#i Do think i like central park more but this one is also very fun and nice :]

[the-meme-monarch]

Wolf Tobin's bi trans swag

[writingquestionsanswered]

I’ve been reading some craft books and online posts about the world building because my story is an urban fantasy set in present day US, in a fictional town, and theres not a secondary world where the fantasy happens, it’s all in the real world, except the magic is a secret that only certain people know about, but all of the resources I find about world building only talk about fantastical worlds that exist by themselves and not the kind of more subtle world building that I’d have to do. Do you have any tips?

Guide: Creating a Fictional Town in the Real World

Step 1 - Choose Your Location - There are two ways to go about choosing a location for your fictional town. One is to go the "Springfield U.S.A." route, ala The Simpsons, and be vague about the specific location (borough, parish, district, county, region, state, or province) and instead give a broader geographic region... "the East Coast," "the Pacific Northwest," "Central Canada," Northern Scotland," etc. The other option is to go ahead and put your fictional town in a specific location. Just figure out where (for example, somewhere outside of Des Moines, Iowa) and go to Google Maps, click on satellite view, then start zooming in on big empty areas. Choose a place big enough to fit a town. Yes, in reality it's probably farm fields, pasture, or someone's property, but that doesn't matter. You don't have to actually show it on a map. It's just a plausible spot to build your town. Now you can measure how far it is to other places, you know what highways to take to get to it. You can even do street view to get the lay of the land, see what the landscape looks like and try to envision the buildings there. You can also use what's there to create parks, popular recreational areas, and anything else your town needs.

Step 2 - Choose Your Inspiration - Even when you're creating a fictional town, it's still a good idea to use a real town (or two, or three) from that general area as inspiration for your town. For a fictional town in Des Moines, I would zoom in on the map to find a nearby town of similar size... like Elkhart, then I can take a look around to see what it's like. Just looking at the map, I can see they have a couple of churches, a couple baseball fields, a very small main street/downtown area with a couple shops and restaurants, a post office, a few different neighborhoods, and a cemetery. This would be a great model for a small fictional town outside of Des Moines. And, as I said, you could look at a couple other sand combine them. Once you have your inspiration town/s, you can walk around on Google Maps street view, go to the town's web site, watch a tour on YouTube (if one exists), or look up pictures in Google Image search.

Step 3 - Start Planning - This is the really fun part! First, you might want to draw a basic map of your fictional town using your inspiration town/s as a guide. This doesn't have to be a pretty map... just a basic line drawing to help you envision where everything is. Think about some of the basic things this town might have, like the ones I listed in step two, and any other things you might want your town to have, like maybe a library, a hospital, a city hall, school, and maybe a movie theater. It might even be helpful and fun to put together a collage of pictures to represent your town so you've got something in mind as you write about it. You can even choose representatives for specific locations in your story, like your MC's house, school, and their favorite hangout.

Step 4 - Naming Your Town - Start by looking at the kinds of town names that surround your town. Look for common naming conventions... suffixes like -ton, -ville, -dale, -burg, -wood, -field, etc. Words in a particular language, like a lot of French-inspired town names, or towns with geographical terms (lake, hill, valley, river, canyon, gap, etc.) My guide to Naming Locations has additional tips.

Step 5 - Populate Your Town and Give it a History - Last but not least, make up a little history for your town, again, using surrounding towns as inspiration. Who founded it? When was it founded? What's the town's main industry? What are the people like in this town? What jobs do they have? What do they do for fun?

Here are some other posts that might help:

Five Things to Help You Describe Fictional Locations Setting Your Story in an Unfamiliar Place WQA’s Guide to Internet Research Happy writing!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

♦ Questions that violate my ask policies will be deleted! ♦ Please see my master list of top posts before asking ♦ Learn more about WQA here

[yangkitties]

bros before hoes ✰ profiles: NEXUS

NEXUS is a 7 member group under PLEDIS. NEXUS stands for how they are the connecting point between now and the future. NEXUS is also word play on the phrase ‘next us’ to show that they are the future, and the next big thing. Their fandom name is 'AXIS', signifying that their fans are their central point which allow NEXUS to continue being who they are!

park y/n: 02, nexus’s mood maker. OBSESSED with park sunghoon since the age of 11 when they saw him on tv for the first time, he's basically half their personality. makes terrible decisions and learns from them the hard way. genuinely just a little goof trying to survive.

bang chan: 97, nexus’s oldest. the best leader anyone could have asked for, but runs the practice room like the military. gives the best hugs and is doing his best to make sure his group stays out of trouble.

kim sunwoo: 00, nexus’s resident sassy boy. likes to stir shit up even though he’s one of the oldest. actually just a little bit of a loser who likes anime too much. has weird friends. 

lee chaeryeong: 01, nexus’s sweetheart. so sweet. just so nice and lovely and silly. everyone loves her and treats her like a little princess, even though she’s one of their oldest. deserves everything in the world and more !!

lee jooyeon: 02, nexus’s silly goose. likes to play the guitar and is generally very nice. super supportive and cheerful, has the voice of an angel. actually just the sweetest guy ever.

fukutomi tsuki: 02, nexus’s visual. loves loves LOVES making new friends. an absolute queen, and has been friends with y/n since both of them became trainees. has known y/n the longest. friend’s with enhypen’s jungwon. 

oh haewon: 03, nexus’s maknae. funny and savage as FUCK, loves hanging out with her members. she brings balance to the group and is slightly too chronically online for her own good.

prev | m.list | next

synopsis > with the help of fukutomi tsuki, park y/n finally gains the courage to face their long time crush, the one and only, park sunghoon. park sunghoon thinks it's love at first sight when he sees her. paired up as the new mcs of music bank, shenanigans ensue when y/n learns about sunghoon's crush...

note: i had so much fun coming up with the group concept and stuff lol

©️ yangkitties 2024 do not copy, plagiarise, or repost

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Can I just say that I think it's very fitting that (if the boys who weren't a part of glorious masquerade are going to be featured in the event teased) Ace is the one who would go to Pleasure Island. Like I don't know why but I feel like that's just pretty in character for him.

[Referencing this post!]

Just a slight clarification: Pleasure Island hasn’t been confirmed yet!! At present, it’s just popular fan speculation (one that I think is very probably myself).

I think it’s definitely a place that fits with Ace. He’s expressed in vignettes that he just wants to chill and doesn’t have any particular ambitions for the future. He just overall also has a pretty carefree, “I speak my mind” and juvenile attitude expected of his age. Man just wants to live in the moment, y’know? Ace would thrive in place that promotes just throwing caution to the wind and to just have fun! (Ironically, Rollo, the central new character from Glorious Masquerade/the previous Halloween event, would probably find Pleasure Island appalling—and even moreso if it encourages its patrons to indulge in magic, especially for very frivolous things like amusement. Yes, I’m still huffing my copium and praying he makes a cameo or a grand return 😭)

If we think about the Trappola family itself, there’s even more connections there that make sense. Sticking Ace in a Pleasure Island-like location works well considering that his brother interned at a theme park and currently works in that same industry. Maybe Ace’s brother works at twisted Pleasure Island? Additionally, Ace’s whole deal with doing card tricks (something he shares with his magicless father) slots in well with the whimsy that comes with a fair or carnival-like place. Even the family surname, Trappola, means “trap” in Italian… and the story of Pinocchio IS of Italian origin. That’s not even to mention that Pleasure Island is one massive trap 😂

… With all of those connections, maybe Ace will be one of the new Halloween SSRs? Y’know… cuz he’s an ASS? 🤡

[liesmyth]

Okay this is weirdly specific and obvs if the answer requires doxing yourself don't answer but hjdkfg fave places to go running at? I started going on more walks and it's so fun to explore the local space!!

no worries! I'm very alright with telling people I live in Rome, a city of 3 million people. you can all have that for free etc. (actually, I'm very braggy about it. borderline obnoxious, ngl. Think the Italy equivalent of a New Yorker)

Also!!! I LOVE THIS QUESTION SO MUCH. It made me go through Strava history and dig some running pic I took.

the appia antica route!

if you (generic you) are ever in Rome, there's a lovely green area along the old Appia way that's great for running but also for picnics. My favourite local road race (coming up next month!!) is partly along that route and it's SO beautiful. It's one of those places that make you feel you're genuinely grateful you have a body to move around in and experience the wind and the sun and the mosquitoes in your teeth and the achy calves from doing a few km on cobblestones. It's a very large green area (Appia Antica / Parco degli Acquedotti / Parco di Tor Fiscale / Parco della Caffarella) and there are so many fun trails and paths.

Lungotevere / centro storico swag

Sometimes u (me) gotta flex and be like "oh, look, I live in Rome" and just plot your long run so that you end up by the Vatican or whatever. There's a route along the Tiber river that's technically a bike lane but it's large enough to run safely, and it's really fun for Sunday runs / whenever you have a bit of time to actually get there.

There are other really great running spots in central Rome like any of the parks (Villa Borghese, Villa Ada etc. and EYE don't really do it often but it's very nice)

Here's a pic! Not mine

Country roads take me home etc — Castelli Romani

Hilly towns just outside the city that have veeery fun trails and countryside views! You have to actually get there so it's a bit involved, and then once you're there you're like "why the fuck did I think running up a hill was a good idea?" but if you DO like running up hills, it's fun. I like going in the summer for longer runs and I don't bring any snacks just absolutely gorge myself on blackberries from the bushes.

My beloved neighbourhood run.

I love walking out of the door and just going for it! It's very entertaining as far as "neighbourhood routes" go. It's a decently safe area, I can stay well clear of cars, there's a car park I can do sprints in (and, occasionally, will see people fucking in cars, as one does) and some green. I wish it had a bit more elevation, but there's a stretch of road that's decently hilly so I can't complain + there are some VERY interesting characters and sights. Alas, it's within sniffing distance of a bakery AND a steakhouse, so there isn't a time of the day I can run at without getting hungry along the way, but I don't mind — I have been known to plot a route so that I finish right in front of a bakery for breakfast.

no landmark photos for obvious reasons but here are some cute birdies I saw running a few weeks ago

Holiday run!

One thing I really love to do on holiday is go run around a new city / any place I've never been in, and exploring new places while I'm at it. Some of my most beloved holiday memories are of running early in the morning in new places. Sometimes it backfires horribly and you end up on a muddy path at six thirty AM with water in your shoes and frantically trying to match your phone GPS with that of the route you downloaded yesterday, but it's usually worth it. These are a few photos I had on my phone — the beach is somewhere along lake Garda, and it's been years and I still remember that run with a lot of fondness. Also, another time I got lost in the middle of nowhere in Tuscany and ended up chatting with an incredibly MILFy American tourist who was also out running and that too is a fond memory... anyway. Holiday runs my beloved

[justsomerandomfanfic]

Brilliant - Scott Lang X Female (Daughter) Reader

Title: Brilliant

Scott Lang X Female (Daughter) Reader

Additional Characters: Natasha, Steve, Bruce, Wanda (Mentioned), Thor, Hope, Cassie (Mentioned), Hank Pym (Mentioned), and Tony Stark

Requested by: Anon!

WC: 2,893

Warnings: Reader has a huge love for ants, ants facts, Tony being Tony, alcohol mentioned, Reader's super smart, Reader's mentioned to be a kid in homeschooled college, slight family angst, brief mention of Reader punching a kid, sarcastic reader, banter, and family fluff

The best word to describe your life was 'chaos.' Chaos was your life. But not for a while, in the beginning, your mother and father; Hope and Scott, said that you were a good baby and toddler. Yes, you cried and threw some tantrums like any other child would, but it wasn't until you were around six that Hope and Scott realized how very similar you were to your grandfather, Hank Pym. It started off small, noticing a few things here and there, but it wasn't until your seventh birthday that they both knew that you were going to be just like Hank.

Looking back, it was a bright, sunny day. It was warm out, not too cold and not too warm; perfect weather for a birthday. Your first-grade friends were playing in the backyard, swinging on your swingset, and some playing tag with each other, but you were nowhere to be found.

Scott had panicked slightly when he checked around the backyard, while also trying to entertain three kids with a magic card trick. His eyes filtered around the backyard, until he spotted you, in the corner, staring at the ground. Scott found it a bit odd, thinking that you were just a bit shy and didn't want to play with your class friends... So he let it slip his mind. 

But, Scott knew something was up once you blew your candles out. 

"Good job, honey! What did you wish for?" Hope, your mother asked, as you just started at the cake before you.

"I want an ant farm."

From then on, it seemed like your ant fascination skyrocketed. It became such a big part of your daily routine that Hope and Scott weren't sure what to do with you anymore. It was literally taking over most of your life as the years went on. You began only wanting things that were related to ants. Posters, books, an actual ant farm, and more. You had even started up a lemonade stand to get money to buy more books about ants. Hope and Scott thought it was cute that you were making lemonade for the people of New York who would occasionally walk by the house; Hope thought that it was a great experience to help you in the future with any jobs you might get. 

However, Hope and Scott began to notice that instead of getting regular kids' books about facts on ants, like 'Ten Fun Facts about Ants,' or ‘Annie and her Friend Ant,' you were going to bookstores, and leaving with 'Ants of North America; A Guide to the Genera,' and 'Identification Guide to the Ant Genera of the World.' Along with you, at the age of six and seven, reading college-level books and novels, you had become mighty close with your grandfather Hank.

You obviously loved spending time with him, since he would tell you about ants and the history and evolution of the world. That didn't stop you from getting lost every single day; that and the fact that you liked to pretend you were an explorer and explore new places, sometimes even in Central Park; hoping you could one day find a new ant species.

At the age of ten, you had become a spitting image, personality-wise, of your grandfather. You were as witty and sarcastic as you were incredibly wise beyond your years. Incredibly wise to the point that Hope and Scott thought it was best to take you out of grade school and set you up with college classes at home, where Hope could teach you. And it was totally not also because you punched a kid in the face after he said that Ant-Man was the worst Avenger. 

Along with your new college schedule at home - where you learn about geology, calculus, quantum mechanics, and so on - you did end up with a lot of free time, which allowed you to go to "work" with your father. Which was where you had met most, if not all, of the Avengers. 

~~~

Scott held your hand as you went up and up in the Stark Tower elevator. He let out a big sigh, becoming a bit nervous, as he glanced down at you. "You're going to behave, right?" 

You simply looked up at him, one of your favorite ant books in your free hand. "Of course. Why wouldn't I behave?" You asked, sarcasm lacing your words, before looking back at the book.

"Yeah, well, I just don't want you to bombard them with ant facts," Scott responded, before shaking his head slightly and looking forward again.

"That will be inevitable, Dad," You replied, looking forward as well, "I can't just not speak about the things that I enjoy in life. Ants bring me such joy that is beyond words, and I want everyone to know about my passions."

"Well... I guess just don't go overboard then," The elevator doors began to open, "I do love that you have something that makes you happy but I don't want you to tire them out. We have to make a good impression on them. You know I haven't met some of them yet - out of the battlefield, I mean." Scott spoke, letting out a sigh.

"You have to try and make a good impression. I don't have to try, I'm always going to succeed." You replied, before stepping off the lift and walking towards the common room, with Scott trailing behind you.

As you entered the common room, about seven sets of eyes landed on you. Some in shock, or so on, before they trailed up to see Scott.

"Hey, guys! Uh, this is my daughter. Y/N, say hello!"

"Say hello." You replied with a short roll of your eyes before you walked over to the first nearby person. Offering your hand with great conviction, "My name is Y/N Lang, I prefer Y/N Pym, but please, call me Y/N. It's a pleasure to meet you." At your words, Scott felt his heart fall to the pit of his stomach. It was nice that you were indeed so close to your grandfather, but for a long time, Scott had felt a strain on his and your relationship for the longest time. 

The redhead blinked, slightly shocked before shaking your hand with a smile, "Pleasures all mine, Y/N. My name is Natasha, but you may call me Nat."

"That sounds satisfactory. Did you know that there are over twenty-thousand different types of species of ants in the world?" You asked as Natasha dropped your hand, staring up at her expectedly.

Natasha's eyes widened slightly as she shook her head, "No, I didn't know that. But that sounds fascinating."

“Wow,” Bruce spoke up, “She’s just like Pym.”

"It obviously is. Now, if you'll excuse me." You replied before moving along to the next person. Staring up at the man, you offered your hand, "I'm Y/N. But you must have already known that. Since you are around fifty-seven inches away from Ms. Nat. So, I believe that I do not have to repeat myself. Did you know that ants do not have ears?"

Steve gave you a small smile, shaking his head, "It's nice to meet you, Y/N. I'm Steve. Uh, and I did not know that. That's very cool."

And so, you went along, speaking to Bruce, then to Wanda, and then to Thor. 

And then he came in.

"Hey! Thumbelina! Didn't know you were visiting." Tony walked in, pausing once his eyes landed on you, "And you brought your kid, that's fun." He spoke, walking over and offering you his hand. "Hey there, kid, I'm Tony. You may know me for my amazing persona as Iron Man. You know, saving the world and all."

You just stared up at him, glancing at his hand with a frown, "You can never trust a Stark."

Letting out a laugh, Tony withdrew his hand, gesturing to you as he looked at Scott. "Well, Lang, your daughter's a smart kid alright."

"Yes, she is. Very smart." Scott chuckled, placing his hands on your shoulders before you swerved out of his grasp, glaring quick daggers at him before you turned your gaze back at Tony. 

"That is correct. I am rather intelligent. But, it is only my grandfather and I that are intelligent." You remarked, giving Tony a slight smirk.

Tony laughed, "You're mighty sure of yourself there, aren't you? I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I have my own millionaire business, created my own suits, and am the lead Avenger. I am rather smart too."

"So you tell me, Mr. Stark. Are you sure you're worthy of that title? As lead Avenger, I mean." You asked sarcastically.

"Of course," Tony answered with no hesitation. "If anyone is deserving of being called leader of anything, it's me."

With a small snort, you folded your arms across your chest, nodding. Setting down your ant book on the coffee table beside you - with that, Scott knew you meant business - staring up at the man. "After all, when I can watch the news when I am not studying, by my previous calculations, you only pull twenty-two percent of your weight in most of your battles in the past seven years. That puts you closer to the bottom than any other Avenger."

"So," Tony retorted quickly, a grin still on his face, "You're what? Nine? How would you be able to make those calculations?"

"I have a photographic memory." You answered, "I've remembered everything I've read and seen ever since I was four."

"Well," Tony began, crossing his arms, "Who would you recommend should be the leader then?"

"Me." You answered, "If not myself, then my grandfather. Since we are incredibly intelligent, and no one's smarter than us. We could easily plan out an entire takedown for whatever crisis hits New York next."

There was silence between you as you waited for the man to respond. Tony then took a breath, "Well, Scott, you have a truly impressive kid here. She has quite a sharp tongue." He paused, looking back down at you. "You do remind me of Pym. Same brains and smarts. Same little attitude." He chuckled lightly, turning towards you. 

For a moment, you just stood in place. "I don't have an attitude, I have knowledge, and that knowledge is based on science, math, and ants." You began, staring up at Tony Stark as your father winced for the oncoming storm, "And about your prior comments about how smart I am. If you think I'm going to spend seven months learning Yale and Harvard level material just so you could tell me how smart I am, then you are sadly mistaken." You retorted, unfolding your arms from over your chest and narrowing your eyes. "I don't need you to tell me I'm smart. I know I am."

"Well," Tony began, a satisfied grin on his face, "Lang, your child is brilliant. I don't really care much for some children, but she's alright." He then gestured to the bar behind him, "Just don't let her near my lab or the drinks. She could cause chaos." He looked back down at you, "It was fun meeting you, kid." And with that, Tony left the room, but not before stopping by the said bar for a quick drink.

"Y/N, I told you to behave... Not- Not challenge Tony." Scott looked down at you as you grabbed your book.

"I think she was amazing." Natasha spoke, her back leaning against the cushions of the couch, "She stood up for herself and put Tony in his place. Maybe even hurt his ego a bit."

"I agree with Nat," Thor said, "Little Lady Y/N handled herself well."

The rest of the Avengers nodded along with their friend. And Scott let out a small sigh, "Well, I have to file some of that paperwork for Fury real quick. Are you guys alright with watching her?"

"Absolutely, Scott." Steve spoke with a grin, "She can tell us all about ants."

With those words said, you grin brightly, looking up at Captain America, "Finally, someone who understands me and lets me talk." 

Scott frowned before watching you speak so openly and animatedly with his coworkers before leaving for work. Scott wanted to be closer to you, but ever since you were six, it felt like there was a strain. A tension. One he couldn't break through with his easygoing personality and easygoing attitude. It was hard to try and get close to you. You seemed so far away, always talking about ants - which he too, liked - or talked about Hank. 

Scott felt like he wasn't important in your life to you. You openly showed your love for your mother, and for Hank, and Cassie. But for Scott, you hardly hugged him, barely acknowledged his presence when he was present, and never smiled at him when he entered the house after coming home from work. For years, he had dreamed of coming home from work and his children running up to him and hugging him. But when Peanut, or Cassie, would run into his arms, you would not. He loved you, and Scott knew that you must have loved him. 

After an hour, Scott found himself back in the elevator, going back up to grab you and head home to make dinner. It had been a long day, and he just wanted to go home. As the elevator doors opened, he thought he'd find you as he left you; animatedly talking about your favorite interests and ants. Though, when the elevator doors opened, he was surprised at how happy you seemed to be. You had all the Avengers in the room - Steve, Natasha, Wanda, Bruce, and Thor - all walking in a line, all holding random objects in their hands as they walked around the large room, following each other… Like ants. You stood on top of the coffee table, commanding the five of them around, similarly how an ant would. 

"Alright, honey, let's get home. I have to make dinner tonight." Scott spoke, walking over to you and helping you jump off the table. “We could watch ‘A Bug’s Life,’ huh?”

"Fine, but I want to come back. I am not done commanding my new ant army." You replied before turning to the five Avengers, "Thank you for playing with me."

As the Avengers began to say their goodbyes to you and your father, you took your book in one hand and his in the other, walking to the elevator. Once in, you dropped your hands from his, making him frown slightly but he shaky grinned down at you as he spoke. "I hope you had fun."

Looking up at him, you gave him a deadpanned look, “It was horrible, Dad. I hated it.” At his shocked look, you scoffed, "Of course, it was fun." You answered, "It was... Nice to have someone play with me."

Scott found himself nodding, "I, uh, I'm sorry I don't spend as much time with you. I wish I could. But I understand that I'm probably not the funniest dad or person to be around."

"It's not that you're not fun, Dad." You spoke, looking up at him, "I just like to spend my time with people who understand ants and in turn, me. Like grandpa."

Scott blinked, "Oh..." He trailed. "You- I- I know I don't take too much time into your interest, but I want to try. For you. I do like ants. It just can be… Tiring to hear so much about ants all the time." He then let out a sigh as the elevator doors opened and the two of you walked out, "I feel like there's some kind of strain between us."

Pausing, you stopped at the large glass doors of the Stark Tower, looking up at your father, you spoke, "I do wish you would listen to me sometimes. Hear my facts, take interest. But, I can understand that for some people, I can be a bit overwhelming with my overflowing facts. So, if I ever go overboard, you can tell me." You spoke, "It won't hurt my feelings if you tell me that I am overwhelming you with information. I can understand. I know that some people, unlike myself and grandpa, can only handle so much about ants. I would like to spend more time with you, Dad. And I do enjoy the time I do get to spend with you, Cassie, and Mom. I truly love you all. But, as I am going to learn how to manage how much I speak about ants in particular, I would like to advise that you take time to better yourself as well." You finished, turning to head out the door.

"Better myself?" Scott spoke, though unable to stop smiling at your words, "What do you suggest I better myself on?" He was finally getting somewhere.

As you stood outside of the tower, looking out at the city and the people around you, you reached up and took your father's hand before speaking, "Your magic tricks, Dad. You've been doing the same four for months. I have already memorized them. You need more material."

Scoot could only laugh, his heart swelling as the two of you walked home, "Brilliant. Okay, yeah, I can do that."

---

Main Masterlist | Marvel Masterlist

[goosewriting]

ok so i revisited my spidersona design and gave it a bit of a redo (first iteration here)

more info under the cut!

i felt like in the first version they looked too much like a child because of the style, so i decided to try a more ✨ shapey ✨ one

here’s the gist of the backstory:

spidergoose was bitten by a goose that was bitten by a radioactive spider. so they have all the spidey powers as well as the ability to communicate with geese and essentially command them to attack someone lol imagine going to central park and you see a horde of geese suddenly taking off and you're like "ah yes, spidergoose is calling" xD (i had to google if there are geese in central park for this one and yes there are! and there’s also resident canada geese there? that’s marvellous, my fave kind)

spidergoose is low-key obsessed with the spot, following him around and encouraging him in his monologuing

they're a bit of an anti-hero, being selective with what kinda vigilante work they do and when. the police don’t see them as an ally at all, even less so than the real spiderman (spidergoose is from miles’ universe btw, so e-1610)

teaming up with (miles’) spiderman is rare but it has happened; mainly because spidergoose was nearby when the fight took place and had nothing better to do anyways. they have pretty fun banter.

age and real identity are unknown. they use a voice modifier under the mask which makes them sound a little distorted (think storm trooper helmet voice, but not quite as deep)

they’re unaware of the whole canon event and spider society stuff. spidergoose lies somewhere between chaotic neutral and chaotic evil, so miguel definitely doesn’t want them around; he’s already got too much on his plate lol he does keep tabs on spidergoose tho, sending in some of his spiderpeeps to check in on them from time to time

i’m gonna go ahead and establish that star wars exists in this universe, just so i can say that spidergoose likes appearing behind people and go “hello there”, and is very disappointed when someone doesn’t get the reference

but ofc their tagline still is "noot noot motherfluffer" before round-house kicking someone in the head c:

often spidergoose can be found chilling on some building talking to geese and birds, having a preference for the aquatic ones though. if they find you feeding bread to the birds, they will scold you and give you seeds and peas instead, as bread isn’t healthy for the birds and water

(i’ll keep adding stuff to this as i come up with it lol)

[nevaeh-daughterofvalcarol]

*over letter sent on heavy paper with a wax seal because it’s a good excuse to show off fantasy-land skills*

Dear Mumma,

I went to go see Nonna Gigi for you, Zia Vera gave me a lift over. She’s super sweet, I see why you love her so much. We made pasta for dinner and then watched Snow White together. She adopted a cat last week named Meg, because she doesn’t have the heart to call her Peggy. It’s a dark brown tabby with a heart of gold, and didn’t even try to go after Inej and Jesper, and she let me hold her while she made us tea.

Jonny and Amma are doing well, though they miss you. Jonny has clung to me nonstop since I got home, and Zia Peggy had been over nearly every day to visit, and sometimes Athena comes to help me watch Jonny.

Our date went really well, by the way. We went out to this French cafe by Central Park and then for a walk where all the cherry blossoms were blooming, she braided them all through my hair. Some people stared and it made her nervous, though, so we left. I didn’t mind at all, though, and we went back to her room and put on pajamas and I helped re-dye her hair and then we snuggled, it felt so nice. I know you’re really protective of me, but you don’t need to worry about her, really. She feels safe in the way you and Amma and Zia Vera do — like nothing can hurt me when I’m with her. I glow around her almost every time we’re in the same room, it’s amazing. My eyes, too, and you know how rarely they glow. She gave me the rings you gave her and I just about cried — I can’t describe how much it meant and felt. I don’t know if we’ll ever get married, or even how long we’ll last. But I feel like we’re going to last a long time. And I can imagine a future. One that’s together.

My garden is thriving, and I’ve started making a window box for you and Amma’s room, with all the plants I know you like — let me know if you have any requests. Oh, and Amma spent all afternoon making pasta a bit ago. Mumma, she spent all day hand-making it because she wanted to. I don’t think she could’ve known this before hand, but she just happened to make the dish my Mamma made for us when we got sick or just in the winter when it was cold. It’s my comfort food, and it tasted just like it. Well, different. For one, Amma likes spices more than Mamma did, and I’m okay with that. It’s like a continuation of an old tradition. Anyways, I must go, Jonny wants to help me harvest the tomatoes I sped up for a good fresh sauce. I love you very very much and can’t wait to see you.

Much love, your daughter,

@iyla-difransisco

P.S. just reply by text, I love letters because I grew up with them but text is completely fine<3

Dear Iyla,

If you must know I do fancy hand written letters too which is why I decided to answer you with one. I sadly don't have any wax to cell the letter with me but if I did I would have used it.

I'm overjoyed to say the least. I'm very glad you got stop spend some times with Grandma Gigi. And I'm also very glad to hear that she got the cat! She has been hesitating between two cats lately, and by the description you gave me, she's chose the one I wanted! But please make sure she rests too. I'm very glad you had fun during your time together though.

I'm very glad to read that everyone is doing fine. But please if anything is going wrong tell me the truth okay? Not that I doubt you, I believe your words, but I just wanted to make sure. On my side everything is good. I don't really appreciate everyone at the school, I mostly don't like the straight boys that asked me on dates already multiples times but what can I do about that. Speaking of date, it does seems like I did worry for nothing. But I'll let you know that I had to make the line clear just so they know. And I'm very glad you liked the rings! Those were my parents and they really mean a lot to me. By the way, I'll show them your letter when I comeback saying that you see a future together, it's adorable.

Glad to hear that our house is still good. The garden is probably the most beautiful place in house so. And I've been wanting a window box for a while now! So thank my dear favorite daughter. Now this part got me quite surprised. But I'm really glad your Amma could make you comfort food, especially as it's pasta. You'll have to keep some for the moment I come back. And I'm also really glad to see that your unexpected leave of the house only made your bound with your brother stronger. Though it would be great not to do it again because I can't support the crying all night, please never leave him like that again. Anyways, I'm so sad I can't be with you all right now. I misses you guys so much, and I miss holding you or singing lullabies for Jonny or cuddling with your Amma in bed. My bed feels so lonely it's unbearable. I have to go see what is in the package Aunt Peggy sent me before starting class but remember; I love you mire than the multiverse itself.

With love, from your favorite mother, Me, Nevaeh (Romanoff)-Danvers ;)

[artemisbarnowl]

What is life like in Melbourne? I’m looking into moving there from the UK and would love some insights and whatever else from people who live and work there 💕

I've only visited the UK briefly as a tourist so I'm not sure how to compare them in a way that's going to give you useful info. But I'll give you info at least. Please sit comfortably and we'll begin.

Melbourne has 5 million people in it, but is also quite a large sprawling urban area, so it doesn't feel really packed and busy. It sits on a bay, so it doesn't get freezing but does have the '4 seasons in one day' jokes which are true. I never really got in the habit of checking the weather in the morn before I left for work until I moved away from melb where the forecast was such that I could dress appropriately without surprise.

When I talk about what I love about Melbourne I mean inner suburbs and CBD (which is a beautiful grid and shining example of urban planning for the now that is weighed down by no plans for the future). Public transport connectivity is decent (comparable to London imo) but wait times, delays, and travel times on trams and buses might be relatively crap depending on your experience. It's no Moscow metro (my beloved), but you can probably get to where you're going somehow. Also e scooters have popped off. Further out there's no trams and there's more big gaps between train stations (the train lines are arranged like spokes of a wheel around a central city circle. There will be another city loop slightly overlapping the current one in service next year). This is what I despairingly call The Suburbs. Where you probably need a car to get around and it's like at least 20 mins drive to Anywhere for dinner, groceries or fun activities. Mostly Melbourne is not overly hilly so bikes are an option but infrastructure such as bike lanes is really hit or miss depending on area. Especially good in the inner north. Melb inner suburbs are very walkable and I love love love that. I lived in the inner north and could walk into the CBD to do whatever.

In terms of culture things I think Melbourne is the most international of Aus's capitals in that it has a lot of different people but also that there's a lot open late. Sydney probably can and will make the same claim. But that's it. The rest of Aus is a country town. Major shops will probably close 5.30 or six mon to wed but there's plenty of stuff that's open later. You can always find a bar* or 8. There's plenty of different cuisines in gourmet or fast food dining. There's a cafe in the CBD that's open 24 hours where I can sit outside and have a pot of green tea WHENEVER I WANT. Bookstores open til 10pm. There are lots of events throughout the year and lots of cultural institutions to visit on a whim for free! Some are paid also obvi but I find it difficult to be bored when I can go to the museum to see taxidermy or the NGV for art for free whenever. I am a zoo member which means I get to hang out in a beautiful park/garden which creatures for free whenever I want. Again as you go out further this becomes less true. Fringe cities at the ends of train lines are likely to have what you need to live but less fun activities less often. Not nothing though!

Melbournians really do love wearing black. Especially in winter. They also love strategic Grey. I thought people were exaggerating until I left. A head to toe black outfit is uncommon enough to be remarkable where I live now. Even in a regular boring office where people wear very muted colours I'm the only one who does it. There is no functional difference between the a mourning outfit and one of a Melbournian. it's common wear sneakers with a lot of seemingly formal or corporate outfits, but not thongs with jeans. That's some weird Sydney nonsense.

Being around the bay there's plenty of places to swim in summer! Most of the bay is bordered by beach, most famous and reachable from the city is St Kilda beach. Which is excellent and beyond reproach if you're not Australian and 'fine' if you are. Traveling down towards Mornington Peninsula they get better. 5km makes a difference to the grain of the sand. Some are more fine, can get more coarse and shelly as well. Never stony. Only a little bit of seaweed here and there.

There are parks in the heart of the city (nothing huge like Hyde though) and little wildlife corridors or reserves in most suburbs but it's not an especially Nature city. It's only one hour by train and bus or by car to the Dandenongs (a low mountain range, not to be confused with hugely underated immigrant suburb of Dandenong in melb) though which have cool temperate rainforest national park, lots of gardens (huuuuuge rhododendron garden up there), little b&bs, english style cafes (miss Marples in Olinda is the most famous) and lots of walking and biking. I say one hour but Melbourne as an area reaches right to the base of the range, which is why you can get a bus from the shops. There are national parks that are native woodland or grasslands closer to the heart of the city but these are less special to me because that's the standard nature I see every day of my life. There's a pink lake in south melb which is fun. But I love tree ferns and fresh damp dirt and the tallest flowering trees in the world!!

If you have more specific Q's feel free to ask. I am a city gal at heart but did live rurally originally and frequently do short stays (2 weeks to a month) in rural or remote areas so I am used to comparing amenities and connectivity.

*Melbourne has regular bars but also is very big on rooftop bars. Sydney has some, but other cities hear rooftop bar and think 'bar inside but with views or on top floor of building. Probably formal'. Melbourne roof top bars are on the roof. In the open air (maybe some shade sail) and it's very much a casual thing. Jugs of beer or sangria, chips, feels like a good barbeque rather than a refined cocktail bar. Those are often in basements.

[micamicster]

Hi! Do you have any romcom (movie) recs? I feel like i hypothetically like the genre, but have a lot of trouble finding ones i enjoy. So many romcoms feel so formulaic (in a dead way) and misogynistic and stale to me. I think they’re a lot easier to do well in the context of a series because there’s actually time to build. Recently i thought rye lane and fire island were fun. I like kdramas when i have the time for all the episodes because i appreciate the build. I need chemistry— people who both convincingly like each other and seem like actual human beings. I thought you might have some good ideas! Thanks <3

HELLO LARGE VOICED ANON <3

I hope you weren't waiting on my recs all day haha i have been. hm. hungover af <3 (i'm going to leave kdramas off this list for now but if you would like specific recs for kdrama romcoms send me another ask and i can try to do them justice!)

I think this is a genre with underrated range! So one thing that I find very interesting about the genre of romcoms is that I think there tends to be a split between romcoms whose goal is, like, to be a fun lighthearted movie with a central romance, vs romcoms whose goal is to Say Something About Love in the vehicle of a funny movie. Both of these categories are represented on this list but for giggles i will not be saying which i think are which <3

anyway recs under the cut <3 i will link my tags for these movies if you want to take a look but be warned for spoilers ofc

I think for your purposes my primary rec would be Lovesick (aka Scrotal Recall). It's a (short) tv show so it would likely give you the chance to get to know the characters and see a slower build. In contrast to the frustration you've had with some more "formulaic" romcoms the writing in this show is very deliberately in conversation with romcoms of the past. Also it's just one of my favorite romcoms ever made so I rec it to everyone. The premise is that a young man, Dylan, is diagnosed with chlamydia and instructed to tell his past partners. Being a hopeless romantic (emphasis on hopeless), he decides to try to turn this into an opportunity to revisit relationships that didn't work out, and try to figure out where he's been going wrong. Two simultaneous storylines play out in each episode, the flashbacks to the exes (and breakups) and the present, where Dylan's best friend is getting married.

Older romcoms: When Harry Met Sally (ive heard this is divisive? but idc its SO funny and so well made), Moonstruck (a romantic-comedy in the operatic sense. also cher <3), The Philadelphia Story (katharine hepburn the woman u r. tw for a classic 1940s gag about punching ur wife in the face), Bringing Up Baby (screwball comedy my beloved), Roman Holiday (audrey hepburn is lethally charming in this movie), Dirty Dancing (someday ill write something this good and then You Will Realize), Much Ado About Nothing (i tend to enjoy either the danielle brooks shakespeare in the park version or the classic tennant/tate combo)

Teen romcoms: 10 things I hate about you (young heath ledger and young julia stiles ur welcome), to all the boys i;ve loved before (lana condor is ADORABLE), The Half of It (my other favorite sort-of romcom of the decade)

More recent-ish: Speed (like its keanu and sandra what more do you want), Strictly Ballroom (i used to watch this literally weekly as a child and I WAS RIGHT TO), Miss Congeniality (sandra bullock what u did for us all <3), Fire Island (thank u 4 my LYFE), The sandra bullock/channing tatum movie that came out last year (i forget what its called but he's so funny in it), Mamma Mia AND Mamma Mia Here We Go Again (beautiful greek islands, abba, cher, what more can you ask for?)

Indian/bollywood: Jab We Met (after dramatically quitting his job, Local Man somehow ends up escorting a woman he meets on the train while she attempts to elope with her boyfriend. aka classic screwball comedy heroine and Guy She Dragged Along For The Ride), khabie khushi khabi gham (multiple generations of romance and family drama featuring Kajol, the Most Beautiful Woman In the World), Band Baaja Baaraat (two wedding planners fall in love--great choice if you want to watch idiots ambushed by their feelings)

Other tv recs: Selfie (john cho and karen gillian in a show canceled far too soon)

[skyland2703]

Gonna do one last thing on this app before I get in bed.

Made up fanfic title thingy

Love and Music

Also, here, have this lime I peeled and ate like an orange about an hour ago, and the cut on my tongue still burns from eating.

OUCH HOW DID YOU DO THAT— (are you okay and why do I wanna try doing this. Did you eat the entire thing????)

Now.

“Love and Music” hmmm🤔🤔🤔

You didn’t mention a ship but I’m getting Javelia vibes from this— and also I think you ship em, so lemme give you a Javelia fic Synopsis 👀✨💖🖤

Title: Love and Music

This sounds like a fun little thing to play around with, especially cuz i love music tropes. It COULD be a very lovely little song fic maybe.

ARGHHH I HAVE AN URGE TO MAKE THIS A 1940s lovers AU so let’s go with THAT.

It’s set in New York because I feel like it’d fit.

Amelia jones is a journalist who’s looking for her big break. It’s hard because it’s the 40s and people just laugh at the idea of “A lady journalist? HAH”

She’s out to prove herself, because she’s Amelia fucking Jones. And one day she just comes across a sad little man playing music in central park. She doesn’t pay much attention to him, of course, but that little tune he played gets stuck in her head like an earworm. No lyrics, no words, just the little tune the sad man was singing, stuck in her head.

So of course, in order to get rid of the earworm and saddened by the lack of a good story, she finds herself looking for the sad music man, trying to find him. She looks for days, but she can’t find him.

Then she hears back from a war veteran she had asked to interview, and she goes to meet him. This guy had lost an arm in the war, and he’s a very sad and depressed man who doesn’t meet anyone. She’s surprised he even accepted her request— and even more to her surprise, he’s not the least bit unkind to her. He is, indeed, a little sad and dejected and depressed and a lonely little hermit but he doesn’t shoo her away.

He isn’t too keen on helping with the story but imagine the coincidence when she gets anxious about losing her biggest story, (there’s some scam in the military, I think? It’s fiction so why not :D) and in anxiety she starts humming the same tune she’d heard in Central Park.

Now imagine her surprise when he starts humming along.

Yes, yes he was the sad little man who had been singing in the park.

Long story short, he helps her with her story, she helps him come to terms with his loss, he teaches her how to play music because he cannot play anymore and she plays for him at times and they fall in love :3

send me a made-up fic title and i'll tell you what i would write to go with it

Now if you wanna see a little edit i made on this… 👀

[thelovelyghostwriter]

Answers are below:

AO3 Handle

This is easy. Numbkid.

It has been a pen-name since I was a kid. I was an emo kid who liked Linkin Park's Numb.

2. Ships I write

Currently, mostly Kuraneon. Occassionally there are other HxH pairings like Hisomachi, Tserriednich/Theta, Chrollo/Neon and Ponzu/Pokkle.

3. Ships I read

Pretty much anything I get curious about.

4. When i started writing

11 years old. That was more than a decade ago, even before AO3 was founded.

5. First fic I wrote

I did write something when I was 11 on FF.net. I did delete it because of the poor language use and the fact that it was cringe.

I did remember the title, it was "Can I heal your broken heart" which was a CoAi fanfic.

6. Favourite fic I wrote

There are a lot that I have written over the years. Just to name a few:

I like writing angst, so this is probably the most painful one. Also the longest one-chapter fic I have ever written (13K words).

I think this is my favourite Hisomachi fic. I really enjoyed writing them in a whimsical fantasy setting. It was also pure comedy and fluff.

My very first Tserriednich/Theta central fic, with Hisomachi and Kuraneon pairings as well. I had fun writing Tserriednich in a very psychological thriller type of way.

I loved writing Kuraneon hate-sex. There was something raw and hot about this.

7. Hardest fic I wrote

There were a few fics that were written with much difficulty, for various reasons.

The longest, completed fic I have ever written. It was difficult because half-way because I lost interest in Detective Conan as a series. I have always liked the CoAi pairing, but grew frustrated with how the series was going. Add on to my depression in the 2014-2016 era (this was written from 2015-2018) + adolescent teen angst + readers pressuring me to continue, and you get a recipe for disaster. Incredibly difficult for me to write given the circumstances. I also didn't think it was good and there were people complaining on Wattpad so I thought the efforts were in vain. I was so frustrated that I vowed never to write for this series ever again. Don't know if I'm gonna hold up to that promise but it has been 6 years, so I'm not sure if I'll love this series enough to write for it again. Maybe a one-shot, who knows.

8. Most research-intensive fic I wrote

This one is very obvious. The amount of stuff I had to learn to write how the mafia works in HxH and also how Nen works. Also the HxH world building. Whew. Very heavy stuff. It is paying off though.

9. Fic that is most dear to me

I am going with the first fanfic I have ever discovered.

This fic was first written in 2005, I discovered it just a tad a few years later. I was mindblown by the fact that people could just write about established characters and make up scenarios, lmao. It fulfilled my shipper desires that Conan and Ai would get together! Somehow after like a while, it inspired me to write my own fics. So this was the start of everything.

10. Favourite trope to write

I don't know, I don't really have a trope. There are common things I liked exploring:

Mafia theme

Greed and money

Desires and Death

Sexual temptation

Psychological thriller

Occassionally I do write the happier fics and I think I can pull it off, but that's not where my interests lie.

11. Something I wouldn't write

Hmm... I don't have boundaries, I think? I love exploring different genres, themes and even the most messed up situations. I like dark fics, I do want to write thrillers.

Probably just fics about real people. Like those celebrity fics, like those "my mom sold me to One Direction" or something. It's just weird writing about real people for me.

I also don't really do requests anymore. I would hate to write a ship that I wasn't 100% on board with.

12. Favourite scene I ever wrote

Hmm, this is quite tough. Probably the part where Theta reads a letter from Tserriednich in "Like Turkeys Voting for Christmas".

Dear Theta,  The newspapers told me about your tremendous error that led to the chaos during Sara’s winter concert - how an exhilarating event had burst into madness. Pity poor Sara though. Once was a bright star among the upper echelons, had fallen so gracefully in a blink of an eye. I fantasise that you wonder before going to bed if that error was an unfortunate anomaly, or had been stuck to you like an inherent gene. Like Sara, millions of individuals undergo their life like an inverted curve - the struggle to go up and then come rolling down the hills. Do you find it humiliating that you, once a trustworthy royal head bodyguard, had been demoted to a security for a talentless celebrity rumoured to had fucked her way up to the top in Hollywood? And more so that even in this meagre position, you had failed? Do you believe that failing your career in protecting your client, would be equivalent to having failed to save the inner child wailing deep within yourself?   I would reassure you, my dear Theta, that you are competent. A fine specimen of the female human species. Which is why I had no doubt of choosing you to watch my back. It is unfortunate however, that you chose to stab it. Why would you do that, my dear Theta? We were having so much fun - our intimate bantering had been forever etched to my memories.  I had often backtracked at which pinnacle moment my behaviour became intolerant for you: you had always turned the other cheek whenever a new collection of mine was delivered; and the personal matters of my fucked up royal family had been more or less familiar with you. The screams of women getting out of their shells never fazed you either. Somehow, you believe that me unlocking the powers of Nen would be a Pandora’s box; and that was where you drew the line. But really, who are you to deny me my potential? That is the riddle that has perplexed me. The temptation to open your mind and pick on the neurons for an answer is too high, but I digress.  Needless to say, an utter disappointment when you decided to take the role of Delilah, attempting to defeat the lion that she feared would devour the world.  Has it ever occurred to you that your role in the narrative would not be against me, but besides me? Did you fear that I would have disposed of you after learning Nen from you, dispose of you like the poor trash that you think you are? If that is so, you have greatly underestimated my generosity.  With my sibling, the self-proclaimed winner, had met the untimely death, the Kakin throne had been left vacant. I think it's time for me not only to rule, but my bloodline for eternity. Join me, Theta, this is my offer to you.  Since this time of the year is to celebrate generosity, companionship and forgiveness, I propose both of us do the same. Allow me to show my generosity by giving you something that few had done: justice. The King might be the most important piece, but the Queen is his most prized protector. Once somebody has offended you, they have done the same to me.  You spent Christmas by yourself last year. I will be sure that this year will be different. Until then, please enjoy the gift I have sent you. Some animals really need to keep their hands to themselves.   - Prince Tserriednich Hui Guo Rou 

Then she finds a severed hand inside the gift box sent to her. The hand belonged to a man that tried to molest her earlier in the fic.

13. Where I get inspiration from

Pretty much anything, depending on the topic. Sometimes I just go like "hey I got an idea!"

14. Hardest scene I ever wrote

So far the argument between Kurapika and Neon in the latest chapter Glam Gas Land in Strange Bedfellows. I wanted to write an argument where both of them had a valid point.

15. Favourite characterisation I wrote

Always Kurapika. He is SO fun to explore. I love writing him a good ol' angst scene. I think the angstiest I have him in is "The Rabbit Died".

16. Sequel I would write, if I had the time

There are two.

One was the "Neon Nostrade is a Pop Star/Idol AU". I wrote "In Star-struck Awe". The sequel was supposed to be this:

I only wrote the first chapter. But this sequel was supposed to be the story where the media finds out that Kurapika and Neon are dating. I plan to make changes to both fics and set it to the 2000s. I want to make references to the 2000s music industry scene, mixing up Neon's Pop Idol character with Britney Spears, Paris Hilton etc. The 2000s were also very brutal to famous female celebrities, so it will be a fun fic project.

Another sequel I planned to write was from "Black Veil". I have not posted the fic sequel yet, but I plan to expand from this. Since in Black Veil, Kurapika finds an alternate universe where he got married to Neon and had kids, with the Kurta clan still alive. Since he got back to his own world, he explains that Neon is actually in the ICU where nothing can wake her up. There is a plant in the Dark Continent to cure all diseases. So I want to write a sequel on that.

17. Story I wanna write, but don't think people will enjoy reading

I think just really dark fics. For Kuraneon, I kind of wanna write another dark fic with the tag "infanticide". Go figure.

I also am tempted to write a Gin/Sherry fic. I don't know, I think this ship is dark and interesting.

18. A line from a WIP

"Kurapika had enquired to one of the townsfolk for The Owl's location"

19. A recent comment that made you smile

Pretty much any comments from @anotherworldash ! She has very long comments that made me smile so much!

20. A discontinued work that I would have loved to finish

There are two.

Of Marigolds and Dragonflies.

This fic was a Hiei/Botan fic that I have abandoned. I made the mistake of having to post more chapters, when it could be a standalone one-shot fic. It begins after 1 year of death anniversary of Hiei and Botan's unborn child, and they have broken up over it.

I actually had a good vision for this fic, but I kinda moved onto another fandom. Perhaps I can just post the first chapter of the fic, I think this is a good standalone.

The Outsiders.

The other fic is this one. It's a crossover fic between Detective Conan and Tokyo Ghoul.

I had this idea of Conan being a detective and going around to solve ghoul-related cases. But alas, I kind of got tired of Detective Conan; so I dropped it. Once in a while I see CoAi content for my own amusement, but I'm sort of done writing for it. Don't know if I'll pick up this idea again.

21. Fic writers I admire

I think I admired a few of them back when FFnet was still the norm, but they stopped working on fanfics.

22. A story I recommend

After Hours by Cb_w.

A story by @anotherworldash

A Vampire AU where Neon is a vampire and Kurapika is a vampire hunter.

The Sleeping Beauty in the Bathtub by Cb_w.

Definitely one of my fave darker Kuraneon stories.

[minijenn]

Jen Tortures Herself With Every Dreamworks Animated Movie Ever: Madagascar

So I haven't seen this movie in years, even tho I used to watch it all the time as a kid. And let me tell ya'll.. it's even funnier than I remembered it being! Like seriously, I think they strained any opportunities for humor out of Shark Tale and put it all into this movie, because I honestly think it might even rival Shrek 2 as Dreamworks' best comedy (so far at least).

So what's the story? Marty the zebra, Alex the lion, Gloria the hippo, and Melman the giraffe life at the Central Park Zoo, until Marty has himself a Midlife Crisis and through a series of comedic disasters (involving a certain group of iconic Penguins), lands the squad in the wilds of Madagascar. Chaos ensues and its some of the funniest chaos Dreamworks has had to offer (again so far).

The characters are all great here. There isn't a single one of them I didn't like. Marty is a goofball, who genuinely has some really solid moments of friendship with Alex, who definately has the most Dramatic Conflict in the movie thanks to his carnivorous instincts coming out. Melman and Gloria are also pretty great (I swear, Melman's whole hypocondriact thing got some of the biggest laughs from me), and so are the Penguins (they don't get a lot of screen time, but they shine when they do) and King Julian, who is probably the funniest character in the damn movie, and that's saying something given this cast.

The animation leans into the comedy so well, with a lot of rapid movements and insanely well-timed slapstick. The highly stylized character designs lend themselves well to that too, even if I think there were a few frames where they looked... a little uncanny as a result. The soundtrack is also really solid! A lot less pop songs this time around, but the few that are there fit really well into the story (I Like to Move It Move It is a certified Bop by the way, fucking fight me).

The story itself works really well. It's simple, tightly focused on developing its characters, and that's really what I like to see! It really hones in on the friendship between Marty and Alex especially, and the dynamic they have is a really fun one to watch play out. There were a few moments of actually compelling drama too, especially heading into the third act.

Something interesting about this movie is that I think its the first Dreamworks movie to not really have any actuall villain? I mean sure, there's the fossa, but they're not really characters, more just an obstacle that needs to be taken care of in the final climax above all else. Instead, the plot is driven by conflict between the main characters, something that I think is really fresh for a Dreamworks movie. It's also, aside from Prince of Egypt, the second Dreamworks movie to not be driven by a "because woman" plot, so that also shakes their usual formula up really nicely.

As a whole, Madacasgar is great! I'm very surprised its not more ingrained into meme culture, because it has the kind of humor that I think really appeals to everyone. Check it out if you haven't, cause its a very solid start to the second of Dreamworks many, many ongoing series.

Overall Rating: 8/10

Verdict: Eat Ass Everyday

Previous Review (Shark Tale)

Next Review (Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit)

[therummesoccupied]

IDW'S SONIC THE HEDGEHOG, SPRING BROKEN SPECIAL - THOUGHTS

A while back, it became pretty clear that the abundant specials IDW has been releasing for the past year have had a certain... "commonality" about them. Endless Summer, A Very Chaotix Halloween, Winter Jam - the Four Seasons theming read loud and clear. Now, up until a couple months ago, I'd assumed the 900th Adventure Special was meant to be the stand-in for Spring in this lineup, so I was a bit surprised when Spring Broken was announced to round the seasonal specials off. I was interested to see what kind of send-off they'd give this little gaggle of stories.

This time around, we have pencils by Adam Bryce Thomas and colors by Leonardo Ito. These two are a really great combo, as I think Ito's emphasis on simple, soft color palettes compliments the very manga-esque style Adam brings to the table. This style, however, leaves me a little confused as to why he, of all artists, was the one pulled for this story.

ABT tends to be at his best when working on big, over-the-top action sequences. His work really sells the sense of adrenaline the series is trying to convey in its tensest moments. That being said, the story here is... fairly mundane? The characters spend a day at the fair and solve a mystery about flowers. Heck, the entire last couple pages are entirely dedicated to showing the characters enjoying the attractions once all is said and done.

There's not really a ton here in the way of high-stakes plot that would really give Adam a chance to shine.

That being said, there's still enough here that you can see his art style noticably developing a bit in a manner akin to Evan Stanley's. Namely in the way he draws Sonic himself.

It might just be my imagination, here, but I could swear Sonic's quills are longer and come to a more distinct point than the way Adam usually draws them. We know Evan has been taking strides to incorporate elements of official 2D Sonic art into her artstyle, perhaps this is a sign that Adam has been doing the same. Beyond that, I think I'm noticing some more fun and stretchy facial expressions on some of these characters, too. When it comes to the way faces are drawn, I've always found that ABT has a tendency to stay pretty on-model, but here I'm seeing a bit more expressive warping of the facial proportions than I'd expect out of Adam.

Where Adam really knocks it out of the park here, though, is with the background character designs.

Adam's always good at drawing up unique OCs, and there are tons of 'em here. Having so many characters with so many looks and still having a consistent style to them all goes a long way toward helping the world feel just a little more lived in. Another cool bit of background work he contributed is this central figure that pops up in a few places around the festival.

Also I just noticed that Cream and Vanilla are here. Neato.

When asked about this figure on Twitter, ABT said that she's intended to be a sort of Nature Spirit, and that the festival pays reverence to her. She's never mentioned in the story, but it's a neat little detail to see the more spiritual side of this world's cultures.

As I said before, the story, written by Josh Trujillo, is not too incredibly exciting. The majority of the plot centers around the mystery behind the annual Flower Contest, which itself is really three mysteries, all of which are wrapped up pretty quickly. Really, it seems to be less about the mystery, and more about how these characters spend their free time in a sort of slice-of-life fashion. This is fine, and it shows us some neat character interactions we don't normally get to see, like Jewel and Espio or Amy and Nite, but it's also something we've been getting a lot of lately.

It almost makes me wonder, with the amount of miniseries and specials they've been putting out there recently, if it wouldn't be possible, and maybe a better use of resources, to just run a dedicated sister series devoted to telling side stories like Sonic Universe did for Archie.

I'm not the first person to make this point, but perhaps then we could get more big, exciting plots full of stakes and gravitas in the main book. Who knows.

All in all, Spring Broken didn't particularly blow me away. I'd say it's a nice break from the norm but... it's not. It's exactly the kind of story we've frankly been getting in surplus as of late. I'm ready for things to move again, ready for the non-stop, blood-pumping action of Sonic the Hedgehog! There are some cute moments here and there that I do appreciate, but I just wish they could have come at a different time.

Issue #70 drops in about 22 hours for me, so with any luck, that will scratch my itch for more exciting Sonic stories for a bit.

'Til then, thanks for reading!

[tecceran]

Hi Tech!!! For the music ask game, 1, 9, 10, and/or 23 :D

hello fish!! thank you for the ask!! <3

also i’m doing two for all of these because i’m indecisive, want to talk about more music, and then i can do one pjsk/vocaloid related and one otherwise. and they’re in whack order because that’s the order i answered them in.

(also strap in, this got long lol)

★ 10: A song that makes you sad

▸ one more light - linkin park

just the fact that the whole message of the song seems to be “stay alive. there’s always someone out there that cares for you. *i* care for you.” but knowing the circumstances of chester bennington’s death, this song always hits me particularly hard.

▸ cinema - ayase (YOASOBI) - performed by vivid bad squad

right off the bat had to put cinema. the blorbo feels are real. every time i read the lyrics while listening to it i want to cry (or i do cry). akito shinonome what have you done to me. (told me there’s always hope is what he did. look at him. he gave me bittersweet hope.)

★ 23:A song that you think everybody should listen to

to me there’s two ways to read this prompt. “i think everybody should listen to this because i’m obsessed with it” and then there’s “i think this is a good song for everybody to listen to”

first option ▸ “ÅMARA (the great intelligence)” - sasakure.UK!!!!!!!

i have fallen in love with the otherworldly sound and the sci-fi/post-future visuals of the MV. also miku and kaito just sound beautiful. i do appreciate very realistic vsyth tuning, but i also really like when composers lean in to the inherent electronic sound to produce something that feels incomplete when sung by humans. however i would say the MV calls for a minor body horror warning and an eye contact warning!

second option ▸ “a symptom of being human” - shinedown

shinedown is a solidly “dad rock” band, but because of my dad it’s very special to me. also i am a huge sucker for any song that’s message is “we’re all human. we’re all a little weird, but we’re all still people.“ even if it’s a little cringe i still always love it. i think everyone feels at some point like they’re somehow different than everyone else, an alien, an outsider, broken somehow. so i love any song that says “that’s OK. we have differences. but we are all still humans, and we all deserve to find happiness and peace of mind because of that.”

★ 1: A song you like with a color in the title

▸ white rabbit - egypt central

gonna be honest, i don’t know anything else by this band. think this is kinda their one big hit

▸ close to gray / infinitely grey / kagirinaku haiiro e - surii - performed by nightcord at 25:00 / 25-ji, nightcord de.

shinonome siblings’ comms never miss let me tell you. they’re also literally both me. like i relate to ena in many ways. both shinonomes mean so much to me </3

★ 9: A song that makes you happy

▸ upside down - set it off

this song is like whatever the reverse of personification is for a silly little guy. it’s a little dumb and dorky but the stupidly upbeat protagonist never fails to make me smile because it’s so hilariously optimistic. i know a lot of set it off fans (at least the ones i know irl) prefer their heavier albums (and i’m really happy with the singles they’ve been putting out since they got away from that label) but upside down always feels to me like the band themself wanted to experiment more with making lighter music, rather than them being pushed that direction by the label (which i feel happened somewhat with elsewhere)

▸ wah wah world - giga and mitchie m - performed by hatsune miku, minori hanasato, and azusawa kohane

this song is also very silly and fun. it perfectly fits minori and kohane to me. two cute girls with a lot of determination and a bit of an “edgy” side! it’s also way better than sekai (the song). sorry but it’s true idk how it happened

[wufflesvetinari]

Hi! This is so bizarre, and feel free to ignore, but I'm planning a trip to Japan in November. If you feel comfortable, would you share some of your favorite places. And also where you saw the shows? It looked like such a good trip from what you've shared.

hey not bizarre at all, i love talking about it!!!! disclaimer that i don't know shit

so we chose to do something slightly unusual and skip kyoto, which is like. the big one other than tokyo. we did it because 1) we wanted to spend half the time in a less touristy place and 2) we think we will come back. so keep in mind that my experience missed a really big "essential" stop according to some. so we did 1) an urban leg in tokyo 2) an outdoorsy/quiet leg in nagano prefecture and 3) one night at a ryokan in hakone

in tokyo, staying in shinjuku was great for nightlife/people watching during said nightlife. it was also very central both for getting trains out of town and for easy access to harajuku and shibuya, which were my favorite neighborhoods. ginza was also a good contrast as like a very high-class commercial center. go to Bar Owls for a secluded li'l classy basement bar. our two super splurge restaurants in tokyo: X X

also a kind of overlooked neighborhood is yanaka, which is quieter with more historic buildings + a huge cemetery. yanaka ginza is a cute cheap shopping street themed around black cats

the show in this first photo is the samurai restaurant in shinjuku, which is VERY touristy but so much fun. the dancing and costuming and atmosphere were all super good

we also did a tea ceremony with MAIKOYA (where you are invited in to participate and given context for everything that is happening) and saw a sumo tournament with an english-speaking guide

in nagoya prefecture we based ourselves in hakuba for the hiking--it's an off-season ski resort and quite charming. i do think if i did the area again i'd stay in matsumoto nearby, which besides its castle has more public transport and central routes to a national park, the snow monkeys outside of nagano city, etc (we did not get to see the snow monkeys but they might be more present in november, idk). we saw several shrines and buddhist temples, and rode the ski lifts up happo-one to hike (bottom left)

LOVED going to a ryokan. hakone is a hot spring resort town and we could have spent more than a night there!! we stayed at kowakien mikawaya. they fed us SO well and we got a room with a private onsen (top two + the food middle right). very good, very relaxing concept for a vacation

my other bit of general advice is to double-check whether the things you really want to do need reservations, and do it EARLY. there's a great direct tourist train from shinjuku to mt. fuji, but tickets were sold out by the time we got there (it's better to get a service to buy them for you ahead of time is my understanding) and the same was true for the ghibli museum. but we had a lot of fun just meandering in neighborhoods between our booked activities so i don't feel like we were missing much