#But I wanted to read the novel version too so I decided to check it out

[infriga]

I've been reading the translated novel version of S-Classes That I Raised, and I remember when I was first reading the webcomic version I was curious about why the ship with Yoojin and Hyunjae was so much more popular than any other ship, since I hadn't gotten very far in yet. I get it now. They won't stop fucking flirting with each other every time they're close enough to exchange words.

[momolady]

Patreon Rewards: A Shiny New Year!

I think this year has left us all in shock. No joke. I'm not going to pretend we've not all been slapped silence by something. Hopefully though, we can form together in our little monster fucker community and find comfort and family with one another. I'm hoping to rely on my writing as an escape more than ever, and I want all of you with me along for that journey.

Anyways, we've got a wonderful line up for this mail out! Everything is going to be glossy, glittery, and shiny. We have Alzun and me by @chopshoppar, Levi squishmallow by @belle-the-witch-bitch, and Lycoris by @sharklysweet

Everyone will get a post card/thank you card and a small note from me thanking you for this year!

$50 & $20 will get all three stickers while $15 & $10 will get two stickers at random.

Sign Up Now!

But what else can you expect to get on the Momolady patreon?

Let’s see, for $1 (Symbaby Tier) you get special previews to up coming stories, plus tons of downloads for phone wallpapers and desktop wallpapers. You also get access to the backlog of stories previously released to the tier, some unpublished to the public. Plus access to the Momolady discord server!

For $3 (Orc Tier) you get all that up there, plus a brand new story every week! Not to mention every story that’s not been published yet, as well as a monthly story collection download for on the go reading.

For $5 (Gillman Tier) you get all that good stuff above plus the entire rough draft of every story that will be coming out. You’ll be able to see the unedited version of the stories that you see here. First dibs on commissions when I open them as well.

Double that, $10 (Mothman tier) and you get all those goodies above as well as the bi-monthly special mail out which will get you stickers, prints, and more mailed to your door.

If you double it again and do $20 (Forest Creature) you’ll get access to a special chat in my discord server (it’s dead right now but you could help resurrect it.) You also get even more goodies in the mail outs, so that’s more stickers, more prints, more whatever I decide to offer.

Then, for $50 (Room Monster) you get a commission every other month upon request! You get a 3k word story, or save up to build to an extra large commission of whatever you’d like me to write.

All of this includes access to stories not yet published to the public, and stories not even posted to public! There’s collections of stories for easy to read access and I am hoping to do more in the future. Once I get novel writing down, Patreon will be the first and only place to see the process and get first hand knowledge of the stories. I’d love to have you there and in the discord server. It not only helps me, but it guarantees you tons of awesome stories to make you happy too!

Check my Patreon out here!

And to preview what it’s like check out my free to read collection here.

[animementrash]

AOT veterans headcanons pt.2

Characters: Miche Zacharias, Nanaba, Moblit Berner

Tags: characters headcanons, some may be ooc?

A/N: Here's the second batch of my headcanons about the AOT vets, if you want to read pt. 1 here it is :) once again, this is how I percieve them. Let me know what you think and thank you for reading! Love ya, bye! <3

Miche Zacharias

Most intense eye contact you will ever see, he’s the kind of person to keep direct eye contact when speaking and his gaze tends to intimidate almost everyone.

Talks with Erwin a lot, they have been friends for a long time and is usually one of the few people who can stand Erwin when he starts rambling about the outside and why is it important to lead humanity towards it.

Speaking of his long-time friendship with Erwin, he is the one who introduced Erwin to cigarettes years ago when they were just simple scouts.

The night before they went to the underground to get Levi, Miche questioned Erwin several times to make sure he was aware of the dangers they would encounter and even tried to persuade him to not go.

Will use almost anything he finds as a toothpick.

Has the most insane work out routine, not even Erwin is able to do it without exhausting himself. Only Levi can keep up with him when training and it’s only because he’s an Ackerman.

Has the highest body count in the scouts. I have no proof but no doubts either.

Another whistler, he’s also known for his constant humming and whistling but you can distinguish him from Erwin by the tunes they make.

Refuses to do paperwork, even if Erwin himself orders him to do some reports he will just say no and change the topic. Erwin no longer tries to make him do it.

When he forced Levi to kneel before Erwin in the underground, he was truly surprised by how much strength he had to use in order to push Levi down, he couldn’t understand how someone so small could be that strong.

Pushes his hair back and ties it in a small ponytail when it gets in the way.

Smirks a lot. Has the sassiest smirk ever.

Loves to trash talk people when drunk, especially those in the military police.

When Erwin and him used to go out he was always ready to be Erwin’s wingman.

Whenever Levi is brewing tea he’s always nearby, he isn’t much of a tea person but the smell is comforting and helps him get rid of any nasty smell that may be lingering in his nose.

Once tried to convince Erwin to keep his beard and moustache just like him but ended up asking him to shave because “not everyone can pull that combo”. Truth is he knew Erwin was hot with facial hair and decided to play safe.

Most of the time he doesn’t understand what Hange tends to ramble about but will listen nonetheless and even throw some questions from time to time.

(This one is so nasty sorry) Has a tendency to spit on the floor anytime he feels like it, Levi punches him whenever he sees him do it.

Snores a lot when sleeping. Like, a lot.

Loves to eat bread and will always try to get an extra piece when having dinner.

Nanaba

Loves to read romance novels. Used to believe she was a princess when she was a little girl.

Deals with imposter syndrome and used to doubt herself a lot before Miche gave her a reality check and told her that if she wanted to keep doubting herself then she could do it in another team, this helped her to stop being so self-conscious and focus on her strengths.

Loves flowers and will try to gather some when they’re outside the walls during expeditions.

Never knew how to socialize or make friends so when Miche requested her to be on his team she felt very happy to know someone acknowledged her even when she wasn’t too vocal.

Has beautiful hands, her nails are always neat and polished.

One-time Hange joked about her being the female version of Levi because their hairstyle is similar and she felt really awkward, Miche then said the hairstyle suited her better and she thanked him once more for always having her back.

Her love language is acts of service.

Really likes to spend time with Moblit or Levi, mostly because both are as quiet and reserved as her but also because the three shared the common factor of having a noisier counterpart who exhausted their social battery and knew what it was to need some quiet time.

Used to sleep in as much as she could when she had the chance, if it was a rest day for the scouts she was never seen up until midday.

Knows how to make flower crowns and will make them whenever she has the chance.

Has the sweetest and most adorable laugh ever.

Her nervous stims are shaking her legs when sitting or tapping her fingers rhythmically on whatever surface is nearby.

Owns a pretty decent number of dresses and jewelry, she also owns a single perfume she cherishes a lot because it was brought all the way from Mitras.

Has a sweet tooth, loves candied apples and apple pies.

Moblit Berner

Has the neatest, prettiest handwriting among all the scouts.

Has photographic memory, this is why he’s very good at drawing and at tracking down all the stuff Hange misplaces throughout the day.

The attention to detail he has is incredible, he’s able to catch up with things faster than anyone thanks to this.

Doesn’t know when or how he ended up being Hange’s nanny, but doesn’t mind it because he finds Hange’s mind very fascinating.

Rolls his eyes a lot, he can’t control his facial expressions no matter how much he tries either.

Before Hange even tries to show Erwin a plan, it has to be pre approved by Moblit, 8 out of 10 plans never make it outside their office.

Makes the most hurtful and snarky remarks when mad and makes it seem as if it was just a comment so you can’t complain about his attitude.

Gifted Nanaba a book about floriography and helps her collect flowers when outside the walls, he also likes to draw them before they wilt so she can add them to her collection.

Isn’t too fond of gossip but knows everyone’s secrets because people tend to vent with him because he is so serious and calm.

Admires Erwin a lot and is sometimes intimidated by him.

Loves to hang out with Miche and Erwin, and it’s only after a couple drinks when he can start being chatty with Erwin.

Is the only person who has seen Hange crying more than once.

One time he came across Levi at the kitchen when he was making some tea and to make things less awkward asked him for a cup, now he has to pretend he also likes that bitter tea because whenever Levi makes tea, he makes sure to bring him a cup as well.

Was once asked by Erwin if he could draw someone just by hearing their description, they then worked for weeks to make a drawing of who turned out to be Erwin’s dad.

Cares so much about Hange, not only as his superior but also as his friend, he believes there is no one who could be as brilliant and smart as them.

Levi once asked him to draw a dog and he couldn’t understand why, it wasn’t until Levi named the dog “Sniffer” and placed the drawing on Miche’s office door that he understood what it was for.

[dropthedemiurge]

Hi!

So first off I love your page and seeing all the content on 'Love For Love's Sake' / 'Love Supremacy Zone', becuz your analysis and summaries are always informative and AMAZING.

it's my current hyperfixation and I'm obsessed.

And since you are more knowledgeable and read ALL of the Novel, there is something I'd like to ask that has been confusing me -

I want to read the webnovel but everywhere I see, it says there are a different number of chapters - it says this -

Status in COO:

118 Chapters (Completed) 7 Side Story Chapters (Completed) 5 Side Story Extra Chapters (Completed) 6 Side Story Special Chapters (Completed) 22 Side Story Bonus Chapters (Completed)

What I know:

118 Chapters (main story) 6 chapters (side story with their anniversary/ proposal) 22 chapters (19 Myungha time-travelling to 29)

But what are the last two?

5 Chapters 7 Chapters

Also why is a 'special' story 18+ on Ridibooks?

And if you could tell please, where did you read the whole story? Was it in English or did you read in Korean/use a translator?

I've been stressing over this for like months and cant get an answer anywhere

Sorry for the long question - thank you for taking the time to read <3

Thank you so much and you're very welcome, first of all! I saw you in my notifs and I was very happy to meet another LFLS obsessed person :D

I gotta admit, I didn't read the novel and webtoon... I mean, I started it but I haven't finished yet. I've read the fan-translated version of a novel (which is like 1/3 of korean novel?) and I have access to Ridibooks where I decided to start with reading Spinoff story (since I sort of know that's completely new and kdrama closely follow original novel)

I can assume 18+ story might be including chapters with somewhat NC scenes? (I haven't read them yet tbh I'm still wary of buying such things on Korean websites, blame my paranoia) but other than that, the rest seemed like the typical novel (118 chapters) + Special side story (I haven't read it yet) of 6 chapters + bonus stage released in 2024 with 22 chapters . You say 6 chapters about proposal? I gotta read it then! Though the proposal was hinted at in the last spinoff story though...xD

I don't see different separation in Ridibooks. I see 118-6-22 chapters too. Oh, but I see 19+ version with 7 and 5 chapters, maybe that's the one you're talking about? But sorry, I haven't read them yet... I might do it though xD

But I have Kdrama storyboard + scriptbook right now to read! As in actual physical book, so I'm very curious to read and check what differences there are in actual drama (Taevin said they had to give up some scenes because of the weather etc). + I will work on translating spinoff soon while somebody else has been translating the original novel. Not sure about 19+ version one xD

And also they are releasing Bluray and DVD right now with extra commentary and everything... I should not spend more money on LFLS editions... I should not...... please tell me you guys don't need to know all those extra commentaries and behind the scenes....xD

[rains-of-eurus]

lamplight... LAMPLIGHT. YES.

this AU (by @liloinkoink,if you've never seen it i HIGHLY recommend you check it out because. just. WOAH) has been living rent free in my mind since, like, june, so it would be an absolute crime not to try @unexpectedly-haunted's DTIYS!

(and yes this did take like four months to finish but that's not relevant so shhhhh)

(read more for rambly)

you know how some documents start registering as places if you work on them for long enough? yeah. yeah that's what happened here.

i was originally going to go with a composition that was a lot more true to the prompt (further down), but wound up losing hype for that particular attempt and decided to scrap the whole thing and start over. this whole painting thing is super new to me and i wanted to do so much experimenting with the art style and perspective and all that, so in a way this became a bit of an art class lol :D although i do totally understand if that disqualifies me in some way, this didn't exactly turn out as a traditional DTIYS drawing and it DEFINITELY gained some form of sentience somewhere during the sketching process. o_o

I wanna give a huge thank you to Haunted for doing this! he's done so much amazing art for lamplight and it is totally worth checking out if you want to brainrot over these wonderful little guys c:

and don't forget! this is lamplight propaganda! go read lamplight if you want a renchantyn AU with better storytelling than gilded novels and dynamics more heartwarming and emotionally devastating than a room full of puppy-eyed golden retrievers armed with undying love and cute lil bandanas :)

(another version of the finished one, this time with lineart on Ren and Martyn. this one felt like it should have a place here too :])

(no- no this can't be happening! i'm- i'm regaining motivation for an old project oh FRI- *is consumed by the void*)

[hondafuckingodyssey]

X-men comic recommendations

The other day I went on a rant about how nobody should attempt to read all of the x-men comics in order because if the x-men have no respect for the spacetime continuum, you shouldn't have to respect reading their shit in order.

So here's a list of comics series, some that I've read and some that are on my to read list. Mind the authors and the dates, Marvel likes to recycle titles so sometimes you'll accidentally pick up something that's a completely different story from ten years later.

If you're going to getting your comics from the library and different sources (cough archive.org cough), or skipping around to different eras, I recommend an app like Comic Geeks where you can track which issues you've read. As a bonus, you get a satisfying little dopamine hit every time you check off a comic you read.

The original silver age comics from 1963 Stan Lee and Jack Kirby These are fun, but they kind of suck. I believe X-men was one of their worst selling titles for many years. They are campy fun though, like that island has a giant acme magnet on on top of it, I wonder if that's Magneto's secret base, hmmm? I'm kind of working through these when I just have my phone because they're easier to read on a smaller screen than the new stuff with full page spreads.

Chris Claremont's classic X-men run, starting in 1975. This is the classic starting point I hear recommended again and again. You start with Giant Size x-men number 1, and then go to X-men issue 94. This is where all the classic x-men are introduced. You got your Dark Phoenix saga, and Days of Future Past, and a lot of the storylines that were used in the 90's animated series. Everybody should read some of these. But Chris Claremont was writing the X-men for FOURTEEN years. Do not attempt to read all of these before you move onto the modern stuff.

The Dark Phoenix saga, 1980 Chris Claremont, issues 129-138 Ok, I just finished these last night and they're so good that I want to make a special call out for them. I jumped ahead to read them and I'm so glad I didn't wait. I can't figure out how the movies sucked so bad when they had this source material to work with. We could have had an epic moon battle? If you don't read anything else from this era read these. Pro tip: get the epic version of like a prayer stuck in your head right before starting on issue 137. Really adds to the atmosphere.

X-men Season 1 by Dennis Hopeless, 2012 This is a graphic novel (so published altogether instead of in individual issues) retelling of the original silver age comics. It's mostly from Jean Grey's point of view. It's very fun.

Children of the Atom, 1999 by Joe Casey, 6 issues Sort of a prequel, explains how Charles Xavier recruited a bunch of teenagers. This looks good, but it started out with mutants being lynched, and with the way I always compare being a mutant to being queer, and the election and project 2025 looming, I decided this one was too much for me right now.

X-men First Class, 2006 by Jeff Parker, 8 issues I read the first four of these and they were cute. Bobby is writing home to his parents about his time in school, Scott and Jean go to the beach. Lots of fun character stuff. Originally 8 issues but it looks like they immediately did another run of issues the next year.

New X-men, 2001 by Grant Morrison his run starts with issue 114 This is a great place to jump in if Deadpool & Wolverine got you interested in x-men comics, because it's got Cassandra Nova in it. She's doing her weird finger thing! Supposedly this is one of best places to jump into modern x-men. I've read about 6 of them, so far so good.

Astonishing X-men, 2004 by Joss Whedon This is supposed to be the best x-men run ever. It continues directly from Grant Morrison's run. I'm saving it for next time I have a mental breakdown a rainy day.

All-New X-men, 2013 by Brian Michael Bendis This is what I'm reading the most of right now. Cyclops is being an asshole, and Beast decides the best way to solve this problem is to go back in time and bring the original teenage x-men from '60s back with him to confront him. This works particularly well as a jumping in point because they keep explaining backstory through the kids finding out all the ridiculous things that have happened. Like, poor Jean asking how she died, and they're is like, um which time?

[dragonydreams]

No Crisis, Only Calm (Redux) - Buck & May

Title: No Crisis, Only Calm (Redux) Fandom: 9-1-1 Rating: General Audience Pairings/Characters: Evan "Buck" Buckley & May Grant Tags: mentions Evan "Buck" Buckley/Tommy Kinard, Coming Out, TV show recs, pseudo sibling bonding Summary: May shares with Buck the magic of Heartstopper after Buck tells her about his date with Tommy. Timeline: post 7x05 Word Count: 1,633 Disclaimer: I claim no ownership over these characters. I am merely borrowing them from Reamworks, Brad Falchuk Teley-Vision, Ryan Murphy Television, and 20th Century Fox Television. Betas: Thank you to @medieshanachie for looking this over for me. Author's Note: This idea popped into my head after seeing an article about Heartstopper S3.

Author's Note 2: I wasn't satisfied with the first version of this story so I reformatted it and expanded it. I'm much happier with this now and hope you enjoy it too.

Read on AO3

Are you on shift?

The text popped up on Buck's phone and he couldn't help smiling at it. He didn't hear from May as much since she'd started college, but she has been checking in more since the lightning.

Not today, Buck responded. What's up?

His phone lit up with May's face as he was alerted that he had an incoming video call. He immediately accepted. 

"Why were you being weird Saturday night?" May asked before he could even say hello.

Buck did a wonderful impression of a fish as he stared wide-eyed at May. He nervously licked his lips before he asked, "What do you know about Saturday night?"

"Eddie texted me to ask if I knew why you were acting weird."

"Why would he ask you that?"

"That's what I said!" May exclaimed. 

"And it took you a week to follow up with me?"

May rolled her eyes. "I had classes.  And study groups. And homework. So much homework."

"Well, Eddie and I have talked since then and he now knows why I was acting weird," Buck said, hoping to end this conversation. It wasn't that he didn't want May to know about Tommy. He actually kinda wanted to shout from the roof to tell everyone about him.

"...and?" she prompted. 

Buck took a moment to decide if he wanted to tell her. He hadn't told Bobby yet, but he could trust May not to gossip. If he asked her not to, at least.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly before answering. "When I saw Eddie, I was on a date. With a man. But I was caught off guard and reacted badly."

"Since when do you date men?" May asked. 

"Since Saturday," Buck said, wincing slightly.

"OMG, was he your bi-awakening?" May squealed, excitedly.

"I suppose you could call it that," Buck admitted. "He kissed me the Thursday before our date and it felt like the whole world came into focus." He could feel himself grinning like an idiot as he remembered the kiss.

"How far down the research hole did you fall after?" 

"Not very, if you can believe it."

"I'm having trouble believing that," May teased.

"I know, it's very not me. Then again, so is being into men." He paused to think about what he'd just said. "Although, I guess that is me, now."

While he'd been speaking, May was obviously looking something up on her phone. 

"In that case, go watch this," a text with a link popped up for a trailer, "and then call me back."

Buck clicked on the link after May hung up on him and watched the clip about two teenage boys in England falling for each other - one was gay and the other was bi. Apparently it was based on a graphic novel. 

As soon as Buck finished watching he called May back. "How did I not know about this?"

"Because you weren't seeking out queer YA shows?" May suggested. "But you should watch. The episodes are only like half an hour each."

"I guess I know how I'm spending the rest of my day."

Buck watched May look away briefly and bit her lip before meeting his eyes again. "Want some company while you watch?"

Buck blinked back the sudden moisture in his eyes. 

"Yeah, I think I'd like that."

"I can be there in an hour. With ice cream," she said.

"I'll be here."

"I'll see you soon," May said before ending the call.

Buck stared at the phone for a minute, moved by May's offer to share this show, which she obviously enjoyed, with him.

~~*~~

Buck was sitting at the kitchen table when there was a knock on the door 58 minutes after he'd hung up with May. Now that May was going to introduce him to this show about a bi-awakening, as she'd called it, he was curious about what else was out there. 

He'd found the expected "Could I be gay?" quizzes, but he already knew the answer to that question. He still loved women, but he was also definitely attracted to men. Which made him bisexual, or pan, but he thought bisexual was the right word for him.

He went to open the door and May was grinning at him as she held up the bag with ice cream in it. 

"You know, I don't think I've ever actually been here before," May said as Buck held the door open for her. "This is nice."

Buck blinked as he closed the door and realized that she was right. "Well then, it's about time. It's a loft so the tour will be quick. This is the kitchen, bathroom is over there," he pointed to a closed door next to the stairs, "bedroom is in the loft, and living room is this way." He led her through to the room in question.

May took the ice cream out of the bag and noticed that Buck had already set out a couple of spoons and glasses of water. The show was pulled up on the TV, just waiting for them.

As she made herself at home on the couch with one of the pints of ice cream, May said, "So, tell me more about this guy that turned your world upside down."

Buck felt his cheeks heating up as he settled next to her with the other pint. "Well, Tommy's a firefighter with Harbor. A pilot. He's actually the one that flew us to rescue your mom and Bobby."

"Hold up," May said, sitting up from her slouch and holding out her hand. "You don't mean Tommy Kinard?" 

"Uh, yeah," Buck confirmed. 

"Damn, Buckley. He's fine," May said. "I mean, he's old enough to be my dad, but damn."

Buck felt his face flush again as he couldn't help but agree. "Yeah, he is." 

"So how did you go from him helping to rescue Mom and Bobby to him kissing you?" May asked as she settled back.

"Well, uh, I guess both Eddie and I wanted to get to know Tommy better after he helped with the rescue. Those two started spending a lot of time together and I guess I got kinda jealous. Like Eddie was replacing me? But also because he was spending all this time with Tommy. Things got a little out of hand at this pickup basketball game and I got Eddie hurt. Later that night Tommy came over to tell me that he wasn't trying to come between me and Eddie and I told him that I just really wanted to get to know him better. That trying to get his attention was exhausting and then he kissed me." 

Buck took a big bit of ice cream after he finished word vomiting all over May. 

"Wow," she said. "That was a lot."

"Oh, and after making sure I was okay with the kiss he asked me out for Saturday."

"And you didn't spiral after that kiss?" May asked. "That seems like something that would cause you to spiral."

"Yeah, I was kinda surprised about that myself," Buck admitted. "But it was more like a puzzle piece finally turning the right way to fit in a hole in a larger puzzle. Everything just felt right. Settled in a way that I've never been in my life before." 

"That sounds wonderful," May said, in awe.

"It is. Of course then Eddie and Marisol showed up at the restaurant Tommy took us to on Saturday and I was so surprised that I went all dudebro and told Eddie we were just two guys hanging out and were gonna go pick up some hot chicks later."

"You. Did. Not."

"Oh, I did. Tommy was not amused and instead of going to a movie after dinner he got an Uber home by himself. Just left me in front of the restaurant."

"Can't say I really blame him," May said. 

"Neither could I. But I told Eddie and he convinced me to call Tommy. Luckily he agreed to meet me for coffee and I invited him to be my date at Maddie's wedding."

May's eyes widened. "You're bringing him as your date to your sister's wedding? Way to come out to everyone at once."

Buck shrugged. "This is who I am. It shouldn't matter if I want to bring a man as my date instead of a woman. I'm happy and that's all that should matter. If anyone has a problem with that, that's on them, not me."

"I am loving this attitude," May said. "And you're right. It doesn't matter."

"Just, uh, I haven't told Bobby yet, so for now can you not say anything? I'd rather he find out with everyone else."

"Of course. So just me and Eddie know?"

"Maddie knows, too. It was kind of an accident, but she does know. I let the pronoun slip when I was talking about my interrupted date to her."

"How'd she take the news?"

"You know Maddie, she was totally supportive. Surprised, but supportive. Eddie, too."

"And now me," May said. "Thank you for sharing this with me."

"Thank you for sharing this," he gestured to the television, "with me."

"Is that your way of telling me you're talked out?" May teased.

"Yes, but I also want to see this show," Buck said.

"Then let's watch. It's been a while since I did a re-watch," May said. 

"How many times have you seen it?" Buck asked.

"A couple," May answered. "It's a really sweet story. Lots of good queer representation."

"Is this your way of trying to tell me something?" Buck tentatively asked.

"No, I just like watching all kinds of love stories, not just heterosexual ones," May said. "But thank you for asking."

"Anytime," Buck said. 

He grabbed the remote and hit play.

Link to trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrK4xPy4ahg

[verycharismaticdragon]

Okay, continuing this thought, I pulled up the quotes I wanted, I checked back with the original text (or, well, older version of original text), let's see.

---

First, ch.1, p.9 (eng.edition), Shen Yuan describes himself as a "veteran reader of this novel". I double-checked with Chinese, and yes he specifies this novel. So it's not related to his "Expert" status on the forum mentioned in the Airplane extras (that seems to be a general webnovel-discussion forum, not a PIDW-related forum).

This does not really prove anything either way (maybe he considers anyone who made it to the end at all a veteran of PIDW), but I'm putting it into the evidence pile for later.

---

Then, on to the main point from yesterday, Shen Yuan's death:

ch.1, p.12 (eng.edition)

the bit that seems most relevant is: "would find himself persevering before his untimely death to finish a novel [...]"

Now, this has some implications I haven't even considered: the use of "persevering" implies some kind of effort. You could possibly even read this as 'Shen Yuan has been dying before he finished PIDW, and was holding on to see it finished', like some sort of prolonged illness situation. Buuut I've decided not to jump to conclusions before checking with CN text. (Well, once again, older edition of it, but from what I'm seeing, this fragment shouldn't have been edited.)

So, here's the full phrase with the relevant fragment highlighted:

想他一个规规矩矩花钱买V看正版的大好青年，临终之前坚持看完的居然是这样一本种马程度令人发指咋舌的骗钱注水文，他能不骂吗？

Let's break the fragment down further:

临终 línzhōng: approaching one's end; immediately before one's death; on one's deathbed

之前 zhīqián: before; prior to

坚持 jiānchí: persist in; persevere in; insist on; be bent on; cling to; hold on to; hang on

看完 kànwán: to finish reading/watching.

Okay, I know we're seeing "immediately before one's death" and "persevere to finish reading" and it kinda supports the previous theory, but let's not get too excited. Because here's the thing: in all of the usage examples of 临终 línzhōng I've seen, it was not used together with 之前 zhīqián (before, prior to). Probably because 临 lín part already has a meaning of "just before; approaching; about to" included in it (it can also be translated as "to face" for example, making "to face death" or "to face the end" other valid translations of 临终, but the meaning of "just before" is still included in the concept).

So, wtf is 之前 zhīqián, another "before", there for? From what I see in the usage examples, unlike 临 lín which implies immediate before-ness, 之前 zhīqián is about a more removed event. In fact, it seems to strongly imply that the speaker is referencing two points in time that do not overlap. (I mean, correct me if you're fluent and I'm wrong, but that's what I'm seeing in literally all examples.)

Thus, in our sentence, we have two separate events, only held together by referencing the order in which they occur: 临终 línzhōng "to face the end" (I've decided to use this tl for conciseness), and 坚持看完 jiānchí kànwán "persevere to finish reading" (or "be bent on finishing", or "insist on finishing"...) So, "[...] before facing the end, [he] persevered in finishing reading [...]".

And if we take these two events/actions as separate, there is in fact logic in putting them together like this. The previous sentence talks about Shen Yuan's "dying breath", so "before facing death" is a transition from that part. Then, the "persevered in finishing" part is expounded on in the next few paragraphs, which talk about SY finishing the novel despite all his gripes. In other words, this is a transition sentence between SY dying (later event) and the gripes he had with PIDW (formulated before dying, so earlier event).

All this is to say: I think ultimately this sentence does not actually state for fact that Shen Yuan died immediately after finishing PIDW. All it says is that he finished reading at some point before dying - which, uh, obviously - but the lack of concrete proof of him dying immediately is information too.

(cont. under cut)

Then, to the other bit I mentioned yesterday, about the 20 days binge-read:

ch.1, p.38-39 (eng.edition)

Here I'm going to look at the "He'd spent twenty days binging the novel from start to finish, [...]" bit in particular.

The paragraph above, excerpt in question highlighted (ch.4 of webnovel version):

可这不能怪他记得不清楚。你让一个骂傻逼作者傻逼文的人，去记连载了四年、时间线横跨两百年的小说最开头的古早内容？他可是看了二十天才看完的，入门那一段为虐而虐的苦情戏码早忘光了好吗！

Okay, it's a bit longer, but not as scary as it looks:

他 tā: he (as in pronoun)

可是 kěshì: indeed, in fact, or just an emphasis word (can also mean "however" or "but", but that doesn't seem to fit with the sentence)

看了 kànle: had read (to quote my dictionary, most of the time 了 is translated by a past tense, but it can also indicate that one action is completed before another)

二十天 èrshí tiān: 20 days

才 cái: only, just, only after, only then

看完 kànwán: finish reading (same as before, yeah)

的 de: (has many usages but in this case most likely) used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis (SY's narration in general uses a lot of emphases and filler words, very informal/colloquial style. just a note)

Without making it sound like human sentence, and omitting emphases, we get something like: "He had read for 20 days, only then finished reading, [...]"

So, yes, 20 days binge real. But what I wanted to see most was if there's an indication whether this is about the whole novel up to the finale, or just catching up to the ongoning series. "Start to finish" in the translation seems to lean towards the former, but I don't think Chinese is that specific.

To break it down, 看完 kànwán consists of 看 kàn, which in this case means "to read" and 完 wán - generally 'to finish, to end, to complete', but in this case most likely just 'used after a verb to indicate action completion'. In other words, 完 wán here specifically modifies the prior verb into its "finished [verb]ing" form. And while it does have an implication of completeness, this completeness refers to the action (reading) rather than the object acted upon (novel) (which is straight up ommitted from this sentence, actually. that's Chinese for ya).

So, here as well: the text doesn't really specify beyond the shadow of doubt whether Shen Yuan was binging the finished novel, or just everything that was out when he first got into it. (Probably because the paragraph in question is talking about very early chapters, that - in either case - SY likely went through on day 1 of his binge.) Which means that ultimately, the fact of that 20-day binge does not conflict with anything implying he has been following the novel for some time. (Once again, I haven't finished my reread so I don't recall what and where SQQ says about it, but I've recently checked Airplane extras for something and he mentions Peerless Cucumber's "subscribtion payments and demands for updates".)

---

Okay, so this is what I have from earliest chapters. Maybe this post will get a part 2 once I make progress on my reread, but nevermind that. Anyw, tl;dr:

SY considers himself a "veteran reader" of PIDW.

There's no solid proof that SY died immediately after reading PIDW's finale.

There's no solid proof SY's 20-day binge encompassed the whole novel from first to final chapter.

---

Also: thank you to everyone who replied yesterday! There are some points I wanna answer individually, but one was mentioned a couple of times, so: yeah, I also think that the new chapter Airplane is penning before he dies is supposed to be an extra. Buuuuut I also may or may not have played with the idea of sv!cucumber and sv!airplane actually being from two different versions of 'modern world' before... so let's put this under "further investigation needed" for now.

[scifimagpie]

Help my friend's amazing WtNV-inspired novel COME TO LIFE!

Okay, so here's the dealio. Aughtpunk tried to blaze this, but Tumblr wasn't having it, and we're not really sure why. One of my dear buddies, @aughtpunk, needs *your* support, Tumblr!

In Amber's own words,

Hello! My name is Amber Freeman (aka AughtPunk, aka A. A. Freeman) and I need assistance in getting my Sci-Fi LGBTQIA+ Romance novel Echo of the Larkspur ready for self publishing. Dr. Ciro Kwakkenbos is the only survivor of The Larkspur Incident, where scientists on a research vessel were slaughtered by sentient robots. After six years of intensive therapy Ciro is ready to return to his job of monitoring Artificial Intelligence in hopes of preventing any more loss of life at the hands of machines. He will be heading the Wireless Project, an attempt to give their main AI a physical, free-roaming body. But when Ciro arrives he realizes this is no ordinary job. The AI in charge of the colony’s security, SAGE (Sentient Automated Geo-sentinel Engineer), is dangerously close to complete sentience. Not only is SAGE more interested in observing the colonists everyday lives and playing a proper soundtrack than following his intended programing, but he has also gained the ability to lie, and could hurt or even kill humans. Knowing such deviance from original programming is what caused The Larkspur Incident, Ciro does everything possible to find a way to protect the humans of the colony. During Ciro’s investigation, he learns three important facts: Someone hacked SAGE’s memories and deleted a deadly secret; SAGE’s rebellious nature endangers the life of every colonist on the base; and Ciro is quickly falling in love with the mystery that is SAGE. Can Ciro unravel the truth behind the missing memories before it’s too late? Will SAGE’s aberrant programming lead to his demise, or is it the beginning of something new? Unless Ciro can uncover the truth, both SAGE and the colony are doomed. My journey with Echo of the Larkspur has been a long one. I wrote the first draft almost ten years ago and over the years I've been editing, rewriting, and honing it until I was proud of what I had created. But try as I may I could never get any agents or publishers interested in my work. I even had a traditionally published author tell me that the only way to make it publishable was to take out the queer romance to make it "less weird". Well I've decided the best thing to do is to self publish it myself than to change what makes the novel special for a mass audience. However, I want the novel to be in the best shape it can be before I go down the self publishing route. This means hiring a professional editor, hiring an artist for the cover, and hiring someone for the cover's lettering. My posted goal of $600 will be enough to cover all of those things, plus anything extra/left over will be spent on advertisement for the novel in an attempt to reach a broader audience. Echo of the Larkspur would never have gotten this far without the support of my friends, family, and fans. With your help I'll be able to finally get my novel out into the world into the hands of those who have waited so long. Every donation helps, and so does sharing this page! Thank you, Amber

I myself am the editor tapped to work on this; I'm giving them a discount to help with the publishing process.

Friends, this is a book I believe in. I've read older versions (though it's been a few years) and I know this book is ready. This is the time for this book. It's radically inclusive, and features meditations and musings on robotics and cognition that are very sophisticated. All in a body-positive queer romance with robots.

So, if you're a fan of their Overwatch work, Points on a Circle, check out some of their original works and fanfic here!

Donate Here!

[the-burd-lord]

Lil fanart/ redesign of Sea Bonnies from the Fazbear Frights book Friendly Face.

Made this art a while ago, and posted it to my insta. Decided to post to here. Especially since my main drawing hand is goin kaput. Also just finished reading Felix the Shark, which I recommend that people check out. Even if they've never read any other of the Fazbear Frights series. The last story in that collection kinda jumps the shark with its premise *badum tis*.

But since I can't make any new art, have these old lil creature designs instead.

The basic premise for the story is that the MC's brother got Sea Bonnies, sea monkeys that are engineered to look like Bonnie, as pets. MC gets super creeped out by them, and he even hears them talking, but they mostly just call him a wuss for being scared of them. Which I find super hilarious.

Anyways, he's had enough and stupidly flushes them down the toilet. Later he starts getting horrible stomach cramps and starts hearing them in his head. He finds out he swallowed one and now they're multiplying and eating him from the inside out.

The interesting thing, and what makes it spookier in my opinion, is that he goes to see a physician about it. They give him a cat scan and find irregularities with it, but when he tells the doctors about the Sea Bonnies they dismiss him. Thinking that he's trying to pull some elaborate prank.

After that it's this slow burn as they continue to eat him out from the inside, and replace his organs in the process. He makes a last ditch attempt to see a doctor in his worsened condition but fails miserably.

There's more to the story, but again I recommend y'all check it out for yourselves! I highly recommend it as a piece of body horror.

Anyway onto the redesign. This one got a a graphic novel of it so there are actually cannon designs of the critters.

I think they're fine designs, although it is a bit disappointing that they kept leaning more towards rabbit or krill. Especially when sea monkeys have such a distinct look to them that would've made them super uncanny and alien if they leaned more into it.

Although credit where credit is due, it's super hard to combine a rabbit with a sea monkey.

For my design I originally leaned more towards krill, since sea monkeys are a modified version of krill. Also wanted to stick with it being biologically accurate.

I felt like the design was still lacking, and honestly I wanted to lean more towards what I was really interested in: plankton!

There are so many different kinds of plankton that all have unique features and shapes. There are also many different variations of zooplankton, plankton that cannot produce their own food, to base it after.

Still stuck to the sea monkey design, with the feathery feet they use to swim and bulbous head. Added feelers to the front to act as rabbit ears, and later something that would act as an extra mouth or protective "hairs" for their head to look like a bowtie.

Also didn't go too biological with it since in the book they just reproduce asexually. Which is so interesting in plankton, especially when it comes to cell growth.

Oh, fun fact! Did you know that plankton also refer to planktonic organisms, creatures that cannot produce their own movement. These include most phytoplankton (plankton that produce their own food through photosynthesis), but they also include jellyfish and some stages of squids! Ironically most zooplankton are able to produce their own movement, and would thus be considered nektonic organisms.

These organisms include anything that is able to move on its own, i.e. anything that can swim. There are a few different variations of undersea movement but those are the basics.

It should be said that I really like plankton.

As if it wasn't already obvious.

I need to stop and post this before I go on another plankton rant. Or start taking about Foo Fighters from JJBA.

[frommybookbook]

#1: Farewell, My Lovely (1975)

OK, here we go, the winner! Farewell, My Lovely is my favorite adaptation and Robert Mitchum is my favorite Marlowe, hands down.

They decided to keep the story a period piece and I think that’s always going to work best for adapting these novels. Chandler’s writing is good enough that it’s timeless and obviously can be modernized successfully, but there’s something about the way a period piece can tap into the melancholy of these stories through nostalgia and the malaise of the past that just works a little bit better. And because this was made post-Hays Code, they could keep some of the raw violence and sex that the early adaptations couldn’t. It's a win-win, in my opinion.

It’s said that Mitchum always wanted to play Marlowe and I can see why: the man was made for this role. I’m a Mitchum fan girl in general and he’s perfect in this movie. He’s got reluctant hope oozing out of his ears, he’s weary, he’s weathered, he’s a good investigator, and just the right amount of womanizing bastard. At 58, he’s a little old to be playing Marlowe but that just adds to the tiredness he carries (his speech where he tells Nulty how tired he is makes me weep). His age also helps in that he lived through the time period of the movie, he was a young man in the 1930s, he knew this version of LA and this world of corruption and vice and he brought that to the role.

And the supporting cast is great, too. Charlotte Rampling as Helen Grayle is incredible and Jack O’Halloran is the perfect Moose Malloy. I love John Ireland as Detective Nulty, too. Like Mitchum he really has the weariness and trampled nature down.

Overall movie score: 5/5, it's just perfect, it's a careful and intentional homage to both the source novel and film noir without being a pastiche of either

Marlowe score: 4.5/5, Mitchum is nearly perfect as Marlowe, in my opinion, he's charming and world-weary and a bit snarky; the only points I'm docking are for his age but still, a young Robert Mitchum is who I picture in my head when I read these books

Perry Mason score: 2/5, it has two actors (Jack O’Halloran and John Ireland) who were in two separate TV movies

And that's a wrap! I've now reviewed and ranked all the Philip Marlowe movies (until they try to make another one, which, just, don't). I've had so much fun doing this series and thank you so much if you've stuck it out for 9 of these!

For a reminder of why I started this series and how I’m rating these movies, you can check out my master Marlowe post and follow the tag #Marlowe movies.

[tokiko220]

It's been too long since I did one of those drawing memes i remember from my deviantart days soo I decide to do one by @naigotlost (sorryyyy if you don't want dA past dredged up but too late lolololol) especially since I'm apparently the reason she made it lol Here's the blank version!

Oh and by the way I already filled it out once if you wanna see that lol I'd like to think I'm more skilled now lolol

You can read about the characters under the cut!

SHOT - Ospa (Fallout New Vegas) - My Fallout NV courier, pretty obvious what moment of the story this one depicts lol After being shot she suffered brain damage and was never the same- remains a genius, she's just wierder than before.

BURNED - Mariah (Original)- This one is in the more conceptual stages, I was drawing scifi-ish nun designs and really liked one so I thought "what the hell". It's all (vaguely gestures) but she has a burn on her face that she got while pulling patients from their monastery during a huge fire. Through sheer determination and hysterical strenght she hauled out men twice her size, the other nuns never let her live it down.

NECK WOUND - Ctirad (Original)- One of my vampire hunters. I still can't quite get his design down but I do know that he gets turned into a vampire, much to his best friends/basically sister's dismay. It's a whole thing.

IMPALED - Michiko (Samurai of Hyuga) - My beloved being impaled by a spear in a hypothetical scenario in which she's protecting Masashi. I felt so strongly about it I wrote a whole oneshot- i'm still super normal about SOH, I just have less time to draw.

MISSING A LIMB - Jun Uesugi (Samurai of Hyuga) - Jun-y boy artist's interepretation of that scene in book 4 (if you know you know). I am once again super normal about it I only think about it most of the time.

VOMITTING BLOOD - Taro (Original) - Guy from my final school project VN concept thing, he's the main character of an isekai who's kind of a dick and gets vibe checked once he gets transported back to his world in which Apolena (a girl from the other world that he betrayed and got killed) wants some payback- cue a violent time loop.

DROWNING - Marianne (Crown of Ashes and Flames) - My MC from an interactif story by Cœur. Check it out it's good literally makes me cry every time. The characters make me absolutely insane and spin around in my head like rotisserie chickens.

INJURED EYE - Wolf (Original) - Character from another visual novel concept that I reallly want to finish I swear I tried but it's hard work and I'm a drawer not a writer, I hope one day I can actually bring him to life lol Anyway he's a cannibalistic yandere set in, as his name implies, a story loosely based on Red Riding Hood.

BANDAGED - Apolena (Original) - Taro's antagonist and the protagonist of my final school project, she's the elf noble who just wanted to read and embroider when she was forced by her father to join the Hero's adventure (it apparently builds character) but the Hero thinks she's mega lame so after she suffers bullying by the Hero's party he ends up letting some bandits take her which eventually leads to her death (but the Goddess that put the hero into this world is like shit sorry that was kinda my bad do you maybe wanna go be destitute in modern pseudo japan????) Not only was she betrayed and murdered she now works in customer service, which is arguably the worst thing that has ever happened to her.

god i feel like i haven't infodumped about my characters in a decade this is so freeing haha

[boombambaby]

Bestie! >3< I'm writing a whole novel for you just now bc I'm stupid and fell asleep last night.

Anyway... Look, I truly enjoy your writing! You're the best Kuzco I've ever seen, truly! I'll be real honest with you. I was looking for a ENG friend bc I barely can talk about it irl, and I wondered if there was someone out there who would love the franchise as much as I do.

So, I looked for all the Kuzco content online, including Twitter, so I checked there every single day for official or fan updates about Kuzco, until I found your RP account. When I first read your portrayal of the character, I was amazed by how accurate you wrote him! I've been reading all the fanfics for ages and I'm so strict when it comes to ppl writing his personality (He's my comfort character alongside Malina pls.), some did him dirty or they couldn't capture his Kuzcharisma that much I felt like something was missing, but when I read your stuff, it makes me feel happy bc I feel like I'm watching a real ep of the show or a third movie of him I've always wanted to see! That's why I wanted to reach out to you, I asked for advice in an attempt of saying: I WANT TO BE YOUR 2ND MALINA BUT IDK IF YOU WANT TO WRITE WITH ME TOO. ahem. I was planning to do an account for her many years ago but I never did. And welp, you asked for a Malina here so I finally was all: IT'S MY CUE!! >:0 I'M THROWING AWAY MY SHYNESS AND SHOW MYSELF AHAGHA and voilà! My Malina was born. Hshs even though I'm not the best, I always try to do decently so you can have a good experience ehe. I'm having a blast so far! You're too hilarious and sassy and and simply ✨️Kuzcorrific✨️

Thank you for being my writing partner and the best bestie I've ever had! I'm honored you like my version of Malina even if she's a menace. Your kind words when I also feel down on myself gives me motivation to keep going! Don't ever stop writing Kuzco! I'm not allowing it! You have plenty of ppl who also adore your writing! You're a kind soul and don't deserve to feel bad about yourself ;;

I LOVE YOU TO PIECES BESTIE. KEEP DOING THE EXCELLENT JOB! 💕❤️♥️

Bestie you went and did it and made me cry ckskekvkcn.

HOW DARE YOU???

Words couldn’t ever express how happy I am you reached out to me back on Twitter, and how excited I was when your Malina popped up here after my long shot post about wanting one!

I’m so glad you got over your shyness and took my advice, I’m a huge advocate for people to try RP out, especially if they love to write because it can be a lot of fun and a great community, especially here on Tumblr, I’m learning.

I’ll fight you for not agreeing that your Malina is incredible, because she is and I love writing all of the crack / fluff / angst / ideas and everything we decide to try with you! Even though it means having like 40+ SL’s going at once lol. And even though she is definitely a menace, you got that right. 😂

Thank you for putting up with me bestie 🥹❤️

I LOVE YOU TOO!! And thank you for always being there for me when I need you cjskrkvkvj ❤️❤️❤️

[after-witch]

smiling man dream. with books! and thighs touching!

I had the most wonderful smiling man related dream. I rarely dream about him despite thinking about him for a significant portion of my life, so it was a pleasant surprise.

---

In my dream, I was one of many adults who were trapped at a school when the smiling man appeared and apparently decided he was going to take all of us. He looked very Seth-like. Flannel shirt. Blonde hair, 90s pretty heartthrob style ofc because it's my dream version of Seth.

Someone pleaded for mercy and he came up with the idea that if we all read 1000 books, we could be let go.

I hadn't been in a school in ages and I started picking out some rather odd books (like "1000 Creepiest Real Things in the World" "100 Disgusting Animal Facts" whatever) and the smiling man came up to me like

"What interesting choices... may I see?" and he sat next to me on the little alcove bench and--

we read together for a while

I said it was nice to read with someone else, because I hadn't read these books in so long, and it was a nice thing to share

And he just sort of went "Hmmmm" and walked away.

I kept reading, there was lots of drama because people were arguing about what counted as a book (apparently, no, the preschool room board books did not count) and whether or not he meant 1000 books EACH or 1000 books TOTAL etc.

At some point I was leaning against a wall reading something else (The Last of the Mohicans, a copy that I remember checking out in elementary school with an old timey hardcover)

And he came up with a novel with a creepy cover and said he thought I might enjoy it, if I felt like picking it up nex and our HANDS TOUCHED as he handed it over, ;;; whew. And I said I wouldn't mind reading it now, if he wanted to read with me, since there was only one copy.

(Can "There's only one copy of the book, we have to read it together" be the next "There's only one bed"?)

So he sat next to me and our thighs were together and oooh boy.

He left, some chaos happened, and I found a book that I liked and this time I went up to him to show him and suggest it while also rambling on about the Horrible Histories books that I thought he might find interesting. But apparently I came on too strong because he excused himself.

Then I got depressed and curled up under a desk to read, like we used to do in elementary school for in-school read-ins.

After a while he crawled under the desk and asked what I was doing. I said that I used to do it when I was little and it made me feel comforted. He started to say something...

But then some parent who sounded like Jack Black said: "THERE'S NOT EVEN A RODENT IN THERE!!!" and I woke up.

[foundtherightwords]

The Quiet Chaos - Chapter 2

Pairing: Billy Knight (Lethal White/Strike) x OFC

Summary: After a bad breakup throws her carefully-planned life into disarray, Esme has sworn off dating forever. However, when she forms an unexpected connection with a young man named Billy, who's dealing with his own struggles, Esme is forced to face the truth: sometimes you can't plan for love.  

A/N: Let the Discworld references begin!

Warnings: mental health issues, angst, slow-burn, developing relationship, dysfunctional family, some violence (non-graphic), some smut

Chapter warnings: mention of cheating, stalkerish behavior from an ex

Chapter word count: 2.9k

Chapter 1

Chapter 2 - The White Horse

Esme's boss, Peter, grumbled about the dogs, but Esme knew he couldn't help but melt a little at the sight of the puppies crowding around their mum. She pointed out that they couldn't be moved yet due to the puppies' young age and the mum's broken leg, and promised to take responsibility for them. In the end, Peter agreed to let the dogs stay. Sometimes, there were certain advantages to working for a small business.

The next night, Esme settled down for another quiet shift. Monty had gone home, but now there were the dogs to command her attention. The puppies were settling in nicely, but the mum, whom Esme had decided to call Angua, remained slightly wary and still gave a soft growl when Esme reached into the crate. "Relax," Esme told her while checking her bandages one last time before turning out the light. "We got you and your babies here safe and sound, didn't we?" She wondered if Billy would want to know how the dogs were doing, and realized, rather wistfully, that she didn't have any way of contacting him.

There was a buzz from the front desk. Esme poked her head out and saw Billy shuffling by the door, a bag of dog treats in his hand. The sight of him made her heart jump pleasantly, though she didn't quite know why.

"I just want to see how the dogs are doing," he said shyly, as if he could read her thought. "And to give the mum this." He held out the bag of treats. "I checked, it's for nursing dogs," he added.

"That's so thoughtful, thank you." She moved to take the treats from him, but something about his timid stance tugged at her heart, and she opened the door wider. "Would you like to see them?"

His face brightened up, but he still seemed unsure. "I don't want to bother—"

"It's no bother. It's a very slow night anyway."

She led him into the back, where the kennels were. Angua started wagging her tail lightly upon seeing Billy. "Oh, would you look at that?" Esme said, pretending to be offended. "I feed and clean you and you still growl at me, but he comes with treats and he gets a tail wag? I'm joking," she quickly added, noticing Billy's fluster. "I think it's sweet that she remembers you, really."

"May I?" He gestured to the kennel. Esme nodded, so he sat down on the floor and put a finger through the bars, giving first the mum, then each of the puppies, a gentle stroke. "Do they have names yet?" he asked.

"I've been calling the mum Angua," Esme said.

"Angua?"

"It's from Discworld—it's from a series of fantasy novels," she explained. She wasn't going to bore him by launching into a long-winded speech about her hobby, so she opted for the heavily abridged version. "Angua's a werewolf. And a police officer. She's very tough and practical, but nice too. Though she still chases the occasional chicken in her wolf form," she couldn't stop herself from adding.

"Oh." He seemed to be mulling over the name while still stroking the dog. "That suits her."

"Yeah. Look-wise, she's more of a Gaspode, but personality-wise, she's Angua for sure." Billy looked at her, confused, and Esme gave a little embarrassed laugh. "Sorry. It's from the books again. Gaspode's a stray dog."

"What about the puppies?"

"I haven't decided yet. Maybe you can adopt one, when they're old enough, and name it yourself," Esme suggests.

"I've always wanted a dog," he replied, his voice quiet, almost as if he was talking to himself. "But my landlord doesn't allow pets."

"That's a pity." She sat down next to him and put her hand in to pet the dogs as well. Her fingers brushed against his for a second, before she pulled away. "Well, you can visit as long as they're here."

And so he did. For the next week, Billy showed up every night, staying for a few minutes to give Angua a treat and pet the puppies. There were nights he caught Esme in an actual emergency and she could only wave at him before running off again, but if she wasn't doing anything, she would invite him to stay longer and join her for a cup of tea. He accepted these invitations readily enough, though he remained shy and reticent around her, even if he was no longer jumpy as he had been the day he brought Angua in. After a week, all Esme found out was that he worked the evening shifts at the nearby Asda and that the clinic was on his way home.

Then a strange incident occurred.

Billy had dropped in to visit the dogs as usual. The puppies' eyes had opened now and Esme would sometimes let them out of the kennel to play. When she came back from the kitchenette with the tea, she found them tumbling on the floor by Billy's feet, under Angua's watchful but content supervision. They had really taken to him. And he seemed calmer around them too, smiling and playing with them without that nervous, timid look he often had when talking to Esme.

She leaned down to give Billy his mug. The movement caused her necklace to fall out of her shirt. Billy caught sight of it, and his face blanched.

"What's that?" he asked, pointing at it, his tea forgotten.

"Oh, it's my White Horse necklace." She pulled it out to show it to him more clearly. It's a silver pendant in the shape of a horse, or, more exactly, the carving of a horse, a present from her mum two years ago. "It's also from those books I told you about. It's based on the Uffington White Horse—"

A shocking change came over Billy. His huge eyes popped out of his pale face like he had just seen a ghost, he started shivering uncontrollably, and his right hand flew to his nose then his chest in a strange, compulsive movement, again and again, until he gripped it with his left, seemingly with an enormous effort, to still it. "Gotta go," he mumbled and scrambled to his feet.

"What—" Esme began, but he was out of the door before she could finish her sentence.

Esme's turn on the night shift rotation ended that week, and she had her day off right after, so she didn't get a chance to see Billy again and ask him what had happened that night. With a pang, she realized that she'd neglected to tell him she wasn't working the night shift for another week. She wondered whether he would come back if she was not there. Don't be silly, of course he would. He comes to see the dogs, not you. Then she wondered why she even bothered thinking about it. She didn't know him at all.

That morning, as Esme pulled up on her bicycle behind the clinic, she ran into her co-worker, Dianne, who was just leaving. They exchanged pleasantries, though Esme could see that Dianne was not happy about having to take the night shift. In Dianne's mind, Esme should have the night shift because she lived close by, because she was the youngest member of the team, because she was single, because she had no kids, because, because, because. Esme knew that if Dianne had her way, she would saddle Esme all the night shifts. And all the day shifts too, if possible.

"Oh and by the way, Essie, if I were you, I would be careful about who I let into the clinic during the night," Dianne said, as she was getting into her car. Esme winced. Dianne called everyone by some personal nickname, thinking it made her appear friendlier, without ever asking if they like the nicknames or not. "Essie" was close enough to her name that Esme didn't mind too much, though she itched to tell Dianne that her name was short for Esmeralda, while Essie was usually short for Esther. If she did, Dianne would probably look at her like she'd sprouted another head.

"Why, what's happened?" Esme asked, locking up the bike. She wasn't really interested in a lecture about safety from Dianne, who regularly forgot to bolt the kennels at night.

"Some bloke came round last night, asking for you. Looked sketchy as hell."

Esme lifted her head. "Did he say what his name was?"

"No. And I didn't ask."

"What does he look like?"

"I don't know, I wasn't paying attention." Dianne's nostrils flared in annoyance at Esme's questions. Bet she wishes she didn't bring this up in the first place. "Pale skin, dark hair. Twitchy. Probably a druggie. Said he wanted to see the dogs, but I told him I'd call the police, so he took off."

Dianne actually looked smug. Esme had to remind herself that no one else at the clinic knew Billy—though, technically speaking, neither did she—so Dianne's reaction was understandable. But would it kill the woman to have a little compassion? "I'll keep that in mind, thank you," she said coldly and went inside.

During her lunch break, she took her bike to Asda. She had no idea what time their evening shift started, but perhaps she could leave him a message. Weaving her way through the crowd of lunchtime shoppers, she managed to find who looked like a supervisor, an older woman with wiry, pewter-colored hair, watching a young man while he filled the shelves.

"Excuse me, sorry to bother you, but is Billy here?" Esme asked the supervisor.

They both turned to her, but it was the young man that spoke first. "Billy Knight? What does a pretty girl like you want with that weirdo?" he said. Spots were erupting all over his face, making it look like a lava field. Esme had to bite back a snippy remark.

"Be quiet, Liam," the supervisor said. She turned to Esme. "He's not in any kind of trouble, is he?"

"Oh no," Esme quickly replied. "I'm a vet. He brought a dog to our clinic, and I just want to talk to him about it, that's all."

The supervisor relaxed. "He's not scheduled to come in today," she said. Seeing Esme deflate, she added, "I believe he apprentices a few days a week at that woodworking studio by the wharf. You can ask there."

Esme thanked her. As she rode her bike down the river, she asked herself again why she had to bother so much. It certainly didn't matter to her whether Billy came back to the clinic or not. She enjoyed his visits, but it was just something to break up the monotony of the night, nothing more. Except... except that she could tell it matters to him, the time he spent with the dogs, the shy few words he exchanged with her. And she hated for him to think he was unwelcomed.

She found the studio quite easily. Even before she saw it, a trail of wood shavings and sawdust had led her to the piles of timber stacked outside, and she was greeted by a contradictory mix of the warm, sweet, relaxing scent of wood and a constant roaring and thudding of table saws and chisels and hammers. She asked for Billy from a man with a red face and a magnificent white beard, looking like Father Christmas on holiday. He turned around and bellowed "Billy!!!" over the noise, then tipped Esme a wink and ambled inside. A minute later, Billy emerged, stripping off a pair of gloves and goggles and brushing the sawdust from his hair, blinking at her in surprise.

"How'd you find me?" he said. There it was again, that brief look of fear and distrust.

"I asked your supervisor at Asda," Esme said. Recognizing how that sounded, she added, "I'm sorry, I hope I'm not overstepping, but—"

"—'s alright—"

"—I just want to apologize about last night. My colleague didn't know you were—she wasn't really going to—I'm sorry I didn't—you're welcome to stop by any time..." She realized she was rambling now, so her voice trailed off, and they stood looking at each other, both tongue-tied. Esme thought about telling him to come back next week, when she would be working, but a voice in her head, compiled from countless articles she's read about the dangers of being a single woman in modern society, told her this might be a bad idea. Sure, let's tell the strange man whom you barely know where he can find you alone, at night...

Eventually, Billy spoke up. "How're the dogs?"

"They're fine. Angua misses the treats though." He gave her another one of his uncertain smiles, which came and went like the beam of a lighthouse. That smile convinced Esme. "It's my turn on the night shift again next week," she said. "You can stop by then."

His face relaxed. "Thank you," he said.

Esme started wheeling her bike around, when Billy called out to her, in a small voice, "Esme?" He had never called her by name before. It sounded nice.

She turned around expectantly.

"I'm sorry for running off the other night," he said. "The White Horse—" His hand twitched to his nose again, but he stopped it in time and turned it into a wiping motion instead. He took a breath. "I grew up near there. Lots of—bad memories."

Esme nodded, though she didn't quite understand. "It's alright," she replied. "I'll see you again then." But she tucked the necklace more securely into her shirt and made a mental note to not have it visible while he was around.

Esme's phone buzzed while she was in the kitchenette, but her hands were full of bread and cheese. Billy was stopping by, and she wanted to offer him something more substantial with his tea than just biscuits. He didn't look like he had enough to eat, yet he was always so embarrassed and hesitant about taking food. I'll just tell him that I accidentally made too many sandwiches for my midnight snack, she decided, as she cut the sandwiches into perfect triangles.

The phone buzzed again. Annoyed, Esme wiped her hand and pulled the phone out of her pocket. There was a string of texts from an unknown number. She glanced at them, and her heart jerked as if it had been electrocuted.

Hey love, it's Neil

Pls don't block this number as well

Can we talk? I've made a terrible mistake—

The rest of the text became a blur as hot tears sprang to her eyes. Bastard! He decided she was suffocating him, that the relationship wasn't working, and now, nearly seven months later (and who's counting anyway?), suddenly he'd made a mistake? She wiped away the tears as soon as they came, angry at herself for crying. He hadn't deserved her tears when he cheated on her, and he certainly didn't deserve her tears now.

She picked up the plate of sandwiches, stalked out, and almost ran into Billy. He noticed her red-rimmed eyes, and concern etched across his face. "Something wrong?" he asked.

"No, nothing's wrong," she said. "I'm just—" Her phone rang shrilly, cutting her off. The same unknown number. Shit. Must've forgotten to block it. The ringtone grated on her nerves, and the red haze of anger dried her tears almost instantly. Without thinking, she pressed "answer" and shouted into the phone, "Stop trying to contact me, you cheating bastard!" Then she hung up, making sure to hit "block" this time, and lifted her head to meet Billy's alarmed stare.

"Sorry about that," she said with a self-conscious laugh. "I sometimes wish we still used landlines, don't you? It would've been so much more satisfying to be able to slam the receiver down, instead of just hanging up and blocking." She wiped her eyes furiously into her sleeve and proffered Billy the sandwiches. "Cheese and onion?"

He took a sandwich, still looking thoughtful, and followed her into the kennel, which for once was actually full. While Esme busied herself checking the other patients, he settled down to play with Angua and the pups as usual, but she could feel his eyes on her, watching her as he tried to understand. When she returned from the cat room, he suddenly said, apropos of nothing, "It's easier with animals, isn't it?"

She looked at him, puzzled.

"Not like people," he clarified. "Animals can't lie or hurt you. Well, they can hurt you, but only physically."

Esme was stunned. Billy was giving her a small smile, but his eyes were elsewhere, looking at something only he could see, or perhaps looking inside himself. She wondered what had happened to him, and whether it had anything to do with the "bad memories" he mentioned. But she didn't want to be nosy.

"That's one of the reasons I became a vet, actually," she said, sitting down next to him. "You always know where you are with animals."

His eyes returned to her then, with a spark of mutual understanding, and they sat there quietly, shoulder to shoulder, while the puppies yapped and gamboled at their feet.

Chapter 3

Taglist: @quinnypixie, @accidentalslag, @etherealglimmer

[fredfilmsblog]

We got such a good reaction to last week’s “The Summoning” postcard teasing a graphic novel series that I thought it was a good bet you hadn’t read the interview with creator Elyse Castro that was done in 2017 by the Frederator development group.

frederator-studios:

Frederator Studios’ Cooper Nelson checked in with Elyse Castro, creator of “The Summoning,” the newly released GO! Cartoons short on Cartoon Hangover, to ask a few burning questions. Let’s see if her answers are equally on fire.

Elyse Castro created “The Summoning,” about Claire, a witch, and her cat Edgar, on a quest for a missing spell ingredient. When I asked her our usual opening question—“Where did you study animation?”—Elyse just chuckled.

“Can’t answer that one,” she explained, “I didn’t!”

Rebellious against the ‘usual,’ Castro, of Brisbane, Australia, is a prolific creative, with experience ranging from playwriting to comics to taxidermy—she recently gave blacksmithing a go. Below, she doles out the deets on “The Summoning,” and leads us down her windy path to cartoon-creating.

So what did you study in school?

I went to uni for theater and visual art, but halfway through got really into the culture of tattooing, and became a tattoo apprentice. My Catholic parents were horrified. I was a tattoo artist for several years, then cooled off it—partly because of a hurt wrist, partly because I was tired of people’s shit tattoo ideas.

I can imagine. So then what’d you get up to?

I was doing freelance comics, some fine art, but also studied to become a drama teacher. I was frustrated about the neglect of arts and theater education in Australia, and decided to quit harping about the problems and lend a hand to the solutions.

Do you enjoy teaching?

I love connecting with the kids. And it’s creative—I teach at an all boys school, so I often write us alternative plays to fit them better, like our own version of “Robin Hood”. It’s a lot of laughs—I love making people laugh.

Is that why you wanna make cartoons?

Oh yeah – it’s always been a big motivation for me. My biggest goal in life all through growing up, and even now, is to make my sister laugh. It isn’t too hard, she’s thinks I’m a riot. She ended up becoming a research scientist, while I’m an adult entertained by Yo Gabba Gabba.

I respect that. So then what inspired “The Summoning”?

Certainly my maniac cats [see Winston below]. And actually, a lot of experiences with my sister. Voices we’d use, stupid things we’d do. And some gross stuff. Like, the whole bit with the dandruff in “The Summoning” was based on a time that I picked a big flake of the stuff off her head. I remember it now, a nice, sunny day…

Aha, gross! Gotcha. What mattered to you while developing your own short?

I thought about what I wanted to see in a cartoon—I’m drawn to the macabre, odd stuff, like my taxidermy. I’m very crafty, always making things, which lends itself to a witch character. And tone-wise, I wanted to keep it real, even have nuggets of education. Like in “The Summoning,” I tucked in a great factoid about poo consumption in the animal kingdom.

Sounds about as educational as a Frederator show gets!

I still can’t believe I have a project with Frederator. It was my childhood dream to make a cartoon, and I’m a huge fan of Pendleton Ward and Natasha Allegri. I even got to work with Natasha, who directed “The Summoning”! I was fangirling, it was so hard to act cool.

What’re your favorite cartoons?

Definitely Daria, Ren and Stimpy, South Park, and Adventure Time.

So about the witchcraft stuff – dabble in witchcraft yourself?

Not really, but I’m very interested in paganism and witchcraft. I study it, love the history behind it. My friends and I mess around with tarot cards sometimes, but I haven’t gone farther than that… yet.

– Cooper

Watch Elyse’s “The Summoning” on Cartoon Hangover!

For the 1 year anniversary of “The Summoning” and Go! Cartoons, bumping @elysecastro‘s interview non-US fans link here!

(this was also my first interview! We’re at ~50 a year later, with video and probs audio ones too on the way. Anthology post forthcoming! ?)

– stillcooper