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operationslipperypuppet · 3 months ago

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New to your blog and I'm curious and think this will probably be a good ask for you to cook on for a while: Sell me on Naddpod?

well first of all welcome! as much as i walk like a d20 blog and talk like a d20 blog i am in fact a naddpod blog a lot of the time so. look out. (everyone)

this is gonna get long.

now, to the task at hand.

naddpod.

imagine if you will that four improvisers/comedians who are very good friends combine their powers to tell stories that they want to completely sit in while also having the ultimate goal of making each other laugh.

naddpod is first and foremost a comedy podcast, there’s a reason dragon pussy comes up four and a half minutes in, there’s a reason “cumpatriots” being said in today’s episode left me completely unfazed. they want it to be silly. they enjoy it being silly.

but god do they also just simply care.

they care about their characters, they care about each other’s characters. they create a world together where when the dm (murph, most often) gives them a shocking twist, you can hear them waiting with bated breath, the same as you, for what will come next.

there are also so many deeply devastating emotional moments. “you ruined my night, brian.” is said in the show and oft repeated by the fans for a goddamn reason. you feel for the characters when bad things happen. you can’t wait to see them resolved. and they don’t feel cheap when they happen. you’re having a great time even as they have terrible times.

the worlds feel lived in. you also feel like you can see the worlds be created as you listen. it’s just so fun. there are several episodes where if i listen to them during a shit day i feel so much better.

sometimes, it’s deeply stupid. and it’s very fun. god are some bits insane. (shoutout to dip spit). but it’s just a good time.

they’re also incredible writers. the stories the dms are trying to tell come from this pure place of loving what they’re doing and being very good at it.

murph’s encounters are also some of the best in the game. even when they’re similar they don’t feel tired. he creates pictures you can see so vividly without having any visual aids. he keeps the stakes high even though he clearly wants his players to win. and they’re so endlessly creative. (c3 def has some of the best encounters due to his experience at that point but don’t discount some of the mighty c1 and c2 ones either)

in conclusion, listen to naddpod. please. you’ll have a great time. if you don’t enjoy the dragon pussy of it all, you might not love it, but if you enjoy it or can power through it, you’ll have fun.

and now. a quick rundown of like the general conceit of each (completed) campaign off the top of my head. in case you’re curious about where to start. (you can start at the beginning of any of these, in any order) and fuck it. i’m including a spotify link to every ep 1. i’m also def gonna do a bad job so. grain of salt etc etc.

bahumia (campaign 1): three legendary heroes saved the world three years ago, cumulating in their killing the devil. but then they vanished. and things have gone bad. so our adventurers attempt to figure out what happened. and how they can fix it. (100 episodes, dm’d by murph) (x)

trinyvale: sci-fi. three roommates work for a corporation on mini retrieval missions that eventually all come together to point toward one large mystery: what happened to the gods and how does it impact the world? (22 episodes, plus a few one-shots or mini arcs, dm’d by caldwell) (x)

the mavrus chronicles: five lads who are each other’s boys go on a beach vacation and one gets lost. they have to find out what happened, and find their friend, even if it means trekking across the water into the mysterious fog (7 episodes, dm’d by emily, ft. zac oyama’s guest pc from bahumia) [also has a sequel campaign, blazing babe, where they go to a burning man-esque festival and try to figure out who’s trying to ruin it. you can’t listen to that on its own. it has 4 episodes](x)

eldermourne (campaign 2): a dark fairy tale setting where those devoted to the gods continue to hold their alleged promises over people’s heads without quite explaining what it really means. and a secret order has left behind our heroes, who have no choice but to try to track them and what they’re working toward down. (41 episodes, dm’d by murph) (x) (also has a session 0)

ba2mia (campaign 3): we return to the world of campaign one, 200 years later. things have changed in the world a lot in the time in between, and it’s a much more cyber-punky place now. our heroes work for a megacorp attempting to dig itself into every major city in the world. they do their best to outrun that. and its ripples. (72 episodes, dm’d by murph) (x) (session 0ish)

twilight sanctorum: the family business is as detectives. and the business is slow. in a noir setting, a father/grandfather, son/father, and grandson/son work together to solve one single mystery: who is threatening the featured performer at the town’s most famous theater. (4 episodes. dm’d by emily) (x)

the episodes i shared will give a better early description than i did, certainly. bc they thought about them more.

anyway. long answer over. hope this helps. maybe. idk it ran away from me a little bit.

thanks for the ask!!

#yeah fuck it i’ll maintag this one #naddpod #asks #valerico #i’m sorry this is so long #i edited this to add more lol sorry

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quadrefiore · 7 days ago

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okay. i'm not doing the best so instead of loving myself i'm gonna love everyone else.

@shrimptacodaniels emma. you are such a wonderful and delightful person. every time i'm having a bad day you're right there giving me the support i need and i just. i love you and i want to give you a hug so bad. 🤍🤍🤍

@lucy-frostblades ELI. you beautiful person, you. you're so creative and fun and i always find myself looking at your art when i'm sad and then i feel much better.

@wheelsupin-azarathmetrionzinthos zoie. you're excellent. you've been so good at organising so many cool things AND your writing is so good. you're just in general such a cool person

@leek-e lee. you're such a fun person and i've loved doing the mountport ttrpg with you <3 the way you play Miles makes me laugh so hard every time. yayy

@fatestitcherr CJ! i love that you're always there when i wake up absurdly early on bad days. and i love talking to you about all the sillies. you're so talented too! every time you send something new you've knitted i'm so impressed. yippee!

@starstruckodysseys reese! we're often having hard times at the same time and i Am putting you in the sharehouse with as much warm drinks and comfort as you need. love you. remember to eat and sleep enough

@panda-platypus PANDA!! wow. such a cool guy!! i see you going to cons and stuff and i'm so proud every time you do well with selling your art! huzzah wahoo yippee etc!!

@mossterious moss! i love your enthusiasm about the Characters! famously normal about you drawing dahlia. i so hope we get to be in a ttrpg session together someday! yay!

@whoopswopswiddlywops ALEXA. alexa. alexa. you're literally the coolest ever. i think you were my introduction into this fandom and your yt channel is so cool and i loved playing the ttrpg with you and your posts are excellent yippee wahoo hurrah huzzah yeahhh yay!!!!

@fishcow99 fish! we share so many interests and that's crazy. love being enabled by lee with you and freaking out about zach reino with you

@doorbellvibes kaz! i don't know your main blog but ily! you're so cool! loved talking to you for hours last friday (THAT GOES FOR ALL OF YOU ON THE CALL TOO) your websiting is very cool and i love the roommates (EMMA AND MOSS THAT GOES FOR YOU TOO) yay

SARAH. i miss you buddy. rip to @gayforjessmckenna i'm sorry abt your shitty email provider your blog was a real one. ur art is fantastic!

@sapphic-squid ari! first person i shared my clubhouse with best person i shared my clubhouse with <3 in all seriousness. such a fun guy! woman in stem! yay!

@unreal-unearthing alex! what a cool person! you blog about a lot of stuff i don't know but i love it anyways! and the interests we do share i love sharing wiht you!

@theevilcactus cactus! i'm in love with your writing anf i had such a great time playing the mountport ttrpg together! charlie is such a fun character! <3

@socialtomcat georgie! i thank you endlessly for setting up the EPIC zine and i'm so excited for the final product! pip is probably my favourite character from the TTRPG, even though i haven't played with you yet <3 hurrah

@sammbou sam! we don't talk all that much but you're very cool! excellent fits at all times and you were one of my first PIBE moots!

@offbookkeeping dee! also don't knwo your main blog but! incredibly cool person! the vibes are vibing and the carmington is cowboying

all of the rest of pibeblr that i don't interact with as much just know that i love you all too! 🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍

#long post #pibeblr

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agendergorgon · 9 months ago

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I started out in the Worm fandom (superhero webnovel, very long) by writing a stupid fic about Worm's protagonist, bullied teen Taylor Hebert who is most famous for taking the often mocked power of insect control to such ludicrous extents that any other bug controlling villain looks positively , getting the powers of a big dumb monster from Evolve and going rawr and smash. I think it was cos it was the done thing at the time, cos I'd not written any fic before, and cos I liked Evolve. I've gone back and forth over the years but I think just smooshing Worm and another powerset you like or think might be fun to write is an over saturated market but its a market that exists. A bit after that and a few embarassing rewrites or other attempts at the same sort of thing, and one hit that I kinda just kept making after people seemed to like it, and I ended up making DADA, a parody of Worm fics in the style of the usual kind of crack fic where nonsense is substituted for plot and its more about jokes than saying much. There were a couple of jokes about trends in the wider Worm fandom but the main selling point is that Taylor's power is ill defined and never elaborated upon much, and that her costume is a papier mache version of her own face.

Like so. I fuckin love this pic, credit to Pericardium who drew this after I'd sorta given up after one arc, leaving all the notes for future chapters and where to take the story as one ugly ill put together mess of a final chapter. For the longest while, this picture was the last thing left of DADA if you clicked past that ending. And it still sorta is. This is the face of DADA. Most common thing anyone said was "Why does it look like that" or talking about how it startled them scrolling across the banner on r/wormfanfic. Peri got this down perfectly, a portrait not of Taylor Hebert but of the lumpy doll fanfic likes to make of her. I made a stupid mistake a few years down the line. I decided to keep writing DADA. Like a zombie limping back to life, or a Rob Zombie limping a franchise back to life, DADA returned with plans and aspirations and ideas for a new ending and went from a brief read it over a cup of tea fic to something that had to commit to its jokey bits, something trying to be more meta than it ought to have been and barely communicating itself well. So it died again with a new ending written out same way as it was last time, in crumbs and snippets and morsels. DADA is a curse of mine that limps back to life whenever I have a new silly idea for it. Its a world that runs on wordplay and Amelia Bodelia logic and entertains cartoonish misconceptions of how people's superpowers work. (Where notorious villain Jack Slash can project the cuts of his knives to strike from extended distances, the Jack Slash of DADA makes his knives shrink and grow to physically extend as far as he is reaching with them) Its a world where villains from my other fanfics have invaded it as a superfluous additional set of antagonists. So yeah, here's DADA, its a bit impermeable without exposure to fandom memes and it changes its mind on what it is constantly throughout, but my fiance likes it so I'm gonna keep updating it as long as I have ideas on where to take it. Taylor is dead, wormfic above all.

#worm #wormblr

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oh-no-its-bird · 3 months ago

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YESSSSSS WE GOT MORE THORNE AND VISCOUNT LORRAINE CONTENT IN THE NEW BONUS CHAPTER I AM CLAWING AT THE WALLS JUMPING UP AND DOWN TO SEE IT

Theyre so fucking cute I'm gonna throw up, I love their interactions. Thorne exists in some sort of perpetual state of "mildly uncomfortable" and Lorraine is so loud and overbearing in such an unapologetic way, it's so fun to see.

Thorne being "seen through" by Lorraine and feeling upset by it while Lorraine finds that side of him "charming" ,,,

I like how he says "You are actually quite charming", like, before he was presumably just another friendly merchant. A type of person Lorraine has for sure seen plenty of before, being who he is. But in seeing his smug side in just a quiet little expression, Lorraine is suddenly so much more endeared

Cute !!! I love them !!!!!

Meanwhile Thorne continues to be seen through by those around him,,,, tho now that I type this out, the last we saw him upset by being perceived a bit too hard I think was just Remilia? That's kinda fun to think ab

Meanwhile I think it says a bit about Lorraine too, like, he seems like this silly, unpractical guy. But with just a catch of an expression of Thorne's he was instantly recatogorizing him and going "(seeing you like this) I feel like I've figured you out"

I also have to wonder a bit at what exactly made Thorne feel so seen here. Was it his smugness at seeing things line up well? Or was it his fondness and pride in Remilia and his king? There are definitely a few different ways to read it

Anyways. Also losing my mind over the BONUS SKETCHES

THORNE IN SITUAT9IUNS SAOUGUHHFHHHH HH

[Car crash sfx]

Long haired Thorne is so pretty actually, I love him so much. AND THEN ?? THORNE IF HE'D INSTEAD BEEN CAUGHT BY PINA ???

Locked in a basement somewhere, forced to make potions he doesn't actually know how to make <3 He just sells them, Pina you dumb bitch !!! Let my man go !!!!

The fact that he's clearly in a whole ass cell is wild to me, oh my god my poor man. He looks like Pina's either been neglecting him or maybe trying to beat the answers out of him, or, likely, both.

I'm having fun thinking about this au actually. I do think he's try to insist he's doesn't know how to make (most) of the things he sells, especially the potions that Pina wants. Bc, yk, he doesn't. We met the guy who does, who's still in the demon realm.

But like. I can not see Thorne giving away who does make them. He cares too genuinley for his people, he'd never give one up. And honestly, even if he did, the guy is out of reach.

Anyways just. Thorne <3

I love the one within the villainess so much, we're being fed so well. Everyone say thank you Shiraume and Makiburo !!!

#birds fic talk #the one within the villainess #one within the villainess #towtv #owtv #thorne #owtv thorne #thorne owtv #viscount lorraine

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joe-spookyy · 10 months ago

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asks you about american werewolf in london

hoooly shit it’s finally happened. someone asked me The question. thanks anon.

i am now going to try and sell you all on this movie cause i can’t recommend it enough and i think everyone should watch it. so: let me tell you a thing or two about hit 1981 horror comedy an american werewolf in london!!! and this is off the top of my head so if any of it is slightly off numbers wise im sorry. if you like 80s horror, men, queercoding, re-animator, the thing, jaws, saw, the lost boys, or just werewolves in general. hear me out on this one. link included to watch.

The Premise:

fresh off the heels of his cocaine fueled jazz musical masterpiece The Blues Brothers (1980), director john landis decided he was going to cook up the greatest film ever made. and he did. he was actually gonna have john belushi (jake blues) and dan akyroyd (elwood blues and yes the ghostbuster) play the two main characters, david kessler and jack goodman. now, who are these fellas? well i’m so glad you asked. david (played by david naughton) and jack (played by griffin dunne) are two dear pals from new york on a cute little backpacking trip across europe. david's the tall one. he's silly and gleeful to be out and about. jack is the short one. he's very much not gleeful about the fact that they're on the rainy moors and wishes they were in rome. together they find their way to a cute little pub and go inside, looking for hot drinks. the locals do not love this. they also do not love when jack asks them why there's a five pointed star on the wall (since lon chaney and universal studios assert that that's the mark of the wolfman!) it gets awkward. so they leave, with nothing but the warning to stay off the moors, stick to the roads, and beware of the moon. obviously, they do not follow this. wouldn't make for a very interesting movie if they did. and, as i'm sure you've assumed, they encounter a werewolf, leaving jack like this (dead):

and david, who survived the attack, with the curse of the werewolf. but fear not! david is transported to a hospital where he makes a lovely recovery, and jack um. well he stays dead. but he comes back to haunt david! he shows up a few more times in further states of decay to tell david that he really ought to just kill himself so that the curse is broken, jack and all the other werewolf victims can rest in peace, and david won't accidentally maul any additional civilians as a werewolf. hey while we're talking about jack heres me when i dressed up as him at a horror con. and the man himself.

anyways. hijinks ensue, and you're taken on a delightful romp across 97 minutes of fun as david tries to navigate life as... you guessed it. AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON!

why it rules:

in my opinion, that's enough to make this movie flames as fuck. but if you're not convinced yet? let me tell you some more. first off. the practical effects on this bad boy are straight up excellent. they're done by my personal favorite vfx artist rick baker (who also worked on star wars, men in black, videodrome, king kong and more!), and he does not hold back. the picture of jack shows how nasty and detailed the wound is pretty well, but in action it's even better with all the nasty fleshy bits dangling and wiggling and eugh. it's gross. but it's so well done. and he does a terrific job showing how jack decays throughout the rest of the movie. but of course, what really matters is the werewolf. it's not called an american dead guy in london. which is good. cause that would be a dumb name for a movie. anyways. if we’re going to talk about the werewolf, we have to start with the iconic transformation scene. sped up.

wow! pretty impressive stuff right? it’s all practical, no cgi, and i think the way it’s almost drawn out and the relative silence of the scene adds to the impact it has, since it sort of forces the audience to sit with and feel just a little bit of the discomfort that david seems to be feeling. we just have to watch him scream in pain and beg for mercy. yeesh. now, the transformation scene is hard to top. but i think the final werewolf design is actually pretty solid. it’s distinctly not man, but it’s also distinctly not wolf. i would include a picture, but i feel like part of the allure of the film is how it (jaws style) doesn’t really let you get a good look at the monster itself until the end of the movie. it’s a great way to build the tension and leave a little bit up to the audience’s interpretation. and the audience will always imagine something way more horrible than you could have ever created. which is kind of beautiful. the first time i watched, i found myself kind of disappointed in the werewolf’s appearance - its face seemed to be stuck in a sort of permanent scowl. i was kind of lost, because i couldn’t imagine why a static face had won out over whatever the vfx team was clearly capable of making. but Oh. dear reader. when nurse alex price, david’s dear love, who cared for him in the hospital, allowed him to live with her, and even banged him, approaches the wolf. when she tells david she loves him. the wolf’s eyes soften. it begins to drop the snarl. see. i lied here’s part of the wolf. all snarly like and scary. before it melts at three simple words from alex. god.

it hits me like a huge truck every single time. rick baker never misses and this movie was certainly not an exception. he got an academy award for it and it was well deserved.

not so into the technical stuff? that’s okay. i have more to praise about this movie. it is one of the best blends of horror and comedy that i’ve ever encountered. although some of it looks a little dated, i do think it maintains its fear factor. it’s plenty gory, and in my humble opinion, the subway scene (you’ll know it when you see it) is one of the most effective bits of horror i’ve ever encountered. even when isolated from the film, it still packs a punch. but i’m not gonna put it here because i want you to just watch it with the rest of the movie. sorry. and on top of the horror, it’s honestly hilarious. if you don’t think seven dead people ganging up on one dude and listing ways he should kill himself in the middle of a porn theater while a porno plays very loudly in the background. well. i don’t know what to tell you. you probably won’t like this movie that much. also, the final needle drop over the credits at the end is so abrupt and so funny. love it.

and of course, being an 80s horror movie with two male leads. i’m sure you can guess what i’m going to say. it is not hard to read jack and david as friends, but it’s also not very difficult to read them as having a little something going on. like love. fellas is it gay to go on a little trip across england with just yoh and your best bro? hard to say. textually, i do think it’s kind of telling that every time jack shows up, it’s either right after or while david is having a heterosexual experience (flirting with alex, banging alex, watching straight porn in the porn theater.) it’s almost like… something other than jack… is haunting david. i dunno. i’m not a cop. but it’s interesting. seems like something the average tumblr user might like to keep an eye on, so i’m letting you know. also they have a conversation while david is completely naked which is like. hello. plus the inherent queerness of the werewolf narrative is something i could talk about for HOURS and was especially prevalent, alongside vampire movies. in the 80s during the aids crisis. my short essay on this ⬇️

also, there’s a classic john landis third act car crash scene, where, in the same vein as the blues brothers, an obscene amount of cars are absolutely demolished.

also also, the muppets make a brief appearance in this movie. this made me jump for joy, because i love the muppets. and you should too.

fun and true facts

still not sold? well, check out this last ditch effort in the form of fun facts. or, if you just want to know more, read on.

micheal jackson was so impressed by the effects in this movie, particularly the transformation scene, that after seeing it, he promptly hired rock baker (vfx guy) and john landis (director guy) to work on the music video for his hit song thriller. you’ve probably seen it, but if not, go watch it. tbh, even if you have seen it before, go watch it again.

david naughton was a doctor pepper spokesman before the filming of this movie. he was in at least a few bits of promotional material, including at least one commercial. unfortunately he lost the job because of the amount of time he spent dick out in this movie. doctor pepper did not want that to be the representation of their brand. cowards, the lot of them.

speaking of his dick, you actually never fully see it at any point in the movie despite the fact that it seems they never felt like telling david to wear pants on set. there is a reason for this! david (character) is jewish and canonically circumcised (dunno how else to put it) and david (actor) is neither of these things. so, to avoid ruining the realism in his. werewolf movie. john landis took great care to never show the whole thing.

the american ambassador who visits david in the hospital is played by frank oz, who also voices miss piggy. because of her brief cameo, he technically plays two different roles in this movie, although miss piggy is simply credited as “Herself” in the end credits of the movie. he also voices yoda which isn’t relevant but it is really funny to me.

see you next wednesday, which is the name of the porno in the movie, is actually a fun john landis easter egg! many of his movies include the phrase “see you next wednesday.” it’s also seen on posters in the subway scene.

in the scene where jack first visits david in the hospital, he was supposed to take a bite of david’s toast, after which it would immediately fall out of his ruined and torn to shreds throat. however, it was cut for being too gross. which is sad i feel like it could have been funny.

when david calls home to talk to his parents, he mentions two siblings: rachel and max. these are the names of the directors children in real life.

griffin dunne, who plays jack, also appears as the family therapist in a season 2 episode of succession. this was a jumpscare.

while they were filming the naked in the zoo scenes, they were unable to actually close the zoo, so when filming carried on past the opening time of the park, they just kept going and allowed butt naked david naughton to run loose around the zoo. they did, however, succeed in closing piccadilly circus for the car crash scene.

in the beginning when jack is being attacked by the werewolf, it was in fact half a wolf prop on the front of a wheelbarrow. this is a very funny vision for me.

jack is right - the five pointed star is considered the mark of the wolfman, according to 1941’s The Wolf Man, played by lon chaney junior and produced by universal pictures. the guy knows his stuff. interestingly, rick baker did the makeup for the 2010 remake of the wolf man as well. he did pretty good, i think.

this isn’t even about this movie but blues brothers is an awesome film too and a fun fact about that one is there was a whole part of the budget devoted to buying cocaine. and you can tell. great movie.

director john landis did in fact kill three people the year after this movie came out. so. i do feel a little bad promoting it because jesus christ. but. no harm no foul in pirating it. it’s one easy internet archive search away. and sometimes it’s on tubi. but just in case, here’s the internet archive link. https://archive.org/details/an-american-werewolf-in-london

so. anyways. please check out this baller ass movie and talk to me about it. thank you so much to whoever asked this. i love you. thanks for reading. bye.

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sunderingstars · 11 months ago

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☆━━━━━ ⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☾ ◯ ☽₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆ ━━━━━━☆

✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ CHOOSE YOUR FIGHTER! ⌝

sampo analysis m.list

— a silly little overview of different "sampos" i find interesting

— not meant to be taken super seriously or canonically, but can tie in to some of the theories i have

— in the true spirit of elation, these aren't hills i'm willing to die on, just ones that are fun to play around with :3

— feel free to use for writing/art inspiration!

— i add to this periodically as new sampos catch my eye!

— word count: 3k (good lord)

— 🎭s indicate aha!sampo

☆━━━━━ ⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☾ ◯ ☽₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆ ━━━━━━☆

🎭 sampo "midlife crisis" koski

— at risk of losing his aeon/emanatorhood

— doesn’t find anything funny anymore

— tired of being behind the scenes

— becoming a buzzkill (having “lines” he won’t cross)

— taking drastic measures to improve his quality of life (fucking off to a random ass snow planet to scam people)

note: may lead to a villain arc — sampo "renewed vigor" koski — in which he remembers why he used to love tormenting people, conquers his midlife crisis, and returns to pure elated insanity. this is bad for everyone involved for obvious reasons

🎭 sampo "how're you gonna win if you never take any risks?" koski

— aha took drastic measures to secure their success, either through memory erasure, mortal transformation, giving up power, or all three

— under the radar, civilian aha

— trying to circumvent “destiny” through delusional self-confidence

— enter sampo i mean aha i mean sampo i mean aha i mean s

sampo "ceaseless watcher's special little boy" koski

— not aha but aha definitely likes him

— perhaps an avatar or emanator of some sort

— whether he likes aha or not is up for debate

— can easily turn into sampo "ceaseless watcher get their ass" koski, in which sampo becomes a little too fond of invoking his status as aha's favorite to accomplish his own goals

alternate possibility: he’s aha’s favorite due to his pathetic nature and slutty hip windows, he just doesn’t know it. he thinks his luck is due to his own talent & skill (it is literally outside eldritch forces beyond his control)

sampo "close enough" koski

— not an actual aeon, but rather a vessel for aha’s power or consciousness on varying levels

— perhaps akin to caelus/stelle being a stellaron receptacle

sampo "let's get you back to bed grandpa" koski

— the wear and tear of a long life has taken its toll on him

— despite the infinity of time, he has become out-of-sync with newer masked fools members, who regard him as an “old timer”

— isn’t shown much respect, and is frequently asked why he isn’t as cool as he used to be

— also know as sampo "L + ratio + fell off" koski

— “peaked in high school” energy

— can be either aha, emanator, or similar high status

🎭 sampo "in rehab" koski

— aeonic existence isn’t easy and can, in fact, take a toll on those that ascend from human forms

— he finally decided that maybe he should make a change

— and has thus embarked on a healing journey

— therapeutic exercises include: scamming people, starting pyramid schemes, selling artifacts on the black market, and more!

sampo "ultimate dealmaker" koski

— in a contract or some sort of deal with aha in exchange for power, money, or a combination or the two

— possession? who knows

🎭 sampo "i'm not mad i'm just disappointed" koski

— doesn’t understand why his children have strayed so far

— “where did i go wrong? why do they think this is funny? do they even care about the worm?”

— has the energy of an exasperated parent watching his kids flush car keys down the toilet again

🎭 sampo "horrified creator" koski

— aha & the masks have outgrown their creator (sampo) and have gone off to do their own aeonic thing, leaving him behind

— he thinks it’s all insane, actually, and he’s very disappointed and very tired

— trying to pick up the pieces of whatever mayhem the aha!masks cause

— aha!masks keep him around for fun

— “i should never have laughed at that goddamn baby”

sampo "me and aha kiss on the weekends" koski

— just a silly little guy who has somehow wormed his way into the heart of an eldritch being

— in it for the mind-bending sex

sampo "blasphemy" koski

— technically affiliated with the masked fools but doesn’t subscribe to their beliefs

— thinks aha is a load of horseshit but needs to keep up with what they’re doing to circumvent it

— may have been formerly in a high-ranking position, or just another guy with a mask

— aha probably wronged him or did some fucked up shit in the past and now he has a vendetta

🎭 sampo "stole my fucking thunder" koski

— someone stole aha’s power. that’s it

— sampo is salty

— 10/10 betrayal plot

potential inverse: he’s the one stealing aha’s power

sampo "my boss sucks and i want to quit" koski

— tired, overworked employee of the masked fools

— views aha as a sort of fucked up insane ceo that he wants nothing to do with but is unfortunately contractually obligated to work for

— wants to start a union

🎭 sampo "next in line" koski

— can also branch into sampo "formerly in line" koski or sampo "abdication" koski

— wherein aha’s power or masks are akin to titles or positions that are passed down between different people, somewhat akin to how “crowns” and “kings” work

— in this case, sampo would either be currently in line for this power, formerly in line for this power, or has actually been in power but abdicated or otherwise lost/gave up/moved on from his position

— this could be natural or otherwise

note: this does not have to be solely for aha, this kind of power transfer could work for other high-ranking positions like emanator or organization leader

🎭 sampo "this price was too steep..." koski

— got a bit cocky and wagered his aeonhood

— is now in a Not Great position

sampo "i hate owing people things" koski

— owes aha one

— does not like owing people things

— doing whatever he needs to cancel out the debt

🎭 sampo "i was crazy back then lol" koski

— the universe’s idea of aha writ large is based on an outdated version of their personality

— this always annoys sampo because he has to be constantly reminded of his insane college days before he mellowed out

— the type to reminisce over wine and say “yeah that worm thing was wild. i was crazy back then huh”

🎭 sampo "committed to the bit" koski

— one of my personal favorites

— became mortal as a joke

— ended up liking it a little too much

— doesn’t really want to go back

sampo "worm on a string" koski

— what is a man if not just another omniscient worm destined for tragedy?

— he’s a puppet, basically

— & he just gets wormed around like he’s on a string

— hence the name

— another one of aha’s classic cosmic jokes

🎭 sampo "one of many" koski

— ties into my split consciousness theory

— aha split their personality into multiple people (either as a joke or for a bigger reason) and sampo is one of those pieces

🎭 sampo "yeah i heard aha was super cool and hot and sexy and smart and did i mention sexy" koski

— big fan of the rumor mill

— can’t help but try to win people over to the elation even when he’s supposed to be laying low

— he’s not fooling anyone. just yesterday serval watched him laugh until he cried because a kid dropped their ice cream. he is not slick

🎭 sampo "reverted to babey" koski

— someway, somehow, aha got reverted back to who they were before they ascended to aeonhood

— now sampo is just really fucking confused (and annoyed because mortal life is pretty annoying)

sampo "character creation screen" koski

— aha just had a silly goofy lil day & wanted to create a guy

— so they did

— sampo acts as a kind of controlled character who’s self-aware about his position as a playable character

— or alternatively he was turned loose with no purpose scaramouche-style and is now just fucking around doing whatever

sampo "failed clone" koski

— obligatory clone theory

— aha tried to clone themself. it wasn’t as funny as they wanted

— sampo is the result

— aha realizing sampo was a bit of a buzzkill: “i don’t want to play with you anymore”

🎭 sampo "vicarious existence" koski

— part of the split consciousness theory

— aha sectioned off or created a part of themself that can live in a way they can’t (i.e. have free will beyond the elation)

— similar to the focalors/furina situation in genshin

sampo "trojan horse" koski

— is his own person, under the impression he has free will, but is being used as an unknowing vehicle for eventual Big Aha Moment

🎭 sampo "can't remember shit" koski

— he forgor :((

— used to be aha but doesn’t know that

— most likely erased his own memory in order to accomplish a planned endgame

🎭 sampo "you don't wanna see me when i transform" koski

— dual consciousness theory

— sampo koski as a human is much more rational and reasonable than eldritch-form aha

— sampo likes to stay as sampo as much as possible because he doesn’t like what he becomes when he changes forms

— may lead to a tragic arc where, in order to defend belobog, he reverts to his aeonic form knowing he won’t be able to transform back

sampo "lmao got you" koski

— all signs pointing towards aeon or emanator status are red herrings

— he’s just really good at gaslighting to get what he wants

sampo "whoops i got attached" koski

— fucked off to belobog for whatever reason

— got surprisingly attached

— belobog now has an extremely powerful entity/protector without even knowing it

— “it’s just a weird insane little place. very charming” — sampo, probably

🎭 sampo "elias bouchard" koski

— just a shell for aha, jonah magnus style

— used to be his own person, but got yoinked along the way

🎭 sampo "5d mind chess" koski

— knows exactly what he’s been doing from the beginning

— strategic placement on belobog to meet the trailblazer

— has done a damn good job of coming off as “normal pathetic scammer mcgee” to distract from larger plans

🎭 sampo "just like everyone else" koski

— for whatever reason, aha is insistent that they be treated just like any other member of the masked fools; same rules, same hierarchy, everything

— this results in everyone looking at him weirdly but not saying anything and trying to strike up casual conversation with their literal aeon

sampo "gimme your eldritch money" koski

— the final form of scammers everywhere

— he’s scammed everyone he possibly can, and now there’s only one thing left: to scam an aeon

— chooses aha + the masked fools because there’s a good chance he’ll get stuff just because aha is amused with him

— tries to link aha up with a pyramid scheme

sampo "you should see me in a crown" koski

— either on a delusional self-confident power trip or gunning for aha’s power

— can be aha, emanator, or other high-ranking position, but aha works the best if sampo wants to go all the way up the ladder

— thinks he’s the best ever and can never fail, pairs well with “5d mind chess” sampo like fine wine

— drunk on power/worship

🎭 sampo "wine aunt" koski

— also known as sampo "washed up aeon" koski

— he’s out of the limelight, whether that means he passed on his power, had it taken from him in a free for all, or just wants to retire, and now he’s kicking back with a margarita and enthralling the belobog locals with “hypothetical” scenarios that are actually crazy mind-bending stories from his glory days

— he’s not as great as he used to be, nor does he have the power of a full-fledged aeon anymore, but belobog appreciates him all the same (goes hand in hand with sampo "just like everyone else" koski)

— “geez yeah, ix is so annoying. such a buzzkill, really, that guy even hates knock-knock jokes. i mean, who hates knock-knock jokes? … hypothetically, of course.” — sampo, probably

🎭 sampo "zhongli the funeral consultant" koski

— aha is secretly “dead” but no one knows

— perhaps the masked fools know, but either way sampo has either already faked his death, is currently doing it, or is planning to in the future

— he just wants to retire man, and if that means he has to “fall” then so be it

sampo "just a silly guy" koski

— there is actually nothing special to this man at all

— he’s just a guy. just a silly little guy

— aha is laughing at all of us for even making theories about him

sampo "aha jr." koski

— sampo is a doll created by aha like in the simulated universe occurrence, having the same appearance as aha’s human form and sharing personality & path attributes

— most likely wants to break away from the elation’s influence but doesn’t know how

— views aha as a really fucked up dad

sampo "oh my god i'm in a cult" koski

— raised in the masked fools, didn’t realize how batshit insane they were until a Formative Traumatic Event occurred and he went “oh.. oh no…..”

— estranged from most of the members but still deals with them in the way you do when you hate your family but have to put up with them at holiday dinners

— maybe got to a high position of power before, but left when he realized it wasn’t good for him

sampo "partners in crime" koski

— him & aha are friends, besties even

— knows the risks of working with an aeon but can’t say no when that much money is involved

🎭 sampo "for funsies" koski

— if aha can give the entire universe’s knowledge to a worm for fun, then by god they can give all of their power and aeonhood to a silly little guy randomly for no reason whatsoever (especially if he doesn’t want it)

— constantly fighting against increasingly powerful eldritch control

— “young god”

— canon in my heart

sampo "reality tv" koski

— part of the vicarious emanator theory

— aha gave him all their power and basically watches him like a reality show

— *pokes sampo with a stick* “hey why aren’t you doing anything” — aha, probably

— constant voyeurism

sampo "communism" koski

— part of the dual consciousness and vicarious emanator theories

— one of aha’s emanators that they share their entire path with

— “our” power

— perhaps some sort of memory or consciousness sharing

sampo "horse girl" koski

— “but your dream is to be an emanator”

— “no that’s your dream dad, not mine”

🎭 sampo "aeons anonymous" koski

— aeon in rehabilitation

— wants to start a former aeon support group

🎭 sampo "power receptacle" koski

— in which the masks function as the true “aha” and sampo has given them up or put them away for safekeeping

— “sparkle please please i’m so serious just let me put it back on once. no seriously only once i promise i won’t go insane like last time i’ll be so normal it’ll only be for five minutes please” — sampo, probably

sampo "one-sided hate boner" koski

— man absolutely hates aha (probably for backstory reasons)

— aha doesn’t care at best and at worst thinks it’s really really funny

— “you burned my house to the ground!”

— “🤷”

— “my family is dead!”

— “🤷”

— bonus points if aha makes him an emanator or something

sampo "significant annoyance" koski

— dedicated to being as annoying as possible to aha, whether out of spite, a vendetta, or sheer interest

— aha finds this funny so they let him stick around

— “he graffitied my mask with a bunch of dicks and it took me years to get it off. isn’t he just the greatest little guy?” — aha, probably

sampo "god's silliest soldier" koski

— aha gives their hardest battles to their silliest soldiers

— and that is sampo

sampo "true wild card" koski

— he’s not aha, an emanator, or any higher status

— he is quite literally just That Good as a regular human being

🎭 sampo "cosmic irony" koski

— “man, it sure would suck to be aha the aeon of elation. glad i don’t have to deal with that. i love being mortal”

— “🎭🎉👀”

— “HOW DID YOU GET IN MY HOUSE”

sampo "cult leader" koski

— humility is a facade

— “lines” he won’t cross are a facade

— everything is for the purpose of appearing like the perfect leader (or candidate for leader)

— secretly the most insane out of anyone

sampo "secret agent man" koski

— doing aha’s bidding willingly

— a goon. a henchman even

sampo "tainted love" koski

— aha isn’t the most healthy person to be around, on account of the ten billion cosmic torments jokes they throw around on a daily basis

— guinea pig sampo is TIRED

sampo "sacrificial lamb" koski

— may or may not be aware of his sacrificial status

— created or being manipulated into a position where he becomes collateral for aha doing whatever the fuck they wanna do

sampo "impromptu therapist" koski

— the receiver of many rants and complaints unrelated to him within the masked fools

— becomes the “advice friend” even though this man should never be trusted for reliable advice

— but surprisingly he is the most reliable within the masked fools

sampo "sanest masked fool" koski

— just a long-suffering member of an organization whose followers are some of the most insane people you’ll ever meet

— permanent eye bags for having to put up with them

🎭 sampo "michael distortion" koski

— he was a regular guy once, but ended up absorbing aha’s eldritch power one way or another

— potential assimilation into one form

— aha didn’t expect the joke to joke back

sampo "court jester" koski

— similar to "ceaseless watcher's special little boy"

— the king’s (aha’s) favorite little jester

— and also they make out sometimes

— has a semblance of protection afforded to him by being the favorite (he uses this to his advantage)

— “jester’s privilege”

sampo "try me" koski

— aha is physically keeping tabs on the trailblazer

— sampo is too, but only to swat aha’s hand away like a kid reaching into a cookie jar

— usually a mad dash to see who gets there first

— leads to many situations where they make tense eye contact across the street or smth

— subsists off of pure spite & annoyance

🎭 sampo "favored of humanity" koski

— aha is one of the aeons closest with humanity, and has such developed a more “mortal” frame of mind over time

— eventually if you spend enough time around mortals you might just turn back into one

🎭 sampo "hedonist" koski

— why is he doing any of this? who knows

— who can possibly understand the machinations of what an aeon finds funny

— eldritch humor beyond our comprehension

🎭 sampo "cosplayer extraordinaire" koski

— “so this is my humansona his name is sampo koski he likes scamming people and has slutty slutty hip windows”

— likes to stay in character as much as possible

— kinda like playing a dnd character 24/7

sampo "long-suffering host" koski

— somewhat dual consciousness theory

— aha is just up there, and sampo has to listen to their annoying ass constantly

— can be a joke, chill possession scenario, or necessity for aha due to external circumstances

— may be a side effect of emanator status, or may just be another Classic Cosmic Joke™

sampo "unwilling hierophant" koski

— informercial: how would YOU like to receive PERSONAL and INCESSANT psychic messages from eldritch forces beyond your comprehension?

— “geez ew no”

— infomercial: is that a YES?

— “no”

— infomercial: thank you for signing up for our FREE TRIAL service!

— “wait no”

— infomercial: text "NO PLEASE STOP NO" to 69420 to UNSUBSCRIBE from the Laughter’s FREE psychic telepathy service

— “NO PLEASE STOP NO”

— phone: thank you for subscribing to our LIFETIME PLAN of FREE, UNCEASING, TORMENTING visions from AHA THE ELATION. please enjoy your COMPLIMENTARY descent into insanity!

— “god fucking damnit”

sampo "vacant apartment" koski

— possession receptacle that’s no longer in use and is left up to his own devices

sampo "moved to iceland and became a sheep herder" koski

— living off the grid

— only came back because something bad is gonna happen to belobog

— can be aha, emanator, or other high-ranking position

🎭 sampo "undercover boss" koski

— keeping tabs on the masked fools because they’re fanatical

— “what the hell guys this is not what i want” — sampo, probably

— they say or do something and he’s just like “not funny. didn’t laugh”

— y’know when people say “if jesus came down to earth, he’d be disappointed at what people are doing in his name” — yea that’s sampo but like for real

— damage control

☆━━━━━ ⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☾ ◯ ☽₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆ ━━━━━━☆

#⌞ ✎ sunder.writes ⌝#⌞ 🎭 ⌝#sampo #sampo koski #aha!sampo #emanator!sampo #hsr #honkai star rail #honkai: star rail #sampo hsr #sampo honkai #hsr sampo #honkai star rail sampo

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theondnonly · 8 months ago

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it's only been 3-4 days and I still am in a break but holy moly bro, the Zerum with Sebastian situation is mad crazy.

usually I avoid drama in fandom, but I think I should give a piece of opinion this time. Why are y'all so mad that Sebastian is canonly married? Or is that even what y'all are mad with at this point? I get it, Zerum made a lot of "irritated" choices, but Sebastian is still rightfully HERS and still is HER character, if she wants him to be taken, then so be it, the fact that she have to deal with many hate and d3@th thr3@t over wanting HER character to be taken/not single,it is insane.

I do not want to sugarcoated or take sides either, what she did is unprofessional and immature, but I still don't think she deserves to be treated so badly by the fandom. "But Zerum doesn't want us to self-ship with her character!!!! She doesn't want us to have fun!!!" Last time I checked, Zerum doesn't want to have selfship IN THE DISCORD SERVER, and if you're on the server, follow the rules or just simply leave? You can still post it freely on any platform (take this as a grain of salt tho since my memory isn't the best, feel free to tell me if I'm talking stupid)

and who cares if he's married, bro y'all can literally make an AU where he is still single and a silly fish guy who sells items for the expandable like I did, it's not that difficult, use your brain come on. I see people make AUs, change a character's design/personality, and ship them with someone from a different fandom, nobody will bait an eyes

last thing, I'm sick and tired of people seeing one small misinformation about Zerum, and immediately agree on it just to hate on her, friendly reminder she's still human, she has feelings too, and maybe a lot of irl problem, can we please be a decent human and leave her alone? She is gatekeeping HER character, not murdering someone.

I do not agree with Zerum's choices, but I still wish her the best after everything, she doesn't deserve to be ridiculed imo, I know this isn't gonna change much, but a tiny voice is better than being silent forever.

I apologize if this is a long rant/post and the wording is hard to read btw, I'm not good with writing or make a lot of sense out of it, but I hope you get what I'm trying to say

TLDR : Zerum's action is immature, sure, but the way the fandom treats her over a fictional character is stupid.

#muffin ramble #sebastian solace #roblox pressure #rant post #personal rant #fandom #pressure fandom #pressure sebastian #zerum #im ready fo fight some angry mod #pressure #pressure roblox

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nidbaesenpai · 1 month ago

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Okay I gave a powerpoint presentation to friends about it and actually im not done talking about it so I'm gonna ramble and never touch it again. This will be long. First things first I did this like I was giving a show pitch to a network. So I will go through my slides one by one and saving my comparisons for last. Not the best but also this is a hypothetical.

Miraculous Ladybug: The Magical Girl

Just a plain one sentence pitch meant to interest everyone into listening to what im talking about. Also good summary. Because really I'd like to explore Marinette embracing her true self by exploring new scary things like saving Paris.

These slides explain themselves, I have such bias to 2D animation but y'know give a lil leeway if I have to concede and do 3D. I understand that my examples are all movies but if they can do it so can we. I did not put in a target audience, I initially put 8-12 year olds but wasn't sure if I could realistically get away with cool plot stuff. I understand kids can dig serious and nuanced media but not every producer agrees so shrug. Omitted by design. Also going with Felix, sorry Adrien.

And yes there will be monster of the week for at least 2 seasons so the design team can have fun making strange scenarios and wacky monster designs.

As side note Marinette and Felix find their miraculous by pure chance. Marinette finds hers at a flea market where Mr. Fu happened to be selling out all his wares and Felix happened on his after Fu drops one on his way to the market. It happens by chance, pure dumb luck.

OKAY Marinette time. She's consistently bullied by Chloé Bourgeois and has little to no friends in the first season. A girl that's insecure and maybe even ashamed of her interests and looks. Her sketchbook that she carries is all personal designs inspired from everyday people and lolita fashion she'd like to wear. Heck she even has a couple dresses in the back of her closet that she pulls out from time to time to maintain and wear. In the comfort of her room. She'd never wear it outside though.

Conversely Ladybug is a perfect outlet to do everything Marinette thinks she can't. She can assert herself gd she's saving Paris. Oh she can imagine her outfit and it'll happen instantly via magic bullshit. What a dream. Marinette loves being Ladybug despite being so afraid of being responsible for so many people. She does go back to having good luck powers and that her season 1 ultimate move is changing her yoyo into the weapon she needs to win a fight. And I mean only weapons. It can change into a rapier, a glaive, anything really with the downside that Marinette has never touched a weapon in her life and needs to figure it out on the fly.

Later seasons Marinette starts getting a better grasp on probability manipulation and will be able to sense perfect opportunities, create them or make good luck for others.

Felix Agreste! Love a rich bitch tsundere thats actually really dorky and silly. I did wanna steer more towards a cool prince stereotype and have it go hand in hand with being a model. Felix is very used to maintaining that, so much so he doesn't realize how much he hates it until he gets to be Cat Noir. And for the first time ever he gets to choose how he looks and ends up being a street cat. And he loves it. Pushes it so that he can be lame and its not embarrassing or consequential. Being a magical boy does become an outlet, an escape from his high standards. Let him be lame!

Also yeah in opposite to Ladybug his costume stays the same because he's not changing ever again and he's not interested. His power is bad luck and runs the same as Ladybug except its just bad for him. Like he's wailing on the monster of the week and he pulls out his ultimate move only for his tough claw gauntlets turn into soft kitty paws. He works with it but it does turn into the worst choice of brawler weapon.

Later seasons Felix will have a better grasp on probability manipulation and not only tell when bad luck is coming but redirect it at others instead of himself.

I chose not to go with Garbiel's candy cane ass outfit but remade it anyways,,, who am i,,,

SO. The man, the myth, the legend Gabriel Agreste. Okay so all the plot lies with this guy. The focus of the show are the teens doing their thing and figuring out life but Gabriel is the real show runner here. He is heavily invested in jewelry and how miraculous are made. He's spent years researching it alongside his wife. However she passed away and Gabriel never got over it. Yes Felix is there and of course he cares for Felix deeply but he never got over his wife Amelie. To the point he tries to find a specific set of miraculous, creation and destruction, to create and alternate world where she lives. And destroy this world. As such Gabriel tracks down jewelers and their networks to find them.

Yes Gabriel loves his wife and never wavers from his goals. He loves his wife dammit and he's gonna get her back. Anything he does will be smoothed over once he recreates the world.

Getting his hands on the Change miraculous was the best thing that ever happened to him because now. He can masquerade as anyone and get away with it. To the point there will be background characters that have the butterfly broach as a fun "scheming Gabriel" cameo. When the magic duo appears Gabriel isn't interested in them. He doesn't want to kill kids and doesn't care about the Luck miraculouses. Doesn't see the value in them since all his luck came from his hard work and planning. So the first episode where the duo interrupts his plans? He lets them be and sets up a monster as a distraction while he continues his search.

Also did not put this in my pitch but in my heart of hearts uhhhh trans Gabriel and trans Amelie. t4t couple, put some respect on Gabriel's name he gave birth to Felix after 24 hours in the hospital.

It's them, the kwamis,,, I have some lore coming on the later slide so quick overview on their personalities and how they interact with their respective owners. Also just because. The kwami cannot interact with reality aside from what their owners give to them, like an offering. They cannot be seen by anyone outside of their owners.

Ladybug has Fortuna! She is very mysterious and doesn't ever answer straightforward. Solve my riddles three type deal but like when you ask her if she wants toast for breakfast. Don't get it twisted, she has a very big heart and is sweet on all beings. If she could have everything go right all the time she would but that's not how luck works. She lets Marinette figure out answers on her own, much to Marinette's frustration. They share a caring heart and both of them can get a bit carried away being good and kind to everyone. Even if others feel its undeserved.

Cat Noir has Malasorte. In true kitty cat fashion he is a bastard. Never stops talking Felix's ear off and goads him to give into impulse. A real devil on your shoulder kind of kwami. If he could actually interact on anything he'd collapse Paris for the fun of it. He gives Felix hard reality checks whenever Felix is in over his head or is upset over something. It's a bit harsh but Felix appreciates the blunt honesty. Also loves reminding Felix that bad luck is still just luck and that an unfortunate circumstance isn't indicative of self worth or actions. Chance does not have favorites.

Hawkmoth has Morpho! As the Change kwami Morpho is always running, always busy. They don't like being stationary or stagnant so they really love being with Gabriel. Planning fashion lines and magazines, setting up runways on top of looking into miraculous? Morpho is very entertained by Gabriel. Now they don't like how Gabriel is stuck on his wife but they are intrigued that this motivates him to destroy the world. They don't stop Gabriel and even go along with his plans to see if anything comes of it, what kind of Change would Gabriel bring. Morpho is Gabriel's programmer ducky, bouncing off ideas to get closer to the coveted creation and destruction miraculous.

Yeah yeah sorry everyone but I know merchandising will get me places, dont kill me.

The world this takes place in has many miraculouses hidden around the globe, anyone can become a magical hero if the circumstances are right. Thus comics and spinoff shows are perfect for exploring more within the canon of the world. Comics can explore more of what Marinette and Felix get up to after the show but new shows will be about new heroes. The duo can make cameos but their story is done.

Ofc they get final forms, they're a magical team! They obtain final forms in the last fight against Hawkmoth in season 3 where both of them realize they're not the opposite sides of the same coin but the whole thing. They are both chance and luck, equally able to access good and bad. Ladybugs and black cats aren't inherently good or bad but known for it. Doesn't mean that they aren't capable of more.

This is where the duo unlocks true probability manipulation and bends chances all to their favor much to Hawkmoth's displeasure and confusion.

Yes if I do have to break down the show the focus would be on fashion. We got two fashion designers and a model, every person fighting needs to slay. Including the monsters. Whether they fit right on the runway or look like a Sailor Moon filler villain, they must serve. The show must be silly, full of inane situations that could happen to no one except these three. And lastly chosen love. This refers to the love square that comes on the next slide and how Gabriel chooses Amelie over Felix. You can love as much as you'd like and your actions will be indicative of it. He loves Felix and wants him to succeed. Sets up for the industry, prepping him to be multilingual. Extra classes to to a well rounded person and making sure Felix is well fed. Absent but hopes that all these opportunities will help Felix.

This never wanes as Gabriel descends deeper into his search for a new world. In that final battle, they reveal their identities and Gabriel is left speechless. He can't kill his own son but is the thing stopping him from a new world. Gabriel begs Felix to join him in his new world, he can bring both Felix and Marinette unscathed by the destruction miraculous. They can all be happy together just please let him have this. And Felix says no, he's so sad that Gabriel has been holding all his grief in but he can't erase everything he's worked for in this world. Both Marinette and Felix have worked hard, why should everything be obliterated for a 'what if'. Are they supposed to blow everything up the moment things go wrong, when grief chokes them?

Yeah I'll say my ending, Gabriel is locked in a stalemate with the two champions of luck as he has the miraculous of destruction and creation. Ladybug grabs hold of the creation and tricks Gabriel into destroying it. They try to talk him out of his wack plans and Gabriel accidentally destroys himself. In that final moment Gabriel congratulates Felix and that this world better be kinder to him than it was to Gabriel. He turns to ashes as Paris finally knows peace and the magic duo are gone. Marinette and Felix are together and process everything in their own time.

OKAY THE MASCOTS. The kwamis. Their loose lore is that they're concepts, ethereal beings that are shaped by humans. It's connected and nebulous and through miraculous they take definition and shape. Jewelry is one way to channel these beings, there are many other avenues if one is clever to find a way. In fact concepts can be split even more. Mr. Fu wasn't a perfect jewel cutter. He accidentally channeled halves on the concept Chance into two different gems. It's why the magic duo have the same powers.

And yeah the monster of the week comes from sleeping people. All the fighting happens at nighttime. It'd be fun to make him the boogeyman of Paris. Hawkmoth intentionally pick the people with the most inner turmoil and chooses them to akumatize. He sends out a butterfly that phases through the walls to enter the sleeping person's head. A cocoon of light envelops the person before it goes dark and a cunty henchman emerges. Hawkmoth doesn't ask anything of them, lets them rampage through Paris knowing its just a distraction for Ladybug. The monster is neutralized once the butterfly charm thats somewhere on its body is destroyed.

AND. Ladybug and Cat Noir keep their identities a secret because! During their first battle Hawkmoth intimidated them by changing his face into theirs. A warning to watch their back and to stay out of his way. Hawkmoth doesn't intend to follow through with his threat but Ladybug and Cat Noir take it to heart. They're wary of everyone and each other which falls when making new friends and figuring out Hawkmoth's plans. Anytime Hawkmoth is spotted during the monster of the week battle, he's seen wearing a different face. All of them different background characters.

The secret identities translates right into the love square! Or rather love angles? Like I know this in opposition of chosen love because it's between two people but think about it like this. They both have crushes on their respective civilian and hero selves but choose to follow through with only one because the other wouldn't work. Marinette likes Felix and Cat Noir but chooses Cat Noir because of circumstance. She wants to date and Felix has shown he can't date in the current moment. Where as Felix starts to like Marinette more because of how down to earth she is. Ladybug is his big crush but the secret identity stops him from ever truly trusting her.

Slide conclusion: this was a fun exercise of what I'd like to pitch in a show and not just a jumble of ideas in a drawer.

Now for the comparisons to the 3D show.

Or rather things that would not translate into my version.

No more superheroes. Or in this case magical girls. No other miraculous shows up and it's just the major characters that get powers. Make it simple make it easy.

In fact no secret Chinese faction that hoards the miraculous. I intentionally made it vague how miraculous are made because I'd rather not have one section of the world hoard the power. Anyone can get their hands on it, no masters or guardians needed. No chosen ones or higher callings. So in this instance Master Fu is Mr. Fu who was getting rid of his wares before Gabriel could track him down.

No pinocchio bullshit. Felix is not a construct, its a fun idea but unnecessary. Exploring humanity and being treated as one can be explored in a comic with a different protagonist but not here.

No Kagami and Luka side romances. The love square is enough.

Chloe doesn't have a twin, she can get a rich bitch redemption arc. We all love to see a stuck up snob get humbled and learn to be good, it's the same with Felix.

In general no secret twins or relatives popping in to further plot.

Hawkmoth does not toss away his son nor does he get hung up on revenge against them. He does not want their miraculous.

Lila isn't here she can be in the comics it's fine.

In conclusion: hey Miraculous Ladybug is a fun show.

I wouldn't have made this otherwise. Just personally I look at it and I know I could whittle it down more. I do think the writing isn't the best and that some concepts could be better refined. Send it back to the kitchen y'know? But I do think that it has good base ingredients that could turn into a similar meal with fewer stronger points. In this case Miraculous Ladybug could be such a strong love letter to the magical girl genre if it really went for it.

#nidboring #i am not main tagging this do not let the ml fans see this #i know people love this show in all its faults and i admire them for it however i aint built like that #the draws #putting this in my art tag bc there do be art in there

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brick-van-dyke · 1 year ago

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Some Thoughts on the 'Writing Process'™

So I see a lot of writers struggle with these very specific things, AKA:

The Staring at the Blank Page Thing where you struggle to come up with ideas, words, etc

The Word Counting Counting where you cannot stop counting your word count

The 'Can Someone ELSE Proofread This Because I Don't Want to Read It' dilemma

The 'How Do I STOP Hating Everything I Write' issue which also leads into the 'How Do I Stop Scrapping Everything' issue

And finally the 'I DONT WANT TO WRITE I WANT TO IMAGINE IT INSTEAD' problem

There are various things that can make writing hard, but I have had some thoughts! And maybe they might just be useful.

So for Issue Number 1, I've found that, if you want to write, NEVER do it before you already have the ideas. Looking at a blank page just makes it harder. You get bored and that makes writing feel boring. Of course, this is all just my opinion, maybe this actually works for you. BUT! In my own personal experience, I find that actually LIMITING how often I open my document helps a bunch. No matter how much you wanna write, there's no point torturing yourself over how little you're doing and shaming or pressuring yourself to get it done. Punishing yourself is just gonna kill your inspiration and, obviously, you're not going to want to write if you now associate it with punishment for not writing. It's a cycle of just being mean to yourself. Well, don't wanna be unproductive? As silly and counterproductive as it sounds; self care is the answer which I've found that actually works.

This actually leads into Issue Number 2. I think these probably stem from the same issue; punishing yourself for not producing. Again, punishing yourself and shaming yourself into just staring at a blank screen or staring at how little the word count is or how much you have to go until your goal is just going to kill your inspiration and make you bored. Shaming doesn't get you to write more, or faster or suddenly become more productive. Believe it or not? Self care and making it fun is what makes a fun story come to life. You're not just writing a block of text that's a recount to sell in this capitalist hellhole (I mean you are but that doesn't mean the process has to be bound by capitalism because FUCK CAPITALISM), you're writing a story you wanna tell; focus on the story before the method and don't punish yourself for it not just magically appearing. These things take time, they take trial, error, mistakes and various drafts, but FIRST? They take those little moments where you just daydream scenes and the imagination you have to exist at all. Focus first on the story and your own health and the rest will come, slowly but surely. Anyway that was a lot of words to essentially just say; don't look at the word count, focus on the story and the length will follow regardless. It's fine to check and obviously, you'll just have to at some point. But please please try and do what you can to avoid checking, even use a different method. I use page count because it's so varied and inaccurate that it actually doesn't matter and just tricks my brain into using that to see my very general progress and makes it seem bigger than it actually is. It also can just be easier to check at a glance if I want to make sure the structure of each chapter is more or less consistent enough.

Issue Number 3 is tricky, mostly because once you've made something, it can be legitimately very boring to reread everything you JUST wrote. For me, I'm sort of chaotic in that I reread as I go or do it very randomly and rewrite as I come up with things. The good thing is though that what you write isn't set in stone. It's malleable and fluid. I always have a cut and paste section on my computer where I just... cut and page and rearrange things as I think of it. I don't worry about "oh but what if I mess up" because you're ALWAYS gonna mess up! That's actually one of the cool things about writing, you CAN mess up and go back and reread it eventually to make it work a bit better after all the other chaotic going-back-and-fixing-things. Which brings me to my main point (especially if you don't want to replicate my chaoticness) I try to leave proofreading itself as much as I can for the end of it all. As in, I just let myself write, yes rearranging and going back whenever I want, but never throwing anything OUT, never scrapping the whole document because it's gonna have bits you might reuse. And more to the point, it gives you a lose skeleton to base your next draft on. It's more work but I find it really reassuring in that you don't judge every little thing as you go, but just say "meh, fuck it!" and write whatever works, then rewrite it in a separate document all over again, never deleting the last one so you can copy and page whatever you liked from the first draft, or second, or third, and use each mistake and flaw. Recycling is good folks, even just in writing. Or... at least it is for me. If this doesn't work for you, it doesn't work for you, but this is just what helps me so maybe it might help you too.

This also goes into Issue Number 4. Honestly, you're never gonna not be your biggest critic. But! You can at least make your work feel a bit more positive and go in with a "eh who cares?" mindset into writing. It may not erase the "wow this is hot garbage" feeling, but it'll feel a bit more like "well this is MY hot garbage and I don't care if it's bad or good, because at least it was fun". Plus, like I said; recycling is very good. The best way to force yourself not to hate something is to get really damn used to it, AKA, never getting rid of it. Which is hard, I know. Especially if you just really freaking hate it. And, well, it's not like I'm saying you should keep absolutely every little thing, I don't want you all to get clutter and folders upon folders of stuff you won't use...buuut I am saying it helps to keep things and get comfortable in your own messiness and imperfection. It starts to feel normal at least, or for me it does, and slowly you kind of just...accept it. Also, making fun little things to enjoy your ideas away from your writing itself. If you draw? Make fanart. Maybe even make AUs in your head. Maybe make some mood boards. HYPE YOURSELF UP! Or as best you can at least, and never force things. If you aren't feeling this particular story right now? Move on to another project and yes having WIPs can be annoying but sometimes it's necessary. Again, these are all just my opinions and stuff I do when I struggle with these; I'm not commanding anyone to do anything and as always, maybe this won't work for you personally. But hey, doesn't hurt to give it a try first and see if it works, or maybe something else will. Whatever the case, this is just my own two cents.

And finally, Number 5. Honestly? This isn't so much as issue in and of itself as much as just an issue of prioritisation. Imagination is the most important part of even coming up with a story to begin with and, honestly, imagining scenes can really help build a mental image of what you want to describe and how things look and feel. One thing, a little cheat code you could say, that I've found is melding daydreaming with research. Which makes absolutely no sense since this is the most funnest part with the most boring part of writing, but hey, it works surprisingly well I assure you. So here's the setup I have; no doc (except for if I really need to jot down some notes), then images that remind me of my work (Pinterest boards maybe, a few mood boards, etc), then the research. I go between each of these; daydreaming. The result? I imagine scenes with the research I want; motifs that work with themes, imagery to use in scenes, what architecture works, what the weapons look like. Then, before I even write, I go back and still daydream WITH what I've researched and it sticks in my mind way better than even the notes I've made. Speaking of, with notes, I like to doodle in the margins of them, make them fun, highlight with fun colours. Sometimes? Research, note taking and writing doesn't have to be work in and of itself, sometimes it can be fun and a little quest of your own. Sometimes making writing and research feel like you're daydreaming can make all the difference between begrudgingly slugging through a chapter, or just having fun writing a new scene you just imagined and that starts to form into something new and exciting.

TLDR: Make writing fun! Like Mary Poppins once said; "a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down". Sometimes it's actually better to make the work into a treat instead of using a treat as a bribe or punishing yourself. In fact, making any part of the process into a punishment for not working just makes everything harder.

ALSO! Just in general, take breaks! It's easy to forget what you're doing (especially once it becomes fun) and forget to take care of yourself both physically and mentally. Too much time looking at a screen (or even just a page) can be straining! Remember to eat! Remember to drink water and sleep! Get up and walk around if you can, go to the bathroom and maybe even go for a little walk outside and get some Vitamin D if you're able to. Remember to maybe take a few days away from writing so you can come at it again with a refreshed mind and new perspective, sometimes you can get boggled down and start getting too focused on one little thing. It's good to let yourself have half an hour, an hour or even a few days to just refresh and go out and get new inspiration just from living. Sometimes the key to writing and ideas is to just stop writing for a bit and to just take a breath.

#writing #writers on tumblr #creative writing #writing community #writeblr #novel writing #writers and readers #tumblr writers #tumblr writing community #writerscommunity #writerblr #writers and poets #writing advice #long post #also some swearing oops #writing resources

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anarchictemptation · 7 months ago

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So, I've had a bit of an emotional journey when it came down to getting these trolls uploaded and, uh.I'm sort of in a venty mode, so I'm doing a read more cut just so I don't bother people (TW for Drug Abuse and Suicidal Thoughts mentioned)

It became less of "lol, look at all these trolls I've had over the years, let's sell them" to a bit of a crippling "I did this to cope with what was happening to me and this is the financial repercussions of that"

When I joined the Homestuck fandom, I was 16. A long ago ex-friend had gotten me into it because he was an obsessive fan and I REALLY liked astrology at the time, so obviously what was gonna stop me from getting into this silly little webcomic? (Nepeta my BELOVED! Leo's for life!!!)

I've never really shared this with anyone outside of my CLOSEST of close friends, but I was in a really nasty situation. My parents were on drugs, deeply into it at the time of me joining Homestuck, and were basically nonexistent at that point of my life. They'd disappear for days at a time with no sign of them coming back anytime soon, so, while looking after my little brother, I'd get lost in this fandom and obtaining fantrolls was my own sick little kick

I wasn't creative at the time to really make my own, I'd just use sprite bases and all my own guys were basic as hell, but, when I found out troll adopts were a thing, I was OBSESSED

Some oldies might remember me being EVERYWHERE back in the day on DA under the unusualKitten alias. I was on every single page I could find trying to get at least ONE fantroll that someone had posted newly in the groups. It was amazing! I could drown myself in these guys I was getting and bury myself in art of them so that I could avoid the world that I was stuck in

Honestly, without that "distraction", I probably would've killed myself years ago

It was all I had in a shit world, it even led me making a short-time friend in my final year of high school, but it was fun

And then I grew up

Some things happened that involved me being the fucking savior of my family by dragging them out of that hell with my own two broken hands only for the sake of my brother. My mom got clean, my dad died because he couldn't get clean, I had been working a job in which case they'd have stolen my money almost every time I got it (like THAT was anything new), and we were just sort of stuck in limbo for a long time after that

I was still a part of Homestuck, but I wasn't A part of it anymore, if that makes any sense. Most I done was win a spot in the For Fans By Fans design contest with my Heir's Tears submission (Only 1 or 2 people bought the shirt and, two those people, I FUCKING LOVE YOUUUU, y'all are so cool), but I was pretty much dead in the water

Until I reconnected with my bestest friend

She helped me to regain the love again, as we'd rp a lot with all our different versions of canon characters bc we're maniacs (Which will ALL be featured in MSCOTT once I get back on the ball for writing it!)

And, as I sit here today, looking back on everything that happened 11 years ago, I've realized that things are a lot different now. I'm no longer the heavily traumatized kid I was back then, I have a life outside of the fantrolls I've hoarded over the years

And, yeah, it hurts seeing a lot of these guys go, it feels like a bit of myself is leaving with them, but that's not a part of my life anymore, that was a part of HER life

Don't get me wrong, I STILL love fantrolls and still have a handful of my own that I'll fight ANYONE over, but. I think it's time to let go of a past that I don't really want to be haunted by anymore

(But I hope this explains why I generate a LOT of fantrolls and then suddenly they're being given up as soon as something's done with them, hha, old habits die hard)

Thanks for readingggg, time to go cry a bittt!

#Vent of sorts

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shadowphoenixrider · 6 months ago

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The Jedi and the Scoundrel

(Decided to write a little Halloween fic of my two idiots. There is a plot, I think, if you squint. It's more just some silliness and those two being nerds. Enjoy!)

"Well, well, well," the thick Cajun drawl rolled over me like a wave, "what's a pretty li'l Jedi like you doin' so far from the Temple?"

I arched my eyebrow as Gambit swaggered over to me, in a surprisingly faithful costume of Han Solo, and I tried not to stare at how flatteringly it wrapped around his body.

"I could ask you the same thing, Captain." I shot back, folding my arms. "Haven't you got more important things to do than chat up Jedi? Save princesses, perhaps?"

"Rather save ya from bein' lonely, Master Jedi." He grinned, and I rolled my eyes. "'Course, Gambit could go see what de others be wearin', but he mighta gotten a li'l distracted..." He leant against the same banister I was, his red-black eyes roving over me. "You're lookin' good, Shadow."

"Ah, thanks." I lifted a shoulder, pulling my dark brown cloak back so he could look at the pieces beneath. "Isn't anything special like yours, just stuff I picked up from fancy dress places." I tapped the bulky saber clipped onto my belt. "And a toy I had when I was younger. I suppose I could ask Hank to give me a hand making something a little more faithful next year, especially if you're gonna show me up like this."

"Aw, don't sell yaself short!" Gambit smiled. "Ain't no-one goin' around judgin' what we look like - it jus' a bit 'a fun." He smirked. "Logan goes as de same look every year."

"And what's that?"

"Grumpy ol' man." The Cajun grinned toothily.

"You be careful how loud you say that, or I'm gonna be sewing you back together again." I giggled, watching the others move through the main atrium of the mansion below, chattering excitedly.

A bear form Ber loped away from Jubilee, who was trying to playfully bite him with a pair of fake vampire fangs she'd found, whilst Kurt - a resplendent pirate captain of the seven seas - was giving a nervous Myst gentle encouragement to join the others, examining a piece of clothing he had grasped in his hands.

"Gonna be quite de party wit ya friends here." Gambit commented, sidling closer to me. "Excited?"

"Looking forward to it." I nodded. "Though I'm not one for big events. I think once I've seen who's dressed up and who's not, I won't be staying for too long."

"Sure we can find a nice quiet place to spend some time together, Master Jedi..." Gambit purred in my ear, looping his arm around my waist. I rolled my eyes again.

"You're just thinking of how to get me out of these robes, aren't you?"

"C'mon, don't tell Gambit you Jedi are celibate now, eh?" He pulled his head back to raise his own eyebrow at me, one I returned.

"The Code warns us against attachments, not celibacy, Captain." I replied.

"Gonna have to explain dat one to me." Gambit moved around to behind me, settling his chin onto the top of my head.

"It's a simplification." I said, letting him mould his body around me. "When the Code mentions attachments, it doesn't mean relationships outright, it means obsessive attachment." I leaned my head back to look up at him. "Putting that relationship above all other things, and being unable to let it go when the time comes. That's why Anakin fell to the Dark Side. Not because he loved Padme, but because he loved her so much he couldn't let her go when it was her time, and ended up being the cause of her death."

"So he shoulda let her die in childbirth?" Gambit asked, not unkindly.

"Of course, you should try not to let that happen, but it's prophecy, isn't it? The Force gave Anakin prophetic dreams of losing Padme in childbirth, and in his obsession to save her, he made the prophecy come true." I chuckled softly. "As how these things go. The more you try to escape destiny, the tighter it ensnares you."

"Hmm." Gambit hummed. "Dat a little sad, though. Dat nothin' he coulda done could've escaped what were gonna happen. Ain't fair to think everythin' already be written, dat we jus' followin' de strings dis world laid out for us."

"Yeah, but I don't think everything is set in stone. Maybe it's less 'this is how things will happen', but it's knowing how and what someone will choose to get there. The reason why Anakin fell to the Dark Side was because he was particularly vulnerable to losing those he loved, and he followed the exact choices that would be expected to lead him down that path. He could have chosen to deviate at any time, and stay off it, and it might not have happened."

"Better to try den jus' sleepwalk ya way into ya fate." Gambit agreed. "But how would dat be differen' than to what he did dat still led him to de Dark Side?"

I frowned.

"It's...difficult. I think there has to be a line where 'seeking a solution' goes too far. Although," I glanced up at the Cajun, smiling weakly, "I think perhaps he should have talked to Obi-Wan about it."

Gambit chuckled.

"Guess we don' have much room to judge on dat," he said, gently squeezing me close.

"No, I guess we don't. And it's very annoying that I can no longer talk shit about shows like that because of it." I folded my arms.

"Didn't expect to hear Jedi philosophy coming from you two." A voice from behind us made me turn, to see Ebak and his lopsided grin, one scarred eyebrow raised.

"Hey! Jus' 'cos I prefer Star Trek don't mean I don't enjoy discussin' de other one!" Gambit retorted.

"Sure, sure. You're definitely not dressing as Han Solo for any particular reason or anything." Ebak commented, his smirk widening.

"If Shadow an' Gambit gonna have a combo costume, Gambit would be Leia." The Cajun replied smoothly, his own grin appearing. Ebak's grin didn't budge, clearly thinking of Leia's space buns and her white dress from New Hope, and entertaining himself with that.

My thoughts, however, had gone to Return of the Jedi, and it was all I could do not to choke on my own breath. An effort failed when Ebak's dark brown eyes flicked to me and it took him about a nanosecond to put it all together. He gave Gambit a flat look.

"Oh. Right. Why am I not surprised."

Gambit grinned sharkishly.

"An' is de Great Ebak gonna come as anythin'?" He asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know, Cajun?" Was my sibling's cool reply.

"How about you stop following this line of inquiry before you wake up stripped down in a laundry basket?" I interjected, giving Gambit a Look.

"Don't threaten Gambit with a good time, chère." He grinned at me, and I rolled my eyes so hard I felt my soul try to escape through my skull.

"Do you want him, El?" I asked, slipping out of Gambit's embrace and striding past my brother down the stairs.

"No, you can keep him." Ebak replied. "You know I can't handle spicy food."

"You wouldn't know good food if it bit ya on de ass!" Gambit shot back. "Wait, chérie!" He cried down to me. "At least let me give ya a kiss!"

"Save it for later, Captain!" I called back, unable to restrain my grin. "The Force calls me towards other duties!"

---

The best thing about Jedi cloaks is not only are they surprisingly cosy and warm, the hoods let you slip out of social events with barely anyone seeing you.

Not that anyone in the mansion particularly minded when people drifted away for a break, especially since my friends had unofficially joined the menagerie of mutants here.

Yet sometimes it was better to drift away into the shadows like a smoky memory, dispersing in the breeze. It was a peaceful secrecy, hidden away out of mind from the others for just a moment.

I pulled my cloak tighter around me as I stepped out into the night, the cold chill of autumn giving way to winter nipping at me with its icy teeth. The swimming pool was long covered over - only Ber's Slavic skin could probably tolerate the cold water, and even he preferred to spend time talking shyly to Rogue, warmed by his blush and her Southern compliments.

I let the smile grow across my lips, shaking my head. Of all the people I expected to be drawn to the Southern belle, Ber had been fairly high on the list, yet I had been delighted to see the interest returned, even if Rogue was understandably tentative. And yet...

Low voices dragged me from my thoughts, and I glanced up to the roof - a pair had already made their roost up in that secret spot, and from the slight golden glow coming from a pair of eyes, I had a fairly good idea who they could be. I turned away, leaving them in peace.

Damn. Where'd that Cajun get to? I wondered, chewing my lip. He couldn't have gone all the way up to the lake, surely?

My legs began to start pacing back and forth as I thought, when a deep voice sounded out behind me:

"Lost, Master Jedi?"

I whirled around to see a pair of red eyes glowing faintly in the darkness, the tall, lithe form of the man they were attached to looming over me.

"Jesus, Gambit!" I breathed, pressing a hand to my chest as a wide, toothy grin grew over his lips. "Fuck, you don't need a spooky costume with those eyes of yours."

"Non, dey always make people jump dis time 'a year." He agreed, chuckling darkly. "Been spookin' any folks comin' through here."

"It's a miracle you're still in one piece!" I looked him up and down, not hearing a peep of distress from his body.

"Gambit been doin' dis enough to know who he can scare without gettin' taken out." He grinned, sidling closer to me. His voice dropped into a lower, darker register. "Now...I don't think you answered my question, Master Jedi." He leaned in, hot breath tickling my ear. "Are you lost?"

I couldn't help the shiver that ran up my spine, noticeable enough to make the Cajun's grin grow ever wider. I swallowed, trying to keep my voice steady.

"Not lost, Captain." I stared into those pools of ruby and black. "Just looking for you."

"An' why would an upstandin' Jedi like you be lookin' for a scoundrel like me?" He asked, leaning closer. "Maybe there ain't enough scoundrels in ya life, non?"

"I happen to like nice men." I replied, a grin flashing over my face as I realized what he was doing.

"I'm a nice man." Gambit purred, stepping even closer, his lips hovering alluringly close to mine.

"You...are not tempting me over to the Dark Side that easy." I grinned widely, pressing my hand against his face and pushing him back.

"Hey!" I darted away from his grab, giggling. "Didn't ya say dat Jedi can have partners?" His dark eyes narrowed. "An' you owe me a kiss."

"I did, and I think you'll find you wanted to give me that kiss!" I replied, sticking my tongue out at him. "But if you want it, Captain, you're gonna have to catch me!"

Gambit arched an eyebrow, before a wide grin spread across his face.

"Oh, dis how it gonna be, brigand?" He laughed. "Den by all means! But ya know what's gonna happen when I getcha!"

"If you get me!" I yelled back, my cloak billowing out behind me as I dashed back into the mansion, the sounds of his boots already close behind.

"Ya know Gambit always wins dese games, mon ombre!" He called back to me as I darted down the hallways.

Maybe. But they always made the nights one to remember, and the reward was always worth the chase...

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late-to-the-magnus-archives · 10 months ago

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Corrupted, chapter 23: Getting Real - a TMA x Malevolent crossover

So, here they are: facing fear-gods, and a fucked-up eater of fear-gods, and a weird Welsh heritage, and a death sentence from the devil incarnate, and… they’re flirting about it.

He likes it.

He likes Hastur.

Oh. Oh, he's in over his head.

Corrupted, a TMA x Malevolent crossover featuring Tim Stoker and the King in Yellow, chapter 23.

AO3

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

One of the challenges of an emotional eruption is the tendency to feel stupid after.

Objectively, Tim knows he’s not being stupid. He’s comforted loads of people (drunk and otherwise) who felt overwhelmed and out of control, and he’s aware nobody blames him, or thinks he’s overreacting.

Jon gets him tea. It’s pointless and silly and Tim feels so… moved.

Myrddin just lets him cry it out by walking away and giving him space. Again, Tim is moved; he wanted the space, but was uncomfortable asking for it.

Elias calls back. Yeah, no. Tim doesn’t answer that.

Tim. Tim, breathe.

Tim thinks that's an excellent idea. “I need some air,” he says, sounding nose-stuffed and weary.

“Is that… safe?” says Jon.

“My gut says yes, as long as I don’t go too far, I think.”

“Well, then by all means, don’t do that,” says Jon imperiously.

Tim quashes the urge to put Jon in his pocket and smiles instead. “I won’t. Thanks.” And not remotely in the mood for searching for a door, he climbs right through an open window and away.

The ocean goes on forever. He can’t even see the gray horizon-line out there in the fog.

He knows Wales is over there, but weather doesn’t permit visual confirmation, and all he can see is mist and wave and sky. It’s a weirdly lonely feeling. If not for the tower right behind them, it would easily feel like they were abandoned at the edge of the world.

Simon Fairchild, he thinks, would love the view. Then he remembers Junior’s thumb mutating the horizon for a moment, and he sways, dizzy.

Are you all right?

“Super,” says Tim, leaning on his thighs and taking a minute to breathe deeply.

Hastur sounds subdued. I'm sorry, Tim.

"You pronounced those pretty good without practice," says Tim, knowing he isn't making a ton of sense.

Hastur ignores the quip. All of this is so much to ask of a human. I'm sorry.

Tim stands. Swallows. He faces the fact that a god just apologized to him—and a narcissistic, dramatic, ridiculous god, at that. Then Tim faces the fact that if he has to stand up to horrible monsters and impossible magic, he doesn't want to do it alone.

No, it's not that he doesn't want to do it alone. He wants to do it with Hastur.

More than with Danny. More than with any friend. He wants to be with Hastur through this, and he is absolutely not ready to analyze that. “I appreciate that." It's too close, too vulnerable, too real, and Tim jukes left of subject. "All this isn't how I thought my life would end, that’s for certain.”

Tim… it isn’t ending. Not for sure. There may yet be a way to save you.

Tim scoffs. “Don’t you mean us? You better mean us.”

You will have the greatest story ever told when this is through. I expect you to elaborate on my greatness.

Oh, no, Hastur didn't mean us. “Well, sure. Gonna sell the rights to Bollywood, and live off the inevitable franchise money that comes from it.”

Why Bollywood?

“Because any film of my life needs to have gaudy fun, charisma, a good sense of humor, and some baller dancing."

Hastur laughs softly. Ah… I do like you, Tim.

There’s no regret in that statement anymore. There’s an eagerness, an expectation, a focus so intense it has weight. Of course, Tim goes with it. “Kind of impossible not to imagine degenerate things when you talk like that.”

If this works, you won’t have to imagine them anymore.

Hoo, boy. So, here they are: facing fear-gods, and a fucked-up eater of fear-gods, and a weird Welsh heritage, and a death sentence from the devil incarnate, and… they’re flirting about it.

He likes it.

He likes Hastur.

Oh. Oh, he's in over his head. Oh, this is a lot. Tim swallows. "Why didn’t you say ‘us,’ Hastur?"

I’m resigned, Hastur says.

“Resigned?” Tim tries to keep it light. “To what, Bollywood?”

I’ve had a really good run—far longer than I should—thanks to raw luck.

Tim clenches his fist. “Excuse me? You're quitting?”

Don't misunderstand. I'm saying I’ve decided if I have to die because of meeting you, then… the scales balance. That’s all.

Tim stops walking.

Water whispers against the shore, steady and patient. A bird of some kind screams overhead, unseen. The smell of baked bread wafts from the tower, luring. Tim swallows. “That’s a really big thing to say, Hastur.”

I’m aware.

Tim is shaking (because it's cold, he tells himself). “First off, no, I do not approve of you accepting death. Not allowed. Practically an HSE violation. Second, that’s… not something you want to joke around with. For any reason.”

I’m aware.

Tim shakes. He nudges a loose rock with his foot. He could walk the whole island in a few hours; see the weird churchyard where (supposedly) 20,000 saints were laid to rest. See the weird apples unlike any other in the world, immune to blight. See the lighthouse. He doesn’t move. “You’re telling the truth?”

I am.

Tim’s mouth is dry.

Don’t feel like you have to respond. I didn’t say it to get a response. I… just felt it should be said.

But that's such a big thing to say. “Hey. I have a question.”

Ask.

“Why didn’t I lose another body-part after we beamed ourselves here?” Tom says, following a gut instinct.

I chose not to take it.

Tim inhales slowly. “You could’ve before?”

I’m not sure. In both other cases, I was straining for independence, we were in the middle of something wild, and I just found myself with your eye, and your hand. This time… maybe because I had control of your body, briefly, I could feel a… Hastur considers. Like a breeze from an entryway you didn’t know was there. I knew I could follow it and something would happen. I chose not to.

Tim feels pale. Hastur means it. This thing Hastur said… he means it. “Why do the scales balance, Hastur?”

Silence.

“I’m just… that’s a really big thing to say.”

I'm aware.

Tim knows how he’d take a statement like that from a human. He knows what it would mean, emotionally. It sounds like love.

On the other hand, it's coming from a narcissistic god in hiding who’s facing death by digestion or death by Cthulhu’s great-grand-uncle, all while trapped in a mortal body, and given this, Tim has no idea what it means.

Whatever it really means, it’s a vulnerable statement, and deserves a response. “I…”

Shhh. You don’t have to answer me. I’ve been around a long time and had many lovers, and I know what I said. I didn’t say that to obligate you. I just wanted you to know.

Holy shit. Holy shit. “We're not lovers, though.”

What a strange thing to say to the god seated deep inside you.

Tom chokes a laugh. “What the hell, Hastur? Foul beast. Get thee behind me.”

Oh, I’ll get behind you, all right.

Tim laughs again, and Hastur laughs, too—a deep and quiet sound that buzzes under Tim’s skin in places that shouldn't be possible with disembodied vocal cords, but does anyway.

Damn. They're really doing this. When had the goofy flirting become real?

It is real. This is real.

It's never been real for Tim before. It's worse than fear-gods, worse than some psycho cannibal chomping his way through history. This is real.

Spooked, Tim tries to make it silly again. “Many lovers, eh? How many of those lovers knew who and what you are?”

Hastur huffs. What does that have to do with anything?

Tim grins. “Just wondering what kind of skill level I’m going to be dealing with. You could be like the CEO who thinks he’s funny because his employees all laugh at his jokes.”

Ha! They enjoyed it. I’ll have you know there is no lover like me anywhere in the world.

“That’s not necessarily a positive,” Tim quips, because that was an opening. “And I’m sure they all told you that, right? Notarized and sealed in wax, or something.”

The responses I create cannot be faked.

Tim laughs again. This game is fun. “As far as you know, anyway. Seems to me you’d need a lover who doesn't, you know, worship you to get an honest opinion.”

Are you offering? says Hastur, all honey and whiskey and incorrigible god.

(This became real when did this become real—)

Tim folds his hands behind his back. “Just making an observation.”

Well. I'm glad I could— Hastur stops.

They both feel the change. It’s like a cold breeze, but cruel, moving with intent, and Tim spins toward the horizon. There: a darkness forming in the mist, large, growing, taking so long to resolve into a recognizable shape that the fear of it surges over them, making Tim shockingly aware yet again of how isolated he is on this beach right now, out of sight of land, away from everyone and everything he’s ever known in his life, and—

Hastur’s hand pinches his bicep hard enough to bruise.

“Ow!”

Focus. I'm here. You're not alone. He can’t make us alone.

Of course. Lukas.

Somehow, when Elias said “ship,” this image had not come to mind. It moors in the distance, and its details do not come clear. It is a ghost, a phantom, a rusted and silent hulk in the gloom like nothing else remains in all the world. “Fuck me,” Tim whispers.

I think we’d best go back inside.

“Yeah,” waits Tim weakly. “Hey. Is it okay if I run?”

What do we have to lose?

That was Hasturian for let’s fucking book it, and without another word, Tim turns and bolts.

Myrddin seems to dislike having Peter Lukas’ ship in sight of his home. He stands at the window, squishing a slice of bread into a little ball, considering.

“Kinda need that ship,” says Tim, “in case you were, you know, thinking of scuttling it, or something. I don’t fancy trying to portal myself to wherever we’re going.”

“Mm,” Myrddin says.

“I mean, unless you have another way to get there,” says Tim.

“Oh, I do,” says Myrddin, “but I’d rather eat my own foot than go near the destination, to be perfectly honest. Not my cup of tea.” He shivers.

Well, if the wizard’s being that dramatic, then it can’t be that serious. “Not that we both don't know this is the stupidest thing I’ve ever done, but I’ve got a promise to keep.”

“And many miles before you sleep?” prompts Myrddin.

“These woods don't quite have the lovely part down.”

“Dark and deep, though,” Myrddin says.

“You're not wrong.”

Beside them, Jon shivers, staring out the window.

Tim wonders if he sees something they don’t. “Maybe it’s a better idea if you stay behind.”

“No,” says Jon.

He’s using you somehow, little priest, says Hastur. Elias is doing something. You’re walking right into it.

“I don't care,” Jon snaps. “I have to… I can't… you don’t understand.”

“So help me do that?” says Tim, all too aware that a spooky lifeboat with a spooky shape that’s probably Lukas in the bow is coming their way. “Because right now, I'm seeing you taking a big risk, popping along with me, and I don’t have a reason why.”

Jon sighs. “Look. I don’t know what Elias’ role in this is, but I'm not doing any of it for him. You don’t understand. I need to know. I need to. I need see the truth with my own eyes.”

“Right, but why?” Tim frowns. “You’re not telling me something.”

Jon looks positively caught. “I am not.”

“Yeah, that’s a double-negative, boss, so you just admitted you are,” says Tim, just to be a contrary.

Jon reddens. “I swear on my honor I will swim after the blasted boat if you try to leave me behind.”

Tim is not laughing. Nope. Not at all. “You got a lot of practice swimming?”

Jon is too skinny to do a puffy kitten impression, but he manages, anyway. “I grew up in Bournemouth. I’ll have you know I am an adequate swimmer.”

Hastur laughs. Adequate!

“Perfectly satisfactory!” says Jon.

“All right, all right,” says Tim, raising his hands. “You can come on the scary ghost ship. On your head be it if it’s properly spooky and answers nothing.”

“I’m not—” John begins, and then comes a knock at the door.

Myrddin takes Tim’s hand. “I'm glad to have met you," he says. "Don’t die, hm? We can talk when you get…” And he pauses. Blinks. “Oh, my,” he says, and turns away.

“When I what?” Tim blurts. “Get back? Why would you interrupt that?”

Myrddin opens the door instead of replying. A man stands there, and he is not Peter Lukas. He is short, heavyset, with a thick, black beard and dark skin made darker by the sun. He wears a nondescript pea coat, and around his neck hangs the unique, trumpet-like shape of a boatswain’s whistle.

That whistle gives Tim the heebie-jeebies. A whistle has never given him the heebie-jeebies before.

“Well, well, well,” says Myrddin. “Tadeus. That’s where you disappeared to?”

And the man, the boatswain judging by his whistle, looks through Myrddin like the wizard isn’t there, and tilts his head toward Tim in the barest acknowledgment.

Tim feels like his eyes are very wide. "Okay, sure. Yeah, let's go."

Myrddin touches his shoulder. "Good luck," he says softly. "I think you’ll be glad in the end you made the choices you did. Yes. You will.” And he tucks something into Tim’s pocket and pushes him toward the door.

The guy—Dahl, apparently—has already turned, walking back towards that tiny boat.

Jon gulps audibly. “Thank you for your hospitality, sir.”

“Of course, of course,” says Murddin with great and sudden cheer. “We’ll talk more when you get back.”

“When he gets back?” squawks Tim, but he already knows he won’t get an answer.

Dahl isn't waiting. They both hurry after.

Myrrdin stands in the door, smiling, waving a handkerchief like a black-and-white recording of some old-timey embarkation.

Tim shakes his head. “This might as well happen,” he murmurs.

That’s an amusing reaction to horror.

“Sort of logical, really,” says Tim, hunching his shoulders against the sudden cold as he follows this Dahl. “It’s really one of those days, you know? Not much we can do about it. So this might as well happen.”

His left hand shifts slightly out of his pocket and strokes his stomach. Pragmatic. But you're not doing it alone.

Tim swallows.

Jon jogs at his heels, too close, already spooked and shit at hiding it.

They wouldn't get anything out of drowning us, would they? Tim thinks, trying not to add to the spookification.

Only Elias’s displeasure, probably, says Hastur.

“What?” says Jon. “What displeasure?”

Tim forgot Jon could hear Hastur now. “Oh. They won’t do anything nefarious to us, is all I'm saying.”

Jon looks a little pale. “Only if we actually die. There are a lot of things they could do that don't involve death."

Tim makes a face. “Well, sure, if you want to get ridiculously technical, sure.”

You can still back out, little priest.

“Look, will you just call me Jon, please?” Jon snaps. “It's my blasted name.”

Hastur chuckles. As you wish. Jon. He does something to the name, makes it intimate, magical, maybe even a little invasive.

Jon trips.

“Hastur,” chides Tim, steadying him.

What? He wants me to use his name! Names are intimate.

Tim rolls his eyes. “Sorry. Some people can't behave, apparently.”

“Fine,” mutters Jon. “It’s fine. I asked.”

Don’t go making me jealous, now, Tim thinks, still chiding.

Don’t give me reason to, says Hastur.

So.

Tim thinks two things as they follow the silent Dahl onto the rowboat. One, he's right, and their relationship is changed. It is real. Serious. They both feel it, and they really need to talk out some boundaries ASAP.

Two (speaking of boundaries), Hastur is apparently jealous of Jon?

Why?

Well. That would be one of the things they discuss. Soon.

Dahl is strong. He kicks them off the rocky shore and hops in, weirdly graceful, and begins rowing them toward that distant dark shape.

But Tim knows what he saw before. The boat moved itself. Dahl is doing this for show, and Tim can’t imagine why. Though come to think of it, there’s a weird isolation to sitting in a boat, silent, rowed by a man a;sp sitting in silence, who ignores them as completely as if they didn't exist.

#corruped fic #tma #malevolent #tma crossover #malevolent crossover #malevolent fic #tma fic #tim stoker #hastur malevolent #the king in yellow #tma x malevolent #malevolent x tma

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