#and more so the added attention in general i think even if it’s technically not on my blorbo DJDJF

[bravevolunteer]

the audacity of the movie to release when i am both starting finals very soon and have been. weirdly anxious about my shit

[ganondoodle]

Hello 👋

Swallowing my nerves at last to send you an ask! I was just wondering, what inspires your designs? Are their inspirations in stuff like movies or games? Or just things you come up with yourself?

i .. honestly its kinda hard to tell, sometimes i just randomly think of something, like some detail, or color combination and try to incorporate that into a design somehow; it can come from anywhere, like the color scheme of a pithaya/dragonfruit is something i have been wanting to make a design with for ages but havent come up with anything good in all those years ;O;

im a very easily fascinated by color, espeically in nature, like sometimes i just stop and stare at something like i froze in time bc i just woooooooooooooah color! i probably look like a weirdo doing that though

its really hard to pinpoint anything specifically, the most is probably .. other artists? i guess? which always makes me nervous bc my memory is shit in most areas of life and i worry myself to pieces whether i unintentionally "stole" an idea and just dont remember and think it was my own, it goes further that sometimes i see something that makes me want to draw a similar concept but dont bc i dont want to 'steal' even if that couldnt be further from my intention (have been accused of that before ..)

that said for my ocs specifically .. most are rather old and have just kinda evolved out of their awkward first iterations (shargons first iteration was a hauro-howl- copy that was really just some human covered in feathers .. another oc was once a hellboy copy but in green- havent drawn nor redeisgn them in ages lol), the biggest inspirations for them is a mix of animals, bonus if you dont see them often- im a big shark, whale and sea creatures in general nerd so i tend to take from them as a priority but always trying to be less directly animal and mostly just .. features that work together

Eadrya is one of the newer OCs- i started to write but then looked at my folders and oh they are from 2017 .., i even made a design timeline for them how much they, and my art, have changed back in 2020, so thats also way outdated now lol (they apparently started as a whale .. thing? its like a pokemon evolution lol)

this is them now (i like this sketch still, though shargons design is now also outdated lmao)

this ones from early 2023 so also outdated now but you get the point

for demons i try to be a bit more wild on shapes and colors while still adhering to the rules of how they work (humanoid form, demon form, animalistic, one element each and more or less made to fit that, 4 arms is very common, look to be bost scary and wild but also something that would make you stop in tracks and stare in awe and fear if you crossed paths)

often times designs just kinda .. happen, i have maybe the idea ok i wanna make something with a white and red pattern also moose or those big horned cows are cool and kinda scary so maybe sth akin to that (though this one is technically a redesign too- its also pretty much entirely different)

for non demons but still non human i go for a much more restrained design, mainly inspired directly by an animal and giving the color scheme a good spin, plus adding unconventional body shapes, like ki'ita is also a good example, her old idea was just orca anthro pirate and just by making the white green instead in her most recent redesign already adds that little spin to it

that can have its pitfalls though, as i often fall into the big arm small head small legs scheme over and over xD

alot of it is trial and error, deciding on the colors can take me hours bc im always searching for my little rule of having one contrast color that shows up in very few places to draw attention to it (like with Eadrya its those bright yellow eyes and thingy at their tail)

and that is all about myy own ocs, when its fandom stuff it works kinda similar though, either in the connections i wanna draw or just thinking it further- like how deities in destiny work also just kinda .. happened like an ever derailing train

like for demise i was at first really just im gonna give him horns bc horns are cool and he got those on the starting mural in the game- so how his hair work? well maybe it isnt hair actually and just unbound energy, im making him a deity too and fit hylias design to his so, yeah, then so how does it work, ok he gotta have a skeleton still, but what if his entire actual body is made up of pure magical energy with its core in the ribcage? with the core in the ribcage >:3c and the scales you see are just like cooled down lava as an armor bc his thing is fire and earth !! the normal blood? is a thin layer of skin imiated from mortals to keep the scales together and flexible so if he ACTUALLY gets hurt hed bleed magic that looks more like lava and any normal blood you see is just the armor- so why does he have a skeleton still instead of being just energy? maybe its gotta be bound to something OH and what if all of the deities started as mortals like a mirror to the trio later on and the gods cannot have direct influence to the worlds so they needed a right hand that is neither god nor mortal but both by killing a mortal by whatever their element will be (demise burned, hylia drowned etc) and their skeleton and spirit is kept but put into a body of magic- OH what if their spirit core is like almost piloting their bodies like a mech in a way bc if youd look close youd see that every strand of magic is actual a hand of their spirit so it makes it more weird and other bc hed be able to reach out with thousands of burning claws of all shapes and sizes like the beheaded forest god at the end of mononoke- SO if hed lose and arm or something all those strands would untangle and rearrange his bones back together-OH MY GOD the whole armor idea works so well for ghirahims dark armor so what if demise had two swords once and lost one and since has forged an armor similar to his own for ghirahim out fo fear of losing him t---

and that all is a process that happens over several weeks and months not rarely while i am drawing something mindlessly and suddendly *have a thought* and omg that makes so much sense-

so "what" inspires my designs? an ever derailing train of thought about making cool thick monsters that arent the evil thing to get rid of for once? cool color schemes? idk it just kinda happens??

[see-arcane]

I figured I should interrupt everyone's dash for some notes on current real life things.

This is a hefty one, so I'm tucking everything below:

A little good news. As of this writing, I’ve sold 74 copies of The Vampyres, in eBook and paperback! That’s 74 more than I thought I would ever sell! Thank you to everyone who picked up a copy or asked your library to grab some. Especially when I know I haven’t been the most stellar self-marketer. I can’t remember the last time I opened the septic tank formerly known as Twitter, so it’s all been down to this little corner here and a skinny appearance in Goodreads. Which means I owe any attention this short and sinister tale has received to you all and plain old word-of-mouth.

That said, thank you x100000 to you and any new readers yet to take a look. (And doubly so for those of you who go out of their way to leave comments and reviews around for me to reread ad infinitum.)

For those not in the know, all the info on The Vampyres can be found here, and all my author odds and ends can be found on my website here.

On a less heartening note…

As I’d already expected, the market for career writers is…rough. Copywriting—and writing in general—is technically a big open field (full of caveat descriptions about having to work with/teach AI programs to eventually swallow your job)! Tons of open positions! Most of which either pay you in pocket change while you’re working full time or expect you to singlehandedly run the entire marketing of a business for slightly more pocket change. Everything else is bloated with contract and/or freelance work*.

*Read: Gig economy schlock trying to pass for an actual job position with payment being a coin toss. I’ve also seen one too many listings on the job boards that are volunteer positions. Plenty of exposure to rake in though, right? Ha. Ha ha.

I’ve still been applying like clockwork, same as the rest of my fellow creators trying to get by in a field that seems to actively punish trying to be a professional in said field, and still no bites further than an interview. I have years of experience and a degree, but everyone’s chasing the same crumbs, so. Yeah. I’ve got to start padding things out.

Reminder that I do have a (barely peddled) Ko-Fi. It’s there for art commissions and chucking a few spare bucks at. Which is an increasingly big ask these days, I know. You can’t scroll two posts down without hitting someone else’s Ko-Fi, Patreon, GoFundMe, Kickstarter, et cetera. We’re drowning in arting starvists here. And although I have been asked before whether I would consider going full Freelance Storywriter on top of selling art, I’m still a little hesitant on it. I do occasionally send out story submissions and have even gotten published a few times, but I get nauseous thinking about:

1) Putting up a paywall on the scribbles that assail me like a baseball bat wielded by an unmerciful Muse. 2) Putting up a ‘Stories for Sale!’ sign only to wind up disappointing prospective buyers because I didn’t do their blorbos justice even after researching X background for the piece. 3) Getting duped into being a nonconsenting ghostwriter and discovering someone else has published my work under their own name.

So, still a bit iffy on that. I’ll chew on it. But what else is left?

Before you click the button!

Stop!

NOT YET!

Before you click, please know that I am being serious about this as something to potentially make 1) something of good quality and 2) earn more money than it loses. Looking around at the merch-making/selling options, there are fees involved with making an account just about anywhere in the online store game, give or take the price tweaking needed for shipping and manufacturing blah blah blah.

With that in mind, please do not automatically hit ‘yes’ because you want to be nice. I appreciate it, but this isn’t the same thing as the Ko-Fi where there’s no real loss in just leaving it up and drawing something once every few months. This will take new designs, another subscription to pay for, more logistics to untangle for quality and pricing and all the rest of the mess. Only hit ‘yes’ if you, personally, genuinely, would like to purchase some nefarious See Arcane wares beyond a book or a digital drawing.

[emelinstriker]

Mink (Ink MK) ♡ Opinions

Minky-Mink needs love too y'know.

Even if some people disagree with the choice of one's lover based on past experiences with said inky entity...

Also not gonna lie, I probably got the layout of Flower Fruit Mountain messed up cuz I just went purely by memory, so if something changed over the course of the show, and it shouldn't be like that in the current timeframe of the story, just ignore it- I can't be bothered with looking back at all the episodes involving the mountain and whatever happens on it- fdhgnfdhghfdg

Art drawn by me

♡ ~ Fluff ~ ♡ 

You and your friend MK were walking towards the waterfall on Flower Fruit Mountain. MK was supposed to train with Monkey King today, and you just decided to go with him to visit Sun Wukong again after not having seen him since the beach party you had following the downfall of the Brotherhood. You even brought some peach-flavored snacks for him!

Once MK split the waterfall and you entered, you almost immediately spotted Wukong seemingly napping on his peach tree. MK decided to grab his attention, "Monkey King! We're here!"

Monkey King opens his eyes and grinned, lazily waving. "Hey, bud. You're early." Then he noticed you before jumping off the tree to talk to the two of you. "Oh hey, (Y/N). What brings you here today? I don't think you said anything about joining in on training."

You shook your head, waving your hand dismissively as you let out a nervous chuckle. "Oh- Ah, no... I'm just here to visit. I haven't seen you since the beach party... And I brought snacks for you!" You then began to drop your backpack to shuffle around in it, grabbing some of the peach-flavored snacks. MK just stared at you in both awe and shock... How did you manage to fit all of those in there?! Meanwhile, Wukong snickered at the sight of all those snacks in your arms. He crossed his arms with a grin.

"Oh damn, you brought a lot... You sure these are for me? I could just, you know, use my hair and recreate those... Would've been a lot less expensive-" "No, no! I insist!" You interrupted him with a sheepish smile. "I'd rather have you eat actual food than food made from your hair, to be honest. It's a lot more comforting not having to ignore the fact that your food would technically be made out of your hair."

Wukong shrugged as he took the snacks from you. "Eh, point taken." He then glanced back over to your backpack and paused as something caught his eye. And yet, he didn't say anything as he slowly frowned in suspicion. His frown was quickly masked by a smile. "So, do you guys wanna come in?"

You grabbed your backpack off the ground and nodded before making your way inside with MK. Placing your bag on the couch, you turn back towards Wukong with a small smile as you place your backpack against the side of the couch. "Thanks for letting me hang out with you two, Monkey King. Otherwise I would've just spent the entire day at Pigsy's."

He waved his hand dismissively, "Don't mention it. It's a lot more fun hanging with me and MK than at the noodle shop, if I'm being honest here." He said kind of smugly. "Who knows what could happen next? What kind of adventures await us while simply being in this room?" Monkey King added dramatically. Then his eyes landed on your backpack again as he got suspicious once more. Just to make sure of what he saw, his eyes flickered golden for a moment to confirm your backpack's content to him, revealing exactly what he assumed he saw... He had to bring it up now, because what he saw was dangerous...

"Say, (Y/N)... Have you brought anything else besides snacks?"

You tilted your head at him in confusion. "Um... No? I only brought snacks as gifts. I don't have other gifts for you, sorry..."

He shook his head and crossed his arms. "I'm not talking about specifically gifts for me... I'm talking about if you brought anything else in general with you." You blinked at him, still confused, but at least he clarified his question.

"Um... I can just show you my backpack if that helps... I don't own any weapons or anything like that though, so I'm not sure why you're asking about this-" You said as you picked up your backpack, placing it on the couch. The moment you opened it, both MK and his mentor peer into your backpack with you. The ginger-furred simian already saw what was in there, but the sight shocked MK as he looks a bit... Confused? Betrayed?

"What... W-Why do you have that scroll, (Y/N)?" MK asked in disbelief as he looked at the black and blue scroll sitting at the bottom of your now-empty-of-snacks backpack. You were just purely confused about why both were stressing so much about the scroll... The scroll has never been evil since you got it a long while ago from your dad... All it did was give you a new friend... Or rather lover. And he's never done anything in the months you've known him personally.

"Nezha took the scroll and brought it back to where it came from... How do you have it? Did he give it to you? Did you steal it?" Wukong asked with a raised eyebrow. You nervously scratched your cheek. While your answer was simple and you didn't plan anything malicious, you really didn't feel comfortable with the way Wukong sounded... It was as if you were being interrogated for doing something horrible.

While you were trapped in the scroll with your friends before, something they didn't know about was how the scroll's curse never actually did anything to you, at all. And instead of reliving some form of memory of yours or the past like the others, you actually were just lost and wandering aimlessly... Until you met the curse and talked to it. Or, well, him... Because the curse took on the form of MK, but made out of ink, including imitating his voice. He probably took on your friend's form to appear friendlier, which worked to an extent... After all, you weren't used to seeing MK's monkey form made out of ink.

Long story short, you became friends with the scroll's curse and even got a lot closer after your dad gave you the now much more docile scroll... How he got his hands on it, you never questioned since this was far from the weirdest achievements he's managed to reach. You would not be surprised if he had connections to the Underworld or the Celestial Realm. He was probably also the one who brought back Mink. Because you remembered how the curse was practically blasted and defeated by MK before being used by Azure Lion... Well, the curse was responsive once more when you opened the scroll.

"W-Well, um... My dad gave it to me and told me to open it whenever I'm in trouble or feel lonely... S-So... Uh..." You stammered out. MK blinked at you in confusion and suspicion while his mentor's glare was fully set on suspicion.

"(Y/N), you've seen what that scroll does... even with the curse not actively haunting us or our past and future. Especially if it falls into the wrong hands... I'm not saying you're directly the one with the wrong hands, but you could be at risk of losing that scroll to someone who would only do bad with it. Azure Lion was one of those..." Monkey King states firmly, trailing off with a bit of sadness when he thought about his fallen brother.

You frowned at him. "But... Mink wouldn't let that happen twice... And I already am carrying the scroll around everywhere I go..." Your friends looked at you in confusion. Ah, right... They didn't know who Mink was. So you added, "Mink is the scroll's ink demon curse... I named him that myself and he seemed to like it-" "Wait, wait, wait-" MK cut you off, "You named the curse? And gendered it??"

You nodded awkwardly. Monkey King pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "You know what? How about you just give me the scroll and I'll make sure it reaches Nezha again. Or I might as well just bring it back to the Underworld myself." He then reached his hand into your backpack. However, before he could grab the item, the scroll began to move. Monkey King and his successor took a step back in fear of the scroll lashing out at them and sucking them back inside to trap them. You on the other hand just casually reached your hand into your backpack, which seemed to stop the scroll from moving. Then you pulled it out and and held it in your hand.

"Mink doesn't like it when someone else holds the scroll of memory after all that happened... Usually I'm the only one he doesn't mind being carried by." You said, shrugging. Your words only seemed to confuse your friends more and more. 'How could you be so casually with such a dangerous weapon of entrapment?', they were probably wondering. Then you got an idea. "How about I introduce you guys to him? I know you technically already met him, but he's changed since you guys have last seen him..." And before they could respond, you open the scroll. Dread is plastered across your two friends' faces as they prepare to fight.

As the familiar black ink splat onto the ground beneath the scroll, a kneeling figure was formed by it on top of the small puddle. An inky figure with a swaying monkey tail and blue lights for a face... It took on the form of MK as it seemingly grinned at the real MK and his mentor.

"It really has been a while... MK, Sun Wukong."

There was some serious tension in the air as they both glare daggers into the ink demon in front of them. Mink stretches a bit as he stands up from his kneeling position. "No need to look so hostile. I'm not even doing anything." He then wraps an arm around you and pulls you against his chest, wrapping his tail around your leg. Despite him being made out of ink, the form the curse took on was quite solid and somewhat warm to the touch. "I'm just here to make sure my beloved human feels comfortable."

"MK, Monkey King, meet Mink. He's my, um... goopy boyfriend." You said sheepishly, to which Mink seemed to smugly grin at the other two. MK and Monkey King were both baffled. You were dating a literal curse placed upon the Scroll of Memory to keep others trapped in it! How could they not be shocked??

Though, for MK it wasn't so much the fact that you were dating a curse that confused him, instead it was the fact that the curse decided to use its ink replica of him to be affectionate with you. This, in of itself, made him feel uncomfortable and a bit disgusted since he saw you more as something like a sibling... And basically seeing a depiction of himself being romantically involved with you was just weird to him.

"...Alright, that scroll really has to be returned though-" Monkey King started, but then was cut off the moment he tried reaching for the scroll in your hands. An audible, ominous growl could be heard coming from Mink, which sounded more like a corrupted monster than the usual voice replica of MK.  The curse glared at the Great Sage Equal To Heaven while holding you close.

"That scroll now belongs to (Y/N). No one else will have it. I refuse to let anyone ever separate me from them!" Mink said angrily, which was a huge difference in behavior compared to when the group was trapped within the scroll.

Meanwhile, you also held tightly onto the scroll, hugging it close to your chest as you shook your head. "Sorry... But Mink and I already agreed on him staying with me... Which does unfortunately mean I have to keep the scroll around me at all times..."

"But does it really have to take on my form??" MK whined in response as he eyed Mink.

Mink shrugged in return before letting go of you to cross his arms. "What can I say? I just like this form. It's simple, not too tall or too short, not unfamiliar to (Y/N)... And I get to off-handedly remind you of our conversation a while ago! Isn't that fun~?" He said that last part rather mockingly, which made MK clench his fists. On the other hand, Monkey King's eyes softened a little as he looked at you, worried.

"(Y/N), think about this... Even if it- he- the curse, isn't doing anything right now, you can't forget about that scroll being more of a weapon against even the divine... Mink might trap more people in the scroll. And maybe even trap you in there agai-" "I would never do that!" Mink angrily cut him off, MK's replica voice sounded insulted. "Out of all the beings in existence that can get imprisoned, my beloved human will never be one of them! They can enter and leave the scroll freely whenever they want. It's already like their second home anyway." The ink curse added firmly before taking your hand into his.

Monkey King scoffed. "In my opinion, it would still be best to bring you back to where you belong. In the scroll, and in the Underworld."

"Well too bad, bud. I'm not leaving. You can't keep me from (Y/N)." Mink retaliated. The MK copy then seemed to pout as he shows a blue-glowing tongue, pointing it in the simian's direction like a stubborn child. Monkey King's eye seemed to twitch in annoyance.

"Mink isn't even outside of the scroll in public... He only ever comes out whenever we're alone..." You added, trying to defend the curse. Monkey King hesitantly sighed.

It took some time and some more arguments, but eventually MK and his mentor gave in and agreed to let you keep Mink... On the condition that Mink continues to stay in the scroll around people, and of course that you never use the scroll against others, even if you hated them. As if you were going to plan anything with the scroll anyway...

But on the other hand, Monkey King told Nezha about you, Mink, the scroll, and your relationship with the scroll's curse, and... uh...

He was not happy.

Like, at all.

However, that did not stop Mink from being with you. This actually ended up becoming more of a game of Nezha trying to "rescue" you while Mink would just hide you in the scroll whenever the Lotus Prince was around. And while Monkey King usually wouldn't help you with Mink, he would slowly start to join in on this little game and be the one to hide the scroll, pretending like he didn't see it. Just to mess with Nezha for the fun of it.

Soon, the rest of the crew found out about Mink's more permanent reappearance. While it also took a while, they did slowly start to accept him. Pigsy was the most pissed off one, just because Mink would end up leaving ink everywhere he went in the noodle shop... And of course, when Pigsy would tell you to it all clean up due to Mink technically being your responsibility, all the ink on the ground would suddenly disappear the moment you turned the corner to grab a mop. Sandy was probably the most open to the idea of you finally having found someone to love. Even if that someone was the literal curse that kept the group within the scroll... But at least Mink was nice to talk to! On top of that, Tang tried talking to him about history since Mink knew about everything immortalized within the scroll, to which Mink would ominously reply, "Wanna see for yourself?"

And of course, MK and Mei were still very much on edge... Especially MK due to, well, the entire topic of you literally dating an ink copy of him. Though, Mei kind of over it after realizing that she could now have another cool friend to hang out and have fun with. Mink's ink really helps in scary pranks, after all...

Then there was your relationship...

"Listen. You didn't specify when you said you wanted to have our next date on Flower Fruit Mountain." Mink said with a sly grin. You gave him a comedically unamused look.

"But I said Flower Fruit Mountain, not Flower Fruit Mountain within the scroll."

"Oh c'mon, there's not much of a difference anyway. The mountain barely even changed from the memories in the scroll. In my opinion, anyway. Besides, the actual mountain wouldn't let me do this-"

Suddenly a bunch of fireflies were summoned around you two as you sat on a cliff, leaning against Mink's inky body. You looked at them in awe as they lit up the night sky of the mountain's memory. "...They're beautiful."

"I could just throw in something cheesy. But the sentence of 'Not as beautiful as you' wouldn't exactly apply..." He started as you looked at him a bit offended.

But before you could chew him out over that comment, he added, "...It wouldn't apply because I've seen many use this line in the past, and literally none of the memories displayed within the entire history of the scroll's archive would compare to you. Not even all of them combined..." Which in turn made you snort as your offended look faded. Mink gave you a sly grin again at your reaction.

"...Just in my opinion, sweetheart."

[ Masterlist ]

[berriweb]

Hi! Could you write hc’s for any of the spider team of your choice whose s/o is in color guard/marching band (high school)? Like would they come to all games and competitions and stuff to watch? Maybe help practice outside of it? Thank you!

╰┈➤ ❝ color guard / marching band ❞

: ̗̀➛ ft. miles morales, gwen stacy x gn! reader

: ̗̀➛ synopsis. miles with an s/o who’s in color guard and marching band

: ̗̀➛ a/n. i felt like these two suited your request best i just felt it in my BONES!!! me having friends in marching band is definitely contributing to everything I know about band

— MILES MORALES

#1 Supportive Boyfriend™

Miles would absolutely LOVE seeing you in marching band, he’s already proud of any and everything you do in general but that added talent only makes him love you even more

Expect to catch a glimpse of him in the crowd at every game you’re playing in, and expect him in the front row at any and every competition

Assuming like his normal life there’d be events he’d miss due to having to leave for Spider-Man business, he’ll promise to make it up to you, even if you insist that he doesn’t need to and he’s technically not required to come

He made the mistake of trying to show up at the last minute as Spider-Man after a battle that lasted way longer than expected, only to get spotted (because of course he’d be spotted) and get bombarded with fans and citizens wondering why he’d show up at a high school band competition of all places. There was so much commotion that the competition was nearly forgotten as he took most if not all of the attention away from it

Yeah, never again.

But he always tries his best to show up and watch everything you’re involved in

Loves it when he comes over and the two of you hang out while you practice for no reason other than watching you play

And best believe if you’re in color guard he’d want to mess with the flag

Don’t let him, he’ll find a way to break it. It happened the first time you let him try.

This also applies to him wanting to try out your instrument if you play.

If you ever asked for his help while practicing he’d be overjoyed, but seeing as he’d have no idea what he was doing you stick to giving him easy tasks to avoid him screwing it up

He’ll give offhand comments about how good you sound even if you end up messing up a note he can’t hear, it’s a struggle trying to convince Miles you’re doing or have ever done anything wrong, he’s like the embodiment of that one SpongeBob scene

“All those wrong notes you played made it sound more original!”

“Hard practice?”

Pushing himself up and off of the wired fence Miles had been leaning against while mindlessly scrolling away at his phone, he speaks up to catch your attention as you finally exit the school building. He holds out his hands and gestures to the instrument case you lugged in one hand and the backpack shrugged on the opposite shoulder.

“You have no idea.”

You hand both over without bothering to argue you can carry your own weight, you’ve gotten used to Miles insisting he has to be a gentleman, any argument started over you assuring him you don’t need his help always ends in you caving.

As he shrugs your backpack over his shoulder Miles gives you a once over, clearly noticing your exhausted state, which was to be expected when having to practice on a hot summer day.

“I think I have a pretty good idea.”

You narrow your eyes at him, and he gives a half apologetic smile.

“Sorry, can’t help it.”

— GWEN STACY

LOVES that you’re in band

I feel like at one point (aside from the band she’d tried in ATSV) Gwen would’ve tried out marching band, probably in percussion, but overall didn’t like the environment and didn’t think it was suited for her so she quit

She’ll still fully support you being in it, however, and proves to be a big help considering she can actually play and would’ve had experience

Gwen would be against going to any games in general but puts up with them and stays only long enough to see you play

On those days where you end up staying after school for hours on end due to games and leave late into the night, she’ll be waiting to greet you as soon as you leave the building

She’ll go on and on about how awesome you were out there afterwards and how lucky she is to have such a talented s/o

Can actually give good advice when listening to you practice too, which often results in the two of you playing together for hours and you abandoning your practice all together

She’ll even make jokes about how you could do so much better than band and the two of you should create your own

Thinks you’re way out of her league and claims that you’re way more talented at any music than her regardless of how good you actually are

If you’re in color guard she’ll practically beg for you to come to her place to practice just so she can watch or constantly tries to stop by your practice just to see you

“You can’t stay just a little longer?”

As you shove the rest of whatever necessities you’d left scattered around Gwen’s room you try to act like you don’t notice the pleading look she sends you as she sits slumped over in her chair.

“You know I can’t, this is exactly why I warned you earlier that I had practice Gwen,” you reminded her with a slightly scolding tone, turning around to meet her eyes as you saunter over to retrieve your instrument she twisted around in her hands.

Gwen gives a defiant look, holding it up with a look daring you to try and take it back, but when you give her a stern look and hold out your hand to demand it back she loses the silent argument and reluctantly hands it over for you to put back in its case. “Missing one practice won’t hurt-” she insists as she goes back to sulking across the room, grabbing her drumsticks to tap together and keep her hands busy.

“Yes it will, you know that too.”

“I can practice with you! You know I’m, like, 10 times better than all of your band mates.” Gwen uses a stick to hit the symbol on the drum set she sat next to in order to emphasis her statement, but you dismiss it as you gather your things and lean down to give her a quick peck on the cheek. She accepts it, but it doesn’t make a difference in her sour mood over your time together being cut short.

“Stop being dramatic, I’ll only be gone for a few hours.”

Gwen blows hair away from the side of her way and slumps further into her seat as you head for the door.

“Those few hours will be torture, for me.”

“Love you too, Gwen.”

[xxavengingangelxx]

Somewhere Only We Know 1/?

This is part of a series: Long Way From Home. Graves gets ahold of 141's translator and demands she give up information she knows about 141.

Graves still has Val in this continuation. This continuation includes the events of MW3 so 141 will find out Graves is alive and they will learn where Val has been this whole time ;) MW3 SPOILERS Thanks to @unicorngirly1 for talking ideas with me!

Taglist!

@bellgraves, @unicorngirly1, @lily-lily131313, @shepgurl. If you'd like to be added and/or if I left anyone off, please let me know!

Triggers/Warnings: Mentions of torture, dubious consent, brainwashing, mentions of suicide. More will be added as the story develops.

-

“Un-fucking-believable,”

You were across the dark room, not visible to the camera, but Soap’s voice drew your attention and your head snapped in that general direction.

You’d been given orders by Shepherd and Graves: you can be in the room but you were not to move, not to make a sound and certainly not to approach the camera. 141 still thought you were dead, remember?

Consequences for approaching that camera? A return to a room similar to that cold, terrifying room where you’d spent your first week with Shadow Company being tortured for information that you eventually gave up. That was all you needed to hear. You in no way, under no circumstances, wanted to go back there so you’d do what you were told. Besides, you’d been more tired than usual, not feeling like yourself, like you were on the verge of getting sick, so it’s not like you even had the energy to put up with that. You wouldn’t be able to mentally handle it, either.

You’d make a third attempt on your life if you were returned to that room. Of that you were sure.

“Soap!” You heard Graves respond. “Ya miss me?” Graves laughed coldly. “Well technically you did, didn’t you?”

“Laswell, if you’re tracking this,” Ghost’s voice interrupted, “let’s call in an airstrike.”

“Ghost that is not nice,” Graves chided, almost as if he was speaking to a toddler. It made you wonder how he would be around kids.

“And Val?” Soap demanded.

“Now her ya did kill, Johnny,” Graves sneered. “Shame. I liked having her around.”

“Go fohck yerself. What’re you up to?” Soap’s voice snapped at Graves.

“I’m up to doing my fuckin’ job, kid. Maybe you should try it sometime,” Graves shot back.

“My fucking job is to kill the enemy. Guess what you are,” Soap spat back.

“Let’s keep this professional, boys,” Shepherd interjected. “Cap’n let me pain you the bigger picture. You need Makarov in a pine box. I’ve got the nails.”

The rest of the conversation was faded out because that name, Makarov…Makarov scared the shit out of you. Graves had told you that Vladimir Makarov liked petite, little, innocent-looking things and that like they’d done before with other male targets they might use you to help draw him in or distract him. You were Shadow Company’s femme fatale after all. You’d drawn in men before.

But the idea terrified you. Makarov was a different kind of monster. A psychopath. What was stopping Makarov from taking you like Graves took you? And Makarov you knew would not be nearly as ‘nice’ as Graves had been. Makarov would haul you to Russia and torture you himself. And he would get off on it. Unlike Graves Makarov wouldn’t hesitate to use rape as a weapon.

“Val,” Graves’s voice drew you back to the present.

“Graves,” you responded, shaking your head of the chilling thoughts that had occupied your mind only seconds before.

“We gotta meet 141,”

You sighed. Got teary eyed. What if they took you from him? So you said something. “They’re gonna take me from you,” you sniffled.

“We’re gonna have a fucking problem if they do,” Graves snapped. “We’re not moving forward until I get you back if that happens. They think you’re dead, Val. Remember that.”

You sighed again. “They better. I’ll raise hell ‘till they give me back.”

“I know it sucks,” Graves conceded. “But this is moving quick. We need Makarov. The quicker it’s done, they quicker we never see any of ‘em again.”

Makarov. That name. It gave you chills. You had the worst feeling about him.

Graves then gave a series of commands: wear both vests (we don’t know if they’ll try to kill you), wear your mask, wear your combat goggles, wear a helmet, wear a uniform. Do anything you can to hide your identity. Do not come within an arm’s length of them. You’re going to have a sidearm, your rifle, and a knife. And it all else fails? Run.

You followed orders and got dressed exactly how you were told to in the morning. You were exhausted. You hadn’t been sleeping well and your body ached.

-

It had been decided to meet in an abandoned warehouse. No electricity so it was easy to sweep for bugs. That meant no heat. It was raining and the dropping temperatures promised snow. It was miserable but at least all the layers you were wearing kept you warm.

You could feel 141’s eyes penetrating you.

You tried to tell yourself it was because out of a group of men you were by far the smallest one. The only female, obviously.

Price, Laswell, Shepherd, and Graves were in a room sealed off from the rest of you. Shadows were in that same room protecting Graves and Shepherd. Graves had wanted you in the same room as him but that risked Price recognizing you since the room was so small. The meeting would be quick, Graves promised. You only hoped it wouldn’t be drawn out.

That left you in a large room with Soap, Gaz, and Ghost. You stayed as far away from them as possible. You had your rifle hanging from your shoulder. You had your sidearm ready to go. The only problem was there was no damn way you could shoot any of them. You only prayed they’d stay across the room.

You didn’t like this. In fact you hated it. Why couldn’t another Shadow have stayed with you? Actually no. That Shadow might shoot at 141 and the last thing you wanted was to have them hurt.

Soap met your gaze. You had a soft spot for Soap. You two had been close. A little more than close but that was a story for another day.

“What’s your name, lass?” Soap called out. “Didn’ know he had female Shadows.”

You didn’t answer. You were scared your voice would give you away. You just pointed at your tag: P-80.

“I can’t read that,” Soap replied. “You can’t talk or sometin?”

You shook your head no. Duh. Of course you could talk. You just chose not to. Your voice was a lot softer than any of these men’s. It stood out. And they’d recognize it for sure.

“Your mannerisms remind me o’ someone I was close to,” Soap added. “Real pretty lass. Had a lotta fun wit her. But smart as ‘ell. Dangerous, too.”

“That you, Val?” Ghost asked.

“L.t.,” Soap whined. “I was gettin’ there.”

“I think it is,” Gaz added.

You shook you head no again. Tears pricked your eyes. This was getting to be too much. You didn’t care that you’d been told to stay out of that briefing room. You wanted to be in the same room as Graves.

“I know that’s you, Val,” That person, Ghost, calling your name was like someone lighting a fire under your ass. Graves had conditioned you to RUN from them if he wasn’t close by. You shook your head before taking off running, following Grave’s orders.

You were so frazzled that a flight of stairs presented too much of a challenge for you and you tripped, hitting the landing hard and slamming into the wall sideways, your head hitting the wall with force. You had a helmet on thank God but the hit still rattled you. Voices were scrambled and everything got blurry for a few seconds. You were about to get up and keep running when someone grabbed you by your vest and dragged you back up the flight of stairs you’d just tripped over. You fought not to scream to be let go.

Ghost had grabbed you. You knew because he was the roughest one out of the group. Only because he was incredibly protective of his men. After dragging you back up the flight of stairs he released you onto the concrete landing.

You tried to get back up. You were shoved down.

“On your knees,” Ghost demanded. Rifle raised.

“Ghost,” Soap started. “Don’t—”

“I’ve got this, Johnny,” Ghost retorted.

You sighed and dropped to your knees with hands held out.

“Helmet,” Ghost demanded.

You unclasped your helmet and took it off.

“The goggles and the mask,” came the next command.

“Fuck,” you mumbled to yourself.

You complied and took both off, dropping them to the ground next to you.

“Hoooly shit,”

You recognized it as Soap’s voice.

You shook the bangs from your eyes and glanced up.

Gaz was not far behind and approached. And you couldn’t do this. You couldn’t. You decided long ago you would never go back to them. They’d either kill you or send you to a military prison for the rest of your life.

Worst of all, Graves had said, you’d never see him again. You knew for a damn fact you couldn’t handle being separated from Graves.

So you pulled your sidearm and put it against your head.

The effect was instant.

141 backed off. Ghost dropped his rifle, leaving it to hang off his shoulder.

Immediately.

“Back off,” you stood up slowly.

They were speechless.

“What happened to you?” Gaz asked, eyeing you with stunned, wide eyes.

“Nothing,” You responded.

“Val, we’re not leaving,” Soap stated simply, his hands in front of him to show he was not reaching for a weapon. “Put the gun down, Jesus Christ.”

You didn’t respond. You lowered the gun from your head. Little did they know you’d rather die than be separated from Graves. In your panic you didn’t notice Soap was no longer in front of you. You raised the gun in their direction.

Yet not one of them reached for their weapon. You wondered if it was because despite how much you had changed they could see it in your eyes that you couldn’t shoot any of them.

“Let me go,” you warned, taking small steps backwards. “I’ll call him and they’ll come running.” Your mind flashed to that first night in Las Almas when Graves had ordered you to call out to 141. You being your stupid self had refused. Now you were actually threatening to scream to get Graves’s attention.

Then.

Your worst nightmare.

Someone grabbed you from behind. He placed a heavy, calloused hand over your mouth preventing you from screaming, from calling out to Graves. His other hand gripped your right wrist on such a way that you dropped your weapon. Your gun dropped to the ground. Soap expertly kicked it away from you. You were then flat on the floor on your stomach, the sudden movement aggravating the ribs that had been broken several times over now. Your rifle was taken. Your knife was taken. You were about to say, “Fuck you, let me go.” But duct tape replaced the hand that had been on your mouth.

They were treating you exactly like Graves warned you they would. You screamed into the tape because what else could you do? You were flipped onto your back and you immediately starting swinging fists, kicking, trying to scratch, anything to get them away.

Soap clearly was overwhelmed because he just stared in horror and how hard you were fighting. For what? To go back to Graves? To go back to the man who had inflicted that cut on your face that had scarred?

“Thas’ enough ‘o that,” Ghost said lowly. You’d forgotten how big he was because when he stood over you, he terrified you. He looked like the grim reaper. Zipties went around your wrists after your arms were pulled in front of you. But not before you put up a hell of a fight. You tried to scratch but only got Ghost’s Kevlar and uniform. Zipties brought back bad memories.

“You swing at anyone again,” Graves knelt in front of you while a Shadow ziptied your hands in front of you. You were lying on the floor, beat halfway to unconsciousness by said Shadow. “I’m leaving you in those with a broken arm,”

“Fuck you, sadist,” you mumbled as you lost consciousness.

-

Price, Graves, Shepherd, and Laswell were still in that small room. Talking about what you had no idea. You tried to use your hands ziptied in front of you to break the window of the SUV they were dragging you to.

You struggled, tried to be dead weight. Your worst fear was coming true. You were being taken from Graves. And you couldn’t scream because they’d taped your mouth shut.

But then you got an idea. You got into that SUV willingly because you had a plan. They’d removed the tape from your mouth provided you promised them you wouldn’t scream. The skin on your face was still red, though. Just wait until Graves finds out what they did to you.

-

I feel like this isn't as good as Long Way From Home. :( Idk why! But please let me know what you think! If you have ideas, message me! I'm thinking of opening an ask box :D I wanted to post a longer chapter but character limits got me!

[genericpuff]

I've come to the stunning realization-

-that Lore Olympus is basically to the webtoons industry what Youtube Kids is to Youtube.

And I'm not talking about the general "Youtube Kids" label, I'm talking about those videos - Elsagate, Johny Johny, Cocomelon, Mickey Mouse tattooing Spongebob or whatever other weird example you can think of - which are explicitly designed to game the algorithm, turn views into money, and most of all, gain and keep the attention of the one demographic that won't question what they're consuming - children.

!!!!THIS POST HAS FAST PASS SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!

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I mean, this is undoubtedly just a tinfoil hat theory, but think about it:

Bright oversaturated colors that are attention-grabbing.

Meme faces and 'lol rAnDoM' humor even when it doesn't suit the situation at all.

Art that's all around ugly and cheap on a technical level but still stands out due to its color design and prioritized advertising.

Vapid surface level scene-to-scene writing that doesn't connect or have any meaning in any coherent way.

One-dimensional projection characters who are easy to manipulate and sway for audience sympathy or anger even if those opinions change on a dime based on actions in the moment.

Cliffhangers that are less like true cliffhangers and more like clickbait. Episodes nowadays tend to be filled with drawn out plotlines, vague hints that can be applied to just about any school of thought, and non-sequitur memes to fill the time until they can hook the reader with another cliffhanger to keep them coming back next week.

Coin prices have gone up but episode length, substance, and quality have noticeably gone down. Even if they reach the same panel count they usually have, dialogue is minimal and pacing is brutally inconsistent to the point that plot progression is often non-existent.

Banner ads that run constantly, often in the first or second (or both) slots, with push notifications and pop-up ads also becoming more frequent whether you're subscribed to the comic or not.

And underneath ALL of that, we've got blatant objectifying and sexualization of female characters regardless of context, misogyny that claims to be progressive, racist undertones, borderline fetish content that constantly toes the Terms of Services line, normalization of problematic/toxic relationship dynamics, a creator who's more interested in 'getting back' at critics than writing an actual story, and underlying messaging both from the characters' and the creator's behavior that encourage witch-hunting, rejection of accountability, and blind devotion.

All this is essentially why I've given up consuming LO entirely, beyond just on a critical level as of late. There was a time long ago when I stuck around in the hopes it was going to get better, that maybe it was just going through a "rough patch" as some stories do. After that I stuck around because I wanted to see how it could possibly pull off its ending. And then after that, I simply stuck around for the laughs and community banter. But now I don't even find it funny anymore, the punchline of how bad it is has gotten incredibly old. And at this rate, as much as we'd like to believe it's going to end in its third season as it's been mentioned in the past, we also were told it was going to end between 100-200 episodes prior to that - the way it's going, I can't even stick around "for the ending" because LO is going to be around for as long as WT tries to milk it, despite it no longer having a heartbeat.

As much as I've loved talking shit about this comic and it's undoubtedly the main reason so many of you followed me here in the first place, I'm not going to lock myself in some kind of purgatory hell just to be proven what I already know is going to happen - either the comic continues on forever, doomed to be a lifeless mascot for the zombie corporation that is WT, or RS eats shit while trying to stick the landing with a plane that has no functional parts.

There's a quote from Caddicarus that I couldn't help but think of as I typed this up, from his nearly-decade-old review of Dalmations 3 (oh god, it's nearly been a decade since that video came out what the actual fuck-)

"And this is where I officially lost all fucking care. I realized it wasn't going to end anytime soon. It's one of those rare instances where the novelty of how awful everything is actually gets really tiresome and unfunny." - Caddicarus

[rosie-kairi]

With KHDR all but confirming Vanitas is the combination of the original Darkness that possessed Ven and his natural born darkness when Xehanhort ripped his heart in half Vanitas is technically the longest relationship Ven has ever had. Like no wonder this emo fuck is obsessed with him he literally singled him out as a child and has just been there the whole time even during their 4 years of separation he counted the years and days until they could reunite so he could take his rightful place in Ven's heart and mind. It makes his whole claim that they're brothers and that he's darkness in KH III so much more ominous (classic mobile games adding new context in horrifying ways to the mainline games).

Furthermore when Ven inevitably does regain his full union x memories I want him to have kill bill sirens and pummel Vanitas the minute he sees his smug ass again. Just absolutely beat the shit out of him screaming his anger out like, "YOU MOTHERFUCKER YOU RUINED MY LIFE I WAS 10! I WAS FUCKING 10 AND YOU DESTROYED ANY CHANCE OF ME LIVING A NORMAL LIFE! YOU MAIMED MY HEART NOT ONCE NOT TWICE BUT THREE FUCKING TIMES LEAVE ME ALONE ALREADY I'M NOT YOUR PUPPET YOU CAN PLAY WITH UNTIL I BREAK AGAIN!"

And Vanitas just does not understand why Ven isn't all for their extremely destructive co-dependent relationship since he essentially gave Ven what he wanted but he also immediately took it away after threatening the union leaders. And Ven is literally all he has. If he doesn't have Ven he has nothing and if Vanitas is around Ven's life will only become worse.

I have to rewatch all the BBS and KH III Ven and Van scenes again with this knowledge because Vanitas' actions make so much more sense that he sees Ven as a thing he owns and can do whatever to since he's had him since he was a child.

I'm far from an expert on Vanitas and his whole deal (because he honestly never really caught my attention that much) but I am really looking forward to how the games will address the events of union x in relation to him.

Like, is he even aware that he also comes from ancient darkness, and not just Ventus? If he does, is it a "I fully remember all of these events happening and I take all responsibility for them" awareness or a more subconscious kind? He feels things and remembers bits and pieces and he's not really sure why.

Going from there, how much of union x in general does he remember? Since he comes from both Ventus and the ancient darkness, would he get memories from both sides? Maybe, he only has memories from Ventus's perspective and because of that has never even stopped to consider that he might -even partially- come from someone else? Of course this is all hypothetical, Vanitas is an enigma of a character.

Old man Xehanort must've just been like "yeah you come from Ventus" and Vanitas was like "ok 👍 why do my memories hurt so much to think about"

On an end note, I hope Ventus does lose it a bit. You don't just... remember events like That (accidentally killing someone, the end of the actual literal world, etc.) and not collapse under the weight of it all.

[dorianwritesthings]

Even  Captain Rex x Jedi! Reader

Part 1 of 2 (I think…we’ll see.)

Captain Rex x Jedi! Reader

Summary: You’re a Jedi, you aren’t supposed to harbor romantic feelings. But when you meet a certain Clone Captain, something feels different.

Pronouns: Gender neutral.

Warnings: Reader in the Med Bay, Nothing really graphic but I like to be thorough.

_____________________________________________________________

“Hang in there, General. You’re going to be fine.”

The medbay, as usual, was cold, despite this planet’s hot and humid atmosphere. The swirling memories of your rescue last night came and went even as you sat there.

“We’re reinforcements from General Skywalker. The battle is over.”

“What’s his name?” You asked Ahsoka, eyeing the Clone Captain as you did so.

“That’s Captain Rex, Master.” Asoka responded quickly. She was such an energetic young Padawan, perfect for Skywalker.

“Ah, yes,” you responded, watching as he checked on various wounded troopers, “Thank you. He’s the one who carried me out of there.”

“He’s a good soldier.” the padawan responded, then, at a call from her Master, ran over to Skywalker. You were going to get up to join her, but the cold hand of the medical droid reminded you that you were in no condition to move. You reluctantly stayed put, looking out over the clones, trying to count all of your men. 

You knew some of them were gone, and you took a moment to meditate on their passing and honor their newfound place in the force. There would be more time to mourn them later, but for now you let the moment come and go before reopening your eyes.

“General.” You turned to see your own clone commander, Recall, being held up by a quickly made crutch.

“Glad to see you made it out better than me, Commander.” you sighed, a smile tugging at your lips for the first time in the day, “It’s good to see you, Recall.”

“And you too, Sir.” he said, “Are you...feeling alright, Sir?”

“I’ll be fine.” You said, “I’ll need a full report as soon as possible on the state of the company.”

“My men are already on it.” That voice you’d know anywhere.

“Thank you, Master Skywalker.” you said. He smiled in that kind way of his. “We were in a rough spot there.”

“Yeah you were.” he said, then, sensing your grief added, “You did what you could, and you fought well.”

That was high praise from him.

“Thanks.”

“I’m having my clones in the 501st check on your men.” He added, “I figured it would give your boys a break.”

“Thank you.” You smiled…”Again.” 

He nodded. “I’ll have Captain Rex give you a report when they’re finished.”

For a moment you felt off balance. It was an unfamiliar sensation.

“Very good.” you laid back down, glad to have things taken care of, “I’ll likely still be in this bed, so he should have no trouble finding me.”

A beep from the medical droid confirmed your suspicion and you sighed.

Anakin nodded, then pulled out his holocom.

“And now for the bad news,” he sighed, “ I’m technically supposed to be on the other side of the planet right now. We’ll have to report to the council.”

You winced slightly at the thought. “I suppose so.”

One boring meeting with the council later, you were still in the medbay, trying your best to meditate.

Why were you so off balance? You’d been in compromising scrapes before. This wasn’t your first trip to a medical bay by any means, so what made this different? You always felt the weight of responsibility for your men when these things happened and while that feeling was still there, something else was gnawing at you. 

As if in answer to your wonderings a firm voice pulled you from your thoughts.

“General.”

You opened your eyes to see the same Clone Captain from earlier. Captain Rex.

“Ah, Captain,” you said, propping yourself up, “I assume you’re hear for that report.”

“Correct, sir.” He said. You paid close attention as he gave you a run down of the conditions of your troops. Fewer had been lost than you expected, and though many were injured, Skywalker’s aid arrived just in time to prevent the worst. You sighed in relief.

“We’ve managed to hold our position here.” Rex said, “And will continue to aid on this front as your forces recover.”

“Good news.” You said, “Thank you, Captain.”

“Sir.” He nodded, turning to leave, but you called him back.

“Rex,” he seemed a bit surprised at hearing his name, “Captain. I also wanted to thank you for getting me out of there. I probably wouldn’t even still be here if it weren’t for you.”

“Just doing my job, Sir.” He said, but you noticed a fluctuation in his emotions as he did so. You smiled softly.

“Regardless, I’m appreciative none the less. I…” You paused unexpectedly as the words caught in your throat, “I’m excited to continue working with you. Once I’m out of this medbay that is.”

He gave you a small smile and nodded, returning to his own General.

You watched him go, then sighed and went back to meditating.

A few weeks later, you were back on your feet. The damage was bad, and you still felt sore at times, but the medics assured Recall that you were recovered enough to fight again.

“Honestly, Commander,” You smiled, “You worry about me too much.”

“Because you don’t worry enough.” Recall sighed, “I hardly understand how Rex deals with his Jedi.”

You let out an amused breath at that. The Captain came to visit you a few times during your recovery, always under the guise of giving you updates. While he always had information about the ongoing fight, you’re conversations grew longer as he warmed up to you. You were glad for the company. The medbay wasn’t exactly the most stimulating of experiences.

“He’s an interesting one.” You agreed, “I like him.”

“Oh you like him, do you?” Recall nudged you a bit and you rolled your eyes. You’d grown used to the teasing from him. He’d been your Commander since your first campaign and Recall had the uncanny ability to read your emotions.

“You’re the worst.” You said, “And as soon as you get a crush on someone, I plan on showing no mercy.”

“Ah, so you do like him.” He said, “Looks like Quickshot owes me some credits.”

“You were betting on it?”

He shrugged, “Why not? Not much to do with so many of us in recovery.”

You groaned a bit at the thought. You loved your troopers, but it really was like having a few hundred brothers.

“Have I been so obvious?” you asked seriously. You always could confide in Recall, and it was about time you were honest with yourself, “Am I a bad Jedi?”

“I don’t think so, Sir.” Recall said. He put a hand on your shoulder and you sighed a bit.

“We’re not supposed to have these feelings.” You said, “Or at least, we’re supposed to acknowledge and then let them go. But…I don’t want to.”

He chuckled at that, “That bad, huh?”

Your shoulders sank.

“Look, General, I’m going to speak plainly. None of the men will care. All we care about is who you are as our general. Liking someone isn’t going to change that.”

“Thanks.” You said, “It’s nice to be able to talk about it.”

“Anytime, Sir.”

Before you could begin to focus on the map in front of you, Recall nudged you yet again. You looked up at him in annoyance but then followed his gaze. Rex was jogging towards you.

Immediately you felt your face heat up and hoped that no one noticed.

He greeted you formally and you put him at ease.

“Were’s General Skywalker?” You asked, not seeing him anywhere. Rex rubbed the back of his neck.

“He and Commander Tano decided to…make an improvised maneuver.”

You laughed. Of course they did.

“I see.” You said, “And I assume they’re wanting me to play along?”

“Yes, sir.”

You gave Recall a look. He was looking at you both with an expression that said, quite clearly, “Thank the Maker I’m not in the 501st”.

“So what’s the plan, Captain?” You asked, “Where’d they go to anyway?”

He pulled up a new section of the map, pointing to a ridge next to the separatist base.

“They plan to cause a rockslide, cutting off the base from it’s main supply lines.”

“A siege doesn’t strike me as that unorthodox.” You noted, “Not really Skywalker’s style.”

“Right, General.” Rex agreed, pulling up another point on the map. He focused in on the rear gates of the complex, “They’re planning to lead an assault team through here after the initial rockslide.”

“And they didn’t bring you because…”

“They want you and I to perform a similar operation from the other side.” He said.

“That’s a suicide mission!” Recall said, clearly still concerned about your injuries.

“Skywalker is unorthodox, Recall.” You said, holding up a hand, “But he’s not stupid. There’s something about this we’re not seeing.”

Rex looked relieved for a moment, glad you were willing to give his General the benefit of the doubt.

“Right, well, this morning we received intel that a large section of the base’s troops were on the move. There are a few outpost stations in the surrounding area, but they all have to go through that one pass.”

“No ships?” You asked.

“Too obvious.” He said, “They probably don’t know that we’ve found their security outposts and would like to keep them a secret. Traveling on foot is the best way to avoid detection.”

“I see.” You said, “So the base is under defended.”

“Yes sir.”

“Alright, Captain.” You said, “I’ll go with you and your team. Recall, I want you to get several teams together and take out those outposts. Don’t want them calling for help.”

“Yes, sir!” they both said. You took note of how, even though they were clones, their voices sounded ever so slightly different.

You watched them go, taking a deep breath and trying to ignore the fluttering in your chest.

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Thanks for reading! Let me know if you have ideas for another part. I have plans for a continuation set during Season 2-ish of Bad Batch, but I imagine some more clone wars shenanigans with Rex could be fun. I just would like ideas if you guys have any. Trying to find some inspiration. 

Send requests! Message me to get on my tag lists.

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[sesamestreep]

for my buddy @firstelevens, based on a thing I said on our call last night! Hope it cheers you up 😇 set in the Bakeoff AU technically but also very standalone (I think)

“You can put her down, if you want,” Foggy says, after the third time Milly successfully steals Matt’s glasses right off his face. He sighs, taking them back and putting them on the coffee table instead. “Her little mat is on the floor. She can do tummy time for a while.” “That’s alright,” Matt replies, while Milly switches her fascination to his nose now. He wiggles it under her little fist and she squeezes back hard.

“The doctor says it’s good for her development—”

“Foggy,” Matt laughs, “I know. I want to hold her.”

Foggy shifts on the couch, where he’s stretched out, pretending to relax, and Matt thinks he’s turning his attention back to the TV, which is playing college basketball at an absurdly low volume. It’s a sign of how burnt out they both are that Foggy turned this on, of all things. Neither of them have ever cared about college basketball, or basketball in general, not even when they were in college. It’s just on for noise, really, and so they can pretend they’re doing something with their weekend other than making sure Milly doesn’t lick any electrical sockets, which eats up the entirety of their social life these days.

“Fine, but if our daughter misses important developmental markers because you love her so much, I’m going to guilt you about it as long as we both live.”

“Save that kind of romantic talk for when we renew our vows someday, buddy.”

“Don’t call me ‘buddy,’” Foggy grumbles, darkly, as he shoves Matt’s thigh with his foot.

Matt turns his attention back to Milly, who puts a drool-covered hand on his chin. It’s a sign of how in love he is and how far his threshold for gross has lowered since becoming a father that this doesn’t even register as disgusting.

“Your dad’s just mad because that nice lady at the coffee shop this morning called him your uncle,” Matt says, softly, like he’s talking to just her.

“It figures that we’d adopt a kid who looks nothing like either of us and people would still assume she was yours,” Foggy interjects, even though he’s still trying to act like he’s not a part of the conversation.

“She is mine!”

“And mine!” Foggy grunts. “It’s homophobic, is what it is.”

“Really, Foggy!”

“It is!”

“That coffeeshop is one of the gayest places in the city!”

“You only think that because you never go to gay bars. Because I poached you from the straight community right into a committed relationship.”

“I don’t want to have this conversation at all,” Matt replies, rolling his eyes even as he feels a creeping sense of fondness for Foggy’s theatrics. “All I meant was, I’m sure that barista didn’t mean anything by it. It was an honest mistake.”

“You always take her side when we fight!”

“The barista’s?”

“Yes!”

“The one we met for the first time today? That barista?”

“Yes, that’s the one,” Foggy sniffs. He pauses for a long stretch of time, before adding, “People probably think you’re her dad because you hog her all the time.”

“Once again,” Matt says, “I am her dad—”

“I mean that they think you’re her biological dad,” Foggy explains. “Like, they think you’ve got a wife somewhere who she looks even more like, but she kind of looks like you too, though they’re really probably just saying it to be nice.”

“Regardless, I do not hog her. She’s my daughter. I’m supposed to be holding her.”

“You’re like a neurotic zoo animal about it, though.”

“A what?”

“Like, one of those animals in the zoo who, like, cleans their baby too much and the zookeepers have to take it away because they’re going to over-groom it and it’s going to be bald.”

“You’re already bald,” Matt whispers to Milly before kissing her on the head.

“You know what I mean,” Foggy sighs.

Matt can’t stop himself from laughing. “I really don’t.”

“You’re always sniffing her.”

“She smells good!”

“All babies smell good!”

“No.” Matt shakes his head. “Milly smells better than other babies.”

“You don’t know any other babies!”

“I knew your brother’s kids when they were babies and they smelled good, don’t get me wrong, but not as good as Milly.”

“I’m going to tell them you said that and you’re not going to be their favorite uncle anymore,” Foggy replies.

“Once they sniff Milly, they’ll understand.”

“You’re a certified freak, Murdock,” Foggy says, as he gets up off the couch. “Lucky for you, I’m into it, but damn.”

As Foggy passes by on his way to the kitchen, Matt reaches out a hand to grab his wrist, stopping him in place. “Very lucky for me,” he says, and Foggy laughs before leaning in to kiss him. “Thank you for making me the dad of this awesome smelling baby.”

“You’re welcome,” Foggy says, as he gently runs his palm over Milly’s soft head while he’s in the neighborhood. “I mean, I didn’t do anything more than you did, but I will gladly accept credit where I don’t deserve it.”

“You know what I mean, though.”

“Yeah,” Foggy says, soft with understanding. “I do. You need anything while I’m up?”

“No, I’m good,” Matt says, already burying his face in the crown of Milly’s head again.

“Please don’t sniff our daughter to death while I’m gone,” Foggy shouts as he heads into the kitchen.

“No promises!” Matt calls back. In his arms, Milly makes a drooly, wet noise against his shoulder and he forgives her for it instantly. He’ll start holding grudges when she stops being the best-smelling, most wonderful creature in the whole galaxy, which is probably going to take a while, if he had to guess.

[andreafmn]

Collision | Chapter 17

Word Count: 3.2K Story Description: (Y/N) Uley is back home after being away for four years. Her life is at its first standstill and she is taking this time to find out who she is without school. But she never thought that coming back to the reservation would turn her whole life around. In the midst of secrets and mystery, a man crashes into (Y/N)’s and her life will never be the same. Chapter: 17/? A/N: I really hoped I would be able to also write for Speak today, but couldn't finish on time and wanted to post as I had scheduled. If I finish the chapter this week, I'll post it, but y'all will probably have to wait two weeks more 😬😬Anywho, prepare for some feels... you've been warned. My content will always be free, but if you’re feeling particularly generous, you can leave a tip on any of my posts to support me and my love of writing or buy me a coffee Follow 😊 -> TikTok • Instagram • Business If you’d like to be tagged in this or any other story: click here Make sure you have my notifications on so you know every time I post!

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Chapter 17

It wasn’t hard to figure out that Sam was planning a surprise party for her, especially when Jared had let it slip when she was over at her brother’s home. Accident or not, (Y/N) knew just what had been arranged for her 19th birthday.

“I swear, Sam. I had no idea she was here,” Jared had said.

“Don’t you have supernatural senses, Cameron?” (Y/N) laughed. “You should have known about it.”

“I’m not supposed to be on guard when we’re in the house,” he whined. “This is the place where we’re supposed to be relaxed and unaware. This is our safe space.”

“Technically, you should always be paying attention to your surroundings,” Sam responded. “That’s literally your job.”

“Also, when is she not here, dude?” Paul added with a chuckle. “If she’s not at work, she’s here.”

“I have other friends,” she grumbled, settling on the seat next to Paul. “Speaking of, are they invited to my party?”

“They would be if it weren’t for Paul,” Jared teased. “Can’t trust him not to go off at any given point when there are other people involved.”

“So, it’s only gonna be you guys, Emily and Kim? What a party,” (Y/N) laughed. “What about mom? Is she invited?”

Sam’s face contorted in an uncomfortable scowl. He knew the question would come. The obvious tension that existed between Sam and Allison Uley had been growing for almost a year, and the youngest Uley’s arrival only worked to cement the strain that had grown between mother and son.

“Okay, here’s what we can do,” Sam started. “We’ll have the party at the beach. A nice bonfire in a big open space where everyone can be. Paul will be on his best behavior and if anything happens, we’ll just leave.”

“Why does everything have to be so weird now?” she groaned. “This whole secret keeping just makes things harder.”

“Says the girl whose ex is a literal bloodsucker,” Jared chuckled without thinking. But as soon as he heard the words slip by his tongue, regret painted across his face. “Shit, (Y/N), I didn’t mean to say that.”

“It’s fine, Jared,” she smiled comfortingly. “You’re very right. It’s completely flabbergasting that my ex and his whole family are vampires. But I guess I dodged that bullet.”

After that afternoon, the Uley pack had set to prepare for (Y/N)’s first birthday back at the reservation. Everyone in town was happy to attend the bonfire. It was no secret that the Uley girl was loved around town. Even in her absence, all anyone could sing were high praises for her. So it was no surprise when the RSVPs started rolling in.

Quickly, the small gathering had turned into a party for the whole reservation. People were offering to bring plates of food and appetizers for the crowd that was forming, they offered their grilling and bonfire-making services, swiftly making Sam’s job simply inviting people and setting the time.

And somehow in the four days that were left, a whole town party was being set up. It was a stark contrast to the bonfire that had been set only two months before when the Cullens had left Forks. That one had been a fierce celebration as their ancestral enemies had finally left the land. Now, they were celebrating the life of one of their own — her achievements and her future endeavors. A joyous occasion in honor of a valuable member of their community.

At least, it was meant to be joyous, and (Y/N) knew that. She knew she should have been excited to be amongst her people. The same people that had seen her grow and had grown alongside her. The very people she knew she could count on whenever she might need them. She knew all that.

But it was such a bittersweet moment. She was constantly surrounded by people that loved her, but there was something missing. There was someone missing.

He had come into her life and, in so little time, he flipped it on its feet. He had made her believe that every decision, every moment, every second of her existence had led her to that instance —had led her to him.

And as swiftly as he had barreled into her life, he was fine. He had taken every promise, every declaration, every whisper of love with him. And it had left her with an emptiness that couldn’t be filled by anyone else. (Y/N) could only focus on herself —her career, her friendship, her family. But never again would she focus on love. Not when she knew how it could drastically transform her journey.

“Hi, honey,” her mother said as she peeked into her room. She had been staring at her reflection for what felt like hours, even if she knew it had barely been minutes. “You look beautiful.”

“Thanks, mom,” she smiled. “So do you.”

Allison had chosen a long dark red dress, her black jacket toning down the color even more. She had braided her hair and had put on makeup, but (Y/N) could see the years on her face. She could see having to raise two children on her own, having to work two jobs to keep the lights on, the pain of losing her son, the knowledge that one day she could lose her daughter as well. It was all the secrets and the hardships that she had gone through, that her family had put her through.

Those were the moments when (Y/N) wanted to tell her everything, every single detail that had derailed her mother’s life without her knowledge. She wanted to confess that she wasn’t alone in her pain, that the hurt she had carried most of her life was shared between each of the Uley family members. Instead, all she could do was remain quiet.

“Are you excited for tonight?”

“For the most part,” (Y/N) admitted. “It might be just a tad overwhelming. Heard through the grapevine that almost the whole rez is gonna be there.”

“You’ve gone to many bonfires, honey,” she chuckled. “What’s different about this one?”

“That I’m the guest of honor, mom,” the girl chuckled softly. “I’m gonna be the center of attention and that feels weird.”

“Well, I’ll be right there next to you, holding your hand.”

“Thanks, mom. I would never be where I am without you.”

Her mother smiled brightly, wrapping her arms around her tightly. “Oh, sweetheart that’s all you,” she said. “You’ve gotten this far because you’re bright and talented, and so hardworking.”

“And because I’ve had a mom that made all of that possible,” (Y/N) added. “I love you, mom.”

“I love you too, honey, more than you could ever know,” Allison smiled as she released her daughter. “And I have something for you. I wanna do it here, where it’s just you and me.”

The woman reached into her pocket, pulled out a black box, and handed it to her daughter. She followed expectantly every move, excitement filling her. Inside rested a crescent moon pendant that was engraved. As soon as her eyes fell on the necklace, tears formed in the corner of the girl’s eyes.

“Is this your pendant, mom?”

“Yes, honey,” she smiled. “It had been my mother’s, and her mother’s before her, and so on. I have been holding onto it until I felt it was time to pass it down to you. And I think there is no better time than now.”

“Oh, mom, you have no idea how much I’ve wanted this necklace,” (Y/N) said. “But I’ve always wondered, what do the markings mean?”

“After hardship comes ease,” her mother responded. “It’s what my mother would always say and I know how much you might need that reassurance now. Hard times pass, my darling. Even if it doesn’t feel that way right now.”

“I know, mom,” the younger Uley breathed, melting into her mother’s touch as Allison placed a comforting hand on her cheek. “I just wish that time came sooner rather than later.”

“Give time to time, (Y/N). We can’t rush things.”

“I know,” she sighed. “And I’m trying. I really am.”

“I’m sure of that, my darling,” Allison said. “But tonight is about you and not about what has happened or has stopped happening. We’re gonna celebrate your birthday and forget these past couple of months. Use tonight as your time to unwind and prepare yourself for what comes next.”

“I will. I just need a couple of minutes to finish getting ready.”

“Alright, honey. Let me know when you’re done and we’ll go down to the beach.”

As soon as her mother was out of the room, (Y/N) went back to perceiving herself. She stared at the bags that had formed under her eyes, the long restless nights evident on her face. Her fingers traced where her cheeks had seemed to hollow after months of terrible eating habits. She gawked at the lost gleam in her eyes, the emptiness that peeked behind her pupils.

She was a completely different girl than the one that had come back to La Push, and in a few months,  she would be another her. There was a (Y/N) before him. There was a (Y/N) during him. And there would now be a (Y/N) after him. Even if she had not planned for it, she would have to do it.

“It’s now or never,” she whispered to herself.

As she left her room, (Y/N) gave herself a once over. She smoothed down her navy-blue dress and put on a jacket. She was determined to put every sad thought, every bad moment to the back of her mind. He would never again be the reason she wouldn’t enjoy life.

Before she could reach the beach, she could hear the whispered commotion. Even if she knew the party was happening, she was still surprised. Where she was expecting a small group of her friends, it seemed like the whole town had come out to celebrate. As soon as she was close enough, everyone turned and yelled, “Surprise!”

Everyone she knew welcomed her with a smile on their face. People came up to her wishing her a happy birthday and telling her how glad they were she was back home. Even Charlie Swan had popped in for a bit, congratulating her and asking if she’d go by to see Bella. They gave her hugs and kisses, wishing her blessings for the coming years. It was the warmth of a community that she had not felt for four years, giving her a feeling of belonging she had no idea she craved.

“I think more people turned up to your birthday than for the last community bonfire,” Paul said as he joined her side and sat on a piece of driftwood.  The party was in full swing already. Plates of food had been passed out, children were playing, teenagers were talking, and the pack was keeping to themselves. “Hope you were still surprised.”

“I was,” (Y/N) smiled. “Didn’t think many people would care. I mean, it’s just my birthday. Not even a huge milestone. Just nineteen.”

“I think you’re underestimating just how much the people here love you. And any year is a milestone in my book,” he offered. “You made it another year. That’s an accomplishment in itself.”

“I also got approved by the board at UW to start taking aptitude tests,” she confessed. “I’ll spend the better part of December and January taking all kinds of exams to be able to slide into the next round of rotations.”

“Holy shit, (Y/N), that’s amazing!” Paul exclaimed as he twirled her in a tight hug. “It’s almost a miracle.”

“I know,” she added. “I don’t know what out there in the universe is looking out for me, but I’m glad it is. I honestly thought it would never happen. But I got the call yesterday afternoon. It’s really happening.”

“Well, they’re lucky to have you. I can’t think of anyone that would be a better doctor than you.”

“You’re just saying that, Paul,” she chuckled. “But I’m thankful for that vote of confidence. I’m just glad things seem to be moving forward. I really thought I’d be stuck in the same place for a while there.”

“I knew you’d make it out eventually,” he smiled. “Also, I got you something. And I promise it’s not sex coupons. I know I can get that for free.”

“You’re about to get those privileges revoked if you keep talking like that,” she laughed in response. “But I’ll grant you that comment because it seems Sam did not hear you.”

Paul laughed loudly, making a few heads snap back toward them. “But it’s something serious,” he continued as he handed her a wrapped box that had been resting by his feet. “It took me a while to get it, but I hope you like it.”

(Y/N) took hold of the box, carefully ripping away the neat wrapping paper —a job she was sure had been done by Emily. Inside the box, in perfect condition and wrapped in plastic, was a first edition of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. She ran her hands over the cover. She studied the spine. She inspected every single detail of the book, and it was perfect.

“Oh my god, Paul, it’s absolutely beautiful,” she joyfully cried. “But this must have cost you an arm and a leg. You shouldn’t have spent that on me.”

“I wanted to,” he beamed. “I know how much you like books so I asked Kim if she could help me get you something special.”

“It’s more than special, Paul. It’s a one-of-a-kind gift,” she smiled as she engulfed him in a hug. “I love it so much.”

“It’s as special a gift as you are,” he continued. Paul raised his hand to her cheek, tucking behind her ear a loose piece of hair. “Also, you look beautiful tonight. I don’t think I’ve told you that yet.”

“Thanks,” she replied, feeling the unnatural warmth of his skin seep onto hers. “I’m glad you’re here, Paul. And I’m grateful that you’re my friend.”

“For better or worse, (Y/N),” Paul added. “You know I’ll always be by your side.”

“You better mean that, dude. Cause I’ll hold you to it.”

“So will I,” Sam’s voice startled them. “You might be a part of my pack, but that’s my little sister right there.”

“By a couple of months at best, Sammy,” (Y/N) grumbled. “And I can handle myself perfectly. Thank you very much.”

“Doesn’t mean I won’t always be looking out for you, (Y/N),” he smiled. “Now, come on. It’s time for cake.” 

The rest of the night went by quickly. They sang her happy birthday, they passed around cake, and they told stories by the fire. The same stories she had heard since she was just a little kid. The same stories that related the lives of the ancestors of their tribe. The same stories she knew were anything but fiction.

One second, she was staring at the figures that were dancing in the fire, showing her the past. The next, she was heading back home, a heap of presents overfilling her arms. “I’m so tired,” (Y/N) whined to her mother. “I could sleep for two weeks if I could.” 

“Unfortunately, you can’t,” Allison chuckled. “But at least you’ve got the rest of this week.”

They laughed in unison, knowing that the least she would do was actually rest. The only time she would probably have a full night’s rest was that night and it would have been out of pure social exhaustion.

But mother and daughter stopped dead in their tracks when they reached the front door of their house. Right in front of the wooden door were three presents elegantly wrapped in silver paper, the same paper she had seen days before her world fell apart. 

“I’m guessing those are for you,” her mother said. “Do you know who could have sent them?” 

“Maybe they’re from the team at the hospital,” (Y/N) thought quickly. “They couldn’t make it tonight because they were pulling double shifts.”

“That was nice of them,” Allison responded, accepting her daughter’s answer. “That wrapping paper is beautiful.” 

“Yeah,” she choked out. “Can you help me bring them up to my room, please?”

“Of course, darling.” The woman took the three boxes under one arm and opened the door before following her daughter up the stairs. “Alright, (Y/N). Well, I’m going to bed because I have an early shift tomorrow and I’m pretty beat. But, happy birthday, sweetheart.” 

“Thanks, mom. Good night.”

“Night, honey.” 

Allison left the room, shutting the door behind her and (Y/N) felt she could finally let go. She felt her blood run cold inside her body, her limbs trembling at the realization of just who had sent those presents. Even though they had ripped themselves from her life, they somehow kept appearing.

With shaking hands, she opened the first gift that was tagged with a note that said From Rosalie. It was a leather notebook, the cover engraved with the words: Dr. (Y/N) Uley. And on the first page, in beautiful calligraphy, she wrote: I may not be the one who sees the future, but I know you have a bright future ahead of you. Love, Rose.

The next one was labeled From The Cullens. It was a small black box that stored a necklace with the Cullen crest engraved onto a circle charm –small and modern. And it was attached to a note that said: Already part of the family.

(Y/N) could feel the warm tears stream down her cheeks. Her lungs ached at the shortness of air, filling as best as they could as she sobbed quietly. She knew the gifts weren’t sent with malice. A high probability that they had been ordered long before everything had gone awry. But it didn’t stop the wrenching of her heart.

There was only one box left and she knew exactly who it was from. She took the long box in her hand, ripping away the paper violently. She was surprised that it had some weight to it, her mind trying to anticipate what could have been inside before she raised the lid.

On a bed of sating rested a silver stethoscope with blue rubber. Engraved on the instrument's bell, in beautiful cursive letters, it read: Dr. Uley-Cullen. In addition, a card that read For our future.

Those couple of words completely broke (Y/N) down. She fell to her knees, feeling as if the weight of the past few months fell upon her. She muffled her shrieks with her pillow, not wanting to alarm her mother.

Suddenly, everything she thought she had started to get over rose to the surface and hollowness filled her core. As the tears kept falling, she could feel the painful hole in her chest grow deeper and deeper.

He had planned a future for them. A future where she was a part of their family. A future where they would take on the world, together. Yet he had thrown it all away in a second, without another thought. Without ever looking back. He had built everything so high to let it all topple down.

He had left her to pick up the pieces of her broken heart and rebuild a life on her own. And that was the only thing she would allow him to have. She would create a life for herself, by herself, and she would prove to him that she was bigger than her heartbreak.

Next ->

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[whitmore]

i think the genuine issue with the semi-canonity of purgatory 2 is this lack of consistency— it’s undeniable that the lore is one of the most treasured parts of the server, it tends to generate the most buzz socially and spikes the most interest in viewers. the qsmp channel itself is a good indicator of the weight lore takes too; it wouldn’t exist or certainly wouldn’t be as lore-oriented if that wasn’t what both the viewers and admins highlighted as priorities for the qsmp experience. true the server is not entirely lore-based, but it impacts enough of the server that the story and narrative takes consideration when making server-wide decisions.

so when you have four of your heavy-hitter storytellers seemingly locked in purgatory as part of their lore, two of which were explicitly told to not log-in to the main server in preparation for lore, and then you have this new purgatory event which takes place on the same purgatory island where that lore happened / technically is currently happening and islanders freely roaming back and forth between islands with wildly differing and borderline nonsensical reasons of why they can do that, it’s understandable why people who are fans of the lore side of the server are frustrated! i won’t even say they shouldn’t be on the main server point blank, even if i do think that commitment to the bit would make the plot stronger— but if we’re acknowledging that purgatory 2 exists on the main server in the first place, then there could be some storyline salve that at least attempts to make sense of the whole ordeal equally amongst characters and players without it feeling like the lore is being completely disregarded and pushed aside. there’s gaping narrative inconsistencies that are unlikely to get resolved in any kind of satisfying way because these kinds of loose ends are generally specifically brushed off.

not everybody is a fan of the plot or the overarching story and they don’t have to be, and the streamers certainly aren’t obligated to participate in it. on the other hand, when it’s such a big part of the server it deserves more attention and care than it’s getting right now. the reason purgatory 2 islanders can travel back and forth and the others can’t could be consistent and clarified in some way, but it won’t be, and it’ll be another note added to a long list of unanswered questions that could have been easily resolved with a group discord and some forethought

[canmom]

last season's anime: that elf show (1-6)

Belatedly watching Sousou no Frieren, the darling of the... previous anime season four months ago. So old news as far as most are concerned!

I have held off on watching this one because, well, videogamey elves-and-dwarves European fantasy is ehhhhhh! I can get into it if it's really well done and puts the focus somewhere interesting (c.f. Dungeon Meshi), or if its medievalism is a bit more historically grounded than your average videogame-inflected fantasy anime (actual European history is full of fascinating/fucked up shit which rarely makes it into fantasy). But Frieren didn't strike me as having that vibe.

Nevertheless I heard Madhouse were the ones that did it and somehow that was enough to finally tip me over into watching it. So lol. I was a baby or even an ovum when Madhouse were doing most of their best known work, and yet...

Anyway, it turns out, not only was it a Madhouse project, but none other than Yoshiaki Kawajiri actually boarded a good few of the episodes, although he's not the enshutsu [episode director/storyboarder] whose people are most excited about. The series director's last work was Bocchi the Rock after all! And this sure is another hit.

The first two things that jumped out at me in the first episodes were: the bgs are insanely good looking and the photography department is absolutely in love with a digital bokeh filter. I don't think I often see this specific kind of blur filter in anime (though I think you'll see it the works of some directors who like to emulate realistic photography like Yamada or Shinkai), and it was interesting the effect it had of eliding the lines and creating an effect kind of similar to posterisation.

Bokeh aside, the background painting and layouts in this anime are really incredibly good. When I occasionally watch fantasy anime - I have a friend who is quite into isekai and will occasionally show me one of her faves such as Ascendance of a Bookworm - one thing that often bothers me is the architecture, you have identical box-shaped houses with big windows, wide flat streets, it generally doesn't feel like a lived-in city. This is something that particularly bothers me about Attack on Titan.

By contrast, Frieren is routinely dropping scenes like this:

Split levels, varied colours and heights, accurate depiction of features like jettying, mixing up the verticals a bit. It's an impressive attention to detail and it does so much to sell the setting.

And the nature scenes are outstanding as well. Although I'm pretty sure they're painted digitally, it has the feeling of older physical media. The bg painters clearly understand the power of hinting at form with brush stroke shapes and a few flat colours - a technique similar to the bg paintings at Ghibli. There's rarely an obvious digital texture and they exercise restraint in overwhelming everything with glows and flares. The flat colours and paint-like textures are allowed to shine on their own. Plus everything has a subtle grain (pretty sure it's just good old Perlin noise), adding to the analogue feel.

But yeah, look at the subtle atmospheric perspective in the last one there! The layers of forest in the background are painted with less saturated colours, creating a powerful sense of layering and distance, without having to draw more trees than the immediate foreground. I could learn a lot from this painting alone when it comes to forest scenes.

While I'm going on about technical stuff, the animation also stands up. The first episode in particular has some real flexes with crowd scenes containing dozens of moving characters. The character animation is generally very restrained, but naturalistic. There is constantly a strong sense of space. The action animation later does less for me - it's not at all bad, but it's within the conventions of modern shounen adaptations - but it's generally speaking strong.

All that said, what about what it's actually, y'know, about?

Frieren wastes little time in establishing its premise. The title character is a nigh-immortal elf, who was part of the RPG party that defeated the demon lord just prior to the outset of the show. Frieren has a pretty flat affect in general - not to say she's emotionless, far from it, but rather the heavy lifting of what she's feeling has to be conveyed through cinematography and implication of her actions. Though that said, it does plenty to humanise (elfise?) her too - she is not a morning person, and there are moments where she will get visibly excited about small things. Mostly, Frieren is a character who really doesn't understand herself very well.

Comparisons to the prototypical emotionaless girl Rei Ayanami come to mind to me - especially the version of Rei we encounter in Eva 3.0+1.0. Both characters' affect is shaped by transience - for Rei, she's a short-lived clone, for Frieren, her perception of time is completely miscalibrated to all the people around her so she'll accidentally disappear for decades while they get old and die. And both characters' arcs involve learning about how to understand human connections.

As kvin has said in his impressively detailed article on the background to this show, this premise is used to tell a story about the passage of time. In the specific, it's about the grief of realising you did not spend enough time with someone after they've gone. Frieren is retracing the steps of the party after disappearing from their lives for nigh on 50 years, returning just in time to catch the human characters as they die of old age. The episodes are usually constructed around her memory of that adventure, paralelled by the connection she's forming in the present with her new apprentice. She's trying to do things that she never managed to do when they were alive, get in touch with her own feelings, etc. etc. Lots of mono no aware in the air.

So each episode tends to develop two stories in parallel. There will be the immediate impetus - Frieren and co. find something that needs dealing with and coincidentally links back in to the past - and also flashbacks which help flesh out the rest of Frieren's party and why the journey was such a big deal to her. The writing and editing generally does a very good job of knowing what to leave unstated, what can be implied by a cut and a closeup.

More than anything I think I'm reminded of Seirei no Moribito. Frieren herself reminds me a little of Balsa - they're quite different characters, but the way they relate to others and the general arc of being changed by their connections - and while the dynamic between her and Fern is a little less parental than Balsa and Chagum, the use of scenery and the general approach to setting up of episode plots feels quite similar.

Predictably, stories about grief touch a nerve! 'I didn't properly appreciate the time I had with her' is something I feel particularly with my friend Fall, who we lost nearly two years ago now. A story about figuring out just what someone meant to you after they are gone is resonant, shall we say.

The first and second episodes as a pair end up particularly affecting. I talked about the technical stuff above, but the editing is also really strong. A couple of moments that stood out to me: moment of ephiphany communicated with a sudden eye closeup, an L-cut to bells which you don't hear until there's been another cut to the actual funeral. Since I've been in the sakugabooru server I've been learning to pay a lot more attention to individual enshutsu, so the names to credit in this case are Saito himself for the first, and Tomoya Kitagawa for the second.

The third episode (Daiki Harashina) stumbles a bit in my view, not so much because of the direction but because the script brings in some less-interesting magic mechanics and fighting-a-demon elements. The fourth episode, the first directed by Kawajiri, falls back into the rhythm: the stakes are small but we feel the development of Frieren and Fern's dynamic.

The fifth (Kenichi Shimizu) and sixth (Toru Iwasawa) episodes are a two part story, introducing a new character Stark as a second young apprentice character - the sixth episode has a really exceptional action scene with its dragon fight, bringing in a lot of familiar action animator names, and moreover the preceding episode does the work to set it up so we're invested in the culmination of the character arc it represents! Also there's that one sitting down cut I heard about. I wasn't sure I'd be on board with Stark at first, but he's growing on me through his interactions.

By this point we're starting to have more present-day 'villagers have a monster problem' type setups, but they're still primarily instruments to advance characterisation: the conflict of Stark with cowardice and responsibility is paralelled by one of Frieren's former party members, Frieren and Fern get to face ghosts of people they've lost, etc.

The first few episodes jump forward in years at a time in between, and even within the episodes tend to elide huge periods of time with montages - very effective for driving the central theme of tiiiiime. That seems to be slowing down a little now, although we'll see.

I think if anything weakens it, it's that the demons and monsters feel undercooked as setting elements - and I'm a little worried by hearing that they become increasingly central elements as the show goes on. Of course, they're kinda mandated by the RPG setting, and being able to just say 'back when demons attacked the village' lets the show put its time into characterisation. But to take episode 3 for example - surely there is drama to be had in the idea of a senior underling who was frozen for nigh eighty years, unaware that his master had been overthrown? But nah, he just attacks immediately, and then it turns out that human magic science has advanced so much building out from his technique that he's not a big deal anymore (ratfic ass concept). Mostly demons and monsters exist as plot devices, opportunities for characters to prove themselves or experience an epiphany.

It's a shame because the show goes to such enormous lengths to flesh out everyone else's motivations. 'Why did character x do or feel y' is kind of the thrust of every episode (c.f. that kinda questionable stuff people say about JP storytelling being more about causality than conflict). Next time they supply us a demon character, I hope they're willing to give them a comparable treatment. 'Kind, peace-loving villagers vs ontologically evil baddies' is just such a boring dynamic, and with such love poured into everything else, it seems a shame.

Overall, I don't think Frieren is going to displace Tengoku Daimakyou as my fave of 2023, or stand alongside Dungeon Meshi as elves-and-dwarves fantasy goes, but it's definitely a memorable one. As an adaptation it's absurdly strong. Looking forward to watching the rest.

[xf-cases-solved]

S1E8: Ice

Case: Two FBI agents, a geologist, a medical doctor, a toxicologist, and a guy who happens to own a plane walk into an Alaskan research outpost turned crime scene. Stop me if you've heard this one before...

A team of geophysicists doing some fun breaking of the ice suddenly end up dead, and Mulder and Scully are selected, along with a handful of other lucky ducks, to go find out what killed them. What they discover is a bloodbath and a very angry dog. The dog did not murder them, but he might be the key to finding out what did. As unfortunate parasitic discoveries start to be made, things descend into chaos faster than you can say "black nodule." Scully wants everybody to shut up, Mulder asks everyone not to judge his dick size, and CGI is used liberally. Is this a whodunit? Or a whatcausedthemtodunit?

Does someone die in the cold open: Yes. A confused looking man and a shirtless man with blood directly on his tits hold each other at gunpoint, only to then decide to kill themselves instead.

Does Mulder present a slideshow: No, but he did bring a video for Scully to watch.

Does the evidence survive the investigation: Nope! The evidence on the surface killed itself, and the whole place is torched before any more evidence can be found.

Whodunit: Okay, technically it was a bunch of murders plus a couple suicides, but they were just being Ratatouilled by some prehistoric, potentially extraterrestrial, ice worms.

Convictions: None necessary

Did they solve it: Yes. I'm giving this one to them. This is one of the few episodes where hard science, without any twists, saves the day. They could write this in a report and not make their bosses want to kill them. Good job you guys, you prevented a plague!

[how do i determine if a case is solved? check the scale here: x]

THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY: The 1982 playoff game between the San Diego Chargers and the Miami Dolphins.

Have you been struggling with stress? Have a lot on your mind? Maybe your job is running you ragged. Or maybe you're stuck in an outpost in Alaska researching the horrific deaths of some scientists. Or maybe the in-laws are in town this week! Whatever the reason, if you need help getting your mind off stuff, we've got the solution—the 1982 playoff game between the San Diego Chargers and the Miami Dolphins!

***

General Total Stats:

(green means stat has changed since last ep; red means new stat added to list)

Total Cases *Definitively* Solved So Far: 3! (begin new streak...)

Total Number of "Mulder/Scully, it's me" phone calls: 1

Total Number of Times Scully Has Conveniently Not Seen Something Crucial: 3 (even tho she was barricaded in a room and was trying very diligently and pointlessly to break down a locked, solid metal door, she didn't actually miss anything she didn't already know)

Total Number of Times Mulder Has Been in Mortal Danger: 2

Total Number of Times Scully Has Been in Mortal Danger: 3 (she was never explicitly targeted, but i say that being on that base at all counts as mortal danger)

Total Number of Sexually Charged and/or Flirty Moments Between Friendly Coworkers: 5 (whyyy were those neck checks so sensual??)

Total Number of Autopsies Scully Has Performed On Screen: 1 (okay, she performed autopsies in this episode, but not on screen, and that's what I think matters, so i'm changing up this category to reflect that specification)

Total Number of Times Mulder Talks to an Informant: 4

Total Number of Nosebleeds: 4

Total Number of Cigarettes Cigarette Smoking Man Has Smoked: 2

Total Number of Alex Krycek Sightings: 0 :(

Total Number of Times I Had to Look Up What State the Episode Takes Place in Even Though I Literally Just Watched It: 2

Total Number of Times I Had to Look at an Episode's Wikipedia Page to Fill This Out Because It Was Fucking Confusing and/or Too Boring for Me to Pay Attention: 1 (Ice is a top tier episode, my dudes, i have that shit memorized. the next episode is Space, tho, so...)

[asmo-cosmetics]

Okok I don't mean this as hate I'm just curious what demoncest game is Canon in the games (minus asmo's flirting/comments he makes to the bros!!) (Again I don't mean this as hate I guess I just never picked up on it +super behind in both games) (sorry for the long ask-/g

you're good, but i do want to point something out in your ask because i've seen it other places too – asmo's behavior is definitely incestuous lol. he's a member of the family flirting with other members of the family, and this is largely just seen as a cute-if-slightly-annoying quirk of his (which i add for the asmo-hating "the brothers hate it and think it's gross when he does that!!" crowd). anyway, just off the top of my head:

asmo is archetypically written as a brocon for lucifer. the main point of the "jewel of the heavens" story was to establish this, especially when simeon later accidentally lightly roasts asmo for making it his entire personality. like, the point of it is asmo is obsessed with being beautiful because that's how he can see himself as being useful to lucifer, to earn more of his love and attention.

lucifer's "punishments" for mammon are heavily implied to be sexual. during the retreat, when diavolo helps lucifer punish him literally all night long, mc and levi are (semi) joking about what the three of them must have been doing, and it's so graphic that simeon covers luke's ears.

also, can't forget mc is canonically the brothers' great-niece or -nephew. i know they tried to do some retcon on that one but come on now.

this one's kind of a meta thing but i feel like it counts so i'm adding it. one of the primary artists for cards of the twins is a career yaoi artist

but also just the twins in general. like. you are absolutely supposed to read them as shoujo twincest twins. i feel stupid even trying to argue this one because it's so obvious. if you tell belphie in season one that you have feelings for beel your intimacy with BELPHIE goes up. belphie describes his ideal life after running away as "belphie, beel and mc live happily ever after." they share a room. they have telepathy. i mean please.

satan and lucifer have this very fucked mutualistic oedipal thing going on. it doesn't come up often but it is weird as shit every time and i love it. every time lucifer reminds satan that he is technically his mother he says it in the same teasing/smug way he usually uses to flirt, and satan responds with embarrassment/blushing. "in your case, even more?" "why don't you just say 'lucifer, i need affection?'" etc

in one of the early early events i think p&c but i don't remember we get the iconic knowledge that leviathan finds humiliation "titillating!" which was in response to belphie insulting him that is what turned him on

belphie and satan's hatred of diavolo and psychosexual obsession with lucifer that are very much connected because talking about how much lucifer sucks and they hate him INCREDIBLY quickly devolved into "he's so obsessed with diavolo. i hate how he's with diavolo all the time. they're probably having sex. lucifer probably lets diavolo do anything he wants to him" like are you guys ok

belphie constantly talks about how beautiful asmo is with zero hint of irony like will just out of hand be like "my older brother who's stunningly gorgeous" as if that's a normal thing to say

everybody talks about lilith super normal you guys. especially belphie. whose very normal reaction to lilith having a human boyfriend who did not do anything wrong except die was to reverse course on his defining characteristic and develop a genocidal hatred of humans. also him holding mc and calling them lilith. it's giving yoosung mystic messenger saying you're just like rika but ok

in conclusion, very regular family

[phantomskeep]

Editing to add (again): This is using the bastardized wendigo from popculture. It's not using the wendigo in the context of the spirit, more in the context of the Hannibal "Ravenstag" or even Antlers' wendigo. Check the Anon link near the end of the post for more information regarding my thoughts on the subject :) I didn't mention the deer-like qualities until the tags, which I understand some people don't fully read. That's my bad, so here I am with the full context ahead of time. This is not the Algonquian version of the wendigo spirit. i really want to write a DCxDP fic where Danny gets trapped in a different form (like either true form or just gets cursed, something like that) and can't get out of it. That form? A wendigo. Somehow he ends up in the DC universe - either through already living there or Ghost Zone shenanigans.

Being a wendigo, Danny feels the need to eat flesh. Preferably human, but even in his screwed-up state he knows that's wrong of him to do. So he takes to killing the bare minimum amount of wildlife he can to sustain himself. Eventually he realizes that "oh wait, what if I just raided a store?" So he stumbles out of the woods and into the nearest grocery store after they had closed. He ends up eating enough to settle his stomach before going off to hide to wait for this whatever to wear off.

However, this catches the attention of [insert local hero]. [Insert local hero] goes to the Justice League about this - maybe this creature is a new villain's scheme? Or just a new villain? Members of the JL + Justice League Dark then go out to [insert town Danny was spotted in] to do some investigating. Batman being one of these people, plus Robin because Damian would not let Bruce go without him. A wendigo could be like a shark after all, just a big ol' puppy.

They get to [insert town here] and start cracking down. They compare the old footage to the location, tracking where the wendigo went. Finally Batman, Robin and [insert characters here] are able to get to the wendigo's den... only to find out the wendigo is a lot more ghost-like than they thought it would be.

There's a big fight because Wendigo-Brain!Danny thought these random dudes were the GIW coming for his undead ass that ends with Danny taking off. Unknowingly to Danny, Damian has grabbed onto him and is basically riding his soon-to-be pet into the sunset.

... I just want to 1) see Danny suffer and being confused 2) Damian trying to get a new dangerous pet and 3) get Damian trying to tame a feral Wendigo!Danny like any normal person would try to befriend that feral orange cat living in the dumpster.

Adding this just to cover my own butt about this haha, here's a link that contains a post which covers the research I have done on the topic of the wendigo: Anon Ask Post Here. I am not trying to culturally appropriate, offend, or harm anyone with a prompt post about Danny taking the form of a wendigo. It's a cool concept to me as I believe it is a bit ironic. The wendigo, as seen in the culture it originates from, is a symbol of greed and a harsh winter and are often a sign of cannibalism. They have hearts of ice and an "unseasonable chill might precede its approach".

I think this is ironic because 1 - Danny is a sweet little bean and being stuck with cannibalistic cravings is a Hannibal Fic trope that will forever rot in my brain + Ghost King!Danny having to eat Pariah Dark's core is a headcanon I adore, 2 - the chill preceding a wendigo's approach reminds me of Danny's ghost sense, 3 - Danny is the LEAST greedy person I can think of in the entirety of DP (even if he does have his selfish moments at the worst times ever), and 4 - wendigos possess human beings. In Native legend a wendigo is a "malevolent spirit" which possesses humans - technically if you are going to stick with the general wendigo legends then it does not have antlers, horns, or is even a beast. It's just a giant human. Which, if using the correct/original version of a wendigo, makes this 10x funnier to me, because Damian that is clearly a giant person what the fUCK ARE YOU DOING--

Anyways, long story short if you have issues with me using a wendigo for a "haha funny" prompt please DM me with any sort of articles, legends, documentaries, ect. on why using a wendigo is a Bad Thing. Like I said in the linked post, I'm always willing to learn and adjust my behavior. I just want proof that the changes I'm going to make are the correct ones to be making, as my years on the internet have ALWAYS told me to fact check anything :)