sparkle, Lord of Fire.'

When Vulkan discovered the creation, his booming laughter echoed through the forge. He held the tiny dragon up to the light, watching the glitter dance and grinned broadly.

“By the Emperor’s light, this is a treasure!” he exclaimed, placing it proudly on a shelf beside his finest works. He turned to his nearby Salamanders, still chuckling. “Whoever did this has the heart of a craftsman and the humor of a child. I approve!”

For weeks, he showed the 'Glitter Drake' to anyone who visited, retelling the story of its discovery with great joy.

You later found a tiny, forged pendant in the shape of a dragon on your workbench with a note: 'A spark for a spark. –V' It glittered just a little too much.

Ferrus Manus

Ferrus Manus stared at his hands in bewilderment. His iron fingers, those perfect instruments of war, had been... decorated. Tiny googly eyes bobbed on each fingertip and miniature mustaches had been carefully glued beneath them.

A note was taped to his palm: 'Even iron needs personality! –Your Friendly Neighborhood Flesh Advocate'

He flexed his fingers experimentally. Ten tiny faces stared back at him, mustaches wiggling with the movement.

"Ridiculous" he muttered. Then, after a pause: "Though the adhesive work is... impressively precise."

His Iron Hands found him an hour later still in his forge carefully crafting tiny hats for his new finger-friends. When questioned he simply stated: "If they're going to have faces, they need proper protection."

Magnus

Magnus opened his grimoire to continue transcribing forbidden knowledge but the ancient Prosperine text had been... edited. Aggressive red corrections covered every page:

'THEIR, not THERE!' 'You're thinking of 'eldritch,' not 'eldrich' — common mistake!'' This entire paragraph is a run on sentence. Please revise.' ' Citation needed.'

The final page bore a grade: 'C+ – Good ideas, poor execution. See me after class. P.S. – Your handwriting is lovely!'

Magnus stared, his psychic might rippling with... bewilderment. Someone had grammar checked the mysteries of the universe. The sheer audacity was almost... admirable?

"Fascinating" he murmured while examining the corrections. "Though I maintain that 'eldrich' is an acceptable variant..."

He spent the afternoon revising his work. When Ahriman found him Magnus was muttering about proper citation formats and the importance of thesis statements.

This part is extremely short, but in exchange I'll bring the next part much sooner. Hopefully. Life loves keeping me busy.

[reblog-house]

I couldn't help myself

Wc: 640

AO3: here

It’s not the first time that a volcano has been confused for a mountain. That happens often, even more so when the volcano has been dormant for a while.

The volcano couldn’t remember the last time it erupted. The last time fire and plumes of ash consumed its surroundings as it grew, lava flowing down its dome.

It could remember how it felt. It felt powerful. Like that’s what its existence was about. To call upon its magma and destroy everything in its wake. Often, it felt some form of nostalgia when remembering those times, wondering what it would be like to go back in time and experience it once again.

But those times were long over. Its crater had closed over like a wound, grass started growing on it like a parasite, feeding on its minerals. It felt tingly, at first, but he grew to ignore it. The first time it took notice that the grass had broken down some of its hard exterior into dirt, the volcano didn’t know how to feel. 

It learnt to accept it, eventually.

Then, the trees came. It didn’t know how they got there, but soon — and too quickly, for its lifespan — deep roots started taking over its summit. 

The roots penetrated its shell and called it a home, taking more minerals than the grass ever had. It was like a crown, weighing it down, a pressure on its head it could never get rid of.

It’s been a while since the volcano last tried having coherent thoughts. The sights around it had changed and grown through the millennia, so much it could no longer trace the progression of events to get to where they were. 

It liked watching. It didn’t like thinking anymore. If it started to think again, it would lose itself in its memories, and it didn’t want to go down that route again.

It felt horrible every time it did.

One day, something changed, and it decided to think again.

Small bits of pressure going up and down its sides. New sounds it had never heard before. It wasn’t the roaring of its explosion, or the sway of leaves to the wind, or the flowing of water along its base. No, it was something new. Many new sounds.

And then, a name.

Magic Mountain.

It had never had a name before.

It wasn’t the first time a volcano had been confused for a mountain, but it didn’t know that. 

Nothing that the new creatures said made sense, except for that set of words. It resonated, called to it.

Magic Mountain.

The so called ‘mountaineers’ made holes into it, deeper than the roots ever had, yet it didn’t mind the intrusions this time. It was curious. These, unlike any other thing to have called its summit or slope a home, moved. Not due to the passage of time, but because they wanted to. Because they could. Everything about them felt deliberate, and the volcano wanted to know more about them.

Then, they started building. Putting weight on its slope, creating what wasn’t there before. In a way, the volcano felt, for the first time in millennia, how it was to grow. But to grow in a way it had never done before. 

It didn’t feel powerful, but it also didn’t feel weak, not at all. It didn’t feel like it was destroying everything around it to grow in power, to become something else. 

No, it didn’t feel powerful or weak or like destruction. It felt… like creation. Like…

Like love.

Magic Mountain knew it would never erupt again, but for once, it had a true reason not to. It had lived before, ever since its lava first made a mound and consciousness awoke in it. But now, for the first time, it knew exactly what it meant to truly live.

Grian HC 10 ep 1, 10:23

"They don't need to know that this *volcano* is hollow"

Lore?? Magic Mountain is a volcano that's been dormant for so long that life started to grow on it? I'll take it as such until they contradict it later on.

[a-queenoffairys]

Code Lyoko Chronicles 2.0

The Code Lyoko Chronicles are a series of 4 sequel books originally released in Italian in around 2010. Set a short while after the season 4 finale, parts of book 1 recap a story similar to the TV series but with a number of small changes (there's no RTTP for example) while the gang uncover some new secrets in the Hermitage that set them on the path to finding Aelita's mother, Anthea. But XANA survived and is coming back for revenge, and the gang's investigation into the secret history of Franz Hopper, Project Carthage and the Supercomputer puts the men in black on their trail as well, not to mention the shady Green Phoenix organisation who funded Hopper's work.

The books were published in a number of languages, but not in English - so that's where the fans come in. As one of the first translation projects we did for CodeLyoko.fr, finishing in 2014, the original completed English release was pretty rough. 10 years later, armed with more translation sources, better resources and many years of translation experience, I decided to take another crack at it. And after many months of hard work and procrastination, I've produced a version 2.0 that I'm pretty happy with.

Links and notes on the various changes under the cut!

New translations!

My co-translator Kelsey and I didn't have a lot of serious translation experience when we picked up where Rhys Davies left off in his English translation project, and we were definitely prone to making mistakes. And it didn't help that for books 3 and 4, a few things got lost somewhere in the process of the text being translated from Italian > Spanish > French > English. I revised our original translation and this time I referenced multiple sources to try and make sure I got the interpretation right. It won't be perfect, but it's definitely better than our original attempt!

The second half of book 2 was based on the official French version, which I discovered was slightly condensed and abridged to lower the page count. The new English translation expands the text to restore the parts that were omitted. I also changed the title from The Nameless City to The City with No Name - there was never an official English translation, but I did find a marketing document with the titles listed in English, and that was the only one that differed.

Here's a page comparison with a few changes, mostly minor, but one big change to the context of Odd and Ulrich's conversation. With my apologies to Kiwi for the original mistranslation.

New formatting!

I got better at formatting Word docs and realised I should have the text alignment set to justify. The books look a lot neater now!

Accessibility!

I added alt text descriptions to all the images, and the PDFs all have a proper table of contents now so you don't have to scroll to the end of the book to find the navigation.

(Note I don't have a lot of experience with detailed image descriptions and I haven't done much testing with a screen reader - feedback is welcome from people who know more about it!)

New scans!

The centre of each book has several colour pages with images and text to supplement the story, and some of the original scans were quite small or had part of the image disappearing into the spine of the book. And the only way to fix it seemed to be to obtain physical copies of the books (probably in Spanish), pull the pages out and scan them flat. So I did. And I think they look great. (Black lines added to hide spoilers.)

My original intention was to upload these to CodeLyoko.fr, but I haven't been able to do that yet, so for now they'll just be available on Google Drive. This translation wouldn't have been possible if not for the other people on the fanslation team - not just my fellow translators, but also all the people who worked on scanning, formatting and editing. Special thanks also to Rhys Davies for kicking off the English translation. You can read more about the Chronicles and the fanslation project here on the website. (Yes I still need to revise the translation of those pages too. Someday.)

So yeah, it's taken a while, but I'm glad I can finally put out a better version of these books for people to discover. Enjoy!

Version 2.0 PDFs here! (Google Drive) ePub versions coming soon.

[project-sekai-facts]

What plot points has clpl retconned? I figure there are many, but some you recall vividly? (Also if you want from vbs since it's my fav group, if not, it's ok)

here's a few i could think of

in And Now, the Ribbon is Tied, Mizuki finds Ena's art online and asks her if she can use it in a fan MV for one of Kanade's songs. Kanade then reaches out to both of them after seeing Mizuki's MV, and they join N25. Previously it had been stated that Kanade reached out to them separately, and was the first one to ever discover Ena's art. they tried to dig themselves out of it by saying that Kanade was the first one to see value/meaning in Kanade's art despite Mizuki having found it first, but it's pretty flimsy considering the reason Mizuki even used the art was because she saw some worth and meaning to it. There were a few other minor fixes to other stories in the edits they made to clarify the Kanade thing, the most notable of which was redoing some early post-main story scenes where Mafuyu still uses her good girl persona in front of Niigo.

In an old area conversation Rui says he learnt his engineering skills on his own using online tutorials. this was retconned in revivial my dream when it was revealed his parents were both scientists with his dad specifically also being an engineer and presumably the one who taught him since rui was making robots probably before he had internet access. the kamishiro garage story bg also points to his parents being the reason for his interest and knowledge in science.

honami's reason for playing the drums was originally given that she wanted to lead the other performers and because she thought it was cool. she had experience with other instruments beforehand, and she learnt both those and the drums in brass band, before the original formation of leoneed in elementary school. this was retconned in This moment with you where she's shown to start learning drums when Ichika decides to put together a band to perform miku songs. the story was later patched with an added section to acknowledge that honami joined brass band after the initial Ln formation because she wanted to continue to play the drums, though all previous stories remain unedited.

harumichi's reason for disliking street music was originally because it wasn't classical ("proper") and because he felt toya was wasting his abilities and running away from what could have been a successful classical music career. he also pins the blame on akito specifically, calling him a "bad influence". toya's reasoning for becoming a street musician is also given as him randomly picking something that was a) accessible to him and b) about as far away from classical as he could get. the reaction probably would've been the same for any other non-classical genre. this is retconned in Time to Take Off, where it's revealed that Harumichi had a run-in with some street musicians who dissed him and his music when he was in college, and he's held that grudge for like 30 odd years, and lacks respect for street music/musicians as a result.

[sharpace]

Starting Feb 15, the Divorce Era💔Deets of the release schedule and perks for being a member below!

To become a Ko-fi member or follow for updates please click here!

For more details, read below!

Starting Feb 15, members will get it included AS WELL as early access to all Crank It comics and you may see a few extra doodles. ;)

Starting March 15, non-members can have access to it one month after members through Ko-fi under "Donate what you want" with a set minimum of $1.

These are going to be prose with illustrations and comics integrated within. Each chapter goes through a section of their relationship starting with Crank It, going through the "Divorce", and then their eventual reconciliation.

How many will there be? Will there be a batch upload? While I'm still writing/editing the final few chapters, we're sitting at about 8+ chapters so... buckle in. At the end of it, I'd like to make a digital booklet of it but details aren't done. Why Ko-fi? When I decided to do the Divorce Era proper, I wanted to respect that Crank It is a safe, happy space for a lot of people. I felt like it would be intrusive to suddenly drop this with the comics. Also, this formatting frees me up to do fun things.

And finally, thank you all for your interest and support! The fact that I'm here 2 years later still telling stories that people still enjoy warms my heart. I'm so happy with the community that's been built around these idiots and their hairless cat <3 Thank you!!

[chaoticbardlady99]

Maryë (Astarion x GN! AFAB Reader) MDNI 18 +

Synopsis: Astarion left to explore the world and himself following the death of the Netherbrain. You remain in Baldur’s Gate with your brother, Gale, resigning yourself to your fate as Astarion’s friend until you die. Until one day, you and Astarion begin to write letters back and forth. Except there is one letter in particular that you suspect isn’t from Astarion…

CW: minimal mentions of violence, smut, Oral (Female Receiving), PIV, Tav’s also just an oblivious idiot who apparently doesn’t think very hard about words (it’s me, I’m Tav the idiot and this is like my Fiancé and I’s friendship prior to ya know, dating lmfao)

Author note- I might also write this in AMAB! Format, but I need to do some… research first for accuracy. This is lightly edited and just some silly little thought I had. I wanted to write something not so detailed for once while I work on my drafts for Lethal Woman and She’s Not Acid Nor Alkaline. Also def stole a line from Tolkien and added to it at the end (this is me crediting).

You’ll either love this or hate this idk.

The title literally translates to Home in Elvish.

Photo belongs to idk who so please reach out if it’s yours!

As always- likes, comments, and reblogs are always appreciated, I am just terrible at responding.

Tav,

As much as I enjoy our current form of communication- I was wondering if I could come to see you in person.

I have so much I need to say to you and I want to be able to do it in person- the proper way.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Yours,

Astarion

You sit and stare at the letter like you have been doing for the last week since you received it. Unlike your half-brother, Gale, you are not one for words. It was hard to respond to Astarion’s letters initially until Gale “doctored” your responses- often putting whatever silly accomplishment you have achieved lately or stories Gale found interesting from your recent solo adventures.

“Are you going to write the letter or are you hoping it’s going to write itself?” Gale teases.

You scowl at him and shake your head.

“I don’t know what to write back.”

“I could come up with a couple things!” Gale clears his throat, “‘ Oh Astarion- I’ve missed you terribly this whole time! I regret telling you that we should be friends until you figure things out! Despite my VERY WISE BROTHER’S ADVICE TO NOT DO THAT! I wait like a lovesick puppy at the mailbox every week hoping a letter may arrive!’”

You roll your eyes at him and throw one of his many decorative couch pillows at his head. He certainly has your mother’s flair for the dramatic. However, you can’t necessarily say he’s wrong- you have been nothing less than a smitten school girl waiting for letters non-stop.

Astarion had gone back to the Underdark after the last battle with the Netherbrain. He told you that he wanted to go and explore who he is- the world too.

You had been as enthusiastic as you could about the decision considering you had come up to him at the party with a letter in your hands asking if he would like to continue traveling with you after this- you had been too scared to say it outloud. A part of you hoped it may allow your romance to blossom without the impending threat of death at every corner. Well, if he still harbored any feelings for you at all.

You had merely smiled and told him how excited you are for him. It answered the silent question that had been there- was there still room in Astarion’s heart for you after you said you should just be friends and try again later?

The answer was ‘no’, despite Gale’s perplexed face and lecture when he found out you gave the spawn a send off with a ‘long’ hug (he made you describe it in detail). You refuse to give yourself any hope- you will remain a dutiful friend since you resigned yourself to this fate.

Then you received a Sending spell with him requesting your address and the letters began. You squealed like a schoolgirl when the first one came in and ripped it open enthusiastically. You didn’t realize Gale was home, otherwise you wouldn’t have read it out in the open- Tara snitched on you!

You had only truly met Gale around a couple months prior to your mutual abduction. Your mother had asked you to assist a brother you never knew about in finding magical artifacts- you quickly learned it was because the man was becoming a damn recluse.

You had worried he’d slam the door in your face or turn you into a sheep for all of eternity- the minute you told him your name was Tav Dekarios, he pulled you in for a hug and told you he had been awaiting your arrival. Gale was thrilled to know that, like him, you were also a prodigy in your craft.

You are a virtuoso master with any instrument you touch and you cast spells that are almost far too good to be true. You became Oghma’s Chosen in your teen years after spending many years practicing under his mentorship (which is why you and Gale had a very weird, serious talk one night about how Mystra is kind of a fucking pedophile) and that allowed you to do incredible things.

Your notes could create shimmery images and tell stories- Arabella and the other tiefling children (even the very tough Mol) enjoy coming over and watching war tales be told with nothing but a drum and a rain stick. Sometimes you let them tell tales and you come up with a tune to match it- eventually finding a rhythm to put your mind into and create the picture.

It was one of the many things Astarion mentioned in his note- he stated that none of the other Bards even begin to hold a candle to your talent. You blushed deeply when you read the line.

He told you about everything he had seen, everyone he had met, what he’s found out about himself, and shockingly enough- how much he misses you. It had taken you by total surprise, but you responded saying you missed him too.

Pet names began to flow easily into inked lines and it felt like you had a tiny part of him back in your life- your friendship is still as strong as it was before he left.

The letters have quickly become the best part of your week and occasionally you’ll read them with Arabella. She ooos and awwws, then attempts to bully you into tell Astarion your feelings. You cast a mini rain shower over her head with a few poetic words for the suggestion. You don’t want to ruin what you have and there is always the possibility that he found someone else.

However, you weren’t unsure of this particular note because you didn’t want to see Astarion- you would love that. The issue is that it doesn’t look like his handwriting, it isn’t the paper he uses (he’s ridiculously particular), and it doesn’t flow. Gale thinks you are over analyzing it, but you are pretty sure that this isn’t Astarion’s writing. He also addresses you as “Darling” not Tav and signs the letter of with “‘Órenya ná órelya” (my heart is your heart) not “Yours”.

You’ve waited for another note to come in since, but nothing has. You are beginning to wonder if Gale is right and you really are just being paranoid.

“I already told you, Gale,” you say with annoyance, “something isn’t right about this note. I don’t think this is from him which is worrisome because that means I haven’t heard from him in two weeks WHICH could MEAN-“

“For the love of Gods- TAV,” Gale yells, effectively shutting you up, “my young, oblivious little sibling. Just say yes and let him come visit.”

*********************************************************

It had been two days since you sent the sending stone and there was no response. Not that it would have mattered anyway considering you are somewhere in the Underdark in a very beautifully lit cave. Neon, blue veins of magic run through the rock. The pathway is lit with glowing flowers and…. Benches?

It had all happened so fast. One moment you were walking home from the market and the next- Astarion had come up to you from an alleyway and said he needed help. He had told you that he would love to catch up, but there is an injured child around the corner and since he can only stay in the shadows, he needs you to help them. Before you knew it- someone hit you with a sleep spell and the last thing you remember seeing is stars as your head slammed into the pavement. Oh and a, “oooooffff my bad” before you blacked out.

You blink your eyes a few more times, trying to figure out what in the wretched hells is going on.

“Oh for the love of- I told you to talk to Oghma’s Chosen! Not kidnap her and give her a serious concussion!”

A hazy, short figure comes into your vision. Is that…. a Deep Gnome?

“You told us it was imperative for the wedding! We intercepted the real letter and wrote this one,” another Gnome says, “and it worked! They showed up and everything! We’ve been watching since you told us to talk to her two weeks ago! We were running out of time for talking and bargaining so we just-“

“Kidnapped them!” the man yells, “you kidnapped them!? You- you imbeciles! They are supposed to want to perform for the wedding- you had at least six more hours! AND I GAVE YOU TWO WEEKS!”

“But Walby-“

Walby.

You know Walby! He and Barcus have been dating for a while now and the two are over the moon smitten. You are very happy for Barcus- this man is everything Wulbern could never be.

“No! I have had enough of your silliness! Leave me at once!”

You hear the three Gnomes that supposedly ambushed you walk off in angry huffs. A flash of healing magic fills the air and your head is finally clear- your ears no longer ringing like a triangle.

“My apologies, Ms.Dekarios,” Walby, says, “I wanted them to give you an invitation to come to Barcus’ and I’s wedding this afternoon, but as you heard, they are not the brightest bunch.

“It’s a very last minute ceremony- my mother is ill and she wants to see her ‘baby’ get married before she goes. We wanted to wait another year to plan, but oh you know how it goes!”

Walby looks at you sheepishly as you blink a few more times and let his words sink in. You look at the man and try not to throw up from sitting upright. You must have been out for a while, but not in a “oh that was a wonderful beauty nap” kind of way. You are pretty sure you have a decent amount of blood caked to the side of your head and neck right now.

“Oh, well in that case,” you offer a good natured smile, “I’ll consider this the most unique wedding invitation I’ve ever received and one I may not even have the privilege of remembering.”

The man laughs heartily as you stand up and brush your clothing off. You’re glad you wore a nicer outfit today and decided to bring your violin along- Oghma must have wanted to make sure you were prepared.

“I also wanted to ask a favor,” he says meekly, “if I haven’t fallen out of your good graces before I even stepped foot in them- that is.”

You smile and just roll your eyes.

“Consider it water under the bridge. How can I be of service?”

“Well, you see- we had asked an acquaintance of ours to play music and uh. There’s no easy way to put this, but he was run over by a herd of Deep Rothé.”

“Hmm,” you say with a snort, “tough crowd- Deep Rothés.”

Ultimately, you agreed to perform for the ceremony and the little dinner party afterwards. Your music decorated the air with golds and silvers. Barcus was thrilled to have you there and thanked you immensely for allowing his mother-in-law to “witness true magic” before she leaves this plane.

By the time you were finally leaving- you hear two very familiar voices scream your name and come barreling towards you.

*****************************************

Astarion and Gale are practically sprinting as they try to track your location through the streets of Baldur’s Gate. They had just found a large spot of your blood sticking to the cobblestone and leading to the sewer. Astarion feels sick when he notices the path leads back into the Crimson Palace. Thankfully it was through the sewer and straight to the tunnel of the Underdark.

He had sent you a letter a few days ago and he had confessed his feelings. Instead of waiting for you to respond like a sane person, Astarion got the hell out of the inn he was staying at and began the four day trek to Baldur’s Gate. The nice part about traveling alone and not needing to breath is that Astarion could run from place to place if he was in a hurry or was just fed up with traveling already.

Astarion quickly learned that it was boring to be alone and it’s far more fun to share adventures with you. He also learned that he might be a semi-decent person on his own because, in spite of being without your physical presence, he continues to fucking help people. Astarion is really over this whole moral compass thing (it only extends so far though, he’s still a proud Bastard at heart).

When he arrived at your home about an hour and a half ago, Gale had informed him that you had gone out to the Market and was confused when Astarion said his letter shouldn’t have arrived yet. It took longer than usual to write for… reasons.

Gale showed him the note you received and the two of them pieced together that someone had definitely set up a trap- just not a very good one. Astarion pinched the bridge of his nose when Gale told him that you definitely figured out the letter wasn’t from him, but Gale encouraged you to respond anyway.

A part of him is incredibly worried that some of the remaining Bhaal cultists have taken you since they are the only people he could think of that would be able to mimic his form. His stomach still turns when he thinks about the time they realized Orin had taken you. This is giving him the same queasy feeling.

So imagine his and Gale’s surprise when you are walking away from some random spot seemingly unscathed. Except Astarion won’t believe that until he has inspected you for injuries himself.

You look positively shell-shocked to see him and even more surprised when he’s taking your face gently in his hands and begins to check for injuries.

“Are you alright, Darling?” He says in a far more panicked voice than he means to, “we found blood- I thought the worst and your idiot brother! Of course that letter wasn’t from me! I have class, my Dear! I would never use that paper and WHY IN THE HELLS WOULD YOU FOLLOW ME OF ALL PEOPLE!?”

He knows his ‘rage’ doesn’t sound like rage- it sounds like a man who thought his only love had been on the brink of death only moments ago. Astarion is trying to keep a serious face, but the adoration and love in your eyes when you look at him is making him want to dissolve. He’s thrilled to see that after a whole year of not being together that your feelings haven’t waivered. Neither have his, obviously, but that’s why he’s here.

“I will say, Tav,” Gale says with exasperation, “you even gave Tara a fright- you should be expecting a very long lecture when we get home.”

“Oh I’m sure I will,” you say with a beaming smile, your eyes never leaving Astarion’s, “but I do have quite the story if you would like to hear it?”

Astarion’s grin stretches across his entire face.

“I think a good story, better company, and some wine would make for a fine evening, my Dear.”

“Gross!” Gale says, “but I’ll tag along for some wine.”

Oh dammit.

****************************

If Astarion wasn’t so busy feasting upon you- then he probably would have already hunted down those stupid Gnomes that gave him a fright and found a windmill to fling them from. Gale had left only 15 minutes ago, but Astarion had made quick work in getting you up to his room and having his way with you.

The minute Gale left, the conversation became flirty and teasing- all the want that has been pooling in his body is finally getting the release it needs. You, like always, are a sight to behold.

Your back arches when his tongue drags along your clit and Astarion pushes your hips down into the mattress as your arousal paints his lips. Your moans and desperate cries of pleasure are so delicious and his cock is painfully hard, straining against his leather pants.. He is fighting between taking his time and being selfish- chasing his own pleasure inside of you.

The moment you clench around his fingers is the same moment he unlaces his own pants and begins to remove them. You keen and whine underneath him- Astarion’s name sounds the best coming from you in this state.

Astarion should be a gentleman, hypothetically, and maybe give you a half a second to be a little less dazed from your orgasm. Except Astarion isn’t a gentleman and he isn’t patient- at all.

Astarion lifts your hips up to his until the head of his cock is aligned with your entrance and he thrusts himself inside of you. You immediately wrap your legs around his hips with a yelp of pleasure and your eyes flutter wildly as you take his whole length. Astarion smiles down at you as he slowly rocks in and out of you.

Your fingers find their way to his hair and you pull Astarion’s face down to yours- stunning him with a mind numbing kiss. He snaps his hips at the sensation and the moan you let out causes whatever resolve he had to break. Astarion releases the hold you have on his lips and kisses along your jaw up to your ear.

“Did you like that, my Love?”

You hum in approval and try to pull his mouth back to yours. He interrupts you by thrusting into you two more times with more power than the first one.

“Asta-,,” you attempt to say his name between thrusts, “Astarion please.”

“You didn’t answer my question, Pet,” he teases, “I don’t even know if I know what you like anymore- maybe you don’t even like thi-“

Your legs tighten around his hips as he goes to pull completely out of you. Astarion quirks his eyebrow at you with a smirk as you look at him with desperation.

“I more than liked it- I loved it,” you whisper with your cheeks burning from your shyness.

Oh and how Astarion loves your shyness. His hands fist the sheets as he starts his agonizingly slow rhythm inside of you again- whimpers falling from deep within your chest.

“See, Darling,” Astarion says as his face falls into the crook of your neck, “that wasn’t so difficult, now was it?”

He doesn’t even give you a chance to respond before Astarion’s hips begin to pick up speed and his mouth covers yours. As much as he loves to hear you moan- he doesn’t care to share that experience with any of the patrons that had been obviously checking you out while you were catching up.

Astarion groans against your lips as he continues to fuck you relentlessly- his fangs nip at your lower lip and lap at the tiny droplets of blood that seep from the punctures.

You are a mess underneath him and you feel incredible in every way possible. Astarion never wanted this to stop in the first place- back when he had told you his feelings and you said it would be best to be friends for the time being.

Perhaps that’s what causes him to slow down and kiss you deeply- making up for the lack of speed with more force. One of his hands trails along your chest and begins to tease your sensitive nipples- your walls clench around him hard when he begins to pinch and roll the right one and your orgasm coats him as he moves to play with the left.

You kiss him sloppily and he’s lazily thrusting into you- his own Little Death following yours within seconds. Astarion collapses on top of you as he begins to soften inside of you. The smell of you and him mixed together is intoxicating and your heartbeat is hammering from the pleasure- your eyes glassy and tired with bliss. He laughs breathily before placing a kiss on your swollen lips.

Astarion lifts you up ever so slightly so that he can pull the blanket down and over you, then he adjusts himself and you so that you are curled up with your ear pressed against his chest. He strokes your hair absentmindedly and you lightly draw shapes on his chest.

“I’m so glad you’re back,” you say sleepily, “I’ve missed you so much.”

I’ve missed you too, Darling,” Astarion says while pressing a kiss to your forehead, “I’m happy to be home.”

“Oh I’m sure Baldur’s Gate is-“

“You are my home,” Astarion interrupts you, “I’ve come to realize that wherever you are is where I want to be.”

You look up at him with tears in your eyes and happiness in your heart.

“But what about exploring your new life and all of that jazz?”

“Darling, I wouldn’t have a life if it weren’t for you,” Astarion states, “you helped me kill Cazador and break the cycle of ongoing abuse. You gave me life so I could live it and I want to live it with you. I’m tired of pretending I’m okay with just being friends and holding back my feelings. I want to share my life with you.

“I know this may all seem very fast, but” Astarion grabs his pants off the ground and he feels his stomach turn as he pulls the box out of his pocket, “I know I love you- that’s probably the only thing I’ve ever been sure of in my entire 239 years of existence. I- I wanted to know if you would… marry me?”

Your lips are on his within seconds and the two of you become entangled in soft kisses until you have to pull back for air. You lean your forehead against his and meet his gaze.

“I love you so much, Astarion. Yes- yes I will marry you,” you say tearfully, “I want to share my life with you too.”

[doomandgloomfromthetomb]

Kevin Ayers, John Cale, Nico & Eno - June 1, 1974 (Outtakes)

I've been spending the better part of the week digging into the new reissue of John Cale's Paris 1919; I've bought this record at least four times in various formats over the decades, but I have to admit that I was pushed into getting the latest edition because I wanted to hear the previously unreleased bonus track "I Must Not Sniff Cocaine." Who could resist?! Turns out it's not really a song, just a little bit of studio banter. There's a sucker (sniffer?) born every minute — I guess that's me. Oh well, the remaster sounds great, and maybe you can never have too many copies of Paris 1919 ... it's a masterpiece, doncha know?!

I'm somewhat surprised that the powers that be didn't see fit to release a 50th anniversary version of June 1, 1974 — the debut of ACNE (Ayers, Cale, Nico, Eno). Did anyone sniff any cocaine here? Yeah, probably. But it might've been nice to have the complete concert all gussied up for suckers like me. Instead, we've got to make do with the audience tapes of the stuff that didn't make the proper LP, which includes a grinding version of Cale's "Gun" (though it misses the Manzanera/Eno fireworks found on Fear), Nico's, er, provocative "Das Lied Der Deutschen" and a 20-minute trip through Ayers' epic nightmare "It Begins With A Blessing."

ACNE was short-lived, but CNE got back together later that year for some interesting gigs — there's a raw tape of a Berlin show that you definitely want to check out, if only for the surprisingly tender "Guts," which according to legend was inspired by the behind-the-scenes events of June 1, 1974.

[sulfurousdreamscapes]

How I Hacked My Short Story Brain into Developing a Novel

I promised I'd make this post, so here it is, but with a proper title and everything so that it'll be more generally helpful to other writers.

Regulars of this blog have probably noticed that I've struggled a lot with long-form fiction over the years, despite having churned out a library's worth of short fiction.

This time though, things are coming together, and it's because I've got a technique down that plays to my strengths as a short story writer.

Step 1: Outline and Draft Something

After writing and abandoning several outlines for my WIP Last Night, New Body, I finally set one in stone and wrote a draft for it this January.

The rough, first, skeleton draft was 30,000 words long - far from ideal, but better than nothing. It was tough, but I got it done in two months.

Step 2: Read Through and Take Notes

Next, I read through the draft and took notes on how I thought the novel could be improved. This included notes on plot, characters, and setting. The notes were all taken in a spread sheet in the following format:

Page Number -> Note Title -> Description -> Category

The 'Note Title' could be something witty or referential, but it has to be short, like the name of an achievement in a video game. So for example, it could be:

23 -> Enemy at the Gates -> Why does Nadia shut the door when she sees that Rhea has come to visit? -> Character

I took these notes freely, writing down any point that I thought could be changed, expanded, removed, or otherwise mused.

Once I was done with these notes, the question arose: what the hell do I do with these notes?

Step 3: Treat the Notes As Writing Prompts

This step is in-progress at the moment, but I'm halfway through it already! The idea is to take each note and write 500 words for it.

This comes naturally to me because I've written hundreds upon hundreds of flash fiction pieces for my blog, each one targetted for 500 words. This means I'm now developing the novel 500 words at a time, based on the notes I took while reading through the skeleton draft.

The process has been beautifully productive so far, and I've come up with so much detail, so many new scenes, and better developed characters. My next draft will be assuredly be much longer than the 30k words I got down before.

So how long will this take? That depends on how many notes you take. I initially took 72 notes, but I've found that as the story develops and changes, I've had to "delete" many notes because they became redundant or irrelevant. I say delete in quotes because I've actually moved them to a 'recycle bin' sheet of sorts, so that I can retrieve them later if I deem them important after all.

Next Steps? Outline and Draft the Thing

I'm generating a lot of meat for the skeleton draft, and I'm dying to put that meat on the bones. To do that, I plan on first constructing a very detailed outline, including as much detail from the expanded notes (the 500-word pieces) as possible.

This done, I'll write the 'flesh draft' while referencing both this outline and the skeleton draft. As excited as I am for this, I do anticipate this process to be difficult, so I might find a way to divide it into small, short story sized chunks as well.

Then come the edits and everything else. We'll cross those bridges when we get there.

[sinner-sunflower]

A HH Lucifer-centric AU 4/?

PART 1 , PART 2, PART 3, PART 5, PART 6, PART 7, PART 8, PART 9, PART 10, PART 11, PART 12, PART 13, PART 14, PART 15, PART 16, PART 17, PART 18, PART 19, PART 20, PART 21, PART 22

Thanks to your support, I am so committed to this. When I finish this, I plan to make it into a long, proper, one-shot- better format and everything!

I've been doing these chapters in the middle of work lmao, so if you see a typo or some edits, it's me rereading it after work.

I'm trying to include more Alastor but he's pretty hard to write.

I used Velvette so much here cos I love her as that bitch you love to hate. She is obviously the spokesperson of the Vees

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

The hotel lobby is filled with unbearable silence as hell's overlords and high members of the Ars Goetia arrive one by one.

Just a few hours ago, Alastor heard from Carmila Carmine that the king had called a meeting for the top ruling people of hell. Charlie doesn't know why her dad called for it in the hotel.

The Ars Goetia (minus Stolas) were whispering among themselves and shooting the sinner overlords dirty looks every now and again. The overlords were good at pretending they couldn't hear anything. Apparently, they at least have the sense to know that that would be a fight they cannot win.

The hotel's residents collectively claimed it as their spot. Husk is talking with Angel quietly, keeping him distracted and out of view of Valentino, Vaggie is holding her spear as she keeps a close eye on the strangers in their home, Nifty is obsessively cleaning a corner of the bar (Husk keeps telling her that it is still dirty just so she won't venture elsewhere), and Cherri is playing with an unlit bomb in her hand.

Rosie and Stolas decided to approach Charlie and Alastor at the bar at the same time, both slightly bowed to her.

Charlie: Prince Stolas. Rosie.

Stolas: Hello, princess.

Charlie: How's Octavia?

Stolas: Via misses your outings together. But she is fine. She's with her mother today.

Rosie: Not that I'm not happy to see ya, Alastor. But why exactly are we here? Our Carmila has not stated a reason why.

Alastor: You know as much as me, my dear.

Stolas: It must be dire. His majesty rarely calls for the Goetia's presence. He is not here yet?

Charlie: No. He went down in Sloth earlier. I'm worried. After what happened yesterday, I..

Rosie: Yesterday? Did something happen, sweetie?

Charlie realizes the slip up and backtracks.

Charlie: Nothing, Rosie!

Rosie gives her a look that tells her they're going to be talking about it later. She gives the overlord a weak thumbs up.

Meanwhile, Velvette decides enough is enough and they have wasted too much time waiting.

Velvette: Ugh! Vois, let's go. This is a fuckin' joke.

Carmila: Velvette, calm yourself.

Valentino: Why should she? I had very important shit to shoot today and me being here is making me lose money.

Alastor: Then perhaps you should step down. Having to attend the bare minimum duty of their title must be so difficult for someone so... undeserving.

The Radio Demon has a giant patronizing grin plastered on his face. Alastor's comment prompted Vox to speak up.

Vox: Oh, you timely piece of shit! Fight us right now, Alastor!

Alastor: How unbecoming. Throwing tantrums in front of royalty!

Velvette: I for one, don't want to sit here waiting for a no-show fossil

Charlie's demon side flares as the demon insults her dad.

Charlie: How fucking dare you?!

Random Goetia: You shall know better than to disrespect your king, insolent pest.

Velvette: Ha! You think we're scared of a bunch of birds?

Alastor: Should have known you three cannot behave for a simple meeting haha!

Soon everyone was yelling obscenities at each other, filling the hotel with chaos. Before a proper fight could break out, the door opens with a bang, silencing every demon.

Lucifer has arrived, following him were the other Sins. They were arguing amongst themselves from behind him. Charlie can only catch glimpses of what is being said as voices overlap each other.

Beelzebub: Bel-

Mammon: Are you fuckin-

Satan: Wrath is-

Leviathan: We cannot-

Asmodeus: Evacuation-

Belphegor: Grown another mile-

Lucifer says nothing the entire time and just takes a seat in the middle of the semi-circle table he conjured up. With the way the table was placed in front of everyone else, Charlie gets the feeling of deja vu of her hearing in heaven. But now her dad will be the one passing judgment.

Most of the sinners in the room back up as the Sins continue to argue with their full form.

Lucifer sits back and raises a hand and the yelling stops.

Back then, she never really understood why demons were afraid of her dad. He was always a silly and happy guy when spending time with her. But one time, she sneaks into his rare meetings with the Sins and sees why he was called the devil.

The anger she saw then could have given her Uncle Satan a run for Uncle Mammon's money.

Lucifer: Thank you all for coming on such short notice. I will cut to the chase. I have called you all here because something is brewing at the very depths of hell. Something that may affect us all.

Stolas: The Ars Goetia is at your disposal, sire. But may I ask what is this about?

Belphegor: I can answer that. A few months ago, an anomaly appeared at the edge of Sloth. It was not a problem until-

She pressed her touchpad and a hologram screen appeared showing the infected ground.

Not a single demon didn't widen their eyes.

Angel: What the fuck is that?

Belphegor: We wouldn't have called you all here if it was not this severe.

She taps and shows a mutilated demon pig.

Belphegor: This is Patient Zero. An animal on a nearby farm made contact with the anomaly. It instantly infected the whole body, controlling the creature whilst killing it slowly. If it can affect an animal like this, we fear what it may do to-

Velvette: And what do you expect us to do about it exactly? Why the fuck would we care about some old place we can't even go to.

Belphegor is briefly stunned by the interruption but ignores the sinner's disrespect.

Belphegor: Because you would have to be naive to think that it will stop in Sloth. We cannot be too careful.

Velvette: So you think we would risk our lives? Yeah. No thanks. How do we even know that it will affect us? It's just a pig. The worst we can get is horrible floor decor.

Lucifer stands up and moves silently towards the middle for everyone to see.

Lucifer: Free will does not mean you are free from consequences.

The king starts to remove his shirt to everyone's panic, except Belphegor.

Mammon: Woah woah, mate. The fuck ya doin?

Lucifer shrugs off the last piece of clothing to reveal the glowing, infected marks. It has not been a day since he touched it but the veins are already covering the entire right half of his torso.

Charlie: Dad!

The princess attempts to go to her father's side but Vaggie holds her back.

Lucifer: Shall we proceed without any more interruptions?

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

What to look forward to in Part 5:

the rest of the meeting

more dialogue from the other Sins. Cannot decide what personality to give to Leviathan.

My HC for Satan is he's like one of those old butler types but has a jacked body (I know he has that workout app, but I'm leaning more of the liver king type of a gentle strongman with anger issues. I don't want him to be a fuckboy gymbro)

more badass lucifer

the Vees getting scolded like the children they are

[frank-horrigans-left-testicle]

wow holy shit formatting on a phone sucks. anyway now hear me out, EE fans...

I have a group of friends that have dragged me into Epithet Erased, particularly the fandom (you guys!) surrounding it. I've heard some good, some bad, but one that was of special interest for me was someone I don't think I can name without being jumped. I assume you'll understand who I mean in the next paragraph.

"Epithet" as an epithet? And from what they told me, a poor moveset that does a crummy job at representing the word? Seriously? Well, that pissed me off so much I got off my ass and proceeded to make a Tumblr account and post my take on the concept of epithet manipulation. Now, I introduce to you...:

"Antonomasia"

Antonomasia is a rhetoric noun or a type of metonymy wherein an epithet (heh) or phrase takes the place of a proper name or noun. Inversely, it also refers to when a proper name is used to express a general idea. Examples include:

"He Who Shall Not Be Named" for Voldemort, and a "Karen" to refer to an entitled, bratty adult woman.

Do you see where I'm getting at? You can modify an epithet... using your epithet! Let's go over the moveset. Any moves listed are specific to the Star class, unless I say otherwise:

GENERICIDE (UTILITY) — This is your trademark ability. You, the Inscribed, can modify an epithet by editing the word used by way of assigning a synonym, or if a particular word has a lack thereof, an antonym. Genericide can be utilized via two signature ways:

Genericide: Euphemism — You can dampen or otherwise weaken the efficacy, impact, and/or the mechanics of an epithet. Suppose you pick a fight with Mera Salamin. You discover her epithet, Fragile, and assign Slight to it, therefore dampening her abilities. Given what her epithet does to her body, would she see this as a blessing? Well good job buddy, now she's chasing you, Arsene Amulet in hand, wanting that dampening effect for herself! To compare this to an established ability in canon, the weakening effect is stronger than Molly's, although with a drawback that I will explain in the WEAKNESSES, ADDENDUMS, AND TRIVIA section.

Genericide: Dysphemism — You can improve or otherwise enhance the strength, efficiency, or add a particular quirk of a given epithet. Now, you become buddy-buddy with Giovanni Potage, and he tells you that his Epithet is Soup. You ponder over it, wondering what he did in his previous life to be condemned to such a mundane epithet (no offense) then realize you can adjust the epithet by installing the word Pureé. All of a sudden, whatever soup he outputs is now thick and denser in volume, enhancing the combat effectiveness of the already scalding soup.

DICTION (UTILITY/OFFENSIVE/DEFENSIVE): Because of the nature of your epithet, you gain the ability to mimic and "store" a limited imitation of an epithet for later use!

Remember imbuement (frankly, I forgot what it was actually called)? Well, you can utilize a highly limited, crude variation of that ability, being able to encode a stored epithet into a given object! However, you can only procreate an effect when making physical contact with an object, and the effects disappear once you lose contact.

You may only bring out a single epithet at a time, whether through utilizing its abilities as is or in imbuement. For example, if you have Dumb and Drowsy, you may only bring out and/or imbue with either of them, not both at once.

Epithet mimicry allows you to only utilize a single ability provided. You are also only able to mimic a given ability if you witnessed a demonstration. Let's use Molly Blyndeff this time. You witness her using Silence Bubble, so, now you can mimic that specific ability and only that specific ability. If she uses Dumb Down Intelligence afterward, you cannot mimic that ability until some time has passed, where you "forget" the learned ability, freeing up space for another.

Because you're Star class, you are limited to mimicking or storing other Star class epithets and are unable to mimic or store Orbit and Nova class epithets.

CASUS BELLI (PASSIVE): Have you played a game with skill checks (gee, I wonder which game franchise I'm referring to, where my Tumblr username came from...)? Do any of said skill checks involve Speech, Charisma, or a derivative of those two? This is your passive ability! Your words, through supernatural means, have an extra "oomph" to them, having more impact.

Emotion, morality, and belief and willpower play very heavily into the success of this ability. Are you currently anxious, conflicted, and/or hesitant? Do you doubt that whoever you're sweet-talking will buy your quite literally magical white lie? You're gonna fail. Snap out of it. A calm and relaxed demeanor, a moral high ground/belief in something you really want to happen (for the lack of better phrasing), and sheer fucking will can help with success.

The value, or otherwise the persuasion level of a Casus Belli enhanced sentence varies wildly, with so many variables that come from how a person speaks, what their personality is like, how they interact with others, their beliefs (religious or ideological), and their most played Steam game in terms of runtime hours, that it is impossible to fully calculate the exact success rate that accounts for every situation. Of course, when you move up a class, perhaps this may change.

Even then, some people, particularly those with experience handling the various verbal clumps of feces people throw at each other, or, you know, those that wrangle with society (politicians, anthropologists, psychologists, your neurologically degenerate, overly paranoid, reclusive, senile old neighbor just across from your house), can still see through such a ruse. Don't expect using this to convince Sylvie to hand you a lollipop after a visit and have it succeed just yet. Does... does he even have those in his office?

This is where the movelist ends... for now. Do you want to suggest a move? Feel free to in the comments.

As always with these magic systems, there are bound to be weaknesses, and even an epithet that controls the fundamentals of the system itself isn't exempt to such. Well, unless you reach the Nova class, and if you do, god help us.

WEAKNESSES, ADDENDUMS, AND TRIVIA: One particularly important weakness is the requirement of physical touch to even activate your abilities, most notably Genericide. Any kind of physical touch works; even accidentally bumping into an Inscribed will allow you to activate Genericide, so long as you are fast enough befoe you two move away from one another.

The cooldown for when a Diction ability slot is freed is 6 minutes and 12 seconds. Stored epithets last permanently, however, if the original Inscribed dies, the stored epithet in question becomes unusable.

I hope you have a thesaurus on hand, because you're gonna do a lot of wordplay and comparisons. I recommend thesaurus.com for looking up synonyms and antonyms. Oh, and any synonym an antonym will do, as much as it won't make sense, because it'll give me a splitting headache trying to find a "weaker" synonym for the dampening effect to properly set in.

Genericide's effects, whether via Euphemism or Dysphemism, will always last a maximum of 5.5 minutes. The longer you remain in contact with an Inscribed, the longer the effect, reaching the maximum in ~10 seconds. Do the calculations yourself.

When invoking Genericide, there are special effects that you bring towards an Inscribed. Euphemism manifests like a thick, unpleasant looking smoke that takes on the signature color of the epithet the Inscribed wields, if any. If there is none, it will default to a foreboding blue with glowing white embers that seem to radiate off their body like electrical sparks. Dysphemism takes on the form of a bright fire, again, taking the signature color of the epithet concerned. If there are none, it will default to a transparent, dark gray fire (I haven't a clue how this can be visually interpreted. Please bear with me), one that still forms a tiny mirage like any normal fire would. Think of something like the aura of the Super Saiyan God transformation in Dragon Ball Super.

The success of the epithet is highly dependent on what kind of person wields this. I hope I got that intention right. On another note, please contact me through an ask before using the concept for your character.

When Diction's storage ability activates, a cue that only you can detect will play out. Just as this ability is dependent on what the wielder is like, this cue can manifest in any way you deem fit. For my case, a shitposty sound effect thematic with whatever epithet was stored will play in your mind. Did you hear Dumb? The lobotomy sound effect suddenly invades your mind. Oh, what's that? Did she say Fragile? Oh no! Our table...! It's broken! Huh? Chemical? UGH-OOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGHHHhhhhhhh... Oh... the epithet you heard of doesn't have a theme? Well, an extremely loud vine boom (and I mean it. Click the hyperlink at your own risk) plays instead.

The above was inspired by meme culture, particularly YouTube poops in the west and 音MADs in the east. The Chemical part was from an Imagine Dragons meme.

Other inspirations include Delsin Rowe from inFAMOUS: Second Son, particularly the whole "to copy an ability you must touch the Inscribed" and that "every epithet you store lasts permanently". I'm gonna be like a kid in a candy store...

That was... quite the read, was it? As compensation, please accept this image.

[physalian]

First-Time Self-Published Novel: What Did It Cost?

Eternal Night of the Northern Sky took 6 months to make it through beta readers and a professional edit. It's 111,423 words, 19 chapters, and It. Was. Expensive.

But how expensive? Keep in mind that editors work based on word count, so if you have a big manuscript, you are paying for it every time you hire betas and editors. Some things on here I definitely wish I hadn't paid for, but I'll get to that later.

Ain’t that a doozy? Obviously the most expensive bit there is the line editor. That was with a discount, too. With that price, I got one full read through, a proper line edit with minor overlooks that we both caught, a second read through after my feedback, and a third polished version of my manuscript. I didn't pay for a proof editor or a developmental editor, using beta readers instead. One, because I got 6 different opinions instead of the biases of one person and two, well, it's clearly cheaper in the long run.

Shit I would never pay for again: Influencers. Fuck ‘em.

Beta readers also cost an inflated price (including freelancer site fees) because I paid a few of them per-chapter, which hit me with those fees for all 19 chapters. I also had to fire some betas and start over late in the game, which meant rush fees.

I did my own cover art, because I could, and not only is it the exact way I want it but I have complete control over its rights and all the original files.

I did my own formatting, a cost I should only have to pay for once, with InDesign canceled and renewed whenever it’s needed, which sucks but it’s my process for now.

Yours will differ wildly depending on what paths you take. Questions? Ask away!

[openphrase123]

okay........so sorry for all these questions lol feel free to pick and choose.

73, 65, 45, 32, 26, 20, 11, and 10!!

AH? well don't worry i like answering things :) thank you for the ask >:3

however this shit's going under a readmore (there isssss a preview of tomorrow's four eyes update in here though :3) (and also fic recs)

73. What do you think makes your writing stand out from other works?

I think I format things a little differently on ao3 than what i've seen in other fics? me and my doublespaces. sorry if this makes them harder to read it actually makes it easier for me to read with my visual processing

for actual CONTENT... idk i think i have the tendency to take things that are extremely high concepts that veer into crackfic territory and ground them in reality as best i can. but i think it feels more real because i deal a lot in slow boils and longfics, so i take lots of time on atmosphere before immediately coming out with things like "siffrin is a literal star banished from the sky by the universe"

also i think i'm really strong at romance writing especially but that's neither here nor there

65. Tell us about what you’re most looking forward to writing – in your current project, or a future project

i actually just noticed you left a comment on my seizure-induced post about my future 20 years later fic and it reminded me that i'm so on my high horse about how i named the isafrin fankids i made up for it. you know how siffrin's name is sisyphus but id5 mangled it into siffrin? i did that with all of the isafrin fankid names. took greek mythology heroes and mangled the names. theseus -> thessan and aeneas -> aeney

anyway they're fun to write and i keep writing about them as a treat when i need it :3 they're both forgotten island castaways that washed up on shore as toddlers so they couldn't just learn vaugardian and move on, and everyone in bambouche was like "hey siffrin can you take care of these kids since you're from the same country" and he panicked for a full month before saying yes

45. Do you want to break your readers‘ heart or make them laugh?

por que no los dos? can't i do both? sometimes i do it at the same time, even. i do want to END with them laughing though i don't give hits without a comfort at the end

32. Name three of your favorite fanfic writers.

club of never missing in my heart is entryn17, faedemon (hi @moipale :3), and grech (HI @isuggestwishcraft) although i need to like. catch up. there are fics on grech's profile i haven't read yet. this is a mistake

26. Which of your fics would you call your wildest ride?

um. :)

it's a tie between inutile and four eyes (curtain call is SO MILD) but they're wild rides in different ways. inutile is like a proper steel roller coaster where you can see what the next drop is going to be if you look ahead. four eyes is a 50 year old wooden legacy coaster that you wonder if it's stable enough to ride on safely the whole time you're on it. (in case you were wondering, the 20 years later fic is like a teacup ride that you get sick on in between breaks and curtain call is a log ride that has lots of drops but you can still take your nephew on it without scaring the shit out of him)

20. Have you noticed any patterns in your fics? Words/expressions that appear a lot, themes, common settings, etc?

when i write in the second person i am so guilty of "you feel yourself/you see yourself/she seemed/she looks" like i need to stop that... however i don't make multiple drafts of fanfiction, i do it a lot less in Fully Original Edited Works

my friends that know me outside of isat would say my biggest writing theme is clones and duplicates and doppelgangers so. [sweats]

isat is lacking in some of my other writing themes which how blood family interacts with found family but [looks at four eyes and starts sweating again] aw beans i didn't realize i was doing that there until now

11. Link your three favorite fics right now

backstitching has been taking over my entire life. i need to start leaving comments on it but i'm shy

@riggedbones has also made me insane about their odile looping au, pspsps you want to read find chance in consequence sooooo bad

i do not know where the wild hunt is going but i am grisping it really hard. i'm eyes-emoji-ing it.

10. Cltr+f "blinks" on your WIP & copy paste the first sentence/paragraph that comes up

hahaha. lol. from the four eyes chapter i'm formatting right now, that's coming out tomorrow: