#I'll be introducing the characters one by one

[sleepiestoken]

i've just pulled out some interesting quotes from the metal hammer article for myself and anyone else interested. anything bolded for emphasis by me.

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George Lever [Sleep Token producer 2016-2021]: The starting point was removing this idea of the music you listen to being related to the person making it. By being anonymous, the listener is forced to relate to what they're actually hearing.

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James Monteith [Tesseract guitarist/publicist at Hold Tight PR]: I was approached by Tom Quigley, who was a scene regular and ran a few blogs at the time. He said he was working with this new band, would we maybe be interested in doing their press? We ended up talking for an hour, and he rolled out the whole concept, the imagery and everything about it... other than the music.

George: The lore/narrative was pretty loose still, but it definitely existed.

James: There was nothing specific as such, more this idea of creating an occult vibe and feeling, led by this prophet-like character who leads a religion.

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George: A lot of the first EP was actually us trying stuff out. We recorded the drums on a whim at Monnow Valley Studio in Wales. I introduced him to one of my friends, who actually still drums in them now.

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James: We always got requests [for interviews], but the band said from the start they were anonymous and wouldn't do them. It helped create more curiosity because nobody could get access to them.

Matt Benton [Metal Hammer writer]: You can't do an introductory piece without an interview. We managed to get an agreement for an email interview with Metal Hammer. Even then, the band knew they didn't want a voice.

Matt: It's one of only a few interviews they've ever done. It's something I'm glad exists, because it's like getting the Word Of God.

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George: I had freedom to offer interpretations of what I was hearing. It was a very fortunate combination of personalities and ideals. There was never any, 'We're going to take over the world' -type chat. It was more, 'Do we like this? Let's do more of that.'

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Nathan Barley Phillips [co-founder of Basick Records]: Trying to keep some sense of anonymity was a real mission. Particularly getting them to and from the stage [at Great Escape festival 2018] without anyone seeing who they were.

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George: We did Sundowning in three months - we went from demo to final master being released in just 12 weeks. We didn't have days off; we'd do seven in the morning until seven, eight or even nine at night every day for three months. We were in each other's pockets; we'd go to the gym together, swim, do the sauna... All this stuff to recover from being sat down all the time. There was a lot of time to spend holistically being friends making this record. We didn't know how to make this thing, but we had a confidence that we'd get there in the end. That's my favourite three-month period of my life.

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George: We started making [TPWBYT] and the first day was when lockdowns began. Tomb... was tough for all of us emotionally. There were lifestyle pressures as a result of the lockdown that made it not very conducive to making art that is supposed to be welcoming. A lot of those songs are, in one way or another, about love, love being lost or remorse, they are compassionate tales that are designed to bring the listener towards the artist. It's hard to do that when it feels like the world is going to end.

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Matt: I've got friends in merchandising and they say Sleep Token shift more merch than any other UK heavy band - more than even Iron Maiden.

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Nathan: Bands like Ghost and Sleep Token aren't successful because they wear masks. They're successful because they write great music. Masks don't mean anything if the music isn't any good.

Matt: I'll be interested to see, when the first official TV movie of the band gets made, the difference between the reality of what happened and the story that gets told. In a way, the myth becomes reality.

[thewertsearch]

Ask Comp 28/04

@worldweary-walker asked: Dad Egbert's genre friction with Homestuck is fun. He is about Serious Business… but he can take a joke! He has the very efficient Wallet Modus, but used a safe to store the note. A man of contrasts. A man of mystery…

Genuinely, the fact that he legitimately was a prankster despite his normie aesthetic is one of my favourite things about the man. Let's hope Dad Crocker is the same.

Anonymous asked: now that you've met her, the final Namco High character is Jane. you still can't play Namco High yet (I think the collection will automatically inform you when it's no longer spoilers) but soon. soon.

The fact that Namco High might actually include plot spoilers for Homestuck is hilarious.

In lieu of evidence to the contrary, I'm going to assume it's the only piece of Homestuck-adjacent media which actually explains the Aspects.

@honestlyvan asked: I hope whatever is going on with you is easygoing, and you don't feel too pressed about this side-project, tbh. I would also rather you take your time with it and enjoy yourself. @marineofthestars asked: 13/04? @gl1tchypyr0 asked: Are you planning anything for 4/13 because Homestuck day? Anonymous asked: so happy you're back! @ramdomartkid asked: Happy 4/13!!!!!!

Thank you - happy to be back!

Don't worry too much about the recent hiatuses - none of them have been prompted by anything serious. Sometimes, I'm just excessively busy, and need to catch my breath a little!

Anonymous asked: rereading your archive, dropping in a couple of my personal miscellaneous voice hc's while im here! John: Abed Nadir (Community) Feferi: Mabel Pines (Gravity Falls) Doc Scratch: The Narrator (The Stanley Parable)

Doc Scratch as the Narrator is inspired, and Mabel fits Feferi surprisingly well.

I've still never seen Community - and, in fact, I'm not sure I even know what it's about. I know about the pizza meme, of course, and I think they play Dungeons and Dragons at one point?

Anonymous asked: Is Sally being introduced to in-fandom memes at the point in the comic where they would have been popular, or are we just going off when they stop being spoilers?

(More the latter. If people want to spread the memes around, then as long as it isn't a spoiler, it gets a pass. And frankly, the two are usually pretty close together. - Vamp)

Yeah, what usually happens with Homestuck's major memes - Pantskat, for example - is that I'll get several asks referencing it immediately after it stops being a spoiler. My spoiler policy being what it is, I'm generally made aware of them during my next ask session after the fact!

@semaphoricwave asked: Hypothetically, if somebody wanted to write a fic about your trollsona's dancestor, would that spark joy or would you rather the hypothetical somebody didn't? The story you've laid out is fascinating and I (I mean, the hypothetical somebody) would really enjoy digging into it, but I also understand if that's not something you'd be interested in people doing with your trollsonas. Also follow-up in case it does spark joy: any other facts about Sahlee Senior that would be of interest to that hypothetical somebody? Either way hope you have a good week!

Absolutely! I'd be thrilled to read any fics involving my OCs. I've DMed you a short character profile on the Hostess that you can use for reference - and if you have any specific questions, feel free to ping me!

Anonymous asked: Just r3ad thr0ugh y0ur liv3bl0g, and I want3d t0 say h0w much I l0v3d r3ading it. Sup3r happy y0u d3cid3d t0 try 0ut th3 3pil0gu3s as well!¡! @heattth asked: I just wanted to say, I've been rereading the whole liveblog and it is a very fun experience. Thank you for having written it.

Thanks a bunch - it's always nice to get messages like this.

Seeing a post's note counter go up is a very abstract way to get feedback. Like, I'm aware that a ton of people are reading (and hopefully, enjoying) the posts, but it's still hard to conceptualize - so asks like this are a great way to make it feel real. I can see irrefutable evidence that people really are having a good time on TheWertsearch dot com, which is all I really ask for.

@mhafanlol2000 asked: Do you think about how Dave and Rose’s prophesied hero’s journeys both ended in suicide. What do you think that says about them? If I have to constantly think about this then so do you.

I think what it says the most is that Sburb loves suicide. It's the default way to achieve the God Tier, after all, and according to Terezi, the game actively wants the children who play it to wrestle with their own mortality.

This, to me, is one of the most explicitly malicious aspects of the game. It's really not necessary to achieve Skaia's stated goals, and I'm unconvinced that traumatizing these children makes them more effective custodians of a universe.

@caliquill asked: dropping in to say - jane is maybe my favourite homestuck character so it brings me great joy to see you cracking at her flaws in a genuine manner. thank you :]

Jane's great so far. She's not a carbon copy of John - and, honestly, she feels like the most unique of the B2 kids so far.

Hussie already had a framework to build on with Dirk, Roxy and Jake, but Nannasprite's main traits were 'grandma', 'ghost', and 'clown', none of which should logically transfer to Jane. She had to be mostly original.

@spiddermen asked: bowman just released a new track for the 16th anniversary! it's awesome and doesnt have any spoilies, it's called on the thirteenth day

Ooh, I'd love to give it a listen!

If anyone can link me a non-spoilery upload of the song, I'd appreciate it. YouTube and Bandcamp are both danger zones, and I'm not sure where else you might find it.

@faggoatquixote asked: “GT: Right o! If a man believes hard enough in imaginary things then i dare say that makes them slightly less fake!” Sounds a lot like talk from another Page boy I know… Rufio anyone?

Which is kind of weird, right?

I assumed Jake's 'belief' schtick was due to him being a Hope Player - but Tavros has said some similar things, and he shares Jake's class, rather than his aspect.

I suppose not every character trait has to be informed by a Player's Title. After all, Jade used to be defined by her clairvoyance, and she's no Seer.

@bellcarved asked: In defense of Jake, he lives alone on an island and has literally run out of people to talk to about this (unless he were to do something like ask Jane to hand her phone to her father and got advice from him)

Oh, for sure. Everything these kids are doing wrong is totally understandable, due to their frankly bizarre home lives - and Jake, in particular, appears to have been living completely alone on that island for some time, which is bound to stunt the guy's social development.

In retrospect, I'm kind of surprised that Jade turned out as well as she did.

@bladekindeyewear asked: And as expected, Kid Bro's hair is ALSO a bird, just a different one than Dave's.

Dirk's just trying to blend in with the local fauna, like his brother before him.

@elkian asked: A fun fandom trend is to give the ectogroups portmanteau names. "Strilondes" was pretty easy, but the Prospit quartet presents some difficulties and is usually an unholy amalgamation along the lines of "Crockerberts" "Harlenglishes" and the ambitious combination of all four like "Harlegbercrockerenglishes" and so on. (I feel like there was a particular one with a lot of staying power but can't recall it exactly.) There's still Reddit threads of the debates around here and there.

This is why I just call 'em the Prospit squad.

I tried to make something that's at least pronounceable, and came up with the Harkersherts. Not a lot of English in there, though.

Anonymous asked: "and I’d bet Boondollars to donuts that Jake and Roxy have 'em too." Come on, 'boondollars to bronuts' was right there.

Damn it! I really do need to step up my bro-punning now that our second Strider has entered the story.

@ben-guy asked: (in regards to your theory about B2 Dave having memory leaks possibly making him interested in Con Air) "something about an old friend" Emphasis on the "old" in this timeline lmao

Oh, good point. It is possible that Dave could have met Poppop Crocker at some point, especially if he was in contact with his Seer sister.

Maybe it wasn't his pre-Scratch memories. Maybe he learned about Con Air directly from the source, after all. <3

Anonymous asked: ”Kneel before Cal” Lil’ dude even if you don’t Know. That’s hella ominous yo

Dirk feels like the kind of guy who doesn't realize how foreboding some of his sentences actually are. He'd do numbers on Tumblr, and you know it.

...I guess, technically, he has done numbers on Tumblr. lmao

@elkian asked: Jane-Dirk is genuinely one of my favorite character dynamics in the entire comic so I'm delighted that they're resonating with you, too! Their conversations are so fun.

Yup! As I said, I'm really happy that Jane, in particular, is not just a remix of John. The way she relates to her friends is quite different from anything we've seen from Egbert - or anyone else, for that matter.

I really hope that this friend group doesn't collapse into some sort of nightmare love quadrangle, because I really am enjoying these dynamics, and I want to see more.

Anonymous asked: Do you think that when you are done for the day you could note that? Maybe as a tag or something? Then people would know to stop checking to see if you add another post?

I would, but the problem is that I never really know if I'm actually done for the day - not until the day is already over. See, I usually just liveblog until I get distracted, and often return later in the evening for a second round - that is, if I haven't fallen asleep before I've had the chance. Perils of ADHD, I guess.

I suppose I could add such a tag the day after a liveblogging session, but that sounds like it'd be too late to be useful for your use case. :/

Anonymous asked: Okay, so Lil' Bro gave both Jake the Brobot, and Jane Sebastian. What do you think Roxy's inevitable robo-buddy will be like?

There is absolutely no universe in which it isn't a cat.

Anonymous asked: Sorry about the spoiler! A while ago, I did some testing on YouTube and incognito mode because I was curious, and I found that, unfortunately, Google isn't fooled by it. YouTube's algorithm definitely prioritizes things you watch in normal mode, presumably to be subtle about this, but it also definitely knows what you watch in incognito. The effect becomes more obvious with an account that watches zero or very few videos in normal mode. (I tested this 3-4 years ago, so I can't say for certain that the specifics haven't changed, but I don't see why they'd have stopped doing this since then.)

Targeting algorithms are just too damn good these days. All I can really do is avoid watching Homestuck videos on my main account, employ a VPN, and hope for the best.

Anonymous asked: More like DORK strider

Fuckin' get him!

@mrjocrafter asked: I mean, you did get this three months ago

Those names were listed in order of likelihood - so yes, I expected it to be Dick. I really did.

Dick Strider seemed like exactly the kind of move Hussie would pull...

@library-seraph asked: Fun fact: when Dirk's name hit the comic, people were upset it wasn't Dick. Hussie still used tumblr back then, so they made a post saying that, as a small dagger, dirk is still a dick joke, and they're annoyed people would want them to go for the lowest hanging dick joke Anonymous asked: You're not alone. A significant majority of the fandom at the time also expected "Dick", enough that Hussie actually addressed it by saying that would have been too on-the-nose. IIRC, Hussie also described "Dirk Strider" as sounding more like a male porn star's stage name, while clearly implying that this is a major upside.

...but I suppose that's exactly why they didn't.

Low-hanging fruit is all well and good, but you can't always choose the path of least resistance, or your story will just keep getting flatter.

@shelbybunny asked: remember this post you made when you liveblogged jack: ascend, and how you wished they had a poster of that sburb shot? well good news PS: i’m pretty sure you can take a look at the full store now, but i’d have someone double-check just in case

(The store is, in fact, spoiler-free now. - V)

Oh, hell yeah!

I'm not going to pretend I'm not tempted - and not just by the poster, either. Those captchalogue boards look great, too.

In order to preserve just a little bit of hope for myself, I'm not going to look up the shipping costs to Europe until tomorrow.

@clueless-rarito asked: While Dave rambles fells a lot like a stream of consciousness that just spills out randomly in the middle of conversations, Dirk's fell extremely intentional and precisely deployed, make you fell he meticulously choose each word to be as full of complete bullshit as humanly possible.

Turns out, Rose and Dave's vibes blend together almost seamlessly. I could probably have told you they would beforehand, but it's still great to see it in action!

@sanctferum asked: Heiress Sans Parent could just refer to Jane's ectobiological origins as a true paradox rather than the beta kids who have ectobiological parents. (The alpha kids are clones of themselves, after all.) Well, either a reference to that or a hint that Dad Crocker is secretly a funny skeleton man.

It better be something like that. If Dad dies again, I'm ragequitting.

@aceotaku asked: when it comes to Jane's scepticism, while being a product of the Condesce's subliminal messaging IS a possibility, Dirk raises another one: that Jane simply only believes things if she's seen them with her own eyes directly, if she has direct proof of them. She's seen prospit in her dreams, she has no reason to think anything anyone says about it is wrong. The things she dismisses are things she hasn't seen directly and thus just thinks it's not true for reasons. or maybe I'm wrong XP

Nah, that's a good take. Jane's a bit of a cautionary tale, then, about how stubborn empiricism can severely limit your understanding of a concept or situation.

Sometimes, you really do have to take a leap of faith.

@liliflower137 asked: Hello!! I only just started reading your liveblog and I just want to say I love your commentary SO much, I read it pretty late (just between it ending and it being sold to viz media so the old website was still around) so my FAVORITE part of homestuck was always the mechanics of sburb, the alchemy stuff is just so cool!! So seeing you theorize about things and talk about how data structures work makes me so so happy, I hope you're having lots of fun!!!

Thank you! I really hope we get some post-Scratch alchemy binges - but sadly, I don't think it's guaranteed, as we're unlikely to be rehashing everything we've seen before.

Even so, there's got to be more we can learn about Homestuck's alchemy system... right?

Anonymous asked: congrats on finally reaching the end of one of Homestuck's Biggest Jokes. The Gift Of Gab.

I'm still hyped over those Dialoglogs - not least because it removes the main metabarrier which was preventing these kids from hanging out in person.

Let's fucking go! It's time!

@sashonya asked: Oh yeah, just a small aside as I'm sure you're going to realize in a bit. It's better to say the full "Act 6 Act 1" instead of "Act 6.1" since the intermissions also count as "Act 6.1"

Hmm. Well, it's pretty easy for me to edit my organizational tags retroactively, so I'll see what format works the best for me, going forward.

Generally, I prefer for these tags to be shorter, though - so if Act 6.1 Intermission needs its own tag, I might write it as Act 6.1.I, or something.

@jack-off-valentine asked: When, exactly, did AH pull an Aradiabot?

I initially asked myself the same question - but by now, I've learned to treat Hussie interludes as the breaks from canon they are.

We're probably never going to be told what's up with robo-Hussie, the same way that we'll never learn why Falkor the Luck Dragon has Lord English's cueball eyes. It's just Hussie being Hussie.

@pineapple-temporarily-moving asked: "By now, Jade should know why she arranged for herself to grab the Wall - but she's acting like she only did it because Karkat told her to. Maybe I'm just misinterpreting what she's saying." future jade told karkat to tell past jade to captchalogue the window because she remembered being told that by karkat (and karkat telling her that she told him to tell her that). it is simply one of homestuck's ubiquitous causal loops and it ultimately technically was only because karkat told her to LOL

Oh, god damn it, you're probably right.

Damn stable loops and their originless information. As much as I love time travel stories, this still has to be one of the least satisfying ways you could possibly resolve a plot thread.

@sanctferum asked: So, Jade, who just became a god tier Witch with striped leggings and ruby red shoes, levels up to Sayonara Kansas as she and John embark upon the Yellow Ruler Yard. Her god-tier self was formed from her living self and Jadesprite, a version of herself too cowardly to do anything despite her incredible power. Jadesprite used to be Dream Jade, whose physical counterpart on Earth was, thanks to Grandpa's inventions, a robotic version of Jade rather than Jade herself. A tin woman, one might say. Dream Jade herself was, prior to her death, notably absent-minded in a way no other dream self has shown themselves to be. It seems likely Hussie originally intended all dream selves to be this way while "asleep", but in the end only Jade acted like her brain was sleeping along with her body. And said dream self ended up being stuffed, of course. Do I need to elaborate on who Toto is in this analogy? No, I don't think I do. Original waking Jade is Dorothy. Jade's all of the Oz cast at once!

Even better:

The climax of Dorothy's story is her learning to teleport!

[the-zine-directive]

* ✵ * ˚ Meet Our Triumvirate! ✦ ⋆ ˚ ✫

The Zine Directive is being spearheaded by a team of three editors: Kat, Margot and Sim. We thought it was about time we introduce ourselves!

Pronouns: she/her Socials: spirk-trek on bluesky and discord, katruyck on ao3, @spirk-trek on tumblr (inactive) Starfleet Division: Probably command or security! I'm a black belt so I might even be a rare member of the red-shirt-survivor club 😏 Kirk, Spock, or McCoy?: Captain Kirk my beloved <3 Favorite OTHER Star Trek character: Chekov for the bridge crew, but I'm also obsessed with Vanna from The Cloundminders! Favorite episode: Operation: Annihilate! for sure. I love Shatner's acting in this episode, and Spock going blind for just long enough for McCoy and Kirk to be sick with guilt only to be like, "oh yeah, I have a second eyelid" is 10/10 writing. Philosophical dilemmas, silly props, shooting on location… Spock being in pain and trying to hide it the whole time... "Let me help" ... what’s not to love?! Least favorite episode: Elaan of Troyius, Wolf in the Fold, and Miri are honestly a three-way tie.  Favorite movie: For Star Trek movies, TMP all the way! For regular movies it has to be Forrest Gump. I've seen it over 100 times and can quote most of it from memory 🙃 Favorite fanfic trope: I love anything soft and full of whimsy. My favorite spirk-specific trope is probably accidental bonding! Anything else we should know? I've traveled a lot (25 countries, 30 states), I went to university in Scotland, I have 24 tattoos (including 2 Star Trek ones), my favorite color is yellow, and I have a history degree!

Pronouns: she/they, but it doesn't matter much to me Socials: ao3 booksrule123, tumblr @margottrek, youtube margot-forgot Starfleet Division: Probably engineering, or just chilling at a starbase somewhere. Kirk, Spock, or McCoy?: Kirk, but McCoy's a very close second. Favorite OTHER Star Trek character: Saavik! I also got very immediately attached to Tasha Yar while watching TNG. Favorite episode: The Empath is the easy answer, but I also love The Changeling a lot. Least favorite episode: The Omega Glory gave me such intense secondhand embarrassment for some reason lol Favorite movie: The Final Frontier is my favorite Trek movie. For a non-Trek answer, that'd probably be the Truman Show. Or one of the animated Barbie movies, for nostalgia's sake. Favorite fanfic trope: I'm a sucker for soulmate AUs, especially platonic soulmates. Anything else we should know? I'm a very tactile person. I like having physical things. so I'm really excited to work on a physical zine project like this! ❤️

Pronouns: ze/zir (or any pronouns) Socials: @self-made-purgatories on tumblr, simtrek on bluesky and selfmadepurgatories on ao3 Starfleet Division: Command gold for me! I would make an excellent helmsman. I am always the driver on road trips! I am planning to pull up a chair between Sulu and Chekov on the helm console and together we can exchange sassy comments about the romantic shenanigans of the captain and the first officer. (I also have a Doylist answer; when my t'hy'la and I cosplay as Kirk and Spock, I am the Kirk. Naturally, I have two Command Gold uniforms: an intact one and a lirpa-sliced one.) Kirk, Spock, or McCoy?: Oh WHY would you ever make me choose? That's just cruel. I'll take all three please preferably in those cutoff crop-tops from Bread and Circuses. If I REALLY had to pick just one, I suppose it would be Spock. He and I are kindred spirits. (Although, if Kirk's shirt is off, so are all the bets.) Favorite other Star Trek character: I adore Lt. Uhura. She is the smartest person on that whole ship. I absolutely love when a fanfic author sneaks in a little incidental "Uhura, you have the conn," as a treat. I also love Scotty, as well as Dr. Miranda Jones from "Is There In Truth No Beauty?" Favorite episode: The Devil in the Dark. It has everything! Big questions about who our enemies are and why. A philosophical exploration of what counts as "life." Protective Spirk! A very intense mind meld. Crying Spock. "By golly Jim, I'm beginning to think I can cure a rainy day!" THE HORTA. (Wait, maybe I will change my answer for "Favorite other Star Trek character" to Mother Horta.) Least favorite episode: Hard to say; maybe The Alternative Factor. The color trickery and the overlaid nebula and the spinning the camera upside-down are interesting effects for the 60s, but aside from Lt. Masters there is very little else happening in that episode. Favorite movie: TMP. It is a BEAUTIFUL film and I will die on this hill. (I am always saying that in order to fully appreciate this film you have to either ship Spirk or be in love with Spock, so either way I'm covered.) Favorite fanfic trope: Old Married Spirk! Vulcan hand kissing!! And Canon Compliant -- I love when authors find a clever way to retcon something that is canon but doesn't make too much sense, like continuity errors or weird dialogue. Anything else we should know? One of my favorite things about this fandom is its extremely rich and long history of fanworks. It's a genuine privilege to become a part of this legacy and help continue this tradition.

[maddascanbe-blog]

Pegasus already had a great design too, if a little monochromatic. Season 6 made the browns more clearly separated and the longer ponytail looks awesome. Also love the confirmation that the miraculous can change, the goggles are definitely doing better at hiding his identity.

Onto the redesign and rewrite notes-

When I first posted Max's design I said I decided to keep him at 13 while aging up the other characters. I'm actually rescinding that, were actually also gonna bump him back to 11. Hence why he looks tiny, babes is smol.

In my rewrite, Max is the archetypical kid genius. He joins the school about a week into the new school year, and is terrified. Because he not only doesn't know what to expect from high school, but his friend's are now several grades behind him. When an akuma attack hits and everyone starts panicking into lockdown, Max is damn near trampled in the hall, until Kim spots him. At which point he scoops him up and carries him on his shoulders into a classroom. After that, Kim essentially becomes Max's bodyguard in addition to an older brother figure. Kim ain't the best at school, so together they work through their assignments. He's also the first person Max introduces to Markov.

The gamer's design is very simple, and I didn't feel like adding much would aid anything, so I just gave him a funky techwear jacket. Because that's what Max thinks pro-gamers wear, duh. I almost gave him pajama pants, but chickened out.

Pegasus, as aforementioned, already looks good. But I've been loving giving the characters more unique silhouettes, so wide pants and vest it is. Fun fact, It took me an hour just to do the line art for his hair, I couldn't get it quite right, and so- so many braids. I did give him the longer hair, free to clip through his back to its hearts content. I also added the mint green from Max' transformation sequence instead of the blue because I liked it better for this particular design.

So here is the big twist- Max only becomes Pegasus once.

HEAR ME OUT!

Max is way, way younger than Marinette and Adrien and neither of them are super comfortable with Max being in the field. They let him help in Startrain because his mom was the ones in danger, and he was the best informed on how to stop the train. But neither were happy at all about it.

Now- I do acknowledge that the horse is too valuable not to have a holder. In fact since I see it as the counterpart to the Rabbit, ya know time and space, it's the only other miraculous Ladybug and Chat Noir decide needs a full time holder. Especially since Hawkmoth attacks outside of Paris sometimes, someone needs to be ready to get them wherever. So there is a full time horse user, not Max though. I'll get into this when I do my full re-write of Miracle Queen since that's when both get handed out full time.

[mxtantrights]

the unauthorized thunderbolts* office story

a/n: I'll always come back to Bucky Barnes. my first morally grey character (even though that's debatable and he was brainwashed, but we're not here to get into specifics) so this takes place post-falcon and winter solider and maybe during thunderbolts? I don't know the movie plot but we're just gonna go with vibes anyways.

Bucky barnes x fem!reader

Valentina Allegra de Fontaine is a very peculiar woman. You didn't mean to meet her but you have a feeling know that she always meant to meet you. It happened by coincidence, or so you thought, when your grocery bag ripped. In an effort to gather up all your items you had left your non-ripped bags at the front curb of the store.

When you finally managed to scoop up the apples and lemons you brought, you came back to find her there. She held onto your bags with a smile on her face. She introduced herself and said she was looking for an assistant.

How your bumbling of groceries has inspired her to offer you a job was beyond you. But you took it all the same. Living in a city like New York isn't cheap.

Valentina of course did her own version of a formal interview. You and her walked around Central Park and she asked what it is you like to do, and why you don't do it.

You told her you liked to dance ballet. But you had to drop out of school in order to get a job that paid for the clothes on your back, the roof over your head and the foo din your belly.

Valentina got you re-enrolled within a week. And then she told you that your salary increases each year by five percent. You couldn't have found a better boss.

Which leads you here, to working at your desk. Trying to put together some files to hand over to the weapons and ballistics department. They had recently submitted their monthly spendings sheet and you were tasked with going over their spendings and eliminating some things for a cost-effective next month.

You're sat at your desk the first time you see him.

He comes in wearing all black. Not in a way that sounds alarms in your head, but in a normal way. In a way that says, I like the color black but not for any reason like robbing a bank or something.

You watch as he walks smoothly over to Valentina's door. No one gets in the building let alone on this floor without her knowing. It made your job a bit easier. Whatever meetings she schedules are up to her and your only job is to man the front desk and phone.

He spares you a glance and even a little smile.

You knew who he was. You knew from his face. Bucky Barnes. The winter soldier. You thought to yourself that he must be turning over a new leaf. Trying to do some good in a world full of crazy and aliens and robots.

He goes into Valentina's office. The two of them talk for almost fifteen minutes. Then he's walking out. And not in a good mood either. You can tell by the sour puss look on his face.

Valentina slowly sauntered out of her office. Clearly in deep thought about something that happened. You asked her if she was okay and if she needed something.

She smiled. From that day on you were not only her assistant but something else entirely. She called you the asset.

THREE MONTHS LATER ...

She had the team almost ready to assemble. You laughed when you first said it out loud. She did too.

She had Yelena, Alexei, Ava and the new one who goes by Bob. They hadn't met yet officially but that was in the works as she said. And you had the grandest task of all.

You had to bring in Bucky to the taskforce. Valentina hadn't come up with a name yet. She had tossed a few out but she struck them down just as quickly.

This was the first job she gave you that didn't require sitting at your desk. You liked it very much. Well almost every part of it. You liked the idea of securing a 'employee' as Valentina called it. But you didn't like the idea of being portrayed as helpless.

But she tacked on a commission fee for this job. So you weren't about to say no.

You stood at the bar with a drink. You wore your best night out outfit. And you got to work. Apparently Bucky had frequented this bar. You had struck out the last three nights when you reconned outside. But you got tired of just doing nothing so you decided to be proactive.

You ordered your favorite drink, the one you know only makes you slightly buzzed, and waited.

Good thing you did because maybe twenty minutes after you got your drink he walked right in. This time instead of all black he work a dark blue jacket along with the black. You thought of it as progress.

He sat at the table nearest to the window. His back to the window. His face a bit tucked away from the other patrons of the bar. You don't know how you managed it but you caught his eye.

It didn't take long before he walked over to where you were sat, at the bar. He slid up next to you and ordered a beer. For three whole minutes he didn't even talk to you. You don't know if he was waiting for you to go first, or if he didn't recognize you.

That was until he spoke up.

"Valentina usually this persistent?" he asked.

You shake your head. Not sure how to respond to that. Because for all intents and purposes she was that persistent. If she really wanted something there was almost nothing on Earth that could stop her.

"The whole reason I have this job is because she took a chance on me. She gave me a second chance at my dream." you said.

He took a swig of his beer.

"You do know that she's not a good person, right?" he asked.

"Doesn't mean that you can't be." you spat out.

He looks at you on the side. You thought you might have said the wrong thing. That you might have put your foot in your mouth and costed Valentina a valuable employee.

But then he did the unthinkable. Bucky Barnes got up from his seat. Slapped a twenty dollar bill down onto the wood of the bar. Then he turned to you.

"Tell Valentina I work on my own terms. If she doesn't like that, she can get lost."

Then he told you goodnight. Bucky Barnes left without another word that night. He didn't even wait for you to say anything. He just upped and left.

You reported back to Valentina ten minutes after he left that you secured the employee.

ONE WEEK LATER...

You're watching them fight each other. From the safety of Valentina's office you watch right along with her as the team delivers kicks and punches and blows.

Hardly a team.

"Good thing I left Barnes out of this group bonding experience." she says.

"Is it really group bonding if they could possibly kill one of their possible teammates?" you ask.

Valentina shrugs her shoulders, "This will help me weed out the weak ones. I won't let it go on for too long. They'll be coming up soon. Do you wanna stay for the meet and greet?"

You shake your head no.

"I've got to head to the dance studio. Auditions for the spring recital." you respond.

"Of course I'll let you land the lead role on your own. But if it doesn't work out I can move a couple of pieces off the chess board." she jokes.

"Thanks boss, have a good day." you saw walking to the door.

Just as you wrap your and around the knob, about to pull the door open, it opens from the other side. You take a step back, thinking it might be the new team coming in.

You are sweetly surprised. It's Bucky.

He makes eye contact with you. And you think, maybe for a second or even half that, he has a small smile on his face. It goes away as soon as it comes but you swear you aren't imagining it.

You nod your head once, "Mr.Barnes."

"Call me Bucky." he says.

He side steps and walks into the room. You walk out. You can hear Valentina welcome him inside, and to the rag tag team.

APPROX. TWO DAYS LATER...

You run inside of the elevator. With no grace and even less poise you drop your duffle bag and take off your sweater. You had to change back into your casual clothes.

You hit the button for the penthouse suite. Valentina's office. You finally peel off your sweater and throw it on the ground. Just as the doors are about to roll close something stops it.

The team. The whole entire team.

Like an idiot you stand there, frozen. Not embarrassed, you're used to changing in front of people. No you aren't embarrassed you're startled.

Alexei is the first one to step into the elevator. Then Yelena and Ava. Then the guy you knew nothing about- even though he introduced himself to you as Bob. Then Bucky. Last one inside the elevator is Walker.

Walker. You hate that man with a passion. Not only did he walk and talk like some smarmy prick, you hated that he was ever given the position of captain America.

Walker comes face to face with you. You stand up straight, meeting him with a glare. The elevator doors roll closed behind him. He smiles.

"Well well well, if it isn't the little ballerina." he snarks.

"Save it, captain lame." you reply.

You can hear the others talking amongst themselves about the scene you and Walker and putting on. They more than anyone probably know how much of a prick he is. You bet you could smack him and none of them would come to his rescue.

"Valentina pay you the big bucks to strip in elevators?" he asks.

You shimmy out of your skirt and place it in the bag. You stand back up to your full height. You roll your shoulders back.

"How's your wife and child, asshole?" you ask back.

You can see him clench his jaw. That hit a nerve. Good. You look him right in the eye as you reach for your blazer. You pull it on. Then you grab your jeans.

"Assistants are replaceable." he says.

You put the jeans on one left at a time over the leggings you still have on. Then you smile. You button the pair of jeans resting on your hips.

"How fast did they replace you? What, like two minutes?" you quip.

There's snickering coming from behind you. You watch as Walker tenses up.

"She's right." Yelena says in her accent.

"I would quit if I were you." Ava adds.

Walker scoffs, "If I tell Valentina-"

You coo, "Are you gonna run and tell mommy that someone called you a bad name. Oh no!"

"Shut up." he says.

"You first." you say, then reach around him to press the next floor's button.

He's about to say something when the elevator doors roll open again. He turns around. There's no one in the hallway waiting for the elevator.

"I'm going to leave this elevator now. But I would love to show you how the new bazooka works. You'd make a great target." you say.

You pick up your duffle bag and walk out of the elevator. Not without taking in the laughter that comes from everyone inside of it. You can hear Walker throwing a fit as the doors close.

Its better you get off than antagonize him any more than you already did. You'd probably break protocol and actually punch him in the throat.

A WEEK AFTER THE FIRST MISSION...

There's a knock on the door. You aren't expecting anyone to come around. So you pick up your black kitten and head to the door. When you look through the peephole you see the one person you weren't expecting to see.

You open the door. It's Yelena.

"Funny running into you here." she says.

You invite her in wordlessly. She closes the door behind her and takes her jacket off.

"I thought you would try to talk to me sooner." you say.

She shrugs her shoulders, "I was a bit busy. But I'm here now. So tell me what's this about?"

You raise your finger to your lips and nod her over to the bathroom. She follows you into the blue tiled room. You turn on the sink and put down your kitten.

"Top secret mission from Fury. Infiltrate and report back." you answer her question.

"So Valentina doesn't know you were a former red-room assassin turned blacklist SHEILD agent?" she asks.

You nod your head, "I got a whole new identity. Fully loaded with details. I'd been working this op for almost a year before she approached me."

"So what happens if she finds out?" Yelena inquires.

"Well she either kills me or asks me to double cross SHEILD. She hasn't said anything yet which can mean either of those things." you reply.

Yelena shakes her head at your answer.

"I'm not going to let her hurt you." she says.

"She won't. If she tries I'll just be extracted." you put in simple words.

She makes a face at that. One that says she doesn't believe in the institution you find yourself employed by. She trusts your instincts, she'd told you as much a couple of years ago while on a mission.

"I promise I will take care of myself." you say.

"Please. Valentina isn't someone to mess with."

TWO WEEKS LATER...

You're walking down the hallway with the file in your hands.

Your file. Okay it's not your file but some of your past information is in it. Specifically information that you don't want or need Valentina finding out about you.

You thought SHEILD had done a better job at this. They were supposed to have cleaned your identity off of online and physical files. But here was a couple of missions you had done years ago with your aliases on them.

You come up on the storage closest for cleaning supplies. So you take a sharp right turn. You open the door and let yourself in. With a soft click you shut he door.

In the very dim lighting of the room you open the file up to make sure. Your eyes scan the words quickly. Sure enough you weren't seeing things or making it up.

Shit.

You toss the manila folder onto the ground. Then you rip the papers inside. In half. Then in fourths. Then in more tiny pieces. You hold the bunches of paper in your hand as you look around the room.

A bottle of bleach and other cleaners sits on a shelf. Good you could use that, but you would need a container. You look around some more.

An old tin bucket in the corner. You run over and grab the bucket. You dump the papers in there and run over to the cleaning liquids. You grab both the bleach and the strongest cleaner. Then you open them up and fill the bucket up.

The smell is strong on your nose. But you keep going. You recap the bottles and put them back. Then you grab the broom that stands against the nearest wall.

You turn it upside down and use the handle to mix the solution.

The door opens.

There in the door way is Bucky. You jaw drops and you stop stirring. You were not expecting him to just walk in here. Maybe the janitor? Or one of the lower level agents Valentina has employed. Not Bucky.

"Saw you leave in a hurry. Is everything okay?"

You gulp.

"Yes. I'm good." you lie.

He cocks his head to the side. His eye drop to the bucket on the floor. Then back up to you.

"Why does it smell like bleach in here?"

"It's a cleaning supply closet."

His face drops and he sports a frown, "I told Valentina that-"

"She doesn't know about this." you cut him off.

"So there is something going on."

"Yes. But I've got it handled."

"Right."

A MONTH LATER...

She found out. Or it's safe to say at this point that she knew for a while and didn't say anything.

It's not like she caught you red handed. No, Valentina is too smart for that. She wanted your defenses down. She wanted you distracted.

So she called you into your regular monthly meeting. It's always the two of you, so when you came in and saw her already seated you weren't suspicious.

It wasn't until five minutes into the meeting when the arms of your chair suddenly tied you down, automatic clamps, when you did panic. You struggled at first, trying to pay the damsel in distress.

But that didn't work. She just sat there and looked at you. She watched as you went through every like you could think of. She accepted none of them.

"What's your goal here?" she asks.

"What?"

"Your goal. Your point. Ya know,"

You shake your head, "Valentina..."

"Were you trying to kill me? or sell information to the highest bidder?"

You're taken a back by her last question. Sell information? Then it hits you. She knows you're an agent,t but she doesn't know if you're still active or who for. Huh.

You're safe, for now.

"It was nothing personal." you answer.

She laughs at that, "Nothing personal? I thought of you as my child."

"That's a bit much, Valentina."

"Okay, yeah. That was a lie. But still. You lied to me."

"Like I said, nothing personal. Just a mission." you look away from her.

"Okay so who hired you? CIA? FBI? Homeland? Or maybe-"

The door opens. You both look to the right. Walking in like he owns the place is Bucky. He comes to a stop when he sees you restrained to the chair.

He takes one look at you then at Valentina.

"What the hell is this?" he asks.

Valentina waves you off, "Field training. Have to keep my assistant safe don't I?"

"That's not your assistant." he says.

You eyes are blown wide. You don't understand what he's doing inside of the office in the first place. But you know for sure he doesn't know who you are.

"Oh? Please do share with the class." Valentina jokes and she stands from her seat.

Bucky takes this chance to walk over to you. You watch as he joins you at your side. He places his hand on your shoulder.

"Former Red Room agent." he answers.

Valentina looks surprised. She looks you up and down, like she just got a great return investment. You feel like a piece of meat. You don't like where this is going.

"Woah. You're saying I've got three of them on my roster? Damn I hit the jackpot." she smiles.

"I'm not on your roster." you speak up.

Valentina tuts, "Well if you wanna walk out of here with your life, you will be."

Crap. This means working as a double agent. No, wait you weren't actually going to help Valentina'. This meant working as a triple agent. More crap.

You nod once. She claps her hands together. Then she fishes a remote out of her blazer pocket.

"Well this has been great, but I have an important meeting to crash elsewhere. Do me a favor and get the hell out of my office would you?" she says.

She clicks a button. The restraints around your arms are released. You feel your wrists and rub the tender skin.

Valentina leaves her office with no other words for your or Bucky. You watch as she closes the door behind her. Then you launch out of your seat.

"What the hell was that?!" you ask.

Bucky stammers for a bit, "That was me saving your life."

"I didn't need saving! You just made things worse!" you shout.

He crosses his arms against his chest. Then he gives you an unbothered look.

"I'm not looking for a thank you, I'm looking for an explanation." he says.

You shake your head, "It's a long story. How'd you even know I was in here?"

"I didn't. Yelena did. I was closest to the office so she asked me to barge in here." he answers.

"I'll give you an explanation off we get out of here." you say.

-

FOUR HOURS LATER

You and Bucky are sat in the back booth of a bar. He's been nursing a beer bottle for the past hour. You have had three drinks so far. You're not spiraling, not yet.

"So you're an former red room and undercover SHEILD agent trying to dismantle Valentina's operation from the inside except she doesn't know that you're SHIELD." he summarizes.

You nod your head, "That's pretty much it."

"I don't remember you from the red room." his interest seems piqued.

You crack a laugh at that, "If I was in the red room around the time you were I'd be like eighty or something."

He laughs at that. "I'm not that old."

"Oh yeah, what are you like seventy?" you joke.

"I'm actually in the triple digits." he answers bluntly.

Your eyes widen. Yes, because of the ice. You didn't think to count that. But then again you didn't count it when it came to Captain America.

He laughs again, "Your face is priceless."

Grabbing your drink you down it until the glass is empty. Then you set it back down on the table. You take him in once more. He doesn't look like he's in the triple digits. Damn that serum must work wonders.

You think back to the impromptu interrogation in Valentina's office now.

"How'd you know to tell her I was red room?" you ask.

He shrugs his shoulders, "It gets tossed around so much it should be a bowling club at this point."

You howl in laughter at that. The only other person you ever really joke about the red room with is Yelena. And she is funny as it is. But hearing The Winter Solider basically call it a bowling club? Funny as hell.

"Mr.Barnes," you hold out your hand in front of you, "I'd be delighted to join your bowling club."

He smiles softly, and takes your hand in his. His flesh hand. He feels warm and just a little bit rough. Years of working and committing crimes for the state, both states actually. Huh.

Huh.

[laurynjc-art]

what do you think about michaels mothers? did you draw them? \i remember one of them in your comic about boyf's problems in their relationship, but what about other?\, or you see his family in different way?. i have sooooo many thoughts about them \even write some kind of their past and the story about their meeting, their habits and tastes etc\, want to know what do you think about it!

grips you by the shoulders and shakes you violently because yes yes oh please yes I have many so many thoughts about Michael's mothers (this is gonna be long lol)

here they are! (rough sketches but eh whatever)

Rosanne is Michael's biological mother. She had him kind of young, just out of college. And the father, who was a long-term boyfriend, didn't exactly bother to stick around.

Eloise is legally Michael's step-mother but is more importantly the mother who stepped up; Eloise and Rosanne met in high school and were instant BFFs. And when Eloise heard the news about Rosanne's baby and a recently revealed-to-be deadbeat father, holy shit did she feel bad since she'd basically introduced the two.

But eventually Eloise said "yeah fuck that guy, your kid needs a dad? I'll be his dad." Which started as just a joke between friends who then moved in together figuring it'd be easier to juggle work and a baby and Eloise's recent acceptance into med school.

Obviously things weren't easy easy, but having your best friend to lean on and have your back is pretty cool. Until one day you start realizing that you might actually have feelings for her but that's horrendously inconvenient right now so you try to ignore it but soon you're making jokes like "what if we got married for tax reasons lol? Wouldn't it be funny if we were legally unionized so that if something happened to one of us the state and our families wouldn't be fighting over our assets and Michael lmao?"

Well the jokes stopped being jokes, and they got married at a courthouse witnessed by a handful of friends and photographed by a four year old Michael with a disposable camera.

Everything was obviously not perfect; both Eloise and Rosanne were now running with some very demanding jobs, leaving less attention for Michael, which sucked for everyone involved.

And remember that birthday of Michael's everyone but Jeremy forgot? Yeah his moms weren't exempt from that. It was an honest mistake and they both felt horrible, but it severed their relationship with him for quite a few years. Even after Rosanne was able to quit her job so she could be home more, Michael was in high school before things started improving at all.

By the time the events of Be More Chill roll around, their relationship is definitely better. (Minus the fights about this new marijuana habit and you are sixteen why the hell do you think you want a tattoo) He still doesn't tell them everything. (His fight with Jeremy was mostly his burden up until Jeremy was hospitalized.)

But at the end of the end of the day, Rosanne and Eloise love each other, they love their son Michael and his friend Jeremy that they think of as a second son. They're always going to be in Michael's life. And despite everyone's shortcomings and all the things that could have been different, Michael still thinks they're the best moms he could have asked for.

Eloise is a neurobiologist. Rosanne prefers tea to coffee. She also likes medical dramas but doesn't watch them with Eloise because she won't shut up about inaccurate practices. Rosanne likes gardening. Both of their cars are 90% maintained by Michael (at his insistence.) Everyone in that house is trilingual to some degree. All the Mells are smarter than you. Just accept it.

idk Michael and his moms having a good relationship is so important to me. I have enough characters with crappy familial situations I didn't want to do that to him too

[theartofeggs]

@gremmed

tagged u so you'd know when i posted ur request lmao. I love it when Kylar's on the bottom. wish they didn't fight it so much in-game like just let me pamper u bbygirl. anyways it seems my dice yearn for trans men rn

Thanks for participating in my ask event! When a fic contains the PC as a main character, the PC will exclusively be referred to as "you," except from other characters, who will refer to the PC by their gender or some other defining characteristic. :) Brings me back to my "x reader" fic days. ahhh what nostalgia

The event's ended by now, but I'll finish the current requests I've gotten!

Synopsis; Kylar gets railed into oblivion

Prompt: Kylar x PC (Smut) / CW: kidnapping, dubcon (not really), breeding kink, PC = evil-type crazy, babytrapping but they both want to babytrap the other so uh? - Kylar = AFAB & male, PC = AMAB & GN ((mostly) dice rolls) + bonus F! Sydney, M! Whitney, and M! Robin (only mentioned)

Welcomed Payback

The chair you've been strapped to is rather uncomfortable. The least Kylar could've done was make sure it was a chair with padding or something instead of some wooden old rickety one that felt one wrong move away from just snapping under you. Oh well. At least he put you in a different room to whatever's causing all that ruckus upstairs. Though, you almost wish he did, considering that it keeps scaring him away from you. You're a bit fed up with him just coming and going. Him feeding you fruit by hand is just about the most contact you've gotten with him so far. All he's done other than that is draw you some and sing a couple out-of-tune love songs he made himself.

Did you purposefully get him to go crazy and kidnap you? Yes. You weren't ashamed to admit it at this point. You've been a bit enamored with him yourself ever since he introduced himself, probably more than he was with you. You didn't think anything of helping a bully victim out of a beatdown, but when you saw how he looked up at you, like he witnessed the descent of a god, something in your brain was clicked on. Considering he wouldn't talk to you for the first few weeks of your attempts at getting to know him, you ended up going a different route and doing quite a bit of digging to find out more about him—you first befriended Sydney and lulled out any and all stories she could remember about Kylar when he was little, then moved on to breaking into more than just a couple government archives to flip through Kylar's, and his family's, past documents.

You knew where he lived before he ever followed you back to the orphanage, and, honestly? It hurt a little, to see how he wanted to be part of your life so bad but didn't seem to want you to be in his. So, you thought you'd nudge him the right way. You noticed he was prone to getting jealous, seeing how his expression would change whenever you'd chat with someone else during lunch, and you thought it'd be easy to use that against him. You'd flirt with anyone and everyone the moment you felt a familiar tingle on the back of your neck, and then relish in the dark, envious looks he'd give the hickeys on your neck when you saw him next. You weren't a big fan of sharing your body so casually with other people, but it would be well worth it if it meant you'd have Kylar in your hands at the end of your endeavors.

Robin was probably the only one you actually felt bad for. When Kylar had given you a little owl plush that so obviously had one of its glass eyes replaced with a camera lens, you had gotten an idea. Though, you struggled to find the right person to use for it. Sydney came to mind first, initially, since you were already close with her and you could smell her crush on you, but figured it'd be too much effort considering how deep her connections are to the temple. She'd totally try to get you to join. There was also Whitney, but Kylar's already watched you suck him off at least a dozen times, so there wouldn't be a big surprise factor with him. A random stranger wouldn't do either—if it did, the videos and photos of you online would've been plenty. But then, you remembered Robin.

You had successfully wooed him, flirting with and lewdly touching him every chance you had, until he finally visited you in your room at night. All it took was a week of tender words, and it made you pity the poor man, but you found you didn't care too much as you grinned up at the owl plush on your wardrobe, right when Robin was busy staining your innards with his cum. The feeling of him inside you was revolting to some extent, but you had washed out his cum the moment Robin had fallen asleep. To your delight, Kylar was waiting for you outside the very next morning. He looked far from pleased, a distant look in his eyes, as he lifted up a long tube with something metallic shining within. You looked directly at him and bared your neck, eagerly accepting the tranq dart as it sunk into your flesh.

But, now that you were here, you couldn't help but find it a bit boring. The most entertainment you've gotten was Kylar's occasional visits and the nigh-constant rumbling above your head. For the past few hours, you've exclusively been humming the nonsensical tune Kylar had sung to you and fiddling with the rope tying you down. At this point, you would've settled for an awful soap opera on whatever old TV this decrepit manor still had lying around.

When Kylar came into the room next, you were already fully untied and just leisurely sitting in the chair, eyes closed and leg bouncing. "M-My love, d-did you not like the ropes? I-I'm sorry, b-but I put t-them on for a r-r-reason. Y-You'll run away if I d-don't keep you here." Kylar grit out, expression dark, as he stepped closer. He was probably on his way to tie you up again. Good. "Hm, but I didn't, did I?" You purred as he came up beside you, brushing a couple fingers up the length of his forearm, though you weren't too pleased to have his sweater between you and his skin. He paused, looking conflicted, and you took the opportunity to grab him and pull him onto your lap.

His face flushed a pretty red and he began to squirm, his hands grabbing onto yours as you kept his hips glued to yours. The clothes in your way would be off soon enough. You could be patient, just as you've been these past months. "A-Ah, d-did you want to do it that bad? I-I'm sorry, I haven't been a g-good boyfriend..." Kylar groaned as you grinded up against him, and the sound alone made you want to cum already. "What nonsense. You're the best I could ask for. Far too good for me." You murmured sweet platitudes as your hands slipped beneath his clothes. He shivered, and you began to rethink taking them all off. Maybe you'd just rip them where you needed to and let him keep the rest on—the room seems a bit cold for him.

He wriggled in your grasp against and you decided this was going to be a bad position to fuck him in, given he was already moving about like he was uncomfortable. So, naturally, you slid onto the floor below and carefully laid him down beneath you. Honestly, it might've been cleaner to fuck in a random alleyway, given the state of this room, but you weren't going to be picky all of a sudden. Your beloved was beneath you and waiting, legs and lips parted just for you, just like you wanted him to be. He leaned back up to take your lips in his, his tongue eager to explore your mouth as his hands ran across your back. You didn't even flinch when he tried to stick it down your throat, and gave him the same intense treatment.

You pulled your pants down and ripped a new hole in his at the same time, swallowing the bashful squeak he let out. You palmed him through his remaining underwear, your cock throbbing when you felt a pair of drenched folds through the thin fabric. You already knew he was trans, so it wasn't a surprise, but you truly had to thank whatever divine being made this man just so perfect. You wouldn't be able to count how many times you came just to the thought of getting to fuck a baby into your Kylar—because he would be yours if you put your kid inside him, right?

Kylar, to his wondrous credit, seemed to have a similar thought process. When he felt your fingers against his slick, he spread his legs even wider and shuddered erotically, only to pull away from your heavenly kiss. "Y-You should put it in. A-And not pull out, e-ever." He all but whispered the command, and you were more than happy to comply. You ripped another hole in the last remaining barrier and dug in with no further warning, relishing in the erotic yelp he gifted you, alongside all the other sounds he made as you began to thrust into him.

His insides were soft and gummy, massaging your cock as you slammed your hips against his. Any time he gripped onto you, you'd move in a particularly rough way, and if he whined, you left a new mark on his hardly exposed neck. He clung to you and didn't bother with keeping quiet, babbling all sorts of lewd things as he grinded up into your crotch at the peak of each thrust. At some point, you had to forcibly hold his hips still to keep him from accidentally shifting too far from you. It had the added bonus of giving you more leverage to ravage his cunt, though, so you were happy with the arrangement, even if Kylar cried about it.

Kylar came suddenly around you, soaking both your crotches with a thick cream, and you slowed for just a moment to give him some time to recuperate. When he began to whine again, you picked up the pace—drilling into him as fast as you could. As your own climax drew near, an unkind idea popped inside your head and made you pause. With a smirk, you slowly began to pull out of his swollen pussy, stopping only when Kylar's legs wrapped around the back of your hips and forced you to stay inside.

His face was still a delicious red, but his expression was dangerous. What a pretty boy. "C-Cum inside. N-Now." You chuckled at his cute attempt at being mean and happily resumed your gyrating, cumming with a drawn-out moan as you pushed your hips as deep into his as you could. "G-Good." Kylar hummed, clearly pleased with himself. You were far more pleased with yourself than he could've been, honestly. Hopefully after this he'd give you a tour around his house, and you could start planning on where the nursery would go.

the end >,o words : 1,742

[flower-boi16]

Why You Can’t Defend Helluva Boss Abandoning Its Premise

One of the biggest issues Helluva Boss has is how the show completely abandoned it's premise in favour of fully comitting to revolving around Stolitz. There are a lot of defenses fans try to use to against people critisizing the show for this.

Let's go through each of these defences and both break down why they don't work and also go more in detail about why Season 2 pivoting away from the premise of the show is a bad thing.

”The show would’ve gotten repetitive if it revolved around the premise”

There are many shows out there that have stayed popular for years that kept their premise's, Total Drama is an example of this. The show kept it's premise throughout it's run but but added different kinds of things to the formula to keep it interesting.

Sure, that series has been considered to go downhill in it's 4th and 5th seasons, but it wasn't because it stuck to it's premise. There's also the fact that the shorts existance disproves this argument, as they show that the writers can come up with different kinds of unique ideas for the premise.

There can be many different kinds of ways to utilize a premise like this, different scenarios, locations, etc, all of which could keep it from being repetetive.

“Show’s abandon their premise’s all the time”

Yes, there are a lot of show's out there that evolve past their initial premise, but there are ways to do that without completely forsaking it's original identity. You can still evolve past the premise while having the core of your show stay the same.

That isn't what happened with Helluva Boss, the core of the show completely changed in favor of comitting only to being about Blitz and Stolas' relationship.

“The show already abandoned its premise in season 1”

No it did not. People say that the series already abandoned it's premise by Loo Loo Land and that people who think it happened throughout season 2 weren't paying attention.

This gets immediantly debunked by the fact that there are two more episodes right after Loo Loo Land that revolve around the premise, and another episode after that which expands on the premise in a natural way.

I'll go into this more later but, Loo Loo Land was not when the series immediantly abandone it's premise, rather, it merely presented the second of two sides that Helluva Boss' first season did a great job at balancing; the more character driven and emotional side of it, which was balanced out by the more comedic side that was driven by the premise.

“The premise was never the point of the show”

If it was never the point of the show then why wasn't it advertised that way? Why didn't Viv build the show based on Stolitz from the begining instead of pivoting away from the premise? If Viv did that she would've had far less risk of alienating previous fans like she has now.

And again, half of season 1's episodes were dedicated to the premise so this becomes moot anyway.

“The episodes focusing on the premise are seen as the weakest in the show”

First of all, the quality of which people prefer is completely subjective. Second of all, the episodes that don't focus on IMP are literally 1000x more controversial than the episodes that do.

Hell, Ghostfuckers is the best episode of all of Season 2 and that revolves around the premise.

Why Helluva Boss Abandoning Its Premise is a Bad Thing

The main thing that drew people into HB was the premise, the it was unique and interesting enough to create many fun scenarios for the characters to get into that could make for an entertaining watch. But the thing that made Helluva Boss’s first season great in the first place was this; balance. It was able to cleverly balance both fun IMP shenanigans and character drama without one overtaking the other.

Truth Seekers is a great example of how well HB’s first season was able to do this; it first introduces the Dhorks plotline, a plotline involving a group of secret agents getting on IMP’s trail, a natural extension of the show’s premise. The episode also has the entire hallucination sequence which provides fantastic development and growth for both Blitz and Moxxie as characters, combing both fun IMP stuff and character drama in one episode.

Which leads to it being one of the best episodes of the entire show. Hell, Ghostfuckers shows they can still do this because like Truth Seekers they combined both IMP stuff and character drama to create an fun and engaging episode that used the premise as an blue print for character development.

This balance ends up helping cater to both the people looking for fun silly imp episodes and the people into character drama. So, abandoning the premise to cater solely to one audience while alienating another ends up loosing the show’s appeal. Of course, this wouldn’t be too much of a issue if the character drama in season 2 was well written but…I think I’ve made my thoughts on Season 2 crystal clear now.

You could say that diverging from the premise was always meant to be the point but, again, if the show wanted to center itself around Stolitz it shouldn’t have have advertised itself around IMP to begin with and it should have built itself around Stolitz since the first season.

Literally all I want from future seasons is to just have more episodes revolving around the premise while also having that interesting character drama there as a way to balance things out, but I don’t entirely know if we’re really going to get that.

[ayel-goetia]

Beelzebub and Leviathan Redesing + My Sinner OC| HELLBORNS AU!

Hello guys! I hope you're having a good day! 🥰✨

Today I felt like sharing some designs from my AU, as well as introducing an important character for the story!

1|🍯 Beelzebub 🍯

Here's Beelzebub's redesign. I wanted to keep most of her original style, but add more details to make her look more insect-like. I also changed the color scheme to make her look more like a bee!

2|🪸 Leviathan 🪸

And here I have a sketch of Leviathan's design, actually this is more like her original form in my AU, the form with the two heads she only uses it when she needs to leave her ring.

I like the idea that the sea form surrounds the entire Envy Ring with its body, with several eyes constantly watching its inhabitants.

The more humanoid form of Leviathan is inside the tongue of the more beastly form, my intention was to give the impression of being a pretty lure to attract unsuspecting prey.

3|🦢 My OC Cisne 🦢

And here's Cisne! My Sinner OC, owner of the Black Swan company, overlord with a territory called Noir City (which is only in black and white) and also owner of one of the most famous casinos. She's also the head of her own mafia (of which there are plenty in her territory). Her company offers several services, including her assassination service "HELLBORNS," qualified assassins (maybe) to get the job done, whether in Hell or in the human world itself.

She was a famous actress in her life as a human (a career she continued to pursue in her life in hell) until certain circumstances such as the disappearance and subsequent death of her fiancé led her to a decline both emotionally and professionally, pushing her to one of the saddest decisions in desperate times.

She plays an important role in the story, replacing Stolas' role in the original series, but her relationship with her employees will obviously be different.

-•-

And that's all for now. I'll get around to answering all your questions soon, I promise!!

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day!!! 💖💖🥰🥰

[contentloadingandstuff]

Birthday NAU

So my 19th birthday was some time ago, the 20th of April to be exact.

I'm going to get myself a nice gift - I'm going to make a voiceover for some of my Necro AU characters and use ElevenLabs to make voices for them to read it out. I got myself a pro subscription for some of the money I got from family. All the text will be - obviously - original and the voice will be generated based on some retro games like Dark Omen, Myth and Warlords Battlecry.

Of course, I will write and publish them, alongside the audio, for anybody that still thinks NAU is interesting. But I'll just have some fun and honor the characters I made this blog for in the first place.

Yeah, it's sad that Mortuarius is so short and that I'm unhappy with the quality, meaning I'll likely either remake it and start from scratch or just put it to rest. I'm far too much of a perfectionist to actually feel what I've done up to now is enough to warrant any sort of even light interest, leading to a hopeless spiral of self critique and an overwhelming feeling of pointlessness. The crushing majority of ideas will be forever left to gather dust in my mind.

I can't draw, so I will likely never get to show you guys how I wanted them to appear. I can't animate, I can't render either - no videos will ever be made of them in action. All I have to introduce them into the world is my writing which is incredibly flawed, further proven by the narrative and worldbuilding mistakes made in Mortuarius, botched to a point where I cannot get myself to write anymore because as soon as I realised how limited the story of Denki is, when chosen to be approached from his initial training rather than much later on when he can actually do stuff and interact with Teyvat rather than just Umbra, I lost all momentum I had going.

Don't think I have it all planned either. Each new content drop for Genshin takes a hammer to my ideas and creates massive plotholes that I have to somehow explain. Or, at least, I feel I need the answers to. I am notoriously too demanding of myself, but I just can't help it. Unless NAU and its characters are Genshin-level in terms of content, there's no hope for them both. You may think that - hey, Genshin's lore is actually very mid and is also flawed while their characters of ten fall extremely short of their potential, come out as two-dimensional or like slightly different version of identical tropes. Like just look at Yoimiya and Mualani as an example. Or Kokomi and Jean. Or Zhongli and Neuvilette. Or Beidou and Dehya. They have different looks and lore, but their personalities are very close to each other - for me adding a band-aid in the form of limited time events is not a valid solution.

But Genshin remedies it with character design. Some fanservice, some bait, a lot of rule-of-cool type stuff and gameplay options. I cannot do any of this. NAU characters are not hot anime girls/guys that you can build and watch in-game. They won't ever measure up.

And so it goes, this train of thought, from one excuse and self-hating line to the other, wasting time, wasting effort, wasting opportunity. Even though I didn't post anything for NAU in months, I am fairly burnt out with it due to all this self-influcted pressure and the constant desire to "fix it" or "make it appealing". It was supposed to be fun, but it didn't end up this way.

So I'm doing these voicelines because I know I will have fun with them, and I will feel really happy and just a little bit proud of hearing them come to life in this homeopathical and fake way. "The people" won't care, but its okay. I'm doing this one for myself.

Thank you for everybody that reached this point of my stream of conciousness. Have a nice day.

[warsamongthestars]

@thegrimcroissant

That's because of a few things.

I've talked about it before on a... post somewhere on this messy messy blog, but I'll go into depth here.

Overuse of Chandler's Law

Lack of 3D Character Writing

Plot-Driven

Chandler's Law, is a term made by Raymond Chandler (A detective-novelist, whose works would go on to be apart of the Film Noir Genre--such as, for example, the Big Sleep--and is one of the writers who solidified the idea of the fedora-wearing detective).

It details that, if you cannot push a scene forward, have someone come in with a gun. Basically, have something surprising occur that causes reaction and pushes the plot. When used correctly, and not overused, it'll push the characters to action and allow the writer to leap over their writer's block.

When overused, it's a writer that's avoiding doing the heavy lifting required to push a story or a character.

The monster thing that appeared between Hunter and Cross. Echo abandoning the Bad Batch (It was abandonment). Hunter going "Squirrel!" in Episode 1 alone--there are lots of moments of Chandler's Law's overuse. I'm pretty certain they've broken that law.

Lack of 3D Character Writing. When I was a kid I used to look this up. I was obsessed with creating characters that were proper, out of fear of being chased off with monikers like "Mary Sue". So I looked up quite a bit of character writing (and still do, only this time, out of fun and study, not because I give a rat's ass about what dudebros have to say.)

3D Character writing, or three-dimensional character writing, involves three major layers. Ask any OC writer / artist, they do all of them in a nice neat package.

To make a sum, this involves.

Layer 1: Aesthetic and Persona. How does the character look, and how do they talk, what equipment or powers do they have. The easiest layer, anyone can do it. If you only have this layer, they are a one-dimensional character. Nothing wrong with that, plenty of background characters are one-d. You need one-d's to fill in the space.

They also lack development. If you put them in the rattle-em-boys machine, they'll come out no worse for wear.

( When we're first introduced to Luke Skywalker, he was a cheerful kid, near adult, in sandy clothes. In any other setting he'd practically be ordinary--save for the desert planet with 2 suns and alien merchants.)

Layer 2: Backstory and Relationships. Relationships in this case isn't an Character / Character, its how a character connects to other characters, places, or more. Usually this involve backstory.

A character with mulitple facets is not going to treat every person they know the same, same with enviroments--they're not going to treat a subway the same they would treat an arcade or a home (or if they do, then that sounds like someone to write about--contradictions get attention.)

Backstory is the character's history. How did they come to be, Why did they come to be, what things occurred in their past, who were they before, how did they come to know some people or things, the works.

( Luke Skywalker is already interesting in that he doesn't share the same last name as his aunt and uncle, and in fact, it was both him and the audience learning his backstory, that drives him forward to know more about his deceased father--and potentially, be more like him. )

This sounds complicated, but its also only results in 2D characters. 2D characters are a starting point. When you get introduced to your main cast, they're all 2D characters waiting in development.

This is one definition of "Character Development".

But then comes in the complicated layer. If one is an experienced writer, you can nail this outta the ball park on the first page.

Its also one of the most important layers.

Layer 3: Dynamics and Reactions.

This is actions and behaviors, the voice of the character through the writing. Its not the how or why or who, its the What and Where. Place the character in situations and watch how they act and react. If you're making a main character, this is essential.

Its this layer that pushes the story through the character's actions and reactions. This is the layer that makes them a Main or at least a Focus Character.

( But when Luke reacts to the cries of a pretty girl, he wants to help! When he finds their ride is ancient, he reacts in disgust. When it comes to being a Jedi, he struggles, but seems to have a natural talent if only he's allowed to learn. When it comes to sneaking onto an enemy spacecraft, he disguises himself instead of going guns ablazing. When in an environment which he excels, speeding across space in a fighter craft, almost like the speeders back home... he's both the savior of the day, and the only survivor. )

The first and second layers all set up for the 3rd Layer.

This is the other definition of "Character Development".

( Often the best way to achieve Layer 3 is to give the character a Goal. Sometimes the best way to achieve Layer 3 is to avoid giving them goals beyond throwing them into shenanigans. )

Now comes the super secret layers!

Layer 0: The Environment / the Setting. A character fits the environment. In a world of Sci-Fi, you aren't going to find a Fantasy character (Or you might! Depends on how great the argument you make for it is). But in general, if you want a character to fit mechanically, then you've got to know the world you're working with first. You aren't going to find the Fallout Player Character in Skyrim, for example.

Layer 4: What I love to call the "Prove it" Layer. You've got all three layers, now its time to show the third party--the Audience. The audience is going to see things you didn't, and also see things that aren't there, just remember that you hold the cards, even if your interpretation isn't the audiences (The 3rd Layer is magical in the fact that your very characters can take writing from you, instead of you giving writing--its a peculiar phenomena).

You don't have to show the audience all layers all at once, the layers are for YOU, not them. You prove you know your layers to the audience based on your story. We'll pick it up if you succeeded or not.

Sidebar: You might be wondering about Character Development. Character development isn't necessarily that the character changes, its simply that, the audience now knows more about the Character. Character Development is a quasi-2D-3D element--sometimes a character develops because you've learned their backstory and now all their actions make sense. Sometimes, the character learns a thing through 3D dynamics, and that's also character development. You can also do both.

The point is that you shouldn't change the core character. Just because one learns something or has his position shifted, doesn't mean he's magically a brand new character--It just now means he's in a new situation with new shenanigans to deal with.

TBB's BBs are in a quasi 2D state. They're in this state.. because they Lack Backstory. Oh they'll reference missions, but... we really dont' know anything about them, do we?

They also lack 3D: Dynamics. Reactions? Reactions are easy shit when you have barebones archetypes like "Big Strongman He Talk Funny" and "Big Brain Smart Guy who Does all the Soft Skill Jobs" and "Grumpy Man who does Grumpy Things" (Toss up if I'm talking Echo or Hunter--it doesn't matter).

But you want Dynamics. There aren't any Dynamics.

You could argue Crosshair--but Crosshair also lacks a Backstory. Any development he has undergone is also Under Chandler's Law, it is a series of surprising reactions--the absolute worst thing about it too is that the Writers try to push that it is Character Development / Redemption as opposed to Character Recovery, and he doesn't even get that right because we are missing character layers. He's got nothing to Recover Too that doesn't involve become 2D.

And because this is throw away in-enviroment element, the Mind Control Tumor / Inhibitor Chip, that means the writers have attempted remove Layer 0.

This is plot driven lazy writing, coming from a source that shouldn't be either. That has the resources to do the job that a fanficer often does for free and without resources!

And that goes into...

Plot-Driven. They do things, because the writer said so. Its not because they have character, the writer wants it to be. They do things because its expected, but the character gives no thought on the matter. In a plot-driven story, anyone can fit in anywhere without issue, because the writer says so--3D Characters cannot run on Plot-Driven.

The Writer has Goals and Dynamics, but the characters are merely pieces on the board. Their job is just to get to the chosen end, performing maybe a couple of functions.

You can kill Tech and the characters will simply keep going without changing. You can remove Echo and nothing changes, and he'll be in and out because it didn't matter to begin with. You can remove Crosshair and the characters will simply act as if he wasn't ever there. Oh look, a convenient Child Character Replacement!

Plot-Driven stories when you've established character-driven characters, such as CF99 from TCW, is basically scalping the 3rd Layer of 3D character writing. Gets worse when you divert all development to a super duper special donut steel original character, who is not in the name, not in the promotion, and edges on breaking the world-build.

In fact, thanks to the writer's plot driven and lazy efforts, they've already broken the world-build by trying to say that important bits of Layer Zero don't matter / don't exist, after significant years long development said "yes it do".

If you've broken the game, its not canon anymore. They really did fuck up that badly.

They placed so much emphasis on dynamics with Omega, because they weren't developing the BBs and didn't care to. They introduce so many guest characters, that the guest characters got more development than the main cast did.

BBs were main characters in their own show, they were side bits.

If anything, the biggest reason Crosshair had so much dynamics with Omega is because of character popularity. Same with Tech, and well, they threw Tech away. Same with Echo, except they kept fishing Echo back anyway.

This is, content-farming clickbait writing talking. Playing the numbers because it gets the blood up, not because they're going to do anything real.

... How did the TBBshow fail at the starting line?

I did get sucked into TBB S1, because I was prompted by the idea of "Oh, my favorites! They're getting a show!" after the clone wars show.

And after Ep1, I was lured by the possibility of payoff.

... there was no payoff. And this set up of luring to no paypoff, starts with Episode 1.

Its like when you do a job or do a task, and how one's attitude can set one's self up for failure? or how certain small things can build up to big disasters?

Its less watching a car crash, and more like, second hand embarrassment. You know that someone is doing things that can be easily fixed, and that you know they know they can do it, but they still perform the worst possible choices and inevitably, the outcome is bad.

( @laughhardrunfastbekindsblog ; because I said I'd get your attention. Just note, I'm not particularly forgiving about the TBBshow and prep for swearing )

Let's start.

No Communication The Bad Batch, as a team of unique characters with unique abilities and quirks, with contrasts and parallels with each other, with implied history, and shown examples... Are written and introduced to be a tight knit group. That's how they're handled in Clone Wars, that's their introduction. There is no argument about how tight these boys are going into TBBshow. Obviously, if something was wrong, they would talk about it with each other. Obviously, if you want an interesting character driven story, which this unique set of characters are set up to do, you want to see that conversation because it makes the story or scene interesting--it produces Character Development and forwards the Plot. But. And with Example. The moment something goes wrong in the TBBshow's TBB Team... they ignore it entirely. The Example. Crosshair, who we the audience knows has fallen under the chip, repeatedly and aggressively berates his brothers (and especially Hunter) about following Orders. His whole set up to being under the chip involves shooting at a Child, Former Commander or not. Yes, there were bouts of callout about his behavior... But it wasn't really a callout was it? It wasn't a, "take this character aside and confront them about what's going on". It was a shout of surprise... and then forget about it next scene. A tight knit group, like the Bad Batch, who back each other up, form plans that instinctual trusts each other, would immediately be set off if one of their number isn't acting right and they would, absolutely, move in for confrontation--because bad attitude on the battlefield or up against the scary monster, is how you get each other Killed. This is a lesson repeatedly brought up in the Clone War Show, of which TBBshow is an explicit sequel of. And yet, they let Crosshair fester. And the moment, the exact moment, they finally confront him--Hunter gets immediately distracted by thoughts of a kid they Just Met, whom is Hundreds to Thousands of Lightyears away. When his brother is right in front of him. This shows that the show, even when its trying to tease conversation, will not dedicate time to allow the characters to talk to each other--even when its at its most Serious. This same situation has repeated time and time again, througout S1-S2. The Finale of S1, where Crosshair makes a bunch of oneliners, and Hunter just kinda stands there dramatically. S2, where another of their closest, Tech, outright Died, and nothing was done--which was, I should point out, exchanged for more focus on Omega. That brings up the next point

Omega's Overimportance. Sidekick characters have always gotten mixed results. How you solve that, is often by context. You practically have to choose your suspsense of disbelief, inspite of known flaws, when it comes to certain circumstances. ( Such as Batman and Robin. Robin is a kid in costume, fighting people who will kill him. But if you still want Robin with Batman, because they're the dynamic duo, you still have to write that situation repeatedly, even though a super hero's baseline is usually to rescue kids from that very situation. Sometimes you gotta pick the losing option to maintain your story. ) The problem with my explanation above, to prove the point about choosing the losing option... is that Omega is Not a Sidekick character. She is the Main Character of the show that is, by set up and promotion and promise, meant to be about the Bad Batch. To use a comparison I've used before, its like setting up a team of friends to go on adventures... only to focus on the "main" character's little brother instead. (Such as watching MLP, but by episode 3, Spike the Dragon is now the main character ) Omega is set up to be too special. Both by using the lore (she's a clone with force abilities and naturally ages and the only-just-now introduced assistant of the great and terrible Nala Se), and by character. As pointed above--instead of confronting Crosshair and maybe, finding out what's going on, Hunter instead goes "Squirrel" and decides retrieving Omega from a planet lightyears away, was the better option. And as the seasons go on, Omega becomes more and more important, until she's making the adult decisions and suddenly is playing therapist to PTSD sufferers with no consequences, because she went from naive cadet to fucking clone messiah.

There is nothing about her, beyond being a cute kid, that would put her in this position of taking the show, that wouldn't involve a writer deciding their Donut Steel (my name for Mary / Gary Sue) was more important than anything else. And that leads into...

Destruction of Character Dynamics Again, the Bad Batch are set up and written to be a tight knit group. To take from TCWshow introductions... ... Tech and Wrecker immediately set up to backup Crosshair, when he confronts Rex about Cody calling them in. When Jesse gets into his face, Wrecker doesn't hesitate to pick Jesse up and keep him away from Crosshair. ... And in turn, Crosshair will stop Kix from interfering with Wrecker. ... While Wrecker might tease Tech's caution (and break down the door), when Rex asks about Tech, Wrecker immediately echo's (haha) Tech's words of "This is a delicate operation". Wrecker can rush his brother, but nobody else, is allowed to. ... Everyone (save Tech, but that's because he's a semi-polite, semi-feral formal boi), uses the term Reg. ... When Rex loses his cool and starts to yell at Hunter, in regards to Echo's condition when on their way to the Skako Minor City that holds him, Crosshair immediately steps up to take attention from Hunter. (Saying some pretty cruel things in the process,a nd getting decked) ... Hunter will tease Wrecker about heights at one point, but then try to assure him later on. ... Crosshair uses Tech's shoulder as a rifle mount ... Hunter will unashamably compliment and promote Crosshair's skills. All that? Is just in 4 episodes in TCWs, and shows off a tight group of brothers in arms and friends, whom might tease each other, but have a lot of positive things to say about one another, will step up to back each other up no matter what's going on, and its Them Against the Galaxy And when Echo comes along, its Crosshair who actually shows the first positive action with him from the Batch, by his patting / resting a hand on his shoulder. ( Crosshair... who is one sassy fuck. ) So what does TBBshow do? Immediately has Crosshair fall under the chip, forgoes any positive interactions for snarking, refuses confrontation of whom is meant to be their very close brother in exchange for a strange child on another planet.

By removing his element from the Bad Batch, it immediately destroys the dynamics set up by The Clone Wars. Suddenly, they're missing a very important piece of character, and that defeats the whole purpose of having a Bad Batch centric show.

They do this at Episode 1. No set up, no episodes to establish character before they destroy the dynamic--its just Gone out the Gate. And there's no show or set up that Crosshair's absence did anything to the Batch, there's no discussion of him (or of the home they lost, or of the people they knew) and when it was time to show the tragedies... they opted for getting attacked by droids. Most of S1, experienced by myself and others, was spent wondering when Crosshair was going to return. Because its not the Bad Batch without all the Bad Batch. When was the Bad Batch going to discuss rescuing Crosshair? Or even, discuss Crosshair at all, without some dramatic looks int he distance? When was the show actually going to treat the characters as if they were important to each other, like they did back in the Clone Wars? But instead, the show takes steps to replace him with Omega, a child we were not here to see. She takes his comm, takes his place as the long ranged sniper, and because she becomes the main character, even takes the Show. And come S2, they did the same to Echo, who left without preamble. Without discussion, with maybe vague hints, and not even with a sliver of an idea that the Batch was better or worse without him. In fact, most of his S1 episodes regulated him to either droid man or perpetuatal Bitcher. Nothing he said solved anything or was listened to, beyond a snarky quip.

( yes, there was the explosive-chemical episode. However, there was nothing in that episode that wasn't already shown in S1. Echo left for nothing, and trying to imply him being there regulated the Batch, did nothing because all he did in S1 was Bitch about Everything and do Nothing--which is already against Echo's TCWshow characterization but that's a discussion for another time and post. )

That leaves Omega to replace not only Crosshair but Echo.

Then Tech dies. They gave him enough development to get attached, and then killed him without preamble, for a situation they could've have performed in S1.. but then didn't. Leaving S3, to have Omega replace just Tech, and Echo, once Crosshair returned.

We ended the show as we began--with non existent character dynamics, that if they show the slightest hint of connection beyond aesthetic, gets interrupted by an outside character (Omega) or destroyed by an outside force (the entire fucking plot). There are no character dynamics, because over the course of all 3 seasons, they showed that each character can come and go as they please, be replaced by the slightest inclination at random, and it will have no impact on any other character, or gets immediatly consumed by the donut steel.

Character dynamics have to be Shown and then given and weight. You have to slow down for a character to act and react to situations.

And that goes into...

Rapid Fire Plot.

The show never slows down. It keeps going and going. They had order 66 performed in Five Minutes, and then were immediately moving on to Kamino for five minutes, oop combat in the cafeteria, which immediately moves on to a training op, and then a mission for five minutes, and oops donut steel across the galaxy gotta go, opps arrestted, oops hunted down, oops friend betray, oops GONE

Constantly building tension and action for No Pay Off...

... And no Reason.

There's no conversations about anything important, because the show refuses to slow down. Its not a "fault of the world". A writer can write whatever scene and story they want, they can slow things down because time is only as meaningful as its written.

But TBBshow keeps wanting to add and add and add, to keep the tension so fucking High, so that when ti finally does slow down, it feel less like a relief, and more like exhaustion.

The moments that should have been slowed, are conversations (communication) between characters about each other (Character Dynamics) without interruption from other relationships (remove the overimportance of Omega), stating either plainly or with character style and goofiness, about situations they're going through.

That means, slowing the hell down. That means, acknowledging that one of your brothers is acting off and is probably being mindcontrolled or something in the empire (because even if he's salty, he can't be that bad, and we know something is up because everyone is acting off--and remember those geonosis brain worms?), or that one of your brothers wants to go out into the galaxy to help his other brothers (and why not? we'd be in a familiar place with familiar people, and it beats doing jobs for a lizard bitch).

Or that someone very close, died. (or might not have. Because its Star Wars, and falling off cliffs didn't even kill the guy cut in half. )

But slowing down means making the main characters important, and if you make them important, you can't introduced someone else...

Which goes into...

Guest Characters.

Episode One immediately has Tarkin, Saw Guerrea, Nala Se, Kanan, Kanan's Master...

None of these people, except Nala Se, can be considered important to the Bad Batch characters.

Imagine, if you will, we get a new show of Superman. Like, we're here for the Boy Scout, its Superman's show... and then his entire first episode involves Batman, and the Flash, and Wonderwoman, and Superman only gets a few scenes here and there for superpowers, but then the show insists on listening to conversations of Batman and Wonderwoman about Superman...

Guest characters are fine in moderation, whcih means, in low amounts. But it seems that most of the episodes in TBBshow, insists on "bringing back" characters from everywhere else.

Rex? He's fine, because he connects to Echo and he's important to a post-Republic era.

But the twin mechanics? Fennec Sha? Cad Bane? Jabba the Hutt's Fucking Rancor? ASAJJ VENTRESS!?

( A llama? SHE'S SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD )

They're not, important, to the Bad Batch. They're don't add anything to the Lore. Anyone can walk in and fill their shoes.

All the hype about them, takes attention away from the Bad Batch as characters and from the story. You pay more attention to familiar figures, than to the very figures that this story is about.

There is no argument beyond "fan fare" and "fan hype" to keep these characters in the story. They contribute Nothing.

Meanwhile, they kill off Tech, turn Crosshair evil for no reason they bothered keeping, and removed Echo, the only real main character from TCWshow proper, for no discussion and no impact and no story interest.

Like the point above, it only serves to have Tension with no Payoff.

CONCLUSION

All this? Starts with Episode 1. Yes, there are episodes where guests aren't around, where Omega isn't the focus, where the Bad Batch have some impact on each other.

But its not enough to change the story, its not enough to change the result, there's no character conversation that can be named, no impact on characters or plot that can be pointed out to that isn't already started by the contrivance, and the team was destroyed by the begining, and stayed destroyed in new ways, by the end.

Its all about Tension, Hype, and Attention. If you argue they could've had more time...

A Star Wars team backed by billion-dollar Disney can do 3 seasons in 3 years, for a subscription online service without having to fight for airing times.

Habro's MLP did it under restriction. Cartoon Network's Over the Garden Wall did in 7 episodes.

They didn't need Time. They needed Focus. They had all the tools, and still opted to use a Sledge Hammer for Screws.

They had preset characters perfect for an entire show, and then still made a super special OC, and destroyed the very team they had.

They had a preset plot, post republic rise of Empire, and still opted to do every mission that wasn't involved with the Empire.

They had a PRESET CONFLICT, with the chips, and then opted to say that the chips don't matter midway through S1.

THEY HAD A PRESET WORLD BUILD. CLONE TROOPER CULTURE, and still opted to introduce every Star Wars character from here to gods damn Wild Space instead.

I have never seen such a disaster where everything was possibly laid out before them that could be easily made, with the time and resources they had (because everyone else who had less time and less resources, such as Hasbro, Cartoon Network--hell, Nickelodeon)--and then they decided that no, they were instead going to do their own thing.

And it turned to Shit.

And it all started, with Episode 1.

[nohomie]

Character intro:

Wally

Extra lore dump below

So yeah, Vampires are special because theyre actually manmade.

Vampires where created centuries ago, long before Human and Mythic agreed to live together peacefully. There were still fights between the two and Humanity was on the losing end. It was due to this that led to some royal family trying to play god and turn themselves into a mythic only for it to cause disaster and destruction.

Fun fact, the term vampire stems from their place of origin, Vamais. While not all vampires come from there, there are few that still exist who once lived in Vamais. You can easily tell if a vampire was once a Vami from their unique facial features (no visible nose and facial hair, not even eyebrows) and striking blue hair.

[princema-k]

Detective Layton, Case 1: The Living Museum

Our story begins for our detective and her assistant at The Natural History Museum; reports are pouring in from visitors all over that the exhibits have come alive! Dinosaurs walking, artifacts randomly moving, and paintings blinking and melting before everyone's very eyes! Naturally, it's up to the Detective Layton and Emmy to solve the case once and for all. Can they solve the mystery of the Living Museum?!

(au info/flora | emmy)

(PLEASE IGNORE THE FACT I SPELLED MUSEUM WRONG IN THE PIC OK TAHNKS)

[psychotic-nonsense]

"I'm sorry."

It's the first thing Steve says after everything.

After getting Vecna Cursed. After nearly dying. After a hallucination of Eddie saved him. After running through a looped forest. After finding sanctuary in Steve's memory of that Starcourt bathroom. After Eddie reveals himself as Eddie.

It's the only thing he can think of. It's not big enough to fit everything, but it's the only thing that fits in his mouth.

"Don't be."

Maybe that's the only thing Eddie can think of too. The only thing Eddie can bear to say.

Because don't be can't stop Steve's eyes from watering when he sees the vest in his closet. Don't be can't stop Steve's feet from dragging him to the cemetery every evening to clean Eddie's graffiti-covered tombstone. Don't be can't stop Steve from sitting beside Wayne and listening to him talk about the Eddie he remembers. Don't be can't stop Eddie's body from showing up in Steve's dreams, nor Eddie's corpse from his nightmares. Don't be couldn't keep the pain away enough, didn't stop Vecna from latching onto it while Steve was walking alone in the woods.

Don't be isn't enough for what Steve wants to hear. But even stuck here waiting, hoping, for someone to get Steve out, there just isn't enough time.

"I miss you."

"...Why?"

Eddie says it back so quickly, so quietly, like it's just unfathomable to him. Maybe it is, considering their last memories. But their eyes meet and he looks just as sad, just as longing, as Steve.

"You were my friend."

Steve can't help but say it like that. Like they were friends for years instead of days. Like Eddie was that important to him in their final moments. Like his heart really aches for Eddie every second of the apocalypse.

Can't help but say it like he means it.

"I wish we could've had more time..."

Steve's voice cracks a little there as he turns away, hiding. It's all he wants. It's all Vecna used to entice him with. It's all that's keeping him going, to finally fulfill the last request Eddie made. It's all he has left to feel close to Eddie.

The Eddie that's sitting right next to him, silent, his sight weighing on Steve's skin. Conscious and aware and the real Eddie. Trapped in Vecna's head as a backup power source, yet who still risked everything to come save Steve. Who Steve will never see again because killing Vecna means killing Eddie for good, and his heart doesn't want it, is begging for another solution...

But for once, his broken head overpowers his shattered heart.

"Maybe we did."

Eddie takes Steve's hand. Meets Steve's surprised look with his own small smile of hope. They're both suddenly tearing up, eyes glistening with life in this gray stall.

"Maybe in another world, we got a second first chance. A first second chance. Maybe even a third, or fourth. Maybe in a different life, we had everything we wanted. Because you, Steve Harrington, are too good for me to be doomed to meet just once."

And for a moment, Steve sees it. Feels it. Versions of them connected through the universe.

Little kids playing in the lake. One with bruised skin and shaved hair, loud but unfathomably lonely. One with a bruised heart and soft eyes, timid but stubbornly hopeful.

A rockstar with glittering chains, center stage in the spotlight. A set of eyes in the crowd or behind the curtain, watching only him.

A werewolf and a vampire, two cryptids of horror, meeting in the dead of a full moon night to feel safe with the only other one who understands.

A future where they won, where the only death was the one that mattered. A process of healing and learning, coming home to a family every single day.

A world without pain, without their hell, where two high schoolers found freedom from their shackles and company in each other. Hiding away together in the dark corners of the town.

Steve even sees other versions of them. Versions that he knows were originally never supposed to meet, yet forces so much greater than them pulled them together.

A metalhead drug dealer, constantly getting into trouble with one nail-bat-weilding cop.

A criminal's fugitive nature leading him to a rugged trailer park, and the dangerous owner within one such home.

An eccentric king in an old coliseum, always choosing one particular warrior as his champion.

A young programmer being pulled away from his work by sobs above his apartment, running upstairs to check on the law student that recently moved in.

Two actors, finding an easy friendship in the months of filming one season of a show that would change their lives.

In that moment, Steve's overwhelmed by the closeness he suddenly feels with the soul beside him. Falling into tears, he pulls Eddie into a tight hug, holding him so so close to convey everything he can't say. Feeling Eddie hold him back, hearing everything Eddie can't say in return.

Familiar music comes on outside the stall. Robin's voice calls out to him, telling him to come home.

And when he does leave, Steve hopes that someone out there will understand that he never can. Because here in Eddie's arms is the only place that will ever truly feel like home.

"Thank you... for everything, Eddie."

Thank you, Steve. For everything and more..."

--------------------

- List of AUs, in order, after, "Versions of them connected through the universe": Childhood Friends / Rockstar!Eddie / Werewolf!Steve & Vampire!Eddie / Eddie Survives / No Upside Down & High School

- List of Multiverse Steddie AUs, in order, after, "...yet forces so much greater than them pulled them together": Eddie x Gator / Baron x Michael / Geta x Sean / Keys x Eric / Quinn and Keery

[nouverx]

Guys maybe it's time for me to introduce my ocs 💥

Lehti is my main oc and the protagonist!! I created him in 2019 and he's the one I drew the most in my life. He's a human, though he doesn't look like one. He's very ostracised from society because of his appearance and his disability, the other humans even want him dead for reasons I can't really explain yet. He can't have any real job so he lives of thievery and decided to actively become a menace to society as vengeance 😈

Melek is his sign language translator/interpretor! She is his voice and his ears. She was an homeless orphan, he took her in and provides her housing and food in exchange of her services. She follows him around everywhere to translate everything for him. She wears a mask because helping out Lehti one way or another is seen as treason and is punishable by death by the other humans, so he makes her wear it to protect her identity.

At first their relationship was only transactional, with time they became more like siblings.

Maybe one day I'll turn those ocs into a real fantasy story, who knows

Some more rambling about my ocs teehee

Lehti is very fun but also enigmatic. He doesn't seem to mind being a wanted man, even pulls of the theatrics when he's being chased. He's very similar to Lupin the Third in that regard, very playful, loves the attention and likes to taunt and have fun while thieving. He has very low empathy and doesn't really get sad or angry easily. It's like "Oh everyone wants me dead for no reason? Fun!" kind of chaotic neutral. He does have a darker/more sadistic side sometimes when interacting with the humans, so he might be motivated by vengeance in a deeper level 🤷 who knows

Also he's transmasc!! If that wasn't obvious enough lol. Medical transition isn't a thing in their fantasy universe, but it's ok he's not dysphoric or anything. He gets misgendered a lot but Melek is the only one who hears it and she always corrects people so it's a win for him

I don't usually take the time to post or talk about my ocs because I always end up brainrotting about something else, I really want to try and draw them more!

Melek on the other hand is very timid. She doesn't speak much outside of her job and was really just following him around like a shadow at the beginning. She didn't really have any goal in life before and was just surviving, now that she has a more "secure" situation (aka not having to worry about food or housing anymore), she's learning how to enjoy life again and even create a future for herself. I love her and she's a character that I'd love to develop more!