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simmerianne93 · 5 months

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[Simmerianne93]Couple_poses_26

Hello everyone!!!

Finally I bring you the first pack of the month of a few that are on their way these next couple of weeks. As I told you in my "coming soon" post, this month I have 4 packages for patreons but I will also bring some gifts for everyone based on Christmas and New year's eve. 🥰

I'm a little behind because of the things I've already mentioned before (many power outages at home and personal things) plus with the holidays, I have even less time, but I'm very excited to bring you everything I have being working on.

This time I'm sharing a "couple posepack" that could go well with my "Xmas05" posepack... I created this pack thinking about a couple of my pixels from an "oppposites challenge" I play, So I thought I should do the cover photo with them. She is quite clumsy and unflirty, he on the other hand is quite a romantic boy and has a crush on her and I tried to make their expressions represent that a little. Although they're not in this stage of their life yet (They despise eachother yet xD)... But maybe one day they will reach this point of the story.

In any case, it seems like a good time to share with you a couple conversation with coffee included on a nice winter night (or day).

I hope you like them.

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What is on it? 9 Couple poses (Made with a male rig and a female rig) + 2 all in one. What do you need?

Andrew's poses player

Teleport any sim by Scumbumbo.

A backless bench. (I use the one from ROMANTIC GARDEN STUFFPACK)

May_TS4_Coffee_Fixed. [Download it here in my post. I couldn't find the creator so I fixed it myself to work with stigmata rig].

OPTIONAL: I had a mistake doing the poses and use [Ana Zanacolle] Creamy Coffee ACC first, so the poses work with that accessory too.

Instructions on the original post.

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TOU

Do not claim my creations as your own.

Do not re-upload or modify my creations.

Do not make money of my creations.

Do not include my creations in Mods folders to download.

Please follow my Term Of Use.

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Download it now here — [EARLY ACCESS UNTIL January 6th, 2024]

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If you want to support me: Patreon | Ko-fi

For more poses: Pinterest | Wix

My socials: Twitter | Instagram | BlueSky

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I really hope you like them and I will say on advance: Thank you so much for use them.

@ts4-poses

#poses #ts4 #simmerianne93 #sims4poses #thesims4 #posesforsims #sims4 #thesims #creator content #ts4poses #creatorcontent #sims4cc #coupleposes #accposes #accesoryposes #sims 4 accesory #accesories #kissingposes

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linnaealyn · 10 months

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Been working on again off again on a Xenogears portrait mod for two years now, started in Sept 2021 right before I actually finished the game for the first time. Some time ago I started adding upscaled (hand painted) versions of UI elements, so I guess its now a general texture pack I'm working on.

Its done through RetroArch's Beetle PSX HW core real-time texture replacer.

My goal with this is to make a texture pack that stays very true to the original look of the game. I don't want to redesign elements, impose too much of my own influence into it, and make the game look like it had an identity crisis. I still want it to look like Xenogears in the end, just upscaled, and where the portraits are concerned I want it to look as close to the original artwork as possible, with no scanning artifacts and low res quality- as if we actually had digital versions of Tanaka's original artwork.

Also, this isn't intended to be super high res 4k or anything, idc about that.

Figured I'd make a full post here going over everything I've done so far. I'm on the home stretch! Just a few more left.

⬆ Starting with UI. I replaced the red selection arrow, the red/grey spheres, save block icon, save/load text/bar, Walk/Gear icons (more about that one later), compass cardinal points (was unable to get a proper dump of the circular compass texture), and the dialogue diamond and selection diamond within menus.

I totally get it if someone wouldn't want to use something like the dialogue diamond, as you see it all the time right beside the pixelated text and it seems to stand out more in dialogue vs the one in menuing bc your attention is typically focused elsewhere while menuing. In the end, all changes are optional and to remove something all you have to do is move/delete the equivalent img file from the texture replacement folder. Within said folder I have a sub-folder titled "alternate portraits" where I keep alts and things I want to "disable" without outright deleting.

⬆ In combat UI I've replaced the HP/dmg numbers, the Time/AP/numbers, battle palette text (used for other text as well), the circle and tags of the battle palette, Time/AP/fuel bars, green Gear text and numbers, Gear attack level/♾ indicator, black Gear UI backgrounds, and combo icons. The red arrows have been replaced, but unfortunately the black arrows around the red cannot be replaced based on how the game does it; it is not a texture you can change, it is a triangular shaped box that the game fills with the black texture from behind Gear UI.

⬆ Menu/gameplay buttons. Also numbers/"points/fuel/cancel end" Someone mentioned playing with a switch pro controller or joy-cons so I threw an ABXY version together as an alternate button display option. Used the same typeface as the combo icons to keep some consistency with a typeface already in-use as well as for overall clarity.

⬆ Also, DB icons, EP/Fuel/Miss text, and "total damage". Unfortunately, the other DB icons (showing the △🞪☐ highlighted) cannot be replaced as far as I can tell. The battle UI textures (the 17 or so textures of the same thing in varying hues) shows them on it, but changing them in each one of these textures does not change the icons. It does not pull from these specific texture dumps, in other words; its just one of those that doesn't dump, like the circular compass texture.

⬆ In working on the Walk/Gear icons I wasn't sure exactly how I'd go about doing it because the original is literally just that tiny. So I had the idea of putting a little Fei & Weltall in it, outlined by the same grey. Thought it might be weird in the other party members' menus, idk, and I don't like changing things too much from the original, so I decided to just use Fei/Weltall as the grey silhouettes instead. Ill keep the Fei/Weltall one as an alt option if anyone wants to use it.

⬆ And the minimap. Kept B&W so that the colored dots (indicators of where all you can enter an area) aren't difficult to see. I do have a colored version as an alt, though. Credit to Adelinold for having ripped the 3D maps and made a bird's eye view "minimap" esque screenshot of the world map some years back because it is absolutely perfect for use here.

~~~~~

Now onto portraits, the main bulk of the work. This includes dialogue portraits, menu portraits, and gameplay portraits. I go through each one individually, find the highest quality version of the art, and clean it up manually, painting over it to get rid of any jpg rot, scanning artifacts, or print dots from scans while keeping it as close to the artwork as possible. In order to keep colors consistent across the board (because scans of the artwork can vary) I'm picking from the sprites. One portrait typically takes 2.5+ hours, not including testing them in-game. Each one needs to be tested in-game and edited to make sure semi-transparent pixels around the portraits don't result in black or white pixels in the area that should be transparent.

⬆ Direct comparison to the sprites. I'm not too strict about how I match how much of the art is shown, but in instances like this I like to show more of the character than the pixelated portraits allowed for. However, this wouldn't work for everyone as Fei's default portrait is also used when Kim is naked from the hips up.

For the Captain I specifically wanted to get his pipe within frame. Typically the portraits end just behind their ear, have the eyes at 1/2 to 2/3 height, and end just above the clavicle.

⬆ Some portraits like Kim and Elly have no artwork equivalent, but were pretty basic to make with the artwork of Fei & Elly that we do have.

⬆ Other characters have no artwork equivalent whatsoever, like Stein and Wel-Gear Hammer. For Stein I had to take the collar from Stone's artwork and paint something from scratch using Stein's sprite as reference. This one was more fun to do than I expected because its a special case, entirely different from all of the other portraits. For example, usually the artwork has 4 colors for skin- base color, shadow color, deep shadow color (usually seen directly under the chin, used sparingly), and a highlight color for on the nose or lip. But with Stein his skin had many different colors you could pick from the sprite and no equivalent artwork to limit yourself in how many there actually are. So in trying to get it looking just right it took something like 7 different shades of varying pink, red, and orange. It clearly has more dynamic shading compared to all of the other portraits.

For Wel-Gear Hammer... I did my best given what all I could see was even happening in the sprite.

⬆ I made a close eyed Elly portrait as there is no artwork of it and a bomb collar Fei and Hammer portrait using the bomb collar in Rico's art. Its fun playing around with them when there is no equivalent artwork.

⬆ Made an unsmiling Citan to mirror his unsmiling dialogue sprite vs his smiling menu sprites as well as alt Krelians to better match the expression of his mouth that the sprite has vs the artwork. (sprites are always a bit stretched compared to the artwork, btw. even when you rip them from the disc)

⬆ I'm also working on alternate versions, like a two-eyed Bart I did for fun.

~~~~~

It is finished! 1.0 anyway. Right in time for the North American 25th Anniversary! I just gotta get it uploaded somewhere.

I'll continue to work on the ones that I think still need more work, but for now even the ones that are in rougher shape are passable.

Ill have two versions of the mod- one with stretched and cropped portraits that work in 4:3 (much like the sprite portrait bmps in the base-game that end up looking fine in true 4:3. they kind of end up blurrier due to stretching the artwork) (with Crop Overscan set to None) and another version which isn't stretched or cropped so its as crisp as I could get them, but in order to get them to display the image exactly as they are in-game without squishing you need Crop Overscan set to Static (removes horizontal padding) which makes it just slightly off 4:3. Honestly, to the untrained eye its hard to tell it isn't 4:3. 🤷‍♀️ The only thing you might notice it really affecting would be the animated cutscenes.

I'll make a master post for the mod itself, separate from this. This'll end up being a bit of a time capsule for me.

#Xenogears #xenogears spoilers #Xenogears texture mod #texture pack #modding #Playstation 1 #PS1 classic #long post #oh cool this was my 100th post huh lol #updated 10/14/23

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doodle17 · 1 year

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Psychonauts Future Fanfic chapter 1

(I am by no means a professional writer, and this was made entirely for fun. But as a warning, chapters may be heavily edited or even deleted and re-uploaded in the future, as I am very self conscious about my writing.)

Raz looked down at the newspapers set on the table by Sasha. He let out a defeated sigh and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I'm stumped. I don't know what to do..."

"Of course you don't..." Sasha grumbled. Raz looked back to the papers. He tried to examine them closer, seeing if maybe there was at least a small bit of evidence that could lead them to what their criminal was planning. Of course, he found nothing.

The papers were the same old thing. Research facilities and laboratories destroyed and ruined, robbed of everything valuable. The same old headline was on everyone. "Local Research stolen by mysterious strangers." Of course, the Psychonauts knew who it was. But unfortunately, they didn't know why they were stealing hazardous amounts of chemicals and Psi-lirium. And they didn't know where they were taking it.

Raz sifted through the papers before once again looking to Sasha. He tried to give him a reassuring smile. "Ah, c'mon Sasha, well find out! Eventually." Sasha lowered his glasses and raised an eyebrow. Raz looked around the room awkwardly before clearing his throat.

"Well, Agent Forsythe needs us to meet in her office. She says she has a plan." Sasha said with a doubtful tone. He stood up from his chair and waved his hand, gesturing for Raz to follow him. Raz glanced at the papers one more time. He picked one up, quickly folded it and put it in the pocket of his coat, then quickly caught up with Sasha.

As the two of them walked down the hallway, Raz glanced at Sasha. He remembered when he was a kid he would have to look up in order to make eye contact, but now he was almost as tall as him. Maybe even a few inches taller! He definitely changed in the past 9 years. Everyone had. Especially his family. Queepie was going to start his first week at camp soon.

Wow. How time flies... Raz thought to himself. It only felt like his first day at camp was a few weeks ago. I can't believe I'm already 19 years old. Man, time really flies by...He softly chuckled to himself. I remember when I was younger, I couldn't wait to go on crazy missions like this. Too bad I didn't know there was a LOT more boring investigating than kicking "bad guy" ass.

"Something on your mind, Razputin?" Sasha said, breaking the silence and snapping Raz out of his train of thought. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Just thinking about how much things have changed," He gestured to himself. "Including me." He grinned. Sasha shook his head but smiled slightly. "I don't think you've changed as much as you think. Maybe height wise."

"Oh yeah! I'm almost taller than you!" He hovered his hand above Sashas' head playfully. "Ugh, don't remind me. Every day I see you, it just makes me feel older." Raz laughed. "Hey, do you remember that old helmet?"

"Now Razutin, that's a very rude thing to say about Agent Fullbear-"

"No, no, the one I used to wear. The aviators helmet. With the goggles? Remember when Milla got me these glasses because they looked like my goggles?" He pointed the glasses with red tinted lenses resting on his head. Sasha squinted, thinking for a moment. "Ah! Yes, I remember now." He nodded. "Yes, I do remember that helmet. You used to wear it everywhere. I think I've only seen you without a few times before you stopped wearing it."

"Yeah!" Raz said. I used to wear that thing to bed sometimes. I wonder if it's still lying around somewhere... I wonder if it still fits...

"Agents."

The two of them turned to see an exhausted Norma holding a large mug of coffee and folders. Her eyes looked like it was taking all of her strength to hold them up, with dark bags underneath them. She heavily sighed. "Agent Forsythe is expecting you, and there was something else..." She tried to flip through the folders and papers. "Hey Norma, you doin' alright?" Raz asked. She heavily sighed again.

"Honestly, no. The damned receptionist skipped work again this week, so guess who's covering for her." She said with a forced, miserable smile. She proceeded to walk past the two of them as if she didn't stop to talk to them in the first place. "You'd better hurry, Forsythe is getting anxious. You know how she gets."

"Is that the life of the party, Razputin, I see?" Said Milla happily as the two men walked into Hollis' office. "In the flesh, baby!" Raz said with finger guns. Milla laughed. "Oh, it feels like every time I look at you, I'm expecting to see a small little boy only to be met with a handsome young man. You're turning my hair gray Agent Aquato!" She said with a playful smile. Raz blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. "D'aw, well I dunno about handsome -"

"Agents Nein, Vodello, and Aquato..." Hollis looked up from her papers and raised an eyebrow. Raz didn't even notice she was there. He was definitely startled when he heard her voice. She definitely sounded as tired as everyone else working on the current mission. Her desk was full of papers and empty cups of coffee. She lifted her reading classes and rested them her head. "Please, Agents, take a seat. I believe I've got a solution to our situation regarding the recent robberies."

She gestured for the three of them to take one of the seats at the front of her desk. "I believe I've found a way for all of us to figure out what our good friends at the Mandela corporation plan to do with all of the important stuff they've stolen." She said as she reached for a few papers that were resting underneath an empty coffee cup. She tapped them on her desk before sliding them toward the three Agents."There is one for each of you." She said, leaning back in her chair. Raz examined the paper. It had a picture of him, with a fake name and a bunch of other stuff. It looked like a resume of some sort. "Fake personas?" Raz asked, looking from his paper and pushing his glasses into place. Hollis nodded. "Yes, I have a feeling we won't get any farther if all we do is wait for them to attempt another scheme and hope we can get there on time to stop them. But if we can get inside..." She leaned in.

"But, isn't the place guarded by, like, a MILLION guards and security systems?" Raz asked. "Not to worry, Aquato, the two of you will be acting as interns. Milla and Sasha will be acting as your mentors. Otto has made sure that your fake work IDs are fool-proof." Intern, huh? That brings back memories. Raz then remembered being locked in the old closet in nothing but his underwear. He shuddered. Not very good memories.

"This may actually work!" Milla said, admiring her paper. But, who's going to be joining us?" That's right. Raz noticed she was holding a fourth paper. "Yeah, didn't you mention another agent to be the second intern with me?" Raz wondered who it could be.

Maybe Lizzie, or Dogen, maybe Adam! Oh, I hope it's Adam and not Norma. PLEASE, don't let it be Norma... Before Forsythe could answer, someone spoke. "It's mine."

Raz's heart stopped for a moment before it immediately started to beat a million miles a minute. He turned around quickly, almost getting out of his chair. Was it really?

"L-Lili?!" He sputtered.

(And end of chapter! Thanks for reading! Comments or tips are greatly appreciated as I want future chapters to be exceptional.)

#Psychonauts #Psychonauts Future #Doodle88 #psychonauts fanfiction #razputin aquato #hollis forsythe #milla vodello #sasha nein #norma natividad #lili zanotto #Razili

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undertheknightwing · 6 months

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WIP GAME

Rules: Post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigued them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! And then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

Tagged by @not-so-mundane-after-all and if you don’t mind I'm gonna steal your idea since I don't have any active wips either, just ideas:

• First, obviously I'm always working on chapters. We're gonna ignore the fact that it took me two years to get to the chapter where the boys finally go on a date 🙃 but I'll give myself a pass since this is chapter 22 and I can't believe I got that far.

• Titanstober Week 4 idea that focuses on some of the horrible things done to Gar by the Chief, all seen by Rachel who somehow found herself able to wander in Gar's memories even though she hasn't been able to before and towards the end gets her answer when meeting someone very magical and powerful.

• Now to jump to another ship, I'm a sucker for re-writing episodes/scenes and I've been itching to re-write the kryptonite poisoning scenes in the s&l episode "Loyal Subjekts" to give my Jonny-Boy some hurt + comfort because it's just.. ughh.. that he didn't get sick too. He's got Kryptonian dna which means he should be affected by kryptonite. Simple as that. He's getting poisoned by kryptonite and Clark is gonna be a good dad who actually takes care of Jon for once dammit!

• Okay back to Titans, I thought about writing some kind of Christmas party fic that takes place like four years after season 4. It'd be wholesome but also bittersweet because everyone's grown up with their own lives. DickKory are living a life as normal as they can with Mar'i, Rachel is about to graduate college, and Gar's living in Metropolis with a roommate (who's also technically his co-worker) but is still the Red's champion so he's barely had time to see the Titans throughout the years. It'd be a shock to everyone that Gar actually has the time to attend the party. (that, or release the director's cut of "a very merry crossover christmas")

Now for ideas that probably won't be written but they've been stuck in my head for a while

• Since Gar is connected to life and death through the Red, I assume he can contact the afterlife and thought how emotionally damaging it'd be for Gar to visit his parents. Like I have this image of his parents afterlife being living peacefully in a cute little house where they can just enjoy each other's company, away from all the science stuff that took up their attention forever, and someday Gar shows up to finally talk to them again after so long. Heartbreaking family reunion stuff, ya know?

• In the same train as family stuff because I love it, it makes me very happy, I'm so soft for the idea of dad!Gar. It's been in my brain for years. He'd be so silly but so sweet,, I'm just in love with it 🥺💖 Anyway the idea would be Dick meeting Gar's son and being a mix of anxiety, pride, and "Oh my god I'm a grandpa and I'm not even 40". Mar'i would be super excited to have a nephew too.

• Krypto in s&l, that's all. He's Jon's dog because Jon deserves a dog.

• Jon in Wonderland au. I was obsessed with this idea, like it's all I could think about for a bit. (I have a couple drawings from the idea that I'd glady show you bestie if you ever wanna see 💙)

#tag game #wip game

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justreckin · 26 days

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20 questions for fic writers

alright @emonydeborah said hey there's a thing and i say yes (ages later)

1. How many works do you have on Ao3? 6

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count? 28,070

3. What fandoms do you write for? Honestly, whatever's catching my fancy in that moment. Of the things I've posted, The Librarians is the only fandom that I've ever even posted more than one fic for.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Raising Harry (Harry Potter/Underworld) Where Selene comes across Harry playing at the park alone at night and decides that the best idea is to sorta adopt him.

Never Say He Isn't Grateful (Agent Carter/Captain America) Howard realizes he owes Peggy big time and the best way for him to repay her is to go rescue Steve.

5 Times Ezekiel Called Eve Mum and the Time They Made it Official (The Librarians) 5+1 what it says on the tin.

Second Time Around (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) Coulson went in on the Bahrain mission, May died. Oneshot re-write of the first episode that I considered expanding and have actually written other chapters for but... 🤷‍♀️

How Apep got Ezekiel Grounded for the Rest of his Natural Life (The Librarians) Season 3 Finale in the same universe as the previous Librarians fic that has a second chapter I have yet to write...

5. Do you respond to comments? I certainly try to. I'm not the best at it, but I love getting to have a conversation with anyone who likes the same things I do.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Heh probably I'm Not Your Mother but even then it's a) not really all that angsty and b) mostly that I dropped a mean bomb on characters and then ran away because I have no idea what else to do with it.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? ...everything else? Look, canon is already regularly very mean to characters. I am here to live in my happy little fantasies where everything works out.

8. Do you get hate on fics? Not hate per se but I'd left up an unfinished multi-chapter fic at one point and someone commented that I was the reason they'd lost faith in authors with unfinished works and is maybe more responsible for me not posting any of the myriad of things I have on my computer than I want to admit.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Nah. I write more family than relationship stuff, really.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? Yes. Uh... it's not posted, but maybe the Harry Potter/Song of the Lioness that I hashed out at one point.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Don't think so.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Don't think so.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Ha! @emonydeborah and I spitball all the time (it's wonderful) and she absolutely gets credit if that parent trap fic ever gets finished, but I don't think I'm up to the group project that would be co-writting a fic.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship? the Enterprise NCC-1701 dash nothing! All jokes aside, it genuinely is the only ship I go back to on a regular basis.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Uh... honestly, I don't know that I'll ever finish half the things in my WIP folder.

16. What are your writing strengths? Probably dialogue. I feel I'm pretty good at getting the character's literal voice down.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Anything happening around the dialogue. In my head these people are always moving around and doing things, but it always feels so clunky if I try to put that onto a page.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? Maybe an individual word or two for a curse or endearment. I know enough Spanish I'd probably be comfortable writing in it. But that'd be about it.

19. First fandom you wrote for? Uh.... Star Trek? One sec, must check files. Yeah, pretty sure it was a short TOS thing. Hmm might need to take a look at that again, clean it up, repost...

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? Posted? Probably Ezekiel calling Eve mum. Not posted? Nah, actually, don't know that there is one that's not posted.

.... @the-redhead-in-a-dress and @sun-lit-roses did you do it yet, did you do it? I wanna see 😁

#pretty sure y'all've already done this #what i get for showing up three weeks late #and not even starbucks to show for it #oh well #not that i have much written/posted/finished anyways #still fun 😁😁

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solradguy · 7 months

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Please at some point if you can write about how those 2 panels in beginning and what they mean to you the begin content is always so good and also really enjoy how rough the drawings where for it UGH

Yess god I love Begin so much. Honestly, it's like a 7/10 star scifi novel at best; it's a pretty standard "guy gets monsterified by evil science" plot. But Sol/Frederick means so much to me and that book did more for his characterization than almost any other piece of GG media has before or since, imo.

I picked this thing apart like a carcass so readmore because it goes on for miles. A thorough dump of my thoughts on what I have labeled as "begin pic 12" in my GG Begin scans folder. Vague suicide mention warning for when I start talking about the personal stuff near the middle.

What I love about those two panels is that it's the first time we get to see Sol after he gets turned into a Gear and it's a downtime moment. It's 6 months after Asuka betrayed him and he just finished whatever mechanical process was required to complete the first Gear cell suppressor headband. He's actually unplugging it in the second panel on the left. There's a third panel below these where he's picking up the headband and there's a strong focus on how monstrous and gross his hand is as an effect of the Gear cells, but it's not quite as interesting as the first panel here.

It's so small. This is the only time we ever see or hear a (canon) description of what Sol's personal living space looks like. They DO show him at some kind of house at the end of Strive, but it's barely fleshed out. There aren't that many details or strong hints in that scene like there are here.

I've talked about this potted plant in the window a lot, it's my favorite detail in this illustration.

It's not clear what kind of plant it is though. Maybe some kind of succulent with how stiff and solid the leaves look? Something Sol doesn't have to worry too much about taking care of—low effort in case he has to leave for a long time or forgets to water it. But like... Where did he get this plant? The building he's living in is described as a rusty shack out in the middle of nowhere, so I doubt the plant was there when he moved in. He must've picked it up somewhere and brought it back. Why?

Sol calls himself a monster multiple times throughout Begin and it's pretty clear how keenly aware he is of his rapidly vanishing humanity. He knows his time is running out and he's trying to slow it down by making the limiter headband but that's only a temporary fix. Asuka betrayed him, Aria might be dead (or worse), he can't even blend in with normal humans anymore, and the only animals that are like him are mindless war machines. Sol is completely and absolutely alone.

Except he's got that plant.

The plant doesn't have feelings, it can't judge him. If he goes mad and becomes a rampaging animal like the bear Gear at the end of Begin, the plant won't know or care. Sol got that plant from somewhere and whether he takes care of it or not, it's something else for him to think about. A single purely organic thing in his rusty, machine-littered, shack. If he can't bring himself to do anything else on a given day, if the Gear cells are screaming too loudly and he just wants to say fuck it all and rip everything apart, he's got that tiny little potted thing that only needs sunlight and water. Daisuke probably didn't even think about it that hard when he was designing this scene, but I have hahah I appreciate this little plant. There is a lot of thought put into the layout of the things on Sol's desk though, so perhaps Daisuke did have a motive putting the plant there too.

Sol's desk space is about what you'd expect. A tiny toolbox under the light, notes, wires, balled up scrapped papers, books (likely on magic and software engineering, probably something on wiring), the corkboard up above that has a map with marked out locations that are implied to be locations of places Asuka might have gone since the research lab him, Sol, and Aria worked at exploded (referenced in the epilogue). The rolled tubes on the right may be maps or computer schematics for Sol to reference for making the suppressor.

Based on the position of his hands in the other panels, that thing near his elbow must be whatever was compiling something onto the suppressor headband. I don't know what those are directly in front of him by that dark tower. They look sort of like computer chips/boards? Too low detail to know for sure.

The rest of the scene around his desk are just cabinets and drawers without much unique/outstanding detail. Nothing unique or outstanding enough to base anything off of, just set pieces.

For purely personal reasons, I love this illustration because I spend a lot of time sitting at my own cluttered, dimly lit, desk working on projects that keep me sane haha. Sol's arc through Begin is relatable too, in a way, with regards to gender and body stuff. It's easy to read a lot of the Gear things as an allegory for transitioning for people that didn't have a very smooth transition or that took a long time to accept that's what they are. I fell into that latter category for a long time. Once puberty hit, I realized that I didn't want to be like a woman, but being trans was bad? All depictions of trans people that I knew were jokes or were things like drag, and none of them were women into men. I didn't know a single depiction of a trans man until I went looking for it myself as an adult. They were all tomboys that rescinded their masculinity and became petite girls in pastels. Or they were villains that died and were made fun of.

So. I just didn't know you could do it. I thought that maybe there were just never any women that felt like men or that they were something other than a woman. There was no one to talk to about it, no resources to look up, I hated myself over it because it was a bad thing meant to be kept to yourself. I grew my hair really long to cover my chest and only wore baggy/layered clothes to smooth out my unfortunately curvy waist. On top of this, I have also been 6'5" since I was about 14. I didn't fit in with the women at school because they saw me as a man and I didn't fit in with the men because, biologically, I was a woman. Through all of this, I had to move with my mom across the country to live with a literal nazi because I knew if I didn't, she'd do something stupid (I was right in that she didn't want to because I was there). My friends wanted me to stay and live with my dad but I didn't know how to tell them that I couldn't. I didn't tell them when I was leaving and just left.

I had no friends, no one else was physically like me, there was nothing for me to relate to or find inspiration in. I don't know what kept me going, in hindsight. Everything pissed me off all of the time. All I had was my sick cat, metal playlists, and art. Man, did I have art though.

My art teacher let me skip Art 2 to go from Art 1 directly into Advanced Placement Art (AP Art) because I was graduating that year and she saw potential in me. For our AP Art final portfolios, we had to do a certain set of pieces with fixed themes (portrait, abstract, specific mediums, life study, etc) and then another set of something like 12 that were wholly original illustrations connected through a single, personal, theme. The theme for my original pieces was that monsters have no friends because they're big and scary and no one else is like them, but that they still need love because they're just trying to find their place in the world. Lol. I wish I still had the short essay I wrote about it, but it was so long ago...

I don't really know what was keeping Sol going at the end of Begin either, when he's living in that shack so far from his own home, alone. But I get it though. Sometimes something activates in the human spirit when shit's got it out bad for you that makes you want to keep going. It ended up working out for me. My mom's still alive, I have friends again and I know who I am now despite being a weird biological anomaly. It's working out pretty well for Sol now too, it seems, despite it all.

#asks #gg begin #suicide cw #long post

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cigarettesandinevitablebetrayal · 4 months

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Alright, so as I clear out my writing folder for fics that just aren't going to get finished for one reason or another, I thought I'd do something I've never done before and post them.

So, this is The Monsters We Made, which was written fresh off my first run with Mateo back in February of 2023. He was pretty different back then. His character was still being workshopped and he had just gotten the selfstuck Sedated By Mortum ending. I felt a lot about that ending and so, like I always do, I went off writing about it.

This is an unfinished fic and, as such, has a jarring "ending" and is not edited. It is very much a rough draft and you'll notice that it has information based on the books rather than what's been revealing in the Patreon documents, such as Mortum being Haitian rather than simply speaking French (they'd likely speak Haitian Creole, though they might be fluent in French as well, depending on their background). This, along with Mateo's characterization and ending changing and his puppet being altered, means that I will likely never finish this piece. So, it can go here. Hope you enjoy!

Mortum had been expecting a lot of things when he decided to sedate Mateo de la Cruz. He had been expecting Mateo to put up more of a fight. He had been expecting to feel some level of vindication at seeing him fall. What he had not been prepared for in the slightest was exactly how Mateo responded to the sedation.

Fingers gripping his, not with intent but as if looking for stability. The expression of sheer terror that had flashed across his had felt like a bucket of ice water thrown at Mortum. One hand on his as he pulled out the syringe, one on his lapel, clinging for dear life. A flash of betrayal in his brown eyes. "Cariño…." He had winced at the endearment. Martín had called him that. It was supposed to be easy. It wasn't supposed to hurt so much.

He stares down at Mateo, studying his face for some sort of sign, some tangible proof that he did the right thing and that they are, in fact, enemies. Merde, he looks too much like Martín. He isn't as delicate-featured. There is no regal posturing the way Martín has. Scars mark Mateo's face where Martin's is bare and smooth. But they have the same nose, same warm eyes, same curve to their lips. Even their hair is styled in the same shoulder-length locs with gold cuffs.

Martín is sleeping, sprawled under the bedsheets with a soft smile on his face, despite his legs being in casts. Mortum would normally be sleeping beside him. If he's honest with himself, he wants nothing more than to crawl into bed next to Martín and hold him in his arms for a week straight. But there's something wrong with Martín. He can feel it.

He doesn't carry himself with the same certainty. When Mortum kisses him, he feels Martín holding back. His smiles don't quite meet his eyes anymore. He speaks with a slightly different cadence. It's like watching his boyfriend through a funhouse mirror. Any passing mention of it is met with a laugh and a wave of his hand. He has a different excuse each time.

So Mortum finds himself back here on nights when sleep evades him, in what is now Mateo's personal infirmary. He's been spending too much time here these days. Ever so gently, he lifts the hem of Mateo's shirt up. Just as he'd said at La Cantina weeks ago, his body is marked with re-gene tattoos. They are a slick and sickly orange like the skin of a poison frog. A warning sign to stay away.

He wishes he could heed them. He wishes he could leave Mateo out in some back street to rot. But he looks too much like Martín. And Martín feels less and less like himself with each passing day.

Was Mortum wrong? He wonders, not for the first time, if Mateo was telling the truth. That the nights of microwaved pizza and expensive scotch and wanting and being wanted in return were never a mask or a front, but always just Mateo. Perhaps the mask of Martín was more liberating than his own.

Other than this particular, I have never lied to you and I never will. Mortum winces as the words play over in his head. They’d sounded desperate, but Mortum had only been able to feel their bitter taste.

It all made more sense in the ambulance, when Martín had woken up. There was real fear in his eyes. Fear of Mateo. Or so he had said. Had he been played that night? Manipulated by whatever was now riding in Martín's skin? It is starting to feel more and more likely.

That's why tonight, Mortum skipped Mateo's scheduled sedation.

He's already taken numbers. The headache and dry mouth have been building for the last hour, but it's worth the precautions. He doesn't want to take any chances with a telepath.

Mateo is beginning to stir. He opens his eyes with a slow sort of bleariness. He blinks once, twice, and then Mortum sees the telltale sign of a stomach turning. He just barely gets the trash can over in time for Mateo to almost pitch himself over the side of the bed and vomit. As he retches, his back shuddering from trying to suck in breaths, Mortum can't stop himself from rubbing small circles between Mateo's shoulder blades.

Mateo pushes himself back up with shaking hands, his dark eyes narrowing on Mortum's face. Mortum gently holds his dreads back from his face. He’s surprised when Mateo doesn’t bat his hand away. "You drugged me." There is no bite to Mateo's words. Just a blank statement of a fact.

"I did, mon chéri." There's no point in denying it. "It seemed like the best course of action at the time."

Mateo's eyes scan over the surroundings. Always perceptive, despite the grogginess. It was like this talking to Martín about his projects, too. Martín was not particularly knowledgeable in technological fields, but he always hung onto every word Mortum said. Always asking questions, always learning, always paying keen attention.

"This isn't the Farm or a hospital." There's a familiar sort of distance in his voice when he speaks. It's gone when he continues. "Where are we?"

"One of my labs.” Mortum shrugs, holding his arms against his chest. He tries to swallow down the guilt. “I had nowhere else to take you."

"Why didn't you kill me?"

The question catches Mortum off guard. He takes a step back. An old habit, as if he's trying to get a wider view of Mateo's intentions, to see the bigger picture.

As if reading his mind despite the numbers, Mateo shrugs his shoulders in a noncommittal sort of way. "It's what I would have done in your shoes. Especially after Martín."

Mortum's blood runs cold. He clenches his fists, counts to ten, and lets them relax again. "How do you know about Martín?"

"I caught a sense of him, right before you opened the door," he says, his voice carefully modulated. His expression is guarded, so unlike how open he’d been as Martín."He didn't feel like you. Or much like anything I'd felt before."

At least Mortum isn't alone in the sense of alienation he gets from Martín these days. Even with the tension of their situation, he feels himself sinking back into the familiar pace of their conversation. It’s a balm as compared to the past few days. He isn't allowed that peace of mind for long.

"You never answered my question."

He really is quite like Martín, hyper-focused and direct almost to a fault. Mortum allows himself a small grimace. In his attempts to get his thoughts on the matter in order, Mateo presses on.

"You seem to know what I am and how dangerous I can be, villainous career aside." Mortum wishes just once, Martín - Mateo, he mentally chastises himself - would be less matter-of-fact about the whole ordeal. "And I know I hurt you. I've hurt you in ways I never intended. I don't understand why I'm still here; why I'm talking to you now."

He says it so earnestly. Not an ounce of cruelty there, despite how much it hurts Mortum. Should he be honest? God knows, Mateo and Martín both were. On the verge of brutality sometimes. Perhaps he owes Mateo that much.

"I entertained the idea," Mortum admits. He turns his eyes away from Mateo, looking down at his hands instead. He's not restrained - a perhaps foolish choice on Mortum's part, but he couldn't bring himself to do it - but he also hasn't moved. He seems content to let Mortum speak in peace. "You are right that it would have been a wiser decision, but I couldn't."

"Is it because I look like him? Martín?"

Mortum flinches. "Why should you have this power over me?" he mutters in French.

"Because you hold the same power over me."

Mortum's eyes snap up to Mateo's face. The French is a surprise. He hadn't known Mateo was multilingual. More tricks up his sleeves. But he looks at Mortum with a tenderness that makes his chest ache all the way down to the marrow of his bones.

Mateo reaches out, then stops, and asks in English, "May I touch you, mi amor?"

He should say no. He should keep that tentative space between them. Mateo is as dangerous as open flame and will burn him if he gets too close. He's already burned once. But Mateo worries at his lip the same way Martín always did and Mortum finds himself too weak to not take Mateo's hand.

"I won't apologize again." Mateo kisses Mortum's knuckles ever so gently. "There is no amount of apologizing that will fix this. But I will thank you for sparing my life."

Mortum swears again, wishing desperately that he had better self control. It's never been a problem before. He clings to Mateo's hands like they're the only shelter from the storm in his mind. Mateo gently pulls one hand free. He reaches up, brushing the back of his fingers against Mortum's cheek. He thumbs away a tear that Mortum hadn't noticed.

Giving up the last of his reserves, Mortum turns his head into the touch, pressing a kiss against Mateo's palm. His hands are rougher than Martín's, calloused and scarred and the nails chewed brutally short. But they still touch him the same way. Something bruised and angry and soft claws its way into Mortum's throat, but he keeps it locked behind his teeth.

#cigs writes #cigs' trash bin #fic: mateo #dr mortum #fhr fanfic #Mortumstep

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chansbabygirl02 · 2 years

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BESTFRIENDS

Bestfriend! jeno x fem reader

✩.･*:｡≻─────── ⋆♡⋆ ─────────.•*:｡✩

I haven't been to jeno's house for a while since we both have been so busy with exams, and now that's we're finally done with them (i'm nearly done with my life as well) we decided to hang out at his place and he'd teach me some gaming/valorant hacks and skills cuz i obviously suck at video games.

And being the literal procrastinator i am, we decided, and only after a long time of me begging him, to just watch random vids on youtube and listen to some of his self-produced songs while catching up with life and stuff.

We were listening to a song and just using our phones in silence when he asked me if i wanted to eat mac and cheese, and me beeing the mnc enthusiast, i couldn't say no, i offered to make it or help him with the making it but he just told me to continue watching videos or do whatever while he makes it, and then walks out of his bedroom.

I was just gonna keep listening to music when he suddenly came back and stood by the door "hey, uhm, don't go through my stuff and other folders on the computer" i just nodded my head and hummed.

But now that i think about it, that's weird (that's suspicious) he never told me that before, -well ofc, I've never really used his computer before-

And i got curious, and when i do, nothing can stop me from being curious lol

I closed the music folder and the first thing that caught my attention was a folder named "mine♡" with a butterfly icon (wow that was really sudden and not scripted lol) i kept looking at it and yelled so he can hear me "Yo jen, you got yourself a new girl and didn't bother to tell me?"

waiting for his response i opened the folder, as i said i was curious, and as it opened i regretted, both opening and yelling out at him. It was full of pictures of us together, pictures from our hangouts and random pics (nothing creepy lol). And if that moment can't get more perfect, he walked back in the room with two plates and forks.

"yo i heard u call or something, is everyth-"

As soon as i heard his voice i closed the folder but it was too late, he saw it and i was too scared and surprised to turn around and see his reaction.

"what were you watching just now?" wow nice acting dude "nah, it was nothing"

From my peripheral view, i saw him set the plates on his bedside table and walk towards me. He came from behind me and held the mouse with one hand and put the other on the keyboard (as if he was back hugging me), he clicked some buttons and the folder was back on display. I thought he's even get mad at me for opening it or get too embarrassed to re-open it right in front of me, again. But he chuckled and i was left surprised. His head was nearly on my right shoulder so i just turned mine a bit to give him a confused look, and he just chuckled againt and said "surprised, aren't we?" and turned my chair around to make it that he's got me between his body and his gaming table. I got flustered and i didn't even know how to react. Well obviously, jeno lee, the hot engineering student had me locked between him and some desk, but most important, jeno lee, MY OWN BESTFRIEND AND BUDDY. I guess that knocked some sense into me as i tried to laught it off and push him away, but that made him bring his face closer to mine, and made me pull mine away as i nearly fell back, forgetting how stretchy (؟?) the back of a gaming chair is. I closed my eyes thinking i was gonne fall back, but i didn't, and only realized it when i opened my eyes and found jeno's face only a couple centimeters away from mine.

"Jeno, stop playing games and step away buddy" he laughed, LAUGH? Dude i'm having an internal crisis right now because of you, and you're just laughing??

"games? y/n, i'm literally playing no game right now, bestie"

"exactly Jen, bestie, we're bestfriends stop whatever you're thinking of doing please"

"yeaah, you're my best friend i know that, you're the best friend i've had a crush on for years and she was so oblivious to realize it"

"what? Jeno stop saying nonse-"

I couldn't finish what i was gonna say as i felt a pair of lips on mine. It was so sudden that i couldn't react instantly, but when i realized what was happening and lifted my hands to push him away, he caught them mid air and pinned them to the armrests of the chair, so i just kissed him back and move my lips against his before he could pull away (now that it happened, i'm not complaining i got to kiss my hot bestfriend)

As the kiss was getting more heated, he pulled away to catch our breaths. I honestly have to admit that he's a good kisser, no cap.

I looked up to find him already looking at me, i'm sure the look on my face was unreadable cuz as he keept looking at me, his eyebrows creased and a confused look placed itself on his face. As he was about to say something, probably explaining himself, i pulled him back by the collar of his hoodie to take his glasses off and kiss him again. And that move surprised the both of us, i guess i've been so touch starved.

As seconds passed, things were getting more heated as i placed my hand in his hair and played with it, we pulled back for a second to catch our breaths and dived right back into eachother's lips, he bit my bottom lip asking for permission to his tongue and i guaranteed it

"jeno my dude i got a new video game for us to t-, uh never mind i'll call u next time, have fun guys"

Jaemin came in and out of the room so fast that we couldn't even react to it properly, we just pulled away and started laughing

"Jeno go get your friend before he starts freaking out in the middle of the street"

Jeno laughs again and heads out to get his friend back, but before leaving he gives me a soft kiss on the corner of my mouth and says "i'll be back".

He then gets jaemin back and we spent the rest of the evening playing video games, well i was just trying, anx watching few movies, not forgetting the occasional weird glances we'd get from jaemin.

✩.･*:｡≻──────── ⋆♡⋆ ────────.•*:｡✩

Part2

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kashuan · 1 year

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Hi I love your art style! Especially how dynamic your poses and how distinct and expressive your faces are.

For somebody currently struggling with their own style, do you mind sharing how you got to where you got? Probably lots of studies, right? 😅

Did you focus on realism and built your more stylized take on that? I'm mostly a digital artist but I have heard that practicing a lot with pencil and paper may help, do you have any experiences with that?

I'd love to hear if you have any advice <3

Hey! First of all, thanks so much! ♥

In terms of stylization, aiming for and sticking to a single style is something I've heard that some people do, but was never something I really thought about too much myself. I started by just copying the artists I liked, so in the beginning I was just mimicking another's style 1:1 for the most part. After doing that with several artists, the styles naturally started to blend together, until I was eventually able to develop a more conscious sensibility of what I did/didn't want to include, which just comes through a lot of the practice. Over the years my style has been really all over the place, from Extremely anime influenced, to western comic book style and cartoonish, to fairly strict realism, to where I am now which I think is something like stylized realism. It's inevitable that you'll go through a few styles as you grow as an artist, even if you're only sticking to one genre, and I believe it's important to allow that to happen, rather than trying to strictly force yourself to stick to one in specific. I don't draw in the styles I used to, but I think little touches of it still remain in my current one, which I think helps give it a little bit of uniqueness. In regard to my current style though, yes, I do studies from life almost every day to help me keep a strong grasp on realistic anatomy as well as to continue to grow my understanding of it. I use references too with almost all my drawings, but then I add stylization on top of it, which is something I wasn't able to do with much success until I had been practicing for years, so don't be discouraged if this is a struggle. I will say though as soon as I began to do studies regularly, my improvement went like 500% faster than it had before; just about the only thing I wish I'd done differently on my journey with art would have been to start doing studies from life sooner. So if stylized realism is a style you're interested in, I can't recommend that enough! And even for more cartoonish styles, the better your understanding of forms and anatomy, the easier time you'll have exaggerating it confidently, tbh. Re: digital versus pen and paper, this isn't so much related to style specifically, but even as a primarily digital artist myself, I highly recommend getting in some practice with real media too. It forces you to be more deliberate and decisive with your mark making, especially if you're using something like pen-- once the line is made, you can't erase it-- and that skill carries over to how you draw your lines digitally. I still try to do pen studies at least once a month and I think it definitely influences the confidence of my digital lines. Lastly, I'd also say keeping some sort of inspiration board is a great tool. I have a side blog for saving pieces that I see which I would like to incorporate elements of into my own style, whether because I liked the way the figure was posed, the expressions, the artist's mark making, the composition, the interaction between the subjects, etc. There's so much like that which all goes into influencing an artist's specific style and it's really interesting to think about when you consider what you want from your own! Whenever I'm feeling a little dry on inspiration I look through my dash over there or in the folder of inspiration I've saved and it almost always helps get some new ideas flowing. Like I said, I don't think it's necessarily a good idea to focus in on just one specific style and constrain yourself that way, but to instead consider how you'd like to use bits and pieces of many styles can be very helpful to growing your own. There's a whole lot more than can be said on this subject, but I hope this much is of some help to you ♥♥

#i've also been rereading one of my favorite books on style recently that i've been intending to post some excerpts from soon #it says a lot of things far more eloquently than I could so maybe also look for that post i make in the near future :D

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dont-call-me-algernon · 9 months

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Ty @circeancity for the tag!!

RULES: Reveal the titles of the documents in your WIP folder and tag as many people as there are documents. Let others ask questions about the ones that interest them and post snippets or explain the contents as you see fit!

The thing is, I don’t have a single wip folder, but a different wip folder for each fandom. Meaning I have something like 20wips at a time, in various states of abandonment… yeah. So I think I’m gonna stick to the ones I’ve edited/added to at least once in the last month, for this one!

1. dead ringers

A pre-canon first meeting one shot about the citrus killers from Bullet Train, written by me for me basically, given the almost non-existent fandom for this book. Unfortunately a case of “I have everything written and more or less edited EXCEPT the last few paragraphs, how do you even end a fic”.

[...] "It's a bit freaky from up close, isn't it?"

"I beg you pardon?" He scoffed, affecting annoyance for being suddenly addressed by a stranger.

"Too bad there can only be one," the other man said, a small grin beginning to form at the corner of his mouth. Tangerine almost expected him to laugh and exclaim something along the lines of ‘oh, I always wanted to say that!’. How cliché. "And that would be me. You can save your energies. If I could be killed, I would be already dead," but then he backtracked, "Then again, if you went down without a fight, it would be kind of a bummer. So try to put up a little resistance, yeah?"

2. fishbones

I recently made a mistake, and that mistake was getting into Funger (Fear & Hunger). Now everyone must put up with my rare pair shenanigans over there too. I’m prooobably gonna keep the title, unless I come up with anything better by the time I've finished writing it (very unlikely). Also – small warning for people chit-chatting during an impromptu autopsy, I guess??

[...] "Much obliged," the doctor said, offering him a thin smile that looked almost as out of place on his gaunt features as the rest of him, with his eccentric slacks and silken bow tied around his collar, did in a devastated village turned warzone. "Henryk, was it?"

"At your service," he replied mechanically and regretted it at once. He didn't want him to get any creative ideas about his willingness to help with his current task.

"Let me tell you, Henryk, you'd make for a terrible pickpocket," the other remarked as he drew another cut along the dead man's sternum.

3. bank time babyyy

Incredibly silly working title for an incredibly self-indulgent Death Note fic about “what if some of the corrupt yotsuba execs had lived long enough to be able to react to the events of the 2020 one shot (re: the new Kira using yotsuba bank for his plan)???”

[...] "Somehow, the board still believe it’s an elaborate publicity stunt."

"And you decided you’re going to let them," Mido concluded for him. "They must think we have the strangest concept of guerrilla marketing."

"Only until I'm able to fix this…" he seemed on the cusp of adding something – situation, debacle, utter trainwreck – before likely resolving that no Japanese word could do justice to the absurdity of their predicament. "I never thought I'd be grateful for the depth of human stupidity, but here we are," he gave way to another pause, marked by an almost solemn intake of breath preluding to what, from his perspective, must have been a pretty humiliating admission. "I'll need your help. And your spirits."

Besides @bespectacled-bookwyrm I’m… not really sure who else among my mutuals has any active wips, so I’m gonna tag them and anyone else who may want to do this little game, as usual.

#tag games

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felixantares · 4 months

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fic author interview

thank you for the tag @mirrorofliterature 🥰

How many works do you have on AO3?

technically 3, but one I'm listed as a co-author but I just did the art in it so I don't really feel comfortable counting it. so 2.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

37,317 words and counting!

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Well I only have two, so a sign in the midnight sky (297) and my floorplan for Grimmauld Place (24)

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes!! I try to respond to all the comments I get 💕 they always make my day

5. What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

hahaha well it's not finished yet so I'll skip over this question!

6. What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

like the above, ASITMS isn't finished yet so I don't have an answer haha, but I'll at least say that when it does end it'll probably be more happy than angsty (the angst ends will be for the rest of the series)

7. Do you write a cross-overs?

I haven't but I want to!!!!! I've got a HP Founders fic/Narnia crossover AU thing that's been sitting in my brain for ages and I definitely want to poke at one of these days (but I am trapped by ASITMS for the foreseeable future (i am okay with this i like it here))

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

nope! Everyone has been really lovely so far!!

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Not in ASITMS, it's very firmly in it's T rating (and if I do boost its rating later it'll be for some uh. violence. i've got planned 👀) but later in the Shrines series there might be some, if I feel like it. I've never written smut before though so I think I'd be worried about the quality of it haha

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope!

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

12. Have you co-written a fic before?

Co-written, no (though I want to! one day!). But @sandervansunshine wrote an absolutely stunning little Jegulus fic based off an art I did and put me down as a co-author on that one! You can read it here

13. What's your all time favourite ship?

oh gosh, I don't know. Like maybe a tie between Drarry and Wolfstar? I go back to drarry a lot, and I think a good chunk of my favourite fics to re-read are drarry

14. What's a WIP that you want to finish but think you never will?

ohhhh well I don't know that I'll never finish it, because I do intend to write it one day, but I've got a time travel tomarry sitting in my WIP folder gathering dust, and it'll probably stay there until ASITMS is done at the very least, if not the whole shrines series.

15. What are your writing strengths?

uhhh oh no... probably descriptions? I feel like I'm pretty good with atmospheric stuff and having characters interaction with their environment. Oh and worldbuilding, I do love worldbuilding. 😅

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

Dialogue. The absolute bane of my existence. I don't know how to talk in real life and I definitely don't know how to make a conversation sound normal. (Though I've been told I'm doing a decent job of it, so I guess hours of obsessive editing do pay off lmao)

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in fic?

I mean, I don't mind it in fics (I do appreciate having a translation in the notes though) and if it feels appropriate, I'd definitely put a few lines in my own fic, but I don't think I'd put like... a whole conversation in a different language. If someone's having a conversation in a different language and it's really long I'm more likely to either just say they're talking (if the POV character doesn't understand the language) or write it in English but in italics (if the POV does understand).

18. What's the first fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter!

19. What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?

I really really want to write a Dungeons & Dragon: Honor Among Thieves fic, for no other reason than I want to flex my forgotten realms knowledge somewhere other than my own campaigns 😂

20. What's your favourite fic that you've written?

Well it's a pretty easy answer when there's only one! a sign in the midnight sky. It's not only because it's my only one though, i'm really proud of the outline that I wrote (50k between two docs). The whole series is massive and honestly a bit of an insane project to take on, but there's so much time and research that went into it, and because it's 5 fics planned out from the very start there are threads I've already started laying down for the last fics and it's stupidly intricate, and I'm very excited to share the rest of it because I worked really hard on it!!!

tagging: @allalrightagain @girl-with-goats @gloivy

#felix talks #bmns(smns)#author interview #tag game

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writingquestionsanswered · 2 years

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Hello, I hope you're doing well, and thank you so much for all the help you give the writing community! It's very appreciated~ I was wondering if you have any tips on what to do when you realize you need to make deep structural changes to a story, like changing main plot moments because you need to do major reworking to the story. But specifically, doing these major changes when you're already very attached to the existing plot. A "Kill Your Darlings" kind of thing. Thank you for your time!

When You Have to Kill Your Darlings and Restructure

It's funny you brought this up, because I was just thinking about one of my older stories the other day, and realizing this is what I need to do. And I've done it before, too, so here are some tips...

First and foremost, it's worth taking some time to really think about what has to change and why. Sometimes, when we realize the plot needs an overhaul, it's tempted to feel like you need to go all "scorched earth" on the plot and story elements, but that can be a knee jerk reaction. There may be a way you can keep some of your darlings while getting rid of the ones that truly won't work.

Once you realize what plot elements truly need to go, don't think of it like you're completely pitching them. For one thing, you may think a plot element has to go, but once you're neck deep in the overhaul, you realize something you thought had to go will work after all. Also, you should always, always, always keep a folder of story elements that you cut from your stories, whether that's plot elements, characters, character names, great bits of dialogue, world building details... whatever. Because you never know when you might have a different story where those will work. It can be incredibly reassuring to know those elements are sitting in a folder waiting to be used in another story. It makes it much easier to pull them out of the story because you don't feel like you're "killing" them so much as setting them aside for a story where they'll work better.

After that, you just have to sit down and do the work of re-plotting. If you're like me and you get overwhelmed, feeling like you're looking at a plate of spaghetti, you might try breaking it down into pieces. This is where I find story structure methods really helpful. While I don't like to force my story into any particular structure/method, looking at a particular method (how they break the structure down into parts, like "opening image, theme stated, catalyst," etc. (those are from Save the Cat! Writes a Novel) can help you sort through your plot elements and organize them in a logical way. Another thing that can work well is breaking it down into a scene list. Or, you might find it helpful to write the plot points out on a timeline.

The most important thing of all is not to let yourself get overwhelmed. Take it little by little, and don't focus on what you're cutting out, but on how much more streamlined the story will be once you overhaul it.

Have fun with your story!

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undercoverpena · 1 year

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my writing process

@wildemaven asked a little about how i was writing nowhere to run, so thought it was time to properly break down the process i have [i know people have asked and I've given a short breakdown but here's a more in-depth one]

-> i always begin (for longer pieces) a 'skeleton outline' of what i want to achieve. so, sometimes it's snippets of dialogue that have come to me, and i basically flesh out the whole 'skeleton body' of the story. i don't know the number of chapters as i break them into scenes, and then stitch what i think i can achieve within a roundabout wordcount. for example, for NTR, i try to land around 5k a chapter, for previous, it's been larger.

-> the next thing i do is write the ending. i write this before the beginning to set the 'tone' of what i want to write. it gives me an aim, a direction to head in. it also means i can weave in on the skeleton any main callbacks which would lead us there. it's also a fixed product then, so even if i get a grand idea, i have to come back to the 'why' it matters. often there are drabbles in the folder for the fic that has no impact on the story, but i had to write them to get them out of my head.

-> i then write the beginning scenes, usually. at least the first chapter, i call this the 'muscle and blood' part. so it will usually be 75% there by the end. these are usually the bits i bother friends with and feel i can begin screaming about.

-> once i'm happy with the first chapter, i usually keep writing and fleshing beginning scenes until i'm happy I've got a grasp on both/all characters. sometimes I'll be fleshing/re-hashing these for days and moving/adding things that make the most sense to me as the writer, but also me as the reader. [i'm a strong believer in writing for yourself, so i write what i want to read, and if i'm happy, then that's what matters]

-> i'll normally have an idea of when i can begin posting, i prefer to post as i go because writing the full thing can take time, and it also holds me accountable because what i also do is:

-> i do not write chronologically. writing the first two-three chapters is the hardest freaking thing for me. i write backwards, i write a scene in the middle and then don't approach it again for ages. i am a swine. when i was writing long fiction (not on tumblr), being part of a writing group helped as i had to deliver a chapter each meeting, and that kept me accountable, so it's kind of like this for me

-> before posting, i'll then do a 'jo' edit which is where i sew my scenes together better, I'll likely add more 'jo-prose' and stuff cause i'm prettying the scene rather than telling you what happens. sometimes, i have to make tough calls over whether i want to make it pretty or just tell you, and ugh, i hate it.

-> then i'll do an edit-to-post, (be aware, i'm a little dyslexic so there will likely always be errors, but y'girl tries) and this is normally the day of or the night before i post. this is normally small and minor changes, and then I'll use spell check, Grammarly, etc.

-> for longer series, i try to have at least a few chapters banked to give myself breathing room when i post. currently, i'm one chapter ahead of myself, i'd like to be more, but i had a depressive episode, so i'm now behind.

-> i'm constantly checking in with my ending throughout. just because i have it written first, doesn't mean it remains concrete, things do shift and change but the core 'skeleton' of the ending remains the same because that's what i always set out to do. sometimes more nuance, callbacks or a shift in how they act changes as i develop their relationship so the ending is sometimes a little different in terms of style, approach and dialogue, but the 'action' of what is meant to happen, is always the same.

#mm.writing.tips #writing tips?

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kimium · 9 months

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It’s lunch break so I can finally send you my ask!!! For the fanfic writer ask: 7, 16, 18, 41, 54, and 72!💜

(From this ask HERE)

Thanks for the ask, friend! I am always here to talk about fanfic writing!

7. How do you choose which POV to write from?

There are a few criteria I look at when I choose POV.

-Who do I want to write as? Sometimes I simply have a perspective stuck in my brain, so I decide that's the character to stick with. For example, most of my 10051 fics are in Shouichi's perspective because it's the voice I find the easiest to write.

-Either the character knows nothing or knows everything. Sometimes I want a character swept into a new situation and flounders to learn everything. Sometimes I want a character who knows everything but eventually will have to explain things to another character(s). Example, when I wrote The taste of melon and the weight of a plushie fox, I picked Hajime because he was clueless to the demon customs. On the flip side when I wrote I can't kill you (so we must be destined to be together) I picked Nagito because he knew more and it helped the story flow better.

-The perspective helps tell the overall story and give a clearer picture to the reader. For example, in my Platonic Yandere AU for Twisted Wonderland, I wanted to expand on the dorm leader's thoughts, so I wrote two fics in their perspective.

16. How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Share one of them?

I actually don't have many concrete ideas. I have thoughts such as "I want to write another 10051 fic" or "I want to contribute to the Bar AU sometime". However, the only concrete story idea currently is a Twisted Wonderland fic. It's an AU where Yuu returns home, but can still freely travel to the Twisted Wonderland dimension and vice versa. I want to to frame the travels of the Twisted cast to "coming to rescue Yuu" from boring situations that they're obligated to be at. For example, they're having a family BBQ but one of their uncles is talking politics and Yuu wants to run away.

18. Do you title your fics before, during, or after the writing process? How do you come up with the titles?

I title them whenever I save the document. 99.9% of the time the title I give on the document is the title I use for the fic. This is because it makes it easier for me to sort my stories into folders once they're posted.

How I come up with the titles is unknown. I just allow myself become possessed with the spirit of "titling your fics" and write the first thing that comes to mind.

41. Do you tend to reread fics or are you a one-and-done kind of person?

Depends on the fic. I usually don't reread many fics, but I do sometimes. The ones I end up rereading are actually my own fics. That's why sometimes you'll see me redo an old idea or re-purpose an idea from another fic.

54. What's your favourite part about the fanfiction writing process?

I love when I get into the narration and the words/scenes flow smoothly. This is usually when I have a strong scene in the back of my brain. I love seeing what I've thought about come to life. I also love when I receive comments on my fic. My second favourite part of fic writing ahaha.

72. What order do you write in? Front of book to back? Chronological? Favourite scenes first? Something else?

I write 99.9% of my scenes in chronological order. This is because that's just how my brain works. I need my prior scenes laid out from point A to B. There are a few exceptions, but that's sometimes because I go back and forth between a couple scenes. That's usually because I want to lay out an idea/scene that comes immediately after before I forget it.

#personal #replies #ask game #fic writing ask game #thanks for the ask friend!#i had fun answering!

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riewritten · 1 year

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what do you do when inspiration suddenly hits you? like do you just memorize it in ur head or note it somewhere or do u work on that idea immediately?? im very very curious about ur creative process PLEASE OVERSHARE because i believe there are things that are new to me. like you write and draw and it's amazing how tou do both! i'm more curious about ur writing process because i don't write much (nowadays i only journal or write diary entries, in the past i did write fanfictions but they're almost all oneshots or unplanned dropped after 2 or 3 chapters). (how) do you plan your storyline? do you consider yourself flexible (like are u comfortable with changing plans in a big project where one change could lead to other changes?). Do you beta read by yourself or is there anyone who does it? if you do it by yourself, what do you feel when re-reading your writings? i literally have sm questions but i don't wanna overwhelm you 😭😭😭 you don't need to answer if you don't want to, that's alright!!!

when u said i could overshare

for whenever the inspiration hits, i tend to start on it immediately. writing is such a mood booster for me and i'm in a low mood most of the time so i seize the moment whenever motivation comes :'D sometimes when i'm busy (let's say school/work) and a great idea pops in (usually in quote format), i just lay it down in my gdocs. for oneshots, 1 doc would suffice. for longfics, the docs per chapter are contained in a folder.

i don't think i'm great in fan arts (i just get the boost from those who draw well—like u!) so i'm glad you appreciate it as well <3

regarding my writing process, someone actually asked me about it before! but to generalize my answer there, i ponder on 3 things (plot, characterization, & chapter study). my first fic (and my first series in general) was dusk in the brightest. i worked on chapter study first: detailed sequence of events from C1-10, vague concept in 11-15, then the rest is just 2-3 sentences of how i want the story to end. the 2nd one, character study, was smth i learned from a professor in one of my subjects when i submitted a one-act play script to her and she heavily criticized my characterization (like so badly i still get jitters remembering it) 😭 since then, i've been very wary with getting things accurate and consistent with my characters. for my plot-heavy fics, that's what i'm most serious for.

i think my flexibility (i dont even think i got that) was v challenged during the last arc of DIB because i suddenly had a complete change of mind with the ending (exactly what u had mentioned: changes that would lead one thing to the other). it was def not comfortable but a great tip (i think) to work around it is that: go back to your earlier chapters, pick up the most random scenarios you had made, then come up with a reason why that random thing ensued. an example of executing it is how isayama worked around aot's first scene (child!eren crying & mikasa being the first one he sees) by connecting it to his last scene in the manga (ofc i wouldn't assume isayama just thought abt it midway. it's just with how he executed it).

i don't have lots of friends in this app so i usually do the revisions all by myself. i'm a type of author that releases chapters impulsively—i'd publish smth that i hadn't proofread yet, read it in the app, then just do all the editing there. i'll repeat the process until i finally get satisfied. i think it's easier for me to point out mistakes when i feel the urgency to do so (like omg i have to hurry in polishing this bc readers might click anytime soon 😭) though someone helped me change POVs (from 1st to 2nd) in DIB C1-13 and let me tell u that i never thought having someone help me beta read my work could bring me so much delight.

and pls don't worry about overwhelming me! using this app and dumping all my work here are literally what keeps me sane from the overwhelming things in my life atm. to have u appreciate it gives me joy & comfort. thats why i'd be honored to answer all of ur questions :'D

#can i also just say that i propelled a scream when u sent me this ask #LIKE 🥺🥺🥺#u have my whole heart #rie answers

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