#also sad i had to cut the title cards :(
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heatherfield · 8 months ago
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Record scratch!
American Whoopee [x]
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brunchable · 1 month ago
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Secret Santa | S. R.
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Pairings: Steve Rogers x F!Reader Themes: Ex-lovers. Petty Revenge but Steve is just sweet ;_; Summary: You and Steve are forced to participate in your friend group Secret Santa gift exchange, and of course, you end up assigned to each other. You're determined to give him the worst gift possible, but his surprisingly thoughtful present throws you off—and leaves you questioning your assumptions about him. A/N: This oneshot is a part of my 4K follower Christmas Celebration. Also this one will be connected to Santa Baby that will be released next week. dividers by @saradika-graphics
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It wasn’t your idea to do Secret Santa. You’d never suggest something so contrived, so obviously destined for disaster. No, this brilliant plan came courtesy of Nat, whose mischievous smirk while handing out the hat of names told you she knew exactly what she was doing.
The moment you unfolded the slip of paper and saw his name, you felt the universe mocking you. Steve Rogers. Captain Perfect. Your ex.
You stared at the paper as though sheer willpower might summon a new name. It didn’t. Across the room, Steve raised his eyebrows as he read his own slip, the corner of his mouth twitching. You had a sinking suspicion the universe had played a cruel joke on him, too.
“What are the odds?” Nat said, sidling up next to you with a glass of wine.
“Oh, I don’t know. Rigged?” you hissed back, crumpling the paper in your fist.
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Steve Rogers had a habit of ruining things. Like relationships. Or, in this case, your plans to breeze through the gift exchange with a generic mug or a gift card. No, this was war. You were going to find the most obnoxious, useless gift imaginable. The kind of thing that screamed, I know exactly what you hate, and I’m leaning into it.
You weren’t just shopping for a gift. You were shopping for revenge.
The mall was an absolute hellscape of holiday cheer—children screaming, Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You blasting on loop, and couples holding hands like it wasn’t a battlefield. You were on a mission, weaving through the chaos, hunting for something so heinous that it would make Steve Rogers cringe.
The first store you entered was a pop-culture knick-knack shop. It was overflowing with mugs that said, “Live, Laugh, Love,” and socks decorated with pizza slices. You rolled your eyes. Too tame. Too basic. No, you needed something with bite. Something so wrong that Steve would open it and instantly regret ever existing.
That’s when you saw it. A coffee mug. But not just any coffee mug.
It was massive, comically oversized, the kind of mug that could double as a soup bowl. Bright red, with bold, white text plastered across the front:
“WORLD’S OKAYEST LOVER.”
You snorted so loudly a nearby teenager gave you a dirty look. But it wasn’t enough. Oh no. You needed more.
Two hours later, you stumbled into the most chaotic store in the mall: an unhinged combination of novelty items, offensive gag gifts, and borderline illegal paraphernalia. The walls were lined with things like glow-in-the-dark shot glasses shaped like butts and calendars full of “inspirational” quotes… all of which were expletives. And there, under a flashing neon sign that screamed, BEST GIFT IDEAS EVER, you found it.
The pièce de résistance.
A calendar. Not just any calendar, though. It was titled:
“12 Months of Aggressive Affirmations.”
The cover featured a cartoon bunny flipping the bird. Each month was worse than the last—January read: “GET UP AND FUCKING WIN,” February shouted, “STOP BEING A SAD LITTLE BITCH,” and March simply screamed, “YOU’RE NOT THE PROBLEM, EVERYONE ELSE IS JUST DUMB AS SHIT.”
You couldn’t breathe. You were doubled over, tears streaming down your face as you clutched the calendar. It was perfect. Aggressive. Vulgar. Completely unnecessary. And most importantly? It would absolutely short-circuit Steve Rogers’ clean-cut, wholesome brain.
You slapped it down on the counter, ignoring the cashier’s judgmental look as they scanned it.
“You okay?” they asked, clearly unnerved by the manic grin plastered across your face.
“Oh, I’m great,” you said, pulling out your card. “This is going to make someone very uncomfortable.”
————
On the day of the exchange, you could hardly contain your excitement. The calendar was wrapped in gaudy, glittery paper that shed sparkles everywhere—another little insult aimed directly at Steve. When he finally picked it up, his brow furrowed at the excessive tape you’d used to ensure he’d struggle opening it.
Everyone watched as he peeled away the layers, muttering something about how you always made things difficult. But when the calendar came into view, his face went completely blank.
“‘Aggressive Affirmations,’” he read aloud, flipping to January. “‘GET UP AND FUCKING WIN.’” His lips twitched, but he refused to give you the satisfaction of a laugh. Instead, he held it up, deadpan. “Wow. You really went for it.”
“You’re welcome,” you said, smirking.
Nat practically fell off the couch laughing. “This is… incredible.”
“Yeah, this’ll look great in his bedroom,” Bucky added, snatching it to flip through the months. “Oh, man, look at June. ‘YOU’RE HOTTER THAN A FUCKING FOREST FIRE.’ Steve, this is the kind of energy you need.”
Steve pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like, “I hate all of you.”
But when you caught his eye, you saw it—a flicker of amusement, quickly smothered by exasperation.
“This is going in my gym. Where no one else can see it.” He put the calendar down carefully, shaking his head. 
“Oh no,” you said, grinning wickedly. “It’s going on your fridge. Front and center. So every morning, you can start your day with a dose of aggressive self-love.”
Steve sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t know whether to be mad or impressed.”
“Oh, be impressed,” you said, raising your glass. “It’s the best gift you’ll ever get.”
And when he smiled—small, reluctant, but genuine.
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Steve wasn’t good at gifts. Not because he didn’t try, but because he overthought everything. For him, giving a gift wasn’t just about handing someone an object; it was a gesture, a piece of himself. And when it came to you—well, he hadn’t earned the right to give you anything, had he?
The relationship ended because of him. That much was clear. He’d been the one who pulled away, too overwhelmed by his own insecurities and the shadow of the life he thought he couldn’t offer you. And yet, here he was, standing in front of a boutique window, staring at the dress he knew you’d wanted for months.
He remembered the first time he saw you touch it. You weren’t even shopping for yourself. You’d dragged him into the boutique while looking for a birthday gift for Natasha, weaving through the racks with easy confidence. But then, you stopped.
Just for a moment.
The dress was simple—red silk, with delicate straps and a neckline that dipped just enough to make you bite your lip in that nervous way he loved. Your fingers brushed over the fabric, and you sighed, soft and wistful.
“Beautiful,” you’d murmured, almost to yourself.
Steve had stood a few steps behind, pretending to check his phone. He remembered how quickly you moved on, like you didn’t want to linger too long. You probably thought he hadn’t noticed. But he did. He always noticed.
Now, months later, Steve stood in the same boutique, heart pounding like he was about to charge into battle. The sales associate greeted him with a warm smile, clearly trying not to gawk at the former Captain America standing awkwardly among racks of designer dresses.
“I’m looking for a gift,” he said, clearing his throat.
“For someone special?”
He hesitated, the words catching in his throat. “Yeah. She’s, uh... she’s special.”
The associate nodded knowingly and led him straight to the dress. “This one’s a favorite. Classic, elegant.”
Steve reached out, fingers grazing the fabric just as yours had. It felt like silk against his calloused palms—soft, delicate, everything he wasn’t sure he deserved to touch.
“She looked at this one,” he said quietly, almost to himself. “A while ago. I don’t think she thought I noticed.”
The associate smiled gently. “Well, you noticed. That’s what matters.”
He bought it without hesitation, ignoring the price tag. The dress came in a sleek black box tied with a ribbon, and Steve carried it home like it was the most precious thing in the world.
————
That night, Steve sat at his kitchen table with the box in front of him, a pen poised over a blank card. Words had never been his strong suit, but he needed you to know this wasn’t just a gift—it was an apology, a hope, a quiet confession.
After a long moment, he began to write:
Y/N,
I’m not great at words, but you always told me it’s the thought that counts. I saw you look at this dress once, and I don’t know if you even remember, but I do. You should have something beautiful because you deserve everything beautiful in the world. I know I’m the last person who should be saying that. But maybe this can say what I haven’t been able to.
—Steve
He stared at the card for a long time before tucking it into the box.
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On the day of the gift exchange, Steve handed you the box without a word. Your name was scrawled on the tag in his careful handwriting. You hesitated, eyeing him warily, but curiosity got the better of you.
As you untied the ribbon and opened the lid, your breath caught.
The dress.
The room felt smaller somehow, the chatter of your friends fading into the background. You didn’t know what to say, and Steve didn’t push. He just stood there, watching you with that quiet, earnest expression that used to make your heart ache.
Your fingers brushed over the fabric, just as they had that day in the boutique. For a moment, you couldn’t speak.
“You remembered?” you finally whispered, looking up at him.
Steve shrugged, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. “I always remember.”
You froze at his words, the weight of them pressing down on your chest. It wasn’t just the dress—it was everything. All the times he’d been paying attention when you thought he wasn’t. All the moments you’d convinced yourself he didn’t care.
Your throat tightened as guilt began to creep in, sharp and relentless.
“I—” You stopped, fingers curling into the fabric. The silk felt too soft, too expensive, too meaningful in your hands. “Steve, I don’t... I don’t deserve this.”
His brow furrowed, and he took a small step closer. “Why would you say that?”
You laughed weakly, a bitter sound. 
“Because I’ve spent weeks trying to think of the worst gift to give you. Something obnoxious. Something petty. And you...” You gestured at the dress, your voice breaking slightly. “You did this.”
His gaze softened, but there was something unreadable in his eyes.
“Y/N,” he said quietly, his voice steady. “You don’t have to feel guilty about that. I get it. You’re angry at me. You have every right to be.”
You shook your head, the lump in your throat growing. “But I shouldn’t still be mad. It’s been months. You tried, Steve. You really tried, and I—”
“You have nothing to apologize for,” he interrupted gently.
But that only made it worse. Because you did—not for being angry, but for the way you’d handled it. For not seeing how hard he was trying now.
“I just—” You exhaled shakily, holding the dress tighter against you. “I thought you weren’t paying attention. That I didn’t matter to you like that. And now... this.”
Steve’s jaw tensed, his hands fidgeting in his pockets. 
“You mattered,” he said simply, the rawness in his tone cutting straight through you. “You always mattered. I just... didn’t know how to show it before.”
The room was suddenly too warm, too loud. You felt exposed, vulnerable under his gaze. His words clung to you like static, leaving no room to breathe.
You lowered your eyes, staring down at the dress in your hands. “This... it’s beautiful, Steve. It’s too much. I don’t deserve it after—”
“You do,” he interrupted, his voice firm this time. “You deserve something beautiful. Even if you hate me, Y/N.”
You glanced up sharply at that, seeing the way his eyes flickered with something like regret—or maybe hope.
“I'm sorry. I don’t—” You stopped yourself. Lying felt crueller than the truth. “I don’t hate you, Steve. I just... I don’t know what to do with all of this.”
He smiled faintly, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “You don’t have to do anything. It’s a gift. No strings attached.”
And somehow, that made the guilt worse. Because he meant it. You could tell. And it left you wondering if maybe he’d always meant it, even when he didn’t know how to show it.
“Thank you,” you said softly, clutching the dress like a lifeline.
Steve nodded, his hands still buried in his pockets as he stepped back, giving you space. But his eyes lingered, and for the first time in months, you felt like you really saw him. Not the perfect soldier, not your ex—but the man who’d been paying attention all along.
Tags: @disneyprincessbuffyannesummers @strawberrybisou @alyana-luvs-u @rogersbarber @veronicapaula
@fynnwolff @bmyva1entine @thereoncewasagirlnamedjane @awaywithtime
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midnight1nk · 3 months ago
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So, WOTFI 2024...
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[Spoilers below cut]
I'm so excited! Got my bingo card ready and my popcorn, we gotta manifest good things here.
(the following is my live reaction:)
3... 2... 1... HAPPY NEW YEAR Oh wait, wrong thing oops
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happy to be here, Leggy (WE'LL SAVE YOU GUYS DON'T WORRY)
TENDER TUNNEL?! ...oh nevermind then. it's so over guys
OH Four, Mario!
this would've been such a Mar4 moment if it was still the Tender Tunnel cuz this reminds me a lot of the SMG34 tiktok kiss challenge
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...wait is that... OMG IT'S TV TIME ARRANGEMENT OMG LET'S GOOOOOOOO marking this on the bingo card
the FNAF models....
"...a portrayal of my life." YES PLEASE give us more
the fact that Puzzles made a puppet of his child self just for this reenactment (i don't think he's ok guys)
oop, Leggy don't drop the child!
"Papa" gives so many flashbacks to other characters who call their abusive father "papa" (me, an Ace Attorney fan)
hold up, I need to talk about this for a bit. I know it may seem like random graffiti, but because it has gears and such, his future might've been set in stone. To become TV.
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"I locked myself in my room and watched TV all day!" and no one checked up on him? Did he stay in that room all the way to adulthood?! Okay, the SMG4 universe has a different way of how time and body necessities work. But hunger and time are still things. The implications are kinda of messed up if you think about it: Mr Puzzles stayed in his room for YEARS without food or even sleep, watching everything on TV. He would've been a CORPSE by adulthood. No wonder Mr Puzzles has a thin waist.
"And the rest is history." No, Puzzles, you can leave us like this! I need more! What happened after he cut off his head, did he replace every limb of himself? What happened to his dad?
Well, we got more of his backstory ig, marking that for the bingo card
WOAH I knew Mr Puzzles swore before but DAMN
I might have to mark "Grudge against Four" box but we'll see
NEW OUTFITS OMG THAT GETS A MARKER
"We'll just have to go along with his twisted games for now." Hell yeah, you gotta be part of WOTFI, boys :)
AY SPECTACULAR TITLE CARD, LOVE THE ART
Blast-off Fire
this reminds me of Toy Story for some reason
C'mon guys, you can do it!
What's your idea, Mario? NO FOUR let him talk
WOW I LOVE [*ragdolls*]
OH IT WORKED
Insult-2-Dunk
OH the frame of what the challenge says has the 5 stars, I'm going to mark that
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This is giving the hallway scene in IGBP, where Four has his thoughts on display
Yeah I'm going to count that as an IGBP reference
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they really are boyfriends 💙💜 gay people do be sitting
really tempted to mark the "You Saved Me" box but I'll wait
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That's... actually sad if all the negative thoughts SMG4 had in IGBP came from the YT comments. Not surprising but it makes sense why he would try to keep everyone happy.
"This is nothing." OH THAT'S EVEN WORSE SOMEHOW, SMG4. THE AUDIENCE IS ONE THING BUT KAREN, A CLOSE FRIEND, TOLD YOU TO KYS
idk I could just imagine Four saying a lot of horrible things to himself
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DAMN MARIO
but also Four's been flirting with Three, you already know that Mario /hj
Slap Box
TARI WE'RE SORRY BUT WE HAVE TO SAVE YOU GUYS
well you did get a bit of karma for what you said earlier to Four, sorry Mario
HOLY SHIT YOU KILLED HER DUDE oop Four said it for me nvm
Ferris Wheel Frenzy
I got jump scared and thought it was my minigame lmao
"Survive"? OH, are they going to get stuck on the Wheel ride?
please 34 please 34 nooooooooooo fuck
Missed opportunity man, still pretty funny
Fire Bonanza
Wow, Bob, that trick was pretty good ngl
Did somebody say arson? :)
even I'm clapping!
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Marware shippers, how are y'all feeling?
Tightrope Terror
OH just like in the trailer, right?
OOH THREE VS FOUR
...yeah, Three would win, I'm not even surprised
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That's so sweet, like actually
This feels familiar... oh that's right
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:)
Hey, I did say "love wins, love always wins"
And that didn't work for Leggy... but it worked on Four back then so that's nice :)
Sword Showdown
poster reference!
Can Mario even defeat Bob? and also, reference to the poster?
Oh shit Mario did the Sephiroth shot from the Smash announcement
Knife Throw
boyfriends throwing knives :)
also poster reference
"...avoid hitting our volunteers" IS IT THREE?! oh no it's just Boopkins and Tari
I WANTED A "YOU SAVED ME" MOMENT NOOOO
....blindfolded?!
FOUR DOESN'T WANT TO HURT HIS FRIENDS
So uh yeah definitely a grudge
Four, that's Gmod. THIS IS NOT THE SAME
Three's the one throwing the knives at Tari right? ...yep *sigh /aff*
Balloon Blast
*looks at Luigi's creations* ....say what now?
"Supper Mario Balloon" I... shouldn't be surprised
He kinda looks like Pedro ngl
Pie-a-Ton
HI KAREN
NOOOO MARIO'S FIRST LOVE *prowler music*
...wait, "Mario Die"? OH well, the universe is doomed lol
Touch Grass
alright then *goes outside and touches grass* we did guys!
Clowns Clowns Everywhere
Puzzles, Four has boots on and Bob has no shoes at all. Does it look like we have time to put running shoes on?
ACE ATTORNEY? IN MY SMG4 WOTFI? :D
"King of Clowns" PFFT That never gets old
What did you expect Four? You make memes for a living, become the clown
Bomb Ski Ball
What type of SAW trap is this?
OH RIGHT Karen is still a cat
Yeah Mario, you celebrated too early
Ducky Mania
poster reference(???)
Well, thanks Luigi, we're dead
BELLS (ok, it might not count cuz they used this before)
YAY FOUR GOT ONE
Free-Fall Frenzy
And of course, Three and Karen and Saiko are all using the things they are skilled at
OH SHOOT MELONY'S SWORD
GO ON MARIO DO YOUR THING! MEGGY'S BACK!! IT WORKED
NO PUZZLES WHYYYYY
Whack a Leggy
Oh I love that Mario screen reference
SWORD FIGHT SWORD FIGHT SWORD FIGHT
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...goop!4..?
oh nvm, cameras. that should've been obvious *slaps face*
SMART THINKING FOUR
OH hi Puzzles
LET'S GOOOOOOOOO
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DUDE I'M GONNA CRY STOPP THIS IS SO SWEET OMG
"YOU'RE RUINING EVERYTHING", welp Mario Ruins the Show confirmed, checking that off
I just love how this scene was animated (edit: it turns out that this is a scene Anaidon animated, no wonder this was so good!)
THE KEYBOARD MONSTER FROM IGBP!!! IT'S BACKKKKK
AND EYES IN GENERAL
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Marker for the bingo :)
AND PARK (kinda) DESTROYED, another mark (yes it counts)
Superhero landing!
Wait... what is it, Four?
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...oh I hate this *IGBP flashbacks*
AND PEACH nooooooooo
I get that it's supposed to be Didney stuff but like that's past trauma right there for Four , seeing the castle and Peach costume again *checks off the bingo*
and we're seeing it through Four's right eye *head in hands* eye of horus
It's Rap Time? IT'S RAP TIME
Carnival-themed too! Another one for bingo
"Pay for what you've done" KARMA "We'll make him pay" KARMA
(edit: it turns out Shadow animated this scene, it looks great dude great job :D)
[*points at background at 22:31*] BELL THERE IT FUCKIN IS
MORE BELLS AT 22:55
and also I realized that there was a lot of "death", huh
Doomed Yaoi(TM)
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Yeah, we can count this as the Freak Show
"Puzzlevision+" ...puzzlevision 2...?
hold up, what the hell is that? NO NO WE CAN'T JUST PASS BY THAT
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Huh, how interesting is that Mr Puzzles, being controlled by wires, looks like a puppet when he's the only usually puppeteering hmmm
MEGGY CONFRONTS also she tried to give Puzzles a chance when she couldn't do it for Wren
"That child is gone... Six feet under right where you and your stupid friends belong." Oh, shit. That got me somehow.
There is something in philosophy called "Ship of Theseus" that basically is: what if, gradually over time, we replace every part of a person and the question would be, are they the same person anymore. It could apply to Mr Puzzles here. Bring back to my corpse question, his child self and his current self are not the same. Not anymore. Metaphorically and perhaps literally, the real man before Mr Puzzles came to be is already dead.
Some people do say that they can be "reborn" so.... *shrugs*
SACRIFICE! No one dies but they're risking their lives here!
Meggy going into Puzzles' mind reminds me a lot of Melony getting into Zero's, except for the meeting younger self stuff
Interesting, why did Little Puzzles cower from the woman shadow figure? They could've just put Meggy there but they didn't until a few seconds later... hmmm......
Well Meggy confronts Little Puzzles but it's more like her demanding him to set her friends free, which is understandable
THE CLUB PENGUIN DANCE IS BACK!! :D
ONCE AGAIN Little Puzzles gets scared of someone coming towards him. jesus what happened for you to react like that, dude?
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THIS IS ACTUALLY MAKING ME FEEL THINGS DUDE. IF MR PUZZLES DIES AND THIS IS THE LAST THING HE THINKS ABOUT.... *head in hands* THIS IS SO SAD
And more of the Engine Room gets broken down
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silly little goobers :)
MR PUZZLES LIVES
and I oop [Mr Puzzles will remember that.]
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....oh, this might be a fate worse than death. I don't blame the Crew for not trusting him and after what he did to Meggy but damn I don't think this is the right choice, gang
But it is probably the best ending the Team could've given him.
Yes, painting is nice. Oh, a puppy too!
"...OR we could assassinate our enemies and anyone who's ever double-crossed us!" OH NO IT'S MAKING HIM WORSE
To destroy Four and the others, yeah that makes sense. But he must've taken Meggy's confrontation as a double-cross. He's going for everyone!
Dynamic Change, everyone!
but also.... puzzlevision 2 maybe....
OH HEY CHRIS AND SWAG HI
well, the park isn't completely destroyed but some of it did so....
"Hopefully Mr Puzzles will change for the better." HMMMM I don't think so, Meggy. Actually, are they aware of where he is now?
Aw, Mario checking up on Meggy is very sweet, the M&M siblings
YOU ALL NEED THERAPY
"Turning into Leggy was really taxing on my body but...I think that version of me has escaped off to a better place." Meggy, you must've inherited Phoenix Wright's invincibility when you were a lawyer because you were literally SCREAMING IN PAIN when you were forced back into Leggy, and all you get is just a bit of a sore back?! Girl, you must've broken something. I do hope they bring this back so that she can't do sudden maneuvers or fancy tricks due to what happened to her. There has to be some consequences here.
And now, Leggy's not coming back (I'm sure that's great news for the people who find her annoying, not me tho)
and I oop 2: electric bagaloo
MORE RIDES FOR THE SHOWGROUNDS HELL YEAH
Happy ending and all but hold up... Why is this the last shot of WOTFI? They could've had the Ferris Wheel, the entrance, or any of the other rides. WHY?! *shakes the crew* ANSWER MEEEEE
Well we didn't get a challenge relating to Tender Tunnel but since it appeared in the final shot, I'll count it just for appearing (and also because it might be important later but we don't talk about that now)
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Of course, MERCH
"And, who knows? Next year, there might be even more things to come..." WHEN I GET YOU
Hoodie, poster, keychain I CALLED IT
baby leggy :3
"You'll just have to wait and see." Oh I'll be waiting *wiggles fingers together like a cartoon villain*
the great milk heist of 1899 :)
.・-: ✧ :--: ✧ :-・.
Here's my bingo card:
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I think it's all of it, let me know if I miss or need to change anything. Can we count all the Four & Three soulmate parallels to the "You Save Me" box? Please? *sneaks a marker on there* To those who participated, I hope you guys had fun with my bingo card!
I'm still going to cherish that Ferris Wheel chase scene from the "Welcome to Puzzle Park" episode
Well, Ben, Shadow, you got anything to say?
Ben: Well that was fun We should really do this again sometime…
GOD DAMMIT BEN NOT AGAIN/affectionate
Shadow, in voice clip: "Hello once more, Twitter and SMG4 community! As always, I'm The Inverted Shadow and yeah, War of the Fat Italians 2024 has come and gone... and uh, as it is customary with a lot of these big events with SMG4, I have things to say but this time, I'm actually not going to make a big show out of it this time like what I did for Puzzlevision and..." *clear throat* "The things that came before because I'm going to be completely honest, guys, I was really fucking nervous for this one because, um, to be completely honest, this rap battle for this WOTFI is, I can safely say, one of the hardest things I had to do when animating for SMG4 thus far. And I was really really scared and nervous about (one) if it would actually come out good and (two) if people would actually like it. But just based on the reactions from the watch party with the SMG4 team and also just seeing everybody's reactions to WOTFI this year, um.... Yeah, you guys surely showed me I still must be doing something right." *laugh* "But, no no no. In all honesty, once more, thank you all genuinely. Genuinely, thank you all once again to the SMG4 community, to Luke, to Kevin, the SMG4 team. Everybody. Thank you all so much for showing me that I apparently still got it and I can still do the thing as it were." *chuckle* "Um, I do really hope you all enjoyed WOTFI this year. For now, I need to go get me that new Mr Puzzles plushie 'cause I need it. So, genuinely thank you all again and uh, peace!
Oh, we enjoyed this year's WOTFI, SMG4 Team! As Mario would say, that was-a loads of fun! The animation, the art, the music, everything was really really good. There are a few plot tweaks here and there that need a bit of work, but otherwise, it was great! Props to everyone on the Team! I can't wait to see what you guys do next.
"Silly little meme show" Right, and it's the same people who gave us horror, I'm on to you guys. please puzzlevision 2 please goop!4
Make sure you all support them bc they deserve it :) As for what will happen to the SMG4 crew, Mr Puzzles, and the Showgrounds, we will just have to wait and see.
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;)
ink, it's not even a theory what are you talking about?
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mulders-too-large-shirt · 3 months ago
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s4 episode 24 thoughts
season FINALE!!! whew, it has been an emotional time these last few months, let me tell you that. i’m wondering how or if this will be wrapped up. 
the episode description makes no mention of scully’s illness, just more aliens. we always end the seasons with aliens. i imagine that this will also be a cliffhanger, so i’m trying to brace myself for that now.
(author's note: there was nothing short of reaching enlightenment that could have prepared me for this, and even if i had ascended to nirvana, i might have been ripped back out by the sheer tragedy of this storyline)
but damn, with a title like gethsemane, i’m expecting even more tears than usual. 
(author's note: yeah)
let us no longer delay. 
we begin with some videos from 1972, including carl sagan! what’s he doing here? well, he’s doing alien things. are you surprised?
the man on the screen is speaking about the probability of contacting aliens. he says it is very high.
and then cut to scully in some very yellow lighting, politely trying to get to a crime scene to do some FBI business!
wait. is that mulder’s couch???
she just needed to make an ID on a body and BRO WHAT. DID SHE FIND MULDER DEAD??? IN HIS OWN APARTMENT?????
HELLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOO???!!!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
now she’s in a meeting room with a lot of important people…. 
she’s explaining how she was assigned to the x files four years ago…. and she’s explaining the mulder lore.
“i come here today, four years later, to report on the illegitimacy of agent mulder’s work” <- WOAH WHAT??? betrayal?????
“it is my scientific opinion that he became over the course of these years a victim- a victim of his own false hopes, and in his belief in the biggest of lies” <- that is so sad????!?!??
HELLO??? WHAT??? hey. what’s going on. is that really scully? or is it an alien?
well. they’ve gotten me both hooked and worried. 
is she lying to save him?? is he dead?? is she preserving his reputation in death?? because she said that stuff in the past tense… or maybe he was killed and she will be next if she doesn’t renounce everything???
WHAT IS AFOOT HERE.
scully i just publicly declared you my favorite, you can’t make me take that back…
(author's note: i should have never doubted her <3)
ohhhh fancy, the intro says “believe the lie”
helicopter over the yukon in canada. some guys say the stuff at camp is unbelievable. that's quite a jump in tone from before.
and now they’re marching up the hill, saying they’re very excited etc etc. it looks to be exhausting work. the score is very suspenseful.
they arrive in a cave and shake hands as the newcomers are introduced. and what is in there but…. a frozen alien???
i was hoping it would be a perfectly preserved mammoth :( but okay… whatever… (sadly kicks dirt around)
back to the meeting room with scully!!! she says there have been recent developments on the assumption that aliens exist… mulder was contacted by a man whose “pursuit of this evidence seemed to coincide with his own”, and she says he was duped!!!! fooled by scientific slight of hand!!! 
and she’s here to expose this lie… and to expose his work for what it is….
GIRL, WHAT WENT DOWN???
now a cut to some sort of scully family event!! she’s telling a story about her brother bill. will we finally get to see him!? yes!! here he is!!! like their father, he is also in the navy, and seems to be pretty decorated. 
and he says he sent her a birthday card, to which she says “thanks for remembering this year” LMAOOO get him again for me!!
(why does no one remember her birthday!!! i will cry!!!)
the priest arrives… and scully’s face falls…. why is she sad to see him? and why did he get invited??? i’m stressed. 
father mccue is talking to her about drifting from the church and feeling awkward, but her mom asked him to come tonight. he says turning back to faith is essential in times like this. she says she hasn’t felt a need to draw on faith for strength, that she has some. and she won’t coming running back now.
huh, i wonder if she thinks that “running back” to the church will be admitting defeat. she says she’d be lying to herself and to him if she did that.
maybe she has only lightly been dabbling in god-related affairs since revelations, but not enough to want to return to mass.
but a phone rings… it’s mulder!!!
he says he’s sorry to interrupt her dinner, (so at least there’s some self awareness there) but someone named arlinsky at the smithsonian contacted him about a mountain in canada.
he says she needs to meet him RIGHT AWAY. BRO???????? she looks SO sad when he said that. 
she would do ANYTHING for him. and tbh i see why she wants to expose him now. fuck that. 
she’s assuring him that it’s okay, and he’s trying to apologize, but i’m still mad at him, and scully should be too. and who the hell is this arlinsky guy? apparently he was involved in a ufo photo faking?? but he claims he’s innocent?? THAT is what disrupted her dinner??
he says he won’t tell her what she’s about to see….
he has pictures of an alien frozen in the mountain and she looks deeply unimpressed. girl me too! 
apparently the alien has been in the ice for 200 years. and babcock (arlinsky's colleague) was part of the team that found it.
arlinsky says it’s a very remote location for it to be a hoax, to which mulder once again displays some self awareness with his “well if you’re gonna go, why not go all the way?” but again, not enough to prevent himself from getting in this situation in the first place
arlinsky pulls out the ice core samples from each side of the body, and says he sincerely believes they have a full corpse of an alien. 
but family dinner. i care about that more.
mulder says no one will believe him, and the same people that hid the truth will be asked to authenticate it, so there will be no confirmation either. which is why arlinsky wants him to go and get the body, because he knows it means everything to mulder
ohhhh scully says she has no opinion… “this is your holy grail, mulder, not mine” <- i am glad she is admitting she has no horse in this race
OHHH “proving the existence of alien life is not my last dying wish” <-yeah remind him that you’re literally dying and you can’t waste time because he SEEMS TO HAVE FORGOTTEN!!!!
“this is not some selfish pet project of mine, scully” <- well if it’s for the sake of your sister, but you’re hurting the people around you for it, that is still selfish actually 
woah woah woah i had to write this next part out...
“you already believe, mulder, what difference will it make? i mean, what will proof change for you?”
“if someone could prove to you the existence of god, would it change you?”
“only if it has been disproven”
“then you accept the possibility that belief in god is a lie?” (where are you going with this…? this is a sensitive subject for her!)
“i don’t think about it, actually. and i don’t think it can be proven”
“but what if it could be? wouldn’t that knowledge be worth seeking? or is it easier to go on believing the lie?”
this exchange made me feel frustrated. i wish he would be less ahab-like all of the time. yes, it is a huge deal that someone found an alien. but i see no reason why he couldn't have gone to that meeting by himself. and bringing god into this when he knows that's something very personal to her is a low blow. i get the point he was trying to make about believing the lie and all that, but c'mon man.
mulder honey, i get that this is a big deal to you, but time and place.
she tells him that she cannot go with him, but then he says, well can you just look at the ice core samples please. and she nods her head reluctantly. 
cut back to the big meeting room with scully and other very important people
“what i couldn’t tell agent mulder, what i had only just learned myself, was that the cancer which had been diagnosed in me several months earlier had metastasized. and the doctors told me, short of a miracle, it would continue to aggressively invade my body, advancing faster each day towards the inevitable” <- OH MY GOD??? oh my god. 
but why wouldn't she tell him... did she think that telling him then would interrupt his alien quest?? and she didn't want to do that because she knows how important it is to him? or did she not want him to worry?
because i would have told him!!! i would have said it right then and there!! but she is very different from me...
the fact that she is aware that she has so little time left and STILL left her dinner to go deal with his nonsense… scully, i fear you give too much and need to do things for yourself, please please
back on the mountain, they’re cutting the ice with a chainsaw. feels a bit unscientific, but i mean i guess that’s how you get that stuff done.
one guy is loading a pistol??? saying he doesn’t know the men well. that’s suspicious. i don’t care for it. 
there’s something in the ice. maybe a bubble. or a casting hole!! of liquid poured!! could this be a fake?? but the angle wouldn’t make sense, says one guy. hmm... i'm not sure what to think.
did they put a fake alien all the way up here…? and why is gun guy looking around all shady like…?
back to the core samples in DC. the scientist says he found some hybrid cells in there, not plants nor animals, but chimera, and he wants to get them under a microscope. hmm… can we clone da alien :3
someone walks into the cave in the yukon with a shotgun!!! and kills all of the men!!!!! what the hell!!! is this a real alien then?????
this happens just as others begin the hike up the mountain, including the smithsonian guy arlinsky. and mulder!! i didn’t even recognize him under all those baggy coats and sunglasses. wow. i feel like a fake fan.
someone was supposed to meet them and guide them up the mountain, but there’s no one there, and all the supplies are frozen over. so they begin the hike on their own, following the tracks from the others.
oh! the find someone keeled over in the snow, to which mulder remarks “funny place to take a nap”. again with the inappropriate jokes as a coping mechanism. it’s the guide that was supposed to meet them!! and he was shot and killed!!!
well, the alien is starting to look more authentic as the bodies pile up. 
back at the lab, scully is looking for the scientist, but she doesn’t find him. what she does find is a guy stealing the core sample???
he shoves her down the stairs?????? what the HELL!!!!
see, i thought the alien was a lie at first, but now it’s starting to appear compelling.
mulder and smithsonian guy arlinsky have arrived at the cave, and he pulls out his gun. they find all of the bodies from the crew, and no alien!!! it has been carved out!!!
mulder hypothesizes that perhaps someone was listening to their radio comms and came to hide their alien knowledge, but they hear some groans. and babcock is still alive!!
he says that the alien body wasn’t taken, but that he buried it!! and sure enough, they find it beneath their feet. mulder looks at it with amazement. big moment for a guy like him.
but scully!!! her face is bruised and her pristine lab coat is covered in blood! bill comes in with a change of clothes. and he didn’t tell their mom what happened. 
“i was knocked down a flight of stairs… but i’m okay, luckily”
“you’re not okay, dana” <- OHHHH BILL. please tread carefully.
he says he knows about her cancer and she says mom wasn’t supposed to tell him!!!
she says she doesn’t want sympathy, and he accuses her of thinking she can cure herself. which feels like a terribly low blow.
OHHHH MY GOD. wait hold on. hold on.
“what are you doing at work getting knocked down and beaten up? what are you trying to prove? that you’re gonna go out fighting?”
“oh now, come on, bill”
“do you know what mom is going through? why do you think i didn’t tell her when they called?”
“what should i be doing?” (said with great frustration)
“we have a responsibility, not just to ourselves, but to the people in our lives”
“hey, look, just-just because i haven’t bared my soul to you or to father mccue or to god, it doesn’t mean that i’m not responsible to what’s important to me” (this was very defensive and exasperated in tone)
“to what? to who? this guy mulder? well, where is he, dana? where is he through all this?”
well…. i want to defend mulder, to say he doesn’t know, but just because he doesn’t know that her cancer is getting worse doesn’t mean he shouldn’t have been more sensitive. he actually has been very conscientious, which makes this whole alien thing all the more sudden and infuriating!!!
she is stunned into silence as bill looks at her with fury. and she doesn’t say anything more to him beyond “thank you for coming” <-god, what was she supposed to even say?? i get trying to shake her back to reality, but who did that cruelty help??
bill, i get what you were trying to do, but you pissed me off in the way that you did it. do you always show the people you care for that you love them by screaming at them? because if so. not a very effective tactic.
mulder is unboxing the alien, which is now in DC, and he’s trying to thaw it with the smithsonian guy arlinsky and babcock! who is doing better! despite taking a shotgun bullet.
babcock asks if it were a hoax, why would there be 6 men dead over it, which is a good question. 
ewwww, the alien looks so gross….
with the help of another FBI agent, she finds the guy who hurt her!!!! and he’s working for the government!!!! in the pentagon‘s research facility!!! his name is kritschgau. they should not hire people in the government who assault women in stairwells.
mulder and crew are getting x rays and scans of the alien. mulder is wearing a sweater, but i’m still mad at him so i will NOT make note of how cute it is. 
the alien body is gross as hell. they’re filming an autopsy. ohhh he’s cutting the eye membrane off. EWWWW. EWWW.
now the ribs…… ewww ewww ewwww EWW IT CRUNCHES. NASTY. he takes the ribs out and starts looking at the heart and lungs and some other white stuff in the chest. gag.
meanwhile, scully’s casing the joint looking for the dude kritschgau who assaulted her, and she finds him, tracks him down, and nearly hits him with her car!!! she has her gun and is going after him!!!! he is under arrest!!! 
she is NOT messing around. we see a level of scully fury here that is incredibly potent and shown to us infrequently. i enjoy it, but it also makes me sad, because it shows how much stress she is under.
it appears he has slipped away, but she catches him!!!!! yes ma'am!!!!
kritschgau says that if he gets arrested, they’ll kill him. “they” being the same people that gave her cancer!!! how tf does he know about that???”
meanwhile, the alien organs are being weighed.
then cutscene back to the big meeting with scully!!! she’s telling them about how they smuggled the corpse back, saying mulder was ready to believe it was an alien.
but kritschgau convinced her it was otherwise, and not a true alien… he explained how mulder and her had been deceived and used, and that it was part of their plan that led to missy’s death and her illness.
god, how she must have felt hearing that… that everything that had happened to her was a waste, that the only point in her suffering was to advance corruption... it must have been devastating
as mulder leaves the warehouse where the autopsy was occurring, it seems he’s being watched by a guy with a shotgun??? is the shotgun guy going from before after the alien people????
it IS shotgun guy from before!!!! he knows babcock?? and he kills smithsonian guy arlinsky!!!
now who tf is this babcock fellow?!?!?!?!?!?
kritschgau is now sitting in mulder's apartment, explaining the "everything is a lie" story to him. mulder asks why he'd do this now- a fair question- and kritschgau says he came to him because his son is very sick after serving in the gulf war. i suppose if in this universe that is also something that has been covered up by the government, it could spark some disillusionment in the whole process once it impacts him personally.
he says "they" invented mulder, the regression hypnosis, the story of his sister and what they told his dad, and that the alien body was made carefully in a lab. and it would never be carbon dated, it was only for him to see so he would go public with the news and discredit himself.
mulder declares kritschgau to be a liar, but he says the body is already long gone, so he leaves to check. and sure enough, when he goes back to the warehouse, it isn’t there, but arlinsky is dead, as is shotgun guy!!!
again, WHO TF IS BABCOCK??!?!?
the cellular materials were an exact match to what kritschgau described. 
and this brings us to scully and mulder really fighting, really really fighting
“after all i’ve seen and experienced, i refuse to believe it’s not true” “because it’s easier to believe the lie, isn’t it?” <- ohh callback to earlier....
and she reveals that he said she was given this sickness to make him believe… oh my god, if that’s true, and her life is just a prop in their sick game… 
he storms out. 
back to the video from the 70’s we began with. 
mulder is watching it and crying. oh no… the beginning is clicking into place for me…… oh no, i see what is coming…. 
back to the meeting room. she says she went to his apartment that morning to identify a body, and that mulder died of a self-inflicted gunshot 
WHAT THE ABSOLUTE FUCK?????????????????
thus concludes the episode
she’s crying, she’s crying, all i can think about is her crying, what the hell, what the hell….
so he killed himself because he realized he was being used as a pawn and it was his fault scully was dying…
normally i would have more to say. but i’m not gonna lie to you, i don’t. this is just so fucking sad. i don’t even have the words. never in a million years did i see this happening. what the hell???? what the hell?
do i believe this kritschgau guy??? i think he’s probably telling 30% of the truth. but not the whole thing. why would all those men die for a fake alien? i think he’s being deployed as a cover story as mulder gets too close. and i think some of this is engineered, but not as much as he claims.
and i'm willing to bet that "believing the lie" actually refers to scully believing his cover story!!!
man. i’m sorry but i’m just so sad. i have been so sad this whole season!!!! 
mulder…… it was rude of you to interrupt her dinner…… but this was not the answer… 
how is sneaky mulder going to get out of the situation THIS time??? and how is scully going to get out of the hole she's dug by reporting all of their work as fraud?? is bill going to be happy now?? lowkey fuck bill, btw.
wow... this is just painful. and i don't even have to wait months to find out what happens next. had i seen this when it aired live i probably would have entered a state of mourning.
so that's the end, huh? of the season, i mean. just sucker punch after sucker punch. i hope this isn't the tone of everything else moving forward. can i get uhhhh one order of whimsy please. with a side of mutual pining. and a small hurt/comfort, emphasis on the comfort. thank you.
after waiting 24 hours from watching the episode initially, i am still torn between how to proceed next. part of me wants to compile all of my favorite moments from the season like always, but the other part of me wants to begin the next episode right away, just so i can move on from such horrible mental imagery as mulder dead from a self-inflicted gunshot. what a terrible thing i wouldn't even have expected from fanfiction!
but, i can also see that the next episode is a two parter, and to be left on ANOTHER cliffhanger would be horrible- but probably LESS horrible than being left with the sadness of dead mulder, right? i don't know what to do! i am filled with indecision!!!!
:(
at least i can take away some fascinating analysis regarding scully's relationship to catholicism, and her idea that depending on any force outside of herself- be it family, friends, or god- is a sign of weakness. i mean, that is pretty telling about her character. and the fact that she believes this so strongly she tried to hide her cancer getting worse from her brother and succeeded in hiding it from mulder!!! to even voice the truth would make it real. maybe that's why she can't tell them, can't go to mass- because it would mean that the end is really near if she did so. i think it's about both the perceived ideas of weakness ingrained in her by her hardass parents and a refusal to let the situation she has found herself in be registered as real in her own mind. she knows it is. but maybe if she pushes it to the side, she can forget for a while.
wow. that sure is something to think over, and think it over i shall.
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insertdisc5 · 2 years ago
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Devlog #12: Localization Milestone and Key Art
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Hello everyone! Welcome to this month’s devlog!
If you just stumbled upon this, I am Adrienne, also known as insertdisc5! I’m the developer, writer, artist, main programmer, etc of the game. The game being In Stars and Time, a timeloop RPG, which is also the next and final game in the START AGAIN series, following START AGAIN: a prologue (available here!). You can find out more about In Stars and Time here!!!
LET’S GET TO IT. This month has some localization news, as well as a breakdown on key art! What’s key art? Where do you use it? Can you eat it? Read and find out.
The first pass of the Japanese localization is done and implemented!!! You can play the whole game in Japanese from beginning to end now!!!
The next step now is the localization QA, where the localization team plays the game and makes sure the Japanese script works in context. The team got the script in an excel sheet and I tried my best to give context for scenes where I could, but playing through the game themselves allows them to get The Most Context. All Of The Context. So they can make changes to their localization so it can be the best!!!
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That’s it for news. Other things are chugga-chugga-chuggin’ behind the scenes as well, and I can’t wait to share it all with you all!!!
Today’s topic-since-I-don’t-have-much-to-talk-about is: key art!
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“Adrienne what on Earth is a ‘key art’” This above is the key art.
More generally (and keep in mind this is my layman self talking, I’m sure you could get a better answer elsewhere, but also you’re here, so you might as well learn something huh???), key art is The Big Art that games (and, I assume, other mediums???) use to show off their style and visuals in things such as store fronts, articles, and other such things. It’s Mario jumping in a cool way with his lil star buddy while the planets are behind him. It’s Kratos and Atreus on a boat. It’s sad Siffrin in the foreground, surrounded by stars, while his friends are having fun in the background. It’s The Art!!! It’s the first thing people see about your game!!! It needs to be cool and represent your game!!!
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Here’s some examples of the key art being used for Steam store assets. Itch.io is very kind and asks for like 2 assets, but Steam asks for a whoopin’ 30 assets, all with different sizes and orientations, so it means one of the biggest things your key art should be is MODULAR AS HELL. From a massive 1440x3160 vertical banner to an itty-bitty 231x87 horizontal button (called a capsule, it’s the small banner above, and since it’s usually the first thing you see about a game it is THE MOST IMPORTANT ASSET), your key art needs to be ready for anything!!!
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For the prologue, I did not plan for this very well. I learned pretty late in development that store assets for itch.io (and later, Steam) were gonna be a thing I should worry about, so I ended up deciding to use the title card art. Which, like, it worked out.
BUT! I had to redraw Siffrin to make sure their hat and body weren’t weirdly cut out, and had to remake the pixelly gradient like a thousand times for each asset to make sure it wouldn’t hide Siffrin’s face. And that’s without mentioning the hell I went through to make sure the massive title logo would fit. Why did I think “START AGAIN START AGAIN START AGAIN: a prologue” was a good title. It was so hard to make it fit in its entirety every time (because, of course, Steam asks you to show the logo in its entirety in every single asset). Why did I choose this title (I’m a Kingdom Hearts fan and my heart is rotten and thinks long titles are funny)
So since I went through hell with START AGAIN’s store assets, for ISAT I made sure to think about the key art way ahead of time teehee.
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Every so often I become an absolute genius so I only had to sketch the key art once, as you can see above. You don’t need to understand it because I do and it’s all that matters. Teehee!
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Here's the rough illustration! I made it to block out the shapes, and figure out where that dang logo would go. Once again, reminder: if you have text of any kind, figure out where it goes in the rough stage. Future you will thank you. I also had Siffrin look directly at the camera in this rough stage, and then figured. That it would look sadder. If Siffrin looked emo-ly to the side. I do like the look at the camera though. He Is Looking
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To talk about The Meaning very quickly, I wanted to show Siffrin front and center, since the whole story is about them. And I wanted to show the whole party, but clearly separated from Siffrin- Siffrin is stuck in a time loop, feels completely apart from them, and I wanted to show that in the key art! With the expressions too- everyone else is happy or engaged in something, interacting with each other, while Siffrin is in his emo phase. And also stars everywhere. Because of course.
Here are all the layers I used- I made sure to draw them on a vector layer in Clip Studio Paint, which means the lines never become pixelated even if you zoom in a lot! As a side note, the full file for this is 4000x3000, which I thought would be too big, but is actually just the right size for all those dang assets.
I also made sure that Siffrin would look the most detailed, since I knew that while everyone could fit for the bigger pictures, for the itty-bitty small ones (or the extremely horizontal ones), I would only show off Siffrin’s face. MODULAR!!!!!
In the end this key art worked pretty well to make the store assets, but if I could talk to past me I would tell them. Make the circle bg taller so it’d fit the more vertical assets. And find a way to leave more space for the characters in the background. I had to remove them/rotate them/zoom them out very often because Siffrin hides them too much because Siffrin is just too dang big. But that’s still manageable, past me. You did a good job past me
So, TLDR, from my experience, what you need to keep in mind when making your key art is:
-make sure it has enough layers to be able to move things around as needed, but not so many layers that you become lost
-fun art that represents your game and its vibe well
-cool everywhere, but able to get by if you zoom in on one thing (which usually for ISAT’s assets is Siffrin’s face)
-able to work in a vertical and horizontal format and at many different sizes
I hope my key art made people interested enough in the game to try to find out more!!
That’s all I have to say for today! Let me know if you have any questions, or if there’s any aspect of the game development struggle you’d like me to talk about! See you next time!!!
AND DON’T FORGET TO WISHLIST THE GAME ON STEAM ALSO IT REALLY HELPS BECAUSE STEAM’S ALGORITHM IS MORE LIKELY TO SHOW OFF GAMES WITH A HIGH AMOUNT OF WISHLISTS THAT’S THE REASON WHY GAME DEVS ALWAYS ASK TO WISHLIST!!! OKAY BYE!!!!
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billi-mausi · 11 months ago
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Love Love Love the relationships (completely platonic) between the Marauders and the girls
(also I feel like all of the boys have one girl each as their SECOND best friend?? Like Remus & Lily, Sirius & Mary, James & Marlene, Peter & Pandora, but more on that later)
Anyways so here are some of my HCs:
James & Marlene
Childhood besties!!
Bestfriends ( Sirius & Marlene often fight each other for this title, but both know Marlene is James bestfriend)
They have a small matching scar right next to their mouth, because 6 year old Marlene & James thought it was a really fun idea to climb the tree in Marlene's backyard (all the whole Peter was telling them not too, that it was a bad idea) evidently, they did not listen and the branch the two were swinging on broke, they fell down, their shoulders shaking, as Peter ran forward to them, thinking they got hurt badly and were sobbing, but turns out the idiots were just laughing, looking at each other and the cut that was bleeding right next to their mouths and laughing, Peter soon joined in on the laughing. (Their parents found them like this, and after cleaning them up and applying bandages they go a good scolding where Peter just said I told you so and a hug)
James (&Peter) being the only one who can call Marelene 'Leene'. She bits anyone else's head off, if they call her that
They have matching tattoos, with the other person's initial written on their wrists in morse code.
James likes to act as her big brother and she is all to happy to play the part as his younger sister who loves o annoy him.
James was the first person Marlene told that she liked girls and not boys (though James already had an inkling because, when 11 year old Marlene had dropped her glass of orange juice, haw dropped, on seeing Euphemia Potter in her black halter neck dress for her anniversary, it was when Marlene constantly ranted about how much she 'hated' Dorcas meadows in 3rd year, it was when she had accidentally kissed Mary MacDonald her roommate, and came crying to James) accepting such a huge part of herself was not at all easy for Marlene, growing up in a pureblood household, it was not easy for her to break the through her own internalised homophobia, but James was there for her every step of the way and it took time but soon the besties were often seen gossiping about their recent girl crushes, giggling over Amelia Selvyn from Slytherin or Mary Abbott from Hufflepuff.
James was the maid of honour at Marlene and Dorcas's wedding
James always peels Marlenes oranges for her , not matter what (because one time when they were 5 year old, marlene while peeling had squished the juice right in her eye so James does it for her always now)
Flying partners. (Sirius, James & Marlene are the best quidditch trio)
James always, always gives Marlene cheek kisses with a bye, whenever he leaves a room.
James also steals Marlenes crop tops.
Also when in 1st year James got no flowers or cards, he got a bit sad, so Marlene got a big bouquet of flowers delivered to him next morning, the smile she got in return was worth the 5 galleons she spent. And so started the tradition of Marlene getting James flowers every valentine's day ( even after they both had respective partners, the tradition continued till Marlene died and James got flowers for her grave)
So their friendship is like bubbles, fun lovely and beautiful, filled with cheek kisses, cuddles all the time, stealing hoodies and crop tops, and flowers.
James & Pandora
angle duo ( like not even kidding, you shouldn't look at Pandora and James when they are together because they shine so bright!!) (Sorry jk jk)
The two individually are like very mischievous like absolute chaos wreckers, but whenever they are together, it's like a switch has turned off, and there they are so calm, looked absolutely angelic.
Picnic/study dates by the lake during summers, with James braiding flowers in Pandora's hair. They also wear matching floral clothing.
Whenever Pandora gets ready, She always forgets to tie her shoelaces, like she just doesn't (a/n and yes it does happened with ppl my bf is literally always does), sometimes Barty Evan or Regulus remind her but it's such a common occurrence that they forget about it too. James whenever he sees this, would run over to her, tie her shoelaces, give Pandora a kiss on the cheek and walks away without saying anything.
James always, listens to Pandora's rambles about her recent weird plant with actual interst and fascination, like he doesn't listen to it just for the sake of listening or feel annoyed or weirded out by them, he asks valid question and shows genuine enthusiasm (One time Regulus was reading in the library while James and Pandora were discussing this rare and weird creature species, and Regulus was ready to punch James if he said anything bad to Pandora, but he just listened carefully and asked questions, Regulus fell more in love with that idiot that day)
Pandora and James the biggest magical creatures activists in the whole school (not eleves though, they were Regulus and Lily's domain and Werewolf Sirius') but these two were like always going on and on about the protection and misuse of magical creatures for animal testing or they products. Making posters or holding clubs for the same (for the smallest of creature like bowtruckles, flobberworms and etc)
Being an animagus, that too a stag, James loved the nature, and was often found taking walks in the forbidden forest at odd times, (whenever he wanted to clear his head) in his animagus or human form both, and so the forbidden forest was accustomed to his magical signature and actually welcomed him always with a warm guest of wind. James loved and respected the forest a lot and was friends with almost all the 'nicer' creatures like the tree fairies or whatever and when Pandora has figured out James was an animagus (he still doesn't know how she does because whenever he asks she always gives him a small smirk and walks away) So James often takes Pandora with him to the forbidden forest to meet and befriend the magical creatures.
James doesn't really bealive in divination or anything, but whenever Pandora says something he does believe and follows her. (If Pandora said his Mars was retrogading then it freaking was and he will wear that blue crystal) he always keeps any and all crystals Pandora gives him in a nice little box on his nightstand
They can often be seen wearing matching mistletoe or carrot earrings (James only wears them in one ear because he says it makes him look cool) (regulus won't admit it but it kinda does)
So really the two have a sweet and magical relationship filled with flowers in hair, carrot earrings, whispering fairies, tying shoelaces, cheek kisses, and hugs hugs hugs.
Remus & Lily
Chain smokers buddies.
Like those two sides of the nerds candy, the pink and purple one. (Remus is purple, Lily is pink)
Lily was actually the first person Remus admitted to that he liked Sirius as more than a friend. Lily didn't even let him finish the sentence before jumping up and down, hugging him and started to rant about all the planning she has down for their wedding already
Lily was not just a rule abiding know-it-all, she was just very shy and a bit introverted and like always scared about the magical world being just a crazy beautiful dream. And Remus saw it, because they were both kind of similar in that sense, Remus too always had a fear of all this not being real because as a werewolf he never thought he would have been able to be hear so the two relate on this and form a beautiful bond.
Remus being the first person Lily smoked a cigerate with (immediately coughing afterwords) At a gryffindor party when the crowd got to much and the noises too loud, Remus had stepped out in the balcony to have a ciggie when Lily had followed him out, she seemed lost in thought as he offered it to her, she gingerly took it and eyed it wearily before taking a hit. That was the first time of the many more when the two snuck out of a party to share a ciggerate on the balcony.
Absolute nerds, having bi monthly specified times for ranting about a book, being the only one understanding the pain of a character death.
A mutual love and appreciation for cherry lollipop
The cutest height difference.
Their friendship is full of ciggerate smoke, Chery flavour, forehead against chest, kisses in the hair, sobbing over fictional crushes and cuddles after an MCD.
James & Dorcas
Regulus bodygaurd duo.
Both of them have two things in common: Regulus & Marlene. And both are like insanely protective of both of them like when Jegulus told her about them dating, Dorcas did not utter a single word and just seized up James with her eyes for 4 minutes straight, she was also very VERY jealous of James because she thought he was dating Marlene. James did not intimidate Dorcas as she did to him (because my cutie patootie's glare gets activated only after someone has hurt his loved ones) but he did try to subtly very subtly, show his superiority as Marlenes first and longest friend with words thrown around like "remember Marlene when we were 5?" "Remember the time when you" "13 years as your best friend and I still-" and more, like bestie was just trying to show his dominance as her first friend is such an adorable way
In an alternate universe, when the two heard about Regulus being forced to be a de#theater, they got together, made a plan to take down voldemort and the DID take down voldemort
They have different opinions about almost EVERYTHING. Like James likes winter- Dorcas Summer, James likes sour food- Dorcas likes sweet, James is an early bird-Dorcas is a night owl these are like the tame ones but just imagine more extreme ABSOLUTELY contracting opinions. So the two have constant debates , sometimes including but not limited to pOWER POINT PRESENTATIONS(??) (James believes in Aliens, Dorcas does not, so my boy got a 100 something page binder that had clippings of all alien and ufos and related stuff 'sightings', it was also the first time when Dorcas somewhat agreed with his opinion)
Also they sometimes fly together, (it started with Marlene always bringing James to practice with Dorcas, because miss girlie was kinda shy to talk to Dorcas, and it ended with Marlene getting the girl and Dorcas and James flying together sometimes)
Now initially their friendship was just this yk, debates and flying when one day Mulciber showed up to breakfast with a black eye and kind of crooked nose, approached Dorcas, she was absolutely confused as to why he was coming towards her, when he stopped in front of her and simply said 'sorry' through gritted teeth, looked away to the gryffindor table, nodded towards James and rushed out of the hall. And for a week it was the same, every morning he would come up say sorry and get out, and would always rush out of whatever room Dorcas was in. She asked James about it who simply said "He said some shit about you, and no one says shit about my FRIENDS!" (It was Peter who told her later, giving a step by step detailed story of how Mulciber made the mistake of calling her Racist AND transph0bic comments, and how James broke his nose in a second) With a quick hug he went to class while Dorcas just stood there for a minute, because James was her friend, he actually liked her, he didn't spend time with he just because of Marlene or Regulus, no he genuinely liked her and cared for her and considered her his friend, (having grown and only child in big mansion with absent parents, Dorcas had 0 friends as a child and everytime she met someone who actually liked her or became friends with her, she got very emotional) so she felt like she could cry.
Matching alienhead necklace (it's like their thing)
Peter & Pandora
Weed Buddies.
Their friendship started with Pandora running a whole buisness of different substance to get high, all of which she created (like my girl was CANONICALLY a mad scientist so like yk) Peter had his first pot brownie made by Pandora, Eventually Peter was the first person she always tested the first batch of whatever she was making.
It was Pandora and Peter who devised a whole plan to get James and Regulus together including but not limited to, amortenia, quidditch, mistletoe and etc (the plan worked) and because the plan involved like a month of planning, they got closer than before.
They wear matching bracelets.
Both had the same penchant for chaos, like those silent killers. They were very unassuming and no one ever suspects them, but they are biggest chaos wreckers in Hogwarts. Their inflicted chaos isn't like the Marauders pranks, it's like telling, telling Susan that her boyfriend is in love with her sister or completely and absolutely lying to someone about any random thing for no reason but to create chaos
The blueprint of the saying, 'Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss.)
Getting high being the foundation of their friendship filled with pranking Evan, or gaslighting a pureblood about any muggle lore, or making the first believe that Norris cat, is actually Filch's wife turned cat by Merlins 7th reincarnation.
Sirius & Lily
Brother-Sister duo!!! Yeah they are not actually siblings, but their relationship very well might be one
So at first Lily didn't like Sirius THAT much, because of the whole Lily's rule abiding nature (a/n: more on this later) and Sirius and James 'pranksters' , so she didn't particularly care or like Sirius Black. This changed when sometime in the end of 4th year, Sirius came down to common room at 12 because James was still not back from wherever he was (he was most definitely with Regulus, they are 'just friend's for NOW tho) and he found Lily Evans, sitting on a couch, knees brought up to rest her head on, as she fidgeted with a ball and looked outside at the snowfall. He thought of going to tease the girl for staying up so late and breaking curfew, when he saw her glistening eyes and messed up hair and oh was she crying? He silently sat next to her and asked her if he could make her a hot chocolate, she accepted, he didn't ask anything further and gave her a side hug which she melted in and eventually the two fell asleep. This happened for a few times as Lily eventually started opening up about her extremely complicated and almost one sided relationship with her sister, while Sirius couldn't relate entirely (because the black brothers dynamic is just entirely something else MORE LATER) he did get it, he understood and he listened.
Lily gave him his first ever Vinyl (Remus gave him a record player) he didn't like the record that much but the vinyl was one of his most prized possession and had a stranger emotional connection to its songs that he listened to whenever he was sad.
When James and Lily dated for a grand total of 3 months(before Lily realised she much preferred the company of women) it was natural the two saw more of each other. And whenever they met, their bickering? The teasing? The hair pulling? The playful fights? Their banter wasn't of an old married couple but that of an older brother and younger sister duo
So their friendship was a lot like brother-sister siblings, filled with hot chocolate (with marshmallows) at night, with pulling each other's hair out of their ponytails, with stealing from the others plates, with braiding flowers in hair and also forehead kisses and hugs.
Sirius & Mary
THE resident makeup artists of gryffindor tower!! Mary is a lip makeup girlie Sirius is eye makeup!! Both of them initially bonded over makeup, judging others poor fashion choices (later one when Jegulus started dating, Regulus joined them in gossiping about fashion), exchanging of clothes, gossiping, giggling about their crushes (there was a time in 5th year when Mary also had a crush on Remus, but instead of getting jealous Sirius was often seen giggling and blushing over Remus Lupin, with Mary (it is also why many people speculated they dated, they NEVER did) so really, what started as a friendship based of mainly small materialistic things, it soon turned into a beautiful friendship
Mary was the one who told him that something like 'genderfluid' existed, to Sirius it was like the greatest revelation of the century, it was then Mary who helped him feel confident in his skin, his body, his gender
Sirius is the BEST wingman ever Whenever going out to any pubs or restaurants Sirius always chalked Mary up, always in encouraging her to get that girls number (Before Mary realised her feelings for Lily that is)
Sirius who is insanely overprotective of Mary. Which everyone sees, when that one time Mary's boyfriend raised his voice at her and Mary flinched, Sirius asked no question said nothing, just stood up and punched the guy square on his face (and for the following month that guy was the Marauders sole target for pranks)
All in all their friendship is just very cute, filled with liquid eyeliners, red eyeshadow, brown lip liner, shits and giggles and gossips AND drunken cuddles and goodbye hugs.
James & Lily
The cutest most softest duo.
Soft launching each other as FRIENDS, like everyone thought Lily Evans wouldn't even give James the time of her day but lo and behold, there she is supporting James during quidditch match, and there she is silently taking shepherd's pie from James dinner plate, and there she is posting random photos of a boy she never shows the face of (untill one day she did, with a picture of her and Mary kissing with the boy beaming in background, the random boy is James)
Their friendship dynamic is very cute (like the vibe is very flowers and sunshine yk) and in the starting Lily disliked James a bit because, well she thought he was a narcissistic idiot, but she later, eventually (over the course of years actually) she realised that he wasn't just that, being Marlenes best friend, and having sm mutual friends, the two did spend time together, and that is when Lily saw him, actually saw him. She saw behind the whole jock image he has set up, James Potter was actually a biiig cutie, she saw him always taking shephards pie in his plate, even if he won't eat it but for Lily, she saw him peeling oranges or cutting up apples for Marlene and Remus when they forget to eat food, she saw him enacting elaborate and dramatic plays for the 1st & 2nd years when there's a particularly bad weather and they are scared, she saw him going to Remus' class after the full moon,(sometimes while missing his own classes too) to take notes for him, she saw him annotating a book and blushing while gifting it to Regulus, she saw him smile and laugh ,she just saw him, and she realised why everyone called him the sun. And so their friendship started, because she saw the genuine and nice person James is
James and Lily shared a common problem, not being able to express the 'negative' emotions they feel, so when the two felt angry or upset or something the two Painted. Just a canvas infront of them a paint brush dipped in God knows what color and splash, splash, splash on the canvas. The two weren't even the slightest bit good in art, merlin no, the just stole Siri's art supplies and absolutely butchered them (he was really good in art, and didn't mind his art supplies getting spoiled by them) Painting together was kind of like their escape, the two often met after lunch of breakfast to splash some paint around, seeing each other's horrible creation often got a smile on their faces.
Forehead kisses by James.(!!)
So the two had an adorable dynamic filled shared shepherd's pie, sunkissed selfies, paint stains, piggy back rides, and forehead kisses.
Woooow, this was supposed to be a silly little bullet points point but tuned into a 3k+ shitpost???
(PS: can you tell that I love writing about James??? Like yes the other boys have relationship with the other girls too, I just like wiring about James the most and I wrote about James the most :))
(PSS: sprinkle of Jegulus and MarlIly for you to enjoy<3)
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multiversal-madness · 2 years ago
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So what exactly happened to magic man to make him end up magicless? Well he had a run in with the King of Lost Things after managing to anger him, which isn't an easy thing to do (More Story info beneath the cut).
With this I wanted to make a piece somewhat similar to how the title cards are for Adventure Time, minus the actual title. Whether I managed that goal or not, I'm not completely sure, but I like how this piece turned out so :)
Now for more detail on the story stuff:
So because Simon is not only a King, but a King of a lot of different species, he's had a few people ask for refuge that had been changed by an encounter with a being they called 'Magic Man'.
After around a century with the occasional mention of this 'Magic Man', Simon decided to look into it and see exactly who was messing with people.
Their first encounter wasn't exactly good, Simon tried to reason with Magic Man but all he did was get his attention. Simon left after giving Magic Man a warning to stop messing with people, but Magic Man had other plans.
Magic Man appeared in the Lost Kingdom to 'have some fun'. He was hard to get rid of, he eventually left on his own, but not before doing something that really angered Simon.
He used his magic to make a bird, a lyrebird in shape, but physically made out of very old video tapes. Tapes of himself, Betty and Marcy, before Betty became an oozer, before Marceline found the crown, tapes that Simon treasured very dearly.
Simon was pissed, but he wasn't stupid. He wouldn't rush into making sure Magic Man got what he deserved. He laid out a plan and gave Magic Man one last chance to make things right before he went through with it.
Magic Man refused, so Simon went through with his plan, somewhat.
I'll save the details for another post, but in short, Simon opened a portal to the nightosphere in Magic Man's house (destroying not only the house but also the Martian transporter in the basement) and dragged Magic Man there.
At the end of it, Magic Man was now Normal Man, and would have been Soulless Man had Simon not relented at the last second. Simon left the grievously injured Normal Man in the remains of his home, taking the picture of him and Margles as one last kick while he's down.
After Simon left, Normal Man was left without his madness and sadness (well still some sadness, but at least now it was manageable). He dealt with his injuries the best he could and ended up heading towards the Lost Kingdom. Even if it was dangerous, he needed that picture of Margles.
When he first showed up at Lost Kingdom, he wasn't trusted, but since Simon felt bad for how far he pushed things he was allowed to stay if he worked for his keep (though he was also on thin ice and near the beginning almost always had someone keeping an eye on him).
Eventually, Simon did give back the picture and released Normal Man from his duties, but Normal Man had grown accustomed to how things were and for the first time in a long time, even made some friends. When he asked to stay, Simon allowed him to, and over time the two grew closer until Normal Man turned into Butler Man.
In present Ooo they're good friends and as his butler Simon trusts Butler Man a lot, even enough to manage the trials for the Enchiridion (which will be explained in a future post).
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pimento-playing-hopscotch · 8 months ago
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Tag Game: 911 Lone Star Fandom Edition
Thank you for the tag, @chicgeekgirl89 @ladytessa74 💝
When did you first start watching Lone Star? Who or what introduced you to the show?
It was right about two years ago around this time of year, and the who would be Owen Strand himself, Mr. Rob Lowe. I was on Hulu and bored and saw this go by and thought well I've never met a Rob Lowe something that I didn't like, so what the hey.
I was not expecting to get this into it at ALL- like by the time the title card appeared for the first time I was like what is this show! (literally, I hadn't written anything in about 13 years, and I had no computer at the time, and there I was, scribbling down fic in my notebook like a child of the 80's lol).
Which season is your favorite?
For me it's a horserace between seasons one and four. Season one did so much with those ten episodes (why I have hopes season five can still be amazing with only twelve episodes) and season four for a couple reasons; one, season four fixed sooooooooo many of the mistakes they made in season three, and season four compared to season one is like them living their lives out loud.
Like that sad boy from New York who just wanted a way to bury his pain? He's getting married now!
That cop with zero work-life balance? Also getting married and has friends who adore him!
The trans firefighter worried he'll never date anyone he can be himself with- look at his relationship blooming now!!
It's just the best, season four.
Who is your favorite character? (Bonus: If you answered TK or Carlos, who is your favorite besides them?
Well, first pick would be my Tarlos boys, but I also do love me some Owen Strand. Yes he's flawed but there is so much good in him, and he's an amazing dad and captain when his character doesn't suffer from the show needing him to be the center of everything and the fact they can't land a decent romantic storyline for him (though I do know why that is lol).
Top Five Episodes - Go!
4x08 1x01 1x10 2x05 4x12
If you could pick any character to be given a "begins" episode, who would it be and what would that episode look like?
Carlos, cause I'd like to go just like a year before the show started - like it's been confirmed TK was his first real relationship but did he try to date? Did he ever hook up? Also I feel that because he is a good son that he wouldn't cut off his parents completely, but wouldn't see them until they asked, what was that like? Did he want to tell his mom about his life and feel like he couldn't? (note; this might be the most depressing begins episode ever - TK really burst in like the Kool-Aid man and color this boy's whole world).
Also Nancy, just because we don't get anything about her hardly - did she go to college? How long has she been with EMS? Did she have another captain before Michelle? All could use answers.
What is a scenario or storyline that you would like to see in season five?
TARLOS DOMESTIC MORNING SCENE PLEASE AND THANK YOU -
I want Carlos to be up early and trying to wake TK up gently. After TK says just a few more minutes four times, Carlos uses stern voice and tells him it's time to get up. TK still is hiding under the covers so Carlos puts those long fingers to use and tickles his husband right out of the bed.
Beyond that - for TK and Owen to have scenes together like they did in season four; for Owen's rich girlfriend to not be a thing anymore, for Robert's death not to cause any bad feelings between Strands, and for TK and Carlos to be on a team against their problem, not on opposite sides against each other.
Also Carlos picks TK up; in any context. I would love a Carlos puts his husband on his shoulder and carries him out of somewhere while he's protesting but would also accept in a romantic setting he picks TK up, or he picks a very sleepy TK up who wraps his legs around his husband and lays his head on his shoulder.
The still of a concerned Carlos on the phone and a despondent-looking TK behind him- what do you think is going on there?
I think a mean person told TK that Catan is stupid and TK got very upset about it and Carlos's phone call consists of "you made my baby sad? You picked a good day to die, son".
Juuuuuust kidding lol - no I think that Carlos has to do something dangerous (perhaps related to his father's murder, perhaps not) but it's known to be dangerous and TK is scared for him and begging isn't there anyone else? And Carlos gets the call confirming there's no one else; it needs to be Carlos.
We all know about the elusive spicy 5x05 scene that has been teased, so what is your prediction for how it could possibly top 1x02?
That is tough because they're still on network TV - I would say one or both of them are wet - possibly it is raining and they're at the famous Reyes ranch and Carlos takes TK in the barn.
Where was the Tarlos honeymoon in your mind?
(I may be stealing this) but I could see them going somewhere in Mexico - pretty but also not terribly far away, because of what happened but also because TK is very nervous about leaving their lizard child and is constantly texting his dad like what is Lou doing why haven't you sent me videos of him!!"
Shoutout to one of your favorite fan creations
The Little Monkey by @anewkindofme - my most reread fic and chock full of sweet TK and Owen feels. It is the ultimate comfort fic.
Where All This Love Comes From by @carlos-in-glasses - so much angst, so much heart, so much love, so much writing talent possessed by one person!
No pressure tagging - I tag @anewkindofme @nancys-braids @carlos-in-glasses @actualalligator @lemonlyman-dotcom @carlos-tk -tk @heartstringsduet and anyone else who wants to do it - open tag 🫶
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Note
The Simon fic with the prompt hit me like a brick.
It was SOO GOOD, i really bow before you, you’re very good at what you do. The Hotel was such a nice little unique detail, really feels like you’ve given Simon more depth which i appreciate. Overall it’s such a nice change of pace from what i normally see written for him. Thank you for “fixing him” <3
ohmygosh thank you so much 💗😭💗 like I said in the notes I have a lot of feelings about him, and when I was thinking up how to tie the prompt to his canon I was wondering how to get the reader close enough to him to say it when we don't really see a ton of him outside of his villain plot, and what we do see is everyone just beating him down the whole time because they think he sucks.
It's good for short things where you can make him into whoever you need him to be for your plot and use those brief moments to still keep him in character however you interpret him, but since the prompt is intimate that made it a little harder for me to work up to, so I decided to go a little deeper and add him to my Deep Dive List of Characters I Really Enjoy and Need to Fully Interpret My Way.
More under the cut, it's finally deep dive time and I ended up writing a ton, here we goooooo
Okay so to start, here's what we do know about him from on screen things and context clues, things mentioned in passing:
He really is good with building things. Obviously the bomb collars weren't bought online, his credit card statements mention 'electronic equipment' and they have to figure out on the fly how to disarm them, they're something they haven't seen before. He also owns a giant satellite so he more than likely figured out how to hook it up to his minicam system so he could get the feed no matter how far they travelled, as well as keep his stream from being properly locked onto. He was only training in the Academy so he never actually made the bomb squad before he was kicked out, and it all just tells me he's gotta be smart, handy, his memory must be damn good to remember what he learned before his removal, and he for sure knows how to work with tech well enough that he didn't blow himself up while building the things.
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He has a temper. It's seen the most when Jeannie is saved, that entire end of the stream did him no favours with him broadcasting how she felt towards him while everyone was on her side. When he hears her call him creepy he looks hurt, but to have everyone agree switches it to anger, panic, how dare she do this to him when he was finally getting the attention he deserves. When she's saved it's just insult to injury, she gets to bring him down this time to his face pretty much, have 5000 people join in on that, and when she not only lives he becomes the target of their hate before leaving him. It's no surprise he breaks his screen after this, he's just been insulted to high hell, and he's just learned that the man who did it got a second chance after doing way worse things than he did. I believe his temper stems from other emotions first, like sadness and panic, he only gets mad after everyone leaves, when the cops show up to save Kennex and them being on site could mean his arrest or worse, and when he's already emotionally vulnerable about venting about his black marks. He's never mad right out the gate, annoyed or frustrated yes but never truly angry, so I'll bet a lot has to build up first before his temper turns vocal or physical. I don't doubt a bit of this showed itself during the loan meeting, which got him the title of unstable if he started getting overwhelmed and worked up when things started going south.
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He's desperate for attention and getting it makes him emotional. This one doesn't fully show until the end, but the entire episode is nothing but him vying for attention and approval and even respect. He's been nothing but rejected leading up to this, 'unstable,' 'unqualified,' 'creepy,' 'gives a bad feeling,' he had a bad psych evaluation, so when he finally gets that approval when he tries his killing game something clicks, this is it, this is what he's been yearning for. No more doubt, the viewers love it, he gets to enjoy seeing the people who hurt him get hurt, and having those two things overlap fills him with actual joy to the point that it makes him cry. It genuinely makes me wonder just how lonely he had to be and how bad his mental health had gotten for it to build up to this point, get this bad all around, and I truly believe that having someone there for him while all the bad things were happening could've avoided his turn to villainy entirely.
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He truly believes that this is justice. They hurt him, insulted him, they deserve to pay. He really is a villain here, there is no denying that, but I also think he's probably completely isolated outside of work, and all that loneliness and isolation and pain can convince you to do anything, that what you're doing is right, and this time it convinced him that revenge was the best medicine. He thinks that using them to get him the attention he believes he deserves will also help his pain, no more reminders of being rejected, it'll be cathartic, and when people start cheering him on it only solidifies that thought. This is what they want to see, now he can deliver and feel better at the same time, two birds with one stone, no more villains out there to hurt him and others while he's finally respected.
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He might work from home. When he sees Kennex during the stream he appears to look him up immediately, so he might have access to the trashed data from home, or he's made it so he can access it away from work, which again ties into how smart he is. This one isn't as big, but working from home would only isolate him more and send his mental health straight into the garbage with how much I already doubt he gets out, which would make his desire for positive attention even stronger; this is something I can relate to since my only means of social interaction is through my family and work seeing as I don't have any local friends, I know how your mental health can tank when it's just you alone in your room for days with no one to talk to, think pandemic times only it never ends, so I just know if this one is true then this is probably why he latched on so hard to every other point.
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He's 'creepy'. This one I cannot fathom, since we don't get to see him outside of villainy stuff, but I will also fully admit that my DD bias also doesn't believe he was creepy enough to ditch before the date even started, that is legitimately so cold. I mean, he brought roses and packed a picnic, he was clearly trying, and he did want to meet someone enough to make a dating profile, even left it up after he was dumped, although I do bet he abandoned it after that since oh my god my heart would be so broken if that happened to me, writing that part of the fic nearly made me cry. Since she did leave before the date started he must've said or done something to give her that vibe, but like in the fic I bet it was something probably along the lines of not knowing how to talk to people and having it come off wrong; maybe he was overly affectionate right away and asked for hugs or a cheek kiss that first meeting, gave off the impression of needy/clingy right away and like she'd have no choice but to leave early? Like if she said something he would put her in danger and/or not let her leave? If something like this had happened before there would probably be more warnings in the forums for people to stay away, not just hers, so my guess is that a bunch of things happened that made her too wary, and that mixed in with the callout that he may or may not have seen hurt him bad enough to make sure she was on his list. She was probably the first match he made on the site as well, or really was his first date, so finally feeling wanted and then getting burned so bad did not help his already bad mental health.
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Despite his knack for tech, he wanted to open a bar. This one is so interesting to me because why of all things would he want to open a bar? He was training to be on the bomb squad, he works part-time in Data Waste Handling, and he's smart enough to build things and quite possibly code and/or hack, so why a bar? This is another thing I really had to think about while writing since it stands out to me so much, and I think I might've been onto something with his desire to connect with people; they could've given him any reason to want that loan, it could've been to help get a better place or at least expand his trailer (my aunt and uncle did that and goddamn it turned into such a beautiful two-story house, no joke you can't even tell unless you already know), it could've even been to start a different business entirely based around the previous things they built up for him, and instead he wants to open such a social thing in a future where tech is already super advanced. I truly believe he was really trying to connect with people via this desire, his attempts to date, but thanks to his black marks haunting him as well as his social and personality problems it only pushed him further into his isolation.
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I don't think he ever realized that not everything was terrible because of his black marks. As mentioned above I think his isolation and poor mental health convinced him that hurting people was the right thing to do, but I also think that he genuinely could not see that not everything was because of that bad psych eval. I think that he started rationalizing things away, blamed everything on the eval, and refused to acknowledge when something was actually his fault, creating a terrible personality that did not help his cause at all. I don't think he knew how bad he himself had gotten, and as such saw no need to work on himself, since it all went back to that black mark, so all that rationalizing warped his personality and made him bitter, stubborn, and cruel.
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He really did kill someone. I had forgotten about this since it's only shown on screen so you have to pause, this one will be talked about more below.
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Now, here's some things that the reader's presence and I changed based on canon:
He has a second job. We don't know how long ago the loan was, but I'm guessing it had to be recent and stacked on top of the heartbreak, which was only a couple months ago according to Jeannie. I don't think he'd have been a pretty good bartender with that little social interaction, so having him work in another bar to learn the ropes and teach him first would've been very good for him while he saved up. In my fic I never had it mentioned on his dating profile since DWH seemed more professional, and since he didn't actually get the bartending job he wanted he might not have wanted to add in Waiter to that section to make himself look a little better.
He doesn't drive, or at least doesn't currently own a car. It's a small detail, and Jeannie does mention that she bailed when he went to the car to get the picnic basket, but I wanted to give the reader an excuse to drive him around. This one was a purely plot-related choice but it works so well with how much things aren't going for him. Maybe when he got evicted he lived in his car for a while, it's how he was able to keep his computer and remaining things safe, and when he was buying his trailer he had to sell it to get the money? I can see that, I should've written that in the fic itself OTL
Jeannie asked him out, not the other way around. Since the reader was there to tell him to wait, he didn't rush into things, which he might've in canon, but he still did ask her to meet him at the park. I also chose to go the tech route instead of clingy route for their date because yeah it's such a bad start to tell someone you know where they work within five minutes of meeting them. Still creepy, but in a consistent-with-my-narrative misunderstood way since the reader knows him and how that wasn't his intention, in fact he probably thought it was okay because he was blinded by excitement and the fact that the reader already gave him permission to look them up, so he figured it'd be fine to do it again in case he did want to surprise her. Dumb of ass and clueless, not malicious or dangerous.
He needed encouragement to go through with his canon choices. He still would've done them, but having the reader there to cheer him on has him go into both situations with hope and more confidence than he probably had in canon, which only makes the fact that he still had to fail hurt so much more. He also probably went in with less volatile reactions, especially with the loan, since my version of him has him actively talking with people and has his emotions more under control, so I wanted to blame his rejection entirely on the psych eval instead of what had to be a mix of both.
His self-worth is directly tied to his canon situations. It isn't mentioned at all straight out in either canon nor fic but I dialed this one down; in canon he believes that people should've respected him, which screams delusions of grandeur based on too many times getting rejected mixed in with being unable to see the problems in his own life caused by himself, and blatantly ignoring them while blaming them on his black marks. In my fic the highest it gets is him believe that he deserved basic human decency after he keeps getting shot down over and over due to misunderstandings. This isn't a man who's about to become a vigilante for the views, this is someone who just needs anybody to be there for him, tell him it's okay, help him work through where he went wrong and adjust what he did so he doesn't fail in the future. Maybe one canon presence in his life could've led to this path and the episode could've gone entirely different with someone else while he lived a normal life, but sadly it isn't which is the entire reason I'm doing this deep dive in the first place.
He was able to open the bar with the reader's help. This one is only implied, as well as the fact that he now lives with them, but I feel like if he did have someone like that on his side then he'd have had a better chance at getting that loan, and he would be so much happier and social and mentally well thanks to it. Running the place would take up a lot of his time but it would also get him outta his own head a lot more, and having so many other people around directly interacting with him as the boss instead of sometimes ordering him around as an employee would really help him fix any remaining personality issues all around as well since he'd be more aware of how he was acting and treating others.
He killed someone in self-defense, not to actually hurt them. This was a big one, since it happened before the episode and he obviously was released prior to this, and I feel like if this was an actual homicide he kinda would still be in prison, right? His mugshot looks recent (only because of filming which I get but I'm rolling with it), so it couldn't be too long ago, but it's more than likely closer to present in canon than the five years ago I timed his eviction around, since I think if that happened too close then he would just be a mess. I can't see him getting his DWH job immediately after either thing happened, going for a loan after either is so out of the question as well, and killing someone and then going on a date is just ridiculous. For canon, my guess is that an argument escalated and that temper of his as well as the unstableness and reasons for his bad psych eval all came out at once, or maybe this was a test to see if he actually could kill someone, and it either had to happen before or while he was in the Academy like in my fic, or it happened in the two months leading up to the episode, even though I can't for the life of me explain him getting out so soon if he did do it on purpose. And that's fine, it does make sense if either of those are close, they needed something dramatic to put on his rap sheet and make him terrible so he's not just randomly jumping straight to murder, but I personally like the idea of him being broken down so much that this is just the icing on the cake, another black mark on his life that'll follow him forever, and it's only through him being acquitted and a miracle that he gets his two jobs a year or two later.
Things I'd love to explore in future fics:
He might actually enjoy streaming. This one is obvious but I wanna do my own take on it! I don't know if he would be the type to stick to only games, but there is someone I watch who does whatever makes him happy now as well as games, and I think Simon might mesh with that a lot. He would obviously put a lot of weight on the numbers aspect of it (again, very me-coded, it doesn't matter how much I do things for myself, having that approval makes all the difference in the world and I know he's the same), but the reader would help him try and get over that in time. When he's able to hire more staff and spend more time at home I think he would do random weekend streams, and if he got AH's version of the youtube play buttons he would definitely cry and put it on display with pride. He would treasure all his viewers, and make his streams very personal because of that, learning frequent viewers' names, doing stuff like giveaways and shoutouts, give all the appreciation back to them.
He would need to realize he needs to work on himself, no more excuses. While he is miles better in my fic, he still very obviously has depression, emotional issues, and relies too much on what others think of him, so him working on that and finding happiness in what he does have will do him wonders. Of course having the reader there every step of the way will also help him heal that much faster as he goes through it all.
I think that's everything! I did not wake up this morning expecting to write my first deep dive on Simon of all people lol but I'm glad I did, I relate a lot to parts of him, this is how I personally see him and how I wrote my fic based around all this, and I mean no harm if any of my thoughts conflict with anyone else's who checks this out 💗
Also as a bonus, I said it in the tags but the Hotel is real :D it's an ooooold restaurant in my small town directly across from where I live, and back when I was either in or just out of highschool they rebranded from the Hotel to what it is now, had to shut down and everything as they changed everything up inside and added in a bunch of new décor to fit the theme. Everyone calls it by the new name of course, but my family never really started, so whenever we talk about ordering from there we'll say something like, 'wanna get Hotel tonight?' I too have to correct myself whenever I accidentally say it around people who don't know about the old name lol
I always add in stuff from my personal life into my fics in some way, and since Simon wanted to open the bar I thought it'd be sweet if he and the reader bonded over something food related like I did with Joshua, instead of say meeting up for drinks instead and just getting afternoon drunk every Friday since it directly went with him wanting to be a bartender.
Maybe in the future I can do a drabble about a bar date before he and the reader get together, tie in that he also started to take lessons in preparation for applying for the bar he works for at the start of the fic, something sweet like that as they get closer 🥰
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violivs · 3 months ago
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NMTDaily: Project IV - MAKEUP BLOOPERS
- We open with a clip of Hero and Claudio from the makeup video, to maintain the illusion! Claudio is saying Hero slacked off on his makeup, but he still won’t let her put any more on him, reinforcing my opinion from the makeup video liveblog that Claudio’s participation in the makeup video is contingent upon his masculinity being reinforced and unchallenged by the video’s end.
- Hero and Claudio kiss again, to really put off any unwanted viewers (B&B), and we cut to a different angle on Hero’s room, this time with a whole group of people onscreen. Meg, Pedro, Claudio, Hero, Ursula, and Balthazar are here.
- Pedro, hilariously, starts by apologizing that we had to see the Hero/Claudio kissing stuff.
- Then Pedro coins my ship tag for Beadick! “So, that’s got rid of Team Blessed.” Ahh!!! Team Blessed!!!! 💖
- Truly, imagine shipping two of your IRL friends with each other and then discovering that their names have matching meanings! No wonder these guys all think Ben and Bea falling in love is fate! (Not that I condone shipping your friends IRL. Don’t do that, it’s weird.)
- By way of explanation, “Beatrice” means “she who blesses” and “Benedick” means “he is blessed” and it’s perfect. They’re perfect. Thank you, Shakespeare! 💖
- It really seems like Pedro and Hero are the two bosses of Team Love Gods. Pedro starts off the video and then passes the narration to Hero.
- Hero introduces everyone, and gives them their new name: Team Love Gods!!! (Taken, of course, from the line in the play when Pedro says that if this matchmaking works, “We are the only love gods.”)
- Ursula throws up a title card at this point, telling us that the real, secret title of this episode is in fact PROJECT IV - LOVE GODS.
- Pedro tells us that when he hangs out with Bea or Ben individually, they only ever talk about each other. Apparently Beatrice went on about Ben for SIX HOURS. They’re obsessed with each other.
- “They’re like an old married couple” 💖
- We find out that Ben and Balthazar are close enough friends that they hang out one-on-one regularly so Balth can play him the unfinished songs he’s working on. He trusts Ben to give him feedback! Adorable! I love them.
- Apparently Pedro agrees, because when Balth is talking about playing Ben a song, Pedro mouths “Cute!” Good eye, Pedrazar shipper in the comments!
- Ben has some ideas for lyrics that Balth knows must be about Beatrice, but he won’t admit that’s the case. I would love if we could’ve heard the anti-Beatrice song. “Beatrice is a B”, omfg Pedro!
- “Imagine the return song she would then write.” FORESHADOWING! What a good line, too.
- Extremely funny and sad that Ben is following Hero and Claudio to movie dates and reaching between them to steal their popcorn. No wonder they want him out of their hair! Yikes, Ben.
- “We’ve all had it up to here.” “No, raise it higher.” “Out of shot!” Lol
- Meg is mostly here because she’s bored. Fair.
- Pedro thinks they’re perfect for each other. Interesting given that he just got rejected by Beatrice a few episodes ago. This is definitely an “I’m so annoyed with both of them I’m going to play them off on each other” reaction. Hero, on the other hand, just genuinely ships it hard.
- I like how Balthazar just spends the whole video looking down at his ukulele and smiling. He’s so bashful!
- Meg wants to Saw-trap Bea and Ben. Amazing. There could be some merit in just locking them in a room together without the gratuitous violence, but Pedro vetoes that.
- Ursula is the one who actually comes up with the overhearing scheme. Because Ursula is a genius. And we love her.
- B&B are more likely to fall for it if they also get to be smug about overhearing something their friends ostensibly don’t want them to know. Well-reasoned.
- Do a fishing metaphor! The comments point out that the original play has a couple of lines about reeling in Benedick and Beatrice like fish on a line (Act 2 Scene 3 line 90 and Act 3 Scene 1 lines 26-30). It is hilarious that TCW dispensed with all the detail and just went with “fishing metaphor”.
- Claudio comes up with “Hook, line, and sinker”, and Pedro reacts with so much enthusiasm I almost wonder if Caleb actually forgot his line there and just said “fishing metaphor” and did the fishing hand motions to keep the scene going and buy himself time to think of it.
- “We’ll hash out the details later. Watch this space!”
- Claudio is lying down again, right after last episode he told Ben he wanted to sleep. Are you not sleeping well at night, Claudio? Is this another reason you can’t think clearly later on when you start getting manipulated and lied to?
- The video description indicates that Ursula’s t-shirt is from a real film challenge for young NZ/A filmmakers under 24- do we think Ursula entered or was going to enter the film fest? That would be fun, I hope she did, in-world.
- The number of people in the comments who came back to say they were truly fooled and skipped this video on initial watch because they thought it really was three more minutes of makeup bloopers is wild. I love that the Love Gods’ ruse actually worked on real actual people as well as B&B. Talk about meta!
- The comment section is gold in this video! People talking about all the cute bits of Pedrazar looking at each other; people shipping Pedro/Ursula and Balth/Ursula and Meg/Pedro (?????); folks noticing how touchy feely Hero and Claudio are being even in the Love Gods part of the video; and of course and most importantly, a lot of Beadick shippers squealing about all the excellent moments we got in this episode.
- The game is afoot! The trap is set!
💖🦩🥭
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Fandom song animatic tournament: Bracket 2 Side B Round 2
This is Home / Home - Cavetown
"Get a load of this monster He doesn't know how to communicate His mind is in a different place Will everybody please give him a little bit of space Get a load of this train-wreck His hair's a mess and he doesn't know who he is yet But little do we know, the stars Welcome him with open arms"
How Far We've Come - Matchbox 20
"But I believe the world is burning to the ground Oh well, I guess we're gonna find out Let's see how far we've come Let's see how far we've come"
Remember that we're voting on how Iconic they are for ANIMATICS, not for the song itself. In order to make things fair, the tone and mood of the song should not affect how iconic it is (for example, a serious song should not be considered more iconic than a joke song just because it's serious)Propaganda and animatic links of the songs under the cut:
This is Home / Home - Cavetown
Propaganda:
This song is sooooo sad man... the animatics to this one are so sad its very much a self loathing melacholy song and so you get a lot of really angsty sad animatics from this one, some can be downright gut wrenching but either way you see this song a whole lot so it deserves a place in the hall of fame
this is to the danganronpa animatic i watched all the way back in 2020 that i STILL think about even though im not in the fandom anymore. that animatic is the animatic of all animatics ever to me.
Animatics with the song:
The Magnus Archives (Home)
Homestuck (This is Home)
Good Omens (Home)
The Magnus Archives (Home)
Danganronpa (This is Home)
How Far We've Come - Matchbox 20
Propaganda:
Aside from two of my favourite ever animatics being to this (Homestuck and Hermitcraft 8) it’s such a fandom song (genuinely up there with soldier poet king in the “oh my god it’s just like my d&d party” vibe). So many stories are about averting an apocalypse or some other looming threat “I’m waking up at the start of the end of the world” and the whole song is about reflecting back on your life and that of the world around you. It’s perfect for a climatic buildup to the end of a campaign or series finale, or a summary of an entire work. “Say your goodbyes if you’ve got someone you can say goodbye to” is perfect for drawing ships or friends or siblings to, with maybe one solitary person at the end. The percussion and guitar also make it very suited to animatics - there’s perfect parts in the music to switch between frames or scenes. It’s been around since 2007 so it’s nostalgic and from the peak of amvs and animatics. Please this song fucks so hard look at all the lyrics listen to it on loop it’s so quintessential to me
the DRAMA. the STORY. the EMOTIONS. this is a song for an animatic that covers character growth and major plot points, and it does it so well! if i am invested in the fandom and watch a how far we've come animatic i already know it will change me as a person
Dude. It makes the heart swell with emotion and pride at wow these characters sure have come far
It's the OG. I don't even know if homestuck started its popularity in the animatic scene but it was huge and it remains huge. From TAZ to (apparently, from a quick youtube search) hermitcraft, this song will tear at people's heartstrings as they think about blorbos the band has can't even imagine.
this song makes me so emotional ok? i know lots of fandoms use it but the ones that stuck with me are warrior cats, hermitcraft and of course homestuck. sorry for the cringe but im glad to be free. anyways this is THE song for anything that has either ended or had a large amount of time pass and also its just a really fucking good song on its own.
Animatics with the song:
Hermitcraft
The Adventure Zone
DSMP
Last Life SMP
Homestuck
Please be cautious and read the title, description and warning cards on the animatic videos if you decide to watch them. If you've got specific triggers I'd recommend even more caution when watching animatics of fandoms you don't know, since sometimes canon-typical themes don't get warnings.
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protoslacker · 9 months ago
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1968
On Monday Earth Day, I was thinking about the student actions for Palestine at universities across the country. I am inspired by the students' bravery. I am sure they are aware of the dangers and that no matter what they will bare costs. I felt sad too.The thoughts about this year brought up memories of 1968.
I was only 13 in 1968. I am sure I conflate things that happend later with that year. But I am just as sure that 1968 rocked the foundations of my world. I was all shook up. Itwas a year that cuts time, where nothing would be as it was.
I was surprised clicking on an old link from my blog to a 50-year retrospective of 1968 in photos put together by Alan Taylor in The Atlantic. To my amasement The Atlantic let me see the article--for well over a year I have not be able to get around their paywall for any articles. If it opens for you it's a very good collection of photos.
I'm sure there are many 13-year olds taking in the events of this year sensing that this year is different. And they are wondering how to proceed.
I was thinking about Earth Day, in 1970. We had moved to Charlotte, NC and I made a really groovy teenager room. On my desk I had envelops with literature about Earth Day. I also had the book The Strawberry Statement. That book is why I had some sense of the 1968 campus protests from a student perspective, albeit a few years after. The title of the book comes from one of Columbia's Deans said in the press which students mocked as "the strawberry statement": "Whether students vote 'yes' or 'no' on a given issue means as much to me as if they were to tell me they like strawberries." The bitterness about diminishing the humanity of studnets ressonated.
One of the parts of the book I remember is the author of the book, James Kunen telling about picking up a hitchhicker. I remember it because he was driving a Dutch car called a Daffodil. In 1968 one of the moms in the car pool drove a Daf. My mom drove an Opel station wagon with a puny engine and another neighbor had an Isetta--it's a bit strange to think of small cars in the sixties. The hitchhicker was Black, Kunen read the guy as Black, but he also observed that hisskin was lighter than his own. It made racism visible in a way worth wrting about.
In 1967 Martin Luther King, Jr. gave a speech laying out the three evils of society: the sickness of racism, poverty--excessive materialism, and militarism. I probably didn't know about the speech, but do believe that I'd internalised, at least by 1970, connections between poverty, militarism and racism. A white kid in the suburbs understood that to be anti-war was also to be anti-racist and anti-colonial. It was important to know that I wasn't the only one.
My education in whiteness was also ramping up, perhaps most obviously as a factor of my age and schooling. I went to a school that was under a court-mandated desegregation plan. I was a new kid at schoo and didn't have lots of friends. There was an underground press that I didn't have much connection to, but I had some. The Earth Day materials are an axample. I would send self-adressed stamped envelops off and sometimes tape quarters to index cards, or send stamps to adresses found in the want ads of The Village Voice and Rolling Stone.
I am really happy when I see Zines on the Internet because they're familiar with the life line that made me feel connected. Young people are seeing the news. I am sure that they want to "connect, "to find the other ones" as Timothy Leary famously advised , just as I needed to.
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Fanwork creators self rec! When you get this, reply with your five favorite fics/art/podfics/etc. that you've made, then pass on to others. Let’s spread the self-love 🌼
No particular order to these because this is about self love not freaking myself out.
Under the cut because I am still very self conscious about how long my posts can be.
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This one was a tribute to my favorite episode of Lights Out: Execution. It was a long car ride home with my grandparents and since it was October, Radio Classics was all spooky for the month.
The episode starts strong: a high ranking nazi officer is reading a letter on the situation in occupied France. In a small town, an unknown woman attacked a guard than ran off. In retribution, the commander of the local military has rounded up every woman fitting her description and is hanging them all until her kills the right one. The first woman comes out. She smiles. The floor falls out beneath her. The first woman comes out. She’s laughing now. Over and over the woman hangs. Her bodies pile below the stage. A storm picks up, driving all but her and commander away. Over and over he hangs her himself. She monologues to him, each time she says a county that will have it’s revenge against the axis powers the floor snaps out from under her.
And then she grows giant and reveals herself to be the Statue of Liberty!
It totally ruins the whole thing, but if you jump out right before then it’s such an effective little piece of horror, I would kill to see a short film adaptation.
I wanted to capture that in the piece, using a rougher pen (which ended up working perfectly for the lightning) and focusing entirely on the lighting. I’m still proud of the little touches too- from how strands of hair stick to her face to the title of the card not matching the number.
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Next up: Jack of Hearts! This one’s very different but also relies on a very similar focus on ideas that are presented early on in a story then scraped.
When Jack made his grand reappearance in She-Hulk I was instantly smitten with this sad little guy and went back to read all his previous appearances. I was more than surprised to find that though in his modern stories his suit is a high tech alien device that keeps his powers in check and he’s an alien who’s half n’ half genes where just activated by the fluid he dumped on himself, that’s kinda the opposite of his original vibes.
I wanted to draw something to honor the original Jack, a man with a strange chemical burn wearing an antique suit of armor because it was the first thing he put on after the accident and now relies on as a mental crutch to keep his devastating powers in.
And I’m very proud of how it turned out! (especially because I was very ill when I drew it…)
I really liked how his energy signature turned out. I originally did this piece for Valentines Day, so I wanted the solar flares of his power to look sort of like roses.
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I’m also very proud of his armor, which is based on this 1250 statue of Saint Maurice since it was the best match for his original look.
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Next piece is actually two pieces I posted separately because I’ve just never worked myself up to finishing the full piece: Lurue!
She’s the patron of one of my stand-by dnd characters, so I’ve always been playing around with what she would look like. But at some point I had the thought “what if Lurue was based on Eohippus” and it was off to the races.
I genuinely have no clue how I motivated myself through hand drawing all the little crescent shapes of her design but it payed off. Plus it was super fun to balance the Indian/Ottoman influence of my typical Elven designs with her particular knight-in-shining-armor aesthetic.
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Another two-for because these two are very similar. When I was younger my warm up for drawing was to do a simple portrait of a character then surround them with symbolically relevant plants and flowers. So of course when an X-Man gives me too many emotions I let them out with bouquets.
Not only am I technically proud of these two, I’ve always wanted to break into their symbolism because seemingly no one’s ever caught on.
Firstly, Chamber: Celandine (Joys to come), Fungus (Resilience, loneliness, solitude, disgust), Daffodils (Uncertainty, chivalry, respect or unrequited love, return my affection; new beginnings), Fireworks Protea (Courage, transformation, daring, resourcefulness, diversity), Thistle (Nobility, endurance, warning), Plum Blossoms (Beauty and longevity), and Amaranth (Immortality).
Then, Wither: Betony (Roman for protection from ghosts and spirits), Crocus (rebirth and a neverending cycle of life), Thistle (Again), Purple Hyacinth (Sorrow; Please forgive me), Purple Heather (Solitude, beauty, admiration), White Lily (Purity, commitment, rebirth; a rejuvenation of the soul), Foxglove (Insecurity), and Anemone (Forsaken, sickness, anticipation, undying love, eternal peace).
(I’m so proud of this one that it’s the cover to my Wither playlist, which is still under construction but I’m already so proud of, my playlists are one of my favorite non-art or writing pieces of art)
And finally because I feel weird not mentioning any of my writing, my two fav fics I’ve ever written are:
Shrine Bright Circus Man - Me worrying about Jester calling Molly a god given her history of believing so hard in that sort of thing that she actually made one. It’s short, it’s simple, it’s sweet.
In Pursuit of Ghosts - Probably my favorite thing from my ol’ Overwatch days. It’s a combination of my favorite crack theory about the two red heads being related and Moira’s best skin: Banshee.
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krinsyn · 2 years ago
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It's that time of year again!
TOP 10 BEST HIT SONGS OF 2022!
I did a few versions of the card but they didn't really work out, you can see them below the cut =) as well as some background info on making cards
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This was the 'crack' idea, that the singers were feeling down but the dream of becoming their best selves is larger than they are. Their smiles are on the same line as BEST and the frowny guys are on the same line as 2022. It's too busy to be a good title card tho, so I made it and showed it to Todd just to get it out of my system.
Then these are what I pitched, with no drawn Todd, cuz I thought it might be too crowded. Youtube really recommends you have close ups of faces and I've heard cartoon drawings of people don't do as well as photos but with Todd, you can't just have a pic of his face facing you haha cuz he's in the shadows.
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These are less crowded but Todd asked if I could draw him in, so we zoomed in a bunch and put him in there. Also since the 2 singers are wearing sparkly clothes, I gave Todd a sparkly green shirt so they all go together.
Some bg info on making title cards: it's not as easy as it looks. I have a fantastic "capture a still image" plugin for snagging stills from the music videos but oftentimes the singer is blurry or making a weird face. It was super hard to find stills where these 2 singers were smiling and not blurry or bizarre. Lizzo's smile is a little funny in the final card but most of her music video is surprisingly dark and blurry when you pause it. Here, for example, is a fantastic smile, but she is far enough away from the camera and in low light that I didn't think it would look good on the card, and I didn't want to artificially lighten her in PS. You can see her expression more clearly in the pic that's in the final title card and she doesn't have that reddish light shining on her.
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Harry is morose during 99% of his video, which is definitely not the vibe I want for a best card. Why are you so sad, Harry.
Anyway after I watched these 2 music videos closely I actually asked Todd if he had another song he was willing to spoil in the card, because these videos didn't have good smiling stills.
Todd said having a card of Harry lying morosely on the ground was fine but I was like NO! It's the BEST card, they have to smile!!
So anyway that's how you got the final title card =)
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rxscss · 2 years ago
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♛ EXTRA! by princess adelaide windsor
following in the footsteps of her father, prince james windsor, who recently released his tell-all book ‘SPARE’, three years after the family stepped down from their royal titles, the youngest princess is now telling her side of the story. although now a new york times best seller, the book is being criticized for it’s elaborate fabrications, out of place stories and general nature of entitlement. under the cut are some quotes from the book.
“gran-gran, who you may know as the queen (r.i.p girlie pop) had a corgi fetish, like, it was actually absurd. and anytime i slept at her house, those little wiener looking freakazoids would climb into my bed chambers and hump mr. giggleman mcgee, the stuffed sloth that i’ve had since i was a baby, gifted to me by my lovely godparents david and victoria...beckham, you’ve heard of them, right? anyway, one night, corgi #5 literally wouldn’t stop so i picked it up, carried it outside buckingham palace and let it go into the streets of london to fend for it’s weird, horny self. i helped make the missing puppy posters that the guards hung all over london, but i knew the truth. and i knew that no one fucked with mr. giggleman mcgee.” -  chapter 4 ‘the corgis from hell vs. me and mr. giggleman mcgee - i always win.’
“i was devastated. i felt like my whole world was crashing down around me. it was like, totally worse than if they were to ever discontinue the shade jungle red at nars - they gave me an audi instead of a bugatti, when my dear cousin, little miss perfect charlotte, had gotten a bugatti for her sweet sixteen the year before. i knew right then and there that they hated me. so that’s why i drove it into the river thames - not because i was drunk, but because the car was super duper ugly." - adelaide windsor, chapter 6 ‘the not so sweet sixteen’
“it was a friday night at cirque le soir and i totally won’t blow up his spot and say names...so let’s just tall him gugh hrant, was quite literally looking at me like a panther looks at it’s prey. and i was just like obsessed much? so after i did some bumps off of the fingernail of a famous british model with fabulous eyebrows that was like bffs with karl lagerfeld, i won’t name names agian, so let’s call her dara celevigne, i followed him outside when he stepped out to smoke and let’s just say, this man had totally seen better days. it was a really pathetic time, he prob forgot to take his viagra, so i like closed my eyes and just pretended he was his character in notting hill. not everyone can say that they lost their v-card to gugh hrant outside of a pub in london, right?’  .  - adelaide windsor, chapter 9 ‘v-card, swiped!’
“they were the most selfish little twits i’ve ever met in my life. who the hell has a twenty second anniversary vow renewal? apparently they do. as if their wedding wasn’t gaudy enough - not that i was there, but aunty cate certainly didn’t look as pretty as my mom did on her wedding day, her frown lines were already out in full force. i was like way too old to be a flower girl, but they insisted on making me one and they put me in this bridgerton looking bullshit that i literally couldn’t breathe in. like you know when you and your friends get held hostage on the coast of morocco on a pirate ship and they like, put a bag over your head and scream at you to give them all your money? that’s totally what this dress felt like. and the worst part? i had just gotten back from my tour of the arctic, so my nips were still completely frostbitten, but aunty cate and uncle willy didn’t care, they wouldn’t even reschedule and forced me to wear that dress that my nips were poking out of the entire time!” - adelaide windsor, chapter 11 ‘as cold as ice’
“after gran died i was like, extra sad-ish i guess. but i got to inherit so much of her fabulous jewelry because i was obviously her favorite. charlotte always thought she was the favorite but charlotte has also always been a dumb twit. after the funeral i was wearing one of the necklaces she gave me and charlotte was just like, totally jealous, so she attacked me and tried to rip the necklace off my neck! of course, she spun it and made it seem like i was fighting with her because she had been spotted on a date with the prince of greece who i literally dated when i was fifteen...like, sloppy seconds much? but that little bitch has always been jealous of me and always made me look like the crazy one. and that was the last day i ever spoke to her. she stuffs her bra, btw. pathetic, right? like, just get a boob job, you loser.” - adelaide windsor, chapter 14 'cousins by blood, enemies by choice’
'when my parents told me and my brothers that we were leaving and relinquishing our royal titles, i was fuming. i mean, nobody in the family pulls off a crown the way i do, so i got a little desperate. if i couldn’t be the princess of the uk, i was totally going to be the princess of something. so i started like, banging a bunch of royal dudes - saudi arabia, denmark, spain,japan, belgium, denmark again because he had a hotter older brother that just got divorced, i mean, you name it. i totally became the united nations of royal men. but then i realized, i don’t need a title to be royal, i’m literally the most perfect human ever. so i made the move, titles left behind, and i’ve made a name for myself here. sure, i’ve only been in a few t.v shows, but world domination is totally on the way. wait, you guys saw euphoria right? how good did my tits look in it? see! there was no lasting damage left behind from the frostbite incident!’   - adelaide windsor, chapter 18 'america and the beautiful....it’s me, i’m the beautiful.’
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racingliners · 2 years ago
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F1 Re-Watch 2022: Round 9 - Canada
Ah, the return to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve (beloved)!
I find it ironic that I’m calling this series/thing/me yelling into the abyss a re-watch when I did not watch that much of C4s Highlights shows last year, but anyway. So again, I don’t remember much from Montreal, mainly drama about Seb’s helmet, Merc porpoising and Alonso’s penalty debacle.
So, on we go!
Amazon was the race’s title sponsor? ew
I’ve been saying this a lot to pals, but when will Pirelli drop the C1, C2 nonsense and bring back the tyre rainbow???
ouch. Seb’s in P16. AMR22 WHY
Mick in P6 and Lewis in P4 though!!!!
ALONSO IN P2??????
????????
oh quali was wet, that makes a little more sense
[Formation Lap]: That was the slowest/worst FL I have ever seen, lads what were you doing sdohgeso
[Start/Lap 1]: oh my days Lewis and Kev racing at the start, spicy
Verstappen, Fernando and Sainz just driving off unbothered leaving everyone else to fight over crumbs
ayyy Seb up one place I’ll take it
[Lap 3]: Sainz thinking about racing Fernando. Spanish on Spanish violence. Will they stay on each other’s Christmas card list? More at 10.
oh Sainz got past with DRS. that wasn’t as violent as I was expecting.
[Lap 4]: How can Esteban see Kevin’s front wing damage from two cars back??? F1 drivers are something else man
[Lap 6]: Seb pitting already??? What did AM have for lunch???
I also completely glossed over Leclerc being at the back of the field, he’s up into P15 though!
[Lap 8]: oop Perez’s car went poof
aaaaand VSC
[Lap 11]: Sainz is leading???
[Lap 12]: oh no not Lewis on Esteban violence again
oh thank goodness it was a clean pass
[Lap 13]: Crofty rooting for Mick to (finally) get his first points 🥺. He has one right.
Leclerc into P13, man’s zooming.
[Lap 14]: Albon in P10??? Pet power!!
[Lap 15]: Four car battle for P10? Midfield spice I adore you
[Lap 17]: Man Albon’s defending is superb, Val is just not getting past him.
[Lap 18]: Aaaand he just got triple passed by Val and Leclerc. It was fun while it lasted.
“Don’t think this can be an easy win for the Red Bull driver” Crofty please stoop drinking the delusion juice.
[Lap 20]: Mick NOOOOOOOOO 😭
Seb stopped again????? AM besties what are we doing????
oh, Mick had a mechanical issue. I will be taking a sledgehammer to the VF-22 right after the W13
[Lap 21]: Lewis v Sainz you say? 👀
Every time they cut to the wall of champions camera I get v stressed
ugh you can really see the cars bouncing up and down on the straight. not fun.
Oh dear. McLaren pitstop clownery. Germany 2019 flashbacks.
OH Charles’ pass on Bottas though.
[Lap 23]: Oh thank goodness it was easy for Lewis to get past Fernando, my blood pressure would not have taken then racing each other well.
Helmet watch: Zhou back with the pretty porcelain pattern helmet 😍👌
[Lap 25]: aw Lance in the points at his home race!!!
Seb watch: He’s in P14. After all those pitstops I’m not surprised 😭
[Lap 27]: How does Fernando have any tyres left considering he hasn’t stopped yet???
v wild he’s still in P4
[Lap 29]: Oh finally he remembered where the pitlane is
Charles: I don’t have grip!! Ferrari: Read at 15:25
(truly thank goodness Rueda is no longer in charge of Ferrari’s strategy)
[Lap 30]: tbh I’d kind of forgotten Verstappen was still there
[Lap 33]: Meanwhile Lance still hasn’t pitted??? What was going on at the AM pitwall????
“I’ve got an idea for a book: Lando Norris and Alex Albon’s sad Canadian Grand Prix stories” and this is why I pick in the international feed on F1 TV ty Ted
[Lap 36]: Lance still heading the P9 train
“We are thinking Plan D” “Whatever” Big mood Charles. Colossal mood.
[Lap 39]: Am I being delusional or is Seb catching up to Dan??
Yeah the gap went from 1.9 to 1.3. Let’s get it!!!
It... being 12th place. I will take it.
[Lap 42]: Charles finally pits. And it’s a slow stop to boot. Clowneria Ferrari continues.
And he’s at the back of the Stroll train. I feel like this race almost sums up his 2022 season.
[Lap 44]: heh. Lewis got past Verstappen as he came out the pits. It’s not gonna last but I’ll take the lap count irony.
[Lap 47]: Finally a Seb sighting!!! Albeit v brief 
And Charles gets past Zhou
Finally, there’s my boy!!!! Chasing Tsunoda for P12
[Lap 48]: Lance FINALLY pits. As does Yuki, Seb into P11!!!
OH SHIT Yuki crashed coming out the pits
[Lap 49]: Safety Car time (AM SC my beloved!!)
Seb still has 20 laps to do on a set of Hards 😭
[Lap 50]: oh that was a nice double stop from Alpine
[Lap 52]: FINALLY a Seb and Chris team radio followed by Lewis and Bono thank you for the crumbs F1
And a Bono sighting. ty global feed 🤍.
[Lap 53]: Seb in P9 but on on 30ish lap old hard tyres. *distressed noises*
[Lap 55]: Not even a hint of spice at the SC restart. smh.
Seb still in P9 though 🤞
Seb v Zhou??? idk if I can take it.
[Lap 56]: 15 laps left arghhhhh idk if his tyres will hold.
[Lap 57]: And Zhou passes Seb, not that surprising given Seb’s tyres
oh shit Sainz on Verstappen violence??? Is it 2015 Toro Rosso again????
[Lap 58]: Seb down into P11. Damn you 38 lap old hards.
[Lap 59]: Lewis vibing while Sainz and Verstappen think about murdering each other, an unbothered King.
[Lap 60]: Potential engine problem for Fernando???
(unrelated but I paused to get some chocolates for the last 10 laps, please be spicy)
[Lap 63]: Lance got past Seb, I’ll be taking a sledgehammer to those tyres once I’m done with the Haas and W13 (not you Lance you’re great)
Not Seb and Lance being investigated after the race for a SC infringement 😭 boys WHY????
idiots (affectionate) both of you
[Lap 65]: Also this battle for the lead was not worth getting Ferrero Rocher out for smh.
[Lap 66]: If I was to rate the space level this is a solid chicken korma
oop. Fernando wanting to incite some Alpine violence. #JustFernandoThings
[Lap 67]: aevherufhe Ted saying Verstappen has to be careful at the last chicane bc he’s a world champion now WHEEZE
Potential 6th RBR race win in a row??? It’s only sexy when Seb does that.
[Lap 69]: Gap down to under a second though 👀
[Lap 70]: I kinda feel like this battle is done, Sainz just isn’t close enough.
[Finish]: Anyway Lewis in P3 wooo!!!!
whew Charles made it P5 in the end. Once again having Ferrari’s braincell.
Well, that was a race. Bit of a slow burn but didn’t quite deliver in the end, and we had some midfield spice, but not quite enough for me. It again felt more like a strategy race than a race race, especially with all the safety cars.
6 and a half front wings out of 10. Next race: Silverstone!!
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