#and meanwhile i'm like 'ok cool but what about having fun?'

[fictionadventurer]

NaPoWriMo #12

I glanced at a few how-to-write-poetry books and got a bit frustrated by their assumptions that poetry needs to be this deep and laborious artistic endeavor.

*

Song of an Amateur

I am a simple poetess I take my pen in hand While others long for lasting fame My dreams aren't near so grand

All I want's a little ink A peaceful touch of time To gather up my humble thoughts And scribble out a rhyme

While others labor to create Immortal artistry I play with words as children play With sand beside the sea

Delighting in their shapes and forms In meter’s playful joys I let the words fall to create New literary toys

Capturing a simple sight A pithy turn of phrase To give my friends a bit of joy To brighten up their days

It’s not for me to take a place ‘mong lit’rature’s elite I’d rather gaze up at their heights And play beside their feet

So tell me not to labor long O'er words meant to impress I’d rather live quite happy as A simple poetess

[lesbianrobin]

we are playing in the “tommy asks buck for an open relationship” sandbox rn. just go with me on this. ok? ok. he is entirely asking for his own purposes (perhaps trying to hook up with eddie perhaps not who’s to say!) but he frames it like well YOU deserve to experiment and be with other guys :) and so buck agrees despite being a diehard monogamist bc he's desperate to be loved and make this relationship work and tommy makes it sound reasonable.

so for a few weeks tommy like casually hooks up with a few people while buck hangs back uncomfortably and eventually buck is like SIGH well i guess i SHOULD get more experience with guys. and he asks eddie to come with him to a gay bar and buck absolutely knocks it out of the park like he's Killing it he and eddie r having fun and he hooks up with someone new every weekend and unlike his buck 1.0 days he's actually just having fun with it bc he isn't looking for emotional intimacy w these people that he'll never find! he's just letting himself explore things and be happy! meanwhile tommy is going for like shitty grindr hookups that don't even show up half the time. he tries asking eddie to Hang Out and eddie leaves him on read. like he is Not doing too hot.

and i think that buck is completely oblivious to the fact that tommy is not having fun like he is. but eddie does know and he's fucking Thrilled. he's just gonna let this shit play out. eddie knows that he loves buck at this point, but he's watching buck actually enjoy himself and kinda revise the terrible relationship he has with sex and find something liberating in it so eddie's okay with sitting back for awhile and letting buck have this while also laughing at tommy. maybe eddie is also finding hookups when they go out maybe not who's to say.

so after a couple months of this buck and eddie are hanging out and buck is like sigh yknow this open relationship thing was fun for a while but i just don't know if i see this thing with tommy going anywhere... like i don't really care when he hooks up with other people and i don't think it's because i'm cool and polyamorous i think it's because i just don't like him that much. and eddie's like well you shouldn't settle for a relationship where you don't really love your partner. yknow he does his sage advice thing. and buck is like yeah you're right...

and later buck goes to tommy and he's like hey man you're really great and i do like you but i think this just isn't really working. i think we both deserve something better. and tommy's like it's eddie isn't it. and buck's like huh? and tommy's like you were with eddie last night. and buck's like oh well yeah he and i were talking and he said- and tommy's like evan stop bullshitting me we're grown-ups you can just say you're dumping me for him. and buck's like sorry Huh. and tommy's like oh come on he was just "wingmanning" all those times you two went out? and buck is like ...yeah?? he's my friend?? and tommy's like sure. whatever fine. this was fun. have a good life evan. and buck's like what da hell...

and then when he tells eddie about the breakup, he mentions it and eddie's like ha 🙄 and buck's like oh haha yeah like that's crazy right! and eddie's like 🙄 as if you'd still be with him if we had been sleeping together. and buck's like . what. and eddie's like i mean. well it's us. we wouldn't... not as some side thing. if it was us, it'd be real.

and buck's like oh. yeah. do you, uh. think about that? if it was... us? and eddie's like ...once or twice. and buck's like ...once or twice? and eddie's like yeah. each time lasts a few years though. and buck laughs and he's tearing up and eddie grins at him and he says so. us? and buck says yeah. yeah, us.

and then they are in love and get married and are happy forever and ever the end 🫶🏻

[muscleloverz69]

Jock Juice

Ned was very anxious about moving into his dorm. Without knowing anyone at the university he had no choice but to go random and as luck would have it the only spots left were in the athletes housing. Ned had no interest in sports and found jocks completely obnoxious. Being a nerdy gay man Ned tried his best to steer clear but now his hands were tied. When Ned walked into his room he was met by a total jock. 

Jack was well over 6 feet tall with a square jaw, biceps that stretched the sleeves of his tee and pants that left little to the imagination. Ned was embarrassed when he felt his dick twinge but he quickly ignored it. “Hey bro you must be the roomie, sup.” Jack extended a fist which Ned awkwardly bumped.

Jack turned out to be not nearly as bad as Ned was anticipating. Actually he was pretty nice. He did come back really late from parties and his football gear was littered around the entire room but Ned enjoyed being able to watch Jack change from the corner of his eye. Ned was being driven crazy, staring at the bulging muscles and broad figure of his roommate.

One day as Jack pulled off his pants after a day of classes, he noticed Ned staring at his big bulge. “Hey dude it's ok to look, I’m actually gay too.”

Ned felt his face go red but his mind was reeling from the revelation. “Oh sorry-.” Jack interrupted, “Seriously dude it's fine honestly I’d be down to have some fun with you but you need to know something first.”

Ned couldn’t believe his ears, “You’d want to fuck me?”

“Yeah but dude the thing is I have a curse.”

Ned looked confused as Jack explained, “I used to be a nerd just like you but one day I fucked a jock and now I look like this.” Jack flexed one of his thick biceps.

“Now whenever someone comes in contact with my fluids they become a jock too, it doesn't matter what they looked like before, nerds, girls, old guys they all become jocks.”

Ned stared at his sexy roommate for a moment, he couldn’t be serious, this had to be some kind of prank but he didn’t care. Ned crossed the room and pulled Jack into a deep kiss. Ned laughed in his head for a minute before he felt a gentle fog fall on his brain. Jack pushed Ned off “Bruh I wasnt fucking with you, are you ok.”

“Bro--I mean Jack, I feel fine I think. Whatever, I'm going to bed.” Ned wanted to die. He thought Jack was a nice guy. Why would he pull such a mean prank, although he had no idea why he called Jack bro.

The next morning Ned woke up earlier than usual. He looked himself down in the mirror, he looked the same. Since he woke up early though Ned decided he might as well do something productive and went over to the campus gym.

Ned got to the gym and quickly remembered he had no idea what he was doing. That’s when Jack came up to him, “Hey bro, sorry about last night I guess you’re into the gym now, need some help?”

“Uh sure that’d be cool dud--Jack thanks.”

The two guys worked out together for the next couple hours, after Jack handed Ned a towel and as he did his sweaty hand brushed into his roommates. Ned hardly took note but did feel very tired from the workout.

Ned and Jack walked to the showers together. Ned started rubbing his body down with soap as he noticed some muscle he didn’t remember having. Nowhere near as much as Jack but his shoulders did seem broader, his chest protruded out just a bit, and his abs were showing. As he continued soaping his body he noticed his dick. It was throbbing hard and not only that it looked larger than he ever remembered it. Ned was hit with an overwhelming burning lust. He furiously started jacking off in the shower before cumming all over the tile floor.

Meanwhile Jack felt worried about Ned. He knew the kiss from the night before would result in some minor changes but as long as he was careful it didn’t have to go further unless he knew that’s what Ned wanted. Jack was torn though cute nerds like Ned were exactly his type and he wanted nothing more than to worship that thin nerdy body. 

Later that night Ned tried to study for his Calc exam but couldn’t remember anything. He was sure the questions must have been written wrong because nothing made sense. On top of that all he could think about was Jack’s body. He was losing his mind.

Ned stood up and faced Jack who was mindlessly scrolling on his phone. “Bro I need you inside me.” Jack met Ned’s start 

“You sure bro?”

Ned jumped on top of Jack quickly ripping off his pants revealing muscular thighs and an almost footlong dick. Jack yelped in surprise but couldn’t stop himself from letting Ned’s tongue slide down his shaft. Jack’s hips bucked as Ned got face fucked. Pre entered Nick’s mouth, causing his biceps to enlarge to 18 inches, his face sharpened into a chiseled look although Jack could hardly notice as Nick deepthroated his monster dick. 

Jack began moaning louder, gripping Nick’s enlarged muscular ass before cumming right down Nick’s throat. Nick swallowed load after load before rolling off to the side. Nick felt an even heavier fog descend on his brain. All he could think about was sports, working out and, bussy.

Nick got up and tried to put on his tee shirt which was now skin tight. “Dude that was fuckin sick!” Jack was still laying in bed disappointed. Jack stared at Nicks new thick cock and massive muscles uninterestedly. Jack was really only attracted to nerds.

Nick laughed “Bro I gotta find some other nerd to blow me.”

[dadsbongos]

Oh my gosh the I GUESS part was so funny cfdjkfd It will always make me so sad that we'll likely never see the later seasons, it would have been SO funny omg How are you btw?? Anything fun you've done/have coming up? Also any random headcanon thoughts about possibly dating both laios and kabru would be as lovely as you <3 -Artemis

i giggle thinking about his snooty fucking "i GUESS" that and calling mika gay for being attracted to him, a man

i was in a bit of a rut the past week or so but i've been getting better, drawing a lot and working on personal writing projects. plan on going out with a fwend on Wednesday :3 and i'm trying to con a hot person into liking me

labru poly hcs below!!

ok to get together with these two is a nightmare though it is worth it!

i can see it being you and kabru chasing laios, being romantic rivals with laios not paying attention to either of you LOL

kabru gets charmed by you after viciously studying you for months on end to try getting a leg up on you and you're just like every other hot-blooded mammal and can agree that kabru's hot

i can see you confessing to laios (because god forbid kabru actually voice his feelings to someone) so kabru is just silently devastated until eventually being absorbed into the relationship

domestic chores were a bit of a battle at first because kabru doesn't maintain his own space and laios can't maintain common spaces bc he doesn't know what everyone else is okay with him tossing out and dishes are a NO for him

but kabru is great at delegating/managing tasks plus he can care for others. so he managed to think out a way for everyone to be happy: kabru does most of the basic chores (dishes, sweeping, dusting), laios does most of the yard work and shopping, and you the laundry/cooking ft. laios as a lil helper while picking up minor tidying (but obvi you guys can share and help as with all relationships yk)

non-negotiable tho you and laios and kabru are all legally obligated to indulging each other's niche interests. you and laios are ears OPEN to kabru's novelizations of world history and current gossip, and you n kabru listen to laios ramble about useless mythos and cryptids factoids

and ofc they listen to you prattle on about your own interests cuz that's love bby <3

when walking outside, laios likes to intentionally try finding cool bugs or dogs and kabru has to wrangle him by the collar of his shirt while you're just there like :) aw bfs

kabru looooves planning dates and doesn't usually like feeling out of the loop or surprised unless its something you three agreed wouldn't be orchestrated by him

blowout arguments are not common in any manner, since kabru's an ace at recognizing/dismantling how you feel and is flexible in asking how to better put your mind at ease

meanwhile laios just HATES fighting and arguments and is not the type to enforce his way of thinking/doing certain things unless it'll actually drive him insane (which is pretty uncommon)

kabru is probably in charge of finances cuz its just less stress for him

laios likes decorating the space but you and kabru have to nyx some of his stranger ideas (a fully functional bigfoot puppet hanging from the ceiling, fresno night crawler figures on the tv stand, etc.)

nautical themed bathroom is a for sure though i'm sorry i'm sorry, laios is white and kabru was raised by milsiril they're just going to have a nautical themed bathroom no matter how you feel about it

i have an idea i want to make a fic but can't find the time: basically the same thing where you n kabru hate each other but get along for laios' sake cuz you're both dating him. until you fuck nasty and bond for realsies <3

[luimagines]

OK OK OK BUT LIKE WE GOT *HIM* REALIZING HE LIKE THEM. BUT CAN BE HAVE READER REALIZING THEY LOVE HIM?

Yeeeesss!!!!! I can't wait!! (I've been wanting to write this since I started this blog XD)

Masterlist

Part one will have Time, Twilight and Warrior.

Content under the cut!

Time

It was a quiet acknowledgement.

It was unintentional to boot. You weren't looking for anything with anyone. It was just... a bunch of little things that caught your attention.

When he'd ruffle Wind's and Twilight's hair for fun- how concentrated he'd get in the middle of battle- when he'd help braid Wild's hair to calm him down after a bad night. The quiet way he'd support Warrior from the side. Not to mention just how he leads the group causes you admire him in many ways.

And for a time that was all it was. Admiration. Nothing more, nothing less.

Then you got hurt one day. Your palm was bleeding. Nothing deadly or worrisome but it was your dominant hand. The bandages, swelling and bleeding made it difficult to do much of anything. Not to mention that you kept picking at said bandages, making them fall loose.

Time noticed and puled you aside, rewrapping your hand with grim look on his face. This felt worse, somehow. Like you've disappointed him. He looks pissed, even though he's yet to say a single thing to you.

"I'm sorry." You blurt, hoping that it'll ease whatever tension is on his face.

It doesn't work. If anything he looks angrier. "It's not your fault... I just wish I would have gotten to you sooner. this could have been avoided."

Hold up-

Your heart starts beating faster and your face warms. "Im-impossible, Time. You were so far away."

"Mmm." Time grunts, tightening the bandages once more. "Do me a favor, yeah? Get better. Stop picking at it."

He flicks your forehead playfully, smiling at last. The look... takes your breath away. It's far from perfect. But it's soft and genuine and... you've never seen him look at anyone else like that. You swallow the spit in your mouth, hoping that you're not blushing any more than you already are. "...ok..."

"Good." Time sighs and kisses your forehead. "I worry enough about you as it is."

Did your heart just stop? Hello? Anyone home?

"Thank you." You say and smile back, trying to outwardly keep calm. But on the inside you feel like screaming. Is that good or bad? You don't know yet.

Time smiles again and put his hand on your shoulder. He puts the back of his hand to your cheek and winks. "Always."

You stay there stunned and bite your lip. "...cool..."

He snorts and walks away. "Come on. Or they'll leave us behind."

"Right. I lo-" You panic. What were you about to say? Would you have meant it? I love you? Seriously? Just like that? When did this happen?

Time doesn't seem to notice and keeps walking.

Meanwhile your world just turned on its side. Then again- you've known for a while now, haven't you? It just now where it's grown too obvious to ignore anymore.

You take a deep breath and follow the man back to the group.

Maybe you'll tell him. But another day.

Twilight

Twilight was annoying. You hate to say it. But you would really like to get a grip when it came to him.

It was just some.... stupid puppy crush. There was nothing to it. It was nothing serious- but my god, did it get in the way of literally everything else.

He could say something nice or he would try and be helpful and you would be stuttering and fumbling over yourself. It was stupid. Dumb. Idiotic. You wanted to scream.

At best, you could try to avoid him, but he was so gentle. So sweet. You couldn't even be mad.

You sighed and shook your head, hitting your cheeks a few times to try and get a grip.

"You ok, Darlin'?" Twilight comes up from behind you.

You jump and whip your head around to look at him. You feel like you've been caught doing something suspicious- yet all you were doing was standing there hitting your face. "...Um... Ye-yeah. I'm fine. I'm cool! Don't worry about it."

Twilight raises an eyebrow. "Sure. And you were hitting yourself because...?"

"...I'm tired." You lie. "I feel like I'm about to fall asleep any second now."

Twilight frowns and stands a little straighter. "Everythin' alright? Had a bad night or somethin'?"

You cough and nod. "Yeah, something like that. I haven't been able to sleep well lately. I don't know why."

Yes you do. But it's fine. Totally fine.

Twilight puts the back of his hand to your forehead before either of you realize it. His fingers tips move down over your cheeks and behind your jaw. He frowns and leans in. Your breath stills completely, you think your heart stopped beating.

"Are you feeling alright?" He whispers. "I hope you're not getting sick."

You shake your head, gently taking his hand and moving it away from your face. Your attention instantly goes to the way his hand feels in your. Which is totally normal, right? "I don't think so... It just my brain not shutting up these days. I'll be ok."

Twilight leans back and you feel like you can breathe again. "Are you sure? I can help out if you need a break."

You snort. "Yeah? How?"

"I can carry you for a little bit. It's not like it costs anything."

You flush and shake your head, already feeling annoyed with yourself for not holding it together again. Naturally, you want to blame him. "No, really. I'm ok. Come on. We're being left behind."

Twilight nods and moves to walk to the group, still not looking satisfied with your answers. But then Warrior calls him over for something and with one last look to you, he leaves you behind.

It's the perfect excuse to finally break down and scream quietly. You're worse off than you thought. And he's still so sweet. And you can still feel his hand in yours and against your face and the way he looked at you and-

You whine in the back of your throat. "I think I love him."

Warrior

There was something about him that you couldn't look away from. You couldn't say for certain what it was but you liked it.

You like him, to put it simply. He was charming, funny, confident- he didn't hesitate to act and he was always there to put a smile on someone's face regardless if it was at his expense or not.

Speaking of, he kept to your side as it was pouring cats and dogs, sacrificing his scarf to hold it over your heads. You helped him as it got heavier and heavier, huddling closer to his side as it dipped and drooped.

You sigh and looked at him. "How're you holding up?"

"I might have to drop this thing, sorry." He admits quietly. And he's right. You can already see how tired his arms are getting and the scarf is soaked through already, it's not like it helping keeping either of you dry anymore.

Then again, that doesn't answer your question.

You sigh and shake your head, dropping the scarf already. The rain instantly soaks into your hair and shirt, making everything seem twice as heavy. "Do you think we'll reach the others anytime soon? Wild and Time are still behind us, right?"

Warrior sighs also dropping the scarf. Water drips down his face in an instant. "I'm no longer sure. It's too dark to make out anything directly in front of us. If anything, we might be better just sticking to one spot and waiting either for the others to catch up to us or for the storm to stop."

You hum and think about it for a moment. "Do you think there's any cave nearby to take shelter in? I know there's no lightning but I don't feel conformable taking shelter under a tree, just in case."

Warrior looks around, wiping his face free of as much water as he can. He takes your hand and point. "There's that."

It's not much, a large rock jutting out of the ground with only enough space for you both to sit under it. But it'll have to do. You nod and together you both run to the little respite in the storm.

Warrior instantly does his best to clear the area of smaller rocks and twigs for you both to sit comfortable. your heart squeezes a little at the act. He sits down, pressing his back against the rock and pulls you into his side, wrapping his arm around your shoulders. "I wish I do more..."

"This is good enough." You feel yourself growing shy at the close contact. He's never done this before... or has he? It seems so natural to him that he didn't seem to think twice- it's only now that you're noticing it.

You look down for a moment and tuck yourself closer. Warrior takes off his scarf and sets it aside. He takes off his armor and outer most layers. He's warm, you realize and his tunic is still dry. He gestures for you to do the same. Granted, you don't wear as many layers as he does, but by shedding the first one, you instantly feel better and warmer as he pulls you in closer again.

Only his form is more obvious to you this time around- and yours to him. Warrior doesn't seem bothered by it.

You however can feel yourself blushing. This seems awfully familiar to you. Have you dreamed about it before? Your heart is pounding, but it feels good. You feel happy just at the thought of this.

Hold on.... Why?

....Uh-oh.. are you crushing?

"Feel better?" Warrior whispers next to your ear and you look up at him. You bite your lip and nod, unable to hold the look for long. Warrior chuckles under his breath and rubs your shoulder comfortingly. "Good."

Oh, that laugh is going to haunt you now. You liked him. But now it's complicated.

part 2

[pomeloandtv]

ok, that's two down, one more wish

ok, my girlfriend, when we are planning things, from now on occasionally i am going to suggest a completely disproportionate and unreasonable compromise, and when i do i wish that she will not recognise it as that, she will see it as a fair suggestion, clever even, like i've cut the gordion knot

##############

[six months later]

can we go camping this summer?

i dunno the mosquitos ate me alive last time, it ruined the experience

we'll get good mosquito repellent, i can investigate the best things we can do to prevent that, i promise

i dunno, i'm not convinced, lots of other things went wrong that last time

we just need to prepare properly for the trip! we know what went wrong now and so we know what we need to fix, we can do it!

hmmm, ok, how about, we go camping, you investigate the mosquito thing, we start writing a list of everything that went wrong last time, and start doing the research on preventing them, aaaaannnnnndd you get breast implants

"....."

honey?

no, i'm just thinking, that's ... good, really good, it's simple, it works, we can do this. oh my god we will have such good fun this time, i promise

but i mean, [raising eyebrow and cocking head], you know, big ones, like really fake looking too, maybe i should help decide

thank you so much! [big hug] this is so cool! just like that time we agreed who i could spend time with!

[hugging, stroking hair, laughing, maybe a bit too loud] or the time you agreed i should have complete control over your orgasms

[falsetto voice, happily, still hugging tightly] yyeeeeeeeaaaaahhhhhhh

[barely able to contain himself] hahahahaaaaa ah haha [wiping a tear away] oh my god!

[breaking off the hug to look at him quizzically, then smiling] you're funny

[calming down] aah ha ahh [wiping another tear] ok, ok, i'm good, ha! you know me

that's right, i [playfully punches arm] know you. ha ok, i know already what kind of tent we should get and ...

now hang on, here's the order we should do things, we should start making a list of everything we need to get right for camping, but each of those problems will be quick to solve. but your boob job will take longer , both to plan and to heal, we need to start working on that first

ok, huh, but i don't even know where to begin, i've literally never thought about this kind of thing before, ever

right, so it is important to get a good doctor, but not every doctor will want to perform any surgery. you start by investigating potential surgeons, look for people with a good track record and reputation, that specialize in, uh ... [mimes two hefty breasts on his chest], you know? this is important to get right, so you don't need to stay local in your search

ok, i'll do that

meanwhile i'll start compiling pictures that you can show doctors of the types of boobs you want, you know figuring out dimensions and profile and the like

[excitedly clapping hands together in front of her chest] yay!

##############

[four months later]

[posting] hey everyone, new profile pic!

[tadbitsketch]

accidentally took a 4 hour nap and now i can't sleep so mcsm theory time!

ok so this is kind of something that i never really see be debated in the community, but i do see it be represented in different ways. i'm talking about ✨the parallels between the new and old orders✨

for the most part, we can all agree that

magnus: axel (griefer)

ellegaard: olivia (redstonist)

gabriel: petra (warrior)

which just leaves two characters in each order: ivor and soren, and jesse and lukas.

i keep seeing people represent jesse in soren's place, because they're both the leaders of their respective groups or something like that. but i disagree.

lukas parallels soren much better because they're both architects. they're also both writers who live(d) away from civilization. they also both have a habit of being a little* bit dramatic in their storytelling of their adventures.

so if everyone else parallels each other in their roles... how does jesse parallel ivor?

the funny thing about these parallels is how it's not just in job that they match... kinda.

and i have some fun lil theories/analyzations on this, of which i will share!

theory 1: similar arcs

something really cool about these two (and some other notable characters i'll discuss another time) is that they both have character arcs where they grow and change as people.

ivor's plans of revenge backfire horrendously, and after that problem is solved, he makes new friends. ones who aren't liars, people who genuinely help. they're brave, and they forgive. they're willing to learn and change.

and so is he does too.

meanwhile jesse is a noob who knows barely anything about minecrafting who eventually saves the world. they learn a lot from the mistakes of their predecessors.

both ivor and jesse grow as people because of mistakes from the past. they both are characters who have decided to change things from how they were, whether it be how they were themselves or how someone before them was.

theory 2: creation/destruction

so i came up with this awhile ago, but you can split the members of the order into two groups (based on their "classes," so to speak): creators and destroyers.

olivia and ellegaard make redstone contraptions, lukas and soren build. they are creators.

axel and magnus blow things up, petra and gabriel slay monsters. they are destroyers.

what is ivor, then? his role as an alchemist means that he can create potions to help AND potions to harm. he is both a creator and a destroyer.

and jesse, our main character with quite the skillset (except for alchemy), also fits both the roles of a creator and a destroyer. jesse does whatever the heck jesse wants.

boom. parallels.

and one other funky thing i've noticed

ivor's stone in the amulet is the lapis blue one. jesse's favorite color is canonically lapis blue.

[nerves-nebula]

I fucking adore your comic panelling, any advice on how to do it? Like specific ratios or ways to divide the page?

god there's so much advice i COULD give but i really dont wanna end up writing a book here. so I guess I'll say this: however you divide the page you should be CONSISTENT with it, i literally just learned/internalized this but it's made comic paneling soo much easier. when you break that consistency it will be more impactful. hold up lemme grab some pages.

so i recently started making loose stitches a 4 tier comic. it's not the exact same for each page cuz i'm lazy but i think it's made legibility way better. before i think it was kinda uhhhhh a little all over the place. not BAD but a little difficult to tell where your eyes supposed to go sometimes. which isnt great for a commic.

the page on the left in particular has always bothered me cuz i always read the top panels incorrectly and it's like. fuck man what is the paneling here why is it in two columns ????? that's so hard to understand. but the page on the right can be more or less easily understood (by someone who knows how to read comics) even without panel borders because it's just a simple 4 panel square.

one thing my comic professor really stressed was that he didn't like weird paneling or weird borders. for the most part, a square is fine. AND HE'S RIGHT. weird paneling is fun and cool but should be used sparingly or with intention, cuz if you do it too much then like. how tf are ppl gonna read your comic.

that being said there are a lot of cool ways to cut up panels even if they're just squares hold on lemme grab some examples

so the panels here are all square but the image in the one at the bottom is almost like a mural. one thing i really like to using is a lot of heavy BLACK, what can i say silhouette's have my entire heart.

in my fable comic, I used a 3 tier system. it wasn't the same exact size across all pages but all pages had 3 tiers of paneling. that way i can be a little more flexible with the SIZE of the panels to emphasize the more important things, without it feeling like it's all over the place

meanwhile in my comic final i used a 4 tier system where each tier was nearly the same across every page, but you can collapse tiers together for establishing shots and big reveals so that they're more impactful. it's still fully within the grid system I set up so it doesn't feel like it's messing with shit either.

ok i just spent a lot of time rambling about this one particular concept and it's probably not even what you wanted to hear about :') i didnt even go into ratios or anythinggg guhhhh sowwy

other than all that i'd just say you gotta keep looking at what comic artists have written and take note of how they use space and cut things up. there's this book called How To Read Nancy and it has all these exercises for understanding the building blocks of nancy. for real the author is OBSESSIVE and goes through everything of a 3 panel nancy strip from body language to spot blacks to the minutia of the background. we used this book in my class and did some of the exercises in the back and i think it's really good at getting you to THINK about what you're drawing. and you can easily pirate it if you're broke.

also try to make sure things dont get stagnant on a page. zoom out if you're only doing close ups (i try to make sure every page of loose stitches has at least one full body shot even tho I'm lazy and wanna just do talking heads- talking heads arent interesting!!)

also, take advantage of the fact you're drawing a COMIC. you can do shit in comics that you can't do in other mediums, try to implement them when u can! ALSO PRACTICE. you're not gonna get better just by reading and watching. you gotta do it lol. ok ok that's enough and you didn't even ask for that stuff you asked about PANELING sfdasfsd byeee

[cuubism]

would you be ok elaborating on the hob/death post? I already adore Hob and death friendship arcs and Hob/death as a concept and I would LOVE to hear more <3

*cracks knuckles* so--

there are actually two separate AUs. the canonverse one, and the human AU one.

i pitched the canonverse one to @magnusbae thus:

extremely funny au where hob and death have been casually hooking up since 1389 and dream finally confesses his feelings in like 2050 and hob's like ah. should i stop hooking up with your sister then? and dream's like should you stop doing WHAT?

basically. in the six billion years it takes dream to get his shit together and admit to his own feelings for hob, hob and death have just been having loads of no-strings-attached sexy fun in the background (death: you snooze, you lose, dream! *sticks tongue out*)

dream is very perturbed by this, he's like hello that's MY toy?? give it BACK???? I HAD IT FIRST!!!!!!!!!

(we don't headcanon hob and death actually dating, by the way. they're just pals who hook up sometimes. they're very chill about it. dream is the only one who's not chill about it because he wants All Of Hob's Attention All The Time NOW)

tldr:

The human AU version:

Hob and Death are roommates/friends/fuckbuddies who have this lowkey open relationship thing going on. they're having a great time in their casual but well-communicated healthy relationship.

enter Dream, least well-adjusted person on the planet, also Death's younger brother, who's staying with her for a while. and as soon as Dream arrives Death has to watch her formerly reasonable friend Hob disintegrate into a haze of utter Simp Behavior and insanity, and she's like oh boy. this is gonna get interesting.

meanwhile Dream is like handsome... guy... being nice... to me... 😳 *falling down the stairs*

Hob is into him so fast it's embarrassing and eventually Death yanks him aside and just gives him a look. And so like the mature adults they are they do talk about it and Death is like, dude, we aren't dating, you can do whatever you want. Besides, I'd rather have my brother be with someone I actually know and like rather than his other disastrous relationships (though Death is swiftly learning that Hob is much more unhinged than she'd previously thought. Dream brings all of it out in him). So Hob's like cool I'll flirt with your brother

NO ONE TELLS DREAM ABOUT IT

Dream is under the impression that Hob and Death are actually dating. So the more Hob flirts with him the more Dream is like 👀🤔 and he's kind of in love with Hob because ohh Hob is so kind and handsome and he listens to everything Dream says and he's so charming... but he also kind of hates Hob because how dare he cheat on Death and how dare he make Dream want him like that?

Death: so are you and Hob getting along well?

Dream: no. I hope Hob falls off a cliff and dies.

Death:.... alright thanks for the input

But Dream does just keep indulging his worse impulses and one day he just finds himself sitting in Hob's lap on the couch in Death's apartment while Hob listens to him talk and he's just like: oh my god I'm a homewrecker

Dream, later: Sister. Your shitty boyfriend is cheating on you

Death: ....did it actually take Hob this long to ask you out? we talked about it ages ago

Dream: ...

TLDR:

[blue-grama]

A little Film/Jam requeim

Upon the news that these two are not planning any projects together in the future, I was pondering Thai actor pairings and why I liked this particular one. First let me say I'm very in favor of actors not getting joined at the hip forever -- I doubt that's why anyone gets into acting, and while I get the financial reasons this happens in Thai entertainment, I'm generally in agreement that it tends to limit creativity, since the brand often has to come before the story. My only gripe is that now they're off doing lakorns that will never get subbed in English and it's not fair and look, I need to see The Empress of Ayodhaya ok?? I don't think it's a bad thing to have actors with great chemistry appear together in multiple shows, however, and I wanna say that I think these two used that opportunity right. Look, we have Tian:

Utter cinammon roll, too pure for this world, total sweetheart. He's a little scared and a lot beaten down, but he still has a burning spark of respect for himself that he doesn't let extinguish. He spends 73% of this show in the throes of a mental breakdown but still manages to take control of his narrative in the end. It's actively insane that the murder glitter show has such fantastic characters.

And then you have Charn, who is...

... also beaten down by this world, but evil about it. It's all manipulation, manwhoring, and complicated smiles belaying his real feelings with this guy. Refreshingly, he only has to reform himself a little bit to get his happy ending.

Meanwhile, Jiu. Assassin, kind of a tsundere. Marshmallow center, obviously. I'll never be over how after he and Tian first had sex (under the influence of a beetle fungus, OBVIOUSLY), he got deeply hurt that Tian said it was a mistake and accused Tian of doing this to all the boys. Possibly my favorite Jiu moment. ANYWAY.

There isn't as much distance between Jiu and Tinn as there is between Tian and Charn (from what I've seen, Jam maybe doesn't have quite as much range as Film, or at least hasn't been asked to demonstrate it). But Tinn is a more open and straightforward character, the moral center of Laws of Attraction versus a guy who assassinates several people with scissors without remorse in Khun Chai.

Point is, we don't always get this with repeated actor pairings. A lot of the time, you have an underlying dynamic that comes through in all the pair's shows, and it can't wander too far from its origins - I was thinking about this specifically with regards to Only Friends after listening to this excellent debut of the Part 5 (of 4) podcast, which talks about the way Force's Top turned into a completely flat character, possibly because "interesting" would conflict with the whole True Love ForceBook dynamic that GMMTV needs to sell. An appealing dynamic can be great -- hey, I read fanfic, I get the joy of putting the same guy in situations -- but I really liked how Film and Jam went with/were given quite different characters in their two projects together. This could be a lakorn vs. BL thing, but it'd be cool to see more paired actors take on more disparate roles together!

My disappointment over no more shows from these two comes down to wishing I could see what else they might pull off. Jam as the rich jerk instead of Film? Both of them playing morally grey? It could have been fun.

Oh well; I'll just be over here lighting candles for English subs from One31, because at least this hot murderous royalty nonsense looks exquisite.

And if you've read this far, please feel free to drop me recs in the tags or comments of other pairs that have played really different roles or dynamics with each other. I love seeing actors show their range!

[zai-doodles]

How does Lisanna fit into your rewrite?

She was done so dirty in the show I think she deserves so much more

I'm insane u don't know what uve done

I've talked a bit about my lis hcs before and her dynamic with her siblings but she just has like SO MUCH POTENTIAL!!

Like ok let's just get into it

First up, as much as I loved Lucy Ashley in edolas and how she had a really fun dynamic with the trio i just,,,,

IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN LISANNA

like no everyone stop I have so many thoughts about lifetime in edolas

Ur telling me she was the only one who knew about the existence of earthland and she DIDNT SPEAK UP??? LIKE GIRLIE THIS IS UR MOMENT HELLO??

Even if she tried to pull the like "this is my home now" shit I just think it would have been so fun to watch her have this weird dynamic with natsu where she knows exactly what's happening and is trying to lead them both to safety and save earthland fairy tail

PLUS seeing how she interacts with lucy for the first time?? Make them friends??? Please???? I'm on my hands and knees

Edolas high key needs a lot of work when fitting into the overall narrative because as a solo thing it's really fun but raises so many questions for no reason just ugh weird

It could have been cool if lis didn't immediately speak up but in order to defend the guild or save natsu and lucy she had to get one of those pill things to restore her magic so she could defend them and it was this big dramatic reveal rather than, what to me felt lime an after thought

I want full side plots and stories dedicated to lis relearning how to interact with the guild once she's back in earthland. She got so use to them acting a certain way like it takes her a while to unlearn it.

Like in my mind lis is very good friends with all the guild members because she floats around and stays back at the guild alot with mira at first but she truly has to pause when she goes to yell at levy when something breaks Meanwhile levy is just sitting peacefully reading a book like-

Plot wise I want her to force natsu to confront his past and his hard-core attachment issues because when she gets back he literally can't process that she is back so he keeps their interactions very light and short and it hurts lis so much but he's just so unconsciously afraid that once he embraces that's she's back she's going to evaporate because the world hates him fr

And then lucy and juvia and lis I feel all have this weird little club of like, ppl who joined the guild in the past 5 years and loves everyone very much however all these people grew up together and are basically a hivemind and it's hard not to feel left out sometimes

Bc again, even tho lis grew up there and has her siblings, she's literally labeled as the dead girl so she's very isolated at first, especially with how overprotective her siblings become, so lucy and juvia r the only ones who don't treat her that way because they didn't know her before she died

Anyway later in the story I want her to go back to being a full time wizard and taking on jobs whoever needs it since, again she has a dynamic with everyone so she doesn't commit to a team really and just floats around providing support on jobs she thinks ppl can use a hand on, and again it's just more vignettes of her relearning her guildmates and I'm crying thank u for coming to my Ted talk

[talewind-arts]

Hi I'm Aromantic and struggle to comprehend subtle and complex romances. So here's what I like about the simple, squishy, sappy, DoD romances!

-Clay/Peril

Clay grew up being told he was a monster, just like Peril. He sees a part of himself he has seen nowhere else in her and believes deeply that she is good, just as he believes he and everyone else is good.

Meanwhile Peril is 2 inches from his face staring and blushing and bubbling over the one dragon who was sincerely, openly, and unabashedly kind and genuine in a way nobody else could. Also he is the first person to be able to touch her, literally and figuratively and it's fucking hilarious any time the DoD shows they all know and he doesn't.

-Tsunami/Riptide

Two people whose lives have been out of their control since forever. They understand each other in ways only people who have had to learn how to flail around in the dark can.

Plus Riptide being in the Talons of Peace and Tsunami being royalty/the seawing egg is so juicy. Tsunami is, to no fault of her own, the cataclysm for everything about Riptide's life. Riptide is a member of the organization that Tsunami hates more than anyone, far more than the other at best resentful DoD. Their empathy and crushes for one another must be held at bay. Both are extremely loyal and have their own duties, and at the same time care too much for the other to enact those duties in a way that would directly bring harm.

It's a perfect display of the complex morals of Tsunami's character/book.

-Glory/Deathbringer

(I'm in the camp that scavenger logic does not apply to dragon age cause I love these two and its fiction, I do not condone pedophilia nor do I think it applies here. If you disagree that's totally OK, but if you feel the need to debate, I'd honestly rather it be about the actual psychology of the relationships so that I may learn more about this rather alien concept)

It's so fucking cool that after Glory's parental figures tried to kill her, she meets an assassin meant to do the same, who even though it is his job, actively and vocally tries not to kill her. AND THEN he becomes her bodyguard, making sure she never gets killed. It's SO GOOD.

Anyhow much like Glory, Deathbringer grew up an outsider. He is a healthy, continent bound, silly Nightwing, as unheard of as a fierce, serious, sarcastic Rainwing. Deathbringer says it himself, Glory fascinates him, I think he sees himself in her a lot, which is a uniquely new feeling for someone who broke free of the Nightwing’s trademark ‘all for the plan, none for the self’ mentality. At the other end, Glory's life is/was very unstable, and she constantly grapples with self worth and feeling like she doesn't belong. Having someone who constantly gives her affirmations (clearly crushes on/is attracted to her, finds her deeply funny and interesting, believes strongly in her choices) is so important for her. She needs someone who will worship the ground she walks on just as much as Deathbringer needs someone who can step on him who knows what it's like to be on the outside looking in.

-Starflight/Fatespeaker

(FYI I haven't done much thinking on these two yet, this may be subject to change)

All Fatespeaker ever wanted was friends. Heck, she actively lies to herself that she has friends in the false dragonets, who instead take any chance they get to berate and annoy her. Like all the false dragonets, Fatespeaker is a deliciously fascinating warping of Starflight. Both groups poke fun at their annoying Nightwing nerds, but only the DoD care enough to prompt Starflight to infodump, and they only tease him because they know he could dish it back. This was the life Fatespeaker thought she led, so of course Starflight piqued her interest. He is everything she wants to be.

Meanwhile, Starflight as we all know is totally into bubbly and hopeful personalities. In fact, his book is entirely started by him having some of that hope himself. Fatespeaker is hopefulness to the MAX. Starflight needs to be around her, to ground himself with that hope and kindness and reckless abandon, to keep his mind from racing. Just as Fatespeaker needs to learn what healthy relationships are from Starflight and those around him. They ground each other in ways they wish others could, in ways they have been searching for their whole lives, and even if they don't end up together (They will cause it's a sappy book but I headcanon it going either way)

So those are my thoughts. Please share your own if you have them, and keep in mind I'm Aromantic so if I missed any subtext…woops! Maybe add it onto this post so I can learn? Thanks for reading!

[j2zara]

porter w 3 jaceclones in his house, two of which would be happy to fuck him: but i want the REAL jace :(

ah well aint porter wanting the REAL jace really the problem at the heart of everything all the time? As was posited in 7 Jaces thesis?

Anyway there is a part of me that does think the phonesex definitely happened like Porter definitely drunk dialed Jace one night and Jace degraded him until he came but like. Jace in his mind is like "that doesn't count b/c its phonesex". So all this insistence on maintaining his boundaries and actually trying to do the right thing (while also fucking over the jaceclones in the process obviously) is complete bullshit. As far as the timeline goes, in my heart if its Definitely A Thing That Happened it only happened once but through infinite jace theory all things are possible so if we push this then what

Tbh i do think J2 and J3 being The Way They Are is part of why Porter... Like... he calls jace with the intent of maybe jace will come crawling back but the degradation doesn't hurt and is like actually is this maybe what i wanted because like? J2 and j3 will do anything for him. And like, that's what he wants he supposes, what he always wanted with jace but that's not conflict, thats not conquest, where is the fun without a little fight?

I do think it would be funny if J2 and j3 found out about this. Like J2 would maybe be a little upset but also be like oh ok. I mean. Whatever you think is best (while silently thinking about the last time jace and porter were together it was this huge fight, he hasn't been jaceporter pantheon pilled yet and is holding out hope that porter can be his), meanwhile J3 is like. Actually can i get in on that. Im so sad like landlines aren't really a thing anymore bc i just know j3 would LOVE to be listening in on the landline if that were the case. The cogs are definitely turning

That being said I do think my favorite point to slip this into the timeline is right after J2 kissed Porter for the first time (and j2's first handjob yipeeeee). I just think it would be fun.... Because Porter is still thinking about how kissing Bluejay felt the same as kissing Jace but this is also right after his fight with J2 in which j2 is trying to be so so supportive but porter is just frustrated bc J2 won't give him a straight answer on what he actually wants or thinks its always just whatever you want! He misses jace. This isn't jace. This is so much of what jace used to be Before porter. But it felt the same, right?

So he calls Jace and Jace might even be able to kind of guess what is up because he could FEEL it, he could feel porter's anger and frustration that Jace is not the one there with him. and jace is sort of mocking him for it, like are you really fucking the clone? Son of a bitch, you're fucking the clone aren't you? wow you really can't move on can you, how pathetic is that. And after all that i'm it and you know it. And now you can't have me and that makes you sick. (and jace's life right now is miserable and fucked but at least he has that sort of power right? being able to deny porter something that he wants?)

And like. Porter expected or maybe hopes jace would crumble but he KNOWS he's been fucking up this entire time. He knows this is different, jace isn't coming back. So maybe Jace means it when he says well i do miss when you fuck me. I hate you but at least i miss that mught. At least your cock never made me mad. (And he has fucked everything in jace's life, so why would that not be the truth? Maybe he's the instrument here). All this talk about ascension and godhood meanwhile, the only time you liked yourself was when you were pleasing me. Something Something Jace Cool Girl Thesis right? "I'm the cunt you married. The only time you liked yourself was when you were trying to be someone this cunt might like"

And porter is thinking maybe that's true. He misses when he was fucking jace and jace would say his name like it was something of reverence. Like it meant anything at all. Maybe that WAS the only time he was ever any good to jace. The only time he ever really felt like he was acting in the service of something holy. Everything else has been ruin and now doesn't even have the cunt he destroyed just so Porter could have him. Maybe he's just a guy with a bick dick havin a mid life crisis. If he tried that with. J2. Would it sound the same coming from Bluejay's mouth? It would have to, right? Maybe he should give it a shot just to see. The fact that he's willing to give it a shot makes him even more disgusting—which is only more fodder for jace's hatred and degradation. Cool Girl Thesis part 2! "You think you'd be happy with some midwestern girl? No way baby. I'm it"

Maybe it shouldn't matter to him, a god can have what he wants right? The entire flock if it suits him. But Porter still wants the cunt he married

[intertexts]

pulling u into a trap. talk about nhw not-demonkicks >:] 🔪🔪🔪

GOD. YOU'RE EVIL. man. i actually have to sort out my thoughts now....

ok. starting w/ ashe. inasmuch as any of them are "a thing" i think. ashe n william have their weird emo kids sitting in each others laps and giggling thing first. u mentioned once them like. sitting on the roof w/ fireball or something & being teenagers w/ big messy emotions that nobody else gets & maybe they kiss about it. ashe freaks out SO bad after this he's like ohhh my god i'm going to ruin their friendship i'm going to fuck everything up i'm just coming in here and breaking their whole thing virion's scary virion's going to kill me. wibby is like what? nah, it's chill, it's not like we're together (<- INSANE thing for ashe to hear btw. please imagine being in his pov. u know he's seen them up to shit in front of him.) in my head he straight up just calls virion on speaker phone in front of him & is like hey v do u care if i kiss ashe. virion just woke up from a nap tired flat affect staticky phone voice what??? sure? he's nice :] (<- thinking abt ashe & virion pre-muse dynamic immensely also. 2 me v takes the longest to warm up to him just bcos. virion sol insane paranoia forever & always. ashe thinks v hates him he doesn't ofc. they're both quiet & awkward enough that them being in a room alone together is just them sitting there in awkward silence. eventually dakota goes You two are so fucking stupid. & they figure it all out etc etc etc) & then also. well. of course they're all a package deal.

anyway. not-demonkicks. to me ashe has the closest thing to an actual big ol crush on dakota. dakota's the first friend he ever made!!! dakota's *failsafe*!!!! literally impossible not to be drawn into his orbit. he's so friendly and bright and brave and cool and nice and and and and. this is like. okay a lot of it literally is just "first friend/person who's Nice to you ever." & a little bit of hero worship. i'm incapable of writing like. allo shit ever, u know how it goes. there's a lot of confusing of emotions going on but that doesn't make it any less real or important yk? bro thinks he has such a normal person crush n meanwhile he's like ohhh he's so cool and nice and has such a pretty smile..... what if we h*ld h*nds.... i wish i could take a nap with him....... (<-terrified like a hunted prey animal about it) dakota knows n doesn't mind, it doesn't like, freak him out. he's literally got will n virion. & i won't go into the whole like discussion they have but they figure it out. so maybe it is wish fulfillment to have someone liking ("liking" hitting ashe w the arospec bream he just isn't that self aware to know what his feelings are) u & knowing that u. can't like them back in that way & being okay n even happy with it? anyway. what's kind of fun 2 me is that dakota does in fact kiss ashe sometimes. not, like, frequently, & usually more for ashe than himself. but like, nonzero amount. this has wibby & virion going >:( in a lighthearted unbothered way. (he doesn't do that to ME!!! but they all love ashe. so. u know. common consensus is that he deserves all the nice things.) (he & will don't + if anything he'll just tell wibby hey go make out with virion for me. their weird like proxy dynamic is so important to me.) ashe is like. his special little guy. william is like the other half of his soul insane binary star pair we all know this. & virion's his virion & i Absolutely cannot start talking about them & make this longer than it is. but point is he just likes ashe so much uncomplicatedly. he like. reminds him of himself before his second trigger? dakota didn't... he was also really fucked up about his powers for years. he didn't know many people & he avoided being Around people frequently bcos it hurts very badly! but that. isolation and desperate desire For friends For people to love and be loved by.... yeah. he likes listening to ashe talk about whatever wikipedia rabbithole he's been down and listening to his & will's music & watching virion braid his hair & the minutia of who-likes-who-how-is-it-labeled doesn't matter at all. anyway 70% of the time they're at work doing hero business or freaking out at school & 25% of the time they're being normal lame teenagers & this is really just about the 5% of time they actually have to have soft messy teenage relationship Situations <333 and of course. everything goes nightmare mode after overlord.!

[thegamingcatmom]

Hello <3 Listen I've started playing re8 and i've had my first encounter with the Dimitrescu family and I am here wondering why the hell didn't I play this sooner so I could obsess over this even sooner, but oh well. So I know you're cooking up a story where they meet the Denalis and I was like walking through the castle and my mind started asking questions. So ofc I imagine you don't wanna give away details of your story because then you wouldn't be able to tease us with lil spoilers and where's the fun in that, right? ;P So instead lemme write down what came to my mind and ask your opinion on that, let's dive into my delulu-land vision XD Tbh is nothing like super elaborated bc you know just rnadom throughts that came to mind so bear with me bc it probably makes 0 sense ok? SO it made me think like in a more kind of "modern" set up, where the Denalis are already vegetarians, they've lived a veeery long life, yk kind of like things are in the Twilight movies/books. In my mind it was like for X reason they were moving from Denali to another place to live, be because the Volturi, bc they had been exposed and therefore they need to gtfo before shit hits the fan (I blame the drones if that's the reason tho) IDK it could be literally any reason, it is unimportant. They somehow end up finding the castle, they meet this vampires who are like super different from them (In my mind I think is cool they can eat human food and sleep and shit eve n though perhaps they don't need it so I'd probs keep that for all vamps in any possible story but that's out of the question XD) and they ofc live very differently from them, the castle ofc doesn't mantain itself, so they have ppl working there for them and they probs dispose of them as soon as they stop being useful, they drink human blood, they make a game out of their hunts and seem to enjoy the pain they inflict before actually drinking the blood. Meanwhile the Denalis started drinking animal blood to stop killing the humans they slept with (With other reasons in the mix too but in the end it was to rpeserve human life) and they've lived away from humans, living in secret and all that shit, like is two complete different worlds they live in. Now all that to make this questions: Say Lady D offered them a place to stay in the castle for reasons unknown bc I hadn't actually thought about it tbh, I don't think she'd mind if they kept their boring vegetarian lifestyle, but they have a choice now to keep it or instead go back to human blood, which honestly seems more tasty and the better option, do you think they'd take it? Would they agree and stay in the castle? Would they leave? Idk f there would be any consequences if they decide to leave though, and in case of staying what about the coven itself? I mean Tanya's the leader, but it matters little I think her title in the castle bc I am not sure if Lady D gives a duck about it honestly, it's her castle after all(?) And final question I promise: How do you think they would adapt to this "new life" in the case they accept Lady D's offer of staying? You think someone might have more of a hard time with it? Will they talk/argue about it among themselves? Consider their options? I have a feeling that Tanya would not take any offer without speaking first to her coven, they are family after all and whatever they do will affect all of them, so yeah. Also this probably makes no sense as I stated before, it was a bunch of random thoughts that I poorly put together so yk don't feel like you gotta answer to all that nonsense XD And I still have not finished the game, just barely started it so idk, perhaps I'm missing some important lore, or something is inadequate, anyway thanks for reading my delulu-bible and for recommending me to go play the game <3 <3 Have a nice day :D

...Oh?

We´re simping for both camps now?

I love how, after having only just reached their section (apparently), this is the result. As in: The Dimis got their sickles hooked in you alright, LMAO.

Can´t say I´m surprised. *cough cough*

Like-

(Simping starts in 3...2...1...)

This was ALL of us when the game was only just coming out and Lady D was revealed in the Maiden Demo. It was madness, lemme tell you. The memes, the art, the fics my god-

The fics were smt else. And they just kept coming. They still do. Lady D destroyed the internet like no other video game character before. People kept dying in game just so they could stick around Castle Dimitrescu for a bit longer (preferably forever).

Like, this was the majority of ppl playing the game:

Lady D: *begins stalking you*

Ethan (you): *heart-eyes*

Lady D: *stalks closer*

Ethan (you): *heart-eyes*

Lady D: *unsheathes her claws*

Ethan (you): *dreamy smile*

Lady D: *takes one giant swipe at you that nearly beheads you*

Ethan (you), barely alive: "...F-Fancy stepping on me too?"

.

It was truly a time to be alive.

(You should check out some reactions to Lady D on Youtube, especially Markiplier. 💀)

I mean, LISTEN-

I dunno what Capcom was trying to accomplish with The Dimitrescus (they knew exactly what they were doing), but being stalked and hunted down by feral goth ladies and their equally as feral Momma because they thirst for your blood (and hopefully mayhaps other things) is pretty much a dream come true for most ppl. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Capcom, were you even trying? Honestly.

.

Okay anyhow-

I love your thoughts on this. Especially because it´s a lot more serious than what I originally came up with, lmao. Like, this thing I got cooking rn is pretty much a total crack fic (for now). Yknow, stuff like portals and time travel and whatnot seems entirely possible there, but I haven´t reached that part yet (the explaining part), so it´s still rather unclear how they got to the castle.

Like, it never occured to me that the Denalis might just find the "real" village in Romania (which is where the game is set). But now that I´m reading your thoughts on it, this seems pretty plausible to me. Defo something I can see happening. With that said:

Lemme start by giving some canon info (which hopefully won´t spoil anything for you):

the Dimis aren´t actual vampires

they are what they are because of a parasite aka The Cadou

they need to sustain themselves on human flesh and blood because of it (for survival & to maintain their powers)

Lady D will grow to the point she mutates out of control if she doesn´t (I´ve read that somewhere)

the Daughters are made entirely of flies

those flies will die if exposed to the cold (yet another thing that´s entirely different from Twilight vampires, who can only be fully destroyed through fire)

Lady D has no such "weakness"

the pain they inflict upon their victims is not necessary for feeding

they just enjoy being cruel

they turn their staff into wine at some point

or use them for experiments ("Moroaicǎ")

With all of that said: I totally agree that it´s a clash of two entirely different worlds. But that´s what makes it so interesting.

I also kinda HC that The Dimis see vampires as some kind of role models? In a way? Like, they clearly enjoy this lifestyle (a bit too much), so I feel like meeting some actual vampires - the real deal - would be like meeting a popstar or smt. At least to the daughters. (Dani would swoon.)

Lady D would be a lot more skeptical about it ofc, but there´s no way she would be able to hide her curiosity. I mean, how many beings pose an actual threat to them? Not that many. Which means Lady D would be quite hostile at first. She got her daughters to think of as well, after all. There would be the usual threats of "slice you to ribbons" and such, until she realizes-

There are no ribbons. And there won´t be. Because her claws are actually kinda useless against them.

As are the flies the daughters are made of. There´s no piercing that skin.

That´s never happened before.

That´s when it dawns on them that whatever they´re up against isn´t entirely human. The fact they (the Denalis) lack a heartbeat or the usual warmth is kinda telling as well.

In fact, the Daughters don´t enjoy being near them at all. They´re so cold!

But, you see-

The Daughters might keep their distance (for now).

But Lady D is more than intrigued at this point.

Listen, that woman is a sucker for power. That´s why she´s got the hots for Mother Miranda (MM), after all.

Well that, and because MM is fine af, obv.

(I don´t blame you, Alci.)

Anyway-

If she saw the Denalis wielding their vampiric powers and, yknow, posing an actual challenge for her in terms of brute strength because it´s not every day she meets someone who´s actually able to lift her- (can you imagine?)

Ofc she´s gonna want to get to the bottom of it all. Because she´s also a bit of a nerd, you see. Just like Momma. (They both fine af.) She´s gonna want to study them, write down every little detail in that notebook of hers.

Kate´s power is gonna fill page upon page as Lady D goes completely mad scribbling it all down like-

With that said:

Yes, I defo think Lady D would demand invite them to stay. She´s nothing if not a gracious hostess to those she deems worthy.

.

As for the Denalis-

Tanya would never make decisions without discussing it with her coven first. Not those that could be life-altering, at least. They'd only stay if everyone agreed to it. And, even then, I'm not sure it would be a permanent stay. I mean-

It's difficult.

I'd say it depends "which" Denalis we're talking. If we take the more deranged ones from my story (The Sisters) then I can defo see them agreeing to a permanent stay in the castle. Human life means next to nothing to them, aside from being their food source ofc. And while they might not agree with everything that's happening in the castle (some of the things going down in the cellar are...tough, even for them), they'd never judge the Dimis for their lifestyle, seeing how they're far from being saints themselves. One as corrupted as the other, I´d say.

If we take the veggie/modern Denalis, on the other hand-

I mean, the sisters killed ppl before. Loads of them probs. Therefore, the Dimis sustaining themselves on human blood and flesh isn't as appalling to them as it would be to your usual human. But it's how they do it (torturing their victims and basically getting the most out of it before they deliver the final blow) that makes them feel...conflicted. Most of their kind (as in: actual vampires) usually don´t draw it out longer than necessary. Mainly because they´ll succumb to their bloodlust almost immediately, sucking their victim dry in a matter of seconds. That (thankfully) doesn´t leave much room for any kind of torture.

With that said-

It´s still difficult, lmao.

I feel like our modern Denalis would defo be intrigued by the Dimitrescus. Then they´d be appalled. Then Lady D comes in with all that charm of hers, laying it on real thick yknow, basically downplaying the things that are happening in that castle full of blood and death. Then the daughters come in with their buzzing personalities. Then the Denalis would be intrigued again. And so on-

And before you know it, years have passed.

That´s the only way I can see our modern Denalis stay in that castle over an extended time period. Cause time works just differently for vampires, yknow. Years are like seconds to them. All one and the same. Doesn´t really matter. Not when you got eternity anyway.

.

Now, that was pretty much me rambling and fangirling without any kind of order, lol. So lemme try and give some more direct answers:

Would the Denalis switch to human blood during that time?

I think that´s entirely possible. That castle is pretty much filled with human blood - it´s everywhere: In the cellar, in the kitchen, in the storage rooms, in the wine glasses, etc. It lurks around every corner, constantly putting our sisters to the test. It´s like waving a piece (more like a bar) of chocolate in front of someone who´s been living on dry toast. Resisting becomes almost impossible under such conditions.

And the Dimis know that.

Am I suggesting that Lady D and her unruly daughters might try and seduce the Denalis back to human blood by deliberately leaving it out in the open, ripe for the taking?

Why yes, yes I am. That´s totally something the Dimis would do in order to gain numbers (and other things).

Would there be any consequences if the Denalis decided to leave?

As I said before, the Denalis pose an actual threat/challenge to Lady D. Neither her nor her daughters could do much to stop them from leaving, if they decided to do so. Doesn´t mean they wouldn´t try though. Lady D is a narcissist and rejection isn´t something she handles well. Her daughters share that sentiment.

"So you don´t love me?!"

Yup. That´s totally smt Dani would say in that situation. The poor baby.

Anyhow-

The Dimis would probs try to stop them because rolling over just isn´t in their nature. But I´d like to think one of the following things would happen then:

A) The Denalis use their vampiric charm to convince the Dimis to let them go without a fight.

B) Lady D puts a stop to things herself once she realizes the only ones to get hurt during this would be her daughters and herself. (She´d never admit that openly ofc.)

To sum it up:

Even if there were consequences, it´s highly unlikely the Denalis would be affected by them.

Would the Denalis adapt well to their new life? Would they struggle at all?

I think my fangirling pretty much answered that, lmao.

Unhinged Denalis: No problem with adapting. (More like they cba as long as they get their fill.)

Normal (modern) Denalis: Depends on the Dimis´ efforts I´d say. There´d defo be times of struggle and self-doubt. But then there´d also be times of "yknow what, why tf not". It´s a constant back and forth and it really depends on how well the Dimitrescus play their cards.

As for who might struggle the most:

Lemme start by saying Kate would struggle the least. I mean, the struggle would still be there, but she´s never been one to back down from a challenge. She´s also not one to shy away from the unknown - on the contrary: Out of the three of them, Kate is probs the one most likely to go "only one way to find out", YKNOW?? No risk, no fun, and all that. That´s why Cass and her get along so well. Whenever the two of them are together, the whole castle holds its breath.

Tanya would probs feel quite torn because, above all else, she has a duty to fulfill: ensuring the best possible outcome for her coven. So there´d be this constant nagging, telling her that all of this is kinda wrong and that, just mayhaps, it´d be better to haul ass. But then there´s time where she´s actually enjoying herself when she´s having "wine" with Bela, giving each other some advice on how to best handle their younger sibllings and such. That nagging fades for a while then. Until it´s back. But so is Bela. And that nagging fades again. And so on.

Irina would spend most of her time with Dani probs, gushing about finding true love and such. She sees a lot of herself in the youngest Dimitrescu daughter, albeit a lot more...unhinged, lol. They get each other, as crazy as it sounds. It also really helps taking her mind off things, makes her forget what´s going on in that castle. For a while, at least. Until the doubts start creeping back in. Dani notices though, she always does. And she´s always there to manipulate cheer her bestest friend up.

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.

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I hope I´ve managed to cover everything. Tbh, that was just me rambling most of the time, hoping it all would make sense along the way, lmao.

...Come to think of it, that´s pretty much my writing style. 💀

Thanks a lot for your ask! I really, really enjoyed that mashup. 🥰💋

Have a great day as well! ❤️

[that--funny--feeling]

Why Existence is the perfect conclusion to TXF: my take on S8

William's storyline is the last X-File of the season (of the entire serie for some) and I think that it contains the essence of the show and the characters and that's why S8 should have been the last one in my opinion.

This analysis will aim to examine both positive and negative factors of S8. I'll try to do my best, but this is also a very personal meta. I ask you to hang on with me, if you can.

S8 overall impressions

I concluded S8 one week ago now and I had time to reflect with a cool head. I still think this is the worst season of the show (if we don't include 9 to 11 and I'm not going to talk about them here and I'd like to keep ignoring them :D ). Mulder's absence heavy influences the season obviously, the atmosphere is tragic and dramatic. It's a bit of a shock for the fans, since the light and fun air we had in season 6 and especially 7. Even though I liked Doggett and Reyes and I'm glad they joined the team, the mytharc episodes were way more then usual and as usual not handled well (starting with Within/Without), also some episodes were really just bad (Badlaa) and other make suffer Scully again and again uselessly (Roadrunners). How many times can Scully be afraid to have a miscarriage? She's pregnant and alone ffs, she had enough. All the fixation on her baby and people who wanted to hurt him or both of them really made me sick at some point.

Mulder's return makes things better, if we ignore his OOC behaviour in Three Words. I get his PTSD and feeling out of place in a world that went on without him. And I expected him to be territorial about the X-Files with Doggett, but he talks to Scully like he resents she's moving out of work because of her pregnancy. He'd be the first one to explode with joy for her (for them both), finding out she's going to have a baby. I'm glad he behaves normally from Empedocles on. Mulder's resurrection in This is not happening/Deadalive is a bit all over the place (they think he's dead but in the end he's not but meanwhile they buried him for three months? And then they need a vaccine for him to not turn into an aline but in the end they don't? O-ok. What's going to think Maggie Scully about all of this? Poor soul) but ok, let's go on.

Scully's pregnancy

Through all the season, we don't exactly know what to think about Scully's pregnancy. She wasn't supposed to have children after her abduction. Then Mulder tells her he found the vial with some of her ova. She takes them to Dr. Parenti and he says she has a chance. We also find out Dr. Parenti seems to be involved in aliens' experiments. In the end IVF doesn't work. So it seems whatever he tried to do with her, he failed, but the question remains: how is possibile for Scully to be pregnant?

Even Mulder doesn't know what to think. And I don't think his confusion is about the who's the daddy stupid topic, but about how it was possibile for her to carry a child in the first place. He's worried someone is using her again and she will suffer again. I don't think he has doubts that, experiments aside, he's the only one that can be the father of that baby. And even though he wasn't the biological one, he'd accept the role as the father all the same.

Aside from that, I think this baby is the first chance in Mulder and Scully's life to find their own normalcy, to start a life aside from work, to step aside from their save-the-world-responsabilities. They suffered enough for a lifetime afterall.

Getting out of the damn car

Mulder isn't in the FBI anymore. Scully is in maternity leave but she's not sure she'll be back. The X-Files were hard to leave behind for both of them, but they realized they would reach an end of the road sooner or later. And the end is now. We see a switch from Mulder's moment of closure about Samantha. He feels free and lighter, the atmosphere in S7 is fun and playful. As I tried to show in my fanvid, I think not only Scully, but Mulder too seeks a simpler life (maybe normalcy wasn't the right term. Neither Mulder nor Scully were ever proper afterall). At the end of S7 they both are getting there:

But even before Mulder's abduction, there's always the dilemma: Mulder's personal quest may be over, but what about looking for the Truth? Unmask the corrupt government and its secrets? This quest is maybe endless and both Mulder and Scully know about it.

Will the duty always be before the personal happiness?

Doggett & Reyes

Here they come, a skeptic and a believer again, to achieve the needed balance. I liked how the writers didn't try to replace Mulder with a similar character. Doggett is way different: he's an old school policeman, he seems reliable and tough. The sheriffs respect him and don't go as far away as possible from him like it happens with some other spooky and weird guy. He has male friends and does manly things. But he's also lonely and he's lost somebody he deeply cared for because of something he can't explain. So he's drawn to the X-Files in more ways than one.

Reyes always smiles and that made me fall for her. She's a breath of fresh air in a dark and melancholic season. She doesn't know well Scully, but she's ready to help, because she trusts Doggett and that's enough for her. She respects Mulder even before knowing him, because Scully does and that's enough for her. She's ready to do everything for a cause that she cares for and her amazement and sense of justice really reminded me of the feeling of the first season.

I adore how Scully and Doggett's trust is built case after case, I love how Scully sees something of herself in him (his need to find practical proofs and his stubborness on not believing the fantastic) and viceversa (Doggett is protective of her and her child because he doesn't want her to go through what happened to him). I love how Scully likes Reyes from day one, because she's fun and weird and she reminds her of her dead sister (this really warms my heart).

I love how Mulder obviously is territorial about his department with Doggett but then starts to respect and trust him enough with the X-Files. I love how Mulder sees how spontaneous and stubborn Reyes is and says she'd be useful in the X-Files.

The way both Mulder and Scully pass the baton to them really does things to me. Because maybe the quest to the truth really is infinite, but they understand they can find people honest and passionate about that just like them. And after all these years, they can rest, knowing that someone is still out there fighting.

William

As I anticipated, many things are said about this baby. He may be an hybrid by the aliens, he may be a supersoldier by the army, he may even be a real miracle by God. But I like to think it's none of these things.

William is really the union of Mulder and Scully. When the IVF fails, Mudler says:

Mulder, the furthest man from religion, says it to Scully, because that's what he does best: he believes. He never gives up no matter what (he neither did when Scully had cancer). He knows she needs to hear it and he needs it too. He's ready to believe in a miracle for her.

I don't think William is a miracle in the christian sense. I think he's a miracle, because it's the most improbable but plausible thing that could happen in a sea of paranormal possibilities. What if there was a 1% chance for Scully to become pregnant in a conventional way and they fell in that 1%? He's the essence of both their genetics and their points of view. What if he is just a normal boy?

Because it's theirs, their baby, their miracle. And if I have to choose what to believe, I want to believe that.

The end.

My TXF posts and videos.