#maybe he even did like a funky little art exchange for them | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

cwnerd12 · 4 years

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“Meteor Showers” David and Jack sleep curled up in bed. Morning light shines over them, and outside their window, Shiloh wakes up. David opens his eyes and looks out over the scene. He takes it in for a moment, and then turns to Jack. He kisses him gently on the forehead. Jack opens his eyes and looks up at David. David grins at him, “Good morning.” Jack grins back, and kisses David on the lips. They enjoy a long, slow kiss, and David moves to get on top of Jack. There’s a knock at the door, and David rolls off. Thomasina’s voice, “Sir, you have a meeting in ten minutes!” David rubs his face, “Okay, thank you!” He looks back over at Jack, “Sorry. I have to go do king shit.”

David pulls a sweater over a button-down shirt and a clean pair of blue jeans. He adjusts his collar as Jack looks on. David, “Not the most kingly outfit in the world, but it’ll have to do until I get some fancier clothes.” Jack, “Sexy!” He smack’s David’s ass. David laughs and looks at Jack for a moment. He goes over and kneels down so he can be eye to eye with Jack, “I really wish I could do to therapy with you today like we planned.” Jack, “Okay.” David, “Listen, if you need me, don’t hesitate at all. I’ll come to you, no matter what else is going on.” Jack, “Don’t worry.” David kisses Jack’s forehead, “I love you.”

Thomasina waits outside the door. The door opens and David steps out. Thomasina, “Good morning, your majesty.” David, “Oh, Jesus, don’t call me that.” Thomasina, “It’s your title. You should get used to it.” David, “Sorry.” Thomasina, “Don’t apologize, either.” David, “S- I…” he sighs in defeat, “Okay.” Thomasina, “Ms. Hatch, Rabbi Levinson, General Mendoza, and Ms. Broadnax are in the council chamber, waiting for you, as you requested.” David, “Thanks.” Thomasina, “Is there anything else you need?” David, “Uh, I’m good, I-” he thinks for a moment, “Well, I… There’s one thing.” Thomasina, “Yes?” David, “I have to be able to take care of Jack. I mean, he’s going really well with his recovery, but… he needs me, sometimes. I need to be able to go to him. No questions asked, just drop everything and go to him.” Thomasina, “That can be tricky, but it can be done. King Silas would do the same when Princess Michelle was sick.” David, “Good! That’s great! I’m really glad!” He smiles brightly at Thomasina, and she gives him a small smile back. David, “I really appreciate this. I mean, scheduling a coup can’t be easy, but you’re doing it.” Thomasina, “I’m serving my country, sir.”

David goes into the council chamber, wearing a sweater and blue jeans. The gallery is empty, except for Rose. Abby, Asher, Shay and Monique sit around the center table, all dressed rather casually. David, “Good morning. Uh, I know I should probably be dressed a little bit nicer, but uh, the only nice suit I have right now is my uniform, and it’s starting to smell kinda funky.” Monique, “First of all, that’s what dry cleaners are for, and secondly, I already have a team of tailors set to work.” David, “Oh, sweet. So, what’s on the agenda?” Asher, “We need to fill the rest of the ministry positions.” David, “What else is there to fill?” Asher, “Minister of defense, Minister of health, Minister of infrastructure, Minister of education, Minister of Treasury, Minister of communications, minister of agriculture, minister of land, minister of energy, and…” he pauses, “There’s the whole issue with Joel.” David, “Okay, well, I guess I don’t need to fix what isn’t broken, so set up meetings with the old ministers from under Silas, if I think they’ll do good, they can keep their position.” Abby speaks up, “There’s also this.” She raises a remote and turns on a TV. The old Minister of State, Claude Sorenson, talks on a news channel, “NEPOTISM! I’ve diligently served Gilboa for nearly twenty years, I have negotiated countless deals and treaties for King Silas and King Linus, and now, suddenly, I’ve been replaced by a little girl with almost no experience!” David, “What? That’s bullshit, I wouldn’t have appointed any of you if I didn’t know that you’re good at what you do. And, I don’t know this guy, I have no relationship with him, he doesn’t know how I work or what I want, but Abby does!” Monique, “The minister of communication would be the one to say all this.” David, “Do you want to be the minister of communication?” Monique, “I can’t run two ministries at once, and I’d rather be in arts and culture.” David sighs heavily, “Okay, well, I guess that’s the first position I’ll try to fill.” David looks back up at Sorenson on the TV, and sighs, “Can I also say that with Gilboa being almost constantly at war for over twenty years, Sorenson was doing a pretty shitty job?” Rose speaks up, “You don’t want to use those exact words, but you can say as much, easily.” David looks up at her, eyebrows raised in surprised. Rose goes on, “And you’re right to choose Abby over Claude. He’s a moron.” David, “Thanks.” He turns back to everyone else, “Okay, what’s next?” Shay speaks up, “How the fuck are we gonna integrate the AFG into the army?” David, “Ooooh, yeah, that’s gonna be tough. I guess we should put our AFG veterans as priority number one, until everything’s integrated, at least. I want AFG vets given preference in leadership positions.” Shay, “We’re gonna get a lot of bitching from old army soldiers if we do that.” David, “Well, they shoulda thought about that when they stayed on Silas’s side!” Rose, “Do not say that.” David sighs, “Well, am I wrong for not wanting the army to lead a coup?! My AFG soldiers have stuck with me through some shit, I want to reward them for that.” Asher, “Rewarding loyalty is a quick way to ensure that everyone just gives you what they think you want rather than what you need.” David, “This is different, and you know it is. You know what the AFG’s been through, what we’ve sacrificed. And…” he sighs, “It won’t be straight-up favoritism. If the old army officers can prove that they deserve their positions more than my AFG officers, they can keep them. But I’m not bad for not wanting a coup, okay?” Shay, “Okay, that’s fair. It’s still gonna be a bitch of a job, but I’ll see what I can do. Is there anything else you want me to cover?” Asher, “I think just focus on filling in those minister positions.” David, slightly hesitant, “Actually… I do kind of have an idea about who to appoint as minister of defense until Jack can take it over.” Asher, “Who?” David, “Caesar Reinhardt.” Asher, “…Are you serious? David, “I know it seems crazy but… I did kind of get to know him when we were roomies, okay? He’s actually smart, and he knows what he’s doing.” Shay, sarcastically, “Yeah, what were you saying about not wanting a coup? No way Reinhardt doesn’t try to kill you two weeks after you appoint him.” David, “It’s temporary! Like I said, it’s only until Jack is recovered enough to take the job over!” Asher, “When is recovered enough?” David, “I don’t know, Dr. Hussein said that we should have an idea of what his abilities will end up being at about a year after the injury, so another six months?” Abby, “David, recovery can take years. Dr. Hussein also said that his recovery can stop at any time. We don’t know how much he’s going to recover.” David, “Well, as long as he’s still making progress, I intend to give him that position, okay? You all know that he’d be good at it! In the meantime, Reinhardt, at least, I know respects me, and will be respected by the old army men, and can maybe even help us end both of these wars without a complete surrender.” Asher, Abby, and Shay exchange looks. Asher, “You’re the king, man.” David, “I’ll talk to him, at least, okay? Is there anything else to discuss right now?” Asher, “What are you going to do about Joel?” David, quietly, “I don’t know. I’ve still got to think about it.” He looks up at Thomasina, “Schedule appointments with Reinhardt and all the old ministers, I’d like to talk to them today and tomorrow, if that’s doable.” Thomasina, “Right away, sir.” Abby, “Shaw wants to talk to you today.” David, “What?” Abby, “Shaw wants to talk to you. If you’re serious about the whole peace with Gath thing, you need to talk to him.” David, trying to push his anger away, “Alright, alright. I’ll talk to him. What about Warner? Does he want to talk?” Abby, “I think he’d rather just keep fighting. We’ll probably have to be the ones who insist on talking.” David, “Okay.” Thomasina, “You have some coronation gifts you might want to take a look at, and there’s someone you should meet today.” David, “Who?” Thomasina, “You’ll know who they are when you meet them.”

In the palace garage sits a shiny, bright red vintage convertible. David enters with Asher and Thomasina. Immediately his eyes widen in delight, “YES!” He runs up to the car, “Oh, this is nice!” Thomasina, “It’s a coronation gift from Dwight Garner.” David hugs the hood, “I like being king!” Asher sighs disapprovingly, “David, this is a bribe.” David shoots up, “No! This is too nice to be a bribe!” Asher, “You have to give it back.” David, “NO!” Asher, “If you keep it, it’ll look like you’re for sale.” David, “I’m not for sale! I just like getting nice cars!” Asher, “So when Dwight Garner asks you for a political favor, are you going to say no?” David, “Of course!” Asher, “Are you sure?” David, “I’m sure!” Asher, not convinced, “Give it back.” David, “I deserve a nice car! I’ve earned it!” Asher, “Give it back.” David, “Oh, come on! Please?!” Asher, “Give it back.”

Thomasina leads David down into the dungeons. David looks around and shudders, “Ugh, I remember this place.” Thomasina, “There’s someone in here for you to meet.” She unlocks the door to Vesper’s cell. David goes in, and stops when he sees Vesper, “Oh, shit.” Vesper, “Hello, your majesty. Do I need to introduce myself?” David points at him, dumbstruck, “You’re the guy I was talking to when I was in here.” Vesper smiles, “I seem to remember a certain young man bravely facing his death. I knew that if I ever spoke to him again, he would be king.” Bewildered, David sits down, “I knew I’d have to deal with some weird shit being king, but I honestly had no idea how weird.” Vesper, “I promise you, it only gets weirder from here.” David sits and stares at him. Vesper, “Do you play chess at all?” He moves the board towards David. David, “I know how to play but I’m not that good.” Vesper, “You out-witted both Silas and Linus, I’d venture to say you’re good.” David, “Silas killed himself so Shaw wouldn’t kill him, and Joel Bronikov was the one who got Abner. I didn’t do any of that.” Vesper, “Don’t fool yourself, David, none of that would have happened if it weren’t for you.” David, chagrined, “A lot of awful shit wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for me.” Vesper, “I’ve had fifteen years to sit in a cell and ruminate over my bitterness and regret. I have a lot more things to regret than you, so believe me when I tell you, dwelling on a past you can’t change won’t do you any good.” David, “I’ve inherited Silas’s war with Ammon, and it’s not going well.” Vesper, “The night I arrived here, I warned Silas that Warner won’t rest until Carmel is his. Kings are inherently greedy bastards. Warner’s self-righteousness only makes him worse.” David, “Yeah, no shit.” Vesper, “The things you learned about me in school were true: I was an absolutely terrible king. I believed I was doing God’s work, but I ended up doing things I can only describe as unholy. I can’t tell you what to do, but I can tell you what not to do. Silas seemed to take heed of the advice I gave him, but, you saw what happened to him.” David, “I have no idea what the fuck I’m doing. At this point, even bad advice is better than nothing.” Vesper, “Well, then, you know where I’ll be.” David, “I’m gonna send my minister of state in to talk to you. I think she’ll have a better idea of what to do with you.”

David walks down a hallway, mulling over what just happened. He reaches a door, opens it, and goes into the waiting area outside of the king’s office- now his office. Liam and Adam are waiting for him. They both stand up. Liam, “Your majesty!” David smiles sheepishly at him, “Yeah, that’s what people are calling me these days.” Liam, “Come on, man, we’ve kind of earned the right to say it.” David, “Yeah, okay, you have. Let’s talk in… well, fuck, now I guess it’s my office.” He opens the door and leads them in. Nothing has been touched since Abner last stepped foot in it. David goes over to the desk and sees the papers still stacked there, “Ah, fuck, someone’s gonna have to sort this shit up.” Adam looks up at the skull on the book shelf, “Is that thing real?” David looks up, “Uh, yeah, actually, it is. It’s not just real it’s Nicholas Achison.” Liam, “Are you fucking kidding me?” David, “Silas was a sick fuck, what can I say?” Liam, “Wonder what he did with Vesper Abbadon.” David, “Trust me, you don’t want to know. Anyway, sit.” He sits down at the desk. Liam and Adam sit across from him. David wiggles the seat a little bit, “Shit, this is still really weird. I spent plenty of time in you guys’s spot, and when I was there, I honestly never once thought that I’d be sitting on the other side.” Adam, softly, “What are we here for?” David gets a little bit more serious, “Look, I’ve got a lot of positions that I’ve gotta fill, and I honestly have no idea who’s gonna fill most of them. However, when I started thinking about who should be working where, right away, I knew who my first appointments would be. Adam, I want you working as my spokesman for the army. My old job.” Adam, nervously, “Seriously?” David, “Yeah. Liam, You’re gonna be doing something similar, except instead of speaking for the whole army, you’re gonna be speaking for the AFG.” Liam, “Yeah, I can do that!” Adam, “Wait, what- what is this job, and why do you want us to do it?” David, “Like I said, it’s my old job. You go in front of a TV camera, you represent the army, tell people what’s going on.” Adam, “Like, on TV?” David, “Yeah. You don’t have to do it, but… it’s a good fucking job. I mean it. I’m not just putting you guys there so you can be there indefinitely, it opens you up to connections and possibilities you didn’t even know were out there. I mean, fuck, look what it did for me.” Liam, “I’m in!” David, “Awesome!” Liam, “I just got one question, why does Adam get the bigger job?” David, “Well, if I have to be brutally honest, Adam has a few more hero points. He did blow up a tank, right? That seems to be the biggest qualifier for this job.” Liam laughs, “Yeah, okay, man, sounds good.” David glances at Adam, “What do you think?” Adam, “It’s… a lot.” David, “You don’t have to decide right away. I can give you a week or two to think it over.” Adam, “No, no, I appreciate this. I really do. This is a huge favor for me, and It’d be really stupid of me to turn it down.” David, “Hey, I just thought you’d be a good fit because the hero shit made you pretty popular. If you don’t want to do it, I can easily find you another really good job you’re better suited to.” Adam, “No, I- I’m willing to do this. I can do it, I just…” David, “What?” Adam, “I’m not gonna have to lie to people, am I?” David, confused, “What? No. All along, I’ve said that I won’t lie like Silas did. You’ll probably have to report some difficult stuff, but, it’ll be the truth.” Adam nods apprehensively, “Okay.” David, “But, hey if you want something else, it’s no problem.” Adam, “I’ll do it. I’m glad to serve my king.” David grins ear to ear, “You have no idea how happy that makes me. Really. I wanted something good for you guys, and this is it. This is gonna take you to amazing places. Just don’t end up trying to overthrow me, okay?” He stands up. Liam and Adam both stand. Liam, “It’s an honor!”

David leads Liam and Adam out of his office. Reinhardt sits in the waiting room. Adam sees him and halts, his smile faltering. Liam spots him, too, and says to David, “What the fuck is he doing here?” Reinhardt, “Nothing like a warm welcome.” David, “Don’t worry about it, I’m just exploring some possibilities, okay?” Liam, “Seriously, man?” David, “You guys don’t have to worry about it, okay? I’ll see you later.” Liam and Adam exchange glances, shrug, and the leave, saying, “See you.” Once the door closes, Reinhardt says, “So is this a job interview, or am I on trial?” David, “We’ll talk about it in my office."

Int he office, Reinhardt sits down across from David, “You’re gonna re-decorate, right?” He glances over at a framed photos on the desk: one of Emma and one of young Silas and Abner as buddies in the army. David grabs the photos and stuffs them into a drawer, “Yeah, but, I’ve kind of got a few more pressing issues to deal with.” Reinhardt, “You keep saying that, you’ll never get around to changing anything.” David, “You’re aware that I have a lot of people saying you should be hanged, right?” Reinhardt, “Yes.” David, “I don’t entirely disagree with them. It’d be kind of fucked up if you get away without consequence.” Reinhardt, “Is that’s why I’m here? You wanted to give me a death sentence in person?” David, “I’m not handing down death sentences. All citizens of Gilboa are going to be guaranteed the right to a fair trial.” Reinhardt, “So am I charged with anything, then?” David, “I’m gonna give you a chance to redeem yourself.” Reinhardt, “Oh?” David, “I want you to be my minister of defense, at least until Jack’s recovered enough that he can take it over. If you go a good job and help me get out of Silas’s wars… I’ll let your past slide.” Reinhardt, “Seriously?” David, “This government’s killed enough people. I don’t want to keep spreading misery.” Reinhardt, “Well, you’re king, and your word is law.” David, “So, will you take the position?” Reinhardt, “Can’t really turn it down, can I?” David, “I guess you can’t.” David’s phone buzzes. He takes it out of his pocket, sees the call is from Abby. David, “I should probably take this.” Reinhardt, “Go ahead.” David answers, “Yes?” Abby, outside of Vesper’s cell, “VESPER FUCKING Abbadon?!” David, “Okay, first of all, this is Silas’s fault, and secondly, can we use him as leverage?” Abby, “You could have at least fucking warned me before you sent me to talk to a genocidal psychopath!” David, “I’ve talked to him a few times, and he’s actually kind of chill?” Abby, “What part of genocidal psychopath did you not understand?!” David, “It’s your job to figure out what to do with him.” Abby, “No, fuck you, you are not passing this off on to me! You’re the one taking on Silas’s problems, and this is a massive fucking problem!” David, “I’m giving it to you because you’re the one who’s going to know what to do. If we want to get out of war with Ammon without handing over all of Carmel, we should consider using him as a bargaining chip.” Abby sighs and rubs her face, “Oh, fuck.” David, “You didn’t actually think this whole minister of state would be easy, did you?” Abby, “No, but it would have been nice to at least have gotten a fucking warning before you sprang this shit on me.” David, “I didn’t get a warning, either.” Abby, “All right, I’ll talk to him, try to figure something out. Are there any other weird Silas secrets that I need to know?” David, “Probably, but I don’t know what they are, either. I’ll talk to you later.” He ends the conversation. Reinhardt, “Oooh, you just found out about Abbadon, didn’t you?!” David, “What?” Reinhardt, “Right after I rescued all those soldiers, Silas invited me up to the residence for some drinks, and he ended up telling me a bunch of shit that he probably shouldn’t have. That was when I knew that he liked me.” David, “He invited me up for drinks once, but he just ended up yelling at me about art, and then made me play the piano.” Reinhardt, “Ha, see, he didn’t like you.” David, “He brought me out to meet Seth. Did he do that with you?” Reinhardt, “Seth was still an infant when I was going through my hero phase, I don’t think he’d let anyone meet him at that point.” David, “Yeah, sure, you keep telling yourself that.” Reinhardt rolls his eyes, “Is there anything you want me to get started on as your minister of defense?” David, “I’m meeting with Shaw in a little while. Might be a good thing if you were there.” Reinhardt, “All right.”

David stands out on the back balcony of the palace, looking out over the landscaping, deep in thought. Abby approaches. He looks over at her, “Hi.” Abby leans against the wall, “I’m officially terrified of what else Silas might have been hiding.” David, “I told Thomasina to take Auclaire’s skull out of my office. I couldn’t do any work with it staring at me.” Abby, “I’m sure Shaw would love to have it back. We just can’t act like we’re desperate to get rid of it.” David, “Good idea.” He leans his head back and sighs, “I’ve been dreading this meeting.” Abby, “You already faced Shaw at Council. This we can at least do over video conference.” David, “I know, but it doesn’t get any easier. I listen to Jack speaking, and I know he wants to tell me things, but he can’t. He gets so frustrated, and when I see it, all I want to do is make Shaw pay.” Abby, “Well, considering Gath is currently kicking Gilboa’s ass, he kind of has the upper hand.” David, “He’s gonna rub it in our faces, too. He’s nothing if not petty as fuck. Which is kind of why I want Reinhardt for minister of defense. Shaw hasn’t hurt him, he can’t pick at him like he can with me.” Abby, “You’re king, David. You can do whatever you want.” David, “I want to take Jack and get the fuck out of this place, that’s what I want to do.”

David, Abby, Shay, and Reinhardt sit in the council chamber, video conferencing with Shaw. They’re all exhausted, and the sun is going down outside. David, with his fingers pressed against his forehead, “CrossGen is not going to resume manufacturing in Gath!” Shaw, “And why not?” David, “Because you fucking shot the person who owns it!” Shaw, “You say you want a peace agreement, and these are my terms.” Reinhardt, “If you think that just because we want peace, we aren’t willing to fight, you are very mistaken, Your Excellency. I’ve been on the wrong end of the Army of Free Gilboa before, and believe me, you don’t want to be there.” Quietly, without being noticed, Rose enters. Shaw, “If you wish to keep fighting, that’s your decision.” Abby, “I know you’re willing to make compromises, otherwise you wouldn’t be speaking to us. I’ve made deals with you before, and I can do it again. I know being able to put Premier Auclaire properly to rest means an awful lot to you and your family, and we very much want to give that to you, but we need something in return.” Shaw, “I’ve waited twenty years. I can wait longer.” David leans back, “Oh, for fuck’s sake, stop being such a dick!” Rose hurries up behind David, “Good evening, Gerald. I know how much you love dragging these meeting out, but it’s getting late, and I have dinner waiting. I’m afraid we’ll have to pick this conversation up again later.” Shaw, “Coming to the rescue, Rose?” Rose, “Consider yourself lucky that David believes in peace more than he wants revenge, because he’s not the only person in Gilboa who’d love to see your palace in flames. David doesn’t owe you a single fucking thing, and to act like you’re the one holding all the cards is simply absurd. We’re going to go to dinner now. Good night, Gerald.” She turns the TV off. She looks down at Shay, Reinhardt, and Abby, “You all go home. Abby, I know Michelle is waiting for you.” They all look at David. David, “She’s right, go home. Get some rest.” Shay, “All right. See you tomorrow, David.” Reinhardt, “When are you going to make an announcement about my position?” David, “I dunno, whenever I can. I still need a minister of communications.” Reinhardt, “I’ll be back tomorrow, then.” He leaves. David turns to Abby. Abby, “The fact that nobody’s crying is a good thing. We actually did okay today.” David, “Yeah, I hope.” Abby gives him a big hug, “You really are doing good.” David, “Thanks, Abby.” She steps back, “Go enjoy your dinner. I’ll see you tomorrow.” David, “Okay, see you.”

Rose and David stand in an elevator together. Rose, “You have to shut Gerald off, or else he’ll drag things on forever.” David, “Yeah, I’m starting to realize that.” Rose, “He’s difficult to contend with, but not impossible. Right now, he’s looking for your weaknesses.” David, “He knows my weaknesses. He saw what happened at Council.” Rose, “All the more reason to know when to cut him off.” David, “Do I get to call him Gerald?” Rose, “You can, but Silas did it because he wanted to insult him." The elevator dings open, and they go into the residence. The furniture that was once in their apartment has been moved in, but lots of things are still packed in stacked boxes. Jack sits in the kitchen with a large pizza on the table. He smiles up at David, “Hey, babe.” David, “Oh my god, pizza sounds so good right now.” He kisses Jack on the cheek and then reaches for a slice. David and Jack chow down on pizza while Rose eats a salad. David, “How was speech today?” Jack, “Good.” Rose, “Jack’s making good progress. His therapist says there’s reason to be optimistic.” David, “Finally, some good news.” Jack gestures around to the space behind him, “Stuff came.” Rose, “Everything’s been shipped over from the apartment.” David, “I spent two months building us the perfect apartment and you only got to spend one night in it.” Jack struggles to say what he’s thinking, “Stuff… here.” David, “Yeah, we’ve still got the stuff, but the apartment had a nice open concept and great acoustics.” Rose, “You’re the king. You can knock down a few walls.” David, “Most importantly, I had everything custom-designed to be assessable for Jack. This place has an upstairs and a downstairs, and he can’t handle stairs yet.” Jack, “I will.” David, “Yeah, I know, but I still want to at least get an elevator installed.” Jack, annoyed, “Don’t need.” David, “Yes, you do, even when you can walk again, you still get dizzy spells, remember?” In frustration, Jack tries to change the subject, “You?” David, “What?” Jack, “Your day.” David, “Oh,” he sighs heavily, “It’s been a long one.” Rose, “It’s not going to get easier.” David, “I know. Leading the AFG never got any easier, I don’t expect leading Gilboa to be any different.” Rose, “I know you think the last six months were the worst months of your life. I’ll tell you right now, you’re wrong. The next six months will be. That’s how it was for Silas.” David, “Can I at least enjoy my pizza before you get into how miserable I’m gonna be?” Rose, “You need to hear it.” David, “I know, I know.” Rose, “You need to look out for yourself. You need to know when to say no. You need to know when to lean on those who love you.” David, “Laura said as much to me when I met her.” Rose, “She was right.” David, “I spent all afternoon talking to Shaw. I can’t look him in the face without feeling like I’m back there on Mt. Gilboa…” he drifts off, and then changes the subject, “Sorry. I should probably talk about this with my therapist instead of you two.” Rose, “We both know what happened. There’s no use in pretending it didn’t.” David, “Doing the right thing absolutely fucking sucks.” Rose, “Gerald is testing you, and you stood up to him. He knows that you’re serious about peace, but you won’t just capitulate to his demands.” David groans and rubs his face, “Yeah, I stood up to him today, but it’s not gonna be the last time I have to deal with him. My confirmation Council is coming up.” Rose, “If you’re scheduling things, already, you should decide who you want to do your first interview as king.” David, “What?” Rose, “Journalism is the first draft of history. You have reporters lining up to be the first to interview you, many of whom work for news outlets willing to pay you quite a good bit of money.” David, “I have money.” Rose, “And a palace living space that needs remodeling.” David thinks for a moment, and then says, “Do you want to be my minister of communications?” Rose, “Pardon?” David, “I need one, and you seem to understand this whole being royal business pretty well. Would you be up for the job?” Jack, “Do it!” Rose, “I don’t want to be in the business of flattering you.” David, “I don’t need someone who’s just gonna flatter me, I need someone who’s gonna be able to say what I need to say. You get to be the one who acknowledges it when I fuck up.” Rose, “You can’t fuck up when you’re king.” David, “Silas fucked up plenty of times.” Jack, “Plenty!” Rose, “I’ll consider it.” David, “Well, hurry it up, will you? I need to be seen doing shit.” Rose, “Fine. I’ll take the job.” Jack, “Yes!” David, “It’s good to know I can get at least one thing done.” Rose, “I will take the job on the condition that when I give you advice, you actually listen to me.” David, “Are you gonna be giving me orders?” Rose, “Advice, not orders.” David, “So what more advice do you have?” Rose, “Plenty. I know you’re the self-sacrificing type. You always put yourself last. You won’t last a month as king if you keep doing that. You have an entire country that depends on your well-being, so now you have to take your well-being seriously. Be selfish and know when to step away.” David, “Is it a bribe if I accept a really nice car as a coronation gift?” Rose, “It’s not a bribe if you pay for it.”

A fake press podium is set up on a set draped with AFG flags. An announcer, “And now a word from King David of Gilboa…” The comedian version of David steps up to the podium, and the TV audience cheers with unbridled enthusiasm. Comedian David raises his hand and the cheering stops. Comedian David, “First of all, I would like to apologize to Queen Laura of Moab, you are no longer the hottest North American monarch.” Curled up with David, Jack laughs. Davis makes a face of displeasure, “Jesus, that’s so sexist.” Jack, “Funny!” David rolls his eyes. On the table beside him, his phone buzzes. David, “Shit!” He grabs it and looks at it. Jack, “What?” David, “Oh, it’s nothing. The Perseid meteor shower starts tonight. I set a reminder because I wanted to go watch it with you.” Jack concentrates, “Don’t…” He tries to say the next word, but it doesn’t come. He sighs with frustration. David pulls the cover over the keys, “I’m tired. Are you ready for bed?” Jack, “Yeah.” David gets up, goes over to Jack, and helps him get up, “Let’s get you in there, then. At least we can sleep in our own bed tonight.” Carefully, he leads him towards the stairs. Jack clutches the railing and leans his weight on David as, slowly, shakily, one by one, they mount each step.

David and Jack lay in bed together, Jack curled up in David’s arms. David sticks his nose into Jack’s hair, and strokes his head. Jack puts his hand on David’s arm. David, softly, “Things would be a lot better if I’d at least had a little bit of time with you. Joel could have at least waited a couple of weeks to kill Abner.”

Thomasina once again waits outside David and Jack’s door, this time joined by Abby. The door opens and David comes out. Thomasina, “Good morning, sir.” Abby, “I’ve outlined an entirely new foreign policy towards Gath, you need to look over it.” David, “Did you get any sleep last night?” Abby, “I’ve only been outlining a policy towards Gath in my head since I was twelve.” Thomasina, “Premiere Shaw is ready to speak with you.” David, “Already?” Thomasina, “He hates waiting. General Mendoza and Minister Reinhardt are already speaking to him.” David, “I kind of have a few people I’d like to talk to this morning.” Abby, “Talk to them. With my new policy outline, I can bullshit Gerald for hours!” David, “You do that, then. I already have someone waiting for me.”

Out on a balcony, Jessie sips a cup of coffee and looks out over the city skyline. The weather is grey and overcast. A door opens, and David steps out. Jessie looks over and sees him, “Hi, baby!” David, “Hey, Mom.” He goes over and hugs her. Jessie, “I just got this cup of wonderful coffee.” David, “Yeah, they have good stuff here. I can get those whenever I like.” Jessie laughs, “It’s good to be king!” She looks out over the city, “This view is incredible!” David, “Not many people get to see it.” Jessie, “Thank you so much for inviting me up here!” David, “Hey, Mom, I um, I wanted to ask you something.” Jessie, “What is it?” David, “Do you think you’d like to live here?” Jessie, “Oh, don’t kid with me like that. Me? In a palace?” David, “No more ridiculous than the idea of me in a palace. There’s an empty apartment where Emma Abner used to live, I want you to have it.” Jessie, “I really am fine where I am.” David, “Yeah, well, my security team isn’t. And besides, the king’s mom can’t live in a tiny crappy apartment by herself. You can visit me every day. Have lunch with Jack. I know he’d enjoy that.” Jessie, “That does sound nice. But what would I even do here? You know how much I hate having nothing to do.” David, “The palace needs a hostess. Used to be Rose’s job, but she’s gonna be minister of communications now. You can be in charge of all the fancy dinners and greeting foreign leaders.” Jessie, “Oh, you know I’d be terrible at all that stuff. I’m the least fancy person in the world!” David, “Yeah, but, you’re my mom. Trust me, that earns you a few fancy points.” He smiles. Jessie has to laugh, “Am I going to have to wear a tiara?” David, “Only at state dinners and formal galas.” Jessie, “Are you serious?!” David, “Oh, yeah. Michelle explained it to me a long time ago, there’s a whole protocol for wearing tiaras.” Jessie laughs some more, “You know the last time I wore a dress was the day I married your father.” David, “We’ll have to get you a stylist. Trust me, between Monique and Jack, you will always look good.” Jessie laughs some more, “Oh, David.” She gazes adoringly at her son. David grows more serious, “Besides, I feel awful about everything I put you through. This doesn’t come close to repaying it, but it’s a place to start.” Jessie, “You don’t have to repay anything.” David, completely serious, “I want you to live here, Mom.” Jessie leans against David’s arm, “Okay.” David, smiling, “You will?” Jessie, “Yes, I will.” David, “Oh, thank god!” Jessie, “Can I have lunch with you today?” David, growing serious again, “Uh, I’m busy today. Jack has therapy in the morning and in the afternoon, but I think you can grab some lunch with him. I’ll have Thomasina set it up. Jack will actually be really glad to hear you’re moving in.” Jessie, “What’s got you so busy today?” David, “I, uh- I’m negotiating a cease-fire with Gerald Shaw.” Jessie, “Oh, baby.” David, “It’s okay, Mom. I talked to him yesterday, and I sat across from him at Council. I can handle it.”

Joel sits in David’s office. The door opens, and David enters. He sits down across from Joel without saying anything. Joel, “So am I off the team, or what?” David, “You betrayed my trust. It’s really hard for me to get around that.” Joel, “You want an official resignation, or are you dismissing me?” David, “No. What would I even be dismissing you from? Nothings’ really official yet.” Joel, “So why am I here?” David thinks for a long moment, and says, “Gilboa needs a declaration of rights. It’s one of the most basic things I’ve promised. I don’t know how to write one. I don’t know anyone else who knows how to write one.” Joel, “The University of Shiloh has plenty of legal experts.” David, “Yeah but… none who have fought next to me.” They exchange looks. David, “The Minister of Justice is going to be the most important position in my government. You’re going to be in charge of the police, and the courts, and the prison system. You’re gonna be the one who tells me what I can’t do.” Joel, “David, the only time you need someone telling you no is when you’re standing in front of a tank. You’re a fundamentally good person, and even if someone tried to corrupt you, the’d end up disappointed.” David, softly, “You could have at least waited.” Joel, “I really wish I could have.” David, “I want to see a draft of your declaration of rights, and your ideas on the first legal reforms that need be made.” Joel, “I can do that.” David, “If you ever disobey my orders again, it will be bad for you.” Joel, “I won’t disappoint you. I swear.” David, “I’m gonna try to believe you.”

Shay waits for David outside of a conference room. David approaches, “Sorry I’m so late, I had a few things I had to take care of.” Shay, “Abby’s in there having the time of her life. I honestly think even Shaw’s getting tired of her. If you want a break, she can go for hours.”

Another exhausting afternoon of arguing with Shaw. Outside, the sun is beginning to set. Abby argues passionately, “It’s absurd to demand more territory, you already have the borderlands Silas gave you and the Port of Prosperity, if we gave you any more land, we’d be handing over Shiloh!” Shaw, “If you want peace, you have to pay the price!” David, “The peace itself is the price! Gath and Gilboa won’t lose any more lives over, god, I can’t even remember what the hell this war started with.” Shaw, “Silas demanded I give him your head, and then you ran away before I could give it to him.” David, “Then why the hell are we fighting? This is just war for war’s sake, it’s absurd! How much more suffering are we going to inflict on our people?” Shaw, “It’s funny how quickly war becomes absurd when you’re the one losing.” David, “Fuck this! You don’t want want peace, you don’t want to settle, you just want to argue and make everyone miserable! I’m ending this, and I’m not speaking to you again until you’re ready to make an actual deal! In the meantime, as I don’t want Auclaire’s skull in my office, and as you clearly don’t care about getting it back, I’m going to order it destroyed and disposed of!” Shaw, “Wait! I didn’t say that I didn’t care about it, I just said I was willing to wait for it.” David, “Well I’m not going to let you wait. You either make some sort of deal right now, or I’m having it destroyed.” Shaw takes in a deep, angry breath, “I’ll agree to a cease-fire. It’s not peace, just a cease-fire.” David, “Good. I will return Auclaire’s skull to you when you come here for my confirmation council, after you’ve confirmed me without causing any drama.” Shaw, “You said you wanted peace.” David, “This is part of it. I’m still the one who owns the skull.” Shaw, “Fine. I’ll confirm you.” David, “Good. I will see you then, and I don’t want to see your fucking face until then.” He turns the video feed off and mutters, “Fuck.” Abby, “You just got Shaw to agree to a cease-fire, that’s a fucking diplomatic miracle.” Shay, “We really needed this cease-fire, too. Now I can actually try to integrate the AFG without just throwing everyone into combat together.” Reinhardt, “I have to admit, I’m impressed.” David, “Yeah, we’ll see how long this cease-fire lasts. Go home, get some rest.” Shay, “Can’t, we’ve got a cease-fire to implement.” David, “What do I need to do?” Abby, “You gave the order, we’ll do the work.” Reinhardt, “Go have dinner.”

David enters the residence. Jessie is making dinner while Jack watches TV. Jack, “Hey, babe!” Jessie, “I hope you’re hungry for meatloaf!” Jack, “Hey, babe!” David, “Thank you, Mom. Are you gonna be eating with us?” Jessie, “No, of course not! I want the two of you to have some time together. You need it.” David, “Are you sure?” Jessie, “Are you kidding? I get to order from the restaurant for free! I’m having lobster tonight!” She goes over to David and kisses his cheek, “This is for you and Jack. I want you two to have a nice home-cooked meal. You’ve got a very hard job ahead of you, and you need to be relaxed and well-nourished” David, “Thanks, Mom.” Jack goes over to the dining table. Jessie, “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.” David, “Okay, see you then.” Jessie leaves. David goes over to the table and sits down across from Jack. He looks out at the meal spears out before them, “I guess there’s a few things I still get to enjoy, huh?” They both laugh. David begins serving himself. David, “How have you been?” Jack, also serving himself, “Good.” David, “Great. I promise you, some time soon, I'll be the one making us dinner. I’ve just got so much stuff going on, it's hard to know what’s gonna happen from one day to another.” Jack, “Busy.” David, “Yeah, I know, but when I’m not busy.” Jack, “Always.” David sighs and thinks for a moment. Suddenly he says, “You know what? Fuck it. Eat your dinner, and when you’re done, I’m taking you out. I want to do something fun.”

David and Jack sit in the back seat of the fancy vintage convertible, snuggled up and watching meteors streak across a brilliantly clear country sky. David, “The meteors are what was left behind by the Swift-Tuttle comet. They’re called the Perseids because they go in the same direction as the constellation Perseus.” Jack, “Nerd.” David, “What? This shit’s fascinating!” he points up to the sky, “See, there’s Perseus. He had to deal with a lot of king bullshit, too.” Jack, “King bullshit?” David, “The only way that I know how to describe what both Perseus and I have been through is king bullshit, okay? His grandfather, a king, had this oracle about being killed by his grandson, so when Zeus got his daughter pregnant, he tossed them both in a crate into the sea, and then they got rescued by a fisherman whose brother happened to be another king. The brother king was an asshole who made Perseus go out and bring him back the head of Medusa. So Perseus goes out and kills Medusa, and on the way back home he rescues Andromeda from this terrible sea monster and then marries her, and then he gets back home and accidentally kills his grandfather and becomes the king of Mycenae.” Jack looks at him, confused, “What?” David, “Fuckin’ Greeks, man.” Jack, “Nerd.” David, “Shut up!” Jack lays his head on David’s shoulder, and they watch the meteors in silence for a moment. David strokes his arm and kisses his forehead, “Having you around makes this king bullshit a lot easier.” Jack smiles brightly, and David kisses him. Jack looks up into the bright meteors up above him.

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lcgendcfzvlda · 5 years

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☆ — wait , is that ZELDA KING ? dean lockwood has been looking for them . you didn’t hear it from me but , apparently the JUNIOR might know something about the whole omega chi & kappa tau situation . while they can be BRASH & IMPULSIVE , they’re far too WELCOMING & COURAGEOUS to be involved , right ? those who know them say they’re reminded of FLANNELS WRAPPED AROUND THE WAIST, THE CLICKING OF A CAMERA, A COMPUTER SCREEN ILLUMINATING A PITCH BLACK ROOM, THE “IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA” THEME, BAGPIPES PLAYING IN THE DISTANCE whenever they’re around . honestly , the DIGITAL MEDIA major should try to keep their head down . after the events of last semester , lockwood is out for blood . did you know that ZELDA is a member of GAMMA RHO ALPHA ? that might explain why their name is being brought up .

you’re an explosion , you’re dynamite playlist. pinterest. to listen as you read. like for a plotting dm on tumblr , react for a discord dm rocky lynch lovebot / hylia.#0329 on discord.

WOOOO I really can’t keep myself from holding only one muse can’t I. WELL. This is Zelda , a bit more of a happy-go-lucky muse compared to Sam !! She’s both her own character mixed with a few others I have - I love her dearly , so please please please feel free to come at me for plots !! <3 HERE WE GO :

HISTORY

Zelda’s backstory isn’t anything special - growing up in Scotland her parents had a nice marriage , she grew up an only child , always got good grades

But she always felt... average. She never was really anyone to anybody , so Zelda had a bit of a knack for wanting attention and trying to get her voice out there. So some took this as endearing , some took it as annoying.

In high school , she was lucky enough to be selected for an exchange student program in Salem , Massachusetts - and then she’d meet the FIRST person who would make her feel special in SAGA ( Sexuality And Gender Acceptance ) Club , a cheeky blonde boy named Cyrus who had a tendency to hide in the corner of the room and not talk to many people. And they’d date for about a year , up until Zelda would have to go back to Scotland.

They had to break up when Zelda would leave , but remained extremely close and communicating daily through digital connections.

ANYWAY , that little one year romance sort of gave her more confidence to use her voice and try and light up the room - since if she could do it for one person , she could do it for multiple people. That’s what gave her the idea to pursue a career in DIGITAL MEDIA - namely , film & video ( with digital art and photography on the side ) in the more comedic aspect. Screenplaying and the technicals behind sketch-comedy skits. Stand-up comedy , even though that was more performing.

Think like Saturday Night Live - and then think of all the technical stuff that goes into it besides the acting. The script-writing , camera angles , etc. Zelda just wanted to make people laugh.

Soooo… when she told her parents that would be what she wanted to do , her average home-life would turn sour CONSIDERING they didn’t want her to explore such risky career choices. An easier life would be to become a lawyer or a doctor - more stable. But that’s not what she wanted. So after a LENGTHY argument with her parents , Zelda would be thrown out of the house with only the money she saved ( thankfully , she’d always been the frugal one ) , and would call . . . her ex-boyfriend and his mother. Since even though they’d only been communicating digitally over the past two years , it still felt like home in Massachusetts.

Her ex’s mother would pay for a flight for her to go back to the United States , and after some time of adjusting , she’d get into Hollingsworth to pursue her career in Digital Media - staying there , but often traveling home ( being where her ex and his mom lived ) routinely.

Pledging to Gamma , her insistence for encouraging people to live their life to the fullest and readiness to include people in her free spirited antics would leave a great impression on the sorority - eventually even leading to her current position as its president.

CHARACTER / FACTS

So again !! Zelda is my trans female pansexual bby , 5’11 bc tall girls make the world go round and she is the LIVING EXAMPLE of the Halcyon label. She’s loud , carefree , optimistic - never really known to pass up an opportunity to have fun.

...that’s so basic of an intro to her personality BUT IN MY DEFENSE IT’S EARLY

BUT YEAH Zelda ?? Does not give a shit about anything. She holds no grudges towards anyone , waaaay too chill - but she flips from extremely chill and laid back to “HEY HEY LET’S GO DO THESE TEN THINGS” and it’s. Definitely a 360. But nobody’s ever seen her angry and it sort of makes people wonder if she even feels anger or if she has a secret dark side nobody knows about.

...She doesn’t. Zelda’s only habits when angry are that she’s short , to the point , and WILL call you out if you’ve done something wrong. But making her mad is extremely hard and she’ll only remotely get upset if you prove time and time after again to be a shitty person.

Which , can sort of lead her to get taken advantage of because of her chill nature - that’s how the previous issue with Gamma getting in trouble at one of their parties happened. Zelda got pissed. She knows she’s chill but she doesn’t think about how that could lead SOME people to thinking “oh I can do anything I want and she’ll be fine with it” because she doesn’t. Get angry about much.

ALSO THAT DOES MAKE HER A BIT NAIVE - just again. She’s easy to take advantage of because she believes the best in everyone and automatically assumes people will do the right thing as people. Doesn’t really understand why people will do things to hurt others and doesn’t really want to.

Also kind of jumpy like she’s a social person and definitely flips between lax and loud but it is SO easy to startle her.

AS FOR HER INTERESTS IN DIGITAL MEDIA - she is extremely talented with the entire Adobe Creative Suite , especially Premiere , Photoshop , and After Effects.

She has an Instagram dedicated to posting manips , edits , etc. she made in both PS & AE. You know those funky Insta edits you see all the time ?? Zelda makes those.

She ALSO does a lot of editing and promotion for Gamma - a lot of times they’re memey little videos or advertisements or skits that display how welcoming Gamma is , and they do a great job at leaving a good impression on possible recruits.

Her BIG thing though would be a little YouTube channel she runs where she often posts videos just around campus - think Billy On The Street , which is what she really wants to do with her digital media career.

“I’M RUNNING AROUND HOLLINGSWORTH WITH A PACK OF WILD LESBIANS”

“LET’S GO LESBIANS LET’S GO”

She either wants to do that - or mockumentaries to put on Youtube ( or even documentaries in a whole that she approaches with her extremely sunny demeanor on conspiracies or the like ). She’d also like to film her own show to put on TV , either something like reality comedy , a reality show spoof , or even something like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia or The Office or Brooklyn 99. Comedy film is her passion.

Commentary videos are ALSO something she’s considered , much like iNabber or Strange AEons , but she thinks mockumentaries , skits , and her other work

Also that person who Photoshops heads on people’s bodies and makes memes for all the group chats she’s in

She really doesn’t take herself seriously often but frankly that’s just Gamma as a whole so it WORKS.

A good portion of Zelda’s existence is a meme tbh I honestly adore her

She has a LOT of tattoos that were designed by her ex-boyfriend since he was an art major and now is a tattoo artist in Salem - I’d point you in the direction of Hannah Pixie Snowdon’s body art as a reference , just Zelda isn’t nearly as covered as she is.

This would be the best reference I can think of rn , lots of pretty designs and some animals, maybe some symbols and references from stuff.

Olivia doesn’t have any tattoos but WE CAN CERTAINLY PRETEND

A lot of her spare money is made doing either graphics commissions or even photography from whoever needs her services !! The majority of her stuff has been done for cosplayers , budding models , budding actors and actresses , and even for other fraternities and sororities around campus. Zelda knows no rivalries when it comes to these things.

She’s also 100% that person who keeps around a polaroid camera so she can hang up pictures she takes she’s just That Person

Decorates the Gamma house with a lot of polaroids she’s taken and memey edits she’s done in Photoshop

INSIDE JOKES ARE HER THING

She also plays guitar and is fairly good at it but doesn’t have a band or anything rn bc she’s just someone who does it bc she wants to look cool ( and also bc the guitar’s a neato instrument but yeah she started it out just bc she wanted to play SOME kind of instrument at least )

,,,but she also knows how to play the bagpipes

and she owns a pair.

they’re in the gamma house. zelda plays them at meetings.

Also I can’t 100% guarantee she didn’t get her name from the Legend of Zelda series if y’all know me u know how much I adore that series so yeah

WANTED PLOTS / CONNECTIONS

GIVE ME A COMEDY SQUAD PLEEEEEEEEASE maybe even ppl she works to make a webseries or something with ?? give me people who work constantly just to make other people laugh

People she routinely takes photographs of !!

Whether they pay her or she uses as a muse for whatever

OTHER PPL FROM THE GREEK ROW THAT JUST DON’T… LIKE ZELDA FOR WHATEVER REASON

Maybe they think she’s too chill. Maybe they think she’s hiding something. Maybe they don’t like how she’s running Gamma but for whatever reason they just DON’T LIKE HER and I want enemies so fucking give me enemies

This is so general but more Gamma sisters would be lovely Zelda’s so eager to bring in more people to make their sorority feel like home

Give me crushes Zelda pines over !! Crushes that pine over Zelda !! Gimme that skinny love shit bc my god it gets me going !!

Hookup plots are also 100% acceptable bc again Zelda’s a carefree spirit and gives No Fucks

Also 100% down 4 cute romantic plots too - Zelda is ur regular poly pan babe w/ room in her heart for 12000 suns

it’s very on brand of me to place the romance/sex plots right smack in the middle as I’m thinking of what to put down

Okay when I was in high school we had majors and I was a Digital Art major and all the Visual Art majors had this bond with us for no reason so I’d really love some Vis. Art buddies that Zelda gets along with much like the bond she has with her ex-boyfriend now

OTHER PEOPLE TO DESIGN MORE TATTOOS FOR HER PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE one day she hopes to be a coloring book

I’D LOVE SOME UNLIKELY FRIENDS TOO JUST SOME GRUMPS ZELDA’S CONSTANTLY BOTHERING W/ HER SHIT

Memey group chat pls

THATS ALL I CAN THINK OF FOR NOW maybe i’ll do a more detailed / organized list soon but yeah !! Come at me !!!

#hworth:intro #* &. about / ☆ 𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐧 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 #* &. ooc / ☆ 𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐇𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐚 #I got the worst headache @ work but we got this done at least #very on brand of me to namedrop ocs i'll never bring in here 2 include them somehow #but i'm so excited i love love love LOVE zelda so much and the last uni group i was in she was only an npc #i'm rly happy to write her in full : ' )

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snowy-charm · 5 years

Text

A Treatise on Charm, Snowy

(TL;DR warning: This post is kinda long. The quick version is that I’m gonna make music now! Next post will be one of said musics. The rest of this post goes over the story of why I’m doing it. Also I use a meme twice and link some rad music three times.)

The year: 2017. October. I was given the name “Snowy Charm” as a fun pony name to facilitate a secret santa exchange online. Even though I’d been a fan of these little horses since ~2012 I’d never delved into the world of having one to call my own. I was more than satisfied bearing witness to the growing cast of canon characters - and of course my hot and heavy courting with the cast of Fallout: Equestria. (Side note to anyone who may be reading this: FoE is pretty dope, but it is also the essence of grimdark. Read at your own risk!)

Suddenly at odds with this new OC acquisition, I quickly came up with a fast and loose backstory! He was a crystal pony from the wintery crystal kingdom (”Snowy”) and was probably an artificer or craftsman of some kind (”Charm”). I joked that the reason behind my name is that I live in a snowy climate (read: the tropics) and I was quite charming (the jury is still out on that one).

The following year was my first ever convention: BronyCon 2018! An artist friend of mine graciously designed my OC with little to no input on my part and came up with a design that I instantly fell in love with.

(Pictured here subtly in front of a rack-mounted EQ I have never used, but is appropriate for an upcoming revelation.)

Isn’t he ADORABLE?! I will forever wear that badge because it is awesome. The cutie mark has been redone a little since then, and no other artist has remembered his beard yet, but I digress; this story isn’t actually about him.

Of course, BronyCon was a blast! This became my impetus to be more than simply an observer in the fandom, but to be present and belonging with others through our communal enjoyment of My Little Pony. My friends, in general, had a disinterest of the show - which, you know what? That’s fair. I don’t particularly care for Game of Thrones, Desperate Housewives, or the DCU, and it would be hard for me to feign a genuine interest in the developments thereof - but as of BronyCon I was able to play on an even field with others who shared my same passion for these candy colored equines!

Now, another thing to note of me, which will be important in a moment: I’m slightly musical. Not amazingly talented or anything, just.. slightly musical. I was REALLY into marching band (and won the John Philip Sousa award my senior year!!), but stopped refining my craft during college and onwards. Turns out playing a $5000 instrument puts a damper on your ability to own one. (Here’s a second video, and a third; I freakin love marimba.) I picked up the Ukulele for the the occasional “BUT YOU LIKE TO MAKE MUSIC” urges, but more or less ignored actually honing my abilities.

But now that I found myself surrounded by the magic of friendship combined with the magic of ponies, I wanted to CREATE. I suddenly realized that Snowy Charm was to be a MUSIC PONE. I would make FANDOM HITS that nopony had ever HEARD BEFORE (or after - I didn’t/don’t expect to be horse famous [or really even horse known (triple parenthetical asides are super cool, by the way)]).

Aaaaand promptly realized I had the better part of a decade’s worth of rust hanging onto my high-school-level skills. Not to mention that I still didn’t own the only thing I was good at playing.

“Okay, okay, it’s fine. Don’t hyperventilate, self. We’ll just make this into a project about growth in music instead.”

- Me to myself circa the realization I can only really play a single instrument, and not even well.

I decided to make the project about my journey in the music field instead of pumping out dope jams. The goal was to lay out where I was musically and pick a song each week. I’d then practice that song all week and post a recording of my warbly self performing it by week’s end. Pick up a new instrument here, learn a new software there. Maybe I’d do originals now and again, but likely I’d just scream into the void and wait for it to call me back.

Of course, the dope jams would (hopefully) come, but as Jake says:

Long story short on that one: I didn’t.

Be it procrastination or a busy schedule, I can’t really defend my past self’s choice at this point. I made all the social media accounts and sturdied myself to make the first bellow into the abyss --- but then silence rung out. (Of note, I got my twitter anniversary notice today, so it has been exactly a year from my first tentative steps.)

Flash forward a couple months - October once more. My little festive community starts up again! More fun names are given out and lore starts being woven together about these new OCs! The stories start coming quick: There’s a stallion who HATES CRANBERRIES and one who makes bomb smoothies! A diamond dog who wants to celebrate Hearth’s Warming but is the target of seemingly the entire diamond dog population’s scorn! There’s a whole school filled with students, teachers, and a will-they-won’t-they janitor/counselor combo! Snowy now owns a potion shop specializing in musical applications, not to mention somehow he’s now the ambassador to those diamond dogs! But then, unexpectedly, on the day she was supposed to return from the hospital, my mother passed away.

I had recently lost my job and moved into my folk’s home out of town. Unemployed, isolated from friends, and yeeted into the throes of grief; I did all I really could: I picked up my dumb noise stick and sang about life, love, death, and colorful talking horses.

I made my first honest-to-goodness song - Drink In - during that period. It’s about that on-again-off-again pair I introduced earlier, but it was also about my grief and healing. I’ll share some of the lyrics here that, after I wrote them, spoke to me as if I didn’t pen them my damn self:

Take a deep breath Exhale regret Drink in sunsets The best is what’s left

It may not hit you the same way as it did me, music is often subjective, but it was an imperative reminder to let go of the stress I was compounding inside of me. I needed to hear that message badly - and put a pin in that, I’ll loop back to it in a moment.

I started working to better my craft again. I helped mix/master the album that my little festive family put together. I borrowed a bass guitar from a friend and started learning a little. I even got employed to do live mixing at the church I attend! Little by little I was getting better.

But let’s fast forward again, shall we? This time to August of this year, BronyCon 2019! One of the best times I’ve ever had, but that’s not the point (maybe I’ll go into it in a later post?). I came home invigorated and ready to face the world again after being exhausted for almost five months straight. I felt free from burdens and there was something on my mind that hadn’t been there for a long time: I was ready to CREATE.

If you were at the con, or if you’ve been on twitter recently, this next refrain may strike you as familiar:

(Patch done by @sew-adorkable)

I knew I had to make a song about it, but I had to make it good enough to be heard by folk. It had to be perfect before I could release it and have guitars and electronic music stuff and all the bells and/or whistles. I have a launchpad, unused, from last year - so I plugged it in with Ableton Live so I could make them funky horse beatz (with a z of course, because that’s 20% cooler).

Aaaaand promptly realized I was way out of my depth.

I’ve recorded live performances (and myself) with Reaper and Audition before, and I feel like I know at least some of the basics with them. I can put a vocal into compression, mix the instruments okay together, do some EQing, etc. But I was now adrift trying to get the computer to make sounds that I wasn’t able to do myself.

I couldn’t figure out how to put anything other than the default synth into reaper and I opened Ableton because that’s better for electronic music I hear and I want to learn how to do that and they don’t even have a timeline and use clips and what are clips and how do you make them and what are samples and how do you get them and how do I even record a voice in this thing and there’s not a TIMELINE and when you stop the noise the session isn’t stopped and the launchpad won’t work and I went back to reaper and they have a drum sampler and how do you get a sample and how do you install things and is this my personal hell and I understand this is a run on sentence - I was frustrated and I quit.

Remember the pin I told you to put in earlier? Refresh that into memory, here’s where it’s relevant.

About two weeks after this whole debacle I was listening to shuffle all on my phone and Drink In happened to come on. I remembered how the completely unintentional message of my own song really struck me a year prior. This stupid song about a pair of pony OCs with terribly played ukulele and shitty bargain bin percussion recorded with a mic not suited to record anything except vocals... and despite all that, despite all of the technical barriers that were in the way, despite clipping during recording ukulele and hearing the distortion every time I listen to the track, it helped me restore tranquility when my inner world was naught but a maelstrom of grief and tumult.

...I guess it didn’t have to be perfect to reach folks. Who knew?

And that right there is the moral I’m learning today. I struggle with it a lot, but there’s a problem with perfection: allow yourself only to produce perfection and you’ll produce nothing. I mean it’s a well known quote, right? Nobody’s perfect.

So, I apologize in advance to all people with ears, but it is now my intention to bring (hopefully) pleasant noises to the grandiose cacophony that is the internet. They won’t be perfect, but I’ll work on it.

Anyway, come to TrotCon.

(Art by Witchtaunter, Flitterfel, and Mentita Kirby)

P.S. Holy bananas you actually read this monster of a post? Give yourself a pat on the back! Future posts likely won’t be as herculean of a read, but no promises. Next time I’ll actually upload “Drink In” so you can hear this song I’ve referenced so much - and then I’ll talk about where I’m at mechanically and the goals I have by doing this whole thing. Oh, and don’t expect all the neat art to happen every post! I went a little YCH/commission crazy after I got back from BronyCon, but I’m also not made out money so it won’t last forever. I don’t expect really anybody to read a huge post ostensibly about someone’s OC, and even the lifetime of this project I expect less or equal to about 10 people, but I hope you find a sense of belonging and participation here! Hello to all 10 of you!

See y’all next time!

#I don't know how to tag things #MLP #Probably MLP #Horse Music?#Snowy Charm #long read #I'msosorry #I met Wootmaster at BronyCon last year #I sang the Halo theme at him #It was pretty cool #notice me senpai

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fume-knight-of-shovelry · 5 years

Text

Gency Week 2018, Day 3: Mistletoe

With art to come from the talented @northwindart!

Overwatch, as an organization, did not exactly hold a unified "winter holiday festival”. Not only was the organization made up of a diverse group of people from a wide variety of regions and religions, some of whom did not celebrate December holidays (or, in the case of the residents of the Southern Hemisphere, didn’t even have winter in December), but the widespread structure didn’t make a single gala or party feasible. Add in the around-the-clock nature of most of the organization’s work, and all the ingredients were in place for a half-assed “holiday celebration” where a variety of icons, from Christmas trees to menorahs to Kwanzaa Kinaras and Shinto Kadomatsu decorated the hallways, front doors, walls, floors and ceilings in Overwatch bases around the world.

Genji Shimada, in particular, did not care for these added distractions. He still practiced the Shinto New Year traditions, but as an acting member of Blackwatch he didn’t have the time or reputation to spend on elaborate celebrations. His black-and-red circuitry and exposed chest gave off an aura of brutality that he was happy to exploit to be left alone in his search for solitude and places to focus his rage and frustration. By fermenting these powerful, violent impulses inside himself, he was able to intensify his energy whenever he was next needed in combat. It didn’t make him the best person to be around, but he didn’t care.

Only a few people had been able to get him to relax a bit around them. His fellow Blackwatch agents, for one, especially McCree. Tracer, on occasion, especially when they were finished sparring. He respected Captain Ana Amari, thanks to her maternal concern for her subordinates matching the severity she drilled them with. Winston, thanks to his to-the-point speaking pattern that minimized wasted time. And the medic, Angela Ziegler, also known as “Mercy”. She had been instrumental in saving his life, but that was long ago and no longer informed any part of their dynamic. Outside of that she had treated Genji with patience, respect, and empathy. He did not open up fully to any of them, but he was definitely able to loosen up around some of his fellows.

Which is why he was caught so off-guard when he stumbled into Angela standing stock-still in a doorway in the organization’s Swiss headquarters. Genji was leaving the training ground after slicing up a training dummy on McCree and Ana’s recommendation, and had been looking absentmindedly at the walls when he’d walked into the combat medic. Frowning, he looked up at her, opening his mouth to ask her what was wrong, when he followed her gaze upwards.

Ah. That explained it. Some prankster had set up mistletoe above the doorway leading from the training room: a childish custom whereby any two people who stood underneath it had to kiss. And seeing as he had been the only person in the room for the last hour and that this hallway led nowhere else, and it hadn’t been there when he’d entered...someone was trying to prank him. And Angela as well.

Well, he wouldn’t give them the satisfaction. Genji would have shoved his way past the person blocking the doorway if it hadn’t been Angela. He was wrathful and capable of great violence, but he wasn’t going to take that out on her. “Ziegler. I understand that this is awkward, but perhaps we can just ignore this and move on with our lives? I’m willing to pretend that this did not happen if you are.”

Angela was horrified. The last thing she remembered was Lena asking her to meet her in the training room to “take a look at a funky lil’ thing the accel’rator does when I use it a buncha times”. She should have been suspicious that Lena was asking for her help rather than Winston’s, but when she went to Winston, he’d given her the a-OK to talk to Lena. When she’d found the mistletoe, she’d planned on turning around and walking away, but then she’d heard someone approaching and waited to see who it was. The fact that Genji was the one who had rounded the corner froze her feet to the ground, but she didn’t know why. She could only stare up at the offending plant in shock until Genji spoke to her.

The medic averted her eyes. What could be the harm? It was a little bit of fun, after all, to play along with the holiday customs.

“...Ziegler? Are you well?”

Without thinking, she grabbed Genji by the shoulders and mashed her face into his faceplate. Her lips met the cold metal covering his face, but she swore she could hear his lips pressing against the metal separating them. Genji’s eyes widened in surprise, but he didn’t push her away, even as his breathing got heavier beneath his mask and he found himself returning her kiss as best he could against the barrier between them. Mercy’s eyes closed as she deepened the pseudo-kiss, her fingers running over his biceps, on his pectorals, along the back of his neck as he found himself holding her by the small of her back. What was going on?

A hissing sound interrupted them and he realized, with some embarrassment, that he was venting heat, his body reaching a critical temperature as his face grew hot: pore-like openings in his right shoulder unlocked and let loose a blast of cool steam. The sound was enough to break them out of the reverie, and they both pulled away from each other simultaneously. Mercy’s face was beet-red and she was breathing heavily, and he knew he was in the same situation.

Mercy’s head felt hot and she was slightly dizzy with the surge of emotion that had gone over her. “I...am not sure where that came from.”

“Nor do I.” Angela decided not to point out that Genji now had a bright red lipstick mark where his mouth was beneath his faceplate. “That was…”

“Sorry, Genji, I…” He raised a hand.

“That was nice, Ziegler. I…” Genji trailed off, and the two of them stood in an awkward silence, faces hot, cheeks red, chests heaving as they regained their senses. Genji tried not to notice how Angela’s rising and falling chest made her breasts sway slightly, cooped up as they were beneath her tight combat suit.

“...”

“...I’ll see you around, Genji?”

“...Yes.” Genji replied, still dumbfounded, as Angela paused for a moment before turning around and walking away. He waited until she’d turned the corner before he started after her. Why did he only now just notice how widely her hips swayed when she walked, how much her pants hugged her thighs, how tightly the back of her suit clung to the outline of her rear?

He needed a break. And a shower. And perhaps some time alone with the memories of what he’d just seen and experienced, and then another shower after that.

Angela, meanwhile, was trying hard not to hop-skip like a schoolgirl down the hallways of her employer’s organization. She had to be professional. But that had been some of the most fun she’d had in a long time. She needed a bath. And a bit of time to think about how Genji’s muscles felt underneath her fingers. And then another bath.

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

As the video feed showed Genji and Angela taking different exits from the hallway leading from the training room, chuckles rang out from the observers.

“Well, I’ll be. That went better than expected. And I know what that awkward lil’ gait means for Genji: last time I saw ‘im move like that, he’d been reminiscing ‘bout the time he got the Prime Minister of Japan’s daughter in bed with him…’longside Miss Korea an’ the heiress to some South African renewable energy megacorp.” McCree nodded sagely, as if this wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. “Tracer, I believe ye owe me. Pay up.”

Tracer pouted, but forked over a stack of bills to the American gunslinger. “S’not fair, y’know. I said they’d snog, for sure, just not that they’d get handsy. No gropin’, even!” The winnowy, flighty operative crossed her arms and frowned.

“Ahaha! S’yer loss, Tracer. My boy’s got it. Speakin’ o which...hold up.” McCree flipped through the paper, then glared at Tracer. “This’s worthless British pounds! What’re ye doin’, givin’ me currency that’s not worth th’ paper it’s printed on?” Tracer stuck her tongue out at McCree, then laughed again.

“Sorry, McCree! S’not my fault we’re in Switzerland. Next time yer in the UK, I’m sure you’ll have a doozy of a time…’less you wanna exchange it for francs here for seventy percent of the value, of course!”

“Cut the chatter, you two.” Captain Amari spoke sharply, wagging a finger at McCree and Tracer, but couldn’t disguise the glee in her voice or the twitch of her tattooed eye that gave away her mirth. “We all did great. Winston, good job on the camera placement. Tracer, well done setting up the mistletoe. McCree, fine work convincing him to work out. I think we’ve given the lovebirds plenty to think about. Maybe keep the cameras off them next time they’re alone together, hm?”

“Actually, captain, I’m fairly certain that it’ll be quite a bit longer before…” Winston cut himself off when Ana glared at him, nervously drumming his toes on the floor of his Swiss laboratory. “Uh, nevermind. I’m glad that this turned out well, and my camera caught it all. Should we delete the footage?”

Ana tapped her chin, then shook her head. “No, keep it. Not for nefarious purposes, mind you. But it’ll be fun one day, I’m sure. I can imagine Genji and Angela as an adorable and very saucy couple. Those two need to unwind with each other.”

McCree’s eyes danced between Winston and Tracer, and he mouthed the words Grandma really wants grandkids, huh? Tracer guffawed, then covered her mouth, while Winston just looked confused.

“Nothing so crass, Jesse.” He gulped and scooted away from Captain Amari, who winked in his direction.

“Well, if’n that’s all, I’ll be headin’ to the mess. I’m thinkin’ Genji will want some time alone.”

“Not without me, cowboy! Race ya to dinner!”

Tracer gave McCree a whole minute’s head start before leaving herself, but Ana and Winston knew it wouldn’t matter. She’d be there in a few seconds.

“So...matchmaking success?” Winston eyed the camera feed, considering when he next might be able to discreetly remove the bug he’d planted in the hallway.

Ana patted Winston on the shoulder and nodded, replaying in her head the passionate kiss that Genji and Angela had shared. “Matchmaking success.”

#overwatch #gencyweek #gency week #gency week 2018 #gency

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here-there-be-nerds · 6 years

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Single Dad Taako 3

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Taako yawned as he distractedly stirred the hot chocolate he was making on the stove. It had to be well past three in the morning and he had fallen out of bed from the grips of another nightmare, might be sore from that one in the morning. Something he always he thought he'd leave in his childhood but not even becoming an extremely component wizard gave him the peace of mind at night.

So what? It wasn't like actually had to sleep, he was an elf after all, that was just a trick he could do. He could just do a deep trance in the day time; the terrors were rare in the daylight.

Taako poured his treat into his favorite hot chocolate mug and turned off the stove. He rinsed out the pot and left it in the sink to deal with properly in the morning.

After cleaning up the rest of any mess he might have made, he headed back to his room to read a little as he enjoyed his beverage. Just something to pass the time while he waited for the sun to come out and he could do stuff without worrying about being too loud.

Just as he put his hand on the door knob his ears swiveled back at a noise down the hall. Taako couldn’t be certain, but it sounded like a whimper. He waited a few minutes to see if any other sounds would follow after but there were only the sounds of the house like there always was, nothing weird.

Taako was about to give up when he heard a shout of anguish coming from Angus' room.

Panicked, Taako quickly put his mug down in a rush on a hall table and rushed into Angus' room.

"Angus?" Taako asked quietly as he ventured inside, his dark vision allowing him to see that the boy wasn't in his bed. "Angus??" He said louder as he approached the bed.

Taako stilled for a moment at the sound of sobbing coming from the other side of the bed. After a moment he circled around it to see a lump of blankets and the little boy tangled up in them.

Taako got on his knees and reached out for the bundle.

"Ango?" Taako said cautious. "Hey, bubbleh, it's me, your dude."

Angus scrambled back into his side table and banged against it, all the while sniffling and whimpering.

"It's okay." Taako spoke softly as he cast Light on the lamp on the desk. "See? Just ol'Taako."

"T-Taako?" Angus squinted at him and in proper light Taako could see the tears tracking down the boy's cheeks.

"Can I?" Taako asked carefully as he gestured to the blankets tangled around the boy's limbs.

Angus nodded slowly, reaching up on to the table for his glasses, all the while wiping away the tears. Taako helped free him as Angus slipped his glasses on so he could see.

"Are you okay, pumpkin?" Taako asked as he shoved the blankets back on to the bed.

"I...I just feel off I guess." Angus said as he pulled his legs up into his chest.

His eyes were a little too red for that to be believable. Taako scooted closer till he was sitting next to the boy and wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulling the boy into his side. Angus didn't resist the affection and actually leaned his head against Taako's shoulder.

"I was up making hot chocolate." Taako said, trying to resist tensing up as he prepared to share something only maybe three people knew about.

"Hot chocolate? In the middle of the night?" Angus asked curiously.

"I had a nightmare." Taako said and found it was actually nice to admit to Angus, like a little weight lifted from his truth. "I have them all the time, so like...if I wake you up sometimes, sorry bout that."

Angus pulled back and looked at Taako, always working that big detective brain of his. Probably trying to figure out if Taako was telling the truth or just saying that to coax it out of Angus.

"I've had them since I was about your age." Taako said, looking to the side, Angus' eyes usually admired him he didn't want to see pity instead. "Lup and I were alone on the streets, going with anyone who'd take us. They weren't always good people; they or people they collided with have come after us more than once. Got paranoid real quick and the night terrors followed after that."

Angus was quiet for a long time before he leaned back into Taako, clutching at Taako's night shirt tightly as he buried his face into it as well.

"I...I had one too." Angus said and Taako could feel the boy shaking.

Taako wrapped his arms around Angus and held him. He rubbed the boy's back until he grew still and kissed the top of Angus' head.

"Hey?" Taako coaxed and smiling when Angus peeked up at him. "Wanna sleep in my bed tonight, bubbleh?"

Angus pressed his face into Taako again and nodded just a fraction in case the offer was out of politeness.

"Baller." Taako said and carefully unlatched the boy so he could stand up and picked the boy up as he did.

Taako was growing pretty fond of carrying Angus around; the boy didn't really like it all the time. Only in moments like this of high emotional states. He took Angus into his room and set him down on his bed.

"One sec." Taako went back to the hall, picking up his now cold mug and took it to the kitchen to deal with in the morning.

Taako grabbed Angus' pillow and the Caleb Cleveland novel he was on and brought them back to the room. Angus was still in the spot he left the boy, anxiously fidgeting with his fingers as he looked up at Taako.

"Hey, let's get this sleep over started." Taako grinned as he plopped Angus' pillow next to his own. "Hop down."

Angus did as he was told and watched Taako pull down the covers so they could both get in. Taako patted the spot by Angus' pillow and the boy slowly got into the bed.

"It ain't gonna eat ya, kid." Taako snorted as he climbed in on his side and pulled the covers up to their waists and dropped the book in Angus' lap. "I usually read after a night like this, you're a nerd, feels right up your alley."

Angus settled back into the pillow as he picked up the book and looked at Taako. A small smile was slowly growing larger on the boy's face.

"Thank you..." Angus said quietly as he flipped through the pages to find his place.

Taako scooted over and again pulled the boy against his side, looping his arms around the boy as he held his own book.

"It's all chill." Taako said as he acted like he was already into his text. "If ya ever feel like it you can come in for a sleep over. It's never a problem, nightmares a bummer."

While the elf was playing it off all casual, Angus couldn't have been more thankful.

They spent the night reading for a little while before Taako got bored with his book and he started asking about the series Angus was reading. As Angus was explaining the main story idea of the first book, Taako looked over the few pages of art and maps. Taako asked questions and Angus was more than delighted to answer, like Taako said, nerd.

Angus inquired on Taako's book, but it was just a book on magical practices Angus wouldn't achieve for some time. But Taako explained the book the best he could anyway, telling him the lessons he had planned for that weekend and a few spells they could try out together.

Hours whizzed by them and stories exchanged of adventures on and off the pages were told. Until Taako was recounting this crazy dark elf with a funky pet spider when he noticed Angus had become dead weight in his arms. The boy had fallen asleep.

"Guess I'll finish it later." Taako whispered to himself.

Taako carefully arranged the boy beside him on the bed in a comfortable position so Angus could sleep peacefully. He tucked the covers around the boy and kissed his cheek as he slipped the glasses off of his face and placed them on the side table.

Taako watched Angus sleep soundly for a little while, glad to see his face serene and relaxed. No more nightmares tonight and if there were, Taako would be there to chase them away.

Taako decided to settle in for the night as well maybe get a few hours of rest before he gets up for the morning. He turned out the light got situated, sneaking an arm around Angus as he slept to make sure the boy was alright through the night and yes it gave him comfort knowing he was there.

The longer he had Angus the more Taako felt like they were both getting a lot out of this whole thing. More than he imagined, this was nothing like he thought it would be. Even with the bumps in the road, this was better than anything he could have thought up.

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laura2017-blog1 · 7 years

Text

Letter of Intention

Dear All,

I'm Laura, 20 years old and I wish to apply for the Character Animation line. Please find my portfolio here: http://laura2017.tumblr.com/

My love for animation goes way back. I still remember how I got my first photo camera in 5th grade. There were so many stories in my head that wanted to get out. So whenever I had a friend over, we would grab my old Barbies and photograph them in story sequences. It was so difficult to photograph them in a way that our hands supporting the puppet wouldn't be seen. Naturally, I was thrilled to be able to record videos with the next camera I got. I still have some videos saved where I would dress my friends up in costumes and let them run through our neighbourhood to get my stories on the computer screen.

As a young teenager, I discovered my love for drawing. I used to draw days and nights just copying photos or drawing cartoon characters I liked. But what has changed my approach to drawing was a semester at TDA, which I attended fall 2016. After my rejected application last year, I was determined to get better. With my teacher Maja Vendelbo I studied anatomy and tones; the concept of core shadows blew my mind. It's still incredible to me how much I improved in such a short time span. (Here's my old portfolio: http://lauraischneider.blogspot.dk/) Moreover, I never would have believed how amazing an environment Viborg is. The students, teachers, and professionals are all so kind, fun and encouraging that I really feel this is the best place to thrive as an artist. My time here has been the most humbling and inspiring time of my life. I want to attend TAW because I want to improve and learn so much about the field I love; create interesting characters and bring them to life. When I think about studying at TAW, I'm just filled with happiness and excitement, and an eagerness to work hard.

Film and Drawing both being dear to me, I feel that animation is the perfect combination of my passions. Yet I think animation leaves a sense of wonder that live action movies do not. I really look up to Satoshi Kon and especially his work „Paprika". For me, this film is a great example of what makes animated films special. It merges the lines between reality and fiction through its fast pace and matching scene transitions. Paprika is a movie that truly lets you dive into the dream. Compared to "Inception", which presents the dreams as almost logical, too constructed, Paprika is much more imaginative and therefore I think it fits better.

I am convinced that the choice of medium is essential to tell a story properly. Take the classic "Jungle Book", which has so much charm, given by the rhythm of the traditional animation. While the 2016 remake was visually absolutely stunning, it didn't have quite the same impact as the original one. The animals seemed more relatable in the older one, as they were caricatured. The 2016 movie's ape king Louis threw me off – because the set was so realistic, the singing felt out of place. In a cartoon movie, you can get away with funky movement; it is an illusion of life after all. Still, it is certainly amazing to see how far the integration of 3D and live action has come until now... and how much further it can go!

After graduating from High School, I knew I wanted to work in the Animation industry. So I applied for an internship at the 2D Animation studio "Trickstudio Lutterbeck" in Cologne. I enjoyed my 6 months in their team, learning about puppet rigging and animation. Thanks to the time there I am proficient in Photoshop and intermediate with Toon Boom.

In addition, my colleagues and I would visit the Zoo once a week after work and observe and sketch animals. Now, drawing from life has become a habit of mine or the closest I've ever been to an addiction. I draw everyone, wherever and it's almost like a diary for me.

When my internship was over, I got the chance to intern at the VFX studio "Pixomondo", in their Frankfurt office for 3 months. There I looked at animation from a new angle, working as coordination. It was exciting to be part of this big studio, especially since they were working on the dragons of "Game of Thrones" when I came. Naturally, both studios were very different, the size of the team and thus the communication was most striking to me. While I was helping to communicate between the different departments at Pixomondo, at Lutterbeck we were all sitting in a big room together and would just call each other. However, they were also similar in one regard: both studios relied on good teamwork. I am of the opinion that animation is a team effort and everyone needs to be reliable and confident to communicate their side of the story.

Besides Art and Film, a passion of mine has long been Journalism. Together with a classmate, I was the chief editor of our High School's newspaper for well over 3 years. We instructed a team of around 15 students and had to take care of accounting, creating content, as well as getting it laid out and printed. It was a good lesson for me, as I learned how to lead and also work together with a team. Without all of our combined efforts, we never would have achieved 2 issues per semester, winning as many regional awards as we did.

Apart from the school club, I have been working freelance for the newspaper "Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger" for around 4 years now and I enjoy sharing my views and giving my audience food for thoughts. The same goes for my art - I always try to incorporate stories, ever since I read the book "Drawn to Life" a few months ago. Walt Stanchfield stresses how important the storytelling and the simplicity in a drawing are. Before, I would just draw a pretty picture, without much thought in the backstory. Now, I find the storytelling to be the most fun. With the basic skills I learned at TDA, I just want to bring interesting characters to life and tell their stories. In studio "Ghibli" movies, I really enjoy the characters. Take "Princess Mononoke" e.g., where they are all relatable to some extent. Even the ‘villain' has a motif and is not just evil; it's not just black and white. Eboshi (the antagonist) wants to save her people from the wild animals, and that is why she wants to kill the God of the forest. At the end of the movie, she realizes her fault and wants to rebuild the city in a better, righteous way. I really like this development in her character. "Frozen" on the other hand has generic characters with little development. Not only is Prince Hans a boring villain with little motivation. But even the main character, Elsa, acts without a goal and I do not see her as a good role model for children – and they are the main audience. Mostly, she behaves like an angry teenager. To put it in a nutshell: Good movies have a message they want to convey, just like good drawings hint at a deeper story. And interesting characters need to have a motif and need to grow with their challenges. That, for me, makes a great film.

An example I would like to mention is „Persepolis", which has simple, graphic style. Yet, it shows the character growth and the change in her world in a touching way. I think we as artists hold a responsibility to our audiences to entertain them and but to make them feel and reflect on a deeper level, as well. It is a privilege to share your views and to show how you see the world. Therefore, I want to use the skills I learn at TAW to create films with both a meaningful story and beautiful visuals.

For the future, I think the industry will rely more on smaller studios. In our global time, a lot of independent studios can reach a larger following now and get a better exposition. I also hope that the animation industry in Europe grows further. In Germany animation is unfortunately not really being invested in. It's a pity that what little 2D animation there is, is being outsourced to China because it would otherwise not be affordable. That takes away from the art form and treats it like a mass product. But stunning projects like "Song of the Sea" show that the co-productions in Europe can be successful, both artistically and financially. I look up to "Noerlum" and I hope to contribute to the art of animation just like they do. As for the medium, I feel there are a lot of options to explore: Take the "SPA Studios", which I admire, for example. Their innovative approach to 2D animation with a 3D look is very promising and I can't wait for their project "Klaus" to come out!

Born to a Spanish mother and a German father, their two cultures surrounded me growing up. Maybe that is why I am so intrigued by new cultures and languages. In 10th grade, I got to spend 5 months as an exchange student Nova Scotia, Canada. I really benefitted from being away from home as that made me more self-reliant and open for new perspectives. Besides that, I have traveled a lot throughout western Europe, of course spending many summers in Spain. The most precious travel memories are from a one-month Interrail trip through Italy I made alone last spring. Instead of sleeping in Hotels I tried out Couchsurfing and got to be more close to the actual life there. It was super interesting learning about my new found friends‘ lives and stories. Now I'm living in Viborg and learning Danish, which is luckily very similar to German. The reason why I like languages besides the culture is also because I want to be able to communicate with as many people as possible. I believe that Animation is communication in its essence. Work by Sylvain Chomet like "The Triplets of Belleville" and "The Illusionist" demonstrate this, as they work without words and yet communicate brilliantly on many different levels - through the story, the characters, the atmosphere.

Jean Giraud (Moebius) with his grand imaginary worlds is pure creativity. How he incorporates storytelling into his art is unrivaled and always lets my imagination run wild. I also like Käthe Kollwitz and her way to process personal experience through her work. They make her artworks feel precious and intimate. I would also like to mention Andreas Deja and his work on Scar in "Lion King" or "Dschafar" from "Aladdin". It is amazing how he manages to give the characters distinct facial mannerisms that make the characters feel real. On the other hand, I adore Ryan Woodward's flowy, seamless animation style. There are so many great artists out there and I hope to find my own voice, just as they did.

I am very lucky that my family absolutely supports me and my dreams. So they offered to finance my education. In addition, I have some savings from my internships.

Viborg is a special place and I would be overjoyed to get the chance to learn here for the next 3 and a half years. I want to develop my art so much more and I know that there is no better place than TAW for my goal to learn the art of animation in an international environment. I sincerely hope you got to know me a little bit in this letter and that we will meet at the interview.

Yours faithfully,

Laura Schneider

#letter

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