#bc they're doing it for free and if you love it you ought to say it

[pennyserenade]

telling myself the zero interactions i've gotten on fics beyond likes the past two years is sorta like being a real author and its good practice for the future just to get myself through the day

[creatingblackcharacters]

Hello!!

First, I wanted to say thanks for all the work you do, you can tell you put a lot of effort and care into it!

Second, I wanted to ask if you had any possible advice for creating black zombie characters?

I really love zombies and enjoy making zombie characters and drawing zombies. Though, I draw quite cartoonishly and when I draw them I tend to make them that cartoony shade of zombie green as well, y'know? I was wondering if you knew how I would go about this- like if I ought to maybe make the skin more on the grey-ish side(since you mentioned that grey-ish skintone bases make the characters look ashen/less-alive recently) Or perhaps sticking with a similar shade of green, but making sure to include more defining black features? I'm mostly looking for tips about appearance, but I'm happy to get any advice you're able to give!

I hardly ever see black zombies in art(I see them in movies/shows and games occasionally, but never really in art!) and I wanna help change that, if I can. Im sorry if this is a bit clumsily worded- I hope you know I do not mean this ask in a rude or disrespectful way(due to the subject matter of (un)dead characters)! I just really love zombies!!

(also I thought the mini-mini lesson about clowns was very interesting and helpful, thanks for writing it!)

ngl, getting this ask at 10 something pm last night was WILD bc I swore I turned anons off lmao.

Thank you!

Um, this really is in the same zone as the sickness question. We'd still look like Black people, but dead lmao. In varying stages of decay too, if you're discussing zombies. My partner suggested watching some clips from The Walking Dead and try to spot Black zombies amongst the extras, so there's an idea!

If you're going with the cartoony idea of making them green skinned, as long as I can tell they were Black when they were alive (unless they're damn near a skeleton) I don't see the issue. If you make everyone that's a zombie green, it'll just match the style. So that's easy enough.

But if you're going for an actual decaying look, I think it would be worth looking into stages of decay on bodies as a whole. What types of injuries do they have and how did that affect them as zombies? (For example, if a Black person got a deep cut prezombie, that cut would be healed either brown or pink depending on depth, versus a post zombie cut would just be... Bloody. Probably not bruising either bc there's no healing going on. But I'm not a doctor, so don't quote me on that. The book I tagged would likely help you, too!)

In my grad program I once saw the recently dead body of a Black lady, and what disturbed me wasn't that she "looked" dead, but that she didn't. Other than her eyes being far gone... She looked the same.

Now, this (and the sickness one too!) also ties into undertones. When we die, the blood leaves our bodies and pools wherever the gravity is. So if we're in a burial position, or we've been drained of blood, the blood will leave your face. Now, on black people, that means our undertone will be pallid. It's the way Black people "blanch"; like we as a WHOLE don't turn pale, but our undertone will change bc it's physiological. (Now, based on our complexion, it's easier to see that on some more than on others!)

Hm....that's all I can think of for right now. If anyone else has any ideas, feel free to chime in!

[fiction-box]

Okay I know you haven't finished my other request yet so I feel a little bad about sending in another one but I am having so many thoughts about my children dsfjagdhdh

I don't wanna monopolize your time so please don't feel rushed at all!! I'm just so glad that someone is making my silly little daydreams a reality <3

Anyway, I recently got to the white heron cup on my replay of 3H which gave me some more ideas 👀 this one is with Felix and Ferdinand:

The professor chose Felix to represent the Blue Lions in the White Heron Cup, despite his very vocal protests (I did this to him on my first playthrough bc I wanted him to have the sword evade skill lmao). Reader was chosen as his practice partner. Reader was never all that passionate about dance—it was just one of those skills they had to learn as a noble—but they're realizing now that maybe it's about the partner? Bc dancing with Felix always leaves their heart racing in the best way possible

Alternatively, reader was chosen to represent the Black Eagles and the one and only Ferdinand von Aegir was assigned as their tutor/partner. Although the professor saw reader's great potential, reader, as a commoner, had never been formally trained in the dances of the nobility. During these practice sessions, reader gets annoyed at Ferdinand for being so particular about everything and for going on about the history of various dance styles. Little do they know though, that this is Ferdie's way of saying "I love you, please spend more time with me."

Feel free to go wherever your inspiration takes you!! I can't wait to see what you write :D

Sorry this took me so long! My life suddenly became quite busy, so I was unable to find the time to write for everyone. Happy October to you and all the others reading this!

I think I did a fairly good job with following your request this time, my lovely! I felt railroaded in a way that still allowed me to provide my own ideas and experiment. Your specificity made things slightly easier on me, and this was such a wonderful idea to write for! I know I say something similar to that line each time, but it's true. These prompts help me indulge in my mind and my hobby without needing to commit too hard to forging a dream out of a few strung-along thoughts.

So, after what must have been a month, here is the fulfillment to your request. My inbox is open, so anyone that wants to send anything in is invited to do so. Until then, enjoy this work!

The stories will be continued under the cut.

Felix:

“Are you considering me as our representative for the White Heron Cup?”

You paused, your walk to your dorm from the library interrupted by what sounded like Felix and Professor Byleth conversing through the walls of the training grounds.

The professor’s voice was muted, but Felix’s reply was all you needed to hear to understand what was going to happen.

“I was joking. You really couldn’t find anyone else?”

So, your teacher had chosen Felix to dance for the White Heron Cup, then? Things could have been worse. She could have elected you, instead.

As you continued your trek back to your dorm, you let out a small sigh. What reason did Professor Byleth have for choosing Felix of all people to participate. Surely there were more eager, more experienced candidates. Annette and Sylvain came to mind.

Whatever her reasons, it really was none of your concern. So long as nothing bad came of it, you were certain she knew what she was doing.

You came to the entrance of your dorm on the second floor, setting down your things on your bed with a sigh (the desk was rather messy from personal notes). Maybe you ought to clean up a bit. It would not do for someone to come into your room, what with it in such a state.

But time got away from you while you tidied up, and soon it was time for lunch. You had no classes today, which was a blessing both because you needed a break and because you needed more time to study for your upcoming certification exam the next weekend.

The trek to the dining hall was much less eventful than this morning’s small commute to your dorm. Everyone else was probably interested in eating, too. Just as you thought, upon entering, the hall was filled with students and knights squeezing in a meal before getting back to work.

You walked up to the line, grabbing your own meal and heading to find somewhere to sit. Scanning the cafeteria, you noticed Annette and Mercedes sitting together in one area, and Sylvain, Dimitri, and Ingrid were sitting together in another. There were Adrestian nobles near them, and the Golden Deer were scattered around the knights.

Maybe it would be better if you just sat alone. Interrupting anyone’s conversation would be rude, after all.

A small table near the back of the room was open, so you took a seat and began to consume your meal. It wasn’t anything special today, just something made with vegetables you suspected your own professor had harvested. Good, but not worth the breath to say so.

Not that there was much else for you to think about.

Lifting your head up, you decided to pay more attention to the people in the dining hall. People watching had always been a small hobby of yours, but getting caught doing so tended to leave you embarrassed.

There was a group of knights sitting at the table across from yours laughing about something. You wondered what it could be. Nothing to do with their job, you hoped.

Marianne and some green-haired Alliance boy were discussing something fervently. Well, it was more like the boy was talking to her and she was just nodding along. The poor girl.

And then here, coming toward you now, was Professor Manuela with her own lunch.

“Hello, dear! What are you doing back here all by yourself? Surely your friends didn’t give you the cold shoulder, now, did they?”

“Oh, no, of course not,” you assured her, “I chose to sit here of my own volition. I have a free day, and I suppose I have been choosing to spend it alone.”

She gave a small sigh, moving to sit across from you, “I hear that. Some days, a girl just needs some alone time.”

You nodded, taking another bite of your meal.

“You know, if you aren’t too busy, would you mind if I asked you a small favor? I need someone to head to the greenhouse for me and grab a few herbs for the infirmary. I just so happen to have a list with me here,” she noted, pulling out such a list from…well, you didn’t want to think about that. “Why don’t you go take a trip to collect them, hm? It would be nice and therapeutic, and I’m in no rush to get them sorted. Take your time in there and enjoy yourself, dear. Just so long as they’re in the infirmary by the end of the day, I’ll be happy.”

As she handed it to you, you accepted the scrap of paper from her hands and scanned over it with your eyes. Nothing too stressful or complicated to grab. Some of these were quite common, and the list was not long in the slightest.

“I would be happy to help! What a wonderful idea.”

Wasn’t it? You would get some much needed relaxation, and once you had more peace of mind, you could focus better on your studies.

“Wonderful! Oh, and there’s no need to let me know when you’ve finished. I’ll be in tomorrow morning to double check everything you collect.”

You finished your food, cleaning everything off the table and preparing to leave, “You can count on me, Professor! I hope the rest of your day goes well.”

Leaving the dining hall, you headed back to your room to get some gloves. It would probably be best to have some form of protection on your hands before handling any of these herbs.

What you did not expect, however, was to run into Professor Byleth instructing Felix on his dancing.

Thankfully, it seemed they hadn’t noticed you yet. Felix was moving with practiced ease as the former mercenary tipped him off on the smallest of errors. He really was doing quite well for what looked like such a simple, boring dance.

Unfortunately, you must have been staring a moment too long. Flicking her eyes away from her student, the professor’s eyes met your own

“Ah, perfect timing! I was just thinking about having someone stand in as a partner!”

Stand-in? 

Before you could process what she meant, your teacher had approached you and was leading you by the arm further into their practice area.

“Professor, what are you talking about? I’ve been watching for a moment or two already; Felix was doing just fine on his own! You’ve been working for this long, and I know he’s no stranger to dancing. What is having a partner going to change?”

Quick as ever, she responded, “A partner brings life and flow into a dance. Think of it as communication; we aren’t meant to do it alone. It’s unnatural.”

“Oh…wow, I…did not expect that from you,” you managed.

“It’s something you pick up on by your third festival.”

“Okay then, I guess I don’t really have an excuse…” you began. “If it’s for the house, I’d be happy to help.”

Felix scoffed, “Don’t I get a say in this?”

“Oh?” Professor Byleth challenged, “And what is it you have to say?”

“Maybe I’d rather not be seen doing any of this? I didn’t choose to be here, and I certainly don’t need an audience.”

“Better get over it, then,” she frowned, placing you in front of him, “you’ll be having a larger audience than two people when you actually perform.”

He muttered something you couldn’t quite make out.

“Not to interrupt, Professor, but I don’t exactly know the dance he’ll be working on.”

“Oh, that. It’s just an easy foxtrot, nothing too difficult. We’re just working from the ground up, so we’re refraining from implementing other steps until he gets this down.”

“You said I had it down. An hour ago.”

“Felix, I promise you we have not been out here for half that time.”

At the professor’s count, you both began. One of your hands rested on his shoulder while the other was supported by his own hand. You followed along with ease, only slipping up twice in the countless cycles you were made out to perform.

It was strange, though. You almost felt nervous about slipping up, which was different from the nonchalant waltzing you put on with your previous partners. No matter; it was probably just because the house was relying on you both to get this right.

That, and Professor Byleth had more scrutiny in her expression than you thought possible.

Even when you thought you were getting used to the feeling, though, the butterflies never quite went away. It was a simple four step, so what was the big deal?

Actually, what was the big deal? You both had been doing this a long time, and neither of you had received so much as a comment from the professor for at least a few minutes.

You turned to look at her, still remaining in the rhythm of the dance, “Um…Felix is really good at this, professor. He looked fine before and he’s doing well now?”

She gave a tense smile, “Just making sure it stays that way. Doing “well” isn’t going to impress any judges.”

Allowing yourself a small sigh, you turned back to Felix, whose face had turned a light shade of pink. It was surprising. You didn’t think Felix would be tired just by repeating the same four-step.

“Alright, fine. We’ll go with that,” she waved her hand in the air flippantly.

You both stopped, moving apart to stretch and give your legs a small break.

“Okay, now that you two have the base steps, it’s time to incorporate the other aspects of this dance.”

You were practically pushed back into one another, the Professor relentlessly rattling off instructions.

Both of you needed a natural sway. Then, you had to maintain that while spinning continuously throughout the four-step. Relax a bit more, move closer, let your arms look more fluid.

“Thank you for cooperating, so far. The last step is to incorporate the dip at the end of each four-step cycle.”

A…dip?

Felix raised his own brow, “What?”

“What do you mean, “what?” Go on.”

You chimed in, “Professor, I don’t know what a dip is…”

Felix gave a curt nod in agreement, and the two of you waited for an explanation from your instructor.

“You genuinely have no clue what I’m talking about?”

“Would you just get to the point?” Felix scowled. “I’ve wasted enough time out here like this.”

“Maybe it just isn’t part of any traditional Faerghus dances?” you offered. “I can honestly say I have never heard of it.”

It was your professor’s turn to sigh as she put her thumb and middle finger at her temples, “This is going to take longer than I thought.”

She lifted her head, walking toward you and offering her hand, “If I may?”

You took her hand, and with that, Byleth demonstrated the whole dance you both had learned so far to Felix. Then, the time came for whatever this “dip” was.

“You’re going to have to trust me to hold onto you for this to work, do you understand?”

Hold onto me? “I’m not so sure that I do, but I do trust you.”

“Wonderful.” She then turned her head to Felix, “Now, you’ll want to end up with a  sort of complimentary stance. One of your feet should be somewhat between the two of hers. This is both for balance and flow; otherwise, this next part will be awkward and unstable.”

Felix allowed himself a moment to study both of your stances, but then your teacher faced you once more and said in a voice loud enough for both of you to hear, “As for you, you’re going to lean back on my hand as I lean forward into you. You’ll keep your feet on the floor and try to balance yourself slightly throughout, but your partner will be the one supporting you. It’s my job not to let you fall.”

You nodded, hoping you understood.

“Okay. Here we go.”

Your grip on the hand holding your own tightened in nervousness as your professor began to lean you back. The further you went, the less balance you seemed to have, you noted. Fortunately, Professor Byleth stopped lowering her arm the moment before you thought you would lose your ability to balance.

“Just remember to relax,” she smiled. “You don’t need to waste energy on holding unnecessary tension. Try easing your grip on my hands and loosening your arms.”

You did so, immediately feeling a sense of ease. It was much better to hold your balance like this.

Slowly, she lifted you back onto your feet, “So there. Hopefully you were watching closely enough to understand, Felix. Now, it’s your turn.”

“Honestly, couldn’t I do this on my own? How hard can it be to bend down and rise back up?”

“Funny. Those sound like the thoughts of a runner-up. Second place is only first for losers, Felix. From the top.”

His brow furrowed as he swapped places with her.

The dance was going wonderful as usual (but that wasn’t normally usual, was it? You remembered feeling bored with your partners at the last party you attended.) until the professor made you both pause. Professor Byleth instructed him as you went through the motions of relaxing and leaning back.

But somehow, this felt different than your dance with your teacher. You knew it wasn’t just because you were being watched, either. Felix was watching you earlier, and the butterflies didn’t appear then, did they?

Perhaps it was the tinge of pink returning to his face, but…

No. No no no. Don’t even go there. He’s just tired, like I must be! You two had been dancing for quite a long time, now. The sun had made considerable progress on its trek through the sky. Not to mention…

You were certain your own cheeks were dusted a similar color.

“Excellent!” your teacher’s voice permeated your thoughts with what must have been the nicest comment on your dancing she had given all day. “Just like that!”

“Again, I-I could have done this without a partner!”

The green-haired woman brought a hand to her chin, “No, no, you have a point.” She turned to you, “Do you think you could get out of that position without Felix moving? I want him to know what this exact pose would feel like if he were actually performing.”

That could prove difficult. The only exit was turning out of his arms, which would mean letting yourself fall to the ground. You weren’t afraid of a little fall from such a short distance above the grass, but Felix would still need to shift his hand to accommodate the movement of your body weight. Not to mention there would be movement required to let go of his hand.

“Sorry,” you answered after looking around for another solution, “I just don’t see how that would be possible.”

A bit of air came from her nose as her lips pursed ever so slightly, “I feared as much. Okay you two, why don’t you come up and we’ll have Felix dance alone one final time before we call it a day?”

“Finally,” Felix groaned, lifting you back up as you quickly recovered from a twinge of vertigo.

You moved a few paces away and turned back around to watch as the professor counted Felix off. He was much more skilled at the dance than he was when you originally observed him. That was saying something since he was already skilled when you first saw him. For the swordsman to perform even better? There would be no mistaking the winner for anyone but the Blue Lion House.

At the end of it all, you said your goodbyes to your teacher and classmate. The greenhouse was still owed a visit, so you scanned over the list once more on your way there.

Maybe Manuela was right. Studying for certification exams could wait. You had already done so much today, so committing to relaxation would be a nice break.

Needless to say, you spent a lot more time with the flowers that afternoon than you had in a long time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ferdinand:

“That wraps up our time for this morning’s class!” Professor Byleth announced. “I just have a few notes for you all, and then you’ll be free to go.”

The overall mood in the Black Eagles’ classroom seemed warm to you as the sun peeked through the windows. Sure, the seasons were meant to be getting warmer, but Garreg Mach’s central location resulted in only minute climate changes.

“Edelgard. As the leader of your house, you are expected to compel everyone to come to class. Please find a way to ensure Bernadetta arrives next time.”

“Of course,” the Adrestian heir nodded. “I will make a more compelling case in the future.”

A sigh escaped the professor, “It isn’t your fault. I would do something about it myself if Count Varley hadn't sent a notice to the Church about his…displeasure with a commoner's teaching.”

“The rest you already know. Lindhardt, don’t sleep during class…Caspar, don’t shout during class. Dorothea, remember that your seat is next to Ferdinand and not Lady Edelgard.”

As everyone packed their things to leave, Professor Byleth called you to speak with her privately.

“Good morning, Professor,” you greeted. “Was there something you needed?”

“Yes. Do you know anything about the White Heron Cup?”

“The White Heron Cup…? I think Dorothea was telling me a bit about it, earlier. Isn’t that the dance competition held before the Garreg Mach Ball each year?”

“That would be the one.”

“Good to know I’m right,” an amused look was shared between you two, “but I doubt it’s important enough to single me out and talk with me about it.”

“Correct again. For the dance, each House is to choose one representative to compete. I was just informed that I would need to pick someone last night, so I’ve done a bit of thinking.”

“A…representative? Surely you aren’t intending to choose me. I don’t even know how to dance. The most practice I have is from the festivals in my hometown, but even then I tended to sit out and watch.”

Professor Byleth began to ready her own things to leave, “I do intend to pick you. Don’t worry about that too much, though. 

“No. I can’t. I refuse, actually, so you’ll just have to go and choose someone else. Have a wonderful day, Professor. Good luck find-”

You were interrupted by your teacher’s hand on your arm pulling you out of the classroom, “Glad to see you’re on board. Now, I’ve already spoken to Ferdinand about helping you learn the waltz. He agreed so quickly I almost thought I misheard him. You know him, though; always ready to do something elegant and noble. Like helping a lady learn to dance.”

“Ow! Wait, you can’t be serious-!”

As you approached the practice area Professor Byleth cleared for the two of you earlier, Ferdinand was already waiting.

“I expect you to know the dance well enough to perform by tomorrow. It’s rather simple, so I can’t see you having any trouble with it.”

“Tomorrow?”

“It will be no problem, Professor! She will practically be an expert by nightfall, I assure you!”

“Nightfall?”

She practically already took her leave, “Well then, I’ll leave you to it.”

“Shall we begin?” Ferdinand turned to you with a small bow, offering his hand.

It all happened so fast you almost thought you had dreamt up the whole encounter, “Begin? I…I’ve never danced before. Not in a way that counts.”

“There is no need to be nervous. We can start slow, and I will tell you everything you need to know!”

You took his hand, and the lesson commenced. He positioned you so that one of your arms rested on his shoulder while the other was held out to your side. Apparently, men led forward with the right foot, so it was your job to lead backwards with your left foot. Back, left, forward, right. A simple box.

But there were other things you needed to remember. The two of you always spun in a circle. Ferdinand always took the same stride, which you would have to match in length to avoid stepping on him.

It all felt like too much, in the moment. Your results were not poor, so long as you gave all your energy to your awareness of your body.

“You are a natural! Surely you have performed this waltz before?”

At the shake of your head, he continued, “Perhaps you are aware of its history, then? This dance was originally created…”

That wasn’t good. Back. Left. It took practically every nerve in your brain to manage shaking your head while staying in the waltz. Now he wanted to ramble about its history? You’d never be able to pay attention…Forward. Right…and learn well simultaneously. Why did he care how good you were at picking it up, anyway?

None of it mattered. There was no way you were going to stay here listening to him go on until nightfall. You would dance until he said you had it down, and then it would be time to leave.

However, with how caught up you were in your thoughts, you hadn’t realized how that affected your dancing.

“S-slow down! It is a dance, not a race!”

“Oh. Sorry,” you weren’t sure if you meant it. “I can’t really focus on what I’m doing when you’re giving me all this information.”

Hopefully, he could take a hint, you thought. But if Ferdinand von Aegir was anything, he was dense. He did not take hints, and throughout your time at the Officer’s Academy, you’ve constantly found yourself cursing him for it.

“That is alright. I am sure you will get it eventually,” the two of you finally managed to bring the tempo back to normal. “After all, this is quite a late age to be learning formal dance for the first time. In fact, I myself began my first lessons when I was…”

Wonderful. Honestly, did the noble do anything but talk? You were sure he heard you when you spoke, but he never actually listened to what you were saying. 

Back. Left. Forward. Right. Always spin ever so slightly. Do not step on Ferdinand’s feet. Lead with your left unless you’re moving right. Your arms-

“...that is how the White Heron Ball came to be a Garreg Mach tradition! Interesting, is it not?”

“Wh-what?” just how long had you been dancing? You could have sworn he was just talking about his own history of dance.

“What is it? Is there something wrong?

Back. Ri- no…Left. Forward. “Ferdinand, I don’t know how to put this lightly, but it is really hard to focus with you talking about all of that. I can keep up a conversation, or I can dance. I can’t do both yet.”

“But as I have told you, it is easy! You simply need to count through the beats, match each step to a number, and then keep continual rules in mind.”

At this point, you had lost the rhythm of your waltz. The heel of your boot landed on the toe of Ferdinand’s own, and the two of you stumbled awkwardly until Ferdinand caught his balance. Unfortunately, you weren’t as lucky and fell backwards onto the ground. 

“Not quite like that-”

“You don’t say?” you cut him off. At least he was kind enough to help you back to your feet.

He brought you back into your initial position, preparing to pick up again, “Remember to lead backwards with your left foot.”

“I was remembering. Until you distracted me, that is.”

“Distracted you? I have only been helping you this whole time, have I not?”

You took a breath. It would be so easy to blame him for this, but you knew nothing would be solved through an argument. The sooner you figured this out, the sooner you could leave. No reason to hurt one of your allies over it.

“You’re right. I’m sorry, I’m just a little frustrated.”

The Adrestian noble began again, prompting you to follow suit almost immediately, “You must adjust your steps to that of your partner’s.”

A frown painted itself on your lips, “Good thing I won’t ever have one.”

“What are you talking about?” he questioned, “This waltz is commonly played at various events. Surely this will not be the only time you will partake?”

You sighed, “Ferdinand, enough. I’m a commoner, remember? I don’t go to…events. We don’t even have dances like this.”

“All the more reason to learn! It would be helpful to incorporate this into the skills of the common people so as to create a more refined society as a whole. Then-”

“I said enough!” you snapped, pushing away from him.

The shock on his face was nothing compared to the anger you felt at his ignorance.

“E-excuse me?”

“Stop talking about commoners like they’re…beasts! We are not animals to be tamed, Ferdinand, we’re people. Real, actual people.”

“I was not trying to imply otherwise-”

“But you did. You do it all the time! Humanity is not found solely within tradition, noble or otherwise. We can be civilized without being formal, you know!”

He didn’t seem to know what to say anymore, it seemed. Good, then. Maybe he would choose to listen for once.

“Take this practice as an example. You’ve been doing this waltz with me for how long now? And I haven’t hurt you or acted without considering you this whole time.” You paused, your throat closing up, “Honestly, I’ve been pitying us both for this position we’ve been placed in. Is an uncivilized, unrefined society capable of pity, Lord Ferdinand von Aegir?”

Nothing. Again. Maybe this was too much? But it wasn’t as if you were going to let him keep talking like that.

You stepped back farther, “Sorry. Here I go ruining it. I talk about being civilized, but I can’t even keep myself in check to verbally defend the people I grew up knowing and loving. Let’s…we can be done, now. I’ll go find the professor and tell her I won’t be able to perform tomorrow.”

So much for relations between allies. Your mind wandered to what you were going to say to your professor. It would be a bad idea to blame it on Ferdinand; Professor Byleth might do some digging, and you didn’t trust him to keep his mouth shut.

‘W-wait!” you had only made it a few paces before the knight called after you.

As you turned to face him, you gave a tight lipped smile, “Don’t worry about it! Really, I’m sure it won’t be any trouble for her to find someone else. I can probably talk Dorothea into it if she isn’t already interested.”

“That is no excuse. Whether you are our representative or someone else is, that does not make up for the things I said,” regret filled his expression, and your own turn came to respond in silence.

He made his way toward where you were standing, his eyes never leaving yours, “I am deeply sorry. I truly did not mean to insinuate such terrible ideas. Perhaps you can help me to…be more aware of these things in the future?”

At last, he had listened to something you told him. Even if he didn’t pay much attention to anything else you said to him, you were glad he at least chose to react to this.

“Of course,” your smile went from tight lipped to full and genuine. “You could start by focusing on teaching me the dance rather than its significance.”

“But both are equally important!” he argued.

“Are they? I am going to have to know this dance for the competition, but I can’t imagine any future where I would need to know the history of it. Or that of any other waltzes, for that matter.” 

As soon as the words came out of your mouth, something in his face seemed to fall.

“You…cannot? There is no future where you would see yourself dancing more waltzes?”

“Quite frankly, it doesn’t seem to matter what I imagine. Once my time here is through, I’ll be sent off to lead some noble army. Not much waltzing in that future, I’d guess.”

“I see…”

Why was he acting so weird?

“But,” you tried to cheer him up, “at least I’ll have this one. I can pretend for one night that I have the ability to choose my future. So long as I would be happy in it, I don’t see the problem in dreaming of a life where all I do is dance at formal events like this.”

“Really?”

“Sure!” you laughed, “Though I don’t think I’d be as comfortable dancing with anyone else. I might not be able to get used to a different rhythm, yet.”

That seemed to get his energy back, “Of course! I will be ready whenever you wish to dance, and we can go at whatever pace you wish.”

“Let’s make sure I can actually do the steps correctly, first?”

“Right,” he led you back to the practice area. 

The two of you danced a few more times before you finally got the hang of the waltz. Sure, the ball was not for another several days, but you had a feeling Professor Byleth would be pleased with your progress. 

Eventually, when the time came, you knew you would need to learn a new dance for your classmates.

But you were getting ahead of yourself. First, you needed to win the White Heron Cup.

[polarsirens]

i have yet more songs to drop in your lap :)

both from tally hall, in this case!

"never meant to know" i feel is a great over all neverafter song, but also the beginning verse gives me BIG pinochio the day the evil fairy damns him and the stepmother finds him vibes

"Woke up today with a lay of the land Feather in cap and the sun in the sand It was easy, it was easy to understand Everything suddenly falls out of sight Every attachment is made of the light That you offered, you have offered to give me life"

also "out in the twilight", specifically these verses:

"All is past Everything interesting Is it new? Is it me? Stone & Glass Give me a reason it Ought to be easy to last"

"Our story's old And either end untold The in-between goes on

Collect yourself and move into the street (out in the twilight) The rest of our entire life is free (out in the twilight)"

"Our story's old/And either end untold" especially strikes me as fitting the way the characters question, "what does happily ever after mean? why did *I* deserve to be cursed and hurt to make the story work? what happens when true love doesn't last?" bc all of the pcs either finished their tale before meeting up or are stuck in the beginning after it's gone wrong.

hello hello! a little late but i'm loving these recommendations. it's my first time hearing this band so thank you, they're cool! you said the beginning of "never meant to know" feels like pinocchio after he meets the evil fairy but it also feels like pinocchio before everything at all, when gepetto first made him and he was a carefree kid! which really makes the lines,

who do we think we are? everything plays a part there are some things we are never meant to know

all the more heartbreaking. </3

and "out in the twilight" is so delightful to think about with neverafter! like you said, this part,

and in between, eternally, an even fall is all that will appear to be our story's old, and either end untold the in-between goes on

and the last line the song leaves off with―"the rest of our entire life is free"―is so, so much like the ending of neverafter. not only the pcs, but whatever npc we remember, we can also imagine them doing their own thing (and not one of these imagined "in-between"s will be a fixed ending) and they're free.

(also have jumbled thoughts about every in-between being "an even fall" and neverafter seemingly deteriorating all the time and that being something... inevitable almost? and carving out some space for your own story within it but i can't really say it well so i'll leave it off there)

[denialcity]

3, 10, 32? :)

3. What are some tropes or details that you think are very characteristic of your fics?

Family (original or found <3 ), AUs, lots of dialogue, (attempted) poeticness, unreliable narrators, violence, harsh realities, worldbuilding, culture clash, miscomunication, no right answers, forgiveness, bad jokes, what is love (baby don't hurt me)

10. How do you decide what to write?

Generally I have 3 categories which can sometimes overlap:

Events, zines, birthdays, Xmas, milestone giveaways, commissions etc - I wanted to do something nice for people and committed myself to a deadline and filling a specific thing which they requested/ I think they would like. Their reaction is my motivation.

Personal projects -- I want to do it like. For me. So I try to make it a habit, like a default "if I don't know what to work on I will work on this". The progress / the completion is the motivation.

I was possessed and had no say in the matter

on a day to day basis it's whatever strikes my fancy vs "I ought to do this one and slog through the hard part"

32. What’s your ideal fic length to read?

Used to be a longfic truther but now any length is fine. I have loved haikus as much as 100k works. They're just different.

I will say I require a lot more convincing to read longfics nowadays since I'm so tired and short on time. I need be in a certain mindspace to invest in a serious longfic (some ppl get a free pass tho like I'd read anything they write bc they've earned my trust). Normally I don't blind-read fics unless I'm new to a fandom and don't know what I like yet (first couple of months maybe). So I'm a recs-only lad, unless I'm starving 😂.

[stealingpotatoes]

The World As It Should(’ve) Be(en)

(feat. some illustrations with no consistent style that were all done in under ten minutes)

I know I’m not the only one who thought Delilah’s “The World As It Should Be” could have been a lot cooler.., so get this: what if there was another mission to dh2

(trust me it's a cool idea -- if you can’t be bothered to read, just look at the pictures) 

So EVERYTHING is the same up until the bit where you go into the portal. You roll up to Death To The Empress thinking that's the last mission... but no! You go in the portal and it gives you your end of mission stats! and you're like ?? wait what i thought i was about to go kill Delilah?

The ACTUAL final mission (and actual Delilah take-out mission) takes place in a Much Better version of The World As It Should Be. 

The final mission starts and you land exactly at the port where you start Death To The Empress, but everything is different about Dunwall. everything’s completely off and wack;  it's sunny, the streets are bright, everyone looks happy! there are flowers everywhere! It's super aesthetic and pretty. The clothing’s also different from the rest of the game. 

You walk through the same streets you walked through in the mission you just did, and there aren't wolfhounds and ppl patrolling the streets, it's not in ruin, it all looks very nice! (you land at the docks for parallels/ to make it very obvious what's changed, not because it makes sense). People are talking; they're happy! there are no guards about at all so you can walk freely and see it all, explore around this world. And the people are talking about how great empress delilah is, mainly. 

And as you go through, you find notes, books, and dialogue etc that hints to an entirely different past; in the first parts of dunwall, you find that delilah has been empress for like 26 years! not just a month and a half. The story pieces together as you go along, and you work out that this is a world where Delilah was never thrown out and her father's false promises were fulfilled. This is her world as it should be. 

But things keep happening to remind you that it isn't real; perhaps the sky sometimes turns to the Void, with whales floating above you, and things will somtimes momentarily look like a painting of Delilah's, not detailed reality. People’s speech repeats and loops too often. Creepiest of all, people randomly turn to stone, then back out, as if it never happened. If you put the corrupted rune in earlier, there might be more glitches than if you didn't. the glitches get more pronounced/ more obvious as you get closer and everything starts to feel a little too perfect, more and more as you go on. Everything becomes more uncomfortable. (And if you kill people in the world, nobody reacts at all. They just let you do it)

Plus, overall it feels like a very childish city? as if this might all be a little girl's dollhouse, not a real place. 

You make your way to the Tower, where you find that there’s a party going on. A really nice party -- puts Lady Boyle’s Last Party to shame. Dunwall Tower again looks super nice and aesthetic. The outfits are again really nice but again rather childish. 

A cool glitch here would be the partygoers keep stopping and just looking dead at you w no transition or anything. One second they’re talking, the next everyone at the party is staring straight at you. Then suddenly they’re talking again, as if that never happened. Also a lot of the partygoers faces repeat too often, reminding you that this is a simulation. 

In the tower/ closer to the tower, you find more history stuff, but it's more intimate/ detailed i guess? ONE VERY NOTABLE THING YOU FIND is letters from Jessamine (!!!) who is very much alive but is just -- and has always been -- the imperial princess!!!!!!!

The letters mention stuff that shows she and delilah are close. jessamine is in this and not suffering bc it's delilah's childish, perfect world! where nothing went wrong and jess is still her sister and del doesn't hate jess! (this is to kind of push it in your face that Del is Like You i guess, but also that smthn smthn she's still thinking like a little girl bc this all stems off childhood trauma etc)

Tho as people, not the player character, Emily & Corvo are ignored in the world as it should be/ there's no mention of jessamine's family bc this is delilah's world and she's not thinking abt other people. 

At the party, you see a woman who you discover is Delilah's mother, alive and well -- which again pushes the whole "this is delilah's perfect world". She talks to you a bit, talks about delilah. Makes you see a different side of her (but you can't be sure it's real; this is Delilah’s perfect, adoring world). She says she ought to go somewhere else. Things keep glitching, whales phase through the walls (it’s super cool). 

You continue through the party, when suddenly you see a woman in a dark dress. She stands out from the rest of the party, in their bright colours, and it’s pretty hard to miss her. This woman is none other than Lady Jessamine Kaldwin, your dead mother or secret wife (whose, bear in mind, soul you let go 2 missions ago). Her outfit is similar to the one in Delilah’s childhood painting of her, childishness of Delilah’s world repeated. 

The fact Jessamine is here makes Delilah almost more relatable (especially seeing as you just spoke to her lost loved one, her mother). It makes you understand her more because you know the protag wants more than anything to have a world where Jess lives. It helps you to understand why Delilah made this more. Actually, this whole mission is sort of "uhuhuh delilah is actually sympathetic" BUT you can still very much interpret it as her lying to you, because this is a manipulation of reality -- what's to say she isn't still lying?

Anyway, you can go up and talk to Jessamine (the game sort of encourages you to talk to her). But she doesn’t recognise you. Emily and Corvo don’t exist in Delilah’s false world, so Jessamine has never known you. It’s very painful for the protag (you can hear it in their dialogue), because their loved one is alive, but she doesn’t know you. You have dialogue options to try to convince her it’s you/ she knows you, but they don’t work. 

While Jessamine doesn’t recognise you, she does say she’d certainly like to spend more time with you. She tries to convince you to stay here, more or less (yes, Inception is one of my favourite movies, what about it?) But the protag says they have a mission/ that they need to see Delilah.    

Jessamine will offer to take you to Delilah, which results in a conversation -- will get to that later. The other option is keep winding through the party and to the throne room yourself. 

Either way, you get to the throne room, where you find Delilah. Again direct parallel. Same pose as before, but this time, her throne room isn't dark and covered in murderous vines, it's bright and full of adoring people/ partygoers (it’s a sort of parallel to the start of the game too, especially if you walk in with Jessamine).

 Delilah doesn’t quite know you’re here. She has a vague idea of who you are, but she doesn’t hate you at all. Breanna is by Delilah’s side, no matter what you did in the Conservatory. However, you don’t see any of the other Coup Crew members there -- this highlights how they were just tools to her, not people she cared for.

So you have three (yes, three — this is where things get even more fun) options here. Lethal, non-lethal, and the option I’ll get to later. 

Lethal is straightforward. You kill Delilah however (nobody stops you), and the entire world begins to collapse in on itself/ break apart and very disruptively becomes the Void again. This maybe ends with you having to fight/ assassinate some Delilah copies in the near empty void/ something more similar to the World As It Should Be as we see in game.

Non-lethal is easier if you placed the corrupted rune on the throne in DTTE, but you can still do it otherwise. It would of course be something to do with trapping Delilah in the World -- somehow cutting off the exit before you go so she can’t escape, should she realise this isn’t reality. 

If you pick either of these ways, you go through the portal again and return to the depressing and dark Dunwall, your Dunwall, and free your family member. (Or take the throne if you’re in super high chaos, I guess). All goes the same. 

Now, the third option. The third option is to stay in the false world. It’s to stay with Jessamine, in this perfect Dunwall. To get this option, you talk to Delilah after Jess takes you to her (though you can still talk to her without Jess guiding you, Jess’ll appear). 

Of course, you have the option to talk to Delilah and say this is all crazy, it’s not real, and proceed to do the former two options. But you also have the option to say you understand her or something, and she more or less offers for you to stay. 

When you first express interest in staying, the Outsider suddenly appears. He’s there to try to convince you that you need to get rid of Delilah, and that your other family member is frozen in stone back in the real Dunwall. But then what Delilah does, absolute madlad, is make a copy of your family member, but how they looked in DH1, not now (idk HOW, but she does it -- she is god in this part of the Void so she just can). Delilah wants you to stay, especially if you’re Marked. Jessamine also tries to convince you to remain here, and she’s harder to ignore. 

You again have the option to reject Delilah’s reality (you get a lot of options to do this), but if you choose to ignore the Outsider, you say something about him “wanting to keep power for himself”, just a lot of insulting really (being about as nice as he was to you, maybe.)e’ll disappear again, unable to stay in Delilah’s part of the Void. And you can stay with your unbroken family, with Jessamine who is alive. And not return to the real world, where you don’t know if your family member will be able to be revived from stone. 

(Seeing as Delilah was in Jess’ heart, perhaps she’s able to make a Jess who is almost the same as the Jess you knew)  

The third ending plays on the themes of “emily/ corvo has been ignoring the suffering in the Empire”. This is the ultimate way you can ignore it all. You can choose to completely and utterly ignore the now in ruin empire that you walked through earlier, and ignore all the people you promised to help along the way and everything you learnt. Or, you can show you’ve changed since the start, and go back to harsh reality. It won’t be nice, but you can’t ignore your people’s suffering again. Imo it gives the character more of an arc, rather than only having the option to return to the throne. 

But yeah, if you pick the third ending, the Outsider of course does his speech. He tells you how the Empire has falled to chaos, fallen to civil war, as everyone vys for the throne and its power. He tells you how your allies fare. And then you see Empress Delilah on her throne in the false world (you see a few glitches to remind you it’s fake). But then you see the protagonist and their family together. It’s a really cute family moment, and aside from the protagonist being the wrong age compared to their family (you’ve got adult Em with dh1 Corvojess, or dh2 Corvo with Jess and 10yo Emily). There are no glitches bc the protag would be ignoring them.  Everything seems entirely perfect. 

Anyways! I hope you liked this! Don’t get me wrong, I love Dishonored 2, it’s one of my favourite games. I just think the World As It Should Be was a sort of missed oppurtunity for something VERY cool. 

[carraville]

Hi there I'm writing a fic and wondered if you could help me with something. I don't know an awful lot about David beckham Paul scholes and Phil Neville. I know your a man Utd fan and you'll probably love them all haha but just tell me what they're like from what you can gather as people and players. Even if it's just your opinion that's fine! Thanks so much for your help

ok SO i do love them a lot and i know much more about them than i ought to, so much so to the point that it might be more useful if you had something more specific you need to ask about, because i…am far too involved in them??? buT general-wise i wrote a draft primer on the co92 a while ago and I’m just going to copy and paste from there and hope this helps!!!! 

putting this under a read more because this is....long

BECKS:

Everyone and their mum (especially their mums, probably) knows who David Beckham is, but did you know him when he thought that curtains were not just to make windows pretty but also for hair? Did you? Because curtain becks is almost as bad as half-alive mullet becks (although nothing can beat cornrow becks in the history of what the fuck were you thinking, let’s be real).

What can I tell you about Becks that you don’t already know? He has OCD and has to have an even number of coke cans in the fridge. He took cooking classes when he was at Milan and learnt how to make pasta (a far cry from his humble beginnings in Gary Neville’s kitchen). His middle name is Robert for Bobby Charlton. He’s honestly a more down-to-earth and clever bloke than people give him the credit for and he’s really just a little boy who’s loving what he does and works incredibly hard for it? A lot of people always remember the underwear modeling (for good reason, I mean, have you seen) but in doing so they dismiss his playing days, which is ridiculous because he was so fucking good. And hey, you can be good at both football and looking like a life-sized, anatomically correct Ken doll! His crosses were exquisite, his free kicks were sublime, and the partnership he had with Gaz is still guilty of murder for killing me through old, grainy youtube videos. Also everyone’s always keen to stress that he’s never really let fame change him or the way he deals with people, which is lovely.

If you wanna kill urself, watch his retirement interview with Gary, because it perfectly sums up who he is. Boy from Leytonstone who wanted to play football. He’s so insistent on being remembered as a player that it really breaks your heart that more people don’t. No one talks about how he tried that Wimbledon goal every day in training, or how he still hits exquisite free kicks aged 40plus because he practiced them for so damn long. He’s a beautiful talented hardworking boy and I lov him!! and he’s not arrogant or anything at all he’s just so cool!

Becks left United in 2003 after a bit of a bust up with Fergie, even though they remain on great terms nowadays. It broke everyone’s heart, it broke Gary’s heart, but it wasn’t so bad for Becks bc he found a Spanish goalkeeper to frolic around with. Still couldn’t watch us play for years, though, so there!!! In 2007 he moved to LA Galaxy, in 2013 he moved to PSG, and he retired then. It was great, he got thrown into the air and shit bc he was retiring so it wouldn’t matter if he broke his legs. ffs lads.

Fun fact: I still laugh at the fact that his house in Hertfordshire was called Beckhingham Palace

SCHOLESY:

My favourite story of him regarding this Intense Dislike for Humanity is this one: after the 2008 CL final, which we won, he was the first and only one on the team bus while everyone else was ostensibly getting drunk off their tits. At the next press conference, reporters asked him if he’d wanted to have some time to himself and reflect on how he’d finally gotten redemption for 1999. He stared at them and said, “I just wanted to go home.” 

IDC IF IT’S AN URBAN MYTH IT BASICALLY SUMS HIM UP ENTIRELY.

My other favourite story of him is him telling AC Milan’s president that ‘if you want me to play for you, you’ll have to buy this club’, because we’re the best club in the world. Seriously, his love for United is so great. Sometimes he’s described as an Oldham fan, but he’s said before that it was United first and Oldham second. Did I say ‘said’? I probably meant smoke-signalled it because this bitch is so hard to get interviews with. There’s this great one where he’d just retired or something so the BBC got him to do an interview and their first question was ‘is this a living hell for you, then?’ and his response was ‘it is, really, yeah…I’ve been thinking to myself ‘why the hell did I agree to this???’. I know people have been knocking him for talking a lot more nowadays but a) he’s a pundit, it’s his job to talk and b) I rly think it’s just because it’s his only link with football that he has left?? So he puts himself thru it, because he just loves football so much, and that makes me love him even more? The directors of CO92 had a kickabout with him and described it as watching a little boy play again and I think that’s just the most beautiful and pure thing and Scholesy is so pure. Except when he’s setting people on fire.

BC HE DOES THAT A LOT, like, you think he’s quiet so he ain’t gonna be up for much banter but, my dude, he is the most savage person you will ever encounter. The closest I’ve ever seen him come to pissing himself laughing was when he was describing attacking Phil with a 50-yarder and knocking a POOR INNOCENT BOY flat on the ground. Laughing at that! Also his sense of humour is absolute wreckage. Gary has the best story:

People think Scholesy’s shy and quiet but he’s one of the most cutting people I know. Example: the day Diana Law, who worked in United’s press department, was chatting with the players. “Gary, you remind me of my brother for some reason,” she said. “Why?” Scholesy replied, quick as a flash. “Is he a knob too?”

HAHAH u knob. AnyWAY this is getting long but tldr tiny ginger little shit who hates the world and would probably hate how much i love him. He debuted for United in 1994, scoring twice against Port Vale, and retired in 2011, then unretired in 2012 and waltzed into our starting XI, and then retired again in 2013. So the only person we could find to replace Paul Scholes was Paul Scholes. smh.

Fun fact: he used to steal all of Gary’s shit and hide things and he’s SUCH A LITTLE SHIT, both literally and figuratively, I love it

PHIL:

ok phil is just the sweetest purest cinnamon roll you will ever meet, ever, I mean you probably won’t ever meet him but u know what i mean. Sometimes I think he’s too sweet bc he’s such a dumb pushover. Someone once said he was everyone’s favourite Neville just by virtue of being not Gary. Which is hilarious. ANyway he’s a fuckin sweetie pie and family man who constantly refers to his kids has his babies even tho Harvey is, like, old enough to drive I think?? and he’s an incredibly good dad to Isabella especially who has cerebral palsy but he’s so!!!! supportive!!! and god what did we do to deserve this dumb boi. If we were doing a CO92/Spice Boys crossover he would be Redders hands down because he also gets a lot of stick, from his commentary to his analysis (I s’pose it doesn’t help when ur bruv keeps winning shit like pundit of the year), but he always takes it on the chin and laughs it off and keeps on being such a good person, kind to everyone he meets and genuinely good-natured. I love his self-deprecating humour, it’s the best thing. He also loves United a lot, altho probably not as much as he loves Gaz uwu

Ok, so he’s not the world’s most exciting or greatest player, but he was honestly rly talented and people can forget that?? I mean you don’t just make captain of Everton bc you’re the United captain’s lil bro. He scored some amazing goals when he was at United - maybe the olden day Jesse Lingard - not a great goal scorer but a scorer of great goals. And he was always so intent and almost enthusiastic going into things, which kinda mirrors his puppy personality, which I lov. because don’t let his puppy dog eyes and smile fool u, ok, he’s just as driven as all of them and he will get what he want. probably just with less blood and dead people than, like, scholesy.

He’s two years younger than the rest of them so he made his debut in ‘95 and then heartbreakingly left in 2005, going on to captain Everton (but not before scoring an own goal against us bc he loves us still really). He retired in 2013.   All these kids retiring in the same year! Tsk. It’s like they planned it or something.

Fun fact: he was a brilliant cricketer and used to play with Freddie Flintoff. A tear shed for the hungover Philip at Buckingham Palace that we never had