#Feel free to add your own take or tips if anyone has it! I'd love to read about it too

[vinnybox]

Hi, love you art!!

I've just recently started back on Tumblr and I was wondering if you had any tips on getting stuff noticed? I've been uploading pretty regularly and tagging a lot but have been having no luck :')

Thank you!!

Hello!! Thank u sm!!! >v< welcome back to Tumbloo

Tumblr can be tricky since as far as I'm aware, the only way your stuff will get seen is either they are found through search tags or reblogs, so I'm honestly stumped on this too. Though these are stuff I've done that has helped me a bit I think <:D

Interact with other posts (Reblog and adding your own addition to the post)

Reblog your own art at different time of the day to bump it for different timezones

Search for best posting time (Find data when most users are active. I had to post early in the AMs sometimes cause of my timezone)

Engage in fandom art, posts, or activities with other users! (If that's your interest! Don't force yourself! Have fun with it!) This one helped a ton and I'm grateful for people who share similar interests when I have my brainrot phase! <3

Meme redraw or some funnee (Trust me, memes and fandoms are a great way to bond with people. Looking at my oomfies <3)

Tag your posts (Prioritize the first 5 tags since those are the ones most likely to be picked up in search or smth, I dont remember, but get the broad/most likely to be searched terms first then you can tag other stuff in.)

In the end tho, I feel like these days I just post whatever I wanna, reblog my own stuff on occasions and hope people like them enough to reblog or share it around too.

Its hard getting stuff noticed, so be sure to do the same for others too by sharing/engaging with it. 🫶Hope this makes sense SJDSD

[memento-morri-writes]

Do you have any advice or specific tips to writing a low/no empathy character? Or a resource to recommend?

Hi nonny! Thanks for asking! I'm going to try my best to answer your question, but keep in mind, this is all based on my own personal experience, and that varies vastly from person to person. (if anyone else experiences low/no empathy, please feel free to add on to this post!)

So, some things to keep in mind:

Why does your character experience low/no empathy? For me, it's a symptom of my autism, but there are multiple reasons a character could have low/no empathy. The most common is probably going to be some form of disability (autism), or disorder (psychopathy), etc. (Be careful while doing research though, especially on disorders like psychopathy! You're going to run into a lot of ableist bullshit. Make sure to look for sources written by people living with these disorders/disabilities.) (If anyone has any resources on other disabilities or disorders that cause low empathy that they personally recommend, please feel free to add links!!!) Whatever the reason, it's not going to only affect their empathy. It's going to affect every part of their life. So make sure to do your research, and write respectfully. If you know someone or follow someone who has a certain condition, ask if they'd feel comfortable answering questions for you. If they aren't, that's fine. If they are, they're going to be a great resource. (I'd also recommend getting a sensitivity reader, particularly when writing about mental disorders that are already frequently stigmatized. You want to make sure you're not promoting harmful stereotypes.) I should note, however, that neurotypical people can also have low/no empathy!!! It just happens to also be a common symptom of various mental disorders.

Consider what kind of empathy does your character lack. There are two kinds of empathy! Emotional (or affective) empathy, and cognitive empathy. Affective empathy is made up of three parts: Feeling the same emotion as someone else, feeling discomfort or stress in response to someone else's suffering, and feeling compassion for or understanding another's emotions. Cognitive empathy is the ability to recognize and understand the emotions of someone else. This includes being to "stand in someone else's shoes", or take another person's perspective, and generally understand what they're feeling. This one has been called more of a "skill", in that it's something people can "learn", where as affective empathy can't be taught or learned. When people talk about having low/no empathy, they are usually referring to lacking affective empathy, but a character might struggle with both!

Not everyone experiences empathy the same. Some people lack empathy in some circumstances, but have it in others. For example, I lack empathy when it comes to human beings, but I am much more empathetic when it comes to animals. A character might only be able to empathize with very specific scenarios or people. (For example, if someone else is going through a very similar scenario to one they have experienced in the past, it may be easier for them to feel empathy. But it might not!) Some people can empathize with certain emotions better than others. (I empathize better with anger, but can't empathize at all with grief.)

Understand that a lack of empathy does not equal a lack of caring. Just because a person doesn't feel the emotions someone else is feeling doesn't mean they don't care. A person with low or no empathy can still be kind and compassionate to others. They might go about trying to cheer people up in a slightly different way (I personally tend to try and go for distractions), but they still care about their friends and loved ones. Even seemingly "uncaring" things said by those who lack empathy do not come from a place of malice. (I can't tell you how many times I've said something well-meaning and had people assume I was being cruel. I wasn't, and I genuinely had good intentions.)

Keep in mind how your character reacts to other's emotions. People with empathy tend to feel similarly to those they empathize with, which generally creates a feeling of connection. (This is part of what leads to that sense of "coming together after tragedy".) A person with low/no empathy might instead feel alienated or uncomfortable when faced with large outpourings of emotions. They might be uncertain how to act or what to do, and they may try and avoid situations with strong negative emotions because of it. (In my case, people crying makes me very uncomfortable, because I don't know how to respond. So I try and keep my distance.)

Think about how your character processes their own emotions. Just because a character doesn't feel empathy for others doesn't mean that they are incapable of feeling those emotions on their own. A character who has no empathy for a grieving friend can still grieve! But chances are they will process that emotion differently than a person with "normal" empathy. They might try to push their emotions away and bottle them up. Or one emotion might transition into one they have an easier time processing. (For me, I don't experience sadness normally. It either transitions to anger, or it is replaced by different thoughts.)

Think about how their lack of empathy influences their life. A person who lacks empathy is not going to experience life the same way as a person with "normal" empathy. They might have a hard time making friends, or they might excel at a job that requires a logical mind. They might give great advice, or their friends might know to never ask them about relationships. They might be great at organizing people, even in times of stress, because their brain compartmentalizes and thinks pragmatically. They might totally shut down when faced with an emotional situation because they don't know how to process it.

Having no empathy can be very alienating. People expect empathy constantly. It's a big part of why people love emotional media, and it's the expected response when someone you know experiences suffering. Not having empathy can mean that you feel disconnected from your loved ones or community as a whole. It might mean biting your tongue and not saying what you think because people would read it as uncaring or cruel.

Remember: Having low or no empathy is not a bad thing. People with low/no empathy are often villainized in media, and the trait is often given to antagonists. But that's a harmful stereotype and harmful belief in general. That's not saying that your character with low empathy has to be "good", but don't use their low empathy as proof that they're a "bad person". Try thinking about situations in which having low/no empathy might be useful! I personally am reminded of the post I saw years ago where someone was saying that if not for their lack of empathy, they probably couldn't do their job. (iirc, they worked handling the bodies of organ donors, some of whom were quite young.)

Okay, that's all I can think of for now, but like I said before, anyone else who experiences low or no empathy is encouraged to reblog this post and add on to it! And if I made any mistakes here, please let me know so I can fix them!!! I tried to base this mostly off of my own experience, so take it all with a grain of salt.

[welcometololaland]

Howe do you get the characterisation of the characters you write about soo well? Like legit was reading the ring in (again) and that was a huge take away I got. Like “man, this IS Carlos and TK” same with your firstprince fics. What’s your secret? 👀

Hey, anon. This was super nice and very unexpected, so thank you for making my night <3

Truthfully, I can't articulate this well, so I'm sorry if it seems a bit scattered. A lot of my characterisation comes from me scheming up scenes in the shower, literally zoning out and thinking of dialogue as if the characters are being acted out in front of me. I do have some tips that work for me (and I hope are helpful for you!) which I've put below. Please feel free to let me know if you need further clarification!

Also, if anyone else has any tips, feel free to contribute. I'd love to hear them :)

TIP 1: For Lone Star (or any visual media - TV/movies), I'd spend a LOT of time re-watching the scenes, observing character's mannerisms and trying to replicate that in and amongst the dialogue (you don't even want to KNOW how many times I've watched Tarlos compilations - it's sickening). I think a LOT can be achieved with visual cues - for example, TK loves that sassy hand he whips out every now and again - and I'll try and build those things in with my dialogue. THIS IS ALSO WHERE GIF MAKERS ARE SO AMAZING, because GIFs provide snippets of scenes which allow writers to really hone in on a character's micro expressions. Carlos loves to raise an eyebrow, for example. I think these little details can go a long way.

TIP 2: It helps to build in familiar phrases. I love a canon callback (as long as it fits within the scene) and I think they can be super useful in adding extra authenticity. For example, one I used recently was Alex's "cool to see you're not dead or anything." It's a canon line, which can be easily applied to a different context. It just adds that extra flair, because you KNOW that the character would say that. I would just caution you to use them sparingly, so they pack that extra punch.

TIP 3: Read widely in the fandom! I think it helps to get a really good understanding of how characters behave by developing your own sense of what is in character. If you really vibe with how an author is portraying a character, make note of why you feel that way and try and apply it (obviously without plagiarism) in your own way.

TIP 4: Ask for (gentle and constructive) feedback from people you trust, if you feel comfortable enough to do so. I am FOREVER grateful to some of the people I've met in fandom who have been able to guide me with sensing what is/isn't out of character. It doesn't even need to be a full beta read. It could be quite simply: 'hey, do you think X would do this?'. Don't be afraid to reach out! I am so open to helping people with this and I know a lot of other people are too.

TIP 5: This might be a bit weird, but I do this because I am not an American and I write for a lot of American media - I spend a lot of time trying to visualise how a certain character would say something in their accent. It's taken me a long time to learn certain Americanisms and I'm sure I still get a lot of them wrong, but sometimes I literally close my eyes and try and imagine Ronen saying a line I've written, in his accent.

TIP 6: Keep writing the characters!!! The more you do it, the better you will get. I'm even looking back at some writing I did in early 2022 and trying to fix a bit of my characterisation, which just shows how much it has changed even in 1.5 years!

Best of luck and thank you so much for being so kind. I hope these are helpful!

[traumasurvivorshelpingsurvivors]

TWs for cancer, militant veganism, ableism, classism, and referenced death (due to cancer).

So my teacher has been really weird with pushing pro-vegan food on us for the past couple of weeks, and this resulted in her today giving us a video that in its own description describes veganism as a "secret prevention for cancer and all other so called 'diseases'". Like, great. Guess I'll go tell my friend's family that he didn't have to die from sarcoma at sixteen if he had just been vegan! Guess I don't have to worry about seizures from hypoglycemia by ignoring my vegan doctor's orders about not removing meat from my diet due to the safety risk. How about we go to all the countries where people are starving and tell them that they can just magically get rid of their diseases by going vegan? It's infuriating and I'm halfway to reporting her and her curriculum based off of this, but no one would even listen because no one takes these kinds of disabilities seriously. I mean, really. She even cherry-picked the clip, but even that made claims off of testimonials that the athletes' injuries supposedly healed better.

I don't care if she's vegan, I don't even care if she thinks that I'm being a dick or entitled about it, but by the stars in the sky this is the worst class I have ever taken. She is literally pushing a diet that could kill me and also pushing some ridiculously ableist concepts? And false ones, too.

I don't know. Maybe I'm just overreacting thanks to ADHD, or just triggered by a bad memory. Thanks for listening to my rant regardless. If you have any tips on how to make it through this class, I'd be glad to take them because I'm going to need them.

Hi anon,

I'm so sorry to hear about what's been going on with your teacher. Veganism shouldn't be weaponized like this, and I can totally understand where you're coming from. It can be a healthy and affordable choice for some, but it doesn't work for everyone in terms of accessibility, affordability, and diet. The thought behind veganism is understandable - trying to reduce animal cruelty and unethical production of food, but many vegan products still involve child labor and other forms of unethical or environmentally unfriendly means of production. This isn't to say veganism is bad, but it's not perfect. The notion that it prevents cancer and other diseases sounds dubious at best, and it certainly doesn't sound scientifically supported. I can understand the damage that these claims do, especially on people with loved ones who have passed due to cancer.

I don't think you're overreacting; it sounds quite proportionate to the situation. In fact, I'm curious if this is something you could report to her supervisor, the principal, or dean. Because it doesn't sit well with me that she seems to be teaching harmful misinformation.

If anyone has any comments or suggestions, feel free to add on. Otherwise, I hope I could help, and please let us know if you need anything.

-Bun

[tavyliasin]

Boundaries and Parasocial Relationships (I will only say this once)

This is the ONLY post I will be making on the matter, so please feel free to skip if you do not want to hear it again, and don't worry you don't need to hide me to avoid discourse - the rest of my content will remain firmly with only SMUTFIC FAN FUN.

So let's start with the simple. Actors, performers, celebrities: They are PEOPLE with LIVES. They are not CHARACTERS. Paying them for a service does not include the right to cross their boundaries. Just like tipping someone working food service does not give you a pass to harrass them either.

If you feel the need to request something smutty from an actor/celebrity, STOP. THINK. THIS IS WHAT FAN CREATORS ARE HERE FOR!

I'm not saying that you can act inappropriately towards fan creators, I'm saying that those of us making NSFW content are already prepared to hear the horny requests, the thirst comments towards the characters on our posts, the headcanons and self inserts and all of that. Of course you should never expect a creator to make your ideas into fic or art, and asking politely is always preferred. Whilst fic writers generally cannot take paid commissions, artists can and do, so you should also consider commissioning what you want to see and never expect art for free. Sometimes we hear a good idea, though, and get really inspired! We draw or write it because we hear it and thing "well yes darling actually that's very hot" or even "that sounds like a challenge, it could be fun!"

For anyone still confused about what is appropriate or not, please read this article about Parasocial Relationships

It is important to recognise for your own mental health when fandom is going too far, and to keep the right boundaries for everyone. It is very easy to get carried away with excitement, especially when some performers might share a few risqué pieces of art or content, but when they're sharing it like that it is on their terms, on their time. Making requests during a live stream or through cameo is not the same. I'd also add to think before sharing any NSFW art, fic, or other creations directly to performers - if they haven't asked for it don't send it. Don't tag them in it, either - they have families, careers, and may not want to be as visibly linked to literal porn. If they're looking for that content and want to see it, they will find it. That also applies to sharing other peoples' NSFW creations to the performers or tagging them in replies - unless they specifically state they want to see the content, don't.

FINAL NOTE

This fan community has so much potential. We have proven we can be awarded "Community of the Year". We can love and support one another, we can keep each other safe, we can be a rock in the storm and the cheerleading squad that each other need in so many situations. Let's keep it that way. Be kind, to each other and to the performers. Remember, the words on the screen are not written by unfeeling robots, we are all very real people with thoughts and emotions and lives. Now go out there. Make the world a brighter place, and keep creating the fan content we all love so very dearly, darlings, but do it right.

SAFE, SANE, CONSENTING. Check in on the safety, mental health, and boundaries in all of your interactions.

And one last time, to learn more about parasocial relationships and how to handle interactions with famous people:

Click Here for the full article.

[evita-shelby]

Hi !

Can you do one where tommy has an affair and falls in love with a very suductive and manipulative reader ?

@l1-l4 did one similar "devil is a woman" and its SO GOOD , like ...art siriously you need to read it

Dont feel pressured to write anything , thank you 🙂

Oh i love her fics, especially the one where Grace’s sister has an affair with Tommy.

I was going to make this set in like season 6, but them I'd have to write about Ruby, and he cheats on Lizzy in canon already, so this oneshot takes place in season 3 to make the reader way more evil lol

Venus

Gif by @retromafia

If you asked anyone, especially his insipid Irish wife, you’ll hear how Thomas Shelby never cheats.

That things between the two of you were over when she came back fat with his bastard.

If anyone asked his driver, the maid who washed his clothes and Polly, especially Polly who knew him better than anyone else, you’ll hear about the woman he loves who looks like Venus herself.

You met him as a nude model posing for Churchill, you had fucked him with your eyes as he agreed to kill whoever Churchill asked him to kill.

That led to drinks at his pub, a day at the races, a week shopping and fucking in London and all while you remained the chaste widow of some rich old man who died trying to consummate your week-long marriage. People even thought you were still a virgin waiting for her handsome nouveau riche boyfriend to make a move.

You were no angel, you were a demon straight from hell. And the world was just so blind to the fangs you hide beneath your pretty lipstick.

Even Tommy forgot how wicked you were until you unleashed hell after he fucked up with Grace.

Grace Shelby had one boy lost to her forever and a loveless marriage behind closed doors. You made sure everyone and their dog knew it on both sides of the Atlantic.

He married her out of duty, he hadn’t even touched in the two years he made her wait for the wedding he never wanted.

You see, she had assumed Tommy was the daddy, but when the dates didn’t add up, you tearfully told darling Clive’s bereaved mummy how Grace had claimed the little blonde cherub was the product of an affair with your boyfriend because she had never loved sweet, sweet Clive.

Her late husband’s parents had issued an ultimatum that same day, forget Thomas Shelby or forget Clive Junior. They were powerful, Clive’s mum was born a Vanderbilt and his paternal grandmother an Astor, even here no one would dare fuck with them.

But she chose a man over her own child, something no person rich or poor would ever forgive thanks to those tips you gave the tabloids.

You’d never liked Grace, not when you knew her from finishing school nor when the two of you had your court presentations together. You came to loathe her when you discovered your beloved Thomas had fucked her in the same sofa he had said he loved you.

But you still loved him, and he loved you, so you forgave him after punishing him for two years.

Your idiot lover had gotten the marriage license already when he believed the bun in the oven to be his and because of that General Curran had threatened to throw him and his family into prison if he didn’t marry his stupid niece.

You didn’t forgive him for his sins until you showed up at his wedding wearing white and stole the show.

You didn’t care about driving attention to yourself , you feigned innocence and said you assumed that because the bride wore such a garish shade of purple you were free to wear white.

Can you ever forgive me, Y/N? He had asked so sweetly as you led him to the master bedroom that bitch had no idea you decorated.

If she knew that everything had been done by you for you, she’d run for the hills.

You’d kill to see her destroyed, but revenge takes time, something your viper of a mother had taught you well.

He loved you, he felt alive when he was with you, and you knew he wasn’t lying as the two of you fucked on his marriage bed to prove it.

Grace is only here until I can get rid of her, he said when the two of you removed any trace of your affair and returned to the party downstairs.

“Doesn’t Mrs. Shelby look stunning?” your ‘friend’ asked another lady as Grace entered her gala looking like she wanted to cry.

Tommy had used Section D to get his divorce, a divorce that had hit Grace like a missile this morning.

"Pretty and ornamental like a statue.” You heard her companion titter. No one liked Mrs. Shelby, in fact no one cared about her. "A statue that should've been left in the attic, if you ask me."

Not her family, not her husband, not her so called friends. Society hated her, especially when ‘someone’ discovered a story about sweet and innocent romance she had destroyed like the wicked bitch everyone thinks she is.

The guests were only here because you shared the charity with her just as much as you shared the man who funded it.

They came as a favor to you, you who was so sweet and kind and would never abandon a child you bore for a man who didn't love you.

If Grace knew about it, she’d die.

You made a mental note to send an invitation for your wedding in Paris next month.

February 14, a Valentine’s Day wedding for two star-crossed lovers in the most romantic city in the world.

Tommy was yours, heart, soul and body. She could have his name and money for now, but even that would be taken away from her in a heartbeat.

You'll be generous of course, give her some cash and have her return to Northern Ireland where she'll die in obscurity like she deserved. It's not like you'll ever need your late husband’s country home now that you have Arrow House.

“I heard from the housekeeper that he had every trace of her removed today.” Polly gave you a knowing look. She hated Grace for what she did in 1919. “Apparently this is the last time she is appearing in society as his wife.”

“Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” You quoted like the saintly women you pretend to be.

[emetophobiahelp]

how do you manage a long-term relationship whilst having emetophobia? I love the idea of spending the rest of my life living with someone I love but idk what I'd do if/when they got s*, I wouldn't have it in me to look after them, the whole "in s*ness and in health" clause terrifies me.

Here’s my advice: I’d say communication really is the most important thing! If your partner is respectful of your emet (which they should be!), then just talk to them about your needs and boundaries. I’m sure it looks different for a lot of people. For example, my partner accepts the fact that when she gets s* in that way, I won’t be capable of taking care of her and is prepared for that.

It can be hard, for sure, but it’s not a necessity for a healthy relationship that you hurt yourself trying to push your own boundaries and needs to take care of a s* partner if you’re incapable of doing so. Everyone has different needs, so hopefully you’ll find someone who respects yours!

Anyone else with advice or tips feel free to add on to this post!

- Win

[dottiechan]

Hey!! I've been following your blog for a while and I love your style! I read you are self taught. I want to learn how to draw people too so I thought I'd ask: can you recommend some resources that worked for you? Thank you soo much! 😸

Hi! Thanks for the ask, and for your kind words! 

A little something to consider though before I proceed with the rest of my answer - take everything I say/recommend with a grain of salt. “Self-taught” isn’t a mysteriously elusive concept, it doesn’t mean someone’s mastered a skill all by themselves, it simply means taking control of your own learning process and allowing yourself to find the methods and ways that benefit you. If something anyone recommends doesn’t work for you and makes you feel bad in any way, I say ignore it.

That being said, you can find the rest of my thoughts beneath the cut:

Find the right platform and tools

This is step 0. Nothing will feel right unless you find a form of artistic self-expression that resonates within you. I find digital art to be much more forgiving and not to mention cheaper than the more tradtional ways, but not every platform works for me. I’ve been using Autodesk Sketchbook for a while now because it is completely free, beginner friendly and has just enough tools to help you make more elaborate drawings as well, but I would break down crying if I had to learn how to use Photoshop (while some people excel at it!). As for tablets, I totally recommend the Wacom ones. I’ve been using my Wacom Intuos Comic tablet with my laptop for years and I’ve never had any issues with it.

References

I suck at human anatomy. There, I’ve said it. I’ve never learned it properly for drawing purposes, and every attempt I’ve made to do so simply left me frustrated, so unforntunately I don’t have many resources for you, per se. Whenever I try using anatomy guides or tutorials, my drawings end up looking weird. So I mainly only use references. IMO anatomy doesn’t matter much as long as the shapes look natural, and as long as your drawing conveys the message you want it to convey. References help guide you, while giving you the necessary freedom to make adjustments as you see fit (while on the other hand I personally find rigid anatomical “rules” restricting). Use references for everything - the lighting, the face, the hair, the hands, the clothes. I always have several photos saved to my phone while I’m drawing that I often look at. 

(If you want to learn how human anatomy works though, more power to you! There is an great amount of drawing tutorials out there by wonderful artists! :))

Some of my favourite places to go to for pose refs:

Senshistock

SketchDaily Reference Site

Kibbitzer

Google images of celebrities or models (cliche, I know, but it’s a good way to get many references of the same body type, face, etc.)

Some tips I wish someone told me when I got into digital art:

If you find poses or faces difficult at first, practice by tracing. A lot. Get familiar and even intimate with certain recurring lines or ratios or curves, and eventually they will come back to you when you draw without tracing. Gradually shift to just looking at references. This will take time, so be patient with yourself.  Tracing is a great way to warm up to a new platform and/or tablet too - this is how I got comfortable with my current setup 3 years ago.  (Out of respect for the creators, do not claim traced refs as your own work.)

It will probably take a while, so practice as often as you can. Unfortunately, there is no way around this, but instead of setting a goal (i.e. “I want to learn how to draw people”), try to enjoy the journey. Even when you think your drawings don’t come out as well or as realisitc as you want them to, you’re drawing people. And you can find unique solutions once you let go of this “ideal state” you want to reach. That’s when your style will emerge. :)

Something looks wonky or out of place in your initial sketch? No problem. Use the Quick transform > Lasso tool in Sketchbook to outline and drag the part where it would look better. I have salvaged so many sketches like this, such an easy fix to when you mess up the ratios in for instance a face.

Find The Brush. The One Brush to rule them all. The brush that makes you feel the most comfortable, the one that accomodates your style the most. (Mine is the Dry Marker. I feel like I could conquer the world with it.)

Always change the background colour from white to something a little darker. That way it is so much easier to add white highlights and make a face or a body look more 3 dimensional. (Especially if you’re lazy like yours truly, and would like to get away with not adding any colours to a drawing.)

Put everything on separate layers!!! Otherwise making even minor tweaks will be extremely difficult.

[velkynkarma]

Happy April Fools Day! The fool is me for not thinking of a prompt when I had a chance. I'd like to see Ryou getting nabbed by a bounty hunter who mistakes him from Shiro. Dark results or humorous, your call :)

Of course :) It took me a while to decide which direction to go in, but I got there eventually.

——

A ringing noise fills Ryou’s ears, off key and inside his head more than something he’s actually hearing. His vision is blurry and unfocused when he finally manages to open his eyes, and they feel thick and heavy, like they’re full of sleep. The taste in his mouth is rancid, and his tongue is uncomfortably dry. 

Damn it, he thinks to himself, and his own thoughts swim awkwardly in his head. I’ve been drugged. Again. 

Again. Of course it was again. Nobody should be this used to recognizing the signs of being drugged into unconsciousness. The fact that he was so acquainted with the basic symptoms was all kinds of messed up. And yet, here he is.

In a way, it’s useful. He’s so used to identifying the issue at hand that he can already bypass the shock of being drugged into unconsciousness, and go straight to figuring out how, why, and when it happened, and even more importantly—where the hell he was now.

Where was I before this? 

It takes a bit for his struggling, drug-addled mind to shake off the remains of the chemical effects enough to access the memories, but they come eventually. The celebration festival on Takarsis. The Takarites had reached out to Voltron for protection. Ryou had set up the arrangements and been there when the Takarite queen had officially signed the Coalition agreement, aid for protection. There had been a feast afterward, and a whole party throughout the city, one team Voltron had been encouraged to attend. 

Ryou hadn’t been with anyone at the time he’d disappeared. He’d gone off on his own to check some of the farmer’s market produce, and see if there was anything he could add to his garden. He’d seen most of the festivities after a spicolian movement on Takarsis and was more interested in shopping. Not even Shiro had argued with him going off by himself—the Takarites weren’t really fighters, and nobody thought they could pose much of a threat.

Apparently they’d been dead wrong about that. Then again, grabbing somebody from behind while slapping a drugged rag over their mouth was hardly fair, or even a fight.

Okay. Not a great start to his situation, but it could be worse. The team might not notice he’s missing for a while, with the party in full swing. But they will come looking eventually, once it’s over and Ryou doesn’t come back to the Castle of Lions. They all would search, of course, but Shiro will focus obsessively on nothing else until then, and Keith will be right there next to him, both hellbent on finding Ryou and damn the need for sleep. They’ll probably both be wondering if Ryou somehow managed to wander off and forget how to come back, but Ryou can deal with that annoyance when the time comes.

That’s the ‘when’ and ‘how.’ ‘Why’ is going to be a little harder to figure out without doing some investigating. For now, ‘where’ is far more important. 

Ryou blinks his eyes a few times, trying to clear his vision. Gummy spots of sleep slide uncomfortably out of his line of sight, but at least it’s not as clouded as before. Not that it helps much. The room he’s in is dark, and most of the available light comes from a square hole with bars that’s cut into the door on the far side of the room. The room itself has nothing else of interest in it.

Lovely. A prison cell.

A few of Shiro’s memories take strong objection to this newfound discovery, bubbling up to do their best to remind Ryou about all the awful, terrible things that happened to him during his time in the Galra prisons. Ryou shoves them to the back of his mind as hard as he can. It doesn’t feel personal, like it happened to him, but he doesn’t need any reminders of what could happen to him in his current situation. He needs to focus. Shiro’s memories do not allow for much focus.

He takes stock of himself next. His head is clearing rapidly now, so whatever they’d used on him had been short-term at best. He can live with the headache. He’s sore all over, which is probably from being man-handled while unconscious, but he’s had far worse in his short lifetime. There’s strain in both his shoulders and his arms, though, thanks to the fact that his wrists are tied together above him over his head. 

“Deja vu,” Ryou mutters under his breath. His tongue still feels a little thick in his mouth, but he can talk at least. 

His arms present more of a problem. Why do people always restrain him like this? Don’t they know it hurts? 

At least he’s sitting, this time, wedged into the corner with his legs splayed out in front of him like a discarded doll. That means his full weight isn’t suspended from his wrists, which is a relief at least. When he tips his head back, he can just barely make out the chains tying his wrists together and bolting them to the wall. 

So he’s not going to bounce himself out of this one, like he had when Remdax and Vakala had caught him. He’ll just have to find another means of escape. 

He slowly and carefully pulls at the chains above his head, testing their strength and sturdiness while trying hard to not make any noise. His captors, whoever they are, don’t appear to have left a watch. He doesn’t want to alert them to the fact that he’s awake unless he has to; every tick he has to try and work out his escape without scrutiny is precious.

But when he moves his arms, his right forearm sends a bolt of excruciating, stabbing pain through him. He clenches his teeth shut, but not before a strangled, smothered scream escapes him, despite his best efforts.

What the hell was that? 

He squeezes his eyes shut for a moment, breathing through his nose and staying perfectly still. Once he stops moving, the pain tapers off, until he feels nothing again. 

Blinking his eyes open, he cautiously—very cautiously, so as not to move his arm again—tips his head back once more to find the cause of so much unexpected pain. 

There’s some sort of band on his arm. It’s dark colored and has a few blinking red lights on it, and is bolted securely around the white paladin armor on his forearm. It looks a bit like the cuff Vakala and Remdax had put on him to suppress his Galra arm, back when he’d first been allowed to ‘escape’ the Galra. 

Ryou frowns. Something like that shouldn’t work on his Olkari arm. Olkari engineering was unique, using a biomechanical plant-based system, and it required very specialized biomechanical technology to integrate with it. Regular electronics wouldn’t have any affect on his arm.

Then he spots the thin crack on the armor, bordering the foreign band. Very cautiously, Ryou twists his right arm, nudging the band just a fraction with his left. It sends another bolt of excruciating pain through him, but he knows it’s coming this time and braces, gritting his teeth so hard his jaw cracks but suppressing another scream. This time, now that he’s paying attention, he’s aware of something digging through the paladin armor into his biomechanical arm, tearing at the synthetic muscles as he moves.

No wonder it hurts so bad. There’s a spike puncturing his arm—or more than one, from the feel of it, studding the inside of the band. His Olkari arm doesn’t integrate with regular tech, but it does have synthetic nerves, and while that gives him a sensation of touch it does come with the tradeoff of pain as well. It’s still rudimentary, which means if he doesn’t move his arm and doesn’t aggravate the nerves, he doesn’t get the feedback of discomfort. Unfortunately, he’s going to have to move a lot if he plans on escaping.

Priority two is getting that thing off, Ryou determines. Right after priority one, getting out of these chains. 

On the plus side, his right arm is mechanical. The sensation of literal stabbing pain is unpleasant, but unlike a real human arm, there won’t be long term damage and he can’t bleed out. Ryner had made upgrades recently to make his arm better at self-repairing all but the worst injuries; that was probably one of the reasons the band was hurting him so bad. The arm was trying to fix itself around it. If he can just get it off, it should repair enough that he won’t hurt too badly after, and the wounds definitely can’t kill him.

Ryou takes a deep breath and prepares himself for some inevitable pain in his future as he maneuvers the chains. But before he can try tugging on them again, he hears a voice outside, and a shadow passes in front of his thin rectangle of light.

“I knew I heard something!” the voice snaps. “He’s awake. Knew we should’ve dosed him more.”

“Congratulations,” a second voice growls back, obviously irritated. “You want a quiznaking medal? Get off your ass and make sure he’s secure.”

“We all go,” a third voice says. “This is the Black Paladin Shiro, after all.”

Ryou whips his head around to watch the door. Whoever they are, they think he’s Shiro? That’s unexpected...although it does suddenly explain the band on his arm. If they thought they had Shiro, they probably thought they were suppressing Galra technology, not Olkarian. 

Things have just gotten a lot more interesting.

“Chorek, get another dose of that drug ready,” the third voice continues. “I want him out when we move him.” 

“Please. We could take him,” a fourth voice says.

“You wanna die, feel free. I’m not taking my chances against a gladiator champion. I got a revolution to plan.”

“Ugh, fine. Josil, you’re no fun.”

“No fun, and planning to live.”

Four voices. Four opponents. Four people who were interested in taking Shiro somewhere. And something about a revolution. Ryou doesn’t like the sound of that, and decides to hang tight, just for a little while longer. For intelligence gathering purposes. 

The door cracks open, and several aliens file into the room. One immediately turns a blaster on him, and Ryou’s been around long enough by now to recognize its make as something off the Unilu black market, not Galran. 

The alien holding the gun isn’t Galran either. He’s Takarite, same as all the others—blue-green skin, short stature, squarish features, thick hands, and with two sets of curled antennae in place of ears. Their eyes are multi-colored, more like constantly changing prisms, and more angular and multi-faceted than Ryou is used to. 

“Where am I?” Ryou asks immediately. “Who are you? And why am I restrained?” 

“Silence, Champion,” the largest of the Takarites snaps. He’s not the one holding the gun, but Ryou immediately recognizes his voice as the one that had been giving the orders. Josil, if he’s right. “You remain quiet, and we won’t have to get mean.”

A lie, obviously. Ryou had just overheard them talking about drugging him, so they plan on enforcing compliance rather than bartering it out of him with good behavior. He doesn’t argue the point.

He doesn’t correct them about ‘Champion,’ either, although that is a lot more puzzling to him. It’s not the first time he’s been mistaken for Shiro, but he hadn’t actually been trying this time. The team had been encouraged to wear their Voltron armor for the festival, and Ryou had been out in his green variation, and had never switched the colors to his imitation Shiro setting. He wasn’t wearing his helmet, so his graying hair didn’t match Shiro’s either. He’d even brokered the agreement between the Voltron Coalition and the planet as Ryou, not Shiro, so people knew there were two of them. 

Then again, the Takarites had struggled to tell the difference between most of the paladins of Voltron all day. It wasn’t polite to ask, but Ryou suspects Takarite biology and vision simply wasn’t designed to identify human facial features. As far as he can tell, they identify each other through different means—scent, vibration, and maybe some other sense humans and Alteans simply don’t have. They definitely didn’t see colors on the same wavelength that the paladins did, which meant they couldn’t tell the difference between the lions outside of general shape. 

They’d figured out their own ways to identify most of the paladins in the end at the formal ceremonies. But they had struggled with Shiro and Ryou, probably because the two of them were functionally identical in every aspect the Takarites considered significant. 

So maybe it’s not all that surprising to be kidnapped as ‘Shiro’ even if he wasn’t actually trying. At the end of the day, he can definitely play the part to perfection, and that’s all that matters.

“You have no right to kidnap me,” Ryou says, forcing a note of command into his tone. “We’re your allies. Voltron is here to help you.”

“Voltron is here to ruin us,” one of the other Takarites snaps back. “The queen was a fool for signing our freedom over to a giant robot overlord!”

“That’s not what happened at all,” Ryou says, frowning. “There was an agreement. The Voltron Coalition provides protection—”

“—in exchange for slavery,” Josil interrupts, oddly angular eyes glittering darkly with anger. “We won’t have it.”

“It’s not slavery,” Ryou says, incredulous. “The Coalition is a team effort. Planets that have agreed to provide military support for you and other non-combatant planets are willing to defend you. But that extension of their military aid means less manpower for creating necessary food and supplies to sustain them. Non-combatant planets like Takarsis agree to shoulder that burden in exchange for not needing to participate in combat. Everyone benefits.”

“It’s a load of quiznacking shit, is what it is,” the Takarite holding the gun snarls. “It’s slavery with a pretty name.”

“And where’s the great robot overlord in all this?” the fourth Takarite adds. “Not doing any of that stuff you said.” 

Ryou’s eyebrows raise. “Voltron fights at the heart of the Galra empire,” he says. “We literally take on the biggest and toughest opponents so you don’t have to.”

“That’s what you say,” the gun-toting Takarite growls. “But where’s the proof?” 

Ryou can’t believe it. He’s been captured by insurgents and conspiracy theorists. It’s almost embarrassing. 

But he schools his expression to remain as calm and neutral as possible, and says reasonably, “If you have grievances, I’m sure you can bring them up with officials. I can get you an audience with the queen; I have some pull in the palace, now. Kidnapping me isn’t the answer.”

“It’s exactly the answer,” Josil says, taking a step forward—but still, notably, remaining carefully out of range. “Kidnapping Champion means Voltron’s got no head. We handicapped the Coalition in one stroke. And once we turn you in, we’ll have the funding and the support to free ourselves from your tyranny.” 

Ryou’s blood runs cold. “Turn me in?”

One of the unnamed Takarites smiles. It’s a surprisingly toothy, unfriendly look. “Didja know you got a bounty on your head, Champion? You’re worth a lot to the Galra. Lotta money to fund the revolution.”

“And the military power to fight back the Coalition,” the fourth Takarite adds. “They’ll owe us a favor, for handing over their missing Champion. They’ll have to help us liberate the planet.”

Ryou’s heart thuds heavy in his chest. Shiro’s memories bubble to the surface again, frantic and panicked at the thought of going back to them, to her, but Ryou shoves them back. 

This time, it’s harder, mostly because it tangles with his own very real memories and feelings. He doesn’t want to go back to them, either. He knows what Haggar will do if she gets her hands on him again. He knows he won’t ever come back from that, mentally or physically. She’ll strip his mind bare, drain it of every confidential detail she can use against the Coalition, and leave him with a broken self and an empty husk. Every part of himself that he forged anew, she’ll break and toss away. If she’s feeling generous, she’ll kill him quickly. More likely, she’ll let him die of his own failsafe, as punishment for not being a good little sleeper agent.

But it’s not that bad yet, Ryou tries to calm himself. You still have options. The team will look for you once the party is over. If you’re forced, you can still call out to the Black Lion, and get a message to Shiro that way. Things aren’t hopeless yet. 

And fortunately, he has one other thing working in his favor to suppress his panic: anger. And the more ticks pass, the more of it he has. 

“You’d sell out your entire planet to the Galra?” Ryou asks, his voice cold. “Do you know what they do to planets like yours?” 

“Free them from overlord scum like you?” the gun-toting Takarite counters, scathing.

“They are the overlords,” Ryou says. He tries to keep his voice calm and unaccusing, still, but he can’t quite keep the fury contained. “They strip-mine entire planets for resources. Literally enslave the populations, putting them in camps and forcing them to participate in destroying their own homes. When they’ve taken everything they can, they drain the planet and everything living on it of quintessence. All that’s left is a broken shell of a planet. If you do this, you are consigning your entire race to death, and destroying your home.”

“Better than false slavery and servitude for the rest of Takarsis’ existance,” Josil says. “I’d rather have died fighting for something I believed in than get taken in by liars and thieves that destroy our sense of self. Takarsis forever!” 

There’s no reasoning with these people. It’s disgusting. Ryou abandons any pretense of diplomacy getting him out of this mess. He needs to get out, and report this as soon as he can to the Takarite queen. Even when he does escape, and these guys don’t have the leverage of ‘Champion’ to work with anymore, that won’t stop them endangering the whole planet.

It seems like that’ll all be on him, though. Short of calling for help through the Black Lion—and hoping Shiro’s in the pilot’s seat at the time—it doesn’t seem like anyone can hear him. Even without wearing his helmet, he should have an open channel to the rest of the team in his armor. The fact that there’s been no response yet means these idiots are blocking signals somehow. It would also explain why nobody is tracking his location; that signal is probably blocked as well. 

Assuming anybody even thought to look to begin with. If the party is still going on, nobody is going to believe anything is wrong yet. 

Ryou’s still running through his potential options when one of the Takarites checks a device in his hand, stuffs it back in his pocket, and says, “It’s time. The fireworks display’s going off in twenty doboshes. If we get to the ship in time we can take off in all the noise and nobody will hear.”

“Good,” Josil says, nodding. “Chorek—drug him. I don’t want him causing a ruckus while we move him.”

“You got it,” the Takarite on the far right says. He’s got a bottle and a cloth in his hands, and as Ryou watches he liberally douses the cloth in the liquid. A faint chemical smell taints the air, and something dark and cruel in the back of Ryou’s head tickles at his brain, looming dangerously. He shoves it back with everything he has. He’s not sure if that one’s Shiro’s or his, but he can’t let it control him. Not now, not when it’s so important to be aware.  

The effort leaves him shaking slightly. The Takarites must mistake it for fear, because the one with the cloth chuckles knowingly. “Sisret’s gonna keep that gun on you while I come close,” he warns. “You’re gonna play nice, or we’ll put a few extra holes in you. Might make your first arena match a little tough, if you know what I mean.”

For a moment, Ryou’s mind goes completely blank, like the words don’t process right. His numb mind slowly gains feeling again as Chorek’s words sink in and gain meaning, and then he says slowly, “You’re sending...me back to the arenas?”

He’d almost said him. They’d shocked him so badly he’d forgotten for a moment what he was doing here. He’s never almost broken character that badly before. 

“Sure,” Sisret drawls, as he steadies the gun on Ryou. “I hear the arenas never had another fighter quite like Champion. They’re eager to have you back, and they’ll pay a lot of gak for it.”

Ryou stares at him. In his mind, the floodgates are broken, and all the arena memories of Shiro’s he’d ever managed to rediscover come pouring in. They all feel distant, like a film he’s experiencing of the terrible things Shiro went through, but there’s so much of it. Difficult battles. Awful wounds. Emotional struggles. Hunger. Sleeplessness. Pain. 

This time, Ryou lets them. This time, they aren’t a distraction—they’re fuel for the fire.

“Do you know what that place does to its prisoners? Do you understand what it’s like?” he asks. Slow. Careful. Dangerously soft. He keeps his eyes trained on Sisret and the gun, ignoring Chorek and his cloth dripping with drugs even as he comes closer. Sisret actually shifts uncomfortably under the intensity of the stare, although he’s smart enough not to drop his gun.

The fourth, unnamed Takarite actually laughs at the question. “Yeah. A quiznacking good time!” he chortles. “I won ten thousand gak betting on you, once. Think you could give me the insider information on the next fight? I bet I could double the bounty we get off you!”

Ryou sees red. 

Forget escaping. Forget calling for help. These sick bastards would put Shiro back into that hell without a second’s hesitation, and had the gall to think about profiting off of it. Every single one of them is going to die. No one is ever going to know what killed them. 

They think Champion is dangerous? They caught something even worse—an ambush predator built for silent kills that no one ever suspects are coming.

It takes barely any concentration at all for him to activate his Olkari arm. He doesn’t doubt for a second that it will work, and his faith in Ryner’s engineering pays off. His hand glows pale green as the energy coalesces in his palm, still yanked above his head by his chains.

Sisret’s eyes gleam brighter, and his mouth opens in a perfect ‘O’ of surprise, before he gathers himself. “He’s—”

Too late. Ryou drops his fingers to point at Sisret, and fires.

His aim isn’t great, considering his arms are wrenched over his head and tied together. But the nice thing about having a hand that’s also an energy gun is that his aim doesn’t have to be great at this range. The blast hits the wall next to Sisret’s head, sending stone shattering everywhere, but it’s more than enough of a distraction to force the gun-wielding Takarite to throw himself to the ground for cover.

Before any of them can react, Ryou twists his wrist backwards, and fires at the wall and the bolt holding the chains to it.

At this close range, the blast hurts him, too. The concussive force as the wall shatters is enough to send another lancing stab of pain through his arm as the useless restriction band is jarred. He holds his scream back through sheer force of will, reinforced by a lot of fury. Chunks of stone shower around him, coating him in dust and bouncing off his armor, as the wall cracks.

Ryou barely notices any of it. He’s already moving, ignoring another protesting stab of pain in his arm, as he yanks his arms down. The chains are still secured to his wrists, but they’re free of the wall. He moves from the sprawled sit they’d put him in to an aggressive crouch in ticks, swinging around with the chains until they wrap around the approaching Chorek’s throat.

The Takarite makes a throaty squeaking noise as the chains pull taut. He drops the bottle of chemicals, and tries to flail out with the cloth, but it’s easy enough to dodge. The scent of trailing chemicals sails past Ryou’s shoulder harmlessly and splats on the stone floor. 

With a cold, efficient twist, he wrenches with the chains. A sharp, meaty snap-crack fills the air, and Chorek sags bonelessly, eyes suddenly devoid of any color.

“Quiznak!” one of the Takarites shrieks. Ryou dislodges the chains from Chorek’s neck in time to spin and catch Sisret shakily coming to his feet, raising his black market issue blaster. 

“Don’t kill him!” Josil barks. “He’s not worth anything dead!” There’s enough authority in his voice that Sisret listens, but that voice shakes with sudden fear, too. He knows he’s screwed up.

Good.

Sisret’s hands jerk as he tries to adjust his aim last minute, trying to find a non-lethal shot. Ryou has no such compunctions. He raises his still-chained right fist, letting the agonizing pull of the restricting band fuel him, and charges his fist again. 

At this range, it’s impossible to miss. The pale green blast cuts a burning, bloody hole through Sisret’s torso. The Takarite collapses, gun clattering across the floor, and stares at the damage in bewilderment before the color fades from his eyes.

In the shocked silence that follows, Ryou takes the time to blast the chains off both of his wrists. The cuffs are still there, but the chains aren’t liable to trip him up anymore. He can work on getting them removed once the threat is contained. 

“Are you having a good quiznacking time yet?” Ryou asks, as he glares coldly at the unnamed Takarite. 

He whimpers, both sets of antenna drooping, and huddles farther back into the corner. 

“No?” Ryou asks. His voice is low and calm, but unquestionably dangerous. “You mean it’s only fun to watch the slaughter when you’re not a part of it? Too bad.” His eyes narrow. “You’re a part of it now.” 

“You—you can’t do that!” Josil yelps, voice high in his panic. His multi-colored eyes flick to the gun Sisret had dropped and then back to Ryou, but the gun is on Ryou’s side of the prison cell, and clearly neither of them like the idea of getting too close anymore. Not when he’s unbound and pissed. Cowards. “The inhibitor band—”

“Oh—you mean this?” Ryou taps the band on his forearm, and then casually reaches around until he finds the latch. With his hands free, it’s easy enough to unclip and remove. It’s agony to do so, like pulling knives out of his arm, but he channels that pain into his expression as he glares across at the surviving extremists. Once the spikes are out, the pain immediately lessens, as they stop aggravating his synthetic muscles and nerves. 

He gives it an idle glance. Little wires and blinking bits adorn the four two-inch-long spikes on the interior of the band. They were probably intended to burrow into the Galra arm and lock up all weapons functions, movement, and anything else that might prove problematic for a kidnapping. All in all, a real nasty piece of work. He drops it on the ground, and crushes it under his boot heel. “Yeah, that doesn’t work on me.”

Josil’s the first one to move. He bolts for the door and slams it behind him, leaving his companion behind. There’s an audible sound of a lock clicking, and footsteps as he runs for freedom.

The unnamed Takarite slams against the door, cut off mid escape, and pounds on it frantically. “Josil!” He wails. “Josil, you can’t leave me in here with him!” He pauses mid-pound, and whirls to face Ryou, eyes glittering brighter in his panic.

“Remember when I asked you if you understood what the gladiator arenas were like?” Ryou asks, calmly. The Takarite whines in answer, and claws at the door. 

“It’s like this,” Ryou answers, when his kidnapper doesn’t. “They lock you in a room with someone else, and only the one who lives gets to leave. It’s not fun, is it? Terrified and facing down somebody who’s a lot stronger than you, with no way out? And you would have sent Shiro back to this just to make an extra buck.”

The Takarite swallows, and then says confusedly, “But...but you’re Shiro—”

“No,” Ryou says, as he charges his Olkari arm. “I’m really not.”

The Takarite blinks, but then his eyes widen in sudden understanding. “The brother—”

Ryou’s shot takes him in the eye, and that’s as far as he gets.

He doesn’t spare time for mercy, or for regrets. This nameless bastard didn’t deserve any. He would have consigned Shiro back to the arenas and his entire planet to a long, torturous death, out of his own ridiculous sense of pride and false patriotism. He deserved it.

And there’s still one more.

Busting the door open isn’t hard. Two full blasts from his Olkari arm and he’s free, and pounding down the hallway at top speed. He can see Josil in the distance at the end of the hall, and there’s no way he’s letting the bastard escape. 

Fortunately, he’s got range on his side.

At this long distance, accuracy is difficult, and it’s even more difficult moving. Ryou raises his fist and takes the shot anyway. He misses, in that he doesn’t hit Josil, but he does startle the Takarite into skidding to a halt when the blast hits the wall ahead of him. He whirls, spots Ryou, and shrieks. “How did you—”

Ryou’s second shot hits him in the stomach. The Takarite lets out a shriek of pain as he clutches at his wounded abdomen, and collapses to the ground.

Ryou jogs up to him easily, now that Josil is nothing more threatening than a squirming bit of jackass on a floor rapidly becoming drenched in dark green blood. Josil moans pathetically as he clutches at his stomach, and his eyes glitter in fear when he catches Ryou approaching.

But he forces a weak, rictus smile as Ryou approaches, and chokes through blood-stained teeth, “This isn’t the end.” 

“Oh?” Ryou asks.

“There’s more of us,” he wheezes. “We’re not the only cell. We will liberate Takarsis.”

“You’ll kill everyone, you mean,” Ryou says. “I think the queen will be interested in hearing that.”

“I’ll never talk.”

“Oh, I never meant you,” Ryou says. His voice is colder than ice as he glares down at the last of his kidnappers. Josil must feel it, because he shivers. “You planned to send Shiro back to the arenas. He’s suffered enough, and you deserve to pay for even trying.”

Like his nameless companion, Josil frowns in confusion, laced with pain. “Shiro? But you’re—” And just like that, his eyes gleam brighter as he, too, realizes just how badly he’d screwed up. “The brother. The diplomat.”

Ryou doesn’t say anything at all; merely raises his hand to start charging it again.

Josil eyes the growing pale green brightness of Ryou’s right arm nervously, but he chokes through his bloodied throat, “You negotiated the agreement that sold our souls to Voltron. You deserve to die too, you quiznacking bastard.”

“But as you’ve seen, I’m a lot harder to kill than I look,” Ryou says. “Trust me. Smarter people than you have tried.” 

“Takarsis for—”

Ryou shoots him. The strangled cry falls abruptly silent. Ryou shakes his head. “Liberate Takarsis? You would have killed them all out of greed. Good riddance.”

And he turns, and leaves the body behind.

———-

A little exploring reveals that Ryou had been taken to a warehouse on the far end of the city. It’s barely been a varga and a half since he’d been taken, and the party is still in full swing. It might have been vargas more before anyone had even noticed he’d disappeared.

That’s good, since it gives Ryou plenty of time to act. A quick exploratory search of the warehouse reveals stockpiled weapons and chemicals; this had been a regular nest for a set of insurgents. It’s something the local authorities will definitely need to know about if they intend to protect their people from Galra invasion. Josil had said there were more people belonging to this group. 

So he’s quick about removing any evidence of having been there, including the inhibitor band that was supposed to be used to restrain Shiro. The last thing he needs is that kind of technology getting out. He finds the keys to his cuffs, too, and pulls them off before melting them into slag with his Olkari hand.

Once he’s removed himself from the evidence, he calls in an anonymous tip to the Takarite police, notifying them about both the den and the ship that’s supposed to be turning him in to the Galra. They can handle things from there. 

Ryou himself is a little more of a challenge. He’s covered in dust from the wall, and while his ranged attacks meant he hadn’t gotten too bloody, there is some pretty visible damage to his arm. His Olkari arm is repairing itself reasonably well, now—it hurts less every time he moves it—but there’s nothing he can do about the punctures in the forearm of his armor. 

He has no interest in causing a panic with the team, though. They deserve to be able to enjoy their party without having to concern themselves with him. More importantly, Shiro deserves to not be bothered with the full details of what had happened. Why be assaulted by those memories, or by the threat of going back to the arenas, when he’s not in danger of that anymore?

Because he won’t be. Shiro is still at the party, but Ryou had only been taken because he’d gone off on his own. He doubts Shiro would be able to get away with that, not as the Black Paladin and leader of the Voltron Paladins. He’s safely in the middle of thousands, and not even Josil’s ridiculous extremist group would be able to pluck him out of the middle of that crowd to take him back to the Galra.

Besides, Ryou doesn’t want to deal with his overprotective fussing. He’s dealt with it enough as it is, without admitting to being kidnapped in Shiro’s place. The last thing he needs is Shiro refusing to let Ryou out of his sight. Or Shiro feeling guilty about Ryou being taken in his place. Ryou doesn’t regret that at all—if Shiro really had been taken, Josil’s little coup might have been successful. They’d obviously planned for him. This was one of the reasons Ryou had decided to be Shiro’s double to begin with.

No, Shiro’s got enough on his plate. He’s not going to be bothered with this. 

So Ryou cleans himself off as best as he can, breaking into a closed restaurant for their public bathroom, and washing away the dust and blood. He doesn’t have any visible wounds on his person—thank goodness he’d only been knocked out with drugs, and not a blow to the head, which would have left a nasty lump. The puncture wounds on his armor aren’t too obvious, as long as he angles himself right, and underneath the armor his Olkari ‘skin’ already looks smooth and undamaged. 

It will do, as long as nobody inspects him closely. He doesn’t intend to let anyone.

Getting back to the party is easy, and now that he’s outside the extremist next, his comms are no longer blocked. “Back from the farmer’s market,” he announces. “But I’m beat. I think I’ll turn in a little early, if nobody minds?”

“It should be quite alright,” Allura says. Ryou can see her up on the raised platform in the middle of the wide clearing being used for the majority of the feast, sitting next to the Takarite queen. “I can handle any additional negotiation that is needed, although I hardly think there is any. You did an excellent job.”

“Thank you,” Ryou says, smiling despite himself. 

“Did you get the plants you wanted?” Shiro asks. Ryou picks him out easily too, close to the raised platform to be backup for Allura on the off chance that something goes wrong, not that anybody expects it to. He’s safely surrounded by dozens of Takarites and within full view of Allura, Keith, and Pidge, which means he definitely won’t be disappearing without a fuss. 

“No, unfortunately. They didn’t have anything I was interested in,” Ryou says. “I was mostly just curious, anyway. We don’t really need anything.”

He’d never even made it to the farmer’s market, and he had been genuinely curious in one of the fruits they sold here. Oh, well. The safety of Shiro and the planet was far more important than that. He can swallow his disappointment and live with the lie if he has to.

“Too bad,” Hunk says. “I was looking forward to cooking with something new.”

Ryou hums noncommittally, before saying, “Alright, then. I’ll just be back in the Castle. Call me if you need me.”

“Rest well,” Allura says over the comms. And just like that, Ryou’s avoided any and all suspicion. 

Ryou doesn’t rest when he’s inside. He changes out of his armor to civilian gear after taking a quick shower, just in case. He sets the armor in one of the machines used for repairs, and for creating new equipment. He snags a holopad and brings up the coordinates of each member of the team, even Matt’s rebel tracker, like he would when coordinating a mission from the sky. And he watches the party for the rest of the entire night, keeping track of every single blip on the screen, to make sure nobody disappears.

It’s not until they’re all safely back in the Castle that Ryou finally lets himself relax. Everyone’s safe, nobody is in danger, and there’s no cause for panic. Things are finally okay.

He breathes a sigh of relief.

———

The following morning at breakfast, Allura announces some shocking news.

“The Takarites have warned us to be cautious,” she says. “Apparently, last night their police force received an anonymous warning regarding a terrorist organization. It’s a group the queen tells me they’ve struggled with for years, but apparently the recent agreement to join the Coalition has them...particularly riled up.”

Shiro frowns, immediately attentive. “Do they need our help?”

“The opposite, actually,” Allura says. “They reported that this group is particularly aggravated by Voltron, and suggested the paladins may be targets. They asked if we would be terribly offended if we cancelled some of the additional festivities while they deal with the situation, but do not want to put us in unnecessary danger.”

“Takarite festivities can go on for as long as a spicolian movement,” Ryou points out, ever the diplomat. “If they want to cancel them, this must be serious.”

“Agreed,” Allura says. “They beg us to please be careful while remaining on Takarsis while taking on supplies and planning our next course of action. But they assure us they have things well taken care of. It seems one of the cells of this organization has already been dealt with by some sort of...vigilante. They gleaned plenty of information for finding other cells from the anonymous tip.”

Shiro frowns. “Sounds like they have things in order, but we’re still willing to help if they need it. In the meantime—” he turns to look around at each of the other paladins, “—nobody goes off-ship alone, and I want everyone to be cautious.” 

“As if they could take any of us down,” Lance says confidently. But he wilts under Shiro’s stern look, and backpedals meekly. “Right, right. Staying put. It sucks, though. We were gonna get that parade today...”

“We don’t know what they’re capable of. It’s best to listen to the locals. If they want our help, they’ll get it—otherwise, we take their advice,” Shiro says. “Is that clear?”

The irony is, they would have been capable of taking Shiro. If it really had been Shiro they’d captured, and not Ryou, they would have won last night. 

Ryou hates the thought of it. Shiro could have been in a Galra prison cell again right now, agonizing over the next opponent he’d be forced to face. 

But that hadn’t happened, and it never would. And Ryou can’t let on that he knows anything about it at all, or risk showing his real thoughts on the matter.

So instead, he just says, “It won’t be so bad, Lance. We can work on that next level in Killbot Phantasm III if you want.”

Lance brightens immediately. “Oh, yeah! That’d be cool. I can’t read it without you.” Shiro shoots Ryou a grateful look, and Ryou nods back, understanding.

This is the way it should be. Everyone safe. No one the wiser, no one guilty, no one worrying over nothing. This is what he’s good at, and this is what he’ll do with those skills, to protect the universe, his friends, and Shiro however he can.

Whatever it takes.

[royallyprincesslilly]

Hey, I just started writing CE fanfic and posted my first ever and I wanted to ask you for some tips on like how you build a community of readers, promote your work, advice for a new fanfic writing, how to stay encouraged etc. Sorry if that seems like a lot haha, answer whatever but I'd love to know what you think.

Heyyy,

Welcome aboard the super talented and fun Chris Evans writing fandom. 

Wow. I am going to try to tackle this, and I hope that it is helpful and useful information. I took the last day or two to attempt to organize my thoughts, so here goes.

-Building A Community of Readers-

*I’d say consistency is a major part of it building readers. Find a way to post regularly, and I mean, what is regular for you and your life. I see people who post a story a day or even 2 stories a day all the time, and I am in awe. For me, that would only happen if I actually put my everything into cranking it out like that. So tweak what is regular for you and try to remain consistent with it.

*Creativity is also essential. You will see 5 similar stories within thirty minutes on this app if you’re searching. Similar in that the idea is relatively the same. That doesn’t mean don’t write it, it just means you now get to put your own spin on it. You get to play with it and be as creative as you can get. I think creativity is super important in fanfic.

*Interaction. You can post all day, every day, but if you’re not interacting with those who read your work, I feel like it defeats the purpose. As much as authors like to get their likes and reblogs and see those comments, a reply to a comment is also something readers want to see. Interact as much as you can, thank them for reading. Show appreciation for them because no one has to read anything. You will also get to know people on more than a URL basis, and that, to me, is really cool.

-Promoting Work-

This is something that I don’t do much of if I do it at all. The most promotion I do is post here, reblog my masterlist and individual work. Within the last year (think it’s coming up), I began posting on Wattpad as well, but I am not as consistent there are I am here. I know some writers are religious on the story sites such as Wattpad, AO3, and Tumblr and will post a link on Tumblr to their Wattpad and AO3 or vice versa. Some even create free websites to put all their work and direct traffic to it. There are so many ways to promote your writing.

I’ve been meaning to look into setting up an IG account and make posts highlighting what I write as well as putting them on my WordPress site. I’ve even been looking into Patreon and how it can work for me as a writer. These are all options you can look into as well. In this tech, era promotion can be as simple and as complicated as you make it—experiment on what works for you.

- Advice For A New Fanfic Writer-

*NEVER EVER EVER EVER compare yourself and your writing to that of someone else. This is like the GOLDEN RULE for me. This is soooo important. There is no better way for you to pigeon hole yourself and your potential and enjoyment on this ride that fanfic writing is. No good will come of this, you won’t feel any better, it will only make you doubt yourself, your ability, and question if you even want to try to do this anymore. Don’t do it!

*Have Fun! I think every one of us started doing this because we thought it would be fun and a nice avenue to explore our creativity. None of us came here like this is a job, and I have to do it. I think it is important to keep that reason forefront in your mind. Write for the fun of it, test limits, and have fun doing it. The minute it stops being fun and starts feeling like an obligation or job, then you need to get back to the root of it. 

*Try to hone your craft. This means yeah write and post but also try to get better at it. None of us are at the pro level where we won’t learn new things or make mistakes. I don’t even think the “pro” published writers are at this level. Take the time to learn more about writing, English, grammar, the power of storytelling, different voices and styles, etc. This can only help you in your fanfic journey as well as your everyday life and future if you decide that you want to venture out of fanfic into self-pub or traditional pub. 

*Write for You. Write what you would want to read. Chances are there are countless other people who are into what you are but just haven’t voiced it. If you wanna make a story about Sam Wilson AU where he is an actual shapeshifting Falcon and he falls in love with a woman who thinks is normal but turns out to be a vigilante by night who has questionable morals and a pet unicorn that is her sidekick, WRITE IT. Don’t think will anyone like this or read it. Write It!

-Staying Encouraged-

This is tough and it’s hard for me to give advice on this because I can tell you how to do it but everyone has to find that thing that works for them to stay encouraged enough to keep going. This is a personal thing for everyone. 

A general answer I can give is when you get discouraged try to remember that nothing happens overnight. It takes time to build something, time, patience, and dedication to build readers or even get better. Try to keep in mind that if you stick to it, it’ll happen. Sort of the equivalent to “If you build it they will come”.

Also, try to look at those who have voiced interest and excitement or even support for you and your writing. It may be fifteen people or even three. Those three to fifteen people found you and really like what you offer, focus on that, wrap yourself in that, and keep going knowing those three to fifteen people will love what you put out.

Don’t focus on the numbers. This means the likes, reblogs, comments, or even followers. Don’t focus on it and get so wrapped up in it that it has power over you to make or break your day. Keep it in the mindset of “if you build it they will come”. It’ll happen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

These are the things that I can think of at the top of my head. I am sure there are other writers who can add on to this with a lot more advice and tips and I welcome anyone who has anything to add on to do so. 

I hope these were helpful. Thank you for the question. 😘

[nonbinarypoststhings]

Hey Liam! This is the writer anon before. Sorry abt wording it poorly, and I'd like to apologize because I didn't mean to be fluidphobic. I'd like to try clarify my ask. So in my story I have a genderfluid dancer (A) whose gender changes between M and F. MC has seen A presenting themselves as F, but only when they're dancing, so MC wasn't sure yet what to make of it. At first MC thought that it was just a performance thing, but then they came out as genderfluid (1/2)

(2/2) I want to show that MC (cis F) supports their identity no matter what. I thought that having her accept them taking a bath together because she thinks that they're both women would be a good way to do it because of my own personal experience. But someone pointed out that doing this only when they're F can be a little fluidphobic. Can I ask for advice to amend this or another way so she can show support? Thank you and I hope you have a lovely day!

I think that the best way to show support would be to:

1. If they have to take a bath together, ask the genderfluid person if they are uncomfortable with it or not, instead of it being them thinking they are a girl at that point, you cannot tell my gender unless I tell you. Really, them thinking that the person is a girl is probably not optimal if they are not sure.

2. You could literally show someone being supportive by them respecting their pronouns and their preferred name. Or saying that they can come them when they figure their name out. There is a lot of other ways of being supportive than taking a bath with them but I also don’t know the context for the story, or anything about the character, so I don’t know.

If anyone else have more tips, feel free to add on :) Hope your writing goes well. 

[lesbianau]

I'm a trans mtf gal majoring in LGBT/queer studies so I'd just like to add something! English isn't my first language rip so I apologize for my grammar. But there was so much misinformation being promoted yesterday and from what I could tell the op's of these posts were mostly cisgender? Which is so so uncomfortable. The idea of these messages from cis people on gender being cemented in this fandom as the acceptable way to talk about gender is a bit distressing. And from what I can(...)

tell from following you is that you’ve been very respectful about this topic from the posts you reblogged so overall I feel comfortable sharing this message with you. Since it seems like others who tried to do the same thing were met with hostility and anger. So to get to the point, I’d just like to say that from where I stand, with both academic and personal experience with this, er, discourse, is a few things. A lot of people have already said this and for whatever reason(…)

it’s been rejected. Which is bad! Let me make this clear: gender exists as a mental, emotional, and physical spectrum. It’s incredibly complex. A queer person’s experience with gender is their own to put into words. No one else can. This goes for gender identity and gender expression. The reason why it’s such a sensitive topic is because the idea of gender we know know comes from a misogynistic, homophobic, and transphobic society. When you assign gender- that is, categorize(…)

(I’m putting the rest under the cut, but this is a very interesting read i highly recommend)

anything at all as either feminine or masculine- you are by default perpetuating those standards. Pink is not feminine, blue is not masculine, sewing is not feminine, woodwork is not masculine, certain manners of speech or dress or walk or physical features- none of these things that are gendered. Society assigned them genders and decided to shape us around it. It is through this idea that queer people experience oppression, shame and violence. It is because of it. And as(…)

long as we continue to live in this society it’s an influence that we cannot escape. It shapes us, our perception and our beliefs on a subconscious level whether we like it or not. To change it would mean undoing centuries of social conditioning on a global scale. It just can’t be done. What we can only do is decide for ourselves our own feelings with gender, sexuality, etc. We weren’t born with the perks of falling into every societal standard demanded of us. As a result(…)

we are forced to examine our identities and try to make sense of what makes us feel a disconnect with the identity we’re told we must have. For some it’s a journey away from those societal standards entirely. For others it’s about finding a more comfortable spot within those norms. There is no invalid way of experiencing this. For gender specifically the experience is even more nuanced, confusing and delicate. This is because the further away one strays from gender norms(…)

specifically the greater the danger. There can be fatal consequences to simply existing as a trans individual. Both from violence and suicide. Because this is what our society perpetuates. So the second any of us project something born from discrimination and hatred onto anyone or anything other than ourselves, we are are honoring what it was meant to do. As a trans woman my experiences with masculinity have been very unpleasant and as such I’m very sensitive about conversations(…)

involving femininity and masculinity. For me womanhood is something I associate with femininity and I can’t break free from my feelings about it. However not all women feel this way. There are masculine women who are joyous in their womanhood and they are valid in their experience. It does not and would never affect my experience nor would mine affect theirs. Unless I came up to her and told her women can only be feminine or she came up to me and congratulated me on(…)

being a feminine man because we would both cause each other a lot of pain. Even if she meant to be nice to me I would be experiencing depression for weeks even though she meant no harm and even if she apologized to me right after. Another example is if someone told me they loved how feminine my demeanor despite having no hips I would probably burst into tears right there! I can’t help but have a very traditional view of gender in regards to my own identity. I’m a feminine woman(…)

who thinks everything I am and do is feminine. But because I can’t afford to transition I feel that I have to be more loyal to societal norms of gender in hopes I can be more passing. I see a feminine woman when I look in the mirror without makeup or my wig. But the world doesn’t see that. I go to sleep a masculine cis man according to society. Hell, I’m a cis man crossdressing in a wig to my neighborhood Kroger when I groceries. Someone might say that to me as a complement(…)

but hearing things like that nearly drove me to suicide in my teens. I can’t think of a more clear example of the harm in societal gender norms. It is a one-sided word. I walk towards the handle and I am given security. I love being a girly girl and wearing pink and wearing padded bras and a wig because I feel feminine and when I feel feminine I feel like a woman. If I were to take all that sitting at the tip of my sword and walked right towards a trans man what do you(…)

think would happen? It’s a terrible thing! If I waved around my sword out in the open- gave my view of gender and interpreted the identity of gender according to my experiences- what do you think would happen? It’s dangerous! And what I see every day with Harry is a lot of sword waving. Yesterday it was an outright sword fighting! When people were saying what made Harry masculine and feminine the only thing they were doing was promoting every homophobic, mysogynistic and transphobic(…)

and traditional societal standard of gender. Harry’s feminine because of this, followed by a statement that is meant to contrast the previous one regarding why he is masculine because of something else. The excuse is that they’re appreciating how multidimensional he is. But what they do is very blatantly categorize these traits as paradoxical. That there is something about the things being mentioned that are different, complex and unharmonious. And(..)

in a way that is the most harmful they make the implication that this is something he means to be. Harry has made a connection with gender and himself and it’s very simple. Masculinity, femininity, womanhood and manhood. The context has always been lighthearded and it has always been consistent. There is ironically no complexity at all. By simply wearing a leopard print suit he became Shania Twain according to his friends. He thoughtlessly talks about being pregnant without(…)

commenting on his gender or biology. So I find it strange that others try to make him out to be so deeply complex when he talks about himself so bluntly! The only way to speak on gender identity and gender expression is to take cues from the other person and stay true to respecting their identity. This is never seems something that’s given to Harry in the way people talk about him. It is the only way you can refer to someone’s gender identity ever. When he is taken apart(…)

and categorized into what is and is not comparable it directly opposes how he talks about himself. This isn’t something that doesn’t do his character justice or undermines what a complex and multifaceted human being he is. I’m a complex and multifaceted person and I only connect with one gender! I don’t like how this always used as an excuse or even something that comes into question. The only way to talk about gender and everything that falls into it is by mirroring(…)

the comments of the individual and those closest to them who are already doing the same. By not doing that you’re stepping into the minefield that is societal gender norms. It’s no wonder the people at the forefront of yesterday’s discourse were met with an entire onslought of outrage. This is how it will always be and honestly should be. People need to learn compassion and understanding and distance if they are trans or not. The great irony is the fight to establish(…)

Harry’s masculinity and the guilt that is demanded from those who don’t mention it the way they do. Not being masculine is one of the rare things Harry’s been very vocal about. Yesterday’s discussion should’ve never escalated the way it did. This is much bigger than fandom. Because what is shared is what you are being told is oksay by the person. If they compare themselves to women and use female pronouns then take cue. If they says they are not masculine then take cure. If(…)

the person shares with you a comment involving themselves within the gender spectrum then this is the only thing it’s okay to repeat. To speak generally is to place your view of gender onto a queer person who will always be listening and who will always disagree. Reading through some of the things from yesterday broke my heart in two. I don’t ever want to see such reckless comments on gender in a fandom full of so many queer people ever again. Wasn’t the outrage and pain obvious enough? I(…)

just can’t believe it could happen when the person they were arguing about has, to me, been more than clear about how they are comfortable being spoken about in their relationship with gender. If my opinion is of any value to people then I hope they listen and make an effort to at least think about something I said in the giant essay I didn’t meant to send you initially rip I apologize for that Kaleigh! I didn’t mean to send as many messages as I must have after all these hours(…)

I couldn’t help but get this off my chest. At least a trans person has had a say in this in a way outside of yesterday’s debate and maybe people will be more understanding of what really went so wrong yesterday. Anyway thank you so much for giving me this space Kaleigh! I hope I worded myself well enough and didn’t accidentally miss the anon button 😭 Have a lovely day ❤💙💚💛💜

hello darling! thank you for sending this to me because while i know a lot of what was being discussed was making me uncomfortable, i also didn’t feel comfortable speaking on it because i didn’t feel educated enough to do so. i’m sorry people made you uncomfortable and you’re so strong for reaching out to educate people who happen to read this. gender/identity is so personal, and people trying to “disprove” certain aspects of someone’s expression just to fit their personal narrative is so horrible and in no way okay in an lgbtq+ space. i love you a lot and i really really appreciate these messages ❤️

[leopardmask-ao3]

I posted 2,597 times in 2022

That's 2,460 more posts than 2021!

56 posts created (2%)

2,541 posts reblogged (98%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@altospaceangel

@theminecraftbee

@favoriteginger

@quietlywatchingwritingreading

@skylardoesthings

I tagged 2,033 of my posts in 2022

Only 22% of my posts had no tags

#hermitcraft - 412 posts

#fanart reblog - 369 posts

#for mom - 250 posts

#not fandom - 246 posts

#empires smp - 146 posts

#save for reference - 99 posts

#pixlriffs - 61 posts

#minecraft - 48 posts

#writing - 46 posts

#tango tek - 41 posts

Longest Tag: 137 characters

#but maybe that's what happens when you lived on an ocean world and then bioengineered yourself in the opposite direction when it exploded

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

The art piece I did for the content exchange hosted by @mastasof-ravenkroft ! My giftee was @muuum-am-i-adohhhpted and their Empires fic Beyond The Sunflower Field (which I loved, by the way)! This piece was a very new style for me, but the painterly vibes just felt right for a scene of Gilded Homestead/Heliantha. I decided to set it somewhere around mid-fic, where Pearl has been working the land around Heliantha for a while, but hasn't taken on her leaderly title yet.

17 notes - Posted September 3, 2022

#4

10 Weeks of Celebration for 10 Years of Hermitcraft

Prompt 2: Meaning and Impact Anyone can learn how to build beautiful things. Just ask Bdubs! Even people who have tried to kill him in the past are welcome students of his brilliance.

Read it on ao3 or

"Your base is... tall."

"Why yes it is! Thank you for noticing!"

Bdubs led Foxtrot across the grounds outside his monolith. "So, what brings you to my humble home? Just a neighborly visit, or are you looking for advice from ol' Bdubs?"

The android dragged his gaze away from the towering structure and focused on Bdubs' face. He was still learning the balance between politeness and honesty... "Both?"

"Well, welcome," Bdubs replied. "I do love seeing my wonderful friends and neighbors take an interest in what I'm doing. I saw you're building a base of your own here - that's great!"

"Yes, I wanted to join in with the town plans," Foxtrot replied, "learn how you all do things and be a part of it. I never really learned how to... make stuff that looks good, though - before finding you all, I had no reason for that."

"Oh yes, that's revenge quests for ya." Bdubs nodded. "And of course, you came straight to the expert!"

"Well, I asked Tango first," Foxtrot corrected. "He told me to come talk to you, because that's where he learned a lot of building tips from and he thought you could explain things better than he could."

"Awww, how schweet of him," Bdubs effused. "Come in, come in, I'll show you around!"

Bdubs backed into a corner to let Foxtrot through the door. "It's kind of tight quarters in here, I know, but that made every floor a great challenge for me. I don't know that I'd recommend makin' too many rooms this small while you're still learning what you're doing, to be honest, but feel free to use any ideas you get from this place!"

"Okay!" Foxtrot looked around the entry room, focusing on the half-hidden barrels and chests. "Why are these... like this?" he asked. "I think I understand the arch, but you'd get much more storage if you didn't have the trapdoors and just had a wall of just barrels."

"Ahhh, but it's all about texture and breaking up the space, isn't it?" Bdubs replied. "The shelves just make sense here. And there's more storage up on the second floor - it's not like I need it all in one place." He led Foxtrot up the stairs to show him. "See? There's always a balance to be struck. This is all perfectly good storage space! It just doesn't need to be all lined up in straight rows of labeled double chests to do its job!"

"So basically, don't have too much in one spot that's all the same thing."

"Yes, yes, exactly that! And make sure you mess around a bunch with the details. For example: trapdoors are a wonderful thing to add in if you aren't sure what to do. Come on, I'll show you just how much detail you can pack in if you want to - and more storage!" Bdubs started up the stairs again. "Come check out my plant lab."

Foxtrot pricked his ears a little higher in curiosity. "Plant... lab-?"

18 notes - Posted April 21, 2022

#3

Week 4 of the 10 Weeks of Celebration for 10 Years of Hermitcraft challenge - this week's prompt is "Comfort and Calm".

Stress has her name for a reason. She senses it in others, and though she wasn't there for it herself, she can feel the effects of the moonpocalypse from everyone around her. She does her best to help out in her own way.

Read it on ao3 or

Stress hummed as she assembled and set a picnic table in front of her house, big enough to seat seven or eight people. She had realized, somewhat belatedly, that her little teapot house may not comfortably fit everyone who was invited - though it was certainly open to them - so this tea party would be held mostly outdoors.

Zedaph was the first to arrive, trotting up while Stress was still setting the table. After an animated greeting, he picked up a couple plates and started to help out. He had somehow gone through the end of HC-8 and the move to HC-9 practically unscathed, and Stress had invited him because she appreciated having more of that kind of energy at her little gathering. She herself had been off-world at the time: an extended vacation with Iskall and the other Vault Hunters, which had become even more extended when they heard the news.

Stress and Zedaph chatted for a while, but as soon as Tango reached them, Zedaph was there. He hung off Tango like a human weighted blanket, even as Tango tried to sit down. Tango clearly didn't object, though. Stress giggled at the awkward position this put Zedaph in and pushed a chair closer. "'Ere you are, why don't you both sit like that, eh? Instead of contorting yourself to lean over him all the time."

At this point Tango was chuckling too and he gently shoved Zedaph into the second chair. "Yeah, you don't have to twistificate yourself around on my account. Plus we'll both need our hands free for food."

"Oh, yeah, good point." Zedaph extricated himself and sat down, but sat almost between chairs, pressing himself against Tango's side and acting very casual about the fact that he was doing so. Stress just gave that a knowing nod. At Xisuma's request, she had been the one who had finally found Tango, adrift and alone. He needed the weight and presence of some human friends.

By that time, the other invitees had arrived: Cleo, Jevin, and Xisuma. Stress greeted them warmly and served tea to everyone before sitting down herself.

"Are we expecting one more?" Cleo asked, indicating the empty chair with a place setting.

"Don't you worry about that," Stress replied. "'Ave some tea, 'ave some snacks. It ain't much, since we've all practically just got 'ere, but that's alright, innit?"

"We're all here, and that's what matters," Jevin agreed, picking up his teacup in both hands and savoring its warmth. "Food and stuff will all happen eventually."

Xisuma just nodded at that. He had taken his helmet off for politeness and to drink his tea, and he still held himself nervously, as if expecting someone to come up behind him at any moment and tell him to stop having fun - but the others could see him smile a little more every time he looked around and saw a hermit’s base or one of his tablemates.

The conversation was quiet, but earnest and kind. Everyone mostly avoided talking about what had happened, instead expressing their relief and excitement at the new world, their new plans, and what they could do now that they were together again. The snakes that Cleo had acquired occasionally reached for a bite off one plate or another. Cleo fed them morsels, Xisuma didn't seem to notice nibbles disappearing, and Jevin waved one away like an annoying fly as he reached to refill his cup. (No one had actually seen him drink any tea, and no one was paying enough attention to see how he held the mug with a thumb dipped into it. He never had figured out an easy way to absorb liquids that looked like how the humans did it.)

"Halloooo Stress! What's all this about?"

Stress looked up with a grin at the new arrival jogging toward them. "'Ello Iskall! Care to join us?"

Iskall put his hands on his hips with exaggerated indignance. "You're throwing a whole party over here and you didn't invite me? How could you!" He cracked a little smile, mostly joking and unable to be truly mad.

"Well, clearly I didn't need ta," Stress pointed out, "seein' as you found us anyway, right? Look, I even set a spot for you. I knew you'd turn up whether I wanted you or not."

"Well, if you insist..." Iskall sat down with a huff, then giggled, triggering laughter from the rest of the table. "Hallo, everyone else here too! Could someone please pass the tea?"

20 notes - Posted May 5, 2022

#2

Loving the vibes of Pixlriffs, by all accounts and behaviors the most Normal Guy around, just hanging out in his yard having a conversation but then briefly having to pause said conversation to go chase away a minor god like he's chasing off a stray cat that got into the garbage

109 notes - Posted June 30, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

I'm seeing people post their art here that they did for the 10 Years Of Hermitcraft, 10 Weeks of Celebration art and writing challenge and realizing, oh, yeah, maybe I could post the fics I'm writing for it here too. The challenge isn't really tailored to writing but it says it is so I took it as a writing challenge anyway.

Prompt 1: Dressed for the Occasion In which Grian helps Cleo make her new dress a little bit better. Who better to ask for clothing help than someone who sewed himself together?

Read it on ao3 or

"You're going to the party like that?"

Cleo turned and gave Grian a withering gaze. Grian's button eyes gave no hint to his intentions. "I am," Cleo replied. "Is there a problem with that?"

Grian ran a finger around one cuff of his red suit - a slightly nervous habit that he'd probably picked up from Mumbo. "Well, your dress is very nice, and I get the look you like to go for, but that tear in the side..."

"Is meant to be there, yes," Cleo finished. "I've got to have inventory access somehow, right, even at a special event."

"Inven- right, of course," Grian realized. "Well, even though we both know it's meant to be there, it doesn't really... look like that, does it? It kind of looks like you had an accident with a tree branch, to be quite honest."

Cleo crossed her arms. A few of her snakes hissed at Grian. "Oh, it does, does it? Are you offering to help fix it?"

Grian nodded. "I am, actually. We can definitely keep the gap there, but just make it look... cut, rather than ripped, right? And that would mean making it a tiny bit bigger, so it'll actually be easier to use."

"...Can you do this while it's on me?" Cleo relented. "I don't fancy trying to get this dress off and on again right now."

"Yeah, should be simple enough," Grian decided. "I'm not going to try and hem it or anything, that would make it look too fake. Gotta go for at least a sort of natural look."

So, Cleo stood with her arms crossed as Grian worked away, using a miniature pair of shears that he always had on him, trimming away stray threads and bits of fabric and treating the cut edges with a special slimeball-based glue he'd gotten off-world.

"I gotta say," Cleo commented, watching him work, "I didn't really expect you to be this... graceful at this."

"Lots of practice," Grian replied. "It did take a few tries to get the hands right on the body I pattern all my others on, but I need the ability to repair myself, right?"

"Ah, yeah, that's true, isn't it. You get good at one-handed sewing too, since they're always the thing that get damaged first."

"Ughhh, that is the worst when that happens. Sometimes I have to use another body entirely to fix the first, but you don't really do that, do you?"

"No, that's pretty uniquely a you thing. I just gotta either deal with it anyway or ask whichever hermit is closest that I trust with a needle."

"Are there many of those?" Grian asked, an invisible smile in his voice.

"No."

Grian laughed, then put away the anti-fray solution and got out a needle and thread.

"I thought you said you weren't going to hem it." Cleo frowned.

"I'm not, I'm just making sure the corners don't pull too hard." Grian made a few quick stitches here, a couple more there, then stood up and clapped once, an action that made no sound except a quiet paf. "Right, finished." He set down two gold blocks between them. "What do you think?"

Cleo turned to the side, looking at her reflection in the polished gold. Grian had turned the ripped bit into a sort of flame-shaped opening at her waist, a curving shape that actually complemented her nicely, rather than looking like - well, like a zombie had ripped a hole in it with their teeth. Whlch may or may not have been what she had previously done to it.

"I think... I really like that actually," Cleo admitted. "Thanks for that."

"A hole in a dress that shows off the hole in you," Grian said matter-of-factly, as if that were a common, normal reason for a design choice. Then he snickered, which Cleo followed.

"It does!" Cleo said with exaggerated emphasis that just made Grian laugh harder. "It's so practical!" In a more normal voice, she continued, "Genuinely, it never occurred to me that you had sewing skills that extended past, like... making weird new bodies for yourself."

"Oh, yeah," Grian said as the two continued on toward the party. "I make, or at least adjust, most of my clothes - even did a dress for myself once or twice. Anyway, who do you think tailors Mumbo's suits?"

132 notes - Posted April 18, 2022

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[mummified-game-review]

2064 Read Only Memories: A Review

If you haven't played this game, then are there other point and click, cyberpunk kidnapping, mystery games that came in the Racial justice bundle that you think I should check out? Let me know all about them in the comments.the garden center of my closest hardware store and I’m trying to decide if the start up cost of 15 bucks in in my budget.

Welcome back to another video game review here on Mummified Games. Today were going to be taking a look at the modern Point and Click Mystery game 2064: Read Only Memories. By Midboss.

This game has a lot of charm to it. I Love how this game presents itself. The Music, art, story, and voice work, is all great and do a really great job of pulling me in. I did not want to stop playing. This was the first time where I was like okay maybe i play for 2 hours. And then write the review. But sadly there was no way I could do that if I wanted to make my deadline.

So the game is a future cyberpunk scene where Humans have found a way to cybernetically and biologically augment their bodies. Sort of just like every other Cyberpunk cenario. Just par for the course at this point.

Wouldn't have it any other way.

But what's great about this game is that it's not overly burdened with the constant narrative of life sucks and there's inequality and class disparity.

It's not dystopian cyberpunk, it's more optimistic. People seem to really be jammin with the future that they find themselves in. For the most part.

So it's your standard affair people are making so many augmentations to themselves in so many different ways. That there is a rebel group that is coming up that wants to see humanity return to who they were.

Not like a full blown god's perfect image, it's not a religious thing. But still embracing tradition and what makes humans human.

I don't know if we have the science to make Snake people then I'm all for it.

Ooo la la.

There are Robots that this big company is making that are designed to Walk like the humans, talk like the humans. But it's all just fancy code. And then the game tells you about one scientist that is working on transcending that limitation of just fancy code. And make something new.

Story intro out of the way, The scene opens with your less than standout apartment and you learn that you are a journalist, sort of.

And after you go through a nothing of a tutorial. As in like it's almost not even there cause it's so basic. You write a report and then go to bed.

INCITING ACTION

In the middle of the night a little blue robot hacks your door. And breaks into your apartment. Interfaces with your computer, cleans your apartment and also tries to clean the old computer, bricking it in the process.

You wake up and they tell you that they have selected you out of all known contacts of their master to help them track their master down. He was Captured last night and you need to join the robot to track down their master.

The robot's name is Turing, probably named after the real person Alan Turing the Computer Scientist.

A note about the dialogue and interactions with Turing. ALL THEIR LINES ARE VOICED! This game gives you so much during the process. There is a lot of reading to be doing in this game and luckily it's not all put on you.

I don't want you to think that I don't like Reading. Or that I think reading is hard. But if I'm meant to put multiple hours into a game. Doing nothing but reading for the entirety of it can get tiring

So I'm glad that so much is fully voiced. Gives you the chance to look down and tweet your love of this game for a second.

And that if there is a name or something that comes up you instantly know how it's meant to be pronounced. Instead of having to wait till you say it outloud in a video game review and suddenly everyone thinks “wait Tony, you say its like that? Wow okay”

Look, I have yet to hear anyone talk about Itch in casual conversation so I have no idea if you need to add the Dot I O to the end of it or if I sound like a Boomer who says out loud Dot Com at the end of every website name. “Yeah i just look it up on Google Dot Com”

I'm trying here folks I really am.

So after Turing tells you about what they need you join them on their mission to track down their creator and figure out what's at the bottom of this whole thing.

A note about the profile creation scene, it's quite funny and I thought it was super cool how they include multiple ways of character settings.

There's nothing visual that you can do to change your character so there's that. But Turing asks you for your name, you just type it out and I was excited for maybe a robot voice that was going to try to pronounce Mummified but it didn't go well.

Asks you for your pronouns, Yes! I love it. I would expect nothing less from a developer like Midboss. The people who host the Steam Summer of Pride Sale for the last couple of years Highlighing Queer games.

But the fact that they don't just limit to just He/Her/They but also Zir, and another one that slips my mind. And also an option to input your own preferred pronouns. SO COOL!

And I was ready to maybe answer one more silly question. That's where I was thinking the game would take things, assuming based on its sense of humor and the jokes that would come up in this game.

But no it was a real question about dietary needs and restrictions, to be kept in mind when out and about and talking about food. Holy crap that's so cool.

So the game gives you options like Omnivore, Vegetarian, Vegan, Halal, Gluten Free Dairy fr

What a super cool thing to include in your game. This just adds to the inclusion that is offered to players of all different ways of life.

So I just hunted down the list of food options in the video recording I took of this game and I'm reminded of just how funny this game is.

There are great jokes in this. There are subtle allegories to our own real world things in this game.

Turing says they found a better door that you could use to replace the current door you have due to its sub standard encryption features to prevent people from hacking though. And they recommend a particular model of door and mention it has over 300 reviews on Congo.

Wait... Congo. HA! Okay that got me. Cause you know Congo the river. And the Amazon river. I thought it was funny.

Also there is a joke about the Creator having a list of different things on the TV that they were watching like Ted’s Tech Tips. That one got me, because it might not be a thing but I'd like to think it's a nod to Linus Tech Tips.

This game is filled with great cute jokes. There are a couple of options that the game gives you when you wake up to see a strange robot in your room, some of the reactions are more fearful. And while reading them as an option I thought to myself WHY?

This little friend is Cute as hell. There's no way I would be scared of them. Their cute faces and little arms. I love them so much.

So the story is sound and the writing in it is so well done. The voice acting is great as well. Turing sounds innocent and has a cute childish nature to them, but they’re not dumb to say the least, they’re still the most advanced AI program in the world.

The gameplay is also stellar. Most of the interactions with things in this world are done with 4 different options.

Look: The game will give you a description of what the item, thing, person, whatever is.

Talk: If it's a person you can talk to them. Or sometimes things have voice commands.

Take/Touch, you might be able to pick something up or turn it on. Computers would take you to another window and you could do other things inside it.

Use time on: At the start of the game you're given an ID card and you pick up a pair of headphones in your apartment. The id could be used to get you places or scan for whatever might come up. Or you can connect your headphones to random things to hear stuff. What's funny is that you can use your headphones on almost anything and you can get some description of what you hear.

Real basic stuff. Like it's described. It's a Point And CLick Mystery Game. A lot of the game is being given a scene and you can talk to people in it, or interact with the things on the static screen.

Everything in this game flows so well together. Nothing takes you out of the experience. Its a story that takes you in and doesn't let go.

I think this is a game that I can fully recommend to people no matter what. If you have it. If you were curious about it. If you’ve never heard of it. Any range of feeling and knowledge of this game I highly recommend you go check it out.

If you have this game tell me your thoughts on it. Do you think Jessi was a jerk or if she is justified in her standoff-ness in her attitude?

If you haven't played this game, then are there other point and click, cyberpunk kidnaping, mystery games that came in the Racial justice bundle that you think I should check out? Let me know all about them in the comments.

In the meantime. Ah gee folks i really am thinking hard about that jade Plant. I'd love to get one. But my cable bill is coming and I know I need to take care of that first. Oh well. Maybe next month.

You all do the Youtube Dance, Like, Sub, Bell, Comment, and share this video with someone you know.

And as always hackers, Keep Digging, and we’ll make it out sometime.

See you in the next one.

[vulturousculturalist]

hi! i really love your art! im an amateur artist and i wanted some advice on how to get exposure for your art...i'd like to do commissions and sell my work, but i havent gotten any attention at all so i came to you and others for advice if that's ok! thank you in advance!

I’m absolutely flattered you like my art omg??? I may not be the best person to ask as I have next to no exposure and have never done any commissions or the like orz but regardless I can give some tips to the best of my ability!

First of all, before I get into any of this, remember to draw for yourself, yeah? Like if it doesn’t make you happy then don’t push yourself- your well being is always more important.First off, to really get more exposure a tip that I can give that is a bit shallow is to sell out a little? As in draw fandom stuff if you really want to at first grab people’s attention. People are probably more likely to stumble across a drawing done of something that has a following than entirely original characters- that is not to say don’t draw original things. Not at all! Remember to always draw what makes you happy first and foremost, this is just something that can help boost your initial exposure.Alternatively if you don’t want to do fandom stuff but still want exposure/post in a way that guarantees that there will be someone probably seeing your stuff is participating in memes/months kind of activities. I’m not too knowledgeable about this kind of thing but I’m referring to Mermay and the like. I think of it almost as a festival so there will most definitely be people lurking in those tags and in turn seeing your stuff. Tumblr is at its core a social media network in which people socialize based off of familiar interests, so if you get your interests out there chances are you will find followers who share your interests which in turn will get you more exposure.Tumblr works as a tag system. Like say someone wants to look up Pikachu from Pokemon right? They can either do it via the search function.

Or manually input the url to look through the ‘tag’

So you’d assume that if you tag your picture of Pikachu it’ll show up both in tags and search, but that exactly the case. Your first five tags are the most important because those are actually the only tags that will guarantee that your picture will end up in the tag page. So your first tags should always be specifically the most popular tags/the tags that will give you the most exposure- save your tag rambling for the ends (I’m actually a terrible example of this as I rarely utilize tags to the full extent). Similarly, from what I can understand only the first 10 tags show up in the search function as well unfortunately haha. Every tag counts so tag efficiently. Timing is also a thing. Certain social media websites are actually most active at different times, so posting at the right time can actually maximize the amount of people seeing a piece. Tumblr is at its most active at 4-7 PM EST and peaks on Fridays. Even if you can’t post your drawing at this time, you can queue it or even reblog your own art so that your followers can see it.

Some other social media website times:

Twitter- 1-3 PM Facebook- 1-4 PM

Befriending other artists is also a good tactic for exposure- that being said make sure if you’re befriending someone its not solely for exposure, genuine friendships are a must- as their followers will also be more likely to see your stuff.In the end though, these things take time so don’t expect and immediate boost in popularity. Overall though these tips should help I believe? If anyone else has any other advice please feel free to add to this!