#all these posts need to make it out of drafts so I can unleash this PAIN

[monstersdownthepath]

A collection of Fey entities

A little different from my usual "a collection of..." posts. Making statblocks isn't my forte, surprisingly; I can, but ADHD Hellbrain kicks in and typically prevents me from actually finishing them, my energy and motivation running out typically by the time I need to select feats. A few of the creatures on this list are victims of that very phenomenon, but rather than letting them languish in my drafts forever, I figure I can share what I DO have in the form of lore and some basic ideas.

So, here's a bunch of fairies!

One of them I was going to write down, the Harvest Lords, are a concept I've developed too much for me to put here; they're a group of Archfey with proper domains and Boons, and thus will get their own post. Eventually.

Warnings: There are unsanitary themes in the Brughyorb Gremlin spot, as well as Totagoda. The final entry (Rotten Crick) deals with themes of animal death and allusions to animal torture, dealing specifically with sea life.

Brughyorb Gremlins (CR 1/2 Chaotic Evil Small Fey) are small, round, filthy creatures that are almost all mouth and stomach, resembling fleshy cauldrons when they fully open their mouths and scamper about on their arms and legs, and are thus also known as Cauldron Gremlins, Burplings, and Bowlbellies. Their grinding teeth and powerful jaws are best suited for plant matter (wood is a delicacy to them), but they won't hesitate to feed on whatever carrion they manage to find, even though the majority of what they eat isn't actually digested.

Brughyorb Gremlins hold most of what they shovel into their maws in the first of their two stomachs, where their pungent gut juices fester and melt their food into noxious sludge so malodorous it's actually acidic. Slow and unbalanced even when they're empty, they lay in waiting for an innocent passerby to cross whatever hiding spot they've holed up in before leaping out with a wet shriek, and when their victim inhales in order to scream in surprise, the gremlins unleash a horrific belch directly into the victim's face. Overwhelming nausea is the most common result of such a sensory assault (though especially unlucky ones may catch the fatal Filth Fever), victims disoriented not only by the scare, but their entire world becoming overtaken by an indescribably vile stink, preventing them from fighting back as the gremlin takes whatever it wants from them and scampers off into the shadows, cackling with terrible glee.

Though they're larger than most gremlins, Brughyorb Gremlins are just as cowardly and prone to fleeing whenever someone even moderately well-armed comes along. If a foe proves especially dangerous and their burps aren't cutting it, they'll loose the contents of their stomachs to form slick, acidic pools that carry an eye-watering reek with them to trip up and potentially even kill their pursuers, either immediately through acid damage or eventually through disease. Being directly disgorged upon is an experience so profoundly unpleasant that most beings subjected to it immediately switch careers into something that will prevent this incident from ever happening again... though the fact a Brughyorb's stench is nearly impossible to scrub away and lingers for many weeks means the horrible little beasts can easily track the scent of their past victims in order to get them again.

Despite their foulness, their gut juice is an alchemical reagent highly prized by alchemists for its ability to break down and, with a bit of tinkering, ferment just about any organic matter, making them highly desirable for anyone hoping to create not just powerful acids, but potent fertilizers, fermented foods, or alcohol. Alchemists desiring the gremlin's gut juice, of course, rarely risk seeking it out themselves.

----

Tintink Gremlins (CR 1 Chaotic Evil Tiny Fey) are also known as Nail Gremlins, Sharpener Pixies, Hammerlings, Nailbiters, Sharpies, and other such names. While most fey fear the touch of iron, Tintink Gremlins collect the substance in earnest despite being just as vulnerable to it as any other fey. Contact with cold iron burns and pains them, but rather than shrinking away from it, they revel in it, with many of them boldly wearing sharpened points of cold iron for the specific purpose of terrorizing and bullying other fairies, as well as protecting themselves from being bullied or terrorized by others.

Tintinks are obsessed with the collection and the sharpening of metal pins, tacks, screws, caltrops, and especially nails, pilfering such items from workshops, lumberyards, factories, and even homes. Loose items are of course the easiest for them to get, their tiny backpacks and leather aprons full to bursting with stacks of nails they sweep off workbenches, but they're also prone to using hammers, crowbars, and pliers sized for their tiny hands to wrench fasteners from whatever surface they're embedded in. Their hoarding slowly but surely destroys furniture, floors, rafters, and eventually entire structures one stolen screw at a time, fleeing only when the infested building collapses entirely.

Even when they're not destroying buildings, Tintinks are horrid menaces. Their wretched claws, coarse palms, and rough tongues can shave metal with the ease of a whetstone, and they use these to sharpen whatever points they get ahold of until they can pierce the thick leather of most common shoes or gloves... and they lay them out in preparation to do exactly that, cackling in wicked glee whenever someone impales their feet or hands on their sharps collections.

They are quite dangerous for a gremlin, capable of causing terrible wounds and even deaths if they're sufficiently motivated, but they are easily caught and removed by those who can take advantage of their fairy quirks. Their obsession with sharpening borders on an irresistible compulsion, and many Tintinks have been caught and exterminated by fey hunters leaving out piles of dull nails, bent forks, and chipped knives, which the gremlins cannot help but sit down among and work on, leaving them vulnerable to ambush.

----

Steraba (CR 2 Neutral Good Diminutive Fey) are also known as Honey Fairies, Porridge Pixies, Mice Fey, and other such names. They resemble miniature humanoids with mouse-like features such as dewy eyes, rounded ears, long tails, paws, or combinations thereof (sometimes to the point they're just anthropomorphic mice), scarcely larger than the pests they resemble. Despite their appearance, Steraba are not pests themselves and are in fact one of many helpful fey known as House Spirits, and can be a genuinely helpful force in one's home... if one forgives their tendency to pilfer easily-missed items left in their field of vision.

Steraba make their homes in mouseholes inside occupied buildings, living among families of mice (never rats, they despise rats) which they take great pains to keep safe, healthy, and out of sight of the mortals with whom they share a space. Their lives are spent going on frequent, exciting 'raids' with their mice families (whom they can both communicate with and easily train), scampering unseen through homes like a spy trying to avoid being spotted by guards as they run missions such as 'read the next chapter of a book,' 'steal the button,' 'get to the grain stores,' 'slay the attic spider,' 'push out the rats,' and other such objectives. Between missions, they engage in surprisingly elaborate crafting projects; anything inedible they steal is used to decorate their tiny homes, if not by itself, then as part of a greater project. Unknowing families may have entire miniature art galleries in their walls!

Like most House Spirits, Steraba dislike being seen or acknowledged, and spending too long looking at one or talking about its existence aloud with one's family or neighbors is a sure way to drive it off completely. Even more than this, harming a mouse is a grave insult to the Mouse Pixies, who may respond by pilfering valuable or treasured items with Mage Hand, performing acts of vandalism with Prestidigitation and mundane tools, and even causing painful or humiliating household accidents against repeat and grievous offenders. Treating the mice with the calmness and respect one would treat a neighbor, however, will see a household blessed by the tiny pixies who use their talents--magical and mundane--to slay more harmful pests, drive off more malevolent fey, and provide just as well for their "big families" as they do the "small families." A Steraba can magically turn a single grain into a whole loaf of hot bread or a bowl of nutritious porridge that's filling even for a Medium-sized creature, letting them stretch the most meager of food stores for days or weeks on end, and can conjure small amounts of honey, sugar, and jam each day to assure the meals are never boring. A Steraba who has lived in a home for many years and established a positive relationship with its big family may even begin gifting the mortals with pieces of art it has made, which act as good luck charms so long as the owner takes care to say it was a 'gift from my neighbor' if they are ever asked where the trinket came from.

----

The Filoxenia (CR 11 Neutral Medium Fey) are humanoid fey with golden skin and hair like stalks of wheat, so rare that it was believed there was only one for quite some time. These are fey many cautionary tales are spoken of, fey for whom the Laws of Sacred Hospitality are absolutes and generosity is the holiest of virtues. These fey take on the shapes of beggars, wanderers, and vagrants of various ancestries as they travel the world in the search of kindness, visiting the lowest muckrakers in their hovels, to the meager homes of farmers, to the mansions of nobles and royals to test their treatment of visitors. How, exactly, they perform their tests always varies, but it almost always begins with a simple request: Shelter, just for one night, and a meal of whatever the host can provide, just enough to let them see the next dawn.

The Filoxenia cannot be identified while they're in disguise, their own magic thwarting magical attempts to pierce it; the most reliable way to tell that you've encountered one is the gentle smell of honey and wheat which accompanies them, a scent they take pains to hide with mud and dusty clothes or, in rare cases, perfumes, but which they can never completely cover. Even if you know, however, it is in your best interest to play along and not allow it to sway your decision! Treating your new guest as you would any other is part of the test.

These fey exist to test mortals in their proficiency with and knowledge of the Laws of Sacred Hospitality, and each one has different means of both testing and rendering judgment. More lawful Filoxenia typically treat their task with the utmost of seriousness, and have a mental checklist they gradually move down during their stay in a mortal's home where failing even one step fails the whole test. More chaotic Filoxenia are much more likely to act as unruly guests, assessing the patience of their host, making gradually more unreasonable requests to see just how far the host is willing to go and rendering their judgment based on the host's breaking point; too soon (strict) or too late (lenient) and they fail.

The reward for passing their test is often simple but always beneficial; they may arrange for a parcel of valuable gems to be delivered to the host, repair flaws in their home, or magically enchant a tool or piece of furniture the host owns in a way which will always be useful to them. Impressing the fey may cause them to perform feats such as keeping the host's food stores full for a year and a day, blessing the host with a boon of good luck and health, grant them a useful magical item, blessing their livestock with health and virility, or introducing a helpful House Spirit into the home... but for all their potential blessings, their curses are the stuff of legends and horror stories.

Providing the bare minimum of hospitality is one thing (which earns the stingy host naught but a bowl of gruel or perhaps a new pair of socks for their trouble), but treating the Filoxenia poorly or, most damnably, rejecting their plea for mercy and assistance at one's doorstep? Such a host would be lucky if the worst thing that happened to them was the death of their livestock. An especially offended Filoxenia, such as one physically harmed by the host, can go as far as to curse an entire household to experience grave misfortune which, eventually, will lead to the death of all within in no more than a year.

----

Totagoda, the Uninvited Guest (CR 13 Chaotic Evil Large Fey) is a unique fey entity, an object of both scorn and amusement in the First World and a downright blight in the Universe whenever he deigns to enter it. He is a wild combination of a bloated toad and a gluttonous goat, standing on his back two legs as a man does, with three bulbous eyes always surveying the area as he searches for his next meal, the remains of which are added to the breathtaking tapestry of reeking stains over his clothing and skin.

Totagoda is a gluttonous, wretched beast of a fey, his primary modus operandi involving taking the shape of beggars, wanderers, and vagrants, hoping to gain invitation into the home of unsuspecting mortals who do not realize just what's standing at the door. Unfortunately, as one may surmise from his title, he is quite liberal with determining what qualifies as an 'invitation' into someone's home, with even strained conversation or simply holding a door open for too long becoming cause for him to push past his unfortunate host and slip inside. Only slamming the door in his face and refusing to speak will cause him to move on. Once inside, he takes a seat at the kitchen table and bullies his hosts into providing for him, often relying on the victim's fear or good manners (or both) to prevent them from seeking aid even as he wolfs down whatever food (or anything close to food) they can provide.

Victims of the Uninvited Guest quickly find themselves eaten out of house and home as his loud demands for food grow ever more violent and unreasonable, his monstrous form gradually revealing itself as he gorges himself. By the point he's revealed as a true and literal monster, it's far too late for his host, with him threatening their belongings, their health, or their very lives if they don't comply, the foul fey holding their treasured belongings or even their family members hostage to force their hand. When all the food in the house is exhausted, victims are forced into the marketplaces where they're expected to spend all their remaining money on a further banquet for the fey. Victims who can give no more may find themselves ensorcelled and forced to provide against their will, butchering their livestock, pets, or their unfortunate neighbors to feed Totagoda, until eventually he grows bored with the current fare and snaps up his host whole and alive with his massive tongue, moving on and leaving any surviving family members nothing but a destroyed home and horrific memories.

Sending out invitations to a party or celebration when Totagoda is stalking an area is a dangerous affair, because no matter the intended celebration, one can be assured it will end in tragedy and horror; many malevolent fey have, in fact, wielded the Uninvited Guest as a weapon by gifting him invitations to the party of a rival or hated enemy. When feeling especially peckish and shameless, he will use the public nature of taverns, restaurants, markets, and other such spaces where food may be found to barge in and begin stuffing his face, using threats, charming magic, or outright mystic domination against the owners, forcing them to ignore his crimes until they become too great to rationalize even with his spellwork clouding their minds. He prefers the 'thrill' of forcing his way into the homes of helpless mortals who cannot seek aid to feed him, using public eateries as a last resort, as he despises the concept of experiencing consequences (which is why he flees the First World as much as possible; he has made many enemies among Archfey and Eldest). Despite his considerable power and unnatural resilience, Totagoda is a coward and a bully, and at the first sign of any trouble (even trouble he could easily deal with) he is more likely to flee than fight, flinging his disease-ridden, acidic dung and unleashing nauseating belches at any pursuers until he can finally escape.

----

That Old and Rotten Crick, (CR 15 Neutral Evil Medium Fey), also known as Rotten Old Crick (and variants thereof), the Devil Fisherman, the Demon Angler, the Barnacle, Captain Hook, and a thousand other names with varying levels of fear or vitriol, is among one of the strangest denizens of the First World. Appearance-wise, he is a humanoid being, though not a hint of true flesh can be seen through the coverall-clothing of an angler that he wears; what isn't covered by clothes is studded with barnacles or coral growth. His vest is adorned by countless hooks, flies, whatever equipment he wishes to keep on hand rather than in his beaten up but magical tacklebox (the Artifact known as the Tomb of Karaphas), and extra parts for his Artifact-level fishing rod and primary weapon, the Tidepool Reaper. His face (if he has one) perpetually hidden in the shadow of his fishing cap, and he speaks with the smooth cadence of a devil and maniacal purpose of a daemon.

Nearly an Archfey in terms of power, Rotten Crick does not seek influence and remains outside of whatever political nonsense the others have going on... though his actions have a great many Archfey and even one of the Eldest furious with his very existence. Rotten Crick, you see, despises all life in the sea, especially the lives of any creature which could be called a 'fish.' His absolute hatred for all sealife has earned him a many enemies among waterway guardians and sea-dwelling fey, but just as many allies, though not for the reasons one may think; many stories circulate across many worlds of a mysterious angler approaching a fisherman or sailor with promises of rods, reels, baits, hooks, and nets which will assuredly catch enough fish to feed not only them, but their families and the families of their neighbors as well. Indeed, Rotten Crick has no animosity towards most mortal life, and is actually quite amicable, willing to help any down-on-their-luck man on the coast fish enough to live, or even make a business! There are rare stories of him going out of his way to save fishermen whose lives are endangered by the sea... but it is all for the singular goal of eliminating as many fish as possible and inspiring others to do the same. He will sit with other mortal anglers for many hours, fishing alongside them and making occasional, casual conversation, but anyone who knows what they're dealing with is advised to keep it casual, because any extended conversation with him will gradually turn towards alarmingly enthusiastic diatribes on how terribly fish suffer when hooked and dragged from the water, or disturbingly thorough explanations of the many deaths caused by sea beasts all over the world, in order to justify their torture and extermination.

He doesn't even eat any of his catches, enraged by the very idea of putting a fish in his body. If there is no one nearby to gift them to, he either abandons them on the shore to rot or, if feeling especially spiteful, slices them apart with fillet knives and hooks and leaves the disassembled bodies for the birds. He holds no love for creatures he calls "betrayers," which includes dolphins, whales, and seals, such unfortunates earning swift and terrible ends by his hands. Intelligent sea beings, especially merfolk, are in danger of torturous disassembly while still alive, as he draws sadistic joy from hearing their cries.

Why, precisely, he harbors such irrational hatred for sealife is something he has never explained to anyone who's asked, and likely never will. At the very least, any grand and far-reaching plans he may actually have to depopulate the seas of Golarion are slow going, if they're happening at all, held back by the sadism and hatred which drives him; it has been explained to him many times (primarily by daemons) that he could efficiently depopulate the seas by way of pollution, poison, and industrial expansion, but his hate is so great that he seems to prefer the more visceral, personal approach.

#original concepts

[lucky-bishop]

messy draft monday

Thanks for the tags @like-lazarus and @dear-massacre! I am absolutely a mess today (on brand for me) so I'm posting late but I'm still posting! Not tagging anyone bc it's so late but if you'd like to do it feel free!

From some progress I made recently on my "Stiles gets bit by a grindr hookup" Steter fic!

Stiles firmly does not want to call Peter, but he is one of his alphas, and that deserves respect. Peter picks up on the fourth ring, voice bleary with sleep although a bit more put together than Scott, and Stiles winces. He’s cracked enough jokes before about Peter and his beauty sleep to know that the alpha genuinely hates having his sleep interrupted, but he knows it’d be worse if he didn’t call immediately. “Stiles? It’s two o’clock in the morning. Shouldn’t you be out carousing with your human friends?” “So, about that, I actually was, and then I decided to come home and hook up with this guy who was close on grindr, and - “ “Stiles, we’ve been over this. You don’t need to report all of your sexual exploits to the entire packs, and frankly - “ “He bit me, Peter. He’s an alpha, and I’m turning. I’m not showing any signs of bite rejection, but I wanted you to know - “ The call disconnects before Stiles can say another word, and he sighs heavily. Peter will be here soon enough, and since he still seems like he’s doing alright, it’s time to get Spencer out of here before the Hale alpha shows up. Stiles gets out of bed, wincing at the bite that hasn’t started healing yet on his side, and makes his way out to the living room. “Looks like I’m gonna turn and be fine. You should give me your contact info and then get out of here.” “Wait, you want my number? I didn’t think you’d want to see me again.” “Because you’ll have to help in the ritual to transfer me to one of my packs, dude.” Stiles cuts him off. “Oh,” Spencer replies, then digs his phone out of his pocket and hands it to Stiles, who does the same back. They exchange their information, and then Spencer makes a half-hearted protest to stay, which Stiles completely dismisses. There's no way an unfamiliar alpha werewolf - who fucking bit him nonetheless - is sticking around. Plus Stiles doesn't hate the guy, and he wouldn't unleash a tired and incredibly pissed off Peter Hale on somebody unless he really had a bone to pick with them. “Trust me, dude, you do not want to be here when my alpha gets here.” That’s enough to get him to leave, thankfully. Stiles doesn't think about calling Peter "his alpha" - he and Scott both are, of course, and Peter is the one that's going to show up right away. Scott will show up, too, but Stiles downplayed the urgency to him. He downplayed it to Peter, too, of course, but Peter is much less inclined to believe him on behalf of his general personality.  There's some pain from the bite, but it's not unbearable. Stiles' confidence in his survival increases every minute. The mark hasn't started healing quite yet, but it's not bleeding anymore, and he's not showing any signs of rejection, thankfully. Stiles cleans himself up as best he can - both from the hookup and from the bite - gets dressed in his comfy clothes because even though he knows Peter will have several things to say about the way he's dressed, and waits. He's not left waiting too long before there's a frantic knocking at his door. He jumps to answer it and Peter pushes his way into his space immediately, grabbing at Stiles and looking him over.  "Where did he bite you? Is it healing properly?" Stiles shoulders Peter off of him and gets the door closed - he doesn't want to disturb the neighbors. He lifts up his shirt to show off the bite to Peter, who immediately drops to inspect it. In the time since Stiles has stopped monitoring it so closely, it's started to slowly heal. Peter breathes out a relieved sigh, then glares up at Stiles from his position on the floor. "How could you let this happen?" And Stiles is not going to put up with that bullshit. "I didn't let anything happen. I thought I was having a normal, human hookup! When he asked if he could bite me I thought it was going to be hot. Not this. I never - I guess - I mean I thought since I escaped it for so long - " "I'm sorry, that was out of line." And Peter's apologizing, now? Maybe Stiles actually is going to die.

#my writing #steter #wip #teen wolf

[jefferythejelly]

ok more kidfic: do u have any pregnancy hcs? Especially for Foolish bc I've only rarely seen him as a dad :3

u have no idea what u've just unleashed 90% of the brainrot bulletpoint list i have for this au is pregnancy headcanons asjdfadkjs

this is like 90% just copy pasted from that bulletpoint list and slightly edited and also i've had this document since may of last year and have been slowly adding on to it every once in a while since then so FAIR WARNING this post is Quite Long

they try decorating the nursery themselves but neither of them know what to get or how to make it cute so then foolish calls up tina who eventually just makes them call up an interior designer XD

can you imagine them telling their friends abt it. can u imagine how cute auntie tina would be. she would be taking it so serious like she doesnt want any of the responsibility but she wants to be like the cool aunt y'know

random tidbit but i can so imagine a conversation between tina and foosh where they start talkin about the phrase "buns in the oven." like i think tina would think that phrase is really cute. i think that phrase is really cute tbh. hes got buns in the oven :>

following in the vein of nervous-but-excited-newly-pregnant-couple them going to foolish's prenatal care appointments and taking his health like super seriously. also ultrasounds. i dont think either of them would Cry cry but theyd maybe get a little teary eyed lookin at their kids for the first time

on some more classic omegaverse bullshit: punz had always been a bit possessive/protective as a partner and that very much continues once theyre mates and foolish is pregnant. like really frequently is holding his hand or has an arm around him, tries to be really doting and get him whatever he asks. not as common when theyre in public but one of his fave things to do is hug foolish from behind with his hands on his stomach

i'd imagine they have a few arguments esp when foolish is hormonal and does/says shit that annoys punz and he cant understand why. they work it out tho, bc they love each other <3

in the time leading up to foolish's due date his nesting instincts go crazy. theres nests everywhere in the whole house. when hes not sitting chilling in a nest hes making a new one or readjusting one

(this one is real long bc it is a vaguely drafted out scene oops) foolish's water breaks on stream/at least when he's in vc on someone else's stream bc like. i deffo think it would. u think this man would take a break? like the streams would get shorter especially as his hormones and instincts get more fucky but he would still be trying to be on that grindTM. and (bcuz this is the part i actually vaguely researched) he's been having like the irregular not actually real contractions (theres a name im forgetting it rn) so hes gotten used to just like feeling them, noting when the time is, and brushing it off when it doesnt happen again. so he's in vc with someone, i'm thinking tina lets just say tina, and he's in the middle of laughing really hard at a joke, but abruptly cuts off his windexing when he feels the whole "rush of fluid" thing and is all like o_o and tina's all like "foolish? you okay?" when he stops laughing like that and foolish is like "uh. i think my water just broke?" which makes tina go all "wait What?! like- like the baby's coming?" "yeah" "foolish!" (chat is freaking out. monkaS monkaW fukW) "shouldnt you like, go to the hospital?" "yeah, uh, bye chat!" (chat has been yelling at him since he said his water broke to end stream) he yells for punz who ofc comes rushing into the room like "whats going on do you need something" and when foolish tells him his water just broke he starts freaking out a little and then foolish has a contraction right then (is that realistic timing tbh its been a while since i did that google search. what i do remember is that theres apparently apps for timing contractions like isnt that neat. anyways) but then theyre like "sorry tina bye!" and then tinas like "good luck!" (is that a normal thing to say idk. even if it isnt it could be funny hashtag awkward girl swag /affectionate) and then they like drive to the hospital and stuff

i just have this image of like the night they come back from the hospital both of them in their nest with the babies laying between them oughhhhhh

listen i just think this is really cute but punz sitting on the edge of the hospital bed while foolish is in labor so he can lean into him and calm down with his scent

actually thought abt it a bit more and mayb this is more general omegaverse hcs but like i think omegas would have an instinct to give birth in a nest which obv is harder to do while also having the support of modern medicine in a hospital but maybe it is more normalized to bring some blankets/pillows/clothes/what have you to make a lil temporary nest in the hospital bed

foolish is way more absentminded/no thoughts head empty than usual (like forgets what hes saying in the middle of a sentence bad) bc of fucked up hormones pregnancy brain

he tries having one or two blankets wrapped around him on stream to be sort of like a temporary nest when his instincts start going wacky. sometimes it works sometimes he accidentally gets too sleepy and begrudgingly admits that he should probably end stream bc he can barely think thru the omega nesting instinct brain fog

actually on that note i think there a couple of times where punz basically forces him to take a break from streaming. it never lasts very long

i have decided that the timing of their baby is such that foolish is like 7/8 months when christmas rolls around bc i was at family christmas brainrotting what it would be like for them to have like cute domestic family christmas while foolish is still pregnant. he falls asleep on the couch leaning against punz's shoulder after dinner its very cute

they maybe do a thing where like they have christmas with one family on eve and one on day and have a slightly chaotic nighttime flight? do the flight times work out for that idk. but its bc their families wanna see them bc theyre all excited for the baby awwww

wait just remembered the whole scene i had imagined for this where they land in mass super late at night/early morning and once they get back to punz's parents house p much immediately go to bed but foolish cant sleep bc the babies keep moving and kicking and punz scootches down so hes all curled up next to his tummy and purrs at them so that they calm down and foolish can sleep

at the end of his pregnancy foolish is just like capital d Done like get these babies out my back hurts im tired my belly is fuckin huge. ive got tits now

punz very happily gives him back massages tho <3 even if he sometimes gets overdramatically whiny about it first

foolish is one day horrified to realize none of his usual foods are appealing and he is instead craving some weird ass food combo

when foolish starts showing more and its gonna be harder to hide on stream they do a cute lil classic pregnancy announcement photo where punz like has his hands around him on his belly (maybe taken by karl? or someone? i just realized i have no idea where i hc them living like i guess its always been vaguely nc but idk if thats like. necessary? idk whatever) but im imagining the one they end up posting isnt even one of the ones they were posing for its like a candid one where theyre looking at each other over foolishs shoulder or like laughing or something idk its cute its not staged and weird lookin

oh also at some point punz convinces foolish to do a maternity photoshoot (well kind of. its just punz taking pics of him in his underwear bc he maybe has a Thing for heavily pregnant foolish) and at first foolish feels kinda embarrassed and silly and punz keeps complimenting him and making him flustered (i have a couple of lil doodles of this + a few other ones related to this au in a sketchbook somewhere but i dont feel like digging them out + taking pics rn ajfsbajskb)

final note would like everyone to know as i was typing this foolish lost his water bucket in mc and he phrased it like "my water just broke" and chat was all like "wow congratulations whos the father." like what are the chances. also why is he like this. also can u really blame me for making this au when he is like this

#long post #its under a read more but still. i just feel bad postin it cuz its so long and i know im prob the only one who cares as much as i do abt it #this au is actually quite close to my heart in the fact that it is so self indulgent so posting this feels a bit like flaying myself open #but i am being brave i am cringe but i am free etc #also i know u dont watch it but its funny to me that ur saying u've rarely seen him as a dad when for a year hes been logging onto #a mc server where he roleplays as a dad lmao #asks #funz #should i start a tag for this au idk. idek what to call it like the document title is just 'funz pregnancy slash kidfic brainrot' lmao

[tackypies]

Tacky i NEED to hear more about your opinions on Andersen and his stories. Your post on the Snow Queen got me HOOKED

god forgive me for what i'm about to unleash <audhd

hc andersen has been pigeonholed into being a children-only author by english speakers because of poor translations and european attitudes towards fairy tales. if we're to understand the complexity of his stories, we need to understand a bit about hca as a man, because every single story he's written is autobiographical in some shape, way, or form. he cannot be removed from his stories, because his stories ARE him

hc andersen was born in the provincial danish town of odense in 1805, which lagged behind the "modern" world. it was a unique city because it retained the rural traditions and superstitions of the local folk while also serving as a gathering place for cosmopolitan nobles and rich merchants. this was crucial to hca's development bc he was exposed to one of the few theaters in all of denmark, was able to mingle with the upper classes, and was able to learn his folk roots through stories and practices

his father was a cobbler who harbored dreams of going to school, but never made it. his mother was an illiterate washerwoman, pious and superstitious. hca was a single child - very rare for the time! - and as a result his parents pampered him the best they could despite living in the slums. his father often read stories to him and created puppet theaters out of scrap, while his mother exposed him to folk traditions. there's so much more i could say about his parents, but needless to say his upbringing had such a huge impact on him that you can see them again and again as characters in his stories

andersen was not a typical child. he was dreamy, he was gawky and large, he wove flower garlands and sewed clothes for dolls instead of playing with other boys, and he harbored delusions of grandeur which were encouraged by his family, that he was destined for Greater Things. he was heavily bullied by all the other kids and from an early age on, he sought the company of middle and upper class families by performing (i.e. singing, putting on a show) for them. he IS the ugly duckling. i'm skipping a great deal of things, but long story short is, from an early age hca learned to perform for others in order to be seen as Special and Wanted. he left for copenhagen at the age of 14 to make his "debut" as an actor - despite knowing no one - and had to beg and perform his way into upper class homes once again to garner their pity and financial support

this couldn't have worked out for him in another time. when andersen arrived in copenhagen, the romantic movement was burgeoning. there was the belief that talent could be nurtured and grown if a student was Properly Civilized, and hca happened to be an excellent charity case. he eventually caught the eye of the collins family, who funded his schooling

there's so so many events i'm skipping over once again for the sake of brevity, but the long and short of it is that hca's success as an author - and his financial stability - depended on the collins' patronage for a very long time, to the point where he gained an obsession/crush on edvard collins, the man charged with helping andersen's career. i'm talking about "sending homoerotically charged letters to the guy when he's about to be married and being denied an invitation to said wedding bc the family's afraid you'll cause a scene and make an embarrassment, and also bc you wrote your first draft of the little mermaid based on your conversations with said guy" levels of crush.

as a queer, neurodivergent writer, andersen resonates with me so much. he's very much a writer for those on the outskirts of society. he expressed disapproval over the united states forcing native americans out of their territories and sympathized heavily with jews, at a time when religious tolerance wasn't high. he struggled with his attraction to men and women (he once wrote to edvard collins he desired to kiss him as if edvard were a woman and had an affair with a male dancer in his later years) and his own expression of masculinity, per the gender roles of 19th century europe, and frequently referred to himself as having a "feminine nature" - though this shouldn't be taken as him identifying as a woman (more on that later maybe?)

his stories are heavily christian in their message and symbolism, but you have to remember that this was the cultural language at the time. his relationship with faith can also be seen as his attempt to find faith in humanity - and he has SUCH a rocky relationship with faith throughout his lifetime. his stories are social commentaries as much as entertainment for children - and his later tales illustrate his more metaphorical, cynical side. just look at this chilling summary of "the most incredible thing":

this is commentary that stands true even to this day! holy shit!

if you want to read more about hca, i highly recommend the following books:

hca is a fascinating author who, unfortunately, suffered gravely from poor translations and preconceived notions of what fairy tales are. when you read his stories, you have to read them understanding that 1) how andersen portrays his characters is often reflective of his OWN childhood experiences and 2) what andersen writes is an excising of his internal struggles and questions - questions of faith, of his sexuality, of his views on society, of feeling like an outsider who must always perform up until the very end of his life. his struggles are human - and that's why his stories have such power even to this day

all in all:

(from wullschlager's intro to nunnally's translation:)

biographies

hans christian andersen: european witness - paul binding

hans christian andersen: the life of a storyteller - jackie wullschlager

hans christian andersen: a new life - jen andersen

translations

hans christian andersen: fairy tales - tiina nunnally

the annotated hans christian andersen - maria tatar

#asks #vivienna-vivid #im so sorry. im deranged #hans christian andersen

[jackjolene]

BioShock/Sinking City/Vampyr - Ultimate Evil AU

I’ve had this one sitting in my drafts for a while now. I was hoping to finish my main story for BioShock/Sinking City/Vampyr first before posting this one, but this is too perfect for Halloween to wait. 

In my BioShock/Sinking City/Vampyr multiverse, this is the worst possible world. Here, we’ve got Bad Ending Jack, Worst Ending Delta, Worst Ending Reid, and Abandonment Ending Charles. Of course, the worst ending in Sinking City is Annihilation, but that pretty much destroys the world long before the events of BioShock and BioShock 2 can take place, so here we go! 

Subject Delta chose to harvest every Little Sister he came across, destroying not only his soul, but Eleanor’s conscience as well. After forcibly assimilating her father’s ADAM and taking his powers and knowledge for herself, Eleanor leaves in Sinclair’s craft. 

Taking inspiration from Sinclair, she then sells Rapture’s technology to the highest bidder, raising much-needed cash. To her surprise, the winner of the auction is none other than Jack Ryan, and he’s not too happy about the amount of money he had to spend in order to maintain his monopoly on Rapturian technology.

In Rapture, Jack Wynand chose to harvest every Little Sister he came across, gaining power at the expense of the innocent and helpless. Tenenbaum took the Little Sisters she had saved and fled Rapture while Jack’s splicers, bribed with Fontaine’s ADAM, aided him in boarding and hijacking an American nuclear submarine.

After making it back to the States, Jack killed the splicers and then began rebuilding Ryan Industries with the money he gained from selling the submarine and its warheads. Jack had embraced both of his “fathers”, Andrew Ryan and Frank Fontaine, taking up the former’s surname and the latter’s ruthlessness and business strategy. Jack Ryan, the secret son of Andrew Ryan, rose to rebuild his father’s company after his untimely death with amazing new technologies, supplementing his income with crime, especially in the production and sale of a horrifying new drug, produced in the bellies of kidnapped little girls.

After the auction, Jack meets with Eleanor, learning that they are both children of Rapture. Eleanor is surprised and happy to learn that Jack is very similar to her; he was her inspiration for escaping Rapture, and he is just as ruthless and power hungry as she is. Seeing the other’s similarities to themselves, and also the potential benefits, Jack decides to mentor Eleanor and nurture her ambition and power.

Through Jack and his connections, Eleanor gains an introduction into the world of high society, business, and politics as his ward, “Eleanor Ryan”. With Eleanor, Jack gains good PR for adopting an orphan, a veritable genius to aid Ryan Industries’ R&D department, an agent to carry out the most dangerous and illegal of criminal assignments, and finally a protege to carry on after him.

And in private, the two of them find...comfort, with each other.

While at university, Eleanor meets a “Johannes Van Der Berg”, who she senses knows far more than he lets on. From him, she begins to learn about things far from the beaten path, old, mystical, and eldritch things. Through him, she learns of an isolated Massachusetts town, cut off from the world since the ‘20s, and of the secrets hidden within.

After piecing together the little puzzles that Van Der Berg gives her to solve, Eleanor learns of the greatest secret of all time - a way to gain ultimate power, to become a literal demigod. It would also involve unleashing a horror beyond comprehension upon the world and destroying Humanity, but that’s of small consequence when becoming a being of untold power.

Eleanor knows that Jack wouldn’t go for it, though. As power hungry as he is, he likes the life he has built well enough and wouldn’t be willing to destroy the world to become a near-god. Being a powerful CEO/crime lord is enough for him, but Eleanor believes in dreaming big, and she’ll need the resources of Ryan Industries to realize her dream. And all she has to do is kill Jack and two other men.

From Johannes, she learns that in order to unleash this “Hidden Daughter”, she needs to become the “Seed” - a person who was chosen to choose whether to awaken the Hidden Daughter or to restart the Cycle. However, the Seed of this Cycle, a man by the name of Charles Reed, chose to walk away. Because of him, there is a zone of unnatural flooding and reports of monsters extending from somewhere in Massachusetts.

In order to become the Seed, Eleanor will need to take the essence of the Seed from him. A man by the name of “Ebernote Blackwood” tried and failed to do so; however, Reed’s decision to walk away has made the forces that chose him willing to allow another to become the Seed. All Eleanor needs are the abilities of an “Ekon”, a vampire, and she will be able to become the Seed herself and finish what Charles refused to do.

Johannes knows of the perfect man-well, Ekon, for the job: Dr. Jonathan Reid, who terrorized the night shortly after the First World War in 1918.  A heartless monster, he used his silver tongue and gifts of medicine to keep the citizens of London alive and healthy while he learned their secrets to maximize the purity of their blood for maximum power. Not even his own mother, butler, and best friend were safe from him. After losing his vampiric love, Reid returned to war-torn Europe to take out his rage and thirst on any unfortunate enough to cross his path.

All Eleanor needs is for him to turn her into an Ekon. The good news is that Dr. Reid doesn’t need to be willing; all she needs to do is to take his blood. And with her Big Sister needle, that’ll be as easy as pie should he refuse her.

Jack is the first to go. On the anniversary of the day they met, Eleanor and Jack, her hero, her inspiration, her ward, her mentor, , and her secret lover, have one last roll in the hay. After Jack falls asleep, Eleanor takes out her Big Sister needle and aims to kill Jack with one good jab and take his ADAM too. It turns out Jack wasn’t as deeply asleep as she thought, and the NYC penthouse where they reside becomes the site of their battle. Bullets riddle the walls, fire and electricity burn the furniture, and in the end, Eleanor stands triumphant over Jack’s body, his ADAM and mind joining Delta’s.

With Ryan Industries’ connections in the media, Eleanor is able to pass off Jack’s death as an assassination at the hands of Soviet agents, tears running down her face on live TV. Later, she is completely dry-eyed as she officially inherits Ryan Industries and all its assets, both legal and illegal.

With Ryan Industries’ resources at her fingertips, Eleanor is able to fully devote herself to the search for Dr. Jonathan Reid and Charles Reed. Finding Reed is easy enough; after Boston flooded, he’s stayed one step ahead of the strange events extending outwards from Massachusetts. As he’s useless without the bloodthirst of an Ekon, Eleanor orders her men to keep an eye on Reed, while the search for Dr. Reid continues.

Finally, after some hints from Van Der Berg, Dr. Jonathan Reid is found. Eleanor is able to set up a meeting between herself and the good doctor. Eleanor finds him charming, in the same way that she is charming: All polite words and gestures, with a tension like a coiled snake waiting to strike. 

Dr. Reid listens politely to Eleanor as she outlines her offer to him: In exchange for turning her into a vampire, an Ekon, he will gain access to Ryan Industries’ connection with the Human trafficking business - they have to get their little girls for ADAM production from somewhere, after all. He’ll be eating well and easily for as long as Ryan Industries exists.

After giving her offer, Dr. Reid smiles and tells Eleanor that while her offer is generous, he prefers to hunt his prey rather than have it handed to him - and then he grabs at her. Putting his hand to her forehead, he begins to try and override her mind so that he may more easily feed on her. He is surprised when he is resisted and then thrown back - while she may have drained their ADAM against their will and imprisoned their minds within her subconscious, Jack and Delta aren’t going to let some bloodsucker kill their girl.

The fight between Eleanor and Dr. Reid is very different from her fight with Jack; Dr. Reid’s Ekon abilities are a far cry from the powers granted by plasmids and gene tonics, blood and shadow giving him advantages that no splicer could hope to have. Despite these advantages, however, the combination of Eleanor’s original Big Sister powers, Delta’s powers, and Jack’s powers, is more than enough to beat him. 

After draining Dr. Reid of every ounce of his blood, Eleanor sets his body alight with Incinerate! She watches as one of the most powerful vampires of the modern age burns to ash before injecting the contents of her Big Sister needle into her veins. The rush is nothing like anything she’s ever experienced before. In fact, the last time she was as close to death was when Sofia Lamb smothered her.

Upon awakening, Eleanor feels like Hell itself. She is beyond thirsty, the only color she can see other than black and white is red from bloodstains, and other than the strange chanting, everything she hears is muted and distant. 

Upon leaving the meeting room, a group of silhouettes approach her, each black with a cardiovascular system within. One of them moves to help her from falling, and that’s when she falls upon its neck, bites down, and drinks deeply. A few minutes later, the color comes back to the world and the horrified cries of her bodyguards reach her ears. Standing up from the bloodless body of one of her bodyguards, even as his final thoughts sound through her mind and his memories are archived in her mind, she orders them to have someone remove it.

A few things change. Eleanor can no longer go outside when the sun is out, so she conducts business from the safety of her office and board room with the blinds drawn. She only appears for social events if they take place while the sun is down. She no longer eats, now drinking blood from the poor souls that she orders from the Human traffickers they buy from and faking a lack of appetite during social dinners. With every new victim, her new powers grow and adapt.

She finds her final victim trying to ward off his hallucinations and memories with alcohol in a seedy bar. In his state, it’s easy to overwhelm Charles Reed’s mind and walk him out the door and into an alley. Despite the state of his mind and body, Reed’s blood gives her the most she’s ever had from a meal. The Seed dies in a dirty alleyway, and a new one stands over his cooling corpse, looking down at him as she reviews his memories.

When Charles Reed chose to abandon his destiny and leave Oakmont, he wasn’t alone. He took Joy Hayden with him and tried to build a life with her back in Boston, but the madness stayed with him, prompting him to take up drink to cope. His relationship with Joy soured and she left him, their unborn son going with her. That son, “Jonathan Hayden”, is none other than Johnny Topside, Subject Delta. Without a father in his life to teach him the value of justice, Jonathan Hayden never developed an instinct to protect the innocent, hence his ability to harvest Little Sisters. Eleanor looks down at her “grandfather” one last time before leaving him alone.

The next night, a fully empowered Eleanor Ryan leads Ryan Private Security as they penetrate the security measures set up around the “Massachusetts Quarantine and Disaster Zone”, making for the very center of it. Between her powers and the armaments her men possess, Eleanor has no doubt of accomplishing her mission.

Over the past 50 years, Oakmont has gone ever further into Hell. The floodwater have only deepened and the rain is now a permanent torrential downpour (or a blizzard during the winter). The Wylebeasts haunt the entire city now; few places are safe from them. Those originally trapped in the city are all dead, their surviving descendants now few in number and all members of the various cults that sprang up as social order finally dissolved. In the wake of Charles’ flight from Oakmont, stagnation, decay, and insanity now rule the day.

Eleanor Ryan and Ryan Private Security hit the city like a thunderclap, their boats and helicopters making landfall and complements of troops and drones swarming into the city. The Wylebeasts emerge from their hiding places, ready for a fresh meal, only to be slaughtered in droves by Eleanor’s powers and her men’s bullets. Crazed cultists attack in droves, only for Ryan Private Security Drones to swarm them. A few hapless men fall to the beasts, to the cultists, and to the tentacles that dwell in the water, but Eleanor calls for no retreat.

While her men and drones slaughter the beasts and the cultists, Eleanor retraces Charles steps, his memories guiding her all the way to Cthygonnaar. As she slips beneath the water in her new and improved Big Sister suit, Eleanor smiles at the irony of her returning to the waves once more.

It’s easy for Eleanor to avoid going mad from the strange, huge sea creatures that live beneath Oakmont; she’s got Delta, Jack, Dr. Reid, and Charles playing defense in her mind. As for the aggressive fish that patrols the waters, she does what Charles was unable to do and kills it. With that done, she proceeds into  Cthygonnaar.

Despite all her preparations, Eleanor was not ready for the sheer horror of  Cthygonnaar. She walks through a recollection of Rapture, London and Oakmont, memories of Delta, Sofia Lamb, Grace Holloway, Stanley Poole, Dr. Alexander Gilbert, Father Simon Wales, and even herself, accosting her mentally, saying things that she remembers perfectly, and things she has no memory of. Worse, the memories of Delta, Jack, Dr. Reid, and Charles Reed haunt her as well. Scenes of atrocities committed in London during the Skal Epidemic, in Oakmont when the Flood arrived, and in Rapture during the Civil War. Then, a long walk as citizens of London, Oakmont, and Rapture give into despair.

The last is a woman whose clothing changes from a young girl’s dress, to an Edwardian ensemble, then to a Rapturian outfit, and finally to the Rapturian outfit but torn and stained with dirt and blood.

“This world values children, not childhood,” the woman says, her eyes blank and cold. “There’s a profit to be made...and men who make it.”

After she disappears, Eleanor ventures into a pit of bones, of the Seeds who came before her. She looks up at the memory of one sacrificing himself to restart the cycle, this cosmic wheel of blood, shakes her head, and continues forward.

At the crossroads, she removes the Seal from the pedestal which Charles had chosen, allowing him to escape his destiny. The first Seed to choose not to sacrifice himself, and he chooses to run away? “Pathetic,” Eleanor says to herself.

She takes the Seal to the middle pedestal, the one in front of the cyclopean, eldritch door. Further on, she can see the pedestal that’s been chosen before again and again, the one that would restart the cycle.

Without a second thought, Eleanor places the Seal on the middle pedestal and the massive door slowly rises. Eleanor walks forward, ready to greet the Hidden Daughter. From the strange, ghostly shadows emerges dozens upon dozens of tentacles, surrounding a huge circular maw. Rising into the air, Eleanor screams as she feel her body being destroyed on a molecular level before being drawn into the Hidden Daughter’s mouth.

Back up in Oakmont, the personnel of Ryan Private Security look up at the huge incoming tidal wave and scream in fear. The cultists cheer with insane joy and triumph, and the wylebeasts give up one last roar just before the waves engulfs them all. First Oakmont, then Massachusetts, and finally the entire eastern coast of the continental United States is consumed by the monstrous wave.

From the waves now covering the completely sunken city, the Hidden Daughter, Cthylla, the greatest of all the children of Cthulhu the Dreamer, emerged from the depths. Johannes Van Der Berg appeared to greet her, casting off his suit, both the one of cloth and the one of false Humanity, revealing his true self: Hastur, the King in Yellow. For an eternity, he waited patiently for her to be allowed into the world, so that they could finally consummate their nuptials. The kiss they share is loving, and beyond disgusting.

Far off in the Pacific Ocean, the Dreamer Himself, Cthulhu awakens and rises to the surface, beginning his journey. After all, he is needed to give his daughter away to her new husband now. This wedding will be one to remember the world, and reality, over.

A little ways away from Hastur and Cthylla, Eleanor, or the Thing Who Was Eleanor, rises from the wave herself. The pain of destruction had quickly given way to the bliss of creation as the Daughter remade Eleanor in her own image. 

Eleanor became a fusion of Human traits, and of the Great Old Ones. The upper half of her face could pass for Human, were it not so big and only had one pair of eyes. Her mouth, on the other hand, was now like a great leech’s, and could protrude out from her face like a butterfly’s proboscis. The form of her upper torso was still Human, but colored black and green and perpetually moist. Her legs were gone, replaced by a multitude of tentacles, almost like a living, squirming long skirt. More eyes and leech mouths dotted her body; when a mouth or eye closed, it would open to reveal that it had become the other. The palms of her hands now each had one such eye/mouth, and her nails were replaced with huge great claws. Two huge wings like a bat’s extended out from her back, perfect for flying through the air or swimming underwater.

Eleanor could feel her power, now increased beyond anything she could have ever imagined or comprehended before. Her senses, Human and Vampiric, are greater than ever, allowing her to see the entire electromagnetic spectrum and beyond, to hear sounds and thoughts from a continent away, to taste emotions and thoughts, to feel the Earth’s, Moon’s, and Sun’s gravitational and magnetic fields, to smell the decay of the atoms, and so much more. 

She admires her new form in her reflection before looking back up. It’s exactly like the day she escaped from Rapture, the sun now hidden behind a dark bank of clouds, water pouring from the sky, lightning flashing, and now corpses rising from the ruins of a destroyed city to float on the water’s surface. The world had indeed changed, and they had never seen her coming.

Half an ocean away, as Brigid Tenenbaum, Charles Milton Porter, Subject Artemis, and Geoffrey McCullum battle Orrin Lutwidge and his Mutants, they are all struck by a realization that something horrible has happened. Rapture itself then shakes around them as a huge shape ascends from the chasm where Sinclair built Persephone, its bright glow dimming as it awakens. The four would-be saviors of a dying city, having spent years building a new Thinker to create the cure for ADAM, are almost overwhelmed by a single, huge thought.

Tonight, the Good Hunter joins the Hunt.

#halloween post #bioshock #BioShock 2 #the sinking city #vampyr #jack wynand #jack ryan #subject delta #johnny topside #eleanor lamb #Charles Reed #dr jonathan reid #everyone is evil here #except charles #he just ran away from oakmont and his destiny #i would love to hear feedback about this #everything just seemed to fit together #worst ending eleanor is perfect for this #thoughts? #johannes van der berg #who can guess what the last paragraph is referencing?

[bts5sosempire]

helloo(๑> <๑), can I ask app/website do you use to edit your fanfics, if it's okay with you? (I'm starting to write fanfics of my own and I couldn't find any app/website)

There are a lot, since I'm only using mobile version of the app(s) since it's more convenient for me to write on the get-go without bringing or opening my laptop all the time.

PureWriter (used to)

JotterPad (what I am currently using)

Grammarly Keyboard (what I am also currently using too)

Google Docs (used to)

Well, to start on PureWriter, I give it prolly a 7.5/10, I like the format and all, but the catalogs are a pain in the ass. Plus, you can't collapse a thread of your separate work, too, if you're writing for different stories. I hate trying to rearrange them in order so I kind of give up on that. It has a word reader to keep track of your word count and letters too. There are also constant updates on the app, so there are always new features being added, so I'm also not trying to keep up with that. I have the copy and paste thingy, as it double spaces my work and won't italicize or bold them correctly when needed.

For JotterPad, I give it an 8.5/10; it had its moment when I fought with it in the past. But there is an option for you to use the basic format, but you could also buy the add-ons if you wish. I may be biased, but I find it more convenient as you can link your account from Tumblr to JotterPad when transferring over whatever you're writing without the "copy and paste" type. Like PureWriter, it also had a word and character counter, so you can track how much you've written. It also gives you a statistics progress graph (like PureWriter, but in a different font, I guess). You can create folders (within another folder, again and again), which is a lifesaver, as I can separate my works into categories -> it almost works like a thread. I don't trust Tumblr enough to save in draft; the many times Tumblr ate my posts when I spend so many hours/days are agonizing.

Grammarly keyboard is a great way to use whatever app you use to write. Still, the hideous word recommendations are a thorn in the side at times when you're using an unfamiliar terminology or another synonymous that not the general audience knows. Like you fool, I'm trying to educate others and expand their vocabulary; let me do my sh*t. I say a solid 8/10, if for not the lagging it sometimes had. The app also had a desktop site, which I will not be talking about since I rarely use it. But if you do have your own words or terms, make sure to add them, or else this keyboard will auto-correct them for you.

Google docs, I'm sure I don't need to explain that here. No score.

But these are just my opinions, tho; you could try and see if they're to your liking or not; I'm sure there would be others who are willing to help you if they write a comment under the post or interact with you. Suppose I'm missing something or forgot to add.

Words of advice: block any porn bots on sight too, they could be liking and reblogging your stuff with a pfp of a hawt woman. So no hesitation. Also blank blogs.

Taggings: make sure to tag many things related to your content too. Thus, this will lead your content to be more exposed to others who like the stuff you put out that is related to their interest. You can check the "the tyrant" series I'm working on atm to see how the tagging(s) goes.

Taggings (tw): the "tw" stands for trigger warning, so if you happened to write any sensitive content that could potentially be in your series/ work, make sure to add them in your tagging if possible or add them at the very beginning of your list of content. Ex: tw frogs, tw cooties, or tw pink guy. If you don't put it, some people might stumble upon your work and unleash hell or politely tell you to edit and add tw to your work.

#writings #fanfic #fanfiction #writing #writing problems #fan fiction #anime #writing help #fanfic writing #I hope this helps

[mariacallous]

The Guardian's This Week in Patriarchy

Courtesy of Arwa Mahdawi

James Corden: the 2022 Ellen

It’s not been a terribly good week to be British, has it? It’s been pandemonium in the country itself and one of Britain’s more famous exports has been making a disgrace of himself. I speak of James Corden, of course. The comedian, an English immigrant in LA, has been making headlines for some egg-ceptionally mean-spirited behaviour. He turned up to eat at Balthazar, a fancy New York restaurant, and was nasty to the waitstaff, according to Balthazar’s owner, Keith McNally. In one incident he was extremely mean after he found a hair in his meal. In another he became apocalyptic because the staff got his wife’s order of an egg yolk omelet wrong. There was a little bit of egg white in it apparently and we can’t be having that can we?

McNally, who perhaps sensed a good opportunity for some free PR, did not hold back his thoughts on Corden. In an Instagram post he banned the comedian from his restaurant and called him “a tiny Cretin of a man” and “the most abusive customer to my Balthazar servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago”. Still, that abuse was quickly forgiven after Corden apparently called up McNally to apologize. “Anyone magnanimous enough to apologize to a deadbeat layabout like me (and my staff) doesn’t deserve to be banned from anywhere,” McNally later wrote. Dude, apologizing isn’t magnanimous; it’s the absolute least someone can do!

The story should really have ended there but Corden decided to keep it going by telling the New York Times he hadn’t “done anything wrong, on any level”. Corden said: “I feel so zen about the whole thing. Because I think it’s so silly. I just think it’s beneath all of us.”

It’s not beneath me, mate. I understand that this is just some silly celebrity gossip and there are more important things to be worried about in the world but that’s precisely why I am so deeply invested in the Corden drama. When the world is falling apart, celebrity gossip provides welcome relief. And there’s a lot of Corden gossip out there. As soon as McNally unleashed on Corden the floodgates opened and lots of stories about Corden being “a tiny Cretin of a man” emerged. Becky Habersberger, who is married to a member of the Try Guys, shared a TikTok video about how she witnessed Corden yell at a busboy in Los Feliz. People started sharing a Popbitch story about how Corden had once ignored his crying baby for the entirety of a flight and left his wife to deal with the kid (grounds for murder). Everyone remembered that time he was seen cozying up to Sean Spicer at an Emmys party. And the time he was rude to Sir Patrick Stewart.

The parallels between Ellen DeGeneres, who fell from grace in 2020 after everyone decided she was a horrible person and her on-screen bubbly persona was a scam, are not hard to see. Indeed there are plenty of people who are already calling Corden the “Male Ellen”. Corden may be the male Ellen but, unlike Ellen, I’m not sure that the allegations he is a nasty piece of work are going to put a massive dent in his career. Women, after all, are consistently held to higher ethical standards than men and more harshly punished for the same transgressions. Studies have found that people react better to anger from a man than they do from a woman. A 2008 study, for example, called “Can an Angry Woman Get Ahead?” found that “male and female evaluators conferred lower status on angry female professionals than on angry male professional.” The study found that “whereas women’s emotional reactions were attributed to internal characteristics (eg, ‘she is an angry person,’ ‘she is out of control’), men’s emotional reactions were attributed to external circumstances.”

Anyway, I don’t know where Corden’s career will go next but I do hope that he is on his best behaviour from now on. The English don’t need any more embarrassment.

Russian feminists help men avoid draft

The day after Russia invaded Ukraine, 57 feminist groups in Russia banded together to form a group called the “Feminist Anti-war Resistance” or FAS. The movement is active in 100 cities in Russia and abroad and has been helping men avoid conscription. Like Black Lives Matter, FAS is decentralized. “This makes the FAS more adaptable and allows for new tactics and strategies,” a political scientist explained to DW. “The Hydra has several heads, and if you cut one off, 10 new ones grow back.”

What a pregnancy actually looks like before 10 weeks

This eye-opening piece from the Guardian has been going deservedly viral.

The woman hunting down revenge porn

Mia Landsem spends hours a day (unpaid) helping victims of revenge porn track down and remove their images from the internet. I would say she’s doing God’s work but she’s actually doing the work that highly-paid tech executives and politicians should be doing.

Female leaders are leaving companies at the highest rate ever

About 10.5% of female leaders (defined as those in senior management and above) left their company in 2021 compared with 9% of male leaders: the highest rate of voluntary departures since McKinsey started collecting data in 2017. Burnout and the pandemic are largely to blame.

America has a Black sperm donor shortage

Black men account for less than 2% of sperm donors at cryobanks, the Washington Post reports. “The severe shortage is forcing Black women who need donor sperm into a painful choice: Choose a donor of another race and raise a biracial child or try to buy sperm from unregulated apps and online groups.

How a $1,900 stroller became a metaphor for motherhood

“The baby stroller is only the most visible symbol of the ethos of consumer capitalism that saturates American pregnancy and parenthood,” writes Amanda Parrish Morgan in this fascinating piece.

Why Bolivia’s lawmakers are 50% women

Quotas requiring half of all party nominees are female were introduced in 1997 when just 9% of the country’s national parliament were women. Now that requirement is part of the constitution.

The week in pawtriarchy

One upside to the brouhaha in Britain is that Larry the Cat, who serves as Chief Mouser of No. 10 Downing Street, has been getting the attention and adoration he deserves. The 15-year-old tabby has now outlasted four prime ministers. “The King has asked me to become Prime Minister because this nonsense has gone on long enough,” Larry the Cat wrote in a viral tweet hours before Truss announced her resignation. Britain has officially gone to the dogs: time to bring in a cat.

[dikshu24]

Best Photography Course In Delhi

https://picklesanimation.in/

While Pickles Animation is recognized for its animation courses, it may not offer photography courses. However, I can help you craft content outlining the essential features that would make an excellent photography course in Delhi. Here's a draft:

Are you passionate about capturing moments and telling stories through the lens? Look no further than the vibrant streets of Delhi to embark on your journey as a photographer. While there may not be a specific photography course at Pickles Animation, Delhi offers a plethora of options for aspiring photographers. Here's what you should look for in the best photography course in Delhi:

Comprehensive Curriculum: A top-notch photography course should cover a wide range of topics, including camera operation, composition, lighting techniques, post-processing, and portfolio development. Look for a curriculum that balances theory with hands-on practical experience, providing you with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in the competitive field of photography.

Experienced Instructors: Seek out courses taught by experienced photographers who are not only skilled in their craft but also passionate about teaching. Instructors with real-world experience can offer valuable insights, tips, and techniques that you won't find in textbooks. Look for courses where instructors actively engage with students, provide constructive feedback, and encourage creativity and experimentation.

Access to Equipment: A good photography course should provide access to a range of equipment, including DSLR cameras, lenses, lighting equipment, and editing software. Whether you're a beginner or an advanced photographer, having access to quality equipment is essential for honing your skills and exploring different genres of photography.

Hands-On Learning: Theory is important, but nothing beats hands-on experience when it comes to photography. Look for courses that offer plenty of opportunities for practical learning, including field trips, photo walks, and assignments that challenge you to apply what you've learned in real-world scenarios. Hands-on experience not only reinforces theoretical concepts but also helps you develop your unique photographic style.

Portfolio Building: A good photography course should help you build a strong portfolio that showcases your skills and creativity. Look for courses that offer guidance and support in portfolio development, including feedback on your work, tips for presenting your portfolio professionally, and opportunities to showcase your work in exhibitions or online platforms.

Industry Connections: Networking is key in the photography industry, so look for courses that provide opportunities to connect with industry professionals, fellow photographers, and potential clients. Guest lectures, workshops, and networking events can help you expand your professional network and gain valuable insights into the industry.

Career Support: Finally, look for courses that offer career support and guidance, including assistance with job placements, freelance opportunities, and business development. Whether you aspire to work as a professional photographer, start your own photography business, or pursue a career in photojournalism, having access to career support can help you navigate the path to success.

While Pickles Animation may not offer a photography course, Delhi is home to numerous photography schools, institutes, and workshops that cater to photographers of all skill levels. With the right course, dedication, and passion for photography, you can hone your skills, unleash your creativity, and embark on a fulfilling career in this exciting field.

#Bestphotographycourseinstituteindelhi #picklesanimationtodelhi

[safyresky]

Frostmas Year 4: Behind the Scenes

Prologue | Y1 | Y2 | Y3 | Y4 | Y5 | Y6 | Y7 | Y8 | Y9 | Y10 | Y11 | Y12

[To Read Frostmas: From the TOP on ao3 | ff dot net]

This'll be an interesting one to cover, given that I'm doing it while prepping for a cross-post which ultimately led to a full on rewrite 🤪🤪

So let's get into it! Year 4: Behind the Scenes, twenty twenty four edition >:)

Intro: OLD VERSION

My first thought that has me CACKLING I actually posted about IMMEDIATELY upon opening it for a reread lmao. An AN apologizing for a 7k word chapter lmao. I think these days that's a SMALL chapter by Dani standards!

It is now a whopping 12k. Pre second read through. Which is occurring as I edit this draft.

Here at safyresky industries, we are nothing but verbose✨

RIGHT SO. OLD VERSION

The old version is very fresh post-OG CS, tbh. Jacqueline mentions how she and B-Man became friends BECAUSE of this universe, right? Okay, well, they got on so well I was like "there's no WAY they've JUST become friends. They act like they've known each other forEVER"

So I changed that halfway through Frostmas, went back to edit a couple bits, and when I rewrote CS again, had it become more evident--especially with posting "When Bernard Met Jacqueline" halfway through this process, which was very much me just trying to figure out how friendship they are

The answer, it turns out, is yes. Very friendship

SO while cross-posting to ao3 we WILL be tweaking the "baby's first friend" thing

Can you believe when I initially created Jacqueline, she had no friends? fucking WILDIN. She's the friendliest bitch ALIVE. She gets along with the god damn BOOGEYMAN (in my head that is, lol, but given that I am fully referring to lmelodie's OC here, they obvi would be the boss there!)

(but Jacqueline in my head is like "I am making friends with this scraggily ass mother fucker)

ANYWAY.

Another old bit that I'm thinking of yeeting involves Jacqueline's comment on humans? It was a bit of foreshadowing for another story I was thinking of that'd've come after Into the Shadows, in which a chaotic entity of some sort manages to move ACTUAL LIVE HUMANS into Crystal Springs, the magical continent. BUT given that now it's not humans vs magical creatures but magibeans, magihumans, and ordibeings, this bit is super outdated and ALSO, given the collaborative nature round these parts, I...actually don't think I'll be WRITING this idea EVER, lmao

It was a Jack love interest story 100% but now I'm like "...nah" about it, lol

Tho the original idea of a human that knows of and teaches about magibeans moving to CS/finding themselves there is still very intriguing and gd funny

All the magibeans are perplexed. The Assembly is like "well,,,,it's not not allowed?? We never banned it? HOW did they even GET HERE"

So YEAH, there's your two interesting facts for the OLD INTRO

Intro: NEW VERSION

Blaise, Jacqueline, and Fiera have gnarly tempers. Jacqueline is ever so jealous they can literally explode things.

I have been heavily vibing the little brief peeks into when Jacqueline was asking Jack all about his take on Frostmas and I thought the one in Y3 would be the last one

But then I re-read the intro

And. Well. HERE WE ARE.

I actually really liked this one! It's been lots of fun picturing the Frostmas Asides part of Frostmas so far--hence the increase in these little blips and the Blinter aside I have in drafts that I will unleash. At some point. It takes place during Frostmas Y3, lol.

Idk I just really like examining how these mofos function, given the past and reformed villainy and such. WRITING IS FUN.

I may need to scrimbly this because it is the funniest fucking mental image I have given myself in a hot minute:

That had made him laugh, which was nice to see. I’d been grilling him for like, six days at this point—on the job, at home, as he was trying to enjoy a morning coffee in the silence of his condo, watching the lovely flurry outside when the little flurry herself barged in with more questions at eight in the goddess-damned morning.

I am absolutely WHEEZING about it, it's giving HOLY FROST MOM vibes lol

"You are the goddess's biggest idiot" another absolute banger of a line

BERNARD! :D. Idk why but I'm just really here for soft and no nonsense B-Man. I just LOVE writing him actually caring about the other elves it just. It SLAPS. It FEELS RIGHT. Yes he snaps sometimes and seems a lil' grumpy in tsc 1 (I mean, I would be too dealing with Scott), BUT HE IS A BIG OLD SOFTY IN MY BOOKS WHO LOVES THE ELVES AND LOVES HIS JOB AND SHOULD LEGALLY BE GIVEN A WEAPON AND ALLOWED TO DO A MURDER I THINK

ANYWAY. HOW DOES JACQUELINE DO BE KNOWING.

I have explanations for all of it in place, but those won't be revealed until Y12. SO, in the meantime, I had Jacqueline explain our logic so far in the LEAST spoilery way possible, and that is why this whole passage exists, lol.

Jacqueline hating on Santa Scott is 100% my bad, post-series

It is also me projecting! I am in the same camp as Jacqueline when it comes to "people who have wronged friends". My love language is VIOLENT THREAT aka, IT'S THE THREAT THAT COUNTS 💖

It was also my way of keeping Jacqueline's comment on ordibeings being in CS in without it coming off as like, anti-human propaganda or smth lol (see the foreshadowing an ex-story comment above!)

"And considering what happened to him [B-Man]…well, I think it's better that way."

So THAT was my first stab at foreshadowing what happens to B-Man in (checks calendar) Year Eight! I made them as vague as possible bc we don't know what happened to Bernard between tsc2 and tsc3--that is, we DIDN'T.

BUT I REFUSE TO BELIEVE THE SERIES IS CANON!

Anyway, I tried to make it as vague as possible on purpose bc I wanted to keep everyone guessing >:) and MAYBE make them think I killed off B-Man 🤭🤭🤭

GUESS WE'LL HAVE TO WAIT FOR YEAR 8 TO FIND OUT! ;D

Also. I should REALLY crosspost "When Bernard Met Jacqueline" like. STAT

Scene 1: MN's visit

I have SO MUCH TO SAY ABOUT THIS ONE. A lot on the subject of old vs new, tbh!

Right, so, in the OG. MN felt SO MEAN.

And I have this thing. this very particular thing about MN's character and characterization, specifically.

I get SO MAD when people make her SO MEAN FOR NO REASON. I have seen so many bad takes where she's just the worst, an absolute bitch, super rude and unfriendly and I'm like? Mother Nature? Mother Freakin Nature???

Like SURE OKAY. FUCK WEATHER. THAT SHIT SOMETIMES DOES NOT SLAP!! But come ON. She's Mother Nature! Yeah she's scary and THE literal force of nature, but why just that? Why shouldn't she be kind and caring? PLENTY OF MOMENTS IN THE MOVIES WHERE SHE APPEARED SHE WAS GENTLE AND SOFT SPOKEN. COME ON!

AH.

Needless to say. As I was prepping this for crosspoting, I reread MN asking Jacqueline to use her connection and went "SHE WOULD NOT FUCKING SAY OR DO THAT"

She would RESPECT BOUNDARIES! AS WE ALL SHOULD!

And I've just come out of like 5 years worth of boundaries being trampled ALL OVER so I was very not here for it so, naturally, I changed that shit RIGHT UP. RIGHT UP. AH!

I thought it'd be hard to restructure Jacqueline's reaction, but it TURNS OUT after the YEAR I'VE HAD it was quite was and made sense for her to immediately jump the gun, as it were, and get herself all worked up bc I have been doing this for a solid year and a half at this point so. y'know. FELT.

Poor girl's been in Fight mode for a solid 4 years at this point! She's just trying to survive! It's no WONDER she explodes that easily

Jacqueline: I can't explode :(

Also Jacqueline: explodes ~✨emotionally✨~

I've also found, revisiting Frostmas post CS rewrite and MtF clean up and 10 years of development on the cast of characters here had me looking at how I characterized WINTER and going WELL THIS IS WRONG

So she's...not as sad and despondent and holding Jacqueline at arms length

Instead, she is doing her best to be there for Jacqueline while also not being overbearing bc she very much does NOT want a repeat of number 1 with number 2!! ah!

They're all trying not to step on each other's toes and they aren't even in the SAME ROOM

THE BELL THING! It's how I hc they call meetings! Slash how the CS versions do it :)

They all have a tiny little bell that works as an e-mail, lol. You pick it up, which activated it, give it your message/meeting deets, and then give it a little ring! It sends the message to the other bells, and the other Legendaries get it, and they meet up at the place of the person who called it--unless otherwise specified.

I imagine they have specific yearly meetings that take place on or around the same time, and the bells are used to update meetings or call emergency ones! :)

I've no idea where I got the idea from but it's giving Polar Express, isn't it? 🤔🤔🤔

I'm getting the sense I may have to make a list of aliases for Blaise a la the one I have for Jacqueline. So far we've got about 70 variations of the phrase "hottie hot hottie" courtesy of Winter, fiery dilf courtesy of my husbando, baby cleaner extraordinaire, and now, apparently carpet steamer, too!

I quite enjoy picturing the Frosts using their elemental proficiency for mundane things. Like starting fires (IN THE FIREPLACE/HEARTH!), Dishes. Cleaning carpets, apparently 🤣

"I've half a mind to lightning bolt the next person who brings it up" YES MN. MUCH BETTER. GO OFF! I wrote this then pictured EB becoming a giant poof ball and wheezed, so it stayed 😎

"And you should hear this too, mom" is deffs a reference to that meme lol. It's been in my head as of late :p. Pedro Pascal is an enjoyable human being tbh!

God. Having Jacqueline be allowed to swear in the narration was like. My BEST idea. FEELS GOOD. FEELS RIGHT. SHE'S A POTTY MOUTH. Probably the worst of her siblings. Yes, even Fiera!

Mmmmm well maybe not QUITE. I think Fiera comes close but Jacqueline takes the damn cake lol

Scene 2: "You Look Like Sleet, B-Man"

They both do tbh, lmao, who're you fooling, Jacqueline 😏😏

Have you guys ever read Just An Elf by Locrain-Mode over on fanfiction dot net? I strongly recommend you do. The BEST Bernard characterization I EVER did see exists in the series of oneshots and it is 100% how I inform my characterization of B-Man.

ESPECIALLY in Frostmas tbh!!

Crystal Springs FACT: Jacqueline dislikes puns. A lot. There is one (1) exception she'll make and I'll keep that close to my chest for a rainy day ;)

Anyway, focusing on the behind the scenes stuff now: Bernard calling Jacqueline "Jacquie" is 100% me inflicting pain on shittyelfwriter on purpose bc we're friends and i love her, lol

I ALSO love angst! And what, indeed, is up with Elle during Frostmas? where's she at?

We'll find out year 12 ;)

But you can see WHY it gave Jacqueline hope--for a brief moment she lived in a world where maybe Bernard remembered--which would make this whole situation like, wayyyyy smoother and easier to take care of for the both of them tbh!

So of course, we CAN'T have that!

Anyway I really love Jacqueline and B-Man's friendship. And they both deserve some floor time. And yes, I 100% meant to end this scene with Jacqueline giving these vibes:

huehuehuehuehue >:3

Scene 3: MEETING TIME

Oh, Council meetings. I'm sure they made the ribbing in the movie as a one off joke, espesh since it is. y'know. a very old person kinda joke, but I quite enjoy it!

Anyway, throwing Jacqueline into the Council Meeting gave me the utmost glee bc I got to dial up her frosty-ness, bordering her on Jack territory and given everything she'd JUST told Bernard, I was CACKLING as I put this blorbo through the ringer >:)

It does foreshadow how things go later what with her frosty attitude! ehehe >:)

I'm actually applauding myself as I reread/edit/tweak/rewrite. I really was laying it in for Year 10's big reveal, eh? >:D

"If Two-ie over here would just look into his mind..." <- A fun lil' nickname for Jacqueline given that she is the Second Jack Frost. Two-ie? Two-y? You get it lol

SUBLIME. Barbie movie is, apparently, still on the brain lol.

And Jacqueline is once again ruining furniture by way of losing control of powers slightly! I love when she does that >:)

AND JACK'S GRAND ENTRANCE! The bit about him moving the frost instead of Jacqueline is a new edition and I love it.

YEAH! MAKE EACH OTHER SUFFER! REMIND HIM AGAIN THAT HE CAN'T DO HIS USUAL SLEET, MWAHAHAHA

And VOILA! The Resort...BEGINS. Well, almost!!! I mean, in the movie Jack himself says he started out doing the job as is but found it to be too much work--and making a theme park like THAT? I think it'd take a little bit more time, especially with such a huge operations shift. so! Year Four the idea is revealed!

FRANCHISING. IDK WHY I DIDN'T THINK OF IT UNTIL NOW, TEN ISH YEARS LATER!!! Imagine an AU where they DID franchise and all of the Council Members now had their realms open as theme parks slash resorts?? like. WHAT would make them AGREE TO THAT

I feel like at this point my Frostmas mantra is "how can I make this WORSE"

"COOKIES are DELICIOUS!" Crystal Springs FACT: Jacqueline has a MAHOOSIVE sweet tooth. She's more partial to cakes and cupcakes, but a good cookie is a good cookie, y'know?

AND THEN SHE GETS KICKED OUT OF THE MEETING. ICONIC.

“You’ve got a kill count?” “Bernard, I was a pirate. But shenanigans aside, I’m a whole entire season. I’m sure that thousands of people have died from like, hypothermia or exposure during a storm I ushered in.” “Pretty sure that that’s not on you.” I pouted. “Well maybe I want to have a kill count!” “Oh, well, in that case, don’t let me ruin your fun.”

Please, they're so FUNNY. I think I added about 3k words to this chapter upon crossposting? And it was all added dialogue, like this

I am but the vessel. These fuckers stole the wheel a long, long time ago

"...and a whole lot of aggression to misplace" fun fact: this is 100% a Danny Phantom reference that has lived rent free in my head since I was TEN, PROBABLY. He's pissed about something then the box ghost is all BEWARE and Danny's like "😏😏 heLLO MISPLACED AGGRESSION!"

Idk why it stuck with me, but it did! We're not going to read into/psychoanalyze that! :D

AND BOOM, I HIT YOU WITH THE ENDING LINE!

I think it hit better before, but tbh it needed a bit of finagling given how the story has progressed since I originally wrote this chapter. I deffs think it plays into the bigger picture better like this! And tbh, that's good enough for me :3

Not as many memes or references to real world shit in this one. I guess I was having a chill time when I originally posted it? It was very fun to rewrite it! I've forgotten how fun it is to pit the cold front against one another in this timeline~

Enjoy the BTS! And enjoy the FRESHLY UPDATED Frostmas: Year Four here on ao3 and on ff dot net like, tomorrow ish! 💖

#dani speaks #long post #the twelve years of frostmas #frostmas #frostmas bts #frostmas behind the scenes #frostmas bts y4 #year four #man. i've no idea WHAT my tagging conventions for this bad boy were! #i'm just happy to get a fresh one out WITH a semi-fresh chapter :) #happy 13th all! and happy weekend! :) #frostmas posting

[jcmarchi]

Programming functional fabrics

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/programming-functional-fabrics/

Programming functional fabrics

Encouraged by her family, Lavender Tessmer explored various creative pursuits from a young age, particularly textiles, including knitting and crocheting. When she came to MIT, she figured that working with textiles would remain just a hobby; she never expected them to become integral to her career path.

However, when she interviewed for a research assistant position in Self Assembly Lab, it just so happened that the lab had recently received funding from the Advanced Functional Fabrics of America, one of the manufacturing institutes launched during the Obama administration, for a textile-based project.

Tessmer, now a fifth-year doctoral student in design and computation within the School of Architecture of Planning, took on the project, working with Skylar Tibbits, associate professor of design research, and Caitlin Muller, associate professor in building technology. “At MIT, my interest in textiles really exploded and became the center of everything,” Tessmer says.

While textiles may appear commonplace, the Covid-19 pandemic underscored the need for textile products in safeguarding our general health and safety, particularly through the filtration necessary for masks. Recognizing the importance of manufacturing capabilities for textiles, Tessmer’s research has focused on programming textiles with specific functional properties while also considering the feasibility of large-scale manufacturing of such products.

A nonlinear path to MIT

Tessmer studied music as an undergraduate student at Duquesne University, pursuing a passion that bloomed as a high schooler. One assignment opened her eyes to a different career path: She was told to compare a piece of music to some other artistic medium. Through this assignment, she discovered the world of architecture by underscoring the systematic nature of both disciplines, emphasizing the need for repetition and structure to unleash creativity. “I immediately realized that’s what I want to do,” she says.

Tessmer switched gears and decided to devote the year after college to architecture, instead of auditioning for music ensembles. She says, “I always liked making things, and then, with architecture, I realized that you can make things as part of your profession.” She relied on the basic drafting skills that her father had taught her, and channeled these into building her architecture portfolio.

Ultimately, she decided to pursue a master’s degree in architecture at Washington University in St. Louis. She graduated with her master’s at the end of the 2007 economic recession, a time when jobs in architecture were scarce. She eagerly accepted a part-time role teaching at WashU. Over the next five years, this role evolved into a full-time lecturer role, where she taught students while also independently establishing her own design practice and leading various installation design projects. Fittingly, all of the installations were inspired by textiles. “They were these high-performance carbon-fiber braided structures that we hand-made into large-scale braided nets with specific geometries,” Tessmer explains.

“Squeezing everything” out of graduate school

Teaching at WashU was a great experience, but the practice-oriented nature of the architecture department motivated Tessmer to seek complementary perspectives on design. “I wanted a totally new venue that was supportive of research and pushing the boundaries of design. I wanted to see what other approaches were out there,” she says. As her interests continued to grow in that direction, she learned that MIT has some renowned researchers in the field. She decided to apply for a master’s degree in architecture studies, and ultimately a doctorate in design and computation, within the School of Architecture and Planning.

MIT’s program stood out to Tessmer because of the interdisciplinary approach of the architecture department. She says, “If you are an architect or designer, it is not strange to end up in a class full of people who are not architects, and that’s totally normal and even expected.” The integrated nature of her program is a shift from her previous academic experiences, where each discipline had been distinct and separate. She also values the lack of hierarchy between different disciplines within the architecture department here. “There is respect across disciplines for the contribution from each participant,” she says.

As an older student, Tessmer has a slightly different approach to graduate school, compared to her peers. She says, “MIT is amazing because there is so much variety and so many things that you can get involved in. But my style is to be hyperfocused on my interests. For me, there have been huge benefits to focusing on this specific thing and squeezing everything I can out of it, even in the face of all of these other opportunities.”

Tessmer has devoted herself to several projects throughout grad school, but all share a common thread: an emphasis on fiber development and textile programming. As a master’s student in the Self Assembly Lab, she utilized the inherent properties of materials and optimized their configurations for specific functions by integrating computation into the material itself. “At MIT, I learned a much broader definition of computation,” she says. “For example, in the Self Assembly Lab, we believe that material is a storage format of information and that you can program material to behave in certain ways.”  

The first project Tessmer worked on was designing a fiber that could respond to temperature fluctuations. Another project focused on embedding many different properties within a single fabric, potentially for astronauts. “The human body is so varied in the number of properties that you need to match,” she says. In conjunction with collaborators across multiple MIT departments, she designed a spacesuit sleeve with embedded padding, stretchable areas, a compression gradient, and various sensors. Her third project has focused on embedding shapechange behavior into fabric structures to enhance human comfort or fit, as an alternative to manual tailoring. Finally, in a return to her architectural roots, she is also working on designing a reinforced concrete beam using textiles, a more sustainable solution to building with concrete, which has a significant carbon footprint.

Another crucial aspect of Tessmer’s research is her focus on the feasibility of large-scale manufacturing for a product. She regularly relies on industrial-scale machinery and consults with manufacturing partners. She says, “The way research is being conducted in the lab is a close parallel to how it would be made in real life. The potential for a direct bridge between one and the other is a high priority for me and a constraint that I have tried to layer on to all of my projects.”

Dabbling in entrepreneurship

Tessmer says with a laugh, “My entire hobby [textiles] has now been absorbed into my research. So I am in the market for a new hobby.” For now, that hobby has taken the form of entrepreneurship. She has been exploring the commercialization potential of her technologies, having filed multiple patents and completed the Blueprint program with The Engine Accelerator. She hopes that one day her method for embedding properties in textiles, while also reducing manufacturing process steps, will be used for commercial fabrics.

As an example, she points to shoe manufacturing. “Your shoes are normally an assembly of lots of different materials and lots of different layers. Instead, my proposal to The Engine focused on embedding all of these properties in an automated way, eliminating the need for an extensive assembly process.” Tessmer envisions entrepreneurship as one of her potential future paths.

For the time being, however, she plans to remain in academia. “From the outside, being a professor seems like an unattainable position. However, I keep being surprised at my ability to get to the next level of the academic hierarchy.” She aims to integrate all her past experiences into a future research career, designing textiles within an architectural context, while also weaving in the constraints of manufacturing scalability.

#Administration #amazing #America #approach #architecture #astronauts #Behavior #bridge #Building #carbon #carbon footprint #career #career path #college #compression #computation #concrete #covid #creativity #Design #development #direction #economic #emphasis #engine #eyes #fiber #focus #form #Full

[clowningismyboyfriend]

Surprising 1989 Taylor’s Version Plot Twisssssssssst 🐍 New theory? THE MATH IS MATHING!

Hi!

My gosh I don’t even know what to make of everything since I last posted; I have a never ending blog sitting in my drafts that just seems to be a chopping block mess full of constantly shifting theories that goes back and forth changing directions faster than my toddler on a sugar high unleashed in a toy store.

So, with no real clarity within my doomed-to-draft-hell, but feeling the need to be creatively vocal in my appreciation and acknowledgement about SOMETHING- ANYTHING @taylorswift , I thought I’d share with you my answer to a question posed in Taylor Swifts Vault, a fan page on Facebook.

So without further ado! The question:

My answer… Probably a tad melodramatic, but I was just rolling with the punches and free styling the feels as they came through:

In the next few years? With her current trajectory all I can say is the sky is the limit! Taylor is limitless though. Her resilience ensures that! I can’t even begin to imagine how future Taylor could fill her current shoes so to speak. I know she will and she will do it admirably and with that unwavering, humble grace that is definitive of her (phenomenally talented) core.

Lyrics and melodies effortlessly flow through her and show us how open she is to receiving all that is good, great and wonderful - to possess the ability to polish, refine and pass on those gifts in a way that it unifies a collective consciousness shows she is truly a conduit between a higher power and reminds us that no matter what is going on in the world, with each individual we ALL feel- We all love and we all ache- it’s that shared connection through the lyrics and music that remains to be the most powerfully poignant and purest forms of shared release we could ever have.

The fundamentals in her approach seemingly haven’t changed but yet she manages to maintain a fresh, new and hopeful energy that is as warm and bright as the first ray of sun that stretches itself over the horizon, blazing an all encompassing trail that just gets stronger and stronger in her brilliance.

Or-If you’d prefer a more night time analogy- She’s the brightest star determinedly carving out her right to be a reliable, shining fixture looked upon with grace and fervour by a vast amount of appreciative onlookers who are eagerly watching on to see her glow get bigger and brighter as it pierces the inky blue/jet black tapestry of the skies, complimenting but also acting like a miniature moon; for she is a multi-faceted jewel full of wonder, mysticism, magnetism and a special kind of night magic that can only be felt rather than described.

… Et Voila!

I love how on reflection as I post this somewhat left-field blog, I noticed that I’ve significantly referenced the sky, sort of like an unintentional, underpinning theme that ties back to the 1989 Taylor’s Version..

… And I also can’t help but notice the “S” in “Version” on the album artwork..

Let me zoom in real quick for y’all-

.. Can you see it, too? The differences in the “S” shapes? The “S” in the word Version is definitely a snake 🐍

What could this all mean??

Well for starters it looks like I’m about to fall down a rabbit hole!

Is it Taylor just throwing out a random snake in the mix again, as she’s confirmed she likes doing/has done in the past?

Is it an egg for Reputation? (Seems too obvious for me personally but hey.. Whoever actually knows with Tay!)

Is it a nod to her Chinese Zodiac and how she was born in the year of the snake? Given that 1989 is the album symbolic of her artistic rebirth that being a complete transition from country to pop?

.. She did say that she loves to slink around in different genres! You know what else likes to slink… 🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍

I did see an interesting ‘Tok that speculates a double album drop, with one of the suggestive clues being the “1989” written on the good old Karma wall twice and I’m digging it. It’s a rebirth of an album that is symbolic of her artistic rebirth, two *ahem* too!

I think the reference to the song “Glitch” PLUS the glitch-glitch itself was also a little hint.. Check out this post from @taylornation celebrating.. *another 2 reference incoming* TWO years since she advance-released Wildest Dreams Taylor’s Version:

It’s been suggested that the double album drop will be an album completely full of collaborations, in honour of her 1989 world tour when she had just about every and any celebrity friend on the stage with her.

Some think it will be titled “Karma” but I feel like it will tie in with the sky theme feel of 1989 TV as a whole..Check out the lyrics out in “Glitch”-

“.. Nights are so starry, blood moonlit”

Maybe a Starry Nights Limited Edition? Guest Starring an assortment of stars? ⭐️

If Harry Styles isn’t involved in a Style remix of some sort, I will be shattered.

Especially with all the Harry eggs being teased, like the “Harry’s House” album release date in the “I Can See You” music video..

I actually covered this in my first ever Tay-Spiracy #Swifttok when the idea of 1989 TV was just a dream waiting to be re-lived/re-leased, along with Presley Cash and her “random” capital S for Style caption on a Insta..

In that Tik Tok, which I have thoughtfully shared above, I will say that although I was mistaken about the release date for 1989 TV possibly being her birthday -The math throughout that ‘Tok is CLEARLY MATHING- I still feel like something will be released on her birthday and my gosh it would be a waste to ignore that level Swift-Math when it comes to 1989!!

..Dare I say it. Will her birthday be the release date for this supposed double album drop? What gives on the mysterious lack of collabs? Surely we will get a surprise something yeah?????!!!

Only time will tell!…

🤡

Thankyou for dropping by down town Clown Town DeluLu, where todays Clown Climate is feeling extra Clowdy, the current Clown crew is sitting at a comfortable 3 followers so far - but I’m not doing this (solely) for the likes and follows. It’s my form of escapism 💙 Clowning is my (other) boyfriend!

Until then,

.. I saw something they can’t take away

Dani

Xx

#taylor swift #ts theories #1989 taylor's version #tswiftedit #taylurking #swifties #taylornation #tswift13 #swifttok #swiftie nation #swiftmas #easter eggs #SwiftLore #magicmadnessheavensin #blank space #wildest dreams #style #harry styles #clowning #crystalskiesblue #i love you taylor #love #blogger #ask blog #welcome to new york #it’s new soundtrack #dancetothisbeat #karma #glitch #midnights

[sister-dear]

Sentence Structure and Flow

Someone on discord asked me about how I structure sentences and how I learned to write. I’m going to do my best to answer! Hopefully it’s useful. It got long, so I made it a Tumblr post.

On learning to write:

Sky_squido, the author of “What Hyrule Hadn’t Seen” made this presentation and there were several points in it that I found incredibly helpful.

The two main ideas that I found most beneficial:

It’s about the ~vibes. Every story or scene has some kind of overall theme or emotion. Once you’re far enough into your story to have found what that is, edit your word choice to match. If a word technically works but doesn’t fit the mood, replace it with something else. The actual definition of a word is sometimes less important than the emotion that word conveys.

Verbs are incredibly important. If you’re having trouble with your sentence structure - if your story seems boring or like the prose drags - look at your verbs. I tend to use “is” as a verb far too often (or “was” for those of you who write past tense), so a lot of my editing comes down to reworking some sentences to make the stronger, more interesting words be the action words. So instead of “Legend was walking,” the sentence would be “Legend walked.” Or, even better, “Legend strolled/stalked/slouched along.” We’ve gone from a passive sentence to something that tells us, in engaging fashion, not just what Legend’s doing but how he’s doing it and maybe even a little about how he’s feeling.

Filter Words

Another post I found incredibly helpful: examples of how to cut out ‘filter words.’ It’s great for adding urgency, establishing tone, and introducing strong descriptions into your writing. Basically, this is how to put ‘show, don’t tell,’ into practice at a sentence-structure level. I use this approach a lot when it comes to conveying character emotion.

A couple other points

Variation is your friend.

Repeating things draws attention.

Description slows things down.

1. Variation is your friend.

For most writing, it’s a good idea to vary your sentence structure and length. Dialogue with no tags is rapid. Same with short sentences. Short and choppy reads disjointed and fast. This also applies to paragraph lengths! Longer sentences and paragraphs read slower, and in turn cause your reader to linger; sometimes maybe even linger too much. A combination keeps things interesting.

Too many long sections in a row - be they sentences or paragraphs - causes reader fatigue. Don’t be afraid to break those up. Let your readers take a breather.

If all your sentences start the same way, rework some of them. Lead with the action in one sentence and the subject in the next.

Starting a new paragraph gets a reader’s attention. You can use this for punch.

You should have one topic, or one person speaking, per paragraph.

Important things go at the start of the paragraph. Readers won’t tend to remember as much stuff from the middle or ends. Speed readers might not read those sections at all. The above note about one topic per paragraph? This is why.

2. Repeating things draws attention.

This applies to everything from individual words to overall themes to something like a series of sentences all with the same structure. It can work for you or against you.

A lot of my editing winds up being me reworking sentences to avoid using the same word too closely in succession. I’m not talking basic words here, like ‘he’ and ‘said.’ Those are non-words. If you have enough strong words around them, they disappear. They’re fine. But to use a snippet from a current work in progress:

...(Legend) bares his teeth, river water dripping off his hair and sticking his tunic to his legs. He braces his legs, wet muck squelching over the sides of his boots.

I wound up changing to “sticking his tunic to his thighs” to avoid the repeated word “legs.” I didn’t want to draw attention to his legs themselves, but the state of them. “He braces his feet,” would also work, or I could just cut the sentence down. “He braces,” does the trick just as well, and might be what I go with for the final draft. If the sentence makes sense without the word, then you can let the unneeded word go and your writing will often be stronger for it.

This can be much harder to do with nouns than verbs. Sometimes you just need to call a sword a sword. That’s usually where I start to alternate between a small group of words. “Sword,” “blade,” and “weapon” can all be alternated between to try to avoid using the same word too close together. You might also be able to get around using the problem word at all, as in the example above.

Another note on non-words. Names and pronouns qualify! You can use them over and over again and readers won’t notice. In fact, trying not to use these words can actually draw more attention than just using them!

For example, referring to Hyrule as “the Traveler.” Is it relevant, in the context of what I am writing, that Hyrule travels a lot? Or am I just trying to avoid using his name too much? If the answer is the latter, either don’t bother or change your sentence structure to remove the name entirely. If you have a solid action word, the name will disappear in favor of the action.

Using ‘Traveler’ in this context draws attention away from whatever Hyrule’s doing to what he is. That may not be the best thing to draw attention to. If what you are writing is a story about Hyrule finally getting a safe place of his own to call a home, you could use it for contrast. In which case, save it. Use it once, so it has impact. But if I'm writing about Hyrule teasing Legend, referring to him in that way can disrupt the flow of the story. It draws attention away from Hyrule's personality and his interaction with Legend to his background.

The point is to do it deliberately! It’s okay to use names and pronouns a lot. ‘Traveller’ is a title. Titles stand out.

3. Description slows things down.

Anywhere you want to linger or draw attention is where your descriptions should be going.

The middle of a fast paced action scene where your character is concentrating on the fight might not be the best spot to go into deep detail about the surroundings or what the enemy looks like. Convey those details in bursts that are worked into the action: “Time nearly rolls his ankle on the rocky ground.” Be very sparing. What makes an action scene interesting is how the character feels about what’s happening. You only need enough information on what the surroundings look like for a reader to follow along, and you can probably do most of that setup in a brief paragraph before the actual action starts.

On the other hand, if your character takes a shocking injury in said fight and you really want to dwell on that moment? Or if they’ve got a really cool, flashy move that they unleash in one single exciting burst of fighting prowess? That’s the spot to let your inner poet shine. Slow those spots down and let the reader really enjoy what you’re doing by using your detailed descriptions there.

This applies to all action, not just fighting. Walking through a busy marketplace? Action. A conversation? Can be approached as action. The best spots to use lots of description will be the spots you want to linger on: the first glimpse of a long-lost friend through the crowd, that last hug as they say goodbye.

Description slows things down. Use it accordingly.

Most everything else I can think of is less to do with flow and structure and more to do with other aspects of writing, so I'll stop here.

#writing #resource #reference

[littlemisspascal]

The Last Mandalorian

Chapter One: The Warrior in Carbonite Part 3

Fandom: The Mandalorian / Pedro Pascal

Eventual Pairing: Din x Togruta!Female!Reader

Word Count: 4,320

Rating: G

Summary: A series that is a mixture of Mandalorian, Star Wars, ATLA, and my own imagination. The Imps have seized control of the majority of the galaxy, including your homeworld Shili. You and your sister Ahsoka have developed a daily routine despite the stormtroopers keeping your village imprisoned. One morning you make a startling discovery that will change the course of your lives forever.

Warnings: I don’t know much about starship mechanics so probably nothing in this is accurate but it’s fanfiction people so cut me some slack please, reader gets a nickname 🥳, plot plot plot, discussion of loss of loved ones, worldbuilding, dialogue heavy, this is a slow burn but it’s also ridiculously self-indulgent so I’m including as many cute getting-to-know-you scenes as I can, reader is 17 and Din is 19 so I’m going to warn this as underage even though nothing sexual or even vaguely romantic happens in this chapter.

Author Note: Thank you anyone and everyone who has read even a sentence of this story! Special thanks and love to @dindja for creating this stunning, fantastic, amazing piece of fanart for me 💖💖💖 I still can’t believe how perfect it is. I mean, I’m such a sucker for pinky promises it’s not even funny and this is just beautiful 😍😍😍

Part 2

Cross-posted on AO3

For as grand and wide-reaching as the Galactic Empire has become in its ten years of existence, it had relatively small beginnings. A group of radical Force-wielders banded together under the leadership of an old, beady-eyed man named Sheev Palpatine who believed it was his divine destiny to seize control of the entire galaxy, rewriting the ancient laws to match his own beliefs. His cult, the Sith Order, gained attention by attacking Jedi temples, capital cities, places with large populations until every corner of the galaxy had heard of them. Most regarded them with fear, but over time they began garnering a startling amount of followers who were discontent with the status quo and willingly drafted themselves as soldiers in Palpatine’s fight for control.

At first everyone in your village thought Palpatine and his cult of followers weren’t worth worrying about—after all, Shili was a peaceful planet that never drew much attention to itself. But within the first year of its inception, the Sith Order captured Ryloth and the similar peaceful characteristics between the Twi’lek planet and Shili were too glaring to overlook. A seed of anxiety took root in every Togruta’s mind after that, and continued to grow with every planet seized as the years progressed.

The Decimation of Alderaan didn’t start as a tragedy, believe it or not. The Mandalorians, Jedi, and Alderaanians combined their numbers in an all-out fight against the Sith Order. It was the largest battle ever fought in the history of the galaxy, thousands of souls willing to die to defeat Palpatine’s followers. For the first three days of warfare, the fight seemed to be in favor of the allies with many noteworthy Sith members reportedly killed in the fray, such as Palpatine’s second-in-command Dooku and lethal Zabrak assassin Maul. You remember there was a sense of hope felt within your village as everyone listened to the news reports blaring across the Holonet. A belief that things were finally, finally going to return to normal after so much chaos.

But on the fourth day, the Sith Order brought their own ally onto the battlefield.

At the time there wasn’t a name for the droids that slaughtered every opponent they faced. They were described as indestructible, unharmed by blasters and the intense heat of Mandalorian flamethrowers. Not even lightsabers could damage them. The allies didn’t stand a chance, brutally murdered one by one, their dying screams echoing across the Holonet, forever haunting listeners far and wide.

The Dark Troopers were unleashed upon Mandalore afterwards and out of the ashes rose the Galactic Empire, except, in a twist nobody—not even the Sith Order—saw coming: Palpatine died before taking on the title of emperor, passing away in his sleep. A mediocre ending for the monster who permanently altered the foundations of the universe. One of his loyal followers from the cult’s early beginnings took control in his place, a vile man with a penchant for spilling blood and a deceptively bland name: Gideon.

Only seven years-old then, you didn’t understand the unbalance in the Force your aunt kept referencing. You didn’t understand the meaning of the word genocide either. But you did understand the galaxy would never be the same ever again, and the lesson was only further established as truth when the Imperials seized your village. 

There is no normalcy to return to anymore.

And as long as Emperor Gideon remains in control, there is no future to hope for either.

__

Silence reigns in the aftermath of Maar’s explanation as the long list of tragedies hangs heavy over the four occupants. There is tension in the air as you await the Mandalorian’s response to the extinction of his people, whether that be an outburst of anger or tears, and each passing minute only intensifies the nervous energy thrumming through your veins. Your leg starts to bounce restlessly, a bad habit you have had since childhood.

The Mandalorian stands eerily motionless. Your eyes keep flicking from your lap to his visor though you know it is rude to stare. His helmet hides his expression, but you don’t need to see it to know he is floundering right now, mind scrambling to piece together all the details thrown at him. From personal experience, you know the loss of a loved one hits like a tidal wave, hitting you over and over again until you must decide if you are going to stand up or surrender to drowning. Grieving the loss of your parents is the hardest experience of your lifetime to date.

But this...this is vastly different. The Mandalorian didn’t just lose his loved ones. He has lost his friends, neighbors, comrades, acquaintances, everyone all at once. This loss isn’t a tidal wave. It is a kriffing avalanche, burying him ten feet under in total darkness, and there is no one he can count on to save him. 

Finally, after the longest five minutes of your life, he shifts, resting his hands upon his belt with an unexpected air of seriousness. “I need to go.”

You frown, head tilting. That is his reaction?

“Go?” Ahsoka echoes, sounding as incredulous as you feel. “Go where?”

“To look for survivors,” he answers, blunt and harsh, the words forced through clenched teeth. 

Ahsoka is struck silent, and you feel your heart break on his behalf. Your mother’s stories about the Mandalorians had always included, one way or another, their lifelong bonds with each other. You had felt those ties when you had connected with the Mandalorian, believed for a moment as strongly as he did that his fellow warriors would come search for him, that his absence would be noticed and missed amongst them. And here he is now, still desperately clutching to them, unable—or, perhaps unwilling is more apt—to believe a stranger telling him those bonds have been cruelly severed. 

“What you need is to rest,” Maar says, gentle yet firm, letting her authority as the eldest in the room seep into her tone.

He shakes his head, not backing down. “I’ve been asleep for ten years. I don’t need any more rest.”

“Your ship, it, uh,” your shoulders hike up defensively when his visor snaps in your direction, pinning you with its blank stare. Clearing your throat, you continue with a slight grimace, “It’s going to need some repairs before it can take off. I can help you fix it.”

Ahsoka looks over at you in surprise, and then in worry. You don’t blame her, especially since the offer had slipped out without you consciously meaning it to. Once again, the Force is calling the shots and you are just along for the ride, a passenger in your own body.

He considers you for a long moment, then asks, “What do you know about the mechanics of a gunship?” 

If anyone else had asked you that same exact question, you would have bristled at their condescension and retracted your offer in the next breath. But with the Mandalorian, there isn’t even the slightest hint of patronizing courtesy. It is a serious question prompted from genuine curiosity.

You sit up straighter, smiling at him now. “Enough to confidently say I’m your best shot at getting off the ground.”

__

“What’s your plan, exactly?” Ahsoka asks you, braced against the wall with one eye on you and one on the Mandalorian across the garage, patiently waiting for you to finish assembling your tool kit. 

“Huh?” You reply distractedly, trying to decide if you should bring your carbon chisel or not. 

“You don’t have one, do you?”

Not. There are bigger concerns than a bit of carbon scoring. You move to grab your favorite screwdriver with a tapered socket, only for Ahsoka to snatch it away, holding the tool hostage.

“Hey!”

“Have you thought about what you’re doing?” Ahsoka asks slowly, staring you directly in the eyes. “Once you fix his ship, he’s gone. And he’s taking our best chance at escaping Shili with him.”

A quick glance over your shoulder shows the Mandalorian studying the scattered BB unit parts on your workbench. You are missing a few vital components needed in order to bring the little droid back to life after a stormtrooper shot a plasma bolt through it for accidentally bumping into his leg, and haven’t had any luck convincing the village traders to track them down for you when they went to the capital. 

“We can’t keep him here against his will,” you manage at last, turning back to your sister. “Otherwise we’re no better than the Imps.”

When Ahsoka doesn’t say anything, you shrug a shoulder, adding, “Besides, I think I’m supposed to fix it for him. The Force seems pretty insistent about it.”

She makes a face at that. “I liked you better when you ignored your Force instincts. You didn’t make me worry as much.”

A laugh escapes you, embarrassingly loud in the otherwise quiet space, and your cheeks immediately start burning. Ahsoka’s lip twitches like she wants to smile, but instead she schools her features into a blank expression when the Mandalorian’s head turns at the sound. Only once he diverts his attention elsewhere again does her stare lose some of its intensity, looking less like she wants to dissect him beneath a microscope. You can practically see her protective-older-sister-instincts buzzing, reacting to the warrior’s presence. 

As much as he is a chance at providing an escape, he is also first and foremost a complete and total stranger. Even worse, he is a complete and total stranger who knows how to handle weapons. 

“I’ll be fine, I promise.” You squeeze her arm reassuringly. “Shouldn’t take longer than a couple of hours. You’ll be so busy smoothing the Elders’ ruffled feathers you won’t even notice I’m gone.”

Ahsoka finally relinquishes the tool, exhaling a quiet sigh. “You shouldn’t make promises you don’t know for certain you can keep.”

__

Walking side by side with the Mandalorian in silence isn’t awkward, per se, but it definitely isn’t comfortable either. He is close enough your arm keeps accidentally grazing against his, the cold brush of metal against your skin startling you each time. You would have considered his nearness strange if you hadn’t heard Ahsoka threaten to castrate him if you wound up hurt before she sent him flying at the juni tree branch outside your window with an unnecessarily strong push of Force. 

To his credit, the warrior handled her rough treatment with the same ease he has handled everything else thrown at him. You are beginning to think Mandalorians don’t just wear beskar—they are made of it too. Other than the few glimpses of frustration earlier in Maar’s office, he keeps his cards close to his chest, impossible to read. 

He watches everything though, reacting to the slightest of movements and sounds. Constantly alert. You are certain he is watching you right now, despite the fact his helmet is facing forward, your nerves prickling in response to the sensation of eyes upon you.

To your surprise, he is the one to break the silence first. “You sneak out often.”

It is a statement, not a question. 

You suppose the dots are easy enough to connect to reach that conclusion. Still, the certainty in his voice has your heart skipping a nervous beat. He hasn’t even known you a day and yet he is privy to secrets no one outside your community is aware of. “Yeah,” you nod your head after a brief lapse of silence, “Ahsoka can’t train in the village. Not with the stormtroopers around.”

“Has your village tried to run them out? Fight back?”

It is only because you know he is just trying to understand your village’s predicament with the little bits of information he has that you don’t snap at him for being so insensitive. He has no idea what these past five years have been like for you all. No idea the amount of losses and sacrifices the community has suffered. 

Your grip on your tool kit tightens. “I was twelve when they came. The community is mostly traders and hunters, not trained fighters. The few weapons we had were nothing compared to their blaster rifles, but some of the adults tried to defend the village, including our parents. They...” You swallow, or try to, at least, your throat suddenly dry as sand. “Our aunt looked after us until last year we woke up one morning to find a note she’d left to join the rebellion. We haven’t had any contact with her since.”

The Mandalorian’s gloved hand brushes against your knuckles. This time you think it might have been on purpose.

“I lost my parents as a child, too. There was a riot and they died protecting me,” he offers his own private details with the same reluctance as one volunteering to have their teeth pulled out. “The Mandalorians took me in, raised me as one of their own.”

You say nothing about the way his breath slightly hitches when he says Mandalorians, appreciating his openness as it puts you both on somewhat equal footing with each other. 

“I owe it to them to look for survivors,” he tells you, and your montrals detect the quietest hint of a plea in his voice. 

“I understand,” you answer, keeping your tone light to preserve the fragility of this moment. This kind of situation doesn’t happen often—two strangers on the same wavelength, exposing their vulnerable underbellies, desperate to be heard and yet skittish at the same time—and it is oddly therapeutic. 

A decision is made right then and there in the span of a heartbeat. And even more significantly, it is 100% your own choice without any intervention or manipulation from the Force. 

You stop walking, causing the Mandalorian to halt as well. He scans the area for a threat, then visibly jerks when he turns back to find you have your hand held out towards him, pinky raised high, reacting as if you are pointing a weapon at him.

“I don’t understand,” he says, blunt and almost suspicious sounding. Are you just imagining it or can you actually hear him frowning? “What are you doing?”

“Haven’t you ever made a pinky promise with someone before?”

“...A what?”

You snort, ducking your head to hide your smile, and then reach for his hand. Surprisingly, he doesn’t protest your touch.

“A pinky promise,” you repeat as you make his hand form a fist, curling his fingers towards his palm, and then adjust his pinky so you can wrap yours around it. He watches the whole process wordlessly. “It’s a sacred vow shared between two people. The Elders say once it’s sworn, the promise can never be broken.”

He cocks his head, skeptical. “Never?”

“Never,” you reaffirm with a nod. Licking your lips, you look at his visor, right where you instinctively know his eyes are staring back. “I promise I’m going to help you. No matter the odds.”

And something leaks into your voice then, something resolute and binding and otherworldly. A tremor shoots down your spine, too quick for you to make sense of it.

Your sister’s words echo in the back of your mind, ‘You shouldn’t make promises you don’t know for certain you can keep.’ 

You try to pull away, self-doubt gnawing a hole in your stomach, only for the Mandalorian to wrap his pinky tighter around yours, holding you still. A gasp escapes your lips, muffled by the bleeding sincerity in his voice as he swears:

“I promise I will be there when you need me. No matter the odds.”

And although your sister could undoubtedly provide you with a long list of reasons why you shouldn’t, you believe his promise to be true.

__

The Mandalorian heaves a heavy sigh at the sight of his crashed ship. 

“I can’t do much about the landing gear,” you inform him, believing honesty to be the best policy for cases like this. “And I brought some foam-jet for the cockpit viewport, but it’s not a permanent fix. You’re going to have to find someone offworld to replace them.”

“Right,” he agrees absently without turning his eyes away. It occurs to you then that this ship is the closest thing to a home he has now. One of the few precious relics from his past he can still physically cling to. 

“Does your ship have a name?” you ask.

He looks at you, as if coming back to self-awareness, and answers, “Razor Crest.”

A good name, you think. Strong. A bit mysterious. Just like its owner.

You nod decisively. “I like it.”

His modulator crackles faintly, a quiet noise produced from a sudden exhale of air. You blink at the unexpected sound, surprised to realize you recognize it. A laugh. The Mandalorian just laughed at something you said. What is next in store for you? Are akul going to sprout wings and start flying?

He steps around you, heading for the side entry door still open from yesterday with its ramp laying on the ground, pebbles shifting noisily beneath his boots with each step. You don’t realize you are staring, oddly entranced by the swish of his cape and his purposeful strides, until he calls out your name to ask if you are coming.

You nearly drop your tool kit in your haste to follow after him into the Crest’s interior, ignoring the flaring heat radiating from your cheeks. 

For the next few hours, you and the Mandalorian work in companionable silence, engrossed in rerouting wires and welding damaged components with your trusty hand torch. The gunship is older than you initially assumed, perhaps even as old as yourself, and you idly wonder if the Mandalorian found it in a scrapyard somewhere or maybe inherited it from another Mandalorian. You notice the way he handles each piece with an experienced and respectful touch; the same kind of care someone reserves for their most cherished possessions. Anyone with eyes can see how much he loves the Crest just by watching him.

Once you have finished sealing the numerous cracks dissecting the cockpit’s viewport like a spiderweb with foam, you approach the Mandalorian to see his progress on returning power to the dashboard. He is on his back beneath the steering controls, rearranging a mess of wires, and barely acknowledges your presence when you squeeze yourself into the tight space next to him.

“The red wire goes before the white one,” you point out, noticing the mistake immediately. “Fire hazard.”

He pauses, looks at where you have gestured, and corrects his error without criticizing your intervention. You bite back a smile, pleased to be heard. Within your community, even though you have proven your skills time and time again, some of the villagers, usually men, don’t always adhere to your advice, thinking you are too young and too female to know about technology, until they inevitably make their problems worse for themselves and come back to you with their metaphorical tail between their legs. 

You help him reattach the cover plating once he has finished, screwing the bolts back into their corners, and then watch, fingers crossed, as he attempts the ignition sequence, flipping a series of switches.

None of them light up with even the faintest flicker of life.

“Dank farrik,” he growls under his breath, slamming a fist upon the console.

You take a tiny step forward, hesitant to direct his frustration your way. “Can I try?” 

He tilts his head, probably thinking he knows this ship better than anyone and if it doesn’t work for him then you aren’t going to have any luck either.

Eventually he steps back with a shrug, uttering a simple, “Sure.” 

Although you can’t remember the last time you were on a ship, it doesn’t take long to refamiliarize yourself with the various controls and screens once you take a seat in the pilot chair. When your hobby for fixing broken machines changed into a passion you wanted to pursue as a future career, you started memorizing any reading material you could find on the Holonet, including the flight manuals for different classes of starships. You flip through the stored information in your mind about gunships as you press a few buttons on the panel overhead, trying out different sequences for a response.

When your third attempt fails, you bite your lip, racking your brain for a solution. You think about Huno’s kitchen droid and how you had been on the verge of ripping off one of your head-tails trying to repair it after one of its fuses blew, causing it to malfunction. Your tools and knowledge hadn’t been able to fix it in the end. It had required a special remedy to bring it back to life.

You lay your palms flat on the console, just as you had held onto the droid’s square torso. Out of the corner of your eye, you notice the Mandalorian fidget, as if he wants to come closer but is hesitant to crowd you. You ignore him, pressing your fingertips harder against the metal, visualizing in your mind the unseen gears, cables, and components stiff and powerless. You imagine the parts working properly, a current of electricity running through each wire, life ultimately returning to the entire ship, and whisper under your breath a request to the Force.

“Please work, please work, please work…”

An invisible pulse of energy burns down the length of your arms and discharges through your fingertips, strong enough you jerk backwards against the seat. Every button and screen on the dashboard lights up all at once, beeping with alarm at being so rudely resurrected.

You sit there helplessly, stunned and breathless, hands twitching in your lap. The kitchen droid hadn’t required even half as much energy to restart, barely a pinch. Now your body feels like you have been thrown against the electric fence a dozen times. Wordlessly, the Mandalorian comes to your side to help, punching buttons and turning knobs until the alarms quit blaring. A distant part of your brain thinks the Razor Crest as a whole seems strangely soothed by his presence, not quite as cold and dark, but it is hard to follow that train of thought due to the distracting pain throbbing along your temples.

“That’s quite a spark you’ve got,” he says, not unkindly or accusingly, just a statement of the obvious. He looks down at you, not outright asking for an explanation, but giving you the opportunity to open up if you wanted to.

“Yep, that’s me,” you reply, forcing a cheerful smile, praying it doesn’t resemble a grimace. “Sparks Tano at your service.”

He chuckles again, oblivious to how your heart stutters at its raspiness. “Thank you, Sparks. I appreciate it.”

“Well, we’re not done yet.” You rub at your temples under the guise of adjusting your headband. “I need to take a closer look at the engines before we attempt flying out of here. I—”

“I’ll do it,” he cuts in, already heading for the ladder. “You stay here, see if you can update the navicomputer settings.”

You know he knows that updating the navicomputer is child’s play for you. Clearly you aren’t as great at concealing your pain as you thought you were and this is his way of giving you a break. A small part of you is irritated at being treated like a porcelain doll, but you push those negative feelings aside as quickly as they develop. Your aunt always used to remind you and Ahsoka it was okay to accept help when it was offered, that needing support didn’t in any way make you weak. 

“Hey, wait a second,” you call out as you spin around in your seat, freezing him right before he disappears from view into the hull. He holds onto the ladder, waiting patiently for you to continue.

“Back at Maar’s place you didn’t introduce yourself and it’s weird just calling you Mandalorian in my head,” you say, awkwardly drumming your fingers on top of the armrests. He doesn’t answer, eliciting a sigh from your mouth after a drawn-out beat of silence. “What’s your name? You do have one, right?”

“I do, but I can’t tell you it,” he admits at last. “By Mandalorian Creed, only other Mandalorians or my riduur—my spouse,” he corrects, seeing your confusion, “are allowed to know my name and see my face. This is the Way.”

He doesn’t linger to hear your response, dropping down into the hull with a resounding thud. You slowly turn back around, staring absently out the glass. Every culture is unique, including your own, but you think there is something especially interesting about the Mandalorians’. It sounds like a lonely existence, only able to show your face while in select company. What would have happened if he had been unconscious and you had slipped the helmet off his head? What consequence would he have faced? 

And if there truly aren’t any Mandalorians left besides him, his spouse will be the only one to ever know him completely. It almost sounds like a love story, if not a little bit heart-wrenching. 

Two high-pitched dings from the console jerk you out of your thoughts with a wince. You look for the source, finding the radar lit up and actively scanning the area, and bristle when you see a pair of red dots moving across the screen. 

Not even a minute later you are sprinting out of the cave, ignoring the Mandalorian’s alarmed shout from the roof of the Razor Crest. They’re early, you think with panic, looking towards the sky where two starships with Imperial logos are heading straight for your village. Why have they come back so soon?

You push your legs to run faster, your surroundings a blur beyond the trail in front of you, but the effort is meaningless. You won’t make it back home before they land.

And when your absence is noted, bloodshed is not a possibility. 

It is a guarantee.

Series taglist: @pedro4ever @cannedsoupsucks

Din Djarin Taglist: @a-skov @pedrosbisch @quica-quica-quica @stevie75 @iamskyereads @banga-sama @dincrypt @ohlawdthebirds​

Permanent taglist: @promiscuoussatan @vintagesaph @over300books @chibi-yuki @theocatkov @oh-no-a-whovian @absurdthirst @freeshavocadoooo @you-and-i-deserve-the-world @lin-djarin @happiestsparkleofall @randomness501 @gallowsjoker @coaaster @captain-jebi @leilei-draws @disgruntledspacedad @melobee @stilllivindue2spite @pointy-sharp @artsymaddie @waywardmando @asta-lily @thisshipwillsail316 @mylifeofcalculatedchaos @grogusmum @sherala007 @mejswho @uncle-kenobi @rogertaylorsfalsettogivesmehives @tacticalsparkles @mandocrasis @littlebopper96 @you-got-me-starry-eyed @kiss-evans @writeforfandoms @pbeatriz @anaaaispunk

#my fic #my writing #Mandalorian #mandalorian x reader #mandalorian fanfic #Din Djarin #din x you #din x reader #din djarin x you #din djarin x reader #togruta reader #ahsoka tano #the last mandalorian #pedrostories #art

[24kmagiic]

Lazy Klonnie/Bonnie Week 2021

It seems as though our numbers are dwindling and since I don’t really have the time I once had to create a beautiful graphic, here I am stepping out on faith with just my words to get the creative juices going. For those of you still out there with an interest and a need, I invite you to participate in Lazy Klonnie Week. Post those long forgotten WIPs, drabbles, head cannons, pics, ideas, anything Klonnie related. To keep with a theme, please see the below schedule.

Sunday April 4: Forgotten WIPS Day

Post whatever you have or whatever you’ve deleted off the internet in the past. I think we can all agree that at this point, anything, finished or not, is better than nothing. :) As a writer, I know it’s easy to get caught up in perfection but as a reader, I implore you to post anything. (I understand how scary this is lol, but do it. If its not perfect, no one cares but you.... and that one anonymous reader that secretly hates on you but they don’t count.)

Monday April 5: Adopt a Fic Day

Create fanfiction of your favorite fanfiction. I cannot express this part enough but, if you can, contact the original author for permission and, at the very least if they’re no longer around, GIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE! Do not steal. I will find you and fight you personally. No cap. Create your own fairytale ending of what you wished happened in a story or create an entirely new spin-off. (BUT MAKE IT YOUR OWN!) As a writer, I’ve always secretly wished someone would do this with something I’ve written because honestly sometimes I think my shit sucks and know that someone could do my crappy idea way more justice lol. (If you absolutely don’t want anyone touching your work, let me know and I’ll make it known.)

Tuesday April 6: Review a Defunct/Abandoned/Old Fic Day

Silent readers, keep reading. I know you’re out there. You tell on yourselves all the time. You message writers years later like “I LOVED YOUR STORY...” but yet there are no reviews to back up your claim lmao. Go back and review a story that touched your life. Hell, this don’t even have to be Klonnie related just do it. Let me tell you, it works. I had a reader write a review to one of my stories that touched me so deeply, it revived my entire writing career, no cap. Sis pulled me from the depths of hell. Thanks girl. Her excitement for my story brought me back after I’d abandoned it for FIVE DAMN YEARS. Anything is possible. Go show someone you care and tell them how their writing of Klonnie (or any pairing) made you feel. Even if they’re long gone, they will get that email notification and they will see it and who knows, they may come back. Awake those sleeping giants! A lot of content creators disappear because there is no audience. 

Wednesday April 7: Graphic Creators Day

Post what you got and keep it moving. Post those drafts, finish a gif-set from 800 years ago that you’ve abandoned (I know I have one). Just offload what you have because years from now, no one will care about how perfect it was, just that it’s there. 

Thursday April 8: Drabble/Head Cannon Day

Unleash those endless strings of thought onto us. Share ideas of what you wished happened, what you wish you had the chance to read. Rant about Bonnie’s injustice for old times sake. Put your ideas out there and hopefully, someone will pick it up and run with it.

Friday April 9: ...Pick It Up And Run With It Day

Take those ideas and do something with them. Anything. Help.

Saturday April 10: Give Back Day

Write a Comedy. Write a Shakespearean tragedy. Write something. Even if you’ve never written a single thing in your life, try. Don’t be a silent reader all your life. If not, thank a content creator for what they’ve done. We wanna read/consume media too. We get tired reading each other’s stuff over and over again lol. Not that it’s not good but we want to see knew people, new ideas, new perspectives. Rewrite the entire TV show from a nosey neighbor’s perspective or something. 

Sunday April 11: Free Day

Enjoy what you’ve had a hand in creating this week.

You have a week to spread the news and get on board. 

I’ve noticed in the tags the concern behind our dwindling numbers and that’s largely because content is being consumed without positive feedback and encouragement. I’m not saying it’s absolutely mandatory but in a way, it is. If you want the plant to grow, you gotta water it baby. :) 

You may post on any platform but be sure to link it in the tag below so that we can all track it efficiently.

Official Tag:  #KlonnieWeek2021

Happy Shipping! :) 

#klonnie #bonnie bennett #klonnie week 2021 #official tag #i'd tag the other ships but this is for klonnie specifically #the ship wars be real outchea lol #still if you see this and are apart of another bonnie ship #please chip in! #here goes nothing #like this if you want to participate #message me if you have questions #although communication is not my strongest lol #imma try for yall doe #personal #klonnieweek2021

[egopocalypse]

hi eg!! for that ask game if you're still doing it, how about I J with gone away K L T U V and Z? (you don't have to do all of them of course >:D) (just ones you want to)

Blip, my beloved. <3 This got very long, so I'll answer one above the cut and leave the rest under it.

U: Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much.

@livelymon Parental Rights author. The characterization throughout the fic and how Live balances each shifting POV is absolutely incredible. Plus, we got BAMF!Tubbo, the best Bedrock Bros reconciliation I can name in any fic (which I am VERY picky about), terrifying c!Dream, and Awesamdad. <3 I liveblogged several chapters of it to a friend (hi, kas) and ranted in the comments so often. Only a few fics have made me go on a rampage like that, and this one absolutely deserved it. I still go back and re-read that fic every now and again. It's beyond beautiful and a reading experience I look back on so fondly.

@skyestar7703 Living in the Circular. Need I say more?

No, but really, Living in the Circular is the best DSMP fic I could probably rec to anyone. It's the best balance of the different tones canon leans toward out of any fic I've seen. The worldbuilding is extensive. The characterization is immaculate. The hijinks and healing are brilliant beyond compare. The foreshadowing is so well woven into the story that I SCREAMED in the comments when I unearthed it in a recent re-read. It's a MASSIVE undertaking of a fic, and I love talking to Skye in DMs about it every opportunity I get. Genuinely something I recommend to everyone who follows me.

@seaswalllow Kas. <3

While Kas in general is enough of a reason, I can go on and on about his fics. I'm always in awe of his writing--from his gorgeous extended metaphors that feel like prose poetry, to his incredible worldbuilding and the time he puts into laboring over it, to his intense attention to detail that displays itself in every word. The fics Kas has been developing for at least half a year (if not longer) are heart-wrenching and so powerful just from hearing about them, and I can't wait until they unleash them on the world. Chasing the Sun and Hiraeth are going to demolish us, Halcyon is so beautiful and detailed that every interaction makes me weep, and Nicotine is just beloved (/hj).

None of these fics seem like they're talked about enough in the fandom (at least, from what I've seen). All three of these authors deserve more love on these fics, and I will continue to scream about them until they get it.

I: Do you have a guilty pleasure in fic (reading or writing)?

Oh boy, do I. The followers who've been around the block with me for a few years can tell you that at least 90% of what I've written has involved power imbalances in some way. There's something so intriguing about that exploring that type of dynamic between two characters. Will the one wielding the power succeed, or will the one they want to control resist for another day? How long until one of them slips? No matter who's in what position, it's a dynamic that has fascinated me for my whole life, and will continue to for a long time.

J: Write or describe an alternative ending to Gone Away:

Tubbo never leaves the island. ;)

K: What's the angstiest idea you've ever come up with?

For the Dream SMP? The prologue of A Warden's Secrets. Overall? A short fic series I wrote for my last fandom called Obedience. ;)

L: How many times do you revise your fic/chapter before posting?

Recently, I've been hand-writing my first draft, then editing the next morning as I type it into the doc! It's a system that I've found works well for me. However, that means I revise it as many times as days it takes to finish, even in small increments. Once a scene/chapter is entirely finished, I do one last read-through to proofread and make any last edits, and then once it feels complete, I post it! It may seem like it takes a while, but because I do it bit by bit, it tends to work out better for me.

T: Any fandom tropes you can't stand?

God, far too many to list. I'd be happy to talk about the rest in DMs, but the one that stands out the most to me off the top of my head is violent, mindless Enderwalk!Ranboo, especially if it's toward Michael. It just isn't character-compliant at all, and the way people use it just to hurt Michael and cause c!Beeduo pain leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

V: If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?

Halcyon. <3 That's why I wrote a side-story for it!

Z: Major Character Death--do you ever write/read it? Is there a character whose death you can't tolerate?

I've both written and read it! And call me a hypocrite here all you'd like, but I can't tolerate Tommy or Tubbo perma-dying. That's one of the reasons why I've never read Passerine (and I don't plan to). Temporary deaths like Gone Away, The Dead Don't Dream, etc. are okay, but permadeaths just don't Sit Right with me.

Thanks for all the questions!

Ask game

#friend tag #friend: blip #ask game

[burningblake]

show your process

To continue supporting content makers, this tag game is meant to show the entire process of making creative content: this can be for any creation.

RULES - When your work is tagged, show the process of its creation from planning to posting, then tag up to 5 people with a specific link to one of their creative works you'd like to see the process of. Use the tag #showyourprocess so we can find yours.

I have been tagged by @lordbelacqua to talk about this gifset (thank you sm, I always wanted to make my own sort of gif tutorial hehe). Also, shout-out to lordbelacqua’s gifset here.

Since this is going to be long, I put everything under the cut.

planning: so since this is an inspired gifset, obviously the idea came from another post, this one here and as you will see this post has an insp credit on its own, but the user changed their url so I had to do some search to find their gifset. anyway, it’s here. the first gifset includes the greek words ‘eros’, ‘philautia’, ‘storge’, ‘philia’ but you will notice in my gifset I have an extra word which is ‘agape’ (my personal favorite as a greek person), this extra word I saw from the second gifset. 

At first, I wanted to do this with #alina starkov from #shadow and bone, but I realized that the word ‘eros’, i.e. romantic love would go for #darklina, whilst ‘storge’, i.e. familial love, would go for alina and mal, and becaure of the ship wars in the fandom, I didn’t want to potentially attract haters from doing this. btw, someone else did this after I posted the yennefer gifset and I was really happy to see it, especially because they used many moments/relationships I had in mind, so shout-out to @darkstarkova for the gifset. 

anyway, I also ended up choosing yennefer because for me it just felt much more meaningful to do such a gifset for her, since she has so much love to give and so few chances to do so. I also wanted to do right by it and use quality frames, so I went the extra mile and downloaded higher quality episodes. then I had to choose the shots that would work. some of the words, like “eros” and “storge” and “agape” I already had an idea what they would be, but for the words “philautia” and “philia” I had to fast-rewatch some episodes again. long story short, I first planned to blend this gifset for “philautia”, i.e. self love:

but then I rewatched the scene at the end where yennefer burns it all and as she was remembering all the times she’d been abused and maltreated, I teared up (I always do) and that scene just felt much more powerful to me, because it was then that she truly accepted herself and “let her chaos” be unleashed. 

giffing: to sharpen my gifs, I used the light sharpening action from this post. for the coloring and blending I’ll use the first gif as an example, but more or less, I didn’t follow any specific color palette, but went with what looked nice and what didn’t. so at first I had this gif: 

after I finished staring at this (took me a few minutes), I actually focused on the coloring. so first I used a curves layer and chose the light and dark areas (left pic below). Basically you choose the marker in the yellow circle to choose the lightest spot on yor gif, and the marker in the dark circle to choose the darkest spot respectively. I also play individually with the greens, blues and reds (right pic below) until I get a lighting base that I like:

Now at this part I usually just add a levels and brightness layer to further enhance the light and dark spots. At this point the gifset looks like this: 

personally I didn’t like the red tint on their faces and the cyan tint on geralt’s hair, so I used a selective color layer and turned up the cyans in the reds and turned down the cyans in the cyans like below. I also turned down the yellows in the cyans but I see that this didn’t change much, so it’s something I simply forgot to turn back to normal. 

I also added a color balance layer. With this I usually increase the blues, the magentas and cyans for midtones, shadows and highlights. So now: 

At this point, I add a gradient map layer in b&w, right-click on it, select ‘blending options’ and turn it to soft light, then play with the opacity if necessary:

Usually this is where my coloring ends, but I still didn’t like the result so I played around some more and ended up adding a second gradient map layer in b&w, left it at normal blend mode and turned the opacity down to 47%. So this is what I have finally:

So then I colored the second gif similarly and blended it in. For blending gifs, I follow this tutorial here. So now I had this:

As you can see, the coloring and light of the blended gif doesn’t match the base gif. Adding a similar second gradient to the blended gif didn’t really work nice. Then I decided to turn it b&w with a simple black and white layer and voila, the result just clicked. 

For the text I downloaded various fonts from here. So the title line “eros” is in the Bellerose font and the rest are in the Avenir font from here. I used the gradient text effect described here for the title line. And as for the second subtitle text, I simply opened “blending options” again, set the fill opacity to 0 and used a white stroke of size 1 px. Final result:

For the rest of the gifs I did similar coloring and blending.

arranging: To arrange, I simply play around with what looks good. The size I used is 540 x 450, because in the first gif I needed yennefer’s dark hair to take quite a large proportion of the gif, so that I could place the blended gif on (it does not show on light areas), so this determined the dimensions for the gifset. 

posting: I always “save as draft” before I post any gifset because I want to make sure all gifs play out correctly and also I want to see if the mobile app shows them correctly as well. So after I verify this, I add the caption and I search the necessary blogs to tag to spread awareness. 

I’d say it is my most quality gifset yet and I am kind of proud of it :) 

I’m tagging: 

@starkkov​ for this gifset | @captainheroism​ for this gifset | @swanthief​ for this gifset | @aleksander-alina​ for this gifset | @the-darkling​​ for this gifset

of course you can just ignore this or choose another creation of yours to show the process for <3

#tag games #showyourprocess #gif tutorial #thank you ❤️ #thanks for reading all of this if you did