#Producers Guild Association

[djarshaddj]

Incredible Weekend at Box Office from 11 to 13 August: Jailer, Gadar 2, OMG 2 and Bhola Shankar Created All time History!

Incredible Weekend at Box Office from 11 to 13 August: Jailer 2, which was Released on August 10, and all three films, Gadar 2, Omg 2, and Bhola Shankar, were Released on August 11 and Had a Good opening as well. Jailer opened with a sensational collection ₹ 96.60 Cr, and in 3 days from 11 to 13, the film earned ₹ 176.70 Cr, Gadar 2 garnered ₹ 159.00 Cr, Bhola Shankar grossed ₹ 31.10 Cr, And OMG…

[mullermilkshake]

Settle in with me

Part 1 <- Part 2 -> Part 3

After the results of the programme in hopes of producing future hunters, Jinwoo takes the lead.

Yandere!Jinwoo Sung x Fem Hunter!reader Tags - mentions of breeding,Dirty thoughts,Jealousy,kissing,Jinwoo really wants to fuck you,Forced pairing for breeding,Kinda role playing,Little mentions of squirting and other sexual acts,Mentions of pregnancy and impregnation

<<< For more Dark/Yandere content, click this link to go back to the Masterlist! >>>

<<< Or back to this fic's Master list. >>>

EDIT - I have only watched the anime and haven't gotten round to reading the manhwa yet. Please refrain from spoilers.

The results of the pairings had been delayed due to a tragedy.

“We apologise for the delay, due to the loss of one of our association members, we had to wait until we could access the sensitive information. A formal enquiry is being made in the meantime and it’s being treated as suspicious.”

“To think we had such bad news right on our doorstep. At a time like this too.” Hunter Choi took off his glasses and cleaned them with dismay and pursed lips.

Jinwoo walked right through without issue for that information. Stealth made it way too easy. Still, he feigned surprise. “Why would someone do that? It doesn’t make sense.”

You remained silent, spacing out at the table, sitting next to Jinwoo this time. Baek slammed his fist on the table and it never even made you flinch. “Of course it makes no sense, it’s just information on who’s sleeping with who essentially-”

“Please, don’t be so crude.” Hunter Cha snapped, wiping away the invisible smell with her handkerchief. “We’re all affected by this, a man is dead. And… we’re all affected.” Her voice trailed off, she realised her outburst was seen by everyone, including the Chairman.

Jinwoo sat back and watched, awaiting the news with the excitement of carrying out his year-long quest. He’d have you soon enough, he only hoped you would do so willingly.

“Can we… Can we just get this over with now while the investigation is underway? I’d really like to go now.” You said, finally participating, fiddling with your fingers under the table because you just didn’t know what to do with yourself.

“I think so too.” Jinwoo interjected the tension and flashed you a sympathetic look. “There’s nothing we can do right now and I think we’d all like to get on with things so we can settle in, right?”

“Exactly, Hunter Sung, while we can grieve those who make the Hunters association smooth like a machine, we must carry on.” Chairman Go pulled out a sheet of paper, a small one at that, practically insignificant. “I have here the latest results for the trial period of S-Ranked Hunters set to participate in the programme, I’ll read it out as follows.”

Jinwoo picked up on your heightened breathing immediately, trembling fingers knotted together and holding on for dear life. Anticipating the future of the Hunter’s association.

“Hunter Cha will be paired with Hunter Choi. Which leaves…” When your name graced the Chairman’s lips, you watched the man’s soft facade with anticipation. “You will be paired with Hunter Sung.”

There was nothing to be said about the elephant in the room, well, the entire room was the elephant. Jinwoo sat with a wash of relief though stifled it for now. A matter of hours and he’d potentially be balls deep inside you ready to blow his first load inside you… for the good of the association, the country, his fellow Hunters and guild members.

“This will be effective immediately, so you should gather your things and return to headquarters later tonight for your keys and accommodation. I am appreciative of all the hard work you do and what more you’ll be sacrificing for this country and the association.”

Jinwoo liked the ring to that, effective immediately.

After the Chairman left, Baek slouched back into his chair and whistled. “I wasn’t sure which one of us it was going to be, but I didn’t think it would be both of you. Ugh, things are going to get weird around here.”

Choi was naturally flustered, but his rivalry with Baek pushed past the initial shock. “I think it’s a valiant effort, maybe that’s why you weren’t asked to do it. Nevermind.”

Baek growled. “Watch it buddy-”

“Ugh, was there any point in us even being here? I came all this way for nothing.” Hunter Lim had not said one word the entire meeting, shrugging off whatever words and consternation entered the room. He and Hunter Ma were not present the last time the S-Rank hunters were together.

Hunter Ma sat watching the two boil over in their feud. “I guess we just gotta do it then, no point in fightin’ amongst ourselves.”

You and Cha were silent, unmoving and weighted down in the boardroom chairs, the gravity of it all getting more heavy with each ragged breath amongst the inhouse fighting. 

Jinwoo never took your silence as an insult, in honesty, he never wanted it to be this way between you and him. He hoped with time you’d take to him as much as he understood Cha was with him. The bonus being that it would just accelerate things and give him a head start on his quest.

“You think you’re the shit now because you might have an S-Rank baby? Heh, we’ll see about that.”

“Guys, stop it!” Banging your fist on the table got Choi and Baek to stop their squabbling temporarily, everyone looked right at you in pin drop silence. “This is hard enough as it is without you two fighting. Things are going to change around here and we have to just… get used to it. Please don’t make this any more complicated than it has to be.”

Then, you walked out, taking Hunter Cha with you.

Now, the men pouted or sat around in the swivel chairs waiting for someone to speak and break the silence.

“I bet you’re happy, huh, Jinwoo?” Lim rested his chin on his balled fist over the table. “She’s pretty, but doesn’t Jong-In have a crush on her?”

“Uh… hold on a second.” Choi adjusted his glasses and cleared the truth from him throat awkwardly. “Firstly, a crush? We’re adults. Secondly, I admit to no such thing, we’re quite good friends, actually. It’s quite that simple and while I think I would have suited her well, the computer chose Hunter Sung, so I won’t protest. Thirdly, although not lastly, Hunter Cha is also a good candidate, gentlemen.”

Jinwoo noticed the mild resentment behind his mask, it slipped ever so slightly before regaining its control of his face again. Jong-In Choi was a kind man, everybody knew that, the goodness in his soul was something Jinwoo admired from time to time. A trait he wouldn’t ever fully grasp again after slipping between the line of right and wrong. 

But man, was he easy to read.

The association member Jinwoo killed wasn’t the first man, he also wasn’t remorseful in the slightest at the sight of his dead body on the ground. Although he hoped it wasn’t necessary, it was to secure your name. So all in all, not a wasted journey.

Murder… A trait he gained in which he hoped to work on, but recently, Jinwoo found himself wanting to leave it fester. That’s where all of his sudden intrusive thoughts showed themselves. Although right now, seeing Choi so flustered over you should make him want to do something to the man, even if it was just harsh words for the time being, what saved him was having you paired with him and not Choi. The saving grace in this scenario. Something he could inaudibly shove in his face and no one be none the wiser.

But he knew if push came to shove, he could kill Choi easy.

Jinwoo smiled sweetly to the room. “Well, while it’s unorthodox they want us to do this, I know me and her will make a good team, just like Hunter Cha and Choi will.”

“A true political answer, good job, Jinwoo.” Lim patted him in the back and threw his hands in his pockets. “But I’m out of here now so enjoy doing whatever in the bedroom.”

“You’re leaving already?” Baek stopped any annoyance and rolled his chair away from Choi a fraction and studied Hunter Lim’s relaxed trudge towards the door.

“Yeah, There was no point us being here if they weren’t going to pair us off with any of the A-Ranks at least or something, they really only needed Jong-In and Jinwoo for the announcement. No one wants to know what sort of kinky stuff they’ll be getting up to, we just continue life as normal. And I have a guild to run, see ya.”

“What’s up with that guy today?”

“He’s right, I gotta guild to run too, see ya!” Ma strolled out of the room without putting his two pence in and closed the door behind him with an untenable pressure pulsing with uncertainty.

“I guess I’ll go too then. I have to go and pack.” Jinwoo stood up without much resistance from the other two.

“I’ll see you later then, Hunter Sung.” Choi smoothed down his suit and left it at that.

Jinwoo walked through headquarters with elation, holding back his smile as soon as he heard you talking with Cha in the hallway. He stopped and listened in the shadows with stealth, not that you would be fooled by that at all. Your perception was far too high.

“It’ll be alright, because we’ll do this together. Shit… okay, okay. We’ll do this, one kid and we’ll bow out. That’s what the chairman said.”

Cha was panicked, trying to control her breathing from behind the stairwell. “Is this really the right thing, though? I can’t help but feel used. How could I look at a baby and just give it away?”

You however, were much calmer, like you had accepted your future path. “You’re right, I feel the same way. At least you’ll be with Jong-In, he’s a real sweet guy. I’m… I’m sorry you weren’t put with Jinwoo. I know you like him.”

Hae-In Cha made her obvious feelings subtle to everyone else, but Jinwoo saw right through them given enough time. He kept it secret, chasing you instead and giving Cha no reason to extend that olive branch. Jinwoo just wasn’t interested. She was a skilled S-Rank hunter for sure, impressive and beautiful, but you… you were something else. And still exploring your abilities to this day.

A point Jinwoo rarely brought up in his mind, that you were incredibly useful to him.

Cha’s breath stuck in her throat, Jinwoo stepped closer to see her expression. “Uh… n-no! I don’t- I mean… well, yeah, I kind of do. But there’s nothing to be done about it. It’s just sex, right?”

Wrong . It wasn’t just sex, not for Jinwoo.

You went in to speak but hesitated, turning your head in Jinwoo’s direction with a scowl, you just missed him.

“What is it?” Cha questioned, her tone softer than before.

“Uh… I-I’m not sure, I thought I saw- listen, just think of it that way. It’s just sex, and hopefully we can do this as quickly as possible. No growing pains, just our jobs. Together, alright?”

It wasn’t just sex. Jinwoo would make that clear every time he fucked you, made you come and forced his name on your lips so loud Jong-In Choi would hear down the hall.

And by that night, when Jinwoo heard the requirements for the programme, ‘At least three times a week, but most nights if you can, depending on your schedules. We’ll try to make them less conflicting as possible’. 

Yeah, life looked pretty interesting from here on out.

He’d fuck you every night, no problem, to train you to see just how much you needed him despite your independence.

When the door of the little apartment on top of headquarters closed for the first time behind you, Jinwoo’s web had started weaving. You were so beautiful in the moonlight of the darkened apartment, saying goodbye to Jong-In and Hae-In as they disappeared into their own space. It was more intimate now among the S-Ranks, using first names wholeheartedly like neighbours and friends instead of hunters.

It was all very domesticated.

“So…” You said, clearly ruminating on the path that brought you here.

Jinwoo could see it in your eyes, that doe eyed little stare anxiously darting about the room and everywhere but him.

“So… Uh, you can look at me, y’know?” Jinwo wanted you to look at him the way Jong-In looked at you.

He made it his personal quest, and seeing the system's quest progress unmoved bothered him. Not the best start to an evening, he wondered how to bring you more at ease. Jinwoo waited this long to be in this type of situation and he wasn’t giving up with the opportunity of fucking you senseless and having you all to himself.

“S-sorry, I just don’t really know where to go from here without making it weird.”

Awkward, pressured, even artificial? Maybe. Weird? Never.

“Is this your first time, or?”

You struggled to stifle your gasp in the dark room and shuffled about a bit. “What? N-no I’ve had sex before, Jinwoo.”

He rubbed his neck and feigned embarrassment. “Sorry- bad start. I just wanted to gauge your boundaries. I don’t want to cross any unintentionally.” 

More than I already have. That’ll come with time, then she'll be thanking me for doing it.

“Ah crap… what the fuck, Jinwoo. I never thought we’d be in this position.” Hearing your sweet huff of that bratty frustration he knew you were capable of turned him on. “Hae-In really likes you- but you can’t say anything because she made me promise not to tell you, but this feels wrong… it feels…”

What words would you utter? Jinwoo would use perfect, or extraordinary. Nothing negative like you wanted to use.

“She likes you. It’s like I’m betraying her.”

“Look.” Jinwoo changed the subject immediately, thinking of ways to change your mind without his influence. “Why don’t we forget about everything outside, and just focus on what’s going on in here? We could pretend that we just had a really awesome date, I asked you back to my place and you said yes.”

“Like roleplaying?” Exactly.

He nodded like you could see him properly. “It might ease your nerves.”

“A-alright… but can we leave the lights off? I’m not sure I want that right now.”

“Of course. Anything you want.”

Jinwoo heard your steps draw nearer, closer until you were near enough to take you right then and there if you let him. He’d pick you up and carry you over to the open planned kitchen counter and fuck you with your knees close to your chest.

Fuck. I have to try that sometime.

“So…” You said again, tugging on his jacket to get his role played attention. “Thanks for this. I mean it…”

Jinwoo sensed you were trying to get in character, he took the lead like most things in this relationship were going to develop. “Thanks for tonight, I had a great time, I wasn’t sure you were going to come up here. I’m glad you changed your mind.”

“I did want to. It’s just… I haven’t done this with many people so I’m a little nervous.”

He took our chin with his thumb and forefinger, trying not to smile at your quick inhale. “It’s alright. I can lead you through it, how does that sound?”

“Yes. Yes please.”

“I think it’ll be better if we kiss a little first, do you want to?” 

When you nodded and allowed yourself to get close, your lips were everything Jinwoo had wondered about. So supple, warm and plump enough to suck on, to bite and pull. He could tell you were reluctant, wooden with your position with your hands still enough to pass for a marble statue. So Jinwoo took your hands between his fingers, small enough for one hand whilst the other ran through your hair and brought you closer than before.

Your tongue drowned him in his lust he was so desperately holding back, to not let his urges spoil you before he had a chance to earn your trust completely. Jinwoo wanted to ruin you until you couldn’t speak coherently and only communicated in murmurs and babbling because of a multiple orgasm streak that got you squirting all over his face.

And then you pulled away from him. For a second there, he thought you were backing out of it. But then you said, “Will you look after me, Jinwoo? I’m scared.”

Jinwoo took an educated guess and assumed it was the tough stuff, the pregnancy to come and all that other stuff. Well, of course it was, having mind bending sex wasn’t something to be frightened of. But getting you pregnant was something Jinwoo couldn’t join you with fear because it excited him, it turned him on something chronic.

And pregnancy sex? Sign him up.

He took your hand and walked off without consulting you, straight towards the bedroom. “Let’s get comfortable.”

“Jinwoo-”

“I’m going to look after you, I promise.”

His impromptu plan worked, he might have had innocent blood on his hands doing it, but he couldn’t wait to have something more precious in his hands for years to come and now that he had it, he wouldn’t let it go.

And that was you.

Part 1 <- Part 2 -> Part 3

If you would like to be tagged, please let me know! Thanks so much for all the support on this likes, reblog and comments appreciated! ❤️

Tag list - @bubera974,@snowy-violet,@sky2lar,@starrynights23x,@minh907

@yessirr7,@aussie-boys-wife,@yihona-san06

DISCLAIMER - Crossposted from my AO3 - I do not own any of the characters or anything from the anime or manhwa. This is a work of fan fiction and is absolutely not representative of the views or intentions of the original creator(s).

Also please don’t post any of my work without permission thank you!

[deforest]

SHE'S CRAZY WITH THE HEAT — 1946 ft. The International Sweethearts of Rhythm

In 1946, William D. Alexander began the production of a series of one-reel shorts, half-hour featurettes and feature films that would serve a dual purpose. These black cast subjects would be released to theaters that welcomed African American audiences; concurrently, the music segments would be excerpted from the films and released as Soundies. Ultimately, sixteen of Alexander’s musical shorts reached the Panoram screen, spotlighting the bands of Lucky Millinder, Billy Eckstine, Henri Woode and the International Sweethearts of Rhythm. (Alexander actually produced four films with the Sweethearts, three ten-minute short subjects and one feature, although some of the performances turns up in more than one film; only three performances saw release as a Soundie.) The International Sweethearts of Rhythm grew out of a band formed in the 1930s at the Piney Woods Country Life School, an institution – in part an orphanage – for poor African American children. A member of the music department had apparently taken note of the success of Ina Ray Hutton’s Melodears and decided that an all-woman band composed of school members might lead to something special. While they performed locally, the ISR did not begin to hit its stride until it left Piney Woods and became a professional touring outfit in 1941. The band was certainly “international” in nature, and its ranks included African American, Latina, Chinese, Indian, White and Puerto Rican musicians. In 1941, Anna Mae Winburn joined the orchestra as front woman and featured vocalist. During the war years Maurice King joined the band as both arranger and band manager. Born Clarence King in 1911, King played reeds and later became a fine swing arranger. While here we recognize his composition and arrangement for the Sweethearts – he called this tune “She’s Crazy with the Heat ” – King is best known for his longtime association with Barry Gordy and Motown Records for which he served as director of artist development. He worked closely with vocal groups, teaching the singers how to voice and phrase together. “Maurice brought sophistication and class to Motown,” said session musician Johnny Trudell. By 1946, the Sweethearts was recognized as one of the finest African-American bands in jazz. They recorded for Guild and RCA Records, broadcast regularly for the Armed Forces Radio Service, and toured Europe entertaining the GIs. While much of the success was due to Maurice King’s arrangements, the band’s musicians were all strong, and a special nod must go to Viola Burnside, one of the most neglected tenor soloists of the 1940s. I chatted with my friend Roz Cron, a member of the Sweetheart’s reed section, shortly before her passing. When I thanked her for her contribution, she paused and said, “Yeah, we were one of the best, one of the very, very best.” (via Jazz on Film)

[fanaticsnail]

Chastity: Buggy

Birthday Celebration Masterlist

Word Count: 1,500+

Themes: Buggy x gn!reader, smut, mdni, 18+, NSFW, Buggy is in a chastity belt, you are tasked to dominate him, inappropriate use of devil fruit, creampie (Buggy receiving and giving), masturbation, bondage.

Notes: This clown has once again found his way back into my heart. I love him.

“Please.”

Sitting cross legged, reading over several new bounties produced and notated by Sir Crocodile in your plush, buttoned armchair, you pay the man on his knees no mind as he comes to terms with the circumstances that lead him to that moment.

Knees spread and thighs bound to his ankles beneath him, hands obediently lulled at his hips, neck tilted back and eyes watering with desperation, sat Buggy the Clown. The Face of Cross-Guild, chest heaving as his crotch was clapped in an iron belt and nothing else covering his body, was resolved into a heaving pile of flesh as his own cock buried itself into his puckered asshole.

He had not moved an inch since you first started this small amount of torture for him. Behaving as well as he could as you removed his cock and bound his legs, you had worked him with your fingers and lubricant while he was brought to the precipice of release without toppling over the edge.

Buggy was put through too much pain and markings at the hands of your boss, Dracule Mihawk, and his associate, Sir Crocodile. Being the face of an organization: beaten, battered and bruised was not in the best interest of the three of them when garnering popularity.

Under the guise that matters would be taken into your own hands regarding punishment and discipline, Mihawk placed the blue-haired clown in your charge to break him into submission.

This task was easier done than you had thought. A few choice words, simple heavy kisses, and the promise of a well-earned orgasm was enough to have the Clown immediately at your mercy.

“Not yet. I'm afraid you're just going to have to wait until I'm done with this page,” you utter honestly, taking your red, felt-tip pen to the parchment and slashing out an incorrect word. “If you didn't make so many mistakes, you could've been cumming inside yourself by now. But, fortunately for my own entertainment, you did.”

“Please,” he stuttered, tensing his bare abdomen as his blue-fuzz covered pectorals spasmed while he made to move forward. “Please, starlight. My cock has been shoved in my ass for over an hour. It's so fuckin-... Nghhmm-... It's warm, its tense, it's tight. Please let me cum?”

“No.”

“For fucks sake,” he whimpered, scrunching his paint-lined eyes shut while he attempted to rock his hips to no avail.

With the ropes binding his legs, and the iron belt holding his cock inside his ass, he had no way for friction to occur to bring him over that edge of ecstasy. He whimpered, his nipples pebbled and skin christened in beaded goose-flesh as he huffed and panted at the feeling.

“Calm yourself,” you uttered sharply down at him, pressing your covered toes on his bare chest while you scowled at him. “Honestly, have you no self control, clown?”

Buggy darted his teal eyes between yours, his bruises finally beginning to heal up and scars crust over from the beating days before that had this dynamic begin between you. Rolling your eyes, you remove your foot from his chest and peer once more down at the page.

“Please, Starlight,” he whimpered softly, “How much longer will you be? I-I-I need you. I need this. I nee-... I need-...”

Buffy's eyes took in every inch of you. Your toes, your ankles, your thighs, your crotch, your stomach, chest, arms, hands, face and head: all of those elements that made you distinctly you, Buggy was consumed by.

He didn't expect Mihawk’s former World Government Public Relations officer to stick with him after the disbandment of the warlords, yet here you were: slashing away at another wanted sign while he felt his need becoming almost painful. Nowhere near as painful as the beatings, but an ache enough to have him uncomfortable.

All Buggy wanted was to cum. Far from the initial embarrassment that came along with being naked with his own cock in his ass, he was feral for that one moment where you would release him from his chains and be permitted to ride his cock for your entertainment.

Finally complete with the pile of wanted posters, you placed the tan sheets at your side and tilted your head at the clown. His lengthy, blue eyelashes fluttered, his cerulean hair messy and clinging to his face and neck in bunches. His eyes were glazed, as was the shine from his rotund, red nose.

“Clown?” you spoke, breaking him out of his concentration and causing his ass to clench around himself. He groaned at the feeling, the edge still there after all this time.

“Y-Yes?” He stuttered. “Yes, Starlight?” Rapidly blinking, he focussed his attention onto you while attempting to remain perfectly still.

“I'm done with my work,” you nodded, uncurling your knees and switching your top-leg in front of him. Leaning down, you offer him the key to his belt in his hand, to which he shakily took it in his covered digits. “Be a good boy and put on a show for me?”

“Oh, fuck yes,” he uttered softly, his hands stumbling as he unclasped his chastity belt and watched as the iron slunk to the ground with a clang.

His thighs and ankles were still bound together, but his cock was now free to move with his Devil-Fruit powers. He wasted no time as the lubricant made sinking in and out of his puckered hole easier.

Each time his cock fucked itself in, his mushroomed tip hit his prostate and caused a small leak of precum to dribble from his slit. His tongue caught itself on the roof of his mouth while his shaft was squeezed by the tense of muscle around his skin.

“There you go,” you praised him with a soft click of your tongue. “Good boy, clown. I can see how close you're making yourself.”

“Uh huh,” Buggy uttered dumbly, his whole mind now focussed wholeheartedly on the show he was producing for you. He was a mess of moans, groans, mewls and whimpers as he desperately clawed his way to his release.

Soon enough, the clown began to bounce himself on his cock, eyes scrunched shut while he experienced everything all at once. Cock, ass, restriction, and filthy encouragement from your lips was more than enough to feel the call of his climax beckoning him into his oblivion.

“You gonna be a good boy and cum in that tight little hole of yours?” you purred at him, leaning forward and tapping his chin with your index finger, “Gonna cum on your own cock?”

Buffy's eyes fluttered open, peering down his nose at your lips and eyes as he rose and fell on his cock while fucking into himself from beneath him. The slickened ‘plaps’ grew more manic as he desperately found his high, eyes searching yours for that final wave of permission from you to topple him over.

“Show me, clown,” you taunt him, moving your lips to hover over his own, “Move those hands up and tease your nipples before I do. Grab onto them and cum all over and into yourself. Go on, clown. Show me how good you can be-.”

“-Ah, fuck-!” Buggy screamed, his voice cracking as he shot that first rope into his asshole. His cock slapped his prostate, the muscle causing his ecstasy to amplify as he felt his own ass milk himself of his release.

Reaching up, he clutched and clawed at his nipples while rocking up and down over his own cock in time of his released. Pawing at his pectorals, his face flushed a vibrant red while he cried out in euphoria.

Pearlescent ribbons fled his cock as his vision split white. He didn't know if he called your name, screamed out profanity, or simply shouted incohesive babbles while he painted his insides with his own cum. All he knew was he had never felt this pent up, this needy, and this good in some time.

Chest heaving, absent crotch shrouded in cerulean curls tensing, Buggy felt himself nearly pass out while he rode the tide his orgasm managed to swell inside himself. Before he could find himself falling onto the floor in a pile of bliss, you surged forward and caught his shoulders.

Immediately, your hands flung into action to unbind him of his ropes and fish out his own cock from being buried in his ass. You were not unaffected by his little display, but you forced your arousal back while tending to the aftercare needed by the face of Cross-Guild.

As you softly coax him back to the land of the living by wiping him down with pre-prepared towels and washcloths, Buggy peered at you with an unhinged glint in his eye. Unbeknownst to you, his hand popped from his wrist-link and slowly crept along the floor towards your thighs and crotch.

If you were going to have him beg and plead for release, without him able to do anything about it until you granted him permission, it was only fair he was to do the same to you.

And just as you finally met his gaze once again with your own, his digits disappeared down the front of your waistband and caused your breath to hitch in your throat.

“Your turn, Starlight,” he uttered sinisterly, his smirk ticking up in the corners of his lips and illuminating his face with mischief, “Now be good and put on a show for me.”

Tag list: @mfreedomstuff @daydreamer-in-training @since-im-already-here @gingernut1314 @writingmysanity @i-am-vita @indydonuts @feral-artistry @the-light-of-star @empirenowmp3 @racfoam @sunflowersatori @carrotsunshine @skullfacedlady @jintaka-hane @thenotsofantasticlifestory @jadeddangel

“Buggy-!”

🎶Happy Birthday to Me🎶

If you would like to celebrate by indulging my caffeine and bubble tea addiction, my Kofi link is here.

[neil-gaiman]

I was wondering. Do you think that other writers and creators from Video games to comic books should join the writers strike?

Also a dumb out of the blue fun question: what do you think of Across the Spiderverse Miles and Gwen pairing?

No, the Writers Strike is members of the WGA (Writers Guild of America) striking against the AMPTP (Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers) companies. If other writers who don't write for films or television go on strike against other companies who don't make films or television then they aren't going to sway the AMPTP companies into giving the WGA a better contract.

[iww-gnv]

Late in the day on Sunday, September 24 — after 146 days of labor stoppage, the longest strike in Hollywood history by a long shot — the Writers Guild of America (WGA), which represents Hollywood’s writers, and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), an association of Hollywood’s largest studios and production companies, announced that an agreement had been reached. On Tuesday, September 26, the union’s leadership announced that they’d voted to end the strike and recommend the membership vote in favor of ratifying the contract.

[fans4wga]

[September 1] Don’t Fall For Hollywood Bosses’ New PR Spin

'Today marks the 122nd day of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike and 48th day of the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strike. The dual work stoppages have brought Hollywood to a standstill, with production halted on films and television programs, and premieres and other promotional events either scaled back or canceled. Both guilds are striking over demands that are more than reasonable, particularly given studio executives’ record pay. These demands include fair compensation for streaming media (particularly better residuals, which currently pale in comparison to what they are for network and cable broadcasts), robust studio support for health and retirement funds, and safeguards around the use of artificial intelligence. (For more on why WGA and SAG-AFTRA are on strike, read the excellent reporting of Jacobin’s Alex Press). 

In a move that has shocked…pretty much no one, Hollywood bosses don’t want to share their earnings with the very storytellers responsible for generating them. At the same time, they’re happy to make workers pay the cost for their own miscalculations about streaming.

The major Tinseltown studios – organized under the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) trade association – remain stubbornly opposed to striking a fair deal with either guild. Under the leadership of AMPTP president Carol Lombardini, studios have employed brutal tactics to bust the strike, including threatening to drag things out until writers lose their homes and using management-friendly trade publications to pressure the guilds into accepting lowball offers. These tactics have backfired spectacularly: not only have they failed to end either strike, but they’ve also turned the public overwhelmingly against the AMPTP. A new Gallup poll finds that Americans back the WGA over the AMPTP by 72% to 19%, and SAG-AFTRA over AMPTP by 64% to 24%.

Aware of their reputational damage (but willfully ignorant of the anti-worker attitude that caused it), the AMPTP announced a “reset” to its approach this week – not by negotiating in good faith or meeting the guilds’ demands, but by hiring a pricey crisis-management PR firm to revamp its image! According to Deadline, the AMPTP has hired The Levinson Group – a D.C.-based PR shop best known for representing the U.S. Women’s  National Soccer Team in its campaign for pay equity – to “reframe the big picture for studio and streamer CEOs who have been characterized as greedy, imperious and out of touch.”

If you’re feeling like you’ve seen this movie before, you’re not wrong. During the last WGA strike 15 years ago, studio bosses hired former Clinton comms strategists Mark Fabiani and Chris Lehane to revive the AMPTP’s flagging public image. The revolving-door duo were paid a jaw-dropping $100,000 per month by the AMPTP to strike-bust, deploying campaign-style spin attacks designed to break the WGA’s resolve. 

As I wrote for The American Prospect in May:

“Fabiani and Lehane created a website with a live tally of the millions of dollars in income that guild members and on-set crew had purportedly lost by striking. They urged studio CEOs to publicly refer to WGA representatives as “organizers” rather than “negotiators” because the former “sound[ed] more Commie.” Lehane even told the press at one point that striking writers were “making more than doctors and pilots,” cynically arguing that the strike was harming “real working-class people” like below-the-line workers who had lost income from struck late-night talk shows […] Fabiani and Lehane were [also] the brains behind a “strongly worded and downright menacing” AMPTP press release breaking off negotiations with the WGA in December 2007. This move allowed the studios, which cited a protracted strike as an “unforeseeable event,” to invoke force majeure contract clauses and cancel multiple writer-producer deals worth tens of millions of dollars, severely demoralizing the WGA’s rank-and-file members.”

The parallels between 2008 and today are striking. Like Fabiani and Lehane (who have worked for scandal-plagued clients like Gray Davis, Bill O’Reilly, Lance Armstrong, and Goldman Sachs) the Levinson Group has no qualms about representing greedy and unsavory characters. Over the years, Levinson has done PR for predatory student lender Better Future Forward, reviled monopolist Live Nation/Ticketmaster, a talc mining company linked to the Johnson & Johnson baby powder cancer scandal, and Theranos fraudster Elizabeth Holmes. 

And just like the ex-Clinton spin doctors, the Levinson Group boasts close revolving-door ties to powerful politicians and the news media. The firm currently represents President Biden’s personal attorney Bob Bauer and previously represented John Podesta’s family lobbying firm. Levinson partners have previously worked for an array of influential politicians, including former President Bill Clinton, Senators Jon Tester and Amy Klobuchar, Representatives Maxine Waters and Ted Lieu, and former and current Los Angeles Mayors Eric Garcetti and Karen Bass. The firm’s founder and CEO Molly Levinson spent eight years working for CNN and CBS, while two of the Levinson Group’s top managing directors are alumni of CNBC and The Wall Street Journal. With a web of strong connections to power players in the entertainment industry’s twin capitals of LA and New York, along with the nation’s capital, Levinson could help the AMPTP tilt the regulatory and media scales back in the bosses’ favor. 

Though this may sound demoralizing, striking writers and actors shouldn’t lose hope. For one, consider a surprisingly uplifting parallel between 2008 and 2023. Fifteen years ago, after Fabiani and Lehane took the AMPTP’s contract, the SEIU and other unions that had previously worked with the duo severed ties with them for trying to bust the writers’ strike. Fast forward to this week: the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team Players Association (Levinson’s star client!) publicly rebuked the firm for doing the AMPTP’s dirty work and voiced support for the dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. If history is any indication, it’s only a matter of time until other pro-union Levinson clients – like the majority SEIU-owned Amalgamated Bank – follow suit and sever ties with the firm. 

There is also one crucial way in which 2023 is thankfully not like 2008: The Levinson Group is bad at their jobs. 

Consider an August 27th New York Times article about AMPTP President Carol Lombardini*, which was almost certainly pitched or otherwise molded by Levinson flacks. The article goes to ridiculous lengths to rehabilitate Lombardini’s image:

The article passively describes Lombardini’s tenure as “marked by labor peace until now” (a peace that she has now broken) and shifts blame for her unpopular decisions to anonymous AMPTP members (how convenient!).

Article co-authors Brooks Barnes and John Koblin quote a 2014 email from then-WarnerMedia CEO Kevin Tsujihara praising Lombardini’s negotiation skills and recommending she receive a $365,000 bonus. Curiously absent from the article is any mention of Tsujihara’s high-profile 2019 resignation from WarnerMedia for pressuring actresses into non-consensual sex.

Barnes and Koblin attempt to paint a “she’s just like us” picture of Lombardini (who reportedly earns a $3 million annual salary), mentioning her upbringing in a “working-class town outside Boston” and love for Red Sox and Dodgers games.

Barnes and Koblin paint a rosy picture of the AMPTP’s “sweetened proposal” (their words) to the WGA, describing the studios’ August counteroffer as “including higher wages, a pledge to share some viewership data and additional protections around the use of artificial intelligence.” Barnes & Koblin never quote the WGA’s well-founded reasons for turning down this lowball offer, saying only that the WGA is “holding firm to demands related to staffing minimums and transparency into streaming-service viewership.”

Bizarrely, the core issue of underpaid streaming residuals (the main reason writers are demanding greater streaming transparency) is never mentioned in the article.

Barnes and Koblin frequently imply that criticism of Lombardini is unfair, describing her as an “easy target” for the “grievances of striking workers” and singling out a tweet purportedly “mocking [Lombardini] as a fuddy-duddy who hangs out at chain restaurants”.

Barnes and Koblin quote a pre-strike September 2022 Deadline interview with Teamsters organizer Lindsay Dougherty to claim that Lombardini has the “grudging respect” of union leaders who see her as a “fair individual.” They did not quote more recent statements from Dougherty, who last month tweeted that the “greedy” AMPTP had “declared war on Hollywood Labor” by refusing to negotiate in good faith with WGA and SAG-AFTRA.

In one unintentionally eyebrow-raising line, Barnes and Koblin state that Lombardini was “inspired to become a lawyer by reading articles about F. Lee Bailey.” Neither Bailey’s sordid clients (like OJ Simpson) nor his multiple disbarments are mentioned in the article.

And it’s not just me who finds the Levinson Group’s efforts laughable. Discussions of the NYT story on Reddit and Twitter are dominated by comments tying the story’s blatant reputation laundering for Lombardini to the AMPTP’s concurrent hiring of Levinson. A recent New Yorker puff piece on Warner CEO David Zaslav has been met with similar ridicule – with many commenters also pointing to Levinson’s potential influence. So too have recent stories from management-friendly trades like Deadline – all of which have failed to make a dent in strong public support for WGA and SAG-AFTRA. This is a good sign: not only is the public more inclined to side with striking workers than it was in 2008 – it’s also seemingly more attuned to the role of corporate PR flacks in shaping the media narrative. If studio bosses think they can remake the same movie and end another strike with flashy spin-doctors, they’re sorely mistaken. 

So here’s my advice to the AMPTP (and it won’t cost you six figures per month to hear it): the way to fix your reputation problem is to end the strike by giving writers and actors what they want. No strike-busting comms team can rescue you from the hole you’ve dug yourself into. 

As the LA Times’ Mary McNamara recently put it, “You’ve lost the war. The best thing to do now is negotiate the terms of surrender.”'

[unladyboss]

WRITERS FOR THE BEAR. SEASON 4

The writing credits were submitted for season 4 of The Bear to the Writers Guild Association

I'm not sure of the accuracy of the list. Especially since it says 11 episodes when we saw that 16 were filmed

But that could just mean there's ANOTHER SEASON or a part 2 of season 4 coming

At least

I am supremely glad that some of the 'writers' for season 3 were shut out this time

The guys who played the Faks had writing credits the last time and even the food producer.

It was a weird writer's room takeover

Catherine Schetina is a great writer just going off of the episodes she's written so far. So I looking forward to her episode

Also Karen Joseph Adcock

Anything with Joanna Calo seems to move me

AYO and Lionel always yes

I'm interested in Ebon and Jon. They're great friends so maybe their write the friendship and make me cry

Again I am just supremely happy that THOSE 'collaborators' from season 3 have been chopped

Looking forward to a great and heartfelt season

[dotthings]

There's lots of stuff happening at once so have a round up:

Warner Bros and Cartoon Network animation production (various) roles are working to join The Animation Guild. [edited to clarify] “Although many might not think it, production is a specialized skill,” said Warner Bros. Animation production manager, Hannah Ferenc in an official statement. “We might not be artists or writers, but what we bring to the table goes beyond traditional creativity and gets content on the air.”

Further edit for clarity: the unionization effort is for animation production roles (not animators, who are already unionized), to bring production staff into The Animation Guild at WB and CN.

Also I'm going to point out Animation is often an under-appreciated form of media, often looked down on as lesser, or less worthy, or less high quality than live action and I'm a fan of Animation. So I extra want to voice my support for the WB and CN production staff + animators, and everyone who works in animation for all the beautiful work they do in every facet.

UPS agreed to go back and negotiate with the Teamsters union, prepared to increase pay/benefits. Tentatively...I hope this is a hopeful sign for the labor movement, and for the Hollywood strikes as well. If UPS saw the way the wind was blowing, could that make Hollywood companies feel more pressure. UPS is a massive corporation. Granted, Hollywood studios are multiple big corporations, but maybe this doesn't bode well for them stonewalling the SAG and WGA.

IATSE Local 798--Broadway makeup and hair stylists union--is voting whether or not to authorize a strike, after talks with Broadway League (the producers association) and Disney Theatrical Productions stalled. There's a very informative video embedded in the blog post from Kevin Thomas Garica, who worked on Hadestown and Anastasia. Yes, Broadway could shut down.

[skitchdoods]

Bellerose de Beauchene — Her Eternal Radiance

“...for it was true that she had beauty so disarming and none like any other, a mind as sharp as a blade made by Hephaestus, and a heart as gracious as a spring-kissed flower blooming under the sun’s gentle morning rays, yet the Beast could not stop himself from falling for her gentle wisdom, more for her stubborn wit, and most for her unbridled, nearly reckless courage...”

Born to a Lousanian Artist, Maurice De Beauchene, and a textile merchant from the Agarabhan city-state of Shirabad, Saundary Vishyan, Bellerose de Beauchene had always proven to be a brilliant mind with an innate understanding of engineering and machinery. She was the first female apprentice allowed entrance in the prestigious Lousanian Guild of Automatonry and Enlightened Pursuits, though she was never allowed to become an official Matoneer because of her sex.

She was known for many of her inventions, most importantly harnessing Wild Sprite (boundless and chaotic magic) into Spark, revolutionizing energy away from coal and steam, in 1798. However, what many still know her for and what many would most associate her for is her namesake—Beauty.

From her mysterious but unsurprising rise as Queen of Rosedor—the largest, richest, and most ancient of the Gaulian kingdoms and the Mecca of Daphinian Civilization, Philosophy, Invention, and Progress—to her final days, no historical recounting would dare remiss mentioning her alarming beauty, one that did not fade until the end.

Of the three historically preserved portraits available, not one was said to truly capture her beguiling visage. However, one cherished story among Rosedoreans tells of the portrait hanging in the Royal Summer Palace of Rosecoeur, where many would say that the beloved queen looked as though she was about to sneeze. It is said that Belle was notoriously bashful with regards to her looks and being painted, but that on the days that she had to sit, venerable King Adam II, would make her laugh, much to the painter’s chagrin.

Historical accounts suggest that the couple had a loving union, marked by many hushed conversations and laughter between them in any event they were invited to. Staff also remarked the couple’s sharp wit and entertaining debates at dinners, King Adam being a renowned architect himself who had studied in Richepierre, the capital of his kingdom under a common name. They were near inseparable, even in death, as Belle died two months after her husband, whom she would affectionately call “Ma Bête.”

Though there is no dearth of their relationship as leaders, in truth, much of the couple’s history is unclear with most of their supposed courtship occurring during the Great Forgetting, where the Kingdom had supposedly been enveloped in dangerous fog and briar, ceasing possible interactions with its neighboring rivals and all but deserting its role as the central trade route between East and West. The phenomenon continues to be shrouded in mystery as not even documents from other kingdoms make mention of the fabled occurrence—and more shockingly—the kingdom itself between the years 1792-1798…except for the correspondence of letters between the King and Queen themselves and their journals.

But many Rosedoreans have their own generational tale of how the Lousanian Matoneer met the Rosedorean King in the form of a Great Beast, of how their love had broken a Great Curse of disrememberance and volatile ennui. Despite the lack of historical evidence, many honor such heritage by holding balls on the Royal Couple’s anniversary and dancing Master Concerto Monsieur Guillee de Forte’s composition known as ‘La Valse de La Belle et La Bête,’ supposedly written to inaugurate the rebuilding of the Rosecoeur’s legendary ballroom during their courtship.

Many theorized that Belle would have chosen a very specific fabric, fabled to have been solely produced by her mother’s company before it burned down in 1791—colloquially named, the Solaris Weave—as the Royal seamstress, Madame Fifi De Garderobe-Forte makes mentions in her later years of making such a dress with many embellishments more accustomed to Shibarad for the exact occasion.

To this day, only a swath of the fabric exist, displayed in the Richepierre museum. At 3PM, the seemingly ordinary piece of gold fabric is placed under the sun, showing its hardly understood property to reflect fractals of light despite not being speckled or beaded. Though many to this day try to replicate the exact fabric, the national conservatory has yet to allow proper studies of the material, fearing losing it and the very heritage of Rosedor.

More Under the Cut

This piece means a lot to me being nine years in the making to the date. It may seem trivial, but I've never invested on one singular idea for as long as I had this one dress. It's one of the main reasons I've taken breaks from art in a deeply personal sense, because I would start it and finish something and hate it after two days and redo it, only to not finish anything. It was a bad cycle to say the least.

Within those years, I have grown so much in terms of knowledge and respect for fashion as a whole art form, most especially in costume design more than just historical recreation and research. At some point, I just grew tired of slapping on a robe du cour and calling it a day. I love BTAB and I love Belle and the more I felt like, simply putting on a historically accurate garment with some fantastical embellishments was half the work. So, part of this personal journey had been coming to terms of what I wanted to do.

I'd like to think that the approach I've developed for these Princess Gowns moving forward is that I want to design a dress that fits for the character at that moment in their story—who they are, what it means to be wearing that dress, and the whole context of their journey and the world they live in. It was understanding what Belle has gone through in the movie in my head, parading as producer, writer, director, AND costume designer to a fictional film stuck in my head—inspired by the greats like Sandy Powell, Terry Dresbach, and Anthony Powell and Rosemary Burrows.

It includes having an understanding of her character, of how she relates to others, of world building, and even the fashion CULTURE of the region at large, because by then, I had completely forgone trying to write a story WITHIN our world and found so much more possibilities by writing these Disney stories outside of our world and reality.

So, we have this dress. A glittery gold dress of dreams that has been nine years in the making, a dress that represents Belle at that pinnacle moment—and maybe even my own 'closing of the book,' if you will.

I designed this gown with a healthy understanding that throughout her 2-3 year stay in the castle and forest, she would have had so many dresses of so many colors and styles. I was focused more on contextualizing different decades of 18th century fashion to become region fashions with the redingote and a la Turque being something more used in the kingdom's capital, while more pastoral a la reigne being what could have been 'it' with the court, amongst others.

A lot of this dress was designed with the rest of her wardrobe in mind in an attempt to differentiate it from others. No other gown will have the same neckline, the same silhouette, the same volume, and the same color. Not even her hair and makeup would be similar to the other dresses. So, it feels like a 'step forward' in fashion within the trends and context set up in the story by all the other gowns worn by her and others.

For Belle's dress, I gravitated towards the silhouettes of the 1730s-40s, where the hip wasn't too angular and flowed more naturally like a...bell (that's an unintentional pun). I think that it's the more pleasing option, though Belle would be wearing more panniers throughout the story too. I wanted something that made the Waltz (which in this universe, had already been developed) elegant and not too cumbersome and panniers just felt too bulky, because the dances associated with it didn't need close contact. So, in the mechanics sense, I found that this would work best.

I maintained a dose fo 1950s-60s references in my head. I would love Belle to wear something like a re-imagined Dior New Look gown while strolling with Adam in the greenhouse or pull up Lacroix for dinner, de Garderobe being a very 'keen' fashion innovator with Belle as her muse.

But in my story, she would stay away from one specific color—yellow/gold. It was her mother's color and, in grieving, she refused to touch it and anything that could harken back to her mother, like south-asian style embroidery and motifs. But I think as Belle develops her own style and the more Adam and her bond, the more she comes to terms with her mother's death.

There's a lot to the story I can't share at the moment, of how they meet and how they bond, and why they're stuck in the forest. There's too much to discuss, but be assured that a lot had been retconned.

So this dress was her 'bringing' her mom to meet the man she fell in love with, even if she can't admit it. It's her coming to terms with what happened and carrying her mother with her instead of looking back with nothing but heartbreak.

And she looks damn good with her mama's color, I'll tell you that much. I know that on one hand, gold can be a color of greed and temptation, but for me, I think gold is 'pure' and 'luminous.' I wanted her intentions, those she cannot find the courage yet to speak, be clear and transfixing.

Another aspect was the symbolism of her and Adam's relationship. I know that flower garlands were in use in some gown throughout the 1750s-60s. I also know Lehengas are sometimes worn with a copious amount of flower garlands too, so I had this idea of just overflowing her dress with jasmines, which are a very common fixture even here in the Philippines with a context of spirituality as we usually put it on sacred images and statues. So, while on the shallow sense, it may come as a merging of two cultures, for me, there's a bit of sanctity, the same image evoked as Belle and the Beast danced under heavens and smiling cherubs.

In a story sense, the rose on her left chest represents her heart blooming for Adam, as if sprouting forth the gold, illuminating her like the sun as he is her sky...her space. It's as much a love letter to him as it is to herself and her mother, because I wanted to emphasize her POV in their story too, of how she felt safe and loved, away form ridicule and prejudice.

And lastly, the hair. Okay, so part of the journey was figuring out her hair. With a 1950s facade, for the longest time I focused on maintaining the curls of the rococo period and conflating it a lot with the waves of the 1950s, so you will see a lot of sketches with that. It wasn't until I tried understanding the overall silhouette of court fashion that I had my eureka moment and realize that the volume was more important than what's...within said volume. And, funnily enough, after trying SO HARD to avoid the hair bun...I ended up with a hairstyle that unintentionally pays homage to it.

My only regret is not finding a way to highlight the shoes HAHAHHAHAHA. I'm mad, because I really wanted to draw the shoe but I didn't want to ruin the way the gown flowed already.

TIMELINE

2016-2017: "Bitch, They've Hit the Pentagon."

As a kid, I was always exposed to fashion magazines since my mom used to be subscribed to a whole lot of them. I would look at Harper's Bazaar and Vogue, smell the perfume samples that came with them. I've always had a sort of inherent, passive interest in fashion but not enough to know the designers and the motifs.

But then, I saw a leak of Belle's gown in the 2017 version and...I lost it. I was convinced I would do a better job designing it, but hell, I think anyone would. Back then, i was obsessed with simply remaking the original dress and making it 'pretty.' Of course, as you can see, I based some on the broadway gown and afterwards, it sorta developed into this romantic, 2000s punk dress with lace fingerless gloves and whatever. HAHHAHAHA, at that time, I didn't really care for 18th century fashion...so...

2018: "Roco-NO? I think you mean, Marie Antion-YAS!"

I think the biggest step during this era was me falling in love with the fashion of the 18th century. I was exposed to Outlander and other shows and I started watching youtube videos deep-diving into court fashion, so I started veering away from anything vaguely 1840s-60s and literally went a hundred years BACK.

Sadly, it came with hang ups too. IDK what the hell I was doing with faces, honestly? Also, I was really forcing the off-the-shoulder V-boob neckline far too much, even when it was...very hard to make sense off construction-wise.

2019-2021: "Wait a minute...Desi...Belle?"

At this point, I've fleshed out the story in my head for more diversity, not just because diversity matters, but I wanted more things to be different in the settings and the world the Disney Heroes are based in. I wanted the idea that trade and intermingling of cultures was far more common and recognized and I thought that Belle being biracial was a good choice, and something I related to.

I guess that's what was the most important development during this period. Though note how I initially wanted her to have henna on her hands but I decided that that would be better at the wedding. In addition, there was little effort to make the actual gown reflect her heritage.

2022-2023: "Screw it, I give up!"

During this time, I was doing my internship, so I lost interest in designing and art in general. It was just hard to concentrate, really, but still, I think that there were a lot of aspects to these deigns that ultimately lead me to the final design.

2024-NOW: "And They All Lived..."

So now, we're here at the present. It's been such a long time coming and I feel relief to be able to share this and move on, so to speak. Even if I have a lot of creative energy and a better relationship with my art, I've come to realize that I can't make a dress I love without having a whole ass story to fantasize about.

Sure, I have a few designs for the other princesses with their own huge stories that make it easy to find direction, but I can't confidently say that I would want to keep making stories for all princesses moving forward. I would love to, of course, but I don't want that to be the whole reason for my blog to catch attention.

Keep your eyes peeled for more disney gowns, but I do hope you stay for some other projects i want to do, maybe some muscle daddies in cute dresses, fashion designs I wish were on the National Costume category for Miss Universe or DRPH, and maybe some studies here or there and gay pinups.

I hope that for those who have stayed here reading all of this to have a wonderful day and to never stop creating and chiseling away at your block of marble.

Maraming Salamat!

[written-and-readen]

henlo !!

here 🎟️ is my ticket to enter the world of your bungou stray dogs self insert / oc >:3c

im excited to hear more if and when you're ready to share !!

tell me everything 😌

Hi Zoie!!! This is my first time talking about her on this blog so I'm very excited. I'm pulling out my 39-page doc of all my OCs for this one.

Her name is Andalah Hemingway. She’s 20 during the events of the story, so one of the younger Agency members. Her ability is called For Whom the Bell Tolls (I have not read it but the book is right next to me so I'll get there soon). It lets her turn the waves of any sound she makes into a physical force.

She usually activates it through the silver bell she wears around her neck or the tuning fork she carries in her pocket.

She also keeps a couple marbles on her to throw and activate her ability from a distance.

Her ability can activate over really long distances, like if she calls someone to make their phone ring.

The waves produced by her ability aren't very lethal themselves. You won't die if you're hit by one, but they can have a lot of force behind them, so you may be thrown into a wall. (On Atsushi's first mission with her, she protects him from a barrage of bullets by countering them with the force of her ability)

After joining the Agency, Fukuzawa's ability helps her hone her own. She learns to control who and what the sound waves affect instead of them going off on anyone in the vicinity.

Her parents are Ernest and Mary Hemingway. Her father is the head of a firearms company. They're very rich and own an estate out in the countryside. As their only child, Andalah was expected to be the heir to his company, so they've been honing her from a young age for that.

Ernest's ability is Farewell to Arms. It gives him immunity against physical weapons. (Things like hand-to-hand combat and poison will still have an effect on him. Certain abilities can too.)

Mary's ability is The Torrents of Spring. She's a musician and anyone who listens to her music can become mind controlled by her. Although, the target has to be fully paying attention for it to work. At a young age, Andalah learned how to resist this ability.

At 18, Andalah runs away from home. At the train station, she meets Kenji who is headed to Yokohama to be scouted by the Agency. He lets her accompany him, and Fukuzawa allows her to take the entrance exam to join the Agency.

Kenji is very special to her. She heavily associates him with finally getting away from her parents and being able to be happy.

Even though he can take care of himself, she is very protective over him and will lose it if she finds out someone hurt him.

They share a room in the Agency dormitory, and she learns how to cook for him after he's been using his ability all day.

She can seem very cold towards the rest of the Agency. She didn't get a lot of human interaction as a kid, and she doesn't completely trust them at first.

In Yokohama, Andalah develops an acute sense of paranoia. She's used to her parents being in control of every aspect of her life, so it makes her uneasy that she's seemingly gotten out of their grasp so easily. Oftentimes, she'll think she's being followed or watched.

When the Agency faces off against the Guild, Steinbeck reveals that her parents have associations with them. He also throws her off by telling her that they are actually looking for her.

After the Guild is dealt with, her parents send some agents after Andalah to bring her back home. They have been keeping an eye on her since she left, merely seeing her running away as part of a rebellious phase that they're determined to end. This is where I put her own mini-arc in the story. She gets kidnapped by her parents and the Agency has to go rescue her.

I had some ideas for people who worked for the Hemingways that the Agency would have to go through. None of these really have much rhyme or reason for which authors I chose.

Aesop: Andalah's previous tutor. His ability, The Fox and the Crow, makes him extra persuasive and others are more inclined to follow his orders. He's sympathetic towards Andalah's situation but never willing to go against her parents.

Ray Bradbury: Andalah's martial arts teacher. His ability, Fahrenheit 451, allows his hands to heat up to burning temperatures, and he can resist them as well.

Jack London: The guy Andalah's parents were going to marry her off to. He sucks and she hates him. His ability is Call of the Wild, allowing him to communicate with canines.

Honestly, I think none of those guys are a match for the Agency, so they get taken down pretty easily. Kenji goes to find Andalah who's under the control of her mother's ability. When he does, her mother releases Andalah and takes control of his mind, so her daughter can watch as her friend restrains her, about to break her wrists. Andalah uses her own ability to ring the bell around her neck, drowning out her mother's music just enough for Kenji to loosen his grip on her so she can direct an attack at her mother.

Then, Andalah finally faces her father in a fight. She has to use the martial arts training he forced her to learn due to his ability, but she gets some help from Dazai, nullifying Farewell to Arms for just a moment so she can stab him in the chest. She lets both her parents live, but that's her warning that they could never make her return to them.

After seeing everyone in the Agency risk their lives for her, she becomes much more open with them. She sees how they saved her and want to protect her, so she's willing to do the same.

That's her big moment. The only other plot note I have is that, once the Agency members are framed as terrorists, she hides out with the remaining Guild forces led by Steinbeck, sure that he'll believe the Agency is innocent until everyone can regroup.

Ever since the Agency regrouped, some members have not been mentioned all that much like Kyouka and Yosano, especially in the airport fight. So, I'm not sure what Andalah would be up to during that since we don't really have the full picture yet.

I also have a reference for what she looks like (picrew link) along with a few notes that I couldn't convey. (I can very particular about the appearance of my OCs in my head)

She usually ties her hair into twin braids

Her sweater is supposed to be a sweater vest that she wears over a white button up

She also always has her silver bell on a leather cord around her neck

Anyways, that's my Andalah infodump! She's one of my favorite self inserts/OCs, but that's probably because I love Bungou Stray Dogs a lot! I have a few short things I've written for her so I may post those at another time.

I also have this playlist of songs I associate with her

[mullermilkshake]

A well known announcement goes public

Part 12 <- Part 13 -> Part 14

The Chairman announces your pregnancy publicly.

At twenty weeks, the twins are around the size of bananas.

Yandere!Jinwoo Sung x Fem Hunter!reader Tags - Pregnant reader, Manipulation, intrusive thoughts, thoughts of harming others/murder/ torture,

<<< For more Dark/Yandere content, click this link to go back to the Masterlist! >>>

<<< Or back to this fic's Master list. >>>

EDIT - I have only watched the anime and haven't gotten round to reading the manhwa yet. Please refrain from spoilers.

The Chairman reluctantly waited until you were twenty weeks along to make the announcement. Leaving it a little late, the public were already starting to ask questions and rumors started spreading online as to what caused your absence.

The rumours were spot on, a hidden pregnancy from the public eye for now, and views on it were mostly positive. What sparked controversy, was who the father was.

Some lost hopefuls begged that Jong-in was the father, having already fathered two children by now with Hae-in and another hunter Jinwoo didn't bother to learn the name of, they surmised you being the third. Others spoke of Baek being in the lead over your body, fathering a child with you, though they were just hopeful romantics with a huge heart for the guild master to start a family.

And there were those that called themselves ‘team Jinwoo’, speaking out how he would make the best match for you. Admittedly, the comments and whispers made his head swell. He didn't need to be told tha, he knew full well what was best for you. 

It was him.

It was Jinwoo who battled your hormonal mood swings and crazy cravings in the middle of the night.

It was Jinwoo who let you use him when you were sexually frustrated as your belly grew bigger.

And it was Jinwoo who was slowly starting to take care of everything you needed and wanted without resistance from you like before.

He was best for you. Not Jong-in. Not Baek.

Him.

Some disagreed and hated that theory, that Jinwoo would never dream of being with you, let alone getting you pregnant. They were just haters though, swinging their dicks in the wind and despite making his eye twitch, Jinwoo ignored them for a time and drowned out the negativity because he had to.

Reading a comment on the wrong day made him want to go out and kill something. For a time, solo raids satiated him, but as of late, the bigger the babies got and more vulnerable you were, anything talking ill of you made Jinwoo want to choose violence.

You didn’t speak much on it though, not to Jinwoo at least, sitting quietly at anything suggesting you in the news or online. Even during one of your days where you'd cry non stop at virtually nothing, the opinions of the public did not seem to sway you.

It wasn’t until the day of the announcement of your pregnancy that Jinwoo found out who you were consoling with.

Hae-in, and by extension, Jong-in. By now, the Chairman had moved Hae-in to the association's facility and practically left her there. She had been forgotten. Jinwoo assumed that’s where your newfound connection with Hae-in formed. With Igris watching closely in your shadow, Jinwoo understood a lot when he took the chance to see.

Now, Igris couldn’t talk, but his presence allowed a more detailed overview that his regular shadows couldn’t produce. A window into another place. At times it was simple stuff, pregnancy things you and her could relate to. Hae-in spoke of how she missed Jong-in and for a while it seemed like she had grown fond of him and less of Jinwoo.

Perfect. 

And then, you started bringing up Jong-in unprompted. It triggered a long conversation about him and what he was like behind closed doors, his likes and dislikes and all the things that made him tick. Hae-in confirmed what everybody already knew. Jong-in was a great guy, and it made Jinwoo want to vomit. He didn’t care what everyone thought, only you, and if you still enjoyed Jong-in’s company, Jinwoo was doing something wrong.

Just like now, you flocked to Hae-in immediately during the public event and left Jinwoo standing against the wall just waiting for the Chairman to make the announcement.

“So… Twins, huh?” Baek appeared beside him, talking discreetly with a whiskey in his hand. “That’ll be quite the handful.”

Jinwoo wasn’t in the mood to talk, yet he pandered to him. “Yeah, it was quite the shock, but she’s doing really great.”

He watched you closely with adoration in his eyes and burning curiosity on his brain. Jinwoo always did love your smile, though he wondered why you were smiling so much when he wasn't there to make you laugh or see your face brighten up when he came into view.

“I can imagine. I don’t know what I’d do if I heard that news.”

Baek’s tone sounded sincere enough. Yes, the news of twins was a shock, but as more time went on, Jinwoo couldn’t see his little family any other way. And now that you were safely into your second trimester, the Chairman had cleared more pairings in the programme.

“Oh, that’s right, you’ve been paired up now with someone, too. How is that going?”

Baek nodded and sipped his whiskey. “Mhm, an A-Rank, actually. She’s nice, it’s kinda weird though. Not to mention all the pressure of being a guild master, I can relate to Jong-in now. Weren't you thinking of starting your own guild? Are you still wanting to do it, or waiting until after the birth?”

Jinwoo knew the feeling all too well. Though the first few times he slept with you were a dream come true, you and he still needed time to understand each other’s likes and dislikes and get into a rhythm. And as far as the guild went, Jinwoo did have plans on starting the guild properly with Jin-ho, things got waylaid. But in honesty, he had been neglecting his responsibilities to be with you.

I should really contact him. I'll do it later.

“Yeah, I'll get around to it after the twins are here. And to be honest, you’ll move past the awkwardness eventually. It takes time but, as soon as you see the scan for the first time after seeing those two lines on that stick, you’ll just get it.” He told him what he wanted to hear.

No one would have an experience like Jinwoo did with you, no one.

Baek pondered on those words, swirling his whiskey before downing it in one last gulp. “I guess you’re right. It’s the Chairman that’s making it awkward, I can see why you two were so stressed out.”

“Yeah, it’s… intense. Things will ease off once you get her pregnant. It did with us.”

It didn't, though Jinwoo was working on a vice to keep the Chairman away for a while. Hs stifling presence seemed like good faith most of the time, but the very sight of him made you cringe, and therefore stress out. If you were stressed, the twins were too.

“Well, I guess it’s about time I became a father. I’m sort of glad I’m not with another S-Rank truth be told, not that some others are upset by it.”

“How so?”

Baek shrugged. “Being a guild master, some people think I should have been with another S-Rank, it’s just elitist bullshit. I tend to ignore it where I can.”

Jinwoo agreed, like civilians knew what things hunters actually went through… they’d never survive any of it. “Yeah, just buckle down for now, you’ll get past it.”

“Yeah… it’s time to father up, I guess.”

A father. A dad. Jinwoo thought about your idea of letting the association get their hands on his children, would Baek let that happen? 

Jinwoo knew you meant well, he did, after he managed to really calm down he saw some reason. Yet his mind would not let that sit as an end result and stand by while his babies were separated. He’d get by with what he had and his children wouldn’t go hungry, or cold and would have a roof over their heads with you as their mother. Being S-Rank hunters, money wasn't a s much of an issue and you made it out to be. Jinwoo could sell things left right and centre as he continued levelling up, and people would buy it, guaranteed.

Different meant scary, it was how you saw it. But it didn't have to be.

You hadn’t spoken about it since that day in the car. It was still on your mind, that much was clear.

“You won’t put the baby in the facility?” Jinwoo asked, curious to his response.

“Hell no. If I’m going to be a father, then I’ll be a father.” He hesitated to speak after, but he asked the question Jinwoo really didn’t want to hear. “Are you two going to do that?”

Now, Jinwoo wasn’t about to reveal the invisible heart in his sleeve to someone that wasn’t himself or you. 

“We aren’t, I was just curious. A lot has changed over the last few months and it got me thinking, that’s all.” Jinwoo lied, but it was to protect you, to protect your delicate mindset.

“Right, I think that’s what Jong-in and Hunter Cha were thinking about. Y’know, getting support now that Jong-in’s been given more responsibilities. Hunter Cha is settling in well at the facility, apparently they’re waiting on her hand and foot.”

If they were waiting on Hae-in’s every wish, then how would they look after you? Jinwoo did wonder, he often thought about that place and whether it was truly what was best. But only if he came with you.

“Hunter Sung, I was wondering where you had gone to.” The Chairman popped into view with that signature smug smile on his face with your own name at his lips. “You’re usually by her side most of the time. Though while you’re here, I’d like to talk with you in private before this announcement is made public.”

This isn’t good. 

“Of course.” 

Jinwoo nodded Baek off and followed the Chairman into a room off of the main atrium of the association headquarters. A quiet room to the side for serious conversations, leather armchairs to sit and swirl whiskey before exchanging thoughtless words of politics and stocks.

“What is it, Chairman?”

“Well, now that you have made the progress you have, I have a new preposition for you- please, sit.”

Jinwoo sat and slouched, the way his stomach did when his gut screamed in the deathly silent room to keep his wits about him.

The Chairman said your name again more seriously. “After the announcement, I will put through the paperwork to move her to the facility with Hunter Cha…”

No, no, no… 

“Twins with S-Rank mana are truly a marvel and she needs all the support she can get, we have the best doctors and equipment on site to ensure those babies are healthy when they arrive and you can visit whenever you want. I’m excited to see what other pregnancies follow suit with you at the centre of it.”

No, no, no! 

“You want… you want to split us up?” Jinwoo couldn’t believe his ears. “You want to send her away?”

“I wouldn’t put it that way so bluntly, but putting her there will allow another hunter to move in with you. I think this is perfect to really get the programme going. You can’t relax freely if she’s there.”

“No.”

“What do you mean no, Hunter Sung?”

“I said no. There’s nothing more to it. She’s not going anywhere with my children inside of her and even after that. She’s my responsibility and this conversation is over.” Jinwoo shot to his feet and aimed for the door.

“Hunter Sung-”

He stormed out of the room to find you, using Igri’s energy to locate you quickly while the adrenaline pumping through his body heightened his senses. Little did he know, you were talking with Jong-in, laughing at something he said in the right way to just piss him off.

If he wasn't already pissed off and thinking off all the ways he could explode the Chairman's head, he fucking was now. He blinked rapidly to try hide the rage he had to the side to talk with you, heading over there when Jong-in spotted him first.

Jong-in was on that explosion list too. He could only explode someone's head once, so it had to be perfect. Crushing it was one way, listening to the sickening crack and squelch of the brain squirting through the cracks as it opened. Maybe he could get Iron to do it do him, slowly enough so he heard the screams of terror.

No, it hard rot be Jinwoo himself to even get a scrap of enjoyment out of it.

Why the fuck was Jong-in talking to you with such familiarity.

“Jinwoo, it’s been a while… Are you alright?” Jong-in shot up from his seat with more than an ounce of concern behind his glasses.

You caught sight of him and climbed out of your seat as best you could. “Jinwoo-” Your face screwed up and you grabbed onto his shirt with white knuckles and gritted teeth. “Shit- shit, leg cramp- leg cramp!” 

Jinwoo held onto you and let you ride it out, spasms and back pain were becoming a nuisance, even with eye's handmaiden takin the brunt of it. 

Still, looking around, Jinwoo didn’t have the time to give you, seeing the Chairman head over to address the crowded room full of hunters and journalists. “Baby, we need to talk, now.” 

“What is it-”

“Greetings all, I am truly grateful to have all of you attend on this wonderful occasion.” The Chairman commanded the room and the mic. “As you know, the hunters association has taken the initiative in doing our part for the future of hunters after the loss of several S-Rank hunters during the events of Jeju island.” 

The whole room stood silent, hanging on every word the he said. Jinwoo watched on with very little control as it slipped through his fingers and into the man on stage’s large hands.

“And in our endeavour to try and restore confidence and passion in the association after our loss, I am very proud to announce that we have been blessed with twins who are exhibiting high levels of mana in the womb.” 

The room erupted into hushed whispers and glances around until the Chairman announced that it was you who was pregnant, then all eyes were on you. Jinwoo held your hand as people came over congratulating you and him with smiles and flashes from cameras.

Whilst you were swarmed, the Chairman took this distraction to announce the second part of his speech. The bastard. 

“Hunter Sung has valiantly supported the association with his hard work and will continue to do so. Whilst he will support the growth of the children he has fathered like Hunter Choi, he will take another giant step and begin trying with a new assigned hunter to continue the effort to gain back our world from the effects of Jeju island. For that, you have my respect, Hunter Sung.” 

Jinwoo didn’t know what was worse. 

The fact that the Chairman spoke for him and pulled some underhanded shit to make Jinwoo want to throttle him in front of everyone, wring his neck and let Beru punch a hole through his chest so he could shower in the spray of blood and clean himself from the fury he struggled to hide.

Or that the look of betrayal in your glassy eyes, your trembling lip looking back at him.

"Jinwoo... is that true?"

<<< We interrupt this broadcast for a vote. >>>

(I've never written childbirth before so it'll be an experience for all of us 🤗)

Also, do you wan't a gender reveal poll? Let me know! 🤗

Part 12 <- Part 13 -> Part 14

If you would like to be tagged, please let me know! Thanks so much for all the support on this likes, reblog and comments appreciated! ❤️

Tag list - @bubera974 @snowy-violet @sky2lar @starrynights23x @minh907

@yessirr7 @aussie-boys-wife @yihona-san06 @mashiromochi @daiyanomochi

@justatimidcreator @alia-17 @otomegamesforlife @m00n-estelle @towomatos

@stormnightingale @johnnysactualgf @solarisstarrsolomonsbeloved @johnnysactualgf @notleclerc

@minkuro @misakicchi @lovingyeet @soft-dots @gina239

@sabrina-senpai @tsukimoon-chan @afkmylajah @livelaughlovekuni @keiva1000

@delusionillusion322 @dreamingoftomorrow @gina239 @blxuqueenie @stardust0709

@chahaezii @athanasia10 @crutoyu @thetruepair @lostpsycho13

@dragoonsuki @sashagaming1012 @maria-trisha @dyavorange @mommydelicious5272

@shortchubbytat

DISCLAIMER - Crossposted from my AO3 - I do not own any of the characters or anything from the anime or manhwa. This is a work of fan fiction and is absolutely not representative of the views or intentions of the original creator(s).

Also please don’t post any of my work without permission thank you!

[whencyclopedia]

Diversity in Church Architecture in Medieval England

Medieval English churches differed in size and layout. Their original and evolving role(s), financial and material resources, and architectural fashions helped determine variability. However, their look ultimately grew from a constant symbiosis between being a place for worship and practical matters. During the 10th-15th centuries, stone construction became firmly established, and that witnessed a golden era of church building.

Purpose & Resources

Immediate, mundane reasons for diversity were just as for any other buildings – houses, castles, offices – it depended on the purpose for which they were originally built and the financial and material resources available to the initial builders and to later owners who wanted to extend and/or beautify it.

Impoverished communities created basic churches employing the means and materials members of the settlement possessed or could source nearby using their own sweat and skills. Rich sponsors had the wherewithal to envisage and execute the most lavish projects money and authority could buy, transporting materials from far and wide, engaging the leading designers, technology, masons, metalworkers, carpenters, painters, and glaziers of the day.

Basic buildings might be erected as outposts of mother churches/minsters or by individual villages or minor landowners wanting a place, however humble, to express their faith, as a centre for the daily, weekly, and yearly cycles of devotion that dominated and led peoples' lives. They were simple rectangular structures, large enough for maybe 15 to 20 worshippers. The grandest undertakings were sponsored by major royal, aristocratic, or religious order benefactors to produce leading centres of ecclesiastical, administrative, and scholarly influence. Many of the great cathedrals, abbeys, and minsters, like Durham, Lincoln, and Old St Paul's London were wonders of the world at the time they were built, well over 100 meters long, 100 meters high, or more, and tens of meters wide.

Of course, the majority of churches fell in between these extremes. Some might not initially have been conceived on a grand scale, yet over the centuries they grew as patrons and communities responded to changing population sizes and advances in building technology that fed the desire to always have the bigger, better, more beautiful, the latest architectural fashion. In the economic climate of the later Middle Ages, fresh sponsors of church building and extension entered the scene. Newly rich guilds and merchants in many towns employed their wealth to craft ornate chapels or enhance an existing church with which they were associated. From unpretentious origins, many modest buildings thus grew into impressive houses of God – witness Leicestershire's grandest church in Melton Mowbray backed by wool traders' money, and the great wool churches of Norfolk and Suffolk.

Continue reading...

[celinunu]

Oc part 2

✧Shiro, Kuro, Shrkr and Krshr. Lamento btv / Project sekai / genshin / vtubersona

✦ I have my own system of worldview, I call it the Shirokuro-system theory.

Briefly about shiro (Japanese, white) and kuro (Japanese, black) and shirokuro/kuroshiro is my specific set of characteristics, which includes everything from behavior patterns and thinking, appearance and the unconscious to the choice of drink, smell and language of communication. Anything can fall under the definition of shirokuro st, living and non-living, essential and ephemeral. In general, the definitions themselves appeared thanks to my associations and events that I observed. If we consider them as characters...

✦ Shiro(white) is chaos, cold, softness, manipulativeness, melancholic temperament

✦ Kuro(black) on the contrary is order, heat, persistence, conflict, choleric

✦ Shirokuro (white/yellow) the desire for order, development of one's personality in activity and something factual, to become more resilient and stricter. Shirokuro are distinguished by developed feelings of empathy and general sensitivity. Sanguine

✦ Kuroshiro (dark blue/black) the desire for chaos, spiritual development of his personality, in something ephemeral, like becoming more beautiful, funnier, smarter, and so on. Phlegmatic

I make many characters according to this pattern, referring them to some category. More often, this works with OCs in fandoms, because I am interested in making designs and coming up with how they would act in certain circumstances.

✦ For example, lamento Shirokuro. I decided that she simply would not have survived in Sisa. Firstly, because her hair is black and white, and secondly, because it implies a mixture of something that is absolutely conflicting, like Kira and Meigi iykyk

Shirokuro 5yo

Mother from Meigi

Father from Kira

Was killed by Kira's cats for betrayal

Frozed to death

Dreamed of writing poetry

Sanga (nobody knew it)

(Would be the same age as Bardo)

✦ Project sekai shrkr for every unit in short..

As with fitzin, I have paired characters with my husband. His characters are called Lin.

Wxs like Emu but she's poor and untalented but "omg i want everyone to smileeeeee because i love everyoneeeeee" lol so she is music producer and costume maker (also she sewed dolls for Lin)

Vivid "i can't sing but i can rap" literally

They wouldn't accept her in mmj...

Leo/need BRO IS FRIENDLESS 😭😭🙏

Aand niigo as a member she gets bullied at school and abused at home because she allows it and can't stand up for herself. But one day the head of the student committee stood up for her. He was known as the most critical music critic www, so she wrote songs poems for him. (He doesn't care absolutely)

as a vocaloid Srkr is the epitome of hard work because of no inclination and no talent, so she is very tired...

✦ Genshin Srkr she is free standard 4* anemo bow user, her e is like Xingqius ult with elemental bonus // her ult is Sucrose and Jean like. She has relatives all over Teyvat and she was constantly moving around with her mother. She spent her childhood in Inazuma, after which she left for Liyue just before the borders were closed. And theeeennn moved to Fontaine. Then, she wanted to go to Mond, but her mother refused, so she left on her own and started working in Cat's Tail and sometimes worked part-time in the adventurers' guild. She felt calm and confident in Mond, so she decided to stay there.

✦ Shirokuro Ten used to have a lot of lore, but I changed my mind and now they're just a shy little smol dandelion and my vtubersona. Btw they are as tall as 23 dandelion parachutes, that's ≈ 34.5 cm

to be continued....................

[crystalelemental]

With the Abyssal portions defeated, time for the final thoughts on Nexomon Extinction.

The Abyssals are exactly what I wanted out of the Tyrants.

My biggest complaint story-wise for this game was that the Tyrants themselves really didn't matter much. There's a thousand-year war among the Tyrants going on, that pushed humanity so far that one Guild leader created a cult to revive Omnicron, and their successor created artificial dragons to hunt Tyrants, an artificial Tyrant to command them, and then another, bigger one when that plan failed. But despite how significant this war was...all of the Tyrants we meet are pretty inconsequential, and most are associated with a human who does most of the talking and planning to begin with. I understand that this game is the human errors side of thing after the last game's presentation of the threat of Nexomon, but it's still kinda rough to go through all these story segments with the Tyrants not producing anything substantial. You get to postgame where you can hunt them down, and they're all a pain in the ass to find, with nothing drawing me to them.

The Abyssals, though? This is what I wanted. A thousand years ago, the first Abyssal arrived. And their first act? Killing Hilda. Another is stated to have made an attempt on Eliza's life. These are a much more pressing, salient threat. Sure, Tyrants destroyed cities, but we've never seen them do anything. The Abyssals have personal connection.

Despite their power, the Abyssals are odd in that they never aimed to become Sovereign of Monsters, and they seem immune to Solus' influence as the current Queen. What's presented is a pretty interesting mystery that builds up more questions than it feels like it wants to answer. What's the deal with these weird engravings? Why are Abyssals so weird? Apparently each is born with a clear goal from its creator, but this creator is unknown to them, and their specific goals are incredibly simplistic, with no known overarching goal. They're super unusual.

By gameplay, the Precursor Island is really fun. It might be an odd comparison, but it reminds me of the bonus dungeon of Ib a bit. There's a central location, and your goal is running around everywhere to collect the things you need to progress, solving puzzles that sometime intertwine a bit. It's a really fun system, finding each of the Abyssals and solving their puzzles. The only annoying ones were the flying one (Inominox) and the electric one (Volcel). The rest was really fun. Even the weird maze puzzle was fairly clever, though the final solution was a little...obvious but still hard to figure out the hint.

I think what really sells me on the Abyssals...well, two things. The smaller one is design. The Abyssals are just really cool concepts. Venefelis shows up and is immediately incredible, being super imposing but kinda goofy, and stated outright that he shouldn't be strong enough to pull off the nonsense he has. Kroma is my absolute favorite, and she's set up as super imposing given her drive is killing Eliza, only for Venefelis to rant about how incompetent Kroma is for being the only one of them to fail in her mission. Then there's Screaming Fire Velociraptor, who is hilarious in concept. And Inominox, who is such a coward that it won't face anyone with more than one Nexomon, and that one Nexomon needs to be weak to Flying. Or the soup for Volcel. There's Caelesa, who ran across the world, and was attacked by the Guild for little reason other than paranoia, since she hurt no one in her efforts. There's Pluvian, whose entire goal was to show up, scream, and then get killed by the Guild for no clear reason. There's Rotrimus, who you try to order around, and initially agrees, but is intercepted by the force of their creator bending its will back to refusing your call. It's a really interesting and dynamic group, that apparently has no clear association. Many of them insist they worked alone. They had a creator, but they themselves don't even think of themselves as a unified group. Only Venefelis seems to confirm that they have association.

The other is that this group is delightfully aligned to the themes of the game. Nexomon Extinction has two general themes I can identify. The first is a bit more obvious and repeatedly stated: second chances. The children of Omnicron refer to their support as their redemption, the entire plot is Deena attempting to grant a second chance at saving the world, your resolution of the central conflict is trading the destruction of your direct enemy into granting them a second chance at life. There's an ongoing importance to the idea of getting a second shot at things...but a second shot isn't necessarily going to mean doing better. The former hero comments that your actions amount to the same thing she did, and despite the failures of the dragons, Amelie's second chance is doubling down on a decision that worked out poorly. This leads into the second theme, and the one I like a lot better: the limits of personal agency.

The former hero is a good lens for this one. Repeatedly throughout this game, their actions are referred to as if it was a huge mistake. They themselves talk about it as a mistake. Deena outright calls it stupid decision made by her moronic friends. Even Ulzar, who is more sympathetic to the situation, talks about it as if it were a mistake, if an understandable one. Absolutely everyone treats their actions as something that led to the present problem, and thus was the wrong decision.

But...we were there. Omnicron was going to completely destroy the world. You can argue that the destruction of his soul in the netherworld wasn't necessary, and that was the mistake. But it's well known that he'll come back time and again; it'd be pushing the problem out to the next generation. And Omnicron could follow through. When you fail to destroy him in the Netherworld, Omnicron devastates an area so badly that entire maps are wiped out of reality. This was done in hours. Omnicron tells you outright he could've annihilated the planet in a day, but he stopped solely to challenge his rival, the strongest human, as a matter of pride. This wasn't an idle threat. It was an active, immediate devastation looming on the horizon.

Faced with that, what choice did you really have? Yes, there was a technically a choice. But who could choose the alternative? When humanity is faced with its destruction through the war of the Tyrants, yes, you had a choice to make those dragons or not. But faced with the destruction of multiple cities and further looming threat, what choice did you have? When those failed, you had the choice to stop. But then the destruction of the Tyrants continue unabated. Who would choose to stop? Vados embodies this. He's a creation of Amelie, born to hunt Tyrants to protect humanity. The thing about Vados is that he has agency and beliefs of his own. When told to destroy Petram in spite of the Laterians interfering, he refuses to harm humans. But we know that will happen anyway. We're told repeatedly that the Tyrants will continue to rise, until Vados has destroyed so much that the world is inhospitable to humans as well. He has his own agency, his own desire to protect humanity and protect the world. But he'll betray that through his own actions, regardless of what he wants. He was made to hunt Tyrants, and so he shall, til the end of days. The only way to avert this is to refuse to fight every Tyrant, to refuse to wage this absolute crusade. And that's the only choice he cannot make. He doesn't get a choice.

The Abyssals continue this theme. Like Vados, the Abyssals are created for a singular purpose. They are born with a goal, and that is all they have. They have their own personalities, but few of them seem interested in the specifics of what's going on. Kroma doesn't seem particularly interested in killing Eliza, she just has to. Pluvian doesn't seem to function as a willing sacrifice, but she does it anyway because that's her goal. Regardless of what they want, they will carry out their goal.

Unlike Vados, though, they have no overarching philosophy. Nothing that specifically guides their actions beyond the immediate. Caelesa runs around the world, but she doesn't seem to understand why. So when their goal is accomplished, despite getting a second chance at life...none of them know what to do with it. So they just sit around, completely docile, until you strike them down again. What other choice did they have? They never knew what they were aiming to do in the first place.

Except for Venefelis. The first Abyssal. At first, he had no idea what his point was. He had a goal, carried it out, and got sealed within the woods forever. Not ideal, but mission accomplished. Then 300 years later, another entity like him appears, carrying out a similarly short-sighted goal. Then 200 years later, another. And another 100 years after that. They appear faster and faster, until we get two within ten years. And as the only one to really survive, even if just as a spirit...you recognize the pattern. After all, Venefelis understands Caelesa's goal better than she understands it herself. She thinks it was just running, but Venefelis identifies it as a scouting mission. You know there's a grander design here; a purpose. But you can't figure out what. Because no one will tell you. You creator, the one guiding your motions, won't speak to you.

What else can you do but try to divine their intent? With nothing else to go off of, you watch their actions, and notice only one thing stands out. Kroma failed, and following that, no other Abyssals were created. Maybe your creator quit. Maybe it's because of Kroma. You don't know that, but what else could it be? You don't understand your purpose, but you desperately want to understand it; to know why you're still here. What choice do you have but to force a second chance on her? To enforce your creator's will, regardless of what she'd want? What choice does she have but to obey?

The twisted thing is, there really is nothing else for them. Rotramus shows this definitively. When you attempt to issue a command, he thinks about it, and passively decides sure, I'll help. It's not the resounding success of an authority check commanding its allegiance. It's someone making a choice, as if it has nothing better to do and no reason to argue. But its creator's will forces it to refuse. Even with its goal accomplished, and no reason to refuse, they interfere, denying your freedom. Quite literally, you have no other choice.

Everything that happens in this arc is driven by Venefelis' desires. His agency, his desire to understand his creator, drives everything forward. No one else even understands why they're here. They didn't have much choice either way. He brought them back, gave them a second chance they had no use for. But what else could he have done? To see what he wanted done, all he could do was solve Kroma's failure by pushing her into another attempt. And it wouldn't have even worked. It was entirely for nothing. But what can you do but try? You technically have a choice. You finished your goal, you could just let it all rest. But faced with the dread of an eternity devoid of purpose, who would choose any different?

Despite how many open-ended threads there are, and how many mysteries we're left with, this does feel like a self-contained story. We don't know what the point is. We don't know what it means. But neither did they. And the result of that ignorance, that impossibility, is they existed unable to live for themselves, and no second chance could get them to defy that fate. Which really resonates with me. I loved this side story a lot, and these open questions have really gotten me interested in the sequel game. I've heard they officially announced its existence but not a release date or any details. I can be patient. But I'm really invested in this one. They really hit a sweet spot here.

[fans4wga]

The actors in Netflix’s One Piece have been promoting and talking about their work even though the show was made in association with SAG-AFTRA. Would they be considered scabs, or could promoting the series be part of their contract?

Hi! Thanks for your question. We can't sure about their contract details—or even if those cast members are SAG-AFTRA members, since the show was produced in Japan and it's very possible it was under a non-SAG contract. But you're right that the SAG-AFTRA strike started on July 13, after which SAG members (or those who want to be members in the future) shouldn't have been doing promo for struck works, including One Piece.

Like we've said before, in this time let's remember that SAG-AFTRA leadership will discipline people who are out of line—it's their job, not ours, to figure out the exact context and any appropriate disciplinary measures. While we condemn scabbing, no one should be harassing anyone (especially since in the early days of the strikes, guidelines weren't as clear as they are now). It's a far better use of our time to promote the guilds' messages and fundraise for strike funds!