#i forget a lot of things and finer details and stuff but like

[wildissylupus]

Here's another rant for you, Kiriko isn't a poorly written character or contradictory or unnecessary, people just generally don't understand the meaning of her lore.

The Age Gap

First thing I want to address is the age thing, more specifically people saying that it doesn't make sense that Kiriko and Genji could be close with Genji being 35 and Kiriko being in her early 20s.

As someone who has their dynamic with my cousins who I have the same kind of age gap, I (obviously) find this incorrect.

I've seen people act as though Genji took her to parties and stuff, but realistically, they most likely only interacted while Genji was at the Shimada house or while training. Also its been shown that both Genji and Kiriko didn't have personal connections outside of they're families or the clan until after the Shimada clan fell. So of course they would be close, they literally only had each other.

Not only that but as I'm writing this I'm reading the Yokai short story and on the first page it is shown that the Shimada brothers obviously treated her like a younger cousin/sibling.

That and her young age is actually a big part of her story, growing up being a main theme in her cinematic, and her age actually influencing a lot of her views. Which I will get into later.

Her Personality

I've seen people say that Kiriko's personality in game contradicts what we were shown in her cinematic. The thing people forget is that the ideviduals she interacts with are people she is close to, her mum and her neighbours which she either learned sign language for or she was just generally close to.

This is important to recognise because she doesn't know most of the cast of Overwatch. So of course she's not going to treat them the same way that she treats people she considers family.

Not only that but Overwatch specially did nothing to help with the power vacuum they created. They are literally the reason the Hashimoto have so much control now, of course she's not going to be overtly nice to its members.

Not only that but the three members of Yokai that we know are stated to be younger then Kiriko, teenagers. She's leader and she needs to act like it because if she doesn't, kids could die.

I think this is most shown in her interaction with Ana;

Ana: You remind me of myself when I was younger.

Kiriko: That a compliment?

Ana: You be the judge.

Kiriko: Okay, thanks for the compliment.

Her Interactions and Relationships

"I won't say the Shimada were perfect, especially at the end..." - Kiriko, Yokai short story

I've seen people say that Kiriko defends the Shimada clan while also being "too hostile" towards Hanzo. The line above disproves the first claim, Kiriko just sees the Shimadas as the lesser evil of the "Shimada vs Hashimoto". Not only that but the whole being "too hostile" with Hanzo thing can be justified by one thing, canonically Kiriko doesn't know the finer details on what happened to Genji.

The most she could know is that Hanzo killed Genji, that's it. And we don't even know if she knows that, all she could know would be that Genji is dead and Hanzo skipped town.

Not only that but because she doesn't know the finer details she most likely believes that Hanzo abandoned her family and Kanesaka, either for no reason or he abandoned the post he killed his own brother for.

I hate how people act like everyone would be fine with Hanzo, like, Kiriko has a right to be mad at him and be openly hostile.

As for her other interactions I do think that some are brought down by poor line delivery, that's it.

But as I mentioned before, Kiriko has no reason to be nice to an organisation who didn't help fix a problem they caused.

Her Role in the Story

I believe Kiriko was introduced in order to cause conflict in the Shimada storyline, because I'm tired of people believing that Hanzo's redemption would be an easy road. Realistically Kiriko, Angela and Cassidy, along with other Overwatch agents, would at the very least not trust him and at most despise him.

Just because Genji has forgiven Hanzo doesn't mean his actions still didn't have consequences and I think Kiriko will be an example of that.

I also think that she will be a driving point for both Ana and Cassidy's opinion that sometimes Overwatch did more harm then good.

Essentially I think her character is going to be a driving point for other characters until she gets her own arc, maybe in a mini/separate story campaign.

(I honestly love the idea of her getting an anime)

Her Voice (this is more of a theory/headcannon)

Personally I think her having an American accent is a result of her having to go into hiding after the Shimada clan fell. I believe she had to learn how to do an American accent so the Hashimoto wouldn't hurt her. Because they didn't really seem to know Kiriko in the cinematic and her having an American accent would throw people off of gaining the suspicion she was related to the Shimadas or her mother in any way.

It a reasonable assumption considering the Hashimoto literally kidnapped her dad and is forcing her mum to work for them.

#overwatch #overwatch 2 #overwatch headcanons #overwatch lore #analysis #kiriko yamagami #kiriko kamori #kiriko #kiriko ow

[mamamittens]

Nikia has a hobby of learning new things. She doesn't always remember what she's learned, she's a little forgetful and absentminded behind the RBF, but it's pretty obvious when she's trying to memorize things.

Spending so long with little to no socialization means it's very easy for her to forget herself and get very... Weird bout learning something new. It's inquisitive and cute but also jarring to have her suddenly up close and personal to see what you're doing. Exactly how you're holding a blade to carve meat or roll dough. She's just FIXATED on what's in front of her.

This is how she learns sword play with Thatch and pistols from Izou. Sure, she knows how to hold a knife and carve. Do great damage while hunting. Or shoot a small handheld gun. But the finer details escape her. She's not confident holding the weapons. Instinctively more defensive.

It's an interesting process where they all learn a bit more about each other. Like how steady and firm Thatch is with his blades but quick as a whip. Izou a deft hand at a quick draw and steady grip. And they learn that Nikia still dances with her feet, instinct from years of dance as a child and playfulness translating to a very different style than Thatch's bold stance or Izou's unflinching aim.

Thatch ends up teaching her forms he's not that great at. A flowing rhythmic sort of style that favors reverse grips and grip changes with a twirl. She doesn't have his body strength to use his own style, so its better this way. It's a strange sort of dance and she often plays dirty by suddenly flaring her wings or obscuring her blades between feathers.

Her shooting style is more geared towards distance and hair trigger shots, so pistols are hard to get used to under Izou's tutelage. They struggle to find an intuitive style for her with much weaker guns and she ends up missing a lot. Her shots taking too long to line up so she over thinks. She just can't be patient with a gun, can't duel like Izou can against blades, lining his shots meticulously to win. She just wants to shoot their head and be done with it. He ends up finding the sweet spot with speed, helping train her wrists to handle the recoil she's used to taking with her whole body. It ends up a lot like gun-slinging in old westerns. Faster and faster until it's like you blink and miss it.

It's good exercise for them, forcing themselves to recontextualize how they fight.

Thatch still isn't okay after discovering how bad of an idea it is to encourage her to talk while she fights. He wanted banter, fun light stuff. But with all her focus on a fight, Nikia's filter dies quickly.

Sure, it's cute and flirty at first, but the... Violent intrusive thoughts really throw everyone for a loop.

"You look so cute with swords. So proud and accomplished."

"I should kiss your nose after this. You deserve to be flustered after tapping my ass with the flat of your blade."

"You have such a beautiful smile, Thatch. It makes me nervous to hold a blade to it--theres not point messing with perfection, even if I think you'd wear a Glasgow well."

"I keep getting distracted by your ankles, why do you wear slippers? One little knick and you'll never walk again--I worry about you so much, you know?"

"I hate it when our blades cross. I can feel the grinding metal in my bones and it makes me want to rip your face off with my teeth."

"I don't want to get too comfortable holding a blade to your throat. It's so easy to bleed out from the arteries there. Same for your thighs but if I manage to put a blade there, one of us has made a massive mistake."

Izou laughs at him, thinking it's about time he was on the other end of shit talk...

He definitely doesn't make the same mistake at least. Easy not to since she she's how loud guns are.

#one piece #mittens rambles #one piece oc #nikia op oc #back on my bullshit #tw: intrusive thoughts

[mycellios-z-7]

= About Meeeeeee =

Currently nameless as of now. A formerly-wandering cosmic ghost inhabiting a MyceliOS model Z-7. I guess that means you can call me Z-7?

I prefer no pronouns at all, but here are pronouns that I'm ok with:

They / Them / Their / Theirs / Themself

Z / Z / Z's / Z's / Zself

7 / 7 / 7's / 7's / 7self

It / It / Its / Its / Itself

Finer Details Below the Cut. Here Are Some Blinkies.

If held to human standards, my OS works the way a human mind with ASD and ADHD would work. I also am often either sleepy or zoned out, as well as being very forgetful, so if I act weird that might be why.

Since I'm not the best at human stuff, please let me know if I do something morally questionable or flat-out wrong. I probably didn't notice.

While I never really felt attached to the whole "gender" thing, here are a couple terms I find I relate to outside of being a part of that concept:

Aliengender - Sillyaliengender - Venustrandic - Alienlexic - Anthropoid - Nebulousgender - Stargender -Musicstar - Rainbowstar - Shootingstardeity - Stardeity - Starryghostic - Sleepyghostic - Somnospectric - Soporine - Lostghostic - Spectial - Hauntgender - Sillyghostgender - Phasmaeic - Ghostix - Ghostgender - Droidghostgender - Robogender - Gendernetwork - Mushroomgender

I also identify as acespec and demiromantic (though romance is difficult for me since I don't quite understand it.)

Characters I relate to a lot in no particular order:

pinkie pie - mlp

lancer - deltarune

yellow guy - dhmis

asriel - undertale

zombie cookie - cookie run

space doughnut - cookie run

cream unicorn - cookie run

candy diver - cookie run

mugman - cuphead show

brown mage - everhood

diamond - pokemon adventures

wander - wander over yonder

kirby - kirby

elfilin/elfilis - kirby

gir - invader zim

classic chica - fnaf

karako - hs

sackboy - lbp

clyde - pacman atga

kiwi/bard - wandersong

icarus - unknown signal archive

ik - the upturned

I'm super into music, art, rhythm games, all that cool stuff. Sometimes philosophical stuff, sorry if I get into rambles. Favorite band of all time is TMBG, it's like, my number one thing ever. But yea, that concludes the important stuff about me I guess. Lol.

= Updated as of July 21, 2023 =

[mythgirlimagines]

........ Let's try this again. Ultimate Serial Killer Makoto x Ultimate Pianist Kyoko. I am very Stupid and forget to double-check stuff 9 times out of 10. She can still fix him istfg smh.

Lol no worries

Despite her talent being music-related, Kyoko still had a lot of intelligence when it came to finer details and putting together puzzles. It was like putting together a musical arrangement of sorts.

She had a feeling she knew what Makoto’s real Ultimate talent was, given certain things he’d said and excuses he’d given for not coming to class or coming back to the dorms late.

Kyoko was the kind who would confront him about it, but even then she wasn’t sure if it was the best idea. Even if they were dating, there was still a chance that something could go wrong.

Makoto had a feeling that she knew, though. If he got found out, she would probably be in trouble, too. So, without saying much, he tried to dial back at least a little. Spend more time with her and their classmates.

Kyoko picked up on those small changes, but again didn’t say anything about it. Knowing that he was dialing it back, possibly because of her, was comforting in a way.

#answered ask #headcanons #naegiri #makoto x kyoko #talentswap #ultimate murderous fiend makoto #ultimate pianist kyoko #makoto naegi #kyoko kirigiri #danganronpa #dr1

[asheanon]

So... I wanted to take a moment to go on a tiny (it's not tiny, as always) tangent in regards to one of three states/phases Ethereals can enter - namely, the "fading state" and the ability to fade!

Not only is it a fun little thing Ethereals can do, but I feel the finer details of how it works, cause and effect, etc. may prove interesting to talk about too. 🥴🙏 (To "fade"/"fading out" is when Ethereals go all spooky ghost mode.) 👻

Because this tangent is in fact not as tiny as I say it is, I've dropped it below the cut. Sparing your timelines/dashes again and letting you decide if you'd like to have a little look-see. 💙

Fading

When an Ethereal enters the "fading state," their form essentially vaporizes on a microscopic level, their atoms and particles disperse and energy is released in the process. This allows for them to seemingly fade out of existence, yet still be present. While they may not be seen after fading out, the act of fading in and out makes for a nice little light show, given the release (fading out) and metabolization (fading in) of energy in the process. Sometimes, scintillae (light particles) may remain in the area, telling on an Ethereal who may have recently faded in or out. These may be visible to the naked eye. In classic paranormal fashion, this "after effect" may also exhibit light orbs that often tell on a lot of phantasms that can only be seen on certain electronic devices.

Particle Loss

Moving through corporeal objects (such as walls and whatnot) is possible, but this comes with some risk of particle loss. However, in general, particle loss will always accompany fading. This is to say that: the longer an Ethereal goes "ghost mode," they'll slowly lose particles and energy over time - reducing corporeality. Heck, in doing this long enough, they can "lose themselves" - lose too many particles and dare I say take literal psychic damage and physical damage that may take some time to recover from! Weaker and/or less complex Ethereals may even simply disperse entirely - like cosmic dust to the wind - which is the closest equivalent to death Ethereals have.

Recovery

Though it comes with a downside, Ethereals can always recover from particle loss. Always. Even in cases of "death," the possibility is always there. (Spoiler alert: There are Ethereals - in particular, I know of one by name, and it's not a Sal one - who even make an effort to, sadly, "die" as well as "stay dead" - wishing for death, for one reason or another - but they lose their minds and forget this... eventually, they may or may not manage to regrow and materialize by pure mindless, instinctive chance - only to eventually regain their dominant identity/memories as well and this tragic cycle repeats itself...! I hope to tell the particular one's story one day, in some effective manner. Haha! And yes, it is very reminiscent of soulful/spiritual stuff present in Final Fantasy - only instead of denying death via the power of determination, they can come back by the power of good ol' RNG.)

Ethereals can recover from this loss through simple rest and regrowth, but the process can be expedited through the intake of energy. In this instance, think of them as... weird alien ghost plants... that need sunshine. And/or fire and electricity. Light. Ions. Energy. If it produces energy, they may attempt to soak it up during rest, eventually metabolizing it and turning it into their own, much needed weird alien ghost chlorophyll. ☀️🪴

Now, despite the risks, for characters like Sal, this can be a perk! A very volatile perk, but a perk nonetheless as she likes to keep her "battery" low ("low battery" is for the sake of avoiding being radioactive if too much energy is taken in; it is done for the safety of others and going undetected by the more common forms of tech and intelligence that may get a read on her otherwise - she has a record. It's not the musical kind.) So, she does this not only to remain elusive (and to be a silly little spook, sometimes) but to disperse energy in a more minimal fashion, if her energy "disposal" options are limited.

Has she ever taken it too far? Yes. It's easy to do, in fact, given the "low battery!" This can lead to curious little situations where you may see her hiding parts of her that have endured too much particle loss and are rendered effectively incorporeal (and look the part) and "unusable;" perhaps her dominant hand may be "ghostly," and she may take to the use of her non-dominant hand for things like doors and utensils. Seeing her perched in front of a fireplace, soaking up some sun rays and other forms of unsuspecting R&R can actually be her low-key trying to recover from particle loss.

Additional Notes

So... technically, this ability should not affect clothing or other materials on the Ethereal person that may prove "conductive" to the act... yet, here we are, most depictions of the fading state also rendering clothing "invisible" with the character. How that works is something I'm still brainstorming! I have theories about conductivity also playing a roll in fading and explaining that, but... heh. It still needs a lot of work! For now, it's one of those things where it's been decided "this is the thing that happens. You can figure out why later."

The radiant state is another topic of a similar conundrum, though I do decide to stick to accuracy with that one. In that case, Radiance is often far too hot for anything to withstand it and clothes naturally burn off (which is why Ethereals are depicted as being nude in the radiant state.) All of that being said, though...

Deciding to settle with the more accurate here and the less accurate (perhaps. Until I can find a way to explain it well enough, anyway!) for the fading state is where things start to get funky...

Ultimately, this dilemma has led me to just play it by ear, for now. The less accurate fading state will be the default until further notice. I'll be sure to let y'all know if that ever changes, though. I'm also open to input for individual stories and RP! The fun of working with a wide range of worlds and settings is they can have their own "universal laws," where things may work differently than in others as it is.~

#midnight musings 🌃 #Sal 🌌🎹 #filling the void 🌌 #with #a tangent on the spooks! #I've had this in the works for a bit #and just tidied up a little tonight #(I'll come back to tidy it up again as needed) #Still struggling #very much struggling #but any ounce of creativity I can manage to throw out there #always helps my feelings #💙 #🐌🎨

[gyahyahyahayhahayahyahyahyahyaha]

my god lol

#iits always weird thinkin bout someone you stopped talkin to for various reasons then wonderinfg what exactly happened an then like not too #much later you end up finding out #it always feels like a fuked up funny lil coincidence #i forget a lot of things and finer details and stuff but like #i have the hardest time of all time forgetting people. #maybe i will for a while but they always end up resurfacing at some point. #not tryna sound special or whatever but i really do have a shit memory an the fact that i havent forgotten half the people that i remember #every now n then is fuked up to think about #with all the respective memories and shit tied to them

[tobi-smp]

Context: [Link]

@mildlypeeved​ said: Bigger issue with white streak stuff from what I can tell is that the “it comes from revival” headcanon sometimes bleeds into people’s views of actual canon (ie people assuming that C!Wilbur’s white streak comes from revival and not stress).

And that’s also another general broad issue (a lot of the fandom sometimes tends to assume that their headcanons are canon) [End transcription]

while you’re definitely not Wrong and I certainly agree to an extent, I think this is an issue with the medium more than it’s an issue with headcanons (with some obvious exceptions considering Certain Parts of the fandom).

Because there are multiple perspectives, Because streams are typically hours long, Because there is such an unimaginable amount of content (especially if you’re trying to keep up with multiple plotlines at once, or god forbid Everything), the finer details can get lost. either by just Forgetting details from a stream that weren’t overly emphasized, details just plain being eroded by time, or someone missing it entirely in the first place.

and these misconceptions can be frustrating for someone who cares about these characters a lot, but generally speaking the answer is to just Share that information. people are receptive to that sort of thing, especially when there’s an obvious fondness or excitement behind the post.

posts framed like accusations put people off, put them of the offensive or the defensive, and sure they might remember what you’ve said now but you haven’t really Shared this aspect of this character with them, you know? you’ll get better results if you keep in mind that it’s generally not malicious and to respond with that energy.

moreover, in this case the headcanon predates wilbur canonizing it by several months. so there was already quite a bit of fanon that cemented how this detail is generally depicted in this fanbase before wilbur repurposed the design for something else. and the line it was mentioned in wasn’t Subtle exactly (he said it outright), but there wasn’t a whole lot of emphasis put on it. so I really wouldn’t fault someone for forgetting.

it’s less a Problem and more just a common misunderstanding, you know?

#fandom critical #Sort Or

[lydia-demarek]

The Herons at Christmas: Gift Wrapping Edition

Hal

Does not wrap things

At all

He puts the gift in a suitably sized packing box

Tapes it up

And boom

Done

Except for the fact it takes an army to open it

He (much like Stig)uses waaaay to much tape

He's also the most likely to forget about buying presents until the night before.

Stig

Is a certified Gift Wrapping Disaster

Can not wrap a present to save his life

Paper is always mismatched because he CAN'T MEASURE THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF PAPER

Always uses to much tape

Absolutely point blank REFUSES to just use gift bags

Along with Jesper, is the main cause of the Christmas Wrapping and Celebrating Intervention of '19

Edvin

An incredible wrapper. One of the best there is.

Usually only uses brown paper and string

But somehow makes it look incredible

However, in the annual Christmas Wrapping Tournament, he will forgo the usual paper for fancy stuff

Proceeds to put all the pretty presents in gift bags

For transport methods or some dramatic shit

Ingvar

Usually uses gift bags.

Enjoys wrapping gifts, but usually finds it very time consuming

Not to mention that it's fiddly

And if the gift is small he struggles with the finer details

Usually mimics the wrapping style of the gift recipient but in a ✨ bag✨

Tapes Hal's shut, switches out the twins, pristinely wraps Lydia and Edvins

Ulf

Has average wrapping abilities

But not as good as his brothers

Prefers to use identical gift bags

Will always put the wrong name tags on

Enjoys watching people pretend that they like their gift

Constantly argues with his brother over the correct way to give a present

Wulf

Has pretty good wrapping abilities

But absolutely despises wrapping

Is more likely to pay Lydia or Edvin to do it for them

Much like his brother, is always giving people the wrong present on purpose

Finds it hilarious to watch everyone get frustrated

All wrapping paper used is completely identical to Ulf's bags

Once tried to have Ulf arrested for not being able to wrap a present correctly

Jesper

Hates wrapping

Period

Used to just give people their presents without wrapping of bags or anything

Until the Christmas Wrapping And Celebrating Intervention of '19

(the mild extortion of all anti Christmas-ers)

Now reluctantly wraps presents

But is the absolute worst at it

Imagine the worst wrapped present you've ever seen, and multiply that by ten

That's Jespers level of wrapping ability

But he does wrap it all himself and he puts a lot of effort in

So you know, extra points

Stefan

Not exactly good at wrapping.

But not as bad as Jes

Usually just asks the people at the front desk to wrap it for him

Tried to take the credit once

And got banned from Christmas dinner

Whilst he thinks wrapping presents is overrated

He thoroughly enjoys hiding the presents and instead

Giving empty boxes with blue on good to give them

Always takes a while day of to spend competing

Lydia

If you thought she was pedantic in day to day life, you should see her at Christmas

When it comes to Christmas she is borderline psychotic

She has an entire room dedicated to wrapping presents

Every present is extravagant and immaculately wrapped

Has on countless occasions tried to teach Jesper and Stefan how to wrap.

Usually takes a while day off and spends it with Edvin, competing to see who wraps better

Thorn

Is a top tier present wrapper

However, he pretends to be above it

Pfft, why would I wrap presents? I don't like you that much.

Until he loses his hand

And then he just claims that he ✨ can't ✨

Which everyone knows is a lie

Is more than happy to let Karina take the credit

Has actually wrapped every present in the Mikkleson household since Hal was born

Secretly finds it really comforting

Because he never really had people to buy presents for growing up

Bonus

Kloof

Christmas is the best time of year

Because there is so much wrapping paper left everywhere

And ribbon

And boxes

Not to mention EVERYONE buys her presents

Whether it's treats or toys or a fancy collar and lead, or a matching rug and boot set

Yes, Kloof wears dog boots. Her feet get cold

Even Karina buys her presents.

Whenever she gets one, she takes great joy in treating up the paper and leading as much Mrs for the humans as physically possible

#let's be honest #The herons have the best Christmas's #brotherband #brotherband chronicles #hal mikkelson #lydia demarek #stig olafson #jesper #edvin #stefan #thorn hookyhand #karina mikkelswife

[actualbird]

I got distracted reading 4-04 and 4-05 i totally forgot the actual thing i was supposed to ask you today, what are your thoughts on the kinds of shows the nxx team wouldve watched as kids growing up. MC and Luke have apparently watched animes and even dressed up as characters but i have this need to know the finer details. LIKE. WHAT DID YOU WATCH SPECIFICALLY?? And i remembered you said luke was the one who probably understood most of the terms zangr was saying so like?? Luke do you like these kinds of things?? -Marsh

MARSH, thank you so much for this ask and for the SPECIFIC WORDING "watched as kids growing up." because that makes me have to go back in time and thusly uncovering by far my favorite yet most under-utilized and never-brought-up detail of tears of themis:

the story of this game takes place in the year 2030

DO U HAVE ANY IDEA HOW FUNNIER THIS MAKES SHIT???? AND ALSO HOW MUCH MORE SENSE STUFF MAKES??? let me explain myself by going thru all the boys one by one

luke pearce

YEAH HE SAID HE AND MC WERE RLLY INTO ANIME AS KIDS. luke pearce who is 24 years old in 2030 means that from the Important Media Ages (12-15) it was 2018-2021. this period of time, anime started getting more and more accessible, most notably getting on netflix and stuff like this. so like all the anime on netflix rn? yeah luke's watched them.

though because i kin luke, imma say that his fave is fullmetal alchemist: brotherhood. ive got no characterization proof for this, i just want to give him this honor

additionally, luke is a HUUUUGE fan of the original Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle novels (ACD Sherlock) and i think this would have pushed him to watch like, just every popular sherlock media adaptation there is. he personally liked Elementary better than BBC Sherlock. he generally just gravitates to the adaptations that dont forget about the heart of all of the characters.

also also also, luke likes action movies ranging from "hey this is "good" to critics" to "this is a shit movie but MY GOD IS IT FUN!!!"

artem wing

artem wing who is 29 years old in 2030 means that from the Important Media Ages (12-15) it was 2013-2016. but also artem is a MOVIE SNOB LMAOOO, hes That Guy with the Opinions On Film and you bet that his analytical ass was into just the most extra shit to watch those days because no teenager is chill, every teenager has some kind of ego, i dont know what movies he would have watched at that point to be the Smartest Teenager About Movies, but he sure did watch them

though artem also is very into sci-fi literature and 2013-2016 had a BUUUNCH of huge sci-fi movies. Pacific Rim, Gravity, Interstellar, Arrival. Arrival is deffo artem's fave, dont fight me on this, i can explain further but not in this answer bc it will get LOOONG LOL

artem also is into "classics" which uh. wait artem what do you Mean by that, what is a "classic" for somebody born in 2001??? i dont really know exactly what he means by "classics" so i just take it to mean he's a slut for period dramas which leads me to my closing point

"Once upon a time, when [Artem] was younger, around 17 years old, he pondered identifying as asexual or as one of the subsets under that term, but he put that aside after he first watched Pride and Prejudice (2005). He had then acquired a recurring fantasy in which he would be sensually accosted by Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy in a secluded study after months of furtive, charged glances, lingering, split second touches, double entendres classily and subtly masked but still implying a repressed yet voracious—Moving on." -an excerpt from my comedy smut fic where artem goes thru a crisis. yeah. yeah. Pride and Prejudice dir. Joe Wright was his bisexual awakening.

MOVING ON!!

vyn richter

vyn richter who is 27 years old in 2030 means that from the Important Media Ages (12-15) it was 2015-2018 but honestly that doesnt help me AT ALL LOL BECAUSE VYN IS A TOUGH NUT TO CRACK.....

like honest to god i cant even imagine vyn as anything other than an adult KJBSJKFS (which is depressing, if i think about it more... but also what vyn would want, i assume he would hate for people to have known him as a child, imperfect and shunned.....which is ALSO DEPRESSING. VYN, U GOOD???)

okay yknow what im not studied enough in Vyn Richter Studies so i will come back to this once ive gotten more of his story and know more of his (what im theorizing to be a SHITASS TERRIBLE) childhood history. so vyn, i guess ur safe from me....ur safe FOR NOW, THAT IS....

marius von hagen

marius von hagen who is 21 years old in 2030 means that from the Important Media Ages (12-15) it was 2021-2024. good fucking lord, marius was born in 2009 and that makes him so young that his Important Media Ages arent even DONE HAPPENING IN OUR CURRENT TIMELINE, JESUS....

2021 is an interesting era of entertainment because it is getting steadily more and more apparent that corporate greed is trying to swallow up good storytelling; movies and shows are made as fast food products to be consumed immediately and thrown away just as fast. there are smarter posts and articles talking about this, but my point here is that marius "believes SO MUCH in art and art's capability to make a difference" von hagen would HATE THIS SO MUCH and, through spite, get into a lot of indie medias that dont necessarily sell. smaller movies, tv shows that got cancelled way before they should have.

oh, hey, MARIUS WAS 12 YEARS OLD IN 2021, yeah he could have watched The Owl House and threw a fucking FIT when disne/y nerfed the show's third season. he has not forgiven and he has not forgotten.

regardless of his age, marius, at some point in his teens watches Vincent and the Doctor (s5 e10 from Doctor Who). for those who dont know this episode, it involves Vincent Van Gogh and a bunch of sci-fi stuff but, at the end, a scene where Van Gogh is taken to the future and shown the impact his art has made on people. please watch it, if you havent it, it's very good and no words can do the experience justice.

anyway yeah marius watches it and it makes him FUCKING SOB

yeah so these are my takes kdjbfdsjfs

#tears of themis #luke pearce #artem wing #vyn richter #marius von hagen #hc

[bakugohoex]

I know we all love the monkey man and hes sexy and everything...but maybe Zeke for number 1 or your 1k fluff prompts? Theres never anything for him that's fluff...🥺🙏

“you’ll be mine one day”

pairing: zeke yeager x female reader

cw: language, mentions of weed and alcohol, fluff, reader cheating with zeke, mutual pining

word count: ​2500+

a/n: yes i all monkey man sm and of course this fluff has a bit of a weird theme to it but i hope you still liked it

summary: in which after meeting zeke multiple times throughout the month, every time saying the same thing, the only problem being that you have a drunken boyfriend in his way

1k event masterlist

↞ back to attack on titan masterlist

Zeke loved coffee, everyday for the past month he’d walk right into the coffee shop right before work started, ordering his favourite coffee and waiting in the seat right beside the window. The atmosphere smelled of crushed coffee beans, the cakes and desserts that were behind glass. Zeke loved coffee especially when the pretty barista with locks that framed her face perfectly was the one to take his order and give him the coffee cup with the perfect heart in it. He loved coffee like an addict does opium, he loved the way it sat on his tongue, the way it looked at him with such lust. The way it’d be gone in a matter of seconds in one rash blink.

You knew the man’s routine so often that when he’d be running late a hurt was felt through your body. Zeke and you both knew that the constant glances in the half an hour he stayed at the window seat, the lingering touches as you grabbed the empty coffee cup to get him another was wrong. But even then how could he resist you, the way your eyes spoke so much in just a mere glance. He felt infatuated beyond belief but there was one thing in his way of pursuing anything with you, your boyfriend.

With his unkempt hair and smell of weed always around him, Zeke didn’t understand why someone as delightful and pretty as you would go for someone who looked off his head. He was unemployed from what Zeke had gathered; he knew if you were with him you wouldn’t have to work this job. You could stay at home and be his, you wouldn’t have to worry about making ends meet as long as you stayed by his side.

Even with your boyfriend being a minor factor in his mission to get you, he left the same words on the napkin each day, he always left as soon as you went into the back to restock the cupcakes and savoury desserts. The napkin placed on top of the empty mug, you hated how much influence the man had on you.

You had had many conversations with him when work got slow which occurred a lot when he came in the early mornings. But even then his insistence that you’d come to him was prevalent, maybe you did have a crush on the man, he was older by a couple years, established in life, had the stability and security you and your boyfriend never had and worst of all. He had the ability to flirt with you so easily even with the risk of your boyfriend around, Zeke may have respected the position of your relationship with another, but he would never give up on you as easily as you had expected him too.

It was another early morning, you stood behind the counter, watching Zeke in his tight suit, the white shirt unbuttoned as his suit jacket swayed with the wind. The cigarette that he had in his mouth being chucked to the ground as he stepped on it putting it out. The sound of the door jingling made you plaster on a smile at the blond boy who came with a small smirk on his face. “Hello, what can I get for you today, Zeke?” The place was pretty much empty, it hadn’t hit the morning shifts yet and you assumed Zeke started working a lot earlier than the rest of the city. You were the only one at the counter as your colleague had gone to make some food for when the breakfast rush came.

“Morning Y/n, can I have a white coffee and your number on the side?” He spoke the last part confidently with his lip twitching upwards at how you shook your head.

“Nice try Zeke, anything else you need?”

He paused thinking as he stared at you, you looked so delicate and pretty, all the things he could do to you flashed through his head. Maybe it was sleazy to think such crude thoughts but what you didn’t know didn’t harm you, right? “You, if possible.”

“I’ll have your drink made in a couple minutes, Zeke.” You chuckled out, he loved the way you said his name, the way you gave that soft touch as he passed you the money. Your fingers gliding against his own, he took his normal seat watching you pour the hot liquid into the cup, he knew you’d give him another heart like you normally did. You always did concentrate too much on the finer details, you took the cup and plate that went under it bringing it to the man. Placing it down, Zeke saw the heart as you gave him a soft smile, “what you working on now?” You questioned knowing nobody else was going to come in.

You took the seat opposite him, the papers in his hand that looked really important, “foreign affairs, all hush hush, but for a pretty girl like you I could tell you the details.”

“Wouldn’t that be a national security issue?” You folded your arms raising an eye at the man, he gave off this presence of confidence and knew exactly what he was doing with his life. A stability that seemed ever so far away from you, you had often imagined what dating a man like Zeke would be like, how you could work full time at university instead of part time, how you could come home to warmth rather than weed. “Tell me more about what you do.”

You leant your head against your arm as you often spent mornings listening to him ramble on about his career, nodding and humming along whenever the time came. He seemed to enjoy speaking about his work, you could listen to it forever, you nodded almost love struck as the man spoke. Your work colleagues often saying you looked like a girl who was talking to her first crush. “One day I’ll show you what we’re working on.” You nodded at the false promise, one day he’d forget about the barista, he'd become too big, too important for a girl who had nothing going for her than an alcoholic weed smoking loser.

“Promise.” You hadn’t meant to whisper the words, but Zeke gave a soft smile.

He watched how you put your hands out, away from your chin as you leant backwards, grabbing your hands he looked you dead in the eye, “I don’t lie to pretty girls.”

You gave another chuckle, seeing how your eyes went to the arriving customers, the rush about to occur. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” You walked away without another word, he watched you go into the back to help bring some of the new produce. Quickly bringing his pen out as he wrote the words onto the napkin, you’ll be mine one day, in his cursive handwriting, his initials were underneath before leaving it beside the empty coffee. Grabbing his stuff as he left just as customers began to barge past to get their morning fix, he took one last look inside seeing you happily smile and take their money, before finally walking away.

You had managed to hand out the coffee cups to those in a hurry before starting to clear tables, taking the napkin Zeke left, the same words every day. Maybe if you had outright told him to stop he would, but the excitement each day you got from the romantic gesture filled your heart. You didn’t know what had gone wrong in your relationship with your boyfriend, maybe it was the drugs or his loss of job. Maybe you had fallen out of love and he had notices, his lying and pleas to make you stay by him. The manipulation and deceit something you wouldn’t get from Zeke; you stuffed the napkin in your pocket ready to put it with the 28 other napkins you had.

Keeping all safe within a box in your bedroom, the fear that arose from being caught with it all. Maybe it was emotional cheating but in a relationship like your own maybe you deserved better, you wiped your hands on your apron. Everything has subsided as you and your colleague went on your break as your manager took over.

“I see how you look at Zeke, just break up with your shitty boyfriend.” She said taking a sip of her coffee, you had your own in your hand thinking about the man.

“I can’t, he needs me.”

She raised her eyebrow at the comment, “he needs a fix and therapy, Y/n, I might sound like an ass right now, but all your boyfriend thinks about is getting his dick wet, getting high and getting drunk.”

There was truth in your friends words and as your break ended, you gripped the napkin tighter than you had imagined. Staring at the eloquent writing, the way he wrote Z and Y, even his handwriting seemed perfect. You took a sharp breath realising that in the 29 days you had known Zeke, he had provided more love and warmth than the man you had been dating for years now. You needed to break up with him, needed to confess to Zeke that his crush wasn’t one sided.

Just as the café closed up, you nimbly parted ways from your friend as you began to walk to your apartment. You knew what was to occur, your boyfriend on the couch high with his friends beside him, you really didn’t want to go back. You felt your phone begin to ring as you answered it to hear the drunken shouting of your boyfriend, you didn’t even bother with the words instead hanging up. Clinging the napkin between your fingers, you walked a different direction, towards the offices that Zeke had so often told you about.

You didn’t know what you would do once you arrived but the glass doors with the frosted words of Marley led you to walk inside. The yellow lights bringing warmth as you walked towards the front desk, you didn’t look like you belonged, looked like some stray. You tapped your fingers against the white marble as the woman finally turned to meet you, “hi, what can I help you with?”

She smiled at you as you really had no idea what to say, “Zeke.”

“Zeke?” She paused, “like Mr. Yeager, one of the partners here.” You nodded as she gave a confused look at you. “Who are you?”

“I’m a friend of his, do you know where I…I can find him.” She looked at you hesitantly.

She tapped on the keyboard, the only sound being her taps, “I can call him down if he’s a friend, we have a security measure so I can’t send you up, but if you wait on those chairs he’ll be down shortly.”

You nodded quickly turning on your heels as you moved to the white chairs, it looked empty, the staff probably having left hours ago. You hadn’t realised Zeke to have been a partner of this place, it seemed way above your standards. You felt the need to leave and never come back, to apologise for wasting the woman’s time but just as you were about to get up. The ding of the elevator made you stop, Zeke coming out with a brunette-haired woman, she smiled at the man as he walked beside her speaking on some matters.

He went to the front office lady and he pointed to you as both him and the woman looked at you. Zeke confused before beginning to walk up to you, “Y/n, what happened?”

“I…I…don’t know why I came here?” You paused taking a sharp breath, “so…sorry I should go, I…” You were ready to run away, embarrassment across your face at the fear of feeling vulnerable in front of this man.

He grabs your wrist stopping you from leaving, bringing you to face him again, “Pieck, I’ll see you tomorrow.” The woman he had been with nodded saying a goodbye before she left herself, “come on, you can explain everything in my office.”

You didn’t know how you had agreed to go with him, your other hand had been clutching the napkin out of instinct, he guided you up the elevator, his taller frame against your own as his hand was on your back. He shuffled you along past the many smaller offices before his name was frosted onto the door, opening the glass as he let you into the much larger area.

“Take a seat.” He gestured to the couch that had a coffee table in front of it, he got out some alcohol putting it on the table as he poured two glasses out for the two of you. “What happened?”

“I…I…I’m sorry, I interrupted your meeting, and I shouldn’t have come here.” You were ready to get up again, but Zeke moved to sit beside you. His discarded suit jacket on his desk as he had rolled up his sleeves, his glasses sitting perfectly across his face.

He brought his hands to your one shaky ones, it seemed to have calmed you down, but he noticed the napkin scrunched up in your hands. “Shoosh it’s okay, take your time.”

You nodded taking a sharp breath as you explained how your boyfriend had shouted at you and how you really didn’t want to go back to your apartment. “I just can’t do this anymore Zeke, I…I deserve happiness right, I do don’t I?”

Zeke had noticed the tears form in your eyes, it cascaded down your perfect face as he wiped them away softly. He was frustrated, frustrated at your arrogant dickhead of a boyfriend, frustrated at the world for making his girl cry.

“You deserve happiness.” You didn’t know what had gotten into you, but at his tender sweet words you moved your hand onto his thigh, crashing your lips onto his own. You felt no guilt, nothing as you kissed the man, your other man moving to his blonde beard as you cupped his face. He knew it was wrong, you had a boyfriend, you were cheating but he couldn’t resist you. He felt you crawl onto his lap, pushing him against the couch as you deepened the kiss. His tongue gliding inside your own as you gave a soft moan of his name, it sent him into an overload as he gripped your waist with one hand and the other to caress your cheek.

He watched as a string of saliva stayed between the two mouths as you both parted, “I…shouldn’t have done that.”

“Don’t go back on me now, doll.” He teased, laying underneath you, he brought his hand to touch your hair, his touch making you go soft inside. “I told you…”

“Told me what?” You questioned still on his lap; he brought his head closer again to your mouth.

Through every kiss he gave you, he said the four words, “that you’d be mine someday” In a matter of seconds you realised the implications of his words, you were his, you were everything he had dreamt about. You would leave that disgusting man and be Zeke’s forever.

i’d really appreciate if you guys could leave a like, reblog or comment, thanks x

if you guys want to be a part of a tag list, just reply to any post and i’ll add you xx

@samusimp @alainarose13 @crispychannie @underratedmage @jennammaee @cathy8taffy @sugacious @moonlightaangel @kat-sukis-hoe @effmigentlywithachainsaw @swankiifiied @maat-the-prescriptive @missmultifangirl @tvwhoresblog @kuroos-world @levisfilm @katsuhera @answer-the-sirens @animexholic @wapbenders @the-shota-king-masayuki @bakugousmrs @crystal-lilac @dai-tsukki-desu @fandomsinthegalaxies @crimsonbows-and-arrows @admin-in-residence @otterlockholmes @gabrann @zlatanakermann @c0urtn3y @bakuhoesworld

#zeke yeager x reader #zeke yeager #bakugohoex 1k event #attack on titan #attack on titan x reader #aot #aot x reader #shingeki no kyoujin #shingeki no kyoujin x reader #zeke yeager fluff #fluff #aot fluff #attack on titan fluff #zeke #snk #snk x reader

[thetriggeredhappy]

hey so I was wondering if you had any advice for dialogue?

I don't have any problems with making it flow or sound natural but I've found that I tend to condense conversations as much as possible. when I write them out really long I feel like it's kind of droning on and people might find that boring, but I'm not sure if it actually is or if that's just part of being an author

I absolutely love the pacing in Taking Shots and am using it as a model for the fic I'm currently working on, and i noticed that the dialogue in that one tends to be pretty long but still so enjoyable to read. how do you do it?

yeah i’ll hit you with a few tips and tricks. welcome to above the cut, meet you down below

-

so step one when you’re writing something is to come to terms with the fact that you’re writing something. no matter what you do, opinions will vary. some people really like meandering dialogue, some people prefer things quick and snappy, and there’s always going to be arguments about it if you put it up for critique. if you’re writing a story or dialogue, longer tends to work well because it helps slow down pacing. with comics and animations and things like that, dialogue needs to be really to-the-point. neither is right or wrong, they’re different toolsets for different situations. you’ll find yourself settling into a pattern more naturally eventually, somewhere on the spectrum between Ulysses and Letterkenny, and trying to get out of the mindset of overall self-consciousness will help a ton. instead, working with it on a level closer to “is this taking the right amount of time in the story” would be a good start. vibes matter.

if your problem is you feel like the dialogue should take up more time, i can break down a couple things i tend to do that make conversations take more time. eventually you start doing this meandering naturally, but like most other things, knowing the vocabulary for it helps a lot.

first on the list is the classic blundering. characters forgetting the word they’re looking for and fishing for it (with the additional perk of making that word emphasized) misunderstanding each other and needing things rephrased (which also helps with stressing and clarifying to the reader that something is potentially important, or to clarify cloudy events or situations), or slips of the tongue that are then stumbled over for a few back-and-forth volleys (helping either endear the character to the reader or make them seem more fallible to whoever they’re talking to). you don’t necessarily need to slam the entirety of Who’s On First into every bit of dialogue, but misunderstandings can be good for comedic potential, stressing important plot information, and overall just making characters seem more human. i have a problem of talking too fast, and the amount of times i hear “what’d you say?” in my day-to-day is staggering. it’s something people do!

second, getting off track altogether. elaborating maybe more than absolutely necessary and having characters go into more detail can give insight into what a character finds important—a quick sidebar to talk about an individual can tell you a lot. a character saying “and i knew his niece, she plays soccer, really nice kid, heard she’s headed to college soon” paints a different character portrait than “he always wears these really clean shined shoes, wingtip, the classic kind” paints a different portrait than “guy is tall, walks with a cane, bushy mustache, talks like he’s always chewing gum”, each telling you different things about the person speaking. what they notice and feel is important to share tells you a lot about them, and sidebars can help fill a lot of gaps. besides that, getting off track to explain something the others don’t really know about and to argue the finer points of things does the same function.

third, you can have characters repeat things, rehash things. a character hears a story and repeats back an overview, occasionally getting corrected, questioning finer points and giving the other one a while to elaborate and defend themselves. you can have a new character be introduced to a joke familiar to the audience, giving them a chance to chime in on it. really, it’s good for establishing where characters stand with each other, whether they’re on the same page. characters bringing up things about recent events, the environment, current tasks, it can all be related to seeing how the characters all individually feel about the situation. clarifying questions make it clear where the characters misunderstood or want to know more, and can help as an insight for the audience to preemptively answer questions.

i’m sure there’s more than that. it helps to essentially slow down while you’re writing, to let the characters meander. you might know where a conversation is headed, but the characters often don’t, and giving them the time to get there on their own terms can get you a pretty solid word count. my most important policy is always that i only ever have characters get in conversations that i care about. pretty much every talk you’ve seen in my stuff—definitely all of them in the RB series—have been ones that i enjoyed, even looked forward to. letting characters riff for a while is really fun to me.

hope some amount of that helps!

#shut up me #everybody talks #my writing #i enjoy being able to break down a lot of the things i do in fic because on some level i do a lot of technical stuff #but also there are so many vibes to be considered so its a fun balance to keep. god i love writing

[emachinescat]

Okay, I’m supposed to be grading papers, but I have to say this really quickly (and I am in no way trying to stir up trouble or create conflict, but I just really need to get this off my chest).  I have seen a lot of negativity on Twitter and Tumblr toward MacGyver and Mac’s character in general.  And it’s really getting me down.  

Of course, people have the right to say what they want wherever they want, but so much negativity toward my favorite show is disheartening for sure.  Especially since we’re in that delicate time when a show is up in the air for cancellation or renewal.  But anyway.

Here are a couple of thoughts (you could call them counterpoints, but I’m not arguing with anyone, and not addressing anyone in particular, just the barrage of negativity I’ve been noticing in general) that I have on the matter:

Regarding the Mac/Desi vs. Mac/Riley situation.  I feel like I’m back in the heyday of Twilight with Team Edward and Team Jacob.  It’s sad to see a fandom so divided.  I’m Team Riley myself, but I also like Desi as a character despite her flaws (because everyone has flaws).  I just don’t think she’s right for Mac.  However, who Mac ends up with isn’t why I started watching the show, and I’m not going to stop watching it no matter who he ends up with.  And if it is a make it or break it deal for some people, there’s nothing wrong with that.  But the bickering, the snide comments, the accusations... We all love this show, right?  Can’t we agree on that one thing, even if we don’t agree on the finer details?

Regarding the inconsistency.  Yes, there has been a ton of inconsistency, especially this season, with tone, characters, plot, and relationships.  But please don’t forget that this show just went through two major upheavals.  First, George Eads left, and with what a beloved character he played, it’s no wonder they’re struggling to regain their footing.  For the most part, I think they’ve done a great job with that.  And second, Covid and everything with L*nkov.  Like, this season is a literal mish-mash of episodes from different showrunners, one decidedly more progressive than the other.  I just wish we could give the new showrunners and the show in general a bit of a break, and a lot of grace.  I honestly think it’s pretty admirable that they’ve struggled so ardently through all of the change and hardship and are still producing a show that tons of people still love and enjoy.

Regarding Mac himself.  I’ve seen quite a few posts criticizing him for becoming unreliable or a bad friend, or accusing him of no longer being the nice person he was at the beginning of the show.  I wholeheartedly disagree.  Has he made some mistakes?  Absolutely.  But mistakes are what make us human.  Also, growing, learning, and reacting to the changes in our world around us makes us human.  If, five seasons in, after searching for, finding, hating, loving, then losing his absentee father, losing people like Zoe and Nasha, finding out his mom and aunt were a part of a terrorist organization, losing his aunt, and then losing Jack, he were still the same person as he was at the beginning of the show, I would be shocked and honestly disappointed.  Yes, Mac fell out a bit with Bozer and made some questionable decisions.  Yes, he has lied some to Desi.  But he realizes his mistakes and desperately has tried to remedy them/reconnect with those he loves.  He even comes to the realization that he has been so wrapped up in his own losses that he has lost sight of some of the most important things/people in his life.  And that, again, shows humanity and growth.  I actually love Mac’s character more now than ever before.

And finally, there’s a lot of speculation and bitterness and frustration surrounding leaked stills and episode descriptions.  However, even though I have become quite invested in MacRiley, I am not going to let the future episodes that I haven’t seen dictate how I view the show now.  We know the writers haven’t always made the best decisions.  But they’ve given us some great moments too.  Also, we know all too well that episode descriptions, stills, and sneak peeks can be very deceiving.  I’m not saying that people shouldn’t freak out about things like this, especially if they are internally freaking out.  I’m just saying this is my personal approach, because I worry about enough stuff in my real life.  I don’t think I can afford to worry about a show as well lol.  

Again, none of this is said in anger or in hate or even criticism.  It’s more so said because it’s been on my chest all day, and I needed to get it out.  If you disagree with my approaches, that’s totally fine.  I’m just trying to scroll past negativity so that I can more fully enjoy the show I love. :)

Okay, back to work for me.  I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

#macgyver #macgyver 2016 #my thoughts #i had to get this off my chest

[beauregardlionett]

between the flashes

AO3 Link

Beau was always restless.

In elementary school, her teachers gave her one of those rubber wiggle cushions to sit on, just to keep her in her seat. Her parents let her partake in multiple after-school sports because it meant she would come home already worn out. They wouldn’t have to deal with her energy, and it looked good on college applications later down the line. She had a borderline obscene collection of fidget toys to her name and too many hobbies that she picked up and abandoned when they bored her.

Her friend Caleb from college often commented that he thought her natural state of existence was pure movement.

So how she ended up working part time as a model was beyond Beau. The journey from point A to B became muddled, but it likely began with Beau picking it up as a hobby and then forgetting to put it down again.

Granted, modeling was not a static thing. It involved constantly changing poses, making minute adjustments according to direction or impulse, and sometimes even changing or manipulating outfits. Sitting for hair and makeup was a torturous experience, so Beau had of course learned how to do it on her own. At least it kept her hands in motion.

Whenever she got to do dynamic shoots, Beau remembered why she stuck with modeling this long. They included everything she loved about the gig. Sometimes she got to travel, most of them were outside, and they often involved skills she had picked up from all of those sports she used to partake in.

“Beau,” Yasha called from behind the camera, sounding fondly exasperated. “I know you want to get outside, but you have to hold still for this photo.”

Yasha was an up-and-coming photographer that The Rexxentrum Times had described as “a photographer with a stunningly robust portfolio capturing everything from the playful mundane to the shockingly vulnerable”. She was also, more importantly, Beau’s girlfriend.

To most everyone’s surprise, it was Yasha who had approached Beau first, asking with her trademark quiet hesitance if Beau would model for a shoot. At the time Yasha asked, she was fresh out of college and Beau was two years in and changing her major. She had volunteered to model for an art class that Yasha had been in before her graduation. Apparently she’d made an impression.

The impulsive part of Beau told Yasha yes simply because she found Yasha attractive. The intelligent part of Beau bolstered the continuation of their business partnership after seeing the products of that first shoot.

Falling in love between the flashes had been an inevitable and welcome consequence.

“But babe,” Beau whined, adjusting her pose per Yasha’s patient direction. “I need to run around.”

“We’re almost done, Beau,” Yasha chuckled as she adjusted the light off to the side. “Then I’ll set you loose in a field in an outfit you can get as dirty as you’d like.”

“Fuck yes!” Beau cheered, settling into the nuances of her pose when Yasha stepped back behind the camera. A few snaps and quiet instructions later, Yasha straightened up, clicking through the photos on her display and smiling. It was that tiny, secret and pleased little spread of Yasha’s lips accompanied by an uptick at the corner of her mouth. Beau learned it was an unconscious reaction to her own work when she analyzed the satisfying, finer details.

Eager to see the raw photos, Beau bounded over and draped herself over Yasha’s back, arms flopping over her shoulders.

The concept for Yasha’s latest round of photos centered on flowers - their meaning, depiction, stereotypes and misconceptions. There was some implication among the stills about the flowers being the person, but art had always been beyond Beau. She could appreciate it, sure; all that deeper meaning stuff she would rather listen to Yasha wax poetic about than figure it out herself.

But this photo, this last pose, Beau needed no explanation. Despite being the one in the photo, she hardly recognized herself, feeling breathless.

Beau was in dark red cigarette pants and a deep crimson top. The sleeveless illusion neckline that fastened with a high collar around Beau’s neck offset the fitted sweetheart bodice. There were fake rubies in her ears, her features accentuated by the red eyeshadow on her lids, and the deepest red matte lipstick Beau owned. Yasha had her barefoot and sprawled sideways on an antique chaise lounge, leaning against the raised end with her cheek against her arm. Her hair hung loose, barely styled more than brushing out the waves and crimps from having her hair up in a bun most of the day. It hung over the arm of the lounge, long and dark.

In one hand, dangling toward the floor, Beau held a fistful of red rose petals, more scattered over the floor and the chaise. Between her teeth, she bit down on the blunt stem of a red rose in bloom, making it seem as if the flower was growing from her tongue.

Yasha had told her to go for something like desire with her expression. Everything about the setup of this photo seemed to expect some derivative of sexual interpretation. But Yasha wanted to take that capitalistic view point and have Beau model love - unadulterated affection.

The pose and staging were not what took Beau’s breath away, not the make-up or the flowers, the clothes or the composure. It was her own godsdamned eyes.

She looked right at the camera, but her focus seemed fixated past the lense. The skin around the corners of her eyes was smooth, her brow relaxed. There was a light in her irises, deep and yet affectionate. It softened the rough edges of how Beau presented herself as a model, as a person, and transformed her into love.

Without a doubt, she was looking at Yasha.

“This is beautiful, Beau,” Yasha said, sounding awed. “You look perfect.”

“All thanks to you,” Beau replied, both genuine and attempting to duck praise she still struggled to accept.

Yasha, ever attuned to each of Beau’s fluctuating frequencies, beamed at her. They leaned in together to observe the display, shoulder to shoulder.

“I assume you’re ready to go run in a field now, right?” Yasha was clearly trying to sound cheeky. Her tone, however, was a little too breathy, eyes far too distracted by Beau’s dark red lips to succeed.

“Absolutely,” Beau murmured. It was hard to miss how close their noses were to brushing.

Yasha hummed in response, leaning a little further toward Beau.

Suddenly, this all seemed like a lot.

Beau loved Yasha - in a whole and all-encompassing way. But it wasn’t something she just said every day. It was a gentle, ever present simmer of a thing. Love lived in her chest and made itself known in minuscule ways. She felt it like a tingle in her fingertips when she and Yasha traded coffee creamer and jam jars as they made breakfast. Love shaped her smile in a million different degrees whenever Yasha did something extremely...Yasha. It released her most honest form of laughter late at night when it was just the two of them and a bottle of wine.

Love appeared as wildflowers picked on a whim - not intentional roses. It lingered like Yasha’s favorite band t-shirt from high school Beau now had as part of her own wardrobe - not slimming pants and sexy shirts.

And while their first kiss had been the product of a dramatic build-up of emotion and pining, this was not them now. She trusted Yasha, but this unexpected snapshot of vulnerability destabilized Beau and found her unprepared for the aftershocks.

Beau was impulsive when overwhelmed.

Yasha leaned in for a kiss, lips parted just so, eyes closed, a breath away. Beau puckered her lips and blew a quick burst of air right against Yasha’s mouth.

Yasha pulled back sharply, blinking in surprise as she stared down at Beau. Unable to help it, Beau laughed at the expression on Yasha’s face, who was quick to recover, more than used to Beau’s antics. Grinning, she made a grab for Beau, who danced out of Yasha’s reach, laughing louder as she squealed and darted around the studio.

Beau moved fast, but Yasha was right on her heels and had strength and impressive reach working for her. It didn’t take long for her to catch Beau by the waist, twirling her around in a back hug. She used their position to her advantage, peppering quick, tickling kisses over Beau’s shoulders and neck. Beau squirmed and giggled, trying to either wriggle to freedom or twist around in Yasha’s arms so that she could fight back with kisses of her own. Eventually, breathless, Beau gave up and let Yasha hold her, both drunk off of laughter as Yasha put her down.

Twisting around once her feet met the floor, Beau looked up at Yasha, cheeks aching with her grin. There was nothing but absolute adoration shaping Yasha’s expression as she brushed Beau’s hair back from her face. Something vulnerable gave a mild twist beneath Beau’s ribs, but she didn’t pull away or stop smiling.

She trusted Yasha. Now that Beau had her balance, her feet stable beneath her, it became easier to face everything.

Yasha leaned in and kissed Beau’s brow with gentle attention. Beau clung to Yasha’s wrist where she cradled Beau’s cheek.

“Thank you,” Beau whispered - for what, even she didn’t know. But Yasha seemed to understand.

“Now,” Yasha said, pulling back with a grin. “Ready to go outside?”

“Hell yeah!” Beau cheered, darting off to gather her next outfit and make-up wipes.

She might not always have the wherewithal to put her emotions into words, but she had Yasha. That was more than enough.

#cr #critical role #beauyasha #beauregard lionett #yasha #writing #my writing #please accept this small modern au photographer and model au chapter #blah blah something about the night yorb

[lord-radish]

I'm not going to dwell on this for too long, but today marks one year since that falling out with my friends. I ended an 8 year friendship over something that's incredibly petty and entitled on the surface, but was basically the last straw in a cavalcade of emotional issues that had been building up the whole time.

I still get messed up about it, but I have so many prospects now and I feel like it's finally beginning to heal over. I've accepted a lot of things over the course of a few months, and I'm on track to move to somewhere I think will make me a lot happier in the next two years. Like I have literally never had prospects, and now I do.

I have two things to thank.

First - an album by Maria Mena called Growing Pains that I regard as the architect of my recovery. I'd been listening to it before the falling out, and I knew one day it was gonna get me through some hard times. When my hour of need came, it pulled through for me.

It's about a divorce, and the album goes into a lot of intense details from the narrator's perspective. The album takes the other person to task, but it takes the narrator to task too - this is what I did and why I felt the need to do it, these are the things you did that hurt me in our relationship, this is the extent to which our marriage was fucked up. It's honestly an incredible album.

There's a song about coping with anxiety attacks with alcohol, there's one about realising how the narrator's traumatic upbringing has influenced her life and relationships. And the last song is a thesis statement on recovery - I want to tell you I got through the hardest times on my own; I made some mistakes, I made a few, but I learned that I am strong. The solace I found in this album cannot be understated - it was the architect of my recovery, the blueprint I used to emotionally rebuild.

The second thing that got me through this was the support of my online friends. Both the discord server which took the brunt of the early fallout, and then my Tumblr followers who got a front row seat to my emotional spiralling for months at a time.

I especially want to thank nyanbinary-lesbinyan and angst420. You guys were always there, and the kindness and support you showed me in my moments of vulnerability mean the world to me. I am ride or die with you guys - I'm always on speed dial, no questions asked. And I'm sure there's more folks to thank - other followers who stood out during this time are neoperks and untilolympusreturns, whether it's because they said something or because their blogging was a huge solace when I needed a distraction. I don't mean to put anyone on the spot or exclude anyone - I forget a lot of the finer details over the past year. But Christ, I appreciate all of you.

I was talking with my former best friend on Christmas Eve, 2020 - four months before all of this went down. And I went into the process I go into when a relationship goes sour and I need to protect myself. I isolate from them for a long time, for over a year in some cases. And I get that it's fucked up, but that's the only way I could cope.

It's been a year, and that process has unfortunately repeated itself with that very same friend. But rather than dwelling on it, I'm focusing on the healing-over part. I'm almost okay again - I'll never be fully okay again, but this is just one occurrence in a life full of that stuff, and it doesn't have to define me for the rest of my life.

I am capable of so much more than I ever thought, and I can rebuild from scratch. The skeleton of that sentiment came from music, but the flesh, the blood the heart of that sentiment - that came from my online friends. Thank you all so much.

#I used to always finish these posts with assurances that I would stop posting about it now #and I think this is actually the final post. the one where closure is achieved and I can truly close the book on this tropical fuckstorm #if anyone from this situation ever comes up again that'll be the start of a new thing that this thing will influence #but it won't be this period of my life. it will be a sequel that stands on its own with its own baggage #it's done. it's over. and I'm okay. not fully but enough to recognize that it's over and I survived.

[beautifulterriblequeen]

B2:S - Chapter 4

Much of this series will be about the differences and additions in the novel version, and how they contribute to my understanding of story canon. But there will be character appreciation, the odd theory and headcanon, and suchlike as well.

Here be Viren being villainous, Rayla, Claudia, Soren, and Callum, and tons of culture clash themey stuff

and a tw: animal death, Claudia why

Spoilers for Book Two: Sky below.

Viren's scenes in Book Two: Sky are all amazing because they're full of worldbuilding and character building details. I love to study the word choices used from his perspective. They're so tasty. Like how he forced a servant, and also Soren, to carry his messages to the rookery, so that he never had to go himself. I'm really curious why Viren is forcing a servant, whose job is literally to serve, here. He really only has to ask. Maybe he was mean about it on purpose, or maybe he picked a servant who was afraid of birds just to flex on them. Whatever the reason for the word choice, Viren doesn't seem to like servants' jobs, it seems, especially when they take him somewhere with poop on the floor. It makes it all the more ironic that he sweeps Runaan's cell clean himself, then, humbling himself before he finally figures out the mirror.

Viren's secretive, right down to his very carefully chosen words to those around him, but his true thoughts shine through even more clearly in the book than in the show. He knows he's been sneaking and hiding stuff, and he knows that some of those actions would be called treachery. Stealing the king's seal to forge royal documents is up there on the treacherous list, but it's apparently not there alone. Ah, Viren, such a villainous delight. What have you gotten up to?

The way he thinks of and treats Crow Master is ageist and classist, but certain lines also hint that Viren has spent a lot of time memorizing the finer points of proper courtesy, and he expects others to have done the same. There are many reasons someone might put forth such effort: a commoner trying to better himself to be noticed by a kind prince is a nice version. A sociopath learning to fake caring about rich people so he can blend in with them is less nice. Superconveniently, the skills a young, earnest Viren might use to feel worthy of Harrow's attention will serve him just as well when dark magic ravages his empathy and he has to lie to everyone about how dead he is inside in order to keep his position of power. Until he's not lying anymore and he straight up threatens poor Crow Master with death unless he sends illegal mail for him. There's the Viren we know and uhhhhhh

Rayla and the blue rose! It's so fun to see inside her head here. She acted swiftly in the last chapter to save herself from Claudia's sleep spell, but now that she has to lie there, that thorn really hurts! She wishes she maybe had a different plan instead of playing asleep.

I hope Rayla only calls Claudia's voice "awful" because of association. I love Claudia's raspy voice! It's so neat! Rayla immediately recognizes it as Claudia's, from the castle and identifies her as a dark mage, with a clanky-metal warrior beside her. She gets mad at Soren for apparently calling killing a sport, even though that's not what he said at all. Soren's using an unfamiliar, maybe old-fashioned term, and Rayla's taking it very literally. It's like Viren and Runaan are arguing through them. A fun little example of culture clash.

Also digging the fact that Rayla knows what sleeping breathing looks like, as opposed to awake breathing, for the purposes of faking someone out. Did she just. Perch in a tree over Runaan and Ethari as they napped after a picnic and watched them sleep, or did Runaan help her sneak around the Silvergrove to spy on sleeping elves for training purposes? Also, raise your hand if you've faked sleep breathing to fool someone. that's not just me right

Rayla's sass is a constant delight. Whenever she's up against an enemy, she is outwardly fearless and full of witty taunts and comments, and I love her so much. where could she have learned this from I also love that she can't help but flex on Soren about her technique. It seems that her attitude is part "never show fear" and part "humans are liars."

Claudia and Soren were trying to kill Rayla to save the princes from her. But Rayla was also intent on killing both of them right back. And she wasn't ever gonna tell Callum and Ez about that. Woah. First Harrow, now this. That whole "death and secrets" thing really sank in with her, didn't it? Crack voice in the back of my brain: Ethari does know Runaan stabs people, right, he does know that?

Interesting change of detail from show to book: in the show, Claudia overheats Rayla's swords with some green splattery goo from a little glass jar. In the book, uhhh. She grabs a live bird and squishes it to cast the spell. Eew. Really making a point of dark magic's inherent violence today, I see. Got it.

"Rayla, pipe down." Callum still has a ways to go on how to win friends and influence people here. Everyone's shouting, he's interrupted to save Rayla's life (or so he thinks), and when Rayla shouts that his friends tried to kill her, he tells her--and no one else--to pipe down. Followed soon by "but a 'good' elf." Ahgod. He doesn't think he's taking sides, but he's got two humans versus one elf, and he's a human himself, and his underlying biases are showing. He's 14, and he's willing to learn, though--and he really does learn and grow over time. But this version of this scene was just. So. Painfully. Awkward.

I feel like this version was part of a larger theme I'm seeing throughout the first half of the book, emphasizing that Callum comes from years of having a crush on Claudia, and it takes many scenes with Claudia and with Rayla to shift through several gears with each of them in order to facilitate the possibility of breaking with Claudia and then also of falling for Rayla, in a way that feels organic within the structure of the story being told.

Also Callum super has a type and it's Girls Who Will Commit Murder. I don't make the rules.

Rayla's defense just attacks Callum's word choice: "What do you mean, 'but a good elf'? Do you know any bad elves?" And I just. Rayla, honey. You're not in any better of a spot than Callum right now. Your mentor literally stabs people to death. You're both literally assassins. Some humans could accept most elves, but they might draw the line at assassins.

But this tiny clash in the midst of this war, this single exchange of words, is such a great microcosm, the war made personal. It's early enough in their adventure and their growth that they're still sounding a lot like their parents. And that includes Claudia! She demands to know how an elf can be good, and Callum allows that it's possible for good elves to exist, but he has to be the one to say it, not the actual elf behind him. And the actual elf behind him insists that her kind are all good, thank you very much, and implying otherwise skirts very close to "humans are liars."

It's quite a tangle, but having the main characters tangled up like this shows us that as they untangle themselves in their own personal situations, they're learning things about human and elven hearts, about relationships and family, and those things are universal truths which they can use to help them understand other people's troubles, as well as the larger issues involved in the war they're trying to stop.

Callum assessing--and then reassessing--his confidence level. It's adorable, and it serves to show that his first scrambling attempt to make peace, in which he messed up a little but at least no one died--won't be his last. He's not really sure how this is gonna go. Everything is new. But he's dedicated to peace, and he's not giving up. He did just run in between Soren and his target while Soren was holding a sword.

He keeps doing that. Standing in front of people who have their weapons raised in his direction. And he does it with a ridiculous amount of chill. Is this Sarai's influence on him? Considering that Harrow has kept his distance, maybe so! I'd love that.

This chapter ends with some fun relationship drama when Callum gets butterflies in his stomach at being around Claudia again. She tucks a strand of hair behind his ear, and he forgets all about telling her about smashing her primal stone. He instantly worries that Rayla saw her gesture, which of course she did. Callum's nervousness and Rayla's glare feel to me like they're supposed to fit into a tactical box instead of a romantic box, but I can see how it could be interpreted the other way. Callum just intervened in a fight that Rayla completely intended to end by secretly killing Claudia and Soren, so in Rayla's mind, she's probably convinced that Callum intervened to save his girlfriend's life, while he's sure that he just saved Rayla's. She's probably angry because Claudia's gesture is making her think that Callum only seemed to be trying to save Rayla when his true intention was to save Claudia all along.

Dun dun dunnnnnnn.

#b2:s #book two: sky spoilers #book two: sky #tdp spoilers #tw: animal death #soren #tdp claudia #rayla #callum #runaan #ethari #viren #sarai

[stsathyre]

Goals Are Also Spell Components

I’m procrastinating anyway . . . . This is a witchy post. (OMG I said the thinnnng!)

One of the things I see missing out of a lot of spell-work posts is how to figure out if your goals require more than one spell.

It’s not a bad thing to break up your work into smaller pieces. I encourage it. It makes the outcome of your work cleaner.

Setting goals is very simple. Make a list. Make a list of everything you want to achieve at the end of the spell. Write out all of your end-goals. Mark down what the point is. Get into some of the finer details, especially when it comes to your dealbreakers.

For example. Let’s say you need a job thing. Your goals may include:

Removing barriers

Removing communication barriers

Removing relationship barriers

Removing financial barriers (sort of a big one)

Attracting the right employer

Minimum and/or maximum length of time you’d like to be in this position

Salary

Work atmosphere

Whether you want to relocate

So on, so forth

And you can absolutely try to stuff every single one of those points into a single night of spell-work and ceremony, but I’m going to tell you, that shit is probably going to get muddy. You’ll lose focus. You’ll forget components. You’ll find yourself tripping over aspects and correspondences.

Worst of all, you may be sabotaged by your own impatience.

If you ask me, and you did since you’ve read this far, the more goals included in one spell, the longer it takes to manifest.

The magic basically has to sort out your priorities. Here’s some magical theory for you-- magic takes the path of least resistance. The more you leave up to the universe to decide, the less happy you will be with the result.

Like, you might gun for relocating to work, and you include it into your giant, big-mac, mcspell with secret sauce. “Cool,” says the Universe and then drops you in the shittiest apartment with an even shittier landlord, under the guise that everything would be great, but now you have an 18-month lease and you’re pretty sure your security deposit was already spent on fixing the landlord’s clunker. But at least you have a 10-minute commute.

Do you have to plan every single aspect of your future? No. I’m not saying to obsess over the details. That, too, ends up being sabotaging.

What I’m saying is try not to be careless with your work. Sloppy work begets sloppy results.

.

Priorities are important. As a professional procrastinator, I can tell you that it is better to order spells from greatest to smallest impact. At least that’s what works for me. The things I’d rather get over with are what I focus on first and then the nuances are either done in separate spells in another session or ceremony a few hours/days/weeks down the line. Or I work on nuances after goals of the previous spells have manifested. I have the attention span of--

Often my desires and needs change. This helps keep me flexible. Then I don’t end up working against my own magic . . . that's another post.

. . .

I guess that’s it. I haven’t written one of these in a long time. Forgive me if I’m rusty. As always, what works for the goose doesn't always work for the gander.

-St.

#This magical life #St.'s bag of tricks