#It ruins border drama and that is bad in a series that has always been about border drama.

[bonefall]

this isn't a question about your rewrite but as you are The Warrior Cats Pro i figured id throw it out there... why is it that, even though there have been way more books taking place at the lake territory, both in the main wc series and beyond, than the old forest territory, but the forest territory is still so much more memorable and always what i think of when i think of warriors, and the lake feels so uninteresting and forgettable?

because the lake map FUNDAMENTALLY sucks baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalloons.

In a series about border drama and forbidden relationships, they have put a huge, impassable obstacle smack in the middle of the map. You ever heard the expression, "Tall fences make good neighbors?" This is supposed to be the BAD NEIGHBORS series and they have put the world's tallest fence in the game.

The lake was a fundamentally bad idea. Simple as that.

It was so bad I reworked the Lake Map for my own rewrite.

I made more contested land, such as putting field maples which produce syrup just beyond the Wind/Thunder gorge.

Added Northern Islets and Southern Delta which have value to several clans

Expanded RiverClan's territory so they can hypothetically reach ProtagonistClan, RE: Northern Islets.

I need to make Draft 2 but I also added more uncontested landmarks akin to the old Forest landmarks. For example, ThunderClan now has a patch of old-growth forest. Places like the Owl Tree and Snakerocks are super important as flavorings.

[unprocione]

A   LEON   SCOTT   KENNEDY   ROLEPLAY   BLOG,   AS   DEVOURED   BY   RIAN. (19, HE/HIM, EASTERN STANDARD TIME.)   SELECTIVE,   INDEPENDENT,   HEADCANON-BASED   PORTRAYAL,   WITH   CHARACTERIZATION   INFLUENCED   BY   RESIDENT EVIL 2, 4, 6, INFINITE DARKNESS & VENDETTA.   ESTABLISHED   JUNE   2022.   TRIGGERING   THEMES   PRESENT,   INTENDED   FOR   18   &   ABOVE.   MEDIUM   ACTIVITY.   THIS   BLOG   INTERACTS   WITH   ORIGINAL   CHARACTERS   &   DOES   CROSSOVERS.   I   PRIORITIZE   THOSE   I   PLOT   WITH.   IM   FOR   DISCORD.   THEME   &   THEME   BACKGROUND   BY   * HYRULESHOP.   ICON   BORDER,   POST   BANNERS,   &   CARRD   GRAPHICS   BY   * BLITZKRIEGERS.

✦ 𝖈𝖆𝖗𝖗𝖉 ✦ 𝖌𝖔𝖔𝖌𝖑𝖊 𝖉𝖔𝖈 ✦ 𝖎𝖓𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖊𝖘𝖙 𝖙𝖗𝖆𝖈𝖐𝖊𝖗 ✦ 𝖕𝖗𝖔𝖒𝖕𝖙𝖘  ✦ 𝖔𝖕𝖊𝖓𝖘 ✦ 𝖈𝖆𝖑𝖑𝖘 ✦ 𝖍𝖊𝖆𝖉𝖈𝖆𝖓𝖔𝖓𝖘 ✦ 𝖕𝖎𝖓𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖊𝖘𝖙  ✦ 𝖕𝖑𝖆𝖞𝖑𝖎𝖘𝖙 ✦ 𝖛𝖎𝖘𝖚𝖆𝖑 𝖊𝖉𝖎𝖙𝖘 ✦ 𝖕𝖗𝖔𝖒𝖔𝖘 ✦ 𝖆𝖊𝖘𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖙𝖎𝖈 𝖘𝖎𝖉𝖊𝖇𝖑𝖔𝖌

01. unprocione is an independent, selective, & mutuals-only roleplay blog for leon scott kennedy from the resident evil / biohazard series, operating in eastern standard timezone with headcanon-based characterization mainly taken from resident evil 2 & resident evil 6. this blog was established in june of 2022, and mentions triggering and mature themes to be expected from the resident evil / biohazard series. this is not a space intended for those under eighteen years of age and i'm only comfortable interacting with those above eighteen years. i prioritize those i follow back and plot with when it comes to interactions. i'm a very private man who is easily burnt out from social interaction and my offline life has been a stressful endeavor recently. my reply times are not guaranteed to remain consistent whether through roleplay or through out of character conversation but i'm making an effort to the best of my abilities right now - there is absolutely no pressure on you to match my reply length or to reply faster at any time.

02. i'm still pretty new to the resident evil series & rpc, the series as a whole is older than i am, so i feel it goes without saying that i am not exactly a lore encyclopedia. i'm always learning and always happy to be informed if i make an error with the timeline or with the behaviors of a character, feel free to correct me so long as your criticism is constructive and polite!

03. i'm not shy about using my block button. i don't deal well with people who post indirects or passive-aggressive comments often, and i don't tolerate people who are involved in consistent drama. i don't harbor bad feelings towards anyone after i've blocked them, but i'm protective of my personal space and my writing as a low-pressure creative outlet and i'm doing my utmost to keep it healthy for me.

04. i tend not to soften resident evil as a series in terms of the triggering material already present in violent gore or accumulated trauma, but i'm also not going to force others into uncomfortable situations and ruin the fun. i tag everything that i can think of, and if you read something in my writing that makes you uncomfortable, contact me and i will tag it for you without prying further. please always keep open communication with me about triggering topics so i can steer clear of them in our writing altogether, i don't see myself in any position to judge what anyone's going through and i would prefer to avoid rough situations entirely than cause you any difficulty in our mutual hobby. there's discussion of advanced post-traumatic stress disorder on this blog, the origins some of which are stemming from childhood. i go into expansion on long-term and repeatedly reopened survivor's guilt. also present, are themes of loss of self-control, hallucination, addiction, and extensive mention of dehumanization as a government agent and asset of the united states defense industry.

05. i'm open to writing romantic relationships with leon, but i don't consider leon an easy man to love with his career and difficulties and i write him as such. i don't want to neglect the complicated and messy intricacy of him. i only write romantic relationships with people who i've spoken to out of character and have plotted with beforehand, i don't enjoy pre-established romantic scenarios if i don't already have an established ideal of what leon and your muse are like in non-romantic interactions prior. i, myself, am a gay man, and so i'm more comfortable writing leon also as a gay man, as it comes more naturally and comfortably for me. i will not be interacting with muses who are blood-related children of leon's, or writing with those who treat homosexuality or experienced homophobia as fetish-material. if you write a female muse from the resident evil series who are usually romantically involved with leon, such as claire redfield or ada wong, please keep in mind leon will not be attracted to either of them further than platonically, but i still handle those bonds as intensely as any romantic relationship.

[here4theheartbreak]

OT7 Poly Masterlist

Key - be aware that this key is only a vague indicator of content, read any warnings on fics you intend to read.

🍭 - Fluff only - G or T; may include some innuendo/suggestiveness but nothing graphic.

🔥 - Smut - Explicit fics; includes graphic adult content

💔 - Angst - Ratings vary, has some level of drama/sadness/upset

😂 - Crackfic - Ratings vary, primarily humorous

📚 - Series/Chapter - Denotes a chapter fic, does not speak to content

Fluff/Angst

🍭 Get Well - Jimin is always the caregiver when the others are sick. But what happens when he gets sick? (slice of life, sickfic, polyamory, stomach flu) 

🍭 Bitter Revenge - Jungkook’s pranks have gone too far. The others will go to any lengths to get their revenge. (no sex, fluff, prank wars)

🍭 Family - Jin is injured during a performance. He just wants to mope in solitude. (hurt/comfort, implied ot7, injury, fluffy)

😈 😂 Spooky Stories with Bangtan - A series of Halloween shorts. Some will have ships, some will not, but they are all based on the kid’s book series Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. They may or may not all be connected… You’ll have to stay until the end to find out. Some will have character death, others are more funny, none are X rated gore (though some borders on M if you don’t like body horror or bugs - still read the warnings for each fic). Hope y’all enjoy and have a happy Halloween! (kiddie horror, no smut, light gore, varies, implied ships throughout including ot7) Remaining Chapters: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Final

🍭💔 Stretched to the Breaking Point - Jin’s exhausted after 4 years solid of picking up after/for the absolute loves of his life. He wants to prove he’s useful, but is this really how he’s going to have to do it? (fluff, light angst, slice of life)

Smutty

🔥 The Gift of Stress Relief - The holidays always stress Jin out. His boyfriends decide to help. (PWP, Christmas smut, dirty talk, oral sex) 

🔥 Pranks - Jungkook has been going too far with his pranks to the hyungline. They decide it’s time for a little payback. (PWP, edgeplay, ruined orgasms, rough sex, dirty talk, light bondage, under-negotiated kink)

🔥 Payback - Jungkook and the maknaes have been going a little too far with their pranks to the hyungline. Thy decide it's time for some payback. Written as a sequel to Pranks. (PWP, edgeplay, rough sex, dirty talk, double penetration, spanking, teasing)

🔥 Sleeping Beauty - Taehyung has a secret fantasy that he can’t wait to have his boyfriends fulfill. (consensual somnophilia)

🔥 Taking the Challenge - Jin can’t handle his new toy, but Jungkook is up for the challenge. (pwp, Bad Dragon sex toys)

🔥 Vacation Heat - Jin is in heat and needs a little help. Unfortunately his heat triggers those of his lovers, requiring a little more help than planned. (Alpha/Omega au, knotting, omega/bottom!Jin, omega/bottom!Taehyung, omega/switch!Jungkook, omega/top!Jimin, alpha/top!Hoseok, alpha/top!Yoongi, alpha/switch!Namjoon)

🔥 Handsome & Free - Seokjin had a very specific kink he wanted to try out. His boyfriends were more than happy to help out. (PWP, free use, multiple penetration, degredation (consensual), watersports, face fucking, light pet play, light D/s, consensual somnophilia, distracted sex, cockwarming, dirty talk, consensual objectification

[whocalledhimannux]

@peregrer the What. 👀👀👀 *insert John Mulaney gif of "say more right now"*

ok so when I say "the extent to which I've fleshed out the QT GBBO AU in my head is getting to be embarrassing," I truly and deeply mean it, please enjoy 1,900 words of utter ridiculousness.

first, our competitors:

Legarus - performs so poorly that viewers are a bit confused how he got on the show in the first place, a la Jamie (series 10) or that one guy who made a lime and chocolate cake in the first week.

Chloe - nice flavors and good ideas for decorations, but pretty sloppy. was up for elimination in the first week but came back with a great showstopper.

Melheret - good but not as good as he thinks he is (hence his bread week elimination because of sloppy technique), heavy-handed with the alcohol flavoring

Agape - solid competitor, not flashy but tasty + pretty results. I haven't worked out exact week-by-week themes (that would indeed be Too Much) but I imagine this is something like "Dairy" or "Caramel" or "Vegan," some particular element she just happens to not be strong on. viewers are disappointed by her early elimination

Teleus - Dad contestant. brings in a bunch of weird pans and gadgets he made up himself, does pretty well until it comes to Fiddly Foreign Foods he doesn't know (probably eliminated in French or Patisserie week)

Laela - typically has good flavors and pretty designs but technical knowledge is a bit lacking, so there are usually some flaws in the execution and she's often in the bottom half of technicals

Phresine - Grandma contestant. nails the classics but ultimately isn't creative enough to make it further.

Magus - the "Ian (series 6)" flavor of Dad contestant, often brings in foraged ingredients or eggs from his own chickens or whatnot and revives old recipes/flavor combinations no one else knows about. one week, some of those turn out to just be too weird, leading to his elimination.

Sophos - pretty elaborate decorations and good flavors (on the border of classic and new), but he tends to try a million different embellishments on everything and struggles with timing, occasionally to the detriment of technique.

Kamet - always has really interesting and different flavors and tends to do well in technicals especially, assuming he doesn't get overwhelmed. which is... an assumption (Finalist)

Costis - leans towards classic and indulgent flavors, although sometimes a bit sloppy--the kind of contestant where the judges look at his dishes and say "it's a bit of a mess" and then Paul Hollywood starts laughing because it still tastes delicious (Finalist)

Irene - absolutely stunning visually, queen of the technicals, occasionally gets the "style over substance" warning (Winner)

more details below the cut

I've gone back and forth on whether Eugenides should be in it but ultimately I decided no because I wanted to maintain a pre-show relationship between Laela + Kamet (I thought otherwise at first but then I realized I hadn't left Kamet any longterm friends or family for his finalist video and that's depressing af) and Irene and Sophos which to my knowledge hasn't happened once on the show so far? so having a married couple on top of that seems like it would be a stretch, and also then I think I'd need to make Eugenides the winner on principle and you know what? he can stand to be second fiddle to his wife for a little bit. My alternate backstory for him is that he was actually the winner of MasterChef one year (good with knives), so in the first episode Irene's first little chat to camera is something like "my husband's been bugging me for years to try out and I keep telling him he's got a skewed perspective on cooking competitions, finally I applied just to shut him up... and here we are." Her little video introduction is about how baking is a stress relief from her bigshot job. Her decorations tend to be abstract and gorgeous rather than cutesy.

Kamet, likewise, was nagged into applying by Laela, but she very cleverly framed it as she wanted to apply and wanted him to do it to for moral support. both were confident the other would get in and surprised that they did themselves. This is one of those series where everyone's friendships are immediate and obvious and super adorable (cast of series 10 my beloved...), and in particular these two are holding hands in episode 1. Laela's deep blue robe from TaT sticks in my head for whatever reason so I imagine her making an elaborate blue peacock cake or something one week that wins her star baker. somebody always does a peacock something and it's always impressiev.

Phresine is cool as a cucumber under pressure, always has lovely things to say about everyone else's bakes, and is the go-to last-minute helper because she usually comes in under the time. Irene starts out similar but as the weeks go by she starts to feel the pressure a bit more and cuts it a bit close. Sophos is the worst on timings, and mentions his wife at least once an episode. (I also played with him being single on the show and meeting Helen later through Irene and Eugenides, but this idea is too cute to pass up tbh.) Teleus lives with Relius, a fact that isn't mentioned until a few weeks in when he comments that Relius likes a recipe or gave him an idea for a flavor or something (Relius does not bake himself but will happily sample practice bakes), to the surprised delight of every viewer whose favorite contestant is the oldest gay in any given series (me, me, that person is me).

Costis tends to use a lot of chocolate and, as I said, pretty "classic" flavors--one of those people who makes a full English savory bake at some point. He's usually in the top half of the competition but doesn't get the top until one of the later weeks in the competition, which is a Honey themed week, and he absolutely nails it. The delicate decorations of his honey nut cakes and his use of honeycomb are particularly praised and that's the week he gets star baker. One of those bakers who flirts with elimination the first few weeks but noticeably improves over the course of the show.

My most, like, plot-y ideas are about Kamet (SHOCKER). I imagine he was born in Setra (I usually make Setra a non-autonomous region in my AUs) but arrived in Britain as a child due to [Unspecified Crisis] and ended up with foster dad Jeffa, who was roughly from the same region but not Setra itself; whenever Kamet wanted Setran food as a kid, Jeffa would take him to the library to find recipes and that was what sparked his love of baking. He's well-read on the subject and knows about foods from a lot of different cultures, so he's usually heard of the technical challenges even if he hasn't made or eaten them. He does a lot of fusion flavors, and is ALL ABOUT bread week.

I don't usually make the his-relationship-with-Nahuseresh-is-romantic leap in modern AUs but I think it works for this one because of the nature of the format--Nahuseresh doesn't actually appear on camera but is alluded to once or twice, ends up being Very Displeased that Kamet is doing something for himself, and during the week following Laela's elimination they have the fight that makes Kamet realizes this is actually a terrible relationship and he needs to leave now. He calls Laela to let her know what's up and mentions that, since he'll need to stay in a motel and has presumbly lost his job as a secretary (yeah working for your boyfriend is Bad, he's realized that now), he's going to have to drop out of the show. Laela, despite living in a studio flat without room to host him, immediately thinks "um fuck that" and calls Costis, and within an hour Costis and Aris and a few rugby buddies have moved all of Kamet's things into Costis and Aris's flat, where Costis insists that he'll squeeze into Aris's room (they've shared before, it's fine) and that Kamet gets first dibs on the kitchen for all bake off practices.

None of them actually reveal any of this to the show's producers. Kamet gets a little overwhelmed the following week and nearly walks away from the tent, but Costis jumps in to keep his bake from being ruined, and some soothing words from Irene + the hosts calm him down and he returns to finish. The only mention of the Drama comes in the finale, during the longer video clips they do on each of the contestants. Kamet is deliberately vague about the details of the situation, but Aris shows up in both Costis's and Kamet's videos and references the fact that having TWO flatmates in the bake off is a bit difficult because they only have a standard size kitchen, so he hasn't cooked for himself in a month and has been living off cake and savory breads. one of the hosts talks to Kamet in the tent after that clip is shown and he still won't talk about it in more detail, but says that he wanted to tell people so they could appreciate why Costis hasn't practiced as much the last few weeks (the judges scolded him for winging it a couple of times), and admits that he totally copied some of Costis's techniques for honey week based on watching him at home.

I imagine the finale task is something like an illusion cake--probably with a bunch of additional required elements because the show has been going bonkers with the finale showstoppers in the newer seasons--and Irene wins with a jewelry box containing, among other things, ruby earrings made out of candy. Kamet does a stepwell, and Costis does something architectural (I was thinking castle but something visibly Greek-ish so maybe a temple or a megaron? idk). Irene wins but they're all BFFs and that's obvious, so everyone's delighted for her. The little montage at the end reveals that Irene + Gen are expecting twins, that everybody hangs out all the time, and that Costis + co recently helped Kamet move into his own flat where he's now working on a novel (Immakuk and Ennikar inspired, obvi, leaning heavily on the honey-shared-on-the-road thing and including some recipes that actually work in the narration, albeit still written in an ancient-novel-like-way).

[Obviously not part of the show, but when Kamet mentions that it's time for him to look for his own place, Costis tries to v awkwardly invite him to stay forever and Kamet is like "nope I've got to try this on my own but yes we will go on a date once I've moved out and see how it goes from there."]

[This is so far beyond the scope of the show but also several of them go on to have more baking-related careers and have active social media presences and at one point they're all hanging out and Eugenides pulls out a camera and demands they all produce baking pick-up lines. Teleus refuses and also doesn't believe anyone knows baking pick-up lines off the top of their head or could make them up on the spot. Sophos sort of proves him right by coming up with "you're the apple of my pie," which Eugenides instantly mocks because Sophos's three greatest loves are baking, Helen, and poetry, and that's the best he can do? Helen comes up with "I like my cake the way I like my men--rich, sweet, and bright red," to which Sophos blushes on cue. Irene's is "when I'm with you, I feel like chocolate heated to 50 degrees--I struggle to maintain my temper." Eugenides protests this is more like an anti-pickup line. Irene insists this is the most accurate marriage-related baking pun anyone could ever come up with.

[Laela's is "You and I are like custard--I hope we never split." Kamet's is "You remind me of bread, because I knead you." Costis freezes for a minute and finally comes up with "Fancy a cream horn?" which produces a lot of giggling and makes Kamet slap his arm in such a way that, hen Eugenides posts this video to instagram, fans of the show all go WAIT ARE THEY DATING NOW] [by this point, yes they are] [I didn't even have to google baking pickup lines for this, guys, I legit came up with them on my own, please clap.]

am I obsessed? I might be obsessed

[about-feathers-and-claws]

Divinity Original Sin 2 : About Feathers and Claws -  The Divine Doom Deleting scenes make me want to draw them.

-------------------- [Deleted Scene] --------------------

“So... how is that book, uh?”

Sandor blinked, “Do you want me to tell you about it?”

“Well... Unlike all that other stuff you usually talk about, I probably will get it.”

Ifan averted his eyes down for a moment.

Sandor believed to see a small fragment of insecurity. Raised eyebrows, he remained silent for a moment, surprised for such revelation. Putting aside the book he was reading, he observed Ifan who a bit uncomfortable hid his face in the curve of Sandor's neck. 

Ifan was not a scholar. His knowledge of the world had always come from experience, from mistakes, from small teachings that other people gave him along his life. All what Sandor knew, that vast amount of fancy complicated words, of long logical procedures, of languages, of sources and books and authors; all that was completely out of his reach. He could follow the simplest concepts, but it was easy for him to get lost quickly. He knew he was not particularly the best companion for a scholar. And a scholar could not be the most suitable for him either. Still yet, here they were.

“Is it not boring for you?” Sandor said, his voice tinged with hesitation. 

“Give it a shot. You have been reading that book since I know you. Almost.” 

Sandor frowned. “Indeed, it's the same author but it's not the same book.”

Ifan closed his eyes, nuzzled in Sandor's neck breathing that scent of home-made bread that he liked so much, and embraced the man, letting his body relax. Sandor's voice, soft and calm, in combination with his warmth in that comfortable bed was the best combo to fall asleep. 

“Well, what is it about?” Ifan insisted.

“It's a romance story, you know it.”

“Who with who?”

“You really want me to tell you all the details?”

“I'm not going to read it. I prefer your voice narrating it.”

Sandor smiled in a silly way and moved in the bed to be more comfortable. He slid his arm under Ifan's neck and caressed his long hair while talking. “It's the story of a Knight, defending the Empire from an foreign nation. There is a lot of political stuff. He found in the enemy line a Mage that he could not kill in an encounter.”

“Why? Too powerful?”

“No. The Mage had amber eyes. It's a feature of people of an almost extinct tribe that the Knight is part of. The Knight has been shamed for that past all his life, so he was under different magical procedures to change the colour of his own eyes. They turned black. It's an interesting concept, you know? Because he is described as the embodiment of moral and rightness, but his actions are twisted and dark, pretty much like his eyes.”

“Mhn?. So, he is all about shiny armour but dark insides?”

“A bit. It's more like a consequence of his inner battle against himself. Don't accept yourself and you will be twisted by your own nature. That kind of thing.”

Ifan only sighed a bit heavy, as if the concept had resounded a little bit in his mind. Then, he felt Sandor's fingers scratching his scalp gently. Ifan left a peck on Sandor’s neck. 

“It doesn't look like a romance so far.” Ifan said.

“There are two more characters. The enemy Mage of amber eyes, who is attacking the Empire, and the son of the Queen of the Empire, who has been interested in the Knight since children.”

“Ah. A love story that started from childhood?”

“Kind of. The Knight and the Prince always played as friends, crossing certain limits in their teenage years. They... they had their first time together, in secret. It was lovely to read that part.” Now it was Sandor who sighed as his muscles tensed. “Exploring each other's body, their ability to feel, to share...” he swallowed hard, as his fingers tensed a little bit on Ifan's scalp. “First times shaping them, linking them, making their bond deeper...”

Ifan lifted his face a bit and saw Sandor's eyes. They were lost in the ceiling, only for a moment. Then, they lowered to see Ifan's. A long silence remained between them, observing each other.  It was hard to say anything that could ease that pain in Sandor. It was part of his scars. Ifan only stretched his neck and kissed Sandor in his lips, returning to nuzzle his neck. 

“So... the romance stops there?” Ifan said. 

Sandor cleared his throat and continued, “No. When the Knight fought against the Mage, and saw his amber eyes, he was shocked. He could not behead the Mage so he took him prisoner. His soldiers interviewed the Mage with hard manners. One day, when the Knight went to the dungeon to see the progress, he found the Mage heavily wounded. The soldiers of that Empire hated that tribe. The whole series tells you that the tribe of the Sun Eyes were savages that attacked the Empire every time they could. They had massacred whole towns and killed and tortured people who were under the Empire protection. They were evil, so it was expected that the Mage would be treated that way. However, the picture of his mistreated body made the Knight wonder about his own present and his own secret. Would torture have been his future, had he not changed the colour of his own eyes?. Somehow, that wounded Mage was the answer of his thoughts.”

“Mnh, it doesn't sound like a bad story to read.”

“Do you want me to stop? So you can read it later?”

“No, forget it. I’ve told you already, I prefer the sound of your voice.”

Sandor beamed and accommodated his body on the mattress, noticing how immediately Ifan lifted his heavy body to allow him to do so, returning to his neck immediately afterwards. Several pecks were left there.

“Well. The Knight observed the bloody tortured body of the Mage, and his intense Sun Eyes looking at him, with hatred. You can't pretend before me, the Mage said. He could sense the Knight's true nature. The Mage knew that the Knight was one of them.”

“He needed to kill that Mage right there, before he could speak and use that secret as blackmail.” Ifan said, his mercenary mind stepping ahead.

“Too late.”

“Uh?.” Ifan lifted his head and looked at Sandor. “He had already spoke to the torturers?”

Sandor nodded, arranging Ifan's hair behind his ear. “They were setting a trap for the Knight. That scene was interesting too. The Mage confessed him that he had spoken about his secret. The soldiers were just trying to confirm his past, since for the first time, they wondered why the Knight had so many holes in his family story. So, the Knight had to run away, but he wanted to hurt that Mage for what he had done. For ruining his life. So he took him and left the Empire forever. They ended up in a cave where the Knight had decided to torture the Mage to his death, but the defiance of those Sun Eyes was a terrible weight for him. He couldn't. He only could punch him. And bursting into tears, the Knight shouted at the mage all the ordeals he had to pass through in order to have a life far away from the curse of the Sun Eyes tribes. The Mage told him that he was silly, that there was no curse. That only one to truly blame was the Empire. The Mage explained the tribe's perspective. How the Empire had taken them as slaves, had used them as workers to death, had stolen their cities, and destroyed millenia of culture and knowledge. No book from the Sun Eyes had survived the raging and euphoric systemic erasure of the Empire. The Empire rewrote the whole story of the Sun Eyes. All convenient lies. That was the last step to complete the massacre. Only a few children were spared that survived far away from the borders of the Empire. The Mage was one of them, and he wanted to spread the Truth.”

“The hell of a story. The romance is not important.”

“No, it is. The Mage and the Knight spent so many years in exile, reconnecting the Knight to his heritage, opening his eyes to the Truth, that they fell in love. They became the last of their kind: one proud of being a Sun Eye, the other, ashamed of it, with his feature contaminated. Their romance is full of contradictions and revelations. The scenes of those two are incredibly... hot.”

Ifan laughed. “Why?”

Sandor cleared his throat. “Sex with magic.”

Ifan blushed, burying his face in Sandor's neck. “Don't tell me you got ideas from them.”

“No, they are not Sourcerers. But the electricity thing... well... It gave me a lead.”

Ifan chuckled, his rumbling chest resonating against Sandor's ribs.

“The drama starts when the Knight joins the cause against the Empire and has to face the Prince. The Prince loves him so he is desperate to recover the Knight. He promises him that he would protect him from the Empire hatred, that he would manage to convince his Mother to accept their relationship now that the Knight has been uncovered as a Sun Eye too. That he still trusted in him deeply. And the Knight faltered.”

“Hell, no!. Don't tell me the asshole kicks the Mage.”

“Did you remember the other night you were worried about my tears?” Sandor said, a bit ashamed of the fact.

Ifan chuckled, “You told me it was the book.”

“It was that scene. The Mage could not compete with the childhood love. And the Knight betrayed him. They set a trap for the Mage. And the last one of the Sun Eyes, with amber eyes, died.”

“What? That's terrible!”.

“The scene was terrible. The Mage was still loving the Knight as he died, knowing it could have been very different if the world were not be so cruel. And the Knight, quite late, was mortified with the sight of the Mage being killed with a massive cast of ice around his body. The cold suffocating him to death. A death that, in the fantasy of this book, rips always the Sun from their eyes. Quite poetic. The Knight felt hollow with that execution. But it was too late to do anything. He was now the last one of his kind, but one who had tarnished his nature in all senses. He was a betrayer. And remained by the Prince's side. He kept sleeping with the one who had loved him without knowing about his nature, the one that kept encouraging him not to be who he truly was. Just because they were children when everything started. They kept trying to maintain things like they used to be in that more innocent time... and so far... that's the story. First times are something too engraved in a person's soul. They have a unique weight.”

Sandor's tears ran across his cheeks, as he analysed the story loudly. Worried, Ifan rested his body on his elbows and wiped Sandor's tears, smiling gently at him. “It's a story, Sandy.”

“It's something that has been happening for many, many centuries. The name or the ranks of the characters may be different. But this story… has happened thousands of times. It must be happening right now too. Imagine that... poor mage. First times shape a person too deeply.” His lips trembled.

Ifan lent in, kissed him slowly and gently. He looked into his eyes, caressing his temple. “Maybe. But...Don't worry, Sandy. You don’t have amber eyes. And I'll be choosing you in any story.”

That terribly cheesy phrase made Sandor smile, and a couple of tears fell accidently while accepting that strong embrace around him.

[artificialqueens]

Elastic Heart - Part 7/10 (Branjie) - Mia Ugly

A/N: I told you I was going to post the rest quickly before the show changed it up too much, so here we are. Thanks again to this amazing group, with its brilliant mods and incomparable writers.  And as an aside: I may have some feelings about Dr. Ganache, but she is NOT a villain here.  She is a problematic and protective friend.  No tea. No shade.

Brock drives to Orlando. 

He stops at West Palm Beach, digs his toes into the white sand and then dips them in the ocean.   The beach is crowded with tourists (Brock knows that he’s one of them) and he wishes briefly for a wide brimmed hat. He leaves before he can burn too badly, though he takes a couple selfies at the shoreline.  Give his manager something to work with at least.

He drives slow along the coast.  Around noon he stops at a fresh fruit stand and buys starfruit (for some reason, even though he’s never tasted it, it just seems like the thing to do.) He buys some peaches and a bag of pecans too because the lady at the stand is sweet and nosy and reminds him of his grandmother. Later on, when he finds a pretty place to pull over, he sits on the hood of the rental car and eats the peach, skin and all. It tastes like summer, tastes like being young. Brock took family trips through the Okanagan as a child, can remember the fresh fruit that fell apart in your hands, turned to syrup on your tongue.

In Orlando, he finds a cheap hotel and he naps for a few hours (sleep is precious and rare, a religious icon) before he showers. Dresses in the butchest, most invisible clothing he brought with him (he’s got a lot of options and that’s a bit distressing.) If Jose’s not there, Brock doesn’t really want to be recognized, doesn’t want it to turn into a thing. And if Jose is there, well, he’s seen Brock in a lot worse.

Brock eats the pecans he bought (he needs to google ‘How to eat starfruit’ and decides it’s too much work for the situation) and the other peach.  He finds a bar nearby and drinks one drink (just one, he’s got to stay focused) slowly, and alone. No one looks at him.  No one recognizes him. The worn grey sweatshirt is apparently doing the fucking trick.

He takes an Uber to Vanjie’s club, because he doesn’t want to worry about driving. There’s a poster of her in the window, dressed in some sort of bejeweled body-suit, and it makes Brock smile. Build your brand, girl (the smile feels unfamiliar on his mouth.)

The bar is crowded.  Loud.  There’s a DJ playing and crowds of tanned men in tanktops grinding on the dance floor. It makes Brock feel older than he is, and he slinks through the knots of people to get to the bar, squeeze into the inch of available space and order a vodka soda.

He stirs the ice in his drink, and tries to come up with a plan.  Jose’s here. He’s here, or he will be here, and Brock can see him. Hear his voice. Just for tonight, and then he’ll leave it all behind him like exhaust fumes.

The drink disappears too quickly, and Brock orders another. He keeps his head down, tries to be inconspicuous. He must give off some kind of heartbroken vibe because no one has the time or energy for him tonight.

He’s glancing around anxiously - wondering when the show will start and whether Jose will make an appearance before then - when someone clears their throat loudly. Leaning up against the bar, only a few handsy drunk guys between them, is Silky fucking Ganache.

Great.

“Miss Brooke Lynn Hytes.” Silky’s in full face, sickening hair, and a purple-sequined mermaid gown. She comes toward Brock, pushing the people between them out of the way as if they were dandelion fluff. “Now what might you be doin’ here?”

Brock should be surprised to see her, but he isn’t. Silky and Jose seem connected at the hip lately, and that’s good. He’s glad Jose has someone he loves close by, someone so clearly protective of him. 

Brock air-kisses Silky on each cheek, unenthusiastically.

“Just in the neighbourhood.”

“What neighbourhood is that? Last I heard you were up in Canada, couldn’t cross the border.”

Brock rolls his eyes. “I had a show yesterday.  Thought I’d come say hi.”

“Ain’t you sweet. And lookin’ so fine too.” She gives his sweatshirt an understandably critical eye. “The good stuff ain’t started yet, honey, but that’s what it is. Suppose you’re lookin’ for Miss Vanjie.”

Brock doesn’t flinch.  He doesn’t.

“Don’t know if she’ll want to see your ass,” Silky continues. “She still tryin’ to get her head right after everything.”

“Yeah. Things got messed up.” Brock stirs at the ice in his drink, wanting to keep his hands busy.  “I messed them up.”

“You don’t got to tell me that.” The expression on her face leaves Brock with no question as to what Silky thinks of him, and that’s fine.  Or  - understandable anyway.

 “Is she backstage?”

“Nah, baby, she left already. Canceled her appearance, went off with some fine piece of ass. She probably off sucking his dick in a car somewhere.”

Brock almost drops his drink.  A part of him wishes he had; the sound of breaking glass could’ve drowned out all the other things that are breaking.

But then he hears a laugh across the crowded bar, a laugh that he would recognize anywhere - ninety years old and deaf and blind, he would still know Vanjie’s laugh by the way it raised goosebumps on his skin.

“Or did she?” Silky frowns. “Oops, my bad.”

Brock looks in the direction of the laugh, a group of people that have just emerged from the green room. For a moment he can’t see anyone clearly - and then Vanjie’s blonde bombshell wig catches the lights, and he can see her face. Clearly, for the first time in months. She’s smiling and has some kind of silvery lipstick on, and to cross the floor to get to her would probably take him thirty seconds.

But.

But she’s leaning into someone, a muscular dark-haired guy with tattoos winding up his arms. She’s smiling as she looks at him, as she moves closer, as her lips find the corner of his mouth. 

(He knew, of course. Yvie told him. He’d heard rumours online. He thought that forewarning would take some of the bite out of seeing it in person, but he was wrong. There are teeth at his throat, all of them filed into points.)

“You think she wants any of your sad-boy bullshit right now?” Silky snorts. “I dunno. Seems to be having herself a good time.”

Brock holds his breath. Plays out all the ways this could go. Vanjie hasn’t seen him yet, and her smile is wide and white-toothed. If he crosses the floor right now, he knows that smile will drop, that her eyes will go hard, that her back will stiffen.  He could go over there, cross the floor and have her within hands reach. He could touch her shoulder (Brock’s heart might live behind walls, but his body does not) and completely ruin her night.

But she looks beautiful. She looks happy.

“She ain’t even spotted your ass yet.  You ain’t got to cause no drama.” Silky looks between Brock and Vanjie, eyes narrowed. “Tell you what, why don’t you run along, Miss Brooke Lynn? She don’t even got to know you were here.”

Brock gives Silky a flat look.  The two of them aren’t friends, won’t ever be friends, but they have one thing desperately in common.  That one thing cuts through all the bullshit, right through to the bone.  

“How’s she doing?” Brock asks, and Silky shrugs.

“She fine as hell, what you want me to say? She getting on with it.  She got her girls looking out for her.”

“How are you doing?”

Silky laughs. “Just waitin’ around to collect my prize money.  Baby, you should see me in a crown.”

Silky might be convinced of her certain victory, but she’s as in the dark as everyone else. Brock didn’t know until he got to Drag Race that production films multiple endings for the series, that the top queens don’t find out who wins until the last episode airs. 

Of course, it could never be said that Silky lacks in confidence.

“Will you - tell her I was here? That I didn’t want to interrupt her.”

“Nah, bitch. You in her head too much already, and I ain’t your messenger.”

Across the bar, Vanjie laughs - loud and gravelly and gorgeous. Brock wishes he could capture that laugh like a jar full of fireflies and keep it. Visit it whenever he got tired, whenever he forgot that there were good things in the world, and once he had been part of one.

There’s maybe forty feet between Brock and Vanjie.  It feels like an ocean (but she looks happy. What more can he ask for?)

“Take care of yourself,” Brock says to Silky. “See you on tour.”

“How will I ever survive the wait?” Silky waves him away. “Yeah, go on home, Brooke. We good here.”

And it’s only because Brock can’t bear to see the smile fall from Vanjie’s face. It’s only because he didn’t let her know he was coming, and doesn’t want to surprise her and throw off her act. It’s only because she’s running her hands over another man’s shoulders with those dark, smoky eyes she gets sometimes - that’s the only reason Brock leaves. 

He isn’t afraid. 

He calls himself the worst sorts of names as he gets a ride back to his hotel. Then he raids the minibar and tells himself it’s all for the best.  

He got to see her. She looked beautiful (but she always looks beautiful) and happy. That’s all he can ask for.

Nina has texted him twice since that morning.

“Brock?”

And then: “BROCK???”

Brock wants to drink some more vodka and then blissfully pass out. 

Instead. 

He phones a friend.

* * *

So.  

There’s a music video challenge, and Brooke Lynn bombs it.  It’s not as bad as Snatch Game, but she’s nowhere close to the talent of A’Keria and Silky, and Yvie’s not as strong but she’s better than Brooke. Brooke’s gotten in her head again, hearing that voice on repeat telling her she’s not funny, she’s awkward, she’s letting people down (this is for the Top Five WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING -)

So.  She’s prepared to lip sync. It’s not like the last time, the time against Yvie.  Today she knows with one hundred percent certainty that it’s coming.

And she knows she’s going to be up against Vanjie. The great moment of television that Yvie predicted is finally here.  Give us all a fucking Emmy.

Vanjie is struggling with even the mini-challenges lately, and Brooke is trying to convince herself that it’s not her fault. They haven’t spoken privately since that night in Vanjie’s room (and that was a fucking mistake but Brooke still is having trouble regretting it. She wanted her.  She still wants her. And fuck, it wasn’t the right time but Brooke would get on her knees for Vanjie in the middle of the werkroom if the other queen asked.  Which she won’t, but. 

Brooke would do it.)

There’s defeat in Vanjie’s eyes now, like she’s waiting to get called out by the judges, like it’s inevitable that she’ll be the next one sent home. Even though she’s survived two lip syncs already, even though she’s changed up her silhouette so Michelle can’t keep reading her - Vanjie’s not having fun anymore. From the outside looking in at least (and Brooke is certainly on the outside now) it seems like she isn’t.

Did Brooke do that? Or was it just the show? As the production keeps going, Brooke feels her own spark dimming as well.  She wants to celebrate each elimination that she survives, but she’s also really fucking tired and - she’s in it until the end, of course, but she’s glad that the end is in sight.

So.

Top Five.

They leave the runway while the judges deliberate. Vanjie doesn’t say a word, just walks off on her own with her earbuds in. A’Keria gives Brooke an anxious look before she follows her.

Brooke gets a cocktail, drinks it too fast.

She knows tonight’s song by heart, has danced to it before. She waits until A’Keria comes back to the couch, whispers something in Silky’s ear before raising an eyebrow at Brooke.

“You better have a word with your girl,” A’Keria says.  “She ain’t right.”

She’s not my girl, Brooke wants to say, but she also wishes that it were true. She wishes Vanjie was hers, that they’d met somewhere normal and boring and didn’t have all this extra shit in between them.  It would have been different then. Brooke would have been different, not so in her head, not so reserved. They would have been able to touch and fuck and spend time alone like normal people.  

They might have made it.  Could have made it.

Brooke resists the urge to build a pillow fort when all she wants to do is bury herself, so deep she disappears. Instead, she gets off the couch and goes after Vanjie.

The impossible object of Brooke’s affections is sitting at the mirrors, eyes closed and earbuds in. She looks like a scene from a painting, a still from a classic black-and-white movie. Brooke puts a hand on her shoulder to get her attention (and they both pretend they don’t notice her flinch.) 

When Vanessa opens her eyes, they’ve got that dark, glassy look that Brooke recognizes. It’s the same look she had when Yvie suddenly turned on her in the backstage lounge, all those nights ago. It’s the look she had after the Snatch Game, when Ru told Brooke she was up for elimination. It’s pain and surprise, swirled together like ink.

“You doing okay?” Brooke asks.

Vanessa takes out one of her earbuds and nods, tightly. She doesn’t look at Brooke.

“And you’re ready?”

The other queen takes a deep breath before she answers. “I ain’t gonna let you off easy just cuz you’re pretty.”

Brooke laughs, startled, and the corner of Vanjie’s mouth curls.  It’s like they’re okay for a minute, like they’re back on the beach, that sunny afternoon when Brooke first realized that her heart was not her own anymore.  That it had somehow stretched itself into Vanjie’s hands, wound around her fingers.

For a minute, it’s like that. 

“I wish I’d met you earlier,” Brooke says because she has to, because the words are burning through her throat.  “At a club or something. Not here.” 

She won’t cry, she tells herself.  She can’t cry.

“Well.  What you gonna do?” Vanjie still has her eyes fixed on the mirror, fussing with her wig (her hands are shaking). “Gotta go out there and do what you do best, bitch. It’s what you came here for.”

“That was before-“

“Before what? Before you met me? Don’t expect me to believe that Miss Brooke Lynn.” Vanjie finally looks at her, a hint of her old self bleeding through the armour she’s put on. “You’re here for a crown. So go and get it.” She gives Brooke a stare that’s part challenge, part longing, and all heartache. “If you think you can.”

Brooke swallows around the tightness in her throat.  Then she nods (when what she really wants to do is take Vanjie’s hand and pull her out of her chair, kick down the door and get out of this studio. Fight off the P.A.s, find a cab, go to LAX, run the fuck away. Together. Leave this all behind and start over.)

“Kill it,” she says instead. “Show ‘em why they brought you back.” 

“You know I fucking will.” Vanjie puts her earbud back in, goes back to her own world. 

Brooke doesn’t dare touch her again, and walks away to a separate corner of the lounge. She realizes suddenly that the other girls are quiet.  Even Silky. There’s none of the shouting and laughing that usually fills the air backstage. When they talk, it’s almost in whispers. It feels more like a funeral than a reality show. 

Brooke puts her earbuds in, turns up the volume. She can taste her heart thumping in her throat. She told herself she wouldn’t get distracted. This thing with Vanjie wouldn’t become a problem.

And now the moment has come.  And it’s so much more than just a problem. 

In her ear Sia sings: “And another one bites the dust. Oh why can I not conquer love?”

Brooke loves this fucking song. She doesn’t need to practice; she knows exactly what she’s going to do.

Go out there on that stage and slay.  

Go out there and break her own heart.

(If she had met Vanjie in a club, she would have heard her before she saw her. 

She would have clocked that laugh immediately and thought up a million reasons to go talk to her. If she had met her at a club, Brooke would have bought her a drink and asked if she wanted to get out of there ten minutes later. She would have taken her to the beach, to a bookstore, to the park, to a thrift shop.  She would have wanted to hear her voice and ask her questions - how did you start doing drag? What’s your favourite song? What were your grandparents like? Who was the first person that broke your heart?

What keeps you up at night? Who are you when your paint is off and the lights go down and you’re alone at home and tired? Who do you think about? What were your pets named?  How do you feel about cats?

If she had met Vanjie in a club, they would have talked about Monique Heart in AllStars, and the  miracle of seeing Latrice live, and how Drag Race could be problematic AF but make a queen’s career. Change their life. How they’d give anything to get on it.

If she had met Vanjie anywhere else, Brooke would have still wanted her.)

It hits her like a punch, driving the wind from her lungs.  Vanessa had told her to figure out what she wanted. And at last - Brooke has. 

Just when everything’s about to fall apart, Brooke has.

“I’ve got thick skin and an elastic heart

but your blade it might be too sharp.”

“Five minutes,” a P.A. calls, and the other queens start to get their heels back on, finish the last sips of their cocktails.  

Yvie pats her on the shoulder as she walks by. “It’s you and me in the Top Two, girl. Deal with it.” 

Even Yvie’s encouragement comes off as a bit threatening, but the consistency is enough to make Brooke smile. 

This is it. 

She intercepts Vanessa before she goes back onstage. They stand inches apart, breathing in each other’s air. They do not touch.

(“Hi Papi.”)

(“Shoulda known you’d be a Pisces.”)

(“Y’had something on your face, Hytes.”)

(“I like the way you are.”)

“Hello, hello, hello Miss Brooke Lynn,” Vanessa says finally and Brooke swallows a laugh that might be a sob.

“Miss Vaaaanjie.”

“I’ma hold you to that Oliver Garden dinner,” Vanessa smiles wide but her eyes are shining. “You  made a promise, ho, you ain’t done with me.”

Brooke shakes her head ‘no’ (will she ever be done with Vanessa? She can’t imagine a world where that would be possible, where she could look at Vanjie and not fall utterly to pieces.)

Brooke holds out her hand. Vanjie looks at it a bit dubiously before she takes it. Their fingers lace as if they never were apart.

They’re still holding hands when they go back to the mainstage.

After it’s announced that they’re both up for elimination, Ross Matthews starts covertly wiping away tears. It’ll make for a great episode, Brooke thinks, and wishes that the voice in her head didn’t sound so bitter.

“Brooke Lynn Hytes.  Vanessa Vanjie Mateo.  The time has come for you to lip-synch for. Your. Life.”  

Brooke can feel Vanessa’s pulse fluttering like a bird against her fingertips. She’s terrified, Brooke realizes. 

Brooke is too.

(“You be careful girl.” A’Keria’s voice rings from somewhere in the background of her memories.

“You know what you’re doing?” Yvie is scowling at her on the beach, and Brooke swallows down  every instinct she has that’s screaming “NO.”)

“Good luck.  And don’t fuck it up.”

Brooke lets Vanjie’s hand slide from her grasp.  It feels like saying goodbye. 

And the music plays.

[doshmanziari]

Economy and Thematic Structure: Symphony of the Night's Level Design

[N.B.: This piece was originally featured on Gamasutra. I was inspired to post it here too after watching the Boss Keys YouTube video on Symphony of the Night’s world design and finding the analysis shallow and unoriginal.]

"Why is Castlevania: Symphony of the Night good?" is a question that's been asked countless times over the years since the game's release on the PlayStation in 1997. People seem almost desperate to know the answer to this in the wake of similarly modeled but less acclaimed titles such as Aria of Sorrow and Order of Ecclesia. It seems that no matter how many explicative lists are written, Symphony of the Night (hereafter shortened to SotN or Symphony) is representative of an unplaceable magic; thus, its staying power. That's the typical narrative, anyway. As someone who does think that Symphony is indeed good, I have my own answers -- answers that I think stand out from the usual enumerations -- to that question. I'll attempt to lay some of them out here.

The most common thing you're bound to hear in support of SotN's quality is its maximalism: that the game is so stuffed and gilded with "pointless" details that one comes to adoringly approach it as a curious, jewel-like creature. It's a trait that's perhaps more valued now than ever before, as mainstream game development has become a monstrous, multi-million-dollar endeavor that discourages strangeness and obtuse secrecy partly for fear of lacking recuperative sales. As worn out as it is, this is a good point. Symphony expresses a sort of creative freedom that's all the more reinforced by Koji Igarashi's comments in this video from 2015 -- a freedom that came from the purgatorial point in time in which the game was made, when Konami's direction for the series was vague. What we got was a game made by a small group of people who had little resistance to including every trifle, even if that trifle's inclusion meant several more hours of work.

I'll come right out and say that Symphony's castle is my object of interest as a player and a critic. I've always been entranced by how a wide range of elements -- the backgrounds' incredible rendering, the variety of colorful monsters, Michiru Yamane's indispensable score, and more -- came together to make the castle have a life force that felt like it existed beyond the constraints of a television screen. So what's sort of interesting, in the context of this discussion, is that SotN's castle isn't really maximalist in look or layout. It's certainly eclectic, if you're comparing one of its sectors to another, but it's not defined by excess, and to call it "sprawling" is only half-accurate. In fact, as the series progressed with the return of Igarashi as producer on 2002's Harmony of Dissonance, there came to be a sort of inverse maximalism, relative to SotN, at play in the overall scheme of things. All of the rococo stuff that intertwined with the mechanics (e.g., a familiar spirit being able to tell you where hidden rooms were) got whittled down; meanwhile, the game worlds grew in quantitative size, culminating in 2006's Portrait of Ruin that boasted a 1000% (hey: that's bigger than 200.6%!) completion rate.

"Economy" and "focus" are words you'll pretty much never hear spoken in reference to SotN, but they're nonetheless, and perhaps surprisingly, good words to use when trying to explain what makes its castle stand out from the other so-called Igavanias. I'm going to be speaking in somewhat broad terms here just to avoid getting too entrenched in specifics, but I'm also going to try to avoid cherry-picking comparative material. After all, it's not as if Symphony's qualities were entirely unrecognizable in its progeny. The point I want to make here isn't that SotN is perfect, or that everything went to hell after 1997. I'd rather like to say that Symphony's level design, in general, has a clarity and consistency that never resurfaced with the same potency in the series since its release.

Let's first take a look at the Royal Chapel. This is one of my favorite places in Symphony, and a great example of the qualities I mentioned. Now look at Harmony of Dissonance's equivalent: the coupled Corridor in the Air and Chapel of a Heretic. The difference here is striking. Although there are parallels between the two (for example, the Chapel of a Heretic has several halls that are modeled on those jutting out from the Royal Chapel's towers; note the windows' shape), the Royal Chapel has a cleanliness, even a linearity, to its organization. It's easy to follow with the eye, and there's no mistaking that the navigational theme, starting from the bottom, is ascent. And this sense isn't just something selectively derived from the perspective of seeing the whole map at once. For one, you've got the longest continuous staircase in the game; for another, there's a central tower that's allowed to rise as tall as it wants without any horizontal redirections, and a couple of also unbroken shorter towers thereafter. This ascensional theme is also bolstered by the progression of environmental details you can see beyond the Royal Chapel's borders. A hilly coniferous forest gradually gives way to an indigo sky and a stream of clouds, with the forest now a distant sight.

So, we've got an environment here that directs our movement along a specific main route, and it's complemented by the theme of escalating verticality. When we come to Harmony's Corridor in the Air, though, it's difficult to figure out what the layout is trying to communicate. The spaces are visually unified but structurally disorganized. It's as if the level design is trying to pull off a bunch of stuff at once at the expense of letting any of it develop. Although disorganization can be interesting (and there are arguably other ways, outside of this essay's range, to interpret Harmony's castle), in this case the environment is missing the narrative of progression that's part of what makes the Royal Chapel such a pleasure to go through. A bit of focus is brought in with the Chapel of Heretic, if only because there are no branching paths, but its appearance seems to ask more than ever for a comparison to the Royal Chapel, and it can't favorably compare. You're undeniably ascending, but the majority of the rooms you're traversing are horizontal, and this dulls the actual feeling of ascending.

The top of the Chapel of a Heretic -- that large room with the long staircase -- brings to mind another subject, due to its parallel to the Royal Chapel's staircase, and this is the use of a room as a dramatic device with fulfilled, or unfulfilled, implications. The Royal Chapel's staircase is interesting because it's a dramatic structure (extensive, singular, complemented by richly ornamented recesses, and the way in which you're properly introduced to the Royal Chapel) involved with the navigational theme of descent that produces a sense of anticipation (e.g., "This staircase is so long; I wonder what it's leading to"); and this is fulfilled in the form of the gorgeous chapel sidelined by stained-glass windows and terminating in an altar. In elementary terms, the Royal Chapel's staircase displays a set-up/payoff dynamic.

Rather than compare this to the Chapel of a Heretic's staircase, though, I'd like to pit it against Portrait of Ruin's Great Stairway, whose namesake is a pair of chambers containing long staircases. Comparisons to the Royal Chapel here are perhaps most apt because the Great Stairway's stairs are similarly staffed by Corner/Hill Guards and also have overhanging ledges with collectible items. The problem the Great Stairway runs into is that neither staircase offers anything aside from sheer size and those aforementioned call-backs. The chambers' opposing extremities lead to nondescript transitional rooms with no major or minor drama beyond, and each is side by side, which only calls attention to how similarly structured both chambers are. This is especially bad because these chambers are the largest rooms in the castle (as demonstrated by the game's map), on top of locationally representing its "heart", and yet the take-away is that the designers were more concerned with filling space via copy-pasting than with having the architecture be engaged in any sort of dialogue with itself.

Something else I'd like to talk about is how generous Symphony is with giving its places breathing room. Breathing room is important because it allows environments to better develop on their own terms, helps to thematically distinguish areas, and assists in our ability to mentally organize them individually and in relation to the entire game world (something that is its own form of entertainment). This is a trait that ties back into the visual lucidness of the Royal Chapel's layout. It's illuminating to compare Symphony's map with that of Dawn of Sorrow. It becomes clear here what I'm talking about with breathing room: Dawn's map appears to be on a mission to cover as much space as possible (so much so that the bit of negative space on the top left feels like an oversight), but when we look at Symphony's, it's not too much of a leap to estimate that nearly half of the map is negative space.

This isn't a detail that's only appreciated in the abstraction of a map, either. If we review Dawn of Sorrow's Dark Chapel, we can pick out points of visual continuity and hierarchical structure. For instance, the second boss' room (Malphas) is stacked directly atop the first boss' room (Dmitrii) with the shared visual element of the organ, and Malphas' room is headlined by a corridor that follows the three rooms' progression from the "underworld" to the "heavens." We might also note that the belfry rightly sits at the Chapel's highest point and is situated above a visually unified and equally wide pair of rooms. But the Chapel's upper body is so compressed that architectural decisions such as these fall flat; the literal compression becomes an expressive compression that isn't particularly relevant to the environment. The fact that I, as the player, am in that top corridor, suspended above the distant mountains, is something that's really only communicated by the background. In action, entering the corridor feels abrupt -- I've only ascended two "rooms"' worth (represented by a single square on the map), relative to Dmitrii's room -- and this abruptness is reinforced by looking at the map and seeing how awkwardly squished the corridor's supporting columns are against the roof of Malphas' room.

Does Symphony have no compressed environments? Absolutely not! Let's be attentive here, though. Its castle's two most compressed places, by far, are the Colosseum and the Catacombs. If there is any criticism to be made of this pair in terms of how their parts interlock, it is perhaps the immediate transitions between the bed of lava in the Catacombs' natural halls and its built rooms' foundations. But beyond this slip-up, these are successful instances of compression because that trait feels thematically relevant. It works for the Colosseum both because it renders the macro-structure's hard symmetry as even more explicit, and its smushed quality recalls the cramped quarters of an actual colosseum's hypogeum. Similarly, the Catacombs' compression works because it reinforces the area's claustrophobic associations, and the overall thrust of the environment -- strongly horizontal, and never higher than two "rooms" -- really drives home the sense that this truly is the castle's bedrock.

"Compression", in this context, can also refer to how sectioned an environment is. To this day, in my opinion, Symphony feels like the 2D explorative Castlevania with the largest scope, and I'm more or less convinced that feeling is partly, yet intimately, supported by its castle having relatively more rooms that are allowed to expand to larger extents without transitional splits, as indicated on the map by a lighter or broken line within a room's border. This perhaps sounds counterintuitive; we might rather suppose that more rooms equates to a larger scope. But this isn't necessarily true. The dimensional quality of a space's entirety is not solely communicated by the quantity of its partitions; it's also how willing it is to give us the time and room to dwell on that specific space before it switches to something else. Look at Symphony's map again and notice how the Outer Wall is mostly one vertical block; how the Clock Tower and the Long Library are two large chunks bookending a minority of smaller bits; how the Castle Keep is a big L-shape with a rectangular cluster to its right; or how the Underground Caverns largely are three horizontal rooms and three vertical rooms. In fact, the trend of building subsidiary spaces around dramatically primary spaces is Symphony's rule -- not the exception!

By the time of Harmony of Dissonance, this trend had already become a scarcity; and although things did improve irregularly (Aria of Sorrow is perhaps the closest a title produced by Igarashi ever came to matching Symphony's spatial dynamism), it's a trend that could not be more alien to 2008's Order of Ecclesia. It's curious that the only follow-up to Symphony which did not aggressively slenderize, straighten, and divide its castle's parts was 2001's Circle of the Moon, handled by the Kobe branch of Konami, and I don't think it's a coincidence that, of the GBA and DS Castlevania titles, its castle's scope is the most substantial. One part of me wants to say that things developed as they did because of a vastness of variables: evolving teams, tighter deadlines, an absent concern for the emphases of this article, and so on. Another part of me wants to say that the obsessive-compulsive leanings of these games became guiding principles; which is to say, the toning down of big rooms and the emphatic sectioning came about because it made grinding easier. It's hard to not side with this interpretation when there are moments such as a hall in Ecclesia that's split down the middle for seemingly no other reason than because the hall is long and each section has a different set of enemies.

I want to elaborate on the comment above about "straightening", because it probably isn't clear what I mean (and even if it is, it's worth picking at). When I refer to a castle's parts, or rooms, as "straight", it's a way of saying that their border-lines unite to make a shape that's either a square or rectangle. This is the standard, no matter which Castlevania, starting at Symphony and ending at Ecclesia, we're talking about; yet, like other things we've examined in this article, it's a standard with degrees of prevalence. Scan this map of Symphony's castle I've edited so that all of its irregular rooms -- fourteen total -- are marked by a green star (note how nine are of the primary/large variety, increasing their significance). Now scan this similarly edited map of Harmony's castle. Upon KCET's return as the series' developers, the number of irregular rooms shrank to four, and two were based upon a couple of rooms from Symphony: the Royal Chapel's stairway, and the Marble Gallery's basement chamber. After Harmony, the only map allowing irregular rooms was Aria of Sorrow, with a whopping single room at the castle's pinnacle.

It is again curious that KCEK's Circle of the Moon stands so decisively apart from these other titles: its castle has nearly forty irregular rooms. There's no way to know how Circle's developers approached designing the castle, but the presence of such a dramatically quantifiable characteristic suggests some kind of approach that differed from KCET's developers. How else do we account for that contrast? All things considered, it's my opinion that Symphony's castle is the most dynamic, thanks in large part to how thematically distinguished its areas are; but if we're talking about the varied usage of pure geometric space, Circle comes out on top. You might be wondering where I'm going with any of this, and in response I'd like to quote from a write-up I did of Circle back in 2012: ". . . it’s easy to overlook how a game’s boundaries affect our experience of its places, perhaps because a boundary is treated as the line where the level design ends. But a boundary is really a continuation of the level design. Though it may not be interactive with one’s avatar, it does interact with the enclosed content. It organizes the extent of our movement, and its geometry feeds into all those ineffably subtle reactions we have to the spirit of a place."

What else can be said? A lot, actually! We could discuss how frequently room-types are reused; how precisely and visually segregated an environment's districts are and its link to thematic articulation; or the rough interactive textures that Symphony's inverted castle affords, in spite of how "lazy" the procedure was to create the inverted castle. But I'm satisfied with breaking things off here and saving those ideas for future analyses or -- something that interests me more -- the input of readers. What do you think? Does any of this help you to understand Symphony of the Night in a new light? Have you been thinking these thoughts all along? Do some of the interpretations seem conceptually strained?

Thanks to Revned, Edsword, mephea, TerraEsperZ, Wileee, and Zeric for their hard work on screenshot-mapping Symphony of the Night's castle.

You can support my work on Patreon.

[youreallyshouldtalkmore]

The Aura

Loosely based on Dua Lipa ‒ New Rules. The song originally sparked this but then I think went in a different direction but I'm still going to claim that it's based on this song. Loosely...

Disclaimer: Erik being Erik = n-word

Also, this is a one-shot and does not fit into the The Lion and his Lamb series. 

The phone ranged for the umpteenth time. You didn't even pick it up knowing already who it was. He had called five times in the last half an hour.  And that did not count how many times he has tried to call in the last week.

Though the burning question is why you didn't just turn your phone off.....

Probably because you knew....you knew if you turned it off it would only force the man to come to your apartment. You knew you could only fake not being here for so long. Luckily you didn't' have a car so he couldn't tell whether you were here from it being there or not.

But why....why were you avoiding him.

It was simple really.

So simple, it bordered on stupid.

Simply you avoided him because you had fallen in love with him.

How juvenile was that?

But there was a reason. You had known Erik Stevens for over a year now. You could say in some weird sense the two of you were friends. How that came to be you were still not quite sure even as you looked back on it. You worked in an office where he had to report to and you two began to talk. Somehow against all odds a friendship came of it.

Well, as close to friendship as you could get with a man like Erik Stevens.

You instinctively knew there was more to the man than he showed you. You could catch it at times, burning in his eyes. It would pass, bringing a shadow crossing across his face. You did not mind so much when you were just friends with him.  With a friendship there was a certain amount of distance that could be maintained.

But then one day you realized you had developed a serious crush on this man...something bordering on love.

So you had to pull out, you had to back track and get off this road. You could feel it.

A friendship with Erik would be durable....

A relationship......that would end in nothing but ruins.

You could feel it.

And you didn't want it.

So you've been ignoring him.

You felt bad honestly. You pretty much stopped cold turkey leaving him with no rhyme or reason as to why you would suddenly stopped speaking to him. Such cowardliness was usually not in your nature. Normally you would have the decency to at least explain while walking out the door.

But how could you explain such a thing?

What could you even say?  

Even with the dark shadow that always followed Erik, you could see some rays of light there. It was buried deep underneath but you have had to pleasure to glimpse them. There were rare and genuine smiles that formed on his face when he was in your presence at least. But even that did not even begin to outrun the shadow chasing him.

So you stopped picking up the phone when he called.  

Which lead to him alternatively texting and calling you.  

You hadn't even deleted his week worth of texts......  

A sharp knock on the door, snapped you out of your thoughts and you sat up cautiously.

You didn't ask who it was and didn't move to the door from your place on the couch.

Sure enough....

"Come on, Y/N! You ain't answering my calls or nothin’. You dead in there or somethin'?"

Another knock came.

"I know you in there! This time of day? Where else would you be? Let me guess, reading a new book, right?"

Instinctively, you glanced down at the book you were currently holding.  He was right. You had been reading this time of evening as was your wont.  Still though you didn't speak.

"You working my nerves, Y/N. This ain't like you. At least you owe it to me to tell me why you cut me off!"  His last words were punctuated by another knock on the door.

Guilt rose up sharply and not for the first time.  Your eyes shifted around your room unseeing as you bit your lip. Unconsciously you reached up and scratched at your short tight curls.  You sunk low into your seat.

Erik banged the door once more, with a growl. "Aight fine, if that's how it's gonna be. Imma be out. Clearly you weren't the woman I thought if you can't give a brotha some kind of answer for this drama."

You couldn't do this to him. It was entirely too cruel. You needed to at least try to explain why you pulled such a stunt that wasn't even in your nature.  The two of you have spent time together and the little that you knew of him you knew that it would be cruel to do this.  Having someone one day and then them disappearing the next was not something that people like Erik could handle very well. You knew that at least.

You tossed your book on the table and darted to the door, throwing it open. You took a step out and called softly, "Wait."

Erik stopped his whole body tensed hands shoved in his pocket.  But he didn't turn around at your voice.

You swallowed, "You're right. I should give you some kind of response."

Erik snapped over his shoulder, "Too late for that. I don't want to hear it."

He only took a step before your voice reached him again.

"Erik, please."

He stops and stands for a long moment.  Slowly Erik pivots on his heels and you can see the anger burning his eyes but you can also see the confusion.  You fought to keep eye contact with him and did for a moment before you eventually gave in and look down. You hear a few footsteps and see the tips of boots before a rough hand tilted your head.

His dark brown eyes flashed making them look almost black, "So what's the deal? If I did somethin’ teya that you didn't like, you have a mouth, use it."

You shook your head and whispered, "It wasn't you."

Erik cocked his head. " 'xcuse me?" Although his tone was light you knew that there was only a matter of time before he blew. This was only the calm before the storm.

Your eyes shifted and you saw an apartment door that was barely cracked.  Stepping away from Erik you grabbed his thick wrist and dragged him into the apartment. When he did blow you did not want to have this out in the hallway. This was not a soap drama for everyone to be privy too.

Erik's face was hard but he let you pull him into the apartment. As soon as you shut the door, on time he blew, "Ya got me out here runnin’ ‘round after you like you the Queen of Sheba or somethin’. I shoulda stopped calling after third time but nooooo, here we are a week later.  I'm still tryin’ to figure out why I'd actually care enough to be bothered when it was obvious you ditched a nigga. But then here I was I was thinking you might be dead in a ditch somewhere and I didn't know it. Went to your place of work, imagine my surprised when they told me that you were just a temporary employee there for the year. Girl, what's wrong with you? Pick up a phone and tell somebody."

"I'm sorry." You murmured softly guilt playing on your face. You never could hide your feelings very well.

"Sorry ain't gonna cut it. Why you ignoring me?" Erik growled.

You felt a rush of heat in your chest that temporarily blinded you. What could say? Ohh, the one time you wish you could lie well. You were terrible at them and it was easy to tell that you were lying.  You shifted on your feet.

"Erik....I never meant to hurt you. That was never my intent. At least believe that."

"Girl....." Erik's eyes fluttered closed as he growled, "I ain't gonna ask again."

You could clearly see he was trying to restrain himself and you felt a rush of warmth flooded you. It wasn't the first time that Erik seemed to try to restrain his temper and in return his darker nature.

You opened your mouth and then closed it. Then you opened it again as you looked everywhere but him. Eventually you felt a hand grab your chin and was forced to looked into Erik's eyes.

"This ain't like you. At least not the woman I have come to know. You'd only do this if you have a good reason. Now I think I deserved to know what this so-called good reason is. Spit it out Y/N. Stop being a coward."

"I like you!" You blurted out suddenly.

Erik blinked and in his surprise dropped his hand from his chin.  A look of annoyance settled soon after, "What’s this, high school? I like you too. The heck you think I'm here for? Who else would I be chasing like this? What's your point?"

You shook your head. You could see that it just flew right over his head. You lowered his eyes and said softly, "No Erik...I mean..... I like you."

It took Erik a minute as you stared at you. "You. Like me?"

"Never mind. Forget it." you snapped not looking at him. You went to walk around him but he grabbed you by the wrist pulling you back. It startled you making you trip into him. You steadied yourself, your hands on his chest.

"So let me get this straight." Here he smirked, "I'm runnin’ 'round here cause you like me?" there was a gleam in his eyes.

You looked away and mumbled, "I don't want to like you."

Erik raised an eyebrow, "Don't negate facts, baby. We've known each other for year now. I don't expect anything less."

You pouted, "Strong with the arrogance today."

Erik grinned then. It was times like this that made you forget about the shadow the followed him, "So what's so bad about liking me?"

You were silent a long moment reading his face. He looked boyish at this moment but as he did in the hallway you knew that boyish charm could quickly turn harsh. And from there you knew there was a deadly version as well.

You cocked your head, "You're a dangerous man, Erik. A wild man like the wind unable to be tamed. We both know there is darkness within you. It's been over a year and I know that much at least."

Erik's smile had faded as he looked at you unblinkingly, calculating. The deep timber of his voice rolled through you, "Does it scare you?"

"Straight, yea. I'm scared. Would you expect me not to be?" Not receiving an answer you continued, "I'm okay with being your friend."

"Let me guess. Maintaing a barrier easier? Less restriction.  'Bout right?"

You nodded your head holding his gaze, "Yes, exactly right."

"And now that you "like" me...." Here he smirked again as he emphasized the word 'like' before the his face harden again, "You want to run away from it. Too much to deal with, right? Gonna change the rules on me all of a sudden."

Your voice was steady as you lifted your chin, "For my mental health, yes and I'm sorry about that. I really am. I tried."

Erik gazed at you a long moment before releasing you. "I see. So you just gonna leave me. Just drop me cold like everyone else."

You said nothing but you gaze told it all as it slid away.

You heard Erik snort, "I guess you just like everyone else, after all. Get in too far and then start screaming as they run out of the cave. And I hadn't even tried to eat you yet.  I get it......"

Suddenly you found your back pressed against the wall and you were staring wide eye with some trepidation up at the towering man over you. His face looked more annoyed.

"....I wonder why you think I would let you go so easily."

You swallowed.

"Yea, I have a darkness. A darkness I don't want you to be part of. But shoot, baby girl, don't you know what you've done for me in this year of knowing you. Huh?"

He wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled you to him. You placed your hands on his biceps thinking of pushing him away.

"You my sanity and light.  You can't take that from me. You can't be so cruel as to strip that away from me.  Why do you think I would always seek you out, huh? For kicks  and giggles? Nah, baby girl cause you have this aura 'about you.  If anything you need to take responsibility for your actions. You got me over here running like a moth to flame. What you gonna do about that, huh? What?"

His eyes drilled into yours and you could see the hurt if you looked deeply enough. You blinked away tears in your own eyes.

"Erik....." you murmured helpless.

What could you say in the face of that? You looked away and after a moment you felt his arm fall away.

"Aight, fine. I hear you loud and clear. I'm out."

You heard the controlled anger in his voice. Erik reached around you and opened the door. You stepped aside absently as he exited. Could you really just let him go like that?  Even knowing he had a darkness, he never directed it towards you. If anything you always saw him trying to control himself around you.  

All he was asking for was your friendship.

Was that so difficult for you to give?

Guilt and torment ate at you for seemingly forever rooting you to the spot.

Until finally....

Finally, your feet moved on their own accord and you darted out of your apartment and down the hall leaving your door ajar.

Erik heard the running but didn't turn around as he waited on the elevator. He was done with you. You made your choice. He never should have gotten close. Had he not, he wouldn't have been burned. He seethed with rage, threatening to spill out and burn all in his path, until suddenly he felt something latch onto him from behind knocking it away.

He breathed and turned his head tense as he felt your arms snake around his waist, your cheek resting on his broad back.

"Don't go, Erik. I'm sorry. Truly I am. I thought I was doing the right thing. You were right. I was a coward. I didn't want to get hurt."

"Have I ever hurt you?" Erik snapped his arms still hanging loosely as his side, his hands balled into his fist. He felt you shake your head.

"Have I ever attempted to hurt you?" Again you shook your head.

"And have you ever felt threatened by me in any way?" A shake.

"Then why....did you think I would hurt you?" Erik growled lowly.

"I told you. I am afraid of the darkness within you. Will you condemn me for that?" You asked.

Erik was silent.

"I want to try. Won't you stay? We can still be friends."

'I don't want to be just your friend.' But the words never passed Erik's lips.

The elevator door opened with a swooshed.

A few seconds later the elevator door closed.

But Erik wasn't in it.

[bluboothalassophile]

Hi Blu, I know you said you were going on a break, and I can wait for the answer until you're ready or have time, but what are your OTPs in DC and why?

Hello,

That’s going to be a lot of Ships, not a whole hell of a lot of reasons though if you don’t mind. I mostly ship on chemistry or how I feel the pair would compliment each other in a relationship, usually pulling them apart psycologically and history wise to see if they might fit well together. Shipping on chemistry just makes life easier.

OTPs

JayRae, I hope that it’s obvious. Crack ship it may be, but it’s my love.

BatCat, July, I just have to make it to July then they are hitched and no more painful dramas of this on again-off again thing.

Clois, they are my Disney Prince and Princess, don’t fuck with it. And I’m not talking some whimpy love story prince and princess, where the prince doesn’t go after his girl, I’m talking true love, once upon a dream shit with Clark and Lois, I fucking adore them, so do not fuck with it.

Harley/Ivy, I shipped them together before I even understood what lesbians were! 

WonderTrev, again, do not fuck with it, they are the most precious example of equals, and true meeting of minds, hearts, and love, whilst maintaining their individual identities in a strong relationship that means a lot to both. It’s deep, meaningful, and just wonderful, simply wonderful, in the eternal love that is displayed between Steve and Diana. It also broke the mold, for the era that it was published in, for a traditional relationship and just so delightful in expressing love whilst not taking power from the girl or forcing her to be submissive. Again, Do Not Fuck With It.

MultiShips

DickKori, as eternal love, not young love. 

DickBabs, as young love not eternal love. I’m all for their friendship, just not their romance, I think their romance fizzles out a lot of the time, or brings out the worst in each other, while their friendship brings out the best they have to offer.

DickZatanna, interesting, blame YJ

TimSteph

TimKon

TimCass, Don’t Shoot Me! I shipped them before Cass was B’s kid!

BartJaime

DamiJon

DamIrey

DamiMar’i; I really, really, really shouldn’t, but Gods I can’t help it.

Mar’iJon, I shouldn’t, but they’re cute.

Mar’iLian

LianHelena

LianTerry

Cassandra Cain/Emiko Queen, I think Cass is probably pan-sexual, so her relationships could be very interesting

CassHarper

Cassandra Cain/Conner Kent

Kaldur’ahm/Wally II (Don’t ask, just don’t, I don’t even know why I ship them together I just do)

MidnighterApollo, they are awesome!

BarryIris, one of my true love couples, again, but I just never got super into the Flash comics so I’m not die hard for them to stay together. The show has made them rather mundane and not all that unique, but still, they’re cute.

SnowBarry; I blame the first season of Flash for that! I like it, I enjoy it, but I don’t see them as anything but the rebounds for each other.

Olicity; I blame Arrow for that! Before Arrow I stood firmly on the belief that no other would work for Oliver aside from Dinah. However, Felicity is awesome and she and Oliver are a good couple

Oliver/Dinah, they’re kick ass together

Lucas Fox/Babara Gordon, for the .00025 seconds it was happening I thought it would be fucking amazing and actually do some good for Babs, because God knows she and Dick are a wreck 99.5% of the time when together, outside of sex

MeraDiana, guilty pleasure IF Steve and Arthur are dead or not in the picture

Shyra Hol/John Stewart, JL cartoon ruined me for them before I even knew what shipping was

Wally West/Artemis Crock, I’ve NEVER liked Linda Park for Wally, never

TerryMax, again, TV, not comics influenced that love

BartJaime, do not fuck with it, they’re awesome

RoyThea

RoyDonna

GarthDolphin

Zatanna/Artemis, guilty pleasure

GarRose, that is all Xaphrin, Garfield Logan and Rose just click in her works, I almost wish she wrote more of them

BumbleBee/Cyborg, They were my goo-goo Titans couple as a kid, I adored them

BBTerra, yeah, yeah, I know this isn’t what people like, but they WORKED!

PenguinRiddler, and that was BEFORE Gotham started, it was just a quirky thought as a kid

Constantine/Zed

Constantine/Epiphany

Constantine/Chas

Constantine/Zatanna; IF it’s written well I think it’s interesting, if written poorly, I’d rather NOT read it. Bombshells is an Excellent Example! of ConstantineZatanna being written Well.

Captain Marvel/Stargirl

Arthur Curry/Mera

JeriRae; guilty pleasure if it’s written well

JayRose; guilty pleasure if it’s written well

BBWally II, again, just don’t ask

Wally I/Jinx

JayRoy, okay, if it is written WELL I enjoy the romance, if not, I’m all for their friendship, they have the best bromance ever! Like seriously, even if they aren’t a couple I’m all for their bromance. It’s WAY better than DickWally’s BFF bromance thing, JayRoy are just fucking AWESOME!

KaraBabs, obvious I think. And I think Babs has a better romance with Kara than Dick, which is sad given all the fucking effort DC goes through to shove DickBabs on us, and BabsKara, whilst friends, appear to have a better romance potential than DickBabs.

NOTPs

SuperWonder, No. Just No. On so many levels, NO. That’s Too Much Power, also Morals Will Clash. Just NO.

BatJoker, Nope. Uh-uh, No. Reasons should be obvious.

BBRae, No, On So MANY LEVELS, NO! I respect people who enjoy it, but I despise it, I think it’s a prime example of a very bad, bordering on abusive romance, it’s worse than comics DickRae! Just No.

COMICS DickRae, reasons should be obvious if you’ve read the comics.

DickBabs past anything but young love

TimBabs, WTF!? Cradle robber much!**

JayBabs, who ever thought that one up deserves to be smacked, after all the shit Babs has been known to do to Jay (not that he doesn’t deserve some of it), and all the shit he dishes back, not to mention it’s like making Babs the Bat Slut… NO.**

JayKori, Can We PLEASE Stop Giving Jason Dick’s Hand-Me-Downs In the Love Department!? Does he Not deserve his OWN, Original Love Life!? Not the one littered with Dick’s string of broken hearted exes! What’s next!? ShawnJay!? TarantulaJay!? I don’t mind multiships, and having crossing interests, but seriously DC put SOME Thought into these ships. Just a Little! 

Artemis of Bana-Mighdall/Jason; Again DC!? Please put SOME Thought into these ships! Artemis, according to history and valid reasons, is not a fan of men and has always been shown to prefer women, I doubt that it changes because she’s on Jay’s team and he’s not that bad of a guy. I also sincerely doubt after losing her best friend/possible girlfriend/possible lover that she’d leap into a relationship with a GUY of all people. I respect people who ship JayArty together, I just don’t see it, and I feel they don’t have any real chemistry

BruceBabs, I’ll be honest, Batman the Animated series infuriated me as a kid because of the B/Babs thing, and she was dating Dick at one point of that and pregnant with B’s kid! GROSS! It has taken me A LOT of years and objective reading after that stunt to even RESPECT Babs and B in the same light! No Ship There. NO.**

**I’m not saying that Babs shouldn’t be treated as her own woman, and be free to sleep with whoever the hell she wants, I say go for it, but I also am disgusted at the thought of her leaping from one Bat’s bed to the next, it’s degrading to her character and the Bats. She’s not their whore, nor are they her harem. She is a self-respecting character and woman, and I find it insulting writers have reduced her to being nothing but a Bat love interest at times when stories run dry for the writers regardless of what she’s capable of. And I’m not even overly fond of Babs and saying this. 

Things I NEVER ship:

I Don’t Ship Incest, EVER.

I Don’t Ship Pedophilia. No.

I Will Never Ship An Abusive Relationship

I also don’t ship a pair if I don’t feel they have the chemistry, sorry, but this last reason ought to be easy to understand and relateable.

[thisweekingundamwing]

This Week in Gundam Wing Apr 1st - Apr 7th

Another week, another roundup! Special thanks to all who submitted works, both for themselves and others. 

As a gentle reminder, we’re here to highlight any new content from the previous week. If we missed a submission, we’ll be happy to update our post or carry it over to the next week, but if we tried to include everything beyond a week, we’d never get a post finished!

Thank you so much!

--Mod Rem

Fanfiction:

A Little Piece of Gundam Wing

The archive is being ported to AO3! Check it out!

AerisEithne

The Snow Queen 

Days after the incident that nearly sparked a new war, Relena returns to the Sanc Kingdom to contemplate her future. She can’t help but wonder which path the perfect soldier will choose… and whether their destinies will continue to collide.

Pairings: 1xR

Warnings: Gundam Wing: Frozen Teardrop, Preventers (Gundam Wing)

 @the-indomitable-bhg, Morbidbirdy

Animus

A ghost of Heero's past takes possession of his life, relationships and his identity.

Pairings: 1x3, 2xH

Warnings: Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Post-Canon, Psychological Torture, Blood and Violence, Explicit Sexual Content

@claraxbarton , @kangofu-cb

Bad Company 

"The only hell and the only paradise are the ones we build ourselves." - Unknown

Years after the wars, Preventers has decided to tackle one of the most powerful and oldest of all the Terran crime syndicates. Embedded dangerously deep in an undercover operation targeting the violent and bloodthirsty Sinaloa Cartel, Trowa Barton is pushed beyond even his flexible morals - and when his new "partner" arrives in the very unexpected and unwelcome form of Duo Maxwell, the one person he'd been trying to protect at all costs, both men must deal with the realization that preserving peace for humanity is turning into a bloodsport.

What follows is race against time to uncover the evidence they need to bring Sinaloa, and its beautiful but deadly leaders, down - all while keeping each other alive in the process

Pairings: 2x3

Warnings: Violence, Post-Canon, Undercover Missions, Undercover as a Couple, Implied/Referenced Torture, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Human Trafficking, Gang Violence, Explicit Sexual Content, Moral Dilemmas

CosmicAether

Untitled GW Resistance AU 

When their communicator breaks down, Duo and Trowa must survive the night before attempting to rendezvous to their extraction point. Duo confronts Trowa about their relationship that night and vow to be more honest with each other, they need only to make it home first.

Pairings: 2x3

DarkDanc3r

April Writes Playlist Challenge 

30 days, 30 songs from a Spotify playlist. Characters and pairings will be at the start of each chapter.

Warnings: Tumblr Prompt, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Fix-It of Sorts, Damnit Prowl Lives

GlassAlice

The Pictures He Drew 

Hiatus is over! Last chapter will be up in two weeks. Re-write of a fic posted to 1x2 yahoo groups I wrote forever ago and lost. Only the bare bones of this fic have anything to do with the first one. Hopefully this one is a bit better. Originally posted under name Duos_hallelujah. Simple get together fic with Duo being an artist.

Pairings: 1xR, 1x2

Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Song Fic Kinda, Rape/Non-con Elements, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, these boys are messed up, they need therapy, after war, the pilots trying to live their lives, 1x2, 2x1 - Freeform, 1x2x1, 1xR non con, 1x2 end game, we're back from hiatus, boys just trying to figure shit out, relena is kind of the bad guy, Sorry Not Sorry, i'm anti relena, so expect her to be treated badly, bullied duo, attempted suicide, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, language trigger warnings, a bit dark, Angst

Lithle

Like Oxygen 

Five years after the war, Wufei seeks Duo out for one more mission. But Duo has his reasons for wanting to be left alone. As Wufei and Duo grow closer, so do Duo's memories of the war, and with them, the old scars and dangerous thought patterns that make even breathing seem difficult.

--Note: Originally published on FF.net, this is my 'Editor's Choice' edition. It's been edited and slightly rewritten for flow and cohesion.

Pairings: 2x5

Warnings: Unhealthy Relationships, Post War Trauma, Suicidal Thoughts, no EW, Post-War, Post-Canon, POV Duo Maxwell, Explicit Language, Sex, Duo is Broken, Wufei is Pretty Broken Too, Gritty, Get Together

Luvsanime02

Just One Day 

Relena gets a surprise on her birthday.

Warnings: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Light Angst, Family Issues, Cocktail Friday

Maldoror

The Source of All Things

Center, a planet where magic and technology blend. Or more accurately, fight tooth and nail. A planet of Sources, holes in our boring dimension letting through arcane power, chaos and pseudo-deities. In this hot-house of myths and very real dangers, Trowa and Quatre find a mysterious man at the end of a shamanic voyage. Portents suggest this Heero Yuy is crucial to Center’s survival. He’s important enough to have some interesting enemies after him, at any rate: a devious killer and thief called ‘Shinigami’, and a very irate Dragon. Beyond them looms an even greater threat. Indeed, the greatest of them all.

Pairings: 3x4, 2x5, eventual 1x2x5

Warnings: Violence, alternative universe, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Plot Twists, fairly graphic depiction of sex, Mild description of self-harm, Mathematical Magic, weird science, crones - Freeform, Magic and Technology brawling and eventually screwing, Eventual Threesome, Kinda, Insanity of arcane origin, The universe is a pile of marbles and other dubious allegories

Two Halves

The two kingdoms of Sanq and Lin were at war for years; a conflagration involving magic, armies and political murder. The conflict left both nations devastated and strewn with refugees. The king of Sanq finds his infant son, lost at birth, among the death and the ruin, a miracle he barely dared to hope for. But there isn’t just one boy, there are two, clinging together like two halves of a whole that cannot be separated. Decades later, the truth behind that second child’s existence will put a hole in the world, or possibly save it.

Pairings: 1x2

Warnings: Fantasy AU, medieval setting with magic, starts with our heroes as children, Cousin Incest, sort of, eventually, being royalty this is in fact the norm and rather expected of them, Canon-Typical Violence

Margaret_Armstrong

Queen’s Rook 

Rook; definition:

1. a gregarious Eurasian crow with black plumage and a bare face, nesting in colonies in treetops.

2. a chess piece, typically with its top in the shape of a battlement, that can move in any direction along a rank or file on which it stands.

Queen's Rook; definition:

(chess) A rook on the queen’s side of the board at the start of the game.

Truly, a female bodyguard is just what the Vice Foreign Minister needs. There are dangers about.

Pairings: Canon Relationships, 3x4, 2xH, 1xR

Warnings: Violence, Women Being Awesome, brothers in arms, everyone protects Quatre except Quatre, L2 forever!, The Past Never Stays Buried

 @noelleian

The Pact 

After seducing Quatre, the other four ex-pilots brave the uncharted waters of their new abilities and learn to cope with the unintentional gifts they were given. But as always, power requires responsibility and the humbling acknowledgement of humanity's weaknesses. The struggle to stay true to themselves becomes a dangerous and terrifying endeavor as they skirt the boundary where conscience bleeds into chaos and the dark abyss of temptation.

Pairings: 1x2x3x4x5, 3x4, 1x4, 2x4, 4x5

Warnings: Smut, Porn With Plot, OT5, Fluff, Humor, Fivesome - M/M/M/M/M, Angst, Newtypes, Possessive Behavior, Alternate Universe - Dark, Non-Graphic Violence, Alpha/Omega, Omega Verse

Green Olive

Duo's had a rough day and needs to unwind, but this time he's in the mood for some company.

Warnings: Friendship, Bromance, Underage Drinking

@noirangetrois

Cocktail Friday

This will be a collection of my Cocktail Friday snippets.

Pairings: Various

Warnings: Cocktail Friday, Alcohol

The Story of Wrong 

Duo recounts his experiences during the war in order to explain... well, why he was wrong.

Pairings: 1x2

Warnings: Violence, Major Character Death, Duo POV, Angst, Drama, Tragedy, slight AU, Spoilers, very dark, Heero and Duo don't die, I promise, Yaoi, slowburn, Mental Instability, Mental Health Issues, Mental Breakdown, If those are in any way an issue for you then go ahead and skip this, Eventual Smut, VERY eventual, this is mostly canon-compliant but I've changed a couple things here and there

Outrightmight

MCU One Shot Series: After Colony 195 

"It took Bucky a split second to get his bearings. The portal had spit them out into an aircraft hanger. The make and model of the one and only small jet was unfamiliar. He would have said it was of Soviet make, but the 50-foot robot idly standing in the middle of the hanger was making him second-guess himself."

Warnings: Natasha Romanov (Marvel), James "Bucky" Barnes, Steve Rogers, Duo Maxwell, Sam Wilson (Marvel), Heero Yuy, Canon-Typical Violence, One Shot

@remsyk-blog

Souls for the Bayou 

For Trowa Barton, exploring the bayou is the ultimate adventure. Drawn to its borders since before he could walk, he spent his childhood learning its paths and uncovering its secrets.

But a chance encounter sets him on a path that spans across time, challenging everything he thought he knew, plunging him deeper into its mysteries than he ever thought possible.

Pairings: 2x3

Warnings: Supernatural - Freeform, Fae & Fairies, Fae Magic, Bayou, Cajun, Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, Mystery, Slow Burn, Technically Speaking, Young Love, Use of accents, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, I don't want to give it all away at once, Fandom Trumps Hate, Time Jump, Suspense, Quatre is a great friend, Mentions of Children Disappearing

Shenanigans

A Collection of my shitposts from Tumblr.

Enter looking for a good time. Expect the tags to change as more installments are added

Warnings: chat fic, shitpost, Professor!Trowa, Cooking, Pinterest, Pancakes, Exercising, Tumblr Prompt, Originally Posted on Tumblr, In depth analysis of riding dick, New Year’s Eve, Jenga, Stupid Dares, Just Heero Things

ShenLong

Bound, Bonded and Betrayed 

Heero is the eldest son of the King of Colonia. His 21st birthday is approaching and as tradition dictates his betrothed is soon to arrive. However he is also bound by tradition to select his own personal slave. The events that unfold lead him down a path that not only tests his sanity but his humanity and love as well.

Pairings: 1x2, 1xR, 3x4, 13x11

Warnings: sap, Angst, Bondage, Slavery, Yaoi, Lemon, Lime, Het, Violence, Fluff, AU, OOC. - Freeform

@softnocturne

P.S. I Miss You

Quatre is missing Trowa who is off on a month-long mission.

Pairings: 3x4

Warnings: Fluff, Angst

StarLove18

Believe in Yourself

Children will live what they learn. Pain is costly, until one incident sparks a new flame of hope and a promise to persevere.

Pairings: 1&2&3&4&5

Warnings: Original Character(s), Bullying, Comfort/Angst, School, Minor Violence, Loss of Parent(s), Alternate Universe, AO3 FB Challenge

Thai_tea_addict

Abyss

Duo's not in a good situation when he falls in love with the man next door, and it goes downhill from there.

Pairings: 1x2, 2x3x4

Warnings: Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-con, Alternate Universe - Dark, Dark Character, Abuse, Stalking, Murder, Sadism, Infidelity

Warnings: DARK – please don't read if you think any of the following subject matter could hurt you: depictions of abuse, sexual assault, stalking, murder, sadism (not the fun kind).

Whenpigsfly84

Doormat Babe

A mysterious child is left with Duo one morning. As he seeks for answers he'll have to face his past and prepare for a haunting future he'd never expected. Will he be able to reconnect with old friends or will he lose all those he loves?

Pairings: 1x2, 2&H, 1x2x5, 3x4

Warnings: Violence, Drama, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Character Death, Swearing

White_fox

Life is a Highway 

On an impulsive plan to travel from California to New York City to propose to his longtime girlfriend, Heero Yuy did not plan to pick up a hitchhiker in nowhere Texas. Faced with some setbacks and a growing attraction to his passenger, Heero goes through more challenges than he planned on facing.

Pairings: 1x2, 1xR

Warnings: light slash, Fluff, Road Trips, Dubious Morality

Snippets:

@lifeaftermeteor

Duo’s Apartment

@noirangetrois

Ladies Night

@weiclown

WIP  

Headcanons / Meta / Discussions:

@remsyk-blog

Gundam Wing on Ao3 - Breakdown of Fanfiction stats 

 @terrablaze514

Ladies of Gundam Wing 

Secret Magic Heero Yuy 

Four Months after Mariemaia 

Fanart:

@noelleian

Zero Three Zero Four

Hipster Quatre 

@remsyk-blog

Duo Maxwell Hip Hop

 @showtime-eric

Trowa and Quatre, Sandrock and Heavyarms

 Crackposts:

@the-indomitable-bhg

BDSM 

Calendar Events:

Cocktail Friday

https://gwcocktailfriday.tumblr.com/

A new prompt every Monday!

Submissions should be posted Fridays between 3 and 5pm EST, and tagged with @gwcocktailfriday

Interview with a Creator by @remsyk-blog @interview-with-a-creator

Remsyk has created an online interview for fandom creators to fill out and then she features one each week so that everyone in the fandom can learn a bit about each other.

This week features @scacao

If you haven’t filled out her interview, go! do! now!

[nvzblgrrl]

I saw a thing where you’re supposed to post a WIP when you see it from @vraik (I’m not reposting it / doing one of those because I know that a lot of my followers probably wouldn’t want to) but here’s a little something from a fanfic series I’m doing (this one is probably going to be a one-short or very short story compared to some of the other stuff)

There exists a place –

Oh, you might say, most places exist. In fact, the place where my butt is situated is existing right now. Places existing is not a particularly noteworthy observation.

Well then, Captain Sassypants McSmarterthanyou, shut up and let me finish setting the stage.

There’s a place, one that one could consider a world in that a person could live out an entire life without leaving its borders. It – as you might have guessed – exists, despite the various seeming impossibilities incorporated into its very being.

It’s called the Infinicon.

Nobody is sure how it started. Maybe it began as a government bunker in the style of Fallout, massive enough to house over five hundred thousand souls. Maybe it was a massive cave system that some Howard Hughes-type decided to turn into an underground city. Maybe it just started out as the basement of the next Mall of America and they just couldn’t stop digging, even when they started getting far enough down that things started getting weird.

I’ll get to what I mean by ‘weird’ later.

At some point, either during the ‘making of’ Infinity City or the vague haze between that and it becoming the Infinicon we know, love, and abhor, they started getting creative.

It’s a (mostly) underground city, you might say, how creative can you get?

To that, I ask you another question, seemingly unrelated and out of nowhere. That question is this – you ever see The Truman Show? 1998 movie starring Jim Carrey, who won a Golden Globe award for Best Actor for his part and then somehow didn’t get nominated for the Oscars?

No, we are not living in a reality show, being watched by the million billions as we go about the drama of life in nerd hell.

I think.

Well, I might be. But that’s not my point.

My point is that The Truman Show is all about Jim Carrey’s artificial life in an artificial world. Infinity City is almost exactly that. It’s a man-made world almost entirely situated beneath the skin of the real deal. A self-contained city, complete with air scrubbers, hospitals, fire departments, restaurants, and even weather and effects all tailored to the ideal ambiance of each and every sector… or at least the ones that bother with it. Artificial skies with artificial stars, clouds, rain, snow…

Okay, it’s probably not quite on the level of the movie, to be honest. Whoever made this place probably wasn’t that crazy.

…now that I’ve thrown the thought out there, I’m not quite so sure.

But anyway! No-one is an actor unless it’s their day job and, trust me, we get plenty of those visiting at the various panels. The only cameras watching you are the standard security type in the standard security places. Most of the trees in the appropriate sectors are artificial, the precipitation is cleaner than anything available on the surface, and there is definitely no ocean that can get whipped up to hurricane levels at the whim of an asshole director. There’s just enough there to ‘improve the immersion of the experience’ without risking setting off people’s allergies.

If you’re here long enough and keep an eye out, you might end up catching the odd glitch; clouds passing over the screens that make up the ‘sky’ lagging between the first and the next, rain coming down while the ‘sun’ is most definitely up and out. That sort of thing. Sometimes, it’s because some clever clogs with some hacking experience decided to pull a little prank, sometimes it’s just an internal mix-up. It happens.

So you have an underground city with futuristic technology that is basically a year-round convention. How do you figure out which parts are for what?

Well, that’s what the Sectors are for.

There are seven, even if there are officially only five. Each caters to a certain ‘genre’, with certain subsections of each sector dealing with subsections of the first.

Little Tokyo is built for the anime nuts and general weebs. While the name is a bit of a misnomer – they cover all sort of East Asian exports, not just those that come from Japan –, it’s a nice enough place, I suppose, but I mostly stick around somewhere between the Akihabara-styled arcade street and the hybrid-classical-definitely-based-on-a-certain-ninja-anime Leaf district rather than the back alleys where red paper lanterns mean a lot more than Chinese New Year.

Metropolis is for the True Believers, the Batmaniacs, the spandex set. In short, this is for comic book readers, though the western animation set pops up around here when they don’t fit in the other sectors. The most ‘iconic’ part is stylized after its legendary namesake, but you can find the odd slice of Gotham interspersed with more ‘realistic’ geography. If the sky is a clear wholesome blue, chances are you’re probably here.

Unlike the other areas, Grimdark Forest isn’t really… ‘developed’, not beyond the hobo-villages, post-apocalyptic styled encampments, and the odd castle ruin. The name is a bit of a misnomer as well, seeing as maybe a third of it is actually forest. There’s a tiny slice of desert, a bit of damaged highway, and an uncomplicated little stretch of cave. It’s a good place to sit and vibe for a while, especially when you want to get a bit of ‘fresh’ air, but I’ve had too many pointy sticks waved at me to do it regularly.

Neckbeard Alley isn’t as immediately awful as the name might indicate, but more than a few take the ‘medieval’ theme to a natural and faintly disgusting conclusion, even if the con security are pretty clear about not ‘unsheathing your dagger’ and ‘draining ye olde newt’ in public. Fantasy works and tabletop games are the rule of the day here, and I’ve caught more than a few good campaigns here. You just have to watch out for ‘those guys’, but that’s the rule for the entire con.

But my favorite part of Infinity City – also where I live – is Neo-Infinity, the Sci-Fi and tech district. My digs are on the line between Cyberpunk, Neo-Noir, and Retro-Futura, but the main street has a shiny chrome appeal with enough neon to make an artificial sun. Everything is smooth and shiny, unless you want it to be tough and gritty. Me, I like to ride the line and decorate my ‘future’ like a kid gone hog wild at the sundae bar, and the Retro-Futura is like that, full on Zeerust.

All in all, the Infinicon is awesome.

But I said there were seven districts, didn’t I?

The other two, the ones that aren’t on the map and definitely are not on the official tours, are dangerous. Not just because they’re part of the background, not just because you aren’t supposed to be there.

No. It’s because of who – and what – else is hiding back there.

The industrial district is the least dangerous of the two and most of that is because the worst you’re liable to run into is con security and the idiots who think they’re parkour masters but really, really aren’t. Sure, if you get caught while up to something suspect by important stuff like the water filtration plant or power lines, the guards might get a little frisky with the beating sticks, but you’ll survive the experience, so long as nobody is visiting from the other place.

It’s the Undercon – the other place – where things get bad.

Remember when I said that if you went deep enough, things started to get ‘weird’? That’s the Undercon. I don’t know if it’s because people start going crazy from how quiet and empty it can get back there or if there’s some real magic at work, but when people went down past the basements into the service tunnels and the sewers below that, they didn’t always come back right… if they came back at all.

Oh yeah, I have it from good sources that there are dead people. Legitimate corpses that nobody bothers to go after or clean up, some of them distinct enough to use as landmarks. That’s how bad it gets down there, apparently. I’ve never been down there myself, not any further than beyond that first unassuming door, but I’ve seen the sort of things that lurk down there in that forgotten place peaking around the corners.

Take some good advice from someone who knows; you really don’t want to go anywhere where there are furries fully convinced that they can maul you to death, because there’s a good chance that they’ll manage it even without the use of a mechanical jaw.

Just don’t.

So, as I was saying –

There exists a place where what you know and what you dream cross over with the stories of over a hundred years and a hundred thousand texts. A place where every single thing you ever loved can be found and explored with likeminded fellows and those who would argue against your interpretation of the text with a rehearsed speech and diagram chart. A place where reality blends with fantasy so long as you believe hard enough and ignore things like common sense, rationality, and social mores.

With that in mind, take care to watch your step, mind the gap, remember your room number, and keep your registration card on you at all times.

Welcome… to Infinicon.

Now that we’ve established the setting, let’s introduce you to your first character; me.

Jaime Valens. Twenty-three years old. Writer, artist, general geek. Currently not starving to death, but not exactly the pinnacle of healthy living either. I keep the sleep schedule of the damned and haven’t touched celery since I was sixteen.

Alright, maybe I’m not much to look at. The starving artist barely pulling off the beanpole look with an explosion of hair that some cosmic colorist apparently thought would look best in a shade comparable to copper sulfate with a few varying shades that could be tangentially related to the color blue thrown in for shiggles, you might have even forgot that I was wearing glasses – if the rims weren’t centimeter thick grey cellulose acetate with fucking chrome detailing.

The hair, at least, was an accident, one that I would be blaming a certain someone with a predilection for homemade experimental dyes for, –

“I said I was sorry!” my roommate yelled from the bathroom, probably while testing the colors on their latest concoction.

– but the fact that I dress like I just crawled out of a thrift store dumpster… well, between the cost of living and an artist’s wage, I should be glad that I started out with a ‘traesthetic’ before I even moved to Infinity City. One of the few advantages of growing up poor; your expectations were already low.

It’s probably not the best interpretation of the Infinicon setting, but that’s kind of the image that sprang to mind.

[unprocione]

��� UNPROCIONE.   :   A   LEON SCOTT KENNEDY   ROLEPLAY   BLOG,   PENNED   BY   RIAN.   ( 20,   HE/HIM,   EASTERN   STANDARD   TIME. )   SELECTIVE,   INDEPENDENT,   &   MUTUALS   ONLY.   CHARACTERIZATION   INFLUENCED   BY   HEADCANON,   RESIDENT   EVIL   2,   4,   6,   INFINITE   DARKNESS,   DEGENERATION,   DAMNATION,   &   VENDETTA.   ESTABLISHED   JUNE   2022.   TRIGGERING   THEMES   PRESENT,   INTENDED   FOR   18   &   ABOVE.   MEDIUM   ACTIVITY.   THIS   BLOG   INTERACTS   WITH   ORIGINAL   CHARACTERS   &   DOES   CROSSOVERS.   I   PRIORITIZE   THOSE   I   PLOT   WITH.   ( IM   FOR   DISCORD. )   ICON   BORDERS   &   POST   BANNERS  BY   *  BLITZKRIEGERS.

🗡 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐝.  🗡 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐜.  🗡 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫.  🗡 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐬.  🗡 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬.  🗡 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬.  🗡 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬.  🗡 𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭.  🗡 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭.  🗡 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐬.  🗡 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐬.  🗡 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐦 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠.  🗡 𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠.

01. unprocione is an independent, selective, & mutuals-only roleplay blog for leon scott kennedy from the resident evil / biohazard series, operating in eastern standard timezone with headcanon-based characterization mainly taken from resident evil 2 & resident evil 6. this blog was established in june of 2022, and mentions triggering and mature themes to be expected from the resident evil / biohazard series. this is not a space intended for those under eighteen years of age and i'm only comfortable interacting with those above eighteen years. i prioritize those i follow back and plot with when it comes to interactions. i'm a very private man who is easily burnt out from social interaction and my offline life has been a stressful endeavor recently. my reply times are not guaranteed to remain consistent whether through roleplay or through out of character conversation but i'm making an effort to the best of my abilities right now - there is absolutely no pressure on you to match my reply length or to reply faster at any time.

02. i'm still pretty new to the resident evil series & rpc, the series as a whole is older than i am, so i feel it goes without saying that i am not exactly a lore encyclopedia. i'm always learning and always happy to be informed if i make an error with the timeline or with the behaviors of a character, feel free to correct me so long as your criticism is constructive and polite!

03. i'm not shy about using my block button. i don't deal well with people who post indirects or passive-aggressive comments often, and i don't tolerate people who are involved in consistent drama. i don't harbor bad feelings towards anyone after i've blocked them, but i'm protective of my personal space and my writing as a low-pressure creative outlet and i'm doing my utmost to keep it healthy for me.

04. i tend not to soften resident evil as a series in terms of the triggering material already present in violent gore or accumulated trauma, but i'm also not going to force others into uncomfortable situations and ruin the fun. i tag everything that i can think of, and if you read something in my writing that makes you uncomfortable, contact me and i will tag it for you without prying further. please always keep open communication with me about triggering topics so i can steer clear of them in our writing altogether, i don't see myself in any position to judge what anyone's going through and i would prefer to avoid rough situations entirely than cause you any difficulty in our mutual hobby. there's discussion of advanced post-traumatic stress disorder on this blog, the origins some of which are stemming from childhood. i go into expansion on long-term and repeatedly reopened survivor's guilt. also present, are themes of loss of self-control, hallucination, addiction, and extensive mention of dehumanization as a government agent and asset of the united states defense industry.

05. i'm open to writing romantic relationships with leon, but i don't consider leon an easy man to love with his career and difficulties and i write him as such. i don't want to neglect the complicated and messy intricacy of him. i only write romantic relationships with people who i've spoken to out of character and have plotted with beforehand, i don't enjoy pre-established romantic scenarios if i don't already have an established ideal of what leon and your muse are like in non-romantic interactions prior. i, myself, am a gay man, and so i'm more comfortable writing leon also as a gay man, as it comes more naturally and comfortably for me. i will not be interacting with muses who are blood-related children of leon's, or writing with those who treat homosexuality or experienced homophobia as fetish-material. if you write a female muse from the resident evil series who are usually romantically involved with leon, such as claire redfield or ada wong, please keep in mind leon will not be attracted to either of them further than platonically, but i still handle those bonds as intensely as any romantic relationship.