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velvetwyrme · 2 months

Note

i eat up ur recs with a spoon and have almost gotten to the end of the list!!! do u have any other self insert recs? thank u! u have great taste

MWAH MWAH ILY !! THANK YOU and yes ofc I have more recs (not as many as last time, but it should still be a decent list to sink your teeth into <3)

Take care when reading, and always be sure to check the tags!

Same notation as last time, with STATUS of each fic labelled as such: Finished, Ongoing/Unfinished, Discontinued. (Unless the author specified that the fic is Discontinued or on Indefinite Hiatus, I will mark it as Ongoing/Unfinished. Oneshots are also marked as such.)

Spicy (Explicit) and/or Dark fics have also been labelled if relevant. (I won’t mark ones with just suggestive themes/moments, since I cant guarantee I’ll catch all of them. Similarly, unless there is consistent graphic death or gore I [probably] won’t mark it as dark.)

MULTICHAPTERS

As always, tread carefully while reading and take care of yourselves <3

Edit: Fixed a missing link or two!

These Masks We Wear - Underfell!Papyrus/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

TIME LOOPS BABEY!!!! This reader is a delight from the get go because they have been stuck in a time loop and are... rather impulsive because of it, which lands them in a bit of a mess, because these strange, dangerous monsters have just emerged from the mountain. (I'm screaming and yelling at this fic very intensely)

Resisting the Current - Various/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

If you haven't read this yet please do yourself a favour and read it. The premise was enough to get me irrevocably hooked (anti-harem but the gf is ALSO into you. ALSO SHE'S YOUR EX) and the writing is just FANTASTIC. I'm obsessed with the dialogue and description at every turn. Also, I would very much like to kiss Quinn please and thank you. The plot is beginning to set in now, and it's so good??? I have to cut this short or else I'll talk forever <3

ALSO the same author recently posted the first chapter of Wishbone which has me in a vice grip!!! AHH

Comic Classifieds - Sans/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

*kicks in the door* DID I HEAR... FAKE DATING? Very sweet VERY funny, with an extremely extraordinarily awkward reader. (Who is also "cute in an awkward, baby giraffe kind of way.") It's sooo good please please check it out.

Stolen with Friendship, Captured by Love - Papyrus/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

2016... I still love this fic deeply <3 It's so SWEET and it reminds me of the good days of fic... Papyrus is. a Lot to deal with, but the reader takes it all in stride. He is SO full of energy and I want to sqUISH HIM.

Tough Choices, Tougher Consequences - Underfell!Papyrus/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

I loooooove stories where soldiers get thrust into awful political matters. After you are forcefully removed from the battlefield, the Emperor gifts you his finest gladiator- Papyrus. He intends for the monster to be a toy to you as much as you are a toy to him, but you can't accept that and quickly broker a deal with Papyrus for his freedom.

Already There - Underfell!Sans/Reader - Finished

[Warning: INCREDIBLY SAD AND GOOD]

BURSTS INTO TEARS. Like for real though I adore this fic, it will break you into a hundred million pieces. My beloved son!!!!!!! I can't believe I didn't add this one to my last list it's such an influential piece of my existence like genuinely

There is also a sequel! Which hasn't updated since 2018 BUT STILL IS REALLY GOOD. If you want a slightly less heartbreaking story, the author also has another Sans/Reader; A Tale of Dog and Monster which makes me want to cry but in a happy emotional way instead.

Here's to You, Doll - Mafia!Sans/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

Ah... this one is very fun. You're a scientist who gets accidentally isekai'd into a Mafiatale universe and becomes stranded there. Unfortunately for you, Don Gaster and his brothers think you are a spy, so you're kinda stuck with them. Also Sans is kinda a little freak in this one at times (/appreciative)

Soul Collector - Various/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

The reader (the Soul Collector) gets transported into another universe and has to stay with their alternate, who is the skeleton's terrible neighbour. You look just like her, of course, resulting in a lot of VERY confusing interactions. I wasn't expecting to, but I actually really like Meyer.

Consequences - Papyrus(?)/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

Anti harem, but the reader gets mcfreaking MURDERED (and so does classic Papyrus?!) so now they are both Ghosts. Focus is currently more on platonic relationships and REVENGE but I'm enjoying the twist on the typical anti-harem structure!!

My Soulmate is a Pastel Goth (And Other Concerns) - Underfell!Papyrus/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

Edge is very cute in this and I also feel really bad for him, he's trying so hard but the MC will not give him the time of day ;w;!! I looove me a good tumultuous soulmate fic. (Note: this fic also features Fem!Frisk as Sans’ soulmate in the bg, so if you’re not a fan, that’s something to note ^^! Fr//ans isn’t quite my thing, but tbh I’m really interested in seeing how things turn out here!)

ERROR: Not Found - Error!Sans/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

Error, gets obsessed with the reader and kidnaps them! It's slice of life, so don't expect TOO much hard hitting angst here, it's more about being woo'd by the strange stalkerish entity who knows everything about you <3

When Death isn't an Option - Horror!Sans/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

[Warning: Contains Dark/Heavy Themes]

I'm a sucker for immortal readers, especially ones that get stuck in HORRORTALE of all places. This fic is very fun and plays in the Horrortale sandbox in a fun way- I'm enjoying it a ton so far :]!!!

Additionally... if you liked that or if you're like me and love immortal readers forced to make decisions of extremely dubious morality and sense because of their immortal nature, you should also check out Cadarverous and 𝚎𝚊t. which are both very dark and very compelling.

Babysitting with Extra Morbid Steps - Various/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

[Warning: Contains Dark/Heavy Themes]

So the first thing you need to know is: Papyrus is dead.

... WAIT WAIT WAIT HEAR ME OUT- this is a really brilliantly written fic about like. SO much fucked up shit happening. The reader is Sans' friend, who he has hired/tasked with guarding the various alternates he has. just straight up imprisoned(?!?!). I avoided this for a while because of the aforementioned Papyrus Being Dead thing, but HOT DAMN I'm glad I read it in the end. Delightfully horrifying, but it gets sweet I swear!!! I would say read the tags but those are Spoilery ;)!

Additional note; the comments section often has Really Interesting dissections of characters and their motivations, which if you're into that (like me) then you should read those too!

All You Knead is Loaf - Sans/Reader - Finished

[Warning: Contains Explicit Content.]

Super sweet, VERY punny fic that updated over the course of a month iirc. It's a cute food-centric Sans/Reader!

Like a moth to flame…or a lamp - Mothman Horror!Sans/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

BIG MOTHMAN HORROR!!! He's so sweet and sad this poor man. He has mistaken the reader for his mate and is trying to woo them again...

Those Times I Met His Brother - Sans/Reader - Finished

Essentially you befriend Papyrus and keep getting left with Sans, during which you grow closer. Love Papyrus' not-so-subtle attempts to get them together afjkdfjsf,,

Just Try and Help (Lil Old Hopeless Me) - Various/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

Skeleton reader! Very angy skeleton reader. They do not Want to be here (understandably, considering they were essentially kidnapped) but their former caretaker is gone, and they have nowhere to go.

Lovely House of Bones - Various/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

Six monsters get stranded in a snowstorm, and you help them not freeze to death by inviting them into the house you inherited. I'm really excited to see where this one goes :D!

Maybe In Time, You'll Want To Be Mine - Underfell!Sans/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

More!! Soulmate stuff!!!! SOULMARKS BABEY!! Love it when there are misunderstandings! Love it when there are cuuuuute background character kiddos!! AUGH it's cute! And angsty! But cute!!

No Good Deed - Underfell!Papyrus/Reader - Finished

You volunteer at a local homeless shelter where you meet a strange, less-than-friendly volunteer. Short and sweet!

Nothing but Skin and Bone - Horror!Skelebros/Reader - Finished

[Warning: Contains Dark/Heavy Themes]

MORE Horrortale content! This one only finished last month or so- it goes from angsty to sweet/cute and it's real good!!

If you read that and want EVEN MORE sadness and gore, the author's other work Vivid Blood, Pale Scars (DARK) is very tragic and very fucked up because you get saddled the Horrorfell boys this time. MUCH Hurt and No Comfort!! All the endings hurt me in different ways and none of them are happy. LUCKILY(?) the spinoff/AU where the skelebros and reader from VBPS get pulled into a multiversal skeleton house; Blurred Lines, Opened Wounds has just started!! Surely nothing can go wrong. Surely.

The Princes' Bride - Skelebros/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

What if you got kidnapped by the king to marry his sons. "Why" is a good question. And an even MORE pressing question is: how do you get OUTTA here. (Papyrus is a sweetie, Sans is distrusting, and King Gaster is a mysterious weirdo who is a good dad and bad everything else.)

MorTificaTion - Bad Sanses/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

Reader from Outertale gets yanked into Horrortale! They then have to masquerade as Sans' wife and Aliza's mother, all the while trying to just stay alive. Not to mention the other Sanses running around... really fun premise and I'm excited to see where it all goes >:0!! Also extra kudos to the name of the fic because YAY Murder Time Trio (MTT) mention!

So here's the plan... - Underfell!Papyrus/Reader/Underswap!Papyrus- Finished

[Warning: Contains Explicit Content.]

VERY CUTE!! Love them. Fake dating except there's a third conspirator involved. Each of them was also trying to set the other two up in a couple uwu. Chapter 1 is cute, and chapter 2 is spicy ;)!

Just a Cat - Swapfell!Skelebros/Reader - Finished

The reader is in fact, not just a cat. (He is a shapeshifter, and pretends to be a cat.) Shenanigans ensue.

An Apple a Day Keeps the Asshole Away - Swapfell!Sans/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

Unhinged. When I say unhinged I mean it in the best possible way but it IS unhinged. They're all a bunch of little FREAKS. Please read it, if only to experience the absolute TERROR of Miss Bluebell and also Steve. What the hell (appreciative)

Honey Lemon Tea - ...?/Reader - Discontinued

RAGHHH I'm so sad this was discontinued :(( I loved the set up and the mystery so much... the author did leave an end note with how the plot would have played out though!

Shifting Morals - Sans/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

You go stargazing and have an encounter with a mysterious stranger :0c?! (It's Sans. He's a cool beasty guy, and he is very very sadly Entirely alone.)

Additionally, this fic was suddenly revived 5 years after posting the first chapter which I have immense respect for.

The Key To Freedom - Yandere Buttontale!Papyrus/Reader - Finished

Yandere Papyrus! Not a common sight, but this fic does it particularly well. He mostly wants to eat your soul at first, but then he starts getting... attached. The bittersweet ending!!! AUGH.

Milky Tea and Souls - Various/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

What if you could summon bitty versions of your soulmates!! And oh stars why are there so many- WHAT DO YOU MEAN MORE KEEP APPEARING??? The reader has a handful of skeletons and more to deal with!

The House on Lane 66 - Various/Reader - Finished

[Warning: Contains Explicit Content.]

I feel like legally I have to include this (/lh /j). I finally finished it recently and went "WOAH..."

I stopped reading for a while (because of the length...) BUT I returned to it because I really really enjoy the world building (like holy SHIT!!!) but oh my god that sure is. a Million words now. It is TECHNICALLY finished, but that's only because the next part is in the works(?!?!?!)

Love Grows - Farmtale!Sans/Anomaly!Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

🎵 Love grows where my rosemary goes~

The reader doesn't have a physical body or a way to interact with the world while they watch over Saejun and the rest of the Farmtale characters. They inhabit a scarecrow to have some semblance of personhood, but they remain unable to talk...

Falling - Underswap!Skelebros/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

[Warning: Contains Dark/Heavy Themes]

You are dying. You are dying and all of a sudden your dad is asking you to pick out a fucking slave of all things. The monster does not trust you (fair) and he thinks you are faking your illness for attention (less fair. what the fuck). Really interesting dynamics in this one!

Se Brûler - Grillby/Reader - Finished

[Warning: Contains Explicit Content.]

I reaaaally love this fic! Sweet fluff! Angst! THE DRAMA!!!!! AUAUUUUGH I have too much to say about it just go read it.

Early Bird Special - Sans/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

[Warning: Contains Dark/Heavy Themes]

Old fic that's still updating!!!! Really interesting plot that just keeps getting More Dramatic as time goes on (in a good way). It's a Slavetale AU, in which the reader ends up joining the resistance after a few chance encounters. The author also has a spinoff fic with the same premise but featuring Underfell instead, which results in quiiiiite a lot changing.

nemesis & nike - Various Horrorbros/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

[Warning: Contains Dark/Heavy Themes]

The reader essentially starts off in a zombie apocalypse and then gets transported into an alternate universe where they initially think that the various skeletons they meet are zombies. Turns out they are not in fact, zombies, but like most of them still want to kill the reader so...

Rules to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse - Swapfell!Skelebros/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

[Warning: Contains Dark/Heavy Themes] [Warning: Contains Explicit Content.]

More zombie apocalypse stuff! Except this time you're stuck there with a pair of weird skeletons! You give them nicknames so you don't get attached, but of course you end up getting attached anyway.

To My Horror - Horror!Skelebros/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

Post-surfacing Horrortale fic where the skelebros get to go live their farming dreams. With you! Slice of life with a dash of intimidation and angst.

If you enjoyed the Horrortale/Farmtale fusion, you'll be glad to hear there's also...

The Skeleton Stalks - Horrortale!Sans/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

Another Horror-farm-tale fusion which has just begun recently! You live on a farm and all of a sudden there is this Big Intelligent Dog hanging around. Eventually, your new neighbors are sent to check in on you and your Great(er) Dog, which leads to some sweet interactions.

The Ruse - Swapfell!Sans/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

This is a rework! I read the original fic while it was being originally posted and I ADORED it, and the rework is superb <3 Sans is the Captain of the Royal Guard, who must fight valiantly against the villanous Eclipse, who exists only to spread terror... and you're just some human chilling on the sidelines, posting treasonous Soriel posts on the Undernet.

I'm so so so excited for it to return auauusgfhfhdj THE ORIGINAL FIC IS GONE SO I CAN'T EVEN READ IT TO SATIATE ME...

Almost Alone - Swapfell!Papyrus/Male!Reader - Finished

I love the sleepy, slow atmosphere this fic has- it's so befitting of both SF!Pap and the MC in this. It's soft and sweet and melancholic auauuauauuughgh I LOVE IT... *bursts into tears again*!!!! Also, there is a side fic which follows different POVs throughout the story, which is similarly well written!

=========================

ONESHOTS

Date night Purring - Underfell!Papyrus/Reader - Oneshot

SUPER CUTE (and slightly suggestive)! Also Edge has a feminine body in this which is always fun. Booba <3

Scares and a Sudden Friendship - Horror!Sans/Reader - Oneshot

Reader's shitty boyfriend leaves them behind in the haunted house in which HT!Sans is working as a scare actor. Sweet little meet cute! (Meet spook?)

Fallen Star - Underfell!Gaster/Reader - Oneshot

An ooooold fic but one that never fails to break my heart. Written from the perspective of UF!Gaster recording experiment logs about the newest fallen human.

Birdy -Mafiafell!Sans/Reader - Oneshot

LET THE BIRD FUCK SHIT UP!! I love the way the Avian... siren(?) reader is characterised... there's also another oneshot in the same series which I enjoyed- love me some weird Creature Body Horror!!

I also really enjoyed the author's other fic: Moss & Mycelium, wherein the reader is a skeleton :]!!

Skeleton's Curiosity - FellswapGold!Skelebros/Reader - Oneshot

SUBNAUTICA AUUUUUUUUUUU YEAAHH BABEY!! I love mermaid AUs and I love Subnautica! Real cute!

Chance Encounter - Underfell!Papyrus/Reader - Oneshot

ANOTHER SUBNAUTICA AU :D!! Except it's just UF!Pap this time <33 !!!

Leaving A Mark - Sans/Reader - Oneshot

The twist(?) made me laugh so hard I almost cried. It's VERY cute also.

Nice to Scare You - Various/Reader - Oneshot Series

A fun series of oneshots of the spookier variety! Or more Halloween-y at least. All very good <3

=========================

MISC. / OTHER

The Escort - Lust!Sans/Reader || &Reader - Finished

[Warning: Contains Discussions of Explicit Content.]

No romance! (But lots of kind-of-onscreen fucking.) This fic feels like looking at a bunch of polaroids, seeing a snapshot of existence. Life out of context. And it works SO well. It makes me feel sad and existential and I really love it.

Rubble & Ramparts - (An R&R-Inspired AU Fic) - Various/OC || Various&OC - Ongoing/Unfinished

Not a reader insert, but it's like. An AU of a reader insert so I'm including it here!!! Rubble and Ramparts is of course, inspired by R&R (Rabble & Rampallians), which was on my previous list but is getting linked here again for ease of navigation

ALEXIS my beloved!!!!!!! I am in loooove with the way things are going in this fic. It's so COOL and Alexis is such a freaking DELIGHT. Also I just really love reading all the notes from the Cutting Room floor, which the author has kindly included in a separate fic for your reading pleasure!!

ALSO in writing this I also remembered there is Another Spinoff AU fic which IS a reader insert (that I'm enjoying)...

Perception & Patronage (An R&R Spinoff) - Various/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

Thank the stars I remembered this, it's really fun!! Also judging by the tags there is also plans for. not only Various Sanses/Reader, but also READER/READER, which is such an underrated thing I love it, but I digress. It's a really fun spin on a really fun fic <3

Teen Livin' - Various Skelebros & Reader + Frisk/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

[Warning: Contains Dark/Heavy Themes]

Cute and sad! Platonic reader insert. The reader is a troubled teen who befriends Frisk, and gets to meet a bunch of skeletal guardians. The skeletons have a familial/friend's cool cousin vibe with the reader, which is really sweet! The fic is currently going through a Halloween Special which I'm enjoying quite a bit (Haunted dolls! Ghosts! Blood!! Still very sad :[...)

Something Good - Fellswap Gold!Papyrus/Reader(?) || /OC(s) - Ongoing/Unfinished

Technically not a reader insert since Coffee is the MC, but I can forgive it because I'm really really invested in this and I really adore the character dynamics so far <3 Coffee striking it out on his own is always a fun thing to explore, and I'm excited to see more!!

=========================

I love writing up these rec lists- it's such a fun way for me to rediscover fics I've enjoyed, thank you for giving me another opportunity to reread some of my favourite fics and more importantly to share them with you! I hope you enjoy them as much as I did :D!!!

I'll probably leave it here for now or else I'll end up rereading fics forever lolol it's already like 3am I gotta sleep SOMETIME

#doozis fic recs #fic recs #fic rec list #others writing #anon #inbox #i did my best to make sure there were no overlaps between this list and my original one but no promises #there are however definitely some overlaps with my uf!pap fic recs lol #ALSO THERE IS *MORE* UF!PAP STUFF IN HERE #because i found more fics that i missed last time :(#if you're like. huh. a lot of these ones are ones that are newly updated youd be correct and thats because my memory is bad #so i gotta rely on email updated to Remember fics i like shdjgjfndnbg #why are there so many fics with Fucked Up Character Dynamics this round...#also a LOT of horrortale-adjacent fics. weird #THE AMOUNT OF DARKER FIC IN HERE IS ASTONISHING but also im not surprised one bit sbfjfbdjf its just. comparing it to my last list.

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key-rk · 11 days

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Do you have an idea for your own Darkwing Duck arc?

I love your artwork especially the one with Drake and LP fishing! It looks straight out of a watercolor graphic novel. You’ve got the facial expressions of Drake’s grumpy but endearing personality down to a T.

AHH THANKYOU SMM!!! I REALLY APPRECIATE IT :D

I had a lot of fun drawing that piece, I'm glad you enjoyed it (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)

As for the question, that's interesting to think about. I don't often think about more potential stories for the Darkwing universe, aside little bits and pieces here and there (mainly a long overdue holiday for the mallard family that doesn't result in fighting crime–they deserve a little break, I think about that cruise Dw wanted to take Lp on in 'All's Fahrenheit in love and war' all the time )

BUT.

There is ONE potential thing I wish was explored and that's a final/ third showdown with Taurus Bulba. I've rambled on about it in a previous post, but Bulba is such an important villain in the show–having a genuine impact on the cast. Not to mention at the end of 'The Steerminator', Bulba says something along the lines of 'This isn't the last you'll see of me', INTENDING we'd get to see more, but that never happened.

I think it would've been very interesting to conclude the story of Taurus Bulba, especially with how 'The Steerminator' ended. We were shown that both Darkwing and Gosalyn struggled with his return, both having a moment of panic when seeing him (which is sososo interesting)

BUT ALSO. Before he became part robot, he was a lot more rational and calculated–which in some way made him a lot more dangerous than let's say megavolt. He's already a lot more threatening than any other villain of the show. But in 'The Steerminator', he's lost parts of himself, being a lot easier to anger, he acts more on impulse. But he's a lot stronger physically. Pairing that with Darkwing's fear of getting Gosalyn hurt or worse, (and kind of dying himself) + Gosalyn's trauma regarding him–it would be incredibly interesting to see just how'd they'd deal with him for a third time. To deal with Taurus Bulba whose only goal is to get to Darkwing and potentially succeed because of how much he knows about them; their fears and weaknesses.

I really do think it could have been such a cool way to end the show, or just have an episode regarding Bulba's final arc and explore Dw's and Gosalyn's characters further. (I know Bulba appears in the comics, but I'm not really counting those here.)

Mmmmmmm

Not much else, though I do wonder what the transition period looked like for Drake after the Darkly Dawns the Duck. He'd spent so long alone, lowk isolating himself (man didn't even have a house 😮‍💨) and suddenly he lived in a neighborhood with a family? I believe that would've been difficult, ESPECIALLY for him. He's shown throughout the show that he finds people to be difficult to be around, not to mention his tendencies to overwork and disconnectment from the identity of 'Drake Mallard' (a clash reunion reference to where he lost his mask. He doesn't particularly value himself without the costume due to years of being unimportant and hardly acknowledged) and in 'Water Way to Go' he claimed to "get manically depressed on the weekends" (do what u will with that)

I know cartoon wise, they wouldn't explore that aspect of Drake re-adjusting to civilian life again, but I still like to imagine it. I think Drake's character is soso interesting and that little period specifically could have been intriguing. I don't think I've come across any fic delving into that yet either 😞.

(bonus detail: Drake actually didn't have his temper as a child. In his backstory episodes, he doesn't really possess it. In clash reunion he is kinda full of himself, but he's not angry to the point of lashing out at someone. This flaw only develops after he'd become an adult and lived in the tower alone for who knows how long 💀)

RIGHT WELL THAT'S IT. I REALLY LIKE TALKING ABOUT THIS SHOW, APOLOGIES FOR HOW LONG THIS IS 🙏

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outeremissary · 27 days

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14, 25, 26?

Thanks for the ask!! I'm sorry if these aren't going to be super thrilling answers, but some stuff I just don't hear much or don't remember well. ^^;;

[prompt]

14. Any favorite motifs

Haha. Have you noticed. That I like angels. And birds. And wings. And radiant light. And feathers. Do you think that's noticeable in what I draw. Kingmaker has really spoiled me for these- there are so many legitimate reasons to draw them, and I still feel like I'm not doing enough here. At the least, I feel like there's a lot more that I could be doing thematically that I'm not. But I think it's telling that as soon as I started regularly drawing Not Kingmaker stuff I just kept going with the wings- sometimes for Real Reasons, and sometimes... not really. It's my natural state. And I will draw More Wings in the future. This is a promise. I will continue to think about them and hopefully do more interesting and thoughtful things with them, haha.

And I also of course love flowers... I'm not a flower language knower, but I looooove drawing flowers and floral motifs.

25. Something your art has been compared to that you were NOT inspired by

Last summer while recovering from surgery I took an actual real figure drawing class, like in a real studio downtown with real people and real models. I had a lot of trouble adapting to the materials, the scale of the drawings (big...), and the idea of shading as one of the earliest parts of a sketch. I remember speaking to the instructor after class once about having trouble, and he was pretty nice about stuff even if it didn't help me all that much except to reduce the stress a little. But in that conversation I remember him saying my art (of which he had only seen the model drawings) had a comic book quality. That really surprised me, especially considering the context! I was trying very hard to do realism the best I could there, and besides that I have just never spent a lot of time with American comic books. Even the artists in that sphere who have styles I find really compelling and want to learn from are just not in my mind when I draw almost ever, and they certainly weren't when I was trying to sketch the model! It was interesting to hear though- one way or another, the graphic background I do have comes through that strongly both in how I interpret things into work that's not meant to be stylized and in how I work. I guess it stood out for better or worse that I leaned so heavily on lines ^^;;

26. What's a piece that got a wildly different interpretation from what you intended

I remember back in 2021 I did this sketch of Nyrissa and Tristian (I swear it is in fact from 2021 despite the post date. my art was slightly better and definitely more accurate to the game in 2022.) where Nyrissa had a hand under Tristian's chin, forcing Tristian to look her in the eyes. I don't really remember what was on my mind drawing that. I think consciously I was just looking for a typical domineering villain pose that seemed fun to draw- I like the idea of the power dynamic between them and I was interested in how that relationship had shaped the Tristian we see in game. Just doing a little thing to put that master/servant dynamic on paper was satisfying for me. Of course, the second I showed it to other people all the responses were like "this is so horny. you can't show me an image this horny." or "this is so horny, I don't know who I want to be." And at the start I think I was always like "noooooo it's super normal!! it's not horny at all!!!" But I think deep down it probably was a horny drawing, whether I did that consciously or not... And I've definitely leaned into that Vibe since then when I draw them together, haha.

That's not a very good story, but honestly I think I just have not seen a lot of interpretations of what I draw that were so different from what was on my mind that they were memorable. ^^;; I don't have a super great memory for this kind of thing though

#thanks for your patience time turned into soup recently #ask game #ask me emithing #pfkm spoilers #eurekq

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theadventurerslog · 1 year

Text

King's Quest Wrap Up

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

King's Quest I: Quest for the Crown

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

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

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

King's Quest II: Romancing the Throne

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

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

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

King's Quest III: To Heir is Human

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

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

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

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

King's Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

King's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow

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

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

Also, "Girl in the toooower!"

King's Quest VII: The Princeless Bride

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

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

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

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

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

Various Stats and Other Rankings

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

Final Points

King's Quest 1: 154/158

King's Quest II: 185/185

King's Quest III: 202/210

King's Quest IV: 230/230

King's Quest V: 260/260

King's Quest VI: 225/231

King's Quest VII: N/A

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

Death/Game over Counts:

King's Quest I: 58

King's Quest II: 17

King's Quest III: 63

King's Quest IV: 86

King's Quest V: 59

King's Quest VI: 29

King's Quest VII: 42

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

Death Rankings!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Look at him!

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

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

Final Final Thoughts

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

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

V - with some caveats

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

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

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

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

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

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somelazyassartist · 1 year

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I'm. Not going to go into a huge ramble right now because I've done it before and I'll probably do it again later but I am running off of zero sleep and a sonic the hedgehog g fuel so if I talk a lot now it WILL end up incomprehensible but. Just a tiny post since I am thinking about it.

[Edit: it became a huge incomprehensible ramble anyways. It's under the cut if you want to see opinions on the TAZ graphic novel (and sorta the fanon) versions of Taako. But please dear Istus do not think I'm talking about the entire fandom it is just one specific brand of fanon-interpretation I'm talking about, NOT the fandom as a whole please I know enough about Tumblr's reading comprehension to know I should probably put a warning here now that I am talking about a specific trend and not an entire group of people who all have different opinions and also that this is ALSO just my own opinion myself. Oh and also this isn't meant to be like an attack on anyone it's just a personal peeve so if I sound frustrated that's just a Me Thing not me being like mad at anyone in particular Thank you very much genuinely for reading this and understanding]

But like,,,, does it bother anyone else or is it just me that the fandom's perception of Taako has become like. WAY more of a stuck-up ass than he ever really was in the podcast ever since the graphic novels came out? Like don't get me wrong he is a dick but he's never been, like, cruel for the most part.

But like, putting on HtbG (podcast) and then putting him next to the gn version of him is like.... Almost not the same character to me? It's like most people forget podcast Taako started out as the "dumb but sweet joke character" who was constantly slow to pick up on social cues and who the other characters repeatedly would take pity on and make fun of for being "the idiot of the group". And again he is a dick but he's not, like, Seriously a Mean Person!!

Also a decent chunk of the "antagonistic" stuff later on is still a continuation of him not getting social cues like in the beginning (for example, his bit where he threatens Angus for potentially becoming a better wizard than he is, realizing afterwards that his tone didn't come across the way he intended and that Angus interpreted that as being serious, and backtracked to try to clear up that he didn't mean to come off as serious and only meant it as a joke. And also says very explicitly in the same episode that he intends for most of his "mean" behavior throughout the series to come off as joking between equals and he doesn't mean for other people to take it seriously. He just says that.).

And he has, like, unspoken morality about what "harmful" things he does too, especially when it comes to like stealing stuff. If you listen to the podcast he (with very VERY VERY few exceptions) only ever steals from people who are dead- who will no longer be using those items and would be letting them go to waste unmoved- and people who have directly wronged him or his loved ones from his point of view. He actively tries to stop the other two from stealing from innocent people!! There's a whole scene where he establishes he isn't comfortable taking from people who don't deserve it and who need that money!! And then you go into the exact same scene in the graphic novel and.... He's exclaiming that he's going to steal a bunch of shit. Not just any shit, the exact shit he was trying to STOP the others from stealing in the podcast.

Which just doesn't feel like Taako at all!! In fact when he stole and sold Angus' grandfather's silverware and realized Angus really didn't deserve that, he felt guilty about it and tried giving some of it back for him and making up for the rest with quality time and magic lessons! but now when I look at fandom stuff (at least what I've come across) it seems a lot more people lean towards the more kleptomania-fueled dickhead Taako than the much tamer original version, and I have to say I prefer the original more!! He has so much more dimension to me in the podcast- not even because there's more time to flesh him out there than in the gn- but because while he is rude and foul-mouthed at times he has pretty explicit limits and will get upset if people try to force him to cross it! (Also seen with his elevator-related PTSD and him having a very reasonable breakdown when his emotional limits were repeatedly crossed with fair warning from him he'd freak out if forced into going in there..... which got cut from the graphic novels as well because of course it did).

And going forward, with gn Taako being so much more selfish and inhospitable than the original version, I feel like they might cut out his "I'm not a piece of meat" scene in TSG, because if they DO keep it in there's no way to me personally that it'll feel earned in any regard- tell me when in the graphic novels has he pretty much ever shown the genuine humility that the original version carries under his standoffish persona. I don't see it, and I don't think whatever happens between Crystal Kingdom's gn and The Suffering Game's gn will be enough to make that scene feel genuine to me. I really, honestly believe that.

Of course there's some things I do like about the graphic novels and I'm more than willing to give the next ones a fair shot (Crystal Kingdom was a lot better than I expected it to be!) but I really, really, REALLY don't like how the graphic novels (and to a small extent, the fandom) really over-emphasize how mean he is to people when if you listen back to the original in a lot of cases he's much more mellow and kind or is just not picking up on other people's tones/social cues and is being misinterpreted (both by other characters in-fiction and/or certain listeners) because it's established in the text he's bad at picking up that sort of thing

#anyways. you can pry Autistic Taako out of my cold dead fucking hands #not picking up/expressing tone and social cues well?? showing affection in 'weird' ways????#having trouble with things he 'should know at his age' like math but being very smart in more niche subjects like aphorisms and cooking????#anyways. not entirely related to my rant but I'm sleep deprived and would ramble more about how fucking autistic Taako is #if i didn't already write a whole essay right now about other things about him and also wasn't sleep deprived as shit lmao #but maybe I'll write more about him being autistic later <3 #taako taaco #Taako #taako adventurezone #taz taako #taako taz #graphic novel taako die 100000000 deaths #<- was my first (and only) suggested tag regarding that version of him and i still stand by it

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trappedwriter · 2 years

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Chapter 6

Content Warning, this is intended for people that are 18+ and this chapter includes graphic descriptions of sexual acts (smut), fake illness, ddlg, amputation, pet names & swearing.

Jessica’s POV

The next couple of days were uneventful just the same old shit, god it was boring here. Over time, I had gained a lot more strength and the physical therapy sessions were going well. My super-hot physio doctor said that I was going to be fitted with a cool prosthetic leg but will still have to use crutches until I’m able to walk unassisted. Bad news struck when the doctors were pleased at my progress and were talking about discharging me soon. As much as I would love to leave here, I worried that if I didn't have the hospital as a backdrop to draw attention my online interaction would drop. I currently had over 3k followers and had thousands of comments and likes on my posts. But I wanted more. I had to up my plan.

It was Tuesday, a very gloomy and rainy day. And I was bored. Tuesday was the only day where I had nothing going on. Usually for other patients, Tuesday was a top visiting day. Patients can go outside for walks with their loved ones or go to the cafeteria. Activities would be planned out for the patients but as no one came to visit me (other than Brad that one time) I was on my own.So I decided I would do an Instagram live.

The live was fun, I had over 2k viewers. All sending me lovely wishes and asking me how I was. Of course, there was a couple of creeps on there too. I was asking my followers to send me in questions, but I soon felt the boredom kick in and I think they did too. The viewer count was dropping dramatically. Comments were flying in saying that the live was boring. I started to panic. I didn’t want to lose them. I had to grab their attention somehow. A follower asked if I was okay, and I burst into tears.

To be honest, I don’t really know what happened. It all just came flooding out. Lies after lies. I had said that the doctors had ran some tests to figure out why my bones has just shattered due to the impact, and they had found out that my bones were weak and brittle due to bone cancer. I was told it was curable and that I would have to undergo chemotherapy. I glanced at the view count and saw 6k. An excited squeak burst out that I had to try and mask as another sob. I covered my face with my hands and turned away to hide the smile that covered my face.

Desperately I thought of Simba finding Mufasa after the stampede until tears formed in the corners of my eyes. I said that I only found out today and that the doctors were working on a chemo treatment plan that would work out best for me. I lied and said that I was still in shock. That everything bad just keeps happening. I slowly wiped away my tears and apologised for crying. I had to end my live abruptly as my doctors had come into my room.

Closing out of Instagram I saw that my follower count had risen to 8k. I hugged my phone to my chest and threw myself back into the bed. I heard one of the doctors laugh at the sight of me kicking one heel in excitement.

"You look excited today, did you have a nice phone call?"

"It was the best call ever."

? POV

Today you did something different. Today you spoke directly to me.I got to see my sweet girl in real time. I missed you so much, I wanted to reply, to talk to you the way all of those intruders were. But I held back, I'm not one of them and I have no need to try to talk to you the way they do. Not when I have already been so close to you. I missed your sweet touch and wanted nothing more than to care for you. Of course, your underwear and the thought of your lips on mine kept me company. But soon I will have you all the time, all to myself.

Seeing your beautiful smile beaming at me through the screen made my heart swell.You had over 2k viewers, people commenting praises and well wishes. Of course, there was some creeps there too, but you ignored them like the good girl that you are. Suddenly your mood changed from happy to slightly sad. Your view count was going down and people were being mean in the comments. I needed to cheer my baby up, so I decided to ask you if you were ok. I was expecting your big smile but that’s not what I got.

You burst into tears. All I wanted to do was to be there and comfort you. You explained that you had received some news from the doctors. You have cancer. Now considering that I know what actually happened to you, I doubted that you were actually sick and just did it for attention. And it worked. As soon as you mentioned the big c, more viewers flooded in. You’re a natural at acting. You slowly wiped away your tears and apologised for crying then all of a sudden, a door was opened, and doctors came in. Without saying goodbye or anything, you ended your live.

It seemed like your new announcement of the big c was successful as you now have over 8k followers. It seems that you’ll do anything for love and attention.Seeing your beautiful smile beaming at me through the screen made my heart swell. “I’ll play along with your game my love, only if you play along with mine” I said and pull out your very used underwear and began to stroke myself imagining you crying for me. Begging me to keep your secret. Saying that you’ll do anything for me. Anything for your daddy.

Chapter 7

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itsonedirection-28 · 2 years

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Hi! After reading tons of larry fics these past months, I decided to make a fic rec of my favourite larry fanfic so far. If you enjoy the fics, please leave kudos and comments for the writers! In no particular order, here's the first part of my 2022 fic rec:

🌿 Our Lives, Non-Fiction by Indiaalphawhiskey (E, 113k)

A lesson in romance that proves that sometimes the best love stories aren’t always by the book.

🌿 To the Ends of the Earth by Stylinsoncity (M, 68k)

During a yearlong hiatus, Louis visits Harry at his cabin in Idaho, where long-buried feelings ignite like the fire keeping them warm.

🌿 Chasing Empty spaces by Lis (domesticharry) (E, 79k)

The year is 1934 and Harry Styles was to inherent the largest tobacco firm in the south. His parents have picked out the “perfect” girl for him to marry and he has the privilege of receiving the highest education possible. The problem was, Harry hadn’t realized he didn’t actually want any part of that future until he met a mechanic named, Louis Tomlinson.

🌿 Gods & Monsters by Velvetoscar (M, 201k)

The instructions were simple: seduce and destroy Harry Styles. Not once did they discuss the option of Louis actually falling in love. So, naturally, that's exactly what he did.

🌿 Soft Hands, Fast Feet, Can't Loose by Dolce_Piccante (M, 112k)

American Uni AU. Harry Styles is a frat boy football star from the wealthy Styles Family athletic dynasty. Louis Tomlinson is a student and an athlete, but his similarities to Harry end there. A bet about the pair, who might be more similar than they originally thought, brings them together.

🌿 Mine Would Be You by Crinkle-Eyed-Boo (KimmieRocks) (E, 114k)

Louis returns to New York City five years after he left it – and the love of his life – behind. He didn't intend to see Harry again, but fate has a funny way of pulling them together, whether they like it or not. After making a begrudging truce, they both start to wonder: Would it be so bad if history repeated itself?

🌿 Relief Next to Me by Dolce_Piccante (M, 333k)

AU. What happens when a baker and a graphic designer meet via a very specific Craigslist post? Fate, friendship, food, and maybe more.

🌿 Wild Love by Purpledaisy (E, 130k)

AU: Two best friends try to date each other for forty days. It's supposed to be fun until emotions make it complicated.

🌿 Wear it Like a Crown by Zarah5 (E, 141k)

AU. As part of a team of fixers hired to handle a gay scandal in Buckingham Palace, Louis expects Prince Harry to be a lot of things—most notably a royally spoilt brat. Never mind that the very same Prince Harry used to star in quite a number of Louis' teenage fantasies.

🌿 Come as You Are by Stylinsoncity (M, 77k)

Louis is a professor of literature at oxford and Harry is his newest and most eager protege. both are caught in a story about forbidden love, loss and second chances, in which one is on the brink of heartbreak and the other comes along when he's needed most.

🌿 Through Eerie Chaos by MediaWhore (G, 102k)

The Ghost Hunter AU where Niall lives to prove ghosts are real, Zayn is a skeptical librarian and Harry gets caught up in a century-old mystery and catches feeling in the process.

#fic rec #hl #hl fics #larry fic #ao3 works #larry #larry fanfic rec #1d fan fiction #hlficlibrary

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thschei · 2 months

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Re: the tags on this post I feel like I should say 2 things

Sorry if that example of abuse sounds too cartoony? I have . many examples . from my family . but I didn't want to put specific/graphic details in the tags for OP/other ppl to have to see and/or be triggered by, so I decided to make it vague and gender neutral. For whatever its worth, the whole jealousy -> physical abuse -> apology with flowers sequence Is something that happened, and might come across as cartoony bc our society doesn't take abuse seriously & makes it a frequent punchline

I'm not the kind of person to be like "😢 But guys we need to remember and acknowledge that X Character did something bad, otherwise we're Liking Fiction Wrong!" and I don't intend to make it a habit. But outside of the who lock of super, I'm not usually into popular things? So I thought it was worthwhile to say at least one time that I'm not the kind of ankn enjoyer to sit here pitying him, I'm the kind to be like "He is such a petulant annoying manipulative little shitstain and his canon love interests deserve better (affectionately, while pointing and laughing)", the same way I am when I'm laughing about the master turning the human race into cannibal murder spheres. It's pretty self-evident in how I talk and act, but... I keep getting recommended re/ader x ankn blogs who portray him as a sad, tortured dom and not, like, a gangly jackass one bad day away from committing war crimes even Before he completely fell. [Ta/tooine massacre, there's a scene in TCW where he suggests smth and Obwn is like "That's Terrorism . "] So like I said, it felt worth it to at least say once that he has Flaws and Was In Charge Of His Own Decisions. The tags I put on this post apply here, and to all of my favorite characters; generally speaking, I exclusively like characters who range from Asshole to Medical Malpractice/Unethical Scientists to War Criminal, not in spite of those things but because they're interesting and fun to me. They say a lot about human nature, the same way that real people with those traits/actions do, without any real people getting hurt from me watching an episode of doccy who

#erin talks #text #the master getting the drumbeat put in his head & then called diseased 🤝🏻 ankn getting his limbs hacked off & burning alive in lava #= *wince* well damn that was hard to watch despite what he did...#anyway I think the worst thing about getting into sw at 26 is that if I'm not Actively listening to music #I keep getting the bad lip reading videos stuck in my head . opening a can of cat food like 🎵 Someday When You Are Older #You Could Get Hit By A Boulder 🎵#I'm doing that summary of apple decapitation now

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the-kings-of-games · 2 years

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@ygocookbookzine contributors are free to do as they please with their pieces now, so here are all my pieces! I wrote 5 fics for the main zine, and 7 for the bonus book (all about coffee). Leftovers are still available so if you're interested, check out the zine!

Links to fics found below!

Duel Dish, Activate!

Errand — Fudō Yūsei's Boba Milk Tea, 5D's

The Modern Leyendecker — Red Demon's Ramen, 5D's

When A King Makes Lunch — Jack Atlas' Bento Box, 5D's

Rush Duel Club Activities — Rush Ramen, SEVENS

Gōha City’s Dream Team — Maki Sushiko's Makizushi, SEVENS

Duel Dish, Activate! - Chef's Special

KC's Best Kept Secret — Americano, DM

The One-Day Only Deluxe Special — Frappuccino, GX

Coffee & Vanilla — Affogato, 5D's

To His Taste — Espresso, Zexal

Red Cup With A Smiley Flower — Iced Coffee, Arc-V

Just Right — Café Latte, VRAINS

When She Gets Home — Machine Brewed Coffee, SEVENS

I'm available for YGO catering orders! Feel free to reach out to me. ^^

#yugioh #ygo #yugioh dm #yugioh 5ds #yugioh gx #yugioh zexal #yugioh arc v #yugioh vrains #yugioh sevens #my zine #flame muses #by catering i mean commissions :)#i didn't intend to post like this but the graphics was a lot of fun to make #my graphics

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lau-smaragd · 3 years

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The best fanfictions so far

I have been asked for recommending some fanfictions I like so here we are. I read them all and I love them.

Have fun!

Larry fanfic

📖 Young & Beautiful

Louis, to his horror, attends an elitist university in which the name Zayn Malik means something, Niall Horan doesn't stop talking, there are pianos everywhere, and Harry Styles, only son of a drug-addled, clinically insane ex-rocker, has a perfect smile and empty eyes.

On the beginning I had troubles to like it, to keep reading, because it's so different. But as you can see, it's here, so I genuinely love it.

📖 Fading

Louis knows about beauty; the combination of qualities that pleases the aesthetic senses. He creates that combination every day in the garments he designs while studying fashion at uni. The cut of the design, the color of the fabric, the intricacy of the stitching; it all comes together to create something beautiful. When the science student with the long legs and dimpled smile agrees to model for him, Louis decides he’s found beauty personified. Harry just thinks Louis needs someone to show him how beautiful he is.

It killed me to read this one and I did it twice. I'll be probably forever amazed at the perfect description of feelings you have when you hate yourself. I was there and yes... This is it.

📖 Escapade

In the grand scheme of things, finding a date for a wedding should be no problem for Louis Tomlinson. He's rich. He's handsome. He's reasonably well behaved. But when the wedding is for his lifelong best friend (and former boyfriend), and is happening in under a month, finding a date for the ceremony and accompanying festivities becomes more of an adventure than he ever could have planned for.

One of my top favorites 😁 laughing so much it's absolutely perfect!!!

📖 Relief next to me

AU. What happens when a baker and a graphic designer meet via a very specific Craigslist post? Fate, friendship, food, and maybe more.

Another wonderful reading. You gonna love it, trust me. Great great great, included absolutely amazing music!

📖 And then a bit

“We’d like to give the fans what they want.” Magee states, placing his hand on the table in front of him and leaning forward. “We want to give them Larry Stylinson.”

Or, take a parallel universe where Louis and Harry were never together, mix in a two year hiatus and an impending comeback, pour in a dash of lost fans, two tablespoons of strong friendship and a Modest! employee with a good idea. Add a squeeze of pretending to be a couple, lots of kisses and a tattoo or two. Stir. Serve: the mother of all publicity stunts.

For all the larries, this is just paradise 😁 once again, great great fanfic, painful to watch, how slow Lou sometimes is. But it's worthy!

📖 Unbelievers

It’s Louis’ senior year, and he’s dead set on doing it right. However, along with his pair of cleats, a healthy dose of sarcasm and his ridiculous best friend, he’s also got a complicated family, a terrifyingly uncertain future, and a mortal enemy making his life just that much worse. Mortal enemies “with benefits” was not exactly the plan.

Or: The one where Louis and Harry definitely aren’t friends, and football is everything.

Serious warning: the first sentence is... Well, the author didn't wait too long 😁

This one is classic, you gonna love it, golden sparkles will never be the same. Love it, reading it now again ✨💛

📖 As you are

AU. Five years after The X Factor launched his career as a radio host and songwriter, Louis Tomlinson returns as a judge. Falling for a contestant is the last thing he needs. It's also against his contract.

The only reason Harry auditions for The X Factor is because his best mate signed the two of them up as some kind of joke. Harry doesn't get the big deal—not until he's faced with this season's judges and realises that one of them used to be his desperate, impossible teenage crush.

📖 Wear it like a crown

Golden! Absolutely golden! Harry as a Prince Harry, you have to love it, there's no other option! Read it!

📖 Into the blue

AU. In which Louis is Harry's scuba instructor and quite happy to provide the requested special treatment, pun fully intended. It can't be all that difficult to convince Harry that they're on the same page, right? Also, Niall and Liam may or may not be dating, and Zayn is surrounded by emotionally stunted idiots. He bears it with dignity.

📖 Don't look down

AU. In which Louis is a solicitor at one of London’s most prestigious law firms and Harry happens to apply for the position as his trainee. And everyone else is around, too.

📖 Fall into your Gravity

AU. In which Harry is an overnight pop sensation and Louis steals plants, Zayn pulls Liam's proverbial pigtails and Niall's really just pleased there are more girls for him.

And much more. But I really do love these ❤️ hope you gonna have fun!

@princelyharry @spoiledcat77

#larry fic #larry fanfiction #larry fanfic rec

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literallymechanical · 3 years

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Book Recommendations? Book Recommendations!

This is the list of books I've read during the pandemic, and let me tell you, I am doing all sorts of decision paralysis on what I should read next. If any of y'all vibe with these, do you have anything you'd recommend? Other than the obvious sequels. Ideally nothing too YA-ish, right now.

In reverse chronological order: Skyward, Ancillary Justice, A Desolation Called Peace, A Memory Called Empire, Spinning Silver, Empress of Forever, Red Mars, The Priory Of The Orange Tree, This Is How You Lose The Time War, Harrow the Ninth, Gideon the Ninth, Rhythm of War, Dawnshard, The Ruin of Angels, and Four Roads Cross. I've put a little review of each of them under the cut!

Skyward, by Brandon Sanderson, 2018. Your usual story about an outcast, misunderstood teenage girl finding an injured dragon and nursing it back to health, except instead of a dragon it's a starfighter spaceship. Really solid YA scifi with Sanderson's trademark meticulous worldbuilding. An enjoyable read, though much lighter than his usual epic fantasy.

Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie, 2013. Honestly, I didn't enjoy this one. It was pitched as a queer science fiction space opera, but the "queer" bit was gimmicky and falls apart if you think about it, I didn't find the characters interesting, and the plot didn't even try to hide that it was just a list of checkboxes. Felt like a YA novel that refused to admit it. This is the only book on this list that I personally wouldn't recommend. But all my friends seemed to enjoy it, so I might be the odd one out here.

A Memory Called Empire and A Desolation Called Peace, by Arkadiy Martine, 2019 and 2021. The first two books in what will presumably be a trilogy, and the best stories I've read in a long time. Twisty political thrillers wrapped up in gorgeous science fiction, and by FAR my favorite books on this list. Vibrant characters with nuanced relationships, scifi worldbuilding that is frankly breathtaking, a captivating story, and an all-around delight to read. Language, identity, colonialism/imperialism, and cultural assimilation are tackled through the lens of scifi. In my opinion, this is what science fiction should be. Also there are lesbians. Above every other book here I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THESE ONES. Martine seriously earned her Hugo Award.

Spinning Silver, by Naomi Novik, 2018. Folklore-fantasy about three young women — the daughter of a jewish moneylender, a poor peasant girl from an abusive home, and the daughter of a nobleman who wants to marry her to the Tsar — caught up in a conflict between the Faerie realms, the human world, and something much more sinister than either. Highly recommend, especially if you're jewish.

Empress of Forever, by Max Gladstone, 2019. A fantastical science fiction breakneck-pace adventure romp that puts its foot on the gas in Chapter 2 and doesn't let up. It's also quite explicitly a genderbent retelling of the classic Chinese epic Journey to the West, with more lesbians this time. This book has all kinds of energy, extremely fun characters with more depth than you'd expect, and some bonkers high-concept SF. Highly recommend if you like swashbuckling found-family adventure stories, and wlw romance.

Red Mars, by Kim Stanley Robinson, 1992. Every book, movie, and TV show about colonizing Mars since Red Mars was written owes pretty much everything to this book. It can be a bit dense if you're not up for lengthy (but gorgeous!) descriptions of Martian landscapes, and there are one or two bits where you just have to keep in mind that it was the 90's and this was quite progressive for its day. That being said, I am a sucker for a two-page description of a martian sunset. If crunchy hard-science fiction thrillers (emphasis on the "science") are your thing, I recommend this one. I'll read the sequels (Blue Mars and Green Mars) at some point.

The Priory of the Orange Tree, by Samantha Shannon, 2019. The prose and plot read like classic high fantasy, but with a modern eye towards character-driven storytelling. It's not often that you get something that feels so classic and so modern at the same time. Scratches that Lord of the Rings itch, with Queens and dragons and glorious heroes, but queer romance and a heavy focus on character development makes this a modern fantasy classic. Highly recommend if you like doorstopper-length high fantasy, and lesbians.

This Is How You Lose The Time War, by Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohtar, 2019. A novella, you can read it in a couple of days — or a single marathon sitting, if you get into it. Gladstone (same author as Empress of Forever) and El-Mohtar take turns writing letters back and forth from time-traveling spies of rival timelines: Red works for the post-singularity mechanical Agency, and Blue fights for the Garden, a post-solarpunk biofuture. Their letters start out as taunts, and gradually change in tone as each develops a grudging respect for her rival. That rivalry blossoms — or compiles — into something deeper. It's emotional and raw, and it cartwheels merrily down the tightrope of fantasy, science fiction, and poetry. Highly recommend, though the flowery prose and gleeful disregard for explaining itself to the audience might be off-putting for some.

Gideon the Ninth and Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir, 2019 and 2020. I'll let the pull quote from on the cover of Gideon from Charles Stross' review describe these: "Lesbian necromancers explore a haunted gothic palace in space! Decadent nobles vie to serve the deathless emperor! Skeletons!" This one is horrifying, and it's funny, but I wouldn't call it comedy-horror. It kind of defies genre, outside the very broadest scope of "science fantasy." Read it if you like lots of gore, graphic violence, madcap humor, and extremely unhealthy, codependent, dysfunctional relationships that are always on the verge of self-destructing into multiple-homicide. Highly recommend.

Rhythm of War and Dawnshard, by Brandon Sanderson, 2020. Rhythm of War is book 4 of the Stormlight Archives, one of several epic fantasy series by Brandon Sanderson. Dawnshard is a novella set between books 3 and 4. This is the same author as Skyward, but intended for a more mature audience. Stormlight is definitely my favorite epic fantasy series, and I've read a lot of epic fantasy. These books have some extremely interesting takes on racism, mental illness, trauma, disability, identity, family, and regret, far more so than pretty much any other high fantasy I've read. The first book is The Way of Kings, and if you like bigass doorstopper multi-book fantasy series, The Stormlight Archives should be at the top of your list.

Four Roads Cross and The Ruin of Angels, by Max Gladstone, 2016 and 2017. While Empress of Forever and Time War were standalone novels, these are books 5 and 6 in Gladstone's Craft Sequence, and they are absolutely brilliant. This is a world where about sixty years ago, humankind went to war with the Gods, and the Gods lost. "Magic" in this world is more or less synonymous with "legal contracts," where you can literally sell your soul to your student loan company and resurrecting a dead god is basically bankruptcy restructuring. "Necromancer" is roughly synonymous with "lawyer." The first five books can be read more-or-less out of order, but I recommend you start with Three Parts Dead. Gladstone is probably my favorite author these days. Everything he writes feel like it could be a poem. Also, once again, lesbians.

I am really not sure why about 2/3 of these books are about lesbians. Like seriously, I went into almost all of these books completely cold. The only ones where I knew ahead of time to expect lesbians were the Locked Tomb books, and The Priory of the Orange Tree. I don't know if this is just because a lot of modern scifi and fantasy has lesbians, or if all my friends who recommend me books are queer, or if it's just a coincidence, but hey, I'm not complaining.

#books

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ilkkawhat · 3 years

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content creator appreciation!! list five favourite sets/art/fic you've made and send this ask to five other content creators! 💕(Spreading some love and self appreciation to amazing content creators! If 5 overwhelms you, choose one, or three! Whatever suits you)

aw bless! I know I complain a lot about the creating process and at times, struggle a lot with appreciating my own works for what they are to me, but this is such a wonderful thing to get those good feelings back! 💜

(and lol...I’m pretty sure I broke the “five” rule but trust me...I have not felt this good about my creations in quite some time)

1. Specimen Stokes - CSI fanfic, currently ongoing

The idea for this one came to me at a pretty difficult time in my life, and is probably one of the only good things to come out of 2020. I got an ask from an anon who probably didn't even intend for me to write the ideas out, that asked me to choose between three AUs and the evil scientist vs detective AU stuck out to me the most--and so much so that I literally ran home (well, walked very fast out of work and drove as safely and quickly as I could lol) to write it, totally intended to make it a one shot and over 50k words later with a 2.5 hour playlist and a ton of visual edits, here we are.

I took a huge risk with this story because while most of my whump fics are probably not realistic for Nick to survive, going full on sci-fi and shrinking him has been such a blast, and while I was super hesitant to do it just cause I didn't know what people might think, I'm glad I did, because it seemed like the people who read it enjoyed the twist (though lmao I'm deathly afraid of how this next chapter is gonna be received)

And not only that but it just opened so many doors for me in terms of creativity, I've been straight up worldbuilding and already coming up with ideas for a sequel, not to mention again, a ton of edits some of which have been the best manips/fanart I've made--my favorite in particular are: this one, this one, this one, and this one (the shrinking gif in particular, since that was something I had never done before) and god I could just keep gushing but just know that this is probably the top creation that I love and I'm sure it shows lol (hell I even bought a bottle of crown royal just so I could have my own bag that hangs over a picture of Nick. I will 100% have my own fic shrine some day with items like these)

2. All In - CSI fanfic, the Veronica Saga (so far 2/3 planned fics have been posted)

The Veronica fics have been both a blessing and a curse for me lol. I'm just gonna very quickly get the bad feelings out and say that maybe I poured a little too much projection into Agony, and worry that maybe I broke Nick too quickly and far beyond repair--and damn, I sure as hell could have went way harder with Atrophy (and honestly I feel I didn't capture as much as I wanted to in that one.) I've wanted to delete Agony in particular so many times which may sound ludicrous given that it's my longest fic yet (over 100k) but...I'm glad I didn't.

If Naomi is my self insert for who I would want to be, how I would want to have a relationship with Nick, etc, then Veronica represents that dark, whumpy side of me that just wants to watch the world burn. I can't tell you how much fun it is to write this villain who's just off the rails crazy and doing things to Nick that make it seem like a horror movie. I've given this series so much thought and though I haven't updated Agony in almost a year, I'm far from finished and can't wait to keep going with the story--the finale especially, I think, is going to be some of my most emotional work yet.

And just like Specimen Stokes, it's opened up many doors for visual creations as well--the chapter graphics (this one is the best one IMO, and would be the cover if this was ever turned into a novel), moodboards (this one is my favorite, encompassing all three fics), and even a trailer for the third fic have given me so much to express, and hell, I'm even tagging certain gifs from george's other works that inspire me for this universe of suffering and it's all just so...great. I def remember the feelings I had when I came up with Atrophy, all of the aesthetics that have swirled in my head for it and some catharsis it gives me when I write the really visceral scenes.

(and for the fic shrine, I have one of those wooden mannequins that I love using for the moodboards to represent Nick in this ficverse)

3. Ficverse: Parker and Madison Stokes - CSI fanfic

There is just so much to this ficverse I love, and so much more I have yet to explore.

As I even state in the description of the series, I really had no direction at first--though I always knew who Parker and Madison's mother was, and am now running with that thread, it took me a few fics to really get a grasp on who they are, how they're like Nick, how're they're different than Nick, etc and I have found myself just so connected with Parker in particular. Their mother, Naomi, was the first OC I made for CSI and grew up with me as I grew up with her and with Parker, I feel like it's like I'm kinda getting more of that, especially with the themes I want to work on in First Flight (a fic which, will hopefully be another one of my best emotional ones though there's gonna be a gut wrench in the middle)

And on another personal level, I had felt so connected with my audience during the process of Last Breath--a fic which was literally handed to me on a platter by an amazing writer with both enough detail to tell me what they wanted but enough freedom for me to do what I wanted, and was made better with some pepper from others, that is an experience I'll always cherish and never forget. All of the discussions I had, all of the twists and turns that came in my head because of it...I didn't want that to end, and I guess that's probably why I'm still writing stories of these two kids, and still feel so invested which is why I'm going harder in First Flight 😂

(also worth noting the again, visual creations--I made an entire chapter of just that, which is a practice I intend to do with all my bigger fics like this one)

And if I ever get to it, I'd love to write the actual like, "San Diego" series I have in mind for Nick leading into this universe (well, and taking place alongside it, because my CSI: San Diego series would probably end with Madison's birth) but until then, I'm having a blast doing the occasional one-offs and again, doing that deeper dive in First Flight (have I said lately how much I am loving what I'm gonna do in that one? cause HOO BOY it's gonna be a trip) and just...having Nick and his kids, and the memory of a character that was meant as a conduit for me to interact with him, and all of the adventures along the way with returning faces and expansions on the newer ones (I love writing Cassie and Eli and how their relationships have evolved with Nick over time)

(and for the fic shrine, I have my own Dallas Cowboys Build-A-Bear named Nina that sleeps next to me every night)

4. Grave Danger edits/gifs

Being that Grave Danger is my all-time favorite episode of CSI, only fitting that some of my favorite photo based works (outside of what I’ve shared for fics cause trust me I am a fan of all of my GD fics too lol) have been made from that episode. I’ve been known to find ways to make so many things from just one episode before (coughDOCTOR WHO MIDNIGHT MONDAYScough) and trust me, if I had photoshop back in the day, I would have tenfold the amount of Grave Danger stuff

But anyway, here’s some of my favs off of the top of my head: running up that hill nick/greg gifset, still script edit, gif script edit (from a version of the script that changes a few things about the episode and make me wish we got it that way instead lol), a nick & grissom gifset--the style of which I did for a warrick version and intended to do a cath and sara one and probably still will someday, a hamilton inspired nick whump edit, down in a hole by alice in chains edit just to name a few!

5. General Nick Angst/Whump gifsets

Kinda cheating with all of this, I know, but I do kinda just lump certain creations together into categories, and this category is concepts made out of inspiration from songs/realizations/just sheer desire to do something grand for my favorite guy, and I have spent hours on a lot of these gifsets, more hours than usual when making gifs (well depending on how fast my computer is going that day lol)

Nick Angst set kinda focused on the trauma that made him a person (warning for the babysitter thing)

my shot from hamilton for Nick (I remember I did this after I had done a request of this for Jack 😂)

a quote that I’m pretty sure I did a mac set before for too, but the “break” gif is probably one of the best gifs I’ve ever made

i was from a very potter senior year for Nick because I was listening to that song on a loop for a whole week

just a crafty Nick whump set based on quotes said to him during times of hurt

#mk.op #fuckin wow man really #i feel great about this #fic: specimen stokes #ficverse: all in #ficverse: parker and madison stokes #sorry i like to see you suffer nick #mk.fic

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trans-cuchulainn · 3 years

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What are the major details that confused you about the Hound blurb? The major one that stood put to me was the "way of the farmer opposed to the sword" thing which felt very...un-Cú Chulainn. Also, if you don't mind expanding further, which details didn't you question/be confused by?

and also for anon:

okay so it is like. 2am so there are not going to be any sources here but i can't sleep so here goes!! i will go through this blurb line by line and give youse my thoughts

In 50 BCE,

reasonable. this is roughly the right time period for when the ulster cycle is set. maybe marginally earlier than i'd place cú chulainn, but i'm talking a few years, nothing to get worked up about.

Morrigan, the goddess of war,

fine. normally i'm wary of pantheonising impulses with regard to irish characters (almost none of them can be identified as a god of anything in particular, it doesn't work like that) but tbh the morrigan is like, the most plausible exception to that, so whatever. normally her name has the definite article attached to it because it's kind of a species term as well but whatevs.

has become restless as a long-lasting peace settles over Ireland.

dubious. closest i can think of to peace being reference in any texts is togail bruidne da derga talking about conaire mor's reign being like, prosperous and peaceful and whatever, and even there you've got díberg (plundering/reaving) which is what eventually fucks him over and starts the otherworldly hell spiral situation. that's roughly the right period here but conaire's doom proves you don't have to do much to nudge peace into war, and connacht and ulster are at each other's throats for years before cú chulainn comes on the scene anyway

Deciding the time of peace must end, she chooses Setanta, the nephew of the king of the north, to become her ward.

hmm. i mean. like, this isn't the WEIRDEST choice they could have made. it's still completely made-up, don't get me wrong -- cú chulainn has a lot of different foster parents in different texts and they don't agree with each other but none of them ever mentions the morrígan. but like, they do have a connection of some sort, as evidenced by their conversations. and there's that one moment in the r1 boyhood deeds where little cú chulainn is out on the battlefield and hears her (not sure which name is used here) calling out to him and it like. motivates him to do some deeds or whatever, and i guess you could extrapolate that into some kind of teaching capacity.

so like. could be weirder. if you're gonna pick anyone, you could do worse. still seems weird to me! but not on its own a major issue, i could get past this and consider it a Fun But Unorthodox Creative Decision

(the fact that she tries to seduce him in the táin probably wouldn't get in the way of this considering sleeping with his teachers/foster-mothers is far from unheard of where cú chulainn is concerned)

After a young Setanta slays the demon-hound of Cullan, he becomes known as Cú Cullan—The Hound of Cullan.

weird spelling choices, they could have at least bothered to use the genitive properly. also the hound isn't a demon, it's a ferocious watchdog -- making it sound all Otherworldly and Hellish like this kinda confuses the issue of why he would need to take its place. he needs to take its place because the cattle and people still need protecting because it is a watchdog!! but whatevs, again, it's a brief summary so they can't exactly give us all the details and this is not actively objectionable

As Cú Cullan grows older, it is apparent that an extraordinary power lies within him … and a great darkness.

ugh boring. this makes it sound like he's going to be ~tortured~ and angsty about it. give me an unapologetic murder teen please. is the ríastrad dark? sure i guess, if you're going to be boring about it. it's more like, grotesque neon in my head

When he chooses the quiet life of a farmer over the sword,

this would fucking never happen on like five different levels. obviously like anyone who has ever read anything about cú chulainn can see that this is not in his nature. he is never going to choose a quiet life. this is the kid who tricked his way into taking arms before everyone thought he was ready. also juxtaposed with the "darkness" comment makes it sound like he would Angst his way into this quiet life which. again. have you seen this kid. he is an unapologetic murder teen

the only thing i can think of that might make him temporarily want to walk away is connla's death which... depends where you position that in the timeline really, he does seem a bit fucked up by it and maybe he'd want a holiday although i can see that lasting precisely 5 minutes before someone pissed him off enough for him to murder them. but if he's being raised by the morrígan i can't see him going to train with scáthach so then he'd never meet aífe and therefore connla would never be born so that wouldn't happen. so like. whatever.

but also like. he would not become a farmer. he just wouldn't! it doesn't work! the ireland of the stories is super hierarchical, right? and this blurb has already fucking told us that he's the king's nephew (canon) so we can tell that being a farmer is Not His Place. when we see upper class figures becoming menial labourers in texts, like in cath maige tuired, it's because Things Are Fucked, Shit's Gone Wrong. people don't just decide to change their entire social class on a whim lmfao

if cú chulainn really wanted to turn his back on being a warrior he could probably make recourse to certain other Suitable Professions ... his grandad's a druid so he might have a route into that, though his dad's not so that might fuck things up a bit bc it's one of those things that's usually inherited. he does give "wisdom" in at least one text though and we also know he can write (he carves riddles in ogham in the táin) and he composes verses on various occasions so idk, maybe something in a poetic direction, though again, usually requires two generations of inheritance to be a real poet and not just a lower-class bard. warrior's kinda the main thing he's got open to him tbh. but farming? i'm not a legal expert but as far as i'm aware based on what i have read, that would fuck shit up

more likely an upset cú chulainn would just go off in search of an adventure somewhere conveniently far away until he'd calmed down (alba, or the tyrrhenian sea, or -- if we're going to get early modern about it -- somewhere like india, which frequently gets thrown into the texts with absolutely no cultural context and it's always hilarious)

Morrigan, angry at the betrayal,

of the entire social order, yes,

instigates an invasion of his homeland

i mean. if they intend this to be the táin then.... táin bó regamna does kinda make the morrígan responsible for it? not in the sense of triggering the pillow talk argument that it's in the book of leinster -- it's her getting up to her usual cow-nicking behaviours for shits and giggles. [note to readers: it is probably for more than shits and giggles but did i mention it's 2am]

but all in all, not particularly out of character that she would be at least some way responsible for this so i can vibe with this. echtra nerai also supports the TBR explanation with her fucking around with otherworldly cows and pissing people off so, yeah, whatever. the morrígan engineered this. sure.

and Cú Cullan must challenge fate itself

this is probably a controversial stance but fate feels like a difficult concept to apply to medieval irish texts. like are people sometimes Doomed? yes. there are prophecies, there are gessi, there's all manner of otherworldly fuckery that can trip you up. is that the same thing as fate? no idea. considering cú chulainn comes out alive from the táin though and his doom prophecies don't catch up to him for like, at least another decade, maybe 16 years depending on who you listen to, hard to see how that would apply here

to keep the goddess at bay.

again like she IS causing fuckery in the táin but also it's like... one time. really not the main character. but she or maybe just some crows, hard to say, do get implicated in the death tale so maybe they're doing what people often do and conflating the two? even though there's like 10-16 years in between them?

anyway as you can see i don’t think it’s wholly terrible / i’m not completely thinkshaming it. like, having cú chulainn raised by the morrígan is unorthodox but it could be a fun and creative direction so i don't object to it. making cú chulainn get sad about murder and choose to be a farmer is just fucking laughable tho, and makes me doubt their characterisations in general. so that's offputting and would probably make me think twice about buying it, if that had ever been on the cards.*

and of course sure, their cú chulainn can be a Sad Boy Who Likes Sheep, but that means he's not the cú chulainn of medieval irish lit / irish myth, because that cú chulainn is a feral murder teen who keeps killing his friends and also is way too high social status to ever be a farmer, and whose only relationship to livestock is as the watchdog who kills anyone trying to harm them (which is an important role on a farm! but like. not the same thing as Being A Farmer. mostly because it involves more murder and is essentially just an extension of his role as a warrior. or rather the other way around. he promises to protect mag muirthemne as a watchdog and this like. gets extended into him becoming its sole defender)

this has been my analysis of this blurb i hope you enjoyed it

it's now 2.30am i should try and sleep now that i've exorcised a few thoughts from my head

*as i mentioned in the tags of my other post, i don't tend to read graphic novels due to disability stuff. they're much harder for me to understand and follow than prose, to the point where some are incomprehensible, so i don't really enjoy them. there are a few i've read, but they tend to be short ones, and i'm usually not reading them in order, just admiring the art separately from the text. so it's unlikely i would read a graphic novel of this size anyway.

#cu chulainn #hound #hound graphic novel #answered #oddnub-eye #anonymous #irish mythology #medieval irish #tain bo cuailnge

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