#I haven't even gotten to formatting yet

[andmakeithome]

🌹🌹🌹 hellooooo

hi blu! some soft mav and carole for you 💜

you know I love you, right? she whispers against his shoulder, clinging tight to his arm as she leans against him, the two of them lined up toe to shoulder. he’s missed this.

course I do, he whispers back, the moment much more intimate all of a sudden. he knocks his head against hers. and I love you right back

[finn-writes-stuff]

Hello! Can you write for Gale, Astarion and Halsin's reaction to tav wearing the wavemothers robe? Nsfw please😳

An Intricate Jewel

Tales tell of a most wondrous fish, scales resplendent, an intricate jewel that shone beneath the sea. When it died, the Wavemother gifted its hide as a robe to her most devoted follower - and demanded she drown the sailors that killed her gem-bright fish. - Item Description

Halsin, Gale & Astarion x Reader

Fandom: Baldur's Gate 3

Format: Headcanons

Gender Neutral Reader

Masterlist

I haven't actually gotten to this robe in my own playthrough yet, but I've seen plenty of it online lmao. This one isn't fully nsfw but it's spicy. -Finn

Halsin

"Oh. You look stunning, my heart."

He is openly admiring you any chance he gets. It is shameless because why would he be ashamed of looking at you? Of admiring all of nature's bounty before him.

He's handsy if you allow it, holding onto your hips where the slits of the dress show off your skin. Pressing kisses to the back of your neck just over the collar. Halsin always loves getting to see more of your skin, and this dress is certainly showing it off.

In general, he is a big believer in wearing whatever you want and enjoying it. He's hardly going to get jealous about others getting to admire you, so long as he's allowed to look as much as he pleases as well.

Even better, when you still have water clinging too you after being healed, dripping down your skin and making the dress cling even tighter.

You'll have him pressed up to your back to murmur in your ear about what he would like to do to you the moment you can both slip away.

And once you get the chance, he'll be between your thighs with the skirt pushed up around your hips. And you'll get to see just how long he can gold off before tearing the dress off of you completely.

Gale

"Oh! Yes, well, um, you look lovely! That sure does, well, show off your figure. Hmm. Yes."

This man is bright red and cannot look away from you. Yes, he can be blatant in his own flirting, but you make his brain shut down sometimes. And in this dress? Oh Gods

He is trying so incredibly hard to be a gentleman. He is NOT staring at your legs or the cut out in the back of the dress or how much it reveals of your chest or the way it clings to you as close as he wants to be. He is definitely not thinking about any of that. He missed his spell for unrelated reasons.

Show off in front of him, put yourself in his line of sight constantly. He will be going insane trying to stay polite and focused. And it's always a fun game to see if you can make him trail off in the middle of a monologue about magic.

Gale will spend an entire day suffering and watching you and trying not to say anything about it, but the moment the party breaks camp, he is dragging you into his tent to show you just how much he likes this dress on you.

You've left him so pent up after the whole day. He can't get enough of you, touching and grabbing and kissing you like you're the air he needs to survive.

The dress stays on until he's made sure you are both fully sated for the night. And he swears that if you wear it again he won't be so patient.

And if he's going to make a promise like that, he shouldn't be surprised when you wear it the next day.

Astarion

"Ohoho, please do say you're all dressed up for me, love."

He thinks this is delightful and would do the same thing if he could find something flattering enough.

Trying to tease him with it? No, that's his game. He's teasing you by letting his hands just barely touch you, appearing behind you to whisper in your ear about how delectable you look. Then slipping away before you can say anything back.

If he's noticing anyone else paying you too much attention, he'll make fun of them for it, but he's also likely to stick closer to your side, his arm around your waist. Showing the world that you're his.

He's the least worked up about the dress, but he likes it when you still stay by his side regardless of how much attention it gets you. He's just as much yours as you are his, and he'll be more than willing to reward you for being such a sweet thing all day.

He wants to see the way the fabric presses into your skin when you arch your back and let him sink his teeth into your neck.

[circus-clangen]

A New Era of CircusClan

GOOD NEWS! After a MONTH of waiting, I finally have internet in my new place! That was the last loose end to be tied up and I can FINALLY feel like this is sort of home, as well as FINALLY being able to post again!

In my absence, I've decided I want to take Circusclan in a different direction... more vague and scary as opposed to silly. Don't get me wrong, I will still be posting PLENTY of silly stuff, but more likely compiled together in askbox dumps once or twice a week so it doesn't overwhelm everything else.

The TLDR of the changes I want to make: Scarier, more thought out, and more mysterious. I want to make this less of a clangen comic and more of its own thing (though still shaped by clangens events!) You will see the new format next moon... and OH what a moon it will be.... Until then, I'm going to be answering asks and working on circusfan drawings at a slower pace! While you wait, my past three puzzles are still UNSOLVED!! So if you haven't yet, or even if you have, take a crack at them! I haven't gotten any right answers yet!

[olderthannetfic]

I'll be the first person to talk about how AO3 is just that, an archive. How there's no algorithm. How there's no point in constantly being the "first" (most recent) work in the ship/fandom/character/etc tag. How it's NEVER rude to leave a genuinely kind comment on any work, no matter how old or how new it is. You comment 10+ after the post date? Awesome. You comment -10 minutes after the post date? Awesome.

But I'm having a hard time taking my own advice! I recently came out of a huge slump and started posting again for a longfic for a pretty popular pairing, a pretty popular fandom, and a pretty popular trope. I haven't gotten many comments/kudos yet -- which is fine, I'm just so happy to have my motivation back -- but the thing is is that I'm literally posting multiple chapters a day. (By multiple I mean two or three, so nothing TOO insane.) Now, the nature of the work is that most of the chapters are pretty short (I'm too scared to say what it is out of fear of revealing myself, but I will say it's NOT a drabble/etc collection or anything word-count based. it's more similar to something that is meant to parallel the length and format of the source material.) But I still have this weird insecurity that I'm pushing my fic on people who don't give a fuck, that people who check the tag multiple times a day are just getting annoyed and thinking "I've had enough of this guy."

And that's alright! They can block and/or mute and/or filter! I've certainly felt that way before seeing fics that I'm not-so-interested in constantly being the forefront of the tag. I just scroll on, and maybe think to myself, "well good for that author for having a schedule". I'm not necessarily venting about my feelings themselves, but moreso about the nature of my feelings...I almost feel like I've become "algorithm-pilled", if that makes sense? Like I'm so hung up on this, I keep worrying people are gonna think I'm just constantly posting in order to be on top. And I'm not, and they're wrong if they think that, and again, I really don't care in the long run if people jump to such wild conclusions, but it's like...ugh. I would not have cared about this even a few months ago. I truly do not know what is wrong with me and why I'm suddenly fussing so much. Maybe it's almost a "stage fright" thing because I'm returning to the work after so long. Maybe I just need to comfortable again.

(I didn't necessarily send this for reassurance, but I am happy to have comments that gently poke fun at how much I am over-reacting ha. I'm mostly just rambling in general because I don't want to post this on my actual tumblr, which is linked to my ao3.)

--

Alas, logic and emotions rarely line up.

[mashandmartinis]

I finally watched GFA yesterday evening and I'm still thinking about it this morning, so here's a few unassorted thoughts about it all (GFA spoilers, obviously, if you haven't watched it yet)

First of all I love how long it is. Not just because it's more MASH for everyone to enjoy — but because it gives the writers time to slow down the pace from its usual 25-minute sitcom format and let the characters (and the scenes) breathe for a bit. I haven't gone back to check, but it feels like the characters say goodbye for the last 15-30 minutes of the episode; the pacing slows down until it feels like the audience is right there, waiting along with the characters to watch everyone ride off into the distance. The pacing has slowed and yet it feels so quick, because the area has cleared in a matter of minutes. 2 or 3 years spent in close quarters, enduring a very specific kind of trauma, clinging to unlikely friends in an unlikely place, and it's all over with a few hugs, a kiss, and a few goodbyes — and you're all aware you'll probably never see each other again. Not in the same way, anyway, because paying a visit (if even that) will hardly recapture what it felt like to live together for so long. They might write, and even that's a stretch for most of them.

Not everyone is okay by the end of it. They're all damaged in one way or another, some more than others: Mulcahy has to change his profession to accommodate his hearing loss, Charles finds that music is now unavoidably tied to his experiences in the war (he can't enjoy the thing he used to enjoy most without enduring at least a vivid memory of his trauma), Hawkeye recovered from his nervous breakdown enough to be functional again, but he's not quite better, and chances are he never will be. I could go on. They all go back home changed men and women, in both good ways and bad, and they'll be all alone in figuring out how to navigate the real world as a changed person. The people who will recognise them best are the people they spent the war with, and instead they'll be back with their partners and parents, their children, who expect to see the person they waved of three years ago. They'll have shoulders to lean on, but they're not covered in khaki anymore.

Going back home was their biggest dream, the one wish that prevailed in the entire show, kept everyone going — and as an audience, you dream and hope right alongside the characters. The war ending and everyone getting to go home was the best ending they could have gotten, and they did, and it's such a joyous occasion — but it's incredibly bittersweet. Because this is also an ending. Because they're never going to see these friends they made again. Not in the same way, anyway — and by the time they do meet again, if they meet again, life will surely have changed them once more.

[everliving-everblaze]

One of the things that's stood out to me most while reading this book in a visual format is how much this series is about caring adults. I always knew, from my first read, that KotLC was at its core about belonging. It's about the lonely, bullied child's desire to be swept away to a world where they belong. It's about family.

But reading the graphic novel, I've been struck by how many of the people who first make Sophie feel that she belongs are the adults, not her peers. Sure, Fitz is important to it, but he and Biana both scoff at her lack of knowledge, while Alden and Della constantly reassure her, and even try to adopt her. Mr. Forkle protects her and looks out for her while her peers bully her. Tiergan instantly recognizes how hard her life has been and seethes at how she was put in that situation. Elwin sees her, cares for her, and makes her feel comfortable and intelligent when she's felt anything but. I haven't gotten to Grady and Edaline yet, but I know they're going to be right there too.

It's really making me realize why this series was the one I latched onto, over so many others I read. I was the kid who was friends with adults, who didn't get along with kids my age. I looked to those who were older over my peers; I was the teacher's pet.

There's something so significant about this series, over so many that are about kids being given power they aren't ready to handle, in that this one says you shouldn't have to handle it. Over and over, adults are angered at responsibility being placed on children. Over and over, they care, being not just assistants to the kids like in so many middle grade books, but being instrumental to everything that happens. The adults still aren't the protagonists—but how many middle grade series do you read where there are more important adult characters at the beginning than other kids?

I realize something now about why this series was comforting to me over every other. It's still a story where kids get agency and get to be the most powerful, the rulers of the story. But where so many middle grade stories make me go, "Where are the adults? Why don't they care? Why are they so incompetent?" this series shows me adults who love kids deeply and do everything for them—but still can't help that the kids are the ones who have to save the world.

[dlscenarios]

Thief - Akira Kurusu/Ren Amamiya x Reader | Persona 5

I have started pretty much EVERY format P5R comes in & I have finished NONE of them—

Things started getting weird when the infamous transfer student came to Shujin. He was the talk of the school. Everyone would whisper about how he's a criminal, how he "definitely killed someone", that he was "involved in drug deals."

When he walked into your homeroom class, you couldn't pull your eyes away from him. He didn't look like someone that would commit crimes.

Soon after, word got around that he and renowned troublemaker, Ryuji Sakamoto, had gotten in trouble with Kamoshida. Days later, a bright red card was plastered across the school. You took one off of the board and read it.

The note stated that whomever wrote it knew of Kamoshida's crimes and would make him pay for his sins. Putting the card into your bag, you walked away only to notice the transfer student, Ryuji, and Ann Takamaki whispering to each other. You sped away before they could notice you.

Everyone knew Kamoshida was evil, but the day he burst into the gym and confessed caught everyone off guard. This started talk of the "Phantom Thieves" being real.

Before leaving the gym, you approached the group of misfits, tapping the transfer student's shoulder. You asked him to meet you on the roof after school, which he agreed to.

You paced the roof in circles until the boy came through the door. After exchanging hellos, the two of you sat at the group of desks.

"We haven't officially met yet. My name's Y/N." You started, fidgeting with your fingers.

"I'm Akira. Nice to meet you." He gave you such a sweet smile. It was hard to believe this was the guy students were weary of. "I have a feeling you didn't want to meet here for just introductions, right?"

You shook your head, "No. It's about Kamoshida."

Akira perked up, adjusting in his seat before nodding for you to continue.

"Those cards from the other day. Signed the 'Phantom Thieves of Hearts'. Were they from you? I saw you, Ryuji and Ann talking close by. Plus, word is that Kamoshida wanted to expel you right before those cards showed up," You paused to pull out the calling card you had in your bag, "It says that they will make him confess his sins. The next day, he didn't show up to school and then today, he confessed to everything."

"Maybe the timing was just a coincidence." Akira responded, briefly glancing at the card.

"But it's suspicious! You showed up and it was like Shujin got flipped upside down! Kamoshida's been abusing students for years and if anyone opposed him, he ALWAYS won. Then you came and, magically, Kamoshida crumbles. It's too strange to be a coincidence."

Akira smirked.

"What if I WAS involved? You didn't want Kamoshida to stay the way he was, did you?"

You jumped out of your seat, "Of course not! I'm glad he's getting locked up! But...if you ARE a part of the Phantom Thieves, I won't tell anyone. I'm your ally."

Akira stood. "In that case," he gently placed his hand on your head, "Glad to have you on our side, Y/N."

You turned your head, "Yeah yeah. Just let me know if there's anything I can do to help you guys."

~

After that rooftop encounter, you grew closer to Akira, Ann and Ryuji. You even grabbed the attention of Mishima, who asked if you could assist him with his Phantom Thieves website. You were there to greet the new thieves as they joined the squad. Akira had even asked you to hang out with him one-on-one numerous times.

Slowly but surely, you've begun to consider the band of misfits your friends.

One night, you were at Leblanc after Akira called, wanting you to try the coffee he'd learned to make.

You sipped, careful not to burn your tongue, and hummed. "It's delicious. You're getting better at this, 'Kira."

The black-haired boy smirked, dramatically posing.

"Guess you could say I've stolen your tastebuds."

You burst into laughter, grabbing onto the bar as to not fall off of the stool.

"That is the dumbest thing you've ever said to me!" You took a breath, trying to steady your voice, "Aren't criminals supposed to be sly?"

Akira shrugged, "Maybe I'm just special."

You rolled your eyes. "Yeah, maybe you are."

The thief leaned on the counter, looking at you with a soft gaze.

"You're special too, you know?"

"How?"

"Let's see. You were the first person to know we were the Phantom Thieves, you are willingly helping us even though it's dangerous, and you-" He gently booped your nose, "-are the cutest person I've ever met."

"Mmh." You leaned on your arm, ignoring the heat rising to your cheeks. "You're cuter. Do you know how many students say you're the hottest criminal they've ever seen?"

Akira lowered himself to your level, looking into your eyes. "They don't have a chance with me though. I've already got someone I'm interested in."

"And who is that?"

"You." Akira rose to place a kiss to your head before walking away, taking off his apron. You buried your face in your arms.

Suddenly, you perked up and called out to Akira.

"Maybe you ARE a thief, because you've stolen my heart!"

[softxsuki]

Hiii, i just joined the club and everything here is amazing!!! I absolutely love how you write and i wanted to make a request if it's ok, it's half urgent half not...let me explain: these last days have been very stressful for me and i have been trying to find a comfort mha fanfic for a simular situation as mine, i feel like a i need attention but now just soft one like a worried kind one and not from a partner but from more like a fatherlike figure i need to feel secure and cared for to relax before i breakdown :")...idk if you take requests with characters other than bakugou etc but i really wanted to request this fan fic:

Reader is part of class 1A and she's been having trouble at home and training hard plus insomnia, in other words she's not feeling too great but she always takes part i class, trains and never skips anything. Mr Aizawa has noticed that the last few days reader seemed out of it so he decides to have a talk with her after class but reader in that specific day has been feeling much worse than the other past days of exhaustion and while Mr Aizawa is expressing his concerns and trying to get her to talk to him she has a stress induced seizure and then passes out from then all carrying reader for urgent check up and the comfort. :))

I would be so happy if you took this request...thank you so much for all your hard work!!

Aizawa Comforts Reader Who Has A Stress-Induced Seizure

| Pairing: Aizawa x Fem!Reader (PLATONIC) | Genre: Comfort | Post-Type: Headcanons | Word Count: 650 |

Warnings: Mentions of seizures, stress, insomnia, alluding to at-home troubles

Note: Hey, welcome to my blog it's great to have you! I don't write for Aizawa anymore because I'm just really bad at writing for him as you'll see NBFHKEAFJ. But I wanted to make this for you since it's a topic I haven't been asked for yet, but moving forward for anyone reading this, I do not write for Aizawa so please don't send any requests for him :3. I have a full list of characters that I do write for on my navigation page if anyone wants to check that out. But hopefully this does it's job for you! All my urgent requests are written in headcanon format so I hope that's okay! I hope the stresses in your life ease up so you can get the rest you need ! <3

You could feel your head pounding as Aizawa asked you to stay for a few moments after class, a worried expression on his usual stoic face

It had been a tough week for you, with your usual troubles at home and the countless nights you’ve had without sleep

Yet instead of taking a break, you pushed yourself even harder, training every day and never missing a class

It got to the point where Aizawa could see how out of it you were, hence why he pulled you aside

You could hardly focus on the words he was saying, but by the look on his face it seemed like it was serious

Tingles shot up your body as the pounding in your head grew more severe, and before you knew it, your body was convulsing

Alarmed, Aizawa supports your head, waiting for your violent shakes to cease from the little knowledge he held about seizures fill his mind, but once you go still, you're passed out from your lack of sleep and fatigue that had filled your body these past few days

He lifts you up and brings you to Recovery Girl who watches over you until you finally wake up later in the day when classes are over

Upon opening your eyes, you see Aizawa asleep in a seat beside the bed in the room

“Aizawa Sensei,” you say softly, making the older man jolt at the sudden noise, his eyes immediately on you as he sits up

“How are you feeling?” He asks with a sigh, rubbing his tired eyes

It was the most rest you’d gotten the whole week so of course you felt a lot better, but you could see the slight furrow in Aizawa’s brows as you speak, letting him in on your rough week and how you’ve been feeling in general

“L/N…you’re a great student and I know you want to give it your best, I see the effort you’re putting in, but you can’t do it at the expense of your health. Take the next few days off recuperating at the dorms. I’ll have Uraraka or Yaoyorozu bring you any work you miss. Don’t bring yourself to your breaking point like this again”

He’s stern, and stoic as usual, but you can hear the tinge of concern in his tone, you’re his student so of course he’d be worried about you just suddenly collapsing and having a seizure like that

You were ready to protest–how could you go a full week without training? You’d fall behind your classes. Seeing your inner turmoil, Aizawa speaks again

“You’re free to train after class hours for no longer than an hour each day, I’ll have one of your classmates observe you…Just know your teachers are here for a reason, even if you feel like you can’t come to me, every teachers here at UA has an obligation to be there for their students, so reach out if you need it. I’ll be stopping by the dorms to check in on everyone more frequently from not on, so please rest”

You nod your head in agreement, with Aizawa’s support perhaps you could work your way through your troubles and stresses moving forward in a better way

You were a future hero, if you couldn’t properly take care of yourself, how could you save anyone else?

With a small smile, Aizawa pats your head, standing up from his seat as he nudges his head towards the door

“Then let’s get you back to the dorms, Recovery Girl said you were set to head back once you woke up”

And with that, Aizawa leads you back to the dorms where everyone is informed of your situation (briefly) to make sure you actually do rest instead of overworking yourself again for the next few days and even moving forward in general

Not only do you have your teachers support, but even the support of your classmates

Posted: 4/15/2024

[songoftrillium]

Werewolf: the Essentials Project Update 12/1/2024

Hello, Kinfolks! So, where is book 1?

In the words of an old teacher: "Vinegar is fine, but wine takes time." If you take something sweet and let it ferment, you'll get a tasty drink sooner or later, but there are many steps between juice and wine, requiring checks and cleanup and careful measuring. Vinegar on the other hand, put anything sweet in any jar and it'll be vinegar in a couple days without trying. It's easy to make something sour, but making something of lasting value takes effort.

In short, the book is not ready yet. I'm still not happy with what we have and it needs a little more work done, both in terms of writing and layout. Some pieces we're waiting for and life just got in the way of some deadlines. Others need some rewrites to capture the pathos right. Others just need laying out and we haven't gotten to them yet.

So, what's our road map for release look like?

Copy editing and layout

In-Line writing

Annotation

Indexing

Preflight

Let's break this down:

Copy Editing and Layout

The copy edit is where you have the written portions of a document and lay it out in a book. This becomes a game of word economy on the page, and sacrifices (and embellishments) have to be written to make things all fit in their sidebars and sections in a manner that is visually satisfying and doesn't waste space. My design ethos is that nobody wants to pay for white paper and double spacing. This isn't a college essay after all.

Where the document template we've been using to write can hold about 900 words per page, the book is tidy enough to hold about 1300 words per page, taking all the preplanned formatting in the master docs largely out the window by the time it hits the page. While we can (and do) perform some formatting magic to flex this number a bit and add graphics to fill out dead page space, that'd require we add and format images for every single page, which I refuse to do. We'd be looking at hundreds of images in the book. While there is some degree of using graphics to fill in dead space, when it's deliberately padded this way on every page, it stands out in an unpleasant way.

In-line Writing

On the note of not using too many images to fill in dead space, I'm doing some writing while doing layout, and by some, I mean a lot. On average I'm adding an extra 100 words per page as I go along. As a perfectionist I'm trying not to make the words empty either, so of what writing I am doing, it's adding value to the book on the whole. While 100 words per page doesn't sound like a lot, in the scale of 250-300 pages I am effectively writing a novel in addition to what's already written. Getting closer to the holidays, people are spending more time with their loved ones and nearly all this writing is being handled myself.

Annotation

This is the biggest one. Annotation involves not just making endnotes referring people to other books but also cross-referencing sections inside the book. If someone sees the word "Rekindling" in the book and clicks it, they can be instantly taken to the main section of the book written on the subject. This elevated the final product to one that is not just informative but also useful at the tabletop for quick lookups.

These cross references have to be added for every instance of that kind of referencing, and that takes time. That same treatment comes for both things being indexed for the back of the book, as well as formatting for the table of contents. This is all well and good, but also, cross referencing cannot happen until all the book sections are added, so there will be additional time needed even after I'm done with the layout. We have our citations ready thankfully, we just need those sections down.

Indexing

Which brings me to indexing, another task that largely needs to happen after all book sections are added and laid out. In order for an index to be effective you don't just need to flag words to add, but you need to create topics and subtopics, and designated white indexed topics are written more comprehensively than others. Like cross referencing, the ability to rapidly find the core articles being indexed means having those sections defined. If you index things without the right topics to place them under you're just doubling the work needing to get done.

Preflight

This one's gonna hurt, and tbh is a massive unknown for how long it'll take to pass. Preflight is a term used by desktop publishing software that consists of a system of checks and error reporting to ensure the book doesn't contain formatting errors before rendering it to its final document. This encompasses word table flow, graphics resolution, and color grading. This is the final check stage, and if we do not pass it, the software may not render the book correctly (or may not render it at all.) WtE as a series is being produced in what I'm calling a "Print-Ready" state. This means the final document is being made at high resolution, in a CMYK color profile, as though it will be printed as a book. To be clear, we are not planning to print hard copies at this time (Paradox Interactive's community content guidelines do not allow printed fan material at the time of this writing.) What this does offer, however, is future-proofing. Should the opportunity present for the series to be printed, it can happen without any ceremony. This will also accommodate higher resolution screens in the future, and we can release a higher dpi edition in ten years.

That said, however, passing preflight is a Sisyphean task, where solving one prerequisite may unsurface others. Converting graphics in RGB over to CMYK is also no one-click operation without things coming out a lot duller in appearance. While it's not hard to do all the proper conversions, it's tedious, and the more images added to the pile, the more time spent converting things manually.

Text being pushed behind the borders of a table is easy to miss and may lead to missing book passages. It's an easy mistake to make, and indeed several older edition books have passages missing for this exact reason. Then, when you bring it to wrap into the next table, it may wreck formatting for the rest of the chapter and need further corrections.

I'll be the one to say giving a fixed release date was a mistake, and it's why I'm not giving a hard release date on final release. I thrive on deadlines, but a deadline on final delivery is a dangerous gamble. I can say confidently we're past the worst of it and that "Soon" truly means "Soon."

The good news is that we're done with writing, but the book isn't ready yet. So, when is it coming out? I'm not sure. I'm at a point where once we're past preflight, I intend to immediately release it, and that's kind of where we're at. I'll have a future update to announce once we're in preflight. When we hit that stage, it could be a matter of a few days or hours until release.

Vinegar is fine, but wine takes time.

In the meantime, enjoy our comic, Cracking the Bone, and we'll see you soon~!

[tree-obsession]

2.2 SPOILERS!! PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK

this is a small lore discussion! mostly speculation and theories- i have not seen leaks about 2.3 plot yet, but i have seen a couple about boothill's character stories, so please keep that in mind!

trigger for mentions of suicide(aventurine) and mega corps(the ipc)

we have to talk about the ending cutscene with aventurine and boothill more! i'll start with my fav parts that no one really has brought up yet:

Aventurine intimidating Boothill after mentioning the guards are out- Boothill sounded so offput and hasty while reassuring him they were just knocked out, and we have to talk about aventurine himself just being intimidating more honestly his glare actually did kind of scare me.

Boothill pointing a gun at aventurine was. well. i'm sorry i did actually laugh at that. boothill i think you should research your targets a bit more honestly that guy is NOT afraid of guns. he fully walked into the nihility and pointed at least one gun at himself, and just got out of his own meticulously-planned suicide. threats of death won't work, sorry. also he has good reason to hate oswaldo schneider as well- threats didn't even have to be used, probably! he would kill him too, probably(revenge arc go go go!!)

the convo between aven and jade was. yeah. why he's betting his life again, i don't know (maybe sarcasm? or it was really just banter?) but it does seem like the two of them aren't super close at all, at least from what little i could gather. also if diamond hurts aventurine the entire fandom will kick his ass, emanator or no, so he better be prepared for that too lol. also, it was a pretty common theory aventurine would leave the ipc after exiting nihility, since acheron presumably broke his ties- i wonder why he went back? perhaps he had no plans as to where to go, or he has some ulterior motive?

how did he get out of nihility so unscathed? (for context, i haven't gotten aven's text messages yet, but i'm aware of some of their contents since they've been floating around w/out spoiler tags. the messages are mentioned a bit here if you wanna avoid spoilering!) i know argenti got him out, but 1) why was argenti there, or where did he even find him? and 2) that seems so random- both argenti and jade confirmed it, but plot-wise what's even the point of argenti pulling him out? also argenti said he was in a "woeful state" when he got out, and apparently the stonehearts are willing to give aven a break (which i'm assuming is major, since stonehearts are super important and have a lot of responsibility, plus he just destroyed a cornerstone) so him already being back on his feet when we see the phone call is a bit weird right away. he doesn't even sound sick, and ratio or any other doctor is nowhere in sight! (message spoilers start here) i'm aware the aventurine cornerstone was fully shattered/destroyed while protecting him from nihility- was he really in there for who-knows-how-long without any protection at all? he's apparently having nightmares and the ipc needed to call in a doctor of chaos to treat him, which is concerning considering his mental health and general will to live were extremely low even before walking into the nihility. like he genuinely has some of the worst will to live i've ever seen in a character or human being- walking through the nihility should have utterly destroyed him mentally and physically, but it didn't. 2.3 HAS to give us a whole lotta context, especially with nihility lore (my favorite aeon, i may be biased) and more about the ipc!

anyway, thank you for reading this poorly formatted, stream-of-consciousness word vomit about 2.2's aventurine lore. hope you liked it! drop ur thoughts in replies and reblogs plz they give me life(although i will be very busy next few weeks, so please don't be offended if you want a reply and don't get it, im so sorry!)

2.2 was peak- a bit slow, but the story was some of the best, if not the best stuff hoyo has given us in terms of writing quality. so great! i cried for sure, and that boss battle was just everything- especially the music. robin my lesbian queen if i didn't have to pull for firefly i would get your lightcone for sure...

see you all next time! thx for sticking around (:

[whats-she-gonna-post-next]

So I just finished binding Trust Life by the absolutely amazing @chaiandsage (Hello, I am ready to be perceived now, I hope that I have done your story even the slightest bit of justice) and I just wanted to make a post both showing it off, and going through what I learned doing this bind because I did a few new things here and want to talk about it.

Also I'm not going to subject you all to this, so most everything but the final product here is going to be below the cut.

(Also so sorry that the photos aren't the best. I am... Very bad at photography, lmao)

Ok, so let's start off with some of the cool things I learned during this bind. Or, maybe not necessarily cool, but they are things I learned and I think that learning is cool!

First off, I learned how to download and add fonts to Microsoft Word, which while not interesting, does open up a whole world of fonts for future binds. Is it a little late in the game to have found this? Probably. But it is what it is. I actually downloaded a pretty good chunk of different ones, but the fonts I actually used were MF Love Dings for the heart motif dividers, which was a new download, and then a few standard fonts - Edwardian Script ITC for the title pages, Baskerville Old Face for the chapter headers, Book Antiqua for the chapter titles, and good old Garamond for the actual text of the novel.

Here is the divider and the title fonts. I just think they are neat.

Another thing I learned was how to make book cloth! I found these squares of white cotton fabric at a dollar tree and decided to give it a go. The way I did mine was by painting them first (a task in and of itself, and as you can see on the cover, did not turn out super even, but I love them nonetheless) and then I glued down a layer of tissue paper to give it a little stiffness and make it stick to the chipboard easier, it was a super cool process and I look forward to trying it again in the future now that I have done it once and have a better idea of how I can improve in the future

And now onto some of the other cooler parts of the process!

So I had a lot of fun doing the formatting, it's my favourite part of any binding process, I cannot tell you how many fics I have formated that I have yet to print out and actually bind because I enjoy the process so much (the answer is actually 5 that are completely formatted and ready to go, 3 that I am actively in the middle of formatting, 4 projects completed - including this one, which... may technically count as 3, granted 2 of them were gifts for other people - and 3 that I am planning on doing that I haven't gotten to start on yet. Oh, and a 5 part series that I have printed out but haven't actually bound yet. I have a problem, lmao.) As I mentioned, I downloaded a few fonts for this but it just ended up looking so good in the end. Here is what some of the inner formatting looks like (I did just take the screenshots from word, I thought it was easier than getting the pages in the book)

Something else! This was the first time I actually broke a single fic into multiple parts, and I do not regret it. Each section is fairly large on its own, so it would have been a monster all together. I gave them basically the same title pages and such, just used the main stories summary for all of them and copy pasted everything - work smarter, not harder - and kept the same format for the chapters and such. There were 2 obvious spots (at least imo) for breaking things up, those being at the end of chapter 24, and then again at the end of 57, if you know, you know. However, that made the divide be 24 chapter, 33 chapter, 9 chapters. I was a little worried about how that divide to affect the look of the books, but I was pleasantly surprised how well it worked out. Book 2 there is quite obviously the largest part (it's basically double the length of book 1) but book 3 was surprisingly long for being only 9 chapters and I think they look fairly cohesive together. I didn't realize how long the last nine chapters themselves were. The first and third ones are actually about the same size together as book two, which is pretty cool!

When it came time to put together the actual books, I stuck with my tried and true french link stitch, as I find it to be a sturdy stitch, and then used green, yellow, and red card stock for the end pages, I felt it thematic.

I'm super excited to have this as a physical book now, thank again to chaiandsage for allowing me to bind this amazing story and just for writing it in the first place! I read it like twice in the span of a month, and I swear I have read chapter 57 and 58 themselves way too many times to count. Not even going to mention the amount of times I read the last 6 chapters because I just love a good happy ending.

But yeah, I'm really happy how this bind turned out, I still have to put an actual cover in these - which I plan on doing, I have a friend who is going to help me with the cover design when they are free, so there will be an update at some point.

[volivolition]

If able, could we get an update on any of your writings? I loved hearing about them (Not forcing, ofc!)

YOU SURE CAN ANON!! again, as with all of these asks, thank you so much for being interested in my work??? i LOVE talking about my silly fics <333

here's a rough timeline of all my fics btw!! i thought it'd be fun to visualize hkgj i'll be talking a little about all the ones i haven't yet talked about!!

Preface, here's all my fic wips as explained before!! and all my writing can be found in my #inland drabbles tag! ask 1, ask 2!

Message to All Bitches: Please Survive - This funny title has been the name for a while, but I think if I had to choose a serious one, it'd be "Should the Stars Go Out" :3 This is my most ambitious project of all my skill wips, I think, due to the medium i intend on telling it in (it is. technically not a fic?? hkjg) this is also my most secretive project hkgj <33 word count(?) is 2908!!

Meet the Parts that Make You - Kim meeting the Skills fic, though it's mostly been abandoned by now hkgj well, not abandoned, i still really love the concept? but I need to get a bunch of these other fics done first (Let's Make It a Home for worldbuilding, Swept Up for character studies) so I can get everything correct, before introducing it all to Kim hkgjg <33 Nevertheless, word count is 5459!

The Sunrise Momentum - Mostly abandoned, but i still froth at the fuckin mouth thinking about it RAUGHHH. HOLY VOWS. waking up, getting out of bed with depression, that part of you that wants you to live, caring about you so so so fucking much. this hypothetical fic hits very close to home <3 i promise i will keep you alive, as long as you're there to wake up every morning. willpower and devotion. volition is kind of everything to me did you know that? hkgjg current word count: 331 <3

Who Are You, If Not... - Esprit De Corps centered fic! i wrote a lot about it in this ask, but basically: hey, if Harry leaves the RCM, what the fuck happens to Esprit? i have some personal feelings about leaving a community that only used you for what you could give them. to keep going back, trying to check on them time and time again, even when they hurt you. it's cathartic to put it in the perspective of this fic, i think :] also i just think the psyche group is fun for discussions hgkjg esprit, my darling community skill!! current word count: 1497

When Two Skills Love Each Other Very Much - again, funny silly title hgkjg but i think its serious name would be, like, Summer Solace or something? brightest day of the year, sunrise parabellum. hypothetical child of volition and echem, she's hope, y'know? small and trying to grow. something to carefully tend to, to keep alive, and in turn she will keep you alive. this fuckin. symbolism raguguhh i love you baby solace you are MY ANGELLLLLLLLL!!!!!! <333

I THINK THIS FIC IS SO SWEET I LOVE THE SKILLS TRYING TO RAISE A KID HGKJG im so.. it's like how Let's Make It Home redux, the skills are kinda dysfunctional, but they've grown and they're getting better too and they're trying to work together towards a common goal, and together they can do it. i think they've gotten a lot better about working together!! and they all care for this kid a lot <333

Here's a snippet because oh my god i am fond of them (not in AO3 ready format though hkjg)

ELECTROCHEMISTRY presses a tentacle to his cheek to prop up the grin on his face - Hey, man, we've never raised a kid before. Give us *some* credit, at least. VOLITION holds Solace to his chest. She sleeps peacefully, starbright face pressed to his armor at his heart - I am. I think -- despite all the mishaps -- we've been covering all our bases surprisingly well. We wouldn't have been able to do this when we woke up in Martinaise, is all I'm saying here. VOLITION looks up and exchanges a fond glance with Electrochemistry - We've... all grown a lot, haven't we?

^ like hey. if you uh. compare that last volition line to the last volition line in the snippet i shared for unstoppable force? where now volition cannot only meet echem's eye, but LET HIMSELF FEEL AFFECTION FOR HIM?? oh my GOD the parallels, the character growth, i WILL PERISH.

i still do think this fic would be better as a comic hkgjg it feels like a good story to cap it off, and if i ever get the rest of these fics done, i'd want to end on it if i could hkjgg <33 LOOK AT THEIR CHARACTER ARCS. LOOK AT THEM FINDING JOY. GIVING THEM A HAPPY ENDING HKJG

that's about it, i think!! thank you for reading!! (and holy fuckin shit if you've read all of these i will. die for you now. i really appreciate anyone who takes the time to read my rambles, i love you hgkjg <33)

[venturelovebot]

Fluffcember Day Twenty Six: Forgiveness

A/N: Aaaand back at it again with the food related writing. This was originally supposed to be the story for "confessions" but I scrapped it last second and reused it for today instead! Prompt list is by @fluff-cember! Written in headcanon format. Comments and reblogs are deeply appreciated but not necessary!

Warnings: None! Pure fluff!

🎄 "I have a confession to make." Sloan looks at you with puppy dog eyes.

🕊️ "Uh huh?" You hold your box of half eaten leftovers.

🪽 "Um... I got hungry last night while I was working on an essay." They explain.

⛄️ "Yes?" Your disappointment is immeasurable.

❄️ "You didn't specifically say they were your leftovers." They continue. "I just thought they were free game."

☕️ You huff deeply and look down at the food related carnage.

🍪 "Alright, tell you what." You point at them. "I'll forgive you on one condition."

🎁 "Yeah?" They listen keenly.

💫 "I'm the one who cooks for us constantly. Make me dinner. That's the condition." You place your leftovers in the microwave to heat up.

🔔 "Yes, boss..." They sigh in defeat.

🎄 Cooking.

🕊️ Ah, cooking.

🪽 We all do it.

⛄️ Them? Perhaps less so. You enjoyed doing it. Therefore, they never had to worry about it.

❄️ They've cooked for you quite a few times as well– but when it all comes down to it, you're the one who did it the most.

☕️ Sure, they made you some soup when you were sick.

🍪 Or made some cookies here and there when you were in the mood.

🎁 Having the whole responsibility for dinner on their shoulders though?

💫 Devastating.

🔔 But, they accept the challenge.

🎄 You sit in the living room catching up on your favorite TV show while they tie the apron around their clothes for extra flare.

🕊️ It definitely added a charm point or two– and that's what they're going for here.

🪽 "Don't make a mess." You chide them.

⛄️ They sigh. They haven't even gotten started yet!

❄️ There's little time to sulk, however.

☕️ It was time to get to work.

🍪 They rack their brain on where to begin, and after about a minute they decide to start shaping the meatballs first.

🎁 Slowly, they take pinches of ground beef and roll it together alongside some egg and plenty of spices.

💫 They add the soup pot onto the stove and start to cook the vegetables in order to soften them up.

🔔 Garlic, carrots, tomatoes, potatoes and green beans.

🎄 In goes the broth, bringing it to a boil.

🕊️ Meatballs are last.

🪽 "Are you alive? You haven't said anything." You peek into the kitchen.

⛄️ "Y-yes! I'm just focused! Sorry!" They smile at you.

❄️ After about fifteen minutes of waiting, everything is nice and thoroughly cooked through.

☕️ "It smells good!" You grin. "And the kitchen is still in tact!"

🍪 "I told you I wasn't that bad!" They playfully defend themself.

🎁 "Oh! Look! You're using my apron, too! So adorable." You lean in to place a kiss to their cheek.

💫 They ready your bowls with plenty to eat.

🔔 You take a seat next to them at the dining table, lovingly waiting for them to sit next to you before you take a bite.

🎄 Then...

🕊️ It's empty.

🪽 The soup barely lasted thirty minutes between the two of you.

⛄️ Not only are you now full and content, but you're certainly not mad about your leftovers anymore.

❄️ "Okay! You're forgiven." You smooch them once again.

☕️ "Huh? Oh–" They had utterly forgotten the reason they were cooking in the first place.

🍪 "You should cook more often! You're a good chef!" You praise their hard work.

🎁 "A-ah, no where near as good as you, though." They blush.

💫 "Is that why I'm always the one having to make dinner?" You laugh.

🔔 If only you knew.

[sweetlikehoneystingslikeabee]

Switching gears since I recently refamiliarized myself with your character list...any general romantic HCs for Deadpool?

"Merc with the Mouth romance HCs" Deadpool x reader

Hey I've haven't gotten to do Deadpool yet! This is fun! I'll do sfw and nsfw.

Tw: Suggestive and smut, SA mention

Sfw:

His dates are not always Good or Safe but they are always Memorable. Someone is trying to kill him every other week. Either because he pissed them or ruined their plans. You'll be fine, just don't be shocked when he gets his hand blown off and kills several men when you were just trying to have a nice night out. You can bond while it grows back.

If you ever needed someone to enable your nerdy habits, look no further. He maims people who spoil the newest book, he'll sit through hours and hours of marathons, and he thinks it's very sexy that you know fun facts and behind the scenes details. Now put on Lord of the Rings and make out with him during the Gollum scenes.

So many dumb emoji texts. Like a huge string of emojis with all the different hearts in different color formations- rainbows, sexuality flags that match what yours might be. And sweat drops. And... cactus emoji? It definitely means something and it's meant to be affectionate, just roll with it.

He's that guy who takes you to your favorite restaurant just because he can. There's nothing special going on. He just wants to spoil you and really loves seeing you smile. Then a massage for you and maybe a bubble bath-

The stupid antics he will get to so you'll to laugh. Particularly if you're having a bad day, he will get downright slapstick if it will bring you a little bit of joy. Someone could argue it's a personality fault where he feels he has to be entertaining to have value to you, but maybe right now isn't the time to unpack that.

Nsfw:

Down for pretty much anything. Seriously. Tie him up, put him in a dress, peg him sideways- He'll try anything at least twice to see if he likes it.

the only thing that is an absolute no for him is CNC (consensual non-consent) or anything in that vein because of being a canonical SA survivor. I know I don't really write for that anyways, but I think it bears mentioning given his character and past.

Man has little to no shame so if you're not into public space fucking, you should let him know early on. He will get it on in the alleyway behind the taco shack. Tacos just get him feeling frisky sometimes, you understand.

The very definition of a switch. His playful nature allows him to slip to a submissive role easily even if people who don't know him take any of his comments seriously. He's dead-ass, use him like a toy and tell him how breedable he is if you're into that <3 He's also more than willing to take the reins and top or be in a dominant role if that's your preference. If you're also a switch you guys can just take turns depending on the move.

he's incredibly self-conscious in serious, intimate moments about his body. Particularly the first time. Okay, this is him, scarred up and looking like a fucked up Freddy Krueger. You sure you still want... this? He can put his clothes back on and he can do stuff to just you if you'd rather. Or he can turn the lights off... or...

It's so much easier to joke around than have to acknowledge he really looks like this. Once you've been together a minute, though, he'll realize you really do love his sexy ass.

[dgiacomo]

🍍 SPECIAL PAGES 🍍

[ 🍍 Read From Start 🍍 | ⭐ Cast Page ⭐ | 🖤 Gift Art Archive 🖤 | 🍎 Art 🍎 | 🌟 Ref Sheets 🌟 | ✨ Tournament Archive ✨ ]

🍎 READ DGIACOMO ELSEWHERE 🍎

If Tumblr isn't comfortable for reading a whole comic for you, there are plenty of options you have as alternatives! Please feel free to read however suits you best; Read on Comic Fury (Website view, classic webcomic format) Read on Comic Fury (Endless scroll view, probably the easiest way!) Read on dexmckinnery.com (My standalone website!)

⭐WHAT TO EXPECT FROM DGIACOMO THE COMIC⭐

DGiacomo is a Pokémon Scarlet and Violet fancomic/ask blog hybrid! It is primarily about the humans and their interpersonal relationships, though Pokémon are occassionally present. It addresses the lives of Giacomo, Mela and the other members of Team Star after the bullying they went through years prior.

There are mild mature themes occasionally (but never any smut). There will also be the occasional swear.

DGiacomo as a comic is body positive, though some characters may have different, conflicting opinions. Every character has their own view on things, it's an important aspect of the comic!

DGiacomo is partially audience participation, so feel free to interact with the characters if you want to! Send in asks to the blog here, comment on a post, or leave a comment on ComicFury to take part. =)

There ARE romance subplots between adult characters. In DGiacomo, Giacomo, Mela and the other Team Star bosses are adults. Giacomo and Mela are 25 and 24 respectively!

This comic builds upon canon as a general rule! If there is a detail, I've gotten it from building upon cues and hints left in the game itself... this is but one interpretation, but I try to respect canon if possible. =)

And you don't need to know anything about Pokémon, Scarlet and Violet or even have played the games (or any of the Pokémon series) to enjoy this comic! Please feel free to give it a try, even if you've never played!

If you see replies from @dexmckinnery on tumblr, that's the artist/writer (me!)

It is 100% ok to follow this blog, following is encouraged! It lets me know you're there and supports me making more of the comic. Same goes for likes, comments and reblogs, please do! These interactions make me happy and are very, very welcome!

🌟 HOW TO SUPPORT DGIACOMO 🌟

First of all, thank-you all for the support you give in just reading the comic to begin with =)

If you'd like to "give back" to DGiacomo, the best way to do it is by leaving your likes on the comic posts, maybe give the ones you like a reblog! Follow the blog so I can see you're interested... and show your friends!

It can never be understated how much of a feel-good boost it is just to see people enjoying what you do... you can keep this comic going and me healthy and able to work on it just by showing me you're there and interested!

Alternatively, I do have a ko-fi which you can access HERE! Donations to my ko-fi help relieve a bit of financial burden and will improve the quality of all my comics AND my life, not just DGiacomo.

[I realised that... 1.5 years later, DGiacomo still doesn't have a pinned post at it's source (this blog!)... and I've realised also that tumblr pushes dashboard view so hard, I'm not even sure that all readers realise there's an entire theme on this blog with links to a chronological view, cast page and gift art page.

So I'm going to put together a pinned post with useful links, other ways to read this comic, how to support the comic and give me energy to keep going and what to expect in DGiacomo for people who maybe haven't read yet. =)

Watch this space! This is what this post is going to turn into! (If there's anything else you guys think would be helpful/useful to add to this pinned post, please let me know!)

[niuttuc]

My Favorite Cards from 2024: Foundations

The year is pretty close to over, so let’s go back over the sets released this year (with new cards at least), and go through a few of my favorite cards from that release. I’ll group together stuff released together, in this case it’ll be the main Foundations set and the Foundations Jumpstart cards. Particularly welcome reprints might also get a mention.

I've been having a lot of fun with Raise the Past, and it's an excellent example of what new Foundations cards should be: a card that's simple, yet still powerful and at a rate we haven't really seen before. In the wake of Rally the Ancestors and Return to the Ranks. A mass of small creatures is a very white way to use the graveyard, and very fun.

A very splashy 3-drop, if you'll pardon the pun, Kiora has made an impact in quite a few decks. The base rate of a 3/2 that loots twice on etb isn't bad, but then the opponent has to deal with it anyway even if you've already gotten your value, because they can't just let you have a free 8/8 from your three drop. The looting helps to get to Threshold, wrapping the entire card into a nice package.

Doubling minor graveyard hate with fun copying and stealing effects is a good way to my heart. Abyssal Harvester does that, sadly it's held back by its fragile body on a creature that doesn't do anything until you untap with it. Still, I like the design!

Look at the kitty! It's like the cute dog but not an enchantment! I also love the cute dog, and I love cantripping bodies in the color that can best use them! A cat that'll make its way into plenty of my decks.

A lot of graveyard stuff in this list, but we don't see those kinds of rewards too often in blue, and a card every time is really good. Neerdiv does her best River Kelpie impression for half the cost and available in the command zone, and then she even enables herself!

I do not know why green got this card, but Spinner of Souls sure exists and is good! Not every green creature deck will reliably have creatures dying enough to make it worth the inclusion, but considering that Fecundity sees a decent amount of commander play, and Foster should see a bit more, there are definitely homes there. I do love an Evolutionary Leap. All of that on a body big enough it gets a chance in competitive formats? I'll take it!

Efficient engines that can both attack and draw cards at 2 mana are a really nice place to be in mono-white. Brigone is niche enough to get the counters with her own effect that she's not oppressive, and adds a nice tension between keeping her able to smack people with a lot of counters and getting cards to trigger her. Using her in other counter decks that don't rely on her Heroic effect is also possible, and makes her not just confined to those very few decks.

Twinflame Tyrant is the big mythic dragon for Foundations, and it passes the muster! Not oppressive without haste by itself, it pushes up an effect two mana from when we last saw it this widely on a body with Angrath's Marauders. It's simple, which is a plus, and impressive and gets people excited! Also an art that looks great in foil.

Sadly, I'm not the only one that likes Rev's design, and as a result she's currently at an unreasonable price. Moving past that, getting mana and cards out of every attack is very much something that's worth the four mana, and I do love stealing other people's cards. Being able to get up to three cards and treasures per turn in commander by attacking multiple opponents seals the deal on the design for me... If I can ever get some copies for a price I'd pay for a card in a commander deck.

I like Celestial Armor more than Maul of the Skyclaves, which it compares to. Targeted protection spells are generally too situational to warrant a slot in decks, so one that pulls its own weight by also being a decently threatening equipment in decks that would want that allow this one to be played. This in turn makes the game more interactive, because now players have to play around the possibility of the opponent running some protection spell. Everybody wins! Except the player who's removal spell just got fizzled.

Again, Archmage of Runes is simple, clean and effective. Combining two popular effects into one, not prohibitively expensive card, repaying the one mana more you spend on this compared to an Archmage Emeritus by the time you cast your first discounted spell.

A new Alesha! Who wouldn't love old lady Alesha, still turning sideways and still bringing back creatures to fight. Getting some potential immediate value compensates well the loss of some of the tricks of the original Alesha, but it's still a card I love being in the foundational set of magic.

Reprints:

Seeing this angel package return in Foundations is a welcome sight. Plenty of players love angels and that's a great entry point. Plus Youthful Valkyrie gets an ACTUAL printing this time which should help greatly with supply.

The vegetables package! Duress and Negate kinda HAD to be in the set, it avoids them having to reprint it in a standard set every couple years. Burst Lightning is a welcome surprise in this package of efficient base spells for standard.

In blue, we got the return of Witness Protection, which still holds some of the best trinket text in the game, beautifully tying together the design. Just for the sake of that, it deserves a place here. Brineborn Cutthroat is just a solid way for a flash deck to actually finish the game, and plays into the aspects of blue that appeals to many players (and gets it hated by many other players.)

Vampire Nighthawk more than any other card in Foundations sent a pang of nostalgia through me, and I wasn't even actively playing last time around!

Liliana, Dreadhorde General is a great card that sees play in plenty of commander decks and has seen play in standard, and seeing another reprint to keep the price low is very encouraging!

Scooze is back! I love Scooze! As long as it's not exiling my perfectly fair graveyard strategy, of course. Anyway, it's very funny that Scavenging Ooze started as a card from a commander precon and went on to become a "Foundational part" of Standard.