#I had a lot of fun doing it and am looking forward to improving these ones and cosplaying more in the future

[lesbiansanemi]

Alright, last con post, I swear, but I wanted one of my four cosplays side by side. It was an amazing time and I had so much fun, did a lot of great stuff, and got a lot of awesome merch. I am exhausted so am gonna be Dead for a few days, but I already can’t wait for the next one (whenever that may be)

#decided I definitely wanna have a luffy cosplay done so I can cosplay him while Lee does zoro #and I wanna get an Obanai cosplay together next (in my quest to cosplay all the Hashira) #(but also wanna refine sanemi and mitsuri a bit too since they were so rushed this year due to lack of free time) #also Lee gave me the idea of bunny suit gojo which I thought was HILARIOUS so I’ve gotta do it #also…. squinting at a vash cosplay #BUT ANYWAYS FUTURE PLANS NOT THE POINT #point is it was great and while I’m def not a Good cosplayer by any means #I had a lot of fun doing it and am looking forward to improving these ones and cosplaying more in the future #kaz rambles

[sizzleissues]

Its May.

Okay so this is in the same AU I had last year its just changed and evolved while also being the exact same. Except now I have 15,000 words of it written, like 7,000 words of planning and lore and hours upon hours of research that I will be pointedly ignoring. Will be posting more stuff this month about the AU and my hopes and dreams for it

Also slight art improvement check? I’ll put their original mermaid designs below the cut.

It’s Marinette as a mermaid and … its not Adrien or Chat Noir but a third worse thing (Catwalker but in the purest manifestation of it being a curse and not who he wants to be) I will be making designs for mer!Ladybug, and mer!Adrien as its own thing later on.

Okay if you want to indulge me look below the cut

Old mermaid designs first. I am going to be talking about my design thoughts, thoughts and ramblings about this AU and what I’ve been up to. You have been warned

As you can see, some things have changed but neither design I hated, I just wanted to go further with it.

My brain is quite specific about mermaids and how I want them to generally look. I wanted to distinguish biological merfolk from transformed humans by having them being anatomically different. So Adrien has a vertical tail instead which is also way faster underwater. His transformation is quite distressing for him and very chaotic. Of course when he accepts it he’s not so raggedy.

Marinette similarly avoids her life as a mermaid by becoming human and I wanted her mermaid design to hint toward her fascination with humans. She wears a top she fashioned from human fabric she found in a sunken merchant vessel. In general all other merfolk either forgo clothes or wear things fashioned from materials available to them. There’s deep fear of humans and human things so even though human clothes are available to them (off dead bodies but…. Whatever) they choose to difference themselves as much as possible. The same taboos don’t exist for them and their bodies are already adapted from the temperature of their environment. Adrien has stray bits of netting and seaweed on him because he’s not exactly the best at controlling his speed and often crash’s through fishing nets and patches of seaweed resulting in stuff being caught on him.

A lot of their designs are still being worked but I’ve definitely pushed them the right direction!

On to the AU. You might have seem me cryptically talk about something I’m writing the past few weeks. This is because it’s been in my brain since last May and been on and off writing it since then. I decided I’d talk about it once May came back around but and then when I finished writing it, start posting sneak peaks and more spoilery art until it was fully edited and I felt confident in it to post with an aim for it to finish posting once May rolled around again. Oh god.

It’s set in the late 1700s in a fictional version of France that’s actually fragmented over a bunch of islands. I have done more fashion research than I ever thought I’d do and in the end we will still be taking creative license but know I do know what they actually wore! I ALSO did a butt tonne of research about sailing ships and turns out they are super complicated and now I know too much and yet too little still about them. It should be super fun and action packed if I can manage. Have some really good scenes already in my head I know you’ll love. We’re already three ships battle deep and I’ve only written four chapters. (It chills out for a bit after that)

This is entirely self-indulgent by the way. I’m writing this for me, you guys are just a bonus. I literally don’t care as long as it satiates my rabid need for the fic that only lives in my brain at the moment. Saying that, I do want to put my best foot forward.

The next thing I will be posting for this is their human forms and more blabblerings about that. For I am insane and all.

#miraculous ladybug #sizzle sketches #miraculous #miraculous fanart #ml fanart #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #mermay #mermaid au #Ml art

[promenadewithme]

The Viscount Who Deceived Me - Part 3

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | ...

Pairing: Anthony Bridgerton x Fem! Reader, Benedict Bridgerton x Fem! Reader

Warnings: none, I think

Word Count: 1.7K

a/n: I'm having a lot of fun writing this series!

You took a deep breath and stepped out of your carriage in front of the Cowper residence.

Closing your eyes and gathering strength, you straightened your shoulders and released all the pent up air in your chest.

"Are you alright, my dear?" your mama asked, taking your arm in hers.

You gave her your best smile, that still turned out small, and answered "I'm perfectly fine."

She didn't believe you, but nonetheless nodded. You both walked around the house and greeted people you knew on the way to the gardens.

Candles were lit, floral patterns were freshly painted on the grass, and everyone was dressed in varied tones of red, orange and black. The invitation had said it would be a blazing event and that the guests should dress in the hues of fire.

There was said to be a never before seen surprise to do with the theme at the end of the night, but many disapproved, thinking it was too provocative for a ball.

You had thought it might be fun and were very excited to see what this innovative surprise might be.

You abandoned your family greens for a burgundy dress that evening. Madame Delacroix had truly outdone herself with your dress this time. The light fabric along with your hanging sleeves made it look like your clothes were dancing with your every move.

"There are the Bridgertons." pointed your mama with a nod of her head.

Sure enough, you saw the whole family except for the little ones.

They spotted both of you as you made your way over. You smiled and curtsied politely, trying to avoid Anthony's gaze. He made it impossible when he took your hand in his and bowed to kiss it.

'Has he ever kissed her hand?' you wondered.

'Of course he has, he was already kissing her neck. He might have even kissed her lips.'

"How are you this evening?" he asked.

"Perfectly fine." you said, but your voice was too weak, pitch too high.

"Alright then, if that is all." Eloise took your arm in hers and started dragging you away "We will be on our way."

"Do not linger too far!" called out Violet, but the two of you were already gone.

You leaned closer to your friend and whispered "Thank you."

"You looked like you saw a ghost, I had you get you out." she answered, looking around.

You spotted Penelope in a corner grabbing a champagne flute from a passing servant and gestured to Eloise that you had found her.

"Ah."

The two of you walked towards her and she smiles when she spotted you.

"There you are! I was beginning to think I'd have to spend the rest of the night in the company of plants." she quipped.

"I wish I could have stayed home," huffed Eloise, crossing her arms and glaring at a gentleman who passed by looking at her "You know how much I despise these sordid events."

You chuckled and nudged her with your elbow "Are you not the least bit excited for this surprise they have planned?"

"I am excited to finish my book. I am excited to lay down in bed and sleep."

"What are you reading?" you asked, looking forward to the topic.

The three of you were the only women your age you knew that enjoyed reading. Most ladies of the ton found that improving your mind with extensive reading was not an accomplishment, but a waste of time.

'Men do not want a woman who has read Shakespeare, they want a wife who can entertain them with the pianoforte or their voice. Men want women who can embroider and paint, not someone to discuss politics with.' was what you had heard a gentleman saying while you were at the bookshop one time.

"Wuthering Heights." she answered excitedly.

"What is it about?" questioned Penelope before taking another sip of her champagne.

"Vengeance." she smiled.

"I am very much afraid of you sometimes." you said and Pen nodded.

"Thank you," she touched her heart "but, in all earnest, it is a very good book. The both of you should read it."

"Can I borrow your copy after I finish my current read?" smiled Pen.

"Of course, I shall drop it off as soon as I finish it. What are you reading now?"

"Pride and Prejudice." she said and you gasped.

"So am I!" you exclaimed excitedly, gaining a few disapproving looks from other guests.

"What do you think of Bingley? she asked with a smile and a slight flush to her cheeks.

"I think he reminds me a bit of Colin," you leaned closer to her ear "and you remind me a bit of Jane."

"Oh, hush." she chided, but her cheeks had turned crimson and she grinned "Do you really think so?"

"I do." you nodded and turned to Eloise "And you, my dear friend, are Elizabeth Bennet."

She rolled her eyes, but a smile tugged the corner of her lips. "And who might you be?"

"Me?" you stopped for a second to consider your options "Well, I suppose I must be poor Mr Collins."

They both laughed and everything seemed so normal. When you were like this with your friends, it was like all your troubles faded away.

You did not have to marry the man who betrayed you, you did not have to worry about taking one step out of line with the fear of having to be wed to the oldest man you knew, you did not feel nauseous and anxious like you had the rest of the day. With Eloise and Penelope, you could just be.

That feeling of peace faded all too quickly when Anthony appeared in front of you and bowed "May I have your first dance?"

All colour drained from your face and you had to clear your throat before answering "You may."

He wrote his name on your dance card next to the first song. A quadrille.

At least you would not spend the whole dance with him.

He offered you his arm and you took it, giving your friends one last glance. They tried to smile encouragingly, but it looked more like they were grimacing.

You took a deep breath as you stepped into position. Four couples, including yourselves, stood in rectangular formation. You and Anthony on one side, a married couple to your right, Philippa Featherington and Finch to your left, and Benedict with Cressida Cowper in front of you.

Your shoulders were hunched, your muscles tense. Anthony's hand felt cold in yours and you remembered how it had touched the opera singer.

Benedict locked eyes with you and his gaze was warm. His eyebrows furrowed and he mouthed "are you alright?"

You forced a smile and nodded just as the song started. He didn't look like he believed you, but didn't say anything else.

The string quartet continued as you turned to Anthony and bowed to each other, you repeated the same with Finch. While the couples at your side met in the centre and danced around one another, switching partners then back, you stayed in place.

Benedict continued looking worriedly at you and you gave him a small smile.

Anthony interrupted your silent communication when he leaned close to your ear and whispered "I have to talk to you. About us."

"Are you sure this is the right time?" you asked and inwardly cursed him for bringing this up.

"This is the perfect time." he said before taking you to the centre of the group.

You briefly grasped both of Benedict's hands before passing by him and meeting with Anthony again. He held your left hand on his and his right held your waist. You stayed that way as you walked around the couples.

"Have you received the flowers?" he asked, a hopeful look on his face.

Anthony had sent you roses after you left the house that morning. Your mother had said it was romantic, you thought it was generic.

"I have." you answered, nodding curtly at Philippa.

'Does he even know that my favourite flowers are tulips?' you contemplated sadly. 'I was so blind to think he loved me.'

"Good, good. And are they to your liking?" he probed and you contained an annoyed sigh.

"They are perfectly fine." you stated, looking anywhere else but him as you stepped into your starting place again.

"I know that you have not forgiven me for what I have done." he whispered solemnly.

Your eyes burned and you stared at Cressida's hem, the couples on each side of you switched partners.

'I will not talk about this, I will not cry in public, I will not make cause a scandal.' you repeated the words over and over in your head.

When you said nothing, he continued "I do not expect you to forgive me, but I would be grateful if you would give me a chance to explain."

"There is nothing to explain." you spat then took a deep breath to calm yourself "I already know everything."

"But you do not." he insisted "You do not know the half of it."

You scoffed "If that was merely half, I do not wish to know the rest at all."

Stepping forward once again, Anthony and Benedict switched partners. One hand on your waist and the other holding yours, he leaned forward and his lips brushed against your ear, breath tickling your neck.

"Save your next dance for me?" he whispered and chills ran down your spine.

"Yes." you nodded as you switched brothers again.

"If you will not let me explain," he said, alternating his feet in front of him to the rhythm of the quartet's melody "at least let me say that I will no longer be seeing Siena."

"I truly do not care." you said between your teeth, attempting to hide your anger behind a smile "Do what you will, it does not matter to me. Not anymore."

Anthony pulled your body flush to his by the waist, searching eyes boring deeply into your soul.

"You hate me." he stated gravely.

"I do not hate you." you sighed.

"You do, I have wronged you and you have every right to hate me. What I do not understand is why you are choosing to marry a man you now despise."

Your voice was small and desperate when you answered "It is not a choice, Anthony."

The song ended and you untangled yourself from him. You curtsied and turned to walk as far away from a furrow-browed Anthony as possible.

a/n: guys!!!! I got so many requests for a part 3!! I hope you are all enjoying reading this series as much as I do writing it! (ps: this was my first time writing dialogue during a dance, so please tell me if it was bad or too confusing)

General Taglist: @crazy-beautiful @missryerye @flourishandblotts-inc

Bridgerton Tag List: @dancingwith-sunflowers @for-bebbanburg @navs-bhat @elishi03 @s-unflowxr @thebreadisthetruevillian @peakyweirdo @lucyysthings @freyathehuntress @rach2602 @czarinera

Series Tag List @snixx2088 @acourtofbooksandfantasy @alldaysdreamer @dandansdays @freyagallileaevans @alldaysdreamers @lizziesfirstwife @theonewithallthemilkshakes @freyathehuntress @ilovehopelessromantics @venomsvl @claire-loves-music @looneyleo @mmontgomery12-blog @myownworldsstuff @booknerdlifelover @fandomluver-101 @littleone65 @freyathehuntress @mxacegrey @pet1t3 @otheliesstuff

Click here if you want to join any of my tag lists (ps: I added more fandoms and characters) or tell me if you want to be removed.

If you can and want to, buy me a Ko-Fi!

#anthony bridgerton x reader #bridgerton #benedict bridgerton x reader #anthony bridgerton x you #anthony bridgerton fic #anthony x reader #anthony bridgerton #benedict bridgerton fic #benedict bridgerton x you #benedict bridgerton x sis!reader #benedict bridgerton

[itsnothingofinterest]

Hey 👋 been a while, hope you're doing well?

Regarding the recent bnha chapter, and the ones before it, does it feel like the way things are going that everyone is kind of missing the "point"?

Because yeah, it's great for Deku to finally be seen as a "rising" hero that also inspires everyone, with them all fighting together and the civilians cheering them on.

But is all of that really so different from when All-might fought AFO at kamino? With the heroes helping All-might win and everyone else cheering him on?

It feels like everything has gone in one giant circle up to this point...

It doesn't seem like anyone (except for ochako, shoto and maybe Deku depending on what he does with shigaraki now) has really changed or learned anything.

(Aizawa is in a weird place because kurogiri is doing all work for him by glitching out and helping the heroes now, so aizawa can see that shirakumo is still in there, so he just acknowledges that.)

Because It's true that the civilians did try to "help" the heroes in a recent chapter but looking past the symbolism, all they actually did was give Deku a shirt and the other heroes some bandages or something, it wasn't very moving in my opinion.

And the hero side may take a more nuanced kind of view, with how they deal with aoyama and lesser villains like gentle and la brava, but that doesn't really help anything either.

Because aoyama was practically a hostage and gentle/la brava were the least "villainous" villains ever.

Can I ask what you think about all this?

Hey good to see you too, and yeah I 100% get what you mean. I don't want to act like I didn't like the chapter for the spectacle, but it is lacking something; and I think it's the sense of progress and improvement you're talking about. Because the chapter feels like it wants to have that, but i just don't feel it does.

And so, though I find the chapter rather fun & inoffensive on the whole, I'm still gonna throw some of what I will politely call constructive criticism at it and the last few before it for a bit if you're giving me the chance to.

These past few chapters have just been tossing all else to the side to get all gung ho about Deku and his hero allies becoming the greatest heroes, the heroes they were always meant to be (the kind of black & white story you'd expect AFO to usher in)...and I'm just not feeling it. I mean the team-up montage trivializing all of AFO's moves was cool but I got all style, no substance from it. Just typical hero stuff, comparable as you said to All Might with the other pros at Kamino.

It's like, I've been feeling this real want from both the readers and these latest chapters to say that Deku is surpassing All Might, and this is the moment where it's happening. 422 even talks about Deku's having a 'weakness' All Might lacked let him get up again and inspire others to get up again. But I've said before; Deku hasn't done anything All Might wouldn't in the same circumstance, and I think people who believe otherwise tend to assume AM was a lot less kind & a lot more independent, and Deku a lot less independent, than they are. Plus, All Might was the king of inspiring other heroes and he had to be literally paralyzed to stop fighting so what's that even about?

(Thinking about it; the problem might be that the manga wants to say Deku is more inspiring than AM; but the group we see him inspire to action most by far is fellow heroes, the same group All Might too most inspired to action.)

So yeah, it feels on the whole like we've just come full circle with our wheels spinning where I was hoping we'd move forward by now. And maybe there are a few exceptions where you could see some change, but even for them I question how much.

For one thing: I’m honestly not sure how much of Deku and Shoto’s more nuanced behaviour to their villain foils is from them being better heroes and what’s from Touya and Tenko being exceptions to them. Like, how will Shoto treat the next Dabi he meets if they aren’t his sibling? How will Deku treat a Tomura Shigaraki type that he can’t psychically see the inner child of? Ochako's the only one going against the grain just for the sake of a villain, and even then, it's not like we can expect repeat results. Fun as it sounds, she probably can't date every abused girl she meets and send off to jail.

Not to mention these past few chapters haven't even had any talk of villain saving anyway; no one has come here to save Tomura. I mean, Deku might (though sadly even his intentions must now be qualified with a 'might') but everyone else is here to save their fellow hero and beat the big bad; same as ever.

The civs haven't done anything too noteworthy or out of expectations we would've had for them in the early arcs either: just provide small help ranging from medical aid to one guy's shirt, and then sit back like a cheer squad for the next symbol/pillar while the heroes rush forward to do all the work, inspired by that same symbol/pillar. Maybe that's more than they would've done without the events of ch. 323~325...but that thought is mostly just depressing.

Even the cases of Gentle, La Brava, and Nagant don’t seem like these signs of progress to me; because I’ve said it before, but police asking criminals to catch worse criminals is normal. This has been standard procedure throughout. And Aoyama shouldn't even count and I'm almost angry that the story thinks he does.

Something that kind of caps off all this is how All Might talks about how Deku is his greatest hero; that line Deku was always eventually meant to embody (and apparently always did to AM). And cool as that is to confirm he's met all of All Might's expectations, it also feels like it's saying he's ended his arc; at this point where, if you ask me, he's only gone so far as to match All Might at best in every department besides raw power. Which is fantastic as far as Deku's personal goals go, that's all he's ever wanted; but when it feels like the world of HeroAca needed a guy who could exceed All Might, would could lead the charge for a generation of heroes to exceed their predecessors, it’s a shame that’s a level they’re all content just to meet. And that small shame sours something that should be really cool.

#ask & reply #bnha #bnha 422 #midoriya izuku #shoto todoroki #uraraka ochako #aoyama yuuga #class 1a #shigaraki tomura #shimura tenko #dabi #toga himiko #paranormal liberation front #PLF #league of villains #lov #all might #gentle criminal #la brava #lady nagant #hero society #all for one

[hypersomniagame]

HYPERSOMNIA JANUARY DEV LOG : "LOG 1, WOOHOO!"

Hi! For all of you who follow HYPERSOMNIA, or are just stopping by, let me introduce you to this post to really set the tone.

For 2024, I am going to try to release a dev log about HYPERSOMNIA once a month, may come earlier, may come a little late, but I'm doing this to help give insight on to how the game is going, and to give me motivation to work on the game.

First things first, big news!

HYPERSOMNIA IS NOW AVAILABLE TO WISHLIST ON STEAM! (LINK)

After a while of back and forwarding with Valve, I've finally got a Steam page to call my own, and MAN is it bizarre seeing my weird little RPG in my Steam library. Like, that's my logo, and my key art, and screenshots of MY game, that's so weird. It doesn't feel real. BUT IT IS!

And, I would really really really really really appreciate it if you would consider wishlisting the game on Steam. It helps with the algorithm, and my happiness because I like seeing numbers go up, it feels good.

I even drew this as a announcement/commemoration for the page going live.

(P.S; if you couldn't tell, I really like Half-Life, it's one of my favorite game series.)

Secondly...

A new trailer is in the works! We were accepted for this year's MOTHER Direct (4th time baby, whoo!)

The trailer has been coming along well, I hope to show more battle oriented clips that I've missed the last few years, like special moves.

Can you believe I've never actually gotten to adding those in the game? I mean, they come set-up in default RPG Maker projects but I've never gotten around to revamping them until now, year 4 of engine work. Isn't that strange?

I also hope to improve on editing in the trailers. Whenever I finish a trailer I come back a few months later to notice minor points where I was kinda sloppy.

I'm not much of a video editor, (I only learned so I could edit trailers on my own) but I'd like to keep them at a good presentable quality. You gotta have standards with that kinda stuff, it's important!

OK, TIME FOR THE ACTUAL GAME STUFF. HERE WE GO.

Abilities are now implemented! And work! Wahoo!

In HYPERSOMNIA, players are able to switch abilities between party members. I find this a really interesting mechanic for how simple it seems, you get to choose who plays what role in your party. I think this is HUGE, and opens up a lot of unique scenarios for the game's encounters. I've had this planned for years, as far back as 2021 if I can recall, so it's super cool seeing it in game.

Mapping is being worked on!

I've also been working on mapping out more areas of the game! The forest part you hopefully saw in the last trailer is almost completely mapped. I've been working on the second part to it and am hoping to finish it sometime soon.

Mapping forests really suck. THOUGH, almost all the maps for the first chapter of the game are done! That's just another step closer to the demo. (Which, FYI, will be on Steam and Itch! ^^)

I've also been working on re-spriting older scenes!

This one's been really fun to do, I've been going back and redoing older stuff from the 2022 trailer, like this train! It's weird seeing it side by side, because you can definitely see where it's come from but at the same time, it looks so different.

(Also side note, these sprites are CRUSTY! EWWW!)

Lastly, Script and Music updates!

The script for HYPERSOMNIA's first act has been completed! with just 37 pages of just cutscene dialog alone! We're also currently working on wrapping up NPC dialog! Not much else to say.

And music is being worked on!

Music has been making some progress! I like to lay out demo's for areas I'm mapping out to help make both the music and scene come together. (Also, to help break up the eerie silence when playtesting...)

Speaking of music, FIREBALL, the games main battle theme, was recently delisted on our YouTube channel.

We did this because we decided we wanted to resample FIREBALL, and found that it's best to not have the song uploaded until a complete, final version is made. At least for the demo, it could possibly change before the final game but that's a bit too far in the future for me to think about fully.

Hey! Thanks for reading the whole dev log! Unless you just skipped to the end, you should probably go back up and read it. there's a steam page now. and some cool ross art at the top. you're missing out!

I hope this was like, readable to you all. I'm new to this whole dev log thing, so if you read it all the way through, let me know! It'd be cool!

I'd like to use this portion to pretty much just advertise Unique Indie RPG's.

Have you ever seen that strange purple square at the beginning of the 2nd and 3rd HYPERSOMNIA trailers?

Yeah, that! That's UNIQUE INDIE RPG's, which is a Discord community for you guessed it, Unique Indie RPG videogames developed by people like me! Or you! Or whoever! Who cares!

I help run it with some of my friends, and we all share cool stuff about our videogames! There's a ton of other SUPER cool RPG Maker games there like Astral Guard [LINK], or SOMEWHEN [LINK], or even MOMOinc [LINK]!

And of course, HYPERSOMNIA. It's a really laid back community, we're all super chill. Come swing by! We'd love to have ya, and SHOW US YOUR GAME!

[LINK TO DISCORD SERVER]

TWITTER

YOUTUBE

STEAM

UNIQUE INDIE RPG'S [SHOW US YOUR GAME!]

[PREV] [ABOUT HYPERSOMNIA] [NEXT]

#hypersomniagame #rpgmaker #indie dev #updates #dev log #rpg #indiedev #earthbound #unique indie rpgs

[qingxin-dream]

Burning for You

a/n | BASED ON GENSHIN 3.0 LEAKS!⚠️ …okay, so i have a confession. two things… one, i believe in love at first sight. and two, i am hopelessly in love with tighnari. <3 wrote this in a few hours high off of my new fav dendro main so i hope it’s okay! (art credits: u/murasakisumire on reddit)

warnings | character leaks, slight profanity, probably ooc tighnari but i’m having fun with it anyway :)

genre | fluff, smug tighnari likes to tease you

word count | 1.1k

pairing | tighnari x reader

✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧

In the humid wilderness of Sumeru’s lush rainforests, there was no room for error as a forest ranger. It was a matter of life or death—eat or be eaten.

The vast majority of the rainforest was relatively untouched by civilization and teeming with vibrant creatures of all shapes, sizes, and abilities. As a ranger, you were expected to be an expert in animal and vegetation identification, and able to sense danger through disturbances in the surrounding ecosystem.

You had been reminded of this requirement on numerous occasions by your superior, yet somehow you defied all natural laws with how you constantly attracted trouble. Sometimes it’s a simple, easily avoidable mistake on your part, but other times it turned into a horde of enemies charging in your direction with no obvious escape in sight.

As a result, you were assigned under the direct supervision of the Lead Forest Ranger, Tighnari, for special training. But it wasn’t your fault you magically invited danger everywhere you went. At first, you were quite intimidated by the long-eared ranger. You knew he was the best of the best, so the stakes were high. If you messed this up, maybe you really were hopeless.

Expeditions were extremely silent and awkward with your new companion. After a while of suffering from solitude, you had tried to get to know him more, but it proved to be difficult.

“Hey, ‘Nari,” you would inquire softly as he was focused on referencing an encyclopedia from his pack.

An ear would twitch accompanied by a nearly indiscernible hum, eyes not breaking from his work once. “Yes, (Y/N)?”

“Um, do you ever take a break?” you sheepishly asked, rubbing the back of your neck nervously. He raised a brow, promptly closing his book, and touched his chin in thought. Worried you had offended him, you continued, “L-like do you do anything for fun?”

“This is fun, is it not?” Tighnari replied nonchalantly. “I love my work.”

It was true. All Tighnari would ever discuss with you was about Dawson Rainforest. Such was the extent of any line of questioning you could think of. You could rarely ever get a reaction out of him, not that you wanted to tease him—well, maybe you wouldn’t mind to see the quiet and clever Tighnari devolve into a stuttering, blushing mess at least once.

But that is beside the point. You felt ignored and lonely. Breaking the ice was useless. You were going to have to be a lot more forward if you wanted to get Tighnari’s attention.

Which ultimately led you to this moment months later, as you snap out of your thoughts staring at the burning embers rising from the campfire. You like to think your relationship had improved or you understood each other better since then. At the very least, your skills were improving and working with him in a team wasn’t as bad as it used to be.

You both had set up camp together less than an hour ago after completing your duties since you were too far from the main base to lodge for the night. Tighnari had just set his ranger journal aside, pale green eyes locked onto you.

A strange rush of heat spread across your cheeks in embarrassment. You prayed to the Archons it wasn’t noticeable. Had he said something and you completely missed it? Why is he looking at you like that?

You cleared your throat, unsure of what to say since he still scarcely gives you the time of day, “What?”

Perfect. You were such a great conversationalist, you reprimanded yourself silently.

“You were lost in thought,” he observed, lips pursing slightly in disappointment. “I… apologize if I have come across as rude in the past.”

“No!” you insisted, shaking your head frantically and laughing it off. “That’s not why at all. Don’t worry about it. Just feeling bored I guess?”

“You must always remain vigilant. As you can tell, none of the wildlife here seem bored in all their clamoring even in the darkness of night,” Tighnari notes out of habit, but he pauses for a second before shaking his head too and scooting next to you. “But we aren’t on a mission so I suppose I may entertain your antics this time.”

Did the flame of the fire suddenly grow hotter? Your cheeks flushed with another intense wave of heat when Tighnari grew near, surely it wasn’t your Pyro vision acting up. Then again, every time the lead ranger draws close, you swear you can feel the fiery pulse of your vision on your chest. Or was that your heart leaping?

His bright jade eyes flickered knowingly from your vision to meet your skeptical gaze, a playful, smug smile threatening to tug at the corner of his mouth.

“Do you enjoy this, ‘Nari? Making me—!” you accused in shock, words abruptly trailing off as you find yourself nearly admitting your embarrassment. “Argh. This is what you actually do for fun, isn’t it?”

“Me? I could never partake in such fruitless endeavors,” he responded with an innocent wave of his bushy raven tail, rotten mischief dripping from each word on his tongue.

“Oh, but the excitement is just radiating from you, go ahead. I’m ready to hear the great Tighnari speak to me finally,” you retorted sarcastically in a huff.

“I would be more inclined to say it’s written all over you, (Y/N),” his voice lowers as he leans in ever so slightly, tall ears towering over you in an almost intimidating manner. “I’m… not as oblivious as you may think.”

Fuck, the fennec fox never cared to talk to you and the minute he opens his mouth it was your downfall. Your breath hitched subconsciously, the only confirmation Tighnari needed, a sharp-toothed smirk adorning his smug expression. You hated it.

You had quickly learned long ago he had a penchant for teasing and trickery, and you always walked right into his traps. After all this time pushing you away and reeling you back in at will with his wit, he knew he had you wrapped around his finger. You were utterly touch-starved and Tighnari reveled in it, lightly grazing the back of his fingers against your hot cheek.

His pearlescent irises glimmered and marveled at you—a predator helplessly enamored with his prey.

“This isn’t fair, ‘Nari,” you whispered, lidded eyes watching with longing as he slowly inches further toward you. The instinct to pull away crosses your mind, just to deny him the victory, but how could you when the promise of his lips was so imminent?

He brushed his nose against yours gently in a loving nuzzle, whispering onto your lips, “Neither is this burning in my heart for you now, is it?”

Tighnari could hardly restrain himself any longer, drinking in your scent like this so intimately, inevitably succumbing to your sweet lips in a passionate display of desire. When he held your cheek or trailed his hand down to your waist, you felt that familiar burst of your Pyro vision glowing alongside his Dendro one—his touch consuming you with an aching need for more.

You almost considered caressing his long ears when he nibbled at your bottom lip, until he broke the kiss with a soft smile and couldn’t resist indulging in your addicting taste once more.

thanks for reading! reblogs are appreciated! my masterlist.

#[opulent dreams].✿ #genshin impact #genshin #genshin impact imagines #genshin imagines #genshin x reader #genshin leaks #genshin 3.0 #genshin sumeru #genshin tighnari #tighnari x reader #tighnari

[tomtenadia]

Detours to you - 24

hello all,

as promised here we are with ch 24 and a lot of fluff... there is just a very very smidge of angst but it gets resolved quickly.

MASTERLIST

A month had elapsed and February had eventually arrived bringing with it more of the usual snow.

Rowan had slowly improved and with the help of physio he had worked hard to get better to his old form as fast as possible. He could now move around with two crutches but was still off work. Although he was much better the doctor had not cleared him for work, even if it was just desk duty. His deputy was covering for him at the moment and he hated that he was not allowed to do his job. During his recovery the mayor had eventually requested a visit and he Aelin and Maya had driven to city hall and the mayor had appointed him with the medal of valour that he had been promised. Rowan had been reticent and had explained that it was just his job, but the mayor believed that he deserved the accolade.

Maya had been super smug at the fact that her dad was a hero and had been telling all of her friends at school about him. His mum was still at their place and Eiddwen had been a great help while he was recovering and she had become an integral part of their family. Evalin and Eiddwen had quicly become as thick as thieves and both Aelin and Rowan were positive that their mothers were secretly planning something that concerned them. 

*

Rowan was bored at home. He was not used to being idle and was driving his mother crazy because he constantly wanted to help in the house. On top of that, Maya was at school so he had asked, no begged, Aelin to join her at the shop. 

Aelin had agreed and now he was happily sitting at the counter and his job was to take payments from customers. It was a brand new world to him. He knew how to deal with raging fires other type of catastrophes. He was not good with people. Rowan had almost strangled a woman who wanted to order a book but had no idea of the title or the author, but only knew that it had been released six months before and had a blue cover. He had explained to her that he needed a title and that blue was not a searching parameter but the woman was not listening to him. All of a sudden he had a total new respect for Aelin’s job.

Elide walked at his side “How are you coping?”

“Give me a five alarm fire, I can deal with it. Needy customers?” He shook his head “How do you ladies survive this?”

Elide laughed “we love this job.”

Rowan chuckled “Does Lorcan know you are a masochist?”

Lysandra and Aelin joined them a moment later and Aelin kissed his cheek “how’s our chief?

“Better now,” he sneaked an arm around her.

In that instant a tall blonde woman walked towards him “Hi,” she said in a very sensual way “I heard you give a good recommendation to another woman,” her hand moved on his on the counter “I am looking for a good book too.”

Rowan pulled the hand back “My colleagues here have far better knowledge than me.” He added while pulling Lys forward. 

Dejection fell on the woman’s face and Lysandra grabbed the woman, taking her away.

“Oh Rowan, you broke the woman’s heart,” joked Elide.

“Well, Lysandra knows more than me, it was only logical.”

Aelin hugged him again and hummed in his arms “I need to buy you a t-shirt reading property of Aelin Galathynius.”

Rowan looked Aelin in her blue eyes with a stare that said I am yours.

They were about to go back to their job when Eiddwen entered the shop and Rowan got ready. Because of the injury he sustained and the trauma he went through, the department had requested that he’d go through therapy. It was one of the conditions to allow him back to work.

“Hi Ro, ready for your appointment?”

He stood and grabbed his crutches. Aelin walked to him “are you coming back here then?”

“Yes, this is fun, albeit a bit scary.”

Aelin kissed him “Go,” a caress on his face “I will see you later.”

Rowan was in the car with his mum and was silent while driving.

“Ro, are you okay? Have you been sleeping?” She asked out of the blue.

He hadn’t. Rowan had a few bad nights when he woke up with the sensation of burning or suffocation. He then would roll around and hold Aelin in his arms. That would usually help him, her scent and the feeling of her body against his would always calm his soul. And if Maya joined in as well, he usually had the most blissful night. His girls were better than any medicine or therapy session. 

“I had a few bad nights.”

Her hand grabbed his “Mum, hand back on the wheel, please.”

“Is therapy working?”

“I think so. I just…” he paused “Mum, I almost left Aelin and Maya alone. I just found them again and I almost lost them. And it scared me, even more than the fire.” He explained “I know fire, but this fear, it hurts.”

“Maybe you should change job?” She asked.

“No mum, I was not meant to go inside. I did it because I knew the factory and it was the only way to save those people.” He told her “I usually stay outside and ran the fires, I can help change things. I love my job.”

“Talk to Aelin then, tell her how you feel.”

He was silent.

“Rowan, I know what not talking does to you.” Eiddwen was silent for an instant and let it sink in  “I had a panic attack one evening while I was at the supermarket. The police had to call uncle Ellys to come and get me. I kept saying that I was fine. I lied to myself until I broke down.”

Rowan grabbed his mother’s hand on the wheel and they both remained silent until they reached the building.

Eiddwen helped her son get out of the car and slowly walked to the office “I am running some errands in the meantime. I will see you in an hour.” Rowan nodded and followed the therapist inside the room. Therapy had been strange to him. He was not the greatest person to talk about his feelings and the first few days he had struggled to open up but slowly with the help of his therapist he had managed to finally unlock his emotions. They had covered about everything, not just his job.

“Welcome back, Rowan,” said Yrene while offering him to sit down “how are you you?”

A deep sigh “I love being back at home with my girls but I hate being stuck and not being allowed back to work. I am not good at feeling useless. I can work at a desk. This is nonsense.”

The woman nodded “you do know is department regulations?”

He groaned “Yes, I went through a serious accident and blah blah blah so now I have to wait for a shrink to tell me that I am fit to do my job.”     

“Rowan, you almost died and you have admitted that you have been struggling to sleep. That is not a good sign.”

“Of course, it friggin PTSD. I am working on it.”

“How?”

He looked outside of the window where the snow was falling heavily “Aelin and Maya, it’s all for them.”

The woman scribbled something down “what about you? Do you do it for yourself too?”

He snorted “of course, but they are my priority.”

“How is it going with them?”

Silence “I love my daughter. She is funny and intelligent and a little tornado. I adore teaching her things and discover almost every day new aspect of her personality.” He paused “I love Aelin and I want to be with her,” he nervously played with his hands “my mum gave me her engagement ring and wants me to give it to Aelin.”

“And how do you feel about it?”

He chuckled “I would have married her a long time ago. Now…”  a deep sigh “I love her madly but a part of me, a very small one, still resents her for lying and it’s affecting my full trust in her and driving me insane at the same time,” his hand raked through his longer hair “I love her so much and I really want to call her my wife. What’s wrong with me?”

“Have you talked to her? Have you voiced this problem to her?”

He shook his head “We have finally stopped fighting and Maya is thriving I cannot mess it up.”

Yrene wrote down a few more notes “that is a great progress, but this is something you have to discuss with Aelin or you risk that your relationship can never blossom properly,” she explained “She is also key in helping you deal with the job trauma. You need to talk to her.”

He nodded.

“What about sleeping? You mentioned in your last session your recurrent nightmares.”

A nod “Always the same. Burning, suffocation, the unyielding fear of being trapped. I usually wake up gasping for air.” His hand gently shook in his lap. 

“How have you been coping? Do you take the sleeping tablets the doctor prescribed?”

Rowan shook his head “Holding Aelin in my arms helps, and some night Maya jumps in bed too. Their presence keeps the bad dreams away and I can actually sleep.”

“Does it mean that without her you can’t sleep?”

“No, I can but it’s not as relaxed. I toss and turn a lot more.” A pause “It has always been like that. Aelin always managed to calm my soul.”  

The woman nodded. 

When the hour was up he said goodbye to Yrene and walked out of the office where his mother was waiting for him, reading a book. She looked up and closed the book “Ready to go?”

He nodded and slowly they made their way back to the car and the shop.

Later on that night, Rowan was already in bed, his back against the headboard and a book in his hands while Aelin was getting ready for the night. When they were dating she used to wear scandalous nightwear that would drive him insane with need and lust, now her nightwear was more modest and mostly consisted of his t-shirts that looked gigantic on her. A habit that apparently she had not lost. 

“That book seems interesting,” her voice reached him and he closed the book and placed it on the nightstand. Aelin smiled, it was a fantasy that she had recommended earlier on while at work.

“Oh yeah, this annoying bookseller badgered me all afternoon and convinced me to buy it.”

Aelin climbed in bed and crawled at his side “Well, she has great taste.”

Rowan looked at her and was about to kiss her but then he remembered he wanted to have a chat “So, therapy today was good.”

Aelin sat at his side and snuggled against his chest.

“We talked about us,” he looked down at her.

“I thought it was just about your job.”

He nodded “but Yrene is a wizard and we did some digging and we ended up talking about our relationship. She thinks it’s key to my recovery too.”

Aelin grinned proudly.

He was silent for a moment trying to find the best way to tell her his feelings without hurting her “she thinks that I need to reach closure before you and I can properly move to the next stage.”

Aelin turned to him “Closure?” Hurt in her voice “I thought we went over this.”

Rowan paused and folded his hands on his lap “Yes, but I think a part of me still resents you and I can’t shake it off.”

“Haven’t I apologised enough? What do you want me to do?” She growled irritated.

“I am working on it, it’s my issue, Aelin.”

Frustrated, Aelin got off the bed and started pacing the room “Is this an excuse to dump me once and for all?”

“No, Aelin. Yrene told me to express my feelings to you too and that’s what I am doing.”

“And blaming me in the process as usual.”

Rowan let out a frustrated growl “Fuck Aelin, I love you.”

“No you don’t.” She shouted back “If you did, you would finally trust me. How can we build a life together like this?”

She turned her back to him and sat at the bottom of the bed “I am tired of apologising, Rowan.” Her voice betrayed the sobs that had started to break through her “I don’t think we can do this if you continue in your crusade of hate towards me.”

He sighed and leaned back in the pillow “Aelin, I was ready to go to battle in court and I decided not to because I wanted to give our family a better chance,” he explained, looking away from her “but every time I find out something about Maya that happened a long time ago, I get so angry. I missed five years of my daughter’s life and it hurts, Aelin. It makes me feel like an incompetent father and it sting so much.” he paused “A while ago at hockey practice the other fathers had started talking about their kids and ended up chatting about their first day at school. I was silent, because I have no idea. I felt like a part time dad.”

Aelin finally turned and looked at his pained expression. On that he was right, he could have unleashed lawyers on her and instead of living together, they could have been in the middle of a destructive custody battle. He had backed down and given them a chance and for that she was grateful. Slowly she climbed back to him and her hand caressed his face tenderly “All the other kids were crying, but Maya wore her backpack and walked proudly inside the school and before leaving she told me that she was a big girl.” His arm sneaked behind her back pulling her closer and Aelin basked against his strong body.

He chuckled “Sounds like her.”

“I was almost offended when I picked her up and she told me she did not miss me.”

Aelin looked up at him and saw a hint of sadness on his features. She knew that having missed that part of their daughter’s life still upset him, but he was back and they had so much more to look forward to. She snuggled closer, letting him cage her completely against his chest “Ro, I know you missed a lot, but you still have so much to experience,” a kiss on his pecs “Aren’t you looking forward to her teenage phase? The first boyfriend or girlfriend?”

Rowan chuckled “Oh yes, the scary milestones.”

Her face turned upwards to look him into his eyes  “In your position, I’d be pissed too.”

Rowan’s nose landed on her head, buried in her mane of blonde hair “I am sorry, but I swear I am working on it.”

She kissed his cheek “I believe you, chief.”

Rowan pulled her down and let Aelin be the big spoon, her arms enveloping him, her face nestled in the crook of his neck “You are such a cuddler, aren’t you worried about your street cred?”

He hummed happily “Just with you and Maya. I am happy to keep my grumpy status with the rest of the world, but you two make me happy.”

Aelin smiled “good because we are not planning on leaving. We love your house too much.”

Rowan turned to face her and pulled her tight against him “To whatever end, fireheart.” A kiss.

“To whatever end.” She replied, then a smirk appeared on her face and pushed Rowan on his back and straddled him “Now, let’s see what can we do to make you sleep a bit better.” She removed her jersey and stood bared in front of him. She leaned closer for a kiss “I believe someone requested a sexy nurse.”

Rowan laughed and pillowed his arms behind his head.

“Let me take care of you, chief.” She added, while pulling of his briefs.

That night, with the love of his life in his arms, Rowan slept peacefully and dreamed of a future with the two most important people in his life.

taglist

@rowaelinismyotp @swankii-art-teacher @whimsicallyreading @elentiyawhitethorn @aelin-bitch-queen @bruiseonthefaceofhumanity  @mis-lil-red @thegreyj @sailorsassley @leiawritesstories @clairec79 @morganofthewildfire @sv0430 @heartless--aromantic @autumnbabylon @rowanaelinn  @susumaus98  @gracie-rosee @mybloodrunsblue @tanvee1231 @avenrebekah @whoever-you-choose-to-love  @theywillnotsingforme @universallytreepost @black-daisy-water @goddess-aelin @whispers-in-the-darkest-heart @lovely-dove-zee @athena127 @mariaofdoranelle

#rowaelin #rowan whitethorn #rowan x aelin #rowaelin fanfiction #rowaelin fanfic #aelin x rowan #rowanwhitethorn #throne of glass fanfiction #aelin galathynius

[l3rking]

So the State of the Game came out today and...there’s not too much to really talk about. 

It’s clear this wasn’t planned when LF launched (at least not this soon) and was written as a response to recent backlash (some necessary, most not). There were quite a few interesting things. Some meh. A couple disappointments. All in all I don’t think we really learned anything we didn’t already know. 

Hand Cannon buff next season is substantial

New Crucible map and modes

Stability improvements

Matchmaking improvements 

And probably the biggie imo: the future of Gambit

It’s an unpopular mode. We know that. It’s had poor community sentiment around it for years now. No amount of work short of a full overhaul will solve that. No amount of maps, or top tier weapons, or matchmaking adjustments are going to bring everyone back in. So they’re cutting their losses. It’ll still get its shader and new seasonal weapon and an old map but that’s it. Am I disappointed? Sure. Am I surprised. No. Not at all. Am I angry? Absolutely not. Bungie isn’t some deity. They’re people doing the best they can and usually their best is brilliant. They just don’t have the resources and NONE of us are in any position to argue that point. We just don’t know enough about the internal affairs of Bungie and no one except their employees ever will. I’m sure it wasn’t an easy decision to let Gambit down gently like that but it’s what they believed was best for the game rn. Who am I to argue?

Either way, I’m looking forward to next season. The new Crucible modes Relic and Checkmate sound like a lot of fun (I was a huge D2Y1 PvP fan) and the tease of some new exotic reworks is enough to get me interested in some new buildcrafting. This might as well have been another TWID for me. 

You’re going to  see people outrage over it. Disappointed in the Gambit news. Disappointed in the lack of information. And a lot were going to be disappointed no matter what Joe said. He could’ve promised every player all expansions for free and you’ll see rage bate at the top of r/DTG with a gajillion upvotes. It’s just the way this community is as exhausting as that can be. 

Either way, once the Final Shape hypetrain starts, we’re all going to forget about this and be excited again. 

Reminder: If you’re feeling burnt out. Step away. From the game. From online spaces. From even thinking about it. It’ll do wonder for you. And if you decide to stay away, that’s fine. I hope you find a hobby that gets you excited like D2 used to. If you decide to come back, I’ll see you in the tower next season.  

#destiny #destiny 2 #text post #rant #state of the game #twid #twab #Bungie #news #Opinon #I'm fr tho. take a break if you need to. i get the gambit news was sad to see but we all know we'll be back in there later this week #making our own fun like we always do. because we love his game and we love playing it. #and we wouldn't have it without the good and talented folk at Bungie

[dreambunnynotes]

daily check-in: dec. 11th

hi lovely friends! i missed my check-in on sunday and i was going to skip monday's because i had the mentality that i could just 'start again tomorrow,' but better habits are built today, not later! i'm trying to find ways to encourage myself to be disciplined and this is one of the ways i'm showing up for myself. monday felt like a huge success in terms of discipline and hard work without pushing myself, and i feel really proud!

please note: in this post i celebrate my lack of rest on monday because i often default to rest without discipline, so personally this was a success in developing a healthier work/play balance, focused on the 'work' part of things. however, everyone is in their own journey with self improvement and i absolutely do not advocate for overworking oneself generally - i believe that a good work/play balance is essential, i am just personally working on the work side of things so that is why i am proud of my lack of rest today!

accomplishments:

i followed through on my work obligations even though i felt super tired and wanted to reschedule; i have so few work obligations these days and i need the money so it felt really good to not cancel even though i wanted to. i only had to cancel one appointment at the very end of the day because i was starting to feel sick (everyone i know is getting a cold or flu these days) but i pushed through earlier in the day for every other appointment and still listened to what my body needed at the end of the day, which feels like a huge success for someone who often cancels her obligations!

i found a new way to enjoy tasks that normally stress me out, which is to listen to a podcast my sister recommended while completing mindless tasks. it made the tasks fly by and made doing them actually fun!

i put in a few hours of work on a project that has a deadline, even though i wanted to spend time doing leisurely things. i feel really proud of myself for accomplishing what i did!

room for improvement:

this is less about today specifically and more about the past week, but i should have gotten started on the project that has a deadline much earlier; i need way more time than i thought i would, which is of course chalked up to time-blindness. i need to find a way to give myself earlier deadlines; last night i researched how to create a sense of urgency for adhd brains and i think i've figured out a way to do this for myself. so, despite my flub in starting the project late, i am proud of myself because i was the one who sought out a deadline for the project in the first place and it has helped me lots!

still need to get to bed earlier; typing this at 12:30am is no good 😭

hohkaaaaay, i am SLEEPY (edit: posting this during the day after i slept lol). i seriously need to get my sleep schedule figured out, but i'm taking one step at a time. i'm calling this day a success, being compassionate to myself for where i made mistakes, and looking forward to another beautiful day today! have a wonderful evening and take care of your lovely self 🥰

#becoming that girl #dream girl #girlblogging #dream life #it girl #glow up #productivity #that girl #clean girl #pink pilates girl #wonyoungism #self improvement #self care

[el-moscorrofio-y-el-mercachifle]

Watching the episode of the morning after Betty's bd made me realize that I really like Betty and Aura María's friendship. They're opposite and compliment each other very well. Aura Maria is audacious and straightforward, loud and unfiltered, and won't hesitate to risk her own skin for Betty. Betty, on the other hand, is calmer, much more discreet, and thinks it through a lot more before getting her claws out as to do it in the mot efficient way possible (through her influence with Armando, most of the time). She's also reluctant to go out there due to past experiences, and Aura Maria gives her the push she needs.

AM is also Betty's confidant. Sure, Nicolás is too, but there's something so nice and beautiful and magical about sharing your biggest happiness and secrets with your girl bestie that, although I mean no disrespect to guys, it's simply not the same with guys. There's simply not this female shared experience. She also never revealed anything Betty told her. AM is very unfiltered, and won't even think it before basically yelling in the hallways any sort of detail that most people would consider private (ex. When Freddy had to stop her multiple times every time she started talking about their intimacy the night before), and yet she knows this is Betty's privacy and didn't even allude to it to the rest of the Cuartel.

She gives Betty relationship advice and no doubt gave her the confidence to try the grounds with Armando to see if he wanted her as well. The simple fact that she tried speaks volumes of her confidence increase, which I don't doubt was also a bit of influence from AM (ex. The whole chat about how if [Betty and her bf] both loved each other it was natural for them to be attraction and that Betty should take the first step)

In addition, it wasn't until this rewatch that I noticed that AM is the only one who doesn't diminish Betty for her appearence. Just look at the opening sequence again. Everyone looks at her with disgust, except Aura Maria. She invited her to a double date and made sure to take her home safe. She tried to encourage her to be more open and to be more forward with the dude from the date, and even advised her on how to improve her appearence (taking off Betty's scarf, for example) and her flirting. Sure, it wasn't the best of advices, but AM told her what had worked for her and genuinely wanted to help her.

In the Letter episode (where I'm currently at in my rewatch after years of neglecting the novela lmao), you can see Aura María's face and she truly looks worried and distressed for Betty.

Overall, I would have loved to see more of their friendship before th Change!

((i know it may seem like I hate AM based on my previous posts, but no, I just dislike how she handled her relationship and how much she ignores her responsibilities. She's actually the best friend from the Cuartel that Betty has, and she's definitely the kind of friend that will encourage you to talk to your crush and help you get pretty for a date and tell you the greatest gossips and overall you'd have a fun time going out with her! In other words: she's an amazing friend and I like that aspect of her))

#ysblf #yo soy betty la fea #betty la fea #beatriz pinzon solano #armando mendoza #beatriz pinzón solano #aura maria ysblf #aura maria fuentes

[pardi-real]

Honeymoon Knight / Chapter 15 - The Ideal Wedding Outfit

Prev | All | Next

Miyaji: "Hmm... I'm sorry, my lord. We ended up talking for so long..."

> "I'm glad to hear it” > “I had fun listening”

Miyaji: "I see. I'm glad to hear that."

Lato: "Fufu… There is one last thing I would like to add..."

> “Lato…?” > "Hm?"

Lato: "Flure, after the contest... You have changed a bit, haven't you?"

Flure: “H-have I? What's changed?"

Lato: "I don't think I'm mistaken. I sense more confidence in you now. How can I put it... You've become cooler.”

Flure: "R-really...? Th-that aside... I didn't expect the word 'cool' to come out of Lato's mouth."

Lato: "Oh? Was it inappropriate…? The lord also said earlier that you were 'incredibly cool’. I thought it was right..."

Flure: "Th-that's not what I meant. I just didn't think Lato would say it normally."

Miyaji: "I think I know what Lato's saying. From my point of view... Flure, I think you have grown through the contest and your outfit-making skills have improved. I have the impression that you're more refined than before. Hmm... It may sound strange to compare it to when I first met you, but.... You definitely look more reliable than you used to."

> "I've been feeling like you're more reliable lately, too"

Flure: "R-really? I am... Reliable. I'm glad to hear it, my lord. I will continue to work as an outfit designer... And make nice clothes for everyone!"

> "Looking forward to it, Flure"

Flure: "Yes, leave it to me! Because I have a lot of outfits I want to make for my lord!"

Lato: "Is it... Wedding outfit?"

> “What?"

Flure: "Wa-wait, Lato!? What are you talking about all of a sudden!?"

Lato: "Oh, is that not it? We discussed this the other day, didn't we?"

> "The other day?"

Miyaji: "Actually, after the contest… Someone asked Flure to make a wedding dress."

> "Is that right, Flure?"

Flure: "Yes, that's right. I said I couldn't make it with my job as a butler... So I refused..."

> "I see"

Lato: "But at that time, Flure... looked very disappointed."

Flure: "Well... It's not everyday you get to make wedding outfits. I can't say I'm not interested... But...! Can we not talk about this anymore? Let's get off the subject of wedding outfits.“

Muu: "Oh, right!"

> "What's wrong, Muu?"

Muu: "My lord. Why don't you ask everyone in the basement about their ‘ideal wedding outfit’?"

Flure: "I-ideal wedding outfit? You mean the clothes you would wear for your own wedding?"

Miyaji: "That's a bit sudden, isn't it... Why did you decide to ask?"

Muu: "Actually, I've heard many stories about marriage from the other butlers! The butler on the 3rd floor told me about their 'ideal honeymoons'... The butler on the 2nd floor told me about ‘wedding bouquets’, and the butler at the villa told me about their ‘views on marriage’!"

Miyaji: "Hmm, in short... Just like last year when you were asking around about our views on marriage... This year, are you collecting stories related to marriages?"

> "Not really collecting, though..."

Lato: "Kufufu, I see... I understand. My 'ideal wedding outfit'... If my lord wants to hear it, I will tell you."

Flure: "What? Lato, you have your ideal wedding outfit in mind?"

Lato: "Yes, I do. Would you like to hear it? Then... Please speak first, Flure."

Flure: "What? M-me first?"

> "I'd like to hear it, Flure"

Flure: "E-even the lord… …I understand. If the lord says so, I will speak.”

Thus, I had them telling me about their 'ideal wedding outfit'.

Flure: “Err... First of all, let me say... I don't have a concrete image of my 'ideal wedding outfit'... I don't have anything in mind yet."

Lato: "Oh? Quite surprising, isn't it? I thought you had already decided on a detailed design."

> "Yes, it's unexpected...."

Flure: "Because wedding outfits... are meant to be worn in pairs... So... I'd like to get my partner's opinion for the specific details."

> "I see"

Flure: "I think a wedding is something that is made by two people... No matter how much I like making clothes... I don't want to force my ideas on my partner."

> “That's so sweet of you, Flure"

Flure: "Thank you for the compliment, my lord. Marriage is about spending a lot of time together. I think it's important to give proper respect to them. So.... I don't know if this is good enough as my answer, but.... My ideal wedding clothes would be 'what they want to wear'."

> "I think it's lovely"

Flure: "Thank you. I am glad to hear you say so, my lord."

Miyaji: "Yeah... The lord is right. It was a great story, showing compassion for your partner."

Lato: "Kufufu... Flure is very kind, after all. Now, for the next one... Prof. Miyaji, please."

Miyaji: "Oh, me?"

> "Tell us, Miyaji.”

Miyaji: "Understood. I don't think it'll be anything significant, but if it's okay with you, I'll talk about my 'ideal wedding outfit.' When it comes to the design... Like Flure, I want to respect my partner's opinion. However, there's one thing I won't compromise on."

> "Something you won't compromise on?"

Miyaji: "Yeah... Well, that would be... having Flure make it."

Flure: "Huh? You'd like me to make it?"

Miyaji: "Yeah, that's right. The outfit for my beloved partner... I want it made by my dear comrade. The partner wearing the wedding outfit made by Flure... will surely be the most enchanting in the world."

Flure: "Prof. Miyaji... Thank you! I'll make the best wedding dress!"

Miyaji: "Thank you, Flure."

Flure: "By the way, Prof. Miyaji, you mentioned respecting your partner's opinion, but... are there no requests from your side?"

Miyaji: "Hmm... well... if I have to say... I prefer my clothes not to stand out too much."

> "Even though it's your wedding?"

Miyaji: "Yeah, to be honest... I don't want too much attention.”

> “I see”

Miyaji: “That's in my nature... or you could say, my philosophy. Let my partner be the center of attention; I'm fine with that. I just want to be the one quietly supporting."

> “Miyaji..."

Miyaji: "This applies not only to the wedding, but also to our life together. In the story of our time together, the protagonist should always be my partner. I think I'm fine in being there to quietly support them."

> "Really?"

Miyaji: "Saying this might make it sound like excessive self-sacrifice, but it's not that. I've lived long enough. I don't have strong desires about how I want things for myself or expecting certain things from others. I find happiness in what brings joy to my partner… Oops, we were talking about the ideal wedding outfit, but I got a bit sidetracked. I apologize for rambling on."

> "Thank you for sharing"

Miyaji: "No, thank you for listening, my lord."

Lato: "It's a wonderful and fitting thought, Prof. Miyaji."

Miyaji: "Lato… Thank you."

Lato: "Kufufu... speaking of which, it seems Prof. Miyaji's ideal also involves ‘clothes made by Flure’."

Flure: "Wait? Did you just say 'Prof. Miyaji also’?"

Lato: "Yes, I did. Because, my ‘ideal wedding outfit’ is also... the clothes made by Flure."

Flure: "Y-you too, Lato?"

> "You're quite popular, Flure"

Flure: "Um… yes, I guess…?"

Lato: "Oh? You seem puzzled, Flure. The outfit for my dear partner... I want my precious little brother to make it. It's only natural as an older brother, right? My little brother, taking into account my partner's opinions... will surely create a splendid outfit…"

Flure: "Well... of course, I don't mind… But do you really not have any ideas for your own wedding outfits, Lato?"

Lato: "Well... I do have. However... I won't say it because my partner wouldn't accept it."

Flure: "Hmm... that makes me curious..."

> "Can you share with us?"

Lato: "Hmm... if the lord insists, I can't refuse. My ideal for the wedding outfit is... not about design or appearance. I want to leave it entirely to my partner and Flure."

> "Huh? Is that so?"

Lato: "My request is about the wedding outfit's handling."

Flure: " ‘Handling’? What do you mean?"

Lato: "After my partner wears the wedding outfit at our wedding ceremony... I want it to be buried without a trace under my supervision."

Flure: "B-buried? W-why?"

Lato: "No matter how beautiful the wedding outfit is... I only want my dear partner to wear it once... If the wedding outfit remains... it means they can wear it again."

Flure: "So, you're saying, you'll ruin the outfit I made?"

Lato: "Yes, that's right. However, I intend to collect the torn fabric properly."

Flure: "Sigh... Prof. Miyaji, Lato is saying strange things again."

Miyaji: "Hmm... Well, we can't deny it if that's Lato's wish."

> "In a way, it's very much like Lato?"

Lato: "Kufufu... Thank you for your compliment."

Flure: "I don't think anyone complimented you, though..."

Muu: "A-anyway...! I had fun listening to everyone's stories!"

Flure: "It was fun, but... um..."

Miyaji: "Oh... Flure, what's wrong?"

Flure: "Well, it's just... listening to everyone's stories... I really want to make wedding outfits now. And I feel like seeing various wedding dresses for reference… Tisailles is a fashion city, and there are shops that deal with wedding dresses."

> “I also wanna see those” > "That might be interesting."

Miyaji: "Hmm... I see. In that case, how about we go to a shop that deals with wedding dresses right now? I remember there being a specialized shop on the other street."

> "Flure, want to go check it out?"

Flure: "Yes! Let's go together, my lord!"

And so, guided by Miyaji, we headed towards a shop that specializes in wedding dresses.

Prev | All | Next

#*aknk #honeymoon knight

[likesdoodling]

It has been a while since I started digital art,

Quite a while.

So here is a 'progress over the last two years' since I gained access to a drawing tablet.

:D

This is my first ever digitally illustrated piece- compared to my latest one-

So, a little bit different.

I do think my art took quite a jump around June 2022, when I took a break from my Steve comic strip, (for obvious reasons- it was about Technoblade's polar bear so...) and decided to try practicing gesture drawing to see if it helped my general anatomy knowledge. This is before,

And this next one is after.

The most obvious change here is that I switched to using thinner lines. There is a gap of about two months between these.

This was when I realised that you could improve art by practicing it (mind-blowing I know), and then started to do just that. Some other notable jumps forward would be when I discovered the airbrush-

Well, discovered a new method of shading with it anyway.

Then after that I had a few pictures that I actually still like, despite them being pretty old at this point, the one below is actually from September of 2022-

I mean, the hands are a bit iffy, but the rest looks alright. This was when I was going through a bit of a melanie martinez phase-

This next one was from January of 2023, I'd only just gotten into bungou stray dogs via some random memes on pinterest about this weird brown haired guy who had lots of bandages and who had this running gag with wanting to die- I actually looked him up at one point, but that didn't really explain much. The main one that I remember was 'life is short, so make it shorter, shorter than chuuya~'

Which at the time was just kind of confusing,

Then I watched the show and it made perfect sense.

I'd discovered ascendance of a bookworm in like, 2021, but I hadn't really been doing fanart of it since I was mainly doing dsmp related stuff and I kind of assumed nobody would know what on earth I was referencing. Turns out tumblr has a lot more bookworm fans than I orignally anticipated. Instagram still has no clue. I think maybe one person out of my followers on instagram knows what I'm on about-

Then we've got these two which I am still proud of btw-

The first one is from a dystopian/time travel fanfic called viridian.

The second one was after I learned about rim lighting. It was inspired by a song actually, 'crash' by noevaii. (and yes I found that song from a sad-ist animatic, it was cool) The character isn't anyone in particular. They're both from February 2023.

Then there's probably my most liked picture on instagram, (not tumblr, since tumblr knows about bsd and bookworm, but y'know. This was even sadder than I originally intended since the last half of my comic strip was finished AFTER everything happened)

Then the final conclusion of my Steve comic strip in May of 2023.

I don't think my art really changed much in between those, but eh.

Then I switched to doing a bunch of ascendance of a bookworm stuff to see what would happen and turns out there are way more fellow fans out there than I anticipated-

Then I guess my next breakthrough in tumblr popularity, (even if it might not have been a breakthrough in art skills necessarily) was when things went DOWN in the bsd fandom with chapter 109 and I did probably one of my most liked tumblr posts I have ever done-

If you want to see the rest of that, feel free to scroll down on my tumblr page, the original's like eight pages long-

This was before anyone knew what was going to happen btw.

I still think it's hilarious that I put in chuuya having contacts. My reasoning being, they're on a film set,

It was a pretty interesting exercise in shading in monochrome.

Then I started a 30 day art challenge in October that I didn't get past day six of, but it was still pretty fun. This is the best one of those-

After that I spent most of my time studying for the jlpt n5, so I didn't really do that much art related stuff,

This is one of the two non-commission related pictures that I finished over the two months after I kind of gave up on the art challenge. This one's from November,

Then I finally finished an art commission I'd been working on for the three months prior, as well as studying. Here is an example of the type of pictures I was doing for that,

Then I was occupied with christmas and birthday presents for my siblings, both my little sisters are into ascendance of a bookworm- (completely my fault I am proud to say) so I was able to do stuff related to that, here's a couple of snippets, but you guys don't get the colour version hehe

And one of them has also read the entire fma manga just like I have so-

Anyway, it's been quite a progression since I resolved to master digital art in 2021.

I reckon I've come a fair way since then. I mean. My art skills in general are way better than they used to be. The last two or three years have been pretty interesting.

Also-

Just had to include this one, I'm gonna do a more detailed version but still-

I think it's funny so I'm posting it here. Even if it's not really related to art progression-

#honzuki no gekokujou #ascendance of a bookworm #dsmp #dsmp fanart #mha #skvader #viridian #bsd #bsd fanart #technoblade #rip technoblade #i did like a whole comic strip #but didn't get a chance to finish it before june 2022- #its finished now #but like #still... #anyway #steve now has the protagonist au he deserves #fullmetal alchemist #yeye #ive barely done anything to do with that #fanart wise i mean #but i have read the entire thing #i reckon sheska and myne would be bffs #hope i spelt that right- #you know who i mean #the girl who reads a lot #in fma #yeah #anyway moving on-

[stelladess]

Spoiler ahead for the CN livestream, so chapter 14 stuff and brief IS5 mention (also anime season 3 confirmed now). Do not keep reading to avoid spoilers. Just some of my early thoughts. Stream of conciousness, not having thought things through much kind of thing. Kind of just rambling. But tl;dr is that I am excited and it looks good to me.

So, they keep using Civilight Etherna to describe "Theresa" and even outright ask "is she really Theresa?" in the live stream, so no its not a full on resurrection... so from a certain point of view, I was right. Her kit seems super good, she a bard also the freebie operator. Since I do not have Skalter this is good news for me. Big buffs, can do true damage... is neat. Logos is... outright busted. His S1 is insanely good AFK skill which can just auto kill weaker enemies who enters his range, not even an attack and his S2 seems fine, his S3 is also insane. Depending on the numbers he might outperform Eyja but we´ll see, that is always the test is it not? Amiya gets to be an incantation medic, with an outright busted talent (passive health regen on skill, off and on skill gives max HP boosts, this applies to all operators for both it seems?) and a pretty good looking S1 (attacks two enemies, bonus damage) and an amazing S2 with a big burst of damage at first, then slow and true damage with targeting two enemies and.... once per mission... again. Its... fine, I´m not salty.... Anyway, the big star, is limited (I had hoped she would be freebie since her original was limited but oh well) Walter.... or, W has now picked a name for herself, we will have to learn the context in chapter 14, Wis´adel (she has a different S but my keyboard lacks it, it is pronouched as a "sh" sound though). Wis´adel is a flinger sniper who makes all other flingers irelevant and is absolutely busted. Because I am a big W fan (depending on the day it is either her or Kal´tsit who is my second favorite operator) and flingers were in a really bad spot I am kind of ok with this but I still prefer they do not just blatantly directly power creep operators or go too far on insane damage numbers. Her damage seems... a bit too high in my opinion, but because I love her as a character and am excited for her story going forward and her kit seems fun, just really overtuned, I will be pulling. And I guess Degenbrecher and Mlynar already brought us up to this insane damage level so I should not be surprised. Power creep is something I have kept up in many many games I play and there are times where a later power crept state was my favorite period of the game so I will not go and get too hung up on the power creep. Also, I was right to take notice of the floating black crown parts I think cause it is even more prominent now. Bunch of story related stuff here but I wanna wait with talking about that until I have sorted my thoughts and maybe even read chapter 14. On that note, story for chapter 14 has me INCREDIBLY hyped. 13 was my favorite chapter, dethroning chapter 8. And I really wanna know what they are cooking next! Also IS5 has a Kal´tsit boss... she wields a sword!!!! (There are some interesting stuff about Kal and weapons that comes up occasionally, this is in the past it seems so maybe we find out what the deal is?)

I do think its a kind of bad decision to make IS5 sarkaz themed though, I like the sarkaz stuff but I feel IS is best used for parts of the world not explored in as much depth elsewhere. (I think it works with IS3 doing something explored a lot elsewhere but I kinda do not want them to keep doing that). But back to positive stuff the character designs are great. Wis´adel design has really grown on me, I think its a huge downgrade from what she wore before but it feels like it fits her so I am fine with that. Amiya has improved her fashion sense, at first I was sad at no more big coat/cape but that turned out to just be cause the blurry art... she went for a long coat instead of big coat that was actually a normal coat but just too big for her. So it still is something actually made to fit her but still retains the big coat look to some extent. Civilight Etherna boobs seem bigger then Theresa´s(?) Is it to contain the myriad souls? Deep lore implications about this at least! Logos uniform is good but like, so are all Rhodes uniforms. I do not feel it is exceptionally good for a Rhodes uniform but it suits him. Oh and also we see Wis´adel studying in one of the PVs, Hoederer must be so proud she is finally taking her education seriously~! Lastly on addressing the name situation... I will keep using W until chapter 14 is out on global to avoid spoiling people, after that I will probably switch to using her new name. Names are a very important thing especially when you pick them yourself.

#arknights #ak cn spoilers #cn spoilers

[iuteamstarcandy]

[INTERVIEW] 230922 IU in Elle Korea Oct Issue (Part 1 of 2)

Q : You are full of good news for your upcoming 15th debut anniversary which will take place on September 18. Starting from the media art exhibition, you also had your “IU Concert: The Golden Hour” film premiere and now the fan concert which will be held for 2 days at KSPO Dome.

I have been really busy. Since there is not even a day for me to rest in September, I have been wondering whether I will be able to prepare the fan concert well or if I should delay the fan concert, but in the end, it will be the most fun if we celebrate the debut anniversary during the debut anniversary. It is a little bit too much, but I am doing my best to prepare for it.

Q : I think the meeting between Elle and IU which takes place today can also be a present for people who love you.

That’s true. Especially since I can show my new side whenever I have a photoshoot with Gucci. I hope that throughout September my fans will find it as a gift.

Q : You uploaded on your SNS, “Fan Concert? Although it’s my first time (doing this), I have a feeling that this is my expertise”. After preparing for it, do you think so?

Because of my “You Have Done Well” filming, I have to go back and forth between Andong, Jeju and Yeoncheon. Whenever I get to Seoul, I practise for the choreography and the ensemble, and it is really tiring? But when the practice session started, it became like a festival (laughs). We picked less popular songs that we ourselves like, boldly rearranged those songs that seemed like fans would probably have listened to a lot before and it is has been really fun while preparing for the fan concert.

Q : The fan concert was sold out during the pre-sale for fanclub members. You are an artist who is ahead of taking countermeasures to prevent organized ticket reselling or scalpers from reselling tickets for a premium. Is it a characteristic of yours that you need to solve a problem whenever it happens?

Although it will not be eradicated just because I step forward on this issue, I still think it's important to show my willingness to do something about it. As a result, we worked together with other companies to come up with some good ideas to deal with this.

(TL note: If you report a scalper and Edam Ent investigates and finds evidence that the person is indeed reselling the ticket, then Edam Ent will give you the ticket instead as a prize. If you already have a ticket to IU’s concert, then you receive an unreleased IU photocard instead as a prize.)

Q : During the media exhibition “Moment,” last summer, which was held to celebrate your 15th debut anniversary, you released a little bit of the guide recording version of your popular songs, like “Through The Night” and “Palette”. Is there any reason for that?

If I am able to record the guide version, I will usually record it by myself. Through this process, I have great affection for the song, because you can improve your song interpretation skills or your knowledge about music. After all, music is about discovering really good moments even if they are raw and sloppy. I thought it would be nice to show the guide recordings which I have collected and listened to by myself all this time, so I picked a few of them. I also thought it would be nice if I let people listen to just a teeny bit of the song that I prepared for my new album, so I also revealed the unreleased song. I am proud of the fact that everyone got really excited about it.

Q : You also created “Uaena’s Room” for the exhibition while thinking about your fans. To IU, what kind of a person is Uaena?

I have shown everyone a few times my ‘storage place’ where I collected all the items that I cherish. I re-created the storage place at the exhibition and then made “Uaena’s Room” which looks like a mirror image of it, as if this is a décalcomanie. It started with the idea that I think Uaena are people who are very similar to me. I don’t know what kind of life each Uaena has, but I feel that I know the attitude and focus that a person has when you like someone and how soft your heart becomes in that moment.

Q: It’s already been 2 years since you released <Pieces> at the end of your 20s. In the album introduction, you wrote ‘the pieces in between my 20s that I didn’t bother to take out’ and included 5 songs right? Which piece do you think is the odd one out?

Even when I was recording “Drama” which I wrote when I was 20, I worked on it while thinking, “Ah, I can’t make my voice sound like this anymore. If I do it now, it seems like I’m just pretending.” Yet, on the other hand, I’m not someone who changes much as a person. I also feel that the parts of me that are immature and lacking will not dramatically become more impressive (laughs).

Q: Do you feel pressured about releasing your new album?

During the course of preparing for this album, there was a point when I did a 180 degree u-turn. Having released albums one after another without any hiatus so far, this time I have not released my own album for about 2 years, so I think during this period of time, the direction of my thoughts has changed a lot. Now that my songs are taking shape one by one, I think 2 years passed by rather slowly (TL note: meaning 2 years has been a long time). I feel like I’m rich because I like how the songs turned out. I’m talking about my ambition here. I think this is a good time for me to say such things.

Q: You’re the idol of idols too. There are many KPOP artists who covered your songs, bought your merchandise and shared their concert reviews with their fans. Why do you think you have received so much love?

Staying faithful to music is something that I take pride in. I think it could be the closeness and happiness they feel towards someone they have been watching for a long time. As someone in the same industry, perhaps it’s the feeling of wanting to cheer on a senior who has been doing this for a long time. I’ll do my best to repay them with my gratitude when the moment comes.

Translated by IUteamstarcandy

Magazine source: JongHeon_IU0516

#IU #interview #elle #oct 2023

[xnightmare-eyesx]

Discovered and read "Glowflies in the Darkest City" all of yesterday, and it's the right amount of gradual falling-in-love that I was looking for in a Rayfrog fiction. Thank you. Something I've thought about since the end of Chapter 8: Ramon's not a trained fighter, but he is an entertainer. Something that could help him improve under Bullfrog's tutelage could be approaching combat like stage direction or dance? It may not be a skillset he wants to revisit, but it is something he can use to his advantage if it's how he can effectively learn. Use that or don't, I don't mind. Whatever you have planned, I look forward to reading.

Ooo you got some good ideas going. I've been doing all of the research I can about Rayman lore (I've been playing through Rayman Legends too) and there's a lot the show hasn't used in terms of Rayman's abilities (there's not a whole lot of funky wacky magic stuff going on besides Bullfrog's bubbles)

I might incorporate that in the fic if it flows right (I do have most of the major ideas/chapters kind of planned out already in my head but I'm always open for suggestions also since I am also kind of writing it on the fly tehe)

To step behind the scenes and into the way I think and I write about the characters though, I think Ramon's never really had a chance to realize the abilities he has. My headcanon (and this could be corrected with season 2) is that Ramon was still young when he fled his dimension, given his flashback to his college days was the version of Rayman from around Rayman 1. He hasn't fought much of the livid dead or those crazy boss battles in Rayman origins or legends. He's a novice at best.

And I also like to think he stopped showing off his abilities he did know to blend in better, sort of like learning to speak the common language and slowly losing your native tongue just to get less bullied and since most things in his world are kind of slap-stick silly enemies and objects, Rayman is used to sort of playing around and having fun instead of actual fighting for his life.

He only now knows how strong he really could be because he's an outsider officially now and it's taken this weight off of his back. He can let loose, fight a piece of himself again, even if it's been twisted and burnt by the world.

Ramon's a good person deep down, he's literally built out of Lums to be the hero of the glade dreams, but he doesn't like fighting. He just wants everyone to have fun and to be happy I think :3

#my personal headcanons are very different #it creates more angst and sad things to write #that lead to more fluff and bonding #text #answering asks #captain laserhawk #rayman #captain laserhawk rayman #fanfic #writing

[msviolacea]

So yeah, I watched this week's Critical Role. And wow, I have a lot of thoughts and feelings.

To start with, I've also been watching a series on YouTube by supergeekmike where he's gone through the Vox Machina episodes one at at time and talks about what we can learn about GMing and playing TTRPGs from how the CR cast does it. Which is very interesting overall, but the most recent episode has a surprising amount of synergy with this week's CR. He reached the Umbrasyl fight, and talks about how some of the awkward tension in this fight stems from the fact that the players, at this point, tended to keep Matt in the dark about big battle plans they wanted to implement, presumably because they didn't want him to plan a counter for them. This is partly seeing it at least a little as an us vs them, players vs GM sort of game, which can be a valid way of playing if everyone's on board, but doesn't super work for something like CR. But it's also a way players try to exert what little control they have over the situation, especially in very tense situations in which their characters are in serious danger.

Anyway, that sense of control is something I thought about again while watching this most recent episode. Spoilers ahoy!

99% of the time, I'm on team Marisha does nothing wrong fuck you Reddit, but in this one I think that, in her panic and desire to control the situation, she overstepped a couple of times. First with the scryball thing - yes, she mentioned it earlier in the episode, but if you want to assume you have it up and are staring at it 100% of the time you have to say so. Also, knowing Otohan was that close wasn't going to give them any kind of real advantage - there wasn't time or space to create an ambush or do much of anything that would improve their position when she arrived. Looking at the scryball earlier told them that Otohan was there and getting closer - realistically, that was about as much warning as they needed or were going to get. I think the thing to take away here is that sometimes, you can't make plans for everything as a player. Sometimes, the best you're going to do is "big shit's coming, at least you're aware." If you want more than that, especially in a very high-stress situation, you have be specific. "I have the scryball in my hand and will look at it every minute or so." "I am keeping very, very aware as we run so can we just use my passive perception against anything in the area as we move forward?" "I have specifically taken X weapon out of the bag so I don't have to spend an action when we inevitably get ambushed." The more info you can give your GM, the more control you can have, however little it may be. But at the same time, sometimes you're just going to be surprised or get caught in a suboptimal situation, and sometimes that's what the story needs.

As an aside, it did feel like Otohan was a little overtuned - 4 attacks PLUS two action surges PLUS legendary actions? And that's without her crazy shadow backpack? But there's also the fact that the party had used so many of their spells for the infiltration. But still. I wonder if Otohan was meant to be an even later boss fight, and they were meant to flee again, maybe with the teleport back to Exandria. But that wasn't clear, so maybe this really was just supposed to be a brutal deadly fight. It just didn't feel like fun for the players for a good chunk of time.

(I struggle a lot figuring out how to make a fight hard for a large group of fairly overpowered players myself. I haven't figured out how to make it work. But it's a little comforting to realize that Matt might not even quite know how to do it all the time even after all these years.)

But anyway. The second time I started to get irritated with Marisha was when she started trying to bargain/beg after they all realized what Sam/FCG was doing. Thankfully Travis brought out the dad voice to shut her down - I get it, I understand the impulse to want to find something, anything that will change this inevitable outcome, but at the same time, this show is as much a piece of improv theater as it is a D&D game, and there comes a time when you have to just let your fellow actor have their moment. And while Sam will make ridiculous snap decisions to commit to the bit, when it comes to the serious, important stuff, he's clearly a player who knows exactly what he's doing and why he wants to do it.

Ultimately, I think this is why I continue to appreciate CR's no-editing approach to their episodes, even though finding 5 hours to watch one episode can be a pain sometimes. I like seeing these awkward moments, these missteps, the times when it becomes clear that even veteran players and GMs, even professional improv actors don't get it right all the time. It's validating, as a GM and player who feels like she sucks at both things, even after playing for like 7-ish years.

#jaime rambles #critical role #critical role spoilers #this one was a doozy #that was as hard to watch as ... #... well the other episodes where this particular thing happened to their party #to put it in a mostly non-spoilery way