WE FINALLY HAVE A COVER FOR THE @tmntaucompetition PEOPLE 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
look at it LOOK AT IT MY WIFE MADE THAT MY WIFE MADE THAAAAT thank you again beloved @turtleinsoup you capture emotion so well you talented beauty hnngggggggggg
I love the flaming arrow as best method of destruction but a close second im desperate for more people to know about is the failed attempt to bribe the security guards into leaving their posts so someone could steal the goat With A Helicopter
Anon you are so right. Even though the goat survived 2010 hats off to the two guys who tried to bribe a security guard the equivalent of $7,000 USD to let them kidnap the goat
To be quite frank, both the quality of the material (clearly using AI generated assets in advertising, book covers, and in-game special art cutscenes — despite denials of its use) as well as the quality of of the storytelling itself has been in a marked for a few years now, and anything innovative or engaging has been rare if existing at all. The stories are lacking in diverging choices with meaningful and large-scale consequences. Characters, especially the MC, have to act like idiots to make the story happen. Though the apps has shifted towards more adult erotic-driven stories, the writing and voice is often juvenile and at times puerile. The waning trickle of gender of choice books especially alienates the mlm audience. Despite pledging to be an app where all can feel represented and welcome, at this point the extremely noticeable lack of queer covers of ANY kind in the past couple of years — especially and notably on the steamy adult romance style covers — is suspect. Especially when all those covers are becoming compositionally identical, the seeming desperate need to cater to the heterosexual eye (for what, marketability?) genuinely holds you back artistically and all these book cover blur together. The VIP model is overpriced; and if you want social media engagement, has killed fandom engagement on Tumblr where Choices used to regularly be on the top trending list — a feat which drew readers like me to this app in particular. I cannot deny that there have been recent, seriously entertaining books (such as Dirty Little Secrets, a success because it knew EXACTLY what kind of story it was), but they are not the norm, and feel to far between to tide people over for much longer.
And to reiterate, nothing says “cheap, worthless schlock” like using AI generated material. We can plainly see you using it. I would suggest you stop unless your desire is for “schlock” to be your brand signifier.
if you're writing a charles fic, it must have some aspect of boyking. he must lean a little on the childgod side. he has to be revered a little bit, adored even. if people aren't talking about him like they wouldn't wash his feet and adorn it with perfume like mary magdalene washed and adorned jesus' feet, you're doing it wrong.
just wanted to let you know i am Eating your dai li lu ten au. long feng doesn’t know how to be Normal towards his new subordinate because everyone in the dai li, including himself, grew up being indoctrinated and turned into human weapons in an incredibly toxic and soul crushing environment (bc i don’t think the dai li only started being Like That after long feng gained control, and i think it’s canon they start training at 13?)…just like the FN royal family grew up being indoctrinated and turned into human weapons in an incredibly toxic and soul crushing environment, so for lu ten there are a surprising amount of uncomfortable similarities…This Is Fine
LITERALLY THISSSS and lu ten is like. his shiny new subordinate. but in order to keep a sharp eye on him obviously lu ten operates as long fengs personal agent. but it develops beyond "I have to have him near me to keep an eye on him".
being long fengs Only personal agent makes the way lu ten is treated compared to the REST of the dai li make sense- high clearance, solo missions that take him outside of ba sing se, his room (cell) being personal (its a room. but its a cell. Its still his room. it has a nice bed and lounging chairs and a tea set and scrolls and whatever the fuck else you have in your room) and deep under lake laogai (away from the sun). harsh punishments that are like 2 shots and a blunt away from torture.
but the thing is- and this is where the silco and jinx influence comes in- their dynamic is obviously built on manipulation, but long feng doesn't like... actively manipulate him with words or actions. the regularly scheduled chi blocking and dai li-special brainwashing, yeah, but he doesn't add onto it by feeding lu ten ideas or playing with lu tens mind. its not anything like ozai and azula, or mother gothel and rapunzel. its far more casual and trusting. professional, since it is still a boss and his subordinate, but since lu ten is special, there's a taste of domesticity. long feng doesn't make lu ten bust his ass for the paternal mentor side. its like 'dad and the cat he didn't want'.
long feng isn't suspicious of what lu ten does on his solo missions. hed get defensive on lu tens behalf if one of the other dai li heads that do know about lu ten being a fire nation prince would imply that he might betray long feng and ba sing se. he doesn't try to push anything onto lu ten because he doesn't have to- everything long feng wants in lu ten as his agent develops on its own, naturally. hes not cold and calculating when hes punishing lu ten for failing a mission, even if the punishments are crazy harsh. he hands over delicate business that could threaten ba sing se's security to lu ten with relief because long feng trusts him more than he trusts the other powerful dai li heads and politicians that are near long feng's level of power in ba sing se- and not even because lu ten will answer to him anyway, or because he has no reason not to- just because he trusts that lu ten will get the job done right. he trusts lu tens productivity and skill not just as a worker, but just as a person. the pride and care is genuine, and it coexists with the fact that he would definitely use lu ten against the fire nation as a last resort defense if worse came to worst.
and yeah, long feng notes their similarities and vows that since lu ten is a special case agent, he will be treated by long feng humanly, and with respect and care. it's almost like a parent vowing to not be like their parents before them, but like. dark sided and evil
(Content warnings: Conditioning, drugging, mentioned torture and dehumanization, kidnapping, Stockholm syndrome)
Whumpee is a jerk. With the exception of two or three people, they push around everyone. They end up getting into a drunk bar fight with someone named Whumper. It was an average Tuesday for them, so they didn't care. As they stumbled back to their car, a rough hand grabs their hair and slams them into the door until the pass out.
Caretaker is shocked a year later to find their friend (who was supposed to be dead) skip down the street. Whumpee changed. They are now sweet as a lamb and cheerful, too happy. They don't say anything bad about their kidnapper or even what happened. They're always smiling and against negativity. Caretaker would've preferred shaking and crying or even just being closed off.
Whumpee is deeply traumatized, but they're "thankful" for it. Whumper was just helping them! Being isolated and dehumanized was for the best! The year long torture was worth it!