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skylermadness · 2 months ago

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Snack Shenanigans [A Side] (Scott Howl TF/TG/MC)

(Original Date of Upload: October 27, 2023)

Wow, it's been about a year since the last time I wrote an FtM TF/TG and so far both FtMs I've written back to back are into werewolf characters. I've been itching to write out another Scott Howl FtM for a while now so I decided to finally get off my butt and actually write one! I'm trying to go back to more simplistic plots and such so the set-up and such is a bit short but I don't mind it. I'm just glad to provide more jock character FtMs in the world. It's a fun little subgenre that there just isn't enough of! On a more interesting note, this is the first time I managed to complete a second self-imposed challenge on myself: giving a story an alt! This was an idea that I thought worked for multiple characters and decided why not reuse it for an alternative version of the story into a different story! If you want to read it (which is a TF into the character Gunzo from Tokyo Afterschool Summoners). That'll be uploaded later this week.

One of the more prominent constants when it came to Madison's daily trips to her college campus were her visits to the cafeteria vending machines. And more often than not whenever she did she would typically buy the exact same thing from the machine’s array of snack foods. Most of her freshman year in college was spent buying out the machine’s mini-sandwich cookie stock, but she eventually grew tired of those and switched over to either chips or chocolate bars depending on her mood that week. With all things considered her trips to the vending machine were short, simplistic, and unchanging.

That was until today anyway. Madison found herself staring through the machine’s glass in curiosity, her eyes instantly scrutinizing a change in the machine’s selection. Usually the item labeled 206 was some random bag of chips whose brand she didn’t care to memorize since it wasn’t the kind she ordered. However she knew that what occupied that label wasn’t the brand she didn’t remember. Rather it seemed to be something new and unfamiliar to the woman.

The bag was simply labeled Scott Snacks with a fairly simple graphic of a bunch of potato chips with what she presumed to be the bag’s mascot (a thick bearded and fluffy haired man) giving a thumbs up. On one hand, the bag did look fairly generic. Then again most chip bags have that feel so it didn’t fully matter to Madison. She couldn’t really discern any other details from the bag such as flavor, but at the same time the graphic gave the vibe of either something plain or something cheesy. Neither prospects were ones she was against, especially since in the end all of this was just an excuse for her to deaden her appetite for the remainder of her classes.

With her mind made up Madison made the order with the vending machine. A satisfying thunk could be heard as the bag was pushed forward off the conveyor and into the machine’s pick-up box. She always despised when things got stuck in the vending machine, it was always a slightly embarrassing hassle…

Successfully retrieving her snack, she idly placed it into her backpack before hauling it onto her back and making her way out of the cafeteria. Madison disliked eating around other people she was unfamiliar with, the woman much rather preferring to find a nice quiet seat on one of the hallway benches and eating whatever she retrieved there. A short trek and a turn would lead her to her favorite spot of solitude (barring the occasional person who would walk out the elevator beside the bench). Placing her backpack beside her as she took a seat she removed the bag of unfamiliar chips from its confines and opened it. Casually she leaned her back against the wall behind her, finally opening the bag of chips and taking one out.

Considering the unfamiliarity of the situation, Madison had deemed it necessary to eye up the singular chip for a good few seconds. Standard looking potato chip, orange dust that denotes a cheese flavor, some flecks of salt. Although as these exact terms roamed through her head she realized that she somehow sounded like some kind of chip elitist. So in the end she just disregarded her concerns and placed the chip in her mouth.

…yup, very cheesy. Even has a bit of a meaty aftertaste as well. It wasn’t actually that bad. Perhaps this was a sign she could add a third snack into her vending machine rotation!

With those thoughts in her mind Madison continued eating, the woman blissfully unaware of the changes starting to form on her body as she did. It was rather isolated at first. The fingers on both hands slowly got thicker, ends and nails getting more blunt with each passing second. This evidently continued as her fingers continued to grow in thickness with a similar shift in size quickly jumping to the hands themselves. A firm meatiness steadily accumulating within each hand; larger, bulkier, seemingly more powerful in appearance.

That wasn’t the weirdest part of this transformation however. That came when something coarse started to poke out of the back of her hand. It was short at first with what looked to be follicles only millimeters in length, but it didn’t take long for them to grow out and quickly overtake the backs of each hand. What had rapidly sprouted from each hand were large amounts of dark brown hairs. This new development practically gives a more defined masculine feel to her already larger and almost blockier hands.

Evidently this supposedly masc appearance was one that would quickly spread beyond her wrists and beneath the sleeves of her sweater. Her musculature was the first that began to get affected. A mild heat surged through them as a steady thickness slowly burgeoned within each arm. Raw strength building up in each limb and filling their once slender appearance with a now dense and much more powerful look to them. It wasn't long until the sleeves of her sweater began filling out and the outlines of her muscles etched into the fabric.

The warmth in Madison's arms only grew more prominent as well with the hairiness of her hands quickly trailing up to her forearms. Heavy amounts of brown hairs coating their way across the back of each arm, the density of this forest of almost fur-like hairs getting more and more thick the closer it got towards her elbows. This steady increase in arm hair density would soon result in a thick tuft of arm hair that practically spiked out of each forearm. Unfortunately for the time being it would seem this major growth would remain hidden in her sleeves.

Less dense, albeit still very prominent, arm hair growth continued as it made its way to her upper arms and shoulders to coat the outer sections of them with ease. It was also by now that some of the more major muscle groups had gotten their almost instant workout with her biceps having bulked up alongside her triceps. The broadness of Madison's shoulders increased drastically as the deltoid muscles developed and rounded out even more. By this point the almost fragile seaming of her sweater began to break, tears forming against the new brawniness of her arms and revealing bits of her new coat of hair.

The sudden sounds of tearing finally alerted her to the changes, Madison placing the chip she was holding in her mouth before inspecting the source of the sound. Her eyes widened. "Wh-huh…? What happened to my arm?? And is that… hair…?"

Her gaze trailed downwards, the woman inspecting one arm up until she laid eyes on her hands. "How long have they been like that!?"

A part of her wanted to panic but something about the sight was just intriguing. She held a changed hand up in front of her, looking at the thickness and hairiness of it all. It was a little uncanny, especially with all the chip dust, but it looked firm. Strong.

While Madison preoccupied with staring at her hand the changes in her physical form only continued. It didn't take long for everything to move beyond her shoulders. The two waves of transformation quickly crashed into each other at the midline of her chest and from there expanded even more across the woman's body.

The overall width of Madison's frame was probably the next thing to start changing, her form broadening out and shifting to dispel her usually skinny figure more. This type of change got more prominent as her chest became the next part of her body to get altered. While the hair continued its spread and coating her chest, the fatty tissue of her breasts began to melt off and slowly flatten them. As it did so the muscles beneath them began to grow, swelling out rapidly to the point it would almost appear that her breasts hardened into thick meaty slabs of pectorals. These newly developed muscles would quickly grow to fill up the upper portion of her sweater, her now more masculine cleavage denting into the fabric.

The lower half of her body followed not long after as it too was changing. Her abdomen churned, bubbling almost as abdominal muscles steadily rose from her skin. They slotted out almost sequentially with row after row extending out until she had been granted a six-pack set of abs. All the while the hair that had coated her chest was cascading downwards, the coarse brown fuzz rapidly consuming her abdominal region. By this point the frontal portion of her body just looked like it had a darker shade than the back due to all this hair. And as the hair trailed to the sides she could feel her oblique muscles begin to burn a bit, alongside some cramping inside her that took her focus off her hands so she could use them to support her abdomen as she bent forward in mild pain.

"A-agh-" she winced, the sound of her voice seeming to crack only momentarily playing in her ears. She started to realize just how tight her shirt was getting, and she presumed it wouldn't be long until everything else would change to fit whatever form she was taking. A light haze was also entering her mind, thoughts steadily becoming a little bit harder as all these changes were overtaking her form. Curiosity faded to confusion, and that confusion quickly jumped to worry as she was still conscious enough to realize she didn't want to rip out of her shirt in a public hallway.

Madison ultimately decided to forgo her backpack and the rest of the chips to her side, then lifted herself up from the bench and hastily made her way around the hallway's corner in order to head into the nearest bathroom. Luckily it was unoccupied, so she just rushed in there and locked the door before heading to the mirror. Although it would seem she didn't notice that she had subconsciously rushed into the men's room…

Staring at herself in the mirror she came to the slow realization of just how large she had become. Not just in width but also in height as she evidently looked a little taller, especially with the hem of her sweater rising up her body. That and the slightly prominent feel of decompression in the woman's spine that seemed to grow more and more. Then there was this building pressure at the base of her spine that only continued to grow in prominence the more she continued to stare in the mirror. That coupled with the sight of more hair growing up her neck and beneath her jaw all made for this experience to feel even more surreal than it did prior.

Madison raised her head a bit and scratched the scruff on her neck. "A-ahh…" she let out a light breath. It felt a little good to finally scratch that fuzz after all this time. It helped clear her brain up just a bit, but it inevitably filled back up with fog. All she could do was stare at herself in the mirror and scratch herself, her only statement being, "Just… what is happening to me?" She asked that with a smile however. There just felt like nothing to distress over. Not the weird muscular form she had, or the increase in hairiness, or the fact her voice continued to shift to a point that sounded deeper and more laid-back.

She didn't even feel the need to worry over hearing the back of her pants suddenly split open, a tail with thick brown fur seeming to have almost instantly elongated from her spine's tailbone and freed itself from the confines of her legwear. All she did was look behind her as something in her brain seemed to click with the new appendage. She curled it up towards her and gently grabbed it with her free hand. All the while a goofy grin had formed on her face. "I have a tail now!? Cool!"

All during this sequence of events, the changes were also making their progression down to Madison's legs. This section of the transformation mirrored that of her arms, muscle mass easily packing into both sections of her legs with a quick pacing. Thighs grew thicker with bulkier hamstrings and quadriceps, and she could feel a surge of heat flare up in her calves as they bloated up with muscle mass as well. Her height continued to increase as well, and the brown hairs rapidly rushed downwards to encompass the surface area of her legs. All of this combined contributed to her jeans feeling severely more constricted, a few tears forming in the sides as a result.

What followed were the changes in her feet. While hair emerged from the bridge of her feet, the overall size of them steadily increased in all directions. They got wider, pushing up against the sides of her shoes easily. And they got longer, heels digging into the back of her footwear while her toes pressed up against the front. It wouldn't take very long for them to grow to a fitting proportion for her new body, their appearance having quickly altered to fit the more rugged and masculine look that Madison now was possessing. It resulted in her shoes having immense trouble containing her larger feet with a couple rips already forming across the sides.

The last person of her physical form that remained unchanged was her face, but as Madison started to see and feel the soft pricks of hair poking out her skin she knew that wasn't going to last long.

"B-bro!" she casually yelled out to no one in particular, her voice now settling into that aforementioned laid-back and male cadence that had been etching into it this whole time. "Guess I'll be getting a beard next! Might as well start considering myself a guy at this point!"

The very thought of that was appealing to him. If anything, it felt like the always correct assumption. For some reason something about this new form felt so good and so much more correct now! It was as if it should have always been him!

He continued to stare into the mirror, a look of enjoyment on his face as he saw the brown fuzz continuing to grow out his chin. This fuzz grew thicker and thicker, and it's spread expanded across his jawline rapidly. From the middle, trailing up his sides, slowly connecting to the slight sideburns he possessed. As his beard got more dense and bushy it gained an almost spiky styling as well. All the while his jawline shifted beneath it, broadening and chiseling out into a more square shape.

If anything it would seem Madison's entire face shifted to gain a more masculine appearance. Skull widening for a broader structure, nose enlarging slightly, a certain level of toughness formulating across his skin. Bits of his beard even poked out from his jawline and onto his face in order to grow on a small portion of his cheeks. There even came a set of even stranger changes to his head's physicality such as his ears lengthening and sharpening to a point, or the hairs on his eyebrows increasing in amount drastically to gain a similar level of spiked bushiness that his beard possessed. There had also seemed to be a level of sharpness entering much of his teeth as well.

All while these changes occurred, his hair was in the process of shifting and restyling to fit his new body. It had already begun to shorten as his beard was beginning to grow, and it continued to do so as his beard got more prominent and his face continued to change. Slowly it went up from being shoulder length to trailing up the nape of his neck to being of equal length with his chin, and it still got shorter as time continued. All the while the waviness of it was straightened, and the dark blonde coloration was deepened to the same brown as the rest of his body and facial hair. By the time his hair got to what the transformation seemed as an acceptable length, its density seemed to shift into something fur-like before bits of it fluffed and stuck out into a thick and messy spiky style. One that he just couldn't resist running a hand through to just feel the fluffiness of his hair.

"This is so cool, dude…" he said, watching his hair spike back up after getting run through by his hand. And the man only continued to poke and prod at bits of his body by scratching his beard, scritching himself behind his ear, and giving his muscles some good flexes. He even couldn't help from tearing open his sweater from the front to let his pecs and abs breathe. Everything about this body felt so new, but at the same time the cloud in his mind was making it seem so familiar as well.

Shouldn't this be his body? Why was it so hard to even recall what his other body was like? Did he even have another body? If this body is so familiar it just must be his, right?!

He could feel his eyes beginning to drift to the side in confusion. "Ooh, too many questions in my brain! Is this what happens when you think too much…"

For some reason he really felt like he wasn't used to using his brain for extended periods of time. If he were to be honest everything about it just felt drained! Like so many aspects has been dulled down or simplified in himself. All of this was making the concept of having an identity prior to this one feel so fleeting and incorrect. He just wanted to completely disregard it as too complicated. A lot of things just felt complicated at this point.

He braced himself on the bathroom sink, mind in complete confusion to the point he wasn't keeping track of what was going on with his clothing. His attire had seemed to finally start to shift.The sleeves of his sweater slowly lifted upwards to unveil the dense fluff of his forearms, the rips all sealed themselves while the tear he made down the middle of his shirt restitched itself to look like it was meant to be there. The coloration of the sleeves bleached to white while the wrists shifted to red, meanwhile the actual body of the sweater shifted to the same shade of red. Buttons and eyelets lined the split while a small white and red-striped collar raised from the neck. With the formation of pockets on each side of the newly shifted clothing, it seemed his sweater had altered into a varsity jacket. Meanwhile a plain white t-shirt materialized beneath it and around his body, its size being just baggy enough to still reveal the upper portion of his chest.

Following this came the less impressive changes in his legwear and footwear. His jeans just grew a bit to better fit his legs while repairing themselves. The tear in the back also restitched to look intentional, seemingly becoming a hole for his tail that went beneath the belt loop. His shoes did go through a bit more drastic of a change, also growing and repairing while the sides brightened to a red and the soles and front became white. The cloth toughened up as the strings became straps, fully shifting his footwear into a pair of athletic sneakers.

The man's thoughts continued to simplify as his earlier concerns were constantly drained away. Thoughts of a former identity and life disappearing, the rising worries about them being dispelled as he couldn't even remember what he had to be worried about! All that mattered was football and hanging out with his bros after all! Nothing to worry about from that!

It was also by this point that his identity fully solidified. Scott Howl!

Wait, is he telling himself to howl?

"AWWROOOOOOOOO!!!" he howled out, the sound echoing through the small one-person bathroom. Once it was all let out he opened his eyes, a nice royal blue having embedded within them.

"Oh wait, I was just thinking about my last name!"

One of Scott's ears flicked as he heard someone knock on the bathroom door. "Uhhh, I'm taking it this is occupied?"

The werewolf made his way to the entrance and opened it. "Was just finishing up with… whatever I was doing!"

The comment made the guy who was on the other side of the bathroom door somewhat confused, but between that and the fact they were facing a large hairy man with a tail this whole situation was already feeling weird. "What were you doing… howling??"

Scott just smiled and ruffled the other man's hair. "Sometimes you just have to let one out, y'know?" He then moved past them and made his leave. The random man just watched him leave, both unaware that the burly football player's interaction with him had left an almost pitch black stain in the follicles of the man's hair that very slowly spread across it. But they just shook their head and walked into the bathroom, deciding to just disregard the strange interaction.

Meanwhile, Scott made his way down the hall before his heightened sense of smell caught a whiff of something… cheesy? Meaty? His head turned to find a bag of chips labeled Scott Snacks beside a backpack on top of a bench. For some reason his brain registered both as his own.

"Oh, can't forget about these!" He walked over to the bench and hauled up the backpack to his back before picking up the bag of chips. Popping one in his mouth he comments, "This'll make a great snack before practice!" before going about his day…

#character tf #tf #transformation #human tf #muscle growth tf #ftm tf tg #tf tg #male transformation #werewolf tf

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twst-hottest-takes · 29 days ago

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Would you mind sharing your thoughts on what you think/hope Jack's dream will be for book 7? I've tried thinking about it, but I kind of feel like bro is already living his best life.

The only thing I can really think of is if everyone in the world followed his morals and values, since he really doesn't have any character struggle.

I can throw some thoughts around.

We'll start with laying down his character struggles.

They tend to stem from what you said, Anon. Mostly that he has a moral value set that makes him stand out against the others. He's at odds with most of the trouble-making students because he's a hard worker and very straight-laced. It would almost make more sense if he had light magic tbh, but I don't think the creators thought as far forward.

What does this mean for his dream sequence?

Most likely, I would guess that his dream is going to be him in a slightly better position than he is now. He'll be Savanaclaw's housewarden. He'll be some sort of world-renowned athlete. He'll be acknowledged and respected for his hustle. Maybe something as simple as him not being made fun of for all the work he puts into his physique.

Just like how Epel was essentially living the same life but with a minor alteration to fit a part of an ambition we already knew he had, I think Jack won't get anything especially fun.

Making it even more simplistic, we go a step further with what Anon said and everything is the same, EXCEPT LEONA. I can easily imagine that Jack would dream about living a life almost exactly the same except Leona isn't lazy. He's more motivated, and generally isn't acting like a jerk. Heck, Jack probably still dreams of playing first string spelldrive with him or Leona treating him with more respect. It could be as simple as that. One of the reasons I think Jack should have had this special dream card because he has A LOT more motivation to dream up a version of his housewarden that is radically different from reality, much like in the other dreams that get featured cards. But I digress. It's too late for that now.

This is what I am willing to bet they'll do after they wake Ruggie up. Nothing fancy.

Now what do I *WISH* they would do with him? That's another topic entirely.

Honestly, I don't know what I would want when it comes to Jack. I want to have his Wolf form as a playable card for sure. They already have a rigged model of it and I figured after the mer-tweels there was a slim chance of it, but I don't know what kind of dream that would make for. Maybe something insightfully cliche involving him wanting to be a solo act (lone wolf), the wild intensity of what it feels like as an animal, or a desire for a more basic/simple life. Now only the first one falls in line with what we already know about Jack or at least the version of himself that he tries (and kind of fails) to project.

What I think is the ideal "dream scenario" for Jack would be something that actually adds to his character. To see some part of him we rarely or have not ever really seen before. And to that end, I will say something uncharacteristic of myself;

Go ahead and embarrass Jack to do it.

Make his half-hearted tsundere schtick completely shatter. Show us him actively palling around with the others like he wants to be a closer part of their friend group. Show him doing something cutesy that we never would have guessed he'd do in a million years like cross-stitching. Have him actively talk about how much he cares about everyone. Put him in a situation where he can't keep unconvincingly lying about how he feels anymore. Make there be an active change to how he'll behave later. DO SOMETHING WITH HIS CHARACTER!

That's what I think would be ideal, and that's what I would want the most out of Jack's dream.

(AND THAT'S WHY IT'S NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN!)

There you go, there are some thoughts for you, I hope it'a the sort of thing you were looking for.

Thank you for the ask!

The game developers don't care for Jack, so I'll keep dreaming myself.

#twst #twisted wonderland #twst hot takes #ask response #twst jack #jack howl #twst dream #twst update #twst chapter 7 #wolf boy #justice for jack #twst theory #twst discussion #twst prediction #character discussion

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shepherds-of-haven · 1 year ago

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Unsolicited Writing Advice

Completely random reminder to back up your work, especially if you're a writer, IF or game developer, coder, or creator of any kind. People sometimes ask me what my advice for other writers is, and I always forget to include this one, but it's one of the most important things, especially if your career, livelihood, or long-form projects hinge on writing in any way! Take it from someone who just had two backup methods fail unexpectedly and only the third backup prevented me from losing a solid month of work, you need to back up your work in as many ways as you possibly can. It may seem like a pain in the ass at the time, but I've seen a lot of games or stories stall or fail completely due to a catastrophic loss of data that utterly kills any drive to keep going with the project because of the need to start over. I'M BEGGING YOU, BACK UP YOUR DATA.

I recommend having at least 2, ideally 3 methods of backup:

Automatic cloud storage. I personally prefer working with Dropbox, where every change I save is automatically synced and backed up to a cloud server as well as natively saved on my own device. It also has robust version history, so if you figure out you've done something horrific and unknowingly saved over something important or rewritten a section you weren't supposed to, you can rewind everything in a folder down to a specific minute (over the last 30 days): a feature that has saved my hide just a few too many times for comfort. A free Dropbox account gives you 2 GB of storage to work with. Working within Google Drive works just as well, and the free version gives you 15 GB of storage (though that's shared between your email account and other Google apps, as well)! However, I don't believe it provides automatic syncing and backup the same way Dropbox does: you either have to work directly within a Google doc for your work to be automatically saved to the server, or you have to manually upload the files to your Google Drive to back them up each time.

Physical storage. Every few weeks or months, I also take the time to back up my important files to an external hard drive or thumb drive. Again, it's kind of a hassle, but if the day ever comes that you lose your passwords or find that they've been changed, a company's servers go down or they go bankrupt, they decide to start charging you to access your data, or whatever crazy circumstance you can think of, it's always good to have a physical backup somewhere. A basic 1 TB thumb drive is somewhere around 20$ USD (though it can be slower at that price point if you're transferring a large amount of data each time), and it's even less if you don't need that much storage. A 1 TB external hard drive (which has a much quicker transfer rate) is around 40-50$.

If all else fails, email. If you can't get access to physical storage devices and cloud storage services don't work for you, consider setting up a free Gmail or what-have-you account specifically for backup purposes, then email a copy of your most important files to it every time you make a significant change to them. This may seem sort of primitive and simplistic, but it works, and you can even use it as a little journal or diary of your progress!

Again, you may think this is overkill, but I am convinced that writers are especially prone to proving Murphy's Law and have seen way too many projects, friends, and colleagues fall prey to this oft-overlooked issue. I can count at least half a dozen times where -> my primary device like my laptop broke, failed, became corrupted, had water spilled on it, etc. -> I then turned to my secondary device (hard drive or thumb drive) only to find something was wrong with THAT (broken, outdated, incompatible with currently-owned tech, corrupted, not up-to-date backups) OR I turned to my cloud storage and found something wrong with THAT (unknowingly saved over data and didn't realize it until 3 months later, meaning not even version history could save me) -> and it was only the THIRD method of backing up that saved my ass.

Anyway, this is just your friendly neighborhood writer reminding you to back your work up! It's a necessary part of the job! Thanks for coming to my TEDtalk!

#Shepherds of Haven #writing #writing tips #writing advice

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carabas · 7 days ago

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Sorting out Veilguard thoughts. This is very long, I had mixed feelings about Solas's endings and this is me trying to make Solas's actions and motivations make sense to me through quotes and bullet points.

Basic starting principle of the game: Solas is trapped by regret. We left him at the end of Trespasser heading out on the din'anshiral but not exactly enthusiastic about it, he's conflicted, he doesn't want to break the world again but he feels he has to, the whole plot here grows out of that. He tried to save the world and woke up finding he'd created a nightmare hell world a la the Inquisitor's trip to the terrible future version of Redcliffe, and it's his responsibility to fix that.

Specifically, the problems that make this a nightmare hell world:

The Blight's still here!! The whole point was to trap the Blight and yet it's still leaking into the world, his world-saving plan didn't even get that part right, what the fuck.

Mortality. First spirits took bodies which he had mixed feelings about to begin with, and which was the crime against the Titans which ultimately resulted in the Blight which I can't imagine improved his feelings about it - but also now they die, he is personally responsible for generations of people being permanently trapped in bodies which die, he didn't even want a body in the first place. "Your legends are half-right. We were immortal. It was not the arrival of humans that caused us to begin aging. It was me. The Veil took everything from the elves, even themselves."

A world of Tranquil. It's not just how long mortals live, it's the way they live, with no connection to the Fade outside their dreams. "You saw the remains of Vir Dirthara. The library was intrinsically tied to the Fade, and the Veil destroyed it. There were countless other marvels, all dependent on the presence of the Fade, all destroyed." Instead of those marvels, there's a fear and distrust and ignorance of all things Fade - and there are few things that frustrate Solas as much as ignorance - and that fear of the Fade naturally results in the fear of mages, the whole central plot of DA2, the struggle for mage freedom which Solas was vocal about and which was a big factor in his approval in Inquisition.

The effects on the spirits of the Fade, who Solas sees as people when most of the mortal world does not. ...You know what, I'm just going to copy-paste some longer quotes from Inquisition for this one because this is something that wasn't touched on much at all in Veilguard.

Even in Solas's very early-game conversations with the Inquisitor, he tells us exactly how he sees the effects of the Veil on spirits and how the mortal world relates to them:

Inquisitor: I'd like to know more about the Veil.

Solas: Circle mages call it a barrier between this world and the Fade. But according to my studies in ancient elven lore, that is a vast oversimplification. Without it… Imagine if spirits entered freely, if the Fade was not a place one went but a state of nature like the wind.

Inquisitor: It sounds like it would be wonderful.

Solas: And dangerous, but… yes. A world where imagination defines reality, where spirits are as common as trees or grass. Instead, spirits are strange and fearful, and the Fade is a terrifying world touched only by mages and dreamers. I am glad that I am not alone in seeing the beauty of such a world, along with the obvious peril.

And:

Inquisitor: I’d like to know more about demons.

Solas: The Chantry says that demons hate the natural world and seek to bring their chaos and destruction to the living. But such simplistic labels misconstrue their motivations and, in so doing, do all a great disservice. Spirits wish to join the living, and a demon is that wish gone wrong.

Inquisitor: Is there a way to coexist? To live with them, if not in peace, at least without such active confrontation?

Solas: Not in the world we know today. The Veil creates a barrier that makes true understanding most unlikely. But the question is a good one, and it matters that you thought to ask.

And this was the codex entry description of demonic possession in the first two games, as written by a senior enchanter from Ostwick:

Why do demons seek to possess the living? History claims they are malevolent spirits, the first children of the Maker, angry at their creator for turning from them and jealous of those creations he considered superior. They stare across the Veil at the living and do not understand what they see, yet they know they crave it. They desire life, they pull the living across the Veil when they sleep and prey on their psyche with nightmares. Whenever they can, they cross the Veil into our world to possess it outright. We know that any demon will seek to possess a mage, and upon doing so will create an abomination.

And this was Cole's reaction to discovering the history of the Veil in Trespasser:

Cole: The Veil isn’t real. It’s false, fake, fabricated to forbid. Isn’t it wonderful? It means I belong here! Helping, healing the hurt! I’m not a wrong thing, a wreck, a ruin. I’m what I should be!

...We're repeatedly told throughout the series that spirits desire to be with the living and the Veil is preventing that, for good or ill. Rook's team cares about this in terms of the threat of their world being destroyed by a sudden flood of demons, but from Solas's point of view the spirits belonged here to begin with and it's his mistake that makes coexistence impossible.

But at the same time, the first three games were set in the South - Veilguard shows us the Mourn Watch and Rivaini seers who do coexist with spirits, even with the Veil still in place. Other characters are less comfortable with this, but we're not getting anywhere near the same focus on the fear of spirits and mages here that we saw in the South. The game's just... not really interested in discussing this, we're not focusing on these ongoing effects of the Veil right now in this game about Solas trying to bring the Veil down, sure there's the occasional haunting and plenty of demons to fight but we're treating the ability to coexist with spirits as basically a solved problem in northern Thedas. And we've already put the mage rights plotline to rest in Inquisition. We're done, we're moving on, those parts of Solas's motivation are still important in that Solas's attitude toward spirits is important, but focusing on those problems is not a priority right now.

So of Solas's motivations that we saw back in Inquisition, the outlook now... the Blight's a problem, everyone's on the same page about the Blight being a problem, and in the good ending Solas winds up working on that aspect of the problem - but his other motivations, although they may still be problems, do not look as huge and pressing in Veilguard as they did in Inquisition. We've seen cultures where people and spirits coexist even with the Veil in place; mages in the north seem to be doing fine, at least as far as my Nevarran mage Rook's experience goes, and even in the south the treatment of mages is no longer what it was in the first two games; and the wonders of the Fade may be great but there are also dangers, acknowledged by Solas, and if a lot of people would rather keep the dangers out than bring the wonders or the immortality back in... who has the right to decide that for the whole world?

That's become the sticking point here. It's not really about how to solve the ongoing problems created by the Veil... it's whether they're Solas's problems to solve. And there's plenty of reason for him to answer yes to that, he created the problem to begin with and few other living people even have the knowledge that the Veil is unnatural, much less the ability to fix it - but also, let's be real, his attempts at solving problems have had some extremely fucking questionable results thus far.

And the stance this story has taken is: Solas is imprisoned by regret. Whether the Veil should come down or not, the reason Solas specifically has to walk this path is because of regret. And this story's happiest ending that takes the most effort to unlock is trying to release him from the role his regrets have imprisoned him in. (Relevant parallel: Lucanis carrying his mental prison around with him to the point that Spite can't tell they ever left.)

It's not like the whole world has taken a vote and decided that the Veil is good and immortality/wonders/coexistence with the Fade are not worth it. Obviously the player character of Veilguard is firmly in favor of guarding said Veil, but in Trespasser and the Masked Empire, Solas had agents working for him; in Tevinter Nights, Solas's monster wolf form was followed by an army of Valor and Justice spirits; in Veilguard, Solas said he had a host of spirits ready to help when the Veil fell to minimize the loss of life. For all the reasons Solas believed the Veil must come down, there's room to believe there are other characters on both sides of the Veil who also see those as problems and would presumably still be working on those problems, although that's not the focus of this game. And more people know about the origins of the Veil now, the story of the gods and Titans.

Solas tried to share the truth with the Dalish when he first woke up, but it went badly then; we know the truth now. Maybe if Solas were just a wisdom spirit he could even have been satisfied by sharing that history and having the truth be heard without taking the whole fate of the world on himself - but Solas is not just a wisdom spirit, and he has been defined by both wisdom and pride. He took on a role he never wanted because Mythal asked it of him, he so hates when spirits are twisted away from their purpose and his got complicated the moment he first took a body. Having the truth heard isn't nearly enough to fix this situation, and he needs to fix it, it is his responsibility to fix it, he is trapped by his regrets.

Talking with Rook about Elgar'nan...

Solas: Can you see how he and I might frustrate one another?

Rook: The two of you are too much alike. Both of you want to be in charge.

Solas: I have no desire to be "in charge."

Rook: No, you just want to be able to correct anyone who's not doing everything the way you'd've done it.

Solas: (Chuckles) I see you have been observing me as well during these conversations.

...Rook and their team can come up with a very wide variety of opinions on Solas, but that line did seem to amuse Solas, Rook had a point with that one. That is the place where Solas's wisdom meets pride.

Rook: All right, I can see how you and Elgar'nan would hate each other.

Solas: He has always been what I most feared becoming. Callous and uncaring, his arrogance unchecked. To have that much power and no one to remind him that he could be wrong…

Rook: Well, he had you.

Solas: (Chuckles) And I suppose I had you.

Solas was afraid of becoming like Elgar'nan, more pride than wisdom. He could see the possibility of that happening, the same way spirits become demons. And in the final scene, if he's not convinced to turn away from his path and attempts to tear down the Veil, he sounds very much like Elgar'nan. In the trickery version, Rook calls him out on this and Solas argues against it but then he comes out with these extremely Elgar'nan-like lines:

Solas: You think yourself capable of judging me? I have faced things you could not possibly comprehend! You are a mortal! A mortal! And I am a--(Rook interrupts him by shoving him toward his prison, and then Solas 'chuckles bitterly') I am a fool…

Even more so if Rook fights him instead of tricking him, with Solas declaring that compared to you mortals, he is a god - which Solas was pretty emphatic about denying before. And maybe that's what he was starting to say in the trickery version too before he was interrupted, "I am a--" and then he had a moment to realize what he was saying.

He was a spirit originally, and spirits are changeable by beliefs and expectations, and in this game the attempt to tear down the Veil very much does change him, instantly. The game treats him as a spirit who is being twisted away from his purpose by the act of tearing down the Veil. More than that, his purpose has already been twisted for a very long time, he already had regrets about this in those memories of ancient Elvhenan, talking about how at least the Disruption spirits died without being twisted from their purpose. He was wisdom before he was pride.

So if the bad endings are about Solas being twisted away from his nature by the very thing he feels he must do to save the world - the good ending is the opposite. It's about bringing him closer to the spirit he used to be, by finally putting down the thing that has been twisting him up.

In the good ending, Rook tries to talk Solas around even before Lavellan and Mythal join in - Rook doesn't want to see the world go through even more pain on top of what Elgar'nan has done, the world is broken but breaking the world again is the wrong way to make up for the damage Solas has caused, Solas has a chance right now to save the world by saving the Veil - and this argument is actually tempting to Solas! It's not enough, but he does pause, he thinks about it, he's conflicted, he's been conflicted this whole time, he was already wrestling with this back in Inquisition when he had only just woken up and had only seen a little of this new world, he has never wanted to break the world. He believed he had to.

Solas: I cannot. To stop now would dishonor those I have wronged to come this far.

Lavellan: Even if those you've wronged asked you to stop?

Solas: Vhenan…

Lavellan: You think you've gone too far to come back, but you're wrong. I am here, walking the dinan'shiral with you!

Solas: I lied. I betrayed you.

Lavellan: I forgive you! All you have to do is stop.

Solas: Ir abelas, vhenan… But I cannot.

...He actually paused way longer for Rook's argument about breaking the world than for this. He is more emotional with Lavellan, this did affect him, but that wasn't a convincing argument. I lied, I betrayed you - she tells him she's with him and he gives her a list of reasons she shouldn't be, he can't let himself respond to this right now.

Solas: Long before we met, I failed my oldest friend. She died for that failure. If I leave the Veil in place, I am destroying the world she wanted. And I will have… She will have died for nothing.

He believes the Veil is destroying the world Mythal wanted - and they were the firstborn elves, she invited him to take a body, the union of spirits and the mortal world is integral to his memory of her.

Side note here. If Bellara is in your team when you and Solas are traveling together during the endgame, you get this conversation:

Bellara: All I really want to know is why you killed Mythal.

Solas: The Evanuris killed Mythal.

Bellara: Only the first time. The second time, she was in Flemeth's body, and she didn't want you to destroy the world to avenge her… But you killed her. Was it because she was willing to stop, and you weren't?

Solas: That was not Mythal. It was merely a fragment.

Bellara: Right. That you killed.

…He didn't answer her after that. And now, here at the end of the game, "I will have.... She will have died for nothing," the fact that he killed that merely a fragment of Mythal for this is sticking in his mind, and we saw his regret about that moment plastered on the wall of the Lighthouse, and he is imprisoned by that regret - however conflicted he might feel, he was firmly committed to this path the moment he killed Mythal for a second time.

The final straw, the moment he finally gives up his plan, isn't about the fate of the world at all:

Mythal: I pulled you from the Fade you loved and sent you into war. I used your wisdom as a weapon… and it broke you.

Solas: The things that I have done…

Mythal: Are not for you alone to bear, my friend. The many wrongs we did, we did together. I release you from my service.

For this, he is hunched over and small, like she broke him all over again - maybe he had the right idea and breaking something a second time is the way to fix it in his particular case. He was a wisdom spirit before she sent him to war, before he was the Dread Wolf, before he broke the world trying to save it. He has been at war with one thing or another for a very long time.

Here Lavellan says "There is no fate but the love we share," and he doesn't argue with her this time. He can't look at her yet. He makes a fist. He puts a hand to his brow - was Mythal's vallaslin there once? Lowers his head. Looks at the tear in the Veil. Now he finally looks at Lavellan and the other people standing in front of him, not that fragment of Mythal, Mythal is gone. And then he binds himself to the Veil.

He hasn't let go of his past mistakes, that's not what's happening. He's still got regrets. He is letting go of the Dread Wolf, the role that a spirit of wisdom was twisted into.

Solas: With every breath I take, I will protect the innocent from my past failures. The Titans' dreams are mad from their imprisonment. I cannot kill the blight, but I can help to soothe its anger. I will go and seek atonement.

And then he is finally able to respond to Lavellan's love for him, to make this journey together.

#dragon age #veilguard #da4 spoilers #long post

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spottheantisemitism · 3 months ago

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Magneto and Holocaust Inversion (Many Such Cases)

Case #1: He who fights monsters ( UXM #150 I, Magneto - Chris Claremont)

So this was my first X-men comic I got at a con at a discount so THIS was my introduction to Magneto. I love this comic to bits. It's a great scene

While this sudden breakdown is quite good there's the pieta symbolism between two jews and there's the distinct implication of "I'm no better than the Nazis" in his breakdown (you are allowed to fight me on this as not counting as holocaust inversion)

to pivot Magneto this much Claremont pretty much had to do something akin to holocaust inversion because Lee and Kirby wrote him as a fascist coded character and Claremont couldn't not have Jewish (and Romani?*) holocaust survivor who was likely sonderkommando not realize the irony of his actions.

Also we get more Magneto backstory and depth in ONE PAGE than any comic before and most comics since

Case #2: No equals (Magneto Rex episode 3- Joe Pruitt)

Listen the Genosha metaphor was clumsy when Claremont wrote it but the hands of Joe Pruitt, it sounds like a Soviet psyop about the evil colonizer Jews who like apartheid.

While Pietro is one of the few people who get to say the "you're making us look bad" line and it landing in and out of universe the way it's presented is the most simplistic argument possible

The implication of "he's gone full circle and become the oppressor" is clear and this time painfully intentional. The fact that these people are imprisoned for having legacy virus- the x-men equivalent of aids just makes it all worse

Case #3: A mad old terrorist twat (New X-men: Planet X -Grant Morrison)

^ tw for misgendering Grant Morrison who used he/him at the time of publication but use they/them now.

Many people have pointed out that part of what stings when Morrison separates McKellen from the "schizoid-conflicted" Hitler reborn terrorist twat Magneto is the former is a gentile and therefore more deserving of their respect. The implications that Magneto is like that because his ideas are dumb and out-dated mirrors the way antisemites claim that Jews are gentiles over "their made up fairy tales".

I don't think Morrison is so much an antisemite as the kind of fanenby hypocritical chud who loves the silver age (bad era to fandomize and idolize, Grant) exactly as it was. They love when THEY get to make Beast or Ice man gay but hate when a Jewish writer makes a wannabe dictator a Jewish holocaust survivor. We get it Grant, rules for thee but not for Jews. No, no they'll rewrite the character as literally Hitler to show that only Morrison gets to re-write X-men comics, antisemitic implications be damned.

Well you made one thing clear, Grant sweaty, you hate retcons and the art of Jewish writers whose politics and visions you dislike.

screenshot source:

Case #4: when your boyfriend invokes Godwin's law (House of M: Civil war #3)

I feel like Charles only gets away with this because they're such close friends (who canonically share a room) and he's been through a lot in this issue.

To be fair "you twisting semantics won't save people from fanatics who want genocide" is the BEST comeback to holocaust inversion I've seen in an X-men comic

the framing here is both of them are wrong and Magnus (that's one of Magneto's human names) is clearly in the right about this. The humans may think he's Mutant Hitler but that's because they're projecting

(sorry for making you read sideways and making you read something I took a picture of IRL)

Case #5: The oppressed becomes the oppressor (X-men 97 episode 2)

Magneto's speech in X-97 has been said as a watered down version of his speech in Uncanny X-Men 200

What is pointed out many times is the line where he claims "his own people joined the nazis to betray him". Never expanded upon, never brought up again. There are no other Jewish character in 97, no foils. It feels almost gross and tokenistic, like Marvel wanted Magneto be the good token self-hating Jews. Since at that was the only acceptable type of Jew in early 2024.

I do hope to see a course correction seasons 2 and 3 as something as simple as showing a flashback of his past or just showing a character like Kitty would go a long way to dispel the accidental implication that Magneto thinks all other Jews are evil

*While Magneto's children Wanda and Pietro are explicitly Jewish-Romani everywhere BUT the MCU in some universes like House of M, so is he. These intermarriages happened in Weimar Germany all the time so these universes are quite plausible

#antisemitism #media antisemtism #holocaust inversion #tokenism #tokenization #tw holocaust #tw shoah #weekly essay

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random-chaos-and-stuff · 2 months ago

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Fourth actually drawn Wings of Fire OC here guys! This is Hemlock, a Leafwing/Icewing hybrid!

She’s a bit more simplistic than some of the others, but I like how her face turned out.

Just like always, backstory and lore, abilities, the no background and the outline, and the generation method I used for her under the cut!

Hemlock is a hybrid, her mother being a Leafwing and her father an Icewing. She is often seen as cold or rude, but in all reality that is just how she was raised, and towards those that gain her trust she is very supportive and loving. She grew up in the poison jungle for the most part, with occasional trips to the icy outskirts of the ice kingdom. Her mother was a poisonwing Leafwing, and very protective over her only dragonet as a result of the harsh environment of the jungle, training her how to hunt and be self sufficient from a young age. She is also rather adventurous, loving to explore new places, often coming home with stories and trinkets to share with other dragons.

She has a reputation for being dangerous and powerful, one that is well deserved, with her Icewing sharp claws and unusually sharp for a Leafwing spines, and the spikes on her tail. She can withstand fridged temperatures, though not as well as her father, and is an excellent climber. She got most of her build from her Leafwing mother, but alongside the traits mentioned above her Icewing side shines through in the indented webbing on her wings and the end of her tail, her pale coloration, and her grey-blue eyes.

She is also, surprisingly enough, an animus. It is believed that her father carried the long dormant gene, passing it down to his daughter, where it for some reason became active. She often uses this ability to help herself and her community, with a special love for one young hybrid, Cactus, who has eagerly deemed Hemlock her best friend, despite Hemlock being a grown adult. Hemlock also used her magic to give herself an ability. She had hatched without leafspeak, or any real abilities other than her magic, and often longed to have something like it. So, she gave herself a new ability, similar to leafspeak, allowing her to grow plants wherever she pleased, including the fridged arctic where they should have frozen solid and died, as well as manipulating the ice to grow like plants with leafspeak. She also once used her magic to imbed into her face, three on each side under her eyes. The rubies had been a gift from her father, a higher ranking Icewing in the ice kingdom, as a symbol of status.

Yeesh, that was a long one, but at least it’s properly spaced now to an extent. I named her for her colors, and the fact that Hemlock can grow in cold temperatures, and is a poisonous plant. I had trouble with the name for a while, until I basically rubber ducked at @spookys1fan for a name, and some research on cold growing poisonous plants, thank you for tolerating my yapping messages!

She is a good example of why I like drawing hybrids, because I can play with the features more, and pick and choose how I want different features from each dragon to interact.

Here is the no background version and the outline, as promised!

Tumblr fried the quality on these, so click for better quality and all of that. I went at this with a basic idea for her colors, but it took me a bit to get them just right and make them interact well.

And finally, as promised, the generation method I used! I used a generator sheet made by HoneyBeest, which is really fun, and really helps when I get art block and want to make a new OC.

Reblogs are appreciated, but please don’t repost on other websites without credit! Also, feel free to use her/draw her if you like her design. Writing, drawing, ect. as long as you give me credit as her original creator.

#wof #wof art #wof oc #wof hybrid #wings of fire #leafwing icewing hybrid #leafwing #icewing #my art #This took longer than I meant it to only because I was busy and also procrastinating #Honestly I think her outline looks best but it overall came out good #Edited because I realized I made a coloring mistake with one of the wing claws

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multigenderswag · 1 year ago

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Survey Results: Genders

Questioning

The first question asked participants to indicate whether they were multigender or were questioning. 1196 participants (81.03%) identified as multigender, while 280 (18.97%) were questioning whether they identified as multigender.

Gender categories & combinations

Every gender given was sorted into one of five categories: Fully male, fully female, partially male, partially female, and not binary at all. The following data describes which combination of gender categories people had.

Note on categorization: Although not all people who are men or boys identify with the term “male,” and not all people who are women or girls identify with the term “female,” men and boys were categorized as fully male and women and girls were categorized as fully female for ease of simplicity. People who identified as “everything” or “all genders” were categorized as both fully male and fully female. Demiboys and demigirls, as well as other gender microlabels that were connected to maleness or femaleness, were categorized as partially male and partially female. Genders not at all connected to maleness or femaleness were categorized as “not binary.” It was impossible to know how each person considered themself beyond the options they selected and the labels written into the “other” option, but that information was used to find the closest likely option. Every gender is unique, and it is very simplistic to divide gender into these categories, but this simplicity is necessary for useful data. Otherwise, I would have nearly 1500 different categories.

All participants were divided into one of the following nine categories:

Fully male and fully female (532 participants, 36.04%)

Partially male and partially female (110 participants, 7.45%)

Fully male and partially female (134 participants, 9.08%)

Partially male and fully female (29 participants, 1.96%)

Fully male and not binary (288 participants, 19.51%)

Partially male and not binary (89 participants, 6.03%)

Fully female and not binary (68 participants, 4.61%)

Partially female and not binary (62 participants, 4.20%)

No binary genders at all (164 participants, 11.11%)

[id: a pie chart representing the above data, in the colors of the gilbert baker pride flag]

To display the number of binary genders that each participant had, this data was divided into larger categories of “both binary genders,” “one binary gender,” and “neither binary gender.” This was done twice. In one version, “binary genders” only included people who were fully that gender. In the other, “binary genders” included people who were fully or partially that gender.

Both binary genders, fully (532 participants, 36.04%)

1 binary gender, fully (540 participants, 36.59%)

Neither binary gender (404 participants, 27.37%)

[id: a pie chart representing the above data, in the colors of the trans pride flag]

Both binary genders, partially or fully (805 participants, 54.54%)

1 binary gender, partially or fully (507 participants, 34.35%)

Neither binary gender at all (164 participants, 11.11%)

[id: a pie chart representing the above data, in the colors of the trans pride flag]

Multigender people who were, in some capacity, both male and female made up the majority of respondents, but it was not a very strong majority. This is an indication that multigender identities not composed of a male/masculine gender and a female/feminine gender are more common than many people would likely expect, based on an informal tumblr poll.

Gender modality

Gender modality refers to the relationship between someone’s gender identity and what they were assigned at birth. The most common gender modalities are cisgender and transgender, but for many multigender people, it is more complicated than that. This question asked “Which of these gender modality terms do you identify with?” and allowed for participants to select multiple options.

A majority of participants identified as trans, with 1197 people selecting that option (81.10%). Additionally, 90 participants (6.10%) identified as cis.

Gender modality terms beyond trans and cis were also popular among participants. The most common of these terms was transfemmasc, an identity referring to people who identify as both transmasculine and transfeminine. 212 participants (14.36%) identified as transfemmasc. 70 participants (4.74%) identified as isogender, an identity referring to people who are neither transgender nor cisgender, and 82 participants (5.56%) identified as both transgender and cisgender. 164 participants (11.11%) did not identify with any gender modality terms.

An “other” option allowed for participants to write additional gender modality terms they identified with. 15 participants (1.02%) wrote in “genderqueer” as their gender modality. Additionally, 6 participants stated that their intersex identity factored into their gender modality.

#survey stuff #survey results #multigender math #multigender #gender modality #non male/female multigender identities

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adobe-outdesign · 10 months ago

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What do you think of the various fruit and vegetable Chias?

Chias are one of those all-time classic Neopets that are probably one of the first things that pop in your head when you think of the site (or they are for me, at least). Design-wise, they're about as simple as you get; a simple oval-ish torso with basic feet and arms, a bit of hair, and permanently closed eyes.

I'd argue that what makes them so memorable is less their design and more their other attributes—for example, their fruit colors (more on that below) and their tendency to get hunted by Lupes. Adding traits like that to a pet helps them stand out amongst other Neopets and is just fun all around.

I'd argue that Chias benefited from customization, because while they were saddled with a fist, they also had very old art that needed updated anyway. The converted design is pretty faithful to the original, just doing things like improving the shading, lengthening the arms so they don't look so stubby, detailing the hair more, etc. It also fixed a lot of the weird, misshaped parts of the original, such as the right foot and even the overall body.

The big improvement though was removing the godforsaken lip. It just looked so out of place and weirdly detailed for an otherwise very simplistic pet, and while it's nice that it drew the darker accent color through the design, it definitely looks better without it. Granted, I do wish that the converted mouth was up a bit closer to the eyes and the eyes were a bit more curved like the original, but I'll take what we got if it means that lip isn't there.

Favorite Colours:

One of the Chia's most iconic attributes is that they can be changed into a variety of fruit and veg shapes, both real and fantasy, via Magical Chia Pops. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of good non-fruit/veg Chia colors (I love how Maraquan's a sea cucumber, how Relic has ferns for hair, etc.), but if you're getting a Chia, there's a pretty good chance you're after the fruit/veg designs. They're all pretty good, but for the purposes of this review I just picked out the ones I think are particularly interesting.

Onion: Onion is a super basic design, yet it still manages to delight me. I think it's the lack of arms; it's the only Chia color that doesn't retain them, and something about that just makes it 100% more appealing. I also like how nicely the feet compliment the body and some of the subtler details, like the striping.

Pepper: While lots of Chias change shape, the pepper Chia is probably one of the most extreme examples of this, and all the better for it. I love how skinny it is compared to a regular Chia, and things like the stem shape really add to the design. I also have to highlight the shading and highlights, which are particularly well done here, and how there's some very subtle speckling over the body that helps the design from feeling too flat.

Juppie: Rounding off the list with a Neopets-specific fruit, the Juppie Chia actually existed pre-customization but went unreleased for years. I'm honestly not sure why; it's a great addition. Perhaps it's because, while juppies come in a lot of colors, this blue swirled design is exclusive to the Juppie Chia. At any rate, it's nice to see an iconic Neopets' fruit get a colour, and I really like how striking the swirls and the cream/blue palette art.

BONUS: While I think the body's a bit too ovular (something that the pre-conversion version didn't have going on) and the shading's pretty rudimentary, the pea Chia is fun and iconic in its own right just because it's extremely tiny and looks like a super attack pea. Good stuff.

#neopets #neotag #neopet reviews #chia

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eyeris-moni · 27 days ago

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are jeff and raz.. kissboys..???!?!

This ask's wording had me DYING HELP

Forever adding that to my mental dictionary HAHAHA

I have to be completely honest with you, I myself have no hecking clue what their relationship is.

And I HAVE TRIED TO FIGURE OUT OK OTL

The TLDR is that I don't know!! and that you're welcome to HC and see them how you want as of now.

My own reins are loose and I just draw what feels in character (:

Thought-vomit below in case you want to hear my thoughts on it. It's long because i cannot for the life of me remember how much I've talked about before--

__________________

Most of the time I'm more focused on exploring the intricate, intimate feelings of their dynamic (something I just can't do justice with a couple of doodles here and there aughh).

Like--

Let's talk about the almost infantilized elements of Raz's repressed nature.

(Btw, this is not an issue to me - don't feel bad if you genuinely, or even on a meme level, refer to him as a baby. From Raz's perspective, that's how you're meant to, and in turn, that's the narrative I often draw. I draw him cute - he is cute!)

Every character, viewer included, is invited to see Raz as 'babi OwO', because that's a part of Raz's wants. When he feels threatening, he will literally make himself smaller, visually plead for you to see him that way.

Not because he is a tiny baby, but because he has learnt that doing so makes people nicer to him. He doesn't actually ever become a child. Instead he will look the part to spark care in others, and adapt a very simplistic worldview when needed. Not because he cannot grasp anything more complicated, but because it's too distressing to do so!

Like imagine how you might start thinking politics in term of simple 'bad' vs. 'good'. Not because there isn't nuance, but because it's stressful and exhausting and takes away your ability to be happy.

Sometimes Raz does that, but instead of it being politics, it's everything!

And I think it's genuinely interesting how Jeff kind of knows this and once he gets an idea of how it works, he doesn't coddle or treat Raz like a child.

In part because he's a stubborn asshole and kind of refuses to infantilize Raz beyond what is 'healthy'.

He learns to treat Raz as an adult, but obviously simplifies and helps out when Raz is overwhelmed. Example:

The rest of the times he and EJ do their best to help Raz learn how to be responsible and build healthier relationship. How to be self-sufficient.

And it's important because it's Jeff that's pushing for Slender to let him into the mansion, arguing that Raz isn't just a kid, but an adult that can take responsibility for his actions. He's pushing and arguing for Raz to be viewed the same way Jeff knows he can be, capable and responsible.

THAT IS ALL TO SAY I find it genuinely interesting and endearing how Jeff is able to connect with Raz (by being a stubborn asshole) and in turn helps Raz by holding him accountable. To see the glimpses of Ezca before they ever truly met, and how he shuts down Raz's unhealthy habits of making himself smaller, while idolizing everyone around him.

It's cool and I do think it makes their specific relationship special.

I mostly talked about Jeff's influence on Raz, but I could also talk for hours about how my version of Jeff slowly learns to be more patient and more emotional from Raz being around. (I imagine he lost a lot of his ability to be emotional ever since he entered a pact with Slenderman.)

I think their friendship is really cool and complicated and full of little intricate parts and having to label that is HARD GKDNDN

I wouldn't know if there's anything romantic in there - I've never drawn anything with that explicitly in mind?

But I draw them very close! Raz enjoys physical touch and closeness, and as they learn to work together, (especially post roadtrip together,) Jeff is kinda chill having Raz just laying/hanging/sitting around and on him.

Really the one concerned should be Raz because lord knows when Jeff last has showered and washed his clothes but i guess that's a benefit of being non-human NFKDNSJS

_________

I'm so sorry for the insanely long rambly answers!

I've been walking around with these characters in my head for years and it's HARD EXPLAINING STUFF

Also yall keep asking genuinely interesting question about them and the fan/nerd in me desires to make sure I cover my bases-

#asks #creepypasta #creepypasta oc #oc #razcaberry #jeff the killer #help im sorry you just asked a funny silly question and i gave you a ted talk #ITS BEEN ON MY MIND FOR THREE ISH YEARS #OTL they're just sooooo... i have many thonks

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it-happened-one-fic · 2 months ago

Text

Dancing With Visions - Just as Fun - Itto - Ballroom Salsa

Author Notes: Writing Itto is, as always, difficult. And that is even considering that he ended up doing a lively dance like a ballroom salsa. The dance in this fic was heavily inspired by Kiki and Koine’s Salsa to “Dança Molengo” by Bonde do Rolê on season 14, week 4 of “So You Think You Can Dance.” Just like the rest of this series, Reader is female. I hope you enjoy!

If you would like to read more of this series, the fics can be found here: Dancing with Visions Masterlist.

Type: Female reader/ dance/ fluff/ sfw

Word Count: 1329

We watched quietly as Shinobu performed her dance. Itto and the boys all swaying and lightly boogieing to the music, proud of her for having done so well throughout her dance lessons.

It had been months ago that Itto had announced that he had somehow won dance lessons for everyone in some sort of game, and we’d all gone to choose exactly what dances we’d learn.

Shinobu had chosen the foxtrot and had quickly excelled through her lessons. Carrying herself well and picking up on the varying cues quickly.

Most of the guys had chosen more simplistic dances for their par, such as the hustle. But then there was Itto, who had pointed at a particularly flashy sign with a wide grin on his face, “How about that one?”

I’d blinked at the bright red letters before turning and looking at him uncertainly, my eyebrows lifting since I knew perfectly well that whatever dance he picked, I was going to be his partner, “You want to learn salsa?”

He’d just shrugged, happy all the while, “I like the sauce; why not try the dance?”

And that was how we’d ended up learning to dance the salsa. A fun, energetic dance that was actually a surprisingly good fit for the boisterous Itto, who was already tugging my hand excitedly. Letting me know it was our turn to dance.

In some ways, it was like our final test. Having to perform in front of the other gang members to show that we really had learned how to at least cobble together a performance.

“Ready to get out done?” Itto crossed his arms as he grinned down at Shinobu as she shifted to where we’d just been standing. Leaving the dance floor open for the two of us.

She shook her head slightly at his words, knowing perfectly well he was proud of her despite what he might say as she glanced my way. I smiled at her, bobbing my head and whispering, “Great job!”

Itto stepped away from my side, flashing me a grin as we reached the center of the floor. The music was already getting started as I turned my back to him, rolling my shoulders slightly to prepare myself.

Salsa dancing was, at its heart, fun for simple fun’s sake. It was a social dance, though I wasn’t sure I would ever be willing to dance with a total stranger. That honestly seemed like a horrible accident just waiting to happen since, bluntly put, neither I nor Itto were the best dancers.

We’d just done well enough to pass the class and had fun all the way.

And for our performance, he and Itto weren’t actually going to be the street version of salsa dancing. Instead, Itto had been all but desperate to make use of the complicated lifts simply because he could.

Being an oni did mean he was incredibly strong, after all. So while I might not have trusted any other person, I did trust him.

He rested his hands on my waist, and I barely even had to hop to help him as he lifted me straight up. Tossing me lightly into the air as I spread my legs into a split and landed, his arms wrapped around my legs as I bent at the waist. Rolling my body down and locking my arms around his legs as he bent and released me to tumble forward before turning to face me.

He was still grinning at me as we both made it back to our feet and shifted until we were standing side by side, starting into the steady footwork and rolling hip motions the salsa was known for. Even if they weren’t perfect.

We spun side by side, turning to face one another with matching grins as we mirrored one another’s footwork.

Itto’s eyes were already bright with joy even though we’d only just started dancing, and I found myself having to suppress my laughter as I watched him. Half amused by the way he leaned forward as if that could help him better mimic my motions.

We shifted, trading sides of the stage before he darted across the stage and grabbed me, catching my leg as I went into a standing split.

We were only holding onto each other for a brief moment though before we parted to resume our side-by-side footwork. Matching the lighthearted, lively beat of the music that played behind us.

He shifted to the side, and I turned, bending forward and putting my hands on the ground as my legs came up and towards him, only for him to catch my legs.

I bent at the knees, pushing myself upwards, reaching out and wrapping my arms around his neck right as he dropped my legs off his shoulders.

I leaned forward reflexively as he grasped my waist, laughing loudly as he pivoted on the floor with me before letting go.

He spun, putting distance between us before he reached back and grabbed my outstretched hand. He pulled me back towards him and twirled me rapidly until we’d exchanged sides of the stage yet again.

I shifted back in front of him though, facing the gang as he stood behind me still holding my hands as we continued our rapid footwork.

This had been one of the more difficult areas for us. Matching one another’s footwork while I couldn’t see him. And even now, I honestly suspected that it wasn’t perfect.

He let go of my hands, and I dropped into a seated position in front of him. Leaning to the side to look up at him as he stepped around and held out his hands to me with a wide grin.

I smiled back at him as I reached up, slipping my hands into his and letting him hoist me up with absolutely no difficulty until I was perched on his shoulders. His hands still holding mine on either side of his head out in front of him.

Even Shinobu chuckled along to the rest of the gang’s cheers as he strained, looking up at me with a proud grin on his face that had me laughing slightly at him.

Dancing with Itto was just as fun as one would expect it to be, and it was really just an added bonus that we sort of halfway knew how to do a decent job now.

I slowly leaned forward, letting myself tip over as Itto released my hands to catch my waist as I rolled my way back down to the ground. Half-giggling over how easily Itto could support me.

He spun, seemingly more elated than ever now that I was laughing as he took my hands once more and spun me again. Shifting around behind me so that I had to look over my shoulder to make eye contact with his smiling face.

He spun me rapidly, letting go of my hands so that I was free to cross the stage. Leaving him to follow after me. Catching up easily and grabbing my hand so that he could spin me towards me before I gave a little hop.

He caught me easily as he continued to spin with me, my legs wrapping around his waist and my arms wrapping around his neck as he spun across the stage with me.

And in no way, were our motions perfectly elegant, but I don’t think either of us really cared. We weren’t doing this to be professionals or anything even close to it. We were doing this solely for the fun of it.

I leaned back, smiling upside-down at the gang as Itto swung me around in a circle before pulling me back up into our makeshift hug before swinging me off him.

I danced around him, letting my hand slide along his shoulders until I reached his other side, where he spun me once more. Pulling me towards him right as the music stopped and we both started laughing.

If you would like to read more:

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toyouhellohowareyou · 20 days ago

Note

Here's your ⭐

Director's cut!

Okay, so I pestered Dark to pick a fic and we're going with

Mandatory Puppy Pile

So let's get to it.

So Depletion was the first fic of @somer-writes I can remember reading. Halfway through reading I started leaving dumbass comments and getting dumbass replies.

Depletion is about the Chain being so damn hurt and exhausted and filthy they're all ready to strangle each other. Twilight, in his sleep deprived state, drags everyone together while they're sleeping despite the fact some of them very much want to not be around anyone else right now, and waking up to find you've been moved is a bit not good.

The Gang Discuss ✨Consent✨

The non-consensual puppy pile joke was born somewhere in the comments there, and eventually I had enough material to do something with it, it was also a couple of weeks after Somer's birthday and Skip (hi Skip!) had gotten us on a server together by this point. The fic summary is almost word for word the first thing I said about it in the chat.

This thing went through a lot of names, the original was Non-Consensual Puppy Pile, but it was also 'enforced', and 'compulsory' in various versions. Title change to avoid misunderstanding lol.

This one's kinda hard to breakdown because it's comedy lol. This is the funniest thing I've got published for sure. It's my second most popular by most metrics after Moon Pearls.

Okay!

The reason I did most things is "because I thought it'd be funny"

Fake out intro? 'cause I thought it'd be funny.

Four's the main narrator as I needed someone who was going to observe without getting involved in things too much and I was comfortable writing him.

Wars is the main secondary because somer ships 'em lol.

I mostly plotted this cackling to myself in my car during my commute.

The boys are jetlaggedddddddd. I couldn't use the word 'jetlag' but that's what it was.

Sky is sleeping because it's in character and cuts down the number of characters. Similar to Time faking it, the man cannot be fucked with this. He is eepy, let him rest.

Wars thinks being boring when it’s perfectly acceptable to be losing your shit is what makes you an adult. He's not entirely wrong though.

Legend tries to escape by playing fetch. There's a 'Legend tries to make fetch happen' tag no one has ever commented on but I like it.

“LEGEND TURNED INTO A RABBIT!” wails Wind.

Legend looks at himself, looks at them, runs some calculation in his head, then joins in the wailing, “TWILIGHT CAN TURN PEOPLE INTO RABBITS!” Legend immediately throwing Twi under a bus to protect his secret. The gang now believe Twilight can turn people into rabbits. This is never questioned.

Twi refusing to stop staring at Wars as he tries to take a leak and everyone giggling about it. I have no excuse.

TWILIGHT POV This was fun and is most people's fav bit. He's a good boy mmmk? He's a good provider. He loves them so much. This was the original premise. He's such a dumbass, I love you wolfbrain Twi.

He leaps on it, sinking his teeth into the back of its neck. His teeth are so bad at this today! He picks up a rock and hits it many times. So noisy! But it works! I love this line okay? The mental image, he tried to chew through the back of it's neck then bludgeoned the poor thing to death when that didn't work. The boar is screaming, the children are screaming, the tone is so casual and simplistic. lol

The puppies scream in delight.

“TWILIGHT, WHAT THE FUCK?!”

They are not eating? Ah. They are too little. He needs to break it up for them. He grabs a leg and wrenches it.

“GODDESS’ MERCY AT LEAST LET ME USE A KNIFE, TWILIGHT!”

More delighted screaming.

This is most people's favourite bit including mine. Twi brain says one thing, dialogue says another lol.

Smallest puppy takes it delicately, “Thanks, Twi. Good boy.” Four just runs with it

Four is secret MVP in a lot of my stuff including this because he has The Braincell and a bit of chill. In love the boys being friends and bouncing off each other and knowing each other. Them plotting revenge against each other constantly is part of this.

Again it's Wars with Twi for the shippin'.

Wind's “This group is a nightmare, I haaaaaaate you!” Is another Depletion joke, but it was about Legend in that.

How to end it? We go full circle, Twi wakes up and is told not to let any of them leave by Sky who missed all the drama and the reason why.

He loves them so much ❤️

#lu fanfiction

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