#this medium definitely allows for more dramatic expressiveness & lighting at times

[r0semultiverse]

Cursing & profanity in Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories

[ubercharge]

im not sure if anyone asked you yet, but thoughts on the dunmeshi anime?

thanks for asking! sometimes i forget i exist here as a person cuz i just log on to queue random stuff without making posts 💀

it's pretty rare for me to watch an anime without ever reading the manga, and there've been stellar adaptations recently. ONK, kisekoi, BTR, frieren, CSM just to name a few. in a landscape where we're used to being disappointed as readers who have a frame of reference before watching a show, i had very, very high hopes for the dunmeshi adaptations that weren't quite fulfilled.

i'll dump everything under a cut since i actually have a lot to say, sorry if you were expecting it to be brief 😎

the lines in the artistic style are good, nicely translating the characters into animated format. really no notes there. definitely a nicer comparison for char designs between manga and anime vs. tonsuki and tensura who both have incredible manga styles that the anime stumble over (though in the latter's case, i don't think they were aiming for it sadly)

the shading has been fine, but weakened by the colour choices. some of the dungeon scenes (e.g., living armour stuff) are lit with a medium blue which helps to sell the idea of the scene being in a place not lit by fire (and contrasts it with the making camp & cooking scenes), but the lack of dark shading flattens some of these very well-drawn images.

the earlier chapters don't have the same level of detail as newer ones, but the art style is still fantastic - it's expressive with high contrast and shows action and impact perfectly well. manga will often times have a naturally easier way with contrast due to it being in black & white, but i don't think that means anime should just give up on contrast in favour of playing ineffectively with colour.

here's a night shot of fern from frieren. the choices made here allow for the shading to stand out from the flats and give her more definition overall while still being relatively simple (just flats + shading)

when dunmeshi has more "normal" lighting conditions, it does a lot better. similar to fern up there, there's about the same amount of difference between the flats and shadows, so i really wish they did a better job on the dungeon scenes since they're going to have to deal with non-torchlit scenes plenty. i won't argue that the living armor scene certainly has some kind of a sickly, alien mood to it, but tl;dr i think it should've had darker shading if not also being less green. this largely applies to every other blue-green lit scene they've done.

looking at kui's coloured drawings in the ed gives me an idea of what could've been and it makes me sad to lose out on colour choices more similar to that (even if they obviously can't have her level of detail on top of it)

some of the backgrounds haven't been too interesting but some have been good, overall it's probably fine. plus you can only draw and detail repeating bricks so many times before the viewer gets bored of looking at them anyway, i guess.

the animation is really fun and expressive. it's trigger, so they don't keep scenes stiffly on-model when they want characters moving around. this is good because it helps to sell both action and comedy moments!

the music overall i haven't really cared for? the BGM has not been particularly moving, interesting, or memorable - mostly generic. and i've seen too many fantasy shows for my own good, so i might be harder to impress (but i even remember tenken had a good BGM song or two to make a fight dramatic and that show was barely above average at best)

i'm biased not being particularly into bump, so i would've selected a different artist for the OP (i actually did like the bump OP from SxF though, come to think of it). before anyone makes a wisecrack based on what i've watched lately, no it doesn't have to be yoasobi.

i maybe feel the ED song would've been better for the OP, i don't like the largely peaceful bit of the OP with very still visuals. the OP is where you reel people in! it should be an eye-catching hook, representative of what to expect with some extra sauce on top.

the ED is great, total bop. it's a fine time for slower visuals as an enjoyable wind-down from the episode, so less or no animation is no big deal. plus kui's art is absolutely gorgeous! it all perfectly fits that "end of work" fun and lighthearted mood they were going for.

i largely enjoy the voice acting. i would've personally gone for a less "old man" voice on senshi because he's really not that old for a dwarf, but they obviously wanted to make it clear he was the older, wiser, knowledgeable character.

this might be my own personally most blasphemous opinion, but i would've picked a different VA for falin. i want to make it clear i absolutely adore saori hayami - she's incredible and one of my faves. with that said, her voice fits the character, so maybe it's just because i've heard her too often which is not her fault by any means! i love the voices for laios, marcille, and chil.

it seems netflix's subs go off of the official EN TL of the manga, which makes sense, but i've talked about how i don't like it more than ehscans' TL (which is one of the single best TLs i've read for a series, official or otherwise) and that holds true for the anime ("mad sorcerer" is cooler AND less clunky than "lunatic magician"). i prefer less localisation stuff and/or quirkiness in my subs and more direct translation for both manga and anime.

as for the changes/additions they've made to the show, some of them have been alright and some i didn't care for. they really want to sell marcille as the funny joke character which is why they had her being chased by the basilisk instead of having doni & fionil like it was in the manga which was better for the pacing and had good impact vs a funny clip of marcille running back and forth.

i don't dislike when adaptations add or change stuff, but placing them cleanly is important. dunmeshi is already really funny! i don't think it needs help being funnier by reaching for the cheap laugh. when laios sees two people running for their lives from a basilisk and he just goes "wow that's a bad way to run from that monster", it's already lowkey hilarious - all the more so followed by marcille telling mr. monster-know-it-all to go rescue them if he knows what's up and him rescuing them by making himself big and chicken squawking real loud (which embarrasses marcille and chil, but c'mon guys, at least his idea worked!). i feel like the comedy in laios' funny hero moment is undercut by forcing the marcille butt of the joke moment in the anime.

dunmeshi is already incredibly good at just about everything it does. i feel if an adaptation wants to add or change something, it's often better amplifying a strength or shoring up a weakness in the source material. BTR adds a lot to the source (not hard considering the source is a 4koma) and makes already funny things even funnier. the "we should all get social media" scene is elevated to iconic status with the visual of bocchi glitching out + the VA's inhuman screech. i can't say where i'd really want to change or add stuff to dunmeshi, since it really feels so good and whole, but i'm sure there's room in the process of translating manga panels to animated scenes, and i think the direction overall could've been better (comparing most shows to BTR isn't fair i know because BTR is directed & adapted so well it's hydrogen bomb vs. coughing baby territory)

i've mostly said negative stuff, but i don't want it to sound like i hate or even really dislike the adaptation. i think when it comes to a series you really love, you want to see the best adaptation possible within reason, and the disappointment of stuff not being quite what you were hoping for is amplified by so many other recent adaptations being so good.

dunmeshi does not have a bad anime by any means, but a lot of that is thanks to the source material's quality. if they do another season, i hope they have more time/budget/whatever because i think a lot of the parts it does have are good parts! but in this case, i wasn't hoping for good; i was hoping for great.

trigger makes great shows with wacky storylines (in some ways, the same one wacky storyline, but that's a different discussion) and dunmeshi, being directed by someone who's worked on a bunch of trigger stuff (largely sci-fi leaning), maybe needed some more direction from people who've worked on fantasy stuff? i can't say for sure what would've been enough to take the show over the top, but though i generally don't hope for much from adaptations, i really did have higher hopes for this one than it ended up achieving.

overall it seems i'll end up scoring the show a 7 or 7.5 when i finish the season, though there's certainly still room to wow us all. whatever you feel about the adaptation, whether you liked it or not, whether or not you've read the manga, feel free to comment your thoughts below or in my inbox. let's keep it free of manga spoils for anime-only watchers, though!

[perpetual-stories]

22 Essential Literary Devices and How to Use Them In Your Writing

hello, happy Monday. Hope you’re all having a wonderful day!

I will skip the pre-info and dive right into it.

What Is a Literary Device?

is a tool used by writers to hint at larger themes, ideas, and meaning in a story or piece of writing

The List of Literary Devices:

Allegory. Allegory is a literary device used to express large, complex ideas in an approachable manner. Allegory allows writers to create some distance between themselves and the issues they are discussing, especially when those issues are strong critiques of political or societal realities.

Allusion. An allusion is a popular literary device used to develop characters, frame storylines, and help create associations to well-known works. Allusions can reference anything from Victorian fairy tales and popular culture to the Bible and the Bard. Take the popular expression “Bah humbug”—an allusion that references Charles Dickens’ novella A Christmas Carol. The phrase, which is often used to express dissatisfaction, is associated with the tale’s curmudgeonly character, Ebenezer Scrooge.

Anachronism. Imagine reading a story about a caveman who microwaves his dinner, or watching a film adaptation of a Jane Austen novel in which the characters text each other instead of writing letters. These circumstances are examples of anachronisms, or an error in chronology—the kind that makes audiences raise their eyebrows or do a double-take. Sometimes anachronisms are true blunders; other times, they’re used intentionally to add humor or to comment on a specific time period in history.

Cliffhanger. It’s a familiar feeling: You’re on minute 59 of an hour-long television episode, and the protagonist is about to face the villain—and then episode cuts to black. Known as a cliffhanger, this plot device marks the end of a section of a narrative with the express purpose of keeping audiences engaged in the story.

Dramatic Irony. Remember the first time you read or watched Romeo and Juliet? The tragic ending of this iconic story exemplifies dramatic irony: The audience knows that the lovers are each alive, but neither of the lovers knows that the other is still alive. Each drinks their poison without knowing what the audience knows. Dramatic irony is used to great effect in literature, film, and television.

Extended Metaphor. Extended metaphors build evocative images into a piece of writing and make prose more emotionally resonant. Examples of extended metaphor can be found across all forms of poetry and prose. Learning to use extended metaphors in your own work will help you engage your readers and improve your writing.

Foreshadowing. At its core, storytelling has one ambition: to capture and sustain your reader’s attention and keep them reading your story. Foreshadowing, or slyly indicating a future event, is one technique a writer can use to create and build suspense.

Humor. Humor brings people together and has the power to transform how we think about the world. Of course, not everyone is adept at being funny—particularly in their writing. Making people laugh takes some skill and finesse, and, because so much relies on instinct, is harder to teach than other techniques. However, all writers can benefit from learning more about how humor functions in writing.

Imagery. If you’ve practiced or studied creative writing, chances are you’ve encountered the expression “paint a picture with words.” In poetry and literature, this is known as imagery: the use of figurative language to evoke a sensory experience in the reader. When a poet uses descriptive language well, they play to the reader’s senses, providing them with sights, tastes, smells, sounds, internal and external feelings, and even deep emotion. The sensory details in imagery bring works to life.

Irony. Irony is an oft-misunderstood literary device that hinges on opposites: what things are on the surface, and what they end up actually being. Many learn about dramatic irony through works of theater like Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet or Sophocles’s Oedipus Rex. When deployed with skill, irony is a powerful tool that adds depth and substance to a piece of writing.

Metaphor, Simile, and Analogy. Metaphors, similes, and analogies are three techniques used in speech and writing to make comparisons. Each is used in a different way, and differentiating between the three can get a little tricky: For example, a simile is actually a subcategory of metaphor, which means all similes are metaphors, but not all metaphors are similes. Knowing the similarities and differences between metaphor, simile, and analogy can help you identify which is best to use in any scenario and help make your writing stronger.

Motif. A motif is a repeated element that has symbolic significance to a story. Sometimes a motif is a recurring image. Sometimes it’s a repeated word or phrase or topic. A motif can be a recurrent situation or action. It can be a sound or a smell or a temperature or a color. The defining aspect is that a motif repeats, and through this repetition, a motif helps to illuminate the central ideas, themes, and deeper meaning of the story in which it appears.

Motif vs. Symbol. Both motifs and symbols are used across artistic mediums: Painters, sculptors, playwrights, and musicians all use motifs and symbols in their respective art forms. And while they are similar literary terms, “motif” and “symbol” are not synonyms.

Oxymoron. An oxymoron is a figure of speech: a creative approach to language that plays with meaning and the use of words in a non-literal sense. This literary device combines words with contradictory definitions to coin a new word or phrase (think of the idiom “act naturally”—how can you be your natural self if you’re acting?). The incongruity of the resulting statement allows writers to play with language and meaning.

Paradox. “This sentence is a lie.” This self-referential statement is an example of a paradox—a contradiction that questions logic. In literature, paradoxes can elicit humor, illustrate themes, and provoke readers to think critically.

Personification. In writing, figurative language—using words to convey a different meaning outside the literal one—helps writers express themselves in more creative ways. One popular type of figurative language is personification: assigning human attributes to a non-human entity or inanimate object in an effort to express a point or idea in a more colorful, imaginative way.

Satire. Satire is so prevalent in pop culture that most of us are already very familiar with it, even if we don’t always realize it. Satire is an often-humorous way of poking fun at the powers that be. Sometimes, it is created with the goal to drive social change. Satire can be part of any work of culture, art, or entertainment—it has a long history, and it is as relevant today as it was in ancient Rome.

Situational Irony. Irony: it’s clear as mud. Theorists quibble about the margins of what constitutes irony, but situational irony is all around us—from humorous news headlines to the shock twists in a book or TV show. This type of irony is all about the gap between our expectations and reality, and it can make a memorable and powerful impression when we encounter it.

Suspense. No matter what type of story you’re telling, suspense is a valuable tool for keeping a reader’s attention and interest. Building suspense involves withholding information and raising key questions that pique readers’ curiosity. Character development plays a big role in generating suspense; for example, if a character’s desire is not fulfilled by the end of the book, the story will not feel complete for the reader.

Symbolism. An object, concept, or word does not have to be limited to a single meaning. When you see red roses growing in a garden, what comes to mind? Perhaps you think literally about the rose—about its petals, stem, and thorns, or even about its stamen and pistil as a botanist might. But perhaps your mind goes elsewhere and starts thinking about topics like romance, courtship, and Valentine’s Day. Why would you do this? The reason, of course, is that over the course of many generations, a rose’s symbolic meaning has evolved to include amorous concepts.

Verisimilitude. Verisimilitude (pronounced ve-ri-si-mi-li-tude) is a theoretical concept that determines the semblance of truth in an assertion or hypothesis. It is also an essential tenet of fiction writing. Verisimilitude helps to encourage a reader’s willing suspension of disbelief. When using verisimilitude in writing, the goal is to be credible and convincing.

Vignette. A writer’s job is to engage readers through words. Vignettes—poetic slices-of-life—are a literary device that brings us deeper into a story. Vignettes step away from the action momentarily to zoom in for a closer examination of a particular character, concept, or place. Writers use vignettes to shed light on something that wouldn’t be visible in the story’s main plot.

I’ll make a post going into each of them individually in more detail later on!

Like, reblog and comment if you find this useful! If you share on Instagram tag me perpetualstories

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[dreamingofaizawa]

Guys My Age

Title and concept inspo: Guys My Age by Hey Violet

Soft Dom! Aizawa Shouta x Medium-sized Fem! Reader

Quirkless AU

***18+ Fic***

You must be at least 18 years old to participate in this reading. If you are under the age of 18 please step out of line and find another fic. Thank you and have a good day.

Warnings: Age gap, praise kink, DD/LG dynamic and terms, use of the words daddy and sir, light bondage, overstimulation, smut. 

Word Count: 4.1k

Author’s Note: I KNOW, I know, I write a lot of Aizawa fics, and they’re all DD/LG stuff. I know, okay? It’s an obsession, I’m in love with this man. Anyway, another soft dom Aizawa, but reader isn’t very well-versed in intimacy. Also, reader is what some would call medium-sized. Not necessarily big, but definitely not small. This is for all my medium-sized girls, including myself. I was very self-indulgent with this one.

Part 2

Enjoy~

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You’d always been told you were mature for your age. It wasn’t until recently you realized how true that statement might be. You’re currently 21. And very, very single. You’ve had a total of six different relationships, and all of them fell through for one very simple reason. The boys you dated were just that. Boys. They were extremely immature. Only ever wanting to ‘hang with the boys’ or stay at home. No effort was put into the relationship on their part after the first few weeks. You didn’t understand why these vastly different boys were all so adamant on staying inside.

You’d tried desperately to get them to go out on dates with you. You offered to pay, and drive, and literally anything else. But no, they were too busy playing video games or getting higher than the damn sky. Don’t even start thinking about sex. You hadn’t got any of that shit since your first ‘boyfriend’ at 17, who used you like a sex doll and broke it off once he found someone hotter and sexier and altogether better in his eyes. You were sick of it. So you did the last thing you’d ever want to do. You went on a blind date.

You’d stumbled on a website last week that allowed you to set up a blind date with a stranger. It seemed legit, and had background checks on all participants. It also allowed you to put in any preferences you had, and matched you with someone that had similar preferences and hobbies. The age range you put in? 30-35 years old. Because guys your age just didn’t cut it. You needed someone more mature, someone who could treat you like a woman, not some girl.

Today, almost a week after matching with someone, you were standing outside an italian restaurant. You didn’t know his face, just his name and age, and that he was a teacher. Aizawa Shouta, 31 years old. And he’d sent a single message when you matched.

Meet me at this location on Saturday. When you enter, I’ll be at the back corner table. Semi-formal. 8 pm, please don’t be late.

It was blunt and straightforward. You liked it. You just hoped he wasn’t quite this blunt in person. You’d put on a black knee-length cocktail dress with a halter top and a partially open back that fell to the small of your back. It accentuated your shoulders and the top half of your torso before fanning out at your waist, the silky material falling and swaying around you. 

You slipped on simple white heels and silver jewelry, with a white clutch purse. You’d decided to pull your hair into a loose half-up half-down, a silver comb pinning your hair in place, minimal makeup and clear lip gloss. For the first time in a while you felt pretty. You knew you weren’t exactly small, but the way you were dressed gave you confidence.

You looked at your watch. 7:55 pm. You took a deep breath, straightened out your dress, and stepped into the restaurant. The host asked if you had a reservation, and you told him you were meeting someone who already arrived. He let you pass, and you walked back to the table Aizawa told you to meet at. He had his back to you as you approached, but you could see his broad shoulders and muscular frame easily. 

He wore a white long-sleeve button down, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and a black vest fitted to his form. His slacks were also fitted, showing off his muscular thighs. His long raven hair was pulled in a half-up half-down similar to yours. You hadn’t even seen his face yet and he looked delicious.

Your heels clacked on the wood flooring, and as you neared the booth he turned to look at you. You stopped next to the table and got a good look at the stranger. He was beautiful. His dark bloodshot eyes looked tired, the bags underneath giving him away and only adding to his appeal, and a scar curved under his right eye. A sharp jawline, with a tamed scruff, and thin lips in a neutral expression. You were about to introduce yourself, but he stood from the booth and held his hand out, palm up. “You must be (y/l/n) (y/n).” You smiled at the gesture, and placed your hand in his. “That’s me. And you are Aizawa Shouta. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He pulled your hand to his lips and placed a kiss on your knuckles, before leading you to your seat.

As he sat down, you noticed a bottle of wine sitting in the center of the table in a bucket of ice, and two glasses of wine halfway full. One sat in front of you, and the other in front of Aizawa. He began the conversation with a rather specific question. “So, (y/l/n), why are you on a dating website looking for men that are so much older than you?” Normally you’d take offense to a question like that, but the way he said it was pure curiosity. So, you answered. “If I’m being honest, it’s actually pretty simple. Guys my age just don’t know how to treat me.”

He raised an eyebrow at that, a barely noticeable smirk tugging at his lips. “And how do you want to be treated?” You smiled a little at the implications behind the question, and answered. “I don’t want to be stuck in my room while my ‘boyfriend’ plays video games and smokes weed. I don’t want to be ‘one of the boys’, and I don’t want to have to plead and beg to go on a date or spend time with him. I want to be treated like a woman, not a girl. And I want to spend my time with a man, not waste it on a boy.” 

At that, Aizawa smirked and sipped at his wine. You both took a quick look at the menu and ordered when the waiter came. As you ate, you talked about random subjects and hit it off quite well. The date went by quickly, and at the end of the night you’d exchanged numbers. “I look forward to another date with you, Ms. (y/l/n).” “The feeling is mutual, Mr. Aizawa.” 

When you got back home, you undressed and cleaned your face and got into bed. As you lay there, your mind drifted back to the date, and how undeniably handsome Aizawa is. The way he spoke to you like you were his equal, and looking at you like an ancient treasure. He was everything you wanted, without even considering anything sexual. Little did you know he felt much the same way.

____

When the date ended he texted Hizashi to let him know he was free. Hizashi, of course, called him immediately, and began drilling him about the date. “How’d it go Sho? Was it a rando with a thing for older guys? Did she want a sugar daddy?” Shouta rolled his eyes. “No, Zashi, she wasn’t looking for a sugar daddy. She was...actually really mature for a 21 year old. She knows what she wants. I admire that a little. And I won’t lie, she’s quite beautiful. Not the generic, model, beauty-pageant, barbie doll pretty. It’s a natural glow she has. It’s...quite mesmerizing...”

Hizashi exploded on the other side, laughing at the new infatuation his friend had for a blind date. “I hope she’s your type, Sho. I mean physically. I know how much you like them with a little meat on their bones.” Aizawa groaned at his comment. He knew he was just teasing, but that his blonde friend was 100% right. He knew he had a type, and he’d be lying to himself if he hadn’t looked at your full figure quite frequently. 

He’d taken in your dress, how it showed off your shoulders and back. As you climbed into your car and took off your heels, he trailed his eyes up your legs, getting a small glimpse at your thick thighs. When you sat up behind the wheel, he revelled in the small rolls showing through your dress, wanting nothing more than to squeeze them and kiss them and bite them...

He shook away the thoughts that were threatening to take over his mind. “Shut it Hizashi. Her body is none of my concern, and is most definitely none of yours. I enjoyed the date and that’s what matters.” The loud blonde gasped dramatically, “Oh my god she totally is! Damn you go get some Sho!” Aizawa just ended the call.

*

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The next date was planned once again by Aizawa, and it was only a week after the first. It was a simple coffee date at a small cafe. You talked casually about the things you enjoyed doing. You convinced him to let you take care of the next date, which you decided would be a relaxed ramen date. You’d gotten comfortable around each other, and after about six more dates, he invited you over to his place for dinner. Of course, you accepted.

He’d sent you the address and apartment number, and you stood outside his door in dark jeans, black flats, and a beige sweater with a white tank top underneath. You knocked on the door, and when it opened he greeted you with a peck on the cheek. It had become a normal greeting, since you’d gotten so close, though the gesture always made you a little shy. He told you to get comfortable as he finished up dinner, and you sat at the kitchen table and admired him as he worked in the kitchen. He wore fitted blue denim jeans, and a black cotton t-shirt, his hair pulled up in a bun. 

No matter how many times you looked at him, he was always just as shockingly handsome as the first time you saw him. His t-shirt left his toned arms exposed, and it was fitted to his torso, showing off his muscular frame. Your eyes traced the outline of his muscles from his shoulder, down his arm, drifting to his hips and up his back. You didn’t notice him glance back and smirk at you. “Like what you see kitty cat?” Heat rushed to your face at the realization that you’d been staring, and the fact that he’d noticed. And that name… “K-kitty?” you barely whispered, before quickly apologizing. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to stare.”

You didn’t think he heard the first part. You were wrong. “It’s alright. And yes, kitty. Don’t like the pet name?” Your face burned at the tone of his voice. “N-no, the name’s fine, you just...caught me off guard.” He chuckled. “I should do it more often. You’re cute when you’re flustered.” You didn’t think your face could get any hotter, but it did. You tilted your head down and away from him and bit your lip, letting your hair fall to hide your face. You’d never gotten this kind of attention before, and you had no idea how to handle it.

You were too busy trying to calm your breathing to hear him approach you. The proximity and demanding tone of his voice made you jump a little. “Look at me, kitten.” You swallowed and took a breath before turning your head to him, and he hooked a finger under your chin, tilting your head so you were forced to sit up taller. He moved even closer, your shoulder brushing against his abdomen, and you nearly had to look straight up to look in his eyes. 

Your eyes began to drift away from his, and he jerked your chin up higher, silently commanding you not to look away. You brought your eyes back to his and held his gaze, and after a few moments he smirked. The hand under your chin moved to stroke your cheek with his knuckles. “Good girl.”

He quickly dropped his hand and went back to the kitchen to finish preparing dinner. It took you a few seconds to let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. You panted a little, trying to calm yourself from what just happened, and clasped your shaking hands together. But they weren’t shaking from fear. In fact, you couldn’t quite tell why you were so shaky and out of breath. And the praise from him sent a shiver down your spine.

He managed to distract you while you ate, and you had completely recovered from whatever that was earlier. After dinner you moved into the living room and relaxed on the couch while you talked some more. Soon he’d leaned his head back and closed his eyes, still talking and listening, but clearly relaxed. Once again you found yourself distracted by his body, following the muscles in his neck down to his toned chest and abdomen. And again, he noticed. “I can feel your eyes on me, kitten.” His voice was low, a rumble of smooth baritone. You found yourself turning away to hide your face again, and the command in his voice controlled you with ease. 

“Don’t look away from me, kitten.” You turned back to him, and when your eyes met his, you looked away, and he let out a low growl and your eyes snapped back to him. He adjusted and sat up, your eyes still fixed on each other. He pat his leg, “Come here kitty.” You blinked at him, not quite prepared for such a demand. His eyes darkened a little and his voice dropped to a growl, “I won’t ask twice.” 

At that you got up and went to sit on one of his legs, but he pulled his knees together and shook his head. So you climbed over and straddled his legs on your knees. He grabbed your hips and pulled you so you were fully sitting on his lap, your core dangerously close to his growing bulge.

Your eyes were still locked on his as he leaned close to you, his hands rubbing circles into your hips.  He leaned past your face and whispered into your ear. “Can I touch you kitty?” You took a shaky breath and nodded. He laid a light spank on your ass and you jumped. “Use your words kitty cat.” “Y-yes, you can t-touch me.” He laid a kiss on your neck and whispered ‘good girl’ before moving his hands under your sweater and tank top. He ran his hands up and down your back, and he gripped the fatty flesh of your stomach and hips, kneading it in his palms gently as he worked his way up your body, leaving feather light kisses along your neck and jaw.

The intimacy had you quivering, and the way he nearly worshipped your body had your breaths coming out shaky and heavy. Shouta caught on quickly. “Is it safe for me to assume you haven’t done anything in a while?” he said in your ear. You started to nod, but quickly caught yourself, “Y-yes.” He stilled his movements and wrapped his arms around your waist, resting his chin on your shoulder. “Tell me what you did before this.” You took a breath and explained the situation as simply and quickly as possible.

His arms tensed, clearly upset that you’d been used like that. But he didn’t pry into that right now. “So you haven’t explored anything? Like any preferences you might have?” You shook your head quickly, “N-no...why?” He chuckled. “Well, kitty, you’re quite submissive. If you’d let me, I can help you explore this side of you.” You swallowed and nodded. “Y-yeah, I think I’d like that.” He hummed into your neck, “We can start tonight, but only if you’re comfortable and you want to.” You took a few moments to think about your answer. This man had been nothing but good to you. He treated you with more respect than all the boys you dated had combined. And you trusted him. “I...I’m comfortable starting tonight.”

“Alright kitty. Now, listen to me closely, because this is important, okay?” “Okay, I’m listening.” “Good. Since this is new to you, we need to establish a safeword. Is ‘roses’ alright?” You nod. “Okay. Now if anything ever gets too much for you, if you feel uncomfortable for any reason, if you need to stop for any reason, or if there’s a medical emergency, you need to use it. And that goes for me too. If I don’t like where things are going, I’ll use it. Once we use the safeword, everything will stop right there, no questions asked. Understand?”

“I understand.” “Okay. Can I trust you to use it if you feel the need to?” You nod, “Yes. I’ll use it if I need to.” He kisses your neck, “Good girl.” The praise makes you shudder, and you feel him smile into your neck. “Now, kitty, I want you to address me as either ‘Daddy’, ‘Sir’, or ‘Master’ when we’re like this, do you understand?” “Yes.” He spanks you a little harder. “Yes what?” You jump at the contact “Y-yes Sir.” Another kiss on your neck, “Good girl.” He leans back and taps your arms, “Up.” You lift your arms and he pulls off your sweater and tank top at the same time. 

His hands come back down on your shoulders, and he runs his hands down your chest and stomach, taking the time to remove your bra and knead your breasts. He wraps his arms around you and stands up, and you wrap your arms around his neck and your legs around his waist as he carries you to his bedroom. He puts you down on the bed on your back and takes a rope out of the bedside table. You let him take your hands and tie your wrists to the bar at the headboard. It’s not uncomfortably tight, but a few experimental tugs tell you it’s solid and you won’t be getting out of it unless he unties you.

He trails kisses down your body, unbuttoning your jeans and removing them as he goes. Once your jeans are off, he loops his fingers in the band of your panties and pulls them off. After that, he leans back and just rakes his eyes up and down your body, eating up every inch of your skin. “You’re such a pretty kitty.” His words have you shuddering and blushing. You’d never been called pretty before, and you knew why. You were a little bigger than other girls. You weren’t necessarily insecure about it. You didn’t care all that much about how people saw you with just your looks alone. But you knew Shouta was admiring your body after knowing who you are as a person, and it made you a little giddy.

His mouth and hands were all over you, squeezing and groping, sucking bruises onto your skin. His touches were sending waves of heat through your body, and pooling between your legs. You desperately wanted him to touch you there, and you whined and rolled your hips up into the air. “Such a needy kitty. Be patient. I’m not done here yet.” He rolled a nipple in between his index and thumb, pulling the other into his mouth and teasing it with his tongue. You mewled at the sensation, and he switched his mouth over to the other side.

Your legs were rubbing together, begging for friction, and he finally moved down to your dripping core. He took a finger and slipped it over your folds. He groaned as his finger collected your slick, “You’re so wet kitty. Are you this wet for me?” You nodded your head frantically, and he laid a light smack on your pussy. You let out a soft whimper, “Yes Sir, it’s for you,” you answered quickly. He hummed, “Good girl. I didn’t even need to remind you to use your words.” He kissed the inside of your thigh, and moved to lick a stripe up your folds. You gasped at the new feeling, never having anyone’s mouth down there before.

He slipped the pink muscle into you easily, groaning when he tasted you. The sound sent vibrations through your dripping cunt, making you squirm at the pleasure. He looped his arms around your legs, dipping his fingers into your core and using the slick to rub tight circles onto your clit. An unfamiliar sensation built in the pit of your stomach, your muscles tightening in your abdomen as it got stronger. You knit your eyebrows together, and in between heavy breaths you gasped out, “S-sir...it feels strange.” He raised his eyebrows at the statement, and increased his pace until that coil inside you snapped, which didn’t take very long.

Your back arched off the bed as you let out a loud, sharp moan, your legs shaking from the intensity of your first orgasm. Aizawa kept lapping at your pussy, letting you ride out your high, and once you were relaxed and panting on the bed, he lifted his head and wiped his chin. “Kitty, have you never cum before?” He asked, a small smirk tugging at his lips. You shake your head, “No S-sir...Is that what just happened?” He chuckled, but didn’t answer the question, “You’re going to have fun tonight kitty.” You didn’t have time to question what he meant, though, because he slipped a thick finger into your core, and you mewled as your walls clenched down on him.

The game he played went on for what felt like hours, and you lost count of how many times he’s made you cum. He’d fucked you and cum multiple times himself. You’d already squirted several times, and tears were streaming down your face from the overstimulation. It felt so good, but it was starting to melt your brain and the title of ‘Sir’ drifted to ‘Daddy’ as it went on. All the muscles in your body were burning from flexing so hard, and your wrists were feeling raw from how hard you’d been tugging at your restraints. It felt so, so good...but it was too much. He leaned down close to your face and kissed at the tears, “You’re doing so well babygirl. You got one more for me?” 

You giggled lightly at the praise, your mind fuzzy, unable to form coherent thoughts as he thrust his hips into you. He stilled his movements and caressed your jaw. “How are you feeling, kitten?” Your eyes looked up into his, struggling to stay open. You giggled a little as you answered. “It’s… I f-feel…” You knit your eyebrows together in concentration, searching your brain. “R-roses?”

Everything stopped, and he instantly reached up and tugged off your restraints, and pulled your exhausted body close to his chest. Your breathing got heavier, and your chest got tight, and fresh tears fell down your cheeks. He held you tight, kissing your tears and petting your hair as your cries died down. He held you like that until your breathing was normal again. You slowly opened your eyes, weakly calling out to him, “Daddy?” He kissed your forehead, “I’m right here kitten. Tell me what you need.” You nuzzled your head into his neck and mumbled, “Water. Can I have water?” He wrapped you in a soft blanket and stood up, carrying you with him. “Anything for my kitten.”

He set you on the counter and made a glass of iced water, holding it up to your lips. As you sipped, he rubbed your back and kissed your forehead and neck, and he didn’t stop or move until you had drained the cup. He left it in the sink and picked you up again, taking you to the bathroom and filling the tub with warm water. He turned off the tap, took off your blanket, and carried you into the tub. He washed the both of you, massaging your scalp, and you let out a sound like a pur, which he smiled at.

When he was done, he stood you up and wrapped you in a fluffy towel, dried himself with one, and carried you back to bed. You curled into him, and he wrapped his arms around you. “Are you okay (y/n)?” You nodded into his chest, “Yeah, I’m okay. It was just intense.” You could hear the smile in his voice as he spoke, “Thank you for using the safeword. You did so well for me kitten, trusting me like that.” You nuzzled into his chest some more, relishing in the heat his body gave. 

You loved the praise he gave you. It made you feel warm and fuzzy in your belly, and it felt so good. Soon you were drifting into a deep sleep, comfortable in Shouta’s arms. This was nice. You’d be happy to let him guide you, let him take care of you like this. One thought drifted through your head as you drifted.

‘Guys my age could never.’

[duchessfics]

Fright Night

(https://clqrkkent.tumblr.com/post/179164121180/billie-dean-howard-medium-to-the-stars-in)

(https://yourghostcat.tumblr.com/post/179898885939/what-are-you-talking-about-you-cant-work)

Billie x Fem!Reader x Wilhemina

Warning(s): I don’t think anything??? There’s a haunted house, but it’s not that much

Summary: For Halloween night, you and your girlfriends go to a special haunted house experience. And while you like some scary things, you are glad you have your girlfriends with you to go through it.

Word Count: 3988

A/n: This is the last fall/halloween piece! I honestly can’t believe I wrote and published something for six weeks now. I will definitely be slowing down a little bit since the end of the semester is coming up for me. But I had a great time doing this and I hope you enjoyed each piece as well. This one is a little longer, but it is the idea that made me want to do this in the first place so I hope you like it!

Sentence Prompts from @forever-rogue (Here’s the link to the original post)

12. “I paid $50.00 for this haunted house. I better die.”

19.  “Let’s split up.” “Let’s not.”

30.  “No?? Of course I’m not scared…who gets scared of…floating objects or…um weird sounds? Not me, that’s for sure.”

46. “OH MY GOD SHUT UP THEY’RE GOING TO KILL US!”

52. “Mmm, I appreciated that little murmuring you did in my ear.” “….That wasn’t me.”

67. “Has that scarecrow always been out there?”

The parking lot is packed with both vehicles and people as Wilhemina slowly eases her way into a parking spot. Once she jams the shift into park, she groans, “Why are we doing this again?” Her complaint is followed by a group of teens yelling and laughing. 

You giggle and say, “It’s Halloween! We’ve got to celebrate somehow. And most of these people are going to the lower tier haunted houses, we’re going to the most exclusive one.” Her slender hand twists the keys, killing the engine as she grumbles, “I paid $50 dollars for this haunted house. I better die.” Then your other girlfriend chuckles from the passenger seat and soothes, “Oh Mina, darling. We’ll be back in the car before you know it. And you can count on us to protect you from all of the spooky monsters.” To end her sentence she presses a kiss to the red head’s rosy cheek making you giggle from the back. 

Wilhemina merely scoffs and retorts, “That’s never going to happen. If anything, you’ll both come to me for protection.” Then she steps out of the car, shutting the door with a purpose. You and Billie follow, and the blonde comes around, biting her bottom lip before she purrs, “Would that be that bad, sweetheart?” The only answer is an eye-roll and her grumbling, “Let’s just get this over with.” As you walk to the VIP entrance, you skip ahead of them, looking back with a mischievous smirk on your lips.

You make it up to the ticket booth first and explain that you’ve already purchased your tickets and tell him the name it should be under. By the time he confirms your purchase, you feel both of your girlfriends come up behind you. You look to them and give a small smile, grateful they are doing this for you. Then he says, “Before you head out, we need you to put any valuables and belongings in one of our lockers.” 

Immediately Wilhemina’s eyebrows nearly meet her hairline as she says, “Excuse me?” Oh boy. The man stiffens up and you try to ease the tension as you feel her stiffening and soften her growling tone by saying, “I think what she means is to ask about if something should happen while we are out there.” Adding an apologetic smile. 

The man relaxes a little and replies, “There are staff members throughout who have walkie talkies if something should happen. But we’ve never had anything happen.” From behind, you hear the red head humph, but the three of you drop off your phones and wallets in the locker. Then it automatically locks, and you walk out to a minibus where three other people sit. Billie sits beside you, hugging you close and placing a kiss on the top of your head as the driver begins the journey.

Your nerves collect as butterflies in your stomach and flutter faster as the driver takes you further into the woods. But everyone keeps pretty quiet, preparing for the challenge ahead. Finally, the bus slows to a stop just outside of a creepy abandoned house. 

They turn back to face you and say, “Each group will get a flashlight and a map to find your way out of the ghost town. However, three pieces of the map are hidden throughout the town so you will have to find all of those first. And just as a reminder the scare actors are allowed to follow or chase you around, but they are not allowed to touch you so please do not touch them.” Each person exits the vehicle and you take the flashlight while Wilhemina takes the map—or at least the small chunk of map you currently have. 

Before the driver gets back on the bus, they ask, “Any questions?” You all look to each other, but no one says anything, so they give you a smile and say, “Well good luck! You’ll need it.” Umm...what? Your brows furrow at his comment and you begin to wonder what actually lies ahead. Surely it’s not that intense you tell yourself. They can’t touch you, they were probably just being dramatic. The bus drives off leaving you in the dark with only the sound of crickets and light breeze blowing through the trees.

The other three people practically run in laughing and you hear a scream almost immediately making you stiffen up. Maybe this was a bad idea. Both of your girlfriends look to you and Billie asks, “You ok?” You nod and reply with a braveface, “Yeah.” But you bite your lip and say in a quieter tone, “But could I hold your hand please?” The medium gives you a reassuring smile and murmurs, “Of course, babygirl.” 

She takes the flashlight in one hand before holding out her other for you to take. You relax feeling her next to you and are glad to have her warmth radiating around you. Then Wilhemina follows behind as you and Billie begin to walk into the house and you take a deep breath, trying to keep your cool.

The first room you walk into is strung with spider webs and fishing lines hanging from the ceiling made to feel like you’re walking through the spider webs. Your body shivers at the feeling of them and just as you get through, someone jumps out making you jump and giggle into Billie’s arm with her chuckling as well. Well that wasn’t so bad.

The next room you enter is much gorier and there is a man who carries a chainsaw pacing around. As he revs it up and comes towards you, you giggle and snuggle into Billie. You’ve got this. This is going to be a piece of cake. The house continues, showcasing clowns, zombies, and what looks to be vampires. Finally, you walk out to the back porch of the house and see it overlooks a wild west-style ghost town.

There are a couple people who walk down the main dirt road, looking to their map for guidance, but the whole setting is eerily quiet, the main sound being the wind blowing through the town with an occasional scream. Wilhemina struts forward past you both and looks from the map to the street as she says, “Let’s split up.” 

Oh god. Has she seen any scary movie? You stiffen up at that idea and squeak, “Let’s not.” The red head turns back to face you and takes slow deliberate steps towards you as she murmurs, “If I recall correctly, this was your idea. Now don’t tell me you’re actually scared now, darling.” By now she stands close enough to feel her breath fan over your face, her dark lips curved into a smirk. 

You let out a sad attempt of a laugh and reply in a high-pitched tone, “No?? Of course I’m not scared… who gets scared of…floating objects or…umm weird sounds? Not me, that’s for sure.” And her eyes narrow in response. Even you aren’t impressed with your explanation. 

But before she can say anything, Billie says, “Mina let’s just stick together.” Then her fingers crawl up Wilhemina’s arm as she purrs, “Strength in numbers, right honey?” The woman in purple removes Billie’s hand from her arm before saying, “Well she can take the lead since she doesn’t seem to be scared.” And she hands over the map with an evil glint in her dark brown eyes. So it’s going to be like that? Challenge accepted. 

You clear your throat and try to confidently say, “Well it looks like the first place to go is the saloon which looks to be,” you pause, looking between the map and the terrain before pointing and continuing, “I think it’s the third building ahead.” Once you say that, you look to them to start walking, but Wilhemina gives you the flashlight and says, “Go ahead. We’ll follow our little fearless leader.” Immediately Billie says her name, but you jut out your chin and answer, “Fine.” And there is a little thrill that passes through you as you see the shocked expression within her darkened eyes. Then you begin to take confident strides towards your first destination.

However, as you step onto the creaky boardwalk in front of the saloon, you pause, feeling your confidence quickly slipping away. But you take a deep breath and slowly push the swinging doors open with them squeaking the whole time. So much for subtlety. 

Before you walk in, you turn on the flashlight and take small timid steps trying to get the lay of the land. Your girlfriends follow you in and you shine the light over to your left. But you let out a cry as a bloodied cowboy jumps out at you. Your hand covers your hammering heart and he bursts out the door with his laughter ringing out in the silence. That’s when you see both women stifling their laughter and you smile saying, “So much for the fearless leader thing.” 

Then you walk up to them and say, “You can take the lead. Actually please do.” Billie takes the flashlight once more in one hand and holds Wilhemina’s hand in the other, tugging her along before she can say no. Then the medium looks back to you and gives you a wink before saying, “I’ve got you babe.”

As you walk further into the saloon, someone screams outside making you gasp and look to the door, anticipating the worst. But your attention gets drawn by someone intertwining her fingers with yours. You look back expecting to see Billie, but it’s Wilhemina. She gives you a ghost of a smile and murmurs, “Keep coming, darling.” How can she make you feel like melted butter so fast? 

You silently thank her for taking your hand and let her lead you over to Billie who stands behind the bar. She looks around, using the flashlight, but pauses, looking to one of the shelves as she says, “I think I found it.” Then she bends over to pick up the paper held under a bottle. As she does, Wilhemina lets out a hum of approval, making the blonde ask, “Enjoying the view, sweetheart?” Both you and Wilhemina chuckle and she replies, “Of course.” 

Billie straightens up, holding the piece and murmurs, “As much as I would like to show you both more, the room is a little too dusty and would ruin my discarded clothes.” Then she saunters over and gives you the map piece. You position it to fit with the other piece as her and Wilhemina debate if she would actually have sex in a public place. If you had to bet, you would guess she’s probably already done it. And from the smug look on her face you can tell you’re right.

Once you’ve got it placed, you interrupt their conversation and say, “I think the next place to go is the jailhouse.” They both come closer to look over your shoulder and you find yourself leaning into their warmth. Wilhemina comments, “It looks like it’s four or five buildings down.” Then Billie smirks and says, “I’ll take the lead.” She struts ahead of you both, her heels making a light tap on the worn floorboards. 

You look to the woman in purple who stands next to you and silently ask to take her hand, looking to her through your lashes. She lets out a dramatic sigh and says, “Yes you can take my hand.” You grin, quickly interlocking your fingers with hers before nuzzling into her arm a little and murmuring, “Thank you, Mina.” She begins to walk, guiding you both and softly replies, “You’re welcome.” and you both catch up to Billie.

Luckily no one jumps out at you when you enter the creaky, dimly lit jailhouse. So, you release Wilhemina’s hand, feeling emboldened to look around on your own. This isn’t that complicated and the scares are minimal...somewhat. 

All three of you part from each other and look for the next piece but come up empty handed. So, you walk over and enter the cell Billie is currently in, thinking two sets of eyes may be better than one. Plus you enjoy being close to her as much as you can. 

As you step closer to her, she turns and says, “Mmm, I appreciated that little murmuring you did in my ear.” What? You freeze up, eyes going wide as saucers as you whisper, “…That wasn’t me.” Then a bloodied prisoner emerges from the darkness with an evil grin. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. Immediately you stumble back to get away but end up pinned against the cool bars of the cell and all you can focus on is him coming closer to you.

However, as he comes closer you see he holds a piece of paper in his hand and realize it’s the map piece. He holds it out with bloody fingers and you cautiously go to take it, but he pulls it back with a teasing growl making you whimper. Well so much for this being a piece of cake. 

Luckily he holds it out again and lets you take the paper this time. Then he holds a finger to his lips as he backs into the darkened corner once more. Honestly fuck that guy. You just lost six months of your life to him. You inch your way out of the cell, keeping your eyes on the corner until you are outside the cell. Only then do you turn away and rush over to your girlfriends.

The three of you position the new part of your map and see it leads to your last destination: the bank. You can do this. How can it get worse? As you make your way to the exit you let out a small sigh of relief and say, “Only one more piece to go.” However, all three of you stop before you get to the door, seeing something out in the middle of the road.

 Billie is the first one to speak, saying, “Has that scarecrow always been out there?” This was no friendly Wizard of Oz scarecrow. It looks gnarly and terrifying with a bunched-up face and shadowed features. While it’s an obscure fear, you would take killer clowns or dolls over scarecrows any day. 

Wilhemina goes to walk out, but you grip her arm and whisper, “Can we wait a minute, please? It may leave.” Then it’s as if your prayers are answered and they slowly walk away, the footsteps heavy enough to be heard by you. They walk towards another group that’s outside and this is your perfect opportunity.

 Billie offers her hand and you take it, only then realizing you’re trembling. She squeezes your hand and soothes, “I’ve got you, babydoll.” Then the three of you step out, moving as quickly and quietly as you can to the bank.

As you walk, something shifts in the shadows making you curl into Billie, hiding your face. You can’t take much more. The medium merely chuckles and teases, “If I knew this would make you so cuddly, I would’ve done this much sooner.” You giggle as her thumb comes up to soothingly stroke your cheek, drawing you out of your hiding place. Has this really been that bad? Yes you have been scared shitless twice, but cuddling with Billie is a positive thing. And holding Wilhemina’s hand in public? A rare opportunity. 

Finally, you get to the bank and Wilhemina enters first. This is the darkest building you have been in, making you nervous for what other people may be in here. Meanwhile, the woman in purple bangs the flashlight against her hand a couple times, but the light is gone. She lets out a huff and mutters, “This flashlight is a piece of shit.” Then she sets it aside and pulls her phone out of her pocket, unlocking it before turning the flash on.

Both you and Billie look to her shocked and you stammer, “B-but we were supposed to leave those things behind.” Wilhemina scoffs, shining the light on you two as she turns back to face you and says, “Rule #1, never trust a stranger to keep your personal belongings. And don’t worry I have the car keys with me too.” 

Billie chuckles and shakes her head before saying, “You little minx. I should’ve known you would do that.” And you aren’t surprised either. Honestly a part of you agrees with her rule. 

You let go of Billie’s hand to look around, but try to stay close to them, getting exhausted from being so on edge. However, as you step further in, you hear a menacing growl and piercing scream almost directly outside of the bank. Oh, please no. Your head whips to face the entrance to the bank and you whimper, “Umm guys?” But you truly begin to panic when you turn back to see the vault door shutting after both of your girlfriends step in.

You run up to the door and try to open it, but it won’t budge. No, no, no. Shit what should you do? You whimper their names before saying, “It’s locked. I-I can’t get it open.” From the outside of the door, you hear Wilhemina growl, “Oh for fucks sake.” Then Billie says, “Angel, stay calm. We’re ok and you’re ok. Try to look for a combination to unlock the door. It’s probably at one of the tellers’ desks. You can do it, babygirl.” 

You let out a whimper, but reply, “O-ok.” Then you walk away from the door to look through the drawers of the first desk. Unfortunately without a light it’s difficult to see, but there is no sign of a combination. It’s fine, everything is fine. You have no reason to panic. Or at least you try to convince yourself of that. As you go to the second desk however, your blood runs cold as you see the shadow of the scarecrow coming towards the bank. 

Well when it rains it pours. You crouch down under the desk to hide in the foot space. Meanwhile you hear Wilhemina’s muffled voice say, “This is why I keep my phone on me, dear.” Then Billie’s muffled voice says something about taking joy in living in the moment. From their tones you can tell you need to find this combination soon before this ends with an argument and angry sex.

Panic rises within you as you hear the sound of heavy footsteps at the entrance of the bank getting louder and louder as they get closer. Then you nearly cry out when you see the scarecrow peek its twisted smiling face into the aisle of the desks. 

Don’t speak, don’t breathe, don’t even think. 

You keep perfectly still, holding your breath and thank your lucky stars when they walk away. If you lost six months before, you just lost a whole year off of your life. While the footsteps fade, they don’t leave the bank, so you slowly crawl over to the next desk and slowly look for any sign of a combination while trying to keep completely quiet. But there’s nothing so you crawl over to the next desk, holding your breath as listen to the thumping footsteps. You try to keep the cursing in your head quiet as you can, terrified of running into this...thing.

You look through everything and begin to lose hope but find a slip of paper with three numbers on it and you could cry tears of joy. But you keep cautious and crawl back over to the vault entrance where you still hear your girlfriends debating about living in the moment or planning ahead. 

You glance back to see the scarecrow is still here, but you are partially hidden from their view and your desire for your girlfriends outweighs your fear of them. What the hell, you’ve had a good life. So, you begin to twist the dial of the combination lock but hear movement behind you. No please, god. Please not now. You rush through the rest of the combination and the door opens.

As they walk out, Wilhemina says, “All I’m saying is one should be prepared for the worst so they can have the best experience.” To which Billie replies, “But you should also live in the moment or you’ll worry your whole life away.” But you cut them both off, whisper yelling, “OH MY GOD SHUT UP THEY’RE GOING TO KILL US!” That’s when they look down and see you curled up on the floor.

The medium looks around and says, “Darling…there’s no one here.” What? No. Well it’s a good thing, but now you look insane. You shoot up to stand and say as you look around, “But the scarecrow…I heard footsteps.” But you shake your head and look back to them, saying, “Never mind. Just…please tell me you have the map piece.” 

Wilhemina sports a proud smirk as she replies, “We found it and already placed it on the map, so we know where to go.” Oh thank god and the stars and everything else. You let out a sigh of relief and say, “Good. Let’s get the hell out of here.”

You step out of your bathroom into the master bedroom, sleepiness making your eyelids heavy as you walk over to your king-sized shared bed. But you nearly have a heart attack and when Billie jumps out and scares you with a devilish grin. 

You let out a squeak and run over to climb up on the bed, snuggling under the covers and curling into Wilhemina who sits and reads a book. Her warmth makes you feel safe and you keep cuddled into her, practically crawling onto her lap. Then she lets out a sigh and scolds, “Billie did you really have to do that?” The blonde smirks as she crawls up on the other side of the bed and leans against the cushioned headboard before she wraps her arms around you and hugs your body close to her chest.

The vibration of her voice soothes your stiff body as she soothes, “Awe, angel I would protect you from any monster. You know that, right?” and as you look up to her sweet face, you can’t be that upset. So, you nod and reply, “I think so.” Then she pecks your nose and murmurs, “I promise I will.” And you smile as she rubs her nose against yours. That is one of the best feelings in the world. 

You feel Wilhemina shift behind you and turn back to see her reaching for the lamp making you cry out, “Wait!” The images of tonight flash through your mind as she threatens to make the room as dark as that bank. 

The woman in a dark plum negligee pauses her movements and watches you with a questioning stare. You sit up to face her and ask, “D-don’t you want to read some more…maybe?” She raises her eyebrow and replies, “You don’t want the light off, do you?” Well so much for staying subtle. Your cheeks warm in embarrassment and you look down as you shamefully nod.

But she goes back to sitting and says, “I’ll just finish this chapter.” When you both know she would never leave a chapter unfinished. But you thank her, giving her a kiss on the cheek before returning to Billie’s warm embrace. 

Being in between these two feels like heaven on earth and you practically purr. She rubs your back and says, “So maybe next year we can just hand out candy to trick or treaters?” You nod and reply in a drowsy voice, “Sure.” You would agree to anything with the sweet voice she uses. And as she massages your scalp, your body twitches from falling asleep too fast, but just as you begin to drift off, Billie murmurs, “Happy Halloween, babygirl. Sweet dreams.”

Tagged: @marilynroselleprentiss​ @saviorinsilk​ @chokemepaulson​ @versonstar​ @lush-les-lady​ @cordwliagoode​ @psychobitchtess​  @tasyahilker​

Let me know if you would like to be tagged in future works!

[unapologeticallybella]

Is this thing on?

   Obviously, I am no Mindy Kaling; I am not Lena Dunham (as problematic as she may be, the girl can write.) I realize that I have no actual idea what I’m doing when it comes to composing anything worth publishing. However, this is a blog, so that alleviates that stress for both of us. I think everyone goes through phases where we let our dramatic tendencies get the best of us and we become convinced that we’re poets. Or maybe that’s just me and I have a Google doc filled with poems that will probably never see the light of day. Writing poetry is like one of those things that you just don’t really mention out loud to other people until you are absolutely sure you’re good at it. Otherwise, it’s just embarrassing and as much as I don’t think anyone would blatantly roll their eyes to my face, it’s an eye-roller for sure. With that being said, I have never in my life ever shared anything I’ve written with anyone except my friend Molly, who has never shared her writing either. You know they say there is a direct correlation between how emotionally unstable you are and the amount you connected with your high school English teachers. It’s a real thing, Molly and I are prime examples of that theory being 100%, not bullshit.  

   Lucky for you, I’m not writing poetry here because that would just be sad for all of us to watch. I am here to just write what happens to me; unfortunate events, romantic encounters, mild spiritual awakenings, breakdowns, breakthroughs, all the shit that happens in between. My whole life I’ve had a lot to say which I guess is pretty annoying for everyone around me. Believe it or not, it’s really annoying for me too, it’s like my brain is just writing shit all day in my head and I’ve always just been too lazy to express it. So for the first time in my life, I’m just going to say it all with no filter, probably cringey sentences that don’t make sense and definitely some poor punctuation. I am just gonna write how I talk; I think it’s so cool when you can read something in someones’ voice so that what I’m gonna shoot for here. 

   I’ve always jokingly said that my life is like a sitcom. Only now it’s like the writers of that sitcom are just trying to make the protagonist (AKA: me) more likeable by absolutely flipping everything upside down. Plot twist isn’t even the word to describe the shit they’ve come up with for this sitcom. We all wanna be the underdog because everyone fucking likes them, who’s the asshole who doesn’t root for the underdog? Sadly, to become the underdog you have to actually get to the point where people genuinely look at you like “Damn, I hope everything works out for them.” Well, I’m pretty sure passed that point a few months ago and now it’s more like “How are you doing okay?” In case you’re not picking up what I’m putting down; I was broken up with pretty poorly, to word that gently. I wouldn’t say I’m going through a breakup because really there’s nothing to go through after a certain point of time. When a breakup happens to you, there’s no going through it so all you can do is handle it or don’t. I chose to handle it in probably the strangest way possible which I’ll get into eventually. When it comes to breakups, there is nothing you can control which has been a very humbling experience for my micromanaging ass. 

   Although this is a part of my life that I now want to share with other people, I don’t want this to just be a collection of morbid details about my failed relationships. I want to talk about what it’s like to date again after a shit show like this, starting my first “big girl” job, my tumultuous relationship with my body, and my weird family dynamic. Basically, I’m finally doing the work on myself after years of just running. Let me tell you when the universe (or God whatever you believe in; the wind, the ocean, I don’t know.) wants you to deal with your shit and work out your life’s karma, it will tear everything down and force you to do it. You can run from people, situations or whatever your whole life, but you quite literally can’t run from yourself. After a certain point, the Universe will shift things around (or in my case; burn it all to the fucking ground) to force you to face yourself. By the way, I’m dramatic if you can’t tell which explains why I have had so many poetry phases.

   For the past two-and-a-half years that I was in this relationship, I slowly stopped having things to write about so I just didn’t. Not because it was this sad relationship where I was emotionally trapped, it’s just that everything I normally would have written I just spoke out loud to another person. In the midst of all this post-breakup healing, I got a tarot reading that changed the way I wanted to go about all this. When I say she is a gifted medium, I mean damn she read me to filth but in the most gentle way possible. Anyway, she pulled three cards for me. One card represented where I was in that current moment (hint for you: scared for my life and stuck). Then there was the card that represented where I was supposed to be in life, which was to share my voice. Hopefully, help other people along the way by sharing my experiences and what I’ve learned; it’s kind of cheesy to say out loud but, hey. And then there was the third card which represents how I get there; healing. I have to heal all of it; forgiving myself for allowing things I shouldn’t have, forgiving wrongdoings of others, letting it all go because it’s the only way. When I left the reading, I knew in my heart; I had to write again. 

   “You split me open in the most honest way there is to split a soul open and forced me to write at a time I was sure I could not write again. Thank you.” I read that for the first time three years ago around the time my last relationship began. I connected with it so much and I felt so deeply that it was about him but I never knew why. He hadn’t hurt me at that point so my soul was very much not split open by him. I had stopped writing so why? Why did I feel like this captured the way I viewed him so perfectly? Looking back now, maybe I always knew I’d be here; split open and forced to write again when I wasn’t sure I could. In a way it’s good because the Universe wants me to be here right now and who am I to argue with that? So this is me finding my voice again. Thank you. 

[kierongillen]

Writer Notes: The Wicked + The Divine 33

Spoilers, obv.

I suspect this one may ramble. Or it may not. The odd thing is always when things which have been internally discussed forever end up not needing to be discussed in public. For Journey Into Mystery and Young Avengers, I always had the idea of the essay I'd end them with... but when I got there, I shrugged and did a couple of paragraphs which covered the basics.

(There was a grace note in both, in terms of highlighting a motif – Write Your Own Happy Ending and Be A Superhero. Save The World – but that's really minor detail compared to what I presumed I'd be writing.)

Well... I know it's going to be quite long, as I'm going to include the miniature essay on plot twists I lobbed up to respond to a question, just so I can include some WicDiv specific stuff.

So, WicDiv 33. The “Everything you knew is wrong” issue.

Jamie's Cover

Jamie coloured this himself.

There was a lot of discussion over this, in terms of how to resolve the equation that we'd set up. Where to go after the maximalist nature of Dio's 32? I won't mention the other options, as at least some of them may end up being used down the line. One suggestion I quite liked was doing the equivalent of the ABC Look Of Love album...

...which is this scene of posed romance on the cover, and when you flip the album, you see all the lighting and crew. In some ways, that's what this issue does.

But black makes sense on many levels as well. I suspect the idea of the specific bleakness will confound the expectations a little, but the statement of it is very there. We did say this was our Black Parade too.

Worth noting – first cover without a quote on the back. If we were sure the readers wouldn't have looked at the back cover before reading the book, we may have put Lucifer's “Am I the only one who didn't see that coming?” on there. But we couldn't be sure of that, so we didn't.

Russell's Cover

What Russell and Matt are doing over on Thor is state of the art superheroics. I've loved seeing what Russell's done across his time with Jason, and the idea of him doing a cover was just exciting. It's meant to be the full range of the medium, after all. I was surprised Russell went quite as maximalist as he did, but also pleased. I love this kind of operatic movie poster cover, and it screams Imperial Phase, including all the cast of the main arc. Dio's the hardest one to spot – that would be the black eyes over it.

IFC At this stage in the arc, working out what on earth to put in the synopsis is tricky. You have to throw your hands up to some degree.

The tweaks to the bios are the other thing – clearly we've got to set up the information required to comprehend the issue for those who may have forgotten it, without just saying what the thing is. For the very close readers, even the fact it's changed will be a tell. It was another reason we didn't do a preview for this issue, and even if we did, we wouldn't have released that page. Velocity in reading is key here.

With Woden we restate “She had some mysterious hold over him” rather than specifically talking about the Blakes. With Minerva we remind people that she was tortured on Ananke's machine, and then distract with a :(  emoticon.

Page 1

I believe the script for this page and the next is in the trade as “Making Of” material, which is fun. Chrissy tends to choose pages in terms of what's interesting, especially if we have something else to show. In this case, it's my drawing for the design of Woden's Secret Base.

My basic description for this was the Bat Cave, which is a man cave, if you squint. Having an enormous penny in it could have been a giggle. We had to have a few passes to get the lighting right on this – debating the colours on the bars of the cage was also tricky.

In terms of pulling out a detail, the suit of armour missing a head on the right would be a useful one. Balancing the “making sure it's visible” while not leaning too much into “LOOK AT THE HEADLESS SUIT” is Jamie's storytelling problem here.

The main dialogue problem was balancing the level of Cass' response here with her noise at the end of the last issue. Swearing to some degree is fine, but it has to be a specific kind of fffuuuucccckkk last issue. It couldn't be a swear that promised too much.

Page 2

And it's Pink Woden! But he's blue. Lighting, everyone.

Well... There was some debate on the colouring of Pink Woden, in various modes, and various reasons, not least the slight differences in colouring in his previous appearances.

(Issue 14 and issue 21-22, respectively.)

Have I said Pink Woden is my favourite fan name? We use it all the time internally, not least because Mimir is oddly hard to remember. Also, if we get used to saying “Mimir” we may end up saying accidentally in public.

Page 3

I had someone reach out to me wondering whether Cassandra choosing to gender someone by their voice and physical appearance was off. It's something I was thinking of at the time when writing it, and it's not exactly a line I'm happy with. But on balance, I felt it more likely that Cass would say that than Persephone would say anything.

Cass is imperfect in her language in lots of ways. I decided she's more likely to apologise about it down the line and kick herself, which I may end up working in, depending.

(You could also ask “why have anything there?” and that's only answerable in terms of the flow of information and ideas and conversation across the whole scene. Difficult Difficult Lemon Difficult.)

Lovely expression by Persephone in the background of the first panel – in fact, her conflicted expressions throughout. I especially love the reflection of the arriving Woden in the reflection of Mimir's mask in panel 6.

Page 4-5

The challenge here was always choosing where to put the page turns in this issue. What are the big beats. In my original draft the LITTLE WODEN BOY interstitial was actually on page 6, which would change the rhythm in lots of ways – not least in putting the Falling God sequence on a page turn. In the end, we gravitated to this. I'm much happier with it.

(Little Woden Boy works as a creepier punchline at the end as well.)

Anyway, hello! It's David Blake.

I... I maybe should save writing for the reveals all together. In fact, fuck it. Let's drop the ask essay here and we can then talk about the stuff I don't include in it. I'm asked whether you change something when someone guesses something, or how that feels?

****

Oh, god, no. Never change anything if someone’s guessed something. Nothing good lies in that direction.

Why?

Okay, let’s talk – with no specifics – Game of Thrones. If you go into the depths of fandom, Game of Thrones is – to some degree, in some areas – a solved problem. There’s a good selection of fan theories (some of which have come to fruition) which have so much meat on them it was clear they had to happen, or the book would break its structure and become unsatisfying.

These twists are available to anyone who wishes to google for them.

The vast majority of people don’t. So… why change the direction of the story? What’s the point of fucking over the enjoyment of the vast majority of people (i.e. making your story make less sense, as you’re abandoning the already existing thread) for playing gotcha on a tiny fraction of your audience?

(As a quick aside – compare and contrast theorising in a fanbase with actual events in the text that’s being adapted. Clearly, anyone who is watching GoT could have googled the synopsis of the book. Equally, anyone who’s read the books knows the big beats. Does the adaptation change the big beats? If surprise to everyone in your audience is all that mattered, you would. We don’t.)

It’s also worth noting that, while obviously some complain on the nature of the adaptation, most fans of a book generally complain that they wish it was more like the book. In other words, things that surprised them (i.e. differed from their knowledge of the text) were less satisfying. They wanted to see the big dramatic beats, even if they’re stripped of their surprise.

Surprise only matters the first time you read something. For me, any worthwhile piece of literature exists to be reread, and will open up more upon rereading. In other words, knowing the twist should add to the rereading of the book. If it doesn’t, and renders the story less than it was, it’s probably a bad twist – which is one reason why I don’t tend to call them “Plot twists” to myself. I call them reveals. The plot doesn’t contort. It’s merely revealing something in the nature of the world the reader was unaware of.

(As an aside, this means that someone who has guessed successful the direction of the plot is actually effectively skipping to their second read of the book earlier.)

There’s the other side of this as well – not just whether a plot beat has been guessed, but the almost inevitability of a plot beat being guessed. GoT fans have had twenty years to puzzle this out. In that period, a mass communication device emerged which allowed fans to talk to one another and share ideas. This machine would have torn apart any plot.

No one individual needs to guess anything. People can make one step in a chain, and then that step is exposed to thousands of minds. If even one of them can make the intuitive leap to the next step, then it continues. No one person needs to be clever enough to see the whole thing. The internet hivemind is Miss Marple, seeing through the most contorted of machinations.

(In passing, this is one reason why Alternate Reality Games are hard to do, because the mass hive mind will figure almost anything out, almost instantly. Equally in passing, the failure to understand this is another reason why Ready Player One is bad, but that’s irrelevant.)

In other words, the reason why twists are guessable is the same reason they are satisfying. A twist that isn’t foreshadowed sufficiently to give the possibility of being guessed by someone is not a satisfying twist, as it – by definition – came out of nowhere.

To make this specific to my own work. In the case of the biggest and most intricate of my current books, WicDiv, we sell about 18k in monthlies and sell 18k in trades (in the first month of release). That’s our hardcore devoted readership. How many people of them actually read the essays in the WicDiv tags? I’d say 500 at the absolute maximum, and likely a lot less. So for a maximum of 1.3% of our readership, we’d derail a still effective twist for everyone else? No, that would be a bad call.

Especially – and this is key – the people who have chosen to engage with a fandom are aware that they may figure something out. They are trying to figure something out. Why take that pleasure away from them?

In a real way, I think, in long-form narrative, pure plot twists which no one in the world guesses are dead in the Internet age, at least when dealing with any even vaguely popular work of art. You can do them in short-form narratives (like a single novel, a single movie and perhaps a streaming TV show they drop in one go) but for anything where you give a fanbase the chance to think, it’s just not going to happen. A creator should be glad their work is popular enough to have enough fans to figure it out.

Yes, I may have overthought this.

But that’s only half the question.

How do I actually feel when someone guesses something that’s going to happen? Well, this is long enough already. Let’s put the personal stuff beneath a cut…

*

I’d say you sigh “Oh, poop”and shrug.

And then you get over your ass, because you know all the above is true. Writers are often megalomaniacs who think they can control everyone’s response to their work. We don’t. We can’t control everything. We can barely control anything. We really have to let go. I’ve said WicDiv is a device to help me improve as a person, yes? It would include in this area. I have to learn to let it go, and internalise all of the above. If I can make most of my readership have the vague emotional response I’m looking for, I’m winning.

I’ve mostly succeeded at this. I’m certainly better than I was two years ago.

(I’ll probably write more about spoilers and twists and stuff down the line. I’d note that setting up twists that *are* easily guessable by the hardcore is part of the methodology. Having a nice big twist foreshadowed heavily is a good way to hide another twist behind it. “Hey – pay attention to this less subtle sleight of hand while I perform the actual sleight of hand over here.” In which case, there’s less of an Oh Poop response and more of a cackling evil mastermind response.)

The sigh can occasionally be accompanied with a “Hmm. I wouldn’t have posted that” or – more likely – “I wouldn’t have posted that THERE.”

To stress, what follows isn’t about my work per se, but culture generally, and is very much personal. This is stuff which good friends disagree with me on.

As a fan, I never tweet my own fan theories. I only tweet joke ones. Even my crack theories I don’t tweet, as they’re normally so bizarre that if they actually DO happen, I wouldn’t want to take the thrill away from people. Even in person in conversation I make sure we’re going into a deep fan hole before sharing them, aware that they may be true.

In a real way, the more likely I think something is true, the less likely I’ll say it. As this is my job, I tend to see basic structural ways stories are heading way in advance of most people. I’m a composer. I know how music works. You have a vague sense of what way they’ll go.

(One day I’ll write down my crack theory for the end of the previous Game of Thrones season. Maybe after next season, as it’s not impossible that they may end up doing it, though it’s increasingly unlikely.)

If I had a really good theory I’ve gathered evidence for? You can guarantee I’d put it beneath a cut. That’s the stuff which bemuses me. It’s a cousin of posting major spoilers about any piece of culture the day it comes out. The worst is one regular twitter trope – I’m always bemused when people do a “Calling it! XYZ will happen” tweet. Which strikes me a little like standing up in the cinema 20 minutes into a film and shouting out that you’ve guessed the ending. This ties back to the stuff I wrote above about twists being less effective in the modern age, except in a place where you can control the context and conversation. People may message in movies, but they rarely message everyone in the room.

(In passing, as it’s vaguely on topic – you may remember the research from a few years ago saying people who know a twist enjoy the story more than people who don’t know a twist. Even if this is true – and a single study should always get an eyebrow raise – it strikes me as a confusion over what “enjoy” means. All pleasure isn’t equivalent, and you can only have surprise on your first time through a work of art. That’s novelty. You can have that and then gain the “not surprise” experience second time through. If you spoil a work, it means the “novelty” experience is something you will never have. You may enjoy something more if you know the twist but you can always rewatch it to get that pleasure. If you’re spoiled, the individual specific pleasure of that first watch has been stolen.)

But that’s a conversation of social mores. Really, it doesn’t change anything in terms of how we act… and sometimes, I even grin when someone gets a twist in advance. The machine is working as intended. It’s actually kind of worrying if no one is thinking something is up in an area you’ve set up to be iffy. And… the alternative is worse – hell, there’s buried twists and details in Young Avengers that no one’s managed to figure out yet.

Twist ending: oh, no, I was a ghost all along.

****

I'm pretty sure the asker was asking about the Woden/Blake/Jon twist, and I'm primarily talking in terms of balancing the various needs of the group.

The problem with this twist was less making sure that people didn't get it, but making sure that everyone understood its import. If, hypothetically, I didn't want (barely) anyone to get it, we wouldn't have mentioned Jon after we introduced him in issue 6. Problem being, everyone needs to know Jon is a person who is Blake's kid when they hit this beat. My solution was to just reintroduce Jon hard, and resolve it, knowing that most people would just accept that. Then everyone knows who Jon is, so the father/son switch makes sense.

(In other words, far better some people suspect Woden is Blake rather than everyone going “Jon who?” Especially because the real horror of the Woden/Blake reveal is in its details.)

There's the other aspect to it as well – it's the sacrificial decoy aspect that I mentioned above. Even if guessed, it's a big enough twist to distract people. I reveal this at the start of the issue, so people will probably suspect that's enough big reveals for the issue. Yet no.

(See also: issue 11's dual deaths)

In reality, I was much more worried about the relatively small leap from realising Woden Is Blake And Jon Is Pink Woden to Mimir Is A Head.

But more on that later, I suspect.

Anyway! Storytelling!

There is something incredibly instantly disturbing about Blake without the helmet on, right?

Persephone's line was tweaked a bunch. I cut it as far as I could while still existing. It's a tiny moment of Rising Action, immediately squashed.

The switch to green as the cage goes to full power, plus Matt Wilson's wonderful pixel effects.

Love the Tron-eque light-bike trails seguing into flashback...

Page 6-7

The first date is just before Ragnarock 2013, where we first saw Jon on the stage in Laura's Flashback in issue 6.

This is a “Performance” by Jon, so is presented as such, in the same manner of Persephone's performance in issue 20. Jamie's integrated circuitry design is great, and allows us to go to a limited palette. 8 panel, 8-bit glory.

And Jon Blake.

You write and discover the characters. Jon has barely been in the book – he has a couple of lines of dialogue in issue 14, and that's it. I always knew why Ananke rejects him as unsuitable, but specifically how that would be articulated was something I thought I'd discover on the page. Writing a new character this far into the book is the sort of thing which keeps it interesting.

I was worried it would be hard, or shallow, as surely all the relevant little bits of me are already taken with the rest of the cast? Within a couple of sentences of typing, I knew I had completely forgotten one Gillen archetype.

I realised Jon was a heroic take on Lloyd/Mr Logos.

I laughed. Of course. Perfect.

The 11 days later says so much about how intricate the timeline is around here. It's the day before Baal and Sakhmet made their public debut.

The “She's a fucking weirdo/language” panel is a joy.

Yeah, Ananke really does like hanging around in people's gardens.

I specifically called for Ananke to be in an outfit from a previous God-creation sequence...

Page 8-9

...so Jamie could reuse the masks and only draw Jon transforming, and pull an extra page out of the budget.

The most embarrassing bit here is that I wrote this from my memory of Mimir's legends in the early drafts, and only remembered to actually check my notes at lettering. In fact, I'd got a couple of minor details of Mimir wrong.

(Or rather, didn't grasp the complexities of Mimir – it's very hard to get a take on Mimir, because the main myths we have of him are contradictory.)

Page 10-11

Man, I want to go to Mimir's club night.

In my original draft I wrote it as Jon cutting off Ananke's “Mimir” so that the god name wasn't revealed until the last page of this whole section. As in, it would stop people putting the book down, googling “Mimir”, realising “Heads” and then possibly seeing where we were going at the end of the issue.

I decided against it, in that's only going to be a tiny fraction of readers. If people want to break the flow of their reading to look up facts, I can't control that. Even then, I also knew it would be far from certain that just because they realised Mimir is a head, that they'd then realise others could be a head before the end of the comic.

And NOT including Mimir breaks the flow for everyone else, and is a bit cheap. Better than that.

That knife gets around.

Page 12

First panel: I never get bored of modern blur photoshop to show this kind of effect.

PoV shots are something I adore in comics. The six-panel grid gives it lots of space as well.

Honestly, that last panel with Mimir's own reflection is the creepiest thing in the world, and I love it.

Page 13

Yeah, I'm much happier with the interstitial here. Horrible.

(To state the obvious: Pinocchio reference.)

Page 14-15

I just imagine the tension in this room. Ugh.

I originally had a bunch more written for Woden here, but cut it. It was much better in the silent. He may say some of it down the line, but cutting it right to the basics – the particularly creepy basics – seemed key.

We went with a normal gun. Normal guns were at the start of the story, and have sort of disappeared. Once more we return.

Lots to unpick in all this dialogue, so won't give anything else. I'll say the whole exchange about the machine was as finely picked over to imply the meaning as much as anything else in the book – that's the thing about comics. The flowery fancy stuff? That's great and fun. But the real job is the compressing of precise exact detail, especially in a book which is nothing but precise detail.

I was chatting to Jamie about issue 34 earlier, and Jamie said how much he likes drawing Mimir's helmet. Looking at page 15 makes me see it – the second and fourth panels are just excellent in completely different ways.

Page 16-17-18

Jamie chose the steady angle, I believe, with a background drop, and Matt working the colours to show the emotions.

First panel is where the last of the fun drips out of Cassandra's expletives, and we're just left with something that's really just offensive and ugly. If there's any point where the issue reaches the black cover, it'd be this sequence.

I'm glad they've got here though.

Clearly, this is a Jamie masterclass. Pick it apart, learn. delight. Like – penultimate panel on page 16. The pause, the glance aside. Perfect. Look across page 17. There's a mixture of emotion and sheer dullness and boredom and fear, and how it all pushes and pulls again.

(“And I got it” is something else)

I believe I've said WicDiv contains a recapitulation of basically everything I've ever done as a creator. Mainly the Jamie and me stuff, but basically everything. I realised Laura's arc on Imperial Phase is me reprising what I did in Generation Hope – probably one of my least remembered things, which strikes me as fair – it only landed properly as we inched towards the end of the year. The plot was basically “Is Hope Good Or Bad?” when the answer was “Her Dad died a few days before the issue started. She's fucked up.” Only in mainstream death-happy superhero comics would that work as a twist. This was a bit like that – we distance the reader from Persephone and just show the actions and see what you make of it.

“Try to be kind. You have no idea what people are going through.”

That was the stuff I'd had planned from the start, but it only got more specific as I got nearer it and WicDiv became what it was. I've talked about having mixed feelings about WicDiv's success. Laura's arc is it writ large. I hate that the definitive work of my career is this. If my Dad was not dead I would not have written this book. There is a guilt and anger that is hard to articulate directly there, and is the material I was mining for this.

On a boring technical level, we did a lot of work with Cass explicitly saying facts to ensure that no one in the readership thinks Laura is confessing to killing her family. In an issue as twisty as this, I suspect some people would have.

(The second panel on page 17 is another one – tall enough to have a bunch of half ideas.)

And Laura, after making a breakthrough, immediately crumbles to another mistake.

The “Laura” line is a nod to the song, and one of the lines in the original WicDiv document sheet.

Page 19

I was going to tweak Cass' line – in some myths he's a giant – but that she's musing gives her a little freedom to dance around what we know.

You know, I suspect one reason why Mimir was never brought up as an option connected to Woden is that he's one of the very few Norse myths who've never appeared in a Marvel superhero comic. Or at least I don't think he has.

Normally we'd put something as big as the head remove on a page turn, but it's a physically small beat, so not something you will automatically recognise out the corner of your eye when you're reading.

I love Cass' thinking face in the penultimate panel. Thinkythinkythinky.

Two major beats happening on this page, of course – it appears Mimir is a head (or a robot head, perhaps?) and Mimir thinks the machine does nothing.

And then we hard-cut to what we do, but it's worth dwelling on this a little. When thinking of plot structure, I talk about a few ways to disguise twists. Earlier, I mentioned a Big Twist can make people suspect the twists are over. This is something I tend to think of as a revealed move. As in, you create a machine of logic with a missing part. You add the missing part as late as possible, and then immediately move to what has been concealed before the audience is able to process the new information.

Hence two beats and a hard-cut...

Page 20-21-22-23

Anyway – this clearly had to be a page turn. To state the obvious.

Steady angle shot here, to have the awfulness of it there. I suspect if I’d had space I'd have had the last panel on page 19 be a third of a page, so the two removed heads could mirror one another.

As a minor detail, Minerva's running feet in the second panel of 20 are really good.

Minerva's gesture on page 21.2 is a joy. I know that feeling, Mini.

I really wanted Inanna to be talking from off panel on page 21, but that definitely would give the game away. The problem with distinctive fonts...

And 22 is the reveal on the heads. Probably best not to say much more about this, as I suspect any of the design elements will intersect with what happens in issue 34, so I'll talk a bit about it then.

Tara and Inanna's expressions really are wonderful.

Luci's line came surprisingly late. The “Talking Heads” interstitial came early. The only reason I wasn't going to use it here was in case I wanted to use it later. I decided I didn't.

Okay... twists.

In reality, for me, it's a case of once you've decided that this is the plot, the only way to do it is dovetail towards an issue like this. Any of these individual beats provide too much connective tissue to the other ones, meaning all must be revealed or none.

(You could argue about Minerva, I suspect. Maybe.)

It's been strange writing a book like this – when so much is there early on. Seeing who got what and who didn't, and how people reinforced people has been interesting. That the core WicDiv tumblr community has never really suspected Minerva was off is in some way a surprise – though I've had people talk about that directly and personally. Blake/Jon and Minerva-is-Off-In-Some-Way were the two twists I would guard, but their primary importance was in how they led to the Heads.

When Ray Fawkes told me “There's a reason you're doing all the decapitations, right?” circa issue 2, I suspected that I'd overplayed the hand by having a literal talking head in issue 3... but it turned out fine.

“Played the hand” is interesting phrasing, and telling. Writing something as intricate as this is like doing a slow-motion card trick, in public, constantly. It is a form of constant stress. I have been paranoid of fucking it up in stupid ways, and it's impacted every single conversation I've ever had about WicDiv. Like just writing one name when I mean another or something. There was a hilarious panic when I added ‘Killer Queen’ to the playlist, just thinking of it as a quite funny Ananke song... and then realised there was only one character in the cast with a connection to the band Queen, and that was Minerva. Should I take it off the playlist? No, someone may notice that, and it's against my rules anyway. I quickly added a few other things to camouflage it.

As if anyone is watching that closely, y'know?

That's an extreme example, but an entirely characteristic one. I have lost sleep over it. Even a year ago, I wished I could just get to 33 and not worry about it. When 33 dropped, it was simultaneously excellent (the response was basically what we expected) and an anticlimax (The amount of emotional and intellectual effort you put into doing this is not worth it. It could never be worth it.) I've been telling friends that I'll never write a story that operates like this again. Partially that is because I wouldn't want to repeat myself, and partially because – as I said above – I think twists are less effective in long-form serialised work in 2017, but mainly as I don't think I want to do this to myself again. I'll find some other way to torture myself.

(Spangly New Thing certainly abandons the Scorpion's-Tale narrative model in favour of an intricate character clock of woe.)

Actually, talking playlists...  I have prepared something. There's a secondary WicDiv playlist which I've been using since July for songs which speak to the end of year three and the remainder of year four. I didn't want to add these songs to the main playlist in case a particularly determined WicDiv fan worked out issue 33 from them. This says a lot about the high levels of anxiety I've been running on for the last few years on this topic. It would be terrible to blow it in such a dumb way. Now, those reading in issues know secrets the trade readers don't. So it's going to be an interesting few months.

Here's the playlist. Keep it mum. I'll add it to the main list when the trade's out. Don't shoot me for the first track.

You may have seen us trying to prod people to reread WicDiv before 33. This was partially in response to a friend who read 33 before it came out who said – I paraphrase – “I wish I could tell people to reread the series now, because after they read 33, those issues are gone, forever.” She's right – it's a pure ‘everything changes’ issue, and you can't reread the comic earlier, because everything has transmuted beneath your fingers.

Which is by our design, but is still a grim thing to think about. We've destroyed all those issues on the shelves, and replaced them with a new story. On the bright side, we've given you 35 free comics. I suspect this returns to Jamie’s and my twitchiness over comic prices, and trying to make ours better value, every way we can. In this case, we want to make rereading valuable and exciting.

SIGH! This has been a journey, friends. I'm glad I no longer have to think about any of the above. There's huge stuff coming in the final year, but it's got entirely its own character and momentum. The cards we're playing with have fundamentally changed. There's so much stuff to come, but it builds from this.

Oh – I'm sort of regretting mentioning the thing about the third theme in the backmatter, as it's clearly the sort of thing that's going to drive a certain strata of reader to distraction – especially as if there's any number of other themes in the book. The one I was thinking intersects a little with pre-existing major themes, and speaks to the particular spin on them. We'll get to it eventually. Don't worry.

Anyway, to sum it all up, clearly with four talking heads, WicDiv is four times as good as Sandman. That is a FACT.

Christmas Special shortly, the trade collection in January, the 1923 Special in February and we're back with issue 34 in March, with the new arc.

Thanks for reading.

[boushh2187]

Surprises Past and Present

Rumbelle Secret Santa 2017

Title: Surprises Past and Present

By: boushh2187

Fandom/Pairing: Once Upon a Time / Rumbelle

Word Count: 3476

Rated: G

Gift for @missielynne

Prompt: Dark Castle AU Surprise

Summary: As a winter storm approaches, Belle finds something unexpected on the grounds of the Dark Castle, but will Rumplestiltskin accept it?

Author’s Notes: To my giftee @missielynne… I hope you enjoy the story and find it suitably fluffy! I enjoyed being your Santa, and loved playing with your prompt. :) Happy Holidays!

A storm was coming. Belle could hear the wind outside. She was warm and dry within the stables of the Dark Castle, tending to the horses. They were fed and watered. She brushed the last horse and smiled. He was her favorite. He was a mild mannered, chestnut colored horse. She had decided to call him Philippe. She wasn’t clear if Rumplestiltskin had names for the carriage horses, but she was going to keep on calling him Philippe until she heard otherwise.

She was grateful that she didn’t have to clean up after the horses anymore. She didn’t mind, but it was hard work, and impractical in the ball gown she used to wear on these grounds. It might be easier now, in her more functional peasant attire, but thankfully Rumplestiltskin must have taken pity on her and magically kept the stables clean. She smiled to herself, and brushed a stray strand of brown hair out of her eyes. Rumplestiltskin could be kind every now and then.

“There you go, Philippe. All done.” She put the brush aside and petted Philippe’s head. “You’ll all be comfortable in here when the snow arrives.” It actually was rather warm and cozy, more so than one would expect, and Belle wondered if Rumplestiltskin had something to do with that as well.

As Belle began to make her way toward the stable doors, she heard a rustling sound. The horses turned their heads toward the sound but didn’t seem startled by it. Belle moved towards it and cocked her head to the side, trying to get a better view beyond the large bodied horses. Perhaps it was a rodent? She took one of the pitchforks and moved closer. “Come on now. Shoo!” she said as she tapped on the floor with the handle of the pitchfork. Out of the darker corners, amongst bales of hay, there was some movement. It was something larger than a rodent. It moved closer, and toward the light from the lantern. It was a fluffy, black and white dog. It approached Belle with its head lowered and wagging its tail. It’s expression was soft and friendly.

“Well hello there,” Belle said. “Where did you come from? I haven’t seen any dogs in the castle before.” She bent down and the dog approached her. She reached out and let the dog sniff her hand. It was only a moment before the dog began to turn in circles in a friendly display, sliding against Belle’s legs, almost like a cat would. “You’re definitely the friendly sort.” Belle laughed.

She was considering leaving the dog behind. It would be safe here to weather out the storm. She could quickly fetch some food and water before the storm came. There was some additional rustling, and Belle noticed something that had her thinking twice about leaving the dog in this stable. Rumplestiltskin would be none the wiser if the dog stayed here. However, this new development made her want to take the dog in, and she didn’t care if Rumplestiltskin wasn’t happy about it.

Rumplestiltskin was finding it difficult to concentrate on sorting his scrolls of spells. Belle was taking much longer than usual over at the stables. He knew she enjoyed tending to the horses, and perhaps she was taking extra care because there was a storm approaching. He walked over to one of the windows in the tower and looked out at the evening sky. The wind was picking up and there were snowflakes swirling in the air. He tried to push away his concern for her, but it would seem that he couldn’t help himself. She’d managed to get under his skin, glittery scales and all.

Before long he spied her approaching the castle doors. He squinted his eyes. She was some distance away, but he could make out that she was clutching her cloak against her body, as the wind whipped it around. She also seemed to be holding something, but it was too dark to make it out. She was hurrying, pushing herself forward against the wind.

Rumplestiltskin made his way down the stairs. With a quick bit of magic he made sure the fires were roaring, and sat himself down at his spinning wheel, looking as though he had been spinning all along without care.

The doors opened and Belle stepped inside, shaking off the cold and snow.

“Took you long enough,” he said, gruffly. He continued to spin without turning.

“There was something of a surprise in the stables,” Belle said. Her voice was sweet, and quiet, and accompanied by a panting sound… and some whimpering.

Rumplestiltskin’s head whipped towards Belle who was placing a basket on top of the large table. He widened his eyes at the sight before him. There was a medium sized black and white fluff of a dog circling around Belle’s legs, and Belle was lifting a small puppy out of the basket. That puppy was followed by another, and then another. Three black and white additional balls of fluff were placed on the floor near their mother.

“What is this?” he demanded.

“Please try not be angry. They were in the stables. I don’t know how long they’ve been here. Perhaps she brought them in because of the storm. I couldn’t just leave them there.”

“They’re sheep dogs! They belong outside, not in the castle!”

“Oh but look at how young they are. It’s safer for them to be here.”

“Take them back to the stable.”

“If they go back to the stable, then I’m going with them.”

“If it’s warm and safe enough for the horses then it will be good enough for the lot of you,” he said, stubbornly.

“Fine!” She grabbed her cloak and put it back on. “Come on little ones, we’re going back.”

She placed the puppies back inside the basket, all the while talking sweetly to all of the dogs, and glaring at Rumplestiltskin. When she was done she sauntered off towards the doors in a huff, her cloak and skirt whipping in the air in a dramatic fashion.

Rumplestiltskin nervously rubbed his fingers together as he watched her go. He didn’t want to give in, but he didn’t want Belle spending the night in the stable either.

“Wait!” he grumbled. The fireplaces around the room roared once again. Belle stopped in her tracks, and the dog hopped up on her legs, sniffing at the basket while wagging her tail.

“I suppose there isn’t any harm to them staying just the one night.”

Belle turned back, smiling broadly at him. “I knew you wouldn’t let us go back out there,” she said, unlatching her cloak and making her way back towards him. The dog followed, happily. She placed the basket on the floor and the puppies started to try and crawl out.

“Don’t make too much of it. I simply don’t want you smelling more of horses than you already do.” He placed a basket of straw nearer so he could begin spinning again, and as his back was turned he felt something hit him in the back. It was Belle’s cloak.

He turned and waved a finger at her as the cloak slid down his back. “Careful. You wouldn’t want to anger me,” he warned, though to his own ears he didn’t sound very serious. He was getting soft. He tossed her cloak onto the table, and one of the puppies tried to catch the edge that hung towards the floor. He wobbled and fell over.

“I don’t really smell like horses, do I?” Belle said, pouting as she sat down in a nearby chair, one of the puppies in her lap.

Rumplestiltskin sniffed the air. “Hmmm… a bit.” He tilted his head and turned his hand from side to side.

“I don’t!” Belle said, taking a sniff of her sleeve. Rumplestiltskin laughed.

The snow fell and the wind whistled outside, but inside the Dark Castle it was warm and bright. Belle went through her duties around the castle, and even tended to the horses daily, but the puppies and their mother stayed inside. They brought her much joy, and she knew that Rumplestiltskin enjoyed having them bounding about as well. At first she would catch him patting one puppy on the head, or quietly slip a bit of food to their mother while he was eating at the table. Then as time went by and the puppies grew, he spun play things out of wool and straw.

At the moment Belle sat curled up in a chair by the fire reading. The mother dog was at her feet fast asleep. Belle had taken to calling her Molly. She looked out of the corner of her eye and smiled. Rumplestiltskin was sitting on the nearby footstool she wasn’t using, and tossing his homemade puppy toys to each of the puppies. They were having a ball fetching them and bringing them back. They hadn’t named the puppies, but Rumplestiltskin had woven them colored collars to wear around their necks. They called them by the colors of their collars: blue, green, red. They had distinct markings, but the puppies were so active much of the time that they usually looked like blurry black and white puffs of fur.

One of the puppies, the red collared one, pulled himself onto her chair and dropped one of the toys beside her. She laughed, and tossed it far across the room. The puppy bolted after it. Molly lifted her head and wagged her tail, but she didn’t make a run for the toy herself. Earlier in the day, while letting the horses out for a walk around the stable, Belle and Rumplestiltskin had allowed the dogs to play around outside in the snow for quite some time, and Molly seemed more content to nap than continue the play session.

Belle hid a smile behind her book. Rumplestiltskin had two puppies in his lap that were trying to jump up and sniff and lick his face, but he kept petting them instead, making them back down through that act of affection. He was smiling, and distracting them with the toys again. Belle found him endearing. She felt her cheeks blush. The more time she spent with him she saw him behave in ways that she hadn’t expected, and she liked him, quite a lot, when he was like this.

Weeks later...

It was time. Belle picked up each puppy, kissing each one on the head in turn. Rumplestiltskin handed her a large basket, and she placed them inside one by one. The puppies had grown since they were first discovered and a larger basket was needed. He draped a small blanket around them to try and keep them warm.

“I can’t believe it’s time to let them go,” Belle said. Rumplestiltskin found her expression heartbreaking, and her blue eyes were wet with tears that she hadn’t shed. He hoped she didn’t start crying. He’d feel compelled to comfort her, and they were about to go out into town. It wouldn’t do for anyone to see him so concerned for his maid.

“Now, now,” Rumplestiltskin said, as he reached a hand out to help her into the carriage. “You’ve found good homes for all three of them.”

Belle stepped into the carriage and sat down. She placed the basket next to her, and wrapped her arm around it to keep the puppies from wiggling out. Rumplestiltskin took the large blanket he kept in the carriage and draped it over Belle’s lap. “There. You’ll be warm now.”

“I know the farmer and sheepherders will benefit from having these dogs. They are kind people and they are very grateful. They have families too. I think these puppies would be wonderful with the children,” Belle said, obviously trying to remind herself that she was doing the right thing. They both were taking the time to pet the puppies before they made their way to the farmlands.

“This is the right decision, Belle. As much as you enjoyed having them around, it’s time for them to move on.”

“You enjoyed them too. I know you did.”

Rumplestiltskin shrugged in a noncommittal fashion. He tapped his leg and Molly jumped in the carriage too. She flopped right down in between the two benches, thumping the floor with her wagging tail. He took the other end of the blanket and stretched it over Molly, and he sat down on the bench opposite Belle. They shared the blanket, and Molly was underneath, already beginning to doze.

Rumplestiltskin raised his hand and the horses started off, pulling the carriage towards town.

“If no one claims Molly, we can keep her,” he said, quietly, hoping that this would make Belle feel a bit better. They had been looking for Molly’s family but hadn’t found anyone yet.

“Oh! I thought we would find her another home too!” Belle said, her eyes wide.

“We could… or we could keep her.” He checked on Molly underneath the blanket, and when he looked up Belle was smiling at him. He frowned at her, not wanting her to know how much it pleased him to see her happy. “What are you smiling at?”

“Oh nothing… nothing at all,” Belle said, looking away with that knowing smile of hers, as she deposited a wiggling puppy back in the basket. It was going to be a long trip to the farmlands, but somehow Rumplestiltskin didn’t mind.

The snow was falling in Storybrooke, Maine. Belle quickly locked up the library. She was closing early due to the oncoming snow, especially since there were no public hours at the library today. It was mid-afternoon and Mary Margaret had offered to give her and Gideon a ride home after school. Rumplestiltskin was going to stay later at the shop. Apparently he was working on something that couldn’t wait, otherwise he would pick them up and they’d go home together as had become their custom.

Some days little Gideon would stay with Belle at the library, while at other times he would spend the day at the shop with his father. Occasionally he’d spend the time at daycare so he could play with the other babies and toddlers in Storybrooke. Today he had spent the day with Granny, which he seemed to enjoy. Granny was always good with children, and Gideon seemed to like people watching. The hustle and bustle of the diner was good entertainment for him, every now and then.

Belle walked speedily across the street and towards the diner. The snow was starting to accumulate, and she hoped that Rumple wouldn’t take a long time at the shop and have to drive in heavy snow. She’d even be okay with him using magic to get safely home.

She quickly ducked into the diner as a customer was exiting. Granny was already getting Gideon ready in his warm winter clothes, complete with a winter hat with bunny ears. She couldn’t help but burst into a smile at the sight of her little man. He saw her as soon as she walked in and was reaching out to her. “Hello there, pumpkin,” she said, as Granny placed the six month old in her arms. “Did you have a good afternoon?”

“Oh he had a ball. Grumpy was in her making silly faces and making him laugh for half the time.”

“Oh that was sweet of him to entertain Gideon.”

“He’s a sweet kid. No trouble at all. We love having him here.”

“Thank you, Granny.” Belle nodded at Granny in appreciation, then turned to Gideon. “We have to get home before your Papa so that we can get his surprise ready!”

“Oh, big plans?”

“Well Gideon and Rumple surprised me this morning with breakfast in bed, so I thought that Gideon and I would return the favor and bake some of Rumple’s favorite cookies. They also might be Gideon’s favorite too,” Belle said with a wink.

“Breakfast in bed, huh? He’s more attentive than I thought.”

Belle recalled how Rumple had walked into their bedroom with a tray of food balanced in one hand, and bouncing Gideon up and down in his other arm. He had placed the tray in front of her and gently laid down next to her with Gideon in between them. Gideon was pushing up and down on the bed, slightly upsetting the balance of the food tray. They didn’t mind. Belle shared her breakfast with the two of them, feeding them each in turn. It was a lovely morning.

“Oh Rumple’s very attentive, thank you. He takes good care of us, and we take good care of him. Isn’t that right, Gideon?”

Gideon cooed in return, and Belle giggled. “Well it’s time for us to get going. I see our ride.”

“Best get home before it really starts snowing,” Granny advised.

“This will be Gideon’s first big snowfall. We’re so excited! Good night!” she used Gideon’s hand to wave at Granny, and headed towards the exit while talking to Gideon. “Wait until Papa gets home. Maybe you’ll get to play a bit in the snow.”

In no time Belle and Gideon were home and had finished up the holiday themed sugar cookies. Belle placed them out in the living room for Rumple to see when he walked in. They were made of mostly teddy bear shapes and train shapes. Gideon “picked out” the cookie cutters by tossing them off the table.

He also made a mess playing with the flour. He was covered in enough white flour that he didn’t need to go out playing in the snow tonight. It was close enough. Belle chuckled, as she cleaned him up. She was just finishing getting him dressed when she heard the car pull into the driveway.

“Papa’s home!” she told Gideon, excitedly. She brought him down and put him in his bouncy chair near the cookies, ready for his Papa.

Rumple opened the door and stepped into the warm home he shared with his new family. He brushed off the snow from his coat, and took off his boots. He kept his coat on and made sure that the surprise he’d brought for his wife and son was safely hidden away.

He caught sight of Gideon, tossing his plastic blocks on the floor as usual. The window behind him had the curtains open, and the snow could be seen falling steadily outside. He also noticed a spread of cookies on the table. “This is a welcome sight,” he said, with a grin.

“Pa, pa, da, da!!” shouted Gideon, as he threw another plastic block onto the floor.

“Belle!” Rumple called. “I think he’s saying, Papa!”

Belle walked in with a tray of evening tea. “He could just as easily be saying, Panda,” she told him with a wink and a smile.

“Pan da pa da!” Gideon chimed in.

Belle placed the tray down on the table and sat down on the couch next to Gideon. She picked up a few of the discarded plastic blocks.

“You two are quite the comic duo,” Rumple said. He gave Gideon a quick kiss on the forehead, and then settled down on the couch next to Belle. They shared a quick kiss before Belle pulled away.

“You’re still wearing your coat,” she noted, raising her eyebrow.

“Mmhmm.”

“And I know we had a big breakfast but you look and feel somewhat larger than you did this morning…”

“It’s possible,” he said, with a chuckle. At that moment there was some wiggling underneath his coat. He might have to let them in on his secret sooner rather than later.

“What are you up to, Rumple?” Belle asked, with an excited looking expression.

She might be onto him. He undid the top button of his coat, and then the next button… and a small black and white furry head popped out from inside his coat. Belle all but squealed with delight. “Is he ours?”

“He is,” Rumple said with a laugh as Belle began unbuttoning his coat to free the puppy.

Belle gathered the puppy in her lap. “He’s adorable! But how are we going to manage with a baby and a puppy!”

“We’ll manage. I’ve already spoken to Henry, and he’s going to help us with walks. I can take him to the shop with me on most days while he’s still learning.” He took her hand in his, and petted the puppy with the other. “You and I can do anything, sweetheart.”

“I always knew you were a big softie,” Belle said, as she leaned forward and kissed him gently.

They spent the evening showing Gideon their new addition. Gideon would drop the blocks on the floor and the puppy would bring them right back. They had cookies and tea before dinner, just because they could, and laughed and played as the snow fell outside.

[shamelessly4shameless-blog]

130lb of Ukrainian Courage (pt 18) ‘Fuckin’ Milkovichs/Bachelor Party pt.1′

Ian wanted to go down to the court house and get married immediately. Mickey wanted to save up for a few months and try to have a proper do. They compromised and set themselves a target of four weeks. It isn’t long enough to save but it’s long enough to plan a party, get a couple of things together and let Mickey feel like he is doing right by them.

Due to the time scale it it’s going to be a ‘cost-effective’ wedding which is Ian’s delicate way of saying that what with the time he had off to recover, the new house and putting food on the table for Mandy, they are (as Mickey put it less delicately) ‘poor as fuck’.

With that in mind Ian lets go of the fleeting idea of matching suits, matching gold bands and a mini-tux for Yev. Despite Mickey being the one who insisted on having an actual wedding, predictably it is Ian who takes over the wedding planning. However, Mickey takes more interest than anyone, including himself, expected him to and offers opinions on most things including the rings Ian is looking at on his battered old laptop. Side by side on the sofa, Ian is half focussed on browsing and half concentrating on fingering the in-seam of Mickey’s pants, enjoying the small noises of appreciation each movement earns him.

They’re on an online Gothic themed jewellery store that sells silver bands when Ian turns the screen round and doubtfully shows it to Mickey, he is instantly taken with a medium width band called ‘Blood and Bone’.

“Fuckin’ sweet name, man.”

“It’s part of their … eternally enslaved collection.”

Ian wrinkles his nose but Mickey just grins and grips the back of Ian’s neck tightly, leaning in to kiss him hard.

“Kinky. I like it. Get two of those.”

“You sure? I mean I like the style but the name ...”

“It’s a kick-ass name. Better than ‘Happily ever after’ or some shit.”

Ian shrugs, happy that Mickey is happy and orders two rings for less than half the price of one traditional gold band.

“You sure you don’t mind it being silver? If you want gold ...”

Mickey rubs the back of Ian’s neck lightly, his brows knitted

“Nah. Silver’s good. Gold doesn’t really suit your whole ‘Ice King’ look.”

“Excuse me?”

“You know: black hair, pale skin, blue eyes, black clothes...”

Ian breaks off realising that he is getting The Annoyed Tongue as Mickey’s eyebrows raise and a bulge forms in his left cheek.

“It’s sexy, Mick.”

“Sounds fuckin’ weird. I got different colour clothes.”

“Yes you do.”

Ian agrees. He knows from experience that agreeing is the way to end this discussion swiftly and that a swift resolution is for the best. Mickey lights a smoke and eyes him suspiciously but lets it drop as Mandy wanders in, yawning.

“What’s up?”

“Ordering rings.”

Ian grins and sits back to let Mandy have a look at them on screen as she leans over the back of the sofa.

“Sweet name!”

She exclaims happily and Mickey gives Ian a smug look which earns him a cheerful middle finger.

“Oh hey, I gotta ask you something”

Mickey says, craning his neck to look up at his sister who is eyeing his cigarette wistfully

“Yeah? What?”

“Don’t sound so fuckin’ suspicious.”

Mickey scowls and Mandy rolls her eyes, walking round and dropping herself dramatically into his lap and breathing in the heady smell of tobacco.

“What the f...”

Mickey leans back in his seat, scowl deepening as Mandy grins up at him and flicks his chin.

“Can’t shove me, I’m pregnant.”

“Wanna fuckin’ bet? Move your ass!”

Mandy stands up and ruffles her big brothers hair affectionately

“Okay dicksplash, what did you want to ask?”

“No forget it.”

Mickey grouches, smoothing his hair back down but Ian gives him a swift kick and opens his eyes wide, prompting him.

“What?”

Mandy’s interest is piqued and she glances between the two of them impatiently

“I was gonna ask if you … if you wanna be my best man.”

Mickey looks up from under shyly lowered brows and Mandy’s face softens into a sweet little smile

“Really? You’d really pick me?”

“Well apparently I can’t pick Ian,”

Mickey shrugs, shooting his fiancé a slightly dirty look, still not over Ian’s rebuff of that particular request.  

“So yeah. I guess I pick you.”

“Awww Mickey...”

Mandy wraps her arms tightly around him from behind and Mickey suffers the squeeze as well as he can, awkwardly patting the forearm locked around his throat.

“You wanna do it or not?”

“Of course I do! This is gonna be so great!”

Mandy releases her death grip and kisses the top of his head.

“I’m going to start planning your bachelor party right now!”

She kisses him again, and then looks at Ian

“Who is your best man?”

“Lip.”

He looks almost apologetic but Mandy just shrugs, chin held high.

“Great. Mick, who do you want at your party?”

“I don’t know … you and Iggy? Maybe Svet?”

Mickey gives her his usual impatient glance and Mandy nods. To be honest, she really isn’t sure who else she would invite. Her brother has never really had friends and the only person he really likes hanging out with is Ian. So it’s going to be small, fine, that doesn’t mean it won’t be wild. Mandy grins at him and does a double thumbs up

“It’s going to be awesome. I’m on it!”

“Can’t wait.”

Mickey drawls but both Ian and Mandy see the little excited twinkle in his eye and share a knowing glance. Fuckin’ Milkovichs.

*

Lip draws on his cigarette and eyes his little brother frankly. They’re in a booth at the Alibi although neither of them is drinking anything stronger than soda. They could go somewhere else, Lip almost definitely should but it’s familiar and they’re both comfortable so they stay.

“I’m not inviting Mickey.”

“I know.”

Ian nods but Lip holds up a stern finge

“I mean it, Ian. He’s not coming.”

“Jesus! Okay … wait, why?”

“Because I want to get some seven foot Adonis to wiggle his balls in your face without having to cough up bail money for your fiance.”

Ian rolls his eyes and grins, sipping his cola and running the cool glass between his fingers ignoring his brother’s lewd grin.

“A stripper? Really?”

“Yes. A stripper. At a Gay club and the only reason I’m telling you this is because I need to know which ones you worked at so I can avoid them.”

“Uh … I never worked at Heavy Load or Jack Hammer.”

Ian blushes slightly realising that those are two of the only clubs he hasn’t pulled a shift or two at. Lip taps the names into his phone and nods.

“Cool. So now, are you sure you want to join the ranks of the indoctrinated married folks of this fair land?”

“I am. It’ll be good for us.”

Ian fiddles with the label on his jacket sleeve and it is Lip’s turn to roll his eyes

“You’ve loved him for your whole fucking life. How does a piece of paper...”

“You’re being a shitty best man, I just want you to know that.”

Lip grins his usual sardonic little grin and shrugs.

“So are you becoming a Mil...”

He bites the question off and clears his throat guiltily

“Sorry, man. Stupid question.”

“No it’s not stupid.”

Ian frowns. He has no intention of taking Terry’s family name but isn’t sure how to bring it up with Mickey.

“We haven’t actually talked about it.”

He admits finally.

“Mickey Gallagher works fine. Sounds about as Irish as it gets.”

Lip jokes and Ian’s frown clears at the thought of Mickey being a Gallagher.

“I guess I could ask him, see what he says.”

“Yeah you should. We got a an ex-con landlord, an alcoholic genius, a bipolar queer, a teen mom, an juvie kid turned military, and a black kid with two white parents. We got room for a ...”

“Whatever you’re about to call my fiancé, massively fuck you, Lip.”

Ian dips his finger in his cola and flicks it at his big brother.

“Seriously though, I’m really happy. I want this, man.”

Ian is radiating so much happiness that Lip wants to tell him he’s a fricken’ beacon and there really isn’t any need to tell anyone but what he says instead is simply:

“I know.”

“And I want you to be better with Mickey.”

“We do fine together. We had a coffee that time...”

Lip grimaces at how feeble that sounds. One coffee in ten years of knowing the guy. Ouch.

“You pick on him and you press his buttons ...”

“Dude! Come on. Mickey is like a human fucking calculator! He’s 99% buttons.”

“And he’s good at math too.”

Ian smiles smugly as Lip sighs impatiently and taps his finger on the vaguely sticky table top.

“I guess I could tease him a little less.”

“And I want you to say something nice about him in your speech.”

Ian finishes his mental list of demands and sits back contentedly. Lip raises his eyebrows at his little brother and sits back in his chair.

“You’re turning into a proper groomzilla.”

“I know. But do it anyway.”

It’s going to be far too much effort to bicker so instead they clink glasses and Lip wonders if his imminent brother in law has had a similar talk. From Ian’s moony-eyed expression, he kind of doubts it. Fuckin’ Milkovichs.

*

The bachelor parties are scheduled for a week before the wedding to allow sufficient time for hangovers to clear up, bruises to heal and any other shenanigans to blow over. Mickey had not really known what to expect, and thus gone with his life time habit of not expecting much.  

However, now as he is stumbling along the street from where the taxi dropped them off, Mickey realises he’s had a fucking excellent day. Mandy took him and Iggy to a new shooting range with the fancy moving targets and he finally got to try firing a Kriss Vector, something he’s wanted to do for years. After that he and Iggy smoked a whole bunch of pot, out the car window and got Taco Bell drive through, something Ian never lets him do, and then they just started drinking and catching up back at the house.

It’s been years since he spent so much time with his siblings and truth be told Mickey was a little nervous about it but it’s been more than just alright. They shot shit, ate shit, smoked shit and talked shit. It’s been one of the best days he has had in quite a while and the night is only just getting started.

He is already a little wasted. Ian and his posse came to the house for a few drinks before both parties headed off in their separate directions. Mickey likes the Gallagher’s a lot more once he’s had a few drinks and actually had a pretty decent time.

The topper was when Ian had dragged him off to the bedroom before they left for the night. Ian had called it marking his territory in that breathy, deep voice that always gets Mickey going and yanked Mickey’s pants down hard enough to chafe his thighs.

The slightly possessive jealousy that inspired the action pleased Mickey almost more than the actual blowjob. Ian doesn’t normally get jealous ... probably because Mickey doesn’t let anyone else so much as look at him without confrontation but whatever! It was fucking great!  

As he lurches from one side of the street to the other, Mickey loops his arms around each of his siblings.

“You guys are fuckin’ awesome, you know that?”

“Oh shit! Mick, you look trashed!”

Mandy laughs with a grimace and stops to try and smooth her brother’s hair a bit

“Yeh, I think I am.”

Mickey’s grin is wide and a little goofy as Iggy peers round to look at him.

“Ha! Little brother, you’re gonna pass out soon if you don’t slow down.”

Iggy hasn’t called Mickey ‘little brother’ for over fifteen years, not since they were kids and Mickey drunkenly grips the back of the thickly muscled neck in his hand, pressing a fierce kiss to Iggy’s cheek.

“You got anything to sober me up a little?”

“Until we get where we’re goin’ all I got is time, bro.”

For some reason, in Iggy’s slow South Side drawl, this little bit of accidental pseudo philosophy cracks Mickey up and he laughs until his legs won’t hold him and he has to sit down on the curb. Mandy is cackling too but Svet, is trying to hold herself together. Throughout their marriage, if Mickey found something funny, Svetlana did her best not to, and he supposes old habits die hard. Mickey glances at his gang of revellers and is about to tell them something about being glad they came out for his party when the laughter jiggles him a bit too much and with a convulsive shudder, he throws up.

The spray of beer, Jack Daniels, and home-brew vodka that Svet made erupts in a surprisingly neat arc straight into the gutter. Mickey looks down at his shirt to check and wipes the back of his hand over his mouth with a shaky laugh

“Shit. That was lucky!”

Svetlana tuts and steps forward, squatting in front of him in her stiletto heeled boots and producing a little packet of wet wipes and a bottle of water from her purse.

“Swill and spit. The you take a mint.”

She rattles a tiny metal tin at him and proceeds to wipe his free hand with a towelette.

“What the fuck, Svet? Why do you even have this shit?”

Mickey surrenders his other hand and accepts the tongue cluck his limp digits earn him as Svetlana cleans him up.

“Because your son is as messy as you are. I always thought it was bad parenting, turns out it is genetic. This is good news for me.”

“Nah, he’s a great kid. Nothin’ bad about him at all.”

Mickey shakes his head with a proud, one sided smile that creates a dimple in is left cheek.

“I’ll remind you of that when you’re sober.”

Svetlana smiles and offers him a hand up.

“Where are we goin’ anyway?”

Mickey asks and Mandy gives him a sly look from beneath heavily mascaraed eyelashes.

“A gay bar.”

“What?”

Mickey’s eyes flare wide and flick toward Iggy, his shoulders tensing involuntarily

“Yep, Mandy picked the place so if it’s not your scene, that’s on her!”

Iggy swigs out of his beer can and offers the rest to Mickey who takes it, still not fully processing what is going on.

“You’re comin’ to an actual gay club? You know you can’t fag bash in those, man.”

“Don’t be retarded, I haven’t done that shit in years. Didn’t feel right what with you being a queer and all.”

Iggy shrugs and grins mischievously at his little brother

“Besides, I looked this shit up online. I’m either a ‘Slim-Bear’ or a ‘cub’ and either way they’re two of the good types of gay to be. I might get laid.”

“Wha...”

Mickey looks around to make sure the others have just heard what he has but before he can question Iggy further, his brother is continuing, warming to his theme

“Ian’s a Jock now. He used to be a Twink but ...”

“Hey! Don’t fuckin’ call him that!”

Mickey snaps, but Svetlana interjects with a shrug

“No it is true, he would have been classed as a Twink before but now, definitely Jock.”

“I don’t … what that fuck are you talkin’ about?”

Mickey sips his beer and rubs a hand over his forehead in confusion.

“Types of Gay men, Mick.”

Mandy smiles, and links her arm through his.

“It’s bullshit really. Kind of like horoscopes of something.”

Mickey chews on his lip and glances at Iggy

“So … like … everyone has one, huh?”

“Pretty much. You wanna know yours?”

“No… Yeah … Okay...”

Mickey pauses in his stride and stands up to his full height, puffing his chest out and lifting his chin as if he is about to pass or fail a crucial life test. Iggy considers with a squinting scowl that earns him a ‘what the fuck’ sneer from his brother.

“You’re a Cub, but a specific type, you’re Discreet Cub”

“No! He’s a Wolf!”

Svetlana shakes her head at Iggy who frowns and tips his head, considering Mickey again

“No … not hairy enough.”

“But he is too aggressive to be a Cub.”

“Well he’s clearly a Power Bottom. They sit more in with Cubs. Mick, you’re bossy in bed, right?”

“Excuse me? What the fuck did you just ...”

Mickey begins but Svetlana waves him off and speaks over him

“Oh, most definitely a PB. But a Cub? No.”

Mickey is doing his best not to act in anyway that might mean he gets bumped to something less than satisfactory but the assessment is taking a bit too long and he can feel his patience slipping.

“Which one’s better?”

He asks irritably and then noticing that he is posing in the street, shakes himself off and keeps walking.

Svet smiles triumphantly and gestures to Mickey’s slightly wide-legged stance

“See! He even walks aggressive. Like cowboy. Like Wolf!”

“Yeah, yeah that is true. Okay, Wolf.”

Iggy nods as Mickey looks to Mandy for confirmation and she nods sagely with a reassuring wink

“You want to be a Wolf, they’re badass.”

Mickey smiles a little and rubs the edge of his nose. The whole conversation was weird as fuck and he’s not entirely sure why he let it happen but it turns out he is the badass kind of Gay dude so that’s something. He glances round at the them all again and grins to himself. Fuckin’ Milkovichs.

*

[dear-chaton]

1-100 bb

BAbe lol why it’s fine but oh dear lord who’s ready to another long af ask?

Bc I just answered some of these I will link to the first part here^^

1: when you have cereal, do you have more milk than cereal or more cereal than milk? More milk than cereal bc I don’t care if it get soggy

4: how do you take your coffee/tea? Lots of cream, milk and sugar.

6: do you keep plants? Nope

8: what artistic medium do you use to express your feelings? Writing I guess? I didn’t pick up drawing or painting till late last year

9: do you like singing/humming to yourself? Always, singing to myself as I fill this out right now haha

10: do you sleep on your back, side, or stomach? Side but curled up nearly in fetal position bc I’m lanky as hell

12: what’s your favorite planet? Mercury?

14: if you were to live with your best friend in an old flat in a big city, what would it look like? Either really pastel or grungey

15: go google a weird space fact and tell us what it is! In space metal sticks together ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

16: what’s your favorite pasta dish? Lasagna

18: tell us about something dumb/funny you did that has since gone down in history between you and your friends and is always brought up. I like to point out friends spelling mistakes on discord and pin them so that everyone sees bc I’m slightly dyslexic so it’s funny when I do catch mistakes

20: what’s your favorite eye color? I love green and blue eyes

21: talk about your favorite bag, the one that’s been to hell and back with you and that you love to pieces. There’s many of those lol

22: are you a morning person? Nope

24: is there someone out there you would trust with every single one of your secrets? No, I don’t like to have one single person that knows every single little thing about me, I have multiple people that know many things that I trust to them but often those things rarely overlap

25: what’s the weirdest place you’ve ever broken into? No where?

26: what are the shoes you’ve had for forever and wear with every single outfit? It’s a tie between my pug shoes or my cat shoes bc they have memory foam soles since I work on my feet all day I wanna have some comfort on my off days

27: what’s your favorite bubblegum flavor? Just plain regular bubblegum

28: sunrise or sunset? Sunset

30: think of it: have you ever been truly scared?  Oh yeah plenty of times

32: tell us a story of something that happened to you after 3AM when you were with friends. It was after a friends party last year and we just sat in her living room comparing the average guys dick size for some reason 😂

33: what’s your fave pastry? Croissants

34: tell us about the stuffed animal you kept as a kid. what is it called? what does it look like? do you still keep it? It’s a really big bunny rabbit, I don’t think I ever named it to be fair and yeah I keep it on my bed nearly all the time and it’s something I use to comfort me if I’m sad and wipe away the tears if I cry :’)

35: do you like stationary and pretty pens and so on? do you use them often? Yes lol but I more so collect them than use them

36: which band’s sound would fit your mood right now? Either skillet or Pentatonix

38: tell us about your pet peeves! Hate when people cut me off when I’m saying something, I barely talk so when I do I’m a little miffed if I don’t quite get to finish my train of thought, I also hate when people chew loudly in a quiet setting like please no save me

39: what color do you wear the most? A navy blue or a jade green

40: think of a piece of jewelry you own: what’s it’s story? does it have any meaning to you? I guess the most important to me is my purity ring and I’ve had that thing since I was 13 so nearly 8 years I’ve been wearing it and yeah

42: do you have a favorite coffee shop? describe it! It’s kind of quiet and quaint but it’s fabulous to have study groups there and sit there for hours I feel bad for the people that deal with us but it’s so nice

44: when was the last time you remember feeling completely serene and at peace with everything? Being in the back of my boyfriends car, cuddling him

45: do you trust your instincts a lot? Ha nope

46: tell us the worst pun you can think of. What’s the favourite movie for cats to watch? The Sound of Mewsic (you can pry cat puns out of my cold dead hands)

48: what was your biggest fear as a kid? is it the same today? Heights and yes still hate it

49: do you like buying CDs and records? what was the last one you bought? I love cds and the last one I bought I can’t actually remember it’s kind of been a while^^

50: what’s an odd thing you collect? Bears from each state

51: think of a person. what song do you associate with them? Misbehaving by Pentatonix or The Only Exception by Paramore

52: what are your favorite memes of the year so far? That despicable me meme bc I love those movies okay

54: who’s the last person you saw with a true look of sadness on their face? My friend Stirling who just had to put his dog down :(

55: what’s the most dramatic thing you’ve ever done to prove a point? Screeched and lunged for my phone I guess erm

56: what are some things you find endearing in people? Just the small things you don’t think of when you think of a particular person like someone will bring a blanket to our group between breaks and we’ll all huddle underneath it or someone will push two couches together so people can cuddle and/or spoon and be cute like stop being so freaking cute sometimes okay,

57: go listen to bohemian rhapsody. how did it make you feel? did you dramatically reenact the lyrics? It’s interesting I’ll say that

58: who’s the wine mom and who’s the vodka aunt in your group of friends? why? I am bc I’m the oldest of my friends and therefore the only one who’s roughly allowed to drink but no seriously my role on two discord servers is a toss up between Wine Aunt or Wine Goddess like I don’t make this shit up

60: do you like poetry? what are some of your faves? Have never really liked poetry so uh

62: do you drink juice in the morning? which kind? Orange juice

63: are you fussy about your books and music? do you keep them meticulously organized or kinda leave them be? On my bookshelf there’s all my favorites out on display but the rest are kind just shoved into boxes

64: what color is the sky where you are right now? It’s dark out bc it’s nearly midnight 

65: is there anyone you haven’t seen in a long time who you’d love to hang out with? My best friend even though I haven’t been the greatest friend and not talked with her in a while >.

66: what would your ideal flower crown look like? Soft with white and light blue flowers I guess?

68: what’s winter like where you live? Hot and humid most of the year with a week or two of what the fuck Florida

69: what are your favorite board games? Checkers

70: have you ever used a ouija board? Nope

72: are you a person who needs to note everything down or else you’ll forget it? Most definitely

74: describe a good friend of yours without using their name or gendered pronouns. Always ready to fight

75: tell us about your pets! I had a puppy that I had to give away over the summer, she wasn’t really a puppy she was a little on the older side but I really loved her and miss her a lot

76: is there anything you should be doing right now but aren’t? Studying but my classes are pretty easy

77: pink or yellow lemonade? Neither

78: are you in the minion hateclub or fanclub? Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I don’t mind them but since my nephew likes them I tolerate them

80: what color are your bedroom walls? did you choose that color? if so, why? One wall is just a hot pink bc that was the color of my sheets at some point but I’m gonna paint it to a pastel mint hopefully soon

81: describe one of your friend’s eyes using the most abstract imagery you can think of. Like an iceberg, so cold it pierced my soul (idk either man)

82: are/were you good in school? Pffffffft that’s hilarious

84: are you planning on getting tattoos? which ones? I wanna get one tattoo is it’s simply ❝&❞ and on my left inner wrist

85: do you read comics? what are your faves? No not really, haha

86: do you like concept albums? which ones? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ idk

87: what are some movies you think everyone should watch at least once in their lives? Homeward Bound bc that is my shit okay

88: are there any artistic movements you particularly enjoy? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

90: talk about your one of you favorite cities. I don’t like cities so um yeah

91: where do you plan on traveling this year? Er maybe to the city to go to a con but otherwise not planning to travel much

92: are you a person who drowns their pasta in cheese or a person who barely sprinkles a pinch? Drowns it with cheese, after taking a lactaid pill of course

93: what’s the hairstyle you wear the most? It’s almost always with a headband of sorts

94: who was the last person you know to have a birthday? My friend Mags

95: what are your plans for this weekend? Going on a date and going boating with my family

96: do you install your computer updates really quickly or do you procrastinate on them a lot? I always procrastinate them lol my computer must hate me

98: when’s the last time you went hiking? did you enjoy it? It was 6? Years ago and I didn’t have the right shoes and slipped on some mud and fell

99: list some songs that resonate to your soul whenever you hear them. I have a YouTube playlist for that shit lol there’s like 100 songs i listen to on repeat

100: if you were presented with two buttons, one that allows you to go 5 years into the past, the other 5 years into the future, which one would you press? why? Future bc hell if I’m about to relive my past again no thanks fam I’m good

Really Fucking Cute Questions

[shorthaircutsmodels]

Kate Bosworth's Short Haircuts and Hairstyles - 10+ - https://shorthaircutsmodels.com/kate-bosworths-short-haircuts-and-hairstyles/ - Kate Bosworth's Short Haircuts and Hairstyles, Next sprinkle volumizing powder or dry shampoo Brager Kevin Murphy recommends puffing powder for added texture to hair lengths. Then, starting at the top of the ears, tie the hair into a half-up half-down knot, including the ends of your braid. Secure with a clear elastic band. Any part of his face was left to tuck behind his ears. Finish the look with Hairspray. Brager recommends bumble, and bumble does it all. Naturally Kate is perfect with both long and short hair. Kate Bosworth's Short Haircuts and Hairstyles Kate Bosworth's Short Haircuts and Hairstyles, But change is good. And we're excited to see what comes out of the pipeline that requires such dramatic chops. For this tousled texture, Josh steamed the John Frieda Beach Blonde Sea Waves sea salt spray over towel-dried hair and then dried it with a diffuser and fingers. He added some polish when needed and smoothed the top with a flat iron. You want to show me your name. Kate Bosworth's Short Haircuts Kate Bosworth's Short Haircuts and Hairstyles, my bag, your new bag. Actress Kate Bosworth rocks her bag which she received while her name Kate was recently outgoing. Apart from the custom handbag she wears her long locks in a straight hairdo to complete the edgy outfit. Kate Bosworth's Short Hairstyles Kate Bosworth's Short Haircuts and Hairstyles, But warns his longtime friend and hairdresser Harry Josh, you wouldn't dare say he's skipping a trend. While the Bobs are huge at the moment, Kate's focus is on her craft. She has several big upcoming roles so she knew the cut would be as good as she explains as her long hair was bound. Josh broke his 10-inch locks while visiting his home in New York City. Kate Bosworth's Haircuts and Hairstyles Kate Bosworth's Short Haircuts and Hairstyles, FYI, supermodel Helena Christensen was there because they were all eating together like Gorgeous, Beautiful People. Her stylist John Frieda Beach Bosworth towel dried hair into blonde sea waves of sea salt to get the look spritzed. Josh then used a diffuser and his fingers to work on the product until it dried. He eventually used his signature Pro Tools ceramic forming iron to add definition to the waves and straighten the top of the star's hair. Kate Bosworth's Hairstyles Kate Bosworth's Short Haircuts and Hairstyles, What do you think of Kate Bosworth's new bob haircut? Sound off in the comments section and take inspiration from the more famous tousled bob hair in the slideshow below. Earlier today celebrity hairdresser Harry Josh thrilled us all when he posted this Instagram photo with the headline OK I just cut literally a foot off a mystery actress. It will be unveiled on the red carpet tonight. A photo posted by Harry Josh @harryjoshhair on January 13, 2020 at 9.44 am PST now we know the identity of this mystery actress. Kate Bosworth. Here's her new cut that got her for her upcoming role in 90 minutes in Paradise debuting her hair according to her own. Kate Bosworth's Short Hair Instagram pic. A photo posted by Harry Josh @harryjoshhair on January 13 2021 at 12.43 PM PST recently saw a lot of actresses getting this kind of tousled bob but this may be my favourite band. She looks gorgeous and her hairstyle is perfect. After filming was completed, Kate voted that she should keep this look for a while. We Love actress hair because it looks chic. Here we take some photos of Kate Bosworth and hope you can find your favourite ones. Kate Bosworth completes her embellished outfit with a simple ponytail. Kate Bosworth's Hair The actress styles them as a long side neighborhood and a ponytail pulls them back. Hair goes well with her red lipstick and opens up her pretty face. You can easily copy your hair but you have the first silky straight hairstyle. Kate Bosworth's long hair did two-tone tresses. She pulls all the locks up and ties an easy ponytail high. Hair can lengthen the neck and reveal make-up perfectly. It can be worn by any girl with long hair. Kate Bosworth gives a funny braid with a side part for her long hair. She looks like she's next door. Braided hair can always bring a fresh and beautiful look to the hair. Anyone can try the little braid in any color you want. Kate Bosworth's braided hair is a bit sophisticated. Kate Bosworth Hairstyles-Kate Bosworth Hair Pictures Her locks are braided and placed behind her elegant head. Hair complements her ensemble and brings a retro vibe. If you want to look at your hair you can use lots of hairpins and anti frizz hair Productions. First the fairy, then bob. Now the locks are getting longer. On Tuesday, Still Alice star and Trendsetter Kate Bosworth revealed on Instagram that she cut her locks into an asymmetrical lobe of the season. A new haircut can really change your life. Just ask actress Kate Bosworth, who got a new bob haircut on Instagram on Tuesday. Kate Bosworth haircut Kate Bosworth has now been serving cool girl super chic lewks for almost two decades. Starting with her Blue Crush days and literally up to the girl rn has always been able to make us swoon and gave us serious hair envy along the way. From possibly having the world's first lob to fearlessly switching from Platinum to strawberry and doing a twist of duty on her own are some of the most beloved Kate Bosworth mane moments of all time. Kate Bosworth | Medium hair styles, Hair lengths, Hairstyles The 32-year-old actress cut off her lust-worthy blonde locks for her upcoming role in 90 minutes in Paradise. Of course celebrity hairdresser Harry entrusted Josh with a seemingly daunting task. The result Bob Josh said the modern Greaty Gatsby invention was truly spectacular tousled with layers of face framing. Bosworth's new do is on trend with other stars such as Emma Stone Sienna Miller and Gabrielle Union embracing shorter and slightly messy hair. I agree with you. Earlier today celebrity hairdresser Harry Josh thrilled us all when he posted this Instagram photo with the headline OK. Kate Bosworth hair color I just cut literally a foot off a mystery actress. It will be unveiled on the red carpet tonight. Now we know the identity of this mysterious actress. Kate Bosworth. Here's her new cut that got her for her upcoming role in 90 minutes in Paradise debuting her hair according to her own Instagram pic. Kate Bosworth's New Bob Haircut Makes I agree with you. No doubt weekend one's coolest Coachella hair award goes to Kate Bosworth. We weren't too surprised given her style chops but the actress skillfully managed to pull off three very coachella—worthy hairstyles—a perfectly tousled lobe half bun and a delicate braid-in a gorgeous look. Kate Bosworth bob haircut But while Kate certainly deserves the stage to take everything out flawlessly, her hairdresser Bridget Brager deserves our praise for imagining a truly beautiful look. You can find the same content in another format or find more information on the website. The inspiration for Kate's festive hair is the grunge chic with a twist or braid that's half the 90s. Kate Bosworth hair colour He told us this morning. Again all three elements are styles of expression in their own right, but Brager's delicate approach Little braid little bun holds him up too much. Here she explains how to try it yourself at home because this good thing shouldn't just be reserved for the music festival circuit. Starting from the second day. Kate Bosworth hairstyle Dry hair picks up a small part of the hair no bigger than the width of the tip of your ring finger, which you would normally have a middle part of. This section should end on top of your head just before your head begins to bend. Kate Bosworth Coachella Hair Tutorial Your forehead. Finish the braid where your hairline stands on your forehead and make two sections by dividing the third strand of the braid. Secure the braid with a small bobby pin. Push the pin as straight as possible towards the middle of the net. Divide the unbraided ends of hair around your face to create framing. Polish March s 35-year-old recently showed off her dark hair as she stepped out with Michael Polish in snowy New York on March 7 and went out again the next day as she arrived at LAX. Kate Bosworth brown hair This is only a temporary change as the actress rarely changes her signature icy blonde shade, prompting us to wonder before I wake up. Another clue is that Kate often goes to hairstylist Harry Josh, who has yet to share a picture of her transformation. Kate is not the only blonde who embarked on a copper transformation recently with Lara Worthington sporting a similar shade on Instagram. Looking for more hair inspo. Times Kate Bosworth's Hair Made Us Swoon Check out our celebrity transformation gallery here. This long light blonde do has jagged long layers cut along the edges to lighten the length, allowing for natural movement. This beach baby appearance requires low maintenance and corrects regularly every 4 to 6 weeks to avoid split ends. Kate looked great with this short chic bob at the Whitney Museum's art party.

[wyrdsistersofthedas]

HI, I just wanted to say you have a great site. I noticed you put up a number of art drawings and I am not sure if you have looked here but have you seen Matt Rhodes Concept Art for for Dragon Age? It has some great official concept art from Dragon Age 2 including Fenris and Merril. I would love to hear some of your comments on this. The first part is about Mass Effect but halfway down is about Dragon Age. Thanks again.

Hey Nony!

Sorry for the delay getting back to you. We went through quite a few Matt Rhodes posts (the man is everywhere!!) to find the one we thought you were talking about.  Anyone who hasn’t seen Matt’s review of DA2’s concept art is missing out.

All four of the Sisters Wyrd sat down together for tea and to talk about these designs.

Fenris’ Evolution

On his blog, Matt Rhodes talks about how difficult it was to find Fenris’ look.  They had not done much with Tevinter so they hadn’t finalized its cultural style and that is apparent in these early designs.

Perhaps the most surprising of the early Fenris concept art was this version, which looks an awful lot like D&Ds Drow Elves.  That would have been quite a departure from the lore that Dragon Age had established concerning elves, who had always been shown having the same skin tones as humans races across the real world.  Fenris’ skin also shows no signs of lyrium tattoos, which suggests that concept was developed later in the creative process.  

Dorothea pointed out that this early design shares many facial features as Solas’ design.  Long face, prominent cheekbones and jaw, and a similar nose.

Every inch…

The next design incorporates an intricate tattoo pattern with, what looks like, lyrium highlights.  Unlike Fenris’ final design, the tattoos look more like a ritual pattern rather than the skeletal structure the developers used in the end.  This pattern would have been really hard to create in game and cleanly animate  In this art, Fenris looks like he is wearing mage robes rather than being dressed like a warrior, and the Tevinter look still isn’t there yet.  The belt seems to have been a favorite.  It will show up in several subsequent art designs.  (He looks a bit like Prince Zuko!  Wonder if Avatar was an inspiration?)  Can you imagine cosplaying this?  Those tattoos would be a nightmare!

The next image has several interesting updates.  The tattoo’s have been simplified and the lyrium is clearly etched into Fenris’ skin with what looks like words, perhaps in Tevene or Elvhen.  (As if these suckers weren’t hard enough to draw as they are in game!)

In this image, Fenris looks very much like a warrior.  Almost Conan the Barbarian-esque.  One thing Artemis found particularly interesting is that this look has been carried forward into the most recent concept art Mark Darrah has teased all of us with, which appears to include Fog Warrior designs that echo this early art design.  This concept for Fenris is definitely more wild, almost feral.  This Fenris conveys so much of his personal history: breaking free of Danarius and living among the Fog Warriors before having to run for his life and freedom.

The next design makes some very dramatic changes, and Fenris now has the look we see in game.  Mostly.  He has the “new look” for elves in DA2, which was a little too close to the Na’vi from Avatar.  Larger eyes and ears, long necks, and the distinctive broad noses with high bridges.  They managed to make Fenris, Merrill and a few other key elves look beautiful with this new design, but many other elves were…well, not the ethereal beauties they are often described to be in the lore.  

The designers have also developed an obsession we feathers.  Fenris has feathers, Anders has feathers, Flemeth has feathers, etc.  Must have been a texture they were rather proud of and wanted to incorporate in lots of places.  Some of the bird fluff disappears off of his legs by the time we get to the final game, but the ones on his wrist cuffs and shoulders stayed.  (And the belt is back!)  

Fenris’ tattoos change a great deal from his last iteration.  They now look like they follow his skeleton, which might make them easier to animate (even if they are still a pain in the ass to draw. But these are far easier than any of the previous designs or the ones Matt would use now.  More on that later.)  Did they forget the three dots on his forehead in the game?  Artemis has tried every angle in game to see them but can’t see them.  Yet all the later concept art has them.  There probably is a mod for that.  

It is interesting that Fenris’ hair is black in this art.  We assume that the pain and trauma from lyrium being fused to his skin was what turned his hair white, but as far as we know this has never been confirmed in the canon.

In almost all of these pictures, Fenris is drawn more sinuous than muscular.  This implies, to our thinking, that his strength comes more from determination than muscles.    Add lyrium as another source of strength and you don’t need big muscles.  This idea was confirmed in World of Thedas 2, which stated that Fenris’ “determination, more than his physical abilities impressed Danarius.”   

This was one of the last designs for Fenris, but not all of the elements made it into the game.  Matt would very much have liked to hack off his hair.  Bleh!  Yeah, we know everyone thinks he has emo hair, but we think it says a lot about his personality at the beginning of the game.  Fenris’ hair veils his eyes and the emotions on his face, creating a kind of barrier between him and those looking at him.  This look and his posture convey that he was supposed to be a beaten dog, who has only just begun to remember that he is a wolf. 

Matt’s Dream Fenris

On his tumblr page, Matt posted a design for he wishes Fenris looked like…  Our response: meh.  Fenris is stockier here, with a smaller sword and very clear Tevinter design elements.  They were deep into Inquisition at this point and knew what Tevinter’s art style would be and we can certainly see those elements here.  Persian slipper style shoes, “harem” style pants, pointed tunic, and curved daggers.  (Hey!  Matt put him in shoes!  What in the Void?)  Fenris is also notably heavier set, similar to the stocky elf design we see for ancient elves.  Considering how slim male elf Inquisitors are, this is an interesting choice.  Sera also has a heavier build also.

Bleh.  We don’t care for the bald design, although it does allow us to see the tattoos Matt gave him more clearly.  We now see a dragon motif that does seem very Tevinter, but not very practical.  And a nightmare to draw again.  (We’ll take the ones that made it into the game, thanks!)

Whatever Matt Rhodes would do with Fenris now, his design was set by Dragon Age 2.  We did get an updated look, however, in The World of Thedas 2.  Notice the changes to his hair and his posture.  This Fenris is far more self assured, but armed to the teeth.  He knows who he is, and is not hiding from anyone anymore.  Slavers better hide from him.  

Merrill’s Many Faces

Origins of Merrill

You would think when you already have a character designed, there wouldn’t be much to do for Merrill in DA2.  Developing her character, however, also meant updating her look to match the new elements for the second game. Their first attempt produced…interesting results.

Scary lady!  

Merrill certainly looked different than she did in Origins in her first draft for DA2.  She has a variation on the same outfit she wore in the first game, but without her underpinnings or outer gear.  But the most startling change was her face and countenance.  Her new look screams “I’m a blood mage!!!  Rawr!”  It would have been an interesting concept to explore, this malevolent Merrill.  She was certainly more stern and imperious in Origins than we see her in DA2.  Perhaps losing Tamlen and Mahariel, her closest friends in the Sabrae Clan, could have driven her to more and more dangerous blood magic.  She seems to even have augmented her vallaslin to reflect her grim purpose.  An interesting AU for peeps to play with, but it wasn’t what the writers had in mind.

After the writers gave Matt more info, he redesigned and created a less scary version, but still rather stern Merrill.  The innocence and seeming naivete she shows in DA2 isn’t there yet, but otherwise she looks pretty much like the Dalish elf we know.  The new mail hauberk may reflect a new desire to protect herself in an increasingly uncertain world.  This armor appears in DAI as a medium armor, suggesting that Daisy is tougher than one might assume (or they just decided it looked more like rogue armor in Inquisition).

There was an attempt at playing with Merrill’s armor, but makes her look more like a rogue instead of a mage.  The designer’s definitely liked the art, however, as it too appears in Inquisition.  This phase of Merrill’s development also show the influence of the new elf facial structure.  Long neck, large eyes, etc.  We wonder how the developers would handle her appearance and Fenris’ if they were to appear in a future game.  Would they try to make them look as much like their DA2 appearance?  Or would they get another makeover to match the newest version of the elves?  Tricky either way…

In this concept art, she finally has an expression that is befitting her moniker: Daisy.  Her outfit certainly changed.  More mage-y, perhaps a little more formal, yet very elvhen.  

Several of these clothing concepts eventually did make it into Inquisition. (It is just me, or did they mess up the codes for these three?  It seems to me that the heavy and light armor should be reversed.)  The middle armor is clearly Merrill’s outfit from DA2 ported into Inquisition.  Its presence, along with several other character armors from the second game make me think that cameos were planned for some characters.  In fact, several character armors actually made it DAI.  Isabela was obviously wearing hers in the multiplayer, and I probably said something naughty when I saw this on the sellswords in the Hinterlands.

It seems likely that they either really liked the designs for these armors or they were planning cameos for several DA2 characters, including Merrill and Anders.  (Thank the Maker they dropped the Anders cameo, especially if the picture below was what they had in mind!  

Yes, we know that this probably would be his appearance if you let him live, but ordered him to leave Kirkwall without helping the mages, but still!!!  We loves him.  *Morta sobs in the corner for a few*)

Simply Merrill

Unlike Fenris, Matt said there is little he would change about Merrill.  There are, however, a few interesting details in the “how I would draw her now” picture.  Her eyes are wide and bright, filled with both curiosity and some trepidation.  Her clothes are far more simple than the look he created for his ideal Fenris.  Other than her near trade scarf, her clothes are plain and nondescript with no embellishments we can identify with city elves or the Dalish.  She is not wearing her mail hauberk either, and we assume the many bindings on her arms are from bloodletting for her magic.  Merrill seems very unprotected from the forces she is wielding.  It is a night and day difference from the first piece of concept art of her.

In Merrill’s World of Thedas 2 design, she looks virtually unchanged save for two features.  Her hair is done with cornrows on the right and her cheek vallaslin is missing.  We are going to assume that her vallaslin was an oversight or oversimplification of her Dirthamen tattoo from DA2.  (If her vallaslin has changed again we may have to say “Oh, dear!”, shake our heads, and write theories about why.)

Thanks again for the ask, Nony.  We had fun going back over these designs and hope it was what you were looking for.  There is a lot of other interesting material on Matt’s Blogspot/Tumblr/DeviantArt that we can look into in the future if folks are interested.  And we will keep our eyes open for DA4 teases.

-The Wyrd Sisters of Thedas

Bonus!  Bela-licious!  

Did y’all see this concept art for Isabela?!  We love it!  I mean, yeah, we love her any way we can get her (and she is a rather inventive pirate queen), but this art is gorgeous.  The style deliberately echoes Duncan’s outfit in Origins, and therefore show some insights into Rivaini fashion.  To our eyes, it looks very Romani with a pirate flair.  It would be awesome to have a mod of this outfit in game, either for Bela, Hawke, or the Inquisitor.

[lukefergusblogs]

Week 2

Task 1 

importance of the aperture and shutter speed of film cameras is one of the most important steps to basic film photography for beginners. The aperture of a film camera is the hole in the lens that opens or closes to let more or less light into the camera to expose the film. The aperture allows for more, or less, light during an exposure and helps control sharpness. When the maximum amount of light is allowed into the lens of a camera, the focal point of the lens decreases. As a result, you will achieve what is known as shallow depth of field. 

fig 1 - Aperture Chart

The range of f-stops on film photography cameras vary from different camera lenses, and it should be noted that not all lenses cover the entire gamut of f-stops. Some lenses, for instance, may have a maximum aperture of 2.8 and minimum aperture of 32 while another may have a maximum of 1.4 and minimum of 16.

from this example i have found online the used of aperture affects the background of the shot for example in the first image the f-stop is 1.8 with shows the the flower in full detail and in focus but the background is harshly out of focus. in photography and cinematography shots like these are meant to add importance and focus on this item , for example a character in a scene. it is important to show there facial expression without the audience being distracted by what is going on in the background. in the scene also the photographer doesn't want to give definition to the background more to the in focus floor this also increases the brightens of the image.

from the second image aperture has been slightly increased bring the f-stop to 2.8 still the focus is still on the flower in the foreground, the photographer still want the focus to be on the flower still but also with the increase in aperture the background is getting slightly revealed. compared to thew first image . it is easier to make out the background of the photo.

I wanted to find different scenes in film , tv and advert so i could give a rough idea of the use of apertures and why it was used. it is used to emphasis or put focus on to a character who is in the foreground or in the background and even to set the scene or to establish a new location. 

in this scene in blade runner decker is in the foreground but he is not the fcous of the scene. in this scene you can tell the importance is on the background and where he has traveled to. the cinemotgrapher wanted to show the audience that this area is important or that he has just travel to this location and the location is more important than the character who is in the scene. if i was guessing the aperture of this scene i would say f/22. i believe that with how bright the scene is and how in focus the background is.

fig 2 - Blade Runner 2049

fig 3- beverly hills cop

in this scene we have the main character being in focus but the background being only small bit out of focus this tells the aperture isn't as low as the the first scene from Bladerunner 2049. In this scene the main characters in this scene is the most important part of the shot. Scenes like these that have a small depth of field due to the focus of the shot or the aperture. this scene is meant to focus on the facial expressions of the character and his gestures. in this scene  the aperture for this scene would be a medium aperture due to the medium size depth of field. an aperture of f/5.6

in this scene we have the main characters running away from an explostion the focus of this shot is on the main characters and also the background these are the focal points of the scene. the background is in focus this scene is very clean and bright . This scene will have a large depth of field i know this with the background being in focus with the characters in the foreground. i would say the aperture would be f/11.

Task 2

High Key Lighting in photography 

in photography today high-key lighting is used in images with little or no shadow used this is usually created to show a mood for the photographs, this most often creates a light,pleasant mood that goes against dark,shadowy images which often creates a dynamic, romantic. with high key lighting. the bright and high lights dominated by oranges of whites. they use minimal black colours and mid-tones. mostly these photos are used for wedding photography and fashion photography. 

High Key Lighting in film

high key lighting usually gives a film a sense of happiness and cheerful and lively look to the scenes . these high key lighting are mostly used in comedies and musicals, this type of lighting was only more commonly used once the black and white era ended. many films during that time used low key lighting to make a dramatic effect. 

Low key lighting in photography 

the moat important to low key lighting  photography which uses shadows and barely any light or light tones. ambient lighting is used to create effect to show shadows and detail in the photos, this helps to produce striking contrast and dark tones using only a single source of lighting usually at an angle to add more depth to the shot.

In this photo we can see the ambient lighting being used to create a show of the subject . this gives the subject depth and detail and creates a striking look for the subject.

Low key lighting in film 

Low-key lighting is typically used when the director wants to either isolate a subject or convey drama. Just because a scene is shot with low-key lighting doesn’t necessarily mean it must be scary, but, if you want your audience to be uneasy, low-key lighting is a great place to start. low-key lighting helps to minimize distractions in your frame, so it really helps to guide your audiences eyes where you want them to be. in this scene low key lighting is used to show how the character is shown in darkness 

Depth of Field task

this scene is with the closes lego character in focus and the rest out of focus.

This scene is with the last character in focus and the rest out of focus.

This scene has the middle lego character in focus and the rest of the characters out of focus.

This is the scene with all the lego characters in focus.

[marvelandponder]

I ❤ Comics

Because I’m so incredibly creative, this month of Year of the Pony has been all about lurve. All kinds of the stuff! Self-love, romantic love, familial love, and, of course, some good ol’ fashioned friendship/platonic love.

But, we all know there’s one love to rule them all: dorky/fanatic love!

The obsessions and ideas that rule our hearts and, in MLP’s case, drive us ponies. 

As much as I don’t want to take all this too seriously, this kind of love really is something special. For many of us, it’s the reason characters stick with us for so long, through any kind of mood you can imagine. It’s why we get lost in fantastical worlds on our screens and pages, and come back feeling like we’ll never forget the adventure we went on. It’s common ground to socialize in if we wish, or a quiet comfort that yours and yours alone. 

These things mean so much to us that it becomes a part of our identity. I’m a Brony, I’m a Rainbow Dash fan, I’m a this that or the other. We want people to see us for things we love because we’re just that proud of them. So long as there’s a healthy dose of perspective in the mix, I think that’s a good thing.

And one of the nerdiest, if not the nerdiest MLP topics I could think of to geek out over is the official IDW comics (the Enterplay trading cards, Star Trek cast members voice-acting for the show, and upcoming table-top RPG, Tails of Equestria, obviously deserve some honourable mentions here, but the comics just gave me more to talk about on a technical level)!

I figured the best way to go about this would be to go by artist (sorry colorists, letterers, and editors; you’re necessary and appreciated but apparently not glamorous). Last month, when we dove a little into Design and Animation, I didn’t really get to talk about the teams behind the work---which is mostly because MLP is a script-driven show as opposed to a storyboard-driven show, so the same animation teams and the same style goes into every episode (unlike Steven Universe, for example, which is ‘board-driven)---but here, who’s working on a comic makes a massive impact on how it’ll turn out.

With that said, we’ll stick to the most reoccurring artists (and gloss over the writers to save on time); if you’re ever curious, you can check out this page on the wiki for a full list on who did what, but I really ramble on too much as it is. 

Artists 

Here’s a big name! Andy Price, the man with the shadows and long, bendy pones. Price excels a quite a lot in terms of expression, and I think it’s because he adds such a sense of drama to these characters without taking away the cuteness or light-hearted personalities we’ve come to love. 

If anything, he’s gotten to add personality, especially to characters like Celestia and Luna who express their emotion much less visually in the show. Just take a gander at the sketches he gives out at conventions!

And as to the shadows, look at how involved the shading is in these inked panels:

Just look at how much of his panels are darkened, and just how much more dramatic it looks than it would with flat or lightly shaded colours.

Even a simple scene can benefit from Price’s style:

See where the shadow draws your eye (even when the shot is coloured)? To the sinister looking rat emphasizing the books, to Sunset, and to the shocked librarian who would know these books best. If you’ve read this issue, you know Sunset’s reading some books she’s really not supposed to---and in fact this is what leads to her downfall.

It’s a simple panel, there’s not even a lot of dialogue on the finished product, but you can tell Price uses shadows to compose his shots in a way that tells the story visually. 

Also, a word on page layout (this isn’t necessarily exclusive to Price, but since we’re talking about layout in terms of one panel...):

This is one of those things that I had a hard time finding a place for in this post that I would kick myself for if I didn’t talk about. It’s something exclusive to the medium and something that’s extremely impactful (as comic fans know).

It’s the flow of the page. How your eye moves from one panel to the next, and how different movements are expressed.

Price is one of the many MLP comic artists who do this effectively. In the first example there, you can see how the emotion shifts as we go down the page, how Celestia’s mane both transitions us into the next panel, and seems to hide her reservations from Sombra, Luna, and Starswirl.

And in the next example, there’s this wonderful transition mid-panel at the bottom there that takes us from the interior of the train to an exterior shot outside of it for Applejack’s final line of the scene.

It’s things like this (and even the layout of the word-bubbles, because those take a surprising amount of consideration to place in a panel) that shows you the artistry and thought behind these comics, and Price’s art in particular.

A personal favourite of mine, for sure.

What’s special about Amy Mebberson’s art-style is how it’s tweaked just so from the show, but certainly stands on its own as it draws emphasis to the roundness of these designs.

You’ll probably notice the simplicity of Mebberson’s designs, especially compared to someone like Price, but look how that works to her advantage:

Check out how close to the show it is, but just a touch rounder. Cute, right? The eyes are cartoonishly big, the heads closer to perfect circles than we normally see even in a 3/4 angle shot, it just brings your attention to how sweet these characters are.

Then there’s the fact that her work will often be coloured with a really soft, soothing texture to boot:

That powdery softness only makes these ponies cuter---and here I thought they had laws against that kind of thing!

Another awesome big player!

The thing about Hickey’s art is that it’s often coloured so that the manes are especially shiny, making the characters draw focus and pop off the page.

And even when things aren’t especially shiny, she still often finds ways to use the background to emphasize the characters:

(Underrated moment in the comics award might have to go to this, by the way)

It’s a very simple snowy scene, but that matches the tone so expertly, so isolating Applejack, her breath, and the snow is an excellent choice to get the emotion across.

And when things are glossy, it strikes me how energetic the characters can still look.

When things look this polished, the worry tends to be that you might make the characters look stiffer, but Hickey’s style strikes such a great balance between polish and flexibility.

This art style comes with its pros and cons, in my opinion, but it can still serve MLP pretty well. Garbowska’s art is often coloured as if with coloured pencils, which gives everything a really soft, soothing finish, and in addition can make for some pretty cute pones.

The downside is two-fold: The characters can seem like they all have Same Face syndrome, if you know what I mean; and the ponies are often posed in needlessly anthropomorphic poses (we’ve certainly seen a few more human-like poses throughout the series---yes, Lyra, we love you, you oddball---but there are some poses that just seem uncomfortable and [to use a slightly redundant word] unnatural for them to want to be in).

Still most definitely a great part of the team, just with a few quirks that come along with the sweetness.

Welp. Guess I couldn’t steer clear of controversy entirely. Jay Fosgitt’s art style in and of itself is divisive among fans---like, really divisive.

The reason being the drastically different shape to everything. Compare a Fosgitt head to a Mebberson head, for instance, and you’ll see there’s a lot more emphasis on the foreheads and cheeks than on the muzzle or an overall roundness.

It’s a very distinct style that comes with its advantages and disadvantages. Fosgitt’s not afraid not go for some extreme expressions, for instance, and that can really serve the story well in chaotic and/or comedic situations, but he’s also had that same problem of putting ponies on their hind-legs when it doesn’t seem organic for them to do so, and combined with the proportions exaggerated the way they are (like sometimes I don’t know how those necks keep their heads up), that can make for an off-putting panel or two.

It’s definitely cartoony. I’ve never been able to place exactly what artstyle it reminds me of, but cartoony is a good word. It’s grown on me, personally, especially considering the improvement from issue to issue, but I thought I’d mention this never-ending debate so you could make up your own mind.

Tony Fleecs is a great addition to the team. He’ll often give the eyes a point or just a different shape, which takes some of the cartoonishness out, but still allows for some great expressions in a way we don’t normally get to see, with our bulbous-eyed characters.

It can especially work if he’s trying to capture something menacing:

So, I think he’s among the better ones.

On the other hand, there have been a few times Fleecs’s art has lacked depth solely because of how things are shaded, like here (I can obviously tell where everyone is in relation to each other, but it’s flatter than if there had been some shadows to it):

But overall that feels more like a nitpick.

Now, we’d be here all day if I started going into all the cover artists (as much as we appreciate their work), but there’s one in particular that’s done enough that I’d feel remiss leaving her out.

Sara Richard is a good name to know because once you know it, you’ll always be able to point out her art. She’s got some of the only traditional art in our little roster, and it’s often got some gorgeous swirls. So many swirls.

If I wanted to be crass, I could call it colour and swirl porn... so I will. It’s colour and swirl porn, and I love it.

Writers

To preface this section, I’d like to take a moment to steal a catchphrase from the ever insightful MovieBob, previously of Escapist fame: comics are weird.

Really, even the best and brightest of the medium will occasionally have some really out there arcs or issues. For every intellectually stimulating, deeply meaningful story you can tell with these characters, there’s a silly rendition of them that’s just... odd. The same Batman who comes to grips with the death of his second ward, Jason Todd, is the same one who later owns a Batcow, thanks to his son Damien.

Yes, Batcow is canon.

So, if genre-defining superhero comics have been known to divulge into stranger stories from time to time, it absolutely follows that we’d see the same from colourful, pony-based children’s comics. Basically, that shark-jumping weirdness just... comes with the medium.

You can make all sorts of arguments about the origins of that oddness---the creative freedom available, attention-grabbing to boost readership, the Comics Code Authority heavily censoring violence and delinquent behavior in the 50s and 60s which forced writers to come up with tamer but also more creative stories, etc---but one thing is clear, if you’ve noticed some interesting choices mixed in there, it might just be a comic book thing.

But, then again, there are also issues that go way more in depth than you would think!

In particular, I have to make mention of my absolute favourite arc (I never claimed to be unbiased): Reflections. For the details, the comedy the lore, the immaculate world-building, and the emotions---but most of all the character-building.

Starswirl is an absolute delight, the good King Sombra breaks your heart, Twilight faces exactly what I wanted her to face once she became a princess, and the Princesses and their sisterhood get to be developed even more here than they have been in the show (especially Celestia; here’s hoping season seven really will break that streak).

Okay, example time. 

Here’s a detail that was just pointed out to me recently that really nails all of this on the head (and granted, I don’t know whether this came from its writer Katie Cook, or the artist Andy Price, but if nothing else it shows you what they can do together):

Two silent frames that tell us so, so much. 

It’s a simple idea, that these parallel universes have developed in different ways, but that tells us so much about why Equestria’s technology is the way it is. Having the power to jump to more technologically advanced universes has allowed our Equestria to be as anachronistic as it has been---to have arcade machines and silent movie theaters, but not automobiles or light bulbs in common use.

But this is what the comics can do: contextualize. 

Take characters and worlds we love and expand on them in new lights. Some weird, strange, or just cute for the sake of being cute, but some more involved and some even inspired.

The comics, overall, can be pretty divisive in this fandom. There are fans who frequent them for every new issue, and those who have sworn off them entirely. Artists and writers we revere and some we outright revile. But when all is said and done, being able to take on this new perspective of MLP in an entirely different medium is something I for one really appreciate---especially when it’s this good.

Here’s some more pony analysis for you! The whole compilation post here, or three of the latest/most relevant, just for you:

EMLP: Design & Animation, Pinkie Pie’s Editorial, and Top 10 Cutest Families

Year of the Pony

Header Image and Art Wouldn’t be Possible Without...

Luna and Celestia by dSana Elements of Harmony by SpiritofthwWolf Elements of Harmony by TechRainbow

There’s of course all those great comic artists and writers to go check out, but aside from the official art in this post, there’s some hard-working fan-artists who made some stellar vectors! Check ‘em out!

Love Me Some Comic Books

[clumsytwinkie]

cute questions

1: when you have cereal, do you have more milk than cereal or more cereal than milk? - More cereal cause I don’t put milk in my cereal.

2: do you like the feeling of cold air on your cheeks on a wintery day? - Yes unless it’s too cold

3: what random objects do you use to bookmark your books? - scraps of paper, birthday cards, receipts

4: how do you take your coffee/tea? - idk however the person makes it

5: are you self-conscious of your smile? - yeah

6: do you keep plants? - I used to keep cacti

7: do you name your plants? - yeah my cacti were called stella and bella

8: what artistic medium do you use to express your feelings? - I write or reblog pics

9: do you like singing/humming to yourself? - yes

10: do you sleep on your back, side, or stomach? - I sleep on my side or stomach

11: what's an inner joke you have with your friends? - yeast, kahea, kahiit, fapapus, simon biles, stacey, ariana, oreo, BC, too many

12: what's your favorite planet? - saturn

13: what's something that made you smile today? - youtube, cheetos

14: if you were to live with your best friend in an old flat in a big city, what would it look like? - it would be the coolest space ever and it would have huge windows with a nice view. my room would have lots of fairy lights and cute posters. music would always be playing.

15: go google a weird space fact and tell us what it is! - all of space is completely silent

16: what's your favorite pasta dish? - too many I love pesto, ravioli, alfredo, mac and cheese, four cheese, truffle carbonara, and just plain pasta with garlic butter and cheese idk what its called

17: what color do you really want to dye your hair? - maybe ombre with like lighter brown tips or just light brown

18: tell us about something dumb/funny you did that has since gone down in history between you and your friends and is always brought up. - when I claimed that mountains respire

19: do you keep a journal? what do you write/draw/ in it? - I keep a notebook that I write poems and prose in and another one where I just draw fashion stuff

20: what's your favorite eye color? - hazel

21: talk about your favorite bag, the one that's been to hell and back with you and that you love to pieces. - My favorite bag is this mini backpack that can be worn as a handbag as well and it used to belong to my mom but she gave it to me. It can hold a lot of stuff and is pretty worn out but I love it.

22: are you a morning person? - kind of because I have to wake up early every day so I’m used to it but I don’t mind because I don’t think I can stay in bed for that long anyways.

23: what's your favorite thing to do on lazy days where you have 0 obligations? - sit on my sofa and watch TV on my laptop and youtube videos.

24: is there someone out there you would trust with every single one of your secrets? - maybe 

25: what's the weirdest place you've ever broken into? - can’t remember but I have definitely broken in somewhere I think a park or something

26: what are the shoes you've had for forever and wear with every single outfit? - black converse or adidas

27: what's your favorite bubblegum flavor? - mint

28: sunrise or sunset? - sunset

29: what's something really cute that one of your friends does and is totally endearing? - my friend always calls me nicknames and gives me big bear hugs

30: think of it: have you ever been truly scared? - hell yes i am probably the most anxious person you’ll ever meet

31: what is your opinion of socks? do you like wearing weird socks? do you sleep with socks? do you confine yourself to white sock hell? really, just talk about socks. - I like wearing socks to sleep when i have gymnastics blisters on my hands. I like wearing any socks not just plain ones

32: tell us a story of something that happened to you after 3AM when you were with friends. - I think this was after a music festival not sure if it was 3am but my friend went to the fridge and took out a box of pesto pasta and just started eating it cold. also we played monopoly and cards against humanity.

33: what's your fave pastry? - lemon meringue tart, sausage puff, mushroom puff, chocolate puff

34: tell us about the stuffed animal you kept as a kid. what is it called? what does it look like? do you still keep it? - I have these two care bears, one pink and one purple called Salad and Lolly and I still have them. I used to take them with me on every holiday. I have lost the purple one in an airport bathroom and a hotel.

35: do you like stationary and pretty pens and so on? do you use them often? - stationary is literally one of my favorite things to shop for and one of the only reasons why I enjoy going back to school. I love pretty pens they make me feel better

36: which band's sound would fit your mood right now? - the 1975, arctic monkeys, the neighborhood

37: do you like keeping your room messy or clean? - clean 

38: tell us about your pet peeves! - when people are two faced, when they do well but they say they don’t, when people lie to not embarrass themselves, when people constantly complain, when people ditch their friends, try to act cool and so much more

39: what color do you wear the most? - black, white and navy

40: think of a piece of jewelry you own: what's it's story? does it have any meaning to you? - I have a ring that my mom gave me when I was little and I think it used to belong to my grandma but I think I’ve lost it.

41: what's the last book you remember really, really loving? - this is going to sound lame but wattpad has some really great stories and also the humans of new york book 

42: do you have a favorite coffee shop? describe it! - don’t really have one just basically any starbucks

43: who was the last person you gazed at the stars with? - can’t remember don’t think I’ve ever done that but I’ve always wanted to lay in a field on top of a blanket with someone and just look at the stars and not talk

44: when was the last time you remember feeling completely serene and at peace with everything? - when I slept or when I was eating cheetos and watching netflix

45: do you trust your instincts a lot? - kinda

46: tell us the worst pun you can think of. - did it hurt when you fell down from heaven? (angel)

47: what food do you think should be banned from the universe? - peas.

48: what was your biggest fear as a kid? is it the same today? - too many fears to pick from e.g. sharks, vegetables, the dark, monsters, scary movies, etc 

49: do you like buying CDs and records? what was the last one you bought? - i would like to buy some but i dont have any yet because i don’t own a record player

50: what's an odd thing you collect? - stuff i wore/collected on gymnastics comps where i did well e.g. hairties, movie tickets, receipts, stickers, buttons

51: think of a person. what song do you associate with them? -  52: what are your favorite memes of the year so far? 53: have you ever watched the rocky horror picture show? heathers? beetlejuice? pulp fiction? what do you think of them? 54: who's the last person you saw with a true look of sadness on their face? 55: what's the most dramatic thing you've ever done to prove a point? 56: what are some things you find endearing in people? 57: go listen to bohemian rhapsody. how did it make you feel? did you dramatically reenact the lyrics? 58: who's the wine mom and who's the vodka aunt in your group of friends? why? 59: what's your favorite myth? 60: do you like poetry? what are some of your faves? 61: what's the stupidest gift you've ever given? the stupidest one you've ever received? 62: do you drink juice in the morning? which kind? 63: are you fussy about your books and music? do you keep them meticulously organized or kinda leave them be? 64: what color is the sky where you are right now? 65: is there anyone you haven't seen in a long time who you'd love to hang out with? 66: what would your ideal flower crown look like? 67: how do gloomy days where the sky is dark and the world is misty make you feel? 68: what's winter like where you live? 69: what are your favorite board games? 70: have you ever used a ouija board? 71: what's your favorite kind of tea? 72: are you a person who needs to note everything down or else you'll forget it? 73: what are some of your worst habits? 74: describe a good friend of yours without using their name or gendered pronouns. 75: tell us about your pets! 76: is there anything you should be doing right now but aren't? 77: pink or yellow lemonade? 78: are you in the minion hateclub or fanclub? 79: what's one of the cutest things someone has ever done for you? 80: what color are your bedroom walls? did you choose that color? if so, why? 81: describe one of your friend's eyes using the most abstract imagery you can think of. 82: are/were you good in school? 83: what's some of your favorite album art? 84: are you planning on getting tattoos? which ones? 85: do you read comics? what are your faves? 86: do you like concept albums? which ones? 87: what are some movies you think everyone should watch at least once in their lives? 88: are there any artistic movements you particularly enjoy? 89: are you close to your parents? 90: talk about your one of you favorite cities. 91: where do you plan on traveling this year? 92: are you a person who drowns their pasta in cheese or a person who barely sprinkles a pinch? 93: what's the hairstyle you wear the most? 94: who was the last person you know to have a birthday? 95: what are your plans for this weekend? 96: do you install your computer updates really quickly or do you procrastinate on them a lot? 97: myer briggs type, zodiac sign, and hogwarts house? 98: when's the last time you went hiking? did you enjoy it? 99: list some songs that resonate to your soul whenever you hear them. 100: if you were presented with two buttons, one that allows you to go 5 years into the past, the other 5 years into the future, which one would you press? why?​

[inpeaks]

Logistics is often regarded as the main component of a country’s economy since it provides cost-effective resources which are required by other industries.

In India, the logistics industry continues to grow and prosper due to the improvement in retail, e-commerce, manufacturing and various other sectors. The rise in e-commerce consumption, as well as domestic logistics, also adds to an improvement in the Indian logistics market 2019.

Recent trends in the Indian logistics market

The logistics sector in India is changing dramatically over the past few years, but interestingly enough it has gained a major share of attention only in recent years.

This industry consists mainly of freight and transportation through road and rail, air and water, as well as inventory and warehousing.

Currently, India is ranked 35th in the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index (LPI). This also holds a mirror to the relatively low efficiency of trade logistics in India, when it is compared to other countries on similar grounds.

Opportunities for the Indian logistics industry

Going by expert views about the logistics sector in India, over time it has improved a lot. This is mainly because of the increased growth in the Indian economy, which has directly resulted in a rise in the amount of freight traffic that needs to be moved. This increase also led to an increase in scope in aspects such as transportation, warehousing, shipping services, express cargo delivery, container services and the like.

Big firms dealing with logistical analysis are now slowly integrating IT and technology into their operations to help with their myriad service demands. Click To Tweet

The introduction of technologically aided infrastructure to the logistics industry is a smart move since it will greatly reduce the costs incurred in meeting customer demands. This growth of the logistics segment will contribute significantly to India’s economic development in general. According to popular market projections, the logistics industry is estimated to grow at the rate of 10 to 15 percent annually in the future.

The Indian government has plans to implement several policies that will provide a fresh impetus to India’s economic development, especially in the small and medium sector of businesses. The prospect of fresh opportunities in these small to medium scale industries will, in turn, generate a higher demand for logistics. So this is more like a chain of opportunities and demands that will propel the growth of the Indian logistics market 2019.

Moreover, the introduction of GST is another step forward for this sector. The implementation of GST will allow companies that have many small warehouses in different parts of the country, to reduce these numbers to only a few in specific places. This has been made possible by implementing a new model of freight movement – from warehouses to manufacturing plants, wholesale outlets, and other POS. And it is worthwhile to mention here that this type of growth has been significantly backed by the boom in the e-commerce sector in India.

Challenges that are likely to be faced

One of the biggest challenges in India’s logistics industry are the hurdles in transportation facilities that are still prevalent, despite vast betterment over time. There are rules imposed by national, regional and local authorities, but they differ from city to city, resulting in a botched network.

Also, there is a certain void when it comes to technology, which cannot be overlooked. Seamless integration of cutting-edge technology is needed to automate processes for faster turnaround and ease of smooth functioning.

Then, a dearth of trained manpower in the Information Technology division, as well as hurdles in warehouse distribution facilities, are also responsible for the disorganized state of the logistics sector as of now.Till date, there has been a lack of adequate training in the relevant fields, which has led to a crisis of skilled management as well as client service personnel. Poor administration and facilities can also lead to high levels of loss and damaged resources that impact the growth.

A lack of research is another reason behind the poor state of India’s logistics industry in the supply chain field. Although academicians are slowly understanding the worth of the logistics industry in recent times, this field is still not as explored as it should be. Proper research and development in this sector will throw more light and clarity on its weaknesses so that they can be worked upon and improved.

Conclusion

The Indian logistics market 2019 will definitely witness a steady development than before – and as per The Economic Survey of 2017-2018, it is expected to reach INR 215 billion by next year, i.e. 2020. A combination of hard and soft infrastructure along with elements like education, effective training and policy-making are sure to have a positive effect on the logistics industry.

PS: Author is a content strategist for Truckeze Logistics Solutions

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