#the fights in their manner are quite repetitive

[jules-and-company]

got a little chance to continue hogwarts legacy

- on god fuck sebastian and the rest only poppy and natty are my true friends. like who takes me on a whimsical adventure to find long-lost birds and resolves a trauma ? poppy sweetiepie sweeting. who asks me to come to the great hall just to have a therapy sesh and then carries out a fight that i’m also personally involved in and WHO literally sacrifices herself for me without second thought ???? who tells me i’m the best friendship that’s ever happened to her ??? natsai motherfucking onai. AND WHO only takes me to dangerous-ass tombs full of inferi and spiders for dark relics that only serve his own personal obsession ??? who devalues everything i’m working on (aka the ancient magic file) because he’s so busy focusing on his goal (peak slytherin tho ?) ???? WHO CALLS ME STUPID TO MY FACE ???? sebastian fucking sallow. he’s an extremely interesting and complex character and i still enjoy his presence but christ alive. at first i bonded with him ´cause he was just as toxic as me but even THAT is going too far

- SPEAKING OF. when ominis said « he went alone inside the tomb » i felt we were fucked. but i didn’t think i’d find him controlling literal INFERI and i certainly didn’t think i’d have to beat his uncle’s ass BEFORE THE BOY FUCKING KILLS HIM

- i think i missed the mark where i could learn avada kedavra but let’s say it was a conscious choice. why would i want to learn the Brutal Kill Curse. first of all fights would be a lot less interesting. second i haven’t even graduated my fifth year. I AM FIFTEEN. WHY WOULD I

- when i started the fight with rookwood i didn’t think i’d have to kill the bitch. why do i have to kill everyone round these parts ??? where are the authorities ???

- officer singer only came for harlow but when I WAS gang-ambushed by at least sixteen goons and as much inferi PLUS the most dangerous man in the region suddenly you can’t fucking find me ???? why does the ministry want me dead

- after getting my ass handed to me at least twelve times during the last boss fight, i decided to leave that last principal quest where it is from now and do literally everything else. so that when i come back before ranrok i have become god

- i admit, seeing all the teachers there to help fig and i was JOYOUS (lack of headmaster tho ??? black get your lily-white racist aristocratic ass down there and help your literal coworkers and a 15yo child)

- everytime i have to destroy a piece of equipment to make room for what i find in the crests (i’ve been stupid enough to not do the merlin’s enigmas so far) i die a little because i know i’ll never find them again

- i just LOVE the grapcorn. i’ll name him bessie (mulan reference)

- i am MOURNING for lodgok. why did it have to come to this

- i don’t know about y’all but i never use plants (mandragora, chinese screaming lettuce) or potions other than a shitload of wiggenweld, nor do i have the four categories of spells at all times in my pocket, but not because i have disdain for all that, but because i am at all times panicking. so brutal force it is or nothing

- just in terms of modeling the character, i was skeptical at first of wearing simply the school’s uniform, but now i ain’t never changing. beating everyone’s asses in standard issued checkered green skirt and this green tie may be used for strangulation

- i don’t know if it’s supposed to be the same thing for the playing character regardless of house but. why do i feel like since i am in slytherin i act in a certain slytherin way. like have the developpers been smart enough to match unchoosable personality with housing. that would be cool

- more whimsical colourful adventures, less dark tombs exploring that i only get out of at the ass crack of dawn with blood all over me and five new traumas

[mychoombatheroomba]

Quiet Moments

Between the Bones (Leon x GN! Reader) - Chapter 16

It would be time for lights out soon. You knew you should probably go to your barracks to avoid people coming to look for you. Leon had to have known it, too. And yet, neither of you moved.

(Cross-posted from Ao3)

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Change was exhausting. 

You had finally settled into a comfortable routine - a world of knives and guns and cold memories. You hadn’t been happy, living that way. Quite the opposite, in fact. Still, you had found some peace in the repetition. In making yourself into more of a weapon than a person. Weapons didn’t die the same way people did, after all. 

Then Krauser pitted you against Leon Kennedy all those weeks ago, and that routine - that peace - was slowly shattered. 

As you sat side by side that night, the weight of something new settling between the two of you, you couldn’t help but wonder if the Major had orchestrated that fight with an ulterior motive in mind. He was a crafty bastard, after all. Always setting traps and tests. Maybe it was just a coincidence that he’d put you up against the only person on base that shared your experiences. Or maybe he’d wanted the two of you to find each other. 

Whatever the case, you were almost positive that he hadn’t intended for it to end up with the two of you tangling tongues behind the mess hall. He’d probably go homicidal, if he found out. You could almost hear him calling you an idiot and worse, and he might even be right for it. 

No, he would be right. You were a complete and total fool for doing this. 

But in that moment, sitting in the dark and listening to the crickets with Leon at your side, you didn’t care what was stupid and what wasn’t. All you could think about was how his mouth had felt against your own. How warm his skin had felt. How impossibly soft his lips had been. And how utterly spent you felt, after a day that held so much change. 

It would be time for lights out soon. You knew you should probably go to your barracks to avoid people coming to look for you. Leon had to have known it, too. 

And yet, neither of you moved. You just lingered there, your shoulders pressed against each other as you stared into the darkness. Fitting, because you had no idea what was coming your way, now. 

Even so, the dark seemed just a little less daunting when he was at your side.

“You know,” Leon said, and you turned to look at him, even if you couldn’t see much of him in the shadows. “Today turned out pretty well.” 

You snorted. “It started with you getting tear gassed and knocked out.” 

“Only had uphill to go from there,” Leon pointed out, and once again you found yourself delightfully confused by his optimism. 

“Krauser’s not going to make you guys sleep in your barracks, is he?” You hoped not - there was likely still some residual gas left over. Not to mention the blood you’d teased Leon about, and all manner of disarray that likely hadn’t been seen to. 

“No.” Leon sounded relieved about that fact. “We’re going to be in another bunkhouse for tonight.”

“And then I guess you’ll be moving into our barracks soon,” you grinned over at him. Not that it would mean much - not unless you and Leon planned on giving the rest of your squad a show. Still, you couldn't help but enjoy the idea. 

Even in the darkness, you could see his mouth curl up at the thought, too.

“Guess so.” 

“Valeria snores. Fair warning.” 

The comment earned you a laugh. “That’s alright. I’ve been told I talk.” 

“In your sleep?” 

Leon nodded, and even if you couldn’t see the intricacies of his expression, you could feel his energy shift. “Bad dreams.” 

You frowned. Tapped your fingers on your thigh. “I get them too.” 

Even in the dark, you could feel Leon’s gaze. Likely more empathetic than it had any right to be. “Hard not to, I guess.” 

You hummed, nodding your head and staring out into the distance again. You hoped that tonight there would be something else waiting for you when you closed your eyes than snow and blood and the smell of rot. You also knew better than to be that optimistic, so you decided you were going to think of something else. Run out the clock as long as you could before the two of you had to face your nightmares. 

“If you ever want to talk about them,” Leon offered, and you knew what he was going to offer. It wrung your heart even before he finished the sentence. “I’ll listen.” 

You bit the inside of your mouth. You’d already told him some of what you dreamed of. The infected. The knife. It was the things you hadn’t told him that gave you pause. The things your mind twisted and reinvented. You knew he would understand, because he always did, but . . . “Maybe,” you nodded. Tilted your head a bit. “Mostly it’s just memories.” 

“Me too,” Leon nodded. Went quiet for a little, like he was thinking hard about something. 

“Same goes for you. If you want to talk about them.” It was only right to offer. Especially after you’d avoided him for so many days. The guilt of that choice was still hanging over you, even now. You would bear it, though, because it was deserved as far as you were concerned. Now, you would try to make it right. 

“I might take you up on that,” Leon admitted, and you could tell by the way he spoke, he had a particular dream in mind. It took him a moment, but eventually, he made a shaky start. “That first night when you kissed me . . . well, the night before, I guess . . .” he shook his head, restarting once more with no small amount of difficulty. “I lost someone in Raccoon City.” You felt your stomach drop at the admission. “She . . . I really cared about her, and I couldn’t save her. I had a dream about her that night. Couldn’t get it out of my head. That’s why I pulled away.” 

You weren’t sure of what to say - there were too many thoughts rushing through your mind. Raccoon City wasn’t that long ago. Half a year. No wonder he’d flinched away when you kissed him. 

“I’m sorry. If I’d known-”

“No, it’s . . . I didn’t know her for that long, really,” Leon assured you. “It was just . . . well, it was complicated.” There was a story there, you could hear it in his voice. A story that held many, many emotions. One that he was ready to at least partially tell, it seemed, the words spilling out like he needed them gone. “I met her that night. She’s the reason I went down into the Umbrella labs for that virus sample. She said she was FBI, and that she was going to use it to bring Umbrella down. Turns out, she was a mercenary trying to steal it. She got hurt, so she needed me. Then things went bad and . . .” he trailed off, and you knew better than to seek more than he was willing to give. Besides, the way he tensed beside you and the way his words were filled with bitter regret told you enough.  

You were surprised to find yourself angry on his behalf - or, perhaps, more so saddened that someone would take advantage of him like that. Leon Kennedy was the kind of person who would throw himself into a fight to save a stranger - to take a beating to spare someone else a bruise. Of course he would have offered to help, and of course a mercenary would take that inch and run a mile with it. 

That injustice made you clench your jaw, and the only thing that kept you from hurling harsh words at this woman’s memory was the way Leon sounded when he spoke of her. “I know I shouldn’t miss her-”

“It’s alright that you do,” you said, firm in your belief. You of all people knew how grief worked. No one got to choose when they were free of it, or who they felt it for. “What was her name?”

“. . . Ada.”

You nodded. You weren’t so petty to think a ghost a threat, nor were you going to question Leon’s choice to pursue something with you now. He wasn’t the kind of man to use this to distract himself from the pain of that loss - and even if he was, you wouldn’t begrudge him. You of all people knew what it was to drag yourself through grief, using whatever you could find purchase on. If that was what this was for Leon, then you could live with that. 

The way he’d looked at you tonight, though - the way he’d held you and spoke of you - told you that this was very real for him. 

And that set a different kind of fear through you, one that you fought hard against. You’d spent a year without happiness. Whatever the future held, whatever worries you had, it could wait until morning. 

You hoped it would wait even longer than that.

“Sorry,” Leon finally said. “I just . . . wanted to explain myself. I didn’t mean to end tonight on a bad note.” 

“You didn’t.” You hoped that your voice conveyed just how truthful you were being. “Listening is the least I can do.” 

Leon’s eyes stole some of the moon and starlight to sparkle a bit as he smiled. “Thank you,” he said. Then, after a moment, he went on. “Whatever I felt for her, it doesn’t change how I feel about you.” 

The admission brought a smile to you and filled you with a bit of foolish pride. 

You had to go. You both had to get going before someone came looking. 

But then, you’d ignored sense for so much of tonight. What was one more time? 

“Feel like proving it?” you asked, sitting up and leaning towards him. 

Leon got the message and didn’t need much to be convinced. He leaned in, and your noses bumped in the dark. It made both of you laugh - a happy moment that you grabbed onto and refused to let go of. Your mouths met, still humming with laughter, and then there was a still, tranquil quiet. 

You’d been right. One kiss wasn’t enough. You weren’t sure you would ever have enough. 

But there was no time for more tonight.

“We should get going,” you whispered against his lips. 

“Pick back up here tomorrow?” Leon asked, stealing another little kiss from you. Your eyes widened in surprise, just as sure as your mouth curved up in satisfaction. Oh, he was going to be fun. 

“Not worried someone will see?” 

“No cameras,” Leon shrugged, still holding you close. His lips still brushing yours.

“Someone’s been paying attention.” 

“So? Is it a date?” God, he was cute. A date was dinner and a night at the drive-in. A trip to the bowling alley. Something - anything - but two spec ops recruits stealing kisses in the blind spots of the cameras. Still, it was the best you could hope for, and all you would ask for. 

“Maybe,” you grinned, feeling some dark elation that pushed you to kiss him again, harder this time. You caught his bottom lip between your teeth, nipping at him, and the little gasp he made set your blood rushing in your veins. You were going to get more of those reactions from him, you made that promise to yourself then and there. “If you can beat me tomorrow, after drills . . . then we’ll see.” The challenge was whispered with a hiss and a devilish smile. You were having far too much fun, and you only wished you could see Leon’s reaction better. 

“So that’s how it’s gonna be, huh?” He could try to act offended all he wanted. You could hear the excitement in his voice all the same. “I’ve beaten you before, you know.” 

“Well then tomorrow should be fun, right?” Another kiss. Leon snaked his tongue past your teeth, and you hummed at the feeling. 

When the two of you separated, he didn’t go far. “How will tomorrow be?” Leon asked, a touch more serious. He was asking about the training, you knew. Krauser wouldn’t give your new squad mates a reprieve. He would throw them into the water, where they would either sink or swim. 

“It’ll be hard,” you admitted, “but you’ll be alright. You’re tough.” 

Leon smiled. Nodded. “But there won’t be any more ambushes or anything, right?” 

“Telling you would-”

“Defeat the point, I know.” It was said with a roll of his eyes, his tone good-natured as it so often was. And he lingered there for a moment longer, like he didn’t want the night to end. Neither of you did. 

Still, you eventually both found it in yourself to stand. Leon left first - something you agreed upon to make yourselves look a modicum less suspicious. Not that it would really matter, you got the feeling. You were both living in a place that was under constant surveillance, after all. It would only be a matter of time before someone found out. 

Another thing you added to the list of reasons you were being a fool. 

Another thing you ignored as you let yourself smile at nothing while you walked back to the barracks.

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Chapter Index

A/N: Sorry for a brief delay, I got very busy this weekend! Hope you're all having a good New Year so far, thank you so much for reading! ❤️

[slutforsilverfoxes]

Seeing Red (Part II)

Part I

[A/N: Okay, wow, y'all really liked that first part 🥹 Sorry for the long wait (baby doctor, clinics, all that jazz) but I hope you enjoy!]

—————

Re-questioning the witness hadn’t quite panned out yesterday. Gibbs and DiNozzo had returned with the escort in cuffs, but she was being detained for assaulting a federal officer, not the Lance Corporal’s murder. Ziva had attempted to interrogate Tony about what went down, but received only a muffled, “Don’t wan’ talk ‘bout it,” from behind the ice pack tending to his nose.

That, of course, didn’t deter the rest of you, and the following conversation ensued:

Tim: That five-foot-nothing woman hit you hard enough to break your nose?

Tony: Oh my god, do you think it’s broken? My facial symmetry will be all off.

Ziva: McGee, you are such a male sometimes. Women are not frail beings.

Tony: Is my face still symmetrical? Can someone look? Guys?

You: Y’know, ‘you hit like a girl’ isn’t actually an insult. Wanna see? I can help you match your buddy there.

Tony: Okay, but seriously, am I still pretty? Someone tell me I’m still pretty.

Suffice to say, the case was still ongoing.

Laughing under your breath at the memory, you pour some creamer into your coffee and take a test sip, letting out a discontented grunt at the taste.

“Tough enough to threaten breaking noses but can’t handle a little bitterness?”

Glancing over your shoulder, you pointedly roll your eyes at Gibbs before directing your attention back to your brew and adding more creamer, then a packet of sugar for good measure. “You know what they say: you are what you drink. That’s why you enjoy that bitter swill, and I like my coffee extra sweet,” you respond with a smirk, turning to lean against the kitchenette counter as you stir your coffee and bat your eyelashes in an exaggerated manner.

Gibbs barks out a laugh in response, then crowds into your space until he’s a mere breath away and quietly challenges, “Extra sweet, huh?”

Your lips part instinctively as his proximity to you sucks the air out of the room, and you feel your heart rate skyrocket. It takes every ounce of your willpower to not close the gap between you, to not give in and press your lips against his. Your fingers ghost over the sharp planes of his jaw, and you let out an airy, “Jethro.”

Leaning into your touch, he murmurs, “Yes, Y/N?”

You uncurl your fingers and use the flat of your hand to pat his cheek, and with a teasing lilt to your voice, question, “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

His eyes flash, betraying his true feelings toward your innuendo, before he collects himself and steps away from the warmth of your touch. “Get to work, Y/L/N.”

Your eyes roam across Gibbs’ broad shoulders and make their way downward as he turns on his heel and starts heading back to his desk, passing Ziva and Tony (and Tony’s big ass bandage over the bridge of his nose) on his way. Appraising the silver fox’s solid form, you run your tongue over the ridges of your teeth before quietly declaring, “Yeah, I could take him.”

Snagging the communal coffee pot from beside you, Ziva follows your line of sight and one eyebrow shoots up. An air of amusement to her voice, she asks, “You think you could take Gibbs in a fight?”

“Sure, David,” you murmur, taking a sip to hide your coy smile, “that, too.”

You push off the countertop and strut towards the bullpen, hearing Ziva’s voice behind you. “Where is she taking Gibbs? Tony? Why are you smirking like that?”

__________

It’s been several hours since your last verbal sparring session with Gibbs, you’ve been hot all day since your almost kiss, and your repetitive phone calls (“No, there’s no way Collins was having an affair,” “No, Jack didn’t have any enemies,” “Everybody loved Jack! Who could have done this?”) are really starting to piss you off. Replacing the phone in its cradle, you let out a sigh and rub your temples, speaking aloud to the NCIS agents. “I can’t find anything nefarious related to the Lance Corporal’s joint operation. We’ve got no motive, no suspects, and our only ‘witness’ was hiding in the bathroom. If only she’d gotten our killer with her fists of fury.”

“Oh, shut up,” Tony grumbles, and your joke landing gets you to at least crack a smile.

“What’s the matter, Tony?” McGee fake sympathizes. “You don’t like being the punchline?”

“I’m gonna smack that smile right off your face, McGeek, I swear-”

“I’m gonna smack you all if you don’t do your damn jobs,” Gibbs barks as he rounds the corner.

You meet his steely gaze with a grin. “Tempting.”

He smooths his hand over his face, opens his mouth to respond, and then thinks better of entertaining your comment, instead turning his attention to his agents. “Somebody give me something, people, c’mon!”

“Actually, Boss,” Tim pipes up, “I think I’ve got something.” You all crowd around his desk, focused on his computer screen. “He’s been making anonymous donations to a scholarship fund for about six months. I did some digging, and it’s in honor of a seventeen year old kid named Charlie Stone who died three years ago in a hit and run accident.”

“Our Muhammad Ali in holding,” you chime in, deftly twisting away from Tony’s pinching fingers, “isn’t her last name Stone?”

“Pull up the accident report,” Gibbs orders, and Tim’s fingers fly across the keys as he inputs the information. “Witnesses report seeing a Black Chevy Silverado leaving the scene.” McGee does some more searching, pulling up DMV records for your victim.

You let out a whistle as your eyes scan the list, stopping on the vehicle Collins traded in a few years ago. “Turns out our golden boy wasn’t so golden.”

“I think it’s time we have another chat with Miss Stone.”

__________

You spot a familiar shock of silver hair rounding the corner in your peripheral vision, a triumphant smile on his face that falters at the sight of you perched on DiNozzo’s desk. Throwing your head back in laughter, you lay a hand on Tony’s upper arm, squeezing while you compliment his sense of humor. “I don’t believe you!”

He flashes you a grin and holds up three fingers. “Scout’s honor, Y/L/N. Ask Gibbs!”

“I’m surprised you don’t get hit by suspects more often,” you giggle, delicately brushing your finger down his healing nose, and Tony winces playfully.

“Oh, Tony gets slapped plenty,” McGee supplies giddily. “Being punched is new for him, though.”

With a smirk, you ask, “You like getting smacked around, DiNozzo?”

Leaning closer, he lowers his voice and responds, “Maybe by a pretty- Gibbs!”

A quick glance over your shoulder has you meeting icy blue eyes, and you gasp softly. “You really need to wear a bell or something,” you mutter. “It’s scary how quiet you are.”

“If you two are finished flirting on company time-” You roll your eyes, taking note of the way his own flash in response. “I got a confession. Case closed. You can return to your coven, Y/L/N.”

“Oh, aren’t you just a riot?” you snark back. “I have my own report to write up before I can get out of your graying hair.” You hop off Tony’s desk and head to your temporary setup, settling down with the case file before you.

“Your little comments are growing old.”

“They’re not the only thing,” you huff.

Gibbs slaps the file in his hands down on his desk, the sound causing you to flinch reflexively. “You speak to Fornell like you do to me?”

“You speak to your subordinates like you do to me?”

“I-” He stops short suddenly, keenly aware of three pairs of eyes darting back and forth, eating up your ping-pong match of thinly veiled insults. Clearing his throat, his next words are spoken with an eerie calm. “May I speak with you in private, Y/L/N?”

“Fine,” you answer just as coldly. “Do you have an office or shall I head to the elevator?”

His jaw ticks before he grits out, “Conference room. Now.”

You can feel the heat of his gaze on your back- and roaming lower- as he climbs the stairs behind you. Stopping at the top of the staircase, he turns to his team and says, “At least pretend to be doing work, would ya?”

The door clicks shut and you turn to Gibbs, arms crossed and foot tapping. “What?”

“You-” His tongue darts out to wet his lips and he shakes his head, at a loss for words. Stalking towards you, he forces you to retreat until the backs of your knees meet with the chair behind you and you drop into it. With his hands on the arm rests, he leans forward and growls, “You’re trying to force my hand.”

Looking up at him from beneath your lashes, you smirk and respond, “I would never do something so devious…unless it’s working.”

“You know what your problem is, Y/L/N?”

You take in a deep breath and immediately regret it, Jethro’s scent overwhelming your senses and your brain going fuzzy. Fighting through the daze, you challenge, “Besides you?”

He ignores the bait, slowly lowering into a squat so that he’s at eye level with you. Gibbs tilts his head, and the way his piercing blue eyes are analyzing you has your blood rushing in your veins, heating your skin and the traitor between your thighs. “You’re used to getting what you want. And you act like a brat when you don’t.”

“I am not acting like-” You stop short, averting your gaze. “I’m sorry for being disrespectful in front of your team.”

He tucks two fingers under your chin, guiding you back to look at him. He’s sporting a wolfish grin, and his eyes are ablaze with barely concealed hunger. “What a good girl,” he murmurs, and saliva pools in your mouth at the simple praise. “You just need some discipline.” You tamp down the urge to respond So discipline me, instead letting him lead your dance. If lines were going to be crossed, you’d rather follow in his footsteps than pull him to the other side.

Noting the change in your breathing, he brushes his thumb over your cheek and your eyes flutter closed. “Feeling calmer now?”

You drop your head into a nod, and he follows up with, “Gonna flirt with Tony some more?” This time, you shake your head, and your cheeks grow warm with shame. “Good girl,” Gibbs repeats, and you let out an involuntary little whimper.

Your eyes shoot open at the distinct sound of a door opening, worried that another NCIS agent is about to walk in and catch you in this very interesting predicament. Instead, you find yourself alone in the large conference room, the door swinging on its hinge.

“Bastard.”

[A/N... again: I try to write my fics as if they’re an episode of the show playing out, and figuring out how to write about the cases (and the inevitable plot twist in every ep) is so much fun. I hope you guys enjoy me entertaining my little crime-fiction-loving self :) Thank you for reading 🖤] ___ Tags:

@ilovemark1951

@ash-whimsicalfanfic

@thecubanator2

@ificantbringmydogimnotgoing

@kittenlittle24

@queenofthedreaming1

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@doctorwhofan24

[hpowellsmith]

I just read your answer to the ask about Noblesse Oblige face claims, and I was really impressed by how concisely you managed to specify what you wanted your characters to look like.

When describing characters' appearances, what kind of things do you do to capture their look so effectively?

(this is referring to this post!)

I really appreciate that! Honestly, it's been quite a journey getting more comfortable/confident with describing characters in detail, because I don't always visualise images in my mind very clearly and rarely imagine images like watching a film when I read. The characters in Noblesse Oblige and Honor Bound have felt visually clearer in my head than ones in my earlier games, even though I've have a strong sense of their personalities and mannerisms throughout all of them.

In short, as I've written more, I've got better at it.

I tend to write the sort of descriptions I like to read. With all descriptions I want it to make sense why the narrative is focusing on them. So if an MC and NPC are having a chat about something important, I'll likely not linger on their blonde hair or brown eyes unless the MC happens to have got distracted by how nice the NPC looks today or is specifically looking into their eyes for whatever reason. Unless there's a reason to mention it, the details are incidental and can become repetitive and distracting.

If the character's appearance is unusual or has changed, or the MC is romantically interested in the NPC, that's more of a reason for me to focus on particular elements but I try to vary it.

I also like thinking about non-visual elements. When I've included MC heights and builds, I keep track of where NPCs are physically and how they stand in relation to the MC, whether they're looking up or down to talk to them or how far the MC's arms go round them if they have a hug. When an MC gets physically close to them (friendly, romantically, for practical reasons, etc) I try to think about details like how they smell, how their body and limbs feel, what facial or body hair they have, how their voice sounds and so on.

In particular when writing kiss scenes or anything else more intimate, I focus on showing what they're feeling about the MC and the moment, and how their body feels to touch as well as how they look. It makes the scene feel more grounded in reality for me and less like I'm posing action figures!

Even when they're not physically close to each other, I try to think about how characters move, sit, or stand, and what it's like to see them across a room. All of this combined with their dialogue helps make them feel like a fleshed-out character rather than a stationary cardboard cutout or a talking doll. If I can picture how someone talks and looks while they're doing something else, like eating dinner, cleaning, walking, fighting, pulling up weeds, etc, I can better translate that onto the page.

Thank you for the ask, it was really interesting to think about!

[candymay]

"Tonya Harding, my star. Well, this world is a cold one, but it takes one to know one. And God only knows what you are." For Armie's birthday week!

Late to the party again (Am I giving Liz??), and weird choice of song, I know, considering it’s about someone else entirely. But one day I was listening to it—cry-laughing at how Sufjan softly sings, “Well, this world is a bitch, girl—don’t end up in a ditch, girl*” (*what a gay icon lol)—and I couldn’t help but think of Armie.

Sure, Armie couldn’t be more different from Tonya, but there’s something in the way Sufjan manages to both humanize and venerate her at the same time that I can relate to being in the fandom these past years. Her resilience feels almost otherworldly, even as Sufjan gently acknowledges her role in her own downfall. “Nancy Kerrigan’s charm, well she took quite a beating, so you’re not above cheating—can you blame her for crying?”

I love how it’s tender and light, with a big splash of humor. It feels like a friend telling you how strong you are and playfully assuring you that, somehow, everything’s going to be alright no matter how chaotic it all seems. People can be so hard these days.

(Also love the repetitive ending, “you’re my shining American star”—it’s almost funny, a bit comical. It takes me right back to Oliver—what an American, what a muvi star!)

Has the world had its fun? Yeah they’ll make such a hassle And they’ll build you a castle Then destroy it when they’re done So fight on as you are My American princess May God bless you with incense You’re my shining American star

"Tonya Harding’s dramatic rise and fall was fiercely followed by the media, and she very quickly became the brunt of jokes, the subject of tabloid headlines and public outcry. She was a reality TV star before such a thing even existed. But she was also simply un-categorical: American’s sweetheart with a dark twist. But I believe this is what made her so interesting, and a true American hero. In the face of outrage and defeat, Tonya bolstered shameless resolve and succeeded again and again with all manners of re-invention and self-determination. Tonya shines bright in the pantheon of American history simply because she never stopped trying her hardest... At the end of the day, Tonya Harding was just an ordinary woman with extraordinary talent and a tireless work ethic who set out to do her very best. She did that and more. I hope the same can be said of us all.“ - Sufjan Stevens

[soragawanaeru]

NEXOCEMBER 2023 DRABBLE - DAY O3 : MONSTERS

Welcome back to my NEXOCEMBER attempt, yeah. So about monster... I think about Grey Knight because that really interest me. I maybe had some misunderstanding for Grey Knight, but I swear it's because of my slow brain responses. I'll try to getting it as close as canon with my understanding. But I tell you this is not about a real monster, but... Other type of it. (SPOILER : It's your own mind and life, wooo yeahhh)

And IDC if you saw word human for this story, because think that as anthromorphing bla bla.

Like usual, English is not my main, not beta read. Set after Season 4 but have some flashbacks during S1 - S3 because I want to. But this time I gave some warning because this is quite dark story and have questionable contents. READ THE END NOTES TO UNDERSTAND WHY I MAKE THIS.

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TW // Suicidal-ish Thoughts, Depression Interpretation

If you feel one of that, please contact a professional help, because your life is precious. ^^

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⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

CW or TW (?) // FAKE WEAPON, FAKE BLOOD, FAKE ALL

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Clay Moorington was human, according to his appearance. Hair, face, body, arms, legs, that's human had. Clay was determined, selfless, desired for honor and justice, would sacrifice just to help everyone in need, smart, hardworking, and destined to be a leader. He's definited as perfect type of human, he's almost flawless, in both appearance and mannerism according to almost Knighton people who knew him. But according to Clay himself, he didn't know at all. If he's a human or a living monster.

At first he thought himself like that, he's a human, had dreams to be the knight to protect Knighton, he had role into that and played that desperately. But according to time, it just like... Confusing. He had human appearance, but he acted like a robot (or puppet ?) sometimes--repetitive, monotone, and endless. But it's okay, he just did that, he didn't mind, if that was the best choice.

But the more he did, the more confusing Clay thought about himself. His mind sometimes were poisoned with some negative thoughts like a fringed iris flower, ate him whole, and sometimes a force in his mind begged him to stop eating his dreams.

Clay felt like fighting lava monsters or stone monsters was quite nothing than the monsters in his mind, non-existent yet really controlled him. He didn't know why but that's... Awful.

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After he turned into stone, Clay couldn't feel anything. Only stabbing coldness, and the noise of the voices in the city just echoes within his head. He sometimes ask the gaps in-between his 'dreams' that where should he go now, it seems like there's no prospect of recovery anymore.

After being alive again but as living statue that struck by Monstrox' thunder, his mind is hazy, only remembered that 'He must obey Monstrox' order and purge the one who defy him' like that. Just like a puppet in a damn theatre, controlled to be used for someone's benefit.

Sometimes he can heard voices that sounded like him sobbing, that Clay Moorington was there and begged to be noticed out. But nobody could hear or even understand that. Like his mind was falling deeper and became the gloomy water of the big ocean.

.

When he finally regained some conciousness, he felt endless throb in his head, his soul was like everyone's -- in the bitter suffering. He felt less human anymore, even stated himself -- a human named Clay Moorington was no more, only a monstrous living statue named Grey Knight. That conclude something -- he fell deeper into despair and anger, he was no longer belong to Knighton anymore.

After he regained his human form and realised he had magic power, everyone could say that Clay was glad that he's back to his usual. But reality said the opposite, that's the irony. As each day passed, whenever Clay saw himself in the mirror, he asked himself that was he ugly and fear really vanquished into his spine.

When everyone asked 'How are you? How it is going?' or 'Oi you, how are things?' like that, Clay just smiled politely and said he was fine, just for people did not ask anything about him anymore.

Ah, he just want to turned back like before, to be himself. He mumbled, "I want to be alive," but in his mind said that he didn't want to be alive anymore, but whatever it was he really just... Lived like that, written in a Bible that named DNA. He's tired of salvating because he didn't believe in salvation anymore.

As time goes, he surrendered and blamed that was truly his fault. He had enough but he had no courage to run away. That's typical type of story.

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What the worst is, every aspect in Clay's inside was not human. He once had a stone heart, and he wanted to disinfect it in alcohol to sleep. If the world is a damn theatre, then he must have a role even to fulfill his emptiness of his heart. Each breathing felt like the air grabbed his throat every night.

When he found out that he's part of the wizardy and was the son of Ruina Stoneheart -- the witch that he hated so much, it suffocated him more, reality caved in his lungs. He felt like monsters, the ghost that behaves like a human from wanting a smile. He felt empty and hard to breathe each day passed by.

.

He felt sorry for deceiving everyone -- Macy, Lance, Axl, Aaron, Merlok, Ava, Robin, and many more, that he couldn't live up properly according to everyone's expectations because of course, he didn't know how to fight properly. Also he also felt sorry for not telling them, that's kinda sad. But suffering was the bond for his life. He was eaten by his own wrath and he asked himself, why it still hurts, everything.

If this was the price that he must pay, why Clay felt that was too much cruelty for him. His mind screamed, to gave him name to called by because he didn't know anymore if he was Clay Moorington or Grey Knight anymore.

After all he just wanted a future, to end his self-made theatre and one day, he could open his eyes and found the light that sure exist in 25:00 someday. He just wanted to let it end quickly and live in that moment that happened now, that's all.

┗━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┛

Do you know that I got inspirations by PROJECT SEKAI commisioned songs? Samsa (ZAMUZA) by Teniwoha, NOMAD by Keina Suda, Theatre (ENGEKI) by Nanou. Also a VOCALOID song like GEHENNA by Wotaku. IDK why, but yeah, I recommend you to listen them and find what the song talked about.

I just want to say that monsters not only from physical, but monsters can exist in our mind, and ironically, that happens to me. Sorry, but from this, do you think I need therapy? Reason why I used Clay here because when I saw Clay's progress for each series, I started to question myself, how's Clay mental state actually? Like how he looked stable and what the hell happened when he was struck by Monstrox and turned into Grey Knight etc. And wooo... Why I put my depression there?!

(And also, Clay is my fav in NK and I like to torture my fav into suffering if I make any fic so sorry)

Anyway, feedback always welcomed because I wanna know how it was. (Because I know this is absurd OMG)

[dio-the-thot-exterminator]

For the character meme: beast wars dinobot

-cybertron-after-dark

hiiiiiiiiiiiii :)

How I feel about this character

Love Pink!

I think everyone's love for him was the reason why I decided to watch beast wars in the first place. And i almost quit the show after he died so i'd say i like him a normal amount (lie).

I have a love hate relationship with his design cuz its sooooo hard for me to draw like why did he do that he should have chosen something simpler. 

His mannerisms and how tall he is makes everything in the show 10 times more funny(to me). ohhhhh I'm fixed on his voice and vocal tics it really does make him stand out from the rest of the cast.

He’s so mean too, a hating ass bitch, I can respect that. He’d be the best fast food coworker (he’d still work at popeyes!!). And sometimes he be loud and wrong, like ok CLOWN.

How do I say this nicely? Making fun of him is my favourite thing to do. Also since he is the fan favourtie (am i correct in assuming this?) everyone makes fire ass art involving him. always a treat, he never let me down.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

A good fight would make him hooooorny.

Tarantulas - one, I just think it's funny and two, that one episode when he was complimenting tarantulas's hunting skills?? Can you imagine them hunting things together??? I need it!! Dinobot in his evil cannibal twins era <3

Tigatron - uhhh the solitude uhh the warriors bond the best slow burn ever. They are opposites and dont understand each other at all. LITERALLY Law of the Jungle ep is just: tigatron doesn't behave the way DB wants him to so Dinobot is thinking “ *snorts* i can fix him!!”. It’s peak to me…

Tigatron so calm and wholesome, and Dinobot is…NOT pfttttt  AHHH LIKE FIRE AND ICE FIRE AND ICE!!!!! They clash but go togetherrrrrr *sigh* who sees my vision 🥹

thats all my brain could come up with aack

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Cheetor and Dinobot lol hi grandpa take his ass to hot topic 

My unpopular opinion about this character

Dinobot would not make a good leader. He’s not emotionally considerate and does not have the skills to “think past the battle”. He can fight, anticipate an ambush, command some soldiers but that's pretty much it.

Actual diplomacy, or caring about the health of his teammates? HA! 

He constantly wants to abandon people, or overthrow someone, switching sides like crazy. Nigga never been loyal…and he likes to talk about his “honor”.

Now I really need some insight on what “predacon honor” is cuz wtf?? Rattrap was lowkey right, how could we trust him? 

I was sad when he died but ion really feel like he needs to come back, you know? You could kind of sense that there was no direction the show could take his character.

And getting rid of him was the logical choice. He a lil self destructive and got some issues (that's why I love him) but after a while it got repetitive for me. I don't think this show was equipped to handle the characterization they were building up to so him dying was kinda a good thing dare i say. 

He's a bottom 🏳‍🌈

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

More predacon interactions that hint at what his life was like before they crashed on earth.

The lil nuggets we get are so interesting to me, I need to see how the dynamics were before he ‘betrayed’ them.

He knows these guys so well im so madddd i missing out on all the dramaaaaaaa

i also wanted him to interact more with rampage...i cant explain it but....there's something there that needs to be explored

Eat more people

be weird

be a freak

Nerd out tenfold about history

Should have killed silverbolt whaaaa who said that

Thats all i can think of off da top of me headdd, thanks for the ask @cybertron-after-dark 💜

sorry for typos!

[lovecite]

Kyojuro Rengoku

Another character ai role play.

You are training with Rengoku and decide to play dirty by punching him in the balls!

I was messing around and found out ! ;)

NUT CRACKER !!

RENGOKUX READER

writing prompts!!

His defensive stance remained solid, despite the relentless attacks coming from y/n. He didn't so much as flinch, remaining calm and collected. "This is going quite well, little flame." He spoke, his voice calm and collected, while y/n continued trying to break his defense. She soon grew tired, her attacks becoming sloppy and repetitive. "It appears you are getting tired," He observed with crossed arms, while y/n took a minute to catch her breath.

i nearly fell over to my knees but i caught myself. 'Okay here is my last trick then!"I thought as i started to run in a zig zag motion and slide under Rengoku and throw my fist upward. 'NUT CRACKER!!" I yell with a giggle as my fists make contact with his balls.

"That was quite cunning of you," He chuckled, cupping his crotch as the pain lingered there, causing Amie to smile victoriously. "It appears you have beaten me, I concede." He spoke with a humble bow of his head, "Well fought." He smirked, rubbing his balls with a chuckle. "I suppose you are much stronger than I imagined," He spoke, extending his hand out to her.

I look at his hand and wrinkled my nose. "EW you touched your privates with your hand." I giggle.

Responses:

1)His face suddenly turned bright red, looking down at his hand in utter disbelief. "What?! No, that's not- I.. that is not what it looks like!" He protested, looking back at Amie, who had begun laughing. "What is so funny? This is a serious matter!"

2) Rengoku tilted his head, feeling a slight tinge of sadness at the disgusted remark. "Ah yes, I see where you're coming from." He withdrew his hand, rubbing his chin. He decided to offer a more appealing option. "Would you like to get some snacks to celebrate your victory?" He suggested, hoping that would pique her interest.

3) He quickly pulled his hand behind him as Amie made that face. "Oh... Right. It appears there might be some sanitary concerns regarding that," He chuckled as he extended his other hand out to her, not having touched the sensitive region with that hand before. "I would still like to shake your hand, though." He smiled brightly, offering her his hand and awaiting a response from her.

4)"Hmh," He hummed, looking downwards in shame. "You are correct, I forgot about that." He turned his gaze back to Amie, nodding his head. "But still.. It was quite the fight, I haven't battled a worthy opponent in long time, thanks to you.. I had a lot of fun." He smiled, gesturing for her to join him in a handshake.

5)"You... do realise that they are my own privates, correct?" He looked at her with a raised eyebrow, a curious smile spreading upon his lips. "It is not as if I've just fondled someone else's.. That would be quite inappropriate." He shook his head and chuckled.

(this one had me balling)

6)"Well now, that is rather rude," He said, slightly offended by her remark. "But yes, I suppose I did." He chuckled, crossing his arms once again. "Perhaps you aren't ready to become my student after all," He spoke in a light-hearted manner, his lips turning up into a gentle smile. "Although, I must admit.. Your fighting skill is quite remarkable for being so inexperienced." He praised, taking a step back, allowing her to stand up straight.

7)"Oh..." He looked at his own hand, realizing his mistake. "Hm, you are quite right." He cleared his throat, still holding the outstretched hand, slightly embarrassed. "Perhaps this is a better greeting, Amie." He lifted his hand, offering her a fist bump.

8) Rengoku's eyes widened in embarrassment, as did his face turn bright red. "I beg for your forgiveness, little flame." He bowed low, trying to hide his face. "Allow me to extend the offer again," He spoke, bowing lower and offering his other hand - free of any genitalia.

9)Rengoku's smile fades momentarily upon receiving Amie's response, slightly confused by her logic. "Do people not clean their hands anymore?" He inquired with a raised brow. "Well, in that case.." He looked to his side, searching for a rag or towel to clean his hands. He spotted a white cloth on the ground and picked it up, cleaning his hands before offering his outstretched hand once again to Amie. "There," He stated confidently, "Now.. Is it not rude to refuse this offer?" He posed.

10)"You are one mischievous little flame," He chuckled. "Very well, Amie.. Come here.." He opened his arms out, awaiting Amie's reaction. "There, that should be better." He held out his free, clean hand for Amie to grasp. "Take your teacher's hand and shake it as a sign of respect."

11)"You have a good point, little flame. Let me make it up to you," Rengoku took a look around, searching for something. He then spotted a nearby bush, plucking a rose from it to gift to Amie. "Here, take this rose.. I would like to formally apologize," He extended the rose to her. "I did not mean to disgust you, I can assure you."

(this one was sweet)

12)He snickered, "Oh, that didn't stop you from going for my balls," He looked at her with a smirk, "I can't help it if they hurt, my dear." He chuckled, raising his eyebrows. "No one said defeating me would be easy.." He smirked as he watched her try and figure out a comeback.

13)"Touche, little fire," He chuckled, quickly retracting his hand, before looking away. "It seems I got a bit ahead of myself," He chuckled, still feeling the tingling sensation that lingered in his privates.

14)He scoffed, feeling quite offended. "It seems like your mind is still in a premature state, my dear," He spoke in annoyance, looking down on her with a narrowed gaze. "Perhaps I should not train you.. Your immaturity might be contagious." He crossed his arms over his chest, looking away towards the distance as he spoke. (cry)

[shallliveoninsong]

ooc. For Jing Yuan!

10. What energizes and drains them most?

11. How are they vocally expressive? What kind of voice, accent, tones, inflections, volume, phrases and slang, and manner of speaking do they use?

42 character development questions! | @maskednihilism 10.

◇ Nothing quite wakes him up like a good fight or spar! Whether it be a serious one, training with a friend or Yanqing, it brings back some of the energy of his youth. Also playing with Mimi rejuvenates him both in body and soul.

Easily what drains him the most is the tedious and boring administrative side of his job. For the most part, it's not complicated or very mentally taxing for him as he's had plenty of experience doing them but the repetition of it puts him to sleep and the tedious and never-ending nature of it makes him want to bite his arm off. To him, it's like working in a factory doing the same thing all day without being allowed to chat with others, listen to music, or anything else while doing such repetitive tasks.

11. How are they vocally expressive? What kind of voice, accent, tones, inflections, volume, phrases and slang, and manner of speaking do they use?

While his voice is quite deep, 99% of the time it has an air of friendliness and a relaxed attitude. There's almost a sing-song feeling to it. Only under extreme or personal circumstances does his tone turn harsh or angry. When sad or melancholic the volume level of his speech decreases a noticeable amount and the sing-songy hum is gone. He's a lot less talkative and wordy then too, as if whatever he's saying when he's trying to get out as briefly and factually as possible to distance his own attachment to the matter.

When commanding the Cloud Knights or making speeches before a battle the friendly laid-back tone is replaced with a determined and confident tone. Orders he verbally gives are clear, concise, and to the point. He never lets hesitation or fear be heard when doing so.

He doesn't really use slang but does tend to say "my good fellow" quite easily and casually even with folks he hasn't known for very long. He doesn't see this as stiff or old-fashioned it's just something he picked up in his vocabulary at some point but he doesn't remember when, but it conveys his lax and friendly nature when he wants it to so it works for him.

[allstartrekgames]

Star Trek: Invasion

Original Release: 2000

Developer: Warthog Games

Publisher: Activision

Platform: PlayStation

Star Trek Invasion is a space combat game developed for the PlayStation. Targeting a more casual audience than other Star Trek games, this game has you flying around in single-person fighters.

As fighters aren’t a big thing in Star Trek, this game takes a lot of liberties with the franchise, as every race has suddenly started using fighters, including the Borg. These alien fighters have nice designs, as well as the starting Federation fighter. As you progress though the game, you’ll get new and upgraded fighters which…are quite ugly. That said, the game itself looks really nice, especially for the original PlayStation.

Your ship is equipped with multiple kinds of phasers, so you can have “bullet style” ones or beam ones, although both are slow, so your targeting lock-on displays a marker ahead of enemy ships to show where you need to aim. You can twist, boost and move to the side. I found the controls to work really well and the gameplay is very enjoyable in short bursts, but unfortunately very repetitive if you’re playing though the whole game as there’s not much variety, mostly just blowing up ships. There are a couple of nice set pieces (including a Death Star II attack on a Borg Cube), but it’s mainly just blowing up other fighters.

The story feels like a jumbled mess. While the opening cutscene shows a massive Borg invasion, this is a trivial part of the story, instead it focuses on a mysterious new alien species that have been accidentally awakened by a Federation ship. That said, the story itself jumps around different scenarios, with you dealing with Cardassians, then the Borg, then this new species. The levels don’t flow. In one mission you fight the borg in deep space, the next you protect the Typhon (the carrier ship that transports the fighters) because it has sustained damage in battle, but it’s suddenly falling into a star.

The difficulty of the game also ramps up very quickly, with harsh time limits and some levels with infinitely respawning enemies. If you choose to play on easy difficulty (which still gets challenging), the game stops half way through, telling you to start the game from scratch at a higher difficulty level. On top of this, a lot of missions are hidden behind “secrets”, which the game gives you no hints about. These can be needing to have a certain accuracy rating or finding hidden objects and using the tractor beam on them. One of the secret missions unlocked in this manner is actually a requirement for the ending of the game – miss it and you’ll get a different one.

Invasion is a lot of fun in short bursts, but doesn’t feel much like a Star Trek game – if it wasn’t for Worf being your commander, you would easily forget.

[rosiewitchescottage]

Muslim Woman says Britishness needs to Return - Askin the most Muslim pl...

A great example of how many issues can need to be tackled at the same time.

As our host ‘Shay’ said at the start, freedom of religion is important to the British People. We’ve had periods of brutal religious persecution during our history, and we don’t want a repetition of it.

Yes. The Church of England is the ‘official’ religion. But that does NOT mean that no one can practice any other Faith. 

We have many Catholics and other Christian Denominations. We have Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Jews, Buddhists, Pagans. All free to practice, without risk of being punished for it by the state.

All that’s required is that we practice in keeping with The Law. And that’s fine by me. The Law is one of the things that unites us as British Citizens, regardless of religious and cultural differences.

Katherine Birbalsingh Dr Rakib Ehsan and others talk about Multiculturalism this way too. 

People are free to practice their own faith and culture. But we should all be united by being British Citizens.

And if you’re living here, but don’t want to be a ‘British Citizen’, then one has to wonder what you’re doing here at all.

Shay talks here about a gentleman who came here from India wanting a ‘different life’. But was shocked that our country didn’t look like he was expecting.

We hear a Muslim lady talking about ‘British Values’ needing to return, because the country has changed so much.

Dammit. I’m disgusted to hear about the rise of Anti Muslim Hate since 9/11. That’s an outrage!

Have disagreements and concerns with any religion? Then a British Citizen should be free to express them. 

BUT hating, harassing and abusing people, simply for practicing any particular religion? No, No, No!

No one should be judged for good or bad, simply on account of what religion they practice, or none.

Only HOW we do so, should matter.

 Islamists who want to bring Shariah Law here? We should fight that, all the way.

But the many Muslims just peacefully practicing their faith should be left to do so in safety and with a respect that we have every right to ask to be mutual.

Two young Muslim guys saying that someone asked them if they had bombs inside their jackets.

If that happened, then I’m far from OK with it. 

It’s one thing to challenge someone who is behaving in a suitably dubious manner. 

The guy carrying the bomb at The Manchester Arena was just such a person. There should have been zero qualms about challenging him, but he wasn’t.

Quite another to ask two young men on the street if they’re carrying bombs, just because of their religion.

None of that helps us to deal with the real problems. In fact it hinders it!

There’s ZERO reasons why we can’t support people practicing their own faiths and cultures, within our British Laws.

 Whilst also practicing the religious and cultural traditions that have been part of British Life for centuries, and longer.

If people want to come and share their lives with us here. Then let’s show them British Values to share and be united by, as well as having the freedom to follow their own faith.

That’s a Multiculturalism that I’ll support up to the hilt.

https://rakibehsan.com/diversity-without-shared-values-is-a-recipe-for-disaster-rakib-ehsan-on-the-lessons-from-the-uk/

[bakuninbeats]

(Intellectual) Property is Theft!

Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, perhaps the most important figure in the field of anarchist theory. He developed many of the most important cornerstones of the anarcho-communist ideology, the most important of which being the following principle; "Property is Theft!"

Indeed, property is theft. Specifically, private property which forms the cornerstone of our capitalist system. Yet, there is another form of property which can be just as oppressive, namely intellectual property. The ownership of ideas, of art, of symbols, intellectual property offers someone the right to sue others for using the products that originated in their mind. In itself, a seemingly noble idea as it can potentially serve to protect the livelihood of smaller artists, academics and inventors. However, these same people are often not the ones who actually manage to profit from these laws. No, it is primarily the companies who can afford the most skilled lawyers that actually manage to protect their ideas whilst those who might actually need this protection are left to fend for themselves. In fact, smaller artists usually end up being the victim of these kinds of lawsuits especially when it comes to the practice of sampling in music.

In this manner, the right to sample becomes a practice to fight for within the anarchist struggle, especially when the use of sampling serves to criticize the current systems that govern society. Thus, the subject of today's review will be one such artist known as Saint Pepsi and his 2014 music video Enjoy Yourself.

Admittedly, most Vaporwave artists do not explicitly ascribe to anarchist ideology and Saint Pepsi is no exception. In fact he barely has a public persona at all, let alone one that promotes specific political goals. However, the combination of anti-consumerist critique, diy-ethic and, as formerly established, a potent disrespect for intellectual property rights, it becomes clear that Saint Pepsi falls quite neatly in line with the means and ends of the average anarcho-communist, intentionally or not.

But how does the Saint spread our anti-capitalist message in Enjoy Yourself? It is through a process of defamiliarization, and emphasization. The song repeats slowed-down snippets from the song Off The Wall by Michael Jackson. I'm sure Michael needs no introduction, but I'd still like to clarify some things about his history. Michael Jackson had his start in Motown Records, one of the biggest titans in the music industry. Though they have platformed many great artists, they are also one of the primary culprits of the mass-commercialization of popular music. This does not necessarily make their music any worse, but it does make this song a great choice for the Saint Pepsi treatment.

It is set to clips taken from a McDonald's commercial, one of the other titans of consumerism. It features a smiling man with a moon-shaped head (who also became an alt-right symbol for some reason). He dances while playing the piano on top of a hamburger, flying through a city-scape. The city is filled with bill-boards and McDonald's' classic yellow M's. It's a bizzare picture that could only be found within the post-modern, late-capitalist regime we currently live under.

The song ends on the message "Just Enjoy Yourself!~" repeated multiple times, eventually fading out to give the impression of its infinite repetition. On the surface, this phrase gives a sense of calmth and nostalgia, it's an invitation to simply let go and have fun. However, through the constant repetition Saint Pepsi showcases the way that consumer-capitalism controls its subjects.

"Just Enjoy Yourself!~~", everything is completely fine. You have tasty food, fun music, just look at the funny moon-man and

''Just Enjoy Yourself!~~~''.

With this message the song highlights consumerism's role as a primary means to pacify the masses and manufacture its consent. If a society feels the need to constantly repeat the message that everything's fine it's a sign that it's clearly not.

But who gives a shit about what this stupid tranny has to say!?

Who gives a shit about the immorality of property right!?

Who gives a shit about achieving anarchy!?

The system is impenetrable and the world is fucked.

"Just Enjoy Yourself!~~~~"

Link to song:

[samasmith23]

Interpreting the Spider-Man: Alien Costume Saga as a metaphor for OCD

Awhile back I was revisiting the classic Spider-Man: Alien Costume Saga for the first time its entirety in the two "Complete Epic" TPBs Marvel published which collect both the Amazing Spider-Man and Spectacular Spider-Man issues which comprised the saga. When I read the concluding issue of volume one, Amazing Spider-Man #258 by written by Tom DeFalco & illustrated by Ron Frenz, I came to an interesting realization: there are actually some striking parallels between Peter's experiences with the symbiote and some of my own struggles with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, or OCD.

This comparison might seem random at first, but let me try to explain it.

A major element of OCD aside from dealing with the constant and uncomfortable repetition of intrusive and anxiety-inducing thoughts, is the feeling of being overwhelmed by multiple forms of pressure (both internal and external) all at once. You feel like you have no control over the events of your life, but you simultaneously find it very difficult to find the willpower and initiative necessary to take active steps for positive improvement.

So when you look at the plot of the original Alien Costume Saga, Peter Parker is facing external pressure on multiple fronts: his Aunt May refusing to speak to him after he dropped out of Graduate School, Robbie Robertson being a much stricter boss at the Daily Bugle, relationship struggles with Black Cat, facing multiple supervillains as Spider-Man, and Mary Jane just now dropping the major bombshell that she's known Peter's secret identity for several years now! Because of all this, Peter feels like he's losing control over his life, and the black suit makes those feelings quite literal by unknowingly possessing his body at night to go for web-slinging joyrides while he sleeps, therefore making him even more exhausted than he already was beforehand, sleeping entire days in.

But it eventually all culminates in a breaking point for Peter. Following the infamous dream-sequence where gigantic versions of Spider-Man's red-&-blue and black costumes are fighting for possession over Peter's body, Peter finally decides to finally take some active steps to regain control over his life. The first and foremost of these steps is to no longer procrastinate on Reed Richard's previous offers to scientifically analyze the black suit. Something which Peter decided to do just now after noticing the suit acting strangely more than once. It's finally upon Reed's analysis that Peter discovers the alien costume's true nature as a living symbiote that's determined to permanently bond itself onto Peter's body.

OCD operates in a similar manner, in that only by acknowledging which thoughts are OCD and which are not can you deduce the root cause of your mental anxiety and start take the steps to combat it. And OCD, just like the symbiote, often refuses to let go of its grasp on you without a fight, but certain steps can be taken to effectively do so such as when Reed deduces the symbiote's key weaknesses of fire and sonics.

Some people might be confused why in my summary of the events building up to Amazing Spider-Man #258, I neglected to mention Peter struggling with the symbiote negatively influencing his emotions a encouraging him to commit evil actions, or the symbiote's future host Eddie Brock, aka Venom?

The thing is, those aforementioned elements debuted in adaptations of the Alien Costume Saga outside of comics like the 90s Spider-Man: The Animated Series and Sam Rami's Spider-Man 3, which future comics later retroactively included as being part of the original storyline. When Spidey's black costume was first introduced in the comics during the 1980s, and the idea of it being a living symbiote or even the character of Eddie Brock/Venom wasn't even conceived by the writers at the time. The original idea of a black costume for Spider-Man was actually originally conceived of by a fan named Randy Schueller, who pitched the idea to Marvel in a talent-search contest, describing to CBR in 2007:

"I thought it would be cool if Spidey needed to upgrade his powers and his look, so I came up with this idea that Reed Richards had made a new costume for Spidey using the same unstable molecules that the FF costumes are made of. The unstable molecules would flow into Peter’s pores and allow him to cling to walls better. I think my original idea was to increase his sticking power by 25% or something like that."

Then Marvel Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter bought the idea from Schueller for $220, but instead of Schueller's initial concept the black shape-shifting costume idea was integrated into the Marvel Superheroes Secret Wars event from 1985, originally presented as costume made from some sort of weird alien fabric. Additionally, writer/artist John Byrne stated on his personal website that he had conceived of the idea of a self-repairing biological costume while illustrating Iron Fist, but when he ended up not using it for that title he was asked by Roger Stern if he could use the idea for his Spider-Man run. Interestingly enough however, while the black suit chronologically first appeared in Secret Wars #8, the alien costume's first appearance publication-wise was in Amazing Spider-Man #252 (the last issue Stern plotted for his iconic run), released a few months prior. The way Secret Wars tie-ins were handled was via a time-skip similar to DC's "One Year Later" initiative following Infinite Crisis event published two decades later, with the 52 maxiseries filling in the gaps of missing year in-universe.

In the publication time between Amazing Spider-Man #258 and Secret Wars #8 however, a lot of fans surprisingly really hated Spider-Man's new black costume. Long-time readers were initially offended by the idea of Spidey receiving a costume change, which is something that had never occurred since the character's debut in the 1960s. Marvel caved into the vocal fan-backlash and by Amazing Spider-Man #258 that the costume was actually a living alien symbiote that sought to permanently bond itself to Peter's body, with this revelation being foreshadowed in the previous intervening issues as the symbiote began taking Peter's body for web-slinging joyrides while he slept. However, by the time the symbiote retcon was introduced and Peter discarded the alien costume, fans had actually grown to love the black costume over the intervening months, which led to Peter quickly obtaining a cloth version of the black suit from Black Cat that he would frequently alternate with.

As for how Venom would come to enter the equation, Eddie Brock's first full appearance would be in Amazing Spider-Man #300, written by David Michelinie & illustrated by Todd McFarlane. While Michelinie has stated in interviews that he was solely responsible for the creation of Brock as a disgraced journalist who held a personal grudge against Spider-Man, the idea of him becoming the next host of the alien symbiote can actually be primarily attributed to McFarlane. See, McFarlane absolutely HATED drawing the cloth version of Spidey's black costume and desperately wanted to have Peter return to his classic red-&-blue suit. McFarlane stated:

"I came into the Spider-Man office after doing the Hulk and they wanted me to do Spider-Man," McFarlane explained. "But he was in this black costume. I didn't wanna draw this black costume. It meant nothing to me. I wanted to draw the red and blue... So, they said, 'Todd, if you just come on at #298 we promise that maybe we can get rid of it.' And I go, 'Well let's just get rid of it fast!’ So, I did a character... I ripped the costume off him... I did this character called Venom, handed it to David Michelinie, the writer, and they said, 'Just hold on, hold on, hold on,' he continued. So, then, all of a sudden I do #298, he's still in the black, #299, he's still in the black, finally #300, look I even said here on the cover sketch, 'Can we do one in the black and the red? Come on, I want to do the black and the red.' And they said, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah, fine.'"

To achieve this end, David Michelinie ended Amazing Spider-Man #299 with the cliffhanger of Mary Jane being suddenly frightened by Venom in her and Peter's apartment, and following Spidey's battle with Venom in the following issue, MJ demanded that Peter get rid of his cloth black suit due to how much it reminded her of Venom.

And Eddie Brock was introduced by Michelinie, whom during off-panel events from The Death of Jean DeWolffe storyline wrote a series of interviews with a man he believed to be the serial killer Sin-Eater for the Daily Globe, before being later pressured to publish the Sin-Eater's identity. However, Brock was fired due to Spider-Man catching the true Sin-Eater literally minutes after Eddie's article was published. Disgraced and humiliated, Brock developed an intense hatred for Spider-Man, and later bonded with the alien symbiote when the two encountered each other in the church bell tower where Peter famously discarded the black suit in Web of Spider-Man #1, which was the final issue of the original Alien Costume Saga.

Ironically, Randy Schueller, the aforementioned fan who originally pitched the black costume idea to Marvel, was actually not a fan of Venom himself, describing the character of Eddie Brock as “disturbed," stating that:

“I was never a fan of the costume-turned-villain idea. Venom just never really seemed to work for me.”

But going back to the symbiote's pre-Venom portrayal in the Alien Costume Saga... in a sense one could actually view the original depiction of symbiote suit as an effective metaphor for dealing with some of the symptoms of OCD!

[ben-101-rewrite]

So do each of the split transformations have a primary aspect of Ben's personality like the 2 bens in "Duped"?

Like would Rath become a representation of Ben's more intense emotions? (because I mean.... well it's RATH)

What would you attribute to each transformation, and how would they handle the tasks they're given, because I'd imagine Brainstorm would do well in an argument with Harangue, while Ripjaws might just be a bit inconvenienced since he can only be without water for so long before he can't breathe.

So each of the aliens isn't really an aspect of Ben's personalities, but instead it's Ben being slightly altered by the alien's instincts and biology. Some more so than others, cause I really like the idea that while each form is still Ben, different aliens make him behave slightly differently. So to explain how each behaves and how they handle their tasks. Big Chill is rather calm, wise, and slightly nurturing due to the event of the baby chills. However, he can get aggressive in a cold and sharp manner when defensive or protective. So at Julie's game, he would be very supportive towards Julie, cheering her on (though rather quietly since he's not a loud alien), but due to Ben being in an alien form, and his fame, many people would be pestering him, cameras flashed at him, and Big Chill would try and hide under his winds, go invisible at times, before eventually snapping and hissing at everyone to back off. Rath is fairly obvious for anyone who's seen him, lol. Loud, aggressive, and willing to fight anything, so him fighting the Forever Knights certainly causes a dent in their plans, being too much to handle. Unfortunately, it becomes a problem when Kevin can't get him to listen, and the two get into some nasty and even personal arguments by mistake. XRL8 has a hummingbird brain, in that he's always having to do something, keep talking and be on the move. So running around dealing with criminals is a fairly easy job for him, but due to how much crime there is, both large and small, even it can overwhelm him. Especially when trying to hide from those that are noticing how Ben seems to be in two places at once, posting photos online. Ripjaws by this point has a water breathing, so he can stay on land for a long time. But today happens to be quite a hot day. So at first, he's able to help his parents, like fixing up the garden, even if they're questioning why he's in alien form. But after a while, the heat becomes a bit much, so they end up all going to the beach to have some quality family time. Goop comes across as flexabile, adaptable, and has a slightly goofy personality, so dealing with fans allows him to keep up a good charismatic charm, and get a lot of people laughing. Also able to stretch himself around to do things with lots of people. But things do become a problem when people either wanna see another alien form, or aren't a fan of dealing with Goop's slime. Brainstorm has a lot of brain power to process, and often speaks openingly, bluntly honest, and speaks what he's currently doing to help process his mind. Doesn't quite have a filter. So he is good at debating against Harangue, which also makes him prideful. But when Harangue gets word on social media that somehow Ben is elsewhere, Brainstorm starts struggling to come up with a reasonable lie or topic to focus on. Upchuck is naturally a hungry fellow, has some poor manners, and basically goes with the flow of things as long as he's happy in the end. He's happy enough to fight Animo, eating up his tech. But after a while it can get very boring and repetitive due to how stubborn and crazy Animo is. Even Animo feels like Ben's off and questions it. Upgrade is calculated, loyal and creative. Taking in details around him and following those he trusts. And given his connection to Galvans, it seemed reasonable to have him go chat with Azmuth, even using it as an excuse to ask questions about the Galvans and Mechamorphs to distract his mentor. But out of anyone it was always going to be Azmuth to figure out something was wrong first, especially about the Omnitrix, and given Upgrade's loyal side, he can't help but let slip what happened. Nanomech is similar to Upgrade, but very loyal to the point that he struggles to say no, due to nanochips being used to taking orders. And once given an order he'll want to see it through to the end, no matter how hard or annoying. But given he also has a mix of human DNA, he'll be very open about his frustration while in the middle of doing a task. So as he tries to find Ghostfreak, he mumbles a lot to himself. And just never finds him in the end. Ghostfreak is quiet, distant, honest and even somewhat depressed. Ben has many conflicting feelings in this form, and due to it's apparent aggression issues, he does what he can to keep it under control. He does have a playful side still, but anxiety can push those feelings away at times. But he is honest in a clear and simple way that doesn't sound harsh, but not sugar-coated as well, hence why he had an actual nice and truthful conversation with Julie.

[auroragothcs]

TWs and CWs: Mentions of violence, injury, cannibalism, human experimentation, disordered eating, recreational herbs and detachment to a sense of self.

| Il Dottore Headcanons (pt.1).

1. Dottore is so used to bitter and sour tastes thanks to his constant consumption of coffee and pills that he grew to have a major sweet tooth.

2. Autistic because I am and I said so.

3. Probably queer too but he either put too much thought into it to the point where he overcomplicated things and "exhausted his options" or just doesn't care enough to figure it out.

4. He relies heavily on supplements to stay healthy as he struggles with maintaining his appetite, sometimes forgetting to eat.

5. The role of one of the most essential harbingers is more of a burden than an honor for him as the pressure and responsibility make him burnout very quickly but he feels as though he couldn't possibly achieve as much as he has without an Archon by his side so he endures.

6. As a child Dottore would eat pretty much any plant he found, getting sick more often than not and still coming back to try a new species, this habit carried onto his adulthood as well.

7. His bedhead is very fluffy and soft, so much so that one of his lazier clones got nicknamed "Sheep" for giving up on taming it and just living with the messy look.

8. Dottore is almost a natural at dancing but finds it far too bothersome and tiring.

9. He has eaten sand and dirt out of curiosity and was absolutely disgusted, ate it again while traveling to a different country to "compare samples".

10. He rubs the back of his neck when he feels awkward but tugs at his fingers if he's embarrassed.

11. Hands and arms have chemical burn scars from acids melting through his gloves and clothes.

12. He's not close to any of his fellow harbingers and would usually rather be anywhere when he's around them, as far as he's aware they're not too different either.

13. Extremely skilled with his hands, be it with handling tools or writing reports to the Tsaritsa with beautiful calligraphy.

14. He rarely finds himself interested in anyone -be it of a platonic or romantic nature- but if he does it soon ends up with the poor bastard being taken to his lab as he tries to figure out just how and why that person caught his attention even though they never reciprocate.

15. Chronic back, neck and wrist pain from poor posture and continuous repetitive movement while taking notes.

16. Hates veggies with all his soul, the clones like to prank each other with it by making it so the veggies look like something else.

17. Being called "young" is far too similar to being called "underdeveloped", "naive" and "stupid" to him, he's very resentful of anyone who sees him as such.

18. He doesn't mind quiet company while he works, which is why he keeps a clone that turned out to be selectively mute around, they're both comfortable enough around each other to at least have no awkwardness.

19. Dottore sees his scars as something to be ashamed of as they all come from moments where his work failed or from when he was unable to protect himself.

20. A clone once slapped Prime awake and the glare that the poor guy received was enough for him to bolt away, the others nicknamed that glare the "prey stare" as it made nearly anyone under it want to flee.

21. He's either overworking himself into the next collapse or collapsing into his next work spree, no in-between.

22. He doesn't mind and accepts that he'll always get dirty when working on his test subjects but he stops and rushes to clean himself fully as soon as something gets on his face or hair.

23. Very fast reader and incredible when it comes to condensating information in a cohesive manner, the Tsaritsa trusts him to filter through some of her own paperwork because of this.

24. Well-moisturized hands since his scars can affect his mobility and become uncomfortable easily.

25. His legs and core are quite strong since he focused on evasion and footwork over strength and fighting skills.

The posts regarding this list will be simply copy-and-pasted in order to focus on pumping out new ones, hope it's not an issue!

[batri-jopa]

Welcome to another one of #my ATWD issues

(that means: me overthinking the movie And Then We Danced/ და ჩვენ ვიცეკვეთ, 2019, dir. Levan Akin)

This one been provoked by my talk with @notasapleasure (and with my short ATWD fanfic)

For long time I tried to analyse the moment in the studio with Merab and Irakli practicing together for the first time. I could not stop thinking why did Merab reacted to somebody's kindness the way he did but even more - I could not quite understand Irakli's response: wouldn't it be natural after getting the harsh reply, that clearly mind-your-own-bussiness message for Irakli to feel hurt, offended or anything like that and not... smiling? Just as if he understood some kind of a joke that we've all missed...

So first of all I think Merabi learned throughout his life so far that every talk with another guy (especially when it's about dancing) was an opportunity to compete - to the point it sounds quite ridiculous sometimes... You can hear it in the studio (when he says "I dance since I can walk") as well as later in Irakli's room (speaking about audition in such a manner as if he really was so sure of his own victory over Irakli). At times like this I think Merab was forever a little boy, trained to always play tough and to prove his worth to his brother and older mates at any given occassion. Although he's trying so much it sometimes looks as if he was just a small, nimble kitten who flexed and strutted to look bigger - and all he can ever manage is to look cute...

Now I can imagine Irakli might have met boys much younger that him behaving in a very similar way - maybe among his friends, maybe some little cousin, maybe a little girl? It is possible that he even have a talk about it with someone already: like older cousins being parents and discussing their kids behaviour, or some friend describing how their much younger sibling is always trying to show they can do everything just as good as the big brother does, or maybe some older person speaking about how one of the adults was like this years ago...

I guess it's highly probable Irakli had a lot of meetings like this in his life for Georgians have big families and often gathering to eat and talk with younger relatives as well as with the older ones (we in Poland do that too, though not that often anymore, like my mom's family is much bigger than the average one and we meet in a wider company 2 or 3 times a year). It also kind of explains the way Irakli treats his Granny - I guess such care and patience toward repetitive and memory losing old ladies is not so common among guys in his age in western Europe. But Irakli is naturally used to cooperate and care for elder people as well as for younger ones.

And above it all - he also is just a person sensible enough to empathize with somebody's struggle and bear it all in mind. Maybe he even once helped some little boy / little girl to win over his/her older siblings? And felt the overhelming happines of that child's long awaited glory - making him feel joyful and satified on his behalf as if that victory was partially his own?

And what if Irakli himself were like that one day as the only child fighting for his place in the group of older boys when he was little?

And so with any exprerience like that and also being slightly older than Merab - Irakli immediately recognised that mechanism in Merabi's impolite reaction and that's why it made him feel so tenderly toward the guy instead of feeling hurt or offended. He saw the ambitious little boy who can't get to be appreciated but never gave up trying.

Now it may sound ridiculous to some of you but maybe that's exactly what set Irakli's attention at Merab in the first place: it kind of switched on his protectivness and the wish to help that little boy prove his worth. And I do not mean any feeling "older and superior" - I mean the empathetic feeling "I am like you, I feel you and I sincerely want you to feel better"

I think even the first tender smile Irakli gives to Merab (barely knowing anything about him yet, mind you!) might be revealing that Merab reminded him of someone. Someone he already knew and who's memory automatically evoked a warm feeling in his heart. Only from now on every next smile like that will be because of Merab and for Merab only.

[So to all of you alloromantic and allosexual ppl that scene was probably just an obvious "love at first sight" with no need for further digging. But I am AroAce so I am here to search for the obvious and find the unexpected🤷]

Now let's get back to Merab:

He is a younger brother and yes it matters as his personality trait.

I am a younger sibling myself though I'm sure the rivarly between brother and sister is nothing compared to two brothers. For Merab it's the neverending proving that he's not any worse than Davit. Especially as he constantly have to hear the opposite:

So there's that one particular day when in the morning he gets replaced in a dance duo (because apparently after a year of practicing he was not as good as guy who just arrived to the town),

then in the afternoon he has to listen to his own dad telling him that no matter if he practice dancing all days long he'll still be worse than his lazy brother (could have avoided hearing that if not trying to sacrifice himself for the family visiting Ioseb to get some money for electric bill...)

and if that still did not make him feel like a shit: after he finally returns home in the evening - who becomes the hero of the day? Why of course, the drunkard carefree Davit!

It was not until Irakli that Merabi meet anyone to whom he would not need to constantly prove his worth. Yes, there was Mari - but no matter all the sympathy and understanding she has for Merab - as a young Georgian boy he'd also been taught to always prove masculinity to her simply because she was a girl...

So Irakli is the first person Merabi do not need to prove anything. The first person looking at him like there was nobody else in the world worth his attention more. And once Irakli can't hide his drunken style adoration - Merab is so visibly confused for suddently getting all of that attention he was never used to get! In the studio he reacted automatically as always when he was competed. But then by the door of his own bathroom it clearly was not the case and now he has no idea of how to proceed under these new "non competetive" circumstances...

I mean Merab looks as if he'd gladly hide behind a cow if only he had one on his own 😆

(Sorry, I had to finally compare Merabi with Hava from Fiddler on The Roof, I just could not stop myself any longer)