#I had to check ''This is my original work'' so it'd let me post this but all I did was record it on my phone from my TV!

[nofomogirl]

Good Omen's problem with having two canons

They're fundamentally different. That's the problem. That's my point.

For quite a while I focused almost exclusively on the new season of Good Omens, but now I am slowly delving into analysis that takes the entire show into account, and I've encountered a little obstacle. Namely, things from S1 can be really tricky to interpret.

Fair warning: this post is going to zig-zag between various points but I want you to trust me and take this scenic route with me. It will take us somewhere eventually, I promise.

The Arrangement

It's one of the core elements in the Good Omens universe and at the same time a perfect example of the issue I want to discuss. So let's have a closer look together.

In the book, the Arrangement is presented to us in two passages:

the first one, where it is first - very briefly - mentioned:

Aziraphale had tried to explain [free will] to him once. The whole point, he'd said - this was somewhere around 1020, when they'd first reached their little Arrangement - the whole point was that when a human was good or bad it was because they wanted to be.

and the second one, where it is properly introduced and explained:

The Arrangement was very simple, so simple in fact, that it didn't really deserve the capital letter, which it had got for simply being in existence for so long. It was the sort of sensible arrangement that many isolated agents, working in awkward conditions a long way from their superiors, reach with their opposite number when they realize they have more in common with their immediate opponents than their remote allies. It meant a tacit non-interference in certain of each other's activities. It made certain that while neither really won, also neither really lost, and both were able to demonstrate to their masters the great strides they were making against a cunning and well-informed adversary. (...) And then, of course, it had seemed even natural that they should, as it were, hold the fort for one another whenever common sense dictated. Both were of angel stock, after all. If one was going to Hull for a quick temptation, it made sense to nip across the city and carry out a standard brief moment of divine ecstasy. It'd get done anyway, and being sensible about it gave everyone more free time and cut down on expenses.

In the show, the Arrangement is presented to us in two original scenes in the cold opening of S1E3:

(I am quoting most relevant dialogues only)

537 AD, Wessex:

C: So we're both working very hard in damp places and just canceling each other out? A: Well, you could put it like that. It is a bit damp. C: Be easier if we both stayed home. If we just send messages back to our head offices saying we'd done everything they'd asked for, wouldn't it? A: But that would be lying. C: Eh, possibly, but the end result would be the same. Cancel each other out. A: But my dear fellow... well, they'd check. Michael's a bit of a stickler. You don't want to get Gabriel upset with you. C: Oh, our lot have better things to do than verifying compliance reports from Earth. As long as they get paperwork they seem happy enough. As long as you're being seen doing something every now and again. A: No! Absolutely not! I am shocked that you would even imply such a thing. We're not having that conversation, not another word!

1601 AD, The Globe Theatre:

A: I have to be in Edinburgh at the end of the week. A couple of blessings to do. A minor miracle to perform. (...) C: I'm meant to be heading to Edinburgh too this week. Tempting a clan leader to steal some cattle. A: Doesn't sound like hard work. C: That's why I thought we should... Well, bit of a waste of effort, both of us going all the way to Scotland. A: You cannot actually be suggesting what I infer that you are implying. C: Which is? A: That just one of us goes to Edingburgh, does both. The blessing and the tempting. C: We've done it before. Dozens of times now. The Arrangement- A: Don't say that! C: Our respective offices don't actually care how things get done. They just want to know they can cross it off the list.

S2 doesn't actually reference the Arrangement. But it does reuse the dialogue about free will where the 1020 date is dropped. We will get back to it.

The challenge of adapting Good Omens

Good Omens shares a certain characteristic with all of Terry Pratchett's solo books I've read - it couldn't care less about "showing instead of telling". Which I love, just to be clear. A book is a written medium. It's made with words and one of words' major strengths is that you can use them to just tell things point blanc.

Good Omens does it a lot and it's fantastic.

Look at that second passage from the book I quoted earlier.

From just those few sentences we learn a lot about the relationships between:

Heaven and Hell (opponents and competition)

Aziraphale and Crowley (two individuals in the same position and in direct contact with each other)

Aziraphale/Crowley and Heaven/Hell (field agent and a remote HQ that are not in direct contact)

Aziraphale/Crowley and Earth (two individuals and a space they live in)

Heaven/Hell and Earth (a board where the game is played, only winning or losing matters, what actually happens on a board does not)

It's really an extra condensed worldbuilding gem sprinkled with humor, so it's no surprise it's become one of the most iconic passages from the book.

I mean, just browse through some interviews with David and Michael - especially the ones from 2019 - where they explain what Aziraphale and Crowley are about. You'll be hard-pressed to find any where they don't reference that specific paragraph, consciously or otherwise.

But it's only this neat on the pages of the book, where narration like this takes mere seconds to absorb. It's impossible to convey the same information in a visual medium with anywhere near the same efficiency.

The fact that the majority of Good Omens is like this was, in my opinion, a main challenge the adaptation faced. The book is very narration-heavy. It's full of fun facts about characters, side jokes, hilarious comments, etc. Some of that precious material was salvaged by introducing God as a narrator, but there was only so much of it you could squeeze into a TV show. The rest had to either be fit into dialogues or lost in translation from the written medium to the visual one.

Obviously, in the case of the Arrangement, it was the dialogues.

Book canon and show canon

We all know they're not the same. Neil Gaiman also pointed it out several times. But I think our mistake is that we still tend to think about them as complementary.

Look at the Arrangement again. The show canon seems to merely expand on the book canon. Add extra details and fill in the blanks. The Arrangement works the exact same way, except now we also know more about how it started.

If we compile what we know from the book with what we know from the show, we get a more detailed timeline:

Crowley first proposes the Arrangement in 537 (show).

The Arrangement starts in 1020 (book), ie. Aziraphale finally agrees to it (show - deduction); we don't know for sure if it's a "basic version" (not getting in each other's way), or a "full version" (doing each other's jobs) but we can assume it's the former.

In 1601 "full version" of the Arrangement is in place for some time (they've done it dozens of times) but Aziraphale still objects and needs convincing.

But read that description from a book once more.

Does it really fit into the version of events shown in the TV series?

The Arrangement in the book is something that just happened. A natural, and in a way inevitable result of Aziraphale and Crowley's circumstances. We are never told who came up with it first because it doesn't matter. Because it could have been either of them. Because after five millennia on Earth, they were both ready to do it. They were both of the same mind. For all we know it might have been an unspoken agreement all along!

But for the show, the creators had to come up with a good reason for the Arrangement to be discussed out loud. And what could be a more natural situation for someone to describe and explain an idea than trying to sell that idea to someone else?

For that practical reason - among many others, no doubt - the Arrangement is not only explicitly Crowley's idea, but an idea Aziraphale vehemently rejects at first. He needs to be convinced and even when he finally relents he's never entirely comfortable with it. He keeps objecting and it requires Crowley's constant effort for them to keep cooperating in any way.

The fact that Aziraphale is reluctant gives Crowley a perfect reason to keep convincing him ie. talk about the Arrangement. But the fact that he needs to explain and keep convincing Aziraphale means that Aziraphale is no longer a person who understands the same things and feels the same way.

That is a huge change.

Of course, you may say that what I've written about the Arrangement in the book is just my interpretation. It's true that technically there's nothing there that would contradict the events from the show in any way. The thing is, the events in the show aren't very compatible with the overall characterization of the ineffable duo in the book.

Evolution of Aziraphale and Crowley

You might have read that our leading pair was originally conceived as a single character that Neil and Terry eventually decided to split into two separate individuals.

My reaction when I first learned about it was: "Of course they were! That makes so much sense!" Because honestly, as a person who watched the show first and then read the book, I was surprised at how few differences there were between the two in the original text. If you squint your eyes really tight, you can see how book!Aziraphale and book!Crowley are two versions of the same character. They're far more similar than their show versions.

Most importantly, their attitudes toward Heaven and Hell are pretty much identical. Perfectly mirrored in every regard. What Hell is for Crowley, Heaven is for Aziraphale. What Hell is for Aziraphale, Heaven is for Crowley. In. Every. Possible. Way.

Allow me to present some evidence from the book.

Exhibit #1: the end of the scene where Crowley convinces Aziraphale to interfere with Warlock's upbringing

'You're saying the child isn't evil of itself?' he said slowly. 'Potentially evil. Potentially good too, I suppose. Just this huge powerful potentiality, waiting to be shaped,' said Crowley. He shrugged. 'Anyway, why're we talking about this good and evil? They're just names for sides. We know that.' 'I suppose it's got to be worth a try,' said the angel. Crowley nodded encouragingly. 'Agreed?' said the demon, holding out his hand. The angel shook it, cautiously. 'It'll certainly be more interesting than saints,' he said. 'And it'll be for the child's own good, in the long run,' said Crowley. (...)

When Crowley first points out that good and evil are just names for sides, and then insists it's something they both know, Aziraphale doesn't react in any way. That's because these aren't things that book!Aziraphale disagrees with. He does indeed know it and doesn't deny it.

Also, please note just how cynical the angel is here with his comment that influencing the Antichrist would be a more interesting project than influencing saints!

Both would be rather OOC for show!Aziraphale.

Exhibit #2: the scene just after Warlock Dowling's birthday party, when it becomes evident he is not the Antichrist

'You said it was him!' moaned Aziraphale (...) 'It was him,' said Crowley. (...) 'Then someone else must be interfering.' 'There isn't anyone else! There's just us, right? Good and Evil. One side or the other.' He thumped the steering wheel. 'You'll be amazed at the kind of things they can do to you, down there,' he said. 'I imagine they're very similar to the sort of things they can do to you up there,' said Aziraphale. 'Come off it. Your lot get ineffable mercy,' said Crowley sourly. 'Yes? Did you ever visit Gomorrah?' 'Sure' said the demon. 'There was this great little tavern where you could get these terrific fermented date-palm cocktails with nutmeg and crushed lemongrass-' 'I meant afterwards.' 'Oh.'

Can you imagine this kind of exchange in the TV series? Can you imagine show!Aziraphale being this realistic about Heaven, and show!Crowley so naive about it? There's no way.

Show!Aziraphale genuinely believes that Heaven is good at its core.

Book!Aziraphale knows Heaven isn't any different than Hell and would punish him just as ruthlessly and unfairly as Hell would Crowley.

Show!Crowley understands both Heaven and Hell on a very deep level and is highly aware of their true nature.

Book!Crowley buys a piece of celestial propaganda about ineffable mercy and actually expects Heaven to be forgiving.

Let the magnitude of that difference sink.

Exhibit #3: same scene, a bit further

'So all we've got to do is find it,' said Crowley. 'Go through the hospital records.' The Bentley's engine coughed into life and the car leapt forward, forcing Aziraphale back into the seat. 'And then what?' he said. 'And then we find the child.' 'And then what?' The angel shut his eyes as the car crabbed around the corner. 'Don't know.' 'Good grief.' 'I suppose (...) your people wouldn't consider (...) giving me asylum?' 'I was going to ask you the same thing. (...)'

This is just a cherry on top, really.

Yes, in the book, when things go pear-shaped, both Aziraphale and Crowley consider seeking asylum on the opposite side.

Do you need more proof that book canon and show canon really aren't as compatible as they may seem?

Free will

As promised, let's get back to that dialogue because while it may not be obvious at first glance it really illustrates perfectly the problem arising from balancing between two canons.

Here is the full quote from the book:

Aziraphale had tried to explain [free will] to him once. The whole point, he'd said - this was somewhere around 1020, when they'd first reached their little Arrangement - the whole point was that when a human was good or bad it was because they wanted to be. Whereas people like Crowley and, of course, himself, were set in their ways right from the start. People couldn't become truly holy, he said, unless they also had the opportunity to be definitively wicked. Crowley had thought about it for some time and, around about 1023, had said, Hang on, that only works, right, if you start everyone off equal, OK? You can't start someone off in a muddy shack in the middle of a war zone and expect them to do as well as someone born in a castle. Ah, Aziraphale had said, that's the good bit. The lower you start, the more opportunities you have. Crowley had said, That's lunatic. No, said Aziraphale, it's ineffable.

And here, for comparison, is how it was reused in S2E3:

A: There is a stolen body in that barrel! This is wicked! C: Oh, I'm down with wicked! Anyway, is it wicked? She needed the money. A: That is irrelevant. Look, I am good. You, I'm afraid, are evil. But people get a choice. You know, they cannot be truly holy unless they also get the opportunity to be wicked. She is wicked. C: Yeah, that only works if you start everyone off equal. You can't start someone off like that and expect her to do as well as someone born in a castle. A: Ah, but no, no. That's the good bit. The lower you start, the more opportunities you have. So Elspeth here has all the opportunities because she's so poor. C: That's lunacy. A: No, that's ineffable.

I'll be honest with you - I didn't like that scene in the show. It felt jarring and off. Aziraphale was acting like it was his first day on Earth and it was frustrating to watch.

Then, on one of the rewatches, just as I was rolling my eyes at "that's ineffable", a bulb lit in my brain. That line didn't work there because it wasn't created to be there! In the book and in S1 "it's ineffable" was kind of Aziraphale's catchphrase but in S2 it only appears this once. More importantly, in the book and S1, the fact that the angel would say that was all a build-up to the scene when he threw it in Heaven's face at the Tadfield Airbase. Using that word in S2 was like trying to make a running joke that has already reached its destination run again.

And just like that one line the entire dialogue didn't fit because it wasn't meant to be there. It was created for an entirely different context.

What's the difference?

Firstly, book!husbands' conviction was very shallow and it wasn't uncommon for both of them to spout slogans without meaning them. Therefore, book!Aziraphale's words didn't carry that much weight. The very fact that the conversation took place at the same time they formed the Arrangement tells us something about how serious he was. But show!Aziraphale's relationship with his beliefs is different, so when he says things like that it's a much bigger deal.

Secondly, the book explicitly states that Aziraphale and Crowley only developed free will on Earth, due to extended exposure to mankind. The show never really makes a stand on the matter but based on what we've seen so far I think we can safely assume that angels and demons are capable of making their own choices as much as humans do.

In other words, in its original context, the conversation was just Aziraphale talking about a concept he didn't fully grasp, quoting propaganda he didn't fully subscribe to. He was being ignorant and mildly obnoxious in an endearing way.

But using the same dialogue verbatim in the Resurrectionist carried a completely different meaning. Aziraphale who utters it in the show has no reason to be so ignorant about free will. Aziraphale who utters it in the show genuinely tries to defend Heaven. Most importantly, Aziraphale who utters it in the show, doesn't just idly bicker with his friend about general things but is judging an actual human individual that's right in front of them. That, more than anything else, makes it sound heartless and ignorant.

What is the problem with having two canons, exactly?

It's time to wrap things up.

In the opening paragraphs, I've mentioned that I've noticed the issue while interpreting scenes from S1, and yes, that was the case and I do believe that the existence of two canons is especially problematic for S1. That's because pretty much every scene in S1 is potentially like that dialogue about free will in S2, except subtler and harder to spot.

A grand majority of what we see and hear in S1 comes directly from the book. But while words and actions were kept, in some instances things that gave them their original meaning might no longer be valid in the show universe. Sometimes they easily take new meaning, and we don't even notice. But sometimes there's this dissonance that's not as easy to work around.

S1 deviated from the book and created its own canon. But the difference didn't seem to go very deep and it seemed perfectly reasonable to use some trivia from the book to shed some extra light on the content of the show. I used to do it in my head, even though I was aware of the changes that were made.

But S2 expanded the show canon so far beyond what was in the book that I'm really not sure it makes sense to compile them anymore.

There are a lot of things that were only explicitly stated in the book that I keep clinging to. But perhaps it's time to let go...

Thank you for your patience.

I know all of the above isn't exactly a revolutionary discovery, but I needed to get it off my chest before writing anything else.

#good omens #good omens 2 #crowley #aziraphale #ineffable husbands #good omens the book #differences between book and show #very long post #things I needed to get off my chest

[starry-bi-sky]

clone danny's accident in the clone^2 au

Im thinking about clone^2 danny's accident in this au. he doesn't have his halfa powers in this au. He has his scary eyes and the ghost sense and the ability to see ghosts - kinda takes up a psychopomp role with his ghost cases - and enough ectoplasm to trigger the ghost defenses in his parents' house. But he doesn't have his ghost powers or his ghost half. He's just very strongly liminal.

And im just mmmmm thinking about how that came to be. When I originally made the clone danny au back in the summer i couldn't think of how he had his accident without putting him inside the portal, and I couldn't put him inside the portal and have it turn on and then just say "oh! he doesn't have any powers. he got hit with the full concentrated power of the sun a dimension with just a scratch"

like - like i can't do it. i just can't. i need some plausibility in my aus or i hit road blocks and can't continue (see: my jason variant au and why that took so long to post). but i was at work today thinking about clone^2 au and it hit me like a lightning shot. I think said in the original clone danny post that maybe he got electrocuted by the on button on the outside of the portal. But i was never really satisfied with that answer - it felt too placeholder-y to me. too simple. Less plausible to me than I liked.

so, solution: he still gets shocked by the portal outside, but its from a wiring issue that he spots outside of the portal. My first thought is; the portal had a wire that was unplugged. His parents, essentially, forgot to plug it in. Or maybe in all of their excitement they accidentally unplugged it and didn't notice. It just sounds like the right amount of cartoonishly silly that the Fentons are known for. "We put a second "on" button in the inside portal" -> "we forgot to plug it in"

Danny notices it while he's showing Sam and Tucker around the lab and the two of them are checking out the portal. Something caught his eye from the corner and while Sam and Tucker were talking, he went over to investigate. If this were canon, this would be just before Sam tells him to put on the hazmat suit and go into the portal so she can get a photo (iirc). (So he's currently in reg clothes)

And im imagining it as slightly off to the side. Its two black cords - an extension cord to the outlet and then the cord to the portal. and danny crouches down over it, frowning. his eyes follow the cord to the outlet, and then the cord to the portal, and he picks both up.

'did they forget to plug it in?' he thinks, turning his head to look at the portal's entrance. and logically he knows he should probably put the cords down and tell his parents, let them handle it since they have the expertise for this stuff. But...

his eyes draw back to the plug. it's just a plug. it'd be fine if he plugged it in, wouldn't it? surely, it'd be fine. he thinks about it for a moment.

he plugs it in.

immediately, the energy that had been building up slowly through the wires of the portal - the latent ectoplasm in the room being funneled through whatever tech his parents used to make it - goes through the cord. Like a dam bursting. In a flash, the portal turns on with a worrying bang.

At the same time, Danny is hit with a near-lethal amount of electricity. While not as agonizing as being inside the portal, danny still mentally checks out with pain. and he blacks out. when he comes to, he's laying on his back, still in the lab, with sam and tucker kneeling over him. they're talking - probably yelling, with panicked looks on their faces.

He can't hear a thing they're saying, his ears are full of the overly rapid, irregular beating of his heart and the pounding of his blood. His chest hurts like he's having a heart attack, and he grasps at his shirt as his breathing comes in short, labored.

"Hospital" he wheezes out, and sam gets up and sprints out of the lab upstairs. everything else feels like a blur - his parents and jazz are by him - his parents completely ignoring their swirling, working portal, someone's calling 911, danny's being loaded onto a stretcher with an oxygen mask over his face.

danny gets discharged from the hospital a week later, and sick leave from school for another two. his parents refuse to allow him back into the lab, stating it was too dangerous, and their work comes to near grinding stop to watch over him. It's honestly kinda sweet, but the hovering is annoying him - stubborn, independent teenager that he is. When he gets back to school he's still relatively sat out for phy.ed - he's been getting random heart palpitations (which had been at its worst when he was still on sick leave) and what the doctors think is a strange case of arrhythmia. Although Danny insists that he's fine - he's breathing, alive. Nothing feels wrong with him.

Then one day in class, Tucker turns to him to say something - a joke -and yelps - "your eyes!"

Danny on instinct turns his head to the window, frowning. And in the faded reflection, his eyes are burning shade of green like that of the portal. He blinks, breathing in sharply, and they're back to the his old bright blue.

Unfortunately, they're in english class, and the entire room was staring at them. "Is there something wrong, Mr. Foley?" Mr. Lancer asks from the front. Tucker is still wide-eyed and in shock, and he looks quickly between Danny and Lancer.

"I- no, um- Danny's eyes- they- were, um..." He looks panicked, confused.

Danny steps in, and leans over to Tucker. "I think he just spooked himself, Mr. Lancer." He says, looking frontward with his brows furrowed. "Sorry, it won't happen again."

Mr. Lancer looks unconvinced, and suspicious, but he lets it lie. "Are you feeling alright then, Mr. Fenton? Do you need to see the nurse?" It wasn't a secret to the school or student body that he'd been to the hospital from a lab accident - and that it'd resulted in heart problems that he was recovering from.

Danny grins at him, and pounds his chest lightly, "I'm fit as a fiddle, Mr. Lancer. No heart attacks here." He jokes, and leans back into his seat. Mr. Lancer stares, eyes squinty, and then returns to the lesson.

It keeps happening. Danny's eyes turn green at the most random of times, and the three of them begin wittling down what was causing it. In general, Danny's eyes were turning green whenever he was engrossed with something, or when he got emotional - when he was laughing, angry, upset, anything. Sometimes it resulted in heart palpitations, sometimes it didn't.

his ears were hurting too, aching, like when they were cold. Danny wakes up one morning and spends twenty minutes in the bathroom turning his head left and right - his ears were beginning to point. Sam thought it was cool - Danny just thought it was concerning.

He was seeing things too - apparently. He struck up a conversation with someone on the street once - a strange looking man who looked terribly pale and wore old clothes. He looked delighted to be talking to Danny - and then Sam and Tucker walked up to him and asked who he was talking to.

("What do you mean? I'm talking to him.") ("Danny, there's no one there.") ("What?")

After multiple instances of this, they configure that the accident had given Danny some sort of ability to see ghosts.

("So you're meta now?") ("Mm... I don't know. That doesn't feel right.") ("Oh come on, that basically fits the name to a tee!") ("I know, but I just- it doesn't feel right to call myself meta.") ("If you don't like meta, why not just call yourself liminal? Since the portal is supposed to access the afterlife and it gave you powers to see ghosts.") ("Huh, good idea, Sam. Liminal it is, then.")

And as time goes on - and his parents begin to catch and experiment on ghosts - danny adjusts to these weird new abilities. It's not so bad, he supposes, its just some creepy eye magic and a ghost sense. He can live with that, and no one needed to know. He could go back to being normal - right. ...Wrong.

Do his parents really have to catch ghosts?

plus additional sketch that i made at like 3am last night because i needed to draw it down -- aha ignore the inconsistent drawing ability that i have. i'm more of a writer than i am an artist.

#dp x dc #dpxdc #dp x dc crossover #dpdc #clone^2 #dpxdc crossover #danny fenton is not the ghost king #dp dc #dp x dc au #dc x dp crossover #danny fenton is a clone #danny's accident in the clone^2 au #clone^2 danny before damian's arrival #danny having arrhythmia from the ghost portal - or what the doctors think is arrhythmia. him having health issues from the accident is #interesting to me but not something i think i'll get into too much other than the aforementioned heart problems. mostly bc i dont think #i'd be able to properly showcase it #also im a little embarrassed by my art skills but i just dont draw often so its about as good as im gonna get with a sheet of paper #i can do like. front poses really well but i struggle so much with drawing a head that i like that doesn't fel juvenile or amateurish #so i just gotta keep practicing lol. and find a tutorial that works suppose. #14yo danny's hair being shorter prior to when damian meets him >> its still longer than it is in canon but shorter than it will be. #i think i accidentally gave him a tim haircut. oh well. hair is hard and practice makes improvement #depending on where my motivation is at i may or may not make another post about danny finally becoming phantom in clone^2 #half tempted to add a prompt tag to this because mAN do i wanna talk to people about this au and other potential stuff that could happen #like how people will take a prompt and interpret it differently than the person next to them. i love talking about different ideas of #the same thing. #does the comic imply there was something compelling danny to check it out and plug the portal in?.... maybe.

[sasukimimochi]

Wei Wuxian belted out a laugh as he was basically dragged over to the bed, however obediently sitting down upon the blood red blankets when prompted. "I see you've missed me. You know I had to go, though, they needed me." He smiled, wrapping his hand around the silky white ribbon in his husbands hair with practiced ease. He had seen this look many times on his husband while they were alive, and it was no less adorable to him to see what was essentially the jade pouting. He looked so upset, but it was just so cute!

He lifted Lan Wangji's face gently from where it had been buried in his chest, gave a kiss to his nose that had became somewhat pink from the rubbing, and leaned back with crescents for eyes. "Lan Zhan~! What's with all this pouting? I was only gone for a bit."

Lan Wangji huffed softly and leaned up to pepper the sun on the other's chest in kisses, not letting up one bit even as his husband giggled from the sensation traveling up his neck.

"I can't take you with me, you know that- Lan Zhan hahaha!" Wei Wuxian nuzzled against the angel in retort, but still ended up getting buried in the other's affections.

Here's the sketches i made for my friend who needed some gay to cheer up ✨ her favorite is COI so that's what we get today hehe [plus a couple bonuses] i like adding writing segments with my art as well so i whipped this up [maybe i'll use it in the fic one day if it fits the chapters i make for it]

I hope you guys like it!!

bonuses!

extra versions and the link to other coi art is under the cut! i really liked the sketches so i wanted to provide them without the color haha

the ribbon being held was personally requested by my friend so you have her to thank! lol actually the idea for this is hers to thank too cuz i wasn't sure what to do. she wanted the staring-into-each-other's-eyes thing hehe

her other ideas i was like they're great but i am a dying artist i can only give simple pleasures (i might try to write her other suggestions down the line tho cuz they were cute n very gay)

Check out more COI art or other AU's via my MDZS fanfiction masterpost. [There's a lot more art to check out so have fun!!]

Check out the original COI post however to get the most information about it, cuz that's where i write down a lot of character and AU information that i don't entail in my masterpost [cuz it'd get too big if i added all of it]

Don't repost/use/alter my work thank you! Can be used as icons with credit.

#getting used to drawing wwx's demonic markings they're just slightly different than the angel ones #demonic markings are a coming of age marking but are given upon descension if already old or powerful enough #they tend to come earlier for demons who descend while demons born in hell can sometimes not get them even past 200yrs #COI #Clash of Immortals #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #mo dao zu shi fanart #the grandmaster of demonic cultivation #lwj #wwx #lan wangji #lan zhan #wei wuxian #wei ying #demon wei wuxian #demon wei ying #demon wwx #angel lan wangji #angel lan zhan #angel lwj #wangxian #wangxian fanart #mdzs fanart #wwx fanart #lwj fanart #mdzs fanfic #mdzs fanfic art

[brightside-of-the-upsidedown]

I'm not sure how I'll continue it yet, but this is the infamous pastel grunge punk!Steve I ended up writing instead of tentacles, so enjoy XD

Sparked by this beautiful post

By @discodeviant because while I was reading, Beggar's Song by Matt Maeson started playing in my head.

Steve looked into the backroom bathroom's cracked mirror and fixed his hair for the seventh time in the last thirty minutes. It was practically a ritual at this point when he was nervous. Well, maybe it'd become his lucky thing after tonight.

He brushed the hair away from his face and clicked his tongue ring pensively. From one side, his new haircut still had his usual thick brown voluminous waves with highlights that nearly brushed his shoulder. From the other side, he'd had it trimmed down into a disconnected undercut and dyed baby pink. He'd originally been planning on dying all of his hair pink and getting both sides shaved, but had chickened out. He'd still been thrilled by the outcome though.

Or at least he had loved it just this morning. But would everyone else? Had he made a mistake and fucked up one of the only good things about him-

A fist banged on the door and Robin's voice came through the door. "Come on, dingus, you're already pretty. Stop spiraling and let's go!"

Steve smiled and let her in. "Aw, Buckley, I'm pretty? Even pretty enough for you?"

Robin snorted and wrinkled her nose. "Don't push it. Now get your ass up on stage before it escapes those pants and makes a run for it. You're never going to throw those out, are you?"

Steve looked down at his worn thin jeans and yeah, maybe they were a bit tighter than usual in the ass, but their new apartment had a lot of stairs, okay! Despite it being almost more holes than pants, they were comfortable and definitely something his parents would never have let him wear when he'd still been under his dad's thumb. So of course that made them his favorite.

He turned and washed his hands once more. Robin let out a choking noise and pointed at his ass. "That's a new hole."

For a split second, Steve thought she was talking about something else until she poked at a spot on his ass not covered by the pants. There was a new hole in his jeans that showed off a not small peek of his ass and thigh. But it was low enough that Steve wasn't too worried about it.

"Buy a guy dinner first, jeez." Steve teased her.

She just slapped his ass. "Yeah, sure, I know a great little place on Easy Street called Cafe Puttana."

"Did you just call me a whore in my own mother tongue, Buckley?!" Steve gasped dramatically. "And maybe if you dressed like this more often, you'd stop having to resort to handing out free drinks to get a girl's attention." Steve hip checked her as she giggled at him and opened the door. "Now let's get this show on the road before everyone notices their favorite bartenders are both missing. My public awaits." He adjusted his pink jean vest over his Nirvana t-shirt as he stepped out, still picking, still-

"Your 'public' is a bunch of drunks, punks, burnouts, and half dead partiers." Robin hugged him from behind just before they got to the stage in the bar. "So don't let the nerves get you. Just have fun and sing me a song, piano man."

That got a genuine laugh out of him. "I'm no Billy Joel, but I'll see what I can do, uptown girl."

Robin went up on stage to announce him. She hyped him up as best she could given her audience and got a not too bad round of applause. Steve wasn't expecting much, this was a gig he'd just gotten only because he worked at the bar and the band that had been scheduled to play had canceled. He usually worked as their bartender and he was good at it. He probably wouldn't have gotten either job if Robin hadn't stepped up to bat for him.

Steve practiced his breathing exercises as the players they could find on such short notice got ready. He stepped up on stage, gave a friendly wave to the regulars who recognized and cheered for him.

He took a seat at the piano he'd had to tune himself before the show because it got so little use.

"Hey, you bunch of vagrants and drains on society." His words were met with proud hoots and hollers. "It's me, Steve, your favorite bartender." This was met with a loud boo from the bar, Robin playfully heckling him.

"That bunch of assholes the boss hired canceled, yeah, I know. So you get me instead, aren't you lucky? Usually you have to buy a drink to get to listen to my dulcet tones." Steve grinned as the crowd booed, whistled, and catcalled. "So enjoy the music, I wrote it myself. Yeah, that's right, fuck you, I have layers. Or if you don't like it, just shut the fuck up and enjoy the view you bunch of pervs." More catcalls.

Steve signaled the players and waited a moment, waiting for his cue, as they played the intro. They weren't bad for only two days of practice.

Jesus, come talk to me

I am but a blind mess, I am wild and free

I know that I need us more than I need me

One more whiskey, I am wild and free

Steve started playing as he continued singing.

Oh, but I'm a beat-down, washed-up son of a bitch

I got one more cigarette and all my money is spent

But I'ma be damned if I let it keep me down

Oh yeah, I'm a beat-down, washed-up son of a bitch

I got one more cigarette and all my money is spent

But I'ma be damned if I let it keep me down

Steve didn't hear any hecklers, not that he thought anyone was that willing to get on Robin's Shit List, but he still didn't dare look up.

Oh, my mother Mary, come walk with me

I am on four drugs, I am wild and free

I know that I failed less, the less I knew me

Wander through the darkness, and come walk with me

Steve felt good about the beat and the band seemed to be really getting into it.

Oh 'cause I'm a beat down washed up son of a bitch

I got one more cigarette and all my money is spent

But I'll be damned if I let it keep me down

Ay, yeah

Yeah I'm a beat down washed up son of a bitch

I got one more cigarette and all my money is spent

But I'll be damned if I let it keep me down

Yeah, yeah

He timed his breathing as the band trailed into the chorus.

Oh yeah, I'm a beat-down, washed-up son of a bitch

I got one more cigarette and all my money is spent

But I'ma be damned if I let it keep me down, yeah, yeah

Oh, I'm a beat-down, washed-up son of a bitch

I got one more cigarette and all my money is spent

But I'ma be damned if I let it keep me down, yeah, yeah, yeah

Steve nodded and belted the post chorus.

You know that it's not over

It's okay to let yourself hurt

Swimming in the murky water

Won't you come on out? Yeah, yeah

You know that it's not over

It's okay to let yourself hurt

Swimming in the murky water

Won't you come on out? Yeah, yeah

We sing a beat-down, washed-up beggar's song

And we sing it even louder when the money is gone

Because we'll be damned if we let it keep us down, yeah, yeah

Oh, I'm a beat-down, washed-up son of a bitch

I got one more cigarette and all my money is spent

But I'ma be damned if I let it keep me down, yeah, yeah, yeah

Steve blinked his eyes open when he felt a bit of an echo- no, there were people singing along. He recognized Robin's off key voice and smiled. Steve sang out the lyrics with his whole chest.

You know that it's not over

It's okay to let yourself hurt

Swimming in the murky water

Won't you come on out? Yeah, yeah

You know that it's not over

It's okay to let yourself hurt

Swimming in the murky water

Won't you come on out? Yeah, yeah

He could hear a lot more voices raise with his as he sang the last chorus as the band tapered off. "Come on, beggers!"

We sing a beat-down, washed-up beggar's song

And we sing it even louder when the money is gone

Because we'll be damned if we let it keep us down, yeah, yeah

Oh, I'm a beat-down, washed-up son of a bitch

I got one more cigarette and all my money is spent

But I'ma be damned if I let it keep me down

For an embarrassing moment, Steve thought he might fucking cry at the roars from the bar. Yeah, it was a few dozen regulars, drunkards, and partiers blitzed out of their minds, but it was leagues above his self doubt's worst case scenario. He had to swallow hard more than once before he felt confident enough to talk into the mic again. 

"See, that wasn't so bad, was it, you assholes?" Steve knew he was probably smiling like an idiot, but it was hard to care. "Give a hand to the band, they had like two days to fucking practice my crap, holy shit."

The bar clapped and yelled for them. The band looked pleased with the positive attention and a few waved back. One flipped off the audience much to their delight.

"Now, the rest of the songs are covers, the good shit, I promise." Steve announced. "So spend your fucking money, don't forget to tip, and enjoy."

They ended up playing some Nirvana, a little The Clash of course, Dead Kennedys, Siouxsie and the Banshees, through in a Motley Crüe song, and topped it off with his beloved Queen.

To Steve's honest surprise and giddiness, there was a demand for an encore of Beggar's Song. He led them through it one more time before ending for the night. Closing time was in less than an hour and he wanted to help Robin out with last call.

They got a decent amount of tips that he let the band take the lion's share of, but still got a sweet fifteen bucks on top of the thirty his boss had already paid him. He'd be able to buy some pretty good food for him and Robin this month.

That's all I got for now!

The backstory is Robin and Steve moved together somewhere after Robin got kicked out for coming out to her parents.

Maybe she stayed with Steve until her parents told his parents and they called to tell him to send her home, whatever. Robin and Steve decided to strip whatever they could from the house, sell it, sneak into her room while her parents were gone to pack, and they rode off into the sunset. 

Now they have a shitty apartment, jobs at a shitty bar, and they've never been happier. ❤

I have plans to bring Billy and Eddie into it later.

Two Nights Ago

Robin: I volunteered you for a gig

Steve: I've only sang in front of you!

Robin: it's time to fly, I'm kicking you out of the nest, dingus

Steve: does this make you my mama bird?

-Robin throws a pillow at him-

Steve: how could you do this to your child!

#harle hums #they're little shits and i love them #robin buckley #steve harrington #punk steve harrington #punk steve au #future harringroveson #future metalsandwich

[onehelluvatime]

love to see you redesign striker if u haven’t already!

I have had a crack at Striker before, but I didn't post it here... oh well, might as well do it now !

Some design notes !

- Changed him from a rattlesnake to a yellow scorpion, because I think that rattlesnakes are a liiittle overrated when it comes to wild west themed characters. Also, yellow scorpions are responsible for way more deaths given their tendencies to hide in dark spaces, like cowboy boots or hats.

- His hands are a little more dainty and small looking. Why ? Because with scorpions, small pincers to bigger stinger means the venom is more potent ! And his is VERY potent.

- That being said I like to think he's still self conscious, so the gloves are a tad oversized to make up for it.

- I made his mandibles into a mustache and his pincers into side burns ! I like to think its very convenient as to hide them, and it makes him look more approachable.

- Made his outfit more practical. I think my biggest gripe with Striker's original design was that he just... didn't look much like a cowboy as much as he did a rich fuckboy who likes larping as a farmhand. I mean, white pants ? Light beige colored jacket ? On a farm ?? Are you hearing yourself !!

- To demonstrate a little bit of his ego, I gave his outfit his signature logo- A scorpion and a trident. The trident is a special tool that we will use later <3

I had so much fun drawing this guy, that I decided to do a SECOND one. This ones less of a redesign and more of a reimagination for the rewrite/au !

- This guy is a horned snake ! In my rewrite, all imps are based on cold blooded animals, so reptiles and amphibians. Horned snakes are often found in deserts submerged beneath sand, which I think is perfect for a twist-y villain. Also just fucken look at em.

- Made him t h i c k because he deserves it ok. He deserves to have the body of a man who throws pigs around a farm for fun. Also I just think it makes sense for a character meant to be this overpowering force compared to the main characters.

- I went for more of a rancher vibe instead of a cowboy, because in this version he's just another guy who works for Millie's father. I thought it'd make more sense to connect him to the main characters in some way, since it does seem like he and Millie know each other somehow. This will be another thing that comes up later.

- His tail is really really long, to a point where sometimes he uses it as a whip/lasso !

- Belt is made to look like an oroboros, representative of how he's very greedy <3

- This second one was inspired by @mauesartetc 's version of Striker, which you can find here. Do check them out ! Their stuff is really dang good.

This guy's just for fun, I don't think he'd be a good fit for the Hellaverse as it is, but it's always fun to consider possibilities ! Do let me know which version yall like :]

#vivziepop critical #helluva boss critical #helluva critical #o deer its talking #speak into the void #thats art alright #helluva redesigns #my redesigns #helluva boss redesigns #h.b.striker #character design #redesigns

[z0mbieb0ybyersblog]

ER on Christmas

pairing: Matt Murdock x GN!Reader

warnings: None!

word count: 774

notes:

I don't know any medical terms, so if any doctor things I wrote sound terrible, I'm genuinely sorry.

I also wrote this in 2021 but I thought I’d bring it back and post it here

originally posted on Wattpad

It was Christmas Eve, and of course, you had the night shift in the emergency room; you hated working holiday shifts because every time you did the only people who were to come in were drunks who got into fights and people with cooking burns.

So far, it was a slow night with some drunks here and there and no cooking burns; people must be eating out instead of cooking.

You were admiring the Christmas tree the hospital set up in the waiting room when two men came in; one had an arm slung over the others shoulder while his other hand held a guide cane, "Foggy, I'm fine." the one with the cane said as they arrived at the check-in desk. "Matt, you're not okay. I found you on the floor of your apartment-" The man supposedly named Foggy whispered yelled as you cut him off. "Hello, how may I help you two today?" you asked them. "Yeah, hi, I uh was wondering if you could give my friend Matt here a check-up. He uh-" "Fell. I fell in the apartment and he thinks I got hurt." Matt said, cutting Foggy off. "Okay, follow me, and I'll make you sure you didn't bruise or sprain anything," you say to Matt, offering a soft smile to his friend, who looked angry but also nervous for his friend.

Matt denied the wheelchair you offered him, so Foggy helped him make his way to an exam room because he could not put his weight onto one of his legs; Matt sat down on the table "okay, um, ill be right outside, okay, Matt." Foggy said as he left the room, leaving you and Matt, "Okay, can you take your shirt off so I can check to make sure nothing happened to your shoulders and ribs." You requested, "Alright." He said, unbuttoning his white button-up, revealing his upper body.

As you were checking his shoulders for and sprains, you decided to make conversation with him so it'd be less awkward than just examing this poor man in silence, "So Matt, you got a last name?" You asked, moving your hands down more near his collarbone. "Murdock." He answered, not paying any mind to your desperate act of trying to make conversation because he didn't even want to be there in the emergency room at almost midnight on Christmas eve. "Alrighty, Matt Murdock I’m going to exam your ribs now, okay," "You're wasting your time; I'm fine." He uttered, and you sighed, "Listen, I know you don't want to be here, but your friend out there thinks you might've hurt yourself, so let me just finish up examing your ribs, and I'll let you go and just tell your friend you need pain killers and rest, okay?" You said continuing with the exam, and he didn't reply.

After a couple of seconds, Matt spoke up, "You know what, I never did get your name." He asked, "Y/N, my name is Y/N," you answered. "So Y/N, do you have any plans for Christmas?" "Nope, no plans. What about you?" You asked, moving your focus to his other side. "I have no plans either." He replied.

You were happy, to say the least, that he started talking to you, but your happiness soon faded when you touched a specific spot on his side, Matt flinched at the pain and you could tell something was wrong. "Matt, were you punched?" You asked, "Uh, yeah. I sorta got mugged; they probably thought I was an easier target because I'm blind." he responded, "Matt, you should've told me this earlier." you sighed, "I hoped you at least showed them whos boss." you joked, and Matt laughed "I managed to get a few hits in."

"Alright, Matt, you can put your shirt back on; you're not seriously hurt. You have a bruised side; I'm recommending you take ibuprofen and put ice on the area to relieve pain, and do not wrap anything tight around your ribs while they are healing." You recommended as Matt rebuttoned his shirt.

As you were about to leave the room, Matt spoke up, "Oh Y/N, if you're still not doing anything tomorrow for Christmas, would you like to come with me to dinner at the Panna II Garden in the East Village around six?" he asked, "Sure, I'd love to." you responded to him as you left the room.

Maybe working the night shift on Christmas eve wasn't such a bad thing.

#ao3 #fanfic #masterlist #matt murdock #daredevil #matthew murdock #x reader #matt murdock x you #matt murdock x reader #x gn reader #y/n

[cactikiki]

GGY headcanons because I've been thinking a little...

==

Greg met Tony and Ellis in September, right at the start of the school year. He was alone and didn't know where to go, but Tony was there like, "Hey, this new kid's lonely. I think we should check on him."

Tony is nice, but also nosy. He likes knowing people, inside and out

Tony finds new kids especially interesting. There's usually more to them being there than others, who just go to the school because they live nearby or thought it was a good school.

This kid, their family, moved here for a reason... Why?

Hurricane doesn't have anything much going for it. While yes, it's the birthplace of Fazbear Entertainment and has the very first, original Pizzaplex, people don't usually move to the town just for that. Parents wouldn't usually do that.

So there's a story there! Everyone has a story.

As for why Gregory's parents moved at all... He has well-off parents who wanted to work with Fazbear Entertainment. Huge economic opportunity. So they moved in from Salt Lake City, you go to Hurricane now my boy

The whole reason Gregory gets glitchtrapped is because of his parents. Karma got them in the end ig....

Gregory is a good friend to both Ellis and Tony. They click immediately, like they've known Greg for years. They know his full name, but Gregory never really went by it back then, sticking with simply Greg (he would've went by 'Gregory' in SB because he forgot he even had that nickname at all.... and while in and out of consciousness before that, even. So Cassie only ever knew him as Gregory)

Rab wasn't around the whole time, lucky for Gregory. He got to know the duo for a few months before that, got close, and clicked super well with them. So he did have a close connection with them before things went wrong, unlike Cassie who he would've gotten less connection with since he didn't really know her (and when he'd met her, he'd just broken free of being controlled for a few hours, with no memory of any events).

Summer came, and Gregory got to test a Freddy's VR game bc of his parents. He would've begged them too, "It's the least you can do for me. You guys don't spend any time with me! Let me come with you to the company building and test the game, pleaseee?"

Something went wrong at the target audience testing. One of the QA testers kept watching him, a blonde woman with green eyes... She was odd, but Gregory brushed the thought away.

That was, until a sharp migraine hit his head, and everything started to go fuzzy from there.

School came back around in September, and GGY happened. Greg acted slightly differently after summer, but it was probably just normal stuff. Right? It's not like there were any stark differences in personality. That's what Tony thought at least, until he dug too deep and... yeah.

To Ellis, his two best friends just went missing. That's all there was, forever, and he just had to deal with that. They were never coming back.

As for Tony, he'd haunt Greg and probably can't quite believe there's life after death

Gregory, at this point, he doesn't remember. So shit falls off shelves, and he hears his name whispered, and he's like, 'huh. must've been the wind... unless, maybe Vanessa's grandma is here? omg Ness, holy shit come here. I think your grandma's ghost is here??"

But it'd get serious when he finds out the truth. When he realises. When he starts getting hurt by this ghost. He tries to communicate (since my Greg is a paranormal believer and Tony owned a DR60 recorder because of him, while Greg owns a REM-pod). Tony is always angry. He's always upset. Gregory finds himself permanently haunted by him.

Rab racked up a few bodies while he was controlling Gregory; therapists, Tony, his parents, and two random kids he didn't even know the name of. Vanny dealt with the rest. Those mostly went to the Tangle, though; Tony was the only one to have a close enough connection to get stuck attached to Greg.

==

That's all I really have rn, idk I wanted to post this somewhere sjhdjbrkfnfm I had thoughts. Many thoughts. I will continue to have thoughts.

#fnaf #ggy #gregory #Gregory fnaf #tony becker #tony fnaf #ellis fnaf #ggy trio #headcanons #glitch.txt

[lutiaslayton]

So uh. Hi, I finally made a decision I probably should have made a long while ago thanks to talking a bit on Discord: for the sake of my sanity I will not be keeping up the weekly schedule after all 😔 Layton's Book Club updates WILL be posted exclusively on Saturdays at the decided time, instead of at any random time in the week, and I will likely make a few heads up when we're on a lucky week during which you'll get an update, but I will not force myself to make it happen every single week. Simply because at least right now, it is physically impossible for me to do so. (Chapter 1 Part 1 of Illusory Forest is going to be the end of me, and not just because I am still questioning if the author was under the influence of some Folsense gas while writing it.)

That being said, I believe this should actually be treated as good news, and not just good news for my personal health. Because, sure, the updates will not come out as often as I had originally planned to. But in the long run, I actually believe that since I no longer plan to force myself to only work on one thing (which has progressively been eating at my sanity on top of that because darn it this chapter is stupid and it just doesn't seem to END, + it'd be nice if I could finally get some content out that is my creation rather than somebody else's), it means that I will actually allow myself to post more diverse Layton stuff in the meantime.

Stuff like the Evan Barde post I made a few days ago, or other helpful-for-the-fandom stuff that isn't translation work, or… even maybe stuff like finally allowing myself to write SLS and draw random stuff again? Or even read other people’s fanfics and comics and AUs and stuff? (ok technically that last one would probably not lead to tumblr content but shush it means I would take time to look at YOUR content for a change)

The list of stuff I'd like to post in the future includes but is not limited to:

A tutorial on how I get my translation stuff done despite the fact that I do not actually speak Japanese. Best case scenario, this might even lead to some brave people among you to start helping me with this monumental task that is translating multiple novels and games from scratch while you're not even fluent in the language you're translating, and this would be a MASSIVE weight off my back. (spoiler alert: while I do use DeepL to check stuff and/or get inspiration, my work is NOT limited to simply copy/pasting sentences into it and then copy/pasting whatever it gives me back)

The Playthrough series! You had all forgotten about it, hadn't you? Yeah, me too.

Lore analysis stuff in general. I have a massive, absolutely insane project ongoing which is basically "Want to find some info about X? Just open that one (1) web page, enter a few tags such as a specific character's name or location, clich the Search button, and get a list of every single known fact which is related to all of your tags which is summarised down to the bare minimum fact, along with the exact source and quote directly taken from the source material."

Puzzle theory stuff. I've talked about it a lot, it'd be cool if I could finally get the stuff sorted and actually provide all the evidence supporting, refining or challenging it in one place. Above-mentioned lore analysis stuff should help with that.

More fancy shitpost such as the ones found in the #lutiasdraws tag. Let me join in on the fun pls it's good for my mental health to get some serotonin out of non-boring stuff. Heck, perhaps I might even do fanart/shitpost about some fanfics/AUs/others I find and enjoy.

That being said, I apologise to everyone who was hyped at the idea of Illusory Forest updating weekly, but I hope you'll still enjoy the stuff I'll be posting here. If not, blacklisting tags is a thing! I tag everything diligently so for example if you're tired of seeing me ramble about stuff (I do that a lot lately, sorry for that 😭), you can just block the #lutiastalks tag. Yes I finally decided to make #lutiasreplies exclusive to actually replying to asks or reblogs, and use #lutiastalks for random news stuff. yay to self-care and cleaning up my house, head, and tumblr blog.

#lutiastalks

[xviruserrorx]

Title: "Would We Be Caught Dead Here?"

I am oh so very late and I know I didn't do the interest check but I wanted to do the @elyan-fest so here is Day 1's for the prompt "Stop, coming back". Also 1. This fic seems really weird to me, I don't know what it is, I like the fic I really do, but there's something weird about it. And 2. From the get-go this was supposed to be Elyan/Merlin, like the situation, the image it was all merlyan... And then I wrote the dialogue and it was very much the way I normally write Mordred—but not they way I normally write Mordred's dynamic with Elyan though—but, but the situation, the actions are very Merlin (to me) but the dialogue is too much not-Merlin (how I normally write him) for me. And I can see Mordred doing the actions under a situation (the situation being this weird au). Okay... Yeah there's my weird dilema. This fic wrote itself, truly, it's not even the ship I originally wanted it to be which has never happened to me before. Anyways Enjoy! 😁

Elyan Fest - Tumblr | Ao3 - [-> Next]

Fandom: BBC Merlin

Prompt(s): "Stop, Coming Back"

Relationship(s): Elyan/Mordred

Character(s): Sir Elyan, Mordred

Important Tag(s): Canon Divergence, Post-magic reveal, Magic Reveal Gone Wrong

Rating: Gen

Warning(s): No Archive Warnings Apply, Mention of Blood and Death, Manhandling (kinda sorta)

Word Count: 1,659

“I'm risking it all just for you.” Elyan felt a shiver run down his body. Mordred's hand found his and he lifted the other to brush his fingers on his jaw. “I'm risking my capture just to say I love you,” Or After a long day Elyan returns to his chambers to find an unexpected person in wait for him.

Continue reading below or over on Ao3

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Elyan rolled his shoulders. His chainmail grew heavier with every move that even the weight of his cape seemed to make things worse. 

He swatted his arm back, grabbing the feet of cloth from dragging behind him. All need for his appearance dropped. The halls were empty, only the sound of his shoes against the floor filled the silence of the night. His normal company of one of the other knights had faded slowly but surely over the months. Though, he could say that for many things of the Camelot that he knew.

Camelot's once strict laws against magic somehow had grown worse in such little time. The leniency of the death penalty for those with or through any association of magic was all but gone.

Gallows were built more often, the executioner consulted more often, and the smell of burning flesh had little remedy to remove the after trace it left on his clothes, skin, and the air of Camelot as a whole.

The king was no longer the king he had promised to protect and serve. It'd been far too long since he had seen his sister's smile. The one he'd once teased her about; love and everything more for what she held for Arthur. He'd hardly seen them glance each other's way in weeks.

Missions that before had them picking on one another were nothing the same. Gwaine had little energy to display his usual charm; he was Camelot's best swordsman after all. He couldn't remember the last time he had talked to Percival, more so even heard the other knight say anything. But perhaps it was Leon he saw take it all the hardest. Comparing Camelot's records to when Uther reigned, none of them could have ever imagined those records matching, even surpassing the older ones.

They had been happier once at the peak of war.

Instead they were sent on tasks—hunt after hunt. It was nothing more than the king using them as a hawk as they brought innocent people one after another to his feet.

All of them hesitated just the same to continue to perform each task they were ordered. Elyan knew it was out of fear. Fear none of them possessed before everything happened, as if everything was the proper word to cover it all. 

Elyan let out a sigh of relief as he reached his room, his hand coming to undo his cape buckle around his neck. He yanked the leather free and felt the chill of the night come over him as he closed the door, the all too familiar presence partnered to close.

He'd done this before. Too many times before.

He pressed his eyes and edged the exhaustion further. “We can't keep doing this.” He turned around and tossed his cape to the side. 

His window was wide open as he had suspected. The figure he knew too well was sitting on the window ledge; legs crossed, hands gripping the sill, cloaked over in moonlight and yet still completely hidden in darkness. As if Elyan didn't know all of him to recognize him with much less.

He let out a scoff. “And you know it too, Mordred.”

Gold lit in the dark, a rush of something he only could find desirable from him as flames erupted at the wicks of the candles.

Elyan felt some of the day's tension fall away. Even though It felt wrong to find such comfort in something he imprisoned day after day.

The soft glow from the candles lit Mordred's face as he stood up. He removed the black hood from over his head and let the light take over him. An expression of something somber yet unreadable was all he showed to him. 

Mordred walked closer, his finger tracing down the exposed blade that laid on the table in his room. Elyan hadn't found the strength to properly clean it off since that morning, just the dried remnants of what they both knew, left there to be.

“Patrol has tightened,” he spoke. “More guards, more knights.”

Elyan nodded. “The king has things… different.”

His finger traced the bottom of the hilt where the name of his sword was branded. “Not different enough.” He pulled away, his cloak catching in a gust of wind through the window.

“I suppose not.” Elyan walked over, grabbing the empty scabbard from the other end of the table. “Still holes in our defense?”

Mordred cocked his head. “If you know where to find them.”

He sheathed his sword, placing it back on the rack with the rest of the weapons. Mordred watched.

“And how to make them,” Mordred continued.

Elyan stopped. He eased his shoulders to relax and to turn back towards Mordred. “Why are you here?”

He stood there, something mocking humor played at his lips. “You know why,” he said. He turned on his heal, looking around his room. “I've heard things have gotten worse around here since…”

That unspeakable incident. Perhaps they both wished it was all just some nightmare they were trapped in together.

“They have.”

“And Merlin?” he asked.

Elyan moved, following behind him. “He's been adjusting.” It wasn't a lie. It was all he knew. It was all both the king and queen had said about Merlin since they'd last seen him all those months ago.

Mordred scoffed. “The king's closest friend swears off magic. Sounds too familiar.”

He folded his arms across his chest. “Did Morgana tell you that?”

He turned to face him. He shook his head. “Morgana’s still in Ismere, has been for a fortnight. Didn't want to go.” He glanced down at his feet. “I've been with my people.”

He cocked an eyebrow.

Mordred all but rolled his eyes then loosened the laces of his cloak. His robes and talisman around his neck all the proof he needed.

“You didn't tell me that.”

He raised an eyebrow, sarcasm dancing across his face as he pulled his cloak back around. “Because you think me a murderer.” He fumbled with his laces.

Elyan closed the distance and nudged Mordred's hands away and took over. “I think, from what I've heard, you possess very powerful magic, Mordred. Magic you can use to protect yourself.” He pulled the laces into a knot.

“Protect. Kill. Defend,” Mordred said. “It's no use when you see it all the same.”

Elyan took a breath and dropped his hands to Mordred's shoulders, straightening out his cloak and fixing his talisman. “Not me.” He let them fall back to his side.

Mordred smiled. “Not you,” He emphasized

Elyan knew at the end of the day they would have Mordred killed, no matter if there was blood on his hands or not. History or not, he knew perhaps that might have made him all the more wanted for Camelot's gallows.

“I know you know.” Mordred stepped closer. “And you know too, but…” He tilted his head to the side, their noses brushed one another's. “I'm risking it all just for you.”

Elyan felt a shiver run down his body. Mordred's hand found his and he lifted the other to brush his fingers on his jaw.

“I'm risking my capture just to say I love you,” he continued.

Elyan turned his head away but felt that gentle touch deepen and pull his head back forward.

“And you're risking just the same.”

He swatted his hand away and grabbed Mordred's wrist in the same strike. Watching that facade of bravery crumble underneath his touch as Mordred's expression twisted. Pain infiltrated in the cracks, leaving the same scared boy who had fled Camelot months back right in front of him.

“I have a chance,” he spoke through his teeth. “You don't.”

Mordred twisted his hand but he only tightened his hold. It would bruise. They both knew it. The longer Elyan held and the more Mordred moved and struggled guaranteed it.

“Stop coming back,” he continued.

Mordred cocked an eyebrow, teasing him with that feigned innocent look that turned mischievous all too quickly. “If that's what you want.”

“It is.”

He held his gaze. Neither of them wanting to give in till Mordred lowered his head and looked away. “Fine.” He yanked his arm free as Elyan loosened his grip.

Elyan breathed out, staying in place as Mordred turned around back towards the window. Until he stopped.

“What?”

Mordred turned around. “You and I both know that if you really didn't like this—me coming here night after night. You would've told the queen or king already.”

“I wouldn't do that to you.”

He lightly chuckled, a grin forming on his face. “You wouldn't,” he agreed. “Keep your space. Keep me safe, keep you safe. Is that not it?” He took a step back.

Elyan shook his head. “Our love isn't worth your torture.”

He smiled, something of hope there too. “Isn't it?”

Elyan swallowed past the lump that formed in his throat. “Go. Camelot isn't safe for you anymore.”

He gave him a pitiful smile. “Was it ever?” Mordred continued to walk backwards.

Elyan looked down, seeing how close he was to the open window. “Mordred?”

The back of his knees hit the ledge. That smile changed. “I'll just risk it again.”

He watched as Mordred leaned back his weight and fell out the window.

“Mordred!” He lunged forward, scrambling to grab the ends of his cloak but was too late. He stuck his head out the window, exhaustion no longer a thought as he looked at the drop to the ground.

No Mordred. No body. No cloak. He looked up. The cloaked figure that was in his chamber was walking away. 

Mordred turned around, still walking and looked up at him. He smiled one of his all too fleeting grins before he pulled the hood forward and turned back around.

Elyan watched as his cloaked figure walked on and disappeared without a sound on Camelot's grounds.

#bbc merlin #virusfanfic #elyanfest2024 #merlin fanfic #sir elyan #sir mordred #fanfiction #elyandred #????? i dont know their ship name #this fic feels so weird to me i dont know why i really like how it cane out i mean the au is kinda oddly placed but... #its fine im gonna sit on it for like a week and then come back to it and ill be like 'oh its fine now i was just being me'

[triptychgrip]

I had a dream last night that one of my favorite anime characters (Viktor Nikiforov, from Yuri!!! on Ice) met another one of my favorite anime/manga characters (Sohma Ayame from Fruits Basket) and now I very well may have to write a crossover fanfic.

For one thing, the two of them seem to share some fundamental personality traits (easily excitable, very practiced in masking insecurities), but secondly, I think their meeting and sizing each other up would be so fun to write about. Like, I can totally see a situation where Sohma Yuki and Yuri Plisetsky bond over how extremely irritating they find the collective energy of Ayame and Viktor, together. And Mine and Yuuri would just watch their significant others with fond/exasperated expressions. Plus, I think it'd be hilarious to write about Viktor and Ayame being envious/admiring of the other’s hair care regimen and flair for the dramatic.

But that’s actually not what I intended this post to be about.

This dream got me thinking about the parallels between both shows, so I decided I'd make a 3 point pitch to fans of each to go check out the other, if it’s not already on your radar. I talk about both shows pretty broadly, so I don't believe I'm spoiling anything with this post.

Both pieces of media (I say ‘media’, because I prefer the Fruits Basket manga, even though both the original anime/remake are excellent) get me so in my feels, so I’ll try not to go on forever and ever. That being said, please do read to the end for my two disclaimers.

Reason 1: I think fans of both would agree that a big theme of their canon work is the transformational power of vulnerability. This feeds into the sub-themes of found family, and how the “practice” of letting love into one’s life (because it truly does take practice, despite society making us think it’s easy-breezy) can deeply shift us as people.

At its core, each implements huge characters arcs for their MC's that demonstrate this.

For Yuri!!! on Ice, this applies to Katsuki Yuuri and Viktor Nikiforov -- two professional male figure skaters, the former known as "Japan's Ace" skater, and the latter dubbed a "Living Legend" -- and for Fruits Basket, this applies to higher schoolers Sohma Yuki, Honda Tohru, and Sohma Kyo (though, truly, it could apply to all of the Sohmas). Right off the bat, I'll say that a big difference between yoi and furuba revolves around age. Yuuri and Viktor are adults, while Yuki, Tohru, and Kyo start off as (what seems to be) high school juniors. Yuri!!! on Ice fans, don't let that dissuade you from checking out Fruits Basket, however; its themes are very complex, and will challenge you.

Both media start off with their main characters at low points.

Katsuki Yuuri has just come in last place at his first Grand Prix Final competition: the competition it seems he's been working towards his entire career, and the one where he'd hoped to gain Viktor's attention (as he's looked up to the "Living Legend" since he was just twelve years old).

Similarly, we see that Tohru Honda has recently lost her mother (her father is also dead), and is practically homeless. She is living in a flimsy tent on Sohma Shigure's property. While Yuuri decides to leave the United States to move back home to Japan, and is contemplating retiring from figure skating altogether, Tohru is taken in by Shigure and Yuki in exchange for helping out with chores around their house.

In yoi, the plot moves along when we see Viktor -- who has just won his 5th World Championship title -- decide to drop everything and move to Japan to be Yuuri's coach, after seeing a viral video of him skating to one of his routines. And in furuba, the plot moves along as we watch Tohru meet more of the Sohmas, and learn about the big secret plaguing their family.

Canon shows us that while Katsuki Yuuri has a lot of love/support in his life prior to Viktor’s arrival in his hometown (his parents, his ballet teacher, etc), his own anxiety/insecurities makes it so that he struggles to realize the love around him. He has a hard time seeking out comfort or opening up to people when navigating hardships. But this fundamentally shifts with Viktor’s role in becoming his figure skating coach (and, eventually, romantic partner).

I would be remiss if I didn't make a content warning, here. Generational trauma and neglect are big themes in Fruits Basket.

In Fruits Basket, the zodiac "curse" -- a generational Sohma family trait that makes physical contact between its members and those of the opposite sex challenging, as touching leads each Sohma member to turn into its zodiac animal (i.e. Yuki turns into the rat, Kyo turns into the cat, etc.) -- as well as Sohma Akito's cruelty has made it so that Yuki and Kyo have been brainwashed into believing they are burdens...that they are unlovable, with no redeeming value, even in the eyes of their own family members.

But the presence of Tohru in their lives (and her ripple effect of positivity that completely upends the curse dynamic) causes Yuki and Kyo to unlearn these entrenched beliefs, and to realize that they have always, inherently, been worthy of love *brb sobbing*

While the idea of cute zodiac animals might lead one to think the manga/show is this cotton-candy fluff ride, there is a lot of heaviness that I personally found super compelling, and a reason that ppl who don't typically like content featuring high schoolers might make an exception for it.

Now, of course, Yuri!!! on Ice has its own heavy themes: navigating anxiety as well as feelings of apathy/depression, and while it's not canon, the lack of detail on Viktor's backstory has led many in the fandom to develop headcanons around possible strained family relationships/trauma history. Because it's something I actually have been wondering about, I thought I'd make a poll.

Reason 2: Both are very funny, with compelling romantic development.

Regarding the former, I found myself laughing out loud while reading/watching. I think a huge part of the reason has to do with the 'tsundere' archetype that Yuri Plisetsky (another figure skater) embodies in yoi, and that Sohma Kyo embodies in Fruits Basket. These grouchy characters are hilarious and lovable, and the audience enjoys seeing their energy play off of contrasting personality types.

Reason 3: It's more obvious off-the-bat in Yuri!!! on Ice, but the element of surprise is used to great effect in both. While there are tons of examples I could give, I'll say that each contains a fundamental "twist" that really makes you reconceptualize your entire understanding of the storyline/character relationships. I know that's not a lot to go off of, but each major surprise really shifted my perception of the pre-conceived power dynamics that we are led to believe exist in each.

It's no secret that Yuri Plisetsky is actually a big fan of Katsuki Yuuri, but his teenage pride won't allow him to admit this. Seeing Yuri adamantly insist that he thinks Yuuri is a loser, and just generally being aggravated by Viktor's extraness is pretty comical. Similarly, Kyo is quite prickly, and it's clear that Tohru Honda's diametrically opposed nature (i.e. she is warm and caring, to a fault) throws him for a loop. Seeing him flustered by it is hilarious.

I won't say any more about the romance development b/c I don't want to spoil anything in Fruits Basket, but suffice it to say that both media have plenty of "awww" moments that will have you swooning as characters open up to one another.

Disclaimers:

1) I think it's unfair to compare these pieces of media solely based on the amount of canon content around them.

Yuri!!! on Ice is an original anime, and (thus far) only has 1 season of 12 episodes (whyyyyy MAPPA?! I like Attack on Titan as much as the next person but please, I beg, give us season 2!). On the other hand, Fruits Basket has an original anime, plus a remake, and was a manga that went on for years. Thus, you will likely think the characterization/plot development is much richer. But, one thing I absolutely adore about the yoi fandom is how much fan-created content exists. Like, years after the show came out (in late 2016), there are still ppl actively writing fic (like me! I discovered it in 2020 but only started writing last year), making fanart, etc.

2) Another note about comparison that is pretty important:

Because of the overtness of certain elements in Fruits Basket (i.e. two very clear kisses happen, and we also see follow-up content that was released that shows a marriage take place in the future, etc.), fans might watch Yuri!!! on Ice and be disappointment with what they might characterize as understated romance between Yuuri and Viktor. But I think it's important to note how revolutionary the show was for portraying a queer romance between its main characters, especially in a show that was never marketed as a yaoi (boys' love) series. Despite several obvious indicators of the romantic nature of Yuuri and Viktor's relationship, there are still ppl that will argue that these two were merely coach/skater, and nothing more, and I just...don't even know where to begin in addressing that without dropping spoilers. If you're that curious, go to my AMA feature and drop me a question and I will happily write you a novel of a response.

Alright, that's mostly it...if you've gotten this far, thank you so much for reading! If you do end up checking out one or other, I hope you'll let me know what you think.

The very last thing I'll say is that I've only written fanfic for Yuri!!! on Ice (all post-canon, I've linked my Ao3 Dashboard), but I've been ideating around some Fruits Basket ideas, so may give it a whirl in the coming weeks. With every fiber of my being, I wish that I had artistic ability so that I could make fanart of Ayame and Viktor meeting...one can dream lol

#yuri on ice #fruits basket #furuba #yoi #viktor nikiforov #victor nikiforov #ayame sohma #kyo sohma #yuki sohma #tohru honda #yuuri katsuki #katsuki yuuri #parallels #fanfic ideas #headcanon

[theadventurerslog]

King's Quest Wrap Up

Here we are. I've finished King's Quest 1-7, which I would consider the main series as Mask of Eternity is so different and I won't be playing it. It's been a great ride that I wasn't even originally intending to do, but I'm glad I did. Sitting here writing this post is a bit more bittersweet than I expected.

This whole blog idea came about because of King's Quest. I went from just watching them played (Thank you SuchMinutiae!) to thinking it'd be fun to try at least V and VI to wondering about the idea of logging them as a textual let's play, which led to doing them all. And now I've played them all and they get to be the first games and first complete series done here.

I mentioned there were a lot of classics I was missing and that Sierra games were a big hole in my history entirely. Not only did I have that total gap, but it was one that didn't come with the best reputation. Basically my association with Sierra was hard obtuse games in which you die at the drop of a hat. Which, okay, especially in the case of the older games that is true, but it's not the whole picture. I can only speak for King's Quest right now, but that misses the fun adventure of them and the evolution the series went through and that VII dropped the cruelty and had no dead ends and deaths were harmless with instant retries.

It misses what I can only imagine the feeling was back then of setting out into what would have felt like a big world and going on this big adventure. It misses the charm and goofiness that crops up. The portrayal misses the fun (and sometimes frustration) of goofing around with the text parser in the first four games. It misses the evolution of not just the mechanics and graphics, but also the story telling and how they start to connect more with each other into a bigger whole. I'm going on a bit of a rant here, but if I had continued with only that original outlook on them and a couple of stray reviews I one time saw while looking briefly into the games quite some time ago--can't recall exactly why, it may have been when that episodic King's Quest game by another company came out--and those reviews also really highlighted difficulty and not too much else I would have passed on an experience I really enjoyed.

Now, I will freely admit my opinion would probably be a bit different if I had gone in blind, or just with the knowledge to save a lot and keep lots of saves. That last point is a big one and would spare some anguish. I definitely would have gotten more stuck on points far more often and probably dead-ended myself at other points and had to rely on past saves more. But I'm also not too proud to poke at hints or check for bits in guides, so I still could have gotten through, but there would have been some more frustration colouring my views. Not to say there wasn't any frustration because there sure was at points, beanstalks and stairs and dark dark caves with trolls, oh my. Still, my point still stands that I could have so easily been continuing to be swayed away from ever giving these a shot and missed out.

I also think it's great to visit or revisit some old games now and then. Not just to see how far things have come, but to experience what things were like. It was still so new as a medium, still is relatively speaking, and devs were still learning and trying stuff and experimenting and there's a very wild west feel to it. And it's just... this is what they knew, this what they had to work with in regards to the tech and it's...cool. And being reminded how much and fast things were changing like the jump from KQ IV to V. It was a lot! I just think it's nice to be reminded sometimes. Games have moved so quickly it can be easy to forget.

It was also nice to have a reminder of my own...outlook I guess? on graphics in a tangible way. I'm not someone who needs or cares about high-end top of the line graphics anyway, but the ability to get into the game and meet it on its level struck me particularly in a couple spots in III and IV where I found myself having the exact same reaction to things I'd have to the same kind of things in a modern game. Those things being a couple waterfalls spots in III ("ooo! waterfall!" Screencap!) and Genesta's island and the path going up the mountain to Lolotte's area in IV. More ooo, pretty, or ooo cool moments. These early four games are older than I am and primitive by today's standards and it's just...nice to know I can still have these little wow moments anyway.

I've gone off on some tangents here, so back to the individual games themselves. As for each game, the obvious thing to do in an end post like this would be to rank them, but I am terrible at ranking things. If you want to send me into a spiral of dithering and second-guessing myself, make me rank things. Instead I will just say that VI is my favourite and I have no idea after that. I am going to give my last thoughts on each and heck maybe some kind of preference or order will emerge. Still not ranking them though.

King's Quest I: Quest for the Crown

The beginning! There's always something exciting about a new start, certainly so when you know it continues into a series. It's very simple: find the three missing treasures of Daventry and become king. Really nothing deep here, but it's a short enjoyable romp through a mishmash of fairy tale things and sometimes there's comfort in simplicity. Less comfort in falling repeatedly off a beanstalk; I might still be bitter.

Not a lot to say about it really, but a solid enough start.

I'm looking forward to revisiting it sometime through the SCI remake.

-

King's Quest II: Romancing the Throne

I looked back at my final notes for the game and while my points are still true I feel like I had a more negative slant on them than I do now. As I've been thinking about these games off and on while playing I've had a growing fondness for II. Yeah, its plot is thin: Graham wants wife, girl trapped in tower by evil witch for some reason, rescue girl, get married. And don't go here for cohesive world building, but it was fun. It did feel like a grab bag of ideas tossed together into a game, but that ended up being what made it entertaining in not knowing what it's gonna throw at you next.

What IS grandma's deal with the wolf and Dracula, and oh yeah, Dracula. Antique shop in the middle of nowhere, the owner of which seems to have some kind of feud with the witch? Why not? Merfolk? Sure! Its stairs weren't as bad yet either.

I've found its ridiculousness is where the fun was for me and my fondness for it has grown.

-

King's Quest III: To Heir is Human

This game was important for setting out foundations for everything to come: introducing Alexander and Rosella, the existence of Manannan which was used for plot with Mordack for V which also included Cassima to get us the plot of VI, etc. It's where the chain of continuity felt like it really began.

That said I said it was a mixed bag and that hasn't changed. The beginning is fun with the spells and all the thing you can have happen with Manannan which I didn't get much of in my playthrough and I regret that. The spells themselves are fun and the game did get more complex than the previous two.

But that second chunk hits on tedium and frustrations and is just plain not as fun or interesting as the first part. If I were to rank the games, and I'm not, but IF I were I'd really struggle with this one and wish I could put one part in one place and the other part in a different lower place.

One other note: now we don't get a ton of Alexander's personality in III really, just by nature of these older games and he's a little older in VI and of course free of Manannan, but I do have a little trouble reconciling them as the same character. Like, for example, there's a point early when you get the fur from Manannan's cat and he snickers about it and calls it a stupid cat and I just cannot picture VI Alexander ever saying that. Of course I doubt they had any inkling of what VI would be like if it were to ever exist, just something I noticed.

-

King's Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella

Like KQ III I still feel this one is a mixed bag but its low points are lower still than the low points of III and it really leaves me conflicted because there are plenty of things I like but so much ugh at some of the bullshit. The whale, the bridle, the dark cave with the troll, some really awful stairs, it got to be a lot sometimes.

But then it was nice to have Rosella as the protagonist and it was nice to have a more present villain and with Edgar it gave them some material to pull from for later. There were still fun moments and some just really nice spots like the exterior of Genesta's home with her gardens. When I wasn't in the really annoying spots I was enjoying myself as much as the previous games but those blemishes cast long shadows.

It also felt a little more sombre overall, which makes sense under the circumstances, but something I noticed.

-

King's Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder

"We're the aaants led by King Antony..." Ahem. V was my originally planned first game then when I realized it was bundled with IV and VI that maaaybe I should start with IV, which oof, glad I didn't, but then I started from the beginning.

That said I was looking forward to getting to V and I quite enjoyed it. That beautiful art. The voice acting is pretty bad, but I find it weirdly endearing. There's some really charming moments.

There's also a ton of bullshit and a long list of ways to softlock yourself, which should annoy me more on principle, but I think the difference between it and IV is that in this one's case the problems come from things that you can miss rather than frustration coming by the actual act of playing through the annoying trial and error parts like the whale and the cave with the added 'joy' of RNG. And since I knew what to look out for I could avoid the problems whereas I was stuck in it in IV.

Anyway, the connectivity really started to come into fruition here too making use of the events of III while building up to VI. ...Still cranky about Graham's attitude about Alexander at the end and everyone ignoring poor dead Cedric at first.

Other than that it's just so cheesily charming to me.

-

King's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow

Much like my final thoughts in the last post for the game I'm wondering what more I can say. It's my favourite of the series. It's still so pretty. I really like Alexander as a protagonist. He's so earnest. I like Cassima for what we do get of her though I want more.

I love how much there is to interact with and just the sheer amount of descriptive text with some great humour in there. The premise is hinged on some real flimsy love at first sight, but it's wrapped up in such a good package I can't complain much. There are a lot of fun and charming bits and some just cool chunks too like the stuff in the Realm of the Dead. Having two different routes to two endings is neat as well.

Also, "Girl in the toooower!"

--

King's Quest VII: The Princeless Bride

This one's a little harder to talk about again since I did just finish it so it hasn't had the same time to sit in the back of my mind like the others. It was a departure in a lot of ways from the rest of the games but then again, V and VI were a departure in some ways from the first four as well. It was still a fun different flavour without feeling like it was something else entirely I think might be my best way of putting it. And it was a fun change of pace to be alternating between two protagonists.

And despite its differences it still clung to its roots of fairy tales and the Daventry royals and of course made use of the events of IV. It was also still a point and click unlike a certain other unplayed entry of the series.

It was more comedic and exaggerated and there were some points that were running the fine line of grating for me but never enough to be off-putting.

I wasn't quite sure how I'd feel about it before playing, but I did enjoy more it than I initially feared.

-

I kind of think of the series in three phases which further doesn't help with any attempts at ranking either. There's 1-4, 5-6 and 7. Seeing that kind of progression is another fun thing about going through a series from beginning to end though. Does a ranking emerge from the above notes? VI is high and IV is low. 5 and 7 are probably higher than 1-4 but trying to decide between 5 and 7 and trying to order 1-4 I just don't know. I enjoyed my time with all and that's what really matters in the end.

--

Various Stats and Other Rankings

I've got them anyway, so I may as well gather them into one place!

Final Points

King's Quest 1: 154/158

King's Quest II: 185/185

King's Quest III: 202/210

King's Quest IV: 230/230

King's Quest V: 260/260

King's Quest VI: 225/231

King's Quest VII: N/A

I only got max points in the half the applicable games. Clearly another reason to replay some of these.

--

Death/Game over Counts:

King's Quest I: 58

King's Quest II: 17

King's Quest III: 63

King's Quest IV: 86

King's Quest V: 59

King's Quest VI: 29

King's Quest VII: 42

Feeling some KQIV trauma looking at these counts all over again. I wound up with a higher count that I expected in VII too; it started low then Ooga Booga happened...

--

Death Rankings!

I was given the idea to rank deaths so here are some death awards!

Most Deaths: King's Quest IV. Some awful stairs among other things.

Most Maddening: Any stairs or stair-like things. Stair cases in IV and the bean stalk in I drove me nuts. Aside from stairs, the troll in the dark in IV. Once he's there, there's no escape and he's completely random.

Most Expected: Eat these nightshade berries says the golden eyed 'grandma'. What could go wrong. This being hasn't already tried to lead you to your death on more than one occasion before and isn't remotely suspicious now. Alexander, please.

Most Unexpected: This is a bit trickier as I wasn't playing blind. Possibly the rock in KQ I that you push. You have to push it to get a dagger, but if you push it from the wrong side you're squished and there's not really indication of it being on a slope or anything, so... squish. I feel like I'm probably missing some obvious contenders.

Most Tempting: Tree deaths in KQ IV. The tree puns! And failing the spells in III. Gotta see the results. Oh! And not a death but game over, actually this might be the most tempting, but getting turned into a beast in VI. How could you not want to let that run its course and see it? "Whee whee!!!"

Look at him!

Funniest: Possibly getting punched out by the bear in V. It's so ridiculous looking and abrupt.

Most Brutal: I've got three here: two deaths in VI and one in VII. The death by spiked ceiling in the catacombs and the death by fire with the druids. They're both drawn out and the way it all plays out is just yikes. They both had me flinching back into my chair. Then in VII we had Rosella and/or Valanice getting dragged in by the skeletons over the Boogeyman's home. And just the sound and the animation, oh the animation. It was another yikes moment for me.

--

Final Final Thoughts

As I try to figure out how to end this ramble. I suppose I will end this with the relatively simple question of would I recommend these?

VI and VII? Yes, particularly VII if someone wants a friendly point and click as VI still has softlocks and the need to save a lot for those deaths

V - with some caveats

I-IV - only to people genuinely interested in exploring the old stuff and willing to tolerate the BS and possible frustrations of a text parser (though I still think the text parser has its own fun)

Was the experience worthwhile for me? Absolutely. Will I replay these games or at least some of them? For sure. I have the SCI remake of I waiting for me and I'll definitely be playing VI again. I think I'll be able to add it to my comfort food rotation. I also, despite my complaining, want to give III another go sometime because I missed too much fun stuff at the start. Honestly I could see doing another run-through of the whole series for myself in the future, maaaybe skipping IV but also maybe doing it too because it's not like I hated it.

For now the Daventry family can live happily ever after until I restart the timeline and force them through all this again.

Once again, thank you for joining me and reading all this.

#king's quest #adventure games #notebook #series wrap-up

[raijae]

Red Snow

Summary: Alice is controlled by another being and does the unthinkable.

Word Count: 651

Warnings: Mentions of blood and violence

Tags: @flowerslut @twilight-secret-gift-exchange

Event: Twilight Secret Santa Gift Exchange

A/N- This is my fic account I enetered into the event with my other account @flesh--amnesiac I sincerely apologize for the late secret santa gift. This secret santa was ho-ho-horrible this year and should be put on the naughty list. For 10 plis years. Tumblr erased my original fic and moodboard that was queued and set to post on the 25 whilst I was on vacation. I came back this morning to find that nothing was posted. I had to rewrite it and honestly I wish I could've given you the long fic you deserved. It's a lot different and shorter than the original idea/work but nonetheless I hope you enjoy it. I am truly sorry.

He expected death to come for him at some point. Maybe in the form of Maria coming to take him back into her cold dead grasp. Maybe in the form of the Volturi trying to take his heart, Alice, away. But he never in his wildest dream thought it'd be by her hands.

Her beautiful delicate hands. The hands that once touched him so softly despite not needing to. The hands that comforted him at his worst instead of pushing him away. That touched him with such love and adoration. The hand that would tangle themselves in his hair. The same delicate hands that were now dripping a mixture of red and black onto the wet snow covered ground next to his head.

Nothing could have prepared him for this. Fate had finally decided it was time for him to pay for all that he had done in the cruelest way posssible. Alice stood above him drenched in blood and vemon. She was looking down at him, her eyes feral and as dark as vantablack. Her body was rigid like that of a wild beast it contrasted greatly to her normal carefree demeanor. The rage that radiated off her was thick and suffocating.

He couldn't do anything, for the first time he was at a loss. He couldn't bring himself to fight back not with the possibility of her coming back to him. There was always a possibility, he'd seen it happen before. Although, the chances of coming out of this alive were slim to none. Looking up at her, he couldn't help but think her rage was the most beautiful site he had ever seen.

"Alice... darling... please... hear me... come back to me..." he said his voice strained. She didn't respond it was as if he never spoke a word.

"Please, Alice, I can't fight you. I won't. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I maimed you. Please, darling, come back to me." He tried again but this time she had grabbed him by the neck. He tried to move but she just kept catching up to him. Whoever or whatever was controlling her made her faster and stronger than ever. He grit his teeth as she began to squeeze slow and hard. He could feel each and every crack that formed on his pale scarred skin.

He knew this was going to be it. He wouldn't and couldn't stop her. He would let her kill him if it meant he was alive. He knew the rest of the clan would take care of her. Once he was dead the spell would be broken and all control would be obsolete.

"Alice if you can hear me..... just know that this isn't your fault..... I wouldn't have wanted it to end any other way........ You being the last thing I see is the only thing I want...... I love you with every fiber of my being.....more than life itself..... Please just live for me........ I'm sorry I couldn't stop this.... that I wasn't strong enough to-"

Five days later Alice awoke from what she could only assume was some type of sleep. Carlisle was the first to greet her. He wore his usual calm smile but his eyes held something resembling sorrow in them. She assumed it was due to her current state. She also noticed that she couldn't see. Maybe her powers weren't fully there yet? He checked her reflexes and asked her a few questions which confused her. It was then that she realized Jasper wasn't in the room and she couldn't sense him anywhere.

"Carlisle? Where's Jasper?" She asked as she looked out the window. She hadn't noticed his sudden shift in demeanor or that Edward and Bella had walked into the room. When she turned around it hit her and then everything went blank. The last thing she saw was Bella rushing at her.

#twilight #jasper hale #jasper #jasper whitlock #alice cullen #jalice #twilight fic #jasper x alice #secret santa #moodboard

[gabrielwritessometimes]

Hi Big Bro !

For the ask, what about : 3, 7, 10, 18, 19, 36 and 39 ?

Take your time to answer ! Hope you have a good day/evening/night 💖

LIL BRO I missed you in my asks too 🥺 ! I'll answer under the cut !

3. What is your writing ritual and why is it cursed ?

Of course it is cursed. It starts with a white page of google docs. Then I can spend hours or days until I write something. Usually it's a -, followed by a list of miscleanous stuff : quotes, "I want them to kissy kissy umbrella shared ;w; !", sets of clothes to describe, ANYTHING. And then I organise it. It takes so little time. Then I give up, since I'm satisfied. Then it haunts my dreams until I open the page turned WIP. And then I write 20k in 5h or so and I post it UNPROOFED and I let you read while I sleep or go to work. I don't even check the reactions afterwards, I'm that mother who doesn't look at the crying baby but is just happy it isn't inside anymore I'm so sorry.

7. What is your deepest joy about writing ?

That's gonna be a weird one, but : feeling. Feeling stuff I never felt in real life or on the contrary writing about raw unrestrained feelings I got to experience. Even weirder : panic attacks make me so much more able to write angst and characters losing it because I know what it is. I know what bounds are like, I know what love feels like for I cherish a few selected people, but as an aro/ace I don't love that way. That's why I feel so happy writing about feelings, all kind of them.

10. Has a piece of writing ever “haunted” you ? Has your own writing haunted you? What does that mean to you ?

Oh I get haunted a LOT. Daydreams, dreams, little bits of dialogues running through my head at work, a song making me jolt because it'd be perfect... that's why I do lists before writing, it's like vacuuming all these haunting parts and create a puppet out of it for you to see. I perceive that as "this is something worth writing and showing to the world", it's a green light and a good omen !

18. Choose a passage from your writing. Tell me about the backstory of this moment. How you came up with it, how it changed from start to end.

"There are two things that make the God of Winter feel alive : the pure unrestrained happiness to see his children and the pure unrestrained pleasure to know deep down that he isn’t the one who suffers the most."

I'd rather use an original work for this one if you'll allow me. This glimpse of Léviatha'n's crooked sense of joy if both a foreshadowing (of what will happen because of him in Esporys) and a mirror shot from Aleksiel in He Who Rules Above the Snow ("His sleep was fit for he knew the turmoil he caused in his close family's minds, and their toss and turns turned into wicked lullabys soothing his heart.").

At first it was more straightforward, showing only Léviatha'n's malignity but it didn't work : Léviatha'n is both extremes, the dead quiet mirror sea and the tide tearing everything apart. He had to be balanced by something equally unbalanced which is the love for his children. Just like Zaga'n is everything to Suzak, Lantide and Léviath are everything for Léviatha'n and the wicked sense of pleasure he gets out of Suzak's endless mourning comes back to bite him when his children die in front of him. Did he learn anything from it ? Of course not, the sea doesn't learn to evade people to avoid suffering, it only restore the bodies to shore sometimes. That was the feeling I wanted for him and I think it turned out well !

19. Tell me a story about your writing journey. When did you start ? Why did you start ? Were there bumps along the way ? Where are you now and where are you going ?

I started when I was 5 or 6. My childhood wasn't really a happy one, so instead I wrote stories of things that didn't happen to me to brighten it : winged bunnies hopping next to the bus like dolphins do close to boats, imaginary friends I was the only one able to see who laughed as they stole apples from the neighbour's tree with me, ... my father always indulged me in these fantasies, my mother way less.

There have been a few bumpses like right now because I am drained from work and just WISH I could chill and do nothing, slowing down all my creative process. I also had a few in middleschool when I became terrified of writing, one of my bullies reading texts she found aloud for everyone to laugh at me.

I have two solid novels I can share with the world though, a visual novel planned and many novels to write about the lore of the Life Marble, stories of unconsequential characters to show their daily life, insights of the Gods' minds, diaries found after the End, ... I also started drawing to be able to give my characters some realness. Will I be able to do it ? Wait and see !

36. They say to Write What You Know. Setting aside for a moment the fact that this is terrible advice…what do you Know ?

I know of loss, grief and not belonging. I know of secrets unshared gnawing at your insides and invasive thoughts. Of the fear of lies colliding between two worlds you tried to keep separate. Of panic attacks of being too much and too less at the same time, of blaming looks and punching walls and yelling to get people to look at me. I know of being put aside because I asked for basic decency.

I also know of softness and joy, of shared looks and desires, of joined hands kissed softly under an apple tree. I know of aspirations, of setting a clear way and being patted on the back after offering the word they needed or a hot chocolate. I know of the silent gratitude in shared looks after discovering someone did something for you the way you wanted it done.

I know of baby steps and the pride of keeping balance when everything starts to tip. I know of taking commands or receiving them without arguing, because sometimes people should really let their ego aside and stop feeling attacked out of thin air. I know of putting myself first, saying no and biting back too.

39. What keeps you writing when you feel like giving up ?

Writing is as necessary as breathing for me. It comes easily, trained since childhood, and no matter the support or the time I'll always be able to do it. I am tired but will still write a description of a peculiar plant in my lore or find a new way to sign documents for Aksel. Because you don't need to write 450 pages to be writing. Just like reading comics is still reading, roleplaying, creating charasheets and lore is still writing.

#Gab answers #ask #writing #thoughts about writing

[blackberry-gingham]

🎉 🧠 💖✨

Good Anakin, goooood.... You've come to wade through more of my word salad I see 🤲🏻😂 Thank you for the ask btw!!! You know I love to talk lmao

🎉 What does it take for you to consider a fic a success?

Tbh I grade my fics on a chapter by chapter basis, but basically if a chapter I post gets at least 10-15 notes from the time that I post it at night to the time that I wake up to check on it in the morning, I get encouraged that the fic is well received and thus, successful lol

Any engagement under that and I assume that either A) the fandom/audience is simply nonexistent (a very real possibility half the time lol) or, more rarely B) that what I wrote just want that great lol

🧠 here's a character, tell us a headcannon

Well I think you were supposed to name a character lol, but on the very possible chance that you intentionally left it open, I'll give you one that I haven't already told you yet lmao.

Here we go: I've come around to the idea that Nightcrawler cannot swim, tbh.

Not as in LITERALLY like physiologically cannot, of course (although I can't say I'd want to attempt it with the surface area of only two fingers and my palm to scoop my way through the water. It'd be like paddling a canoe with a strainer fkdkdk ) more so in that he just never had/took the opportunity to learn given his role in the circus, then straight to the monastery afterwards. And really, why would he anyway tbh, lol

Most of it comes from the fact that there is simply just no situation where you're going to "trap" him in a body of water, you know? Maybe for a few seconds if he fell in or something he might freak out and start flailing around, treading water- but the second any further sense of self preservation kicks in, he'd almost certainly just panic-teleport himself to the nearest solid surface. No need for swimming at all

That, and if you're like me and like to also headcannon that his fur is more on the dense/wooly side, I think he knows himself well enough to understand how unnecessarily exhausting it would be trying to swim while you've basically got all the weight of a soaking wet quilt wrapped around you.

If you factor that in with his impressively low body fat and also the structure of his hands as stated above, he'd essentially need to work like three times as hard to 1) stay afloat and 2) actually go anywhere, as compared to an average weight/size human being and after all that and the rest, it's like- really. Why even bother to begin with, lol.

💖 what made you start writing?

Phew that last one was long, huh? I'll give a short answer for this one lol. I know I already answered my like full, og writing backstory, but my Tumblr writing origins was simply that I had gotten into the Beatles at the time and I wanted to create my own content as a result of my interest, and what better way then with my favorite talent? :D

Not too unlike my VERY beginning story tbh. Some things never change :)

✨ Complement your work lol

I feel like this is also the same thing as what I said last time lol, but I really like how my fics handle emotions and mental health.

That stuff is easy for me to write bc I'm just an emotionally/psychologically aware person, but it's also fun I think, both as a writer and a reader, just bc you don't really see fics that are trying to add legit and believable dimension to the character(s) they're writing about. Hell, sometimes you don't even see it done in canon lol. So it's nice to let the fandom experience that kind of stuff if they want it!

#mmmm broccoli 🥦 #thanks for the ask!! #ask game #me irl

[miscellany-of-a-chinese-priest]

Egg fried rice recipe

Yo. This is a recipe for egg fried rice. I originally wanted to post this on November 25, but I couldn't. But I can post it now! Anyways, let's get into it.

Every food culture I've heard of has some dishes designed to efficiently use leftovers and spare ingredients. Fried rice is one such dish. Because of that, don't feel tied down to the exact ingredients I list below. Use whatever you have on hand! That's in the spirit of the dish!

Ingredients

rice

eggs

onion, chopped

garlic, chopped

frozen mixed vegetables

soy sauce

sesame oil

ramen flavoring packet

laoganma (chili crisp)

salt and sugar

Cooking

Before making the fried rice, you'll need to cook about a cup of rice and leave it in the fridge for a few hours at least. Leaving the rice in the fridge dries out the rice, which is good for stir-frying.

Now, to cook!

Add oil to a pan, then turn the heat as high as it goes. Add the chopped garlic and let it fry in the oil for just a few seconds. Then add the rice, which should be nice and dry. Began pushing the food around the pan constantly, being careful to not knock things out of the pan. Depending on how hot your heat source is, you'll want to start adding the rest of the vegetables to the pan in 2-4 minutes, from slowest to fastest cooking.

After the vegetables have been added, give them another 2-4 minutes to fry. (Remember to continue pushing things around the pan, so that everything can have roughly equal exposure to the heat.)

Add your eggs to the pan. (You can also cook them separately — in fact, I recommend doing it separately! It's just more work.)

Add in your flavorings: soy sauce, ramen flavoring packet, laoganma, sesame oil, salt and sugar, in that order. (Go easy on the laoganma or it'll overpower the rest of the dish! I think a single teaspoon is plenty.) Shut off the heat as you combine everything together. Give it several minutes to cool off. That should be it! Enjoy!

Miscellaneous Thoughts on Stir-Frying

This is probably super obvious to everyone else, but it wasn't obvious to me, so I'm going to say it explicitly: stir-frying works by constantly moving ingredients around a hot pan so that everything can get enough exposure to the heat. (How much heat each ingredient gets can be controlled by the cook.)

Do you need a wok to stir-fry? I don't think so, although it will make the process easier and probably make the rice better in the end. I disagree about woks being versatile. They can perform most of the functions of a nonstick pan, yeah, but if you're a Westerner, you probably already have access to a nonstick. A wok would be redundant!

What's the best heat source for stir-frying? In my nonexpert opinion, it seems like gas is the best, even though, yeah, it's basically worse for everything else. (Check out stuff like the 99% Invisible episode about gas cooking for more details.) I have a cheap electric stove and a portable gas stove, and the gas stove heats things up so much faster, and I think I get more wokhei from the gas stove? Maybe if I had a fancier electric stove, it'd be different.

What is wokhei? For the life of me, I don't know. I'm Chinese, there are several pro Chinese cooks in my family, I have stir-fried many dozens of times, and I have read multiple definitions of the term, and I still don't know what the heck it is.

#egg fried rice #fried rice #recipes #misc. subject #egg fried rice protests

[sonicfandompolls]

Info and Rules

(There's ways to give more input on a poll than a vote and even a section on ways I made this blog more accessible!)

Ever had a question you wanted to ask the Sonic fandom? Want to answer some Sonic fandom related questions? Or maybe you'd even like to contribute to some poll answers?

Well if you're interested in any of the above, then this blog is the place for you!

Important note: If you'd rather read this without all the colors (except for a few highlights) I will be making a post without them and a link to it at some point. Also note it will probably take me awhile because of technical junk I dont feel like explaining)

Ways to help make this blog more accessible/easier to read below!

Colors: Mostly used for sectioning stuff, but sometimes highlighting.

A Table of Contents at the end of this section.

For people who don't like blocks of text: Any numbers with a .0 (or potentially higher numbers) at the end are continuations of the original number. I've also segmented each section a bit.

For people who aren't able to view poll results: I will reblog the post with the answers and their vote percentage.

For people who don't know what Q&A stands for and/or how it works: Q&A stands for Questions and Answers. It's typically a section for common questions people might have and a way to have them answered without having to ask.

Notes: They're smaller so it's easier to distinguish them. And yes, I purposefully put this one on the bottom so it could be above the note.

Note: If you have any recommendations to make this blog more accessible just tell me. And if you have some sort of problem but can't think of a way to make it accessible, tell me and I'll either think of or make a post in case someone else has an idea.

Table of contents:

Guidelines on how to contribute.

Rules for contributing

Schedule for poll posting and deadlines

Q&A

My main account and what I do/post there (Note: I feel super bad about self promoting but I think it'd be nice to have more people to interact with my Sonic stuff...)

Tags and their meanings

Guidelines on how to contribute

1: For polls, send me an ask (for yes and no) or submission (for answer options if it isnt a simple yes/no) about a question you have and I'll post it here. Anons are welcome!

2: If you want to contribute in another way, when making a poll of my own I will ask for input on the potential answers. And while there will (almost always) be no concrete time frame for how long these inputs will last, it will most likely depend on how many answers I do or don't get.

2.0: Don't worry if you miss out on the chance to input for an answer! If I get enough answers, I will make another poll including the new answers!

Rules for contributing

1: Nothing sexual.

2: Nothing gory.

3: Nothing very gross.

4: No bad kinds of weird.

And as a general rule: No hating, discriminating, or anything like that is allowed. If I see anyone doing any of these things you will be blocked.

Q&A

Q1: Will you post my username if I ask/submit stuff?

A: Nope! Not unless you want me to. And if you send something and use a username, you can opt for me to privately answer your ask/submission once I've posted your poll so you don't have to constantly check the blog!

Q: What if I'm unsure if my ask breaks rules 3 or 4?

A: Juat ask me what it is and I'll let you know if it's acceptable or not. If you're on anon, then you'll know by if I add it to the answer list.

Note: Feel free to ask me questions! Do note that if it's probably good for the Q&A I might post it here. And yes, 1 applies to this too.

Schedule for poll posting and deadlines

Posting Schedule: To be honest, there is no set schedule. I'll try my best to regularly post polls but there are no guarantees. My goal is to at least get one out once within a week/7 days.

Deadline Schedule: Polls will always be open for a week. Input polls have no set deadline besides one day.

My main account and things I do/post there (Note: I feel bad about promoting myself but I just think it'd be nice to have more interaction. And, uh, hey, maybe you'll be interested in some of it...?)

Main account: @cattyanon

What I typically post: Stuff about Sonic, my Sonic AUs, and the occasional link to a Sonic fic on Ao3 by same username as my main.

What I typically reblog: Sonic stuff, Sonic AUs, things I find funny or cute.

Warnings that I know I have: Gore, body horror, and (probably) other horror related stuff. (Note: If you find anything that needs a trigger warning tag, please tell me/link me the post so I can fix it)

Tags and their meanings (Note: From most self explanatory to least self explanatory)

Info post: The tag to find the two Info and Rules posts. The second on being a mostly colorless variation of the original one.

Poll results: The results of poll, as promised.

My poll: A poll that's something I came up with.

Submission poll: A poll that's something I didnt come up with.

Polls: A tag for all of the polls

Poll input: Where I showcase a potential poll and some answers where people can reccomend answers.

There's also just some general tags like: Sonic, character names, Sonic prime spoilers, and things like that.

#Info post #Poll results #My poll #Submission poll #Poll input