#buuuut i'm on a time limit here

[vivi-blue]

IT IS FINALLY DONE!

God, this took me way too long...xD

After days of work I finally finished the challenge that I set for myself: Sending out props to a lot of artist here on tumblr that I really enjoy! (Actually there are way waaay more people, but I really had to set myself a limit, I'm sorry fellas ;w; I still love you!)

These people inspire me every day with their creative concepts, stories, humor and passion for art and give me the drive to continue drawing myself. With this little collection I wanted to say "thank you" for all that you do and create. You rock, guys!

(I really hope I didn't mess up any of the tags and I apologize if I might fu**ed up your designs/characters ;3; I know I'm not the best in proportions and all, but I really tried. <w<´´ Also I really hope Tumblr compresses the text by itself, so that you don't get smacked by this wall of text. I'm still a rookie on tumblr, so I don't know what to do ;w;)

Okay, heeere we go! THE TAGS!

@tv-tower / @uuberwachen - with PB aka Swap Pizzahead (I really love the idea of the au and adore the character designs. PB sure is one of my favorites -w- He is literally the most reasonable of them all XD)

@technically-a-kiwi - with Cosmic Peppino ( The design of Cosmic Peppino is simply beautiful and the idea that this chef has strong star powers and needs to take care of Cosmic Noises shenanigans is super funny to me XD )

@sirtotallynotatimetraveler - with Mel Sproutbloom / Sagebloom (I'm sorry, I wasn't sure which name is canon ;w;) ( I loooove Mel! He is such a gentle, colorful guy and looking at him makes me all happy <3 )

@alextydaisuda123 - with their version of Vigilante ( I can't repeat enough how much I adore their artstyle. I love Vigi's design the most. I don't know it's just...THAT'S Vigi for me, you know? Simply fitting, cool, but also stylish -w- )

@alice-the-demon - with Vittoria ( I was first thinking of drawing Archangel Peppino, since this guy is the softness itself, buuuut I have to admit that I love the lively and passionate personality of Vittoria. She is great -w- )

@misdreavusplush - with Eyelashes ( I can't help it. I saw that character and was in awe. How adorable can you be?? I was barely able to draw her eyes as pretty as they are xD <3 )

@creature-of-pizza - with Pepp ( Seriously, the idea to see a "Fake Peppino" with more cat dna is such a win for me. He is dynamic, sassy, derpy and so damn cool! >w< Also love how colorful their pictures are.)

@eskariolis-con-salsa - with Gnocchi (I was thinking about drawing their version of Fake Peppino first, but...*looks at picture* ...let's be honest, you can't get pass that little guy. ;w; He purifies my soul. Have some soap, little guy.)

@oddpizza - with Caramel Jam aka CJ (Such a creative and powerful character! I've seen so many artworks of them and I adore them. You need more joyful people like this ^^)

@pizza-tower-secrets - with Lycheecheechee ( A small, adorable bundle full of surprises and of course secrets! I love their drive and colorful design. Simply a delight! :3 )

@rhaytronik - with Red ( A dynamic and enjoyable character with their love for adventures! Not only a great character but also the Pizzasona of my best friend. Thanks to them I was brave enough to start a tumblr account myself. So thank you for being there for me <3 )

@cutechan555 - with Mage Gustavo (To be honest, I had a very hard time to pick a character here, since their account is full of stories and ideas. I chose mage Gustavo, since I love his design and story. I'm currently into "Delicious in Dungeon" and to imagine that he goes dungeon crawling with his bros to safe Peppino is such a cool idea XD)

@bigbeastcyruspt - with Trion (I have to be honest, at first I was very startled of Trion, since his design is very mighty and scary. I mean, it's his chase form after all. But the more I learned about him, the more I grew to like him. Very damn cool design! Also couldn't help to add dah baby ;w;)

@lunar-dal - with Pizza Cruise Peppino (Another au I simply adore! The design of the characters is colorful and bright, and to imagine Peppino as a singing gondolier brings me great joy. Also I'm a big fan of otter Brick ;w; )

@smalltimidbean - with Pea Pod, Sugar Snap Pea and Snow Pea (Believe me, I never before had such a hard time to pick ONE of so many wonderful Peppi clones! THAT was torture XD But in the end I guess I picked my favorite. Such a tired, but very cute one. Not to forget about the little ones <3 To draw a PT character with 4 fingers and 2 thumbs on one hand was quite a challenge lol )

@tinderboxofsillyideas - with Coffee Peppino (Probably one of the most adorable au versions of Peppino. Seriously, if I had the chance to get my coffee in his café, I totally would! Give that guy all the tips! <3 First thought of drawing their wizard Peppino version, but the adorable barista won lol)

@xbeih - with Metal Peppino (One of the first au's I started following. Seriously, how cool can one person be?? I mean, the whole au is amazing and I enjoy every person in it. But damn...Peppino takes the cake. ówo He is so badass, you can't imagine <w< Also I'm very sorry, it was my first time drawing a guitar and aaaaaaa )

.....*looks left and right* ...ok, we did it. Wow!

God, I'm exhausted now...XD

Well, thank you very much for reading and sorry for the wall of text ówq I can only recommend you to check these people out. They are all very talented and should be appreciated!

Have a pleasant morning / day / evening / night everyone. (Depending your timezone lul .w. )

See ya next time! Vivi out!~

[doppel-doodles]

It's doodling time fellas

I wanted to give myself a bit of a challenge so I decided to draw the ocs of a few people here on tumblr, with the added challenge of doing it fast-

Minimal erasing and redoing, basically whatever is slapped on the page first sticks whether I like it or not. And there is a little time limit on how much I can spent on each character so that I don't get distracted as easily.

Just a little exercise so that hopefully it'll get easier for me to throw down a sketch using few lines and not taking literal hours-w-" I know everyone has their own pace but I would like to be a faster artist.

Anyway my yapping aside and without further delay: The girlies💚💗💜❤

Now to who these lovely gals belong to:

Haiyang: @riptide-pools

Nawa: @auburnitzy

Suki: @peachy-puddin-cup

An he: @lumidotexe

For anyone interested I'll include some thoughts on each of these below the cut:>

Haiyang

The first one I did and I think it shows>~> I was basically more focused on just figuring out how I wanted to do this so I spent less time and energy on how I wanted the character to look in my style. In the end I settled on doing the basic shapes in pencil and then switching to colored fine liners for details.

With the colors also matches the way I draw digitally just a tiny bit more! Buuuut if I end up doing this again I definitely wanna redraw her, I wanna do this gorgeous character justice after all!/'w'/

Suki

Suuuuukiiii! I did draw her before so I decided to do this version, which I believe to be just her shadow form! While drawing I didn't actually give myself time to look it up cause ya know, no distractions which is why there is a question mark-

But my stupidity aside- here is where I started drawing a lot faster, I was in the zone if you will, so I spent what time I had left adding some variation to the line art. I do like this one and honestly she would probably be so much fun to render digitally so I'll see if I can if there is time:>

Nawa

NOW THIS IS WHERE THE FUN REALLY BEGAN-

Nawa just was such a blast honestly, probably because I was getting really comfortable at this point and let myself play around more with how I stylise the characters! I love me some funky eyes, its probably the most recognisable part of my style.

Also granted I don't know much on Nawa yet(fake fan I'm sorry-/j) I only recently followed the creator so I need to find time to just really browse through their blog and consume all the knowledge there is, but once I do I'll be unstoppable!>:D

An He

Last but certainly not least we finish with An He, who was a just a chill and nice lil drawing perfect to round out this doodle session-w- now I have actually read ERHS(shameless plug, read it it's so good- just need to find my attention span as I haven't caught up with it SOBS) so I have more knowledge on her.

For that reason I attempted to do a slimmer face shape, i wanted her built overall to read as visibly more thin and petite. Along side that I went for rings in her eyes as an allusion to sound waves as I didnt just wanna drop in a music note and call it a day.

however maybe I'll experiment more another time because I just dont think it reads that well:'<

That concludes my silly ramblings! Thanks for sticking around and if any of the creators of these lovely ladies see this- YOU HAVE AMAZING CHARACTERS AND I HOPE I DID THEM JUSTICE!- ahem.

If I do this again I'll definitely go for some male ocs as well for the sake of variety, it was a happy accident that I only drew girls here.

[roodles03]

Long story short, I had to make a rough story board for my 1st Motion Graphics project in animation school. Here are some of my favorite boards! Obviously not all of them are here so the lyrics are a bit broken up in this post. (And also I didn't have enough space for all of them thanks tumblr)

Spefically this project is Kinetic Typography. Don't know what that is ? Well I gurantee you've seen it before. It's literally just moving words. Think Poison's lyric video.

I cannot believe my profressor actually let me use Alastor's Breakdown as my audio choice but hey if I can draw fanart for a animation project I'm cool with it! (Especially since I don't have much time to draw outside of uni) Buuuut wasn't able to do ALL of Alastor's verse in the Finale song because of the 35 second limit, (sad.)

I would've done an TOH song but like... No such thing exists, sadly. And since the professor didn't allow swearing without censorship, and I don't really listen to regular music, so this is how this came to be.

I'm kinda excited to see the final product tbh when I get to it in after affects.

Really wanted to empathize the mysterious aura of Alastor, his plans, and his deal was here. It's why I used silhouettes only.

[esta-elavaris]

5,59,60 for theorington 🌙

5. Describe their cozy night in.

So they're both very focused, disciplined people and I think a lot of the time it would start off with work. They're very much the type of people to just take joy in sorting out different tasks in the same proximity as each other - maybe splitting the paperwork for their company and working on their own stacks in the same room, Theo probably injecting some nonsense here and there, or James making snarky comments about said work just to lighten whatever stress they're feeling.

One of them will call it a day when the other starts to show signs of flagging - which is how they're great for each other, really, because alone they'd push themselves past the limit of what's healthy. Theo knows James is reaching his limit when he starts pinching the bridge of his nose or rubbing at his eyes, and James knows Theo needs to stop when she stops making jokes and either goes silent, or starts getting genuinely annoyed rather than amused at whatever problem she's dealing with.

From there, they'll move from the study to the sitting room. If they have kids by this time, they're long in bed by now - they take the matter of making time just for each other very seriously, they even shut the dogs out of the room - and they might read to each other. That particular habit began with Theo asking James to read to her (because she loves his voice), and then eventually he'd ask her to return the favour in the name of fairness (but also because he loves her accent and the way she pronounces certain words - and it becomes more pronounced when she's reading aloud, her focus on the words rather than making what she's saying easily understandable to whatever people they end up in conversation with across the day), and though they might use the excuse that it saves on candles, they just like it.

They might pause to talk about some aspect of the book and that always ends up with them sidetracked by other things until they're just lounging together, cuddled up on one sofa, the book completely forgotten. It takes them a minimum of a month to get through a two hundred page book. At some point one of them introduces the other to the concept of reading aloud while the other does everything they can to, ahem, distract them - but if they stop reading, the other stops touching them. I was going to say this is originally Theo's idea, but it wouldn't shock me if James comes up with it.

I think mostly it's those moments that give them pause. There might be a comfortable lull in conversation, or maybe they've zoned out from the bit of the book the other is reading aloud, and instead they're just looking around and really acknowledging the fact that this is what they fought so hard for in the beginning, and it's also what they were so scared they'd either never get, or lose before the end. There'd be a real sense of struggling to believe that it's even real, and then just sheer gratitude and contentment.

I'm not crying, you are.

59. Who tops? Who bottoms?

I think they'd switch it up pretty evenly - or have times when it's just like? Neither, really? Honestly I can see them both being into either. On Theo's end, I meeeeaaaan...who wouldn't get a thrill from seeing him go all stern Admiral Norrington? But then on the other side of the coin, the fact that that's all most see, and then he's also capable of being super soft and tender with her, happy to let her to take the reins, would never not mean something to her.

From James' perspective, we already know he likes fiery women, so I think we can reasonably assume he'd be more than okay with letting Theo take the lead *cough*Wicked Game chapter 5*cough* buuuut I also think there'd be a similar thing on his end where like, he knows how fiercely independent she is, and how she'd loathe anything that resembled being controlled, so the fact that she loves it when he does get a bit more dominant and possessive would mean a lot to him, because he knows she trusts him to do that, it's like a mark of trust - he wouldn't take it lightly.

60. Who pulls the other closer when they’re sleeping?

In the very early days of their marriage, it would be Theo for the first couple of times. She might be a tiiiny bit shy about it - because this is the sort of thing she's used to having worked out way earlier on in a relationship, in terms of knowing how much proximity the other is cool with, but here it's not even an option 'til marriage, and the times in Tortuga they shared a bed was 98% strictly proper (well, as far as the situation allowed), back-to-back type stuff. But she'd also know him well enough to know that he'd be more shy about it than her, initially. Especially thanks to the Caribbean climate, and how much he knows she's not a fan of the heat.

But I think it would only take two or three times of her doing that (and his face during those times would be absolutely heart melting) before he loses any inhibitions and does it right back.

Thank you!! I had a lot of fun with this one 😭

Ask game.

[iobartach]

okay! this has been a LONG time coming, so brace yourselves for this... we're gonna talk about that injection scene from ats.v so comic purists especially please don't hunt down my ass for what i'm about to put out into the universe 😂

....so ..... let's talk about ... atsv's injection scene ;

what was intended by it? fuck knows, waiting for sony to send answers on a postcard. buuuut, for my take, let me be clear on the interpretations / meanings that i'm not gonna perpetuate ;

it's not rapture. i'm drawing a HARD STOP under that thought. noooo thankkk you.

it's not the source of his spider powers. we're staying true to our Cronenberg-inspired metamorphosis horrific-ness here 😎 even if more... recent reinventions of miguel shown in the comics would tell you he willingly opted to make himself half-spider, i ain't subscribing to it. (miguel's perspective on his transformation probs deserves its own hc post eventually! stay tuned!

so... if not this... what then? well...

i'm gonna posit that the injection(s) are a way for miguel to manage his 'condition'

for that, lemme do a little recap / reminder;

following his accident, miguel has experienced a multitude of changes. one of the most prominent changes is that he's become an obligate carnivore / hypercarnivore if you will. which means, meat is his new bff - he'll crave the calories, he'll eat it cooked or even raw, especially if it placates his tendency to gnaw when starving. and when he does eat, he tears and swallows chunks - not really a chewer any longer.

whiiiich introduces a new issue; anything plant based? loses its appeal to him. it's a slow progression, too. he'd start with reducing portions. taking a bite or two. leaving the rest. until there's next to no greenery left on the plate, when he knows he needs the nutrients they provide.

and ooh, it's actually gets a level worse than that : )

not only does he stop eating vegetables, fruits, *maybe* fungai? idk? but wellll his own mutated body might even stop producing the important stuff like vitamin c, and things of that ilk ! so ... what's a hybrid to do? how's he gonna make up the difference and get the nutrients he needs? ( especially when you consider... whilst he doesn't eat often, due to a combination of altered metabolism and slowed digestion rate, he could eat and consume calories in the magnitude that could make a damn saiyan blush --)

but, even so, it won't make up for the deficiencies 😔 so what's a spooky spider lad to do?

Come up with a solution, duh!

Yesss, baby, we're talking supplementation! operating in a similar manner to a diabetic needing insulin, or someone with B12 deficiency, for the all important food stuffs that miguel has perhaps tried, and tried again to consume, he's gonna turn to science for a lending hand, load up on what's either missing from his diet now, or that which his body simply can't absorb any longer

And, in addition to this, these shots are important in another sense 👀

they help miguel to manage his spider tendencies

since the way i've approached this with my earlier hcs is, well, tl;dr my mig's human / spider dna isn't a 50/50 split, it's gradually veering more towards spider as the years pass

this means that, it's a bit of a perfect storm brewing; lack of nutrients + behaviours & tendencies that he is likely chronicling by the day is ... a recipe for trouble! i can bet that miguel by himself can ... manage / hold himself together ... to a point, but, to paraphrase a friendo; have you ever met a hangry person? there's a limit to everything!

and we've seen miguel breach that limit already, during the miles chase in atsv. if ya had a bingo card for just about the worst everything happening in a single day? that card probably got filled UP during that chase! 😔 perhaps stress also played as factor there was well - the dude's carrying a LOT on his shoulders!

anyyyway! back on topic! let's expand the supplementation too - let's also throw in some sort of hormones? i know this is a whole science in itself, and ain't scientist 🥹 so i'll leave this a bit more broad, and say that they also play a part in stabilising miguel, ground him, so he won't go chasing a kid across the city... .ahem 😔

leading on from this, though, i wanna add some last things here. i know, i'm... meandering here , but lemme say;

take note of the intensity of miguel's eye colouration!

r e d - sorry, but you're shocked, buddy, best of luck surviving 💀

scarlet / bright red - feeling aggro, but holding enough of himself together to not act on his impulses

garnet - the default, feeling spidery, but also feeling human as close to a harmonious state as he can manage for the most part

dark brown - the goal!👀this is potentially a state that achieved after he injects himself. it floods him with a calm like nothing else he's ever felt. it's when he feels the most human again, a memory that's easily forgotten when you've got fangs and shoot webs from the back of your hands!!!

and it's with this last point, with the brown eyes, that i wanna bring this home with the little ritual miguel develops; after takin an injection, he'll make a point of brewing the strongest cup of black coffee that he can manage. a rare treat these days for him... especially given that caffeine does not agree with spiders. 💀

so yeah!!! thanks for reading through this ! 👋

[waterfallofspace]

A Word-Filled Update

that no one's asking forrrr~

Sooooo, hiya~ ^^

Realized I kinda dropped out without much word, and wanted to give a lil update to anyone who may care, (and specifically to all the unfilled requests that have been sat in my inbox for months now T~T)

Dropping it under a cut because it gets quite long~ but I'll also TL;DR it with: been a bit burnt out, trying to get back into this, I apologize for all the unanswered asks, and I will be trying to get to the ones I can, but I'll be focusing more on trying to enjoy the process of making content~ Thank you to anyone who's stuck around <3

(Tw for brief mention of mental health/neurodivergencies~ nothing in depth or dark, but just incase anyone wants to avoid that <3)

Nothing serious has been going on, mostly just burn out and a bit of drama in main friend group, combined with free time just being a lot more limited recently~ (not a bad thing, most of it is because I'm getting to talk more with friends I've gotten closer to this past year~)

That said, I've been trying to get back into content, making it, reblogging it, etc, without letting it become all-consuming. I find, with the way my brain works, mostly to do to some wonderful neurodivergent tendencies, I tend to fall heavily into 'all of nothing' mentality.

This shows up in my day to day life, (ie: can't wash the dishes for weeks until I suddenly do them all in one day) and I've definitely noticed it with content creation. Need to write and finish a story in one go, record a wav as fast as possible, always afraid I'll lose that motivation.

But honestly? I love making content on here! And I'm not a huge blog, nor do I care if I am (at least trying not to, if I'm being painfully honest~) but I genuinely love making content. Whether it's just for me, a request that I am hoping one specific person will enjoy, or a story I write with a community in mind, I just love creating~

So, I'm trying to ease my way back into this! Bit by bit, let it be fun, and enjoyable, with less internal pressure to produce as much as I can, as fast as I can, and make it be perfect.

I won't lie and say 'numbers don't matter to me', if I'm honest, they do. But I'm learning more and more how to let it be about the content, and to just enjoy the process~ (and if people like it, that'll be a wonderful bonus!~)

Wooo this is getting so long, I apologize sincerely! Last thing, something I've mentioned a few times previously but never really let myself get into... requests~

I'm so honoured that people care about my content enough to have asked for things, and getting any ask, request, praise, ask lists, heck even just a 'hi!' is honestly the best part of this blog for me!

Buuuut, I definitely worked myself into burn-out before with a "every request needs to be filled and fast" mentality, that led to just... not filling any.

So! I'm going back through my inbox, and deleting some older ones that I don't have a clear vision/motivation for. I apologize to anyone who requested them, though by now it's possible they're long gone~ But I think this will help me not only start enjoying the creation process without feeling so overwhelmed, but also start actually getting more content made~

There are definitely a bunch that I still adore, and am thrilled to get to test out, but if there's one you remember sending, and you really want to see it completed, please feel free to send another ask saying what it is you want done, and I'll see if I can get that going <3

And if you've stuck it out to the end here- uh hi! ^^ I'm sorry this is so long, I'm such a words person, but I appreciate you so much, not just for any support you've offered, but just bothering to read this <3 I genuinely didn't expect most to make it this far, so thank you so deeply <3 and I hope to see you guys around as I start reblogging stuff more!~

[polliwoggers]

The design on that lore-dump is absolutely on-point, by the way. Cool and easily readable. :3 The deterioration of Dark and Heart Matters got me wondering about where Kirby fits into things...I'm assuming he's ah. Y'know. Not natural. :) (And for that matter, how's this affect Meta-Knight...?)

Thank you so much!! I did my best to keep it interesting and easy to read, so I'm super happy it came across that way! :D -- and, I'm glad you asked! i hope you don't mind me rambling for a minute here; i'm always very eager to jump at opportunities to talk about kirby lore lol. under the cut because it got kind of long.

I'll start with Meta knight because he's easier. Essentially, he is the very last of the original line of Puffballs within the primary dimension most kirby games take place in. He does not have enough Heart matter to be able to safely donate any to potential offspring -- if you yourself only have, say, an atom's worth of the stuff, you can't really donate half of it without blowing yourself up in the process. Splitting atoms and all that.

Dark Meta Knight is in a similar boat; as dimensional boundaries solidified over time, some early puffballs got caught in different dimensions and founded their own parallel lineages, of which DMK is now the final product of his own.

Galacta knight is a holdover from a previous generation of puffballs many centuries ago, and has a comparatively higher concentration of Heart matter in his body than either MK or DMK do. He is the only one who I could confidently say would be able to create an offspring without dying in the process, but that'd require freeing himself of the crystal first, which seems very unlikely.

GK is also, like, mega insane from being sealed away for an eternity outside of time, so I don't know that he'd be a great candidate for mentoring a young one, assuming the thought even crosses his mind. Regardless, GK, MK, and DMK are the only remaining true-blue puffballs out there in the galaxy.

I left it purposely vague in the post what I meant about Kirby's unnatural-ness, so that people could feel free to fill in that void with whatever origin story they prefer, whether that be an elder god's dying bid at happiness or a precocious experiment of Nightmare's gone rogue. In cases like these, the "unnatural-ness" just refers to how he doesn't have a lineage stretching back to the dawn of time like MK and the other knights, and is instead the product of something newer.

…buuuut, when it comes to what I personally like to think about Kirby's origins, that "unnatural-ness" has another aspect to it. I like to think of Kirby not as a continuation or reincarnation of Void, but moreso as a sibling to it. That is, if Void's creation of all matter is meant to represent the Big Bang, then Kirby is just that: another Big Bang, possessing infinite energy and potential. It happened spontaneously once, why shouldn't it spontaneously happen again?

The reason why this origin is extra "unnatural" is that, with infinite energy, it might be more accurate to say Kirby is made of Chaos than he is Heart matter. I have another lorepost about how Chaos works here (on the last slide), but suffice it to say that it's basically the "stem cells" of matter, and can twist itself into any matter type its wielder likes -- Dream, Dark, Heart, or Soul.

For Kirby, that has always meant embodying Heart matter, giving him the appearance and powerset of a natural puffball with a high Heart matter concentration. No outsider -- nor even Kirby himself -- would be able to recognize him as anything other than a particularly powerful puffball. Except Meta knight.

Being, effectively, the last of his kind, Meta's experience with other puffballs is quite limited; but he knows enough to suspect Kirby is more than meets the eye. There are little idiosyncrasies that just don't add up.

Kirby's demeanor, his abilities, the fact he doesn't visibly age, that he hasn't begun growing wings or horns after having been alive how long, now? -- his complete disinterest and irreverence toward puffball history, the fact he doesn't have parents, and his willingness to give everybody -- even Dark matter -- a chance. These things would be unthinkable to a "true" puffball. Everyone on the outside looking in assumes the friendly, bouncy Kirby is the "normal" one, and that Meta knight is the overly-stoic oddball, but it is very much the other way around.

When first encountering him, Meta also assumed that Kirby was just a "regular" but powerful puffball child that had somehow slipped through the cracks. However, over the years (and after Kirby's repeated victories against enemies that even MK couldn't ever hope to deal with), these small peculiarities became more and more apparent to MK, sometimes even verging on straight-up uncanny. Nowadays -- and especially after the fight with Void Termina -- Meta knight doesn't know what to think anymore.

Of course, that doesn't stop MK from respecting Kirby as a long-time friend and rival! Even as Meta slowly realized Kirby might be more than even Kirby himself thinks he is, they grew closer as friends and allies. Also, with how friendly and kind he is, Kirby's just hard to hate. They respect each other a lot, even if Kirby's "unnatural-ness" sometimes triggers an uncanny valley response in "true" puffballs.

[fatuismooches]

Hii Smooches!!

Sleepy Dottore brainrot!! I think he injects himself w/ medicine, that helps him sleep less/don't sleep at all, BUT when he enters relationship w/ reader he reduces the dose or doesn't take it sometimes juuust to spend some time w/ you at mornings (but if anyone learns this they're dead ;;)

I feel like he's a very early riser and a type of person, who wakes up at the same time, he doesn't even need to set alarm clock anymore. But work can wait and his segments can work without his commands and you're so adorable while asleep, nuzzling into him!!

(I'm just so so weak for Softtore--)

Buuuut before getting in bed with Dottore you probably should throw him into a bath or at least a shower. I guarantee, he smells like hospital, blood, sweat and corpses. No matter how much you love this man, this smell is unbearable

SLEEPY DOTTORE SLEEPY DOTTORE AWWW DEWJDBDWDBEU God you are so right... he avoids sleeping like the plague, he'd rather spend those hours working on his experiments, researching, etc...

But when you cling to his arm and won't get off his lip, begging him to just come to bed for a mere hour, he's inclined to be a bit persuaded. And he does acknowledge that he himself has a limit so he supposes he could spend a bit more time with you in bed... the results would be beneficial for both of you after all. Not to mention you refuse to leave his lap so it's not like he could get any experiments done.

Oh yea, he's the kind of guy to crack his eyes open at the most ungodly times and be like 'time to check on the experiments!' 😭 You still have no idea how he can do that, but regardless you enjoy the few times he stays in bed with you thoroughly. Though I feel like many times he doesn't even tell you or wake you up, he keeps it a secret when he sleeps in with you since he knows you will tease him and gush about it forever. After all, the way you unknowingly snuggle into him and whisper his name in your sleep is all too fascinating.

I can just imagine the internal confusion of the regular Fatui assistants wondering where their Harbinger could be, considering he's always working in the lab. But they know better than to ask. (When they meet you though it automatically clicks in their head and they know if they want to keep their lives to shut up.)

I feel like he also experimented with medicine that made him fall asleep too, the first few times when he was testing it he accidentally made it too strong and ended up falling asleep literally right after. (You come back to the dorm room to find him asleep on the floor and you move him to the bed instead, he pretends like it never happened 🥺)

HELP YEA YOU GOTTA GIVE HIM A BATH😭😭😭 Like,, Dottore, yes I love you very much, but it's kind of hard to give you a hug when blood is smeared all over you after you just dissected a body. Now go take a bath, here's some bath bombs Columbina gifted me 💖

[variousqueerthings]

The Girl Who Waited... or hold your horses we are about to have probably the highest rated episode of the seaaaaason

sexism rank objectification (female character is ogled/harassed/turned into a sex joke by the doctor and/or a lead we’re supposed to root for and/or the camera): 10/10

sexism rank plot-point (lead female character is only there to serve plot, not to have her emotional interiority explored): 10/10

interesting complex or pointlessly complex (does the complexity serve the narrative or does it just serve to be confusing as a stand-in for smart, this includes visually): 9/10

furthers character and/or lore and/or plot development (broader question that ties into the previous ones, at least two of these, ideally three should be fulfilled): 8/10

companion matters (the companion doesn’t always have to be there, but if the companion is there, can they function without the doctor– and overall per season how often is the companion the focus or POV of the story): 10/10

the doctor is more than just “godlike” (examines the doctor’s flaws and limitations, doesn’t solve a plot by having it revolve entirely around the doctor’s existence): 9/10

doesn’t look down on previous doctor who (by erasing or mocking its importance, by redoing and “bettering” previous beloved plotpoints or characters, etc.): 6/10

isn’t trying to insert hamfisted sexiness (m*ffat famously talked a lot about how dw should be sexier multiple times, he sucks at writing it): 10/10

internal world has consistency (characters have backgrounds, feel rooted in a place with other people, generally feel like they have Lives): 7/10

Politics (how conservative is the story): 7/10

FULL RATING: 86/100 (if I can count….)

WELL OKAY THOSE ARE SOME RATINGS!

OBJECTIFICATION: BOOM! SOLID! NOTHING! IN FACT AMY IS IN HER... 50s? I can't count. She's been there for 36 years. and like yeah, she's maybe unrealistically slim, buuuut they gave her this neat hodge-podge armor that she made which bulks her out and the rest is like, Karen Gillen has slim arms, it's fine, and they did actually age up her face so she does look older and not like A M*ffat Fantasy older either

and younger Amy is also chill in this one, she's just vibing... well, she's not vibing, she's having a terrible time. but see beloooow on how that episode goes about writing her terrible time

PLOT-POINT: aaaand fuckn! winner *dings bell* it's all about herrrrr it's about her abandonment, it's about her relationship with Rory, it's about her ability to survive on her own and what it could do to her as a person, it's about the shit introduced on Day Flipping One (first episode)

and it does it well! scenes that in days of yore might have cut from Amy to centre on Rory and the Doctor (am reminded of her grief over Rory being erased from existence being undercut by the camera focusing on the Doctor, or about everything related to her with her pregnancy and Demon's Run)

this is the definitive Amy Exploration and while I've said I'm not the biggest Karen Gillen fan in the past, I think she was good in this! she has this kind of weariness to her, a bluntness, an awkwardness in the way she speaks and holds herself, the script and the makeup give her so much to do that doesn't mean she has to be attractive all the time, and it's so good for her ability Do Shit

COMPLEXITY: it sets up a neat Sci Fi concept in order to explore a very human relationship! the best kind of science fiction. like. no notes here, onwards

CHARACTERS/LORE/PLOT: arghhhhhhhhhhh everything I want

Amy and Rory explore their relationship on multiple levels, finally giving me a proper episode of Amy's feelings for Rory and not just little moments? check

an episode in which Rory and Amy challenge the Doctor in how he treats people and his morality, specifically in how it also affects his relationship to them, and what that does to them (and also changes them)?

an episode in which Amy gets to say fuck you to the Doctor?

"I don’t care that you got old, I care that we didn’t grow old together"

Amy facing herself???!!!!!!!!!! oh yeah good stufffffffff

COMPANIONS MATTER: this one sidelines the Doctor for the companions! it's all about them, they make the choices, they drive the plot, the Doctor is there to do a bit of science and facilitate the story for and about them!

“GODLIKE” DOCTOR: see above point! such a good choice to put him in the Tardis and not have him present when Amy makes her choices (also because she might have just killed him lol)

the one Part where he takes control is the tragedy at the end, and he gets pushback for it, it's not a brilliant solve for everything that everyone claps at him for, it's a sad simple necessity that's got a streak of pragmatic cruelty in it and echoes back on his relationship with Amy, and while young!Amy doesn't get to react too much to that, I think it's fine, because older!Amy does and says goodbye to Rory and young!Amy would never quiiite get that emotion I think, simply because she didn't live it

she was a bit antagonist with her older self, but not being too weird about her being onboard, but I imagine there's a small part of her that might be partly relieved or slightly discount older!Amy because she no longer exists

the one thing perhaps is that we won't know what they told her, and because this show has depicted Amy being kept out of the loop "for her sake" before, it's not like... 100% unreasonable to imagine the Doctor and Rory might pretty up the story again

but not knowing how that goes down is fine. it's a little mystery at the end of the episode

PREVIOUS DOCTOR WHO: there's not much of that in here and tbh I don't think there has to be. it's about Amy, not the Doctor's past

“SEXINESS”: FUCKING! THREE FOR THREE!!! ULTIMATE EPISODE GIVE IT A PRIZE!!!!!!

INTERNAL WORLD: it's pretty cool, kept reeeelatively simple so it could be explained in the first few minutes, built upon slightly, but ultimately remaining quite tight so that the focus could be Amy's hideout on this strange little world where everyone died once

POLITICS: not much politics in this one, so we refer back to how it treats its female companion and it's the gold star winner of the whole thing

FULL RATING: 86/100 (if I can count….)

Highest! Rated! Episode!

and who knows if it'll get beat, we shall seeeee

I mean, what can I say, Amy is a fully rounded character who's running the show and her relationship with Rory is explored, and the Doctor is having some fucked up morality, and it's got neat pacing!

it hasn't got anything that's actually "low" it's mainly just that not every episode needs to refer back to classic!who or have big political messaging, it was pretty fucking Solid!

one thing I would say that wasn't covered in the Rating is that I'm not vibing with this title. I understand where it's coming from (referencing back to kid Amy), but I think while it is examining that childhood anxiety, Amy is simply... not a girl. and in the grand *waves hands* everything of M*ffat, he really likes titles with "girl" in them, which is I imagine therefore not this writer's choice

Girl in the fireplace -- okay, it's the first time, it's fine The Girl Who Waited -- ehhh not a fan, but I guess Amy was a girl who waited, it's a bit reductive for the episode The Impossible Girl -- oh, come on this is silly, it's flattening out the whole character into a plot device The Girl Who Died -- *shakes fist* M*ffaaaaat stop!

But yeah. Episode! Fuckn Happening!

[rose-sophia-isabella-rogers]

A Tale of Stolen Hearts: Chapter VI - Cracks in the Walls

Chapter Summary: How does one deal with a cult?

Pairing: Aleksander Kirigan/Reader, Ivan/Fedyor Kaminsky

Characters: Aleksander Kirigan, Reader, Zoya Nazyalensky, Fedyor Kaminsky, Ivan, David Kostyk, Pavel, Polina

Word Count: 4952

A/N: Inspired by prompts: https://pl.pinterest.com/pin/207306389089533288/ https://pl.pinterest.com/pin/207306389089533268/ https://pl.pinterest.com/pin/207306389089533278/ https://pl.pinterest.com/pin/207306389089533184/ https://pl.pinterest.com/pin/207306389089533270/ https://pl.pinterest.com/pin/207306389089571737/ https://pl.pinterest.com/pin/207306389089571717/ https://pl.pinterest.com/pin/207306389089550807/

Tag list (let me know if you want to be added or removed):

@budugu

@intothesoul

@mizelophsun11

@pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy

@zeeader

Time blurs. You don't know if it's been days, weeks or months since you embarked on a journey with General Kirigan and his faithful Grisha. Sometimes, you wish there was a faster way to travel. You don't like the fact your mission forces you to ride through almost all Ravka. Not at all. You miss your bed. And peace and quiet.

You and Kirigan continue to have a strained relationship. You argue, you fight, you tease each other, you drive the other crazy. But there also seems to be more understanding in your… relationship. Except you wouldn't call it a relationship, Saints forbid. Although…

The day after your confession to Kirigan, you woke up with a start. You had to splash your face with cold water. Reason? You dreamt about the moment you and certain General were staring at each other and you were at a loss of words. Only in your dream instead of finally saying something, you and Kirigan… kissed. And then you were on the bed. And more than kissing happened.

In the morning you couldn't understand why you had had such dream. Because you certainly don't think about Kirigan like that. Nope. Not at all. You definitely didn't want to kiss him at that moment in reality. But… you did feel something in that moment. A certain… pull.

You had to rebuild your walls that day. Ever since you've been trying to be rarely in his presence. No one finds it suspicious. After all, you two hate each other. Buuuut… you have similar dreams a few times more. Kirigan just has to be a bit kinder towards you for you to have a dream about kissing him. And sometimes more. You hate your complicated feelings at the moment.

One day you finally reach Adena, where you're supposed to rest for a few days. The moment you enter the city, you sigh with relief.

'Finally! I can't wait to actually use my legs to move around in the coming days,' you say. Fedyor chuckles.

'I thought you like horses,' he teases you.

'Everything has its limit,' you say, massaging your backside with a wince. 'I also can't wait to see the lake…'

'Don't think it's break from our mission,' Kirigan says sternly. 'We're here to gather our strength, but to also gather information about Fjerdans in disguise who kidnapped the duke's wife. Maybe they slipped about the invention or where they're taking her.'

'As always, you know how to ruin the mood,' you grumble, your face sour.

'And you as always criticize me,' Kirigan says.

'Like you don't criticize me all the time!'

'Not my fault you keep doing stupid things.'

'Oh, so I'm stupid now?'

'You said it, not me.'

'Kiri, stop testing my patience.'

Kirigan turns to you, his eyes ice-cold. There's anger and irritation in them.

'I told you not to call me that,' he says, his voice low. You smirk.

'Oh, Kiri,' you say. 'Why do you think I keep doing that?'

You remember how you called him that first time. You were setting up a camp in a forest and he was telling you not to wander off, always be in pairs at least etc. You finally snapped and said: 'Oh, shut up, Kiri!'. You received a murderous glare in return. He hissed: 'Don't call me that ever again.'. But seeing how it annoys him resulted in the exactly opposite thing.

'You'll be the death of me…' Kirigan sighs, pinching his nose. You look at him with hope, smiling.

'Is that a promise?' you ask. General glares at you. He opens his mouth to say something, but then notices everyone else snickering, snorting and holding back their laughter.

'Something funny?' he asks, glaring at them. Everyone quickly straightens up, their faces serious.

'No, General,' Tatiana denies. 'Nothing to laugh about.'

Kirigan narrows his eyes at them and looks ahead again. You glance at your companions and wink at them.

You finally arrive at the market square. You're supposed to meet there with the mayor. And you barely dismount, when an elegant woman approaches you, accompanied by two serious men and a smiling woman.

'General Kirigan, good afternoon,' the elegant woman says, shaking Kirigan's hand. 'I'm Aurelia Orentef, the mayor of Adena. These are Clarissa Gehan, Florian Gehan and Pyotr Karenski. You and your companions are much welcomed here.'

'Thank you, Mayor Orentef,' Kirigan says. 'I hope it's not much of a problem for us to stay here a few days.'

'Absolutely not,' Orentef says, shaking her head. 'We're at your disposition, if you need anything. If you do, don't hesitate come to any of us.'

'That's very kind,' Kirigan says. 'For now, we'd like to refresh after the journey.'

'Understandable,' says Karenski. 'Please, come with me. I own the hotel you'll be staying in.'

'Hotel?' Tatiana asks with hope. 'Oh, thank Saints.'

'Oh, and if you wish to come to the lake, please, come to one of us as well,' Orentef says, smiling. 'We'd love to show it to you.'

You all follow Karenski to a small, but beautiful hotel. After taking a bath, you walk to the window and look out. You see Orentef and her three companions outside the hotel, discussing something lively. You frown.

'They're like that ever since we've checked in,' you hear. You turn and see Zoya at your door.

'There's this thing called "knocking",' you say. Zoya ignores you and walks to you.

'You picked up on it, too,' she says. 'I noticed your expression when she said it.'

'Said what?' you ask calmly.

'That in case problems we can come to any of them,' Zoya answers. 'And she pointed at her and her companions. And she accented "us". And she insisted to come to them if we want to see the lake.'

'Yeah, I noticed that,' you say, looking out of the window again. 'Almost as if she didn't want us to come to anyone else.'

'They have some problem here. And they don't want us to know about it.'

'And whatever it is, it has something to do with the lake. General picked up on it, too, right?'

'I imagine so. Shall we go and discuss the situation with him?'

Without waiting for your response, she turns and walks to the door. You look at the group for a moment longer, then follow Zoya. Somehow, you feel there's not going to be much of rest by the lake for you.

*

You and Zoya talk with Kirigan. He also has noticed what you did. He decides to go to talk with the mayor. You and Zoya are to gather others and explain the situation to them. You do so and wait for Kirigan in his room. He finally arrives and is not happy.

'Orentef kept assuring everything is fine and dodging the subject,' he says. He runs a hand through his hair with an irritated sigh.

'So, what do we do now?' Zoya asks.

'Do we have to do anything?' Ivan asks. 'I think this is hardly our business, whatever it is.'

'Well, I don't know about you, but I'd like to know if there's any danger in a town I'm staying in,' Tatiana says.

'We're going to be here only for a few days,' Ivan argues.

'Anything can happen in those days,' Zoya points out. 'It's best we know what's going on.'

'I agree,' Kirigan says, silencing more protests from Ivan. But the Heartrender still lets out an annoyed sigh.

'I will continue to press Orentef for more information,' Kirigan says.

'We can also try to question the other three,' David suggests shyly. General nods.

'Not a bad idea, David,' he says. At that moment you stand up and brush off the dust from your trousers. Kirigan frowns.

'Where are you going?' he asks.

'To the market,' you answer, heading toward the door.

'We're still not done here,' Kirigan says, annoyed.

'No, you're not done,' you correct him. 'I am craving a fresh apple and I intend to get one. Have fun questioning our quartet.'

Before Kirigan can protest more, you open the door and leave. As you said, you head out to the market. There you find a stall with beautiful apples and start to choose from them.

'Can I assist, miss?' the owner of the stall asks with a bright smile. Too bright.

'I'm craving an apple,' you say. 'But I'm quite picky.'

'Well, what sort of apples do you like, miss?' the vendor asks.

'Hm… Sweet and red, usually,' you answer and smile. 'But sometimes I have enough of sweetness and like to eat something bitter. And I'm not sure what would I like to eat now.'

'Why not buy both kinds, then?'

'Hm… is it worth it?'

'Of course! My apples are the best in town!'

'I'm pretty sure every vendor I'd ask would tell me the same.'

'I'm telling the truth, miss. I swear on my mother's grave.'

'… Very well. You convinced me. Give me the sweetest apple and the bitterest one. But I'll have you know, if I will be disappointed in the taste, I'll come for a refund.'

'And I shall deliver it to you, miss.'

He picks up two apples and puts them in a small bag. He hands them to you with a smile.

'Here you go, miss,' he says and tells you the price. You take out the coins but stop your hand just before you're about to give it to the vendor.

'What is happening in this town?' you ask seriously, your playful tone gone. The smile falls from the vendor's face.

'I don't know what you're talking about, miss,' he says, forcing the smile back again. You stare at him for a moment.

'Then why are the children not playing outside?' you ask, causing the man to freeze. 'The weather is beautiful, yet there is not a single child in sight. Don't lie to me. I know something's wrong. And maybe I could help.'

'How?' the vendor asks with doubt. You hesitate for a moment. Saying you're good with acquiring things that aren't yours isn't exactly to help you find out what's this about. But maybe…

'I'm a Grisha,' you finally decide to tell. 'I'm travelling with General Kirigan and few other Grisha from the Second Army. We can help you.'

Relief and hope show up on the vendor's face. He hesitates for a moment. He looks around, then finally leans toward you.

'For some time now, strange things are happening in the town,' he says quietly. 'People go missing.'

'By the lake?' you guess. The vendor nods.

'After a few times people went missing there, we went investigating it,' he says. 'We found a hidden entrance to a secret tunnel. But no one knows where it leads. Every person that went to check it… never returned.'

You process that information. You finally nod.

'Thank you for sharing this with me,' you say.

'Miss… can you really help us?' the vendor asks. You smile at him.

'We'll do everything we can,' you promise. 'Thank you for the apples.'

'May Saints bless you,' the vendor says. You nod at him and turn to leave.

'And you as well,' you say and walk away. You head back to the hotel. You're just about to enter when you see a man with a pin in the shape of a hawk. You stare at him for a moment, frowning. Finally, you quickly enter the hotel and head to Kirigan's room. You knock on the door.

'Enter,' General calls. You come in. You see everyone is still there.

'Back from your apple hunting?' Kirigan asks, annoyed. You ignore him and look at others. They all seem tired and discouraged.

'How did the interrogations go?' you ask, ignoring Kirigan. You walk further into the room and sit down by the table next to General.

'About as well as it was expected,' Zoya sighs.

'Did you at least get what you wanted?' David asks. You take out the sweet apple and bite into it.

'I did,' you answer. 'The vendor said that apparently people go missing by the lake.'

Everyone freezes. They look at you with wide eyes. You continue to calmly eating your apple.

'They found a secret tunnel by it, but everyone who goes there, goes missing, too,' you say. 'Also, just before I entered the hotel, I saw a man with a pin in the shape of a hawk. A few years back there were people in Caryeva with such pins. They were a cult that loved to kidnapped people and force them to become their followers. Bunch of madmen. They basically worshipped the devil. They were a bit dangerous, though. But when people understood what was going on, they were driven away. Elizabeth had no small part in that, too. Oh, and the apple is delicious.'

You smile happily. The Grisha stare at you in silence. Kirigan looks like he just swallowed something very not tasty.

'Well done, [Y/N],' he finally manages to say. 'We finally know what's going on here.'

'You're welcome,' you say with a smug smile.

'Okay,' Ivan says. 'We know what's going on. All we have to do is just stay away from the lake.'

'We should help them,' you say.

'We can tell the mayor about this cult,' Tatiana suggests.

'People here are not like the ones in Caryeva,' you say, shaking your head. 'They won't drive them out by their own.'

'Then let's send the word to the King and let him deal with this,' Pavel, Inferni, says.

'Yes, I can see that happening,' you say sarcastically. You turn your head to Kirigan and see him watching you.

'This is not our business,' he says and you open your mouth to protest. 'However, it won't hurt to have the mayor of Adena owe us a favour.'

You huff in annoyance at his motives. Other Grisha, however, find themselves realising he has a point.

'What do you suggest, General?' Zoya asks. Kirigan thinks this carefully.

'The cult… do they know you, [Y/N]?' he asks. You shake your head.

'I stayed away from them,' you answer.

'The people that went into the tunnel got caught because the cult expected them,' Kirigan says slowly. 'They have blended in. They probably knew the townspeople found the tunnel and sent someone inside.'

'So, we're not going to tell anyone we're going there,' Tatiana says. 'Simple.'

'We don't know what to expect inside,' you say. 'I'm sure they have traps. I think Elizabeth mentioned something about them having them in their hideout in Caryeva.'

'We need to send someone for scouting,' Kirigan says. 'Someone who can be really stealthy.'

'We can be stealthy,' Zoya argues. 'We're soldiers of the Second Army.'

'But only one of us earns a living by being stealthy,' Kirigan says and looks at you. 'So, this is my proposition. [Y/N] will go as a scout. She will investigate the tunnel and with a bit of luck finds the cult's hideout. And the missing people. She will return and tell us all about it. Then, together we will go inside and deal with the cult. And save the missing people if they are still alive.'

'That's… actually not a bad plan,' you say after a moment of silence. 'We can do that.'

Kirigan moves away from the table he was leaning on. He looks at you, a smile slowly forming on his face.

'Did you just… agree with me?' he asks. You freeze for a second. You look at him and straighten up.

'Oh, I wish I could take-' you start.

'Nope!' Kirigan interrupts you. 'You said it! No take-backs!'

You huff, annoyed. But then you remember something.

'Fine,' you say and reach into the bag you got from the vendor. 'Here, I got you an apple.'

'Oh. Thank you,' Kirigan says, surprised and takes the apple from you. He bites into it and in a moment he winces.

'It's very bitter,' he says. You smile sweetly at him.

'Just like you,' you say. 'I thought it would be perfect.'

Kirigan freezes. In a moment his face is again annoyed. And you two start bickering. Others stare at you two, exasperated.

'I swear if those two don't do something about the sexual tension between them, I'm going to lock them in a room and don't let out until they deal with it,' Fedyor groans. Luckily, you and Kirigan are two infested in your argument to pay attention to his words.

'You realise [Y/N] earns her living by picking locks?' Ivan asks. Fedyor freezes. He sighs.

'Great,' he says. 'We're all gonna die from trying to strangle them, having enough of it. Because it's obvious they will kill us for attempting that and we have no chance against them.'

*

Next day you go sightseeing. Of course, you are accompanied by your quartet. Unfortunately, they are boring tour guides. Soon you have enough and start to suggest going to the lake, asking where are the children and so on. Kirigan is on edge and wishes he can strangle you.

'Don't you have to be stupid somewhere else?' he asks at some point, through clenched teeth, when Zoya and Polina, Inferni and Pavel's twin sister, distract your guides.

'Not until four,' you answer. At four you are going to go through with your plan and investigate the tunnels. And since you are going to be the one doing the most risking, Kirigan has to endure you and your antics until then.

'If I killed you, would your sister order to assassinate me?' he asks, praying for patience.

'No,' you deny, making Kirigan seriously consider it. 'She would kill you herself.'

'I'd like to see her try,' General snorts. You give him a look.

'Don't tempt her,' you say. 'Also, she once killed an Inferni.'

'How?' Kirigan asks, frowning. You shrug.

'She never told me,' you answer. You join Tatiana, Ivan and Fedyor. Kirigan starts to wonder why did he have to come across your family.

Few hours later it's finally time. You manage to sneak away from the watchful eyes of Orentef and meet with the vendor you met the day before. Hope shines in his eyes when he looks at you all.

'Thank you so much,' he says.

'We promise to do anything we can,' Kirigan promises. 'Lead us to the tunnels.'

'This way,' the vendor says, nodding, and takes you to the lake. You walk around it for some time until finally your guide shows you a hidden hole behind the rocks, hidden in bushes.

'Clever,' Fedyor comments.

'Ready?' Kirigan asks you.

'Yep,' you confirm, as you tie your hair in a ponytail. 'Now remember, if you hear ominous chanting, the appropriate response is to run.'

'Why?' David asks, puzzled.

'It will most likely mean I was caught and am about to be sacrificed,' you explain. 'And it's always… with fire.'

'I'm not sure we should send her on her own,' Fedyor says after a moment.

'Trust me, they will give her back and even pay us to take her,' Kirigan says. You decide to be a better person this time and ignore him.

'At least promise to let us know if you need assist,' Fedyor sighs.

'Don't worry,' you calm him down. 'If I need you, I'll give you a signal.'

'What signal?' Zoya asks.

'I'll imitate the scream of a terrified little girl,' you answer.

'Your normal scream then, you mean,' Kirigan says. You turn to him slowly, your eyes cold.

'What's that supposed to mean?' you ask. 'How do you know what my scream sounds like?'

'Remember that time you saw a spider?' Kirigan asks, smirking. You freeze. Oh, you remember that all too well.

'It was a size of a fist!' you say and point at Ivan. 'Ivan's fist! And it almost landed on my head! I had every right to panic!'

'Yes and you screamed like a little girl,' Kirigan says smugly. 'But that's okay. We all know deep down you still are her.'

Oh, your blood is boiling. You imagine squeezing Kirigan's heart until it breaks. Or at least shaking him a bit.

'Fuck you,' you spat. Kirigan steps toward you, making your chest almost touching.

'If you insist,' he says. You freeze. Is… is that a hint of flirting in his voice? No. It can't be. You see that teasing glint in his eyes. Still, you have no retort to that, so with red cheeks you turn away from Kirigan, who chuckles at that.

'Right, going now,' you say, clearing your throat.

'Be careful,' the vendor speaks up. 'No man that has gone in there has ever come back alive.'

'Good thing I'm not a man,' you say with a smirk.

'I think he meant that as species, not gender,' Kirigan points out. You glare at him.

'Stop ruining my cool lines,' you say and without waiting for a response, you enter the tunnel. You hear others wishing you 'good luck' and then there's silence.

It soon becomes darker, but not completely dark. You wonder about it and then you see little lanterns in the walls. It means that this place is definitely used by someone. And if not by the citizens, then by the cult.

One by one you deactivate every trap you find. You could avoid them, but if it turns out you're going to need help, it's better if your rescue party doesn't step into one. Or more. So, you make sure they don't, continuing on your way.

The more you walk, the more amazed you are. It seems that there is a set of tunnels and caves under the whole town. It actually is pretty amazing. You'd love to stay longer and look around, but you don't really have time.

At one point you enter a really big open space. There's a bridge in the middle of it. Well, it's too much to call it a bridge. It consists of a rock platforms that are become narrower going down. The gaps are wide enough for one to jump to get on the next one.

'Great,' you murmur under your breath and start jumping. Finally, you're on the other side, hands on your knees, bended over, breathing heavily.

'I… hate… jumping…' you heave. You straighten up after a moment and freeze. There are guns pointed at you.

'Okay, I'm actually impressed,' you say after a minute. 'How did you sneak up on me?'

'Our Lord grants us this ability,' one cult member says (Man A). 'Come. You are now our prisoner.'

'Great, I love being a prisoner,' you say and grin. 'Let me express my enthusiasm.'

You scream loudly like a little girl. Cult members must cover their ears. Some rocks fall around you.

'Silence!' Man A hisses. 'Do you want to bury us all?'

'Hey, if I have to die, I might as well take you all with me, right?' you ask, shrugging. Man A scoffs.

'Tie her!' he orders. 'And remember, we don't know whether she is a Grisha.'

Your hands are tied and spread apart. You're not happy about it. You're taken to a large cave. There's a large altar in the middle of it. Something red is splattered on it. You hope it's wine. Or paint. People are kneeling in front of it, chanting. There are also cages hanging from the ceilings. Well, at least you found missing people. Or some of them.

'Another one, then,' someone says. 'Good. I was becoming worried.'

You look toward the voice and see a man in another set of robes. Ah, the cult leader then.

'Hello,' you say. 'It seems I took a wrong turn somewhere. I'm supposed to be at a meeting of owls' worshippers. You wouldn't happen to know where I can find them, would you?'

'Ah, the ones with a sense of humour are my favourite,' the leader says and grins. 'I love when they lose it before being sacrificed.'

'Sorry to disappoint you, but being a sacrifice is not in my plans today,' you kindly inform him. The leader just waves his hand.

'Take her to a cage,' he orders. Just like that you're taken to one of the cages an hanged in the air. You sit down with a sigh. You can only hope you screamed loud enough. And disarmed all traps. And that since they caught you their vigilance is a bit dormant.

*

The ominous chanting begins. Someone is about to be sacrificed. You hope you're drawing straws. Or better yet, a race toward the exit and the last one is the victim. You're extremely fast when you run for your life.

However, before any of you can be chosen, everything is set on fire. Everyone screams. You remain calm.

'How lovely,' you say. 'Usually everything is on fire after the sacrifice. Or so I heard.'

Polina and Pavel enter, setting more things (and you think people as well) on fire. Behind them other Grisha follow.

'This practice is over!' Zoya shouts. 'Surrender now to the Second Army!'

'Never!' the cult leader shouts and the fight begins. You decide to use this to your advantage and try to break yourself free. But it's hard when your hands are spread apart.

'Do you need a hand?' you hear a familiar voice. You look down and see Kirigan staring up at you. With that smug smirk of his.

'Does it look like I need your help?' you ask, your voice ice cold. Kirigan raises his eyebrows.

'Do you really want me to answer that or would you like to maintain plausible deniability for later?' he asks. You stare at him for a moment.

'Fine,' you sigh. 'I allow you to help me.'

'How generous of you,' Kirigan says mockingly. He manages to get the cage down. He opens it and then unbinds you.

'Thank you,' you murmur. 'You heard me, then?'

'Yes,' Kirigan nods. 'I didn't know a human voice can produce such a high note.'

You grin. General smiles slightly as well.

'Shall we join the fun?' you ask. Just then there's an explosion. Everything stops for a moment. Then, you feel as the whole world was shaking.

'Retreat!' Kirigan yells. 'Grab the citizens and go!'

You run toward the exit, ignoring the shaking ground. The cult doesn't give up, though, and gives chase, shooting at you all.

'Are they stupid or something?!' Zoya yells.

'Both!' you yell back. 'Which makes them dangerous!'

Soon you reach the open space with rock platforms. You all start jumping. But it turns out this is not a good idea. Because rock platforms start to wobble. Nevertheless, almost everyone manages to get to the other side.

You're about to jump one more time as the last one, when a large rock falls from the ceiling and hits the other side on the edge, causing it to crumble and fall. Your eyes go wide. The shaking of the ground stops at that moment. But the distance is too wide now. And the cult is still shooting.

'[Y/N]!' Kirigan shouts, seeing what happened. He comes back. Others are already gone. He stops on the edge and looks at you with wide eyes.

'Jump!' he yells.

'Are you daft?!' you shout. 'I can't make it!'

'Yes, you can!' Kirigan shouts and suddenly looks at you seriously and with… something you can't decipher. 'Listen to me. When I say "jump", you've just got to trust me and give it all you've got. Ignore the speed, the distance, the gunfire, our less-then-friendly history, just trust my timing and go hard. I truly intend to save your life, got it?'

You stare at him, stunned. He's so serious… that you actually believe him. You nod. Kirigan relaxes a bit and focuses on the platform you're on, watching it wobble.

'Jump!' he suddenly shouts. You don't wait. You jump forward, thrusting your arms forward. You think you're about to fall. But Kirigan's arms grab you and pull you to himself. He loses balance and falls on his back with you on top of you, but you're safe.

'Thank you,' you say after a moment.

'Don't mention it,' Kirigan says and grunts. You lift yourself up and help him to do the same. You rush to the exit not even noticing you're still holding to each other. Soon, you see light. A moment later you run on the surface.

When you catch your breath, you see the tunnel blocked by some rocks. Saved people are crying, happy to be alive. Grisha are healing them and trying to calm them down.

'We made it,' you say, relieved.

'Yes,' Kirigan says. You exhale slowly.

'Well, I'm about to do something stupid,' you say.

'You're always doing something stupid, so how is this any different?' Kirigan asks. He expects a huff, sarcastic response, a glare, an angry comment. He does not expect you grabbing his cheeks and pulling his face to yours. Next thing he knows your lips are on his, pressed together in a soft kiss.

Before he can register what's going on, you pull away, turn and walk away. You leave him behind, sputtering, blushing and shocked.

'General?' Ivan asks, puzzled, walking to him with Fedyor. Somehow no one saw the kiss.

'We must inform the mayor,' Kirigan says, regaining his composure.

'Certainly,' Fedyor says, nodding, and looks at the blocked tunnel. 'What about this?'

'Leave some citizens to guard it,' Kirigan decides. 'We found the missing ones and the culprits. I say our job here is done.'

Without waiting for a response, he walks away, his heart beating fast. No matter how hard he tries to stop it, the feeling of your lips still lingers on his.

A/N: Thank you for reading! Let me know your thoughts! Reblog, like and comment if you could.

This can also be found on Archive of Our Own: https://archiveofourown.org/works/47256868/chapters/119666293

[ammoniteflesh]

OH for alternate LIs!! Ghila x Sebastian? Ghila x Josephine?? 👀 Nay even Ghila x Harding?????

THANK YOU SM FOR THIS EXCELLENT ARRAY OF CONCEPTS

Ghila x Sebastian

This is for sure the one that made me go '....HMM' the most. Genuinely unsure how this well that relationship would work, because it would be deeply context-dependent. Also I'm not sure if Ghila is romantically attracted to men? Her relationships with men are more likely to be queerplatonic (see: Tamlen and Alistair), but I'm counting that for the purposes of this meme.

The big obstacle here is that Ghila is automatically wary of anyone affiliated with the Chantry and/or human nobility, and Sebastian is both. I'm also not sure if Sebastian would be super eager to date the person who corrupted the Urn of Sacred Ashes.

But if they got past that initial aversion, I think they could be really good for each other. I imagine they'd have great intellectual chemistry, and spend a lot of their time debating politics and morality and religion. Ghila is so hard on herself - I think Sebastian would really help lift her up. 🥺

Ghila x Josephine

I haven't played through the Josie romance properly yet so there's a limit to how well I can judge this buuuut... I feel like they both have a bit too much workaholicism to get a relationship off the ground. They'd be an off-the-charts good team, but they might struggle to find common ground outside of that - Ghila isn't super into opera and would chafe against a lot of Josie's identity and values as nobility.

Ghila x Harding

I have no real basis for this but I feel like they wouldn't click. Actually, wait - I think Ghila would resent that Lace was able to seek out adventure of her own free will, rather than being thrust into it under horrifying circumstances. So he'd be prickly towards her, and I can't see either party having the inclination to hash it out. If they were in some kind of personal growth saw trap where they HAD to get all of that out in the open, I could see them becoming close friends, but I'm not sure Lace is Ghila's type. She's not emotionally unavailable enough lmao

[intheticklecloset]

Ah! No worries (you'll LOVE Fyodor when you get to him bcuz EPIC tkl potential)! Can I please change my request to platonic Dazai and Kunikida with the same letters?

I'm sure I will love him! I've seen a liiiiittle bit of him at the end of S3 and Dead Apple, but it's not enough for me to be able to get a good grasp on his character yet. I'm excited to see more of him! (And this mysterious Nikolai person everyone keeps talking about...)

D: Death Spot | What is their most ticklish spot?

Dazai's death spot is his armpits! Although his hips come in a close second.

Kunikida is a little difficult for me bc I personally hc that he's not ticklish, or at least not super ticklish. Buuuut...maybe his neck?

I: Interrogation | How well would they handle a tickle interrogation?

First of all - Dazai being tickle interrogated??? Sign me up thrice! But I actually think he'd hold out pretty well, especially since he loves being tickled. Although everyone reaches their limit eventually, I think he'd last an impressive amount of time before that! His ler might even give up on him.

Kunikida could withstand any kind of interrogation, especially a tickle one. That's all he has to deal with to keep whatever it is secret? Pssh, no problem.

T: Teasing | Their most favorite methods of teasing their lee/ler?

Dazai is suuuuper teasy all around, so he definitely enjoys egging his ler on to do better, that they're not tickling him well enough, can't they make him really laugh? And as a ler - heaven help whoever his lee is, because dear god is he the BEST at teasing his lees. Whatever works on them, he'll find it and use it relentlessly!

Kunikida doesn't really tease his lers; if anything he's trying to get them to knock it off already. But I can see him inadvertently teasing his lees by being all "oh, this is a good spot, huh? if I stay here long enough will you give up?"

U: Unusual | Do they have some unusual tickle spots? Where?

I can definitely see Dazai having ticklish ankles. It's kind of random and out of the way so it's not gotten to much, but Chuuya found it on accident one time and oh boy did Dazai laugh like a goon!

I think Kunikida would be the definition of unusual tickle spots. It's probably why he comes off as not super ticklish. Everyone tends to go for the ribs or feet or something obvious like that, but I can see Kuni being ticklish like - on the inside of his elbow, his palms, and other such places.

Thanks for asking!

Tickly Alphabet Game

[creations-by-chaosfay]

I received a small sample of threads by Aurifil when I renewed a subscription to a quilt magazine last year. The first time I used the thread was for a friend's quilt (finished the top) and this stuff is phenomenal. Zero lint, strong stitches, sharp seams, no tangling, and fell in love with it. Buuuut this stuff isn't cheap. At all. I dream of having their entire collection of thread, but that's a long way down the road. This here? $160 Each spool has 1422 yards/1300 meters, which is nearly twice more than the spools of Gutterman I use (Gutterman is the best affordable thread Joann Fabrics offers IMHO).

For piecing, you want to use 50 wt thread with an 80/12 size needle. The larger the number for piecing thread, the more fine it is. 28 wt is really thick, 80 wt is very fine. The thread needs to fit the needle, or you'll end up with torn threads, tangling, and skipped stitches. For 50 wt, 80/12 is best.

For quilting, it depends on what kind of quilting you're doing and the look you want. Pearl Cotton is very thick and adds serious boldness, but you need an embroidery needle because the threads are too thick for a standard handsewing or quilting needle. The standard thread weight is 28 wt, which makes for a more visible bolder look than finer threads. I prefer variegated threads done with my machine because the tension never breaks the thread, whereas I end up breaking the thread when handquilting. Thread made for handquilting also tends to be stiff, and only tangles if cut too long (18 inches is recommended, but I tend to cut 24 inches). Using a thread wax, like Thread Magic, prevents tangling and bearding (batting coming through the sewing stitches), and it also makes the thread pass through the layers very smoothly.

My dream is to have Aurifil's enter 50 wt solid spools collection, and their entire 28 wt collection (which includes variegated) buuuut that's really expensive. I'm talking over $2k worth of thread. I'll be happy with just a collection of Aurifil's neutral colors 50 wt collection.

Here are the link to their full 28 wt threads. It's $1800 USD aka waaaaaay outta my price range.

Here's the link to their 50 wt collection of neutral colors. It's $160 USD, which is outta my price right as well.

My favorite, more affordable, brand for piecing and handquilting is Gutterman. 100% cotton, low lint, good color selection (when Joann Fabrics has it in stock), and 800 meters per spool. The dream, however, is Aurifil.

Here's a link to Aurifil's info website. You'll learn a lot about thread that way.

As for needles, this is what I use. I have enough needles to last several years. They're sharper the more well known brand Shmetz, and I absolutely love these.

[writinggremlin]

Why, hello there!!

Allow me to introduce myself. (NOW WITH MASTERPOST!! WOAHHHH!!!!) (found at the bottom. I need to remake this post from the ground up next year.) (New post has been made this one is outdated now-- how the hell did you even find this one? Did you actually scroll all the way back here?!)

I haven't really come up with a pseudo name for myself yet, so I guess "Gremlin" or "That One Chaotic Lil Shit. You Know The One!" will do for now. No DNI here btw. I am totally, 100%, definitely 19. So all of those 18+ blogs that are just checking for my age can move on now, haha!

...Why are they still here? And looking at me suspiciously? Y-- You guys can leave now! Shoo! Go on!

Well then. Anygayyyyy! Other than that, I guess the other important thing to mention is pronouns. You may use she/her or they/them. I honestly don't care which ones you use for me. Use one, use the other, or get a little wacky with it and change them out mid-sentence. Are you still talking about the same person? Or somebody else entirely? Who knows!

In addition to that, if you wish to refer to me as a little lad or fellow, I would definitely not complain!

Something else that's probably worth mentioning is that this is, indeed, a side blog, which means that the blog I'll be doing my likes and follows and such from, will not be this one. I don't put any mention of this blog on my other ones because I don't want that audience knowing about this. Besides, my mom's on here too, and she knows about my two other blogs. Yeah..... you probably get it lmao.

However, I don't mind this community knowing about my main stuff, so I'll give you guys a hint, because this is an easter egg hunt now apparently (/s /lh). Nah, but fr, I tend to like a post either immediately before, or after I reblog it. Also my pfp is a chaotic collage of our lord and savior, Spleens, the cat. All hail the Glow Cloud, and all hail Spleens, the cat.

-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-

So. Now that the basic stuff is out of the way, it's time to get into some more blog-related things about me. Specifically when it comes to writing. So fuckle all of your seatbelts, because this may get long.

To start off, I initially just spontaneously created this blog to dump a lot of reblog stuff that I loved and didn't want to lose. That's not going to stop anytime soon. Buuuut, lately I've been feeling more confident to post random prompts and ideas, and maybe even a random blurb or two! So, there's that for the near future. Maybe. Possibly.

Next I'd like to mention that I have OCs!! Quite a few, to be exact. All with their own intricate lil storylines and a few unique settings! I love to scheme and keep plenty of secrets, as well as make some goofy references here and there. Just because I like to write some sad shit, doesn't mean that I can't have some fun with wacky stuff happening in the background too!

Anyway, the OCs of mine that I'll probably mention most around here right now are: Mist, Ember, Kage, and Onyx. (As for my whumper's, those two are Vivek and Lilium.)

-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-

Hmm... what else...

Oh- uhm! Tropes I like and the squicks and stuff!

Tropes I enjoy:

• Delirium/Half-Conscious/Dazed

• Mind Control/Hypnosis/Brainwashing (I guess you could say that I tend to... lose my mind over this one)

• Drugged/Spiked

• Sick/Fever

• Just any loss of situational awareness, really

• Fainting (I'm tempted to write a tip post for this one, because there's some underrated things that I think some people might really like to mess around with! Also because I might've had a whole hyperfixation on this stuff.)

• Lab Whump (so fun to read, oddly difficult to write)

• Starvation

• Pushed to the limit, and then some. Doesn't matter who's doing the pushing.

The tropes I don't so much enjoy:

I don't really have any triggers when it comes to reading, but there are a few things that can make me uncomfy.

• Sexual Non-Con. (Gives the heebie jeebies)

• Oddly Specific/Unorthodox Whumps (Yanking teeth, yanking fingernails, putting something under fingernails, etc. More heebie jeebies.)

• Visually speaking, I recently learned that I get triggered by watching somebody who's obviously suffering/dying, but everybody around them tries to dismiss it or act like they're fine. It's fine to write and read (love it in word form, actually), but as soon as it's a video, I just can't.

-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-

YIPPEE, A MASTERLIST!!!

OC intros

Mist

(One down... 15(?) more to go.)

The only OC piece I've posted so far (that may change soon 👀)

Prompts/Ideas (Feel free to use!! And please show me if you do, I'd love to see what you do with my funky lil scenarios!)

Baby's first contribution!

Blank slate

Secret punishments

Trapped

"I don't matter."

Suddenly ripped away

Stressed out caretakers

Eavesdropping caretaker

Helpful angst

Angy whumper

Dizzy whumpees

DISGUSTANG!

Chill out in the freezer

Chill out in the freezer (cont.)

Ask games that I am desperate someone contributes to. Please. My askbox is so empty that there's cobwebs forming in there.

Blog ask game

OC introduction ask game

93 OC questions

Oddly specific OC asks

Tags worth mentioning:

Check out #good soup for all of the good shit

#delicious soup is a tier above the good soup

#ultimate soup is the best of the best. The golden buzzer of soups. I am addicted to that post and regularly return to it. Only one post has it right now.

And that's all for now! Thanks for reading through all of this, and I hope you guys all have a great day/night/life!!

[amyisherenowitsokay]

claps hands together. hi hope you've been well, sorry i haven't asked much. buuuut. I forgot you wrote a thing until lately. :}

War On Love. How would it have continued/ended, what plot beats where there supposed to be if you remember any, etc?

also this'll sound weird, mainly because I can't really explain it and I'm still working thru it, but I wanted to say thanks for writing it? Finding it again and reading through it reminded me of things I had forgotten about myself for a while. Which has really helped from then to now. So, yeah, as silly as it sounds, thank you. :}

Lmao you're never obligated to interact with me homie, dw. Feel free to send me whatever when you're vibing, but don't also feel pressured to engage. You're too kind.

Long answer under the cut

I go back and forth on whether I'll ever update WoL. It just has so many bad connotations and memories for me about the headspace I was in while writing it, and where I was at emotionally, etc. On the other hand, I'm also incredibly proud of some of the insights I wrote about Gaz's perspective, and the overall plot twists and where it was going. I also still have a TON of writing for it still in bits and pieces, both important chunks and unimportant, AND like 4 chapters of the sequel written.

Sometimes I'm like, well, I could sort of finish it in the same style that like That Thing on Your Wrist and What We Become, which are more written in sort of continuous blurbs with gentle transitions and takes occasions to focus on really important scenes. I think with what I have written, it'd be feasible, but that'd also mean taking time away from my more important projects like Dead Weight and Re:MHNY2, so I hesitate to really commit to anything. You are not the first person to ask though, so that may be something I end up doing in the long term. A quick add up of the chunks of the story I have written says I have roughly 53k words of unpublished story for WoL. On the one hand, a shame to go to waste, on the other hand, I'm not really sure how I'd feel emotionally about trying to dig it back. Like I said, I go back and forth. Just for bonus trivia, since I gave the unpublished word count for WoL, it's sequel, which had a pending title of War on Finality, has 25k words written, and about a 2k words worth of ideas that I wrote, but wasn't sold on including.

I super appreciate btw your note about "things I had forgotten about myself for awhile." That really resonated with me. WoL has is a bittersweet for me because while it was my attempt to push through the gross stuff happening during that time period that I hadn't processed yet, I'm still also really proud of the messages I was going to include, some of the plot points I'd come up with, plot parallels, the OC's character development and direction, and how incredibly different it was going to be from anything I'd written at that point. I think it'd probably have ended up being one of my most emotive fics, and definitely with the (initial) darkest ending.

That being said, the plot of WoL definitely is it's own whole ass post, so apologies for not being able to answer immediately, but I genuinely think I'd break the character limit of tumblr if I tried to go into it all here lmao. Also, since it comes up sometimes from other dm's I've gotten, I think the better idea for me to do is make a masterpost about WoL and where it was going, include some screenshot blurbs for context, etc. That might take a few days, but when that posts, I'll reblog this with the link to the masterpost.

[aoife-asturmaux]

Aoife has a very similar skin tone to my wol and I was wondering if you have any good shader recommendations that don’t wash out darker skin tones? Thank you if you take the time to answer!

Thanks for asking!! I actually used to have a recs post but I deleted it after the gshade drama earlier this year. Might as well make a new one!

First, i should mention that a lot of shaders are very dependent on the lighting and environment! Some only look good on dark-skinned characters at night or indoors, or in conjunction with the gpose lighting/brightness slider to get the tone you want juuust right.

With that caveat out of the way, here are some favorites!

(note for people reading this: this post was from before the Dawntrail graphics update and some of these shader recs may not still apply. I will make a new post later)

Ipsusu Screenie Amber

Ipsusu's shaders are primarily gameplay-focused, but their "screenie" shaders have all the fancy bells and whistles of other screencap-focused presets. I'm particularly fond of the Amber variant, because it adds a really nice warm tone and looks great in broad daylight or bright places. There are a number of variants (Melon and Crystal are also quite good!) so try out the ones that look best on your wol!

Glace Clear Bloom B

This one can have mixed results (beware bright sunlight!) but works pretty well outdoors if you use the sun as your rimlight and shine a gpose point light on your wol.

Maya Sharlayan Portrait was tuned specifically for use in Sharlayan during the day, and while it works pretty well in other waterside locations I'd limit its use to outdoors/daytime. Maya Purple Cocoon has a bunch of shaders tuned specifically for darker-skinned wols, and while I don't use them very often they look pretty good with aoife. definitely worth looking into!

I'm still playing around and experimenting to find shaders that work best with aoife (and some don't work as well as advertised >_>) but definitely play around with different lighting environments and light setups. Shaders that wash your wol out in the daytime might look fabulous at night!

---

I'm going to put the remaining recs under a cut bc i actually don't want to give the person who made these any more free advertising. buuuut if your shaders came from a previous gshade install, you will have these already, and it would be remiss of me not to at least mention them when i use them every day.

Simple & Clean 2 in the Natural folder is my go-to for... just about everything, honestly. I don't always use it in daylight because it does tend to wash out skin, but at night or indoors it's phenomenal.

I also get a lot of use out of Hanami in the same folder, but that one's way more hit or miss w/ skintones.

Nami is another shader in the Natural folder that works pretty well with dark skin. It adds an overall cool tone (works great in Ishgard!) as opposed to simple & clean 2's warm tone.

Traveler can be tough to use because of its high contrast, but in certain environments it's unbelievable how good it looks. I use it most often on the moon and in ultima thule.

Vanilla Natural is in the Final Fantasy XIV folder in [Universe], and it's just what it says on the tin: all it adds is a little more saturation and a stronger depth of field blur, but otherwise there aren't any fancy effects. There's also a version with just the blur and no additional saturation. This is a great shader for folks who like the look of the vanilla game (or want to preserve their wol's skintone ;))

and that's that about that!