#hence the wonky format

[shittyleitnerideas]

(I think it cropped wonky hence the second image ignore if Tumblr format is just messing with me)

Leitner of. Draw yuri

lesbiance...

#the magnus archives #tma #jurgen leitner #leitner books #from the library of jurgen leitner #submission #unclear entity

[mydictionary-yume]

Intro post!

Contents: About me | BYF | DNI | F/Os | Tag Guide | Extras

(Before you go on just know that proshitters aren’t allowed here)

About me!

-Call me LC or Lu!

-Any pronouns work, but I primarily use she/they

-I’m an adult!

-My romantic attraction is wonky in an aspec way, but I’m asexual :3

-I’m more used to the term yume over selfshipping, so much of the blog’s language and tags follow that!

-My main blog is @akaikami-cherryblossom, if you’re wondering who the hell is following you back & liking ur posts<3

Before you follow!

-Though I am an adult, I’m not the biggest fan of nsfw content, I won’t post any and I keep a lot of tags for it blocked

-I do swear and stuff

-I block liberally and without warning!

-Ah… eto…. Bleh

DNI

-Pro.ship

-Com/dark.ship I’m mostly chill with but you’re on thin ice. Just be respectful and kind.

-Ship with H*rry P*tter characters or real people

-Ship romantically with Sakuya Saku.ma(nothing against you if you do! It’s less of a jealousy and more of a paranoia thing)(that said I do have friends who ship with him and they’re chill + fine to follow this blog, you know who you are<3)

-If you know me irl no you don’t. Go away

-Standard MAP, TERF, etc.

-Failure to comply will result in a block lol

F/Os!

Format: Name - Source - Ship name/status - tag

Romantic

Saku.ya Saku.ma - A.3! - Acting Angels/SakuLu/LuSaku - 🌸💕

Elt.creed Valentine - Steam Prison - DiaElt - 🍝❤️

Seiichiro Minamoto - San.rio Danshi/Boys - KanaSei - 💙☁️

Platonic/Familial

Azu.ma Yuki.shiro - A.3! - Older sibling thingy - 🛏️💙

Masu.mi Usu.i - A.3! - Homie - 🎧💟

Ban.ri Set.tsu - A.3! - Homie - 🍂💥

Obey Me Cast - Obey Me - Fambily - 💫😈

Mizu.no Yu - San.rio Danshi/Boys - Homie - 🐇💘

And maybe more…..

Tag guide!

LC screams: Talk tag :3

LC’s [creation]: exactly what it sounds like! My creations!

Yume info: info about my s/is! (Hence why it’s not here)

Yume [creation]: catchall tag for anything made by me or others for my s/is or ships!

Friends tag: tag for friends’ posts!

Other yumes: basically my “other ships” tag

[non-me yume] tag: tag for a friend’s yume character! I’ll implement it for someone’s yume after they have four-ish posts on my blog hehe<3

S/I tags

Yume time: Lucille’s tag!

Kana time: Kana’s tag!

Dia tag: Diatana’s tag!

Chiara time: Chiara’s tag!

Extras!

-Other fandoms of mine include: en.stars, dungeon me.shi, mil.gram, puroseka, twisted wonder.land, king.dom hearts, ace att.orney and more!!

-Leave me a drawing!

-I write fic outside of selfshipping! You can find me @lcs-library here and @ LCs_Library on AO3!

-I think that’s it! Thank you so much for reading!!!

Divider credit<3

#my carrd is um. under construction. #this is quicker tho so hehe #and I’ve been wanting a prettier intro post for a while #LC screams

[picklesttrpg]

(temporary) Introduction!! to PICKLE'S WORLD

Hello!!! I'm Pickle! (Or rather, The Pickle God)

And I really want to develop my own world and make a TTRPG out of it! With an entire system and all!

Hence I'm the literal god of pickles, I won't waste time with labels and stuff like that, I am a pickle. And I ramble a lot, sadly

Ngl I'm really new to tumblr, so like hang in there with me please! I'm learning as I go, like I discovered formatting text just a few days ago.

What Pickle actually wants

I have a world with characters, worldbuilding, all the juicy stuff including unecessary details. I have an entire web of morons, historical events and everything, and am working on many stories that happen all throughout it (Writing one as a personal thing, and I was publishing a webcomic over another one, tho thanks to irl stuff it's on hiatus rn)

I'm actually horrible with names, and even tho I've worked on the world for 6-7 years by now, I still don't have a name for it (please help). As most creators, I wanted to share it with the world, to get feedback and improve on it! Offer my silly little concept and pickles for everyone to see. But besides that I have one more dream.

My world is in one big busy city. Filled to the brim with wonky characters, all fighting for being more and more important than the other. (and really, individuality is rewarded whilst people who are passive and grey usually end up at the edge of the society) Everything from biker grandmas living out their wildest final years, aspiring children supervillains to singing popstar priests, worshipping an entity which lives in the stars. This is reaching lore territory, but in this world, everyone has to strive to be the best and most exciting version of themselves, otherwise their past might catch up to them.

I wanted my world to be a place for other *real* people to thrive in. To create a character (or multiple!), who can go do what they truly want (and suffer in the process) I think it's just so incredibly cool when other people make characters for your own world, where you can think about them interacting with everyone, participating in the events, and having an entirely new story to share!

I essentially wish my world could once be a place for others to create ocs for and roleplay in. (now there is more to it, obviously, but like how cool is that! someone 'moving into' your world and story!)

Why TTRPG then?

Now, I work on the world and stories all the time, but I've never had them in any publicly shareable versions. Additionally, I didn't know if people online would actually ever care. But that's the sweet benefit of tumblr blogs, from what I noticed. It can be a little unnoticed blog and it's just vibing and doing its own thing!

I have friends who are reaaaaaalllly into DnD and few other games like that. I've played with them, and know even some DMs!

Now, isn't dnd great? You make your own character, explore a new cool world with possible friends, do some cool (or mostly unhinged) stuff and literally immerse yourself int everything! Really, a roleplaying game like that seems a great fit for anyone who wants people to explore their worldbuilding and writing!

But personally, conventional dnd isn't for me, and the systems are quite complicated. And as fun and intricate as they are, I also know many begginers, who may get scared away or confused. I found Call of Cthulhu much more enjoyable! Including the system in it, it's been fun, especially the sanity mechanic, and also how it offered different type of challenge and roleplaying purpuose from dnd!

Additionally, I could never imagine adapting all the mechanics into my world, seeing as my own lore offers different playstyles and opportunities. (Like I can't even use the races and classes)

So, I've decided, with a help of few friends, to try and create a new-ish system, specifically built with my world in mind!

The goal is to be simple and begginer-friendly, to shorten the learning curve, but also give more space to people who want to roleplay and develop their characters.

One of the main 'concepts is' "If shit goes down, do whatever you can."

Conflicts can be resolved in any way, from fighting, reasoning to seduction, bribery, or even just a well timed kick to the nuts, poke someone's eye out with a paper. And I wanted a system simple enough to spare us most of the math and formalities, and one which would work the 'same' way regardless of the player's actions,

I want to focus on characters, city/environment exploration and putting players as protags into stories, which are more than "slay the dragon, save the village, rock on brother"...mostly cause my world would crumble under any actual adventurers.

These are just wonky people with minimum wage jobs, physical trauma and debt, living life in a world where everyone is forced to be the protag sometimes.

The entire system is in EARLY BABY STAGES! but I want to share it, and both report on how the testing in practice goes, but also possibly get some input and advice from you, *the internet people*, to make it the best it can be? This is a huge learning experience for me, and honestly, I'd just love to take you on the adventure with me.

So, are you interested in lots of worldbuilding and lore-heavy characters? Or would you like to help with creating a TTRPG?

If so, please join me on my adventure!

Aid The Pickle God!

oh and dw, i don't think i have the capability/skills nor desire to make this system/game thing monetizable. I do not ask for any money, but please, don't claim any of my characters or stories as your own. They're very personal and important to me. I want this system to encourage more people to try roleplaying like this, and promote character creation (alongside developing my own ocs), so especially the system, feel free to use it, and let me know how it went! would love suggestions and help with it, to make it the best it can be! And I want to offer my world too, but for now, I think it's still a bit too early for that. Please get inspired and make your own worlds and stories fun and wonky! But again, don't claim my work please :)

And now, Pickle out!

Worship and devour me, mortals!

#pickle #pickle god #ttrpg #indie ttrpg #intro post #blog intro #introduction #introductory post #tabletop rpg #worldbuilding #character building #looking for help #world #passion project #world building #picklegods ttrpg

[professor-kay-redwood]

Since I don't believe they're very common anywhere else, I'd like to introduce all of you to Cam Rotom! I'd like to note something when wrong with the Pokedex and labeled it as an Electric/Ghost type despite them being Electric/Normal type. Don't know why but I'm looking into it now! Little mischievous guys but I love my Cam Rotom Harvey to death!

Hello! This is the mod speaking here! Whenever I post entries for the Edonian Pokedex or anything like that there'll be a little blurb from me with this text formatting about it! I'm putting it under the cut so that way anyone who doesn't want to read me rambling doesn't need too!

Firstly yes I did make an oppsie while making the dex card, but with how I make them it would be weird and wonky to try and remake it so we're going to say it's a tech error in character! Anyways onto my actual commentary about the design.

So I made Cam Rotom in attempt to make a sort of Paparazzi Pokemon for the region (hence it's behind the scenes name of Paparazzi Rotom!) I debated back and forth on its typing alot because Bug would make sense thematically with them forming large flying hoards like moths to a flame, but normal made more sense because Rotom is rather Literal. This is actually the reason for the mistake as I just put in Rotom's Default typing as a placeholder and forgot to change it.

I ended up deciding on normal with the logic of they're super common to see flying around. Plus cameras would be a common device with the California based location of the region.

I also ended up taking the arm things on most Rotom forms and turned them into legs of a tripod to go further into the Camera thing. Overall I'm really happy with the design!

#pkmn irl #pokemon irl #pokeblogging #fakemon #pokemon #fakemon region #edonia region #edonia pokedex

[runicmagitek]

Hi there Runic!

I was wondering your opinion on using Scrivner to draft fics vs using Word? Like pros and cons? (Some of the articles online are so confusing! >//<‘)

Thanks so much for the ask, anon! And also thanks for your patience; I wanted to give this some thought, hence the wait.

I primarily use Scrivener and have been using it for a little over a decade. I also use Word during the final phase of edits. I'll list some of my favorite features of each one, followed by the cons.

Scrivener

Organizing a story in Scrivener is where it shines the most. For a longer story, you can break things down by chapter and easily move them around as needed. For me, I use a single file for all my fics and breakdown folders by fandom, then by ships. The use of status markers and labels and custom meta-data, while initially daunting, are also super great to flag what state your draft is in along with any other indicators you wish to use. For me, I like marking if fics are for an exchange or a gift for a friend. I've even customized the meta-data so I can plug in potential tags and ratings as I go!

Snapshots is a neat function that makes a copy of your current file. I use it with each new phase of editing, in case I need to refer to an older version. It's super easy to switch back and forth between snapshots, plus there's a preview to show what has been removed or added from the last version!

There are a ton of compiling options for when you wish to export your story as a Word doc or a PDF or even for epublishing. I don't use this too often, but I have lots of friends who do and it makes proper formatting really simple.

There is a focus mode that removes all the UI stuff and just shows you the words. If this didn't exist, I wouldn't be able to write anything lolsob.

You can set target goals for each document or even the entire file. And if you have multiple documents in a single folder with word count targets applied, Scrivener will add them all up and give you a total target estimate. Really handy for planning out how long your story will be!

THERE IS A DARK MODE THEME.

Word

The grammar/spelling checker is a lot more robust in comparison to Scrivener.

Sharing your Word document and sharing notes/comments with beta readers is a LOT easier in Word. It's similar to how Google Docs works with leaving comments, replying to each other, and marking them as resolved.

Copy-pasting from Word into AO3's rich text preserves the formatting, whereas I've had a lot of wonky issues going from Scrivener to AO3.

Text-to-speech, while kinda weird, is a godsend when I want to read out loud a fic before posting, but don't have the energy to do so.

If you have Word, you likely have a Microsoft subscription, which means you have access to OneDrive, which makes for VERY easy backups. Plus you can get Word on your phone and work off that and your computer seamlessly at no extra cost.

THERE IS ALSO A DARK MODE.

Hokay, now for cons.

Scrivener

Scrivener is not free. It is a one-time fee of $60~. That said, if you participate in NaNo and win, you can get a discount code (I believe it's 50% off?)

It was originally made for Macs, but then a Windows version was developed. The team behind Scrivener is very small and it took… forever to get the Windows version up to speed with the Mac version. There are still some differences between the two, but thankfully both versions are on the same page. Jumping off of this, there is an iOS version, but no Android version.

If you wish to back up your Scrivener stuff, you can only really do that via a Dropbox account. Also, I believe it's not possible to open the same file on different computer types. So if you have two computers (one Mac and one Windows) and want to open the same file on both, it's not really going to work. In my experience, I've also run into issues getting things to sync and open when using two Windows computers. So if you're planning to bounce around different computers/laptops/etc., definitely keep this in mind.

On top of that, for every device you want Scrivener on? You need to pay for that.

Scrivener has got one hell of a learning curve, too. I've been using it for so long and am STILL discovering new ways to use it. It can be intimidating, even after you go through all the tutorials.

Word

This also costs money, but sadly is not a one-time fee AND you need to invest in a bundle plan instead of just getting Word. Home subscriptions range from $70 to $100 a year, depending if you're getting it just for yourself or for your family/friends to use too. For me, I use it with my boyfriend and we use all the programs a bunch, so it works out well for us. This might work for you too if you're interested in having access to things like Excel and OneNote and cloud storage. But if you just want Word, that's not really feasible.

I haven't experienced this because I've stopped writing novel-length stories in Word, but I've heard from friends that the program slows down after 30k words or so, which is unfortunate and frustrating.

Furthermore, you can't really transition from file to file in Word as you can in Scrivener. You'd need to manage the folders on your computer outside of the program.

Word isn't really designed for book formatting. You CAN do it, but it takes some extra work on your end to format things accordingly, whereas Scrivener has a bunch of built-in features to help with that.

Microsoft is A LOT bigger than the Scrivener team, thus there are frequent updates. And because of that, you need to perform more updates to the program and might even need to reacquaint yourself with features and UI changes.

I hope this helps! Regardless of which program you wish to use, I hope it goes smoothly and you have a blast writing your stories on it!

#runic rambles #writing resources

[starswirly]

Info dump on Saucer, please!!!! Give me all the information you want!! I want to know more!!

FEED ME

Also, if you want to, you can also info dump on the ship with Nightmare and Saucer! I think it’s called Rotten Apples, right?

Anon my BELOVED holy moly of COURSE I WILL AUGH!!! (And yes their ships is Rotten Apples :3c)

URGH MY SILLIES- I have slight issues and may have accidentally decided to create an entire alternate Dreamtale so my silly oc and Nightmare could have a tragic childhood friends to lovers arc, I promise I’m so so normal- I really really want to write it out in fic format one day, so I don’t want to spoil it but hmmmmm

Saucer lore- quick facts! From Dreamtale, came to the village when they were ~8 (which, there’s a whole lot for the Lore of this alternate Dreamtale [I’ve convinced myself there a lot i don’t actually know-] but basically the incident happens when they Apple Twins are in their later teens, with a much minor [but still impactful] incident happening when they were 6.) they had run away from home on a quest to become a healer, and met Nightmare that way (ish. Again, details.) the two bond and grow pretty close! Saucer is outgoing and a bit mischievous, but also socially awkward given their upbringing-

which is its own thing- Their parents are a human and a nature elemental, and had lived a pretty secluded life. Naturally, while Saucer is a very curious child, they aren’t great with people at times because of that!

Jumping ahead a bit, when the actual incident occurs, they technically die- their body is left in a limbo state thanks to Dream’s stone imprisonment (which effects the functions of the entire world. It goes wonky and the world outside of the village sort a just… deletes itself. The things left are left in limbo, slowly decaying away until the multiverse’s positivity surges and Dream escapes- breaking this world out of its purgatory.) Saucer isn’t the only one to survive, and they end up teaming with Dream to NOT die immediately after waking up thanks to still-pissed-and-vengeful …villagers? Again, details getting fuzzy, but you get the idea.

getting out into the wider multiverse, Saucer is dead set on finding Nightmare and figuring out what happened to him- a lot of time had passed and they wanted to know what happened to their friend. Dream and them part ways, as Dream is responsible for the positivity in the multiverse and as much as he wants to find his brother he also knows that it wouldn’t be good for him. He’s got his whole thing- Saucer actually DOESNT think poorly of him, just a bit disappointed.

Saucer and NM have a whole reunion/run in- and while a more canon-adjacent NM might’ve killed them, I’m a sucker for self-indulgence, and Saucer just says ‘yeah no you aren’t getting rid of me.’

Hence them becoming the eventual gang’s healer. (They tend to be much more loyal to people rather than actions- you aren’t getting rid of them if they’ve decided they’re going to be around you.)

THE SHIP THOUGH-

Oh I love them. They’re just. So much history. An understanding of everything you are and who you have been and still being loyal and loving each other because- well, it’s what feels right. Like- Saucer pretty much defying death and trekking through the multiverse to find some shadow of someone they once knew, who had been grieving over someone who should have been dead for centuries and who he never got to say goodbye to. Nightmare never having to say goodbye again- because they survived and didn’t want to leave. Just. Incoherent now, sorry, my brain is rotting-

#Rotten Apples #Answered Ask #Anon #No I have no idea if this makes sense #Rotten Apples for the ship name has to do #with the tree obviously #and NM’s corruption #and Saucer literally being rotten/rotted/undead :3 #teehee #The fact that you want to hear about them means so much to me anon #you have no idea

[avizou]

pink dahlias & forget-me-nots a birthday gift for @shiralinh reference x

#park jimin #bts fanart #bts #fanart #jimin #uh HI haven't made fanart in a bajillion years! #this was meant as a lockscreen/wallpaper thing kinda #hence the wonky format #I never want to draw another petal again #(I am in fact drawing them all with flowers so jokes on me!!!) #I've been on tumblr for nearly 10 years now and THIS is the first thing I ever contribute to any fandom #a fandom I have stumbled into in December #late to the fucking party #my biggest thank you to my cheerleaders in the groupchat I LOVE U #artizou #flowertan

[driftlight]

X and y just equal z sometimes It’s easy to think in abstract. I’d like to poem my bones. My skin is crawling. A small large thought like thing Rifles through my ribs Pressing into the skin. Some things just like to eat and eat so Teach me how to breathe. Let me out of this cacophony I’m sick of this painting.

#spilled ink #softtst #tsukana #teddybluesclues #raavenboys #hannah writes things #poetry #i have a bunch that have been in my drafts but i've not had access to a laptop and hence haven't posted #as tumblr formatting is wonky at best on a phone

[witcher-and-his-bard-archive]

Drown In My Desire

also on ao3

written for the Monster March prompt list prompt: siren pls see ao3 for the full list of tags, this is... something edit: some formatting got fucked up and I had to make some adjustments, sorry if there are any wonky bits now 😅

Geralt is barely off the boat back from Skellige when he hears about the contract. There's a lone Siren causing trouble along one of the trading routes; drawing the ships closer until they wreck on the jagged rocks of the bay. The fishermen complain loudly about it as he disembarks and as soon as his feet hit dry land, Geralt makes straight for them. It's basic Siren behaviour, likely to be an easy job and then back on his way.

The men are offloading barrels and Geralt keeps out of the way as he approaches the one giving orders.

"Heard you've got a Siren problem," he says and the man straightens up to look him over.

"Aye, we do. You're a Witcher, right? You'll take care of it for us?"

"What are you offering?"

"Godsdamn anything at this point. Things wrecked six shops, we've lost 11 good men, countless hours of labour... Name your price, Witcher, we'll pay it."

"Five hundred," Geralt suggests.

"Fine by me. Bring back proof of the kill and you'll get your coin."

"Agreed." Normally, Geralt would request half in advance, but he's dealt with Novigradian merchants before and they're reputable and trustworthy most of the time. Plus, this is a simple contract, probably not even worth the 500 he asked for.

He stays to get the rest of the details from the merchant, then heads into town to rent a room at the Kingfisher. He won't be in town long, but he may as well have somewhere comfortable to sleep when he inevitably comes back cold and wet.

Geralt bribes a local fisherman to take him out to the bay or as close to it as possible - no one will go right in any longer. They moor on the far side and Geralt disembarks, thanking the man and paying him a generous fee for his service. He didn't have to bring him out here, and many other men wouldn't dare go this far.

He hears the song immediately and it makes him pause. Geralt has heard the Siren song before, has even fallen under its spell in the past, and this is not it. This is a Siren, for sure, and he is singing, but his song is... sad. Geralt frowns as he makes his way over the swell of the hill, the beach sprawling out before him in a wide arc.

It's sandy, devoid of rocks and debris but the tide is down and large, jagged rocks break the surface of the water. Waves roll up gently onto the shore and Geralt scans the shoreline, looking for any sign of the Siren. The song is coming from the far side of the small bay, but he sees nothing.

Readjusting the belts across his chest, he makes his way down to the beach and across the sand.

He spots him shortly, tucked under a shelf of rock out of the sun, curled around himself. Geralt thinks at first, that he may be injured, hence the despair in his song, but as he approaches he recognizes a sense of desperation in the tune. Approaching further, he catches the creature's interest and he looks up at him, his confusion a mixture of desperation and fear and resignation. Geralt looks him over as he approaches, not trusting the Siren not to jump out and attack. He knows well enough they're crafty and wouldn't stop short of setting a trap in dire situations.

But when Geralt is within a few feet, the Siren still makes no sign of wanting to hurt him. If anything, he looks miserable to have been discovered and Geralt does a quick once-over for injuries. There are none visible, but as the Siren unfurls himself, stretching out to his full length, Geralt pauses.

He doesn't know a lot about Siren anatomy past what a sorcerer will pay for what, but he's seen enough pricks in his life to know one when he sees it.

Jaskier whines internally and shuts up as soon as he sees the figure approaching. He was trying to attract... well, not him. Not a Witcher. He needs someone to solve his problem, not to be killed as the solution to someone else’s. But maybe that would be better than going through this every five years out here alone. Maybe the Witcher will be kind and put him out of his misery and then- well, at least he wouldn't be stuck here on his own like this.

But the man approaches and doesn't do anything. He just looks, walking closer until Jaskier could nearly reach out and touch him. Slowly, as non-threateningly as he can, he uncoils himself to prove he's not a threat. His cock aches and he's reminded of the fact that it's very blatantly on display, but that's the least of his problems now.

"You're the one who's been wrecking ships?" the Witcher asks and well, yes, Jaskier assumes that's his fault.

He's seen the wreckage washing up on shore, seen the men floating lifeless amongst the waves. He tries to help, but in this state, it's impossible to do much before the burning need overtakes him again and he's rendered useless.

"I didn't-" he starts, but he doesn't think a Witcher will care whether he meant to or not. He just wants a companion, wants someone to help ease this ache as his own attempts aren't helping any longer, he didn't mean for the humans to get in the way.

"Didn't what?"

"Didn't mean for them to get hurt." Jaskier doesn't look at him, but the Witcher is quiet for some time and then,

"It’s... a mating song?" he guesses and something in Jaskier’s stomach twists uncomfortably that he could figure it out so quickly. Jaskier avoids his eyes looking instead at the way the sand coats the toes of his boots.

"Why don't you tell me what happened?"

Jaskier's head snaps up at that and he looks the Witcher dead in the eye. He's never heard of a monster being given a chance to tell their side of the story, to redeem themself. The Witcher drops to the sand, crossing his legs and resting his elbows on his thighs.

"I-" Jaskier starts, unsure if this is some sort of twisted game. "I just- I was hoping someone might be nearby to hear-" he feels pathetic, his only consolation the fact that the Witcher doesn't know that he came here willingly, he left his family willingly to go out and explore the vast oceans and now he’s miserable.

"How long have you been here?" the Witcher asks, "you've never caused problems before now."

"Before now I wasn't-" he rolls his eyes in frustration at himself, slapping his tail against the sand. "Sirens," he starts again, "go through cycles. I'm in heat and I'm alone and every attempt I've made to reach out has only ended in ruin." Jaskier scowls at his own confession.

"I tried to help," he adds solemnly, "I just... I can't focus, I don't have the strength to pull them to the surface- I tried," he persists, "but I'm not much use like this." His cock aches and he groans at the timing. "I hardly think that deserves a death sentence." He wraps his tail protectively around himself, hiding the evidence of his situation.

"Not here to hurt you," the Witcher explains, "just here to keep people from dying. I could... help?"

Jaskier starts at the offer, his wings snapping tight against his back. "What do you mean, help?"

The Witcher huffs a light laugh and Jaskier tries not to be too hopeful. He's never strayed beyond his race, though he knows many who have and if he were to, well, the Witcher isn't awful to look at. In fact, Jaskier thinks, taking in his shining golden eyes and shock-white hair tied back in a loose bun, he’s quite lovely.

"Now, I know you're not stupid," the Witcher says, almost sounding amused. "The offer’s there. I'll help if you stop with the singing."

Maybe it's the need coursing through him, or maybe it's the fact that no one has ever been so kind to him before, or maybe there's just something about this man's smile that makes him weak. Jaskier agrees.

"Not here," he says. "Can you swim?" The Witcher cocks an eyebrow at him. "I'd prefer not to have to do this out in the open where anyone could just wander upon us. I do have some sense of decorum."

"Where are we going?"

"Home," Jaskier says simply. "It's not far." He shifts in the sand, sitting up and gesturing out toward the sea. "A human could make the swim, surely a Witcher can as well."

"Fair enough. I'm Geralt, by the way. And I can swim."

"Jaskier."

He squirms in the sand, trying to force his cock to withdraw, but it's no use. Geralt rises, kicking off his boots and removing his gear, tucking it away into a crevice in the rock. He bends down, scooping Jaskier into his arms. It's a shock and Jaskier is helpless to do anything but wind his arms around Geralt's neck and hold on, stubbornly refusing to acknowledge the way his cock juts out obscenely, betraying him.

Geralt walks into the waves, releasing Jaskier as soon as the water is up to his waist. He holds his breath, lets Jaskier take his hand, and follows him down beneath the surf. Jaskier feels marginally better out of the sun and sand, in the cool water, but not much. He swims quickly, eager to return home and get on with... whatever Geralt has in mind to help.

He ducks into the narrow tunnel, dropping Geralt's hand and gesturing for him to follow behind. He does, and Jaskier leads the way back to an underwater cave. Glowing coral grows near the ledge of rock, where the water gives way to open air again. It gives off a little light, but Jaskier can see perfectly well and he knows Witchers have night vision.

He slips up onto the stony cave floor and offers a webbed hand to Geralt as he breaks the surface. To Geralt's credit, he only seems a little out of breath as he's hauled up out of the water.

Jaskier flops back on his side, watching the way Geralt rises to his feet, tugging his soaked shirt off and wringing the water from it. His trousers remain in place and Jaskier finds himself disappointed, curious to see what's hidden beneath. But this isn't a fun romp for the sake of it; this is an agreement, Geralt is simply doing him a favour.

When he seems pleased with the state of his shirt, Geralt lays it out and lies down next to him, lining his body up with Jaskier's. He's... stunning up close and it takes more of his effort than it should not to simply reach out and touch him just for the sake of it. He remembers fucking other Sirens, the touching, the press of bodies - he misses it, and he finds himself wishing this was something more than a simple favour. But that's selfish; Geralt is already offering him so much, for so little in return and nothing, even, for himself.

"You'll have to walk me through it," Geralt says with a smile, "I've never fucked a Siren before."

"Oh. You can just... touch me?" Jaskier says and Geralt reaches out tentatively, slipping a hand over the swell of his hip.

"Like this?"

Jaskier nods. It's not exactly what he wants, but it does feel nice and he's not about to try and direct. Geralt's hesitation is short-lived and he slides his hand up Jaskier's chest, brushing his thumb over a nipple and Jaskier's breath catches. He watches the movement of Geralt's hand as his fingers press into his skin, warm, despite the swim through cool water.

He shifts slightly, leaning up on one arm and pressing back down, over the swell of Jaskier's hip and he tugs him forward before abruptly before dragging his fingers up the length of Jaskier's swollen cock. He's slow, but delicate like he's learning his way around, but it feels incredible and it's hard for Jaskier not to just thrust up into the touch and take the pleasure from his hands.

Geralt's fingers slip over the ridge at the base of him, curling around him beneath it and squeezing as he pulls up over it.

"What is this?" he asks. He sounds intrigued, curious, and Jaskier can't help but indulge him.

"'S hard to fuck underwater," he hums, moaning as Geralt's fingers reach the tip of his cock. One dips into the slit, pressing against it, and Jaskier whimpers. "Keeps me from... slipping out." The noise Geralt makes in response is hard to determine, but it sounds interested. He moves his hand back down to squeeze around the ring.

His fingers slip over the swell of skin, pressing against it and running his thumb along the edge. He likes it, Jaskier realizes. It prods at something inside him and he presses his hips forward encouragingly.

"Does that feel good?" Geralt asks and Jaskier nods, pressing his forehead against his arm to keep from moaning out loud. He wants to show his appreciation, wants Geralt to know he can do as he pleases with him, but he doesn't want to push too hard.

Geralt’s light touches grow bolder, pressing more firmly, jerking him quickly and firmly and as Jaskier whines and squirms beneath him, Geralt grows more confident. His fingers slip down, pressing between the folds of his sheath, pressing right down to the base of his cock and within. No one has touched him like this before, the sharp jab of a Siren's claws not conducive to pressing inside.

Something warm spreads through his chest and he finds himself pulling away, embarrassed by how vulnerable he suddenly feels letting a stranger touch him this way, a Witcher no less. Immediately, Geralt withdraws his hands and the look on his face implies worry.

"Sorry," he blurts, then softer, "tell me if it's too much."

"No, I just. No one's ever-"

"I'll stop."

"No," Jaskier says again, a little too abruptly. "No, it was good, it just... caught me off guard." Geralt doesn't wait to be told twice, but his fingers move more slowly as they slip back into place at the base of his cock. Jaskier gives a little thrust on encouragement and Geralt presses his palm against him, giving him something to rut against while he explores.

Jaskier rocks against him, burying his face in his arm as the need takes over. Given an inch, he's no longer able to control himself, so needy for it that he's invited a perfect stranger into his home to fuck him. But Geralt doesn't seem to mind his desperation, doesn't mention it. He picks up quickly on Jaskier's most sensitive spots, going back to rub over them, pressing his thumb beneath the swollen ring and Jaskier's mind goes blank with the pleasure of it.

He's never noticed how sensitive it is there; the use of hands in Siren coupling is rare and limited to squeezing and jerking, not prodding and rubbing like Geralt does so easily. It's hardly Jaskier's fault that he can't contain himself in the face of this new, wonderful sensation.

The swell of his climax creeps up on him slowly, his mind too preoccupied with where Geralt's fingers are and what they're doing. It's not until Geralt wraps around the base of him, pushing as far into his sheath as his fingers with reach, that Jaskier realizes how close he is. His hips jerk hard and Geralt's other hand shoots out to steady him, holding him close as Jaskier writhes against him.

There's not much else he can do like this, just squirm and try to press as much of his cock against Geralt's palm as he can. Otherwise, he's under Geralt's control, letting him do what he wants, take him apart as he will. Geralt's thumb presses along the underside of his cock, pressing up toward the tip and Jaskier jerks hard as his orgasm washes over him, spilling over Geralt's hand and up his arm.

His hips twitch, cocking slipping easily against Geralt's arm with his own spend to slick the way. He'd be embarrassed, coming so quickly with so little stimulation to anything but his cock, but Geralt hums, sounding very pleased.

He continues touching him, fingers slipping through his spend and using it as slick, rubbing down the full length of him and rubbing against the slit at the tip.

"Good?" he asks and Jaskier can only nod and whimper, still struggling to catch his breath.

Geralt leans in, pressing his nose into Jaskier's neck abruptly and Jaskier shifts onto his back to allow him better access. He likes the warmth of Geralt's breath on his neck, the soft press of his lips and the occasional flick of his tongue against his skin. Geralt says nothing as his kisses become firmer, pressing down the column of his throat and down his chest.

His hand remains on Jaskier's cock, stroking slowly as he kisses down the length of his body, not even pausing as pale skin gives way to shimmering scales. He seems unbothered by it and Jaskier likes the feeling of his lips on his tail. Geralt doesn't release his cock until he's moved fully down the length of Jaskier's body, straddling the end of his tail.

Geralt kisses around the base of his cock, not touching it but for the barest brush of his cheek as he passes. Jaskier holds his breath in anticipation, arching off the bed with each kiss that gets closer to where he wants it. When Geralt's lips finally press against him, he lets out a strangled groan and arches off the ground, hands immediately and automatically groping for Geralt's shoulder.

Geralt kisses up the length of him, teasing the tip with his tongue before moving back down again. Jaskier wants his mouth, wants to feel that wet heat around him, so different than the cool touch of one of his own kind. It wouldn't be the first time he's had a mouth around his cock, but he's used to sharp teeth, to slow and cautious strokes. When Geralt gets his mouth around him, he's anything but.

The moment Geralt's lips wrap around him, quick and eager, sliding his tongue over him and pressing his lips in close, holding him tight as he sinks right to the base. His tongue presses in where his fingers had been and Jaskier knows now that he likes exploring, likes discovering what makes Jaskier squirm and taking advantage of it. And he's incredibly good at it.

His fingers that had, up until now, been happily settled on his hips, push up to brush against his skin. One hand remains, seeking out the smallest part of his waist and settling in the dip as the other moves down again. Jaskier's foggy mind suggests that he intends to wrap around the base of his cock, but Geralt gets distracted somewhere between. His fingers pass over Jaskier’s slit and he pauses. Slowly, Gerlt lifts his head, licking up the length of Jaskier's cock and looking at the opening beneath his fingers.

"Can I?" he asks and Jaskier nods.

This is... new. He knows for women it can be pleasurable to be touched this way, but he's never had anyone do it to him. As a child, they told stories about men who fucked each other like this, the way they fuck women, but Jaskier had been young and naive and passed them off as nothing but stories. He'd never found anyone who wanted to touch him that way and had assumed, like most things children talk about, it was a rumour.

But Geralt's fingers tease the opening and sparks rush over his skin. Jaskier's cock throbs and he pushes himself up to watch. Geralt catches his eyes for a brief moment, before dropping back to his work and pushing inside.

"Oh," he breathes, "you're wet." Jaskier squirms, as his body gives way to Geralt's finger, quickly joined by a second.

As with everything, he moves slowly at first, pushing deep and rubbing into him. It feels good, much better than Jaskier could have expected and then Geralt bumps against something inside him and Jaskier cries out, digging his claws into Geralt's shoulder.

When he realizes what he's done, he releases him quickly, but Geralt seems unfazed and he's smiling when he meets Jaskier's eyes again.

"You like that?" he asks and Jaskier lets out a breathy, yes. Geralt grins at him and ducks down to wrap his lips around the tip of Jaskier's cock.

Geralt's fingers work in time with his mouth, picking up speed as Jaskier's groans become more frequent, less controlled. It doesn't take him long like this, with his cock slipping down Geralt's throat and Geralt's fingers constantly pressing against whatever that is inside him that feels so fucking good.

He comes with a gasp as Geralt thrusts up into him again and Geralt makes no attempt to keep him from pushing his cock deeper into his throat. If anything, he seems glad for it, and when Jaskier slumps back against the ground again, Geralt pulls off his cock with slow precision, careful to wrap his lips tightly around the head. Jaskier's eyes drop shut and his chest heaves, but he's aware of Geraly lying back down next to him.

"That felt... good."

"No one has ever touched you like this?" Geralt asks lightly. Jaskier waves a clawed hand at him in response. "Mmm, understandable. But you liked it?" Jaskier huffs a tired laugh and turns to face him.

"Very much."

"Can I?" Geralt asks, already sliding slick fingers along his waist.

"Please."

Geralt rises to his knees, straddling Jaskier's hips for a moment before dropping to the ground on the other side of him. He presses right up against him, slipping an arm under his neck and holding him close as his other hand presses flat against Jaskier's stomach, sliding downward. He crooks two fingers, pushing inside him and seeking out that same spot again.

He finds it with ease and when Jaskier jerks hard, Geralt pulls him in against his chest. He drops his forehead to Jaskier's, breathing hard against him and Jaskier shuts his eyes, letting the pleasure wash over him. Geralt thrusts into him, quick and precise, then slows to tease at the opening, fingers slipping slowly in and out, and Jaskier can't decide which he likes more.

When he's quick, it punches the breath out of him, leaves him mindless and aching for more, but then he slows, gently caresses and rubs into him and it's like a slow fire burning within him, gradually burning brighter. His mind goes blank, foggy with lust, and he wraps himself around Geralt's shoulders, drawing him close. Even with Jaskier wrapped around him, he never falters and before long Jaskier is writhing again, his tail slapping hard against the floor as pleasure courses through him.

He's overwhelmed, so entirely encompassed by pleasure that he can't do more than cling to Geralt and whimper until, at last, he comes, his cock untouched where it spurts over his hip.

Slick drips from his slit, mixing with his come and Geralt pulls out slowly, swiping his fingers through it and sliding them around Jaskier's cock. He cries out at the first touch, oversensitive from multiple consecutive orgasms, but it still feels good underneath the sensitivity and he can't bring himself to tell Geralt to stop.

When Geralt finally lets him go, Jaskier flops onto his back and stares up at him. Geralt is watching him, his eyes dark but bright, and he smiles. Unthinking, Jaskier reaches up, wrapping one hand around Geralt's cheek and tugging him down toward him. At the last second, he realizes what he's doing and hesitates, but Geralt closes the distance, pressing their lips together in a gentle kiss.

It doesn't last long and Jaskier has to keep himself from nipping at his lips when they part. Geralt presses up close and for the first time, he feels the hard line of Geralt's cock beneath his trousers and it makes his breath catch. For a moment, he just stares at him, enthralled by the idea that Geralt is turned on by this.

"You're... aroused?" he asks and Geralt huffs a soft laugh.

"I'm fine."

"Could I touch you?"

"Mmm, if you like."

Jaskier grins, shifting onto his side and pushes Geralt over. He laughs and goes easily, watching as Jaskier spreads a hand over his chest. He maps out the planes of his chest, pushing clawed fingers through soft chest hair before dragging them lightly down toward the hem of his trousers.

He rakes his eyes over the jut of Geralt's cock, but doesn't touch, afraid of pushing too far. A favour, he reminds himself, Geralt is doing him a favour here. So he slips his hand back up to his stomach, mimicking the way Geralt touched him at first, exploring the little dips and rises in his skin, careful not to catch his claws.

And when he looks up to him again, Geralt is watching him. Something in the way he looks at him makes Jaskier's chest tight and he dips down again, catching Geralt's lips in a kiss. Geralt kisses back with enthusiasm, wrapping an arm around so he can pull Jaskier on top of him.

Both hands move down, cupping the swell of Jaskier's tail and rocking him slowly forward. Jaskier's cock, still sensitive, presses against Geralt's through the rough fabric of his trousers. He hisses at the drag, but Geralt moans at the friction and the sound goes straight through him. This time, Jaskier does it on purpose.

They find an easy rhythm between the two of them and even with Geralt's trousers in the way, the sensitivity soon gives way to pleasure and Jaskier ruts against him, kissing him hard despite the lingering fear that he'll bite too hard. Geralt however, seems unconcerned. He's got one hand buried in Jaskier's hair, the other pressing between them, fumbling with the buttons on his trousers. It takes him a moment, but he gets them undone, finally pulling his cock free and Jaskier groans as he ruts against him.

Geralt is hot, his cock even more so, and Jaskier basks in the warmth, pressing himself closer, even with Geralt’s hand still between them. He's sure he could come just like this, happy to rut against him, but then Geralt's fingers are pressing against his slit again. His fingers come away slick and he winds his hand around Jaskier's cock, stroking him slowly.

"What do you need?" he asks and Jaskier whimpers.

"What you did before," he breathes, "could you... do that again?" In an instant, Geralt flips him onto his back again, dragging his fingers up to his slit, but Jaskier stops him. "Could you... with your cock?"

"Oh. Fuck, yeah."

Geralt shifts, pushing his trousers down and kicking them off before pressing up close again. He pulls Jaskier into a deep kiss, his hand sliding away to bring his hips closer. He ruts against him, pushing through the slick and come and when he catches on Jaskier's slit, Jaskier lets out a little gasp and grasps at Geralt's shoulders.

Geralt pushes forward pressing into him and Jaskier holds his breath as he stretches open on his cock. Geralt's eyelids flutter as he settles and then he rocks forward, slowly at first, just short little thrusts that leave Jaskier aching, pushing himself onto him, wanting more.

And Geralt gives it to him. He sinks deep, hooking a knee over Jaskier's hip to hold him close as he ruts, his cock pressed firmly against that spot that makes him wild. Jaskier bucks and whines, his own cock slipping against Geralt's with every thrust. He delights in the feeling of Gerslt inside him, of his warmth and the stretch of his cock, sliding into him and filling him wholly.

He's surprised to find Geralt as breathless as he is when he looks up at him and he can't help but tip forward and nip at his lower lip. Geralt groans and kisses him hard. He pushes him onto his back so he's straddling his hips and when he sits back, Jaskier's cock presses between his cheeks.

He rocks his hips, suddenly overwhelmed by the heat around his cock and Geralt shudders as he pushes back against him. His eyes flick up to Jaskier's and he licks his lips.

"Can I try something?" he asks and Jask nods enthusiastically.

Geralt withdraws immediately, pressing his fingers into Jaskier's slit. When he withdraws, he reaches behind himself, and Jaskier burns to know what he's doing, but the slick fingers wrap around his cock, and Geralt sits back on him. Jaskier groans low as Geralt's body engulfs him, heat seeping into every inch where they touch and he reaches out, fingers digging into his thighs, so careful not to leave scratches.

Geralt rocks back onto him, taking the full length of Jaskier's cock and grinding back against him. He rolls his hips and squeezes around him, pulling right up to the tip before dropping back down the length on him. Jaskier is breathless, helpless to do anything but squeeze Geralt's thighs and bite his own lip.

Tentatively, he wraps one hand around Geralt's cock, slipping webbed fingers over the head of his cock. Geralt moans softly, sliding one hand over Jaskier's and guiding it down. Jaskier nearly stops breathing as the head of Geralt's cock nudges against his slit and then he's sliding in again, filling him up even as he squeezes around Jaskier's cock.

It's so much. Jaskier's body sings with the twin pleasures of being filled so wholly and sinking into Geralt himself as he shifts his hips up.

"Fuck" he groans and Geralt drapes himself over his chest, kissing the moan from his lips.

He finds a rhythm, a careful balance that keeps them joined in both places and Jaskier has never felt such overwhelming pleasure in his life. He meets Geralt's thrusts, thrusting in deep as Geralt sinks into him and it's hardly surprising when he finds himself creeping close to the edge. Geralt's thighs shake around him and he wants to hold out, to make Geralt comes first, but Geralt reaches up, nipping at the sensitive skin over his throat and the pleasure that zips through him is too much.

His hips snap up hard and Geralt kisses him through it, deep and hard, his whole body arching against him. He follows shortly, burying himself deep in Jaskier's body and rutting into him urgently. The moans and pleas that drop from his lips do nothing to ease Jaskier's persistent erection, but as Geralt slumps against him, Jaskier feels the exhaustion creeping in.

Geralt, too, seems tired and Jaskier withdraws reluctantly, mourning the loss of Geralt's body around him. His cock remains stubbornly hard, still unsheathed, but the aching desperation wore off some time ago and he flings himself into the water, quickly rubbing himself down to prevent waking up sticky and uncomfortable. A moment later there's a splash as Geralt rolls off the ledge next to him.

He swims closer enough for Jaskier to reach him and he makes a point of wiping Geralt down first before wrapping a hand around his cock and sliding slowly. Geralt's eyes drop shut and he winds his arms around Jaskier's neck with a soft, shuddering moan.

"How long does this usually last?" he asks and Jaskier shrugs.

"Anywhere from a week to six."

Geralt gawks at him. "Six weeks?"

"On and off," Jaskier huffs, amused. "I don't swim around with an exposed prick for six weeks. And besides. It's usually two, though it is much more in much more... concentrated bursts."

"Meaning I should stick around?"

Jaskier's heart thuds heavily at the suggestion which is, realistically, ridiculous. He's known Geralt for all of a few hours and under normal circumstances, the man would have just killed him. But the idea of keeping him close spreads warmth through his chest.

"You don't have to," he says anyway. "You kept up your end of the deal. I'll be quiet."

"Mmm," Geralt agrees, nosing at his neck, "but it'll get bad again. What would you do with no one here to get you through it."

"Are you..." Jaskier starts, hesitant. "Are you saying you want to stay?"

"Maybe not exactly here," Geralt shrugs, "I'd appreciate being warm and dry part of the time. But I don't intend to go far. Maybe I'll camp out on the beach."

"Will you stay for now?" Jaskier asks hopefully.

"Yes."

Jaskier doesn’t acknowledge the way his heart clenches a little. He shouldn’t want Geralt to stay, shouldn’t care what he does with himself now that he’s fulfilled his end of the bargain, but as they finish cleaning up, he seems happy to be there.

Once they're both clean and Geralt has managed to pull another orgasm from him, they settle on the ground, Jaskier curled up around him. His cock rests perfectly against the cleft of Geralt's ass and he has to be careful not to move too much, lest he work himself up again. He spreads one wing out over Geralt, using it as well as he can to keep him warm.

“You should go back,” Geralt says quietly and if Jaskier didn’t know better, he’d say he sounded almost disappointed, “leave here and find more of your kind so you don’t have to suffer alone next time.”

“I’ve thought about it,” Jaskier admits, “but I like it here.”

“Mm,” Geralt hums sleepily, “guess I’ll just have to come back then, hm?”

Five years later…

The need returns, just as it always does, creeping up slowly and then hitting him all at once, but this time it's worse. This time he has the memory of his Witcher, soft and sweet touching him and kissing him and working him through it. And the memory only serves to make the need stronger.

But he made a promise.

So Jaskier holes himself up in his cave and deals with it as well as he can on his own and when that quits working on the first day, Jaskier swims to the surface in the hopes of coming across some other passer-by who might be willing to risk their life to fuck a Siren.

But when he breaches the surface of the water, there's a figure on the beach, moving oddly. He keeps low in the water, just his head breaking the surface and when he gets closer he realizes it's a man taking off his boots. It takes a couple of seconds to register as the man strips completely naked, but as he gets closer, as Jaskier swims further, he recognizes him. There's a swell of something warm and pleasant that settles in his chest and his heart beats just a fraction too quickly.

Geralt came back for him.

#geraskier #siren #monster march #spicy #nsft #rex writes

[takerfoxx]

Magia Record, Season 1, Episode 4, First Impressions!

Y’know, this is really starting to grow on me.

I’ve said several times in my previous reactions that despite the popularity of the game, the Magia Record anime really has the deck stacked against it. On the one hand, fans of the anime will have trouble getting into it due to the plot originally being conceived for a game rather than a show, de-emphasizing the dark psychological themes that defined PMMM, the characters being much less richly drawn, the pacing being much different, and it being (so far) being more of a standard magical girl show, albeit an extremely trippy one. And fans of the game will also have a difficult time getting into it due to a lot of stuff having to get either cut or rushed from having to adapt multiple quests into a few short episodes, hence the wonky pacing.

None of this is really anyone’s fault; the issues were baked in from the beginning. PMMM was specifically designed for a single short anime season, Magia Record was designed for a mobile game, and the way each format plays their stories out is very different, so of course moving one to the other will cause problems. Maybe it would go better if they had double the episodes, but for some reason they don’t, so hey, you gotta work with what you got.

Now all of those seemingly negative observations aside, I really liked this episode! Sure, it’s not on the level of any of PMMM’s, but when you view this as what the title literally describes it as, as a world-building side story, a chance to get out of the twisted deconstruction that is PMMM and look at the broader world of Puella Magi, get to meet some of the other ones out there, what their interactions might be like, how they communicate with one another and what kind of sub-culture they might have built, it really is kind of cool.

One thing that has been consistently great so far: the direction is immaculate. Like I said, they probably figured that the pacing issues were unavoidable, so they decided to go HAM on making the world, specifically the witch labyrinths, the magical girl bits, and even the mundane world it all takes place in a feast for the eyes. The more we see of the world at large, the more different it seems from our own. We got bits of all that futuristic stuff in the original show, but it was bits and pieces, while this lets us see how much has advanced and how much is still the same. And I do dig the sort of Rebellion-esque vibe to give it an eerie sort of quality at times.

Also, now that we’ve gotten the “rumors” properly introduced, I’m more on board with what they’re doing. Okay, so rumors are basically witch-like phenomena that use urban-legend-style conditions to lure victims in. No clue as to what they are as of yet. I mean, they’re not dropping grief seeds, so they’re not proper witches, and even rogue familiars dropped grief seeds once they got strong enough. Perhaps they have something to do with Doppels? I don’t know, I’ve never much cared for the additional weird concepts that the spin-offs introduced, but this one I kinda like. I mean, you can’t have a bunch of alien bunnycats altering reality to grant wishes all willy-nilly without a few weird anomalies popping up, right? Anyway, I’m thinking it has something to do with that mini-Kyubey, as he keeps popping up whenever a rumor has emerged.

And given that this one plays out more like a fetch-quest (which I assume it was in the game), we get a nice walking tour of the city, which I enjoyed. From what I can tell, each rumor is going to be a couple episodes each, and I suppose will feature a new set of characters each time? Or so it seems at first.

Speaking of which, of all the new people we’ve met, Tsuruno is probably my favorite. Yeah, she’s kind of not especially developed like the rest, but she’s fun, those fire fan things are badass, and I always liked the aggressively cheerful characters. Also, I liked the idea of her shop offering free meals to other magical girls and hiding the fact on their fliers. Another bit of the whole little community they have going on.

We get some more of Yachiyo. Apparently she and Tsuruno had some kind of past that ended badly, I guess? I’m assuming it has to do with this Mifuyu person, in that it was probably someone important to them both until something happened to her, leading to their split. I assume the next episode will clear that up.

LOVE the look of the Seance Shrine, by the way.

I was a little confused about those two girls that just showed up during the walking tour and started yelling at Iroha (or at least, the blonde one did), as I didn’t remember meeting them. Apparently it was a cameo from some other characters in the game? No clue if it’ll be important later on.

And, uh, Iroha’s soul gem is darkening. That can’t be good.

Also, lol at Yachiyo needing to make that grocery sale. I guess protecting the city doesn’t pay the bills.

And I was glad that they clarified that all the other girls who got taken by the staircase came back too. 

And finally...WTF, ketchup on cheesecake?!?!?!

#puella magi madoka magica #pmmm #magia record #iroha tamaki #tsuruno yui #yachiyo nanami #reaction

[yellowmagicalgirl]

Juliet Dies in This Chapter Four: Behind the Scenes

No, this is not the real chapter four; I’m not going to break away from my “five stages of grief” format I’ve got going for me. You’ve got to wait probably a minimum of 12 hours for the chapter to post. However, tomorrow’s chapter is gonna involve a little bit of math. How I, the author, arrived at the solution will be irrelevant to the story and thus not included in the chapter. However, as someone who enjoys simple math problems like this one, I would like to share the way I found the solution. (I will be linking to this post when I post to tumblr and AO3 as an author’s note. Sorry, FFN people, I can’t do links while using that particular posting platform.)

Without further ado, let’s start.

(x^2 – 2x – 24)/(2x^4 – 5x^3 + 3x^2) ≥ 0

So this is our starting equation. A quadratic trinomial is being divided by a quartic trinomial, and this entire fraction must be greater than or equal to zero.

The trinomial in the numerator is very easily factored by the x-method. Please note that it has been years since I first learned how to factor, and I learned the method so that B is on top and A*C is on the bottom, so this may look a little wonky depending on how one was taught Algebra I.

[Image description: An “X” is drawn in red, with numbers in the four spaces created by the lines. The numbers written in the vertical compartments are red, and the numbers written in the horizontal compartments are blue. In the upper compartment is negative two, and in the lower compartment is negative twenty-four. In the left compartment is negative six, and in the right compartment is positive four.]

In the meantime, we can easily factor out an x squared from the denominator, giving us this equation:

((x - 6)(x + 4))/(x^2(2x^2 – 5x + 3)) ≥ 0

Once again, we’re going to use the x-method.

[Image description: Another “X”, with the same formatting as the previous one. In the upper compartment is negative five, and in the lower compartment is positive six. In the left compartment is negative two, and in the right compartment is negative three.]

However, we can’t just split (2x^2 – 5x + 3) into neat and simple factors of (x - 2) and (x - 3). Instead, we need to split our B term into

2x^2 – 5x + 3

2x^2 – 2x - 3x + 3

2x(x - 1) - 3(x - 1)

(2x - 3)(x - 1)

We can insert our factored expression back into the semi-factored equation that we got (2x^2 – 5x + 3) from.

((x - 6)(x + 4))/(x^2(2x - 3)(x - 1) ) ≥ 0

Do any terms cancel out? No, they don’t. Bummer. However, now that this equation has been completely factored, we know some key aspects.

x must be greater than or equal to positive six and negative four, but we can’t stop at the numerator. x must also never equal zero, positive three halves, and positive one.

Because this is an Algebra II/Pre-Calculus problem, I’m not going to solve for every single case manually. Instead, I will be using a scientific calculator. I’d use Excel, but I can’t copy and paste a graph. The results are as follows:

x < -4 ; positive

x = -4 ; zero

-4 < x < 0 ; negative

x = 0 ; undefined

0 < x < 1 ; negative

x = 1 ; undefined

1 < x < 3/2 ; positive

x = 3/2 ; undefined

x > 3/2 ; positive

Hence, x can be less than or equal to negative four, greater than positive one, and not equal to three halves. Or, to write the answer in a more elegant way,

x ≤ -4 U 1 ≤ x ≤ 3/2 U x ≥ 3/2

#math #mathematics #pre calc #algebra ii #stem #juliet dies in this #long post

[curiousartemis]

“I made a bet. I lost. It’s simple as that.” for Casien and Ulfric? 👀 (Also, take your time ^^)

//

Everyone was staring at me.

Only it was worse than having everyone stare atme, because instead they were trying very hard not to stare, yet were failing horribly. Ania and Hellina keptglancing at me before hastily averting their eyes, exchanging a look, andsnorting softly. Una was looking from me to Ulfric, her face becomingprogressively more pink. Inge and Asgar kept giggling behind their hands. Theonly ones who seemed oblivious to the situation were Lia, who ate her breakfastas calmly as ever, and Nella, who was chatting innocently with her mother anduncle about her dancing lessons the previous afternoon.

That is, until she happened to look across thetable at me.

Her eyes widened. “What’s that?”

This innocent inquiry was naturally answered bymore stifled laughter from the peanut gallery further down the table. And, asluck would have it, occurred just as her father was finally entering the diningroom.

“What’s what?” he asked gruffly, as he sat downbeside his wife and started piling food on this plate.

“That red thing on Casien’s neck,” said Nella,still looking at me with wide, concerned eyes. “Did something bite you, Casien?”

Galmar followed her gaze to me, his eyesdropping from my face to my neck.

“Oh, for—” He rolled his eyes, shaking his headbefore glancing at his friend. “Aren’t you a little old for that sort of thing?”

The king merely raised his eyebrows beforetaking another sip of coffee.

At this point, the peanut gallery finally lostits resolve and broke out into peels of giggles.

“Look,” I said, clenching my teeth together. “Imade a bet. I lost. It’s as simple as that.”

“A bet?” asked Ania, grinning. “What kind ofbet?”

“It was a question of stamina,” said the kingcalmly, reaching for a butter knight. “He—

“THE BET WAS OF AN ADULT NATURE,” I said, pushingthe words out all in one breath. “And hence is NOT appropriate for this table!”

Ania and Hellina finally lost it. Una droppedher fork and knife and hid her beet red face in her hands. Even their mothertwitched a little smile at me before refocusing on her breakfast.

“I still don’t understand,” complained Nella. “Howdid Uncle Casien get that red mark on his neck?”

“I’ll explain when you’re older, dear heart,”said Lia, absently patting her hand.

I glowered and shrank into my seat, pullingabsently at the collar of my tunic. Underneath the table, someone playfullytapped his foot against mine, but I refused to look at his smug, handsome face.

We’d see who lost that bet next time.

//

Or, The One Where Casien Shows Up To Breakfast With A Hickey.

Thanks for the ask xD Typed this up in Word, so let’s hope the formatting isn’t all wonky. 

[For those not in the know: Lia is Galmar’s wife. Their daughters, in descending order, are: Ania, Una, Asgar, Inge, and Nella. Hellina is Ania’s betrothed.]

#casien yedlin #skyrim #ulfric stormcloak #drabble #galmar cannot believe these two #lia thinks they're adorable #diamond-loki

[cryptoriawebb]

About Deadpool 2...

I said I would talk about it...and then I ran out of time. So I’m gonna do that, now!

Spoiler alert!

So...I liked this movie a lot better than the first, but I still didn’t find most of it funny. I know why it is funny, I can point all the jokes out, but I didn’t start laughing until much later. Deadpool caters to a different type of humor. Nothing wrong with that, it’s just not me. 

However.

The characters, the action, the cameos and the very X-men feel overall I loved. Best new additions? Domino, Cable, and this reboot-timeline version of Yukio. She’s so adorable! And don’t get me started on the JUGGERNAUT! Heavy use of CGI or no, I have waited over a decade to see a Cain Marko that actually acknowledges his relation to Charles.  I don’t even care if Deadpool exists in its own continuity until proven otherwise I’m counting it canon. THANK YOU, Deadpool team for confirming Charles’ horrible upbringing. Weird thing to say, I know, but up until now no one in the XMCU’s bothered to emphasize his personal tragedy. It’s important the audience--any who might be unfamiliar with the X-men story outside the films--know it isn’t only villains whom tragedy makes. 

Speaking of tragedy, I find it funny the Deadpool films draw from classic cliches, but somehow manage to keep them fresh and distinctly, well, “Deadpool.” I quite like his relationship with Vanessa and also liked how the film went beyond what one might expect of “death and revival” with a healing mutation. Reminded me a little of Jack Harkness, honestly. It also served to keep Deadpool’s humanity intact and in turn kept him from devolving into nothing more than a walking pop-culture reference. 

As far as the pop-culture references go, there were times I felt the script went a little over the top with them. Even more than the first film. I’m not the world’s biggest Deadpool fan so I’m not sure how often he does this outside the movies but within said movie context I much prefer occasional sprinklings as opposed to a heaping platter.  It threatened to disrupt the flow of the film once or twice, even if this is more a comedy/satire. Same with breaking the fourth wall. That said, I adored the DC references. And the post-credits scenes ;)

(Although if I’m being honest, I do still like Origins and the tragic spin on Wade’s character even if it was an abomination of the Deadpool everyone loves.)

And I cried a little inside, seeing that archived footage of Hugh. I will miss you, Wolverine. 

Let’s see, what else...

Oh yeah! The characters!

Great to see Negasonic again (Ellie, I think her name is?) Kinda wish she played a larger role, but her appearances didn’t disappoint and her powers are still SO COOL. Also love the “moody goth x pink-haired bubbly girl” trope. It’s adorable. Like I said, I adore this new Yukio even if her new incarnation differs from her original timeline counterpart. I loved original Yukio’s quirky but serious nature, and her relationship with Logan. Maybe that’s what it is, I’m still not over Logan and all these references in the film further remind me he’s not coming back.  That isn’t Yukio’s fault. I do love this new version, I do. She’s adorable and so is her interaction with Wade. I have to wonder, though...can she still see how people die? Or is new “Pinkie Pie” Yukio strictly a lightning mutant? I wish Fox paid more attention to its timelines...Deadpool or no Deadpool.

Domino was amazing. I didn’t really know much about her, going in, despite knowing of her. Couldn’t have picked a better way to handle or cast her. What a cool way to interpret her powers! Luck truly be the Lady~

As for Cable...I was so afraid he’d become a parody of the character I knew. When I was younger, he fascinated me as a character and I retain a soft spot for him. My gosh though he was AWESOME. Stayed the serious-Terminator-badass the entire time. Desperately hope we see more before Fox’s final day. Please. I love Cable and I’d love even more to see him cross paths with the X-men. Especially Scott. 

Colossus was...the same. No real comments there. I like how he pairs next to Wade as the goody-goody straight-man but I prefer his original actor XD; I guess it doesn’t much matter, new-wonky timeline. For all we know, Piotr was able to grow up in Russia now, hence the accent.

I loved the villains too, apart from Cain. Black Tom Cassidy (what is he, Sean’s nephew or something now??), poor Russel (a neat take on the to-be antagonist idea) and I gotta tell you, as a long-time fan I am LOVING all these references to the Essex name. Been a long-time coming! And to know there exist other “Mutant homes” besides Xavier’s school...it’s heartbreaking but fascinates me all at once. This new world where mutants aren’t so hush-hush. Damn! I wonder though...do the X-men know of the Ice Box? Makes you think... (By the way, that cameo scene, oh my gosh that was great. I wouldn’t want to deal with Wade either, guys.)

Gotta love the “formation” of the X-force, too. Of course Deadpool would start it and of course everyone would die XD; What a great way to sneak in cameos. I only wish Chris Evans’ Torch made it past the script drafts. I am glad kid!David made it in, though (according to my research after the film. You know that was intentional...the real question is do we now consider it “canon” or is this but another breach in reality? ;) )

There really wasn’t all that much I didn’t care for, apart from the excessive...what I’ll call “Deadpool-ness.” Silly complaint when it’s his movie but I said my piece on that. The only real moment I feel might’ve served from a slim-down was his dying sequence at the end. I get what they were trying to do, and it was funny at first; after a while, though, it started dragging. Maybe that’s just me. I don’t know. 

Overall, I really did love it, I want to see it again and I am definitely adding this to my collection when it’s released on DVD. 

#deadpool 2 #deadpool #dead pool 2 #movie reviews #movie thoughts #deadpool 2 review #wade wilson #negasonic teenage warhead #cable #domino #cain maro #juggernaut #nathan summers #xmen #xforce #colossus #yukio #returnedtothecrypt

[lonesomealley]

A Short Hike - In Depth Analysis and Review WRITE UP

DISCLAIMER: If you haven't seen the video that this write up is based on, I highly recommend you watch that before reading onwards.

This is a video project that, frankly, I didn’t expect to take so long. And I can’t really go into details as to why it did outside of just immense family issues taking place. Sprinkle in a little procrastination, school work, and a part time job, and it’s kind of a miracle I had the space and time to finally put this together. But it’s here, I’m alive, and I can finally do this write up to give a little more insight into the design philosophy of this video.

I stumbled upon A Short Hike sometime back in June or July when I saw that it was in Humble Bundle’s humble trove that you gain access to when subscribing to their humble monthly service. We had subscribed to this service for my girlfriend’s birthday just as a way to give her a large library of games that she can sit down and slowly churn through, while I was all about playing this game. So I sat down and played it, and played it, and played it. This was one of those games that would cause me to zone out and just put all of my focus towards the game while I’m playing it. That sounds like an odd statement to say considering it should be your goal, as the player, to be fully immersed in whatever you’re playing. However that’s more of a fantasy than a reality, at least with me, because I find myself taking many notes or going between tasks while playing video games.

A Short Hike is also just one of those games that really hits you right in the feels with its message. Now I’m not one to be very receptive to emotional ploys or to be hit by the sad music that plays whenever a character dies in a media piece, but this game somehow nailed it. It’s kinda weird, especially given my videos, that the only two games I would attribute with legitimately evoking an emotional response from me are A Short Hike and The Beginner’s Guide. So given all of the blog posts and video ideas that I had failed to really kick off so far, I decided to write up a 3700 word review for the game and put it into full production.

And that brings us to the release of the video, which took about 4 or 5 months to produce. . . Now I have an excuse for this that I stated previously. And ummm, I was hungry? That’ll do it. BUT, it’s here now, and I can write this paper.

This video was relatively simple, and honestly I could’ve (and probably should’ve) completed this a lot faster than I did. During the production of this video, I played A Short Hike 3 times, and 100%’d it. I feel that playing through games multiple times, and 100%ing them when reasonable, is necessary to understanding the more complex or abstract design of the game I’m playing. Hence, this allows my reviews to become in depth and hopefully more worthwhile than the standard review videos.

When it came to writing the script, I was primarily interested in the narrative design and atmospheric setting of the game, because the way the game goes about doing this was quite interesting. As noted in the video, the game puts its purpose right at the end, no hints, no anything, just a big twist right at the end of the game. And that’s a very unique way to design a video game’s story because it breaks typical writing norms. Usually you’d include tid bits here and there of where the game is going or what the underlying tone is, but nope. A Short Hike says, “fuck it,” and gives you a game that is unapologetically and completely invested in itself. And that’s something that deserves to be documented, which is ultimately the point of my channel: To highlight things that deserve to be talked about, that no one else is really covering.

After I had come to a satisfactory amount of thorough analysis with the writing, I decided to write a review for the entire game. This was because the amount of information I had on the relatively simple plot of A Short Hike didn’t make for a long enough video. Something like this may ultimately drown out the point of the video, which was to highlight the anomaly of ASH’s design, however through this medium I was actually able to also convey other points like the effective world design and gameplay.

If you haven’t read through the script yet, you can do it HERE!

Going into the editing, my project folder will often start out as just some footage files of me playing through the game, and as I begin putting stuff together and deciding on what pace I want the video to be, I’ll go out and collect other resources. My final video project folder ended up being about 67 gigabytes (including the files used for this write up.)

I unfortunately don’t have too much to write about with my editing, because it’s super basic. It’s a lot of cross fades, cuts, and key framing. If you know even the most basic stuff about Premiere Pro you can decipher how I did a lot of my edits with ease, so instead of going in depth about them, I’ll just show you how I put together the video and my workflow.

The first screenshot is how my secondary desktop typically looked while I was working, and the second is my primary desktop which features the default look and layout for Adobe Premiere.

I don’t have any real specialized work flow or editing process for how to put a video together, I just linearly piece the video together until I get a finished project. Going into the script I’ll come up with several ideas for how I want certain bits of the video to work, and will either keep a mental note of it or put some [brackets] in the script to signify what I want down there visually. This keeps the pacing of the video somewhat in check, but a lot of it ultimately comes down to whether or not I want to put in the effort to make a video that’s super stylized. I already tried this once with a previously cancelled project and it turned out horribly. So the editing for this video was a lot of just cuts to different gameplay pieces.

My general philosophy when it comes to editing is that I want exactly what I’m talking about to be on the screen whenever applicable and present visual information in a way that will back up the audio. So while my editing style and workflow are pretty free form and otherwise unfocused, I do try to at least have a reason for why I edited something the way I did. As I’ve said this video was designed to be straight to the point and contain just enough information to make a very snappy video. And the goal of these write ups is to explain a lot of the decisions made during the video editing process and things that influenced the video to get made the way that it did. As I continue making these videos, I hope to improve the conveyance of information over time so that what you’re being told is much more concise and comprehensible for many different audiences.

That isn’t to say my design philosophy is flawless though. One major problem with this format comes down to not having the right footage for a certain thing, or not having enough time to properly show it off. There’s one part where I briefly mention the direct shortcuts you can use on A Short Hike’s island and I couldn’t use a piece of footage of me using it because I simply didn’t have enough time. So I compromised with just a brief close up shot of one of the shortcut entrances, this was the best I could do to convey that this was what I was talking about.

I think in many instances the pacing of the cuts is done effectively enough that you can pick up on all of the information I’m trying to portray, but in some others it may fall flat or be convoluted by the use of filler footage. Filler footage is, and will always be, a problem in the medium of video essay because you aren’t going to have an example for everything you’re talking about from gameplay alone, especially if you like discussing hypotheticals. Of course, you can spend a lot of time developing those concepts in your own mediums such as through a game’s development tools, but that takes a lot of extra time and effort that I simply couldn’t afford to put into this video. On this note, let’s talk about the audio quality. This has been something that primarily just comes down to not having the proper equipment to really make my audio sound good. And I can really only subsidize this so much through the use of audio editing to the point where the effort that I put in just isn’t worth it in my opinion. That’s why there’s several moments in the video where my audio cuts out or goes a bit wonky. I want to clarify that in these moments that isn’t me just being terrible at audio editing like my Beginner’s Guide video, that’s actually my microphone just randomly refusing to pick up audio information. This can be worked around if I really sought to, but that would take too much time and effort on my part when I could purchase new audio equipment.

My overall goal with this video was to construct a snappy, well paced video that put all of the game into one convenient roll up. It might be a little strange for a review video to have massive game spoilers (as the point of reviews is to inform customers who haven’t played the game yet) but I feel it was necessary to be able to explain what exactly this game does.

A lot of my external resources and information either came from Adam and Mark, or were just some google images regarding what I was talking about. You may notice that in my video I use screenshots of DMs from Mark but not Adam, this is because Adam said that while I could talk about the information he gave me, I was not to screenshot it. I guess you’ll just have to take my word on that.

The final thing that I’ll really talk about video wise is the part where I play my own remix of a rock song to demonstrate how music affects video games.

This is basically a vaporwave version of an alternative rock song called “Black Domino” created by the band Ozma. And trust me, I really have no rhyme or reason for making this outside of just pure boredom. I loaded this song into Audacity, threw a bunch of effects on top of it like phasers and slow pitching, and it turned into this monstrosity(?). I figured since some people might want to listen to the full thing that I’d include it here. This song is technically part of a full album that I’m working on, that’ll feature a bunch of vaporwave or just weird songs constructed very shottily in Audacity or whatever I feel like working in. If a blog post ever appears about the album, now you know ahead of time.

Next I want to talk about the artwork that I commissioned for the video thumbnail. For this I went and picked out an artist that I already knew somewhat. That artist is Kagu, aka NeroNero, aka Totoaba. . . She really needs to decide on a name. But anyhow, she has fairly exceptional design skills and I saw the potential in her making a good, catchy, and flashy thumbnail that would show another level of effort and philosophy when it came to YouTube thumbnails.

So we started by discussing what I was expecting and how much I was going to pay. That went along the lines of, “Hey I need a thumbnail for a YouTube video and I will pay you at most $50 to make it.” Fortunately for me, she said yes. There was just one issue, however. Kagu was all about character design, and I mean that. There are next to no scenic pieces of art on the entirety of her twitter. Although considering I wasn’t sure how much scenery was really going to be needed for the composition, I went with the most comfortable option and pressed on. For reference, here’s a couple pieces of her art.

Again, please visit her twitter!: https://twitter.com/neru_nero_/

Having to go out and commission art was a really interesting process that I documented as it went along. Going into the commission I didn’t really know what I wanted (don’t be me), but not wanting to be that commissioner who just says, “Surprise me,” I had to quickly assemble a basic composition. However the only drawing program, and access to actual drawing tools, was Microsoft Word on my laptop. What resulted was the below abomination.

However, I feel like I should carry you, the reader, through the commission process so I want you to take a close look at that first sketch and this finished product:

After this first sketch was sent to her she immediately went to work and came back to me with this:

It’s not great, but it’s definitely a start. What may stick out to you immediately is that Claire, a big focal point of the composition, is pretty stiff and otherwise blocky. So she went through a redesign.

And then, deciding there wasn’t enough in the composition, we added a waterfall.

Once we had finalized the composition sketch, the next thing was to make a nice outline for it all so we could start coloring.

I knew from the get go that the background was just going to be some gradient that would mirror the colors and tones from A Short Hike. We used several official art resources and in game screenshots to come to the conclusion of what this gradient looked like.

Now given my standards, that’s about where the thumbnail would’ve ended. Just slap a logo on there and I would’ve been like, “Alright cool here’s some money thanks.” But she didn’t stop here.

I feel the need to point out that Kagu was entirely gracious in trying her own thing and putting her own spin on the rather simple ideas that I gave her. She wouldn’t just stop at adding basic shadows to something, she really went the extra mile to make sure that things aligned and matched. And while she had some communication issues where some of my feedback she would seemingly ignore, we did eventually work through those to produce something that looked better each and she was always willing to adjust something even without my input. An example of this is the clouds.

Initially, I had no idea what I wanted these clouds to look like and how that process of describing it to someone else would go. All I knew was that I wanted the clouds to appear like how they do at the end of the game with their odd flat appearance blended with the use of gradients. (The screenshot was rendered in high resolution for clarity.)

When I sent her that, she took a good amount of time to just experiment and figure out what she was doing. She then came back with clouds that were way above my expectations. And even as we adjusted the background gradient, she was happy to change the tone of the clouds along with it.

And speaking of that background gradient, I believe we spent a good hour making sure that the gradient in the background was just right, and she did it joyfully and productively.

And so we eventually came down to the final product.

This piece was well smoothed out, and I used my eye as an observer to catch all of the little details and errors that she made along the way, and she was entirely happy to clean them up. In the end we settled on $50 for me to own the rights to the art, and the money was promptly sent through PayPal.

Something that my brain didn’t quite register in time is that I’d possibly want to have a logo-less version of this piece polished and available to be put up here. So unfortunately I don’t have the most polished logo-less piece in the world, and I deeply apologize for this. However if you’re able to look over some of the rough edges that the logo was previously covering up, then you are entirely free to download and use this however you please.

I have a download link to the full resolution (1920x1080) pictures (plus some little bonuses) HERE!

In retrospect this video write up wasn’t as impressive and as grandiose as I had previously hoped for, and this will hopefully resolve itself with time as I build up a fan base and figure out more things to talk about with these write ups. But hopefully what I’ve put out so far gives you a little bit of insight into how I develop my videos and I plan on continuing these for every single essay video that I put out there. If you have anything you want me to talk about in the next video write up, please send me an email at [email protected].

-Count_

#A Short Hike #ash #original #lonesome alley #videoproject #video essay #video writeups

[truesportsfan]

How Much Football Is Even In A Football Broadcast?

Graphics by Ryan Best

Around 100 million Americans will tune in this Sunday to watch Super Bowl LIV. The big game hasn’t just become the nation’s most popular sporting event; it’s also become America’s most important and most-watched television broadcast, an annual extravaganza that showcases our love affairs with both athleticism and capitalism.

But what, exactly, are we all watching?

We examined the nature of pro sports broadcasts as part of the sports analytics course we taught last semester at the University of Texas. We watched dozens of broadcasts across all major sports and charted every second along the way. Our goal was to understand the makeup of the most valuable properties in sports — live game broadcasts — and to map out how these broadcasts vary across different sports.

Our findings reveal that while different sports produce wildly different broadcast experiences, NFL broadcasts are among the most interrupted and least action-packed broadcasts of any sport. Simply put, there’s not a lot of actual football in a football game.

The numbers are startling. An average NFL broadcast lasts well over three hours, yet it delivers a total of only 18 minutes of football action. And although NFL games start with one hour on the clock and include a 12-minute halftime, because of constant clock stoppages and commercial breaks, game broadcasts are much longer than that.

Within our sample of 10 regular-season games from this season, we found that an average NFL broadcast lasted three hours and 23 minutes and included 50 minutes of commercial breaks. For context, some critics have complained that the Oscar-nominated film “Parasite” is too long.” But that movie is 70-plus minutes shorter than an average Dolphins game, and folks, if you thought “Parasite” had a brutal ending, try watching the fourth quarter of a typical Dolphins game.

Unlike Bong Joon-ho’s thriller, NFL broadcasts include a lot of commercial breaks: About 25 percent of an average NFL broadcast is commercials. But the 50 minutes of commercials are also distributed over more than 20 commercial breaks. To watch an NFL broadcast is to bask in a marathon of interruptions. Check out this visual summary of the NFC championship game:

Those different colors represent different broadcast experiences, and as the 49ers steadily defeated the Packers, our televisions toggled between Levi’s Stadium and Madison Avenue over and over again. The broadcast lasted three hours and 15 minutes, but it included 18 separate commercial breaks that in total lasted 43 minutes — not including the halftime break. In sum, the game’s 107 total plays gave us 14 total minutes (and 16 seconds) of football action. In other words, those who settled in to watch the entire NFC championship endured a commercial-to-action ratio of over 3-to-1.

From the time the ball is snapped until the whistle blows, an average individual NFL play lasts just a handful of seconds, with play duration varying based on play type. Long pass plays, for example, last longer than short running plays. But one thing that makes football different from, say, soccer or basketball is that the game clock often runs between actual athletic action. And to be fair, those intervals, which represent a majority of NFL broadcasts, aren’t exactly meaningless. They are filled with critical strategy as teams tinker with personnel, formations and play calls. They build suspense.

Still, depending on your level of football expertise and your investment in the game itself, those sequences may not actually entertain you, so the overall football entertainment density within an NFL broadcast depends on a viewer’s perspective. Football is in the eye of the beholder. If you’re wonky enough to geek out on the mechanics between plays, then you’ll be entertained for a majority of the broadcast; if you’re not, you’ll be bored.

Sports with more continuous action — and fewer stoppages — may have a leg up on the NFL. Soccer and basketball broadcasts both offer more action and fewer interruptions than football broadcasts — and they do it in a shorter time frame.

An average English Premier League broadcast in our study lasted less than two hours, and a majority of that consisted of actual soccer action. Because of the running clock and the flowing nature of the sport itself, EPL games include over five times as much action (59 minutes) as they do commercials (10 minutes), but even the breaks they do have are neatly coalesced into the 15-minute halftime period. Consequently, soccer broadcasts inject advertising into the flow of the action, hence the sponsored uniforms, the branded billboards that surround the pitch and the monetized chyrons on the corner of our screens.

Regardless, European football and American football provide viewers with wildly different broadcast experiences — and advertisers with different platforms. And the other major sports fall somewhere in between.

In terms of broadcast length, only Major League Baseball can hold a candle to the NFL. We charted 17 MLB postseason games, and they averaged a whopping three hours and 45 minutes while delivering only 23 minutes of athletic action (the total time of actual pitches and plays unfolding).

While contemporary American audiences grow more and more demanding, baseball is trending toward monotony. As a result, MLB officials are exploring ways to speed up games and tighten up broadcasts. However, while NFL broadcasts mimic MLB ones in many ways, the NFL has so far escaped baseball’s plight, in part because the average NFL game has more consequence than the average MLB game and in part because the proof is in the pudding. Regular-season NFL ratings are soaring, so if it ain’t broke…

But does the NFL actually have less reason to worry?

Coming into this year, the Super Bowl’s Nielsen rating has decreased for four consecutive years. Last year’s game was the lowest rated since 2005, and if these trends continue, broadcast strategies will have to adapt, especially when you consider that between smartphones and streaming services, the American attention economy is vastly more competitive than it was in 2005. Despite the recent upticks in regular-season ratings, the NFL and its media partners still need to accommodate 21st century audiences, and it looks like they realize that already.

As reported by Variety, Fox is actively trying to reduce the number of interruptions in this year’s big game.

“Fox intends to cut one commercial break from each quarter in its February 2020 broadcast of Super Bowl LIV, according to four people familiar with the matter, a bid to eliminate some of the interruptions to the flow of play. The maneuver comes straight from the playbook of the NFL, which has been working with its TV partners to counter criticism about the volume of breaks in the game.”

Many of us already watch football games with phones in our hands, ready to deploy our social media apps as soon as Joe Buck throws it to commercial, which begs the question: Are commercial breaks even as effective as they used to be? Yes, they still provide corporations an unmatched invitation to our living rooms, but as any good smartphone addict knows, just because you’re in the same room as me doesn’t mean I’m paying attention to you.

Surveys conducted by Mintel, a market research firm, identified that people age 18 to 24 are 11 percent less likely to consider themselves a fan of football, and many note the length of games as a reason why they are not fans. Even executives of major networks understand that streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu offer commercial-free options, and sports are the last frontier of live programming.

So as we settle into a new decade, it’s clear that the NFL is still the king of American sports, and the Super Bowl is still our biggest TV show. But it’s less clear if the next generation of audiences will tolerate the interruptions and run times of current broadcasts. Time will tell, and so will this year’s Nielsen ratings.

source https://truesportsfan.com/football/how-much-football-is-even-in-a-football-broadcast/

[bewitchedbunny]

Important Announcement!

I've been working on some stuff for the browser formats of my blog.

You'll notice that I went back to the first theme I've used when I came to Tumblr; that is because my music playlist went wonky and messed everything up on my blog, and I sadly had to take it out (I might bring it back someday...)

I've also took the opportunity, and added some other stuff too...

New Links for sideblogs!

Since you guys loved this blog a lot, I've decided to come up with other ones too! I already have three of them:

Discourse blog @bunnyagainstbullshit: A blog dedicated to discourse about things that shouldn't be even up to discourse;

NSFW blog @bunnyaftermidnight: A blog that's filled to the brim with lewd stuff and freaky shit. MINORS WILL BE BLOCKED;

Archive blog @doitforthem: This blog's for one of the few memes I like. It's a new blog, doesn't have much content and it's rarely active, hence why it's a archive blog.

Please, go check them out when you have the chance! I worked rather hard to make them presentable in browser format too!

#psa #please visit my blogs! #i hope you'll like them!