#so like uh. in simpler terms

[llitchilitchi]

Here's an ask! You're a very entertaining person actually and I'd love to know your thoughts on Life. 🎤

call me a nihilist but I do genuinely think that there is no greater meaning to life and we all just kind of exist. there is no point to anything, not in a Greater Cosmic Sense sort of way, so we can pick and choose what matters and what we put emphasis on. it is so much nicer to say that seeing a cat early in the morning chasing flies in the grass is more important than a failed exam, because in 10 years both of them will matter about the same (so not at all, most likely) and one of them brought joy

I think it was in the Nicomachean Ethics, where Aristotle talked about how "true good" in the world is to find out what you love and to do it with your whole heart, and to learn to do it well, and that will bring you fulfillment and then contribute to a greater whole (which, while pointless in a divine and cosmic sense, is a wonderful thing because people deserve to be happy without a greater reason behind it than happiness itself)

and I think that's what life should be about

[cursedonyx]

A huge thank you to @islayhawkin for this ask, and my sincerest apologies for taking so long to get to it. Hope this is what you had in mind!

A Loving Hand

Ominis isn’t used to being touched, and his new girlfriend decides to show him just how nice it can be by giving him his very first proper cuddle.

Word Count: 3.9k

Warnings: None, just enough cotton candy fluffiness to put holes in your teeth. Everyone is in 7th year and 18 years old.

Ominis Gaunt had never considered himself a fortunate man. Even the circumstances of his birth were unfortunate, and things didn’t really improve from there.

That is, until he met her.

She had been a new student in her fifth year, and though Ominis preferred not to dwell on what had happened during the course of that annum, what with almost losing both his best (and only) friends and a man he considered to be closer to family than his own blood had ever been, despite his horrible temper, there was something that made it all worthwhile.

Ominis had, quite by accident, fallen in love with the new student. He wasn’t entirely sure when it happened, whether it was a gradual build up of attraction and emotions until it got too great to ignore, or whether it was a single moment in time where the stars aligned. He could certainly pinpoint when he’d realised it; Sebastian had been teasing him about it and he had vehemently denied any untoward feelings.

“Gracious, Sebastian, it’s not like I stay up all night thinking about her!”

Four hours later as he lay in bed, chasing sleep with as much effectiveness as a three-legged table chases a panicked cat, Ominis went very still.

“Uh oh,” he said.

He’d determined not to do anything about his developing affection, but this seemed to only make it worse, sending him dangerously close to a full-blown obsession. Convinced as he usually was that no one of any significance would ever look twice at him, he resolved to nurture his unrequited love in solitude and silence. The trouble was, both she and Sebastian seemed quite determined to get him alone with her whenever it was humanly possible.

Things culminated on a cool spring morning as they sat at breakfast, and she’d sighed rather dramatically. Upon questioning her reasoning for this, she, ever bold, had told him in no uncertain terms that she rather liked him, and would like very much for him to be her boyfriend.

So it was that Ominis found himself with a girlfriend, not just any girlfriend, but her, and he couldn’t have been happier if you paid him. She was everything he could have wanted and more, endearingly sweet, violently protective, and unendingly patient as he tried to navigate the brand new and complex thing of ‘being a boyfriend.’ Her patience proved to be a godsend, as Ominis found himself utterly clueless as to how to behave, especially as a lot of the things his eighteen year old mind wanted to do seemed wholly inappropriate for the early stages of their relationship, and he was far too shy to even dream of suggesting them.

Besides, if he was ever going to get to that stage, he needed to overcome something much simpler first.

He needed to get used to someone else touching him.

Ominis avoided physical contact wherever possible. He’d become rather adept at it over the years, relying on both his wand and his hearing to steer him away from the students thronging the castle. He’d had far too many experiences where someone assumed that they could just grab onto his arm and yoink him off his own chosen path just because they wanted him to go somewhere else, as if he was some kind of invalid. His potions partners over the years had learned very quickly that he did not appreciate them trying to guide his hands to the ingredients, and in Herbology, even poor Professor Garlick had been on the receiving end of his sharp tongue when she tried to physically move him along his bench to where his plant pot was. He’d felt awful afterwards of course, and rather felt he deserved the detention he got two days later from Professor Sharp, who had presumably heard about the encounter.

But for the first time in his life, he wanted to touch someone else. He wanted to touch her. He wanted to hold her hand as they walked to Hogsmeade, he wanted to let her take his arm as they strolled through the grounds, he wanted to slip an arm around her shoulders and have her lean on his chest as she read aloud from their textbooks. He wanted to cuddle into her as evening slipped into night, to lay his head on her chest and listen to her heartbeat, the sound of her breath, his arms locked around her waist.

The trouble was, after so long avoiding contact with almost everyone, he had absolutely no idea how to initiate it without coming across as some kind of slobbering oaf. The very last thing he wanted to do was insult her, and he longed for her to make the first move, to take his hand, perhaps, or lean against him as they fought to stay awake during one of Professor Binn’s soporific lectures.

Unfortunately for him, he’d made his distain for human touch very plain to her early on in their fifth year. After they’d made it to Slytherin’s Scriptorium and she had bravely volunteered to be tortured in order to save their lives (something neither he nor Sebastian had ever forgiven the latter for), she’d leaned against him as Sebastian went running off to explore, clearly needing comfort, and like a moron, he’d pulled away, telling her gently that he just didn’t like to be touched. He’d spoken softly with her, comforting her as best he could with words, knowing all too well how badly she needed to be held in that moment, the echoes of his own torture ringing in his memory, but he’d failed her in that regard. He’d failed himself as well, it seemed, for even though they were now an official couple, she never overstepped the boundary he had drawn.

She was affectionate and loving all the same, saying gentle, kind things to him when they were alone, buying him little presents and complimenting him so frequently that his paranoia deemed it insincere until Sebastian told him off. In a moment of weakness, Ominis shared with his best friend some of his woes. Ever the pragmatist, Sebastian had told him to ‘just bloody tell her about it.’

But Ominis was too shy even for that, too afraid of making a mistake or saying the wrong thing that could be construed as lecherous as opposed to loving. He spent a day or two moping, wondering how he could ever consider himself worthy of her if he couldn't even hold her hand and wondering how best to go about navigating a relationship that lacked physical contact. The thing was, and he was furious with himself for forgetting it, Sebastian had a noxious habit of getting involved in things when he really, really shouldn’t.

He should have known something was up when she asked him to meet her in the Undercroft in the evening for a date. He’d been a little bemused, their dates were usually to Hogsmeade or Quidditch matches, the Undercroft was a bit of a dour place for a romantic evening. But it was very private.

Uh oh.

It was with no small amount of trepidation that Ominis crept into the Undercroft that evening, his wand revealing the outlines of the narrow stone corridor through small vibrations in his hand. As he approached the iron grate, he slowed, raising his head and inhaling.

She was already there, he could hear her shuffling around, and he could smell lavender and smoke. She must be burning scented candles. He nibbled his lip. He hoped she’d put them somewhere out of harm’s way, he’d had far too many incidents with a sleeve held too close to a flame before now to want to repeat the experience. He drew a breath and tugged at the old iron grate, which announced his presence with its customary, grating shriek of metal on stone.

“Ah, there you are.” She greeted him as warmly as ever, her smile evident in her voice. “Come over here, I’ve put some blankets and things down.”

“Unusual place for a date,” Ominis remarked as he obediently headed over to her. “Why here?”

“Because I wanted to talk to you,” she replied, and Ominis paused, a small thunk of something landing in his belly.

“That’s a frightening phrase,” he said, trying to hide his nervousness with a grin. “I’m not in trouble, am I?”

“Of course not,” she said, and patted the cushion beside her. Ominis dropped onto it, crossing his legs. “Please don’t be annoyed with me, but Sebastian and I have been talking.”

“I’d be surprised if you hadn’t been,” Ominis said, cautiously. “You’re close friends, after all.”

“We’ve been talking about you,” she clarified, and Ominis gulped.

“Oh?”

“He said you’ve been wanting to ask me something,” she said, her tone as cautious as he felt. “I just wanted you to know you can ask me absolutely anything, and I promise I won’t judge you for it. I know this is all new for you, and I want you to be comfortable with me.”

“Not new for you, I take it?” Ominis said, hoping to steer the conversation away from where he knew it was headed, his heart setting up a frantic dance in his chest.

She chuckled. “I’ve had boyfriends, if that’s what you’re asking. Forget about them, this evening is just for you and me. Specifically you.” She shuffled a little closer, and Ominis caught a breath of her hair, the raspberry cream shampoo she used each morning. Merlin, whoever invented that stuff was a bloody genius, he thought, because whenever he smelled it, he had the strongest urge to put her hair in his mouth.

He felt a flush flow up his neck and over his cheeks, and he turned away, fiddling with his wand.

“What… what did you have in mind?”

“I was rather hoping you’d tell me,” she said. “Sebastian gave me a pretty good idea of what you’ve been wanting to ask, but I don’t want to make any assumptions. I’d like to hear you say it.”

Ominis opened and closed his mouth, doing a remarkable impression of a fish that’s had a bit of a shock. He felt himself torn between indignant fury that Sebastian had taken it upon himself to tell his girlfriend about his wants and needs, and palpitating anxiety that she wanted him to say the words. He was caught now, he had to tell her what he wanted, what he needed from her, but he couldn’t seem to summon his voice. It was tangled up in his throat, the brambles that had suddenly decided that his larynx was the perfect place to take up residence tightening as she shifted a little closer, and Merlin, he could feel the warmth of her body, barely a few inches away.

What if he didn’t say anything? What if he just sat in dumb silence until the clock struck midnight or she grew bored? Would she take it as a rejection, would she think he didn’t want her? He did! No one had ever touched his heart in quite the way she had, had captivated his mind and turned his every waking thought into thoughts of her. Surely she had to know that? She was so easy to be around, so why couldn’t he bloody speak?

But he had underestimated her again, it seemed, when she rested her hand, very, very gently, on the back of his own, causing every muscle in his body to tighten as a gasp flew up from the back of his throat and past the tangle of thorns where his words were still fighting to get out.

“Is it this?” she asked, her voice as soft as her touch. “It’s alright if it is. I want there to be more physical contact between us both.”

His lips still parted, Ominis’ sightless eyes were fixed on the space in the nothingness around him where their hands were. It seemed to him that her skin carried a current of some kind, almost implausibly soft, the warmth of it sending prickling tingles along the back of his hand, up his arm and to his shoulders, where they scampered about like mischievous kittens, their tiny claws pricking his skin. She was still waiting for an answer, and Ominis steeled himself, forcing a single word out from his full throat.

“Yes,” he whispered.

He winced. He’d wanted to sound calm, collected, as if this was the most normal thing in the world, but it came out more like a scratch, rising at the end to a squeak. He turned away and cleared his throat, his cheeks searing. Beside him, she chuckled softly.

“That’s good. This isn’t something you’re used to, is it?”

Ominis shook his head, not trusting himself to speak again just yet. She moved a little closer, her hand still on his, her arm now pressing against his.

“I want you to be comfortable,” she murmured. “I don’t want to push you into anything you’re not ready to do.” Her hand left his, and Ominis closed his eyes, cursing himself for his baffling inability to reciprocate, thinking her fed up of him already, but then her hand slid to his shoulder, gliding from one to the other, tracing a heated path over his upper back to hold.

“If you need me to stop, if I go too far or do too much, I need you to tell me,” she said, her voice as gentle as an autumn dawn. “If you don’t feel comfortable saying it, you can pull away, or move my hand. For my part, I just want to be close to you.”

Ominis took a steadying breath, willing his racing heart to slow as the pressure on his shoulder increased in subtle increments until he could no longer remain upright, pulled inexorably towards her, his body twisting instinctively, his cheek coming to rest on her shoulder, his nose pressed against her neck.

His entire body went taut. Her body was lither than he’d expected, soft and hard all at once, and her skin was almost searingly warm over her collar. The faint traces of citrus brushed against his nose, the scent of her perfume, or her soap, perhaps, or was it just the way she smelled? The fabric of her blouse moved against his cheek as she shifted, the cotton rough in comparison to the satin of her neck, and he could feel the swell of her chest against his upper arm. Ominis bit his lip, overwhelmed by the sensation, his attention zeroing in on it in a way that was most ungentlemanly. He twisted again, trying to move away just enough to preserve her modesty, her hand still tight on his shoulder. He could feel every detail of each slender digit, the way they came together and parted like the beginning notes of a song, rubbing gentle caresses into him in a way he’d never known was possible.

How was it that so simple a touch could set his mind afire like this? He didn’t know what to do other than remain where he was, remain rigid, try to save himself from some awful outburst of Merlin only knew what. Her head came down, her chin resting against his temple, her breath rushing over his ear as she sighed, silently, seemingly content.

How could she be content? He’d read books, sappy romantic stories that curled his lip where people draped themselves over one another like dust sheets over furniture, and this was far from it. He may as well have been a statue with how tightly was he holding himself, but he couldn’t bear the thought of letting himself relax. Who knew what would happen if he let himself go?

Her other hand came up to join the first, beginning at his shoulder and trailing down his arm, sending more of those devilish kittens gambolling about his skin. Her hand curved around his, lacing their fingers together and raising his hand, his arm following.

“Is this okay?” she whispered. “You can relax if you want to, I’m strong. I can hold you.”

Ominis squeezed his eyes shut all the tighter, fighting to keep his breathing steady. In all his imaginings, his lonely, nighttime thoughts, he’d pictured her curled into his lap, not the other way around. He’d imagined holding her, stroking her hair, hell, even… even kissing her. He’d never thought about this. He’d never thought about her holding him. But as he considered this, trying his absolute hardest not to focus too much on the way her arms seemed made to fit around him, her hand so warm in his, the tips of her fingers against the veins on the back of his hand, he came to realise that there was nothing in this world he wanted more than to be held.

With a low sigh that was almost a groan, Ominis let go. His muscles unlocked, his joints softened, and he folded into her embrace, his face pressed into the crook of her neck, rewarded with a soft, satisfied sigh from her lips.

“That’s right,” she murmured. “You’re doing really well, Ominis. I’m proud of you.”

Proud. She was proud of him for doing something that should be simple, natural, as easy as breathing. Was she making fun of him? He nibbled his lip again, debating a moment whether or not to pull back and ask, but when her hand moved from his shoulder to his back, rubbing gentle, loving circles across his shoulder blades, he completely forgot what he was going to say.

Hell, for a moment, Ominis forgot his own name. His mind sparked with new fire as his attention became caught upon this new sensation, her palm and the pads of her fingers five separate points, easily distinguished, occasionally joining to become a singular point of pressure as she smoothed her whole hand over his back. She unlaced their fingers and joined her other hand with the first, both tracing individual patterns over him that were yet still joined in a soundless dance.

Ominis found himself sinking further into her embrace, his arms winding around her hips to lock in place, holding her as tightly as she held him. She breathed another contented chuckle, then shifted, reaching down to hook behind his knee. Ominis froze again, a soft gasp escaping him as she looped her arm under both his legs and tugged, pulling him into her lap completely. She leaned back, bracing herself against one of the many stone pillars of the Undercroft, then she returned to rubbing his back, only her other hand moved up to the nape of his neck, her fingers pushing into his hair, making his entire body tingle as if he’d just been electrocuted.

It was almost too much. The heat of her body, the movement of her hands on him, so tender and so gentle, so inexplicably loving made him want to weep. Ominis couldn’t remember ever being touched like this, held like this, in his entire life. Yes, Aunt Noctua had cuddled him as a boy, but they were swift, furtive things, brief hugs that were all she’d been able to give for fear of reprisal from his family. They had never even so much as offered him a friendly pat on the head.

To his dismay, Ominis found the backs of his eyes prickling. His instinct, borne of religious training, told him he needed to get up and run off somewhere private where he could handle his emotions properly, before returning to behave with the decorum a man in his position was expected to exhibit. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t push her away. He couldn’t bear the thought of being apart from her ever again.

He needed her to keep holding him. He needed her to keep rubbing his back. He needed her to keep running her fingers through his hair like she was, in the way that made him want to purr. Indeed, a low, rumbling sound began at the bottom of his lungs, but he bore down on it. He couldn’t let her know how much he craved this, because even he hadn’t known. If he’d known how good it felt to be touched by another person, he’d have been much more open to it long ago.

But something told him it wouldn’t be like this with everyone. There was something remarkably special about the way she held him to her, as if it was meant only for them, and no one else. Ominis tucked his face tighter into the crook of her neck, screwing up his face as his hands rose to grip the back of her blouse, one of her knees braced against the small of his back, his legs draped over her other. Something clawed at his chest, a great howl of loss and misery fighting to get out as he tightened his grip on her, needing to be closer, longing to be nearer. If he could climb inside her very skin, it wouldn’t be enough.

He could hear her heartbeat. It pulsed against his ear, fluttering like a caged bird, far quicker than he’d expected. He could feel her ribs expanding and contracting as she breathed, the air that gave her life rustling over his hair as she continued to stroke it, her fingers spreading apart and coming together, the pads of her fingers pressing against his scalp, and it was all he could do not to roll his eyes back and lean into her touch, her other hand still gliding over his arm, his back, his side, hell, even his chest.

She rested it there a moment.

“You’re heart’s racing,” she whispered. “Are you okay?”

Still he didn’t trust himself to speak. He nodded and pushed himself closer, leaning his full weight against her torso, one arm clamped around her waist, the other rising up to tangle in her long hair, coming to rest in the middle of her shoulder blades, trying to press her closer to him. She seemed to understand, for she tightened her arms around him, lowering her head and pressing her cheek to his, resting her forehead on his shoulder.

He did cry a little then. Silently, his teeth bared, two slim tears escaped from under his lids and vanished into the cotton of her blouse. He drew a shaking breath, wishing he could do more than just lie here and be held, but then, it was all he ever wanted. Listening to her heartbeat, feeling her arms around him, feeling safe for the first time in his life, he could have died. He could have given up his life and been content that he had experienced all he ever wanted to, safe at last in her arms, protected from all the ills of the world around him. In her arms, there was no dark magic. In her arms, there was no crucio. In her arms, there was no pain or fear of regret.

In her arms, there was nothing but love and acceptance. As he held on to her, inhaling the citrus and raspberry of her scent, feeling the satin of her skin and the cotton of her blouse, the strength of her arms and the swell of her chest, Ominis realised for the first time in his life that he was worthy of being loved, and he never wanted to be loved by anyone but her.

I've had other similar asks to this one that requested a smuttier ending, so I plan to continue this at a later date with significantly more ✨spice✨

Keep an eye out 😉

Masterlist

[envysparkler]

Of all the people Bruce expects to see on his doorstep on a Sunday morning, Talia al Ghul is very, very low on the list.  Frankly, he’s surprised she bothered to knock.

“Oh,” Talia says, lips pursing in disappointment as he looms in the doorway, “it’s you.”  She rocks on her heels, like she’s attempting to peer around him.

“This is my house,” Bruce says, half-offended and half-bewildered.  She’s not alone, there’s a child scowling up at him—they’re making League assassins smaller and smaller these days—but Bruce ignores him and focuses on the greater threat.  “I’ve already told Ra’s al Ghul that Gotham is off-limits—”

“Don’t be ridiculous, this isn’t about him,” Talia waves him off and saunters forward, stepping over the threshold and into the house like it belongs to her.  The child follows her, only pausing to sneer at Bruce, and Bruce is left standing on his porch, thoroughly dismissed.

Talia always did have a way of getting what she wanted, and damn anything in her way.  It takes a moment for Bruce to shake the old, lingering fondness and remember that a deadly assassin is inside his house.

Alfred is going to kill him.

“Wait!  Talia!”  He catches up to her near the kitchen, where she is surveying the cereal boxes on the counter with palpable distaste.  The child looks like he’s trying to test them for poison, or possibly poison them himself, but Bruce doesn’t have time to worry about that, because she’s found—

“Uh, Bruce?” Tim’s voice cracks high, out of his chair and holding both his cereal bowl and his spoon ready to throw.  “Did you forget to tell me you had company?”

“Timothy Drake,” Talia says, cold enough to create icicles.  She studies him for a long moment, skipping from his Superboy pajamas to his bleary face to the overfull mug of coffee on the table.  “You are one of Lady Shiva’s.”

The child’s scowl deepens.

“Yes?” Tim looks at Bruce desperately, like it’s a test and he’s looking for the answer.  Bruce shrugs.

“She mentioned you were passable,” Talia sniffs.  “For a boy.”

Tim looks a mixture of outraged and pleased, but Bruce is more concerned with why Talia is here, standing in his home years after she gave back his mother’s ring.  Talia only reveals whatever she wants to reveal, and while she does only ever tells the truth, she lets him draw incorrect conclusions from those truths all on his own.  It means Ra’s isn’t involved in whatever brought her here, but that could mean anything from the old schemer being dead to Talia being on the run, and Bruce is not nearly awake for an imminent League invasion.

“Where’s Alfred?” Talia finally finishes her survey of the kitchen and rests her cool gaze on him.

That would be the reason Bruce is barely awake.  He only managed to drag himself from bed with the reminder that there was an unsupervised teenager in his house.  Unfortunately, he’d got there too late to save the coffeemaker.

“What do you want with Alfred?” Tim asks, on the verge of hostile.  The child draws himself up like a hissing, spitting snake, and only stays still by virtue of Talia’s hand on his shoulder.  Talia, for her part, merely looks inconvenienced.

“Well, this would’ve been several times simpler had he been here,” she sighs.  “I could’ve dropped off Damian for a spot of tea and gotten on with my business.”

“And what is your business?” Bruce presses.

Talia heaves another sigh—this time dramatic and put upon.  It’s an act, Bruce can tell, but that doesn’t help him, not when Talia turns to him and widens her eyes, looking up through her lashes.  “Unfortunately, Beloved, your son takes after you in terms of vanishing skills, and I’ve finally managed to track him down here, so I really must get going before he infiltrates that sorry excuse of a prison and finishes decapitating that clown you keep alive for some unfathomable reason.”

There’s a lot packed into that statement, and Bruce is still untangling ‘your son takes after you in terms of vanishing skills’ with the knowledge that Nightwing is supposed to be safely inside Bludhaven and the growing horror that Dick might’ve accidentally started a war with the League of Assassins, so it’s Tim that inhales first, staring at the child in sharp shock and then up at Talia, before finally turning towards Bruce.

“You have a kid with Talia al Ghul?!”

~#~

Talia, of course, does not bother to explain anything.  She merely instructs the child—Damian—to behave before vanishing back out the front door, and Bruce’s attempt to follow her is met with a katana and a high-pitched demand for a duel.  It becomes apparent that Talia’s version of behaving doesn’t match Bruce’s, because it takes several minutes and one shallowly bleeding slice before Bruce can extricate himself.

The child—his child—Damian leaves him alone then, looking disappointed in his swordsmanship skills, and turns instead to badgering Tim, who despite favoring a bo staff—“a clearly inferior weapon unsuited to anything but sloppy pulverization,” comes out crisp and clear-edged, much like Bruce himself when he was younger and his only point of reference was Alfred—is judged a suitable opponent on the basis of Lady Shiva’s reference.

Bruce is maybe a little sulky that a child—his child—has dismissed him in favor of a teenager with a pillow crease on his cheek, but he suppresses the emotion to dart to the Batcomputer so he can ask Nightwing what the hell he’s been up to.

Unfortunately, Dick’s response is both confused and irritated, which means Bruce has to waste time explaining the situation lest his eldest give him the silent treatment again, and Dick signs off with a promise to drop by, clearly excited at the prospect of a new sibling.

Bruce doesn’t warn him that this one is more apt to stab him than hug him.  Dick can figure that out for himself.

But with that distraction out of the way, he’s left to ruminate on Talia’s words.  She wasn’t talking about Dick, and clearly not about Tim, and not Damian, and Bruce has no other sons.  The thought drives a pang through him, a loss he will always carry, and he finds himself in front of the case with Jason’s uniform, as though it can help him solve the puzzle.

Is there another child out there he doesn’t know about?  He’d swear that he doesn’t have another with Talia, but he has no idea when or how Damian was conceived, so it’s the most likely explanation. 

[jennicatzies]

Okay so we're doing this.

Since some people are interested. I bring you

Oh brother. Where do we start.

Your average timeloop au I believe. Au where everything is scripted and the cast's fates are pre-determined. And doomed to live through their mistakes over and over again. BUT there are a few twists to it.

Centered mainly around Burr and Hamilton, as they're the stars of of our little show. In varying levels of literal. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a "ship" au. I do admit I like hinting at it though fjdkfjrkfk

If you can't tell I'm a big big fan of tspud

Mass yappery/somewhat proper details under the cut

Here's a quick rundown (oh no) of the main plot

Everyone in this universe is... well, pretty much identical to canon in terms of looks and plotline. That's until our deutragonist and Narrator, Burr, slowly experiences more and more hints of dejavu in each loop that follows, until eventually he's just. Aware. His mind slowly becomes less and less wired to the script and script only. In simpler words, Burr is the most aware/conscious of their situation out of all the cast.

Burr realizes that. Oh shit he's the only guy aware of what they're going through. Not even the main character is aware. Well this took an interesting tur

Wait hold on what do you mean Alexander is not aware.

Well uh, slowly but surely, a little after Burr, Hamilton gains his own consciousness. He is *less* in control compared to Burr, but just enough to be able to conspire with him fjhdjfhdl

They've been trying to send eachother signals throughout "the play" until finally they're both just conscious enough to respond to eachother off script or well. Actually converse and not have to rhyme or have a melody to it every time they do.

I'm bad at words. Their main goal? Undoom themselves from the narrative! The conflict/obstacles? Oh. Oh brother. Everything.

And now. the masterdocument of all the worldbuilding and more to be added.

that up there will be updated accordingly. woaw

[implalazz]

Waaaaaaaaa I’m back with more yokai fusions & also a comically small Buchikoma

L-R: Blazitina, RoboGrapenyan, Damonono, Buchikoma, Komajisan, Pandatina

Again more design thoughts under tha cut ✌️

My fingers always feel sore after typing this much….. Lots of learning about the details of traditional clothes this time. I chose these pairings cuz I felt lazy & wanted to draw the simpler ones first lol

Blazitina: Lion girl 👍 First thing I can think of in my thought process was making the belt an obi sash. Tattered at the ends to batch Blazion’s & with an obijime for fun. I didn’t super feel like giving her the same kind of Miku-esque kimono sleeves that I gave Lord Lie-In so I just made them weird kinda arm warmers. Did the same for her pants too, I’m not sure what they’re called but they’re inspired by the leg warmer kinda things in PLA on the fancy kimono. Also gave her a juban cuz idk I made her gi dip too far under her arms & yknow she’s a little lady she’s gotta stay covered up. I know all of this traditional kimono gear isn’t conductive to good karate but whatever…… She doesn’t get boots cuz I like drawing paws & her ahoge mimic Blazion’s scar (I didn’t have enough room to fit it in). I was thinking of giving her an x shaped hair clip but I thought it’d be too busy on her head. Overall despite some things I’d change (the way I shaped the obi I know realize the shape is TOO stylistic) I think this is my favourite design of the bunch

RoboGrapenyan: Very much inspired by the pkmn Violet paradox mons* (*See the bells & eyes.) Not much to say it’s a pretty straightforward fusion. The tail onibi are lightbulbs because it feels more robotic & I thought it’d be cool. The jet exhaust is grape soda……. That was a choice. LOOK I’LL EXPLAIN, uh….. grape….. grape exhaust? Grape vapor? Grape soda????? Sure. Also I think in the back of my mind I was thinking of that soda gun from that one episode of SpongeBob. Naughty Nautical Neighbors. I had to google it I had to know what episode it was….. yeah.

Damonono: YAAAAYYYYY FIRST TIME DRAWING HAKAMA THEY’RE WEIRD BUT I’LL GET BETTER AT IT!! They’re supposed to be split leg hakama but in every reference I looked up they’re so wide that they just look like the skirt kind rather than having two leg holes. I gave them hakama cuz bootleg jeans would be weird with a kimono. And I like hakama. That’s it. The sleeves….. Let’s talk about those. I didn’t wanna give them the heart guns/cannons cuz idk…. I liked the way Damona’s hands were posed & I wanted to keep that. So instead they have weird fucked up heart shaped kimono sleeves. I wanted to keep Damona’s long obi too but I thought it might mess with the silhouette already having the sleeves & also that’s just not a thing you do with hakama. So….. her sleeves are kind of like the end of her obi…….. I’m only now realizing she could’ve had them tied up normally & they could still hang that low….. whatever. In my mind they go under the obi, get tied up so they can put on the hakama, & then untie them & let them hang over the hakama. Look I don’t think of fashion in terms of is this normal? Is this practical? If it looks good I do it. Not much else to say. I had to look up a tutorial on how to put on hakama cuz I wanted them to be as accurate as possible……. And now I know how to put them on so that’s cool I guess. I LOVE LEARNING!!!!!!!!

Buchikoma: Again pretty simple. I gave him a little tuft of hair to emulate Buchinyan’s wispy hair tuft. I forgot to draw the spot of the side of the right thigh, lol. His eye spot is shaped like an onibi cuz it’s cute 👍. His haramaki has the patterning of Jibakoma’s tummy spot cuz I can’t not give him the haramaki that’d be a crime. His ears are farther apart & smaller like Jibakoma’s, & his tail onibi are shaped like that cuz idk I tried to imagine what Jibakoma’s tail looked like & I thought of that. Overall another one of my favourite yokai fusions I’ve done. That’s my son

Komajisan: SPLIT EARS!!!!! Inspired by a fandom design of a certain character from a certain comic I won’t name….. IYKYK. Split ears cuz 2. Also extra swirly bits on the swirls cuz 2. I was thinking of adding blue spots to his bindle but I didn’t like how it looked so I didn’t do it. Fun paw spots cuz it’s cute. Forehead onibi are kinda angry lookin cuz idk….. I just felt it. Also mini onibi in between the forehead ones cuz 2. Some makeup accenting cuz……. IT’S CUTE!!!!!!!! I was also thinking of making the onibi half brown & half blue but it looked bad so yeah, I didn’t do it.

Pandatina: Probably my favourite in terms of lineart. I actually got noticeably better at drawing kimono particularly the sleeves. I’m proud :]. I honestly didn’t feel like giving her a haori/cape/whatever so I didn’t (also I just forgot to lol.) So she has a good sewn into the collar of her kimono. Clover shaped obijime like Slimatina cuz it looks cool & I like it, also I needed more clover shapes lol. She’s got one in her hair because of that too, I was thinking of making it blue but I thought nahh. She’s intentionally very pale cuz I wanted her skin tone to really match the snake part of her body. And she has eyeshadow on to emulate the spots around Pandanoko’s eyes, same with her pupils. Again just a simple fusion

[btoon-alba]

✨Stardust✨

You know you truly love your characters when you create tons of art for them. 👀

But as an artist, of course, I never share the lore surrounding these characters AKBDKSNDNS

My inspiration for these two is basically a reimagining of a movie that no one liked. Yes, I’m talking about Wish.

The idea of a Star Boy and a romance captivated me more than the final product, as it did with many others. Wish is generally a disappointing movie but with a beautiful concept.

So, like many, I wanted to redesign the Star Boy. I tend to create character designs inspired by Pixar, with more striking and fantastical elements, so what emerged from the original concept was this charming little character whom we'll call Star.

The Star in my "reimagining" has a strong resemblance to Peter Pan in terms of personality; he's a bit stubborn and proud, embodying a kind of hero.

While going through the character creation process, I thought, "Wow! I love this design; it’s a shame it’s for a Wish redesign."

So, I decided to start from scratch.

Then, I introduced a second character named Stella, who would be the antagonist, as Star is the protagonist.

She has a simpler design because I wanted to focus more on the concept of the stars’ glow, making her body consist of pure light. (Also, Star is already difficult to animate lol )

Anyway! You may notice that she is incomplete in some way, I hope that makes sense..

As for the story, it’s essentially Star’s journey, a hero who was discharged from his duties, and in his search for something to do, he encounters Stella, a lonely star in the middle of the galaxy.

The two clearly fall in love as the story progresses, but I’ve never been a big fan of stories where the plot revolves solely around a couple. I want both characters to have deep psychological backgrounds.

"What is it that you wish for?"

For what I have planned for them, I've been compiling a playlist with various songs that help tell their stories.

One of these songs is the only one I consider redeemable from Wish, "At All at Costs", which greatly inspired the kind of love they would develop throughout the story.

My autism took me very far in this one Uh

[propertyofwhitney67]

This one's simpler compared to the rest of your prompt masterlist but can I request Whitney + Breeding with a reader who is Kylar's sister? Thx <3

I love you too...

M!Whitney x Kylar's AFAB!Reader sister

Prompt Event: Breeding

Words: 838

Tw: smut, unprotected sex, breeding kink, creampie

Note: Are these words/terms cool with the youth? They sound so weird to me, I guess that's because I never use them.

“You live like this?” Whitney asked, genuinely surprised at the state of the manor. “It’s like a fucking disaster zone in here.” It really is a mess, with trash and debris everywhere. “And what is that smell?” 

I grabbed Whitney’s hand, pulling him away from my brother’s lab. “It’s uh…one of Kylar’s projects.” I tried to explain away the strong peppery chemical smell. Which reminds me, I need to get on Kylar about cleaning that up.

He didn’t fight my tugging, letting me lead him to my room. “Can’t believe the two of you are related.” Whitney grumbled, mostly to himself. He’s always found it hard to believe Kylar and I are related, something about Kylar being such a freak and me being an obedient slut. Loud sounds came from my parent's room as we passed, “What the fuck is that sound?”

“Nothing, don’t worry about it.” I could tell he didn’t believe me, but he didn’t push the matter as I dragged him past their room. I flinched as the sounds continued, I didn’t like thinking about what they were now. Those aren’t my parents, not anymore. 

Whitney raised a brow in a teasing manner upon seeing my decorated bedroom door, “I didn’t know you were such a girly girl, slut.” I rolled my eyes, opening my door revealing a clean room. Whitney whistled lowly, “Not what I expect in a place like this.” It was a far cry from the rest of the manor.

I hopped down on my bed, ruffling the perfectly made sheets. “I like to keep it nice.” The room was pink and girly with decorated walls, a clean floor, a cute gaming setup, a big bed, and a neat closet. “It’s my safe place in this shithole.” I explained with a smile, proud of how my room looked.

He pushed me back on the bed, “I don’t care about that.” He groped my chest through my shirt and flipped my short skirt up, revealing my bare cunt. “Good girl, following the rules.” He smiled, tracing my slit. 

I gasped at his touch, instinctively raising my hips to meet his touch. “Whitney…” He grabbed my hips, holding me down. “Please…”

Whitney smirked down at me, “Have you been good enough to deserve a reward?” He asked condescendingly, bunching my skirt up at my waist and fondling my pubic bone. Taking care to not slip any lower, wanting to make me beg for it.

I nodded, whining. “Yes.” I wiggled my hips, wanting him to touch me more. “Please, Whitney…” 

He chuckled, cock forming a tent in his pants. He loved watching me beg, “Well since you asked so nicely.” Wasting no time, he ripped my clothes off and tossed them to the side. I sat up on my knees and palmed his cock through his pants, “Mhh I picked the right slut.” He smirked down at me, letting me play with his cock for a few moments.

Once his precum formed a wet spot on his pants, he pushed me back down onto the bed. I giggled as he undressed, “I love you.” I said absentmindedly, it wasn’t the first time I’ve said it. I really do love him, I’d do anything for him.

A blush formed on his face as he grumbled, “Fucking hate you…” He always got embarrassed when I said that to him. I know he loves me too, he’ll just never admit it. He’s not good at expressing any other emotion besides anger.

I smiled as he climbed on top of me, “Sure you do.” His hard cock rubbed against my thigh, smearing precum on my leg. I raked my nails down his chest, leaving behind a red trail.

“Shut up.” Whitney grumbled, bringing his thick cock to my entrance and spearing his precum against my folds. He groped and fondled my tits are he rubbed his cock against my entrance. “I should-” He grunted as I angled my hips, his tip almost slipping inside. “Fucking slut.” He pulled back slightly, rubbing against my fold again. “So fucking impatient.”

I wrapped my legs around his waist, bringing him even close. The tip of his cock now rubbing against my clit, “Breed me, Whitney.”

Those words must have unlocked something in him because he didn’t hesitate in roughly thrusting into my tight hole, “You want me to breed you?” His pace was brutal with fast and deep thrusts, “Fine, I’ll breed you.” I moaned, his fat cock hitting that perfect spot every time. 

Whitney groaned into my ear as my walls tightened around his cock, “Can’t wait to see pregnant, stomach round and tits fat.” I turned my head, giving him access to my neck. He bit down hard, surly leaving behind marks.

He easily pulled multiple orgasms from me, making sure to paint my walls with his cum every time. Thoroughly exhausted, Whitney collapsed on my heaving chest and wrapped his arms around my waist. I raked my hands through his hair, “I love you.”

“I love you too…”

𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵

𝘒𝘰-𝘍𝘪

[kustas]

I recently witnessed someone on twitter with the spicy but interesting position of: the only people vehemently bitching against 2D puppets are the animators who have to use them. So, what's the tea, why's this debate even a thing, and is one side wrong?

Rigged 2D animation, also known as puppet animation, and prolly other terms I'm not aware of. Most 2D animators I know treat it with disdain as something they're forced to work on to survive instead of "real" animation (=hand drawn in this case), and while I've encountered less negative sentiments towards the medium coming from fans, I have seen several people complain about it unknowingly, correctly nailing visual aspects they don't like without knowing their cause. Additionally, it can be really hard to tell apart what's rigged and what's hand drawn in 2D, with many series mixing both to their advantage.

The reason for rigged stuff being so prevalent is that it's cheaper and faster. Where hand drawn requires redrawing your entire character/thing frame by frame to make it move, puppet animation uses, well, puppets, ready-made articulated models you just need to pose. It's also possible to use interpolation - instead of deciding by hand every image between two poses, you let the computer calculate it and come later to tweak how each part moves to make it look good. There is little to no drawing involved in rigged 2D, asides of rare shots that need a little part drawn over when the puppet can't do something specific, or drawing the eyes/mouths/hands/etc when you're making the puppets themselves. Notice I said series and not films in my previous paragraph - this is because animations with longer runtimes and/or shorter production times benefit strongly from this medium. You will not need to clean, to inbetween, to color and whatever other steps can go in hand drawn 2D when you have puppets. You can use the interpolations to your advantage on some movements. It's near impossible to be off model. You don't even need to draw!

And most animators uh, they're here because they like to draw. You can say animating and drawing are two different things, that is true, I've even heard it from the mouth of an insanely talented hand drawn animator called Liane-Cho Han who described himself as a poor drawer despite an impressive 2D portfolio. Poor drawer, good animator, it blew my mind at the time but when I started animating I understood what he meant. But puppet animation is still animation, and much closer to how 3D animation works, with stop-motion being comparable to hand drawn in terms of difference between these mediums. Yet you don't see industry-spanning bitching about 3D vs stop motion! This leads to my next point: puppets are limiting.

One of the advantages of hand drawn animation compared with other animation techniques especially those using character rigs is that you're not limited to said rigs. You can just draw anything, regardless of digital puppet constraints, of art style, of physics. If you can put it on paper, you can animate it. Puppets, both 3D and 2D, have limitations - the art needs to be made (sculpt, drawings) and be placed on a complex invisible digital skeleton allowing you to correctly manipulate your character, which is a job in itself. The more stuff you want your character to be able to do, the more complex it gets. You can't automate all of it. This means productions with lower budget and/or ambitions will tend to have simpler rigs which allow less. An example is angles: when you're hand drawing a character and want to pose them, you can pick whatever angle you'd like for all body parts. Rigs might not give this as an option, especially subtler angles of the head and foreshortening. This might make some movements you had in mind impossible, with a need to stylize your poses and your breakdowns. Not being able to have these angles can make for animation that looks stiff or awkward and can be very annoying to work with depending on the animator.

That artificial stiffness is to me, one of the telling signs something is rigged, and part of the reasons I don't like it myself! That's right, I'm with the haters here. Except stiffness doesn't necessarily mean something used digital rigs, and stiffness isn't inherently a bad thing - as with all art styles, it can just be that, a stylistic choice. Enters a director who's work I'll use as a counter example to the dislike of 2D puppets, both from an animator's and a hater layman's point of view on the results: Michel Ocelot.

Famous in France and way less internationally, two staples of his work are his fixations on fairytales and Africa. Fittingly, his most famous movie is probably Kirikou, a feature film which mixes both. Ocelot's work is stylized in a way unique to him, which can make his work very repetitive, but also makes it instantly recognizable. Some of his staples include static shot compositions, actors that talk like they're reading their lines out of an old book, busy backgrounds and folk tale tropes. Stiffness is just a part of what his movies look like, as are art styles that take inspiration from traditional art and past periods. He started out working before digital puppets were a thing, and while he's embraced digital techniques, releasing a full CG feature film in the 00s before it was the norm, he has worked without, including on Kirikou which is animated the old way.

The earliest of his films I've seen is called Princes and Princesses, it's already got everything typical of his work, and one of the latest of his films I've seen (and among my personal favorites of everything he's done) is called Black Pharaoh, and while decades and different techniques separate these two, they're both based around, you guessed it, puppets. P&P is a blatant hommage/reference to animation pioneer Lotte Reiniger, who used literal paper puppets to animate fantasy movies who's style is very reminiscent of the graceful, slightly simplified illustrations popular at the time. Black Pharaoh uses digital 2D puppets and is entirely animated using the (meticulously researched) style of ancient egyptian wall paintings. Both of these films tell a story, not like movies usually do, but like an orator retelling a tale does. And it works! The characters don't move in a 3D space, but it doesn't matter, they're from a fresco or are paper. The character's don't move realistically and it doesn't matter either, they're not trying to trick your eyes into looking real, they're characters of a story. Ocelot's films are a case where using puppets and their limitations works in favor of the film, not otherwise, and his stuff that's not made with puppets looks like it could be.

I'll briefly talk about a film I hate here to make the final point before my conclusion, netflix's Klaus. This is a film who's insanely impressive animation has floored people regardless of how much they know about animating. Unlike a lot of "this looks very cool" (actually p easy to make) animations you see going viral online, here everyone's right, it is indeed insanely hard to animate like that. Klaus was hailed because of it's uncanny ability to look like modern CG while being entirely hand drawn, which I think is stupid, because it's a lot of effort and talent wasted for a result that looks incredibly generic. Would this film have been bad if it had used CG? Why do people think hand drawn is better than CG in the first place? That I can't answer but the reason studios use it is money: either because it's trendy and will make more money because it's trendy, or because it's cheaper to make, which depends on what you're trying to achieve. In the end, they're techniques. Techniques have pros and cons and things they're better at than others. Time and money are essential to producing a film wether you like it or not.

So: are people wrong to hate on puppets? Nah, it's a question of taste. You can hate the look a technique gives and that's fine. But "ugly" is subjective and it's important to be aware of that if critiquing stuff is your job.

Was that tweet right? Yeah, pretty much, lol. For many if not most animators it's a technique they're forced to use, that removes a major reason they like their job from said job, and can be frustrating to work with. It's worth noting a lot of the work you'll get nowadays is on cheap productions, and the techniques they'll use most will be associated with the slop they are. Doesn't mean you'll inherently make slop. A technique is just that, a technique.

[rimeiii]

I return to WHB Tumblr to see how the game us doing and I see the fandom in shambles, damn. And after scrolling through the tag for a bit, I have...questions.

Yo how big is WHB now even? I stopped playing shortly after they introduced the paywalled Gabriel and that's one of the things I've seen several people complain about...

Like I understand the rest of the complaints - it's mostly the same complaints I've been having about the game prior to me quitting. Multiple decisions that seem to reinforce the idea that this game is heading down the P2W path, very anti-F2P practices in general, outrageous prices for the paid Nightmare Pass, no pity system on launch, the disaster that was the implementation of the Solomon's Seals gacha, the many bugs on launch especially, the small amount of farmable premium currency, and the list goes on...the pancake shop rework not only seems to be in line with the trajectory PB seems to be taking in terms of game decisions, but is also the straw that broke the camel's back for a lot of players.

But, uh, storage? Wasn't it like 2 GB tops on launch? That was reasonable I think, because Arknights was around that size on launch and back then, there was so little additional content. Only JP dubbing, no L2D E2 art or skins (the only L2D we had back then was Closure, the SHOPKEEP), 5 story chapters (which translated to 92 stages, in which around half have a Challenge Mode variant and with a large majority being unique maps), and no additional game modes.

For additional context, currently Arknights is ~6-7 GB on a fresh account with all language dubbing, and it gets bloated if you don't delete unused event data (it's ~9.7 GB for me and I have Arknights on my current phone ever since Near Light first hit Global, so just over 2 years now). Keep in mind Arknights is close to 4.5 years old in Global, and CN just celebrated their 5th anniversary a few months back.

Talking about storage, I don't think comparing WHB to older games and non-tower defense is fair either, since:

Older games in general are much easier on your device in terms of storage to content ratio and performance, mostly due to device limitations of the past requiring less sophisticated game mechanics and the devs sticking to these simpler mechanics even as time passes and technology gets more advanced. Gentle reminder that FGO is ~7 years old in NA, ~9 years old in JP, and ALSO doesn't download everything initially - afaik there's an option for that in the settings menu which bumps the total size up significantly (the wiki lists it as around 9-10 GB total).

Different genres and graphics mean different storage requirements. Anything 3D or open world will almost always have higher storage requirements compared to anything else. Path to Nowhere is around the same size as Arknights despite being younger due to the former using 3D models for their battle sprites, compared to the 2D chibis Arknights uses. Love and Deepspace, a ~5 months game, is huge because of how they do the cutscenes AND the stage-based action gameplay, but Wuthering Waves is closing the gap on size quickly despite being only ~1.5 months because it's an open world action RPG.

What I will say, though, is that WHB is not optimized well. Now I may be very unfair by comparing WHB to Punishing: Gray Raven, a game by the optimization gods known as Kurogames (people ran the PC PGR client on 2GB RAM laptops and my 4GB RAM laptop can run WuWa despite it using UE4 - an engine notorious for chugging on low end devices - albeit with lag spikes in the open world map), but when a 2D tower defense game fails to run as smoothly as a 3D action game with stylish and fast-paced combat, then we have a problem. For context, my 4GB RAM phone only has minor lag when I use a skill that has a lot of visual effects like Lee Hyperreal's Hypermatrix, but back when I played WHB I still experienced lag spikes when deploying units.

Again this all boils down to PB just not being used to the game format. Which is all well and good, Arknights was a huge departure from Girls Frontline too - a good portion of Arknights' devs worked on Girls Frontline before splitting off to work on Arknights. But what made Arknights succeed is how accessible and F2P friendly the game was, with smooth and solid gameplay as well as an engaging plot that discusses themes such as racism, discrimination, and the fragility of hope.

Of course you can argue that Arknights is a tower defense first, visual novel second. Unlike WHB, which is an otome game first, tower defense second. And I would agree, but only to a certain extent. Once you step into the realm of having Actual Combat Gameplay Elements then I believe it's your duty to make progression as reasonable as possible. Including a power gate is fine, but nothing too excessive - and certainly do not hold any significantly strong unit behind a paywall.

Because fun fact - in Arknights' entire runtime, there were only a handful of completely paywalled content:

Player icons from promotional packs for large events, particularly the Ambience Synesthesia concerts

Character skins from promotional packs, like the Exusiai and Guard Ch'en skins during the anime release

Purestream, a B4 Therapist Medic who was released as a WWF collab, where all sales from her $1 pack were donated to the WWF. Even then, she eventually became available for everyone, as she was later added to the Recruitment pool (use a resource obtained from Dailies for a chance to get units, some unique to the pool like Purestream). She was a decent healer, and her Module made her a good budget medic. Even then you're more likely using the Medics you've already built by then - for B4 budget options, Perfumer is usually better for multi-target healing and a party HP regen passive, while Sussurro is your go-to for strong single-target healing.

And guess what? None of these had any direct impact on gameplay during their paywalled period. Purestream wasn't even a B5 or B6 unit, yo. There are many better options for healers. I STILL USE THE B3 ANSEL AND HIBISCUS IN INTEGRATED STRATEGIES.

I'm just...PB's choices baffle me, and I do wish they can improve not just on the game performance standpoint, but in how they treat their playerbase in terms of in-game purchases. I hope I made that abundantly clear...

[cdroloisms]

fuck it. c!punz + c!dream manifesto bc what else am i going to do at university. study ? nahhh 

the first thing i want to be clear about is that i like c!drunz. they’re a very important duo (they were explicitly paralleled with c!CLINGYDUO for god’s sake) and the point of this isn’t to diminish their importance to each other. i ALSO want to say that the point of this isn’t to be like, super aggressively /neg towards any one character (even tho i am, admittedly, a self-proclaimed c!drolo) or to demonize them. and finally, that this is just the way i see them, not necessarily the views of anyone else (though i’ve very much been inspired by talking to certain friends abt the Blorbos (tm) for obvious reasons.)

all of that out of the way, onto the c!dream and c!punzisms . i have no plan for this post it’s probably gonna be messy as fuck . but i think first and foremost it’s important to acknowledge that c!dream and c!punz, each are characters with their own goals. a lot of the finale is about c!dream’s side of this, especially in terms of how much he lost sight of what he actually wanted (and i still have to do a rewatch of the 3rd finale stream just to parse through ALL THE SHIT HE SAID bc jfc man . what.) and how a lot of what he wanted were a lot simpler than he allowed himself to realize. 

but on the flip side of this, obviously, is c!punz. who also has his own motivations, and as is shown in the finale ... these motivations exist in a space that is . in a lot of ways. directly incompatible with what c!dream actually wants. c!punz is representative of The Plan. he calls the desires that c!dream and c!tommy share “simple-minded.” he wants to unlock the secrets of the universe just because he can. 

(and it’s worth recognizing that c!dream’s initial reaction to the existence of supernatural powers beyond his understanding on the server was to freak the fuck out, to the point of the prison’s construction being EXPLICITLY as a result of said discovery. Does c!dream want to understand things in order to Fix Them? Certainly. but i would hardly characterize his initial response to the supenatural as being, uh, impassioned curiosity of the unknown, so to speak.) 

c!punz has motivations that aren’t c!dream’s motivations. that’s ,, kind of the point of a lot of what was going on in that last finale stream! c!punz wants to Know Shit. he wants to elevate himself above simple-minded desires. he really,,, wasn’t convinced or swayed the same way dream was when tommy tried to get him to have a heart to heart, and actively discouraged him from continuing to talk about what he actually wanted. and again this isn’t to say that c!punz didn’t care or that he was trying to hurt c!dream or otherwise was trying to act in a way that was malicious towards him but all that still happened you know and speaks to a fundamental difference in the driving forces between these two characters. c!dream and c!punz are each characters with DESIRES and MOTIVES and they’re,, not always on the same page w/ regards to what said desires and motives actually are. 

and, yk, it’s not to say that two characters with different motivations can’t work together or have a relationship that’s rendered completely impossible by their differing desires. but a lot of what defines c!dream and c!punz has a lot to do with c!punz As The Plan, which is significant when you consider how much of The Plan is about both outward and self-destruction for c!dream. this in itself doesn’t completely throw their relationship over a cliff, even if it’s a huge disparity that has a lot of implications when we consider how unaddressed it was by the characters until the last stream of the finale, where c!dream and c!punz are markedly NOT on the same page about what they want. but that kind of brings me to my other point of what’s...really important to c!drunz, at least to me. which is how it’s so often defined by inaction. 

because, yeah, c!punz was always on c!dream’s side (except for that period of time in Pogtopia where he wasn’t, lol.) and yeah, c!punz was the one person he trusted with a lot of the details about his plan to Save The World and whatever. but also the separation between the two was so important that it was quite literally the cornerstone that ended up ensuring their joint survival; it was crucial post-staged finale that no one knew they were working together. c!punz started on c!dream’s side because he was a mercenary for hire. a degree of alienation has always been a part of their dynamic down to the finale, and is also an extremely IMPORTANT part of their dynamic if we consider c!dream’s silence to c!punz calling them friends. 

i find the post-prison era to be most damning about this point in particular, but just look at staged finale in itself: one one hand, c!punz and c!dream were in on a plan to fool the entire server, which spoke a lot to the level of trust involved there. on the other hand, c!punz took a very active and physical role in literally locking c!dream up in his personal hell. c!ranboo took a more significant role after he was locked up than c!punz (which, like, again makes SENSE re. security. but. like. that absence still speaks volumes)--like c!punz as an enabler, c!punz as someone physically cut off from c!dream...that’s a pattern. 

and again, when we look at the state of them after the prison, the absence is even more damning. c!punz specifically (even when considering c!dream’s obvious role in the planning) gets c!dream killed twice in staged finale and then you know, has him metaphorically killed when he’s put in the prison. and then AFTER the prison, we have three specific cases at the very least: c!punz’s signal in the scrapped lore is what ends with c!dream being trapped by both of his torturers, c!punz’s involvement in the Las Nevadas revenge plan nearly gets c!dream killed either by the slime army or if he was in c!purpled’s position at the top of that tower, and his running away from Las Nevadas is explicitly what allowed c!tommy to stalk him for weeks and end up breaking in and killing him. Not to mention how that ends up leading up to both of them getting trapped in the prison with a nuke about to come down over the server. 

and obviously c!dream almost dying/literally dying in all of these post-prison scenarios isn’t Part Of The Plan or something that c!punz actually wants, right, but also...where was he? what did he do to prevent this from happening? c!dream was stalked for literal MONTHS after las nevadas and we see no mention of c!punz being around,,, at all? (we KNOW he wasn’t visibly around in any way considering c!tommy thought that c!punz was still on his side, even.) c!dream didn’t LEAVE the prison for weeks after LN and c!punz wasn’t around? this is with c!punz obviously knowing that c!dream was going to confront his TORTURER. and he wasn’t watching from the sidelines? like, forget c!tommy, c!sapnap found about c!dream’s place of residence IN JANUARY and was apparently still harassing him outside IN JUNE. people broke into that prison to threaten dream multiple times !! like ? 

and god it’s not to say that c!punz didn’t care--his anger speaks for itself--but it’s important to acknowledge that that distance existed and was actively detrimental to c!dream’s safety. fuck, the ANGER in itself was detrimental to c!dream. c!punz’s defining characteristic according to the cc is his anger, when he’s not putting on a persona for the rest of the server,,, and this anger was doing c!dream no favors. we could see that in the finale. we could see that as he literally spent months upon months wasting away in the prison AFTER RECLAIMING THE KEYCARDS and apparently just spent all his fucking time in that place. we can see that when c!punz’s anger leads to c!dream confronting LN which ends up with him staying in the prison without moving for weeks on end, when c!punz’s anger leads to him reviving c!dream minutes after he dies in front of c!clingyduo which ends up leading to the events that prompt them to nuke the fucking server. 

like, ultimately, c!dream and c!punz are characters that had each other and only each other in terms of people who knew the truth abt each other’s plans. they care about each other’s safety. they also have inherently incompatible individual motivations and were severely alienated from each other in ways that carried out throughout their relationship into the finale, and these differences are what defined finale c!dream and c!punz the way they ended up being. and yes, a lot of these decisions were exacerbated by the hostility of the environment they lived in and how being c!dream’s ally was a death sentence. yes, a lot of this has to do with the logical benefits of standing apart so that they could revive each other in case something went wrong. and yes, this has to do with c!dream’s being extremely fucking mentally ill and delusional from the beginning of when their partnership became more defined, after c!dream received the revive book, lost every other ally, and went on a paranoid spiral that ended up with him in pandora. but it’s the differences and the isolation that to me, make this pair in particular so compelling and IMPORTANT in canon. 

[jbbartram-illu]

Uh… hi! It’s uh… me again.

Sorry for popping into your inbox so much. It’s just that I’m a beginner ceramicist and I’m fascinated and awed by your work. (It also doesn’t help that my irl teacher doesn’t know what she’s doing). I’ve got some questions about the way that you bring your adorable creechurs to life.

What is the method of layering clay and then carving out designs in the different coloured clay? I find it really interesting, tbh

Where does the process start? Do you like, start with a sketch? Or with like an “I want to make a cute creature.” Sorta vibe?

And uh, what kinds of glaze do you use? Any tips?

Sorryagainforaskingsomanyquestionsitsjustthatiloveyourworksomuch!

Have a nice day!

Hey, @drgalacticcandy! This ask (which please, never apologize for sending an ask! I love them!! Also thank you for your kind words about my work!) came at a perfect time because your first Q is answered by another ask I just responded to in great depth!

The technique where I carve out designs is called sgraffito & I just wrote a small novella about the technique here!

In terms of the creative process, it depends on the creature! Almost all of them need some sort of photo-reference at some point, especially the ones I want to look more like an actual creature that exists (eg. my bird ladies, the pod guys).

For things like the sphinxes and the ungulates, I did peek at some photo reference at the very start (looked at some cats for sphinx anatomy & lots of musk oxen & goats for the ungulates), but am now just going off of what's goopin' around in my brain. I do sometimes still do sketches for the designs I make a lot, especially when I want to do a new body shape, eg. this flying guy.

I did quite a few sketches for the Puffin BirdLady because I'd hardly even drawn puffins before, let alone sculpted one, but other birds I'm more familiar with (loons, ravens/crows) I just keep some photo ref up on my laptop in case I need to check a detail & go straight to sculpting.

Some of the simpler beasts I just go ahead and sculpt without any drawings, eg. the snats/slats (snailcats/slugcats) & the owlbears (tho I did look at a bunch of owl-face photo ref to inspire their patterns!):

I do find sketching especially useful for creatures that require some new engineering, eg. the sphinx dishes or fishbutts in new positions, as doing the drawings helps me work out how the various bits will attach together or what issues I might come up against while trying to sculpt a new pose.

And glazes...whew! I'm still SUCH a glaze newbie & really don't know anything about them yet. My usual tendency when encountering a new art adventure is to just dive in headfirst with minimal research and GO, which is mayyyyybe not the best with glazes??

And yet I still just see a pretty glaze and go OH HI I AM BUYING U NOW (with one caveat -- I always read the description and if it's described as a runny/difficult to use glaze I drop it and run because my sculptures are wee and I don't want any glaze floods in the kiln!).

I'm also lucky to have a really great kiln tech in my friend who fires my stuff who does actually know more about the chemistry of glazes, so sometimes I pass my flights of fancy by her to make sure I'm not doing anything silly. In terms of glaze brands, I love Amaco & Coyote, both of whom make plenty of beautiful glazes that are also easy to use.

For my sgraffito work, when I'm not glazing with clear glaze I put a variety of colours of celadon glaze overtop (most of mine are Coytoe brand). Celadons are translucent, so patterns will show through them - you can also do designs in underglaze and put a celadon glaze overtop & get some neat effects - below are some examples of celadons over sgraffito...

...and celadons over underglaze designs...

I know the glaze portion of this answer wasn't the most helpful, but there are definitely lots of forums & websites that contain loads of great info about all the alchemical intricacies of glazes! If you can befriend some potters IRL, that can also be an amazing resource for learning.

Phew. Why do my answers always end up so long?? I hope this was helpful & please don't hesitate to ask if you have more Qs!

[whumpbug]

Oc question: How would all four of your whump ocs go about answering "how are you" or "are you okay" in different phases of okayness?

Or in simpler terms (in case what I just said made no actual sense) How would Archie/Simon/Gene/Cassidy respond if he was asked...

"How are you"/"How are you doing" on a GOOD day?

"How are you"/"How are you doing" on a BAD day?

"How are you"/"How are you doing" on a TERRIBLE day?

And as a bonus (to end off with something positive) how would they each respond to "how are you" on an absolutely showstopping fantastic day?

anon i am SO sorry this took so long to answer but i got so so sobusy and then i got on a drawing kick so i wasn't writing as much BUT this is such a fun question. i LOVEEEE exploring character voices/what they would say to certain questions. i'm gonna answer with dialogue/small actions and add a tiny little explanation!!

i hope you enjoy!! long post incoming!!

✮⋆˙

"how are you doing?" on a GOOD day

simon: "who, me? oh! i'm doing well. and you?"

[simon is just hard to read period. you'll notice a lot of his responses are similar because he is just. naturally very monotone. BUT THERE ARE SUBTLE DIFFERENCES. archie knows. this is him just being calm, which, in comparison to the rest of his life, is a good day]

archie: "i'm doing great! i went to go get some bagels downtown, and they were perfectly toasted, and then i found $10 on the floor! then, my friend, simon, went to the store and got oreos, just for me! then, i--"

[cutting him off because he will just ramble about exactly what made his day good. he's a talker. he can't help it when he's excited.]

gene: "can't complain." [said with an easy expression on his face-- he's not Brooding for once. he seems more relaxed and open]

[gene is a man of few words, equally if not more inexpressive than simon. he is also a little bit awkward. BUT its endearing and he's getting his point across]

cassidy: "doin' peachy! whatta 'bout yourself?" [said with a flashy smile, but its clear that for once, its not for show. its not one of his fake smiles]

[cassidy is cassidy. simple as that. he walks a delicate balance between being a Silly Goober and Deeply Traumatized.]

✮⋆˙

"how are you doing?" on a BAD day

simon: "shitty."

[short, clipped, and to the point. if simon's having a bad day, chances are that its because he has too much on his plate. no time for small talk]

archie: "oh! i've uh.. i've been better. but it's okay! how are you?"

[oh archie. ever the deflector. archie does let himself show that he has "bad days" because the city needs vigil to be Strong. he needs to learn to dodge punches as well as he dodges questions]

gene: "alright."

[he's Not in the mood for small talk. not in the mood to pretend to be fine. he just wants to get whatever he needs to do done so he can go home and brush calliope and sleep.]

cassidy: "well, i'm alright! and you?"

[you didn't think cassidy would admit to having a bad day, did you? especially because the person probably causing his bad day is someone he Will Not bad mouth. ever.]

✮⋆˙

"how are you doing?" on a TERRIBLE day

simon: "i don't want to talk about it, okay?" [said somehow in a tone thats half-rude-half-desperate]

[simon is blunt. he'll say what he means, and if he says this, he really doesn't want to talk about it. to whoever is asking, at least. archie's a different story of course. anyways, best to let him be.]

archie: "me? oh.. i'm.. i'm okay.." [followed immediately by bursting into tears.]

[vigil can only stay strong for so long. even he has limits. he needs a hug and a cup of hot cocoa and a fluffy blanket immediately chop chop simon]

gene: "hm."

[look at that guys. gene has trancended words. his day is SO shitty that he has taken to communication using grunts and nothing else. best to leave the deputy alone, just like simon. maybe be careful around him. it's been rumored he has a short fuse.]

cassidy: "i'm doing fine, alright?" [and then cassidy storms away, of course]

[oh cassidy. he's tired of being fussed over. if people see that he's Not okay, it makes him vulnerable. he can't have that. he'd rather remove himself from the situation that have to keep pretending.]

✮⋆˙

AND BONUS!! "how are you doing?" on a FANTASTIC day

simon: "i'm doing great." [his voice may be monotone, but he has that smile. the one that archie gushes about in this post.]

[again, simon is straight to the point. his face still tells more of a story than his voice and demeanor. when hes happy, he's all gentle smiles. his face practically emits light with how warm it is]

archie: "i'm doing amazing!! what about you? oh! we should go get some ice cream! i know this really good spot! my treat!"

[archie my precious. when hes happy, he LOVES to spread the love and find ways to make his and other people's day even better.]

gene: never been better! [follows by a clap on the shoulder in the way dads do.]

[wow. multiple syllables! its a miracle! i think gene is just affectionate when hes happy. its almost too much to bear. he needs to hug someone. chop chop cassidy!]

cassidy: "fan-fuckin'-tastic!" [said, surprisingly non-sarcastically, with one of those little cowboy whoops, probably while riding scotch]

[he's hyperactive when he's REALLY happy. i'd imagine it would be after he just finished a job taking down some crooked millionare. adrenaline is high and so are the Good Emotions. just makes him wanna whoop!]

✮⋆˙

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE FUN QUESTION! this made me want to repost a character voice ask game again i love Getting Into The Minds of my sillies! hope u enjoy!!

[inaris-pokemon-world]

(@askabbyandeva) Lamia to Inari (sometime after they transformed back into a Sylveon): Ooh, those are some sweet-looking Tandemaus you got there, do they know any good moves? You can never start teaching them too early to defend themselves too early is what I say, tons of scary stuff in the world!

Inari: Not a bad idea. It can be dangerous it in the wild… I should check what moves they know first. Egg moves can make things rather tricky with young Pokémon. Give me just a moment…

(Inari used Transform!)

Hybrid!Inari: Ah, I see. Their movepool consists of Tackle, Baby-Doll Eyes, Covet, and Copycat. Fairly normal for their age.

Matcha: MEEMA.

Hybrid!Inari: Hm? Yes, Matcha?

Matcha: Why… is Meema… Matcha?

Hybrid!Inari: Oh, I suppose you haven’t seen me Transform before. I can change my shape, even to that of other Pokémon.

Matcha: Uh…?

Hybrid!Inari: Er, in simpler terms… I can look different if I want. I can even look like you! (he Transforms back into Mew form) See?

Matcha: Ah! Matcha goddit! (Meema… is so cool…!)

[tiredfemboy]

Should the First World War be considered a tradgedy, or a incredibly unfortunate event

To say it simpler

Had Europe reached a tipping point in power scaling where someone fighting was unstoppable as bound to happen

Or was there an alternative in what that could have been done?

This do be theoretical so uh

Have a day._.

very interesting question :3

in my opinion, all war is tragedy. However, the first world war was something that needed to happen.

As for whether or not it could have been avoided, i dont think so. the first world war occurred due to a large variety of reasons. the scale of the war could have changed due to the absence of some of these factors, but i believe that the war would have happened regardless.

The German industrial and naval buildup and militarization was guaranteed to result in some form of conflict in Europe. the policy of Great Britain regarding mainland Europe had been to never allow a single power to control the continent. the German naval drive greatly threatened Britain's ability to ensure a balance of power in Europe, due to their position as an island nation with a much larger navy than army. I would generally argue that a conflict between Britain and Germany was inevitable, with France being incredibly likely to also take part due to their position as an adversary to Germany.

Austria-Hungary's belligerent and expansionist position in the Balkans was also a major cause for conflict, especially with Russia's protectionism towards other slavic nations.

I dont believe it would have been possible at any point to slow down the naval arms race or Balkan expansion. so no, there was no alternative to what happened

to keep this short, no i dont think there could have been an alternative. the war was inevitable for many reasons, i dont believe it could have been avoided. whether its a tragedy or an unfortunate event is harder to say, it really depends on how you define those terms. it was unavoidable, but i believe that calling it an unfortunate event undermines the significance of it.

Thank you for this great question :3

[valerileygreen]

have you ever entertained the idea of arthur and eames discovering bane/Blake universe (could be seeing the movie by themselves or could be a dream of a client who happens to be a batman fan) and realising their attraction to each other by seeing how they are attracted to each other’s bodies? ;)

Hi darling Dee!

This is a deceptively hard question, at least if you go down the rabbit hole of trying to figure out how something like this can actually happen, like me 😂

Anyway, the shorter, simpler answer is: of course they find their, uh, counterparts super hot, and in terms of attraction realization I think it may help more Arthur than Eames. Because Eames has been aware of Arthur's physical attractiveness ever since day one (we all saw his lingering gazes during inception after all), if anything this just served as confirmation that it wasn't just the suits and how Arthur presented himself, but just HIM as a whole that he finds attractive. For Arthur it was a real moment of truth, because more often than not Eames doesn't look like Eames inside dreams, and when they are topside Eames' outfits often capture all his attention, being so colourful and not always exactly flattering for Eames' figure. So Bane allowed him a real, shall we say insight 😏, on what's underneath the paisley.

As I said, I tried to come up with various scenarios this kind of thing could happen, and I have to admit that it simply being a movie they're watching doesn't appeal to me much, mostly because I can't see something like this happen with people who look similar but aren't them. BUT there are other options I find intriguing.

1.A proper alternate universe where different versions of them exist. I have no clue how they would come in contact with them, but considering we're in a world where a device exist allowing people to share dreams, I suppose someone inventing some kind of portal to other worlds isn't outside the realm of possibilities.

Here they would interact with their each other's double, and I find that so fascinating, because it allows them to explore different sides of their companion. This is someone who shares the same soul but leads a completely different life, someone who has different scars and thus has learned different masks.

i imagine Eames bumping into Blake may even be hilarious at first, before Eames realizes this isn't his darling, not exactly, since he would have a police uniform and is in fact a cop. And Blake would have trouble connecting Eames to Bane so maybe he would try to understand what the hell is happening and then help, and they would become allies. And slowly some things are revealed and, though they belong to Blake, help Eames put some things he observed about Arthur into perspective, and now he finally feels like he understands him more, and what was simply superficial attraction becomes more.

Arthur's side of things I see as a bit more dramatic. Maybe Bane captures him believing he's the officer who's becoming so dear to his arch-enemy, and Arthur tries to reason to him and fight him while also trying to understand the situation he's found himself in. And at some point during a discussion/interrogation Bane would come up right to his face, and Arthur could see his eyes and recognised him as Eames, and it was a shock. It took a bit but eventually he worked out that it wasn't really Eames (and maybe it's because he saw Talia/Mal alive, and God the potential angst is killing me, but I digress). He tried to reason with him for a while but then changed tactics. He wasn't Eames but his core was the same, and he knew Eames, and somehow he got Bane to open up a bit (I'm hazy on the details, sorry) and empathized with him and how much he suffered, and basically realized that maybe there was more about Eames than the mask he presented to people too. That maybe his distance and flippancy, his (apparent) carelessness and defensiveness and disregard for others in favour of himself (apart from a few select people he feels so deeply loyal to he's ready to lay off his life or even suffer in constant excruciating pain for) stem from some deep hurt in his past, though on a smaller scale than Bane. So Arthur resolved to try and be more open himself, so to gain Eames' trust on a more personal level and get to know him better.

2. The other scenario takes place in a dream. Their client is obsessed with Batman and so the dreamscape is Gotham. Eames as Bane does his speech (and here Arthur gets a just a little bit distracted), but later he lands himself in Limbo while playing the Bane character, and thus gets stuck as him and builds the place as Gotham as well. Arthur obviously follows him down there to get him back and has to keep play Blake, at least at first, to find him and then get closer to him, saying things about his character first to relate to Bane and that world better. And then he starts throwing here and there little crumbs of their true life, and at some point towards the end Arthur manages to break Eames out of his forgery. Maybe during a battle Arthur gets hurt and Eames screams after him using his real name and he gets frantic, but then Arthur tells him not to worry, that it's going to be alright, and if he trusts him, and at Eames' assent Arthur stabs him too. And when they wake up they embrace really tightly in relief and Arthur says he's glad he got him back. And well, after such an intense experience things between them can't possibly stay as professional friendly rivalry as before.

[purplekoop]

Do the characters of War Bots have a base and/or team name? Do they have roommates? Are there wacky sitcom-esque situations between them?

Ooh, this gives me a good general chance to talk about connected characters!

The biggest group (by a small margin) is Formann, Xenir, and Burnett, who don't have a formal group name yet but they're the building team! Because reconstruction and bot repair are vital jobs in this world, they tend to be pretty highly regarded positions. That said, this trio in particular tends to be more open to odd jobs since they're a neutral party between the big Haven government and the rebel Outlander factions, and tend to just work for whoever pays more without picking permanent sides since it's their belief there's no "right" side between the two. This of course tends to rub some people on either side the wrong way, but they manage to navigate both circles fine enough. I like to imagine their dynamic being vaguely like Team Chaotix with some traits mixed around. Formann is the rugged but caring grandpa-like figure, Xenir is the bright-eyed dreamer who wants to help people, and Burnett is the short-tempered practical one. They enlist as mercenaries in the Plantoid fight mostly because Formann and Xenir want to help people, and Burnett just begrudgingly does what she has to for a paycheck.

Aside from that group, most of the other groupings I have in mind are smaller pairings.

Calber and Navea are actually old colleagues from one of the prior Outlander wars, serving as esteemed high-ranking members of the Haven militia. They were both built as well... some of the few literal war bots in this cast, with Calber being a standard infantry unit while Navea is a more robust "juggernaut" model, so her model is much less common. Calber largely resents his time in action, detesting conflict between bots just as much as the conflicts that drove humans into extinction. Navea meanwhile is more of an optimist, still not liking conflict but seeing it as a necessary evil sometimes. Both of them were some of the first contacted to lead the fight against the plantoid invasion, though it took some personal convincing from Navea to get Calber willing to go back into action.

Not so much a proper group but more just a pair of character that I'd want to put together in an "official" story is Poppett and Martinet. This was actually a suggestion by my partner, since I didn't realize "poppet" was a british term of endearment, so they suggested they pair up as a sort of adoptive father-daughter duo. They both have some manner of leg-mounted wheels so I figured it makes sense, plus I like the potential interactions between the skilled but vaguely aloof parental figure clashing with the impulsive but still relatively grounded child-ish figure.

A pairing that I had in mind but scrapped due to one of the characters being scrapped was a dynamic between Wilderoad and a bot named Kashov. He was meant to be a money-based utility character back when the PvP mode had a money mechanic, but since that was scrapped in favor of the simpler loadout system, and I didn't know how to have a character exist in both modes where his main mechanic was only built into one of them. Because the PvE mode still has an upgrade shop (ala TF2's MvM), he's still planned to feature as the shopkeeper there since I like his potential personality. I always like the shifty spineless salesman characters, and he's always been especially pathetic in my head. Here's what he looks like, though uh. Be warned: old and not great art. Why does his right arm look like that.

Anyways, Wilderoad as a wandering vigilante has to eventually bargain for supplies with somebody, and their favorite self-preserving capitalist to bargain with is Kashov. Mostly because they don't feel bad about holding him at gunpoint until eventually his scams get negotiated down to a reasonable price. I like their dynamic of "has morals but not for this bastard" and "is the bastard but goes along with the one with morals for practical reasons, and yet will still try to be a bastard at any given opportunity". At this time one of Wilderoad's alternate weapons was implied to be something they stole from Kashov, since it was a revolver that increased money earned from dealing damage and getting kills.

Unless I'm forgetting something that's the main group dynamics I have planned at this moment. It's something I definitely wanna flesh out more over time, but since gameplay takes precedence over story it's more something that's more just connecting dots and building from there. I wanna figure out more connections, but individual character stories and the overall plot still have a lot that needs work in general.

Good question though, was looking for a chance to bring some of this stuff up at some point!