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autistic-ben-tennyson · 3 months

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Ben and Gwen: lonely kid and gifted child

I’ve thought a lot about these two and their family dynamic. Both are relatable to me but in different ways. Like Gwen, I’ve always been the “mature” one who was good at school and loved by the adults in my life, but I also don’t have any friends and have a desire for fame and attention like Ben. At first glance, they seem to have little to complain about, being white kids with stable homes and two parents, compared to someone like Kevin, but there’s more to a character than just the surface and I think both have a lot of emotional issues relating to their self worth.

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With Gwen, we get glimpses into her life and how everyone views her as perfect. Sunny envied how she was adored by her parents and Verdona and Gwen wished her mother would stop thinking of her as the “good influence”. All the adults in her family loved her and expected her to be the role model for the other kids which is a double edged sword. Yes you get praise and love but also pressure and high expectations. You’re expected to babysit the other kids and often have to bury your true feelings to please everyone and people will envy the love you get. And that love is often conditional and based around living up to their standards, remember how Natalie told her “normal people don’t glow” and how she doesn’t like her daughter or nephew using their powers around her.

As a kid, she was constantly doing extracurriculars like cotillion and judo before earning a scholarship to go to college early in Omniverse. We got a glimpse into her daily life in “It’s not Easy Being Gwen” where everyone expects her to fulfill certain obligations. Gwen seems like a child prodigy who feels she has to be the best and is always filling her schedule with activities and is always trying to get into the top schools. I think that’s why she fell for Kevin. He was the only one who loved her without putting her on a pedestal or because she’s family. The only person she could be herself around and doesn’t force her to act like a perfectionist. People complain about her outfit change in OV and I agree with some of the criticisms, but with all the pressure in her life, I get why she would want a change from the expectations in her life.

Ben strikes me as someone with a deep inferiority complex. It’s implied that he’s a bit of a loner who doesn’t have many friends with JT ditching him for Cash. He did get along better with Sunny which makes me wonder if he can relate to being in Gwen’s shadow. Fans talk about how great Carl and Sandra are as parents and while they are nice people, their free range approach can seem negligent. They only seemed concerned about Ben’s heroics once they witnessed it. By that time, Ben had been on late night road trips with Kevin, who punched holes in their doors, for weeks and didn’t even come home one night in “Save the Last Dance”. Ben may have acted the way he did in the OS as a cry for help as he feels neglected and the favoritism everyone has towards Gwen may rub off on him. It reminds me a bit of how Steven from SU acted the way he did in the early episodes because he was constantly being left alone without the gems or Greg while being compared to Rose. Kids who don’t have friends nor get much attention while living in a family member’s shadow can and do develop inferiority complexes.

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Ben’s desire for fame seems to stem from wanting to be loved and wanting to feel special. He becomes so full of himself because people finally love him as opposed to viewing him as some average kid. Fans have dismissed the bullying he faced as cliche or unnecessary but it adds to his character. A lonely, bullied kid who’s in the shadow of his overachieving cousin will want something that makes him feel special, like the Omnitrix. Ben has to learn throughout the 4 shows that he is the hero, not the watch. I think that’s why he loved using transformations like Four-arms, Humungousaur and Feedback so much even if they were inadequate for the situation as they made him feel confident. The way he fights is reminiscent of standing up to a bully too, picking an intimidating form, offering a chance to back off and then doing what he can to stop the threat. It’s easy to write him off as just a spoiled brat or narcissistic but I think 1, that’s ableist and 2, is a rather shallow way of looking at his character. While he can be insufferable at times, is it wrong to want acknowledgement or praise when there’s people like Will Harangue or the Rooters who hate you just for existing? I think he deserves a break from fans who hate him and he acts a lot better than most kids would in his situation. Compare him to Shinji Ikari from Evangelion, who I also love as a character, who would break down after seeing what Ben has to deal with every day.

I think both may envy each other at times. Gwen has been shown to be jealous of Ben getting all the glory as well as how Ben was given a car by her boyfriend despite her parents being wealthier. Like Sunny, Ben may have viewed Gwen as a stuck-up overachiever who got all the respect from their parents. That was until they bonded and became friends in the OS but it occasionally came back like when Ben lashed out at her for telling him he couldn’t use Feedback, believing she was trying to take the only thing he had. Because they have it easier than Kevin, it’s easy to expect them to just get over it but I think both Tennyson cousins need a lot of therapy and need to talk about their issues with each other. Both characters mean a lot to me and remind me of my own struggles.

#ben 10 #ben 10 alien force #ben 10 ultimate alien #ben tennyson #gwen tennyson #ben 10 uaf #ben 10 omniverse #ben 10 analysis #Youtube #fandom essay #essay #gwevin #Natalie Tennyson #Sunny Tennyson

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reikunrei · 4 months

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feeling incredibly averse to posting this but i'm just gonna drop my kofi link here in case anyone wants to help me get out of my increasingly shitty situation living with my parents

more info below ig

after having given my parents nearly $100k over the last four years, i'd love to be able to actually leave. my future job situation is still up in the air (i've submitted for about a dozen positions and the only one i've heard back from and interviewed for hasn't gotten back to me yet), and i haven't been able to build up any savings because, again, i was (and still am) helping my family afford rent and bills, and probably the taxes my parents are behind on, but if i think about that, i'll get too angry. no joke, i've given my family, at the bare minimum, 85% of my income over the last 4 years. the rest of it has gone toward medical stuff and, now, my car

at this point, with the combo of my mom refusing to lower her standards and my dad's seeming refusal to hunt for a new full time job, i don't see how they won't continue to bleed me dry. my dad even has a bad habit of taking money out of my old savings account that he's a joint owner on or whatever from when i got it set up when i was 16, even when i stopped actively putting money in it, so now any time it gets its automated $1 transfer from my checking account, he'll just take that $1 without consulting me. i'm not exaggerating, even if it has $1-2 in it, it'll be gone within a week

i've even put off starting on testosterone because of this. i wanted to start it like 3 years ago, but kept putting it off because of money issues and wanting to save as much as possible. i got really close to actually starting it this year, but because of how messy everything is, i put it off again bc having one more thing on my plate, especially when my parents are already weird about me being trans, was not something i wanted to deal with

not to mention, we're still currently not living under a lease in our house that we're, as far as i'm aware, still tens of thousands of dollars behind in rent on (again, my dad refuses to disclose our financial position honestly with any of us) and it's developed many, many issues bc the landlord, even before we were behind on rent, is shit and refuses to actually fix anything. and my dad loves to just ignore things unless we beg him to do something

i'd love to be on my own (in the, much more affordable, midwest) by the end of summer. i by no means want to rely on donations and i have other avenues i'm working with to make money (i still have my current full time job, but i'm going through my old belongings and selling a lot online), but i'll take any help i can get atp because i'm truly at my wits end. i'd start doing art commissions again if i could, but doing that from 2020-2022, partially on top of my full time job, absolutely wrecked my right hand and i'm still in enough pain that i can't make it a regular activity

idk how much else there is to say. there's more i could say but... i don't really wanna air all my dirty laundry here. i'm miserable in so many ways and it's just become increasingly clear that my dad expects me to constantly cover his ass. my younger brother gives money too, but he manages to go on big cross-country and overseas trips with friends, so i think i've been stuck with the burden of giving the most money. there's so many more things going on in the world rn and everyone is stretched thin so i don't expect much, or anything, but. idk. might as well throw it out there, right?

i’ve also since taken down the gfm i set up last year when we got our first eviction notice bc, while we still need the money, i don’t feel right keeping it up for multiple reasons, including “i don’t want to give any of that money to my family” and it feels too… serious to keep it up when i could just throw out my kofi instead

i just want to make sure i have some sort of safety net to catch me if i move before anything job-wise is finalized. i need to be able to afford a place to live for at least a month so i can job-search while physically being in the area i wanna move to, which would ultimately make it easier for me to find a job at all. i'm working on being more firm with giving less money so i can actually have the means to move and be safe and comfortable, but... that never lasts long in this house

anyway. that's it, i guess. thanks for reading

#i say things #crowdfunding

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ladykailitha · 6 months

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Across a Crowded Room Part 4

Just one more chapter after this and I've decided to release a chapter a week for a story and post a different story each day of the week except Wednesdays (it's too hard to post on that day because of WIP Wednesday, it's overwhelming).

In this one we have Wayne being wise, Eddie picking the perfect thing to cheer Steve up and just being cuties, and Robin figures out her housing problem.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

****

Eddie went back to his hotel and stewed about it for awhile. He knew Nancy was rough around the edges. That was what he loved most about her. She smart and funny and yeah, if Eddie had been straight and she hadn’t been with Jonathan he would have tried for a relationship with her.

But now, knowing what he did, all he could taste was bile. He knew he could call her up, bitch her out, never speak to her again. And even though Steve didn’t tell him he couldn’t flip out on her tonight, it was advice he was going to take anyway.

Plus, it may have only been 8pm here, it was nine where she was and he knew she went to bed early so she could be up at four to write.

He went out to a gas station to get a pack of cigarettes and some beer. It was going to be long night and he need to relax.

When he got back to the hotel, he stood out in front and lit a cigarette. He called the one person who could make sense of everything that happened tonight.

Wayne.

“Hey, kiddo,” Wayne greeted. “How goes things with your boy?”

Eddie let out a shuddering sigh. “Have you ever been so wrong about something that what you thought was a mole hill turned out to be the tip of an active volcano? Like you have this friend that had rough break up, but you got to be real good friends with the ex so you just kept telling the friend to get over it and move on. Only to find out she cheated on him and lied about it?”

“Oh Ed.”

Wayne had met Nancy and liked her well enough. She was smart and tenacious but she had this coldness to her that rubbed him the wrong way. But Eddie really liked her so he never said anything.

“Is Steve okay?” he asked.

He told Wayne everything that happened earlier.

“Steve is being a fucking saint about the whole thing,” Eddie barked bitterly. “And now I just want to call her and yell at her. Like how could she continue to hurt Steve that way? Because she had to know it was, right?”

Wayne hummed his agreement. “What are you going to do about it?”

“I’m going to wait a couple of days to calm down before calling her,” Eddie said after taking a drag from his cigarette. “Might even wait until I get back to LA, because I don’t want her cloud hanging over Steve and me.”

“Sounds about right,” Wayne said. “I didn’t know she cheated on him, but always thought that how quickly she moved on was a little suspicious.”

Eddie frowned. “What do you mean?”

“They break up and two days later she’s with Jonathan?” Wayne said. “Come on, son, you don’t stop to wonder about that?”

Eddie ducked his head in shame. “She always said that it was a mutual understanding between her and Steve that since she was in love with Jonathan, she should be with him.”

“Ah.”

The story had always been that Steve broke up with her and told her to be with Jonathan because she clearly loved him. But in light of her cheating on Steve, he doubted the conversation was as cut and dried as all that.

“I just feel like I’ve let Steve down after all these years because I never asked him what his side of the story was, you know?”

“I can understand that,” Wayne said. “But follow his lead on this. Don’t beat yourself up for something if he’s truly moved on, alright?”

“Yeah...” he breathed out and all the tension and worry just flowed out his body. “I think I’m just going to have a couple of beers and go to bed.”

“You take care now, ya hear?” Wayne said.

“You, too.”

Eddie hung up and finished his cigarette. He tossed the butt in the appropriate ashtray and went up to his room to crack a couple of beers. As he opened his door, he got a photo from Steve.

It was of him curled up on the sofa with a large blanket and a tub of ice cream. Eddie smiled down at the image. He pressed and held on the imaged and gave it a heart.

-Love you, baby. Take care yourself and we’ll meet up tomorrow.

-Love you too sunshine.

Eddie gulped down the hard lump that had formed in his throat. God did him love this man.

He got into his pjs and sat down on the bed, legs stretched out. He pulled out his phone to plug it in to charge, and looked at it a moment.

He wasn’t going to call Nancy. He had already made that decision. But there was one more person he could talk to.

Jonathan. Maybe he had some insights to all of this that the rest of them just didn’t.

After a good conversation with Jonathan, he hung up feeling a little better about the whole thing.

Then he settled down to read. He had this book that he had been trying to read for the last couple weeks, so he pulled it out to read it. There was a Netflix show about it that he moderately liked and wondered if the source material was any better.

He looked up at the clock on the wall with a frown. He hadn’t gotten too far into the book, but it was already after one.

Sighing, he put the book down and sent a message to Steve to tell him good night, like he had the night before.

Eddie wasn’t expecting a message back, but he got one anyway.

-:*

He shook his head and got under the covers, letting himself drift off.

****

Steve woke up early the next morning and stretched. He felt a billion times better from his quiet night in. He loved Robin and Eddie. They were his best friends for a reason. But they were loud and over the top. Hell, that was why Steve was so in love with Eddie. But he needed soft last night and he could get that better on his own.

Not that Eddie couldn’t be soft!

He didn’t want to suggest otherwise, but he needed the time to decide what he really wanted with Eddie. They had gone from friends that only talked on the phone and barely visited each other to a relationship and sex in zero to sixty.

And as crazy as it all was, Steve was even more invested in going all in with him.

Because he respected Steve’s wishes. Because he sincerely apologized. Because he felt like shit about it. They could have not believed him. Blown him off, telling him it was years ago. Him and Robin both.

But they didn’t.

He had barely turned on the coffee machine when his phone rang.

“Ello mellow,” he greeted absently.

“Steve!” Robin cried. “You’ll never guess what happened last night?”

Steve chuckled. “Yeah?”

“I was talking to Kendra and she has this cousin who’s moving out to New York next week to do ballet and while her parents bought the apartment outright want her to take a roommate to help with the utilities and shit. So we called her and talked. And now I have place to stay, stay and I don’t need to crash on Nancy’s couch. Hell, I don’t even have to tell her about what happened between you and her and I can just phase her out of my life. Isn’t that amazing?!”

She hadn’t even taken a breath throughout the whole speech.

Steve laughed. “That does sound amazing. What’s her name?”

“Chrissy Cunningham,” Robin said. “Steve, she’s like gorgeous and a ballerina and funny and I’m going to die but I’m going to die happy about it.”

“I’m happy for you, Robs,” he said. “You call Nancy yet?”

“No,” she replied grumpily. “I wanted to talk to my bestie first.”

Steve chuckled. “Bestie informed. Now go tell her of your changed plans.”

“Love you, dingus!” she said with a kissy noise. “Call you back soon!”

Steve stared at his phone for a moment or two in just sheer awe. Like if Eddie hadn’t gotten the record deal out here, none of this would have happened.

It probably would still turned out all right, but now things were going great.

He got his coffee and made him a bow of cereal. He was going to have to go grocery shopping. He was a little lower on things than he thought he was.

He had finished rinsing out his bowl when he got a call from Eddie.

“Morning, babe,” he said softly. Fondly.

“My glorious Stevie!” Eddie greeted back. “I have decided that because yesterday was shit, we are going to the zoo today.”

Steve blinked. He didn’t think he’d ever been to the zoo out here in Chicago. “Sounds like fun. Should we make a picnic out of it?”

“Yes!” Eddie cried. “That’s perfect. I get the drinks and sides and you bring the sandwiches?”

“Sounds good,” Steve said. “The best supermarket is on...” he listed the address and texted it to him. “Why don’t we meet there in an hour and do our shopping together.”

“Yay!”

“See you then, Eds.”

“Bye, honey!”

Steve did the sniff test and decided he’d shower when he got home. He was about to smear sunscreen all over himself and figured it would be easier to get just one shower today.

He went to the cupboard and pulled out their sunscreen. Robin being the cute freckled thing that she was burned in sixty two degree weather in severe overcast wearing a large hat and covering up the rest of her so he had the good stuff.

He checked his balance and satisfied he had enough for the zoo and groceries, he went and got dressed, applying the sunscreen under his clothes for maximum effectiveness.

Steve grabbed his keys and wallet and locked up.

****

Eddie found the place easy enough. The problem was that he arrived twenty minutes before he said he would meet Steve. So he left early to make sure he could find the place and not leave Steve waiting, so sue him.

He was finishing his second cigarette when Steve pulled up next to him and hopped out.

“I hope you haven’t been waiting long,” Steve said with a smile.

Eddie pulled him in close. “Just a few years, but that’s okay. I’d wait forever if it meant I would get you in the end.”

“Sap!” Steve teased, but he threw his arms around Eddie’s neck and kissed him deeply. “You don’t have to wait anymore, sunshine. I’m in it for as long you want me.”

Eddie’s smile was bright. “Mmk.”

They walked into grocery store and got a cart. Steve pulled out his phone and got the stuff on his list. Then they got the stuff for their picnic.

“I’d make my potato salad if I had the time,” Steve lamented when Eddie threw in a tub of the store bought.

“You have a potato salad recipe?” Eddie cackled. “Is it yours or Claudia’s?”

Steve clutched his chest and placed the back of his hand on his forehead. “I’m wounded to think that I would steal Claudia Henderson’s potato salad recipe! She uses Miracle Whip, the heathen!”

Eddie threw his head back and laughed. “There is nothing wrong with Miracle Whip, babe.”

“I like to add my own seasoning and that stuff throws off the whole balance!” Steve protested.

Eddie kissed his cheek. “If you say so, Stevie.”

Steve blushed and they finished their shopping.

They went back to Steve’s so that they could put away his groceries and make the sandwiches.

They stood side by side as they made their sandwiches. Then they packed the cooler.

Steve bullied Eddie into putting on sunscreen by telling him that he need to strip for it.

Eddie was naked in no time at all and moaned the injustice of it all when Steve told him he already had some on.

They loaded everything into Eddie’s rental and sent off for the Chicago zoo.

Eddie was most excited to see the primate enclosure, while Steve wanted to see the wild cats. He couldn’t call them ‘big’ cats because the African Blackfoot was the size of house kitten. And that wasn’t included the manuls. Or Pallas’ cat. Grumpy faces, short little legs, and fluffy as hell.

Eddie pointed to one of the manul kittens. “That one looks like Dustin!” he cackled.

Steve laughed. “It really does!” He pulled out his phone and snapped a picture.

He sent it to Dustin with tag, “I didn’t know you were at the Zoo today!”

The response he got back was a single eye roll emoji.

“You know,” Eddie said looking over Steve’s shoulder, “I swear that butthead has gotten less fun over the years.”

“I know, right?”

They got to the aquatic part of the zoo and there was this little boy who couldn’t have been older than two or three just glued to the otter exhibit. He had both hands on the glass as the otters swam and splashed as if they were showing off for just this little boy.

“I think they have to be that cute at that age to avoid you murdering them when they go on a tear in their underwear smearing poo on the entire hallway,” Eddie said with a grin.

Steve laughed. “Let me guess there are pictures of baby Eddie doing exactly that?”

Eddie pursed his lips and rocked back on his heels. “I plead the fifth.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t burn them when you turned eighteen.”

They moved on to the elephants.

“I tried!” Eddie cried. “Wayne won’t tell me where they are. He says he wants to show them to my future partner so he can see if they pass the litmus test.”

Steve kissed his knuckles. “And what test is that?”

“Whether or not they’d except the crazy with the sane,” Eddie murmured.

Steve pulled him in close. “I prefer the crazy to the sane, baby. The crazy keeps me from getting too far into my head.” He kissed the tip of his nose. “Okay?”

Eddie gave him a quick hug. “It’s no fair, because Wayne already loves you, so I don’t get to watch him get all protective and shit.”

Steve gave a half shrug. “I think I got enough of the protective father figure when we first started being friends, Eds. I think he actually growled at me once.”

Eddie threw his head back and laughed. “Oh, my god, I forgot he did that.”

Steve just smiled as they took their time through the whole zoo, just holding hands and being with each other.

Finally it was time for lunch and Steve went to go get their cooler while Eddie found them a picnic table.

****

Part 5

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#my writing #stranger things #steddie #ladykailtiha writes

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cloudyskiiees · 24 days

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with the rest of wrong try again plotted out in full, i’ve started plotting out an idea for my next possible long fic. and it’s not a mystery so i can post about it now in case i don’t end up writing it in full!!! yippie!! so here’s my alenoah based superhero au :)

(under the cut cuz it’s a massive post)

i’ve been working on this idea slowly over the last threeish months!!! im happy with the ideas so far and wanna share what’s up to see if ppl are interested :)

the fic would be called “The Masked Mentalist,” in reference to our protag, Noah! he’s considered a villain in this au by society. alejandro is considered a hero.

here’s the characters and their powers i’ve got so far! still subject to change if needed :)

Noah: Villain. “The Masked Mentalist” is his given name by the city, although he doesn’t actually wear a mask. Noah has the powers of “mental manipulation,” stretching to about four different tiers that take more energy depending on how much effort it takes to manipulate the brain.

1: Audio hallucinations. He has a “trademark” of making the world go completely silent for his victim before he attacks. He frequently drops random noises or screams into his opponent’s head to throw them off. It harder to mimic specific voices, which is why he opts to throw ppl off rather than emotionally attack them. Easiest of his powers.

2: Visual hallucinations are harder, but it’s the one noah is the best at. He’s great as messing with people’s appearances, making them see him and other people who may be around as others or sometimes just in horrifying situations. It’s also very simple for him to make someone think they’re trapped in walls or things like that, easy to create objects. He still struggles to completely change the look of an entire location however, which is why he opts to fight in open areas where fake visuals are easier to conjure.

3: Emotions are harder as well, and it can be tricky. he’s very good at pulling emotions from others such as rage or grief, as they’re very easily overpowering emotions. It’s simpler when his opponent is a more emotional/vulnerable person, so he shys away from emotional manipulation in fights usually, especially when he doesn’t know an opponent very well.

4: Memories are hardest, especially if they’re more recent. It’s fairly easy for noah to go and change someone perception on a childhood memory, as it was likely distorted already anyways. The clearer the memory the harder it is to manipulate.

As you can see, all four of these powers have to do with the mind. The way people see or hear things, as well as feel and remember. Noah’s powers allow him to attack any of those in a person.

There’s also technically a fifth one, which Noah figured out to do by himself.

5: The way he figures out how to hypnotize people is through memory AND emotional manipulation. Altering memories and then yanking on certain emotions to pull through, can help him get people to think and even partially act the way he desires. It’s exhausting, and incredibly rare for him to use.

Noah is able to keep his identity hidden by simply altering his appearance to whoever he is fighting. He usually seeks out people when alone, and does his best to not hurt innocents, despite what the public thinks. Everyone who’s fought him/seen him in action describes him differently. Most people aren’t even sure if he even is a “he,” because he makes himself look so drastic sometimes.

He occasionally works with a partner, although they don’t consider themselves to be aligned in general when it comes to crime.

Kaleidoscope is notoriously known for her random crimes and activities. No one can quite figure out her goal or intentions, and so she’s dubbed a vigilante by most.

This of course, being Izzy! When Noah fights with her, he occasionally helps mask her identity from others. She’s a bit reckless, but the two have a history together. A traumatic one at that!

Izzy’s powers are deterioration. She’s able to break/take things apart/crumble things with her mind. Her powers can be as simple or as drastic as she desires.

(She met Noah by saving him from someone attempting to hurt him. By completely destroying their bones from inside their body. Noah was both horrified and grateful.)

Moving on! Alejandro, a “superhero” in our story.

Alejandro doenst have superpowers. At least not in the way our other characters do! Everyone simply assumes he does.

Alejandro is clairvoyant, which is considered a gift, rather than a superpower. His family exploited his talents as a child, so when he was old enough, he fled to be on his own. Nowadays he uses his predictions to help others, being able to foresee certain disasters and small issues. His powers waver depending on their severity, and he has a habit of undoing a certain villains work without even knowing.

He’s dubbed “The Good Samaritan,” when first seen saving people. Over time, the city began to think he had superpowers, and his name changed to “The Physic Samaritan.” Alejandro avoids media and press as much as possible, seeing as it was all he was used to as a child, so no one knows any different. This does not serve him well when real super-powered folk begin to see him as a threat.

Onto our two real superheroes! (so far!!)

Lashawna is the cities main superhero. She’s been protecting citizens for about two years before Noah makes his debut as a villain. She has very standard telekinesis, and is about the most hero looking and sounding hero out there. Her name is “The Golden Hero,” later changed to “The Golden Woman” when she gains a sidekick. Everyone adores her!

Courtney is Lashawna’s sidekick, appearing with her mentor only a few months before Noah shows up. “The Golden Girl,” her powers being one of information absorbing. She’s able to quickly learn anything she needs, simply by skimming words or touching an object… or person.

There’s a bit of a roadrunner scenario for a while between her and Noah, where she’s simply trying to grab him in someway or another, as the action would reveal his real identity to her. Of course, Noah is able to easily evade her, as her powers have little to do with physical superiority. (She’s still incredibly strong and fast. It’s Courtney we’re talking about here.)

Before I talk about our real villain of the story, I’m gonna discuss some plot points!

-Courtney feels incredibly undervalued and overlooked. She thinks if she can manage to reveal the Masked Mentalist’s identity, people would finally start to give her more credit. Lashawna tries to help her calm down, but she’s very fixated on her mission.

-Noah wants control. Deep down he has good intentions, as he’s attempting to dismantle the upcoming “Heroes Program,” starting up in his city, but he loses sight of it for a while. Alejandro becomes a bit of an obsession for him, as he somehow has the entire cities trust while barely being in the public’s eye. It drives him crazy.

-Izzy has so much depth, but acts insane as a defense. She and Noah had very similar upbringings due to their powers, and a fuckton of issues that now stem from it. She hides her pain by acting as though she’s invincible.

-Noah and Izzy have a very deep bond. They truly trust each other more than anyone else, even their civilian friends.

-Team e-scope is very much present! Owen and Eva are humans, and are still best friends with Noah and Izzy. Neither have any clue their two best friends are well known criminals.

Alright actual plot time. And backstory for our super-powered characters!

As usual when it comes to superhuman realities, the powers come from genetic mutations. No one is too sure how it started, but superpowered people have been showing up around the world for the last twenty-ish years.

Children found out to have powers were, of course, taken by the government. At first it was out of fear, but after a few years, the public began retaliating. “Programs,” were then opened, and while it was presented as a choice for parents, it simply was not. If your child had powers and was found out, they would be forced into a program.

Lashawna and Courtney were both placed into a program as young children. Both were released after a number of years to become superheroes. Most children taken are not released.

Both Lashawna and Courtney lack memories from their time in the program. They are conditioned to be perfect superheroes, deemed “safe” for society, due to their powers.

Again, as expected, these “programs” are just ways for scientists to study the mutations in the children. At first there was an attempt to stop it, but nowadays, there’s more of a goal to simply replicate it. Children are treated like animals.

Based on your power, and your behavior, there’s a chance to be released as a hero, such as Lashawna and Courtney, as an example that these programs are a good thing. It’s a way to keep people happy, and keep the more dangerous powers under wraps, at least until they can find a “cure,” or a way to create the gene themselves.

Because each person is different, each mutation acts differently in a person, explaining all the different powers seen. Super powers are still incredibly rare, although they’re widely accepted as a truth nowadays. Two powers acting exactly the same has never been recorded.

Noah and Izzy were never put in a program.

They were smart kids. Noah realized his powers early on in his childhood, and was terrified. Stories of powers had been shown in the news by now, and he wanted nothing to do with it.

His mother discovers it on accident after a year or two of Noah being aware. He panics and attempts to erase her memories of it, failing miserably and only hurting himself in the process.

She promises to keep him safe, just as horrified as he is at the idea of losing her only son. It’s a terrifying childhood for Noah, constantly having to be on the lookout, never being able to openly use his powers, something that so quickly became such a huge part of his identity. He turns to subtly using his powers in public, able to help bring more money and such home for his family. He becomes incredibly talented with his powers as just a teenager.

Izzy never told a soul. She’s had more accidents with her powers than she cares to speak about. She learns of her powers a bit later in childhood, but still before becoming a teenager.

A ten year old accidentally dissolving someone’s skin from their hand when being picked on is a traumatic experience for anyone, but even more so when she kills the other child out of fear. She flees the scene, and loses her shit. She quickly figures out she has a dangerous power, and being just as smart as Noah at such a young age, hides it completely.

She had much less control over her powers for a number of years, being scared of herself.

It isn’t until she sees a man pressing someone clearly struggling to a wall in a dark alley she truly uses her powers for the first time, and makes her first friend. (This friend being Noah, of course.)

Yes very dark backstories for the sillies! They have an insane trauma bond.

With their backstories, you can kinda gather why Noah wants to take down the programs starting up again. They’re much more public this time, and that worries him. He knows nothing good can come from children being forced into such a program, even if he was never in one himself. Izzy is more than willing to help him out for the most part.

The actual plot of the story, of course, is alenoah. This being said, let’s talk about that!

Noah wants Alejandro’s influence on others. Wants the social power the “superhero” holds.

He and Izzy devise a plan to get that influence on their side.

To keep things relatively brief, they corner him, and Noah is able to successfully uses his created hypnosis power on Alejandro, simply getting him to trust Noah, as a civilian.

As soon as the deed is done, he and Izzy pose as his worried friends, claiming he’d fallen and hit his head. When Alejandro questions who they are, Izzy immediately pipes up with “He’s your boyfriend silly!” and Noah. Just. Has to roll with it. He can’t risk changing the narrative so quickly for the boy with the currently muddled memories, and he also can’t berate Izzy right in front of Alejandro. So he agrees.

The two discover after a little bit that he actually is not a superhero, and lacks powers in general. This pisses Noah off greatly, thinking his work was all for nothing. He continues with his plan nonetheless, seeing as no one else knew Alejandro didn’t have powers. That could be an advantage.

Alejandro gradually puts the pieces together over time, never fully recovering his memories, but being able to see through the fog Noah placed over them.

Everything is going pretty well, even with the residual feelings both boy are gaining as they pose as a couple. That is until the real villain of the story shows up.

Duncan! His powers are the ability to create weapons out of thin air, his trademark one being flying knives. The weapons disappear as soon as they hit a target, only being created by his mind, and usually shown as a faint green color. (this is a working idea! still not 100% on it, but i definitely want him to have a weapon related power.)

He was in a program as well, ironically, the same one as Courtney. He was not released, he escaped.

Being dubbed a “dangerous power,” Duncan was set to live the rest of his life out as a lab rat. Of course, being Duncan, he did not like this fate! He’s one of the few children to ever escape, and the only one know to come back as a supervillain.

He’s angry. He’s angry about everything, and with everyone. He’s especially pissed off with Courtney, who he believes simply abandoned him. Courtney doesn’t remember who he is.

No more details for now! (Both because I haven’t planned out enough 100% to post about, and some of it is just for the story!) But I hoped you guys like my silly AU ramblings! I’m having a good time with this idea, so lmk if it’s something you’d like to see more of in the future :)

#total drama #alenoah #tdi fanfic #total drama island #tdi alenoah #tdi noah #tdi alejandro #tdi courtney #tdi duncan #tdi lashawna #superhero au save meeeee #this took forever to write out yall #but i hope you like it #:)

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landofzero-archive · 5 months

Text

Eden TRIP Album MC Talk Series

Season: ☆

MC 1

Hiyori: “Thank you for coming to our, Eden’s, independent live today! It sure is a blessing to be able to celebrate the album release together!

We’ve loaded our love into the songs to be delivered to you. Receive them without leaving out a single one, okay……♪”

Jun: “The first song we performed was KEEP OUT.

How was this song that was specifically written for the album?”

Nagisa: “…… I’m glad that you seem to like it. KEEP OUT means ‘no trespassing’.

…… We’re going to break into everyone’s hearts. Into the shining paradise, like a lurking viper.”

Ibara: “And then we will slowly and carefully pour poison into you, and show you sweet dreams.

So that tonight’s stage may become an unforgettable memory……♪”

Jun: “Afterwards, we’ll perform two songs; one after the other~ That first song is—”

Nagisa and Ibara: “…… Melting Rouge Soul.”

MC 2

Ibara: “Melting Rouge Soul from Adam, and Ruby Love from Eve have been performed.

Both of these were songs unveiled at Chocolat Fes— during Valentine’s season.

Nagisa: “…… Yeah. At that time, the fact that both Adam and Eve were releasing new songs at the same time became a hot topic.

…… The cheering during the moment Ibara and I said “Melting Rouge Soul” felt really good.”

Ibara: “Fufu. I’m sure there are a lot of people who did not expect it because it’s called Eden’s independent live.

I told you, didn't I? That I’ll show you sweet dreams……♪”

Hiyori: “Adam’s fans, Eve’s fans, as well as Eden’s fans—

Today we will satisfy every single person who loves us.

You’re prohibited from looking away! Keep your eyes on us till the very end♪

Jun-kun, you can’t blink either!”

Jun: “Eeh, please let me blink~ My eyes will get dry.

Oh, seems like they got everything ready while we were talking. The next song will be a solo song.

Ibara Saegusa’s— Salute Desire.”

MC 3

Ibara: “— That was Salute Desire

Oops. Thank you for the warm applause.

Though I endeavored to give a more perfect performance than usual—

During a solo song, everyone’s gazes are concentrated on me from every possible angle, so my mind could not even be inattentive for even a single moment.

Above all else, I’m glad that you were satisfied♪

Now, let me briefly introduce myself.

I am Eden’s Ibara Saegusa. Salute~☆

As you see, alongside my idol activities, I’m also serving concurrently as the producer of Eden and the vice president of the agency.

I’m very happy to be able to deliver the new song as well as the accompanying event to everyone.

I will continue to work energetically, so I ask you to please continue to treat Eden and Cosmic Production well☆

The next song will be brought to you by the four members of Eden.

Let us show you our way of life— Paradise Banishment -Faith Conquest-”

MC 4

Nagisa: “…… We’ve performed Paradise Banishement -Faith Conquest-.

…… It was first unveiled during Conquest wasn’t it. It’s a song containing Eden’s faith.

…… Hiyori-kun doesn’t really like it, I wonder?”

Hiyori: “No. I like the song itself. It’s a song that’s just like Eden.

But I’ve had enough of Conquest! Even if it’s a farce, I don’t want to act like we’re fighting and hating each other.

We’re aaaalways been the best united, mutually loving, unit—

I’m sure the fans don’t want to see us like that too.”

Nagisa: “…… I agree. The loud cheers that could shake the whole venue is the greatest proof of that.

…… Let’s keep getting along, Hiyori-kun.

…… As an ‘equal friend.’”

Hiyori: “Yes. ‘Equal’……♪

-Now now, next would be something everyone has been waiting for, my solo song!

Accept My Love— accept my love……!”(1)

TL Note:

He translates “Accept My Love” into Japanese here.

MC 5

Hiyori: “Thank you for listening to Accept My Love!

Yes yes. You’re smiling so much, I’m happy too☆

I’ll follow Ibara’s example and introduce myself. I am Eden’s Hiyori Tomoe!

Life isn’t all about fun. There’s times where you feel depressed and like you want to cry.

When that happens, it’s good to look at me. Because I’m the one who shines bright like the sun☆

Listen to my songs, and follow the productions I appear in—

Just imitate me and smile! Since I always have a smile on my face!

If you smile, the people around you will also smile. It’s a happiness chain reaction. What fine weather……☆

Now! Let’s move on to the next song, shall we?

All four of us will perform it, so please give us all of your support.

Eden’s— EXCEED.”

MC 6

Jun: “I’ve just performed EXCEED. This song is—”

Ibara: “Isn’t this a song with a shady history for you, Jun?”

Jun: “Wait a sec. Could you please stop saying misleading things~?

It’s not like it’s got a shady history or anything, umm……

When we released this song, I had lost my confidence and kept makin’ mistakes.

But then, Ibara went out of character and comforted me by saying,’Why do you lose confidence when there are people who view you so favorably?’……”

Ibara: “‘Out of character’ is superfluous.”

Jun: “Haha. I won’t be able to be the same as Ohiisan, Nagi-senpai, or Ibara, but to that extent—

No. That’s why, as Jun Sazanami, I’ll continue to put in the effort as myself.

Eden is where I belong, y’know~

Haha, thank you for all the applause. Sorry if I sounded like I was urging y’all to do something.”

Ibara: (Whispering) …… Honestly, Jun really was an idiot during that time.

There are so many people who love you.

Jun: “Hm? I couldn’t hear it over the applause, but you said something, right?”

Ibara: “No, it’s nothing. Please continue talking about yourself after you finish singing.

Now then, please listen. Jun Sazanami’s— Unlock the Soul.”

MC 7

Jun: “Hello, everyone. It’s Eden’s Jun Sazanami.

How was Unlock the Soul?

The lyrics were good, weren’t they~. When I sing them, I get excited.

Speaking of lyrics, apparently Ibara wrote the lyrics to the song I just sang, EXCEED, for me.

Wha~t? People might think I sound conceited when I say that.

But Nagi-senpai said it was to help me get over my slump or something. There’s no doubting it~

Well. That Ibara, he can be really kind sometimes~♪

Haha. Ibara’s looking at me from the side of the stage with a face like he just swallowed a bitter bug.

I shouldn’t get carried away, or I’ll probably get scolded later~

Now that I’ve told a story just for this special occasion, let’s get to the next song.

Eden’s— Absolute Perfection.”

MC 8

Nagisa: “…… Absolute Perfection. This is the first song we performed at Absolute.

…… I am God♪

…… Ibara, please look. Everyone’s rejoicing.”

Ibara: “It seems so. Unlike Absolute’s stage, this is a country where countless gods rule.”

Nagisa: “…… That’s not the only reason.

…… There are many people here who love us. They weren’t present at Absolute either.”

Ibara: “Indeed. The presence of fans is an idol’s strength—their powerful weapon.

However. It’s not normal for Eden to be completely dependent on our fans.

Let’s be ourselves and make a triumphant return to Absolute with our utmost strength.

Then, we will receive our laurels and make ourselves known. Eden are the best idols in the world.”

Nagisa: “…… Yes. I’m sure our fans want that as well.

…… Because we’re the strongest idols, Eden.

…… Next, I’ll perform my solo song.”

Ibara: “Everyone please listen. Nagisa Ran’s—We’re all alone.”

MC 9

Nagisa: “…… You just listened to We’re all alone.

…… I’m Eden’s Nagisa Ran. Thank you for coming to our live today.

…… Each song has its own memories. I was remembering all that happened while singing.

…… I wonder if you all have had the same experience? Since music and memories are connected to one another and committed to memory.

…… I wonder if everyone has some kind of emotional attachment to Eden’s songs.

…… If possible, I would like to ask each and every one of you individually. But, it would be difficult to do that today.

…… It would make me happy if you could let me know through a letter or handshake event.

…… I hope our songs may touch everyone’s hearts.

…… ‘The eternal paradise that touches the heart’— that’s what Eden is.

…… And now, it’s almost time for the end.

…… We’ll perform two songs in a row at the end. Eden’s— Awakening Myth.”

MC 10

Nagisa: “…… It’s a shame, but let’s close the door to paradise.”

Jun: “It was nice to meet you. Thank you for coming to Eden’s independent live today!

Did you all have fun at our live?”

Hiyori: “You got to see my finest performance, so it must have been fun!

I swear on Ibara’s glasses that it’s true☆”

Ibara: “Could you please not involve me? If you’re going to swear on something, swear on Jun’s life instead.”

Hiyori: “That’s no good! Jun-kun’s life is mine!”

Jun: “My life is my own. Could you not swear on it so casually~?”

Nagisa: “…… Hey, can I close the door to paradise?”

Jun: “C’moon, Nagi-senpai is bothered now, isn’t he?”

Hiyori: “Don’t make it sound like it’s my fault! It’s collective responsibility!”

Jun: “Alright alright. Now then, let’s meet again some time soon.”

MC 11

Ibara: “Everyone! Thank you for the magnificent encore!”

Nagisa: “…… The door to paradise opened right away.”

Hiyori: “No. It didn’t open on its own, we had to open it. With the power of everyone’s love♪

That’s why we also have to respond with love. Let’s share the love with everyone here.”

Jun: “The last song is, of course, this song!— BRAND NEW STARS!!!”

MC 12

Jun: “That was BRAND NEW STARS!!! This is truly the end.

We did our best, though. When I think about how it’s over, I feel lonely after all, huh~”

Hiyori: “Everyone, thank you for singing with us! Thank you for your magnificent smiles!

Please come and see me again! I’ll be waiting♪”

Nagisa: “…… The door to paradise shall close again.

…… But I’m sure we’ll meet again. Without stopping, we’ll continue to grow.”

Ibara: “The latest information about Eden is always posted on the official SNS. Please take make use of it☆

Thank you for coming today! We’ll see you soon, salute~♪”

#ensemble stars #enstars #enstars translation #ibara saegusa #nagisa ran #hiyori tomoe #jun sazanami #era: !!#type: miscellaneous

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engeorged · 1 year

Text

In Good Hands?

Author's note: This is my attempt to write a ghost story, inspired by some of the amazing artwork out there featuring ghost hands. Also, I can't find a way to naturally explain what Yann looks like in the story, but as I'm writing to him, I'm picturing him as something akin to John Krasinski. Very tall and unconventionally handsome but with a killer bod underneath his scruffy clothes. Hope that helps?

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Day One

As part of my dissertation on paranormal activity in domestic properties I’ve searched the internet and found the most haunted airbnb that I could find. This is my diary to document my experiences whilst I live here for 3 months. It might be helpful at this stage to list some of the reported sightings that I have come across so far. Then that might give us some helpful data, post study

1) Several reports of items moved around the house. Mostly furniture and food items found in unusual places

2) Numerous accounts of noises and banging, often around meal times

3) Sightings of ‘ghost hands’ in several places on the property. These are mainly visual sightings with a few vague physical encounters. Interestingly all the people who encountered the hands touching them didn’t want to elaborate.

4) One person reported feeling uncomfortable when undressing, as if they were being watched

An unusual observation is that so far, all witnesses are male. Normally, the majority of spectral anomalies that are reported are from female witnesses so this is something to ponder as we go forward.

I have set up my equipment around the house with several cameras and heat detectors. I will endeavour to report on a daily basis

Day Two

Nothing so far. I did wake up in the night to a banging but then discovered a cat had gotten into the property and wanted letting out.

Day Three.

Again, no actual sightings and no recorded 'feelings' around the house. There have been none of the sensors going off and no recordings on the equipment. The only unusual thing so far was two pizza deliveries to the house that I didn’t actually order. I expect that to be the neighbourhood kids having a laugh. They were paid for though?

Day Four

I’m not sure how to report this but in the spirit of scientific advancement I will forgo my own embarrassment.

After eating two large pizzas yesterday I woke up in the night needing to go to the bathroom to relieve myself. Stumbling through the house naked in the dark I found the toilet and proceeded to use the facility. The light wasn’t working and so I used the light on my phone to find the paper. I was a little sleepy and disoriented but in hindsight I think someone, or something, handed me the paper. It wasn’t hanging on the wall anyway and I think it was actually held out for me. I didn’t really notice this at the time but as I was wiping myself clean I stood up to flush and felt a hand grab my left ass cheek and squeeze it firmly.

I’m not ashamed to say that I ran pretty quickly from the bathroom. It wasn’t till I got to my room that I thought to check the cameras. I was now fully awake and checked everything but with no luck. The camera facing the bathroom was also powered down. I think I need to get the batteries checked.

Once I calmed down I recorded my findings and headed back to sleep. A promising start

Day Five

It's been an interesting day. Pizzas have been arriving pretty much every hour alongside grocery orders. None of which I’m ordering. I’m starting to wonder whether they are more than just pranks. There is a phone in the house and when I pressed the redial button it connected me to the same pizza place. They were pretty busy and refused to give out order details for data protection purposes, but they guy did ask if I was having some sort of party.

I’ve been grazing on the pizzas all day. (An important piece of data for later) It was later on in the evening when I was setting up some more equipment and I hadn’t quite realised how much pizza I’d eaten until I felt my belt digging into my lower belly. I’m pretty naturally toned and so it was noticeable. (I’m recording this factually for the study but please understand that’s not a brag)

As I stood up I realised how bloated my stomach was and so I stretched and went to take my belt off. When my hand went to my belt it brushed past another hand also holding my belt. I slowly moved my hands away and looked down. A fairly large male hand was resting on the belt buckle. As I watched, it undid the buckle for me and slid the belt out of the loops and landed on the floor. The hand reached back round, undid my button and then moved up to my lower abdomen where it rested on my belly for a few seconds before dissipating into the air. I physically felt the hand on my skin and it was cool but felt very corporeal.

No more encounters that day.

Day Six

Despite my efforts I have had no more encounters today and no more pizza orders.

Day Seven

For the sake of the research I endeavoured to repeat day five’s conditions. I had stashed the pizza in the fridge and so tried to eat the same amount I ate on that day. The results were the same and my stomach was yet again visibly distended. I waited for a while in the same room with my belt dowe up and no further encounters. After an hour I decided to call it a night and head off to bed. I was a little surprised to find several pizza boxes in my bed when I got there. There was no sign of the hand and I hadn’t heard any movement. I placed the pizza on the floor and got ready for bed. Still no sightings. I set up an extra camera to track any activity and turned the lights off. Almost immediately I felt rapid movement in the bed and turned the light back on to find all the pizza boxes back on my bed.

I moved them back to the floor and turned the lights off and yet again they arrived back in my bed. This repeated four more times until the final time when not only did the pizza end up in my bed but one slice found its way into my mouth. I turned the lights back on and found the hand resting on the pizza slice. I took a bite and began to swallow. The hand then waited patiently for me to chew and swallow and then proceeded to feed me the rest of the slice. It paused briefly in the air before yet again dissipating.

I am left wondering if this apparition is trying to feed me up? I felt no malice towards me and no sense of anger or unrest. Perhaps I need to allow it to do what it wants and see where we get?

Day Eight

Throughout the day, the hand appeared to me several times. Usually during meal times and when I have been in any state of undress. It made no attempt to feed me but did bring me sauces and a few times put additional food on my plate. The hand has not shown up on the cameras but you can definitely see the objects it’s moving. I’m not sure if that will be enough proof though as it does look like I’ve edited it myself. One thing of note is that It tried to help me clean myself in the shower and if I’m being completely objective it actually just sort of felt me up. It was as if it was pretending to help but in actual fact was touching my ass and stomach area. Its touch was gentle but inquisitive? I felt as though I was being explored by something benevolent.

Day Nine

More of the same today. The hand is getting bolder. Touching me more and bringing me more food throughout the day. I’ve been eating as much of it as I can to appease it but honestly it’s a lot of food. I’m struggling to eat it all. After dinner I was pretty much maxed out and crashed on a sofa. I left my belt to see if the hand would undo it for me and lo and behold it did. This time after undoing my belt and top button it slid up my shirt underneath and began to massage my belly for me. I have to say, for the record, that it was actually very pleasant. I can usually eat a lot but I’d lost track of how much I’d had that day and my normally flat stomach had quite a curve to it. The massage lasted for a good 20 mins and I think I had actually nodded off.

I awoke with a start to find the hand was joined by a second. The left hand, also male. I wasn’t surprised to see both of them had food. I opened my mouth to see what would happen and the sandwich the right hand was holding was pushed in straight away. It was a little firmer than last time and more insistent but I obediently chewed and swallowed. I think the massage actually helped and I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I was a little hungry!

The left hand brought me a hotdog and began alternating offerings. Not long after, both the sandwich, and hotdog were gone. I waited to see what would happen next. The right hand continued to rub my distended stomach and the left hand appeared with a large pitcher of beer. I would guess maybe four pints worth. I was a little taken aback but the jug lurched towards me and pressed to my lips. I didn’t really have a choice but to swallow as the liquid began to flow. I kept swallowing whilst the other hand continued to massage my expanding stomach. I settled into a pace with no let up from the hand pouring the beer. I was beginning to feel totally maxed again as the foamy beer kept coming. I tried to move the hand but it wasn’t budging. I had no choice but to swallow until the beer was gone. The pitcher fell to the floor and the second hand joined its twin in massaging my bloated stomach. They had at this point pulled my shirt up revealing my distended gut. They were firm but gentle and I can’t lie, it felt really good. As I lay there I couldn’t help but feel safe. Like I was in good hands (if you’ll pardon the pun)

The attention lasted for a good half hour and again, in the interests of recording all the detail, I think they actually got rid of all my gas. The beer and food combo made me belch a lot and the hands seemed to be getting them up. Even giving my stomach a little tap after a good burp. And then just like that they were gone. Leaving me like a beached tourist after a buffet.

I have several questions around the intentions of the hands and why they are so set on feeding me? Is this something that others have experienced? There was no mention of this in the reports I have. Maybe I should contact some of the people who have stayed here and ask some specific questions. I’ll have to word them carefully?

I will have to do this in the morning as I can’t quite think straight whilst I’m this full.

Day Ten

After the events of the previous evening I slept in until midday. I wasn’t disturbed in the night but I awoke to the smell of coffee and pastries. Heading downstairs I discovered a set table with the hands poised on the back of the chair. After sitting down I attempted to eat the offering but the right hand gently held me back whilst the left proceeded to feed me the croissants. I didn’t think I could be hungry after last night but I managed to eat everything I was given. The hands then disappeared.

Throughout the day at regular intervals they would appear and continue where they left off. A brunch of poached eggs and avocado, lunchtime sandwiches. Afternoon tea and a main meal of steak and chips. The meals they present are hearty and as the day wore on I struggled more and more with the portions. The hands remain gentle yet firm, I haven’t resisted them yet but I’m not sure what would happen if I did. For now I will oblige as what I am recording is unprecedented in this field. I am yet to capture them on film but I am seeing interesting readings in the infrared spectrum. I need to keep tweaking but I wonder if this data will help me modify a camera to get some footage.

Heading to bed I half expected more food but as I lay on my bed, my distended belly loudly digesting my feast, the hands appeared one final time to explore my body. The previous encounters had been purely massages of my abdomen or a cheeky squeeze of my ass, but this time the hands started there but quickly covered the rest of my body over. I’m not sure if they are turning into a sexual encounter or not. They have not touched any private areas but the intention of the massage definitely felt more intrusive. I have to admit that I was beginning to feel quite aroused during the whole experience.

Day Eleven

More of the same today. The hands fed me an even larger breakfast of pancakes, brunch, lunch and two afternoon meals. I wasn’t sure my stomach could take any more when I discovered my evening meal. I walked into the kitchen to find the dining table was filled with what looked like a meal for four! A whole roast chicken dinner was laid out on the table with all the trimmings. I felt a little sick just looking at it. My gut was still packed full from the whole day's feeding sessions. I hesitated at the door, wondering what to do when the hands appeared behind me and gently pushed me forward toward the banquet. They weren’t aggressive but I definitely didn’t have a choice but to move. When I reached the chair the hands pushed down on my shoulders and indicated to me to sit. They set about unbuttoning my shirt and removing my belt, which I allowed. The left hand began to massage my stomach, which I also allowed. (They are very good at massaging my stomach when it feels super stuffed and full). I decided to resist slightly to see what would happen. I spoke to the hands to tell them politely that I wasn’t really hungry this evening after all the food they had already given me. This didn’t deter them in any way as the right hand pulled off a chicken leg and brought it to my mouth. I shook my head and politely declined. The leg stayed in front of my face. We waited for a little while in a bit of a standoff. It was even more unexpected then, that the left hand then reached round to my side and began tickling me. It was so out of the blue that I opened my mouth to laugh out loud. At that point the chicken leg made it straight into my mouth. I bit off a mouthful and laughed, I submitted to their feeding yet again. This time the hands were much more persistent and felt even more attentive. As I ate, they paused to give more belly rubs, and would move me when I slouched or needed to belch. At one point they even tipped my forward and rubbed my back to help me belch which also made me laugh.

I was so busy trying to keep track of what they were doing that I didn’t notice I had eaten the whole meal. The moment of realisation was as I saw the hands withdraw and I saw all the plates were empty. I looked down at my stomach and saw how distended I was. It was as if I had swallowed half a basketball. In fact that’s inaccurate. It felt more like half a bowling ball.

The hands seemed very happy with what they had accomplished and did a small clap as I tentatively gave my own stomach a quick explore. The fullness at that point hit me and I felt incredibly uncomfortable. I tried to stand up but they stopped me. I began to protest but soon found my mouth full with beer. The pitcher from the previous evening had been brought back out and they were pouring it down my throat. I had no choice but to swallow or choke but the pressure of the beer in my stomach was increasingly difficult to handle. I tried to push it out of the way but the hands kept on pouring. As the pitcher was finished I coughed and sputtered and pushed one more time and the now empty glass jug flew across the room and shattered against the wall. The hands immediately began to make me stand and I began to worry that they were angry but I was yet to feel that from them. They helped me get to my room and almost laid me down on the bed.

As I lay there they began to undress me. Pulling my trousers down and taking my already open shirt off my back. I lay there bloated and aching only in my underwear and socks. The hands began again exploring my tightly packed abdomen. Tracing the curve of its distended rise and gently massaging some of the aches out. I closed my eyes and let them continue. At some point I must have drifted off to sleep but when I awoke the following morning I was in the same position but totally naked. My stomach had gone down some from the previous evening but I was still pretty distended.

From a scientific viewpoint I am incredibly excited about the results I’m getting. An encounter like this has never been fully documented. I feel like Davies exploring the Antarctic for the first time. This will be groundbreaking research into the paranormal and may even get me a full residential post.

But from a human perspective I am totally baffled as to what is happening. Ghost hands have taken a shine to me and are regularly and consistently stuffing me full of food and giving me sensual massages. What the actual fuck is going on. And I’m being totally honest with myself, they are actually starting to feel really good? I'm finding myself looking forward to encounters with the hands. I sense they are intrigued by me and that they are also enjoying this as much as I am. There seems no mal-intent and nothing malignant about what’s happening. From a purely detached perspective, I need to understand if my feelings are mine or if the hands have some sort of supernatural ability to manipulate my emotions. I have to admit, it all feels very real though.

Day Fifteen

As I write this, I’m finding it incredibly hard to sit upright, I'm so full. After the enjoyable but intense feeding session on day eleven I have been subjected to something a little more intriguing and a little more sinister.

The hands didn’t really bother me at all for the whole day on day eleven. The occasional appearance where they would just touch me but no food and nothing sustained. I was beginning to wonder if they were done with me. As dusk approached I was busy setting up some equipment in the kitchen, as I was starting to wonder where the food was coming from and I wanted to see if they were actually cooking it themselves when the light all went off suddenly. I found my phone and turned on the torch and tried to find my way to the fuse box. As I stumbled in the darkness down into the cellar I felt the now familiar hands on the base of my back, guiding me down. They clearly wanted me to go somewhere and they were pushing me a little harder than I was expecting.

When I reached the cellar I found lights already on. The fuses obviously hadn’t blown, but the hands had done something else. I could smell food in the air and instantly felt my saliva glands begin to water. As I turned the corner I saw they had set a lazy-boy in the middle of the floor and there were two tables full of food laid out. And when I say full of food I mean a full banquet for a few dozen people. A whole thanksgiving meal was laid out including a whole turkey and hams and pies aplenty. I felt strangely worried and also very hungry. Guided by the hands I sat in the chair and waited to see what would happen. I suddenly remembered that I had not set up cameras there yet and went to stand to go get some, but the hands came thumping down on my shoulders, forcing me to sit. They were not keen on me leaving. This also didn’t feel as playful as before and I felt a little nervous that there was no way I would be able to eat all this food? (How wrong I was)

The hands began removing my t-shirt, which was something they had done before. Unbuckling my belt was next as they pulled my trousers off, folding them neatly and placing them amusingly to the side. They began to explore my body gently but firmly. As they did so I began to see that I’d put on a little timber in the past few weeks. My normally flat stomach was a little more puffy than usual. It had been blown out and bloated for a few days and it was only now that I hadn't eaten for a few hours that I could see its newly acquired pounds. The hands had definitely noticed as they both mainly stayed around that area, clearly enjoying themselves.

I lay there (enjoying the attention if I’m honest) until abruptly they stopped and I felt the hands lifting up my arms above my head. This was new and I should probably have been more suspicious of this than I was. I wasn’t aware of what they were doing until I heard a click and looked up to see they had placed handcuffs on my wrists which were attached to a rope tied to the ceiling. As I struggled to free myself, I heard two more clicks as my ankles were also cuffed to the bottom of the lazy boy. I wasn’t stretched out but there was no way I was going anywhere and that’s when the food started coming and let me tell you it did not stop.

I completely lost track of time down there, suffice to say the hands were determined to get every last mouthful of food into me. They would take it in turns pushing fistfuls of pie and meat and roasted vegetables into my mouth. I wouldn’t say they were increasingly aggressive, but they were very insistent. At the beginning, I would be given a bite of something and allowed to chew and swallow but the next bite would come straight away. The pressure in my stomach would increase and increase until I thought I would burst and then they would pause, returning to the belly rubs and massages. I would eventually fall asleep only to be woken a few hours later for the next round of feeding. More and more food pushed into my mouth until I couldn't take any more. This pattern continued for what I now know was 3 days. That’s how long it took me to eat the whole banquet. And I tell you that every last mouthful was fed to me. Not a crumb was wasted.

I am now fully aware that I was under some sort of supernatural influence here. My stomach is way bigger than humanly possible. It's gone from a basketball size when full to to a pregnant looking beer gut. Perfectly round and tight and engorged. There is no physical way a person would be able to eat the amount of food they have packed in me, even at the rate they fed me over the past few days. Also, at no point did I attempt to spit the food out or refuse, I simply gave in and let them stuff me.

I will at some point try to document exactly what I ate and how it happened but for now this is all I can manage. If I think of how much food is currently inside me I begin to feel quite nauseous. If I can manage to get to my feet, my belly now starts straight under my ribs and sticks out at least a foot before curving underneath my belly button and tapering in at my v line. It's as tight as a drum and warm to the touch and as I breathe only my chest goes in and out. I don't think I have ever seen anything like this.

In addition, I should note that the massages became a lot more personal in nature. Again for science I admit that as my stomach was filled, so too were other parts of my anatomy. A state of arousal which the hands most definitely noticed. As they massaged my food baby they also began to massage other engorged parts of my body. To climax. Being totally frank, these have been the most intense orgasms I have ever experienced in my life. The climax started as normal but as it built it spread up the bottom of my distended stomach giving me a whole body experience like nothing I have experienced. It seems that a supernaturally full abdomen is capable of a belly wide orgasm. I need to ask one of my female friends if that’s what a female orgasm feels like.

I am beginning to feel like I need to leave the house at this point. The experiment has already brought me a huge amount of data and I’m worried if I stay I will end up even larger. I am worried to think what they are going to try and pack in me next. I should have weighed myself before the past experience but alas I only have my memory of my weight beforehand. I can’t imagine how my body will digest this amount of food and what will happen to my already bloated stomach after the next day or so.

As I wrote that last sentence the hands have come back. They are currently resting on my belly shelf and I feel they are pretty pleased with themselves. I’m going to see what happens next but for now I’m turning off my laptop.

Find the rest of my stories here

#belly expansion #gainer fiction #stuffing #belly fiction #gainer stories #male gaining #gay gainer #stuffing art #gainer story #gainer artwork

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ilikekidsshows · 3 months

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Gosh, I just remembered Destruction. That Marinette seriously let Cat Noir run around with the word Dimwit in his bell for all of season 4, never once spared it a single thought, never apologized for it either despite allegedly having "realized" how awfully she treated him, and then smiled proudly when Alya laughed over him behind his back after the Cataclysm incident Marinette just abandoned Cat Noir afterwards too and only cared about herself getting support.

Dude, Marinette is so awful to him at times. Who DOES that to a friend? I would be downright ashamed of myself if I treated a friend like that and the show's telling me to CELEBRATE her for that??

Let's not forget that she also didn't think for months that Cat needs to know beforehand that her secret plan includes him having to run the risk of cataclysming Hawkmoth, or that he's once again reduced to a literal object in her plan who can't even breath with the villain's hand at his throat because all she deemed important was HERSELF being fine and safe and getting the Kwamis back.

Sure, just demand that of him on a whim. It's fine, girl, as long as it isn't you, right?

She also put every single civilian at Hawkmoth’s mercy in her plan, apparently just counties on him to be decent to the helpless civilians in his path who are even BOTHERING HIM with photos for her plan to work. That makes her such an awful hero. Humanity really was non existent in her plan, huh? Only she herself and the Kwamis mattered and she even monologued that into a full-blown failure. Not even getting a single Kwami because she had to brag about how much smarter and better she is than him. Such heroism. Much inspirational.

I seriously forgot how awful Destruction was for Marinette’s character. What the shit was that??

---

The group chat and I have been thinking that Marinette really is the least heroic “superhero” we’ve seen that wasn't a purposeful attempt at deconstructing superheroes. She very rarely goes out of her way to help people except when it's her way of forcing her views on what people need on others (think Guilt Trip), and a lot of the time she only fights Akumas and Sentimonsters because they're getting in the way of her plans for the day.

Marinette is only a hero technically, because, technically, he does stop the bad guys from getting what they want. But she also does the bare minimum needed. She magicked together a charm to try to prevent Akumatizations four seasons in, and it was basically because Alya told her to. She is also completely disinterested in finding out who Hawk Moth is. Félix spelled it out for her and she couldn't be arsed to do anything about it. The only time she's confronted Gabriel about anything was when she wanted to get his permission to date Adrien. I repeat: the only reason Marinette ever “goes after” Gabriel is to get his permission to date Adrien. The finale confrontation was an accident on her part. Marinette's motives are so often about herself over everything else. It's not just that there's a benefit to her in helping others, it's that she actually thinks about herself first in every single situation and anyone else is barely ever a consideration.

Marinette is the most passive hero I’ve seen. Even early series Usagi from Sailor Moon, who cried at the thought of fighting monsters, actively followed rumors around town to uncover the villains’ schemes and more often than not got involved in the plot of the episode because she met a random stranger she wanted to help when they explained their problems to her and/or asked for her assistance with something. Marinette has helped a random stranger only once, despite her supposedly having this trait being why Fu chose her in Origins.

She really has no idea what a hero is, considering her idea for doing a heroic act to celebrate “heroes’ day” was promising her parents would make a bunch of treats for her classmates instead of herself doing anything to help anyone. She only ended up making the treats herself because her parents didn't have the time, and even then, the classmates also pitched in to make her idea/heroic act happen. Despite Hawk Moth being a consistent threat, she's not proactive in trying to stop him, only patrolling for personal reasons, like keeping the principal from making “real heroes” (her words, not mine) look bad and going on “not dates” with Cat Noir.

She also far more frequently uses her powers for personal gain than any other character that gets a Miraculous, even when taking their time using one into account. Marinette uses her powers to sabotage people who have a crush on the guy she likes, embarrass people she doesn't like and manufacture situations where she can get closer to her crush. Meanwhile Adrien and Alya *flips through notes* genuinely enjoy being a hero and helping people, so much so they joke on the job. And people tell me the latter two are less heroic, because of some twisted idea that real heroes are the ones for whom the job is a burden. In actuality, Marinette viewing her heroics as such a burden makes her unmotivated and a worse hero for it. Her disregard towards civilians and her allies when she actually bothers to do the job is just another sign of how utterly unsuited to be a hero Marinette is.

Frankly, if Marinette’s hijinks didn't stop the Akumas and Sentimonsters, she'd be a villain protagonist. Because of the retooled show enforcing Marinette’s unheroic traits, her lack of motivation, her lack of sympathy for others, her selfishness and her self-aggrandizing, I personally feel that she still is a villain protagonist but the show just celebrates her instead of condemning her.

#ml critical #ml salt #ml writing critical

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local-philocalist · 2 months

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Entry to your 20s, advice to the 20-year-old women

Four pieces of advice for the twenty-year-old women from a twenty-something year old woman.

1. Move Your Body

I cannot stress this enough, if you can, please move your body! Move your joints and build your muscles. The doctors, scientists and our parents were unfortunately right, the older one becomes, the weaker they get. If you want to still be able to run around in your fifties, sixties, etc. You need to start the habit now. Get a routine, start working out, try a sport, attempt a dance class, and get active in general.

I’ve recently gotten a gym membership and have begun pilates once or twice a week. Although at first, my muscles were burning, my body soon got used to it and I found my stamina and flexibility improving.

However, you don't need to spend money on a gym membership or Pilates to get fit. You can take a run around your local park, start a sports team with your friends, or try a YouTube workout from the comfort of your home. There are so many different ways to stay fit without emptying your pockets.

2. Eat Your Vegetables

I understand that some people are genuinely picky eaters and their parents never took the initiative to introduce different textures and flavours healthily. Thus this has followed into adulthood and are now unable to eat anything outside the same four meals.

I also understand I cannot say too much as someone who can eat almost anything but as a reformed vegetable hater I do have a little bit to offer. To live a long, healthy life vegetables are a necessity. So if you find yourself unable to eat certain vegetables, I would suggest cooking the vegetables differently, or incorporating ingredients you enjoy in your meals, think outside the box!

There are many articles about breaking picky eating, as adults we should try to expand our tastebuds, there's so much food to enjoy in this life. Nobody likes to be the person ordering chicken fingers at a Michelin restaurant.

3. Feed Your Brain

[edited: the previous paragraph has been published on my personal substack as a full piece; I've rewritten and changed this section for publication and privacy purposes].

I urge young women to nurture their brains; you are so blessed to be in a society and world where education is so accessible for women. If you live in the West, take advantage and don't feed into the propaganda of "I'm just a girl". Women are being minimised, and I don't want young ladies falling down the rabbit hole of this recent no-purpose lifestyle that's advertised.

Looks are essential, and don't get me wrong, I know attraction still plays a huge part in society, but it isn't the only important thing. It's not cute to be ignorant, lack life skills and use social media concepts like "I'm just a girl" as excuses. Stupidity isn't hot, so while it's okay to indulge in media consumption, find yourself hobbies outside of that and put in the effort to grow intellectually and further yourself.

4. High Self-esteem Will Protect You

Most of my girlfriends are in the dating field, and from the stories they tell me its clear these men are crazy. Good discernment is needed and for you to trust your discernment you need a healthy level of self-worth.

I’m not just talking about romantic interest, in general, high self-esteem will take you far in life. From romantic partners to career paths, when you know your value and do not settle, that translates to every crevice of your life. People treat you with more respect, you're likely to find yourself in fewer abusive scenarios and get better opportunities in your place of work.

Nothing good comes from beating yourself down and letting others treat you horribly. Overall your twenties can be fun but also filled with anxiety so take it step-by-step, don't beat yourself up and remember comparison is the thief.

#Salome advice

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ween-kitchens · 2 months

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mumscarian cats in the summer <3 go check out stiff's art of the kitties!

grian whines for what scar reckons is the fifteenth time in the last three minutes. he’s laying flat on his back on the rug, arms and legs splayed out like a starfish, with two fans pointed directly at him. he wanted a third, but mumbo wouldn’t let him have all of them.

“it’s so hot.” he groans. “there’s only so much a guy can do in these situations.”

“it’s not that hot.” scar says, earning matching glares from both grian and mumbo (who is at least sat on the sofa, next to scar. his fan is pointed directly at his face.) “well it’s not!”

“you don’t get to tell me what’s hot or not.” grian grumbles. “try having this amount of fur on you all the time.”

“yeah, you’re fine scar because you don’t have hair!” mumbo says indignantly, turning to emphasise his point by scowling at him, but only succeeding in looking endearing as his ears flap in the wind. “it’s like having a winter coat on all the time!”

“if you’ve got a winter coat on, mumbo, i’ve got four.” grian complains.

“well you two are fine in the winter.” scar protests.

“but it’s not winter.” grian says from the floor, and scar has to make an active effort not to laugh. he does look a bit like he’s actually melted. “it’s a bloody heatwave.”

“g, it’s 77°F.” scar deadpans.

“you americans.” grian scoffs, and scar wonders if he’s been hanging out with joel recently. “you’re saying that’s not hot?”

“i’m saying it’s not a heatwave.” scar says. “it’s just warm.”

“yeah, and -4°C is not an emergency, it’s just cold.” mumbo says pointedly.

“that is an emergency!” scar protests. “you can die very easily from cold-“

“and not from heatstroke?” mumbo says derisively.

scar hesitates, and realises he’s been beaten. “alright, alright, it’s a heatwave.”

“damn right it is!” grian sticks a paw in the air, and lets it drop back down by his side.

“but i’d better get cuddles when it’s cooler.” scar demands, only half meaning it.

“scar, if I could cuddle you right now, I absolutely would.” grian says. “but I think I would just evaporate if I tried.”

“honestly i’m half tempted to just dump a bucket of water on myself.” mumbo says, getting progressively closer to the fan.

“if you do, dump one on me too, would you.” grian says.

“well, we don’t have buckets, but I can pour a glass of water on you guys if you want.” scar offers.

“please.” grian and mumbo say in unison.

scar laughs. “seriously? ‘cause i’ll do it.”

“seriously.” grian says. “it’s so hot.”

#gtws #gtwscar #goodtimeswithscar #gtws hermitcraft #grian #mumbo jumbo #mumscarian #hermitshipping #wren writes #it's gonna be 35 degrees in england on the weekend apparently #this will soon be me

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podfeels · 3 months

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Podfeels Season 1 Retrospective

4/13/2024 marked the two year anniversary of Podfeels’ first airing, and in August, we will celebrate the three year anniversary of its inception as a project. It feels so strange, looking back on it all. To me, it feels simultaneously like its always been in my life, and also like it just started yesterday.

I’ve spent nearly three years now spearheading this project, and we’ve expanded from a team of ten to a team of thirty in that time, and have put out roughly four hours of highly produced, full cast, full sound effect audio drama.

That may not sound like much, but for a team composed almost exclusively of first timers at its inception, and with two big hiatuses out of everyone’s control, I’m pretty damn proud.

With Season 1 ending back in January, us currently in the exact two month midpoint between anniversaries, and Season 2 being worked on behind the scenes, I thought now would be a good time to release a bit of a retrospective on our first season. Talk about the process, what went wrong, what went right, and also release our assets for the public.

I’m splitting this into three sections so you can skip around based on what you give a shit about.

Looking 8ack

Reminiscence about how I got into godfeels through a series of insane coincidences that make my heart feel warm.

2. Adapt8ion

Discussing the process of adapting the work into our medium.

3. Portr8s, 8ackgrounds, and Sound8ites

A release of Season 1’s art and sound assets for your perusal outside of the videos, use as desktop wallpapers, or what have you.

Looking 8ack

In March 2020, I got covid for the first time. My workplace had no protections for it yet, so I lost my job. And while bedridden with covid, subsisting off a diet of lukewarm broth, saltines, and nyquil, I set my youtube Watch Later (ok, thats a lie, it was my Likes, which i used ((still use)) as a watch later instead of using the actual watch later function, BUT-) playlist to shuffle. And in this fugue state, I stumbled on the video that would completely change the trajectory of my life.

“What I Learned Writing 50,000 Words of Homestuck Fanfiction”, by Sarah Zedig. I vaguely remembered her from some video about the McElroys and from Hbomberguy’s stream, and I had put off watching this because at the time of its release, I hadn’t yet finished Homestuck. So I shuffled it away for later, and it found its way back into my lap at the perfect time. Having now finished the comic, read the Epilogues, actively reading Homestuck ^2: Beyond Canon, and five months in to my first ever real creative outlet in my semi-abandoned video essay channel, I was interested to hear what this goat had to say.

In the video Sarah went into detail about a ton of wider context about the Homestuck Renaissance that I was fully unaware of, and made a very strong case for her own postcanon work, godfeels. Her passion bled through and I figured, sure, why not, I’ve got nothing better going on, I’ll read the story of Spiderjeggings’ No Good Very Bad Transition. Why not!

55,660 words later, crying alone in bed, I was now a girl. Reading the scene of June making her list of wants the morning after Terezi’s return, I said out loud to myself, hoarse as can be, “I can’t put it off any longer.”

After reading to current I ended up joining the godfeels fanserver, and from getting settled in these circles I’ve met so many people I wouldn’t have otherwise, and come into myself in ways I can’t begin to fully quantify. I went from one relationship to fourteen to now a stable four, the other person in my head shook back loose after a decade of suppression by me (sorry again, Aegis), I’ve become more cultured, I’ve gained more friends, I’ve gained more hobbies, and most relevant of all… I’ve gained Podfeels.

Podfeels proper actually started in a really funny and impromptu way. In Sarah’s video she mentions wanting to start a podfic adaptation of it, but with that being two years past with no more word, a conversation about it cropped up in the server, and it was revealed that it had been canceled for various reasons. Everyone immediately understood why that had to happen. It was an insane amount of work, especially now that Godfeels was entering the territory of a space opera. But the demand was there among all of us, and after almost a dozen loops of us all going “drat, would be cool. I wish someone would take the helm on that!”, I just went ALRIGHT I GET IT and opened up casting. Podfeels was actually originally a joke name made by someone in the server before I even entered the conversation, but we used it for so long during development that by the time we came to release day it just felt wrong to call the project anything else. The name just stuck.

After a few hours of people daydreaming about it happening, and me encouraging other people to take the helm, I finally gave in and opened up casting. Now, it’s important to understand, I had never directed ANYTHING like this before in my life. I made a really terrible sketch in high school theater class and that’s about it. I’ve always been a bit of a natural leader but never anything with the kind of scale this would require, and it showed. I crowdfunded almost all ideas for what to do and how to handle it, and my best idea for how to do auditions was “just send in a few lines of you doing whatever character you want”. And my language was… insufferably fawning. I was hedging my bets at every opportunity. Every development in the project was “tentative”, I was the “director” until someone else took charge, etc. Looking back its actually kind of adorable?

Look at that sweetheart. She’s so scared. She has no idea the beautiful changes she is in for.

The casting process was an unmitigated DISASTER. Nobody there knew how to audition, and I didn’t know how to wrangle. We were an unstructured gaggle of doofasses stumbling into each other. And due to the limited pool, I was stretched kind of thin on where to put people. Obviously I stand by all our decisions and love our cast, but because I was pulling entirely from the fanserver, options were very limited. I wanted to get everyone who wanted one into a role, but having to do the math of “this person is 40% good at Character A and 60% good at Character B, but this OTHER person is 80% good at Character B and the closest runner up for Character A is only 35% good” was agonizing.

We ended up deciding to make a few demos first, to test our chops as actors and mine as editor. We had four planned. But after we fully produced our first two demos and had recorded the third… I decided we should immediately start chronological production.

Why did I make this decision, you ask? Well. We had a few months until 4/13/2022. If we immediately all went overdrive, me especially, we had the chance to get our first episode out on the 13th 4/13 anniversary of Homestuck, and like HELL was I about to let us pass that up.

This was the right call, I think, but it did bring us into a BUNCH of complications. First off, it meant we never really tested our violence and drama chops on the houseraid. Second, if I had waited, we would have been able to dodge our first big hiatus, where I put us on pause for a couple months while we waited to see if our Terezi wanted to leave after she floated the idea, which she ended up doing. If we had stayed in prepro, we would have skipped a huge hiatus and not replaced a key character between episode one and two. It also meant that we didn’t fully solidify an editing pipeline, and I was handling practically all editing until around episode 3. Additional prepro time would have helped us iron that out, as well, rather than me breaking myself on the first couple episodes before bringing in help out of desperation. This rush ALSO led to us having to release episode 1’s video around a week after the audio’s release, and with a fucked up background because I was crunching so hard I didn’t notice I’d accidentally completely butchered John’s bedroom somehow! I think I somehow content aware filled the wall? Fucked if I know why!

This is an abridged version because I want to get us to the meat of the matter today and I feel a lot of the longer story is best saved for a video I plan on making down the line, when we’ve reached 50 hours of runtime. For now, let’s move on.

Adapt8ion

A few folks have asked for indepth adaptation notes for what we change in an episode and why. As a general rule, we make changes with three primary motivations. First, adjusting text-based ideas to sound-based. Godfeels plays with its medium in countless compelling ways that, when shifted to a different medium, are either clunky or incomprehensible. So our first job is to translate those into sound. Second, turning narration into sound effects. We don’t need to discuss sounds in the scene, or a character’s tone, when we can just hear it all ourselves now. This then expands into further issues, however, as some things DO need to stay as narration. There’s a lot of pathos in the narration, and often there’s details that can’t be conveyed through audio alone. But by removing just the audio cues, we are left with very clunky phrasing that does our source material no justice. So we have to rephrase entire sections to give them the same resonance, meaning, and clarity while also getting rid of all the things that are now extraneous in our medium. The third main type of edit is bringing it more in line with what comes later. Godfeels has been running a long time and has become a very different beast from where it began. I love this about it, but some ideas have ended up with insufficient preparation, and some thematic resonances are easy to see looking back but may be partially unintentional. We can take advantage of hindsight and bring certain things more in line with the work’s modern philosophies, such as putting an additional focus on the citizens of Earth C, introducing X as its own entity, playing with Dirk more as a villain, and introducing the question of “what happens to the leftover Junes in a retcon?”, all during Episode 6.

I’ll be releasing a few other posts soon with detailed adaptation notes for every episode in the coming days, but I’ll leave it here for now and bring us to our final section-

Portr8s, 8ackgrounds, and Sound8ites

While the idea for video versions was a relatively late addition to our process, I’m very proud of the work everyone has put into making them what they are. Our art team and video editor do wonders. First up, we’ve got the talkpogs.

The talkpogs were my own invention, but I can hardly claim they’re an original idea. I’m sure something almost identical has been done before. What directly inspired me, though, was the old Polygon podcasts, where they’d have the hosts faces made out of polygons, with one loose and separated, synced to that host’s audio track. It was the first time I’d seen something like that and I knew I wanted something similar to indicate who was talking. From there it all fell into place pretty easily. The outer ring and the waveform is the character’s text color, and the background is their name color. If those two are the same (as they usually are), I apply a slight darkening to the background just for differentiation. The sprites, though, were all the art team. Unfortunately we didn’t have a base early on, so different artists drew to different scales.

For the art style I told the artists to try to strike a middleground between Homestuck classic and girlpillz’s style which had just been shown in GF3.1.8.E, where godfeels got its first spritework. Otherwise, designs were largely up to the artists but we had conversations about them as a project. Overall I’m very satisfied with the work everyone turned in.

Backgrounds were a more complicated beast, but paradoxically also have less to talk about. We started out with one background per episode, which was pretty doable, but with the season 1 finale, and our expanded art team, we opted to expand out into a background per setting. The first two are just Pesterquest backgrounds I edited by hand, but after that we started having custom art. That was largely due to restraints lifting as the team grew, but it also turned out pretty good thematically, as the first episode with custom art was Episode 3, where June’s egg cracks. We left official art behind as June left the officially plotted course. I think it’s resonant.

Now we come to our latest introduction. KEY ART. We started doing this in Episode 6 and it’s so sick. Don’t expect these inclusions to be TOO common, but… we have some cool things in store here, and I think you’ll all be really excited to see ‘em. For now, here’s our first and so far only public piece of key art, Dirk menacing June against the tree. The final piece of art of Season 1, and the final piece of art of Season 1’s retrospective. It only seems fair.

Which now brings us to my own inclusion: sound assets. I’m very proud of the work I’ve put in to giving each character and concept their own unique aural profile. From the magical girl burning radiation of Jade’s magic, to the shattering static of June’s retcon, to threading the needle of Hammer, Sword, Plastic Toy, Dice, And Doomsday Device in June’s vrillyhoo.

That’s all for today. In the coming week or so I’ll put together a few more posts, going over each episode in more detail, from point by point script edit notes, to specific art discussions. I also plan to bring in a few people who have been around since day one to talk about our experience setting up the project.

But for now, look forward to seeing more from us soon. Both in the upcoming devposts, and in Season 2. We've been on a hiatus to get our preproduction pipeline settled, and because we wanted to get a few episodes prepped so we can try to maintain a monthly schedule. But we're getting to the end of this phase now, and will be announcing Episode 7's release date very soon.

Until next time! :::;)

#podfeels #godfeels #homestuck #audio fiction #podcast #dev posting #mod dare

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tgmsunmontue · 7 months

Text

More than movie magic... 4/24

Hangster AU. Explicit (eventually). Jake is a Hollywood actor and Bradley is a stunt coordinator. Jake's about to make a few self-discoveries.

ONE TWO THREE

FOUR

It’s an old mini-documentary, not one that was super popular but it’s centered around the working stunt artists of Hollywood and there’s Bradley Bradshaw looking about ten years younger and almost hotter, except Jake thinks he likes his laugh lines and more mature body. He realizes the fact that he’s familiar with Bradley Bradshaw’s body enough from sight alone to identify a possible time lapse confirms that he definitely has a problem. He knew that already, but he’d still sort of hoped it had maybe gone away.

No such luck

“What got you into doing stunt work?”

“My dad was a stuntman, he was a bit of a daredevil and specialized in car racing and tricks. He was good.”

“Ah, yes. He died during filming didn’t he?”

“Yeah, about twenty years ago now. Car accident on set when the brakes failed.”

Jake does a mental calculation, that would make it over thirty years ago now, so sometime in the mid to late 1980s and he wonders if he can find out more details of if he’s starting to maybe become a little too much like one of those obsessed fans who can’t identify reality from fantasy.

“You were a child actor too…”

“Oh god, please don’t tell me you have footage of that.”

“We do, but it’s not exactly relevant to the subject were interviewing you about.”

“Thank goodness for small mercies!” Bradley laughs, and it’s a little tinny through the speakers but it’s still gorgeous, Jake would love to have Bradley laugh with him like that. Fuck.

“Well, how about you show us some of the work you’ve been doing recently? I’ve heard you’ve become something of a rock climbing expert?”

“I don’t know if I’d use expert, but I’m okay.”

Of course he’s modest about his skill, and Jake watches as Bradley climbs the wall, racing up so fast it might as well be a fucking horizontal surface. He repels down effortlessly and Jake wonders just what Bradley’s workout regime entails to stay flexible and as strong as he needs to be for the activities that he’s seen him partake in.

“So if people wanted to get into stunt work where would they go?”

“There are schools for it, and workshops and plenty of training opportunities. Staying fit, strong and flexible is all important, but you also need to know choreography and rolls and falls, and then there’s the camera angles. It’s quite involved at the end of the day, but it’s a job I love.”

The interviewer is then talking to someone else and he shut the window and despite it being against his better judgement he searches out Bradley Bradshaw’s father’s death and winces at the fact that he was only three when he died. Married to Carole Clarke and holy shit, Oscar award winner and silver-screen beauty and also somehow Bradley Bradshaw’s parent, although she died much too young… God. If he’d lost both his parents before he even turned ten he doesn’t know if he’d have survived to adulthood.

Then he finds it, where Pete Mitchell fits in, best friends with Nick Bradshaw. He’s obviously been around Bradley Bradshaw as he grew up. Potentially even raised him if there was no other family, and he wonders if that is the case just how Pete Mitchell balanced raising a kid while also travelling the world directing films. Unless Bradley simply travelled with him of course, which is entirely plausible.

He wants to see him again.

It make no sense but it also doesn’t change the fact.

He messages his agent and asks him to get Bradley Bradshaw’s number. Doesn’t specify why, doesn’t need to.

The number sits in his phone unused.

… … …

Bradley reads through the contract, and he can’t help but frown, because there are clauses in here that are usually removed. His staff know that there are non-negotiables and the fact that they haven’t been removed could be simply human error, or it could be because they believe they don’t need to be removed. He doesn’t let people do their own stunt work unless they’re low risk, have sufficient training or experience in the activity. He rings Brigham in the office first, his skill at ability assessment the most crucial when drafting the contract.

“Hey man, what’s up with the contract you just sent me?”

“Ha! Knew you’d call me. I win the bet! Not even three hours!”

“Brigham! Focus!”

“Sorry. Just, this cowboy film, did you read who they’ve got starring in it?”

Bradley ignores the little flip his stomach does and quickly flicks to the part which details the names of the actors and of course, of course, Jake Seresin’s name is there, staring at him in black and white and oh…

“Jake Seresin, Javy Machado and Callie Bassett.”

“Oh.”

“Oh is right. So, no, we won’t need a stunt double for Seresin. He used to compete and is probably better than any of us. He knows what he’s doing around horses.”

Oh boy does Bradley know what Jake can do around horses. He’s not worried about that at all. Brigham is still talking though and he forces himself to concentrate.

“Though Machado and Bassett need doubles. Was thinking Rueben and Natasha, they’ve both worked with horses before.”

“Yeah, they’d work. You’ve already gotten the backgrounds?”

“Yep. Large working ranch, going to be a bit of legwork to get around it and scope it out, but they’re making every accommodation possible, definitely the easiest contract negotiations I’ve had in a while.”

Huh.

Interesting.

“Seresin was always pushing for a more active role in the last film I worked on him with. Was there any push back about me having veto power?”

“Nope, none at all. Don’t know why you’d use it though. He’s well suited to it, even sent a recent video of him riding and roping and doing fancy looking shit. However the other two are nowhere near as confident, in fact they’ve never even ridden a horse. So we’ve got that challenge ahead of us…”

“Okay… well, you’re in charge of scheduling. Tell me when and where.”

“You ever been to Texas?”

FIVE

#Hangster #Sereshaw #more than movie magic #Top Gun Maverick

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