#anyways - being beloved by my community is WILD…

[starbuck]

i’m actually totally mentally fine now because a hot old man likes and respects me and hyped me up to rest of the community 😌😌

[finisnihil]

Liking Webtoons and wanting to analyze them is such a nightmare because most of their fandom activity is in the comments on the episodes, and a lot of the people there love to start beating characters the minute they're too morally grey/flawed or they're considered threatening to the main ship in any way.

For example, using For My Derelict Favorite, Helios gets dragged way too much at times. Like, I see people make him out to be a purely malicious force who's just as bad as Diana as if it's not emphasized that he acknowledges his feelings are wrong and will never act on them and the main reason why he harbors them is because the subejct of those feelings, Hestia, is way more competent than his wife.

A wife who's refusing to acknowledge nuance or her fading powers out of fear and insecurity and shuts down any attempts at healthy communication he attempts to initiate to the point she chases out the woman who basically raised him when his mother died. He can't rely on her and has basically no support system but he can rely on Hestia and his feelings are more born out of a desire to have somebody close who he can rely on.

The difference between Diana and him is WILDLY big, with Diana chasing out anyone who tries to question her and replacing them with the corrupt temple, choosing to drop her husband the minute he doesn't validate her batshit wild choices. She then decides to go and steal another woman's husband, who she previously condemned to the point of him becoming suicidal, because he defied her strict moral compass. Helios chooses to protect her still because she's his wife and he loves her and doesn't want to give up on her which is an objectively bad move, but he's in an awful position where anything he does will result in some kind of loss.

But I see the comments crawling with complete vilification and ignoring the character's honestly fascinating struggles so they can piss on him for threatening the beloved main ship. I even see some people compare him to WAYYYY worse characters, like Sovieshu from The Remarried Empress, which takes some sort of mental gymnastics as they are only similar to a surface level extent. Sovieshu is unredeemable but Helios is trying and making some bad calls while under pressure along the way.

For another example lets look at Annabel Lee from the amazing comic Nevermore. Everyone in the series is morally grey to some extent and some people will piss on Annabel Lee for being cruel, selfish, etc in such a shallow way. Instead of actually looking at her, a flawed character in a really fucked up situation trying to protect the one she loves at the cost of others, some people just say she's a bitch and want her to be expelled from the narrative for it. We can analyze Annabel Lee and why she’s Like That in so many ways because she's an incredibly dynamic and round character but some people don't care about that they just care she was Super Mean in some way and deem her The Enemy.

I have so many more examples like the fighting in the Jackson's Diary comments about who was the bad guy in a situation where both characters hurt each other in awful ways (I could go on about that for hours and might make a seperate analysis on it) but I think this post is long enough and I don't feel like inciting the possible wrath of any more comic fanbases.

Anyways if you're interested in any of the mentioned comics I encourage you to check them out for yourself!

[crescencestudio]

๋࣭⭑ Devlog #38 | 2.27.24 ๋࣭⭑

How is it already almost March omfg.

Anyways Happy Valentine's Day month!!! This year, I was swamped with work, so I didn't get a chance to make Valentine's Day art. I did make a Valentine's piece last year though.

BUT we did have beloved @magunalafay make these Valentine's Day cards this year for the community!!! <3 If you missed it, well Happy Valentine's Day!!!!!

She made these as a gift, and I love her very much. Maguna u r so talented

This month was pretty busy for me, but I'm super happy with the progress made this month ^^ I feel like I've started the year off in a pretty good groove after it being all over the place for a hot second, yay!!!

This past month, Etza and Druk's routes. With the revamped demo finishing its revisions, it left a lot more time for me to focus writing on full route development.

If you missed the announcement, I FINISHED Etza's first draft!!! YAAAYYY!!!! FINALLY!!!!!!

That means 4/6 routes are finished in terms of the base writing, which is so exciting to MEEEEE. I've always seen Etza's draft as The Milestone because with their route finished, it would mean the four Central routes are done writing. And to me, while there's a good chuck of writing left, we are nearing the end of it.

There's only two routes left and that means it's about ~100k words which is CRAZY compared to when I had ~300k to write (:cries:). Even if that sounds like a lot, once I start chipping away at those routes, that 100k goes into the "double digits" aka 90k...80k... etc. and that makes me want to pee my pants

We also finished editing Druk's route, yay!!! So we reached a lot of milestones this month ^^

We are nearing the end of the Vui background commissions. It's very bittersweet; I'm so used to mentioning him in my devlogs now </3 There's only like 3(?) more BGs left for him to make, and then all of the BGs for the game will be finished. Very Wild! I think Alaris will have 25ish BGs, and they are all Stunning.

It's been a while since I showed you all a BG, so I'll give you all a preview of one I just got in!

Isn't it cozy? Guess whose house hehe

I personally have been doing a lot of sprite work this month to finish the final art assets for the demo. I added some expressions to Druk and Aisa that I'd been procrastinating (I don't even know why I was procrastinating them). And I finally finished Mom and Kimura's updated sprites! Patreon already saw them, but I'll show the new versions here too ^^

Preview of Mom (left) and Kimura (right) updated sprites. Now everyone's sprite styles are cohesive YAY!!

Aside from sprite work, much of my "art" time has been on finishing up/putting together the last of the screens for the GUI. Specifically, I got THIS BABY up and running. She is my crowning glory.

Memory Screen to Replay Unlocked Free Time Dates

Oh my god.... You all have NO IDEA how much of a pain this was to code. There is a transparency gradient going on in the left and right B&W previews (courtesy of community programming angel feniks/shawna).

And then the effort to have the Titles and Descriptions of the Previewed Date change tilted me on Multiple Occasions. But we finally got it to work thanks to bestie @siyo-koy pointing out I just coded one stupid "if" statement wrong LJAFSLIEFJIEJ. But the effort was WORTH IT because I'm so proud of her!!! I hope you all like it too as a way to relive Free Time Dates. I had a lot of fun with the Titles and descriptions.

I also put together the Stats and Affection Screens

Preview of Personality Stats & Affection Screens

So I coded both of them a bit differently from each other. The Personality Screen shows you a breakdown of your traits so far. Think of it like a pie graph! So in the preview picture, your choices indicate you are 33% Brave, 16% Charismatic, etc. I felt like this was a more natural way to portray personality rather than how many bravery points you've collected so far!

And then for Affection, it works in a more traditional way, where it counts it based on how many you've gotten out of the total amount you can get. This way, as the story progresses, how close you are to the person reflects how much your relationship as developed!

I've also added little descriptions underneath each that change depending on the percentage. So for example, if you have gotten 82% of the affection points for Kuna'a, the description of your relationship might change as well hehe

Other than that, I've mainly focused on getting the demo together. We released the beta demo earlier this month (? LOL). And the feedback has been so kind!!

A lot of this month was spent polishing so that the demo can be ready for early access and eventually public release. I updated sprites, made sure music crossfades with each other so that transitions between soundtracks feel smoother, I added/polished all of the screens I needed to (e.g., Memory Room, Full Credits, Cleaning Music Room, Adding Stats Screens), and I FINALLY as of yesterday added the Voiced Lines!!

One thing I added in the Extended Demo that I'm really happy with is the use of Extended Pronouns (courtesy of Angel Feniks). Below is a preview of how it works now!

Preview of Extended Pronouns Function. Credit to Feniks

Basically, you can choose multiple pronouns for yourself, including custom pronouns (e.g., xe/xem, fae/faer, etc.). On top of that, you can choose how often you'd like the pronouns to alternate (e.g., every line versus every scene) and what kind of terms you'd like to be used for you (e.g., neutral vs. masculine vs. feminine)!

Overall, the demo is getting closer and closer to release!!! Early Access will hopefully be ready by the end of this week or next, so if you all would like access to it, please feel free to subscribe to my Patreon for this upcoming month! Available to Wyvern tier ($5) and up.

I didn't have any time to really play any games this month because I was drowning in work LMFAOSLJIEF. I did play the Threads of Bay demo by @lavendeerstudios and it was GORGEOUS! Very cute game with lovable characters and charming visuals. Andrew, I will have your number

Every other section was really long, so I'm going to throw it here even though it's not market research. But Intertwine recently hit 600 ratings, which is crazy. Thank you for still enjoying that game even if it's not one that is my main focus anymore. I'm really happy people still like it :on the verge of tears:

Anyways, this has been a long devlog. Here's to continuing to Ball in March. Hope you all have a great rest of your month, and I'll talk to you soon! <3

[asexxxualauthor]

So, Monster Hunter Wilds is on the horizon, and with it the 6th generation of the Monster Hunter franchise. And, as a fan of the Monster Hunter series since MHTri, here’s my list of the monsters introduced in the 3rd generation that deserve a return. These are in no particular order other than alphabetical.

1. The Final Bosses

Combining these all together since they all fill the same niche (and so I can fit all the monsters on this list), I’m just gonna go ahead and say a flat “no” for them. Final bosses basically never show back up again, and even if they did, these three will not. Ceadeus is a strictly underwater Elder Dragon, and Amatsu is strictly native to Yukumo. Dire Miralis could potentially work out, but he’s still semi-aquatic. Anyway, 0/10

2. Agnaktor

On the exact opposite end of the list is this lovely son of a bitch. Not only is Agnaktor not aquatic, it’s the exact opposite—it’s a lava-swimming wyvern, which is a whole subclass of frequently-used monsters. We already have Lavisioth as an option, and Agnaktor’s immature form—Uroktar—were available in MHRise, so why not? 10/10, should come back again

3. Duramboros

Duramboros is the first monster on this list that isn’t in total dire need of a return—it was available back in MHGenerations, and isn’t extremely unique or memorable. It wouldn’t be hard to add to the game—in fact, the ecology of Wilds’ regions do seem like they’d fit him well, but he wouldn’t exactly need it. 3/10

4. Gigginox

Oh, Gigginox—the Khezu’s more creepy, yet less disturbing little brother. Therein is a large part of the problem with Gigginox, in that its design is too similar to Khezu's—if a game is going to have one, it most likely won't have the other. However, despite having similar designs, their fights are completely different—so, bringing Gigginox back for the Forbidden Lands seems like the perfect opportunity to me. 8/10, bring the freakshow back!

5. Gobul

Gobul is an unfortunate victim of gimmickry. He's definitely a fun enemy—the encounter with him is memorable, he's extremely frustrating and fun, and being able to fish him up with a frog on a stick is so unique and interesting! And I could certainly see ways that reintroducing him for a Swamp region in Wilds could be done well—the problem is that so much of his design is tied to his flooded home, and having to navigate murky waters, that I don't think he's likely to come back. I'll put him at a solid 4/10, though, being hopeful.

6. Great Jaggi

Whenever a small predator monster is included in a game, and the game chooses not to include their mature form or pack leader, I die a little bit inside. Getting into Rise's desert region, seeing the Jaggi running around, and slowly realizing there was no Great Jaggi to beat up on broke my heart. Do I think there's any chance my boy will be showing up in Wilds, though? Not a chance in hell, there's nothing unique about him—unlike his cousins G.Baggi and G.Wroggi—that makes him worth bringing home again. 2/10

7. Jhen Mohran

I, personally, never got the chance to go far enough in one of the games to tackle one of the massive siege monsters—the closes I ever got was Zorah Magdaros, and from what I've seen from the community, that was a bit of a shit-show of a siege. Still, we are shown sailing on desert sands in the trailer for Wilds, and we already know the MH4 crew is tied up in this somehow, so maybe siege is back on the menu, boys! 5/10

8. Lagiacrus

Oh, Lagiacrus—yet another wonderful monster that was handicapped by gameplay gimmickry. Lagi is one of the most beloved monsters in the series—an odd thing to say, since he just barely made it into the gen after his. Without a sea to duel him in, he's locked to just his on-land combat, which is far less interesting to deal with. If we could get underwater combat back, I could see a world where he comes home, but that's not this one. 3/10

9. Nibelsnarf

Honestly, this is one of the monsters I can most see coming back with Wilds. Like Jhen, Nibelsnarf is a desert-dweller that loves digging through the sand—and there's plenty of sand to go around in Wilds first area! Not only that, but Nibelsnarf is perhaps the most bizarre monster to come out of the 3rd gen, and if there's one thing we've seen from the MHWilds roster so far, it's that they're a bunch of ugly, nasty motherfuckers—so he'll fit right in! 9/10

And of course, saving the best for last...

10. Qurupeco

Why, on gods green earth, has this bastard not left 3rd gen yet? He has such a colorful, unique design! His antics and mannerisms are so goofy and fun! The fact that he can parrot the calls of other monsters in the area and bring them barrelling down on you with the force of a hurricane itself is crazy, and makes for such a terrifying conflict—I genuinely do not understand why he isn't in more games—in all of the games—he deserves it!

10/10—11/10—15!! This bastard deserves to make Hunters' lives hell in the Forbidden Lands, I swear to god!

[stray-tickles]

Cat's Out Of The Bag

a.n. So I've gotten really into wolf 359!! And to think I started listening to it as something light before bed, lol. Anyway here is a fic <3 I love my dysfunctional dumbass space crew.

Isabel Lovelace had a mischievous streak. She always had, although it had become dormant. Something about losing her entire crew and being lost in space in cryo-sleep didn’t put her much in the mood for fun and games.

She’d warmed to this crew though, except for Selberg. Minkowski was tough and straightforward in a satisfying way, Eiffel was a genuinely good guy with a dorky sense of humour, and even Hera’s sarcastic streak had grown on her. They were a good crew.

All that to say, she’d bonded with them a bit, and that along with the relative safety of the Hephaestus had her old playfulness returning. And she knew exactly who to prank first.

“Hey, Hera?”

The AI’s voice crackled to life. “Yes Captain?”

“I’m uh- I’m gonna sneak up on Eiffel, as a joke. Can you not warn him?”

She might have imagined it, but she could swear that Hera rolled her eyes. “Sure thing, Captain.”

“Thanks!”

“Good luck.” Hera said, amused.

The door opened silently when she approached Communications, and Lovelace could hear that Eiffel was in the middle of one of his usual broadcasts to his beloved listeners. It couldn’t be more perfect if she’d planned it this way.

She took a deep breath and pushed off the corridor wall, effortlessly floating into the room and right behind Eiffel.

“And that, dear listeners, is why nachos are the greatest of all foods. In other news, the weather report for tomorrow is sunny with a chance of-AAAHANOLEMMIEGO!”

Lovelace pulled back in shock when her quick grab at Eiffel’s sides earned her a loud shriek and a jolt like she’d given him an electric shock.

Eiffel curled up into a ball in his chair, staring at his unexpected attacker with wide eyes, his arms glued to his sides.

“Jeez, what the hell did I do?” Lovelace asked with an incredulous laugh. “I was just trying to scare you a bit. You okay man?”

“Yep!” Eiffel said, almost an octave too high. He didn’t move. “Totally fine!”

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “You’d better not be hurt or something. I hate doctor’s visits as much as you do but you can’t just leave that stuff.”

“What? No, not injured, definitely nothing wrong here, no sir.”

Lovelace rolled her eyes. “Eiffel, the second I touched you you screamed like a…” A wicked smirk spread across her face. “Wait.”

Despite her request, Eiffel did not wait. Instead, he frantically unbuckled himself from the chair, fumbling to escape.

He didn’t make it more than a couple of feet before Lovelace pounced, both hands clamping onto the fleshy parts of his sides and vibrating furiously, earning a second shriek followed by a fit of high-pitched laughter.

She grinned. “Oh, this is too good.”

Eiffel wriggled like a fish on a line, trying to shake her off to no avail. “No, it’s not!” He squealed, snorting loudly when one hand clawed at his stomach. “Fuck! Stahahap you psycho!”

“Well, that’s a bit rude.” She teased, fingertips plucking at his ribs and earning more and more high-pitched squeaks between helpless giggles. “And here I thought we were friends.”

Eiffel batted at her hands weakly, cackling and smiling so wide it almost hurt. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed this much. He felt like he just might melt.

He kind of felt like he’d needed this.

Lovelace couldn’t help but chuckle along, taking in Eiffel’s massive grin and wild laughter. “I can’t believe I didn’t know about this.” Her hands slid up under his arms. “You’re so goddamn annoying.”

“FUCK!” Eiffel screeched, her blunt nails scratching away under his arms doing a good job wearing away at his sanity. “PLEAHAHAHA- PLEASE!”

She lightened her touch so that he didn’t actually die. “Oh, learned some manners I see.”

Eiffel kicked his legs, now back to giggling wildly. “I hahahate you!” He whined, snorting and ineffectively slapping at her.

“Aww, cute.”

“Shut up!”

She laughed. “Give up?” He was getting pretty red in the face.

Eiffel nodded weakly and hiccupped in between giddy giggles, squeaking when Lovelace reached to ruffle his head. “Dork.” She said affectionately. “Hope you learned your lesson.”

He still felt tingly and warm, and like he wouldn’t stop smiling for a while. “Yep! Note to self, Captain Lovelace is a cold-hearted killer.”

“Damn right.” She smirked, floating over to the door and wiggling her fingers a bit more than was necessary for a wave goodbye.

Eiffel stayed curled up in a ball, floating in the middle of the room and hugging himself, grinning like crazy.

“Um, Officer Eiffel?”

Oh. He’d forgotten that Hera definitely saw all of that. “Hey Hera.” He said, trying to come off as casual and not embarrassed out of his mind.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m good.”

“Are you sure?” She sounded genuinely concerned. “You were, um, screaming for a bit there.”

Heat rushed to his face. “Heh, just the nature of tickle fights, what can I say.”

Now she was amused. “There didn’t seem to be much fighting.”

“Look, just cos it’s very one-sided doesn’t mean it’s not a fight!”

“At a certain point I think it just becomes one person attacking another.”

Eiffel wasn’t sure if it was possible to curl up into a smaller ball, but he gave it a try anyway. “Fine, it was an attack then!”

“A tickle attack.”

He squeaked.

“Does that word bother you?” How, how could he know that Hera was smiling when she didn’t even have a face?

“Stoooop.”

Hera laughed. “Okay fine, you’ve suffered enough for now.”

For now. It sent a chill up his spine that wasn’t entirely dread.

Hera hesitated, a little nervous. “Can I ask… what it feels like? Tickling?”

Eiffel managed to uncurl a little and was proud that he didn’t twitch at her use of the word. “Huh?”

“I have a basic understanding of most sensations; pain, hunger, fatigue, but to be honest this has always confused me.”

“Yeah,” Eiffel laughed. “Well, it doesn’t exactly make sense.”

“I was pretty alarmed there for a moment. Begging for mercy and laughing don’t usually go together.”

He blushed. “Heraaaa.”

Hera snickered. “Well, I’m getting that it makes one more easily embarrassed than usual.”

“I’m legitimately mad I can’t throw something at you right now.”

“You can certainly try!”

“Why are you being so mean?” Eiffel whined, burying his face in his hands.

“Because it’s nice to see you smiling.” She supplied affectionately.

The words sent a shot of warmth through him, and his smile grew wider.

“So?”

Eiffel felt his face get hot. “It’s… I dunno, it’s a lot? Like you overload, so you can’t stop from laughing and trying to get away.”

Hera hummed. System overloads were pretty horrible, in her experience. “Anything else?”

“Uhh…” He tried to think of the best way to communicate the feeling to someone with no body. “It’s like static? Like, if static was a feeling instead of a sound.”

“That sounds like a lot.”

“It is, I mean, it can be.”

“And not very pleasant.”

“I-” Crap was she really gonna make him say it? “Sometimes, but if it’s someone you’re close with it’s like, bonding, I dunno.” He hesitated then mumbled, so quietly he hoped she wouldn’t hear, “It’s nice.”

“That is one of the primary theories on why humans are ticklish.”

“Wha- really?”

“Mm-hm! Familial bonding.”

“Ha. What a weird thing to evolve.”

“You do all still grow appendixes.” Hera paused. “So… tickling is being overwhelmed with static sensation, and can be a form of bonding.”

Eiffel smiled to himself. “Yeah, I think that’s more or less it.”

“And you like it.”

“Shut up!”

Someone had apparently turned up Hera’s smugness levels today. “I’ll tell Captain Lovelace you said that.”

“NO-” Eiffel’s eyes widened in horror. “Oh my god she’s gonna tell Minkowski. Hera, Lovelace is going to tell her. Oh god I’m so screwed!”

--

Eiffel spent the rest of the day on edge. He didn’t see any of the other humans, and Hera had the mercy not to tease him any more than she already had, but he was all too aware of the storm brewing out of sight. He’d had years of bugging Minkowski with no comeuppance and now the cat was out of the bag. And he was a dead man walking.

He kind of wished the thought didn’t make him so damn smiley.

It was- it was fun, the laughing and play fighting, and it wasn’t something Eiffel had had in… a really long time. He hadn’t even realised how much he’d needed that until today, and now his surprisingly sly Commander who just happened to also be a top contender for best friend was next in line for some playful revenge, and the thought of it made him feel… kind of giddy.

“Evening, Eiffel.”

The voice made him almost jump out of his skin. “Commander!” He whipped around, hands raised defensively, only to find Minkowski giving him a bemused look.

She raised an eyebrow. “You okay there?”

“Uh huh, yeah totally, never better!” He swallowed. “How are you? Haven’t seen you around today.”

“Yeah, it hasn’t been too crazy today, I’ve just been running diagnostics for the most part.” The shadow of a smirk touched her face. “Spent some time with Lovelace, so I wasn’t too bored.”

“Oh?” Eiffel’s voice rose to a squeak. “What’d- um, what’d you guys talk about?”

The smirk grew bigger, but Minkowski remained innocent-sounding. “Nothing important.”

His voice had still not returned to its usual register. “Okay, that’s nice!”

“Have you eaten?” She stepped closer, and Eiffel’s eyes widened. “I know you’ve been busy.”

Minkowski struggled to keep a somewhat straight face. Her Communications Officer looked like a deer in headlights. This was too good.

“Yep! I-I mean no- no, I uh, I was gonna go now and… get some food! Gotta get some of that delicious protein, yep!” He span to the door, making to leave.

The hand that grabbed his shoulder make him scream a little bit. He turned his head to find Minkowski grinning at him. “Maybe I’ll join you.” She said innocently. “If you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind! Why would I mind? That would be crazy, everything’s fine, yeah let’s just go and get something to eat!” Eiffel did his best not to seem like he was running away, but he wasn’t sure if it worked.

Minkowski allowed herself a quick laugh at his expense. This was the perfect revenge.

--

Minkowski managed to keep Eiffel on edge for a few days. Every time she got too close, he’d freeze up, and if she managed to touch him, he’d all but jump out of his skin. It was fun. And funny.

The fourth day of her torment, however, was different. “Hey Eiffel.” She said, knocking on the comms wall as she entered. She was expecting a jump or a squawk or for him to freeze up, but Eiffel sighed instead.

“Hey Commander.” He muttered, not turning away from his work.

Hmm. “You okay?”

“Huh?”

She crossed the room and put a hand on his shoulder, noting that he didn’t flinch. “Are you okay?”

Eiffel looked up at her and seemed to register her presence for the first time. “Yeah, I’m… I’m fine.”

Minkowski raised an eyebrow.

He sighed. “Medical check-up day, that’s all.”

“Ah.”

“Yeah.” He ran his hands over his face and groaned. “Sometimes I think handcuffs are overrated, you know?”

That alarmed her enough to spin his chair around to face her. “He didn’t do anything?”

Eiffel had the gall to look confused. “What? Oh, no, nothing like that, just the usual Hilbert bullshit.” He gritted his teeth. “I know I’m wasting time waiting for an apology, but…”

Minkowski felt some of her tension ease. “Doesn’t mean you don’t deserve one.”

“Yeah.”

She bit the inside of her lip, considering. She’d spent a lot of time with Eiffel. For a long time it had been just the two of them, before they’d gotten Hera up and running again. “Do you want to go watch a movie?” She asked, as non-awkwardly as possible.

The truth of the matter was that there was exactly one movie on board the Hephaestus, and it wasn’t one either of them were very fond of. It was, however, an excuse to sit on a cramped couch together, and if every single time they would up snuggling then…

Well, it worked out for the most part. Physical contact was scarce in space.

“Yeah.” Eiffel rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Yeah, that’d be nice.”

--

She would never tell Eiffel, but the first time they’d squashed together on the tiny, too hard couch to watch goddamn Home Alone 2, Minkowski had been so overwhelmed that she’d had to fight not to cry. It was so easy to neglect the side of her that sometimes just wanted a hug, and after two years of not being on decent terms with either of her two human crewmates… it had hit her harder than expected.

Douglas Eiffel awkwardly cuddling up to her had almost brought her to tears. If nothing else, it had been a lesson.

So, it really wasn’t an imposition to have him leaning his head on her shoulder and pretending to watch Home Alone 2.

He snuggled a little closer and Minkowski raised an eyebrow. “Want me to move over?”

“Nah.” Eiffel said. “I’m good.”

“Good.” She rested her head against his with a smile.

Eiffel felt himself relax as the not great movie carried on. It was nice to be close to someone. To have a friend around. “I’m just saying, forgetting Kevin once is a mistake, doing it twice is deliberate.”

A hand squeezed his side sharply, making him yelp and jump. “Sshh.” Minkowski chided, not moving her hand. “I’m trying to watch.”

Eiffel froze, barely daring to breathe. She was doing this now? Why? And, more importantly, how did he feel about that?

Oh, who was he kidding?

“Still don’t know why they wouldn’t send us up with Star Wars.”

Blunt nails scratched gently at his stomach, immediately sending Eiffel tumbling into a fit of giggles, throwing his arms up over his face.

Minkowski grinned. Cute. “I’ve told you before, putting media that has exploding space stations on board a space station wouldn’t be good for crew morale.”

Eiffel struggled to speak between giggles, twitching. “It’s Star Wars!”

“Mm-hm.”

He whined, squeezing his eyes shut and snorting when she started poking gently at his ribs. This was so mean, she wasn’t even tickling enough to have him laughing properly, and he couldn’t squirm away without winding up on the floor.

“What’s wrong with you? I’m not even doing anything.”

He kicked his feet against the couch, if only to do something. “Yes you are!”

“Oh?” Another hand joined, poking at his stomach while the other continued at his ribs and yielding a series of increasingly embarrassing snorts. “Then what am I doing?”

Oh, fuck you. “Hehe-Hera! Help!”

His distress call got a laugh from both of them. “No offense, but how do you expect that to work?” Minkowski teased.

“Oh, I’m sure you’d love if I could come and help the Commander out.” Hera said with a laugh.

His face was on fire. “Shuhut up!” He squealed, sinking into the couch, burying his face in Minkowski’s shoulder and weakly slapping at her hands. “Not what I meheheant!”

“Sure, I believe you.” Hera said, and Eiffel just knew she’d wink if she had eyes.

“You guys suck!”

“Aw, you don’t mean that.” Minkowski teased, one hand tickling around his ears and making him scrunch his neck up like a turtle.

Eiffel could feel his bones and brain getting melty, and he knew he wasn’t going to be able to keep from squirming off the couch for much longer. “Commander plehehease!”

“Oh fine.” She withdrew her hands with one last poke, grinning affectionately. “Since you asked nicely.” He collapsed against her, still shaking with giggles. “Feel better?”

Eiffel heaved in a much-needed breath and wrapped his arms around her middle, squeezing tightly. “Shut up.”

Minkowski’s smile widened, and she returned the hug. “I don’t think you’re allowed to give me orders.”

He snorted. “Sorry, the chain of command ends where this couch begins.”

“You writing your own DSSPPM?”

“Damn right. Number one, chain of command is bullshit like ninety percent of the time.”

She rolled her eyes and wiggled a finger into his side. “Number two, tickle attacks are very effective for both discipline and morale.”

Eiffel jumped at the poke, then grinned wickedly. “Number three, revenge is sweet.”

“Don’t you d-” She cut herself off by clamping both hands over her mouth to keep the laughter in as Eiffel’s fingers wriggled up and down her ribcage.

“Oh?” He said delightedly. “You too?”

He had just caught sight of the smile hiding behind her hands when he suddenly found himself pushed onto his back, shoulders and head hanging off the couch entirely. Minkowski smirked down at him. “Four,” She said slyly, “Don’t start a fight you can’t win.”

Eiffel squealed before she’d even touched him, immediately caving into laughter at the sight of wiggly fingers. “Okay, okay!” He shrieked. “I’m sorry!”

Minkowski snickered but let him up. “I didn’t even do anything.”

A flush claimed his face. “I have an active imagination.” An imagination which told him he was never gonna live this down. Still, it was good to know that she shared his little weakness. “Back to the movie?”

They both looked back to the screen and laughed. It was over. Eiffel rubbed the back of his neck. “Guess we should go get some sleep, then?” He made no move to get up.

“Probably.” Minkowski agreed, also staying on the couch.

“Cool.”

There was a long pause, both refusing to look at the other or move.

“Y’know actually I think I’ll just stay here.”

“I’m not that tired, so-”

“Oh.”

“Oh.”

Eiffel huffed a laugh. “Cool.” He muttered, not needing any further permission to curl up and rest his head on her shoulder.

“Goodnight.”

“Night, Commander.”

“Cuuuute!”

“Shut up, Hera!”

[socksandbuttons]

I don't remember the last time Lunar got mad at Moon. Moon has told Ruin that he trusts his family but in today's episode, Lunar told yelled at him to actually trust his family. Trust isn't always about betrayal or hiding something from someone. In Moon's case, he doesn't trust Lunar enough to protect himself. He doesn't trust his capabilities to take care of himself. It made Lunar feel like he was being treated like a kid again which is why he had to reiterate to Solar that he is not a toddler on that episode when Jack broke into his apartment. His anger towards the two is very much valid. And to be honest, I am glad that Lunar told Moon off about trusting his family. I understand that Moon is very protective of them and that in itself is admirable. But continuing to hide things like this, not communicating properly with them aside from Solar, and not trusting their capabilities, all those things will only break them apart.

I'm gonna be honest. Poor communication has always been a problem in our beloved celestial family but for me, it's getting a little tiring at this point. I believe you can write family angst/drama/disagreements without poor communication being the only sole cause of it. Just my two cents on that.

- Unhinged Solar lover

LOOOVE that lunar got to call moon out. Moon is very much 'I can do this without getitng anyone involved' cause like i get he woke up with so much happening. Probably not helping that re-enforcing the idea that HES got to take charge and fix it. Hes got the fresh outlook! (No hes just going back into a cycle) Something he kinda fell back into and got mad at SUN for not communicating. He's getting that thrown right back at him. Absolutely the miscommunication and refusal to tell people is getting wild but this is interesting that they ARE in a way addressing this. So i wonder how well this may go. Lunar im sure wouldve liked an input of whats happening with eclipse rather than moon and sun making the decision without letting anyone KNOW. But yeah its great Moon told him! But its uh... of course Lunars gonna be mad. Of course hes gonna be upset with the news. Moon went ahead with soemthing without much input. Again. Esp with someone they all agreed didnt like for valid reasons. Earth I dont think would be too agreeable of the situation for a few other reasons (a chip in eclipses head yeah a good safe bet but ALSO...) But anyway- casually wondering whats gonna happen cause im just sitting here like Wow. Anything can happen now.

[unexpectedbrickattack]

You know, a bonus to designing the oc is that other people will drawn them in the scenarios you share! I know your lore really made me excited to see your little fella ^^) it's so nice to encounter someone eho likes SDV in the wild and your world building makes me want to boot up my computer and deal with the lag to see everyone again. I do have to wonder though, what's your take on how the valley feels about JojaMart? It seems like it replaces extensions on the Vally's magic if you fund it.

TRUE…U ARE SO RIGHT!!! Luckily I have a small little ref sheet for him already made heehee. But ill post it on my sdv blog (when i make it). I can put it here too but ill do that under a readmore 😌

Also. U are so sweet 😭 I am so sorry ur game is too laggy to play but i am touched that my little bit of lore is enough for u to want to brave through that mess anyway LMAO

FIRST OF ALL….here is my boy….

His name is June and ive since tweaked some stuff about him. You dont need to know much about him, just that hes a bit of a cryptid among the town for almost two years before townspeople start interacting w him on their own volition. His best friends are Marnie, Kent, and Caroline, and he is really cool w Willy, Linus, and Marlon (old men gang rise up). Also romances Shane which is funny to Me bc whenever shane gets a male farmer to romance i am constantly rotating this image of vincent getting upset and saying ‘gee jas how come YOU get two cool godfathers’

To answer ur question about Jojamart; i feel like it truly wouldnt mess with the balance of magic in the valley. Magic is powerful BUT. It is adaptive. The Junimos harness the magic of the valley to fix things in the broken down community center, but if someone else came along and fixed it for them, well thats one less thing the magic of the valley is used for. Theres plenty of talented people in the valley that dont need magic to get things done 😉 (Robin my beloved)

But i do think jojamart is a big indicator that something is amiss with the town. I think it is a common idea to believe that jojamart is like. Evil. And like. Its totally a soulless corporation, but i think its filling a very specific Need of this town. Pelican town has some very skilled laborers that sell their work and services to help provide not just for themselves, but FOR pelican town; if that still leaves people unable to pay rent/mortgage or groceries, then people will absolutely swoop in and offer ‘solutions’.

I have more Thots but basically……magic is powerful, but it cant do anything on its own. Its utilized by magical beings to make tangible change in the world. But humans are capable of making real and tangible change without the use of magic. Jojamart says ‘here, give me money and time and ill fix this stuff 😉’ and that is not anymore different than Robin, Clint, the junimos, etc saying ‘give me some money and time and i can do this thing for u 😉’. Jojamart is like. Bad. But bad in the same way Pierre owning the only grocery store in town wo employing anyone is bad, and how Lewis is okay with all of this Mess. Its indicative of a bigger problem in the valley that magic cant really fix

[formulinos]

@topnotchquark mccanned didn’t answer you yet but i can!

Michael Schumacher is, as commonly well known, the best f1 driver that there has ever been and that there will ever be. amongst the reasons for it was the fact my guy would do quali laps during races because might as well and everything he did in hid personal/training time was with the goal of being as physically fit for racing as possible (to the point he tried to replicate his body’s responses during races while working out. because might as well.)

this is all to say that you do not win 7 wdc by sheer luck, it takes going to the next level. so as a treat, he would scheme. he would plot. he would lie. and he would bamboozle. some of it was through more direct action like whenever he tried to crash his car into his rivals’ to win a championship (worked w damon hill, it didn’t work with villeneuve bc people were homophobic - michael is part of the lgbt+ community since he is texassexual). but often he’d just focus on the little things, like working out in high intensities in front of drivers to make them feel bad about themselves or whatever nico’s claims were.

his main modus operandi however was usually running his mouth to the press according to his own personal narrative. for instance, when mclaren were doing good in the early 00s, coming off two wdcs with mika häkkinen, he needed to get someone there riled up so they would eventually fuck up. he couldn’t do that straight to häkkinen though, not only because he respected him but because mika was at the time equal to him in championships so ppl knew they were close in talent and above average overall. luckily, mclaren’s second driver was david coulthard, who was mid but thought he was capable of beating both mika and michael. well, when ppl asked ANYTHING about david to schumi he’d straight go like “the guy who thinks can wipe the floor with me and my beloved mika? HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAA-“ and then ignore the rest of the question. this was totally personal as david took part in the aforementioned homophobic takedown of michael in 1997 but also overall david was just mid and sometimes you have to bully someone to deflate their ego a lil bit. so david would get mad regularly and anger would lead him to be carelesd while driving and he would bottle it. BUT ALSO even ron dennis (mclaren main boss at the time) would get mad and go to the media like “sshjuuuut upppp,.,,., david totally csn win the cuampionshippp i csn’t belive you michel!!!!!!!”. mika would just smile and agree w michael bc he too knew david was mid.

but michael wouldn’t just take people down. sometimes, he would raise them up just for the imposter syndrome of it all. like in 2004, a season where evidently ferrari had as a car the F-TITBLASTER9000 and michael would easily clean the house, he would often say that BAR Honda (who in all fairness were in a great phase) were gonna catch up to them and eventually win a race later in the year. to which jenson button legit had to respond like “mate you know this is my first year taking this sport seriously and the other driver on the team is literally takuma sato. we’re not winning shit this championship and you know it”. and yes he did. BAR ended second but they never won a single race.

he even tried to run his mouth on ayrton senna after a on-track dispute saying that it wasn’t a “behaviour fit for a WC”. but he was just a rookie while senna was an expert on the game, so he went there and gave michael a tell-off in front of every single camera on the paddock, live (you can check on youtube, too lazy for links today sorry!). michael learned from it and perfected the art of media shit talking. he is missed everyday as the closest we get to michael antics is helmut marko’s wild claims and they’re not half as entertaining.

anyway this is what i remembered there are probably more examples. welcome to f1, hope you enjoy the sport! your new missions as a newbie is to become part of the tifosi and try to soak some more of the history of formula 1 overall bc it will help you detect who is talking shit around the fandom! if you like some weird stories, consider my pinned essays :)

[artist-issues]

Some head-profile-study things for the characters of my HTTYD3 rewrite, because ya’ll have me on a creative kick, apparently. The idea ran away with me and not one of you have lifted a finger to stop it

Anyway!

Here’s our three main dragon characters (I think there might be one or two others, but only one is another Fury, and he’s more of a presence than an actual character 🤷‍♀️)

You’ve got our beloved Toothless. I purposely kept his head narrow and his eyes catlike here because I would have kept his design largely similar to the first (best) film. By the time of this reimagined movie, I would’ve had Toothless enjoying his life as the Alpha with Hiccup to the fullest. No boredom or “oh no, Berk is overcrowded.” He gets his kicks from pulling new flying stunts and baffling kids who are learning to ride their own dragons—no “duhr hurr guess playing Fetch is my new favorite pastime, -slobber slobber pant pant-”

Because Toothless’ story always mirrors whatever is happening with Hiccup, my HTTYD rewrite would deal with the fact that while Hiccup has found acceptance and hope for a future among his own kind (Vikings) Toothless has not. Sure, he’s leader of the other dragons—but how many times did you see Toothless spending one-on-one time with any dragons, the way Hiccup spends one on one time with Astrid for support and help? I mean, outside of the television shows. So he begins his interest in the Fury Flock because, a-la Call of the Wild, there’s an opportunity for him to be accepted by his own kind even after being raised apart from them.

But I want to be clear—Toothless would not be desperate for their approval. He’d instinctively start to pick up on the Fury Flock’s social hierarchy and, just as instinctively, start to climb that ladder because he’s a highly skilled Night Fury. When Hiccup and his Riders first find the Flock, they realize how incredibly dangerous it is to try their usual methods of taming a whole group of dragons who are Furies, can camouflage, and are loyal to a ridiculously human-hostile leader. So Valka sort of coaches Hiccup on how to shadow Toothless, from a safe, observant distance, while Toothless gets closer and closer to his own kind. Hiccup hopes to get some questions answered this way: like, why are the Furies so covered in scars and signs of human/dragon conflict? And who are the mysterious human scouting ships, newly entering Berk’s territory, that the Furies keep raiding? 

(It’s Grimmel and his people, but you guys knew that)

Next up is Old Night Fury! I’ve already said a lot about him. Basically, this Old Night Fury is the only Night Fury who survived this last thirty-year-long migration season from the Hidden World to Grimmel’s land. In fact, apart from Toothless, Old Night Fury might actually be the last of his own kind.  Think Kerchak from Tarzan, but more murderous of humans and accepting of Toothless. Old Night Fury shoots human beings first, and usually doesn't bother hiding or running away if directly confronted. He is fiercely protective of the Fury Flock and they obey his every spine-click (that’s how they communicate) command. Old Night Fury is just as willing to accept Toothless into the Flock as he would be any new Fury seeking to join—but he has to prove himself a valuable member of the hunt, first.  Old Night Fury is the only Fury alive who knows how to get to the Hidden World, and uses his echolocation to lead the group. Eventually he poses a threat directly to Hiccup, leading Toothless to drop the covert-act and defend his master. The Old Night Fury is ultimately killed by Grimmel, making Toothless the only echolocating dragon alive capable of leading the Fury Flock back to the Hidden World for the next 30 years.  And Finally, our Love Interest Fury, Ambush! This is the Light Fury’s redesign. I call her species “‘Sky Furies.” They can blend in with their surroundings for a short period of time (Night Furies cannot, in this rewrite), they live in complex social hierarchy systems led by the bigger, stronger Night Furies, and they breathe smaller, smokier plasma bolts. They communicate by dolphin-esque clicks, swim as fast as Night Furies can fly, and most of their lives revolve around either migrating or participating in high-octane community hunts.  For more on Sky Furies you can check out my other posts (because apparently I’m doing a lot of them ^^”) But this particular Sky Fury is named Ambush. She is the best hunter, the quickest flier, and at the very top of the Sky Furies’ social ladder when Toothless meets her. Hiccup names her, quietly to himself, after noticing that she’s gained a deadly reputation among the mysterious (Grimmel’s people) ocean voyagers. 

Unlike the canon Light Fury, Ambush has a personality. She definitely still hates humans, but it’s less in a blank, skittish-cat way and more in a ferocious, that’s-my-natural-hated-enemy-and-I’m-going-to-get-first-dibs way. Because Sky Furies decide who gets to eat first by who brought down the prey. And after their war, Sky Furies don’t just view people as prey, they view them as war enemies.  Other aspects of her personality: competitive. Ambush has been leading the hunt for basically her whole life. She’s been eating first and enjoying the deference of her Flock-mates, uninterrupted. But when Toothless shows up, and thanks to Hiccup’s secret help, he beats her at just about every feat of speed or strength. At first this makes her mad. Then she’s attracted to him—because another aspect of her personality is insatiable curiosity. It’s what gets her hit by one of Grimmel’s traps. Toothless and Hiccup save her—specifically, Hiccup himself, whom she personally tried to eat three or four times beforehand.   From that moment on, Ambush is eager to see more of the funny little human community and is cautiously observant of all things Hiccup, whenever he’s on the scene. Basically, Ambush is Dragon-Astrid—emphasis on “‘Dragon.” Because they should’ve stuck to the whole “everything that happens to Hiccup should be mirrored in Toothless and vice versa.”

Once Ambush has chosen Toothless and learned to not just trust, but actually like Berkian humans, she supports him against the Fury Flock. When Old Night Fury tries to kill Hiccup and winds up getting them both captured by Grimmel—leaving Toothless grounded—it’s Ambush who rallies the other Furies to trust Toothless’ leadership and mount a rescue mission. 

[vaninakan]

Confecti OCs!!

Yes, yes, yes! I've mentioned before that I have Confecti OCs and here they finally are!!

I'll be doing them in the order you get the respective confectis they're based off of in game

This little ankle biter is Marsh. He's a tiny cutesy fella who never grew up because he literally can't (being based off of those dry marshmallows you would find in Swiss Miss packets). He wears a bunch of soft and heavy clothing to make himself look softer and fluffier than he actually is. Being the youngest of his gang, his personality can be something of a wildcard being a mischievous prankster with a penchant for sugar and getting many sugar rushes resulting in the breaking of a couple of people's windows. Much of his origin is unknown, but what is known about him is that due to the way his body is, he never grew up (both physically and mentally) and is also something of an immortal squeaky toy. You can throw him, squeeze him, and explode him all you want, he will always come back like nothing ever happened to him. Because of his wild and childish tendencies, he particularly gets on some people's nerves and only those willing to put up with his antics consider him a friend.

Oh boy, where to begin with Choco? First off, I find it funny that the first two members of this group of OCs are so polar opposite of eachother that it comes off jarringly comical. Going from the cutesy-est one to the edgiest one.

Anyways, as for Choco himself, he's a bit complicated. Having something of a rough past with a mom that doesn't want to accept him as a son, a close father who died due to unfortunate circumstances, and having an abusive friend within a gang of criminals. Cliché edgy boy backstory, I know. Because of his rough childhood, he doesn't come off as the friendliest person, more often than not giving backhanded remarks to those he doesn't tolerate at most. He doesn't get along well with Marsh, he talks back at Gumball when she asks him to do favors like not breaking his arm so many times a week, really the only people he's remotely friendly to are Simon, his dad, and his crush Auge (who he's down horrendous for). He's also much more quiet and reserved in contrast to Marsh's more loud and out there enthusiasm, usually playing fighting games on his console or writing out his deepest feelings in his personal journal. His main weapon in combat is a baseball bat with nails hammered into it but later resorts to just using his fists thanks to his growing bond with Auge.

Next is S'mon (or Simon, it's pronounced the same either way lol) who's a s'more based confecti based off the s'moreknights seen in game. He's got a thick layer of hot tamale skin within him and a bloodsauce chamber which allows him to breathe fire despite the circumstances of being a marshmallow. He is one of the largest characters of his friend group (That wasn't always the case, at some point he was just as tiny as Marsh) which was caused by high amounts of stress he experienced during his time in the military which awakened his bloodsauce chamber (based off the way marshmallows puff up in microwaves). Despite his imposing size he's actually a big softie and is generally very docile to others, also being a big nerd for stuff like DnD and medieval games. Despite these positive traits, he's also easy to stress out due to having bad anxiety and a bit of self consciousness which he also got from his time in military. Go easy on him, he's doing he's best. (Fun fact: Both him and Choco are tied as my favorite OCs of this group and he was designed by my beloved @conflictedbeing <333 )

And then there's Gummy. The largest confecti member of this group and longtime close friend of Gumball’s. She normally communicates in more animalistic speech with barks, whimpers and growls but on occasion can start speaking in a comically deep voice when she feels like it. She’s very lazy by nature and spends much of her time loafing around and eating to her heart’s content but every now and then goes out with Gumball for walks. Despite her carefree personality, her stomach is filled with a powerful acid that can digest almost anything (including bones.)

Lastly, here's Gumball. A robot confecti and the oldest member of her crew, Gumball was created by an old, friendly engineer who gave her collective gumball confectis a home in the form of a humanoid gumball machine. Eversince his passing, she has been keeping his workshop afloat alongside her childhood friend Gummy in his honor. This home would later evolve into my confecti OCs main home, so you have Gumball to thank for that. As a robot, she possesses high intelligence and knowledge on many different subjects thanks to each gumball inside of her head acting as a neuron of AI knowledge. If she were to lose any of her gum neurons, her memory of the subject that gum piece specializes in will become fuzzy. Outside of being a smart AI, she's the main housekeeper of her friend group and tries to keep all conflict as minimal as possible. She also has a deep fascination for the biology of different toppins and confectis and how they function within the world's ecosystem.

And that's all of them, if you have any questions about any of them, feel free to ask (preferably these questions should be sfw, nothing too explicit.)

And once again, huge thanks to @conflictedbeing for Simon's design

[scientific-dog]

Yes, hi, hello, I recently got into Nope (2022) and I've been looking far and wide for JJ humanizations and may I just say yours is the best one yet? Like the design, the colors, the personality AFSGHGSDJKSA I love him

So I hope you don't mind a few questions? Like, just how big is he? Can he change sizes? Does him being able to talk and communicate with the humans change the story of the movie? Does the SLE scene still happen? Even if differently?

I just think he's neat, I wanna know more about him :3

Anyways your drawings are really cool, I'll be keeping an EYE out

(I am forcibly removed from the Star Lasso Experience)

Wow! Thank you for a question! That’s one of my favorite films, so I plan to draw a lot of things for this fandom, as soon as I finish with my bachelor degree at university xd

Human JJ is a tall and lean man, he’s like 10 ft (or 3 meters), but he mostly like a regular human. My goal was to achieve the most resembling to canon monster image in human disguise.

So, this humanoid can’t change his size. But it may be peculiar, that he has a very long hair, which he combs under the hat with bends and hairpins, so his haircut looks “short”, but if he unbends it, his hairstyle makes him look “angelic” (and bigger I would say xd) like JJ has in the end of the movie.

Generally, JJ is not aggressive to people, he has no special interest towards them, he is just an introvert, who doesn’t like to be seen by others. I have been thinking how to transfer his behaviour in the movie, so the best idea was that JJ as a human is probably very photogenic, and he faced a lot of agencies, photographers and journalists that would like to film and pic him. He’s some kind of a “star”, but doesn’t like this attention and sick of people hanging around. So, my human just moved to this side to hide from all these popularity.

In this AU Jean Jacket (which is truly his full name) is a real “extraterrestrial glamour”, a “Hollywood star which chew and split you out”, an embodiment of carnivorous showbusiness. His predatory explains like toxic and wild attitude. And Jupe saw him like “omg I want him to stole my show and bring me some money”

Yes, definitely this AU is can be different, I used the subtext as a basis:>

About SLE incident, I’m stilll thinking actually. This is kinda hard to transfer in my story, but I think I have to do it :o I had some drawings which I hadn’t post with JJ giving a wild show during the SLE, it gonna be the thing lol

Fun fact, I didn’t stayed the point was JJ alien or not, but he definitely has relatives who I haven’t drawn, but they exist! Let it be some kind of secret, was he alien who got human form or just a common man^^

Another fact: me and my beloved friend @shapter-draws have a small funny shipping au with Jupe/hum!JJ (we call it “spaceship” lol)

and IM SOOOOOO GLAD THANK YOU FOR YORRR WARM WORDS❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

[wallsmacada]

I just finished reading The Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky and I desperately need to vent my thoughts about it but I’m putting it all under the read more cause holy shit

Spoilers under the cut, if you wanna read the books (which I highly recommend) then maybe don’t read this lol

I’m continuously amazed by just, everything in his books? It’s all so interconnected and all so beautifully human and alien and comforting and strange all at the same time, and I was seriously thrown for a loop in children of memory and it took me awhile to appreciate it all

At first I was like none of this makes any sense and each section is filled with things contradicting even stuff in its own section, like with Miranda telling people she was from the out farms and then later her arriving on the shuttle with Holt, and for a while there I kinda got lost in the inconsistencies, but I could tell that it was all building up to something and it all felt important so I stuck with it

And the reveal with the simulation was just sgdbdgacdfavsv I can’t even begin to say how much I loved that because I mean, how beautiful is that? Something that’s so completely alien to us that we can’t even begin to understand took the time to understand holt and his crew even as they were dying. And then it took the time to plot out how their civilization might have gone and it remembered and it cherished and it feels like, in that remembering, it *loved*

And the replaying of Landfall is absolutely wild to me, cause it’s kind of horrific that it’s playing out the end of this community over and over again, especially with Liff starving and being alone in the end, but at the same time it’s like, it feels a lot like grief, if that makes sense? You love something so much even though it’s only in your life for a short time, and you love it to the point where you keep going back to it and replaying everything you know about it, and in the replaying you replay the loss but you also replay what made it all so beautiful

And the machine didn’t have anything but the brief hopes and dreams of the key crew before they crashed and it fucking *ran* with that and helped it blossom into something, however brief that was

And Miranda’s whole relationship to the town and to the people there, even before she landed (or tried to anyway) was so beautiful and caring too, and her whole conflict was absolutely amazing to read and I just !!!!!!!!

And can I just say that the whole trilogy was so interconnected and so complex within each book and I can’t even begin to comprehend the planning that must have gone into this?? Everything was important, nothing got left behind, everything was loved and there were so many connecting threads

I’m still reeling so everything is all a bit jumbled but I’m just gonna end by saying that I love Avrana Kern my beloved fucked up blorbo

[earthseed]

thoughts on the bear s3

syd/marcus scenes my beloveds

loved all of donna/natalie in the hospital

tina deserves the world

i love ebra with my whole heart i wish they gave him more screentime

there is a scene at the AA meeting where they talk about forgiveness/accountability that really resonated with me <3

ok story-wise … a lot of it just felt like background exposition that we didn’t necessarily need or already knew, rather than us getting to know the characters more or the plot moving along v much, like they were stalling. the pace just felt off, and it’s not that there were more slower/contemplative moments bc the show is usually good at those too, it’s just that it didn’t feel as tight/well-planned. i’m assuming it’s bc of the writer’s strike, which - it’s still wild to me that they even aired this season at the same time as usual when they had 4months less time

sorry but for most of this? carmy electric chair

syd felt sidelined this season, they didn’t give her that much to do except like … be jaded - in general all the Black and brown characters just weren't in it that much. would've loved to go more in-depth about marcus' grief/coping with the death of his mother. actually wild that they didn't do much at all with that. i know this show really centres its white characters anyway but this season i felt it a lotttt

that being said, i liked that syd is understanding more of what she wants and how carmy is not a good person to partner with atm but i desperately wanted that storyline to be fleshed out better, there was so little communication between her and carmy whose relationship is so central to the show!! when they'd grown so much in s2!!

the last episode is where things finally picked up and was closer to s1/2 in feel - it really drove home that the rest of the season was missing a lot of that energy!! but loved everyone coming together, i love olivia colman as chef terry, the houseparty brought me so much joy

i love this show and my hope is s4 will be more fleshed out again bc i imagine they were under a lot more pressure this year. even if i didn't love this season as much as the first two i still really missed these characters on my screen so it was good to have them back <33

[welcometololaland]

uno reverse, baby! your turn! 💖💖 you swept into rwrb fandom like the force of nature that you are way back in November 2021 with Speak for Yourself (I think, could be October but I'm too lazy to go check), but what inspired you to start writing it?

sorry for saving you up until (almost) last!!! it was october 2021! our love story began lmao.

the story behind speak for yourself is so stupid. basically, i was bored. my city was almost at the end of almost 300 days (in aggregate) of pretty hardcore lockdowns - you could only leave the house for 1 hour a day between the hours of 6am and 8pm and you couldn't go further than 5km from your house. don't get me wrong, it was worth it for the sake of the community, but it was HARD. anyway, i was bored. i was sitting at my desk on a random friday night. i decided to just type something and see where it went.

i had recently read rwrb (consumed it in like half a day) and felt inspired. where could this vision of alex claremont-diaz take me? i wrote like 3.5k in a few hours and put it up on archive of our own. no plan, no expectations, no nothing. i don't even remember where the unhinged idea to have alex and henry competing for an apartment came from. i actually thought maybe 5 people would read it and i had absolutely no intention to finish it.

WELL.

i woke up to heaps of lovely comments, a smattering of kudos, an invite to a discord server - people seemed...excited to read more? i was confused by this. i didn't know how to tell them i hadn't planned on there BEING any more it was just something that i randomly wrote. but anyway, i felt the loving peer pressure to continue and honestly i was so ecstatic that people wanted to read what i wrote. so i wrote more.

then, chapter 5 came around and you requested a doc link and @stardisnight jumped in as well and asked me how the apartment looked in my head and COULD SHE DRAW IT? and i was like wtf like people WANT to pre-read this? want to draw for it? like i couldn't quite wrap my head around how nice everyone was and how invested they were.

it was a life changing experience, truly. that invite to the discord server, the beta reading, the art, the comments. i get emotional thinking how different my life would be if people didn't take the time out of their day to read my stupid story i never intended to finish. never stopped to tell me that they liked it or wanted another part. i NEVER would have met half the people i know now and i never would have found this sense of purpose that i find in writing. my writing wouldn't have gotten better, i never would have gotten tumblr, i never would have started a nice ask day game. it's so wild to me.

speak for yourself ended up just over 105k. it was 11 chapters of spiralling word counts. my brand was born. i had a bunch of lovely friends, a ride or die beta reader and another seventeen billion ideas. i haven't stopped annoying people with my presence since!!!

thanks for the ask rae, my beloved <3

[anxious-little-faicye]

The FNAF Movie (no spoilers)

So, I just got back from watching the so awaited Five Nights at Freddy's movie, and boy oh boy... I can't even put into words how emotional I am. It was such a wild, crazy, amazing thing to actually be sitting down on a cinema and watch a movie I waited for- what, 8 years? I remember being a child and first learning about the game through ✨youtube✨ (as most of us did let's be honest), and I'm not exaggerating when I say that changed my life forever. I got into gaming and social media because of it, I made some of my best friends because of it (shout out to the gang I used to rp FNAF with on elementary school), I discovered my interests and passions that shaped who I was and who I am, and it all started out because of a silly horror game about haunted animatronics.

And today? Today it wasn't me that went to see that movie. It was the lonely, shy 9 year old girl that got bullied at school because she liked "weird boy stuff" and hanged out with boys because they understood her. It was the 10 year old girl that saw FNAF 3 and 4 come out and discovered she loved to uncover the lore of the franchise and watched about a million theory videos. It was the 11 year old girl that watched lived as two youtubers played Sister Location the day it came out. It was the 15 year old teenager that rediscovered her love for the franchise and found Matpat's channel and started to make her own theories. It was that 16 year old teen that read the first trilogy of FNAF books and from then on took it upon herself to know every single detail about the story, plus finding out about our beloved King Of Five Nights At Freddy's™ and watched his FNAF playlist top to bottom.

It was them.

So I went there- with my crappy Vanny mask I made in 3 days, with the Freddy pushy I've had since I was 11, with my dad' stolen purple shirt, and honestly? I had the time of my life. I was at the edge of my seat the whole movie, screaming and hitting (lovingly /j) my friends every time a very specific detail came out, giggling and kicking my feet once You Know Who appeared or when something that matched the lore perfectly happened. And once me and my friends came out, we were all still yelling and singing our lungs out to FNAF songs. It was more that I could've hoped for.

I won't go into much detail on this post, because I wanna keep it as much spoiler-free as I can, but I'm just gonna say this... This movie was a hug from Scott Cawthon to all fans of the franchise, especially those that have been here from the very beginning. It was his gift. His way of saying 'thank you'. Sure, some plot points were absolute bonkers, and to be fair it lacked a bit of the Spooky Factor and more gore. But overall... I FREAKING LOVED EVERY MOMENT OF IT. I felt the same excitement that when I first discovered the games and started to get into the lore. You can tell that a lot of heart and soul was put into this, and that it wasn't made for a quick cash grab.

Was it worth the wait? Well, that depends on how you wanna see it. Keep in mind that this is planned to be a trilogy, so it has to have some loose plot points in order to set the ground for a second movie- let alone leave stuff out from the games and books. Is wasn't groundbreaking, and no, it doesn't include every single detail about the story. But it was a perfect introduction to the universe, and I think that's all it's set up to be. But I personally thought it was SO worth it and, let's be real, we've waited 8 fucking years for this! Even if it turned out to be a piece of crap (which it isn't), I would still be excited.

Anyway, yeah, was the movie perfect? No. Was a bit weird and confusing at some points? Yes. But it was made for the fans, for those of us that FNAF played a huge role in our lives as kids, and for those of us who just discovered the franchise not so long ago. It was made with love- for the games, for the creator, and for all of us. The fans that have built an amazing community that still stands strong today, a community filled with incredibly talented people like artists, singers, animators, youtubers, theory crafters (you're doing God's Work jsdhsj), cosplayers, editors, writers, the list just goes on and on. It was made with all of us in mind. So as broken and confusing as it might be, is beautiful. What represents is beautiful. And hey, it wouldn't be FNAF if it weren't broken and confusing am I right fellas?

*cries in Theorist*

So I guess my final thoughts are just... Thank you.

Thank you Scott Cawthon for all those years of scares and joy you have given me, thank you for making the game that would shape my life forever, thank you for loving your fans as much as you do, and thank you for not giving up on this movie despite all the things that happened along the way. You might have fucked up big time on some things, but I would be lying to myself if I said I don't appreciate you. Thank you for the best moments of my life.

And thank YOU, Five Nights at Freddy's community for everything you have done these years. If the franchise is what it is today is because it always had an amazing and creative fanbase backing it up and making sure it never died, no matter what sticks and stones came our way. I am so proud to be a part of this, and I hope we'll still be together many years to come.

And thank me, for making it alive and in one piece to the FNAF movie. Damn it took a lot of pain to get here, but I did it... I survived this long. And I can survive even longer.

I hope you can stay alive 5 more nights for this :)

[doctorbrown]

ooc: meet the mun

NAME?: Red

PRONOUNS?: he/she/they, idc honestly. i usually just call myself that/this bitch.

MOST ACTIVE MUSE(S)?: Pav, my darling and beloved, but also Doc (even if I'm not always actively writing here, I promise my love for him hasn't diminished)

RP PET PEEVES?: people not respecting other people's characters ooc, people not willing to share the spotlight in threads where both their muses get to be the centre of attention for a while, the lack of willingness to plot.

EXPERIENCE / HOW MANY YEARS?: i've been roleplaying for the better part of fifteen years now across various platforms.

FLUFF, ANGST, OR SMUT?: angst! it's my favourite thing to write because it opens so many doors and i am such a sucker for tossing characters into crazy situations and watching them connect/learn/grow from it. it often lends the most to bonds/character development and that's what i adore out of roleplaying and what i want for my muse. plus it gives me the chance to write some of the wildest, off the rails shit sometimes and really push the limits of my imagination. not that i don't appreciate fluff, but as a treat that the characters earn after all the bs. or something quick to break up the pain.

PLOTS OR MEMES?: plots, hands down. like i can wing shit, sure, but after a while when there's no communication, i tend to get burnt out without the direction and there's that awkward stalemate sometimes between the two muns without communication because both are afraid to leap into something; i know i worry sometimes about driving a thread somewhere the other may not want it to go or overstepping boundaries. but i'm also always down for turning a meme into a plot! and the plot doesn't have to be figured out down to the smallest detail; just a general idea, a vibe, a direction will do and we can take it from there.

LONG OR SHORT REPLIES?: me, glancing nervously at my blog/carrd: long? no, i'm a long reply kind of person. multi-para to novella, that's most often what you'll find from me. i can really only do shorter than that if it's a quick crack thing.

TIME TO WRITE?: when i shouldn't be, like at work hahaha. no, i write whenever the inspiration hits. sometimes i'm on mobile in a car somewhere or waiting for something or i'm just sitting in my bed like i wanna write. there's no real set time of day for me.

ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE(S)?: mmmm sort of? i've for sure got that awkward social thing down pat but i've also got as wild a fashion sense as doc. i wear whatever i want regardless of how it looks in public, whether the colours match, and idgaf. as a kid, my mum used to always tell me i looked stupid and i didn't match and i needed to change to which i told her oh well. we're also similar in the loneliness/solitude aspects. not that i don't enjoy company, but i do like being left alone to do my own thing a lot of the time and i'm also very independent. we're also both in the same boat from a romantic standpoint. (pre-clara for doc anyway).

tagged by: @freakarus (ty!) tagging: anyone active rn