#i have. sO much worldbuilding yall don't even know

[daystarvoyage]

The Dana Terrace Vs Vivienne Medrano, The Great Debate of Two Female Creators

Hello Starry Knights, This is the lovely Kyoko Cane, The Brown Sugah Queen, & cosplayer who performs and visits numerous cons throughout, while making blogs/vlogs on animated media & entertainment.

as you know or are new to this page, I am an artist who also dedicated my fashion in drag, on all my platforms along my artwork & discussions (be it anime or Western) that can affect real-life even fandoms, with a variety of videos.

the title of the post is about The two proclaimed talked about animators, Dana Terrace & Vivienne Medrano, I'll be critiquing how these two women of animation tackle the industry. This will have strong opinions from recent interview videos I've watched.

(I'll be calling Vivienne VIVI FOR SHORT & letting you know, if I were to watch ones in the future affecting my post come on the comments to ask freely, AND YES ALL PROJECTS AND TOPICS ARE NOT WITHOUT THEIR CRITIQUES, FLAWS IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE IT, CHECK OUT THE DAYSTAR VOYAGE, DON'T HATE, APPRECIATE! )

OK LETS GET STARTED In this 3-part segment

1. The Different Artstyles That Made Us Love These Shows.

Vivis work (Helluva Boss & Hazbin Hotel)

Now We all know as fans & lovers of animation when we hear a series that's greenlit after viewing on a television screen, in a magazine, or sponsored in commercials, right? As for these two,

The first time I heard of VIVI's work was on a YouTube ad commercial in line & premiered for the pilot, I was fully captivated by its groundbreaking story, from hazbin hotel to the comedy in helluva boss, along with its ghoulish Beetlejuice-inspired art style.

(which I'm a sucker for the niche, indie projects & gothic horror.)

observing her sketchbook on YouTube, I was drawn in by the captivated humanoid shapes she sketches, along with her fluid & flowing style.

the worldbuilding version of heaven & hell drew me in, after watching hazbin hotel. The pilot had a lot to offer from its dreary horrific turns/obstacles from its character debut, story & distorted beauty that there was a lot to tune Into along my first episode of Helluva Boss,

Now we are gonna get down to lore storytelling and character growth.

(and im fully aware of how the fandom treats the rest of the main & supporting cast not letting them flesh out including the females, btw)

Vivi has so much to offer, after watching the latest episode of Helluva Boss and finishing Hazbin Hotel, I see she has the potential to make a good show on drama & sell it, however with her controversy coming through I feel she needs to learn on how to perceive herself online, so makes it hard for me not to hate her series, be it art and her work.

(its truly good when it wants to be as for the writing ima get to that later. with the stolitz & lumity discourse on part 2)

The owl House by Dana terrace

Now you all know by now, I am a full-on Owl House fan regardless of its show ending early, and my many critics on Dana Terrace drew me in with her macabre art and full-on passionate skeletal pieces after looking at her socials and sketchbook online, as a debut showrunner who made her great stance on lgbt representation she has cemented herself as an acclaimed cartoon creator.

However, she does have her flaws ever since rewatching the series, and a lot to learn about the business, after rewatching The Show and yes I have notes written to prove them,

To add I felt if alex Hirsch wasn't on the project, everyone wouldn't watch that show since yall want it to be the next GRAVITY FALLS,

I love the fandoms that discuss the errors of these creators cause it give more insight on how to portray yourselves on in the real world, cause lemme tell you, it was all watered down I'm get to that in a minute

one problem i have with particularly since she's a good artist & creator is her depending on certain tropes to carry out her cast, cause some may be harmful & the writing be generic.

She needs work on being a better showrunner cause those skills need Cleaning up including writing certain characters on who gets the spotlight.

NEXT SEGMENT

2. The Good, Great, Bad & Ugly in Fandom Discourse,

Vivis Work (Wow Yall can be Wow)

Vivienne Has made her mark in the YouTube market ever since making her pilot debut on Kesha video & hazbin hotel pilot,

I'm so glad for her contributions towards the indie market making her way to showing great representation in the general audience for an adult show, yes an adult show and that's not without its controversy,

with her grand debate, I feel everyone took this woman's artwork turning it into something ugly, which is so uncool.

and I for one will not stand for the hate trains of now popular shows flip-flopping and then float back to it cause your series is acclaimed now, let's be real she deserves her crowns and laurels Just keeping it real, regardless cause its a fire show

The fandom has shown their love of the show cause it knocked down so many doors in many ways, but let's be real the audience is now geared toward children cause we all know, this generation can be doing some crazy things, cause they all need to tone down the language,

which I feel viv needs to work on the jokes I get, it's an adult show which is concerning and it's a Gen Z world where people have access to computers 247, which contributes to all the nasty discourse and crass behavior not to mention,

viv needs to calm down her fans when it comes down to her work and the way stoliz is perceived.l can be questionable, not to mention how the females are written which I do know the key word for this below.

cause i rarely do find the females are compelling, but yet to fleshed out like the rest of the male characters so misogynist comes into mind in this show and how it sells

there some moments it only aims to the infamous ship Stolitz (and doesn't let other characters breathe (this is a problem with the owl house which ill get to right now cause the pacing is wow smh)

(next to the owl house which I'll get to cause OMG)

THE OWL HOUSE FANDOM (GRRRR) lemme calm down

If you haven't seen my posts, including the bashing and discourse there's also a list I swear lemme quote

in the words of Biggie Small - if you don't know now ya know.

The owl house fandom i was on ride or die for the lumity however we all know how that ship got it start and built up cause they expected it to be this thing to say F you to Disney which is good cause disney had it coming howver, after the show ended

Yall have become the most foulest ugliest & disrespectful fandom ever since the Steven Universe, Voltron and miraculous incidents,

its sad to see how these two franchises fell into the worse cases, the two creators may come across not caring of there fandom acts cause there's a saying

The captain always goes down with his ship MEANING

A captain should not have to sacrifice their life simply because the vessel they are in control of is in distress

There’s two fandoms such as Steven universe & voltron fell from grace into toxicity down below that are prime examples

The Owl House fandom has got to be some of the most entitled, uppity if not (racist) fans!

yall clearly have not listened to other fans or can't take criticism, yes the show did make very feminist undertones and the male characters didn't shine at all in their titular episodes or moments, which doesn't help at all.

Since Dana drew inspiration from Powerpuff Girls

(which comes on and the writers being all female, is gonna have damaging effects)

Cause stifled the male characters in a way where there not as prominent or impactful,

So this word MISANDRY comes to mind

The fandom has gone down to the point of no return, I mean,

one fan from a webcam interview WANTED DANA's ADDRESS EWWW!

its not that the Disney drama was too blame for the project, (to an extent) which I'm proud for the fandom for banding together on animation, but need to take off the lgbt glasses cause boy the show's writing was pushed in favor of that.

CONGRATS You did at the cause of Harassment and bad behavior in fandoms,

NEXT TOPIC

3. Make The Business Makes Sense & epilogue

THE OWL HOUSE

Dana Terrace has the makings of doing good shows however when it comes down to an audience to kid she has some major damage control on how the fandom will come across,

i mean have we not learned from the Lilith and Camilla toxic issues, you can tell the show likes to demonize the adults which is unacceptable, and can damage storytelling and characters.

the truth i feel there needs to be proper staff on how to write POC, and ethnic and cultural representation In the show, Amphibia, Molly mcgee, Haileys on it and other break-out shows did it better,

hell yo had Amphibia doing those dishes in Frogworld, can you imagine the boiling isles taking on Hispanic cuisine.

Which i felt could've hit a mark on luz home life and culture if written & fleshed out,

Like the staff didn't know how to write those topics, they've coulda gone so far with it but unfortunately fail flat not to mention the fashion. UGH

sigh.

ViVI WORKS ( i try not to make this quick but e can discuss more on comments be NICE)

Vivienne Medrano has good fashion and business sense

its important to have that cause having a Cloud Nine franchise coming from nothing can do wonders for how you are perceived as an artist,

The discourse has come due to her take on the controversy on platforms talking on her many harsh topics

(in my opinions she too needs to work on controlling scenarios & damage control that can affect her

So tried but yeah

vivi is a dominant artist who takes her business seriously so I am glad to have her flourish in Spindlehorse,

butt just i wish i cant help but fall outta love with her work, knowing of the problems in today's animation comes certain things you can say even snowflakes can break under if heard by there favorite creators.

lets be honest these two can learn from each other. and vivi does sure know angles and promoting

very glad to get this written so I put some thought into this

i wish nothing for the best for these awesome artists and creators thank you all for coming so far and have a wonderful voyage thanks.

[thefringespod]

Finally got smart enough to make my #AudioDramaSunday list ahead of time so I wouldn't forget anything for once! We're gonna start today with the newest Magus Protocol episode which was phenomenal. Cole Weavers wrote this one and I just adore his writing. Also: Augustus is here 👀

Early access for the newest ep of @souloperatorpod was this week and y'all have a TREAT waiting for you tomorrow. Tot continues to astound me with her many talents and we also get to meet a new character who I'm already in love with

@tellnotalespod has brought us back to Julia and Riley who are overworking themselves (especially Riley. Let them sleep.) I love getting to hear from them in these mini eps but they DO make me want to shake Leo even harder Leo please talk to your friends please

@camlannpod episode 2 released this week and my gods it was so much fun. A blend of deep and emotional scenes and comedy (I'm still thinking about "The CW lied to me") I love every character with my whole heart and have been loving all the theories on tumblr about the show

New @innbetween was so sweet I love hearing the Lowlifes become actual friends. Phoebe thinking that everyone wanted her to leave squeezed my heart so hard and everyone insisting she stay because she was the one that they wanted for the quest??? Just so so good

@somewhereohio has once again knocked me flat with this episode. The worldbuilding around Jasmine and what's going on with her memories is incredible! I am an Orange Splice stan 1st and person 2nd. Also the Nadia/Alex scene breaks my heart because I know how they end 😭.

New Technomancy Project was SO GOOD!! And I was FUCKING RIGHT!!! I said this before but I love having all of them play Belial's game this time around and I don't think there's a single EPO agent who didn't make me cry this ep. The Technomancy Project continues to kick ass

Caught up on last weeks @thesiltverses and gods it fucked me up (affectionate) B Narr does such a fantastic job with Faulkner. I love him. I hate him. I want him to get whats coming to him & I want to protect him from it at the same time. B's performance knocks me flat every time

There was another special episode of @wakeofcorrosion this week featuring the Fringes' very own @totcoc0a and @taytayheyhey! I will never forgive them for what they did to my heart <3 Shaun Pellington wrote a killer script and deserves none of the blame even if it did break me

Continuing to make my way through the Storage Papers this week and episodes 13-19 were VERY good. I said "Nope, don't like that" out loud multiple times while listening to 19 which is the exact reaction you want from a horror pod.

This isn't a new episode listen but @wpwcpod has announced their existence and cast and im SO FUCKING EXCITED!! Not only do I love CL Hendry's writing but it will also feature the Fringes' very own Ollie Bannerman and @chainofbeing Cai Gwilym Pritchard I'm so hyped

Also not a new episode listen but Athan (creator of The Grotto) has announced that his album is coming out on March 29! If you've listened to The Grotto then you know Athan writes killer music. And if you dont listen to the Grotto: DO IT GO LISTEN RIGHT NOW ITS SO GOOD

Here on the Fringes we're preparing for the second half of the season! Episode 19 is available RIGHT NOW at patreon.com/PineTreePods and will be available to the public this Wednesday! Also gearing up to finish the last 3 episodes of season 3 which I'm super excited for

And over on @forgedbondspod the first half of the show is written! The cast has been thrown into a discord and has access to scripts now which is super exciting, I can't wait for yall to hear what's going to come from the first 24 eps

And that's all for this week! It's a long audiodrama Sunday post but there's just. So much good stuff going on. Every day I'm so grateful to exist in this audiodrama space and to share my work with yall <3

[black-rose-writings]

I am going to make a huge mistake and reread a series I've loved as a teen.

Let's see how it holds up.

For context, the series is called Rafaelova škola (Raphael's school) and it's a Czech esoterical fantasy series. It's a 9-book series, with the final one coming out just recently, so I thought I could get back into it.

The series is very much based on a lot of new age woo/mysticism type stuff, but since that stuff is used as a framework for building the fantasy elements of the story, it's not that bad (at least as far as I remember) and it's used very effectively for worldbuilding. It's got some elements of Percy Jackson and Harry Potter, which I really enjoyed at the time, and has a female protagonist, which I was very happy about, and it is absolutely batshit insane in a good way (or at least, I though so like 5 years ago when I last read anything from this series).

The premise is that our main character, Marina Fialková (Violet) has a mother who mysteriously disappeared when she was a baby, who wished for her to attend a specific boarding school when she grew up. Said school is for supernatural beings and Marina's mother was one of them. The first book's main plot is about Marina finding her mother/supernatural side of her family and the rest of the series about reconciling with said family (and their various fuck-ups through the millenia some of them have been alive) and growing into her potential as a fairy.

Supernatural beings in this world are refered to as Elementals and there's seven main types of "higher" elementals, who can transform into human forms - Fairies, Nagas, Fauns, Mermaids (refered to mostly as Nymphs), Dryads, Harpies (also refered to as Sirens) and Centaurs. Elementals don't age once they reach maturity, they are deeply connected to nature and they can use magic.

The first six of these types can be born into human bodies, either by having mixed-species parents or even to two human parents in some cases (centaurs are not born into human bodies as they don't breed with the other species) and the Raphael's school is specifically meant to help them grow into healthy adult elementals (young elementals born into human bodies need to go through metamorphoses into the seven main higher elemental types before they reach their adult body and this process can easily go wrong without proper guidance - and even with guidance and preparation result in some really interesting body horror).

Also, soulmates are real in this universe.

IDK, I just kinda want to see if it is actually good or I was just 15 last time I read it.

I'll be tagging this with čumblr, because I know some of yall also have nostalgia for this series and will suffer right alongside me.

[roydeezed]

Dungeon Meshi Thoughts 02

Okay, I read another batch of chapters and finished Chapter 28 where they just finished the Dragon fight. And I need to get some thoughts out cause I am filled with "DREAD". Am I just traumatized from other things because I feel an immense sword of Damocles hanging above these character's even though it's mostly just been happy meals together paired with some questionable morals. Also you fans who've replied or dm'd me are really good at keeping a lid on stuff, which I appreciate, cause yall are being cryptic in ways I can't decipher. I feel like spoilers might be a part of reading this so I'll keep in-depth thoughts below the 'Keep reading'.

Love this goofy dude.

Okay, first of all I just want to touch on the immaculate vibes and execution around the sharing of meals. And discovering things through them. Because the core concept of this manga is cooking and learning about creatures no one else has explored, it's able to double up and hide the other core concept. Which is learning about others through sharing a meal. Love is found in sharing food with others and this manga shows that off brilliantly. They sit around a meal and talk and laugh and learn about each other. This manga also executes the goading of friends into eating questionable food so well it sometimes feels like an episode of Parts Unknown. But through cooking together and sharing ideas and that downtime together we find out about our characters in such a gentle way and it's just such a good way of showing it that I'm in awe. But it also only works as well as it does because of the central conceit of it all. I scream at the brilliance.

And speaking of learning about the character's, I am so curious about every single one of them. Especially Senshi. Because he's drawn in such a way that most of his expressions are hidden, he seems enigmatic and detached but his consideration for others and his harmony with the dungeon betrays a sense of empathy. But I wanna know more!!! Like why is he living in the dungeon? Who were his companions? Why does he hate magic? So mysterious and I want to know more.

Also a part of me wonders if I'm reading too much into it or having totally wrong reads like maybe Senshi is just an outright psychopath but I don't think I am because the trail of breadcrumbs I've been following has seemed very purposeful so far.

And speaking of breadcrumbs, It feels like some really dark stuff is being laid out. Like souls can't leave bodies? What in the necromantic hell is going on there? The worldbuilding of this all has been absolutely phenomenal. Like the slow building of spirits to the concept of resurrection that was used as a punchline before being fully explained and then used in the context of a political tool and the master of the dungeons power was pulled off subtly and expertly. It still feels like it's in wait of a payoff so I'm looking forward to how that goes. But this explanation of dark magic that Marcille uses also feels like a tee-up to something deeper.

I also wonder what the payoff of the other adventuring party is goin to be? The ones that Laios's group already passed a few times and stole barley off of. It feels like some misunderstood revenge might be in store for our party.

Okay, so is a dark elf just literally a brown elf? We going oldschool DnD rules (we'll save the drow rant for another time), huh? Jokes aside, this line kinda keyed me into something weird. Dark Elves exist but common people don't know what it means and soon after we get a proper introduction of the kid in the painting but in current times. And it makes sense they haven't aged as much because it was also pointed out how different races age differently. So maybe this elf rose through the ranks of the royals, became court magician and became the master of the dungeon. And being a reader of Solte the Traveller and it's isekai shenanigans makes me wonder if the underground castle was isekai'd into this world from another, cause how do you not notice an entire underground civilization under you?

Also this moment. Is everyone in love with Farlyn/Falin(wikipedia says Falin so I think I'll stick to that)? But her coming back into the group makes me wonder about the dynamic. I thought she was the common sense of the group since it's immediately after she's gone that Laios starts eating monsters and thinking about going solo into a dungeon, but after coming back, she's totally cool with it. Also she seems too gentle to be putting Laios in his place so I wonder if it was one of the other two party member's that aren't with them anymore? Maybe the guy with a crush on Falin that we haven't seen since he split? Anyways, I love Falin and the rest of the group so much already, they're all really unique and likable in their own ways while having flaws.

And speaking of flaws, this guy. I love him so much. Up until the above panel he was a whimsical, daring, detached, morally ambiguous, and hilarious bastard to me. And then this panel happened and now I am fully in. This recontextualized Laios's whole demeanour and also shed a light on how exhausted and haggard the party actually was. It seems that the way the world works in this manga demands a certain sense of detachment from it's inhabitants to stay sane. Death is usually not permanent and weird edible monsters are everywhere and a whole-ass economy has popped around invading this anomaly that just one day appeared in the ground. And our heroes tackle this detachment with humour. But we see how tired they get. Hell it was the first thing they mentioned in the first fight with the dragon. And how desperate they get as they get closer to Falin. The cracks in their whimsy start appearing and bags form under eyes and concessions are made. And when Laios finally hugs Falin I realize that his upbeat attitude the whole way through was hiding his desperation and the weight of having two lives placed on him. That desperation hits a crescendo when he literally jumps in a dragons mouth just for a chance at getting his sister back. They all became desperate. Marrcille used forbidden magic and Chilchuck put himself actively in harms way. They dredged through bones. I am so invested right now. And writing this helps me feel each beat even more. Also one last note. Falin is like half-dragon or something now? She has the magic storage of a dragon or just dragon magic or forbidden magic? That little tidbit is definitely leading somewhere. ALSO WIPE AWAY THE MAGIC CIRCLE BAD ELF ALREADY FOUND IT!!!

[freezethunder]

I am coming to you with a request for some research in worldbuilding (hence ask here and not on ask blog) I'm starting a new book from gamer mom's (chiakis) perspective and i need to get an idea of where to learn about some other factions aside from the FF during the Tragedy. I know yall know about the fangames and I know NONE of them so what I'm asking is, which ones should I look up? I don't have the energy to do a deep dive on them but I think I should at least learn a little for ideas.

Well I only know the lore of only a handful of fangans myself. And some of them aren’t even up to that part of their stories yet. So the only one I can suggest you look into is the Kisaragi Foundation from the DRA/SDRA2 fangans.

Without spoiling too much, here’s my take on them just so you can get an understanding of what it’s about. Everything wrong you can imagine going on at Future Foundation, the Kisaragi Foundation is doing it worse

[heartbrake-hotel]

Lordy honey yall makin me wanna write my own damn prompt. I got some more little tidbits for ya:

Elvis was turned during his first appearance at the International. But who turned him? I'm thinking there's some sort of deal going on between one the old vampires who invested in the building, maybe even the International's owner and Colonel Parker. They want Elvis to play there for as long as possible, and he isn't getting any younger--so they make it so he can't get any older, either.

At first Elvis is in a state of confusion, because fledglings (at least in my thoughts) are in a sort of fog when first turned. It helps them to adapt to feeding; cue Colonel Parker shoving cigarette girls into Elvis's suite, which he drains dry, much to his own horror when the initial feeding frenzy lifts.

And Colonel Parker isn't exactly picky with what he feeds Elvis: whoever is easy to get up into the suite, and high young girls are the easiest. Elvis tries, when he can afford it, to not feed--he doesn't know that if he drinks regularly then the frenzy won't come, but nobody has told him much of anything. His Sire isn't there, there wasn't any sort of ritual to his Turning as there normally is. No, this was just business.

aLRIGHT WOOHOO SMITTY MY LOVE LOOK AT US !!! im finally getting to this lmaoooo oOOPS 🙈 AND i have some mf THOUGHTS,,

(the orig hc post is here btw) ((idk if yall could tell but it Wrecked my Shit))

also it's been Sooooo long since we discussed this that u now have some Other relevant supernatural!au lore to pull from . so,, i hope u don't mind if i conflate the two universes a lil but ur worldbuilding in you ain't nothin' but a overtook my conscious mind weeks ago and has yet to relent 💝 oh nooooo.. whatever shall i dooooo.. 😏

far too many words under the cut. i, uh.. i may have lost control a lil 🤭🦇 ft. a frankly excessive use of pet names and an e who has been babygirlified maybe more than is appropriate within the confines of the plot (shocking, i'm sure).

right ok so !! vegas as a hub for at least some of the supernatural bc of its transient nature, high tourist volume, and seedy reputation. obvious check

for the most part, unaffiliated vamps stay out of vegas. like you said- it's too hard to monitor their blood concentrations when everyone and their dog is doing truckloads of party drugs well into the night.! but there are, of course, some Old Ones, who saw (or perhaps even built??) the city as their own personal playground btw this blends so seamlessly into the irl high-level mob ties its crazy lmao. marina's bringing up elvis is literally never not on my mind 🙏

if you're rich enough, or powerful enough (or have friends who are enough so), you don't have to fend for yourself the same way, so it's less of an issue. sucking out some rando party girl off the street is faaar beneath the pay grade of the handful of guys at the top, who have their meals carefully cultivated and hand-procured thru what is almost certainly a human trafficking ring

kirk kerkorian [or meyer kohn - u can pick ur universe, here] and the entire board of the international is of course among this group, exerting their power and influence (and perhaps Compulsion) to keep the flow of money running smoothly from the casinos below directly into their cash-lined pockets.

colonel tom parker [a demon again? or perhaps nobody in particular - either way he ends up hellspawn lmao whether literally or figuratively] is acutely aware of this when he first signs elvis on for the hotel's opening season - how could he not be? and of course everything goes perfectly smoothly for those first six weeks in 1969. **ik im twisting ur original idea just a tad but bear w me

but the longer the engagement goes, the more trouble colonel has reining elvis in. he had agreed heartily to those first fifty-eight appearances - purely to fund his upcoming world tour, you understand ("the snowman strikes again!"). but no matter how much colonel wheedles, he's not budging; elvis simply will not sign on for the next year.! he's finally holding his ground... and that's his undoing

coming off the back of his comeback special and last movie, e finally feels like he's got his mojo workin' - the king is back on top! after a looong decade stuffed fit to bursting with his botched movie career, he never thought he'd wrest any semblance of creative control away from the powers that be. but the last year or so has really made him see the value of his own opinion, AND the dangers of continued complacency. so with the backing of his family and extended entourage, he's heading halfway across the world just as soon as he gets off that stage for the last time.

colonel can't have that, not with the remainder of his hefty personal debt hanging in the balance. and with all the dough the hotel is raking in during the first dregs of their opening season, nobody up top wants their prize little cash cow flying away to london or japan or the rock of eternity or wherever he's fixin' to go - not if they have anything to say about it !

and so a plan is devised, swiftly, mercilessly, and without any pesky sense of remorse. after all, what do they have to feel bad about? they're just taking care of business

just after elvis' last performance, he's heading to his packed-up suite to shower and change for what he thinks will be the last time.. the boys are downstairs getting the last of the stuff in the cars and then they'll all head to the airport. he's got just a couple minutes to spare, and he assures them he'll be fine alone. just gonna run on up and change real quick, y'all don't needta worry about me none. [*evil colonel voice* wanna bet?]

he steps into his unusually empty suite, but before he can even shuck the towel from around his neck, his throat is being wrenched to the side in a vice grip as an unseen assailant steps from their hiding spot behind the door. he yelps, tries to throw them off, goes for the gun in his boot, but their grip is like steel, solid and unyielding, and before he can move much of anywhere there's a sharp prick in his neck and a sudden heaviness in his muscles he can't quite shake.

he assumes it's a syringe - he's not wholly unfamiliar with a needle, after all, and why would he suspect anything else? he guesses he's been drugged on account of... well, on account of bein' elvis presley. goddamn sonsabitches don't need any more reason than that. 'course, the sensation is a little different than he's used to - the gauge is unfamiliar, and he could swear he feels two distinct track marks - but by then his head is spinning too much to be certain of anything.

the last thing he feels is a rushing sense of complacency as his legs give out. his vision is swimming too much too see his attacker's face, but they let him go down, hard, and he crumples to an undignified heap on the floor helplessly as they turn to... leave? huh. not what he expected, but he supposes beggars can't be choosers

his sluggishly disjointed musings are broken only by the shadowy figure melting back into the shadows... his increasingly-addled mind knows he should be glad at their sudden departure, but all he can concentrate on is the inexplicable swing out of the vague sense of euphoria that had been the "drugs" kicking in, and a sudden accompanying feeling that he didn't like one bit. he could only describe it as a crawling fear, an absence, a kind of ripping deep in his soul... a pervasive sense of distance, of wrongness so festering he feared it was about to tear him apart from the inside out. he's suddenly certain he's not meant to be alone right now.

he gasps in the worst pain he's ever felt, and at the same moment, he's aware of a rush of footsteps in the hallway outside - he barely manages a wobbly gesture to the door and a slurred request to rip his goddamn tongue out b'the roots to the panicked faces of his boys crowding around his supine form before his vision finally goes dark.

when he wakes up, he's in an all-too-familiar bed. before running for the doctor and his daddy, a frazzled jerry sitting vigil at his side hurriedly explains that without him conscious enough to fill them in, all they knew is he wasn't fit to travel, so they'd unpacked his suite again while waiting for him to return to the land of the living. he's grateful, but assures him that as soon as he's feeling better they'll be heading out again.

he asks jerry to turn down the thermostat and flip off the light on his way out. the heavily-drawn drapes had already ensured it'd been near-pitch dark and freezing, just how he liked it, but he murmured it felt like he was burnin' up from the inside out, and his eyes were too sensitive for even the ambient glow of his bedside lamp. jerry does so and also fetches him a pair of big ol' sunglasses, without a word.

the doctors (who'd been summoned to the hotel; despite protests from the mafia, colonel had suggested that moving elvis to a hospital could be even more dangerous, what with this criminal still on the loose, and vernon had reluctantly agreed) hadn't been able to tell what he'd been dosed with - it'd metabolized too quickly to detect, apparently. all they can tell him after the last four days of monitoring his comatose form is that his vitals have been almost astonishingly strong. the only symptom he's had has been a high fever, but it breaks as soon as he's awake again- and actually, his body temp has overcorrected and is a little low now, is he feeling chilly?

they joke that whatever he'd been given seems to have actually helped him, and he's inclined to agree... despite the fact that they hadn't administered anything to him except an IV drip, in case it had any adverse interactions with whatever he'd been on, his chronic pain has mysteriously vanished. and since he's been awake and in recovery, he's only seemed to get more handsome and charming, no sign at all of being out of it and on fluids for so long. you sure wouldn't have known his recent predicament by looking at him !

he's got a host of baffling new symptoms as well, but nothing that seems dangerous or that points to any kind of diagnosis. he's growing increasingly thirsty, but the buckets of water he's drinking aren't quenching him. he seems to have lost his sense of taste (this one hits him the worst) - at first, the smell of food made him nauseous. now he can keep it down, but it feels like ash in his mouth. his light sensitivity lingers, though for the most part it's limited to natural light, and he takes to wearing the sunglasses often. he seems to have developed a sudden allergy to some of his jewelry - his silver rings and pendants now cause a burning rash. he has them remade in gold and doesn't give it a second thought.

he tells and retells his story to the cops, but they're left scratching their heads; it's widely assumed the panicked arrival of the mafia scared off the creep before they could pull off the rest of their plan. kill him, kidnap him for ransom... seemed like they'd never know for sure, but either way everyone agrees he narrowly escaped a much worse fate. colonel doesn't think it wise for him to be on the road, what with this continued threat hanging over his head, but jerry argues it doesn't seem any better to stay in vegas with this freak at large. and elvis points out that if the bastard follows him overseas, they have bigger fish to fry.

the boys seem confused that the attack doesn't appear to have played into his usual paranoia in any way; he doesn't know quite how to explain it, he tells them, but he feels stronger, somehow. more settled. like if it ever came to it again, he could handle himself. it might just be relieved cockiness, but what didn't kill him made it so he's at least not afraid again. he's been reflecting deeply on psalm 23, apparently.

and so the suite is once again packed up, despite colonel's protestations- this time with elvis under constant supervision, much to his good-natured amusement. it goes without incident, and they make it all the way to the runway before elvis is suddenly doubled over in pain in the back of the limo, sweating and shaking like a leaf.

he's groaning that it hurts, hurts s'bad, but can't say anything more than that, and within seconds the whole caravan has whipped around and is careening back to the relative safety of the hotel. by the time he's being ferried hurriedly up to his room, he's improving steadily, and by the time he's settled in bed and the doctors once more fetched, he's weak and badly shaken but seems no worse for wear.

the doctors can't explain this apparent relapse any more than the first, but tentatively give him a clean bill of health, and two days later they try it all again. this time he makes it within a couple miles of the airport, and it takes him four days to recover. the last time they try, he only makes it four blocks away from the Strip and is bedridden for a week. nobody has any sort of explanation, and the tour is put on hold indefinitely while they're seemingly stranded.

the colonel is the one who offers a possible solution. he'd been hovering around elvis' room the whole time (like a bad smell, sonny mutters when he's out of earshot), fluttering around with assurances that the hotel would gladly host them as long as they needed, maybe even sign them on for another season if elvis so wished...

when elvis finally roars that he just wants OUT of this place, goddammit in response to vernon's suggestion that he stop working himself up with leaving, colonel finally pounces.

he must put his foot down, he says. his boy is clearly in no condition to travel- no, no, not physically, he hastily amends, when elvis opens his mouth to remind him what the doctors said, but clearly mentally. something about the attack has left him emotionally unstable, it appears, and the idea of leaving, even though he's so sure he wants to, is clearly triggering some kind of psychosomatic attack. why doesn't he make up his mind to stay- not forever, just until his head is screwed on right. he can keep playing the international, and they can find him some head-shrinkers to fix him right up, eh? elvis doesn't see any choice but to glumly agree.

of course, unbeknownst to elvis, the real issue is that his Maker won't allow him to leave vegas city limits. he's been kept totally in the dark as to his situation and is thus totally suggestible, so when the vampire who Turned him (continually employed by the Ancients for just this kind of dirty work) uses their mental connection to Compel him to stay within a certain radius, elvis doesn't even know he's feeling it, much less that it's possible to fight it. his Bat simply obeys without question, to the confusion of his body and conscious mind.

if his Turning had been accompanied by proper ritual, if his Maker had explained any of his new life to him, if he'd received any guidance at all, he'd know he could override this instinct, break the Bond they shared (especially as ill-cultivated as it is), and be on his way. as it is, he's like a dog with a newly-installed invisible fence. a dog who's also growing steadily weaker since his Turning because of his lack of sustenance, mind you.

the colonel knows all this. he also knows that any doctors or psychiatrists that see elvis from this point on will be in the know, be provided by the hotel, and be payed handsomely to tell elvis exactly what the colonel wants him to hear. he send word to the Council that they've got him at last. they rejoice at the prospect of chaining elvis to their stage for an eternity, elvis begrudgingly signs the contract for another engagement, and this is where the real trouble starts...

it's been three weeks since he was inadvertently Turned, and elvis is feeling the affects of not having Fed, though he doesn't realize it. he's weak, he's thirsty, he's snappish, and can somebody turn off those godDAMNED lights !!! the mafia assume it's due to his mental slump and are at a loss except to wait it out, but the colonel thinks he has something to cheer him up. he winks and tells red that elvis will have a few, ehem.. lady visitors tonight, and surely they shouldn't be disturbed. the boys get the hint.

colonel sends up the ditziest cigarette girl he can find downstairs, a perky little blonde, so doped-up out of her mind she's wobbling in her heels. she gasped and flushed darkly when he told her that mr. presley was in need of her services; he hadn't even needed to slip her any cash to incentivize her troubles. he chomped on his cigar and grinned darkly as he watched her giggle her way to the elevator.

elvis, for his part, almost makes it. he'd answered the rhythmic little knock in his robe, loosely tied, and didn't miss the way the sweet young thing at his door gaped at the sight of all that chest on display. before he can even say anything, she's slipped under his arm and further into the room, and he raises an eyebrow and grins as he eases the door shut. he peruses her wares (the CIGARETTES !! im talking about the cigarettes..) more for show than anything else, and hands her a $20 in exchange for a pack he doesn't plan on smoking, telling her to keep the change.

she bends over far more than necessary while stacking boxes back in her tray, and flutters her lashes when she asks him if there's... anything else she can get him. flattered as he is, he tells her, he isn't sure he needs anything just now, but thank you kindly anyways, honey. truthfully, he's not sure he's feeling up for it, but she pouts so prettily as she swings her hips sadly over to the door, and turns back to ask if he's really really sure... the colonel had sent her up with express instructions to give him anything he wanted, she explains, sultry little whine in her voice, and he finds his resolve crumbling.

surely a little kissing wouldn't hurt, he reasons, might even make him feel a lil better, and her eyes light up in glee when he beckons her back over. but the minute she's in his arms, easing her way up to his lips as her eyes flutter shut, he isn't sure what comes over him. they're so close her heartbeat rushes in his ears, and without a thought he's effortlessly snapped her neck (with strength he didn't know he had) and is lapping frantically from her torn throat (pierced with the aid of sharp fangs he's never felt before). she never even saw it coming.

he moans as he sags to the ground, clutching her limp form and still slurping desperately as, for the first time since his attack, his thirst is quenched. he dimly realizes he's done something unforgivable, but his head feels like it's been stuffed with cotton, everything around him distant and foggy. the sense of panic he knows he should be feeling is a far-off twinge, all but muted by the combined cocktail of ecstasy running through him: fresh blood, dope, and a brain fog he can't quite attribute to either.

when she's dry he's sated, the sense of woozy relief hits him so strong that he barely manages to stagger to his feet and stumble over to the couch, chin and hands still covered in blood, before he's passing out for ten hours of the emptiest sleep he's ever had. when he wakes up, all traces of what happened are gone, and with a mind that finally feels clearer than it has for weeks, he almost manages to convince himself it was an incredibly fucked-up dream, so potent that the sweet metallic tang is still blooming on his tongue...

...until of course, the next time it happens. it goes much the same way: the colonel has no trouble locating a girl who'll never be missed- this is vegas, after all- and sends her, high as a kite of her own volition, up to the penthouse to keep company with a disgruntled and starving elvis. he drains her dry before he can even blink, but stays awake this time to spend the next few hours totally blissed out in an uncomfortably drugged haze. the more he comes down, the more he hates not only what he's done but also the way it makes him feel.

thus starts a vicious cycle: elvis, terrified of feeding, swears off blood, until he's half-starved but fighting himself at every turn. the colonel intervenes, sending throngs of low-risk girls up to the suite, where e simply can't help himself anymore, and enters a violent blood-crazed frenzy. he spends the hours after staggering around half-lucid, waiting for the effects to fade so he can convince himself he'll never do it again.

the stronger he maintains his tenuous mental fortitude- the longer he goes between feeds- the more girls he needs in a night to fill him up, and the higher he gets afterwards. he doesn't ask where colonel finds them or what he does with the bodies. he thinks dully that he doesn't much want to know.. it's hard enough on his conscience already.

of course, yet another thing nobody's bothered to explain to poor frightened fledgling elvis is that every time he refuses to feed when he should, every time he feels the welling signs of that dark hunger within himself and shoves them down in distress, every time his instincts are forced to take over and quite literally make him feed, that it exacerbates the mental fog he's feeling.

vampiric lore (which of course he doesn't know) attributes it to a sort of easing-in countermeasure; it's only newly-turned vampires, not fully in touch with their desires, that attempt to starve themselves so, clearly suffering from a mental block regarding the morality of preying upon their former species. to smooth their transition into acceptance of their new form, every time they're forced to feed rather than do it willingly, a potent release of hormones and neurotransmitters floods their system, both to combat any lingering guilt and to make them crave the mental release of feeding just as much as the physical.

if he were to feed normally, if he were to provide his body with the nourishment it needed on a regular basis, his instincts wouldn't have to override his mind this way. he wouldn't be forced to feed so violently or so much, he'd be able to control himself such that he could select his own victims preferentially and even bring himself to stop before killing them, and he wouldn't feel so overwhelmed afterwards.

elvis thinks of his... condition as an affliction, a temptation he lacks the strength to overcome, but really, it's his body's desperate attempt to stay alive when his mind insists on thwarting his ongoing survival at every turn. the bloodlust isn't a punishment but a protective measure, and one he could prevent if he'd take consistent care of his new needs.

and on top of all that, the particular way his intake is chemically tainted only adds to this anguish, because now he's unknowingly also developing a dependency on the drugs- the painful withdrawal symptoms of which serve to strongarm him into feeding even more frequently.

things are only exacerbated by his performance engagement starting back up; of course, it's even easier to find girls- hordes of them batter the doors to the showroom after every show, desperate for just another glimpse of him- but it also means he's got a responsibility to be right there on that stage twice a night, able-minded or no, and he takes that very seriously.

he's got people to support, after all, so he gets very used to functioning while highly intoxicated, whether that means performing, schmoozing the high rollers in the casino at the behest of his hotel benefactors, or smiling through a never-ending stream of reporters and photographers during every interview and press conference.

this is where the reader steps in !!!

you're one of less than a handful of vamps, just two or three, really, who manage to stick around vegas (and consume healthy blood) without the influence of the Old Ones, a feat you manage by staying off the Strip almost entirely. you stick to the suburbs, both as a way to ensure you're not tripping out after every meal, and to (hopefully) stay out of sight and out of mind of the powerful Ancients who don't want anyone infringing on their territory. this is very fright night remake vibes btw if anyone remembers that

but there's very little to do in the dusty, sprawling desert neighborhoods that isn't centered around maintaining the tourism industry downtown, especially for an immortal with nothing but time (and the occasional meal) to kill. you're nowhere near as experienced as those you seek to avoid, but you've been around the block quite a few times yourself, and sometimes the neon glow of the city lights overrides the quiet boredom of your safely-maintained little perimeter.

tonight is one such night: elvis presley had been headlining the international hotel for what felt like ages, or maybe just a blink - it was hard to judge that pesky human time, when their lifespans were so much shorter than yours. either way, he'd been this era's answer to jesus for a few decades now, and you had to admit you were curious to see him in person at last.

you decide on the midnight show- maybe if you're lucky, you can scrounge up a snack on the way home. you don't bother with a ticket- though you have more than enough human money stored up over the years, you're sure it's no use for what promises to be a sold-out show. the bouncers aren't any deterrent, either- you simply Compel them into checking the list for your name another time, and they let you in without a murmur. the showroom is packed so full, you notice as you survey the area, that nobody could ever notice one more.

you slip into a vacant seat at the end of one of the long tables that line the stage, with a group of screaming fans who don't seem to notice that they don't know you. you can't tell if their distraction is borne more from excitement or alcohol, but either way, you're grateful for the cover. you order a bloody mary as your own personal joke and bide your time until the show starts, perusing the booths that line the floor behind you. you recognize a few familiar Old Ones, by face if not name- no surprise, considering who runs the casino just outside.

eventually, the lights fade and the orchestra bursts into an opening riff. you clap with the rest when elvis struts out on stage, looking resplendent in a white jumpsuit, grinning wide and boyishly and practically glowing under the stage lights. his rings flash as he waves to the audience, courteous and attentive even as he starts singing. when the song's over he introduces himself and some of the VIPs, including the owner of the hotel (now there's a vamp who's been getting himself a lot of press lately), and the heavyset man next to him, apparently elvis' own manager. the man gives a simpering smile and wave to the crowd as the spotlights illuminate the booth, and you wrinkle your nose as you turn back to the main stage. you haven't placed it yet, but something seems off about that one.

elvis puts on a good show, you'll give him that, but the longer you watch, the more puzzled you become. he's slurring just a bit when he jokes with the band in between numbers, and more clumsy than you'd expect for someone so flexible; you'd say it was just another hollywood star using and abusing drugs if he didn't look so... panicked every time. he's twitchy, too, keeps getting down toward the edge of the stage like he's about to move out into the crowd and start planting kisses on his clamoring fans, like you've heard he does, but he keeps jerking himself back at the last second. they seem to think he's teasing, screaming louder every time, and he plays it off with a slow grin, but it's almost like... like he's afraid he won't be able to control himself, like...

ah. there it is

you zero in on just the barest flash of fang in his smile, and immediately suss out what's going on. elvis presley, a fledgling vamp in what is indisputably the worst city in the world for fledgling vamps... strange things are happening every day, aren't they?

that leaves you with more questions than answers, however... questions like where's his Master? why isn't he feeding properly? who's keeping him half-starved and strung-out? and most importantly, does he even know what's going on?

you narrow your eyes contemplatively as you watch him fool with the microphone before prompting the band to start the next song. all it takes is seeing his hands tremble around the cord to make you nod decisively and shoot back the rest of your drink. you suppose you can stick around a little longer than originally planned... after all, it seemed like elvis might need a little help fixing this, whether he knew it or not.

you lingered just a little after the show ended, waiting until the throngs of frantic women had pushed their way back to the lobby before heading after them yourself. you glanced around surreptitiously, locating the nearest elevator bay... and near it, a familiar older man with a cane whispering furtively to a clearly-tipsy young woman, one you recognized from your table during the show. she had caught a silk scarf fluttering down in front of her from the man himself and hadn't stopped screaming until the lights came back on. bingo

you ran one hand through your hair haphazardly, tousling it slightly as you stumbled your way over to them. "oh, there you are! i was looking for you," you chirped. she gasps and waves excitedly in the earnest way only drunk girls do, but your mouth is open again before she can speak and do something incriminating, like ask your name. "who's y'r friend? s'he coming upstairs with us?" you giggle, leering at... what had his name been again? ah yes, colonel parker. you silently gave a sigh of thanks for your heightened senses- you might not have recognized him just from your brief glimpse during the show otherwise.

the colonel glanced you over dismissively, clearly writing you off as another inebriated fan - his mistake, but exactly what you wanted him to think all the same. he gave you a leering grin and tapped his cane as he said "ah, i was just asking your friend here to do a simple personal favor for me..." you hummed disinterestedly until he continued "...on behalf of mister presley, of course." you gasped exaggeratedly and willed your cheeks to flush- lucky you had fed recently.

he seems to buy it, from the way his eyebrow ticks upwards when he sees your reaction "perhaps you would like to... accompany her to his suite, no?" he teases. you nod raptly, artificial stars in your eyes, and he snorts as he pushes the call elevator button for you with the top of his cane. "top floor. you two enjoy yourselves," he chuckles. the two of you giggle as he saunters away, towards the casino entrance.

as soon as the doors slide shut behind you, you straighten up and tidy your hair in the chromatic reflection until you're once again presentable. you brush off your outfit, fiddling until you're satisfied, then take a deep breath. snapping once to get your lightly confused companion's attention, your turn her shoulders towards you so she's making woozy and bewildered eye contact with you.

"hi honey. having a good night? good. this is how the rest of it is gonna go, ok? now you listen to me-"

when the doors opened again at the thirtieth floor, the girl (tracy. she had told you absently her name was tracy) waved distractedly over her shoulder as she walked straight out of the elevator bay and into the nearby stairwell, head filled with what she believed to be an immutable truth about the elevator being out of service. she'd walk back to her room (on the off chance there was anyone downstairs monitoring the floor indicator dial), wake up perfectly safe in the morning, and think nothing of it.

meanwhile, you let yourself into elvis' suite with the key tracy had handed over, a parting gift from the colonel. you left the lights off, made yourself comfortable on the couch facing the door, and waited.

you didn't have to wait long- just minutes later, there was noise outside, multiple male voices speaking over each other as they all piled out of the elevator and headed for the door, elvis' the loudest. "yeah, yeah, i said i'd meet you down there, didn't i? doin' my damn head in... i'll tell ya what, y'all g'head and i'll call down there when i'm done. yes i swear, now git!" laughter and good-natured ribbing faded as the elevator doors presumably closed behind the crowd once again, punctuated with a sigh and the click of the door lock disengaging another time.

elvis didn't seem to notice you as he walked in, leaving the light off as well as he patted his face dry with the damp towel looped around his neck. he leaned against the wall with one hand to brace himself as he toed off his boots, then whipped his dark shades off onto a side table and gripped the bridge of his nose with another deep sigh.

"are you in any pain, mr. presley?" he yelped in undignified surprise and whipped around with a touch of vampiric speed, dropping the towel in his fright to discover the source of your voice. despite the pitch blackness of the room, his eyes locked onto yours immediately through the dark, without needing to scan the empty space around you- another sign of his transition. no mortal could see as perfectly well in this scenario as the two of you could.

"wh- who-" he stuttered some, regaining his bearings, as you cocked your head in evaluation. "i'm sorry to startle you, mr. presley," you say evenly, but pleasantly. "you can drop that shit straightaway, honey, that's my daddy. can jus' call me elvis." he murmurs absentmindedly, as if it hadn't been what he really intended to say but came out by habit. "and now that you know me, may i ask who you are? and better yet what the hell you're doing in my room?" he doesn't sound angry, per se, more resigned than anything, and you smile wryly in response as you introduce yourself. "real pretty, honey, but i'd like an answer to my other question, too." he raises his eyebrow, and you wonder if he's even aware of how much charismatic mental energy he's leaking right now. it was even more apparent to you now why humans throw themselves at him left and right.

"sorry, m- i mean, elvis. the colonel sent me up. i saw your show- you were fantastic, but i had a couple questions." "he did, did he? just wonderful," he almost growls, squeezing his eyes shut. "and some questions, you said? you a reporter?" his voice sounds hard-edged for the first time tonight, but he seems to relax again when you answer with a simple no. "just concerned, i guess." he hums tiredly at your response, vague though it is. "concerned about what, 'bout the show? i'll do my best to answer your questions, honey, but i really don't think there's all too much to be concerned about-"

"elvis, when was the last time you fed?" you can hear his breath catch from clear across the room. "i-i had lunch after rehearsals, but i ain't had dinner yet, if that's what you're askin'... pretty forward way to ask me on a date, but i-" you put a hand up to cut him off. "i think you know perfectly well that's not what i'm asking, elvis. when was the last time you fed properly? on blood?" "...ha! been watching a little too many dark shadows reruns, honey?" his words trip over themselves getting out, and eventually he gives up to just blink at you, speechless, owl-eyed, and afraid despite his frankly pathetic attempt at a cover. he looks like a little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar only this time the metaphorical cookie jar is a number of very literal human corpses lol

you bite back a sigh- perhaps you pushed too hard there. poor thing is wringing his hands like he thinks you're gonna put him in cuffs any minute. "maybe we should start over- i'm here to help, ok? i wanna make sure you're alright, cuz i think you might have a lot of questions nobody's explained to you yet. c'mere and sit next to me, baby, and we'll just talk" you pat the seat next to you, flipping his casual pet naming back on him effortlessly. to be fair, he is a baby to you- only, what, a couple months old? that's nothing compared to your few hundred years.

he eyes the spot next to you but shakes his head, still looking like a lost puppy. "n-no, i- m'fine over here," he manages. you furrow your brow; he's gonna need to start trusting you if he wants your help, and this is a bad way to begin. "i promise, i'm not gonna hurt you, elvis-" that sure does it. "i'm not worried about that!" he exclaims. "m'worried about me hurting you!"

you breathe out a surprised little oh, suddenly understanding. "is that what you're so worried about, sweetie? i'm not afraid of you." you try to placate him. "y-you should be afraid of me, honey. i am."

and that's the crux of the matter, isn't it? it breaks your heart a little to know that this is what he's been grappling with alone. it's not meant to be like this- with time and acceptance, he was meant to gain eternal companionship (your semi-loner status nonwithstanding). and whoever heard of a scared vampire?

but you put that aside to focus on elvis- and quickly realize there's one more... little thing you might've left out.

"you don't need to be anymore, ok? i'm gonna help you learn to control it." you beckon him over again, and this time he makes it halfway across the floor before you realize you're not sure if you're Compelling him or not. he'll need to learn what it feels like eventually, in order to both use it and combat it, but now's probably not the time. you break eye contact, just in case, and he falters slightly, but keeps coming, putting you at ease.

as he gets close enough to hear your heartbeat, though, his eyes suddenly turn frantic, and he backpedals, once again in the grip of that familiar terror. "you- you have to get out of here, i can't-" you shush him, not unkindly. "oh, sweetheart. that one's my bad, ok? i guess i haven't been very good at this so far," you grin apologetically. "but you couldn't hurt me, even if you tried"

you use your superspeed to whoosh over to his side and back, the only sign you'd moved at all the slight sway of your hair in the breeze it creates- and the golden ankh pendant now swinging from your upturned palm. elvis gapes, hands reaching up to feel the now-empty space around his neck where the necklace rested just moments ago. "how...?" listen i really can't be assed abt the fact he wasn't wearing necklaces this early ok. it was a cool move

"forgot to tell you - i'm souped up, too." you wink at him, flashing your pupils the deep red they turn when you're Feeding. "and also i think a little stronger than you, given what i saw on stage tonight." this is soo cliche im sorry but Spooky Eyes HAWT. i don't feel bad about it actually

the immediate sense of overwhelming relief on his face almost aches to see, and he's crossed the remaining stretch of floor to practically collapse in your arms sobbing before you can blink. it's... very surprising, you'll admit, but not unwelcome, either, and you're sure the uncertainty lingers in your voice as you gentle him softly, petting his hair and rubbing his back and trying not to overthink the fact that you've known elvis presley for all of ten minutes and now... this is happening. whatever this is.

"woah- woah, hey, what's happening? what's the matter, baby?" he's shaking like a leaf as you hold him, trying to work out in what universe this makes sense. "i-i-i ain't-" he manages through tears. "i haven't been able to touch any-anyone this whole time without b-being so goddamned afraid i'd hurt 'em... and i just- i..."

your worst fears for him, first materialized as you watched him onstage and puzzled about the identity of his Master, are confirmed. "baby... have you been alone this whole time?" you whisper. he just nods from his resting place, face buried in your shoulder. IS this a weird level of intimacy for 2 virtual strangers? totally yup. DO i still think its arguably valid considering how desperately lonely i have decided to make this bitch? uh huh :3

you suck in a breath through your teeth, suddenly filled with the fiery emotion you've been tamping down all night- rage. rage at whoever organized this hit, at whoever must be profiting off it while elvis suffers and innocent girls die, at the colonel who's been shepherding bodies in here endlessly and apparently without deigning to give elvis any proper help or training- yeah, don't think you forgot about him.

but before you can do anything about that, you have to do something with the king of rock 'n roll, who's finally quieting down in your lap. you shove the anger back down, the same way you do your bloodlust- the same way you'll teach elvis.

he sits back up, furiously wiping his tear-stained face. "sorry, honey- i don't know what came over me." he barks a laugh but his eyes tell you it's for show. you tut at him, standing up to fetch him a tissue and maybe a bottle of water, if you can find it- you're sure there must have been one waiting for him after the show. his eyes widen again, but before he has time for concern you cup his cheek to brush the last of his tears away with the pad of your thumb, accompanied by a gently chiding look that says i'm not going anywhere

he has enough time to look sheepish before you putter back over to him with your spoils, talking a mile a minute to distract him. "tch, enough of that! that's part of the change- everything you felt before is doubly strong now. it can be hard to separate your emotions sometimes, especially when you're not used to it. you'll feel everything differently now, and twice as hard."

he takes a moment to mull that over as he mops his face and chugs the water bottle, then nods as he meets your eyes again. "i didn't know that, but it sounds- it feels right. what else can ya tell me?" you chuckle darkly, stretching out on the couch. "oh, just bunches, baby. get comfortable, cuz i know you've got questions- and i've got your answers."

over the course of the night, you explain everything to elvis- how he was Turned, the changes his body's going through, all the symptoms and abilities he'll experience now, why he's feeling the way he is, his options for feeding, how his habits need to change if he intends to keep going like this... it's a laborious process, given how little he knows and how much he thinks he does- he's already got a lot of misconceptions to retrain.

"hey, maybe you're the one who's been watching too many dark shadows reruns lately!" you mean it as a joke, but he flushes. "well, s'not like there's a, a handbook or anythin'! i've been tryin' to study up!" you burst out laughing, and he laughs with you.

at one point he orders up dinner for the two of you, which provides the perfect opportunity for you to offer him a creature comfort- "food? yeah, you can eat food. it won't sustain you, but you're free to eat for pleasure." at his pained look, you give him a knowing smirk. "i bet it tastes nasty right now, doesn't it?" he nods glumly, eyeing your super-rare hamburger, and you chuckle, eyeing him as you take an exaggerated bite. he groans in annoyance, and you laugh as you lick your fingers clean. "don't worry- that'll pass. it's your instincts' way of telling you that you're malnourished- kind of a deterrent from stuff that won't actually keep you alive. you'll be back to your peanut butter and banana in no time, promise." he cheers, and orders up a bottle of champagne, just for that.

"that's another thing- we metabolize differently. your system can tell the difference between the liquid calories it needs and the solid calories you're feeding it just for fun. you won't derive any energy from human food, so you can't gain weight. no reason to store fat," you shrug. "but it also means-" you clink your champagne glass with his in a mock toast, "-you can't get drunk." he sputters, "well, why'd you even let me order the bubbly then?? this shit's expensive, so they tell me!" "i like the way it sparkles! it tickles my nose!"

the hours come and go, but the two of you barely notice, so wrapped up in your conversation. that's another thing you explain- how he'll need much less rest now, if he keeps himself healthy, but that until he's being nourished properly he'll be fatigued and need to sleep pretty much like before. he admits that he was practically nocturnal beforehand, anyway- he hadn't even noticed this one change among so many more pressing.

his drapes were heavy-duty, but you could see just the barest sliver of skyline out the window as the sun began to rise. "it's almost dawn," you whisper, conscious of the fact that the vampire before you is very young, and has had a very long night. a very long month, to be perfectly honest. he hums from where his head is resting on your thigh- you'd encouraged him to lie down an hour ago when he kept breaking off his sentences to yawn hugely. actually, you'd encouraged him to get some rest and you'd talk more later, but he'd refused to go to bed, assuring you he wasn't tired 't all, just sore from the show- he got muscle aches, you know, and he needed to stretch out. you hadn't been convinced then, and you were even less so now, keeping a fond eye on him (fond?? when had that happened) as he drowsed in your lap.

his end of the conversation had started lagging about the same time you started running your hand through his hair, until he was practically purring in contentment. you huffed in amusement. "more like a kitty cat than a bat, i think." he cocked an eyebrow and grinned salaciously, though he didn't open his eyes. "oh honey, i'll show you a cat... a pussycat, to be precis-" "HEY!" you swatted him teasingly and he snickered, settling down again. "keep it clean, presley." "yes, Master." you paused in your ministrations at that, just long enough for his brow to furrow. "you don't have to call me that." "yeah... but can i? i mean, would'ya mind if i-?" his voice was quiet, but sincere. "...ok. but only if you want to." he can hear the smile in your voice without looking, and it makes him smile, too.

"you do have a real one out there, y'know." "i know. but they ain't ever helped me none- all they've done for me is turn my life upside down and leave again. but you... hell, honey, i've only known you one night, and already things are starting to feel right side up again." you sit with that for just long enough to feel pleased before you reach down to tweak his nose. he giggles, and your bid to give the both of you a break from being so fucking earnest goes off without a hitch. the tension stays broken, but the tranquil mood remains.

"guess you're stuck with me again- i can't make it all the way home in that," you venture eventually, nodding at the lone streak of sun making its way past the blackout curtains to pool on the floor behind the piano. luckily far out of the way, or he might've had a particularly unpleasant awakening of his own, had he stumbled through the patch accidentally. he shifts minutely, well on his way to sleep by now. "mm, sounds jus' awful," he drawls, answer delayed only slightly by the fact that he's snoozing, his voice is so quiet that without your enhanced senses you'd have to strain to hear it. "can't imagine quite how i'll make it through if you've gotta stick around s'more." "even dead to the world, you maintain your sense of humor, huh, baby? and those lady-killer tendencies, i see" "yeah, well, i have killed quite a few lad-" "elvis!" you laugh, scandalized, as he huffs a laugh as well as he leverages himself up to sitting.

he rubs his eyes as he tries to get his bearings. "s'pose that's my way of asking real tactful... what happens next?" "well, first we've gotta detox you." "what, from the blood? i thought you said-" "nope, not from the blood. from the drugs in the blood." "from the w-" he gapes, looking shocked and hurt, and also a little appalled at himself. "i really am sorry to break it to you, sweetheart- there's a lot going on with you right now, and only some of it is due to... this," you reach up a hand to thumb at one of his fangs, which had slipped out as soon as you started talking about blood. "the rest of it is a combination of the vegas lights and whoever up top orchestrated the whole thing." he nods slowly, expression inscrutable. "we'll take it slow, i promise. ok?" "yeah," he nods more steadily now. "yeah, i trust you."

"well, then, mr. presley- are you ready?" he nods his head as if on instinct, then has the decency to look confused. "ready for what?" you smile, fangs out. "to start getting you fixed up... so we can take down those bastards responsible for this." he just stares at you a moment before a slow grin starts to take over his face, eyes darkening to match the quite literally bloodthirsty expression in yours.

"let's get to it."

[imaginarianisms]

alias / name : angel ( singletsona / core / host; only if we're close ) / arcana ( singletsona / core / host ) / ansale'wit ( my name translated into mi'kmawi'simk ) / ᐋᓐᔐᓃ ( my name translated into anishinaabemowin, literally spelled aanzhenii ) ; the imaginarians galaxy ( system name; please refer to us& as this when you're not sure who's fronting & please don't refer to us& as one person, everyone in the system deserves to & should have the equal amount of respect, love, dignity, honor, care & undivided attention & it's disrespectful to only ever refer to me& especially if i've& known you for years at this point; that's my& firm boundary. ). birthday : july 13th. zodiac sign : cancer sun, sagittarius moon, libra rising & leo venus. height : 5'2. hobbies : it depends on who you ask because we're& a system but we& collectively like gaming, writing/rping, worldbuilding, learning our& indigenous languages, true crime, psychology, criminology, sociology, philosophy, intersectionality, history (especially during the medieval period but certainly not exclusive), eastern history/civilization, indigenous history/civilization, ancient history, loveletters, queer shit, fashion, acting, transhumanism, alterhumanity, plurality, the occult & magick & witchcraft, the concept of apotheosis, enlightenment, fate, folklore, godhood, hope, humanity, & monstrosity, virtual reality, traveling, asmr, being a boujee native & being an educated heaux.

favorite book : a song of ice and fire series & gangsta. last song : dust bowl by ethel cain. last film / show : the love witch / gangsta. recent reads : arianne martell & sansa stark / alayne stone; the winds of winter.

inspiration : honestly for the longest time i didn't want to return to the tumblr rpc bc it made me feel bittersweet bc a lot of my old friends were moving elsewhere or inactive & on top of that it reminded me of someone i used to know & i have. a lot of bittersweet feelings around this person so. but some of us& wanted to get back into it again. tthe vast majority of our& interpretations on our& muses are heavily based in both headcanons & our& fictives' ( 4 singlets: a fictional introject ) exomemories which honestly most of the time they tend to overlap, the latter meaning that this actually happened to them & isn't something that just happened in a book or a movie or a tv series or a videogame, they're living, breathing people & for that individual, it all happened & it was all very real !! additionally, a lot of my& own personal life was used as major inspiration. being a survivor of multiple traumas that most people can't even fathom ( to the point where my doctor told me most would've kermited if they'd experienced the things i went through ) & that did unspeakable things to my brain chemistry ig so. i use writing to cope. so. yall have to deal w/ that ig. at least i aint boring. /lh furthermore ethel cain & nicole dollanganger are major inspo. & as much as i& write / rp for fun, i& also write & rp to educate others especially on topics like indigenous peoples, disabilities, neurodivergencies & mental health, especially around stigmatized disorders like did bc honestly i'm so very tired & demoralized bc of the constant stigma around did & other stuff like npd, bpd, etc. & both the media & people treating us like we're some kinda fucking soulless monsters when we're literally people who were hurt & failed in childhood & had traumatic upbringings only to be demonized, trauma & other shit so it's v important to us&. representation matters & so does keeping the light of humanity alive & well. story behind url : our& system name the imaginarians galaxy + isms! fun fact about me : my great aunt & technically a cousin of mine was a witch in the family; she passed her knowledge onto her granddaughter, my cousin, & she passed her knowledge down to me so i'm a hereditary witch. my mom dated a serial killer years ago when she was 19 & she had no idea so that was fucking wild bc i was 8 when she told me about it, thanks mom. lmao. i was also born 24 weeks premature & i quite literally died before the doctors resurrected me. basically i made death my bitch. i'm all the letters in 2lgbtqia+ at once & ppl can die mad about it lmao. i'm clusters a ( schizotypal personality disorder / schizospec / psychotic / stpd ) b ( {mild} antisocial personality disorder / aspd, {mild} narcissistic personality disorder / npd, histrionic personality disorder / hpd,, borderline personality disorder / bpd ) & c ( avoidant personality disorder / avpd ) as well as autism & adhd; i also have cptsd & h.c-did bc yknow. trauma did shit to my brain, this shit fucks with me on such a deep level & uh. the comorbidities have me fucking insane up in the club. on the physical disabilities side of things i have cfs / chronic fatigue & pots (so like. don't take it personally if i dont respond quickly) & am hoh. so i'm hoping to get a multipurpose psychiatric service dog & eventually get a wheelchair as an ambulatory wheelchair user. my paternal grandfather fought in wwii & killed nazis. my& clans are mouse / apukji'j ( mi'kmaq ) & wolf / yanariskwa' ( huron-wendat ), it basically represents a family & it has nothing to do with a spirit animal, & in the huron-wendat's case a clan is like an ancestor, who you're descended from in the huron-wendat creation story & they shared a longhouse & traced their lineage from the female line from a female ancestor bc the wendat were matriarchal so wolves are my ancestors.

tagged by : stole it from @noctuafought ( hi aphy lmaoooo ) ! tagging : @velcryons / @brokcncrowns @loyalpromise @helbroth @gutsing @sevynhells @inmydrcams @dethdvncer & anyone who breathes !!

[memurfevur-archive]

I can tell you, as a non Jewish person, some of the hurtful things you did just from looking at it

-You put their hemospectrum in pyramid

-Their "figure head government'

-Pure white bloods at the top of the food chain

-Mutants are sent to "the farm" and then recycled into goods and resources

-They live.. Under bridges?

- The Homestuck hemospectrum is in a line, but there is still a pyramid scheme going with Fuchsias being on top and Reds and Browns and Yellows on bottom. While I will take this into consideration I would like to ask why the normal Hemospectrum is acceptable but reshaping it into a pyramid shape is not? I might be reading this bullet point wrong, and there's likely a big chance I am (it happens often with me) so if there is a point I am missing here please feel free to let me know, because if it's a hierarchy thing I don't think it really matters what shape it is when it tells the same information?? I really feel like I'm missing something here, I'm so sorry.

-I can understand the figure head government thing. In the context of the story where Trolls are the oppressors this had made sense to me, but yeeah I'll definitely rework that.

-To give clarification on my end: Whitebloods to me do not represent white people, but rather in the context of the worldbuild: the light spectrum, and in context of trolls on my blog (matild): white blood cells. Just.. literally the color white. The Whiteblood monarchy is a hindsight detail, and one I did not think through very well through the lens of others who may not be as familiar with my headcanons or lore, or may have their own associations that are much broader than my own. It does sound like a white-supremacy symbolism when paired with the other stuff, so yeah I'll add that to the list to rework.

-Ya know... I had this entire thing typed out about how I'm confused about this point when even in fanon Mutants are treated poorly and killed but um... remembering this is about antisemitism stuff, it just occurred to me that it might've been seen as like.. a holocaust camp thing... and... wow yikes holy shit yeah no. Good eye there, thank you.

-The race's homes were called Bridges, much like Trolls call their homes Hives, despite neither actually being a bridge or a beehive. It was a word play type of thing, especially since we had been thinking of underground tunnels and canyon walks and stuff. But that will be scrapped when we revamp things about the planet and how organisms have adapted there.

I do genuinely appreciate you taking your time to send me this ask to point out some of the wrongs I have made for the worldbuild. I will take all of this into account and talk with my project partner on this. If there was something I missed with these points, feel free to bop me with a newspaper and tell me more about it. I misunderstand things A LOT, some of my friends can attest to that lol. It means a lot that you guys are willing to help me out here. I do genuinely feel bad about hurting people and not even realizing that these themes were in the project the whole time. It was definitely not something we had considered at the time of conception, because simply we did not intend for any of these messages to pop up. Additionally this was a project that was put on hiatus for years, and then the opportunity came up for me to talk about it and it just went Very Down Hill. It's a big yikes, and I can't thank yall enough.

[screechingsandwichhologram]

thinking about eros again ,,,,,,, (yall i have so much lore about it and also just dsmp worldbuilding in general? but I'm also lacking severely in some cases. anyway i need to talk about it.)

so shes the goddess of love right? and even though shes considered a forgotten god by the overworld and a more minor god by the nether (her biggest influence is the end cause,,, that's where she lives) that's a pretty big domain. but the thing is that shes also part of a small group that all kinda work together over a singular domain. love's part of the War Trio !!!!! most overworlders don't know that the war goddess is actually the goddess of love and just figures that its some random goddess? anyway each part of the War Trio covers some aspect of war. The God of Mind, Emotions, and Sanity covers all the mental and power play shit, while The God Of Blood, Flesh, and Bone (yes its the blood god I'm making shit up now and no one can stop me) covers more of the physical aspects, like territory, resources, and general thirst for blood. And when I first decided that Eros should be a war goddess, I was thinking about like war for love. specific love, like helen of troy and shit. but thinking about it, its so much more!!! patriotism counts as love. love for your country. love for your ideals, love for your morals, love for others so great that you must liberate them. and the love from the soldiers to their families, love from the country to the soldiers, etc, etc. and i think its nice. love is the reason for all war, at the end of the day. and love is the reason for all ends of wars too.

[ao3feed-jjk]

The Color Azure

by BlueDogSquad4323 Stagnant. Alone. Disgusted with his shortcomings. That's Azure. Always was and has been a liar. His guard never lowered. His vile blood tastes like metal in his mouth. He can't recognize himself anymore. So when he defeats a demon and becomes his mentor, he realizes that there is color left in the world. That his darkness can't stop his human desire to not be alone anymore. Maybe he'll find a new light in his world full of death and destruction, many lights, all swirling around his head. This is his Epic. His valley of creation. His world. And try he might, can he reach out for help? This is essentially a cluster of the stories in my head with these characters all mixed together to begin to paint their picture for the world's eyes. I'm just putting the thoughts on paper here. I give credit to my great friends @Phoenix_Sun (Gave me the name for Fox) and others. I wouldn't have been able to put this out there without yall, and I appreciate it so much. The journey in my head brought me here, and no this isn't a huge thing with fleshed out lore. It's just for fun! The real ones know what I'm talking about. And it's like I always say, "At the end of the day, the day will be over." Words: 918, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: Avatar: The Last Airbender (Cartoon 2005), Naruto (Anime & Manga), ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 | JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, 鬼滅の刃 | Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (Anime), 呪術廻戦 | Jujutsu Kaisen (Anime), 呪術廻戦 | Jujutsu Kaisen (Manga), Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Legends of Avantris (Web Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Hunter X Hunter, 文豪ストレイドッグス | Bungou Stray Dogs, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Anime & Manga), High Card (Anime) Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M Characters: custom characters - Character, Azure Lynxmane, Kazuki Urata, Jun Kobayashi, Kuonji Kobayashi, Zero Lightfoot, NPCs too Relationships: Don't even - Relationship, characters are all friends!!! Additional Tags: Combat, Magic, Fantasy setting, Anime/D&D/Pokemon/Fantasy combined in my head, Custom Powers/Abilities, ConBat, Enemies to Friends, Plot Twists, 3rd Person Kinda, Light Trauma (Im working on it), Blood and Gore, Not holding back, Hijacking, Troubled MC and friends, dramatic reveals, Ominverse ig?, God I hate tagging, Anime-esqe powers, Stupid plot, This Is STUPID, mid writing but screw it, Worldbuilding, Factions, Inspiration from the randomest places, Azure and Kazuki are not BL just platonic I swear, Kazuki is not a furry im not a furry shut up, Cinnamon Roll Character (AHEM Kazuki), I didn't steal names from Tennis Ace, Is there supposed to be BL tension? Is it there in my head and I don't realize it?? Am I insane???, MC is Hispanic but like not Mexican, Book: The Wild Beyond The Witchlight (Dungeons & Dragons), Book: Xanthar's Guide To Everything (Dungeons & Dragons), Book: Tasha's Cauldron Of Everything (Dungeons & Dragons), Like I said inspiration from a lot of places, This isnt gonna be wierd mostly, WIP via https://ift.tt/s2bmUzP

[onerandomanimefangirl]

Playing (Fighting) With Fire!

Hello!! I don't really know exactly what to put here, as this is my first time posting on tumblr but honestly Im just gonna talk my shit.

This post I'm going to go over why I've been drawing out the release of this fic and specifically this chapter for so long.

MANGA SPOILERS AHEAD

A lot of it comes down to what's going on with the manga right now. As of posting this, chapter 406 leaks are

The fate of a LOT of characters are still up in the air. and by a lot I mean pretty much everyone. This chapter I've been on my toes about releasing because there's a huge presence of All might. from my pov, there's like a 50/50 chance he's gonna survive. I am leaning towards the fact that he will survive simply because I hope to god hori actaully follows through with all mights whole character arc about how all mights life still matters even if he can';t fight. Like. Iron Might. come the fuck on. personally I think that whole plotline kinda stomps all over All mights WHOLE ARC.

But more than just All might, I'm concerned about present mic, hawks, and whatever the fuck reasoning Bakugou got jeart-ed back to life.

Also i think I've addressed it in the end notes too about what's going on with Todo-fam rn and dabi/endeavors fates. honestly, they could both live, both die, or either or and I have no clue what hori's gonna do. but as this fic stands, todo kills dabi to save his fathers life after loosing his arm and yay! happy family! also-- I put kills in italics for a reason. We already watched Todo beat dabi, with both of them still barely alive but it was clear todo won. But with Dabi getting up again and still fighting... It's kinda clear what has to happen there.

With this plot decision of mine, we'll def be going more in depth with it as the fic goes on (as he clearly has trauma surrounding that, obviously) But i made this choice because I kinda had to and really didn't want to wait until the whole damn manga ended to write this.

it's very likely endeavor will kill dabi. Back when I started writing this, I knew I had to make a choice based on where I thought the plot would go, and where I wanted it to go based on what I wanted to write. Hopefully, my assumptions will be close, if not the same, as what canon will end up being. But if not... cope, i guess.

But even with me making that choice before the plotline has been resolved in the story, there are still a lot of plot factors that have a lot of implications on the rest of the cast that aren't Todoroki centric. I've been kinda holding out to see what's been happening with Bakugou, Mido, AFO and Shigi. AND Aizawa, Present Mic, and Kurogiri. AND Ochako, Toga, and Hawks. Like all of these plotlines have major impacts on the worldbuilding.

Particularly for chapter 6, I was waiting to hear about hawks to see if I could include him in the festival or not. I originally wanted him to be the host of the festival instead of AM (since he was technically the host for part of their first year one anyways), but since both of their survival is in question I ended up going with All might because I thought the character with the arc about surviving to help people even if he's not fighting has more of a chance of survival than the character with the arc about murdering a villain and atonement for that... but hori keeps me on my toes, so we'll see...

That's also why i've been avoiding talking about Bakugous 'death' and character development for characters that don't have an obvious conclusion of some kind.

(also, I stg if hori actaully ends up going with the theory that OFA will be destroyed with AFO... i will be strictly ignoring that :) )

Overall... Theres a lot going on in the manga. and I kinda want as much to happen as possible before I cement more of this fic into writing. I'd be really annoyed if a lot of canon ends up contradicting what i'm writing and ends up making me totally confused about what's going on. but if anything changes, I'll certianly let yall know in the end notes. Theres a possibility I may go back in past chapters and change things only if they're small details. If they're big plot points and would be a pain in the ass to change... idgaf

[atlasifyllm]

This or That: Writer Edition!!!

open tag from @kudzucataclysm ! open tag for yall too bc i just wanted to ramble with this akjbfgksd

historical or futuristic

I tend to focus either a changed version of our era or the future, ORR just completely rewrite history with batshit insane worldbuilding. As for SUL I really like the mix between futuristic and fantasy elements, like RWBY or Lego Monkie Kid; but I don't really tend to go past the 2000s millenia for my stories lmao

2. the opening chapter or closing chapter

Whenever I have a story I feel like I have a vague plot and only the Point B. Openings are SUPER hard because you have to make sure you hook the reader with the most basic, not-developed-yet versions of the characters. Even harder in trying to study pilot episodes as an animation major @_@.

Fun fact, SUL's ending scene has been the same since 2017!

3. light & fluffy or dark & gritty

I really like exploring darker topics; it'd be a real challenge for me to make something 90% wholesome. However I always want some form of happy ending despite all the darkness. Even looking at the Winter Boys, Cobalt gets his arm cut off, Ventus loses his girlfriend and gets used by his former gang members, and Nix... Nix goes through a lot akjbgsdkgsd, but all of them still find happiness in the end

4. animal companion or found family

Found family! The struggle with animal companions is simply just, not forgetting that they exist lmao. Especially as someone who tends to just do normal dog/cat animals, none of the animal companions are sentient enough to carry themselves. My main stories (SUL, ETSS, AuAg) all have elements of found family :] bc at least I can explore the emotional range of a human more than my dog lmao

5. horror or romance

im a huge wuss ngl KBSGJKSGS all of my pure horror concepts tend to get fueled into Last Light because of how much of a wuss i am JBSKGJS. Even though I chose romance I never tend to make it the MAIN focus of a story; CoRi in SUL you see the middle point, fallout, and (hopefully) getting back together, though the main point of SUL would be exploring the trust issues between ALL Paladins and not just the ones romantically involved. Venpris is technically a side piece in AuAg's general crime plot (as tender and intimate as they are), and ofc ETSS has space-apple wars to wage in between all the LuxNex fluff

6. hard or soft magic system

I need a hard system bc Im too stupid to make a soft one JKBFGSKJGD

I guess for SUL actual "magic" tends to be pretty soft since it's implied witchcraft is something gods have gifted to mortals BUT in all fairness I'm still plotting the witchcraft elements of SUL

For actual elemental powers I'm still constantly adding rules and this or that for SUL characters simply because it feels more organized and thus more organized for me to put into a plot lol

7. standalone or series

Seriessss I grew up with MLP multiple seasons, Yugioh + Yugioh GX multiple seasons,,, heck also RWBY and Lego Monkie Kid multiple seasons. I dont tend to get SUPER attached to specific movies, especially standalones, so my brain just sorta automatically tries to write stuff as if they're multiple season projects. ETSS and SUL have the most obvious season-by-season plots, though AuAg so far I'm not super sure about BUT definitely feel like it'd span multiple episodes

8. one project at a time or always juggling two+

I always hyperfixate on one at a time JBSKDJSG in between bursts of SUL it's been ETSS, sprinkles of AuAg, then that brief period of JMON in Fall 2021.

9. one award winner or one best seller

I'm not really sure if I have a preference for either of these tbh LMAO I just wanna create and hope theyre successful enough to carry me throughout life

10. fantasy or sci-fi

Im too stupid for sci fi tbh JBSKJGS I always worry about getting this or that wrong so I tend to go pretty fantasy bc I have fun worldbuilding it knowing I can just do batshit whatever like the very first instances of SUL basically mixing YuGiOh and MLP logic akjbfskdg.

11. character or setting description

I may be an art major but I'm an art major who hasn't done proper backgrounds since high school JKBGKSJGS I think a lot of my descriptions are pretty clunky In General but characters are easier since I always have character designs first before environmental design

12. first or final draft

A lot of my work at the moment is based off of doing things quickly. The Atlasify comics, my own writing, heck my art too. I don't like spending too long on certain projects or such so technically all of my work is first drafts bc I wanna get stuff done first instead of never finishing one project

13. love triangle in everything or no romantic arcs

Technically both ETSS and SUL have somewhat love triangle moments but

a.) ETSS is more an exploration on identity than romance

b.) the SUL love triangle is literally between turqbalt's two identities and rina

BUT god I'd rather have no romantic arcs at all than actual love triangle moments. Do you know how many teleseryes have the cheesiest cliche love triangles? No thank u I wanna do all or nothing

14. constant sandstorm or rainstorm

i love the rain :] the air is fresh and the plants look greener. i dont think my asthma would love lots of sand tbh

[the-faultofdaedalus]

stevetony pirate au with the feared vigilante robber of the high seas, captain rogers, and duke-turned-captain-rogers’-gun-wielding-concubine anthony stark.

The nice thing about running a small ship, Steve thought, surveying his crew from the bridge as they scurried over the larger merchant’s ship, moving cargo and captives to-and-fro, was that no one, absolutely no one, ever expected the most feared pirate on these seas to be sailing something more suited for a civilian on a day-trip.

And no one expected their armed and armoured and much, much bigger ship to be taken by a clipper with only two canons to its name.

Hell, no one ever expected the crew of a ship as small as the Banshee to even think about trying to take a ship at all, much less the Crown-sanctioned merchant frigates that were always bristling with weapons and paranoid, pomped-up ego.

Steve surveyed the other ship, holes blown in the hull and long gashes along the sides, slowly, slowly sinking.

“—You bastards,” Steve heard, the voice carrying over even the general din, and couldn’t help but smile, just a little. “Let GO OF ME, don’t you know who I am, you can’t—“

The man’s voice was abruptly cut off when Steve’s gunner, Clint Barton, stuffed a rag into his mouth, to the jeers of the rest of Steve’s crew, and to the growing alarm of the captured shiphands.

Anthony Stark, heir to the crown and the kingdom’s most valuable asset, was unceremoniously tossed across the gap between the two ships, twisting and struggling against his bound hands and feet, caught by Bucky on the deck of the Banshee, muffled, angry shouts still audible through the makeshift gag.

“Where do you want him, Cap?” Bucky called up, easily holding the other man despite his struggles and attempts to kick him, and Steve tipped his head in consideration, mostly for the effect it’d have on the remaining crew.

“Throw him in my quarters,” Steve finally shouted back, making sure to give the prince a slow once-over, “I want to talk to him myself before we treat him to the brig.”

Stark started yelling again at the same time that Steve’s small crew cheered, and without preamble, Bucky shrugged, kicked open the door to the small room that Steve got to claim as his own, and tossed Stark in like a sack of potatoes.

It didn’t take long from there for the Banshee to be detached from the larger ship, holes punched in the hull to scuttle it.

Steve wasn’t worried about the crew they’d left on the boat — it was resting on a sandbank and the deck wouldn’t flood, and their people should find them soon enough — and soon enough, the Banshee was hauling around, heading for new waters, and Steve couldn’t resist one last parting shot. “Tell your king,” He shouted, voice carrying easily over the water, “That we’ve got your golden goose! Again!”

With that, and the Banshee’s sails pushing her across the water, Steve left the tiller to Natasha and took the steps down from the bridge two at a time, couldn’t stop his lips from curling into a smile.

It was time to pay his guest a visit.

By the time Steve closed the door behind himself, Tony had slipped his bonds, had stripped down to the more practical underclothes as opposed to the stuffy coats and pants he usually wore and was stretched out on Steve’s bed, a wide smile spreading across his face when he caught sight of Steve.

The gag that had been in his mouth flew at Steve, and he caught it with a grin before it could hit him in the face. “Would it kill Barton to use something clean?” He asked, though his eyes were bright, and Steve laughed before he tossed it aside and took the half-stride he needed to get to the bed, let Tony pull him down.

“Yes, your highness,” Steve rolled his eyes, looked down at Tony, “Next time we’ll make sure to use the finest silk we can find.” He poked Tony’s nose, felt fond beyond belief when Tony’s eyes went slightly cross-eyed to track it, “The theatrics were your idea, Tony.”

“It tasted like pickled eggs, and the theatrics are necessary,” Tony groused, and the air whooshed out of Steve’s lungs when he wrapped his arms around Steve and pulled him down on top of him, clearly wanting more contact than Steve being propped up on him gave, pressed his face into the crook of Steve’s neck and exhaled. “Do you people eat anything but pickled eggs?”

Steve wiggled, got comfortable, making sure he wasn’t jabbing Tony anywhere, and brought an arm around to hold Tony back, felt how Tony relaxed. “Now that we’ve raided your ship’s food stores, we will,” He said, “I know the theatrics are necessary, you’re good at it, but one of these days you’re going to fall into the drink and then where will we be, huh?”

“Your people are good at what they do,” Tony muttered, “Barnes isn’t going to drop me.”

“If you kick him he might,” Steve shot back, rolled to the side so he could rest his head on Tony’s chest, wrap his arm over Tony’s stomach. “I don’t want you to get hurt, alright? And I know the knots are slips, but—” Steve cut himself off, didn’t want to continue that sentence, didn’t want to paint the possibility of Tony falling into the sea, the knots waterlogged and impossible to slip, didn’t want to think about Tony drowning because of him.

Tony rolled his eyes, but pressed a kiss to the top of Steve’s head. “You’re not going to let me get hurt.” He told Steve, “Even though you are, technically, kidnapping me on a semi-regular basis.”

“Oh, poor you,” Steve said, “The innocent prince—”

Tony snorted.

“-Kidnapped by the scary, mean, pirates. Whatever will you do?”

Tony’s eyes went half-lidded, and he licked his lips. “Oh,” He said, pressed the back of his hand to his forehead in a fake swoon, “Whatever will I do, Captain? I’m so helpless, you could do anything you wanted,” Tony continued, as if he hadn’t managed to get the hinges off the cell he’d been put in the first time Steve and his crew had grabbed him, snuck up to the deck and was halfway into a rowboat until Sam had actually caught him, at which Tony had threatened him with a sword until Natasha had disarmed him. “Woe is me—”

Steve cut him off by kissing him, soft and sweet and slow, a kiss that Tony returned eagerly even as he melted into it. When Steve broke away, Tony was smiling softly up at Steve. “Hey,” He said.

“Hey yourself,” Steve replied, knew that his answering smile was sappy and soft and not caring in the least. “Missed you.”

“Missed you too, honey.” Tony answered, “And speaking of mist—”

“-It worked great,” Steve cut him off, wasn’t lying in the slightest. The bags of powder Tony and Bruce had concocted, when thrown against the sea, made a wall of mist 10 feet high, thick as anything natural, and all in all was better than waiting for the right conditions to catch a ship, “We’ve got a week until we make port, you’ll have plenty of time to talk shop with the others, for now—”

Tony’s eyes softened. “I’ll stay. Of course.” He said, pulled Steve back down on top of him. “Picked one hell of a week to grab me, though. I was sailing to meet Pepper.”

Steve blanched. “Oh gods.” He said, and Tony started cackling.

[geek-and-destroy]

Wheel of Time - Enter Politick!

This is post 6 in The Wheel of Time Read - see the previous post - covering chapters 32-41.

A few days ago, I started reading The Eye of The World by Robert Jordan, book one in The Wheel of Time. And because I have nothing better to do, I decided to post my thoughts on the internet, a few chapters at a time. This post talks about my first impressions of chapters 32 (Four Kings in Shadow) through 41 (Old Friend, New Threats). Chapter summaries can be found here (I’m not putting links to the individual chapters, I don’t want to venture too far into the wiki).

I was looking forward to this.

A fantasy series of fourteen entire books, known for its intricate worldbuilding almost or even as detailed as Tolkein, can't not have its share of political intrigue. It has now arrived, and I am so here for it. And boy has Jordan delivered on it - from complicated successions and marriages to secure power to mass symbolic protests, all seamlessly woven in with magical influences and conflicts. I couldn't be happier. The people even care about non-issues while they starve away, just like in the real world!

Allow me also to gush over another amazing thing: we've got an actual MAINSTREAM MATRIARCHY, yall! This is not a drill, at least one major political power in a fantasy world is ruled by a queen (dare I say, a girlboss even) who is shown as a competent ruler. It's not some faraway region with a different culture, we've got a matriarchy front and centre. I mean, sure, quite a few patriarchal trappings still exist here, but still, wow. It's rare. Although unfortunately, Elayne's designation as 'daughter-heir' rather than just 'heir' or 'heiress' makes me believe that this isn't the norm everywhere, just Andor. I am a cis straight male, I don't know why this makes me so happy tbh. Just the rarity of it in fiction? Idk.

So, Rand is from somewhere really far off, eh? From the very very small tidbits I've heard so far in the book, Aiel is some kind of desert/wasteland that is on the other side of one of the mountains, though I don't see it anywhere on the map. I don't want to google it because spoilers, so I guess I'll find out when I do. That and the people from there are kinda feared? It's been pretty vague, but it'll probably become clear in due time.

A new set of characters have been introduced. I can't say much about them so far other than that their interactions within the royal family and the captain of the guard were very well-fleshed out. It made them feel like real people, not just a royal family. The little petty rivalries and fast friendships were conveyed in just a few pages, really a testament to Robert Jordan's skill. That Galad guy has the makings of an anti-hero for sure. Definitely looking forward to seeing these three again.

To top it all off, the gang is back together again! My face was so wide when they finally got there. Honestly, coming to Caemlyn felt like the book letting out the breath that it held ever since they got split. Such a welcome change of scene. Because holy fuck were the last few chapters hell.

Well, I mean the last few Rand ones. They just couldn't catch a break. Trolloc here, Fade there, innocuous Darkfriends everywhere. All while I was screaming GET RID OF THE FUCKING DAGGER at inanimate pages. At least now Moiraine knows about it. (The title of the next chapter gives me hope that the three dolts finally see sense and tell Moiraine about the dreams as well.) Those chapters did a very good job of conveying the 'hunted rat' sense of the chase. All because of Thorin Cauthon. Caemlyn was a relief. And when a book is making you feel stressed, relieved and happy within a span of a few pages, you know it's a good one.

I do have some criticism, though. I gotta say I was a bit underwhelmed with Perrin and Egwene's rescue. I wanted it to be something with Elyas and the wolves, and not without any involvement from the two prisoners, too. The way RJ went about this one felt a bit passive on the rescuee end of the rope. What if Perrin took the sharp rocks given by Byar, maliciously or otherwise, then came back just as Moiraine and Lan are starting their op, a la The Suicide Squad? Idk, I just like when imprisoned characters aren't just passive victims. (Side note: Lan's conversation with Perrin, loved that)

Another thing that kind of irks me is that so far, all the women of around Rand's age seem to be attracted to him. Egwene, that farm girl, Elayne. Even Min singled him out of the three boys (though that might have more to do with him probably being the Dragon Reborn) and I hope this isn't always a thing. Well, idk if Egwene is attracted to him, but she clearly cares about him a lot. It could have to do with the fact that he looks very different from everyone else on account of being half-Aielperson. (or full?) But I'm gonna trust Robert J to not make it like that.

That's all from me for now. I honestly can't wait to read ahead, I'm very excited for this story, especially now that a wider cast of characters has been introduced. Can't fucking wait.

Edit: shit, I forgot to write about Loial. He's an Ent! What's not to like? Quickbeam would be proud. Though I do have some questions about steddings (don't answer): what are they exactly? Habitats for endangered magical creatures? Perrin and Egwene stopped in a stedding. Why weren't there any Ogiers (Ogier?) there? What is it about them that prevents Aes Sedai as well as evil ravens from entering? How does creature magic work? Are they also bound by saidin and saidar or is that only for humans? Did Ogier build the White Bridge, like they built Caemlyn? Was their dominant time before or after Lews Therin's rampage? What forced them into obscurity? I wanna knoooooowwww (don't answer)