#the colors capture the nostalgia so well....

[distantdarlings]

WHAT FEELS LIKE FOREVER // t. nott (Multi-Part) PT. 1

RATING: R / 1.1K WORDS (Pt. 1)

Theodore Nott x Reader Insert (No gender-specific details)

+ SUMMARY - You started a band with a couple of your friends from high school a year ago. You've just hit your big break and have begun a small tour of America. Your relationship with your friends, one in particular, will come to change drastically while on this tour. (Part 2, accessible at bottom)

+ WARNINGS - Eventual smut (will note which chapter it is in), language, tension, angst

+ MUSIC (listened to while writing) -

Amsterdam - Gregory Alan Isakov

The velvety sand captured your attention. It cascaded so gently down the curves of your feet, traveling like rogue explorers desperate for discovery. You smiled a bit at the thought.

The sun had not quite come over the horizon, so it had not yet heated the white shores up. You reckoned you liked it better this way. A way in which you felt a subtle rose's tint kissing your flesh rather than the harsh, sharp red the dawn brought.

You liked the soft colors better. They caressed your eyes and hair like a mother might have. You supposed . . . you could not remember.

The early morning breeze that provoked the gray waves wrapped around you as well. You closed your eyes against the ocean and let the earth's zephyr run its fingers through your hair and the knit throw that hung loosely off your shoulders.

You didn't need to open your eyes to know that someone had come to stand next to you, and you didn't need to guess who it was either. 

"Bit cold out here, yeah?" the Someone spoke. Their voice ran like the honey and oatmeal your old friends used to eat every morning. It was a voice that made your throat sting with forgotten nostalgia. Once the Someone had come up beside you, the breeze had stopped.

"It’s not too bad," your eyes finally opened. They abandoned the horizon and found the Someone with the honey and oatmeal voice. Theo.

"Why do you come out here every morning?" he asked.

"It’s…nice," you shrugged, feeling his eyes on you. He was the harsh, sharp red that the dawn brought. The red that made you shiver with a soft type of compliance.

Theo was all angles and tight ends and sharp edges. He fit into the crooks of your heart like an ardent dagger. And he was exactly that--a knife, a weapon to your sanity. He constantly threatened to push you over the edge and into a deep pit of rough, amorous hatred. 

He was difficult and hard to work with, but there was no one you worked better with. The two of you were not the sun and the moon but more like the clouds and their rain. constantly pushing away and pulling back in. Desiring to feel the other's presence then letting go at as rapid a pace as they could.

Theo shivered lightly—the sound barely above a whisper. You glanced over at the older man.

He stared down at his bare feet, watching his toes flex against the cottony sand. The breeze had returned and had busied itself with his hair. It separated the strands and kissed his scalp with ghostly lips and cold fingers.

His cheeks were painted a loving pink that bled to the tip of his nose like watercolors. Your stomach tickled at the miniscule thing. It was the smallest of details that made your chest ache.

The eldest's eyes found your studious ones. Seasalt and the early morning sky sprouted there and pierced your heart. It dug deep into your veins and found a home there, filling you up until you felt full. 

"Alright there, love?" He asked. it touched the edge of your ears like the worn-down tips of his sketchbook. No one was softer with you than he was. The irony was amusing.

"Fine," you whispered, your eyes flickering down just once to see his lips part slightly. You tore your eyes away from the man, your eyelids fluttering nervously.

"Do you have a cigarette?" You asked, avoiding any extra contact with him.

"Always," he replied. You could've sworn you saw him smirk but you didn't dare look. 

Theo handed you the soft stick and allowed you to press it between your lips. His fingers brought the lighter up and lit it for you. You took it between your own fingers and took a long drag. You felt the smoke fill his lungs and then exit through his flared nostrils. Theo did the same, seeing the smoke from his friend mingle with his own.

Whether it was from the breeze making itself welcome once more or the dim flame from the tips of their cigarettes, he let out another shiver. He wore a pair of soft trousers and a black t-shirt. it clung to his arms and shoulders, falling delicately over his chest that rose and fell every once in a while.

You slipped the throw off your shoulders and wrapped it around the man's. His eyes opened slowly to see what you were doing.

"What are you doing?" He mused.

"You shivered," you replied simply. The older man needed it more than you did anyway. You had on a rather thick jumper as compared to his measly shirt.

"I’m not that cold," he mumbled, but you saw his fingers wrap around the folds in the material like a young child. You hid a smile and turned back to the ocean, taking another drag of your cigarette.

For whatever reason, you much preferred this to any other thing you could think of. Standing here, in peaceful silence, with no tension in your muscles. If ever there was any, your relief and cause was standing directly next to you, blowing a ring towards the clouds.

"What are we going to do?" He sighed, interrupting your thoughts.

"What do you mean?" You replied.

"This is taking off, is it not?"

"This?”

"This, mate…the band," he elaborated. 

"Oh," you said, your eyebrows knitting together. You didn't really know how to respond to his concerns. Was this not a good thing? You were in America, for Christ’s sake. This was a lot bigger than your pathetic town.

"I know I should be grateful, but everything seems like it's sort of rushed," he refused to make eye contact, holding his cigarette between shaking fingers. "I want to be here, I have since forever. But I almost miss just practicing in my bedroom, y'know?"

Your pulse quickened in your throat, your fingers tingling with anticipation. The nights you had wasted in Theo’s bedroom, holding his fingers to the proper chords and avoiding eye contact, they were innumerable. 

You remembered the heavy breaths and the roving eyes and the trembling lips as if it had all happened just last night. You weren’t sure if this tension still existed between the two of you as it once had, but his presence still made your lungs stutter with want.

"I know, Teddy. . . ," you sighed. You missed it too. Like an alcoholic missed a drink and a drug addict missed a buzz, you missed the love.

Part 2!

#fanfiction #creative writing #fanfic #writing #harry potter #harry potter fanfiction #harry potter smut #reader insert #slytherin #story #chapter 1 #theodore nott #theo nott #theodore nott x reader #x reader #gender neutral reader #mattheo riddle #enzo berkshire

[cutepotatook]

Heya! I only take this opportunity to tell you that I love your art style and your use of colors. You capture a feeling of nostalgia so well, truly comforting! And well, I was also interested in knowing if you have other social accounts besides Tumblr.

Hi! Thank You thank You!! I'm really glad you like it aaaah (─‿‿─) It's always so nice to hear that, it means everything to me whaha!

And yes, I had accounts on different sites, but I don't post anything there anymore, so at the moment I'm most actively posting on tumblr!

And yes, I have a group in vk, but there are a lot of personal things there, so I would like to keep it in a secret hehe, sorry, but I can show some of my works from there!

#oh new tags #genshin impact #mbti art #art #I'm a kinda shy about writing tags haha #Oh #and there's my little original character Powehi!! #my favorite girl #so I decided to add her too #so that you could take a look at herrr #I don't want you to see my silly photos sorry... #my art :0)

[kio-may]

after the flowers wilt

---------

summary: what happens after you leave? what if both of you were meant to meet, no matter which world? the new student in your class seems so oddly familiar. What memory are you trying to revive?

A/n: this is basically self indulgence for me after twst is over after watching the ch 7 trailer and realizing the main story will end soon </3 this is also inspired by like. the intro page of twst where they ask u to choose someones hand n grab it tight. i thoroughly believe its connected to the ending so yargh. reader basically picked Vil in this one. can u guys guess who my bias is.

Words: about 2.7k, this is a one-shot <3

Content warnings and Labels: Vil x reader (reader is gn), Angst, reader has amnesia, mentions of being in a long term coma, feelings of nostalgia and melancholy, mentions of grief. you get the gist, I hope.

Suggested: listen to this mbira video while reading. The only thing i was listening to while writing this. hope it captured the mood well.

---------

The headmaster chose to spare everyone of the grief.

It was a few weeks, you'd been in a coma apparently. Your family rejoiced when you finally woke up. You swore you weren’t here before, but you couldn’t remember anything else. You didn’t know where else you could have been. You chose to push it to the back of your mind, after enough brushing off from your family and friends.

You recovered in no time, and started going back to school. You climbed the same stairs as you always did, your locker remained in the same place. You found out your place had been changed and you sat beside someone else now, your friends at a faraway corner. 

You half expected them to snicker and throw a paper ball at you and..

Wait, why would they do that?

You kept looking at the back of their heads. They were focused on what your teacher was saying.

Why wouldn’t they?

A tiny voice. Brushed aside.

The ceiling of your room looked so familiar and so distant. A tiny glow in the dark sticker painted over with the color of your walls. A vase full of roses and a small stack of "Get well soon!" Cards on your bedside. The open window blew in slight dust and a small dandelion seed. You wanted to catch it, but couldnt find the energy to get up. You watched it slowly trickle down onto your bedside and stay motionless.

Don’t forget us, idiot.

You shot up.

You remembered.

No, wait.. you didn’t.

A flash of a memory.

Was it really yours?

The flash went by as quickly as it came. What were you trying to remember?

Your eyes zoned in on your desk. A small perfume bottle and a neatly written letter from a distant relative. You could smell the faint, sweet smell of apples and a forgone summer.

Why did you feel so.. lonely?

What are you trying to remember in the first place?

What did you lose in the first place, that you are so desperately trying to remember?

You fell back on your bed with a soft thump.

Your phone cast beside you started to buzz. It was your friend. They asked you about the homework assigned.

You got to work.

–

Riddle was not the best at suppressing emotions, but where did they come from?

He stared at the tea in the cup, and let the warmth dissipate in his hands. The party was perfect. All the roses were red, there was no chestnut tart, and the only cat allowed was Grim. 

Even Ace, Deuce and Grim were not quite snarky, and seemed much more tame than how they usually were.

.

Leona was smart. He knew something was missing long ago. He didn’t know where this came from, but he didn’t bother. Another order for Ruggie, a different sandwich and another day in his passing life with a predetermined fate. What should he worry about?

Ruggie stood under a tree, and contemplated an empty feeling, without a word. A few moments off from his rushed, ever so busy life. He listened to the silent bristling of the leaves and glanced at silver, who also seemed to be confused about this feeling. No words were shared. The rustling sound of a plastic bag and distanced footsteps were heard.

-

The lounge was much more empty than Azul would have liked. A sign of less profit was of less noise, and less noise meant he was alone with his thoughts. The paperwork was drab today aswell, which did not help much. It kept him busy, though.

Jade and Floyd didn’t seem too ecstatic about working either. Floyd was especially slumped, but didn’t whine or complain. Jade was similar, the only difference being he would do whatever was required (at a more lethargic rate, but it was work nonetheless).

-

The ever so cheerful Kalim, for the first time, seemed calmer than usual. Smiling brightly at his dormmates and the repeated, "its a slow day today!" With a smile. It was starting to get easy to tell he was getting tired of it. A followed laugh that trailed off and a smile that stopped reaching the eyes.

Jamil was harder to figure on the surface. Ever so cool and composed. His hood seemed to cover his face further than usual. A thoughtful and foggy look in his eyes. Someone always sat beside him, but it wasn’t any of the dormmates. The hot air gently blew in. The smell of a water fountain and something that waited to be remembered.

-

Vil was an actor, a model, and a professional at both. He knew how to keep mild troubles buried. He's used to it.

There’s that photoshoot he has to prepare for, and the new makeup kit he has to try. He needs to help the Special Effects team in his club and there’s also a new skin serum he has to try, and then..

He swore there was a perfume bottle on his vanity, and he could still faintly smell it. But he couldn’t remember how it looked like. What brand was it, really? He scolded himself for not remembering. The mirror reflected his face. The reflection felt unfulfilling.

Rook knew deep and well that Vil was troubled. But it was something he couldn’t quite help him with. And if anything, he might make it worse. He knew when to be honest and when to keep quiet. Even as a confident figure, he seemed to be quieter than usual. 

Epel wasn’t an idiot. So he kept quiet. Rook didn’t have to tell him anything. He spent enough time around him to understand from a single glance at one another. No words were exchanged, but understanding was universal between the three, and a nonverbal agreement to keep quiet. The faint smell of dust, despite the halls being cleaned spotless almost everyday.

-

Idia swore the character Ortho's been mentioning doesn’t exist in any of the fandoms he knew. He found foreign things in his memory card, but it was all corrupted. It wasn’t anything important, and easy to delete.

Why was he hesitating? Its not important.

Although.. maybe he should keep it. Ortho insisted the character was there, and was so adamant until he asked him to describe the character. Maybe he’s hoping something will happen. He left ortho to his own devices for a while.

-

Malleus was familiar to this feeling of loneliness. But the smell of dust, a blurred memory of a night walk, and discarded tickets, all seemed like something just within his reach. But when he reached out, his fingers felt the fog of an unknown memory. Were the years starting to strain on him?

Lilia was very aware of what malleus felt, but not about what he felt about. He simply smiled and continued on, assuring the dorm students.

Sebek was not bothered, and accompanied Malleus just as frequently. He seemed to go about his own more easily, however. Silent bouts became uncommon but not rare anymore. Silent training and a faraway expectation.

-----

{real world - pov}

You took your usual place in class, and 2 acquaintances came around your desk, simply discussing what happened in the last class and lightly joking. You wanted to join in, but hesitated, simply opting to smile politely. They mentioned someone wouldn't be coming today, and one of them claimed another desk was newly added. You blinked in confusion for a while. It was evident you were the last one to know.

You opened your textbook and spun a pencil in your hand, your eyes drifting to the empty desk across the class.

He never gave back your pencil.

You blinked.

Another memory. It wasnt yours. You brushed it off.

Everyone settled in and the atmosphere turned quiet. There was slight mumbling outside the door, before the teacher came in and asked for everyone's attention. 

A new student was joining the class. As far as the teacher told the class, he was supposed to be here last year but due to issues, he had to join a different year.

The door opened and a tall blonde boy came in. You swear you’ve seen him before, and you slightly gaped as you kept looking at him. His eyes simply wandered and lingered around the class until he looked at you. His gaze fitted you for only a while longer before he blinked and introduced himself.

His name felt familiar.

He took the empty seat across the class, and the person sitting there would be moved next to you. You watched him settle into his newly assigned desk and other classmates around him welcome him.

You were able to pay more attention to your lessons nowadays, and some kind of fog started to lift. But from time to time you'd look up at the teacher ,when she turned to the black board and flit your eyes to him, where you'd catch him looking back at you. You shifted and quickly averted your gaze back to your notebook. You felt his stare linger on you for a while before he turned around.

Vil was certain this feeling was nothing but a simple bump in the road. His conscience felt clear (or rather, he got better at ignoring and tucking this feeling away for good), and he was able to get back into rhythm again. Rook and Epel took notice, and didn't comment as he subtly expected. He was lively again.

–

[other world]

And it was disappointing for him to see his neighbor was absent, leaving an empty desk to his right. 

His mornings had started to feel lighter and better. The club had finally started to make better progress on the project they'd been working on, Epel finally got over a learning curve and Rook had been as praising as usual. His schedule was set and he made enough time for himself to relax for an hour, after roughly a solid month of feeling disconnected and still pushing through. 

Oh, and there's that one student.

They became the hottest topic at NRC, even Epel couldn't help but mention it during his lessons and Rook even chittered with delight about them.

Due to.. complications, their entrance into NRC as a student was delayed a year, and had finally returned. They hadn't been sorted into any of the dorms as their arrival had been very recent.

Vil didn't quite care more or less about it, but still bothered to listen to the information.

Getting into NRC was one thing, and having your entrance delayed was another.

-

[other world]

You were anxious to say the least. Happy or sad, you couldn't decide. But anxious? Almost all the time with the new developments in place. Well, most of the time. 

Your friends cheered upon hearing the news, and encouraged you greatly despite the fact you'd have to wait another year and continue in a different school for the time being. You decided it was better to wait. Good things come to people who wait, you suppose.

And it was strange enough as-is, having to put on the dark grey-ish black vest, with the uniform the school had provided. The headmaster assured you it could be replaced in no time with the dorm you'd be assigned to later that day, and you saw multiple students simply choosing not to wear one. It was still weird.

You walked into class just as the professor was about to introduce you to the class and explain tiny, small details in a summarized form. He asked you to sit down in the front row.

You didn’t notice before, slightly fretting over taking out your materials and keeping up with the professor, but midway during the lesson you glanced at your sides. A window to your left, and a blonde man to your side.

You knew who he was of course; but you couldn’t shake the feeling of familiarity off. 

You kept glancing to your right, trying to figure out just why he seemed so familiar. It wasn’t because you’d seen him on that commercial before, but it felt like something else. You couldn’t name it. And everytime you glanced, it seemed he decided to glance at you too. Both of you made accidental eye contact a few times before you pushed down the urge to look and focused on the lesson. You felt him looking at you and, maybe his gaze lingered longer than usual.

Your last class ended, and as the teacher left, most people started packing up and leaving for the day. Some started chatting with the new blonde boy, while you jotted down some extra notes and started packing things yourself.

–

{real world}

You weren’t far off from the class in the corridors when he called out for you.

"Excuse me", he tapped your shoulder. He caught up to you quite easily.

"Hm?" You stopped in your tracks and turned to face him.

He took a hesitant moment, before he asked you, "have we met before? You seem familiar."

You took a few seconds of pondering before saying, "I thought so too but er, I don’t think we have. You seem very familiar too." 

You swear you’ve seen him somewhere before. The faint smell of lavender and apples felt so nostalgic, but what memory were you trying to remember?

Both of you started talking, and surprisingly there was smooth conversation. Both of you seemed to get along well, and it was evidently shocking to some of your other classmates who caught glimpses of you in the hallway. 

He introduced himself and you did too. He decided to switch seats in the back so he sat next to you, and people even started texting you.

"Getting cozy huh?" Or something similar were the usual messages. Some of them made you laugh, but you brushed it off. The feeling of nostalgia remained, but it felt as though there was no more of a need to remember something. As if everything was fondly in place.

Sometimes both of you would talk about vague nostalgia once again. It confused both of you greatly, but the topic started to be forgotten the more he made newer memories with you.

You’ll hold onto the strange feeling, but you’ll start living once again, you suppose.

He smiled. Soft and rare. The smell of crackers and blurred sounds of celebration in the background, the beginning of a new year.

Vil wasn’t quite sure how to start conversation with you. You most likely knew who he was, but both of you didn’t know anything about each other personally.

–

[other world]

Vil asked you for an eraser, which helped him start something. It wasn’t what he exactly wanted, but it was something.

He started conversation there. He asked you simple questions, and started to ease into a conversation. Before both of you knew it ー something clicked and both of you started talking as though you’d known each other long before even having come to NRC.

Vil himself was quite surprised with such an outcome; he didn’t expect such a smooth conversation at all. He made up his mind about inviting you over to Pomefiore if you were free, and approached after class.

That’s when you mentioned, he seemed so familiar. He knew you meant as though both of you had known each other personally, and not simply as having seen him on billboards and magazines.

It wasn't long before you started coming over much more frequently to Pomefiore. Rook welcomed you graciously and even Epel seemed happier around you. It was as though something fell into place; a distant memory clicked.

 He knew what you meant, but decided not to tell you.

"I see. Do you mind telling me more?”

There you were, so what else did he have to worry about?

He took your hand gently and applied the nail polish.

"I keep messing up", you’d laugh.

The revived memory of a distant summer. He might never get sick of your laugh. He smiled to himself.

"Of course you did. Let me help.”

—-----

To make the grief easier for everyone to handle, headmaster Crowley was able to erase their memories of you. Or at the very least, blur them to an extreme degree, so no one would grieve of your absence. He promised you would be exempt from this pain aswell. "You will remember when you need to", he told you.

"Farewell, then."

A hand reached out, and you grabbed it tightly. "Don't let go", a distant voice told you.

#twst #twisted wonderland #my writing #disney twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #disney twst #twst wonderland #twst x reader #twisted wonderland vil #twst vil #twst vil schoenheit #vil schoenheit #vil x reader #vil schoenheit x reader #vil shoenheit x reader #twst au #twst angst #vil schoenheit au #riddle rosehearts #leona kingscholar #azul ashengrotto #kalim al asim #jamil viper #idia shroud #malleus draconia

[bowcrazy]

Tsurune Character Songs Album Review

We had a lot of thoughts about these songs while working with the lyrics, so we decided to do a mini album review! Please enjoy listening to each songs as we reflect on the lyrics and composition~

Up Stairs

Mod Yumi: A very gentle, comforting song, as expected from a Minato/Seiya duet. The composers did an excellent job capturing the feeling of nostalgia; this somehow feels like a song I've known and loved for years. The lyrics are perfect--I love the references to the bridge scene from s1 ep10. The line "I had a place where my heart could relax" is so precious <3 Overall, I don't think it's the strongest song on the album, but it's definitely one of my top faves!

Mod Optimus Prime: A heartfelt way to start off the album! It's very sweet and mellow, which of course really fits the fact that, y'know, the song is about Minato and Seiya's relationship! It's more or less just a straight callback to all of season one, but it's really touching how (both literally and figuratively) they come together at the end there.

Crossover

Mod Yumi: This song is so excessively dramatic and I kinda love it?? It does NOT sound like a song that ties into a soothing, chill slice of life archery anime and I am here for it. But I'm also weak for synth horns; give me a cheesy overexuberant fake brass section and I'm sold. Bonus points for all of the archery references and unnecessarily homoerotic lyrics. (And special shoutout to Mod Optimus Prime, our resident FukuJun stan, for helping me with the color codes because I was completely lost lmao)

Mod Optimus Prime: Probably the character duo song with the most...attitude to it? And sass, which of course, fits these two incredibly troublesome boys. To me, it's almost like the two are having a back-and-forth with each other while also brazenly admitting to each other just how tangled up they are—admittedly a reoccurring theme for the duet songs, but that doesn't make it any less cute, I think!

Ari no Mama de

Mod Yumi: Very cute and wholesome, doesn't really do it for me in terms of composition though. I do think this is the most well-acted song on the album. Having heard both of these seiyuu sing as other characters (notably Suzuki Ryouta as Bisco from Sabikui Bisco and Yano Shougo as Mafuyu from Given), I was blown away by how different they both managed to sound! Changing your voice to that extent while singing is not an easy thing to do. I was also tickled by the fact that they both noticeably sang less well than I know they're both capable of singing, because it suited the characters better to do so. Listening to this song, you wouldn't think either of these singers are particularly talented, but that fact is proof in and of itself that they ARE talented. Mad respect for the skill displayed here!

Mod Optimus Prime: Unsurprisingly, sunshine boy Ryouhei and the other local cheery boy have an easygoing and slow duet! I can't really say too much aside from the fact that the lyrics are both just really cute and earnest—you can see Ryouhei's influence here, haha.

Growing Up

Mod Yumi: Very cute, very catchy! I enjoy this song a lot. As a side note, I find it interesting that besides Minato, Nanao is the only character to be featured in two songs. One of the things I like about Nanao is that he's characterized mainly through his relationships with other characters. Sometimes when we see this happening it's more to do with lazy character writing (and lbr, it usually happens with female characters). But in this case, it actually builds our understanding of the character, rather than just casting him into the side character role of 'only here to develop the MCs'. To me it's always felt like he's the most put-together of the team, watching over everyone else and giving them a nudge in the right direction, while blending in so effortlessly they don't suspect a thing, like the social chameleon he is. Oops, this just turned into me gushing about Tsurune character writing lol. The song's nice idk what else to tell ya

Mod Optimus Prime: Also yet another honest song—a rare thing for Kacchan! It's obviously about Kaito and Nanao's close friendship and the further development during season two, so it's fitting we also get to see more of Nanao's (somewhat hidden) stubborn side here. Not to meme here, but really shows how their relationship fits the, "the more things change, the more things stay the same," aka them supporting ("protecting") each other through thick and thin.

Gekkou

Mod Yumi: I'm not the biggest fan of the composition of this song. I can't put my finger on why, but the main melody isn't working for me (and doesn't work great for Asashin's voice either tbh). That said, the backing track lives rent free in my head, I'm OBSESSED. And I love the dreamy feel of the lyrics! Whereas the others feel more like a dialogue between the singers, this one feels like a poem. The ethereal quality of the music and the lyrics draws me back to Masa-san's introduction, when he was a cryptid/ghost (lmao) appearing in the dead of night to guide Minato back to archery

Mod Optimus Prime: I've only heard Asanuma Shintarou (Masaki's VA) sing in a higher register, so this was both surprising and pleasant—it's quite soothing to hear! It's also fitting that the only Real Adult™️ with bounds of experience compared to these young'uns gets a really poetic and dramatic song with, of course, lots of moon references.

Kyoumei

Mod Yumi: THIS IS THE BEST ONE. This song is a legit bop omg. Leave it to luck life to give us a character song that exceeds typical character songs! I also love the meaning of the lyrics; it almost feels like a new angle on the Shuu/Minato relationship in a way? Of course we know their history and their affectionate rivalry, but we don't really see either of them putting into words how they feel about each other (especially Shuu-- I had to laugh at the line "we didn't need mundane words"; like no dude we could actually use a few more words from you, given your track record of communicating approximately 7% of your thoughts smh). This song puts into words how much they mean to each other and how, despite their complicated history and rivalry, they still care about each other.

Mod Optimus Prime: Luck Life actually composed this song, which really shows in the style (that catchy guitar, anyone?)! I adore the constant references to "sounds"—while a bit cheesy and on those nose, of course, it fits these two to a T and calls back to that season one finale. Again, not that any of the songs are really subtle, but "We might be apart, but I believe we'll someday return / So we didn't need mundane words" really just sums up their unique friendship/rivalry. Also, love how the two only sing together at the end: really fits with the song's whole message/theme about the two being separated, but eventually reuniting! How sweet.

#tsurune #tsurune: kazemai koukou kyuudobu #tsurune character songs album #narumiya minato #takehaya seiya #nikaidou eisuke #fuwa koushirou #yamanouchi ryouhei #kisaragi nanao #onogi kaito #takigawa masaki #fujiwara shuu #uemura yuuto #ichikawa aoi #fukuyama jun #kondou takayuki #suzuki ryouta #yano shougo #ishikawa kaito #asanuma shintarou #ono kenshou

[blysse-and-blunder]

in lieu of a rainy day

10pm, sunday, nov 26, 2023

went to a gig for a friend's band last night, but otherwise it's been an extremely lowkey and indoor weekend. living that housecat lifestyle. aside from the sunday scaries (but, like, for the semester....for the year....) all in all the past week+ has been Okay. whoever is in charge of my calendar (which is me) made a pretty big gamble booking three-four medical-esque appointments back-to-back-to-back this week, but it paid off, we got through it, and the decks are cleared (so to speak) for writing between now and the holidays.

reading i got briefly very into freya marske's books a marvellous light and now a restless truth, though i will admit to having calmed (slowed) down a lot in reading the sequel, after tearing through the first one like there was a deadline. the world building and magic system are very fun, i am a big fan of the aesthetic; they're extremely sexy but not at the expense of plot or dialogue or characters' having their own real personalities, flaws and hobbies and all. excited to read the third one.

listening a quick skim of the previous few ilcb entries (have there really only been three all fall, dear me) to check i hadn't already posted this, and it doesn't seem like it? so, gregory alan isakov with the colorado symphony. the additional strings, the additional brass, it adds such a gorgeous dimension to this already pretty good song; the way things build from 1:20 on or so, to burst into full color and light from 1:59 to 2:14.... i've turned a few afternoons around lately just leaning into that orchestra swell in my headphones. wish it lasted a full 10 minutes, wish it had multiple movements.

watching more burrow's end; finished arcane season 1 with @hematiterings and began watching the first season of stranger things since she's never seen it; the nostalgia and affection i feel! the real satisfaction in how good season 1 is, how young they all are!! also started season 2 of slings and arrows with the housemates, which is new territory for me and which is similarly filling me with affection for characters i've known a long time, and fascination at seeing them doing new things and making new bad decisions. also started the second season of wheel of time on my own, as background while doing some unpaid graphic design/newsletter prep; my gratitude for this show making something so rich and visually interesting and real out of the books is unabated, even though i'm not feeling anyone's storyline very intensely at the moment. rand meeting logain was cool; perrin has been captured and that's bad; mat is now traveling with min, which is also cool because it's probably a set-up; i'm sorry that nynaeve had such a hard time in the arches but her romance subplot with lan has always left me extremely cold; moiraine is being frustrating! the show has a nice way of showing us other characters, minor characters, too-- moiraine's sister, for one, and starting that encounter by showing us her sister's morning routine, clarifying the difference in their ages where one is aes sedai and aging very, very differently. egwene and the daughter heir are in a magical boarding school subplot which is surprisingly delightful.

playing dnd campaign a had a session for the first time in aaaaages not too long ago, and it was good. spoke to the gods briefly, got started trying to appease them with sports as opposed to human sacrifice, and ended the night beta testing a phone-based game a friend of the dm's wanted us to try which involved a lot of bluffing and bs and laughter. campaign b, meanwhile, is in combat with some were creatures; @dimir-charmer's character has maintained this whole time that she is Not a Werewolf but circumstances may be, in fact, conspiring against her...... worrying!

making not a whole lot. i bought a box of cards since the closest thing i've come to a hobby recently has been sending a few cards (well, one and a half); i feel the pull of stickers and sealing wax and stamps.... wandered through an art supply store only a little while ago and came so close to buying the vinyl stamp making kit, but the only paint i could find to go with vinyl stamps was metallic so i decided to wait. contemplating making potato stamps, like i do every year around this time, but again the ink or paint or whatever is the limiting factor there.

working on taught my second and final guest lecture of the semester! read back through the written feedback on my conference paper! have started to look at integrating said paper back into the chapter whence it came, and had to have a little lie-down, but that's the big project remaining. at the same time, the running commentary at the back of my brain is about lecture prep for the course i'm teaching in the spring, specifically, what i'll say to situate/contextualize/prepare students to handle the material, how i'll thread various needles, which texts i'm going to ultimately assign, and on and on. i've started trying to turn this background noise into brainstorming/writing/limited, focused bursts of work on said course, in the hopes that getting a little of it out of the way will let me brain settle back in to other projects afterwards. i've also realized i've started doing the Discretionary stuff first, i.e. the reading extra articles, the looking at post docs or awards or things to apply for, the stuff that won't happen if i don't allow myself 15 min to look into it, because the Actual Work will be enforced, it will have to happen eventually, and the discretionary stuff won't. jury's very much out as to whether this will pay off, especially when it's not discretionary work at all, but discretionary attending-a-lecture time, or -coffee-with-a-friend time, or discretionary-at-the-gym time. time spent with the cat, of course, is non-discretionary.

#ilcb #in lieu of a commonplace book #a few spoilers for some early episodes of s2 wheel of time #not as long a post this time #i was quite restrained really! until the work section #Youtube

[schtrawberry]

dressing based on my zodiac signs: cancer ascendant, aries venus, aquarius lilith

[!] i am not the biggest fashion person out there. these are all mostly based on my personal style with a hint of whatever ~vibe~ each of my signs gave me.

brief description. cancer is the nostalgic presence of the zodiac that floats between the past and the present. as a rising sign, she is soft, compassionate, and gentle yet able to stun with their elegance and ability to run with the currents of life.

really leaning into the fact that cancer is probably the most earthy water sign; hence the heavy amount of pale greens and yellows as my inspiration.

a lot of house of sunny bc i feel like they capture that casual comfy yet feminine vibe that i think cancer embodies really well. knits, pastels, the occasional 70's funk-inspired patterns and styles— the nostalgia!

another brand that comes to mind is réalisation par for a more soft look. the brand features lots of flowing fabrics, sustainably-sourced cotton, mini dresses, pretty floral prints, and more subdued colors.

pale pinks and yellows partnered with all different shades of blue and green!

chunky knits, light cardigans, and flowery or retro-ish patterns.

in terms of jewelry: a single mini freshwater pearl necklace paired with a gold figaro chain choker would be nice. copious amounts of minimalistic rings bc as i've said before, cancer is still a material girl! perhaps more on the minimalistic side for all her jewelry in general with just a few simple, high quality pieces that only enhance her elegant and feminine side.

brands that come to mind: LoQ the brand, ciao lucia!, faithfull the brand, posse, realisation par, reformation, house of sunny, rachel antonoff.

brief description. the first sign of the zodiac, aries channels youth and the start of new things! in venus, she is in touch with her childlike nature whether it be in the bright colors she chooses, the eye-catching prints that make her heart go 'thump-thump!', or her unconscious pull towards red.

one particular piece that i feel captures the playful fieriness and undeniable sexiness of the aries venus is the luz dress in havana by réalisation par! google it and you'll see why.

aries is the child of the zodiac. i see them channeling boldness and vibrance in their clothes; whether it be through the colors, cut, or patterns— hence the neon colors to cut through the pinks and reds.

the feminine influence of venus brings with it bright shades of pink and yellow to complement the fieriness of aries.

gimaguas x lea colombo collection comes very much to mind as well. i used a lot a lot of the photos used for this collection's lookbook in my lil moodboard because i think the play between the vibrant shades of pink, red, and yellow and boldly body-loving nature of the sleeveless bodycon dress really fit the vision that i had for aries venus— lively, forever in motion whether it be in love or otherwise, and completely in tune with the boldness of mars. [i recommend checking the artworld post by sarah bassett for this collection; i found it to be rlly cool :)]

in terms of jewelry: i only see chunky rings for this sign! i would hate to overstimulate the senses with too many different things going on in one look so i think chunky rings and the right amount of light jewelry will be more than enough.

brands that come to mind: tach clothing, tyler mcgillivary, gimaguas, rua carlota [bc aries is environmentally-friendly like that!], mirror palais, some of the looks by réalisation par.

brief description. aquarius is the visionary of the zodiac. in lilith, she is attracted to all that is unordinary and liberating; every outfit, hairstyle, accessory, is a new experience. her promiscuity and independence shines through in her style— she screams "i don't dress to please any man!"

for aquarius: just... whatever paloma wool has got going on.

lots of paloma wool pieces come to mind. the mix of color and irregular shapes that are distinctive of that brand just fit the archetype of the spunky and colorful aquarius.

special mention: the nika milano x paloma wool collection reminds me so much of the naturally electric eccentricity that comes with the planet uranus. the heavy use of strong-colored gradients and form-fitting fabrics only add to the boldness associated with uranus. in lilith, she is perhaps even less afraid to let loose and show that.

i see dark, shimmery material like rayon or viscose for this sign; cloths that can carry a lot of color and funky prints. this can then be partnered with more solid fabrics like structured cotton or leather!

pieces by ed curtis and his art [find him on ig @ed_curtis_] also inspired the vision i had for this sign. there's just something about his use of bright swirls and roughly stitched fabric that feels reminiscent of the aquarius 'idgaf' nature.

in terms of jewelry: something with opal on it— whether it be a necklace pendant, an earring charm, or an adorned piece of body jewelry. the shade will have to depend on the distinct aura of the wearer; as no two aquarius natives are alike and it's influence can present itself in different ways, depending on an individuals other signs and personality. perhaps a mood ring as well, i don't know, i like to think that an aquarius lilith would bravely wear their heart on their sleeve like that.

brands that come to mind: other than paloma wool, akyn, distal phalanx, jungles jungles, suicoke, laagam [esp their neptune dress!].

so that was it for my zodiac! i recommend that everyone do this w their own signs bc lawd, i enjoyed making this.

#alis does astrology #dressing like my sign/s #zodiac #zodiac signs #astrology #amateur astrology #cancer ascendant #cancer rising #aries venus #aquarius lilith

[go-go-devil]

The Fallen City of Yiithorn: A Relic's Reflection

You are asking much of my antediluvian mind to fully return to Yiithorn, you know.

Had you asked me for such a memory back when we first met I’d have raised Joyous to the clouds and harnessed all of her blade into my fingers as they ripped your flesh asunder. Oh how lucky you all were that I had forgotten my Lightning gesture! Ahahaha! Not that I would ever dream of harming you now, my friend. I only speak of the actions of an impulsive brute who no longer dwells in my soul anymore.

…No, I’m not stalling. I am merely texturizing my point!

Fine. Let’s start this now! So, this mechanized thing is actually recording my nostalgia? No no, I know what a recorder is! I’ve just never seen one this small. Recording technology back in my time, like everything else, was simply much bigger. So, what did the city look like, you asked?

Well, err, obviously it was big and white, or “colossal in structure and molded thoroughly with kaolin” as the younger beings say these days. Really it was but a massive tangle of skeletons from several larger species of beings before us caught in permanent battle on a large mountain plateau; ones that passed away permanently despite being made of clay like us hylics. The earliest Yiithornians sculpted over the bones and kept building upwards and inwards until a city was manifested.

That was during the very beginning of the Self-Actualizing Age, back when survival was far more fierce than even I could ever imagine! No being knew how to work the technology that scattered the landscape, so it would have made sense for the city’s structure to be as vast and confusing as can be conjured for its citizens to be able to hide from pillaging rogues and feral televisions. That was how it stood out from the more modernized platforms and towers of Amulom and Mocetul, and perhaps why it frightened many outsiders.

While the outside may have looked like a white mass of twisting chaos, the inside of the city was a haven for artists! I remember there being so many colorful sculptures decorating the shops and streets, painted murals along the walls that depicted increasingly outlandish tales the further one walked into the plazas, and the food! All you poor modern beings would quiver at the decadence of a perfectly air fried fajita! 

Makes me wish I had more time to spend amongst the commoners. Perhaps then I could have more memories of our culture to harvest from my mind before it all deteriorates…

Anyhow, if its weaker citizens were the blood of the city, then us dread knights were the antibodies! We were all trained in the very center of its skeleton walls, the Heart of Yiithorn, where we honed our skills in horrific battles amongst ferocious worms, captured invaders, and our own superior officers whilst avoiding impairment from the heart’s massive, wicked spines. No being could even join the dread knights unless they were to survive in the Heart for a solid day; that was how long my flesh and will lasted.

I do recall at one point my flimsy glove armor had been reduced to powder by all the blows I’d dealt, so I used my skull to bludgeon them all until I knocked myself into the Afterlife! Then, when I awoke on that subterranean beach, I leaped upon one of my fallen opponents and kept at it until I was reminded we were dead! Hahahahahaha! The captain had to let me join after that resourceful violence!

Ah, but this season is not to contain my personal memories as a dread knight… My soul is not yet ready to confront them all just yet. I hope you understand, my friend. Good. Let me steer this conversation back to the topic at hand.

Yiithorn’s doom was actualized the moment we declared war on Amulom. We knew the sages were too peaceful to ever harm our city if we started a war, but no dread knight could have predicted just how strategically defensive the Amulomians were. During the initial years battling it seemed as if we and our allies in Mocetul were getting close to a stalemate and begrudging truce with that saturated city, which I’m sure would have certainly occurred had Gibbulus not claimed the Hylemxylem. 

That moonmad mongrel! He certainly let his preference for Amulom be known, and the city’s chieftain had more than enough bribes and resources at the ready to help keep the tyrant in that organic palace. The war was heated up again after many decades of coldness from an actual attack from Amulom, something they’d never done to our city before. Lord Gibby had to have been the one to reignite it, just to get it over with I imagine. 

We were pushed back further and further. Even the risky move of completely annihilating their ally city of Muldul to cut down on their food manifestations barely helped us. Eventually we were the ones who had to hide in the defenses of our Great City, like in the very beginning. 

Then Mocetul's forces suddenly came to our aid unexpectedly, and no one suspected they had turned on us until after we had opened the gates...

Although I had seen the Fall of Yiithorn first-hand, I must admit that my guts still churned with horror when you first gilded my vessel back up to the mountain’s ruins. The bones, the thorns, the heart… none of that twisted splendor remained. All these new beings would ever see of my birth city were the gaudy remnants of statues, pipes, broken columns and other junk far removed from their original purpose.

……I have said all I need to say on these memories. Thank you for preserving them for me, Dedus. The sooner I can move on from that age, the better my being shall be.

Now, let’s quit dawdling and treat ourselves to the blackest coffee one can find! I’ve been dying to try that new blend!

#hylics #hylics headcanons #pongorma #my writing #no one can stop me from writing clay alien lore ficlets >:)

[tau1tvec]

hey, maybe you have some advice..but how do you make your gameplay pictures so beautiful? The colours, your sims faces don't look awkward even if they aren't posed, the interior/setting always matches the vibe. Your game looks so so beautiful! Every time I'm playing for fun and take screenshots I feel good. But then I see all those posts on my dash and begin to feel bad about my own.. I want to make my game look magical too. You inspire me to play the game again, every one of your posts is so magical to me and also captures the beauty of gameplay itself. Sorry if this is too much/confusing

Okay, I’m gonna use this ask as an opportunity to be real with you, and anyone else who’s reading who also needs to hear this.

I know it’s common for everyone who’s asked this to be like, “oh no nonny, don’t do that, don’t compare your stuff to other ppl’s stuff, you’re fine the way you are,” and that’s all well meaning and sweet, but sadly this is the real world and society sucks. ✨

Despite how good it is to hear that what and how you do things shouldn’t matter, it doesn’t change the fact that social media doesn’t really care about that, and isn’t built around that mindset. In general, not comparing yourself or your work to others is incredibly difficult to do. Even I do it occasionally, impenetrable self-esteem isn’t a thing, it’s something that’s fragile and easily broken, sometimes without our ever even knowing until it’s too late. So I realized the best way to look at it, is to remove some of the negativity from it.

Controversial take, as a creative, comparing your work to others doesn’t always have to be a downer experience… it can be good, and enlightening even. The great thing about consuming media is that it can do so much for us, the appreciator, like bring us joy, bring us sadness, start a conversation, or stir inspiration, that last bit especially.

Lean into those inspirations, and no I don’t just mean other sims content. Rewatch your favorite old movies, replay your favorite old games, start a Pinterest board, go through some old family photos, create a Spotify playlist that transports you somewhere you’d rather be. Examine them, study them, focus on the colors, the lighting, the textures, there’s formulas in all kinds of media, even your mom’s old Polaroids, aim to create your own.

Learning is a never-ending journey. You can never learn enough about anything. There are so many tutorials on YouTube, and hell, even on here, if you feel like you’ve got somewhere you can improve, don’t be ashamed to do so, and change is good, bc the great thing about change is that you can do it again, and again, and that’s totally okay. Don’t be set in your ways when it comes to content creativity, it’s too beautiful a hobby for there to be any one way to be.

I think the one reason why I love Simblr so much over all other sims communities, is bc everyone here does things their own way, and everyone ( at least I hope ) appreciates each other for that. This adds variety to my dash, and makes it all the more enjoyable to look at. My game looks the way it does bc that’s how I see it in my head. I’m heavily influenced by Hayao Miyazaki, Guillermo del Torro, and old 90’s movies. I lean into the bright colors, I lean into the ideal big kitchen, I lean into the excessive neon lights, and I lean into the cringe dialogue, bc that’s what brings me joy, and that’s what brings me nostalgia.

The Sims itself brings me joy and nostalgia too, and that’s why first and foremost I enjoy playing it, lol, everything else… having a space online to share it with others who also enjoy playing it is just an added bonus.

Now as for the funky faces, there are mods out there that minimize the awkward grin, whether they still work idk tho.

You can also try putting a little more space between the bottom of your sim’s nose and their top lip, it might look weird in CAS, but this will help avoid a lot of the wonkiness from the over-exaggerated smiles in-game.

Learning to love sims for all their quirks, bad animations, and goofiness is also a good tip. 😆

#asks #anon #sorry this is long #help

[snapscube]

Hi Penny really been enjoying your dive into Dragon Quest VII! Been curious, what made u decide on playing the PS2 version over the 3DS version of the game?

(gonna assume you meant DQ VIII and answer for that!) A few things! Obviously the 3DS version was tempting with the extra content and all that (especially knowing now that one of the added party members is Red UGHHGHHGHGHGHGHGGHGG god i wish) but the PS2 version, in turn, has

an orchestrated soundtrack (VERY IMPORTANT, Strange World does NOT hit the same through MIDI)

better visuals! i like the color palette of the PS2 visuals a lot better, and there's a lot more detail in the environment that brings things together nicely.

randomized battles, which is obviously gonna be different for a lot of people and a lot of situations in terms of whether it's considered a pro or a con. normally, i don't prefer random encounters BUT in my experience with DQ11 i found that when I had the option of skipping combat encounters I really would not level up as much as I should have before hitting a roadblock and needing to grind for at least a couple of hours. so far, though there has been a LITTLE grinding, being forced to engage with the combat system in the overworld while exploring and get a consistent flow of XP has really helped pace my playthrough a lot better!

Not to mention, at the time of choosing which platform to play on, I did not have any capture solution for 3DS fully setup and I was really resistant to the idea of emulating since I prefer playing on original hardware when I can help it. I've since settled on the fact that until I can get my hands on a hardware capture mod, emulation is gonna be the way to go for any 3DS/DS streaming I do. And I've got a setup that I think looks nice and runs well now but, again, at the time I did not.

Honestly though the BIGGEST reason, even after considering all of this stuff, is that when I think of Dragon Quest I think "large, cozy adventure". It has real nostalgic vibes even though I didn't grow up with the series. A perfect cozy-up-with-tea-before-bed kind of series. And I'm not sure if any game system complements those vibes better to me than the PS2 does. The PS2 has this pitch-perfect nostalgia factor in nearly everything about the way it runs, the way it renders visuals, and thankfully a lot of those things are in tact even when running on a backwards compatible PS3. And it does that without losing the inherent feeling of scale you get when playing a console game on a TV compared to a handheld game on a small screen. That perfect balance of comfort vs. scale is the biggest reason why I chose the PS2 version, and so far I do NOT regret the decision.

[romchat]

Gothic Horror in a League of Noblemen!!

Also since bad kids is that one director's older work. Would you recommend watching that before his recent drama? (brainfarting on the name.) Anyway what I mean does his style evolve in a way that it matters to keep his works in sequential order? Or does his storytelling mature further?

Ooh @kingsandbastardz this has to be a two-parter because I can go OFF about ALON.

The Long Season vs. The Bad Kids

I'm only halfway through The Long Season, but I'd say it's both thematically and narratively more sophisticated than The Bad Kids. The show is ruminative, bleak, but also humane.

One of the things I love about Director Xin Shuang's work is how meticulously he captures stories of the choices people make when they feel like they have no choices. In The Bad Kids, he uses color and frames within frames to create a sense of dread and inevitability about our young characters' futures. And in The Long Season, he uses editing and visual parallelism to create an even more complex narrative of fate. It's like the characters are forever suspended in time, doomed to repeat mistakes even in old age as they cling to the nostalgia and ideals of a world that doesn't exist. The fact that these moments are intercut with hope, resilience, and comedy make them even more devastating.

That said...I much prefer The Bad Kids. At least so far. It's simpler but also, at least for me, more emotionally engaging. The inherent vulnerability of our young main characters make the stakes feel that much higher. I also haven't seen a show do misdirection that well in YEARS. The way it plays with our assumptions and capability for empathy...it implicates us as much as its characters.

So I think watch order depends on the feeling you want to leave with rather than the director's style!

#the bad kids #隐秘的角落 #The Long Season #漫长的季节 #Xin Shuang #cdrama #meta #romchat ama

[lemonlyman-dotcom]

🦴 and 🎨 if you haven’t answered them already! :)

Hi!!! Thank you so much Tiny!!!

🎨 ⇢ link your favourite piece of fanart and explain why you like it

There are so many good ones but one of my very favorites is the 126 as the Scooby Gang by the lovely @thebumblecee 🥰 It’s just so sweet and cute, I love the colors and the nostalgia and Buttercup. And I really love the way Cee draws everyone, I think she especially captures their faces really well.

Also! This sketch by @whatsintheboxmh of Carlos arresting Owen at a Korean spa 😂 May is so funny and it always cracks me up when she surprises me with drawings inspired by the silly little rewatch polls I come up with!

🦴 ⇢ is there a piece of media that inspires your writing?

This essay about crushes by Hanif Abdurraqib directly inspired my fic I say a prayer with every heartbeat, as did the song How Will I Know by Whitney Houston and this tweet by Kevin Durant

Ask game

#ask game #thanks tiny!!! #tarlos #911 lone star

[splickedylit]

Watching you revisit your Homestuck AUs recently and seeing how much you've grown has given me new life. Definitely riding that nostalgia high, and it made me remember From Under Bridges— it was one of my faves from you and another prime example of how you manage to take clown church and make it into something really unique 👀 if ever you were inspired to revisit FUB with some hastily scribbled doodles or project notes, just know I, an anonymous fan, would be sighing dreamily into the void

Aww, haha! Let's see. If anybody remembers From Under Bridges (the unfinished concept/fic where Karkat is a scout in the ongoing landwar between the human and alternian empires and gets captured by the alphas/betas and culture clash and scheming ensue) here's an enormous post of thoughts. (Possibly art to follow, we'll see).

I have inserted a readmore because I love you all and respect your dash length, and this got...quite long.

needs more recognition of the self through the other. I feel like this is an underlying theme in a lot of culture-clash fic; I think that if I wrote FUB now, rather than being some kind of well-respected noble house or something, the alphas and betas would be the KIDS of well-respected noble houses, who were all scanadalous or inappropriate enough in some way to their society to get half-exiled to a "prestigious" guard post near the border

this gives them a reason to connect with Karkat, when it comes to light that he's also been outcast, because of his own societal rules/standards. It also makes it a secret that they have him, which makes things significantly more dramatic lol.

Maybe for extra backup theme, any ancestor/guardian we meet who IS culturally accepted has managed that by repressing some part of themself, trimming themself down to fit into the place that's been made for them? Primary theme is a good old-fashioned "we're not so different and the things that are different can be Good Actually", secondary themes of how sometimes societal/cultural norms that have been held for generations are cruel actually, and need to be let go of.

Related to the culture clash angle; the cultural dynamics need sprucing up. I'm all for a lot of the stuff I included in my original concepts for the trolls, intricate jewelry and facial markings for blood color, etc--but especially if the humans are presented as a kind of pseudo-european historical pastiche, it gives everything some uncomfortable Noble Savage flavor in retrospect. Chalk another one up to "sheltered white teenager tries to do culture clash", lol.

thoughts for ameliorating that; the trolls are more technologically advanced than the humans. Via magic and weird biotech, trolls are working with devices and forces our human protagonists don't understand, but the reader would understand as like, a rudimentary phone. Humans are feeling great about developing plumbing and gas lighting, but trolls don't bother with shit like that because they can plug weird biotendrils into a psionic and light their whole city electrically. Even though in this universe they cohabitate on one landmass, from a human POV trolls truly do feel like aliens, they do shit the humans have trouble even comprehending.

The field humans ARE more advanced in is automated/mechanical inventions, especially weaponry. They fuck around with elements and rocks and chemicals and shit, they discover gunpowder. The one really magical thing they have going for them is the barrier between them and the trolls, maybe?

Actually, the barrier could easily be a spell the Sufferer somehow leaked to them, and was promised some form of amnesty, and instead got sold out and executed. That would fit nicely into the theme of societal cruelty and also give a good reason for Karkat to be able to break in and get captured.

might help to use more trappings of historical nonwhite cultures with the humans, and vice-versa with the trolls? Sprinkle in some viking-inspired braids and clothing styles, cloaks and layers. Especially for warmbloods, who would necessarily need some protection in cold temperatures (unlike seadwellers who I've always assumed were well-adapted to crushing icy deep-sea conditions). Vary up some human skintones and clothing designs.

Hell I could push anachronism further if it came down to it, especially on the angle of trolls being tech-advanced. This is my boyfriend, he's a psychic nightmare creature from the depths of darkness. He's got bones braided into his hair and elaborate gold earrings and facepaint and he DOES wear a jacket made of leather with bone spiky epaulets. Karkat has sickles and bone armor and ritual quadrant jewelry but also the ritual is Ritual Of Call Boyfriend and it's essentially a very basic cell phone.

Going ahead and making the call that the Church of Mirth in this AU also uses righa forachtae, my conlang from Poor Unfortunate Shoals. Because I make the rules, is why. The church itself probably wears less gold, since my theory in Shoals was that the seadwellers not being around meant the clowns had all the gold they wanted to fuck around with--but the general vibes are probably quite similar, just with more bones in the jewelry instead. Very maximalist body decoration and body mods. Piercings and tattoos encouraged, more aggressive religious self-mutilation thought highly of especially during worship/in a bacchanalian frenzy.

A possible accepted/unacceptable parallel, hm--the Grand Highblood is still in power because he killed the Sufferer, despite Pale Temptations. Later the GHB and the empress fuck with Tavros and Gamzee flips out and confronts his ancestor about it, publicly letting his quadrants come before his duty, which gets him thrown out. It does fit the pattern. HM.

Chewing over the thought of a translation spell that doesn't do any psychic translation or anything, it just forces the person's mouth to speak whatever they want to say in your language instead. Would make a good comparison to the first attempt to get to know each other with a drastic power imbalance as captor/captive. Especially if troll and human languages have some noises that the other group can't make, and it gets increasingly tiring and painful to be magically forced to speak the other person's language for extended periods of time. hmmm.

Oo, oo, late-game concept because I like the Midnight Crew as angry mentor figures and I've been struggling to figure out who the head of the human empire would be if not SS: human kingdom split into derse and prospit courts? Black and white kings+queens each ruling a half but with uneasy peace between the two sides in the face of the troll empire's encroaching border?

oh shit wait okay, I was contemplating the alphas and betas each having their own estranged guard posts but instead; Derse and Prospit split. One house run by Slick and Deuce with John+Jade+Jane+Jake and Karkat, and one house run by Droog and Boxcars with the Strilondes and....a guest of their own? :oUc HMM.

Each of them is trying not to let the troll information they find out get across to the other house because there's a friendly (or not-so-friendly if you ask Derse) rivalry between the two. Narrative tension as we the reader jump back and forth and each group is learning radically different things about their prisoners and also troll society, and the impending moment where they have to come together and Reveal their Tactical Advantage to the other side.

Goddammit I kind of want to go back to the fic just for that part, that would be delicious. Dammit.

It seems like the lesson for the humans to learn from the trolls (mostly indirectly) is "people should interrogate their society, because when you're in the 99% of a society you're discouraged from realizing that the people sitting on your shoulders are just there because they've convinced everybody they should be" and the lesson in response is "advancement doesn't have to be cruel, improvement doesn't have to be exploitative; people will function because of fear but they'll thrive because of freedom and cooperation".

TBH it feels like this storyline culminates in two simultaneous revolutions/coups and I have no IDEA how to write that lmao. It does sound very fun though. The disgraced offspring of the society's power, influential, or infamous people all show up at once but oh damn they've allied with each other, shit. Oh no once they stopped accepting our cultural praxis as law we stopped having authority over them oh shit.

#From Under Bridges #It's been six billion years since I talked about or thought about that fic lmao #talking about it has made me want to write on it again which is both a fun mood and also very inconvenient lol #I hope somebody out there remembers this fic enough to enjoy this lengthy ramble thanks anon

[blueeyeswhitegarden]

Day 20: We Interrupt Your Schedule for A Commercial Break @arcvmonth

I thought that I could use this day to talk about some of the character designs. There are so many good designs in the series from the outfits to the color schemes. The Dragon Boys all have really solid designs with unique color schemes. I've always loved Yuya's eyes because they're so expressive and really capture his emotions so well. I normally don't care much for orange, but it works well for Yuya, especially when he has other colors like red, green and white to balance it out. I always loved the nostalgia nod to Yugi with his gravity defying coat and his Riding Duel outfit was so good too. Yuto having a black and purple color scheme works. It highlights how mysterious he was at the beginning of the series. I remember fans referring to him as The Dark Duelist before his name was officially revealed. Yugo having a mostly white outfit really makes him stand out, especially with his blue and yellow hair. Yuri having a purple outfit to match with his slightly lighter tone purple hair does make it feel more like a uniform. The fact that all four of them match with the colors of their respective summoning methods is a cool detail too.

I also really love the Duel Disks. They're easily my favorite ones in the whole franchise. I prefer it when the duel disks are unique for each characters instead of everyone having the same one. While that's probably easier for the production, I just usually find them less visually interesting to see. Each character has a different color for their duel disk, each dimension has their own unique shapes for their duel disks and they aren't too small, which helps to make their use as phones more believable too. The field being made of light is also a nice touch, especially with Yuya's Pendulum summoning chant in mind. I just really like these designs for these Duel Disks.

#Arc V #Arcvmonth

[inventors-fair]

Two-Faced Runners-up of the Halloween 2023 contest! ~

Congrats to @horsecrash, @real-aspen-hours, and @snugz as our runners-up for this week!

@horsecrash — Morphic Trickster

I'll be honest: there were two faerie-oriented cards in this pool, and I knew that one of them was gonna get up there and one of them was gonna also be praised, and I just think it's funny that we had two faerie transformation cards. Not surprised, but—well, to be honest, a little surprised. Let's take a look at this aspect! It's certainly a little more mean-spirited, but there's nothing wrong with some jerk faeries. The flavor text is spot-on for sure, and wow, Insects? That's a great choice.

The multikicker and the ability that comes from it is a great choice to really sink mana late-game or just make one problem creature a little pest, OR to give yourself some extra aerial advantage later when you gotta swing for it. The multikicker wording seemed odd at first but you used the right wording for that. With the changing part of it, Eccentric Apprentice says you can drop the "gain" off that ability. I think overall this is a fun, versatile card that plays into some mischievous aspects of its color/type that aren't super easy to capture. Unlike Steve, the Recently-TF'd Insect.

@real-aspen-hours — Amoeboid Gift

There are two main wording tweaks for this card. Firstly, I would make this an "as it enters" rather than "when," although I couldn't tell you precisely why. I suppose just for reaction's sake. Secondly, Arachnoform tells us that Embrace can be worded: "Enchanted creature gets +3/+3, has trample, and is every creature type." And also Reject should have "loses all creature types" after but whatever—those are some weird ones. The concept: solid. The card: really strong in limited and would probably be a bulk rare. The feeling: genuinely horrific.

I know that you wanted this to have the creature lose all abilities, and you know what, that would've made it a much stronger rare, but I want to focus on the strengths of this card. Besides being a slammin' good time for combat tricks and aggro Simic strategies, you nailed the art description and nailed something I wouldn't have thought about this card otherwise. I would've said that this was more of an actual-Simic card without knowing the thoughtless annexation of the amoeboid in question. I can see the gunk-drowned scream frozen on the soldier's face beneath the translucent body that is soon to become their body forever. It's grotesque and, like you said, deeply unsettling. Great show of transformation's complexities on a solid body of a card!

@snugz — Brazen Banner

Doesn't it feel good to go back to basics? This card's a pain in the butt and thank goodness it's not common. These days, you never know, but still. I think this card shows a little historicity and a return to Magic without being nostalgia-bait or pandering. Flagbearing is a pretty complex pseudo-mechanic as it stands. You gotta start somewhere, though, and the target is right there. The ability to block stuff implying that this thing sits back and takes the hits is kind of sad for it, actually. I feel bad for a creature that doesn't even exist yet.

And I would've liked to see more flavor here, honestly. Not necessarily flavor text, but: where do you imagine this card taking place? What do you see happening to this determined soldier? Are they proud to carry the banner? Does the banner stand unfurling in the wind? To be honest, I thought about the Tarkir banners, and a young warrior with their hands gripped around a pole so ancient that the wood is indented with other finger-marks of generations past. But it could be a makeshift rebel flag just as much, a hooligan's mark running through the city. What's it to you? What's the line between nobility and novelty? I'd like more of that—from every card that ever gets submitted, for sure, but here especially where the resonance feels just on the cusp.

Commentary's a-comin'! @abelzumi

#mtg #magic the gathering #custom magic card #inventor's fair #commentary #runners up #halloween 2023 contest

[redheadgleek]

Books read July-September

July The Grace of Wild Things by Heather Fawcett. A completely enchanting Anne of Green Gables retelling. Utterly delightful and unique. Book Lovers by Emily Henry. My first book that I’ve read of hers and it set high standards for the rest of them. I loved the characters, I loved the romance, and it just made me feel all the feelings. The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh (audio). A retelling of a Korean fairytale that I knew nothing about. I loved the voice actor (she sounded a lot like Christina Chong from Strange New Worlds). Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune (audio). Drove to Yellowstone and back and this was one of my listens. I think it was even better as an audiobook – the voices were great. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. I loved this book and I didn’t think I would, but it was written for my generation and dealt a lot with college and nostalgia and evolving friendships. A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher. I don’t like her horror as much as I like her fairy tales and fantasy. A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland. A m/m romance set in a fictional Islamic-like world. The world building was fantastic, the magic building was disappointing, and the romance was sweet, if slow-building. The Celebrants by Steven Rowley. I almost gave up on this entirely after the first chapter, because it felt pretentious and dull and “look how adult we are because we are talking about using drugs”, but I kept reading because I liked the premise and by about half way through, I realized that i really liked the story and most of the characters. College nostalgia seems to be my thing right now, and this really captured that friendship – they just all needed less reliance on substances when having conversations. It made me want to do something similar with my friends.

August: Strange Planet by Nathan Pye. I really like his comics so this was a fun quick read from the library. In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune (audio). The book on the drive back from Yellowstone. I didn’t really like the voice actor, which is surprising because I loved his voices in The House in the Cerulean Sea. The rhythm of his voice was off-putting. Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman. Second book of the Arc of the Scythe series. A very solid second book. Nottingham: The True Story of Robyn Hood by Anna Burke. A gender swapped Robin Hood story – fast read and fun. The Emperor’s Soul by Brandon Sanderson. Friend recommendation. My first Brandon Sanderson read. This was a well developed little novella and an ending that surprised me and yet fit quite well. The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap by Mehrsa Baradaran (audio). Truly depressing but important look at how systemic racism and blatant racism lead to the wealth gap. Anxious People by Fredrik Backman. Lovely book, with interwoven characters, and plenty of gray humor. The Moon by Night by Madeleine L’Engle. I had a hankering to reread this after my failed to launch summer romances. Definitely felt the age of this book (written in the 1960s) and the pacing is much different than I remembered, but still some sweet parts. Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki. I don’t even know how to describe this book. Space opera meets Faust? Foster by Claire Keegan. So much atmosphere packed in this short story. Beach Read by Emily Henry. Not quite as good as Book Lovers, but a close second. They just never read on a beach… Carry: A Memoir of Survival on Stolen Land by Toni Jensen. Book club. This was unexpectedly powerful and the theme of gun violence through was subtle but important. People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry. This was definitely a “you are my story had I had done what I could not do” for me so it probably hit me a little differently than others. It worked well as a When Harry Meets Sally rewrite. Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher. A short Sleeping Beauty retelling of a sort. I adored Toadling. Meet the Austins by Madeleine L’Engle. Went back to read book 1 since I felt like I had missed things with the Moon at Night. I don’t know if I’ll read the whole series again. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan. I keep expecting really terrible things to happen to her characters so I’m on edge when reading, but it’s never as bad as I fear.

September: Happy Place by Emily Henry. I was quite in my unhappy place by the end of this book and could grumble about it for hours. The Toll by Neal Shusterman. I can understand why there was some disappointment with the ending of the trilogy but I thought it was quite fitting and I loved the last chapter. Dinners with Ruth: A Memoir on the Power of Friendships by Nina Totenberg. Made me really miss Ruth Bater Ginsberg, but I also liked the focus on how friendships enrich adults lives (I’m liking this theme of friendship much better than the problems with mothers of the first half of the year). A Deadly Education, The Last Graduate, and The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik. Friend recommendation. I found the 1st person narrative to be claustrophobic as it was all stream of consciousness and the world-building a little too pretentious, but the story was still enjoyable. Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall. His books are always hit or miss for me and this one fell into more of the miss bucket – the mystery solved itself halfway through, the next quarter was my least favorite romance trope, and then it was off for another mystery.

Currently reading: Firekeeper’s Daughter (tried this one on audio and it was too much teenager angst, so reading it instead, Braiding Sweetgrass (audio), The Romance Rx (I’m so determined to find a good doctors in training story. I’m a quarter of the way through and can tell you that this won’t be it).

Friend recommendations still to go: The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan, Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel, Sweet Like Jasmine by Bonnie Gray, Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt.

#reading #books #books 2023

[turbomun]

well lemme break out the macro lens & ring light and show you guys what i got at the tiny shit expo!! note: i would have bought literally everything but my budget was only $200 (and only that high thanks to my wife). there were awesome things that would have cost all or most of that budget, so i tried to strike a balance of cool, high-quality minis that would still allow me to walk away with multiple new items. anyway!!

Check out this tiny dish of raspberries small enough to fit on my fingertip! it's a real ceramic dish and metal spoon, plus the raspberries are still amazingly detailed despite being basically molecules at this point, with different shades of red for added realism...crazy.

apparently this lovely wine bottle, made of real glass and cork, also contains real wine!! according to the dude who made them, colored water in the bottles would freeze and shatter as they traveled back and forth from Canada, so this was their solution. it's extra authentic!

I've been searching for a mini cabinet radio for a while but most out there, while nice, are slightly too big for me. this one though is the perfect size!! again, it can balance on a fingertip and yet is super detailed — check out the weaving over the speaker grille!

the same artist also had a ton of mini clocks & I liked this one a lot. love that little pendulum in the cabinet part :)

at first I wasn't entirely sure why I liked this quarter scale cabinet so much. I mean ofc I love tiny shit lol, but the artist had a ton of other awesome quarter scale furniture, so why did this one in particular speak to me? it wasn't until I got home that I realized that the scallop design and the pretend leaded glass look almost exactly like the furniture in my grandma's house. Nostalgia now fits in the palm of your hand!!

this was the most expensive single item. the vendor was selling tons of amazing mini books — yes, with real printing on the inside, in addition to the incredible leather bindings. i had a hard time choosing just one, but I think I made a good choice. this is exactly the kind of thing I hoped to find at the tiny shit expo!!

sorry for any warping in the pics or uneven lighting. i needed to use a macro lens to capture the details and it's not exactly perfect, lol

#tiny shit