#No pokemon art this time sorry :') original story has been in my thoughts

[teeterarting]

Black Hole Beast

[kitchfit]

Year in Review: Games Part 1

This is a series I've been wanting to do for a while. Whenever I finish a piece of media (books, games, movies, comics, maybe art and music in the future) I jot in down in a doc so I can look back on them at the end of the year. I wanted to write my thoughts on them as I finished them, but since you have to start somewhere, I'll be writing simple reviews in retrospect. This is just for fun, but I welcome any feedback.

Pokemon Scarlet

This game released with some controversy. It was an unfinished glitchy mess with graphics still not up to the standards of the Nintendo Switch six years into its lifespan, but tbh this game was fun as hell to complete. I loved most of all the new designs and managed for the first time in my Pokemon career to actually complete the Dex. I usually get worn down on that pretty quick.

The characters were also much more engaging than the previous generation, especially my best boy Arven. The environments were super fun to explore and I got a new favorite little guy (Slither Wings my beloved). Here's hoping the next game has an actual sane development cycle and we get this amount of creativity in a higher degree of quality with better paid developers.

Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations

If you thought I only played games that came out this year, sorry to disappoint. I don't manage to pick up even half of the blockbusters that pop up annually, and go after older games way more often. That being said, I see why AA fans hold this game up so high. I played the first and second Phoenix Wright games last year (which I won't review since that was too long ago now) and this is a nice cap to the original Trilogy.

You get Phoenix's background as a dorky bisexual art student, Mia's first case as a defense attorney, and an honestly heartbreaking quest for revenge through Godot while never stooping to melodrama. (I love his theme it sounds like the Mother 3 Magypsies). Also unlike the first two games, there were zero "filler" cases. Each one was thoroughly engaging and moved the plot forward in a meaningful way. Though, I don't begrudge the earlier cases that fuck around a lot more.

Pokemon White 2

When the OG Black and White came out, I was in the "everything new is lame" stage of adolescence, so when the sequels came out I didn't even bother. Turns out I was the lame one for doing so! In hindsight, Pokemon seemed to reach something of a peak with Gen 5 in terms of graphics and gameplay, and would seek to experiment with new artstyles and gimmicks for the next (looks at watch) 11 years damn.

With the first Black and White, it focused on remodeling classic Pokemon designs and gameplay into something new and modern, and these games add back in most of those classic Mons. The plot is also very action-packed and engaging, and gives a satisfying epilogue for a lot of the characters from the first games. You get to see how the region has changed after 3 years and even get to explore some new parts of Unova, similar to how the Gen 2 games handled Kanto. I hope Gamefreak does something like this again in the future.

Kingdom Hearts: Re:Coded

Prepare for a deluge of this series, and not in any conceivable order. Kingdom Hearts took over my heart, mind, and body Xehanort style for the better half of the year. This title is known for a fun variety of gameplay and an absolute dogshit story. I wouldn't really agree. The game switches up its playstyle pretty frequently, including side-scrolling platforming, railshooting, and turn-based combat but for the most part its classic hack-and-slash 3D platforming that feels kind of grindy, but there's multiple unlockable difficulty sliders that you can use to switch it up if you get bored.

Storywise, there's not a lot for newcomers and if you want to play through all the games as one overarching narrative, I wouldn't blame you for skipping this one. However, if you're already a fan of Sora and Riku's relationship, this has quite a bit for someone to dig their teeth into. The world's are all recycled from KH1, making this one of the two games where you can actually explore Destiny Islands, but they all feel pretty downgraded. The endgame gave me a headache.

Kingdom Hearts

Our best boy's first big boot step into adventure. I watched all of the KH cutscenes for all of the games during a particularly dry season of lockdown, so this was my first foray into the original. The story genuinely holds up to a surprising degree, leaning into the Disney elements more than its Squaresoft side for probably the last time in the series. Its really good groundwork for Sora's introduction as a hero, I especially love the assertion towards the end that it is Sora's choice to help others that makes him worthy of the Keyblade and not destiny. Its a theme that would be both muddied and compounded upon later in the series in a pretty interesting way.

I was almost astonished at how in-depth all of the worlds are, especially Traverse Town. There are a lot more little Disney references and sidequests, like the 101 Dalmation quest, that help the worlds all feel a bit more lively. Also NPCs, which later in the series would become a rare gift. I fucked up on the combat. Did not learn how to do spell shortcuts until midway through KH2. Despite that, it was still fun to wack Heartless with my keyblades six different ways, and it makes me excited to replay it at some point.

Kingdom Hearts II

This is the big boy that every KH fan loves to absolute death. Chain of Memories had already started the series tradition of experimental storytelling, but the mainline sequel takes it to an fascinating and well-executed degree. For the first three hours you are forced into playing a new protagonist with zero context and near zero Disney shit. Vivi is there though and we love him for that. Later on we would see this prologue as the tragic conclusion of another entry in the series, but its initial presence here is jarring in a way you have to piece together throughout the rest of the main game. It would also introduce many of the more headache-inducing plot aspects that are fun to dissect but a pain to explain, such as Nobodies. I see them as ghosts, and no one can tell me otherwise. I wrote a whole absurdist retelling about it.

The worlds are more quantity than quality, I'll be real. About half of them are made up of 4 or 5 flat maps with nothing to do except grind Heartless encounters, (e.g. Mulan.) The other half are a bit meatier but could have benefited from more sidequests and such. You revisit quite a few from KH1 to see how they changed and that's always fun. There's a theme to each of the Disney worlds that add to the narrative, in this title mainly being romance and identity. The identity aspect leans toward the relationship between Sora and Roxas, two separate people who are also one person, while the romance theme hints towards the relationship with Sora and Kairi. Oddly enough, both themes also seem to work towards Sora's quest for Riku, who is in the midst of his own identity crisis while Sora desperately tries to find him. Huh. Interesting.

Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep

This is my favorite Kingdom Hearts game. This was one of the few I was able to play as a teenager and even after all these years I still adore this game to death. It works without knowing anything else about Kingdom Hearts. You don't need to know about Ansems or Nobodies or Time Travel; none of that shit. This is the story of three friends that get torn apart by their own ignorance and one bitter old man on his quest to change the world. Its one story split among three perspectives, and each character you play through the game with you understand the grander narrative. You understand why Aqua's best friend snapped at her, why Terra's little brother is so ready to die. You also get to hear Leonard Nemoy yell "KEYBLADE" in the same cutscene three different times.

I love this game so so much dammit. The combat has a fun collection system where you earn action commands and combine them to make better attacks and healing moves. The worlds in the latter half of the game are also really creative and fun to explore, though you get a limited area to move around in for each character. If you have played previous KH entries, there's a lot of references to make you point at the screen and go "THAS AXEL THAS MY BOY HE'S A LIL GUY HERE." Anyway I'll shut up. Play this game.

Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance

Never ask me to explain the plot of this game. They added Inception to Kingdom Hearts and also Time Travel. And the story is mostly told through unlockable backstory cutscenes including the premise. Yes, the introduction to this game's story is an unlockable. Despite this, the story is pretty effective. This is Riku's second time in the spotlight since Reverse/Rebirth, though the game is once again split between him and Sora. It dissects Riku's character arc in a similar way to Re:Coded, except uhh this one isn't a computer simulation, he is a Dream. Completely different. It asserts his desire to continue as Sora's protector, and realizing this it is him who ultimately triumph's over Angst Teen Xehanort, saves Sora and passes the Key Test. He's no longer on his Way to the Dawn. He's in the light. It's sweet.

The worlds in this game are based around vertical movement. There's a new Parkour mechanic that lets you wall-step-flip around basically everywhere, and to compensate this the worlds are Huge. Since they're dreams, that also means they're pretty empty of anything to really do or explore. They are pretty at least. There's also a pokemon mechanic where you collect lil guys. I did not realize this mechanic also determines Riku and Sora's stats until the final boss, which caught me off guard. I see why this is a lot of people's fave KH game of all time, but its a little too busy for me.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages

This is an odd one. I first played this game two years ago at college alongside Oracle of Seasons in my spare time. Eventually my phone-I MEAN MY AUTHENTIC GAME BOY COLOR- broke and I thought I lost my save data for both. Turns out I did not and finished through the last few dungeons. This game makes solid use of the time travel mechanic, which is a mix of Ocarina's time travel and Alttp's world jumping. It's fun to jump sporadically between 1000s of years and see the world in different eras. That rock? Used to be slightly over to the left. Would you look at that.

The dungeons had a larger focus on puzzles in comparison with Season's love for combat, which is probably why this is the more beloved twin. Some of the dungeons had me waddling back and forth for too long until I figured out what to do. You can link these games up to get bonus items like the Biggoron's Sword which is fun to complete. After beating both games, you get an extra final boss against Ganon and a scene hinting towards the beginning of Link's Awakening, which is a nice touch. And then Nintendo declared them two separate Links, for some reason. Beh.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D

Oh hey. One of the most beloved games of all time. I have played through this games more times than I know. Probably around like. 6 times I used to boot this game up and play all the way up to the Forest Temple and then restart for some reason, I don't know how many times I actually got to the end.

Its a game that eases you into its idyllic fantasy world before dropping you headfirst into the apocalypse you inadvertently caused in your quest to destroy evil. Its never a melodramatic game though. Its about the loss of innocence. Maturity. Learning that the evil was always there, before the King of Thieves took over the world, before you were even born. It even came from the place you are trying to protect. But there was always goodness too, there was always light. There are always friends to be found in dark places. The style and presentation are peak. The dungeons are rich in aesthetics and well made puzzles. The time travel mechanic is honestly a bit undercooked. But this game is fantastic. Quintessential Zelda.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventure

I straight-up forgot I played this. Its fun though. Its a relatively short game, but compared to its predecessor, its a huge improvement. The game plays out in stages like the first Four Swords game, but usually in explorable environments, like towns and forests rather than generic volcano and cave themes. You control all Four Links at once, moving them into different formations to move rocks or put fires out. Or you can do it with friends controlling each Link. I did not. :(

I was mainly interested in this games story from a lore perspective. It features the return of Vaati, the Wind Creep who Lova Da Ladies, but with the addition of the Rise of Ganondorf. You are sent to stop him from a wise owl, Ganon allies himself with Deku Scrubs, attacks the Gorons, and is eventually turned into a monster by his own lust for power. It seems more and more like a retelling of Ocarina in a different light. Eh. Maybe I'll write about my Zelda timeline theories in a different post. Not here though

Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory

BACK TO KH BABY! This is a rhythm game, so I don't have too much to say. I've never really played any rhythm game before this, and I'm not sure if this one is on par with the more well-known rhythm titles out there, but I had a good time with it. Its great for people who like Kingdom Hearts music, lmao. You have a lot of unlockable character groups to play through the music with and level them up, but once I unlocked the Days trio I didn't really go for the others too much. Xion my beloved.

The story is hilariously shallow, almost insulted considering its Kairi's first solo outing, technically. She's on her quest to learn all the KH lore she missed out on, and eventually finds a repressed memory of a grown adult monologuing at a toddler for fifteen minutes. Also that her boyfriend is alive so that her boyfriend's boyfriend can go save him. Her boyfriend's boyfriend is also her boyfriend. Fight me.

Kingdom Hearts III

People were. So upset when this game came out. Acted like it was the biggest disappointment since the ill-fated economic crisis of '07. Sure, yea, that's a reference. Well this is the first time I've gone into it and I'm here to say this is probably among my favorite KH games of all time. Strong competitor with BBS. A lot of the criticisms of the story and gameplay weren't wrong per-say, but the issues with this game, such a goofy dialogue, bizarre pacing, and over complicated exposition dumps, are problems with the entire series that fans of the series, in my opinion, have come to see as endearing elements of Kingdom Hearts. Its funny to watch the big cloak guy point at Sora and say "Darkness Light Heart Darkness," and see Sora gasp in fear, while also realizing the importance of that dialogue to the story. It's a feature, not a bug.

The worlds in this game are its biggest asset. They are huge, heavily detailed, heavily explorable areas with tons to discover. Hell, the Pirates of the Caribbean world acts as a slightly smaller Wind Waker. The game adds in most of the mechanics from all the spin offs to give you a lot of toys to play with, such as parkour or sharpshooting, that are easy to forget but a treat to use when you actually remember them.

A central theme of each of the Disney worlds is happy endings. Hercules finally takes down Hades for good. Mike and Sully are able to visit Boo without risk to her safety. The dead Baymax from that one Disney movie gets a redemption arc. Frozen and Tangled play out exactly as their movie which is kind of boring. This correlates with the happy endings the rest of the supporting cast get to experience, including the initially tragedies of the BBS and Days trio in scenes that genuinely got tears out of me. But Sora doesn't get a happy ending. He sacrifices himself to strong-arm everyone else into their perfect circumstance. Literally breaks the rules of time and space to force the universe into saving his friends at the cost of his own life. And then Hell turns out to be Tokyo so its not all that bad. It makes you feel for the boy. This game also lets you play as Kairi in the DLC which makes me happy.

Alright ending this here. I've played way too many games this year this isn't even half. Also only including games I've finished, and games with definitive endings. I played Mario Kart 7 but that doesn't rlly end, ya know? Will try to write these weekly, even if no ones reading them. But if you do read them tell me what you think! Gonna switch over to books next week to even it out. I swear I don't just play games. This is the last Kingdom Hearts game on this list too I swear.

[ot-hoe-me]

OC Tag Game

I was tagged by: @stephschoices

I tag: anyone who wants to do this.

I am putting this under a cut because some of these responses got LONG lmao.

* I am SO sorry that I’m so late responding to this but I needed time to Think Thoughts and then get them at least mostly in order (I hope.)

FAVOURITE OC: WHY ARE YOU MAKING ME CHOOSE THIS IS SO HARD!!!!

I mean, I love all of my OCs in one way or another so it’s very hard to pick. In the interest of not having any overlap with the other categories I’ll answer this one last. I was initially stuck choosing between Valencia Talward my Hunter-heritage Battle Mage, Trouble-mancing Main MC for Lena’s/ @shepherds-of-haven IF because I do love her a lot because she’s very kind and courageous, and the way Lina has coded the personality/talent stats you can excel in more than one rather than picking one and sticking with it (ONLY charisma or ONLY intelligence, cunning, etc.) and you can choose multiple and it be feasible. The biggest selling point is the immaculate found family vibe you cultivate with the ROs (that is, if you choose not to be an evil sob) and even better - see the relationship developments between each other this game and these characters and this world are made with obvious love and care. Can’t recommend ShoH enough. BUT.

I decided that the most logical choice for Favourite OC is my apprentice Estelle Circinus from The Arcana game. I have her as my icon and as my blog banner along with Asra, she’s the OC I have the most art commissions of - and I plan to add to that particular collection in the future. And finally, she’s also up there with Alice of being one of my most developed OCs with lore, backstory, what her future looks like beyond canon and I also have multiple AUs for her in various stages of development. So, Estelle is my final answer.

NEWEST OC: Aruna Chase/Singh

Aruna is my newest fleshed out OC who is my Baxter-mancer for Our Life: Beginnings and Always (surname Chase to fit this MC’s family.) and is my secondary MC for Our Life: Now and Forever (surname Singh because here the family is MC’s bio mom.) Of course she is obligated to flirt with Baxter at every opportunity before he leaves Golden Grove, but beyond that I don’t know if she’s going to actually romance anyone. (I already have a Qiu-mancer and they’re crushes from childhood. So my options are; making Aruna a Tamarack-mancer from Step 3-on, a Qiu-mancer Step 3-on, or not giving her a romance at all within the confines of the canon storyline for OLNF.) And of course, both games are by @gb-patch though the latter is only a demo at the moment. Highly, HIGHLY recommend playing OLBA though if you haven’t already (especially if you like guys but if not then that’s cool too, you can play completely platonically or aroace instead and not miss TOO much story.)

OLDEST OC: Alice Walker

Alice is my MC originally from Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky so when I bought Darkness when it came out in 2008 (according to bulbapedia, geez that really was 15 years ago. I was 12 years old when I first made her. Wow I am feeling old right now lol.) So playing that, then watching Lucario and the Mystery of Mew for the first time years after it was dubbed even, which I saw for the first time around that time + the release of Sky and playing it helped me develop her more. Alice was my first OC, first with an in-depth backstory and lore, and has without a doubt been the OC who has undergone the most evolution (lol) over the years. I still think about her to this day. But yeah, first she was just my MC for Explorers of Darkness/Sky who turned into a Pikachu in Darkness, but then she became someone who could wield Aura, so when Sky came out I made her a Riolu even though only boy MCs could be Riolu but I said screw that. Originally she was born in the Dark Future, but more recently I changed her backstory to being born in the “present” of the Pokemon Universe in the Kingdom (honestly, think it should be Queendom though frfr) of Rota. She’s four??? (this is me forgetting for the moment if I have her start her journey at 13 or 14 years old lol) years older than Red, Blue/Green, Leaf, etc. but still leaves Rota to start her Pokemon Journey at the same time as them and like. Going through the regions/games including The Mains, PMD: Explorers, Rangers of Almia/Oblivia and more recently, fan games like Pokemon Reborn, Insurgence, Empyrean and Rejuvenation (Rejuvenation is without a doubt my favourite of the fan games by far, though they are all really good, but this is still a WIP while the other three are complete.) So yeah, Alice’s new canon birth timeline/existence is a mix of game and anime worlds. She’s an aura guardian and after Arceus resurrects her after her sacrifice to prevent Temporal Tower from collapsing and stop Dialga from becoming Primal Dialga - they make her immortal. But not only that, they also bestow a portion of their power on her so she can act as their agent, and essentially as an avatar or proxy to carry out their will (by continuing to carry out her duty as an aura guardian to safeguard all of creation/life - but to the extreme) in return for them bringing her back to life. So she’s elevated to become a demigoddess, essentially. After that, she’s sent back to her own time, and then all across other points time and space and other dimension, becoming The Deus Ex Machina of Heroes. Because of all this her Trainer Title would have gone from Trainer Alice -> Aura Guardian Alice -> Eternal Guardian Alice. Basically THE Ultimate Mary Sue but she deserves this as the privilege of being my first-ever OC and because cringe is dead...also I ship her with Steven Stone because the age gap definitely closes because of the time-fuckery. Shhhhh.

MEANEST OC: Araina Emroth

I don’t really have any mean OCs tbh because I don’t like making or playing rude/bitchy or cruel characters, so the closest I can get to answering that question would have to be me asking myself who is my ANGRIEST OC? And how do they use that anger/how morally dubious do their actions get because of it? I have a handful of OCs that fit the bill but my reflexive answer to this is my MC Araina Emroth from the IF Spellbound: A Ghost Story. It is solely on the CoG forum but I am begging you - if you haven’t played the demo already please PLEASE do it - it is so good!!!! Anyway, to give you tiny tidbits to make you want to play, the reason why she’s angry is that, since I chose the rebel backstory over the knight backstory, putting it mildly, her kingdom is corrupt. So not only is she out for revenge, she’s of the mindset that she’s ready to take on the ‘whole world’ to cut out the rot of her homeland in order to redeem it even if she has to do it alone. Also in regards to Callum...I chose the childhood rivals bully route for him and as in all things, she never can fully let go of a grudge. So yeah, she's the passionate, charismatic revolutionary in life. And while she mellows out after 800+ years of being dead, hm. Wonder where the future will lead? (I am torn between getting her to time travel to her own body while she was still alive, and to snatch the amulet off of Callum and destroy it and then go on how it should have been. Or her finally being able to let go and find a way for her to live a new life in the present.) ANYWAY - play it!!!

SOFTEST OC: Fallon Rose

Most of my MCs are pretty-very soft so it’s kind of hard to pick just one, but, I will go with Fallon - my MC from Underfell IF and Mafiafell IF by @darkpetal16 for the fact with how she writes MC, especially in Underfell - is very kind, empathetic, optimistic, and very very forgiving by nature. You’ll see what I mean if you decide to play~ Please do, if you enjoy Undertale and AUs. (Also fun fact, her name is a pun on Fall and Rise.)

MOST ALOOF/STANDOFFISH OC: Serena Klein

Like with the mean OC category I don’t really have any aloof or standoffish OCs so the closest I can answer for this category is Serena Klein, my MC from @attollogame because I play her as intimidating/stoic, and cunning but. I would never say that she’s uncaring or unemotional. If anything, she cares too much and is very emotional but is able to mask it really well (unless it concerns her brother Atticus) and she also has natural RBF.

DUMBEST (AFFECTIONATE) OC: Belle Duval-Emma Tie

It’s a toss up between my main MC for @trinitytrilogy Zeus’ Dilemma, Belle, Demigoddess and Daughter of Aphrodite, who currently has a literal intelligence stat of 0 (RIP) though my headcanon is that she does at least have average intelligence. And my MC for Last Legacy (RIP because of NixHydra the company being complete idiots, and Dorian not really being better it looks very likely it will never be finished because the writers don’t have the creative/ownership rights to it. Not bitter about this at all.) Emma, because she is mostly a self insert aside from the whole barista and makes-own-cosplays cosplayer deal. And me being who I am...enough said lmao. 

SMARTEST OC: Chloe Rodgers

Chloe is my main MC from the Keeper Trilogy by @keeperofthesunandmoon is without a doubt my smartest MC as with how high her intelligence stat is, and how quickly she grasps magic in her new life as a magician is prodigious - she is a literal genius.

OC I'D BE FRIENDS WITH: Ava Holden-Last

I’d be friends with Ava for sure, and why am I choosing her aside from making sure there’s no overlap? She’s one of my most normal and well-adjusted OCs, she’s successful, has no mental illnesses, she’s also plus size like me so she knows my struggles. She’s also a fashion designer so you know she’d be putting out fire clothes that I’d go broke for. She would be the extrovert who would adopt me, and of course I gave her my interests and hobbies/hobbies I wish I had as well so we’d get along really well. And I just have to say the she is defying the ‘mean girl californian’ stereotype and absolutely help a guy out with his English homework so he can go out on a date to kiss a cute guy, you know it. You best believe. Also she would threaten to beat up my depression, and I wholeheartedly believe that she would succeed in eradicating it. Right, and she’s my main MC for Our Life: Beginnings and Always by @gb-patch who eventually marries Cove.

[supercasey]

So I've been playing The Hades Game like fucking mad for the last few weeks, and although I'm not very far in it (at least, I don’t think I am; I’ve only beat Hades once!), I'm absolutely in love with it! Anyways, a certain idea has been kicking around in my head for awhile now, so I thought I'd share it with y'all; feel free to tell me what you think of it! (Warning: spoilers for when you beat Hades the first time!)

Anyways, I've already seen a really cool AU post for if Demeter raised Zagreus on the surface by herself (which you can find HERE; please check it out, the outfit for Zag alone is an amazing concept, and I love the artwork!!!) but I keep thinking about an AU where, after Zagreus dies at birth, Persephone runs away and takes his wrapped up body with her.

On the surface, she reconnects/reunites with her mother Demeter, and with her aid, the two of them manage to resurrect the newborn baby, though now he has more white in his hair than anything else. After that, Persephone sends Hades a letter to tell him that Zagreus is alive and well (because she actually has some fucking class), before proceeding to raise Zagreus on the surface with her mother, far away from the entrance to hell. The Olympians also help her out a bit, but mostly they just help by hiding Zagreus when it’s necessary.

(The rest is under a cut ‘cus this got a bit long, sorry!)

Years pass in relative peace, until Zagreus is about as old as he is in-game (I think he’s around 20-25ish???) and is living well, working with his mom and grandma to take care of their gardens and live peacefully away from mankind; he especially loves tending to the animals and guiding lost mortals to safety. However, one day while foraging for fruit in the deepest corners of his mother’s signature garden, Zagreus happens across a strange man in long robes, who introduces himself as Thanatos.

The two men get along swimmingly from minute one, and after agreeing to meet with each other again soon, they leave and tell their families/friends all about the experience, having no clue who they are to each other. After all, Thanatos was told growing up that his lord’s first wife died giving birth to their first and only child, who was a stillborn, and Zagreus thinks his father died of disease (his mom didn’t have to heart to tell him anything bad about his dad). Needless to say, they’re gonna be in for quite the shock soon.

Cue Hades losing his shit and calling on Thanatos, Megaera, and Achilles to go find his progeny and bring him home; he gives them special permission to leave the Underworld without any resistance, trusting Than to lead the way back to Zagreus. Achilles is less than thrilled to be performing such a morally grey task for his master, but Meg and Than are eager to prove themselves, so he begrudgingly agrees to help, even if it hurts his conscience to do so.

Persephone and Demeter also freak the hell out on their end, scared shitless by the fact that Death incarnate has just met their son/grandson, and they’re worried that he plans on coming back again soon. Demeter suggests sending Zagreus to live with the Olympians until this all blows over, but Persephone disagrees, wanting her son to stay nearby in case he grows ill (it’s implied that she’s a bit overprotective of him, mostly because she’s afraid of him dying again; this also means she refuses to let him know that he’s in any danger, believing it would only make things worse for him in the long-run). Frustrated but understanding her daughter’s pain all too well, Demeter at least convinces her to call on the Olympians for aid, which Persephone agrees to do.

The gods promise to help of course, but... well, they're low-key lying; they wanna see how this plays out first.

After several days of traveling through hell (literally), the “let’s kidnap Zagreus” gang makes it to the surface, and they immediately head to Persephone’s garden. All this time, Zagreus has no idea that he’s being targeted, so he goes about his chores as usual, only to run into Than again, and hey, he brought some more friends for him to meet! Zagreus is friendly with all of them, being raised to be very polite by his guardians, and while he’s busy chatting with Than and Achilles, he doesn’t notice Meg sneaking behind him. Just as Zagreus is rattling on about how the animals have been faring this summer, Meg stabs Zagreus in the back with a blade coated in Hades’s blood, cursing him to belong to the Underworld again.

With Zagreus now unconscious from a sedative that was mixed with the blood, the trio hurry off with him back to the Underworld, but not without Persephone seeing what they’ve done to her son. Horrified, she begins to sob, and winter arrives in the mortal world without so much as a fall season in-between this and the summertime.

When Zagreus comes to, he finds himself in a bedroom similar to the one he has in the game, but it’s much cleaner and has less objects of personal value to him. Hades is standing at the foot of his bed when he wakes up, and very calmly, Hades tells Zagreus that he’s his father, and that from now on, Zagreus will be living in the Underworld with him and his people, where he so obviously belongs. It’s a shame his mother can’t be here, of course, but they just need to wait awhile, that’s all; surely she’ll come to her senses and return home soon, now that her husband and son are here.

Zagreus jumps out of bed and faces his father as soon as he’s done monologuing, ready to tell him off for what he’s done, but to his shock, Hades hugs him as soon as he’s on his feet, and admits that he’s waited for this day for a long, long time. He asks his son to please just accept that this is his home now, and despite still being a bit surprised (and subtly hugging Hades back because Longing), Zagreus tells him straight up that he can’t, that he has to get home, especially with winter coming in a few months!

Dejected but not overly surprised, Hades simply nods in acceptance, but he still warns Zagreus that it’s no use trying to fight it; he’s stuck here, now and forever, so he may as well get comfortable and try getting along with him, because no one’s going anywhere anytime soon. Zagreus is horrified, but he nods nonetheless, unsure of what to say or do just yet.

Later that night, as Zagreus is struggling to sleep in this new, unfamiliar place, Achilles comes to him and apologizes about what’s happened, and although he can’t magically fix everything for him, he tells Zagreus that it actually is supposedly possible to escape; it’s just that no one’s ever done it before. Driven by his desire for freedom and the thought of reuniting with his mother, Zagreus tells Achilles that he’s going to find a way out, no matter the cost. Achilles congratulates him on his tenacity, but warns him that it won’t be easy. Still, he’s willing to help Zagreus as much as he can.

From then on, I imagine the game playing out very differently from the original, with a rather frazzled and scared Zagreus trying to get home to his mom and grandma, but with none of his training from Achilles in this AU, he has to rely on something his mother taught him; his connection with earth and all it’s inhabitants. Or, in his case, his connection with the spirits of animals (a cross of his dad and mom’s powers). That’s right, I’m making The Hades Game into a fucking Pokemon-ripoff, but still with some rouge-like elements mixed in (mostly with Zagreus not keeping his animals after runs).

Having royally fucked up in not stepping in sooner to protect Zagreus, the gods end up helping him out by sending down animals associated with them for the young god to tame for a run (I’ll come up with them later). They usually offer a selection to choose from, and from there Zagreus can build up a team and use it to try and escape the Underworld.

To replace weapons, I like to think he’d have “signature” animals that can help him out for any of his runs, specifically ones from Achilles, Poseidon, Zeus, Demeter (once he reaches the surface at least once), and eventually even Hades gives him one if they bond together enough ((yes, it’s Cerberus... kinda; it’s a puppy version of him, otherwise he’d be OP as fuck)). Zagreus’s signature animals can all be given names, and they keep certain skills that they pick up through enough experience battling in the Underworld for Zagreus.

As for story-line stuff, Zagreus ends up in a very fish out of water situation as he tries to get to know everyone in Hades’s house (he’s still our kindhearted Zag, after all, and he knows most of them aren’t to blame, not even really Than!) while also focusing on his goal to get home to his mom. Hades ends up being a lot nicer to him in this AU, perhaps overly so, as he’s trying to make his son like him more in order to make up for lost time (and fill the hole in his heart that Zag’s initial death as an infant and Persephone leaving with him created). It’s part of the reason he’s even letting Zagreus try to escape; he wants him to learn that it won’t work on his own terms (and maybe also scare the kid so bad that he comes running to him for comfort afterwards).

Also, I should really note that Zagreus is 100% a sweet country farm boy in this AU, and he has no idea what the fuck is going on with pretty much anything in the Underworld, much to everyone’s astonishment. For example:

Meg: Gods, it must be weird getting used to everything down here, huh? Sick of stepping in bat shit yet? Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it, and Dusa’s pretty good about cleaning it up to begin with. Zagreus: I mean, I guess? It’s not that different from chicken shit tbh. Meg: What the fuck is a chicken???

After that... yeah, I dunno. I’ll try playing Hades some more, see if I think up anything else that could be interesting, but for now, I hope at least someone ends up liking this dumb AU (if not, I’ll still like it... might even try my hand at drawing for it a bit tbh). Again, please check out the person who’s post/art I linked earlier in the post, ‘cus their art is really awesome and inspired me to include Demeter more in this AU!

[weaselbeaselpants]

What the frack w. Lore Olympus?

So apparently Lore Olympus is the Hazbin Hotel of webcomics with some people dying by it’s cause and gushing over it obsessively and some people hating it with a burning passion like what’s going on?

I mean - I certainly have criticisms I could dish out.

I’m a PersepHades-shipper of a sterner taste: I like showing they aren’t a PERFECT couple and I prefer no Greek God being made into the defacto good guy or the defacto bad guy. And if there is a twist where a god is unrealistically cruel I want it explained in universe (I promise I won’t get into gushing about Hadestown, k? We can’t all be Hadestown...)

I originally liked Lore Olympus’ Hades a lot but now I think they’re making him too much of a pwecious cinnamon roll. Persephone has gradually become more of my fav on account of her being more interesting and not a walking moe-fantasy.

It’s Apollo I’m not down with....

Minthe you can muck up all you want because she has 0 personality in the og mythology but Apollo is made into stalkeryrapistmccreepershitter because...ugh...well we needed SOMEONE to be it and I guess Apollo is just there. So okay how come we can’t delve into how psychologically damning and rapey Zeus and Poseidon are (Poseidon straight up RAPED PERSEPHONE’S MOM)? How come ARES is a quirky-jerky and not an ax -crazy lunatic all the other gods hate? WHY DO WE EVEN NEED A DEFINITIVE BAD GUY? Why are we making said bad guy A RAPIST?!?!?! Can’t Apollo just be a jerk ass romantic rival and NOT a rapist because um holy shit that’s going from 0 to 30 on the “need character to make romantic tension-a thing” scale.

 One reason so many people like Hades is because western media has made him a villain, when of course, the og mythology wasn’t like that: When you’re a brainy prepubescent nerd learning that the blue guy from Hercules just wanted to be loved and how he mostly keeps to himself where it’s HIS BROTHERS who are the rapey jerks who cheat on their kidnapped wives - you just go “Baaaaaaawww” and make all this sappy HadesxPersephone fan art. I’ve been there. I know it.

And I guess that’s my problem...I don’t like one god being singled out and being made into the bad guy (not just a bad guy, a rapist) because we need a bad guy. I think I’d honestly just have preferred Apollo be a cliche romantic rival.

I DID think it was effective early on with Apollo thinking he and Persephone were a thing and not understanding what he did or how she felt. BUT THEN they dialed it up to 11 with him and ruined what I thought was a very mature and much needed take on the subject.

Still I give LO credit where credit is due:

- I love it’s art style

- I don’t mind it being an office drama/romantic comedy. Not the first or last time ppl have done that. I prefer these kind of stories avoid making things petty or amping up the drama and for the most part LO joshes that.

- The writers know their Greek mythology and are purposefully making these calls to said characters. This is why stuff like Apollo and Hades piss me off, where the extra bits like Persephone’s name and Helios’ bit are pretty cool.

- FROM PERSEPHONE’S PERSPECTIVE (again, best character) the sexual-abuse and nature of relationships is very well written and you can’t not feel for her. It’s a realistic take for survivors abuse but tbh feels more like what an edgy fan fic writer’s idea of a rapist is rather than a more realistic take like the rest of the comic is with it’s characters. Point being: if it isn’t it bad taste it CLASHES too much with the tone of the rest of the comic.

I like how LO is the antithesis of Fifty Shades of Grey by basically being about how Hades and Persephone don’t want a squicky-authority-subbordinate relationship. Nice to address he feels weird being into a much younger woman which so few stories like this do - if not fetishize it.

It is nice seeing Hera get some better representation. Even when ppl show Zeus’ bad side they tend to make Hera JUST a harpy wife when ugh god the feminist discussions you could have about her ~ *swoon*

Hades’ hair is reminding me of James from Pokemon.

Okay so I didn’t even know Apollo was bi. Sorry bi folk. Other than that though I’m really not on board calling this comic SO HOMOPHOBIC. Like the worst thing about it is there’s hardly any gay representation at all. When I think “well intentioned by unfortunately stereotyping” I again think Hazbin or Satellite City. I don’t think Lore Olympus. But hey you are talkin to an...aro(?) person here. Maybe I’m not the best judge.

---

Blah blah blah Problematic thing is problematic which is fine except when people make excuses for it blahblah blah you’ve all heard this before kiddies.

FTR: I still like Lore Olympus. It’s a critique. That’s all.

[wildbootsappeared]

My Favorite Reads of 2020

I read quite a bit in 2020, so I wanted to share some of my favorite books and fics.

I work in the teen department of my library, so I read a lot of YA. I think that fic and YA are looked down on for similar reasons: both are supposedly the domain of teenage girls, childish and of dubious quality. I’ve definitely read YA novels that were no better than fic, and I’ve also definitely read fic that was better than most YA novels I’ve encountered. Fic can be more thought-provoking than one might assume, and YA can be way more salacious than one might assume. YA has gotten way cooler and way higher quality than what was available when I was a teen ... and so has fic!

That said, not all of my favorite reads of 2020 were YA, but a lot of them were. Go read some of these--it’s good for your brain.

In no particular order ...!

Mainstream Fiction

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger

Genres: Young Adult, fantasy, mystery

Keywords: ghosts, LGBT (ace), Native American (Apache), crime solving

Two words: ghost dog!! In a version of the US that’s a lot like ours but more magical, Ellie (short for Elatsoe) is a Lipan-Apache girl who can raise the ghosts of animals from the dead. When her cousin is murdered, she has to go toe-to-toe with the elites of Willowbee, TX to get justice for her family.

The Little Drummer Girl by John LeCarre

Genres: political fiction, romance

Keywords: Israeli-Palestinian conflict, 1970′s, spies, double agent, middle east, bombings

Copied from the original summary: You want to catch the lion, first you tether the goat. Joseph is an Israeli intelligence officer, and Charlie has been wooed to flush out the leader of a Palestinian terrorist group responsible for a string of deadly bombings. Still uncertain of her own allegiances, she debuts in the role of a lifetime as a double agent in the "theatre of the real."

Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribray

Genres: Young Adult, political fiction, realistic fiction

Keywords: Philippines, drug war, Duterte, family, murder

When Jay’s cousin Jun dies, supposedly because of selling and/or using drugs (a crime punishable by extrajudicial murder in the Philippines), Jay is convinced there must be more to the story. He travels back to the Philippines to try to uncover the truth of his cousin’s death, his family, and who his cousin really was. (Made me cry. Twice.)

Dread Nation by Justine Ireland

Genres: Young Adult, Horror, historical fiction

Keywords: Post-Civil War, zombies, racism, LBGT (ace, bi)

In this book, the Civil War was ended not because the north won but because the dead rose from the battlegrounds. Now, the dangerous work of fighting the undead falls to black and brown folks while the white folks hide behind the safety of the walls. Balancing humor against cutting commentary on race in US, this story kicks so much ass.

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo

Genres: Fantasy, novella

Keywords: LBGT (non-binary), ancient China (kind of)

A cleric records the history of an empire newly fallen and remade, cutting back and forth in time between the present and the recollections of Rabbit, former handmaiden to the empress. 

Fanfic

I’m sorry to report that all but one of these are works in progress. (Two of them are close to finishing, though, and likely will in 2021.)

art by @helloyellow17​

envy of eden by kintsugi

Genres: xenofiction/pokecentric, trainer fic

Keywords: achronological, N, Unova, pokemon rights, myth

This fic takes to heart the idea that pokemon don’t tell lies and then gives the pokemon a platform to speak, making a case for “N was right.” It asks pointed questions about sacrifice, consent, personhood, and what it means to be a hero. Come to have your heart broken, stay for gardens and maybe a yogurt cup.

The Suicune’s Choice by An Author’s Pen

art by kintsugi

Genres: trainer fic

Keywords: Hoenn, OC, pokemon rights, myth, Suicune

Don’t let the title fool you: it is Hoenn fic (with some Johto mythology). It’s about a sweet boy at the end of his training career who has a religious epiphany at the worst possible moment (OR the best one?) and ends up on a path of no return.

Dragon’s Dance by An Author’s Pen

Genres: trainer fic, journey fic

Keywords: Johto, Kanto, Lance/Wataru, Team Rocket, dratini, pre-canon

He started from the bottom, now he’s here: a tale of Lance’s rise from child exile to leader of the Elite Four. All he needs to become strong is a big dragon or two, right? Right??

Broken Things by Vulterine Queen

Genres: trainer fic, journey fic

Keywords: OC, Alola, A-vulpix, LGBT, trans, camping, apocalypse, abuse, psychics, alt-earth

Three kids with Problems(TM) travel across Alola, camping, bickering with each other, and slowly (slowly!) becoming less-shitty people.

Salvage by Negrek

Genres: trainer fic, pokemorph

Keywords: mew, mewtwo, Team Rocket, black comedy, horror

The child is not quite human and not quite pokemon, but it’s all trouble. Its quest to rescue Mew from the Rockets forces it to team up with some unlikely friends (this is definitely the wrong word). This quest has a body count.

Those Who Will Inherit the Earth by love

Genres: PMD

Keywords: environmentalism, horror, deal with the devil, leafeon, completed

Poppy the leafeon doesn’t want much: to spend time with her friend Lavender and to take care of the natural world. But the Guild’s attitude towards conservation (it’s not interested) forces her to take a much more aggressive approach to protect what she loves.

Parliament of Steel by girl-like-substance

art by Cooltrainer Jim

Genres: xenofic

Keywords: Jasmine, magneton

Told from the perspective of a massive magneton hivemind, this fic explores personhood and trust with some very cool world-building thrown in.

Another Verse by Farla

Genre: trainer fic, journey fic, novelization

Keywords: horror, Alola, food

Farla’s speciality is using canon details to shed light on the fridge horror canon implies but sweeps under the rug. Bonnibel is a good trainer and she’s having a great time. And lots of snacks. A misery tour of Alola with delicious darkness.

[mysticsparklewings]

The Dream Crosser

Surprise! NaPoWriMo didn't kill me (and I'm not abandoning dA because of the incoming Eclipse update either, more on that situation here), I just needed a week off to recuperate...and obsessively play Animal Crossing: New Horizons... Admittedly, I actually drew this well over a month ago (and wrote up the majority of the description!), not just before NaPoWriMo but before I actually had New Horizons in my grasp. The plan was to post it the day I got the game. Which was supposed to be much closer to the game's launch (March 20th). That ended up not happening and the day I got the game was the first day of NaPoWriMo, but 1. I messed up with the non-uniform prompts and spent all of the day trying to catch up so I couldn't even play the game yet, and 2. As a side effect, I ended up having two posts that day and a lot of work to do to catch up the second, and I hardly had time to think about posting this. And even if I had posted it, it would've been drowned in the incoming NaPoWriMo posts. And so, here we are. Really, really, I do have to mention that I truly feel for anyone else still waiting on the game for whatever reason. You have my deepest sympathy and I'm so sorry I can't just give you the game right now and make it better.  I know the wait was hard enough for me, being this is the one game I highly anticipated in over a year and I essentially had the rug yanked out from under me. But I'll save that story for after I talk about the art itself since I'm sure that's what most people are here for and not my pre-order frustrations. So in case you don't know or couldn't tell, this is the lovely Luna from AC: New Leaf's Dream Suite. From what we've seen of New Horizons since it's release, the Dream Suite's functions and purpose have been mostly absolved into the Airport and Dodo Codes, and so I'm very doubtful Luna will actually be in the game in any capacity, which makes me sad. A typical player (including me) wouldn't even necessarily interact with Luna that much in New Leaf unless you really enjoy visiting other towns using Dream Codes, so I'm not sure what it is, but for some reason I just really like her. That's why I picked her to draw to celebrate. I very nearly drew her a long time ago when I was on an Animal Crossing kick in 2018, but at the time I didn't like the idea of pressuring myself into drawing all and/or multiple AC characters just because I wanted to be "fair" to them all (much the same reason I don't draw Pokemon very often), so I ended up drawing One Little Spark, a crossover of the Disney character Figment drawn in the New Leaf style, instead. So in a way, she's had this coming for quite a while. At the time I started working on her, (way back in early March, because I was hoping beyond hope my pre-order would arrive to me actually on launch day, but ha ha ha look who's got egg on her face for that ) I was running a bit dry on artistic motivation, and so while I tried to draw her in my usual manner: Making a sketch, transferring the sketch onto different paper with finalized lines, then picking whichever coloring method I was most into at the time), I was struggling with the sketch. I've had days where I have to work on a sketch for a really long time before I can get something I'm happy with, but this day I was just so not into the whole sketching process. I wanted to create, but I wanted it to be quick and easy and simple. I didn't want to have to poke at it for hours and hours and then still maybe not be happy when I was done. So when I got discouraged enough, I broke away from trying to draw Luna and just drew mandalas instead. (As had become my art-block crutch for a little while.) Somewhere in me, as I worked on other things, I kept going back and forth on what to do about Luna, though. I did still want to draw her, but my usual formula just wasn't working for me. Not for her. I even tried briefly to draw her linelessly, digitally, as what was supposed to be a quick and simple experiment, but that went downhill even faster than sketching did. Although, for some reason, the lineless idea wouldn't leave me alone after that. Finally, I decided to try something completely different. I was going to try and free-handedly draw her, without lines, traditionally. With, primarily, alcohol markers. Honestly, the thought minorly horrifies me now just as much as it did before I started. And yet, here we are and I actually like how it turned out. Allow me to explain how this came together: So, since I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out once I decided to try it, I opted to use my not-so-great mixed media paper so I wouldn't feel guilty about wasting better paper if I ended up hating it. Naturally, this did lead to some notable limitations, but not enough to discourage me from trying. I dove right in with the dark brown for her head and body, focusing on getting the general shapes down. I'd noticed some glaring mistakes in my mostly unproductive sketching when it came to Luna's body proportions, so I tried to keep those things in mind and adjust accordingly as I went. It was scary because there is no erasing this way short of using white paint and because this paper feathers pretty noticeably with markers. Then once I got to a certain point, I had to switch and bring in some pink and off-white markers to draw in parts of her dress so I knew where to put her other arm and her legs. And here is where I technically cheated; I did use my "clear" Stardust Gelly Roll pen to do most of the outlines for her dress. I needed some kind of guideline, but pencil tends to get yucky when you put markers on top and at the time I couldn't really think of a better option. (The joke was kind of on me because somehow I still got a nasty gray line that looked like pencil under her bust that I had to gently edit out later in Photoshop, but I digress.) As I went with the markers, I was also doing some light shading. Not too much, because this paper is really fussy with layers and blending, but enough that I felt like it didn't look completely flat and I could tell where one shape ended and another started. Though, for her nose (trunk? I believe Luna is supposed to be a Tapir) and her raised arm, I had to get a little creative and I used a white brush pen meant for glass/ceramics to put in the lines so you could actually see them. And later I would use the same pen in 3-4 layers to add the white back in for her eyes. With the base for her body, dress, and the bun part of her hair done though, then I had the task of figuring out what to do for her shoes and the details of her face. (Without having to mix and use specific paint for those tiny details.) In the end, I opted to mostly use my classic red Gelly Roll pen for her shoes, and a little bit of a dark red alcohol marker for shading. And then I got to experiment with mixing the classic red and one of the Moonlight Gelly Rolls for her lips so that the color would be visible and not just a dark lip-shaped "what is this." This was because the classic Gelly Rolls don't show up super well on dark surfaces and the Moonlight ones do, but I didn't have the right color straight out of a Moonlight pen. It did take 2-3 careful layers, but I think I managed well enough in the end. I used just one black pen, a Prismacolor brush-tip fine liner, for her eyes, though in-person the white base underneath makes her pupils look about a shade or two lighter from certain angles, which was a very unintentional nice touch. My answer to everything else ended up being gouache, although I did try to come up with pen colors for her eye shadow and the blue dots on her cheeks before admitting defeat that I just didn't have the colors I needed. Originally, I had actually been thinking of trying a lineless art piece with gouache, as I think it would work particularly well for that look, but I wasn't ready to fully commit to the idea, mostly because I seem to be even worse at mixing a non-excessive amount of a specific color with gouache than I am with acrylics, and that sounds like a fantastic way to waste a bunch of palette space because I mixed too much but it's gouache so it can be re-wet and re-use it and I don't want to just throw it away...  (Although I suppose this could be half-way solved by getting a bigger palette specifically for mixing gouache, but I also don't want to have to buy yet another palette when I have some perfectly good ones...If I could just use up all the paint in them already...) Anyway. Point: This is kind of a step between a full lineless gouache piece and not doing one at all. Baby steps, yes? I knew from fairly early on that I was probably going to have to use gouache for the front part of her hair/bangs, since I did not thoroughly plan ahead enough and didn't leave a gap there to do it with markers. Fortunately, I didn't have to do much mixing since my gouache already has a nice yellow ochre color included, and I could use a bit of the other two browns and one I had some leftover mixed already from Roses in Your Eyes for shading. (White for the flowers, too, thank goodness.) And I actually ended up going over most of her bun with gouache too since, by comparison, the marker didn't look like it had much shading and it was bothering me. I did have to mix my own blue and pinky-purple for her makeup, and I ended up with a lot of leftover pinky-purple. But it's kind of okay because by itself it's such a pretty color I'm sure I'll find an excuse to use that one. After that, I just had to do some minor tweaks where the gouache had gotten a bit away from me and then I went ham on the shading for the dress based on my reference photo. Then I realized I wanted some kind of background because this seemed awfully boring without one. And, naturally, I hadn't really planned ahead for that, me being me and being in habit of doing the background last... At first, I wanted to do something hot pink, since her official Amiibo card has a hot pink background, but then I thought that might be a little too loud and I wasn't really sure the best way to apply one without potentially messing her up. And also, this isn't watercolor or paper thicker than 140 lb, which immediately threw watercolor out the window unless I wanted a very uneven paper when I was finished. I'd already pushed my luck with the gouache and been very careful about not using much water with it; I decided it was best not to push my luck any farther. Also, I couldn't use my pink PanPastel, despite that being maybe my best option, because it is still perpetually screwed onto the little Pan Pastel stack with no hope of getting unstuck anytime soon. (One of these days I swear, I will order either another set like the one I have or an individual Pink one to solve this problem, but until then, I am going to bring it up every single time as a caution to others to please be very careful when screwing and unscrewing your own Pan Pastels if you store them screwed together.) And I didn't feel like dragging out some of my drawing pastels and/or makeup that's too expired to use on my face and very slowly building up color and hoping it'll do what the Pan Pastels do. With no better ideas coming to me, I decided I'd leave the drawing for the night and come back to it the next day. After yet more brainstorming the next day, I finally settled on doing a glittery rounded rectangle and filling it with washi tape stripes. This plan did change a little as I figured out which tapes I wanted to use (a purple-y, champagne gold, and light pink ones, the latter two of which look more different in-person than they do on the scan) and as I actually started applying the lines. Partially because this tape is a bit thin and partially because I'm not used to cutting tape around very specific shapes, it took a very long time to both place strips of the tape and then get them cut to fit right up to Luna without looking strange. Once I got to a certain point going in one direction, I realized my next couple of cuts were just going to be too hard for me to stand. I had a choice: Ditch the tape, or figure something else out. Taking a risk, I decided to try and salvage it by doing an almost-plaid/checkerboard with the tape, specifically leaving out certain areas where I knew it would be too tricky to cut the tape. This also turned out to be a good way to use up some of the pieces of tape I'd already cut off that were too small to be used the other way. It's still not the greatest background solution I've ever come up with, but it does the job of making it look less empty, and that's really all I wanted anyway. And you know, compared to official images her proportions look wonky, but by herself (meaning, without comparing the two) I think Luna looks pretty good, actually. (Though, I admit I did have to tweak her right ear in Photoshop because it came out entirely too long and there wasn't really a good way for me to fix it by hand.) To think, this piece started out as such a mess. Or rather, I was such a mess when I started. And yet, here we are, and it looks kinda okay. Okay enough that I finished it and am posting it, at least.   I have no idea if I'll be returning to this style/method for art-making in the future, but even if I don't it was a nice experiment to try, and that's what art is really all about isn't it? Experimenting, trying new things? Speaking of experimenting though, about those pre-order frustrations I mentioned now that I've covered everything about the art itself...(in small text for those that don't care to easily skip over) Back in February I tried twice to pre-order New Horizons from Target, since they were running an ad where if you pre-ordered the game you'd also get an AC themed journal with it, and that combined with my family member's employee discount made it the cheapest/best value way for us to buy the game. As I said, I tried to order it twice. Both times, it was sold out. My family member had even tried to go to the store and have them order it before then, to no avail. After the second time, which was the day after Target sent out the sale paper with the new ad in it, while I was still frustratedly wondering how on earth do you sell out of a pre-order?? I kept refreshing the page every so often just to see if by some fluke it would miraculously not be sold out. I got very lucky around 3 in the afternoon and we managed to get the order in before it sold out again. Now, we're a relatively cheap family, so we didn't pay for the "express shipping" or whatever. Although, this was a $60 game and we were ordering it three whole weeks (on March 2nd) before release. If you ask me, the least they could do is have it shipped out either on launch day (March 20th) or the day after. Especially if I can pre-order a book on Amazon with three days' notice and they can still get it to me on release day. But, okay, I could live with waiting an extra day or up to maybe three if I had to. (And, to be fair, this was all before a certain virus exploded into chaos here in the US.) Much to my dismay, a week before NH release day, I checked the order status with Target only to be told I wouldn't get it until the 26th. A week later. That was pretty disappointing at the time, but it didn't really bother me until the day before and the day of launch when some people were getting their pre-orders early from places like Amazon and Best Buy (and some of them didn't even pay for the express shipping option from their selected source). If those two companies could plan around virus constraints to do that, why in the heck couldn't Target? But, okay, fine. Maybe the virus had something to do with it and they were really doing the best they could. Whatever. A week. Fine. I'll wait a week. A few days later though, we got an email saying: Surprise! Don't expect your dumb video game until April 3rd because we couldn't get our act together! (Okay, that's not what it really said, but that's what it felt like.) And I know, I promise I so know there are much more serious issues going on in the world right now and a video game about talking animals isn't exactly a priority shipment. I know. But it was still massively upsetting after I'd already waited so long. And, honestly, I feel like they had plenty of time and notice to take care of the game before everything else exploded and messed it all up. Again, especially if other companies already had time to even ship orders early and/or get the games to people on launch day. Or the day after. TWO WEEKS after launch, and you don't tell me about the secondary delay until the week I started expecting the game to already be in the mail on it's way to me? The only tiny silver lining is that as I was checking the order to make sure it didn't miraculously get pushed back to sometime in 2021 (because I really had no faith in Target's time estimates at this point) is that it did get bumped back up to April 1st. Although, I did think that it would be the absolute least funny April Fools' Day Joke ever if the day came and it was late because screw me.  But it did arrive to me on April 1st as promised; I just had a million other things to do before I could play it. ) And I will say, I know I could've just canceled the pre-order and bought the game digitally, but it was enough of a hassle to order it in the first place, and if I did that I'd also lose my pre-order bonus. And all that aside, I specifically wanted a physical copy to begin with. I always prefer that when it's possible. So people on the internet that want to eat me alive for not canceling when the shipping got screwed up, there are my reasons. Take 'em or leave 'em. (Seriously, I've seen some people be really rude about this just because they didn't like hearing people upset that they didn't have the game yet...when they already had it themselves or didn't care about AC in the first place...) Moral of the story: Don't pre-order from Target. Or, at least, don't expect the item to actually get to you right around release day. Account for at least two additional weeks of not having the thing. ...Seriously though, how do you sell out of a pre-order?? At least, when it's a highly anticipated game and you're a big company and not some small indie company with limited resources! Sheesh! Anyway. I have the game now, I've been playing it as much as possible and enjoying it. I still have a ways to go before my island is "complete" per se, but it's coming along nicely and I feel more comfortable now taking some more time away from it to get back into the swing of making art and things like that. So hopefully I'll be getting back into a regular posting schedule and you'll have that to look forward to. 

____ Artwork © me, MysticSparkleWings ____ Where to find me & my artwork: My Website | Commission Info + Prices | Ko-Fi | dA Print Shop | RedBubble |   Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram

[dibblesnibbles]

I have this really bad habit of starting on something and either never continuing it or never getting pass the outlining and coloring phases which ment it was never finishing and upload. So the following couple things are a few examples of my stupid little mistakes of where I completely stop working on it and forgetting about it...sorry if this post is formatted badly...I wrote this on my phone and it too late to go open my computer and fix it there

I started this lil comic in 2017 though sadly only page 1 of this comic was ever completely created. The other page where sketch out but they never got through the outlining and coloring phases which ment they were never posted. The comic itself isn’t being discontinued but it is instead being redone and rewritten as it’s original story was more like “go with the flow” type of story. This was also created during the time when majority of my ocs where either pichu’s or pikachus, though most of my ocs are still a mix of the two now there are more ocs that no longer are Pokemon like creature and are instead part of own created species/creatures.

The next two pictures are of my first comic Cursed Souls which was created in 2015 but was put on haitus and eventually was kinda discontinued(will explain in a bit) in 2017. Though unlike the WOS comic this one had at least 10 pages completed and posted. This comic was meant to be like a explanation to my ocs/fan oc and the world that they live. Though like the WOS story, this story was a “go with the flow” type of story too. Which ment that I made up the story as I finished the next page. Unsurprisingly that was a bad idea as I eventually lost the original plot of the story and lost insterest in it. I kept updating the last page I created with either “next page will be up soon”, “sorry but school has me busy so next page will be delayed”, or my favorite “the comic is currently in haitus but will be back eventually”. Of course all those phrase were mostly lies as I kept forgetting to work on the next page.... The first pic is page 1 and the second one is Page 10.

Remember how I said that CS was “kinda discontinued”? Well as of recently I had decided too continue that old comic but this time the story is being done differently too how it was originally done and now it has a completely different ending. Also art is now somewhat decent compared to how it was way back then. The name even switched to Broken Souls since I thought that it made more sense with how the new story’s plot is now. Though most of the characters are more or less the same there are a few new ones that have been added to the story to make the cast a little more diverse...

The picture below is the cover page to the prologue of the story...this is of course another thing that is different from the original story which had no such thing as a cover.

The final thing to this somewhat long post is not a comic but instead some project(was created in mid 2018, temporary put on hiatus at the end of 2018, and was restarted at the beginning of 2020) that I had been inspired to work on, though I won’t really say what it is as it’s still a secret that no one other than myself knows about it. So yeah I lied you won’t get a picture for this story but instead I can say that the story for this secret project has been completely altered from the original one and now has a completely new ending that is a bit complicated and convoluted with a little bit of a twist to spice things up.

I do want to say that when I made these things, I did it under the intention that no one would really look at them or would not have any interest in my stuff(exactly with how it is here on tumblr and twitter...I already had a bad history of tracing when I first started making...”art”...so I new from the start that I was making this for myself and only myself.

I did have some people watching my account though I was pretty sure that 90% of my watchers were either dead accounts or bots(the other 10% were the few friends that I somehow made)

Though knowing this, maybe that’s why I began to lose interest in making art as it be for no one in general(like it is now). Most of my friends that I made on DA are gone especially after the new update that site went through. Now a days I focus more on my school and video games than my own art, even started to question why I was still going to school...though now I’m to far into school too give up

Must stay neutral ya know and keep a decent grade so that I don’t lose my scholarships(the many few that I somehow have)

Really I completely don’t think I can function even remotely normal in this odd world if you want me to be completely honest. Though that isn’t something that you should know about me. Completely unnecessary information.

Jesus what the actual fuck

[sleeping-platinum]

2, 20, 24 and 69 for the video game asks if you have the time :)

Sorry for holding onto this for a while, I've been mentally and physically tired so I couldn't answer immediately. But thanks so much for sending these, it was a pleasant surprise!

2. A game that has influenced you creatively (Writing, drawing, etc)?

- Every single game that has come across my tv screen and small console screens have helped influence my art and coming up with original characters or creatures, however I would say recently that Visual Novels have influenced moreso my writing! Although it's hard to share when I haven't actively posted anything of my works (they're all incomplete drafts sorry!). Diabolik Lovers, Code: Realize, and Amnesia are the ones that have influenced me heavily when it comes to writing and examining character personalities, traits and so on.

20. Game that you know like the back of your hand?

- It is actually a tie between Pokemon Platinum and Pokemon Black/White! With Platinum, I recall just wanting to level up my team as far up as I could (I thought the level limit was like 999 or something so little me was actually disappointed that my Luxray wouldn't gain anymore levels past 100) and traveling to all points of the games region.  I remember being really hyped for Black and White and couldn't wait to play it and as expected as soon as I got it, I played it through completely and restarted and started again, unfortunately, a lot went on in my life during that time so Black and White are a little difficult to play, but I absolutely loved the characters, pokemon and story very much!

24. First Pokemon game?

- Pokemon Platinum! Still have it to this day, may not be the original save file, but it's still very precious to me! I've become somewhat of a fanatic though and collecting each console's Pokemon games, missing 8 out of all of them.

69. In your opinion, best game ever made?

- I have two. The Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask and NieR; Automata.

[housebeleren]

Theros Beyond Death Odds & Ends

We got a lot of updates regarding Theros Beyond Death this week. I’ve already talked about the trailer, so now I’ll just run through some of the other items and give my quick thoughts.

Elspeth & Ashiok

These are super sweet. Elspeth is looking fierce as ever, and that spear is fucking fantastic. As a card, I think she’s going to be a major player in Standard, as a recursive threat that’ll just keep generating value for you. Ashiok is gorgeously illustrated by one of my favorites, Raymond Swanland. The purples, blues, and blacks are basically all my favorite colors, so I’m sold. As a card, I think it’s super well balanced. Could be a great alternate finisher for control that comes down a turn earlier than Liliana or Ugin, but isn’t quite as clearly game-ending as those if it sticks. That said, pumping out a 2/3 every turn is pretty sweet unto itself. So yeah, I’m feeling both of these. My only wish is that they had flipped one of the arts so they’d be facing each other, Duel Deck style. That would have been just one extra little touch of awesome.

Also, these are freakin gorgeous. I particularly like the Ashiok one, but I’d be excited to get my hands on either of them.

Also, Maro has confirmed that there are 3 Planeswalkers in the set. Wonder who the third would be? By color alone, it would be someone Green/Red, But there aren’t a ton of those that seem like good fits, and it would be too similar to Theros, round 1. Only time will tell.

Gods & Demigods

We also got previews of a few other fun cards. Athreos, Shroud-Veiled is the buy-a-box promo for the set, which makes some amount of sense. My guess is, after the strong mono-color theme of Throne of Eldraine, we’ll see the five mono-color gods return in this set with new versions, and not get any of the other 2 color gods except Athreos, since he will likely play some part in the story, either as an element in or an obstacle to Elspeth’s escape.

We also got a Demigod, which is a new creature type that’s pretty awesome. Daxos, Blessed by the Sun is an interesting title, especially given it’s opposition to Elspeth’s “Sun’s Nemesis” title. My speculation is we’ll see Elspeth exact her revenge on Heliod, then she takes over the mantle as God of the Sun, and through her newfound God-power brings back Daxos. Totally speculation, but that’s what I’m reading from this.

Mechanics

We got a Theros Beyond Death Mechanics article, so I’ll run through them real quick:

Escape - This is the only new mechanic in the set, representing Elspeth’s escape of the Underworld. Seems like a solid workhorse mechanic for Standard, and there will almost certainly be at least one card that’s completely obscene in Modern or Legacy, because what’s ever gone wrong with graveyard mechanics in the past?

Devotion - Oooh, I called it. As soon as the strong mono-color theme in Throne of Eldraine became clear, I was sure we’d see Devotion again. It’s perfect seeding between sets. This is a fun one, and will continue to swing the pendulum towards 2 and 1 color play, which is honestly a good thing. It’ll be interesting to see if they find some new design space for it.

Constellation - Oooh, I called it again! Maro has been harping about the biggest mistake of original Theros block being that they didn’t do Enchantments-matter early enough, so it seemed all but certain that they would jump right on board with it this time around. Plus, it’s another perfect through-line from Throne of Eldraine’s W/U theme. Looks like they’re going to put Constellation on some non-Enchantment cards as well, so that’s a little new for it.

Sagas - I loved Sagas when they showed up in Dominaria, and I’m stoked to see them again here. They’re fun, they have interesting gameplay, and they’re just gorgeous to look at. My guess is they’ll play around with the number of chapters this time, just to keep it interesting.

Of course, we’ve got Enchantment Creatures coming back, and I did see one card that had a Heroic mechanic on it (sans keyword, of course), so that could be a fun limited archetype in this set. Plus, it’ll give Feather decks a little boost to maybe bring them back to playability. 

Basic Lands

Okay, then there’s this. Truly, I do love the look of these, though I understand some people’s aversions to them. They do look a little like Pokemon Energy cards, for sure. That said, I am very excited to pull them, and some people will really love having them. 

But I also want to mention these:

These are also basic lands for this set, and they are STUNNING. Every land has 2 variants, an overworld and an underworld version. You can see all of them on Wizards’ Twitter account. The catch? These lands are only available in the Bundle and Planeswalker decks. That’s it. You can’t open them in any booster product, at least to my understanding as of now.

And that’s a shame, because as cool as the full art Nyx lands are, these are beautiful works of art and should be seen! And lots of people just won’t. I would have strongly preferred they handle this like they did with Amonkhet, and have the full arts as just one of the standard rotation, along with these beauties.

This really gets at the heart of the biggest issue I have with Wizards’ product design at the moment, and it’s that it’s so hard to keep track of everything that’s out there. I love the spirit behind Project Booster Fun, but I’m sorry, it is so fucking complicated to figure out what comes in each product at this point. I’ve had to correct the shop owner of an LGS about the specific contents of Collector Boosters, and I don’t blame him for the mistake one bit. Because who can keep it all straight? Anyway, rant over. But Wizards, if you’re listening, tone it back a little. Stop dividing your cards in to a million different products.

Anyway, on one final good note:

Thirst

Whoever this hotness is. Holy shit, I thought Wizards was going after the “Gay & Thirsty” contingent with Oko but it’s clear they have no intentions of letting us ignore this set either. 

That’s a gay Halloween costume right there, ready to go.

Given the landscape orientation here, I’m guessing he’s a generic card from the set, not a Planeswalker. But it’s possible we’re only getting some of the art, but I’d say that’s a long shot. Either way, I’m 100% here and living for more acceptably sexualized men in Magic. May the gods bless the Thirsty.

[rp-dreamland]

Light, Darkness, and what Lies in the Middle. (Kingdom Hearts)

As I often start any post dealing with the series, :  “Good Tidings, Friends' 

-Xemnas, 358/2 Days. In, Where Nothing Gathers.  

Sorry, its just a quote that sticks out, for no real meaningful reason for me. Perhaps my love of 358/2 Days, but I digress. Thanks for reading this!  This post, is all about Disney and Square’s love child, of Kingdom Hearts. A series, I am not sure, would ever happen again. I love it all the same. 

With the Autumn Season slowly rolling in, I am in search of a more, Long-term partner to write with. Ideally, someone who loves the series, as I do. 

When it comes to knowledge of the series, I have played every game, including some of Union Cross; that said, I do not keep up with playing U.C, but watch videos on Youtube, when needed to be brought up to speed there. Mobile gaming like that, was never my thing. I enjoy a console, of sorts, rather than my phone or tablet being used. But that’s just me. Some of my close friends love the game, and playing on their phone- so I don’t judge on that regard. 

As mentioned above, my favorite game in the series might be, 358/2 days. Kingdom Hearts II, might be a close runner up, but the Sea-Salt Trio is my favorite trio, leading towards the bias. Though, the first game also has a special place in my heart too….hmmm. 

Favorite character..? Also, a hard question. I love them all so much, but for this post, I will mention my love of Luxord. Something about the gambler always caught my eye- even in his small role in KHII. 

Enough about myself, let’s move onto, possible plot/story ideas.  ____________________________________________________________

Everything mentioned here, is only thoughts/ideas, suggestions even. So, if there is something here, that sparks any idea of your own, feel free to mention or change anything! Open to any general thoughts you may have as well! 

Re-writing/Changing events.  While this plenty in the series, I love, I can not lie when there are some things I’d change. We can look at it, as AU type, or even, ‘What-If’. One concept someone has suggested to me before, was changing who was place as head, of Castle Oblivion, during the events of Chain of Memories. Rather than Marluxia, let it be Luxord- due to his own motif fitting the card motif better. In return, having Marluxia playing a bigger role in the events to follow, can change up how KHII starts. Marluxia could still have his hopes to over-throw Xemnas and the Organization.  Another suggestion to throw out, is Kingdom Hearts III. Personally speaking, I rather enjoyed the game, but I see on Youtube quite often, 'My Rewrite of KHIII’, so why not try one of our own? Might take a bit more to discuss what changes and ideas we want in. But, could be fun! 

Playing in the in-between periods:  As it suggests, writing in events/times not fully explored in the game. Riku’s perspective during Days, Xehanort under Ansem the Wise’s teachings. Kairi’s life on the Islands, after the first game. Xehanort, Yen-Sid, and Erauqs’s time, as students learning the way of the Key-blade. 

Cross-overs/Universe Changing:  Basically, mixing something else with Kingdom Hearts, or Kingdom Hearts into something else.  One idea I have had, is a Cross-over with Persona 5. Both deal with Hearts…right?  Or, the KH characters, say in the World of Pokemon, Being Trainers and on a completely different Adventure! 

AU Settings:  I have seen images/Fan-art of the KH characters, in school uniforms. A school AU, could be a more lighthearted approach. Something, like a Slice of Life Anime. Struggle could be the School’s main sport. 

Playing with the Canon Characters, in Canon Events:  Kinda going in a way, the Manga does so. Adding more life, and such in the events. 

Our own Characters, in the Union Cross Universe:  (I will mark, this is my least favorite idea, for a few reasons. The few times I have tried, my partner usually makes some over powered characters. Plus, I am not the best at creating a character in this universe) The concept of the Keyblade War, has always been one I fancied. So, maybe our own Keyblade users, caught up in the mess.

Any thought you may have! 

Anything mentioned here, can be in any genre: Action/Adventure, Mystery, Romance. Or a mixture.  ________________________________________________

I hope anything above makes sense! 

Now onto my stuff, and contact stuff. 

Your Name/Nickname/Alias: Bocaj Age: 22 Time zone: EST  Add. Information: Born in the Year of the Rat, Also, a Hufflepuff. 

Literate/Semi-Literate/Basic (Script): Literate, no text talk or anything like that please.  Response Time: Varies throughout the day, but a few times a day. At least twice! Response Lengths: Again, varies. Bare minimum, a paragraph. More, usually.   POV: 3rd Past Tense, 1st when a character is in thought.

Original /Fandom: Fandom, please.  Canon Characters/Original: Usually, I stick to Canons. Might be open for OC’s.  Favored sexual orientations:  If things go in a romantic way, usually I like FxF, or MxF.

SFW/NSFW: SFW.  Limits/personal restrictions: Rape, super gory things. Puke, things with the bathroom. Underage stuff. Again I don’t usually do NSFW anyway/ Response Time Preferred: I ask, at least once a day, if not more. 

Contact Method/Roleplay Medium:: Email. My email is:  onesplendidbubble@gmail.com. 

Thanks for reading! 

[fyrapartnersearch]

Light, Darkness. And what lies Between (Kingdom Hearts)

As I often start my post with the series, :  "Good Tidings, Friends' 

-Xemnas, 358/2 Days. In, Where Nothing Gathers.  

Sorry, its just a quote that sticks out, for no real meaningful reason for me. Perhaps my love of 358/2 Days, but I digress. Thanks for reading this!  This post is all about Disney and Square's love child, of Kingdom Hearts. A series, I am not sure, would ever happen again. I love it all the same. 

With the Autumn Season slowly rolling in, I am in search of a more, Long-term partner to write with. Ideally, someone who loves the series, as I do. 

When it comes to knowledge of the series, I have played every game, including some of Union Cross; that said, I do not keep up with playing U.C, but watch videos on Youtube, when needed to be brought up to speed there. Mobile gaming like that, was never my thing. I enjoy a console, of sorts, rather than my phone or tablet being used. But that's just me. Some of my close friends love the game and playing on their phone- so I don't judge on that regard. 

As mentioned above, my favorite game in the series might be, 358/2 days. Kingdom Hearts II might be a close runner up, but the Sea-Salt Trio is my favorite trio, leading towards the bias. Though, the first game also has a special place in my heart too.... hmmm. 

Favorite character...? Also, a hard question. I love them all so much, but for this post, I will mention my love of Luxord. Something about the gambler always caught my eye- even in his small role in KHII. 

Enough about myself, let's move onto, possible plot/story ideas.  ____________________________________________________________

Everything mentioned here, is only thoughts/ideas, suggestions even. So, if there is something here, that sparks any idea of your own, feel free to mention or change anything! Open to any general thoughts you may have as well! 

Re-writing/Changing events.  While this plenty in the series, I love, I can not lie when there are some things I'd change. We can look at it, as AU type, or even, 'What-If'. One concept someone has suggested to me before, was changing who was place as head, of Castle Oblivion, during the events of Chain of Memories. Rather than Marluxia, let it be Luxord- due to his own motif fitting the card motif better. In return, having Marluxia playing a bigger role in the events to follow, can change up how KHII starts. Marluxia could still have his hopes to over-throw Xemnas and the Organization.  Another suggestion to throw out, is Kingdom Hearts III. Personally speaking, I rather enjoyed the game, but I see on Youtube quite often, 'My Rewrite of KHIII', so why not try one of our own? Might take a bit more to discuss what changes and ideas we want in. But, could be fun! 

Playing in the in-between periods:  As it suggests, writing in events/times not fully explored in the game. Riku's perspective during Days, Xehanort under Ansem the Wise's teachings. Kairi's life on the Islands, after the first game. Xehanort, Yen-Sid, and Erauqs's time, as students learning the way of the Key-blade. 

Crossovers/Universe Changing:  Basically, mixing something else with Kingdom Hearts, or Kingdom Hearts into something else.  One idea I have had, is a Cross-over with Persona 5. Both deal with Hearts...right?  Or, the KH characters, say in the World of Pokemon, Being Trainers and on a completely different Adventure! 

AU Settings:  I have seen images/Fan-art of the KH characters, in school uniforms. A school AU could be a more lighthearted approach. Something, like a Slice of Life Anime. Struggle could be the School's main sport. 

Playing with the Canon Characters, in Canon Events:  Kinda going in a way, the Manga does so. Adding more life, and such in the events. 

Our own Characters, in the Union Cross Universe:  (I will mark, this is my least favorite idea, for a few reasons. The few times I have tried, my partner usually makes some over powered characters. Plus, I am not the best at creating a character in this universe) The concept of the Keyblade War, has always been one I fancied. So, maybe our own Keyblade users, caught up in the mess.

Any thought you may have! 

Anything mentioned here, can be in any genre: Action/Adventure, Mystery, Romance. Or a mixture.  ________________________________________________

I hope anything above makes sense! 

Now onto my stuff, and contact stuff. 

Your Name/Nickname/Alias: Bocaj Age: 22 Time zone: EST  Add. Information: Born in the Year of the Rat, Also, a Hufflepuff. 

Literate/Semi-Literate/Basic (Script): Literate, no text talk or anything like that please.  Response Time: Varies throughout the day, but a few times a day. At least twice! Response Lengths: Again, varies. Bare minimum, a paragraph. More, usually.   POV: 3rd Past Tense, 1st when a character is in thought.

Original /Fandom: Fandom, please.  Canon Characters/Original: Usually, I stick to Canons. Might be open for OC's.  Favored sexual orientations:  If things go in a romantic way, usually I like FxF, or MxF.

SFW/NSFW: SFW.  Response Time Preferred: I ask, at least once a day, if not more. 

Contact Method/Roleplay Medium:: Email. My email is:  onesplendidbubble@gmail.com. 

  Thanks for reading! 

[deliriousabsol]

More Things Than You Ever Cared To Know About My Writing

This was originally posted by ‘vorchagirl’, reblogged by someone I follow. And I thought it would be fun to just outright answer these in a questionnaire type way, rather than as asks. So here we go =)

Feel free to do this yourselves if you like it. Just please remember to add the original poster.

Fanfiction Questions

Fandom Questions

1. What was the first fandom you got involved in?

Properly? Probably Pokemon. I’ve been writing fanfiction for it for years.

2. What is your latest fandom?

Funnily enough, Sonic, despite being a fan since I was like seven years old. I’ve just never seriously got into it since then until now.

3. What is the best fandom you’ve ever been involved in?

The Pokemon fandom. I’ve made some awesome friends in it.

4. Do you regret getting involved in any fandoms?

You hear things, but I’ve not really come across any toxicity besides the reaction to the Sonic Movie.

5. Which fandoms have your written fanfiction for?

A good few, but the only ones you’ll find are Pokemon, Sonic and Zootopia.

6. List your OTP from each fandom you’ve been involved in.

Zootopia - Judy/Nick

Sonic - Shadow/Rouge, Silver/Blaze

Pokemon - I don’t usually ship in Pokemon, but Jessie/James because reasons

7. List your NoTPs from each fandom you’ve been in.

Sonic/Amy. Sorry. Some art is cute, but it’s not my jam.

Shadow/Maria. I don’t ship animals with humans.

I also don’t ship yaoi/yuri pairings.

I do not poop on any ship. If it’s one I’m not fond of, I just scroll on and leave it be. Shipping can be pretty toxic sometimes, and I just don’t get it at all.

8. How did you get involved in your latest fandom?

I was writing Mask Behind the Monster and my husband’s aunt suggested I join a specific Sonic forum to post it in. So I joined the Amino and posted it, all nervous. The reception blew me away, and I met some awesome people, so I stuck around.

9. What are the best things about your current fandom?

The friends I’ve made.

10.  Is there a fandom you read fic from but don’t write in?

Probably. Can’t think of any off the top of my head.

Ship Questions for your Current Fandom

11. Who is your current OTP?

Shadow/Rouge. Also Infinite/Amy. This is because of my current writing projects.

12. Who is your current OT3?

None.

13. Any NoTPs?

We’ve been over this *looks up*

14. Go on, who are your BroTPs?

Sonic/Tails =3

15. Is there an obscure ship which you love?

Infinite/Amy. I didn’t initially.  But if it’s done right, and there are reasons for them to be together in that setting, then it works. 

16. Are their any popular ships in your fandom which you dislike?

Sonic/Shadow, Infinite/Gadget

I’m also not a fan of most Pokemon anime ships.

17. Who was your first OTP and are they still your favourite?

Knuckles/Amy. I still have a soft spot for it.

18. What ship have you written the most about?

Amy/Espio. I went through a phase... Read a couple of ‘fics and thought ‘Why not? Sounds like fun.’ XD

19. Is there a ship which you wished you could get behind, but you just don’t feel them?

Not really. As much as I like shipping, because I’m a fluff-junkie, I have to just like it.

20. Any ships which you surprised yourself by liking?

Again. Inf/Amy. This one took me by surprise.

Author Questions

21. What was the first fanfic you ever wrote?

Erm... if I remember right, Some cringy self-insert Pokemon ‘fic when I was like 14/15.

22. Is there anything you regret writing?

Everything I regret writing has been deleted.

23. Name a fic you’ve written that you’re especially fond of & explain why you like it.

The End and Mask Behind the Monster. I can’t choose one over the other. They were both written with a lot of meaning and emotion behind them, and I have a soft spot for both.

24. What fic do you desperately need to rewrite or edit?

I keep thinking about re-writing The End, but I worry it will lose its fire if I do...

25. What’s your most popular fanfic?

I think... THINK... it’s Mask Behind the Monster.

26. How do you come up with your fanfic titles?

To Title is hard. System:Reboot was a suggestion off a friend who I have lost touch with. Its working title is ‘Hacked’. A lot of my stories have preliminary working titles until I come up with something. The End was named after a song. Confectionary Conundrum was originally called ‘Sugar Snow’ which is the name of the sweet shop in that story. The Mainframe Saga’s Scrivener file is still called ‘Datastream’. Its separate books have been renamed as I’ve been ‘planning’ them out (as much as I plan).

27. What do you hate more: Coming up with titles or writing summaries?

Probably summaries, because FFNet leaves very little space to do so.

28. If someone were to draw a piece of fanart for your story, which story would it be and what would the picture be of?

I have actually had fanart, so this is hard to say. A lot of people like drawing my cyberpunk Infinite redesign which has surprised me.

29. Do you have a beta reader? Why/Why not?

My husband proof-reads my stuff, and then I question him on it. I don’t have a beta. I’ve thought about it, but I stick to a strict time-frame when it comes to uploads where I strictly give myself very little leniency. So if it wasn’t beta’d in time, I’d get a little frustrated and I do not like to pester people. I also worry I’ll be told to edit and cut a LOT, and I don’t like to butcher my ‘fics. I do that enough while I’m writing 8D

30. What inspires you to write?

My faith. That is a BIG one. You will find references and metaphors to my faith throughout my stories. Particularly in The End and The Mask Behind the Monster. Music is another huge inspiration drive. I’ve come up with entire scenes and even plots or sub-plots listening to music. I was just on a walk listening to some cyberpunk tracks when I got the spark for The Mainframe Saga.

31. What’s the nicest thing someone has ever said about your writing?

Oh boy. Where do I start? I think I was especially moved when someone told me they read The Mask Behind the Monster to their sisters.

32. Do you listen to music when you write or does music inspire you? If so, which band or genre of music does it for you?

Yes. A lot. I listen to a variety of stuff from Christian rock and EDM to cyberpunk instrumental tracks. Main bands are Thousand Foot Krutch, Family Force Five, Cruxshadows, Holon, Misanthropix, Scandroid and Celldweller.

33. Do you write oneshots, multi-chapter fics or huuuuuge epics?

It really varies. I lean towards epics. Even Glitched ended up being longer than planned, if memory serves, although it’s not epic length. The Mainframe Saga is made up of chaptered ‘fics, ficlets and one-shots.

34. What’s the word count on your longest fic?

I couldn’t tell you, because Scrivener crashes when I try to get the word count for System:Reboot XD

35. Do you write drabbles? If so, what do you normally write them about?

I don’t, but I have thought about it.

36. What’s your favourite genre to write?

Sci-Fi. Hands down.

37. First person or third person - what do you write in and why?

I prefer third person, particularly restricted third person, because it is easier to write about different characters. That way the reader knows what’s going on when the main cast do not. I was very surprised I enjoyed writing first person so much in Mask Behind the Monster, though. But I did leap into third person a couple of times to give a wider perspective.

38. Do you use established canon characters or do you create OCs?

I love creating OCs. But I will use canon characters in the Sonic fandom.

39. What is you greatest strength as a writer?

From what I’ve been told, character development.

40. What do you struggle the most with in your writing?

Violence. And tragic back stories. I have legit questioned my sanity when coming up with scenes that include this.

Also... when I write fluff... I kind of grind to a halt and struggle through it. Often interspersed with gazing from the window and thinking well further ahead than where I’m currently at. This often results in forgetting dialogue I think up during my garden gazing.

Fanfiction Questions

41. List and link to 5 fanfics you are currently reading:

I won’t post links because it is much too fiddly. But Guiding Light by Ambyssin, Heart Song by Suetonicsonic, Fall From Power by Lordius Dannius.

Hands of Creation by Namohysip, and The Curious and the Shiny by Nebula Dreams. Both of which I seriously need to pick up again.

I believe you can find all of them on FFNet.

42. List and link to 5 fanfiction authors who are amazing:

Same applies as above. Ambyssin, Suetonicsonic, Namohysip, Chibi Pika and Nebula Dreams.

43. Is there anyone in your fandom who really inspires you?

Ambyssin has provided some amazing constructive criticism on System:Reboot which has resulted in me making a terrifying antagonist out of Gadget the Wolf. I strongly hope no other antagonists will develop what I have nicknamed ‘Socket Syndrome’. His drive and commitment to his writing has been pretty inspirational, too.

But in all fairness, I think most, if not all, of my writing friends have been inspirational and very supportive. I offer digital high-fives to each and every one of you.

44. What ship do you feel needs more attention?

I can’t think of any. People should write what they like. And I believe if you want to read it, and it doesn’t exist, then you should write it yourself if you can.

45. What is your all time favourite fanfic?

Guiding Light by Ambyssin. It’s not often I fall in love with a fanfic.

Fall From Power by Lordius Dannius is another.

46. If someone was to read one of your fanfics, which fic would you recommend to them and why?

The End or The Mask Behind the Monster, because they’re pretty special to me.

47. Archive Of Our Own, Fanfiction.net or Tumblr - where do you prefer to post and why?

FFNet. I’ve been posting there for years. I’m iffy on AO3. I’ve considered posting to Tumblr, but my solution to that is to post links and artwork instead.

48. Do you leave reviews when you read fanfiction? Why/Why not?

If I feel I have something to say, I’ll post a review. I like to make sure I do so, though, and I have been known to make notes on my computer and post reviews in bulk to works posted on Serebii.

49. Do you care if people comment/reblog your writing? Why/why not?

I love comments, and I will try to respond to each one. Reblogs are totally welcome!

50. How did you get into reading and/or writing fanfiction?

I’ve been writing for many, many years. Since before I was ten years old. Pokemon likely got me into fanfiction. I can’t remember writing it for anything else prior to that cringy ‘fic I mentioned earlier (which we will never, ever talk about. Ever.)

51. Rant or Gush about one thing you love or hate in the world of fanfiction! Go!

I love the creativity behind it, especially OCs. Pokemon OCs are my favourites, particularly in PMD or Pokecentric settings. Both Sonic and Pokemon offer a lot of inspiration to create OCs as the worlds are both pretty vast. AUs and canon settings both offer massive scope for creativity. It’s seeing peoples’ headcanons and takes on the franchises that I really enjoy. Yes, I do like shipping, but a story does NOT need it to be a good story. It’s the way people tell it that matters more to me.

I know this says ‘one thing’. But I just want to make it clear, the one part of fanfiction I don’t like, is M-rated stuff. And I will not read it. It... bugs me when a ‘fic I’ve been enjoying suddenly changes its rating XD

(I do not own any of the fandoms or characters mentioned in this post) <- Nervous Nelly moment?

[sage-nebula]

@em-exceeds-change-zearu --- Hope you don’t mind, but I wanted to respond to your tags in a new post since the original post was long enough as it was, haha!

#also i love all of these picks and the thought that went into them #and that he has a varied team that's flexible and can take on tons of things #ALSO I'M GLAD YOU DIDN'T MENTION ZEKROM #I WAS DREADING A RED EYES BLACK DRAGON REDUX WITH ZEKROM #(even if zekrom and reshiram are huge walking red eyes and blue eyes jokes) 

See, it’s because I put a lot of thought into it that I didn’t mention Zekrom! Zekrom doesn’t work for the Red-Eyes Black Dragon at all (and ditto for Reshiram with the Blue-Eyes White Dragon)!

From a visual standpoint, I get why the comparisons were made. Zekrom is a black dragon with red eyes, and Reshiram is a white dragon with blue eyes. But that’s where the similarities end. While monsters in YGO have only very loose elemental associations, the fact still remains that the Red-Eyes Black Dragon is a fire dragon, while the Blue-Eyes White Dragon is an electric dragon. We see this in their attacks. The Red-Eyes Black Dragon’s attack is Black Fire Bullet (JP) / Inferno Fire Blast (EN), while the Blue-Eyes White Dragon’s attack is Burst Stream of Destruction (JP) / White Lightning (EN). “Burst Stream of Destruction” isn’t specifically electric, but it isn’t fire, either, and the look of it certainly looks electrical whenever it attacks (which is likely what led to 4Kids naming the attack what they did). Either way, these attacks make it clear in both the manga (JP) and the anime (EN) that Red-Eyes is a fire dragon while Blue-Eyes is an electric dragon.

But with Zekrom and Reshiram, that’s reversed. Zekrom is Electric/Dragon, while Reshiram is Fire/Dragon. Their types do not match up with the YGO dragons at all. And while some might say that’s a minor quibble, it really isn’t. Jounouchi is pretty heavily associated with fire, even setting Red-Eyes aside. Just off the top of my head:

The yo-yo he was pictured with in the cover art for chapters 48/49 was a “Fireboy” yo-yo;

He defeated Chopperman by setting him on fire with the candle + oil combo;

One of his most memorable cards is Flame Swordsman (though him saying it was his favorite card was an anime invention, but nonetheless);

He stayed behind with Yuugi during the fire at the Black Crown and made it out with only minor injuries; 

When he got to name an attack during his duel with Malik, he named it “Jounouchi Fire”;

The God card he’s most heavily associated with is Ra, and Ra is the one that uses flames to attack (versus Osiris’ wind and Obelisk’s lightning);

Speaking of, he survived Ra’s flames at first brush (he died a few minutes later, true, but even that was only temporary)

Jounouchi is pretty heavily associated with a fire motif, and so it makes sense that his signature dragon would be a fire dragon, rather than an electric one. And likewise, Kaiba seems to be associated with lightning and electricity far more than he is with fire. Kaiba is all about technological advancement, is always surrounded by computers, robots, and the latest technology that he himself invented. The God card that he’s associated with, Obelisk, is one that has lightning spark around its fists when it attacks. It makes sense that his dragon is an electric one, rather than a fire one. Switching that around by associating Jounouchi with Zekrom and Kaiba with Reshiram is a huge mistake. It doesn’t fit at all.

Moreover, the thing about legendary pokémon is that most of them come with a stronger meaning associated with them. They’re cool looking and have types, yes, but each of them also usually symbolize something, or have something they watch over, protect, or stand for. For Zekrom, that’s ideals (and fighting for one’s ideals), and with Reshiram, that’s truth (and fighting for the truth). While Jounouchi can be an idealistic person, what Zekrom actually looks for in its champion is someone who wants to push their ideals onto others, to lead the world with them, and that’s not Jounouchi. Jounouchi doesn’t want to push his ideals onto others; he lives his own way and that’s that. Likewise, Kaiba’s not really concerned with the truth outside of how it benefits him, and he’s not opposed to flat out ignoring or denying it when it doesn’t, so I don’t think Reshiram would choose him as a champion either, haha.

So yeah, I saw no reason to bring up Zekrom. The Red-Eyes Black Dragon is represented by shiny charizard, and that’s that.

#i also didn't consider sivally/silvuddy at all!!! #but considering that it's literally named...silver buddy... #(gladion you fucking nerd) #it's perfect #the nickanme is perfect #he would approve #maybe silvuddy is something he gets in duelist kingdom? #like. in pegasus' basement or something #but this is pokemon world and you mentioned gladion existing in this crossover canon so HMM. MMM. #I'M STUCK ON HOW HE GETS IT TOO 

I did imagine this as taking place in the Pokémon World, yeah, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t adapt Duelist Kingdom as well. All we have to do is make it pokémon battles instead of Duel Monsters duels. So Pegasus owns an island with a castle, and he decides to host his own battle tournament on his island (that takes place over a more reasonable span of time than just two days). Maybe entrants have to collect star badges instead of star chips, or maybe it is star chips if badges would get him in trouble with the local League. In any case, he has his own unofficial, not-government-sanctioned tournament, and it’s very much like Duelist Kingdom except everyone has real monsters and therefore people like Mai and Bandit Keith have a much harder time cheating than they did in the actual canon.

(Well, Gladion doesn’t have to exist in the crossover canon, haha. It’s just an idea I threw out there. I don’t know if any relationship I could invent for him would be as fun to write as the one I had between him and Alan, so it’s not like I’m very attached to the idea of him existing in this story.)

#...oooh #kaiba imports it into his Tower Of Death scenario because he paid big monies to Aether Foundation #jou ends up taking it back #the same way how in other trials they utilized things that belonged to their enemies against them #(maybe replace the stupid ride of fear part with it BECAUSE HONESTLY THAT WAS THE LOW PART OF THE TOWER. IT WAS STUPID.) 

Hmm, that could work! Although honestly it might make more sense for Kaiba Corporation to have created Type: Null. Kaiba spared absolutely no expense when it came to creating Death-T, and I’m not exaggerating when I say that:

According to the currency converter I use, in 1996 (when this was written / would take place), ¥10,000,000,000 would be $87,989,745.57. Kaiba spent eighty-seven million dollars to build a theme park to kill Yuugi with. Money was not an issue for him whatsoever.

But that said, Type: Null seems like the type of creature Kaiba Corporation would have created, particularly if they existed within the Pokémon world. Maybe not so much once Kaiba takes over and turns it into a gaming company, but back when it was still a company for developing military weapons? The concept of pokémon being created as weapons is not at all foreign to the series (Mewtwo and Genesect being two prime examples), and I could see Gozaburo wanting to top all of them by creating a chimera that replicated the powers of Arceus. So maybe Type: Null had already been created and cryogenically frozen, and Kaiba released one of them in the hopes that they’d be able to kill Yuugi and the others. That could work. That said, I did really like Chopperman as Jounouchi’s personal challenge, particularly since he knows it’s a trap and walks into it anyway because he feels it’s the right thing to do (what a Gryffindor), so yeah, replacing the horror ride would definitely be preferable, particularly since how sexualized that scene was re: how the ride groped Anzu was unnecessary and gross and hands down the worst part of Death-T. :/ 

#(I HATE TRISTAN'S BRAT COUSIN HE HAD NO REASON TO BE THERE AND ONLY EXISTED TO MAKE TROUBLE) #(I APPRECIATED THAT HE VAPORIZED INTO NONEXISTENCE AFTER THAT ARC. BYE BINCH)

Haha, Jouji is his nephew, actually! Honda was on babysitting duty for his big sister that day. I will say that I do like the fact that Jouji exists purely because it lets us know that Honda has a big sister, and I’ve actually utilized that by fleshing her out into a character for a few fics I’ve written (including my magnum opus), which makes me somewhat attached to her. That said, we don’t actually need that, because Honda brings her up again when he brings clothes for Shizuka to wear when he picks her up from the hospital:

(Sorry for the scan quality, it’s the best I can do right now. Also, the “I don’t know if they’ll look good on you” --- that’s VIZ being kind of loose with the translation. In the original Japanese what he says is more like, “I don’t know if they’ll suit you,” which makes sense given Shizuka is far more demure than what Honda’s sister is implied to be like, given her taste in clothes.)

This little mention here is actually part of why I characterized her the way I did when I wrote her; that she wore “loud” clothes when she was younger spoke to a punkish style of dress, and in my mind, attitude therefore. Either way, though, Jouji is the first way we find out that Honda has an older sister, and that happens much earlier than this, so I guess that’s at least a little good he brings to the story.

Still, though, I agree with you overall, haha. I don’t like Jouji as a character at all. I don’t like the toilet humor during the horror game ride (though that still wasn’t as bad as the ride itself groping Anzu), I don’t like how he’s perverted as a baby, and I don’t understand how old he’s supposed to be. He seems like he should only be a year or so old, but if that’s true, how can he talk that well? How can he understand more mature concepts? It feels like he should have been at least five or six, but then I suppose he wouldn’t have been able to be carried around . . . ugh. Either way, he didn’t really bring anything of merit or value to Death-T. The closest we got was that he was the bait to lure Jounouchi in, and I liked that because, again, Jounouchi knew that it was a trap, but he walked into it anyway because he felt it was the Right thing to do, both because Jouji had helped them once before, and because Jouji was a baby. (And there’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment right before the games actually start where Honda is trying to get Jouji to shut up, and Jounouchi says, “Don’t make him cry!” Jounouchi really does have a soft spot for kids, aww. It’s the big brother in him, probably.) Plus, the fact that Jounouchi won that literal fight to the death while holding a baby in his arms is nothing short of badass, and I’ll never take any badass moments away from him. ♥

But yeah, Jouji was a worthless trash character, lmao. There’s a reason why, although I’ve written Honda’s older sister, I haven’t actually written Jouji. I’ve no use for that annoying thing.

[hunterguyveriv]

An Old Voltron Fan’s rant

A Voltron-Old Timer’s unapologetic rant on certain factions of fans:

So it has been a week since Season-7 dropped and as a fan of the original Voltron since that fateful day in September, I have grown to love anything Voltron that is made and grow sad to see it’s inevitable end looming on the horizon. That being said some factions new fandom members have gotten really tiresome and annoying to the point that they need to grow up. Somethings you all may not agree with, but this is my view of the fandom.

I normally don't do anything like this but seeing nasty posts, posted to voice actors *referencing a particular Klance fan*, and to @bext-k and anyone else associated with Voltron: Legendary Defender who may be on Tumblr, I want to apologize for that part of the fanbase, you should not be hassled or have to write a letter apologizing for “apparent queerbaiting.” but I have to speak my mind, on the whole, the issue. As an old-time Voltron Fan, that person and his friends/supporters DO NOT speak for me! And if you are one of those who does happen to be in the LGBT Community and still loved everything about the season or disliked it but didn’t go to such extremes like some have, then this need not apply to and for that, sorry you have to see such ugliness from this post.

Over the seasons I have heard of the nastiness fans have had about certain things “needing to appear in “Voltron: Legendary Defender,” but then I saw it after Season first hand from a fan who proudly posted his nasty posts to a Voice Actress of the show. To that person and people like him, who the hell do you think you are? I understand that you are “UPSET” about many things reading through your childish “look at me” posts.

First let us take a look at the definition of “Queerbaiting:”

Queerbaiting, according to a definition I found is: “the practice to hint at, but then to not actually depict, a same-sex romantic relationship between characters in a work of fiction, mainly in film or television. The potential romance may be ignored, explicitly rejected or made fun of.”

Besides Shiro's flashbacks where else are these hints in the series? Can you list each and every instance which hinted to 2 male characters or 2 female characters hooking up? So a male character hugs a male character repeatedly so what? So male characters smile at one another, or hug, or cradle an injured person in their arms. We as humans do that in general because we are an affectionate race. That has nothing to do with "queerbaiting." Some may source “well Keith and Lance are always paired together on missions.” Yes, it’s to get them to quit getting at each other’s throats an congeal as team members both in and out of combat. Those are instances and occurrences that does not certain characters are or will be gay.

So you didn't get what you and so many others wanted, that doesn't mean you have to be a little child about it and be nasty about it! I wanted Keith to be Native American, even civilly requested it, because my people need more representation in the media, but you know what? It would be nice, even though it doesn't seem like it will happen, I still enjoy the series. Which by the way, speaking representation, did the LGBT community request or demand representation for the Native American community? How about the mentally handicapped, Jewish, Muslim, or countless others? When is too much representation too much that it damages the show?!

If you want all the representation or headcanons you want in the world start writing your own fan fiction and post it on websites like Archive of Our Own, Fanfiction.net, or even DeviantArt. Just don't act like a pathetic little child and throw a hissy fit because you didn't get what you want. It’s called life, you don't get what you always want.

I admit I was a bit perturbed that they, the showrunners, first revealed that they made Shiro gay. Mainly because it seemed like the LGBT representation was being forced down everyone's throats just to appease those who “ship” him with male characters. But you know what I for one am glad we got what we got from Shiro & Adam. And I know some of you are going to and have said before “But we deserved to see Shiro and Adam reunite!” NO WE DON’T!

1, Shiro and Adam were broken up, because Shiro went on a mission that he needed to prove to himself that he can do. Adam even said so himself!

2, Adam dying is something that happens in war, especially war where a less prepared race goes up against a more advanced civilization. And if you take issue because him dying because he was involved with a primary character then you might as well stop watching a bunch of series, because it happens ALL THE TIME!

3. It showed that Shiro even though they were broken up was regretful and still had to focus on liberating Earth from the Galra. He had no true time to mourn yes, but in times of War, you generally don't have that luxury to do so. You have to continue the fight until it is over.

4. As some have even suggested, his death helped focus Shiro during a time he himself wasn't sure about himself.

Another thing, yes representation of Native Americans would be nice, but what would it have to do with the story before and after the reveal of a Native American character? NOTHING! What does Shiro/Adam or even Zethrid/Ezor have to do with the story from the 6 previous seasons and anything made after Season 7? NOTHING! What would having a Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, mentally handicapped character have to do with the story before and after the reveal? Once again NOTHING!

The whole drive of the show is “War is Hell.” Hell on those oppressed, hell on those fighting it, and hell for those left behind, and hell for those who survive. Sure some budding romances will result from it which I am about to go into, but this, in a cartoon about a giant robot beating the shit out of monsters, other robots, and evil alien ships, should be the ONLY representation that should be focused on. Not ones to make you feel all hunky dory on the inside or accepted. The showrunners know what they are doing, but if you think you can do better then please, by all means, purchase the rights to Voltron and make your own version. War is not a sugar coated thing where everyone lives happily ever after if you want to continue believing that then go back to watching your anime shows made for kids like Pokemon, Dragon Ball/Z/Super and leave the more thoughtful series to the adults. ANd if there are some fellow old timers here with me, they are more than likely to agree.

And if you think I am being homophobic I’m not. I have been questioned my own sexuality since 1992 but had to keep under-wraps because of family or where I live. I am happy they - the LGBT community, got their representation for what it was, but I am just fed up with the whole issue being forced down our throats.

Now onto the couples thing… pairings/couples/ships WHATEVER!

Now this whole “ship/shipping” thing... it's nice/new/bizarre/and downright stupid to me. Back in my time, we didn't call potential couples “ships” or went batshit crazy over something that looked like a character was crushing on another when there is nothing there. The fan fiction and fan art is spectacular and in most cases breathtaking, but in recent seasons it has really gotten out of hand with Voltron. The whole Sheith issue, only “shipping Keith with other male characters, praising pairings while condemning others.

Speaking of which, why is it okay to “ship” Lotor and Allura together even though he used her, but it's not okay to ship Keith and Acxa together or Keith and Romelle together? And don’t you dare say its because “Keith is clearly gay/bi” or that “shipping him with anyone else besides Character X is toxic” excuse - because those excuses have gotten stupid, old, and annoying. But I’ll wait for you to give me one nice solid instance...

So he smiled at Lance after they captured Sendak and Lance said: “We make a good team” that doesn't mean anything, so he smiled at Rolo that could very well be a reference to The Walking Dead because both VAs at the time were from TWD, so he hugs Shiro... So what! Speaking from experience Brother-Friends do this. He and James looked at each other when he returned to Garrison Base - and your point is? They never really liked each other to begin with. “He hasn’t shown much interest in the opposite sex,” um excuse me have you watched Season 1 episode 3? He was always smiling towards Allura. Plus have you ever took into consideration that maybe because he was secretly struggling with inner demons, demons Shiro only knew about, that maybe he just didn't want to get involved with anyone until he feels ready too or that maybe those he knows just doesn't interest him?

For all, we know Acxa maybe that one character that interests him over Allura, Romelle, Pidge, Nyma, Olia, or any other character with the exclusion of Krolia for obvious reasons. Let's state the obvious, she is the first person he meets face to face (eventually) who is a Galra-Hybrid, someone like him who he has the potential to connect with better than his Galra Mother, the Blade, or even the Paladins. And believe me, being a mixed blood myself sometimes it is a lot easier for us in this situation to connect more, we know things that those who aren't in the situation feel. They seem to be looking out for each other, regardless of whether it goes against their current allegiances at the time. And I for one support the idea of him hooking up with Acxa or even Romelle for the sake of argument over the Paladins for my own reasons. And yes that is coming from an old-timer who used to believe “If it is ANYTHING Voltron then it has to be Keith and Allura. That is the way of it, the way it has been, and should always be” up until Season 2.

Now really address the whole claim “Keith isn't interested in women, so he is gay" or “when confronted by the former general taunts he says ‘Can’t we just fight!’ means he is gay” posts when taunted: Have you ever considered that during an intergalactic war, that maybe if he were interested in someone like Acxa, he wouldn't want the enemy to know? Best way to cripple your foe is to target and exploit his or her weakness, and there is no greater weakness to someone than those who hold their heart. Whether it is lovers, parents, siblings, and so forth. Season 6 is a great example of Haggar exploiting it because Keith loved Shiro as a brother. Zethrid and Ezor knew Acxa had a thing for the flippity hair paladin and tried to exploit it and nearly succeeded.

Exposing your enemy’s one true weakness is one thing that is a constant in shows like this, you all should know this and shouldn't have someone point it out. Guyver-I and Mizuki Segawa, Batou and Motoko Kusanagi - since he clearly has a thing for her, Raphael and Mona Lisa of 2012 TMNT series, Superman and Lois Lane, Shiro Amada and Aina Sahalin, Krolia and both her mate & baby Keith, Swamp Thing and Abby Arcane, and so many others! Even Sonic the Hedgehog’s weakness prior to all the Sonic Adventure tie-in comics was Sally Acorn. Each of their enemies has tried to and have exploited this weakness in an attempt to achieve victory. So just because someone doesn't react to taunts like “Oh it must be true love” the way others may have, DOES NOT mean they are gay. Especially if they are part of a warrior class, they may exhibit some feelings for one another out in public or with friends but when they are alone they are free to be themselves.

Now I am not saying you can't “ship” characters with who you want, but if you see things you don't like just don't post things against it. Dial it back a bit for crying out loud. I don't like the idea of Sheith, Klance, or LoKei, Huneith but you don't see me bashing it or saying “Keith is obviously Heterosexual” or some shit like that. I scroll past it. To my understanding from scrolling through Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook - before admins started to crack down on them, making a post like that is just as bad as posting hateful comments on posts supporting a particular pairing.

And to say things like “Well if Ship-X or Ship-Y becomes canon I am done with the series!” Well, you know what I say to that or those who think they are entitled to something? There’s the Voltron Door, don’t let it hit you on your way out! The series has lasted 30 plus years and will continue to do so without your entitled ass. Sure there are things that were done that I didn't like, but it is not worth sending blackmail/death threats to those involved or being nasty to those involved that it prompts the showrunners to issue an apology letter just to make you feel good about your nastiness.

In my opinion they, the showrunners, should never have apologized in the first place for all your hurt little feelings. The one thing THEY SHOULD apologize for, in my own opinion is ending the series (WHICH WE ARE LUCKY TO HAVE AFTER EVERYTHING NEGATIVE THAT HAS HAPPENED) so soon if indeed Season 8 turns out to be the final one! I’d have like to see it go for another 5 more seasons while bringing in the Vehicle Voltron now that Earth has literally become part of the “Galaxy Alliance,” and is now a prime target with Voltron there. Yes, I say Galaxy Alliance because Earth and the Galaxy Garrison are now part of the Voltron Alliance/Coalition.

Anyway, sure I had my frustrations and joys with Legendary Defender as an Old-Time Voltron fan but I still enjoyed it immensely. And regardless of what happens in the next season (whether it continues or not) and after I look forward to anything Voltron. And for those who keep in mind: there is ALWAYS the next series! 2011’s Voltron-Force was well received for a time but faded into the distance for Voltron: Legendary Defender. But with the nastiness of certain fans, we ALL must prove we deserve any more seasons, a newer series 5 to 10 years down the line, or an animated or live-action movie.

Well this is the end of my rant, like don’t like, applaud or get offended by it I don't care, this is how I see the actions of a certain few of this fandom effecting the rest of us who enjoy the series for what it is and not what we want it to be.

[farfromsugafanfic]

glitteringconstellations interview

Before we get started with the interview, do you mind introducing yourself (whatever name you are comfortable with) and telling us a little about yourself?

Hi everyone! I’m glitteringconstellations, Glitter or GC for short. I’ve been writing fanfiction for well over 15 years now, though I only started sharing it around 2005. I minored in Creative Writing in college and I love writing in pretty much any capacity! When I’m not headcanoning one new story or another, though, I’m either adulting (ugh, adulting) or playing video games. These days it’s mostly Skyrim. I’m fluent in Korean and passable in Japanese and Spanish. I drink way too much pop to be healthy and I hate most fruit (though, give me any kind of melon and I’ll be a happy girl). Oh, and I’m a fledgling figure skater! I’m just a hodgepodge of random hobbies haha!

Q1: What kind of fan fiction do you normally write? Have you ever written fan fiction for other fandoms other than your current one?

A1: I tend to gravitate toward angsty fics. It’s long been my outlet of frustration, to put the character I love in harm’s way. The more pain, the better, haha! Though I do love the hurt/comfort aspect of it. Recently (as in, the last year lmao) I’ve been writing for the Voltron fandom almost exclusively (and sometimes YURI!!! On Ice), but before that I was in the k-pop ficdom (Super Junior, for the most part) for a looooong time, nearly 10 years. I won’t be opening that particular can of worms, though--I have Feelings and Opinions lmao. Before that I jumped around from anime to anime.

Q2: I see in addition to fan fiction that you do commissioned fan art! I’m not an artist myself, so I find it really interesting and cool. Do you want to talk a bit about that? And, feel free to plug yourself!

A2: This is actually a common misconception--I can’t draw to save my life!! I took commissions for fan fiction back in late June as a last resort to pay my rent. Typically though I’m horrible on a deadline so I don’t like to do it too often because I feel terrible making my commissioners wait. The art you’re referring to is the comic spread for The Parting Glass, if I’m not mistaken? I actually commissioned another artist by the name of Cota (@ccooooostuff on tumblr, go check her out she’s amazing at what she does and super sweet!) for that comic with the money I got for my birthday this year.

Q3: Do you write anything outside of fan fiction?

A3: I do! I journal a lot, or I try to anyway. This year I’m hoping to tackle an original novel for Nanowrimo, but more than likely, that particular project will start as fanfiction and we’ll see if I turn it into original fiction or not. I spend more time thinking about the things I want to write than… actually… writing them lolsob. My notes will be this gigantic document but when it comes to putting things together in a cohesive manner? Haaaaaa….haha…. The blinking cursor mocks me, I swear.

Q4: I see on your profile that you are 26. I think when most people think of fan fiction writers they think of someone younger, usually a teenager. Do you encounter younger writers a lot? What do you think of this assumption?

A4: I do encounter younger writers a lot! Surprisingly, though, most writers I know are either in their late 20s or late late teens (say, 15~19). Most people tend to think I’m young anyway just because I look a lot younger than 26, but as far as fandom goes, it doesn’t really bother me if people think I’m younger than I am. Usually I’m pretty forward with how old I am on my profile anyway! But yeah, I’ve been around the fanfiction scene a while. The k-pop fandom in particular had a way of reminding me just how long on a pretty frequent basis lol.

Q5: Why did you begin writing fan fiction? If it was for a fandom, why did that particular thing make you begin writing? And, for your current fandoms?

A5: I used to tell myself stories to get to sleep or on long car trips as far back as I can remember, and most of the time they involved characters from my favorite shows of the day. Pokemon and Digimon were two big ones for me before I hit those fun preteen years. As far as what got me started actually putting those stories to paper, it was born of frustration with shows not going the way I wanted them to, so I’d write the ending I wanted to see. For Voltron in particular, it’s just SUCH a fun sandbox to play in, be it by utilizing the incredible world-building or the plethora of interesting characters to play around with. So many possibilities! *3*

Q6: Do you ever want to be published in a professional capacity one day?

A6: Yes and no. I flip flop on this ALL the time. I’d LOVE to see my stories on shelves, but I’m actually very insecure and sometimes the thought of people reading my stories makes me want to die of embarrassment and sink to the center of the earth. That said, if I win Nano this year, I may run it by some publishers, even if only to get feedback. (Although if you want to get TECHNICAL I am officially a published journalist; I was an assistant editor for one of The Big 3 kpop news sites for a while. The one that starts with S. Also another can of worms.)

Q7: Has writing fan fiction taught you anything? About writing? Reading? The fandom? Etc.

A7: Oh absolutely. I definitely would not be the writer I am today without fan fiction. I wouldn’t say I’m super skilled, but the critique I’ve received over the years has helped me more than I have words for, honestly. Not even just in the capacity of writing fiction; my academic and professional writing has improved too. Also, just like reading anything in high volume, reading fanfic has helped me learn to read like a writer, how to pick out things that authors do that I admire and try to emulate that, and conversely what doesn’t work for me so I can avoid those things.

As far as fandom goes, fanfiction can be quite polarizing, as I’m sure you’re well aware. Just in my experience by and large it can be kind of toxic, to be quite honest. The particular issue Voltron faces that I experienced to some extent in other fandoms but not quite to this degree, is fandom policing. I find that certain members of the fandom (which, in my experience, tends to actually be mostly among those younger demographics, though not exclusively so) see certain topics as morally wrong and therefore anyone who writes those topics are 1) romanticizing said topic and 2) automatically a disgusting, horrible person and they have no problems telling you about all about it. The number one thing I try to put out there in my interactions is live and let live, ship and let ship. If it makes you uncomfortable, that’s okay! But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s wrong, and it’s definitely not okay to go around purporting hate in the name of “morality.” Sorry, didn’t mean to go off on a tangent there haha...

Q8: What is a piece you’ve written that you’re most proud of?

A8: Just in the Voltron fandom, I’d say the fic I’m most proud of is The Parting Glass, by far. Funny story about that one; I’d never heard the titular song before I came across a cover of it on Facebook one day around St. Patrick’s Day, and let me tell you something. The reaction I had was almost a spiritual experience, it was so visceral. I was in tears when I heard it, and the story came so hard and so fast that I wrote it in 2 days. It stayed with me until I got it down in writing. It was an interesting challenge for me, exploring the grief part of a character death fic while almost entirely omitting the actual dying part. It’s been a very long time since I’ve had such a vivid vision of exactly how a fic is going to go from start to finish and I’m quite happy with the way it turned out. Which is why, when I had the money to do so, I commissioned Cota to illustrate what had to be the hardest and yet my favorite part to write. She brought the scene to life so beautifully too, I’m really happy with how it turned out. Months later I still go back and stare at it!

Q9: Do you notice any stigma surrounding fan fiction or fan fiction writers?

A9: Without a doubt. People hear “fanfiction” and they think one of two things: the pudgy neckbeard who lives in his parents’ basement, or the rabid tween/teenage fangirl. It’s a rather unfortunate stereotype, because some works of fanfiction are truly works of art, more masterfully crafted than some novels I’ve seen published. Yet they get dismissed simply on the basis of being fanworks and not “original” (which, let’s be real, nothing is truly original anymore). One such example that comes to mind of a beautiful fic is those glittering instruments in the EXO fandom, which was based on the real-life destruction of the Library of Alexandria. If you can find a copy of it floating around the interwebs I HIGHLY recommend giving it a chance no matter what fandom you’re in!

Q10: If so, how do you feel about this stigma?

A10: Like I said, it’s really a shame. The thing, too, is that as young girls we’re often shamed for the things we’re passionate about, like boy bands and, well, fan fiction, while boys don’t get that kind of shame to such an intense degree (at least, not about the usual suspects, like sports and girls and such). Not to say that it doesn’t happen, but there’s something terribly sad about seeing more young people afraid to talk about a hobby that makes them happy because they’re afraid of being perceived as weird or gross or something like that. Hell, even to this day I have very few friends from outside the fandom sphere that know I write fanfiction, because they still talk bad and make mean jokes about fic writers. It’s such a silly thing, because a lot of famous works are derivative fiction and people don’t even realize it! So I hope the day comes soon that we can get over this silly stigma and just enjoy what people share (for free!! Seriously!! FULL NOVEL LENGTH WORKS. For FREE.)

Q11: Is there anything you’ve ever wanted to talk about or be asked that no one has asked you about or given you the opportunity to talk about? (And if so, feel free to answer/talk about it).

A11: I really had to think about this one! I couldn’t really pick one topic that I’ve really wanted to talk about that I haven’t already discussed, but no one has ever asked me if I was okay with having fanart of my work. Which I would answer with a resounding YES. I am more than okay with it QuQ

Oh, I guess I do have something!! It’s unrelated to writing (well, I guess it could be related, depending on how you look at it) but since I have your attention, if you’re an American citizen GO OUT AND VOTE. The midterm elections are one week from today in the USA and it’s important you go vote!! I won’t tell you who to vote for (a third can of worms I’m not opening up. WHY DO I HAVE SO MANY WORMS) but I assure you, your vote matters, now more than ever. I believe in you!! Go vote!!!

Q12: What is your prefered site for writing/posting fan fiction?

A12: These days I prefer to use AO3. It’s a work in progress, but it’s far and away the superior fic platform of the time. Back in ye olden days (circa 2010~2012) Livejournal was my platform of choice, and FF.net before that. A surprising number of people prefer to post their fic on tumblr, to which I say, are you out of your flipping MIND?!?! Tumblr is soooo temperamental, I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve had to restart a post or go into the HTML editor because the rich text editor decided to be stupid. Noooooo thank you. I’ll stick to AO3 thanks ahaha!

Check out Glitter’s Tumblr and AO3.

Interviewer Note: Glitter used her free question to encourage everyone to vote and I would just like to stress the importance of this, especially if live in the US. Young people are the demographic that votes the least, despite being the demographic that will have to live the longest with the outcome of the vote. If you are currently not registered, please register as it is important for all of our futures. And, remember the deadline for the upcoming US election is Nov. 6th, so make sure to get to those polls and/or turn/send in your ballot. If you need information on how to do any of these things, do not hesitate to reach out to my page and I will point you to trustworthy resources.