#also i realized this had a plot hole so i have to fix a part of this fic so it makes logical sense LMAOO thats fun. FUN FUN FUN !!!

[sohnric]

23k and counting. who doesn't need a bit of angst in their daily lives am i right !!

[nightwngz]

— 𝓐 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐨 ✮!! eng.

fratboy!wally west x fem!reader

𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀… drabble, porn with plot. smut. dirty talk, multiple orgasms, oral sex, fingering.

𝗰𝗼𝗽𝘆𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁. . . no copying of my work is allowed. Free translation is allowed as long as I am credited.

𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲. . . as I said in my other posts, English is not my first language. I have tried to make corrections with the translator, but as you all know, it is prone to making mistakes, so I apologize in advance for any mistakes or if anything sounds weird.

𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲. . . A friend of mine gave me the idea for this, so I said, 'Okay, this sounds good,' and decided to write it. I hope you like it.

Since you started university, you’ve always been part of the crowd. You never cared about being popular or standing out in class; you just wanted to get by like everyone else. You made an effort to fit in without drawing attention, avoiding conflict and focusing on passing with just enough.

Being part of the university meant interacting with certain people, even those you weren't particularly interested in but had to tolerate. Like the popular guys from a fraternity whose name you couldn’t quite remember, led by Richard Grayson and Wallace West—better known to their friends as Dick and Wally—or those slightly higher on the social ladder than you.

Dick Grayson was friendly, and his appearance clearly explained why he was so popular. He was also sweet and kind, so much so that if one of your friends asked you directly, you'd probably admit to having a crush on him. Wally, on the other hand, was a different story. Although he was funny and somewhat charming, and also popular because he was Dick's best friend, he didn't appeal to you as much. In fact, there were times when he would shamelessly try to flirt with you, but you would just respond with a gesture before completely ignoring him.

Conveniently, no matter how hard you tried to stay away from Wally, he always found a way to cross your path. Like the day you were sitting with Timothy Drake in the cafeteria when Dick Grayson came over to say hello to his brother. Wally seized the opportunity, walked up, grabbed Dick by the shoulders, and wasted no time flirting with you.

— Don't worry, babe. If you don't understand anatomy, I can give you a lesson or two.

You don't know what part of you thought it was a good idea to have Wally help you study. But you didn't realize how bad it was until the books fell off the bed where you were supposed to be studying and his face literally ended up between your legs.

You had never been with someone with such fast skills, so to speak. It was like being with The Flash himself. His tongue moved quickly over your wet pussy, causing your eyes to roll back in pleasure.

His tongue glided over your lips, tracing them from top to bottom, while his greenish gaze was fixed on yours. With one hand he helped you to spread your legs wider and with the other he filled your tight hole completely with two of his fingers. Then, growing restless, he moved to your clit, where he began to give you sweet, teasing licks. His mouth moved so quickly between your clit and your lips that it seemed he was caressing both at the same time.

And when you arched your back, with moans so intense that Wally was sure they could be heard in the hallway, he knew you would climax any moment, for the third time that night, with minimal effort on his part. It hadn’t even taken him more than five minutes.

Sweat trickled down your forehead as you reached your climax, and a wave of pleasure swept through your entire body. As you gasped, you watched as Wally pulled away from between your legs, a mischievous smile on his face. He looked beautiful, his mouth smeared with your fluids, and maybe that's why you didn't ask him to clean up.

— Damn, babe, that was so good. After what comes next, you'll be so dazed that the only name you'll remember from these books will be "Wally”.

You looked at him with wide eyes, confused by what he meant by 'after what comes next.' Hadn’t it ended? You wondered if you could handle more, given that you had already had more than you could bear.

— Oh, what? Did you think that was it? Unfortunately for you, we're not done yet. And I have enough stamina to fuck you for hours.

[the-other-art-blog]

I cannot deal with one more Benophie fan complaining about the lack of Benedict's artistic side in s3.

Aren't you guys supposed to like this character and understand him?

Everyone complains about the show's lack of accountability, continuity, and consequences. But here it is Benedict's artistic plot going through ups and downs for 3 seasons and fans complain!

That was one of my main wishes for s3: NO ART FOR BENEDICT. It had to be this way.

Benedict thought he had entered the Academy by himself, for his talent. He was so happy to have received external validation and Anthony's interference destroyed that. He destroyed his confidence. Of course, he abandoned art. He felt like a fraud.

If Benedict had resumed painting in s3, this scene would have lost meaning and weight:

What would have been the point of this dramatic moment if he would have been fine next season?

In the book, part of Benedict's arc is growing confident in his art. He has been hiding his talent forever (even more than in the show) because he's afraid and Sophie helps him realize he's an artist. The show found a way to show his art since s1, and still follow the book.

This was not the final season, we still have to see HIS season where all of this needs to be resolved. His season is when he needs to regain confidence and share his art with everyone again, thanks to Sophie.

Yes, it was sad to see Benedict holding a newspaper instead of a sketchbook, BUT IT WAS NECESSARY FOR HIS CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!!!!!

That brief exchange with Paul said everything the audience needed to know about his art in s3:

Paul asks him if he paints (Paul was being a bit of a jerk here, too judgemental just because Ben is part of the ton, but I get it)

How heartbreaking this was!

He couldn't have said 'yes' even if he talked in past tense because Paul would have asked more. 'Why did you give it up?' And what was he supposed to say: 'My brother paid my way into the Academy'? Of course, he said no. The writers did not forget about s1 and s2, they simply were writing a coherent storyline. Benedict's still not over the betrayal and hurt he felt at the end of s2.

In the meantime, Ben has been filling the hole art left in his heart with work during Anthony's honeymoon. Once that is gone, Ben becomes a jerk (I've talked about this in this post after seeing part 1: x) He's extra grumpy and out-of-character but it makes sense narratively because he's frustrated.

It only gets better when he meets Tilley. She is a temporary solution to his frustration. Once he began his affair with her, he went back to his normal, charming self at balls. This is what he does, what he did for 3 seasons. Sex is like a palliative treatment for whatever turmoil he has inside (see how amazingly appropriate this is for Benophie?)

Moreover, Benedict's sexuality needed to be addressed BEFORE his season. Or would you have preferred to do it while Sophie was there?

Thanks to CVD, who refused to address this matter in s2, Jess had to do it in s3. Honestly, Jess did a lot of fixing this season.

This way Benedict is at peace with that part of himself that had been causing so much anxiety since he met Granville. Not only did Tilley offer a momentary escape valve for his frustration, but she helped him accept a part of his identity AND encouraged him to find love. Honestly, the hate she gets from the Benophie fandom is shameful. She did nothing wrong and only helped and supported Benedict. (Plus Luke Thompson loved those scenes, so 🤷‍♀️)

I shouldn't get so upset about other people's opinions, but honestly. These comments come from people who declare to be stans and queens of the fandom. They also have been in a 2-year tantrum and hate campaign against s3, so not really surprised.

It's so funny because if there's one character that has been written exquisitely, it's Benedict. He's the writers' favorite, 100%. Everything he has done makes total sense and prepares him for Sophie.

[urhoneycombwitch]

U just haaaaad to go and make another eddie for me to be feral over didn’t you? I need to know everything about roommate eddie pls 🤲🏻

IM IN LOVE W HIM TOO. thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak on it bc I have an origin story for roommate!Eddie with nowhere to go… until now 😈 here’s my other blurb of him btw linking in case others wanna see!! 🫶

so in this nebulous roommates!au, I’m imagining you’re besties with Robin. Eddie is besties with Steve. and of course since Robin and Steve are Ultimate Besties (in every world. in every universe.) they plot to get their respective Others together somehow. like, you’re offbeat and fun and so is Eddie!! should work out great right?

wrong. u and Eddie just don’t hit it off. you think he’s too loud and brash and godforbid he gets more than one beer in him ‘cuz he’ll be pulling you to the dance floor or making his own and embarrassing the everloving shit out of you. and he thinks you need to loosen up and get out of your head, which he decides is his new job that he takes VERY seriously.

eventually Steve and Robin stop trying to force it and yours and Eddie’s relationship just turns into casual frenemies. (a la Harry Met Sally) like, ah yes, You Again. the best friend of my best friend’s best friend 😒 you’ll hang out casually at various house parties and bars but always with a buffer, otherwise you’ll be at each other’s necks with (mostly) playful arguments and hot debates.

and it seems CRAZY at first that you’re gonna live in the same space but holy shit rent is so expensive in the Big City where you all moved to and it mind as well be with someone you know. you’re really worried about the set up but Eddie turns out to be real responsible with monthly payments and has a general respect for shared spaces (his own room is a black hole and it baffles you that he manages to have so many successful one night stands in that hell pit but you’re never in there so who cares.) plus it helps to have a man around fr, to spook the landlord into doing his job 👹 and also to fix things! and to give you lifts to work! and share snack duty! you find a rhythm and it’s great.

the night that he falls for you tho? you’re at group karaoke 3-shots deep and pick a cheesy Beatles song just to piss him off. simpering over your shoulder while you croon into the microphone, giving him a one-man-show that you hope triggers an earworm and irritates for days to come 💖 but actually he’s gripping his beer for dear life on the nearby barstool getting hit with the sickening realization of being in love. like oh fuck, this is bad. I cannot be falling for my pal’s pal. whom I also live with. what a fucking mess.

the night you fall for him? a second date goes sideways and you have no one else to call but Eddie. he fully leaves the solo gig he was about to play because you sounded so upset over the phone (doesn’t tell u that, tho!) and he could be a total asshole about it when he picks you up on the street corner but he absolutely isn’t. chews out your date, tho, with a viciousness that both delights and scares you. makes you a proper meal at home and wraps a strong arm around you on the couch and watches your favorite romcom and laughs at all the parts you laugh at. and you’re pressed up all close, wheels spinning in ur brain, unknowingly going through the exact same thought process Eddie had about a month earlier. Oh No. He’s My Bestie. Whom I Live With. This Cannot Possibly End Well.

aaaaand that about brings us up to canon speed, thus far! you and Eddie date around and have sex in your shared apartment but NOT with each other and if sometimes you get off to the sounds he makes when he’s fucking someone else and if sometimes he gets off to the noises of you in the shower well … no one’s business 🙂‍↔️

like why are u even asking about something soooo personal. like Robin you don’t get it it’s not like that I just wanna be near him all the time. that’s normal and what friends do. no, Steve, you’re not listening, we look at each other’s nudes as buddies. sorry you don’t understand how friendships work 🙄

(Robin and Steve have to set up weekly debriefs to compare notes and make sure they’re not going fucking crazy)

[brucewaynehater101]

I have an au that I thought you might enjoy. It's inspired by Magernia from Pokemon if you've ever seen it's movie. If not, it's OK the plot isn't the important part. What is important is that Tim is not exactly fully flesh.

When Tim first becomes Robin, he knows that he won't be able to hide his partly robotic nature from Bruce for very long so he tells him immediately that he was in an "accident" when he was younger so both of his arms are highly advanced prosthetics. He doesn't elaborate on what the "accident" was and gets uncomfortable when it's brought up. Shockingly, Bruce does respect this and allows Tim to not tell him. He puts the information in Tim's medical file and calla it a day.

Alfred also knows about Tim's arms due to him being the one to normally patch Tim up, if anyone does. Dick however was not told because both Bruce and Tim thought the other told Dick. He gets to find out when one of Tim's hands gets crushed on patrol one night and Tim looks at the mess of wires and metal and just huffs, "this is gunna be a nightmare to fix up, but at least it was only my hand. Could have been a lot worse, right?" Nightwing's freakout is how Tim realized he had no idea Dick didn't know. It was a mess and a half to clean up.

However, Tim did lie to them about his "accident". They find out when Tim gets shot with something two years into being Robin and there is a hole nearly 2 inches across right where his intestines should be. Only there's no blood or gore, only wires, gears, and broken metal. Tim has no flesh insides, simply complex mechanics which are now causing his whole body to glitch out quite a bit. This has the added effect of making Bruce and Dick go absolutely *feral* on the Rouge who just fucked up Tim so badly so they can get him home.

On the way back to the cave, Tim pipes up with glitches and static lacing his voice, "ne-ed-ed-ed to goooo to Dra-Dra-Drake manor-or-or for relac-ace-acement partssss." And well. Bruce and Dick have absolutely no idea how Tim's body works or how to fix him so they don't really have any choice. Bruce has to carry him through the house, through a hidden door into the basement, through two more locked secret doors, and into what looks like a storage room. The walls are lined with wooden boxes and Tim points a shaking finger at one. Inside of it is another Tim??? Only this one's chest panels are open showing a small, empty space about the size of a baseball and cube shapped.

Tim opens his own chest to show that he's fully robotic and his cube space is filled with a silver box with a heart drawn on the front. Tim takes it out carefully and manages to transfer it to the new body before his goes completely limp in Bruce's arms, seeming dead. The New Tim's chest closes as his eyes light up and he says, "Systems Intilizing. Connection complete. Consciousness Transfer Successful. Rebooting... Rebooting... Rebooting. System check... system check passed. Now coming online." The New Tim sits up and says, "OK, everything's good now. Can you put it in the corner so I can fix that old one up later?"

The following interrogating leads to Tim admitting that the "accident" was his whole body and soul getting sealed in an artifact and instead of his parents dealing with the fall out of their heir dying under mysterious circumstances, they contacted a wizard who was able to make the box the artifact of stored in and they had robotic replacement bodies made for Tim so that he could continue to be a "normal kid". Tim insists this is a good thing because while the bodies can and do break, the artifact is indestructible so Bruce doesn't need to worry about him Actually Dying! This is Not Helpful.

Over the following years, Bruce works with any advanced robotics people that he can trust to make better and better bodies for Tim. He wants to let Tim be able to Feel again, rather than just be told the numbers and data. He wants his son to be able to remember what cold feels like instead of just knowing that the metal he touched is 17.6 degrees, or to be able to taste and digest food again instead of just drinking oil or plugging into the wall socet to recharge his batteries.

Also, it's always an Experience, a Rite Of Passage at this point for each new family member to be traumatized the first time Tim blocks a lethal shot for them with his own body and takes Massive damage only to be revealed that he's got a robotic body.

Also, the artifact Tim is locked in? He will never let anyone see it because it's a necklace. It's not big, or flashy, but a simple braided gold chain with an obsidian pendant that has a single ruby at the center. Tim knows at least one of these fuckers would try to wear him.

One of them absolutely would try to wear him. He is so right for that and should protect the necklace at all costs.

I absolutely loved this AU so much. The buildup was fantastic as well. Also, good dad Bruce here with him wanting Tim to be able to experience the world again. It would be so cute if the family had little celebration parties for each milestone (Steph for sure decorated the cake with a "You can taste sour foods again!" or whatever milestone they reached). They just have a really nice family dinner and spend the night playing games, watching movies, pulling pranks, etc.

I'm curious if Tim's robot body can send data to the batcomputer. Like, can he just send recordings of stuff he's seen?

This could tie into the AU where he goes around taking pictures of the Bats after or before he figures out their identities. Instead of lugging around a camera, he takes the data for that night, encrypts it, and then edits the photos for his own perusal.

Overall, super cool concept I'd love to see more of

[forallnumbersosc]

If dividing algebrelians by zero makes them die does that mean that if you where to leave a half finished math problem out it would accidentally kill them?(Gaty don’t try this out please!)

Oh oh-- gosh no I would never try something that would risk anyone that I'm conducting research on! That being said, I do have confirmation where if an equation with an algebralien is unfinished, the operation simply doesn't occur! It's only the moment an equation becomes valid that anything actually happens!

Also, I don't think dividing by zero would cause an algebralien to die, but at the same time I don't really have a clue what happens to them in those cases... I tried asking the zeroes about it, but they only told me it's something they really don't do often unless absolutely necessary...

[using this ask as an excuse to talk as mod because it made me realize i had a bit of a story error with my post on operations and i wanna try and fix the plot-hole there--

Lets consider this... operations part two?]

[On the original post, Gaty talked about the story Pie told her about her encounter with Pi and the other irrationals... Pie told her that Pi was multiplied by zero, when in fact, in the actual Pi Day Massacre video, Pi was indeed divided by zero instead.... To fix this, I'm gonna say that canonically Pie mis-spoke when recounting the story to Gaty, stating that Pi was simply multiplied by a zero and trapped within them...

So then... what did happen?

Well, Pi was indeed divided by zero, but that doesn't mean that he died, perse...

In algebra, when a number is divided by zero, it doesn't just disappear like its commonly thought to be... It's a bit hard to explain, but essentially it gets into a state where it tries to approach zero, but can't! So it's referred to approaching infinitely. It has a lot to do with the math world of limits, which is a whole thing, which is why its easiest to just say it's undefined!

Take a look at the graph 1/X; you can make X as small as you possibly can, but it will never be able to cross those lines at zero!

So then what happened to Pi?

Well...

He approached Infinity! ;D]

[pi is okay, by the way... it's a bit like your teacher calling your parents for misbehaving. They just needed to talk some sense into him and let him play somewhere else <3]

[otomegamesandme]

Top Otomes of 2023

It's that time again! Normally this list is just whatever I played in the year and not new releases, but uh, for once I pretty much only played new releases lol. I'm gonna be honest, I hardly remember what I played because it's been a Year for me. But looking back, these are what stood out!

Norn9 Last Era

Look, I felt the need to add Norn9 on here in some capacity because it was one of the first big otome titles I played way back in 2015. I've been wanting the fandisc ever since, and getting it felt like a dream come true. If you played Norn9 recently you might enjoy this less, but since it's been a hot minute since I last replayed the original I didn't mind the rehashing of the story through the boys' perspectives and I enjoyed seeing their lives after the events of everything! This also helped with my biggest issue of the OG game; world building. Things were filled out and plot holes fixed and overall, it was nice to be with the cast again!

Titan Arum

I'm not sure I would have found this game if I hadn't joined the Velox Fabula game jam, but I really enjoyed this! Ironically, I also read one of the main inspirations for this game (The King in Yellow) this year as well, so seeing it being referenced was really cool. If you've been here a while, you know horror otomes are some of my favorites and I'm glad to have another one to add to the list of otomes I love!

Intertwine

This was just a feel good game that had my whole heart. Van was a lovely character through all life times, and considering I played it during the Worst Part of the Year for me, it really helped get my mind off things! I also will never shut up about the GUI in this game, it's so beautifully designed and some of the best I've seen in a VN!

Jack Jeanne

Is anyone surprised by my number one lol I was yelling about it for the entire month of July, and it was my most played Switch game of 2023 as well! The characters were fully realized and didn't just feel like the usual archetypes, the art was beautiful, the stories were wonderful (including the stories of the plays), and the music slapped. This game was truly the It Game of the genre this year and for good reason! Kisa is also one of my new favorite protags, she was fantastic. I'm really glad we were able to get an English release for this!

[that-sarcastic-writer]

Upon a second watch of the trap and analyzing it from a psychological perspective (not taking into account the silly direction and at times nonsensical plot holes and character choices) and not a horny perspective, I think it’s so facilitating. Gonna leave my in depth thoughts below.

I think it’s fascinating how cooper just bullshited his way through the entirety of the concert. He didn’t know what the fuck was happening but he adapted to his surroundings and manipulated every single person he encountered in such a clever and cold way. He smiled in people’s faces as he listened to the police radio, he sneaked into a swat meeting and was even like “wow! You guys are huge!” (Which like lol no baby YOU are with your 6’3 mf ass). And his switch of body language as soon as he stepped out. He just seemed to know exactly what to say and what to do, and if it didn’t work, he thought of something else. I also want to note I find amusing that he almost thought of it as a game, in typical sociopath fashion (which yes ik is an outdated term but saying APD seems a little too clinical for my horny blog), he kinda enjoyed the chase and was even making faces at the description of himself (he also laughed at lady raven when she was like “you’re such a good boy”). He was very unbothered and collected up until he realized his perfect life was ruined, that the perfect image his family had of him was gone (the two lives mixed). Which is very on par with his antisocial personality traits.

Though I will acknowledge the fact that man actually was being dumb asf going back to the house knowing Rachel was the one that ratted him out (yes ig he didn’t know for sure but he suspected it, and let’s be real, he’s smart enough to piece it together without Rachel telling him verbatim). Unless maybe he wanted to get caught? It just seemed like very impulsive thing to do, which doesn’t seem on character for his more cold and calculating personality. His survival was the most important to him (other than his perfect dad of the year and upstanding member of society persona) and I don’t think it made sense for him to go back to the house and top of that eat something from Rachel when he suspected her, but then again maybe he wanted to get caught (or this is just bad character choice).

I also think it was incredibly dumb on his part to straight up tell lady raven he was the butcher. When this happened my expectation was that he’d kill her before she told everyone? I mean I can see why logically that’d be complicated but I expected a better outcome. It didn’t sit right with me that suddenly the focus was shifted to her and in the process they made him panic and make impulsive decisions (i.e run after her and pound on the bathroom door in front of his family, try to kidnap her instead). For someone who was shown to be incredibly smart and calculating and was described to never panic, this seemed like a very rash choice. Like what did you think was going to happen? But this movie does have character flaws and plot issues so I can’t be too critical.

Going back to the positives, another thing I found fascinating is once again his ability to manipulate every situation to his favor. Realistically speaking, in no sane world would a bunch of swat officers allow a suspected serial killer to grab something, they’d be dragging him to the van. But they allowed him to fix the bike. And the reason why I think Cooper knew this would work was because he already knew they knew he had OCD, so they knew if he had a “compulsion” he had to do it or else he would potentially lash out or get violent (this is typical when a compulsion can’t be accomplished there is a lot of anxiety that may lead to aggressive behavior or some type of breakdown). The thing was, this wasn’t a compulsion. He didn’t need to fix the bike. But the cops didn’t know this. Hence why (in my in movie understanding, regardless of logic) he was able to get the metal thing. But what’s funny about this is that you can see it in his face as he’s undoing the cuffs he’s like ooh and he laughs. I think cause he realized that he actually got away with that, that he manipulated everyone to his advantage once again, even when he was supposed to be “under control” and “subjected”. Even in cuffs he manages to be in control of the situation by coming up with ways to manipulate people to benefit his survival.

And I think that’s wonderful. I often enjoy seeing sociopaths actually be sociopaths (from a scientific standpoint as a psychology major) Like the level of manipulation and calculating cleverness (Dexter is my biggest example of this). Regardless if this movie is good or bad (I think it’s alright but it does fall apart after the concert), I think Josh (my hubby) did a fantastic job with what he was given. His mannerisms and facial expressions were so on point you could tell when he was being himself and when he was putting on the act. It was fantastic.

Anyway Josh I love you and everything you do, you’re so perfect you made this nonsensical silly movie enjoyable <3

[werrrrrd]

CHARLES XAVIER X OC

Part I

PLEASE GO TO PREVIOUS CHAPTERS ON MY BLOG FOR WARNINGS!!!!

AN:Hey again! Here's the first non prologue bit. If you skipped to here that's ok. I'm gonna mention again that it doesn't follow the plot very much, setting and timing is off, I lowkey just made up stuff so that I could write the story how I wanted to haha. Just ignore that yeah? Anyways here you get to see a lot of Mays power development which was so fun to write and also you get some CHARLES action FINALLY! Once again please ignore plot holes, cut me some slack, I really don't care enough about fixing them haha, some things that happen were not really supposed to be possible in the movies but FOR SAKE OF THE STORY i made them possible. Also her power limitations are very vague and inconsistent, I know but once again, it's for the plot! Obviously that makes things not make any sense but here we are and it is what it is. 

“May, are you listening?” Frost asked me. My head snapped towards her and Shaw, who was threatening Hendry out on the deck of the boat, making sure no one else had been told of the deal they had made previously. Shaw paused to look at me.

“Sorry,” I said. Shaw tisked at me. I stifled a worried feeling that rose up in my belly as he fiddled with the ring on his pointer finger. One touch on the dial that was hidden in the intricate design of the ring and my shock devices would go off. Usually he didn't care when I wasnt paying attention to him but if I caught him in a bad mood he would be happy to indulge in a little pain. 

I zoned back out once Shaw began talking to Hendry and had taken his thumb off the ring. So much time had passed. I had come to realize pretty quickly I would not get out of this situation on my own accord. Something had to happen in order for me to be able to get away. I used to watch for opportunities constantly. After years of nothing presenting itself I had grown weary and lost faith in even the hope of escaping Shaw's control. I was on a very short leash and probably would be until Shaw was killed (which didnt seem likely with his powers) or until Shaw killed me. 

You had better believe that when I found out Shaw was a mutant I was furious. How could he do all that he did to his own kind? Of course when I tried to have a go at him he only turned the dial up until I was brought to the ground.

I jumped at the loud sound of an explosion. Shaw was containing it until he absorbed it and shook at the new energy he consumed. Hendry looked at him in disgust and horror. Soon after Shaw killed hendry in a blur of light and soon it was just us on the sunny deck of the yacht.. 

Things settled down, Shaw offered us all drinks and we all sat on the boat as things got dark. They, mostly Shaw and Emma, chatted while I stayed quiet as the sun set. 

***

After a couple hours of sitting and thinking out in the warm air, I felt the heartbeat of someone coming closer towards us from further off in the ship. I would have waved it off as a crew member or hired guard of shaws, if the heart wasnt beating so painfully quick and catching my attention. I sat up as I felt the persons blood inch nearer to us.

“What is it May?” asked shaw, noticing my concerned face

“Someones here.” I said. Shaw didnt seem worried at this information, He thought he was untouchable. Unfortunately so far, he had been. 

The body got closer and Shaw sat and waited for who ever it was to present themself. 

“Herr doctor,” 

We all stood defensively as a man came around the corner holding a knife. Shaw waved us off and spoke to him in german calling him Erik Lehnsherr. He had murder in his eyes as he approached shaw and Emma confirmed his intentions that he wanted to kill Shaw.

The man fell to the ground in pain as Emma invaded his mind. Shaw spoke more and Emma defended him as Erik threw his knife through the air with impossible precision. She caught the knife and then threw him off the boat. We heard a loud splash but then we heard the loud sound of a boat horn and flares being sent into the sky from behind us. The U.S coast guard announced itself and demanded that we dont move our ship.

Based on the heart rates of everyone it was something we were concerned about. I shook out my arms, suddenly feeling a rush of adrenaline. Soon enough people were running about, people who werent from our crew

AN: If you couldnt already tell the story goes off course here and I kind of do my own thing because it would be boring for me to write a story so closely based off the plot line of the movie.

The costal guard boat had come up next to our ship. Our own crew ran around at Shaws orders to get the submarine prepared.

are they… attacking?? I could hardly tell with so much commotion.

“Grab Shaw!” someone yelled. Now I could tell they were fighting. But I couldn't tell where Shaw was, I whipped around trying to make sense of things, my team was all over the place fighting different people, some unofficial looking military soldiers were mixed about with a few people in more casual outfits. Shots were being fired but none at me.

I stumbled out further towards the action without getting too close. Then I saw Shaw running at me, at least three people chased behind him and as my own team noticed they  followed too. Shaw pointed at the ring on his finger menacingly as he approached, as a reminder of what he could do to me. I took a wide stance after Shaw placed himself behind me and felt the blood of everyone in the vicinity. I picked out the ones that I wanted and stopped them all using my hands to get better control. The ones who stayed in motion were from my side. They came and surrounded Shaw defensively and raised their own hands in case I lost control. I didn't lose control these days. I could hold at least 25 people at once and I didn't nearly kill them while doing so. I had seen my powers grow at an exponential rate for the last few years. I learned I could do more than just hold on to blood and move it. 

“What's happening?” One of the other team said. She was a blond girl who seemed like she hadnt expected to be in combat based on what she was wearing and the fact that she didnt have any weapons. “Whos is doing this?”

One of the men spoke. I hadn't noticed him before but now I got a good look at him and something inside of me shook at the sight of him, a resolute look on his face, determined, but nothing evil or malicious. He was also seemingly unprepared for combat. Two fingers were frozen pressed on his temple and a subtle wince was on his face.

He gave me an expression that I couldn't read. Suddenly I felt a slight pressure in the back of my skull near the shock devices that were implanted in my neck and on my spine. Something was in my head and somehow I knew it was him. His brows furrowed in focus and I felt him rifle through my mind. A thought came into my mind about my mutation and I knew that he was searching for my abilities. 

“Its her, in the middle” he said “It's our blood that she can control,” He spoke with something that almost sounded like wonder in his voice. He let out a curious breath and blinked at me

 I widened my eyes at him before trying to push him out. I felt him move on from just reading my thoughts and felt him get control of my actions, My brain suddenly wanted to let him go. I recognized that he was responsible for this thought and felt the anger coming on because he was overriding my powers. I did my best to resist his advances. I felt him hesitate before pushing harder. Then I felt the slight buzzing of my shock devices. The man's actions stuttered as he must have felt the electricity threatening to increase if I didn't do something quickly. I yanked the man's hand away from his head in order to halt his powers and he didn't react quick or strong enough to stop me. I felt the connection break and my mind was occupied by only me.

Shaw praised me by patting my arm as he came to stand in front of me now that the danger was gone.

I turned back at the man who now looked at me just as intensely as I had been looking at him. There was a sharp clarity in his eyes I had not seen before in anyone. My gut twinged inside of me and I didn't know why. Shaw started speaking to the group about how he could not be stopped with his incredible team of mutants but my eyes stayed locked with the strangers. Everyone else's attention was on Shaw. He stayed watching me. He had been in my head. Not even Emma had been in my head, Shaw saw no need, knowing he had total control over me.

I expected to feel violated by someone else in my mind, a space only I had ever been inside. But this man had entered my mind with what felt like… respect, or reverence? He didn't go as far as he could have and I knew that it was intentional. My eyebrows furrowed as I tried to understand. And now, even though he wasn't in my head, I could feel my brain reaching out to him, to be connected to his.

 I shook myself out of my stupor just in case I could actually make contact with him without his hand on his temple. I felt embarrassed that my mind wanted him to do that, I knew better. I couldn't make sense of the reaction I was having right now. So I tried to focus on Shaw’s speech which seemed to be droning on more than necessary. The things he was saying were horrible and I felt a slight guilt wash over me at the things I was helping him to accomplish. I hoped that these things wouldn't happen, but I also knew that I had no control over helping him. I had started to go numb and detach myself years ago. This was my life and there was nothing that could be done. 

I glanced back at the man. He was still watching me. My heart rate sped and when I reached out to feel his blood and heart rate, mine only quickened. He somehow knew that I was listening. His expression changed oh so subtly. It was barely noticeable. He almost smiled at me. Quickly I stopped listening to his heart and looked away. I felt my mind reach out to him again and I snatched it back up before it could get there.

Suddenly there was a commotion happening in the water next to us. Shaw took this moment to get out and went for the hatch to the submarine. I stood for just a second longer and glanced at everyone before resting my eyes on the man whose eyes now flashed between mine and the anchor that was levatiating above us ready to smash down. I widened my eyes before sidestepping to follow after my team who took off. I held everyone in place while getting some distance between us and them. Once I got too far I couldn't keep my hold on their blood and they were let out of my control. The ship was crumbling as I went down the steps and hallways catching up with Azezel and getting ushered into the hatch. 

We took off, but something was slowing us down, the submarine was already rather slow. I realized Erik must have been able to control metal, from the way he was able to throw the knife, and he must have been the person with the anchor who was tearing up the yacht we were just on. He must have been holding on to the submarine as well. 

Shaw didn't seem worried that he would be able to stop us though. Finally I felt the sub move ahead with no restraint. We got a ways away before I gave myself a moment to think. 

Who was that? I didn't understand why I felt the way I felt when I looked at him. It was only a moment after that that I felt him reenter my brain.. I stopped suddenly, my eyes going wide and mentally clamoring to figure out how to get him out of my head. Also onfused at how he could reach me from this distance. We weren't incredibly far but we were at least 100 meters away at this point. 

“Don't worry,” I heard his voice speak. It was soft and smooth with a nice accent and I liked it. I didn't like that I liked it. I whipped around wondering if he had somehow got onto the ship or if he was just saying these things in my head somehow

“I wont mess around with your thoughts or memories, I just want to see where you are going,” He explained. I gulped walking towards the main room behind the team.

“You did good today. Keep it up,” Shaw pulled me toward him by the arm. I saw him grinning out of the corner of my eye. His teeth glinted in the light before I pushed off of him

Shaw had noticed my face. “Is something the matter?”

I could tell them that the man was reading my mind and he could do something to make it impossible for the man to find where we were going. Or Emma could figure out some way of stopping him from reading my mind, but I somehow knew she wouldn't be able to control him with the distance, somehow, I knew that it was just me and him who could. I was more worried Shaw would make me kill him. If I got close again I could shut everything off, his entire body, and he would die. I hated to kill people for Shaw, but I found out quickly that refusing didn't do anything but harm me as well as kill them in more gruesome and painful ways. If I didn't do it he would beat me and shock me to teach me a lesson after ending them himself. I shivered, even though this man had tried to manipulate my thoughts, I didn't want him harmed, especially not killed.

“No, everything's fine. I'm good.” I responded shortly

Shaw looked at me suspiciously before turning around to go. I kept walking to my private room on the sub. I still felt weird about letting the man find out where we were going. I didn't want to put myself in danger. But I couldn't think of a better option.

“Do you usually betray Shaw or should I be flattered?” I heard his voice speak in my head again again. I frowned and tried not to say anything.

“Ill take that as a yes then?“ he questioned

Shut up!” I whisper yelled. It came out just a tad louder than I had hoped. I looked around to make sure no one had heard. It was empty so I continued “You don't know anything!!”

I could practically feel him smile. My nostrils flared in annoyance, but somehow, I wasn't angry. 

“You're right. I don't know anything," he said honestly. My annoyance fizzled out and I was left with a content feeling I wasn't expecting. Was I giddy?  My stupid head was buzzing with him connected to it. I tried to force that feeling out. I hoped he couldn't tell. He didn't say anything about it if he could

 “You don't really want to be there do you?” his voice sounded gently in my head

“Okay,” I said frustrated again. Why was this guy questioning me. He should just mind his business at this point. ”who even are you?!” I asked louder now that my door was shut and I wasn't worried about someone hearing me talk to myself.

“Excuse me for not introducing myself,” He said like he was actually concerned that he hadn't shown me any manners. “I'm Charles Xavier.”

I looked around confused and almost amused. Baffled by this mans actions.

“And you…?” he asked carefully

“You didn't go through my memories to find out?” 

“No, I only do that when I absolutely need to.” He said his voice revealing to me that he was smiling again

“Well that's a surprise,” I say before taking a seat on my bed.

“I assure you, I wouldn't do that.” He says and somehow I believe him. 

I think for a second wondering whether there's a way to get him out of my head. I can't think of anything and for some reason I don't take a very long time to come up with something. Before I even register it It slips out

“May. That's my name.” I almost gasped when I heard myself. I hadn't meant to tell him.

“It's lovely to meet you, May,” He spoke. The way he spoke it though… made my heart slow and my mind quiet. Made me want to close my eyes and sigh. I swear the air in my room stilled. 

I cleared my throat “ahem, it's uh.. nice to meet you too.” There was another brief pause

“Well, May, I… I suppose I should say goodnight, As pleasant as this has been Im afraid our time is nearly up.” Charles said. I could feel it too, our connection losing strength as we got further from each other

“Yeah, goodnight Charles.” I said, for some reason, reluctantly. 

“Night,”

After that I could feel him disconnect from me. My mind felt fuzzy from the sudden break in contact. My thoughts reached out for him again but seemed to realize the distance and drew back. I shook myself out of my stupor and smacked my head a few times. 

I stood to take off my jacket, first emptying my pockets and unholstering a couple concealed weapons I kept on me just in case. Then, I sat at my desk and took out my hair. I took a few seconds to massage my head, trying to get the feeling I got when he left to go away. Then I dragged my hands down my face, thinking about how long the day had been. I sighed and went back to bed. I kicked off my shoes, not bothering to take off my pants or shirt. It would be an early morning tomorrow and usually I didn't have the time to get ready before I was needed. I pulled the thin sheets over me and rolled onto my stomach before putting my arm under the flat pillow to give my head some more support and closing my eyes to sleep. It was early for bed but I didn't have anything better to do and I found that sleep was the-

“Thank you” His reconnection startled me out of my thoughts as I felt the, not unpleasant pressure, return to my skull. It was dim and the message was soft and distant but I could still feel it. “For not ratting me out I mean. I know you could have done something to stop me and you didn't.”

I stayed quiet for a while. Was he trying to make me feel bad about betraying Shaw or did he actually mean it? What was he getting at?

“Sorry um… goodnight again.” He said. He must have understood my confusion and hesitance to answer. I felt him going to disconnect again but I didn't want him to. My brain cried at the thought of him leaving and I didn't think quick enough to stop myself.

“Wait no! I- well, you're welcome I guess. It's not….” I stumbled out before he could fully pull away. I couldnt think of how to explain myself, I didnt really feel like I should. Shaw would be absolutely livid if he knew I was talking to the enemy

“Im a little confused i think” I finished not knowing what else to say

I heard him breath out a puff of air and then speak “about what exactly?”

“Well, you I suppose.” I said honestly “and maybe just… everything.”

He hummed “that must be tiring.” he said understandingly and sympathetically. I rolled back on to my back and put my hands over my eyes. 

“It can be.” I said. I didn't really want to open up to Charles, and yet, at the same time I REALLY wanted to. I couldn't understand what this urge was. Maybe he was messing with my mind, convincing my subconscious to trust him. But would that really be so bad? Shaw was a bad person and if talking to Charles was going to help his team take Shaw down, maybe that was a good thing. Regardless I didn't feel like Charles would do that. Somehow I trusted him. More than I had been able to trust anyone, at least, since Lou. 

No matter how much I wanted to help Charles and no matter what this unexplainable reason for that was, I needed to survive, self preservation was my main goal. If that wasnt the case I would have died a long time ago. If I was going to communicate with Shaws enemies I had better be careful about it.

“Are you alright?” Charles’ voice said softly in my head. I thought for a second. I wasn't, no. But things could be worse. Shaw had not shocked me too terribly today. He didn't beat me either. I didn't feel hungry and I wasn't as exhausted from using my powers as much as I could be some times.

“Yeah. I'm alright.”

He hummed again. I could tell he was not convinced with that answer but he didn't push it.

“Thanks… for asking.” I said softly and still slightly confused. It had been a long time since someone had asked me that and seemed to actually care. It filled my heart with a warm feeling. I had seen this man for the first time in my life only an hour ago and he cared enough to ask me if I was ok. 

What was his angle though? If he just wanted to see where we were going for as long as he could he could have just done that, felt what direction we were heading in and then disconnected once he knew enough. But he was talking to me, asking me if I was ok. He didn't seem smart for that.

I waited, for a response, my eyes closing and sleep starting to come to me. He didn't wait much longer before speaking pulling me slightly awake again.

 “Sure love. Any time.” His voice became more muffled with the growing distance, I knew soon we wouldn't be able to communicate. hearing his words I couldn't help but smile in my drowsy state. I think maybe I even blushed, but I didn't care and I doubt he even knew. After that I must have fallen asleep because I don't remember feeling him detach from me.

 I slept so well that night that when I woke up I thought for a second that I was in my childhood room on a Saturday morning without a care in the world.

[kimyoonmiauthor]

How to Diagnose scenes when you're stuck

This is basically one of those, it works for me, may work for you, but maybe not and that's OK. And no, it's not one of those, so you have writer's block, welcome to hell, and here's artificial things that might work like taking a walk, taking a shower, eating something.

It's looking at the story theory and the mechanics of story and saying, you're addicted to this story and really want to get through this, so what tools do you have to get through this before you lament it's not something you can fix and then get fixated on the fact you can't fix it and then spiral into anxiety hell, and believe a homophobic psychologist who used his own trauma to hate on others? (And yes, I wrote about that one too... you'll realize this is a theme of my blog. I find the origin of belief systems you have never questioned).

The order *I* tend to go in is this... This is mostly US, UK, Korean, Japanese and maybe Chinese Storytelling.

Keep in mind these are bending to larger forces, such as theme, tone, and the story driver, such as emotion and conflict.

Also writing this to remind myself not to freak out when I get stuck.

Setting

Setting is a bunch of moving parts, but usually is the easiest thing to change.

Sometimes the smallest thing you need to change is the setting.

Where the hell are your characters in space, time and relation to each other and what are they doing and why?

You should keep in mind things like

Degree of privacy?

Time of Day?

Time of Year?

Are there seasons?

What place or location are they?

Where are they in relation to each other?

What props are in the area that might enhance or take away from their existing mood?

What was the settings you had in your previous scenes?

How are your character's physical needs interacting with this space?

Are they distracted?

What activity are they doing together, not together, alone, well or not well?

What do your characters hope for being there?

Try changing this and the emotions can change and ripple.

I should note that you still should be rewriting everything in the scene as a result of the ripple, but it should be far smaller than before.

2. Characters

Who is there? What are they doing there? Add and subtract characters. Yes, this includes extra and background characters. Sometimes adding one character or deleting can change the pace of the entire scene.

3. Events

This is what save the Cat would call "beats" But there are several types of "Beats" Emotional beats, action beats. And really events include characters and settings. No matter what that whole "plot-driven" vs. "Character-driven" nonsense tells you.

Sometimes the event are going haywire because you dealt these out too fast or not fast enough or, you the author have nothing left after this and are worried what you should do, should you let the plot move on past the will they won't they or not? Timing is in the purview of the author. 2 weeks is too fast. 1 year might be too slow.

4. Research

Yes, rabbit holes are a bane to people's exisence, but sometimes doing fact checks on your existing work can help you out of your hole. Watch a documentary on your time period--maybe one that you already watched or didn't watch. Look up a fact. Do a book or audiobook or articles on a piece that you didn't have time to investigate prior. Sometimes this shakes out ideas.

Also, this is why YOU DO NOT STEAL IDEAS FROM OTHER PEOPLE. Because you will not be passionate enough to connect all of those little threads and the guilt will eat you alive as you work, especially if you do not give credit. A Good book has some semblence of the things you changed from the "real world" or "different from other books" in order. So, you should be passionate about the idea and completing it end to end. If you do not, and do not expound, then you are just a lazy plagiarizer. Develop the themes, further than what you have on paper. 'cause I guarantee you, people can spot when you just took the idea and DID NOTHING WITH IT and then fell back onto tired old tropes. I can name books and places where people universally said they felt this becuse the theming suddenly changed from the hook, or the intial idea changed direction. Don't do this.

Develop your ideas through research. Don't be a lazy writer. What you feel is important, what you feel will work will pan out further and further and gain speed and momentum. So when you are stuck, this is the time to research. You might find some factoid that gets you unstuck.

[rainbow18]

Sonic Nine and Main Character centered morality.

Once again. This wasn’t made to say Sonic should be highly criticized, but a lot of things people are complaining about Nine doing are things Sonic done.

1. Having a Giant Accident while trying to help the place they love.

When Sonic was hoping to help Green Hill, he had an accident. He didn’t mean to break the universe, he just wanted to help. However he ended up breaking everything, So he became concerned about it and wants to fix his mess.

When Nine was hoping to help The Grim, he had an accident. He didn’t mean to break the Shatterverse, he just wanted to help The Grim. However he ended up breaking everything. So he became concerned about it and wants to fix his mess.

However Nine received more criticism than Sonic. In fact, A lot of People have developed self serving memory and began pretending that Nine’s destroying everything on purpose. (Which is something he never claimed he wanted to do.)

But there’s a GIANT PLOT HOLES with that interpretation. Why would Nine want to destroy The Grim? Why does Nine become fearful and angry every time he sees the Shatterverse breaking? Why does he voice a desire to help when nobody is around to listen? (Consciously or not, Nine’s becoming more like Sonic each time they see each other.)

If it’s because Nine didn’t want to commit suicide, First off, that’s victim blaming. Secondly, Sonic didn’t want to help The Grim. So why should Nine help Green Hill?

(Relationships can’t be “All Take. No Give.” If Sonic wants Nine to help Green Hill than he should help The Grim. It’s only fair. )

2. Bad Consequences while trying to clean their mess.

Until The Final Season/Part 3 trailer opens up the possibility that they found a secret 3rd option, It was highly theorized that The Shatterverse will cease to exist if The Prime Characters are saved. Sonic also began stealing the shards.

Some Fans justified this by saying things “Sonic’s mass murder and thefts are okay because he wants to fix his Mess.”

While when Nine realized that he needs to get The energy in Sonic to save the day, He began targeting him. Fan’s reaction? Criticizing him by saying things like “Wanting to stop everything from vanishing isn’t an excuse to target Sonic and he is completely unredeemable for it”

Well, if Saving Millions isn’t an Excuse to Harm Just 1 person, why should Saving a Minority be an excuse to Commit Mass Genocide?

Since Sonic’s plan involves WAY more deaths, while Nine’s plan involves only 1, if Nine is unredeemable than Sonic is unredeemable.

Besides, even if Nine does end up merging the shatterspaces, it still wouldn’t be worse than what Sonic’s doing.

3. Justifications.

When defending Sonic, people often use one of the following.

It was an accident

he doesn’t realize what he’s doing.

He just wants a home.

As I proved, There’s not a single one that doesn’t apply to Nine. Nine just wanted a home. No, calling the Grim superior doesn’t mean he wants more because then you’ll have to give Sonic the exact same scrutiny for acting like Green Hill is better than The Grim.

Throughout everything, Nine only expressed a desire to help The Grim. He never expressed a desire to harm anyone who isn’t currently attacking him. Nine’s mind is unstable due to his fight with Sonic, he isn’t thinking clearly.

Before anyone goes “But Sonic”, Sonic doesn’t count because 1. Sonic’s death is necessary to save the day and 2. Sonic likely still wants to fix Green Hill therefore he’s a threat.

Sonic became ghostly and everything appears to be stabilizing unless the Portal is the only one left in existence.

The fact that Sonic isn’t already in there, heavily implies that Nine still has the prism in The Grim. Nine isn’t attacking so if he still angry, it goes to show that Nine has a “I’ll leave you alone, if you leave me alone” mindset.

(How interesting. Despite Sonic’s Claims that It’ll be “Game over” if Nine gets to him, the end implies that it’s actually “Game On” if Nine gets Sonic. )

[utilitycaster]

Any thoughts on why the gods waited to contact their followers? I'm thinking they tried to solve it without involving Exandria's people but realized they couldn't.

I mean, Doylist explanation - and I think that Doylist explanations should not be ignored - is that the story benefits from giving the party some free time to explore Uthodurn, decompress after the big solstice event, allow them to integrate with Deanna and FRIDA, and go to Molaesmyr as their own decision. We’ve gotten a huge amount of character development in a short period of time in part because the characters were, perhaps for the first time, not rushing around at the behest of various powers that be.

(This is a long off-topic conversation but I think some of what I struggled with in the build up to the solstice is that the DM-led guiding the party started before the party really formed an identity and the characters’ motivations were solidified. Matt is phenomenal at giving players hooks that they and more importantly their characters will find irresistible, but he and the players need to know the characters first, which is why a low level period of character-driven fuck-around time a la early Campaign 2, and characters with concrete and significant things they wish to achieve from the outset a la Imogen, Caleb, and Chetney (to name a few), are so important. Anyway, back to the answer.)

In-universe though? My guess is that they didn’t try to fix it themselves. I don’t think they can. The gods are well aware of their limitations on the Material Plane: a fundamental concept within Exandrian cosmology is that the gods must work through mortals because of the Divine Gate (and speaking of Doylist and Watsonian, Matt’s worldbuilding generally addresses a lot of typical fantasy plot holes such as “why don’t the gods just fix everything”). My guess is they had some discussion of their options, and which mortals to work through. So perhaps they waited to see how some new worshipers like FCG, and some at times conflicted ones like Deanna, acted in the wake of the solstice. They may have also waited to see whether Imogen would accept this as a direction from her colleagues given her internal conflict prior to the solstice on how best to proceed. Honestly, while again, Doylist explanation here, Matt was probably going to have the gods send this message whether or not Commune or a coin flip happened (let’s be real, coin flip at least was gonna happen), FCG explicitly saying “hey, we want to continue helping and to reunite with our friends; would this be a good path forward?” serves as an invitation.

It’s also possible that some of the worst of the solstice effects are lessening. Short-range Sending is working now, which it wasn’t earlier (Imogen tried to send to Chetney when he remained in the throne room and it failed). The divination spells to the gods are no longer failing, and we haven’t seen any further disenchantment effects, so while it’s still a perpetual solstice, perhaps the arcane energy and leylines and such have stabilized enough to let the gods communicate in such a direct manner, as opposed to the vaguer answers of the Changebringer’s first appearance.

[cinnamunspice]

THE STATS:

physical appearance

Very dark brown hair, in certain lighting, it may look black. She is Arabic and Chinese. 5'8'', curvy and has a very sweet and soothing voice (honeysuckle like!) despite her very stiff and formal choice of words. Clothes? Designer, or handmade. Makeup? Always flawless.

gender / sexuality/ birthday /age

female. demisexual. may 15th. she is played around fourty years old as a default, physically, on this blog-- unless we are writing pre-damian and in 70s/80s detective comics world. then i'll have her physically around 32.

the link to the talia!tag

ON THE RECORD:

THIS IS A TESTING MUSE ! STILL UNDER DEVELOPMENT !

I am still reading through her storyline, but as of right now her interpretation is pre-m*rrison personality/design and excluding of death of the maidens. P.S. as I am continuing to tweak damian's introduction that honors his past, but is reconciled with talia's previous history and personality-- please be patient with me! the MOST IMPORTANT thing is that we are following the Son Of the Demon and his conception was 1000000000000000% consensual. Ras's Al Ghul had intercepted the adoption attempt, and began to raise Damian in secret- on his own. By the time Talia had realized what had happened, she decided to return to her father and try to mitigate/lessen the damage and trauma that young Damian would endure. This would better align with memories of talia via tomasi's son of batman series, where she played a more sympathetic and active role as she tried to plan an escape for both of them.

if you want some resources talking about the very unfortunate r*cist turn talia's character has been taken to post 9/11 comics, and how her character's original origin should be taken (cw: mentions of SA): here are a few things.

I'm super open to her interacting with literally anyone, but I ask that no one treat her as a mustache twirling kind of villain. It can be easy to, because a LOT of more recent comics has portrayed her as such-- so if you want to base something off their previous interactions lmk, and we can work something out

SHORT BIO:

Talia Al Ghul is the Daughter of Ra's Al Ghul (Aka The Demon's Head), and a high ranking member of the League of Assassins. He is an ecoterrorist and dedicated to saving the planet at the very cost of the humans that live within it. He is also in possession of the famed Lazarus Pits.

She has operated as both an anti-hero/anti-villain who is consistently torn between her loyalty to her father, and her love of her life: Bruce Wayne. She believes in the mission of a more natural world, but has also shown to value life, and it often puts her at odds with many people.

She's gone to college in Egypt to study medicine. She's operated as a 'right-hand' woman to Ra's operations in the League of Assassins, she's been CEO of Lex-Corp, she was the one to dunk Jason into the pits and train him into the Red Hood, she is the biological mother of Damian Wayne, she has blown up infinity island….. She's like barbie, to me.

ABOUT THE LAZARUS PITS:

I understand that depending on the writer, on the 'plot holes' needing to be solved, or just the series-- the Lazarus pits origin and means has changed a bit. By default, I will be resorting to artificial pits that have been made from various poisonous chemicals that have the ability to prolong life expectancy/stop fatal wounds and to 'bring back the recently parted'). This is not a fix-all. If you want more details and comic recs on where I'm basing this off, feel free to DM me!

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Heya! How are you and how are things going? What's the first thing you have to do before you start writing? Like do you have any rituals or do you need to set up notes, character plans ect?

Hi! Thanks so much for the ask!

First, I have to be listening to music, with lyrics. I dunno why but it helps with focus most of the time. Currently I'm listening to a lot of romance songs for the different relationships in my series The Secret Portal, and I have some paper beside me so I can write down the song and the relationship it reminds me of. Helps a bit with mindset, especially since I'm in my first romantic relationship.

I definitely do have a lot of notes to set up. I also need to have a game plan for the session, a goal to reach. Oh, and my water.

Unless I write during a free point in the day, my main session is after a shower and maybe some more before bed after dinner. I guess you can call that a ritual since my mindset has to be right to get any work done.

More specifics of my multi-day process under the cut just in case you're curious for a long-term process. I'm pretty sure you meant session by session, hence the above, but just in case:

I have a lot of different character notes or plot notes up at all times. To focus on my writing process for The Secret Portal Part Two, I have a general outline up just to easily keep track of what chapter is what and chapter ideas coming up from a bird's eye perspective. I also have another document that expands on the outline as I try to set up a more cohesive structure and scenes to happen in the chapter itself. I also try to figure out the order or the timeline.

As I plan each chapter, I look at the extended notes I have for it and try to plan out more details or a sequence of events. For example, the last chapter I wrote for Part Two was an extended family Christmas gathering from my character Ash's perspective. Going in, I knew there was going to be a lot of family members in a small house and at some point Ash would get so overstimulated from all the thoughts (she's a telepath) and relieve herself to her room where she'd take comfort in these telepathic probe devices.

When it came time to fully plan out the scene, I first focused on setting up a little family tree. Then I figured out what would ignite Ash getting overstimulated. I pulled up my character sheet on Ash and figured out how to line up all the things that bother her for the perfect breaking point. I also tried to figure out the details: as in, why now? Why is it just now that the thoughts were too much? What specifically will happen to make her go to her room? When she uses the probes, what will she see?

To figure out what events Ash would see was a little difficult. I have a series-long brainstorming document I consult frequently. TSP is planned to be a five book series, so it's important to plan ahead. I try to see where I am and judge what I need to develop now for later. I eventually realized there was a significant hole so I decided to patch it with a little vision.

After that, I'm usually ready to write the scene. I just have to be sure to plan first, otherwise I find myself approaching the scene awkwardly. Sometimes I will refine the details as I write-- realize that not everything worked, so I cut an idea or change something. Sometimes I'll leave myself a note to repair the scene in revisions if I understand that it's weak/I forgot something if I'm not in the mood for fixing it now. Sometimes I will fix it.

TSP Part One is in the later stages of revisions. I have a list of things to revise next time I read through it, as well as some behind the scenes details to work on. Usually I'll pick one to focus on, but may get some other stuff done on the way. For example, I'm currently reading through to add in some character ticks since I found myself repeating/some characters had the same physical reaction to some things. As I'm reading it, though, I am making minor revisions in dialogue or narration to make it more fitting of the character in question. Sometimes I'll notice an awkward transition and fix it. Maybe I'll add in more details. Maybe I'll change something (e.g., Lexi's hairstyle, Alium's lack of stairs, etc.) as I go and press "pause" on the focus of the read-through so I can quickly get it out of the way.

Sometimes I'll do behind the scenes work, though I'm usually not that consistent with that. If I'm busy doing something else I've been designing bedrooms for my characters to a) help with descriptions later down the road and b) get more into their mindset. Just don't tell my professors I'm doing this.

So I hope you've gathered, if you've read this far, that the writing process isn't very linear for me. I jump around at will depending on what my brain is telling me to do. I got stuck on the opening scene for the next chapter of TSP Pt2 so I've been revising Part One and doing behind the scenes work. I also have beta readers going in the background.

Again, thanks for the ask and if you read this far double thank you!

[maineshewrote]

I-just-started-s4e7-thoughts-part-2:

Melon is so me: Great news! I had a nap!

But Loretta was the one who got bitten. Why did we not get a parallel taking-care-of-a-loved-one scene between her and Oliver, like we got with Charles and Doreen?

What’s with all this calling people crazy, though? Last season we established that Loretta could see the real Oliver, the man underneath the bombast and the breeding crab-men, and it was beautiful. So why ruin that special connection now by claiming he's crazy but still lovable.

Beautiful, much-awaited and unexpectedly executed proposal.

While last season Oliver was the more committed and determined one in this relationship, this time it's Loretta who takes the lead on important decisions. On one hand, it's positive and healthy to see Loretta stepping up and being Oliver's equal, but on the other, I liked seeing that level-headed, grown-up caring side of Oliver's last season, let's bring that back.

All in all, I feel like this season's story-line thus far has been more damaging than productive for the Oliretta pairing. They overcame their initial trust issues, spurred on mostly by the ongoing case, by the end of season 3, setting a promising, strong foundation for their relationship. Of course, the long distance setting is bound to be unsettling but it just feels like this continued breach of trust is warning of an unhealthy pattern in the relationship. Sure, they cleared it up (or brushed it off more like) by the end of the episode, but I feel like the trust, which strong relationships are based on, is more wobbly than ever here. Not that I'm ungrateful for the prospect of them getting married, I love that.

So, to recap, I long to own a jumpsuit like Loretta's one day. And the Loretta doll turned out to be utterly unrelated.

Oh, the case. Right. Almost forgot this was a murder mystery for a while.

Do I spy a leopard print? Is Mabel wearing Doreen's robe? She really does try out people's robes this season.

The plot holes are all over the script. We're hearing a lot of that lately. Yes, the script is the main lead the actors have for connecting with their roles and therefore, of course, it's relevant that it should be faultless. But this is also telling me that the writer is incompetent enough to not fix the plot holes, whether or not he knows the answers. Apparently, he's not good at improvising with writing.

Praise to everyone who kept their eyes open from the first season on for the explanation to Winnie's poisoning! The Jan theory was weak and unfounded but it was still a theory (see: Jan's lil toxins).

How exactly did Howard get Mike's number?

Sooo remember when I said, "We are all Dudenoff"?! I am on fire!

But I'm not convinced the Westies killed him. My guess is they either realized Dudenoff was dead and cashing his cheques would provide them with some additional income or—and this is more likely—they were cashing them for Dudenoff, who they believed to be alive and well in Portugal, and sent him the money, getting ham as gratitude for their troubles. Only it was the killer they were dealing with all along.

[ilovedthestars]

ask game: 4, 19, 35, or 51?

Thank you for so many options! I'm going to take the first two because i'm having trouble coming up with answers for the others.

(writer ask game)

4. what is the plot bunny you’ve been carrying for the longest? optional bonus question: do you ever wonder why you haven’t written it yet and experience deep existential dread?

if we're talking murderbot fic, the very first murderbot fanfic I sat down to write is still unfinished and yes it haunts me. i call it my targetControlSys wip and if you're on the discord you've heard a bit about it before but the basic concept of it was: in that part of NE when TCS almost takes over Murderbot's brain, What If It Did? it was the first iteration of me writing what i later started calling malware fics, aka "murderbot is almost forced to hurt people it cares about and afterwards it has emotions about this." parts of the draft are actually quite complete so i hope i'll be able to finish it someday but it's on the backburner for the forseeable future.

if we expand it outside of murderbot fic, when i was about 13 i started writing a YA fantasy novel and i worked on it for a solid five years without ever finishing a complete draft. i still love the characters and concept dearly, but at some point i realized that i liked it too much to let go of parts of it that needed to go, in order to fix the plot holes that 13 year old me put in there. so it's in the metaphorical trunk until a time when i can take it out again and take it apart to build something new. on the possibility that it will someday make it into published book form in some recognizable way, i will be vague about the plot, but it had a prophecy and a chosen one who really didn't want to be the chosen one and her found family who tried to make it bearable for her <3

19. what are some books or authors that influenced your style the most?

oh, god, hard question. the vast majority of what i read as a kid/teen was YA fantasy, mostly the kind starring a girl with a sword. i read countless books like that, i don't know if any particular ones stand out but i'm sure they've affected how i write. specific books/series I was really into as a teen include Tui T. Sutherland's Wings of Fire, Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles, Kristin Cashore's Graceling trilogy (it has more books now but i have not caught up), and Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows. not sure how any of those have specifically influenced me but maybe it will be obvious to others XD I'm sure reading Murderbot and some other similar adult SFF has also changed and developed my writing style in the last few years as well.