#[ i appreciate the commentary!! always super fun to read! :D ]

[despairforme]

"An adult pocky party with Tesla" sounds like a double entendre XD

❝ 'N who says it wasn't? ❞

[katzkinder]

Day 8: Melancholy/THANK YOU!

I ended up joining Servamp fandom here on tumblr about... Four years ago now? In 2018, right after moving to a different state and leaving everything I knew behind. I found the anime by complete chance while browsing the Josei tag, and now... Here I am!!

I don’t know where I would be right now without this fandom, I really, truly, don’t. I’ve met so many wonderful, kind, amazing people through this series, rediscovered my love of creation, and made tons of friends!

To everyone who’s been with me on this journey... THANK YOU!

First up, @hello-vampire-kitty thank you for your hard work translating the chapters! I really appreciate the translation notes you add, and how clearly important it is to you to treat this series with the love the English localization won’t /hj

@xchibikai thank you for providing the RAWs! You’ve been doing it for so long, and without you and Kitty, we’d all be totally lost! Not to mention your Tsukimitsu sib art always makes me feel so warm and fuzzy; it’s so cute!

@servamp-announcements Even though you just started, I’m already so grateful! The formatting on posts is really easy to read, and the blog theme is also very easy to navigate! I especially appreciate that you provide sources and links back to the original announcements 🥰

@ryotakun-translations it looks like I can’t tag you, but I still wanted to give my thanks! Commissioning translations from you is always so easy and pleasant, and I know I’m getting quality work when I do.

@kalu-chan Thank you for uploading the interactions from Final Servamp Quest, and the translation for both the White Day routes and Gear of Night Trick! Your doc was super easy to navigate, and it must have taken a long time.

@rubyleaf We haven’t really ever talked before, but I still wanted to take a moment to say thanks!! Your fanfic Guilty Pleasure Friends is AMAZING, and I really admire the dedication it takes to keep updating something like that for so long. I love reading it during long car rides, and the cafe scene to this day brings me so much joy

@crazyanime3 I’ve been taking excellent care of the boys you sent me... Was it already two years ago?? Thank you for helping me start my collection way back when! I still have the little message and doodle you sent along with the buttons, saved somewhere safe

@snowlilys-wife @cottoncanada @shinychxndelure Thank you for being so supportive and accepting! I love talking with you all and hashing out scenarios and headcanons is always really fun! Also, y’all are funny af

@mahi-does-some-art @pomfry @hisakata-resutomoshibi @yarrayora @haru-jje @unwelcomedfox  @revoleotion @xthunderbolt @madburnishes @tipzycat y’all some talented and also incredibly sweet motherfuckers, holy shit. I’m so, so glad I met all of you.

@joydoesathing your genderbend designs are always so creative and I love so, so many of them! I think my favorites are Gil and Hugh. I also love your Virtues au a lot, too! Your eye for character design is incredible, and then you do all that in pen on top of it? Amazing!!

@chayam-chi Your art is so cute! You’re such a sweet person, and so funny, too! I always look forward to seeing you on my dash, and I look forward to seeing where you go from here!!

@danozi1 Your sense of humor and the creepy cuteness of your works always scratch a very specific itch for me, and also you have Good Taste

@mystivio @meiwaku-san Your panel colorings are so good and always leave me floored. Like, coloring goals, full on.

@random-husky I’ve super duper enjoyed everything you’ve posted this week, from your ideas to your compositions, you’re so creative!!

@kiwitheweebartist you’re getting better and better every day! Your little commentary posts and random thoughts are all very cute and it makes me smile whenever I read one.

@kchk-55 @d01110010rr You’re so young, but already so talented?? I’m amazed! I hope good things find you both going forward, and that school and life in general is easy on you. If anyone is mean to y’all, I’ll beat them up!!

@jutsuzuban MIKEY. YOU. I love you!!

@niccodoesart Sushi! I love the way you color; you’re so good with markers! The way you draw feet is so cute ❤

@faith-gigliorosa Your edits are so cool, holy shit. I always look forward to them! Ballad of the mona lisa is still one of my favorites.

@blackrose4242564 @theartcat2 @maria-the-mage @wingedpaperpeachpurse @radioactivesweet @fgfhfhfhf @ourelenabespalovafan @ezuja-deatro @ninjagirl142 @pause143 I see you guys in my notes for practically everything I post and thank you so much for your support!!!

@bluemoonfantasiesiii there’s a lot of things I could say to you and about you. There’s a lot of things I want to express. There’s a lot of moments and talks that I hold dear to my heart, but I think the best way to sum up my feelings towards you, is this... ......... >:3c

... That was a lot of people, huh. |D Sorry if I annoyed anyone with this, but I just... Wanted to express my sincere gratitude to each and every one of you. I’m a better, happier person for each person I’ve met here, and I’ve never quite had this kind of experience within a fandom before. I’m glad Servamp was the first time I held my hand out within an online community to quite this degree, and thank you to every single person who reached back.

A very merry, very belated, HAPPY 10TH ANNIVERSARY to you all!

[fonulyn]

Dude I need more of Ur fics man. I also need more of pinning Chris and Piers as they watch how fucking goddamn lethal Leon is on the field. Or just like BSAA having some training shit with the DSO and Leon proceeds to break every goddamn record the BSAA has on obstacle courses or in the shooting range. And like everyone is super impressed and turned on (shhh don't let Chris or Piers notice or you'd be stuck doing laps for staring at their man's ass for too lonh), but not as much as Chris and Piers, who are just stupidly honry and turned on by how effortlessly badass Leon is.

dude i've written like over 500k of resi fic already :'D BUT REST ASSURED I won't stop until i've written at least 500k more! also hell to the yes to Leon being lethal and badass. it's why Chris and Piers never should work with him tbh. they'd just stand there with a raging boner each, staring at Leon who gets it done.

so here have some training shenanigans :'D it's kinda a lil crack-y i guess lol? but i had fun.

-

"Jesus Christ, man, did you see that!?"

Piers could barely hold back a snort as he overheard the new recruits, each and every one of them so starry-eyed over Leon that Piers could've probably stood right behind them for the rest of the day that they wouldn't have realized. It was always amusing, when Leon for some reason or another appeared at the BSAA HQ, seemingly just to dazzle the newcomers. Piers wasn't even sure who had first let Leon in, because it sure as hell wasn't exactly permitted for random government agents to just appear and break all the existing records both on the obstacle courses and the shooting range.

Well, almost all of the records. Piers still held the record for sharp shooting himself, and Chris did win when it came to anything that had to do with sheer strength. Everything else? Leon.

Maybe that was why he appeared back regularly. To see if he could still outdo himself.

Besides it wasn't like Piers minded. Nor Chris, for that matter. One would have to be dead not to appreciate the sight of Leon flipping his way through the obstacles and crushing a target with his thighs before practically cartwheeling over a wall most BSAA recruits couldn't even cross with the help of a rope.

As Piers walked by the new recruits standing around gawking at Leon instead of doing anything more productive, he heard more than his fair share of both innocently impressed comments and the kind of lewd commentary he had half the mind to immediately nip off in the bud. He pretended like he wasn't hearing any of it, though, but instead headed straight to where Chris was standing, staring at Leon as intently as anyone else.

Piers came to a halt next to Chris, their shoulders almost touching, and it was painfully obvious that Chris didn't even notice him there. Piers cleared his throat, and Chris practically jumped half a foot in the air as he startled. "What the hell, Piers!?" he hissed, low enough not to alert any of the others a few paces away.

"Enjoying the view?" Piers asked with a grin, not even trying to pretend like he wasn't laughing at Chris.

Chris only huffed. "Shut up. As if you wouldn't have."

That, now, was true if anything. If Piers hadn't been stuck inside in that godawful bore of a meeting he definitely would've used his time wisely and stared at Leon as much as anyone else. Instead of responding anything to Chris, he turned to look at Leon, holding his breath as he watched the graceful way the man moved. No one in this world could make a flip-kick look as fucking hot as Leon did. No one.

"Did he-" Piers started, but Chris read his mind and answered before he even got the question out. "He did."

Piers swallowed hard, shifting in his stance a little. Hopefully no one would notice how on board his body already was with this. Who needed any adult films to watch when there was Leon? He was fairly certain, no, he was absolutely certain that Chris was as helplessly turned on as he was, if not more considering how long he'd stood there watching.

"So, after this..." Piers started, trailing off.

Chris nodded solemnly. "Already took care of it. Canceled everything for the rest of the day." He took his eyes off Leon for long enough to give Piers a grin. "We have plans at home."

And Piers could've kissed him right then and there, if they hadn't agreed on no PDA at work. Best not to tempt fate, anyway, he might've lost it and climbed Chris right away if he'd gotten even half a step closer. "Hell yeah," he breathed out reverently. "This is why you're in charge."

Chris huffed, amused. "We'll see about that at home."

[chacolachao]

Just thought I'd let you know that even if you consider yourself a boring Sonic fan, I won't. While it's true we don't get to talk much, and I often wish we could so I won't feel so awkwardly shy with you all the time, I understand you won't always have the time for me. I really do envy your chill attitude and artistic ability. Anyways, just keep being you and sorry if this all sounds either too sappy at best or too weird at worst. You're cool to me.^^

:D Thank you so much for your kind words. I have a lot of fun reading and thinking about your commentary, it honestly brightens my day immensely. Reading this was a treat and I will always appreciate you and everything you've done for me :))) A really long winded way for me to say, you're super cool to me, too.

[peemil]

☕evangelion 😳

y'all are killing me

the more time i spend apart from this show, the more i find myself kind of hating it shsjhl;hjsdhjso;d. i am somehow now in an even worse place mentally than i was when i first watched evangelion but even so i am NOT letting myself fall in the same traps of woobifying shinji and excusing the behaviors i shared with him and vice versa.

starting with my most general take, i don't like the rebuilds. like, at all. granted, i haven't seen 3.0 + 1.0 yet, and i will be avoiding spoilers until there is an official english translation, but i feel like the rebuilds are kind of what you get when you listen a little too hard to people who didn't get the psychological parts of eva and spent the latter half of the series wishing it would go "back" to being a regular mecha anime (which it never was in the first place). the rebuilds lack a lot of the same internal conflicts that drive the characters (especially shinji), and higher budget means the rebuilds can be more direct in their storytelling and less reliant on alternative ways of communicating ideas, which causes the rebuilds to lose some of the avant-garde present in the original series. as a result, it's jarring to see some of the attempts made at this in 3.0, and painful to watch these attempts fail, as they have no real precedent in the film series. the best way for me to explain the rebuilds is they feel like sterilized and polished, but hollow versions of the original anime series. but maybe i'm just biased, because none of the things i liked about the original are present in the films.

on to more minutiae... i've said it once and i'll say it again, asuka langley soryu is a LESBIAN and there's nothing anyone can do to make me stop reading her character in this way. the only male characters she is depicted as having any romantic feelings towards in the series just (unintentionally) so... comphet. her obsessive flirting with kaji is rooted in her need to prove her worth as an adult, i.e., to prove to others that she is something she inherently is not. plus, he's older, and he's conventionally attractive, so if she didn't have feelings for him (or at least publicly perform having feelings for him), she'd be out of her mind, right? asuka is also someone shown to pursue connections out of convenience (literally citing it as her primary reason for wanting to be friends with rei), and any intimacy she shares with shinji (i.e., their kissing scene) is done only because 1. she's bored 2. shinji is the closest person available. i find the notion that she's a tsundere hiding her real feelings for him laughable, because we've seen what asuka is like around people she genuinely likes and whom she wants to like: the hatred she shows for rei takes a different form from her hatred for shinji: whereas asuka is disgusted by shinji, she is resentful towards rei. her resentment towards rei curiously begins only after rei rejects asuka's offer of friendship, so i am inclined to believe that asuka's feelings of anger when she sees rei receives more respect than she believes she does at nerv are compounded by the fact that she wanted to like rei and have a connection with rei, but wasn't permitted to do so. we also get to see how asuka acts around the one person with whom asuka is able to form a meaningful connection with, whom she lets herself trust and open up to: hikari. asuka actually has fun with hikari and feels safe enough around her to not only seek refuge with her and her family in her time of need, but also to admit that her rage is mostly towards none other than herself. her behavior towards shinji is nothing like her behavior towards either of these characters, but it is not much different from her behavior towards kensuke and toji, two other boys in her class, so maybe... maybe she just doesn't like boys? lol. i'm aware that asuka is genuinely homophobic and awful in the episode 24 drafts, and that it was in no way, shape, or form the writers' intent to turn that into some sort of commentary on internalized homophobia. but with the canon footage that did get animated, i'm really not sure how else i'm supposed to analyze this aspect of her character.

similarly, i don't appreciate how many fans will treat headcanoning shinji as gay instead of bi is somehow "bi erasure." number one, shinji's behavior and attitudes towards the women around him is actually kind of appalling, so i wouldn't necessarily want to use his objectification of and acts of violence against their bodies as particularly strong evidence that he's genuinely attracted to women. number two, of course a show about a young man made in the late 90's is going to try to portray the people to whom he is attracted primarily as women. partially because they can't start from the get-go with him having his teenage sexual awakening with another male—for a mainstream anime, that wouldn't be profitable—and partially because this is an anime and showing women and girls in a sexual light is profitable. and given shinji's role of audience surrogate, of course he is going to be the one doing the ogling and sexualizing because he is us, and after all, it is the viewer who wants to see the anime tiddies, no? shinji's more sexual encounters with the women in his life are always either deeply awkward, uncomfortable, and even unnatural, or they completely obectify and commodify the bodies of the women in question. for this reason, i have always seen these moments as existing without genuine attraction: only either confusion (because these situations really are quite blatantly sexual) or simply a disingenuous performance of the attraction shinji thinks he should be displaying, manifesting as the same objectification of women he has seen men exhibit for all of his life—it's little more than a mimicry of the bad behavior he has grown up watching, because that's what he thinks attraction towards women is supposed to look like. conversely, his actions with kaworu, while skittish, seem to come much more organically. shinji is constantly and consistently drawn to kaworu, in addition to being willing to open up to kaworu in ways he doesn't let himself with any other person. granted, kaworu is the only person to give shinji the love he desperately needs and craves throughout the entire course of the series, but the fact that kaworu is the first person shinji genuinely acts like a kid his age with a massive crush in a way that doesn't feel blatantly scripted around, as well as the fact that shinji goes on to feel more slighted by kaworu's perceived betrayal than any mistreatment he experiences from anyone in the whole course of the series (save for his literal father)... idk. sus lol

been awhile since i've done a proper rewatch of this show so i can't speak super generally since i unfortunately don't remember too much. one thing i will say though, i LOVE how the series is very upfront about the fact that shinji's loneliness and trauma (and loneliness and trauma in general) are going to be core themes in the series from the start. people say the first 6 episodes are slow just because they don't have as much action as some of the episodes in the middle of the series, but i remember speeding through them in one sitting because i wanted to understand more about shinji and his inner workings; i was fascinated by his psychology. people famously refer to evangelion as a bait-and-switch, and maybe that's true to a degree, because i don't think anyone really saw the shift to more trippy animation coming, but the psychological themes present in the latter parts of the series are still very present in episodes 1-4. i'm also amused by people who say they're "caught off guard" by the last four or so episodes, because the major shift towards being a show primarily about psychology really begins in episode 16, when eva unit 01 is consumed by leliel and shinji has to confront the "self within his self" for the first time in the train car of his mind. i know it begins as just another angel fight but like... guys... how did you miss that... episode 16, because it really is where this shift begins, is actually my favorite episode in the entire series. that, and it was where i was first introduced to this hegelian concept of each person functioning both as an actor or operator who carries out actions, as well as an audience perceiving and observing their actions, their thoughts, and themself. which, to a degree, solidifies the notion that anything and everything technically could be considered performance. it's made my work much, much easier and my day-to-day life much, much more dramatic.

[himbowelsh]

Valentine's day alphabet for Lewis Nixon, pretty please! I love your writing! :)

valentines day alphabet  ( accepting! )

A   :   AFFECTION.   how does your muse show affection?

Gifts. When it’s someone he cares deeply for, he’ll shower them with gifts. He’s just that sort of person, and it’s his way of giving back to people who choose to stick with him. When it gets too much, he’s got to be told to cut it out. He also enjoys being close to people, even if that doesn’t always translate to cuddling; he likes curling up next to his partner on a couch or in bed, he likes touching his friends casually to show he’s there and he cares. It seems a bit careless, but that’s just his style.

B   :   BOUQUET.   does your muse like flowers? which ones are their favourite?

This man is masterful with the bouquets. He has a really sharp aesthetic eye, and knows exactly what will look good in a certain spot, exactly what’s appropriate for a certain occasion...   he doesn’t ask the florist for help, the florist asks him. Nix would never garden by choice, but he’s a bouquet connoisseur.

C   :   CHOCOLATE.   does your muse like chocolate? which one is their favourite?

It’s called a guilty pleasure, leave him alone.

D   :   DATE.   what is your muse’s ideal date? where / who with / etc?

Why must one...  do things? Is it not enough to simply spend a night in, maybe in a nice hotel, ordering room service and watching a movie, before passing out next to each other? Honestly, Nix doesn’t need to go places  ---  he’d prefer a quiet night in, not around people, so long as he and his partner can spend time together.

E   :   EMBRACE.   does your muse like hugs? what are their hugs like?

Honestly, they make him a little uncomfortable. He wasn’t hugged as a child, it does not compute. He’s tricky about physical affection in general, so he definitely won’t be the one to initiate hugs...  and honestly, might stand there like a board if he’s the one getting hugged.

F   :   FLIRT.   is your muse good at flirting? how do they flirt?

Oh, he can. He can, he will, and he’s good at it. Nix is a pretty natural flirt; when he bothers to lay on the charm, it can be overwhelming. He’s great at disarming people, and quite shameless when he’s interested in someone.

G   :   GIFT.   is your muse good at gift - giving or do they struggle to get it right?

He’ll literally just hand out money, man. “Here you go, don’t spend it all too fast.”   That’s for the people he likes. When it comes to someone he loves, like a partner, Nix is very, very different  ---  he enjoys spoiling them, even if he doesn’t trust himself to get it right all the time. Jewelry, tickets to shows, new hats, new shoes...  the amount of things he showers his partners / best friends with it a little alarming. He’s definitely bought Dick a puppy before. A whole-ass puppy. Dick didn’t even ask for one, Nix just gave it to him, and suddenly, wow, looks like Dick is now a dog owner.

H   :   HEART.   is your muse quick or slow to give their heart away?

He definitely doesn’t make a habit out of it. When it happens, it’s usually unintentional, and he ends up caring more than he ever means to, or knows what to do with. Nix’s heart is a fickle thing. It goes where it wants, he’s got no say in the matter.

I    :   I LOVE YOU.   does your muse find ‘i love you’ easy or hard to say?

Oooooh, buddy. He’s not gonna say it first. He’d never dream of saying it first. He is legitimately terrified that he’ll say it to his partner and not hear it back; he has nightmares about it, and that’s honestly the moment he realizes how much he loves his partner. He’ll probably freeze up the first time he hears it ---  just for one telling second, before covering it up with a smirk and a half-serious  “aww, love you too”, like it’s nothing.  Nix won’t be able to really say it for a long time...  and even then, won’t be able to breathe until he hears it back. It’s a big thing for him, and he honestly needs to hear it a lot.

J   :   JEALOUSY.   does your muse get jealous in a relationship?

Yeah, and he’s not even subtle about it. If someone’s monopolizing his partner, he’ll either insert himself into the conversation and completely take it over, or...  just take his partner and lead them away. No explanation, nothing, just ‘c’mon, time to go.’

K   :   KISS.   is your muse a good kisser? why / why not?

Nix’s ability to kiss is firmly tied into how much alcohol is in his system at a given time. The drunker he is, the bolder he is...  but way sloppier, too, and needier. He’s trying his best, but that might not be a good thing. When he’s sober, he’s a lot more...  deliberate about it. He pays more attention to where he puts his hands, cupping his partner’s face and holding them like a precious thing. His sober kisses are almost chaste, not very adventurous, not demanding anything from the other person...   but the more comfortable he is in a relationship, the more he’s able to put into a single kiss. Lots of touching  (he loves getting his hands in a partner’s hair), breaking apart just long enough to gasp for breath, pulling them into his lap and just...  kissing the hell out of them. Nix needs to get lost in a kiss.

L   :   LOVE.   who does your muse love?

He adores his sister Blanche, has a soft spot for his mother that she may or may not return, loves his kid (even if he doesn’t know how to show it), loves his friends, loves Dick to the moon and back... Nix has a big heart, and more love to give than he realizes.

M   :   MOONLIGHT.   is morning or night a more romantic setting?

Nighttime is where it happens, baby! Mostly because he resents getting up before noon.

N   :   NAUGHTY.   what is your muse like in bed?

Naughty’s a very good word for it! Again, this depends on his level of sobriety at the time. When very drunk, he’s been known to just...  stop working in the middle of the act, sometimes even passing out. (Let’s just say Kathy had her reasons for that divorce.) A more sober Nix, however, is very attentive. Talk about a tease. He likes to hold, to caress, to feel his partner. Definitely has a few kinks, and is tentatively eager to experiment; he really digs encouragement in bed, which is probably a fun topic for therapy. His hair is a thing, okay  ---   twist it, pull it, run fingers through it. He loves doing the same to his partner. This man is horrible when it comes to leaving marks in visible spaces, and has basically no shame about it  ---  one of Nix’s greatest turn-ons would be seeing his partner fully decked out in eveningwear, with a hickey he gave them just visible at their collar. Sometimes does a weird sort of thing in bed where he’s massaging his partner in the middle of the act? Because god forbid they had any tension in their back or shoulders while they’re legit on top of him! He’s quite vocal, murmuring a running commentary the whole way through, but doesn’t get loud until the very end.

O   :   ODE.   does your muse have a way with words?

He’s an eloquent bastard, but 78% of what he says is sardonic. Don’t trust him.

P   :   PARTNER.   what does your muse look for in a partner? looks / personality?

He wants a keen mind, someone who he can have discussions with; someone dynamic, open to new ideas and out-of-the-box thinking, with their own opinions they’re not afraid to express. He’d kind of love a partner he could debate with, honestly...  but definitely one he can bounce off of. A person capable of reading between the lines, because he often doesn’t say what he means. Someone who gets his humor  ---  someone who likes to laugh. A good appreciation of music would be great, especially if his partner was a good singer! And definitely...  someone patient.

Q   :   QUESTION.   would your muse ask the big question or expect their partner to?

He’s asked it enough times at this point, with a progressively bigger succession of rings; at the same time, he doesn’t expect anyone will ever ask him, so, what can you do?

R   :   ROMANCE.   is your muse a romantic or a cynic?

Romance is for people who’ve never had their dog stolen by their ex-wife.  (He can be super romantic, if the incentive is there  ---  like, astonishingly romantic, candlelit dinner and bedclothes strewn with roses. He’s got a romantic spirit, but needs a good reason to put that effort in, and the damn right person.)

S   :   SWEETHEART.   did your muse have a childhood sweetheart?

Bold of you to assume he had a childhood. Nah. Nix was raised by a succession of nannies and all-male prep schools. He never really had the chance. He never really dated until college.

T   :   TRUE LOVE.   does your muse believe in true love?

Heh heh...  no. No way. That’s a stupid question.  Love’s just...  it happens for some people, and they’re able to relish it, and thrive in it. For others, it’s distant and difficult and never quite what they want it to be. For some people, it’s right there, but they’re not allowed to seize it. There are lots of different types of love; Nix has known (or dreamed of) them all at one point or another. Nothing about any of them is true.  There’s no such thing as ‘meant to be’.

U   :   UNREQUITED.   has your muse had their heart broken?

He’d say no, but Kathy’s divorce definitely took him by surprise. Like...  it wasn’t as if he loved her then, he hadn’t loved her for a long time  ---  hell, maybe he didn’t love her when they married  ---  but they had an understanding. She swept the rug out from under him, and Nix rushed into a relationship with his English bride to sort of...  bounce back from that. That ended in heartbreak too.

V   :   VALENTINE.   how does your muse feel about valentine’s day?

Commercial and stupid, but you bet he’s booking the best seats at the fanciest restaurant in town. It’s what his partner would want, right? (He’d need someone to actively tell him, “no, let’s not, we can stay at home and I’ll be just as happy”, otherwise he feels like he needs to please.)

W  :   WEDDING.   would your muse get married? why / why not?

You’d think he’d have enough of that after Kathy, but...  nope, he keeps making the same mistake. Glutton for punishment.  

(Marriage is an institution he honestly doesn’t believe in, but he’ll keep trying until somebody proves him wrong. Nix has a certain need to be in a relationship, to be bound to someone else in a way that feels permanent. Deep down, he has the feeling that everyone leaves, especially the people who make the mistake of getting close to him. Putting a ring on it makes things feel more permanent, like they won’t just up and run as soon as things start to get difficult. Nix isn’t afraid of commitment  ---  he just doesn’t feel like anyone can, or should, commit to him.)

X   :   XOXO.   does your muse use / like pet names?

“Sweetheart” is his big one, and he’ll whip out the occasional “darling”...  or “dear”, which is nearly always sarcastic. He’ll sometimes get creative with them, (ex:  “Guts 'N Glory here applied for a transfer...”) but never use those more than once  ---  heaven forbid he become boring.

Y   :   YOURS.   does your muse get protective easily?

Yes, and it’s completely removed from his jealous tendencies. Nix does not like to see the people he cares about threatened under any circumstances. He’s a lover, not a fighter...  but he’s a lover with a lot of money, and a big brain he knows how to use. He has the resources at his disposal to publicly obliterate someone, and could find dirt on a saint. Just give Nix a reason. In the moment, he’ll diffuse the situation as best as possible, maybe warning someone off or leading his loved one away. The real show happens after the fact.

Z   :   ZZZ.   how many people has your muse slept with?

Okay...  okay. Listen. He went to Yale. He was away from home. He was partying...  a good portion of nights. Like, he’s not a womanizer, but he’s been around, okay.

[rockmiyabideusexmachina]

2019 Megaman Valentine’s Day (Talent) Contest Results!

Part two of results day, even though I always label the Talent category as Cat. 1, these results are in reverse. Oh well.  Again, raffle prize winners will be contained in both posts, so keep an eye out after my commentary on your art. Not all raffle prize winner are contained in this post. I’ll be contacting all winners soon enough, so sit tight!

To see the Humor category results, please head to THIS POST.

Will any of our Iron Chef contestants be able to create an artsy meal with these ingredients?:

To find out, along with your Talent category winners and full gallery of entries, click here after the break:

Category 1 (Talent) - The Way To A Mega Man’s Heart Is Through His Stomach

This category had the larger amount of participants, and was honestly a lot harder to judge. I really was going back and forth on where to place people, because I love so much about all of them! Your delicious culinary character combos were all delectable in their own right, whether they were actually edible pieces of art or not. I did leave this category up to interpretation a bit more, despite the initial description wording it as a food-themed pinup. As long as it contained some sort of food with a character, it technically fit the theme. 

Thank you once again to all who participated. You all make holding these events fun year after year!

I know imgbox gallery gave people some issues before, so as always, let me know if images or links appear broken. Crossing my fingers this works smoothly this year! XD

After each entrant’s name, there will be a link in the character description to the entry, too, just in case the external inserted images don’t load for you.

[Full Talent Gallery]

1.) @prar-draws​ - Zero and Ciel

While most entries focused on sugary sweets, such as pastries or candies, prar thought outside of the box just enough to stand out against the rest. Taking Zero and Ciel’s already long hair and turning it into ramen and soba noodles, the pair are relaxing together in an overflowing hot tub bowl of their pasta-y strands, broth, veggies and then some, while they enjoy their own bowls of noodles. Despite being heavily layered in clothing, *warning* this is one steamy, saucy pic! XD

*For coming in 1st (in back-to-back years, no doubt), prar has won $100 via Paypal, or a prize of their choice up to that value.*

2.) @digitallyfanged​ - Tron Bonne and Megaman Volnutt

Ever the tease, Tabby’s Tron is wooing Volnutt with a sugary-sweet sensory overload at the hands of both her, and her Servbots. Or maybe at the head, too, based on that 2-tier strawberry cake that doubles as a hat on happy Servbot. While including so many treats were definitely eye candy in this piece, so too is Tron in that dress, causing Volnutt to deeply blush. 

The soft glow of the lighter transparency background, along with the usual shine of your lighting on the pair in the foreground, help them stand out. Even if my mouth is watering more at all the Servbot’s treats. Hahaha.

*For coming in 2nd, Tabby has won $50 via Paypal, or a prize of their choice up to that value.*

3.) @irischroma​ - Nana

Nana is ready to split her banana split sundae with you. I see what you did there. Your mission is to follow her every command as she feeds you, in her bonus rpg/sim screencap. I really liked the use of multiple halftones to accent the shading on both her and the background of the full image. The background itself is really cool, to incorporate the ice cream mounds, syrup and sprinkles, which also actually align nicely with the sprinkles on her apron. Truly adorbs.

*For coming in 3rd, Iris has won $25 via Paypal, or a prize of their choice up to that value*

And the remaining wonderful entries, in alphabetical order by alias:

@bracedshark​ - Marino

The first entry to embrace food-themed clothing, Marino is the living embodiment of the chocolate peppermint sundae she is holding. I love mint chocolate chip ice cream, so Marino’s green hair and clothing accents fit that ice cream color perfectly. Also while tying in your traditional peppermints as accessories on her, as well as the sort of melty pinkish mascara dripping down the side of her cheeks. 

*Bracedshark is the winner of Raffle Prize #1 - The cel of Duo*

@drewblossom​ - Ice Man and Roll

Another great use of food-styled clothing, Drew made a precious cinnamon roll dress for Roll, and an ice cream cone vest with a more whipped topping trim for Ice Man. Ice’s hair also adds to that whipped cream feel, yet despite dancing around, does a good job keeping that cherry from falling off the top of his head. XD This is a super cute scene, and has even better apparel style. 

*Drew is also the winner of Raffle Prize #4 - The Tamashii Nations Zero figure and Zero emblem wristband*

@hyperbole1729​ - Tundra Man, Top Man, Snow Robbit and Eye Ice

The first of two yummy cookie entries, which I’ll assume were baked around the same time, feature both real world treats, and 2D ones. I give Hyperbole big props for making the Snow Robbit and Eye Ice enemies into cookie shape form. They look super delicious, and I’m a guy who loves cookies with tons of frosting. XD Taking the pic on a wintry snowflake plate makes them stand out even more, so I totally loved your creativity with that. 

That baking didn’t only take place in Hyperbole’s kitchen, as Tundra and Top also spent the day making the same treats. I think their cookie cutter shapes have given me a clue to how you made yours. LOL Very cute!

*Hyperbole is the winner of Raffle Prize #3 - The Zero plush and framed X 3D sprite art*

@larytello​ - Zero and Ciel

Strawberry cake seemed to be the most popular choice of romantic treats, and here lary has Zero feeding Ciel her slice. Your digital airbrush shading has really improved, and it shows in this piece! It really gives a nice depth and definition to their arms and legs, not to mention the folds in Ciel’s dress, or the shine off of their helmets. Even with the heavily pink background, with all the hearts, they both still stand out nicely against it, despite their color schemes. Super cute!

@papillonthepirate​ - Roll.EXE

Our other real world food entry is a sugar frosted Roll.EXE cookie, complete with rosy cheek sprinkles and lemon-flavored ribbon candy antennae attached to her. Again, like Hyperbole’s submission, Papillon had the perfect heart decal plate design to help accentuate her creation, along with the doily it’s sitting on. I’m sure she was delicious! I appreciate the extra creativity taking the theme of the contest literally and making an actual tasty Mega Man character treat!

@peach35​ - X and Zero

A very cute scene of X and Zero sharing desert and a drink with swirly-shape sippy straws at a quaint little bistro off the shores of Dopple Town. And I’d imagine the pair of strawberries left snuggling on the table also sort of symbolize the hunter couple cuddling up after their cake and conversation, too. Pardon the pun, but I like the slice of life feel to the scene, that sort of gives it this Norman Rockwell-styled feel. The detail on your strawberries and lemon slices really turned out quite great; they look pretty real!

SockMonkii - Ashe

Ashe is so busy devouring that chocolate/strawberry filled cake slice, I don’t know if she fully realizes how much she has missed on her face. XD In fact, I think she’s likely eyeing the rest of the whole cake as the booty she’s after, rather than of any admirer. LOL The ribbon and bow background, along with all the hearts, help emphasize the cake as a romantic gift. Again, I see a lot of growth and improvement in your art style after a year’s time, and I think this pic turned out great!

@star-crossed-swords​ - Blues and Tempo

While definitely a sweet and romantic drawing, this entry felt like it fit in more with last year’s humor category theme, Beauty and the Beastman.EXE, that I almost wondered if you got mixed up with an older contest post. ^^; So I decided to go with the assumption that Quake Woman/Tempo had something delicious leftover on her hand that Blues was kissing off of her, to fit it within the content requirements. :D Their formalwear looks very nice on both of them. I like the sparkles on her dress coordinating with the starry sky outside the window. 

SubZeroIceSkater - Tundra Man

I totally read that tagline in Tundra Man’s voice. And the more bittersweet, the more pure chocolate, so it sounds good to me! Containing most of his stage enemies in cacao form, this box of chocolates is like a your chances at an extra life in item roulette. You never know what you’re gonna get. That’s sort of reverse Forrest Gump logic...right? I love how the box is designed just like his helmet’s rupee with icicles protruding, along with all the beautiful sparkling snowflakes and hearts in the background. I want a box, badly!

[cyanmnemosyne]

Yuletide Letter (2018)

Dear Yuletide Writer,

First of all, thank you for taking the time to write me a fic! These last few years I've been increasingly drawn to tiny fandoms, so I always look forward to this opportunity to share the love with other people who love them too. :D

I've tried to provide some commentary below for each of my requested fandoms, in case it's useful to you, but ultimately Optional Details Are Optional, and I'm sure I'll enjoy what you come up with regardless of if your heart takes you in a different direction. :)  

AO3 name: darkcyan

Requested fandoms:

Star Ocean: Till the End of Time

Suisei no Gargantia | Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet

Ghostverse - Alex Yuschik (Podcast)

Foundryside - Robert Jackson Bennett

[ hiding the rest under the cut, because I tend to write a lot XD ]

General Preferences:

I have no preferences regarding length, tense, or POV; feel free to do whatever seems right for the story.

Stories with emotional warmth are my jam: fluff, found family, battle couples. People learning to trust / coming to love each other, and people for whom their mutual love and/or trust is already their bedrock. I don't need the entire story to be lighthearted from start to finish, but the stories I love most are the ones where even if the characters have been through Some Shit in the course of the story, by the end they're in as good or better a place than when they started. 

If you feel like doing an AU, go for it! :D I like it best when the characters feel "true" to their canon personalities, as filtered and changed through the different lens of how the AU differs from canon. I do have a slight preference for AUs that provide opportunities for interesting worldbuilding (e.g. scifi AU) than the more-typical coffeeshop/college AU. 

In general, if you're the sort to enjoy doing a deep dive into worldbuilding (AU or canon), I'm happy to come along for that ride, too. :D  

Time travel fic is one of my guilty pleasures. XD I have no need for the exact mechanics to be explained; going down the canon-divergence-with-foreknowledge path is completely OK with me. :D

I love it when female characters are their awesome selves

This is not an exhaustive list, so if you don't see something in my DNW list, you're welcome to either send me an anon ask or just assume it's fine. :D

DNW:

Onscreen sex. Fade to black or references to it happening offscreen are fine if you feel it’s important to the story, but if we’ve gotten to the point where we’re talking about limb positions, my reaction is almost certain to be somewhere between bored and extremely uncomfortable.  

Even if it’s not explicit or onscreen, please no rape / noncon / dubcon. 

I’m not a huge fan of drug / addiction plots either

Relationships, romantic or otherwise, where there’s a significant power imbalance (especially if it’s abused) tend to really bother me. 

I also feel pretty strongly about free will and freedom to choose, so “I’m taking away your choices by hiding things from you / doing things behind your back For Your Own Good” narratives mostly just make me want to punch things, no matter how good the supposed justification is on the part of the person doing it. 

Cheating and other forms of deliberate, sustained dishonesty within a relationship. Poly relationships are completely fine :D all that I ask is that all people involved are as aware of who else is involved / what else is going on as they want to be. 

Gratuitous drama.  If a misunderstanding could be resolved by the characters just sitting down for five minutes and talking to each other, and the only reason they don’t is ~*~reasons~*~, then I start getting really annoyed, really quickly

Character bashing. Even the characters I personally dislike are the heroes of their own stories.  

If I wanted to hear about awful people being awful all the time and how awful everything is as a result, I’d go watch the news. (… Someday I would like this statement to be less true than it was the previous year, instead of more. ;___;) There can be awful people, they can do awful things, but I’d really prefer they not be either the majority or the focus of the story.

Fandoms:

Star Ocean: Till the End of Time

Requested character(s): Nel Zelpher, Clair Lasbard

Spoiler notes: I’ve played the game. (I'm also about halfway through the manga, but so far not super impressed by its characterization of Nel, so feel free to ignore it completely. :) )

Preferred pairings: Nel/Clair or gen

So, Nel was my official first ever video game crush. This was a bit difficult for me to explain to my young, theoretically-straight self at the time, but she was so cool that I didn’t bother to think about it too hard.

When we are introduced to Clair as her partner, and every single scene in which the two appear makes it clear how strong their bond is – it was a foregone conclusion that I would start to ship them as well. And Adray’s obnoxious insistence on trying to find a husband for Clair just made me even more determined to headcanon them as lovers (or at the very least secretly pining for each other) in addition to partners.

If you don’t ship them romantically, but just think they’re great platonic partners, I’m sure I’ll still enjoy it whatever you come up with. But in case there’s any doubt, I also very much ship them. :D <3

And whether they're romantically involved or not, I love their dynamic – these two strong-willed, intelligent, fiercely competent women, working towards a shared goal that they both believe is more important than themselves. I love how deep and unshakeable their trust is – and how even though it clearly tears Clair apart to send Nel out into a situation that they both know may not be survivable, she’ll do it anyway. And Nel will go.

I don’t have any specific prompts in mind – if you want to write about a mission Clair has to send Nel off on, and the tension between their fear for and their trust in each other (and the knowledge hanging over both of them that they’re doing something that they see as more important than them both), great! Want to just do fluffy interactions during a brief break from the action (do they get vacation? How many people do they have to bribe to get vacation at the same time?), or after the war is done and things are a bit more settled, go for it.

In the narrative path where Nel goes with the party into space, does she think of Clair and all the stories she’s going to tell once she gets back (if she gets back)?  What does Clair think, being left so much farther behind this time than any other time before?  What stories does Nel tell when they’re reunited?

Got an idea that’s burning in your mind and has nothing to do with any of these? I’m sure I’ll enjoy whatever you come up with. :)

Suisei no Gargantia | Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet

Requested character(s): Ridget, Bellows

Spoiler notes: I’ve watched the show, the OVAs, and the movie.

Preferred pairings: Ridget/Bellows or gen

I came to this show because I was in the mood for mecha anime, then stayed because I fell in love with the cinnamon roll main character, his slice of life struggles to find his place, and the interesting worldbuilding.

… And the badass-with-a-mile-wide-streak-of-imposter-syndrome Fleet Commander and her best friend (or more?), the irreverent excavation team head.

Ridget and Bellows don’t interact a whole lot over the course of the show, but every moment counts and it is clear even in those moments how deep their respect and appreciation for each other goes.

Talk to me about Ridget, who’s so afraid to mess everything up but determined to shoulder the responsibility anyway.

Talk to me about Bellows, who is one of the most effortlessly competent people on the ship and has a warm heart to match.

I’d love to see a story about the two of them and about how much they mean to each other, or a situation where one or both of them are supporting each other.  Anywhere in the timeline is fine with me. :D

(For the record: I ship these two characters, like, a lot.  But if you don’t, know that I’d still love to see a story about their entirely platonic friendship. <3)

The other characters are more than welcome to show up, too. :)

Ghostverse - Alex Yuschik (Podcast)

Requested character(s): Five, Hyeon

Spoiler notes: I've listened to the story

Preferred pairings: Five/Hyeon or gen

I stumbled across this story earlier this year, and my heart was immediately stolen by how elegantly it portrays a very interesting science fiction / fantastical world and the growing friendship of these two characters, through nothing more than a series of texts between the two.

So really, what I'd like from this prompt is more of the same. :) Do you want to explore this fascinating world, where giant mecha run by chronically sleep-deprived pilots are the only thing that stands between what's left of the world and destruction by the ravaging of (I would assume) equally giant ghosts? I'll happily read any of it.

Or dig deeper into these two characters: Hyeon, who feels so constricted by his lot in life, but still tries his best to live up to it (modulo some text complaints, because really, who wouldn't?). Five, who's driven to not only pilot a mecha, but to be one of the best; who has turned his inner grief and darkness into a sword that he uses to stand between the ghosts and others, that they not suffer as he has.

I'm most interested in what might happen after the story ends: now that Five and Hyeon have met face-to-face, what happens next? Does it change their relationship at all? What does Seven Sparrows Sleeping look like in the aftermath of that last attack, and does that affect Hyeon at all?

But honestly: whatever story you give me, I'm sure I'll love.

As usual, while I do ship these two characters, I'd also be happy to see a story where their relationship remains platonic.

And while it would be fun to see a story told solely through texts, in the mode of canon, please do not feel like that's a requirement - I'd be just as happy to see a story that uses a more standard prose format. :)

Foundryside - Robert Jackson Bennett

Requested character(s): Berenice Grimaldi

Spoiler notes: I've read the book

Preferred pairings: Berenice/Sancia if during/after the book; gen otherwise

I read this book recently, after hearing rave reviews, and while it took a while to get going for me, I ended up really enjoying it: both the characters introduced, and the world they inhabit. Alas, that last I heard book 2 doesn’t even have a release year yet. 😭

And perhaps my favorite was Berenice, Orso's quieter, blazingly competent counterpart. (And, in fact, one of the biggest contributors to my eventually liking Orso as well was the fact that he clearly understood and respected just how competent Berenice is; that their partnership was a partnership, as much as it initially looked like he was just peremtorily ordering her around.)

I'd love to see more stories about Berenice -- how did she start out? What was working with Orso like when they first started working together, and how many times did she have to put her foot down before he started listening to her and treating her as an equal?

What was she thinking and doing, in the parts of the book where she's not on-screen or not the POV character?

Or, if you feel like speculating -- what does she think of Orso's new merchant house (aside from "nice job rules-lawyering yourself out of getting brutally killed 👍"), and what is she doing to help make it a success? Is she taking on a teaching role with all the new scrivers he's brought in, or learning from them? Has she found any other people with talents like hers to train as well?

The bits and pieces of Berenice/Sancia we got during the book were quite cute -- I especially like the scene where Orso's trying to give her romantic advice and she's like "lol I'm way ahead of you" -- so if you'd like to explore more of their relationship, I'd love to see more of that as well! Is Sancia still touch-shy? How do they negotiate that? Alternately, now that she's gotten this ridiculous powerup with no real downsides (at least, none we've seen yet), how does that affect how she interacts with the world and with Berenice?

Given that their relationship seems to be pretty much canon at this point, if you include Sancia in the story I'd prefer that the story acknowledge that. But, is probably obvious from all the above commentary, if you'd rather <i>not</i> focus on their relationship, that's 100% fine with me, too -- the main thing I want is more of Berenice being her awesome self. :)

Note also that I find the magic system rather fascinating, and as a programmer myself am amused by how it "feels like" programming. So if you'd like to dig into the magic system and play around with it some more, I would absolutely be on board with that, too. :D

... And that's it!

I hope this letter has been of help, and am thoroughly looking forward to seeing what you come up with. :D

[seperis]

So this may qualify as the best--and maybe only existing--working summary of Down to Agincourt Books One Through Four. 

Also, it’s right.

I’ve tried: genuinely, not just ‘lol too hard’ but really really truly tried, and I could not do it. This did it.

(Note: generally I try to avoid reblogging anything about down to agincourt because I can’t be sure if the original writer is okay with it or would prefer I stay away so they can enjoy reading without feeling like the writer is watching (sometimes, you kind of want to pretend a story just Exists without a writer to worry about).  Also, the conversation is about the story, not me, and the writer inserting themselves in feels uncomfortably like invading and spoiling someone else’s fun. It also feels kind of arrogant and show-offy.

Exception: In the case of vids and fic, I assume the vidder/writer want a wide audience, so those I always do when i see them, though admittedly that can take years if I’m not tagged or someone doesn’t link me. This is a super-subtle hint to please do that; otherwise, I go through the mental decision ‘is this a fic or vid?’, ‘are they okay with being reblogged?’ ‘does it seem kind of full of myself if I reblog this without being told about it personally and therefore create in my mind an obligation to the person in question to do so?’ and that can take me fucking days to get through before finally hitting reblog.

Hint: turning it into an obligation works gangbusters and I deeply appreciate anything that short-circuits Decision Table Hell Should I Reblog Y/N?  That shit is exhausting.

For the record, though: left to my own over-excited devices, I”d reblog every goddamn mention of DTA with !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! as the only commentary and maybe hearts and a plethora of emojis.  This tumblr would literally be nothing else.)

literally what is dta about i’m actually asking 😩I read the whole first book and i couldn’t tell you please help

this ignites a lot of other thoughts in my mind (wh. where else would my thoughts be.) about literary genres and fiction/fanfic demarcations because while people do talk about dta as comparable to big fantasy series it really IS a fanfic or at least, secondary/sideline work at heart merely for a) how much context from the original show you’re meant to read into things, and b) how completely centred a lot of the start is on just Dean and Cas and their perspectives on each other. 

a lot of the time when i try to recall separate books I’m like “ha ha what even HAPPENED. nothing happened dean and cas just kept brushing fingers <3″ then im like. samantha you idiot there’s a war on. 

but that’s not what you asked. it has actually been a while since i read book 1 and i’ve only read it once so uh. best guesses here

EDIT: woops this got long. what i would say more succinctly is . dta narratively is about dean being hurled back into the endverse timeline with no hope to return, stuck in an apocalypse which refuses to happen, and has to learn about this entire new world, including twisted layers of multiple deals/plans people have made, to Solve It All before the universe actually deteriorates. dta thematically is about like, you know. choosing on purpose to fight as if you’re gonna win, for love/community/yourself, long after it seems all hope is lost.

anyway uh so book 1 in my mind is like

5x04 The End occurs. Lucifer taunts Castiel, who leaves but discovers canon-timeline Dean is once again back in this time, and he takes him back to Chitaqua. Dean can’t remember anything about his last few months before he was sent here, and everyone who could have done it to him is seemingly gone.

Cas keeps Dean hidden around the camp. All the team leaders died in the confrontation with Lucifer, Cas is the only survivor, and believes the world to be imminently ending, so why let the camp know Dean survived?

Dean gets #outed as alive, and has to pretend to be the endverse Dean. Him and Cas fight over the various constraints on them, where Cas is grieving the other Dean, our Dean is grieving his other life, they’re struggling to adjust and Dean has to learn everything about the camp (so does Cas, because Cas previously mostly opted out and was having orgies instead), Cas has to claim ownership of Dean’s soul to protect him, and meanwhile the apocalypse just isn’t happening.

There’s other signs, like all supernatural activity has stopped, and they can’t find any animals anywhere. Cas does some angel mojo to discover there are literal holes punched into creation, seemingly Lucifer’s doing, as he has a temper tantrum over the world not ending like it was meant to.

Dean and Cas slowly make up, and live together, for ritual blood magic protection reasons. I’m more hazy on this end. I think Dean gets injured ? anyway then he decides to go out on a routine trip, gets bitten by a brownie (was confused myself whether this was the scottish folklore spirit thing or some weird american insect I DO believe it to be the folklore one tho.) and dives headfirst into a ridiculous disproportionate fever, almost dies, and has visions. He confuses this Cas for Godstiel, and attempts to seal a contract with a kiss. THat’s not majorly plot relevant it just makes me want to scream. Anyway then he appears to pull through and the book ends. 

Book 2 is then (I ...think? I get the specifics confused) the events from him recovering from his fever and being read translated hippo porn (book 2 is VERY funny imo), being told the entire camp thinks Cas is fucking him for camp privileges or the other way around, confirming this rumour and officially Fake Dating, telling Cas about the Fake Dating, while meanwhile you’re finding out the original team leaders tried to assassinate Cas, a thread which partially resolves at the end of Book 2 but is drip fed with more and more consequence over the whole thing so far, iirc. 

Then Book 3 is, in terms of bookends, mostly about the fake dating becoming real dating, but also about the neighbouring town of Ichabod, encountering Croats properly, learning more about why Dean’s there, and what other forces are at play. Book 4 is just like. plot being hurled at you while Dean and Cas start a remarkably well-communicated if chaotic relationship at the top of the camp hierarchy. Crowley is there and you start learning a LOT of backstory. 

Like most fantasy series, the world grows as the books go on:

Book 1 is very much mostly set within the cabins only, with most of the plot and discussion firmly scoped on Dean and Cas alone.

Book 2 is about Chitaqua more broadly, how the camp functions and all the characters there, and you learn more about how the apocalypse is-isn’t going, both in terms of the supernatural and like, the current federal regulations regarding trade and how Chitaqua has grown and interacted with other groups. 

Book 3 is about Ichabod, a major neighbouring commune situation, and ritual magic, and psychics and witches and gods.

Book 4 is uh, more of all of that, as they’re mostly trapped in Ichabod, you know more about other camps, you’re sideflashing over back in time to the Roman Forum, and finding out a lot of the characters’ prior lives. 

tried to keep this short woops. anyway they haven’t been home in so long :////

anyway im not a part of the like, very long arc of the original dta fandom from 2014-2016 but i think my gist from reading things from them is a lot of people think dta is “About” like................. choosing to keep your head up and continue despite all odds. The story literally kicks off when the apocalypse fails to happen, with a bunch of sitting ducks waiting to be slaughtered at the end of the world, and they instead choose community and fighting instead of giving up. and this isn’t one narrative — there’s many, many mirrors/foil characters for dean and cas respectively who also go through similar arcs at a personal level. there’s also a lot of themes in it about being a thousand different people over a lifetime, which i cant really articulate here but is wonderful 2 me personally

it’s also just like. fun and funny and i do not regret my time reading it but also it is not for everyone whatsoever !

was this post useful to anyone, even me? no <3

[birdlord]

What I Watched in 2016

Here are the movies and TV series I watched in 2016, some with commentary and some without. The number after the movies is the date of release, my faves are bolded, and rewatches are marked with as asterisk. Last year’s list!

01 Do I Sound Gay (14)

02 We are The Best! (13)

03 Hateful Eight (15)

04 Welcome to Me (14)

05 For Your Eyes Only (81) - I listened to a lot of back episodes of the James Bonding podcast early this year, which of course led to watching a bunch of Bond movies. Not all, and not in order, certainly.

06 She’s the One (96)

07 * Diamonds are Forever (71)

08 It’s Complicated (09) - I think it was an article about the kitchen design in this movie that led me to watch it?

09 The Natural (84)

10 * Anna Karenina (12) - Never having read the book I can’t REALLY speak to this movie but haha I kinda love its commitment to artifice. 

11 About Time (13)

12 What We Do in the Shadows (14) - I did enjoy this, but wasn’t as taken by it as I thought I might be. Found the werewolves the funniest by far, so I wish they’d turned up more often. 

13 The Abominable Bride (15) - counting this as a movie, it was the Sherlock xmas special and I recall exactly zero about it, so…..must have been amazing, right?

14 Wake in Fright (71) - Never Go To Australia 

15 Hail Caesar (16) - I think I’d have to see it again to determine if the whole thing actually holds together, but at the time, it felt of a piece with the Coen’s cheerier output. 

16 In the Heart of the Sea (15)

17 The Night of the Comet (84)

18 Laggies (14)

19 * Bowling for Columbine (02)

20 A Gentleman’s Agreement (47) - confessional, experiential journalism, but done by Cary Grant in the 40s. Ahead of his time/gender?

21 Barefoot in the Park (67)

22 Suddenly Last Summer (59)

23 Tangerine (15)

24 * His Girl Friday (40)

25 That Touch of Mink (62)

26 * Charlie’s Angels (00)

27 9-5 (80) - Holy shit, somehow I thought this movie was just a rah-rah, girl power story about a bunch of secretaries getting together and overthrowing their boss and yeah, that’s SORT OF it but it gets way way weirder in the final third.

28 * Who Framed Roger Rabbit (88)

29 * The Addams Family (91)

30 * Addams Family Values (93)

31 Frida (02)

32 Bridge of Spies (15) - A E I O U and sometimes SPIES :O

33 Swimming With Sharks (94)

34 Sleeping With the Enemy (91)

35 Fatal Attraction (87) - Watched this movie and the previous one as part of an 80s/90s thriller weekend. These two are an interesting contrast to one another, being as the first is about an abusive husband and the second focuses on the most notable example of the “crazy ex-girlfriend”.

36 1 Cloverfield Lane (16)

37 The Man Who Never Was (56)

38 * To Die For (95) - This was a super fave of Teen Emily, who definitely identified with the Lydia character. Watching this time was a huge reminder than Illeana Douglas is a goddamn national treasure.

39 Trouble In Paradise (32)

40 Eraser (96)

41 * Flashdance (83)

42 * Notting Hill (99)

43 Gone to Earth (50) - Not the best Powell and Pressburger out there, but one takes what one can get, right?

44 Holiday Camp (47)

45 Never Sleep Again (10) - This is a four-hour doc about the entire Nightmare on Elm St series, and is the reason I watched Freddy’s Revenge a couple of movies down the list. It’s not a series that I have a particular attachment to, so I learned a ton.

46 Clouds of Sils Maria (15)

47 Mommie Dearest (81) - I’m not sure that I have enough appreciation for high camp to really get into this. There were some moments, but overall it’s a fine example of the kind of thing that is Not For Me.

48 Nightmare on Elm St: Freddy’s Revenge (85)

49 Inside Man (06)

50 Trainwreck (15)

51 White God (14)

52 * Sleepwalk With Me (12)

53 Amy (15)

54 * Meatballs (79)

55 Everybody Wants Some!! (16) - I found this a huge disappointment, and I’ve been a bit mystified by its positive reviews and inclusion on critics’ end of year lists. While D&C definitely has a “main character”, and we do follow him and his friends, other people and subsets of the high school are given serious time and consideration. Ultimately, I don’t think following this one dude tripping through a bunch of different college subsets was as illuminating. Plus, weak jokes.

56 * Dazed & Confused (93) - had to cleanse the mind-palate by watching the original!

57 Summertime (55)

58 The Money Pit (86)

59 Zombeavers (14)

60 Mistress America (15) - I am finding Greta Gerwig more and more charming, the more I see of her. Greta, let’s be friends!

61 While We’re Young (14)

62 The Invitation (16) - quite effective, very upper-middle-class bohemian LA horror film. I’ve heard some complaints about the final scene, but I thought it was an effective & clever way to show an expanding scope without an extra expense or sets.

63 End of Days (99)

64 Escape From New York (81)

65 Escape from L.A. (96) - Watched these two together, on the same night. They definitely should NOT be watched that way, given how identical the plots are. Unbelievably terrible ’96-era CGI in the second one, hard to believe that Jurassic Park was three years previous?? Gotta get that Spielberg money, am I right?

66 High Rise (16) - my only real disappointment in this movie was not being around to see the decline of the civilization - we jump straight from things being fine (if weird) and everything gone to heck. My favourite part is the decline, give me decline!

67 The Great Outdoors (88)

68 * Catch Me If You Can (02)

69 Little Darlings (80) - just your classic losing-virginity-at-camp story, but…wait for it….with GIRLS.

70 * Good Will Hunting (97)

71 Popstar (16) - diminishing returns, but some funny bits (mostly in the songs, not surprisingly). 

72 Tarzan (16) - watched this with friends and relatives, at a drive-in theatre a couple of days after my wedding! It’s NOT a good movie, but it was a fun time.

73 Love & Friendship (16) - got completely obsessed with Tom Bennett based on his 100% rate of scene-stealing in this film. Sevigny feels utterly out of place - am I capable of seeing her in a period piece set before, say, 1975 without feeling weird about it?

74 The Night Before (15)

75 Ghostbusters (16) - So I know I was supposed to be charmed by Kate McKinnon, but her schtick just doesn’t work on me, for whatever reason. I was also really frustrated by the final fight scene of this movie - it had obviously been hacked up in editing, and wtf is up with punching ghosts instead of containing them? I’m glad this movie happened, and certainly a great deal of the criticism it came in for was deeply unfair, but it was distinctly disappointing to find that this movie just wasn’t that great.

76 Brooklyn (15)

77 Poltergeist (82)

78 * Before Sunrise (95)

79 Love & Basketball (00) - Effusive praise for this movie somehow came to my attention from all over the place this year, so I finally had to watch it.

80 The Man Who Knew Too Much (56)

81 * Road House (89)

82 Carol (15) - watching this FINALLY allowed me to fully participate in Today’s Meme Culture

83 * Out of Sight (98)

84 Happy Texas (99)

85 Red Rock West (93)

86 Weiner Dog (15)

87 The Trouble With Harry (55)

88 * When Harry Met Sally (89)

89 Jungle Fever (91)

90 Ocean’s 11 (01)

91 Star Trek Beyond (16)

92 Two For the Road (67)

93 * Seven Year Itch (55)

94 Maggie’s Plan (15) - like I said earlier about Greta Gerwig? I liked this one even more than Mistress.

95 The Dish (00)

96 Splash (84)

97 Desk Set (57) - watching this and the next were inspired by stumbling across a blog about depictions of librarians on film. I particularly hit on this one because I’ve always wanted to see a Hepburne/Tracy film, and never had (to my memory, anyhow).

98 Party Girl (95) - one of those movies I’d always noticed on the shelves at the video store, and never actually watched it.

99 * Young Frankenstein (74) - saw this in the theatre, Gene Wilder notwithstanding I…..don’t think it’s good. It’s only extremely intermittently funny, you guys! Plus, the Putting’ on the Ritz bit makes me uncomfortable (especially in audio-only form, which I heard TOO many times after Wilder died).

100 The House of the Devil (09)

101* The Witches of Eastwick (87)

102 The Borning (81)

103 * Shaun of the Dead (04)

104 Dolores Claiborne (95)

105 The Conjuring 2 (13)

106 In a Valley of Violence (16) - definitely watched this because I happened across an article about the movie’s dog star. 

107 The Witch (16) - very effective in getting across the supernatural, natural, and social dangers of early puritan America, and Black Philip has entered my idiolect for any creepy animal/person/twitter feed. 

108 * Wayne’s World (92)

109 What if (13) - riffs on When Harry Met Sally’s fundamental question of women and men being friends, and basically comes to the same conclusion. yawn.

110 The Martian (15) - I read the book as part of a book club last year, and finally got around to watching the film. Since I found the worst of the writing in the book to be those passages dealing with description, the movie was a lot less annoying to experience.

111 Sleepless in Seattle (93)

112 * Thelma & Louise (91)

113 Casino (95)

114 Other People (16) - wept several times. GOSH I love Jesse Plemons, he’s so hugely sympathetic. Would watch in virtually anything.

115 The Life & Death of Colonel Blimp (43)

116 Primary Colors (98)

117 Edge of Seventeen (16)

118 *Die Hard (88) - loaded up the laptop with this and the next four xmas-set movies, for watching on planes and in airports, while we were on the road at christmastime.

119 *Batman Returns (92)

120 *Scrooged (88)

121 * The Apartment (60)

Theatre - 5

Drive-in - 1

All the rest at home or at friends’ homes!

TV SERIES

*The Office US S2-3

War & Peace (2016) - you bet your BOOTS I started the book after watching this. Did I finish it? Not even close.

Love (2016)

Better Call Saul S2 - this is a show I enjoy while I’m watching it, but I don’t particularly find it memorable. Why? Who knows. It’s still something I look forward to, but not a show that sticks with me.

Great British Bake off *S1, *S2, S7 + Xmas Specials - a eulogy for Bake-Off as it was. Pour one (pint of double cream, that is) out for what once was.

Broad City S5

Travel Man S1, S2 - I find Richard Ayoade so desperately charming, but ever time I’ve watched one of the movies he’s directed, I’ve ended up disappointed. This show is a bit hit or miss, depending on the guests he brings along, and the episodes definitely have a sameness to them, but if you find this guy even a sliver as entertaining as I do, it’ll pull you along anyhow.

The Night Manager - so looking forward to Hugh Laurie’s upcoming career phase as Bond Villain.

Cooked

Newsradio S1-S3 - I’d seen an episode or two of this over the years but never sat down to fully appreciate it. It’s making me miss Phil Hartman all over again, a fresh devastation, plus haha did u know Tone Loc plays a security guard on this show? It’s all true.

Lady Dynamite

OJ Made In America - I’ll count this as a series, since I didn’t watch it in the theatre. Still haven’t seen the other big OJ series of 2016, but I loved loved LOVED this. What impressed me the most is that, in spite of its 7 hour+ running time there were still aspects of this story that could have been expanded upon.

Silicon Valley S3

* Veep S1, S2

Catastrophe S2

Pulling - went back in time to get more Sharon Horgan in my life, since Catastrophe seasons are terribly short and far-between. I’d been aware of this show for a long time, and somehow wasn’t expecting it to be as near-devastating as it ended up being. What, did I forget what a British show was like?

Another Period S2

Difficult People S1, S2 - Another late discovery, but a great one. A fine example of just giving some funny people a show, and letting them just do their thing on it every week.

Fleabag - yes, I’m in for this, obviously. And if I wasn’t, the show designed itself to put me off, from the first moments. A wise move!

One Mississippi

Very British Problems S1, S2

Atlanta - I’ve got a bad feeling that this show’s deserved success will lead to surreal elements being deployed, but much less deftly than they were here.

Please Like Me S1-S4 - Tore through this entire series greedily, am now suffering until they make another season. Balances some very harrowing elements with comedy and an ensemble cast of loveable/terrible humans.

Divorce - Sharon Horgan’s writing minus her acting is a hollow empty shell, but hey, I’ll take what I can get, when I can get it.

The Fall S3 - I’d decided last year after S2 that I was done with this show, and yet, here we are, I was drawn back in.

The Crown

Insecure

[comicteaparty]

September 14th-September 20th, 2019 Creator Babble Archive

The archive for the Creator Babble chat that occurred from September 14th, 2019 to September 20th, 2019.  The chat focused on the following question:

What would you consider the most interesting aspect of your comic to be, and is it the same thing your audience finds interesting?

ErinPtah is doing a Kickstarter

Huh, I can't imagine there's any one aspect that most of the audience thinks is "the most interesting." Different people have responded to lots of different things!

Like, with Leif & Thorn (now on Kickstarter https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/erinptah/leif-and-thorn-volume-2-sparklier-magic-er-funnier-gayer?ref=4l78c3), some readers are always tracking the political or economic worldbuilding -- the things with real-world equivalents (and some real-world commentary). Others mostly ask questions about how the magic works.

ErinPtah is doing a Kickstarter

Some readers get invested in specific mysteries (like Where Did Leif's Debt Come From, or Who Is The Woman In Black). Some are more focused on the main romance, or other relationships or character arcs. In the last couple strips there's been a flurry of comments speculating about the weather! (To be fair, it's magic weather.) Just about any topic can be The Most Interesting to someone.

FeatherNotes

For Ghost Junk Sickness, it's most definitely the worldbuilding we do. There's always planned concepts for every background and how we go about and strive to include objects and characters that help define its individuality. Most of the times when readers point out their favourite aspects, it's always the world building and designs that go with it! http://www.ghostjunksickness.com/comic/12-6(edited)

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

For Phantomarine (http://www.phantomarine.com/), the main focus from readers is worldbuilding as well. And along with the worldbuilding, lots of questions are coming up about the moral greyness of the main 'good' and 'bad' factions of the story. And that's exactly what I wanted From my own perspective, I get a kick out of the secrets I'm weaving into the story - I wonder if people will pick up on them once the narrative kicks into high gear, and will notice them later on re-reads...(edited)

Nutty (Court of Roses)

So... for Court of Roses http://courtofroses.spiderforest.com/ , I actually asked my discord what they found interesting, and the number one thing brought up was the worldbuilding. It makes me happy that I'm here able to create a world that draws people in, and then populate that world with relatable characters. I do my best to make THEM interesting, because I want the story to feel character-driven, so you root for them and feel for them.(edited)

HiddenElephant

The most interesting thing for The Wide Ocean? (http://thewideocean.thecomicseries.com/) For me, it would be some of the small details, some of the things that only I know, but some of the things can be figured out with the tattoos of the sharkfolk, which I love creating; they each have a meaning to them, which I suppose is worldbuilding. But I'm not sure what my audience considers the most interesting; it might actually be the story.

JUNK

I think for Fairy Fighting League (http://fflcomic.com/), people are curious about the setting the most. Fairy lore and iconography to this day is very nature-based, so having a bunch of fairies interested in tech makes people interested in seeing to what extent.

deo101

I think the most interesting part of Millennium (https://millennium.spiderforest.com/) is the characters. At least, it seems to be what people are most interested in. I've had a lot of questions about my worldbuilding, and I really love my worldbuilding, but I don't think it's what drives my story or my reader's curiosity. I try to have many different kinds of characters, and seeing how they interact is what interests me the most.

seetherabbit

I had to think on this, but I think the most interesting part of Vulperra (https://vulperra.com/) is that it's pretty much a collection of relative short stories set in the same world, where you have one set of stories about a super hero and a set of just regular folks

FeatherNotes

I gotta say how much I love @LadyLazuli Phantomarines worldbuilding and chars, who all fit so gorgeously in with one another . its absolutely rich in its own lore, it reads as a story that's existed forever in a sense of how grounded it is!

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

@FeatherNotes I feel like I've only gotten started, too! The world is very real in my head - it certainly helps with getting it on 'paper.' Thank you so very much

Steph (@grandpaseawitch)

Very much agree! @LadyLazuli 's worldbuilding is hella, I can't wait to see more.

I don't know which part is most interesting for me regarding http://oldmanandtheseawitch.tumblr.com/, it's like asking which child is my favorite. I guess I'm really excited to show more of the merm world, but that won't come for... a while. I love looking up the vintage marine stuff, that's always my bag and I'm always fascinated by everything I learn about old ships. I think the dichotomy between the merm world and human world is hella fun and I hope the audience eventually finds it as neat as I do.

kayotics

So I decided to take a note from Nutty and asked my discord readers what they thought about Ingress Adventuring Company (https://www.ingress-comic.com/) for this question. I always kind of figured the biggest pull for my comic was the characters, and it sounds like my readers think similarly. One thing that was mentioned a few times was that they really liked the pacing, which I really appreciate since I try to make the pages work on both on an individual, weekly level, and on a level that's not too fast when you read it in chunks.(edited)

Urbanjawdust

@LadyLazuli What's your favorite aspect of worldbuilding? :D

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I actually really like worldbuilding through dialogue and character interaction! My entire second chapter was meant to be my 'boring worldbuilding chapter,' but somehow it turned out less boring than expected I just follow some secondary characters around on a normal day in the world. They drop a few 'fantasy' terms here and there, mention some historical events and people in passing, and express some strong emotions regarding their individual situations in relation to the world's 'rules' - but it's mainly just them doing their normal thing as normal people. Conversations we'd have in our own world, but twisted to work for theirs. Basic everyday character behavior manages to do a better job at worldbuilding than any big 'Long long ago, in ancient times, there was a big blah blah blah' kind of opening ever could.

If you keep things natural, it's almost like the worldbuilding is silent - the reader feels 'at home' in the world and becomes fond of the characters, but also curious about how certain bits of info will be explained

Nutty (Court of Roses)

I agree, worldbuilding through character interaction is super duper important.

FeatherNotes

@LadyLazuli your lore is so grounded, the worldbuilding just completes itself each panel! I've seen a lot of your concepts too-- how old was the initial draft of Phantomarine?

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Started writing in late 2014, started drawing in mid-2015. I had the basic plot down very quickly, but lots of details were very different from the get-go. The first chapter took two and half years to complete (because c r o w d s), but that meant I had LOTS of time to work out the rest of the world while two of my mains had a little underwater chat Still... no full complete draft exists even now. I just know the main beats and I fill in the details as I go along. It's... not very organized But it allows me to improve the story elements as I learn to improve my storytelling.

There's honestly a lot of lore that I still don't know the details of! I keep things vague because I don't want to lock myself in to anything specific yet. Hell, I haven't even drawn a proper map of the world... and that's, like, the first thing everyone does! I guess it's more like a picture that's getting less blurry with each chapter. For the readers, and for me. And maybe that makes it more natural?

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Or my imagination is just extra chonky from years of zoning out at school, I dunno. Pretend your world is real, go have a picnic there. What's it like. What are your characters' favorite sandwiches. Who's sitting next to each other. Are there any threats to this picnic. I don't know. IMAGINE IT, DANGIT

I don't mean to be taking over this babble chat, haha. Please keep babbling, all!

deo101

what is babbling if not taking over a chat for a few minutes? we love to hear your thoughts

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

https://tenor.com/view/my-heart-goes-out-to-you-heartfelt-heart-love-touched-gif-9263701

Nutty (Court of Roses)

Yeah! We're answering a prompt, sure, but there's no reason we can't discuss it with each other, so long as we stay on topic, yeah? And man, worldbuilding is just FUN. Making the rules up as you go, making all the connectors and weaving it together... ugh. <3

keii4ii

The most interesting, and the most important, part of Heart of Keol (https://heartofkeol.com/) is the character relationships! In fact I describe my comic as a "relationship comic" -- like a 'romance comic' except the relationships in focus aren't necessarily romantic. As for what the readers think, there seems to be a fairly clear split between readers who focus on the relationships vs those who focus on the worldbuilding. I could be wrong, but I think those who stick around are more likely to be the former.

RebelVampire

Just want to mention as admin, it's 100% A-ok to semi take over the chat, especially if someone starts asking questions. As long as it's not too far off-topic, I'm happy to see discussions going on in this channel!

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Roger that! I figured as much, just wanted to be polite just in case Thank you!

AntiBunny

In AntiBunny http://antibunny.net/ I think the cast are the most interesting aspect of the comic. The characters grow organically, and develop, and readers become attached to them. I think one of the most important things is that Pooky is a massive jerk, and it's important to establish that Pooky is wrong sometimes. Avoiding the pitfall of protagonist centric morality is crucial to making a more well rounded cast.

AntiBunny

It seems that over time Penelope has become the most popular character as well. Given the setting is a world of gray morality and violence is frequently resorted to, her insistence on not using violence, proves she's willing to change the world around her, and refuses to be changed by it.