#I figured that now that I can I should start figuring out proper references for myself so I'll stop being so inconsistent but also like

[wardingshout]

the Zelda timeline ??? yeah I know about it

[decaying-opossum]

moment’s silence

| cult leader remmick x reader |

| part 1/? | |word count: 3k|

[warnings: 18+. religious themes, obsessive behaviors, cult stuff, remmick stuff, smut, oral sex, reader is referred to with they/them but is written with afab anatomy, i’ve never written smut before and am a loser so i apologize if it’s bad]

•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•

the locals of coalbranch knew better then to poke around the compound further up the mountain, knew better then to actually help search for any missing visitors, knew better then to acknowledge the screams that’d ring out, knew better then to actually accept any kind of invitation to church or a potluck from any of the congregation that lived up there.

they, however, didn’t know any better. growing up further east, in the foothills instead of full blown mountains. their knowledge of coalbranch being sparse childhood memories of visiting their grandparents, which were now faded boasts of nostalgia, up until a few months ago when their grandpa passed away and their chunk of the inheritance was that old farm that hadn’t been touched in over a decade.

the lawyer was tight-lipped “bit of a fixer-upper” she’d said, gaze flicking to the rearview mirror as they drove up the winding road. she didn’t offer much else, not when they asked about the old congregation or the compound. just chewed her gum a little faster and dropped them off without so much as getting out of the car.

it wasn’t long after they moved in that he showed up.

remmick.

he was just there one evening, right after sunset, leaning against the post of the front gate like he’d been invited, like he belonged there more than they did. eyes sharp and too still, lips curled into something halfway between polite smile and private joke. dressed plain, collar buttoned to the neck, sleeves rolled with casual exactness. dust on his boots. stillness in his stance, like he could wait forever.

“i figured i should welcome you proper,” he said, voice low and warm like summer honey “seeing as we’re neighbors now.”

they should’ve closed the gate.

instead, they nodded. said something dumb, probably. his presence did that, scrambled words, made the air feel thinner. they didn’t notice how he didn’t blink much. didn’t notice the way he kept looking at them like they were already his. didn’t notice the way his breath would hitch up in a smell when they were close enough.

he came by often after that. never asked for anything. just brought things, jars of canned peaches, homemade bread, a crooked little wooden charm he swore was for protection. he’d linger on the porch long past their first attempt at ending the conversation so they could go inside and sleep, talking in riddles, eyes half-lidded like he was dreaming while awake.

they started to get used to seeing him. that was the scariest part. how quickly it all turned normal.

remmick was always just…there. not intrusive. not demanding. just present. a steady rhythm, every other evening or so, a knock on the screen door, a low evenin’ and that familiar tilt of his head, like he already knew what they’d say before they said it. like he was waiting for them to catch up.

he’d lean on the porch railing, compliment the new paint they managed to slap on the barn, talk about the weather, ask little things; Were you sleepin’ alright? That cough clear up? You eatin’ enough?

and somehow, they’d answer him. somehow, they’d start offering coffee, or letting him sit inside when the nights got colder. somehow, they stopped noticing how his eyes lingered.

he never touched them. not at first.

but his voice would drop, quiet as a prayer, when they were close. he’d say things that didn’t sound strange until hours later, when they were alone, lights off, trying to sleep.

“i dreamed about you again last night. You were singin’. You ever sing, darlin’?”

“you’d like the chapel, i think. real warm. real quiet. like bein’ inside a body”

“you got the kind of soul that don’t come around often. the kind that calls people home”

it was easy to brush off. he was just weird, right? just one of those overly polite, southern-mystic types, all charisma and cryptic charm. and it wasn’t like he ever crossed a line.

until they found the charm again.

they’d tossed it. that little carved wooden thing he gave them, left it in a drawer and then, weeks later, it was back on their bedside table. sitting on top of their pillow like a forgotten gift. they didn’t remember putting it there. didn’t remember even seeing it again after that first night.

when they brought it up, he just smiled wider than usual. touched the corner of his mouth with one knuckle.

“it found its way back. that’s how you know it’s workin’”

that night, they dreamed of him. not the polite version. not the porch-sitting, bread-bringing version. no, this one knelt beside their bed, breathing slow and deep, his hands resting gently on their throat and thigh. not squeezing. just there. like a promise.

and his mouth moved like he was praying.

and when they woke up, they were full of shame at the mess they became in their sleep over a man who, from what they understand, was a man of god.

that night they couldn’t bring themself to answer the knock at the door, hiding in their bedroom too ashamed and still feeling the aftermath of that damned dream too much to face the star of it. but he didn’t leave, sitting in his usual rocking chair like he owned the place, like a man coming home after a hard days work.

they didn’t answer the door the next night either. or the next, but the rocking chair stayed occupied.

every evening just after dark, they’d hear it creak, slow and steady. no knock. no footsteps. just presence. just patince. just the sound of wood sighing beneath weight and time and something older than either.

by the fourth night, they peeked through the curtain, jumping back with a curse when he was already looking at them.

he didn’t wave. didn’t smile. just tipped his head, slow and reverent, like he was beholding a miracle.

their stomach dropped like a stone.

the next day, the gate was open when they came back from town. they never left it open. and inside was the scent of something burning faintly sweet. wax. smoke. and something else.

they followed it to the kitchen.

laid out on the table, a little bundle of herbs, tied with black string. a fresh loaf of his bread. and a single page torn from an old hymnal, folded and tucked under a mason jar of creek water that was still cold to the touch.

Written in looping ink on the back:

“You don’t have to be afraid of what already belongs to you.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

the next time they saw him, really saw him, was at the edge of their field, just after dusk. he was backlit by the slightest end of the sun through the pines, haloed, shirt sleeves rolled high, collar open this time. the first time they’d seen his neck bare. a cord hung there, just barely visible. something wooden strung on it, shaped like the charm.

“i’ve been prayin’,” he said softly, almost like he was shy, though he never seemed anything but certain. “prayin’ for clarity. for patience.”

they didn’t know what to say. just stood there, hands in their jacket pockets, heart going sideways. he stepped closer.

“you dream of me again?”

they froze. couldn’t lie. couldn’t speak. he smiled slow, like he already knew.

“i ain’t ashamed to say it, i think i was made for you. all my days before now feel like waitin’. and I’ve been good, haven’t I? gentle?”

his eyes darkened, voice still calm. still low.

“but it’s hard, sugar. it’s hard bein’ near you and not touchin what calls to me like a hymn.”

something inside them twisted. fear. want. shame. awe.

“come to the chapel,” he murmured “don’t even gotta stay long. just a little while, i wanna show you where i keep you. where i built the whole altar.”

they shook their head, breath catching.

“remmick, i ain’t sure how exactly i’m supposed to react to this.”

he jaw tense for a moment before he sighed, grasping their wrists “then lemme in, darlin’, ain’t gotta come with me tonight but i know it’s driving you up the wall too..lemme help, just for a moment..”

they barely remembered letting him in.

one second they were staring at him from the doorway, heart punching the inside of their ribs.

the next, he was inside.

not loud. not sudden. just there. like fog under the door. like prayer in the back of your throat. a warm, slow rot blooming sweet inside the ribcage.

remmick didn’t speak at first.

he just looked at them. that same reverent tilt of the head. that same quiet, boiling hunger simmering behind his dark eyes. something between worship and possession.

“you look like you ain’t been sleeping.” he broke his silence, softly, like concern. like love.

like a knife sliding easy through butter.

they flinched when he reached for them, just to brush their cheekbone with the back of his hand, like he was scared they’d vanish if he touched too hard.

“i see you in my sleep, you know” he whispered “every night. bent over that altar, light on your shoulders like God himself was callin’ you home.”

he stepped closer. no sudden moves. just slow and sure and inevitable.

“and i pray, real gentle, that he lets me have you just a little while longer.”

their mouth was dry. their pulse a frantic little rabbit in their throat. he smelled like cedar smoke and sun-warmed flannel and something too old to name “…darlin’ lemme have you for the night, please, been good and gentle..i promise i’ll keep being good and gentle..just lemme have ya..”

the words were more breath than sound. desperate, not rushed, like he was praying again, and they were the altar. his nose pressed into the crook of their neck, breath hot and shaky. and then the wet heat of his mouth, open and reverent. drool soaking into their nightgown, slick against collarbone.

they should’ve pushed him off. should’ve gagged in disgust. should’ve screamed.

but all they could do was nod.

just once. a small, trembling thing. something ancient inside them rolling over and exposing its belly.

remmick shuddered like he’d felt it, like that nod struck him right down to the root. he let out a sound then, soft and guttural, full of gratitude and hunger. his hands, which had been hanging at his sides in disciplined stillness, finally moved.

one cradled the back of their head like it was breakable. the other curled around their waist, warm and careful but firm, like he thought they might change their mind if he didn’t hold on.

“you’re doin’ so good darlin” he whispered, mouth dragging up along their jaw, voice wet and wrecked. “letting me touch what’s mine. been dreamin’ of this so long it hurts.”

they whimpered, soft, pathetic, because he was saying all the wrong things in all the right ways. because their body was betraying them, leaning in, craving more warmth, more pressure, more him.

remmick didn’t kiss them, not properly. he just held his face there, pressed close, breathing them in like incense.

“you don’t gotta do nothin’, sugar,” he murmured, guiding them back, step by slow step, toward the couch. “just let me… hold what’s holy. that’s all. just let me rest with you. i’ll be so good. so quiet.”

they sat when he nudged them down, dazed. their knees barely worked. he knelt in front of them, eyes wide and glistening like he was already halfway crying.

“i knew you’d feel it,” he said, cupping their calves like a man anchoring himself to the earth “been so patient. So gentle. didn’t even touch myself after those dreams. swore i wouldn’t stain it ‘til you wanted me.”

their breath hitched.

“remmick-”

he surged up, not to kiss them, but to lay his head on their chest. just rested there, mouth parted, hands fisted in the hem of their nightgown.

“you feel that?” he mumbled, voice muffled against their skin. “that’s you makin’ me better. you calm all the hunger in me, darlin’ even when it hurts.”

and it did hurt, they could feel it, the tension in him, the tremble in his arms, the barely contained shaking in his legs. he was trying. not to break them. not yet. he was on his knees at the altar, and they were the god he worshipped.

they didn’t know what to do with their hands. every instinct screamed to push, to pull away, to break the spell, but their fingers curled instead. first into the cushion beneath them, then into his hair.

that broke something open.

he let out a sound so soft and wrecked, it didn’t sound human. a choked whimper, like someone crying into a pillow. his whole body sagged between their knees, and when he spoke again, it was like the words were bleeding out of him.

“you touch me like that, i ain’t gonna last long,” he breathed “ain’t even laid a hand on you proper and i’m already halfway ruined” it was a desperate whine, like the thought of being ruined before he actually got to have them hurt.

“i can’t take you tonight, i’m sorry darlin’, gotta be able to do it right” he mumbled, hands bunching up their nightgown “but imma still make it worth it for you”

they were confused until his hands hooked around their knees, yanking them closer to the edge of the couch as he slipped under the fabric of their nightgown, kissing up their thighs. nails and teeth feeling to sharp but they chalked it up to over sensitivity and anticipation, ignoring the inhuman noises he made while working up and down their legs.

his teeth scraped too close to the soft skin just above their knee, and something inside them jolted like a warning bell. but then his tongue followed, warm and wet, and it was like the warning turned into a hymn. his nails dug in, hard enough to sting, soft enough to feel like worship.

“sweet thing” he murmured, voice almost unrecognizable now, hushed and broken “you don’t even know what you’re lettin’ me taste. what you’re offerin’ up like it ain’t the holiest thing i’ve ever touched.”

the nightgown was bunched at their hips now, the thin cotton hiding nothing. remmick’s breath hitched when he looked, really looked, and his forehead bowed to the inside of their thigh like it was sacred ground.

“one night,” he whispered, almost to himself. “just one night to ruin myself on you, and then i’ll go back to bein’ good. i promise.”

but they both knew he was lying.

he licked a slow line up, and the whole world narrowed to that heat, that pressure, that impossible sound of him sobbing quietly between their thighs.

he licked a long strip up their folds, groaning as he rolled his hips against nothing. their head lolled back against the couch, legs shaking as he buried his face further into them

his mouth moving like he was speaking in tongues, like he was praying into them.

they couldn’t breathe. couldn’t think. every part of them was trembling, half from fear, half from the kind of want that burrowed into bone. he lapped at them with slow, reverent strokes, moaning like each taste was a salvation, a reward, a piece of divinity he’d been denied too long.

and then, his voice again, low and ruined

“you make me believe again, sugar. I forgot what that felt like. forgot what it meant to feel this clean…this full”

his tongue worked deeper, firmer, and they cried out before they could stop themself. He shuddered at the sound, hands clutching tighter at their hips.

“that’s it. that’s it, baby. don’t hold back. let me hear it- don’t you know I live off your sound?”

something in his tone snapped around the edges, less prayer now, more fever. less reverence, more ritual. and still he didn’t stop, didn’t relent, tongue relentless and mouth messy and open and too desperate to care if they shook or wept or whispered please into the stale air of that little farmhouse.

they clutched at his shoulders now, unable to stop themself, nails digging into the hard line of muscle beneath his shirt. he whimpered against them, like that was the holiest thing, like being touched back was what would finally break him, pants being marked with a wet spot that should’ve had him embarrassed and apologizing but all he wanted to do was continue his worship and work on them.

he pulled back, just slightly, just enough to look up- face wet, lips red, eyes glassy and wide with something between rapture and hunger. he dragged his cheek along their inner thigh like a cat marking its territory, nose nuzzling like it belonged there.

his hand slipped under their shirt now, palm flat over their stomach. he wasn’t groping. he was feeling. savoring. worshipping.

“you don’t gotta decide soon, i’ll still be here. just like i am now. on my knees. every night. dreamin’. touchin’. pray’n for the moment i can finally be in you..it’ll be on that altar like you deserve”

they should’ve been afraid. and maybe they were.

but the worst part -the damning part- was that they didn’t want him to stop.

not even when he buried his face again and moaned against them like he was drinking straight from a grail. not even when he said, over and over, “mine mine mine” between each kiss.

not even when the night stretched longer than it should’ve. when the moon didn’t move. when the air got too still.

and outside the window, just past the fields, the chapel lights flickered on.

like they knew.

like they were waiting.

like something inside was preparing the altar.

and remmick didn’t stop until they were limp and gasping, boneless and slack, head fallen back, every last bit of resistance milked out of them with his mouth.

he rested his forehead to their thigh again, breath slowing.

“you rest now,” he said, gently, like a lullaby “be back tomorrow with s’ more of that peach jelly you like so much” he pressed his wet mouth against their thigh for one last kiss.

•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•

tags: @001-side

[eyra]

stuff what I have learnt about writing good

If you've followed me for longer than two minutes then you'll likely know (because I keep going on about it) that I've been working on a novel for the past year. It's always been a dream of mine to write and publish a book and whilst I still have a long way to go before I can even start thinking about querying (whether on this book, or the next, or the next, etc.) I suppose I can now say that a book Exists. I have written A Book.

Now whether or not that book ever sees the light of day, the process of writing it has been truly eye-opening. I went in knowing virtually nothing and came out, still with a huge amount to learn, but with a whole library of tools that I didn't have before. I'm now putting these to use with the first draft of my second book and already the process feels so much more enjoyable, because I've started to figure out how to make it work for me.

I wanted to jot down what I've learnt purely for my own reference so I can keep looking back and reminding myself what worked for me first time around, but given that I get a nice number of asks picking my brain about my own writing process, I thought I might as well share all this with you lot in case there's anyone out there who finds it useful!

So here are the big things that I've learnt so far...

1. Not every trick works for every writer

This has been, by far, my biggest learning. Starting to plan a novel for me felt SO overwhelming - I felt like I was bombarded on all sides with "this is how to write a novel" content, and it felt like there was just too much to learn and like I would never find my way through it. I spent weeks (months...) doing every worksheet, every outlining method, every chart, anything I could get my hands on. Some of them, by the end, proved themselves very useful. A lot of them didn't. There are thousands of voices online that are telling you "this is the right way to write a book" or even "this is the ONLY way to write a book" - don't listen to them. Try things, but don't feel like you have to fit yourself into every single box. Just find the things that work for you.

2. It's possible to overplan

On a related note - sometimes you just need to start writing. I spent WAY TOO LONG faffing about before I put pen to paper with my first book. So, so long planning out characters and plot points, a lot of which I then had to completely reimagine mid-draft because I realised they just didn't work anymore. In hindsight, some of this was down to me being scared to actually start writing - the planning stage was a bit of a comfort zone for me, despite not naturally being a plotter/architect - I have always always always been a pantser/gardener, but I got sucked into the whole "proper authors do it THIS way" narrative.

With my second novel, I did a nice amount of planning but then just bit the bullet and started drafting. I know where my story begins, ends, what my major themes are, I know all my main characters and I know my key plot points. The rest, I'm figuring out as I draft. If nothing else - I'm having a lot more fun this time around.

3. Think about voice and tense before drafting

Yeah duh obvious right? NOT TO ME. If you were following me around April time, you may have witnessed a series of minor breakdowns when I realised that, having written a whole first draft in third person present tense, the entire book should actually have been written in first person past tense. So that meant, basically, starting over from scratch. This was a big learning for me, and not a mistake I'm likely to make again.

4. Stop looking at your word count

For someone who's never really put much thought into word count before - my approach with fanfiction has already been "it'll be as long as it'll be" - I got OBSESSED with the word count of my first couple of drafts. A lot of people will tell you that any good novel "has to be" under 100k words. I constantly see this one post on Pinterest that says "I promise you that you can tell the story you want to tell in 100k words or under." I'm definitely no expert on this (and I'll eat my words when an agent tells me my manuscript needs cutting down), but I'm sceptical - a lot of stories can and should be under 100k words, sure, but most of my favourite books are much longer than this. However, I did get stuck in a "this manuscript has to be between 70k and 100k words" mindset and felt like a failure whenever it was sitting outside of that bracket. Also - keep your genre in mind. If you're writing a rom-com, 70k could work perfectly. If you're writing fantasy, you're probably going to go over that.

5. Know whether you're an overwriter or an underwriter

And related to the above - know whether you tend to write bare bones-style then add to it, or whether you tend to dump it all on the page then cut back later. I'm the first, and I knew this, but I still panicked when my first draft was only around 70k. I felt like it was rushing through the plot at an unreasonable pace and it didn't feel "finished". This was because it was a first draft. By the time I sent my manuscript to my beta reader, it was around 126k.

6. The dumb stuff works

The title of the document for my first draft was "XXX - worst possible version" and at multiple points during the drafting process I changed the font to Comic Sans size 48. It works. Completely takes the pressure off and gives you full permission to write big, write silly, write unhinged, write mad things that you'll cut back by 90% later. But it gets it all on the page. If you're stuck or cringing at yourself in Times New Roman size 12, try Comic Sans size 48.

7. Don't compare your first draft to your favourite book

Like an idiot, I did this. I still find myself doing it. It's possibly my worst writing habit. I'll type out a page at 11pm after a full day at work and no dinner and then I'll pick up a published book and think "ah man, the page I've just written is nowhere NEAR as good as this." Published books are fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh drafts that then go through months and months of editing. Do not compare your manuscript to a published book. Just don't do it.

8. Don't try to be That Author

Good writers are good readers. Absolutely read broadly, read deeply, just read. Fiction, non-fiction, poetry, everything. And it's fine to find yourself influenced by other writers - that's how writing works. But don't try to BE other writers. One of the issues I had to unpick last year was that I was reading a lot of authors whose writing styles are very different to my own. I know my own style fairly well by this point - fanfiction's a great sandbox for figuring that out - but at certain moments during my editing phases I found myself cutting away at my prose because it felt "too different" to the books I was reading at the time. This was a weird thing for me to have done, and I went back and fixed it later.

I think what I'm trying to say with this one is: take inspiration from everywhere, let yourself be influenced by different writing styles, but find your own voice and trust it. Literature already has a Sally Rooney and a Donna Tartt and a Leigh Bardugo. It doesn't need a clone - it needs you!

I'll finish by sharing what I've found to be the most useful plotting template. This obviously isn't the total extent of my planning process by any means, but after trying about a million different plotting techniques for my first manuscript, this is the one:

The 27 chapter method (more examples here)

And finally, two little character tricks that I find invaluable:

AITAH?

Character philosophy

I hope someone out there finds something useful in this post! Although I've been writing in some capacity since I was a teenager, 2024 was definitely the year I realised that I am a writer at my core. I want to be a published author, but I'm already a writer. It brings me happiness like nothing else in the world! And I love to talk about all aspects of writing, so my ask box is always very much open.

Happy scribbling! x

[soularsss]

Drawing Likeness: with Tem!

okaay since a few people actually showed interest in me sharing a bit of what I've been doing to figure out how to really capture likeness, specifically Temuera Morrison, I figured id do my best to write it out

I am also going to entice you with some of my recent clone art! (oooh some of it is unreleaaasedd)

I am putting the whole thing under the cut because I have a feeling its going to be long:

Read more!!!

a couple disclaimers before we start

-This is not some definite post about how everyone should be drawing clones, nor is it in any way claiming that this is the right way. This is just my musings as I stare at a mans face for way too long and try to replicate it

-I am inexperienced. As kind as you all are to me, drawing real people is relatively new to me, capturing a persons identity through their features is difficult for anybody, and I am no different. I have watched many a video on likeness and had my share of classes, but If im being honest, i rarely put it into practice successfully. So there'll probably be errors in this post or things i will come back to in a few months and wish I had said/done differently

ANYWAYs you guys get my vibe im just here to ramble and today we are rambling about mr copy paste. I am doing this for Law, my clone boy, because I plan on delving further into oc fanart and I want to put effort into representing him correctly!

SO LETS BEGIN

Before even deciding what specific pose of a person I want to draw, I tend to grab a bunch of references and compile them like so

(all of these can be found on my pinterest)

Why so many? Well, we are about to delve into facial features, so when we are dealing with photos we have to take into account that there are an abundance of circumstances that will influence how a persons face will appear, some of these include:

focal length: All of these are taken on different devices, and focal length can play a big part in distorting faces

age will play a part, your face changes a bunch throughout your life!

lighting, while not as major, can muddy the waters and make it difficult to interpret facial planes and features

SO, to make sure we get a proper grasp of what's really going on, I like to make sure we have lots of options to compare and contrast with.

Next up! What I like to do is block out the main facial features with colour on different layers, the features I block out usually are the general face shape, eyebrows, eyes, nose and lips. But what you are looking for is the defining features of a person, so that could include other things! Maybe a scar, or some particularly prominent cheekbones.

I dont have any rhyme or reason when it comes to picking my colours, all that matters is you can see all the shapes clearly.

Now I may be biased, because Ive been staring at these for 4 hours, but notice how it still looks like Tem? :D

Anyways, now we can break these parts down, and you'll see what I mean about compare and contrast:

We'll start with isolating the facial shape, putting all these next to eachother you'll notice they arent exactly the same (partly because of my shoddy work) But the distinguishing features run through each shape! Namely the very soft rectangular shape I sketched out in the bottom right there. Along with his soft, wide jaw structure.

I did the same for the rest of his features!

You'll notice I highlight the prominent shapes and ratios,

When drawing anything, it is important to start from the very base shapes and build up.

When drawing something you want to look like someone, those shapes relative to other shapes is what makes it look like them.

I didnt use the same technique with his eyes and lips, but I wrote out some helpful info for them! More importantly for his eyes.

When drawing eyes, I find the most important part is where exactly I draw the creases, (along with the overall shape of the eye itself) it is important to understand where those will present themselves with hooded eyes.

NOW, with an understanding of his facial features in place, lets take a detour to colours:

before I start, a couple things to note:

-Temuera morrison versus the clone troopers in the animated shows:

While I love the animated shows they don't exactly stay close to their source material. Im going to link here to an excellent post discussing whitewashing specifically in relation to the clones.

Temuera is Māori, of Te Arawa (Ngāti Whakaue) and Tainui (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Rarua) whakapapa, and also has Scottish and Irish ancestry.

The Māori people are the indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand (Aotearoa). Māori originated with settlers from East Polynesia. Māori people often vary in skin tone, Skin colour doesn't determine ethnicity. There's often a correlation but it's not a requirement.

But that is a tangent! What we are aiming for is to stay true to Temuera.

Bringing back my reference photos from before, Ive colour picked a buncha values and theyre all over the place. Why doesnt this work?

Similarly to earlier, you have to take into account the photos themselves. Many things like lighting, colour grading (when it comes to filmography) and makeup, can alter how a skin colour presents in photo.

You can attempt to get true to life by swatching from certain places on the face. Here I've tried to pick some photos with good lighting, and I've also tried to avoid overly lit/shaded areas.

Tem has a very warm, tan skin tone, Instead of colour picking I tend to try and replicate it myself, but I do often bring in references to make sure Im staying true to the source!

a brief intermission to talk about colour theory, something I myself struggle with alot. Often, when putting in flat colours without a background, I will forget to make sure the colours i intend to use will work with the skin tone i have picked! (something that is apparent in older works of mine, not just in relation to clones, but in general, the colours I end up with stray largely from their original sources and it is something I am doing my best to keep in mind and improve in! Although I don't think i am nearly experienced enough in the topic to say I have succeeded yet lol.)

anyways back to Tem :))

Now we can put all of that into practice! Things to keep in mind when drawing out a piece next to a reference like this:

the distance between the eyebrows? how far down his face does his nose go? Basically just, in relation to eachother, where do all those shapes we found earlier, sit?

The screenshot above is from before I did it myself, but instead of directly tracing from the reference, a handy trick I use it to complete your sketch first, and then overlay a traced version to see where your inconsistencies are! Alternatively, you could move your sketch over the image, but I didnt do it that way so!! uh!! im sure it works exactly the same!!!!

When it comes to a final illustration, or any sketch that isnt a direct study, of course you can push and pull and stylise! You'll see below that I'm not exactly 1:1 to my reference photo either.

The important thing with stylisation, or at least my own personal understanding of stylisation is that you need to thoroughly understand the thing you are stylizing! "You need to know the rules to break them" and all that. While shapes, lines and rendering can change, when it comes to drawing someone, and making it look like them, you have to make sure to keep their core features true to source. Caricature can capture a persons vibe whilst drastically exaggerating features, but it will only look like them if you KEEP THOSE FEATURES!!!! SHAPES!!! AHHH!!

But that is just my perspective on the discussion of style versus realism, please dont take is as Law, I dont know what Im on about half the time!!

anyways, after fixing your sketch, add local colours!

I rexified him because why tf not! But this is where you can go crazy with that clone personalization!

And then here is a very very barely rendered version (if you guys want me to explain how i RENDER that would need to be a completely different post, and I havent had anyone ask about it yet so who knows! maybe one day) But I digress, hopefully you learnt something new through my ramblings! It has certainly helped me organize my thoughts and I have also found some areas I would like to focus more on in the future to improve my own art!

TLDR: In order to understand an object, be it a face or a building or literally anything, you have to break it down to its simplest forms, understanding LARGER shapes will help you immensely in the long run

If you guys like this sorta content do let me know! I'd be down to do similar things for armor/anything really, I am very anti gatekeep so really anything at all you want to know! Send me an ask :))

also if you see a spelling mistake.. i don’t know how that got there

[ironicsoap]

What I've learned from making 2 fursuits!

I've learned a TON from the process of both of these suits, making my 2nd suit I improved on a lot of stuff I had learned from the first! Here's stuff I would've liked to know before I started either of these

For reference, the white cat suit's name is Sophie and she was made first. The blue one is Raine, and she was made second! I'll be referring to them throughout this.

I've learned nearly everything I know about sewing and these types of craft projects from making these 2 suits, I haven't had any prior experience. This is all very much advice From a beginner TO beginners, experienced makers may say some of this is wrong, this is just my lived experience written down. I figured I'd write all this now while it's fresh in my mind! When you get experienced at doing stuff, you tend to forget what problems you faced as a beginner.

Fur Bulk

Fur bulk is REAL and a MASSIVE PROBLEM when making your sculpt. Regardless of what method you use to make your base, 3D printed or foam. Depending on how short you can shave your fur, fur bulk will add about 1cm - 0.5cm of thickness to your base

Look how much her mouth closed up from the base sculpt! I ended up still loving the end result, but it was a bit unexpected. (Despite learning about fur bulk from my first suit, and ALSO testing fur bulk in Blender with a fur particle system when I was making the sculpt for this head.)

Raine's ear is an unfortunate victim of fur bulk still, but I didn't have time to remake it how I wanted it. I even tried to make it slimmer on purpose since Sophie's ear ended up so stupidly thick 😭

Seam Allowance & Stitches

(Talking PURELY about hand sewing, I've never used a sewing machine, I cannot give any advice for that)

You should be using a blanket or whip stitch for most of your fursuit, in terms of speed and seams, they are the most effective! Whip stitch for most of your face, it's going to be glued down.. so truly you just need the fabric together and not SECURE since it'll be glued. Use the blanket stitch for things like paws or stuff that's more likely to pop a seam (ears? tails? etc)

More experienced suit makers might say use blanket for everything, that may be more correct 🤷‍♀️ Whip/Blanket are nearly the same stitch, blanket is just more secure than a whip stitch, takes a little longer, and uses slightly more thread. I haven't timed other stitches, but the blanket takes me about 5 minutes per inch to do.

On Sophie, I had made up my own bizarre version of a backstitch that was stupidly strong.. but also took a million years to do. It also made my paws near IMPOSSIBLE to turn inside out. Sewing raines face together with a whip stitch was way quicker!

For your face pattern, use next to no seam allowance for the cleanest look. The areas that I added seam allowance on Raine, I really regretted the bulged out look they had. If you aren't confident in your pattern making ability, some seam allowance does give you some wiggle room in terms of how easily your pattern fits onto your base

Designing your suit for airflow

This wasn't actually a problem for me, I did this from the start. But I've worn suits that weren't designed for proper ventilation, and it really just makes suiting a very unpleasant experience. You want to have a mouth hole that is right in front of your own mouth, so you can easily get fresh air in your suit. I'm not saying you HAVE to do this, as not all designs can accommodate this, but it's absolutely something to think about for your comfort!

Another thing I've learned, is the roomier your suit is around the mouth hole, the more overall airflow you get! I tried on my friends head which I sculpted, and they printed in TPU, significantly roomier than Raine, and much more breathable! Raine is still comfortable for me to wear even masked underneath, since I made her ventilation so good!

My future suits I make, I'm going to be looking into TPU due to the sheer weight and breathability difference from my PLA suit!

Non-Fur Supplies

I highly recommend getting hand sewing needles and EVA foam at Daiso if you have one! Daiso has lots of little sewing kits, and I got both of my main needles there. The little circle disks of needles you can find at other stores didn't have needles that were the right size and shape for my hands to comfortably use. Daiso also sells EVA foam in the smaller amounts that you'd need for a suit, unlike hardware stores which usually sell giant square packs of 5

For handsewing, I noticed going for the slightly thicker thread lead to stronger seams overall.

For what you should have in a sewing kit for fursuit, here's what I have (ranked by importance)

Multiple handsewing needles you're comfortable with, just in case you lose one

Pins

Wonder clips (the little plastic rainbow clips) ABSOLUTELY necessary for suit making honestly, they work better than pins in most situations

Seam ripper

Soft measuring tape

Some generic white and/or black thread, as well as your fursuits thread

Safety pins

Overall helpful fursuit supplies

Velcro patches

Masking tape

Duck/Duct Tape

Have garbage shitty scissors, and separate scissors JUST for fabric. Your fabric scissors will remain sharp for much longer if you don't use them on other stuff. (3rd pair of scissors that's not used on tape/sticky stuff, but thread and paper also is helpful. The garbage scissors can get gunky when cutting tape, and your medium scissors remain sharp enough to easily cut other stuff)

Xacto knife + LOTS of new blades. The blades go dull FAST when cutting fur and foam. If you're having to use a lot of pressure to cut through your fur's backing, that means you need a new blade

Box cutter + LOTS of new blades for box cutter. I have a Kobalt box cutter, it's nearly as sharp as my xactos. I use it for cutting out big sections of fur and foam.

I get my eye mesh from Curlworks! I love the visibility on it ^_^

Fur Brands

In terms of my fur company quality rankings, it would be this (I've tried fur from a million different companies on my sample hunt for Raine)

1. Howl Fabrics 2. BigZFabrics 3. MofuMofu.shop

Howl overall is the most dense, relatively soft, and best to shave out of all 3. (Canfur is of very similar quality to Howl, except it has a mild crayon or carpet smell. The smell wears off completely after around 6-7 months, at least on the small sample I got)

BigZ is kind of like a middle ground, but shaves HIGHLY powdery compared to the other 2. As well as shaves a little worse/choppy compared to better quality fur.

MofuMofu is the least dense out of the 3, but I would consider the softest. Best if they have a niche color you need. The fur tends to clump together when it is shaved like sheep wool, and is less powdery than BigZ.

Random furs from etsy are usually LQ/MQ and patchy on their density, not great for shaving super short

Fur Shaving / Length

If you're going for a high quality look on your suit, you want SHORT fur for the face, full-stop. Every suit I've seen that's truly made me go WOW has always had VERY short face fur. Shorter fur shows the look of your sculpt better, instead of hiding it all behind any lumpy fur bulk or unbrushed sections. (Brushing fur doesn't last very long after a suit's been put on haha)

If you can buy your fur in shorter lengths like teddy/beaver, ABSOLUTELY do so. It'll make your shaves much shorter and cleaner. The longer your fur is, is the harder it is to get it to a "HQ" shave length. I personally couldn't get Raine as short as I wanted her to be 😩 But her colors are niche, so I couldn't locate them in shorter fur lengths

Once your suit is complete, don't be afraid to go in there with scissors and your clippers to clean up the fur+markings as well! Raine's mouth opened up a LOT more when i trimmed it down to shape with my scissors

Pattern Making

Avoid putting any seams down the middle of your face, it is noticeable! This is roughly how my pattern for Raine worked, I think the eyebrows helped disguise that horizontal middle seam really well! (the fur from the "eyebrow" piece covers the seam to the forehead piece as it is brushed over it!) I also made the nose bridge it's own piece, to utilize the visible seam to create a crease for it.

I also recommend avoid making any + shaped intersections on your seams if you can avoid it, it's really hard to sew cleanly😭 Sometimes they're unavoidable, but I try my best to avoid doing them.

Wearability

I'm not sure how much this applies to foam suits, but I really recommend using some elastic, a parachute clip, and some velcro to make an adjustable strap to keep your suit on your head! I tried to use foam on Sophie to get a snug fit, it did not work and made her struggle to stay on. The elastic strap on Raine is way better and more secure.

Misc / Random

When making your ears, you don't necessarily need to sew the minky/inner ear onto the fur parts! You can get a much flatter look on your minky if you just glue it on seperate, and have the fur not connected to it

(Specifically for beginner suit makers making personal projects) Not everything has to be perfect! No one will notice your little imperfections, and you don't have to make a nice product for a client. You can leave some things unsewn, you can have tiny bits of foam show from weird angles. You can hot glue some things instead of sewing them to save time. You can have small accidental bald spots. You can have little unsewn holes in corners if it's too hard to sew around those parts. Take it easy on yourself!

You may spring for fleece to save some money on buying minky, I honestly recommend not doing this. Minky feels significantly nicer, and minky from Howl is really not that much more than some fleece, for small pieces like inner mouths, noses, ears, etc, all you need is a "Fat Quarter" sized piece. It's more than enough! And only $6.50 (if you want fleece specifically, ignore this haha. I just regret going for fleece instead of minky on Sophie!)

Carving a foam base, to me, is the hardest part of suit making. So much so, that I never plan to do it again :P It's some people's thing, definitely not mine. If you've been frustrated with how your foam results turn out, consider 3D printing! Or buying a base from someone.

When looking for fursuit advice and tutorials, beyond the obvious places to look (matrices, youtube, google), I genuinely recommend Tiktok! A lot gets posted there for small niche problems you may have

Use this method for tying a knot on your thread when hand sewing, it's extremely fast https://youtu.be/LWWhRtxl6eE?si=AEt2HDiwp09AigOS

When making a 3D printed base, do not go too thin. I'd do test prints to see what thickness feels right to you, raine was about 0.5-0.7 cm but I wish she was a bit thicker because I worry a lot about her shattering 😨

Removeable eyes are very useful, if i get hair in my face I'm able to pop out Raine's eyes to move it out of my way x)

[meanbossart]

Oh boy, VaM is kind of a trial and error experience LOL I couldn't really show you how to use the interface and stuff without a whole video or something, but it's not THAT difficult to get a hang of if you just give yourself a day or two to play around, not to mention the number of tutorials you find out there. Luckily, if you only want to use it as a reference software that makes the process far easier (to this day I have no idea how to animate on that thing, since that's not what I use it for)

As for how I use it, it's pretty self explanatory - if there's a complicated pose I want to draw but I'm either having trouble with it, or just want to double-check angles/anatomy, I will use it as a resource! I use for most of my "proper" pieces (y'know, the nicer looking ones) and every once in a while for my silly comics if I'm having trouble with a pose.

Lets use this drawing for example (the character on top of DU drow belongs to @namespara )

I don't draw a lot of mud-wrestling (shocking, I know) but I had an idea of the kind of pose I wanted them to be in. So the very first thing I did was make a rough sketch of what I was envisioning:

I often do a rough sketch first, even If I know I'm going to be pulling the program up because A) It's less tedious than adjusting the models over and over again until I pick a pose and B) because sometimes I'll decide I don't need the reference, after all, and so that's 30 minutes I'll have spared myself of playing around on the software.

Now, this is a pretty complicated pose! It's in a weird angle and the bodies are making contact in ways I'm not used to depicting, so I did choose to whip out VaM for this one. I went into the program and after some messing around, I flopped my little dolls together like this:

Now something really cool about VaM is that you can completely customize your models, and if you have the patience, I would definitely encourage you to do so! Obviously, you don't have to make picture perfect replicas of every single character you have, but as you can see here I have made a DU drow "decoy" to help me better understand some of his features when I draw him: he has a strong brow, a short nose, a square jawline - these are all going to look a very specific way from certain angles, and I might not always be sure of how to draw it right! So it's useful to have models that bear SOME semblance to the character so you can better understand how different viewpoints will affect their bone structure and mass.

Also thank fucking god for the elf-ear slider. Figuring out how to draw those shits from certain angles was a huge pain in the ass when I started drawing DnD races.

So, with the reference in hand, I go over the sketch again:

Now you may notice that I don't stick to the reference 100%. There's three reasons for this:

posing on VaM is tedious as hell. You can get something incredibly natural looking and picture-perfect to reference from if you wish, but it's going to take you hours to do. So, for the most part I just slap guys together until the results are "close enough" and use that.

In my opinion, you should always aim to ENHANCE your reference material, not replicate it exactly!

While VaM is a PRETTY DANG GOOD source of anatomical reference, it isn't perfect, I often supplement it with further reference from real life resources or make tweaks based on my own knowledge where I catch it falling short (and, antithetical to what I just said, I sometimes fuck the anatomy up further on purpose if I think it looks better that way LOL it's all jazz baby).

Then lines, color, yada yada. I don't have a tutorial on that and I don't think I could make one, because my process is chaotic as hell, but I do at times use Virt-a-mate as loose reference for lighting too when coloring - waaaaayyyy less so however, because that process is even more tedious and I feel like I often get better results by just winging it. It is a feature of the program though, and I'm sure it would be helpful for someone who has a difficult time visualizing lights and shadows. I only started using this program a few months ago, so I happened to already have a pretty good understanding of that kind of thing and just don't personally feel like I get much out of that particular mechanic.

Here's a few other examples of pieces that I made reference for (WARNING: Suggestive)

Now, for the question many of you may want to ask:

"Can I trace this junk?"

And to that, I say: Buddy, you can do whatever the hell you want with the reference material you created.

However,

If your goal is to learn and improve your art, and to recreate realistic proportions and anatomy from memory, tracing won't help you.

Developing your own style, your muscle memory, and personal technique will all be hindered by choosing to trace instead of drawing from observation, so I would encourage against it. Hell - even when tracing is employed as a technique, it's usually by high-skill realism & concept artists who are looking to either cut some corners, save time, or just double-check their own proportions in order to improve further - if you try tracing as a beginner, you will most definitely find the result to still look stiff and "off".

So trust me, there is so much more to be gained from drawing from observation. Make note of tangents, compare proportions, use all the elements of the picture to dictate where and how things should go - it will be a far more rewarding experience.

Hopefully this has been helpful! VaM is a really cheap program (you get it on the guys' patreon for I think 8 dollars, just google it!) and it's definitely been worth my money as an artist since I found it. Learning to use it can be a little intimidating at first glance, but as I said above you only really need a day plus one or two tutorials to get a hang of the interface.

A fair warning though, IT IS A SOFTWARE MADE FOR VIRTUAL SEX/ADULT ANIMATION So when looking it up expect to see a some spicy content.

[hmshermitcraft]

Pearl, Etho, and Tango’s relationship started with the two men under the impression that all three of them were dating already while Pearl thought she was just hopelessly crushing on her fellow postal employees who were in a relationship.

Their communication probably could have been better but in Tango’s defense, he did literally refer to the fact that he and Pearl ate lunch together every day as “dates” to her face and she did end all of them with kissing him on the cheek or forehead. And in Etho’s defense, him and Pearl had taken up cuddling after they were done practicing for The Club That They Can’t Talk About, her face pressed up into his neck and his arms wrapped around her tightly, still breathing heavily from their dance with death. They thought it was pretty obvious that Pearl was their girlfriend. They hadn’t kissed her yet, sure, but maybe she just wasn’t all that into kissing. So much of what they did was touchy in other ways, casual clinging and cuddling and gentle touches, that maybe she just didn’t like that particular thing all that much. Most of the server had figured it out as well, and they took the way Pearl seemed to turn bright red at the mention of her ‘boyfriends’ to just mean that she was shy about it.

Needless to say, when Tango finally kissed Pearl on the lips at the end of lunch one day. It had been a particularly stressful day, and Tango had a habit of clinging close to her when he could tell she stressed. All morning he had stuck to his desk in the Post Office proper, occasionally reaching over to rub her shoulder while she did paper work or offer encouraging words while she painstakingly made new stamps (hand painted!). It wasn’t some grand gesture. She went to kiss him on the cheek as usual, and instead he turned his face to give her a proper kiss. A few seconds later he broke it off and with a “Keep it up, Pearlie. I love you,” and he was on his way to find Etho in the nether to do maintenance. Pearl thought she was about to be the reason her friends broke up. She was so shocked she couldn’t even say anything to Tango, just touched her mouth in disbelief like the kiss could go away at any second while he went back to his work.

Pearl hated it. She loved it. She had been crushing on Tango all season, yes, but she didn’t want this at the expense of Etho! She needed to tell Etho, she knew that. If he chose to break up with Tango over this it would be devastating for both of them, but it should be his choice.

So she invited Etho over to the brawlroom and after a couple of rounds (both of which he won, she felt bad going full tilt knowing what she was about to tell him), she sat Etho down in their score room and just said it.

“Tango kissed me today,” Her voice trembled slightly, her eyes locked on Etho’s. He just titled his head, looking for all the world like he was confused. “Like, on the mouth,”

“Oh, are you okay with that now? If not, we can talk to him,” Etho pulled down his mask to get a sip of water, casually, as if Pearl hadn’t just told him his boyfriend had kissed someone else. And wait. What?

“Okay with it? He’s your boyfriend?” It was Pearl’s turn to look very confused. Etho just shrugged, perplexing her further.

“He’s yours too, I know we don’t normally do the whole ‘polycule chat’ thing but if kissing is a boundary we want to respect it,” He looked so serious and so awkward and out of his depth that Pearl couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

“Sorry, what? Are we a polycule?” Etho’s eyes widened.

“You didn’t know?!?”

Needless to say, Etho and Tango did not break up. And Pearl got a lot of quality boyfriend time in compensation now that she actually KNEW they were dating. She could have been kissing them this whole time!

They really, really should have done more polycule chats. It's an impressive level of obliviousness by all parties involved and something they're going to laugh about for some time.

[quibbs126]

Okay, I have…a design for Lux here

Honestly, it still isn’t the best. Probably on me for spending all of today trying to make a design that worked and not taking more time

Probably should have also colored those practice sketches of Megatron and Optimus, and maybe drawn more of them too, probably would have helped in the long run, as well as let me figure out their colors again since it has apparently been a long time since I drew them

But oh well, I have something, so at least now I can tell you about Lux herself

These are the other previous sketches relating to her by the way, just for posterity’s sake

I thought giving her this younger design based on the cogless bots would have been easier than working out her adult, alt mode based design, since the cogless bots don’t have alt modes. But the problem is, their frames are still based on parts of their alt mode, just not to any extent that it’s actual kibble, just alluding to it, if that makes sense. So you know, I had to have an idea of how her normal frame looks. Which I didn’t. So it was harder than I wanted it to be, and this is what I got in the end

I need to figure out a proper full design for her I think. I still have TFA and TFE Megatron for my inspirations, along with some copters, I just need to figure out how to put them all together

She very much looks like a D-16 painted blue like this, but whatevs

Her trapezoid and arm circles are supposed to be the few references to her alt mode I have, that being her front with the trapezoid, and potentially where her propellers go on her body. I don’t actually know where to put them realistically, but I think it’d be cool if she could use them like blades in combat

For now, I think I’m sticking with that blue, grey and black color scheme for her, and the yellow eyes work fine

Design’s serviceable enough for now, but needs work I think

But anyways, on to the real thing I wanted to discuss here, her lore. Or I suppose more accurately, her relationship with Megatron, since that’s most of what I have on her honestly

Okay, so first off, Megatron was the one to carry her, which I’m noticing is a running theme of mine. Now I’m not sure when exactly he would have been sparked, but let’s say for the sake of things, between getting their T-cogs and meeting the High Guard. The main thing is that this would have been just before Orion and D-16 fell out and Megatron was banished

Some weeks or so after, particularly during moments where he’s feeling incredibly distraught over everything that happened and feels incredibly isolated, Megatron started to feel something else around his spark. He couldn’t quite place what it was, it was too vague and small to be able to tell, like a very faint pulse on his spark, but something about it gave him comfort, while giving it back to the strange feeling. He wasn’t sure what this thing was, but he figured he either made it up as a coping mechanism, or it might be because the cog he had used to belong to someone else, and it was affecting him weirdly. But he didn’t really tell anyone, since he didn’t want to admit it made him feel better like some immature child, and again, he didn’t think it was anything important. He just considered it the “little light” on his spark

Only to find out much later, on complete accident, that that “light” he was feeling was in fact, a sparkling. His and Orion’s at that. No one knew he was carrying, pretty much because he had grown too big for it to make a noticeable impact on his body (and anything that did was assumed because of his enormous rapid growth spurt), and because also no one was looking for it. But one accident a bit too damaging led to him needing a full body scan for all his injuries, and a close to fully formed sparklet was revealed to be in his forge

And unfortunately because of how late anyone found it, as well as the fact that the Decepticons are very lacking in proper medical equipment, Megatron pretty much has to carry the thing to term now, much to his frustration. I needed a reason for him to not deletus that fetus. He hates the idea of this at first, hating Orion/Optimus for putting him in this situation, hating the High Guard for being ignorant enough to have not found this sooner when he could have gotten rid of it (which they kind of have to concede the point there), and hating the universe for this fate

But he does eventually start to come around more to the idea, particularly when he realizes that this sparkling was the same thing that’s been giving him comfort in these turbulent times, and when it comes to mind that this is the last thing he has of Orion, not really choosing to see Optimus as Orion, just who came back after his death. The best idea the Decepticons had for what to do with the sparkling after it was born was to just send it to Iacon, making the Prime deal with his mistake, but Megatron grew more and more hesitant of the idea

And then when the day came that the sparkling was born, he was more conflicted than ever, now that he could actually hold it in his hands and see her for himself. While he didn’t give an answer at first as to whether he wanted to get rid of her, he eventually decided that he indeed wanted to keep her, naming her Lux

It wasn’t the ideal option for the Decepticons, sending her to Iacon would have been the best choice, but during the time before the sparkling was born, they figured that since they no longer had an Energon shortage and weren’t being hunted down, it wasn’t impossible for them to care for a sparkling should that be the decision, though the lack of medical supplies would be a worry

But basically after Lux was born, plenty of the Decepticons pitched in to try and help Megatron with her, since he’s their very young leader and now single parent, and again, kind of their fault for not noticing. Also they haven’t seen a sparkling in ages and she’s cute. Thundercracker happens to be her favorite babysitter. Soundwave is another top tier babysitter, but she just likes him more

This is also what gets Megatron to finally properly start opening up and trusting the High Guard, since he knows he can’t take care of Lux all by himself, especially since he knows very little about sparklings. And if they can be proven trusted with her, maybe he can trust them with other things as well

But one other thing, Megatron does not tell Optimus that Lux exists whatsoever, and he doesn’t want him to know. Part of it is to spite Optimus, excluding him from something he too would probably find so precious. But another part that progressively grows bigger is fear; the fear that if he knew, he would take Lux away from Megatron, never to see her again

While part of it is paranoia, it’s not entirely unreasonable either. Optimus lives in a giant city while Megatron lives out in the wild, Optimus has access to everything she might need or want, Megatron and the High Guard are essentially criminals and could be considered dangerous to a young sparkling, and Optimus is the Prime and ruler of Iacon. Even if he might have the decency to consider letting Megatron keep his sparkling, someone else in Iacon might try to fight for Lux to stay in Iacon instead, possibly even taking matters into their own hands. So he won’t tell Optimus, for as long as he possibly can

Megatron does genuinely care for and love Lux, but he’s also not the best parent either. He’s a bit emotionally dependent on her, with her being that last bit of Orion, and someone who unconditionally loves him, and it does feed a bit into his fear of her being taken from him; he also doesn’t really want her to leave. It may be something he eventually learns to grow out of, as it’s really not healthy for either of them, but it could also not. But at least for now, this dependency isn’t too egregious, nor is it something Lux takes notice of, or something the other Decepticons warn Megatron about

I suppose I should actually get into Lux herself. Though to be honest, I don’t have a lot on her anyways, outside of her backstory

I do have that she’s generally a cheery little bot, and she really likes the surface, particularly the animals up there. Thundercracker is her favorite guy, outside of her carrier, and them both being blue possibly has something to do with it. She’s also probably a little too okay with violence for someone her age, due to the company she finds herself in. They may be her responsible guardians, but they’re definitely teaching her ways to kill

She also has this thing of, if she does not understand why a rule exists, she does not listen to it. It made the first few cycles with her very difficult, and a testament to Megatron that she really was Orion’s sparkling. She has a habit of sneaking out a lot, though usually it’s just to watch animals or something harmless

Though this could extend to her being prohibited from ever going to or near Iacon. She may not go now, accepting the explanation that dangerous enemies live there, but that explanation may not hold up the longer she observes it, and she may one day decide the rule’s worth breaking. But will she go to Iacon and what chaos will ensue if she does? I don’t know

I mean I imagine at some point Optimus eventually learns of Lux’s existence, I just don’t know the specific circumstances as to how yet, or when. She could sneak into Iacon as a child, it could be a Quintesson attack mixed with a Decepticon encounter that weeds her out via Megatron trying to protect her, it could be Airachnid kidnapping her, or they don’t encounter until she’s properly grown. I’m not sure yet

But yeah, I think that’s all I have on her lore for now, and honestly it’s getting pretty late, so I should probably just end things here

She needs more working, but I have a lot about Lux, so I just needed to share

[jollyparaphernalia]

Omg, I saw the newest Clovis post and I got so many things in me brain. 1. Titles. The Knight seems to have a fondness for them. While Sif used them to distance himself, to make interactions impersonal. I think Clovis might use them more as the others see nicknames. If you're important enough, then you get a title, you embody something. Like there are many housemaidens, but Mirabelle is the housemaiden. She's the most important one. He'll still use their names, but it depends on what context he's thinking in. And also, I think they'd be both different from Siffrin's titles and change more often (depending maybe on context), be more personal. Something the person in question might like to be called themselves, since he'd have more time to develop them. Just an idea. And imagine Loops reaction, when the knight waltzes in day one... 2. In a sense, one of Siffrin's flaws was giving up too easily. In a sense, one of (the king) Clovis' weaknesses is not knowing when to stop. Now, stay with me. I believe that the stagemaster would be quite offended that they'd bring a child to fight them. (They truly are fools!) So much so that they might specifically engineer situations where the child might 'accidentally' put the others in danger (Or themselves, Oh what a foreseeable tragedy!). It would be too boring if he just let the saviours walk through the house, uninhibited. Clovis decides that, perhaps they should not bring a child with them into the house. For as much as he respects their unshakable spirit, bravery in the face of the unknown, they are yet just a child. So he would go about convincing everyone, including the child in question that *maybe* they should be a little stricter about this actually... Yeah but there's no convincing Bonnie. Bonnie has already made up their mind, and Bonnie is a particularly stubborn child. So, the knight. Being multiple loops deep of failed persuasion tactics. (And very many loops in general. Loop being quite unhelpful, very often seems to try and deliberately get him killed.). Decides that it would probably be easier to convince the others that Bonnie decided to not come along than it is to convince them. Deciding might be a strong word. It was more so cold anger doing the decision for him. He did not have time for a proper funeral, so to the sea they returned. Or the lake... Clovis can be good at lying. Especially when people want to believe him. So he continues. If it works, then it was a sacrifice worth making. And if it doesn't then it will be undone soon. ... 3. The head housemaiden! Is that the one who knows Clovis is looping? Will he see her darkless hair, and wonder? Will she say something else? Also Is Clovis inciting wish different from Siffrins? Is it even that which has trapped him? 4. Will Clovis tell the others about his timeloop? He pledged his alliegance to Mirabelle, and anything that could be useful in defeating the stagemaster she deserves to know, no? I imagine he would tell them until starts being just a time waster. When there's no new input or ideas they could give And he decides to tell them on the last loop, when he's figured out how to save Vaugarde for good. Sorry for such a long ask, and basically writing fanfiction for your fanfiction. But I love your au, It's a delight! I can't wait to see more.

I'm delighted people are thinking and also rotating thoughts in their head about all of this! Don't apologize for essentially writing fanfic of a fanfic - this is the fans domain, baby! If the version of Clovis you might have/think of might differ from what I think of, and thats okay, that's the intent, really.

Yeah, Clovis likes his titles, but since the Party was all 'nooooo call me by my name' he respects their wishes so he'll call people by their names (though he does interchangeably refer to them by formal names and occasionally nicknames, ex: he calls Bonnie Boniface and also Bonnie...and also maybe Bon-Bon. )

Not knowing when to stop (and get help) is a good way to refer to Clovis. Though, if i'm reading this right here, I think you're implying here that he'd hurt someone physically to keep Bonnie from the House. I think Clovis would rather die than hurt someone from the Party (or intentionally deny someone their purpose, in this case, Bonnie being Snackleader.) You know, Universe leading and we follow (even if he can't always remember the phrase). Universe led Bonnie to being Snackleader, and if Bonnie being there is causing issues...then it's Clovis' job as protector to 'figure it out, idiot' it IS, however, very in character for the Stagemaster to fuck with people by engineering situations where one of the Party Members quirks/mannerisms causes them to trigger a trap or something.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b4ULg131PM This is all info i'm planning to answer later :)

Maybe. I think it's fun to give Clovis a Siffrin characteristic, as a treat - instead of 'I can't say anything about the timeloops because then they'll hate me', it can be Clovis going 'I should be able to handle this on my own, I don't want to burden them/imply to them that i'm struggling, then they might see me as a burden and not worth the trouble'.

Thank you so much for the interest! And as an added reminder, again, we are all in the same fandom boat together, and while Clovis is my creation (and even then, while he's technically an OC, i'm trying to be very specific with him as an extension of the King's themes and ideas) it's like - have fun with it, if you have an idea that has your head spinning a blorbo like a rotisserie chicken, you don't need the creators approval to make stuff, or to theorize, ya know? Like how Insertdisc5 has stated that if any of the party members were Looping, they'd figure that shit out easy and solve the loops in practically no time at all...

But if everyone adhered to that way of interacting with the text, we wouldn't have cool AU's involving the other characters looping...Including one of my personal favorites and a big inspiration for me to post my brainrot publicly to begin with, Sharkylass' 'In Repetition and Change'!! Go check it out! Do it! Do it!! I love the way they interpret Isabeau as a character and peel the guy apart to examine him. And to think! If we were completely concerned about being 100% canon all the time, we wouldn't see cool shit like that! Their AU gave me a new way to look at Isabeau and I love that!

[jazeswhbhaven]

My Very Own Demon Maid? | Being Threatened by an Exceptionally Skilled Maid Prologue | React | Spoilers

By the way, PB released the promo for this card shortly after updating the game, and I will say I like the ultimate on the card as it appears to kill multiple enemies by hanging them. Also, the booty shaking in his adore mode has me wanting to edit it with various songs LMAO I posted the money shot here because we get a bit of ballsack/gooch action

Now I'm not gonna lie I was really wondering how Levi would react being a maid after the entire event and it seems to mirror how Luci was acting in his card on how he felt as a butler.

To keep it short, Levi pretty much wants to fulfil his maid role to the fullest because he enjoyed wearing the outfit so much and craved wanting to serve a 'master' that's worthy of his service.

That means kidnapping MC (lol what's his damn deal with that), threatening them to accept being his Master, and then we finally get to the good part of the prologue where MC gets the game and starts being mean to him like how he wants. So how did we get here?

The screenshots will tell all in so little words.

Yup, Levi is out here feelin' himself. Which I'll give it to him...he looks good! Also his titties look big here idk man lol

So he kept that thang on for a while. Also confirmation of my assumption that he bathes often lol

Okay man, keep telling yourself that what helps you sleep in your coffin at night

Bring God back, I wanna see Levi be his maid.

Astra would indeed say this. She has said this 💀

Nah, what?

Oh this is cute, almost distracted me from the fact that Levi thought he could speak to me that way

LMAO NAH WTF????

Baby what is you doin???????????? Apologizing?????????

He'd just have to kill me dawg, I wouldn't be able to keep my mouth shut

As if he wasn't the one who just fucked up our throat in the first place...

He should have done that first, then it would have been a party

A reference book???? What kind of..

💀 Deadass? LMAO Belphie.... B E L P H I E

BEFORE APRIL FOOLS EVEN HIT WHY DID HE GIFT HIM THIS?

Also....ayo Belphie share your stash of hentai with me too like damn whatcha got?

MC said they'd seen enough and I was like, yup you can pretty much tell where this is going from the few pages alone. What really gets me is that Levi truly thought this is what a maid was meant to do and I find it hilarious that in his big brain he thought this was the proper way to do it. Idk it's just really funny to me yet he probably wouldn't find my belittling of his common sense amusing

Not to be that person but he was kinda asking for it back politely 💀 but he also was being a dick earlier so idc lol

I'd throw scalding hot tea in your face for choking me, but yah

Seeing him fold like this does something to me to where I don't dislike him as much anymore. Like ah yes finally you're my bitch and you better start acting like it 😌😌

So that's the prologue and I'm like well I think I can put two and two together and figure out how Levi's card is gonna go. Clearly it's going to be MC humiliating the fuck out of him which I mean cool, that's his thing anyway as seen from his past cards (excluding Attacker and Bloodshed) but there doesn't seem to be much of a build up or anything like it was with Luci's Butler card.

This also has me wondering if the other King's cards are going to be in the same format at Levi's where they just sort of roleplay randomly. If so, I'd rather them just keep it at Lucifer and Levi for these cards and give the other Kings something else. I also figure that Belphie nor Asmo would get butler cards because Belphie doesn't do jack shit in the first place unless this is finally a card where he does play into the role, and with Asmo uh....it would probably just be mindless sex from start to finish.

ANYWAYS if I do happen to see the rest of Levi's card, I'll post about it ofc. But for now...this is it lol

See y'all next time :3

[fandomsmadness]

Late but

TBHX episode 4 rant

Okay if I had a nickel every time they ended an episode with Moon being shot in the head... we all know where I'm going and that's concerning. Two main thoughts about the cliffhanger:

THANK GOD EPISODE TWO WASN'T A FAKEOUT

I hate it, if only for the fact that it pulled our focus away from so many important things that happened in the chapter, hello??? I hate that our final takeaway is "Moon got shot again" instead of a number of other things

We start with the most important things first; last episode rant I was asking whether we should just resign ourselves to Lin Ling being unhappy as Nice for the rest of his life and lmao I have never been more happy to be given the most solid answer I could have hoped for.

However, important implication here; I believe this means trust value is a two way system. In order to work:

Trust must be given by people (fans believing in 'Nice'/Lin Ling)

Trust must be accepted by the other party (Lin Ling accepting that he wants to become/is 'Nice'/himself)

And this brings up a really fascinating question: "can multiples of the same hero exist?" The answer should be yes - we see in cases like The Johnnies that trust value can be given to a team as a whole instead of each individual component. Can the mantle of a hero also be split this way? Will that ease the burden?

And in that same vein, would any hero who decides they are no longer their moniker be able to step away from their burdens and expectations just as easily? If yes, which I believe it is, what happens to Lin Ling if he ever wants to go back to a regular life?

That being said I love the naming of this episode, absolute genius, and the way it was presented, absolute cinema. Personally I'm regarding this point as the conclusion of Lin Ling's current arc and I have to say, these last four episodes had us on a rollercoaster. Lin Ling realising he didn't actually want to be Nice, but a hero was peak and I love that he got to get to it on his own terms.

And while I love the introduction of Jeopardy (that song has no right being so badass) I found it interesting that in this particular scene when Lin Ling is finally defeating God Eye, it's Paragon that plays. He gave up being Nice. Why are we getting Nice's theme song here?

That's not all, we still have more questions: If Lin Ling is now 10, what rankings are the ones on the official website???

Why I'm not considering this part of the arc as of now is because it's unfinished, clearly there for cliffhanger value, and it's very likely that we will all change our minds about this later when more information is given because the whole thing is fishy. How does Moon recognize Lin Ling, who she's never seen before? Why is E-Soul or a lookalike there, and why are they positioned behind Moon while the shot came from the side? Was episode 1 a premonition, or was someone trying to warn Lin Ling? Time will tell.

And while I will be really mad if it turns out Moon is alive after that (AGAIN) part of me is hoping she is because give this girl a break man, wtf?? At least give her a proper vacation, or a death in dignity, as her own person, and not an accessory to a man!

Other (less important to me) things:

Blankster was an interesting study for several reasons, the biggest being how powers can evolve beyond their origin function, aka how strong punches evolved not just in strength but also in terms of memory loss. Given Blankster's boxer origins, this makes so much sense, and I thought it was a really clever way to reference concussions. Secondly, Treeman made it too easy for God Eye, come on! It also showed how corporate really doesn't give a shit about Moon as soon as she left; they just viewed her as a liability. From the episode's start, they didn't care about saving her.

It's also nice (haha, pun not intended) to finally have at least one name to these faces. So these are the hero agency heads. Interesting, and makes sense. Now we only need to figure out who the hooded figure is and the intro's main pain points will be less painful (not really).

And finally, God Eye. I can't help but feel he fell kinda flat. Last ep I had high hopes for him being set up as Lin Ling's nemesis, and he did to an extent, embody that with his "there are no real heroes in this era" talk but then along came Lin Ling shedding the Nice persona to prove him wrong. Where does that leave him? Was he only a gimmick for the Lin Ling arc? I feel there should be more.

After all, we still don't know whose fear is channelling God Eye, and how it came be taken away. By making him a laughing stock, perhaps?

I knew episodes 5-7 were going to be E-Soul centered, but I have to hand it to the team, this was one hell of a way to transition viewpoints.

[isat-script-project]

How did you get started creating the script project? I think it would be fun to try to do something similar for deltarune, but I'm not sure how feasible it would actually be

the age old tale is "i was writing isat fanfiction and really wanted to get some dialogue exactly right, so i combed through 100% playthroughts on youtube to find the right spot and jotted down what i needed in a document except it got so fucking annoying i contemplated just making a website for it and then i got my grubby mits on both rpgmaker mv and the isat data files and it was all joever"

if it's the actual PROCESS. well. it was a bit of a mess. the first thing i did was make the website itself, hammering out a general layout using the sadgrl layout builder over a whole weekend and an increasingly yelling filled call with my sibling who actually knows how websites work.

you can take a look at this post where i answered what to look out for more in-depth.

i've only played ch1&2 but honestly? deltarune seems feasible. i've seen people datamine sprites from it, at least, it seems like the engine is pretty well documented.

so yah i first figured out i COULD do it, then i made the website + website layout for it (if you know how, you should also hammer out your individual page layout at this point and not wait for other people to show up and do it for you).

then i just took a crack at making a page except my process was fucking horrid, i didn't actually have all the data files nor a proper way to read them (didn't have rpgmaker mv back then, i just looked at the .json files and tried my best, which is why some weird half completed pages were floating around in the site's early days, like the tutorial one from back when). I got tired of this pretty quick and very legally aquired rpgmaker (i actually own it on steam now and i never talked about piracy in isatcord and you can prove nothing and because this ISN'T isatcord i can make blatant euphemisms.)

and at that point i just went at it making whatever scrappy pages interested me. it was a sorta trial-by-fire thing where i got more familiar with rpgmaker and isat in specific as i went along, instead of putting in the effort to figure out how shit works first, because i am just a very learn by doing kinda guy. and that's how it all went along till the legendary hero Gold showed up and taught me github and made everything better and prettier (before this i was pushing every minor change directly to neocities which was especially funny when i was tinkering w the layout so the site just updated twenty bajillion times that one weekend)

for deltarune you'd probably also be pretty chill splitting things by area, and maybe subdividing area stuff into normal/weird route as is the room pages with normal/act5 or something. the battle stuff looks interesting to do with all the act options.

so yeah refer to the linked post for general tips but again for deltarune you do probably have a good shot? just the general stuff, decide how you wanna host it early, make a test page to check out what a page should look like and how to format it, and everything else (like How The Hell Do I Portray Conditionals: the story of how the <details> tag saved us all), but the real obscure stuff is only gonna sneak up on ya when you're already many many pages deep and trying to figure out where one specific variable is increased because the rpgmaker search function SUCKS SO BAD. s192 my fucking nemesis.

best of luck 👍

i'll prolly stop answering questions about this stuff at some point unless someone is asking for smth specific (like how to connect ur github repo to ur neocities or smth) bcuz i feel like i've said all that can be said at this point on the topic. go forth wiki warriors

[rebo-chan]

This was a HELLA LONG POST SO IM PUTTING IT UNDER A CUT. THIS WAS MY FIRST ATTEMPT AT A XANXUS ANALYSIS, SO I HOPE YOU VARIA FANS ENJOY??

OKAY so I did my last poll (Favorite arc) because I wanted to figure out which arc/aspect of an arc I should look at next. And Varia won. Also, as well my friend has been slowly scheming to get me into the Varia as a whole. Safe to say, it's starting to work. ANYWAY, since I've never done him before, the thing I wanted to look at here is Xanxus, his relationship with his wrath, and with his "pride". To start, Xanxus comes into the Ninth's care as a child being fooled into believing that he was the Ninth's son. Overtime, under the Ninth's care, he is led to believe that it is his birthright to be Vongola X. Pride as defined by my beloved Simon arc is something you can't give up on. This is no doubt Xanxus's pride. The only problem is that it was a fake one, so easily ripped away from him by the mere fact that he and the Ninth had no blood connections. This is where his Wrath "begins", furious at having been 'betrayed' that there was never any intention to make him the heir. The very thing he made his Pride. It's here, his wrath introduces him to Squalo who walks into the lion's den (or at least someone he had believed to be a Vongola Lion) wanting to see where that anger led him. Squalo, the series embodiment of the word 'Pride'. Eager to prove that Xanxus, who he believed to be the Ninth's son, he would be a valuable ally to.

Squalo and us the audience then get to see personally where Xanxus's Wrath had led him. Despite Xanxus's pride being fake, it was still not something he could give up on. He was going to take his pride back, no matter who bled for it. Hence the coup. His Wrath made him chase after his Pride, and what it ended up being was one.. big temper tantrum from the hands of someone with far too much power. It's not lost on me as well that the result of the coup is referred to as the Cradle Incident. A cradle, what you would do to calm down a screaming child. It's also here that Squalo finds out the truth about Xanxus not truly being Vongola X. In the midst of this family debacle, Xanxus's pride is confirmed to not just himself but to Squalo as well as false. Lucky for Xanxus, Squalo was never following his pride but rather his rage. Unfortunately, I'm not entirely sure that Xanxus sees it that way.

As Xanxus wakes up from the ice with years having passed, it does nothing to sooth the burn of his anger of his ripped away pride. He hatches up another plan, the ring conflict, in order to crush the one that his 'birthright' was given to. To spit on his father's choice and destroy what the Ninth had wanted for the boy, just like his wants were destroyed. "Show me what that old man saw in you." Is no doubt the wrath slipping through. It's a "What made you a better choice than me?" I don't doubt that the relationship between Xanxus and the Ninth is.. almost irreparable at this point, but he is still someone who thought highly of the Ninth's opinion just based on that and the fact he felt betrayed by the ninth's action. He again WAS proud to be his son, either that's from the benefits that being the heir for Vongola X brought or out of some genuine familial love. It's hard to say frankly and up to interpretation. (In the very least, we can at least say Timoteo did genuinely care for Xanxus but this post isn't about him<3) Either way, the ring conflict begins and it is Xanxus's chance at retaking his pride and getting his proper and true revenge for what was done for him.

But this time though, there are slight differences between now and the coup. Time either in the cradle or otherwise has morphed how Xanxus sees things. There's.. an added humiliation to Xanxus now, one that hates what happened back in the coup. Not in the way that he regrets what he did, persay but rather the way the Ninth's eyes looked upon him in pity, the way he sees that same look in Tsuna. The fact that Squalo was there, whether or not he had heard what happened. It burns Xanxus. He wants his pride back, but he wants it renewed. Freshly removed from his past. He wants the Ninth gone, and for the way Tsuna shares that same look in his eyes, he's going to take both of them down in one go if he can help it. (The cloud battle, putting Tsuna in the situation where he could be charged with possibly ending the Ninth's life. It would've been poetic, wouldn't it? The two gentle souls of the Vongola destroying one another.) Then, there's Squalo.. Squalo, who "dies" in the rain battle and Xanxus can only laugh. Because, finally, things are going his way. Now, everything is in place. He can now take the position of Vongola X without the threads of his past holding onto him tightly, reminding him of his failure, of who he really is, of his falsified pride. What's poetic is that it's the embodiment of Pride who appears, with an absolute refusal to die, for real pride isn't something you can give up, that reveals Xanxus's truth to everyone. Tells everyone what was essentially that no matter how hard Xanxus struggles and plots and rips and tears, his 'pride' will never be his again. Xanxus doesn't accept this, it wasn't Squalo's intention to make him to either, but the option isn't in his hands. It never was. The ninth, at the end of the cloud battle, blames himself for all of his happening. For not being strong enough to do what had to be done. This can be interpreted as him referring to not killing Xanxus during the cradle incident, but it can also be interpreted as him not being able to tell Xanxus the truth from the start. Not being able to deny Xanxus the chance of life away from the slums. His 'kind' action only served to put Xanxus's life down a path of the inability to choose. Almost paralleled to Tsuna in a way, who brought into the role of Vongola X against his will, Xanxus is kept away from Vongola X against his will.

Xanxus's wrath is a weakness, let me make that clear. It blinds him from the truth, from his unfortunate circumstances, from accepting that it just couldn't be. I'm not sure if he'll ever accept it, so long as he has that wrath. But, the good news is that we see ten years later into the future, his wrath is no longer an open enough of a wound for others to poke at and prod to get him to react the way they want. His response to Raisel was nothing less than a "Do you think I'm that easy?" He IS better there about it. The Vongola is STILL his family, no matter what inner conflict there is and no outsider is going to be able to rip into him half as easily as the people from inside did. As for what he's done with his pride ten years down? It's hard to say, he desires Vongola at its strongest and at that time it was the strongest under Tsuna's control. I won't pretend he doesn't still want the title, but the wound isn't fresh anymore at least by then.

OOGH. WELL, THATS IT. I'm curious to see if you guys have any interpretations about his "pride", if you agree, disagree, or if you have any interpretations of what his pride has become ten years down the line. Thank you for reading this far!!!

[artistredfox]

do you think we're going to get to see shifter stan receiving the sweater from mabel? because i keep thinking about it and getting emotional because! it's about his family accepting him!! and idk how he feels about his bug form once his memory comes back but wearing it implies some acceptance and comfort on stan's part as well which also makes me feel stuff. shifter stan is really living in my brain rent free right now

Was sitting on this for a while because I wanted to write you a little drabble about it, but my brain is too full of Horse Stangst 😔

Suffice to say it is in the back of my mind as an idea, but I do not currently have a wip started with this plot.

I think Stan starts out rather. Uncomfortable with the idea of walking around Full Bug. He knows that's what he looks like, he knows that his family all know that's what he looks like, but he also still doesn't have most of his memories back. He has the memories of Before he became Stan, and he has a few memories from random times in the middle, and he has the memories of After.

Before he was Stan, it was made very clear that Shifters should never drop their shape in front of others. Never ever. Their undershape is too personal. To vulnerable. Dropping shift is an easy way to be a dead shifter.

After, he's been too busy trying to remember who Stan is.

So, when Mabel(inevitably) asks if she can see his bug shape he gets(pun intended) rather shifty about it. Claims that he can't change back, then throws a smoke bomb and runs away.

Eventually(not very long after, actually. Maybe a few hours) Ford manages to get the reason why out of him.

Cue bonding where all Stan's family share something vulnerable about themselves. (Ford's insecurities, the way Soos always thought of Stan as a father figure, Dipper’s ?? Something. His anxiety maybe? Mabels. Something. Wendy is also there maybe)

And then Stan drops his shift and they all go to sleep in a blanket fort or something. Stan wakes up with a brand new sweater Mabel knitted for him, that perfectly fits him.

I'd show you a proper reference photo of how I pictured the sweater but there. Isn't one. I made the sucker up. Looks something like this though v

And the way it looks like the ocean makes him feel a lot of happy emotions so he immediately puts it on and never wants to take it off

[sk1fanfiction]

okay hi, i've finally caught up and have now read the last chapter so here we go !!

(ch. 22/108 rev) — that was intense omfg, cass !! i'm so so glad no one died (i was a little worried for sirius and tee im ngl, i was surprisingly very very sure that nothing happens to harry despite the whole "he's dead" theatrics). from the beginning when they're getting to malfoy manor you can just feel like it's a whole operation, immaculate from the start. i love it when we get tom's pov bc there's just something so raw with his character, like every time he thinks about dumbledore or voldemort (or his actual father) it's just so interesting.

"that the great wizard of his personal legend would again want nothing to do with him."

stop. every time tom gets rejected by one of his counterparts i get sad like hello?? wdym your own self doesn't want you 😭😭 come here pookie, i want you

"He should not want to be coddled. That was childish and stupid. He was no longer the oldest left in Wool's Orphanage. And Voldemort was not his father."

the daddy issues goes crazy here i fear but i do feel for him, he's never really gotten a proper parental figure (at least until now with dumbledore - "he thinks you the son he never had" just hitsss)

""The little bitch bit me!" yelped another man, this one with a high, wheezing voice."

yes hermione !! people who bite in fights are genuinely my fave

"Tee was struck, as they rounded the corner which Bill had just disappeared around, how much Sirius sounded like this woman — looked like her too, he realised, as they emerged into the light."

i will always always eat up a sirius black x bellatrix black parallel. it's my fave thing !! it feels so symbolic (i also just love the house of black and their drama, they are way more complicated than people give them credit for)

"Recognition flashed in Dolohov's eyes. "You like puzzles, eh?"

oh the irony of saying that to a riddle (icb more people don't make jokes with his name... well i can bc he's a young voldemort but STILL harry go at it)

"I want to commit the murder I was sentenced to Azkaban for!"

i love sirius so bad, he's so hilarious like yes pookie, you suffered in a hell-hole, might as well kill the guy who put you there (ofc i would suggest proving his survival and then killing him but what do i know?)

the whole tee vs bella fight is so funny like girl… that's your dark lord as a jr 😭 but omg i see you've taken the take that bella doesn't know about voldemort's heritage?? (i've seen people think that she is aware and still supports him which kind of doesn't make sense unless she's a hypocrite which strikes me as very ooc for bellatrix unless but then again azkaban + dark arts + grooming + sunk-cost fallacy + fear would be a very dangerous combination for anyone and might very well cause hypocrisy 😭) also nice to know that tom is also struggling to remember his age (he's just like the rest of us)

"He'd forgotten how enjoyable this was. Pushing someone to the edge. Watching them teeter on the cliff."

your honour, he's sick and likes to drive people insane !! (it must say something about me too bc i just found that attractive yikes)

"If you will release my assistant—"

he's so casual about it everything, sigh, dumble will always be a diva referring to a horcrux of a dark lord as "assistant"

ugh harry….. MY POOKIE. i feel like it's just so sad every time he turns into an obscurial, like it hurts ME and i'm not even there so i can only imagine how ruby feels seeing her own brother, her twin she shared a womb with and the majority of her life was by his side felt (she must be feeling esp guilty for her year long camping trip and keeping things from him extra hard)

"Voldemort and Dumbledore were still fighting, oblivious to the rest of the chaos."

they're so obsessed with each other yikes can you at least mind your surroundings? there's a whole obscurial !!!

""I know." He paused. "About what?""

his first instinct to say he's right takes me out (it's also very me so)

"He was probably annoyed about not being first in line."

this is so important though, she's finally opening up !!

the feels in this chapter were so exceptional. i just felt the desperation, the hurt, the panic, the anxiety... and ik dumbledore felt hurt at what tom said ("father and son said what? "what?") when questioned by voldemort but what's curious to me is how ruby tries to act like she expects it (which she might which ig is more powerful since despite it all she was still affected) but she's also deeply hurt by it, just in denial. i do think tom is also unaware that everything he does might've started out a "repaying debts" and "choosing the better options" but definitely along the line he's developed some care for (ruby, dumbledore maybe even harry) and just can't bring himself to admit it or even recognise it. very very interesting dynamics. also, maybe this was like just for narratives sake but... does tom not know ron, hermione, and anthony's names?? 😭 (if he doesn't then that's just hilarious and definitely backs my hc that he's terrible at remembering people's name, esp their first names). also, during my re-read, i noticed that harry and ruby kind of see people they care about in riddle?? (harry sees some of hermione and ruby sees some of harry) and it freaks them out a lot and i think it's because it definitely humanises him to them, esp ruby who would do ANYTHING for her brother as established. i also was wondering about the riddle ring, nice to see ruby's still got it !! idk i just think this series is sick. i have so many thoughts that i've probably forgotten but this is long anyway so i'll end it here !

i'm so so glad no one died

I'm just saving the Major Character Death tag for Year Six (kidding? kidding! am i?)

i was a little worried for sirius and tee im ngl, i was surprisingly very very sure that nothing happens to harry despite the whole "he's dead" theatrics

As I said I don't really have the heart to kill off Sirius (so every threat is kinda empty). And Harry's plot armour is so insane that I was pretty sure I wasn't fooling anyone despite all the cloak and dagger and misdirection and deliberately hiding him from you for the better part of two chapters and waving my hands and yelling HE'S DEAD!!

there's just something so raw with his character

It's the unresolved Daddy Issues (and the fact he's not completely emotionally closed-off yet compared to Voldemort).

yes hermione !! people who bite in fights are genuinely my fave

Well she trapped Rita Skeeter in a jar and came up with the Sneak Curse, she is definitely (canonically) a biter.

i will always always eat up a sirius black x bellatrix black parallel. it's my fave thing !! it feels so symbolic (i also just love the house of black and their drama, they are way more complicated than people give them credit for)

I love love parallels and especially this one, too! It's a shame when they get flattened into the 'Black Madness' or other tropes. I feel like it's not really portrayed in the movies unfortunately (because they both got flanderised).

you've taken the take that bella doesn't know about voldemort's heritage??

Yes, I haven't gone through the Original Texts with a fine-tooth comb to check for Complete Canonicity, though I know a lot of people say Bellatrix probably knew because Wormtail did (but Wormtail is too much of a coward to repeat the Dark Lord's Private Business and blood purity isn't a motivating factor for him, he just wanted to be on the winning side) and Barty at least knew that Voldemort had a bad 'relationship' with his dad, not necessary that he was a Muggle (but I think Voldemort only told him that to make him more loyal), if we just take what we know about Bellatrix and Voldemort at face value, I don't think he would ever tell her that one of his parents is a Muggle no matter how close they were (re: this really short meta and this slightly longer one). Yes, he (both Diary!Tom and Voldemort) told Harry but that's just for the good old 'you're just like me' hero/villain evil speech effect. Maybe this is a heretical take though, idk...

your honour, he's sick and likes to drive people insane !!

"Lord Voldemort is my past, present, and future." (Giving Tom some psychological violence as a treat because Dumbledore said it was his favourite in HBP).

dumble will always be a diva referring to a horcrux of a dark lord as "assistant"

Phineas Nigellus Black said it best, however you feel about Dumbledore, you can't deny he's got style ;)

i feel like it's just so sad every time he turns into an obscurial, like it hurts ME and i'm not even there so i can only imagine how ruby feels seeing her own brother, her twin she shared a womb with and the majority of her life was by his side felt (she must be feeling esp guilty for her year long camping trip and keeping things from him extra hard)

He was literally at his breaking point :(((

Hence the Castor and Pollux mention (at the time I was writing it I was thinking maybe it's too on the nose but they are literally intentionally divine twins-coded so...)

his first instinct to say he's right takes me out (it's also very me so)

Ofc Tom believes he's always right (also, valid).

ik dumbledore felt hurt at what tom said

He was indeed in his feelings.

ruby tries to act like she expects it [...] but she's also deeply hurt by it, just in denial.

Exactly! She has Complex Feelings about Tee for definite (I mean she literally named him and summoned him from the purgatory realm or whatever and befriended him but he's also literally Voldemort).

i just felt the desperation, the hurt, the panic, the anxiety...

I'm so glad all of that came through (I love hurting my characters, ngl)

i do think tom is also unaware that everything he does might've started out a "repaying debts" and "choosing the better options" but definitely along the line he's developed some care for (ruby, dumbledore maybe even harry) and just can't bring himself to admit it or even recognise it.

This!!! Tom is always going to be a character with low empathy IMO but that doesn't mean that he doesn't care at all, even if that's the reality delusion he tries to create for himself.

does tom not know ron, hermione, and anthony's names??

He doesn't. He was never paying attention in the first place lol.

i noticed that harry and ruby kind of see people they care about in riddle?? (harry sees some of hermione and ruby sees some of harry) and it freaks them out a lot and i think it's because it definitely humanises him to them, esp ruby who would do ANYTHING for her brother as established.

Ruby definitely sees Harry in him (because of the canon Harry/Tom parallels 'we even look something alike' and all that) and it (amongst other things) causes major cognitive dissonance. There are definitely Tom/Hermione parallels that Harry picks up in (being Muggle-born/assumed Muggle-born, being know-it-alls) but potentially the worse source of Riddle-related anxiety for him is how Dumbledore sees him (potentially both in the same way) versus the literal existence of Lord Voldemort versus his knowledge of his own parallels.

"Am I meant to feel sorry for him?" It was a genuine question. He could only think of Riddle standing before him the night the castle was attacked. Of the strange, misplaced kinship, of rage and pity. It was like seeing himself in one of those funhouse mirrors; his reflection twisted into something grotesque and disturbing.

[autism-autobot]

Flower of a Poisonous Seed Part 17

Part 16:

It must have been 3 am when Wukong heard the door open.

He was having another terrible migraine, with some hot flashes and sleep paralysis to make for a triple whammy he couldn't escape or call for help for.

Nezha was fast asleep, blissfully unaware of anything that went on around him.

Wukong looked in the direction of the creaking door.

A large purple figure with his face and body otherwise completely shaded from view stared back at him.

"Oh, little brother, what are we to do?"

Wukong had never heard the Demon Bull King sound so... sorrowful.

"You are so ill."

Demon Bull King walked quietly towards him. Wukong shut his eyes, pretending to be asleep.

"In three days comes the new year... and yet here you lay, helpless like never before."

With careful precision, DBK swaddled Wukong in the blanket he made for him, then the one from Nezha.

"I've tried to find a proper doctor for you for months now. Not one seems to know anything about your kind or what may be affecting you. I just don't know what to do."

Wukong couldn't help but smile knowing his brother cared so deeply for him. He, in complete darkness, where he didn't think a soul could hear him, felt only love for his little brother. He felt so safe in his brother's arms as DBK rocked him gently.

Wukong felt the sleep paralysis fade away. Then something tickled his nose.

"You can barely move. Sure, you have recovered from that in the past, but... what if there comes a day where you don't? What if there comes a day where I can comfort you no longer?"

"And you have grown so depressed... what I wouldn't give to rid you of your sorrows."

"Has all joy left you, brother? I should hope not... but how deep your sorrows go... and how fake the smile you put on to hide it, even I don't know."

Wukong couldn't keep it in any more.

He sneezed.

"Oh... bless you, little brother."

"Thank you."

Oops...

DBK: *whisper yelling to not wake Nezha* HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN AWAKE????

SWK: *whispers* The... whole... time?

DBK: WHAT???

SWK: Well, I was... having sleep paralysis and a migraine... still have a migraine...

DBK: ARE YOU ALRIGHT???

SWK: Not gonna lie...*whimpers* it's getting pretty bad...

DBK: Shhhhh... shhhhh... shhhhh... It's going to be alright... let's get you some tea and medicine for that.

SWK: Okay... *starts sobbing from pain*

~~~

The medicine DBK gave Wukong took a bit longer to take effect, but it was the long-lasting type, which Wukong definitely needed.

All they could do is wait for the medicine to kick in.

Wukong was writhing in agony. His sobs only grew louder as time went on.

Oh, how the Demon Bull King hated to see his brother in such a state.

DBK wrapped his body around Wukong's on the large couch and set his nose to press gently into Wukong's hair and licked it.

Wukong let out a confused whine.

DBK licked him again.

Wukong gave in to the tongue bath.

Wukong hadn't had a tongue bath since the days of the brotherhood. Azure would sometimes give him tongue baths, but he tended to be rather aggressive about it as lions often were. Bulls, on the other hand, sometimes just do it as a sign of affection.

It felt like wet sandpaper to him...

It was kinda gross, but Wukong didn't mind. DBK was always more gentle about it than Azure.

The tongue bath went on just long enough for the medicine to kick in.

Wukong couldn't be more relieved.

He grabbed his brother's horn and sat himself up for the first time that week. Wukong held on to DBK's arm for support.

DBK: Brother! You're sitting!

SWK: Guess I am, aren't I?

DBK: *laughs so loudly it rattled the walls* INDEED!!! INDEED BROTHER, YOU ARE SITTING!!!

SWK: Geez! Quiet down! Do you want to wake everyone up?

DBK: OH, I DON'T CARE!!! THEY'LL BE HAPPY TO SEE YOU SIT TOO!!!! *continue laughing hysterically*

SWK: Shhhhh! Please be quiet! I don't want you to wake Nezha!

Princess Iron Fan and Nezha heard DBK's yelling and came to see what all of the commotion was about. Red Son, meanwhile, couldn't give half a shit as he usually wasn't awake until 9 am, so he was half-concious in bed.

It was 4:45 in the morning.

PIF: What in the name of *gasps* Wukong! You're sitting!

DBK: Told you.

SWK: Yeah, yeah, yeah. *turns to PIF* I'm not feeling that much better, but it's an improvement for sure.

Nezha: Congratulations, Wukong!

SWK: Thanks, Nezhie, but I think I'd like to go back to sleep now.

PIF: It is rather early...

Nezha: I think we should all head back to bed, gods know how long you two have been up.

DBK: Only if I can stay with my brother!

PIF: It's fine with me if it's fine with you.

Nezha: I trust Demon Bull King to take good care of him.

PIF: Alright then, let's go to bed now. Come, my love.

DBK: I am close behind you, my dear.

~~~

Wukong nestled in next to his brother's neck.

SWK: Did Nezha tell you that I have depression?

DBK: What? No! I didn't know you had depression, I just thought it was something you struggled with as a result of your condition!

SWK: OH! No, I've had depression for a few centuries now.

DBK: WHAT???!!!!

PIF: Enough, you two! It's time to sleep... seriously, it's not even 5 yet.

SWK: Sorry, Fan! I'll tell you more in the morning.

DBK: You'd better.

Part 18:

Masterpost

@swkbiggestdefender @starrclown @istopaskingmemate @ainnur