#really just goes to show how much the art style had changed within such a short amount of time

[kokorolinkrun]

How it started VS. How it's going

[nanichi0]

I can’t stop thinking about how badly I wanna have Choso’s babies so here’s some fluffy headcanons about dad!Choso

Character: Choso Kamo (JJK)

Warnings: none

•He tears up with a lot of you and your children’s firsts. The first time he sees you holding your babies, the first time he feels their tiny hands grip onto his finger, the first time they look up at him with curious eyes, the first time they give him a little smile, the first time they call him “dad” or some variation of that. It really makes him realize that “Oh my god, I’m actually a dad now, this is real, and they accept me, and they love me and I love them” and his heart is just so full.

•Choso helps out with the kids as much as he can. He’ll help change their diapers, prepare their food, bathe them, etc. Whatever you and your children need, he’s there to make things easier and take care of you. Even as the kids grow up, he always tries to be present and set the best example for them.

•Choso brushes and dries your kids’ hair after they've had their baths every night, detangling it if needed, making sure it’s properly taken care of before you both put them to bed. The kids absolutely love this - he’s so gentle and calm with them through the process that they start to fall asleep before he’s even done brushing it.

•Choso also likes to brush your children’s hair in the morning before they go to school, giving them cute hairstyles and sometimes asking you to do his own hair to match theirs

•Choso gets so excited about picking out cute outfits for your kids. When they were still babies, sometimes you’d go to the mall and see Choso’s eyes light up when you walked by a set of adorably tiny shoes, or by a cute little pair of baby-sized overalls. As the kids get older and start to develop their own fashion sense, Choso still loves to go clothes shopping with them, encouraging them when they try out new styles.

•Your kids love when Choso carries them on his shoulders. He makes sure he’s holding them securely in place, and they grab onto his hair like little handlebars.

•Choso carries pictures of you and your children everywhere he goes (in his wallet, in his phone case, in his pockets, basically anywhere that’s within his reach). That way you’re always with him even if he's busy, if you’re at work, or if your kids are at school.

•This man is 100% the type to always show up to your kids’ school and extracurricular events. Be it sports games, concerts, school plays, spelling bees, the science fair –honestly anything at all– if it involves your child, Choso will be there to support and encourage them.

•Choso is so protective of you and your kids. It can be a little bit much at times and you have to remind him to tone it down. He just gets anxious at the thought of him not being there if anything bad were to happen. At the same time, though, he believes in you and your kids’ strengths and he knows you can stand up for yourselves if the need arises.

•If your children make something or gift him something, Choso will treat those things as his most prized possessions. Your kid draws him a picture? Choso frames it and hangs it up on the wall. Your kid sculpts something in art class? Choso displays it on a shelf in your house. Your kid makes him a shirt that says “World’s Best Dad”? Choso wears it any chance he gets, that’s his favorite shirt now.

•All in all, Choso is a great dad. He’s so proud of you and your kids, and so happy to have his family, and he loves you all so so much ❤️

Side note - imagine your kids inheriting the Kamo blood manipulation technique, so they each end up with a variation of the blood mark Choso has on his nose pls that’s so cute I could melt

[sleepsentry]

Hi hello I just popped by to tell you just how much I absolutely LOVE your art. The dynamic poses, the color, your shapes, you’re very much an inspiration to me for my own art. I was curious if you’d be willing to share your own inspirations/process in drawing? No need to if you don’t feel like it though. Again, thank you for sharing your art with the world.

Gosh, I'm not sure where I'd even start for that...

I don't think I can get into process atm because it changes so much in such tiny ways all the time. I have a basic skeleton of a process, but the rest is all over the place.

As for insperations:

I follow many many artists online and have picked up many small things just from looking at their work and trying to "reverse engineer" their process in my head.

I've noticed I tend to subconsciously "study" artists just by thinking "how do I draw this? Oh this artist drew it that way! Lemme try..." and I do that many many times while drawing.

Example: I look at the way an artist draws hands, then I look at my own hand and try and mimick the position in the artwork.

I study both and try to connect the dots between them. I feel the way my hand moves and the way the bones and muscles flex and relax.

I try and draw broad shapes, then the underlying mechanics of the hand, then I finish things by drawing what we actually end up seeing on the surface.

I dont draw the bones and muscles of a hand and then the skin just to be clear! I just try and keep them in mind as a draw the outlines.

Like a sculpture having a "skeleton" made of two bits or wire. I don't draw the skeleton, I draw the rough blueprint of where everything goes in quick simple lines. Then I build the "clay" on top.

I don't go that in depth every time but it helps to stop and "be more considered" if you have the time and energy.

Now that I think about it, watch sculpting videos!

It's a very similar process to drawing but 3d instead of 2D! I recommend clay sculpture but I'm sure 3d modeling has similar principles too, even if a very different approach overall.

Here are some channels I recommend:

For cute character dioramas with ridiculous fidelity while being very stylised

For impressive fake food that really shows just how much of an illusion art is

For amazing Dino statues with an eye for detail and convincing naturalism

For 2d artists I follow current professional and/or hobby artists, or even old masters who's work is archived in artbooks and social media accounts. All ranging a wide variety or styles, cute, horror, cartoon, realist, ect... and most importantly, the styles wich aren't as easily definable.

The variety of influences is great! As long as you figure out how to pick and dissect the elements that drew you to the work and how to apply your findings to your own work.

My biggest inspirations as a kid where animation (Disney, pixar, ghibli, ect...), manga, Belgian/French comics my dad had as a kid.

I didn't have the patience or means to learn to animate, but these comics had so much life and motion in their panels! I always found American comics really stiff and more difficult to read because of the detail and "realism". I know American comic art can be very expressive and fluid, but for my undiagnosed eye/brain issues...

This:

Was leagues more "readable" than:

They where literally easier to read.

That comic cover takes me a good few seconds to dissect and process, whereas the two examples above it are instant.

I'm terrible at studying from life due to my poor eyesight and spacial awareness issues, also I have ADHD so, not only is the information my eyes are giving to my brain suboptimal, but my brain is also terrible at processing and reconstructing that information.

Also tracing is a valid way of studying btw, that's how I learnt as a tot and it can be great to try and reverse engineer a finished peice and break it down to it's construction.

Obviously it's not the same as building something from scratch but we're talking within the realms of practice.

I also started trying to "re-learn" some art fundamentals in ways that work better for me, and it's been massively helpful.

I'm already working with fuzzy simplified abstractions of the world around me, so it's horrible trying to see accurately and THEN re-simplify it onto paper.

So something that has helped a lot and I mean A LOT with teaching my brain art basics in a digestible, step by step way, has been:

ART ACADEMY for the DS!

It's great for walking you through art fundamentals in a way that is digestible and no where near as overwhelming as just jumping straight in to a massive, complex, digital art programme.

It gets all the fuss of materials and subject and reference out of the way and let's you just focuse purely on the process of making art itself.

THIS:

WAS MADE WITH THIS:

This is the first drawing lesson:

This is the lesson after that:

This is all with the original DS version!

On a tiny screen with very primitive approximations of pressure sensitivity and no opacity or pen size options.

It mimics traditional art making in the sense that you make what you can with what you have and that limitation allows you to focuse on practice rather than get overwhelmed and over correct everything digitally.

These where tiny, crunchy, microcosmic, simplifications of digital art making back in 2009!!!

It's so refreshingly accessible and manageable.

I haven't even started the newer 3ds game that came out.

So if anyone reading is struggling with their art I highly recommend this little art exercise giver! It's helped me a lot.

OK hope that's readable and helpful. ^^

[toasted-valentine]

Even more Adamandi Things That Got Me Feral

Fair warning, a lot of this is me speculating and nerding out about stage craft, I’ve work set crew for three shows and used to perform when I was younger, so stuff like this scratches my brain in all the right spots. I had to quit cause the new director in my school had the habit of throwing objects at student’s heads when angry. I love theater, wish I could’ve done it more, but I was not willing to risk my own safety for that man. More than one person got hurt, and I took that as a sign to exist stage left.

I’m gonna refer to the actors outside their characters with gender neutral pronouns because I don’t know any of their pronouns, except Vincent’s actor since I follow his Instagram for his art. Dudes got a really cool digital painting style.

•Beatrix mimics The Admin’s hand motions at the end of Read All About It, visually showing how they’re just mimicking what Admin wants, even being a bit freaked out from it. They stumble after The Admin leaves, and look around a tad dazed. These aren’t Beatrix’s own desires, she’s just as much of a puppet as anyone else at Ardess.

•Vincent’s costume patterns clash against each other, stripes, pentagons, and plaid making him stand out. Vincent’s clothing doesn’t even fit in, fighting against itself.

•Vincent’s attempts to join the crowd in Word To The Wise are off sink and off beat, they’re literally being pushed out by the rest.

•Beatrix’s hand movements within Me, Myself, and I cue the others to start singing at the end, a visualization of her pulling the strings. They’re the last one to start singing the “Me, Myself, and I” line when all three groups join in together.

•Vincent completely misses that he could’ve just become a painter, that they’re good at that, and it goes right over their head in Student Body. Like, yes bitch, “as natural as painting” you’re already good at something, don’t gotta go the extra homicidal mile.

•Vincent changes costumes several times within the show and it visually shows his progress into becoming Ambrose. They start not wearing a jacket when freshly in New England, then the long jacket makes him stand out against the rest of the cast so he doesn’t fit in, the yellow cardigan is what Ambrose was wearing at the beginning during Word To The Wise showing Vincent wants to be the Ambrose he remembers from freshman year, later becoming Senior Bassford with the letterman and lashing out to try and bash Beatrix’s head in like Ambrose tried to do to him, and finally settling on no jacket when he’s in his most complete and satisfied form in death.

•Quincy asks if Vincent would kill them, questioning what happens when it’s just the two left, and Vincent holds true that they’d never hurt Quincy. Admin does end up deciding that Vincent wins between the finalist, and Quincy kills Vincent. Vincent keeps to his promise, but Quincy never considers their own potential danger to Vincent in that moment.

•The fact Quincy is too tall to kiss Vincent when standing up, so the actors have to hug when standing, and can only kiss when sitting. It’s so fucking funny to me, cause it would’ve been too awkward a visual to have Quincy’s actor bend down to kiss Vincent’s actor, and due to the height difference they couldn’t do the same staging trick done with Beatrix and Portia’s kiss. The theater kid in me finds this hilarious.

•The red string Beatrix used to remember the lie to Vincent is longer than the rest, allowing the audience to have a constant visual reminder of what Beatrix did. The rest are blue and short, so it’s visually distinct, the bright shade helps it be seen from the seats.

•The actor for Beatrix does a fuck ton of really good visual storytelling, round of applause to them, I like the little bit when they start wrapping the string around their fingers when Portia starts asking about Ambrose’s death and it potentially being motivated by someone wanting to off the other nominees. They do it multiple times, and it’s a great way of showing where the character’s mind is at without saying anything out loud. Plus the little horrified reactions they have during Read All About it, little hesitations throughout the entire show are a nice touch of making it clear the character isn’t very sure about their actions.

•Vincent flipping the typewriter around to face the audience during Oh, Miss Reporter!, showing that he’s imagining the interview and desires one, but can’t really have one due to the nature of his crimes.

•The “fill the fake cigarette with flour” trick to make it look like Beatrix is smoking, really old trick, but such a fun one. When the actor blows into it the flour puffs out, making it look like smoke. I’ve done it a few times in the past for a show my sophomore year, could only do it once tho since we didn’t have time to refill it, so it was up to the actor to decide when it was appropriate to take the puff.

•Roswell hands Beatrix the key to the prize section in Word To The Wise, shoving them out of sight out of mind, and they keep the key on until the end. Roswell and co also give them the jacket and hat. All of it is removed at the end, having them in their best when out of Ardess society.

•You can see how fast each character assimilated based on how long it takes for them to get in step with the ensemble during Word To The Wise, Ambrose first, then Beatrix, then Quincy, and Vincent never manages to join the rest.

•The red strings are taped to the desk, it gives the actor for Beatrix ease to grab it, and there’s multiple incase one falls and they need to grab a new one fast. Plus, good visual storytelling for certain moments, the reminder of what they did is constantly following.

•Quincy gets annoyed when their race is brought up during their interview with Beatrix, and Beatrix doesn’t push any further when told to stop. It’s a nice bit of just clown to clown communication, Beatrix just getting why Quincy wouldn’t want to discuss it any further.

•During Vincent’s interview with Beatrix you can see them getting distracted by everything around them, and in one of the takes he starts carving something into the table. Nice little detail of Vincent having wanted to be a visual artist, but he couldn’t due to his family. They actually starts carving when they brings that fact up.

•The bag that Vincent carries has the different props they need for act one, the scalpel, magnifying glass, and notebook. He takes the magnifying glass during his interview and returns it later in order to bribe Beatrix, whips the scalpel out later on during the Ambrose fight, and is writing in the notebook during the first act. The props are too big to carry in pockets, so the bag is a good way of getting around it. It makes sense character wise, and helps avoid the actor having to rush to find a prop on stage or it having to be positioned within reach of someone.

•During Where Can I Run, Beatrix is following Vincent with a notepad and pencil, nice little show that she’s still interviewing them. Show don’t tell, it tells the audience that he’s still in the interview, but they don’t have to stop to establish what’s happening so they can stay on track for the song.

•When Vincent and Beatrix are smoking on the roof, Vincent’s actor knocks two of the candles over, and you can see him trying to put the candles back in place while faking smoking to make it less noticeable.

•If I were to take a guess, some of the close up shots were done during dress rehearsals so the person recording wouldn’t have to work around an audience and could get better shots, so you can see the costumes change slightly in the recording. It’s a few small things like Beatrix’s actor losing the lapel that they have on during The One Who Pulls The Strings and the tags not having been cut off their gloves at that point. For most of the show they don’t have the tags or lapel, it’s just most noticeable during The One Who Pulls The Strings. If I were to take a shot in the dark, the costume designer bought the gloves that day for the dress rehearsal, but didn’t have time to tie the strings on or cut the tags off.

•Ambrose calls Vincent by his name right before Sound Body Sound Mind, but later on stumbles over calling him Vincent, he stutters halfway through then corrects to calling them Lin. Ambrose remembers Vincent telling him not to call them Vincent, and Ambrose listens when talking to his girlfriend.

•Ambrose’s jacket has multiple A’s on it, he’s obsessed with Ardess’ culture, and has it plastered all over. The other Marmorius member in a letterman also has multiple A’s.

•Vincent being a little shit by silently reading his notebook the first time he’s asked to read it by the Marmorius. That’s just funny.

•Most of Ambrose’s songs are sung in lower notes, but higher ones for I Love You I Swear, even in his songs Ambrose is obsessed with not having anything even slightly femme. It’s only when alone and vulnerable that Ambrose sings how he’s actually feelings. His actor deserves a pat on the back for absolutely carrying, they have really good range and pull off an asshole jock character super well. Ambrose’s character would not work as well as it does if the actor wasn’t as charming with it as they are. 10/10 casting, did it perfectly.

•"I guess I’m married to my work? God that’s depressing.” Is the funniest joke in the show, the delivery of the line made me laugh my ass off first time I saw it, and it makes me smile whenever I watch Adamandi.

•Each of the characters have distinct ways of sitting, which is such a nice way to add personality. You can see these in the different interview scenes, and Beatrix’s conversation with Vincent in the first act.

-Ambrose is lax, seems generally uninterested, he keeps leaning back to avoid making eye contact, and whenever he does look at Beatrix it’s while doing a jackass hand lean.

-Beatrix sits in the gayest way humanly possible during her discussion with Vincent, taking her jacket off and being more casual than she was during the interviews. You can also see them stress smoking throughout the show, during Word To The Wise, when discussing the previous winners with Vincent, when talking about work and Portia with Vincent on the roof, and when trying to convince Portia to not report Vincent for the murders.

-Vincent puts their feet up on the table and Beatrix has to shoo them off, along with that, Vincent continually gets distracted by different objects. He’s not super interested in the interview, just wanting to get it over with fast.

-Quincy tries to keep focused on Beatrix, but keeps flickering their gaze elsewhere nervously, and fidgets with their hands in their lap.

-Portia is the only one whose completely focused on Beatrix instead of having her mind wander someone else. Occasionally she gets shy and will avert her gaze because she catches herself staring at Beatrix, gay panic ensues lol

•The candles are electric, most likely someone backstage has a remote to them, and they flicker in different ways to emphasize different things. It’s such a fun little detail, and whoever was doing it probably had a lot of fun fiddling with the flames. Such a funky little thing. You can see it a lot in Litany of the Martyrs.

•There’s a fucking A on Ambrose’s sweater under his jacket, he’s such a self obsessed jackass, love that lol

•During Me, Myself, and I, when Beatrix is doing their weird little pose while distracted, the way their hands are positioned makes the red string on the side of Vincent and the Marmorius.

•At the beginning of Read All About It, the way Beatrix’s actor lifts the newspaper allows them to wave the newspaper, but also keeps the red string in direct sight of the audience.

•Beatrix takes up Vincent’s green color in the end, their new jacket being a foresty green, I like to think it’s cause they don’t wanna forget him.

•Portia doesn’t get her Ardess jacket until she’s joined the prize section and Beatrix starts teaching her via the mock interview, she has a click to be apart of so fits in. The pink color keeps her visually distinct, most of the other cast wear more earthy or cool tones, a lot of blues, browns, yellows, greens, and grays. Portia’s make her stand out as a more good natured character in comparison. Even the A on her jacket is in a different style, she’s taking advantage of Ardess, but isn’t apart of the culture.

•After the Marmorius die they all gain red trinkets of some kind on their outfit to indicate they’re dead. Ambrose’s is around his neck since Vincent slit his throat. They’re all made out of a shiny material that the lights catch on and make stand out.

•The desk that is brought out in the second act for when Beatrix and Portia are talking has red strings falling out of one of the drawers, Beatrix is running out of space to tie it to on their hands, so it’s just spilling out onto other things.

•Vincent’s bag has a bunch of little sketches on it, some eyes and a few rats are what I could make out, really nice visual that Vincent is an artist. Makes you think “What if he’d just been an artist?” since that probably would’ve fixed a lot of their issues of feeling unfulfilled and like an outcast.

•Portia’s bag has an eye design on it, even tho she’s not fully apart of Ardess culture, she’s still feeling the pressure of being watched.

•When Beatrix and Portia’s actors are exiting the stage after the Vincent pyre scene, you can see Beatrix’s actor begin to fucking book it back stage when the lights go down and they don’t think the audience can see. They need to switch costume really fast and get into position on the scaffolding, so gotta go fast. The hat is actually different, the old one is left with their jacket on the chair in the prize section set, the new one has a different colored ribbon. Old hat’s ribbon was green with a bow, new one is black with no bow.

•I just fucking noticed that the eyepatch Vincent wears in The Other Side Of Failure has the shape of a heart on it. That’s so fucked up.

[smzeszikorova]

Find the Word

Word of warning: this is long.

I was tagged by @dogmomwrites to find the words flame, stelliferous, chain, steed, and demand, and . . . I tried. This is probably in part because I only have one WIP at the moment, but literally the only word I could find was demand, and it wasn't even in my actual draft. I found it in my side document "Theodore Diaries" which details some of the things that end up happening in book three from Theo's perspective.

Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy. I'll give you a bit of a longer excerpt on top of all my fun facts, that way it's not too dull.

Tagging @thetruearchmagos, @daisywords, @pinespittinink, @starlightscribe, and @antihell if any of you are interested / haven't already been tagged. Your words are unsettle, clumsy, fury, soup, and scatter. If you can't find one, include a fun fact about your WIP, writing process, or characters instead. (Courtesy of @marinesocks).

Ok, here it is:

Demand, taken from June 17 Entry of Theodore Diaries:

The combat segment was always divided into two categories: individual and team. But evidently, the overseers had decided to ignore the team combat segment entirely and to evaluate only the other three dependents in individual combat. I could tell that Lennox found this annoying, but by now I was so tired of his complaining that I pretended not to notice. Playground-style is just a tool for evaluating our combat abilities, and really, to me it comes off as more of an extension to the physical aptitude segment than anything else. Playground-style is about technique above all; it’s about swordsmanship. It’s about your ability to watch what your opponent does, quickly form a defensive or counteroffensive strategy, and then act. It’s about stability and balance. Your thought and action must work as one: a machine within a machine. Unity within unity.

In other words, it’s not all that different from grappling, except that it’s an art that demands the use of instruments designed for killing, and you have to be able to see to be any good at it.

So instead of doing that, I sat on my box and listened to the overseers’ commentary, thinking that if I committed to memory whatever information they had to offer about my teammates’ strengths and weaknesses and strategic tendencies, I might be able to apply that information later on when it became relevant to the formulation and execution of our attack plans.

Ok, now for the second part:

P&K didn't become a serious project of mine until I showed it to my coauthor. Before that, it was just a silly little story about a pirate named Sera Selney and her semi-willing partner in crime, Lyn, trying to save Sera's bratty, aristocratic cousin from a mob boss named Levi Niacera. I was in middle school and didn't know how to write interesting plotlines and character arcs. I even gave a secondary antagonist my baby brother's nickname. Since the story's changed so much since then, some of our early plot points and characters are practically unrecognizable to me.

So for the fun facts segment, I'm gonna talk about some of the ways my story's changed over the years.

Fun Fact 1: There was originally a heist scene in one of the first few chapters where Sera, at her cousin's request, goes to steal a pair of crystals from Mr. Secondary Antagonist Nonakinze. These crystals have the power to make their carrier immortal. But since I had no idea how to write suspense, I tried to raise the stakes of the heist by placing a fat fucking war zone right outside Nonakinze's house.

Fun Fact 2: I went through a phase where all my characters used flowery, archaic language. This phase co-occurred with my "I am determined to open this book with a pretentious prologue about my protagonists' parents killing each other on the battlefield" phase and my "I refuse to not let Levi murder all the good guys in the end" phase. Why all these phases, you ask? Because I was a pretentious asshole. I didn't want my book falling into the YA category, and I thought making it excessively dark, depressing, and full of pointlessly elaborate synonyms to the point of near unreadability was the way to do that.

Fun Fact 3: While I was wasting my time writing pretentious prologues, all the real progress in the story's development came through me and @adrielcastlyre acting out scenes.

Fun Fact 4: There were a few characters who ended up slowly morphing into our current characters without us knowing. Some of these were

The "Land-Ho" Guy. Originally characterized as a bumbling fool who would only remember to say his catchphrase after somebody else had already spotted land. He eventually became the ship's medic, Noah Barrow. Interesting by virtue of his overprotective but well-meaning relationship with his daughter. We cut him out of the story after our focus drifted away from Sera's ship and toward the war between Pemoki and Kenacia, but eventually his character resurfaced in the form of General Adrona.

Canary. Originally the "Land-Ho" guy's pet bird, with whom he could converse telepathically. She eventually became his daughter, Sophia Barrow. Again, she was cut from the story, but came back later on as Rolyn Czeres.

Tonaro Vercaneri and his older brother. Tonaro was a captive on Sera's ship. He was also a musician, which gave him some common ground with Lyn. We never went too deep into his backstory, but the couple-few times we did review it, it was usually to explore his complicated relationship with his older brother, who we never named. The conflicting resentment and admiration Tonaro felt toward his brother ended up making a reappearance in Adriel's relationship with his older brother, Hugh Oliver Castlyre.

Princess Rolova. Rolova was @adrielcastlyre's first character. She was a bit of a hothead, and extremely impulsive. She actually still exists in the story, but that was a recent readdition. Now she's Queen Rolova of Aleon, and most of her personality's been completely revamped.

Kira. Kira never had a last name. She was simply an impoverished Kenacian citizen with a grudge against Levi (who by then was no longer a mob boss).

Kira's personality and Rolova's were combined to create Lylon, an exiled woman struggling to support her family of 12 younger sisters in northern Pemoki. Lylon eventually became Catherine, and now she has 3 sisters instead of 12.

Ernest Wolbert. Originally the terrible, incompetent ship's cook. He eventually became one of Catherine's family friends, and is now an excellent pastry chef.

Alrik Ljoren. His only purpose was to be shot to death in one of my pretentious prologues. Now he's Adriel Castlyre, one of our main characters.

I'm sorry this is so fucking long. Hope you enjoyed. If you've gotten this far, I applaud you.

[archived-and-moving]

These 4

Any advice for writers working through burnout or writer's block?

Probably should not ask me of all people about this honestly, because I'm someone who has a really hard time working when their creatively drained.

However for me I think I'd have to say that when working through writers block, there are usually three things that help me the most.

Consume media that you enjoy.

This can honestly be anything. While what first comes to mind for me is books or fic from some of my favorite authors, you can also just do anything that makes you happy.

Listen to your favorite song/playlist, watch a show/movie that you love, maybe even create art if that makes you happy. Sometimes all it takes to get past a brain fart is finding inspiration through enjoyment around you.

I specifically recommend books or fic because a lot of times you can get inspired by an author's writing style, events, character motivations, dialogue, and even just general vibe of a story. Enough so that you can get yourself right back into writing. This isn't a go ahead to plagiarize or anything, but it's also not an English paper.

Write what you enjoy and write from your enjoyment.

2. Self care

I can literally hear you groaning but omg this helps so much. If you're stuck where you're writing, get up and get a glass of water, grab a snack if your hungry. If you've done both then brush your teeth if you haven't yet, wash your face, hell, hop in the shower real quick.

Something about taking a quick break and taking care of your body and mind honestly helps out your writing so much. I can look back on some of my stories and tell just by my writing when I was doing the appropriate self care or not. A little goes a long way!!

3. Fucking Exercise.

This one makes me angry. So mad. I hate that this works but I have to recommend it anyway because it fucking works. However you can, take a quick break and exercise.

Ride a bike, take a hike, go for a swim, hop on the treadmill. Sometimes I'll even pick a hallway and run back and forth a few times to get my heart (and my brain) going.

I literally have never been more productive after running, taking a shower, then eating food/drinking water. Something about doing those things in order really resets my brain and gets me ready to write.

But also like. Be aware. If you don't have time for this, that's okay!!

Anything honestly helps. Take a two minute break from writing to just lay on the floor. Listen to music real quick to clear your brain. Do a couple push-ups, get dressed, make your bed!!

Just changing your environment, your mindset, really, truly helps to get through a writing block/burnout.

Would you ever want to write something canon if you got the opportunity?

Hmmm. That's really hard for me to say. Maybe?

It honestly depends on my mood and how the series will end.

I'm more of an AU fan for my writing, but you never know what'll happen. Maybe I'll find something I like within canon, maybe I won't. We'll see.

Is there a favorite trope you like to write?

I've looked it up and alternate universe counts as a trope, so that by definition falls right under my favorite.

However if I had to be more specific I'd say flower shop au's have to be some of my favorites.

If someone were to make fanart of your work, what fic or scene would you hope to see?

To be honest, I haven't really thought about it with the current works I have up on Ao3. If anyone drew anything from my writing I think I would actually cry (/pos) and I would hang it on my wall.

[igniakino]

HEADLINE

Pre-Production, Set-up, Shoot and Post Thoughts

PRE-PRODUCTION

I took on the role of HoD production designer when asked by the producer, Esther. I thought the script sounded very interesting and wanted to take on the challenge of transforming a lived-in space to an abandoned room. The reference images I was originally given consisted of shots from Requiem For a Dream, which is a film I really admire the set design for and wanted to emulate so I agreed to work on this project.

Link to my Pinterest board that inspired by ideas:

Here is the colour palette I was working with:

Originally, the script called for a policewoman and a mostly abandoned house. I had many ideas on how we could find a setting like this and how I could dress the frame. However I ended up having to change my ideas a lot when the character was transformed into an estate agent to fit the script better. This meant that I had to rethink a lot of my established ideas as it wouldn't make sense that this estate agent was trying to sell and maintain a house that was falling apart. This made things a little harder for me as not only did I have to take into consideration that whoever's house I would be transforming would be a landlords property (so unfortunately I couldn't destroy any furniture or tear up the wallpaper), I also had to think about how logically in disrepair this room would be if an estate agent was trying to sell it.

This meant I could not do as much as I had hoped in terms of set design. I couldn't destroy things or dirty them up too much or batter the walls or even stick my own wallpaper to them. The director wanted the room to be almost like a show-home so it ended up being more barren than I had wanted, however I still enjoyed the project and I am happy with what I achieved. I had many meetings with both the cinematographer and the director to make sure we were all happy with how the film would look and how the set would influence colour and mood.

We visited two locations. The first we felt was too small for everything we wanted to achieve and we were not allowed to pin anything to the walls or move much the furniture around. The second location was much more spacious and we could change what we wanted (within reason of course). Once we were set on our shooting space I went about planning how the room would look with Saskia, my art department, and started to complete costume.

The day before the shoot everything was moved out of the living room. All unwanted furniture was relocated, all posters were taken down and the curtains were removed. Everything from the kitchen was also moved out of shot so we had a complete blank slate to work with. All the rest of the set up was done early the day of the shoot.

COSTUME AND MAKEUP

Costuming was relatively simple for both characters. I knew I wanted a typical estate agent outfit for our female character so I went with a pencil skirt, tights, a smart cream shirt (white would have been too bright and clashed with the camera) and a blazer. I was very happy with the shoes, though they are not shown much in the movie, as I thought they were the perfect style of professional heels and added a lot to the outfit. For hair and makeup I also wanted simplicity so as not to distract from any of the conversation. I asked the actress to wear light foundation and wear her traditional day-to-day makeup, bringing setting powder with me just incase the makeup was too shiny on the screen. Hair was put into a simple claw clip, neat and tidy at first and then becoming more messy and loose as the film goes on, showing her character letting down her defences to the protagonist.

For Robert it was just a case of layering him up in plain clothes. I wanted him to be bundled up like he had been wearing the same outfit for a while, no style needed just warmth and necessity. Makeup wise I used red, brown and a tiny bit of purple to give him slight eye bags and feed into the exhausted look.

PROPS

I had the most fun on this project creating the newspaper prop. I was given an article by our writer Duncan and created a front page of a made up tabloid to symbolise the films name and the situation Robert is in. I used Canva to create the article, visited a local print store to get it to the right size and stuck it to the front of an actual newspaper to give it depth. Lots of fun was also had when I had to write the neighbouring column, choosing to write a vapid segment about a fake celebrity breakup to contrast the horrible news of manhunt after a suspected "mother killer".

The radio was bought off of ebay and the sleeping bags were borrowed from other crew members. I gathered all the takeaway boxes I could find in my house, along with cans and plastic bottles to decorate the room. I thought this would make sense logically in the story as he would have no place to cook, so takeaway food would be his only option. This made the area feel more lived in and gave the impression he had been at this location for a while. Other props consisted of blankets, pillows and other miscellaneous items that would bring our protagonist comfort while also hinting at his life on the run.

SET

I bought a lot of green fabric to cover one of the walls, as the director did not want all an all white setting. This helped with shaping the room and adding depth as well as colour. I also bought a few sheets that it used to cover the windows on the day of the shoot. This worked both within the world of the story, as it makes sense for Robert to want to cover the windows to avoid being spotted, and to enhance the lighting our cinematographer wanted. It was an effective way to shape the light in the room and give it atmosphere.

SHOOT DAY

We only had one day to film and though it was very long it was a lot of fun and went smoothly (apart from a camera incident!). It was a great crew to be apart of and everyone was very professional, listening to my ideas and asking me or Saskia before they moved any of the props. I spent most of the filming time out of the room as there was not enough space for the whole crew to be in the same space, but every few cuts I went in to check continuity with Robbie, our script supervisor/ editor, and reapply any makeup that seemed to be rubbing off. The only issue on set production design wise was figuring out how to pin the green fabric to the wall in a way that looked believable and not like someone had gone up and stuck some random fabric on the wall. I think we achieved this as it looks natural works well to apply some more colour to the film. I cleaned up as much as I could after the shoot and removed all pinned wall pieces carefully. The next day I returned to the flat we were shooting in to rearrange their furniture and return the room back to normal.

A few behind the scenes pictures!

All in all, Headline was a very smooth and professional shoot! I wish I could have done a little bit more with the production design, as I would have loved to find a truly abandoned place and craft the film around that. I also wish you could see a little more of the props I created, but I know the main point of the film is not the setting, but the story being told. I am proud of my contributions to the film and think I pulled it off creating the look of a runaway man's living situation effectively.

[lucydragicevichgrad6042022]

This book is about a brief history of graphic design between 1890 and 1959. It looks at the evolution of graphic design from the beginning of poster designs to advertisements corporate identity packaging and editorial design so book designs. The idea of this book is to show the history and to educate on past movements within graphic design. The book has a lot of pictures on it as well as descriptions of the time periods and the works. This book is designed for young designers or designers in general we were just curious upon the history of graphic design and how some movement evolved and came about and how the industry developed into what it is today. I would say that this is a book worth reading they’ve taken a lot of works from all around and has been translated many times for other people to be able to read it. The writer Jens Muller has studied communication design and has also founded her own design studio and has established herself with in the industry which I believe makes it slightly more credible. What makes it the most credible though is when you read it you are able to see all the facts and information and where they’ve all come from. Also I got it from the library and I would hope the library wouldn’t supply incredible references and resources for us so I would trust that as well. I think in terms of relevance to my design practice I do think it’s helpful as it supplies that background knowledge of past movements and inspirations to grab upon especially as we see now that their movements that are almost coming back in terms of style but in a more modern way. And because of its vast range of different graphic design works it’s very interesting to recall upon that. In terms of how this is going to contribute to my research I’m kind of hoping that I could find something that relates back into the other things that I’m doing which involves looking at a certain time period which I can really dove into. It has given me this really good place to start though as it’s helping me look for what more particular I’ll be looking at I already had the idea of looking at calligraphy and typography but really kind of defining within that what I would like to be looking at This this book is looking at different graphic design styles and how much they have changed over the years in practice and style. It covers from the Victorian period into the late 19th century. With this it looks more in depth into the stylistic and conceptual ideas and what they’re worth was back in those time periods. I think the text is one with reading as it goes really in depth into graphic design styles especially looking from the ones the past two more modern ones. I think in terms of this one as it focuses more in on style it’s able to go more in depth which is always helpful when doing something like a research project. What I think makes us credible is that got it from the AUT library but then also looking at Stephen Hell at one of the authors just more in depth he is a very well-known art director journalist critique author and editor and he specified in graphic design. I think this book links really nicely up with my First book. As it’s more in-depth looking at the styles in that book but it’s also it covers a little bit ahead and a little bit after as well which I think is interesting. I have a feeling that this book will end up contributing quite a bit to my research as it has the vintage Victorian designs which are quite complex and I just absolutely adore them. As they have really interesting typography work as well as really interesting imagery work by being quite maximalist designs that are still mostly effective. And it has a lot of really good information about the time period the techniques and what the differences were for we were in the world. I think it’s help me to find my style is it gives me more of a place where I want to look at where to start and also a time period that I can look into and help build and support evidence for modern day works on top of where it come before. It’s also really interesting read as a person that sometimes doing the same thing all the same style too often and I get a little bit bored which I really like reading this book because it’s given me ideas about how I can change it and how I can evolve to do different things and not get stuck in that loop. This book is about the history of calligraphy and how it has continue for over 5000 years and how it has evolved. It talks about calligraphy‘s in a particular society as well as cultural and historical backgrounds. It also has information on the tools and materials and how that has evolved. In terms of thinking if I was doing something handwritten which I am definitely thinking about doing at this stage I think this is a really worthwhile read in terms of when it comes to something like calligraphy it’s important to know where it’s come from to be able to continue and to be able to do it. It even states on the back that one of the things that you need to be able to do calligraphy is to have an understanding of it which I think this book would provide. I would say that this book would be One written with vast knowledge as the author has received their doctorate from university not within graphic design but within ethnology and philosophy. Which from there she’s been able to build her knowledge and she’s been able to write other books on similar topics. In terms of being a historical piece timeline I’d say it’s the closest to the others things I’ve read otherwise this is very different to what I’ve read before I’ve not seen many books about calligraphy before which was part of the interest of picking it up and having a look. This book looks at different forms and types of hand styling letters looking at retro classics to striking logo designs. it does have some information on hand styles but I would say it’s more of a guide on how to do things like the styles in the book. I would say this book is worth reading in a way if you’re looking to get into hand style littering like I am then I say it’s a fantastic book to read has a lot of examples and it shows you the best way to approach certain techniques and the ways to do certain styles and examples of how they work in certain situations. In terms of people who have made it I would say that they’re all established in their own right and they’ve come together to make this book which is got all of the styles I know that the main company that worked on it has published other design books which appear to be quite good and they are also a established design/publishing company within the industry. In terms of this contributing to my research I don’t see it contributing as much however in terms of relevance to my field who I am as a designer and what I want to be doing I think this is very helpful as it’s a really good starting place to work out how to do certain designs and really get those basics down so then I can really start doing amazing things. In terms of me as a designer I know that typography has not always been my strong suit however it’s something that I’m so interested in and have always wanted to get better in and I think this book would help me and allow me to do that.

[wisteria-lodge]

Archetypes: Sorting Hat Chats

I’ve been asked about my rationale for naming different primary/ secondary combinations. I did this originally as a tool to help me sort characters - I wanted to see how these types tend to be used, so I could more easily see what subversions looked like. I'll run through my thoughts, but know there’s a lot of variation within each category. But even WITH that variation, I do think that each one has its own specific energy that makes it interesting to talk about. An explanation of the terms I'm using.

DOUBLE LION “THE REVOLUTIONARY”

Pretty straightforward. The Lion primary knows something is wrong, they know it in their bones even if they can’t articulate it, and they’ve got to go out and do something about it. Probably charging at whatever power structure is directly in front of them. It’s unlikely you find a character leading a revolution who isn’t a Double Lion. These guys are intense, inspirational, single minded.

The villain version of the Lion primary tends to be the person who “went too far" or "became the monster they were trying to fight.'' But I think that the much more interesting Lion primary villain trope is the Traitor. Since Lions work from their feelings, and their philosophies can’t necessarily be articulated or linked to individuals outside of them - they can definitely have their head turned while still feeling moral about it.

One of my favorite examples of this Revolutionary archtype is actually Christian Bale‘s character from Newsies. He’s the spark that starts the unionizing revolution, but 100% needs his Badger and Bird lieutenants to keep him focused and keep him from defecting

LION SNAKE “THE ROBIN HOOD”

These guys are similar to the Double Lion - they will recognize a cause or injustice revolutionary style - but Robin Hood doesn’t go up and bang on wicked Prince John’s door. His move is the snake secondary one: confront the problem indirectly. Undermine the regime by stealing tax money and re-distributing it to the poor. Be simultaneously Robin Hood the outlaw and Robin of Locksley the noble, infiltrating and getting information. The Lion Snake is more likely to work within society (or deliberately separate from society) versus just breaking everything down.

LION BIRD “THE LAWMAN / THE VIGILANTE”

The fact that the Lion Bird can either be the Lawman or the Vigilante shows off the very clear hero/villain split you get with Bird secondaries. We also see this with the Snake Bird (simultaneously the Mastermind and the traditional Villain) and the Double Bird (either the Scientist or the Mad Scientist.) This is why I think I had such trouble naming the Badger Bird. I wasn’t leaning into the duality of the Bird secondary enough. The Badger Bird can be the King Arthur, or he can be the Mob Boss, and he’ll look kind of similar either way.

The Lion Bird also has that Lion primary conviction and drive, but they want to follow up on it with investigation, evidence, and plans. I actually think there need to be more stories about Lawmen turning into Vigilantes and vice versa. Because Lion Birds are their Cause no matter what external alignment gets attached to it.

LION BADGER “THE LINCHPIN”

This is my own sorting - although when I came up with this name I still thought I was a Double Bird. The linchpin is the pin-axle thing at the center of a wheel that prevents the whole thing from falling apart, and I think it's a good way of talking about the energy of this combination. The Badger secondary means they’re a lot less single minded than the other Lion primaries: their power comes from being part of a group. They become the emotional “heart” a lot, and have a way of quietly keeping things together just by existing. They can be leaders, but a Double Lion will lead from up front while a Lion Badger will lead from in the middle (if that makes sense.)

I do think it’s really funny that this is a common sleeper villain trope. Peter Pettigrew, Prince Hans, and Randall Boggs of Monsters Inc. all became integral to a group, and then exploit their position within it. They’re kind of the evil bureaucrat. Maybe that's a good trope for children’s media

DOUBLE SNAKE “THE TRICKSTER”

This is another straightforward one. Double Snakes are in it for themselves (and maybe like three other people.) They're going to be clever and tricksy about how they get what they want, and will not mind doing things backward and unofficially. And they won't mind if you know that's what they're doing. There’s something very unapologetic about the Double Snake which makes for very attractive characters. They are consistently voted the sexiest... and when they’re villains they’re fun villains. You know what they want, and what they want is not that complicated. I think that’s a big reason for the appeal of Snake primaries in general. They’re the easiest primary to understand and explain.

SNAKE LION “THE LANCELOT”

I used to call these guys “The Rebel,” which... is too generic, doesn’t really mean anything. So I started thinking about the Lion secondary as the Knight secondary, and I liked that. Double Lions are the Crusader Knight, riding for their Cause. Bird Lions are Grail Knights, riding for their own personal truth. Badger Lions are Champion Knights, here to help the helpless and defend the innocent.

And if that's that case… Snake Lions have to be the Knight Errant, the knight who rides for his lady. It is that simple. Lancelot might be a Knight of the Round Table, but he’s riding for Arthur the person, not Arthur the King. And for his lady, Queen Guinevere. I feel like his dilemma is one that’s common to a lot of Snake Lions: what happens when they’re forced to split their loyalty? It’s tragic, but Lancelot can’t have Arthur and Guinevere simultaneously.

(At least not until my awesome Arthur/Guinevere/Lancelot OT3 which I will totally write at some point :)

SNAKE BIRD “THE MASTERMIND / THE VILLAIN”

The classic. We see a little more of the Bird Secondary split, and well… this is your stereotypical villain. They want power. They’re going to use an elaborate plan to get it. There’s a lot you can do with this sorting, but I actually do think it’s fun that whatever you do, this slight undercurrent of villain and/or mastermind… never quite goes away.

SNAKE BADGER “THE LOVER”

The Love Interest sorting. Chances are very good that if there is a love interest (who does not serve some other role in the story...) they're going to be a Snake Badger. Devoted to one person, solving problems by caretaking. This is the Badger secondary who is likely to have the smallest group, which is just going to make them look excessively devoted to their friends. This type is pretty gender neutral, which is fun. A lot of female love interests, but also your Mr. Darcys and Peeta Mellarks.

One of my favorite things about this trope (mostly just because I think it’s funny...) is that if you write a character who is not supposed to be a love interest, but who is a Snake Badger... subconsciously I think people are going to read them as a love interest anyway. Looking at you Jaskier, Horatio, and even Captain Barbossa.

DOUBLE BIRD “THE [MAD] SCIENTIST”

I think that (especially if you aren’t a Bird Primary yourself) your response to hearing a fictional Bird Primary’s motivation is kind of …huh. That seems random. Or oddly specific. You get your Hannibal Lecters, whose entire motivation is... wanting to eat people while drinking nice wine.

Double birds seem especially unusual, just in terms of society. They are Bird secondaries and they interact with the world through gathering data, but their Bird primaries mean that data can literally lead them to any conclusion, no matter how potentially wacky. These guys consciously build themselves from the ground up, and that can make them kind of detached - either in a logical way, or an unmoored way. They're written as either really stable, the rational mentor figure. Or really... not. And that’s how you spot a Bird villain. They’re not after money/power/safety, they’re after something weird.

BIRD LION “THE GRAIL KNIGHT”

This is the trope of Perceval or Galahad, questing after the Holy Grail chalice... which is really just meaning, and truth. It’s a personal quest. Grail Knights tend to ride alone, and a lot of the things that concern them are metaphysical, to do with identity, purpose, things like that. You can have extremely different Bird Lions, but I do think there is a sort of spiritual core there. Doctor Harleen Quinzel sees freedom and truth in whatever the Joker is doing, and then once she recognizes his hypocrisy, has to go build her own meaning.

I actually think these guys are pretty easy to spot because of that Lion secondary. When they change direction, they change direction, and there’s probably a period of despair between the direction changes. I’ve talked about how Bird Lions having a habit of falling apart pretty dramatically, and that’s where this idea comes from.

BIRD BADGER “THE SURVIVOR”

A rare sorting, but an interesting one. I call this one “the Survivor” or “the Last Man Standing” because, well, they seem to be. They seem remarkably stable. This is the Bird primary least likely to be a villain, and maybe the sorting least likely to be a villain. I think what’s going on is that they are grounded and integrated in whatever community they happen to be in (because of that Badger secondary), but they can define themselves and rebuild themselves in the Bird primary way. This makes them uniquely suited to building a new version of themselves for whatever situation they happen to find themselves in.

Maybe a better name for these guys would be “The Adapter.”

BIRD SNAKE “THE ARTIST”

Like all Bird primaries, these guys are inspired by their own projects and their own worldview, but because of that Snake secondary, Bird Snakes have a more easy-going ‘take the world as it comes' kind of energy. They are “the Artist” because everything they do is art: they want to use themselves and the world around them, put all of that towards whatever their Bird primary happens to be interested in.

You can have villains like the Nolan Joker, or the Talented Mr. Ripley, who kind of turn the world into their own personal philosophical social experiment. Or Scotty from Star Trek whose meaning is solely the well-being of the Enterprise. Maybe they just like traveling, and that's all they need. (It's a way for the Bird primary and the Snake secondary exist very happily together, so I wouldn't be surprised if that was pretty common.)

DOUBLE BADGER “THE PEACEMAKER”

Badgers are interesting, because while I think they’re generally regarded as “correct,” they’re also seen as kind of boring. That’s the case with both Badger primaries and Badger secondaries, which means it is doubly reflected in the Double Badger. They often get written as simplistic, the sweet Jane Bennet type who loves everybody and caretakes everybody and just wants everybody to get along.

They are often the targets of what TV Tropes used to call “Break the Cutie.” What could be more interesting than making this character, who wants to be happily part of a community, be forced to build protective models, be all tortured and angsty? I actually think we’re seeing a return of the Double Badger as an interesting character in their own right, with people like Aziaphale, and I'm here for it.

BADGER LION “THE PROTAGONIST”

What can I say? There are a lot of protagonists that are Badger Lions. They want to help the group - so we know they're the good guys - and then they charge and make stuff happen. Lion secondaries are very useful in fiction - you drop them into a situation and stuff just happens. I also think of this as the Starfleet officer sorting - because if you’re a Starfleet officer, either you are the sorting, or can model it really well.

I will say that this is kind of the stock Protagonist sorting, the way that the Snake Badger is the stock love interest and the Snake Bird is the stock villain. There’s just something sort of generic good guy about this one, which is why I want to see it used as a villain sorting more. Badger villains - mostly people who define ‘human’ very narrowly - are insanely terrifying.

BADGER SNAKE “THE ADVISOR”

Possibly “the Power Behind the Throne.” This is another one I had difficulty pinning down. I called it “the Politician” for a while, which unfortunately came off as a little bit more negative than I meant it to, since I think this sorting has a lot in common with Lion Badger, the linchpin of a heroic team. The difference is that Lion Badger takes on that role kind of unconsciously, while the Badger Snake does it very consciously.

Their loyalty is to the group, but their skill set is all about subversion and different ways of going around the group, which is why there’s an interesting contradiction at the heart of Badger Snake. A lot of real life Badger Snakes struggle with feeling like “bad people" and it's too bad. These guys are ridiculously powerful and competent when they are sure of themselves, and I love seeing them in action

BADGER BIRD “THE KING / THE MOB BOSS”

Another difficult one, despite (or because) I really like them. I was calling them “the Architect” because “The City Planner” sounded too boring… but that’s what they do. They’re all about the community but they problem-solve the way all Bird secondaries do, by prepping, and gathering knowledge. I talked more about this in the Lion Bird entry, but Bird secondary seems to have this villain split going on, and that’s what I see here too. This is a controversial love-them-or-hate-them sorting, and I think that’s why. There’s a lot of room in whether or not you see this sorting as villainous.

[kkusuka]

We all know how looks can be deceiving right? I’d love to request head cannons of Kuroo, Bokuto, Iwaizumi, Konoha, Terushima, and Atsumu with a gf that’s gifted with that super-soaker, wet-wet pussy, a pro at riding that dick, and has the gwak gwak thotty throat slobber 9000 but she is so shy, cute, and innocent at first glance. She looks like the soft-spoken librarian but when they get down and dirty, she puts her body to work and these bois just don’t know how to act from how amazing she is. Let’s say they teased her too much, so she revoked their sex privileges for a few days (not knowing how addicted these guys are on her body). Desperate bois are best bois 😈

:o

i’m shell shocked anon, you’ve blown my mind

Cw: hair pulling, super WAP, kinda fem dom but not really, severe pussy-whipped men  

Kuroo

firstly, he thought you were the innocent type up until you sucked him off for the first time

Honestly, he thought you were a total virgin prude

It wasn't really his fault, you two had met as lab partners for an AP chemistry class

You know, a class full of nerds and people he just assumed would get a job and married when they were thirty

Looking back he should have caught on after seeing you unconsciously jerking of a test tube

But, contrary to popular belief, kuroo is not the social cue master

After a few months of dating, you guys were just a horny time-bomb

Ahh~ the first blow-job, one for the books

He should have known it was going to be good just from the way you were unzipping his jeans, was it normal to almost cum just for your girlfriend palming you?

When you did get his dick out and had it all the way down your throat within the minute, he really did think you were a godsend

He didn't even know what you were doing with his balls, but whatever it was it was working

You didn’t gag or cough, even when he grabbed that back of your head and practically face-fucking you

(the real kicker was when you licked your lips after he came  and gave him that small fucking smirk, mans was done for and he knew it)

Even with all that, nothing, and I mean nothing compares to the first time you guys went at it

when I say that you guy made out for five minutes when he went under your panties and felt the pacific ocean in your panties

He was about to propose right there (and about to cum in his pants for the thousandth time)

He didn't need to but he still rubbed a few circles around your clit, but apparently, you were ready enough

Considering you grabbed his dick and fully sunk onto him in one motion

Poor baby didn't know what hit him

You had to have done this before, and if he hadn't met you in class he would have been sure you slept around and learned everything in the book

You would clench every time your sims met and- AND THAT THINGS WITH HIS BALLS AGAIN

His mind was bungled, especially after you had both come and you fell onto his chest going back to the shy and sweet version he knew you as.

What the hell was that????

Was he fucking you or were you fucking him?? Because at this point he didn't even care

After that experience, you fucked like bunnies, all the time, even in school more than a few times.  

And we all know kuroo can't shut his mouth

And he always teases you about how cute and mouse like you are outside the bedroom and how it's like he’s dating two different girls

....that hit a nerve...

Two different girls??? Well he’ll just have to endure one girl until he realizes what a blessing you are

5 days, 120 hours, 7,200 minutes, and 432,000 seconds, that's how long he lasted

He was going insane, and so he explained that he didn't mean it in a bad way and that he loved how you acted

Forgiving him you rewarded the poor cat boy, 5 rounds for five days

(he didn't want to admit it but he’s pretty sure his dick would have fallen off if you didn't relent when you did)

(he just didn't want to admit that he was pussy-whipped)

Bokuto

You actually had met at a library

One of his teachers wanted him to get a bit of extra tutoring and volunteered you for the job.

You had hit it off great! Personality-wise

(you’ll never tell him but it was frustrating that he clearly didn't understand anything you were telling him)

And you were so sweet and cute, and such a good teacher

He would know that if he wasn't too busy just staring at you and thinking about you and thinking about what you like and what you wear outside of school

(or how good your lips look, or how your thighs look so soft, or that when you get up he can see under your skirt.)

Your guy’s first time was an experience

(bokuto is the cunny easting master, don't call me out)

More cunny juice = more food for owl man

He was excited, somewhere in his mind he knew that it was gonna get better from then on

He wasn't wrong either, although he didn't let your mouth near his dick just yet, he knew that would be good considering the ‘art’ you've created on his neck

The true fuckary started with him on top, but the second he was in you he...froze

Poor baby was shell shocked, you felt better than he had thought, and he just slumped over, you thought he came but he wasn’t ready for it to end so soon

He just sat there for a few minutes, fucked out, before you just decided to flip you both over

That was more his speed at the moment

So he grabbed onto your hips for dear life and you got working

Within two minutes the two of you had created a pool of juices on his bed (bokuto had a lot of precum ok), not that he really cared

You were not competing with anyone but he already had you 2 to 0

(point 1 for the meal and point 2 for being an Olympic dick-rider)

I am also a firm believer that bokuto thrusts up, he just can't help it

You are too addictive, or the way you ground onto him in between every bounce was addictive

I also don't believe that you could even truly deny bokuto sex, he was good at guilt-tripping and he was soooooo adorable

(not to mention the puppy dog eyes  he does that could convince good to do his will)

So I’m sure the only way he wouldn't get sex would be no nut November.

(aka the devil's month of torture, actually not month, week give or take)

This year it just happens that he set a new record, 8 days

He went a whole 8 days without trying for sex

Truly he went about 10 days before he stopped begging and just took matters into his own hands

(under enough pressure Bokuto become a hard dom and no one can say otherwise)

The entire time he was telling you how pretty you were and how well your pussy takes him and that you had no ‘right’ to tell him he couldn’t have sex

He even gained a new phrase “this pussy belongs to me”

You were going to have to set some things straight once he was done ;)

Iwaizumi

You were on the student council, it felt sacrilegious to think anything but pure thoughts about anyone on the council

(that didn't really stop him)

honestly, from the moment his crush festered he wanted to ruin your little innocent vibe  

You always smiled so sweetly at everyone, and just seemed like a true goody two shoes.

And that point seemed to have been correct when you began to date

Until! The fateful day where his perceived innocent girlfriend pulled a full 180 on him!

Firstly, you had offered, out of the blue, to suck him off in the middle of the movie you were watching.

Second, he asked if you knew how, and you giggled at him with that smile he loved so much

Thirdly, when you did get his dick out, you swirled some of the pre-cum on his tip with your thumb, he started getting a bit suspicious

Lastly, you completely swallowed him down, face pressing on his hip, cheeks hollowed.

That’s when he realized that you did know what you were doing

(that also arouse the thought that you had been with someone else, which was counteracted with the fact that you knew how to suck dick by practicing on hair brushed and popsicles)

((it also helped that you barely had a gag reflex))

Truly trying to put that to the test, dom iwa came right out, grabbing your hair and telling you  to suck harder

And you impressed the man, to say the least

After that he had to fuck you, he really just had too

For the first time, he went with a solid missionary, just to test that waters

He didn’t think anyone's pussy should feel like that, but since you were his it was ok

All was well he was lost in the feeling of your pussy and the deciding moment was when you pulled him against you and started to grind your body onto his

You were putting a whole lot of body into it too, and you were so soft, and unless he wanted to cum early something was going to have to change

So he flipped and changed to doggy style, which made thighs worse???

From there you got tighter and he could see all of the wetness drips from your fold onto the sheets

Yup, you were the one for him

(solidified when he pulled your hair and you moaned like a street whore)

As for the no sex thing, that was a ride

It started when Makki asked you if you were always dripping for iwa

And after a week of no sex, he confessed to letting them on his phone and  watching a recording of one of your nightly escapades and he was sorry

(and he just wanted to show them what they were missing, y’know brag a bit)

That was, and he says the only time, he let you try to dom him

You truly were the most amazing woman in the world

Konoha

( i made him kind of an ass lol sorry)

You wee the girl who sat next to him in class

(not to be mean, but he thought you were a nerd)

You always had your uniform covering everything and you were always playing with your short sleeves

You raised your hand a lot in class, always had a pencil to borrow

He just assumed that you had cobwebs in your pussy

Proven wrong at one of the volleyball teams parties, you had apparently been dragged there by a friend (surprising)

And you both were dragged onto some weird spin the bottle game

The bottle would spring and someone would draw an action from this jar and the two people would have to do it in a bedroom in the house

Seeing as that’’s how fate goes you and him were chosen

A blow-job card was chosen

And he laughed with a friend about how you wouldn’t know what to do

Mistake, that struck a real nerve, was this guy for real?

Oh hell no

Being the baddie you were, you walked to him, grabbed him by the arm, and locked lips, breaking away after a moment you asked if he was ready to go.

Poor boy didn't even respond, he just nodded and stood up

Two minutes in, he knew what he had done

You were blowing him like it would be your last time, it should be illegal to be able to suck someone off that well

And damn you pulled away right before he was going to cum.

And then just left him! Walked out of the closet like nothing had ever happened

That couldn’t be it, he wouldn't let that be it

After two weeks of non-stop begging from the guy you agreed to a date, which led to many dates

Which led to him finally being able to fuck you

God damn, he didn't think it would get better, and it did, it really did.  

You were laying on top of him and grinding your entire body onto him

Dripping all over him and squeezing him like crazy

He was never going to let you go

Now, that same friend from that party seemed very intrigued with your relationship

And he just can't help but tell him about how amazing you were, it just sucks that he did it right in front of you in the middle of lunch

Pussy pass revoked

He didn't think he did anything wrong so he went two whole weeks without any touch and he went crazy

He fell apart and apologized

After he begged enough you gave him the pussy pass back

And now he doesn't do anything to jeopardize it

Terushima

this is gonna sound weird

But

I feel like terushima knows when someone is a good lay

It's like a secret talent of his, he just knows and his radar went off when he saw you

But he thought it was wrong at first considering you were wearing leggings and a huge sweater

Not good fuck material  

But he had to make sure, so he just walked up to you and asked if you were a good fuck

Surprisingly you didn’t punch him in the nuts, instead, you laughed at him and said that he would just have to find out

And that he should at least take you out to dinner first

Adm he took you up it, made it the best damn dinner date he’d ever be on

And you reward him

With what?

The best damn blow-job he’d ever get as long as he lived.

And it fit that to the T

It started with the little licks and swirls, then, you gotta catch the man off guard, and just take his entire dick in your throat

And with that, he was sure he had superpowers

When He came, fairly quick for his taste, you swallowed all of his cum and he was ready to marry you

If he needed to take you on a date for that, he would take you on a date every day for the rest of his life

(not every day) but that's what he did

But eventually, just a blowjob wasn't enough, oh no he knew you had a tight hole

And he knew you were gushing most of the time (ushy gushy my pussy-)

If making him suck the fingers you used to fuck yourself after he came was anything

And you tasted good, really good

He was so ready for it that he let you ride him the whole night

He thought his dick was a]going to fall off, you were just that damn good

It was insane, you were almost using him as a dildo, grinding your clit on the base of his cock

And you looked glorious, he was going to have to talk to you about recording it so he could watch it over and over

Maybe show a few people-

And that's what he did, poor unfortunate soul got the silent treatment for two days before he fell apart

He literally got on his knees and asked for forgiveness

(biggest simp on the planet, but only for you (and your dripping cunt))

He’s sure to never do it again, he’s also sure that if you asked him to step on him he would let you

(and I think he’s the most pussy-whipped)

Ok maybe you didn't fully forgive him until he showed you what his tongue piercing could do, but it was worth every moment.

Atsumu

Honestly, he was dared to sleep with the next girl who walked through the cafeteria door

And that just happens to bring you, miss. I remind the teacher there was homework

(Well he actually wasn’t really sure about that but that's what you looked like and he was already regretting his decision.)

In defense of him, your hair was in a messy bun and you had this teacher's pet aura around you

But he would be damned if he lost this bet to his brother and Suna, oh no

The moment he wa[lked up to your table you knew what was happening, and shut it down immediately

After that, you officially had his attention!

Lucky you!

Unlucky you for the fact that all he wanted to do was get in your pants.

But lucky you again because you could hold this over his head!

But one day you just woke up and chose dick (respectable)

So when atsumu did his daily “c'mon baby, you know you want some” you just stood up, scaring him

(he finally thought you were gonna kill him)

Instead, you grabbed him by the dick, literally grabbed his dick through his pants, and tugged him all the way to the roof

“Hey-hey baby, no need to be that rough”

“Shut up, Miya. pants down, now”

That was not where he thought that was going but he isn't going to complain.

“You want your dick wet so bad? Here you go!”

Honestly, he could die happy.

Not so sound gross, but you were slobbering around his cock like a pro. Now that left the thought, you had to have done this before.

You had hands on the back of his thighs pushing him further down your throat, hollowed cheeks, damn he should’ve done this was sooner

He was gonna cum-

And your mouth was gone, your hand was jerking him but that wasn't nearly as nice

“Lay back.”

Yes, yes he will do that. If what’s about to happen is what he thinks is about to happen  

And now your pussy was above his face. Ok a little detour but he’ll take it

You were literally dripping onto his face while he got to work, and you went back to sucking him off

Yup, heaven.

After you both came he made sure to tell you that that had to happen again.

And it did, you rode him to hell in the hole to heaven, and he couldn't help himself from telling the entire volleyball team about how good you were

Now he really didn't think about what would happen if the news got back to you

But he definitely didn't think that meant a whole week of nothing

Well nothing for him, you made sure to send him more than a few videos of rigid dildos and fingering yourself

A week of torture, but when it was finally over he had an entirely new folder of spanking material

he was sure about who he told about your escapades, as in he told himself and Osamu if he just wanted to vent

poor guy was paranoid now

[abybweisse]

💬 Can I confess that, once I knew about the Victorian trouser etiquette, that I assumed the reason Ciel wears shorts, is bc he still has the body of a 10yo? I know it's just Yana's choice, but suspense of disbelief made me think that's a good enough reason. He looks like a 10yo, which makes people view him as even more childish, and even less of a threat. And if he looks like 10, but dresses like an #Adult in the streets, people might focus more on him, than him just wearing childs wear.

💬 for random chat

It’s difficult to reconcile all of that with how our earl is trying so hard to be seen as an adult. And his shorts are about the only truly childish thing in most of his outfits. He’s got heeled shoes to add a little height, and he’s not wearing much of the brighter, more childish colors.

Most of the fancier outfits we’ve seen him in are from official art that’s never seen in the manga itself (fancy cover art outfits don’t count as canon within the storyline). Those strike me as Yana-san just wanting to make fantasy outfits for him — ones he wouldn’t really be okay with wearing otherwise!

The main culprits here (within canon) seem to be who’s dressing him up like he’s a doll: Sebastian literally chooses his outfit for the day and gets him dressed; Nina designs and makes most of the clothes (including the dress for Druitt’s party); Lizzie also plays dress-up with him by buying an outfit she sees and basically forcing him to wear it (ch2). There’s even a later scene (after the circus arc) where Sebastian says some of these clothing choices have gone too far, arguing with Nina to say her choice of ribbon color (red for his necktie) is too childish looking. Since Nina likes to design for women, as well as for boys under 15… and because she’s a personal fan of wearing shorts… she’d probably want to keep our earl in shorts as long as she possibly can. It’s a delight to her that he’s not growing (and that his waist size actually went down).

Truth is, sons of the British royalty and aristocracy are expected to wear shorts until they are 8.

So, he’s being dressed most of the time more like he’s 7, thanks to the shorts… but with some styling details that are more mature.

The oddest outfits (for him) in the manga canon (not including the party dress) are probably:

The one that Lizzie buys. It’s more like the fanciful outfits that Yana-san puts him in for official art, but they are never part of the manga canon. But where on earth did she see an outfit like this, as ready-wear, and decide to get it for him? It might be one of the things Yana-san wishes she could change about the early chapters, before serialization, but the mere fact Lizzie saw an outfit like this… for boys his size… hanging in a shop… suggests that some designer thinks this is good fashion for an aristocratic kid his size (not necessarily a kid his age), but Lizzie sees nothing wrong with dressing her (then) 12 year old cousin like he’s… 10? 7? So she picks it out for him as a gift.

The one designed by the tailor working for the demon cultist who buys the twins. And that gives me the eeriest feeling that it’s this same designer and tailor who later has a shop, where Lizzie sees the outfit for ch2, a couple years later. Both outfits are made for a 9/10 year old boy (size), and both have details that wouldn’t be typical of boy’s clothes… at any age. Perhaps Yana-san knew exactly what she was doing with that other outfit in ch2? In January 1886, that demon cultist is killed, and his tailor no longer has this wealthy client who appreciates their skills and designs. Just like Nina works for the Phantomhives but also has her own shop, this other tailor might have already had one, too. Still, a major client has been lost. The outfits for ready-wear might be a little less flashy than the ones the cultist ordered, so that they will better appeal to the general population… but these are still unusual fashions.

It’s no wonder, to me now, how our earl got so angry in ch2, particularly over the ring… when he’s wearing an outfit that might give him vibes from the night of horror we finally saw in ch135….

Keep in mind he dresses more appropriate for his age when he goes to Windsor to receive his title (11 or 12) and again when he’s at Weston (13). Even Nina gives him longer shorts (in ch66) than usual, so the long shorts and tall boots make that outfit completely cover his legs.

Seems to me that our earl particularly enjoys making Sebastian wear odd things, or at least placing him into situations where he has to change out of the butler uniform. He was too embarrassed by what Lau had for him to wear to be able to get a laugh at Sebastian’s expense. Everyone with our earl was forced to wear clothes they aren’t used to. But there are at least three times he’s had the chance to really turn the tables on the demon: 1. Lizzie shows up with a pink hat with fake strawberries hanging from it (ch2), 2. Lizzie shows up after the Campania with the nightgown, slippers, and sleeping bonnet (extra chapter), and 3. Nina makes Sebastian try on a bunch of outfits, and some of them are just bizarre (ch116). That last one has our earl even asking what the demon thinks about being treated as a doll.

I think that, most of the time, our earl just puts up with the clothing decisions made by others, and I’m not sure why these other people (particularly Sebastian, Nina, and Lizzie) think it’s a good idea to dress him up like a little kid, instead of the titled earl he’s supposed to be. People probably think he’s just very eccentric, because he should be wearing full trousers all the time now.

My, my. Methinks their creator is the one who really wants to play dress-up. No wonder the god of their world is smiling when misfortune strikes….

Anyone else think it’s weird that Finny also usually wears shorts, even though he’s a servant and working in the gardens? He’s wearing short trousers, that end just below his knees, and long boots that go up to the shorts. He should have full length trousers with knee patches.

[taki118]

Go Watch the Venture Brothers

So just heard the complete and utter Bullshit news that Adult Swim has cancelled one of (if not the best shows) they have the Venture Bros. This series is one of those shows that for WHATEVER reason never got to the level of fandom Rick and Morty has even though they’ve been at the genre parody game longer and in my opinion better. 

The series is about Rusty Venture former boy adventurer and failing super scientist who in an attempt to keep his head above water in debt goes around with his two boys Hank and Dean, and bodyguard Brock on misadventues while various legal archnemisis go after him, such as the Monarch. 

So if you never watched or never heard of this 7 season series let me give you a break down on why you should, 

1) Art Style & Animation

Venture bros is one of those rare Adult aimed animated series that that really truly tries to utilize their medium to the best of their abilities. Season 1 had like such a small budget and corners had to be cut so it can be a little hard to watch at times. 

But with each passing season they get a little better, a little more fluid, go just a little harder and it truly feels rewarding to watch. Like seeing an artist you follow online improve over the years. Like they COULD have stayed with the choppy and stiff animation from season 1 it fit right in with its fellow adult animated shows but it didn’t. They strove for quality to have something that matched the story they were telling.

2) The Writing 

Venture Bros has some of the tightest and consistently great writing of ANY serialized show I’ve seen, adult, animated or other wise. Wanna know why? Cause it’s all done by TWO people (save for like one ep each season where one other person is allowed to touch their baby). Yeah TWO people and they work their asses off every season to interject, humor, refrences, parody, plot and character development in equal measure. 

3) Character Development

Um yes in case you were wondering that’s right an adult animated show has CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT  that holds as the series goes on. Not to give spoilers but characters will go through changes in alignment, relationships will develop and change, some characters will go through negative arcs where they are straight up unbareable for a season before coming out the other side even better than they were before. There is no end of epsiode or even end of season reset. Characters, settings, and dynamics all change over the course of the show and it feels just so god damn good.

4) Story Development 

Just like the characters the story of the Venture Bros grows and changes each season. Things that are set up even as early as season one are paid off as the series goes on. Like not to be that bitch but you know how RIck and Morty teases an overarching plot ALL THE TIME but like will often just spit in the face of fans hoping for more than like one episode a season addressing it? Yeahhhhhhh that doesnt happen here, fans are consistently rewarded for putting the time in to rewatch and really think about what happened in the series. Characters that are seen in the background or are just referenced by other characters will be brought in to be recurring characters, things that start off as a small detail or gag will be given larger relevance and each time they do this you get that “OH I remember that from last season! So thats what it was!” The writers WANT you to rewatch, they WANT you to analyze and they WANT you to theorize, and they give you a show that gives back the time you put in.

5) Parody & Reference 

This series does a great thing with parody. They make real characters  who are just as enjoyable as the characters they parody, they make story lines that both poke fun at the absurdity of the media but shows the writers love for it. So often parody and references are just used to mock the thing but with Venture Bros you feel the love and care so when you know the thing being parodied you can laugh but feel good about laughing cause they are never laughing at a thing maybe you cared for in your youth but rather laughing with it.

And it’s never just one thing. When they parody a thing its often layered with other things to make it even more unique. Scooby-Doo is overlayed with famous criminals, Laura Croft is mixed Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, GI Joe is given the look of the Village People and so on. They never go for the easy joke or reference. Hell theres an episode that starts with them reciting the lyrics to David Bowies Space Oddity for really no reason other than they could. They weave these things in naturally with their setting and characters so nothing feels out of place. Like if you dont catch a reference or parody you dont feel like “I think this isa reference to something?” like a LOT of things do not just adult animated shows. You arent taken out of the moment cause it all feels so natural. 

6) The Characters 

God damn these characters, I could go on for hours about these characters. From main to one off these are some of the most likeable characters you can find. I mean it when I say I can’t think of a single character I wish they had cut cause they are all so well created. Even the ones I hate i have fun hating cause they were made to be that way. I’ll be good though I’ll only talk about my absolute top faves.

- The Monarchs

You ever sit and wish villain couples could have functional  healthy relationships? Well look no further than Malcom Fitzcarraldo aka The Monarch and Dr. Shelia Girlfriend (yes that is her last name). The Monarch is a high strung impulsive saturday morning cartoon villain whos tendency to over react is only matched by his unspecified hatred of Dr. Venture. And Dr. G is his nonsense partner in crime who will cut a bitch if they don’t play by their admittedly weird rules. Both characters are great on their own but are better together. Though that doesnt mean they always get along. Like a real couple they have their ups and downs they fight, break up, make-up and grow stronger in their relationship with each season. 

- Shore Leave

Ok ok so I want you to imagine James Bond, mixed with GI Joe simmering in a cocktail of the most flamboyant gay men you have ever seen and you have one of my favorite gay characters/characters in general. Shore Leave is a member of OSI (the shows SHEILD/GI Joe parody organization) he’s loud, brash, flippant, sassy and highly competent at his job loving every second of getting to beat bad guys down within an inch of their life. I love seeing him play off the stoic Brock and the two have this great brotherly dynamic that’s never called into question. He also gets to have a very cute romance with Al the Alchemist (who is also great). I could talk about this man all day.

- Dr. Rusty Venture

They did such a good job with this man. He’s a self serving, sexist, perverted, whinny, self important asshole and yet you feel pity and genuine sympathy for him and want him to succeed. You can see how Dr. V was given a raw deal by his father who seemed to care more about his adventures than his sons well being and how this molded him into the bitter man he is today, but on the flip side you can see where he chose to use that as a crutch for his worst behaviors and impulses. Seeing him slowly grow and change and be an actual good father to his boys while all the while still be a giant dick is actually really great. 

- Dr. Byron Orpheus 

Ahhhhh Dr. Orpheus part Dr. Strange Parody part busybody stay at home dad, he’s just such a delight. Dr. Orpheus is a divorcee, with an unfulfilling job of maintaining order to the cosmos (which isnt as hard as one might think), and uses his magical ablities in ways most of us would (ie menial tasks and home chores). Overly dramatic and affectionate Dr. O is a delight whenever he appears, but he’s at his best around his daughter and old friends The Order of the Triad. 

Again I can go on but all these characters ranging from main to recurring are crafted with the utmost care for you to want to see them succeed or fail, to see them again even if you know it’ll never happen, and want them to cross paths with other characters. 

The Venture Bros is one of those series that I will ALWAYS recommend even to the pickiest of humor tastes. But if you don’t believe its as good as I said or don’t think the concept is to your tastes I’ll recommend a few eps that I think best show off the base idea of the series without giving much away. In terms of plot and spoilers, though somethings wont make a lot of sense. 

- S1 ep10 "Tag Sale – You're It!" - Dr. V is having a yard sale so of course all manner of costumed weirdos show up.  - S2 ep5 "Twenty Years to Midnight" - basically a fetch quest around the world to save the planet with daddy issues - S3 ep2 "The Doctor Is Sin" - Again daddy issues but with one of the best recurring characters and a great showcase of the series deeper emotional plots - S4 ep6 "Self-Medication" - Really embraces the parody as Rusty goes to a former boy adventurer support group.  Anyway the show is 7 seasons with 80 episodes, please go watch it. I will never forgive @adultswim​ for cancelling what was to be their final season. And in closing GO TEAM VENTURE!

[ladykissingfish]

The Akatsuki as Parents

Obito

Was a bit reluctant when he found out he was going to be a daddy ... at first. Not because he didn’t want kids ((he really did)), but because he severely doubted his own ability to be a father. But the second he holds the baby in his arms, he’s hooked. He will be so eagerly helpful and hands-on that during the child’s infancy, the other parent will rarely have to lift a finger. Diapers need changing? Obito’s on it. Baby needs to be fed at 2am? Obito’s already out of bed and warming formula on the stove. Rash? Fever? A cough? Obito is consulting every doctor within a 20 mile radius on what to do. Note that Obito is a hard-core traditionalist and, if he isn’t married to the child’s other parent before he gets them pregnant, he’ll be persistent about doing so before the kid is born. Sobs the first time his child calls him “papa”. As the child grows older, Obito will be a tireless teacher and mentor, and you better believe that the kid will know every facet of what was once the Uchiha clan. Sharingan training is a bit nerve-wracking for Dad, because while he wants his child to grow strong, he knows the power of the eye is a deadly one, and doesn’t like to see his son/daughter get hurt. Is the type to be a bit more strict with his sons than with daughters, in fact being a complete pushover for anything his little girl(s) wants. Very, VERY likely to insist a girl be named Nohara. Also the type to sneak and let his kid eat lots of sweets (like Obito himself does) before meals, much to the other parent’s chagrin. Also involves the other Akatsuki members as uncles/aunt in the kid’s life, especially Itachi and Sasuke as he wants the kid to be exposed to members of the family more often.

Hidan

The literal first words out of his mouth are “pregnant? Why the hell didn’t you make me wear a condom?!” Takes a long time to warm up to the idea of parenthood, but once he does, he’s surprisingly better at it than anyone would anticipate. He tends to be very fast-paced in his body movements and not really used to being careful, so if he’s holding his infant it’s best to make him sit still in a chair first. Once the kid(s) is older, it’s better, because Hidan’s energy levels will match (and overshadow) even the liveliest of children. It will be a big point of contention between Hidan and his co-parent on whether or not to introduce their kid to Jashinism, and Hidan will eventually promise to wait until the child is an adult to start talking about “all that shit”; although Hidan’s idea of adulthood seems to be when the kid is old enough to use a kunai. Puts a startling amount of emphasis on his kid getting a good education, and will be sure to send him or her to the best village school that he possibly can. The reason behind this is because Hidan himself had a poor education growing up, and is in fact barely able to read or do basic math; and he says over and over that his kid “isn’t gonna be some dumbass like his/her father”.

Kakuzu

Nearly faints when told he’s going to be a father. Will immediately get out a calculator and start figuring out expenses like diapers, food, toys, education ... is so preoccupied that he ends up neglecting the person who carries his child, causing them to go off on their own expecting to be a single parent. Oddly, it’s Hidan who sets the old guy straight. He stays on his case and talks to him until the nonagenarian sees the error of his ways, and goes after the person having his baby. Kakuzu will be gentle with a baby, and show a surprising affinity for making up and singing lullabies. As the kid gets older, Kakuzu will be a bit more strict. “Food is expensive; you better eat every bite on your plate.” “A hole in your pants? No give them to me and I’ll mend them; buying new clothes is unnecessary.” His child will grow up knowing how to stretch a buck and budget money better than any other kid their age. Kakuzu isn’t really one for showing much warmth or affection, but there will be a few rare moments in his kid’s life where his father hugs him and tells him how proud he is of him. Kakuzu knows that the life of a shinobi is hard and therefore encourages his kid to pursue other career paths, such as opening up his/her own business.

Konan and Nagato

These two are so closely intertwined that they could only be parental mates to each other. When a baby comes into the picture, Nagato will still maintain his position as leader of the Akatsuki as Pein, but will insist that Konan quit. It’s for a practical purpose rather than a sentimental one; they both lost their collective parents to war, and Nagato always thought that if he had a child, he’d ensure that at least one parent would be around to always take care of him or her. Konan, however, will still keep in touch with all of the Akatsuki members, who will become very enthusiastic uncles to her child. She’s always been a good cook but with a child she’ll level up to professional chef caliber, creating dishes that are fun and healthy. Her child(ren) will be taught all of their mother’s paper jutsus, and Nagato will work to devise a way for the brightest one to get his rinnegan once he passes. The kids will primarily spend time with Nagato through Pein, and only be taken to meet their father when Konan feels they’re ready. Because Konan and Nagato had a childhood devoid of parental love, they’re often at a loss for how to be affectionate or sentimental, instead putting a lot of emphasis on “toughening” their kids up, so that they’re prepared to face the cruelties of the world. But the kids will know that mom and dad love them; it’s obvious in everything they say and do.

Deidara

Will be the fun, loving, yet highly irresponsible father. As soon as his kid is born he anxiously awaits to see if he or she inherits his explosion-release kekkei genkai; and if the kid DOES, he’s ecstatic. “Art is an explosion” won’t just be a saying in his household; it’ll be a way of life. The child will grow up given complete freedom to express his or her artistic tendencies, with Deidara highly praising any and every impact they make on the outside world. Yet despite being for artistic creativity, he’ll be (surprisingly) strongly against the child joining any kind of organization that’s like the Akatsuki; he regrets his own decision to join as he feels it out a horrible damper on his artistic expression and independence. Likes to tell his young children stories every night, which are actually just heavily edited and sanitized versions of his Akatsuki missions. Like Obito, will be a bit more of a pushover for a daughter than a son, and will love spending hours brushing and styling the beautiful long hair that the girl inherits from him. He’ll let any member of the Akatsuki around his kids except for Hidan (because he doesn’t want his foul language around the child).

Zetsu

There are people in this world who know for certain that their lives wouldn’t be fulfilled by having children, and Zetsu is one of these individuals. While wanting no offspring of his own, he IS rather a good “uncle” to the children of his fellow Akatsuki members ((although the majority of these kids are too terrified of his physical appearance to want to go anywhere near him until they’re at least teenagers)).

Sasori

A child would be hard-pressed to elicit any kind of emotional reaction from Sasori, as the man cleared himself of most feeling when he underwent his puppet transformation. However, one thing that he could never rid himself of, was his ability to love. Even if he has difficulty showing it, he loves his child and would do literally anything to help or protect them. When the child is a baby, Sasori will spend hours crafting tiny puppet-dolls for the kid to play with. As he grew up with a skilled medic grandmother, he possesses a wide knowledge of herbs and healing, which he will painstakingly pass on to his children. Not one to baby his children by any means, as he lives by the philosophy that the world is tough meaning you have to be tougher; however will offer advice, support, and encouragement on any issues that may be troubling his son/daughter. Early on he expresses a desire for his child to learn to be a master puppeteer like himself; however will be understanding if they choose to pursue a different path. Is very smart and naturally mistrustful of strangers, so will likely choose to educate his kids at home rather than send them to a village school. The type to seem more like a trusted mentor or an interesting uncle than an actual father; also the type to relate to his teen or adult children better than young kids.

Itachi

Itachi never feels like he deserves any of the good things in life, because of what he’s done, and therefore doesn’t know how to handle blessings that are given to him. A baby is the ultimate example of this. Itachi will feel as though any child of his would be better off not knowing him or being “exposed” to the cursed Uchiha bloodline, so at first he’ll make it a point to barely be around his baby ((even though this kills him inside)). Surprisingly, of all people, it’s Deidara who will talk him out of this mindset, telling him how important it is for a child to be around their father “even if he is a damned red-eyed weirdo”. Once Itachi allows himself to fully commit to parenthood, that’s it — he’ll be the best damned father in the universe. He’ll be warm and affectionate, especially liking to pick his kid up (no matter how old they are or how embarrassed it makes them) and squeeze them. He’s not much of a disciplinarian, believing that kids need to be able to make mistakes in order to grow from them. The only time he’ll ever get angry is when the child does something that could have resulted in a serious injury. Itachi’s intelligence has always been off the charts, and he utilizes this to help his kid be a spectacular student. In fact, as the kid gets older, they’ll start bringing his/her friends around the house in order to receive Itachi’s tutoring. Itachi’s brother Sasuke will adore his nephew/niece and come home more often simply to be with them. Also Kisame will come around practically every day, and the kid will grow up learning an impressive arsenal of water jutsus to compliment the traditional Uchiha fire jutsus.

Kisame

The tall, somewhat awkward father that scares all of his kid’s friends with his intimidating physical appearance ... until he opens his mouth and they hear a god-awful dad joke come out. Any child of Kisame’s is going to be part shark, and therefore have some affinity for being in/breathing under the water. Kisame’s favorite pastime will be taking his baby (and yes, I do mean baby, as he tends to start his kid on this when they’re young) out for long swims in the ocean. Kisame has always been self-conscious of his looks, so from the time the child is born he will spend a good deal of time teaching him or her to have self-confidence and love for him/herself. Like many of the others in the Akatsuki, Kisame never received much of a formal education, and therefore puts a lot of emphasis on his child going to a “normal” school and giving it their all when it comes to their studies. When the child proves him or herself physically capable, Kisame will start training with them on how to wield/control samehada, as well as fight with a variety of swords. It goes without saying that Itachi will be in Kisame’s kid’s life from the day they’re born, and be their favorite “uncle”.

[thecrownnet]

Congratulations to Adriano Goldman , ASC, BSC, ABC, Director Of Photography, for his Creative Arts Emmy win OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR A SINGLE-CAMERA SERIES (ONE HOUR) for season 4 episode 3 ‘Fairytale’ on September 11, 2021. Here are his insights on filming the episode with director Benjamin Caron.

‘The Crown’ Used Lighting and Composition to Trap Its Characters Inside a ‘Fairytale’

Director Benjamin Caron and cinematographer Adriano Goldman discuss how they destroyed Diana and Charles’ marriage before it even began.

Behind the Scenes of “The Crown” Season 4, Episode 3 Photo: Netflix

Over “The Crown’s” four seasons, the halls of Buckingham Palace have become familiar visual signifiers for both the grandeur and the pressure placed upon the royal family. But in the third episode of this most recent season, “Fairytale,” cinematographer Adriano Goldman and director Benjamin Caron stretched the limits of the show’s visual language to create — and then to destroy — Princess Diana’s (Emma Corrin) fairytale fantasies.

Much of the episode is given over to Diana slowly realizing that, like many princesses stuck in a castle before her, she has fallen into a trap. But Goldman and Caron opened up the ways they shoot their Buckingham Palace sets to show how the demands of the Crown consume everyone on the eve of the fateful marriage.

They force the jaws of the trap open wide with a pre-credits sequence of Diana’s night out with her friends after Charles (Josh O’Connor) proposes to her. The scene is a departure in every sense, not just to the swank ’80s members’ club that Diana frequents.

“You try to deliver something that is more romantic, a little bit more colorful, fun to start,” Goldman said of the sequence in an interview with IndieWire. “We wanted to not change the style too much, but there should be a transition from a very colorful pre-title sequence, a very interesting and more romantic beginning.”

That romance is on full display, most noticeably in the brighter, guadier colors of the club and much warmer tones of Diana’s Earl’s Court flat. But Goldman’s camera also interposes itself almost as a fourth (slightly intoxicated) friend, swinging around inside the girls’ cab to get a look at both Diana and Buckingham Palace, or flinging itself down onto the bed with the girls at the end of the night. The look of the sequence stands in contrast to the stately shots and slow tracks which are the show’s normal rhythm for everyone in the royal family. Well, for everyone in the royal family except maybe Princess Margaret (Helena Bonham-Carter), who gets to dance by a pool every now and again.

“We really considered how we could reverse [that fairytale opening] and be very present with her, and [how we could] make her feel young, actually. Part of this is she’s a young girl going into the palace,” Caron said.

Caron and Goldman gave the audience several visual signifiers that are easy to clock in this sequence, as well as Diana’s goodbyes to her friends that follows: the gold and neon hues of the night out, the warm, eye-level close-ups of Diana dancing in the club, and a signature spiral staircase Diana descends to begin her life as a princess.

Over the course of the episode, these colors will fade. The close-ups inch slightly above Diana’s eyeline, so that it feels like the camera, along with the rest of the Royals, is looking down on her. And when a spiral staircase reappears, it will lead to Diana’s lowest point.

“The Crown” Season 4, Ep. 3 “The Fairytale” Screenshot

With Diana ushered inside Buckingham Palace to shield her from the press in the run-up to her and Charles’ wedding, Caron and Goldman emphasized how small and vulnerable Diana looks inside the palace walls. The opening of “Fairytale” had a long shot of the club, and Diana fit snugly within it. Once inside Buckingham Palace, the negative space often overwhelms Diana, and the camera backs away to show just how alone she truly is, perhaps best exemplified in the scene of her grandmother (Georgie Glen) physically tying her up while instructing her in how to speak like a royal.

Caron and Goldman deliberately call back to the romance of the opening to twist the knife, having Diana dance ballet inside the palace and then try to break out of the regimented structure of it as the pressure on her mounts. “I remember sort of holding the frame and I remember the camera operator was trying to follow us, but [I said no,] just hold the frame static and let her move in and around it,” Caron said. “So it really felt like someone trying to break out [of] somewhere.”

But of course, the camera never does let her leave the frame. Unlike the quick, fun cuts of Diana dancing in the club, there is no pressure release here. There is nowhere for Diana to go.

“The Crown” Season 4, Ep. 3 “The Fairytale” Screenshot

Caron wanted to use visual features that would feel right at home in a Disney princess story to their most punishing effect and perhaps the most powerful one of these motifs reoccurs when “The Crown” has Diana descend another spiral staircase. “[Ben] was very specific about this spiral because she’s going down on a spiral emotionally,” Goldman said of the shot that leads Diana down to the kitchen, a moment of late night desperation that kicks off her eating disorder. “He didn’t want to follow her on the steps, like on a steadicam. He wanted [the camera to be] facing down and going down with her to the very bottom of her feelings and her emotions.”

Caron described it as going to the “bottom of a well,” once Diana enters the kitchens and becomes enveloped in darkness — except for the fluorescent blues of the refrigerator lights, which makes the space feel like a morgue. This strong use of color, like all the changes in the episode, is grounded in the reality of whatever space Diana finds herself in. But the emotion and, indeed, the foreshadowing that Caron and Goldman are able to imbue those spaces with give Diana’s spiral real visual potency and a visceral sadness.

“The Crown” Season 4, Ep. 3 “The Fairytale” Screenshot

What is so thrilling about “Fairytale” is that it spares no one. Two striking scenes toward the end of the episode don’t have Diana in them at all, and yet push the series’ visual language to show how the palace and this marriage will swallow the characters who have been there all along.

In the first of these, Margaret tries to persuade Elizabeth, the Queen Mother (Marion Bailey), and Philip (Tobias Menzies) to call off the wedding. Caron wanted the scene to have a “conspiratorial, almost a Jacobian feel” to highlight the cold, businesslike calculations these four people are making for the happiness of two others.

“I remember saying to Adriano,’no no no, let’s go darker,” Caron said of this sequence and the next one. Goldman also recalled the desire to push the scene even further visually, lighting characters at harsh, dynamic angles or in almost complete shadow, so that the scene would feel spiritually closer to “The Godfather” than to the show’s usual style. The comparison is apt, given the mahogany browns and greens of the sitting room and the firelight that Goldman and Caron used to emphasize shadows falling into the crags on the characters’ faces. Vito Corleone could easily be sitting in a corner of one of those frames.

“The Crown” Season 4, Ep. 3 “The Fairytale” Screenshot

The next scene — when Elizabeth goes to find Charles and offer him a final few words on his marriage — Caron and Goldman viewed as a way to visually crystalize their relationship and how it is marred by their obligations to the monarchy. “Wouldn’t it be painful if you had Charles looking out the window and he felt the reflections of the fireworks and the noise and the celebrations outside?” Caron said about how he started conceiving of the blocking and framing of the exchange between mother and son. Each cinematic choice builds from a sense of what would be more painful, what would put more strain on the relationship.

“The Crown” Season 4, Ep. 3 “The Fairytale” Screenshot

The filmmakers created this visual strain between Queen and Crown Prince not just by keeping them at opposite sides in the composition, but by keeping one of the pair always just out of focus in the shots with the two of them — they can’t even occupy the same level of detail in the frame. Color plays a role, too, with bright blues and reds from the fireworks, reflections of the Union Jack, always being part of the light through which the audience sees the resigned sadness on Colman’s face and the abject misery on O’Connor’s. Goldman said this is the scene where he realizes he will never escape the system of the monarchy. “He realizes it’s too late. It’s a trap. He’s been trapped.”

“It always comes back to the Crown,” Caron said, and it is really from the perspective of the Crown itself that we watch the characters prepare to head to church on the day of the wedding. When the audience finally sees Diana in her dress, she faces away from the camera and moves into that oppressive cavernous space which has put so much pressure on her throughout the episode. It’s a slow, almost funereal march toward the fate the audience already knows awaits her. Charles, on the other hand, gets the close-up this time. But the camera, with equal grimness, tracks slightly down and in, so that his face begins to loom over the frame, making him look monstrous.

“The Crown” Season 4, Ep. 3 “The Fairytale” Screenshot

Of course by now, the visual choices that Caron and Goldman made for “Fairytale” have taught the viewer that there is another monster, a much more powerful one, looming over the episode’s final frame: The Crown is the monster that always gets you in the end.

[vickyvicarious]

do u have any atla fic recs? all time faves? can be shippy or not

Fun fact, I am incapable of holding back on reclists. In other words: brace yourself, anon. There’s a reason I put most of this behind a cut.

First off, these are almost all Zuko-centric, because I shamelessly play favorites. I’ll sort them by author rec, gen, shippy, and then by other characters because honestly the numbers break down well that way. Within those categories it’ll be more just as I think of it, so no special meaning to the order. I’m not always good about bookmarking even my faves, so some excellent stuff will no doubt be missing, especially since I haven’t read a lot of the more recent stuff yet/forgot some really old stuff, but this will definitely still give you plenty of fic to enjoy.

There’s a good number of FFN links on here so apologies to people who dislike it, but a lot of great stuff is still on there so give it a chance.

Author recs

Everything by @awesomeavocadolove​​  Such hits as Another Brother (Zuko adopted by Hakoda pre-S1), and currently has a Zukka soulmate fic I’ve been meaning to start reading, as well as Unchained Melody, one of my favorite Zukka fics ever. Always quality, you can’t go wrong.

Everything by KimberlyT.  I do not kid. She’s written a variety of ATLA fic ranging from Zutara/other romance to gen, seriously emotional to cracky cabbagebending. I think my favorite is probably Mismatched (S1 Zuko adopts a baby) but honestly just go read it all.

Everything by @emletish-fish​​. She has a very fun writing style and honestly her end-of-chapter notes on why she’s made the choices she has are fun minimetas worthwhile in their own right. Some of her top fics are the Stalking Zuko series (S3 suspicious Katara to Zutara) and The Worst Prisoner (the Gaang kidnaps Zuko in S1 and can’t get rid of him). I think there’s still a good amount of her fic that can only be found on FFN so check there too.

Everything by @botherkupo​​. Especially her Undying Fire series (healer!Zuko) but also just literally everything she writes, it is all so great. Tends toward Zutara but strong gen fics as well sometimes and a lot of fun. Check it all out!

Everything by @muffinlance​​. Loves to toy with her readers’ emotions in the best of ways. Tons of fantastic gen Zuko-centric AUs, I have adored every single fic I’ve ever read by her, can’t praise them enough. Very productive as well, her tumblr is a hub for the ATLA renaissance and her fics inspire lots of others. Has also organized a fanmade ATLA coloring book for charity so get that once it’s out. In the meantime read everything she’s written.

Everything by Haicrescendo. My favorite is What We’re Given (the series where Zuko finds more air bisons and raises them), but there’s a lot of good Zukka fic too. I tend to steer away from explicit works in this fandom unless it’s a smaller part of a much longer plot-centric fic, so there are a number I haven’t read, but I really like the Pokemon!AU Zukka.

Everything by @gaycinema. I really love the EK fight club series (Zuko fights in Rumbles/etc.) but all of it is a good read. Some Jetko, mostly a lot of introspective or emotional oneshots. Which isn’t really a great depiction of how good they tend to be, you’ll just have to read them and find out. You won’t regret it, trust me.

Everything by @captainkirkk. So far eight stellar fics, starting with kind Fire Lord Zuko and ranging to Floating Tea Shop!Zuko who doesn’t want to hunt the Avatar. I love her style and have laughed out loud at multiple of these. 

Gen Zuko fic

Bringing Out the Blue by maguena1. [unfinished, long] Definitely worth the read. The first ATLA fic I ever got really sucked into. The Blue Spirit never gets knocked out so Aang doesn’t know his true identity; he joins the Gaang on a recurring basis, while Zuko attempts to tell himself this is only for information on how to catch them, they definitely aren’t his friends.

It’s Impossible by Sandra Phillips. [abandoned, long] One of the earliest Avatar!Zuko fics (sort of) and a really interesting take on some spirit stuff.

Embers by Vathara. [complete, long] A landmark fic in the fandom, and for good reason. I didn’t love everything about this fic, but it is very well-written and an absorbing read certainly worth the praise. 

the art of description by incandescens. [oneshot, short] Five descriptions of Zuko and Toph’s field trip from various perspectives. Short, sweet, and funny.

Breaking Point by Kryal. [oneshot, short] Zuko isn’t banished but instead sent to serve in the Home Guard. I love Zuko loving his people, and alternate canon explorations, and this is exactly that.

The Alternative by Lunatique. [oneshot, short] The reason Zuko is so determined is because he fears what will happen if he isn’t the next Fire Lord. An idea I support in canon, to a degree, written well.

Hands and Knees by gigerisgod. [oneshot, short] Zuko reflects on the choices he’s made, and experiences he’s had, when joining the Gaang. A nice introspective fic.

Relative Misery by peroxidepest17. [oneshot, short] Toph complains about her family and Zuko takes her on a field trip. Not a fic I take too seriously, but funny in a sad way.

Second Nature by lazyartisan. [possibly abandoned, long] An AU stemming from Zuko’s capture at the North Pole. Well-written and characterized, an old favorite that I actually find needing to reread to give you more detail, but I can promise it’s good.

Year One by peroxidepest17. [oneshot, short] Lessons Zuko learns in his first year being Fire Lord. I really like explorations of Zuko’s journey as Fire Lord and this is a lovely little window into that.

Soft by PenPistola. [oneshot, short] Zuko and Toph bonding after the Ember Island Players. Short and sweet.

The New Phoenix King by JoeMerl. [oneshot, short] Fire Lord Zuko is overthrown, and no one but him is bothered at all. In fact they help. Hilarious crack.

First Name Basis by JoeMerl. [oneshot, short] There’s some popular posts going around Tumblr lately about Zuko not knowing the Gaang’s names, but this fic did it first back in 2008. As amusing as you’d expect.

Male Bonding by glamaphonic. [oneshot, short] The original ‘Zuko and Sokka bond and are also dumb idiot boys’ fic. Katara is permanently rolling her eyes.

it’s not the waking, it’s the rising by isamagicdragon, thegracious [ongoing, series, medium] Azulon tells Ozai to kill Azula instead of Zuko, which leads to heartwrenching fire sibs adventure. I haven’t caught up on the last chapter yet but god is it fantastic and also just a really interesting and new perspective on what could have happened.

Doe-Eyed by Anonymous. [complete, medium] Zuko is a baby, Azula is a loving big sister. More fire sibs and a great exploration on Azula’s POV of turning against Ozai.

kintsugi by discordiansamba. [ongoing, series, long] Zuko doesn’t have Iroh after being banished, and winds up hired as a guard to protect the frail Beifong daughter. Fantastic preseries Zuko+Toph found family fic.

Legacies by WildInkling. [ongoing, medium] Far in the future, a historian studies the journal of Fire Lord Zuko. Also, he was secretly a famous author but no one knows. A funny and poignant outsider POV.

#UndercoverZuko series by naggeluide. [complete, series, short] A completely cracky concept written straight enough to be actually quite touching in parts, but also just really funny. Zuko goes Undercover Boss on his ship pre-series.

Avatar Ficlets by JaggedCliffs. [series, oneshots, short] An ongoing series of disconnected oneshots, mostly post-canon and mostly Zuko-centric. Some a pretty fun, one is a great view on Zuko and lightningbending, all worth the read (and follow for when more come out).

The Blind Leading the Blue by BrusselsSprout. [ongoing, medium] An epic Zuko and Toph field trip set in S2. I love them and this.

half in the shadows, half burned in flames by r_astra. [oneshot, short] Iroh dies, Zuko gets caught on the Day of Black Sun, everything ends up all right but damn does it hurt getting there.

A Tale of Earth and Fire by chiiyo86. [complete, medium] Zuko and Toph are married for Politics in a FN Wins AU, and follows them slowly bonding as friends to beginning a revolution. They’re married but it’s not romantic, just some good friendship.

Eight Principles of Yong by psocoptera. [oneshot, short] An exploration of immediate post-show FN politics (sort of), calligraphy, and Zuko. Also has some lovely non-fighting firebending; I always love when people explore other uses of bending.

Healing Properties of Cinder Sage by Dawen. [oneshot, short] Zuko gets very sick in the Western Air Temple. Some good interaction when he’s new to the Gaang, and Toph+Zuko friendship.

We Ourselves Must Walk The Path by WinterSky101. [complete, medium] The Gaang agrees to make Zuko their prisoner in the WAT. Speaking of new-to-the-Gaang, tension, this fic has plenty of it, and also features some good Toph and Zuko.

Frozen by Aris Merquoni. [oneshot, medium] Zuko is captured in the NWT. Some politics, lots of angst, and eventually, healing. Also actually makes me somewhat like Hahn? Incredibly enough.

Reluctant Hero by PAW_07. [ongoing, long] Avatar!Zuko fic. I got to beta it way back when for a little while before I got too busy, and have always been a huge fan of this fic. Great concept, one of the best executions of it I’ve seen, and also one of the first. Definitely read this.

Morality Chain by Pureauthor. [abandoned, long] Azula and Zuko were always on each other’s side; how this changes canon. I love this concept and would happily read a lot more fics with it (please guys, I need more fire sibs).

A viper-lizard’s tales series by Yumi_Take. [ongoing, long] The world needs more of Zuko adopting pets and small children, and those are just facts. This only has one of the two, but it’s a EK baby! Jet plays a big role in this fic as well, a weird kind of uncle-ish to the baby/friend/murderer Zuko needs to watch closely and hold back kind of thing.

(life happens) wherever you are by howlikeagod. [ongoing, long] Katara doesn’t find Zuko and Iroh in the teashop, and canon takes a sharp left turn. Excellent Gaang fic.

The Best Path series by EudociaCovert. [series, ongoing, long] Zuko meets Jet in ‘Zuko Alone’ and winds up getting claimed as theirs by the remaining Freedom Fighters. Really really well-written, I got quite emotional over some scenes.

Shippy Zuko fic

Balm by Thyme In Her Eyes. [Maiko, oneshot, short] A sweet little fic about Mai’s thoughts on Zuko’s lightning scar.

The Black Games by Mrs. Pettyfer. [Zutara, complete, long] Hunger Games-esque AU. It’s the first in a series, and I lost interest after this one but I remember enjoying the fic and it was more personal preference rather than a drop in quality that had me leaving.

Lie To Me by Inkcharm. [Toko, oneshot, short] I’m not actually a fan of this pairing romatically (at least until years down the line), but this little fic of Toph and Zuko bonding through lying to one another is sweet. I choose to ignore the more shippy parts and enjoyed it.

Zutara? What the heck is that? by Ryxl. [Zutara, oneshot, short] Complete crack, have a good sense of humor and I think you will enjoy. Just the mental image of the Gaang finding a Zutara propaganda flyer had me chuckling.

The Three Chores series (1, 2, 3) by Fandomme. [Zutara, threeshot, short] Zuko and Katara slowly bond as he helps with chores. I will admit it’s been years and I barely remember this, but what I do recall is lovely and I always appreciate people lightening Katara’s load.

read the inscription by suzukiblu. [Zuko/Song, complete, series, medium] When Zuko is banished, he is left alone in the Earth Kingdom to fend for himself. Very touching, and I love Song in this.

Hooked by TGP. [Jetko, complete, long] A classic ‘Jet didn’t see Iroh warming his tea’ fic. They’re almost all this premise but so many well-written and very long ones. 

Something To Hold Onto by Wildgoosery. [Jetko, complete, long] The EK fell and Li stayed to fight with the Freedom Fighters to protect the city during its foreign rule. Jet didn’t see the tea fic that goes very AU from canon.

Foxfire by Rahar_Moonfire. [Jetko, ongoing, long] Zuko loses his memories Jetko fic, but with heavy spirit influence and lovable EK OCs, both of which I adore and should be in far more fics.

Once Upon A Teashop by anaer. [Zukka, Jetko, ongoing, long] Cracky Ba Sing Se AU that gets gradually more and more serious. Jet hits on Zuko a lot and Sokka gets a job in the teashop to keep an eye on both of them. Endgame Zukka but heavy Jetko, and both pairings are handled pretty well, not a love triangle that makes me too mad, although as always bear in mind Jet’s messed up. 

Names by TGP. [Jetko, complete, long] I feel like I’m forgetting some more excellent Amnesia!Zuko fics, but this is one I do know of. To be honest I don’t remember it super well because it may be mixed up with other Jetko/amnesia fics in my mind, but I think it was really good. I’ll have to reread myself.

Epistles by Lady_of_the_Flowers. [Zukka, ongoing, long] I love epistolary fic and I love Zuko and Sokka bonding earlier in canon. I will be honest I haven’t read this in a long time and been updating all the while, but the premise alone (Zuko and Sokka become messenger-hawk-pals in S1 and then fall in love) is fantastic. 

Ozymandias, King of Kings by Think_of_a_Wonderful_Thought. [Zukka, ongoing, long] Zuko rebels earlier and actually is sent to the mines, until he is ‘rescued’ by the Water Tribe. Dark but getting lighter over time, and more reluctant-to-rule Zuko which always wrenches my heartstrings. I prefer super loyal and dutiful to his people Zuko but this trope always makes me feel things.

Crossovers

Fallen Drops of Fire by Chasmfiend. [Fullmetal Alchemist, ongoing] Young Azula and Zuko somehow appear in Amestris, and encounter Roy Mustang. I adore the fire sibs, and their relationship in this strange situation is the star of this fic for me, but it’s also fun seeing the FMA perspective of these two.

The Dragon-King’s Temple by Kryal. [Stargate SG-1, long, complete] The best crossover fic out there. Zuko and Toph get stranded on the other side of a Stargate. I don’t know anything about SG-1 but it didn’t matter, the fic was fantastic, they were badasses, it explored language and culture from an outside perspective, and it was just a ton of fun. Must-read.

Other character fic

Loyalty by Julia451. [oneshot, short] The ship captain didn’t misspeak when he called Iroh and Zuko “prisoners” in the start of S2. A lovely look at a nameless character, giving depth to a small moment and humanity to a FN soldier which I always love.

The Only One by HarlowR. [oneshot, short] An excellent exploration of Azula’s mindset regarding Zuko, her desperate need to be loved and jealousy of him matching his own. I think Azula was one of the greatest tragedies of the show, and this fic makes me feel it.

Blood by theAsh0. [oneshot, short] Katara-centric thinkpiece on bloodbending and healing. Dark but really interesting.

Touch and Go by Cadence. [oneshot, short] After Iroh’s struck by lightning, Toph doesn’t let Zuko drive them all away. A momentary alliance and the seeds of friendship. More Toph-focused but still heavy on the whole Gaang.

Shortcomings by Menamebephil. [oneshot, short] Iroh thoughts during his imprisonment, on the theme of mistakes. I love this man and don’t understand why I am so drawn to fic about him that makes me sad.

Watch And Review, Please by Becca Stareyes. [oneshot, short] The Ember Island Players receive some constructive criticism... sort of. Funny and quick.

Azula Redemption Trilogy (1, 2, 3) by Mistress of Sarcasm. [threeshot, short] Second person and deeply introspective, three short little fics delving into Azula’s head and bringing her closer to redemption.

Echoing Refrains by catie_writes_things. [oneshot, short] I really like nuanced explorations of the whole FN royal family. It’s perfectly fine to write Ozai as pure evil bastard, but exploring  what might have been or how he got there, or even as in this fic his talent for music being inherited by Zuko is really interesting too. Iroh-centric.

our curse by ohmygodwhy, and the last dragon by thesometimeswarrior. [twoshot, complete, short] Stay away if you don’t like to cry. In the first Zuko learns Ozai is executing Iroh, and isn’t able to stop it; the second is even worse because it’s Iroh’s POV. I put this in the other characters section because honestly I adore the second fic even more than the first, but they are both fantastically written and will hurt you a very great deal.

Finally, I’m not quite bold enough to put my own fic on a reclist, but just shameless enough to mention I’ve written a few Avatar fics I quite like if anyone feels the desire to check them out on my AO3. ;) But seriously give love to all the rest of these, they deserve it. (And as I said, there’s lots more excellent stuff, this fandom is so prolific and well-written!)

[autisticcassandracain]

Just finished Mister Miracle and the Great Escape! Rating: Mixed. I did overall enjoy reading it, but I didn’t feel like it was a very good adaptation of Scott’s story/Fourth World lore, and I feel like a lot of the changes made to it didn’t benefit the story as a standalone novel very much either. It felt bloated by a lot of unnecessary plot points as a result.

Expanded thoughts under the cut, featuring spoilers:

Overall, I liked Scott and Barda’s characterization. Scott’s constant tendency to deflect with humor and mouth off to everyone in a 200 mile radius were a lot of fun to read and true to his character, and I think they did an overall pretty decent job getting Barda’s character down, considering the adaptational changes made to her. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Himon was involved; that, and a few other mentions (Barda wanting a garden, connecting her to nature; Scott having to free himself through right of combat) did make it clear they’d read the original Mister Miracle series, so the changes at least weren’t made out of ignorance.

I also think the commentary on class divide and bigotry was overall pretty well-done; the adaptational changes give a much easier to understand, structured view of Apokolips that definitely benefited this. I felt like it was pretty surface level and on the nose, but considering this is a YA graphic novel, I don’t mind that.

I liked how they symbolically had Scott defeat death; I like how more modern stories with Scott have started leaning into the ‘Death as Scott’s greatest enemy’ angle more, and it’s always interesting to see where people go with it. I also think playing with Scott’s want to figure out who his family is pretty interesting, and him not getting an answer and in the end deciding it doesn’t matter goes counter to canon, but it really works within the story and I think it’s superior to how the original Mister Miracle series handled it for sure.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that I like the inclusion of Scott’s fascination with Earth heroes. It’s not something he ever really expresses in canon, but it makes a lot of sense given this particular story and setting, and it’s an interesting addition to his character, imo.

Aside from that though... admittedly I don’t necessarily have much good things to say about it. Not because I didn’t enjoy it - again, I did. But I enjoyed it in a rather casual way; the art style works well for the story, Scott’s character is fun, the jokes land, the ending action scene was great. But when it comes to the meat of things, I have a lot more problems than praises.

I think my main problem with the story is that there are a lot of things added that weren’t in the Fourth World lore that just... don’t add much of anything to the book. Scott’s friends are a great example; like, they exist, but they get little to no personality, little to no time was spent showing Scott’s relationship with them, and they ultimately feel like they only exist as plot devices to make his escape a little harder. I honestly feel like you could’ve replaced them with any given McGuffin Scott had to take with him but couldn’t and the plot would’ve stayed pretty much the same. They aided in showing what kind of people are disadvantaged in the school/Apokolips, but that’s really about it? And I feel like you could’ve easily done that with them as side characters as well.

Same goes for Barda coming from Armagetto, and Armagetto being changed from the slums of the Lowlies to what appears to be a pretty free-thinking village. It does allow Barda to be against Darkseid from the beginning, and therefor get her on board with escaping quicker, which I don’t necessarily have a problem with; I get that a graphic novel has limited time to tell its story, and the slowburn way Barda turned against Darkseid in the original Mister Miracle series may not have been a good fit for it. But changing Armagetto this way and having Barda be the only survivor of a massacre raises so many questions that just never get answered; Why was she the only survivor? How did she become part of the Furies? Is she a Lowly? She’s also not shown to have any trauma or PTSD from the event, which I find kind of strange, considering the fact that the book makes a point to show that Scott DOES have PTSD.

Another big problem I have is the prophecy. I just. Don’t understand why it’s there? I get there needed to be a reason for Granny/Kalibak to single Scott out, but the canon reason (him being the son of Highfather) would’ve worked just fine with that? You can maintain Scott never finding this out, and but you could’ve had Kalibak and Granny talk about it, and give context to us that way. (If you had to include Kalibak at all, that is. I feel like you could’ve written him out of the story just fine, tbh, if you’d replaced the final obstacle for Scott with fighting the Furies rather than him.) Granny specifically really didn’t need a reason to have it out for Scott. He mouths off to her, refuses to acknowledge her authority, and crawled out of the X-pit. That’s more than enough for her to target him. I don’t feel like we needed an extra reason.

In addition, this also raises something of a plothole? If Granny was specifically ordered not to kill Scott, then why throw him into the X-pit? If Scott’s the only one who’s ever made it out of there, she HAD to have known that it would most likely kill her. Did the order come afterwards, when people started suspecting Scott might be the kid from the prophecy? If so, why does Darkseid not just kill him? In the original series, Darkseid orders Granny to torment Scott but not kill him because he WANTS him to escape; but what reason does he have to not kill Scott in this series? It just raises so many questions that really didn’t need to be there if you’d kept the plot of the original series, or even just cut out Kalibak/Darkseid entirely and have Granny be the driving antagonist throughout.

There’s just... a lot of stuff that’s introduced that just feels really unnecessary. It’s not that I have a problem with making adaptational changes, but when those changes honestly feel like they make the story worse rather than serving it in a new medium (or, in this case, shorter, stand-alone format), it gets annoying. For example: if you’d replaced Scott’s friends with Aurelie, and had Aurelie befriend Barda as well, only for her to be killed, you’d have an instant motivation for Barda to change sides and try to escape/help Scott escape, as well as providing an additional obstacle in Scott’s escape and an opportunity to show what people are Grunts/how they get treated. This is usage of a canon character and plot point in a new way, and it would cut out the need for the Armagetto background (here to make Barda want to escape) and the need for Scott’s friends (here to provide an obstacle in Scott’s escape and show different ways in which Grunts get treated).

Basically, much of the changes feel superfluous and like they bloat the story more than anything.

That said, for the most part, I don’t feel like the changes go against the thematic core of Scott or the Fourth World lore, with the exception of one: the prophecy. That’s by far the worst inclusion in the book, in my opinion. It’s entirely unnecessary to Scott’s character; he never was the subject of a prophecy, and moreover, really shouldn’t be the subject of one like this. Scott is not MEANT to fight endlessly; hell, he’s not even meant to run endlessly. Scott’s meant to escape. And a prophecy that states that he is intended to defeat Darkseid? That’s the opposite of escaping.

It’s ambiguous whether that prophecy is even real, but honestly, we have no reason to assume it isn’t? The Fourth World has no problem employing prophecies, and within the story of the Great Escape itself, Scott fulfills all requirements for the prophecy except killing Darkseid. It’s very reasonable to assue that it’s a) real and b) that Scott is the person it’s talking about.

If they’d employed the prophecy to specifically show him rejecting and escaping it, that would’ve been one thing? He did escape, but it didn’t feel he like he was escaping the prophecy, really; the prophecy had very little thematic weight to Scott’s story, and was just there to motivate Kalibak, essentially. But either way, even if that was the case, escaping this specific prophecy would’ve been counter to the framing of Scott as a hero. The reason Scott could escape Apokolips in canon and never come back to help was because it was, ultimately, not his responsibility. He can help people on Earth and be just as heroic. But if he was specifically the subject of a prophecy that says he could defeat Darkseid and lead Apokolips into an era of peace and prosperity? And he rejected it to go garden on Earth with Barda? That would’ve been grossly irresponsible and REALLY wouldn’t make him read as a hero, but rather a selfish dickhead.

With the prophecy in place, his escape feels hollow, because at the end of the day, you can’t escape destiny; at least, not if escaping your destiny would make things objectively worse for everyone. Sure, he’s on Earth now, but for how long? Will he come back to fulfill the prophecy? Will he leave everyone to rot? Who knows!

It’s SUCH a weird inclusion! It violently goes against Scott’s thematic core, and on top of that, it also just shafts Orion?? Like Orion’s destiny IS to kill Darkseid?? I know he isn’t in the book so maybe I shouldn’t bring him up, but it’s so hard not to when they make a prophecy framing Scott as the one who will kill Darkseid like. That’s ORION’S story! Not Scott’s! For a reason! For Orion, fighting evil is a triumph; for Scott, escaping evil is a triumph. They’re different stories! They don’t mix!

Just... could they REALLY not have figured out a different way to have Kalibak take a special interest in Scott? One that didn’t open up ten cans of worms at the same time?

Some more minor complaints in bullet form list:

The final escape felt very half-assed after the amount of time spent on the specifics and logistics of the first escape. Where did they get that hovercraft from? Who knows. It felt like a cop-out tbh.

I don’t understand why Himon a) thought that Granny Goodness would help him, ever, and b) thought that killing himself would make her help his daughter??? Huh??? I was happy to see Himon involved at all, but his character felt significantly weaker than he was in the original Mister Miracle series.

I have mixed feelings on making Granny’s school more of an actual, you know, school. On the one hand, the way it facilitated discussions of class divides worked, and it also makes a lot more logical sense than the portrayal of her orphanage in canon. On the other hand, it really looses the ‘inescapable fortress’ setting, since it’s hard to believe the children of these Nobles don’t go home? Is it only the Grunts/orphans that are stuck?? I genuinely don’t know, they don’t explain it. And considering the fact that escaping the Academy is the entire point of the novel, that’s a pretty big oversight.

The portrayal of Scott’s PTSD was incredibly shallow. All it was was a handful of flashbacks and panic attacks accompanying it. PTSD is much more than that, and considering how important it was during the final battle, it really should’ve received a lot more attention, and a more in-depth look into how it functions and how it affects ones life.

Bekka is the definition of a plot device and it’s a shame bc she’s cute but like. Her literal only function in the story is to provide (time) pressure for the escape, which is already present, considering Scott and his friends are gonna get shipped out to the front lines soon. Once again, it’s an example of the story being needlessly bloated, imo.

...Did the story imply that the original Mister Miracle was Himon in a band? Did I read that correctly? Because if so that sure is a Choice.

The development of Scott and Barda’s relationship was somewhat rushed, but this is forgivable due to the time constraints of working in a graphic novel, imo.

The plotpoint of having Barda spy on Scott felt - say it with me here - useless. It didn’t even cause much tension between her and Scott? And Himon turned himself in anyway, so it’s not like the plot needed Barda to betray Scott so his escape attempt could be foiled. I also don’t quite understand how it worked, since Scott came to Barda? Did Barda report that to Granny, to have Granny say to continue it and spy on him? Did Granny have Barda give the medicine to Tyrone, somehow figuring that this would attract Scott’s attention? It’s a nitpick, but with the plot point ultimately doing little for the overall story, it’s worth questioning why they’d open up even such a small plot hole for it.

They just HAD to put in a reference to Tom King’s Mister Miracle huh. Just to annoy me, personally, presumably. At least the ‘Darkseid is’ thing works better here than it does there lmao.

Again, I did enjoy reading it; I don’t mean to trash the novel, truly. But there’s a lot of stuff, individually very small, that bothers me, that really ended up adding up.