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chappybird · 4 years

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How to Get Roleplay on F-List: A Guide

Hey all. So I’ve had a few people ask me how on earth to get RP over F-List, or for those that have tried, say its too confusing. While F-List is a much different format than I think a lot of people are used to, it’s a pretty reliable source of RP once you get used to it. So I’m going to walk you through, step by step, how to start from nothing and get a profile set up to start RPing. F-List is 18+ Only and is a Restricted To Adults® Verified website. You can learn more about it by clicking the RTA logo at the bottom of f-list’s main page.

F-list’s main landing page can be located at https://www.f-list.net/.

Note that my f-list may look different from yours because I’m using dark mode (which can be set in the account tab) and I’m a subscriber, so I don’t see ads.

Step One: Make a Profile

Making a profile, or as they’re known on F-List, a character, is your jumping off point for getting started. There are three main factions on F-List: Anthro Characters, Canon Characters, and Original Characters, with subcategories of each. You also have hub profiles. There is a right way to make a hub profile, but that’s not something I’ll be talking about on this post. Hub profiles are pretty universally disliked on F-List and are often seen as a mark of laziness, and I do not recommend making one to look for RP on. You should make a separate Profile for each character you want to play as. If you have a normal account, you can make up to 150 different characters. If you’re a subscriber, you can make significantly more than that depending on your tier.

Choosing a name for your character is very important! You want something attention grabbing, but since each character has to have a unique name, this can get a little tricky. Today I’m choosing to create a Link from the Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time. As this is a popular character, it can be difficult to track down a good name. You can be clever with naming conventions, while making it obvious who you’re playing, or you can add in underscores, hyphens, numbers, etc. It’s really up to personal preference. I advise not getting too abstract with your character name. Just pick something easy to read and to the point. Once you’ve decided on a name, click the create character button to open up the character editor.

Step Two: Holy Fuck Dude That’s a Lot of Shit To Fill Out

Take a deep breath. The character editor is very intimidating to those that haven’t used F-List before. Perhaps you have used F-List for it’s old intended purpose, just to list your kinks to link people to when RPing on other sites. Your first instinct might be to scroll down there and start picking kinks willy-nilly. Stop. In the grand scheme of things, this is not as important for getting Roleplay and if you do it incorrectly you might actually hurt your chances.

Now that we’ve calmed down you’ll notice two things at the top of the page. A big white text field, and this guy:

This, more than anything on your profile, is the most important thing. If you have this on profile, you will almost never get any roleplay. This is your character icon, and it’s the first step on your journey to doing this whole thing correctly. All you need to do is find an image that’s 300x300 pixels or smaller and upload it with the Choose File button. Then scroll down to the very bottom of the page and hit save. Search on google, and if you have a hard time finding something of that size, A great site to use is https://lunapic.com/ to edit pics if you don’t have Photoshop or Gimp. Choosing or creating an image with some sort of transparency layer is recommended because it makes your icon look more polished, but you don’t really need to do that. This isn’t an image software guide so I’ll leave that to you to figure out. If all you can do is crop an image into a square, that will do perfectly. But you need to have something here. Besides your character name, it’s the first impression you’re going to give to people when using the site. I have honest to god had people message me on empty profiles that having nothing but a character name and an icon.

Sourcing your images is a bit of a grey area on f-list. It’s not really an art sharing site, but if you choose fanart that someone doesn’t want to be reposted, it can be removed by the mods if you’re reported for it. So we’ll just use some official art that already has a transparency channel and crop it using Lunapic.

Step Three: How To Set the Profile Up

If you’re following along, you should have something like this by now. This already gives us an idea of who you’re playing, and what they look like, and while you might get a couple of weirdos messaging you already, there’s still a lot to do. So let’s go over what to do next.

Now that you’ve already created a character, it will be listed under the character tab. Further characters will be listed in alphabetical order. Navigate to your character and click the “Edit” button underneath their icon.

We’re back to the big scary page. Remember that big text field? We’re going to ignore everything else and focus on this first.

F-List uses standard BBC code tags with [square brackets.] You can find some buttons that will give you tools like bold, italics, color, hyperlinks, and quote blocks. There are many different ways to create eye-catching descriptions. I would say the three basic ways are minimalist, inline based, and heavy BBC code. We’ll go through the first option in detail but if you’re interested in the the latter, there is actually a few F-List profiles that teach coding and even have a few templates to use. User beware, though. Many F-List users use these templates and they can sometimes look a bit generic as they are overused.

Templates: https://www.f-list.net/c/profile%20templates

Coding Help: https://www.f-list.net/c/profile%20references

If you want to make an inline based profile, having access to software like Illustrator, Photoshop, GIMP, and similar content is good to have as well. You can also make a blend of the three styles of profiles. I’ll link some examples of my own profiles for reference. Some of these have text included in the inline. Some of them just have an image with the text written out underneath. Again, it’s really up to your personal preference.

https://www.f-list.net/c/Rival%20II/

https://www.f-list.net/c/Lion%20Heart/

https://www.f-list.net/c/The%20Fire%20of%20Tamaran/

Now would also be a great time to familiarize yourself with the rules. Keep an eye on these, especially if you play contentious content.

https://wiki.f-list.net/Code_of_Conduct

Some big things to look out for and not to do: Photographs and realistic images of animals are not allowed. Even Nonsexual ones. Photographs and 3D renders of minors (even nonsexual images or nonsexual profiles) are not allowed. If there is even a hint of the character being a minor, do not use photographic or 3D renders. (For example: Tom Holland’s depiction of Spiderman. Even though Tom Holland was an adult when he played the role, the character is a minor.) Sometimes these can run into a lot of grey areas, but it’s better safe than sorry!

Step Four: Creating A Minimalist Profile

We’ll start with a short description. It’s really important to make sure your character’s name is present in your descriptio, especially if it’s not the profile name. If you’re feeling particularly lazy, you can copypaste something from a wiki or official description. Let’s start with something like this.

Link had humble beginnings as a boy that lived in the forest with the Kokiri. Known as the boy without a fairy, Link led a simple life until one day, the dying Guardian of the forest, the Deku Tree, set him upon a Quest to save the Kingdom of Hyrule from darkness. Arming himself with the elemental powers of Hyrule and the legendary Master Sword, Link journeyed through time to the Dark Era of Hyrule to challenge the evil Ganondorf and save his Kingdom from evil.

Shoving this into the Description box and hitting save will generate something like this.

You might notice that this looks like crap. And it does! however, we can very easily fix that with the power of just three simple BBC tags. Those being [center], [color], and [sub]. plus a little something extra I’ll explain in a moment. Let’s add those in like so.

[center][color=green][sub]Link had humble beginnings as a boy that lived in the forest with the Kokiri. Known as the boy without a fairy, Link led a simple life until one day, the dying Guardian of the forest, the Deku Tree, set him upon a Quest to save the Kingdom of Hyrule from darkness. Arming himself with the elemental powers of Hyrule and the legendary Master Sword, Link journeyed through time to the Dark Era of Hyrule to challenge the evil Ganondorf and save his Kingdom from evil.[/sub][/color][/center]

Instead of hitting save at the bottom of the profile this time, we’re going to click “Preview BBC Code” to get a look at what our coding has done.

Fancy.

But it could use a little work. When I’m making minimalist profiles, I like to make the lines of text a little shorter so it’s a little easier to read and looks nicer. Make sure each line of text is about the same length as the previous (minus any BBC tags)

[eicon]blank[/eicon] [center][color=green][sub]Link had humble beginnings as a boy that lived in the forest with the Kokiri. Known as the boy without a fairy, Link led a simple life until one day, the dying Guardian of the forest, the Deku Tree, set him upon a Quest to save the Kingdom of Hyrule from darkness. Arming himself with the elemental powers of Hyrule and the legendary Master Sword, Link journeyed through time to the Dark Era of Hyrule to challenge the evil Ganondorf and save his Kingdom from evil.[/sub][/color][/center] [eicon]blank[/eicon]

You’ll also notice that I placed an eicon tag with a “blank” body. Eicons are essentially image macros that can be used all over the site. Using the blank one here is a good way to put a block of empty space on the top and bottom so the text isn’t too crowded by the frame of the description box. Another couple to keep in mind are [eicon]under construction[/eicon] or [eicon]WIP[/eicon] if you want to save your work now and get right to chatting and exploring the site. This signifies that you’re still working on your profile and more will be added later. You can create your own eicons by going to Account > Icon gallery. Keep in mind each eicon must have a unique name across all users. Inputting this into the description and checking how it looks in the preview, we end up getting something that looks like this:

Looks like we got a bookmark while we were setting the profile up. That means someone saw us while browsing new characters and decided they want to keep an eye on our profile and are likely interested in RPing! If you like, you can disable bookmarks per character in the character editor under settings. Generally speaking though, bookmarks are your friend and it’s how people will find you to RP later.

Optionally if you want to add an inline, just upload an image of your choice in Account > Inline Images. You can then add it in the character editor using this button.

This isn’t a tutorial for creating inlines, but a general rule is to make sure it’s sized well, and transparent images tend to look better than non-transparent images.

Step Five: Character Details

Opening the Character Editor once more, a couple basic things should be filled out. We will take this section by section.

Settings: Some general tweaks to change and edit. Personally, I like to turn my timezone off, and besides that, I like to have my Guestbook and Bookmarks turned on as well, but all of these settings are up to you. A big one a I suggest turning on is “Custom Kinks Sort First.” This will come up later but it’s good to turn it on.

Character List: For now, you can ignore this part. You can use this to have certain characters grouped together and will show up in the sidebars of these characters. I haven’t run into any limits for how many character lists you can have, but keep in mind a character can only belong to one list at a time.

Images: If you have any images you want to upload, this is the place to do it. Headcanons of body types, additional art you’ve drawn or found, can be added here. You can add descriptions to each image that will appear when a user hovers over the image. Keep in mind, again, that usage of fan art is a grey area on F-List. It’s not an image posting site, but some artists do not want their art reposted at all.

Profile Info: You don’t need to fill out every single detail here. Bits that aren’t filled in will just not appear on your profile. It’s a good idea to fill out your gender, and in many cases, your orientation. Both are under General Details. Filling out RPing preferences is also a good idea. It’ll keep people from approaching you IC using first person posts if that’s not your thing.

Step Six: Kinks and Custom Kinks

This is probably one of the most overwhelming parts of the process. My first tip: Ignore the Kink section for now. Instead, skip ahead to the Custom Kink section.

Custom Kinks are a good way to tell people what you really want. Click the Add +1 Custom Kink button to make a new custom kink. You can fill out the basic title of the kink, and a description. Or if you prefer to leave the description blank, just press the spacebar. Select what category you want the kink to appear in (Fave, Yes, Maybe, No.) Try to avoid using inflammatory language against different races, genders, identities, and don’t kinkshame. This is a site based primarily around finding rpers that have the same interests and kinks that you do. Save the profile when you’re done and we’ve got something like this.

And really, you can probably start roleplaying like this. Maybe add a couple of images, and tweak a few things. So if you like, skip to the next step. But for now, I’ll go over the kink list.

The most important think to remember is you don’t have to add every single kink to your profile. Try to select the most relevant things, and avoid redundancies.

For example, I’m not interested in Vore of any kind. So I can put the kinks Vore (Being Predator) and Vore (Being Prey) Into my No category. Or, if I want to make it even more simplified, I can add a custom Vore kink and put that in my No category. Likewise, if I don’t want to do any sex driven play, I can probably go ahead and just put sex driven there and ignore most of the kink list. Kinks that are not relevant such as Vaginal Sex (Receiving) on a cis male can also be ignored. Kinks are broken up into sections, and while it is a lot, just take your time, go through it sensibly, and take a break if you want to. Remember you don’t have to add every single one to your profile. This will ultimately be easier on you and make your profile easier to read.

After a bit of editing, this is what my kink list ends up looking like:

You can try exploring the Subfetish editor but it’s a little confusing to navigate and isn’t very necessary. And now, your profile is done!

Step Six: Using F-Chat

So now that we have a profile set up, it’s time to find some partners. Regardless of what way you want to connect, if you prefer script or para, the main place you’re going to find RP is through F-Chat. There is currently both a desktop and mobile client. if you select Chat you’ll see the option for both, and clicking on them will take you to instructions on how to set those up. We will however be using the Browser client in this example. Go ahead and select F-Chat 3.0.

You will be taken to a landing page with a drop down of your characters, with the first character you created selected as the default. (You can change your default character in your account settings.) You can have up to three characters online at once. Keep in mind this goes by IP address, so if you have a roommate that also uses F-List, those will count towards your total number of online characters. If this becomes a problem for you, just use a virtual machine or connect to the internet via a different method, such as with data. (F-List is not that much of a data drain.)

Here is what you’ll see when you open F-Chat. You’ll see I already have people in my friends list and my bookmarks (that I’ve blurred out for courtesy.) These will appear the same on all the characters you sign in as. I will be notified whenever one of my friends signs in or sets a status. You can set these notifications to show only on the console if you’d like to in the settings. Let’s set a status first.

Here, you have the options of selecting from the default Online status to Looking, Away, Busy, and Do Not Disturb. These all do what you’d expect, with Do Not Disturb turning off the sound that would play when you get notifications from personal messages or pings.

The Status Message is an optional addition, and it’s great for if you’re looking for specific things or want your friends and bookmarks to know what you’re doing. Be careful not to post anything that breaks F-Lists code of conduct. F-List does have an aggregate of every status you ever posted logged on their server, so throwing a temper tantrum and posting something inappropriate and then taking it back later might still get you in trouble.

While the Character Search Option is available to you, I’ve personally never found it very effective. You can search users by kinks, but keep in mind it doesn’t search by gender or orientation, or what species or even if they’re canon or original. Instead, we’ll go right to the settings tab.

General: Just your general settings. You have a few options here to tweak and while most of it is personal preference, I’ll highlight a few to keep in mind.

Disallowed BBC Code Tag: good for if you find a particular colour particularly garish as a text colour, or if you find an eicon that you no longer want to see anymore. Enter Sends Messages: I have this set to off so I can avoid accidentally sending a message for when I post. When this is enabled, just press the send button on screen to send messages. Otherwise, if you want to linebreak in one post, just press Shift + Enter. Animate eicons: If you’re running a slow computer, or have a slow connection, turn this to off. Eicons are used as memes a lot in F-Chat, and some of them can get a little ridiculous. (Someone has compressed the entire Shrek movie into an eicon and uploaded to the site in very poor quality for example.) There can also be bright flashing colours or even nsfw images. In general these eicons are all 100x100 pixels in size, but some users like to tile them together to create bigger images so it can sometimes get out of hand. This is something up to personal preference, and while I have Animate eicons turned on, I can see why some people wouldn’t like it. Idle Timer: If you are the kind of person that walks away from your computer without changing your status, or you have fallen asleep with F-Chat open, it’s good to set this to a reasonable time. If you’re in Online or Looking, after you’ve been inactive for the depicted number of seconds, your status will be set to Idle. This is so other users know that you’re not ignoring them if you don’t respond to their messages. A downside to this is if you’re tabbed out or multitasking, it’ll set you to idle when you may not intend it to and going back to the window switches you to Online again. It can be a little spammy if you’re constantly switching between Online and Idle. Font Size: If you find F-Chat’s font too big or too small, you can edit that here.

Notifications: While this section is pretty self explanatory, I’d like to specifically go over the Custom Highlight Notify Words.

Now, because each profile has to have a unique name, you might want to select additional pings. For example I might want to add Link,Zelda,Hyrule,Hero,Hero of Time to my list. Everything is comma seperated and not case sensitive. There are a few things to keep in mind.

Common word pings: If I add Link to my list of pings, I might get pinged whenever someone talks about a url link, or a chain link, or any other common use of the word link. It therefore might be better to not use the word. If you have a profile name that is a common word, it might be better to also uncheck the option for Notify Messages Containing your name.

Similar Profiles: If there’s another Link in chat, then I will be notified everytime someone refers to him by name as well. This is less of a problem on more niche characters, but it’s something to keep in mind! You can set pings by room, so perhaps a solution to this is using Link as a highlight word in the Canon Characters room, but not using it as a highlight word in the Nintendo room. More about how to do that later.

Hidden Users: Pretty self explanatory once click over. If you keep seeing an ad you dislike, you can hide all advertisements from said user (re: character) going forward. Keep in mind this is not your block list.

Import: If you make two profiles and want to have these settings copied from one to the other, just log into the profile you want to import to, and select the profile you want to import from. Make sure to go back to change your pings if needed.

Lastly, we’ll be looking at the channel section.

You might be starting to be overwhelmed again, and that’s okay. There are a lot of options, but most of the time, you’ll only want to select the options that are relevant to us. Check off the list of rooms you want to open a tab for. These will begin to be added to your sidebar. the number in brackets signifies the number of users thats joined that room. By default, this list is most popular to least popular, but I personally prefer alphabetical. There may be some channels that you find inappropriate, offensive, or contentious, but your best bet is to ignore those parts of the site. It’s an Adult site that is heavily moderated by a mixture of paid and volunteer staff. Every effort is made to ensure that no real people get hurt, but it is understood that as an adult, you are responsible for curating the content that you consume. This is one of the fundamental principals that F-List is built upon.

For now, I’m going to go with Canon Characters and Canon Characters OOC from this list.

You will also notice an Open Room tab. Unlike the Official Channels which are moderated by F-List staff, Open Rooms are chat rooms created by the userbase, and moderated by the userbase. While the standard F-List code of content is applicable to all areas of the site, special rules may apply in these rooms, and you’ll find things like rooms dedicated to certain kinks, species, and fandoms. I can try searching for a few things I think might be applicable to me, such as Hyrule, Zelda, Nintendo, and Elf. Some of those get hits, and some of those don’t. I can also check them off to add them to my list. (Note that search terms have to be entered one at a time. I cannot search for multiple things at once.)

Once you’ve selected the channels and rooms you want to join, you can click and drag on the tabs to reorder them on the sidebar. If you’d like to pin a chat, You can just press the little push pin symbol, which will then turn green. (You can do this for User Messages as well.) This means when you sign out, these chats will still be there when you sign back in. Note that settings and pinned chats are device by device only, and furthermore, channels and logs will not carry over between characters.

Make sure to read the description of each room you join. There are often specific rules (such as no ooc talk in the canon characters room, and no male characters in the lesbians room.) Clicking the gear will allow you to change settings on a per-room basis.

Step Seven: Actually Finding some RP

Now, after all that effort, we’re finally ready to find some RP. You have a few options on how to do this.

You could just join a few rooms and set your status to looking with a status message on what you want, but this is considered very passive. You may get some people that reach out (As you saw, someone had bookmarked my Link less than an hour after I made the profile before logging into f-chat.) But your best bet is one of three options.

Look at the Ads: Whenever you’re in a room that allows ads, you will sometimes notice a differently coloured message fly by looking for roleplay. This is an ad. If you see one that seems to fit what you have to offer, you can right-click on their username and select “Open Conversation.” A chat window will be open under the PMs section on your sidebar. You can view this conversation like you would a channel. Keep in mind that users are not notified if you open a conversation with them, only if you send them a message.

Create an Ad: Make sure you are in a room or channel that allows ads by checking the description, you can select the ad tab in the lower right hand corner above the text input box to write an ad instead of a chat message.

Making a normal chat post saying “hey does anyone want to roleplay with me” is considered spam and could result in the mods having a word with you.

You have similar tools to what you do in the character descriptions, and clicking each one will automatically place the tags in the text box, with the eyeball being a preview and the question mark being a how to. You want your ads to stand out, but you don’t want them to be too obnoxious. Take a look at what kind of ads other people are posting to get an idea of what’s expected.

Talk to Others: And lastly, you can just play in public rooms or chat with people in ooc channels. This is a great way for others to sample what you’re like to play with and vice versa, or even just to get to know potential partners. In my general experience, you’ll have more luck finding people to play with long term in the user created Open Rooms than in the Official Channels, but ever case is different. There are a vast number of styles, methods of RP, and types of partners you can find.

That’s basically the ins and outs of F-List! The more you’ll use it, the more you’ll understand how it works and the social etiquette on the platform. Like many sites, it certainly has it’s share of dark corners and flaws, but all in all it’s a pretty good website to find people to play with! Have fun!

#cherp #mxrp #rp #tumblr rp #flist #no tea no shade for tagging other RP sites #just giving people more options and I've been asked about it a few times

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unfortunatelyilikebnha · 4 years

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Oh boy that post I reblogged about Todoroki and Iida understanding memes & pretending not to got me INSPIRED so here r some Izukrew groupchat/meme headcanons:

Everyone thinks the bakusquad chat is crazy and while they’re right, the izukrew chat is just as wild

They have probably planned acts of vigilanteism in here I mean what?

The chat has definitely made at least 164 different plans to kill End**v*r, just in case. They aren’t gonna actually use them they’re just a precaution & a way to vent (probably. End**v*r better watch what he does tho). Someone in the squad had a bad day? Make a plan to kill End**v*r, you’ll feel better. Todoroki doesn’t always contribute, & they always ask him before they make a new plan to make sure he’s still okay with it, but he appreciates the support & knowing that his friends love him and have his back

[Achey Breaky 🅱️ones]: Hey Todoroki, can we make a plan to kill your dad? [Elsa But Better]: ya sure go wild [Running in the 90s]: Can Uraraka float the bastard into the sun? Discuss. [You’ll Float Too]: ive never tried to make anything go that high but for todoroki definitely!! [Elsa But Better]: ...thank you” [Kermit With A Gun]: (flamingdumpster.jpg) it is He go wild Ochako

Uraraka talks in the chat the most, followed by Todoroki (if sending memes counts as talking), Midoriya, Iida, and finally Tsuyu who lurks a lot but doesn’t respond as often as the others

They have a “days since Midoriya last injured himself” counter that they update daily. The record was 15 days. The average is 3.

They change each other’s nicknames often. They have free reign as long as it’s not too mean, and chat rules say they have to keep whatever their name was changed to for at least a week. Sometimes they match names/ have a theme. Sometimes they bring their name changes over to the main chat too.

There is a designated “Iida Appreciation Day” when the chat is especially nice to and appreciative of Iida that happens in the chat every few weeks because they realize that they as a class are a Lot to deal with & even tho Iida is way more chill in the chat with his close friends than he can be in the main class chat they know he still feels responsible for them & does a lot for them. Iida does not know about Iida Appreciation Day (but when he finds out he is super touched & maybe cries a little bit)

Todoroki is king of the really weird, really abstract memes. The rest of the squad has no idea how he finds them & is kinda too afraid to ask

He also has a reaction image for everything and like,,, he just HAS them he doesn’t look them up, which the rest of the squad realizes cause he replies way too fast to have looked it up on the internet. They are in awe of his power

Besides the izukrew gc, only one person knows that Todoroki memes, and that’s Kaminari, because Todoroki likes to t-pose & do other meme things while Kaminari is looking at him & then as soon as anyone else is about to see what he’s doing he immediately stops. Kaminari is going crazy because nobody will believe him that stoic Todoroki, who has the greatest deadpan expression ever, memes. “Todoroki? Are you sure? Kaminari maybe you’re sick, he doesn’t know memes remember? We yelled ‘this b*tch empty’ in front of him yesterday and he just stared blankly at us.” “BUT MINA I SWEAR I SAW HIM DAB!” Ashido and Sero tried to catch him doing it but gave up after a while, stating that nobody is that good at hiding their meme knowledge. The rest of the izukrew knows obviously but feign confusion because 1) it’s funny and 2) Todoroki is genuinely having fun. When Todoroki eventually reveals to the rest of the class that he can meme, he apologizes for pranking a very vindicated Kaminari.

Iida likes those memes that combine several memes. He sends reaction images that are just memes without text bc he knows his friends will understand exactly what he’s talking about

He’s also king of photoshop & totally uses those skills for evil - he’s rly good at putting Lucky Luciano into pictures, making his friends break into a cold sweat as he sends a picture to the chat that is seemingly the exact same as the one the last person sent. Since they’re so competitive they have an ongoing competition to see who can find him first (Iida keeps the score. Right now Tsuyu is winning, but the ranks change often)

He, like Todoroki, pretends not to know memes, but takes it a little further & pretends not to know teen slang either so he can misuse it in front of people & laugh at his classmates cringing (Iida: Seatbelts are important. As Ashido might say, they are “totes yeet, yo!” Ashido: //crying// IIDA NO! Iida: Does that not mean that it is very important? Ashido: //crying louder// NO!!!). Some classmates attempt to “teach” him but he “just does not get it”. Again the izukrew pretends not to know because it’s funny.

Uraraka is queen of wholesome memes. She has so many “I love my friends” memes & always has cute images ready to send in case anyone is sad or stressed. Everyone in the chat would die for her no questions asked (she will use this to her advantage one day probably).

She also really likes spongebob memes and uses them often. Her favorite is the one where spongebob is wearing those pink frilly glasses

While she is queen of wholesome memes, she’s not afraid to tease anyone & often sends smug/teasing reaction images. Nobody is safe, especially if they tease her first, & if there’s a competition in the chat she goes all in. When she wins anything it’s like “[You’ll Float Too]: (dignitylaugh.gif) whats this? it seems i have won our little competition...” (But then immediately after she sends her first victory message she’s like “lmao jk good game”)

Midoriya sends links to random ass YouTube videos to the chat at 3 am. Sometimes the videos aren’t even memes they’re all might documentaries or something he thought was interesting or thought one of his friends might think was interesting or videos someone made about how they trained their quirk that he thinks might help someone but sometimes they’re completely nonsensical. It’s like a roulette wheel every time someone clicks a link Midoriya sent. Sometimes the chat makes bets about the contents of the video before anyone opens it. Most of the time they’re all wrong.

He doesn’t rlly have a favorite style of meme, but he always has a million specific variations of whatever meme is popular at the time and all past popular memes. His phone camera is like a meme record. He’s rlly good at finding vine comps with good but not rlly well known vines.

He also infodumps in the chat sometimes bc they let him & he is really grateful that his friends are actually interested in what he has to say

Tsuyu sends memes that roast the sh*t out of everyone in the chat. When one of her friends is doing smth stupid she totally calls them out in the form of memes (she’s really good at finding those tiktoks that feel like they are roasting you specifically). She’s a comedic timing genius and knows just when to send things (& because she doesn’t use the chat as much that makes it even funnier). She also is, rather predictably, fond of frog memes

She also loves making those alignment chart type memes (& the ones with like the triangles or the four quadrants) & makes them for/about her friends & classmates often. She is scarily good at reading people and hits the nail on the head 99% of the time. Sometimes she sends them to the main class chat too and the rest of the class is like ?!?!?!?!?!?!

Because she’s a big sister, she often sends reminders to the chat to take care of bthemselves (Iida does this a lot too, but sometimes she has to remind him because he’s so caught up in caring about others he forgets to care about himself. Actually everyone in this chat is guilty of that including Tsuyu smh). Since the others make sure she takes care of herself in return, she’s really grateful for her friends

Bonus hcs:

Aoyama, once he is added to the chat, become the expert at sending selfies of himself looking directly at the camera while a member of the chat is distracted in the background, not seeing him. The chat makes it a game to try and spot Aoyama before he can get a picture, but Aoyama always wins. When asked how he can escape the detection of even those who are always on edge/have been trained to notice every little movement, he just smiles and says “it’s a secret~!”

Shinsou, who eventually replaces M*n*t* in 1A bc this is my city & grape boy is gross, does a thing called “insomniac hours” where he will send a random question to the chat at like 3 am & Midoriya, who is almost always awake then (or sometimes Todoroki Tsuyu or Uraraka if they’re up, and very very occasionally Iida), will give him a super detailed answer. Sometimes during the day the chat plays a version of this where Shinsou asks an obviously nonsensical question and the rest of the chat has to come up with long, nonsensical answers & then votes on the best ones. Many inside jokes were borne from this game.

#bnha #todoroki shouto #iida tenya #midoriya izuku #endeavor tw #uraraka ochako #asui tsuyu #kaminari denki #ashido mina #sero hanta #aoyama yuuga #shinsou hitoshi #mineta tw #have i spent over an hour on these? yeah. do i regret it? not in the slightest #(well. i do have a lot of late work but its not like i was probably gonna do rhat anyways)#this is LONG I’m sorry shaksvsjshsjsbjabsjsbs i just think the izukrew is neat

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satoruvt · 3 years

Text

fanfic writer tag game <3

helloooo <3 thank u for tagging me @hannie-dul-set this is so cute lol

ummmm! i think i will tag. @leejuyeeon and @seokmingiggles !! and as always anyone else who wants to <33

peum ~

1. what fandoms have you written for (but do not currently)?

omg lets see if i can do this in order. i think the first fandom i ever wrote fanfic for was creepypasta LMAOO and then... fairy tail? then 5 seconds of summer, then maybe it 2017?? voltron legendary defender, detroit become human, monster prom and mystic messenger kind of overlapped, the arcana !!! then my hero academia, haikyuu, a Little bit of demon slayer... i think thats it lol

2. what fandoms are you currently writing for?

seventeen is all for rn, but i’m thinking of also writing for mha again and adding jjk!!

3. how long have you been writing?

oh wow for like... probably around 6 years? maybe 6 and a half

4. on which platforms do you post your stories?

rn just tumblr, i used to post more actively on ao3 but i havent since i started writing for kpop

5. what is your favourite genre to write?

ahhh like !!! comfort fics!!! i think theres something really sweet in those unspoken feelings during moments you think you’ll never forget... the idea of being with someone and you’re just so sure they’re your favorite person, and then warmth that comes with that realization... wahh

6. are you a pantser or a planner?

oh it depends i think. for longer fics i like to plan them out, but i really wing it with like timestamps or shorter ones

7. one shot or multi-chapter?

ONE SHOTS. my god i fucking suck at multi-chapter shit LMAOO ive only done 1 series like that and it was so rough for me lol

8. what is the perfect chapter length in your opinion?

hm how do i explain this... anything that makes sense? however long it takes for it to feel like the chapter/fic is summed up or completed. i used to worry about word counts a lot but now i rarely pay attention to them, both in reading and writing

9. what is your longest published story? is it complete?

if we’re talking about multi-chaptered, then the color of you wins at 17k !! in terms of one shots, it’s for now; forever at 9k!

10. which story did you enjoy working on the most?

oh boy. i think... anything from the last like. 8 months? my svt stuff for sure!! i went a while without writing in between like january-late november 2020, and i was worried that my writing would suffer a lot... it took a sec for me to get back into the groove of things but i’m feeling happier than ever with the stuff i write now. i feel like ive matured about the way i approach my own writing and ideas, and how i do everything, and my fics make me really proud. ive started writing within different aus that i hadnt touched before, or talking about different feelings or ideas, etc... i really feel like ive grown with this most recent burst lol, and i love working on them! i get so hyped up when im in the middle of writing or even planning, im just so excited to share all of it hehe

11. favorite request you've have written and why (if any?)

ah its been so long since ive worked with requests that i cant remember anything LOL

12. are there reoccurring themes in your stories?

yes. it is comfort and content. it is the feeling of love. it is holding hands on a walk in the middle of spring and smelling flowers. it is the sound of leaves when a gust of wind blows past. it is looking into ur lovers eyes and feeling nothing but pure fondness

13. current number of wips?

fuck like somewhere around 20 probably

14. three things you have noticed about your own writing?

i really like repetition (specifically in sentences if that makes sense??), LOTS of unspoken things (even if i picture a fic with an established relationship, i dont say it within the fic; and especially concerning romantic feelings, i love when things go unsaid and are FELT full force), i think a lot of detailed rambling... i really like to try and describe emotions and stuff in the most abstract and obscure ways lol i feel like it makes things a little more palpable and honest

15. a quote you like from a published story

im gonna do a few. Lol. firstly this long one from pretend people can unlearn:

“Are you…” Jeonghan starts, and when you look at him, his eyes are still on the city in front of you. “Are you ever afraid that we’ll fall out of love?”

It never occurred to you that this was love. It’s not like the love you’ve experienced in the past, not even close. But maybe… maybe that’s why you never leave, why you hold yourself back from certain arguments like it might fix everything. Maybe love is the reason why Jeonghan still seems to believe in you. Why he promises he’ll be the best thing for you despite always breaking that promise.

(Is it love, a voice in your head questions, or is it longing?)

It takes you a while to respond. “I don’t know,” you end up saying, because you really don’t. Jeonghan turns his head and looks at you, and you half expect him to start an argument in the middle of night, out on the street like this. It wouldn’t be the first time. “Would that… be okay?”

“I don’t know,” Jeonghan answers, just like you. His voice is soft. You want to reach for his hand just to hold it. “You’re still…”

He pauses, like he’s trying to find the right word. You let him take his time, for once, instead of accusing him of the worst. “I’m still?”

“Everything,” he tells you. He looks so sad and you reach out for him because it’s the only thing you can offer. You think the worst thing about your relationship with Jeonghan is that you will always believe him when he gets like this, just like you’ll believe him when he takes it back in the heat of a fight.

next is from like there isn’t something missing <3

But you’re crying into his chest because it’s not you, and it’s not him. Seungcheol wonders if it was always meant to be like this, if the two of you were always meant to part or if something… if something just went wrong, somewhere. A bump that did a bit more damage than either of you thought.

He tries not to think about it now. Tears fill his own eyes as he presses a kiss to your hair because he loved you. He truly did.

“I was so lucky to love you,” he murmurs, voice a cracked whisper. “I’m so happy I got the chance.”

When Seungcheol wakes up the next morning in an empty bed, he’s not surprised. But the Post-It note that’s dressed in your handwriting…

Well. It’s over.

and this last one from only for you, i will dance !!

“This will always be our own time,” he says. “We’ll meet here.”

You know. He says it every time. It never fails to make your heart soar.

“Our thirteenth month,” you say, just like every time. Chan smiles.

He kisses you so strong you feel yourself falling.

16. a quote from an unpublished story

ahh ok ill do a few here too!!! one is something ive begun writing, the other is one that i’ve just been working on planning out <3

Smoke blows past somebody else’s lips and partially obstructs Wonwoo’s view of you.

He hasn’t been to a party like this in a long time. It’s elegant, more of a gala than anything. He can’t remember who threw it or for what reason. It doesn’t really matter, he supposes, watching you make conversation with the partygoers. They all have old money to throw around, the symbolism stitched into their suit jackets and red-rimmed heels; remnants of it left on tables and in the contents of expensive cigars.

You play them like you are one of them, tell them the right things with a silver tongue. Wonwoo always watches, plays the part of an observer. It’s impressive, the way you float around the room like it’s nothing.

Wonwoo observes; Wonwoo knows things.

and the second one...

"you don't know me," you respond. your voice carries no bite, just a fact, and joshua knows this

"i want to," he says after a second. "if you'll let me."

and he's asking permission to be your friend, to be close to you, something so tender and strangely polite

it makes you feel almost sad

"don't expect too much," you say, a little teasing. joshua only smiles

17. space for you to say something to your readers

wahhh thank you all so much!!! when i first got into writing for kpop it was a lot different mostly because i think... i was writing stuff for different anime before, and i had built up a big following because of that and my works always did like, really exceptional in terms of notes and feedback and such, and getting into kpop... has been rough on that end 💀 but i appreciate your support thus far, even if it’s small... i’m still working towards a standard that i have for myself!!! so please be patient with me, thank you for the support !!

also please find it in yourself to leave lil comments or any sort of feedback... please..... PLEASE... any creator ever understands this struggle please always try to do this!!! for me and for any other creator you follow and enjoy content from <333

#wah these things r so fun. cries #tag games #adi speaks

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wafflesrock16 · 4 years

Text

Ink and Blooms

So, the amazingly talented @autodiscothings updated her fantastic fic Acts Of Repetition recently, and the latest chapter featured an incredibly lovely turian tattoo artist. Smitten, I asked Auto if I could write a lil thing with her boy and she agreed.

So! Here’s my ode to @autodiscothings sweet turian bae, Nous. Naturally I have a human lady falling for him because I am predictable trash.

Zenellia D’kafi, the asari matriarch who ran Thessian Impressions floral boutique was a force of nature when it came to cultivating new clients.

“Everyone is a potential client,” she informed Faustine from behind a large mug of tea. “A random hanar apostle might wish to leave flowers as an offering to the Enkindlers. The elcor business man, away from home too frequently, would like a bouquet to send to his wife as a reminder he’s thinking of her.”

Faustine glanced up from where she was meticulously measuring out gold silk ribbon. “And Adamius Studios?” She glanced out the shop window to the studio across the street. It used to be a mattress store, though little of the building’s past life remained on the exterior.

Zenellia smiled, the light sparkling in her cornflower eyes. “Nous Adamius,” she said, drawing out the surname. “Now there’s an artist who’s in demand. The tattooist of the elite.” She followed Fautine’s gaze. “Hmm. In his case, he’s hosting an art exhibition for select clientele next week. The who’s-who of wealth and influence will be there--they always show up for art exhibits.”

“And our supplying the floral arrangements might garner other high-end customers in addition to Nous,” Faustine surmised.

“Smart girl,” Zenellia said, taking a prim sip of tea. “You know, I have a mind to let you finalize the arrangements with Mr. Adamius.”

“Really?” Faustine clasped her hands to her mouth with excitement. “A solo consult?”

Zenellia chuckled, leaning against the glass counter. “I’ve already discussed the arrangements with him, so this will just be hemming in the finer details. Where he wants the vases placed and so on. You’ve been with me on enough consultations and set-ups, you can do this on your own.”

“Thank you Miss Zenellia!” Faustine reigned herself in. “I can handle this,” she said, straightening her posture. “When do I meet with him?”

“Tomorrow morning, before his studio opens.”

**********

Faustine enjoyed fashion. And art and flowers and color. Her wardrobe was a blend of bright color and textures. Her grandmother used to say that she would have loved Earth back in the 1980’s and based on pictures she’d seen, Faustine was inclined to agree.

But today was professional. Her mentor was trusting her to make a good impression and Faustine needed to represent Thessian Impressions while also simultaneously reassuring Nous--Mr. Adamius--that he’d made a wise choice in ordering floral arrangements for his event and should consider doing so again.

Faustine chose a slate pant-suit with a violet camisole from the back of her closet. It was from an elite fashion line, but had been on clearance since it was from the year before. Still, as she slipped on black high heels, Faustine felt a sense of empowerment.

She hesitated over her hair. Did turians even notice human hair? Should she take the extra effort to curl it? Deciding it couldn’t hurt, Faustine brushed, curled, and styled her auburn locks until they gleamed under the artificial bathroom lights. Some mascara and bright red lipstick completed the look and before she could second guess herself, she was hailing a skycar and then stepping out in front of Adamius Studios.

She normally walked to work, but doing so in heels was out of the question. These were shoes for show, not practicality. Pulling up her omni-tool, she contacted Mr. Adamius to let him know she was from Thessian Impressions and here to speak to him.

The windows to the studio were opaque, but in a slow parade of light starting from the back of the building, the room lit up. The door opened as Faustine leaned closer to peer inside.

“Hello.”

“Hi! Mr. Adamius?”

He nodded, opening the door wider for her to enter. She’d seen him before, of course--he worked across the street. She’d never seen him up close, though. He was a good deal taller than her but held himself tightly like a curled fern frond. The effect gave him a shorter, hunched appearance.

He had pale plates, not quite white, but a light tan. His hide was a deep molten red with eyes that reminded her of orange, autumn leaves.

His most notable feature wasn't his eyes or plates or posture. He had bold, purple colony markings which ran in thick lines toward his eye sockets like a roadmap.The plating on his arms bore similar lines of the same color. Faustine wondered if colony markings extended all over the body. She’d never considered it before, but as she admired the bold, black, geometric patterns that spiraled away from his neck plating in a decorative collar, she decided that this was art, unrelated to the colony markings turians were so famous for.

Mr. Adamius cleared his throat loudly and Faustine realized with racing horror that she’d been staring at him with wide eyes and an open mouth like he were an exhibit on show.

“Oh!” It was her turn to clear her throat. “Your tattoos are beautiful,” she murmured, looking at the floor.

“Thank you.” His voice was soft. Not at all loud and bold like his art. “You work for Matriarch Zenellia?”

Faustine released a small sigh that they were moving on. “Yes, I’m her protege, as it were. She wanted me to finalize the details with you for next week.”

She smiled, tilting her head in a friendly manner. Mr. Adamius flicked out a mandible in what she associated as a turian smile, though he avoided looking her in the eyes. She wondered if that was a personality thing or something… maybe he doesn’t like me?

“I was thinking of an arrangement on the reception desk and a few smaller vases along the wall,” Mr. Adamius said, pointing to where several bed posts were mounted and functioning as coat racks. A large, framed canvas sat beneath the racks. On it was what looked like an abstract shoal of fish with luminous, foreign script weaving through it. Faustine didn’t recognize the writing but felt it safe to assume it was turian.“I discussed using a mix of thessian, earth, and palaveni flowers,” Mr. Admius continued. “I want the color scheme to stay cobalt, gold, and white, but I’m open to flower types. Nothing too lavish, the art is the focal point.”

“Zenellia mentioned that,” Faustine said, wiping away any concerns about her likability for the moment. Pulling up her omni-tool, she moved closer to Mr. Adamius to show him the samples of different arrangements in the colors he’d requested. This close, she could smell a slightly acrid scent of what she assumed was ink. But overpowering that was a woody smell that reminded her of pine trees. Mr. Adamius smells like Christmas, she thought.

She glanced up at him from where he was admiring a proposed arrangement. He was wearing loose fitted clothes that placed his heavily inked hide on full display. Zenella had mentioned he was younger, but the asari considered everyone younger since she herself was 876 years old.

Nous seems like he’s my age. Maybe a little older. Early to mid thirties?

“I like this one best,” he said, oblivious to her internal musings. Faustine looked at the arrangement he’d chosen. It was the one she’d put together. Not the four Zenella had proposed, but the one she had done.

“I did that one,” she told him proudly.

“It’s beautiful,” he said in a softer voice, looking not at her eyes, but seemingly her hair. “It’ll work perfectly for what I have planned.”

Instead of replying Faustine responded by grinning at him like an idiot. She was high on accomplishment, she’d convince herself later. But it was thanks to this that Mr. Adamius nervously glanced away, toward a small, unassuming painting partially concealed by the reception desk.

“Is that an anchor?” She pointed at the familiar shape which was the main subject of the painting.

“Yes. I’m fond of the nautical themes found in all cultures. The convergence of design between them, be they human, asari, or turian. We’re all interconnected by the oceans of our worlds.” He let out a quiet hum, unfurling from his tightly held hunch. “It reminds me of my childhood, too, I suppose.”

“You grew up near the ocean?” Faustine asked curiously. “I thought turians weren’t the biggest fans of deep, open water. No offense!” she added, horrified she’d possibly insulted him.

His easy chuckle immediately set her at ease. “Overall, you’re right. Most turians avoid the open ocean. But my homeworld is different.” His mandibles flicked outward as he looked down at his hands. The three fingers of his left hand each bore a small fish tattoo on the knuckle. “Rocam has a huge fishing industry. I grew up around the sea and fishing boats. My childhood involved lots of fishing and playing in the surf. Eating charred salmo around a beach fire with my grandparents. Listening to fisherman swap stories on the wharf.”

Faustine watched the fish tattoos flex with his fingers. Remembering the other canvas leaning against the wall, she looked closer at the framed picture. The fish looked like they were formed from ink splats, honed with a pen to give them more definition and shape.

“You did that?” she asked pointing.

Turning, Mr. Adamius nodded. “I did all the nautical themed paintings in here,” he said. Faustine felt like the quiet, rolling subvocals under the spoken words were proud.

“You’re so talented,” she sighed, feeling mildly envious. “Do you have other paintings like that one?”

“Yes, but they’re in the back. I’ll put them out next week for the exhibit.”

“Oh.”

“I…” a soft whine escaped through his tightly clamped mandibles. “Would you, um. Like to come to the exhibit?”

“Your art exhibit next week? Of course I’d love to go!” Faustine forced herself to school her features into a more poised look. “I mean, if you’re inviting me, I’d absolutely love to see the rest of your work.”

Nous let out a huff of air. “It’s not just my work, all the artists in the studio are going to display something. But if you’d like to come, I’d love to see you. At the event.” He cleared his throat, stepping away from her personal space which at some point he’d entered.

“Thank you,” Faustine whispered, feeling a blush creep over her cheeks. “Um, I’ll let Zenella know which arrangement you selected and where and how many you wanted.” She made to head for the door, but forgetting her high heels, tripped and nearly collapsed face first into the deep blue and white rug.

A strong arm seized her around the waist and held her until she was steady on her feet again. “Damn shoes,” she muttered, more embarrassed then she’d been in years. “Nous, I--”

“Not a problem. Are you all right?”

“Fine, I’m fine. Only thing injured is my pride.” She gave him a sheepish smile, sure her face was beet red.

For the first time since she’d entered his studio, Nous looked her in the eye. “Wounded pride isn’t the worst injury,” he said in that soft, smokey voice.

She stared into the swirling amber of his irises. Turians had smaller eyes than humans, but their gaze was intense. She wondered what he thought about her own hazel eyes.

He bowed his head after a moment, rubbing the back of his neck. “So, I’ll see you at the exhibit?”

“Before that, actually,” she replied, blinking away whatever trance she’d fallen under. “I’ll bring the flowers by an hour before your exhibit starts.”

“I look forward to seeing you then.”

So do I, Faustine thought, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she headed out the door. So do I.

#mass effect #turians #turian #human/turian flirting #fan fic of a fan fic #Nous belongs to autodiscothings #he is a sweet and precious boi #Faustine would smooch #read acts of repitition #waffles writes #thank you auto!

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pridesobright · 4 years

Note

If you’re up for it, what artist or painting do each of the boys remind you of?

disclaimer: art is subjective, so are people’s opinions, and my choices are based on my perception of the boys’ personalities. you may not agree with me, therefore the paintings might not correspond to what you had imagined… still, i tried to shed a light on my own thoughts, which is something i rarely do on tumblr — i tried to remain as objective and positive as possible!

+ louis —

louis is so fiercely good! supportive, loyal, brave… i’ve never seen someone so witty and intelligent, caring and sensitive. louis shines, louis sparkles!!

but he also tells stories like no else. it is truly fascinating how louis can turn the smallest life experiences into masterpieces!! the raw emotions he’s able to convey in just a sentence: we’re sleeping on our problems like we’ll solve them in our dreams…. it’s easy getting lost into louis’ ocean blue eyes but it’s even easier falling for his talent — through storytelling, louis always shares a positive message and i’m in awe of the way he goes through life despite everything that’s been thrown at him. passionate and driven, louis is authentic and unapologetically himself!

i decided to associate louis with gustav klimt — the artist received a conservative and classical training and began his career painting churches and theaters, following the traditional and historical style popular at the time. quite similar to louis’ mindset at the start of his solo career, klimt focused on what the upper class expected of him! however, he kept developing a more meaningful personal style. one that relied on symbolism and the extensive use of the ornamental gold leaf. his paintings were highly decorative and it is the aesthetic of klimt’s work that made the connection so easy ♡

gustav klimt painted many women in erotic positions, embracing their nudity and a celebration of sexuality, which was controversial at the time. but more than that, the artist depicted loving embraces, abandonment and passion. tenderness. and by coating his paintings in golden powder, klimt created a warm cocoon around his subjects! 1. adele bloch-bauer I - 2. judith I (details) - 3. le baiser (details)

louis is so often associated with the color yellow and it’s easy to understand why — yellow is the most luminous color and is the symbol of happiness, optimism and enlightenment. as a warm color, yellow represents light and creates a sense of hope: it is radiant! gold shares many of the same attributes. it is bright, cheerful and is often associated with love, courage and passion. gold illuminates our world and so does louis!

+ zayn —

zayn is very creative, expressive and imaginative. i’d say he’s cautious and overall very intelligent about his privacy! society will often describe quiet people as mysterious, and it romanticizes anxiety in a way that makes my blood boils… it’s a dangerous culture where people with mental disorders are seen as edgy or cool when in reality they are deeply misunderstood. at times defensive, i believe zayn is strong-willed and values his freedom more than anything!

associating zayn with street art was a given. is there anything more liberating than leaving your trace into the world, anonymously and illegally, without knowing if your work will be painted over in the next few days or a couple of years?

artists such as roa, bansky, kobra, invader or shepard fairey have now made a huge impact, and street art has been popularized. many paintings are known worldwide but before then, you had the travel the world to seek out the artists’ works!

and even if some murals can be seen from afar, they draw you in no matter what. like an invisible pull, some are forcing you to cross the street or climb a few stairs to get closer — zayn draws you in! whether people are affected by his quiet personality, his looks or the sheer quality of his voice, you can’t help but want to learn more about him!

i chose behind the curtain by martin whatson for that very reason! at first cold and unreachable, zayn is full of qualities and life experiences deserving to be uncovered.

martin whatson is a stencil artist working in oslo. looking for beauty in decayed and abandoned urban spaces, he developed his style using grey tones as a basis and adding vibrant colours to bring a splash of life. i also love pull back and behind the wall ♡

+ niall —

to me, niall is the type of person who’s enjoying life as best as he can, and fully appreciating everything there is to offer. whether it be passion, irritation, love, fun or distress. mainly because of his cheerful and bubbly personality, he’s seemingly going through life as if it was a big fest! but don’t be fooled, he knows heartbreak too and there’s more to him!!

niall’s albums feel warm, nostalgic and intimate. we’re being let in into a part of him without any flourishes. a melody strummed on his guitar and here we are, transported into the past and reminiscing about an old lover. niall definitely is a romantic! listening to heartbreak weather, there is so much tenderness into his songs…

this painting is called manège de cochons by robert delaunay — it is part of a series devoted to modern urban life and popular shows. carried away by a whirlwind of vibrant colors, it recreates the lively atmosphere of the fairgrounds.

it definitely represents niall and his complex mind. the colors, so vibrant, are an ode to his cheerfulness. for delaunay, primary colors and their complements exalt each other by contrast. and the same tone can be perceived differently depending on its intensity or its arrangement!

at first, only the vibrancy and the warmth shine through but just like everyone else’s, niall’s mind is intricate. his emotions are raw and he puts his pain into songs, as if to compartmentalize everything. as if to tame those feelings and memories, maybe too loud at times! the colors aren’t just splash of nuances scattered across the canvas, they are deliberate. with purpose, they tell a story…

+ liam —

liam is good! and he always goes out of his way to do something good. he often tries to be more mindful of his actions. he’s constantly learning and just like everyone else liam makes mistakes, but he actively grows from them!!

liam is extremely talented, funny and charismatic, yet i feel like he’s not easily understood. he’s a very sensitive, sincere and sweet person, and despite everything liam went through, he remains cheerful, generous and courageous!

he is also passionate and pursues many hobbies — be it fashion, art, cooking or comics: he is well-versed in many topics and it’s a real pleasure to now follow him on youtube!!

robert rauschenberg was passionate about many mediums himself, and he incorporated newspapers, photographs and even some objects (undershirt, parasol parts) onto the canvas before adding broad strokes of paint! he kept exploring the boundaries of art and closely followed the current events of the time, using images of space flight and NASA’s photographs into his work — space (tribute 21) is a personal favorite ♡

i actually picked a selection of artworks to match liam’s personality: 1. untitled (red painting) - 2. untitled (red painting) - 3. red interior. i particularly love that last one, as the far-right stripe reminds me of liam’s chevron tattoo!!

for many years now, liam has been associated with red and it’s no surprise at all — red is the color of passionate love, seduction and adventure. strength, vitality and ambition. it used to be seen as the color of fire, a primal life force. to the greeks, red symbolized super-human heroism. liam is a force of nature, strong both physically and mentally. he is hard-working and energetic!

+ harry —

forget about the way harry has been portrayed ever since he was a sixteen-year-old boy. forget about the curls and the dimples. simply observe the person harry is today. take a closer look at what he decides to share with us. pay attention to the way he’s presenting himself.

fine line (the album) takes us on an introspective journey into his deepest emotions — whether it be torment or happiness. and i think it’s fascinating how well-executed his songs are! even in a catchy and happy song such as golden, harry managed to address quite a raw and painful concept: i’m hopeless, broken, so you wait for me in the sky / i don’t want to be alone — it’s heartbreaking, yet you almost wished you could feel it too!

through various allegories and metaphors, harry makes you question yourself. he interrogates you and talks about a reality you didn’t know existed or could relate to. harry is magnetic.

this painting is called composition XI by vassily kandinsky — and i can’t help but compare both harry and vassily. kandinsky was a painter, professor, poet and art theorist, generally credited as the pioneer of abstract art! he spent years creating sensorially rich paintings, and was fascinated by musicians who could evoke images in listeners’ minds. he strove to work with forms and colors that alluded to sounds and emotions!!

in songs like fine line, the music swells and deflates as if it was a beating heart. each track conveys a different emotion and translates a distinct concept! through his melodies, harry aims to make us feel joy, melancholy, determination or bitterness, even when the lyrics are anything but. his albums leave us speechless and wondering, just like abstract art!

+ overall, this is what art is meant to make you feel! it’s supposed to challenge you. art is meant to make you rethink your boundaries and open up your mind. it’s meant to question you and leave you wanting for more! you are meant to listen to a song several times to fully understand its meaning, and meant to stand in front of a painting for hours to start grasping the artist’s thought process…

yet art remains subjective! depending on your own life experiences and upbringing. art is free for you to interpret as you wish and so is music! i hope you enjoyed this post, thank you for reading it ♡

#have i spent way too much time on this? YES #did i turn the ask into an essay?? YES #i hope at least a few people will be interested in this #and as i said in the disclaimer: those are MY opinions #i hope you're still around there anon ♡#jess parle à la lune #jess répond

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f-117-nighthawk · 3 years

Text

I’m in a Playlist Mood

I was scrolling through my dark matter tag looking for something I made a while ago to reference in the next chapter of Carry Me Home and ran across my last playlist explanation post. It put me in the mood to think about this again, and I’ve added...a lot. The playlist might’ve actually doubled in length since then (Thank You Abyss) and I’ve moved some stuff around in order. So, more playlist meta under the cut (it’s LONG)

So first thing: I’ve actually created two new playlists (well, one new one and actually made the third playlist have more than two tracks) since that post jhadsfljd. Working forwards in time (kinda), we have:

Dark Matter: The Road to Ruin

The Road to Ruin is the Main Playlist, the thing I use to write to, the thing I lie in bed and listen to to think up new things, and half the thing that keeps the timeline in place (it’s actually more updated than World Anvil rn whoops). Here we have overarching plot hooks, character development, and the story of six Paladins and their friends trying to save the universe.

Turn the Lights Out I sort of explained in the last post and I can’t think of too much more to add. The TLDR is it’s about the Lions (and, well, technically [REDACTED] too....) and sort of why I refer to a fully-melded Lion-Paladin duo as Spirits.

(I was here/Will you welcome and recognize me/I'll be there/I was here/Will you dread me, will you despise me/I'll be there/For the last living thing)

Remnants of Stars is again about Galran philosophy and the actual process of the quintessence nurseries filtering quintessence back into the universe. But the bit about giving in to know the truth becomes important much, MUCH later.

(As children of space/With stardust in our veins/We will give in to know the truth/We are the remnants of stars)

Your World Will Fail, Dark Matter, and Eater of Worlds are about [REDACTED], about what happens between that instant between the first plank time and the next. They’re an overarching theme, but also the event that everything else builds from, whether that be interpreted as the beginning of the universe or the Voltron comet crashing into Daibazaal.

(Your world will fail my love/It’s far beyond repair/Your world will fail my love/It is already there)

(Bring me your soul/Bring me your hate/In my name you will create/Bring me your fear/Bring me your pain/You will destroy in my name)

(Can’t imagine the violence/The rage and the love in my madness/I am the eater of worlds and I’m looking for someone to feed me)

Apocalypse 1992 is actually the main story of Through Apocalypse Skies, although its framing story is shortly after String Theory. It happens between parts of Awakenings, detailing the rise of [REDACTED] and the final hours before the destruction of everything sentient species knew beforehand.

(Fly high through apocalypse skies/Fight for the world we must save/Like tears of a unicorn lost in the rain/Chaos will triumph this day)

You Keep What You Kill covers the slow degeneration of the Empire between The Fall and the Battle of Arus. The knowledge harshly taught by the Thuanial War is forgotten under the influence of Zarkon, Haggar, and [REDACTED]. Marzin and Galraasa quickly rise the ranks as the Empire’s left and right hands, like omens of destruction before them. The four are the ‘holy half-dead,’ the ones who shape the devouring of the universe before them.

(Defying dimensions/These ruthless creatures will steal your soul/Breaking away from the chains of mortality/They won't be taken down/Bow now to the holy half dead/The master to death mongers calls)

The Seven Sisters is about Keith, mostly, and connected to Closure via its influence on Child From the Stars (Lost in the Dark) and also to Memories of a Girl I Haven’t Met

(I cast my hope upon The Pleiades/The Seven Sisters who would come for me/They'd fall to Earth to grant a child's dream/But I'm still waiting)

Starlight is the newly added Adashi song. Here, it’s the sad part, based around the time that the SFSS Genesis launches for Kerberos. It also is sort of about Shiro’s thoughts throughout the war as he watches ‘from distant skies’ (and influences String Theory kinda)

(At night the earth will rise/And I'll think of you each time I watch from distant skies/Whenever stars go down and galaxies ignite/I'll think of you each time they wash me in their light/And I'll fall in love with you again)

Abyss is Awakenings again. It’s specifically the Red Lion waking up on Sendak’s ship to her new Paladin, but also sort of the rest of the Lions as they find new Paladins for the first time since The Fall

(Open my eyes in a daze/How long has it been? Am I so out of place?/Warmth I can no longer feel/My mountain is gone, I'm surrounded by steel/The strangest of structures arises ahead/Seems to be held up by nothing/Where have I gone, do I dream?/How can the stars be all I can see?)

Who Will Save You Now is about the Paladins in First Contact. It’s the video messages they send to their families, the warning that Something Is Out Here that they need to prepare for. It’s a declaration of protection for Earth, but a recognition that the Paladins may not be able to do what they say.

(I will not take from you and you will not owe/I will protect you from the fire below/It's not in my mind/It's here at my side/Go tell the world that I'm still alive)

The End of the Beginning and Nobody Gets Left Behind are the aftermath of the Battle of the Sarnan Nebula, the end of season two. The End of the Beginning hasn’t been posted yet, but it’s also the second of the four Closure fics. The End of the Beginning also has influence on String Theory.

(Every night I die just a little/All this time, I'm caught in the middle/All your life, you fought with no winning/This is just the end of the beginning)

(Don't even try to pretend/That you're rough and just as tough/As when you're missing a friend/Attack and take him back/Cause when the team isn't whole/You've got a hole in your soul)

A Simple Plan is sort of part of The End of the Beginning, but really takes place after it. It’s the newly shuffled Team Voltron attempting to track down Lotor as Haggar tries to keep him under her control, and the new Black Paladin’s slow shift away from the things that he was pushed into and to the Blade. (And... guess what... it has influence on String Theory!) Fun fact I found out recently: The Spiritual Machines are by and large also the people behind Les Friction, which explains so much.

(What is this space we’re climbing/What is this place we’re stuck in/Why do we feel we’re sinking/How do we get out – get out of this)

Memories of a Girl I Haven’t Met skips all the way over Naxzela and to the Mission to the Baaria Shipyards, the first major offensive that isn’t somehow connected to canon (even if only a very very small part of it is actually at the shipyards lol). This is also the song that solidified Keith’s very queer identity in Dark Matter.

(In this lonely place, bathed in silence and thoughts of you/I can't see your face but I'm trying to envision you/So are you really out there? Are you awake with memories/Of a boy you haven't met yet who's wished upon the Pleiades?)

TRIALS (reimagine) and String Theory are.... hoh boy. [REDACTED], [spoilers], and the turning point for a lot of things, which is why it has the honor of being the separating fic between my two main Dark Matter folders. TRIALS being on here is a fun story, because I associate that song very heavily with my main Star Wars fics, since that’s where the series title comes from, but the reimagine version of it gave me such strong Dark Matter vibes, it ended up here. It has heavy influence on the first part of String Theory, and is what I’ve been using for general pacing of the first half. String Theory itself isn’t the weirdest song on the playlist, but it’s really hard to find the connections to it without several layers of abstraction and backstory on [REDACTED]. String Theory is also weaved into a good chunk of fics before it.

(The ending won't be forgotten/It's written in the stars and the hieroglyphs/Sending the lionhearted/The stones break bones, but we're venomous)

(You don't believe in space/You don't believe in light/You don't believe that anything is well beyond your might/We walk across the sky and beneath the ocean floor/We're never going anywhere we've never been before)

House on Fire is the aftermath of String Theory, and a large vibe of We ARE Struggling Together! (Rise Against says it’s about parenting???? lol fuck that) (okay but actually, switch the parental love part to sibling love/general familial love and that’s a pretty good description....)

(So I'll just hold you like a hand grenade/You touch me like a razor blade/I wish there was some other way right now/Like a house on fire we're up in flames/I'd burn here if that's what it takes/To let you know I won't let go of you)

Belgrade is the klance song! It is a) bop b) always stuck in my head because it is That Good. The line in the chorus about ‘sweet songs of seduction’ is eternally funny to be bc a)they’re both ace and b)QPR’s don’t usually involve seduction as far as I know. Belgrade also leads almost directly into...

(We pretend in the darkness/We pretend the night won’t steal our youth/Singing me the sweet songs of seduction/Let me be the fool, fool, fool/Who will live and die for you)

Here to Save You is about Sam. Mostly. It’s also about Pidge. And Zaivorge cannons.

(A slave for humankind/I made sure I would survive/To stay alive/Now it's time to move on/When there's nothing left to prove/I'm coming to get you)

Iron is what eventually replaced Ten Thousand Against One. The plot has actually changed a lot since it was that song like. two years ago (three?) at this point. It has more of a focus on Keith knowing what’s going on due to [spoilers] and coming to accept parts of himself that are suddenly very obvious (kiiiinda the third closure fic?)

(You can't live without the fire/It's the heat that makes you strong/'Cause you're born to live/And fight it all the way/You can't hide what lies inside you/It's the only thing you know/You're embracing that, never walk away)

Birthright and Firewall are not exactly a direct result of Iron, but they wouldn’t happen how they do without it. They’re actually largely about Lotor, but then [REDACTED] swings back into the fray and things learned in String Theory/the framing story for Through Apocalypse Skies hit in full force.

(The voices in my head have all begun to sing/(The voices in your head have all begun to sing)/And they sure as hell hope I am listening/(I sure as hell hope you are listening!))

(They come to your dreams with illusion/They come to bring shape to your mind/You know how to stop the intrusion/We all have to fight for our lives)

and then, The Day the Earth Collapsed

(How much time has been elapsed/Since the day the earth collapsed?)

Here Comes the Reign doesn’t come into full effect until several months after Birthright/Firewall after Galraasa meets their fate, but starts with The Day the Earth Collapsed. It’s largely about Haggar and [REDACTED]

(You made something they can't take away/Now bring the fire of the burning sun on everyone)

Closure is placed where the fourth of its fics is. Closure in general is a lot of Keith’s character development and some of the struggles he goes through to accept his place in the universe and the fact that yes, he does have people that care about him. The last fic is me shining a brighter light on Closure’s chorus and taking a ‘last goodbye’ as never needing to say it again

(I am the child from the stars/That got lost in the dark/Between heaven and hell/I am forced to live on/I am the cause when you sin/I am the demon you skin/But there is no more tears to beautify/This is my last goodbye)

Ember and Soulbound are two closely related missions involving both Voltron and the Blade (specifically the Dark Whispers) in which [REDACTED] comes in with a vengeance, and some revelations about certain people’s fates are had. Soulbound is actually sort of from Krolia’s perspective.

(Dark matter falling from the sky/Dancing flames reflecting in your eyes as you watch them burn/Watching all your riches witches burn)

(Soulbound, endlessly forever/Locked between the darkness and the light/Don't drown in the swarming, blackened rising/Hold on to humanity and fight)

Darker Matter and Other Worlds Than These are. Well. [REDACTED] and [spoilers] and String Theory’s revelations rearing their ugly head once again, but this time with extra context and just a little bit of [spoiler]

(Dream yourself away/The pull of you shredding time and space)

(There are monsters in the sky/There are demons in the sea/I have seen them with my eyes/I've seen what you won't see/Pull the wool out from your eyes/It won't shade your frail belief/In the end we cannot hide/There are other worlds than these)

Godhunter is a fun one. The combined effects of String Theory, Soulbound, and Darker Matter/Other Worlds Than These come to a head and Team Voltron goes, well, hunting.

(She's been watching for a century/With hatred, and with scorn/If you know the hunter's coming/Then you hide or keep on running/'Cause she's slain the gods before)

My Darkest Hour is revenge for Godhunter, as well as a distraction from it, although Godhunter continues all the way to Louder than Words.

(When the sun comes crashing down/When the world is spinning round and round/I will face what must be my darkest hour)

Faster Than Light is almost direct aftermath of My Darkest Hour, and sort of the inverse of Godhunter, where now Team Voltron are the hunted, even as they attempt to continue hunting. Oh and, Marzin and [REDACTED] are big parts

(Once more we're flying fast as light/Dark matter passing in the night/Pursued by a force we can't outrun/As we hurtle towards a dying sun/We maneuver through the remnants of a moon/On the solar winds of supernovas/There is not a place to hide, the Matriarch is close behind/It's plain to see she's coming for us all)

The Reckoning, This is a Call, World on Fire, The Wind that Shapes the Land, and Louder Than Words are the finale, what everything has been building towards. Earth’s faction, Haggar, [REDACTED], Voltron, the Empire, and the Coalition, all clash together in a final desperate bid to finish or prevent the final result of Your World Will Fail/Dark Matter/Eater of Worlds.

(I see your face, find peace of mind/Between the madness and the sadness and the fire burning/The end of war, the great divine/We'll see the day of reckoning)

(This is a call to action/This is a call to arms/All lives for one, together/There are no false alarms)

(World on fire with a smoking sun/Stops everything and everyone/Brace yourself for all will pay/Help is on the way)

(Search within/Uncover the will to win/Turn against the tide that washes o'er/Find the strength to fall and rise again/Open up the gates, unleash the force/I am the wind that shapes the land/Old as time and twice as strong/Oceans arise at my command/I alone can carry on)

(We have the force to fight/We have the blinding light/A war is more than heard/Coming in louder than words)

Dystopian Fiction

Dystopian Fiction is focused on what happens on Earth during the main playlist. I split it out because putting stuff like Cross the Line on the main playlist was getting clunky, and I figure Adam and Veronica (and the rest of the Paladins’ families, but mostly those two) deserve a chance for their story to shine on its own.

Dark Matter is on here because title track, but also it does end up with effects.

(Don't stop, don't think/Move up, don't blink now/On your knees pray for rain/Don't breathe when you take your aim)

Codebreaker is Adam’s song! I have him primarily as a cryptologist for the Garrison, teaching on the side and as a reserve pilot. Aviators says Codebreaker is actually about Cyperpunk 2077 but uhhh Fuck That it’s about Adam being The Best and dealing with...

(Codebreaker can't you find/Can you read between the lines of code?/Tell me all that you know/How far down the hole does it all go)

Cross the Line is the Éskhayklos’ image song. They’re a neo-luddite movement turned terrorist group that are upset with the way the Sol Federation is trying to fix Earth, stating that humans are the one that pushed it into this state, they should leave it to die and die along with it. Akane Shirogane was their worst nightmare. Cross the Line fits because, well, they crossed the line when [spoiler beep] and they were happy about it. (And “human cause” comes into play later when they pick up anti-alien leanings)

(Cross the line, redefine, break away unbent, unafraid/Together we stand in the dark/Seeking the light and what is right, together we cross the line/Our journey will come to an end and then our human cause will be/Justified)

Who Will Save You Now here is about Sam, and the aftermath of Here to Save You, in addition to its referenced role in the main playlist

(Alone with this vision/Alone and blind/Go tell the world I'm still alive)

The Day the Earth Collapsed is exactly what it says on the tin.

(How much time has been elapsed/Since the day the earth collapsed?)

Dystopian Fiction is the title track for this part. With the events of The Day the Earth Collapsed, the Garrison and our heroes on Earth are at their lowest point. It really is a piece of dystopian fiction, between [spoiler] and [spoiler]. And also: “Nobody can shoot me down, not just yet” is about Adam bc Fuck Canon

(I'm a dead man/In the wasteland/I'm a soldier fighting for superstition/Under search lights/In the long nights/We've been written like dystopian fiction)

The Reckoning is the only one of its little subset that made it over here, because it’s the only one that references events from before its eponymous fic (both verses are Very Earth)

(We're all alone, walking in twilight/The night has been long and so many have fallen/Feel no remorse, light will be breaking/Our freedom is worth it all)

Filaments

Filaments is the least complete, mostly because it’s the ‘sequel series’ of sorts. I have ideas for it, but I still haven’t posted most of the major story beats from the main portion of Dark Matter, so I’ve been purposefully putting it on the backburner. I do have enough to write Carry Me Home and put some foreshadowing in other fics.

Dark Matter is here because, well. A) Title track, B) yes, it still has effects. It’s the overarching theme, after all. Filaments sort of has a subtitle itself, which is ‘The Undoing,’ after the other part of the lyric that the subtitle of the main playlist comes from. It’s about undoing a past mistake (that wasn’t obviously a mistake until much later) and reconciling the events of Your World Will Fail.

(I am the keeper/I am the secret/I am the answer/I am the end)

Filaments is the title track of this part. It’s... a little hard to explain why without giving away the entire plot (what little I have planned lol) but it’s about the connections between different parts of the universe, and some fall-out of Darker Matter/Other Worlds Than These.

(These glowing filaments/Conducting this enchanting/Sarcophagus that's holding us)

Starlight is, again, Adashi song, and this time the happy part

(Don't leave me lost here forever/I need your starlight and pull me through/Bring me back to you)

Carry Me Home is what I’m in the process of writing right now, and it’s about the aftermath of the Quintessence War, specifically about how Shiro decides to settle down on Earth and what he does to build himself a home.

(Carry me home to the morning light/carry me home before you wave me goodbye/Oh, carry me home...)

#i am dark matter; your road to ruin #wow it's 2am #i spent like three hours on this #playlist #enjoy the spotify links #i really did not realize just how much I've added to the playlist this year #it's abyss's fault #i just. really love the playlist #it is my masterpiece #my brother makes fun of me for this but like #you DON'T make super complicated playlists for stories??#i reiterate i really really love this thing #anyway i should. sleep #i mean the semester is over i cn stay up till two but that doesn't mean it's wise #can't wait for me to finally post everything so i can gush about the playlist without smatterings of [REDACTED] tags when it shows up #DM Playlists

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fly-flower-fanfics · 5 years

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Drunken Kisses

Peter Parker x Male Reader

Warnings: Implied smut, alcohol

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"And what the fuck are you doing with those, RJ?"

Tony's voice rung out, calling out the nickname he had given me. It stood for Reused Junk, since I always was found stealing leftover junk from Tony's workshop. I turned to face him, holding up my hands filled with metal scraps. Tony always let me use the scraps of metals he didn't need, but he never seemed to know what I used them for. Hell, half the time I didn't even know what to sue them for. I just created art with them, abstract art or whatever.

"Art stuff," I answered.

"Art stuff?" Tony folded his arms over his chest, a small smirk making its way onto his lips. "Really?"

"Uh, yeah! Look, Tony, babe, I need nothing more than my wicked mad skills, my rugged good looks, and maybe like, half a million dollars." I carefully gathered the pieces into a box so I didn't get cut. I then picked the box up and held it underneath my arm.

Tony laughed, stepping to the side to he could let me pass. "I'll think about the last one."

I winked at him as I passed by. "You'll give into me one of these days, Stark!"

Tony and my friendship was probably one of my favorite things about being here. I wasn't the biggest, baddest, or coolest Avenger, but no one ever seemed to make me feel inferior to them. Tony, after learning about my intense creativity, would ask me what I would think of a design or ask for my help with one. We quickly became friends, and the rest was pretty much history. We teased each other as much as we could, but were there when anything went wrong.

Another one of my favorite things about being here was Spider-Man himself — little Peter Parker: the brown-haired boy was the one I fell in love with. Tony seemed to pick up on it right away, and I blamed it on him being bisexual that he was able to immediately sniff out my crush.

Peter was always soft and almost the opposite of Tony in every single way. My heart fell for the spider boy almost as soon as I laid eyes on him. I couldn't get enough of him, but I almost swore he didn't feel the same way.

I wouldn't say that I was perfect at picking out other people's sexuality, but Peter didn't radiate anything about being into guys in any sort of way. Though it hurt, I would rather stay his friend than to potentially ruin our friendship over my feelings.

I ended up back in my room, plopping the box of scraps onto the desk I owned. I reached out and grabbed the rolling chair I'd stolen from the lab before sitting on it and wheeling myself towards the massive sculpture that sat in the corner of my room.

It was a large spider web with little mementos stuck inside of it. I always added to the web whenever there was spare metal that I was able to fold with my hands. I kept everything in the web like a special sort of shelf that fit my style and aesthetic.

Pictures were the main thing that littered my sculpture. It was pictures of times that I didn't want to forget. There were pictures of Steve and I dancing when he was teaching me the little he knew. Pictures of Tony and I making silly faces with one another. Pictures of Bucky and I out on the roof. Peter and I watching movies. Loki and I pretending to fight one another. Pictures of all of us doing whatever. I could even begin to describe all the ones I had taped up onto the metal web. There were scraps of things I had taped up there as well. Movie ticket stubs, ice cream cone wrappings, leaves, papers, drawings, anything and everything.

Everything on my web was a reminder to me of the family that I had, the family that I had made.

"Woah..." I spun around in the chair to see Peter standing in my doorway, his eyes glued onto my sculpture. "Did you make that?"

I felt myself become flustered as I turned my head to look as well. "Yeah. Yeah, I did."

"That's awesome!" He walked up to it and looked over the pictures and items I had on there. "I don't even remember you taking some of these pictures." He pointed to an amusement park wristband I had put up there. "I took you there; I remember that."

"Yeah. It was fun. I'm shocked you remember that." I got up from the chair and went to stand beside him. "Shocked I remember that," I admitted with a laugh.

My powers had fucked with my memory a bit. I had the power of hypnosis and mind reading, but it required an immense amount of mental control and focus. It made me forget things sometimes, and I didn't like that. So I made my sculpture so I would be unable to forget.

"Does this help?" Peter asked.

"Yeah," I said, "it does. I don't remember everything in great detail, but it's helped. At least I haven't lost everything, ya know?"

I cleared my throat and went over to my bed, trying to fix it up a little. I felt a bit self conscious about Peter being in my room, but it didn't really seem to bother him. I sat down on my bed and watched the boy.

Part of me desperately wanted to read his mind and have a walk around to figure out if he liked me back the way I liked him. No, no, what the fuck? That was wrong. Absolutely wrong. I frowned at myself and shook my head, standing back up.

"I'm gonna head out to grab something from the kitchen. You're welcome to stay, just-just don't tell anyone else about the sculpture. It's a little embarrassing for me." That wasn't a lie; I was embarrassed that I needed help remembering things. It was just I didn't want everyone to know that I valued them so dearly. I wasn't sure how they'd react, and I didn't want to seem like a pushover.

I grabbed a can of soda from the refrigerator. What would Peter think of it? I closed my eyes as I opened the drink. He wouldn't care so much, would he? He looked interested, but would he think it's weird?

"Hey! RJ! So glad you're here!" Tony called out to me, startling me.

I opened my eyes and looked at him, eyeing him suspiciously. "What've you got planned...?"

Tony merely winked and grabbed my hand, yanking me along behind him. "Nothing!”

I could smell the alcohol on his breath, and it was clear that the hero was rather tipsy. "Fucking liar!" I shouted back as he pulled me into the living room.

Thor, Bruce, Natasha, Clint, Wanda, Steve, Bucky, and Peter were sitting on the floor. Various glasses littered the ground around them, showing that everyone had some sort of alcohol in their system. Well, everyone but Peter and I. We made nervous eye contact, and it was obvious that we were being drug into some kind of game.

Tony plunked me down on the floor next to Steve, and I found myself laughing. "What the bloody fuck are we doing?" I asked Tony.

He thrust a half-filled bottle of wine at me. "Oh, sweet boy, we're playin' a game. But you and Spidey over there gotta finish this so we can play."

I'd been friends with Tony far too long, so I had a higher alcohol tolerance. Peter looked scared out of his mind, so I drank most of the bottle before handing it to him to swallow the rest.

"The point of that was?" I asked Tony as he went out, grabbing a couple bottle of alcohol and two more shot glasses.

"So the two of you could be a bit tipsy with the rest of us," he answered as he handed both Peter and I a shot glass. Only then did I notice that the others were holding shot glasses in their hands.

I looked around the circle suspiciously, but I couldn't figure out what we were doing or what Tony was planning.

"Never Have I Ever," Tony said, basically reading my thoughts.

"Oh my god, Tony, this is a college game," I said, laughing.

"Yet it shares secrets," he replied, filling up the shot glasses.

We went around the circle, playing the stupid game. It was more fun than I had originally thought that it would be. Peter and I were relatively pure, though, based on some of the things that were being asked. I was comfortably buzzed when Tony decided to be the asshole best friend and ask the question:

"Never have I ever had a crush on another person in the room."

Thankfully, Natasha, Clint, Bucky, and Steve took shots as well as I did. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Peter downing his shot.

"Oooh! Steve?" Tony pressured, slurring his 's' a little bit.

Steve's cheeks turned pink as he glanced over towards Bucky. Bucky only took the chance to take Steve's face in his hands and kiss him. I couldn't help but cheer along with the rest of the team. It was about time those two had admitted it to the rest of us.

"Clint drank," I teased, pointing over to him.

He rolled his eyes at me with a laugh and gestured to Natasha. "I'd sure hope I like my girlfriend or this would get real awkward real fast."

"Peter, I'm surprised you drank to that," Natasha said.

I turned towards Peter, and his whole face was flushed red, probably because he had been spotted.

"Who is it?" Tony asked. Peter bit his lip, refusing to answer aloud. His eyes eventually met mine silently before he looked back down at his lap. "RJ? Ooh, damn, RJ! You lucky bastard. Woulda sucked if he didn't like you back."

I rolled my eyes at Tony's drunkenness. At least he kept the secret for long enough. Peter's eyes came back up to meet mine and I shrugged. I wasn't ever really all that shy, but the alcohol helped boost my confidence.

I got up, walked over to him, straddled his hips, and pressed my lips up against his. He kissed me back hesitantly as the others whistled behind us.

Once I pulled away, I smiled down at him. "I kept the wristband because that's when I fell in love with you."

Peter looked over my face and his eyes settled on my lips again. "I fell in love with you when we went to the movies the week before," he muttered before pulling me back in for another kiss.

The alcohol made him bolder, and I would be lying if I said that that didn't turn me on at least a little. I ran my fingers through his hair, gripping it and giving it a light tug. Peter left off a soft gasp, a blush darkening his cheeks.

I smirked as I pulled away, scrambling to my feet and pulling Peter up with me. "Sorry, Tony. I gotta play your little game later. Maybe next time some things'll have changed," I said with a wink, taking Peter to my bedroom.

#marvel #marvel x reader #x male reader #peter parker #peter parker x male reader #lgbt #gay peter parker

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samanthanicolleco-blog · 4 years

Photo

Magbubulaklak by Antonio Oil on fiberboard 60 x 81.5cm 1964

Angelito Antonio or “Mang Lito” was born on February 3, 1939 and grew up in a simple farming household in Malolos, Bulacan. His passion for art began at a very young age, he participated in various art contests and had begun earning several big titles and awards to his name as a child. In 1958, he initially took up Architecture at the Mapua Institute of Technology which he then continued at the University of Santo Tomas. However, he eventually shifted due to a scholarship opportunity given to him and studied Fine Arts instead at the University of Santo Tomas, where he met several future colleagues like National Artist Ang Kiukok, Mario Parial, Jaime de Guzman, and Norma Belleza, a woman he later married. During his time at college, Antonio was granted a teaching position for his excellence, which he kept for over a decade even after graduation, by National Artists Vicente Manansala and Galo Ocampo. After that, Antonio only seemed to rise up further into stardom in the art world as he quickly garnered 20 more local and international awards to his name. He’s considered as one of the most influential artists of our country’s Modern Art movement, well regarded as an action painting trailblazer and for proliferating the Cubist style in Philippine art.

That being said, Antonio is best known for his Cubism style, an abstract approach to realism, with his emphasis on strong confident diagonal lines combined with a unique take on figurative distortions, and his use of black juxtaposed with strong primary or muted tertiary colors. He’s regarded as both modernist and expressionist in his approach, his subjects mostly consisting of figure folk. Having grown up a country boy surrounded by farmlands and small towns, there wasn’t much inspiration to draw from, thus, the young Antonio focused on the people that surrounded him. He showcased vendors, farmers, fishermen, and the simple daily lifestyle of his community. He wanted to illustrate an authentic representation of Filipino customs, traditions and way of life to the world, and incorporate the genuine emotions his subjects felt in that image.

Angelito Antonio’s Magbubulaklak was created in 1964, during his teaching years in the University of Santo Tomas. He made it with oil paints, commonly used to bring emphasis to textures and colors used, and a fiberboard base, a type of cheap wood used as roofing and wall sheaths. Which in hindsight, may seem like an atypical choice at first but through deeper analysis, can make sense because it may remind viewers of impoverished, barren walls where one may find forms of vandalization and graffiti in dilapidated areas; a possible contributing factor for interpretations later. The piece itself is a medium-scale painting that depicts a long haired woman holding several white flowers. She’s seated barefoot behind a container of more flowers and has an evident look of unhappiness on her face. She appears to be a flower vendor. Her hands are slightly stretched outward as if she’s anticipating to offer the flowers she’s holding to someone. Her body and clothes have visible contours from the yellow, red, white and even green hues that surround her, like casted shadows from a light source, making it appear as if she’s situated near objects with these different colored lights.

The title of the piece itself, Magbubulaklak, tells a story that can be universally understood by most if not all Filipinos, with a majority of us having experienced seeing something parallel to it in our lives. In translation, it directly means flower vendor or florist, however, the piece falls short on the latter definition as florists typically have a florist shop to professionally arrange and cut flowers. Instead, the woman appears to be selling in an open area with only a container of flowers, and she’s barefoot which is far from being professional.

Looking at the lines in Magbubulaklak, we can see a rough outline which emphasizes the woman’s details and some of the background in the piece, the shapes appearing more organic and life-like in nature. Additionally, the texture of the piece is composed of variously layered brush strokes of different colors purposely on top of one another. These components may represent Antonio’s intention to illustrate an emotional setting and emphasize the reality of the scene. The use of thin, soft curved lines on the woman’s features contribute to her appearance of delicateness and sorrow. A feeling of being fragile or “walking on eggshells” that most of us experience when we are at a low point in our physical, mental or emotional health. The wide contour lines on her face and body also bring emphasis to her emotional state, the dark shadows toward the center of her face adding depth to her grim and frail look. Moreover, the outline of other forms behind the woman bring distinction to her surroundings and environment. This can be attributed to Antonio’s goal of creating a realistic and expressive setting that interacts with the subject, by acting as context and emphasis. He represents the scene as genuine as it can be to the flower vendors we see in most Philippine streets and sidewalks today.

Moving on, the piece holds more positive space than negative as nearly every inch on the painting is filled with shapes. It feels very crowded and chaotic, one might even say there’s a “fear of space” present in this piece. And since there is only one subject, the woman, it seems like the purpose of having no negative space was to somehow bring your attention to her first. By having a mess of shapes in a background that is incomprehensible at first glance, the painting forces oneself to look at something that is clear, stable and coherent which is her. In my opinion, it was a bold yet clever move as it conversely emphasized how the surroundings were unstable and volatile, possibly foreshadowing her metal and emotional state. The overwhelmness from looking at the painting at first glance is really just to draw our attention to the center going out, to first take note of a clear subject then expand our line of focus outward as we investigate her relationship to the chaotic background and vice versa.

Furthermore, the colors in Magbubulaklak are composed of mostly bright primary colors red, yellow, and secondary color green, all of which are juxtaposed to the monochromatic white and black present. Initially, I was surprised to find so many bold and traditionally “happy” colors in what appeared to be a solemn painting judging by the subject’s facial features. The tones were very bright and lively, making the piece very eye catching and immersive to look at. Although my initial thoughts were that the subject would suit duller and darker shades to compliment the seriousness of the painting, but after looking at the whole picture, I understand and commend sir Antonio’s utilization of these specific colors. He used these bright colors as natural representation to our progressive cities and societies. It’s an abstract or distorted version of reality as it looks more chaotic in image but everything it represents is genuine, emotionally and physically. Chaotic streets and troubling emotions that surround the woman trying to sell her flowers, she is outlined with strong black lines and this contrast is what makes her pop out as the painting’s stable focal point, creating a clear distinction between her and her background.

In my opinion, although the piece can be generally interpreted with one common idea, “the subject is an unhappy and poor flower vendor”, the actual specifics may go in several directions. One possible interpretation is that the flower vendor is situated by a busy street, where cars and stop lights can be found, signifying the purpose of the familiar color group, the yellow and red representing a car’s flashing front and tail lights, and the green for “go” on the traffic light. An economic representation of the inequality between the rich and the poor, a gap between people with opportunity and those without; the people who can travel with cars and those limited only to the streets. In relation to the previous paragraph, an additional interpretation may be the background’s relationship to the subject as her emotions and thoughts. The chaos around her possibly represents the true mental state she’s in, underneath her sorrow features, it’s an image of someone with not much options or a way out. Using a traffic light analogy, the yellow and red around her could represent all the restrictions or barriers she continues to face, constantly stopping or slowing her down before she can have the opportunity for a better life while those in the cars can come and go as long as the light turns green. On the other hand, although very small, the presence of green located on her body may represent her spirit and remaining will to fight against the poverty she’s facing. This act of strength may be seen in her slightly stretched out hand where she attempts to sell the flowers to a possibly more fortunate passerby just out of view, a bridging interaction between the poor and the fortunate. Inspite of the piece being two-dimensional, it seems the painting crosses the threshold if we look at the angle of her gaze, because it can be met.

Despite the fact that this piece is currently located in the Ateneo Art Gallery, a private university often referred to as a place of privilege, regardless of the painting’s location, anyone who meets the woman’s sorrowful gaze can recognize by reading her expression and appearance, the story of hardship, poverty and inequality she imparts to her viewers. If one chooses to meet her eyes, it is physically possible, noting painting size and placement, as her gaze is angled in a specific way that allows your eyes to connect if you wish to do so but just slightly out of reach so that you’ll have to actively seek it out yourself. This feature itself can be a play on social action, how recognition of present injustices and gaps in opportunity or privilege is there as long as you accept to see it. Though this interpretation might not be exactly what the artist wished to impart, I feel like this version engages with the country’s current social and economic concerns, especially on how the unfortunate are most affected by it. It provokes my mind about the structure of our own society and the injustices present. The historical divide between social classes but now in a modernized setting, and how we can do something about it if we only open our eyes and recognize that something needs to be done. In the end, this analysis deepened my own understanding and appreciation of the work and the artist’s thought process behind it, effectively motivating me to have more compassion for the other side represented behind the painting.

When we observe sir Antonio’s entire piece of work, we are able to see another side to the daily life he aims to portray in Magbubulaklak. We recognize his clever use of brightcolors to contrast and enhance the seriousness in the painting, a signature technique that he’s used across most if not all his pieces. I commend his level of authenticity for these conjured images, not because he had lived through the hardships firsthand, but for managing to observe time periods and modernize the setting of these experiences. He was able to evolve his perspective as times changed, knowing what current situations are, and manage to still reach the hearts of many people across different generations.

To conclude, from a bird’s eyeview, the piece does not come across as classical, harmonious or traditionally beautiful in nature. At first glance, it all just seems abstract and too complex to comprehend. Due to this, a possibility I see is the piece becoming overshadowed in the near future, maybe several decades from now, as it does not garner enough interest to an average person’s eye. In worst case, it would look irrelevant. And this may be because the work only portrays a current image in society, one that may yet again change in the future, thus, would leave this piece outdated and unrecognizable to any part in the Philippines. As a third world country, it’s only natural for the Philippines to experience dynamic changes every few years. However, the changing times also have an ability to emphasize the beauty in these pieces by classifying them as historical, so they set a reminder to everyone what life in certain time period was like; how society lived and such. If that is done, we will have further enhanced outdated pieces’s relevance to even future time periods, effectively making these historical pieces timeless. It’s honestly amazing how art can be just that, an abstract representation of realities and expressions. Thus, I can wholeheartedly admit that Magbubulaklak is a great piece of high value, as both a viewer and someone who has encountered seeing this representation in real life. Through this painting, I recognized my own experiences and values, it also opened my eyes to the reality of our society and the impoverished community that I don’t often get to see. Having been at tucked away at the safety of my home for the duration of the lockdown and pandemic, Magbubulaklak makes me pause and think about the people struggling right now, financially and in health, making me more aware and appreciative of what blessings I do have, and how simple actions like donating to these people can go a long way to help them. In the painting, the lady looks like she’s anticipating for someone to sell her flowers to. Rhetorically, by “reaching out” my hand to her, maybe then even if it’s just a little, can I make an impact in our society.

References: “ANTONIO, Angelito.” Heritage Arts & Antiques Gallery. Accessed July 14, 2020. Retrieved from http://heritagegallery.ph/2017/09/antonio-angelito/

“04 1964 Angelito Antonio – Magbubulaklak,” August 25, 2018. https://lakansining.wordpress.com/2018/08/25/katipunan-avenue-quezon-city-the-social-realism-collection-of-the-ateneo-art-gallery/04-1964-angelito-antonio-magbubulaklak/.

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homespork-review · 5 years

Text

Homespork Act 1: The Note Dawdling Tension Plays (Part 3)

CHEL: John heads outside, finally, but finds the mailbox empty and the car locked with a package inside. It seems he’ll have to confront his father to get the game he seeks. And then, we get the internet equivalent of a splash page, with ominous wind chimes, slow-pan animation, and lyrical text.

You have a feeling it's going to be a long day.

Regarding the term “ominous”, it applies in ways Hussie intended, implying the strangeness to come, but also in ways he may not have. Notice anything absent from that animation? Go on, guess.

FAILURE ARTIST: John’s neighborhood is more bland than Privet Drive.

CHEL: True, but “character” wasn’t really what I meant. What would one expect to see at least one of, in a nice suburban neighbourhood, even a bland one, in the daytime, when we know John’s dad is home from work, even if through a window? What are we not seeing here?

FAILURE ARTIST: No people and not even any pets.

CHEL: Hot dog, we have a wiener. Not character, characters. There are no signs of life at all. Not even a wild bird. Now, John is the focal character here, so that might come under the heading of unnecessary detail, but considering what happens later, this becomes very creepy. The big dangerous thing has not happened yet, so there should still be people in the neighbourhood, and the sound of wind chimes implies at least one of those houses is inhabited. But we don’t see them. Come to think of it, John never mentions his school at all, nor any other friends apart from the other kids featured in the comic, and nor do they. It’s as if they literally sprang into existence on that day and got plopped down in place just in time to be in the comic.

FAILURE ARTIST: Given that John is home in the middle of what would be a school day I think he might be home-schooled.

CHEL: That didn’t occur to me. I’m a Brit and I guess I was thinking “Easter break”, but the school year pattern in the US is different. But that raises further questions. Doesn’t he know any local kids? His dad works full-time and he has no other family - when does his dad find the time?

FAILURE ARTIST: Maybe it would be Spring Break in Washington State. I don’t know.

CHEL: Regardless, it’s eerie. If he’s home-schooled, he still ought to have some local friends or at least be on wave-hello terms with neighbours, unless he really is stuck in his bedroom almost all the time. I’m tempted to add an ARE YOU TRYING TO BE FUNNY point for the implication that John’s been raised locked in a room, but that’s just silly speculation so I won’t.

While on the topic, John does live in a literal suburb, but I’m not going to give points for WHITE SBURB POSTMODERNISM here. That count is for when the characters’ behaviour comes across as white/suburban/wealthy and that contradicts how the author is trying to present them. John is supposed to be the everyman figure with an ordinary life, living in a regular respectable town.

Let’s move on. It’s time to confront the Parental Figure.

TIER: John finds himself heading to the kitchen to retrieve his game, and it's now that we get a good look at his dad, along with one of the neat little details about Homestuck's world being brought to the forefront.

I am of course, talking about STRIFE!

"[S] John: Enter and Strife!" (Watch on YouTube)

The more or less fighting system for lack of my vocabulary, and seemingly a thing you just do in this world.

CHEL: John gets to actually use his “hammerkind” weapon, and Dad’s preferred method of combat is offering yet more cake.

FAILURE ARTIST: John threatens his father with a hammer. In the real world, this would be horrifying. But it’s not in this video game world. The other Beta Kids have “STRIFE” with their parents and in only one case does it end up as being treated seriously. Yet that will wait to be seen.

CHEL: One case which is significantly less disturbing than one of the other cases, in some ways. But yes, that’s for later. To be fair, John could have been trying to hit the cake with the hammer, not his dad, but most parents still wouldn’t be pleased to have their kids waving hammers in their direction regardless.

ARE YOU TRYING TO BE FUNNY?: 2

TIER: After a short few rounds, John manages to properly distract his dad and successfully gets to his mail. A winner is you Johnny boy. Then we find ourselves with another hit of sylladex fuckery happening, joyous.

When we get back to John's room, it's pesterlog time, this time with a little sneak peak at the last of our fabulous foursome of thirteen years olds, gardenGnostic, or GG! They're only present for three short lines, but damn if they aren't pretty telling. From what little is seen they're an overall pretty chipper person, and to me at least adorable with those emojis.

CHEL: The beta’s finally in John’s hands, after all that effort to get it. So what do we do now? Why, it seems like a great time to go waste some time reading an entirely different imaginary webcomic promoting Hussie’s other work! Though, to be fair, the Midnight Crew will turn out to be relevant later. Keep that name in mind.

FAILURE ARTIST: The Midnight Crew actually started as the OCs of Problem Sleuth fan Mayonka who paid to have a extra episode.

CHEL: And then, FINALLY, he installs the thing, and it... gives us a loading page, and he goes off to read up on data structures and fuck about with his fucking sylladex some more!

TIER: The sylladex thing really knows how to wear its welcome thin with the shenanigans, thought I'll admit that John getting a razor embedded into the face of one of his posters was amusing in how dangerous the dang thing can be.

GET ON WITH IT!: 3

"Get on with it! (Monty Python)" (Watch on YouTube)

CHEL: Because I’m feeling bitter, I’m adding another point too!

HOW NOT TO WRITE A WEBCOMIC: 5 The Lost Sock - wherein the plot is too slight Here the main conflict is barely adequate to sustain a Partridge Family episode. Remember that this drama has to carry the reader through 300-odd pages. The central dilemma of a novel should be important enough to change someone’s life forever.

Our main plot hasn’t been introduced yet, so as far as the reader knows, what’s happening now is the plot. Getting a video game out of the kitchen should not take this long and is not much of an epic adventure! By now, Hussie’s committed almost all of the sins listed in HNTWAN’s section on beginning a story! NOTHING IS HAPPENING!

Okay, something happens. It’s not plot, but it’s adorable. John opens the birthday present from Dave, to discover a souvenir of his favourite movie; the very stuffed bunny prop featured in Con Air. Look at how happy he is!

TIER: I do believe that up to this point, there hasn't been much of a plot, just people doing stuff. It's boring in the same way that someone telling you about an average day is, not much going on to be honest.

FAILURE ARTIST: I enjoyed reading Act 1 when I first read it but I was coming in under no expectation. Homestuck as a deep meaningful story hadn’t begun yet.

CHEL: Okay, NOW a thing is happening. The game is installed, on comes the loading page, and… Well, that’s peculiar. Now, at last, we see what the big deal with this game is. It permits TT, who installed the “server” section of the game while John installed the “client” section, to reach into his actual bedroom with the cursor and move things around, place bizarre-looking machinery in the rooms, or even add parts to his house a la The Sims. Now that’s a game worth the hype it got! Too bad it took almost 140 pages to actually reveal this.

The kids don’t seem very surprised by all this, yet the reviewer hadn’t heard the game could do that. One would think even such a disaffected dudebro would be curious about that, if he knew. Maybe the game really does have some kind of built-in failsafe to keep adults away?

FAILURE ARTIST: This is a world people have inventories instead of pockets and an RPG battle starts every time you argue with your parents.

CHEL: Does that apply to all people in it, though, or just the lead characters? They are, as it turns out, special already, and we never see a person who’s not involved.

John wants to try moving things around, but he needs the “server” CD-ROM to do so, which is still in the car. TT’s attempts to help result in not only a large machine called a “Cruxtruder” blocking the front door, but also the toilet, which John earlier accidentally filled with cake during sylladex shenanigans, being ripped out and dropped in the yard, and the bathtub similarly ending up in the hallway, which is pretty funny, I admit.

EB: you can see me, right. EB: tell me what is wrong with this picture.

Perhaps sylladex shenanigans could be trimmed without being deleted entirely. SBurb shenanigans, similarly, are funny but might possibly do better to be compressed into fewer pages, but that’s not as big a deal, I think. The shenanigans aren’t entirely TT’s fault; she keeps losing her internet connection due to bad weather. GG’s earlier mention of an explosion near their home implies that things are starting to happen around them, too. Meantime, John finds a sledgehammer, a much better weapon, the implication being he’s going to need one, even if he turns out to be unable to lift it. TT helps him to hit the Cruxtruder with it, and said machine produces a glowing… thing and starts a four-minutes-and-thirteen-seconds countdown. Countdowns are never good in this context.

The glowing thing is a Kernelsprite, which needs to be “prototyped”, so into it goes the harlequin doll, causing it to take on the shape of a harlequin’s head and hand. Attempts to use the mysterious machinery TT has deployed result in the production of a shiny blue cylinder called a cruxite dowel and three green cubes labelled by the game as Perfectly Generic Objects, using up the game’s abstract building currency dubbed Build Grist. Wasting time playing with the machinery proves to be an unwise idea, however, as John looks into the sky and sees…

Even worse than the meteor heading directly for his house, Dad is coming back!

FAILURE ARTIST: THIS is where I came in. It is the most impressive flash animation so far. It is still awkwardly animated compared to later ones.

CHEL: I think it’s one of his earlier efforts, so I wouldn’t say it was bad. It succintly gets the point across and it’s better animated than anything I could do.

John messages TT again.

EB: oh man who cares about the bathroom, now there's a meteor heading for my house!!! TT: I see. TT: Do you suppose it has anything to do with the game? EB: i don't know, maybe! what do i do! TT: I think it's very likely. TT: The walkthroughs vaguely suggest an impending threat before they end. TT: The already poorly constructed sentences become even more curt and ambiguous. TT: As if written hastily and with a sense of alarm. TT: Actually, their dedication to updating the walkthrough under such circumstances is admirable.

TT concludes that if the meteor is caused by the game, succeeding at a game objective must be the way to stop it, and investigates while John talks to TG, resulting in one of my favourite conversations in the comic, but also leading into another count.

EB: we'll talk later if i am still alive and the earth isn't blown up. TG: like the size of texas TG: or just rhode island TG: theyre always throwing around these geographical comparisons to give us a sense of scale like it really means anything to us TG: but its like it doesnt matter its always just like: WOW THATS PRETTY FUCKING BIG TG: like mr president theres a meteor coming sir. oh yeah, how big is it? its the size of texas sir TG: OH SHIT TG: or, how big is it? its the size of new york city sir TG: OH SHIT TG: sir im afraid the comet is the size of your moms dick TG: OH SNAP TG: sir are you familiar with jupiter TG: you mean like the planet? TG: yeah TG: well its that big sir TG: hmm that sounds pretty big TG: i have a question TG: is it jupiter? TG: yes sir, earth is literally under seige by planet fucking jupiter TG: OH SHIT TG: anyway later

I don’t know if TG is supposed to believe John here. If he is, then we get another count:

HURRY UP AND DO NOTHING: 1

FAILURE ARTIST: Hate to be a killjoy but the line about your mom’s dick is transphobic.

CHEL: My original intention with the PROBLEMATYKKS count was to point out cases where it wasn’t justified by the character saying it, so I wasn't going to count this. Thirteen-year-old boys trying to be witty say all sorts of awful bullshit. Though the writer’s old enough to know better and it didn’t ever get called out, so yeah, okay, I’ll expand the original intention.

CLOCKWORK PROBLEMATYKKS: 4

The rest of it’s still funny, though. Besides, I was more immediately concerned with the fact that TG seems remarkably unconcerned about the possible risk to his friend’s life. There isn’t really anything he could do about it even if he tried, obviously, but one would expect he’d at least say “oh shit, run!” or something. This will become a recurring pattern in the comic, as will be shown fairly soon, hence the DO NOTHING count.

FAILURE ARTIST: I think that conversation is also from real life. Hussie and a friend talked about meteor movie conventions and Hussie decided to use it. However, I assume during that conversation they weren’t threatened by an actual meteor.

CHEL: Possibly he’d have done better to make it clearer that TG did not believe John actually had a meteor heading for him. John is a known joker, after all. It would be quite easy, and I would have assumed that in a comic which had had fewer unremarked wacky happenings already.

Dad Egbert is also remarkably calm about the bathtub in the hallway. TT’s attempt to move it is foiled when her connection is lost, causing her to drop it in front of John’s bedroom door, trapping him inside. John is now on his own.

#homespork #homestuck #homestuck meta #literary critique #sporking #homestuck reread #homestuck review #homestuck let's read

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eponymous-rose · 5 years

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Weird question, but you seem really productive despite seeming to have a constantly fluctuating routine, with both your work and your hobbies. Most people think having a solid routine is the only way to increase your productivity but I've pretty much given up on having a routine since my life seems similar to yours--a lot of travel, weird and always changing work hours. Do you have any advice on how you deal with routine and productivity in spite of that?

Oh gosh, this is definitely something I struggle with a LOT, and I’m not sure I’ve found a coping strategy that works for me yet. But the small things that have been helping have been (1) keeping a routine in my planning even if the stuff I do changes dramatically (even if I’m traveling, I have a notebook where, every Sunday, I list all the stuff that has specific dates/times for the following week, I list the stuff where I still have to come up with a date/time, and I list the stuff I’ve gotta do that week for sure), and (2) finding multiple ways to approach the same goals that I can tailor to my level of energy/spare time on any given week (so this week I’m just not in a super exercisey mindset and can’t rely on having the motivation to run every day, but instead I’m making an extra effort not to eat out this week—lower-effort for my current state of mind, but all toward the same goal of feeling a bit healthier overall).

I’m also very cognizant of how little time at work is actually spent working, so I try not to feel guilty if the total number of hours worked is low as long as the work’s getting done. I’m an incredibly routine-oriented person, but it’s been a bit freeing to slowly and steadily teach myself that stuff just has to get finished one way or another, and the easiest way to do that is to just focus on specific goals and let the rest be flexible.

Anyway, yesterday I was thinking of this ask and was like, “You know, I’ll just write up what I do on Monday as an example, and I bet things will go hilariously awry.” And so they did.

So here’s what my weekly planning list looked like last night:

Dated Events:

Call with paper coauthor at 9AM Monday

Call with leadership academy planning committee at 10AM Monday

Call with peer mentoring group at 9AM Tuesday

Sit in on class at 11:30AM Tuesday and Thursday

Seminars Wednesday at 3PM, Thursday at 4PM, and Friday at 3PM

D&D Saturday at 6PM

Undated Events:

Coordinating abstract submission for an upcoming conference (early week)

Setting up Skype calls with a couple friends I haven’t talked to in a while (late week)

Assorted Priorities:

Book hotel for work travel in July

Accept journal article review request and scope out how long that’ll take

Review some materials sent out for my peer mentoring call

Revise my paper and submit the revisions before the Monday deadline

Get my driver’s license renewed (the joys of yearly visa renewal… your license has to be renewed yearly as well)

Put together a schedule for a biweekly Twitter feature highlighting new publications for the account I run for a subcommittee in my field

Respond to an e-mail about a conference in January about some weird deadline that popped up for next week

Come up with conference abstract ideas before the as-yet-unscheduled meeting

Fill out some action items in advance of my 10AM Monday call

And some more specific checklists for four research projects I’m focusing on this week

I purposely try to group conference calls together, because I currently share my office and feel weird doing video calls when she’s stuck in frame five feet away from me while she tries to work. So Monday seems like a good day to work from home, and I can squeeze in Tuesday’s call before heading to the office that morning. I’ll be in the office Tuesday-Friday, which means I’ll be able to attend those seminars and classes with no problem. I have most of my D&D prep done already because we ended early last game, so I can leave that until Saturday. The only thing I might have to shuffle to next week is the driver’s license thing, because it’ll take three hours and I have to account for finding a Lyft there and back. Okay. Aces.

Wake up this morning to find my internet’s out, and I also somehow left the hard drive with all my research on it at work. Hoo boy. But staring over my to-do list, I think I can set today up as a “big picture” day and not have to do any actual coding, so I’m still okay to work from home. I can also phone in to the conference calls instead of using the video call software. All good.

Luckily, the internet comes back right before my first call of the day. Said call is with someone who also happens to be a dean, so she has a tendency to get held up at meetings, so I take that delay to look at the action items for my second call (I mean… if you send me action items at 8PM on a Sunday I am not gonna touch them until Monday morning).

When she did make it online, we chatted about the new paper, and she strongly encouraged me to send it to our other coauthors in case they have suggestions. We’re submitting on Monday, which is way too short-notice to read a 20-page research paper, but they already read the pre-revision version in great detail, so I shot them an e-mail that included a summary of the substantial changes and a note to the effect that if any of them want more time to look at this stuff, I can beg the editor for an extension on their behalf. Minor crisis averted.

Second meeting is very intense and structured. Everyone has to volunteer to organize and lead two webinars in the next three months, so I go ahead and volunteer for the two April ones so I’ll get it out of the way early. Aaand the first webinar is at 1PM this Friday. Okay. I’ll work from home that morning so I can do last-minute prep, then head into the office in time for the 3PM seminar. No biggie. One organizer puts together a draft schedule, and I send a quick e-mail suggesting a different use of one of the ten-minute time slots. One of the other organizers requests another conference call tomorrow instead of e-mails. I tell them I can only do after 4PM, if I leave work early. Eh. We’ll see how that works out.

After the call, I get through a bunch of small tasks in maybe 20 minutes: hotel booked, Twitter posts prepped, review request accepted (not due until May 20, so plenty of time on that), conference deadline e-mail chain started. I spend the rest of the time before noon getting sucked into an article someone sent me about the myths surrounding undergraduate grade inflation and then reading up on the peer mentoring materials for our call tomorrow. A couple other minor e-mails pop up (scheduling the precise date of a conference mixer in January, that kind of thing) and I manage to deal with them right away.

Lunch! Clearly working from home means I should take the opportunity to indulge in some fine cuisine, some leisurely cooking that highlights—

I heat up a microwave meal (chicken couscous) and watch YouTube videos for an hour.

Back in it! I write up some abstract submission ideas and make a valiant attempt at setting up a time to talk about them, but it looks like that might have to wait until next week. We’re still a ways before the deadline, so that’s okay.

Mmmmmmm someone on Twitter mentions a conference in Germany in September and a workshop in Colorado in July that both look like a good fit for my research. I’m in a situation where I have a big chunk of travel funding that’s going to disappear unless it gets spent in the next year. Oh no. But also oh yes.

Just in case, I put together a couple point-form ideas for stuff to propose that I can bring to the people holding the purse strings.

The rest of the afternoon is spent putting together weekly goals for four of my research projects: each one involves a collaboration with a different person, so I’d like to be able to send each of them an e-mail with at least one new thing to share about that project this week. Just in case that doesn’t happen, though, I rank them from most to least important. Worst-case scenario, I don’t have to send any of them this week, but it’ll make next week tougher if I don’t.

It’s only about 3:30 at this point, but honestly, I’m feeling a bit exhausted and overwhelmed (some of the e-mail chains have gone through five or six replies at this point and keeping it all straight is giving me a headache), so I opt to get some groceries and call it a day.

I may have added some stuff, but I got a lot crossed off today! Here’s how that last checklist looks at the end of the day:

Assorted Priorities:

Revise my paper and submit the revisions before the Monday deadline

Project #1: come up with a new exploratory figure and send to Person A.

Project #2: summarize the early results I started last week and send to Person B, along with an ask to see whether he’d be up for me presenting this stuff in Europe in November.

Project #3: improve on figures I showed last month and send to Person C.

Project #4: prepare a rough outline of the next paper to send to Person D.

Not having my work hard drive means I was able to just focus on the stuff that wasn’t specific to research today. In all the chaos of today, I’ve set myself up well for a research-heavy rest of the week where I (hopefully) won’t have to worry about non-research stuff or big changes to the schedule and can just burrow into research, emerging for occasional seminar/webinar breaks. A good Monday, all around.

#eponymous academia tag #karionwriting

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stedes-black-bonnet · 5 years

Text

My Baby Does Me: Chapter 6

POV: John Deacon x reader

Notes: n/a

Warnings: Orgy? JK

Abstract: Everyone takes a rest together; confessions are made; Roger returns.

Deacy was in a compromising position. At least he wasn’t alone, which made it all the more scandalous. This was, he thought, the only time in recent history he had been party to this kind of situation. The second Freddie saw them, he knew, the first thing out of his mouth would be something about “Not being invited to the orgy, darlings.” He grinned at the notion. Freddie always knew how to break the tension running through his life. Their friendship was irreplaceable.

Deacy had to hand it to Lydia, though; this was an inventive hiding place. It had the sand of one of his favorite stories, “The Purloined Letter” by Edgar Allan Poe.

It is the story of a detective, who makes a bet about being able to find a piece of evidence the rest of the police force have been unable to locate. The evidence, a letter, should have been easy enough to find, but the police only thought of places they themselves would have hidden the elusive letter, instead of trying to think like the person who had hidden it; it was a small detail, but an important one; a good detective becomes his prey. And therein lies the rub; our detective was able to empathize, put himself in the shoes of the perpetrator, and therefore he was able to locate the letter. The perpetrator ended up hiding the letter out in the open, on a shelf with other papers, where anyone could have found it. You see, Deacy thought, often the best places to hide were in plain sight.

This was something Poe understood, and Lydia certainly was clever enough to use it as her main tactic here. Deacy keenly felt this idea. He was famous, world-known, a household name. There was nothing more lonely in the world than being known, he thought. As far as hiding in public went, he was a professional. Hiding in public had become almost a game for him. He’d challenge himself by seeing how long he could go being unrecognized in the open air of a restaurant, a park, the theatre. It was entertaining, you see, because he desperately wanted to blend in, while also getting some kind of recognition for his chameleon-esque ability. He knew it was contradictory, but this kind of singular game carried with it a personal thrill unlike any other. Well, almost unlike any other.

He wondered where you were, then. Laying there, his thoughts drifted quite naturally to you, as if he had already spent years building you up in his mind. The smell of your hair, some flower? Bluebells, he questioned? Intoxicating either way. The scent of your skin, something sweet. Vanilla? No--sweeter. Sugar cookies, he pondered? He wasn’t sure if that was flattering or not, but it absolutely deepened his cravings for you. You were every dessert he wanted to taste from now on. His desire was unquestionable in his mind. A great reckoning had occurred. Kissing you had been like the sensation of finding a long lost treasured object, like steam from a doused fire, he was a dark theatre and you were the spotlight; he saw clearly now what he wanted. It had been no time at all, but he knew he had to have the opportunity to get to know you better. He had to see if you felt the same, if you wanted to see if something was here between you two beyond that cupboard. That cupboard, oh, that cupboard. He couldn’t stop mulling over it. He didn’t want to stop himself from reliving it over and over again.

Deacy hadn’t felt like this about anyone in a long time. He had had successful relationships, or what he thought had been successful. They always ended in tears and someone leaving for the better. He wondered if anyone would ever stay, if perhaps he was unlovable, too damaged to adore. Too distant to be loving. Too famous to be known. He shifted his arm slightly.

“Oof,” Brian said next to him. “Watch that elbow.”

“Sorry, Bri; my arm is asleep.” Deacy pulled his arm from under Brian’s back, and turned. He was between Brian and Jim.

“Deacy,” Jim said, next to him, “I had no idea you were so well...proportioned.” They were facing each other, and one of Jim’s legs was pressed, accidentally of course, up against Deacy’s crotch.

“You’ve never seen Deacy naked before, have you?” Brain asked Jim with a waggled of his eyebrows. “Well, nothing so spectacular as our very own John Richard Deacon has been created in all of the cosmos.”

“Well, no, I haven’t had the privilege of seeing him in his natural splendor; I’ve never been interested in or privy to the dressing room amalgamations of you straight men. Keep your rituals, honey. And I’ll keep mine. Though, if I had known what you were...packing, I might have made an exception to my rule. I’m terribly disappointed in Freddie for never mentioning it.” He was mock-inconsolable.

“I’m not,” Deacy said with a robust chortle.

“Boys!” Lydia hissed, next to Brian, “You do know the purpose of the game is to not be found? With all this noise, they’ll find us for sure.”

“They haven’t yet.” Brian observed, trying shield Lydia from his halo of hair. “Sorry,” he whispered, “I can’t help it.” He motioned to his hair as best he could without invading her personal space. Though, it was particularly difficult not to seek an invitation into her personal space. She was exceptionally easy on the eyes.

Lydia didn’t seem to mind, though. His hair was god-like, like her own. She, perhaps, unsurprisingly had taken to these men like a duck to water. Being starstruck was for other people. She, more or less, took to all men in such a fashion; she could win anyone over with her dazzling charm, and all men tended to take to her. She couldn’t wait to introduce you to John Deacon. He seemed preoccupied by something, or perhaps he wasn’t as naturally loquacious as Brian and Jim were. When she thought of herself in bed with three men, she never imagined it would be these men, under these circumstances. But, here she was.

“Jim?”

“Yes, Lydia?”

“Whose bed is this?” Lydia asked.

“Mine and Freddie’s, actually.”

“It’s fantastic. Freddie has such good taste.”

“I’d hope so; he did pick me.” Jim preened.

“And me,” added Brian.

“Really? He picked me, too.” Deacy simpered.

“Blessed, all of us, really.” Brian beamed.

“Entirely,” Deacy sorted.

You heard muffled laughter coming from the room Freddie had led you to. You weren’t in the least bit surprised to find Lydia’s hiding place had been a bed. Obvious for some, but if done right, obstructive and misleading. Manipulative, in the best way. You opened the door quickly, yet silently. At first glance, there in the dark, you saw a larger than necessary bed. The coverings looked lush but wrong somehow. Like the bed hadn’t be made, or was made up in such a way as to “seem” natural. It was just a little too designed, a little too fussed-over. This had been Lydia’s doing, no doubt, in an attempt to make the bed look made and empty when it was, in fact, party to four people, soon to be six.

“I believe Lydia is on that side.” Freddie said, “And that lump looks suspiciously like my husband. Time to face the music, angel.” He winked at you, and you both entered the room, and made for your respective sides of the bed.

“Lydia!?” You yanked the blanket from over the lot of them.

“Sardines!” They all whispered at you and Freddie.

Your heart leaped into your throat when you saw Deacy in the bed. You didn’t think you’d be in a position to be in a bed with him already, this soon into whatever it was the two of you were. He smiled up at you, looking deeply in your eyes as if he could see the future in them. Maybe he could. You had eyes only for him, and paused, unable to move.

The blanket was useless in your hands. You let it go. It fell back over the bed and your friends. Lydia could see your dilemma and your distraction. She knew you better than anyone. Something was up, she thought. But what?

“Get your arse in this bed, now!” Lydia said to you. “We’ve got to hide from Roger; can’t make it easy for him.”

“You? Easy? Never!” You snickered at your best friend.

“Ha ha ha, very funny.”

You maneuvered into the bed as best you could. It was a tight fit, and you were happy you were on the edge of the bed. You weren’t sure you’d be able to handle being pressed up so closely to Deacy again in such a short amount of time. You heart couldn’t take the overwhelming ecstasy of his touch, his eyes, his gaze, his breath.

Deacy was frustrated in himself for not offering to take the edge of the bed just so he could be close to you again. His yearning was paramount in his mind. The memory of your scent wasn’t enough; he needed another dose.

“Jim, can you forgive me?” Freddie pleaded extravagantly snuggling up to Jim.

“Don’t you dare do it, Jim.” Lydia said with a stern laugh.

“Oh, shush you,” Freddie said with a wink in his voice and a smile in his heart. “Really, darling, I couldn’t help myself. It was Rog.”

“I seriously doubt it was Rog, my love.”

“You know how he likes beating things, and that temper of his. He just snapped!”

“Snapped?” Jim asked skeptically, “Let’s throw this one to Lydia, shall we? What news do we have today from the lies and misinformation department, Lydia?”

“Well, Jim, tonight the forecast is surging with one falsehood after another. We’ll have a storm-front of deception coming in next. Back to you, Jim.”

Everyone was laughing. It was the laughter of families sharing a meal, of friends reuniting after a spell a part. It felt like home.

“The truth?” Freddie adjusted the covers over everyone like a magician.

“The truth,” Jim nodded.

“It was me,” Freddie admitted.

“Yes, I know.” Jim said.

“Are you terribly mad at me?”

Jim sighed. This kind of thing was just routine when you lived with and loved Freddie Mercury. He just couldn’t help himself. It was one of things Jim loved most about Freddie. Everything was always at level 10, even a whisper was dramatic; everything mattered so deeply to him. His emotions and desires were operatic. Every word, every event took a great toll on his heart. He could write a symphony to a cold, and ode to tying your shoes. Every moment was inspiration to him, and being around someone who viewed life like that was transcendent. And being loved by him, well, it was beyond all comparisons, beyond all metaphors. Loving Freddie Mercury was like blinking to Jim; he did it without even thinking about it. It was like falling asleep; you never remembered falling asleep, the act of falling asleep is a mystery, but you always remembered waking up. Loving Freddie was like that, he didn’t remember when it happened, but one day he woke up and found he was irrevocably in love with him.

Jim never stayed mad at Freddie for long. Freddie had such a way with people and situations, he was impossible to abhor, impossible to blame. And as for staying mad at him, well he just didn’t have it in him. Jim turned to face Freddie with some difficulty; he heard a soft groan from Deacy.

“No, Freddie; I’m not mad.”

“I made sure none of your plants were harmed.” Freddie put a hand to Jim’s face, tracing his mustache.

Freddie had said the magic words, and he knew it. Jim smirked at his husband, and kissed him briefly, but deeply.

“Has everyone made up?” Brian asked the room at large.

“No, Bri. I’m still angry at your for not noticing my new cardigan last week.” Deacy said matter-of-factually.

“Deacy, can you ever forgive me? I’ll serve you my heart on a platter, if it’ll fix this rift between us.” Brian May put his hand on his chest, and then held his hand up in the air. It was a dignified gesture.

Deacy reached out in good time, and took Brian’s hand in his.

“Your hands are freezing, Deacy!” Brian bellowed.

“Put them in your hair, that’ll warm them right up.” Deacy reasoned.

“I have another place you could put them.” You said.

The entire room went dead silent.

You sat up, clasping a hand over your mouth. You couldn’t believe it; it had just come out of your mouth without thinking. You couldn’t take it back. You weren’t sure if you wanted to.

You felt Lydia freeze next to you in awe.

Jim and Freddie, nose to nose, grinned at each other like proud parents.

Roger was unsure what he had just walked in on, but felt compelled to see it through. He took a sip of his cocktail, standing silently and unnoticed in the doorway.

Brain felt Deacy’s grip on his hand tighten like a vise, and he knew something momentous, something earth-shattering had transpired between the two of you tonight.

Deacy felt the rhythm of his heart sputter before increasing twofold. He was in double time now. He blushed a deeper shade vermilion than the blankets of the bed. At least no one could see him blush in here. He let go of Brian’s hand.

Deacy sat up in bed, looking your way.

In the darkness, eyes well adjusted to the room, you stared at each other. Deacy saw the look of panic mingled with pride on your face, and wondered how best to put you at ease. Absentmindedly, he traced his lips with his fingers thinking deeply. Then, he held a hand out to you. His long, skilled fingers reaching out as a helping hand. He tilted his head, a silent question. Don’t be afraid; join me? It said.

You took your hand from your mouth, and gingerly placed it in Deacy’s hand.

“SCANDALOUS!” Rog howled from the doorway.

Tag List: @phantom-fangirl-stuff @triggeredpossum @obsessedwithrogertaylor @groupiie-love @richiethotzierz @partydulce @sophierobisonartfoundationblr @psychostarkid @teathymewithben

#john deacon x reader #John Deacon #freddie mercury #jim hutton #brain may #roger taylor #rami malek #ben hardy #gwilym lee #joe mazzello #Queen #bohemian rhapsody #queen x reader

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goodwriterwithbadhabits · 5 years

Text

Midnight Muse

I hope I managed to capture the angst correctly. I really like this.

Masterlist (And don’t forget, requests are still open)

Ever since you were young, only two things had ever been consistent, your art, and the beautiful man in your dreams. Well, he hadn't always been so beautiful and neither had your art, but they both grew with you. Ever since you were a little kid another person had always been in your dreams. You had never heard his voice, but you had watched him grow, watched as he dyed his hair different colors, and tried different styles. During the day, you were simply an art student, but at night the two of you played out strange and beautiful dreams. Sometimes you were a prince and a princess dancing at a ball with unfamiliar music playing in the back, other times you were saving him from a storm in the ocean, but you were always together, whether it be in dream or nightmare.

In the mornings when your alarm broke you from your beautiful revelry, you'd grab the nearest sketchbook and draw whatever he had looked like that night. Your sketchbooks were your life, and in them, the man of your dreams, but somehow, today you had managed to forget one of them in another class.

You ran across the college campus, trying to get back to the pottery classroom before the teacher started questioning your drawings. When you threw open the door, it wasn't the professor that held your book, but your classmate Xu Minghao.

“Excuse me, that's mine.” He looked up from your work, peering at you over the rim of his wire spectacles.

“You drew these?” He inquired, gesturing to the book.

“Yes, can I have it back please, I'm running late.” He obliged, closing the book and setting it in your hand.

“Do you know what you're putting in for the end of the year gallery for your evaluation?” He asked just as you had managed to get one foot outside. You turned back to him where he was nonchalantly examining his nails.

“Not yet, why?”

“Well, we don't have many pieces in the photo-realistic section. You should submit some pieces, I'm sure they'll end up with wall space.” Wall space was coveted, and the photo-realism section was where only top students presented their pieces. You had initially planned to submit one of your landscapes or maybe even an abstract piece but Xu Minghao, literally one of the top artists and co-coordinator of the gallery, was complimenting your photo-realism.

“I- I wouldn't even know which piece.” You stuttered finally, coming back into the room. He motioned for your book, casually flipping through it once you handed it to him. How long had he been looking at your art? He paused at one of the pages.

“This one I like, It has potential. Most of them do.” He offered, handing the book back to you. It was your dream boy, leaning on the ledge of a bridge overlooking the ocean as the sun set behind him. It wasn't done. You hadn't added nearly any color, save for his eyes, and the bridge was completely plain. “Here.” Minghao handed you a piece of paper with his number scrawled on it. “Finish a few of these and send me pictures, I'll see which one's you should submit.”

“Are you sure?” You tucked the number into your sketchbook and hugged it close to your chest. “Why do you care?”

“How do you know the man in your drawings?” He answered your question with one of his own.

“I-I don't” You mumbled.

“You don't? Then how can you draw him so well? The human mind can't make up faces, you must have seen him somewhere.” You looked everywhere but him, not seeing the smirk firmly planted on his lips.

“Its- its weird.” You really didn't want to tell this complete stranger about the dream boy.

“I won't tell anyone, I promise.” He assured you.

“He's from my dreams.” You said after a moment of silence. “I've seen him since we were kids.”

“Ah, okay. Well, text me soon so I can have your number. See you, Y/n” He left you alone in the room, staring after him as he so casually disappeared out the door.

“What, the fuck?” You questioned yourself. ~~

Jeonghan really didn't want to come to Minghao's gallery. All the pieces Hao had submitted he made all the members vote on so he would know their favorites, but for some reason, he was still forcing Jeonghan to go.

“Why am I here again?” He asked the younger man.

“There's something I need to show you,” Hao replied, dragging Han past most of the art towards a specific section.

“I'm not even getting a chance to look at the art,” Han complained.

“Hyung, you don't care about the art, but you'll care about this.” Hao pulled him in front of a series of paintings hanging on the wall.

“Its art.” Han shrugged.

“Hyung, look,” Hao stressed. “Really look at them.” Han huffed, pushing his hair back before looking at the works. He actually gasped out loud when he finally realized what was before him. It was him. He was in every painting, and every painting was one of the dreams. There was one of him on the black horse from when he was only a teenager, there was one of him as a soldier and a prince.

“That’s, that’s me.” He gasped again, pointing at the canvasses.

“Yeah, it is.” Hao nodded excitedly.

“How are they drawing me?” He turned back to the paintings. “And with such detail.”

“She says she's seen you in her dreams. Its destiny. She must be your soul mate.” Hao shook Han's arm with enough force Han thought it might pop out of its socket.

“But what if she isn't the girl from my dreams? That happens sometimes, I'd hate to be one of the exceptions.” Han reasoned.

“If everyone thought that way no one would ever find their soulmates.” Hao practically whined.

“I'm not going to look for her. And you aren't going to do anything about it, understood? Don't tell her you know me, I don't want to know her.” Hao stared up at his older friend in shock.

“You don't want to meet the love of your life?”

“Who said she's the love of my life? I'll decide who the love of my life is, thank you very much.” Han pulled away from Hao, clenching his fists so the younger man couldn't see his hands shake. “Have fun at the after-party Hao, and make sure you call one of us for a ride home. I'll see you later.” Han stormed away, leaving Hao speechless for the first time in a long time.

On the other side of a large vase of flowers, Y/n stood, having seen Jeonghan the moment he had walked in the gallery, and having heard everything. Her soulmate wanted nothing to do with her. Blinking up at the ceiling, Y/n forced back her tears, and with a shaking breath, she plastered on a fake smile and bounded over to Minghao.

“Hao!” She called, tapping him on the shoulder. He automatically beamed.

“Y/n, you look great.” He commented, eyes trailing down the sleek white and silver dress she wore.

“Thank you, and you were so right, I've been getting scouted by art galleries all over, who would have thought a 19-year-old would have been even looked at by the curator of the Louvre.” You gushed, pretending not to have even known Hao had come with a friend.

“The Louvre?” Hao gasped, “That’s amazing.”

“I know, I've actually been offered a place at an art school in Paris.” You seemed so excited, Hao couldn't help but be excited with you.

“Are you going to accept?”

“An all expenses paid, extended vacation in Paris? Why wouldn't I? Maybe my soulmate will be there?” It felt wrong to lie to the person who had quickly become one of your closest friends and little did you know, Minghao felt the same way.

“Maybe! When do you leave?”

“Oh I still have to finalize things, but I'll keep you updated.” You promised.

As you promised, you kept Minghao updated. You met up only a few more times before you moved away, the last time being the day before you flew out. You both tried to remain friends as long as possible, but with his band picking up and your schooling becoming more and more inundating, the friendship seemed to fade away, save for encouraging comments on Instagrams and the obligatory happy birthday wishes.

Five years passed quickly for both of you, you continued to see Jeonghan in your dreams, but you both became distant. Neither of you spoke about your dreams to others, instead pretending as if you simply didn't have soulmates, which wasn't unheard of.

Minghao was almost certain he was never going to see you again, until, one day as he was repacking his bag for the European leg of their tour, he received a text message. A real one, not a message on Instagram like usual.

From: Y/n L/n

Minghao, I know its been a very long time, but I saw that your coming tour dates correspond with the opening of my gallery. Would you and your bandmates like to come to the opening? I can reserve tickets for all of you.

To: Y/n L/n

I'd love to, but let me speak to my brothers and our managers, and I'll let you know for certain.

When the day of the gallery opening arrived, the boys and their managers found themselves outside of a gorgeous building, being prevented from entering.

“We're friends of Y/n's, she said she reserved tickets for us,” Minghao explained as best he could, but the French guard wouldn't budge, instead muttering into his walkie talkie. A moment later, a woman in a crisp suit stepped out from the building and made her way to them. Her dark hair was pulled up into a tight bun, she carried a clipboard, and gave the group a bright red smile as she approached.

“Madame Roxanna, these men claim to know Madame Y/n.”

“Qui, they do. These are her favored guests. Our apologies for the delay, please, this way.”

“Minghao, who is this woman you know?” Seungcheol asked. Minghao just smiled.

The inside of the building was just as beautiful as the outside. The group was led into a room with a large angel statue facing away from them in the center.

“Minghao! You made it.” A woman, draped in a flowing silver dress excused herself from the conversation she was having with some old socialite and floated over to them.

“Y/n?” Minghao gasped. “The pictures don't do you justice.” He complimented.

“You've only gotten more handsome as well.” She clasped his hand, kissing his cheeks in classic French fashion. “And these must be your bandmates, its a pleasure to meet you. I must say I've become quite a fan.” She smiled warmly, making Jeonghan's heart twist as he remembered the last gallery of hers he went to and all the things he had declared. “Please, enjoy the party, have some fun.” She locked eyes with Jeonghan for a split second before returning to Minghao. “Come, I have so much to show you.”

As they walked away the others began to disperse, taking in the paintings, and plates and sculptures that adorned the many rooms of the gallery.

Jeonghan moved slowly through the pieces, admiring the way her brush strokes were evident on her acrylic paintings. Making his way back to the first room, the angel room, he maneuvered around the large statue to see its face, finally understanding why so many people had been staring.

The angel was him.

He wasn't sure how long he stood there, but he was sure people were taking pictures.

“This is my favorite piece, “Cupid, the Killer Angel” it took nearly five years to complete.” Jeonghan recognized your voice but continued to look at the statue.

“Why such a heartbreaking name?”

“Because the muse broke my heart.” Jeonghan's heart twisted, and he wondered if she had noticed how distant he had become in their dreams.

“How did he do that?”

“I heard you all those years ago, Jeonghan.” His name sounded so right in her voice, but his heart sank to his stomach at her words. “When you declared you didn't want to know me. When you forced someone as sweet as Minghao to lie to his friend, when you turned your cheek towards fate and became a coward.” Her words dripped both venom and sadness. He wanted to say something, but he wasn't sure what. She sighed heavily, “And yet, I cannot hate you.” He finally turned to her, finding her staring up her statue, “Had you not said all that, I would never have run away to Paris, and all this,” She gestured to the expanse of the building. “This would have never happened.”

“I'm sure it would have, you're an amazing artist.” She finally looked him in the eyes, eyes she had seen every night for most of her life, and yet they somehow still seemed so foreign.

“But I would have only ever painted you, I wouldn't have created this, or any of the paintings here, because I would have been too busy chasing after the idea that you might have loved me.”

“Y/n.” Jeonghan began.

“Don't, there's no need to lie to me now. After all these years, I know you too well.” She closed her eyes, holding up a hand to stop him. “Enjoy the gallery Jeonghan, then please leave, don't break my heart further.” She dropped her hand, walking away before he had the chance to say anything.

As he watched her make her way to the other end of the room a sudden burst of courage washed over him. He leaped up onto the pedestal that “Cupid” stood on and cleared his throat, wanting to figure out his words.

“Jeonghan, what the hell? Get down from there.” Seungcheol ordered.

“You're right. I was a coward, I am a coward. I was too scared of accidentally breaking your heart, I didn't want to give you a chance.” You spun to face him, as did everyone else in the room. “I never wanted to hurt you and yet I did just that. I made Minghao lie to you, but worst of all, I made you lie to yourself. I made you try to convince yourself that fate was wrong, that I wasn't meant for you, that you aren't meant for me.” He felt a weight lifting off his shoulders even as security officers made their way into the room. “But I was a fool. I am a fool. I am your fool. I will always be your fool, even if you decide never to speak to me again, if you decide to cut all ties, to never sleep again in order to never see me again, I will still be your fool, I will still be in love with you. I tried to pretend I didn't want you, I tried to pretend I wasn't in love with you but I am. Every time I perform a love song, I'm thinking of you, every time I see a happy couple in the street or see soulmates find each other, I wish it was us.” Jeonghan blew out a breath. “What I'm trying to say is, I am so sorry, for breaking your heart, for being a dick, for ruining yours and Hao's friendship. I know saying sorry isn't enough, and it probably doesn't help that I'm standing on a statue of myself. I know this seems like a publicity stunt or a ploy to get you to fall for me, but I swear, on every god out there, that I mean every word I have said.” The room was silent for a few moments as you simply stared at him, making his heart race faster with every passing second. “Please say something, anything, even if its just ordering those officers to arrest me.”

“Jeonghan, I can't just forgive you for five years of utter suffering.” You started, looking off to the side as you thought, “Not in one moment, but if you mean it, you truly mean everything you just said, well.” You finally locked eyes with him, a smile dancing across your lips. “Then I suppose, its a start.”

“I mean it, I do, I would do anything to earn your forgiveness.” He gushed, making you cross your arms over your chest and stare at him.

“Anything?”

“Anything.” He nodded.

“Then get off my damn statue, pabo.”

#yoon jeonghan #Seventeen Jeonghan #jeonghan imagines #Seventeen #soulmates #goodwriterwithbadhabits #request

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wavesofthewest · 5 years

Text

Chapter 5: Cages of Heart

Fate: 30-40 coli battles

"Ashes-"

"We need to get out of here and you know it! Blue's probably worried sick about us, we haven't shown up in days! Now, are you going to help me or not?"

He was frustrated. No matter how much the young guardian pried at the lock keeping them trapped inside the steel cage, it wouldn't give. Heaven wouldn't do anything either - she just sat in a corner and hummed to herself. It was all starting to drive the boy crazy.

"No, of course not," he muttered as his sister lay her head against the wall of the cage and closed her eyes. He sighed and went back to trying to pick the lock.

"it didn't work before, why would it work now," Heaven commented. Ashes turned to see her watch him with one eye, still slumped against the wall.

"Well, maybe it would work if you helped me! You're small enough to be able to reach through and get to the tiny details without any fuss. Being big is not all great, you know!" At this, Heaven giggled. Ashes sighed and turned back to the lock. His sister was hopeless. Youngest of the lot and definitely the most immature - not that he had much to compare her to, seeing as his other siblings were all dead.

"...Alright, I'll help you. There isn't much else to do, anyway. It's starting to get boring in here."

The guardian stepped aside and Heaven flew towards the lock. She studied it for a few minutes before sticking her hand in. Ashes could hear a few clicks and whirrs of mechanical gears turning into place - and then it sprung open, allowing the two of them to push open the cage door and tumble out into the room.

"Yeesh, now we can go find our parents!" Ashes exclaimed and headed for the tunnel entrance when a small party of adults came around the corner and crashed into him. He fell face-first into the foot of the dragon who was standing in front of him.

"Ashes!?"

The guardian stood up after recovering from the fall to see Blue standing next to the gaoler from the night before they woke up in the cage, along with a few other dragons.

"Now what would my son be doing in your room, Poison?" his mother said, glaring at the white fae, who simply shrugged.

"It's not like we wanted to be here. We were locked in that stupid cage until I figured out how to open it," Heaven cut in, walking up beside her brother. "Ugh, it doesn't really matter. Can we go home now?"

Blue smiled apologetically and shook her head. "No, I'm afraid not. There's a bit of a mystery I have to help the clan with before we can leave," she sighed. "Why don't you two explore for a bit? I saw some other hatchlings playing in the tunnels; maybe you'd like to join them?"

At the mention of other hatchlings, both Ashes and Heaven perked up. They didn't need to be told twice - the two raced down the tunnel, excited to see what kind of games other kids played.

Blue sighed as she watched them run off and turned to the white fae, who stood at the back of the small group.

"Are you going to explain why my children were locked in a cage in your room yet, Poison? Or are you going to just stand there and have us think up of reasons ourselves?" she growled, rage filling her thoughts as she saw the steel cage in the corner of the room. It had been made to contain beastclan, which made it very effective at having younger dragons as well. And, from what she could see, the lock was one that was commonly used in prisons, albeit a smaller version. She must have been preparing to hold hatchlings in it.

"I...actually don't know," Poison admitted, narrowing her eyes at the guardian. "I haven't been doing much in here lately. Being deputy has taken a lot of my time and energy and I've spent a lot of time sleeping on guard instead of here. Someone else must have been using this space themselves, knowing I wouldn't find out."

"Sounds awfully convenient if you ask me," Blue snarled. "It's your room. YOU out of all people would know what goes on in here!"

The guardian could have sworn that a look of guilty terror flashed across the fae's crest - Blue had learnt to read extreme emotions from faes from Abstract - before settling into a more relaxed position again. She narrowed her eyes - something was up with the young fae, and she was going to know what it was.

"Calm down, both of you," Zephyr sighed, stepping between the two. "It's hard enough as it is with the mur-"

"SHUT UP, will you? This is my children we're talking about! I as a mother have the right to be angry," Blue shouted, cutting the skydancer off mid-sentence. "I want to know why they were in her room. Look at her! Can't you see the way her crests are aligned? She's obviously hiding something. She's too relaxed, as if she's forcing it. And she has it in for me, almost as if she needs to pass the blame onto me to clear her name! It's too convenient. She's up to something."

Secret stepped up beside her. "I agree. The rest of us have been a mess of emotions at Alika's death, except for Blue and Poison. Since she didn't know Alika as we did, it's understandable that she didn't feel it as hard as we did when she died. But Poison has every reason to be upset. Alika was her mentor, her friend and her elder. She's been rational all the way, being the one to point things out and make observations for us. It'd be easy for her to weave a story that is convenient for her - especially if she already knew all the details."

"What's more, we all know that she does some less-than-legal things," Allumen quietly added. "We don't talk about it, but everyone in the clan knows you and Zephyr would do almost anything for a price. Maybe she did it at someone else's behalf, which is why all the evidence is pointing away from her. While I can't read fae crests, and I doubt that Secret can, either, I have noticed that they've primarily been in one formation, which matches with what Blue's saying."

"Wait, are you all turning on me just because Blue threw a hissy fit because her kids were in a cage in my room?" Poison said, narrowing her eyes. Secret and Allumen turned to face her.

"It looks like we are, doesn't it? I propose that we put this to a vote - that we bring Poison in for questioning. Now."

"There's no need to," Zephyr muttered. "It was her doing. the craftmanship - I could tell it was her when I saw the wound. I just didn't want to believe it."

Everyone turned to look at Zephyr, who reddened and stepped back before anyone could attack him.

"I-It's not as if I wouldn't have said it eventually...I just...had to process it," he said, making the others roll their eyes. "Regardless, you, Poison, are hereby taken into custody for the murder of our Clan Elder."

#flight rising #fr #pinkerlocke #lore #day 6 #tribe of clear waters #overused italics #journey

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