#I'll revisit this later and fix it up some

[imtrashraccoon]

Whew! It's over...don't mind me but I'll probably be taking a few days off writing again. Thank you so much for coming along on this journey with me! I learned so much and had so much fun! It's definitely given me so many ideas for future projects...

There will probably be an announcement post coming soon... (ﾟ⁠οﾟ⁠人⁠)⁠)

@owl-bones

First Day & Previous Day.

Bad Sansuary: Free Space - Snuggle

Word Count: 3,301

Feat. Everyone!

You were relaxing in your room with a book you'd borrowed from the library after dinner. This high fantasy series Nightmare recommended was seriously good and once you'd started, it was incredibly hard to put down. Well, unless someone interrupted you that is...

There was a playful knock at your door, pulling you out of the story and back to reality. You knew exactly who had chosen to bother you and a part of you wanted to just pretend you had gone to bed early so he'd leave you alone. But...that wouldn't be very nice and you could always read later on before you did actually go to sleep.

With a sigh, you slipped a book mark made from laminating the pressed flowers Axe had given you between the pages and hauled yourself off the comfortable couch to go answer the door. The knocking grew more insistent until you finally threw it open and fixed Killer with your most exaggerated grumpy face.

"What's so important that you would drag me from the realm of Middle Earth just to see you?" you grumbled.

Killer shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and smirked. "hm? oh i was just bored out of my mind, angel face~"

You sighed and ran your hand down your face. "So, you want me to help you?"

"nope."

"What? Then...why did you come see me?" Now you were really confused and you stared at him for a few seconds, waiting for him to break and claim he was just messing with you.

"i wanna have a movie night and almost everyone else has already agreed. so...?" He wiggled his bonebrows in a playful way until you finally relented.

"Alright, I guess that sounds like it could be fun."

No sooner had you agreed did Killer take your hand and nearly drag you into the common area. You protested from the suddenness, but he only laughed and barely slowed down at all. It seemed you'd have to revisit Middle Earth another time.

"she said yes!" he announced to the other three skeletons.

Axe and Dust seemed to have been trying to figure out which movie to watch, but by the looks of things, they hadn't been able to come to a decision. Nightmare was casually lounging on one of the couches watching the two of them. All three looked up at the news and Axe smiled at you.

"guess i could whip up some snacks. do ya wanna help, lil' chip?" he asked.

You shrugged and glanced over at the tv to see what they had narrowed the choices down to. "Sure, but what movie were we going to watch anyways?"

Dust, Axe, and Killer glanced at each other before saying different titles at the same time, none of which you'd ever heard of before. They then proceeded to start arguing over which was the better movie.

Nightmare sighed and shot you a look that seemed to say "See what I deal with?" You gave him a sympathetic smile before clapping your hands to get the other's attention.

"Why don't we watch all of them and just turn this into a movie marathon night?" you suggested.

Thankfully, your idea seemed acceptable and they nodded in agreement. Even Nightmare seemed suitably impressed which made you quite happy to have solved the argument.

"guess we should start on those snacks then," Axe hummed and started for the kitchen.

"dusty and i could go pick up some pizzas and pop if you're fine with that?" Killer suggested and glanced at the aforementioned individual, who merely shrugged.

"sure, do what ya want," Axe rumbled, not even bothering to stop and look at them.

The two disappeared to presumably go get the food and you went to follow Axe into the kitchen, although not before glancing back at Nightmare. He gave you a bit of a disinterested look before getting up and leaving the common area.

You frowned and started to go after him to figure out if something was wrong, when Axe called out for you.

"ya comin' lil' chip?"

"Yeah, I'll be right there." You hesitated for a moment before hurrying to the kitchen. It seemed you'd have to check in on him later.

You helped make some buttered popcorn, cut up some fresh fruit, and arrange some cookies that Axe had made earlier on a plate. By the time you were done, the other two skeletons had returned with a couple of still hot pizzas and two bottles of pop. You didn't question where they'd likely pilfered them from and neither did Axe, as the answer would likely be either unpleasant or exactly what you suspected they'd done instead of paying like proper monsters.

Just as you were helping to arrange the food where it would be easily accessible, Nightmare reappeared with his arms and tentacles full of various cushions and blankets. While you were a little surprised, you were also glad to see that he was interested in participating in the fun afterall.

It didn't take long to make the floor by the tv extra comfy and get situated. Axe was content to lean against the couch where his large frame wouldn't be blocking anyone. Dust claimed a beanbag chair, which practically swallowed him up, and you were pretty sure he wasn't planning on moving anytime soon. Killer, being the absolute gremlin that he was, went about stealing as many pillows as he could to make a makeshift pillow nest for himself. At first, Nightmare chose the couch, but when you all but insisted that he should join everyone else, he relented and eventually chose to copy Axe, leaning against the couch instead.

Two problems quickly became apparent though. Problem one was that no one could agree on whose movie choice to watch first. Problem two was that you could tell each of the boys wanted you to sit with them.

You really didn't want what was supposed to be a fun evening devolving into a jealous fight. So before anyone could actually get upset, you decided to try and take charge.

"How about this... To keep things fair, I'll just swap places for each movie so that I can sit with all of you in turn," you suggested. Unfortunately, your attempt at a solution wasn't nearly as effective as you'd hoped.

"sooo...who gets to have the cutie to themselves first?" Killer asked. He had a dangerous look on his skull as he spoke and while his tone sounded light, even like he was almost teasing, you knew him well enough by now to know that he wasn't playing around.

"definitely not you," Dust growled and sat up a bit, his gloved hands digging into the bean bag.

Even Axe seemed to stiffen up and his good eye socket narrowed into a harsh glare at his loud-mouthed colleague. His clawed phalanges twitched slightly, as if aching to wringe a certain someone's neck or curl around the handle of the weapon of his namesake.

While Nightmare remained silent, you could tell by the way his tentacles were twitching restlessly, that he was at the very least mildly annoyed by this situation. His cyan eyelight flicked to you and the intensity of his gaze was almost enough to make you want to shrink into yourself. His expression held something else though; a look that you couldn't quite place but one that seemed to suggest he was scheming about something.

You swallowed and managed to tear your eyes away from his piercing gaze. Raising your voice again, you cried out, "No fighting! I have another idea...you should all play rock, paper, scissors to determine the order."

They glanced at each other but no one protested. After playing a few rounds, an order was established, minus Nightmare, who claimed he didn't care when his turn was. Killer won each time making him first, Axe was second, and Dust was third, much to his frustration. Nightmare was content to go last, which of course nobody protested over.

Killer was all too happy to welcome you into his nest. His arms fit snugly around your waist, teasingly close to your pelvis, although he otherwise kept his hands to himself and just continued spooning you during the first movie.

Speaking of, the movie was one of those corny horror movies. It was full of gratuitous violence with plenty of obviously fake gore. Still, you couldn't help but cringe whenever the monster attacked the very doomed side characters. Killer was quick to soothe your nerves with soft whispers of encouragement and occasionally making fun of the many cliches present in the film. Overall, the experience left a sort of thrill coursing through your veins and you were admittedly a little disappointed when the movie was over, a sentiment Killer seemed to mirror, although he attempted to hide it.

Axe had picked a tamer movie, although that wasn't saying much as there were more jump scares than the previous one that never failed to startle you. Still, Axe was also very good at comforting you and multiple times throughout the movie, you felt his eyelight watching your reactions just to make sure you were okay.

You ended up snuggled up against his left side with his hand around your back and resting on your left hand which was on your thigh. You wrapped your right arm around his broad back and laid your head against his ribcage, which inadvertently meant you could listen to the soothing hum of his magic that emanated from his soul.

At some point during the second movie, you glanced over at Nightmare and were a little surprised to find that he seemed a bit bored. It was odd because you had assumed he'd actually get some sort of satisfaction from witnessing how terrified the protagonists of the film were.

He sensed your gaze and glanced over, tilting his skull in a silent question.

"Are you okay?" you mouthed.

His eyelight flicked back to the screen and he shrugged. "It's manufactured fear... I can't gain any benefits from attempting to absorb it," he murmured. When he glanced back at you though, a subtle smirk formed across his skull and he went to say something but stopped himself when Axe took notice of the conversation.

You were momentarily fascinated that there was that much of a difference. Would it be any different if it was a live broadcast and the actors didn't know what was going to happen? You'd have to ask him about it sometime.

You glanced at Nightmare a few more times throughout the movie and occasionally caught him looking a little amused. The boys weren't easily spooked but the rare times one of them was seemed to coincide with those little moments. You figured he was the one who hadn't exactly wanted to have a movie night, however he'd seemingly decided to go along with it anyways. Probably under the guise of this being a group bonding activity like any good boss would host. The thought was actually kind of funny to you now that you knew them all a lot better.

Dust's movie of choice was definitely a thriller, and while you didn't mind the change, it made you feel really anxious, which you hated. It was about an old cop trying to solve a series of murders apparently perpetrated by the one criminal he had failed to bring to justice years prior. The plot was certainly intriguing at points and you could see why he had picked it.

You'd been right on the money earlier when you'd assumed he wasn't planning on budging from the comfortable beanbag for a long while. That was fine of course since he didn't really need to move in order to actually cuddle with you. His idea was for you to sit in his lap so you'd be as close as possible, which you'd expanded on and chosen to sit side saddle. It meant you could both hold each other and he'd get to watch your face, so he didn't protest at all. You wrapped one of your arms around his shoulders and he sort of mimicked the gesture, except he supported your back, leaving your other hand free to hold his other one.

By the time of the fourth movie, which was a classic monster movie about a mad scientist and his creation, you noticed something strange. Save for yourself and Nightmare, everyone else seemed to doze off, almost at the same time too.

Turning to the only possible perpetrator, you narrowed your eyes suspiciously. "Did you...put them to sleep?" you hissed under your breath.

His grin seemed only to grow more smug and even without him saying anything, you knew your suspicions were correct.

"Indeed~" he purred. "It is said that good things come to those who wait. They had their fun, so now I get to have mine..."

Your heart skipped a beat at the deliciously dark tone of voice he'd used. It was at that moment that a flock of butterflies decided to assault your insides with their delicate wings. You'd managed to control yourself with the others but now that you were technically alone with him...well, you weren't sure if that was possible anymore.

He pressed his skull against your hair and growled low in his throat. "I had to watch them hold you so close all this time... Have some empathy, dear..."

A chill went down your spine from the possessive tone of his voice and your tongue felt heavy like it was made of lead. Even if you could complain, he probably wouldn't even listen to you.

Nightmare pulled you into his lap yet again, which seemed to be his preferred method of holding you for whatever reason. Maybe it was because he could cage you in with his arms and tentacles so you couldn't escape. Or maybe he just liked the feeling of having you so intimately close to him. You tried not to dwell on it, partially because you liked it too.

Neither of you said much of anything for a little while, being content to enjoy the closeness and intimacy of this rare moment in time.

He was the one to break the silence first. He seemed to grow restless the longer you went without saying anything and his tentacles twitched with pent up energy, leaving you wondering what was really on his mind today. Then his clawed phalanges hooked under your chin, gently turning it so he could make eye contact and ensure he had your full attention before he even attempted to say anything.

"My dear, I cannot see into what the future holds, but I believe with all my soul that you'll fit in here. You've won over each of my boys in your own way and they've come to care a great deal for you in return."

He paused to take a breath before continuing. "I'm not normally a very...romantic person... But, even I can admit that I care a lot for you. No matter what you think, you matter to us and you've made a difference in our lives...for the better. I hesitate to use the word 'love' as I don't, and maybe can't, exactly feel that...but you will always be safe under my care."

He drew closer to you, his touch growing more tender now, and his tendrils slowly undulating against your clothing. "I promise, dear..." he murmured, almost against your lips, before closing that final distance.

For a moment, you were frozen in place as your brain tried to process what all he'd said. You caught on quickly though and wrapped your arms around his cerebral vertebrae so he wouldn't pull away too soon. You felt him stiffen ever so slightly but he soon relaxed into your embrace and actually deepened the kiss further.

It was over much too soon. You had to separate to catch your breath, although he didn't seem winded in the slightest. There was a soft cyan glow colouring his otherwise dark cheekbones and you could also see a small spark of what you thought might be true happiness in his eyelight.

Neither of you said anything for the short remainder of the film and you snuggled up against him as close as you possibly could get. Your soul was practically leaping for joy in your chest at the implications of what he'd said. You'd been assured by the others, but now you had definitive proof that he really did like you afterall.

Whatever magic he'd used to put everyone else to sleep seemed to fade as the end credits began to roll. One by one, the boys stirred before waking up, although you could see they were still a bit drowsy from the effects of the spell.

"Nice of you all to join us," Nightmare remarked with a chuckle and lightly squeezed your body against himself one last time.

They could only seem to respond with a cacophony of various tired grumbles, which even you had to admit was a little amusing.

Dust was the first to move and his mismatched eyelights scanned the room before locking onto you. The intensity in his tired gaze was nearly breathtaking but you couldn't read what could possibly be going through his mind right now. He dragged himself to his feet and managed to shamble his way over to you like a dead man walking. He ended up collapsing half on top of you so that his skull was resting just above your knees.

As soon as Killer realized what he'd done, he dragged himself over to you as well, plopping himself down on your shins with his skull resting on one of his arms so he could still look up at you. Interestingly, the black ooze that always leaked from his eye sockets had slowed to a meer trickle now, possibly from sleeping?

You were slightly flustered by all this contact at once but there was still one skeleton missing. Glancing over at Axe, you saw that he seemed to be conflicted. His eyelight flicked from his two colleagues to you and back again, while his large hands clenched and unclenched at his sides.

You couldn't exactly reach for him but you motioned with your chin to try and reassure him that you didn't mind if he wanted to join in. That little push was all he needed to scoot over and wrap both you and Nightmare in a big hug.

The aforementioned god let out a low growl of annoyance at basically being smothered and his claws pressed into your waist in a vain attempt to keep you to himself. Yet, he didn't shove any of them away, even though he was plenty strong enough to, as demonstrated when he used his tentacles to move some of the boys and yourself into more comfortable positions.

You couldn't move even if you wanted to and definitely wouldn't be able to for a while. Your eyes were finally starting to grow heavy, but still, you resisted the tempting allure of sleep to enjoy what had turned into a snuggle pile.

It was obvious that all four of them felt strongly about you and if the events leading up to the movie marathon were anything to go by, this wouldn't be the last time you'd need to intervene. Each of them were equally stubborn and also quite dangerous when provoked, which could quickly lead to hurt feelings or injuries.

You would have to either get good at breaking up future arguments or simply pick one of them and stick with your decision. Unfortunately, you didn't want to pick one over the others as you liked each of them equally. You'd have to give this matter a lot of thought.

You were confident you'd make the right choice though...

[fault-classic]

It's been a little while, what have I been working on?

My latest work went into making some pretty significant tweaks to the battle results screen. Really starting to tie things together now, but it's not quite finished yet! That's not all, though.

Back in May I was experimenting with RPG Maker's "weather" system. I had implemented a map-specific "overhang" layer that framed the edges of rooms with black space. That prevented weather effects - like snow particles - from displaying beyond the boundaries of the room.

The frogs are just my debug objects for turning the snow on and off.

But it's not like I wanted it to snow indoors - after I had the overhangs figured out, I rewrote the behaviour and graphics code for the "snow" particles to create these dust particles that float around aimlessly.

This ought to make the catacomb interiors feel appropriately dusty - and make the environments feel less still and lifeless in general.

They even display on the battle screen... though sometimes they tend to crowd around the left side of the screen because of the panning and sliding during the battle intro animation. I'll have to fix that at some point.

During May and June, Vito got a complete set of battle sprites and an attack animation.

And so did Yolei. Oh, and the dog enemy is also new.

The dog enemy is very evasive, but also cowardly and not very tough.

It is capable of the "flee" action, something that slimes and skeletons will not do.

At the end of June I added a MAJOR quality of life feature. When Ashley is facing something on the map that can be interacted with or talked to with the action button, a quotation bubble with an exclamation mark will pop up above their head. No ambiguity! No more pixel hunting or mashing the action button in front of every random tile!

I didn't save any screenshots in July, it was a busy month I guess. But in August I got back to work.

Remember this old sprite? From February of 2023?

Well, I'm revisiting this enemy type with more practice under my belt. Here are some gifs I recorded as I was figuring them out and implementing their assets and abilities.

As armored enemies, they are very hardy - the weaker party members will have a hard time damaging them with basic attacks.

In addition to their basic attacks, all undead enemies can perform a skill that inflicts "fear" status on one party member, which depletes their morale over time...

Here's the same battle running with the mood lighting and dust effects turned on. While I was fiddling with the code, I was also able to configure the target animation to not play if the skill misses. It looked sloppy otherwise.

At some point I put a big, animated door on the front entrance of the debug dungeon. I used this door as a testing model for other interactive doors to use later.

I also spent the last few days of the month filling out Nana's spellbook with some more spell animations. "Dazzle" inflicts dizzy on the entire enemy party. Dizzy enemies have a chance of hitting the wrong target with their basic attacks - including their own allies. Hitting a dizzy target with a basic attack will also knock them down and stun them for one turn.

"Fume" poisons one enemy with a cloud of noxious gas, dealing damage over time.

I should of course note that since skeletons don't breathe, they can't be poisoned in the final game - I was only using this one to demonstrate the animation here.

that's all for now!

[burningartwork]

Persona 5: Maruki the Councillor REVERSED

Some part of me wishes for Maruki's reality. A world where pain does not exist, but then again, can we truly value the things we never fear of losing? Food for thought.

Someone on Deviant Art made me think of the fact that Maruki IS technically a Palace Ruler & since I added so much of Royal into the Minor Arcana, it felt wrong not to include him. I might revisit this later, but I like this so far. (Maybe I'll make those veins/tubes thicker if I do edit this & though it is an edit, maybe I'll fix up the posture too. We'll see later when it's time for quality control.) I'll be working on convention merch in the next 2 weeks for #animeottawa so I'll be dropping some new stuff as I finish them.

See you in actualization.

🃏 REVERSE: indecisiveness, insecurity, lack of originality, sickness, or exploitation of the innocent

🃏 UPRIGHT: diplomacy, possibilities of choice, creativity & vitality and power over mental illness

🌟 Major Arcana here

🃏 Suits for Minor Arcana:  

Cups (Ace; The rest of the suit in post)

Wands (Ace; The rest of the suit in post) 

Pentacles (Ace; The rest of the suit in post)

Swords (Ace; The rest of the suit in post)

🃏 Bonus cards:

04 - Constellation (Jose)

00R - Faith Reversed

01R - Councillor Reversed

09R - Hermit Reversed

20R - Judgement Reversed

? - Shido - Hunger

[celesse]

Have you ever wanted to draw something but you fought due to your skill level at the time you decide not to do it

Yes, many times. I've also thought of things I'd like to draw that are just not in my wheelhouse and had to pass on them because I know I don't have the skillset to pull it off. I could work towards it of course, but I've learned with my disability I have to pick and choose what I want to be good at and focus on that.

When I run up against something I just can't make work, I'll either note down the idea in my list for a potential future attempt, or I'll just let the first attempt sit in my files to possibly revisit some day. I've revisited sketches I was unhappy with up to a year or more later and suddenly been able to figure out how to fix them, which is always a good feeling.

[otakween]

Digimon Frontier - Episode 3

For this episode I decided to check out the English dub for Frontier. I really enjoyed it! My problem is that the Digimon dubs are more fun and nostalgic to watch, but I'm always really conscious of missing out on lore and emotional beats. Maybe I'll finish the sub and then watch the dub someday when I wanna revisit this.

Notes:

The American OP is hype as heck! I like the tribal vibe with the drums. I think I like the Japanese digivolution music a little better though.

I liked most of the English VAs but Takuya sounds like a 30 year old lol. For some reason, Izumi's Italian outbursts were a lot funnier in English, "Mamma mia!"

I coulda sworn Takuya said he was in the 4th grade in the last episode but now he's in the 5th? In the dub he's in the 6th, so let's just say he's somewhere in the upper elementary range.

I really loved Tomoki's digivolution sequence. I like how his hand movements are a little more childish/cheerful than Takuya or Koji's Also, in the dub I love how he said "EXECUTE" lol. I know they meant like "executing a program" but I was just thinking of the murder version of "execute" hehe.

So I guess Bokomon and Neemon have a boke/tsukkomi dynamic going on. I think they overdid Bokomon's bullying a bit tho

Lol @ the DigiCode fixing one (1) single bridge in this episode whereas in the first episode they fixed like an entire village. I guess some digimon get you better results than others? (Also they said that the bridge "protected them from bad digimon," how does that work?)

So they've established a bunch of times now that there are supposed to be 10 warriors. Betting the cast will expand with some minor characters later.

I just noticed this, but Takuya has a little symbol on his shirt and hat but I'm not sure if it's supposed to be a reference to something or it's just a cool graphic.

Speaking of graphics, I finally noticed that the symbols for the spirits are literally just kanji. Like Agnimon's is the kanji for fire, Wolfmon is light, Chackmon is ice...

Uhhh...why is the dub name for Chackmon (Kumamon) way more Japanese sounding? I guess they couldn't have used Kumamon in the sub cuz...

Chackmon is a weird name and even after reading the etymology on the wiki I don't really get it.

These kids are kinda savage. First Bokomon is pleading with them to save his world and they just look annoyed and then when Agnimon is battling all the Candlemon they're just like "wow, he's really trying to fight a fire type? What a dumbass" (paraphrasing) and they walk off (to be fair, Takuya told them to hide, but still!) It was really funny when Bokomon was telling the Candlemon that the kids were there to save the Digital World and Takuya was like "not really" lol.

I'm glad that they were at least given the chance to go home because otherwise it feels a little bit like they're being blackmailed into being heroes (save our world or you'll never see your home again)

I'm sure someone has meme'd on Agnimon being covered in white drippy wax before...I'll refrain.

I feel like we already have too much lore here. First it was Cherubimon was messing up the world and now it's actually Lucemon that was the OG world messer-upper? Now I dunno who the big bad is!

If there are 10 warriors...I wonder what the elements are gonna be. Well I guess Pokemon has managed to come up with a zillion "elements." Is someone gonna end up with "heart?" hahaha

Didn't expect Wizardmon to show up as a baddie-of-the-week. Feels weird.

I kinda like that Koji is taking his sweet time to join the party. We don't need his drama in the friend group.

[kaiowut99]

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX Episodes 115 & 116 Subbed (Finalized)

(Previously: Episodes 113-114 Subbed [Finalized])

(Check out my Subbed!GX Stream Masterpost!)

TURN-115: Giese the Spirit Hunter

Cobra's second assassin was sent after Judai and the others--that assassin being Giese, who is capable of seeing Spirits. He captures Sapphire Pegasus, one of the Gem Beasts, alive and uses him to coerce them into dueling. In Judai's stead, due to his exhaustion of stamina, Johan confronts him, and a duel between Johan and Giese begins. Giese activates his Hunting Net Counter Trap, as if to hunt down Johan's Gem Beasts, and captures Amethyst Cat. Johan attempts to save his Gem Beasts, but even more traps would await him.

TURN-116: The Gem Beasts VS Hell Gundog

Giese proceeds to capture the Gem Beasts with various Trap Cards, while also summoning his Hell Gundog to pour on the attacks against Johan. Feeling anger at Giese's dirty dueling, Johan starts his counterattack, anticipating his Traps and overcoming them strategically by summoning Topaz Tiger and Emerald Turtle to attack with. Cornered, Giese goes for Johan's weakness, making him hold off on any of his attacks. With Johan unable to interfere with his moves, Giese activates his Substitute Pain Permanent Magic to inflict damage on him.

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

Sooo, accidentally ran later with these than intended--not helped by realizing while drafting this full release post over the past two days that I missed a couple spots with a few of my usual animation fixes 🙃--buuut with that out of the way, finalized!115-116 are now up and ready to go! This isn't a catch-and-release I promise

These are always a nice pair of episodes in terms of establishing more around Johan's bond with the Gem Beasts and how he sees his relationship to Spirits, as shown as he encountered Tom and when he finds out that Giese was the one who stole his card and Spirit (meanwhile, the dub decided to give them history for reasons); that Pegasus cameo as he introduces them to the Gem Beasts was always cool, and his "Jesus!" line is iconic haha. Also notable for showing the start of the "What am I dueling for?" question starting to stir within Judai's head after his duel with Satou (which is also conspicuously absent from the dub). Always did find Giese's ultimate fate after Johan crushes him--to "Camula's Theme," at that, which always slaps (and is especially nice given the easter egg that Johan's VA, Kanako Irie, also voiced Camula)--a bit ambiguous since we never do follow up with him, but it is implied the Spirits he hunted (and the one he actually saw as a friend?) either consumed him or took him to the Spirit World or what-have-you; I wonder if they would've added a quick follow-up had they had some room in the episode runtime.

Animation error-wise, well, that was part of the reason for the delay, as overall I handled about 31 throughout both episodes, split roughly evenly between them; varied from smaller quality-of-watching things like split-screen timings (with some border errors mixed in, at that) to card errors (moreso in 116 given how often Hell Gundog wound up on Johan's Disk...) making up the bulk of them, along with helping Topaz Tiger see better well good in 115's preview for 116 due to an error with his eye. Given the amount of fixes worked on, as with 113-114, I'll once again go through the usual edit breakdown in this separate post for the interested!

Anywho, enjoy! Up next, I'll hopefully be working on the Judai vs Cobra three-parter in 117-119 together; I'll be detouring back to TFSP to work on Crow's events in the 5D's character stories, mixing in some work on 117-119 as I go. In particular, looking forward to revisiting 119 since it's a favorite (between the art/animation, music, Cobra's message to Judai echoing Satou coming back later... *chef's kiss*), but 117 will also be interesting for the Yubel/Amon interaction, and of course the surprise fight sequence! Stay tuned!

[demonkinguwu]

FANFICTION PROGRESS

This is an update since I'm back in a mental space where I can start writing again. [A bit of my personal thoughts at the end] I am continuing all of my current fics, none will be abandoned but some will be on a long hiatus before I get to them, so I'm sorry for the delay on those, but I'll most likely fix the aus they are based on. Now for the statuses of those:

The Witch Bride and The Groom Ghost: I will most definitely be finishing this one in the next coming year, I have been plotting it out and have all the chapter drafts finished. However, I will most likely be moving the chapter upload from once a week to once every two weeks due to the chapter length [boy they are long jdsknf] and my work schedule picking up. Art will added later on.

Subcon Waltz: This will most likely take a while for me to revisit, mostly because I am plotting out the chapters and reworking most of it, no drafts have been done as of yet but I have a pretty good idea of where the story is headed. Plus this has been a story I've been wanting to get back to since it's been in the works for so long, it's a nice mix of the fairytale tropes, horror, and that good old Subcon dark humor lol. I really come to love it :>

How To Be a Loving Family: This is definitely one that will take me the longest to get back to work with due to the amount of rework that I'll do with the AU. A lot of it going to change from what I had in mind but it's for the sake of feeling comfortable with it. That said, once again, the current chapters will be reworked a little at a later point once I have a clear idea of the reworked AU.

I'm also working on 2 new fics not yet to be announced but they're being worked on behind the scenes on occasion. Thank you so much for sticking with me on these, your kudos and comments are appreciated!

A bit of a personal journey with writing these fics

Last year hit me pretty hard, I experienced big-time burnout. I wasn't really capable of doing much that I felt I like doing artwise, especially with writing. I only did doodles on discord but aside from the occasional post, not much else.

Back then, rereading my old writing, my old rps from the old servers I was in, I just cringed at how bad I was. I don't consider myself a good writer, heck even now I'm so-so on my writing, but reading back on my old stuff, man I feel like I kissed a lemon dkjnfddf I was pretty bad and writing felt off to me since then. I did still do private oneshots but I couldn't get back to writing these series. The thing about the Hat Mom AU and the Subcon Waltz AU fics being felt in the dust was that I wasn't as invested in A hat in time much, it was just a mix of my hyperfixation on the series dying off, the fics not being ironed and plotted out properly [Literally didn't plan a thing on Subcon Waltz and just winged it out impluse] and the fandom drama had drained me [Yeah, remember the whole Vanessa hating asks I got? Yeah those certainly didn't help with my mood at the time]

The only reason I got back into writing at all was due to how invested I grew in TGOGM but it didn't have that many fics at the time so I decided to throw my hat into the ring with my own au. By then I learned how to properly plan out chapters and writing and remembered I was just doing this for fun, I wasn't being paid to do this so I could take my time with this.

Eventually, I applied this mindset to my other fics and aus once I got back into ahit, these are my aus/fics, I can rewrite them if I don't like them. So that's what I'm doing right now, just taking the hammer, smashing stuff and just fixing them into something I like. Because at the end of the day, I'm not really a popular artist nor have a grand story everyone is invested in, I'm just a silly little creator with my own silly ideas that I choose to share with the world. If they like it, then poggers!!! I will cry and sob for weeks over a nice comment dkjnfds If not, well, I like this, and maybe one day someone else will too :>

I know this is long but I just needed to share my thoughts out there alongside telling you guys they're not dead, they're just being fixed with the hammer lol :> If you read this far, thank you for reading this madness fdnjf I'll try to get these to a place a like while taking my time in doing so uwu

[leefi]

The Flower That Bloomed Nowhere Read-through | Part 1: Chapters 1-14

Part 1: 1-14 | Part 2: 14-22 | Part 3: 22-34 | Part 4: 34-64 | Part 5: 64-80 | Part 6: 81-90 | Part 7: 90-100 | Part 8: 100-127 (caught up here)

Hi!!!! I've been reading through this webnovel after seeing @ot3's pitch for it and started writing down some thoughts on the characters and worldbuilding and imminent murdering. This story is very, very long and I only reacted up to about chapter 33, so most of my thoughts will involve the worldbuilding and less the murder mystery aspect -- so if you're looking for theorizing you won't find much of that here. Since I'll be continuing eventually, I wanted to post what I did make note of to revisit later!

Most of these are not marked by chapter/section because I was lazy and I'm not sure how easy it will be to follow as a result, but everything is chronological.

everyone here is hijabi mashallah

The visual I'm getting of the solar system/local system/dimension they inhabit is kind of a blend of steampunk and fantasy and uhh some secret third thing. With the walls of their "universe" painted in that puella dollhouse witch lair style. Does the sun bounce around like a screensaver. Does it orbit their earth or is it on a fixed axis flung out into “space”? Does “space” even exist anymore? I’m assuming they’re in an enclosed area that they've created. Do they actively use arcane resources to keep objects (ie star and planets) sustaining themselves, or have they made them self sufficient?

everyone is so mean to Ptolema leave her alone what the fuckk let a bimbo live i want to kill you all you’re so annoying. Ptolema I WOULD be your friend and not ask all these weird ass questions. and we would hold hands and skip and giggle

Yes shes an airhead nepo baby but you guys could try doing anything other than snickering and rolling your eyes whenever she says stupid shit. If she starts arguing back about government war crimes during the Revolution or something then you have my blessing to beat her ass!

I HATE kamsurepa i HATE her i HAYE Her and her stupid ass name

Ran and Su have no chemistry its insane that theyre always hanging out every conversation is like uhhh (awkward silence) (rude comment from Ran) *Su voice* wow she gets me so well. every time they talk im like what the fuck just happened.

Su’s internal narration is too self aware for me. it’s like she talks like she knows she’s a character? or something. it's self-deprecating in a very bizarre way

im sorry i don’t know if i can continue with this. i know too many med students irl and these characters are literally pissing me off. compliments to the author for realism you knocked it out of the park

Oh, thank you very much!" Kam said, reverting back to her smiley-diplomatic form for a moment before stepping away from the counter and continuing as she handed us the cards. "...as far as it seems to me, the desire to reproduce is essentially an immature form of pursuing life-extension - this idea that you'll 'live on through your children' that's patently pseudo-mysticism justifying what is ultimately an animal instinct." ⬇️ I’m going to grab her ginger head and swing her around like bowser in mario 64. SHUT UPPPPP SHUT UP please tell me shes the one that dies

You know," I mused idly, my eyes wandering. "I think this is actually the fourth glass ceiling I've seen today." "Mm, it's true that you don't see a lot of women working in Aetheromancy," ⬇️ I know this is a small nitpick but aren’t we really far into the future why do they keep using terms like this 😭 gendered stuff like this still exists billions? trillions? of years into the future?

Why has the disco elysium skill tree randomly started talking to su. Is this her future self nagging her. Is she pulling a han sooyoung. when do we get to the various utsushikome ego deaths

"prosognostic overlap"…do ppl repeat faces? Are most people cloned at this point? What triggered the need for cloning surely medicine is advanced enough that childbirth or test tube babies are feasible? Can bodies be cloned and reinhabited to inhibit aging? Is there some disturbing psychological element to seeing someone with the same face as you? Does it make your brain short circuit? Kam mentioned having children earlier which I assume means people still give birth or have test tube babies, so i don’t know if it’s the result of cloning…but it does sound like a sameface sort of thing. What else would it be if not that though?

Actually, if they’ve figured out teleportation (whatever it was called when they went up the aetherbridge) - let's say they can atomize a body and reforming it elsewhere (though we don't know for sure yet, could also be a fold in spacetime) - transferring consciousness to an empty clone of yourself (and therefore effectively doing away with aging or death wholesale) sounds a lot more efficient and technologically practical than maintaining an organic system that naturally decays. Why keep on finding ways to push the human body past its limits when you could simply transfer a person to a new, identical vessel?

I feel like the key to immortality isn’t maintaining an organic body, which naturally tends towards systems of entropy (being a biological thing, entropy=decay), but rather delineating and separating human consciousness from its host and replicating its original environment perfectly. I’m not talking about making a copy of consciousness, which is just glorified cloning - I’m talking about *transferring* a consciousness.

You could almost call dementia itself the mind's tendency towards its own kind of entropy?

Though if you transfer a consciousness to a younger body, the dementia issue could still potentially remain. Depends on if it the author sees it as a solely physical phenomena (atrophy/buildup of inhibitors of the brain) or there's some metaphysical anomaly about amassing too many memories/"existing" too long in general

The way spellwork is described is really cool and feels super believable. Optimizing multiple concurrent spells into one “function” is intricate and sophisticated, and you have to dedicate a lot of brainpower to doing the math in your head. It’s like they’re coding the real world. I love the way lurina describes this it's awesome.

[mxcottonsocks]

Now we've reached the end of the Dickens Daily run of Barnaby Rudge; A Tale of the Riots of 'Eighty, I feel I should recommence my series of posts on illustrations.

This is the first post which looks at part 2 (the 1780 section) of the novel.

As before, I'll group illustrations by location. Since part 2, mirroring part 1, begins at the Maypole, so shall we:

The Maypole Inn, Chigwell

Characters featured: John Willet (resident), Hugh (resident), Lord George Gordon, Mr Gashford, John Grueby, Solomon Daisy, Tom Cobb, Phil Parkes, Sim Tappertit, Ned Dennis, Rudge Senior., Mr Haredale, and various unnamed rioters

Chapters featured: 33, 35, 37, 54, 55, and 56

Illustrators featured: Phiz (Hablot Knight Browne), George Cattermole, Harry Furniss, Felix Darley, A. H. Buckland, Sol Eytinge Jr., and Fred Barnard

The Main Room at the Maypole

The above is by Phiz for chapter 33, the first chapter of the 1780 section of the novel. Chapter 33 takes place exactly five years after chapter 1, and twenty-seven years after the double murder at the Warren.

Chapter 1 ended with Solomon Daisy saying:

‘[...] on the nineteenth of March in some year, sooner or later, that man will be discovered.’

And in chapter 33, Solomon comes in claiming to have seen a ghost in the churchyard:

‘[...] something in the likeness of a man. It was bare-headed to the storm. It turned its face without stopping, and fixed its eyes on mine. It was a ghost—a spirit.’ ‘Whose?’ they all three cried together. In the excess of his emotion [...] his answer was lost on all but old John Willet, who happened to be seated close beside him. [...] ‘Gentlemen,’ said Mr Willet after a long pause, ‘you needn’t ask. The likeness of a murdered man. This is the nineteenth of March.’

Since chapter 33 mirrors chapter 1, Phiz's illustration uses many of the same elements as his illustration for chapter 1 (see my previous post about the Maypole for that illustration): we see the same fireplace, with a chair on the left and a settle on the right, and a table and window further right still. The scene is slightly reframed though, as there are fewer characters to fit in.

The Bar of the Maypole

By Cattermole (1841), for chapter 54.

Like Phiz, Cattermole, the serialisation's other illustrator, also reuses elements from his earlier illustration of the Bar of The Maypole (for chapter 25, in the same post about the Maypole linked above) when he revisits the scene for chapter 54, when the rioters ransack The Maypole.

John Willet is sat in the same place as he was in the earlier illustrated scene, but instead of being alone and relaxed, he watches on as his sanctuary is trashed, including by the inn's ostler Hugh, now one of the leaders of the riots.

Hugh is in the centre "the loudest, wildest, most destructive villain there" but still keeping an eye John so no harm comes to him.

I assume that's Ned Dennis on the far right, sneaking near John, and I think that's Sim Tappertit sat on the table - this isn't described in this scene, but mirrors Sim's position in Phiz's illustration of the meeting of the 'Prentice Knights for chapter 8 (see my earlier post on miscellaneous London locations for that illustration).

The rest of the rioters are unnamed, but I would just draw your attention to the man stood slightly behind and to the side of John Willet: he appears to be laughing about something he's holding over John's head - keep this in mind for the next illustration...

Phiz (1841) for chapter 55

Take a moment to look at John Willet in the above illustration for chapter 55, then scroll up to look again at how Phiz drew the same character in chapter 33... Then again at Cattermole's illustration for chapter 54, and at the man laughing while he holds something over John's head... Then come back to this illustration, and look at what's on the corner of the chair...

They snatched his wig!

I don't think this is mentioned anywhere in Dickens's text - but Phiz and Cattermole apparently decided between themselves that the rioters took John's wig off and put it on the corner of the chair. I wonder how and to what extent they communicated with each other about their illustrations for the original serial publication.

Phiz hadn't previously drawn the Maypole's bar, but he clearly takes influence from Cattermole in how he draws it - he uses the same type of arch as Cattermole. However, while Cattermole has a fireplace to the right of John's chair (which isn't really evident in Cattermole's illustration for chapter 54, but is in the one for chapter 25), Phiz has a window there in chapter 55, so he can show how "the Maypole peered ruefully in through the broken window, like the bowsprit of a wrecked ship".

Left: Harry Furniss (1910) for chapter 55; Middle: Felix Darley (1888) for chapter 55; Right: A. H. Buckland (1900) for chapter 56

Harry Furniss and A. H. Buckland, in their twentieth century illustrations, are clearly drawing upon Phiz's illustration, having John look similar and be tied in a similar way, with his wig hung somewhere in the scene.

What they don't include, that Phiz does, is the figure of the man (who is still unnamed up to this point, but is later revealed to be Mr Rudge Senior); Furniss appears to be focusing on a part of the scene before the man enters; Buckland instead focuses on the following chapter, when Mr Haredale and Solomon Daisy free John from the chair on their way to the Warren.

Meanwhile Felix Darley doesn't pay homage to Phiz like Furniss and Buckland do, and draws the scene and John very differently. He renders a very dynamic version of the scene where Rudge Senior asks John about where the rioters have gone.

Upstairs at the Maypole

Left: Phiz (1841); Right: Sol Eytinge Jr (1867); both for chapter 35

Jumping back in time from the June riots to the March visit of Lord George Gordon, Mr Gashford, and John Grueby to the Maypole on their way to London.

I find the different ways these two illustrations tackle the same subject matter interesting: Phiz shows everyone revolving around Lord George Gordon, and shows all the other characters' differing interest in him through their body language; Eytinge, meanwhile, omits John Willet and Hugh to focus on the three new characters, and emphasises Mr Gashford' malevolent manipulation of the young politician.

Outside the Maypole

Left: Fred Barnard (1874); Right: Harry Furniss (1910); both for chapter 37, where Lord George Gordon and his retinue leave the inn.

It's interest to see how they both render the below:

[...] Sitting bolt upright upon his bony steed, with his long, straight hair, dangling about his face and fluttering in the wind; his limbs all angular and rigid, his elbows stuck out on either side ungracefully, and his whole frame jogged and shaken at every motion of his horse’s feet; a more grotesque or more ungainly figure can hardly be conceived. In lieu of whip, he carried in his hand a great gold-headed cane, as large as any footman carries in these days, and his various modes of holding this unwieldy weapon—now upright before his face like the sabre of a horse-soldier, now over his shoulder like a musket, now between his finger and thumb, but always in some uncouth and awkward fashion—contributed in no small degree to the absurdity of his appearance. Stiff, lank, and solemn, dressed in an unusual manner, and ostentatiously exhibiting—whether by design or accident—all his peculiarities of carriage, gesture, and conduct, all the qualities, natural and artificial, in which he differed from other men; he might have moved the sternest looker-on to laughter, and fully provoked the smiles and whispered jests which greeted his departure from the Maypole inn. Quite unconscious, however, of the effect he produced, he trotted on beside his secretary, talking to himself nearly all the way, until they came within a mile or two of London, when now and then some passenger went by who knew him by sight, and pointed him out to some one else, and perhaps stood looking after him, or cried in jest or earnest as it might be, ‘Hurrah Geordie! No Popery!’ 

[onionjulius]

ER seasons by the numbers

Because any conversation about ER eventually turns to the changes in focus, tone, and quality that happened over its hefty 15 seasons, I want to revisit the show's overall trajectory over the course of my rewatch. TV habits were and will always be dynamic, and I don't want to imply that the changes that happened around the ER era are in some way special without bringing receipts, but if nothing else this particular Then vs Now is interesting to me personally because I've lived it, and it's fun (in any case, it's human) to connect the dots of one's reality. For sure, popularity and critical acclaim are probably related to intrinsic quality, but maybe also technology, social moods, that ineffable need of the zeitgeist to reinvent itself every so often, what have you. Oh, and probably money.

So for now, here's how ratings changed throughout the 15 seasons, alongside showrunner & cast info, award nominations, and three different rankings of the seasons I found while traversing the internets. Obviously I'll be curious to compare my own opinion once I'm done with this rewatch, especially for the latter seasons since I never made it past That One Season 10 Episode.

(I don't know why ER's ratings for S14 weren't available.)

In terms of Nielsen rankings, the inflection points seem to be S10-S11 and S14-S15. In terms of average viewers (which I improperly labeled on the last image as "Ratings," but am too lazy to go back and fix), the inflection points seem to be S4-S5 and S10-S11. Because broadcast TV was losing viewers as a whole, rankings might act roughly as a normalized trend ("subtracting" the overall trend). (Season 5 is interesting because the ranking goes up while the number of average viewers goes down, and this is a year ahead of Millionaire's debut. This happens again in S7.) Also, I forgot to put it on the image, but S11 was the first season that ER aired without Friends.

Regarding the cast, there's a lot of consistency/consolidation from S1-S3 and from S11-S15, whereas S4-S10 is a period of fairly steady rotation (caveat: Margulies' departure in S6 and Edwards' departure in S8 often come up when people describe when they quit ER). Personally, since I quit in S10, everyone through Mekhi Phifer and Sharif Atkins "feels ER" to me. Uncle Jesse OTOH just makes me confused.

Regarding awards, S2 was the last time that ER won an Emmy in a major category, other than guest acting, until the final season (Best Director for the final episode). S6 was the last time ER was nominated for a lead acting Emmy, and S7 was the last time it was nominated for a supporting acting Emmy. Overall ER's most successful category for Emmy nominations, excluding technical categories, is the guest acting category.

And re. showrunners: during S1-S6, the showrunner was someone who was with the show since S1 (John Wells or Lydia Woodward). During S7-S15, the showrunner was someone who joined the show later (Orman-S4, Zabel-S8). S7 is often regarded as the season that ER went dark (harkening back to that certain S6 episode in which ER "lost its innocence").

From this + poking around the internet, the general consensus on "goodness" of seasons seems to be:

S2, S3, S4

S1

S5, S6

S7, S8, S9, S15

S10, S11, S12, S13

S14

(And this brings up another question: is ER most properly split up into 2 eras of 7-8 seasons each, 3 eras of 5 seasons each, or 4 eras of 3-4 seasons each? This is bothering me more than it should.)

But of course, 22-25 episodes per season is a lot, especially compared to the length of scripted TV seasons now, so it'd also be neat to get into the ratings trends within each season, and what the numbers might hide. And maybe ... maybe I'll end up with some kind of opinion on when ER "should have" ended. With asterisks. Lots of asterisks. Maybe.

Anyway, I should probably be working ...

[perfectpaperbluebirds]

Sicktember #12

Prompt: Old Wives Tale

Fandom/OCs: Science Lovers OCs (Peter and Violet)

Words: 1360

Sicknario inspo: Catching cold after doing something foolhardy from this post and caretaker being sneezed on from this post (both posts by @sickromancer !)

Author’s comments/background: So many characters that I only write for Sicktember, but it’s such a treat to revisit them. I loved Peter and Violet’s first story so much (read it here), and watching them grow up is delightful to me. So here’s another domestic drabble set in the Victorian era. 

~~~***~~~

Peter and Violet were sitting by the pond behind their tiny home, enjoying the late autumn sunset. They were dressed for warmth, since the wind had more than a hint of winter on it, but it was a beautiful, sunny day and they knew they wouldn't have many more of those. The married couple spoke little, enjoying the silence and each other's company. Peter had been staring at the surface of the water contemplatively, when suddenly his eyes lit up. He was on his feet in a moment, crouching at the edge of the pond with rapt stillness, carefully sliding out of his jacket.

"Peter? What is it?" Violet asked, feeling the need to whisper. 

He gestured for her to be silent, his attention fixed on something at the center of the pond. They sat frozen in silence, Violet waiting for some sign as to what was happening, when out of nowhere, Peter dove into the water. The motion was so unexpected that Violet stood with a gasp, rushing to the pond's edge, hands over her mouth, but Peter appeared a moment later, grinning triumphantly with something clenched in his fist. He waded to the bank crowing with pride:

"I found one! The final specimen needed to complete our frog study! We've been looking all summer but none of the lads have even seen this breed and we'd all but given up. It's past the season for them, really. I've no idea what she's doing here now, but she's a winner, big and fat! She'll look tremendous at the exhibition."

"Oh Peter, but your clothes! You're covered in filthy, stinking pond water now. And it's freezing! You're going to catch your death behaving so."

He came fully out of the water, all of him now sopping wet and colored various shades of green and brown. "They're just clothes," he said, waving a hand dismissively. "They'll wash, and so will my skin. Besides, Britain's scientific community will benefit much from our exhibition. I'd say the contribution we're making is worth a few ruined shirts," he said, almost pleadingly, as if begging her to agree with him. 

Violet glared at him, hands on her hips, not so easily swayed. "Just you wait, sir," she said, shaking her head. "You'll sing a different tune when you've caught a beastly cold from acting like a child, and I'll not feel one whit sorry for you. Diving into dirty ponds in October indeed. Why must women be vexed with men?"

Peter was already shivering in the cold air, but he cradled the frog tenderly, being careful not to injure it. “Vi, dearest, you needn't be cross. I want to be excited, and I don’t want to spoil the day by quarreling with you. I'll see to my clothes so it's not a worry on you. And you of all people, with all your training in medicine, should know that I mightn’t get sick just from getting wet. The new research from John Snow and others says that microscopic organisms are the cause of illness, not air and weather. I read you that journal just last week, don't you remember? You see, I'm sure I’ll be just fine. And right now my only wish is that you'd be happy along with me!"

Violet sighed, but a smile twitched the corners of her mouth against her will. He was so sweet and earnest as he spoke, just as he’d been when they first met. “Oh go on, then. I’m pleased you found your precious frog. But come, now, you must get cleaned up. They may be saying that weather doesn’t cause illness, but I’d rather we not tempt fate.”

Peter willingly followed her to the house, but wouldn’t see to himself until he had secured his prize to ensure she would stay well until he was ready to dress her for display. Meanwhile, Violet wouldn’t let him in the door until he had stripped down naked and been doused with a few buckets of water to remove the worst of the slime. As she was helping him disentangle himself from his sodden shirt, he froze. Just as she was about to ask him if he was well, he sneezed harshly, trying to turn away from her, mostly unsuccessfully. His nose was immediately running from the sneeze, but he had nothing to wipe it with other than his filthy shirt. She hastily handed him her own handkerchief, unable to keep a smug look from her face. 

“You’ll say that sneeze was a coincidence, I’m sure, but I’ll not wonder the cold water is already having its way with you, foolish man.”

Peter made an annoyed sound. “It's only the water and slime in my nose. I’m not taking ill. Illness from the cold is an old wive’s tale now. Just you wait and see.”

~~~

Wait she did, and her reward was to see him come down with a beauty of a head cold in two days’ time. He continued to insist the foreign stuff from the pond in his nose made him sick, though, not the cold air and water. Violet kept her opinion to herself, and tried not to be too smug. Anyway, it was hard to be angry when Peter was so happy. His frog and the completion of his collection thrilled him, and he earned the unabashed admiration of his friends for his boldness and quick action. (His clothes and shoes were a loss in the end, but he paid for new from his own pocket with good grace.) The amphibian was a fine specimen to be sure, and everyone was certain she would be the crowning jewel of the exhibition. 

Amidst all the excitement, though, Peter was a sniffling, sneezing, shivering mess and within a week he was unable to leave the house due to how poorly he was feeling. Putting aside her own feelings, Violet gave his cold the best care she could, for Peter's colds turned feverish at the slightest provocation. One night during the worst of it he could hardly draw breath for the clogging congestion in his chest and sinuses (worse than usual even for him, and this she could easily attribute to the pond water), so she drew him a hot bath for his feet and kept him wrapped in quilts as he soaked in the steam to keep the sickly shivers at bay, with a clean stack of handkerchiefs near at hand. He sniffled and sneezed and generally carried on, though she knew he was doing his best not to, so that her heart melted for him, even when he managed to sneeze or nearly sneeze on her almost every time she was near. 

"Thangk you, dearest," he managed as she placed a bowl of stew near at hand. "I'mb sorry to incodvedience you, and I appreciade your care as always." 

His earnest, watering eyes above a pink, runny nose were so endearing that she could only kiss his temple fondly. " 'Tis no trouble, for you're an easier patient than most. I'll not even waste my breath telling you never to do anything so foolhardy in the name of science again, because I know you would do it over a hundred times, given the same circumstance. So I must content myself with helping you take care in the aftermath." 

He gave her a sheepish smile, scrubbing a wrist across his upper lip absently. "You do such an excellent job of idt. I'mb mbost fortunade. 

She had to laugh. "I can hardly listen to you when your voice is so. You're completely pitiful when you've caught cold, my dear. I simply can't bear it." She pressed another kiss to his hair as his lips formed a pout.

"You ndeedn't treadt mbe like a child," he muttered. Yet he let his weight fall against her as she continued to stroke his hair. 

"Perhaps if you didn't go jumping into ponds in your shoes and trousers like a child, I'd be less inclined to do so."

He pulled away from her to glare, but she continued to work her fingers through his hair, smiling to show she was only teasing. He leaned against her once more, mollified. She continued her ministrations to his scalp for a long while until, sick as he was, he fell fast asleep against her.

[anonymous-harpy]

Queso I might not be able to WATCH Hazbin Hotel however there's plenty enough information coming out that I can do this: fix the pacing problem. This issue also plauges Helluva Boss, though I feel to a lesser extent.

First things first. The extermination getting pushed up either needed to happen at the end of the first season or we didn't have the reveal of who killed the angle happening... What? The very next episode? Alastor is the only mystery really stringing us along and carrying weight as far as I can tell. Hold onto the murser mystery to let it stew AND for something I'll explain a tad later.

Episode 2? Uhm I honestly don't know enough about episode 2 or 3 however I feel seeing the other overlords could work to help world build, just cut the Murderer of the Exterminator reveal, and add in a "filler" episode of Charlie working with Angle Dust, establish Vaggie's arc, not whatever shallow thing is going on with her and DON'T resolve it in that same episode. (Fizz forgiving Blitz is forgivable given Fizz's validation needs, but hand waving the end of season 1 is not working for me even if I enjoy Stolitz) AND have Alastor having a conversation with Charlie because somebody pointed out something interesting about Alastor and Charlie's relationship relating to episode 5.

Episode 4 is perfect in all it's dark glory. Would love for Charlie to show her daddy issues that Alastor tells him about and it blows up in her face again before Husk gets involved. Oh and after the apology acceptance cut to Alastor going "HmmmmmMMMMMM" because I want this show to reflect some words in the next episode.

Episode 5? No instant gratification of Charlie and Lucifer repairing their relationship. I would like to see the START OF IT not an instant fix. And maybe have bubbly loving dad-man do a sort of Hot-Then-Cold over the hotel to give more weight to Charlie feeling like he doesn't care and then Alastor. Maybe before Lucifer even shows up, Alastor isn't totally convinced of this idea working however a "Give the dog a head pat" comment of praise to Charlie on her starting to make progress with Angel. And Charlie's daddy issues kicking in and defending Alastor would feel more warranted. Also when he's attacking the invaders, let him AGAIN let Charlie's name fall from his lips to not completely invalid her belief that he has faith in her idea.

Episode 6. Bitch we need to pump the breaks. No jumping to the realization Heaven's rules are bullshit. Let VAGGIE reveal herself not Adam. I like this trial, but I like it being set up as Sera saying "It's too soon to call him redeemed" which is DO MUCH MORE INTERESTING than jumping the gun on the rules. It allows things to get interesting in the next two episodes.

I'll revisit this ideas thing once the rest of season 1 is out and I'm able to watch reviews and the like, but From this jumping off point, I like the ideas of episode 6 ending with Adam reveling to the council or whatever it is that an angle was found dead in hell. That would make it easy to make lesser angels and the.... Oh kami they're called "winners".... i sense lottry shenanigans and I would cry of laughter omg. Anyhow, revealing the dead angel could be the power move Adam makes tp put Charlie down.

Then episode 7 could be Charlie having to comfort Angle, maybe lying a tiny bit like "They're considering it, but you still have some more work to do" because no addict has for sure reached recovery in that short of time and can be trusted on their own. (My own parents were once addicts and thank god the were able to recover. My birth gave them the strength to quit and even then they both admitted they relapses once for a little bit while I was still very very little and they did not go back full force. They didn't want to screw me up and were able to correct themselves before it was too late. They never did none of the stuff that fucked them ever again.) But anyway. It could give Angel some more hope for himself, Val could be more of a monster because I feel Angel's recovery is life or death for him. And Alastor could be even more on Charlie's side to add to that drama

Episode 8 could go with way on Angle. Tragic or Uplifting, it's gonna be impactful and would set up season 2 for more conflict one way or another. Dealers choice honestly, but I know the heaven/hell conflict would escalate.

[kolbisneat]

MONTHLY MEDIA: February 2024

A real grey month broken up by the colours and beauty of art. Here's how I spent the month of February.

……….FILM……….

The Beekeeper (2024) Perfect February movie.

……….TELEVISION……….

Succession (Episode 1.01 to 2.04) Wasn't sure I was going to like this (every single character is just awful) but now I'm keen to see how these awful people are increasingly awful to each other. So far I'm really appreciating every shot that shows the staff and just the sheer number of people responsible for making the lives of these awful people as low-friction as possible. We 100% need to tax the rich more.

Delicious In Dungeon (Episode 1.05 to 1.08) Now having seen more episodes, the shifting animation styles feels more consistent overall and I love the frenetic style during the high-stress/combat scenes. If you like this show then know it's a near 1:1 with the manga but still worth reading.

……….YOUTUBE……….

Pinocchio is a Story About Art and God by Jacob Geller This opened me up to a wholly new interpretation of what the story of Pinocchio is about. Also go watch the Del Toro adaptation on Netflix it's truly a work of art. VIDEO

Vape-o-nomics: Why Everything is Addictive Now by Tom Nicholas In short: everything is a subscription now and it's making everything worse. Worth the watch and looking forward to further installments in this series. VIDEO

This Experiment Undid Our Cities. How Do We Fix It? by Strong Towns Push back against any local government that doesn't want to introduce mixed use zoning into neighborhoods. The suburbs are subsidized by density, it's as simple as that. VIDEO

……….READING……….

How To Watch Football: 52 Rules for Understanding the Beautiful Game, On and Off the Pitch by Tifo (Complete) So I actually read this over the course of a month or two. I'd read a rule or two, process, then read a couple more a day or two later. I don't even really watch football but this helped so much and now I expect I'll crush the fantasy premier league I'm in.

The Big Four by Agatha Christie (Complete) Only my second Christie novel and this felt SO different. Turns out that's because it really is an outlier amongst her other works. So that was reassuring. Not terrible but I wouldn't exactly recommend it as it felt thoroughly disjointed (a result of stitching together a series of unrelated short stories).

The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett (Complete) Hey I love the Discworld series. You know this. I know this. But there's always gotta be an entry that goes on the bottom of any list. I love Rincewind, but prefer the other wizards in a less prominent role. Not one I'd recommend when trying to get into the series and probably not one I'll revisit. Oh well.

Catwoman: Lonely City by Cliff Chiang (Complete) Big fan of Chiang's artistry on Paper Girls and really enjoyed this interpretation of an aging Gotham. It has such a clear and singular voice it covers so much in just four chapters! Really great read.

Silver Surfer: Black by Donny Cates, Tradd Moore, and Dave Stewart (Complete) Every time I read this I love it more and more. It's truly what I pictured comics to be when I was a kid: vibrant, dramatic, and a little bonkers. Why does the villain ride a dragon? WHO CARES it looks cool. I love it all.

Delicious in Dungeon Vol. 4 by Ryoko Kui (Complete) Watching the series and rereading the manga is really making for a great experience. This volume really highlighted that Senshi isn't a man with all the answers. In the upper levels of the dungeon, he's competent, but as they go deeper and face more dangerous monsters, the rest of the party take more of the lead. It's so good. This series is so good.

……….AUDIO……….

Wolves of Glendale by Wolves of Glendale (2024) Comedy music is always tricky but for me, the comedy is second. If I don't enjoy the music having no understanding of the lyrics then I probably won't stick with it. Some tracks strike this balance better than others but I found The Gym to be a good introductory track.

……….GAMING……….

Disco Elysium (ZA/UM) On one hand, I tend to prefer more...active games. Something that requires hitting buttons at the right time. On the other hand, I'm really digging the mystery and complexity of the game. It really feels like I can play this detective however I want without being forced to follow any one playstyle. Not sure how far into it I am but I read the review that it's less a detective game and more a game about being a detective and that really feels right. But I do have to say that it's...rather buggy on the Switch so that might not be the recommended way to play it.

Neverland: A Fantasy Role-Playing Setting (Andrews McMeel Publishing) The Tuesday crew is working towards ridding the island of a competing group of adventurers. Hook wants them gone, the Gnomes want them gone, heck even the Moss Mother wants them gone. But will they be able to do it? And the more lengthy recap is over here.

Oz: A Fantasy Role-Playing Setting (Andrews McMeel Publishing) The Mof1 D&D crew found a (literal) underground magic item shop so did a bunch of shopping after their big funeral heist. Everyone loves a good shopping session!

And that's it. See you in March!

[l-e-morgan-author]

wounded

For the thirteenth time since she'd left the light of the smeared lantern, Patience stumbled and nearly fell. She was growing lightheaded; good sense would have dictated that she rang triple zero, got them to look at her arm and stop the bleeding. But all she could think of was Nathan. Nathan would help her.

It was already growing hazy in her mind: the sudden violence, the flash of the knife, the yelling. The blinding pain as she turned and ran. The running that had slowed down to a stumbling walk. She pressed her other hand against the wound, but it was still bleeding.

She wasn't far away from Nathan's house, though. Again she stumbled, took a deep breath, went on again. She'd get there, though it might take a while.

Some length of time later, she was staring up at his house and realising she actually had no idea how to do this. Eventually Patience rang the doorbell, watching blood drip slowly to the ground. She thought it was slowing, maybe.

To her relief, he answered it, whitening as he saw her. "Patience? What on earth—dear heart, what's happened to you?" Putting his arm around her, guiding her inside. "What happened? You're hurt. Do you need an ambulance? You're shaking." The barrage of questions was overwhelming, and she was silent.

When they got inside, and he had guided her to a chair at the dining room table, she leaned back in relief. After a brief, hard glance he pulled her sleeve back; Patience did not look. It was a mess.

"Who did this to you?" His voice was warm and comforting, and pulled her back to reality. "What happened, Patience?"

She tried to breathe, and instead sobbed. Nathan put an arm around her. "Hey, you don't have to answer anytime soon," he said gently. "I can take care of this and you can tell me later."

"No," she got out, "it was Chloe, Nathan—she—she—" Again her voice stuck. She couldn't revisit it: not right now.

"I see," he breathed, and his shoulders loosened a little. Only then did Patience realise what it might have looked like to him.

"I—"

"It wasn't your fault," he assured her gently. "It wasn't. Is Chloe okay?"

"I—I think so? I don't know." She sobbed again. "I ran, Nathan. I don't know if she's okay."

He was putting pressure on the wound now; Patience hissed. "Sorry...." he murmured in her ear. "It's okay, though. You don't have to feel guilty."

"I argued with her," she said, flinching again and glancing down at her arm. He was using the sleeve of his own jumper on it. "I shouldn't have riled her up."

"It's still not your fault," repeated Nathan. "Now, look—I'm going to get my parents, if that's okay with you, and we'll call an ambulance. It's pretty deep—I don't like it."

She nodded. "I'm sorry I came to you. I just couldn't think of anything else."

"It's okay," he said again. "I'm glad you came, Patience. I'm glad you thought of me for safety."

"'Course I did," she mumbled, and closed her eyes. "Nathan, I'm really sleepy—"

"I know you are," he said, shifting one hand. A moment later she heard him on the phone, sharp and clinical and worried; nothing like the gentle, beloved boy he had been a moment before. "—Yes, she absolutely needs an ambulance. Look, it's deep, and it's bleeding despite the pressure I'm putting on it—"

She laid her head on the table and sobbed again, covering her face with her free hand.

"I'd get you a hot drink," he said, after, caressing her hair, "but I think the ambulance is going to be here too soon for you to enjoy it. When they've fixed you up, I'll make you one, okay?"

"Love it," said Patience, and leaned against him. "Looking forward to it."

~

(A/N: I love these two so much. They appear in the novella I posted on my website (lemorganauthor.wordpress.com) over Christmas; this is set obviously later, not necessarily fitting with the rest of the stuff I write about them, but I had fun. It's inspired by a scene in The Creeping Shadow (Lockwood and Co); if you've read it, you'll know. Please tell me what you think about it!)

[Crossposted to that page on my website where I keep free stories and also AO3]

tagging @pilgrimsofworship @stealingmyplaceinthesun @graycedelfin

[satoaiandsonaze]

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Headcanons: New Adventures

Last time, we went over the 5 years Rex and his team spent in Fonsett Village. Now, how about some new adventures across Elysium?

3 months after Praxis married Theory, they decide to go on some new adventures. Starting off in Tantal, they choose to beat up some tough enemies, as a request from Zenobia to build up her skills. And at one point, King Eulogiminous offered the position of Royal Tantalese Knights to Rex, Nia, Tora, and Mórag. Mórag declines the offer, but Rex, Nia, and Tora accept, and as a reward, they were given old Tornan armor. The armor looks like this in the game. Pretty cool, huh?

Then, they go to Uraya, where Rex helps out more with the Garfont Mercs. Eventually, they get a note from every leader of the respective powers of Elysium, saying that their trust and power will forever be a valuable asset to their home. This means that the Garfont Mercenaries are now the greatest Mercenaries in all of Elysium. Obviously, all of Garfont throws a huge party that lasts for a whole week.

Gormott is where the team visits next. And once the world sees Nia as the Blade to one of the former Lords of Gormott. They offer Nia the title of the Lord of Gormott, but Nia refuses, for she was already married to Rex and wished to stay with him forever.

When they visit Mor Ardain, Emperor Niall is the first to welcome his big sister/cousin, Mórag, with the greatest hug in the world. As he hasn't seen her for awhile after checking in on each other after Elysium was formed. They stay in Mor Ardain for 3 weeks before moving on.

When they head to Temperantia, they explore the area, learn more about Judicium, and actually help build Dagas a kingdom to restore his old kingdom of the past, Regideria.

Last but not least, the real fun begins when they revisit the World Tree. The First Orbit Station was gone, but the World Tree itself was still intact.

To those of you who know Xenosaga, I'm about to make this interesting. The gang heads into the deepest parts of the World Tree, and they find what looks to be a techy coffin of some kind. After some fiddling around, Zeke ends up opening it, and out comes KOS-MOS from Xenosaga! As Zeke was the one to wake her up, KOS-MOS pledges her loyalty to him and becomes his Blade.

Later on, they find what looks to be a a staff at first site. However, it was actually a Scythe, because when Rex grabbed it, it took its true form and opened a portal and brought out KOS-MOS's Dark Counterpart, T-elos. Seeing how Rex was the one to wake her up, T-elos pledged her loyalty to him.

Now if you know the Xenosaga series, you'll know that KOS-MOS & T-elos do not like each other. They constantly get at each other's throats when they camp out in the World Tree.

After their respective Blade Quests from the base game, they find themselves in a tight spot. Indoline survivors at the World Tree somehow managed to take control of the Artificial Blades that KOS-MOS assumed she took care of. The two Xenosaga Blades get into a massive situation, as their bickering almost caused Praxis to be killed! Now, they realized that they HAD to work together to fix this mess, as they got a harsh chewing-out from the whole gang, and an even harsher chewing-out from Rex and Theory, who were both now married to Praxis.

When they go at the Greatest Indoline Force at the World Tree a second time, both KOS-MOS and T-elos learn that working together might be so bad. Once the whole threat was over, they officially settled their differences with each other, and became friends and friendly rivals.

After that, the gang decides to go their seperate ways, and that is what I'll explain in the next set of headcanons!

At one point, before they split up and go their seperate ways, Zeke proposes to Mórag, and they hold a Tantalese wedding!

Well, that's all for now! You already know what's coming next...

[ailelie]

I am on day 3 or so of an anxiety incident so while I'm having to actively remind myself to breathe deeply, I am going to write up what I do to usually handle these episodes.

(1) Step one is always taking a few deep breaths and recognizing that I am feeling anxiety. This doesn't stop the episode, but it gets me to a moving forward place.

(2) I ask myself a pair of questions: (1) What am I worried about? (2) What can I do right now to address the concern?

(3) Take action. Sometimes that action is recognizing that there is literally nothing I can do to address the concern and so I put off addressing it for later. I may even save time on my calendar and set a reminder so I don't forget. And often that's enough to let me sleep or move on with my day.

If there is something I can do right away and it is reasonable, then I do it. Sometimes that means getting out of bed to send an email or canceling a plan so I can go home to do a chore or something. It is like a deal I may with myself: I'll do everything I can to address the concern right now and, in exchange, my body will stop freaking out.

(4) Make a plan. Then I'll plan out how I'll address the rest of the concern in the future. I'll think through what I need and what I'll do. This puts the anxiety to rest. Usually.

On the rare occasions that doesn't work...

I find a way to turn off my brain for a while, but this is really just to get some rest. It doesn't make the anxiety go away.

When I feel guilty for whatever reason...

I remind myself that sending an effusive apology is not going to fix anything and may even make an issue worse because it gets other's emotions up as well. Telling everyone how sorry I am or apologizing for being irresponsible/etc is not helpful. I don't even let myself think these apologies out because that leads to spiraling.

When I start to spiral...

Recognizing the spiral is the hardest part. I have to remind myself what the issue on the table is. The issue is that I forgot a task and so have less time than planned. The issue is not that I'm forgetful and unreliable. The issue is that I am worried about completing a task by a deadline. The issue is not that this one mistake is going to make my company regret promoting me and so fire me instead.

Then I just try to keep my focus on what's on the table. Even if that means promising myself to revisit the other issues in the future when I'm no longer feeling anxious.

Counter-evidence (e.g., great feedback from work, knowledge that work puts people on probation before firing them usually) doesn't help. If anything, it can make it worse (e.g., I've fooled all these people and now I'm going to let them down, etc).

When I spend days feeling restless and anxious and none of my other steps work...

I message my therapist and alert a couple close friends so they're aware of my mental state. Then I write up a post like this to remind myself that I've had these episodes before and I'll have them again, but I can handle them. This one is longer than typical, but I'll get through it as well.

I just keep breathing and keep working through the steps until I feel back in control.

But, of course, if you've tips and tricks that've worked for you, please share.