#obviously not based in realism lmao

[mushroom-for-art]

Id love to see a take on a Pikachu Morph!

Coming right up!

First we have the Lightning Morph

A simple inoffensive morph that's a favorite amongst people due to being a simplistic shakeup of the usual Pikachu look whilst having no health problems or issues brought upon by the different markings. They're just a zappy guy! There was a brief craze when some Lightning morphs had extended cheek patterns as though lightning was sparking from their cheeks, a favourite being zigzags under the eyes affectionately known as the "Ash Morph" due to the similar shape.

Next we have the Nanab/Banana Morph!

An adorable morph with colors similar to that of the Nanab beery including the browning spots older Nanabs that need using tend to gain. Another loved morph due to lack of health concerns and how different it looks.

And from the Nanab/Banana Morph comes the Peeled Nanab Morph

Characterised by having a paler stomach often times a whole pale front this morph is just a slight variation of the Nanab Morph with the pale stomachs like that of the actual Nanab fruit. There is debate over what counts as a 'true' version of this morph some argue it needs to be a whole body stripe others just the stomach, it's up to interpretation really but for a while this Morph whipped up a frenzy due to their cute pale bellies resulting in them selling for more than their original morph counterpart.

The Sweethearts Morph

A more problematic morph, assumably bred from the banned deluxe shiny morph (the shiny status of this morph is heavily debated as is the legality due to the Pokémon apparent inability to evolve and noted shortened tail that causes issue with absorbing electricity but I digress), and an albino morph making a pink tones Pikachu from the Deluxe Shinys darker more red coat and the Albinos white. They briefly caused a frenzy amongst people with heart shaped patterns having ones selling for much more, however they were quickly banned from being bred and being used in competitions and battles due to health issues. Functionally they are somewhat albino, suffering from many of the similar health conditions they're susceptible to heat exhaustion and heat stroke and require sun protection measures, they often exhaust quickly and can't hold a steady charge and often have eyesight issues. Thus the ones that have been bred must only be kept as companions and not used competitively in any manner.

Lastly the Clown Morph! (hoax)

A small breeder posted on their social media the creation of the Clown Morph a Spinda like Pikachu that quickly became desired. At about midday the same breeder posted that the morph was in fact an April Fools with a video of their very patient Pikachu partner having the Pokémon paint washed off of them. Many people caused uproar about the deceit claiming the breeder used unsafe paints or that they took money from them for a Clown Morph and used it to boost their business but the claims were quickly disproven as it was just some people very angry and not taking being pranked very well. Most saw the funny side of this hoax.

[finsterwalds]

Thinking about better call saul if the action took place in france just because I wanted to see them in cunty robes lmao. More thoughts under the cut!

Obviously the action and the whole premise of bcs/brba wouldn't work in france (legal system aside, the whole cartel and walter white storyline would have to suffer major changes due to social security and the mexican cartel well. not existing here stricto sensu). But let's talk about the real Important Stuff : their names

I think Howard Hamlin would work well as Edouard Hamelin. He looses the cool HH initials yes, but it works really well as a genuine french name imo, and Howard/Edouard are pretty close phonetically

Chuck could still be called Charles without any realism issue, but he'd be nicknamed Charlie rather than Chuck because that's what a french person would go for... nicknames don't work the same, yeah

Kimberly Wexler and James McGill, I have no idea lmao. James when translated becomes Jacques, but it's such a boomerish uncool name that I cannot resolve myself to call my boy like that. It's also one generation too old. Jimmy being born in '60 could technically be called Jacques, but it'd be old-fashioned, as it's a name mostly given to the kids of the decade that came before him. McGill is an irish name, so something funny could be making Jimmy a breton with a funky last name like Gall/LeGall ? That's hilarious to me. But who knows.

Saul Goodman is a pun, so this is even harder for me to conceptualize. Saul's marketing would definitely not work in france at all, as no one would realistically hire a lawyer with a puny name and such chaotic displays (+ I think ads for legal démarchage are illegal mind you). However, let's have a crack at it. It would have to be a pun based off an expression similar to "it's all good man", or implying something positive and familiar... I need to think on that one.

[jade-of-mourning]

asui tsuyu

(very loosely based off her va, aoi yuuki — except i never looked at the reference again after the sketch, so i really can’t guarantee any resemblance)

i gave her a yellow shirt and an hour later it still looked like shit so i just. you know. deleted it. *sobs about it because it was so ugly but i spent so much time trying to make it good*

[twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat]

Hi ari 🤍 brought you a question. Again 😋 Which ghibli movies or characters best suit different jjk characters? Mention non ghibli anime too if u want :D include the heartbreaking film - grave of the fireflies if you have seen it. Gotta sleep bye!! Have a nice day 😁

hi toruuuu :333 thank you for the question!!! I LOVE STUDIO GHIBLI SOOOOO MUCH i actually haven’t watched grave of the fireflies tho 😭😭 i’m most familiar w the miyazaki movies but i’ll include some others for this question too !! most of these are entirely vibe-based LMAO

satoru - howl’s moving castle

do i even need to say it ???? gojo is howl. howl is gojo. they’re soooo similar and this movie in general just reminds me of him sm :(((( i think he’d love it a lot!!! the star motifs, the war, the breakfast and kindness in sophie’s found family…… howl who is so strong and out of reach. who views himself as a monster. but he finds love in so many ways and he gives love to so many people….. sob. he makes me so emotional. he’s also a pathetic loser which is very gojocoded <3333

suguru - spirited away

I HAD TO PICK IT . I HAD TO. throwback to my childhood friend!sugu and his queer awakening being haku LMAO……. i just think this movie is so unbelievably sugucoded with all the yōkai and ominous vibes…. but then also those little bits and pieces of family as a theme :3 obv he reminds me a lot of haku. with the dragon form and everything… the devotion….. think sugu would love this movie a ton and i think nanamimi would adore it. they force him to watch it all the time hehe

shoko - castle in the sky

CHOOSING ONE FOR SHOKO WAS TOUGHHH but eventually i landed here ….. this one is entirely vibe-based but. just. the plot…. the pirates and planes and high-speed chase scenes and the castle in the sky with all its advanced technology….. especially the castle. the robots!!!! the retrofuturistic style in general is soooo shoko…. and obviously the war themes but that’s kind of a given for any of miyazaki’s works. honestly i think porco rosso is very very shokocoded too but i had to give that to another one of my blorbos….. this movie just makes me feel so nostalgic and i think the themes fit shoko a ton :3

honourable mention to the ghibli lupin movie that i Have Not Seen but i just KNOW shoko would love it. trust. anything detective/phantom thief based makes me think of her

kenny - the boy and the heron / nausicaä of the valley of the wind

I COULDN’T DECIDE 💔 nausicaä was another big contender for shoko’s movie but i just think it’s too weird and freaky to give to anyone but kenny. that movie TRAUMATIZED me as a child. and i think kenny would love it. also just???? the creepy bugs????? nature vs humanity?????? those themes feel so kenny. he’d like the protag a lot i think!!

as for the boy and the heron…. it’s just Vibes. the heron reminds me of kenny!! and i think he’d love the movie a lot…. the depictions of war and the fantasy world, the blend between comedy and violence….. i just feel like there’s such a strong contrast between the bleak realism and the colourful fantasy elements. and that makes me think of kenny!!! i want to watch this movie w him so BAD bro i know his commentary would be the best 😔😔

toji - porco rosso

IT FITS HIM SO WELL. I FEEL INSANE. porco rosso is one of my Absolute Favorite ghibli movies andddd i think toji would love it / it’s just so Him!!!! porco rosso is genuinely him. a literal pig who smokes cigars and flies jet planes….. this movie is so special to me and it’s just giving toji vibes :3 the cigarettes and planes and beautiful gorgeous women…. the macho men. etcetc. but also the grief and the tender scenes….. i’ll never forget that One scene with all the planes of the people who died ascending up into the sky :(((( yeah. this movie is so good and so underrated and i think toji would love it sooooo damn bad

nobara - whisper of the heart / the cat returns

had to give my best girl the best movie <333 being whisper of the heart. but since the cat returns is connected to it and also very nobaracoded i thought i’d go with both!!!! the cat returns is just so funnnn and since nobara is a cat person i think it’s perfect for her!! i can imagine her watching it as a kid and having a crush on both the protag AND the baron lmao. she watches it for comfort now n then <33

and whisper of the heart…. my favorite ghibli movie Of All Time <333 it’s sooo nostalgic and coming-of-age as a genre is very Her. there are so many fun lovely scenes that i think noba would like :((( idk if she’d actually like romance movies bUT. shizuku’s journey with writing and growing up and finding more control in her life feels very nobara. she’s true to herself!!!! i think nobara would hateeee seiji tho rip to him 💀💀 these movies just bring me soooo much comfort and nobara does too <333

megumi - ponyo

THIS ONE IS JUST SO. yeah. the nature themes?? the sea???? the fishes?????? everything is so megumi i could see him loving this movie soso much :(((( he’s embarrassed to admit it but it’s his comfort movie. he loves the scene w the ramen…. idk the vibes here are just very gumi. again!!! the sea!!!! the sea rising to the surface!!!!!! all the underwater scenes are so vibrant and pretty….. ALSO THE ABSENT FATHERISM? yeah. megumi is ponyocoded. he loves it so much <33 watches it with yuji and nobara and feels so cozy. baby boy.

mai - kiki’s delivery service

you know i had to give this one to her <333 momo and miwa and her watch it for sure. ANOTHER one of my Absolute Favs btw and it’s just!! yeah. it’s mai. what can i say. the witches and cats and also just the whole theme of being thrust into a completely new environment??? having to adjust???? and the difficulty kiki has with that…. her eventual burnout :(((( it just reminds me a bit of mai’s life. i think she’d love to run away to a completely different country… find a place where she feels wanted and loved. sniffle. i love this girl w all my heart :(((( i like to think that her and maki watched this one as kids…. maki likes the more action-leaning ghibli movies more but she would watch it to make mai happy. i love them.

takaba - pompoko

aaaand finally!!!! a silly movie for a silly meowmeow :3 NO BUT ACTUALLY THOUGHH CAN WE PLS TALK ABOUT THIS MOVIE . I’M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO LOVES IT RIGHT…. it’s just so funny and sooooo weird but also soso heartfelt and that’s takaba down to a tee!!! the japanese mythology elements made me think of kenny too….. this movie is both kenny and takaba coded i think. they’d both love it. BUT YEAH I JUST THINK THIS MOVIE IS VERY HIM…. the tanukis and their lil adventures :3 but also the spooky scenes. and the struggles they face!! when humans destroy their homes!!!! takaba would watch this movie and he would cry. sweet sweet puppy of a man.

[mejomonster]

Oh an FYI, for better or worse the Riverdale show is intensely inspired by Twin Peaks.

I feel like if you've ever seen twin peaks, this becomes immediately obvious within seconds of turning on Riverdale.

Like, on technicality, yes riverdale is "based on" Archie comics. And in a sense that's not totally wrong. It definitely plays with 50s aesthetics despite being set in 2000s (sort of like Twin Peaks lives in the "retro" even though it's technically not set in the past), and it uses the fact its based on a fun comic to really just have Fun going all out camp. It doesn't Care the bad guys name is Blossom like a fucking cartoon lol, it IS like one. It doesn't care the colors aren't about the realism like at all but about pretty colors, cartoons don't care if they're going for what pops. It doesn't care its calling stuff Jingle Jangle and the Serpents and the Black Hood and the Sugar Man, because hey that's exactly what a kids cartoon would do especially an older one having a fun time being ridiculous. So like yeah, in that way, you can see the comic vibe. And in a way I don't like really noticing at all and would rather ignore, it does in some ways try to keep some elements of those original core characters (which in some ways I Ah really wish Riverdale had nothing to do with an existing property because then I'd actually have no issues with it at all lol... but 1 we live in a time where almost everything is a remake adaptation prequel sequel and that's like the whole Industry top levels fault at the end of the day-.- and 2 for better and worse I think in some ways the show does actually care for the original material, which I did not expect and feel conflicted about and mostly want to avoid but it Is there if you look for it.)

Like. In a way Riverdale is if you made an Archie fanfiction Twin Peaks au. It's so Twin peaks. It screams Twin peaks for modern teenagers.

Like? Alice Cooper is the same actress that played the waitress with the abusive truck driver husband in Twin Peaks (they even use a Twin peaks image of her for the newspaper article of her younger self). Jughead's dad is one of the bad guys from Scream (and I feel like that on its own screams a LOT about horror and camp themes and references). So many shots in Riverdale (at least up to the season 2 I've watched) are direct shots from Twin Peaks. The color scheme reliance on red is Twin peaks, and the blue reliance is Riverdale playing with its own use of color the same way. The Riverdale town sign is a direct shot from Twin Peaks. Jughead and the biker gang in GENERAL and the Whyte Worm are like huge obvious parallels to the leather jacket wearing biker gang in Twin Peaks lol??? The weird dialogue, while not having the same effect at ALL of Twin peaks surreal shit, is likewise obviously trying to not be normal. Riverdale doesn't want to sound normal, it's happy to be weird as shit and whatever IT wants to be, and that's a very Twin Peaks attitude.

My dad said when Twin Peaks aired everyone thought it was so weird and interesting. And like. I'm not sure I can say I've got an opinion of Riverdale much yet, but I can say yeah... if you're used to media trying to be normal, like the other stuff, realistic, no surrealness in your media, then lmao of course Riverdale is weird. Yet if you've ever seen Twin Peaks or equally bizarre stuff, Riverdale is pretty tame and mundane and only in the shallow end of weird to be quite Frank (as of mid season 2 where I am). Like... I am DESPERATE for Riverdale to take off the training wheels for its "audience thats never seen Twin Peaks" and FINALLY go as weird as Twin Peaks! Or weirder! Give me weirder! It's still actually like... Twin Peaks episode 1 level weird, just with more camp. Riverdale hasn't even entered end of season 1 Twin Peak Bizarre levels yet.

Anyway back to my point. I think seeing it as a homage to Twin Peaks sort of makes obvious a lot of stuff that seemed... incomprehensible about Riverdale, tbh? Like... why have a biker gang, why act like you're in the past even though you're set in the present, why have a killer, why have an adult manipulating a student, why have fucked up rich people messing with the town, why have a weird bar that fights happen at, why have murders and a curfew no one listens to, why have random people hook up and have secret affairs and ties, why do people say weird shit, why are there sudden dance or singing scenes, why would a character show up doing a drug deal or hiding jewelry or trying to run away or... because Twin Peaks did. So MUCH of Riverdale is so clearly a homage to Twin Peaks.

I'm waiting for a log lady equivalent, a confusing dream sequence, a truly fucked up gambling club full of teen girls, a doppelganger, stuff Twin Peaks did that was bizarre that Riverdale hasn't even reached yet.

Tldr I just think like. It's neat. It's nice even. I like this aspect. I think a lot of early reactions I saw to Riverdale, a long long time ago back when they really were reacting to like "very ordinary plot" season 1? Was in part people reacting to a show doing some things like Twin Peaks, but they'd never seen a show do That before and so were just like wow WEIRD. And like. Fair. But also sometimes the weird feeling... is the point.

[mysterious-moonstruck-musings]

I really liked this chapter!! It was angsty but not in like a bad way??? Like it was a hopeful angst hahaha!

This definitely makes up for Dieters behaviour! I hope Talia doesn’t blame herself too much tho because while yes, she could’ve helped him earlier. But it’s also not her responsibility to make sure his doctors are doing the right things? And she also has to take care of her own mental health. So I don’t blame her for not doing anything. It’s a complicated situation!

tbh, I think this was kinda the worst time to really introduce Lauren and Alex’s relationship because with everything with Dieter, I just don’t really care about them? lmao it’s kinda like “yeah good for them but is Dieter okay?????”

That moment with Talia and Dieter just made me 🥺🥺😭😭 he just wants to come home 😭😭 like actually broke my heart. I just wanna wrap him in a snuggly blanket and hug him. (Can we make him a mental health hospital basket? Like fluffy socks and chocolates and a little stuffed bear that smells like home…🥺😂)

And it suuuuucks that all this happened and that Dieter will have to go through all this now but it’s also good because he needs this and sometimes the good things are so fucking hard. But they’ll be worth it in the end and Dieter (and Talia) deserve all the good things 🥺

I can’t wait to see Dieter learning all the healthy coping mechanisms and therapy tricks (i feel like he’s gonna be so proud of himself that he’s shyly gonna tell people the things his therapist said helps. 🥺)

Aaaaaaaah I’m just so freaking soft for him and I just want him to be happy and healthy!!!! I already can’t wait to read the next chapter, I love this story sooooo muuuuuuch!!! (thanks for the update and we love you!!)

Thanks for the message Anon!

I am happy to hear you enjoyed this chapter! It was indeed a rough one. It defiantly brought back some not-so-great memories for me. The conversation between D and Talia was loosely based off real conversations I have had with two people in my life. Neither of which were easy. So, if you felt some realism to it, that is most likely why.

More after the cut... (contains spoilers for Chapter 25)

Oh you know Talia is totally going to be hard on herself about how she handled the whole situation. Especially now that she admits she hasn't been handling her emotions well either. Everything she has kept locked away is about to bust out with a vengeance, forcing her to finally deal with her issues too... and I do mean everything. Not just the things related to D. So, here is my thinking behind the Lauren and Alex reveal...Was it ideal? Absolutely not, but neither is life. Alex was obviously going to be there for his brother. It's inevitable. Alex & Lauren were already together when Gabby called, and they came to the hospital together. Lauren, of course, wanted to be there to support D, Talia, Gabby, and Alex. It's hard to support the person you are in love with while pretending you are not a couple. In my mind, during situations like this, all of the trivial stuff like that kind of goes out the window so that you can be there for the people you love. Honestly, their relationship was probably the last thing on their mind in the middle of the panic that Gabby's call would have brought on. To be fair, they didn't announce it...Gabby and Talia just kind of figured it out. It really was a heartbreaking moment... and it isn't even that he wanted to go home. He wanted to be with Talia, wherever she was. He just wants them to be together again in their little bubble. She is home to him.

It does suck that he has spiraled so hard. It helps to see the good in it though. It is going to force both D and Talia to get the help they need so they can have their happily ever after.

Given that you feel that is how he will be about his recovery, I think you will enjoy the ending that I have planned for these two. 😉 At this point, I think we all want to hug and snuggle D. I am sure he wouldn't be opposed to a gift basket. Maybe a stuffed raccoon (that smells like Talia) and some kit-kats would make things a little easier on him? Thanks for reading! I love my anons and readers too! 💜😘

🌛Mysterious-Moonstruck-Musings

CC: @rhoorl @bitchwitch1981 @readingiskeepingmegoing @runningmom94 @for-a-longlongtime @hisandsnakes @chaoticfestninja @survivingandenduring @partyofone3413 @wannab-urs @cakipy-blog @titlee78 @poodlebae @guelyury @missladym1981 @maried01 @alokaerza @samiamproductions @misstokyo7love @themonadiaries-blog @madnessofadaydreamer @darkheartgatita @avastrasposts @weho2kcmo @harriedandharassed @tkchaos @girlofchaos @yghuibt @musings-of-a-rose

[x-authorship-x]

Hi Torship 💛 i just need some advice for writing OCs because i saw your OC shisui post and i immediately remembered how quickly you're able to introduce really solid OCs in your Fics and... how?!?! Mine are always so obvious and blehhh :'0 thank youuuu

Hiya~

Whooo boy, so obviously every writer is different and will have different tips, you don't need me to tell you that. I'll just try not to talk your head off too long and keep this productive 🤣 so, I'll show you how I build up a "shop window" OC and an "full package OC".

So, when I say 'shop window', what I mean is: this character is walking past, only briefly interacted with, but must have enough of an impression to enrich the scene. You can't just be surrounded by blank canvas, thats a completely different effect

E.g- Tadame, the Hokage's Receptionist in HOPE AU:

Think about when you meet a stranger. You notice at least one thing that makes a lasting impression. A pretty dress, the smell of smoke, how they made you feel (maybe they wanted to shake your hand and you didn't know how to refuse?), an accent, etc etc. For Tadame, she is notable for a few things:

Her fashionable style. Shisui almost immediately informs the reader that she is a plain-clothes ANBU. This makes her ease and composure even more striking. It broadens our idea of what ANBU get up to. It's also good to see an unapologetically feminine woman being a badass bodyguard... Whilst in a cheeky nod at the "Moneypenny Bond Secretary" character.

She is warm and familiar. We're used to people being awed, stressed, or angry around Shisui etc, Tadame makes a point to be extra friendly. She is also very comfortable with the Hokage, who is deferred to by everyone (even Kakashi at this point). This sets her apart, reinforces her personality as consistent without needing much exposure, and gives us an immediate idea of what routine is like in the Tower.

She demonstrates her own off-camera motivations, life, and relationships by her actions. She makes Shisui pick tea, even ones that Sarutobi doesn't enjoy. She smokes heavily, a contrast to her very sophisticated and feminine image (I based her on Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina, actually), and she takes part in festival preparations with (presumably) a large cohort of coworkers which hints at Tower life as well as Konohan culture.

This is all done very quickly. We don't see Tadame a lot, we don't get much dialogue and, when she's not present, Shisui doesn't think about her. Bear in mind that overcrowding things is just as frustrating as not building up enough. As a chronic purple-proser, i know this is a bit rich coming from me lmao

TL;DR: i make most of these decisions off the cuff. Start with "what does the protagonist need to recognise in this OC?" Is it the accent that's important, is it their job, who they're related to, what theyre doing? Tadame was the ANBU bodyguard who could get Shisui directly in to see the Sandaime, he immediately noted how unassuming she was for the power she had. He played nice with her, hence why he catalogues so many details right off the bat. Compare this to Shikaku's receptionist, who is noted as being very angry with Shisui for ignoring protocol... Until he apologises to her, because if this lasting impression, and she is convinced to forgive him. The T&I receptionist is a running joke that Shisui forgot his name once and was so embarrassed afterwards that he constantly reminds himself of it later.

Okay, let's keep going and pray I get more coherent lol

Full package OC: e.g Akira, Shisui's main Crow Summon from HOPE AU:

Full Package OC is exactly what you think it is. Fully fleshed out, dialogue, screen time, treated as one of the main cast. The main thing here is moderation (how to avoid a Mary Sue, as you might say) and realism. I think it's actually easier than a shop window OC.

You need a motivation, a good quality and a flaw. Even better if the last two are connected.

Akira:

Akira is a Crow. To be a Crow - I decided as a nice contrast to Shisui and Itachi's modesty despite riches and genius - is to be extremely frank about how great it is to be a bird. It's ownership; like how corvids nick shiny things, the Crows think of their Summoners as their belongings and not the other way around. Birds are a collective, they fly en masse with a few stand out personalities, so it follows that the Summons would function similarly. They aren't like dogs or cats, who will follow (in varying ways) leadership. Whoever's in charge is circumstantial to the tasks in need of doing and whenever Shisui looks like he's in charge (in the fic), that's just professionalism. It's plenty for the reader to chew on, it fleshes out the Summons as a whole, and it sets up a baseline expectation for the readers being introduced to any Crow.

Building on that, Akira's motivations become a little easier. He wants to, like any bird, preen and puff up. He has illusions (that aren't illusions tbh) of grandeur, of how humans are supposed to behave (he doesn't get out much), and he boldly claimed the pursuit of "noble adventure" when he agreed to work with Shisui. Everything Akira does, therefore, needs to fit in this mentality. That he is special, that this makes Shisui special by association, and that Shisui is is Shiny Rock Summoner to be possessive over. He also, like all Crows, speaks differently from the other characters, which sets him distinct in the reader's mind. Voila!

Akira's strength, it becomes clear, is his devotion. He is all talk when it comes to complaints; in a tough spot, he is so ready to square up to anyone and anything that he gets extremely pissed/hurt when Shisui denies him the chance. This absolute faith and engagement with Shisui is brilliant for the narrative, Shisui as a character, and with connecting the audience to Akira. As the audience is encouraged to want the best for Shisui, they share a common goal with Akira.

This ties into Akira's fault, which is his pride. He's hard to work with, he doesn't like to admit his wrongdoings or back down from a 'slight', and that means Shisui is often forced to put up with Akira acting out or sabotaging tasks, knowingly or not. It also makes Shisui hesitant to trust him for more delicate operations, and Shisui occasionally laments that Itachi was matched with Arakan, who is more feeble but also of sweeter disposition. However this fault is frustrating but endearing, so readers may actually like him more because of this behavior. They think it's funny or maybe Akira is expressing the anger that readers connect to but no other character is displaying.

TL;DR: Akira has a baseline motivation that he shares with his (OC) kin, which allows the readers to immediately make assumptions every time they meet a new Crow (All Crows see Shisui&Itachi as their possessions, themselves as dignified and Noble, and as outsiders as intruders to be distrusted and chased off). Akira's strength, his devotion, is linked to his flaw, his pride. Both of which, however, connect him to the reader and build a relationship between OC and audience, even without Shisui directly involved. The key to a Full Package OC is to match the likable with the dislikable. For someone you deeply love, flaws should be something that can be lived with (Akira's pride), worked on (Shisui's esteem, recklessness, over independence), or something to be struggled with (Kakashi's self destructiveness). Similarly, strengths need grounding in motivation/context, like Akira (he is devoted because it is rooted in his history with Shisui and the culture of crow summons) or Shisui (his loyalty and creativity come from his determination to do his family proud, to keep the peace his grandfather worked for) or Kakashi (his devotion and extreme skill came at the price of his innocence and his loved ones). If you make an OC and feel it's going wrong, try consulting this balance again!

Maybe I've just waffled on about my own OCs for way too long but I hope you can see what I'm trying to show. You have to treat OCs like real people, like they have a life off camera and they're not just plot devices or tools for you to throw on the page. If they have a name, they have a person behind it. If you don't want to do this, do not give them a name or a very strong description. It could prove distracting and the audience might fixate on a detail that they think is a clue but you actually just tossed in there randomly. God knows that drives me wild, sometimes.

Anyway, I'm sorry this is so long (🤡) but I didn't want to cut it shorter and not be helpful, so....

Best of luck with your writing, Anon! ✨

[whumpshaped]

this got VERY long, putting it under a cut. but this is the New Project talk

tw blackmail, ""a prank"" (it's not funny, it's cruel), school setting, manipulation, bullying (kind of but not really yet, it's also not a whole group doing it)

Personal notes. This is a story where I will absolutely not lean into realism, not even as much as my other stories. Both because I'm not from the US, I don't have any experience with fraternities, I'm basically coasting by on stuff my US based friends tell me about the education system (but I'm not stressing much about getting it all accurate lmao), I've never studied at an ivy league college (clearly), AND ALSO, MOST IMPORTANTLY, school bullying is a trigger of mine. So if this gets too realistic, I'll end up hurting myself mentally.

Regardless, this is a concept I'd like to explore anyway, and this comes with restrictions. Obviously, there's a bunch of potential when a frat house is involved, right. Like hazing. There'll be none of that here because hazing is like one of my biggest mental no-no's. Any sort of school-based GROUP bullying is off the table (so like, big groups of people ganging up on one person, or even multiple people, or bullying in front of a huge crowd), so keep that in mind as you read, so you won't be disappointed by multiple "missed opportunities". I also won't go into detail on how the blackmail went. It'll mostly be implied.

So now you might be asking, what's it about then? The main focus of this story is one pathetic little guy getting blackmailed and manipulated and eventually kidnapped by another guy. So it's basically just power dynamics, humiliation and hidden in plain sight - aka all the stuff you can read about in my other stories, but this time on a college campus, dressed in preppy clothes.

And the reason I'm writing this long-winded notes section is just to say... please be patient with me. You might think it's dumb that I want to write a story that borders on triggering. But if I'm the one writing, I can explore all the elements I want to, while strategically avoiding my squicks and triggers. It's also to say that if you send prompts for the story, or questions about some of the events, please keep in mind that there's a bigger than usual chance that the reply will be "sorry, I can't do that/sorry, I can't go into more detail". It's absolutely not your responsibility to keep track of my sometimes very unpredictable triggers, so don't stress over sending the ask in the first place! Just be aware that I might not be able to answer it. Thank you for reading this part.

Also if you find preppy clothes and dark academia cringey- I don't accept criticism. Cringe is dead. I want my men dressed like 1940's Yale students. Refer to my post about wanting to tear apart men in tweed if you have any further questions. /j

ACTUAL STORY TALK STARTS HERE

SO the premise of this thing I'm doing. I'll share my blorbo notes too, in just a second. But the setting is just this ivy league school where everyone is very smart, very cool, very rich, whatever. And here's the message that inspired the "plot" (I have no idea about actual plot, it might never have actual plot, it might just be a series of hot guy bullying nerdy little guy drabbles) (shoutout to @whumpsday):

What I changed so far is the fact that it's not an outright kidnapping as mentioned here, but a blackmail situation where whumpee can then see his marks falling, and face the humiliation of constantly being berated by professors who don't understand what's going on. And then it just escalates and gets progressively worse and worse, because no one's stepping in, so why should whumper hold back at all?

And I'm naming the story Poisoned Ivy because I'm very funny and witty. Picrew I used for the boys

Bryce Donnelley

Second smartest guy on campus. President of his frat house. Student council treasurer. 20 years old when he decides he’s had enough of being second. He asks a sorority sister friend of his to help ‘prank’ Nate, and eventually gets his hands on some compromising enough material that he feels comfortable starting his blackmail plan. It’s perfect, really; now he can just focus on being cool and friendly, partying throughout the week, while Nate sits in his dorm and does his work for him. Better than his own, of course <3

Bryce is the popular kid. The one with all the friends, all the academic achievements, all the sports trophies. But at the same time, he somehow also manages to be laid back and casual about it. No one ever really sees him study, but he’s there for every single party, with a devilish alcohol tolerance. He’s notorious for making bets with others, and somehow always winning. He’s on good terms with all the teachers, always promising to put in a little more effort, so he could live up to his ‘full potential’. 

He’s not overt about his need for control and dominance. In fact, he’s a very friendly guy! Always cheery and nice, pleasant to talk to, happy to help newcomers and those who are struggling with college life. Even though he’s so good at everything, somehow he stays grounded and humble, and you’d never ever see him bully anyone. Hell, he stands up to the bullies! There’s really no reason to dislike him. He’s very sorry if you find his fraternity brothers obnoxious, he’s trying to reign them in <3

Opinion on Nate: Cute little nerd boy. I wish I could just drag him to a party myself and get him just a little drunk <3 It’d be good for him! He might even make some friends for once in his life. As for the rankings, no, it doesn’t really bother me that he writes better papers and stuff. He’s clearly putting in a lot of effort, it’s admirable :)

Nathaniel Fane

Smartest guy on campus. Avoids frat bros like the plague, given he’s a stereotypical nerd boy, just waiting to be fucking bullied. 20 years old when he gets a suspicious message from one of the prettiest and most popular girls. He has no one to tell him that it’s probably a prank, and his parents are encouraging him to finally go out with a girl, especially if the opportunity just arose like that. Why wouldn’t girls be interested in a driven and hard-working guy like him? So he gives in, and his life suddenly falls apart. 

Nate is the resident smart guy. People don’t avoid him on purpose because of nerd reasons, it’s more the other way around. He feels too awkward to socialise much. He actually gets invited to parties sometimes, but he has never once turned up to one. He’s kind of a teacher’s pet, stemming from the fact that he basically has no other friends aside from the professors who tell him he’s doing a good job. 

He honestly just wants the college experience, but he feels like it’s way too late now. Everyone belongs to a clique now, everyone has their established group of friends, and he’s missed out on too much to try and fit in now. Still, people are friendly towards him, and he’s kind of friendly towards them. Because of his anxiety, he does come off stand-offish and stuck-up sometimes. Even more than that, he does feel like he’s above all this sometimes. Even if it’s just a defence mechanism for loneliness, it bleeds through in his explanations when someone asks him for help. That’s why most people actually go to Bryce. He may only be second best according to the numbers, but he’s sure as hell not subtly condescending the entire time.

Opinion on Bryce: President of the most obnoxious frat house. I can’t imagine how much energy it takes for him to restrain himself outside of it, and to appear even semi-normal. I will never accept an invitation from him until the day that I die. No, I’m not jealous of how many friends he has and how popular he is, and I’m not studying this much just so I can have this one thing I’m better at.

[joshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh]

time to ramble about Xenoblade a bit following wave 3 showcase and wave 4 teaser.

Don’t really like Masha’s design very much at all. I know we saw it early via leaks anyway but like yk lol. I think the problem is that, Xenoblade 3 has honestly a super consistent art direction, right? And it’s very immersive because of that. Like, all the characters in the entire game look like they come from the same world(s). It pushes a bit past realism obviously, one of the main characters is permanently on fire lol, but it’s still relatiely grounded and it’s very easy to look at 2 characters and know instantly that hey, they’re from the same game. And I think Ino was already pushing that quite a lot, but it was fairly possible to suspend my disbelief a bit even if only because her specific unique origins are justified enough for me to kind of give a pass. Now, we’re obviously still to learn what Masha’s deal is, but just at a glance like, come on dude. I don’t even want to make any specific “uhh this part looks stupid” or “vtuber lmao” comments, my problem really is just that I look at her and she doesn’t look like she belongs to 3 at all. If 2 had a character like this it’d get away with it because 2 from the outset has insane design variety thanks to the Blades - it’s the fact that that variety is a constant that would let Masha’s design be okay. Xenoblade 3 being more uniform makes Masha just stick out like a sore thumb.

Beyond her design though, we don’t actually learn anything about her class whatsoever lol. Kevesi healer is most people’s hope because fuck we need more of those, and like sure I’m happy to agree lol. Hope the class is better than Ino’s because christ but also yeah ideally not having power creep would be nice too, basically you know have balance, yeah? Though as a specific gameplay function she offers beyond her class, Masha will allow you to craft accessories with something called enigmatter. That’s actually all we learn about it here but hey sounds cool. No clue if the accessories you’ll be able to craft are gonna like, be better than the endgame accessories already on offer or not, but tbf even if they’re like early or midgame if the process to get them isn’t insane that could work well on repeat playthroughs and such. We don’t actually learn anything else about this system at present so it’s just gonna be a “wait a week until she comes out” to find out the rest I suppose lol.

I do think once all the DLC’s out I’d like to replay the game with it all on a fresh save file. Because when DLC comes out for a game I kind of always want to judge it on the basis of how much it feels like it integrates itself into the base game, right, but that’s obviously hard to judge when you consume the DLC so “separately” from said base game, I suppose. But as it stands I already don’t feel like Ino does a great job at this. Gameplay wise she’s implemented just okay - there’s precedent for classes with unique mechanics by way of Soulhacker so it doesn’t feel like they limited the special things just to DLC (good thing) but then HD Ether Cylinders+ only really exist once Ino does and in the first place you have to like, go into the DLC menu and activate the ability to unlock her first lol (bad thing). Past that she also suffers from the fact that she doesn’t really interact with the world very much? By which I mean, basically every hero has quite a long quest chain associated with them, and for the vast majority of them you’ll end up doing quests where 2 different heroes are now interacting with one another, if not even more. The world ends up feeling very alive and connected because of all these questlines crossing over in that way, and it’s dope! But Ino just doesn’t do that at all, and it kinda sucks. Kind of, expecting Masha to be the same lol. We’ll see.

you know honestly this reminds me of a thought experiment I occasionally have - can DLC make a game worse? Generally when you play a game that has DLC you want to have all the DLC because hey, that’s the complete package, that’s the version of the game with the most content. But it takes you out of the experience to finish the tutorial and then have the game magically insert like 10 quests into your journal or whatever saying “you’ve somehow heard of this new DLC thing”. Is the game actively worse because of that? Xenoblade 3′s DLC isn’t like that specifically but I really do think more could’ve been done to fit at least the new heroes into the world. This is probably a topic for another post.

But hey, the other big Wave 3 thing is the Archsage’s Gauntlet! Yeah so “new challenge battle rules” went quite a lot further than I ever would’ve expected, huh? Pick one character, work through way more stages of a battle, and get some heroes and unique buffs to go in your party along the way? That sounds fucking dope! Way more replayability than the Wave 2 challenge battles too lol. Opportunity to have multiple heroes in the party as well is badass, naturally. It doesn’t seem like this entails playing as Heroes necessarily which is a little upsetting, but I am very interested to see how this plays, because it sounds really fun lol. And hey, throwback outfits? Hell yeah. We got fanservice as in swimsuits last time and now we get fanservice as in callouts to past entries, neato. This is something I think is harmless and fun and the game makes very clear is “separate” from the main game hence it being not in the earlier discussion of DLC making game worse thing. It does specificy Throwback A on the armour btw, so would Throwback B be different modelled outfits entirely? Tbh probably not I imagine they’d still be reskins but hey I can dream. Can’t wait to play Shulk outfit Noah with Monado accessory.

Now honestly I fully expected they’d stop there, right. Last Nintendo direct they showed us wave 2 and gave wave 3 a thumbnail tease and that was it. I expected much the same here. Show us wave 3 and maybe tease wave 4′s thumbnail or something. But. No. In fact we got an admittedly extremely brief cutscene teaser of Wave 4! Featuring fucking Shulk and Rex all grown up and looking absolutely badass, Rex especially holy shit dude’s a fucking tank dual wielding Aegis swords, kid’s come such a long way I’m fucking hyped. yk it’s kinda funny lol that Rex’s redesign is so much more drastic than Shulk’s - obviously it does make sense given his age compared to Shulk but also like duh it’s because marketability and that’s just funny lmao. But yeah they’re clearly fighting Alvis. Alvis. In the presumed sequel story to a game that conspicuosly lacked a Consul A. Hmmm. And then following them is presumably an older Noah? With an interlink form Mio forming by his side? Logic but also marketability and swords in the key visual imply it probably is Noah but he makes mention of a granddad that Aionios Noah wouldn’t have but that which he would have out of Aionios though there is also the question of how the ages would add up if it’s Noah since he is a child at the start where Shulk should be a decent amount older than he looks at least so like uhhhhhhhhhh. Doesn’t necessarily sound too much like Noah but also I don’t want to underestimate Harry McEntire so who knows how much weight that has. I do hope it is Noah because getting our 3 protagonists is a lot cooler than getting 2 protagonists and basically an expy of the third protagonist, but then Torna made me care about Lora a lot in a very short amount of time so even if wave 4 protag isn’t literally Noah I’m sure I could still come to love him. I feel weirdly hung up on this point even though I imagine I might be missing something obvious? We’ll see. I’m excited. I’m glad it’s looking to be a sequel story since that was something up for debate, really just round out the trilogy and give it a more conclusive ending than the base game aimed for. Just sounds dope. Really this just looks absolutely sick as all fuck lol. Cannot fucking wait.

also pour one out for xenoblade x fr fr

[lionydoorin]

Oh wow that was a fast answer lmao, thanks!

And yeah yeah, I totally get you on the realism part, but still, the dedication is impressive!

And well, to be fair, I was mostly wondering about Anika's stomach injury like... Ghostface literally vertically cut her stomach, so obviously lots of blood was coming out, so, so far so good, but then when she was on the ladder? Like she could not hold her stomach or anything, and Ghostface was shaking her so my friend and I were very surprised we could not see at least a bit of guts coming out? (Sorry if that sounds gross to some people). I mean... Considering the length of the knife and all he MUST have cut them, right? At least pattially? I don't know, my friend and I have no medical formation or knowledge or whatever, but we thought it wasn't really realistic? What do you think?

Also nah, you're not insane, just clearly passionate, which to be fair is a good thing since you are a med student! (Also you're brave, like med studies are really long and hard, so well... Good job, and good luck for the rest of your studies?) I mean like... I guess this could make you more invested in your job and studies, which is good? And you'll definitely learn more things with all this research so... Win-win?

And yeah, Chad is well... A real Chad, like this guy just literally cannot die at this point! Which is good for him I guess but wow! Anyways, good luck to you and your friend on these research on Chad!

(also, if anything I feel like we should be the ones sending you a hug? And probably to your friend as well cuz Jesus you guys are doing aaaaaall the hard work and stuff, so you guys most are the ones who'll need it, so... Sending that big hug right back at you guys!)

ABSKSHDKDJ you happened to send me the ask when i had Just opened the app!!!!! so i answered it first ehe :))

i'm gonna make this an under the cut reply just to make sure no one is triggered or anything! yeah discussing body horror here

yeah in anika's case the knife probably hit the guts! but i don't believe the size is big enough to make it spill out or something. it probably pierced through the intestines, possibly severing it, but the moving around isn't enough to make it slip through the wound, ooor another possibility is also that anika was lucky enough the knife went in between the folds and didn't hit it at all!

and the muscle also contributes a lot to make sure it stays inside. the thing with horizontal cuts is that everything Under the cut can't be contracted, since the nerve connection is cut, so it's easier for stuff to spill out because there aren't any abdominal muscles to keep it in!

would it be pushing against her abs? definitely, yeah! but the wound wouldn't be big enough for it to like fall out or something.

(but i'm saying this more based on my opinion than anything, tbh)

and YEAH chad is a real chad hskshdkdjd

[eggedbellies]

some more tdick info, if youd like it:

this is more so my personal experiences, because everyone else has a different experience with bottom growth and how it makes them feel!

with that out of the way, individuals that are on the bigger side [ie chubby/fat] tend to have a little less problems with bottom growth rubbing against fabric/getting as easily agitated. theres more skin protecting the dick, if you catch my drift lmao. ESPECIALLY if they have a smaller tdick.

when it gets hard, when someone is horny specifically, it feels like its throbbing. it also feels that way during an orgasm or with consistent direct stimulation! it's also, in my experience, very easy to chain orgasms with stimulation to my tdick and nothing else. minus dealing with overstimulation, it's pretty damn easy to orgasm within 3-5 minutes of another one.

-> this is 100% due to increased sensitivity, in my case

I figured it would be a Very Sensitive Organ, so this info is super useful, ty ty! Obviously when I'm writing Weird Porn there's always some kind of like, allowance for how out of reality I can take it, but I do like to keep some realism based within it, y'know?

[robinsnest2111]

🌌 MILKY WAY - what was the inspiration behind your oc? what was the first thing you decided about them? cause i don't know a lot about your ocs

uhhhh for All of them? 😂 Well I'll see what I can cobble together lol

under a readmore because I have a lot of OCs and A Lot to say!

to start at the very beginning: my first group of proper OCs (Felix + Moritz + Emily) where mostly created as a coping mechanism for me to deal with bullying, trauma and extreme social isolation as a teen.

Felix is very obviously a self insert, embodying all the traits about teen me that I perceived as negative and unlovable.

Moritz is the pinnacle of Seemingly Intimidating Goth/Metal Guy with A Heart Of Gold and was designed to love Felix, flaws and all. Because I really needed that back then.

Emily is the small bubbly confident childhood friend with sweet supportive parents and a good home life, fully submerged in the world of goth (which was one of my main obsessions as a teen) and not afraid to kick someone's ass with her stompy platform boots to protect her bestie Felix!

The first thing I decided on was probably Felix' name. I did start to seriously question my gender back at 12/13 and Felix was one of the names that were somehow dear to me (probably because I had a brown plush mouse as a little kid which I named Felix lol). Similar story with Emily tbh. Had a doll as a kid which was named Emily and I just really liked the name.

---

Next up: Scene-chan, Emo Girl and Harstyle Girl, not much to say about them tbh. obviously based on the popular music/fashion based subcultures of the day (mid to late 2000s, early 2010s). another bunch of my teenage years obsessions lol

---

then: my emo boys Alex and Joël! it's kinda cringe and embarrassing to admit, but they're based on a classmate and I way back in 6th grade. They started out as random emo boys but a few years ago I decided to give them names and a basic backstory.

Once again Joël is kind of an alternate universe self insert (based on if I had taken up my emo classmate on the offer of giving me an emo haircut and taking me to an emo meet up, still regret not being brave and accepting to this day lmao), and basically another coping mechanism of Self insert is loved by other OC despite his perceived flaws that make him "unlovable" :')

---

on to some of my most fleshed out OCs of the bunch: my absolutely beloved metal boys Lukas, Simon, and Raphael! I actually came up with them for one of my last pre-college assignments! I chose the topic character design and since I was starting to really dive into the wonderful world of metal, I promptly created my boys!!!

They all have some of my traits but are pretty solid characters in their own right. Their story has changed quite a bit, mostly because of storytelling classes in college and the teacher for that course demanding some realism in the form of depressing realistic shit (drug addiction, abuse, Struggling in general, etc.) and less of whatever low stakes, non-dramatic supernatural demon contract stuff I had going on beforehand lol I didn't like it at first but it somehow stuck, oops.

The first thing I decided on was probably Lukas' haircut! I did accidentally mirror it at some point tho (brain like Swiss cheese and the bad habit of keeping most of my oc info haphazardly lying around inside my head)

---

And finally, my Metalocalypse ocs: Rapunzel and Martin! They're both klokateers working for Dethklok, nothing too special about them tbh. Rapunzel has more of a backstory than Martin at this point, I really need to do more with them tho!!!

The first thing I decided about Rapunzel (when he went from a random background Klokateer in my dethentines entries to a proper OC) was him being a laundry klokateer! I'm not well-versed in assassin/bodyguard work and all the Die For Dethklok backgrounds of most other klokateers and thought. Hey. Mordhaus is fucking huge and there are so many employees keeping the whole thing going. So there must be an entire laundry squad somewhere. And I know how to do laundry. So that's where I put Rapunzel hehe

Martin is still pretty much a blank slate. All I have for him so far is that he's from Germany and Drepressed/Suicidal As Fuck (literally the first thing i decided about him. like, what if i made an OC that's So Fucking Depressed), hence why he signed up to become a klokateer.

He wants to die anyway, might as well die protecting a band he likes. But surprise surprise, while working he runs into Rapunzel, the eternal ball of sunshine, ends up saving his life from intruders who were on a mission to kill Dethklok (a normal tuesday tbh), and with the help of him and all his coworkers he learns that life is somehow worth living after all. So basically his plan backfired and now he has so many things to fight and live for!

So. Martin lowkey is Rapunzel's "I Could Fix Him" project 😂👌 Oh! and Rapunzel calls him Tintin 🥺💕

---

If you have made it this far I hereby award you a medal because this sure was a wall of text!

[imunbreakabledude]

one of my pet peeves is people who make osrs suggestions on the grounds of "REALISM" and then get mad when you reply with a realistic reason why their suggestion would not actually make sense

there are def other examples of this but the one i roll my eyes at every time is "the wave should fill your buckets at tempoross". no it shouldn't?? lmao it's a wave strong enough to knock you over and sweep away half the shit from your backpack if you aren't tethered down, that water has way too much momentum to stay in your buckets, you'd have maybe a quarter full afterwards at best if you're knocked over. (as for why it doesn't empty full buckets - i suppose the idea is if you're tethered, it doesn't knock about anything in your inventory, so they stay full, but that also explains why the empty ones wouldn't get filled, you're sheltering all your stuff as you tether). i guess this gets brought up because of the "realistic" helpfu-to-player consequence of the wave putting the fires out but like... that does make sense. and it filling your buckets doesn't. you could just make up other shit like "the wave should dump all the harpoonfish onto the beach and then we can just pick them up instead of fish"... nah. but people suggest this all the time and act like it's so obvious and clear that it MUST be that way because REALISM and then get mad when you point out that people do not typically fill buckets from tsunamis

not EXACTLY the same pet peeve but a similar one is when people over and over demand smithing be "reworked" because "it makes no sense that you make lv 40 armor at level 99 smithing". "oooh you can repair ancient weapons at like 90 but can't make a rune platebody until 99" and they act like this is obviously flawed logic ... i do get their point but it is not some obvious binary flaw. there are plenty of "lore" reasons why it could be harder... like, maybe it's harder to make a high-quality metal armor set from scratch than repair an incredibly well-made ancient weapon that you found mostly intact?

people love to go 'lv 40 armor set shouldn't be level 99 duhhhhh' but first off - level requirements to craft items are not matched to what level you equip them in ANY skill. is anyone mad that it takes 63 crafting to make a lv 40 ranged body? or 85 fletching to make a lv 50 bow...? I recognize those are slightly less drastic gaps, I do. but my point is, there's not a direct (or necessarily even close) correspondence between the level to equip gear and the level to craft it with processing skills. that's muhc more based in balancing 1) XP rates and 2) alch values of those items.

but shouldn't people be able to USE their smithing skill to actually MAKE equipment they might use at various levels?? in theory, that would be nice, but the game has been balanced around standard metal melee equipment (and even many dragon weapons) being buyable from shops ever since the start. even if you overhauled smithing so rune was smithable at 50/60, there would still be almost zero reason to ever smith your own equipment on an iron. yes it might feel "cool" to do it the first time and then you'd remember you've never cared about this before and just get it from hard clues or shops like always... and most MEANINGFUL melee upgrades are always going to be pvm drops/untradeable unlocks. because armor that's infinitely smithable will not hold value above alch value.

rearranging smithing levels would require SO many other things to be fixed - alch prices of everything mith and up would have to be nerfed down for their new availability, mining would likely have to be redone to change the ore levels, new content would have to be added to fill out higher levels of both skills, and in order to be 'worth it' to train smithing you'd have to lock untradeable upgrades behind high levels which require resources that are actually hard to get (a la bandos/armadyl armor fragments)... yes, I know Rs3 did this kind of rework very successfully. and that's awesome! but I don't think we need that intense redo of two entire skills in osrs when... it feels 'old school' that rune is 99. it's kind of charming in a way that rune platebodies are not nearly the bis body they once were, but they're still the mark of a master smith. i would NOT at all be opposed to them adding additional high level useful options to smithing to make it feel more rewarding, but I don't think the fact that "you smith lv 40 armor at lv 99" is this obvious logical flaw that some people act like it is. the armor is harder to MAKE than it is to WEAR. that makes a lot of fucking sense to me!

[albatris]

rambles, here are some of them

not the rambles I mentioned the other day and might still post at some stage, these are some different rambles, these are just some wandering thoughts and me thinking aloud, all subject to change

there is some. interesting. ground to cover in terms of Marrick potentially working with the DII

it makes a lot more sense in terms of the plot, and clears up how he gains access to certain things, and how he gets some of the information he has, how his plans play out, etc...... and also makes his involvement with Avery and Noa and some of the other people who work/have worked in the sorta base levels of the DII make a lot more sense in terms of it not being “too convenient”

and I don’t think he works For Them, necessarily, maybe just In Cooperation With, maybe just someone who was off doing interesting work and making a bit of a name for himself, and the DII thought that certain avenues of his research could be beneficial to them so they were like “hey you’ve got some solid stuff going on here, we’d be happy to help you out with resources and support if you continue and work in conjunction with us” or something like that

which is good for them and good for Marrick, like, it’s in the DII’s best interests to stay in the loop with whatever new information is coming to light about the apocalypse and its various manifestations and Marrick’s niche area of interest is something they’re keen to see explored, and it’s in Marrick’s best interest ‘cause jumping on board with the DII means he’ll have access to a lot of money and resources and information he didn’t have access to before and he can do Bigger and Better and More Interesting stuff

and like. obviously there’s some screening involved like they’re not just gonna hand some random guy all this stuff and be like “go wild”, like......... I’d like to emphasise that Marrick starts being shifty as hell LONG after he’s initially brought on board, and he kinda? starts using some of these resources to do his own kinda dodgy secret work in addition to whatever else

and like! oh, as a general rule, Marrick is completely on board with Helping Everyone, but it’s more like................ y’know, his first and foremost priority is self-preservation. it’s a good look for him to be like “I want to find a way to help everyone!” when in reality it’s more like, he’s looking for a way to help himself, and by extension, his findings will help others. but he doesn’t care about that and when push comes to shove, and will absolutely throw everyone else under the bus if it means he can save himself

so yes he helps the DII out but he’s also gone kind of rogue and is doing a lot of other shifty stuff he doesn’t tell the DII about, stuff that’s a little more morally iffy

and I’d like to talk about the DII some, now, because like

in general

there’s a lot to be said about how the DII is also.......... not....... great? its end goal is......... fine. good, even. like, they are genuinely truly trying to solve problems caused by the apocalypse and find a way to mend things and help the world deal with its effects. I would say their goal is pretty decent. but like. they tend to pour resources into two things

the first being The Bigger Picture

in terms of, like, y’know......... the future! the grand scheme! Here’s What We’re Doing To Ensure Tomorrow Is Better! which is absolutely not a bad thing on its own but there’s so much focus on this big abstract concept of The Future and not, y’know, the very real horrors and struggles that people are going through right now. which is also something the DII exists to deal with. there’s an issue with the DII as a whole largely not caring about the people who are currently living their lives facing the brunt of the apocalypse head on, and there’s definitely......... like, this absolutely includes the field teams and branches of the DII that have to actually go out and deal with Ports and Port-related emergencies directly, these folks r largely viewed by the organisation as vaguely expendable, they’re a necessary sacrifice, some loss is unavoidable, blah blah blah, and most importantly there are always going to be broke desperate people around to fill the gaps

and there’s a HUGE difference in the amount of resources and attention and support given to field teams in, say, places that have less Ports, places that still have an image of being relatively stable and safe, where the DII wants to Keep It Safe And Stable At All Costs, vs. places that are collapsing at the seams and that the DII views as essentially a lost cause and not worth the cost or stress, but they still have to fill a certain quota so they just sorta toss people in there like Hey Good Luck

n on that note, the second thing is, like.......... just Maintaining An Image

which is a HUGE running theme throughout the entire story on an interpersonal level too and that's a whole other post, this idea of an image being projected vs the reality of the situation, and the damage caused by just..... not seeing, or not being seen, or refusing to see, or being deprived of the right to be seen

but in terms of the DII it's about maintaining some illusion of safety and control, trying to keep everyone calm and avoid panic, which again.... not necessarily bad? but they're more interested in projecting the image that they Have Things Under Control, so they pour resources into things that will lend themselves to that competent and stable image, rather than perhaps things that need it more

because, and this is key, the DII has NO FUCKING IDEA what they’re doing

they don’t know fucking SHIT. they are only slightly less in the dark than the rest of the population and they are terrified and they have no idea how to solve this mess, and they’re trying to, like............. figure out the source of the apocalypse, figure the best way to combat it, find out what the fuck Ports are....... and like, yeah that’s a lot of pressure! and they’re I guess kind of scrambling to deal with this while keeping everyone from freaking the fuck out and yeah I guess it is a lot

and in their eyes I guess they don’t have the Time or Resources to care about anything other than the bigger picture which is....................... hm. bad

BUT WAIT HOLD ON OK I GOT OFF TRACK

Marrick working in conjunction with the DII, that’s what this post was originally about, uhhhhhh

there’s some interesting and perhaps valuable ideas to explore in terms of like

do they intentionally turn a blind eye? do they know that Marrick is most likely hiding something from them or doing something a little less than morally upstanding, but are deliberately choosing not to look into it? or like. do they NOT know at all, and when they find out are they like “hey that’s bad and not what we roped you in here to do and we want no part of this”

‘cause with the latter, there’s a LOT to be explored then in terms of like

the DII’s willingness to sorta..... passively allow people to come into/wander into harm’s way for the quote unquote “greater good”, being viewed as “collateral” or “unavoidable tragic loss”.......... vs how quick they are to voice their aversion to and disgust with someone Actively Causing Harm to others for the quote unquote “greater good”

but then with the FORMER there’s also like.......... with the idea that they’re choosing not to look into something they highly suspect is shifty as fuck, there’s this infinitely more grim idea of like. maybe they’re down for this kind of thing in theory provided it’s done quietly because it’s a Necessary Sacrifice and a Small Price To Pay, but condemn this current situation purely because it turns big and loud and public and they know it will look bad if they don’t

which is something I’ll definitely need to brush upon as a theory regardless but might not exactly confirm one way or the other

anyway actually dudes I originally went to type this post intending to make a stupid joke because I was considering marrick working with the DII's resources and thought the mental image was fun if he was like........ 

giving his dumb melodramatic cartoon supervillain monologue and being like "oh you think the DII will help you?? they've been in on this all along" like some kind of gotcha, and then the DII being like "dude no??? this is what you've been doing???? this is not what you told us you were doing?? you're definitely going to prison???? what the fuck???" and marrick being just like "oh :("

which I think is fucking funny as a concept but only works as funny in a situation where the DII aren't just entirely as terrible. passively or actively or otherwise

so no that joke no longer stands lmao. ‘cause like. either way it goes with the DII the implications are bad, y'know, like, even if the DII is like "oh fuck that's bad we don't want any part of this" they still.... allowed it to happen? and there's again the question of moral obligation, of What And Who Are Expendable and whether actively causing harm is worse than passively allowing it to happen in your name

and typing this post up is like

hm

this is all. a lot

I feel like I'm not equipped to handle writing this kind of thing even though I think it's definitely the direction it needs to go, like

there's a lot of other intense things going on and I'm fine with the interpersonally intense and much kinda.... smaller level themes but this is kind of Saying Something with a bit of direction and force and idk if I'm a smart enough writer or if I have enough finesse to tackle it????? i feel like there's a lot of nuance involved and I'm gonna have to do a lot of work which is fair

there's just a lot happening and I'm a whole dumbass and it all needs A Lot Of Further Consideration

[spiderlingh]

Élite Season 5 Review

‘cause why not? obviously contains spoilers.

so i wasn’t planning on watching this season after the mess that was season 4

EVERYONE currently in this show is so fucking annoying.

even samu. and that man had some great character development in the past

except for rebe. my beloved

cayetana baby i thought we were over spending our time with shitty men babe???

anyway. onto the new ones. and old new ones.

old new ones;

patrick - still don’t like him

mencia - yoooo i thought this chick was annoying last season (n everyone thought she was a baddie? like no baby) but to me she was even more unlikeable now!

ari - miss girl i liked you during the first 3 episodes why tf are you cheating on samu ???

benjamin - this is the worst fucking character in the show. this man is the equivalent of arturo from la casa de papel for me. jesus christ someone summon polo from the dead or lu from new york so either of them can rip that man’s head off

philippe - ugh i hate him but glad he at least had the decency to stand up for isadora after the events in ibiza

new new ones;

isadora - annoying as shit for the first five episodes! tho i gotta admit i like how they portrayed her struggle with addiction. hated what happened to her later on :((

portugese man whose name i could not bother remembering - thoroughly dislike him! screwing a taken girl? u ain’t cute! (and his actor, a white man, has repeatedly said the n-word on camera! so that’s a no from me)

black guy whose name i also don’t remember - don’t like him. bro what even was the point this man appeared for 2 scenes lmaooo

onto basic things;

i want the old inspector back?? but i bet that lady was just done w all this las encinas bullshit lmao

i have disliked omar since like season 2 or something and this man just keeps digging his own damn grave…

this season was so boring ugh

why do they keep making things bigger and grander? parties, origins of the characters? not a vibe

at first it was just about the kids of lawyers, diplomats, marchionesses, et cetera

now everyone is a prince? or super famous? or owner of ‘several businesses and half of ibiza’ at fucking seventeen or whatever age these kids are?

obviously this isn’t the number one show to pick based on realism but it’s so over the top that it just icks me

the amount of inappropriate age gap relationships the past two seasons has only gone up and i certainly do not approve. yikes

sex scenes lack everything a good sex scene should have! it’s just awkward to watch at this point

THE ENDING???

i know that samuel is one of the least liked characters of the show but i actually really like him (ever since s2 came out)… so seeing him end up dead (it’s not confirmed but i highly doubt he’s alive) hit harder than i expected. after all the shit he’s been through, he ended up being another victim. i know they had to write him off somehow because itzan is not returning for season 6 but man… i’d truly hoped for his happy ending. fuck.

i’m sorry but none of the characters that were introduced to us after season 2 seem to have any kind of depth. that is, unless you count daddy issues! (i have those too babe. you’re not special.)

season 1 to 3 were so much better. a popular opinion, as i’m aware, but fucking hell does it need to be said. it feels like an entirely different show now.

i miss truly interesting characters. polo, carla, lu, guzman, nadia. hell, even marina and nano. christian. i miss them.

the storyline was better, the murder mystery was better, it was all connected and so captivating and well written.

the costumes were better and more fitting (they become more and more ridiculous with each season). soundtrack used to be much better. I MISS IT DUDE.

even the acting/casting has gone downhill. none of the new actors speak to me in any way whatsoever, definitely not like the old cast did.

netflix should’ve ended it with season 3. everything came to a close with everything surrounding marina’s death being revealed, carla confessing and polo dying, just after guzman forgave him. it could’ve been a perfect ending.

anyways, i’m gonna rewatch season 1 and 2 because they’re still as fun for me to watch as the first time i watched them.

not sure whether i’ll be watching the upcoming season. but you’ll hear from me then ;)

[hidingoutbackstage]

do you have any recommendations for good re fics that write piers being disabled well?

I do! (looking back at this now I realized almost all of them are mullvans lmao probably because I refuse to read ✨certain✨ Piers relationships based solely on principle)

thunderstorm by bsaaboyscout is really good because it's pretty much just an introspective of Piers during a thunderstorm dealing with traumatic flashbacks. Specifically regarding his disability, aside from the PTSD the fic also notes Piers' scarring. It's short but beautifully written and I really like it (also follow op's art blog on here @moldwinterz)

Chimera by Pugge is a Post-6 mullvans fic where Jake and Piers end up separately on the same mission, that's all I'll say rn cuz story-wise it's been a trip and I think you should go into it unspoiled. Currently my favorite mullvans fic although it is still in progress but I frankly cannot wait to see where it goes from here. For Piers' disability, he is infected with the C-virus, so he still has the electric abilities we saw at the end of 6, his eye is mutated and his right arm is a prosthetic, he has some kind of PTSD related to water, and he takes some kind of medication to maintain the C-virus. Op is also a clinical lab scientist which imo adds a touch of realism to the fic that I really enjoy

Shower by InkNPixieDust is another one that fits a lot into such a short fic. A good bit of it discusses the extent of Piers' injuries following 6, he has PTSD regarding water (something that I rlly don't see much in Piers Survives 6 fics) and he has a lot of physical pain that requires him needing assistance for doing certain tasks. The premise of this is basically just Jake helps Piers shower (smut warning btw it's not a lot but it's there) but most of it is a discussion of Piers' physical and mental state which I really like

Do you need a hand? by Majonka is a Post-6 fic where we get to see Piers receiving his prosthetic arm and trying it out, with Jake ofc cuz surprise it's another mullvans one. The formatting is a little strange (get to the dialogue and you'll see what I mean) but personally it doesn't bother me. Piers is missing his right arm in this, obviously, but he also has scarring on his body, a non-functional right eye, and clear PTSD. It also talks a bit about Piers' family which I like and barely see fics acknowledge (funny considering Piers is one of the few RE characters who isn't an orphan and has at least one sibling)

Everybody Loves Somebody by Mikhailov is a Piers fic that mostly has a mullvans focus and takes place before and after the ending of 6 (the middle part is a little fuzzy with the timeline but I don't care I like it) it's basically just Piers getting over his hero crush on Chris and accidentally catching feelings for Jake. Post-6 it acknowledges that he doesn't have his arm and briefly what kind of psychological and physical effects that would have on a person. It's also just a rlly nice mullvans fic

Feel free to rb or save for reference if you feel like reading any of these