#also as usual i had to make sure i got the templating right on Gift of Memories

[dravidious]

🐢

Killed my fursona again, now they're haunting me by giving me dead mice and birds

Also I had an idea for a combat trick and I decided to make it a monster hunter card

[fangirlinginspace]

Fluffy Alphabet A-K

Colin Robinson

Colin Robinson x (human)reader

template by @queervibesmydude

I'm absolutely smitten with this adorkable guy. Since there is not much online (yet) for my favorite engery vampire I wanted to contribute something myself. Hope you enjoy.

A = Admiration (what do they absolutely adore about you?)

He still can't believe that you actually enjoy listening to him. That hasn't happened before.

He likes to have long conversations with you. And he loves that you have special interests just like him, you guys can share your knowledge with eachother and talk for hours.

B = Body (what is their favorite part of your body?)

This might sound cliché but he loves your eyes. You always get that gleam in your eyes when he talks to you...he could look at you for hours.

C = Cuddling (how do they like to cuddle?)

Honestly, bevor meeting you he never had the urge to engage in physical contact. Even when he dated bevor he always kept his distance. But with you things changed.

After a long day of work he loves to lay in bed next to you and tell eachother about your day. Your head is on his chest while you caress it sofly, he holds you in his arm while he takes in your scent. It's his favorite routine of the day.

D = Dates (what does their ideal date with you look like?)

He would take you for a walk in the park. Feed the ducks and tell you facts about the local flora. Afterwards he would make you a good cup of tea (he is a tea coniseure of sorts) and cuddle on the couch with you.

E = Emotions (how do they express emotion around you?)

He is not used to someone actually listening and caring for him when he talks about how he feels. So having you in his life who responses to his emotions so strongly and willingly is still very new to him.

When it comes to his feelings towards you he gets very shy and doesn't know what to say. It's all still so new to him and he doesn't want to spook you away

F = Family (do they want one? If they do, when?)

Well with him being a vampire that's out of the picture.

G = Gifts (how do they feel about gift giving? What are their habits when it comes to this?)

Oh he loves giving gifts! That's definetly his love language. He is very observant and puts a lot of thought into what to give to you.

H = Holding Hands (when/how do they like to hold hands?)

PDA is a new concept for him. He likes to give you warm smiles in public or a quick tuck at your arm.

You had to initiate holding hands with him in public. You went on one of your walks through the park, it was a beautiful but cold day in January. His hand looked so warm an inviting so you just took it in your smaller one. He was startled by your action but actually loved it.

Nowaday you always hold hands when you are on a walk together.

I = Injury (how would they act if you got hurt?)

If you would get injured his first instinct would be to panic and freeze in shock. But sonn after he would care for you and make sure you are fine.

His biggest fear is something happening to you.

J = Jokes (do they like to joke around with or prank you? how?)

He is the master of dad jokes and reference humor. But nobody seemed to like his jokes until you came along.

K = Kisses (how do they like to kiss you?)

He’s got a few different kissing styles; soft kisses are usually the road he takes, especially at times where he’s shy and other times where he just needs soft touches and to be told he’s okay and that you love him.

If the timing is right he also loves to indulge in passion and share heated kisses with you. As awkward as his passionate kisses may be they leave you wanting more.

[danceworshipper]

Giulio Moretti - HPMA Character Profile

template by me // images created using the zepeto app

NOTE: I am a cisgender female. As such, I have been hesitant to make a trans oc and will not be going into much detail about Giulio's experiences specifically related to his gender. If anything in here feels iffy to anyone not cisgender, please let me know and I'll correct it

Personal

Full Name: Giulio Antonio Moretti

Gender: Male (trans)

Sexuality: Demisexual, polyamorous

Birthday: June 1st

Age: 11

Birthstone: Alexandrite

Zodiac Sign: Gemini

Blood Status: Full Veela

- I'm mostly using these headcanons written by @carmilla-the-bird, though over time I might end up changing a couple details

- I'm not certain if full Veelas would even use wands/go to magic school but these ones do because I say so

- What I'm specifically adding is that since HPMA takes place later than the full HP series, there has been a new method developed to allow full veelas to better coexist with wizards. This comes in the form of a clear gemstone that can be inserted into any piece of jewelry, usually necklaces. While the stone is worn, the charm [or allure, as I call it] that all veelas have while glamored is dampened by up to 80%. Another effect is that when angered, the veela won't be able to lash out with their fire magic, unless they've trained their magic well enough that's it's less of an instinct and more of a conscious choice. Minors are legally required to wear it at all times, except in their own home with only their family around. Once an adult the veela can choose whether they want to wear it or not. The stone has a similar trace to underaged magic, so when a Veela who's a minor takes it off, the Ministry is alerted and their location will be tracked

3 Positive Traits:

- Empathetic

- Resourceful

- Playful

3 Negative Traits:

- Irritable

- Addictive

- Pessimistic

Usual First Impression: When meeting Giulio, most people see him as a spoiled and stuck up little boy. This isn't true. He's just very wary of strangers, so he doesn't tend to leave a good first impression. Once he's more comfortable around someone, his positive traits outshine the more negative ones

Location

Birthplace: A Veela-specific clinic in southern Italy. His mother travelled there for all of her children's births, and the midwife there is the woman who delivered her

Current Home: His family home in England, a medium sized house under a strict Fidelius charm, which his aunt is the Secret Keeper for. His bedroom is on the second floor, looking out over the fish pond in the backyard

Future Home(s): Fresh out of Hogwarts he'll share an apartment with Lori with heavily warded Floo access. Later homes TBD once his love interests are planned out

Favorite Place: The little house the family rents for a month every summer in southern Italy. The town is full of good culture, and better yet, good food. It feels peaceful, even when there's a loud festival going on

Disliked Place: The woods a mile down the road from his home. The woods are the last place Giulio saw his grandmother before she went missing, and now they feel like they're haunted. He refuses to go on walks there anymore

Appearance

Face Shape: Round, slightly pointy chin

Eye Color: Deep teal

Hair Color: Whitish blond

Hair Style: Self cut (horrifies his mother), slightly uneven, medium length. Not brushed every day, fluffy

Skin Tone: Pale

Freckles/Spots: A few beauty marks on his face, two near his right eye and one on the left side of his chin

Scars: None yet

Piercings/Tattoos: None

Height: 5'7" [fully grown]

Weight: ~ 135 lbs [fully grown]

Physique: Thin. Luckily for him, Giulio's family has always had rather "boyish" bodies - wide shoulders, not very curvy - but he's still got too much woman in him to be fully happy with his form

Clothing Style: Baggy tops, loose pants, nothing fancy. Giulio tries to attract as little attention as possible, because while he's glamored people stare at him a lot anyway, even with the dampener. He does like colored pants, but his tops are usually grey and black. His dampening necklace is the most eye catching thing he wears (as it was a gift from his missing grandmother) and he wishes he could take it off, but he legally can't

Carried Items:

- The last picture of him, his sisters, and his grandmother ever taken

- A lighter. He likes having the fire near him since he can't access his own fire magic

- His hair scissors, for whenever he feels like it needs to be trimmed

- A container of Silly Putty he got from a Muggle convenience store

- His water bottle

Magic

Wand: 10" Veela hair wand in Fir wood. A very pale colored wand that's a bit rough around the edges. The hair is from his younger sister Martina, who yanked the strand right out and handed it to the wandmaker after no wands appeared to choose a very defeated looking Giulio. The wand was made while Giulio watched, and he checked it many times throughout the process to make sure it felt like it would have him, which it did.

Animagus: As a veela, Giulio can transform into pretty much any bird shape. He has no need to go through the animagus process

Boggart Form: Him, fully matured, very womanly, and in a wedding gown just like the ones his older sister Alessia fawns over

Riddikulus Form: Him in a ridiculously exaggerated Bloody Baron costume

Amortentia (to others): Someone smelling Giulio would smell new pillows, the faint burning metal scent that clings to him, and the dry shampoo he uses

Amortentia (to them): He doesn't smell any sort of romantic interest yet. What he smells now are safe, comforting smells, like the cigars his mother and aunt smoke, the perfume all his sisters use, and the smell of his favorite restaurant in southern Italy

Patronus: Bird of Paradise

Happiest Memory: Receiving his wand once it was completed, and finally feeling the connection and power he'd heard so much about but thought he'd never have

Mirror of Erised: Some might consider it sad, but all he sees is him, happy, the way he wishes he was - including not looking at all like a Veela. Someday this will change

Family Spells: It's not really a spell, but the Morettis have a particular bird call that, when paired with the right charm, will alert every living family member to the caller's location, should one desperately need help. It's only to be used in emergencies. Giulio isn't sure he wants to know why his grandmother never used it

Inherent Magic: Veela stuff - storm sense, fire, bird transformations, allure, slight levitation abilities

Family

Grandmother: Francesca is not an ideal parental figure. She grew up in a time when full Veelas were treated with nearly the same suspicion and prejudice as werewolves, so she's very anti-human. However, she was still one of Giulio's best defenders and most treasured family members. She places a huge importance on family and is the one who came up with the idea of the special danger call. Francesca went missing when Giulio was seven, and there have been no clues as to what happened.

Mother: Valentina is a kind, gentle woman who cares for her family before anyone else. She and her sister were taught all their lives to be nothing more than a pretty face, and while Bianca rejected this, Valentina embraced it. Even now, with her own mother nowhere to be found, she has trouble remembering to be herself. She wears her necklace at all times, terrified to be without it

Father: Giulio never knew him. He's not sure he even has one

Aunt: Bianca is, in many ways, the exact opposite of her sister. Bianca embraces all of her less than proper instincts, and even walks around in public completely unglamored, acting as a good deterrent to anyone who might want to come say hi, innocent intentions or not. Gets angry very easily, and has caused public property damage more often than Valentina would appreciate

Sisters: Two older sisters, one younger. All Slytherins while in school

- Alessia, six years older, prefect. A headstrong young woman who takes advantage of her allure to get what she wants, and is skilled enough to fight off anyone who gets too "friendly". She likes to have a collection of boy toys she never lets get too close, but secretly only has eyes for the Hufflepuff prefect, Lina.

- Emilia, four years older, Quidditch captain. Hates her allure with a passion and refuses to even think about romance until she's out of school. Could kick anyone's ass, and will do so if she feels the need to. Very protective of Giulio, has gotten into at least eight shouting matches with those who misgender him

- Martina, one year younger. The baby of the family. A bit of a spoiled brat, and too young to fully understand exactly why her older siblings are all so wary of strangers, or letting her out of their sight. She dreams of being the Minister of Magic, and of being able to take her "stupid, ugly, and stupid" necklace off for good

Pets: The two family screech owls which trade off being at school/home, and an Abraxan Giulio found on Hogwarts grounds that likes him a lot

Family Values: The Morettis hold nothing higher than each other. The family's main priority is sticking together, and always doing whatever they can to help each other achieve whatever they wish. The family is also, as a whole, rather reclusive

Opinion of Family: Giulio loves his family. For all their faults, they hold true to their values and he couldn't imagine one of them ever betraying another. Even if they won't ever truly understand him, they've all tried and they do what they can, and it means more than he can say

Friendships

Introverted or Extroverted: Introverted

Best Friend: Oleander Loris. Her anger issues, her weird pink eyes, and her tendency to drag him along to social outings are all things that Giulio comes to appreciate over time. He originally became curious about her on the train ride to school, when she stumbled looking at his older sisters but didn't notice him at all, and they spoke for the first time in Flying class. Lori is definitely a force to be reckoned with, and the fact that she's not affected by his allure in the slightest makes him feel really happy

Worst Friend: TBD

Friend He Didn't Expect: Cassandra. They aren't the best of friends, and maybe they can't be considered friends at all, but she doesn't hold the contempt she seems to hold for most others for him

Who He Wishes Was His Friend: Kestra Fernera. She's got fire powers, and she doesn't have to be chained down by the Ministry. He thinks she's super cool, and is very jealous of her and how popular she is, but he's far too nervous to try and talk to her

List of Casual Friends:

- Brian Haywood-Reese @catohphm

- others TBD, but likely the main cast of the game. Mc friends welcome, if any are interested!

Romance

Current Crush: None

Current Partner: None

Past Partners: None

Future Partners: TBD

His Type: Pretty much anyone who's able to look past the allure that Giulio hates so much and also isn't afraid of him in his natural form, though most people haven't even seen it

Hogwarts

House: Slytherin

Prefect Status: No

Quidditch: Not on the team, but plays casually

Clubs: TBD

Organizations: None

Favorite Class: Flying. Duh

Least Favorite Class: Potions. It gives him a headache surrounded by all the fumes

Favorite Professor: TBD

Least Favorite Professor: TBD

Timeline

Young Childhood:

- Giulio realizes young that he hates the idea of being a girl, and insists that his mother change his name. His family thought it was a phase, but once they realized it wasn't, they became more serious and started to see what they could do to help him

- He's a sheltered child, learning early the importance of staying close to a trusted adult. He sees the horrors of what can happen to a Veela caught unaware at a young age when he almost loses his mother to someone who wanted to sell her, and never looks at strangers the same way again

- At five years old Giulio is given his dampener necklace. He refuses to wear it until his grandmother forcibly puts it on him. He decides it's not that bad, though it feels like it's choking him and he doesn't like the muted feeling in his hands that comes from the loss of his instinctual magic

- At seven years old, Giulio is on a walk with his grandmother in the woods when he hears a loud screech. She sends him back toward the house, saying she'll be right behind him. Hours pass, and she never follows. There's no evidence as to what that screech was, or what happened to his grandmother

- At eleven years old, Giulio spends a week traveling to different wandmakers around Europe trying to find a wand so he can go to school in the fall. For some reason, his magic is picky and not a single wand even comes close to working for him. When he's given up all hope, his little sister Martina asks if the wandmaker takes custom orders, and rips out her own hair to be used for Giulio's wand. It's the first time Giulio cries happy tears, hovering his hand over the uncompleted wand and feeling it call to him already

School Years: TBD once I'm able to play the game

Post Graduation: Giulio moves into an apartment with Lori soon after graduating. While she immediately starts work, Giulio takes time to find some higher education, and work on training his Veela magic now that he can take his necklace off whenever he wants

Career(s): TBD

Marriage and Children: TBD

Death: Giulio will be murdered by [redacted] in order to save [redacted]'s life, but he'll be very old (around 200) and will have outlived his lovers, so he doesn't see it as too much of a shame. He'll be buried in the family garden and have some lovely flower bushes planted over him

Notable Facts Not Previously Mentioned

- The Veela magic in Giulio recognizes him as a boy as soon as he does. When his allure kicks in, anyone attracted to men finds themself affected, while those strictly into women do not, even though male Veelas are practically unheard of

- His aunt Bianca paid a personal visit to Hogwarts before he was enrolled, ready to throw flames if he was going to be put into the female dorms. Luckily, she didn't need to worry, as once the situation was explained it was settled with a simple change in his paperwork

- Giulio hates being cooped up indoors for too long. Even in the coldest days of winter, he'll spend as much time as possible outside

- Starting in third year, Lori will figure out how to get the necklace off of him without alerting anyone [putting it on herself within a few seconds], and Giulio will occasionally spend a few hours free and in his natural form in the Forbidden Forest. Unbeknownst to him, wearing the necklace saps at Lori's magical core, and it takes her a day or so to regain her strength if she wears it for more than thirty minutes

- Giulio will likely have three partners in the future. He could never even imagine having one, so if his younger self was told he would have three he would probably have a difficult time believing it

- Cutting his hair so frequently doesn't affect his magic like his mother feared it would, though he does feel nauseous when he does it

- The dark teal eyes are something only he and his sisters have, which is how he knows they all have the same "father" or whatever they had. His mother, aunt, and grandmother all have the traditional black eyes. Not even Alessia ever saw any type of man around when her younger siblings were born, so there are no clues as to how the four of them exist

- As much as he hates the dampener, it does him a lot of good when he's younger. He gets angry easily and often feels very defensive, so without it he could have gotten into a lot of trouble

- Though he doesn't like his allure, Giulio will sometimes take advantage of it like Alessia does if he wants to get out of something. He won't fight it, he'll play nice, and let whoever he needs to back off get a little dazed

- He wanted to hide the fact that he was a Veela when he first came to Hogwarts, but with two older sisters and his allure he couldn't

[themattress]

My Top 30 Favorite Video Games

Inspired by @ultraericthered’s Top 30 Favorite Anime post. 

Although I’m doing mine in countdown form, ‘cause it’s more fun that way!

30. Super Mario Bros. - Arguably the first “blockbuster” game to be released, not only does Super Mario Bros. still hold up over 35 years later but it’s a gift that keeps on giving with how many different incarnations, remixes, fan games using its assets, etc. that we have now.

29. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - OBJECTION! While I cherish the entire original Phoenix Wright trilogy of the Ace Attorney franchise, I’ll always be the most partial to the original outing. The sheer audacity and hilarity of the concept, which is grounded by endearing characters and compelling mysteries, shines brilliantly in this little, easily accessible game. 

28. Trigger Happy Havoc: Danganronpa - While similar in many ways to Ace Attorney, Danganronpa boasts a variety of more actual gameplay than mere point-and-click text scrolling. But what really makes this stand out, beyond gameplay or even the strength of its concept, story and characters, is the atmosphere it creates. For good and for ill, traversing the pristine, neon-lit hallways of the abandoned Hopes Peak Academy looking for clues as I’m forced to play by Monokuma’s twisted rules is an experience that will stay with me forever.

27. Star Fox 64 - Beyond all the entertainment this game provides through memes, it’s really just a fun, reasonably simple but just moderately complicated enough game that’s accessible to any player even if they usually don’t go for aerial shooters. It’s also one of the earliest console games that I ever played, so of course it’s going to hold a special place in my heart.

26. Batman: Arkham City - It’s an impressive feat when an open world game can still feel so claustrophobic in all the right ways, and that’s what Arkham City accomplishes. This game is essentially The Dark Knight to Arkham Asylum’s Batman Begins, escalating the action, suspense and sheer Batman-ness, providing unlimited opportunities to enjoy yourself playing as Gotham’s defender and facing down the greatest Rogues Gallery in comic book history.

25. Red Dead Redemption - Look, I know that Red Dead Redemption 2 is technically the superior game. But its complicated story, sprawling cast of characters, and vast canvas of a world can be pretty daunting, whereas I feel like the original Red Dead Redemption struck a much better balance. Allowing open world freedom within the confines of the straight-forward story of John Marston’s redemption really makes you feel like you’re in an old Western film, and the way that choices you make as a player impact the way that film ultimately turns out is one of the strongest arguments for video games being worthy of consideration as true art.

24. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - So, ten years ago an open world adventure video game series releases its fifth entry...and to this day, we’ve had no sixth, in favor of expansions and updated re-releases of said fifth entry. But that’s not a sign of laziness; it’s a sign the developers know they hit such a peak in quality that they have no need to rush anything further out the gate, as Skyrim is a gift that keeps on giving. Addictive in how unlimited in possibilities it is, with each playthrough never being the same as the one before, Skyrim is a gaming masterpiece that I don’t think I’m going to get bored with playing anytime soon.

23. Super Paper Mario - This may be an unpopular opinion, but I vastly prefer this game’s action-platform-RPG hybrid gameplay style to the prior installments’ traditional turn-based RPG style, which feels more at home in stuff like Super Mario RPG and the Mario & Luigi series. But gameplay aside, I think this has the strongest story of any Mario game, trading in the usual “save the kingdom/princess” fare for saving all of reality, with legitimate emotion and drama and even character development. It’s one of the Wii’s shining gems, to be sure.

22. Epic Mickey - This game’s graphics are by and large unremarkable, its gameplay is fraught with issues (that camera is unforgivable), and it’s nowhere close to the best on its system or genre. But Epic Mickey is a case study in where the effort put into crafting the game’s world and story, not to mention the obvious love and respect for the material being worked with, pays off. Any Disney fan will love this game for its story, which puts Mickey front and center as an actual character rather than a mascot and dives deep into his history as he meets his “half-brother” Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, and its mystical, unique atmosphere - what the graphics can’t deliver, the fucking music more than makes up for. All of the game’s flaws mean nothing compared to the sheer heart on display, and I treasure it greatly as a result.

21. Batman: Arkham Asylum - I already mentioned that Arkham City is the superior game, but as was the case with Red Dead Redemption and its sequel, personal preference strikes again. The simpler story and narrower confines of Arkham Asylum just appeal to me slightly more, and I feel like the borderline horror atmosphere this game has could never fully be replicated by all of its sequels and spin-offs. Also, you can play as the Joker in this. WIN.

20. Metal Gear Solid - And on the subject of Arkham Asylum, it owes much to this game, which created the template of a lone badass hero having to use stealth and weaponry to liberate a government-owned island from the lunatic terrorists that have taken over. Hideo Kojima famously never wanted this game to have any sequels, and I can definitely see his point, as it’s a complete and wholly satisfying experience in of itself and I don’t feel like it’s ever been topped. At the very least, it’s certainly the most enjoyable of the series to me.

19. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask - Also, speaking of “borderline horror atmosphere”, we have the freakiest game that the Legend of Zelda series ever put out. What was supposed to just be a gaiden to Ocarina of Time mutated into this beautiful monstrosity that’s become just as iconic. Nobody who plays this game is ever going to forget that fucking moon and all the constant jumping back and forth in time across three days as you try to prevent the apocalypse of Termina. It’s the kind of gaming trauma that’s well worth experiencing.

18. Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories - Like Majora’s Mask, this game is a case study where you can take a bunch of recycled assets and gameplay, and then make something unique from it if you have a well-crafted story with a dark and disturbing atmosphere. It’s hard to experience or appreciate the transition between Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II without playing this midquel, which takes the narrative and characters to deeper levels without being pretentious about it and sets the stage for the proper console sequel perfectly. And if you can’t get into it being on Gameboy Advance, then just play the PS2 remake (which is arguably the superior version anyway) and you’re good! Just...don’t mind the cards, OK?

17. Sonic CD - And now we have another game about jumping back and forth through time to prevent an apocalypse! See the common threads at play here by this point? Sonic the Hedgehog is at his best in 2D gameplay, and I personally enjoy this the best out of all the 2D games in the series. As obscure as the Sega CD was as a system, it was powerful enough to take the blue blur’s speed to its maximum level, set alongside beautiful graphics and a kick-ass soundtrack (well, two different kick-ass soundtracks; and I actually prefer the US one). 

16. Pokemon Black & White - While there were advancements made to story and graphics and gameplay features in the third and fourth generations of the Pokemon series, nothing felt as truly ground-breaking as the second generation games until the fifth gen with its Black & White games. This was arguably the game series’ peak in quality on all fronts, but its specifically the story that lands it on this list, as its well-written and paced, subverts many formulaic elements from the previous games, is set in one of the most unique regions in the Pokemon world, and has a timeless message that has only grown more relevant with age. 

15. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - The whole series could really go here, but fortunately the most recent entry is the perfect embodiment of said series, with every playable character there’s ever been and then some. The sheer variety is unmatched by any other fighting game out there, and its story mode, “World of Light”, is quite possibly the greatest video game crossover in history given how many characters are featured as both fighters and spirits.

14. Super Mario 64 - I’m pretty sure this game used to be higher in my favor, but replaying it on the Nintendo Switch recently has made me aware of how, as the first game on the Nintendo 64 and the first 3D platformer, it’s poorly aged in several areas. However, I must stress that it is still a very good game. The fun of going to the various worlds within paintings in Peach’s Castle hasn’t changed, nor has how smoothly and seamlessly Mario managed to make the jump from 2D to 3D. Just like Super Mario Bros., the number of games that owe something to this one is too great to count, and that’s an achievement that remains timeless.

13. Dark Chronicle - Also known as Dark Cloud 2. I hadn’t heard a damn thing about this game before renting it on a whim many years ago, and I was caught off guard by just how good it was. It’s got a simple but effective story and likable characters, a timeless atmosphere, beautifully cel-shaded graphics, dungeon-crawling gameplay, action-RPG combat gameplay, literal world-building gameplay, and even a fishing minigame! This game can actually stand besides the Zelda series without shame; it’s truly an underrated gem.

12. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - Oh, speaking of Zelda, this game goes full Lord of the Rings-style epic fantasy with it and it is glorious. Between the near perfect gameplay, beautiful 3D graphics, and one of the best stories in the series (with one of the best characters: Midna), Twilight Princess’ most prevalent complaint from critics all the way up to its own developers is that it wasn’t even MORE expansive and awesome given how long it was hyped, and if that’s the biggest issue with the game then I’d say it’s in pretty good shape.

11. Super Mario Galaxy - Super Mario 64 may be held back a little by how its aged, but no such thing is holding back Super Mario Galaxy. Super Mario Odyssey might be as good or possibly even better, but I just don’t hold the same feelings of amazement and respect toward it that I do for this game. From the blitzkrieg-style attack on the Mushroom Kingdom by Bowser to the discovery of Rosalina’s space station, this game had me hooked from the first few minutes, especially with it blaring that awesome orchestral score the whole way through. To this day, I maintain that this is Mario’s greatest 3D adventure. It’s simply magnificent.

10. Final Fantasy X - Ha! See what I did there? This game has caught flak for some of the awkwardness that comes from being the first fully 3D entry in the series, but I think that’s tantamount to nitpicking when compared to all it does right. To me, this was the last really good installment of the main Final Fantasy series, with a story and world so brilliantly developed that the game earned the immediate breakthrough success and acclaim that it found in its native Japan. 20 years later and, as the HD remaster has shown, it still holds up as one of the most engaging JRPG experiences I’ve ever had the pleasure of having.

9. Banjo-Kazooie - At the time, this was basically Rare’s copycat version of Super Mario 64, although considered about as good. Now, however, there’s a difference: the aging issues I mentioned for Super Mario 64 don’t apply for Banjo-Kazooie. Whether replaying it on the Nintendo 64 or on whichever Xbox you’ve got, this game is still just as fun, imaginative and hilarious now as it was back then. It’s quite possibly the greatest 3D platformer ever made.

8. Pokemon Crystal - The definitive edition of the Gold & Silver games of Pokemon’s second generation, taking what was already a phenomenal advancement and improvement to the first generation and making it even better with additional features such as the ability to play as a girl for the first time and a more clearly defined storyline centered around the legendary Pokemon featured on the game’s box art. Pokemon had been written off as just a passing fad up until this point. This was when its staying power as a video game juggernaut was proven.

7. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Talk about a win right out of the gate for the Nintendo Switch! This game returns the Legend of Zelda series to its roots while also applying all that has been made possible in video games since the original game’s release, and the result is an enthralling, addictive, open world masterpiece that has set a new standard of quality for both the Zelda series and for many modern video games in general.

6. Kingdom Hearts II - The Final Mix edition to be precise, although in this day and age that’s basically the only edition people are playing anyway. This game is the apotheosis of Kingdom Hearts as both a video game series and as a concept; filled to the brim with Disney magic and Square Enix RPG expertise and paired with some of the most refined action-based gameplay there is. And when it comes to bringing the original Kingdom Hearts trilogy’s story to a close, does this game ever stick the landing. The series could have ended right here and I would have been completely satisfied (and its reputation would be a lot better off, too!)

5. Pokemon Yellow - While I maintain that this game, the definitive edition of the original first generation Pokemon games, still holds up as fun to play even now, I’ll admit that it’s pure bias that it ranks so high. It was the first proper video game I ever played, there was no way I was leaving it off the top 5! Its blissful nostalgic atmosphere is always such a delight to return to.

4. Banjo-Tooie - Remember when I said Banjo-Kazooie was “quite possibly the greatest 3D platformer ever made”? The “quite possibly” is because its in stiff competition with its own sequel! And personally, I’m in Banjo-Tooie’s corner; something about how inter-connected its worlds are and the addition of so many things to do all while maintaining your full moveset from the original game is just beautiful to me. Both it and its predecessor are like obstacle courses that I never tire of running through, which is the hallmark of brilliant game design.

3. Kingdom Hearts - Another case where the sequel may be the superior game, but my own personal preference leans toward the original. And in this case, it’s a highly personal preference: this game and my memories of playing it for the first time are so very dear to me. The characters and worlds of Disney put into an epic crossover RPG was like a dream come true for me and no matter how far the series it spawned has deteriorated, nothing can detract from the magic of this game. It’s got a certain, indescribable feel and atmosphere that’s never truly been replicated, and that feel and atmosphere still holds up whenever I revisit it. The gameplay may not be the best, particularly when compared to Kingdom Hearts II’s, but the charm of the story and the characters and the world and the very concept more than makes up for that. As far as I’m concerned, it’s one of Disney and Square’s greatest masterpieces.

2. Final Fantasy VII - I was aware of the hype this game got and was totally ready to call it overrated, but damn it, it got me! I don’t know what it is about this game with its blocky early 3D graphics, poor sound quality to its excellent soundtrack, and frequently mistranslated script that proved to be so gripping and enjoyable to play through, but man did it ever Limit Break its way into my heart. This is considered a JRPG classic for a damn good reason.

1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Do I really need to explain this one? It’s famous for being frequently cited as one of the greatest video games ever made, and like Final Fantasy VII, its hype is well-deserved and totally justified. Whether you’re playing it on the Nintendo 64, the Gamecube, the Wii, the 3DS, and hopefully the Nintendo Switch in the future, there is a magic quality to this game that permeates through every step you take in its fully 3D world. It’s a triumph that has stood the test of time, cementing the Zelda series as truly legendary.

[onlyplatonicirl]

Birfday Gorl UwU

@shandycandy278

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

“A little to the left.”

“Like this?”

“A bit more.”

“Uh… here?”

“Slime does that look even a little bit symmetrical to you?”

“You’re literally impossible right now,” said Slime, tacking the banner in place regardless of Lorel’s immediate shrieking complaint. “Since when have you become so nit-picky about decoration placement and stuff? Your room looks like an atomic bomb went off in it.”

“Well good thing it’s not my room!” Lorel replied, clapping her hands together in agitation. She rocked on her heals at a very brisk pace, her eyes darting around the room. “Listen, at least just TRY to set this up right?? Also maybe stand on a chair instead of Andrew’s shoulders because if you fall it will not only kill you but them too.”

Andrew blinked at Lorel like she was stupid, their hands on Slime’s legs as the redhead wobbled to tack everything to the wooden banister, tongue sticking out in concentration. Slime exclaimed triumphantly once they successfully had it in place, throwing their hands back in glee. Unfortunately, that also offset their center of gravity.

Lorel turned her back as both of them shrieked and collapsed to the floor, already tuning out their incessant squabbling. The decorations were all set, for the most part. Light blue balloons were floating around the room, with the tablecloth, streamers, banners and confetti to match. The confetti was assumed to be blue, but they didn’t know for sure because it was compressed into cardboard cones, and planned to pop out when the guest of honor arrived. Various other creators scurried to and fro, adding to the ever-growing gift pile, setting up the potluck and adding a multitude of dishes, as well as making small talk amongst themselves before the event started. Lorel recognized the majority of them, and waved to a few of them as she made her way into the main kitchen, ducking under a tray carried by Nobody, with tons of little confectionaries.

But before she could get there, she ran into-

“Chai! How’s everything going?”

Chai laughed in return, giving Lorel a hug. “It’s going great. I’m so excited.”

“SAME,” Lorel said, accompanied with a slouch. “I’ve ben planning this for so long, especially these things.”

She stuck a thumb behind her, motioning to the massive yellow feathered wings that started at her shoulder blades and draped all the way to the floor, the gradient becoming lighter towards the end feathers. Chai raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, I was going to comment on that,” she began. “Those don’t look like your usual, uh… pointy wings.”

“That’s because they aren’t,” Lorel said, running a hand through her hair to clear her eyes. “It took me two full months of studying anatomy and transmogrification with every book on the subject in the entirety of the Council’s Library to get these to form. The number of times I attempted to summon these properly only to result in an explosion of feathers is unreal. Synthia and the others got really tired coming back to find our quarters covered in yellow fluff.”

“Well I like them, they’re soft. But, why exactly???”

Lorel smiled softly. “I don’t know, I just thought it would be kind of sweet because… She always gives the fluffiest and softest hugs. I thought it would be nice if I was able to return the favor for once, to show her how great her trademarked “Floofy Hugs” are. Give her a taste of her own wonderful medicine, haha!”

Chai laughed. “Well, I’D like a floofy hug from you.”

“Once I even figure out how to get these things to fold and move properly? Sure. You can get floofy hugs too,” Lorel replied, smiling. “But we all know that I’m not as good at it.”

“HEY WHY ARE THOSE WINGS SO DISPROPORTIONATELY LARGE?” Someone across the room screamed. Without missing a beat, Lorel whipped around, almost smacking Chai in the face with the limbs she did not quite have the hang of yet.

“I DON’T KNOW, WHY IS YOUR BRAIN SO DISPROPORTIONATELY SMALL, LO??”

“HOW BAD CAN IT BE, LOREL?”

“IT’LL GET PRETTY BAD PRETTY QUICK IF YOU DON’T SHUT YOUR PIEHOLE.”

Chai was busy trying not to laugh herself into combustion, a hand over her mouth. Lorel looked at her, exasperated. “Excuse me for one moment. I need to go check up on the cake. If I stand still for long enough Lo starts trying to play paper-wad basketball with my halos.”

She and Chai gave each other a quick hug, before parting ways with “I love you!!!”’s on both sides.

Peeping her head in through the kitchen doorway, Lorel narrowly avoided a massive jawbreaker being flung across the room. Ly had been in charge of the cake, and it seemed to be going well. The ponkey girl was having a blast, a tube of icing in each hand, and letting out her more wild artistic side. Her tail curled happily in the air as she drew gravity defying shapes around the cake out of vanilla frosting. Lorel smiled and left. At least that was taken care of. But there was still a lot of other things to do. There were two many bodies in too small of a room. It was chaos, and she had signed up to oversee it all.

Lorel sighed. Why did she ever agree to running anything? The only mature thing about her was her physical age. Time to be the adult, I guess.

Climbing up a few steps to gain a slight leverage and trying not to trip over her new way-too-large wings, she clapped her hands to quell the silence. She soon had the attention of the room.

“OKAY,” she began. “HERE’S HOW THIS IS GONNA GO BEFORE MY WIFE ARRIVES—”

A single, large breath in.

“Lyn and Lynn, take watch outside for her. Blossom, make sure everyone’s got a party hat, and help Shadow and Template with the paintings if they need any. Lucky and Achro keep the streets secure, we don’t want any blockheads ruining our big day. Dey, Launch, Template, Poggers, Lily, both Alexes, Rawlyx and Zen are on exterior decoration duty. I want every corner of the roof tied with decorations. Ly’s finishing the cake, and she’ll need a handful of people to aid her in setting everything up. Smartie can attend to that, as well as Diamond. Slime and Andrew, I know I’m asking the impossible, but your job is to not be stupid for like - at least 2 minutes. AT LEAST. Everyone else find a good hiding spot and no shoving or pushing or summoning ancient celestial daggers or transforming into a five headed demons. Or you’re getting kicked out of the party. Scrub, be my monitor, would you? And Otter’s job is to keep being absolutely adorable and precious. Are we all clear?”

The whole building cheered, and Lorel finally sighed. Right next to her was Otter, who she promptly scooped up in her arms and kissed on the forehead with a very loud “mwah” to follow. Otter happily closed their eyes – a pseudo-smile.

“OKAY THEN. WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU ALL STILL STANDING AROUND FOR??? LET’S MOVE IT, LOSERS! GO GO GO GO GO!”

Everyone quickly bustled about, and Lorel set Otter back on the floor once again. Creators of every shape and size scrambled about, trying to find places to hide, and all the lights were shut off when the two Lyn(n)s gave the cue

“She’s coming she’s coming!”

The house went completely silent, save for the sound of footsteps approaching the door.

The handle turned-

And all the light’s clicked on. Everyone jumped up from behind the couch, and light blue confetti flew everywhere as everyone screamed in unison.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHANDY!!!!!!!!!”

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

HAPPY BIRTH SHANDYYYYYYYY ILSYM SORRY I DIDNT FINISH THIS YESTERDAY AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

IM GONNA TAG THE MAIN PPL IN THIS FIC BC IM A LITTLE BIT PRESSED FOR TIME RN AND I DONT HAVE TIME TO TAG EVERYONE BUT ILL LINK IT SO AAAAAAA

Mainly Featuring:

@andrewture @156lemongummies @greetings-and-yeetings @chais-chaos-corner @puuuddiing @lookyeekiti

AS WELL AS THE AMAZING @shandycandy278 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

ILYSMMM

This fic takes place in @creatorverse

[mypimpademia]

SFW alphabet with Kuroo Tetsuro

Kuroo x reader

TW: Maybe some swearing

Note: You can also request SFW alphabets for other characters on my character list if you'd like

Template creds:

https://phantom-nen.tumblr.com/post/624557493194047488/sfw-alphabet

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

Kuroo is very affectionate. Usually shows it through lots of kisses and hugs.

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How did the friendship start?)

He'd probably be the crackhead ass best friend that convinces you to do dumb shit with them.

It would most likely start in middle school in a super cliche way. He'd probably be running in the halls and run into you, say sorry really fast then keep running. And the next day come to give you a real apology and you guys just hit it off.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

Kuroo loves to cuddle, and khen cuddling with him, hes always the big spoon. Has your back to him chest with his arms around you, while you're sitting up, chest to chest laying down or on your sides, anything where he can have you super close really.

Hes also the type to be reluctant to letting you get up to use the bathroom because he doesn't want to stop

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

Once hes absolutely sure that you're the one, he'll start wanting to settle down. But he won't actually do it till he's ready.

He at least has basic knowledge, he can make spaghetti, rice, a grilled cheese, all of that, but can't do anything super complex. He definitely has potential to learn though.

He's pretty good at cleaning, it just the staying clean part that doesn't always work. I feel like he lives in chaotic cleanliness, meaning it'll look out of order but he knows where everything is. But if you simplify it and put everything into small units or something, he'll be really clean.

E = Ending (If they break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

The longer you've been together, the easier he'll let you down, but the harder it'll be for him.

Depending on why you're breaking up, he'll talk it out with you. If you're going out on good terms, he'll ask if you'd like to stay friends. But if its on bad terms, he'll cut all ties with you.

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel commitment? How quickly do they want to get married?)

Like I said on domestic, he'll want to settle down and get married once he realizes he's got the right person. Doesn't really care when, as long as youre both ready and able to do it.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

Physically, he play fights a lot and gives really tight hugs, but he wont if you ask him not to.

Emotionally, hes pretty soft for you. He'll open up to you when he feels a good amount of trust, and he'll make if clear that he'll be your shoulder to cry on when you need it.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

Kuroo loves hugs, and he hugs you whenever he can. Usually hugs you in an almost back breaking grip, he might pick you up and spin you around too.

L = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

Always said it when you guys were friends, and when you were dating he kept saying it. But never said it in a romantic way till about 10 months into your relationship, so decently fast

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they're jealous?)

Kuroo is confident, and doesn't get jealous too often. But when he does, he gets pretty jealous. He'll get super touchy with you, hold your hand, and your waist. If you're talking to someone he'll just stare at them, and drag you away when he reaches his limit.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

Kuroos kisses are usually rough, and passionate. But they'll be softer if he's in a soft mood.

Kisses your lips and face the most, and if youre short than him he'll kiss your forehead and the top of your head.

He really only ever likes kisses on the lips and jawline. He'll take anywhere else, but those are his favorite places.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

Kuroo is the type to get used as a jungle gym by little kids. But he'll probably play tag and hide and seek with them. He's like the fun dad type around little kids, and his parental side come out around them.

When theyre not playing, he's lying down with all of them watching a Disney movie while they're hugging him.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

Kuroo likes to sleep in, so mornings with him are spent going in and out of sleep while you hold each other. And once you're completely awake, you'll probably lay in bed for about an hour just talking.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

Kuroo is a night owl, so the two of you will stay up, playing games, talking eating, etc. Then you'll go to bed around 1 - 3 am

O = Open (When would they start revealing themselves to you? Do they say everything all at once, or wait awhile to reveal things slowly?)

Since you guys were best friends before you were dating, there wasn't much to open up about. But opening up romanticly took him around 6 months. He's an open book, so there wasn't too much to say, so he said it all at one.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

Kuroo is super nonchalant, so he really does ever get mad. It takes a lot to make him angry, so don't expect to see him heated too often

Q = Quizzes (How much do they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

Kuroo surprisingly remembers a lot about you. He doesn't remember everything you say word for word, but he knows a decent amount. He knows you favorite color, food, family names (even if you've only mentioned them once), favorite flower, etc.

R = Remember (Whats their favorite moment in your relationship?)

The first "I love you" will forever be his favorite. It was such a soft and vulnerable moment, he just knew it'd be something he'd never forget

S = Security (How protectively are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

Kuroo let's you freely talk to anyone, but if he gets a weird vibe from someone, or youre talking to someone that he knows isn't good, he'll make sure to keep an eye on you.

Normally either keeps his distance and watches you from afar, or stands next to you with an arm around you.

Doesn't really want protection, he wants to be the one protecting you. But if he had to choose, it'd be to defend him when hes mot there to defend himself.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, and everyday tasks)

Kuroo is a very driven and passionate person, so he puts a lot of effort towards your relationship. However, it will falter if he sees that his partner won't reciprocate that energy.

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

Kuroo likes giving tight hugs, and rough kisses, and he's even rough during play fights. So his bad habit is that sometimes he gets too rough, hits you a little to hard during play fights, and squeezes you too tight during hugs, but nothing that hurts for more than a few minutes.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

Again, Kuroo is very confident, so he never gets too concerned with his looks. People even call him bed head, which is probably true. He'll come out of the house without changing his hair from how it was after waking up and still feel like he looks good.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

Once he's really into your relationship, he'll definitely feel like something is missing when hes not with you. Hes not clingy about it, but its not the same without you

X = Xtra (Random hc about them)

Kuroo takes a lot of pictures of you to the point where you make up 50% of his gallery. He even has them categorized; selfies, full body photos, cute pictures of you sleeping, you making dumb faces, etc.

Y = Yuck (What are somethings they wouldn't like? Either in general or in a partner.)

Kuroo wouldn't enjoy a partner that has nothing that they strive for. They don't have wants, or a goal, they're just there.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habit of theirs?)

Kuroo moves around a lot in his sleep, but when you're next to him he moves a lot less. And he's a generally heavy sleeper, but tends to wake up if you even get out of bed to use the bathroom.

[prairiedust]

More Last Holiday Musings...

I want to poke at that interdimensional geoscope a little more, because upon reading it over again, I think I splashed it up a little fast and there are a couple of points I’d like to be clearer about. I meant to queue this up to post last night but also want it to be up before Gimme Shelter so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

This is more blue curtains lit crit with a dash of folklore and an honorable mention for post-structuralism. And we’re talking about Supernatural after all, so this is sort of... well, it’s about endings.

Last Holiday was not a typical “filler” or even a typical MOTW episode. It felt extremely insular, possibly more so than any other episode I can think at any other point in the series. As opposed to the usual crowd of “locals,” a spate of victims, and a couple of red herring suspects, the only other people in this ep besides the Winchesters (including Jack) and Mrs. Butters were the two vampires and Cuthbert Sinclair. There was no “case” as in a usual MOTW-- there was no Chuck Struggle, either, and the lack of mytharc was strange against the lack of “filler” schema. That lack of “MOTW investigation” marked this episode also as being about “curiosity”-- the Winchesters all-too-quickly took Mrs. Butters for granted-- Dean even dismissed her as a “Magic Roomba” and that seemed to settle the matter. Furthermore, the moment that Dean spotted Mrs. B in his room, the stage was set for Antics ™ when she held up his goofy Scooby boxers, and indeed a zaniness, an almost manic energy drove the action forward at a breakneck pace. [Spoiler alert, we do get “investigation” in the next episode, 15x15 Gimme Shelter, as stills and the preview show that Castiel and Jack will be teaming up together, in yet another shake-up of the usual “MOTW” template, almost like we can expect the other side of a coin when Sam and Dean switch places with Cas...] These features set Last Holiday apart as not so much “filler” as “between,” as in there was struggle before, and there will be struggle after, but for a while there was cake. (Contrast this to the usual “peril of the threshold” that usually shrouds liminality if you’d like.)

At the end of Last Holiday, however, we finally get to find out what that old blue telescope really is, and with that name we get confirmation that there are no more alternate universes-- Chuck has burned them all. Viewers are left to come to the conclusion that in retrospect the telescope-thing could have changed the course of season 13 completely. The reveal is played off as darkly funny, but it’s also kind of a gut-wrenching moment, too. All the heartbreak of the last two and a half years, reviewed now through the lens of “if only.” If only they’d known about Mrs. Butters from the time they found the bunker, “none of this would have happened”… they’d have had monster radar, they’d have had the geoscope, they would have had supernatural help of a completely different level.

The temptation to read Last Holiday as a Chuck-free episode is strong, but fraught-- the threat of Chuck’s involvement has been established by a pattern this season (well the pattern is woven throughout the whole series really but Dabb has deliberately structured these last three seasons with an exponentially increasing frequency.) I feel like we’ve been conditioned this season in particular to hold ourselves in a perpetual flinch, to be afraid of what we’ll learn “in retrospect.” That geoscope was really_good_subtext, and it is entirely possible, even encouraged, at this point in the plot to take information we’ve learned from the naming of the object, examine our own conditioned response to this episode, and apply both things to the structure of the season so far and make a prediction as to what might happen in the main plot. That’s what I mean about subtext getting loud. We’ve been given the green-light to make a prediction about The Struggle and march forward with it, and see if we will be correct by extrapolating the pattern, or if that expectation will be subverted (the twist is set up to run either way, so either outcome is satisfying.) It is Melville-esque architecture of the highest degree;I could write another thousand words just about that. So I have a prediction that I’m hanging on to, because of what we’ve learned from the geoscope, and what kinds of clues were hung up in Last Holiday, and I’m super excited to either have my hunch confirmed or be frightfully and delightedly surprised. I mean, where the fuck did Jeremy Adams even come from? He’s like our own Mrs. Butters, showing up in the last quarter to run a couple game-changing balls into the end zone, it’s bonkers. I mean, I know writing mysteries is hard and requires still AND cunning, but damn, son.

But anyway, back to the geoscope… 

I’m perplexed, from a very “lit crit” perspective, but this is where I’m at and why I referenced blue curtains-- if you shine too bright a light on subtext, does it evaporate-- like looking through an interdimensional geoscope and not seeing anything-- or is “subtext” sometimes not some ephemeral fever-dream that we as viewers conjure up through our experiential interlocution with the text but something a writer has steeped into the narrative as part of their craft? Or when you’re talking about an evolving iteration of writers, is it possible that one picks up a thread that another wove in for something else, repurposing or amplifying it? And, when perhaps is something deliberately instilled in the text in order to become “text” at just the right time? In Moby Dick, [spoiler alert lol] Quequeg’s coffin-- formerly one of many symbolic vehicles used to foreshadow the doom of the Pequod-- is repurposed as a life buoy and becomes the actual object that saves Ishmael’s life, transforming it from a portent of disaster to a symbol of salvation and then to one of Ishmael’s guilt for surviving Ahab’s madness-- the guilt that had been made text by the very opening line of the book, “Call me Ishmael.” In retrospect, the connotations of wandering, exile and salvation behind the name that the narrator gives himself become crystal clear. The problem that the post-structuralist model of “reading” as simultaneously “creating the text” has manufactured is that the idea that “subtext” can often be discounted as something dreamed up wholecloth by the reader, and thus inferior, imaginary, even delusional (and I use that last word knowing what a loaded term that is in the spn fandom, but this is not about a ship, even) where once it was considered to be a valid and measurable part of the text itself, like that dang coffin. It was the basement, the underpinnings, the catacombs below the opera house sure, but it helped to hold up the structure. And for some reason, putting subtext into a piece of media has become passe, or cringe? Anyway, not to be bitter on main but it didn’t used to be this way, at least not in the heady early days of postmodernism. So that green light? Critical hit against blue curtains. And while yes, some readings are going to be better supported than others, and the wild variety of checklists in this fandom mean that some conclusions have been drawn which can’t pan out, if you’re paying attention to the structure, the subtexts, the alchemical/psychoanalytical/postmodern themata, the ending will be very satisfying. 

So. What was once speculated to be a symbol for emotional lows or turning points (among other things) in the bunker was textually hit with a bright green light, then Dean got curious about it in text, and we were told-- in text-- that oh it’s just a fancy spyglass, and now that the other worlds are gone, it has no purpose…. that’s what I mean about the geoscope now being “pure”-- it wasn’t clear whether the telescope ever had any function, subtetxtual or not, and now that it’s certain what it’s “function” was, it’s now freed up as a “symbol”-- unless like in Moby Dick it’s new “purpose” is revealed later, but right now it’s caught in this liminal place of not-quite-clue and not-quite-metaphor... 

However, and I didn’t put this in my first post because I was trying to be fast and not a wet blanket, but I felt like finally naming the geoscope was an ending. 

This is literally Singer, Dabb, and Co tidying up the house before locking it behind them.

I think when Dean said he didn’t see anything through the “telescope thing,” that we’re to understand that maybe this was the last hurrah of the cute, zany, campy “subtext” or even “metatext” if you’d rather that so many of us have been parsing and which has gotten so weird and bright since season 12/13. I think I said in one of the folklore posts that writing about some of the things I write about feels like making daisy chains in the endzone during the big game. Which is fun, that’s how I personally got through having to be in AYSO soccer for four years, by looking for four leafed clovers and eating orange quarters. And we got a wood nymph in this episode, textually even, so I could easily check the “folklore” box on this one. But the sheer euphoria of Last Holiday and all the sparkles it brought into the story aren’t meant to last. When you look back on fifteen years of text, a lot of it is bleak, miserable stuff. That’s not to say that episodes like Yellow Fever and Hunteri Heroici and Fan Fiction et al shouldn’t be celebrated. But I think from here on out, things are going to be less “golly gee, three birthdays!” and more “There she blows! --there she blows! A hump like a snowhill!”

This episode was a gift in many ways, not just for the sense of glee it transmitted-- it also did so much work and there are things I want to yell about in the way language was hit, the red versus green lighting, the way the backwards holidays worked, the projector as a metaphor for Mrs. B projecting her regrets and fears onto Jack, the amount of food that was created and consumed, how that smoothie was also an echo of “fairy food” or an underworld pact if you squint-- but the stakes are so high now. We haven’t been shown the next valley-- there was no final scene of Chuck rubbing his hands together like the villain from a melodrama, for example-- but the last image we got was Jack blowing out a candle. After the candle is blown out, the cake is dismantled and consumed. Once the story is over, all the themes that are so hard to grapple in a text like a television show can be gathered up and analyzed. (IS that all, though? After all, Dean made his own cake later, which, like, echoes of the “oh two cakes” comic lol...)

Since I really never want to leave anything I toss out on this blog on a last note of doom and gloom, however, I do want to say that I too understand what that last image meant. It meant, as Sam said, make a wish. Think of the future, think of free will, and hope for something wonderful to happen. (or do like me and wonder what the hell Jack wished for with dread and anticipation ha ha ha.)

[purplesurveys]

1044

survey by a7xbabii 

Do you use e-mail often? I use it for eight hours, five days a week for work, so yes.

Do you hear any animals right now? I’m in a Starbucks inside a mall situated in the middle of a busy highway. It would be very unlikely to hear any animals right now.

Are you in a well-lit room? Sure, I’d say this establishment has good lighting. There’s no light directly above me unlike the other seats, but it’s okay in this case as I don’t want other people seeing me take surveys.

Is your trashcan full? The main one we use at home just got full, so the last time I checked this morning my mom was airing it out.

What was the last crunchy thing you consumed? My chicken barbecue sandwich from last night.

Did you view anything disturbing today? Hmm, I guess so? I wanted to entirely redo one part of my embroidery piece since I wasn’t happy with how I did it, so I had to remove the threads and stuff. When they were all gone the template was filled with holes and it looked like one of those trypophobia photos. I’m not personally disturbed by that phenomenon, but I know a lot of people are.

Are there any holiday decorations in your house? Yeah, we’ve had our Christmas tree up since the beginning of November. We also usually put a wreath up our door but idk why my mom didn’t this year.

When was the last time you had a terrible headache? Last night, because I had not eaten all day. 

Have you recently put lotion on your hands? No. I don’t like the feeling of lotion, so I don’t apply it on me a lot, if at all.

Are you hungry? Not so much, actually. I don’t feel too hungry today; I didn’t even finish my breakfast and that’s the only meal I’ve had so far today, and it’s already 4 PM.

Is it rainy where you're at right now? No, it’s quite fair. The sun’s not too strong anymore because of the time, but it’s still very much bright out.

Do you carry a purse? If so, describe what it looks like. I take a wallet with me. It’s pink, made of fake leather, has three main slots inside, and it also has some tiny bite marks on the outer edges from when Cooper was a lot younger.

Is your cell phone on vibrate? For certain notifications only, like texts and Viber.

Is your dishwasher full? We don’t use a dishwasher.

When is the last time you saw someone you like/love. Around a week and a half ago.

Do you like to wear gloves? No, I find them too itchy and I don’t need to wear them anyway.

Is there a body of water near where you live? There’s a creek that passes through my village near the clubhouse area, if that counts.

What are your thoughts on Avenged Sevenfold? No opinion. I never listened to them; though I am reminded of this one mutual I used to have on Tumblr/Twitter. She used to be a wrestling fan and was a part of our main circle, but she gradually shifted her main fandom to Avenged Sevenfold. By the time she cemented her new interest she then went on a huge unfollowing spree of wrestling fans on her feed and she apparently PM’d each person she intended to unfollow, including me. I remember her explaining that she was now in a different fandom and was gonna have to stop following me which I found...kinda extra to be honest lmao because nobody does that, but I appreciate the effort to approach each one of us, I guess.

Are you wearing anything pink right now? Nope, but my wallet is pink and so is my keyboard cover.

Do you like to swim in the ocean? I prefer beaches, but sure.

What is the creepiest bug you've ever saw? Cockroaches.

Do you currently have split ends? I don’t think so.

When is the last time you used the bathroom? Around five hours ago when I took a shower before heading out.

Do you chew on your lip? Almost never.

Are you afraid of needles? For the most part yeah, especially syringes. I’m not afraid of them when I do my embroidery, but that’s the only time I feel comfortable with a needle.

What is the last thing you lost? A pen, I think.

When is the last time you saw a bald person? Five hours ago, when I said bye to my dad.

What car were you last in? [continued from two days ago] My own. I was driving home from the mall.

Do you like Batman? I tried to get into Batman and the whole shebang of comic books when I was a teenager, but I just couldn’t.

Have you ever played tennis? Never have, actually. I’ve always wanted to try.

Can you see a star shape in the room you are in? Probably not in my bedroom.

What are you sitting on? A pillow I’ve placed on my work chair so that it’s more comfortable. My parents got me a basic chair initially meant just for my internship, so it’s not the comfiest of chairs haha. But now that I have a job, a more suitable work chair is probably one of things I’ll have to invest on.

What is the last warm thing you touched? My chest felt itchy just a few seconds ago, so I was able to feel my skin scratching it.

Do you use hand sanitizer? That’s kind of a necessity now, so...

Where do you want to go in life? [continued from...I don’t even remember anymore] I don’t know if I even plan to make it past 30 at this point. I can’t answer this right now.

Are you sweating? No, I’ve been in air-conditioned rooms all day and it feels so damn good.

When is the last time you had to scratch an itch? A few minutes ago when my neck itched.

Are you in any kind of club or group that is trying to save animals? No, but I very much support the cause.

Who is the last blonde you saw? At work today I saw someone who had her hair dyed blonde.

Where were you two hours after you got up, and what were you doing there? I needed to go to the office today because my team and I needed to pack some stuff to seed to certain media. It was the first time I got to visit the place and it was sooooooo homey and pretty :) I wish we can be allowed to work in the office soon; it would be best for my mental health at this point.

Do you wish for world peace? Um, of course.

Have you ever played fetch with a dog? We were able to teach Cooper how to pick up items that we throw but he’s still slowly learning that he actually has to give it back to us, haha.

What is the nearest object that is wood? The table I am typing on is made of wood.

Do you use Netflix? Yes, we have a family subscription.

Does your house have a fireplace? No, we don’t. And I can confidently tell you all other houses in this entire country, and probably the whole of Southeast Asia, don’t.

Do you wake yourself up in the morning, or does someone else? I wake myself up. On important days, I’ll put an alarm on.

What kind of hoodie did you last wear? It was a white hoodie with a UP seal on the left side.

Do you play games on your computer? No, my laptop isn’t equipped for games. I tried downloading Sims 4 when they made it free for a few weeks back in 2018, but my laptop’s fan started whirring like crazy and the battery got drained super fast. The entire period of me booting it up and then deleting it took like, a literal 15 minutes.

What is the last video game that you played? Mario Kart 8 on the Switch. I want to get myself Switch games as gifts, but I’m just so stingy towards myself hahaha.

Have you ever pet a stingray? I’m 50% would like to at least once and 50% I know of what it did to Steve Irwin, and I’m not messing with them.

If you were on vacation, would you ever go to Ireland? It’s not a big item on my bucket list, honestly. I’d love to go to Ireland, but it would probably be a part of a bigger itinerary, like if I decided to take a trip to that part of Europe.

Are you logged into Myspace right now? I haven’t been on there for more than a decade.

Did you have anything bad happen to you today? Yeah, but they’re stuff that happened at work that are a little hard to explain. 

Have you ever been to New York? Nope. I’d love to take a trip there.

Do you use the term "lol" if you don't have anything to say? Not really. I use it in the end of my messages more so that I don’t sound mean.

Should you be sleeping right now instead of taking this survey? Hell no. It’s a Friday night so the last thing I want to be doing is sleeping.

Can you truly say you hate anyone? I don’t think so. I greatly dislike my brother, but I guess I don’t hate him. I find it too strong a word.

Have you ever disected a baby pig in a class at school? Not a piglet, no. We dissected an earthworm, a fish, and eventually a frog.

What brand of dish liquid do you use? A local brand you wouldn’t recognize.

When is the last time you ate a Hershey Kiss? It’s probably been more than a year. It’s not my favorite candy.

Do you ever feel unappreciated? Yes.

Do you currently have any blemishes on your face? No. My pimple finally went away, hallelujah.

Who is the last baby you held? My cousin who is now 13 years old. I’m too anxious to hold babies; I always feel like I’d drop them so I find myself declining even when I have the chance to hold one.

Are you a lover? I guess.

Do you use smileys often in text convos? Yes. Not a lot of people like them but it’s better to sound friendly and approachable than stoic.

Do you have the Google toolbar on your computer? Like...Chrome? I have the program, yeah. It’s my default browser as well.

Do you like Sunkist? I’ve never had it.

Would you ever consider being a cannibal? I mean...I guess only if I was in a life-and-death situation, like if a plane I was in crashed on an island and I was starting to get hungry. I certainly don’t fantasize about cannibalism on any regular day.

Did you forget something important in the past week? I made a few mistakes at work due to me forgetting things, yeah.

Do you like learning new things? Sure.

What color is your toothpaste? White.

Are the floors in your house creaky? Nopes. I don’t think our doors are creaky-level just yet as well.

Do you fear death? I hate the uncertainty of what happens while it’s taking place, and what happens after. But I’ve been wishing for it for a while as well. There’s a difference.

Is your mouth dry? Not right now, no.

Do yoou have any scars from an animal? Yeah I’ve got a few marks and scratches from Cooper. I never run out of them, really.

Did you have fun with this survey? It was okay.

Was it random enough? Sure.

[rpbetter]

a vent (feel free to ignore if it's too much!): so recently i've noticed psd makers getting anon asks on whether they're ok with people who write certain topics (mostly rpf, incest, rape, underage, the usual "problematic" topics) using their recourses. now, i don't roleplay any of these subjects on tumblr, so even if a content creator said not to use their stuff, it's not even something i need to worry about - but, and maybe this is me overthinking it, what if i, someday, write a noncon fanfic on ao3? i'm still not using their resources on the subject or writing it on tumblr, but i'd probably feel weird about it, like i'm crossing some boundary. what if a psd maker whose content i've already purchased suddenly goes "actually don't use my psds if you rp abusive relationships", which is probably the closest to what people consider "taboo themes" of the things that i roleplay. it just feels like a fine line between personal boundaries and a shitty situation for a customer - not wanting to cross boundaries but already having PAID for something previously, when no such rules existed. it's making me want to 1. block everyone i see saying this, because even though i don't personally roleplay the topics above, i don't feel SAFE around people who tell others what kind of fiction they are allowed to enjoy and 2. just quit using people's resources and spend years learning to make my own psds so i won't have to worry about this shit. it's just stressing me out, as someone who has been harrassed and bullied online for speaking against censorship. i've had literal sock accounts made just to spew targetted harrassment at me on twitter. i've been accused of being a pedo and supporting incest and this is??? literally for saying "i don't think real people should be harrassed for fictional shit", i've not even shipped underage or incest ships. both make me uncomfortable. but fuck, antis make me 1000000x more uncomfortable than people who ship these kinda ships. i digress, this got rambley, i just. do you have any advice on what to do with the potential psd situation, or am i really just overthinking it? (always worried i accidentally send stuff like this off anon. help)

I need you to know that I actually had to rush-scroll back up and just double check that you did submit on anon lol! I always get worried I'll miss the one person who accidentally didn't use anon, if it makes you feel any better! When someone does submit with their URL attached, I message them first to be sure they are okay with them having it posted that way/it wasn't an accident ;) That's what I would want someone to do!

Alright, so, anyhow...

I've also noticed that becoming a more common thing and it's been on my (maybe huge) list of things to look into for a bit because I really do try to make sure I'm not just noticing things in my areas of the RPC/failing to notice things that do not impact me. Since I do all my edits and graphics, it falls into the first category for me. So, thank you for moving that up the list and informing me that it really is more prevalent and not my imagination!

My take on seeing it was a combination of business logic and anxiety, not going to lie.

On the first: charging to do a psd that is just that, just a psd file being used as a template/to act as an easier version of a photoshop "action" in a way, that's 100% legal and fine. Absolutely no muddy waters there. However, charging to do things like icons, edits, etc. that include images of celebrities and stills from movies (or gifs) is quite muddy. Legally, it's not legal. It's a thing we're allowed to do and use (on most platforms) because we're not making money off of it, we're not claiming to hold rights to the images, and so on - it's ignored but illegal. Charging money for it, however, even when phrased as "for my time" (which, absolutely valid feeling), is a more serious form of illegal and potentially attention-getting. This all gets more iffy though when we add donation instead of direct commission/purchase when working with these copyrighted materials. You can ask people to donate and suggest a donation based on your time spent, and that is always what I advise people to do.

Okay, so, that preface is necessary because the thing about stipulating use-rights is that they're iffy, too, there are variables present.

Often, these same people are charging for things like icon packs as well, meaning that even if they're only charging you for a template-style psd file sans imagery they don't own, they've kind of shot themselves in the foot. Not to mention, it's exceedingly damn hypocritical to pitch a fit about someone violating your rights when you're literally using other people's copyrighted materials lmao And that does tend to occur to me, yeah, it's a consequence of attorney friends and running businesses.

The other issues with this are that usage rights have to be stated at the time of purchase and morality clause-style shit, as pertains to products, is not legally binding.

When you purchase something like a psd file, that purchase acts as a sort of contract.

Think of like...buying a photoshop brush set - the person selling it puts very simple rules as to its use, such as: non-commercial use only, brush pack cannot be resold or distributed for free, separate brushes from the pack cannot be resold or distributed for free individually. Meaning that you own the brushes you bought, but you are not legally allowed to make real-life money from anything you use them in, and you cannot send the whole pack or files individually to friends for free or charge other people for them. By buying these, you have agreed to these stipulations of use and ownership.

If the person sells psd's and you agree to what they've stated about the use (you can't use them to do commissions you make IRL money from, you can't give them away to friends, etc.), that's binding even somewhere as casual as RP Land. The exchange of real currency makes it that serious.

However, there are limits to stipulations of use! One of those things is when you agreed - this person cannot, even one literal second, later change their terms of use and retroactively hold you to them. If they were okay with you not crediting them anywhere or using them in works you will gift others or charge others something like game currency for at the time you purchased, then that's it. Tough shit for them, not you, when they decide a month later that they want credit given where the work appears, that they do not want finished products gifted, or don't want you to make even in-game currency from them.

And that absolutely would apply to the morality wank, yes.

Except that this very morality wank comes with its own issues. Reality is not tumblr. In reality, at least in most instances and countries, you can't throw in a fucking morality clause regarding the buyer, use of item, or finished product.

Think of this in this way: Chik-Fil-A starts denying chicken and waffle fries to anyone suspected of being queer. They're legally allowed to run their business (as a private business, everything does have variables) with some things that are morally objectionable that they feel morally aligns with their religious beliefs. They're not allowed to deny queer workers a job or queer customers service, however, in accordance with overarching laws.

While "being gross" online in fiction is not like, making anyone a protected status person lol this is just an extreme example to drive home the point. Legally, when it comes to items/products be they digital or physical, your rights and responsibilities as the seller don't include your moral policing.

What your right is, is to make people uncomfortable to a degree, yeah. You absolutely can do that. You can state some nasty shit about prospective buyers you don't want. For example, they should (I mean, they should just grow up and get some real concerns, but) be stating that they would not like to see their psd's used by people on this following DNI list of idiocy, and they will block those users if possible to prevent interaction and purchase. That's really it, that's what they can do and the least immature way to proceed.

On the second: none of this logic would make me feel comfortable about interacting with them and their psd's in the future once they had outed themselves as morally objectionable and dangerous to me with this nonsense. And I would still feel anxious about using things I had previously bought because once harassed...it doesn't really go away, does it? It would just give me some ease about the latter with things I'd already made. Like, I could keep using the icons I'd made with those psd's with a little bit more comfort knowing that they honestly have not a leg to stand on outside of their harassment.

I might have the tendency to respond to harassment without much upset, but that doesn't mean I want to be harassed. Especially when I am not doing anything that draws that kind of attention. Not that harassment is warranted over anything, but when I make a PSA or answer an ask that I know is likely to get their attention and piss them off? That's an acceptable risk I am knowingly taking. When I'm just going about my life as a RPer, it isn't.

So, I don't feel like you're overthinking it or being too concerned! In no way did you sign up for getting unwanted attention, and because it has happened before, of course, you're trying to insulate yourself from having it happen again. That's totally reasonable!

Now, what you could do about it...

It's another of those situations in which we're only truly capable of controlling ourselves. Everyone else is kind of a NPC.

You don't have to do anything I'm suggesting, but these are things I would do!

I would block the shit out of anyone saying these things/trying to make them stipulations, yes.

By that, I mean that I would also visit blogs they appear to interact with and they'd be blocked as well. We can all reblog something like resources or a shit post from a user we do not agree with without realizing it, but when it's frequent reblogs, direct support, and friendly vibes going on, it's safer to assume that they are aware their friend sucks. More importantly, that they do not think their friend sucks and support their views.

Even if that is not the case, do you want someone else's repeated inattention to expose you to bad actors? Nope! So, don't run the risk of paying and otherwise interacting with the one resource blog in the group that doesn't express these views/"requirements," but does involve themselves with those who do.

Try to find people selling these resources, that are not connected to the problem ones, who do not have those views. Once a trend starts, it is very hard to stop until it has run its course naturally, so, this might be difficult and take some extreme effort. You might want to consider asking like-minded friends who use psd's where they got them so you can check those users out for yourself.

If they're all the same, problem, people...

Look for users well outside of your corner of the RPC(s) who are not asking to be paid. I know it sounds wild, but there really are RPers out there who just enjoy making things for others! I can think of at least one right off on my dash. They might not be advertising for doing psd's or psd packs, but either they might be willing to do so (especially if they do not appear policing-positive) if you explain what is going on, or they could at least fill some requests for you for fully made icons and such. Hell, people who love doing this work usually know others who do as well, and anti-policing people quite reasonably stick together. They could have suggestions for someone not vile selling psd's.

Depending on what it is you want your psd's to do, I promise you that it wouldn't take you very long to learn it. I know...I know lol that's both really easy for me say when I've been doing it for over twenty years and am about to piss some people off. The latter because the most common settings on popular psd's are extremely simple shit, a lot of that is the kind of thing you're expressly told not to do in design work. Like ramping up extreme contrast, pixelating the fuck out of an image, and turning up the primary colors only. Once you get to playing with photoshop or an equivalent, you will totally see what I mean. You can accidentally make an icon look identical to something that is on trend in the RPC. If that was what you were going for? You've hit the mark, and it's just repetition and tweaking it here and there!

Once you start playing with it, too, it's actually pretty intuitive when it comes to the basic things like resizing, adjusting colors and contrast, and doing easy effects like blurs and sharpening. Frankly, playing with it is better than half the tutorials you'll find because they get unnecessarily complicated when all you want to do is crop your muse's face, overlay some color, and add a damn dotted border. Listen, like I said, I have a lot of experience...and I find many tutorials frustrating and overwhelming!

It is not just you, you're not dumb or anything. People get very comfortable with something and when they try to explain it to others, they use terms and methods that are more advanced or specific to them than they realize. That's all!

If you have friends who make their own things, ask them some very basic questions about what you want to do. They know you, so, they'll know better how to explain to you, specifically. Just keep it simple until you've had some time to experiment! Ask things like, "I want to take this image, resize it to be an icon, and add an orange tint to the image while sharpening only my muse's features...how would I do that? Easy mode?"

And! You don't even have to pay for photoshop or pirate it anymore! Photopea is as an exact copy as possible entirely located in your browser for free. It's all overwhelming at first, a real case of too many options and ways to do the same thing, but the only way it gets less overwhelming is just diving into it. Dive in, get a little frustrated, have some successes, make some awesome discoveries, it gets a bit addicting in short order. Then, the tutorials and tips are so much easier to figure out and expand on, too.

If you'd like, you can always send me a pm here and ask me. I'm happy to try to explain how to do things, zero judgment or impatience. Just an additional option if you both decide to try learning and would feel comfortable doing that. Zero judgment as well on not wanting to do either of those things!

Okay, this one is much harder than learning PS basics because it's honestly a bit terrifying...the way these people are, they're going to take issue with you no matter what you do, and in the end, if they notice you and feel like bothering you, they will. There's literally nothing you can do about it. All you can do is try to buffer yourself, stay away from them, and be aware that you are not the problem.

Like with the AO3 thing or writing what could be viewed as toxic relationships. You can never write or be interested in a single, solitary thing that they're on about (and accusing you of doing in real life when the burning Eye of Moron turns your direction), but to them, you supporting the right of other people to do so is just as bad as doing it yourself. To them, the toxic relationships not only would be problematic, they'd be problematic enough. Being uncomfortable with their policing and feeling unsafe because of it is, to them, a red flag of how problematic you are. Writing anything they've deemed objectionable (or reading or viewing it, for that matter) anywhere, doesn't have to be on this platform or RP-adjacent, doesn't have to actually utilize any of their materials, is enough.

They're absolutely including you in who shouldn't use their shit. That's part of the "logic" and methodology of policing. Everyone is problematic, so, everyone can be labeled a pedo and harassed without too many people getting up in arms about it. No one is safe, so, everyone better behave. You don't actually have to be engaging with or enjoying things like underage, non/dubcon, rape, abusive relationships, etc.

It's gross, it's bullying, it's actually a problem...and there isn't much you can do.

All that is truly up to you is making an effort to avoid them, though, this is very often unfair and likely to get more unfair as resource blogs of all sorts deal in it more. At least, in this case, you do have some small bit of actionable power - by not ever buying from them. They wouldn't be charging if they did not either need or want the money, not giving it to them is a bigger hit than things like simply unfollowing/blocking, reblogging PSA's, and so on is!

Nope, it isn't like you're denying them some extreme amount of money by yourself, but every three, five, ten dollars is felt pretty hard when you desperately need money and/or are saving for something.

I know, I mean, I personally do know, that it's impossible to "get over" bullying, Anon. I'm in no way telling you to just get over it and move on, find some great well of not caring somewhere! What I'm saying is that there is power in not giving them power. The power to make you anxious, uncomfortable, unsafe, when you have every right to be here doing your thing and are not hurting anyone. And it might seem to be a deeply contrary sort of logic, but realizing and accepting that there are people out there who irrationally dislike you for literally no reason, that you cannot infallibly escape or avoid, despite doing nothing wrong is a bit empowering. Because it puts into perspective the things you can control, and when we know what is in our control, it's easier to just enjoy our time here without constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop. If it drops, we can go put it back in the closet where it belongs.

It starts to put a positive spin on the whole, damned if I do, damned if I don't feeling, if that makes sense? I'm probably way too tired to try to be explaining this lol I'm sorry!

Anyway, again, I'm not implying you can or should do any, let alone all, of those suggestions! I just really hope that something will help you feel even a little bit more at ease. It's an unfair situation, it isn't right, and you have every reason to be uncomfortable and stressed. If I could make it happen, you better believe that every policing asshole out there would be writing heartfelt apology letters and sending donations to everyone they've upset lol but...since I can't make that happen, all I can do is say what I, personally, do, would do, or have done.

[highladyluck]

Workplace Giving Companies Ranked By How Much I Wish To Defeat Them In Ritual Combat

Network for Good: Barely a workplace giving vehicle but generally unobjectionable, gives lots of good info unless you're somehow getting Facebook donations through them. I wish they'd calculate net payout amount for you but that's a pretty minor complaint. Payment reliably shows up midmonth, which is perfect. If I faced them in ritual combat I would deliberately shoot to miss.

YourCause: Nice interface, usually easy to match ACH payments to the company, sometimes weirdly delayed uploading of donation reports, but at least they usually put up a note about it and the reports do show up in a week or so. If I had to face them in ritual combat I would punch them gently on the shoulder in a bro-y way and then buy them a drink.

Benevity: Genuinely stellar customer service, complex but understandable formatting system, now if only they'd go back to sending us money a week before the end of the month or the first day of the next month. If they keep sending us money on the very last day of the month I will be forced to issue a formal challenge, because it takes several days to enter their stuff and I hate having it sprung on me at the very last possible second.

Bright Funds: Pretty sure their reporting template was designed by an Elder God because I can never parse what any of their column headers mean, and I resent that they made us join their weird wannabe cloud database just to access donation reports. But if you've got the report key and the right login URL it's fine I guess. I would sucker-punch them in the stomach for past wrongs.

Frontstream: Completely deranged system where every time someone misspells our name they open a new account and then we have to get it attached to our main portal. Must click into each separate account one by one to figure out who gave us money this time. We have 21 accounts spread across three pages and every time you go back to the main menu it resets you to page one. Please let me return to page two if I was on page two, or maybe order the accounts by who paid out most recently, or if I'm really wishing for something impossible, CONSOLIDATE THE STUPID FUCKING ACCOUNTS PLEASE. Would absolutely whale on them until my demands were met.

Cybergrants: OH MY GOD PLEASE LET ME FIGHT THEM. Cybergrants headquarters will make a change to our account that propagates to all the independent separate Cybergrants versions hosted at each company, but it'll be wrong, and so we then have to reach out to every single company that gives to us saying "hey this is wrong please change it and also can we speak to the person in charge of making decisions like this because it's wrong everywhere" and they're like 'yeah that person doesn't work here' and we scream into the void. Also no one there does their due diligence on addresses or checking EINs or anything, we have to do their job for them whenever they send us money that absolutely isn't ours, which is often. I hate them. Don't use them. If I faced them in ritual combat I would kill them, yea, unto the 7th generation.

Companies who don't use third party software for their workplace giving and just give one lump sum at the end of the year to every nonprofit they owe matching gifts to via that nonprofit's website: omg please stop. Matching gifts are supposed to be matched to the fund people gave to, and if you give one random online donation that money is not able to be directed to the funds it is actually matching, and also not able to be broken up and soft-credited to different people, and we probably have no idea whose donations you're matching either! All third-party workplace giving solutions suck in different ways but PLEASE USE ONE, or make individual online donations in honor of each donor? Like, then we have a hope of figuring it out and also reclassifying those donations properly as matching gifts? I would refuse to fight them in ritual combat but would absolutely meet them in a Denny's parking lot at 3 am and slap them until they saw reason and signed up with YourCause.

[westfrosts]

Fluff ABCs - Colt x MC

A/N: it’s ya favourite colt writers! hehe, we whipped up a quick little something for Colt, some fluffy prompt ABCs, we got the lovely template from @pixelburied so thanks to them!

Tag List: y’all know the drill hehe @tabithacarlisle @lifeof314universe @flowerpowell @lady-dianelewis @confessionsofabrokegirl @drakewalkerdrunk @zeniamiii @i-am-clementine @gayplaychoices @marcela13mars @ladymarquess @claudevonstruke @stillafictosexual @wolfmckenzie @emomoustache @inkandfables @coltkaneko @thegardendiety @akrenich @ckanekos 

A – Anger (What was their first fight about? Any big or recurring arguments?)

Their first major fight was over a dangerous race that Colt had entered, perhaps for his father or simply to show off. MC doesn’t want Colt to participate in them, however, or at least wants him to participate less. At one point, they even fought over their fathers/families since they constantly have those troubles. Sometimes, Colt and MC find themselves wondering if they’ll ever be a ‘normal’ couple and if he’ll ever leave the MPC. Part of Colt wants to leave but the other half wants to remain and protect his father.

B – Best (What would they say is the other’s best trait?)

Colt loves MC’s humour, it’s so bizarre at times and so stupid at others, but it never fails to make him smile or laugh. MC loves Colt’s charm and witty banter, he can always lighten up a room or a situation by making one of his comments. They get on so well because of how similar their sense of humour is.

C – Camera (How do they document their relationships? Who likes to take pictures? Or videos?)

Colt takes sneaky photos of MC who thinks that he hates it and never has any of her but his camera roll is almost full to the brim with candid photos of MC. MC is a lot more open about it and openly snaps photos of him, something that Colt has slowly gotten used to. She loves it especially when he’s not wearing his jacket and manages to snag some shots of his arms. MC takes a lot of videos of Colt when he’s unaware, loving how he furrows his brow when he’s determined and focused on something.

D – Dates (What are their dates like?)

Colt loves astronomy and science so he’d make their first date be a picnic/late night meal that ends in stargazing. He points out constellations to MC and tells her everything he knows because it’s one of his favourite topics and things to learn about. MC stares at him the entire time with a smile on her face. Probably also go on study dates because they both like being the top of their class. Another date is where Colt takes her on a motorbike ride throughout town or the city he grew up in, pointing things out to her and being her tour guide. They normally go out to eat because that’s one of their favourite things to do. Sometimes they even go to those dance party sort of things with all the cars around, Colt is a great dancer and his hips move like you’ve never seen before.

E – Early (What was the first month of dating like?)

It was nervous, hesitant, neither one of them was too sure because Colt was in a gang and MC’s dad was the one trying to bust them. Eventually, they managed to work around it and through it and everything felt like normal. But there were many times in the beginning where MC doubted herself, Colt, everything. She couldn’t read him that well back then and never knew what he was thinking, never knew if he liked her as much as she liked him which really stressed her out at times. Colt was also in a similar position because he’d never loved/liked anyone this much before and it scared him.

F – Friends (How is their relationship with each other’s group of friends?)

They all get on with each other quite well, even though the MPC can have their little arguments and fights, they all care for each other, including Logan despite his whole ‘never sticking around long enough to make friends/family’ thing going on. Whenever Colt tags along on study dates, he gets on quite well with Darius and they both end up talking forever about all sorts of deep and wonderful topics.

G – Gifts (Do they like giving each other gifts? What kind?)

They most likely got each other some sort of charms related to vehicles/motorbikes what with their ongoing ‘bike/car’ rivalry. It’s their inside joke and they never go anywhere without their charms. When Colt sees MC eyeing something one day, he’ll make sure to buy it at a later date and try his hardest to wrap it up all nice and fancy for her. Then he’ll leave it laying around somewhere, conveniently at a time when he’s not there so she can’t bombard him and drown him in all that cheesy affection. .

H – Hugs (All things involving hugs)

MC and Colt love being hugged by one another. Colt hasn’t been loved as much so he needs all the warmth, hugs, love, everything! MC likes hugging Colt because he smells nice, he has a woody, piney smell with a hint of ocean breeze and cinnamon. Colt loves when MC hugs him and runs her hands through his hair, it calms him down and soothes him a lot.

I – Inside Jokes (Do they have any?)

MC and Colt buying each other a motorbike and car key-chain/charm of some sort because of their half-hearted vehicle rivalry. They also share jokes and make quips about their fathers and their family lives, something they’ve now come to bond over and actually be able to bounce back from thanks to the understanding they have of one another.

J – Jealousy (Who gets jealous easier? How do they show their jealousy?)

I feel like Colt would get jealous easier because he’s more insecure and stuff what with his childhood but he would never show his jealousy or he would try not to because he wouldn’t want to come off as too overprotective or insecure. If MC gets jealous she wouldn’t hesitate in showing her emotions and would walk right over, throwing her arm around Colt or something.

K – Kiss (How do they kiss? Who usually initiates?)

MC would probably be the one to initiate the kisses but Colt would then be the one who gets pulled in and can’t seem to let go. MC going in for a soft or chaste kiss and Colt decides to deepen them and make them more passionate. He kisses like he’ll lose her or she’ll disappear in front of him. MC’s kisses are chaste because she’s still doesn’t believe Colt likes her. She never thought she was anything special and hardly enough to catch the eye of someone like Colt, but he’s always vocal about how much he loves her or her subtle touches so there’s no room for doubt.

L – Love (How do they first say those three words?)

I feel like Colt fell in love with MC first but he never really said it out loud because the poor boy has never been able to properly articulate his thoughts surrounding love and those sorts of feelings. Once he knew him and MC were in it for the long run he would probably be the first to say the words because she was able to make him open up, to understand his feelings better and to understand love better, both receiving and giving that love.

M – Movies (What kinds of movies do they watch together? Is it a regular Netflix ritual?)

Hmm, I feel like Colt would like practical movies with plots that are not outrageous. I imagine if he watched an action or fantasy movie with MC, he'd point out plot holes or how dumb something is. MC loves rom-coms or feel good movies and Netflix binges are a ritual. It makes them feel normal despite everything that's going on.

N – Nicknames (Things they call each other)

A classic, but I feel like Colt calls MC a shortened version of their name that MC only lets him and her father get away with. Sometimes, baby or babe for both of them. MC calls Colt ‘Golden Child’ which is the actual meaning of his surname. She wanted something sweet but meaningful so she decided to look up the meaning of his name.

O – One (Tell us about the moment they realised they were with the one.)

I think MC knew early on, but she didn't know if Colt liked her back. He had so many walls up, it was scary for MC to show her feelings. The bond they shared over their parental problems made them closer and when it helped MC see him in a new light, that was the moment. There was so much more to him than his dry humour. Colt was hesitant to even come to terms that he liked MC, so he suppressed all his feelings because he thought it made him seem vulnerable. However, one day he saw MC just laughing with the gang, how carefree and beautiful she was and all his feelings came rushing towards him. That's when he realised he couldn't live without that light in his life.

P – Pizza (What is their favourite food to eat together?)

I feel like they’re a Mac n Cheese type of couple. Head-canon that Colt is the best cook and MC is always bugging him to make this or that. Sometimes, to treat him or surprise him, she decides to make something for him, whether or not the food is actually good doesn’t matter (at first) because Colt finds the gesture too sweet. But soon enough, he’ll be teasing her about what she made and how long she took.

Q – Quit (Do they break up? Almost break up? What happened?)

This would also be related to any dangerous decisions and threats that mostly Colt would receive as part of the MPC and also MC not wanting Colt to constantly go out on missions and whatnot. One day, MC gets threatened/put in danger and that makes their relationship rocky. MC and Colt break up, something MC instigates but they eventually come back together with the promise of being more careful.

R – Rainy Days (How do they comfort each other on dark days?)

MC gets stressed a lot with school and her overall relationship with her father (after he found out everything), so MC goes to Colt for comfort. He doesn't like to admit it, but he's touched-starved thanks to his childhood with Kaneko as a father, but it makes him give the best hugs because he just likes the feeling of MC in his arms. When Colt is having a frustrated day with the MPC or Kaneko his first instinct is to say nothing because growing up Kaneko never cared and made him feel like it was better to keep your feelings hidden. The more he’s around MC, he’s encouraged to tell her and not bottle it up. MC lets Colt rest his head on her lap while she runs her fingers through his hair, whispering reassuring words to him. This is how the MPC often find the two of them, with Colt asleep in MC’s lap and MC in an awkward position on the couch.

S – Soft (Something one of them did that turned the other into absolute mush.)

Colt low-key loves how MC is constantly showering him in love physically, she’s always trying to make sure she’s touching him at some point, whether that’s through a hug, holding hands or simply just leaning on one another. He secretly loves it and finds her sort of clingy behaviour cute. MC loves how Colt has opened up to her more and let his walls down. He’s a lot more affectionate in terms of how he speaks. He easily says ‘I love you’ to her and is often found admiring MC when she’s not looking, not afraid to stare at her anymore.

T – Texting (Do they text each other a lot? What do they usually talk about over the phone?)

MC hates calling people and prefers texts, so she texts Colt a lot, especially when she’s in awkward situations or when she’s alone. He probably snaps pics of the MPC gang looking dumb and sends it with a snarky text to make MC laugh. When they do talk over the phone, they always end with “I love you/I love you too” because they never want to take anything for granted especially with how unsafe being associated with MPC is.

U – Unique (Tell us about some of their odd habits that surprised one another.)

MC being surprised at his neat apartment and life, thinking he’d be a messy bad boy. She’s also quite taken aback by Colt’s ability to completely hog the sheets at night and often wakes up barely covered by the duvet, having to drag it all back from him. Colt being surprised at MC’s productive and innovative ways while being really lazy. She also has funny sleeping habits and he has a love-hate relationship with how MC always ends up suffocating him in her sleep somehow, whether that’s by lying on top of him in some way or throwing her limbs about haphazardly.

V – Vanity (Something they’re proud of in themselves and their partner.)

MC’s proud of how determined she is because she wants to do something important with her life because that’s what her mother would’ve wanted. Even though MPC isn’t entirely that, she does a lot in college to hopefully better her community. She’s also proud of how strong Colt became despite his childhood. His confidence is also alluring even if others think it’s narcissistic. Colt is proud of his development because before, he did everything to please his father, but now he knows his own worth. He’s proud of how far he’s come. He loves how MC sees the good in people, before he used to think it was naive of her. Now, he realises it makes him fall in love with MC all over again because she’s the goodness he needed his whole life. She believed in him when no one else did.

W – Wedding (Tell us about your wedding head canon if they’ve gotten that far. Or if not, have they talked about it?)

It was already a big step admitting their feelings for each other, so marriage is FAR from being on their minds. Personally, they don’t enjoy labels that much either or a contract of some sort. However, if they did get married, Colt would prefer the smallest most inconspicuous wedding possible, trying to keep it simple. MC and Colt would definitely entertain the idea of eloping because it seems like a very ‘them’ kind of thing to do, if anything, they wouldn’t be able to wait for the honeymoon stage and would want all the legalities out of the way to just be together.

X – X (Something they hate about the other.)

Colt tends to not tell MC about bad MPC related situations because he wants to keep her safe and handle it himself, but MC hates it because she doesn’t like to be out of the loop and they’re supposed to trust each other and should be able to tell each other everything. Colt doesn’t like how MC is willing to put herself the line for anyone. He doesn’t want her to get hurt, Colt himself does it for his dad but MC is ready to sacrifice herself and put herself in harm's way for just about anyone because she’s so selfless and compassionate.

Y – YouTube (What are they like online? Do they post about their relationship constantly?)

They are both the type of person that posts funny videos and memes that go viral every now and then on their social media. MC would probably post all types of pictures and videos mainly of Colt whereas he would be the type to post a photo of the two of them every now and then but with no caption which ends up getting a load of cheesy comments and the MPC gang teasing him too.

Z – Zoo (Are they into animals? Do they want pets? What kind?)

MC isn’t an animal person and never has been, but Colt loves huskies a lot. Plus, any animal around him naturally gravitates towards him, and they end up warming his heart and the witty, standoffish Colt turns into a big softie. Colt slowly converts MC to the animal loving side, with MC unable to resist the two puppy dog eyes staring back at her whenever Colt is around a dog. Soon enough, they’re taking monthly trips to the local shelters and end up becoming regulars with both the staff and the animals eager to see them.

By: Ifraah and Khadijah

[yoonglegurt]

Yandere BTS Sugar Daddy AU - Our Kitten~

Anon asked - Hello can you do a bts yandere sugar daddy au??

Details-

2.2. If it's an imagine, can I do all of them in one plot, as in they're all your sugar daddies but they've decided to share you? Or would you prefer it to be sort of like an reaction template with the members separate, or something else?

Where they all decide to share

The gender can be female and the scenario type can be up to you. Thank you again. Your blog is a goldmine and I just love you soo much.

I hope you enjoy, my sweet anonnie~ I love you way more~

You, were a lucky woman.

It's great luck to get a sugar daddy, even better luck to get a hot sugar daddy, but you had reached the peak with seven hot sugar daddies, plus ones that seemed to like you for who you are, not just your body.

Seven rich billionaires, CEO's, apparently held large enough interest in what you thought was your measly body, ready to fight with all they had to have it as theirs. You had grown to be interested in them as well, and honestly, which broke college student would say no to one, or several, sugar daddies, so you just begged them to get along and share, which they weren't used to but were ready to try to have you at least partly as theirs.

After eight, long and detailed contracts, you officially belonged to the seven as their baby girl, kitten, doll and any pet name they wished to use and were sure you'd like (an actual point in the contracts). The seven men had decided to purchase a fucking castle, feeling like a measly mansion wouldn't be extravagant enough, and all eight of you fit comfortably in it.

The only two problems you all had in your relationship were you and them.

The problem (well, you didn't see it as a problem, *insert huffing emoticon*) with you, and partially with the boys was that they refused to actually use you for what the contract stated you'd mostly be used for, sex. You had sex, yes, but it was extremely rare and they preferred to just spoil you, and you were not okay with that. You did your best to repay them, and that meant cleaning and cooking, and they weren't on board, stating your precious body was only meant to be worshipped, not to work, and the only people who could introduce it to possible harm were the boys themselves when punishing you. Eventually, everything that could be used to clean or cook was hidden away, and only the maids who came over had access to them.

The problem with the boys was that, even if the contract strictly stated when which man would have you all to themselves, they still wanted you when their time had ended. This often resulted in fights and arguments that you'd have to split apart, usually by a kiss to both of the arguing members, which then ended in the others being jealous of not getting kisses and the day would end with a long cuddle session.

This was one of those days.

You sat in the humongous living room, lounging around on the couch lazily. Well, you didn't have anything to do. You didn't feel like shopping, it seemed like everything you could do on any of your many electronics was already done, you weren't allowed to cook or clean. It was boring as hell.

Yoongi walked downstairs. Today was technically Jungkook's day, but he had several meetings and a lot of work in general, so it meant it was a first come, first served type of day, the catch being that all of the other boys were swallowed in work as well. Yoongi was often the one to be most often stressed about work, his obsession with you not lightening no matter how many hours he worked, meaning he got more restless and restless the more he had to be away from you, resulting in anger and a ton of breaks. This, was obviously, one of his breaks, no matter how possessive Kook was with his days.

"Kitten, come cuddle daddy, will you?" Yoongi smirked. They had actually trained you very well. You were all obedient now, the result of a lot of punishments you had received, as evidenced by your form immediately shooting up from the couch and speeding to Yoongi, the man's smirk widening when he was enveloped in your warm hug. "Hi Yoon. Tired?"

"Always, when I'm not with you." Yoongi smiled at you, pecking your nose. Usually, a sugar daddy - baby relationship was more business like, money in exchange sex and company, but you were basically in a poly relationship with the seven, just getting way more gifts and care than normal relationships.

"Awh, d'you love me that much?" The eight had already established the seven harboured romantic feelings for you, and even if you still weren't sure you wanted an actual relationship with them, or returned the feelings completely, you were up to letting them shower you with love and affection.

"Of course. Now come on, I want cuddles." Yoongi picked you up with no trouble at all, walking back upstairs, but passing his office, instead choosing to enter his large and spacious bedroom, throwing you down on the bed, then closing the door, pulling off his shirt and jumping in next to you, immediately collecting you back in his strong arms.

You had learnt about how spontaneous the boys were, liking to cuddle literally wherever, so you had just turned to wearing night dresses and pyjamas everywhere around the house. The boys never allowed anyone over either way, and you weren't allowed outside the premises of the castle anyway, only being allowed to enter the yard and garden with the supervision of a staff or preferably one of the boys themselves, so there was no point in dressing up all nice and fancy, except on the days where you wanted to spoil yourself a little or give the boys a treat.

You just smiled, wrapping around the short, but still taller than you boy tightly. "Missed you. Was all bored without you all." Your small voice echoed in the quiet room, the only other sounds being Yoongi suckling on your neck lightly. "Our lil baby missed her daddies, huh? Must've missed me especially, right?" Yoongi smirked again, teasing.

"Yoon, you know I'm not allowed to say I have a favourite, even if I have one. You'd end up teaming up and killing my favourite, just like how you did with Bobby. " You pouted.

"Don't mention that scummy butlers name. He was idiotic for trying to flirt with our baby. Plus, he might not be dead." Yoongi shrugged, but his voice was much more cold now.

"Sorry for mentioning him, Yoon. I know you didn't like him, but I had fun talking with him when all of you were busy like today." Your voice had turned much more quiet and soft now that you had heard the decrease of warmth in Yoongi's voice.

Yoongi sighed, but before he could calm you, the door burst open, a seething Jungkook appearing. "Mine." He growled lowly, storming over and ripping you out of Yoongi's arms, a cold glare being sent at Yoongi. The rest of the boys, gasping for air, stopped at the door to Yoongi's bedroom.

"We'd protect you so Jungkook doesn't accidentally pummel you to death, but you broke the rules, again, so can't save you now. This is a third payback to when you stole princess when it was my turn." Namjoon shrugged.

"Don't worry, pumpkin," Seokjin warmly smiled at you. "Gukkie won't harm Yoon, at least not today and with you present. He's got you in his arms now, he's currently not sane enough to comprehend anything else but you." He calmed you when he saw the panic you were in at Namjoon's words, still in Jungkook's muscular arms, the overgrown muscle pig sniffing and nipping at your neck, trying to get Yoongi's scent off and his on.

You calmed down slowly, Jungkook letting out a content sigh when he noted the fact, the boy still being a little bit out of it. "G-gukkie?" Your soft voice calmed Jungkook even more. "Mh? Want cuddles? Kissies? Gifts? You must want gifts, right? Taehyung, get baby everything on the future gift list this instant." Jungkook brightened at the attention you gave him, even if it was tiny.

"Baby girl, Kookie had a hard day at work today, he will be a little crazed all day. We'll lock you both up in Gukkies room, okay? Just in case you make a lil mistake and he goes psycho." Hoseok smiled, wanting to pet your hair, but refraining himself at the murderous glare Jungkook sent him.

"O-okay..." You mumbled quietly. "Gukkie, can we go to your room? I want comfy cuddles."

Needless to say, you got very comfy cuddles that day.

And this happened on the daily, really. Wether it be Jimin stealing you on Namjoons turn or Taehyung taking you out when it was Seokjins day, the boys couldn't control themselves when thirsting for you and your sweet attention all on them. It wasn't often all seven shared you at the same day, it usually only happened on the Most Special Day Of The Year Number One or Number Two, your birthday or the day where you signed all eight of the contracts.

On your birthday, they accompanied you outside of the premises of the castle to let you meet your friends and family for a whole day. You were allowed to hug your brother and kiss your mother and father. Everyone thought you were just a very lucky girl who was in a lovely relationship with seven, rich men, and although you were, the relationship was also abusive, but the boys didn't let anyone know that. For all they had to know, you were their obedient, small girlfriend, and they could wander for eternity why you immediately jumped to sit in their lap when one of them leaned back and gave the lightest tap to your thigh, or why you shivered and had a look of fear when they whispered words similar to 'room, whip, blood, never meet' in your ear when you hugged your brother just a little bit too hard.

On the Most Special Day Of The Year Number Two, you were pulled inside the Bed Room, a room in the castle which had nothing but a huge bed which covered almost the entire room, and a wardrobe which contained pyjamas, water, and three boxes full of sex toys. All seven of them took turns absolutely wrecking  your tiny body, usually ganging up in teams of three or four and taking you at the same time. All eight of you loved the event, but the boys had too much trouble containing their jealousy on other days to comprehend the idea of sharing your body.

There were, of course, also days where they decided to share. It usually consisted of all seven teaming up to spoil you with expensive clothing and made you model it for them, taking pictures and posting them to the instagram account they made just to make everyone jealous of the woman they worshipped, or ordering food from the most luxurious restaurants, feeding you with 79$ worth dekopon and 1.4 million dollars worth Strawberries Arnaud. Of course, you never knew the cost of the food you were fed, even if the pizza cost a thousand dollars, but you could guess from the gold leaves covering it. You just sighed and allowed yourself to be coddled and fed. If that was what they wanted, you weren't going to refuse.

And that was how you spent your days. When you finished college and had literally no reason at all to stay in the contract, the boys proceeded to put the castle into lock down and refused to terminate the contract which stated it would exist as long as a ending contract wasn't signed by your contract. If you had decided to give yourself to them at your worst, they would deserve to have you for themselves forever, no matter if you wish to stay or not.

Maybe, just maybe, you weren't so lucky to have seven sugar daddies who seemed to have real feelings for you. Maybe.

[freeofmundanethoughts]

HANNIBAL Stunts with Ken Quinn and Tommy Chang Panel Transcript (Fannibalfest 2018)

Last one for today! I also have notes on the Sassy Science panels that I’m planning on typing up, and I did take notes during the episode commentaries too, but there’s already a much better transcript of those online on twitter, so I think I’ll probably leave off on those. 

I’ll probably come back and edit these again at some point as well, referencing some twitter posts people made during the event and such to see if I can plug any holes in my notetaking that way. 

More: Hair and Makeup, Set and Food Design

DISCLAIMER: THIS WAS TYPED UP OVER 2 WEEKS AFTER THE EVENT FROM VERY SHORTHAND NOTES. NONE OF THIS WILL BE DIRECT QUOTED, NOT EVERYTHING SAID WAS INCLUDED (due to my writing speed) AND THE SENTENCES MAY BE SLIGHTLY SKEWED FROM ORIGINAL INTENTION (I am aware that some of the answers that I was able to write down do not exactly answer the questions, but I can only fill in what my notes covered). 

If anyone has their own notes that fill in blanks or contradict anything that I noted, please correct me! I extrapolated a little based on the context of the questions to make my noted less caveman and more full sentences, so some of the answers may have veered off in the wrong direction. I would love to be corrected to make this as full and complete as possible!

PANEL:

Ken Quinn (K)

Tommy Chang (T)

Question from Moderator/Audience (Q)

Q: How did you get into the business? 

T: I was offered a job. My role was to get shot and fall down stairs. I didn't realize you needed pads for that and did it without them. It was 1984, so all the stunt work was done really cheaply. I had to pretend I was shot and walk down a live street [with real pedestrians]. 

K: I wanted to be a motorcycle driver, but went into marketing instead. I coordinated stunts, including myself, and was elevated from a regular stunt man to a stunt coordinator. 

Q: How has the industry changed?

K: Color film was big. It's also much safer now. The tech used is different, we have wires and green screen. 

T: Fights have evolved. In the 1980s it was a lot of Karate Kid, and in the 90s you got a lot more females fighting. Then there was a period of mixed martial arts, and now what's popular is what feels "real." 

Q: How did you become involved in Hannibal?

K: I was called in by the production manager. Hannibal was on a tight budget, and some stunt equipment wouldn't work in the cold. We had to keep bringing it into the tent and warm it up, then do another take. But Mads never complained. 

T: I was hired by Ken, so. Why did you hire me? 

K: We had worked together before. Tommy was brought in for the kitchen fight. The flip over the back was Tommy's idea. I can do all around stunts, but Tommy's a fight specialist. He's done a lot of work in fight choreography. 

T: Ken is one of the most respected stunt coordinators in the world. He takes jobs no one else will. 

K: I once did a stunt where I fell 14 stories off a building, on fire. It took 3 takes. 

Q: What fight took the most time, and who was the best actor to work with?

K: The kitchen fight took the longest. Mads is one of the most athletic actors from his background in dance. 

T: I liked working with both Mads and Lawrence. You really try to bring the script to the real world. I'd brake down the fight, block the moves, show Ken, train the doubles, showed Bryan Fuller and so on. The actors all trained really hard. Bryan Fuller called me back for the other fight because he liked my work on the kitchen scene. 

K: It was funny, because Bryan would say things to me like "I want an organic knife fight." So I'd make a knife fight. And then when I showed it to Bryan, he'd say, "this looks too much like a knife fight." And I'd tell him "that's what you said!" And Bryan would just go, "okay, le'ts not do a knife fight." 

Q: Jack and Hannibal have very different fight styles. Jack is a boxer. How does the physicality of the actor factor into the fights? 

K: Lawrence Fishburne was just back from a hernia surgery, so that factored in. Both actors had their own ideas about the scene. They would change the styles to fit their character. Slamming the fridge door was Lawrence's idea. 

T: I'd bring in a template, and the actors would take the choreography and fit it into their characters. 

K: Both actors are gifted and trained. We were lucky. They knew the right fighting distance. Lawrence Fishburne is like a bear of a man, very strong. 

T: Both are in good shape. Other shows might take 3-5 months of training to deliver 1-2 good fight scenes, but the kitchen fight for Hannibal was done in 5 rehearsals. 3 with stunt doubles, 2 with the actors. 

K: Tommy can put a fight together in minutes, but it took a lot to please Bryan Fuller and the network and everyone else. 

Q: Does Hannibal have special abilities, or is he fully human?

K: Just his intelligence. Bryan Fuller was very involved in character development. 

Q: Did Mads' background [as a dancer] come into play in the Tobias fight? The choreography looks like a dance. 

T: I wasn't involved in that scene. 

K: The issue with that scene was that there was a lot of distance to cover in the office. Bryan Fuller really wanted the ladder involved, but the ladder didn't originally move, so we had to edit the ladder to move. But Mads knows how to cover space. Demore was not so good at moving. 

Q: What qualifies as a stunt?

K: A stunt is any physical action. For insurance purposes, it's required to hire a stunt coordinator to supervise a stunt. This could be for anything from grabbing, tripping, anything physical. Even those little stunts use spine protectors and pads to keep the actors from getting majorly hurt. The police can get involved in stunt accidents. Lots of actors don't want to do stunts. With Mads, it was the opposite. He wanted to do all the stunts. We had to tone down some of the stunts to make sure he wouldn't get hurt. 

Q: Demore said he swung the piano wire into his crotch. Were there any stunt accidents or bloopers? 

T: Mads wanted to spin kick Mason in the pig barn scene. That took 15 takes, and he'd hit the stunt man at the same place each time. The stunt guy actually really hurt in the stomach, but to tease him, I kept telling Mads to kick him harder to make it look better. 

K: Fights take so long, I think car chases are much more fun. Fights require much closer choreography and more safety measures. 

Q: For the cliff fall, how did they not hurt each other while falling intertwined like that onto a pad?

K: Luck. Things like that are often messed up. It's easier to keep them in position with wires. 

Q: In the Tobias fight, we heard that the piano wire kept breaking. How did that impact the scene? 

K: The prop department built that. It was constantly being repaired on set, they had no replacement for it. There was a time restraint, so it wasn't built properly. 

Q: Was there an actor you wanted to work with but couldn't? 

T: I wish the show wasn't cancelled. The actors were all great to work with. We could have done so much. I had a lot of ideas, because I had to keep topping my own work. 

K: Bryan Fuller asked me what I wanted to do, and I said a car chase. I wanted to see more action in Hannibal. We could have had more and different action than on other shows. 

Q: As a stunt coordinator, is there any stunt or fight you just wouldn't do because of the danger level?

T: Air ram. 

K: An air ram is a piece of equipment that launches people like from a bomb explosion. 

T: I did a scene where I was hit with a dragonball z type strike, and landed wrong. That was the worst experience. People didn't know the danger of these things and would just build them in their garages. 

K: One scene, Mads was on the bucket? The bucket was built to be stable, but Mads said it wouldn't be realistic, he wanted it to be unstable. Then he wanted to look like he was straining on the rope. He was on that bucket for 12-14 hours that day, and it was really cold in the studio. He got sick. And his neck was raw from the pressure of the cable for days. 

Q: Anything you remember from the small, intimate fight scenes? 

K: Honestly, I forget a lot. It's been a while since I worked on Hannibal. I remember the window scene, with Abigail and Alana. We were really far behind then, and had to build part of the house. The director wanted sparkles in the shot, but Bryan didn't like that, so we had to remove the sparkles in a reshoot. We had a stunt girl for Alana. The window was scored so it would break. We usually used tempered or breakaway glass for scenes like that. We did 2-3 takes. Also, the hand under the bed scene was a disaster. When they built the bed for that scene, they forgot that someone had to fit under the bed. Because the set wasn't built right, we had to saw the wall out.

[minas-writing]

Week 3 - Friends

For @yourocsbackstory ! I missed last week but I’m back! Late! Oh well!

I’m counting the assassin team as Slyn’s friends. They’re probably the best he’s got right now, and though they’re all just a little too okay with murder for him, they are his age and relatively fun to be around.

There’s GinHa, from a country called Marandala, which I picture as sort of like ancient Mongolia, though I still need to do tons of research. She’s the one who, if it needs to get personal, will get up close with the murder. It doesn’t bother her. She’s the fighter, if there’s a fight.

Farin is short, native to Rinthia where the story and capitol are, and he really likes mechanics. If there’s a lock to be picked, a gate to be lowered, a vehicle to be hijacked, he’s the guy. He also likes bludgeoning weapons, if he has to use them at all.

Rinter is of an unknown ethnicity, though he likely came from some kind of noble group, as he shows familiarity with and strong interest in the inner workings of the court. He likes the politics, and is the party’s face, as it were. He’s the one with the highest Charisma score and can bluff his way through almost anything.

Matta’s interesting. Chackalo (terrible country name I know :P) is kind of Eastern-Europe coded, and is like Rinthia’s younger cousin. It’s more where nobles go to vacation, if they like more forests and odd architecture. She’s actually a runaway daughter of a major noble family, but it’s not like anybody in Rinthia really pays enough attention to realize. She’s the only one in the group with magic, a kind of telekinesis. And she doesn’t talk. She could if she wanted to, but she just chooses not to, for various reasons, not all of them bad. GinHa is her very good friend, and Matta often just goes along with the stronger personality.

What follows is one of my favorite sequences that I wrote for Vacea’s first draft. There’s quite a bit of worldbuilding I was trying to figure out for it, so lots of proper nouns, but I think it’s readable if you have no idea what’s going on. It features most of the main characters, actually.

“Lord Tirra is your next target,” said Slyn, addressing the four in the large conference room that now belonged to him. It had previously been two empty houses, but they’d knocked down a few walls and made it the largest room in the cave of New Rithia.

“Makes sense,” said Farin, the smaller man. Well, he wasn’t much older than Slyn, but he was half a head shorter and had much darker hair. “I think.”

“He’s the one with all those soldiers that harass people, isn’t he?” asked GinHa. She retied the pale yellow ribbon in her black hair.

Slyn nodded once. Even though he’d never asked, it was obvious that GinHa was Marandese. It was the seventh Vacean state to join the united coalition, but it was only last because it was a collection of tribes rather than a proper country as many of the others had been. In that way, Marandala was a template that the New Vaceans wanted to copy - each town or clan ruling themselves with no input from the planet’s government, because no planet-wide government would exist at all. Slyn knew it would never work. He’d studied enough political theory and history to know that. The clans of Marandala were fading out and many were leaving their homes for the Galhaltran States and Perint. New Vaceans had good intentions, but they would ultimately fail. If not during the revolution, then after it. Why Raem persisted in it, even if they both knew it was destined for failure, confused Slyn. But he wanted his family back, so he built up the cause anyway.

((OOC - I wrote that a while ago and have no idea if it’s actually valid but this was just a first draft))

“His soldiers are Vacea’s army, though,” said Rinter, a scowl of confusion on his face.

“His soldiers,” argued Slyn, listening to Raem, “are the main force that would stop us. Besides, Vacea doesn’t even need an army. Nobody has attacked us for generations. Why would they start now?”

“But what if somebody does?” Rinter continued.

“Then our citizens can take care of it. We’re not entirely helpless.” Slyn was vaguely disturbed by the smirk that appeared on Matta’s face. She was from the nearby state of Chackalo, and had one of the strongest parent gifts in the world. Matta was a sundaughter, and her most prevalent talent was moving small things without touching them. As far as Slyn knew, only twenty sunchildren were alive, all from Chackalo or Attorya.

“Lord Tirra, then.” Rinter drew all eyes back to him, and reclaimed the conversation. “Any other instructions?”

Raem’s orange smoke swirled around Slyn’s head like a snake. He didn’t bother taking form much anymore, preferring to sit back and direct. “Ignore the servants in his house. If they wear the New Vacean knots and hide their weapons, then the servants will let them pass. But the soldiers they will have to sneak past.”

“Wear the knot and conceal all your weapons,” Slyn said out loud. “Lord Tirra’s staff will ignore you if you ignore them, with the exception of the soldiers.” He got a bit of a rebellious thrill from restructuring Raem’s instructions, though he did just say exactly the same thing. Raem usually didn’t mind.

The four nodded. Slyn looked them over - Farin, GinHa, Rinter, and Matta. Only Farin was older than Slyn. They were talented and obviously comfortable with what they were doing, even if none of them had ever been part of an assassin team before. Much less killed anyone.

It was early the next day when Slyn heard how it had all happened.

Emmelyn shivered in the chill of the smaller conference room in the palace. Her parents, the King and Queen, sat in front of her, listening to the warrior across the table give his report. Ganna stood behind her, the man who worked on cases such as these. It was early, but she’d been up much earlier before.

“The guard shifts were about to change,” the warrior was explaining. “It was maybe two or three in the morning, and we’d been on shift for a few hours already. Nights are always difficult, and I have to admit that my eyes wanted to close. But I’m a loyal soldier through and through, Your Majesties, and I never once dozed off.”

“There were lots of guards on the wall, but they were all sleeping,” GinHa said, her feet up on the table and a bowl of grapes in her hand. “We practically just waltzed right in.” A grape flew through the air and landed in her mouth.

“It only took a few moments for five strong men to pull us down and douse us with baha powder. That’s all I remember.”

“Thank you,” said King Hela. He dismissed the warrior and called in a large woman who worked in Lord Tirra’s large house.

She took a deep breath, evidently nervous. “I’m just a laundress, Your Majesties. I’m not sure what I can offer...”

“Any information at this point is good information,” said the investigator behind Emmelyn.

“Well,” began the woman. “I saw four people I didn’t recognize walking through the hallways. They seemed a bit suspicious. It would have been very early in the morning, close to three o’clock. My mind was a bit muddled, though, Your Majesties, and I didn’t see them well. I can tell you that two were female. But they were gone quickly and none of them spoke.”

Farin sat down next to GinHa, less celebratory but still smug. He stole a grape from her bowl, and she glared. “We sort of got lost inside, but there was this fat lady - ”

“Don’t say fat, she wasn’t that bad,” Rinter interrupted from his position leaning against a nearby wall. “Just... larger. She was strong, though, with a big basket of clothes. She saw our knots. She let us pass, just like you said.” He glanced up at Slyn, who nodded.

Another grape sailed through the air, wrenched from the perfect trajectory of GinHa’s throw, unsupported before finding Matta’s pale hand. She grinned at GinHa and raised her eyebrows at Farin, urging him to continue the story.

He did. “She told us where to find the wing where Lord Tirra usually stayed.”

“And you,” said King Hela, looking at a new witness, a young girl who looked terrified to be standing in the presence of the King, the Queen, the heir, and a royal investigator. “You said you saw something.”

“Yes, sir,” the girl said in a small voice. “I was about to go to bed, after beginning the next morning’s breakfast. Two girls were walking around. One of them asked me where Lord Tirra’s room was. I assumed they were new maids so I told her. They turned around and joined two boys and went the direction I had said.”

GinHa set the empty bowl on the table. “And another girl told me and Matta exactly where to find the guy. I thought she saw the knots, too, but she looked really suspicious. I’m not sure she ignored us like the other woman.”

Behind Emmelyn, Ganna leaned forward. “I know you’re nervous, but I must insist you tell us everything. What did these people look like? Was there anything specific you saw?”

“One of the girls was Marandese,” the girl said nervously. “The second one didn’t talk, and I don’t think she could at all. All four had...” She trailed off.

Ganna urged her on. “Had what?”

“New Vacean knots,” squeaked the girl, then she hid her face. Emmelyn’s parents both inhaled sharply.

“Hm.” Ganna leaned back. “Thank you for your time.”

“Dismissed,” repeated King Hela. The soldiers guided the girl out.

“Will the maid be a problem?” asked Slyn levelly. He looked at Matta, who just shrugged. Then she grimaced and rocked her hand.

“Maybe,” GinHa translated. “She seemed pretty conservative.”

Slyn sighed and changed the subject. “So you found Lord Tirra’s room without a problem?”

“Yes, sir,” nodded Farin. “And nobody stopped us.”

“New Vaceans,” sighed Ganna when the girl and soldiers left. “That explains why everybody but that maid lied to us, and how the assassins were able to just walk in. I had hoped they wouldn’t be a problem.”

Emmelyn stopped him. “New Vaceans? Who are they? Why does that explain things?”

“We did run into a bit of trouble...” Rinter objected.

“A corpse doesn’t talk,” GinHa grinned.

“It was just one, and we hid and rigged the body so nobody can blame us.” Farin reached to fill a cup with water. “They’ll think he committed suicide.”

Matta’s eyes gleamed with pride. She made the stream of water from the pitcher miss Farin’s goblet and splash on his shirt. GinHa laughed again.

“New Vacea is what a fairly organized group of revolutionaries call themselves,” King Hela said before Ganna had a chance.

“But most people like them. To many people, they’re the good guys,” Ganna said. “If somebody uses a specific New Vacean knot on their colored ribbon or scarf or such, one we haven’t been able to identify, then they’re granted passage to practically anywhere. It’s a breach of some unspoken rule to wear the knot if you’re not actually affiliated with New Vacea.”

“Anyway, we found the old geezer sitting in his chair, practically dead already,” Rinter continued, a smile still on his face from Matta’s antics.

“Matta stopped him from making noise by pressing his cape against his face.” Farin didn’t want to be left out, though he looked distinctly disgruntled at his damp shirt. “GinHa went up and stabbed him, then Rinter saw some guards coming and we jumped out the window. He was still twitching, but - “

“We waited until he died,” GinHa protested. “We were just out on the roof instead of in the room.”

Funny, thought Slyn. She was afraid of him disapproving of their methods. He didn’t care, but he was, honestly, a bit sick. None of the four looked like they were battling their consciences at all. They were joking and laughing, confident that any blame would be pinned on Slyn. That was what a leader was for, he supposed. He did wish one of them would show a bit of remorse or guilt.

“We followed your instructions and did everything you asked,” said Farin. “Now we’re done, right?”

“They’ve never made a move as bold as this before.” King Hela shook his head. “We never did anything about them because they never stirred up any trouble.”

“So you know where to find them?” asked Emmelyn. She fiddled uncomfortably with her long sleeves.

“No,” sighed King Hela after a moment. “I wish I could say otherwise and go there right now. Assassinating a lord is reason enough to make them disband.”

“No, there are still more adventures to be had,” Raem said, and Slyn repeated his words dispassionately out loud, not bothering to think of a different way of wording it. But “adventure”... what a horrible way to put it.

Matta grinned while GinHa chuckled and Farin’s eyes lit up. Rinter shrugged as if he didn’t care, but Slyn knew that his emotions were as high as the others’. He didn’t smile with them.

“You are dismissed for the rest of the day,” Slyn told them. His unamused expression and monotone voice shooed the team out faster than his words alone ever could. He sat heavily on the chair GinHa had vacated when the curtain behind her had settled.

“You’re doing well,” whispered Raem, pleased. “You may grow into this role better than I ever thought you could.”

“Shut up,” growled Slyn, quietly enough that nobody beyond the curtained doorways and covered windows could hear. “I don’t care what you think. I don’t care about any of this. I just want to go back home.”

“Better not let anybody hear you say that. My plans could be tossed out the window.”

Slyn sneered and clenched his hands. “I told you that I don’t care about your stupid plans. If they crashed and burned, I wouldn’t cry a single tear over it.” The moment the words were out of his mouth, Slyn wished he could pull them in. Raem had shown him unkindness in the past for talking back like that. But he didn’t apologize, just stood and left the room, going about the next diabolical task that would leave his soul scarred for good.

((Eh? Eh? Dramatic, innit?))

[tempinksailblog]

pale breathes his potentially last words, his face as cold and impassive as ever. the revolver, which glimmers in the moon's light, cast through a golden filter to birth an artificial sunshine, clicks like a final bell toll. his grip is steady. "This is hell’s territory, and I am beholden to no gods." ///kingdom au but i challenge u to use pale!!! >:3c [represent or use the dialogue doesn't need to use the extra input inhfhdhdhdgd]

Intruders of Secrets

It’s been almost a week since Ink’s game assassination prank, which was an attempt to scare Template into anger and it clearly worked. He would talk to Ink less and smile almost not at all. Slowly his eyes drooped as the cold winter hit the area, and he seemed half starved after a time. His bones looked brittle, as if he could fall apart and dust at any moment.

Yet, even so, he could still somewhat hold his own for a few minutes while they sparred. He never gave a plea for more food either, not even by looks. The days became very depressing after that point compared to the earlier times. Ink’s “plaything” slowly started to be morning to mess with, so he stopped trying. If Template wanted to eat at the table with the lonely king, he let him, so at least he stopped looking or sounding so starved eventually. Template was better than inviting over nobles to fill the space. They nagged Ink and offered brides to marry, Ink only guessing they wanted power more than anything. As much as Ink didn’t care for much and he didn’t plan to fall in love at least, he didn’t want a nagging, stuck up daughter of a noble. Even if he did end up marrying one, and a noble forced it just for power or riches, an assassin wouldn’t be able to take him down. That was something he felt sure of. Maybe too much so.

· · ·

A figure dug his knife into a castle maid’s back, keeping the weapon there until he hid the body somewhere safe for it to properly bleed out. He didn’t want to leave any traces yet, not until he was at his final destination of the king’s room, then he’ll start the war.

By his observations it was after dinner, and the king moved to his room to be alone. Not even his “pet” would be there. This should be an easy mission.

Once he was at the door, he slowly opened it to not alert the king. He didn’t know if his target was sleeping or just in his room, so he tried to play it safe. Yet, he found Ink on the balcony expanding off the king’s room, looking out into the night.

“I see you’ve finally arrive.” The king unexpectedly spoke, making his assassin taken aback. “Pale, was it?” The assassin didn’t respond, as creepily correct as it was. Pale just started as Ink turns his head to look at the person that planned to kill him. He waited for Pale to respond, but chuckled lightly when he didn’t. “What? Shy to face someone with more power than you?”

Pale just closed the door before breaking into a sprint at the king. Ink let Pale force him to the edge of the balcony, giving a wide grin when the blade stained in his servant’s blood pressed against his neck.

“I’m surprised you haven’t asked how I know so much.” Ink almost laughed, now not expecting a response from his blank attacker, so he continued. “You’re not very good at hiding, you know I can tell when you were stalking me daily since a month ago, you stolen citizen. Error is really bad at training you apparently. Was he like God to you when he killed your parents years ago because you seem like the perfect killer?” Ink sounded mocking, but seemed to be stalling too.

Pale breathes his potentially last words, his face as cold and impassive as ever. His grip is steady on his blade. “This is hell’s territory, and I am beholden to no gods.” Ink’s smile grew more as he heard that and felt the knife press a bit harder. The king reacted quickly by grabbing Pale’s wrist, noticing the hesitation within the little assassin and taking advantage of it. He twists Pale’s wrist and him around and pins him onto the floor, taking the blade from the other’s hand.

“Least you’ll die smart.”

· · ·

Template sighed as he finished cleaning the dining table. Usually servers came to clean it up, but they didn’t show up this time so he just did it for them. Where could they be? They know what happens if they miss a bit of the rountine.

Template just made his way to Ink’s room, not feeling up to questioning it too much today. Yet, when he opened the door to the room, he had a rush of a feeling similar to when Ink faked his death. Ink had a blade up to what looked only like a preteen’s neck, even if Ink didn’t look much taller. Ink wasn’t tall to start with.

“What are you doing, Ink?!” Was he trying to paint himself as a killer now, Template wonders, by killing a kid? Ink at least looked up and loosened his grip on the preteen, but keeped him pinned. Pale also looked up and over, since the blade wasn’t so hard against his neck any more, and made Template able to recognize him.

“Defending myself, what else?” Ink made the snarky reply, his voice sounding cold. As much as Template didn’t really like Pale or his morals, trying to teach him better before Template had reached the castle, but he was at least still a learning kid either way. Only twelve last he heard.

“Kids make mistakes and can follow the wrong path without wanting to! Just let him go, it’s not worth it.” Template mumbles, shaking his head a bit as he tries to make a pleading argument. Ink had listened, but didn’t seem to care as he goes for Pale’s neck again and makes Template panic. “He didn’t choose to do this! He grew up in the same system as I did!” He yells to add on.

Ink slowly looked up, taking in the words. “Error’s system?” Template nodded quickly, covering his mouth. Ink thought for another moment, glancing down at Pale below him, before tossing the knife across the room to land flatly on the floor. That explained the fire in Template’s eyelights that seemed to burn, and how he was the way he was. Ink just got up from the floor, letting Pale go.

“Error said once that he would at one point send his best assassins to come kill you…” Template mumbles out, a bit muffled by his hand. “I just didn’t know this soon or him…” Template gestures at Pale. “Yet now it makes sense with my absence and… His lack of care…”

Ink nodded his head slowly, thinking of something. “I guess this rebel group’s project is bigger than I thought.” The king looked at Pale, who was just sitting up with a dead expression. He knew what would happen if he failed, succeeded, or died. In two may the castle get more defensive than before, and in one it falls apart. “So if he wants to send gifts our way, then we’ll take them or kill them.”

Template was a bit frightened, but didn’t say anything until he looked at Pale. “Then what do we do with him?” Ink grows an evil grin and looks at the preteen.

“He can choose. Be loyal to us or Error. Which is it, kid?” Ink’s smile had a hint of bad intentions if Pale chose bad. Yet, the kid just shrugged.

“I guess with you guys is fine.” Pale didn’t really expect the outcome, but it worked for him either way. Ink’s grin didn’t go away, though.

“Perfect! I’m sure you’ll be useful! For now, I know just who to give you to!” Ink seemed too excited. “Follow me!” The king starts to head off. Pale didn’t question it and got up to follow, while Template stayed behind to calm himself. He can ask anything later.

· · ·

A figure moved from the hall corner that had been previously cleared of people. “I see how it is.” They mumbled as they watched Pale leave the room with the king. “I guess we’re going with our second plan.” Then, they walked away as if they were never there in the first place.

· · ·

Ink knocked on a door, waiting for an answer. Pale stood in wait nearby, not having spoke since he made his choice. The door soon opened though for the two, and a tall skeleton stepped out.

“Yes, Ink?” The skeleton didn’t seem fully pleased to see his king.

“Hello, Time! Got you another kid!” Ink states, gesturing to Pale. “Teach him and stuff for me, okay?” Time squinted at him.

“I get the educating, though surprising someone looks right off the streets, but what was that first part supposed to mean?” Time grumbled, two teens popping up behind him as if they had heard Ink. One was dressed in mostly yellow and one was mostly in purple.

“You already have four kids, one more shouldn’t be so bad, right?” Ink had a wide, yet bad meaning grin. Time seem mostly annoyed at Ink, though. “Even if one’s pretty moody.” The purple kid pouted quickly at that.

“That’s not how it works. That’s like comparing a warrior of years of training to fifty new ones and taking them on for training.” Time responds, letting out an annoyed sigh. “But fine, I’ll take him under my care anyways. If it makes you happy at least.”

“Good! I’m sure he’ll be fin to deal with.” Ink’s smile grew and then he spinner around to walk off. “Oh, and…” He stopped suddenly. “People may come for his life or just to use him again. Watch out for that, will you?” With that, Ink was walking away. Time could tell he was at least serious for that last bit.

“I see.” He mumbles, looking over at Pale. “Well welcome to the group, I guess. It may feel a bit over the top at first.” He explains, before starting to walk back into the room. That’s when the yellow teen stepped from behind, while the purple one followed Time back in.

“So what’s your name?” Yhe bright teen asked, beaming a smile. Pale was a bit surprised, not use to the friendly interaction type, but just slowly gave a smile.

“Pale. You?”

“Dream! It’s nice to meet you, Pale!”

~ ~ ~

Aaaa a. A a a I finished it! It took a day to type it all up so oof, but I tried a page a day or so to get it done. Kinda my writing goal to get through everything. Finally out of school so I can finally post this too woo! My back hurts so I’m gonna take a break then do some homework

but thank you for the challenge, using my little to no words type of guy until you get him excited excited. :D he was fun to add in, and I used your prompt thingy anyways, just adjusted a bit

~Mod Taco

[gmgreys]

Fastcut icon plasma table price

Fastcut icon plasma table price update#

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Fastcut icon plasma table price update#

Hi all sorry I never replyed here on this post so heres an update on how my table is workin now these days great before like crap and it was the circut board on the table it was causing it to lose steps and jump and grind and hesitate causing total loss of the metal I was cutting it progressivly got worse to the point were it wouldnt even home itself at the start of the day so i sent it to fastcut and got it back hooked it up and walla works perfect now and has not made a single grunt or grind I use a A60 plasma and if I cut on 80 amps it does its duty cycle and shuts down right now i am basicaly just doing artwork the odd yard sign or gate so 60 amps is lots for now I am having some trouble with dross and peircing sometimes works great and sometimes it kinda just makes a mess of the peirce not sure why but othe than that it works great. But today everything got straightened right out and turns out the main brain whaever its called on the table has a history of losing steps for the motors causing my grind and jump symptoms and my luck I have one but only a minor setback Russel from fastcut is sending me a new revised board and a wireless controller for the table at no cost to me at all(I was to purchase the wireless remote and shipping myself)but there lookin after it for me for the trouble so now I am waiting for my new parts and my table should work as it should of from day one I cant wait its like getting my table all over again KUDOS TO THE GUYS FASTCUT CNC THEY ROCK (just like there tables) I’m glad i did it, if it weren’t for the low cost of the langmuir i never would have started.Well guys and gals I purchased a 4x8 Icon plasma table 7 months ago and I love it but I always had small issues popping up every once in awhile and it was making a almost grinding noise and with time it got to be worse I was in contact with fastcut trying my hardest to explain what is happening but it seemed to be always a different problem in a different way I was starting to think I am in over my head. When i was newer, i would put some serious time into making custom images for people, i just don’t have the time for that anymore and i feel bad about it. I would like a standalone building for this stuff, the plasma dust is gnarly, i try to also fit my wifes car in the garage but it doesn’t always make it in by the end of the night. I need a bigger air compressor, but i’m limited on my current houses breaker panel. My process has gotten much faster, usually can make a basic file from a template and have it cut in under 10 minutes. I’m able to make and give some pretty thoughtful gifts to my friends and family. But i think i’ve done pretty well for myself so far. I have a day job that is pretty good and i couldn’t quit even if the metalwork paid more (pension, matching, etc). My biggest seller to date is a 24 inch wide sloth. I’m gonna try to cut some firepits this fall and we’ll see if anyone goes for it. If i stay in artwork, thin gauge stuff, i’ll eventually drop 20k on a fiber laser table. I have also upgraded to a much nicer plasma cutter, the hypertherm 45xp (around 2k from a local shop with the machine torch) and a 4x8 ft table which has automatic control of torch height (z axis) I need more hard lines and a better dessicant filter. I have a refrigerated air dryer, a dessicant air dryer and a motorguard “toilet paper” filter. I have copper hard lines which are supposed to make the moisture condense against them and drip down into these drains. So i have several mechanisms in place now that remove moisture from the air. I live on a coastal island in southeast georgia, so basically the most humid area on earth. The material comes in 4x8 sheets and you have to cut it down to smaller pieces, then flip, rotate, whatever when you finish a cut and are gonna do another piece.Īdditionally, and this is ymmv, moisture is a huge issue with plasma cutting. It does not have mechanical control over the z axis (you manually set the height off the material). I was able to cut stuff with what i had listed above, it would probably take me an hour to get prepared, 20 minutes to cut and 15 minutes to finish the product. A couple hundred dollars on adding a 220v outlet in my garage for the plasma cutter.

Fastcut icon plasma table price plus#

Ok, so when i started i was using: Langmuir crossfire cnc table ~$1500 Razorweld 45 plasma cutter $800 (not a quality piece of equipment compared to what i got later.) 30gal dewalt air compressor $500 Plus like $100 for software, $100 for shipping, $150 for a water table, $150 for a refurb lenovo laptop. I started plasma cutting in november with no knowledge of metalwork or cnc, here is some of what happened. I went a little long on a comment in another reddit and i figured maybe it would be informative for someone in here.