#I have so many ideas for animatics I'll probably never make now!

[browniesnivy]

I wouldn't normally post about something like this, but I made a Disco Elysium playlist and I'm really proud of how it turned out! Hope y'all will enjoy it too ^^

[neflil]

Aah here is the text post...

The usual couple doodles ::D

And future projects / catching up vv

*taps mic* Yaelokre gabbro makes a return. Also new song is out! Go listen to it if you haven't jshfjjs

Just gabbooo :3c

Okay so, gather up everyone. Schools started, I suddenly have to study and memorize two latin texts within a few days, history, and ancient Greek philosophy analyses and translations. Not fun, kinda! I don't have as much time as I did during summer and I can't finish a full drawing within a day. *But* ideas are as vivid as ever. And honestly I really want to do some of the stuff I'm imagining. Some are already in the works !!! These are mostly gabbro/time buddies related. Sorry fans of other characters but I spent the entire summer only drawing slate </3

Sooo... What to expect from me? Well:

• I'm writing a short fic! Which is close to being done- Without saying much- a replay of certain memories before the eventual death/creation of everything.

• I am currently doing an OC piece with two owlks ::D this should probably be next post if I finish it soon!

• More short animatics. Cus I have... So many songs... That I want to draw with the time buddies. Short ranging from a couple of seconds, to maybe a minute, so don't expect much. All I'll say is- guhhh y'all better enjoy flower face because all of these are with her songs lmfao..

> There are two songs atleast that I want to make almost full animatics, but that's probably not going to happen, so instead I'll take sections from them.

> Two lyrics from the same song I made last time buddies animatic. Cus I had a vision and I must fulfil it. If this continues, at this rate I'll animate the entire song every time I get struck with a vision, part by part lmfao.

> A possible gabbro centric animatic with the chorus of a song.

• And well, more school doodles/drawings ofc.. but those are kinda random. Please, if you have any suggestions drop them in my ask box!

• A certain fic might get an animatic. I won't elaborate on this. Patience.

• Lastly Mica and Slate piece, bc apparently I've never drawn them and that should be a crime. Some fluff to break up all this incoming angst.

These have a priority list ofc, but the way I work is pretty much spontaneous. So whatever I'm up for will take priority. It'll take time but I hope to have finished all of these within the next couple of months. We'll see how things go... I also have to balance other things and art in-between so blehhh. It's a mess.

Reminder if anyone wants to browse through my art easier without having to go through my entire account- the tag #noofposting is here for that reason. o7

Also also, since I now have these two animatics and more to come- to not get lost in my acc, I'll also tag them with #noofanimatics to be able to filter through my stuff easier.

[acaciapines]

for the ask game, answer whichever of these speak to you the most: 4, 5, 11, 14 :D

HI ASH MY LOVE ASH.

oh they ALWAYS speak to me. i answer All. i will not be contained.

4. How many WIPs do you have right now?

actually shockingly few! ever since i finished my big owl house editing pass back in june i've not done a whole lot in terms of projects...and recently i've been playing rain world so instead of writing im playing rain world like 24/7. currently my only main project is the dess raises kris au, and in that 'verse the only thing i'm writing right now is a dess/chara relationship study. i WOULD finish it, but, uh. rain world. (<- guy who is trying so hard not to write rain world fic. i probably wont but also i am always tormented by ideas. but consider i have to tell the story of my slugpup scooter SCOOTER I WONT EVER FORGET YOU--)

5. What's a fic idea you've had that you will never write?

probably countless that i do not remember right now! but digging around through my drafts, i've got a few deltarune daemon aus that won't ever see the light of day...one of them was a fangame where the player played as one of kris's two daemons, and the other was a fic where ralsei was kris's daemon. the ideas from there have basically been repurposed elsewhere--a lot of my kris&ralsei stuff went into various works, and the fangame stuff is being reworked into the dess raises kris au.

beyond that, in terms of things that are actually abandoned and won't be used elsewhere, there are so many daemon aus that i've left behind for one reason or another, though the gravity falls transcendence au is the one that i think was the best...that one postcanon his dark materials fic i was gonna write where lyra and pan return to will's world and cause general shenanigans there with him and kirjava...a vera-centric son of sea foam wings of fire au because vera is the love of my life and i was rereading wings of fire bc i felt nostalgic....oh my god fantasy high SOPHOMORE YEAR FIC, which i tried to start TWICE, once from fig's pov and once from ayda's that was their road trip back home and i have some very funny snippets from...MY INFINITY TRAIN DAEMON AU WAIT THAT ONE STILL GOES SO HARD ACTUALLY. okay drop everything ive ever said the fact that i never wrote my infinity train book two daemon au is a travesty. i was cooking with that one.

11. Do you have specific playlists for writing fics?

sort of! i usually always have at least one or two songs i connect to any given fic, but in terms of what i listen to when actually WRITING, it's changed over the years. i used to put on compilations of video game music--usually utdr, pmd, and then just whatever got recommended to me lol--then i did like. those character playlists people make on youtube? mostly bc they tended to pull from the same pool of songs so it became good background noise lol. now i use the youtube mix or whatever its called for a similar reason--it tends to play the same handful of songs ive listened to a lot, so they dont distract me.

14. If you could see one of your fics adapted into a visual medium, such as comic or film, which fan fic would you pick?

oh i LOVE this question, and it would be without a doubt my nimona daemon au oh, are you at all like me. nimona itself is obviously both a comic and a movie, and i'd say animated film since the fic follows the movie plot more--i think there'd be a LOT of really cool scenes you could get with that fic. i also think i could make killer animatics based on my fics if i could draw good enough <3 and thats not a joke i have scripts and sketch storyboards and everything. maybe one day i'll finish one of those.

[ilovedthestars]

I don’t know how to do this but for your ask game, Mensah?

Hi Bardic!! don't worry, you did a great job!!

(Send me a character ask game)

First impression

The thing with Murderbot fandom is that I saw a lot of fandom stuff before I actually read the books, so my first impressions were largely formed by other people's analysis. So...probably the general fandom consensus that she's competent, caring, and a Favorite Human not only of Murderbot but many readers as well.

Impression now

I love her!! I like all the PresAux humans for different reasons, but if I have to pick a favorite, it's probably Mensah. She's admirable in so many ways, but still has faults--like the assumptions she makes about what Murderbot wants at the end of ASR, which she learns from after it leaves. She feels so human, which is both a sign of excellent character writing and a perfect counterpoint to Murderbot and its blend of humanness and inhumanity.

Favorite moment

Oh, there are so many to choose from. If I have to pick...something from Exit Strategy, which pre-System Collapse was probably my favorite book in the series (and could still give SC a run for its money). I can't decide between that moment of reunion--the ping, the tell me your name, the hug--and that moment in the shuttle when she grabs it by the collar and tells it No. It probably has to be that one--I will never be over the moment when Murderbot realizes she isn't afraid of it, and it doesn't want her to be.

Idea for a story

Besides that animatic I had in the works a while back (i have no idea when I'll get back to it, but I hope to someday)...

I had a fic idea a while back, inspired by other fic authors' takes on a similar idea, where Mensah talks to an old associate who works with augments, and arranges a way for Murderbot to have its company logos removed. I second-guessed how to handle various aspects of that a lot, but I did enjoy the Emotions it included. It's on the big pile of Things I May Or May Not Ever Finish Writing, alas (but I'd be willing to dig it up and share some snips if anyone's interested)

Unpopular opinion

I don't think Mensah is that controversial lol? I guess maybe...as much as I like ART, I do wish we got to spend more time with Mensah and Murderbot, on Preservation (or elsewhere). They mean a lot to each other, and I would love to linger with their relationship more. I can hope for her to return in future books, although it seems unlikely she'll appear in the next one. Speaking of which, I wanted a little more closure with her and Murderbot at the end of System Collapse (which is why I ended up writing it myself when given the chance for the gift exchange)

Favorite relationship

Murderbot & Mensah, no question. They are peak platonic love and deep, deep care for each other that mostly goes unspoken but is always, always felt. She was one of the first people to really see it, to know it as a person. It ran away from her and then turned back to save her life yet again. She trusts it with her life. It trusts her with its safety. She's its favorite human. They gave us the phrase "I really like you, not in a weird way" as a way for all us fans to say we love each other like they love each other. They make my little aro heart so happy <3

Favorite headcanon

....I'm drawing a blank on this one, honestly? I have trouble drawing the line between a personal interpretation of canon and a headcanon sometimes. But I can't think of anything specific that I headcanon about Mensah.

Thank you for the ask! <3

[bosskie]

Molluck Love Music Video

Man, I don't know how to start explaining this thing... But I try!

I gotta blame one person on TikTok for inspiring me since this song, Katy Perry - E.T., was used for one lil Molluck video there... (I don't use it but of course I have searched for Molluck stuff even there!) It was already some time ago but it did remind me of this song's existence (last time I heard it was like ten years ago) and it kept living there somewhere. And yeah, this is my own edit of the song... I actually just edited the song for fun like this since I like those slowed 'n' pitch shifted down versions... (I actually edited the song for making it more suitable for me, 'a male/gay version', you know, but I made this laughing.) But then I just got this silly idea to make 'a music video' from this. I didn't mean to do this long version but well, still felt like doing a longer version. I didn't do the full song since there just ain't enough material and there barely is any new lyrics after this point. It was already challenging to do this long one but I'm pleased with this.

This took longer to do than I thought, probably 10+ hours, if not close to 20 hours... Editing takes lots of time! So, that's why I also feel like showing this, even this is, yet again, my own self-insert thing without me being 'present'. I have never done a music video like this before, so this was something new 'n' interesting! There are still some minor flaws but I let them be (you cannot see all the stuff until you render...). Oh, and I got my new workstation PC now and yeah, I did finish this project on it... Man, I'm impressed! I'm going to go back to Blender stuff soon since I can finally use it smoothly!

But about the video itself... I see that there are many ways to understand the messages I put into this since almost all my video clip decisions have a meaning behind them. But I also see that there's at least two ways to understand the song itself too in this context. Like, it can be understood as a duet or the lyrics being only from me (or Molluck). I just bet that a human could look 'alien' to a Glukkon, so that word can be understood in both ways. Oh, and yeah, this is kinda suggestive on purpose... I also just loved to look at Molluck while editing this and looking those cutscenes even closer made my heart like burst... He is just so beautiful! Yeah, I just... really want this Gluk... He is a masterpiece to me!

Man, I really like doing videos and editing but I barely do it... So, after I have gotten some animatable 3D models done, I really wanna start making some short films, like cutscenes. That's basically one reason why I got that new PC, that I can really create stuff properly and in high detail. Like, I have written that one song for Molluck but haven't actually made it but it would be cool to create it and do a music video from it! Yeah, it would still be a self-insert thing but... I'll see that. It's just quite personal in a sense of that it's about how much he means to me and how much I love him. Yeah, frankly, this Gluk just means like the world to me...

Also man, it's rare that I feel kinda addicted to what I have created... I mean, I have been watching this video quite many times... And yeah, the song is my earworm right now too... My edit I mean... I feel like I like it even more than the original. But yeah, it's just that I really love to look at this Gluk... I don't know if I do more stuff like this or if I just make more videos with my own 3D models. The thing is still that I wanna make more Molluck videos!

I gotta say that, for me, it's actually surprising how little Molluck stuff there is these days, if you don't count me I mean... Quite many seemed to think that he is hot and/or were in love with him when Soulstorm was released... Well, yeah, like I said, they seemed to be 'in love' with him since it didn't last long, it seems like that. But I bet the other Molluck lovers are just quiet (meaning content creation) or he just ain't their main character interest right now... I don't still mind being like the only Molluck content creator. The main thing is just that he gets love! I know that some people cannot understand this but it's fine. Oh, and don't take me 100 % seriously... I also make fun of my Molluck thing, laugh at myself and I also make fun of Molluck too but only with love! I'm sending love, hugs, and kisses to Molluck every day! Yeah, I do still have other stuff in my life too but let's say that I kinda live with Molluck inside my head... He is just the love of my life. 💞

Yeah, I'm just yet again spreading Molluck love... I really don't know what you think about this but I still never thought that I would be supported with my Molluck thing... I'm quite used to that like no one cares about my creations or feel like no one even cares about that I create stuff... I mean before this blog it was like that, but it's still difficult to change my thinking with this since I basically have also a trauma from being left all alone, expect by my family... I have just been 'too different'... I'm so used to be all alone... But Molluck relieves this a lot since I can identify with him and probably he could also feel like he has someone who understand him, me. I just feel like Molluck might be misunderstood often, which also can make him easily irritated... I just see Molluck in a 'humane' way.

But yeah, I guess that this is enough for now. Just some Molluck stuff, once more!

[yzafre]

Holy shit, it's done. My 3 year fanfic project is DONE. HOoooly shit. Fuck. Like, what do I even do with myself? It's done! I don't even know what I'm going to do next. Not commit myself to another big project for at minimum six months, I know that much, but.

All the ideas I've been sorta putting in the backlog or only dabbling in because I've only got so much bandwidth and it was all tied up in the KH fic - they're all on the table now.

How do I decide what to work on? I've got all these things to choose from now:

More animatics. I've proved to myself I can do them so now every idea I've ever had is up for grabs.

Mega Man Legends stuff. What does that mean? I don't know but there's not enough of it on the internet I've decided.

My DBQ2 "builder ascends" series re-write/AU thing. Could work on that.

That thing where I was drafting an outline for a theoretical Danny Phantom reboot? Like I don't want to actually right it as a series. But it might be fun to write a theoretical episode list?

TMNT stuff. No seriously SO MUCH TMNT stuff

I've been wanting to do a Rise re-watch specifically looking at and listing out the magic that appears in the show, to see if I can get a grasp on the ridiculously squishy magic system. I'd write out my thoughts episode-by-episode on that.

I've got an idea for a sort of "missing episode" Rise one-shot nestled inside the 4-part finale, featuring the turtles (trying to) learn from Karai.

Do more with the TMNT 2012 Mikey changes the timeline idea I've messed with a bit maybe. This one I feel weird about because it originates from someone else, but I have no way to get in contact with them and ask if they're okay with me taking off from their idea...

Sometimes I just want to sit down and synthesize my thoughts on all the 2012 characters, and interesting moments/traits dropped in and then forgotten about by the show, and how I imagine they could have been incorporated into clearer series-long arcs.

Especially for April. I have a lot of thoughts about 2012 April's potential, as I'm sure many do. I could write out all my thoughts and plot points and everything I want for her.

Also OC stuff. I've been having fun already over on my side-blog making a bunch of headcanons about the 2012 Foot Clan, which includes tentatively drafting characters to fill out the ranks. I can do more with that.

Also my 2012 mutant OC, and associated characters. I have a full-on story in my head to merge her with canon that might be fun to actually put out there.

Same with my Rise OC! Though that's admittedly less well developed. But just, in general, indulging the dreams of my teenage self and writing stories with all my OCs in it. You're never too old to live your dreams.

And there's! Probably more I'll come up with! My creative bandwidth is no longer constrained by this one project taking up more than half of it and the freedom is both exhilarating and daunting what do I do with myself???

Holy shit.

[yuuana]

Music Monday #252: BE:FIRST x ATEEZ - Hush-Hush release: July 2024 genre: Jpop cw: flashing, cyberpunk surrealism

It may or may not even be Monday any more by the time you read this (probably not), it's been one of those days, but I am determined, dammit. XD Or maybe just exhausted. Or both? Could be both...

As is all too common in Jpop, we didn't get a whole lot of lead time on this release, though looking back, it's pretty obvious this was one of the things ATEEZ was working on earlier this year and why they seemed to be spending extra time in Japan during NOT OKAY promotions. I knew it was going to be something special, because ATEEZ always bring innovation to the stage, but I wasn't prepared to be completely blown away.

I feel like I should start with the caveat that a lot of collaborations coming out of Kpop right now tend to feel less like a cooperative project and more like someone doled out lines and even if there is an MV, there's very little interaction between collaborating groups. Combined with the trend starting in late 3rd gen of lines being treated like the sole property of one member at a time, and that ability to interact gets even smaller. It's never zero, there's always the chorus (in theory), and the Japanese idol system has its own expectations ... that I am, admittedly, not as current on for reasons, so I was coming to this with that Kpop experience and expectation.

In hindsight, that was a complete mistake because of course ATEEZ brought Edenary with them to this project to co-produce at every level alongside the BMSG team. From the first line, we get a genuinely collaborative vibe that flows through the whole song where the rapping sections are the majority of the solo lines, traded between the two groups equally. BE:FIRST and ATEEZ share such similar tone and range that until the video came out, other than the raps and Jongho's signature high notes, I spent a lot of time being very unsure who was singing what. And surprised and pleased at how often it was at least two voices blending together. And don't think I didn't catch that line about the underdog who now wears the crown. ;) The lyrics are pretty meta, actually, talking about working hard and not backing down but also not looking to fight about who's the best because they already know the answer and don't feel the need to argue it out with anyone.

Speaking of the music video... look, I stopped counting how many times I've watched this days ago and I'm still stunned and amazed and picking out little things. Obviously this was a whole lot of green screen ... which actually makes it even more impressive in some ways because any time you have to green screen in an element (or two or ten), the artist is acting against a blank. At best, they might have had some early animatics to give the artists some idea of what would be going on around them, but a lot of the video was filled in after the fact. And yet all fifteen of them sell it like they really are in grand sweeping spaces.

For obvious reasons, I'm not ticking this as lore, but if you told me it was, I would believe you. Between Z-team's history of cyberpunk aesthetics and A-team's history of dreaming... I could easily buy this as the start of an alliance - eight men can't save the world all on their own, after all.

2024 is definitely shaping up as the year ATEEZ takes on world domination with a vengeance. BE:FIRST are still relatively new to their career, having only debuted in November of 2021 (plus their youngest is an '06-liner, oh god, the babies are taking over) and are already dominating in Tokyo and see this as a first step onto the world stage. Which is both fair and wise. ;) This one-track single is available now for streaming and/or digital purchase on most of the major platforms, as is a remix by m-flo's Taku Takahashi.

Want to see Music Monday deep dives more often? Sponsor a song selection! For the low, low price of one (1) KoFi, I'll write up the song of your choice. ANY song of your choice. Yes, even that one that's been played to death. Yes, your obscure faves too. With sponsors, I can stop skipping weeks and falling further and further behind in the releases! Sponsor a current CB for the next open Music Monday slot or sponsor a throwback for a Thursday feature! But seriously, if you've been enjoying my selections and analyses, we (me and the foster kittens) would love a KoFi in thanks. DW | Twitter | Mastodon | Bluesky | Ko-fi | Patreon | Discord | Twitch

[hopalongfairywren]

5, 7, 11, 16 for Hannah for the ask game?

5. What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them? That's hard to choose since my music taste jumps around a lot and sometimes I'll see an unrelated animation with a certain song that gives me inspiration for a 'mind animatic' about c!Hannah with that same song. Right now though, it's this.

7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like? I have to say I love most of the fandom designs c!Hannah gets.

11. Would you date this character? You might think I'd say yes based on well, everything, but the truth is I am so mortified by the idea of dating anyone even a fictional character, I'd rather run into the ocean never to be seen again. But hypothetically... Yes. And i'd make her worse. 16. What's your least favorite ship for this character? c!Hannah doesn't really have a lot of ships I don't think, but of the ones i've seen probably c!Hannah/Sam. I just. Don't like it. For many reasons.

[dragongutsixofficial]

for oc ask game 3, 15 and 24?

Thanks for the ask, my friend !^^

3- Biggest self-insert OC ?

Oooh that is a tricky question. I have so many OCs from so many fandoms and even some who are not tied to any existing piece of media !^^

I have to say though, probably the ice mage I played (and still do sometimes !) with my sister after we got The Best Videogame Ever: Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies. She holds within her characterization a lot of who I was as a young kid- some of which I'd like to get back. I was so confident as a kid, it's pretty incredible !

I can also tell you about the biggest fail to make a self-insert OC: Siyn Eisner, my beloved Bylethsona. The idea behind her creation was simple: I wanted an avatar who would represent me as a player the same way people created their Linksonas. At first, she was just an idea in the back of my mind, and not very developed- and that's the way she stayed until I started a fe3h roleplay with my dear friend.

And Sothis be damned, Siyn went way out of my control. She became her own, beautiful character. Of course, there are always things that she gets from me: but no more or less than any other OC of mine. And she inspired me in turn !

In general though, every OC of mine has some elements of my personality woven into theirs, even if I don't do it consciously. For instance, with my new Seven of Hearts OCs (OCs I created for a future webcomic, hopefully):

Heilig (he/him) is sarcastic and drags his feet. He doesn't do well when he's taken out of his comfort zone and hates taking risks. He sticks by the rules and is a bit tunnel-visionned. That's how I can be sometimes: and while there's nothing wrong with it, it can quickly become unhealthy: his character arc will partially be around him learning how to take a chill pill.

Keuse (she/her), Heilig's little sister, has more of that rebellious streak: but most of all, she wants the best for her brother and he wants the best for her. She wants him to understand that although she might be younger, it's just as much her responsibility to protect him in her eyes. I'm a younger sibling who wants my sister to know I'll always be here to protect her, just as she does me.

Same goes for Camille (he/she), who has that very naive side to him, and who definitely has undiagnozed ADHD. And so it is for every one of my OCs !

14- How many projects do you have going on right now? Are there any that you doubt you’ll ever finish?

HahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAA-

When I received your ask I was like, "No prob, Imma make a google sheet and write everything down" and that's why I took some time to answer your ask. I have already given up on that. I don't even know where to start. I have so many WIPs. So many animatics living rent-free in my head. Some of which I am sure will never get done.

For instance, when the live-action version of The Little Mermaid came out, I was incredibly hyped by the new version of Part of your World and for weeks I was like, "I'M GONNA DRAW AN ANIMATIC OF A MERMAID TRANSMASC BYLETH WITH THIS SO BAD" and... yeah i'm still at the first frame.

I am pretty confident about finishing my first fic published on AO3 though, which I had given up on after one(1) chapter. But I got inspired by amazing writers @paracosmicat & @ninadove to pick it up again and I've entirely rewritten the first chapter + written two more chapters already (none of which are posted yet because I'd like to get ahead this time). I'm a lot happier with this version !^^ It's a fanfic delving into the dynamics of Edelgard/Zagreus (from Hades), which should eventually turn into a series exploring the Edelgard/Byleht/Zagreus/Thanatos polycule.

3- Do you have/want a career in your medium ? If not, what do you do/want to do instead ?

Drawing, as you will have noticed, is my passion and really the main way I get the wormbrains out. And if I don't draw for a while I will just want to bang my head against a wall repeatedly. So I definitely want a career in it. Being a video game designer would be a dream job.

For circumstances out of my control, I'm studying something else at the moment. On a good note, I just got out of two years of a formation which made me absolutely miserable and barely left me any time to draw !!! So there's that. But I do fully intend on finding a way to work in the art field someday ! >=D

[mdhwrites]

Can we still send toh related asks even after the show is over?

Can we also send asks about other medias you're familiar with?

Absolutely yes to the first question. If TOH had stayed solidly in my heart, you'd probably still have me writing for this fandom for years to come because I'm stubborn like that. I am not the sort to join a fandom only while it's airing. Things I write as much fanfiction as I have for TOH aren't fleeting fancies for me. Hell, just because I love Luz, Amity and Boscha so much from my early days of writing them, I'll likely still keep making fanfiction of them or having my original works inspired by them going forward. It's who I am. As for other media: OF COURSE! You can honestly ask me asks of anything. I am admittedly slowing a little to doing one large ask a day I think, in part to just let some of the statements get to be seen more easily by more people. Also because I still don't get that many asks. I would also encourage not to just ask about media I'm familiar with because unfortunately that amount is pretty small, especially in the past decade effectively. But if people let me know they're interested in my thoughts on a property, it can help motivated me to watch it. Frankly, I'm just bad about watching scripted content because it makes my brain go brrrrr in ways that things like Youtube videos or livestreams don't and that can be... Rough sometimes. I have so many ideas already that I'd love to work on and getting more inspiration can be painful when I'm stuck in a slump like I am now where I'm struggling to write. Hell, despite wanting to be able to claim I did a chapter of a thing on an ask tomorrow (which does mean tomorrow's blog got changed by a new ask that I immediately wanted to answer), I'm answering this because my brain doesn't want to let me write still despite the fact that I am getting my energy back. Just need to do more than take walks with it. But yeah, after I moved out of my parent's house eight years ago now, I kind of stopped watching most television. One of the last cartoons I really kept up with before The Owl House was Randy Cunningham Ninth Grade Ninja (good show. Not perfect but a TON of fun and great for kids). Voltron, She-Ra, Paranormal Undead Park, etc. like that have just skipped over me. If not for my nephew, I'd likely have never started watching The Owl House and even then, I stopped somewhere around Adventure in the Elements with him. It took THE Lumity animatic for Little Miss Perfect (which the animator later took down... just like the creator of the popular Ordinary listed hers as private... Boy were those not fun moments for me as I started losing my ability to write again) to get me into the fandom and into the show proper. Honestly, one of these days, and probably sooner rather than later, I should do a Post Mortem on The Power of Love to talk about what inspired that story, what the goal was, all of its twists and turns, etc. like that because that story means SO MUCH to me and it could be fun to gush about it. Anyways: Yeah, send me your asks on anything, I don't care much about spoilers as I'm still enjoying Amphibia despite knowing how it ends and the like (my next episode is The First Temple and honestly there's a few blogs I could already do about how great Amphibia's writing is) and maybe it'll finally get me to watch some of these great shows I've missed!

[gravecircuit]

Personal thoughts on Narcissism (the Moral Orel episode + myself)

I watched the media mementos animatic of the Moral Orel Narcissism script. In general, I just think it's really cool that we got a "new" episode to watch.

I never read that script beforehand so I wasn't prepared for all the "pairings" the revs would be getting into, like, the montage of putty finally getting all the action he wanted and it meaning nothing to him I think served the story well but...

that bendy x putty scene is weird to look at for me just on face value. like, doubly so since I know some people ship bendy with his daughter so like???

and going in I did have weird vibes on the idea of "weight loss Florence" - some of the jokes cracked miss the mark for me - there's like a "heads I win, tails you lose" thing Putty tries to pull on Florence on who's terms she gets to lose weight on that I think could've been written better. But the line Florence herself says kinda shifts my vibe toward the positive by a peg. while the show could do with a better distinction between being fat and stress eating (you don't have to be one to do the other but they kinda bake that into her characterization) but her acknowledging that her weight loss was induced by stress makes it feel less contrived I guess?

idk if I'm expressing this right and I don't have my own way of writing this arc at all outside of not needing to go that route at all, but I can say I didn't despise it. in fact, any happy ending for Florence I'll take it! she deserves it!

and on a tangent: rev putty got his "mission hill series finale" moment, which is funny because that episode is lost to time too lol

(personal section)

Overall I thought the episode was mid to good. But even with a mid rating it was effective on me to the point of causing a panic attack because, well, I am a narcissist. I don't know if that's something you can self diagnose, but I have a sister and they asked me once if they were a narcissist and I told them no (because I was becoming fairly certain I was). If you read the rest of this post in rev putty's voice it will probably work.

I really went and took too many trips to the repressional. There was a moment in time where I instructed myself to "stay in my lane." All my coping mechanisms were in place, and I turned my art into one of them. I forfeited the idea that I could ever be a likable person, and dismissed all else so I could instead get people to like my things.

Moral Orel, as my hyperfixation, is a show I can't dismiss. It took this show to tell me that behavior wasn't me putting a protective barrier around my narcissism, it's actually an extension to my narcissism. Like narcissistic turtles all the way down.

The channels that point this out to you like therapy, and you know, talking to people I ignored because of course I did.

I'm unpacking this here because like, some of my "best work" came out of dark places, but being put on notice that I can't stay down there forever shake me up, I have to shift my comfort zone over.

To sum up, I fell into Moral-Posting to deflect my personal issues. And now that the show sets an example to not do that, my Moral-Posting will continue but because I really want to. I'll start taking the baby steps to sort my own shit out without co-opting.

But to make this less about me I'll end with this: "Moral Orel is such a good show that a mid episode that was lost on the shelf made me cry"

[siren-virus]

There's some stuff that has been going around in my head regarding Luckuboy!AU, so I'll just dump everything here and see how you might adapt/change/evolve some of these ideas, or don't use any of them since that's perfectly valid too and it's your au, not mine :3 anyways, this is a long idea that can be divided, so I'll do just that and make a paragraph for each sub-idea.

1) Ben's daily schedule: Ben most likely has a morning schedule in the coffee shop, and as such he would get to work early, now idk how they work, but I imagine Ben's day to day life would go something like this: Ben's alarm goes off at 7:00, he wakes up and leaves bed at 7:15, breakfast and shower before arriving at work at 8:00 (do shops open at 8:00? 8:30? idk :V), keep working until 16:00 with lunchtime tucked in the middle, hang out with friends/relax/naps until 20:00, start his own vigilante work until 2:00, where he goes to sleep and repeats. If his patrol is slow then he would go home earlier to sleep more, if it's hectic and he doesn't get enough sleep, then the afternoon/evening would be used in powernaps.

2) Ben the info brooker, I imagine that Ben would eventually get to know a lot, and I mean A LOT, of information about everyone and everything important that's going on in Undertown (which, considering the situation of Earth and the Plumbers, is probably the only alien world center, would be everything), and when he hears of someone having some kind of trouble, he gives them a nudge in a certain direction for them. Eventually word gets out that there's a new information brooker in town that has scarily accurate info, he works at a coffee shop and you better give him a big tip if you don't want some of your info to get out fast (how real this info is nobody knows, and since Ben hasn't heard of it he can't correct them)

2.5) One day Argit appears and asks for a coffee under a different name, when it's ready Ben calls for him (he used a fake name) and writes with an alcohol marker on the cup "Argit", scaring the hell out of him. "How did you know?" "I'd be shitty at what I do if I couldn't recognize you *wink*", then he tells him that as long as they do nothing dangerous near him he won't tattle him and Kevin to the Plumbers, or worse, Gwen. "Don't you dare" says Argit aghast, "Try me bitch" answers Ben grinning, almost double daring him into doing something dangerous only so he can call his cousin and set up a date

3) The coffee made in the shop is delicious, caters to every species needs, alergies, likes and dislikes, and everyone agrees that the place is the best of the best in the whole world for these reasons and more; thus the shop has been a tentative neutral zone for years, however the lack of "people" (idk what word to use that captures everyone, human or alien) that knows how to fight there has severly dampened the opportunity of it becoming one. Cue Ben beggining to work there, in the beggining it's nothing special, he's just a human who makes good coffee and is surprisingly charming, come a few weeks and months and everyone starts noticing how he's the infamous information brooker that has been the talk of Undertown, thus gathering a bit more attention. Eventually someone (Plumber, civilian, villain, whatever you choose) is more rude to him than needed and tries to get some info from him, even if it's by force... Ben decks him, like, he kicks their ass, defenestrates them, break a chair on them and hands them unconcious to the closest Plumber, bleeding and all while still being intact himself. Everyone glares in awe at the show of badassery and oficially the coffee shop becomes the new true neutral zone, where everyone can get coffee, exchange information and form unlikely friendships. Whenever someone tries to mess with the shop, if Ben isn't present, is busy or it's too much for him, everyone else, Plumber, villain and civilian joins him in defending the shop and getting rid of the nuisancess that mess with the shop.

4) With all the info that Ben gets both as a barista and as a vigilante, one would think that he would give everything out as long as you paid the prize, but surprisingly he has a strong code that he never breaks. If he EVER learns that a piece of information he has with himself is considered confidential, then he'll never speak about it with anyone, no matter how much they offer to pay him. He can't answer for the ones who talks about this info in the shop without saying in any moment that the info is supposed to be confidential, he can't read minds, but everyone catches on fast on this, and some say the keyword when talking in the coffee shop. However many still forget about it once in a while, since the calm atmosphere of the shop is too powerful and slip up often happen. Still Ben can't be blamed, how is he supposed to know if some piece of info is confidential if no one ever says it is? Again, he's not a mindreader nor a telepath.

5) Any info on his vigilante persona he never gives out, however it's not because of not wanting to give out any of that info, but rather because another part of his code is "If I haven't heard people talk about something, then I don't know information about it. All my info is second hand, so unless someone else already knows about it, I won't know about it". That can come in very handy considering the surprisingly little info there is about his vigilante persona out there, despite how famous he kinda is. This more often than not drives Jimmy mad.

Love brainstorms, hate the alien.

1) Most cafes open at 7am from my knowledge, 9am if you're in a sleepy town, so it'd be more like a 6am wake up, optional breakfast- (who eats breakfast these days?), straight to the cafe around 7ish to help with cleaning and setting up for the day.

This cafe is more of a 24/7 place. With 24/7 breakfast! (don't you hate it when places stop doing breakfast at a certain hour?)

Apart from that love what ya got there.

As for the vigilante side, he starts whenever is easiest, it's all dependent if things are hectic or not. Sun goes down roughly 7PM (pretty late I know, but where I live (during summer at least), sun won't go down til 9PM). Sometimes he finishes at 2AM, sometimes a few minutes before work (Incoming animatic!)

2) Love everything about that too! I'd like to think Ben has no idea about it at first, he just notices some days the tip jar is fuller than others. He chocks it up to his charming personality. But eventually he catches on.

Another thing to add, at some point if people wanted to get info from Ben they'd order a "whipped caramel latte with icing sugar, honey, and salt" (gross) Ben has no idea of this, but the weird amount of customers ordering that and asking for intel, kinda makes him think about it.

2.5) This!! good shit right here! Except, you can't call a customer a bitch, trust me... Karen's and Kevin's exist in all shapes, sizes and forms. So Ben uses the kill them with kindness, customer service attitude.

Additionally, sometimes Kevin, although rarely, comes by, hovers around the counter. He'll order a coffee and glare at Ben until, he gets his attention.

"You staring at me for a reason?"

"I need to know about Gwen 10."

Of course, at this Ben would grin devilishly and respond with, "Oh, you wanna take her on date? She loves sappy romance movies, she's also a nerd, so get her a math book instead of flowers."

That always shuts Kevin up, makes him leave most occasions.

3) Everything about this is just!!! Love it. Wouldn't change a thing.

4) Yes yes!!Sometimes, a customer will demand classified info (those that aren't initiated to how the cafe works). When Ben refuses to squawk this can lead to some shouting from a customer sometimes, which leads to a coworker, or a regular shoeing the nasty customer away. Ben can hold his own against most people, as a human, but sometimes they're just a little too big or a little too tough to be able to defend himself against.

5) I like that a lot too.

I also like to think that sometimes, if Ben wants to mess with someone, especially Jimmy. He'll slip a piece of information out that no one else knows.

"I heard from a plumber, that the vigilante guy likes smoothies- specifically [insert favourite smoothie flavour of the week]"

Cue Jimmy buying several of that smoothie to try and lure Luckyboy (still haven't thought of a namee!!!) out. It works, and Ben gets free smoothies almost every week.

This could backfire immensely though.

Woo, sorry about the delay there, been working a few shifts. Work is kicking my ass as usual...

[astroninaaa]

Hot take a talk about technoblade:

Okay look I've been part of this fandom since August(thank god cuz i watched it all live and it woukd be a nightmare to caatch up) I bring this up cuz i want to discuss my problem with technos character. I have watched every single techno livestream that he made on dream smp and believe it or not i used to be a techno sympathiser that is until doomsday. (By techno apologist standards i am qualified to talk about his character hooray..)

Now techno like every character is flawed if he wasn't he would be boring fandom. One of his biggest flaws is being a hypocrite. That is not something you realise until you compare what he says all the time so you need to look a little deeper to realise it and i don't blame people for not seeing it.

This wouldn't be that much of a problem because that is a character flaw among with many others but the problem that his character has faced is that he doesn't develop much.

Now i hear techno apologist jump at me every single time noooo he isn't a stagnant character he has developed a lot. I am not saying that he hasn't developed at all the problem is that he has developed very little especially when you consider everything.

His goals his ideas his perception of the world what he believes him everything that makes his character him hasn't changed much and that is not a good thing from a writing perspective. Now why do i bring this up. Firstly I'm not saying this to say techno is a bad writer far from it he can be very good when he puts his mind to it. The problem with keeping a character in this state is that it's very harmful for said character first and to the story and other characters second. Look even at yourselves i can guarantee that you aren't the exact same person you were like five years ago for example because during that time you made mistakes learned from them and you grew. Just like in real life you also can't stay stagnant in fiction.

Okay so that's the main problem with technos character that he is stagnant as a character. Now this wouldn't be as big of a problem if he didn't have the role that he has.

You see techno both c! and cc! are very good at the game basically. Now why do i bring this up. The reason why i bring this up is bc of where this places techno whuch is at the very top of the chain don't try and seny it. This means that he is one of the most powerful people on the server if you are going to try and go against this point just look at lmanberg guys that's living proof of how powerful and how terrifying he actually is. I know a lot of you are gonna say but every can get stacked or play the game but you guys forget that even if you are stacked you just don't have the skill and cc! Techno of the best people when it comes to that which bleeds into his character. Saying that is like looking at the upper class than looking at the lower class saying just get rich like it doesn't work like that.

Because of his role techno is literally the 1% by rl standards which means he can a lit of things free of consequences bc no one can give him said consequences. The butcher army was ig an attempt at that but they failed miserably let's be real here.

Because he is in the 1% is incredibly skilled at pvp and can do anything bc no one can challenge him this places him on a pedestal and creates a power imbalance a very big one at that.

And that leads to his biggest problem he has practically everything as said by Techno himself and is never challenged, but that's not an interesting character. An audience gets tired for a character that always wins or loses. Because if it happens repeatedly it just takes all the suspense oh he will win immediately. He will go and slaughter them problem solved. That's it every time. Something that techno himself confirmed is then when he has a problem he just stabs it (both of these were said during the egg stream).

And if you are going to bring the things he went through to say he's changed don't cuz as long as he doesn't act on it it means nothing. Like examples Red festival killed tubbo an ally. Traumatic experience right? This is a good moment to develop his character and give us more insight. What happens? Techno tries to dismiss it and shows us his anxiety and gives us insight on his character Great! Character development? Starting to question himself just a bit or any sign of that event having an effect on him? Nope! Why? Cuz he doesn't act on it instead he tries to hide the fact that ever happened and changes to a different topic bc there is no justification there and he knows it. Nov 16th c!technos pov he just got betrayed caused some damage wished death upon his former allies and left. Quite a dramatic scene. He feels betrayed time for some good old character development. Him thinking about himself and his actions. Reflecting on them. Great moment! Problem: literally everything that shows this is done off camera and now suddenly he's retired... Okay you know what fine it's alright he would probably expand upon and did a timeskip to explain the ling time he didn't stream. I see where it's comming from. The butcher army ge gets hunted down bc actions have consequences techno and you can't just run away like that not after doing that. Great point from the butcher army. Go give him some consequences his character needs it. And then he gets executed alright a bit too far but i guess that's how it goes in this server. Techno gets his life back immediately.. well that was a bit pointless but alright a cool scene for the animatic fair. Then he kills quackity.. the butcher army lost.. this.. what? But this was the moment of consequences... and quackity didn't get it back like techno the butcer aemy lost more than techno what? Moving along he teams up with tommy aannnd the 50 withers are up and ready of course you didn't fully retire what was i expecting. And now team up with tommy perfect way to learn about dream and give more insight on lmanberg and how dream is a tyrant and everything techno is supposed to stand against. The green festival tommy chooses tubbo over techno techno feels betrayed understandable.... and then he teams up with dream lmanberg is destroyed and the underdogs are beaten to the ground loose everything they ever worked for and are taught to be scared of the anarchists?!?!?!?!

Okay now hold up a sec I'll have to stop you right there. What. did. you. just. do. Cuz there is a limit to the amount of stuff you can let a character get away with. The line was crossed months ago this is not good at all.

Also what are yoi guys talking about consequences. Lives? All 3 home? Right there pets? The ones that died were the ones he brought expecting to not live he brought them there on purpose so they don't count. He is one of the most wealthy peoole on the server (no one beats ranboo lol) what did he exactly loose? Friendships? Was that all the hardships you guys have?

Lmanberg lost their home their lives their wealth their pets their friend everything they loved and lived for everything they stood for they lost a part of themselves in the end.

Look at the last 2 paragraphs and how imbalanced that is. How are you guys blind to this How?! And why did doomsday happen? Because the butcher army failed. And if anything techno proved them that they should have punished him harder with this.

So what was the lesson of doomsday?

That you shoukd obey the people on top and never go against them or you will loose everything you love.

Great lesson guys this is exactly the lesson the rich class and every single tyrant tried to teach society and this lesson is being told by the anarchist great job....

Do you see the problem now. This is the reason techno needs a consequence bc if he keeps going like this he will become a Mary Sue. And that is a horrible direction for a character that has a lot of potential. That potential is why i liked his character that much in the beginning but now it's almost non existent. Anyway I'll end this now cuz this went on for too long. That's basically my opinion on it feel free to share your thoughts.

okay. okay. i read this like three times bc. because look

i agree in some very specific points, but i disagree in very broad manners.

(this entire......... essay is all /rp and /nm!!!!)

anyways. send me hot takes!!!

i like c!techno. i personally think he's one of the most fun characters to watch because i enjoy the mess, the crazyness, the chaos of it all. watching doomsday through c!tommy's eyes was painful. watching doomsday through c!techno's eyes was just so fucking hilarious and exciting and fun. he's just a fun character to watch. he's just Funny. i am a fan. however

for starters: ctechno is, 100%, out of the park, an stagnant character. he has little to no development throughout the story. we see no changes in how he acts. that's not necessarily a bad thing, but considering the type of character he is, watching him develop (be it to an actually full-fledged villain or towards a redemption arc) would be ideal to keep him a character people can actually support.

i wouldn't say he's a hypocrite. c!techno has a very strict moral code and he follows it with no hesitation, with no doubts. the point is that his moral code is flawed and skewed. that doesn't make him a hypocrite, that makes him someone with bad morals.

calling c!techno "the 1%" is a stretch. for one- c!ranboo has as much resources, if not more, as c!techno does. he has dozens of totems, thousands of emeralds, and probably has one of the higher counts of diamond and netherite on the server. why is that never brought up? because it doesnt matter. c!foolish has so much gold and diamonds and netherite and just everything, really, and it's also never brought up/a reason for people to be afraid of him. the dream smp isn't a capitalist universe, there's no "1%". specially bc there's, like, i don't know, 20 players? that makes c!techno 1/20 OR 3/20 if we count c!ranboo and c!foolish. but that's not the point at all: the point is that ctechno is feared bc he's skilled and has a relevant personality, not bc he has resources. c!wilbur has no shit and he's still terrifying, there's no character willing to oppose him. not because of resources, but because of who he is. when c!techno first fled from l'manburg into "retirement" he had no shit either, it took him a while to be rich again. no one attacked him either way.

why, you ask? bc he fought against c!quackity with a fucking pickaxe and won. that's why. c!techno doesn't need resources to be feared. the power imbalance doesn't come from his resources, it comes from others’s fear. and they have a reason for that fear, bc c!techno hasn't been defeated yet. that has nothing to do with "upper class" and "lower class". because, one, not a capitalist system and class disparity isn't as simple as that, and two, even without his "riches" he still wins, bc he's got the skill. if you take out the skill, him being rich means nothing and he wouldve been easily killed by the butcher army or c!tommy or whoever decided to kill him. a good example is, once again, c!ranboo: if he wasn't friends with everyone and someone decided to actually fight him like was done with c!techno, he would've died. easily. being rich in the smp is relative.

c!techno will be challenged when we have a character strong enough to challenge him in a way that matters. it's important to be smart about it. that's why i'd love to see, out of everyone, c!philza turn against him, but that's a how other discussion (WHICH I'M WILLING TO TALK ABOUT.......... everytime i make these and i add little point i dont elaborate on and then say i'm willing to talk about them and no one ever asks me to <//3 PAIN /nm /lh).

i do think he's a character that just Always Win in narrative ways and that's very frustrating. he does need to get pulled a few notches down. again, that will only happen when we have a character that can step up to him and challenge him in a way that matters (woooo c!philza you want to hold c!techno accountable for his bullshit so bad woooo........)

now, onto c!techno's trauma. he doesn't need to show it. he- he doesn't. that's........ not how trauma works, and that's one of the points that make his trauma so forgettable for the viewers. c!techno is, from inside out, a character that hardly shows his emotions, but that doesn't mean he doesn't display symptons of trauma. he does, they're just a lot more subtle than other characters's. that doesn't mean he doesn't have any or that he isn't affect by it. c!techno is, in a lot of ways, a lot like c!tubbo: both of them don't mention the shit they've gone through and don't react to it and bc of that some of the viewers don't see how important some traumatic events were in their characterisation. that's why you analyse those characters's trauma through behavior, not through easily seen displays of trauma.

i do think it's taken a little too far with c!techno. the way he reacted to c!tommy's death was...... disappointing, to say the least. c!techno is an underwhelming character in many ways. as said before, it's because he's stagnant. that definitely needs to be worked on.

about the syndicate? yeah, no. theyre not teaching others to fear them. others just Do That bc of their history on the server, but they have literally talked about how they want to better their reputation, bc they don't want to be seen as murderers or oppressors in any way. are they flawed? yes, very much. they have no indicators of what is or isn't a government and they show no regard around the importance of a difference between an oppressive and a democratic government.

they had no right to show up at c!tubbo's door and interrogate him, because they can't appoint themselves as government police. for starters, that's not how anarchy works (they should've had everyone's permission for that. they obviously don't), but also it's just... stupid. it makes it seem that they're trying to boss everyone around so that they live like the syndicate wants them to, which goes directly against the syndicate's own ideals. however, c!techno thinks he has that right. he thinks this is what he's supposed to do. he's just following his moral code - his moral code is just deeply, deeply flawed. what he says and what he does contradict each other but not for him, not to his interpretation. to his interpretation, he's following his strict moral code.

what happened at doomsday was horrible and c!techno has to be held accountable for it, yes, but, again, no character knows how to work around c!techno enough to hold him accountable for it. that's not c!techno's fault.

l'manburg just deserved better, honestly, but to be fair c!techno has been taken advantage of time and time again (sometimes purposefully, sometimes not) and he's fucked up in the head, god bless LMAOOOOOOO

i agree that things need to change otherwise he's just gonna keep being a stagnant character who can get away with everything. i do think he has more to him than meets the eye, tho. meh idk that's still just analysis!!! we have no way of knowing the intent behind c!techno's characterisation, at least not for now. i hope for the best tho cc!techno don't let me down <3

[logan-please-smile-speaks]

[Long, Tw food (in depth descriptions), brief references to unnamed heavenly beings of no specified religion, brief reference to hell. Not really any angst. Just good Dadza.]

[Hurt/comfort my beloved]

Me: i can't write

Also me: writes an entire fic by accident while telling my friend about an idea I had

(I'm gonna need this ask back at some point so don't keep it too long, okay? But make sure to take care of yourself (unlike Techno sksksks))

(How many words is this) (Cenn I've been writing this for like 3-4 hours. I've been hyperfixating on this)

-@2ble

I had this really cute idea where Techno gets sick after doomsday and Dadza takes care of him (for an animatic, or? How should i draw techno?)

Phil's Dadza side kicks in. He gently pushes Techno, who is in full garb back into bed. "Techno, you're sick. You can't go."

"But I haven't streamed in 2 weeks!"

"Rest."

Techno turns on his side in bed. Dadza gently pulls the blankets up and tucks them around Techno. Techno begins to cough, and the coughs rack his body. Dadza's expression is soft and concerned. He rubs his hand on Techno's back until he stops coughing. Techno closes his eyes. He's exhausted.

Dadza takes Techno's crown and places it on the bedside table.

He observes his ill friend. Techno is nothing like what he was up until Doomsday. He seemed--weak. Vulnerable. Sick.

"Have you had anything to eat, Techno?"

Techno doesn't open his eyes. He shakes his head. "I ran out of food a few days ago. I meant to get more but..." Techno doesn't want to admit that he couldn't get downstairs. He doesn't want to admit to weakness, to vulnerability. But everytime he thought of searching through chests, of trading with the villagers, they just seemed so far away.

Phil noticed a tear leaking out from Techno's eyelid. If he brushed it away, Techno would feel worse about his state because it would mean he was in fact vulnerable.

"I'll make you some stew."

Phil goes downstairs and tends to the fireplace. The fire seemed to have gone out sometime between now and the last time Phil checked on Techno.

How long has the house been this cold?

Phil builds up the fire and puts a cauldron over it. He makes mushroom stew because he doesn't know if techno can stomach rabbit stew.

When it's ready, he ladels it into a bowl and climbs the ladder.

Hanging off the ladder by one hand, he calls out. "Techno, stew's ready."

Techno's eyes flutter open. He sees his friend holding out a bowl of food and his eyes widen.

Phil notices that Techno is sweating and the blanket strewn to the side, only covering his feet.

"Are you too hot mate?" he asks.

Techno is broiling but he can't summon the strength to take off his outer clothes. His body refuses.

He's more focused on food. He's starving, and his body uses up what little resources it has left to sweat.

Phil walks over and puts the stew on the table. The heavenly aroma fills the room.

"Let's get this coat off of you." Phil reaches around Techno and unclasps the chain on his neck. He gently pulls the coat off of Techno's arm but he's still laying on it.

"Techno," Phil says.

"Whaaat," Techno drawls.

"You got to let me get this coat off ya mate."

Techno lets out a deep groan, then turns over on his stomach so his other arm is towards Phil.

Phil reaches under techno and grasps the coat. He pulls it out from under Techno and off his arm. The sleeve turns inside out. Phil fixes the sleeve and hangs up the coat.

Techno's shirt is drenched in sweat. He rolls over and starts fidddling with the button closest to his throat, looking up at Phil.

"Here, I'll get that for you." Phil undoes the button. He can't imagine how tired techno must've been after Doomsday, that he just collapsed in bed fully clothed, not even bothering to loosen them.

At least he took off his armor. Sh-t's heavy, he thinks. Phil ignores the fact that after the adrenaline and excitement wore off, the sore and tired Technoblade probably couldn't move with it on.

Phil pulls the blanket off the bed entirely, folds it, and places it on the table next to the stew. He pulls off Techno's shoes and socks and puts them near his coat.

They were also drenched with sweat, not to mention the smell--but it doesn't bother Phil all that much. He's smelled worse. He's frowns at the imprints on Techno's legs from the socks.

Phil loosens the rest of Techno's clothes. Techno seemed to were his tightest, least comfortable, most regal outfit to Doomsday.

Lucky for them both most of that was just accesories and pins, and Phil could easily remove those.

While Phil was doing this, Techno had been lying on his back, eyes closed. Though Techno tended to be stone-faced, Phil noticed the relief on Techno's face.

"How you feelin', Techno?"

"Philzaaa,"

"Yeah?"

Techno opens his eyes halfway, just enough to see Philza and the bottom of the bed.

"Do you have water?"

Phil procures a water bucket from his bag. "Thirsty mate?"

Techno looks at the water bucket and a small smile creeps over his face.

Phil smiles at his friend. He moves to the head of the bed and looped his arm and tattered wing around Techno and sits him up.

He holds the bucket up to Techno's mouth and tips it to his lips. Techno sips gratefully as the cool liquid pours over his hot, dry mouth and down his throat, cooling him from the inside.

"You've lost quite a bit of fluid, mate."

Techno lets some of the cold water slip out the sides of his mouth and drip down his face. His skin is boiling. The water dropelts running down his skin feel like heavenly beings allowing drops of mercy to fall upon him in the pit of hell.

Techno pulls back briefly to swallow and catch his breath and Phil rights the bucket. Techno leans in again for more water.

After drinking his fill, Techno leans back and wipes his mouth with his arm.

"All done, Techno?"

Techno swings his arms up knocks the bucket out of Phil's hand, dumping it on his head. The gush of water cools Techno, drenches the bed, and spills all over the room. Phil can't help but laugh. He picks up the bucket and scoops up the water source. He puts the bucket back in his bag.

"Had enough of the water?"

"Philza--I gotta be honest with you, Philza I haven't felt this good in weeks."

Phil laughs again even louder. The two friends are now in a good mood.

"Well now your stew is probably cold too." Phil tastes it. "Actually it's a bit warm still. Not too hot, either."

Techno scoots towards the wall and leans on it. He reaches for the bowl.

"Oh, no you don't."

"Phil, I'm a grown man-pig. I can hold a bowl."

"Maybe on a good day, Techno, but three minutes ago you couldn't sit up by yourself. No offense mate, but I don't think your arms have enough stamina right now. Now come on and eat."

Phil lifts the bowl to Techno's lips and lets him sip at his own pace. He pulls it back.

"How does it taste?"

"Pretty good but could maybe use a little salt."

"Eh, you probably need electrolytes as well after sweating through your clothes and drinking all that water."

Phil put the bowl on the downstairs counter.

Phil found salt in the downstairs chest and stirred it into the cauldron.

He heard the bowl fall to the floor behind him. It fell facedown and spilt on the floor.

Phil swore quietly.

He got a new bowl and more stew from the cauldron.

"How is it?" Techno inquired.

"Try for yourself," Phil said. He smiled as he held the bowl to Techno.

Techno looked at the bowl, then up at Phil. He took a sip.

Techno pulled back and looked at the bowl.

Phil thought he may have tainted the stew somehow. "Is it bad?" he started to say.

But he didn't quite get out anything after "Is" because Techno cut him off.

"It's delicious." Techno looked up at his friend. "Philza Minecraft, you should be a chef. This is the most wonderful thing I've ever tasted."

Phil chuckled. "All I did was add salt, what ya mean?"

"Phil, you have to sell this stew to the rest of the SMP. We could get rich!"

"Techno, I think the sickness may have gotten to your head a bit."

"Phil, I've never been more serious about anything in my entire life. We could be the the most powerful people on the server!"

"We already are. We just blew up a country. Down to bedrock."

"But we could get even more rich and powerful!"

"Well I'll be happy to listen after you eat. And rest. And bathe."

"I don't need to bathe."

"You're not getting out of it. You reek, mate."

"You can't judge me by the smell!"

"I'm not worried about the smell so much as what the smell tells me about your body. I don't know when the last time you washed was but it was definitely before Doomsday and I can't have you laying in your own sweat and filth for much longer. It's sh-t for your health, Techno."

"Philza--"

"Please just eat, Techno."

Techno leaned his head forward slightly and Phil pressed the bowl to Techno's lips.

Techno closed his eyes and savored the flavors. They were so pleasant, so soothing, so comforting. They reminded him of a time when he was safe and there was no betrayal. No war. No need for violence and bloodshed and destruction.

Phil, being a good Dadza friend, made sure that Techno ate an entire bowl. He brought Techno another bowl upon his request, of which he ate half, then left the other half bowl on the table in case Techno got hungry later.

After changing Techno's bed to clean, dry sheets and tucking his friend back into bed, he went downstairs to clean up the spill. He told Techno he would be back at sunrise to check on him. Though he might come earlier just in case. Sunrise was just the latest. Phil had decided that since Techno had gotten through the brunt of his hibernation and was now waking up sick, he should check on him at least twice a day.

Phil scrubbed the dried stew off the floor. He wondered what could've made Techno love it so much. Mere salt couldn't have made it so delicious, could it?

Phil finished cleaning the floor and the bowl and put everything away. As he was about to leave, he stopped. Eyes locked on the cauldron. There was something about it.

I can't leave that there, he reasoned. It will go to waste. If Techno like it, I can't let it waste or burn. I should freeze it outside.

Phil took out a bowl and knelt in front of the fire place. He scoop up big, full ladels into his bowl. Could it be that the soup was really that much better with something as basic as salt?

Phil dipped his finger in the bowl and sucked the stew off of it. He was instantly transported to his childhood. His mind played out feelings of safety, of healing, of comfort, of rest.

He heard his family laughing, remembered learning how to fly, the first time he soared high, feeling the wind beneath his wings. He remembered when Wilbur was born, holding the tiny baby in his arms, filled with love. "I'll always protect you. I'll always be there for you." When he met Techno, when he built the bee farm, and so on.

Phil was moved to tears. He felt loved. He felt like someone loved him no matter his flaws, his mistakes. Phil cried.

It was not out of pain but rather emotion. He wiped away his tears and drank the rest of the stew in his bowl, but it only caused more tears to stream down his face.

Techno was right.

Outside, watching through the window was the one who made the soup what it was. It wasn't Phil's salt.

He stood on his hind legs, paws pressed against the wall of the house.

He had been listening to the two friends talk, had been watching protectively as the wind ruffled his thick white fur.

He was Technoblade's guardian.

Soon he would be called Steve.

2ble this is literally amazing hello????

[azuregold]

tunnels directly into your inbox from the nether, hoping for a bite from every single one of those sweet, sweet fanfiction questions :> :v

🎶- If your fanfiction were to be turned into a MEP, Animatic or AMV, what song would it be based around?

I…honestly don't know, haha. ^^;

🎀- What’s the most common type of fic you write? Romance? Tragedy? Rewrites?

Supernatural-flavored friendship fic, I guess? :P

📚- What media have you written the most fanfiction for?

One Piece! Since it's the only thing I've written fic for, haha.

✍- Have you finished a complete fanfiction story before? If so, what?

On the Misty Shore and From Mist and Ashes (plus the side stories for them, I guess). I'm still hoping to do another story in that universe some day, but what's there still counts as complete. I'm sooo close to being able to add Dissonant Echoes to this list, but chapter 15…please let me write it soon…

✨- Which fanfiction are you most proud of and why?

I'm proud of all my fic for different reasons, and it's hard to say that any one of them is most. OtMS for being my first real fic and the first thing I ever finished? FMaA for being the longest thing I've ever written, the first time I got to share a character I made with the world, and for actually finishing it? Dissonant Echoes for managing to write most of it while going through some of the most difficult times of my life?

IDK, all of them, I guess. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

💗- If you were purely making a fic for yourself, without fear of what other readers would think about it, what would you write?

Mostly what I'm writing now, I think? Except probably with less worrying about whether everything makes sense, and with even more implausible excuses for Zoro to get dragged into supernatural happenings. :P

📺- What media (Show/Movie/Game) would you like to write fanfiction for, but haven’t yet?

So many. Sooo many. I wish I were one of those people who can write at least a little something for every fandom they pass through. I guess especially for things that either never get much of a fandom, or where it feels like all the fic is centered around 1 – 2 ships or tropes so if you aren't interested in that, there's nothing. Deca-Dence comes to mind.

Or something in one of the more popular fandoms I like so I have a better chance of finding more people who like the same kinds of things I do. >.>

💚- What do you like most about your writing style?

This is hard, haha. I'm not sure I can think of a specific thing I like about my writing style. Which doesn't mean I don't like my writing, I just…can't pick out any specifics.

🖤- What do you hate most about your writing style?

I wish I was better at telling a story from a character's point of view. I spend a lot of time (maybe too much, sometimes) having characters think about things in their head, but when I'm describing a setting, or narrating a sequence of events, it often feels like it's being done by a general narrator, not the character who viewpoint we're supposedly in. I'll use words that character wouldn't use (or not use words they would use), I'll forget to show their reaction to something they should definitely have reacted to, etc…the narration just doesn't feel like them enough, you know? Like it could be any of them, or none of them, until I mention a name. I'm trying to get better about it, but…it's hard.

👎- What is something you won’t ever write about?

Smut is the easy answer here. There's a chance romance may show up in a fic I write someday, and there are plenty of tropes I dislike that I could still see myself writing if the right idea came along, but I don't think anything (short of, like, a million-dollar bribe) would ever make me even attempt a sex scene that wasn't just fade-to-black.

🌸- Ever written ocs in your fanfiction? (Not minor side ones)

Yes, and I love them. ^_^ Uh…some more than others. *cough*

👭- Have you ever done a writing/story collab? If not, who would you love to write a story with?

I'm not sure I could ever collab with someone. It just doesn't seem like something that would work for me. If I ever tried, it would have to be with someone I was already friends with and comfortable talking to.

💻- Do you want on the computer, phone or another device?

(Write, I'm assuming…) Computer. I've gotten better at writing on the phone, but there's no way I could put up with writing an entire fanfic that way, especially if it was anything more than a short oneshot. I already can't type fast enough to keep up with my brain once it finally figures out what to say. Trying to do it on a phone would be infinitely worse. I'd either forget how I wanted the end of the sentence to go by the time I was done with the beginning, or I'd accidentally every other word and have to fix a ton of them later. (One of my most frequent issues is forgetting that I haven't typed the ending of a negative word yet because my mind's already five words ahead, so instead of "I can't do that", I'll write "I can do that", or "Here's you book" instead of "Here's your book", etc, and if I don't catch it after, it messes up the whole thing. And that's on a computer, where my typing is much faster than on a phone.)

🎨- If you could ask for any kind of fanart for a certain fic or fic scene, what would it be?

Any of them? Fanart is a wonderful gift and I would be thrilled with anything the artist was inspired to do. But if I had to pick, maybe:

– The scene from OtMS where Luffy sees ghost!Zoro for the first time, after he wakes up on Sunny

– From FMaA, one of the scenes between Travis and Zoro (either the fight at the museum or the confrontation on the plane) or Travis and Luffy (the gum-gum reveal, their fight, Luffy carrying Travis over his shoulder)

– From FMaA, the part where Zoro's hurt and almost disappearing and they're all gathered around him listening to Usopp tell stories

– From DE, the part where Zoro's crying in Brook's arms

😜- Do you put any references in your fanfictions? (E.g Maybe a quote from another series or mentioning a character from another show.)

I…can't think of anything right now?

🌍- Written any crossover fics? If not, what would you write for a crossover fic?

I desperately want to write a BnHA/Super Powereds crossover. Either:

– Something plotty (with plenty of scenes between Vince and Izuku because I want to see my faves interact), or

– A character-focused oneshot with a meeting between Aizawa and Dean Blaine (maybe one of them’s on a trip and they run into each other at a bar or something?) where they somehow manage to chat about the relatable parts of their lives (teaching, working as a hero, their power-erasing abilities, their class(es) full of problem children, etc) without actually spilling their life stories to a random stranger because neither of them is stupid or unprofessional enough to do something like that.

Sadly, no muse has appeared for any of it, and so those fics remain unwritten. The second one especially is pretty far outside my writing experience and I'm not sure I could pull it off. Which is a shame, because it deserves to exist.

🤘- Ever written self-insert characters, or at least referenced yourself in a story?

Not directly, but I've definitely given characters issues or pieces of personality that I relate to very strongly. Like the way Travis gets angry to try to cover when he's embarrassed/makes a mistake, or (to an extent) the way Zoro feels about the Straw Hats in DE.

💭- Any fanfiction ideas you’re not sure on writing about?

All of them. I'm never sure, haha. But especially anything that either seems like a huge epic project I'm not sure I want to commit to (either in length of the fic or in the amount of research it would need), or something that's very different from the sort of thing I usually write, so I'm not sure I'd be able to write it well enough to be satisfied.

❄- (Asker can ask any question they’ve made up)

(insert invisible answer to invisible question here :P)

Thanks, this was fun! ^_^