#just based on in game dialogue penny has about both of them

[nutmegpoid]

penny's predicament

#nutmeg art #pokemon #pokemon sv #penny pokemon #carmine pokemon #atticus pokemon #just based on in game dialogue penny has about both of them #and also the player's mom...

[bobfloydssunnies]

THINGS THAT ARE IN THE TOP GUN BOOK BUT NOT THE MOVIE

this list is long and i ramble so idk how much is understandable sorry i just ramble cause i feel some need explanations. I may have missed some difference cause some of it was just a change in dialogue or something simple i tried to just stick with up noticeable differences or things that felt more important. Y'all can ask me about any of these if you want and if i didn't explain it much or like want to see the page in the book.

maverick has a younger brother named Barney who is 3/4 years younger than him 

maverick Dad was a test pilot and was part of testing the F-14s before getting called up to the war

Mavericks dad‘s name is Rick Mitchell, and when he died they gave him a Navy cross but just mailed it to them instead of doing an official ceremony (since they think he's a traitor or whatever shit lie they are telling people)

after they found out they were going to top gun they went out onto the bow of the ship and then yelled into the night that they were getting to go to top gun

they have goose and maverick ride on maverick's motorcycle before they have to go to Miramar they’re just driving around San Diego when they are stopped by California highway patrol because Maverick is speeding (he was going about 115 mph but then when he tells the cop how fast he was going he says he was going Mark .15 or 1/60 the speed of sound)

goose and Maverick got a police escort to base because Maverick talked his way out of the speeding ticket

‘ shit, mav - you saved cougar. looks like the tale got all twisted up crooked somehow’ goose said (after they talked with slider at the bar cause he brings up them taking cougars spot and without ice)

“Figured it out yet” ….“Who’s the best pilot”  (ice) “ i know who the best is” maverick answered “ now i didn’t say the luckiest” (ice) (this was more just like a conversation change but still)

mav jokes goose owes him 50 when him and charlie leave the bathroom (even tho they did nothing)

They have a whole moment of mav getting fully suited up and like going thru the whole pre flight check with him suit and equipment and explaining some of the things he’s wearing and has on him for survival if needed (little details like were so nice and just cool to see)

Goose starts the convo about them flying inverted and that they saw a mig and then mav comes in and brings up more about it ( they both kinda equally talked not just mav with random bits from goose) 

Viper seems aware that charlie and maverick are messing around but idk how much he fully knows he just seems to see/hears them talking before they start flying

They make a point to say mav always keeps his promises especially the ones to himself (the foreshadowing) 

They try to hide charlie and mavs relationship more in the book

The volleyball game starts like 30 minutes before mav is supposed to be at charlies and goose comes to get mav, he tries to get out of it and then goose starts saying ice and slider called mav chicken shit and they need to defend his honor 

Goose and carole were childhood friends to lovers like they started dating in high school and bradley is only 1 and half when they are at top gun ( goose talks about how before they come to visit he is afraid bradley isn’t going to remember him)

Goose also calls carole his lifeline and his reality

We learned where in tennesse carole and goose are from (it’s buck holler) 

They don’t sing great balls of fire at the bar instead goose plays bartender during that scene and bradley isn't with them (goose still says great balls of fire during some of his other lines though)

Penny is never mentioned ( or admirals daughter)

They mention goose putting the ejection lever in pilot position meaning maverick was in control of the ejection commands

After the accident mav is stuck in the water for a while before finally getting into the inflatable raft in his survival pack and he falls asleep or passes out and then when he comes to again he finally pulls goose up on to the raft with him after cutting him free from his parachute and the other debris from the crash (its sunset when he comes to and dark by the time he gets goose on his raft) 

When mav gets checked over by medical he also gets told he should go to therapy every once in a while to talk and he agrees but its obvious he wont do it 

When charlie picks him up after his eval she mentions that she was with carole and bradley while he was in medical and i just am confused by that but whatever they wanted i guess

Charlie also gives him this speech about he just needs some time between him and the accident and that times the only miracle and he said if its a miracle he wants yesterday back so he can have goose back and like they talk more but he blames himself because it was his hand and his brain

They kind of implied that carole and goose had an apartment they were in the middle of moving into cause mav has to pack up what was left in his room on the base

When carole does the speech about goose loving to fly with maverick and that he’d fly without him if he had too, its in the apartment and at the end of the conversation mav hears bradley ask for carole calling her mama ( he calls him baby boy brad) 

Mav calls himself a killer cause it seem like not one willingly want to fly with him each time they go after cause they hint he's with a different RIO each time he flies after the accident

When mav quits he packs all his stuff while the rest of the guys are in the locker room and tells them he is saving them the paperwork

Wolfman gives mav a speech outside the locker room trying to talk him out of quitting before we see him make the phone call to charlie (which is longer in the book) 

The speech with viper takes place on the beach more while viper is out with his son rather than at his house and then out on a walk and he doesn’t explain what duke did to save the other people

His options weren’t just quitting or graduating he was told he could just not finish and go back to his old squadron, go back to top gun and finish cause they weren't that close to graduation or he could quit

Maverick asks Merlin to be his RIO but doesn’t want him to feel forced to so if he hadn’t said yes someone else would have been picked 

hollywood, wolfman and mav seem to be a lot closer than the movie makes them

They had the wingman speech take place in the ready room instead of on the deck and maverick is literally in his underwear it sounds like cause they make the comment his pants are down around his ankles (which what a funny thing like they are all in the locker room changing after they had the moment on the deck)

Mav also takes the tape with goose name off his locker before he throws his dogtags out to see (which was stupid imo cause he still holds on to his dads navy cross)

We see maverick start his instructor gig at top gun with his first class before the last bar scene with charlie (who is back cause she has a new job that brought her back to top gun)

#top gun 1986 #top gun (book) #i am so sorry this is so long #idk what to put in the tags so I'll tag some characters but not a lot just to not be annoying #pete 'maverick' mitchell #tom 'iceman' kazansky #nick ‘goose’ bradshaw

[aito-mation]

over the hedge (2006) could very easily have been another middling 00's cg disaster w an all-star cast, forgettable and kinda phoned-in like open season or happily n'ever after (which came out the same year) but i think its actually a thoughtful adaptation w a lot of really good qualities. its about deprivation and want, found family and stepping on others to get ahead, and (sub)urbanization encroaching on nature, and it has an emotional core n im deadass !!

its based on a newspaper comic that centers on rj the raccoon and verne the box turtle, who live in the woods behind a ritzy suburb and menace n befriend its inhabitants. the comic is usu 4-5 panels per comic, and story arcs can stretch across multiple comics. there r a lot of characters that come and go, both human and animal, tho the core group usually stays at three characters-rj, verne, and someone else relevant to the current arc. so it couldve been questionable to extend that core group of characters from three to eleven (11!) in the movie, but i think it really works out. they position rj as the main character, and the other characters have an existing connection with verne, so act as an extension of him and his character arc. hammy is based on a character from the comics, but altered a bit, and stella, penny lou and the kids, and ozzie and heather are all original for the movie. and they all get equal time with rj, at no point in the movie do u forget about any of them-the exact opposite actually, we learn things abt them every time theyre on screen. its a really great use of screen time and dialogue.

and the character arcs! in the comics, verne is the more philosophical, searching one, and hes more often than not the loser at the end of things, often the butt of jokes, contrasting rj, who is more cynical, an indulgent slacker who only puts effort into slacking, often making the aforementioned jokes. they have a charming and humorous relationship, tho it is very much established. the movie however, reads as a sort of prequel to that relationship-rj and verne meet for the first time abt 15 mins in. it also makes some changes to their characters-verne is the cautious, tactless psuedo-patriarch of a cross-species family while rj is a lonely starving scavenger who has to scheme for the things he needs. the inciting incident, a broken vending machine convincing rj to steal food from a hibernating bear acquaintance of his, which is then all destroyed, leading to him making a deal with the bear to get it all back in just one week, could lead u to believe his motivation is greed-hes a little raccoon, and he didnt need to take all that food. but the rest of the movie reveals his motivation is longing, and loneliness.

the opening credits are layered over a sequence of rj scrounging in the garbage for something to eat. when he meets verne and his family of foragers, they r frightened by a new hedge in their forest, which surrounds a new 54-acre housing development, and wondering how theyre going to find enough food to hibernate the following year. rj sees this as an opportunity to trick them into helping him collect the food he needs for the bear from the suburb. their first disastrous encounter with a human initially throws a wrench in that, prompting rj to lie about losing his own family to gain sympathy and trust from them. but over time, he begins to actually care for them-he's shown playing video games with the baby porcupines, listening to music with heather, encouraging ozzie in his acting, even checking up on hammy when one of rj's plans gets him hurt; in their final heist, he changes the way everyone sees stella, showing her that she's more than just her smell. but the very real danger of being eaten by a bear remains rj's motivation until the final act, and we r shown up to that point that rj does not think he can get anything simply by asking.

which is a great contrast to verne, whose initial motivation is altruistic-he's worried abt the safety and survival of his family, whom he's responsible for. they already had barely enough to survive, and now almost the entire forest is gone around them. verne feels threatened by rj's charisma and seeming capability, and intimidated by the unknown world of the suburb, which turns into jealousy, as the rest of the family warms up to rj and his ideas and change. in an attempt to get things back to normal after a pest exterminator comes to their suburb, verne inadvertently destroys all the food his family had collected earlier in a sick montage, leading to an argument where verne says some insulting and hurtful things. sort of expelled from the family, feeling chastised, verne reflects on his feelings and behavior, and comes to rj to apologize. at the same time, rj is realizing that he's kinda fucked-he doesn't have the food he needs, and he's torn apart a family in the process. he's about to come clean and tell verne the truth, when, in a parallel of the beginning of the movie, he sees the opportunity to have everything he wants-the food and the family. so they put together one final plan, to get everything in one night, and it works, until it doesnt, and the truth comes out and rj abandons them, allowing verne and his family to be caged by the exterminator while he takes the food to give to vincent (the bear). but faced with the reality of that decision, watching the family he always wanted be carted away to be killed, rj changes his mind, taking the food from vincent's hands to go back and save his friends.

their reunion is intense and funny and immensely satisfying. you're glad rj made the right decision, that verne apologized and was forgiven, and the mad-dash escape from vincent and the exterminator culminates in an impossible plan that works out bc its an anthro kids movie, of course it would have a happy ending. after the antagonists r defeated, there's a scene where verne formally invites rj into their family, and tells him that if he'd been honest with them, told them he needed the food to pay back an angry bear, they would've helped him. bc that's what families do. and rj says "i've never had anything like that," correcting his lie from earlier. and the but ive always wanted it goes unsaid, bc he has it now, and he knows that.

#stfu aito #perhaps this could b written better. but ive been thinking abt this movie for weeks. #long post #over the hedge #over the hedge 2006

[codingpoodle]

Some SDV oversights that bug me a bit in no particular order

Some are nitpicks, others may warrant an eyebrow raise. I still have respect and much love for this one-man passion project :)

Shane’s 14-heart/marriage: I feel like if you’re going to add a sensitive topic, you shouldn’t make it into a punchline for something comedic. I didn’t play SDV before you could marry Shane/Emily, so maybe the newer content was patched in and therefore there are some continuity errors, but it seemed a bit careless at best. Also if Joja is out can Shane please work the Ranch store my animals were starving because SOMEBODY (*cough* Marnie) wasn’t behind the counter again (plus it was Winter). 

Penny’s 2-heart: I didn’t notice it the first time, but upon seeing the scene again she pushed George’s wheelchair away?!?! Like, that’s a HUGE no-no! Don’t touch people’s aids without permission! And the fact that the “correct” dialogue choice is to side with Penny? This scene definitely could’ve been done better. 

Sam and Kent: If Kent’s PTSD gets a scene, I feel like that needs to be carried out with his schedule while Sam is jamming. Maybe I’ve seen their schedules at the wrong times. I’ve seen fics where this is more acknowledged and it works well with both characters. 

You can’t befriend all NPCs who are consistently in the game: Gunther? Marlon? Gil? I think they’d be an interesting trio. Also the Gotoro Goods smuggler. The creator behind her portrait for SDV Expanded did a really good job! If Gus can be befriended I think these folks could get similar treatment.

Joja prices are not consistent with the message of the (early) game: Pierre’s was consistently cheaper. Only reason to go to Joja was when Pierre’s was closed. If the whole point was that Joja was cheaper and more efficient, wouldn’t you want to put pressure on the farmer, who just had a quarter life crisis and left with practically no money, to have to come crawling back to Joja to get started? It’d be pretty ironic, too. Just don’t see a point if Joja is going to be more expensive anyway unless the message is everything’s more expensive unless you get a membership and suddenly the prices get slashed in half. But based on what lots of NPCs say (namely Jodi), there seems to be a continuity error here.

The bus: Lewis says it was out of order for decades, but that doesn’t seem to align with the dialog Pam says about being laid off, unless she’s referring to driving other buses. She did mention she used to drive trucks though. Idk, a bus stop being out of order for decades seems weird for the timeline.

Harvey and Maru: I like both as characters but there are some lines that made me a little uncomfy~. It could be that Maru is older than I think but the way she’s written she seems to be 21-22 and Harvey is easily mid-late-30s. Just feels a little off. I even naturally age the bachelors/bachelorettes up (since all of them accept alcohol as a gift (except Penny but for obvious reasons) to all at least be 21, then go from there but Maru just seems like that young gifted child. Something similar can be said for Sam but he acts even younger that I honestly can’t bring myself to romance him (or Maru) -- it just feels weird. 

Haley and Emily’s parents: Damn, how long are they gonna travel the world! If Kent can come home I think it would’ve bene fun to get to know their parents! 

Kinda wish Jas and Vincent had heart events: Vincent alludes to not remembering Kent well (and maybe I’m not at enough hearts with him but Kent seems to run out of dialog pretty quickly) and Jas (and Shane for that matter) 100% has trauma from losing both parents. Maybe these subjects would’ve gotten a little too heavy.

Harvey still charges you after marriage: I get why CA didn’t give spouses perks, but goddamn Harvey :( I just had a fat finger moment and didn’t escape. 

[callmederok]

i’m replaying HPHM from zero

This fact alone proves my masochism

but what Jam City did bad isn’t the story(i mean they did, since the first half of year 5, the main plot went downhill, and now it’s a bloody abyss filled with disappointment) in this case at least.

Premise: I blame all of this on JC’s writing(that i won’t comment, because even the most horrible, tainting, shaming insult would still be a huge compliment for JC’s writing)

In this case, I mean Dumbledore:

Yep, my top3 Harry Potter character(top1 Ron top2 Nigel bc memes, if you’re italian you’ll understand, say hi to Trono del Muori XD)

Recently(2 days ago, lol) a new main story update came out and something sparked in my mind, (more like it got highlighted but still): How emotionally useless Dumbledore is.

I explain: What i mean by “emotionally useless“?

When the words of comfort or encouraging or any argument that should help you go through your pain, grief, sadness. Sounds a bit weird i agree, but it’s the whole point of Dumbledore in HPHM: he has a rough past(Ariana, Kendra, Grindelwald, and everything in between) similar to canon MC(Father left around when they were 4 years old, Jacob disappeared soon after that, MC is left with their mother, and SO FAR we don’t know if she got married again or how she managed to raise 2 kids, passionate and hyperactive like Jacob and MC), and yet in several of the dialogues between Albus and MC, Albus seems unable to relate to MC, and because of that, he fails to either help him or stop him.

Some of you may say that Dumbledore is “secretly” approving, but based on the recent chapter and his words during it...I really doubt it.

Ultimately, Dumbledore wants MC to stop to dealing with the vaults, with R and every possible drama related to both of them, otherwise Expulsion from Hogwarts. But how many times Dumbledore send MC into obvious troubles?

The “Let’s find Remus Lupin“ is literally Dumbledore sending MC to face a werewolf, knowingly that Remus may not have a wolfsbane with him, ultimately MC fights a werewolf, but isn’t Remus but Penny’s muggle best friend Scarlet.

Or what about the Godric’s Sword SQ, where Dumbledore asks MC to retrieve Merula and if MC fails, NO Halloween Party for everyone (basically blackmailing MC)

Both SQs made me question ”Why MC?“ I mean aside the fact that MC is the MC of the story (XD) why would Dumbledore out MC in these situations? Out of trust? He trusts the same kid that he kept telling them “Stay away from the vaults“ and said kid blatantly ignored him? You trust a liar?! Who in their right mind would do that!?(aside, Dumbledore...i guess)

Then in the main story we have Dumbledore only speaking but never acting upon his “threats“, the only time he wasn’t in the great hall giving speeches or in his office...giving enigmatic speeches, it’s in fourth year when he is in the forbidden forest, right after MC broke the third curse(sleepwalking) and he punishes MC for disobeying.

On one side i understand why he is punishing MC(bc MC didn’t comply to his “orders“) but on the other he does nothing to grasp why MC is doing that, despite his past(related to Ariana’s death): MC wants to save Jacob: this is a fact, no need for proofs aside the game itself.

And yet Dumbledore completely ignores MC’s attempts to explain or brushes them off with “Let the teachers do their job“...but this is the only time when Dumbledore actually does something other than...being in the great hall or his office, and even then, he doesn’t do much, the threat of the sleepwalking curse is over, Dumbledore is just there complaining of MC’s behavior...but again, without really taking over MC who is busy saving Hogwarts.

MC ultimately saves Hogwarts over and over, but the reason is that MC is succeeding where adults of decades of experience failed multiple times(i remember a few lines about it, and i’m replaying the game because i want to take a screenshot of it).

That’s what i mean with “emotionally useless“, something that not only doesn’t help someone, but is also detrimental to their emotional health. Dumbledore’s speeches don’t help MC, they fuel MC’s determination instead because Dumbledore’s overall uselessness as a character/person, he is someone that it’s supposed to be kind, selfless, a bit shady(bc his secret plans) but rarely acts and even more rarely he acts WHEN it matters.

I conclude by saying that i hate how JamCity treated Dumbledore, i mean in the fifth book, Dumbledore has this fantastic and wholesome speech with a furious Harry(bc Sirius just died, and he learned about the prophecy), in that instance Dumbledore looks weak and tired but also extremely human, something that maybe happens twice in HPHM, one of those times during a SQ(a Christmas one...which isn’t a compliment...it’s just sad)

I’m...just disappointed...

#jam city sucks #HPHM #HPHM dumbledore #albus percival wulfric brian dumbledore #MC hphm #HPHM MC #HPHM rant

[palimpsessed]

Writerly Ephemera

I was tagged by @amywaterwings @mostlymaudlin @tea-brigade @effing-numpties @captain-aralias @bloodiedpixie . This is so cool, so thanks for sharing yours! ❤️

Per Amy: We add little bits of ourselves to our writing, scattering memories and places and phrases and things into our stories. The game is to find five examples of this, of YOU, in your writing and show everyone.

I don’t really feel like I put much of my own experiences into my fic, probably because I don’t feel like I have a lot of experiences to pull from. (That’s not me being self-deprecating; that’s me never going anywhere or doing anything.) So, let’s see what we come up with!

Going to tag here. I feel like I’ve gotten to this late so I’m not sure who has been tagged. Anyway. No pressure, loves. Just saying hi. 🥰 @theflyingpeach @bazzybelle @otherworldsivelivedin @unseelieseelie @wetheformidables @caitybug @nightimedreamersworld @foolofabookwyrm @stillmadaboutpetra

1. I have put the most of myself into A Man of Letters. I have my degree in English Lit and when I was in college, I was at the height of my Jane Austen obsession. So I sort of built my degree around the development of the English novel. My senior thesis was on a book called Evelina by Frances Burney, who was one of Austen’s greatest literary influences. Evelina is an epistolary novel—told entirely in letters. I love the epistolary form, for the same reason I love dialogue and texting fics. It’s such a fun narrative technique and can reveal so much about individual characters. It’s actually a bit like the way Rainbow Rowell uses multi POV in her books. Anyway, my love of the epistle was on full display in this fic, which is ofc told in letters. —Do I share a passage? That’s like...the whole fic 😅 So, idk. Here’s Simon being a disaster as he meditates on letter writing:

Dear Penny,

As I start this letter, I already know I'm not going to post it. I know I won't be able to bring myself to do it, because of what I have to say to you. I do feel bad. It's not that I don't want to tell you. And you know I'm so much better at writing things down than saying them out loud. It's only that I feel like this would all sound better coming from me in person. I just don't think I'll be able to make you understand in a letter. I'm still trying to understand myself. And writing all of this down helps me with that. Even if I'm only pretending to write to you, it makes me feel better, to think of you on the other end. I promise I really will tell you everything as soon as we're together again.

2. Also for A Man of Letters, my fascination with Regency fashions, in particular the dandy, was a major factor. I did an art book about this, comparing how fashion has changed over time, especially in regard to gender. (I also did an art book based on Evelina, since I’m on the subject. I minored in book art. 😁) I always fancied the look of a Regency dandy, so that was my gift to Baz.

Whoever has been working their magic on Salisbury should in fact be the person to whom I offer my eternal devotion. Alas, I am left to flounder under the burden of lusting after a man who is incapable of dressing himself.

The utter and unmitigated shame.

Salisbury wore a forest green wool frock coat that set off the golden highlights in his brown locks. This was accented with a green and aubergine striped silk waistcoat that was trimmed in white piping and felt much too daring a pattern for the man. (I don't care if he was a soldier; it takes a hardier man than him by half to choose a stripe like that.) His charcoal trousers were enticingly snug, but not so much to prove lethal. His cravat and points left much to be desired, though that likely reflected poorly on his ability to keep himself in order, rather than the ability of his valet. (Good God, maybe the man doesn't even have a valet!)

3. When it came to my countdown fic, To the Manor Borne, I had Shep make a reference to Cluedo, because Pitch Manor would be perfect for a real life game. Behind that, is the fact that my family played a lot of Clue and I watched the movie a whole bunch growing up, to the point where my sister and I used to quote it to each other. This was a way to pay homage to that. He also talks about playing the game Murder in the Dark, which was one I played at Halloween as a kid. One of my cousins was dressed as a ghoul with glow in the dark face paint and we were in my grandma’s creepy upstairs. Perfect vibes.

I’ve seen the kitchen and the dining room and the library and the study and the parlor. Walking through this house is like playing Clue. (They call it Cluedo on this side of the pond, because they like to be difficult.) (That was a whole thing. Do not get me started.)

I keep thinking Colonel Mustard’s going to pop up out of nowhere and brain me with a lead pipe.

And:

What kind of games do you play with magickal friends who don't have magic? Twister? Not with the wings and tail. Cards? Baz and Penny would cheat. Or accuse everyone else of cheating if they didn't win. Murder in the dark? With these people, in this house, I knew it would turn literal fast, and also it was like ten in the morning. Hide and seek? Simon and I would hide and everyone else would ditch. Snowball fight? World War III.

4. I’ve referenced Mozart in my fics a couple of times because when I was first getting into classical music, I was listening to a lot of Mozart. My sister had a CD of some of his early symphonies, and my local classical station does “Mozart in the Mornings” which happened to fit in the exact time slot between two morning classes I had my first year in college. I’d go sit in my car with a cup of tea, and just vibe with Mozart as my soundtrack. I’ve name dropped him in both A Man of Letters and To the Manor Borne. Also, Mozart wrote 12 variations on the melody shared by Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, which is a lovely tie in. (I also had the gang sing/cast The Holly and the Ivy, which is one of my favorite Christmas carols, and by strange coincidence was playing on the radio at the same time I wrote that scene. 🥰)

"It's a songbook," I tell him, like he can't figure that out for himself. "Did you know that Mozart wrote twelve different versions of the same song?"

He's laughing. "Mozart did not write Twinkle, twinkle, little star, Simon."

"You know what I mean."

"He composed twelve variations for solo piano on the French folk melody Ah! Vous dirai-je, maman."

"Sure. Anyway, this is for the violin. For you to play."

He's still laughing, and I'm trying to figure out what's so funny, but then he kisses me again, on the lips this time, so I figure maybe I'm still doing okay.

Only one more to go! What will it be? 👀

5. Therapy! Eheheh...😅 Look, it’s no secret the gang needs it. And tbh, so do I. Haven’t actually managed to get myself to go yet, and I think that’s where a lot of my “send them to therapy” happy endings come from. I did it in Use Your Words and To the Manor Borne. I started Chamber by Chamber with SnowBaz already in therapy, and then structured the whole thing around therapy that they give to each other and to themselves. It didn’t really fit in A Man of Letters, but if it had, I absolutely would have done it. I’ve only shared from two fics so far, and since it could kind of spoil the ending to Use Your Words (tho saying this may be spoiler anyway...), here are two snippets from It’s a Kind of Magic, Part I of Chamber by Chamber.

I've been working on articulating my needs. We both have. Ordinarily, I'd be afraid of pushing him away by making demands when he's on the verge of a spiral, but my therapist insists that I can't go on treating Simon with kid gloves. If I never ask him for anything, he'll think he doesn't have anything to give.

And

When I told that to my therapist, she said that I needed to talk it out of me and she'd help me find ways to work through it all. She said I needed to talk it out with Baz, too, so that he'd know how to help me when things got bad again—that was something else she said, that things would get bad again, and that I'd need to be prepared for that. That I couldn't expect things to be easy, and just go away.

6. BONUS! I think the biggest way I include bits of myself is in the AUs I’ve chosen to write. I have three I’m planning that say a lot about me, so I’m going to talk a bit about them here. There is ofc my Scooby Doo AU, inspired in large part by the fact that I watched it all the time growing up and also, my sister continues to be obsessed with it. When we were young, my parents were doing a lot of work on their house and we’d take family trips to the hardware store. My sister and I hated it, so we’d wait in the car with my mom and she would entertain us with “Scooby Doo stories”. Other AUs I’m planning? Troop Beverly Hills—please tell me someone else out there loved this movie the way I did when I was 5. It was very influential to baby me and I remember wishing for nothing more than being able to dress like Shelley Long. So, I’m going to let Baz do it, because I think he deserves it. 🥰 Lastly, tho it will probably be the first I write, is my Cupid and Psyche AU, from when I was heavy into mythology and religion. Since these are all forthcoming projects, I don’t really have a snippet. Instead, here’s Baz comparing Simon to Eros, which is what started my brain on that particular AU.

I am lost. I barely know anything about Salisbury, but I can't help being drawn in. At one time, I could have comforted myself that I was only so smitten with him because he looks like he was sculpted by Praxiteles. That excuse grows weaker with every encounter. He's the furthest thing from a lifeless tribute to beauty in marble as one can be. There is something deep and dark and feral inside of him and I want to claw it out. I want to see it, to let it free. To taste his wildness and his pain.

#tag game #writerly ephemera

[drrrsankai-blog]

Reality TV Show Writing Meme!

Rules:

- Choose 6 OC's canon characters.

- Put your OC's names in list of numbers and answer the questions with your OC's names instead of the number, write at least 100 words to answer.

- Once an OC is evicted, you must choose the next consecutive number to fill in the question. E.g. If [1] is evicted, choose [2]. If [6] is evicted, go back round to [1]. (I fucked this part up but idc)

Cast:

1. Aoba

2. Shizuo

3. Namie

4. Ran

5. Shingen

6. Erika

Warning:

OOC (gets worse as it goes along honestly), c r a c k, dark humor, insanity, and Namie being Namie (and Erika being Erika...).

1. Welcome to the House! Introduce the OC's and what their luxury item would be.

[1] Aoba: Luxury item? A pool.

[2] Shizuo: Another pack of cigarettes. *doesn't know what it is*

[3] Namie: Well, there's not much of anything that comes to mind... except a fine night out with my darling Seiji~

[4] Ran: Fucking ew.

[5] Shingen: Hmm...hm, hm, hm. I need to think about this one...

[6] Erika: All the doujinshis on my wishlist!

2. There are 3 bedrooms, 1 with 2 double beds, 1 with 2 single beds and 1 with only 2 matresses on the floor. Who pairs up with whom, is there an argument over who should get the better room, and how is this resolved?

No one's happy, except Erika who comments that it feels like a sleepover (and Ran who yells out that 'we're literally living together for this'). However, Namie has already grabbed Erika's arm to lead her into the room with two single beds, because 'the only man she'll sleep in a room with is Seiji'. Erika doesn't get time to object before the door slams behind them. Leaving only the other four...

Shingen rubs his chin, trying to decide which remaining options were better. If he chose the room with the double bed, he surmised he might get lonely since there'd be no other weight in it, so the mattresses on the floor sounded like a better option.

Shizuo heads into the room with the double beds. No one follows him in.

Aoba and Ran look at each other, mutually scowling the thought of having to share a room with the blonde, then scowl at each other. Ultimately, they decide on taking the room with the mattresses on the floor.

By the time Shingen makes his decision, he finds everyone gone and the room he had decided on occupied. With a droop of his shoulder and a small, disappointed sigh, he heads into the double-bedded room with Heiwajima.

Then...

"Wait a minute, this is my house! Why the hell don't I get to call the shots?!"

Namie, laying in bed and staring up at the ceiling, hearing Shingen's voice: What an idiot.

3. Now they've decided where they're sleeping, they make their way to the living room but find that it is empty expect for a few large and heavy boxes which hold the furniture which [1] and [4] have been told to put together within a time limit, how well do they do?

Aoba: Do I look like someone with a body who can handle all this hard labor?

Ran: Thanks a fucking lot, pipsqueak.

Aoba: Seriously. Why can't we make Heiwajima do it?

Ran: Because he'll crush our fucking skulls?

Aoba: Oh.

Aoba: Well, if I told him you asked, then I'll both live and not have to do it.

Ran: *throws an empty box at him*

4. The furniture's together, now for dinner and a rest! [2] and [5] are designated for cooking first. What do they cook? Do they work well together? Does their cooking go down well?

Shingen: *wearing an apron, flattening dough with a rolling pin* I'm baking a cake~! Teehee~

Sheenwuh: *walks through the door, notices Shingen, and then walks back out it*

Shizuo: Um.

Shizuo just sits on the couch eating potato chips instead.

5. A few days pass and a relationship is growing between [3] and [6], is it a good one or is it a bad one? What measures are made to make their relationship blossom, or stop them from attacking each other on sight?

Erika: *talking nonstop about BL, cosplay, and anime*

Namie's internal dialogue: [shut up shut up SHUT THE FUCK UP]

Namie ends up leaving, throwing Shingen out and angrily informing Heiwajima he has a new roommate.

Shizuo is actually taken aback and does not argue.

6. A week has passed and it's time for an eviction! Someone hasn't put in their penny's worth and needs to be gotten rid of. Choose one OC, and have them say their weepy, or exuberant, goodbyes.

Ran: Good fucking riddance.

Namie: *bored voice, dull tone* I'm so sad.

Erika: Aw, maybe next time. :(

Shizuo: Do I know you?

Shingen: Do I know you either?

Aoba: I'm a student. I don't have a job. I can't pay rent. What do you expect?

7. There's a siren in the middle of the night! [1] has tried to escape with [3] as accomplice, however they are both caught, who blames whom, and what is their punishment? Do the other house-mates suffer for it?

Aoba: I'm still here?

Ran: You're still here? Great.

Namie: Why did I agree to this...?

Shingen: For money?

Everyone looked at the floor where there were several pieces of glass from the window having been broken.

Shingen: Well, if you win, you can use it to pay me back~!

Namie: Can't wait...

8. The next task appointed for them arrives in the form of a letter and a pack of bendy wires. They pick up the letter and read that housemates [2] and [4] must make a cube using the fewest number of wires possible within 30 minutes of time. Do they manage it?

Ran: What the fuck? Why?

Shizuo: Uh, nah.

9. That evening, they find alcohol in the refridgerator and a karaoke machine in the living room. However, it is incredibly hard to set up and it's instructions are in Japanese. [5] and [6] are bullied into geting it sorted. How do they get on?

Erika: *staring hard at the instructions* Well, I recognize the characters... It's just...

Shingen: Those bastards! This isn't the version I ordered!

Erika: ...this is in Chinese, not Japanese.

10. Eviction time! Eviction this time is based upon house-mates behaviour and performance in the last week, and sadly, [1] and [3]'s escape attempt has not impressed the higher hand. [1] or [3] must go, choose, and have them say goodbye.

Aoba: I thought I left 6 questions ago...?

Namie: *leaves without a second thought*

Shingen: What about my window???

Shingen looked at Aoba who merely shrugged his shoulders. Then it occrured to him...

"You two were really going to climb down from a 30 story building...?"

"The danger makes it exciting."

Namie, thinking to herself: I was thinking of just going down the fire escape, but okay.

11. Confessions Time! Having been together for two weeks, how do the house-mates feel about the others? How do they feel about the evictions? Let's listen to them now.

Erika: Kishitani-san is okay for a roommate. He's kind of odd, though...

Ran: You want to talk about being weird?

Shingen: You're okay yourself, Karisawa. A bit hard to follow, but okay.

Ran: My little rat-think of a brother is finally gone. Couldn't be better.

*phone rings*

Shingen: Hold on a moment.

Shingen: Hello?

Sheenwuh: Dad, when can I come home?

Shingen: Anytime, son.

Sheenwuh: No, I mean, when is whatever's going on over?

Shingen: Can't hear you either, son, roger. *hangs up*

Shizuo: ...

Shizuo: Do I have to be here or can I leave too?

12. [1] and [4] have become very close, and [6] is jealous and decides to confront [4] about it, what happens?

Erika: Wow, so you miss your brother after all~!

Ran: What??

Aoba: *peeks through hole in the wall* Peekaboo!

Ran: *screams*

Erika: Ah, brotherly love... I think that'll be the next BL manga theme I read about...!

Shizuo:

Shizuo: I've decided that I'm killing myself instead.

13. Their next task is to simply tidy the house, however, they have to do it blindfold, [5] cheats and [2] does nothing, such disobedience so late in the game earns them a time-out and their luxury item is taken away, how do they cope?

Shingen: Ooh~! Kinky.

Shizuo: I'm going to be next to jump out this fucking window I swear to god--

Erika: (But nobody actually jumped out the window...);

14. Due to the cheating in the previous task, the electricity in the building is cut, and the living room is locked off from them. [4] suggests a game of hide-and-seek, does anyone get injured in the dark? Does anyone take this moment to be naughty with another housemate?

Ran: Anyone wanna play Hide-and-Get-Hammered?

Shingen: Is that a drinking game, I see?

Ran: Heh.

Erika: I'm pretty that's not how it's played... or what Izumii-kun means... *she inclines her head, trying to see if Ran's holding something behind him*

15. The living room is open to them again and inside is a television, an XBOX and four Guitar Hero guitars, a not stuck on the television let's them know that it is a play-off between [3] and [6].

Who wins, and did they realise the loser would be evicted?!

Neither of the two are particularly interested in video games, but it gets pretty heated between them (Ran and Erika). Ran calls her a "fujo bitch" throughout, and Erika wins by sticking her bare foot in his lap and freaking him out, causing him to fall onto the floor (and into the loser's seat).

Ran: Yeah, whatever. Fuck this.

Erika: Well, Kishitani-san, it looks like it's just you and me.

Shingen: That it seems.

Shizuo: Uh, guys... I'm still here...

16. With only three house-mates left, tension starts to rise, [1] becomes super-competitive and starts taking over any tasks given to them. [1] accepts a task before even hearing it, and it's challenging them to sit in a bath of maggots for half an hour.

How does [1] react and do they complete the task?

Shizuo: That's fucking disgusting.

Erika: But you said you'd do anything...

Shizuo: *stares at her, eyebrow twitching*

Erika: ...OK.

17. Another Confession. Poor [2] is starting to suffer from cabin fever and is sure the others are out to get them. Let's listen to their ranting.

Shizuo: You know what? Fuck these nutjobs. *leaves*

18. The house-mates realise they are quite quickly running out of food, and find three unlabelled tins in a cupboard, with blindfolds next to them and a letter explaining that two tins are sliced peaches, one is dog-food, they must each choose a tin with their blindfolds on.

Who gets the dog-food, and evicted?

Erika: *walking in the direction of Kadota's place, smiling* Aw, I hope Dotachin's dog will like this brand...

19. The final task denotes the winner of the entire game, the final two house-mates are given an envelope, inside is the instrutions of their last task, they simply are.

"Choose."

Does this shock them? Do they choose themselves as the winner or the other? Do they give their own victory up, or are they selfish?

"Dad, I fucking live here."

"Hmm. I guess that makes both of us the victors, then?"

"Dad, why is there no food in the house?" the brunette asks, looking through the fridge. Then he looks towards the balcony and nearly screams.

"WHY IS THE WINDOW BROKEN???"

20. Now it's (quite abruptly) over, tag someone!

I will not but you can steal it. xD

#Aoba #Shingen #Erika #Namie #Ran #writing memes #I am tired goodnight

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

I really want to read the post where you say "why Ravenclaw is the House that suits MC the most in the main story" but I dont find it

I haven’t ever made a full length post about it, come to think of it. I’ve talked about it in previous Ask responses but admittedly I have quite a few of those. So I suppose now is as good a time as any! 

Ultimately, HPHM’s story is designed so that any House can work for Jacob’s Sibling. Obviously, no one House is “canon” over the others. But in my personal opinion, certain Houses do make more sense for different reasons. Everything can change based on how you characterize MC, but setting aside the dialogue choices, they tend to have a general personality that fills in for most of the scenes. It’s average, a kind of “everyman” type. And certain choices can arguably be considered “canon” when they’re the ones that are free, placed next to choices that are locked behind attributes or friendship checks. That is the general vision of MC that I’ll be analyzing. 

But first, the characters. 

One of the primary reasons that MC fits Ravenclaw the best in the Main Story is because there are several characters who are aligned to MC in their Sorting. They always follow MC to whatever House they go to. Thus it becomes a question of which house suits them the most. Rowan Khanna, I think, speaks for them-self. I could see them in any House but they are a Ravenclaw through and through. I bet the only reason they ever get Sorted anywhere else is because they ask the Hat to let them follow MC. They are absolutely brilliant, with a love of reading and learning new things. They’re eccentric as well, deeply creative and good at coming up with plans. They dream of being a Professor, and they turn to books above all else. Next we have Jacob. Another character who could go anywhere based on interpretation, but he strikes me as a Ravenclaw too. Several of the options you can give when expressing speculation about him suggest that the reason he probably investigated the Vaults in the first place was his thirst for knowledge, his desire to know their secrets. To be specific, his stubborn and obsessive need to know. I feel like Jacob couldn’t let this go until he had learned all of the hidden magic and secrets of the Vaults, until he realized far too late that he was in over his head, mixed up with R and everything. 

Then there is Flitwick. A canon Ravenclaw of course, and one of the four Heads of House. It could be coincidental, but even if it is, Flitwick is easily the most developed of the Heads of House within this game. McGonagall is totally in character, but she’s part of the sideline outside of a small section of Year 2. Sprout contributes absolutely nothing, and Snape is likewise in character, but lacking anything to do until Rakepick shows up. Flitwick prepares MC for the first duel with Merula and gives them counsel. I suppose it’s not that much more than McGonagall teaching them the revealing spell in Year 2, but this felt so much more personal. You have the chance to make a promise to Flitwick, and either keep it or break it. In Year 4, he is I think the only teacher to speak up in Rakepick’s defense, and this leads into even further development of his character. By Year 5, he starts to warn MC not to investigate the Portrait Curse, but stops mid-sentence as he realizes that nothing he can say will stop them. I bring all of this up because Flitwick being such a fleshed out character in this game kind of goes hand in hand pretty well with the idea that he is MC’s Head of House. He is the only Head who shows the slightest bit of remorse when banning MC from Hogsmeade. With him, you really get the sense that he’s being overruled and doesn’t agree with it. That he’s in MC’s corner. And god I love him.  I won’t stray too far into the Quidditch characters, but I will say that Murphy and Orion are two other characters that stick with MC, who I could very much see as Ravenclaws, both in different ways. But still, it’s Jacob and Rowan who are most important in affecting the story.

Which brings me to the story itself. 

Hogwarts Mystery is different from the story of Harry Potter. This is the tale of Jacob and his Sibling. In HP, we know from the beginning who the villain is, that he’s an evil monster. We know what he wants, and that he failed. It gets fleshed out more later but everything you need to know is in that first book. We see him, he clashes with Harry, and loses. The books are a hero’s journey. A story of good versus evil. They do have mystery aspects, each of the books has a mystery told within it’s pages. But the overarching story is not about what’s hidden in the trapdoor, or who opened the chamber of secrets. It’s about Harry and Voldemort’s rivalry, their hero/villain dynamic. Everyone knew going into DH that Harry would defeat him in the end because that’s how these things go. OOTP basically confirmed it but most fans had known for years. 

HPHM is different. 

There are heroic moments, and Merula in particular compares MC to being a “hero.” But nothing they do is heroic in the same way as Harry. They both take active roles in the story but in different ways. Harry is still reactionary. He takes it upon himself to solve the problems, but he still waits until the problems show up. MC plans to open the Vaults even before the Curses show themselves. They arrive at Hogwarts with a goal in mind, finding Jacob. And with Hogwarts Mystery, the overarching story is not a hero’s journey. Because MC is so much more ambiguous than Harry. It might seem redundant to say that this story is a Mystery, but it is. An ongoing investigation, the unraveling of a conspiracy. Learning the truth about just what went down during Jacob’s years at Hogwarts. By HBP, Voldemort was such a familiar presence that we were learning the ins and outs of his childhood, right down to how his parents met. By Year 6, we still have no idea what R really is, or what they want. We don’t even know what it stands for. The black and white of the books, the heroes and the villains...that’s all replaced with shades of gray. Jacob is constantly in the gray. So is Rakepick, at least at first. Don’t get me started on Merula. Ben is another character who is definitely good, but has gone through such a roller coaster about who he is and whether he can be trusted. 

Then there’s the ambiguity of MC them-self. The hints that they don’t share everything with people, are prone to tricking others, and for all we know, might wind up on the Dark Side someday. I’ll admit, this can also lend itself well to MC being a Slytherin, and indeed there are dialogue choices that are locked behind being one. But I still feel as though MC playing detective throughout this entire game, that whole premise lends itself pretty damn well toward a Ravenclaw MC. They’re trying to defeat the bad guys, but their main method of preparing for that fight is not train up an army of students, it is to investigate the Vaults, and investigate R. Even going as far as to work with Wizarding police. Granted, I know Harry poked around a lot too. And MC does form the Circle of Khanna, just like how Harry formed Dumbledore’s Army. Both of them do exhibit both behaviors, but MC specializes in covert investigation more than preparation for combat. Again, at least they do so in the main story. The Circle of Khanna was not meant to be like Dumbledore’s Army, at least not in concept. MC first conceived it as the idea of standing toe to toe with the Cabal by having a secret organization of their own. I know that didn’t really land perfectly in actual practice but that was the whole idea. And if there’s one thing MC has a constant stream of, it’s ideas. Not always the right ones, not always fast enough, but they do have them, and these ideas steer the plot. In the main story and otherwise. 

It’s probably a bit cheap to get meta, but so be it. 

I can’t help but notice how, if we take every other contribution to the Potterverse into account...well then, we’ve got a Gryffindor Protagonist in the form of Harry. We’ve got a Slytherin Protagonist in the form of Albus Severus. And a Hufflepuff over in Fantastic Beasts with Newt Scamander. If MC is a Ravenclaw, then that completes the quartet. But there’s another Quartet out there as well - that of the Original Four. Rowan, Ben, Penny, and Merula. The Year 1 characters and the OG leads of the Hogwarts Mystery story. Notice anything about them? We have a Hufflepuff, a Gryffindor, and a Slytherin...but no Ravenclaw. None that is, unless MC, and therefore Rowan by extension, is a Ravenclaw. MC being Sorted into the House of Eagles completes both of these groups. I dunno, I just find it curious that unless the Player goes to Ravenclaw, the first student character we meet in that House shows up in Year 3. Because Jam City wrote in some amazing characters for Ravenclaw. My love of Tulip Karasu is well documented, but I also think Talbott is pretty damn fascinating. Andre and Badeea rock too! Ravenclaw is also a relatively neutral House. I’ve said before that HPHM ignores the House rivalries, and that’s easiest to incorporate in the House of Eagles, which mostly keeps to itself. It would not be socially strange for a Ravenclaw to have so many friends from different Houses. I’m not saying a Slytherin MC couldn’t befriend Ben, for example, but he’s a Muggle-born Gryffindor and that would be a big deal to everyone else. Again, not saying it couldn’t happen, just that it would turn heads and people within Slytherin might go as far as to treat MC like a traitor. I like this premise, but...would Felix seriously help MC prepare to fight Merula, a fellow Slytherin, on behalf of someone like Ben? There are other trivial problems, like the question of two male Prefects if MC is Gryffindor, etc. 

But that’s just a few thoughts. Again, there’s clearly no “canon” House, and neither of my MCs are even in Ravenclaw. But I think it’s fun to explore the idea as Ravenclaw is a House that, I think, is sorely needing development.

#Harry Potter #Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery #HPHM Analysis #HPHM Jacob's Sibling #HPHM Jacob #Rowan Khanna #Filius Flitwick #HPHM #Ramblings #Long Post #Patricia Rakepick #HPHM R #The Circle of Khanna

[the--highlanders]

tagged by @penny-anna, thank you!!

How many works do you have on AO3?

142!

What’s your total AO3 word count?

473,453... hopefully I’m on track to hit 500,000 by the end of the year! like obvs it’s not really about the word count & when I’m writing I’m not thinking that I have to make things longer (tho I think my fics have been getting naturally longer lately? I think I’m spending more time on descriptions and scene-setting. which I like but which def hasn’t been a conscious choice) BUT I am using word count goals to stave off the temptation to count kudos and notes & then get anxious about that. sir that is my emotional support ao3 word count.

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

the only fandom I’ve properly posted stuff for is dr who... if you go back far enough in my main blog there might be like, 2 sh*rlock fics on my main blog. wouldn’t recommend it tho I was still in high school when I wrote them GFDJHS

I did write for both sh*rlock and torchwood tho. also warrior cats when I was quite a bit younger. & teeechnically my first fanfic was for the saddle club. but I was like, 3. so I didn’t know what a fanfic was. I was just writing a ‘book’ about the horses.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

(excluding timetracks because it’s not a fic to me, it’s a collection, I only put it in one ‘fic’ so I wouldn’t have to come up with individual titles for everything in it gjdhfks)

- stones

- tenth time lucky

- coincidences

- lucky guess

- amber

which is. an interesting selection gdfjkg

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I try to! I don’t get that many so it’s doable. I do need to get better at answering them quickly though jkdf I am very small and a little bit shy and people are very nice

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

oo idk maybe longing for a time that never came? (no idea why I called it that ghdfk. it’s kind of pretentious for something that never had any rhyme or reason to it). because like. are they going to survive? idk!!!

(would also like to plug this art @ettelwenailinon made for that fic because I love it and also can’t believe it’s four years old??? hello????)

more recently I think it’s the kirkyard (which is a title I actually like!! I really like this fic actually) because two can’t do any more than get jamie out of the church but jamie doesn’t KNOW and he doesn’t understand why two doesn’t even stop to talk to him & it’s painful imo

Do you write crossovers? If so what’s the craziest one you’ve written?

not really! I’ve nothing against them, I just don’t tend to write them.

I wouldn’t really class my daemon au as a crossover because like. it’s not really set in the hdm universe, just uses the concept of daemons.

on the other hand I feel like the only crossover I have /is/ pretty niche and a bit wild. lifeboat is a crossover with ark: survival evolved which is very dear to my heart & in my head sits quite nicely with the dr who universe. that fic was SO self-indulgent to write but I loved it. plus the idea of victoria’s dad having THREE scientist friends who went mad in pursuit of godhood is so incredibly funny to me that I forget it isn’t canon

(also the character being referenced in that fic is now voiced by david tennant in-game/will be in the animated series so. gift of prophecy. dfjkhsglfk)

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

nope! like I said everyone has been very nice. the only hate has been from myself gdfhlk

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

don’t read it & don’t write it. just not my thing!

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not as far as I know o:

Have you ever had a fic translated?

yes!

What’s your all time favorite ship?

I mean it’s two/jamie. I’ve been here for like 6 years. still digging my hole.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

talked about it in more detail in this ask but in terms of two-era stuff I’ve only got one that’s definitely never being finished and another that’s not got a great chance of being finished. & stuff I’ve written for other fandoms is just. look it’s gone gdjksdfdg. I don’t care about my dead sh*rlock wips it isn’t 2014 anymore

What are your writing strengths?

I honestly have no idea??? like I’m not being modest or anything, I genuinely don’t know. I think I can write some funny dialogue sometimes.

What are your writing weaknesses?

I’d really like to be better at plotting out longer fics tbh. having coherent plots and carrying through themes and details. people who can introduce an apparently inconsequential detail early in a fic and have it become relevant later in a way that makes you gasp are like, gods to me

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

I’m too nervous about getting stuff wrong so I wouldn’t do it unless I felt like I had enough of a grasp of the language to know what I was doing. but I am at a stage where I feel confident having some simple gàidhlig in my fics!! which is nice. I’d really like to be able to write more, and also to be able to write jamie’s dialogue with like. a sense of english as his second language/gàidhlig as his first? like in the occasional turn of phrase or way of putting something. outside of fic I’m super interested in what someone from that period who had gàidhlig as their first language and english as their second language would have sounded like and how they would have spoken.

my absolute dream would be to be able to translate all my fics completely into gàidhlig, but I’m probably years off from that, if I’ll ever be able to do it. I would really love to be able to write fiction in it, that would be a mark of proficiency in the language for me.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

kind of answered above!

What’s your favorite fic that you’ve written?

oougkj idk!! I have so many now and honestly I forget about a lot of them.

the selkie au always has a special place in my heart, and I do love doing more historical-based ones, so I’ll say the kirkyard because I was already talking about it. if I can be a know-it-all while writing something I’m usually happy gjhklkh.

tagging @galacticlamps and anyone else who wants to do it!!

#personal #putting this under a read more because it got kinda long and i don't want to clutter up people's dashes with my rambling haha #this was fun tho!

[gascon-en-exil]

But What If You Want to Come Out on Vers Bottom?: A “Coming Out on Top” Review (Part 2)

Part 1

The main substance of Coming Out on Top - and around 80% of its wank material - lies in its main story love interests, so each of them deserves a dedicated section for review and...erotic evaluation, if you will. It would be much too cluttered to try to cover all six in one post however, so this one will only include the first three with Part 3 to follow with the remainder. Note that I’ll be doing these in alphabetical order, except for the sixth who was added in an update and whose route comes with some mechanical differences that warrant leaving him for last. I wouldn’t want to seem biased, would I? But I’ll be ranking them from most to least favorite at the end anyway.

Also, if anyone is wondering why most of my screenshots are from dialogue scenes rather than CGs, it’s because there are remarkably few CGs in this game that are both interesting enough to include in a review and tame enough for Tumblr’s censorship standards.

Alex: Mark Makes the Grade (With His Ass)

And how fitting it is that I get to start with Alex, fresh off over a year of involvement in the fandom of Fire Emblem: Three Houses and all its exaggerated pearl-clutching over that game’s teacher/student relationships. That’s exactly what Alex’s romance with Mark is, begun under more innocuous circumstances wherein Alex judges Mark’s alcohol preferences (the uncultured barbarian favors whiskey, and has nothing to say if you have Mark order a glass of presumably passable cabernet) but then progressing rapidly to hot for teacher territory once Mark discovers that Alex is his anatomy professor. As expected a handful of jokes - and one sex scene, kind of - hinge upon Alex’s field of expertise, but compared to the other routes of CooT this one is remarkably tame. It’s the only one in which it’s impossible to have sex with the love interest during the game and still get his ending, and the story requires the player to thread a fine line between expressing attraction to the man and respecting his professional boundaries. Alex is nothing if not ethical, almost to a fault, and the game also doesn’t allow you to lose sight of how strange his connection with Mark is...allegedly, anyway. I personally don’t see much issue with it, when Mark is of age (this isn’t even the largest age gap of the main love interests) and about to graduate. Eh, I’ll chalk it up to a cultural difference and move on.

The plot of the route also pivots around the potential scandal to be found in some hot one-on-one anatomy lessons, as Mark finds himself embroiled in the cutthroat world of tenured professorships and overworked postgraduate toadies moonlighting as paparazzi. I guess I lucked out in my much more reasonable graduate advisors, but I think I would have taken well to snooping around in men’s locker rooms looking for hot gay action/blackmail material. With all that going on it’s little wonder that there’s no real sex to be had on the full route, and that the one potential steamy encounter Mark can have with Alex in the professor’s office swiftly ends the romance then and there. I suppose it’s worth noting that Alex is also the only primary love interest who will never bottom for Mark in any encounter the player gets to see, so props if you’re looking for a total top. He’ll give head though, so that’s nice.

That said however, I can’t help but feel as though CooT wants to have its cake and eat it too when it comes to the teacher/student fucking. Amidst everyone being reasonable and ethical about the situation Mark can have a dream in which Alex fingers him and gives him a prostate orgasm as a live demonstration during a lecture - unquestionably hitting some of those teacher crush buttons even as it comes with the easy out of being a dream sequence. I’ve also seen reactions to this route labeling it as an example of the type of lover/beloved relationship found in ancient Greek pederasty, in that Alex is lowkey masc4masc and that he and Mark bond over the ancient and manly sport of, er, racquetball (I don’t know, just go with it). You also have to keep Mark’s grades up to get Alex’s full ending, which is both entirely logical - Mark is trying to date his professor after all, even if he doesn’t fully get there until the semester is over and he’s ready to walk the stage - and an extension of the idealized pederastic relationship as an educational one for the beloved younger man. If you’re into that kind of thing, Alex’s route is among the better options in this game to find it.

There’s also this obscure random line, which triggers an unusual extra CG added in an update that might be pet play? It’s honestly hard to tell - and I say that as someone who likes pet play. Something you may notice in my review is that, while the five romances included in the game on initial release are all fairly mundane, the writers clearly felt more free to get weird in the later additions. 

Brad: Frat Boys Gone Wild Parts 2, 5, and 7

Do you like beefy jocks, and huge dicks, and harsh but realistic indictments of the unequal attention lavished upon athletics departments at most American universities? One of these things is not like the others, but thankfully the route knows where to place most of its priorities. This is the story that puts Mark to work in his job as a writing tutor, tasking him with saving a hunky frat boy from failing his composition class and losing his scholarship in the process. Much unlike my own time as an undergraduate writing tutor however Mark is required to make house calls, setting him on a collision course for Brad’s burgeoning homosexuality and almost getting his ass kicked by the other equally hunky - but tragically straight - members of the frat. Brad is indeed the only one of Mark’s love interests who struggles to any degree with his sexuality, but it’s a muted part of this storyline and only really comes up in one scene involving Brad’s overbearing older brother. Despite some heavier moments here and there CooT is still a lighthearted dating sim at its core, so don’t expect too much in the way of angst even for a character who under more realistic circumstances would likely have to keep his inclinations on the DL.

Where there is plenty of intensity though is in those tutoring sessions, because, well -

- Mark ends up with a serious case of blue balls from all the UST and frequent teasing of Brad’s behemoth cock. Disclaimer: despite years of professional phallus measurements, this reviewer is unable to determine if Brad’s endowment is measurably more impressive than those of the other love interests based on his CGs alone; all pronouncements to this effect may thus be taken as the hyperbole of a horny size queen.

An even bigger source of tension in this route is the cheating angle: during their first meeting Brad will attempt to pressure Mark into writing his paper for him, remarking that American football players at universities get this kind of preferential treatment all the time and that their grades are basically irrelevant. Mark can actually take him up on this offer, and end up quite a bit richer for it via a little bribery (a nice perk if you’re angling for Ian’s friendship ending). Doing so will make it impossible to obtain Brad’s good ending but will instead lead to an alternate storyline with its own set of CGs, culminating in some saucily unethical fellatio as Mark proves to Brad that he can provide just as many perks as the rival female tutor who’s been capturing the jock’s attention with blowjobs and amateur porn. Incidentally, while it very quickly ends the route I like that Mark has a dialogue option to offer those exact services to Brad in front of the other tutor. It’s almost as funny as the earlier option about rimjobs that also ends the route but results in a dream CG of the straight frat guys having their way with Mark. That’s like wish fulfillment Inception, or something.

But no, to finish this route properly you have to keep both Mark and Brad honest, and convince Brad to write his own essay with Mark’s help...and provide genuinely good help, so I hope you know the basics of how to structure an academic essay just kidding you can save scum through that stuff. Many heartwarming life lessons are learned through all-nighters, ruminations on long-term career prospects, and mutual masturbation, until at last the two of them succeed and celebrate their victory with full penetration. How exactly you prefer the penetration to go down isn’t the most intuitive set of dialogue options in the world, but bear in mind that on initial release the only possibility was Brad splitting Mark open with that ginger club swinging between his legs. As I brought up in Alex’s section, the later additions usually get rather freakier. In this case that means an extended dream sequence with football role play (which is a thing that exists, I guess?) followed by some actual sex, with Brad bottoming in both scenes and much loving detail lavished upon his meaty ass. It’s...clever, I suppose, but I think I prefer the original version. Maybe that’s just because I always thought American football uniforms looked ridiculous; where’s the sex appeal to be found with those ridiculous shoulder pads?

Ian: Oh My God They Were Roommates

Even years later I still don’t know for certain whether including Ian so casually with the other love interests counts as a minor spoiler. He’s introduced alongside Penny as Mark’s longtime roommate, and in that first scene it’s also established that he has an on-again, off-again girlfriend. I’m going to err on the side of it not being a spoiler however, because well before his route proper begins the game drops hints that there might be more to Ian than a goofy slacker best friend with appalling personal hygiene. His route progresses as might reasonably be expected from Mark’s coming out, with Ian as the fantasy gay-friendly straight guy who turns out to be not quite as straight as initially advertised. 

There’s just one very large problem with that and it’s not the size of his dick. Because Ian is first and foremost Mark’s roommate he has the privilege of appearing as a supporting character in routes other than his own, and in fact there are CGs featuring him in some of those routes. This results in Ian receiving the most overall development of any of the love interests, ranging from the oddball humor that he injects into situations all over the story to his raging and, er, adventurous libido leading to all manner of masturbatory mishaps for Mark to, most jarringly, poorly-disguised jealousy over the other love interests should Mark choose to pursue them. One would expect this to result in a fantastically fleshed-out character and an excellent foundation for a route of his own that builds off Ian’s simple charm and manic energy to craft an excellent best friend romance.

Yet...it kind of doesn’t? It took me until my most recent playthrough to appreciate this properly, but more than any of the others Ian’s route is written as the most conventionally romantic. It incorporates a host of romcom staples - UST, misunderstandings, miscommunication, more than one romantic false lead, a wedding at the end, mood lighting for its softcore bondage scene - and while most of the other routes include one or two of those elements as well this is undoubtedly the only one that ever comes close to feeling cheesy or maudlin. Unfortunately however that kind of writing just doesn’t play well with Ian’s over-the-top comic relief antics, and so for most of the latter part of his own route he comes off as oddly bland. The writing mines some jokes out of his growing jealousy of the other men Mark expresses interest in dating, and it offers Mark a devastating early sex scene bad ending opportunity in the form of Ian coming onto Mark while drunk and forcing the player to choose between a rimjob now or double oral and/or flip-fucking later. Sure, that setup and some of what comes before it plays right into who Ian is as a character - a well-meaning idiot with a lot of insecurity surrounding his relationship to Mark - but after that point whether you take the rimjob or not Ian practically fades into the role of generic romantic lead as Mark must work to repair their friendship and then guide it into uncharted territory.

To illustrate the point I’m trying to make, contrast these two CGs. The first is from Ian’s friendship ending (something only he and Penny get, based on spending time with them on weekends among other factors); the second is from his romantic ending.

Which of these images tells you more about Ian’s characterization, or about his dynamic with Mark?

I’m not going to deny that Ian has sex appeal, or that he doesn’t have a slew of genuinely funny lines all over the game’s script, or that there’s nothing satisfying in watching Mark and his best friend fall in love with each other - but it’s the lack of integration between Ian the comic relief roommate and Ian the love interest that doesn’t sit well with me. When I was reviewing Chess of Blades I name-dropped Ian in comparison to that game’s own best friend love interest Arden. I’ll do the reverse here: Ian may be sweet and a ton of fun, and there may be far more options for which pegs go into which slots in this storyline, but Arden’s character and story stick in my mind more because they’re never at odds with one another. Ian in the earlygame and outside his own route is so goofy that it’s very hard to take him seriously as someone who could be a romantic partner for Mark, and unfortunately that comes across all too well when the occasion finally arises.

#Coming Out on Top

[alice-beaumont-ravenclaw]

Grief (Pt. 1)

A/N #1: Finally wrote the first part of my “Rowan’s death” story. It’s around 5000 words long, so I divided it into two parts to make it easier to read. This is based on what went on in the game, with the original dialogue mostly intact, but I added stuff to fill in what went on between various part of the chapter and to better illustrate Alice’s reaction.

--------------

"Avada Kedavra!"

As she heard those words, Alice couldn't help but stare at the green light that was coming out of Rakepick's wand. It felt like everything was in slow-motion, the light slowly making its way to Ben. As she was about to close her eyes, she saw a flash of blue and black pushing Ben aside, the green light hitting it instead.

"ROWAN!" she heard herself shout.

"No!" she heard Ben say as he stared in disbelief.

"Khanna..." she heard Merula whisper.

She looked from Rowan's body to where Rakepick was standing, feeling the rage growing in her body.

"We warned you that you owed 'R' a friend's life. Consider that debt collected," said Rakepick with her usual smug grin.

Alice felt herself getting up on her feet and lunging at her as she let out an animalistic growl. Before she could reach Rakepick, she disapparated, leaving Alice grasping at air. Realizing she was gone, her shoulders slumped as she turned her head to see her best friend's body, lifeless.

"No..." mumbled Ben as he approached the body with the others.

Alice, Merula, and Ben knelt next to Rowan, observing her, hoping, perhaps, that she was not...

"She's not breathing," said Merula, her eyes widening.

"No, no... There's got to be some spell... There has to be something we can do!" said Alice, shaking Rowan's body, hoping to wake her up. "This can't be the end... Rowan can't be... dead."

"The Killing Curse... There's no coming back..." replied Merula in a soft voice, still staring at Rowan's corpse.

"Rowan... She's gone," whimpered Ben.

They stared in disbelief at the young Ravenclaw's body. None of them had even considered this turn of event. None of them knew what Rowan had been doing in the forest. This couldn't be real...

"I'll go fetch a professor," said Merula, slowly getting up.

"We'll take her... I mean... We'll take Rowan to the edge of the forest. Just in case Dementors came back. Ok, Ben?" said Alice, looking at the Gryffindor boy.

Ben nodded. Alice took Rowan under her shoulders while Ben took her legs. Slowly, following Merula, they made their way out of the Forest. They laid Rowan down on the soft grass at the edge of the Forest as Merula began running toward the castle. Ben and Alice sat beside the body in silence, both of them still in shock. Alice wasn't yet fully realizing what had happened, while Ben slowly realized someone had died protecting him.

About 20 minutes later, they saw Merula running back, followed by the Heads of House, Hagrid, and Dumbledore. As they saw Rowan's body on the ground, they all let out a gasp, except for Hagrid, who let out a sob. While Flitwick and McGonagall were both making sure that Alice and Ben were uninjured, Merula explained what had happened to the other Professors. Hagrid gently took Rowan in his arms, cradling her body as he let out a few sobs. They all slowly made their way back to the castle.

When they entered the castles, Hagrid and the professors made their way to the infirmary with Madam Pomfrey, while the three students walked toward their respective Common Rooms. Merula went down to the gloomy dungeons, while Alice and Ben went up the silent staircase until they reached the fifth floor, where they separated without a word.

Alice answered the riddle before entering the empty Common Room where a fire was still burning in the fireplace. Even with the fire, Alice felt cold as she made her way to her dormitory. She was thankful both her roommates were asleep when she entered. She didn't feel like talking. She didn't feel like being asked where Rowan was.

The next morning, after a restless sleep, she was awoken by Tulip shaking her.

"Alice! Alice! Something is going on! We are supposed to go to the Great Hall for an announcement! Rumour is that someone died last night. I thought it might be you until I remembered seeing you when I woke up. Who do you think it is? By the way, where's Rowan?" asked Tulip as she looked at the empty bed next to Alice before looking back at her. Alice simply looked down. "Oh dear..." whispered Tulip.

Alice got out of bed and got dressed before following Tulip to the Great Hall. When she entered, she noticed the tables were gone and that the Hall was darker than usual, with only daylight and a few torches providing some light. As she made her way toward the front, she overheard Barnaby whispering: "Everyone is here... So it's true."

"I can't believe Rowan died last night," replied Ismelda.

"I heard that Alice, Merula, and Ben were there..." shared Liz.

When she finally reached the front with Tulip, she noticed everyone around her was either crying or looked sad. All except for Merula, Ben, and herself. Perhaps the sadness would come later for them, she thought. Perhaps they were still getting over the shock of what they had seen.

"This doesn't seem real... The idea that Rowan is gone..." she said in a soft voice.

"Gone forever," replied Ben, emotionless, Alice feeling a chill going down her spine as she heard those words.

"It only just happened. You're in shock. We all are," said Tulip as she approached the group of three.

"It's different for us. We watched it happen," pointed out Merula.

"I still don't understand how... Why Rowan was even there... It happened so fast..." said Alice, looking down.

"Actually... Alice, I think I may know why Rowan was in the forest last night," said Penny as she approached her friend.

"Dumbledore's here," whispered Andre before Alice could say anything.

Dumbledore made his way to the platform where the other teachers were standing and stood behind his lectern.

"Penny, what do you mean you know why Rowan was in the forest?" whispered Alice, hoping she could get an explanation before Dumbledore's speech.

"Let's talk later. In private," replied Penny, looking at Dumbledore.

Alice let out a sigh before looking up at the Headmaster.

"Last night, we suffered an unimaginable loss at the hands of unimaginable evil," started Dumbledore. "Rowan Khanna, a devoted student and friend, sacrificed her life to save another's." 

As he said those words, Alice noticed Ben looking down. He seemed frustrated.

"There is no more noble deed," continued Dumbledore. "So today, we will not waste words on Rowan Khanna's killer, whom I assure you will be brought to justice."

"You can count on that," muttered Merula through gritted teeth, before Liz gave her a nudge with her elbow so that she would keep quiet.

"Today, we gather as one Hogwarts community to grieve, remember and honour Rowan and her final heroic act. Grief takes many forms. And it takes time," said Dumbledore, looking at all the students gathered in front of him. "Sadness... Fear... Anger... There are no wrong feelings. It is important in trying times that we be kind and patient with one another. And never forget that Rowan Khanna died a hero."

Hearing that Rowan was dead from the Headmaster, Alice felt a shiver down her spine. It was as if, until now, she was hoping it was perhaps just a horrible nightmare. Hearing some of her friends next to her sobbing made it all too real. Part of her just wanted to run out of the Great Hall...

"Some of you may know it was Rowan's ambition to teach ay Hogwarts one day. By constantly pursuing new knowledge and instilling a love of learning in ourselves and others, we can honour Rowan's dream. For now, I have temporarily suspended new lessons to give everyone time to grieve. But remember that if we let Rowan's noble goal be a guiding light in these dark times, then, just like this light," said the Headmaster as he raised his lighted up wand, "the memory of Rowan Khanna - a clever, brave, driven, and loyal companion - will shine on."

At the end of his speech, everyone slowly raised their wands, lightening them up in honour and in memory of Rowan.

After a moment, students started to walk out of the Great Hall, wondering what to do with themselves. Alice wanted to leave, but she knew Penny wanted to tell her something important, so she waited next to the door, looking at Penny, who was comforting her sister. As she stood there, lost in her thoughts, she felt someone's hand on her shoulder. She turned around to see Charlie before he hugged her. She stood there, not reciprocating the hug, as she felt like she was out of breath, needing space. Charlie, realizing she was standing still, took a step back, looking worried.

"Alice... Are you ok?" asked Charlie.

"Not really..." softly replied Alice, as she looked at the floor, rubbing her arm.

"Of course... That was a stupid question to ask," said Charlie, rubbing the back of his neck.

"No... It was not. It shows concern," said Alice, looking up into Charlie's warm brown eyes.

"I am concerned. You just witnessed something terrible. I'm surprised you're not in the infirmary," replied Charlie.

"Rowan would want me to be strong. Even when I had a cold, she would drag me to our classes," said Alice, a strained smile appearing on her lips because of the memory.

"True... But still, I'm worried. I..." started Charlie before being interrupted by Penny.

"Alice? Can we talk?" asked Penny.

"Yeah... I'll talk to you later," said Alice to Charlie before walking away with Penny.

Charlie looked at his girlfriend walking away, wrinkling his brows as he pursed his lips.

When Alice and Penny finally found an empty corridor, the young Hufflepuff stopped and turned to her friend. 

"Alice... I'm glad we can talk in private. How are you holding up?" asked Penny.

"Numb? It's like it hasn't completely sunk in yet that Rowan is gone... Even if Dumbledore said she was..." replied Alice, letting out a sigh. She would probably get that question from everyone she knew.

"I know. It's as if Rowan could walk by us right now, off to study," said Penny, her shoulders slumping.

"It happened so fast, Penny... Instant," replied Alice as she felt a tightness in her chest.

"I can't imagine what you've been through, Alice. Dumbledore said there are no wrong feelings," said Penny, trying to comfort her friend.

"No wrong feelings and so many questions..." said Alice, looking out the window toward the Forbidden Forest.

"Like, why was Rowan in the Forbidden Forest last night?" asked Penny, following her friend's gaze.

"Yes. You said you knew," said Alice, looking back at Penny.

"I think so. Do you remember that night Bill taught us the Sea Urchin Jinx?" asked Penny.

"Vaguely? Remind me," said Alice, scrunching her eyebrows, trying to figure out what that jinx had to do with Rowan's death.

"It was after Madam Pomfrey was petrified. Bill kept you, Ben, Merula, and Charlie to talk about the Cursed Vaults... And Rowan and I wanted to stay and help, too. But Bill wanted to keep it to just those of you who were in the Buried Vaults with Rakepick," said Penny.

"It was for your own safety, yours and Rowan's," explained Alice.

"I know. You told me about 'R' the day in the Courtyard when Ben cast Langlock on Charlie. So I understood. But Rowan didn't understand..." said Penny before looking away. "Oh Alice... I've done something terrible..."

"Penny, tell me. Please, tell me everything," said Alice, pleading, as she sat down on a bench.

"Well, you remember what you told us before Ben langlocked Charlie in the Courtyard? That the wizard that escaped on his way to Azkaban was part of 'R,' which is not a person but a dangerous secret organization of which Rakepick is a member, and that he was after you," said Penny, sitting down next to the young Curse-Breaker.

"Yeah..." said Alice, raising an eyebrow.

"I told Rowan what I knew about 'R' and Rakepick. I know you wanted to keep 'R' a secret from anyone who wasn't in the Buried Vault..." said Penny, looking down.

"For your protection. I doubt I'd have told you if you weren't with Charlie when I'd needed to tell him," pointed out Alice.

"I know. And I explained to Rowan that I was only talking about 'R' so she could understand what you're facing," said Penny, looking back at Alice.

"And did it help Rowan understand why I'd been so preoccupied?" asked Alice.

"Yes, but it also made her want to protect you the way you're always protecting us. So she had been secretly following you from a distance," explained Penny.

"Ever since you both left that classroom?" asked Alice.

"She told me that was her plan. It would explain why she was in the Forbidden Forest," replied Penny before letting out a sigh, her shoulders slumping.

"I was so focused on what we were doing, I had no idea Rowan was following me, watching over me..." said Alice, looking down as she shook her head.

"If I hadn't told Rowan about 'R,' then what happened wouldn't have happened," said Penny, sniffing.

"You can't blame yourself, Penny," said Alice, looking back at her friend as she rested her hand on hers.

"But who else is there to blame?" asked Penny.

Alice let out a sigh as she looked away. "Rakepick is the one who killed Rowan, but... I blame myself. If not for me, no one would know about 'R.' Rowan never would've been following me. Perhaps it would have been better if Rowan had never met me at all..."

"Don't say that. Rowan valued your friendship more than anything," said Penny as she took Alice's hand between hers, squeezing it lightly. "I hope it wasn't a mistake, telling you all of this."

"You've only told the truth. Now at least I know why Rowan was there last night. She was being the best she'd been to me from the start, looking out for me one last time..." said Alice, looking outside the window behind her as she took a deep breath.

"I don't mean to interrupt," said a voice behind Alice. 

Alice turned around to see Tonks, who clearly seemed uncomfortable.

"I mean, I know I'm interrupting... You may have even heard already..." continued Tonks, rubbing the back of her neck as she looked away from the two girls.

"It's alright. What is it, Tonks?" asked Alice. Life didn't stop just because Rowan's life had...

"Everyone's to report to their Common Rooms for an important announcement," said Tonks.

"About Rowan?" asked Penny, surprised.

"I'm not sure," shrugged Tonks. "I'm not sure about anything anymore. Especially with you, Alice... Do we talk about it? Do you even want to talk about it?"

"Rowan is your friend, too, Tonks," said Alice. "I mean... Was your friend... Our friend..."

"Yes... But not in the same way that Rowan was your friend," pointed out Tonks.

"It's true. Everyone knows, it's always been you and Rowan, from our first day here..." remarked Penny.

"From my very first day at Hogwarts..." mumbled Alice, looking down once again as she recalled the first time she met Rowan in Diagon Alley.

Penny and Tonks didn't say a word as they looked at their friend. She clearly was struggling to cope with what had happened, but she seemed to bottle up all her emotions. She was still trying to be the strong one. She was still trying to be the protector. How could they tell her she could let go? That it was ok to grieve. That there was no shame in crying, in showing emotions. That they were there if she needed to talk. They just knew all too well that she would fake a smile, say everything would be fine, and walk away. The only person she ever seemed to confide in was Rowan...

"Well... I suppose we should go to our Common Rooms, hear this announcement..." finally said Tonks.

"Yes, let's go," said Alice as she stood up along with Penny.

They made their way together until they reached the staircases, the Hufflepuffs going down, and Alice continuing up on her own.

-------

A/N #2: Hope you enjoyed it! This story is partly inspired by the “Low Energy” prompt from @yantarnii 2018 Inktober challenge. Part 2 is here.

#year 6 #hphm fanfic #hogwarts mystery fanfic #hphm #hogwarts mystery #hogwarts mystery mc #hphm mc #alice beaumont #charlie weasley #charlie weasley x mc #Charlie x Alice #charlie weasley x alice beaumont #penny haywood #nymphadora tonks #tulip karasu #rowan khanna #hagrid #albus dumbledore #merula snyde #ben copper #patricia rakepick #andre egwu #barnaby lee #liz tuttle #ismelda murk #fanfic

[teruthecreator]

i have so many thoughts about the epilogue so just jgbrbgjhrgbhrjg under the readmore spoilers for if u havent gone through it yet

the whole experience honestly just felt like a warm hug from both the creators and the cast of characters themselves. i haven’t existed in the fandom space for all that long, and i’ve yet to publish any works or generate any content for it, but just playing this through i still felt welcomed and appreciated and loved!! but i also loved how they incorporated So Many fanworks into it!!! from the email icons, to the images they sent, even the links they mentioned (the zine, penny snapcubes playthrough, that spotify playlist). this is one of the few times i’ve seen creators Truly acknowledge and appreciate their fanbase and validate the creations made inspired by the base material. it made the whole experience all the more warm!!! 

also the dialogue still felt very real!! i was nearly screaming bc even though i couldn’t hear the lil noises the characters make when you interacted with them in the game, i still could imagine their sprites and the way their sprites would change based on emotions and it was just!!!! so good!!! obviously they made the game so they’d understand the dialogue of their own characters but like props to em bc this is amazing

GAY PEOPLE REAL AND THAT’S ALL LIKE I FEEL LIKE I NEED TO SAY ABOUT THAT AND YET I WILL ELABORATE BC YUGO AND GABE SAID GAY RIGHTS AND I WILL BE CRYING ABOUT THIS FOR THE NEXT MILLENNIA

 randy and gillis are just sooooooooooooooooooooo good. i will cry. RANDY WROTE A POEM,,,,ABOUT GILLIS,,,,,AND HE DOODLED A BUNCH OF HEARTS AROUND IT,,,,,MY HEART. AND THEN GILLIS ASKING FOR HIM TO READ THE OTHER POEM AND THEN REALIZE HE SENT IT TO THE GROUPCHAT IM SCREAMING. THANK YOU FOR JOCK/NERD REPRESENTATION I OWE YOU MY ASS 

also Lesbians. need i say anymore??? lesbians are Here and Accounted For. LULIA WANTING TO FLIRT BUT SHES SO AWKWARD ABOUT IT SHE SAYS “PLEASE” RIGHT AT THE END.......LOVE YOU QUEEN YOU’RE DOING YOUR BEST AND JERAFINA IS SEEING THAT 

last but not least we got habit and kamal and i Will be crying about this for the next eight hundred forever bc God,,,,,Gay People. 

i feel like the steam cards and habit’s valentine’s tweets sorta give away how their subtle implications are meant to be viewed, but i also really like how their current relationship is sorta open-ended! like they’re in the friend phase now, and in time Will Definitely be a thing. but i also feel like you could interpret it as Currently they’re a couple and they’re just being quiet abt it bc idk anxiety?? who knows. but i really liked how kamal was willing to help habit through everything!!! it’s very sweet!!! tho i really do hope he got some therapy bc he needs therapy God Please They All Do 

honestly my favorite parts of this thing were kamal. i love how he sorta lead the charge in organizing this email list, when in the game he relied on You to get everything together before he sprung into action. i think it proves that kamal’s got more gumption than previously assumed!! whether he gained some confidence after the Habitat, or was just really quiet and non-committal Because of getting tooth-shamed by Habit, it was really nice to see kamal portrayed as not just some anxious bumbling guy. dude’s got some depth!!! i feel like sometimes the fandom boils him down to just his anxiety, but this epilogue really let more of his character out!! like the fact that he plays the CELLO???? HELLO??? SIR??? YOU ARE A LEGEND??? DID YOU KNOW THIS???

also the music Literally made me cry. if it didnt make you cry, listen to it again. gods of composing, i swear! 

lastly, the ending. i really did love how they left you, the player (or the flower kid), the opportunity to just Say Anything. you didn’t have to do it immediately, you weren’t given dialogue options. you got a blank box to write Whatever, and i think that’s really sweet and satisfying and just...good! 

my email was kind of short. i felt weird writing it at first because my personal interpretation of flower kid is (like frisk) theyre their own character?? apart from the player?? but i know that wasn’t limbolane’s intentions, and both creators have said that flower kid can be an audience insert or an actual character based on your interpretation!! i could’ve delved into all the emotional ways in which i feel like this game has moved me during the, like, three months ive been hyperfixated on it. but i didnt! bc i didnt wanna cry anymore hgrbhjrgbh

i did call habit a king tho and i live by that. 

basically tldr; Play Smile For Me and Play The Epilogue bc it’s very good 

#smile for me #sfm #s4m #smile for me game #sfm epilogue #sfm epilogue spoilers #ignorance cloud on

[philcoulsonismyhero]

Oooh, 3, 4, 20, 23, and 25 for the writing meme!

3- What is that one scene that you’ve always wanted to write but can’t be arsed to write all of the set-up and context it would need? (consider this permission to write it and/or share it anyway)

Listen, I have something like 30-40k words of random RWBY fic scenes without all the surrounding context, I don’t let that stop me :D (And that’s just one fandom! My GoogleDrive is infested with random scenes that entertained me at the time.)

But the one idea that I keep coming back to is Wacky Hijinks involving Ironwood taking Ruby and Jaune along on some sort of Team Leaders Only training mission that naturally devolves into chaos and ends up with them stranded together at some outpost in the middle of a snow storm. Bonding, silliness and badassery naturally ensues.

Also, even sillier - imagine how funny it would be if Ironwood was stuck in some sort of lockdown situation with all of the teenagers (and only them). I keep imagining the sort of games the kids would end up playing to amuse themselves, and then dying with laughter over their various attempts to rope Ironwood into the nonsense. Like, seriously. Imagine Yang getting everyone to play one of those party games like Truth or Dare and they all gang up on Ironwood and make him join in as well. Hilarious.

(I’ve always liked ‘stuck in a room together’ as a fic setup, but I think however many months of lockdown it’s been now has rather heightened that appreciation.)

4- Share a sentence or paragraph from your writing that you’re really proud of (explain why, if you like)

From the most recent fic, it’s got to be this bit:

“Well, I’d like an apology, at least,” said Nora’s voice. Everyone turned to look at her. She was standing off to the right of the group with her arms folded.

“Nora,” someone hissed.

“What??” she asked, unfolding her arms and gesturing emphatically. “We’re all thinking it! He tried to have us all arrested!” There was a pause.

“She has a point,” said Jaune, reasonably.

I think I nailed the character voices and also the comedic timing.

20- Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)

Ruby! And! Ironwood! As! Narrative! Parallels! It’s safe to assume that I’m always pushing that particular agenda if I’m writing about either of those two. I’ve got this pet theory that Ironwood was a lot like Ruby when he was younger, based on all the interactions they’ve had in canon that show their similarities (action-oriented, stubborn, value their role as protectors, natural leaders despite being awkward socially, tendency to compartmentalise their own issues to support other people, etc.) and the fact that his character song matches up so well in places with what we know of her motivation. Except Ironwood has thirty additional years of trauma and compromising and being crushed by the weight of his responsibilities that’s all combined to push him towards pragmatism (and eventually ruthlessness), and that’s why they’ve come down on opposite sides now. 

So I tend to have them mirror each other, either literally through body language or just thematically by having them solve things in similar ways. For example, in the Fix-It fic, there’s moments where both Ruby and Ironwood lean into a particular tone of voice that makes people listen to them (and they use it on each other, to boot), and they’re also both ignoring any personal feelings they have about their prior conflict to do the right thing now. And the whole of ‘Trust’ is basically exploring their similarities, right down to having them run into each other in the training room in the middle of the night, both in their pyjamas (and boots and weapons belts) and both planning on shooting things until they’re tired enough to actually sleep despite their worries and insomnia.

I just love them both and the parallels between them make me sad so naturally I’m fixated on them.

23- What’s the story idea you’ve had in your head for the longest?

Original story-wise, I’ve had my space story since I think late 2018, and it’s still developing and evolving. As for RWBY fic ideas (since that’s what’s currently on my mind), I’ve had ideas for an AU where Penny and Ruby team up to persuade Ironwood that she’s allowed to stay at Beacon for absolutely forever. I’ve really wanted to explore the relationship between those three ever since Vol 2, and Vol 8 is finally giving me the content featuring my three faves that I’ve been craving except it’s sad, so I’ll probably end up revisiting some of those ideas.

25- What part of writing is the most fun?

Dialogue. Absolutely dialogue. I love writing descriptions as well, but nothing is quite as satisfying as getting the character voices so clear in your head that it feels almost like you’re just writing down a conversation that you’re watching them have.

#squireofgeekdom #thanks! #writing wip tag #asked and answered #personal stuff

[lunasilvermorny]

End of year 4

(I know I’m not done with season 1 of the Quidditch story, but it seems like it’ll take a while, so in the meantime, I want to actually progress the story.)

Wait, he hasn’t came back yet? The hell is he doing?

Aww, she looks so proud.

That’s the look of- “At least it’s not Slytherin.”

(Unless you’re playing as one, but I’m not, so it works.)

Such a plot twist...

Yeah, you were only a 1,000+ points ahead. No big deal.

Me: Finally, I got to year 5!

Everyone who’s been through it:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Conclusions:

(This is going to be a long one...)

In general:

I think year 4 was overall a good one. I liked the pace of the story (a bit slow sometimes, but never enough to make me completely disinterested.) and the fact that it was longer than the previous years made it better to really get invested in the plot.

Now for a deeper dive (with obvious spoilers):

The main plot:

I think the plot of year 4 is the most interesting we had so far. It was darker, but no too much to break the immersion. There were actual plot twists (the whole thing with Ben was very well executed.) and the new characters they introduced were really well made.

However, even though I thought the plot was pretty good, there were some really boring parts. For exampe - the part with sickleworth. I was really looking forward to it, but it was just tedious.

Let’s go search the arrowhead here. Oh, it’s not here? Let’s go there instead. No? Then let’s try this place...

Mind-numbingly boring and a waste of time.

New characters:

Rakepick:

As much as I think she’s a manipulative prick, she’s a great addition to the story. Her problematic methods are in perfect contrast to the other professors and I think it adds a lot to have an irresponsible adult around to enable MC’s behavior, when it comes to furthering the plot in a believable direction.

I don’t like the way she manipulates Merula into doing her dirty work, but again, it makes perfect sense that they would take this direction in order to keep Merula relevant as the antagonist.

Professor Kettleburn:

What more can I say? They nailed it. I love everything that has to do with him. I truly believe they made him justice the way they’ve portrait him. I went over the stuff that JKR wrote about him and they were very faithful to the source material. I think they’re way better at adapting characters that had no presence in the HP books and movies.

So yeah - great job, JC. Honestly.

Charlie Weasley:

Supported by my last statement about the way they adapt characters - Charlie is wonderful. I know that a lot of people find his obsessive talk about dragons annoying and one-dimensional, but in a game where most characters are not explored to a very deep level, I think it was smart to keep a simple and coherent character arc.

I like how calm and easy going he is and I just found myself enjoying almost every interaction MC had with him.

I really liked the fact that he was a huge part of the main story and that he automatically joined us in all the important parts, just like Tulip and Barnaby in year 3. His adventurous nature was very uplifting at times and he just made everything 10 times more interesting.

I can understand why he’s such a fan favorite. Again, great job, JC.

Andre Egwu:

I know that we technically already met him in year 3, but his presence was almost non-existent until year 4, so I consider him a new addition.

Anyway, like the rest of the new characters, I really like Andre.

At the beginning he was a bit annoying, but my impression on him changed very quickly once he had more screen time.

Proving that he’s more than a sassy background character, he showed that he’s a true friend in the main plot and the SQs. The fact that he’s our fashion-guy that always happy to help is already good enough, but his supportive nature in the main plot (giving MC his broom, join her to the forbidden forest) just made it so much better.

Liz Tuttle:

Even thought she’s still not our friend, she was in the background of a few SQ and was introduced in the Polyjuice Potion SQ. The problem is that... that’s it.

Anyone who’s been in my blog more than 10 minutes knows how much I like Liz and how her big of a presence she has in the headcanon, but she’s barely anywhere in the game and it’s such a shame.

I’d like to know her character better and I feel like there’s a missed opportunity. I adore her love and dedication for creatures and animals, and hope they wouldn’t just use it as a joke like- “look at that weird girl that cares way too much about animals” instead of showing it in a positive light.

Old characters:

Ben - I think I like the most what they've done with Ben. The fact that he was the masked “dark wizard” was a true plot twist and even though I suspected it, it still got me.

Rowan - I didn’t like the fact that Rowan was a judgemental arse and that in the end he was right, even though he had no proof and based his suspicions on gut feeling. That’s extremely out of character of him and I hated it.

Side quests:

There were many. Some were just brilliant (the Celestial Ball SQ and the First Date SQ), and some weren’t. (like the Nearly-Headless Nick one and.. I can barely remember, because they were so dull.)

But here’s a very quick recap (because I said all I had to say in the SQs posts):

Nearly-Headless Nick - So damn boring!

Unleash Your Patronus - Disappointing, but not a complete failure.

Polyjuice Potion - I wouldn’t have liked it nearly as much if Liz wasn’t in it... but she were, so I can’t say I hated it.

Celestial Ball - Brilliant! 10/10. Loved it. By far the best.

Rita Returns - Boring.

First Date - Amazing!

Become a Prefect - a bit boring at times, but in general it was a nice little SQ.

Magical Creatures Everywhere - Nice premise, I enjoyed all the creatures and characters involved, but it was just a fetch quest without anything too interesting. No stakes, very basic story. Not the best, but we had worst.

Also, I need to point out that I changed my opinion on Penny based on the SQs. (not only in this specific year.) They put her way too much in placed that she wasn’t belong and it left me more annoyed with her than anything. She was one of my favorite characters and now I just want to skip any dialogue with her, because I’m so tired of her.

The Vault:

This part was very disappointing. The build-up was promising, but there was barely a pay-off. It wasn’t nearly as interesting as the vault from year 3, even though I think it had greater potential.

Also, I hated the fact we had to fight the Acromantula instead of choosing between a fight and a conversation, like Kettleburn advised us.

Oher stuff:

Chimaera - I guess we’ll see it through next year? It felt more like a running gag than anything, but it’s a freaking Chimaera that’s running loose! There’s no way we’re not going to encounter it at some point. Anyway, I thought it was amusing as a background plot to show Kettleburn’s recklessness.

Studying - I know that most of the time it was to learn about things that have to do with the vault, but I still liked to see them sit and study, especially MC with Rowan. It’s a school after all.

Snape and Rakepiclk’s rivalry - it wasn’t written in the best way, but the presence of their rivalry was very much appreciated as a part of the plot. I like how Snape’s view of her stand in contrast to everything she did “to help” them and I think it adds a bit more depth to both of their characters.

The Weasleys - I loved all of their background plots. Such a wholesome addition.

Joking about Rakepick - it’s a very small thing, but I loved every mention of their fear that Rakepick is going to kill them. Very amusing.

Dumbledore’s absence - it just felt too convenient, so MC’d be able to do more things without supervision. It didn’t sit well with me and just felt like a cop-out.

Detention - Even though it was a shame that MC didn’t get her usual 100 house points at the end of the year, I do appreciate the fact that Dumbledore finally punished her bad behavior. Took him long enough, but it’s a start.

Quidditch:

I know it’s technically supposed to be in the second year, but since it’s started when MC was already in her 4th year, I treat it as if it’s part this year.

I think this addition improves the game significantly. The mechanics are fun and the plot is okay.

Penny’s role is very out of place and like I said before, it makes me love her character less and less. The new characters, however, are really interesting. I feel like each brings a new thing that no other character has brought before.

Skye - Although she left a very bad first impression, I think overall she’s okay. Her backstory is interesting and she makes the player want to win, for themselves and for her.

McNully - I think he’s great. Talk too much? Sure, but that’s part of his charm. He’s funny and interesting, and by far contributed the most to get MC in the team.

Orion - Again, it took me a while to like him, but his bs attitude became very comforting at times and I grew to like his weird dialogues.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Final thoughts:

This year was interesting and much more than the previous ones, in almost any aspect. It wasn’t perfect, but if I take everything into consideration, I think it was a successful year and my new favorite.

I know year 5 is way messier and incoherent, so I don’t have a lot of expectations. I’m just glad that we got this far and the story was still interesting enough to keep me going.

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #hphm year 4 #end of year 4 #mc #hphm mc

[kiss-my-freckle]

Dialogues

1x2 -

Red: Watch yourself with her, Donald. She hates men, and cops most of all.

1x3 -

Red: I prefer to play with myself in private.

Liz: He’s a myth. Red: That’s what they said about Deep Throat … and the G-Spot.

1x5 -

Red: She owns that nightclub. Last time I was there, we had a great deal of fun, until she tried to strangle me with her stocking.

Red: Or just bend over any available piece of furniture and let her slap you on the ass. She loves that.

Red: He knows you better than I do, and I know where that lovely little freckle is.

1x6 -

Red: Because Yuri talks faster than a cheerleader after a nooner under the grandstands. Probably not a metaphor you understand.

1x8 -

Red: Oh, my God. I’ve never been more scared of a woman in my life. She was thrilling in bed. What a pair of legs. I think she played field hockey in college.  

1x14 -

Red: I had a little talk with Rasil. We had a few laughs, compared notes about you. He told me all about that delightful thing you do with a trouser belt, which was a bit hurtful, since I was pretty sure it was our thing.

1x18 -

Vlad: You slept with my wife. Red: How is Fadila? Vlad, it was a mistake. I can easily blame it on the hashish and the grappa, but the truth is - may I speak freely? You’re better off without her. She’s fickle.

1x19 -

Red: Calculus. I can’t even think about derivatives without thinking of that tutor in manor hall. Cindy something-or-other. Never wore a brassiere. Always a bounce in her step.

1x20 -

Red: Ah. Smells like decadence and vice.

2x1 -

Red: They know your habits, the banks you use, the pills you pop, the men or women you sleep with.

Red: Lord Baltimore. Aren’t you a surprisingly saucy minx.

Samar: Aren’t we confident today? Red: I’m confident every day. Samar: And I thought we had nothing in common.

2x7 -

Red: Keep your plum covered. We’re not alone.

2x10 -

Red: Luther, I never thought I’d enjoy having anything in my mouth as much as Petty Officer Virginia Sherman, but this - My God! It tastes so good! I hesitate to swallow, and I certainly don’t want to spit it out.

2x2 -

Red: Mmm! Tastes just like Patty Sutton.

2x3 -

Red: Titillating. But what Laskin and Russo do with or to one another in their spare time is none of my concern. Red: A threesome? Interesting. Based on his sartorial splendor, I gather this is Mr. Vargas. Does that even look like real hair?

Red: You poor thing. Honestly, I don’t know how you do it. It boggles the imagination. B.B., you don’t look well. Are you alright? Let me guess: irregular heartbeat, shortness of breath, perhaps a little tingling in your nether regions? Those drinks you’ve been enjoying on the house? They weren’t from the house. They were from me. I hope you don’t mind. I took the liberty of adding a special surprise ingredient, something to treat any localized dysfunction you may be suffering. Has the little man been falling down on the job? It’s a miracle drug, not so much for a glutton with a bum heart, however. But look on the bright side, you’ll die with a marvelous erection.

2x11 -

Red: The other one, the watercolorist, she - legs like a shot-putter. She gets me in this headlock. I black out. Next thing I know, I wake up - no sheets, vaseline everywhere. The lipstick on the mirror overhead reads, “Same time next year?” I haven’t missed an art expo in Basel since.

Red: Ah. A Russian milonga. Watch closely, Lizzy. Everything you need to know about negotiation is there in the tango milonga. At the outset, they are opponents. Each has something the other wants. They size one another up, assessing risk, setting boundaries, challenging each other to breach them. A sensuous battle - violence and sex balanced on the blade of a knife. Nothing given that is not earned - nothing taken that is not given. This is the pure essence of negotiation. Not a poker game, but a milonga. A tango. A seduction.

Red: And I assure you my bed accommodates a broad spectrum of behavior.

2x12 -

Red: Samar, my dear, bump in the road I can help smooth over, or have the clouds finally parted and this is a social call?

2x14 -

Red: Careful there, boys. You don’t want to bruise the merchandise.

Red: Really, I’m all for being thorough, but at this point, you’re just taking the nickel tour.

Red: Oh, the Dinky. No matter the time of day, that damn train is always full of hungover frat boys and co-eds in the throes of morning-after regret.

Red: Good heavens, Earl. You’ve never had any feeling in your heart, but now it looks like there isn’t much going on below the waist. Earl: I do all right. The wheelchair is just a little memento of our time together in Bolivia. Red: No hard feelings, I trust.

2x18 -

Red: Because, Mr. Jasper, you strike me as a man who would prefer to pitch rather than catch.

2x20 -

Red: Don’t look so glum, Kenneth. You just spent 10 minutes being ridden hard by Agent Navabi. I’d die for five.

2x21 -

Red: She makes her real money consulting. Costs a fortune. She did, however, let me name a lipstick color - “Fire In The Hole.”

Kimberly: I can only tell you what they’re doing. I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you who they’re doing it to.

3x7 -

Hasaan: What do you want? Red: Well, another spin of the bottle in Melanie Reichman’s basement, but, I’ll settle for you.

3x8 -

Red: When’s the last time you got any of that, Pablo? Or have you? Pablo: We share everything.

Red: No wonder Cash doesn’t trust you with anything more important than babysitting. Pablo: That’s big talk coming from a guy who’s -

3x9 -

Red: I prefer that slight curve at the small of the back, the swell of a breast, the soft nape of the neck to quicken my heartbeat.

3x21 -

Cynthia: I read his e-mails. Ever since I found him with the nanny, I look at everything. Samuel: We don’t even have a nanny! It was a movie. Red: A nanny movie? Cynthia: Not just nannies. Schoolteachers, nurses, and a ridiculous threesome with two completely unbelievable policewomen. Samuel: Cynthia, they’re just movies. I have never cheated on you. And besides, I don’t think he wants to hear about it. Red: Yes, I want to hear about it. All about it. Unfortunately, I do need to hear about your contract with Halcyon. So business first, and then, Cynthia, I’ll be all ears.

Red: I had an enlightening meeting with Samuel Rand today. More to the point, with his wife, Cynthia.

Scottie: Howard didn’t take that job. We haven’t had sex in four years. We’re rarely in the same country, let alone the same bed. Red: What bed have you been occupying? Scottie: I’ve been assuming a larger role in a management position lately. Red: You don’t say.

Red: You have it all wrong, dear. I didn’t come to kill you. I came here because you and I are about to climb into bed together, just for a quickie.

3x23 -

Red: Aram… set him up with someone, for God’s sake. He’s like a kid with his first erection on the school bus.

4x7 -

Red: My sympathies to your significant other. And if your flag is flying at half mast, rest assured, I find in the privacy of one’s boudoir, pleasing others is the key to pleasing oneself.

4x14 -

Red: Oh, my goodness. This is tedious. I’d give almost anything to have a scratch. But seeing as how, given your profession, David, you might be more inclined to squeeze them rather than scratch them, I won’t impose. I’ll just wait for the next break.

David: Forget having your testicles scratched. You’ve been castrated.

4x20 -

Red: Baldur, you and I are deal-makers. We buy low and sell high. Getting that cruise line on the cheap was better than sex with your mistress. Either of them. I’m a little down on my luck. A penny stock. Invest in me now and when I rise, you’ll be able to afford three mistresses.

4x22 -

Red: I do wonder what else Donald’s men will find in your nightstand. Are you a vibrator kind of gal, Laurel? We’ll see.

5x1 -

Car guy: How’d she do? Red: Like Bergita Olofson in her parents’ rumpus room on a Saturday night.

5x2 -

Cooper: No, he’s playing grab-ass by the pool between naps and happy hour.

5x10 -

Isaacson: Bite me. Red: Hmm. A woman after my own heart.

5x12 -

Red: Joro spiders. In Japanese folklore, the joro is said to be able to change its appearance to that of a beautiful woman who seduces men, binding them in her web before devouring them. Hence its name “joro-gumo,” or “whore spider.”

5x13 -

Red: Imagine the confidence a man has to have in his own genitals to take on a nickname like “Big Willie.”

5x15 -

Red: Yes. Very impressive. What a gymnasium - a real shrine to athleticism. I can just feel the testosterone.

Fagen: You promised me a sure thing, gives me Viagra, and all I have to show for it is a four-hour erection.

[deleted scene]

Smokey: You’re a sucker, Red.  Everyone thinks you’re soooo tough with the hat and the shades and the people you kill but I know better.  Circus folk know a sucker when we see one.  You’re a sucker.  You’re a sucker for the pets, you’re a sucker for Heddie. And God knows why, you’re even a sucker for me. Red: I suppose I am.   Smokey: Well, that’s good for me. I’ll follow you anywhere. Red: Well, let's start in the back. I believe we have some cash to count.

5x19 -

Red: This apartment. Right here. Oh. My God. To have been the proverbial fly on Clyde Tolson’s duvet. Liz: Clyde Tolson lived here? J. Edgar Hoover’s lover? Red: This was their secret hideaway. Imagine the conversations. Cooing over JFK’s lovers. Slandering Dr. King. What peignoir to wear to bed. When I saw the apartment was for sale, I couldn’t resist. Liz: You own the apartment where the homophobic head of the FBI carried on his affair with his boyfriend? Red: Allegedly. I wouldn’t admit this in mixed company, but J. Edgar and I have a surprising amount in common. For instance, we both always get our man.

5x21 -

Red: I’ve heard steroids make your penis shrink. Have you found that to be the case?

Liz: Gonzalez called you. Red: His guard, actually. We developed something of a bond.

6x2 -

Red: Through five marriages, numerous lovers, allegedly both male and female.

Red: Cary Grant once said after a particularly evocative LSD trip, “I imagined myself as a giant penis launching off from Earth - “like a spaceship.”

6x4 -

Red: Baldomero, what do you say we call this whole thing off? What happened in Iztapalapa was a terrible mistake. I regret it dearly, and I had no idea she was your mother. Baldomero: You were in my bed. There was a picture of me on the nightstand. Red: Okay, in our defense, it was incredibly dark, and we’d been drinking heavily. Honestly, I regret the entire weekend. Of course, don’t tell your mother that.

#dialogues

[when-daydreams-collide]

Stardew Valley - Elliott

So recently I fell into playing some Stardew Valley. It had been on steam sale, and I’ve heard a lot about it over the years, so decided to give it a go.

And of course, as with any video game, this meant falling headfirst into playing/modding and just some generally obsessive behavior. As per usual.

My brain always chooses a favorite guy, no matter what the game, and in this case, it was Elliott. So here, we have a post about Elliott and the mods I have created for him, and how I see his character and background.

First, the mods. I have a portrait & sprite mod, a main dialogue mod and a marriage dialogue mod. I’ve been looking into the mail system, and might try my hand at learning SMAPI mods, so that I can make some letters he’ll mail you after events and/or heart levels are reached. I’ve thought slightly about adding an event, also, but that’s still on the back burner for now.

New Handsome Elliott Portrait and Sprite Mods

Elliott Main Dialogue Expansion Mod

Elliott Marriage Dialogue Expansion Mod

Now, a little blurb on how I see his character. I’ve put this under a read more, so if you don’t want to read it or don’t want to be spoiled on some lines in his dialogue, you can skip it :)

(spoilers for his character below, if you haven’t played the game or don’t want an in-depth analysis based on the game/my dialogue mods)

Elliott is a bachelor who has moved to town only a year before you arrive. He’s left his former life, and moved into a small cabin on the beach in order to chase his dream of being an author. The people in his old life thought him silly, and felt this was a foolish idea, but he left all he knew and most likely spent every penny he had to give this a try.

As I was writing Elliott, I thought of him as about 30 plus or minus a couple of years. I feel as if this can go younger or much older depending on personal headcanon, and the dialogue will still work. He’s older than most the bachelors, except for Harvey. They may be of a similar age, or it’s possible Harvey is older, since he’s a doctor. I headcanon each of them to be someplace in the 25-45 year range. Both old enough to have started careers elsewhere before moving to town, and left old lives behind them. It’s a huge, broad range, I know. But as I said, I think of Elliott as roughly around 30. Or 28. Or 32. You know, somewhere in there. A man such as Elliott doesn’t give his age!

He is vain, especially of his long hair. But this isn’t without reason. From the little the game tells us about his background, I think Elliott grew up in a well-off family, or at least a high middle-class. They prized things like a good income, steady job, logic not fanciful ideas, outward appearance not who you were on the inside. His looks and physique are probably one of the ways he could impress his family, since his ideas and dreams were so fanciful. No matter how hard he tries, his head is in the clouds and he can’t be a “normal” person. He admits freely that he’s an oddball -- you know this must be something he’s been called before, and he’s taken it in and made it his own.

As a child, he was drawn to the sea. This wild, untamed ocean touched his soul, and draws him in. I imagine him as a youth, not being quite the same as the other children in his social circle. Feeling the call of the sea and wanting to be outside in nature; feeling the lure of reading, and living in the solitude of his daydreams. An Anne of Green Gables in masculine form, yet never finding the love and acceptance she did with her adoptive family. Thus, instead of being as outgoing as a child as she was, he retreated... until he grew into his looks, and grew his hair long. Then his looks, his hair, his physique became a sort of armor for him. Something to wear to the world, to his family -- something that gave him courage and let him blossom into a more talkative person. Someone who can now chat easily with strangers, and can embrace his romantic, oddball ways without reservation.

His cadence of speaking and word choices are a little different than say someone like Sebastian. Elliott has surrounded himself with books, has made friends of the classics and lives partially in a world gone by. He’s romantic, sometimes a little cheesy, always sincere, and has a deep love in his heart for nature and the world around him. Yet, this affectionate nature and willingness to wear his heart on his sleeve doesn’t mean he’s happy all the time. He fights with self-doubt, with waves of depression, with the fear of not being good enough that comes to most artists. There are times he gets stuck in his head, thinking too much, and makes him think himself a fool and a failure. Yet those days and times pass, because at heart, he truly is a buoyant person.

Since he left his old life behind him, giving up everything and spending all his money to take this chance, to devote himself fully to writing -- he doesn’t have time for many other hobbies. He does, however, play the piano. Whether he came to that cabin because it had a piano, or if the piano is one of the only things he brought from his old life, it is the one true luxury he affords himself. Otherwise his days are spent writing, reading (for research I’d guess), or spending time decompressing in nature. He loves taking walks, and speaks of fishing. Once you progress to romance and he’s finished the book,  he restores the rowboat with his own hands -- so he must also have a little bit of some handyman skills. I imagine once married (if the game would allow for it!!!) he would enjoy doing a little woodwork in his free time, perhaps even learning how to carve toys for the kids from Leah.

It speaks volumes to me that Leah and Willy are his friends in town. The other nature lover/artist, and the sea-loving fisherman. Both reflect elements in Elliott’s personality, and who he meshes with. He is also one that encourages you not to give up on making friends in town, to keep trying with Clint, no matter how discouraging it may seem. Elliott doesn’t give up on people, and gives all people a fair chance. I’d guess he’d also be friends with Linus, and not judge him for his lifestyle.

In love, Elliott is the most romantic of romantics. He will be sweet and maybe even a little cheesy, but he says things with such confidence and such charisma, that no matter how flowery his language, he’s utterly charming. He’ll never seek to hide his true feelings from you, or dissemble the fact he’s falling in love. He’d like nothing so much than to sweep you away, and give you the stars. In this way I see him like the bioware characters of Alistair or Jaal.

And that’s probably why I loved him. Alistair and Jaal with a bit of a masculine Anne of Avonlea... how could I ever resist?

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