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lure-of-writing · 7 months

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Never been good enough

Authors note: I haven't written in forever so please forgive me if this isn't the best but I would love to hear what you think!

Summary: You would never be good enough for Ariel

Word Count: 2.3k Warnings: Arguing, curse words, mentions of death, Elain slander, Tamlin makes an appearance

Part two: Left in regret

Part three: Why can't We?

There was always something so enticing about Azriel that you could never put your finger on. To simply put it he was fascinating. Being a part of the inner circle for as long as you have meant that you put your feelings for him aside, did what you thought was best for the group. Not only that but Azriel never gave you any signs that he was interested in you and there was no way you would let him know about your feelings. What if you guys dated and it didn't work out? Or worse, what if you told him and he didn’t feel the same way? These types of thoughts made a home in your head and they made it a point to consistently remind you that Azriel would only ever be a friend. But hey, better a friend then nothing at all, Right?

That was until Rhysand met Feyre and in turn met Nesta and Elain. This is where your downfall began. You were truly happy for your high lord and new high lady but could have done without her sisters. Nesta was always ready to pick a fight and tear you down with her words as if she were some wild animal backed into a corner that would bite if you tried to pet it. The comparison wasn’t far off, she basically was a wild animal. Elain on the other hand was, well, contemptible at best. From what you knew Elain was basically loved by all in the inner circle but you. There was just something about her that irked you to your core. In a world that praised the strong and belittled the weak, her innocence bothered you. Why did Feyre have to do everything for her sisters, especially the middle one? As an older sister yourself you would have made any sacrifice necessary to protect your little sister. In fact you did. Maybe that's why you resented the middle sister.

Before the new additions were made to your family life was perfect, before under the mountain of course, the group was a perfectly balanced number and each person had their person. Rys with Armen, Mor and Cassian, you and Azriel. The group would spend long days giving each other a run for their money with stupid bets and at night you would have an even longer night getting drunk at ritas, but ever since Ryhsand met Feyre things changed almost instantly. It was like the people you once knew completely changed over night. You still knew who they were to their core but you didn’t recognize who they had become.

Cassian bowed to an unwavering, impolite, ungrateful human turned fae also known as Nesta, he was willing to die for someone who would never give the time of day to even acknowledge that he existed. Amren found company in her ruthlessness, found friendship and understanding in her unbothered face.

Mor found sisterhood among the complexities of healing with Feyre, through the grief and joy and thousands of other emotions one feels when finding themselves after trauma.

Ryhsand found his mate, the one he never thought he would meet. The one he was willing to die for as long as that meant she was safe.

Azriel saw the need to protect someone as delicate as Elain. So he did.

And you, you found a changed group of people before your very own eyes.

“Azriel can I please hold the fancy special dagger?” the Shadowsinger simply stares at you from the other side of the ring. Today had been training day for everyone excluding Amren, if you asked her she would say it didn’t pertain to her, and while the boys took turns sparring you were teaching Mor a new fighting technique you learned recently. “No” the short answer was no surprise to you at all. “Why not? I even said please and I never say please” the inner circle could not wait to witness this scene unfold for this wasn’t an uncommon occurrence but considering that you were Azriels favorite amongst the group even if he refused to say it, they thought that maybe one day you would wear him down enough to the point where he lets you hold the truth teller. “y/n I have never let anyone hold that dagger and you will not be the first. You are more than capable of handling yourself without my blade.” “Exactly I am more than capable of handling a dagger Azriel. One day I will get the truth teller in my hands just you wait.” he simply raised his shoulders in a shrugging manner as if to say “yeah I’m not concerned”

To say you were surprised that Azriel gave Elain the truth teller would be an understatement but honestly you should of seen it coming. Not even a few days before he was rushing into the hybern camp to save Elain without any second thought. There was never a time in the five hundred years where Azriel threw himself into a situation like that where he didn’t at least take some time to plan everything out. As a spy yourself you knew that at least having a fraction of a plan could save your life but it appeared Arizel was willing to die to save her. Feyre's sister be damned. So to watch from afar as he handed over his dagger to inexperienced hands was truly a gut wrenching experience. How could your closest friend of literally hundreds of years spend his potentially last moments with someone who was basically a stranger instead of a true friend? It was a revealing moment, it either showed how kind he was to try and help a defenseless person have a means to defend themselves if the time came where it was needed or he truly had changed and no longer cared for you. You would have your answer sooner than you had hoped.

For as long as you have existed you were trained as a spy for the cover up of an assassin. It made you as deadly as anyone else in the inner circle, maybe even deadlier since no one ever saw their death by your hands coming. So when the time came to go to war you were ready. The Battle was bloody and ugly and cruel. It was long and it felt never ending for every body you cut down it seemed there was ten more to replace it. When you watched as Cassin dove from the sky just as the cauldron unleashed its power amongst the world, the fight seemed hopeless. How were you supposed to win when hybern had that kind of power to be used whenever the king wished? But as a warrior in your own right you just wished that when you died upon this battle field that it wasn’t for nothing. That everyone in your family made it home by the end of this war, you may not recognize your family anymore but they meant the world to you and you just wanted them to be safe no matter the cost.

Seeing help arrive re-established your hope that Hybern wouldn’t win and it pushed you to fight that much harder but the renewed sense of vigor made you lose focus and that was your downfall. A hybern soldier came charging at you with the anger of a thousand suns and sliced your stomach in one quick motion and before you knew it you were one the ground bleeding out.

The inner circle was checking on Cassian when an unexpected figure came walking in with your limp body in their arms. “Oh gods, y/n!’’ Mor was the first to stand up and gawk at you in Tamlins arms before the healers directed him to a place where they could properly work on you. Nothing was said as the healers started working, as the inner circles' minds were racing and as Tamlin was leaving. “Thank you” Tamlin didn’t even stop to acknowledge Rhysands form of gratitude. Azriel was the first to speak “How did we forget about her?” no one had an answer.

Once back in Velaris with your healing underway you could tell that something was off within the group besides the obvious effects of a battle like that and a gut feeling told what it was. You could feel this sense of guilt every time you stepped foot into a room and you knew it was that they forgot about you, they never said that they did but while you were unconscious you could hear everything, and what you heard broke your heart. You were becoming an outsider in your own family.

You watched day by day as Amren bickered with Nesta, Ryhsand flirt with Feyre and cassian with Nesta, watched as Elain and Azriel danced the line of lovers and watched as you were slowly distanced from the group but it all came to a head after a heated argument with Elain. You were sick and tired of her acting like she was helpless when she wasn’t. She was cauldron made and she needed to start acting like it or else it would get someone killed or even herself. It happened on a training day.

The sun was beating down on your tired body and the whisper of a breeze was doing little to help and listening to Elain ask Azriel for help was driving you up a wall. “Azriel can you help me? I don’t think I'm doing this right?” all she was doing was stretching and she needed help with it? “For fucks sake Elain do you want him to spoon feed you and wipe your ass for you while hes at it?” Everyone stopped at your outburst and stared at you. Nesta looked like she was ready to rip off your face but Azriel beat her to it “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” you watched as she shifted her body to be behind his as if she knew he would fight her battles for her. “What it means Azriel” you stalked into his space until you were face to face and watched over his shoulder and Elain moved to seek comfort between her sister and the high lord and you couldn’t help but scoff at her theatrics

“Is that all this group ever seems to do is baby her! She is not a child, she can handle herself. She doesn’t need you to teach her how to touch her toes Azriel but heaven forbid poor sweet Elain has to do something on her own for once. I mean my gods what aren’t you willing to do for her Azriel? Correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t you give her the truth teller?” Azriel was quick to interrupt “Is that what this is seriously about?” if looks could kill he would be dead because your glare is cutting him up into pieces “I wasn’t done. You gave her your dagger, you went into a hybern camp to save her, you answer her every single beck and call as if she's not fully capable of doing things for herself. You all enable this, every single one of you!” you point to every member of the inner circle “ And I have had enough of this bullshit! Its ridiculous! Elain loves to play sweet and innocent but really she just loves having people dote on her and not having to do anything herself.” Everyone knew you were seething for they could see the redness creeping up your neck and into your face. And apparently you pissed off Elain

“So what if Azriel did those things for me it has nothing to do with you so mind your own business.” you knew she wasn’t as nice as she seemed. “This has everything to do with me! I used to be his best friend, me! Not you! I watched everyone change when your family came along and it ruined mine! I have been in love with Azriel since the day I met him and yet I’ve had to watch him fall for you, who he hasn’t even known for two seconds! I heard him say that they forgot about me on the battlefield after hybern! So yes this is about me, I am an outsider in my own family!” The silence was deafening after watching you fight to speak through your tears and cracking voice. No one dared to move for fear of upsetting you even more or maybe it was the weight of your words keeping them in place. Azriel went to place a hand on top of your shoulder but you were quick to step out of his reach. “Y/n I had no idea you felt that way” again you couldn’t help but scoff “Of course not because you were too busy with sweet Elain to notice anything else.” he shook his head as if in a silent no “I am so sorry that we forgot about you there is no excuse it should of never happened. I-we never knew you felt this way, felt like you were being pushed away. But y/n why didn’t you ever tell me that you had feelings for me?” something broke in Azriels heart watching you cry, watched as your face scrunched in pain while you fought back sobs from taking over your body. Something pulled him to comfort you but he knew better than that. He couldn’t, not with Elain here.

“I have been telling you for five hundred years Azriel how much more do you want me to do? I may have never flat out said it but why do you think I stayed up waiting for you to come home after missions, or why I defended you against the teasing, or why I showed you my love in a thousand different ways but you never noticed even though you are the head spy master of the night court.” a sob racked your body forcing you to stop and Azriel wanted nothing more than to hold you until the tears stopped flowing and you felt whole again something in his soul was pulling him towards you but your next words stopped him in his tracks. “I never told you because to you it seems that I have never just been good enough. I have never been enough for you.”

#acotar x reader #azriel x reader #azriel x you #azriel one shot #azriel fanfic #acotar imagine #acotar x you #azriel imagine #azriel angst #azriel acotar #azriel shadowsinger

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sunbloomdew · 1 year

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Tamarack & Qiu about the Forest and the Neighbourhood

Recently I’ve been playing various visual novel games, and I stumbled upon the Our Life series. Needless to say, I am deeply in love with it. While playing the “Our Life: Now & Forever” game demo, I noticed the character’s different opinions about their environment. It’s a simple observation but I really wanted to share it, so here I am!

Depending on which character we meet up with first when we embark on our paper airplane message investigation, they will express their thoughts on the forest and the town.

(I'll be referring to Qiu with he/him pronouns, as these are the ones that are used for this character in childhood!)

Qiu likes the forest, but prefers the town over it. To him that is the centre of activity in Golden Grove.

He says that aside from the seasons changing it's like time doesn't exist in the forest. The fauna and flora there are all the same at all times, and he finds it weird.

I think that because the life in the forest changes in very subtle ways, he doesn't really considers that important. The plants grow but it's not like they move to different spots. They stay in one place, like the path in the forest.

That's why the neighbourhood and the town, where other people live is more appealing to him. It's much easier to notice when something changes in a more lively space, and those developments tend to be more dynamic too, as such they can appear more interesting. Especially for kids. Since their attention span tends to be short, faster occurring shifts capture their attention better.

On the other hand, Tamarack openly expresses her dislike of the town.

To her, the town is the very opposite of fun. The buildings are old and dusty, and the people don't do anything. As she describes it, they sit around all the time.

Tamarack finds the town stagnant and boring because of that. The buildings look the same and stay in one place. You can decorate them, but they are always structures, constructed with a set purpose in mind.

I can't quite understand the meaning behind these words: "Nobody is going anywhere or doing anything. They just live in this place, sit around, and do that forever." If I had to provide an interpretation of those words, I'd say what Tamarack means by them, is that people have assigned roles in the community and certain habits that make it seem like their life are same, unchanging routine. That does not appeal to her in the slightest.

In stark contrast to Qiu, Tamarack considers the forest a place where everything constantly evolves.

She pays attention to the way nature is alive on its own. The tree may not walk around, but it's bark overgrows with lichen and fungi, that spread, or get eaten, or grow sick and die. The animals collect food, branches to build shelter and move from place to place. Those small changes, that occur all the time, forever, fascinate Tamarack.

As she puts it:

I found it interesting how Qiu and Tamarack focus on different signs of life, and are basically opposites in their view of those two places. To Qiu the town is exciting because there is always something going on there with people, but Tamarack thinks they do the same forever. Qiu may see neighbours talk to eachother everyday and find it interesting because they discuss different topics, but to Tamarack, they are just doing the same activity all the time, which is boring. On the contrary, Tamarack thinks the forest is magical in the way it constantly transforms, but Qiu sees it as a place without any sort of changes going on there, which unnerves him. I find those two views of the same spaces really interesting.

Later when the trio walks to school for the first time, Qiu is baffled when Tamarack states that the forest is the only good place around.

(She says that regardless if MC likes or dislikes the woods. If our character likes them, Qiu says the dialogue above. If not, he will say: "Hey, so, it's kind of funny how you like the woods that much." referring to Tamarack alone.)

While they have different opinions on these places, it's nice that they don't argue over it. Would I have expected this to happen? No, but it's still good that it doesn't.

It's not a groundbreaking observation, but I enjoyed thinking about it and writing this post nonetheless. I'm looking foward to learning more about those two! They are both so adorable. I can't wait to become best friends with them <3

Peace out (❁´◡`❁)

#our life now and forever #our life: now & forever #our life 2 #ol2 #tamarack baumann #qiu lin #gb patch games #sunbloom talks #wittle babies #i love them sm #gamer hours

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delta-pavonis · 8 months

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U for the alphabet ask meme!

Three favorite characters from three different fandoms.

(I am not doing Sandman because that is like the focus of almost my entire Tumblr and let's have this be interesting! Also, I cannot separate Dreamling. They are one character. The end.)

1. The "been my fav since I was a kid" character: Storm (Ororo Munroe) from the X-Men comics and animated series (her portrayal in the movies has been meh at best). She has been my favorite superhero since I was literally like 7 or 8 years old. There is just something about her regal take-no-shits attitude and how her powers literally put her in sync with entire planets. (She can attune to planets other than Earth, too!) Also, who else gets to whore (extremely affectionate) around with Wolverine, Gambit, Black Panther, AND Nightcrawler? Yeah, you read that right. Oh, and PEAK badass moment when she got pissed at Emma Frost in one of the early issues of X-treme X-Men and just picks up a fucking broken off metal pole, pins Emma (now with diamond skin) to a wall with hurricane winds and... ah, just read it yourself:

2. The "this is how I got into fanfic" character: Lestat de Lioncourt is a little shit and I love that for him. No, I haven't seen the most recent series. Which I am still sad about, but also I am quite happy with the Lestat that lives in my head, riding his motorcycle while listening to Bach's Goldberg Variations in his headphones (actual scene from The Vampire Lestat). I wrote my first fan fiction (just for myself, which never saw the light of day) in IwtV fandom. God, I haven't thought about those fics in FOREVER. I actually wrote a Lestat/OFC/Louis fic that had double penetration before I actually knew that DP was a thing that exists in reality. I was literally making it up as a fantasy. So, while it was not on purpose that my handle can be abbreviated to DP, I am ENDLESSLY tickled by the fact that it can. (So is my spouse.)

3. The "character I would saw off a limb to get more of in fandom or canon" character: Ash Tyler from Star Trek: Discovery. I love him, your honor. He has one hell of a Tragic Backstory™️ with a fascinating plot arc who becomes a goddamned space spy and is hot as absolute fuck. I would climb the actor who plays him, Shazad Latif, like a goddamned tree if I got with 50 miles of him. Just look at this man:

You mean I am stupidly attracted to a British actor of South Asian descent with big brown eyes, long-ish black hair, and sporting facial hair? *shocked Pikachu face*

(No, really, if I end up writing a sequel to Ten Forward it is going to be a Hob/Dream/Ash sandwich, guaranteed.)

#learn about pavonis #ask meme

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annelidist · 11 months

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Any current theories/symbolism reads/other thoughts not yet posted on umineko? I am always trawling the tag for umiposting. Also, have you been spoiled on anything?

i recently finished ep3, which puts a lot of new things on the table, so a lot of thoughts because there's just. so much to think about. beato has been even more of a delight than usual throughout this episode. i was kind of willing to accept her contrition and floundering attempts to better herself as an interesting direction for the character, but the final turn at the end where it's revealed she truly is just unrepentantly, irredeemably awful is such a delightful moment.

i've been thinking a lot about the line that gets drawn in ep3 between becoming a witch and growing up. becoming an adult means letting go of certain dreams, resigning yourself to the possible, and if you do that then magic slips beyond your reach forever. a direct line is drawn (i think by hideyoshi?) between the cruelty of witches and a child pulling the wings off an insect. as the only witch who appears as an adult woman rather than an adolescent girl, beato is kind of an outlier in this regard, but you can totally see that mile-wide streak of immaturity in her nature, the irrationality that keeps her rooted in the impossible. battler is positioned as sort of an anti-witch with his categorical refusal to believe and his deep emotional ties to those around him, but he also shares this nature of being physically adult and intellectually rigorous while possessing kind of a childish personality. they're great foils.

speaking of battler, i cannot get over how fucking stupid his arguments get in this episode. it's perfect. he's started just making shit up and it rules. umineko is a battle anime about debate club, and battler has finally realised that debates aren't won by being correct, they're won by being better at debate. "mysterious mechanism x." dickhead. i love him

last battler thing, i'm fascinated by that brief moment where his rejection of beato is forms an actual magical barrier against her. just super interesting to me that the things battler is capable of as anti-witch are still couched in the visual language of magic. his rejection of magic is still a kind of participation. i guess that kind of contradiction is fundamental to what battler's doing here, given that he relies on the red truth, a magical conceit made up by the witch, in his rhetorical struggle against the existence of witches. just very interesting to me

i also really really like how eva and rosa are written in this chapter but this post is long already

re spoilers: i have been spoiled on a bunch of miscellaneous things like the designs of upcoming characters, battler's dickhead cape, and the existence of multiple kinds of coloured text, but nothing important in terms of plot. currently i'm at the very beginning of ep4, so approaching the halfway mark by word count. also some completely contextless Beato Facts like her and battler apparently turning out to be cousins and her being [taking this one with a massive pinch of salt because tumblr users will say it about anything] transgender

#bones.txt #asks #umineko

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chill-vibes-but-rainbow-panic · 9 months

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I'm here to share a Miitopia fic I wrote a while ago

A Face you could learn to Love

Summary:

To bring them out of the house, the Great Sage takes The Reborn on a small mission. Just enough for them to bond, and for her student to experience a little bit of the world again.

But sometimes it's hard not to remember the past.

They leisurely stroll across the meadow, letting each long blade of grass slowly brush against their lower legs, temporarily letting themselves forget their actual mission. Though the Sage doesn't particularly seem to mind. She is already far up ahead, her robe flying on the calm breeze, looking back at her new student with a soft and gentle gaze, as they are fascinated by each green strand anew.

Grass. So menial, so trivial to most, and yet, right now, it seems like The Reborn's whole world. The fresh green shines in their otherwise black eyes; wide open, as if trying to absorb every new, colourful shade. Like they had never seen colour before. Then again, four hundred years is longer than they ever thought to experience.

"Vik? Are you coming?", she chuckles, watching their head snap to the side, looking for the source of a sudden noise. Horses. A bunch of horses are taking their rest at the Lotus Lake. Only a few months ago, their soul would have filled with greed. The want to possess and control. And what they couldn't control, they needed to destroy. But now, Vik just wishes to hear the horses neigh. The animals remind them of the stables of their hometown, and of the few living creatures to ever pay them any mind. The young adult could stand there forever, watching life go through its daily routine, and just exist around them. But, of course, they know that the Great Sage is more important.

"Yes, ma'am! Sorry.", they hurry over to her side, still making sure to take in anything this place has to offer, as they run; even bumps and rocks. "No need to apologize, young one.", she smiles, laying a hand on Vik's shoulder, who promptly leans into her touch. Even if there hasn't been a day she hasn't talked to her student, assisted them, or taught them in one way or another, they cling to every bit of interaction, as if it could be their last. 'Call me Cassandra', she always wants to add, every time Vik addresses her with some high or mighty title. After all, she has been on first name basis with all of her students, so far. However, she knows that they aren't ready for that. They don't feel comfortable enough in this new environment yet, not safe enough, after all the damage they have caused. They are still afraid of getting outcast, at the slightest mistake…

The sound of rushing water distracts the Sage from her thoughts, noticing how close the two have gotten to the water, while she subconsciously rubs the back of the Reborn's neck. However, they don't notice, when she takes her hands off of them, the Lotus Lake entrancing them with its pristine, yet cozy atmosphere. The leafs of the large plants growing into the sky douse the entire place in cooling shade, darkening the different, cool tones strewn around, a little. Big, pink and purple petals adorn green lily pads, on which small frogs are resting, trying to catch the bugs floating close to the shiny, clear surface of the crystal-blue water. In their state of trance, Vik sits down close to the edge of the shore, right before it descends into the lake. Their hand breaks the surface tension, causing a small, circular wave to travel across the otherwise serene mass.

Water. It flows effortlessly around their small hand, even when they swivel it around in the liquid blue. They can feel its temperature slowly adapt to its surroundings, messing with Vik's sense of warm and cool, their hand slowly becoming one with the large body it's in.

"Is it nice?", the Sage asks softly, smiling at her student from behind. They manage to tear their eyes away from the sight before them, instead focusing on her. "Very.", they carefully lift their hand back out, the cool air around making them flinch at first, before they quickly accustom to that, too. "We don't have to do it today, if you don't want to." "No, I do want to do it! I just haven't been outside in a while.", they chuckle, though a bit nervously. "Though, I guess that is my fault." 'Like everything…'

Vik hadn't wanted to leave the Great Sage's home before. They didn't feel ready to meet the world again, after what they had done to it. But now, they kinda wish they never had to leave. "We can start, whenever you feel ready, Vik.", she delicately brushes a thick strand of dark-blond hair out of their face. "But if you do, I think we have already found the perfect spot."

Their eyes follow her, as she points to a broad, yet not particularly high rock, with its flat top part reaching out the water, to form a little island. The dark grey reflects a couple of lost sun beams back home. Vik wonders what they'd feel like. "Sounds like a plan.", they smile.

Though, as they lift their arms, aiming towards their target, a seed of doubt plants itself in their mind.

The energy still rushes through them effortlessly, a sizzling sensation reaching from the soles of their feet, to the tips of their hands. Their body starts to tremble, as their old power burns in their veins. How often they had used it to hurt. To wound and posses. To take people's loved ones, to steal whatever they wanted in the fleeting moment, without second thought. Knowing - thinking - nobody could stop them. Nobody mattered to them, nothing was sacred or safe from their undying wrath. Who were they to decide-

"Vik? Do you want to take a break?" The Reborn feels somebody lightly brush their arm, back and forth, in a smooth, predictable motion. When they look down, Vik can see small, wet spots cover their shirt, their breathing skipping every now and then. They can hear the Great Sage breath, too, but much more regulated. They try to imitate their mentor's method, slowly bringing them back to the present. Though the rock is still empty, they continue to feel energy sit idly in their body. "I want to try again."

"Alright.", the Sage speaks in a soothing tone. She sounds supportive, if a bit worried. "But do you mind, if I help you?" She offers both of her hands to her student, who only nods timidly. She puts her hands around the Reborn's thin wrists loosely, making sure to make her presence obvious, yet not overbearing.

The power inside starts to move again. But this time, it just flows through them, much like a mild, gentle stream through a village, more than a maelstrom tearing them into the depth. While their eyes are closed, Vik can hear the sound of rocks moving, grinding against each other, as they assemble into shape.

As the Sage takes a step back, and they open their eyes, they get to stare at their newest creation. A Kind Golem, though it has no of its own eyes, stares back at them. And then it starts moving. Due to its large form, it walks slowly through the water, its feet only partially submerging in the shallow parts, and the moos covering them soaking up small amounts. The monster doesn't stomp, seemingly actively avoiding colliding with any life form in its way, as it strides over to the shore. With every step it takes, it grows in size.

Vikram doesn't seem to mind. It comes almost naturally to them, watching their creations approach their creator. They are unbothered, by the colossal size they can take. Cassandra has to stop herself from fleeing backwards. She didn't bring her staff, fearing it would only bring unwanted and unneeded tension, but she still knows what those creatures can do. What they have done. How could she not fear them, if even just a bit?

Despite her watching every step it takes, the monster stands before her, before she knows it, its full size unavoidable. The large body of rock and moss towers over her, clearly looking down at her, despite the lack of a clear indicator, where its focus lies. With every movement emitting a loud grinding, the Kind Golem moves its arm towards the Sage. Every muscle in her body yells to run, at least leave, but she keeps standing there, still as a statue. If she wants Vik to trust her, she has to be able to trust them, too.

And then again. They are 'Kind' Golems, at the end of the day. Only kind to monsters, yes, but the Curse has deliberately given them the ability to protect. Possibly just out of strategy, who knows, but maybe, just maybe, also out of the goodness of their own, stony hearts. Perhaps, they had granted them the ability to feel empathy, even if that wasn't necessary. A speck of Vik's humanity left, within the Dark Curse.

She can't help but wince, when the hard surface collides with the top of her head, only dampened by her black hair. But that's where the monster stops. It doesn't try to bash its fist into her skull, like it would have had before, it only gently sways the large arm around her scalp, almost as if it is trying to pet her. When she looks over to Vik, they are laughing quietly, watching the Sage hunched over, stuck under the golem's hand, like a large dog. She scrunches her nose in mock offense, but the smile in her eyes gives her away immediately. Fortunately, the Kind Golem soon removes its arm from the Sage, starting to trot around at the edge of the lake, cautiously chasing after a few dragonflies.

"Should I unmake it?", Vik asks, now standing right next to their mentor. She ruffles through their hair in a similar fashion to the monster. "I say, let it have some fun. We can decide what to do before we leave."

The fairies would probably not be the happiest about a giant golem roaming around their lake, but with a little time and explanation, she's sure they'd understand. But until then, she can watch Vik explore the Lotus Lake themselves, their trail occasionally colliding with the Kind Golem, despite the lake's quite substantial size.

It must have gotten its curiosity from somewhere, after all.

(Thx for reading :) )

#I'll also reblog this on the writing-sideblog #But I wanted to also share it on my main #miitopia #miitopia reborn #miitopia great sage #I'm not sure how to tag this on Tumblr tbh #hurt/comfort #mild angst #ao3fic #fanfiction writer #writing #writeblr

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lumosatnight · 2 years

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🥀 Saffic September: Dark AU 🥀

Part 5 of my Saffic September Rec List Series! Check out @hpsaffics for more info about their Daily Prompt Bingo Challenge! Today is Assassin AU, so I've broadened it a bit to include some other darker stories with rituals, murder, duels, and morally grey characters. Also for the @sapphic-september prompt poison. 1 podfic + 2 art + 6 fic + 1 combo recs. Enjoy! (this is secretly my favorite rec list. Shh, don't tell anyone)

Mind the tags please!

PODFIC

🥀 Abydos by Leela [Rolissa, T, 14 mins] read by fire_juggler 🥀 Ohhhhh, this story is so good, and the reader captures all the warring emotions and spooky atmosphere with so much care. Also, Rolanda Hooch has such a unique narrator's voice.

The ritual comforts the part of me that's convinced Narcissa will be lost, drowned in the darkness that Voldemort's drawing down upon us, if there's no light to guide her through.

ART

🥀 Date Night Interrupted [Pansy/OC, G, Digital] by @a-loveunlaced 🥀 Gorgeous. Stunning. Badass women. Pansy in a corset OHMYGOD.

Pansy and Althea's date night is inconveniently interrupted by a murder. How very rude.

🥀 Duel Between Witches [Vina, G, Digital] by @eveneechan 🥀 I didn't know this ship existed, but now I am fully converted. The anger and tension between Tina Goldstein and Vinda Rosier is SPECTACULAR in this anime-style drawing.

The duel between witches from different sides

FIC

🥀 three knocks upon the door [Tonkslily, E, 7.0k] by @lunapwrites 🥀 Oh, oh, oh. I LOVE morally ambiguous characters and some good old revenge. This case fic will keep you enthralled until the very end.

Knocking on wood three times is said to bring good fortune; but three knocks on your window or door without a clear cause is an omen of death. In this case, it's a little of both. (In which Tonks gets suspended from field duty, and takes matters into her own hands.)

🥀 Crown Enterprises [Cissamione, E, 2.8k] by @storyof-eden 🥀 God, this story will forever live in my head rent-free. Assassin Hermione and Mob Boss Narcissa are the new loves of my life.

Hermione was the best, and everyone knew Narcissa employed only the best at Crown Enterprises.

🥀 here we are (a pyrrhic victory) [Susma, T, 1.3k] by @elasticella 🥀 A fascinating premise with intriguing characters. Susan and Padma make such a great pairing in this story.

It’s in the family name, they’ve never been a stranger to death.

🥀 Plenitude [Amelione, M, 1.6k] by eldritcher 🥀 An aching story from one of my favorite authors. Beautiful prose and an unexpected rair pair. Amelia Bones is contrasted nicely against Hermione in this thought-provoking story.

Hers soon an hour of plenitude.

🥀 A Dish Best Served [Rosender, E, 1.3k] by katmarajade 🥀 A hot and steamy revenge fic involving Rose Weasley and a still married Lavender.

Mum’s forgiven your bastard of a father for having an affair with that floozy and humiliating her, humiliating all of you. You’ve not forgotten though. And it’s time he learned how it feels.

🥀 Till Death Do Us Part (I know That You Are Mine) [fem!Tomarry, E, 4.2k] by ArtsyDeath 🥀 HOT and possessive. I am just as obsessed with this fic as Tom is with Harry.

Harry is a reluctant Master of Death, travelling from one reality to the next - unable to die. A chance meeting brings her upon a new curiosity, an odd twist of fate that ties her together with a Tom Riddle very different from her own. Or: Harry is lonely and Tom is... Tom.

FIC + ART

🥀 Mechanics of Emotion [Padmione, E, 47.1k, Digital] by @kiertorata, @tonftyhw, @ravenclawkward-art 🥀 Detective Padma in an intriguing case fic with a complicated Hermione. This fic will grab you by the throat and have you begging for more.

Padma’s life is in a rough place. She owns a failing private investigative business and carries a rather heavy load of self-loathing to top it off. In walks Marjory Macmillan offering a well-paid case and the golden ticket to better times.

← Part 4: Pirate AU | Master Rec List →

#hpsafficsept2022 #hp saffics #hp femslash #hp podfic #hp fanart #hp fanfic #darkfic 👀#cissamione #tomarry #sapphicsept2022 #lumosinthelibrary

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fictofaggot · 1 year

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do the zahhaks free pass

i need to kill you with every rock imaginable thank you

Equius Zahhak

Sexuality/Gender Headcanon: trans girl but she doesn't really know it yet. ummm. ywah

A ship I have with said character: MEOWRAILS!!!!!!!!! meowrails is the only ship ever in the whole world and i love them. ummm outside of that i like equisol.... neigh8ors... ywah :3

A BROTP I have with said character: him and tavros! ithink they match they are hoofed beasts... ummmmm... him and karkat need tp be friends idont care about youre feelin gs

A NOTP I have with said character: uhh..... equigam... araquius (theyre fascinating to me but idont like them).. idk idk

A random headcanon: horrible sensory issues that lead to intense meltdowns so frustrated all the time because she can't touch things without breaking them feels horribly guilty about it ummm.... um um um. he and nepeta are so close to eachkther he values her over any other troll in the whole world and they both realize they're trans girls together and thwy are the best. this thing has a personality disorder also

General opinion over said character: Why Are You Fucked Up. i need tk kill her with my big fists. i love him so much he is so autustically autistic tou woukd not even understand how much i feel for her

Horuss Zahhak

Sexuality/Gender Headcanon: sysfluid trans girl she/he aro ace aplatonic etc

A ship I have with said character: no. none. go away forever

A BROTP I have with said character: idk... :P :P :P the other dancestors suck in terms of potential to be with horuss

A NOTP I have with said character: literally any ship ive ever seen with her is the worst thing in the world and i fucking hate you all DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DI

A random headcanon: kintype is one of those horses with the really big fluffy legs... transspecies... haver of both species and gender dysphoria... buys cool band shirts at the store and doesn't listen to the band to see if she likes them until months later... system has 2 hosts who share the body's name and take on the same shared identity for convenience, rarely has possession-type switches and has mostly grey-out and emotional amnesia... this beast has a personality disorder and so much autism you wouldn't even believe

General opinion over said character: I. Love. Her. favorite dancestor ever she is just like me fr hussie fucking sucks at writing her and im so Glad none of the fandom remembers the systemness because dear lird. she makes me mad a bit. no one can ever understand my feelings for her

Arquiusprite

Sexuality/Gender Headcanon: this thing is a he him transfem

A ship I have with said character: ilike him anr erisolsprite but not really in a ship way i3just think they should be together

A BROTP I have with said character: i am so obsessed with every sprite² interaction

A NOTP I have with said character: i don't know man i don't wan t to know what ships with him exist

A random headcanon: thw beast is demonic in nature

General opinion over said character: combination of 2 of my favorite guys you get a coolkid pass forever...love this thing

Darkleer

Sexuality/Gender Headcanon: trans girl lesbiman but he doesn't realize it because he has never heard of a pronoun in his life

A ship I have with said character: i don't care about ancestor ships

A BROTP I have with said character: idk...

A NOTP I have with said character: i don't care about ancestor ships

A random headcanon: JUGGERNAUT ARMOR JUGGERNAUT ARMOR JUGGERNAUT ARMOR J

General opinion over said character: this fucking beast is fantastic i love this animal. i need to get to the ancestor part in my reread soon so i can remember what his whole deal is

#zahhak #ask game #ilove thw zahhaks bro

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jeanmcrawford · 1 year

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Reading and Response #2

The thing about internet art is that it will be forever changing and evolving due to the continuous advancing of technology. From "Web Work: A History of Internet Art", it discussed the term 'net.art' as an accident more than a direct coinage of the vast ways art can manifest itself online. "Agents of Change: The internet. Net Art and How the World Wide Web has Created a New Medium" talks about that very concept regarding the definition or parameters of net.art, highlighting the difficulty of defining because the spectrum of the internet is so wide. I like how this article listed six features of net.art as identified by Baumgartel: connectivity, global reach, multimediality, immateriality, interactivity, and equality. I think these features describe net.art in a way that encapsulates the complexity of the internet and the controversies on what is considered art. In "The Digital Canvas: The Odd and Fascinating History of Internet Art", adds on to this because net.art is unbounded by galleries, museums, and exhibitions, meaning that everyone who has access to the internet has access to net.art.

I also think that internet art has different expectations compared to other forms of art making like traditional painting or drawing. Things on the internet can be trashy and can be 'low quality' simply because it is on the internet. GIFs do not have to be the best quality because the message can still be communicated. In "How GIF Trash Became Internet Culture Glue", it emphasizes this because GIFs and GIF culture does not exist within a limited single space, but rather communicate and evolve with technology and media. For instance, in "A Brief History of Animated GIF Art, Part One", GIFs are not always made with artistic intent and platforms like MySpace in 2003 harbored GIFs that exchanged messages, relatability, politics, and memes. All of these articles attempt to fathom and define internet art and GIFs, and learning about the history of these things is necessary when understanding the future of them. I use GIFs in text messages to capture everything I am trying to communicate, and it was interesting to learn about the artistic implications and applications of GIFs.

This GIF is simply hilarious. It is funny taking an icon like Walter White, who has nothing to do really with trans rights, and connecting it to exactly that.

I reference Drag Race memes and quotes all of the time. It has incorporated itself in my every day vocabulary.

I love GIFs that capture amazing moments in animes and shows. Just one clip of this anime entices people to watch the whole thing.

This GIF is from the youtube series DHMIS (Don't Hug Me I'm Scared) and it is a take on media targeted towards children and how it can be corrupted. I do this dance move all the time.

I like the idea of taking a still painting that has so much nuance regarding the meaning, and giving it more emotion, character, and personality through animation.

I appreciate and take part of the art form of makeup, and I love how this GIF captures the transformation and expression that makeup creates.

The beauty, grace, and pure artistry of a cat eating corn.

One of my favorite things is Kermit memes, especially the low quality ones that make it significantly more funny.

Any internet art interpretations of Gorillaz is very interesting and cool because Gorillaz is an animated internet based band.

Vanelope was surprisingly one of the first things I thought of when reading about glitches. The fact that her character was discarded and not given value because she glitched almost perfectly reflects the standards of art and the controversy of the quality of art especially surrounding glitches.

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blubushie · 1 year

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"A PICNIC TABLE?" DUDE please like just look at it and blur your eyes a bit maybe you'll see or maybe youre too used to what is ACTUALLY in the picture 😭 i really went and sentenced myself to public blast for that

retaliation! before i go to sleep I will bombard you with all random questions that come to me in this ask

what's your preferred time of day and why? most reliable water sources? how do you usually deal with most common threats you encounter in the bush? which kind of snake would you call the least dangerous? if you could forever abolish one animal from existence, which would it be, if any? best fish? worst fish?

thank you (for reading, answering, remaining fascinated and being my curious ass' main source of giddy leg wiggle during the day)

- most annoyingly, 🧀 anon <3 💥💥💥

Thank you for asking, cheeseanon!!! I really enjoy these. I normally live out in the bush and even in California I live in a rural area so I don't have many neighbours (and those that do know me as that Weird Aussie Bloke that disappeared for 3 years).

What's your preferred time of day and why?

Night! Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light; I have loved the stars too truly to be fearful of the night. I absolutely love the stars. My second-favourite time of day is dawn when the kookaburras wake up.

Most reliable water sources?

There's no reliable water sources in the Outback. I collect my water from rain tarps (which I can drink straight) and clear streambeds (which I have to boil before drinking). I have one canteen specifically for collecting water and another for carrying purified water when I'm travelling. Sometimes soakage from native wells is the only way of obtaining water but I've only had to do this a few times.

How do you usually deal with common threats out in the bush?

Staying in Matilda/under shelter during the hottest parts of the day, since the environment itself is the greatest threat in the Outback. As far as living threats go, it usually involves screaming. I've run my voice hoarse through shouting at dingos because they very much hate noise and are generally skittish around people. When necessary I might fire a warning shot into the dirt to make them keep their distance and this usually works. I've only ever had one actually bite me, and that was a lone female with pups (judging by the condition of her teats) who wanted my food. We tussled on the ground for a bit with her teeth locked around my ankle (thank Christ for my leather boots), I cut her foreleg with my knife, and she scurried off. She came back an hour later and decided I was still worth the risk of being killed over, so I took a potshot between her legs to make her keep her distance and chucked her the back half of a rabbit which she scurried off with. Normally I wouldn't recommend feeding the wildlife since it can make them dependent on people which puts people and the animal in danger, but we were in an area with very few humans so it's unlikely she'd ever encounter one again. To her I was a big prey animal and worth the risk to feed her pups. Mutual respect between us and she learned her lesson I reckon.

On the downside, I needed a new pair of jeans because her teeth ripped right through the hem.

What kind of snake would you consider the least dangerous?

The dead kind. That's a joke. Please don't kill snakes, they're really neat and are much more afraid of you than you are of them. Additionally you're much more likely to get bit trying to kill or move a snake than you are just letting him go on his way. I'd reckon that any small nonvenomous snake isn't dangerous. Typically anything in Colubridae is safe. Small, non-dangerous species include:

Green tree snake, Dendrelaphis punctulatus

Common keelback, Tropidonophis mairii

Green tree python, Morelia viridis (they're arseholes though)

Brahminy blind snake, Indotyphlops braminus (invasive)

Woma python, Aspidites ramsayi

Northern green tree snake, Dendrelaphis calligaster

Elephant trunk snake, Acrochordus arafurae (these guys are really neat!)

Pygmy python, Antaresia perthensis

Crab-eating snake, Fordonia leucobalia

Marine file snake, Acrochordus granulatus (really neat)

Bockadam, Cerberus australis

Rough-scaled python, Morelia carinata

Papuan spotted python, Antaresia papuensis

Every blind snake in the genus Anilios

Australia has ~140 species of land snakes and ~30 species of sea snakes. Basically all our sea snakes are highly venomous and can kill you. Of our land snakes, ~100 are venomous. That means roughly 75% of Australian snakes are venomous. That said, the majority of these have venom so insignificant that it can't harm people. Most people won't even realise they've been bitten. So why didn't I count the "harmless" venomous species? People can have allergies! What might bite me and not have any effect could bite you and give you a fatal arrhythmia if you're allergic to the venom. Assume all snakes are dangerous and give them all a wide berth unless you can 100% confirm that they won't harm you. EVERY SNAKE IS THE FUCK AROUND AND FIND OUT VARIETY.

If you could abolish any animal from existence, what would it be?

Mozzies. I fucking hate mozzies with a burning passion. They gave my dad malaria twice and nearly killed him the second time. Additionally I'm type O (universal donor) which, just so happens, mozzies fucking love. I get SWARMED. I'm constantly covering myself, my clothes, and Misty in permethrin just to keep ticks off us (and this comes from somebody who fucking hates synthetic chemicals). I don't need to deal with mozzies too.

From an ecological standpoint, FUCKING CARP. I HATE CARP SO GODDAMN MUCH. YOU THINK CANE TOADS ARE BAD? NO! WELL THEY ARE, BUT YOU KNOW WHAT'S FUCKING WORSE? CARP. THEY HAVE RUINED THE MURRAY-DARLING BASIN AND ITS WATERWAYS. WE HAVE LOST 90% OF OUR NATIVE SPECIES' TERRITORY TO INVASIVE FUCKING CARP. IMAGINE THAT. THE SANCTITY OF AUSTRALIA, OUR AMAZING MURRAY COD, LOST TO FUCKING GOLDFISH. I HATE CARP WITH A BURNING FUCKING PASSION OH MY GOD DON'T EVEN GET ME FUCKING STARTED--

Best fish?

Barramundi. I fucking love barra. They're delicious, they're incredibly fun to catch, they're absolutely massive so I guarantee you'll not go hungry. I love barra.

Worst fish?

FUCKING CARP.

#blu whos #bushman

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sweetchildcloud · 1 year

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Some poems that I wrote property of @sweetchildcloud !!!

WARNING CONTAINS:BLOOD,ANGST,VENT,DEATH apart for the 4° one

1°:

REGRET:

"I remember the moment I met you, you were there with the sun kissing your hazel hair, you were so vulnerable too, I don't know why I didn't intervene maybe because I was entranced by your beauty or because I hadn't noticed but now that you're sleeping holding in your hand the first gift I gave you on your birthday, you had such a big smile that made me feel insecure, I wanted to smile like you, I felt safe with you, you made the problems disappear for me I had

Now that I hear it, I feel selfish

If only I hadn't opened my mouth, if only I wouldn't have let you go, if only I'd told you how I felt, how sorry I was

Now I'm talking to a lifeless you devoid of that smile you had, I'm sorry I should have known that you were like me, that you felt the same about me, but I didn't understand it and now you're gone forever and I will forever remain with this remorse and with the only memory of you I remember the moment I met you, you were there with the sun kissing your hazel hair."

2°:

A CALMING CALL

Time passes

Life is short

It seems to me yesterday that we ran in the white meadows of the farm free as the wind, we laughed, with open arms to capture the something non-existent but that for us was there that only we could see, we didn't care the time that passed or our mother calling us for dinner and I was late making her angry

but she certainly couldn't see you, because of her you had gone away on that rainy day carried away by the voices you told me you heard every day but that I didn't hear I only heard our mother screaming your name in despair but you went into that thick forest bewitched by the voices, now that I'm in our little meadow no longer white I hear them, sister, the voices.. they are calling me they are docile like mothers who call their children but I also hear like another voice.. it's sad.. she's calling me...no no I can't I have to follow them and see you again like the last time you went into that dense forest

I feel it and like a cold hand that welcomes you after all the journey you've been on, was it like that for you too, my little sister? Is that why you never turn to look at me? I understand you I'm tired, I'm getting closer and closer, that sad voice is gone, silence, a pure silence of welcome .. now I see you .. you are lying in our no longer white meadow where we ran free like the wind

3°:

A FOX TO A RABBIT or SOFT BITE

This starry night is like the sky in your eyes, why don't you look at me? why don't you answer me? you are angry? is it because I bit you? even though I apologized? I smell blood and I'm scared, I'm scared I lost you forever, please look at me and jump away like always and I run after you to play but you're scared and ask for help but I don't understand I just wanted to play, it was my mistake I didn't want to feel the sharp canines, my mouth drooling and the instinct ... oh how can I not forget it :"kill, kill it" it whispered all over my body and I suddenly became hungry and began to increase the speed of my paws on the soft wet dirt and like a second I was suddenly with a starry night like the sky in your eyes

4°:

FRIENDLY SNOW

Oh how white you are, you are so simple and yet you fascinate so many people, children who play snow angels and in the meantime you make jokes by taking their colored hats and hiding them inside you that soft you where the animals hide and perhaps seeing those clothes so little ones they take them and wear them because even if you are so soft you are certainly not hot but cold as ice but you are also very weak in fact you can melt and destroy a child's dream in the form of a little house but after your departure you leave the place for your sister spring who consoles the crying child with her scents of flowers and newly blooming buds that will sparkle under the summer sunlight

5°{this is self insert}

I DESPISE YOU. YET I LET YOU LIVE

It's not you, it's not you, it's not you that smiley person who has a normal life, I hate you, I hate you so much, you lie everyday with that fake smile, I know it, oh god I know, I stare at you every day, every moment, when you hurt yourself, when you cry, why do you do this? why do you leave people who talk to you in that rude, cruel way, but you smile, they beat you, they bully you, but you smile with that fake smile but you are like me sad alone, full of hate that you don't pour on anyone but only on yourself and for that I hate you, I hate you so much I want to choke you and end this farce you call life

#artists on tumblr #poemsociety #my poem #my ideas #personal vent

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fairfiona · 2 years

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// 8, 14, 20, 21

What’s the worst thing about the canon you are writing ? Are there some characters from the franchise you can’t stand ? If you could sum up your character with one sentence, what would it be ? Which song do you feel describes your character the most and why? ? ( still accepting )

The worst thing about the Shrek film series is the feminism it's touting. While it's claiming to be progressive, women are barely in the narrative of the film, and when they are they're treated so disrespectfully. In that vein, Fiona gets sidelined ALL THE TIME. Why is she not the one considered as the heir of Far Far Away instead of Shrek in the third film and, when her inept husband rejects ascending the throne, why does Archie get it instead? Speaking of Archie, we spend more time with him- an original character introduced in the third film, and so irrelevant that he's never referenced or seen in the previous or subsequent films- than Fiona. Regarding matters of her parent's kingdom...yeah. Just like in the first movie, how we spend more time with Donkey than Fiona, how we spend more time with Puss in the sequel than Fiona, etc. I'm convinced the second installment of the franchise was the most sequel because of Fiona. After all, what makes the Shrek series special is the fairytale aspect, and Fiona is literally a fairytale personified. In the second movie, we see her kingdom, her parents, her Fairy Godmother, her Prince Charming. Who would rather be at the swamp, sliding in mud and watching Shrek make candles out of his earwax?! Yet despite all of this, Fiona is barely included in the narrative of the film, and when she is, it's never in an authentic way. In the first movie, we see her go from stereotypical princess spouting sonnets for us to mock to a martial artist for us to admire in no time flat and that doesn't make sense for her character. Nothing is ever explained, but then again, that's what makes it so fun to flesh her out!

As mentioned above, I can't stand Archie, and there are moments where Shrek really pushes it. Like in the fourth movie. Rumpelstiltskin is also...a choice. I can't think of anyone else I dislike in the film, though, it's a pretty solid cast!

The character of Fiona truly resides in the quote I have pinned to the promo on my blog. I think it's one of the most salient moments in all of animation history. That single quote shows more into her psyche than anything else in all four movies combined, and for all the shortcomings of Shrek Forever After, I'm glad it exists for that moment alone.

I'm here and there with the musical, but I Know It's Today has so many moments that I feel describe Fiona to her core. The harmonizing, for instance, with the child, teenage, and adult version of herself is so haunting. I also love the line- "Are you there, God? It's me, Fiona." I know it's supposed to be played for laughs but I find something so fascinating about that interaction. Fiona is a Princess that deeply prides herself on her belief of fairytales and happy endings- it's the thing that seems to carry her through even the most difficult circumstances of her life- yet she's also carrying this heavy weight in her chest. Insecurity. And from that, hundreds of demons seem to take root within her. The fear that no one will ever come, she'll spend the rest of her life in solitude, that she isn't worth anything. That one sentence embodies both her faithful, optimistic spirit, as well as the creeping terror of the haunts I mentioned previously. Something that's so deep, so disturbing, that she's baring herself and communicating to her creator in a way that's more revealing than anything else she could've done. It’s so simple, yet so potent.

#ask #ofvang #literally the best most elite supreme #you're the fairytale princess we're all trying to live up ^#indie rp #indie roleplay #we have to savor the moment...

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niannianyabao · 1 year

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MAKE THIS HAPPEN – Sayo Yamamoto’s Mad Max

Remember when the news broke out that we very nearly had an anime prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road? And then remember that other time we all deeply regretted clamoring for supplemental material about Furiosa and the wives, because there was that eye-gougingly horrendous comic that came out? And we were all left feeling simultaneously angry and sad, but then we watched one of the best action films of the past several decades and felt better again? It’s amazing how such a spectacular film can have such difficulty when it comes to other people trying to throw in their interpretation.

Now, one can argue that Fury Road’s success is largely down to the decades George Miller had to think about it, meaning he only returned to his series when he felt he truly had something to say and thus poured all of his energy into presenting a deeply realized world with minimal exposition and a mountain of unremarked upon worldbuilding. And the fact that it’s so deeply felt and personal a project might mean that we’re forever doomed to have lousy Mad Max material (by which I sort of mean Furiosa, much as I loved Tom Hardy’s performance) if it comes from anyone other than Miller’s hand. But just for the sake of argument, consider with me: a Mad Max miniseries as made by Sayo Yamamoto.

Bona fides first. By far Yamamoto’s most famous work (other than Yuri on Ice) is 2012’s The Woman Called Fujiko Mine (I rather liked it, I don’t know if you noticed), but she’s also done guest directing work on shows like Samurai Champloo, Space Dandy, Gunslinger Girl, and Eureka Seven, with additional storyboard contribution to big names like Death Note, Attack on Titan (she designed that first end credits sequence), and Evangelion 2.0. And perhaps most importantly, her debut as a series director was 2008’s Michiko & Hatchin – a visually striking road trip that sneakily set its focus on the relationships between women while pretending to frame things through male characters.

Yamamoto, as I believe I’ve said to absolute death a time or two before, is one of anime’s most promising up and coming auteurs. Even with only three full series under her belt her work is sharp and easily distinguished, and connections between Michiko & Hatchin and Fujiko Mine have already begun to show hints of pet themes (a hallmark of any auteur, and their curse; there are X number of works to be had before you hit the height of saturation and must either retire, go in a totally different direction for at least a film or two, or become self-parody – see Hayao Miyazaki, Wes Craven, and Tim Burton respectively): sex as a weapon, women in control of their sexuality and sexual encounters, the demystification of nudity, a bit of a lurking background fascination with queerness (which blossomed and matured in Yuri on Ice), children abandoned by parents, hypermasculinity as empty performance, road trips as a central narrative device, and so on.

I expect you see where I’m going with these similarities. There’s no point in remaking Fury Road, but there’s more than enough thematic resonance to be had between this director and the ideas found in that film to say “wow, wouldn’t it be incredible to put them together?” And it would be an excellent stretch of skills as far as Yamamoto’s existing work too: perhaps as a reaction to the moe trend/general sexual passivity found in many of anime’s depictions of women, her work nearly always features female characters for whom sex is a consciously chosen and controlled part of their characters; given how sex is either of minimal importance or used to commodify human beings as of Fury Road (and particularly with a character like Furiosa, whose warmth and protectiveness toward other female characters discards the Bitchy Exceptional Chick stereotype and whose total disinterest in mourning traditional femininity raises her above the “woman playacting as a man/waiting for a man” bit of narrative nastiness – and who is also a character totally divorced from any particular sexuality).

it would be interesting to see Yamamoto’s feminist storytelling grow to include that bit more of varied female presentation. And given that both of Yamamoto’s full series have a fascination with cultures outside Japan while still retaining a not-quite-describable feel of a Japanese director, there would be room to grow there as well in a story where society has completely broken down (but is still colored by the ideas and remnants of the societal structure that came before).

Likewise, characters like the wives would be an excellent opportunity to discard the lens of focusing on male characters altogether – something in the wake of the Citadel’s recapturing perhaps, or a small look into The Dag and Cheedo’s relationship. Or, one could move away from the main focus of the film entirely, and take a look into what the Green Place was like in more idyllic times, during its slow decline, or what life might have been like for the remaining travelers before they were reunited with Furiosa. A full-on apocalypse narrative, with a visual designer from MadHouse or Watanabe’s stable to make the colors pop and the remaining human life feel vibrant against the slowly sickening landscape, could be a breathtaking sight. Yamamoto’s already an experienced hand with setpiece action as well (the roller coaster shootout in Fujiko Mine’s finale or the stalking highway assassin in Michiko & Hatchin), so both interpersonal conflict and hard action could stand represented.

Is all of this a pipe dream? Oh, without a doubt. Yamamoto seems to have taken after mentor Shinichiro Watanabe in terms of pacing her series directorial work, and while Fury Road didn’t do dreadfully at the Japanese box office (about $12 million, converted) that’s not even a sliver of the imaginations it captured worldwide. But I’m more enchanted with the idea – that a director whose work I deeply admire might both get the chance to work on another prestigious project (another, because Lupin III is quite the household name in Japan) that also manages to earn more than cult acclaim. And because I want her work to flourish and grow, and to be challenged by new thematic dimensions and character archetypes rather than settling into variations on the same old story over and over again. And, of course, because if we’re going to get a Mad Max anime I’d rather not have to bash my head into a wall at the idea of Furiosa becoming a second fiddle love interest (I love you anime, but boy do you have a lousy track record about that kind of thing).

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bringmebooks · 2 years

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With intense kindness: Maybe CR just isn't for you (anymore). If you feel resentment and emotional barriers to a piece of media, maybe it's better to just let go. That doesn't seem like a very healthy thing in your life, and I think other things could bring you much more joy. I'd really like that for you.

Maybe, but I think it’s really just big elements from this campaign in particular. And honestly, feeling more ambivalent/annoyed toward it really is more healthy than the devastation and triggers I got from the end of C2.

I still LOVE the cast and enjoy them and their relationships and conversations so very much. I’d actively miss them in “my life” (so to speak) if I stopped watching. I was enthralled by Calamity and actually want to re-watch it. I loved EXU, am enjoy 4 Sided Dive, can’t wait for more seasons of TLOVM, etc. I love Critical Role. It’s really certain elements of this campaign I hate. I hate Imogen ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ she annoys the hell out of me. I love Laura and Jester and Vex, but Imogen isn’t for me. Orym bores me. I hate southern accents lol, which is dumb but ugh there’s so much of it in this campaign. I also do love happy endings, when I feel like they’re earned, and I don’t think CR has earned it for a little while. I appreciate good game play of course, and definitely understand you want the players to “win/beat the bad guy” but in C2 when practically every single fight ended with polymorph and run away unscathed, it felt like bad table play and bad narrative execution. I think sometimes it’s okay to sit with difficult, unhappy things and see what new chapter unfolds from it, how it develops you, etc. But… this is their game and if they don’t want to do that, then they won’t. But the level of melodrama I saw last night felt weird when they all knew they’d more or less be fine? It almost felt like they were trying to draw it out and make it as suspenseful and sad as they could because they knew it’d be fine, but they needed to try to earn it being fine, when they didn’t need to with two healers and two diamonds. And Laudna — I think it’s up to Marisha at this point. If she wants to continue Laudna’s story, and hers is the most interesting of the whole group in my opinion, then Matt will help her get back. The cast has continued to state over and over that she’s come back before. They are willing to go see Keyleth and Percy and Vex, which is wild. Sure Delilah said she can’t bring her back … but Matt literally had her welcome Laudna with the promise death is just a waiting game. She’s a necromancer. She kept Silas alive. Laudna’s entity as a hollow one is a homebrew by Matt, which any rules surrounding that are very open to interpretation. If Marisha wants Laudna back, she’ll 100% be back, and I think that’s likely given her connection to C1 and how much they need to keep marketing C1 to make the animated series stay relevant, successful, interesting etc. Plus, any time they can step back into C1, they will. And I get that and enjoy that because the connections are fantastic. If Marisha makes peace with Laudna really being gone, then that’s where real fascinating stuff can come out. We went through that with Molly… just for it to be erased at the end. I’m fascinated with Ruidis, Exandrian lore, dunamancy and the Luxon… are we going to the moon? There is so much I love and if it’s not character driven, that’s okay. I trust Matt to weave a beautiful story. I’m not as trusting in how characters execute it. And I’m baffled by the level of stress everyone had in the fandom when they can see the trend of patching things up quickly and easily with little to no consequences. If I really thought Laudna was gone forever, I’d be sad for sure. But it just doesn’t seem like stakes like that exist in the campaign anymore. And I think that’s why I want bad things to happen because I want to see them actually struggle to get a happy, peaceful ending. If you just know it’s there from the jump, it’s not meaningful. And I know how much meaning this fabulous group of people can bring to storytelling. If the tone is a happy, fun, chaotic story, I don’t expect intensity and deep character arcs, catharsis, etc. But that’s absolutely what this set up is for C3. Eh. I could say more, but I just come on here to vent lol.

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zak-kondo · 2 years

Text

As mankind continued to destroy itself, The war escalated to its final phase. The amount of technological advancement in warfare became too great to control. As a result, it turned on mankind. As humanity reached it's limit in swelling up and nearly exploding, the last match that triggered the end came to be Geist. A cloned super soldier who lost his mind. As a result, he became so dangerous they had to seal him away in orbit in a satellite. Eventually, he crashed back down into the planet, and became mankind's greatest hero and threat. To Geist, he joins both sides of the war. He's not in it to pick a side and win. He could easily do it. It's like his song says, "He's just a soldier." As a result, he'll save the humans, and then doom them against the robots and different factions. He becomes the maintainer of balance. Why? Not for money, or fame. It's due to the fact that he wants the war to last forever. Without war, he loses purpose.

What's not to enjoy about an oppressively violent, insane decision making maniac? As a genetically modified soldier, he has absurd amounts of human strength, and can regenerate at a rapid rate. He can take on an entire army of humans or doomsday, insect-like robots. He can destroy his rivals physically, and mentally, as when he came to crush Krauser's pride irreparably. Not only that, Vaiya took him in, and tried to sleep with him. To Geist, he just wanted information, as he had just woken up from his long slumber at the time. He doesn't care about anything else besides war. His decision making is absurdly violent, and in that moment of being with Vaiya, he throws her off the bed, and eventually traumatizes her so bad she loses her mind and becomes traumatized by him in the end, losing her memory in the process.

In the first OVA series, Geist teams up with the soldiers who had thrown him into space. He pretended to team up with then, and so did they. the backstabbing resulted in Geist singlehandedly fighting mankind's ultimate fighting machine. Geist had to destroy it several times, as it had many forms. After helping the army clear the mission, he reveals his true intentions, and kills Kurtz; the man who sent him into orbit, by crushing his face with his bare hand. At the end of the OVA, humanity managed tp stop the doomsday program thank to Geist, though decides to end with a plot twist that put a smile on my face, as repulsive as that sounds.

the second OVA series revolves around the last of humanity trying to survive Geist's decision, while failing more and more. The unconditionally human murdering robots had taken over the world. Among this, Geist is fighting until his hearts content. However, a second MD soldier, like him, happens to be in charge of the last standing defense of humanity's existence. Geist singlehandedly invades them, and stops their plan to destroy the doomsday robots. Not only that, Geist ruins the plan the humans had of nuking the robots in a city, by interrupting them, and then leading the insect like robots back to them.

As shown in the intro, this is a very violent and gory anime. To me, I was fascinated with Geist's behavior. He oozes of cool, and his oppressive presence, and violent decision making is always entertaining to see unfold. I felt like a kid watching his favorite hero overcome all his obstacles, as twisted as that sounds being about Geist. As he murdered with his iconic theme songs in the background, I was left breathless.

I understand this anime seems to be hated and poorly rated. That's too bad. People who have opposite tastes to me exist; I can't comprehend it. Sure, it has production issues though they tried to make up for it with the Directors Cut of the first OVA series. The soundtrack features iconic metal in the first OVA, though the second OVA is a bit disappointing.

I had a lot of fun watching Geist. An anime doesn't need to have over bloated production values to be great; those still have a lot of problems themselves anyways. To me, MD Geist is like a frightening rollercoaster that's always fun and thrilling to experience.

thank you for watching

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frombeyondtheblackhole · 3 years

Text

Hermit DSMP Swap AU: Part 8.1

Over the course of the next couple of days Scar helped George and Skeppy get settled in. He introduced them to the other Boatem People. There was Pearl, who lived in the upside down boat house, Impulse, who Skeppy thought looked a lot like a buffer version of George, and Mumbo, who had an impressive mustache and lived in an RV pulling a tiny house.

Scar helped George build a mushroom house in the space between Pearl and Impulse's houses, while Skeppy very quickly got involved in helping Pearl prank everyone on the server by tipping their cows (and every other animal for that matter) upside down. She had to convince Skeppy not to tip anyone's named pets though.

The Boatem hole was opened up to the void. Now that Skeppy could get a good look at it, it kind of terrified him. The never ending darkness. George tried to push Skeppy in, which led to Skeppy chasing George around with a diamond sword for a good ten minutes. Scar fell in several times. He seemed fine, though that could be debatable. Falling in the void had to have some kind of consequences, didn’t it?

Scar got a new, bigger, better hat. Skeppy tried stealing it, trading it back and forth with George as Scar chased them around Boatem begging for them to slow down. Pearl even showed up and joined in the hat trading, but then she made them give it back. There was something under her chipper mannerisms that neither of them wanted to cross. She was nice, but Tubbo was nice, he had nukes, Foolish was nice, he controlled lightning, Puffy was nice, she killed Ant. In their experience, nice meant dangerous.

Grian got bored just sitting around all day and was soon back to his usual pranks. He summoned a giant tree golem with Pearl’s help that tried to eat Mumbo’s van till Mumbo talked to her and calmed her down. His peace, love and plants thing really did come in handy sometimes. Mambo found out that her name was Treesa. Now she just sat watching over Mumbo’s house and humming to herself with the sound of rustling leaves and groaning wood. Sometimes Mumbo could be seen sitting on her shoulder talking to her as she listened, her eye’s closed and her branches swaying in the breeze as she soaked in the sun.

Impulse opened up a shop called I-Soar selling elytra and rockets. Skeppy and George were fascinated by them and when no one was looking they stole some elytra to give them a test run. Skeppy immediately flew into a wall and died, while George fared a little better but died when he tried to land. Everyone's inboxes were buzzing with notifications as a string of death messages appeared in the chat. It didn’t take long for Scar and Impulse to find the two culprits. Skeppy tried to jump off the roof he was standing on and fly away, but he timed it wrong and landed with a splat, his items going everywhere. George started running, he was on the ground and unable to get any air.

Impulse was easily able to catch up to him with his own elytra. When Skeppy returned for his stuff Scar and Impulse admonished them for stealing. Then they gave them some flying lessons, showing them how to use the rockets to give them a boost and how to land without taking damage. They were only fifty percent successful. Though, when they were done they made them return the Elytra. To be honest, Skeppy and George were both quite done with the whole affair and glad to be back on the ground. The novelty had worn off a while ago and Skeppy and George were tired of constantly dying to fall damage.

Grian designed a game of hide and seek that involved the Dragon egg, while George and Skeppy secretly plotted to steal it when no one was looking.

Skeppy also finally decided to build a base for himself. He collected a ton of diamonds. Some of them came from his enderchest (Which he seemed to still be able to access). A bunch of them he got from taking a page from Scar’s book and going door to door, selling the Hermits random junk. He may have also taken all the diamonds from the center of the diamond ore tower outside Cub’s base. They were just sitting there in the open, practically asking to be taken. Using these diamonds Skeppy made a diamond block box house (When he ran out of diamonds he used dirt) in the middle of the town center next to the Boatem pole.

The look on Grian’s face when he saw it was totally worth all that work to get the diamonds. Grian practically begged him to take it down or move it. He even tried bribing him with more diamonds but Skeppy insisted that it was the most beautiful house in existence and he was going to live there forever. He even threatened to move it onto Grian’s front lawn.

This place wasn’t that bad, Skeppy was actually enjoying himself here.

---

Skeppy was nowhere to be found. Bad had searched through their mansion, and at the locations of their various projects, he even looked around the Greater Dream SMP, calling Skeppy’s name the entire time. The Diamond was gone.

This wasn’t the first time Skeppy had gone off on his own for weeks to sulk, only to come back a month later as if nothing happened. But usually he would at least make a big huff about how he was leaving and never coming back and how Bad was a bad friend. This time there was none of that. He had just left.

Bad felt a tightness in his chest as tears pricked at his eyes. Was he really that bad of a friend? What had he even done to make Skeppy run off without even saying anything? They had already made up after the whole egg debacle.

Bad shook his head “No, I’m a good friend. I’m the best friend. He’ll be back any day now, he’s probably just running errands or something,” Bad tried to convince himself... now that he thought about it he didn’t know where Skeppy went off to whenever he ran off.

Without even realizing it Bad found himself standing near the entrance to the spider spawner... the entrance to the Egg’s domain. He stopped. He had been free of the Egg’s influence for several months now. But the egg might know how to find Skeppy. The Egg could find Skeppy. No. Bad tore his eyes away, shaking his head and walking briskly down the path in the other direction. He had tried that before, it hadn’t ended well for him.

Bad felt a pit in his stomach. He genuinely regretted the things he had done while under the Egg’s influence. But the Egg could give him what he wanted. No. it never actually gave him what he really wanted, he knew that now. He knew that then too, he just hadn’t wanted to believe it... He didn’t need the Egg... but... it would be there. As a last resort. If all else failed.

[Notes: This one was inspired by another comment by @the-local-scp, Thanks again. I wasn’t originally planning on writing Bad’s perspective for a while. Skeppy runs off all the time. But then I thought about it and it makes sense that he would notice. He always notices, and this time he has no idea why Skeppy left. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed. This is the end of my pre-written stuff. The next one is probably going to be a bit of a long one so it may take a while before it gets posted, or I may break it up into smaller chunks... we’ll see]

#dsmp #dream smp #hermitcraft #dsmp au #dream smp au #hermitcraft au #hc x dsmp #hc x dsmp au #hermitcraft dsmp swap au #skeppy #georgenotfound #grian #good times with scar #impulsesv #pearlecentmoon #mumbo jumbo #badboyhalo

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