#i've realized that if i even attempt to go into full detail for some of these i am going to burnout hard and fast

[leatherbootlace]

Is it possible that in the future, you can share your headcanons on some of the mainland and loaned engines?

this has all been on the backburner for waaaaay too long help

JONATHAN (87546) the Blunt Engine - Cis-Masculine (He/Him)

Jonathan is the utmost example of dedication to a fault. Put to service at a time of strife, he proved himself a strong, reliable engine during what was arguably one of the worst times to be one. He’s a tough cookie who stands no-nonsense from other, more talkative engines, which can make him quite blunt at times. Though he may carry some untouched baggage from his early years, he’s keen to prove himself a reliable asset to the Fat Director, by any means necessary.

ANTOINETTE / TONI (98462) the Rude Engine - Bigender (She/Her/He/Him)

Absolutely one of the slickest engines to ever work on the Fat Controller’s Railway, Antoinette (or Toni as she prefers to be called) believes herself to be above the likes of her own kin, and carries a general air of superiority wherever he travels. Personally, she never quite fit in with the North Eastern Railway’s views on what’s best for engines, and was quick to find work elsewhere when given the opportunity. He now seeks to become the premiere express engine she rightfully deserves to be on the Fat Controller’s Railway, even if it means having to play second-fiddle to the likes of Gordon… for now…

ROBINSON the Fast Engine - Agender (They/Them/It/Its)

One of the more experienced of the engines brought in during the formative years, Robinson was known for one thing and one thing only - speed. Robinson can’t stand the thought of being idle and wasting precious time, and often works their hardest to beat the clock and run their trains early. Unfortunately, this means it tends to be particularly reckless when it comes to the finer details of things - something quite hard to explain to them considering they talk a mile a minute to where barely anyone can understand it at times.

LILLIE the Atlantic Engine - Cis-Feminine (She/Her/Per/Pers)

After Henry proved to be disappointing to the Board of Directors, Sir Topham Hatt’s plans to acquire a Robinson Atlantic were met post-haste. Lillie, however, is not the Atlantic Topham would have chosen if given the chance. Uppity, snobbish, and carrying a taste for the more refined luxuries of life on the Mainland, she believes per every whim and desire should be catered to - even going so far as to acquire her own personalized livery. Per is quite content with her lot in life as a regular passenger engine, so long as per needs are met at a moment’s notice.

Original Sprites by Princess-Muffins, Cj-The-Creator, WyattLoughrie, MaxtheModellingDude, Diamond-Jubilee, RedEngineStudioNo5 & DemonOfNowhere.

Any & All Modifications made by Myself, LeatherBootlace.

[theminecraftbee]

some smallishsona social links i've thought up:

XIII (DEATH): zombiecleo. i know this is the obvious choice but also i'm not immune to obvious choices. cleo is a "florist" that joe knows. florist is in the world's biggest scare quotes; between the fact they're the one who's willing to give the team weapons and fence stuff they got from the other world, and also the conspicuous full-body burn scars, joel is VERY willing to bet that cleo is not, in fact, a florist. he's not stupid though. he's not about to like, ask if she's in the yakuza or something. because then they would kill him. he is ALREADY unwillingly at constant risk of death by shadow monster, he doesn't need yakuza coming after him, thanks.

cleo's social link starts out about their begrudging willingness to do joe a favor by handing high-schoolers various weaponry, but also their continued attempts to explain that they're making a mistake. (joel KNOWS okay it's not HIS fault there's a demon in his head and his life is full of tarot cards now, give him a break.) however, as the social link continues, it reveals details of cleo's life, the story of how they ended up with those burn scars, and how they can move past the tragedies of their past.

V (HIEROPHANT) xisuma. this one feels a little obvious, went back and forth on whether this should be tfc instead but landed on xisuma. a man joel meets in a tea shop who is very concerned about joel's mental state, considering how joel came to town in the first place. joel thinks this is extremely rude, thanks, especially since if it hadn't been for the fact it was tea, not alcohol, joel would be half-convinced xisuma had been trying to drink his problems away.

the social link focuses on xisuma trying to mentor joel very badly, and also the reveal that part of why xisuma is so concerned for joel is that he wants to make up for his failures to take care of his younger brother. at the end of the social link, xisuma starts to reconcile with his brother and family, and joel maybe reluctantly admits it's nice to have an adult with nothing supernatural going on with them that's somewhat concerned for him. not that he needs supervision or anything, but...

XVI (TOWER): doc. was going through the suggestions people gave me and was surprised to realize just how UBIQUITOUS this was as a suggestion. however, yeah, this fits his character archetype to a t. doc is a disgraced scientist who is willing to give joel his inventions to test; joel's courage social stat needs to be like a 4 before he can even initiate this social link, and joel first finds out about doc from rumors in town about a madman scientist who got someone killed in a lab accident. the inventions provide various perks in battle, though, and frankly by the point in the story joel has high enough courage to start this one his attitude is starting to become "fuck it we ball", so.

doc's social link starts with doc leaning into his terrifying reputation. however, as the social link continues, it becomes clear doc is actually trying to make a working version of his clean fuel generator that couldn't possibly ever cause an explosion like the one he faced again. in the end, it's revealed the original design was sabotaged, and there was nothing doc could have done to prevent the tragedy--except, maybe, be willing to share his plans with others to catch the sabotage, because joel helps doc figure that out.

this social link MAYBE has some thematic relevance. don't worry about it.

I (MAGICIAN): scar. one of joel's earliest social links and teammates, i'm debating if he was one of the people who was teamed with grian before joel arrived. scar himself has a largely magic-based garu persona. he's also the party's early healer, although he later gets supplanted in this role when impulse joins as the actual party healer, and his build is actually more focused on heavy-hitting magic and status effects. (think ann, or reload mitsuru). i think if i go with my current theme for the team's personas (mythological lovers/mythological figures related to love or bonds), i might make his persona majnun?

anyway, he's very VERY scar, a fast-talking, smooth-playing, optimistic kind of guy, who DEFINITELY won't end up having a mid-story breakdown about whether or not he's wanted or needed on the team, absolutely not, no way, it's not like that's the magician's role in a persona game or anything. as a social link i think scar's social link is about him dragging joel into his school black market schemes and the two of them hitting it off during this, but also, a bit, about scar confiding his loneliness and feelings of inadequacy as something more than the comic relief. he's one of the earliest available social links, second only to skizz, and ends up being one of joel's closest links, magical tarot powers be damned.

VII (CHARIOT): skizzleman. joel's earliest social link, who develops a persona thanks to joel having to rescue him from the other world. a cheerful, friendly guy with a slight sense of distance under the surface, skizz works to keep himself strong and the people around him happy, sometimes to the point of excluding his own emotions. he's an agi user, although his persona is largely focused on physical skills rather than magic (he's the team's physical heavy-hitter), and i might make his persona patrolcus? (all of these personas are things you can argue with me, btw.)

skizz's social link is about him trying to find ways to lighten the moods of the other people in joel and skizz's apartment building who were moved in there because they didn't have elsewhere to stay, and his ability to remain cheerful despite often being rejected in this. it's also a social link about digging more into the history that lead to skizz feeling alone enough to be Vanished and in need of rescue. because he's so plot-central in that way, though, his actual SOCIAL LINK is more lighthearted shenanigans about the various schemes skizz comes up with to try to get other people to cheer up, and eventually ends with joel and the others turning it around to give skizz that same cheerful stuff.

anyway these are the guys i've definitively assigned to what social link now i am having SO MUCH FUN with this au,

[codeopathy]

TW for domestic abuse mentions

Hi. I never usually make theories or analysises in depth but I wanted to do one for @laikascomet cause I think the series is so fuckin neat

Under the cut will be a SPOILERS zone so please read the comic before you read!!

Okay so! There's a lot to this chapter so I'll probably make this post specifically about the colors of this chapter + some small details relating to it.

Firstly, the chapters run into each other subtitle wise.

Start -> You can only move forward

End -> Don't look back.

This can be read as "You can only move forward, don't look back" OR "Don't look back. You can only move forward." which are two VERY different tones to me which relates heavily for the chapter we have before us.

When Laika first enters into the dimension/dreamworld, it's all really pink and coated in hearts. This is TYPICALLY a sign for innocence, love, and whathaveyou BUT I also want to add on another idea that could subert our expectations;

It is more safe on the outside than inside...

So to explain it'll probably need some color context. For Laika in the dreamworld, she's mostly coated in pinks or colors like pink much like the world around her. Which before hand, it's seen she has a loving family and she doesn't have many issues in the present moment beyond possibly getting in trouble.

Now for Mars...

They are mostly blues with pink eyes. Which if the first instance of the blue rabbit isn't telling (full on going to attack Laika who notes; "...That's the most hostile I've ever seen [them get]...") then we have a general color association scheme already happening.

Pink -> Safe

Blue -> Unsafe

So moving on! Mars has photos depicting the comet falling onto their house (or a piece of it) as well as a potential friend? [Photo below]

SHOULD ALSO NOTE. THEIR ROOM IS PINK, THE DINING ROOM IS BLUE. But anyways the photos show the story of the comet and potentially what happened (though not EVERYTHING) as the characters go on up!!

Though note here that the parents DO NOT have pink eyes.

This could potentially be how kids are still more innocent over the adults but also how Mars still sees safety in what they live in over Laika who IMMEDIATELY knows shit is wrong in this place and Mars shouldn't be here. Also another color thing.

(Pink for innocent/safety)

(Blue for fear/no safety [in this case in regards to mars])

Which I think after I make one more note, I can confidently place down a potential theory for Mars. There's the scene where Laika intercepts a potential traumatic flashback for Mars and they snap back with:

Which I find interesting it's more of an orangey pink over a blue- Could mean Mars is attempting to be honest BUT also is repeating things They heard their parents say to them when Mars tried to speak up as well.

((Also just noticed this but GOD the little detail of the plate breaking and Laika getting cut in the same area is so NEAT btu also considerably heartbreaking if you consider THOSE implications.))

ANYWAYS.

Now for the actual theory or well. ya know.

I feel like Mars was potentially in what we will call a "hidden" abusive home where on the outside everything seemed lovely and nice but the inside... Not so much. Mars obviously seemed to have much more comfort in their bedroom, isolated away despite it ruining their mental health. But when they are out and eating with their family (meals that likely weren't as sustaining or delicious as what they should have), it felt overstimulating because of how their parents talked. Which it was like static noise that they have to sit and eat through to just be able to run back and stay in the pink safety zone.

And Mars had to witness potential domestic violence or even more to themselves considering how everything is so violent as Laika pointed out (and even Mars implies in a scene as well I realize which is included below)

Which if this is the case, everything we see is a replay of their trauma from their home. Which happens a lot with children who experience horrible things, they tend to "act out" the scenes to process through it and generally make it "not as bad" in their heads.

TDLR; Pink and Blues mean so fuckin much in this chapter as well as that Mars likely is relieving their trauma with the star powers due to not knowing any better.

So with that, I think this story is so wonderful. I myself grew up in a similar home and it's nice to see Mars potentially get help in the future.

[slowburningechoes]

confessions over cocoa ❆

Summary: Sipping on hot chocolate with the love of your life seems like the perfect time to reveal the secret you've been keeping.

Pairing: Domestic!Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

Content Warning: just some tooth rotting fluff, domestic Christmas activities, caloric consumption, pregnancy, giving this man children because CBS writers are cowards

Word Count: 1.2k

"Seems your PhD in chemistry is finally coming in handy," you tease, sipping on a mug full of hot chocolate Spencer had made from scratch.

A scoff fell from his lips, "Finally? You know I've defused chemical bombs and deciphered the elements in hundreds of biological and chemical weapons, right?"

You roll your eyes sarcastically, "Yes, I know, boy genius. I'm just saying that all this is the best application of your skills." You lift your mug up and point to it.

"Well, I'm glad that my years of academic research has yielded an expert cup of hot cocoa for you," Spencer rolled his eyes, pouring some from the warm pot and into a mug that matched yours.

"Don't forget the homemade sugar cookies last week," you add, smirking at him mischievously.

Spencer almost spits out his drink as he laughs. "I should've just become a baker instead of a profiler, huh?"

You sit your cup down on the island and move to place your body in front of his. "No, we still need to work on your icing skills, honey."

"Presentation isn't everything - like you said, they were delicious," Spencer sat his mug down, too, wrapping his arms around your waist.

"And either way you'd be busy this time of year," you say, matter-of-factly.

"Hmmm, that's true," he leaned down, pressing his lips against your forehead. "But at least as a baker, I'd have some down time throughout."

You found yourself shaking your head, "You're proud of the work you do and I am proud of you. I wouldn't want to change that for all the endless sweets in the world. Besides, I hold down the fort pretty well while you're away."

"I hate that you have to do so much on your own," he whispers, running his fingers down your spine. "You run the bookstore, you check in on my mother, and you take care of everything here. You even managed to put up all of these Christmas decorations without needing me to reach something for you."

You slap his arm lightly in response to the joke about your height before pulling him into the living room with you. His expression was one of confusion as you rustled under the ornamented tree.

"What are you looking for, baby?" he inquired, attempting to aid in your search.

Before you can respond, you spot it - a small rectangular box wrapped in dark green paper with a golden twisted ribbon on top. You turned to him, holding it in your hand unsteadily.

"I was going to save this until the morning since it will officially be Christmas," you begin, "but I feel like now is the perfect time for this gift."

You had it to Spencer, who still had a curious look on his face.

As he rustled with the paper, you added, "Also, I love taking care of things here. I love taking care of you - of us."

A smile spread across his face, popping off the lid of the sturdy box. "I love you, y/n." He unfolds the tissue paper that hid the gift.

"I love you, too," you respond, rocking back and forth on your toes waiting for him to see it.

Spencer lifted up the small round object into the palm of his hand, admiring its ceramic detail. "An ornament?" he asked, a befuddled yet pleasant tone in his voice.

"Just one last one to hang before tomorrow morning," you bite your bottom lip nervously, moving to his side to view the ornament next to him. "Look at it closely."

Spencer furrowed his eyebrows and squinted to read the engraved script. As he realized, his breathing became hitched and his jaw dropped. The room was silent for a moment longer than you expected, which made the lump of anxiety grow in your throat.

"Soon to be...," he read, tracing his fingers over the text. "A family of three?"

"The rhyme is cheesy, I know but-," you justify before he cut you off.

"You're pregnant?" Spencer asks, his voice soft but higher in pitch. Tears began to form in his eyes and he softly bit down on his lower lip.

You nod earnestly, your eyes also beginning to fill with tears. "Mhm, turn it over." He doesn't move though, so you reach into his palm and flip it over yourself.

The opposite side revealed a picture from your ultrasound. The fetus was just defined enough for the various parts of his body to be obvious. As soon as Spencer laid eyes on it, he raised his free hand to wipe away the tears that were now rolling down his flushed cheeks.

"H-how long have you known?" he asked, barely able to get the words to escape his mouth.

"I had my suspicions when I missed my cycle awhile back, but I didn't want to jump to conclusions," you begin, rubbing your thumb against your sweaty hand. "But then it still hadn't come when you left for the case last weekend, so I bought a few tests. They all came back positive... but I still couldn't believe it, so I went to the doctor where they confirmed it with a blood test and well - this. She says I'm eight weeks along."

You looked up at him with anxious yet hopeful eyes. His eyes broke from his trance on the ornament to you and a huge grin spread across his face. The mix of happy tears streaming down his face and his goofy smile makes you fall for him even deeper.

"Y/n," Spencer sighs, placing his free hand on the side of your face, before kissing you fiercely. "I-I can't believe it. We're going to be parents, I-I'm going to be a father!"

His hands quickly moved to place the ornament safely on the tree before dropping to his knees in front of you.

Spencer gently placed his head against your stomach and began whispering to your unborn child. "I already love you so much, little one. You have no idea how excited I am to meet you."

You practically melted in that moment, just admiring his attentive nature and softness. He had waited forever to have children and you had talked about it for years, but it hadn't happened until now. You always knew he would make the perfect father and this just confirmed it all.

"You are already so perfect," he says in a hush. "I can't wait to hold you."

You run your fingers through his curls, pressing him against you softly. "What do you think it is, Spence? A boy or a girl?"

"I don't even have a guess - b-but, truly I don't think I have a preference either way," he responds, coming back up to his feet and embracing you. "Either way, this baby will be so loved. I can't believe we made a baby."

"Hopefully they're just as smart and charming as you," you say, cuddling into his chest.

"I already know they'll be beautiful like their mother," Spencer mumbles against your skin, placing a firm kiss upon the top of your chest.

You had always felt that "home" feeling wrapped in Spencer's arms, but something about carrying his child inside you and bringing them into the world made you feel complete. Even just the two of you made a family, but this third addition was the most welcomed gift you could have received this holiday season.

[marrogerson]

Hi Margaret,

I absolutely adore Sorcery of Thorns. As an aspiring writer, I wanted to ask you how you started worldbuilding? The world just seemed so lively and detailed, just as if it was real. While reading I imagined it like in the Victorian era, were there special things you researched? Worldbuilding just seems so daunting to me.

Sending you all the best wishes, and I‘m waiting patiently and excited for new stories from you :)

Hi anon,

Thank you for the lovely ask. I was also daunted by worldbuilding when I started trying to write books. (Key word, trying... my attempts didn't work out too well for the first few years.) Since this is turning out to be a longer post, I'll put the rest under a cut.

Initially, the thing I struggled with the most was having a great idea for a world, fleshing it out, and then trying to populate it with characters and an interesting plot. This worldbuilding-first strategy works for some writers I think, but it didn't for me. I personally had a breakthrough when I started instead focusing on creating the main characters/their central conflict first, and then constructing the worldbuilding around them to support the story's needs. For example, the premise of the magic system in Sorcery of Thorns (sorcerers who summon demon servants at great personal cost) was one that I created specifically to facilitate the angst between Nathaniel and Silas.

I always say that I don't consider myself much of a researcher, but then I glance across my desk and see the stack of books that I ordered secondhand from Ebay because they're no longer in print. If you're writing in a similar time period, I highly recommend The Victorian City by Judith Flanders (this one is still in print and easy to find). The most curious one (to me at least) is probably The Victorian Bathroom Catalogue which is a book full of historical advertisements including illustrations of old bathroom fixtures.

My best advice when it comes to research—if it's something you struggle with—is to try reading things that are fun, which you would enjoy reading anyway even if you didn't have a reason. The most useful research I've ever done was just-for-fun reading that I did not realize was important research until much later. Forgive my weird analogy, but all that reading turns into sort of a yeast culture in the fridge of your brain, which you can draw from when needed instead of having to go searching for yeast every time you need it. And the yeast culture will also creep into your bedroom at four in the morning, and whisper tantalizing ideas into your ear... ok, let's stop there.

The nice thing about writing fantasy is that you don't need to sweat the small stuff. Just worry about writing a fun story first.

Some of my favorite specific topics that I've researched online lately include elevators in the first half of the 1800s, and whether gunpowder would have been used to demolish a large building just prior to the invention of dynamite.

Best of luck!

[saintarmand]

Hi! Do you think that s2 big reveal will be that Armand manipulated Louis memory? What do you think the "disastrous consequences in Dubai" mean? Louis attempting suicide as many books fans expect?

no. i think the "big reveal" will be that armand didn't have to. louis knows armand did the thing and stayed with him anyway like he did in the books. they very well may lead the audience to believe armand is doing that to louis, when it was actually daniel who got his memories wiped (and daniel may have agreed to it.) and i think any inconsistencies about the events of s1 that may or may not be revealed will be because of louis repressing memories the old fashioned way. at most armand helped a little. and i'm not saying that only because of the racist and abuse apologist implications or just cause i'm an armand stannie or whatever, although that's all also true. i'm saying that because i think the story is better for it.

to me, armand having significant overarching influence, especially though literal magic, on the story we've been told (specifically LOUIS's story told BY louis), undermines the theme of "memory is a monster." they told us the fallibility of memory in this story is the real life kind; how memory naturally changes every time we remember events in our lives, how our present self affects how we look at the past, etc. this is a fantasy story, yes, but it's very much grounded in reality. the racism isn't "fantasy racism", for example. having the twist be that a crucial element of the story that we were told was real was actually magic would lame and disappointing as hell. i think daniel having his memories wiped magically will be a parallel to louis. but the thing about parallels is that they're not meant to be literal or complete, and they emphasize differences as much as similarities, in order to reinforce the ideas and themes of the story, not replace them. so i think that while louis and daniel's memory issues can look similar on the surface, they have different causes and the show will make it clear which is which.

hell, they've even shown us magical manipulation vs regular manupulation before. we saw lestat entrance several humans including louis himself ("his gaze tied a string around my lungs and i found myself immobilized") but it was done in a way that made it obvious when it was happening, so general audiences weren't speculating lestat was using vampire magic to make louis fall in love with him or agree to be turned or whatever. he was shown to have powers he could have used at key points but didn't, more often using very basic human manipulation tactics, which were actually even more effective. even the idea of lestat causing paul's death was brought up only to be discarded. i think they'll pretty much do the same thing with armand, only teasing us a bit more with it. and sure, some people will still speculate, but i think this is what the intention of the writers is, and hopefully they do it well.

i assume the "disastrous consequences in dubai" is an interview quote and i've heard something like that but since i don't have the full context in front of me it's hard to say much about it. if you could tell me the whole quote and who said it and where and in what context i could probably talk about it in more detail lol. link me if you'd like?

what i will say right now is that i think there's gonna be a lot of arguments and accusations and revelations in dubai, i think louis will go through a hell of an emotional rollercoaster, i think daniel will find out about the eternal sunshine of the devil's minion as i like to call it, will ask to be turned again or at least realize he still wants it, i think louis and armand will break up, and i think there will be a book released by the end.

the louis suicide attempt theory i believe is based on merrick, which i still haven't read (i need to get my shit together and read it before may 12th lol) so it's difficult for me to say much about it? i know he attempts suicide at the end and that him talking to claudia's ghost who's fucking furious with him is a thing that happens. something like that anyway, i've read some quotes from it. i highly doubt louis has been talking to her literal ghost at this point in the show, he's just doing that metaphorically. i would love to see it in the future though.

honestly to me just the fact that armand said out loud that he thinks the interview is basically louis's suicide note indicates that's probably not actually what's going on. that's usually how it works in stories lol. when the character tells you what they think is gonna happen it never happens like that. (on the whole "other vampires will paint the walls with his blood" thing, i think the human world will assume the book is made up bullshit or daniel is senile or crazy, and because of that most vampires won't care that much. would be pretty dumb to kill him since it would only draw more attention to him and the book. i do like the idea of lestat, inspired by louis, going on to more or less successfully prove the existence of vampires, causing a big ruckus, and the whole "great conversion" thing that was mentioned, being a part of the show version of the queen of the damned somehow.)

louis attempting suicide could still happen i guess but i just don't think it's that interesting or particularly good writing in the context of the story being told in seasons 1 & 2. not only because it's kinda predictable and basic and boring to me but like. if he tries kill himself and fails, that's basically him being forced to live. to me, louis choosing to live on in this continuous state of mourning is much more compelling and devastating even, than him having no choice in it. it's like with him staying with armand, isn't it waaaayyy more fucked up and sad if he's doing that of his own volition as opposed to being kept there against his will? that's a story about who louis is, the choices he makes, not about how he's a victim. of course he still is an abuse victim etc, and that's certainly not his fault, but him blaming himself and seeing himself as just as bad as lestat or armand because he "let" it all happen is, to me, a core part of his character. in the book he monologues about his passivity being his biggest fault; in the show he insists "i'm not a victim" even as he's telling us a story about being abused. abuse culture & catholic guilt baby!

also. the thematic note the book ends on is, to me anyway, about the human spirit clinging to life even in devastating circumstances. armand tells louis how so many vampires resort to suicide, but louis doesn't (in book one.) he keeps going, haunted by his past, dead inside and out yet still alive, unable to let go. and he spends the whole book telling daniel the boy reporter how awful immortality is and yet daniel still wants it, thinking it will be different this time. choosing the horrors life throws us, even the cursed half life or unlife of a vampire, over the horror of the unknown that is permanent death. etc etc etc. i love this part of the book too much to want to let it go!

hell, armand only tries to kill himself after finding out what hell is "really like" in memnoch the devil, and while i don't know cause i haven't read merrick yet, i bet that influenced louis too. death isn't as terrifying when you know what to expect.

and i'm also just not a fan of the idea that actually most of the other books' events have also already happened. because then that influences the characters who are telling us the story, in ways that we won't find out until seasons later. like if louis tries to kill himself at the end of season 2 and then in like season 7 or some shit we find out actually it wasn't because of what happened in s1-2 it was actually because right before the interview he was talking to claudia's ghost who said horrible things to him and also because he found out hell is real but it's actually a bit more like purgatory where if you prove yourself you get to go to heaven eventually and also because— like you can see how that would be bad storytelling right? lmao. not that revealing new information about characters or events later is always bad, it can be very interesting and beneficial even, but not if it undermines or completely changes the whole story before that point. not shading AR's retcon habit here at all not at all of course not i would never do that

anyway i think i've rambled enough. thank you for asking!

[magistralucis]

Miniature Painting Retrospective (2023)

2023 has been a hell of a year, but it had one upside to it, namely that this was the year I got into miniature painting. The downsides are money spent on plastics and paints and my ever-increasing piles of shame, but what mini lover doesn't deal with that 🤣

I'm a relatively new painter. I began painting in the second quarter of this year, and I haven't exactly done it every day or even every week, though I think I've improved greatly nonetheless. This is a retrospective post with some examples I've painted this year, what I learned, what I'd do better, and goals for the future.

-----------------

April 2023

Despite the many pages of ramblings on my blog, I did not actually get into miniatures because of Warhammer 40K, it was Dark Souls that got me to pull the trigger 😂 I love, love, love Dark Souls, when I realized there was a boardgame and people painted the plastic figures that came with them I had to get me some of that. I've actually posted these before on my DS sideblog, so if you've seen them around somewhere else 'twas I who was responsible, but these are the very first minis I've ever painted.

Siegward of Catarina was painted almost entirely with contrasts and metallics. I wanted to give him the really rusted look like Catarina Armour has in DS3. Solaire was painted similarly, except I didn't really get how to 'paint white' or 'paint yellow' or to use ink to fill in the sunface, so his chest is woefully incomplete. I thought of stripping him to start over, but have since decided against it; what I'll likely do is to get another Solaire and do the better job with that one. It's good to see where you began. Gives perspective.

-----

May 2023

I began properly looking up painting tutorials around this time. Coincidentally, this was the first time I began to really feel like I knew what I was doing 🤣

Eygon of Carim was painted almost entirely with drybrushing, save for the brown cloth, which was my first attempt at wet blending + adding wear and tear and scratches to simulate realism. He was drybrushed with a gunmetal grey then tinted with Black Templar for the majority of his dark armour, then drybrushed with silver to highlight the edges. His shield and mace followed the same procedure, except they were sponged with bronze later.

All of the models so far remain unbased to this day... I am not very good at remembering to base my models

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June 2023

Got into 6mm historicals (Anglo-Saxon/Vikings) during this period, which I don't have a picture of as those are currently in a storage box we stashed away for the Christmas holidays (guests staying over 😖).

Had another go at painting an Onion Knight, however, this time of Catarina Armour than Siegward specifically. Siegward has a longer Zweihander and a more detailed look. I wanted to give this version a clean look, and he was painted in a much more traditional style, following the base + shading + highlights + edge highlights method. No contrasts nor drybrushing, though the shield was mildly sponged with black. I'm proud of this one.

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July 2023

Got into Warhammer during this period. Had a break from painting as I tried to read and digest WH40K necron lores/novels, then became attracted to some of the full-size models, as well as building an army for Epic Armageddon. Shown above are some 6mm necron warriors, Immortals, Flayed Ones, and pariahs I painted as an example at this time. They are very, very small and very delicate and I love them your honour

I'm especially happy with the Flayed Ones. I'm actually using those to make a small Twice-Dead King diorama atm, I'll get some more made for the actual army. The pariah models have that warscythe design with a hole (?) in the middle but I... don't??? like the hole??? so I just filled them in with milliput and painted them up similarly to glaives instead

I also obtained a larger Dancer of the Boreal Valley model. She is in the pile of shame. I am afraid to begin painting her now that I've been staring at her for so long 😖😖😖

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August - September 2023

I............. ghghgghgghggg

The pile grows. At least I gave Orikan his green marble interior design???

Started doing 28mm historicals in early Sep. When it comes to the actual gaming aspect of this hobby, I have played way more historicals than I've ever played Warhammer or the Dark Souls Boardgame; I play SAGA with my sig. other, and he got me into Chain of Command, though I'm playing solely with the models he painted for that one (since he has been in this hobby for many, many more years than I). Here's a berserkr I painted and based up. NMM chainmail and glazed fur detail, the rock/ground based with cork.

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September 2023

Still doing historicals. My Viking warlord, rock based with foam, need to add some grass on there or something. Otherwise very very happy with how he turned out. I keep going back and forth between giving him a shield, since I love painting shields, but I also don't want to obscure the main details of his body. All metallic details are NMM.

Note the scabbard and the glint of his sword. I'm not super good at NMM yet, but I can do tiny glints and details like these.

An example of general warriors, huscarls, etc. I have about 50 men in varying states of completion. These are all Victrix models. Every one of those shields are freehanded. They make for very good practice because they're a nice, well-defined flat surface. I'm really proud of those.

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October - November 2023

My beloved Tea Space Marine brothers 😂☕ I've posted about those before (x, x, x) - the Arizona Tea dude is not yet done because I actually need to give him a banner and paint up his base, and during December I was too occupied with other creative activities to work on him. They are the first Space Marines I've ever painted and tbh I don't find them the easiest to paint (???) but they're some of the best fun I've had so far!

I want to make a whole series of those, not just of Space Marines or even the Imperium. I might do more porcelain, they're really fun to pose next to tea-things. The teacup Marine was painted a gloss white (after being primed not-white 😨) then freehanded with royal blue, with Retributor Armour being the gold. The Arizona Tea Marine was painted emerald with pink edges, tinted in places with Magos Purple, then freehanded with various shades of plum blossom-esque colours. Still wondering what design his banner ought to be.

-----

That's it for 2023. Next year I want to do the following things.

Finish up the Epic Armageddon necron army, complete with vehicles (300-400 points).

Finish the Dancer of the Boreal Valley statuette (because that's what she is at that scale, she's the biggest model I have, it's part of why I got intimidated lmao).

Get better at NMM.

Apply aforementioned NMM techniques to necrons on the pile of shame that are not painted.

Learn how to airbrush.

Obtain at least 6 points' worth of guys for a SAGA Viking army, then paint them up and base them properly.

Base my minis properly, full stop 🥴

Looking forward to some fun painting sessions next year!!! 💖

[halfratsalready]

Help me figure out what fic to write next! ✨

I feel like I’m in a weird limbo after finishing the first arc of the Lose Yourself series and I have a few ideas floating around in my head for what to write next (after the Wanderrose fic exchange, at least), but I have no clue which one to focus on.

So if you happen to like my silly little stories and want a say in what my next fic is, I’ve got some ideas and a poll below the cut! 💕

Idea I: Dark & Angsty Murder Mystery 🔪

I've discussed this one on here before so it might sound slightly familiar, but this would basically be Angst: The Fanfic. If you thought any of the Lose Yourself series was angsty, this fic is probably 10x worse. Part of me worries it's a little bit too dark to be a Just Dance fic. Multiple murders (though not described in detail), an intense attempted murder (that is described in relative detail), and some of that patented Night Swan mind control, plus some supernatural elements later on. But also a sizeable portion of it is Brezziana and Disocball playing detective and trying to solve a rash of murders, which should be very fun, in a weird and kinda dark sorta way.

Wanderrose ft. best friends Jack & Brezziana. Also featuring Discoball, Sara, Mihaly, Mothigan, Cygnus, Felicia, Boss Witch, Si'Ha Nova, and Agent D

I have the first chapter and a half written of this one already. It would be 9 chapters total.

Idea II: Angsty Jack-Centric Post-JD24 Fic 🥀

This is an idea I've had for a while but haven't really gotten around to properly outlining. This is based on my theory of sorts that Night Swan exploited the wrong weakness when targeting Jack in Dance With the Swan, where she realizes after the events of JD24 that she hadn't done it right and approaches it from a different angle. Basically just a lot of Jack-centric angst, a lot of Night Swan & Jack interactions, and a world where Treasure Jack may or may not actually become more than just an illusion...

A lot of Night Swan & Jack but definitely featuring at least some Wanderrose. Also featuring the Just Dancers, Si'Ha Nova, and the Traveler, and maybe some others.

I haven't even outlined this one yet, so I have no idea how long it would be.

Idea III: Significantly Less Angsty & More Random Self-Indulgent AU (Actually a "Silly Little" Fic This Time, For the Most Part, at Least) ✨

I've been toying with the idea lately of an AU where Leda and Sara were sisters on earth and Sara has been searching for her sister. I think it would be fun to do some intentional canon divergence (and not just have my fics' canon be derailed by a new event). There's a few directions I've considered taking this in, including Jack ending up on earth (there's like two or three ways for that one to happen and like two or three directions I could take it in) or Sara's adventures in the Danceverses just going really differently.

Still a lot I'm not sure about with this one but it's been bouncing around my head since Night Swan: The Prequel dropped, so here we are. Definitely would have Wanderrose cuz they own my heart.

The Poll

I have no idea which idea I really wanna commit to following through on first. Every time I think I'm leaning towards one, I end up leaning towards another. So I'm throwing these out there in the hopes that a few of you will be able to help me out with your opinion!

If you wanna share your thoughts in the comments or reblogs also, I’d love to hear what you have to say, so I don’t have to wait the whole week for the poll to finish to be able to see which idea(s) is/are getting the most interest!

[icedragonlizard]

So, my 4-chapter long "Kirby grants two wishes to Morpho Knight" AU fic has been completed since last week, feel free to give that a read if you'd like! And I said it'd be my last fic for the year of 2023.

Meaning that I'll start on one of these fics in the year of 2024.

I... think I intend to do all of them, but I'm not sure which one I want to do next. Which is why I'm making this poll to see which might spark the most interest for people to look forward to!

These will all be long fics, I feel. They'll each certainly be much more than 4 chapters long.

Allow me to elaborate on the options:

A Tale Of Two Traitors: This will be a story about the friendship of Marx and Magolor. It'll go over the entire timeline of their dynamic: how they first met, how they became friends, how their friendship develops over time, etc. Expect their first-meet event to occur sometime between Milky Way Wishes and RTDL, as the later chapters will then cover after Star Allies and what I feel like is their modern dynamic in the modern day.

I do even have a post that summarizes my dynamic of these two, but voting for this option is a vote for having me write an entire fanfiction out of their dynamic that will cover a lot more details than what this post contains. We may also see several other characters make appearances in this big fanfiction, should I get to it first!

This story will occur in my headcanon universe, as it's not an AU like my "Lost Miracles That Finally Become" fanfiction was.

Dark Stormy Matters: This will take place in an Alternate Universe, similar to my "Lost Miracles That Finally Become" story!

In this story, Kracko undergoes a descent into full-on madness. His extreme disdain for Kirby simply boils over far too much to the point he does something absolutely insane in a desperate attempt to finally get back at the pink puffball that he's been holding a searing grudge against for so long. He willfully becomes an overarching megavillain.

He goes to outer space and makes a wish to a clockwork star to revive Dark Matter. Once Dark Matter revives, Kracko literally lets himself gets possessed by it, and becomes much bigger and stronger. Dark Matter becomes impressed and fond of the hatred that Kracko has inside of him, to the point that he even becomes Dark Matter's new leader! And now, Kracko and Dark Matter have fused together to this story's main antagonist, and as you can imagine, this monster is out to viciously attack Kirby and his friends.

Kracko's hatred is so great that even after fusing with Dark Matter, and due to becoming its new leader, his conscience is still present! His hatred for Kirby becomes even much stronger than it already was, and so he does everything possible to screw over the pink puffball out of spite. He attacks Popstar, he destroys Kirby's house, he attacks numerous other planets, and even personally antagonizes all of Kirby's friends (even ones that live outside of Popstar, such as Ribbon and Susie). He does all these things to try to upset Kirby and to emotionally destroy him by obliterating everything the pink puffball loves. Don't be surprised if this makes Kirby angrier than he's ever been before, especially when he realizes Kracko's motives here.

The Grand Alliance: Like the poll option said, this story will basically be my headcanon adaptation for Star Allies. I've got a bunch of headcanons as to how this plays out! This covers my interpretations of all the dream friends' personalities, and how they all come to join the alliance in stopping the Jambastion cult. Don't be surprised if there's infighting, considering that some dream friends... don't exactly get along very well with one another.

I wouldn't mind spoiling one thing: If you remember Star Allies has a quote for King Dedede saying "I'll be the one to keep the peace!'', he'll be doing that in the story. Dedede and Kirby will be the main ones trying to get all the other dream friends to cooperate, despite whatever beef may be present among them. And so you could imagine many instances of Dedede slamming his hammer onto the ground to enforce peace between two dream friends that don't get along. After all, there is little time for infighting when there's a huge creeping universal threat that everyone needs to take care of first!

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So, which of these three options interests you the most? Let me know!

[tsutenstar]

A very thorough; very long analysis of Tsukasa's latest card.

I first want to preface this by saying thank you to Tsukasa for coming in only 40 pulls. I still have a good amount ready for your next limited!

:)

This card has made me go insane.

This an exaggeration on my part, but it seems like every time I look at this card I find another detail I've overlooked that just makes me love this card even more. It's an understatement to say that the artists of the Project SEKAI cards put a lot of thought into composition, lighting, and the theme for each set--especially for story-driven cards. So this post will be my in-depth analysis of this card and my personal thoughts and theories.

This post is separated into parts in hopes of this post having some semblance of organization.

Card Artwork Composition

Tsukasa's trained artwork from the card A rush of Excitement shows Tsukasa at the very forefront of the card. The camera is positioned slightly upright--giving the viewer the feeling as though they're looking up at Tsukasa. The art is also positioned at an angle, giving a sense of movement which works to emphasize Tsukasa's pose: A confident stride toward the warmly lit stage. The bright light fills the dim backstage with light. This is further emphasized by the billowing movement of the flag he clutches behind him, the tail of his suit, his bowtie, and his hair. He's giving the viewer a bright smile full of confidence

His card highly contrasts Rui's card Blowing in the Evening Breeze. He's static--sitting farther away from the camera. A barrier separates him from the viewer: a tilted hourglass that he watches with a solemn expression. He's surrounded by clutter and darkness floods the room he's in--only a small sliver of light reflecting against the hourglass and highlighting Rui's eyes.

For Nene's card A Childhood Friend's Gaze, there's more movement (shown by her hair and skirt), but she has a bittersweet smile and is seen stopping to look at a nearby hourglass. The light behind her is similar in color to Rui's: a bright white, unlike Tsukasa's warm yellow.

Overall, Tsukasa's card seems very out of place when you compare it to Rui and Nene's cards in the same set. Additionally, there's a large emphasis on the hourglasses in their cards (I'll discuss more on that later).

I feel like this decision to make Tsukasa's card such is very intentional on the artists' part and was the first thing that caught my attention when I saw them. Rui and Nene's cards have a solemn vibe to them--fitting alongside the plot of the set's corresponding event. Tsukasa's not so much.

It's almost as if he is ignoring the weight of it all.

Background Analysis

Let's return to Tsukasa's card.

Tsukasa is backstage, the warm light of center stage behind him floods a usually dim area with glowing light. This symbolizes Tsukasa's dream to be a world-renown actor and that the steps he takes in the present bring him closer to that light--his dream.

But this isn't an event about entering the stage. It's about leaving--saying farewell. A Sorrowful Farewell at Curtain Call--the part of a show where all affiliated actors bow to the audience and the show comes to a close.

It's strange that this card illustrates the polar opposite of the event name itself.

Now, let's talk hourglasses.

The appearance of the hourglass is especially important throughout the event. Hourglasses represent the passing of time--finite time specifically. They could have chosen a simple clock, but the idea of limited time--which the hourglass best represents--fits perfectly when we think of the future end of WxS. Their time together is limited and their goals--the closer they become--will pull them farther apart.

Rui's is situated behind one, glaring at the large hourglass. The hourglass is tilted, but the sand is still falling representing Rui's wish to stay with WxS longer (hence the hourglass being tilted in an attempt to stop the sand from falling to the bottom). This event focuses on Rui's shattering realization that his time with WxS will end in order for him to achieve his dreams. He'll have to let go of the people who accepted him and back into a world where that situation is not guaranteed.

Nene's card has many hourglasses, but here they stand upright and act as supports for the building behind her, symbolizing her dream. She's somewhat come to terms with the thought of WxS disbanding as showcased in past events (Mermaid Admiration and Island Panic) and can deal with it although with a bittersweet smile. She focuses on the good times she had and the good times yet to come with the troupe.

But take another look at the hourglasses in Tsukasa's card.

The hourglasses are small, upright, organized;

caged.

He doesn't interact with the hourglasses at all--not even a glance at them. He's focused on us, the audience, and the stage ahead. You can argue the idea that he just doesn't realize that his time with WxS is slowly fading away, but Tsukasa is a lot more aware than that. We've seen this shown multiple times throughout multiple event stories. He does know, but he doesn't want to think about it. Ignorance is bliss, after all.

Why sulk about the future if you just focus on the present? Why reminisce about the pain of the past if that doesn't make anyone smile? Forget the pain in those bad memories. Push them away, lock them up and never think of them again.

Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

This is further shown through the flag he carries behind him. We've seen this flag in his card in only two instances. His 2-star and 4-star from Wonder Magical Showtime. These two cards symbolize a great shift in the story of WxS: the formation of the troupe and their promotion to park ambassador respectively. The flag partly covers parts of the hourglasses as though he's involuntarily trying to hide them. The flag Tsukasa carries has been a symbol of WxS since the beginning. It's almost like he's trying to reassure everyone. "Everything's alright. We're still good ol' Wonderland x Showtime!"

Tsukasa has yet to come to terms with the future of WxS and the pain that it will cause him. So he does what he does best: he ignores it and forgets it. He smiles, reassuring us and the people around him that there's nothing to worry about.

But the hourglasses remain unchecked, and the longer Tsukasa ignores them, the more sand that will fill the bottom. They're bound to break someday under the weight, and Tsukasa will be left to pick up the pieces if nothing changes.

TLDR: Tsukasa, sweetie, it's okay to be sad.

[animehouse-moe]

Otherside Picnic Volume 3

Yeah yeah, I'm pretty well behind on having only just read this volume, I know. I'm slow with a lot of light novel reading because I really want to be in it, you know? I want to savor every moment and feel like I don't want to put the book down while I'm reading.

And it just happened that lately I've really been craving for the horror and fear that stems from Miyazawa's expert understanding of net and folklore horror. So imagine my surprise when I pick up the volume and see just how far Shirakaba's art has come. Sure, it was never bad by any means. But my god, this volume's illustrations are amazing. The level of detail has skyrocketed, but at the same time a more clear and personal style appears. Heavy and dark contrast, an overall feeling of weight with each piece of art. Even though they can look vastly different due to moments, the overall feel of it remains. Really, hats off in that regard, truly some outstanding art.

Of course, Miyazawa's writing withstands the shock of this incredible improvement from Shirakaba.

Their perception of horror - what comprises it and causes fear- remains absolutely expert. From the endings of the previous omnibus volume we continue the downwards spiral into Sorawo's personal hell. The types of contact, and the overall fear that arises from it are spine chilling.

Perhaps the biggest proponent is Miyazawa's ability to guide readers to answers. You can connect the dots as things go on, realize that there is something wrong, that there's a heavy feeling in your stomach and that all your hairs stand on end as your mind races to the finish line. It's such an incredible experience, where at times they don't even tell you the answer. Instead, you're left with a lingering feeling and concern for what things are and why.

Personally, it's my perfect definition of horror. Beyond us. You can come up with as many answers as you want to everything that unfolds, but for just as many things there are that Sorawo and Toriko resolve, there are just as many spine shudderingly disturbing pieces left hanging.

Of course, Otherside Picnic does like to remind readers that it's not just about disturbing and scary stuff. It's a healthy mix of characters that are poorly adjusted in the social sense (among many others), and their attempts to grope through their incredibly odd predicament. All of the characters that appear in this volume are so full. They're all hopeless and oddball versions of the more "simple" characters that they're portrayed as in the anime. They all have very glaring character issues, and present as far less perfect even in spite of how others view them. It's incredibly refreshing, and they all stumble through their interactions in an endearing and believable way that develops as the story continues.

The biggest thing from this volume though is just the sheer effort Miyazawa puts into the horror. It's not middle of the ground, on the spot horror stories they themselves come up with, but a far deeper and darker world that they draw from. Hours upon hours of historical and archival searching of books and webpages and chat forums to produce countless stories that end up interwoven and meld together into a cohesive framework to address the Ultra Blue Landscape via.

It's insane. Not only are we, as readers, attempting to understand the Otherside and its creators and/or inhabitants, Miyazawa is translating it. They're pulling from our reality, adding their own spin and twist to it, and spitting it out in the form of communication. The sheer talent to preserve the original value of the stories used, while at the same time repurposing them is incredible.

In terms of horror, I truly feel that Otherside Picnic stands comfortably separate from so much of what makes up the genre, not even just within the framework of animanga, but of modern media in general. So much of what's popular and talked about is on the absolute fringes of what horror is: that sense of dread and fear. Not 30 seconds of buildup into a single jumpscare reveal that the characters run away from. Rather, the tension building and things seeming wrong, like something is lurking around the corner and you absolutely must find out. Or that there's some terrible figure/creature staring right at you that has you frozen in place. Horror is not thriller, and Otherside Picnic continues to establish that beautifully.

Also, for the best reading experience, the anime OST is actually outstanding for furthering that fear. Plenty of songs that will put you perfectly on edge. You can find the full playlist right here.

[crepuscularqueens]

restraining myself to just a few and feel free to only talk about one, buuuut can i hear about black sails time loop, marvel diner/college football au and/or galley in the morning pweeeaase

yes!!!!!!! of course you can thank you so much!!!! you know how much i love to ramble about my silly wips (a lot more than uh. actually working on them lmao)

so black sails time loop is basically silver realizes when he's taking flint to thomas in the end that not only has he done this all before over and over, but flint has realized/remembered as well (silver always starts to catch on at the very latest mid season three, this is the first time flint has "woken up", so to speak

"Why now?" Silver asked, his voice breaking, desperate, "Why are you saying this now, why have you remained silent every time? If this time you knew earlier-"

"How many times did you try to tell me when I could not see? How many times did you tell Madi?" Flint asked him in return, not quite a challenge.

In truth, there had been many rounds that he had attempted to enlighten them. We have been here before, we will be thrown right back here again. I cannot figure out how to stop it. I'm sorry. He can't stop it, and he isn't able to change his path, because he can only remember as far as they've come until he is able to convince Flint to come with him. Then the end lays itself so clearly before him.

"Every time we arrive at this point," he said in place of a direct reply, "I cannot seem to change that, try as I might. Do you know where I end? The cliff where you taught me. After I leave you, I go back to Madi, desperate to have her understand. She sends me away and I go there. When she finds me there, I never get to hear what she has to say. I'm sent back to our beginning, forced to slowly wake up to this reality, to slowly remember how it has all happened before."

John Silver closed his eyes, weary, let his head fall back against the wooden planks with a dull thud, "Every action I take I remember as I do it that I've done so a thousand times before and dread that I will a thousand times again. Just once I would like to hear what it is that she had found me to say."

There is a silence that follows and John does not open his eyes. He does not want to know how the other man is looking at him, whether it's with anger or with disgust or worst of all with pity.

"Whatever is doing this, when do you imagine it will be satisfied?" Flint asked him, not sounding as though he was expecting a real answer.

"Do you imagine it's a higher power we've found ourselves at the mercy of?"

"Why, what do you believe is the cause of this?"

"Maybe that's all there is. Maybe that's all we are, a story told over and over again, some cautionary tale or horrible tragedy. Forced to go through the same motions over and over again, only minute details ever changing. If all I've ever done is this, and all I am ever going to do is repeat it until the end of time, how is it that I could imagine there exists anything else?"

marvel diner/college football au is sam and steve on a college football team and also working at sam's family's diner, and bucky is steve's best friend with a terrible attitude that starts coming in during shifts that sam is working without steve and sitting in a corner booth and staring like a freak. for hours. and sam pretends to be bothered by it but obviously is starting to get a stupid crush. and then bucky starts showing up to their practices just to sit in the bleachers with nat and watch despite clearly knowing nothing ¬ caring about football. (problem with writing this is that's also my thoughts on football lmao)

“Did he bother you?”

“He just sits there and stares at me, Romanoff. He’ll only speak full sentences to Steve, I don’t know why he keeps coming in here when it’s not even Steve’s shift.”

“Maybe you need to try being a little friendlier?” she asked, “Have you tried talking to him?”

“No, I just thought I’d glare at him from behind the counter and he could glare at me from over there in his booth, and we could just quietly hate each other when Steve wasn’t looking,” Sam replied sarcastically.

Nat rolled her eyes and grabbed the milkshake off the counter, neatly sliding off her stool and walking over to the guy. Figures she would go over and make nice with the guy he was bitching about. She had zero loyalty.

“You mind if I sit with you?” he heard Natasha ask sweetly, heard the tone of Bucky's quiet affirmative reply then saw Nat slide happily into the seat opposite Bucky.

He couldn’t eavesdrop on them, a group of stoner frat boys came in and Sam was the only one on shift at the moment seeing as it was the slow part of the day, so he grabbed a bunch of menus and let them choose their booth. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Natasha, it was just that he’d known her since high school and knew she could be a devious little thing, so therefore he didn’t trust Natasha. He had no clue what her motivations were for making nice with Bucky. He swept by the booth with Bucky and Nat, who were now deep in conversation while he let the other group decide what they wanted to order. Sam refilled Bucky’s coffee mug, and gave Natasha a stern look that he knew was only going to serve to egg her on.

“Can I get the two of you anything else?” he asked, keeping his tone polite to prove to Natasha he wasn’t the problem here.

“An order of fries would be great, thanks,” Natasha told him, smiling in her crooked little way.

He looked at Bucky, waiting for him to respond patiently.

“Yeah, fries sound fine.”

It was the most he’d heard Bucky say since the whole tuna melt incident

galley in the morning is a continuation of this ofmd fic, and tbh i might as well go and post it at this point bc i don't think it was going anywhere past what i did with it. its vaguely set in season 1 and basically, stede goes into the galley the rest of the crew is having breakfast and he asks roach to make him a pot of tea to bring back to his quarters. he didn’t sleep well bc ed had been making a habit of sleeping in the same bunk as stede but didn't the night before. he says this without thinking of the implications and the whole crew zeroes in on this extremely juicy piece of gossip.

"Sorry, were we all meant to be aware of-"

“So, just for clarity’s sake, it wasn’t a one off, then?” Lucius interrupted Frenchie, brow slightly furrowed but tone was his usual set of flippant-casual that he kept assuring them wasn’t sarcasm, “You and Blackbeard have made a habit of, uh, sleeping together?”

Stede’s mouth fell open, then snapped back shut, thinking on it for a moment, all too aware of the watchful sets of eyes on him, eager for an answer, “Well, if you put it like that, I suppose not.”

“Now, when you say… ‘sleeping together’…” Pete said, trailing off before he could elaborate on that unfinished thought.

Lucius put a hand on the man’s shoulder, shaking his head, and the simple act of casual intimacy opened within Stede this bottomless pit of want, of utterly consuming yearning, feeling like it could devour his very soul. Not jealousy to be in the place of either Lucius or Pete in that moment, but to simply be capable of that type of casual physical intimacy, of the depth behind it, knowing what the two of them have together.

[sapphire-weapon]

Do you think there could’ve been a way for Aeon to be executed well in the current canon? Like, I think the ship can be compelling as it exists now as long as you fill in some holes and give Leon’s relationship with her more layers and a deeper meaning (LMFAO’d at this myself. Trust me, I know how it sounds to have to do the brainwork that Capcom chose not to). Not to say it’s healthy, but quite the opposite, actually. And that’s when I think it could be really interesting to see how Leon’s guilt and trauma surrounding Raccoon City is the driving force of his “feelings” for her and their interactions.

Any thoughts? You can totally ignore this if you want as from my understanding Aeon isn’t your favorite pairing—but I’m still interested in your thoughts, regardless.

I mean, theoretically, anything can be executed well if the work is put in. I've said this before, but all that storytelling is is just a continuous series of set up -> pay off. But there's no way for RE4make Leon and Ada to go straight into RE6 and make it make sense. There's no setup for that payoff.

If I was the one at the writer's desk, and Capcom dumped RE2make and RE4make exactly as they are on my desk and said "Make a romance between Leon and Ada work from this point forward" the first question I would have to ask/address is "How can we bring honesty into the relationship?"

With how deeply personally Leon's taken Ada's betrayal this time around, this is no longer a case of "a little bit goes a long way." This version of Leon would probably need a full explanation, in great detail, going all the way back to the moment that Ada first agreed to work for/with Wesker.

But you can't just have Ada or anyone else just... exposition dump on Leon and call it a day. Not only does that make for really fucking boring scenes, it creates the same problem that their relationship has in OG of telling, not showing. And Leon would have no reason to believe her in the first place, nor any reason to just magically be okay with the explanation that he's given.

They've had two games of deception, betrayal, distrust, and hostility between them. I would probably say that they need three games of slowly building that trust back up before you could adequately have the romance pay off.

And just having Ada chase after Leon and try to get back into his good graces is not the way to do it, either. He needs to come into this realization/these feelings on his own. He needs to be able to see things that she may not necessarily want to show him -- or even know that she is showing him.

In order for a Remake Aeon romance to work, Capcom needs to allow Ada to be emotionally vulnerable and expressive. She doesn't need to be Redfield-tier expressive, but her guilty side-glances on the boat in RE4make aren't enough -- there needs to be something more obvious, something that Leon can actually pick up on and feel some type of way about.

Leon has sacrificed a lot as a result of knowing Ada. She has to do the same -- she has to sacrifice something, she has to lose something, she needs to be put in a position where she's overpowered, overwhelmed, and outmatched. Not by Leon, necessarily. But by something. Wesker is a good vehicle for this, actually.

Unless the story can put Leon and Ada on equal footing in terms of vulnerability, loss, and change, no attempt at building trust will be believable enough for the romance to work. It's not enough to just have her save his ass over and over again like OG tried to do. There needs to be something genuine waiting at the heart of this.

And at this point, honestly, I'm not sure that it's worth it. Redemption arcs take a lot of work. Romances contained within non-romantic stories take a lot of work. Doing both at the same time feels like such a monumental effort for very little reward.

But it's not impossible.

[station-aspenville]

Chapter 3.

I haven’t heard from Alistair for the past week. Despite that, I still have been checking the radio everyday since the last broadcast, in hopes of hearing his voice. I did so partly out of boredom, and partly because I’ve begun to worry about his well being. It wasn’t my conscious attempt at caring about him; after all, he’s nothing more than some kid I've never even seen in my whole life. Yet, the warm “Hello, Aspenville!”, I heard this evening, came as a relief.

- I feel like I owe you an apology for my absence. - said the boy on the other side of the radio - The past week didn’t offer us any new information worth sharing with you, therefore I saw no point in even starting an audition. If I’m being honest, I began to question the very point of what I’m doing.

Alistair seems to still take himself way too seriously. This poor boy is too blinded by his own hopes and delusions to see that what he’s doing is nothing more than playing a game. He seems to believe that the faith of Aspenville lies in his hands. Do you really think you can save the world, Alistair?

Or perhaps I’m actually the one in the wrong…

- Luckily - the boy continued - I’m not coming to you empty handed today. What I managed to accomplish, in the past couple of days, may not be a lot, and I can’t blame you if you find it rather underwhelming, but I’m proud to say that it surely gives us hope for the future. Let me tell you about everything that happened lately:

I’ve spent the past week searching for answers. Day and night, I’ve been focused on one thing and one thing only - the truth. It wasn’t an easy search. I managed to find my dad’s phone book, containing the full list of numbers belonging to his former researchers. I have to admit, looking through my dad’s belongings after the late events wasn’t a pleasant experience. I try not to think about my parents. Looking back and getting stuck in the past would bring no good to my research, in fact, it would slow it down. After all, I’ve been told multiple times to always value reason over emotions.

I made multiple calls over the past week. Both to the research centre and the individual researchers themselves. It didn't take me too much time to realize that contacting the right people isn’t nearly as difficult as getting them to actually hear me out. Most of them dismissed my calls right away, the few who didn’t thought I’m crazy and hung up after realizing that they’re talking to a 17 year old. Perhaps I was crazy. Perhaps I still am. Perhaps me trying to find a way out of our current situation is actually a sign of pure insanity. None of that mattered to me. As long as I can help someone with my actions, I couldn’t care less. 

Being viewed as a particularly immature teenager, who has too much time on his hands, by the very people who I considered to be my only hope wasn’t helpful. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t eat. I smiled purely for the sake of not raising concerns, and for that matter, I couldn’t even cry. Just laugh; laugh at the absurdity of this all. The world is absurd, the calamity (the public named it that, I never liked this term) and for all of it, my research is absurd. I questioned everything. I doubted myself. I became paranoid and then so very tired. And then a miracle happened. When I reached my lowest, I found what I was searching for. I finally found the truth - a young researcher by the name of Virgil Montgomery.

- I would love to eventually get Dr. Montgomery to talk with me on this program, however, from what I’ve noticed, he’s a rather shy person, and I don’t want to put pressure on him - Alistair continued - For now, I’m going to share with you the details of our research via radio, and we’ll see what future brings us.

He sounded ecstatic, I could just imagine how much all of this meant to him. After all, despite all the difficulties he had encountered, he managed to find someone just as passionate as him. Or perhaps just as insane. I’ve begun to question whether his research was actually child’s play, as I initially thought.

- Oh listeners - the enthusiastic voice spoke again - you have no idea how wonderful it feels! To finally have someone listen to what you have to say… I used to believe that credibility isn’t for me. Not right now, at least. I used to think that you gain a voice once you enter adulthood. Before that you can listen to what the elders have to say and obey them quietly. You may question what they say, but you’ll never be able to voice your concerns. It’s just like trying to scream under the water - no one can hear you. Since drowning is silent, without a solid voice to take a lead, this entire town is doomed to go down, and then - maybe the entire world. If Virgil Montgomery is the brain willing to help humanity overcome this crisis, I want to be the voice giving him a means to do so. As far as I know, he also knows how terrible it feels to be looked down on and ignored because of age or an uncommon approach to the problem. Well, it’s all in the past now. Isn’t it beautiful how both of us can help each other in helping the world?

I understood where Alistair’s excitement came from. Having an authority figure listen to what you have to say may feel like a blessing at his age. However something about all of this felt rather bittersweet.

Prioritizing his research, no matter how important wouldn’t it be to him, over his own emotional well being is something I can never consider admirable. Avoiding what brings him anguish, instead of trying to cope with it, seems like a rather foolish choice, one that might end in tragedy at that.

- I can’t say that I agree with every idea proposed by Dr. Montgomery - Alistair continued - in fact, we tend to disagree on quite a lot of matters. For example, Dr. Montgomery is very much in favour of the sunflowers theory, the one claiming that Strangers tend to be drawn to sunflowers, which I’m very much against. He claims that based on our current research this is the most logical explanation, however something about it just doesn’t sit right with me. I can’t even say why, it just feels terribly wrong…

Alistair seemed to get rather upset whenever the topic of sunflowers was brought up. It wasn’t difficult to understand why. With how much meaning those flowers held in his life, it was reasonable for him to get upset whenever his view of them as a symbol of joy and childlike hope was challenged. If he wants to actually contribute to finding a scientific explanation of the current situation, he would eventually have to let go of this nostalgia. I think it’s clear to see that Alistair tries to approach every problem with sheer cold logic, the same way as the people he admired growing up did, however he tends to get lost in his emotions while doing so. There’s nothing shameful about being a sensitive person, yet in his position this dissonance should be considered a fatal character flaw.

- During our last talk Dr. Montgomery mentioned working on some big theory, something that might possibly entirely change our perception of this situation. I don’t know about you, listeners, but I’m very excited to hear what he had been up to. I’ll make sure to keep you updated with every new information I receive. Both of us share the belief that in order for this program to be a trustworthy source of information we can’t hide anything from its audience, therefore I’m going to be absolutely transparent about our research. 

I’ve noticed the sun beginning to set, and at that moment it occurred to me that I don’t actually want the broadcast to end. I missed Alistair’s voice and I didn’t want to wait another week to hear from him again; especially considering that the news he’ll have to deliver likely won’t be of pleasant nature.

- On a different note, I decided to work on making the radio station’s atmosphere more welcoming, since it doesn’t seem like we’ll be leaving it anytime soon. The small garden in the building’s backyard looks nothing like the one from my childhood; aside from a few sunflowers here and there - which as you already know are nothing uncommon around this area - it feels rather empty and neglected. I want to change it. Not only would it help to make this place feel more like home to both Neil and myself, gardening would aid me to occasionally focus on something else than our current situation. Who knows, perhaps I’ll even be able to harvest some fruit and vegetables as a food supply. This morning I found a package of narcissus seeds while looking around the station building. Since it’s early November, they most likely wouldn’t bloom if I planted them now, but I’ll make sure to do so as soon as their season starts. I was never a huge fan of those flowers, however now I think I’m beginning to like them.

Hearing Alistair get excited about flowers right after discussing his research on beings possibly serving as a threat to humanity, felt oddly innocent; almost in an unsettling way.

- Anyway - he went on - I feel like I’ve begun to ramble again. Goodnight, listeners, hopefully we’ll get to hear from each other again soon enough!

Sleep well, Alistair.

[mangonatural]

Rules: Make a 24 hour poll with the names of your WIPs, let it run, then work for 10 minutes for every vote the winner receives.

Thank you for the tag, @angelcasendgame!!!!! I am not sure I will be able to work on anything very soon just because life came after me again, and turns out I'm gonna be moving over the next month or so, but I really do hope I can find time!!

None of these have names yet lol. I put the SPN ones first, but technically I've been trying to break my writer's block by returning to The Great Gatsby (It's all Nick/Gatsby btw, just realized that might not be immediately evident) with limited success. It's always come easier for me. But all of this is stuff I do actively want to work on.

Ohh I don't know who to tag. I'm sure everyone in this circle has been tagged already, and most of the people I talk to regularly enough to know about their projects have more or less left Tumblr... I do absolutely want to pass this your way though, @antique-ro-man!! (It's Wes, btw!) I also wanna tag @heyfagbutt! And then anyone else who sees this and wants to participate, I also encourage it!! This is such a cool idea :D !!

Long, rambling explanations down here ⬇⬇

I think the name is pretty explanatory? The gist of it is they go after the same guy and become pseudo-enemies but they keep bumping into each other like this and decide to work together after a while 👍 this is a really bad hook LMAO. Anyway, I'm trying to build on the idea that they work REALLY well together when they do it intentionally but fail comically when they don't.

Pretty much what it says on the tin as well. No Supernatural AU. Dean goes to a community college to get a certification to help with his work elsewhere, but Cas, a figure drawing model, catches him drawing (which Dean's been doing on and off as a hobby) and tries to get him to sign up for the arts program.

I technically only have a summary of this, and I'm not entirely sure if I will write it all out, but I do want to at least put more time into the development before I dedicate to giving up on it bc of scope lol. I just have SUCH a soft spot for fake relationship AUs. Also, I just found out that while I have FINALLY aged into independent FAFSA eligibility, I am once again tax bracketed out. Anyway, financial abuse is real and I want to project my suffering onto Dean. Also immigrant Cas, but I haven't decided where I want him to be from yet. I think this has a lot of potential for some pretty hefty character redesigns too so it's also compelling to me from that angle. I guess I could also write it for TGG, but I did initially think of it for Destiel, so.

I don't know how to explain this one very well except that I had unhelpfully written "poolboy au" in my notes and then proceeded to forget what the hell I meant. This fic was an attempt to resurrect that but ended up being a funky modern West Coast re-imagining where Gatsby can't even "make it" as much as he wants to, and Nick can't find a place to live except for a less-than-legally rented pool house. It's not meant to be a full rewrite or anything though.

Uhhh yeah, I'm keeping the details private for this one ahaha but that's just because it wasn't supposed to be a big deal and I told a friend she would see what it was when it was done...like oh god probably a month ago at this point... My original scope for this was quite small, but research for it, indecision, and a nasty case of writer's block that I've had for nearly a year now have kept development a bit slow. Hopefully, I'll finish it before the year comes to a close.

I also don't know how to explain this one well other than "after being rejected by Daisy (Canon Divergent), Gatsby attempts to buy his way into a bewildered Nick's heart. Though the fic is from Nick's POV, Gatsby's just had his worldview shattered and is in a bit of denial, but instead of pursuing Daisy harder, he channels all of that energy into Nick (though he's not really sure why he's doing it at first). I wasn't sure what to put up at the top because I absolutely don't want my code name for this public at least until it's done LMAO.

[emmalostinwonderland]

WIP update

Hey, friends. I know literally no one is asking for this, but I started going through my google drive folders recently to see if I really do have as many WIP fics stacking up as I think I do... and apparently I have MORE than I thought.

I'm gonna go through all of them here mostly for my own peace of mind. However, if you read this and think one of the concepts sounds great and you want to shoot me some encouragement, my DMs and asks are open. Vague threats are also accepted, just to mix things up.

Anyway, synopses below the cut. Fandoms are tagged.

MCU

Steve/Bucky/Tony - Medieval Knights AU - est <20k words

Tony is the ruler of a small kingdom, and Steve is the lead knight. He and Bucky are together, and they open their hearts to Tony as time goes on. This is actually my fill for Fandom Trumps Hate 2023, so it's my top priority right now. I've got a full synopsis, most of the chapter outline, and literally none of the draft itself done.

Steve/Tony (with some Steve/Bucky in the beginning) - Conversion Camp AU - est >50k words

Steve meets Tony at a Pray-The-Gay-Away camp in 1995, they lose contact when Steve ages out of the program, canon events (super soldier serum and Iron Man) come into play, and they are reunited due to mutual connections with SHIELD or the US Military. So far with this, I have a very detailed synopsis, a full timeline for both Steve and Tony, a spotify playlist, character analyses, thorough research, and only like 800 words of a draft. This one WILL be finished, even if it takes me literal years.

Steve/Tony - Ireland AU - est <10k words

Tony meets Steve on the ferry from Liverpool to Belfast, and they have a whirlwind summer romance in Ireland. It's literally just a romcom. I wanted an excuse to fuck with their accents, so in this idea, Steve moved back to Ireland with his mom when he was super young, and Tony went to live with the Jarvis' (his godparents) in London after his parents died in his mid to late teens. I've got about 800 words in the draft, some loose research, and half a chapter outline. Maybe it'll get written, maybe not. Who's to say.

Steve/Tony - High School AU - est ~1k words

Steve and Tony are established high school sweethearts. They have Tony's parents house to themselves for the weekend. I wrote about 700ish words of this in January as a challenge to myself to write a whole oneshot in one night, but I chickened out when I got to the smut part, so it just sits in my google drive haunting me.

Steve/Tony - High Fantasy Soulmates AU - est ?? words

Steve is on a quest with a small party of his closest friends to take out the evil king in a neighboring kingdom. He meets his soulmate, Tony, in dreams every night. We all know what the plot twist is on this, so I'm not gonna bother spelling it out. I have about 4 sentences worth of an outline, but that's it.

Steve/Bucky - Friends with Benefits AU - est >20k words

Steve's wife, Peggy, finds that their relationship is getting stale and suggests inviting a third person to join them in bed from time to time. When Peggy ultimately leaves Steve anyway, he and Bucky discover something new just between the two of them. This is my latest collab with LouiKazooie! We have 2 others up on Ao3, and this one will likely be done before the end of the year.

Steve/Bucky - 1940's Canon Divergence - est ?? words

Dr Erskine sees Steve and Bucky's farewell moment before Steve attempts to enlist again, but he selects Bucky for the program instead in order to give him a higher likelihood of making it back home to Steve in one piece. I've got a synopsis, and I've got a one-liner for Howard written. That's it. Keep your expectations low.

Red, White, and Royal Blue

FirstPrince - Missionary AU - est <20k words

Alex moves to London for a study abroad program for international law, and Henry attempts to evangelize to him in a coffeeshop. Alex takes pity on him, and strikes up a tentative friendship with him. As they grow closer, Henry starts to realize that maybe he doesn't believe or connect with his religion the way he used to. I've got a detailed synopsis, and some of the scenes are clear as day in my head, but if I'm honest, there's no substantial outline or draft written down for this one yet.

FirstPrince - Din/Luke Oneshot Series - est ?? words

Alex and Henry roleplay as the Mandalorian and Luke Skywalker sometimes and the level of involvement gets more high stakes with every oneshot (like including cosplays or speaking Mando'a). This might be the dumbest idea I've ever had, but it's in my google drive so I had to include it here.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Percabeth - Revolutionary War AU - est ~10k words

Percy is a spy for the militia. Annabeth is a plantation owner's daughter. She joins the cause, providing secrets, maps, and the occasional distraction all while unlearning things she's believed her whole life. This was an idea I had on a flight somewhere, and I wrote a scene in the notes app of my phone until I could get to wifi again. Apparently I have 1500 words of the draft done? I've also got a character breakdown and a vague idea of the flow of the story. I'm excited about this one.

Idk I think 10 WIP fics is enough for now. This was painful to look at. Thanks for the support, guys.