#and kickstarting the plot of the show

[purpleshoenickelhuman]

Rewatching Dark on Netflix and the sudden realization of the "no little german boy dont go to the weed cave." Shitpost meme is actually relevant to the plot is so fucking funny to me lmao.

[seasicksilver]

cringe ass

[mistninja]

I would have called the trilogy "The Unexpected Son" instead of "Fitz and the Fool" but i think we can all agree hobb isnt good at titles. Which is wild considering the important role that names play in the story

[fairyhaos]

how seventeen act with their writer s/o

requested by anon ^^

masterlist

seungcheol

he is begging. he is on his knees BEGGING you to pls let him buy you a new laptop because the one you use is literally on its last legs and makes ominous sputtering n whirring sounds like a dying cat stuck in a vent every time you start it up. you don't let him tho bc “no cheol the memories :(((“ cuz you've had it for years but he is nearing the end of his tether and who knows. in a few days ur laptop may mysteriously disappear forever and you'll be forced to let him buy a new one

jeonghan

he's like the pet cat you don't own who likes to slink into the room and make inquisitive noises as he watches you work. drapes himself over your shoulders and makes distressed huffs when you try to dislodge him. he's never usually noticeably clingy, but when you try to write, the clinginess always springs out and you can't go five minutes without jeonghan poking his head into the room to check up on you and see what you're up to

joshua

your biggest fan. buys every single novel you write, puts on his glasses, and reads them very seriously in one go on the very evening it's released with the lamp on beside him. he looks so serious every time, but he'll always peer at you over his glasses and then give you a big grin, telling you how much he loves it. gets you to sign a copy for him and brags to everyone he knows that he has your signed novels with special messages just for him that no one else can have

junhui

he's your personal general knowledge bank. when you're searching up obscure things and slowly losing hope on finding an answer, just ask junhui and he'll either a) know the answer or b) knows someone who knows someone else who knows someone else else who knows the answer. don't ask him how to spell words tho bc he's like. hopelessly bad. blinks at you going “what's an [insert word]” before you give up and google it yourself

hoshi

alwaysssss wants to know what you're working on right now. gets all whiny when you get possessive of your work and refuse to show him before it's finished bc come on, it's surely perfect already, why are you trying to hide it from him?? loves helping you do, like, the non writing stuff. writing out plot? nooo. building fantasy maps, figuring out political systems, getting lost on a tangent on figuring out the price of beans in the 1800s? hell yeah sign him up!!! 

wonwoo

knows all the grammar rules in the world. you can ask him stuff like “hey wonwoo can i put a comma here or no” and he'll amble over to peer over your shoulder and tell you whether you can or cannot, in fact, put a comma there. helps you curate all your writing playlists for the different moods you have. gently reminds you to get back to writing whenever you end up scrolling on instagram for too long

woozi

you're even more of a workaholic than he is when in the zone, so he gets to realise how unhealthy it is to be sat in front of a computer for hours straight with no break. you get to act as each other's “let's act like a normal human being now” reminders, depending on which of you is going through a work fixation. you guys both go on runs together in the mornings even though it kills you bc at least it gets both of yo brains kickstarted to spend a day being all creative in ur respective fields

minghao

you value his opinion above anyone else's. above your beta reader's, above your agent's, even above your editor's bc those are more like advice, not opinions. but knowing that minghao likes your work, and knowing which parts in particular he really likes, is so important to you because ultimately, you want the person you love to also love the things that you create. 

mingyu

brings up the fact that you're a writer in every conversation he has with anyone ever. “oh my god look, this menu has writing on it. speaking of writing, my s/o writes actual books as a job!!!!”. your agent made him sign a contract similar to an NDA bc he just keeps yapping about your books even when they haven't been released yet. loves the noises you make whilst you're writing. thinks it's the cutest thing ever when you make overjoyed “AHA!!” sounds when you finally realise what the plot is doing

dokyeom

more than willing to be your rubber duck and let you talk at him until u figure out your own plot holes. he could be in his room scrolling on his phone but the minute you call for him, he's leaping up and bounding over to you and pulling up a chair in an instant, more than willing to let you bounce ideas off him. sits there doing nothing but looking all pretty as you talk at him and work out the tangle you've gotten yourself into. beams and gives you a big kiss when you manage to figure it all out. 

seungkwan

he buys you a biiiig wheely whiteboard and a bunch of coloured board pens to help you plot your novels. when you get stuck, he comes over and stares at the board with his hands on his hips, very gravely considering your dilemma and what would be the best way to get you out of it. you two talk about plot holes like it's the most serious thing in the world and he just nods like a proud father once you both find a solution

vernon

at this point he's like. a professional tea and coffee and biscuits supplier due to the amount of snack runs he does for you. has walked in on you lying face down on the floor during a meltdown one too many times to bat an eye anymore. also great at helping you block out actions during scenes like. he's the perfect doll. lets you maneuver him into the weirdest positions in the world with zero complaints. he just loves helping you however he can, really. 

chan

reads through your drafts whilst you're in the middle of writing, accidentally gets hooked and is begging you every day to finish the novel bc he really wants to know what happens next. he's the best at spotting inconsistencies and plot holes in ur writing so before you even send it off to your beta reader, he gets to have his hands on the manuscript to check for any changes needed. also bc he needs to read the ending asap otherwise he'll probably combust. 

request guidelines

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[tofupixel]

Hello! I randomly came across your art on my feed, first of all its absolutely fckn amazing. You’re are very talented and all of it is so beautiful, but I’ve also seen that you’re creating art for a game, and/or making a new game in general. Really curious as to what game, if you’re able to tell me! It looks amazing! I’m a sucker for indie farm/fantasy type games! Tysm ♥️

thank you!

oh yay i get to talk about sprite festival

its set in a fantasy world where these little 4 legged creatures are spirits that come in many varieties. they are based on a species my friend/the creator made called chowlings but other species will be in the game.

it's a sandbox / rpg game where players will be able to customize their home/plot of land and even their own character with an editable spritesheet. there will be fighting, battling and farming elements as well.

base sprite vs customized one

there are a few artists working on it, not just me, but i do most of the exterior tileset, specifically the natural stuff

RN i am working on an inner forest explorable biome which will be more ancient, with densely packed giant trees and ruins and stuff.

the little walking guy i was working on today is based on this concept by the creator:

no page yet for the game but we are aiming for kickstarter this year. i will post more about it when i'm able!

here's a video of the UI test as a treat! i dont have a lot of nice looking stuff to show off cos it all gets put together by someone else in the engine so lol

thx for asking !!

[bogleech]

Mortasheen: The Tabletop RPG slowly releasing as of right now

If you backed the Mortasheen kickstarter 3 years ago, check your emails, because I just put up version 0.1 of the first initial digital-only edition; it contains the entire gameplay system by Morgan Mullins, pages and pages of monster abilities, dozens of setting locations including NPC characters and even some non-monster (but still not normal) wildlife, plus over 100 monsters with playable stats. If you aren't a kickstarter backer you'll have to wait until later this year for the general public release. First there will be a free update of this digital version adding several more monsters, one additional chapter of various other tweaks, then work can begin on the final public version for both digital and physical.

I spent about 15 years of my life waiting to be able to put this out. It outlasted my 20's and now outlasted my 30's. For 99% of that development I was left out of the loop on what was even happening with it while I hoped it would come out any year now to maybe possibly make me a little bit of money while being poor the entire time. I almost feel like it kind of took half my life away?

In the time this RPG has been in development, the entire "Adventure Time" franchise debuted as a Nickelodeon short, got picked up as a Cartoon Network series, redefined the animation industry, revealed several plot points coincidentally almost identical to many major reveals of the Mortasheen setting, ended, and has now returned as a spinoff.

I can't wait til I can show it to everybody else but for now it's for all those backers who waited two years longer than the time frame I expected. Here's some of my more recent artwork for it without any context:

I wish I was making this post on some kind of actually special day or something and not just a random friday in january but I basically uploaded a passable book the very moment I had a passable book.

[man-down-in-hatchet-town]

You know, I get that not all Starkid fans have chosen to make the leap over to join the Tin Can fam as well. A lot of the newer Hatchetfield fans in particular are just here for that one particular tiny town in Michigan. And that's fine! Like what you like! Fandom how you want! Still, I would like to say two things:

1) Now is the perfect time to give all the awesome stuff TCB has to offer a chance, and

2) Starkid, and therefore our beloved Hatchetfield, owe so much specially and specifically to Joey, Corey, AND Brian.

Obviously Joey is one of the main Faces of Hatchetfield and his performances as Ted, Wilbur, Pete, Ethan, and Dan are all so iconic and beloved. Seriously, can you imagine Ted being as watchable in the hands of someone else? He’s also done great work in so many other Starkid projects.

Meanwhile Corey has been so vital behind the scenes. He designed the iconic sets for TGWDLM and Black Friday (the mind-blowing moment when the set BECOMES Wiggly? That was HIM)! Over the years this man has designed most of the sets, he has directed (VHSCC! ❤️), he has assistant directed, he has overseen social media and massive kickstarters, he has produced. As one of Starkid’s main behind-the-scenes creatives, Corey has done a huge amount of the extremely vital but not particularly fun or flashy work. His job is traditionally a pretty thankless one and we should pour gratitude in his direction.

And Brian. He gave us the Award-winning sound design for TGWDLM, but also I personally think he is one of the main actors responsible for Starkid existing the way it does. This whole company and fandom all go back to AVPM, that lightning-in-a-bottle show that was so strangely magnetic we’ve been able to build everything else on top of it. I’ve seen a lot of Potter parodies over the years, and I genuinely believe that the number one factor that gave AVPM its unparalleled magic was the Voldemort and Quirrell storyline. Without Quirrellmort, I’m not sure AVPM would have taken off as it did, and it’s quite likely Starkid would never have existed. And Brian, as Quirrel, was essential to pulling off and selling that extraordinary bit of plot.

So, yeah, even if you’re only a Starkid fan, or even just a Hatchetfield fan, you’ve benefitted massively from the tireless work Joey, Corey, and Brian have put into those things we love. If you can, giving even 3 or 4 bucks to their Tinlightenment kickstarter would be a lovely way to say “thanks” for bringing us fifteen years of Starkid magic and especially that Tiny Town of Hatchetfield.

TLDR; The Tin Can Bros have all specially and specifically contributed to the existence of Hatchetfield and Starkid as a company, and, if you can, giving to their kickstarter is a great way for Starkid fans, even those who don’t follow TCB, to say thanks!😊

[astralnymphh]

omg ellie meeting baby for the first time?? like after giving birth and ellie just being in love and in awe

this plot point needs to be discussed over a nice cuppa tea 🤵‍♂️ we need to ponder. we need to ensconce this in the deepest backwoods of our noggins. we need to consume this perpetually. this is the kind of shit that has me curling up into a soft ball crying over the softness of a situation like that. explosive softness rather like the intense emotion of meeting baby for the first time delivers so tenderly because poor ellie has such a soft spot for children. she will literally hold that child until nigh morningtime— assuming reader gives birth during the night since i think birth occurs more commonly then, either way i can see her just cradling the newborn and showing off sundry necessities from your hospital bag like a fucking haul, giving a whole tour of the hospital room, "aand.. this is the painfully tiny bathroom. bask in it, you won't be seeing another one for the next few years. instead, you get to shit yourself, and nobody will bat an eye!" literally the most oddball things simply to interact with 'em. although, for anything directly after birth, she legit won't get out of your boobspace during initial skin–to–skin time. wrestles her own shirt off since she wants to participate in it as well, speaking pleasantly soft at the level of a gale, "you've had 'em for at least thirty, babe. can i just— for a little bit, it'll be fine—" and her pry fingers are already swooping under to collect the baby, scrunching her face into a wince when her decision kickstarts a shriek and cry, "jesus, fuck, i'm sorry, it's just your other mom! can't i say hi?" her excitement definitely clouded over the obvious reality that babies indeed cry, like hell. but her, steady in a chair with one leg flicked over the other, clasping the baby to her warm, bare chest, never letting go even past the point of falling asleep whilst cradling; utmost precious sight to grace my imagination. that and ellie pecking little kisses every few minutes. overall, she is so hands–on immediately. skin–to–skin cures her soul i think.

DAILY CLICK . IMPORTANT TLOU POST . PALESTINE INFO

my professional babyholder

[graceshouldwrite]

Writing Compelling Side Characters

**NOTE: Some of these tips don't really apply to ensemble casts, where there are multiple Main Characters (plural).

1) Agency - motivations, actions, effects

Technically, they ARE side characters in your MC's story, but don't base your writing on that fact.

Side characters need:

Their own REASONS for joining the story (because they want to, not because the PLOT wanted them to) Example: In Arcane, Caitlyn inadvertently gets involved with Vi due to her compassion and desire to help the undercity, not because the plot needs a love interest

A GOAL, on which they act INDEPENDENT of the plot, and actually affects your MC/the main plot (not the other way around) Example: In Loki, Sylvie's independent goal is to take down the TVA, and her actions reveal the TVA's corruption to Loki, influencing him to join her in fighting against the TVA instead of working for them

A STAKE in how things end (e.g. someone getting paid after agreeing to join a heist); they aren't just in it to be a "comic relief" or a "damsel in distress" Example: In Breaking Bad, Jesse joins Walt in cooking meth because he makes BANK from selling drugs, not because Walt needed a funny and traumatized sidekick

Their own RELATIONSHIPS with other characters, aside from the MC—they have their own friends, enemies, love interests, etc., and these relationships can completely change the plot Example: In the original Percy Jackson series, all of the side characters (e.g. Annabeth, Nico, Thalia, Luke, etc.) have their own relationships with each other that greatly affect the plot. Check it out: Annabeth's attachment to Luke, even after he became evil, completely changed the plot in several ways: kickstarting a journey to save her from Luke in The Titan's Curse, revealing his true evil identity as a vessel for Kronos (big bad!) in The Battle of the Labyrinth, and mainly contributing towards Luke's reversion away from evil in the last book due to him remembering his promise to take care of her a long time ago, etc.

Their own PAST that affects how they act, move forward, and how they treat the MC Example: In Avatar: The Last Airbender, Azula's pressure on herself and desire for perfection is greatly driven by her father's expectations of her as the fire-bending prodigy, resulting in a childhood of earning parental love and care AFTER she proves her worth to him. This created a mentality ceaselessly focused on her goals—which are usually her father's missions—causing her to be deadly, manipulative, and constantly causing problems for the main character.

The side character is not an extension or byproduct of the MC's plot; their own story happens to collide and intertwine with your MC's plot, but is ultimately independently driven.

2) Affecting the ending

The story can't have reached the same ending regardless of the side characters' existence. They must be necessary to the MC in helping them reach their goal faster, more prepared, etc. For example, in Avatar, Aang would not have been able to reach his goal of defeating the fire lord without the help of his friends, who each taught him valuable life lessons as well as combat skills.

Each character must have an independent impact on the MC—don't treat them like a group (e.g. "the side characters," who are one individual collective). Arcane does a great job with this, as each side character has a completely different impact on the MCs (e.g. Silco, Ekko, Caitlyn, and Vi—not a side character but for the purpose of this analysis, bear with me—all have a different impact on Jinx). It isn't just a literal impact. It's what the MC learns, and the theme of the story. They should help the MC realize things about themselves, and contextualize the MC by showing them in different situations with different people.

3) Avoid stereotypes Don't create characters from moulds and conform 100% to the trope: e.g. the "comic relief" can also be "the outlaw/rebel" or the "love interest," the "brooding antihero" can also be the "caregiver" or the "wise one," the "seductive girl" can also be the "science nerd" or the "broken optimist," etc. Mix and match. Everyone has more than 1 personality trait in real life, and probably fulfils more than 1 role to the other people in their lives. Give them intersecting personality traits to flesh them out.

4) Theme and Arc Especially compelling side characters have their own arc and embody their own theme.

Example 1: Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice is more than the brooding love interest—he develops by being less arrogant and learning to see people beyond their social status, and opens up to new ideas, people, and situations.

Example 2: Nico di Angelo from the Percy Jackson series goes on a journey of self-acceptance and embracing his identity, instead of just being the stereotypical emo kid who is constantly in a state of angst.

Example 3: In Arcane, Silco goes from a ruthless crime lord who believes that attachment is weakness, to someone who genuinely cares about his adoptive daughter, so much so that he can't give her up even in exchange for his lifelong dream.

∘₊✧────── ☾☼☽ ──────✧₊∘

instagram: @ grace_should_write

Hope this was helpful, and let me know if you have any questions by commenting, re-blogging, or DMing me on IG. Any and all engagement is appreciated :)

Happy writing, and have a great day!

- grace <3

[writers-potion]

heyy can you do a post on writing first chapters/beginnings? i tend to struggle with that a lot. thanks!

Writing Effective Story Beginnings

First Sentence Writing Tips

The MC must be introduced. It can be an “I” or a name. 

Introduce (minor) disturbance right away. It can be as simple and cliche as an alarm clock going off - this hints at the readers that something is going to happen. 

Consider the tone of the sentence. Dark? Mysterious? Funny? Establish a tone that the reader can follow throughout.

Start with a strange detail. It can be something graphic, like a drop of blood spreading on a fresh patch of snow. It can be a strange fact about your MC that’ll get the reader interested in them. 

First Chapter Writing Tips

The first chapter should:

Putting your reader into the world (location/setting/time period)

Posing a question the reader wants to get an answer for

Introducing the main character

Setting the mood

Kickstarting the plot development (your inciting incident)

Establish reader-MC bond. Why should we care about this character? Show how the MC is pitiful/ funny/mysterious/likable right away. 

If you find yourself describing character backstories often, consider starting the story a little earlier instead. The exciting tension in a novel comes from immediacy, so I recommend that you don’t insert flashbacks in the first chapter. 

Jolt your main character out of their ordinary life. This is called the inciting incident, and in my opinion should come as quickly as possible. What’s wrong with the MC/ the world that they are in, and what is the MC required to do? 

It helps to have a strong character voice, especially in 1st person POV. Are they cynical? Overly optimistic? Detached from reality to the point they’re delusional? Make sure that the reader knows how interesting your character can be. 

Appealing to a universal emotion (sadness of losing a loved one, anger at being cheated on, etc.) helps establish an emotional connection with the reader.

Ingredients For Your First Chapter

Try writing paragraphs which summarize each of these components:

Where we are

Who we are

Status quo

The Problem: Try hinting at the “real” problem at the end of the first chapter to indicate that this will further develop into conflict 

Coping Strategy

Disruption

In the first chapter of a novel, there are generally two problems: 

Our MC’s immediate and apparent problem

Example: the MC’s loneliness

The REAL problem to which our main character is blind, which which the reader can decipher

Example: the MC’s emotional trauma due to childhood abuse

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* . ───

💎If you like my blog, buy me a coffee☕ and find me on instagram! 

💎Before you ask, check out my masterpost part 1 and part 2 

💎For early access to my content,  become a Writing Wizard 

[1d1195]

Ding - Round 4

Read Ding here | ~4.7k words

Warnings: angst, fluff

From me: Sorry for the delay. Honestly, might be for the best. I know this is a little shorter but I think it will help spread out some of the plot points I have planned for parts 5 and part 6. I think it might be a little rush but I promise hope it will be worth it.

Summary: Cupcake wants a proper date. Harry wants a Cupcake for dessert.

Harry was fresh out of college when he took out a loan and bought the gym. It was a steal, an investment, and exactly what he wanted to do. He didn’t have a lot of staff—in fact, Harry taught a lot of classes, cleaned the showers and toilets as much as possible. He got Niall and Louis to help as well. Once he was settled a little more, he got his college roommate, Mitch and his girlfriend Sarah to help as well. His own little family. Niall managed it most of the time and while he still liked to teach classes and train with Louis, he hired a few more staff members (and honestly? Even though he hired a few custodians, he didn’t mind cleaning the bathroom every now and again). His family was his life and he tried to maintain a proper balance which required a certain number of employees.

But adding in the sweet girl that dinged his car threw him for a bit of a loop. A good loop.

Louis was insistent he focus more on his training. Any time not spent teaching classes or going over the paperwork in his office was spent training for his big fight. He was going to be boxing a guy from a few towns over; someone also undefeated. It was being publicized as their own state’s match of the century. Harry didn’t care truthfully about it. He just wanted to remain undefeated. Harry was competitive and he would rather never box again than lose his undefeated record. The added bonus of Driven getting more publicity wasn’t a bad part of the deal either.

Truthfully, the part where he might win $100,000 was also a bigger influence on him than he was willing to let on. The fame of the fight had sponsors and publicity, and more good stuff for him than he wanted to believe he could have.

Harry wanted to give his niece a substantial chunk of money to kickstart her college fund. But even still, he would have plenty to give her and then he would consider, finally, purchasing a house—which seemed silly because he nearly lived at Driven and if he wasn’t at Driven, he was at his mum’s...or Gemma’s with the baby.

But that pretty girl with an apron and sprinkles had him thinking about all kinds of future things. Like a house with a fence. A garden that they could have picnics in during the summer with a dog that needed to be walked two times a day but didn’t mind lounging with them among the flowers while they read. A massive kitchen where she would bake cupcakes for their little ones when they had birthday parties and—

No, he just wanted to win.

Maybe if he had lost at some point in his career he would have felt differently. But the “0” in the loss column made him cocky. He was good, and he knew it. Harry was smiling at his phone, a picture of his sweet niece smiling for the camera while he went over the bills for the current month. There was a knock right outside his office.

“Hey,” Niall smirked. “Your class is about to begin.” Harry was dreading it. They had chatted a lot more and gotten a lot closer than they previously were, but the class made him irrationally angry. Maybe it was the space and just knowing why she was there, that had him so grumpy. “Thought you would want to see her,” Niall murmured when he didn’t respond and also looked like someone pissed in his cereal.

He sighed, putting the bills into a folder for later. He thought about taking them home and dealing with them while he watched a show before bed. Since he’d been teaching her self-defense moves, he found himself riled and angrier than normal—especially after her class. It made it difficult to focus on bills and his calendar when she was there feeling unsafe. “Course I want t’see her,” he mumbled.

Harry stepped out of his office and headed to the room with Louis. She and Louis stood close together speaking quietly, like two old friends. She was smiling brightly, looking adorable as ever. Her T-shirt was bright blue. It said A Pinch of Sprinkles across the back and was littered with sprinkles like rain over the design. Louis caught Harry’s eye and then tilted his head toward him. She turned to face him. It was like a reflex and her smile was so bright, Harry couldn’t help but feel better than he did when Niall alerted him about the class. He felt all the anxiety and frustration leave his body and he headed over to her.

“Hey, Cupcake,” he put a hand on her arm gently giving it a friendly squeeze. “How was your day?” He asked.

She smiled in return. “Good, relaxing. I went to visit my dad.”

He thought so. He may or may not have spent his lunch hour being creepy and noted that her car wasn’t in the parking lot near A Pinch of Sprinkles. Nor was it there when he drove by in the morning on his way to the gym...and if he ran his four-mile cardio workout outside rather than on the treadmill to see her car still wasn’t there right around the four o’clock shift change then who would really know?

“S’nice,” he smiled. “How is he?” He asked.

She hesitated ever so slightly that if Harry wasn’t so focused on her, he might not have noticed. But before he could ask more about it, she simply nodded. “Good,” she offered. Harry needed to remember to circle back to that when they were alone. He wanted to know more about her family and why she seemed so guarded at times.

Which reminded him of what he really wanted to talk to her about. “Hey, Cupcake, would you want to—”

“Alright, let’s get started everybody!”

Harry was looking forward to “accidentally” punching Louis tomorrow during his training session. He sighed. “Stay a minute after class?” Harry asked and headed toward the front of the room.

“Since this is the second to last class, we always offer to have a bit of a celebratory send off the final class if you are interested,” Louis said knowingly. Harry was looking at the floor, then picked the lint off his pants. The grumpiness he felt with Niall returned rapidly. There seemed to be a long pause while the group decided if they wanted to celebrate next week. “Oh, thank God, love,” Louis sighed causing everyone to laugh. “You don’t want Harry or I baking for the masses.”

“I can make cupcakes,” she promised with a giggle.

Harry looked up realizing she was offering her kindness to a bunch of strangers, bonded through their own traumas and the need to feel empowered because of it. His lips curled into a smile. Even though he was still a bit frustrated. It was kind of her to offer. He wasn’t surprised. Someone that worked with sugar that much had to be sweet.

“Can you make the chocolate chip ones?” Someone asked.

“The blueberry lemon ones are my favorite, it’s a shame they’re a summer flavor.”

“I can...” she laughed lightly, and Harry felt so warmed by the sound; all the frustration he felt melting off him. “I can make a list before we leave.”

Harry truly thought there was no one sweeter.

It killed him she was in this class learning to protect herself. Especially now that he knew why. But as mad as it made him, he was so happy to see her. Having her in the class was just more time he got to look at her and note how beautiful she was. Her strength, her resilience, all these qualities he instantly admired as he got to know her more and more. That first night where she dented Clay seemed like ages ago, not months. He was wound around her finger, and he didn’t care.

They went through the moves they learned the weeks prior and discussed more scenarios. Harry had Louis help her more when she needed it. Frankly, it was too hard for him to do it without getting irrationally angry. “You want t’make sure you’re continuing t’practice these moves even after the lessons end,” Harry told the group as their time was ending for the night.

“So, we should be fighting our significant others over the dishes?” Someone called from the back of the room. It caused everyone to laugh once more, and Harry chuckled.

“No, not what I would suggest,” he snickered and even though there were at least fifteen other people in the room, Harry could pick out her giggle among everyone else’s.

“We’ve discussed a lot of reflexive moves and how a lot of the fight back instincts that take over don’t always help you get away,” Louis continued. Harry’s face returned to its neutral position. Although if she was asked, it was one of the sourest expressions she saw on him. But she was intently listening to Louis repeat the spiel once more. “Remember that’s your goal: to get away and find help as quickly as you can and as safely as you can.”

Harry didn’t dare look at her.

*

She stood next to Sarah’s desk taking down orders for their celebration the next week. It was a long list. Harry wasn’t a baker nor the owner of a bakery, but he knew that if they came to her store, it would have cost a pretty penny to sell all that was listed on her slip of paper.

“I can pay for it,” Harry offered coming to stand in front of her.

“Oh God, no. Don’t you dare,” she smiled and shook her head. “You’ve made all of us feel so safe and so empowered. It’s the least I can do—besides, it’s almost blueberry lemon season so I need to practice anyway,” her shrug was casual as she crossed out different parts of her list and added tallies to the other parts. “Maeve and I can handle it. I usually end up giving the leftovers to a homeless shelter anyway, or the nearby nursing home.”

Harry wondered if she was magic. Made of flour and sugar herself that was dipped into all her treats at that bakery and decorated with a pinch of sprinkles. There was simply no one as sweet as her. He was certain.

She watched as Harry’s eyes softened around the edges as she spoke. It felt warm and nice to look at Harry so intensely. He was so handsome and so kind to her. No one had made her feel so safe in ages. Not even Louis who propped her hands and feet into their proper positions and told her how to execute a stomp to someone’s instep.

“Cupcake, do you want to—”

“I’m sorry, Harry, one second,” she held her hand up toward him and turned her attention to a girl from their class. “Did you say Jack?” She asked.

Harry tilted his head curiously but watched as the recognition on the girl’s face blinked in surprise. “Uh...yeah?” She held her phone out to show a picture. Harry watched as her whole body stiffened and she glanced away. “Why?”

She bit the inside of her lip. “Look, I don’t want to prevent you from having a nice time, but he tried to force me back to his place. I would feel horribly guilty if I didn’t tell you. Maybe it was just a me thing. But I think I would like to know ahead of time. He’s why I’m here, taking lessons,” she looked at her pleadingly. “One girl to another,” she offered. “That’s all I want to say. I’ll mind my business now.”

The girl looked back and forth at her then the phone curiously. Her friend was silent.

Harry was shaking again. His hands clenched into fists. He saw the picture of him. He tried to place him in her bakery the other day and couldn’t identify where he was. Harry stalked off toward the back room without another word to her or the other ladies.

His focus was on making his way for the punching bag as quickly as he could to release the stress and anger he felt. He didn’t get to hear the rest of the conversation, nor did he want to. He hoped that girl took her advice and didn’t go out with him. It would serve that sorry excuse for a man right, and of course, most importantly, keep her safe. Harry would lose his mind if he found out he hurt someone else the way he hurt his sweet sprinkle girl.

His breath was a series of uneven pants. Not the regulated breathing he practiced while he trained with Louis. His emotions and frustrations clouded his head taking over instinctively. When he finally ran out of breath with one final punch he stopped, held the punching bag, and rested his forehead against it trying to relax his breathing.

Softly, she cleared her throat. Harry blinked, his eyes opened and turned to the sound. “Sorry,” she whispered. He steadied the swaying bag and looked at her, his eyes intense and as focused on her as ever. “I know you...” she sighed. “I had to tell her.”

He nodded. “I know.”

She paused awkwardly standing in the doorway. “I’m okay,” she offered. “Actually... I’ve learned at least five ways to incapacitate you to get to the front and tell Sarah to call 911,” she smiled weakly hoping it would make him smile.

It didn’t.

Biting the inside of her lip, she felt a wave of anxiety come over her. He was too mad right now. She should have just left. “Do you want the raspberry filled?” He continued to stare at her. Unspeaking, unmoving. Her heart felt sad that he didn’t want to talk to her any longer. “Um... okay... I guess... I’ll see you around, then, Harry.”

It felt like he was holding his breath until that moment and then released it as if all the air in his lungs had been there since the day, he met her and whooshed out of him for a good thirty seconds. “Cupcake,” he murmured running a hand over his face. She turned back, stood far away from him as she could without being in the other room. “I’ve been trying t’ask you on a date all night—well, for days really. And... s’jus’ not the right time—never the right time. We keep getting pulled into other conversations. Or training or your timers for cookies. Then m’mad or m’tired or—”

“Yes,” she whispered.

Harry stopped speaking. This time he thought he had stopped breathing altogether. “Yes, what?” He asked.

“I would love to go on a date with you,” she answered. Her cheeks were pink—he could see how flushed she was by the concept.

“You would?”

“I’m glad you’ve been doing the repeating lately,” she smiled.

“Are you sure, Cupcake?” He ignored her joke. “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable; and I know I’ve been a lot... Plus your last—”

She closed the space between the two of them and pressed her lips to his cheek. He tasted like salt from the sweat that poured over him throughout the day. He was in desperate need of a shower. “I would really like to go out with you, Harry,” she repeated softly. “Whenever you want.”

Harry swore his heart skipped a beat. “Yeah?”

She nodded, still smiling. “I would really like that,” she promised. Harry sighed with relief.

“Tomorrow? I’d like to take you t’dinner,” he offered.

She nodded. “I would also like that,” it was the happiest she ever felt in her whole life.

The guilt of it was overwhelming.

“Good night, kitten,” he cooed softly.

“Night, Harry,” she headed for the door again. Harry watched, smiling after her as she turned in the doorway. She leaned against it, her hand pressed to the frame, and she tilted her head against it. “You’re going to kiss me, right? After our proper date?”

Her smile was so pretty, Harry felt light-headed. “I hope so, Cupcake.”

*

Harry did kiss her.

In fact, he kissed her so much they didn’t even have dinner at the restaurant. He could hardly stand how pretty she looked he couldn’t leave her doorway when she opened it. She had spent the better part of an hour fixing her hair into a perfect style rather than the stringy, rainy mess he saw the day he met her. Or the way her hair was almost always up and out of her face to deal with baked goods. She put on extra makeup too. She felt beautiful—but Harry’s reaction made her feel... gorgeous.

He put a hand over his heart and smiled, stepping back a pace to take in how beautiful she looked. She laughed at his dramatics. “Wow,” he tapped his hand over his heart. “I thought y’were beautiful with the apron and sprinkles.” She laughed; her pretty cheeks turned pink. He put his hand against the top of the doorframe and leaned in toward her.  “M’not going t’make it through dinner, Cupcake,” he shook his head. “Can I kiss you now?” His eyes were soft.

“Now?” She whispered back.

He nodded his eyes focused on her lips. “Repeating again?”

“What about dinner?”

“I’ll take y’after.”

Honestly, she didn’t think there would be an after if they didn’t go now. Harry looked unbelievably good. He wore a pair of dress pants and she had only ever seen him in sweats and shorts. Those did things to her heart that she didn’t know the dress pants would do. His button down was tucked into his pants, and he looked like he was ready for an interview. He was so handsome.

“I’m pretty hungry now,” she told him, her eyes dancing flirtatiously.

“Me too,” he answered and leaned closer. His forehead rested against hers. She could feel the exhale of his breath against her skin. “May I kiss you, Cupcake?” He asked. She nodded breathlessly. He shook his head. Rested a hand on her waist and pulled her closer to him. “You have t’say it, kitten,” he encouraged softly. “M’not messing around with this,” he assured her. “I’ll give y’anything y’want, but y’have t’say it,” his voice was so gravelly and low she felt it in every inch of her nervous system. She shivered involuntarily and nodded again.

“Please kiss me,” she whispered so quietly he barely heard her.

But he did hear her. Harry would give her anything she wanted so he pressed his mouth over hers, and it felt like he was supposed to kiss her. The way her lips felt against his, the exhale of her breath against his skin. It all felt so perfect. His hands rested on her hips, and he tugged her closer to him, so she pressed snuggly against his body. Her hands came up to the sides of his neck, her fingertips curling to the back of his head and sliding into his hair.

“Your hair is so soft,” she whispered when they broke apart for air. Harry chuckled and kissed her again, his lips slotting between hers and he brought an arm around her back leaning toward her, so she tilted back just so slightly. “Can we go inside?” She whispered.

“Do you want me inside?” He asked against her lips.

She nodded quickly. “Very much.” Harry didn’t break from her lips to push her inside the doorway. She slipped out of her shoes; shoes Harry didn’t even get to look at because he was so distracted by how much he wanted to kiss her he couldn’t take in the rest of her and how pretty she looked. He took a moment now to note her dress, all black with some buttons and a tie sinched around her waist. It fell to just below her knee but left room through the slit for him to see part of her thigh.

She was stunning.

“God, Cupcake, you’re so beautiful,” he murmured went back to kissing her. His hands roamed over her waist making her insides turn to mush wherever he touched her. She shivered again letting her tongue run over his lower lip as he kissed her. He groaned into her mouth. Her hands held onto his belt loops, tugging him closer to her. She could feel the way their kiss was affecting him. It made her want more to feel his arousal.

“Can I...?” She swallowed pulling from his lips and her hand started for the front of his pants.

“Oh fuck,” he croaked.

“I...” she looked at him nervously. He made consent sound so sexy but she felt stupid for asking.

“Yes,” he nodded firmly. “Whatever y’want, Cupcake, m’all yours.”

For whatever reason she thought of Niall saying how Harry was whipped for her when they hardly knew each other. He called Harry her boyfriend and now she wanted to take his belt off and rip his pants off.

Was it too fast? She didn’t let Jack take her home and she knew him about as much as she knew Harry at the time. Was she overreacting? How could he ruin this moment even though...? How come—

“Cupcake?” Harry asked quickly. “Y’okay there, sweetheart?” He asked softly. She blinked in surprise, realizing she spaced out as her thoughts reeled. Harry was holding her face gently. “D’you want to stop?” His pants were unzipped and unbuttoned—she didn’t even realize she had done that. Her fingers tucked into his beltloops once more, ready to pull them down further. The Calvin Klein band poked out from his shirt and the shift of his pants falling lower on his hips. Harry was staring at her nervously. Her gaze was blank as she looked back at him; as if she was unsure of her own actions. “Kitten?” he repeated and removed his hands from her face. He tugged her fingers loose of his loops. “Can y’talk t’me please?” He asked, separating them a bit more. He pulled his pants back up, zipped and buttoned them. “You’re making me nervous, Cupcake...” he trailed off eyeing her uncertainly.

Her heart felt sad for him. He was so gentle, so nice, so careful. He steered her to the couch, putting space between the two of them. The only part of him that touched her was his knee bumping into hers. “Sorry,” she whispered, finally.

Relief rushed through him at the sound of her voice. “There’s nothing t’apologize for, Cupcake,” he promised reassuringly.

“But you’re—” Her eyes looked at the bulge against the zipper of his pants. He shrugged.

“S’not important.”

She disagreed strongly. That bulge nearly made her mouth water but as much as she needed her brain to focus on it, her mind had other ideas. “I just... need a minute,” she leaned back against the sofa and sighed. She stared at the ceiling, her hands covering her face. Harry was hot. He was so kind. His lips tasted like sunflower oil—perhaps it was his chapstick. He smelled so good and looked so good. It was unfair that someone from nearly a month ago could continue to ruin her date.

“You can have all the time in the world, Cupcake,” he continued to assure her so soothingly, it made her heart melt. “Did I do something—”

“No,” she shook her head and looked him straight in the eye. “You didn’t do anything,” she promised.

He sighed with relief and leaned back beside her and smiled. “Good,” he draped an arm along behind her head across the back of the couch and kissed her temple. “Take your time, Cupcake. M’not going anywhere.”

She swallowed hard, the lump in her throat trying to break her esophagus open wide. “He ruined it,” she whispered.

“Ruined what, sweetheart?” Harry’s voice was so soft. Like the way it felt to snuggle in bed on Christmas Eve when she was little. It was so comforting. It made her feel safe. She sniffled and turned her face away from where Harry was.

“Our first date.”

“No, he didn’t,” his voice was still soft, but the tone was firm. He was certain when she very much wasn’t.

“But I want to—”

“I know, Cupcake.”

“Don’t you want to?”

“Do I want t’have sex with the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met before we go to dinner?” He asked bluntly. “No, sounds like a terrible waste of m’time.”

She blushed, closed her eyes; still turned away from him. “I don’t know who this most ‘beautiful woman’ is you’re talking about. I just see a snively baby.”

He snorted. Gently he coaxed her to turn her around and look at him again. His expression was still gentle, and she was sure he wanted to be mad. She wondered what kind of self-control that took. Maybe it was the Oxytocin covering for him.

“Show me,” he murmured.

“Show you?” She repeated.

Harry smiled. “Practice.”

“Practice what—oh. Oh,” she looked at him in confusion. “You want me to practice my self-defense moves?”

“I like when y’repeat me,” his eyes were warm, smiley on their own.

“I’m wearing a dress.”

“Look, I could say m’dying t’know what’s under your dress if that will make y’feel better.”

“Harry!”

He pushed off the sofa and moved the coffee table toward the side of the room. He grabbed her hands pulling her up, so she was standing in front of him.

“Well, t’be really honest, Cupcake. You’re not going t’have much say in the matter of what you’re wearing if y’need t’use the moves,” he reminded her gently, he cupped the side of her face and looked into her eyes as if his life depended on it. She gulped in response. He was so intense. It made her forget every one of the moves she was supposed to practice. “C’mon, it’ll make you feel better...and me, honestly.”

“You?” She questioned.

He didn’t even comment that she repeated him. “Want t’know you’re safe, Cupcake,” he skimmed his thumb along her cheek. “Always.” She grabbed his hand against her cheek and smiled at him.

Then swiftly she pulled his arm behind his back and twisted it up. He chuckled peering at her over his shoulder. “Good. Again.”

*

After a while of practicing her moves, Harry ordered pizza. He took his jacket off and described a series of moves she could try that she hadn’t learned in the class. She took them seriously; the little pucker of her brow made her so adorable—Harry wanted to kiss her.

“Let me make brownies,” she offered heading to the kitchen and mixed the ingredients within minutes of opening her cabinets. It took maybe ten minutes and soon her place smelled like brownies. Once the pizza was delivered, she pulled out seltzers that Maeve left behind after a girls’ night in. She put on a reality show about baking that she watched two years ago when she was sick with the flu. “The cake challenge is my favorite part,” she told him.

Harry had his arm around her, her body slumped into his embrace, and she snuggled deeply against him. He was so happy to be curled up on the couch with her. It was like they had watched TV together for their whole lives. Had been spending date nights in for twenty years. It made him unbelievably at ease.

Eventually, without realizing, they fell asleep on the sofa. Harry woke up with a slight strain in his neck that he was certain Louis would be pissed about, but the sight of her sleeping beside him made him smile. He scooped her into his arms and carried her toward the bedroom. “Are you kidnapping me?” She yawned.

He chuckled, kissed her temple. “No, Cupcake. Putting you on the bed. Want you t’be comfortable. I’ll go back on the sofa.”

“You don’t want to sleep with me?” She pouted.

He chuckled. “I do,” he promised. “Do you want me to sleep with you?”

She nodded. “Do you have to work tomorrow?”

“No,” he shrugged. “Do you?”

She shook her head. “Do you want to stay here?”

“Always, Cupcake. Always.”

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[pzychojinx]

as I said, act two left me with genuinely mixed opinions. that said, I slept on it and I think I'm able to verbalize it a little bit.

let's start with what I think went right in this act. first of all, obviously, the animation and art. if possible, they're outdoing themselves. I love the experimentation, I absolutely adored the pastel tones they used for vi and jinx's childhood memories, the way isha's point of view sequence feels like it's straight out of a ghibli movie, I loved the distortion effects used on jayce and every single visual effect they used for viktor to convey this sense of absolute inhumanity, the entire messianic visuals were insane, warwick was gorgeous especially during sequences where we didn't get to see him but rather we got to see the camera following his massacre. gorgeous. no notes.

episode four, in my opinion, was near perfect plot-wise too. seeing the new state of the military situation in zaun, getting to see sevika as the rallier of the revolution, isha's drive to be a fighter for zaun leading her to impersonate jinx when needed, the whole mission to enter stillwater - I genuinely think it was incredible. most of all, it was probably my favourite jinx episode to date. and that's saying a lot. this is a character I've resonated with and held very very close to my heart for three years now. seeing her gain not only a younger sister through whom there could be a process of reclaiming her own past, but also very importantly seeing her gain new objectives and seeing her gain community, was deeply healing and heartwarming to me. that one scene where her followers touch her, not only as an idol but as an equal, is so so moving and good. isha was the kickstarter to jinx's reclaiming of powder and a sense of stability, sure, but living in a fantasy with isha alone could have very easily led her to the same old mechanism of co-dependency - thus never breaking the cycle that silco himself perpetrated onto her. but no, they made her respected. they made her see a nation of people who saw something in her. they gave her goals, even if she reasonably only started giving a fuck about said goals when her sister/child went missing. it was everything I never thought could happen to her. it was healing.

episode five is where the issues start, I think. first of all, there's been way way way too much space dedicated to the black rose. much as I love mel, much as I find her truly intriguing, her plotline is so severely disconnected from everything else and it feels un-cohesive. before s2 started, one of my main fears was that they would give noxus an excessive screentime in order to prepare the viewers for a future noxus project and I hate to see that I was right. this leads to the second issue, which is pacing. and specifically, vi. vi stans, how are you doing? because to be fair, the show kind of fucked you over and there's no sugar-coating it. the fact that vi's fighting pit era lasted three minutes was genuinely ridiculous. the entire plotline involving her, jinx and warwick in episode five was way, way too rushed in order to make space for black rose content - and again, I love mel, I love ambessa. but there's no doubt something was off here in terms of pacing and screentime. now, I don't think the episode was bad. I loved the dynamic between jinx and vi. with jinx having gained some sort of a stability (at least, for her standards) and vi having nothing else to lose, the fact that their conflict turned into a half unwilling cooperation felt very real and believable to me and I loved their interactions, especially in the micro expressions; it all screamed family bond where something went awfully wrong but here we fucking are and the love is still there at the roots. I just, you know, would have liked to see more of it. the final hug with warwick felt, to me, less earned than it could have been if we just had a little more time with these characters in this arc. was it emotional? sure, but could it have hit harder if the episode was just structured a little bit differently, a little more cohesively, especially regarding vi? yeah. and another question: would the zaunite revolution arc have needed more than just one episode before being pushed aside and sort of forgotten? probably, yeah, even though there's no comparison with how vi's arc was reduced to three mins. so again, pacing issue. still, I had no particular issues with the plot and the contents of the story itself. I would say episode five was rushed, crammed and structurally weak, but the story still hit me in all the right ways when it needed to. vi and jinx's reluctant steps to some sort of understanding hit me hard, in spite of any structural weakness.

episode six... well. episode six leaves me so conflicted. 'cause the thing is, it's dope. I think it's a fucking bomb. they managed to fit nearly (nearly - mel being, again, dissociated from the main storyline and in this case, absent) every character's plotline into a cohesive arc. it kept me on the edge of my seat near the whole time. there were so, so many things I absolutely adored - the imminent attack on the commune from ambessa, the way they managed to make warwick a center plot point and use that plot point to show us both the benefits and the limitations of viktor's hexcore messianic utopia cult, everything regarding jayce's return (whom is getting so much hate, but come on, it's clear the man has seen Some Things), the way the episode starts off with a plan but not necessarily a sense of deep urgency and then the urgency slowly creeps in and it explodes into a fucking battlefield. again, warwick. vi and jinx's slow re-building of some trust, slow reclaiming of family love. viktor. man, I adored their work on viktor. I just found it dope. the thing is, episode six has two major, major issues that I just can't seem to get past and this time it's plot issues, which makes it worse than 2.05 for me.

the first one, caitlyn. sure, I get that caitlyn wasn't fully onto ambessa's methods. but there's a very huge leap from 'I distrust this person and I question her methods' to 'my ex told me that this savage monster that just brutally mauled our men is her father so I'm just gonna help her save him'. like jesus, come on. caitlyn deserved better than this. (again, shoutout to vi stans, cait stans and caitvi stans, they did you dirty.) especially when I think they did such a good job on her descent in act one. the second one, isha. look, I'm gutted if she's dead. like fucking gutted, mourning, red-wedding level in shock, like, can't even think about it without wanting to cry. but this is not just an emotional thing. in fact, I love some good angst. no, this is a narrative issue. they spent the entire act - the entire season - building up jinx's healing and to take it all away like this, to bring her back to step one, just feels like fucking trauma porn for the sake of it. it feels unnecessary and cheap, and cheapness is the one thing I can't forgive arcane. like, what was the point? why not have her spiral from 2.01 if this was the direction? it's beyond me and it makes me feel so bitter, so sick, that at times it's hard for me to remember that there were so, so many things I adored in these three episodes. again, 2.04 is up there as my favourite jinx episode to date. 2.05 gave me some of my favourite siblings moment in the entire show. 2.06's work on viktor and hexcore and magic is otherwordly. I'm so glad I got these episodes, genuinely. and yet.

'cause the thing is, - not considering the isha thing for a minute - aside from my critique regarding caitlyn, and aside from having to make peace with how rushed/crammed the pacing is, this show is still absolutely gorgeous to me. it's still gorgeous art to me. sure, s2 has its very real issues. and for sure, it's absolutely reasonable to recognize them, critique them, and still find it an incredible story. but this. fuck, this could change everything to me. if isha's truly dead, then it means they wasted six episodes on what could have been one of the best, most genuine, most earned stories of unexpected healing I'd ever seen on my screen just to throw it away and I'm not sure how to forgive them for that. episode six itself was dope. episode six isn't really where my gut-deep fear and bitterness comes from. it's where it could lead from now on. I'm so holding out hope on ekko saving the day, even if it's a deus ex machina. it's a deus ex machina I'd accept if it means not throwing away jinx's entire road to recovering. but I don't know, guys. I don't know. making her spiral as a general s2 choice would have been one thing, and I would have been on board, but this is something else entirely. this is cheap betrayal and if true, if confirmed, if real, it's a sour taste.

[madonnamadeofasphalt]

EA & Bioware honestly did an incredible job at killing any enthusiasm I had for a new Dragon Age. Fucking hell, man, I've played the first two games so much I could probably go through them with closed eyes and still pick all the right dialogue options to get My Exact Personally Canonized Plot. And the only reason I didn't do the same thing with DA:I is because it was made after EA completely gave up on optimizing their shit so the fucking thing takes up like a billion terabytes of disc space and takes 10 hours to download and install. I honestly think it's the best-written cRPG franchise to ever have a budget that doesn't involve a list of Kickstarter backers or getting an eccentric Estonian billionaire fixated on the project. And the gameplay is also there, I don't really care about that part.

Then they proceeded to fire all the talent that made me love those first three games, and scratch and restart the production twice, and be suspiciously cagey with any details or gameplay footage for a fucking decade, so my hype consistently went down and down. And yet I still managed to hold out some hope that somehow, by some miracle, it wouldn't fucking suck.

I kept that hope until the trailer dropped. You know the one. The one where we see a bearded Varric. This, I think, was the exact moment when I lost any desire to play fucking Veilguard.

Like, first of all, Varric being there at all is already an issue. Leave the man alone. His presence was already kinda forced in DA:I. And after DA:I and Tresspasser, his story couldn't be more finished if he got killed, eaten, shitted out, condemned to hell, redeemed by divine sacrifice, bathed for eternity in the everlasting light. There is no point to Varric anymore. Whatever arc they've given him in Veilguard, and I don't even give a shit enough to read the spoilers before writing this post, it has no business existing. Fuck you. The only reason he's there is because he's a recognizable IP, and when you're a certain kind of soulless corporate moron, you think there's nothing more important than putting a recognizable IP in whatever new bullshit you're trying to peddle. Maybe if you didn't fire every decent writer in your trash fucking company, you'd have someone to tell you about the importance of Ending The Fucking Story When The Story Fucking Ends.

But that's not even the core of the problem. Beard? they gave Varric a Beard? Varric I fucking hate everything that's even tangentially connected to dwarven culture with a passion which is why I've made a point to shave my beard all my life to spite anyone who gives a fuck about it Tethras? beard? you gave him a beard? He changed so much offscreen in the goddamn timeskip between these two games that he got a motherfucking berd? fucshhfdbeard? feadsgfsvarricafgfdh BEARD? yyousftoiuslyhhabevarricasgsfucningbeardandthivkimgosabedineditit?beard????

PS. (edit after finding out spoilers) I've gone to TV Tropes to read up on Varric's role in DATV after writing this (just in case I'm wrong and dumb, and there's actually a deeply compelling narrative reason for his presence), and, well, this shit is cheaper than I thought. And more importantly, just as I thought, there appears to be no justification for the beard beyond "adding a beard is a cliche way to show that a bunch of time has passed, and we didn't care enough to think this shit through". I'm fucking tired, man.

PPS. (edit after reading the rest of big spoilers) This is so much worse than I could even begin to suspect. This is worse than the final season of Game of Thrones. This is the final season of Game of Thrones if they straight-up fired GRRM, burned his notes and hired a showrunner who's only read a one-page summary of the first six seasons. This is fucking depressing, man. I'm genuinely fucking sad. So many subplots that were started over the course of these three games, that were clearly going somewhere, scrapped in favour of a simplistic good vs. evil story that would get rejected by fucking CD-Projekt in 2007 for being too basic. All because the artists who poured their hearts and souls into this bullshit franchise got thrown out like trash by its "owners". Morrigan's kid, the Well of Sorrows, all the implied complexities of Tevinter politics, the Crows, the Old Gods, Andraste. All went to shit. Death to capitalism.

[writeforthepeople]

Summary: You've been working as a producer on Smosh Games for a while now, but working late nights on the upcoming D&D project with Damien gave you both a chance to realize your feelings.

Warning: Very fluffy

Word Count: 2.4k

You walked into work late today, you had been adjusting your hours so that you could stay late and work with Damien on the new D&D series for the SmoshCast channel. He had bookings in the mornings for voice over and it was really the only time that worked. On your way to your desk, you passed Spencer who was wrapped up in a conversation with Marcus but smiled and waved at you as you passed.

You took a seat and spent a few minutes checking your email and replying to a few messages. You felt a tap on your shoulder and turned to see Spencer. "Hey Spence!" You said, spinning your chair to face him. "Hey y/n, did you get my email about tonight?" he asked "No, I am still making my way to the top" you responded with a small chuckle.

"No problem, just letting you know I had something come up and can't make the planning session tonight, but I think you and Damien have it at this point. You are the producer, so I will let you produce and will go over the notes tomorrow". You nodded up at him but your heart sank a little. It meant that you and Damien would be alone..and that made your heart race, despite trying to push that aside for weeks now.

"Ok, yeah I think we have it handled! I appreciate your faith in me" you did appreciate it, this was your first time being lead producer on a smosh show and wanted it to be perfect. "You two have more D&D knowledge than anyone else here. I think I distract from the planning at this point. I will leave you to it though!" he smiled and walked off, leaving you to get back to work. It took you a while to catch up on your inbox and schedule a few meetings, but before you knew it 4pm had snuck up on you and most of the office was heading out for the day.

You said goodbye to a few people as you made your way to the kitchen to get some tea and a snack to bring to the conference room with you. You turned around when you heard someone enter "If it isn't my partner in crime" Damien spoke, grinning and walking your way. You felt the smile stretch across your face instantly. You weren't sure exactly when it happened, but your crush on Damien had really escalated. You always thought he was cute, but this was different, he was occupying so much of your mind and you couldn't seem to shake it.

"I was just grabbing us a snack for our planning session, do you want anything specific?" you asked, even though you knew he would want a water and one of the protein bars Garrett often made for the office. "I'll grab us a few things" he smiled at you "we can't forget a kickstart for our favorite director" he grabbed one from the fridge before you could speak up "Oh! You didn't see his email? He has entrusted us with the rest of the process so you're stuck with just me" you said scrunching your lips together and shrugging playfully. He put the kickstart back in the fridge, "there are worse ways to be stuck" he responded, his face in the fridge still. You were glad, otherwise he would have seen how red your cheeks grew at the comment.

"Ready to get started?" he asked turning around with a few snacks in hand. "Lead the way" you nodded and you both headed to a small conference room. You took a seat next to Damien and started to pull out your notes and you laptop, he did the same. As they went over some backstory ideas and potential plot twists, you couldn't help your heart from racing, the way he spoke was so enthusiastic and authentic that it entranced you. You were lost in explaining your thoughts on the big bad guy for their first trial that you didn't notice how close the two of you had gotten, his knee gently brushing yours as he bounced his leg. You wondered if this was a nervous habit or just a tic. These meetings continued over the next few days, and you found yourself checking the time, just waiting until he came back into the office. Until today when you got a text from Damien.

Damien: Hey Y/N, I forgot my laptop at home and am in a VO session. I know I am asking a lot but is there anyway we could meet at my place tonight for brainstorming? It would take forever for me to make it home to grab my stuff and back to the office? Damien: or we can always rescheduled. I am so sorry! Y/N: You live close to me right? I can just meet you at your place, I have to go that way to go home anyways Damien: Are you sure? That would make things so much easier. I can order us dinner? Y/N: Sounds great! Meet you there around 5? Damien: Perfect. Thanks Y/N

"Ok, no need to panic" you said out loud to yourself. "Why are we not panicking?" you heard Angela behind you. Your cheeks flushed red and you locked your phone. "What? nothing. No reason at all" you shook your head but knew that Angela was not going to let that go. She had become such a close friend, you knew she would read right through that reaction "ahhh, yes, very nonchalant, not suspicious at all." he laughed through the end "come on, dish, I have time to kill" she laid on the couch next to your desk and you looked around "Nothing" you tried to shrug. "I am just going to Damien's for our session tonight instead of here" you tried to play it off cool.

Angela knew you had a small crush on Damien and often teased you for it. "Uhhhh WHAT" she almost yelled. "It's not a big deal" you said, unsure if you were convincing her or yourself. "This is news you tell your best friend y/n" she sat back up on the couch and playfully threw her arms out. "Right, your crush inviting you over to their house to hang out...one on one...is just not news worthy" she said shaking her head at you.

The sigh you let out said it all. Looking around again you caved, needing to talk to someone about this. "That makes it sound like something it isn't. He forgot his laptop at home so it is just easier to meet there. This isn't a ploy at something" you explained "Y/N I am going to hold your hand while I say this" Angela started "The tension between you two the last few weeks has the office going crazy. It is SO obvious. There is no way that this isn't what that is." Just then you saw Amanda walking over "There you are! We are about to start test playing the game for today, you ready?" she said to Angela "Hey Y/N, I miss seeing you in the morning meetings!" she smiled. You have been missing them so you can meet late without working too many hours.

"I should be back on regular hours in a week or so" you admit, Angela pipping up "but for now she has late meetings with Daaaamien" in her sing songy voice. Amanda raised her eyebrows at you "so the rumors are true, the lovebirds are spending more time together?" you were beet red at this point "That is not what is happening, we are working on the new D&D show" they shook their heads walking off "Give in to love Y/N!" Amanda said on her way to the gaming stage.

If that didn't raise your nervous enough, the drive to Damien's would. Were they right? did Damien also have a crush on you or were people just making assumptions like they often do. They used to think that you and Spencer were an item when you weren't.

You weren't sure if you should knock or just text him when I arrived, you had never been to his house before. You decided just to knock, and he opened the door quickly. "Thank you SO much for this" he said, stepping aside to welcome you in "I feel terrible, I hope this wasn't too far out of the way". he spoke kindly as you stepped inside. "It's no trouble at all. It's nice to switch things up from the office anyways" you said, hoping he wouldn't feel so guilty. You looked around the apartment, noticing how well he decorated. "Your place is so nice" you smiled. "Thank you, I do my best" he smiled at you and there was a moment before he spoke again. "Oh I got us dinner, we can work at the dinning room" and he lead the way to the dinning room table. He had gotten ramen and you immediately noticed it was a place that you love. "Oh! I love this place" you said while taking a seat. "I noticed you had ordered it a few times at work. Hopefully I got the right order." your heart started racing again, a feeling you think you are just going to have to get used to. He remembered your favorite meal..and you weren't supposed to read into that for the rest of the night?

You two ate and talked mostly about the locations for the players, building some characters to exist in the various establishments. Damien had so many fun characters planned, it was a little sad knowing many of them likely won't even be seen. Especially with the chaotic cast that would be filling out the players. As things started to wrap up, Damien cleared the table and you followed him to the kitchen "Thanks again for dinner, that was really sweet" you said, setting your water glass in the sink. "Anytime, I'm just glad I got your order right" he said as he leaned against the kitchen island. "So were getting close to submit everything, yeah?" he asked and you nodded. You knew that in reality, you had enough to submit but you didn't want the sessions to end.

"Yeah, I guess we are" you couldn't help but sound a bit sad "I think we make a good team" he said with a smile "I will miss your little brainstorming sessions." he added. "I will too, you really help bring out my creativity" you respond honestly "this project is really fueling that need right now". He looked down for a moment "I think I'll just miss getting to hang out with you" his words made you catch a hitch in your breath. "We- we can hang out anytime" you said, quicker than you had meant to.

"Do you want to stay and...watch a show or something?" you could see he was nervous. "I haven't gotten caught up on ink master yet." he added, knowing that it was one of your favorites.

"I would love that" you smiled, and headed into the living room. You took a seat on the sofa, Damien sitting next to you. He turned on the show and you watched in silence for a while before you spoke up "I love this guys work, I would kill to have him do my next piece" you say, not taking your eyes off the TV. "I didn't know you had any tattoos" he said glancing over at you. "Oh.. yeah I have a few they are just more hidden" you admit, your cheeks blushing slightly. "I have one on my ribcage, it is a quote from my favorite song and a bee but it is on my hipbone. So not quite as many as you but maybe someday" he chuckled. "Well that is really cool, you'll have to show me sometime" he realized the implication of what he said. "Like pictures I mean" his cheeks flushed. "I don't mind showing you!" you said, surprising yourself with your courage.

You stood up and slightly moved down your joggers, revealing your hip tattoo. This felt so much more intimate than you thought it would. Most of the office has seen you in a bathing suit at parties, and even in a hot tub video that you were in for a crew games video. I had a small scar here from an accident and the artist was able to cover over it, so you can still feel the bump" you graze your finger over the area "but not see it so much. It really helped me feel better about my body" you admit, a story you've told before but not directly to Damien. You look down, not wanting to make eye contact after sharing that.

"I think your beautiful" he said, catching you off guard. You look up and he is looking right at you think time. "You do?" you asked, sounding surprised as you sat back down next to him. "I-well" he started "of course I do. I kind of thought that was obvious" he tilted his head slightly and turned his body to face you. "Do you really not know?" he asked, his voice a bit quieter but still making you feel like he was focused on you. "Know what? What do you mean?" You needed him to say it. It wouldn't be real until he did. "Know that I like you" he said, shaking his head. "I thought you knew that already, I know the rumors around the office have made their way to you and I have been going out of my way to spend more time with you"

He started to ramble and you couldn't keep from smiling "Damien" you cut him off "I like you too...I thought YOU knew that" he smiled back. His shoulders relaxed as the stress was alleviated "That is ...such a relief" he said leaning into you a bit. "So you're telling me we've both just been trying to find a subtle way to know if the other person feels the same?" you ask, wanting to almost laugh. Just then, Damien reaches out and lightly touches your face and before you could lean in to the touch, he kissed you. It was soft and sweet, testing the waters, but when you kissed back he leaned in, his fingers cupping your ear and wrapping into your hair. He pulled back slightly "We did, and wasted so much time" he smiled before you kissed him again.

[flower-boi16]

Stolas' "Character Growth" of Making Amends With Blitz is Poor as Hell

Something many critics don't seem to mention when talking about Stolas' characterization in Season 2 is how the season tries (keyword tries) to have Stolas go through an arc of fixing his mistake in regards to making the deal with Blitz and, ya know, sexually abusing him. The show is acknowledging that Stolas fucked up, which means it isn't coddling him...right?

Well, this arc first gets kickstarted in Ozzie's when Blitz explicitly tells Stolas to "not pretend like anything we have is anything but you wanting me to fuck you", showing to Stolas that Blitz doesn't feel the same way about him as Stolas feels about Blitz, which gives Stolas a moment to reflect on their relationship.

The Circus then shows that Stolas believed that for once, he had a genuine mutually affectionate relationship with someone, that someone being Blitzo, as Stolas felt some kind of happiness he never felt before and could never get with Stella, only to realize that it was all a lie and Blitzo doesn't feel the same way as Stolas did for him. Stolas desired genuine intamite affection and thought he had that but he didn't, and so he looks to a book to try and find Blitz an alternative so he can continue his job without staying in the deal, chosing to free Blitz.

Oops then shows Stolas going to Ozzie's place to get the Ausmodean Crystal for Blitz, and The Full Moon shows Stolas giving the crystal to Blitz, now learning to let him go, putting his own selfish desires for affection aside and reconizing what he did to Blitz was wrong and choosing to let him be free from the deal.

So...this, on paper, sounds fantastic, right? The show is making an arc of Stolas growing from his mistakes, realizing the deal is wrong and choosing to let him go while acknoweldging Blitz's mistakes right....right?????

Well...no. While this is a compelling arc in isolation, there are several issues that taint it. For one, the arc revolves around multiple plot holes and contrivinces in order to work. I've already mentioned this several times but, Stolas and Blitz being childhood friends feels like a retcon and it doesn't really line up with any of their interactions in the first season, and this arc relies on the two's past friendship in order to work.

Further more, there's the fact that Stolas shoulden't even have any real love for Blitz in the first place considering that Blitz stole from him not once, but twice. First Blitz steals all of Stolas' items when they were kids for his dad by tricking him into a game and the second time Blitz takes advantage of Stolas again to Steal the grimoire. Did Stolas REALLY just...not realize that Blitz took advantage of him in either of those instances????

Why would he have ANY love towards him after he did those things? He should HATE Blitz for taking advantage of his feelings, but he doesn't. There's also the fact that this arc is just a complete replacement of Stolas' character in the first season, fully comitting to his sudden shift from a man who made mistakes that hurt others to a UwU gay sad soft boy who just wanted genuine affection, which is a jarring change for him as a character, and this arc competely relies on this sudden shift.

It removes everything that made Stolas an interesting character in the first season and replaces it with something unreconizable from his previous iteration, so this arc ends up feeling like an unnatural direction for Stolas' character to go to. The other big problem with this arc is how it codes Stolas' actions in a sympathetic light - as in, he only made the deal because he believed he had real affection with Blitz.

The thing is, this whole thing ends up making Stolas even less sympathetic than before. You'd think that Stolas would care about his childhood friend's consent in this matter because even if he thought that Blitz liked being his plaything he would still care about his boundries since well, he is supposed to be Stolas' childhood friend...right??? But instead of that he decided to put his childhood friend in a situation where he HAS to accept the deal or else he'll lose his job, and he's doing that through coersion, which is a horrific thing to do to someone especially someone you CLAIM to be your first ever friend.

None of Stolas and Blitzo's interactions in the first season come across as Stolas being oblivous to Blitz being uncomfortable rather it's Stolas not caring about Blitz being uncomfortable and not taking it seriously because he only cares about his own sexual pleasure. While Stolas' actions are still painted negetavily the show is using a sympathetic reason for his actions but that sympathetic reasoning doesn't end up working and if anything makes him look even less sympathetic than before. It's supposed to be "bad actions codded with sympathetic motivations" but it doesn't work because the actions he's done don't make sense with the motivation the show outlines.

And this brings me to the last, and, probably the biggest issue with Stolas' "growth arc" in Season 2; the show's refusal to admit the full extent of Stolas' what Stolas has done to Blitz. Season 1 had Stolas consistantly belittle and talk down to Blitz, ignoring his boundries and constantly dehumanizing him into just being his "impish little plaything", yet, the show pretends as if making the deal was the only bad thing Stolas ever did to Blitz and just ignores all the other stuff that he did in the first season.

It contributes to the problem of the show refusing to acknowledge Stolas' mistakes and instead choosing to downplay them or demonize those who dislike him for valid reasons (also, no, the description acknowledging Stolas' lack of self-awarness doesn't work because if Stolas is meant to be in the wrong during the episode than it should be frammed as such, yet the episode just frames him as solely the victim. That ain't good writting). And there's the fact that this arc would be rendered null anyway because well all know that Blitz and Stolas are going to get together anyway by the end of the show meaning that Stolas never had to let go of Blitz in the first place because then he'll get back to him.

So, overall, while this arc is fine in isolation, it falls apart due to it relying on too many plot holes and not actually having Stolas reconize the full extent of his mistakes, and so saying that the show is coddling Stolas is still a valid critique given that this arc is still codding his actions under a sympathetic light.

[ravenstargames]

✦ Lost in Limbo Demo — Feedback gathering!

Hello everyone!

Here we are today with a quite long post about the feedback we have received since our demo became available this past Wednesday. First of all, we want to thank you all for more than 700 downloads on itch, and more than 1000 on Steam. That's crazy! 💜

82 of you have completed our demo survey, helping this feedback gathering be way easier! We'll start with the non-spoiler stuff, and move to spoiler territory so those of you who have not been able to try out the demo yet can rest easy!

Before we start, however—

THE DEMO *HAS* 7 CGS!

If you are missing one, then it means you can obtain it by playing once more! We'll make sure to highlight this note everywhere, as some people have been confused about Amon/Envy not having a CG, or not having a scene to shine, which they do! We apologize for not making this super clear, as it's noted on our itch.io page, but under "Features", when it should have been everywhere and in big bold letters!

✦ THE GATHERED FEEDBACK WILL BE IMPLEMENTED IN OUR EXTENDED FREE DEMO

As of now, no major changes will be done to our first demo, sadly because there's no time. We are focusing on getting our Kickstarter out there and on creating high-quality content that may help us fund the full game. The first thing we'll work on if our Kickstarter is successful is the Extended Free Demo, which will see all the feedback you've given us implemented!

✦ OVERALL ENJOYMENT OF THE DEMO

More than 96% of players who did our survey enjoyed (or greatly enjoyed!) our demo, which is fantastic! We have to take this with a grain of salt, because those who didn't have a good time probably didn't finish playing it. Those who didn't enjoy the demo that much left their personal feedback, so we are super grateful for the effort of sharing their thoughts even if they didn't have fun.

✦ PACING OF THE DEMO

Most players thought the pacing was good! Some noted that the demo starts off slow (which we kind of knew—more on that below!), while others thought the demo rushes a bit to show all the love interests.

Me, the writer, and our editor Allie, knew this, so it doesn't come up as a surprise. Just to give you all some insight, as surely not all of you have been following us since we started posting about LiL; our original demo was way longer than what it ended up being. We ended up rewriting and scrapping a lot of that because it was too much work for the four of us. There were a lot more sprites and backgrounds to work on, and we decided we wanted to focus on the love interests (as they are the thing that will decide whether players want to support us or not) even if that meant the pacing wasn't perfect.

We didn't want the demo development to last another year, so we had to give a bit of story context in our actual demo without info-dumping absolutely everything, and we had to get to the love interests "fast" enough for people not to get bored while not going "fast" enough for it to feel too rushed.

Whether we did a good job or not is up to the players, and of course this feedback will help us to improve the pacing in our Extended Demo. I can only hope we have the chance to work on it to show our real vision of the demo and prologue and implement the feedback given to us when it comes to the writing / pacing, without the pressure of getting ourselves out there as soon as possible to find out if we'll be able to support ourselves and our work or not!

✦ THE TONE

The vast majority of players enjoyed the way the demo stablishes the tone of the game! Those who didn't thought the serious tone being mixed with the funny / quirky moments wasn't well done, which is completely valid!

✦ THE PLOT

93% of surveyed players thought the plot was well stablished! Luckily, there's no "I understood nothing", so that's a good sign so far! Some players noted that they felt lost but that feeling lost was the point (which it was!).

One player suggested to have the definition of important words somewhere, which will be the purpose of the Compendium in the full game! If you have played Alaris' , Crescence has a similar feature where you can place your mouse on top of a highlighted word and get an explanation of it! That's something we want to implement for the full game.

✦ ASPECTS PEOPLE LIKED ABOUT THE DEMO, AND WHAT CAN BE IMPROVED

Players generally liked the art, the story, and the characters, which is great!

People seemed to agree on wanting MORE CHOICES, and we were given advice on some parts of the current demo that would benefit of an extra choice or a choice to begin with.

We'll keep this in mind for the Extended Demo, which should give you all more time to enjoy the flavor choices and other aspects of our choice systems. Also, some of you wished for a button to turn off timed choices, which...

...Is something we decided we wanted way before starting to code the demo. Our UI artist, Alice, implemented this in our configuration screen mock-up, but I ended up being unable to program this feature. I didn't know how to do it, and with my newbie abilities it seemed impossible to achieve, so we decided to wait for the Extended demo so I had time to ask around, read, and grasp the best way to do this. I'm sorry T_T.

✦ AS FOR THE CHARACTERS (MC included)...

And this is spoiler territory!

Some people disliked Amon's southern accent (which he's very sad about), some people felt really betrayed by Gael (poor thing), and some wanted to push Envy down a set of stairs (completely valid).

Some didn't like Pride because he's "an old fart" (he's the God of Old Farts, in fact), some wanted for the MC to be able to be more aggressive towards characters like Raeya, and some thought Ara was too nice, Xal too goofy, and that took away the seriousness of the situation.

These are not the majority (everyone had their favorite and their least liked, but you all seemed happy with our cast!) but these opinions are completely valid and we wanted to highlight them.

River was liked enough for a 3~ hour demo, which we are happy about.

The majority of players thought they were relatable and liked the fact that they had a personality outside of choices; others thought there should've been more choices to really differentiate the possible personalities you can choose for the MC, and others noted it was hard to self-insert.

River is not written to be a completely blank slate, which is something we note in our Tumblr Masterpost but that should've been added to the itch page. We apologize for the confusion this may have generated. We wanted (and want) to create a balance between River being a proper character and for it to still allow some kind of self-insert and personalization. We know this will be difficult, but it's something we want to work on and we are confident we can achive a correct balance.

In the Extended Demo and full game, you'll have a chance to personalize some of River's tastes to match your own MC or your self-insert. For example, River plays the guitar, but you'll be able to select whether they're good at it, if they took classes, if they.....suck at it, or if they play another instrument.

This will, of course, only happen in the "flavor" and "personality" choices. Sadly, you won't be able to choose to a T what the MC does at any given time.

And that's all for now! I hope this post has been informative, and please don't hesitate to direct more feedback our way to help us improve. We are still reading your asks, gathering info and feedback from players and other devs, and thinking about the best way to bring those suggestions to life.

Thank you all so so much for the incredible support; for gifting us your time with reviews, feedback, or encouraging words. We hope we can keep working hard and bringing Lost in Limbo's demo to its full potential!