#here's what i've been awol working on <3

[meanscarletdeceiver]

[emotionally-clumsy-soldier]

ATTEEEEN-TION!

The name's Sgt. Jane J. Doe. I'm the best damn killer America's got! 48 years young, transmasc, bisexual polyamorous. War vet and amputee (my left hand). I've been a mercenary for going on a decade now and I don't intend to stop now! Welcome to my damn blog!

I'll give you a warning right now, son, I'm not here to make friends. I'm here to fight. To win. I ain't friendly, never have been and I never will be.

When you're a merc, you have to be real adaptable to bullshit. I've kept a combat log of everything that goes on here:

#soldier's radio - Talking. Rambling. Cussing. The like.

#incoming signal - Got a question? I keep 'em here. Come to visit? I also keep those here. You are under constant surveillance, maggot!

#teleported bread - Reblogs. They're my posts now. You will act like they're original!

#zoldier arc - A log I kept of that time I turned into a zombie.

#tacitus traumas arc - ...

#awol arc - I'm not proud of what I've done. But I would lay down on train tracks for them.

That's all you're getting out of me. You want more answers? Pry 'em out of me!

Here's my old intro. Do with it what you will.

ooc/ boundaries and more info below

here is his ref:

other info about jane: he's autistic, he's an amnesiac, and he suffers from ptsd (primarily the robot wars, as you'll see brought up on this blog a lot) and schizophrenia.

despite his tough talk, he's not all that hot. he's a big softie when he lets his guard down - if he lets his guard down.

he mainly stays in his dorm, or if not there, the mess hall. he has a trainee under his wing at the moment (@mentally-anarchistic-private) and he stole his prosthetic from a sentient soldierbot (@spiritually-divine-soldierbot).

my name is box btw! i go by they/them and my tag is #box's lockbox. i'm 21 years old and i love to draw !!

i'm not straight-forward with my writing. you have to read between the lines. i'm not gonna just give you answers, you have to work for em ;3

BOUNDARIES:

don't godmod, please. (ie write yourself or your ocs into jane's backstory, write jane for me, etc).

no ableism, sexism, racism, etc. i will not take any nonsense about jane being any of these things either.

do NOT send jane weird fucking asks, such as implied nsfw, intense gore, or anything else under that vein of things. you WILL be publicly shamed. just because i'm an adult doesn't mean i want your shitty gross "jokes" or "angst prompts" in my inbox.

this blog is run and maintained by @angelcovesys. any and all drawn art is done by @mxboxlocks.

[ellie-the-oracle]

The Bad Batch Season 3 - A New Theory and the future for Tech

Spoilers ahead!

Hey you guys! So I've previously discussed how I believe that the operative character could be Tech and how that affirms my winter soldier theory. However, I am here to retract that statement as I do not believe that it makes sense narratively, as it would either copy Crosshair's story or Echo's story. I propose a new theory: the operative is not Tech, but rather Cody. Let me explain why.

Firstly, we now know (via Crosshair's confirmation) that the program Hemlock is running does not work on defective clones, as they attempted and failed to integrate Cross into said program. This would rule out Tech as he was also a defective clone.

Secondly, and more prevalently, we know (from Rebels) that some event needs to push Rex over the edge and make him quit his efforts of saving other clones. I suspect that this event could be an encounter with a brainwashed Cody, and perhaps a botched operation to Tantiss resulting in a lot of casualties.

Thirdly, why do I think it's Cody? While it's true that we were told in season two how he went "awol" (albeit by an unreliable source), that doesn't necessarily mean he escaped, it just means that he defied the Empire. We also know that this operative program is designed to repurpose defiant clones. I also want to point out how the operatives voice, while warped through a modulator, sounded like a reg, instead of a higher pitched, vaguely English accent.

Lastly, Tech has been mentioned only once in this season, briefly in conversation. Yes, Cody isn't mentioned at all but I'll get to that. The end of season two, in my opinion, felt like a lazy write off of Tech's character (in an attempt to elicit reactions from fans), that essentially served as a "wrap up" of his story (more on this in a moment). Cody's story is still a loose end though. It's also important to mention that in the EU, Cody was used as the template for the dark troopers.

Now onto the discussion of where this leaves Tech. Well...I think he's dead for good. Trust me when I say that deeply hurts me beyond words. I have related to and deeply bonded with Tech's character, so to me, his death was very real and painful, and I'm honestly still having a hard time with it (I was literally sobbing about it the other day). Unfortunately, I just do not believe that the writers of this show are capable of what the writers of Lucasfilm era Clone Wars were capable of (please dkm, this is just my personal opinion). I'm sorry but I just don't have faith in Disney, not after the sequels and most (if not all) of the live action shows they've put out. Yes, Tech should, logically, 100% be alive...if they were good writers. He has a potential love interest, a family and a potential peaceful life to live on Pabuu to return to. There are so many plot holes that would remain unanswered, and would be extremely disappointing. Tech's story is largely unfinished. Should he be dead for good, it will show the utter lack of writing talent that Disney possesses and a lack of care or respect for fans.

Apologies for the spicy takes at the end. Again these are just my personal opinions and experiences. No hate to anyone who enjoys any of those shows/movies.

[alpydk]

🍦and 🎲 from the writers truth or dare!

Thank you <3 (I do love just answering asks so really mean it ^^)

🍦 ⇢ name three good things about a character you hate

My character hate goes largely towards Shadowheart... (I'm sorry to those who like her, conflict of interests.) But really everything she says is responded to me going -

"My faith will protect me." "Ohhh, will it now? my FAIth wILL prOtECT mE!!!"

So 3 things I like.

She looks good in hats. Shadowhat.

I like how well she pairs with Karlach. They have that comment of drinking wine together and K calls her sister. So in my world that's the ship sailing.

I like the whole concept of Amnesia that surrounds her and I wish more focus had been on that rather than her faith, but then she is a cleric, so it's sort of big deal with her. She's interesting, but yeah, clashes with my personality.

🎲 ⇢ what stops you from writing more in your free time? 

I have so much free time. Too much free time. How do y'all think I manage to spam out so much stuff? The times I can not write though are when my head is not the best. Hm, it's complicated because when I'm down I do write some great stuff...

It's a specific state of mine, one where I'm over comparing to others, knowing I'll never be that good, and all I want to do is remove myself from society, like I don't deserve to be around people. That's what stops me the most. Basically, when I go awol and I've NOT been dramatic about it or said why, then is your time to worry.

Otherwise it's my kid. So tempted to get me and her on Twitch so you can hear the BG3 banter between us.

"GOD MUMMY ARE YOU KISSING HIM AGAIN?!" "MAKE THEM ALL LICK THE SPIDER!" "HE SAID THE THING! YES!" "TAKE KARLACH WITH YOU, AND SCRATCH, AND US, AND THE OWLBEAR. WHY CAN'T YOU TAKE THE OWLBEAR? GET A MOD FOR IT. I HAVE A MOD IN MINECRAFT THAT GIVES ME AN OWLBEAR AND I CAN BRING HIM WITH ME. WILL THAT MOD WORK HERE? LOOK I MADE A STABLE IN MINECRAFT......" rinse and repeat for the next 14 hours.

[hushed-chorus]

omg it's been a short while and thank you everyone who has kept tagging me while I've been awol. I've been working on real life and low-key nervous as hell about chp 12 of WRATS (thanks to everyone who has commented <3).

I've been picking at all sorts of projects. I've been finalising my plan for my multichapter COTTA. I have a second COTTA planned, which will be a short sequel to WRATS. And I'm still sweating over my Selkie!Simon fic, which has ended up being a lot more sincere (and longer) than I expected. Hopefully it'll be with my beta soon.

But for today's post I want to focus on the collab with @erzbethluna, which is getting closer to seeing the light of day! I'll share an excerpt soon, but first here's something from the mood board.

Eli puts a lot of thought into outfits. Outfits are a weak point of mine, so it's been a delight to visualise what Simon and Baz are wearing in a given scene.

Very often, these are just gorgeous. Such as this:

But, in true Eli style, sometimes they are unhinged. And we get to see Baz's response.

Yes, Simon is wearing a scooby doo jacket and shoes. And carrying around a Paddington Bear. And I swear to god this is plot relevant.

I've never worked with a mood board and I'm kicking myself about it. I can struggle with setting and visuals in general, and Eli has crafted something inspiring. And, unexpectedly, something that has taken the pressure off of writing given scenes. It's like visuals were just another item clogging up my mind and now I have more brain power to put to other elements of the story. I'm currently building one for my multichapter COTTA.

Honestly, it's been a revelation, and if any of you struggle with that part of writing, I strongly recommend building a board!

Thanks everyone! Tags below the cut!

@artsyunderstudy @facewithoutheart @captain-aralias @raenestee @aroace-genderfluid-sheep @yeonjunenby @cutestkilla @ivelovedhimthroughworse @larkral @stitchyqueer @you-remind-me-of-the-babe @ileadacharmedlife @confused-bi-queer @aristocratic-otter @tea-brigade @whogaveyoupermission @nightimedreamersworld @fatalfangirl @thewholelemon @onepintobean @chen-chen-chen-again-chen @shrekgogurt @theearlgreymage @martsonmars @blackberrysummerblog @orange-peony @palimpsessed @valeffelees @j-nipper-95 @rimeswithpurple @nausikaaa @wellbelesbian

[awolshippingbracket]

Congratulations to the winners of the first round! The game continues - here is the cast for our next round of the AWOL shipping bracket!

I suppose, by now, you'll be wanting to get to know our contestants. I've seen a couple of people stumble into this with not a clue what this about or just why and how this pole came to be. The general introduction of the concept is in both my description and our introduction post, so why don't we get to know some context to the players and pairings rather than the bare bones? If you click the option to read below, you can learn about our round two pairings and how they came to be! (Keeping in mind that this is fictional roleplay and not a reflection of the actual characters or CCs!)

In order of our bracket, we have:

DL Pearl / TL Cleo They met first when TL Cleo, who's nickname is Petal, originally spawned in the server─ she'd joined quite late, so people were already settled. One of those people being Pearl, on the lookout for some clay shards! Petal happens to come across her digging with her hands in the dirt. And very promptly after inquiring about her armour being made out of a material she'd been foreign to at the time, picks her up and takes her home to clean her up, quite fascinated with her! 

DL Cleo / TL Cleo These two have been bickering since the dawn of time─ funny, is it not? You'd think people so similar would get along! Perhaps under different circumstances. They're not dating, which is something you'll find not uncommon in this poll─ most of it is just done for fun, remember! 

DL Pearl / DL Cleo Slowburn enemies to lovers in the aftermath of DL. Cleo’s had multiple crushes on her in different worlds and while they started off wanting to kill each other, eventually they were killing for each other. canonically [redacted] (Thank you, Sera/silly)

TL Cleo / DL Etho Though they've never formally met in canon, Etho was a part of her group for a little while during a competition! Cleo's been fascinated with him and his cringe failboy charm ever since <3

DL Solidarity / DL Tango Soulmates! At the beginning of AWOL, Jimmy felt awful for killing Tango by proxy of the soulmate mechanic, assuming that it was fault of the canary curse and that he'd inadvertently passed it on to him. They stay apart for a long while after that ─ Tango dies, and then gets revived, and it's an incredibly long story and the middle is just about impossible, but by the end of it, they're working on the ugliest farm possible, made out of very fireproof obsidian.

SL Gem / DL Pearl They seem to be doing well! For a little bit of context, DL Pearl is *also* from SL, but she'd gone through DL first, and SL is a *very* recent addition─ IRP, it's only happened a couple of weeks ago. Anywho! In Secret Life, Pearl killed Gem to save her from winning and keep her from the torment that the watchers would place on her. After talking it through, they're on a much more even field.

LimL Pearl / SL Lizzie SL Lizzie took the place of LimL Pearl during Limited life. Pearl had been stuck in the void, but when the world ends and AWOL season one splits up, they go back to ShadowCraft together and were dating!

TL Grian / LL Scar / LL Mumbo Healing home! Mumbo and Grian spawned in together and after talking and the Only one bed trope in a cave, they ended up settling down together in a house since lilac didn't know where sand was and they both just liked eachothers presence. After some time and maybe making Grumbot, they agreed to a qpp (can't remember if grum or qpp was first) For Scars part, basically- after he spawned, Mumbo apologized to him and they ended up going on a picnic together, which kick started their eventual fall into a qpp. After they parted, Scar ended up in a desert and fell in a ravine, where Grian found him and brought him back to the healing house to heal. Because of wither rose, Scar was distrusting but eventually warmed up to Grian. From there, they invited him to stay, and he eventually joined into their qpr :] (Huge thank you to @berrygoodtime for writing this!)

LL Grian / LL Joel Through thick and thin, these two were inseparable until the end. To where in Last Life, they died right at eachothers side. The second chance only caused them to grow closer, partners in crime. One that could challenge what Bonnie and Clyde had. Whether it was crashing a wedding or merely having eachother for comfort. After all ,for the longest of times, they were all they had. (Thank you to @crypticcherriez for writing this!)

DL Grian / LimL Skizz After an accidental murder and a very apologetic Skizz, they get off on the right foot almost off the bat! From helping with baking to gifts and cuddles and taking care of each other while they're ill, they get close quite fast. They're married now! As well as LimL Impulse, I guess.

LL Martyn / LL Rendog Toxic Yaoi! But not in the fun way, not really─They've been through,,, so much. From Last Life to AWOL─ Martyn didn't show up in the next rendition. They truly have been through quite a bit─ Martyn using Rens honour against him and persuading him into kill for him, doors they opened and not once walked out of.  They separated after the first season.

LimL Impulse / LimL Skizz Awh! The classic angel-and-devil archetype! They're a match made in heaven! They've always been quite close, from their original worlds, through the games and through AWOL where they officially started dating. They've since gotten married

DL Scar / LimL Scar After DL Scar and DL Grian broke up, they started to get along! One of their earlier official meetings was a date in the flowering meadows, where DL Scar got the nickname Emerald because of the colour of his eyes, and LimL Scar got the nickname Dandelion because of the flowers around them. from then, their relationship started evolving, and when they went to their world together, they had a daughter named Tova!

LL Grian / TL Scar Oh dear. This one might rival treebark When they met, they'd spawned in together. LL Grian, Wither Rose, pretended to be Lilac (TL Grian, and Scars original Grian). He tampered with TL Scars communicator so he wouldn't be able to contact or communicate with anybody other than him. It takes months before Scar gets contact with the outside world─ and even then, he's still healing from it, a whole year later. Toxic yaoi (original version)

[boxwinebaddie]

uncle ninaa can i have your permission to send some of my fav cd coded tiktoks?

OH ABSOLUTELY BABY! sorry, sweetheart! i meant to answer this sooner, but i've been seeeeeriously off my game lately :/

( if it's a worthy bribe, i'm goin on a little uncle nina outside adventure to clear my head, so i might be a little awol today BUT!!! i /have/ been working on the ask that explains how jersey found out raven of crimson dawn was actually His Stan so uhhh, make some NOISE! )

but yes, yes, yes, yes PLEASE!!!! the only thing is i am not sure if it would be smart to say what my personal tiktok is on here? i just don't want to link that part of my irl with this account...i considered remaking the bwb tiktok which I LOVED HER!!!! I REALLY WANT TO REMAKE HER TBH!!!! i am just seriously not sure how to do it without it trying to synch my contacts because even when i turn that off and i turn off profile views it randomly synches/turns it off???

uGhGHgHHhH! very annoying, but if you liked the bwb tiktok let me know, i can also post some highlights from it on here <3

anyways, what would work best, lovely? should i make a little burner account, do you just want to send me a bunch of links? i will do whatever is the most convenient to you ( also please feel free to give the tiktoks situations because i would love to laugh <333 )

-uncle nina, museum fossil

[bellysoupset]

SOUP!! HI ITS ME 🦦 AGAIN!!

sorry i’ve been AWOL, life’s been a bit chaotic and i haven’t had time to sit down and fangoirl the way i normally do!! i’ve still been keeping up w every single one of the things you post tho, even if i haven’t been commenting!!! your writing is still my all time fav OFC and RAH i appreciate you and your stories sm <3

i don’t remember what’s the last thing i commented on but AHHHH ive loved so many of the most recent ones!! vince’s flu on wen’s bday!! the bromance, the way luke took care of him!!!! jon and leo’s engagement!!!!! so fucking cute and exciting sob!!! jon taking care of angie filled my heart w joy 😭 the jon and leo food poisoning one was also TOP TIER and omfg the fic abt vin overeating did THINGS to me 🤭🤭

totally off topic but i’m so sorry to hear abt your health scare!! sending the best vibes and hoping everything works out for the best! manifesting health!!!!

also, very random but i wanna know if i’m crazy and just reading into things? is it just me or have you been hinting at wen’s ED kinda being back? like ofc not full force but i feel like there’s been little things here and there that kinda point to that and if this is the case,, gosh you know i’m one of the biggest angst enjoyers so i would love for you to explore it a bit more if that’s something you’re comfortable with!! (and i also think it’s good timing bc it would make sense for it to get bad again at this point in her life with everything that’s been going on)

anyways i’m excited to see what’s next for everyone!! i’m probs gonna send one or two different asks w some requests hehehe 🤭

THANKS FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO!!

KEEP SLAYING!!!

🦦

🦦!! Hi babe!! So glad to hear from you, I was missing you! How's life been treating you?

Tysm for the well wishes, I'm keeping all my fingers crossed!

About Wendyyyy.... Not really, no! Full disclosure, there was a plan to have Wendy relapse, but that was when I thought Vince and her would stay broken up! Instead, they got back together and are going more strong than ever, so that also fell out of the window!

I think what you might be reading on Wendy is that I've brought up her ED a couple times, mostly because I'm writing her getting more and more close with the gang (in particular Bella), so I imagine she'd open up more too.

I got a request a billion months ago that asked for Wendy to be sick and Vince to overthink and assume its her relapsing and I'm very in love with that ask still. I think it fits their current storyline, since he's away and Wendy IS very happy atm so I don't see her genuinely relapsing, and I'm gonna write it, I just gotta write a couple other things first 🙈

There was also a request for Wendy to have a migraine (long time since she had one!) and Max be the caretaker, with Vince being very protective of her once he gets there! SO no ED relapse, but there are some Wendy stories in the makings 💛

[secret-third-thing]

Weekly Writing Update

Hey everyone, I said I'd provide an update since I've been AWOL. Truthfully, life is very chaotic right now. Work is about to get really busy with my boss on pat leave and his coverage QUITTING (therefore I'm now coverage). Plus I have a lot of life bs I need to deal with.

Writing is the one thing that's keeping me sane, but as usual, I am a slow writer.

Here's what I did this past week:

Nanowrimo fic

Drafted 3/4 of Chapter 5 of BITW

Here's what's up next:

Mystery Drabble

At Last, A Deed Worth Doing (Neris oneshot) revisions

Nanowrimo fic

Finish draft of Ch5 of BITW

Truthfully this is pretty aspirational, but we aim for the moon and land among the stars on this blog okay?!

Also drabble requests are always open (unless you are my roommate @gretawolf). I really want to start putting out one a week but idk.

[slowd1ving]

.・゜゜・NAVIGATION

about me .゜ call me res! I go by he/him and I'm 18. I typically write longer fics but could probably drop some headcanons and drabbles later down the line! usually my fics are more plot and world-building based but I do write nsfw occasionally (sometimes I write plot solely so I can get to that lmao). I generally stick to writing for male/neutral readers but might eventually write for female readers too (genderfluid legend) - but male readers are more of a priority due to the content drought for them. honestly went awol on here for a while because I post more on ao3 but I decided to bring my newer works here too <3 so enjoy the blog

fandoms I've written for .・ in the past I've written for bleach, genshin, and jjba. some of my newer stuff includes that's not my neighbor, twisted wonderland, more jjba, and some itsv i wrote when it first came out. however, check out the current interests section to find out different fandoms I might write for in the future, as well as the requests + asks section :)

current interests ゜・ started playing honkai star rail recently, honestly really enjoying how interesting the character stories are. some manga I'm currently reading include blue lock, jjk, sakamoto days and jjba. I read a wider variety of manhwa and novels though, including orv, lookism, how to fight, return of the mad demon, solo levelling, concubine walkthrough (really recommend this one), legend of a northern blade... I can't list them all since I've read over two hundred lmao (please ask me for fic recommendations I've got so many) in terms of my other hobbies since I do have a life (I hope this is obvious) I like art, history, and the sciences (fuck I use so many science metaphors in my work...), so if you ask for scientist!reader... yeah you know what's up

things of note •. yeah don't follow me or interact with my work if you're racist, homophobic, ableist, or if you don't believe in a free palestine. idc who you are that's an immediate block.

requests + asks ・゜ I write as a hobby and honestly just to blow off stress! currently am doing my studies in a myriad of subjects and have lots to do, but my ask box will be open; just keep in mind I may not reply immediately (sorry about that). I probably won't be able to write longer fics but less than 2k is light work fr, especially if it's something like headcanons or drabbles or things of that nature. again, will write for neutral/male readers so please keep that in mind when requesting. my ask box will be open for just discussions or other things :) as mentioned previously, I write for male/neutral readers, but I might extend it to female reader eventually (or depending on the fic idea?? really does depend). while the majority (all...) of my work is x reader, I don't mind doing character x character I won't write any weird ships (no incest, big age gaps, just weird ships in general), and I won't write nsfw of aged-up characters that are minors in the original work!! in terms of fandoms you can request for, any of the aforementioned should be good, I just may not be very familiar with the character so it might take a while to find their 'voice' to write for. however!! if the fandom in question has not been mentioned above you can send a request anyway because I've extensively consumed media so I'll have at least heard of it (probably/hopefully)

what I'm currently up to <3 as of june, I'm continuing my jjba long fic and currently redoing my entire blog (my older posts look so UGLY omfd). debating whether to make a side blog for just discussions and stuff?? I'm also thinking of medium/plot-based fics for other fandoms to give myself somewhat of a refresh I'm fresh out of end of year exams but still have a lot to do elsewhere so this blog is going to be my proverbial terrarium to nourish and take care of so I don't lost my sanity

OLD MASTERLIST ゜・★･ﾟMASTERLIST

TAGS FOR NAVIGATION (will continue to be updated) [navigation] for things like masterlists + the navigation post (this one) [masterlist] for masterlists [res ･ﾟ writing] for any of my writing [old writing] for my old stuff that my og followers know me for

[kudamono94]

I really wish there was more time in the day :(

For anyone that was interested in seeing me post my Futurama episode reviews I'm so sorry I've been awol on here for the past few weeks! I promise I will make the individual posts for each episode up until now with the screen shots and what not on my next day off this Tuesday (which I will then prob queue throughout the week until we're caught up so I don't spam the Futurama tag), so pls bare with me T_T

Work's been awful now that back to school's started back up, and if anyone's ever done retail during this time of year, you may be able to sympathize with me when I say that sometimes I just want to go to lunch and not come back, thus making it difficult for me to find the motivation to do anything let alone interact with this blog, write reviews or fics, etc. :(

However, I am fortunate enough to have not just one special interest to keep me going during this difficult time, with the new Metalocalypse movie/Dethklok album coupled with the new Venture Bros. movie being the next 2 big things I'll probably be focused about on my blog, so while I have always posted about a grab bag of different things on here pls don't be surprised if moving forward you start seeing me suddenly spam reblogs involving these 2 shows (don't worry, I won't be posting any spoilers myself, and if you want me to tag anything I reblog as such, pls let me know)~

In short, aside from giving an update about why my Futurama episode posts haven't been, well, posted since I've been busy, I just wanted to let any new followers be aware in case they want to block certain tags since I plan on spamming reblogs for these topics for awhile, so if these things aren't your cup of tea here's your heads up! In the meantime, however, if you are a Futurama, Metalocalypse, or Venture Bros. fan, I hope you enjoy :3

Oh, and before I forget, part of what gave me the motivation to write this to begin with is because I was finally able to get my hands on not just the new Venture Bros. movie, but also the complete series box set as well lol

This isn't meant to be a flex or anything btw, I just love physical media, and after all the shit that went down with WB and HBO Max (which I originally subbed to to watch adult swim stuff) I'm just finally happy to own something that was a big part of my teen years~ Now just to get the new ATHF movie and the Army of the Doomstar and then I'll be good~

[btsmosphere]

Hi!

I'm always excited for an ask game. It makes easier to interact with writer...

Here it is.

1.🎀

2.🎉

3.🌈

4.💫

Hi!! thank you for your ask, the game is so fun right!🥰let's get into the questions!

🎀give yourself a compliment about your own writing

oh gosh😭this is a lovely question but it's hard! here goes😤I think my writing paints a good picture! when I'm writing, I usually have an image in my head of the scene and when I re-read, I'm definitely able to remind myself of that, so I think I succeed in portraying it the way I want. I'm able to imagine it again when I read my own work. and I've also received several comments over time about how my writing can make them feel like they're watching a film, which is amazing! so, I'm pleased that my writing is so vivid😊

🎉how often do you celebrate completing & posting a work? how often do you give yourself the credit/validation that you seek from others when you post? (if you don't, you should!)

well, for one, I don't post particularly often😅I've been awol from here for a time bouncing around various fandoms. when I do post a work, I suppose I could be better with celebrating it with myself. in the long run, I definitely celebrate my works because I honestly love reading them (I wrote them because they're ideas I wanted to see!), so I get a lot out of them. but when a work goes up, it's a bit too fresh to start enjoying reading it myself right away. so I generally check a little bit for comments, and so it can be discouraging if I don't receive any. I would love to hear if you or anyone reading this have ideas on how to celebrate posting fics and give yourself validation!

💫🌈 I answered these ones here, but I will elaborate on:

🌈is there a fic that you worked *really fucking hard on* that no one would ever know? maybe a scene/theme you struggled with?

as I mentioned, there are a lot of struggles I could talk about, so here's another! even though I'm a massive sucker for hurt/comfort, I actually really struggle writing the comfort part. the web is a good example of this - I quite happily beat up my main character for the best part of five chapters, but when it comes to the healing, I get a bit stumped🤣maybe because it's something I love so much, it's quite personal and I feel like the fluff and comfort is quite revealing for me, and I get very full of doubts when writing this. there's a dilemma because I don't want it to be unrealistic and cliche, but sometimes shameless comfort is what you need!

it was great to hear from you, thank you for the questions! my inbox is always open if you want to ask any more or chat with me💜

fic writer asks!!

[trapper-faggot]

God I feel like shit :////

Don't r/b

[anonymityisfunwriter]

The Twin Flame - Chapter 3: "Come In With The Rain"

"Talk to the wind, talk to the sky, talk to the man with the reasons why. And let me know what you find..."

Sam stops to look at the new ‘Cap is Back’ poster, his stomach twisting in a mix of emotions he doesn’t bother to separate and identify.

At this point, it’s just another weight added onto his shoulders, just another drop in the bucket. 

The Flag Smashers.

Watching John Walker indoctrinated as the 'new Captain America'.

His best friend gone AWOL.

It was all just piling on. 

He could almost feel it when he walked, each step weighed down by the insurmountable grief, by the memories marred by tragedy. 

“Seems like a good guy,” Joaquin suddenly interrupts from beside Sam. “You met him?”

“No.” Sam finally tears his eyes away from the poster. "Thanks for doing this on such short notice, by the way."

"No sweat, I’m just finishing up the checklist. You’ll be all good to go once you land in Munich," Joaquin informs him, walking down the metal staircase to the plane. 

Sam sighs, sparing the poster another glance. The whole Captain America thing still weighs on him, but then he remembers he's got other, more pressing matters to take care of. 

He walks down the metal staircase with his duffle bag slung over his shoulder. He doesn't even need to turn his head to feel the familiar glare burning holes into the side of his head.

Sam stops at the foot of the steps, right into a very aggravated Bucky Barnes.

Bucky wastes no time with greetings or niceties, getting straight to the point of contention. "You shouldn't have given up that shield."

Sam rolls his eyes, continuing his walk down to the plane. "Always good to see you, Buck."

"Cut the shit, Sam. This is wrong," Bucky continues, his tone full of unspoken demands and unbridled irritation. 

Sam finally halts his walk, but only to wave Bucky off. "I'm working, alright? All this outrage is just going to have to wait."

Bucky accusingly points at one of the many new Captain America posters plastered all over the base. "You didn't know that was going to happen?"

"Of course I didn't know that was going to happen!" Sam indignantly exclaims. "You think it didn't break my heart to see them march him out there and call him the new Captain America?"

“You know this isn’t what Steve wanted.”

"And what would you like me to do? Call America and tell them I changed my mind?" Sam rhetorically asks, a humorless chuckle leaving his mouth. "Yeah, because that would go over so well. It's been a great reunion, buddy. Be well."

“You had no right to give up the shield!” Bucky barks, stopping Sam once more. 

This time Sam whirls around, his calm expression now straining to maintain composure. "See, this is what you're not gonna do. You're not going to come here in your overextended life and tell me about my rights. It's over, Bucky. It's done."

Bucky's jaw clenches, shaking his head in clear disappointment.

Sam takes another moment to collect himself. With one last exhale, Sam breaks the tense silence, "Besides, I've got bigger things to worry about right now."

"What could be bigger than this?"

Sam hesitates for a moment, wondering if he should really drag Bucky into whatever Joaquin stumbled upon with the Flag Smashers.

After another silent beat, he takes the phone out of his pocket, playing the blurry footage for Bucky. It doesn’t matter that the quality is shot or that the people in the video are shrouded in darkness. There's an unmistakable ability that only one person he knows actually has.

"This guy. He’s got connections with rebel organizations all over Central and Eastern Europe. I know you saw what he did in that video… And I think there's some people trying to replicate things that shouldn't be replicated."

Bucky's eyes flicker up from the footage with a grave, almost stunned expression, "Does she know about this?"

"No." Sam puts the phone back in his pocket. "And I'd like to keep it that way. Redwing traced them to an abandoned building outside Munich, so that’s where I’m going.”

“Well, I don’t trust Redwing.” Even as Sam starts to walk away, Bucky continues talking, “Just hold on a minute.”

“You don’t have to trust Redwing," Sam tells him. "But I’m gonna go see if he’s right. Because I have a feeling they might be a part of the Big Three, which means she might be part of the Big Three.”

“What Big Three?” Bucky questions, a furrowed look on his face. 

“The Big Three: Androids, Aliens, and Wizards,” Sam matter-of-factly explains.

Bucky's face drops into an unamused expression, “That’s not a thing.”

“Of course it’s a thing. Every time we fight we fight one of the Big Three.”

“Who do you think she is, Gandalf?”

Sam's eyes suspiciously narrow at Bucky. “How do you know about Gandalf?”

“I read the Hobbit. When if first came out, in 1937." 

“So you see my point?”

“No, I don’t. There are no wizards.”

“Dr. Strange.”

“- Is a sorcerer,” Bucky finishes.

“Ah-ha! Wizards are just sorcerers without the hat,” Sam triumphantly nods. “That was good, I just came up with that. But that’s not the point. We don’t know what we’re dealing with."

"Then I'm going with you," Bucky decides, following Sam as he tries to walk away again.

Sam stops again, shaking his head at Bucky, "No, you're not."

"Yes, I am."

Sam looks up at the ceiling, quietly groaning in defeat. His eyes flicker back to the determined look on Bucky's face, and he wordlessly turns to walk up the ramp of the small utility jet.  

It's quiet once they're both aboard the jet. No words are exchanged, not an single murmur of small talk or friendly catching up. It's a tense and heavy atmosphere as they both stare at each other from across the plane.

Except for the loud rumble of the engine as they soar through the air, it's all deafeningly quiet. 

“One minute to drop off, Sam,” Joaquin informs, breaking the tense silence. 

They remain staring at each other for a few moments, before sharply standing up to retrieve their communication devices. Surprisingly, Bucky is the first to speak, "Why didn't you tell her?"

"It's complicated,” Sam cryptically responds. 

"Why?" Bucky demands.

"She went rogue," Sam breathes. 

"She went rogue? What? I thought she went with you to Louisiana?"

"Oh, so you did get our messages," Sam sarcastically confirms. "Good to know."

"Can we focus on the rogue part?" Bucky impatiently redirects. 

"Okay, maybe rogue's a little dramatic," Sam sheepishly admits. "But she left a few months ago, right before Christmas."

"Before Christmas?" Bucky incredulously repeats.

"Are you just going to repeat everything I'm saying?"

"Sorry. Continue."

"Anyway, she said she needed answers," Sam somberly explains. "Answers that she's never had, that I've never been able to find. She wanted to go looking for herself."

"And why didn't you stop her?" Bucky protests.

"Stop her?" Sam defensively scoffs. He didn't want to defend himself to anyone, he could barely defend his own actions in retrospect. But he knew this was something that you needed to do, he knew you weren't happy, but most of all, he knew he couldn't really stop you without losing you entirely. So he just had to wait, wait until you came in with the rain.  "She's a grown woman, and it's not that unreasonable of a request. She promised she'd only do recon, no field work... And that she'd stay in touch."

"So where is she?"

"And that would be the rogue part," Sam tells Bucky, popping in the small communication device in his ear. "I haven't heard from her. She doesn't respond when I call, not a text, not anything. Guess you two have that in common."

Bucky huffs in annoyance, a frown on his face as the continues interrogating Sam, "So why didn't you go after her?"

"Because she asked me not to. Either way, Torres is helping her, so he keeps me updated. Apparently, there hasn't been that much progress."

"So she's keeping in contact with Torres but not with you and that didn't strike you as odd? Like maybe you should've gone after her!" Bucky angrily rants.

"Everything about this is odd!" Sam exclaims, throwing up his hands in frustration. "But she told me that she needed space, so I'm giving it to her."

"Sam, I've never met a person who hates space as much as she does." Sam's face furrows in response, clearly unimpressed by Bucky's response but he remains wordless. Bucky watches Sam's expression, noting that Sam doesn't accept a word he's saying. "What? You're telling me she just changed her entire personality?"

"All I'm saying is things are different now," Sam solemnly mutters, standing at the edge of the plane's exit. "Everything is different now."

The Twin Flame Chapter List AnonymityIsFun Masterlist

[aahsokaatano]

i've been crazy busy this month for various reasons, so instead of doing a regular "once per day" bingo thing, I decided to do a bunch of five-sentence dumps. Enjoy!

@cloneshipweek

1. Keeli/Doom

The helmet recovered from Ryloth sat heavily in Doom's hands. It felt like it weighed more than the rocky planet itself.

He ached to speak. To say I'm sorry, I failed you, I wasn't there when you needed me.

But the words didn't come, and Keeli would never tease him about being lost for words again.

2. Fox/Fox

"The more you speak," Fox said in a low, threatening tone, "the closer I get to punting you off the nearest platform and letting you free-fall to the surface."

"Aw, Commander, you say the sweetest things," the Torrent that Fox refused to name simpered.

One of these days, he was actually going to kill the CT. The name they had picked was bad enough - did they also have to be so karking annoying?

"You know, I hear kissing is a good way to keep people quiet," they grinned, and Fox didn't give them a chance to say anything else, much to their delight.

3. Keller/Neyo

They didn't ever speak about anything important, really. Neyo could chatter about anything and nothing for as long as Keller would let him, filling up the quiet of the med tent as he stitched the Commander back together after yet another harebrained mission that Neyo and Bacara had taken on.

Proof of life, in the little things. Keller could see he was alive, sure, but the more Neyo talked, the more he could see the tension drain out of the medic's shoulders.

If the stitches got a little more painful towards the end, well, that was just Keller's way of saying he was glad that Neyo was still there to feel the sting of it.

4. Hound/Tup

Grizzer always beat Hound to the lamding platform when the 501st came to Coruscant, not that Tup minded too much. The massif was a package deal with his handler, after all.

Hound laughed and wiped the slobber off of Tup's cheek to press a kiss there. "Welcome back, cyare."

"Good to be back, cyare."

5. Vaughn/Wooley

Someone once described them as distilled sunshine twice over. Vaughn had laughed, all but sparkling in his delight, and Wooley had grinned and blushed, running a hand through his hair and making it fluffier.

The darkness that was spread throughout the galaxy seemed to have a harder time casting a shadow over them. They were just... happy. They had each other, after all.

6. Oddball (Davijaan)/Crys

"You were reckless again," Crys fretted, watching with a scowl as Davijaan climbed out of his scorched fighter.

"And I won, again," he added, getting both feet back on the deck. "Isn't that what's important?"

"No, coming back to me is what's important."

Davijaan rested his forehead against Crys', hoping the contact would say what he couldn't find words for - that he won for Crys, every time.

7. Blackout/Grey

Grey was dozing, just enjoying the warmth of the bunk and the man next to him. Blackout was still deeply asleep, half on top of Grey with his head on Grey's shoulder and his arm over his waist. Warm, and comfortable, and safe.

It was a feeling they didn't get to indulge in often. He was going to relish it for as long as they were able to stay here.

8. Longshot/Hardcase

Hardcase had once claimed he wasn't a very good sniper, which was why he carried pretty much everything except a rifle.

Longshot was now ready to call banthashit on that.

"A millimeter," he said for the tenth time, "a single millimeter of difference between our shots and you say you aren't a good sniper!"

Hardcase shrugged. "You're the best and I'm not as good as you, so -" He gave a muffled laugh as Longshot cut him off with an aggrieved kiss.

9. Bacara/Colt

Kamino was as deary and depressing as ever, but the welcoming party was a sight for sore eyes.

"Colt," Bacara greeted softly, nodding at the other Commander.

"Bacara," he nodded back.

Later, they would have a proper reunion, would catalogue the new scars on each other and kiss away the ache of loneliness that had built up since they had last seen each other. For now, a short nod would have to do.

10. Dogma/Wrecker

Wrecker had called him 'regs' the first time they met, and Dogma had taken it as a compliment.

Dogma had quietly told Hunter about killing Krell, which got him assigned to CF99, and Wrecker overheard and immediately developed a crush.

They really shouldn't click as well as they did - uptight Dogma, loyal to the point of rabidness, and loose canon Wrecker, who loved nothing more than making things explode in glorious fashion?

But they did work, somehow, and soon it was Dogma-and-Wrecker, a single unit rather than two. And they excelled for it.

11. Thire/Cut

"I'm leaving, going AWOL."

"I know." The signs had been there for a while, he just hadn't wanted to think he was interpreting them correctly.

"You should come with me."

"I... I want to, but I can't." I'm sorry.

12. Bly/Spar

Bly had once thought that Spar was everything he wasn't - big and strong and fast and the best of the best.

But now he realized, Spar was an attainable goal, in more ways than one.

He was still a bit taller than Bly, but the muscled arms that wrapped around Bly in the night were hardly bigger than his own.

As Bly snuggled in closer, though, he still thought Spar was the best of the best. Even if they were closer in size, now.

13. Free/Free (my OCs, Crasher/Steel)

"Don't ever do that again," Crasher whispered against Steel's lips.

"I'm sorry."

"I - I thought -" a lot of terrible things had crossed Crasher's mind when Steel had been publicly declared a traitor.

"I know," Steel said, holding Crasher tightly. "No more covert ops for me."

[innuendostudios]

Thoughts on... some funny games

[no spoilers to speak of]

Thoughts on Lair of the Clockwork God

The wisdom of the gaming cognoscenti insists that comedy is hard to do in video games. Having grown up with Monkey Island and Zork, I've never found this convincing. But one true thing is this: it's hard to write about comedic games. The ineffability of humor is hard enough to describe in less-interactive media; I can't even explain to my partner why Gretchen saying "I met January Jones once!" on You're the Worst busted me up, and they were sitting right next to me when she said it. Throw in the "you had to be there" nature of the player's active participation and I lose myself in a cornfield. The thing I found hilarious might come a beat to early for you, or not at all, or not be funny in text like it is in gameplay.

Why did I like Lair of the Clockwork God? It made me laugh.

The premise and particulars are a lot of "that could go either way." Ben and Dan - stars of Ben There, Dan That and Time Gentleman, Please! - have returned. Ben is still an adventure game star, but Dan has adopted platforming mechanics in an attempt to get with the times. So playing the game involves switching back and forth between a character who can leap across canyons but can't pick up items or talk to people, and one who can combine inventory but can't climb over a 3-pixel rock.

Does that sound potentially funny? Potentially grating? Yes to both!

The plot centers around our heroes trying to save the world from several simultaneous apocalypses and having to teach human emotions to a supercomputer in order to do so. (Don't ask.) These means, rather like Ben There, Dan That, traipsing through a number of fantasy worlds (read: computer simulations) until the correct emotion is provoked. This requires cross-genre cooperation: finding ways to get Ben to areas only Dan can access, getting Dan new power ups by combining objects in Ben's inventory (an act Dan insists on calling "crafting").

The best bits are at these intersections, when Dan's platforming is the puzzliest and Ben's puzzles take advantage of Dan's skills. Periodically the game gives you a Dan-centric platforming gauntlet the controls are NOT precise nor pleasant enough for, or a Ben-only moon logic puzzle that leaves you googling the walkthrough.

But I liked it! A lot. The genre-hopping seems to have invigorated the developers, Ben Ward and Dan Marshall. I discussed my favorite joke in Ben There, Dan That (in what is probably the least popular video I've ever made that wasn't asking for money), but was also dismayed that the game was never that clever again. But this one is, several times over! Progression here involves cheating your way to a better respawn zone, goofing around in game menus, exploiting "glitches," exiting out and loading up entirely other games. There is a lot of poking and prodding at what a game of this nature can or should be.

But, honestly? The only real selling point is... it was funny. The humor is as anarchic and metatextual as in previous titles, but it feels good-natured in a way BT,DT didn't. And there are, here and there, little bits of meat on its bones - the characters wondering if, as a couple thirtysomething white guys, the world hasn't left them behind, no longer comfortable with the juvenile humor of their youth but not really understanding the youth of today, but having not yet fully escaped the mentalities they used to hold. (There's an unspoken humor to Dan's idea of "modern" gameplay being 2D platforming mechanics, especially at a time when adventure games are significantly more popular than on his last outing; this is a good joke whether or not it's intentional.)

Also: this game contains the most poignant urinating-on-a-grave puzzle in gaming history, and you may quote me on that.

Having finished it months ago, I can't even remember what all the gags were that tickled me at the time. Comedy fades from memory faster than drama or frustration. Mostly I just remember having a good time.

Thoughts on The Darkside Detective

Here's a hook: sometime after the mayhem ends in Ghostbusters, The Exorcist, Evil Dead 2, or some other paranormal blockbuster that you watched over and over in the 90's until the VHS wore out, some overworked detective has to come into your town and piece together what the hell happened.

This is his story.

It's a good gag, and the devs wring every drop from it. Existing in a world where these things are commonplace and you have to fit them into some notion of "police procedure" is just funny. Like, it's one thing to have a running gag where you keep observing the moon in outdoor scenes, commenting, with increasing hostility, that its behavior is suspicious (it has been present at multiple crime scenes); it's a slightly different thing when, given the things you've encountered, the moon being the Big Bad is actually somewhat possible.

The game is divided into six main cases and three bonus DLC missions (which come included in the base game now, and the third of which is the proper ending/setup for the sequel). You are the cop tasked to deal with The Other Side - and, when The Other Side bleeds into our own world, its cops have to deal with you. You have a sidekick with a mental maturity of about 6, which I guess makes you the straight man. (You have to grade on a curve to find a straight man in this game.) And you solve tasks like rounding up escaped gremlins or finding an AWOL lake monster all juxtaposed with mundane problems like inter-office squabbles and having not bought your Christmas presents early enough. It's (pleasantly) lo-res and sparsely isolated, so the dialogue and premise do most of the work, but they are ably up to the task.

The gameplay... not so much. I'm an adventure game lifer, so I can put up with a lot of nonsense. It's mostly straightforward inventory puzzles and occasional minigames. Most of the puzzles are fine enough. As the cases progress, things get more involved, and the DLCs especially involve some awful moon logic. And the minigames are not above using that same jumping peg puzzle you've solved in a dozen other games already. So gameplay ranges from serviceable to irritating, but it mostly exists to string together funny lines and silly images. (Christmas mall elves being secretly in service to Krampus - that's the kind of thing we're talking about here.) You won't feel much guilt for opening up a walkthrough; the puzzles aren't why you're here.

The sequel has just been released, and both games are cheap, so check them out if you feel like smiling.

Thoughts on The Procession to Calvary

It's rare for a game to be hilarious to look at.

The Procession to Calvary takes its name from the Bruegel painting. It also takes all it's graphics from Renaissance oil paintings, and the designer delights in making famously rendered heroes and religious icons steal, stab, fart, and swear.

A strong Terry-Gilliam-with-After-Effects vibe is what we're describing.

You play as a lady knight from a war that's just ended, which sucks for you because, in this age of peace, you're no longer authorized to kill. And killing's, like, you're whole thing. But the one person your new, pacifist king wouldn't stop you from killing is the warlord you just deposed, who fled to the South. So you embark on a nonsensical journey to seek out the one human on Earth you are authorized to kill, because killing is just The. Best. Ever.

Of the three games we're discussing, this is the most overtly cheeky, and, at times, the most scatological. I could've done with a bit less scatology, if I'm being honest, but the cheekiness is very winning. As with Lair of the Clockwork God, a lot of jokes could go either way - a field of people being tortured and a woman on a blanket selling commemorative torture merch could be painfully try-hard. But something about the victims being seemingly everyone ever crucified or broken on the wheel in a famous painting, and having them writhe on their crosses in a way that is both gruesome and goofy, and having a cacophonous soundtrack of their screams and moans that you will now imagine every time you look at one of those elegantly elegiac paintings from now on... it works. That the music score is being played by an extremely jaunty piper who dances behind you just out of sword's reach as you traverse the field pushes it over the top.

Oh, and the puzzles, while never hair-pullingly obtuse, will leave you stumped at times. Push past that to get the proper ending, but, if you're sick of trying, you can, at any point, just start stabbing your way through problems. Which, again: it takes a very deft touch to make "protagonist resorts to violence" actually funny rather than lazy and obvious. And maybe, in another game, the perfect timing of every animation, the clever quips, the careful contrast of cathedrals and high-society music halls with gleeful sword-swinging wouldn't be enough. But something about it being frickin' Renaissance paintings carries it the last mile.

This is probably the basest game of the three, but it's also the one that made me giggle the most. Having a BFA that required several art history classes may have something to do with it. But check this thing out.