#just have to push through today

[gatheredfates]

THE DAWN OF THE FINAL DAY

In about nine or so hours, I will be free.

[khaire-traveler]

Ok, I'm burnt out, pretty grumpy, and having a really hard time, so I'll be turning asks off for awhile. Posting will be more sporadic. I know I don't have to announce things like this, I figure I'll let people know so they don't think I'm ignoring them or anything. I'm just having a shit time, y'all.

Take care, everyone.

[greenerteacups]

How do you generate ideas for both plot and characters? I’m one of the hundreds who is swooning and getting her breath caught at the “what’s this, Granger?” moment and I’d love to know how you came up with the idea for this in particular + how you usually come up with other wonderful moments that constitute the glorious Lionheart saga.

Oh, gosh, you're lovely. When writing is good — and this is a big conditional, because sometimes writing is like riding a horse and sometimes it's like wrestling an octopus, and you can rarely predict which — I don't necessarily think about the Process. It's sinking into the world and going, "Okay, action." There's an outline lurking behind it, and latently I'm considering some miscellaneous higher-order ideas about theme and structure, but I'm not writing the book in order to talk about those themes; the themes are in the book because I'm writing it and I'm interested in them. I can't very well help it, they're gonna end up in there no matter what. I don't have to worry about the architecture when I'm doing the upholstery, if that makes sense.

Discovering the more specific character beats and exchanges like the one in Chapter 64 are one of the ineluctable joys of creation. Sometimes, I think of a line while I'm walking down the street, jot it down in my Notes app, and carefully, meticulously develop a context where I can deploy it. Other times, I'm standing there in the scene and a guy does a thing, and I'm as startled as anyone.

[3-aem]

not a big fan that its 3pm already and my drawing wrist is out of commission for the day but looking very much forward to finishing that knitting project i started……if yall remember….that cardigan. and also this book. and also going for a walk. and also: tea.

[sapphire-weapon]

I’m about to vomit out a bunch of thoughts, and I’m not sure any of this is going to make sense by the end, but. I’ve been thinking a LOT about these three lines in RE4make:

“You haven’t changed. You just think you have.”

“You can’t save her. You can’t save anyone.”

“This time, it has to be different...”

I’ve seen people focus in on that Krauser line and tie it directly back to Sherry, which is cool! Even as recently as five years ago, people completely glossed over Sherry’s impact on Leon’s life, and it’s cool that the remakes have had people digging into his character and realizing “oh shit, literally everything that happens to him after RE2 is because of his paternal love for Sherry.”

But... Krauser’s line is about more than just her.

With the remake turning Krauser into Leon’s combat trainer, chances are he knows about everything that happened in Raccoon City. And I don’t mean, like. He read a government file. Leon probably told him.

In OG, Krauser and Leon have this exchange of dialogue:

Krauser: “What is it that you fight for, comrade?” Leon: “My past, I suppose.” Krauser: “Hmph. Umbrella.”

It was axed completely from the remake, because it doesn’t make sense for it to happen in the remake. If Krauser was Leon’s trainer, that question was probably asked very early in their relationship. And since they weren’t currently in a fight to the death, and because they weren’t already six years removed from Raccoon City, chances are, Leon’s answer was a bit more involved than just “my past.”

So, let’s back up a little bit. In RE2make, they basically turned Kendo into a completely different character. OG Kendo was literally just there to point a shotgun at Leon and/or Claire and then go “oh my bad you’re not a zombie” and hook them up with some guns before he gets eaten. In RE2make, he’s a desperate and terrified father just trying to spend his last few moments with his infected 6 or 7 year old daughter before she turns. After he shuts the door on Leon and Ada, Leon turns to Ada and says, “Protecting people like that is why I joined the force.”

But Leon doesn’t protect or save Kendo or his daughter. He doesn’t protect or save... anyone. Every single person that Leon comes into contact with and tries to save dies horrifically -- and some, he even has to kill, himself (Marvin Branaugh). The only people who make it out of Raccoon City alive are people who saved themselves (Claire and Ada).

Of course, there is Sherry. But Leon didn’t save Sherry; Claire did. ESPECIALLY in remake canon, since nearly all of Leon’s scenes with Sherry got severely shortened or removed completely in RE2make.

But then, when Claire entrusts Sherry to Leon’s care (on his own insistence, per her RE3 epilogue), he goes and fucks that up, too. Gets her kidnapped and held hostage indefinitely by the federal government, and the only thing he can do about it is do exactly as they say and just hope they keep their end of the bargain and not hurt her.

So, when Krauser says “You can’t save anyone,” he means anyone. Ever. And even up to that point in RE4... Leon got the two officers who drove him into town killed, and he watched Luis die a slow, agonizing death right in front of him. And then, past that point, Leon has to kill Krauser with his own hands. Then he watches Mike die.

Ashley is literally Leon’s first and only success story, up to this point in canon. (And even when you go all the way up to current-day canon, Ashley is one of... three? People? I can think of? Total? Who Leon actually saves?)

So, Leon saying, “This time, it has to be different,” he doesn’t just mean Sherry. He means Ada. He means Kendo. He means Marvin. He means the entirety of Raccoon City. He’s staring down a repeat of what happened back then, not in terms of the bioterror situation, but in terms of his own personal failures. His survivor’s guilt. He can’t handle the thought that he’ll be the only person to walk away again -- and he refuses to be.

And that’s why Ada’s line bothers me so fucking much.

I mean, first of all -- Ada, you haven’t seen this man in six years, and you’ve spent a total of like five minutes with him since meeting up with him again here, so how the fuck would you even know -- but even aside from that...

To be clear: she’s right.

But she’s also wrong.

Leon has changed -- to an extent. In RE2 (OG or remake), Leon honestly believed that if it was lawful, then it was also morally right. He doesn’t believe that anymore. There’s no more “letting the law sort it out” or trusting in the power of authority for him anymore. His moral compass has been boiled down to: “If you hurt or murder innocent people, you’re a fucking asshole, and I don’t really care who you are, I’ll kill you myself.”

RE2 Leon was willing to hear people out and give them an honest benefit of the doubt -- even Annette Birkin. RE4 Leon just tells people to shut the fuck up before opening fire.

RE2 Leon was honest and trusting to a fault, and he felt stronger as part of a team. RE4 Leon is suspicious almost to the point of paranoia, and he just wants to be left the fuck alone to do his job.

These are all things that were really important to who Leon was in Raccoon City, and they’re reasons why things turned out the way they did for him, back then.

But at the same time, Ada’s right in saying that, at the core of it all, Leon is still that kind-hearted, decent guy who just wants the good guys to win and the bad guys to lose. That’s why it hits him somewhere sensitive when Krauser says: “You can’t save anyone.” 

It’s just that, now, the way he approaches it is different. His outlook on life in terms of his goals is different. His expectations for it have changed.

So, if Leon had been smarter/wittier, he absolutely could have turned it around on her and said: “No, I’ve definitely changed. You just think I haven’t.”

And not only would that sound threatening as fuck, he’d also be right. They both would be, at that point.

And for all of those major parts of him to have changed and still be facing down the possibility of failing every single person he comes across, especially Ashley...

"This time, it has to be different.”

And this time, it was.

[slashingdisneypasta]

Imagine

You're walking home, or to work or school, or wherever- and you get caught in the rain. It starts to downpour. Like, big fat droplets of Gaia tears; Thick 'my son-husband has secretly hidden children within me causing a terrible migraine so welp; here baby Cronus, take this flint sickle and castrate brother-daddy' kinda rain. I'll stop with the Greek Mythology now, I'm sure you get it. Heavy rain.

You're getting soaked despite whatever you're using to protect your skin from it all (A binder, a bag, your jacket, a hat,.. an umbrella perhaps), your nose is cold, and you can barely see 10 feet in front of you apart from any street lights around, when-

A car pulls up directly next to you. You have the horrible panicked moment of 'am i going to be kidnapped today', before you recognise the car and the side door is thrown open in front of you.

Your F/O gestures and/or calls for you to get in. They knew you would be out at this time (They're familiar with your basic schedule ^^), saw the downpour and thought immediately 'Oh shit wait, Y/N's out in this'- and came right over to get you out of it.

What's their car like? Is it sleek and well taken car of? Is it a regular old thing? Does it look like its gonna break down any time now?

Do they have a blanket for you to throw over your legs? Or do they throw you their coat??~~~

Do they enforce seat belts? Are they gonna refuse to go if you just pull the blanket over your shoulders and 'forget' (Or genuinely forget) to buckle up or will they lean over and buckle you themselves?

Are they taking you to your destination or are they taking you to their house because you need a hot shower and to get warm or you're gonna catch a cold? Are they kind about it or bossy? XD

Will they stop by a drive thru to get you something to eat and/or drink? Maybe something lovely and hot?? Or are you two the crazy people who eat ice cream when its cold 'cuz it wont melt'?

Possibly most importantly; Is their any chance that your F/O would kick you back out into the rain for any reason? XD

[cinnamontoads]

gonna make a new comm sheet for it but im officially opening commissions again at the end of may!

[hopefuloverfury]

favorite pastimes include writing fictional characters fucking each other, thinking of fictional characters fucking each other, and stalking every new followers' blog

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...

[starbuck]

guess who fought god and won againnnnnnnnn…..?

[papercutsmp3]

god i hate working a two person job being someone who doesn't miss or forget a thing with my coworker who idgafing through her life bc the way it hurts my pride when i have to also bear the burden of her not doing the job properly

[kirishwima]

good will amongst coworkers dont fail me now

[hellafluff]

Currently obsessively thinking about a silent hill from Mary's perspective. Starting in the hospital, the nurses replaced with doctors, faces blacked out except for white shiny gnashing teeth. She only has in her pockets a note written on hotel stationary that says I'm Sorry.

Escaping and meeting a young man, cute and a lil awkward, who says you look a lot like his girlfriend Maria, and shes missing too? Can we look for her together?

Hes... sweet, a bit quiet. He gets very close to Mary often, pushes her boundaries, but this is all weird and strange and maybe hes just scared. When she mentions it, however, he makes a rude remark abt Just Wanting To Help Her but backs off.

They get seperated when the Red Pyramid Thing, unchanged in this version, comes and attacks them both, but chooses to persue him.

Laura is still there, and when Mary and her meet they cling together. She talks about an awful, ugly man she met earlier, and to watch out for him. She helps guide Mary through a maze like area before the Other World sets in and separates them.

The monsters in Mary's Silent Hill are almost all larger then her, and many masculine in appearance. They attack her head, try and choke her. Certain ones cough and gasp, arms thrashing wildly and thrashing on the floor when knocked down. Some seems to have exposed, black lungs that stutter to breathe. If Angela and Eddie are the same in this version, then their boss fights remain the same. The Abstract Daddy just as horrifying to Mary as it is to Angela.

Every reunion with the man, hes different. Less nice, more haunted looking. He starts to call her Maria, and barely acknowledges her if she corrects him. Following his advice leads to darker and more dangerous areas. The Red Pyramid keeps coming and chasing him away, but shes always collateral damage when that happens.

Eventually, she makes it to the hotel. Hes waiting for her in the hotel room, haggard, almost unrecognizable from the man he was when they first met. He has a monologue about how she's been sick, and hes been trying his best to be there for her. She doesnt understand, she doesnt know him, shes NOT Maria! She never will be. She starts coughing.

He makes to leave but at the last second turns, and hes a monster now. Large, fleshy, imposing, always trying to suffocate her under thick hands. Upon his defeat, two Red Pyramids arrive and stab at the dying thing over and over until finally impaling themselves.

There are different endings still. She remembers her disease, and her murder, in most of them. In the best ending she leaves the town with Laura, likely still ill, but alive again. In one of the worst, she wakes up in the trunk of a car, as water begins seeping in.

[allylikethecat]

January OTP Prompts

Day six lets go! I very much considered not completing this one because I was tired and wanted to read my book but I'm very happy I forced myself to power through!

Warnings: References made to drug addiction / rehab, and declining mental health

6. Lonely

George didn’t know what day it was. He didn’t know what time it was or how much  time had passed. The sun had risen and set at least twice, sunlight streaming through the gap in the curtains, stinging his eyes. It  caused him to curl further in on himself, burying his face under the blankets as if he could bury the bone crushing loneliness he felt alone in a bed bought for two. He knew that Matty was sick, he knew that Matty was getting the help that he so desperately needed. But that didn’t mean that George wasn’t hurting too, an ache deep in his chest. The fear that somehow this was his fault, that Matty would come back, healed and whole and see just how broken, just how toxic, George himself was.

George should have been better. He should have noticed that Matty was sick, that he was getting worse, and succumbed to the thrall of addiction. But he liked it when Matty smiled, and Matty had started smiling more, things that would have sent him spiraling now rolling off his back like water off a leaf. He knew Matty had lost weight, he would have been blind not to see it, but Matty brushed him off citing the stress of tour and smiled assurances that I’m fine George, really.

George wondered if he just hadn’t wanted to see it, hadn’t wanted to disrupt the carefully balanced equilibrium that they had reached. He wondered if he was selfish, too worried about disrupting his own fragile mental health that he allowed Matty to put his life at risk. He felt like he had put Matty’s life at risk. And now here he was, making things about himself. Matty was gone, shipped off to rehab for the next who knew how many weeks were left, screaming and sobbing as Jamie herded him onto the chartered plane, begging George not to make him go, not to send him away. And now here George was, alone, laying in the bed they had picked out together, swaddled in the sheets he desperately needed to change but couldn’t bring himself to, the cotton still smelt like Matty. 

George had never done well on his own. Everyone saw Matty and assumed he was the extrovert, that he was the one that thrived off of human companionship. They didn’t see that Matty was just as content alone with a cigarette, they didn’t see that George was the one that felt as if the loneliness would kill him. He felt pathetic even thinking it, not daring to even breathe the words aloud. But he was, he was lonely. He was lonely without Matty’s slender form tucked against his side in their bed. He was lonely without Matty moving throughout their home, bumping into things, knocking things over, causing a general ruckus as he hummed to himself, always making noise, always bringing life into the now dismal space. Matty wasn’t just George’s other half, he was the one thing that kept him from feeling broken and alone. 

Day: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

[greg-montgomery]

today i have the feeling that i don’t belong in my workplace anymore

[an-internet-introvert]

I love getting to end end of an assignment and then realising that I in fact never did the sketches that I was supposed to do with some questions because I kept saying "Oh I can do that part later", well later has arrived loser and now how you feeling about it huh