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stariikis · 3 months

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enhypen as your valentine ᡣ𐭩 ꪆৎ ˚⋅༝༚༝༚₊˚⊹♡

pairings ; ot7_enha x fem!reader genre ; fluff, established r/s warnings ; light kissing and probably kinda cringe

heeseung ✰

heeseung would bring you on a karaoke date for valentine's day. child-like excitement glossing over his eyes, he'll pick out the cheesiest and most romantic love songs for you both to sing to. he'll choose the songs with both male and female parts - even though he gets so enthusiastic he sings the female parts on your behalf.

"why aren't you singing anymore?" he asks innocently, as if he didn't just steal your spotlight away from you.

"you're singing for me!" you feign annoyance, laughing at the guilty look that instantly crosses his features.

after clearing that up, he goes to the digital screen and selects 'i see the light'. this time, he leaves you to sing your part, a proud smile gracing his cheeks. and as the song ends, he leans in to press a small kiss to your cheek. "you sing like an angel."

jay ✰

jay would cook a special three-course meal for valentine's day. a mere three hours after his special breakfast in bed. somehow, without him even asking you, he has your favourite foods laid out on the dining table for you. it's a pleasant contrast to the instant noodles you've been downing the past few days, studying for exams and all.

for some reason, he seems nervous and paranoid as you try his cooking. "does it taste okay? do you need more seasoning, dear?" he asks repeatedly, worry furrowing his eyebrows.

only after reassuring him for the 347824th time that his food tastes immaculate (and is not at all overcooked or under-cooked) does he calm down and start to eat with you. jay may have cooked for you many times before, but nothing feels as special as this, even when he asks you the simplest of questions. "what else do you want to do today?"

jake ✰

jake would bring you out on a picnic date for valentine's day. however, your attention isn't on him. it's all on layla. she receives all the kisses, cuddles and special treatment, even when jake tries to show you his homemade ham sandwiches.

you notice the light slowly fading out of his eyes, but continue to tease him by turning to layla and cooing, "did you make anything for the picnic, my sweet girl?"

jake falls silent and starts laying out the tupperware boxes, full of assorted candies and goodies, and that's when you start to feel guilty. you nudge his elbow, pouting at him. "your sandwiches look really pretty!"

you could swear you see puppy-dog ears perking up atop his head as you speak. he grins at you. "really?" and you nod vigorously, leaning in to kiss him gently. your mind starts to wander as he starts pointing out the blooming cherry blossoms, though. what if he and layla are the same soul split into two different creatures? pretty believable, right?

sunghoon ✰

sunghoon would buy you lego flowers on valentine's day, on his way back from dance practice with the other members. he wouldn't know which flower you'd like to build the best, much less does he know your favourite flower because you two never bother to ask each other these types of things. so he just blows his money on all the variations on the toy store shelf.

he comes home, sweating profusely to your shock, and dumps a heavy plastic bag on the floor. for some reason he looks proud as he points at it, still trying to catch his breath. "take your pick! let's do it now, right now!"

in honour of valentine's day (and because you, ironically, don't have a favourite flower) you choose the pink tulips set. after opening all the plastic bags and laying out the instruction sheet, lego pieces scattered all over the place, you both get to work. a couple of hours later, you have one final piece left.

"care to do the honours?" you ask sunghoon, handing him the small circular piece. he salutes, and presses it into the lego structure - a little too hard. lego pieces go flying everywhere, to both of your dismays. you don't know whether to laugh or cry, but sunghoon just starts cackling like a witch. "at least i get to spend more time rebuilding it with you, no?" "darling, you've forgotten that we have 50 more sets."

sunoo ✰

sunoo would already have planned a full day of activities for valentine's day. first you'll grab brunch at a nearby cafe, then you'll go couple clothes shopping at the mall, then you'll go take photobooth pictures, then-

"wait, i'm already lost..." you look at sunoo, confused. your interruption seems to dampen his animated energy, and he pouts at you.

"brunch, clothes shopping, photobooth, more shopping! and even more shopping!"

you take a while to process it before dissolving into a round of applause for sunoo's detailed itinerary for the day. that day, you buy matching pink vests with cute heart stitches on them, take photos with the prettiest frames you've ever seen, and he treats you to strawberry milkshakes. "you're just as pretty as the colour pink, in my opinion."

jungwon ✰

jungwon would try (and fail) to bake you chocolate-chip cookies for valentine's day. at first, you wouldn't suspect a thing. his cookies look pretty much well-baked, with just the right consistency of dough in the middle. there's an even sprinkle of chocolate chips throughout the cookie, so it's not too many or too little.

but you have to refrain from choking the moment you put it in your mouth. they may look soft to the touch and innocent, but they crumble like dust the moment they hit your tongue. it's so dry you forget how to breathe for a few seconds. jungwon notices you stifling a few coughs and looks devastated. "are they bad?"

"no..." you lie. "i just choked. but, um, they're a little bit dry. did you put too much flour? or not add enough butter?"

jungwon frowns and proceeds to check the recipe. upon doing so, his eyes go wide and he covers his mouth. "i forgot to add the egg."

"... ah." you smile awkwardly at him. "that must be it." he still looks pretty dejected about it, so you pull him close in a soothing hug. "it's okay, wonie. even if you're bad at baking, nobody needs to know."

ni-ki ✰

riki doesn't have anything planned for valentine's day. or so he says. you scoot closer to him during breakfast, blinking rapidly into his face. he takes one indifferent look at you and looks back down at his phone, feigning nonchalance.

you huff a sigh. he must be doing this on purpose to annoy you. "ki. do you know what day it is today?"

without looking up, he mumbles, "is today a special day? oh shit, is today your birthday?" that's when he straightens up and puts down his phone. this teasing is too much, it's gone too far. with a roll of your eyes, you smack his head and cross your arms. "riki!"

"okay! okay, i know what day it is," he laughs boyishly, patting your head. "don't worry, i have things planned for my sweetest valentine's gift." he physically cringes at himself after saying that, gripping your shoulders tight as if stabilising himself.

that night, however, he doesn't even cringe once as he kisses you beneath the bright and blooming fireworks, a plethora of colours from the very bottom of his heart.

thank you for reading! actually i rather enjoyed my first headcanon fic, will definitely make more in the future. happy valentine's day!

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mackjlee9 · 1 year

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Male reader who is Price's husband gets injured during a mission but doesn't tell anyone because he does not want to be a burden. So he fights through the mission with his injury. When the mission is over and the team is one their way to the heli, he collapses on top of Price and ends up needing life-saving surgery.

I don't know what's up with me and making the reader collapse 🤣

This turned out better than I expected 😌

John Price x Male!Reader [Angst&Fluff]

Warning; typical cod violence, mentions of stab wound/blood, reader pushes himself through the mission like a badass and a dummy, night is reader's codename, near-death experience, mentions of surgery

Masterlist.

Everything was going according to plan, which was a little unusual and should've put (M/n)'s mind in a state of alert.

The 141 had been given this mission, arriving was kinda easy since it was pitch black outside, but they had to walk their way to the main building where the hostages were. This was a sort of high-level mission, they will all be by themselves once they enter the building, seeing as the civilians had been placed strategically around the whole structure.

They had to split up and be able to handle themselves for this one.

The information given was quite accurate, an anonymous person gave out the specific room where the civilians would be that night, seeing as they change rooms every day, and on some particular days, the enemy had more guards than others. The information was too good, but they had to go through this, saving the hostages was their number one priority.

And now, with thermal cameras, each of them headed to the rooms as quietly as they could, reaching their respective doors and using the camera to read through the concrete how many people were inside. The five of them checked their rooms and got ready to breach.

They had to perform this ambush at the same time to prevent the enemy soldier from calling in more troops as a backup.

"In position," one by one announced, keeping a stiff position while waiting to activate the breaching explosive. The last one in place was (M/n), he got the room further than the rest, pretty much on the top floor before the rooftop, he was more secluded and separated than the rest of the team, which had proved plenty of times to be dangerous.

Arriving at the door, (M/n) saw through the thermal cam that there were six people inside. Two armed guards and four civilians were tied up. Every room was similar that day, with low security as they spread the hostages in many groups of two to three civilians.

Such a small amount of guards was like nothing for the 141.

"Breaching in 3... 2... 1," the collective sound of unison explosions probably reached the four-kilometer mark, and now, they had to move quickly before backup arrives.

(M/n) took out the guards like nothing as they were caught off-guard, their ears probably ringing from the loud explosion.

"Four hostages secure," he announced to the team as he approached the tied-up civilians and leaned down to free them, "It's okay, you're safe now."

But something was wrong, the four of them started squirming in their places, releasing loud noises muffled by the gags in their mouths. They were clearly trying to tell him something, frantically looking over his shoulder.

"Shit-!" Before (M/n) had time to react, the sharp pain of a blade piercing his side made him stumble, holding his side for a second before he gripped his gun with both hands to block a second incoming attack from his aggressor. He didn't even look like a guard, he was just a kid, not older than twenty years, yet the look in his eyes was filled with hunger for blood.

(M/n) didn't want to kill him, but even after knocking him to the ground, the boy kept fighting under his weight, and if he wanted to cause the less amount of inconvenience to the team, he was gonna have to do it.

He glanced over his shoulder at the civilians who were half tied, half free, "Don't look-!" His yell got cut off when he felt a slash on his chest, just above his vest. The four people behind him did as told, closing their eyes and turning away.

Grunting, (M/n) kept his gun pressed on the boy's chest, dodging the aggressive and unpredictable movements of his hands to avoid being cut more, and reaching for his combat knife, taking it out of its holder, and with one swift arm motion had the boy under him choking on his blood, his body no longer putting up a fight, his knife buried deep in his throat.

Sighing, (M/n) stood up, placing his hand on the wall to hold himself up, feeling the whole world spinning, but he couldn't be weak right now, and even if he had a bleeding wound, he couldn't inconvenience the rest of the team, making them come up to him would only take more time than what they already have. And that could be fatal.

//////

After the breaching, they had a limited amount of time for the evacuation, and (M/n) has taken longer than he should've.

Taking the hostages out was proving to be harder than anything.

After hearing one of them shriek as a bullet hit the concrete wall, (M/n) gave them specific instructions to stay behind him or stay low and hide behind anything that could cover their body and block the bullets. They did as they were instructed, too scared about dying to even make their own decisions.

(M/n) struggled to take the civilians to the ground floor since most of the enemy troops were coming in from the rooftop, making him the one that was shooting most of them.

Thankfully, Ghost had been the first to have secured his group of civilians and had secured a safe spot for sniping to provide (M/n) some backup as he evacuated the building. (M/n) felt a little more relieved when he saw their bodies falling one after the other, taking the chance to guide the civilians down the stairs and out of the building.

He ran to the safe building while Price joined Ghost, now two snipers watching his back as he tried to regain enough energy to run the building where the team was.

The first evacuation helicopter took off with the civilians and they had to take the second one, patiently for (M/n) to arrive at the rooftop.

Even though his sight was blurry, (M/n) saw his husband walk up to him, and blinking a few times, he saw a small smile pull Price's lips up. He was happy that (M/n) was still alive and kicking ass as always. (M/n) show him a weak smile back, taking a wobbly step forward, before seeing black.

His body collapsed on Price, who held him internally freaking out.

"(M/n)! Honey, what hap-?!" His voice cut off when his hand came in contact with something warm and thick. Blood. "Bloody hell!"

The rest of the team rushed to their captain immediately, helping him carry (M/n)'s unconscious body as quickly as they could to the helicopter. Poor pilot, she got scared when she got yelled at, being told to fly to base as fast she could, because Lieutenant Night was in critical condition.

//////

Price was sitting outside the surgery room they had in the infirmary. He wasn't crying just yet, but his mind kept going over the doctor's words.

"He might not make it, Captain."

John has always been a man who sees in someone what others don't, and where other military personnel saw (M/n) as reckless and mindless, he saw him as someone who worried about his teammates over himself, someone who had courage as hard as a wall of tungsten metal. More than once he has risked his life to save others, and he felt proud of that, despite having been called a liability most of his life by his superiors.

So John knew, (M/n) had overcome stuff like this before, every time getting closer to never waking up again, but he would not give up that small spark of hope. His husband was gonna live, he was sure about.

For hours, Price sat on one of those uncomfortable plastic chairs, but at some point, he didn't care anymore, his mind far gone to every happy memory he made with (M/n). They met in SAS when John had just become Lieutenant and (M/n) was a kid who had lost everything, finding comfort in the military.

Working together brought them closer, falling in love in mere months. They dated secretly for years until (M/n) got kicked out of the SAS, the higher-ups covering it as a transfer, calling him a 'reckless man In need of discipline'. Well, it turns out Price had asked for his transfer to the first team he commanded as captain, and from then on, they had been together every step of the way.

They had been married for six years already, dating for ten years, but every time they looked at each other they felt that spark of the first time. None of them could ever forget that.

Those moments made them feel like they could do anything, overcome any obstacle if they were together, feeling like the world was a little more peaceful when in each other's presence.

Price didn't wanna think of a life where (M/n) wasn't part of it. And luckily, he didn't have to.

After hours, the surgeon came out of the room, taking off his gloves, face mask, and robe, a smile on his face was enough to make Price's eyes prick with tears.

"The surgery was a success, Captain, he should wake up in a couple of hours," Price let out a loud, long sigh, his arms resting on his knees as he leaned forward, holding his head in his hand.

He stood up and extended his hand to the surgeon, "Thank you, sir, I owe you."

The man simply smiled and turned to head to the door.

"I'm just doing my job, Captain."

//////

By the time (M/n) opened his eyes it was almost midday, not that he knew anyway. His eyes squinted at the pain he felt all over his body, and he saw Price on the chair next to his bed, patiently waiting for him to gain full consciousness.

Well, here comes the scolding...

"Don't do that ever again, you hear me?" He said while standing up, leaning down to gently hug him, holding (M/n) close to him, and crying on his chest, "I was so afraid of losing you, honey."

He didn't have to ask (M/n) why hadn't said anything about being injured, he knew the way his husband thought about himself. 'I'll just be a burden to the team, John,' he would repeat every time something happened.

But this time was different. Price realized he could've lost (M/n) because of him not letting them know he was wounded, and tears were brought to (M/n)'s eyes when realized he almost left John all alone.

John looked up and held (M/n)'s left hand with his left hand, their marriage rings clicking together.

"In sickness and in health, remember?"

#price x male reader #john price x male reader #john price x reader #price x reader #cod x reader #cod mw2 x reader #cod x male reader #male reader #reader insert #x reader #angst #fluff #.mackjlee9 writes

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dazzlerazz · 1 month

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Temple of Roots - A Critique? A Discussion?

I've finished the Temple of Roots and had time to gather my thoughts. This is in no way an objective overview, just my thoughts after playing the game for about 300 hours and comparing the Temple of Roots to the rest of Palia. My word isn't law, and it's possible that I may even change my mind in the future, nothing is set in stone after all. My experience may not be your experience, and that's perfectly okay. Obviously contains spoilers for the entire Palia temple questline, the mini questline up to the temple, the temple itself, its story, and so on

To start, we'll be talking about what leads up to the Temple of Roots

---

I've always had a struggle with keeping my attention when reading large bits of text, especially when I'm in a hurry. This applies to the notes left behind by the humans as well, I didn't read them too thoroughly but just enough to locate the hints, which I thought were pretty neat. I specifically enjoyed the Galdur heads as sort of computers, it once again reaffirms to us as a player outside the game that humanity from long ago was very dependent on their technology and it was used for far more than just keep civilization running

I enjoyed the scavenger hunt that leads up to the Temple of Roots, it was quite unique compared to other temples which are just "talk to this character and put the flow in the door and go inside", I think it's perfect for a Final dungeon. I specifically enjoy it being Einar and Hekla considering their ties to Old Humanity. Before the update, I thought it would probably be Tamala with Hodari and Najuma, and I was pleasantly surprised that I was wrong. I was eager to see what their roles in this new temple was going to be

The temple? Stunning. Beautiful. So visually appealing I stopped quite a few times just to admire it. Unlike other temples, it genuinely felt like many, many millennia had passed, and Palia had begun to retake what was once hers to begin with. Nature taking back what was lost and growing between the cracks left behind, there's something beautiful in that. I kinda wish the temple was even bigger in its map because I kinda wanna see more of this in the game

The idea of using your pickaxe against a door was a new idea that I really enjoyed, the previous temples wanted you to make use of our tools and it does that near flawlessly. The water temple with the watering can, the fire temple with the bow, the air temple with your glider, it really helps you to understand that your tools are just that, TOOLS

Now here's where things get a bit weird, and where my critique begins. Hi, if you've read this far!

I think the temple of roots has a lot of wasted potential and opportunity. Not was it the shortest temple itself (this can technically be explained away by the small questline we did to get here, I know), but I felt it was also lacking in its story explanations

I came out of the temple of roots more confused than satisfied. In fact, this entire experience can be chalked up to that: Ultimately Unsatisfying. It feels like all the budget went into the scenery for the WOW factor instead of for the actual narrative. That the only good memories I will have of this place will be in its setting, not in its story

The story of the temple of roots also suffers from the way that Palia is structure. Hekla tells us we need to be quick, but there's barely any urgency factor that isn't self-inflicted. This is a relaxing game, you're supposed to take your time with it, but when you prioritize taking your time over something you SPECIFICALLY say *will be time sensitive*, you come to a point where it's unnatural and immersion breaking. Immersion is not the end-all be-all of gaming, everyone's experience is going to be different, but it seriously takes people out of it when they're told one thing, but then shown another

A very minor nitpick here is that there was no music at all to go with this. Music also isn't everything in a game, but music can shape how we experience the media around us. Instead of music that instilled in me a need to rush, all I got was occasional bird chirmping and the sounds of my character's own stomping

I didn't mind the parkour section all that much, but I do wish they were more clear about where the buttons were, but it wasn't bad for what it was. The way to get there? Amazing, it really felt like I was crawling in between the ruins of an ancient factory long since consumed by the world around it, it was immaculate

And I'm sure I'm not the only had something to say about the ending. I liked the idea of talking to a giant head, the effective beating heart of this destroyed Galdur factory. The Gardener's story is a sad one, and it tries to make itself feel better by doing what it was meant to do. Its sudden change of tune after registering what Einar is was a bit confusing at first, but after finishing the temple it makes sense

And the giant speech at the end? I enjoyed it very much. What I did not enjoy was Hekla having to come in and "make things better" after it feels like we, as the player, FAILED. That if Hekla hadn't been there, then Einar would have been lost forever. This is unsatisfying, but in a slightly different way, it could have been better

I believe that, instead of just making the player feel useless in that instance, show us more of the Gardener hearing us out, and being uncertain. Have the Gardener more openly contemplate the things we have said to it, to actually consider our opinion instead of saying "you bring up some good points, however no, lol" and then have Hekla clean up the mess. Maybe instead of making us feel like Hekla did all the heavy lifting, maybe make it feel like Hekla sharing her memories with the Gardener be the final nail that helps change the Gardener's mind. Make us feel like we did something in a game that does that everywhere else instead of making us feel like we actually, legitimately, failed Einar. These temples are about strengthening your bonds with these characters, not breaking them apart. It feels like that I didn't do anything at all here that Hekla and Einar couldn't have done all on their own, I'm in the back seat instead of at the wheel

All's well that end's well, but I believe that the core story of the temple could have been kept, just that it went about a few things I found unsatisfying, narratively incomplete, and honestly? Rushed as hell

I have high hopes for Palia's future and I'm eager to see what S6 continues to do. The Temple of Roots was quite different from the other temples, both in good ways and in ways I'd consider to be less than stellar. I wish it was done just slightly differently to make it just that much better, at least for me

Thank you for reading! I had a long discussion with a few of my Palia friends about this to try to nail down how exactly it made me feel, thank you to them as well!

#razz rambles #long post #god such a long long post #palia #palia game #palia mmo #razz plays palia

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mdhwrites · 7 months

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So, do you think Sasha kinda is like Zuko on Avatar in a sense too? Sure Zuko got more time for his abusive dad than Sasha for her family, but the core is the same on redemption and all.

Both are

obsessed with their goals in season 1

- are on the run alongside someone serving as a parent figure to them (Grime and Iroh) in season 2

have a moment of bonding with the heroes and seemingly considering redemption before betraying everyone in the season 2 finales

have their full on redemptions in season 3

Heck, it's telling that Aang is the one who ends up defeating Ozai in the end instead of Zuko (who never even faces him in the finale).

TL:DR The two share oversimplified plot similarities (you literally use a third act redemption as evidence when like... That's just literally narrative structure?) but the details of their characters and what their arcs are about are drastically different. It does warrant comparison, as two villains turned good guys by finding peace with their worlds but the details for both are actually very different, allowing for both to be great shows of this sort of general archtype. Their 'core' similarity as you posit is really just a writing trope or narrative structure much more than it is specifically about the two and their arcs.

I never considered the Grime and Sasha parallel though what's fun with that is Grime is absolutely not like Uncle Iroh. Iroh pushed Zuko's better nature while Grime actually fuels Sasha's negative nature. He introduces her to effectively the calculus of war while Zuko's father is the one who did it for him. It's an interesting contrast and part of why I say that while Grime didn't mean to, he wasn't actually all that healthy for Sasha to know, taking her darkness to extremes. Also, 'obsessed with their goals' is just not right for Sasha in S1. Her goal is to get home with her friends but she is explicitly not in a rush to do so. She's here to have fun because she is incredibly self serving. She uses her perceived status as hero for her friend as an excuse. That making her happy must make everyone happy. Meanwhile, Zuko isn't self serving beyond wanting to literally be allowed to go home. He's never doing things just to treat himself or make himself happy until S2 which is explicitly a part of his arc. That he actually needs to care more about himself than what others desire of him and find his own definitions for things like honor, leading to the evil of the Fire Nation's expectations and his long buried, good heart coming to war with each other.

Meanwhile, Sasha's arc is actually much more extrospective than it is introspective but in a really good way. She needs to learn to stop playing in this fantasy of hers that she has created where the world is her toy. Realize other people matter and have desires and feelings that she needs to stop gaslighting, gatekeeping or girlbossing against. That her happiness does not mean the happiness for all.

Honestly, it makes it so that if she shares anything with an Avatar character... It's probably Azula. And why shouldn't it be? Azula is someone who takes pleasure in controlling people and genuinely believes that anyone can be crushed or used for her own desires. She treats even her friends like pawns and Reunion shows that Sasha isn't much better than that. That Anne is still subject to SASHA'S whims.

The difference is that while Sasha sees herself as a hero and so can be confronted with how she hurts people and cares enough about Anne to be motivated to change, Azula believes herself to be a queen. It's actually part of why becoming the Fire Lord fucks with her so hard. This is the day she was always waiting for but the goal post becomes impossible as her father discards it. This thing she has always wanted is now ash and so she loses her mind trying to pretend that it still matters despite her still being number two. Still not being the best despite the fact that she has always perceived herself as above EVERYONE.

Buuuuut, especially with current analytical trends I see, no one is going to think about Sasha with Azula. They don't share enough narrative parallels for anyone to consider it despite how much their characters have parallels. Both have two friends who have varying levels of loyalty to her and differing skill sets. Both are manipulators, both for fun and profit. They will destroy you if you upset them but also believe that once loyalty is given to them, they no longer need to earn that loyalty again.

These are all genuinely character based similarities and based on overall behavior... Which I think people struggle with analyzing nowadays. When I see people talk about arcs, it's mostly with the big ticket moments or the like. With the episodes everyone loves rather than an actual aggregate of the character. This is exactly the sort of thinking that leads to people say Anne doesn't have an arc in S1 or makes people think Marcy treated Amphibia as nothing but a game because the literal only episode they're analyzing is True Colors and specifically her speech.

My blogs are as long as they because I look more for the aggregate. I am as cruel to TOH's character arcs because those writers themselves want to throw away elements of the characters and ignore the aggregate when that's REALLY important.

So yeah, from a very basic, narrow view, Sasha and Zuko seem similar... But only because they're redeemed villains. Zuko in S2 explicitly NEEDS time away from Aang in order to grow. It's why he reverts at the end when presented his prize. Losing the hunt lets him breathe. Meanwhile, Sasha's exile with Grime is not so good for her mental state. She doubles down because she showed a moment of weakness and HATES it. She is at her absolute worst in S2... Until reunited with Anne and Marcy who make her question things. That alone is a DRASTIC difference in how their arcs narratively function as for Zuko it shows what he could be if he chose peace while with Sasha it shows how much she genuinely does care about her girls, even if her need for control and to keep her fantasy intact guarantees she won't change until she hits absolute rock bottom.

The Turning Point for Sasha, pun intended, is when she has nothing left. When she cannot support her fantasy at all and keep doing this. When she realizes that her care for Anne and want to be a hero means that she can't keep only serving herself. Not when she has only brought misery to others for so long. For Zuko, it's when he has EVERYTHING. A hot goth girlfriend, the respect of his people, his 'honor back, etc. but the point is that the Fire Nation is choosing war. Choosing death. Things that Zuko can no longer enjoy and so he has to make the incredibly difficult choice of throwing it all away because he cannot be a part of The Fire Nation anymore. He exiled himself in S2 just as much as Ozai exiled him in S1.

It still makes them interesting to compare, this blog has been a lot of fun for me to write, because they are both villains turned good in very interesting ways... But they aren't the same. Not even close. Every step on their journey is incredibly different simply by the nature of what drives them and who they are as a character. Which... Good. That's how it should be.

The only times you should be able to claim two characters are practically the same is if they're both kind of boring.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

#amphibia #sasha waybright #zuko #princess azula #atla

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shoutsofmybones · 1 year

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ok, i gotta confess this to someone so i'm leaving it on catholic tumblr, which is close enough to an actual confession i guess. anyways basically i've been pretending to be catholic for about 4 years now. for context, i didn't get baptized as a baby because my godparents got divorced a bit before i was born, and it took me until i was 16 to start the whole process bc a lot of shit came up. i stopped believing the whole thing when i was like 13 but i agreed to go through with it bc it would be way more trouble than it's worth to break it to my mom i'm not a christian and she was really looking forward to it so i was like whatever, why not. so i went through the classes you have to take to prep for it for about half a year, it was boring as hell, basically just hearing some lady go on a two hour jesus monologue and pretending you were taking notes about it every sunday. so i went through the whole process, had a retreat, had my first and last confession where the priest and i could barely understand eachother so to this day i have no idea what he thinks i confessed to, went through the pre-baptism ceremony where i slipped and fell on my ass in front of the bishop (ironically only thing i think god had anything to do with in the whole story), got baptized in front of my parents and godparents with a completely blank mind and fully calculated facial expressions and reactions and there you go, i'm schrodinger's catholic.

later on i ended up joining the church choir because it was the only structured social activity available in this godforsaken neighborhood, did the only two things i kinda regret where i sang at a seventh-day mass and a priest's ordenation ceremony, which is kinda like a marriage if you think about it, but no harm done i guess. i left it last month because the whole enviroment was getting kinda toxic. i still participate in the community when i'm called and regularly go to mass because it makes my parents happy and the priest is nice enough, i like hearing out what he has to say during the homily. yes i do take communion, i don't feel bad about it, i pretend to pray after i take it but i'm probably thinking about what i'm gonna do after i get home.

i've considered actually confessing this and getting excommunicated in the funniest way possible after my parents die, but i'll cross that bridge when i get to it. if god's real i know i'm gonna go straight to satan's lap for this, but i don't worry too much about it since i know he made his mind up long ago.

it kinda sounds like you're a practicing catholic

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deadlysoupy · 9 months

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i've figured it out. i connected the dots. i know why exactly the season finale was so underwhelming.

read this if you like literary analysis, this is as much of a testament to the show's storytelling as well as it's me trying my hand at pulling stories apart. i am not a professional writer, though i do consider myself a regular one, and i think that counts for something.

anyway, point 1: already established structure

so, in every story, there is a structure. it consists of arcs, and whether you have episodic storytelling or an overarching plot, there will be arcs. these acts are like rollercoasters: you get in, it's fine at first, chill, then you get some loops, kinda bumpy and scary, then it's calm again, more loops, add some leaps here and there, and when the attraction reaches it's final loop, it has to be the craziest shit you've experienced. and yes, you can argue that some rollercoasters don't have that structure, they're usually like that.

in Earthspark, there is the consistent rising of stakes (just bear with me for a recap): episode one - new siblings get kidnapped and almost dissected. low point. family saves them and takes in as their own - high point. episode nine and ten - people they care about get kidnapped (geez that's a lot of kidnappings), Megatron gets severely injured, Twitch almost sacrifices herself. very very low point. family comes to help, not abandoning their sibling, new Terrans are born, the bad guy is defeated. victory! episode seventeen and eighteen - questioning their place among humans, feeling like they don't truly belong anywhere, almost losing the person that has been there every step of the way, and getting mind controlled. super low point, even worse than before, which is very, very good. then, they regain confidence, the only thing that is important is family, and everything else will come with time. good, open ending. this should have been it.

to that i say this is an incredible story. delicious character growth, moments to prove themselves, to know who you are.

the finale didn't have the rollercoaster. it went down, sure, but not down enough - which brings me to the next point.

point 2: no internal conflict

now, just to clarify, internal conflict is what's happening in the character's brain, what's been bugging them this entire time, something they have to get over and heal from. external conflict is beyond their control - the whole Mandroid and GHOST sub-plots.

all previous two-parters felt connected to each character, to something they deeply cared about. where previously every external plot came crashing with internal one, creating new problems to solve, this one made a vital mistake of repeating the same plots to deal with (because their siblings getting kidnapped is not old by now!).

and the fact is, not one of the characters is doubting themselves in these episodes. this should have been their darkest moment, when they feel helpless, completely defeated. no one is tackling an internal problem in this finale. not outright. Twitch gets sad but then gets up just as quickly. if she was feeling like a failure in the beginning of the finale because of a bunch of shit happening at once, this would have been solved! the stakes are artificial, we know they can't kill everyone, because they're the main characters.

it's not about the Maltos anymore, which is why this is so sad to watch. Eathspark is about family. but if you call every single Cybertronian family, what's the value of your own beloved siblings and parents?

if this show focuses more on the new generation, then they should continue to explore them with only minor highlights into all of Cybertronian population. it's all over the place, wanting to appeal to the wider transformers audience, and to the people who came for the terrans - and missing both.

at least that's what i saw. if you think differently, if you saw something i didn't, please feel free to reply, reblog, and i welcome criticism. i am still learning the storytelling craft, but i know the rules. and this is NOT a way for me to say i hate Earthspark now, don't you dare put labels on this post. i analyse this show because i love it to death, but i accept it as it is, and learn from it. anyone who outright shits on Earthspark gets my fist in their mouth

#transformers #maccadam #transformers earthspark #earthspark spoilers #mine

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yourlocalnicknackkinnie · 2 years

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Character Bingo: Nick Nack (HP:MS)

@dolly-royal @omggypsyesmeraldathings-blog (I know you asked for Riley too but I'm making it a separate post since its the same character :3 )

Alrighty lets begin (It's gonna be very long because I've got a lot of things to say about him)

They are so cool looking

I gotta admit, he looks very cool. Even tho some prople say he looks like James Charles (Which I STRONGLY disagree) I love his design. I personally like his clothes, the man has drip. Heck, I literally painted a white blazer for a cosplay but now I just wear it when I'm not in cosplay anymore. I also like his facial structure since it gave me a challenge to draw him before but now I've gone used too it. (I can go on and on)

Everyone but me is wrong about them

Ok, so this is just a little joke (I do believe in other people's headcanons about him) but I would make this joke of "As a Nick Nack Kinnie, he would defiantly do that" if there's something that I think he would do.

Wasted Potential

Ik hes in the prequel but he could have more potential in the first game too (Since his model was already made). I think that Nick could've been in the tea party with Mortimer and Riley at the end instead of Kathy. (IDK but stillll)

If they were real I would be afraid of them

Ok, maybe a little startled but still- I mean, he's a puppet that wants a human as his host. But I headcanon that when you say that he's your favorite, he'll stop, cry and just be nicer to you. (Since he doesn't want to harm a fan)

They are deeper then they seem

for some reason I feel like there's something more about Nick that we don't know. The fact that he might have the urge not hunt for Owen and his urge to do it is strange but maybe there's more context in the game when its realesed.

They got done DIRTY by fans

So one time I tried to look how far the fandom has got. So every fandom has R34 art so I decided to type it in on google and OH I REGRET MY DECISION. I found a Nick Nack one- (IDK if that counts tho but still)

Didn't get enough screen time

This applies for the first game. like- we only see him in the shadows and that's it.

I want to carry them in a handbag like a tiny dog

Well kinda, I don't own any handbags but I wanna put him in a back pack instead with him poking out of it. If i had a Nick Nack puppet i would put him in there, let him poke out of it and go out with him like that for aesthetic purposes (And probably comfort reasons as well).

Nothing I like about them is technically canon

Another joke one. I do like things that are canon but I like to come up with headcanons to make me like him more than usual.

Why do they look like that

I don't mean his Midnight show ver. I meant his model that was supposed to be in the first game. What happened to his eyes? Where his is little beard thingy? (I headcanon that the eyes are supposed to be a mechanism that was added in later. like Puppet contact lenses I guess. it was later added because it wasn't in the blue prints so it was just a last minute idea Owen came up with)

Im mentally ill about them

Help, my mind is all about him now- send help (JK)

Wow... they are LITERALLY me!

Yep, that's me (As my username says it) I relate to him a lot. from my interests to maybe personality. heck I made a list of it and there's a lot of things I kin him that its scary. Ex. liking arts, having mood swings, being a tea person, likes to sing (the difference is that I think my voice sounds horrible) and more things-

They've never done anything wrong in their life <33

Ok, Ok maybe he has done some thing wrong in his life but at least he has the urge to not kill us-

So that's all for now. I could make a headcanon post about him on here (Pls reblog or comment down if you want something like this cause I have a lot of headcanons for Nick and plus I love making this kinds of posts)

#hello puppets #nick nack #hello puppets midnightshow #character opinion bingo #headcanon

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meirimerens · 5 months

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7 and 8 for the ask meme.... If. they have not been asked yet.....

[booming voice] welcome to my dark twisted mind

7. any ideas for how farkhad’s earlier projects could have looked like?

i think his previous body of work had a focus on architecture, on sculpture, and on paper¹ (gesture) Stuff, with quite a lot of works focusing on the physicality of paper (which feeds back into sculpture), including a lot of embossing. i know he's fond of the multi-tons printing presses, and to see how dry and wet paper react to being laid upon a printing matrix and then put through the crushing printing process (this is what he did to the twins. in a way. multiple tons of pressure and now the matrixes of them are embossed of his shape... i'm getting off-topic). architecture-wise, since his cathedral as a deep Gothic flair, i think he not only studied religious architecture (Gothic as in European 12th -16th century style) but implemented it, or parts of it, in his #designs: religious edifices are possibly historically The poster buildings for something "imbued with a soul": the soul of god and of faith itself... he used some of that. i think he knows of the history of Gothic edifices as deeply colorful, so i think he also worked and played with colors, but mostly as light(s)... kinda like. Marinella Pirelli's colorful cubes, but it was the 1910s (or the 1900s, or the 1890s, or the 1880s, of the 1700s. etc). this is how the Cathedral ended up with her deep red windows (i do not think they are simply stained glass. but something freakier. smirk emoji [cannot elaborate]). of sculpture, he began with a focus on the human body (classically trained), then the human body in relation to buildings (made basically mannequins to gauge size of his structures), then it got weirder. i think he could work with something like Louise Bourgeois' "Maman", but instead of a figurative spider, it is built shaped and experienced like a building. you just have to see it.

¹ i have this because of peter's line in the haruspex route "yeah, you're that salesman who used to sell me excellent drawing paper… You used to cut it wrong though… You started from the wrong end. I thought you were dead though? My brother killed you…" farkhad has never been a salesman. but he did have excellent drawing paper. in my mind's eye multiple characters/people have melted into a single, vaguer memory in peter's head, and the memory he has of farkhad permeates multiple instances of people he killed, got killed, didn't touch,... many such cases

8. what does the key with no lock mean to peter and andrey?

i ♥ key with no lock i ♥ thinking about key with no lock and i ♥ that i don't have any definitive answer, maybe because i don't want one, and maybe even because i don't think the twins have one. i think it is their metaphorical tell-tale heart. they know it's here. they know why it got here (a murder) (it is linked to farkhad). but they don't know how it got here. i don't think they know why a key. but they know they have to keep it. they know they have to keep it and, in the spirit of Buildings being the bond that unites all three of them (peter, andrey, farkhad), it is a key, that might unlock a Building, that binds them beyond death. it is in peter's care, unless he dies: i think it is a representation of a guilt made tangible. made prehensible. made so every lock appear like it could be the one, every door every drawer could blow the lid right off. keeping the key means you keep the secret, and the secret-keeping place or thing closed; but that means there is a lock. or is there? this makes the threat even more heady. haunting. it is guilt made tangible. when peter, he who was bearing most of it alive, dies, the guilt made tangible gets into andrey's hands, who before that lived better with it, because he's killed more, and is more used to killing. they will spend their lives wondering what the key opens, and if it opens anything, they better keep it close to themselves. the key "reflects light at odd angles" in the same was the heart beats under the floorboard: the body was dismembered to be stuffed under the boards, so it shouldn't do that. but it does.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR QUASTION 🫂

question me once more

#fun fact you're the first one. that's what i get for reblogging this early. cat in suit png Pleasure Doing Business With You #ring ring (answers)#threefoldbullet #<- the person.#ask memes #fourfold bullet #<- it's for the. fourfold bullet ask meme.#threeandahalffold bullet #<- as always when he's dead etc

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sullina · 2 years

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I have an idea. It's probably because I'm too godamn tired but... imagine this scenario. Meliodas decides to go for a midnight flight, it's before the Sins had been framed so nobody except Merlin knows he's a demon. The reason for the flight is because, frankly, Meliodas can't sleep.

It's a full moon out, the night when all creatures of the night are just a little more restless than usual. So when everyone else is asleep, he decides to give in to his demonic urges for once and goes for a flight to burn off some energy, dancing with the stars and the moon as ancient demons have done for centuries past.

Now, the idea I have is that the darkness limbs demons manifest are a bit more solid than they appear. They have flesh and bone, it at least soemthing of similar structure, its just usually far too dense for any blade or injury to pierce. Except in this instance. Somehow, someway, Meliodas ends up falling out of the sky and breaking his wing. Since it's a major injury to a manifested limb, he can't just simply desummon it. I mean, he can, but it highly unreccomended. Doing so can make the injury worst, resulting in disfigured and unusable limbs. So he has to let it heal naturally.

The problem? He and the Sins expected to report to Zaratrus and Baltra for an urgent mission the next morning, and there's no way his wing will be healed withing 8 hours no matter how many potions Merlin has, and that's if she's willing to even spare some! Not to mention sneaking past the guards and the Sins to get to her lab!

ngl, I do kinda like this idea.

Depending on whether or not he left through the gate, the guards might have seen him leaving, too, or maybe he just flew over the wall surrounding the capital so no one would notice him.

If he didn't leave through the gate though, he would have another problem, which is that the guards are gonna be very curious about how can be outside of the capital walls, if he didn't leave.

But never mind that, he's got a broken wing that he cannot hide without drawing attention, although he might be able to make it less obvious in the darkness of the night, but that's still highly risky. And the darkness of the night couldn't protect him the next morning when the sun was up!

Merlin could just teleport him in, BUT HOW WAS HE GONNA GET TO MERLIN??? Her lab is still within capital walls! (As seen in Grand Cross) And even then, he still had the issue of a broken wing!

To move this along, eventually Merlin senses Meliodas' distress and teleports herself to him (though you're welcome to come up with an alternative to move this along, if you want to)

Merlin gives him something to help heal his broken, but as you said, there's still the other problem of giving a report to Zaratras.

And as the morning nears, Meliodas gets more and more desperate for ideas and at some point just goes "It's so simple! I'll just run away! I was sick of all the responsibility of being the captain, so I just left!"

[ID: A gif of the show Steven Universe Future. Steven is shows to be overwhelmed with the text "...it's ...it's BRILLIANT. It's fine. I'M FINE." being shown above him. It then cuts to Pearl and Garnet with Pearl bein visibly concerned, looking from Steven to Garnet. ID END]

(feat. Merlins reaction lol)

Of course they could claim that Meliodas just suddenly fell ill, but that still doesn't explain why he can't show himself. Unless the illness is very contagious. He was fine the day before though, which is gonna raise some questions from the Sins.

#nnt #meliodas #nnt asks

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sword-dad-fukuzawa · 2 years

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i'm really curious as to your thoughts wrt that post about LycoReco having unusual political things; would you mind elaborating on that at all?

Hiyooo Reyni dearest, on account of college beating my ass I haven't properly had the time to think about this. So you're getting an unfiltered rant instead of a structured essay ehehe. I will warn you that I feel very meh overall on LycoReco and I know you enjoy it a lot so if you don't want to read this, I have no hurt feelings :]

So LycoReco sets up an interesting dichotomy between "preservation of the status quo at the cost of knowledge" and "knowing the truth of the world at the cost of upheaval." This is badly summarized but you get what I mean, it's the dynamic presented in the very beginning of the anime with the premise of cute anime girls yeeting terrorists before the public catches on. That dynamic is finally actualized in the last few scenes of Chisato and Majima, who are the human representations of both those ideologies. You know, that convo where Majima goes ?!?! Don't you want things to be BALANCED and JUST?!?! and Chisato is like man...I really don't care, the status quo is nice.

Which, generally, is a pretty cool dichotomy. It's very good for driving tension and you can get a lot of work out of it. Now, I'm a little disappointed that LycoReco didn't really...make good on that potential? You have such an interesting setup here with child soldiers and media ignorance and public opinion and yet it doesn't really go anywhere for most of the anime. Of course, until the end--which is what I meant when I said they did an unusual thing with the politics.

Because the final message of LycoReco seems to be that...the status quo of ignorance is...good, actually? A necessary evil? Something to be preserved and fought for? That's usually a line that the villains of a piece take, methinks. And they could've done something interesting with that, too, except this thesis was only delivered in episode 12 and so there, uh, wasn't any follow-through.

Sure, I empathize with Chisato. Fighting the good fight is exhausting and man, sometimes you're just tired and you don't really care. But this is anime, okay, so I'm expecting grand political theater about how peace at the price of ignorance and subterfuge is a bad thing. And that living in a surveillance state-esque society where you're being constantly watched and evaluated for Causing Problems so you can be taken out by a teenage girl with a gun before you cause said problems is also a bad thing.

Especially the whole Alan corp thing? They're clearly kinda evil in that they're sponsoring killers to reach the full potential of killing, but that's also less addressed as a systemic issue endemic to the world of LycoReco and more "here is bad dad Shinji doing bad dad things." For reasons unknown. Which, I spose, is fine. Not every anime needs to be about political theater and LycoReco is more of a slice of life yuri than anything.

What bothered me was how present that political theater is. It's too in-your-face to be handwaved as window dressing for a cute anime about teenage girls with guns, but also it's not really explored in a satisfying way. Instead LycoReco chickens out with "ehhhh status quo is fine though" and then doesn't kill off Majima so he can possibly cause problems later. I don't usually see anime present such a compelling dilemma about society and politics and then balk at following it to its logical conclusion, which is why I found it unusual that they didn't carry it through.

#reyni :0 #hsabdkjsandfsak sorry this is so negative T-T #lycoreco disappointed me and im still butthurt about it skjfnksldfn

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dyst0p14-n · 3 months

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I don't really know who I am yet.

Ever since I learnt to string together coherent sentences, I've always liked writing like these little introduction entries. Whether it be in a new notebook, online, or even in my stories, I love being able to talk about myself. I used to think I was egotistical, so I just kept these entries to myself, but I've grown to realise it's less of a "I love myself to bits" thing, and more of a "catching up with myself every once in a while" thing. I think it's important to check in on yourself every once in a while. You know, to keep yourself from totally losing your mind and ending up in a psych ward. I mean, I'll end up in a psych ward regardless. What I'm trying to get at is hi, welcome to my little online diary. Fair word of warning, I have a lot of issues and I've seen literal porn on this website, so I'm not exactly worried about my posts being taken down if I talk about actively cvtting myself (I'll like censor my words just to be safe). Trigger warning for every single trigger under the sun: svicide, self h4rm, eating "this order", mommy and daddy issues, substance abuse, just to name a fun few. Obviously, my whole life doesn't revolve around that stuff (it absolutely does, I'm just gaslighting myself), so it's not like all my entries will be suicide letter after suicide letter.. or something. I might post it in the future though, so look forward to that!

ANYWAY, hi. I'm Amelia (people also call me Jemma if they're feeling funky), I'm 16 as of the 31st of March, and I'll be treating this as my diary. Basically decided on making this on a whim, so I have no clue whether I'll be writing here every day, or just once in a blue moon, time will tell. Honestly, I made this account to commemorate me surviving this long. I never imagied I'd make it to 16, and yet here we are. I didn't plan on making it this far, and I really don't have any plans on what to do with myself. I'm kinda at a loss. Before, it's just been a countdown to the day my candle goes out. Now, I wake up confused. What am I doing here? What is there for me? Is there anything for me out there? Everyday is a question. A question to which the answer is unclear, but I can make an educated guess that it's either drugs, money or death. Maybe all of the above.

I guess theres a few things I like to do. I'll get into detail in a later entry if I feel like it. It's getting pretty late.

I draw sometimes. I used to only do digital art, but I lost my apple pencil and have been too embarrased to tell my mam, so i just switched to permenant pencil drawings. I actually prefer it. I used to hate it because I was really bad at anatomy and using a digital drawing program let me rearrange the limbs as I so pleased. I can't do that on paper, it forces me to practice and get better. And I'd like to think that I have. I understand muscle structure a lot better. Perspective, and all that jazz. I also bought a watercolour set recently, so I've been messing around with that. It's pretty fun!

I also write stories. A lot of them. I'm actually in the process of writing the pilot episode for one of my projects; It's called "All-in". Its about this snobby rich girl who is running an illegal underground gambling ring who meets this depressed traumatised orphan boy who's part of a gang that is trying to take down the mafia and is constantly on someone’s kill list, he accidentally drags her into his business after his brother is kidnapped and the mafia thinks shes affiliated with him and she is now on the kill list as well. He is under the impression that she doesn’t want anything to do with any of this, not knowing she has a criminal record of her own. It's a whole thing, I won't bore myself by explaining all the small details. This is my diary! It exists for my leisure and to let out everything on my mind! I'll leave the work to work hours.

Another major hobby of mine is volleyball. Officially, I'm a setter. In reality, I'm a bench warmer. I haven't been playing very long. Maybe a year and a half. So naturally, I suck at it. I still have a lot of fun with it. Maybe i shoud become a professional volleyball player if I don't end up killing myself?

What else is there about me.... I listen to a lot of rock and metal. All sorts of varients of the two. Really, I like all genres of music, these are just my personal favourites. I also listen to a ton of vocaloid. It's been a staple of my personality since 2016. If youve been here since before i repurposed this account (which, I doubt you did), then you'd have seen my entire page was FILLED with Hatsune Miku stuff. Big fan.

I watch a lot of anime. My favourites are FMA, Soul Eater and Assassination Classroom. I also have a manga collection that is worth over 450 quid. Some might say thats a waste, since I'm poor and could use that money to feed myself for a month, but food is temporary, wasted female lead potentional is forever.

I'm gonna gp to sleep now. I'll add on whatever I can think of when I'm back from school tomorrow.

...

School sucks dick.

-amelia

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hongism · 1 year

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Helloooo ^o^ I have a writing question! Do you ever plan out a series then get so excited you write a whole scene/chapter before it's time? Like the biggest action sequence or the biggest plot twist and would you recommend doing so?

Secondly, for moc have you fleshed out the ending, like do you know how it's going to end? And if not at what point will you decide to do so? Bc I'm planning a fic I haven't planned out the ending for but I really want to start writing it! And tbf I'm not at all sure how it's going to end

Ooh and also (pls tell me if I'm being annoying) when you were planning out moc characters, did they seem to mold themselves a certain way automatically? like I didn't want my character or my story to go in this direction but really it's the best way or the only option to write it this way!

And lastly do you have any advice for new writers? Much appreciated!!!

Also the most recent moc I AM BARELY BREATHING the hongjoong scene I cannot see straight I am too in my head about him ughhh JUST ONE CHANCE I BEG no but I looooove your writing so much 😌 take good care of yourself my dear caly ❤️❤️

oh absolutely ALWAYS!! i do that so so often, i have one of the final scenes of moc written and tucked away in a google doc for when the time finally comes 😭 in fact i very often construct my scenes around an idea that i have and i'll write out a whole scene if i feel really excited about it!! i totally recommend it, i recommend that you write whatever comes to your mind without stopping to edit or anything and just leave that bit for later. write whatever is in your brain and let it all out then you can go back after the fact and edit and make changes as you see fit! it's best to just,, let it rip i think

secondly, i have not fully fleshed out the ending. atm (and kinda since the beginning) i have had two ideas for the ending that are quite different so i guess you could say i have a vague-ish idea in that sense. i will definitely need to decide which way things go around act 12/13 i think? 14 at the LATEST. i'm not the best person about ending things tho bc i fear ending things period but i think it's always a good thing to think about while still in the planning stages bc that will help you figure out how you want to get from point A to point B!

honestly when i was initially structuring the characters i think i wrote 1-2 pages worth of character notes for each one, but when i finally started writing, things kinda just took their own course. now when i look back at those character notes, things are vastly different and there are only some minor bits/backstory notes that are still the same kkkk so yeah they molded themselves just with the writing as i went!! there are definitely things in retrospect i wish were different but honestly i don't want the characters themselves to be different from what they have made themselves become im happy in that regard ^-^

my advice to new writers is to simply not be afraid to write for yourself. i spent probably 8-9 years writing just for myself and i never posted anything and it was all simply for me but even just having that experience of constantly writing, constantly reading, constantly growing my writing in all sorts of avenues was something that really helped when i did find the courage to start posting my writing here on tumblr!

thank you so much for asking me so many questions i hope my advice can help even just a little bit and im sOOO so thankful that you enjoy moc so much hehe i love seeing people engrossed with hongjoong :3 take care of yourself too beloved 💕💕💕💕💕💕

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dzpenumbra · 1 year

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12/1/22

What up, December?

So I had a rough night last night. I had a really tough time sleeping. Falling asleep was okay, but my dreams were very intense, and I kept waking up feeling unsafe. PTSD shit, I guess. I didn't get to bed until like 4:30, super over-tired and exhausted, and I got a little higher than I was intending. I woke up just before dawn and it was just... surreal.

I was tempted to actually get out of bed, hook up my drawing tablet and storyboard this mental image that I was navigating. I didn't because I knew how bad I needed sleep, but I was very tempted. The storyboard was like... the first frame I wanted to try to replicate what it looks like when you're looking at the back of your eyelids with your eyes shut. Well, mine at least, I have no idea if others' experience of that is the same as mine... The weird static-y/pinpoint texture and the flowing afterimages superimposed on the darkness. I was trying to figure out what color dull afterimages are. They kinda look like red, but they can have greens, blues, whites and purples to them too. Try it yourself, close your eyes, let the monitor afterimage fade a bit and then try to identify what color it is. I want to say a lot of mine are purples and reds. So I kinda swam in that concept, then the next frame of the storyboard would be like... shapes forming in the afterimages. Segmenting into shapes like cells. Then the next frame would be a gradual animation of the eyelids opening, which would be sorta keeping the afterimage/static superimposition, but wiping the black background up slowly with a blurred edge, adding in a layer underneath of the super-dark ceiling. But I wanted to have... spirits. Dark face forms. Not like... realistic, but like pareidolia. I wanted to have the frame packed with them, and many very close. Then I wanted it to go third person of getting up and going to the bathroom with a cell phone as a light, and the light creating a bubble of safety. The spirits like... claw and crawl behind and cower back from the light ahead. Like... kinda Spirited Away vibes? But like Spirited Away meets Scary Stories To Read In The Dark. And that was pretty much it.

I wanted to do it either fully animated as a very short sequence or semi-animated as a hybrid micro graphic novel. I've been feeling this calling to do animations or graphic novels of my dreams, and having so many vivid dreams lately has been like... duhh... my inspiration is screaming for me to do my damn job! But I've been so wiped. It's so damn hard to get a notebook and recall a dream on like 3 hours of sleep, but when that notebook is downstairs and packed in a box? No way in hell that's happening, sorry. So I went back to sleep. But I was woken up a few hours later by the maintenance guy actually keying into my apartment. Yep.

I'm still getting used to the sounds of this place, there's a lot of old wood structural beams that crack and pop a lot. It's not the end of the world and I'll get used to it quick. But this dude knocking on the door, in my half-asleep mind, sounded exactly the same as a wood beam popping. Then I just hear someone like right below me going "hello?" and I pop out of bed so fucking fast! I threw on clothes and got the space heaters back to him and went back to bed.

After a bit more sleep, I got up, made some really weak coffee... and some ramen. I got all my dishes and food stuff unpacked in the kitchen which was a big win. Hung out with the kitty, did some yoga, chilled, watched some skate documentaries on Tony Alva and Spike Jonez while I sorted stuff. I decided to order chinese takeout. I'm gonna splurge on the delivery stuff now that I can actually get delivery, I literally can't remember the last time I got delivery dinner before this place, like over a decade. The grubhub guy sent me a text saying he was going to leave my food on a bench at the main door so I just sprinted up to get it and... it wasn't there. I was like... "I'm in the entrance" because I was worried someone maybe took it? He said he was still 15 minutes out... I facepalmed so hard! So I just chilled at the entrance for like 20 minutes waiting for this guy. While I was there, this dude with a beard was walking past and was super smiley and friendly in passing. I was on my phone looking at stone beads on Etsy and looking for mineral shops in the city - it looks like there are three, I'll have to check them all out individually. The guy came back and was on the phone with his two young kids, he seemed really stressed, but was managing really well. Then finally the food came!

On my way back to my place, I had to pass by the dude and his kids, it was a little awkward because I was barefoot and like trying to go in a hurry doing my whole social anxiety speedwalk to get back to my apartment and eat my food. He let me pass and I turned back to say "have a good one" and he spotted my hoodie. Since I'm indoors, I decided to dig up my Born of Osiris hoodie because it's really lightweight, it's my summer/early fall hoodie. Complete fluke that I had it on. He said he was the soundguy who went on tour with them back in like 2009/2010. I was like... what?! We introduced ourselves and I told him I was on the floor below him. I don't know what to say, good lord, I'm surprised I gave him the right name! So we just kinda left it at "see you around." And I guess that's how you meet new friends in your 30's/40's?

I've been on a huge confidence streak lately, but to be completely fair to myself, I've been in extreme isolation for a very fucking long time. I'm granting myself permission to be clumsy and awkward a bit. But check this out. In telling my mom about this serendipitous encounter, she told me there was a recording studio in my building complex. There's also a tattoo studio, but I'll get into that some other time. So... if this guy works there, which I have suspicions he might... I might be able to get a producer. And make music and not have to worry about bothering my neighbors. How. Fucking. Cool. Would. That. Be?!

So yeah, the chinese food was not worth it. But the synchronicity and connection was well worth the cost of mediocre fried rice, watery dumplings and funny-tasting chicken with broccoli.

I spent the rest of the night eating and breaking down a cardboard box to make apotropaic sigils with. I learned that term today. Symbols people have historically used to ward off evil spirits, protective symbols. I don't even care if they don't "work" and they're just "superstition", I put a lot of energy into making cool designs that look neat and a lot of energy and thought into making my home a safe and positive place. That counts for a lot in my book, I hope it can bring me peace and a sense of safety tonight.

I'm going to get ready for bed now, I hope to get some more art done tomorrow in addition to continuing to unpack. I miss art dearly, this move has really gotten in between me and my creative sparks and that tends to set off existential crises.

#diary #journal #online journal #stream of consciousness #stream of thoughts

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zawazawanightmares · 2 years

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Nathan Drake & Chef Anna

You, Nathan Drake, are connected to Chef Anna Your partner selected the 18+ server.

Chef Anna: Hello

Nathan Drake: Hey there. How's it going?

Chef Anna: I am doing well, how about you?

Nathan Drake: Doing pretty good, thanks. Feeling kinda famished though.

Chef Anna: :P

Nathan Drake: So, what's on the menu?

Chef Anna: Hmmm, how about sushi?

Nathan Drake: Sushi...haven't had that in a bit but sure!

Chef Anna: Anyway, do you have any interesting hobbies?

Nathan Drake: Oh, some. I like archaeology, globetrotting, treasure-finding...and some linguistics.

Chef Anna: That's really interesting

Chef Anna: What's globetrotting? Not familiar with that name

Nathan Drake: Just traveling the world, doing stuff, trying the local food, killing the occasional merc, you know.

Chef Anna: Oh, that's wonderful!

Nathan Drake: It's a living!

Chef Anna: You mentioned linguistics, so I've got a question that could use your expertise if you don't mind.

Nathan Drake: Shoot! Probably gonna be stumped if it involves reading Mandarin or speaking in Arabic though.

Chef Anna: Nothing that specific. When borrowing words from another language, which language's pluralization should I use? For example when borrowing a Japanese word when speaking in English, do I keep it the same for plural like you would do in Japanese or use the English rules?

Nathan Drake: Since Japanese and English operate by ENTIRELY different structures...seriously, we actually have more in common with Arabic than we do Japanese...you can just keep it the same for plural since that's how it works in its native language. If someone asks for clarification, just tweak it accordingly until they get it.

Chef Anna: I see. Sometimes when using terminology from Japanese I keep thinking if I should add the "s" at the end for plural so it wouldn't cause confusion.

Nathan Drake: Conjugation will always be the biggest hurdle when you're trying to translate things for people.

Chef Anna: Yes. Especially when that term either doesn't exist in English, or can have other meaning so I need to use the Japanese word to prevent confusion.

Chef Anna: Though sometimes people in other countries use the term differently, so you need to consider the audience before choosing the word.

Nathan Drake: Ah, ya gotta love the untranslatable terms...or the ones that have separate meanings depending on where you are. I remember getting punched in the face in West Africa for giving a guy double thumbs up.

Chef Anna: That's really cool to learn, because it opens the mind into different though patterns that might have not developed without learning of that part of the language and culture. Also didn't know it was rude to give thumbs up in West Africa.

Nathan Drake: Apparently it's the middle finger over there. I know that now though!

Chef Anna: That's interesting, but I guess it makes sense that cultures that developed separately would develop different gestures just like they develop different languages.

Nathan Drake: You're telling me. Coming back to your own place can be quite the culture shock.

Chef Anna: I know, I lived in Japan for a few years and when I moved back I got a reverse culture shock.

Nathan Drake: Oh, Japan is a huge adjustment period especially for people from the west. Different way of viewing society, different views on how to celebrate their culture, get really uppity when you bring over guns...

Chef Anna: Hahaha. I never lived in a country where guns were a part of the culture, just something people get if their jobs requires it or they collect antiques. But yes, there were a lot of things that I never noticed about my own home until I came back.

Nathan Drake: For one thing, assuming you're American, over here we encourage individualism. We respect lone wolves and self-made men despite neither of those really being a thing. But in Japan, everything you do has to be for the group. That means you always have someone looking after you...but if you're different, you're screwed and it's always your fault.

Chef Anna: While I am not an American, I live in a western country, and we value individualism. And Japan is indeed more of a collective society (if that's the correct terminology?), I remember receiving an interesting lecture about it there from a historian and anthropologist (forgot his name), he explained how the geography and frequency of disasters contributed to the formation of this kind of society

Chef Anna: It was a while ago, so I forgot a lot of the details.

Chef Anna: Though these days, younger people in Japan are slowly adopting western values of individualism too.

Nathan Drake: Oh yeah...remember that Eartquake that happened decades ago and the news over here were confused by how the Japanese banded together to help each other and there were no looting or rioting because of it?

Chef Anna: Exactly!

Chef Anna: Also the lack of natural resources contributed to a society that is less consumerism (although after the westernization of Japan post WWII and the economic boom in the 70's that changed).

Chef Anna: Kimono(s) are especially easy to recycle and upcycle.

Nathan Drake: Love those things. I like that you brought up westernization though because it reminded me of one of my trips to Japan where I noticed something...not much national pride outside of the old and the middle-aged.

Chef Anna: That's true. A lot of people are very much aware of the flaws in Japanese society. Especially the lack of work-life balance in corporate Japan.

Nathan Drake: Exactly. Then there's the whole "the higher political figures refuse the war crimes" thing (Though I still think MacArthur could have handled the Emperor's apology better...)

Chef Anna: True. Though historical schoolbooks were very much hiding the severity of the Japanese war crimes, people are still aware of it. I also think that patriotism has been declining in most of the western world as well, which has direct influence on Japan.

Nathan Drake: Oh hell yeah, definitely. Did anyone even notice the Fourth of July this year?

Chef Anna: I am not an American, but I do follow American news and politics closely. America is very divided, there are groups of MAGA radicals who call themselves super "patriotic" though I would argue that they don't value the constitution, so they can't really be patriots.

Nathan Drake: I am so sorry for the fact that I keep assuming you're American. If you're from the UK, I suppose a more relevant example is Brexit, the fallout of that and what's going on with Boris right now.

Nathan Drake: Or you could be Canadian...and there's some stuff going on with indigenous folks over there...'course, there always were but...

Chef Anna: No worries, with how much I follow American media, I could easily be mistaken for an American. And while I am not British either, I do keep an eye on it too. I currently live in the Netherlands.

Nathan Drake: Ah...I've heard nothing about that country except for the minorities disproportionately arrested. Otherwise, not bad...aside from the usual "treat different people different" that's everywhere.

Chef Anna: That does happen, but not nearly as much as it does in the US or the UK. There are certain parts of the country where there is more discrimination, but I think it is generally going in a good direction (as a long term trend).

Chef Anna: Although I do notice an increase in massive American pickup trucks that are too big for the streets here, which is not a good sign.

Nathan Drake: Oh trust me, no one's gonna beat the US and the UK there. It's literally the only thing bad I hear about the Netherlands and it's worse everywhere else so don't be too worried about it.

Chef Anna: Yes, though it is good that it is being mentioned, because the more awareness of the problem, the more likely it will be mitigated.

Chef Anna: There is a pretty big controversy about a Dutch Christmas tradition which some claim to be racist and others say it is not. I think it is racist, but it would be easily solved by modifying that tradition in a way that wouldn't be.

Nathan Drake: Ah yes...the infamous "Black Pete".

Chef Anna: Oh, so it reached international news?

Nathan Drake: It's been well known for a while. I saw it once on a trip but I've seen it referenced on humor sites like Cracked, shows like Robot Chicken and Atlanta and you know every once in a while, someone on social media is going to show a picture of a person in blackface in Netherlands and use it as a "gotcha!" when another person notes how progressive the country is.

Chef Anna: Makes sense. I think it also depends on where you are in the Netherlands, bigger cities are a lot more progressive than smaller and older communities, which is probably true in most of the world.

Nathan Drake: Seems to be a constant rule because bigger cities get more attention and see more tourists so easier for them to absorb different cultures.

Chef Anna: Also conservatives are less likely to leave their hometown, so they are less likely to meet many people outside of their community, but when you live in a major city, there are people from all over the country and the world there that you interact with daily, so it is much easier to leave that racist mindset (though some biases stay subconsciously).

Nathan Drake: Gotcha. Easiest way to get rid of prejudices is to travel as some racist guy said.

Chef Anna: Exactly. The more you interact with people who are different, the harder it is to keep these ignorant views.

Chef Anna: There was an American black guy (a musician) forgot his name, who befriended many KKK members, and eventually they left the KKK and got their friends and family to leave the KKK. It is really hard to be friends with someone and still believe they are lesser humans.

Chef Anna: There is* he is still alive

Nathan Drake: I've heard of him. Daryl Davis. Pretty cool guy.

Chef Anna: Yup, that's his name. To me, this is the closest we can get to a real life super-hero.

Nathan Drake: There are so many ways to do what he did wrong and he pulled it off in the most spectacular way possible.

Chef Anna: Exactly. It could have easily ended in tragedy, he could have been killed at so many points. He has the patience of a saint, and the charisma to make people like him despite their racism.

Nathan Drake: Trust me, charisma can get you far in a lot of places...and so can luck, actually. I gotta jet but you're really fun to talk to.

Chef Anna: True. Good bye! I had a lot of fun!

You left the chat

#nathan drake #uncharted

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thesunmeltedthegrayaway · 2 years

Text

The Good One: Preference

I kinda struggled to write this one, but I hope you all still enjoy it!

This is a request! If you would like to make a request take a look at (this post) for all of the characters I am currently writing for.

My Multi-fandom Masterlist

The request is...

Dallas

You know the saying opposites attract?

You two are the exact definition of it.

"Wait a minute... Did you use me as a decoy so you could steal a carton of cigarettes?"

Dallas just gave you a look and didn't answer.

"Dallas, it's a quarter to get into the drive-in. Do not go underneath that fence."

He of course didn't listen to you, you in followed after him very begrudgingly.

You just sat there for the rest of the night, the guilt you felt for sneaking in slowly grew larger in your mind the longer you stayed there.

So, the next night you ended up going back down to the drive-in just to give the man working in the booth a quarter before walking away.

The man just gave you a weird look as he watched your figure disapear.

And as much as Dallas would hate to admit it.

Your good behavior rubbed off on him.

One day he walked into a convenience store with the full intention of stealing a case of beer.

But as he grabbed them your voice popped up into his head.

Then he started to think of how disappointed or pissed off you'd get with him.

Which is something he'd never want to do.

"Damn it." He hissed out quietly before begrudgingly putting the beers back.

As he walked angrily out of the store and back outside, his annoyance slowly began to simmer.

He laughed to himself the more he thought about you.

"You really got a hold on me doll..."

~~~

Darry

You two are very similar in your ideologies.

Though Darry will lean off his rules sometimes (well at least for rumbles.)

But other than that you two blend well together.

You're a great influence on Soda and Pony, so in some strange way, you take a slight pressure off of his back.

They tend to listen to you a lot more than they did him.

Which kinda pisses him off but as long as you can somehow keep them out of trouble he isn't going to complain much.

He's honestly just thankful he found someone who gets how he thinks.

Someone who doesn't think he's a hardass but smart and careful.

Who won't give him a hard time just because he doesn't act like a "typical greaser"

~~~

Johnny

He's completely fine with the fact that you don't like to break the rules.

It's not like he willingly tries to break them. (Even though he does have his moments...)

And as much as he likes Dally, it is nice for him to go out and not worry about getting involved with the law in some way.

He'll try to cut back on smoking since he knows that it's not your thing.

But he'll fail miserably at that.

When him and Dallas go to hang out and Dally inevitably wants to break a law of some kind Johnny rejects his idea immediately.

"I can't Dal, Y/N wouldn't like it."

Dallas just stares at him in shock and slight disappointment.

You two make a good pair. Your good nature makes him relax in some strange way.

~~~ Ponyboy

You are two peas in a pod.

Even though he does sometimes do things due to peer pressure. (like sneaking into the movies or helping Dally out with stealing cigarettes.)

You help him not fall prey to that pressure all the time.

You'll help him not procrastinate as much with the school assignments that he doesn't want to do.

Darry's extremely thankful for your good influence on him.

They definitely have a lot less tension with each other now. (but it's never fully gone.)

You will definitely call him out if you think he took things a bit too far with Darry.

And he might not agree with your stance on the situation between him and Darry immediately. He'll eventually come around.

If he goes to do something that involves breaking a rule or crime of some kind he will now not only hear Darry's voice in the back of his head.

But yours now too.

So virtually never does anything out of line now.

You two help each other out in a way.

You help be a bit more structured and organized.

While he helps you let loose just a little bit.

You balance each other out well.

~~~ Sodapop

You two are pretty similar to each other in a way.

You two don't drink, you get a buzz on life.

You don't feel the need to break the rules, it makes your life a lot easier not to.

I feel you two would be the most at ease couple.

There's no pressure to try and impress one another or quit a habit that feels impossible to break.

You're just you and he's just him.

It's the perfect match.

~~~ Steve

Teases you on a daily basis about your good nature.

Even though he isn't a stone-cold criminal himself.

Will definitely hear your voice before he gets into a fight or is about to do something reckless.

So he tries to tone back on his need for adrenaline.

Though he doesn't always succeed...

He'll encourage you to let loose a little (and break your neck trying to do a backflip off of a car)

Despite your seemingly opposite likes and interest, you work well together.

You reel him in when he's acting like a nutcase.

And he'll encourage you to let your hair down and have a little fun.

~~~

Two-Bit

Opposites attract 2.0

This man will stress you the hell out with how much he drinks and steals.

He'll come over to your house and just show off all the stuff he stole.

And you're just in shock.

'Two, you are such a kleptomaniac!"

He'll just laugh heartily at you as you looked in awe at the pile of stuff he got.

His drinking on the other hand...

As much as you didn't like it, you couldn't try and stop him from doing that.

Because he technically isn't breaking the law.

You will however try to get him to stop drinking so much.

Which he has done a bit.

But he hasn't fully stopped. (don't think he ever will be honest.)

He wouldn't try and pressure you to do something you wouldn't want to do.

He respects the boundaries you have set for yourself.

You two are definitely a mix-match couple, but you make it work.

#the outsiders oneshot #the outsiders imagine #the outsiders x reader #the outsiders x y/n #the outsiders #johnny cade x reader #ponyboy curtis x reader #dallas winston x reader #dallas winston headcanons #sodapop curtis x reader #darry curtis x reader #steve randle x reader #two bit matthews x reader

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