#and more importantly why are they actually really good at singing on this one THAT ISNT NORMAL 😭😭😭

[sunlightfeeling]

i never appreciated “we are smap!” enough…….

I actually resisted putting her on repeat when it came on during my drive to my parents…

..cuz that was definitely nawwwwt the time to go down emotional song rabbit hole

and so to make up for lost time, she has been on repeat…………for way too long

this is practically self-inflicted agony lmao fuckin help 😭😂

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Hi! Sorry to disturb. I'm a quite inexperienced writer, I'm trying to write my first long work and I don't want to just get it out and be done with it, I want to put care in it, so your blog has been super helpful for both small tips and for big deals. So I have a doubt and I thought I'd ask you, if you can't or don't want to answer that's fine!

One of my main characters is a singer but most importantly a song writer so the songs she writes really have a meaning with the story and are meant to get a reaction from her counterpart. I tried a few ways but I can't seem to incorporate her singing very well in my pages, how would you go about it? Do you have any tips?

Thank you and have a good days and holidays if you celebrate xx

Hi! Here are some references and tips from various sources I found for you. Use which ones would work best with your specific story, and alter as needed:

Writing Template: Singing Scene

Part 1

What perspective will this be from? The singer or the audience? Maybe both.

There is more to singing than using the voice.

Will the audiences’ emotions be front and center for this scene or will it be the character’s? It doesn’t matter if you are writing first person or second person. The character can show the reader what the audience is thinking based on body language. 

If the character is singing alone, the audience can be more than just themselves. It could be a deity they believe in, or a loved one that passed away and is present either in physical spirit or thought. Could be a pet or even nature itself (trees, grass, etc) as the character’s audience. They all would respond in their own ways. Maybe the trees dance in the wind while the character sings a melody. Or the birds and bees join in on the tune.

Part 2

Connect a deep feeling and understanding back to the reader.

Remember, overall experience is more important than mechanics.

What is the song about? What genre? How does it sound? Is it slow or fast? Lighthearted or formal? Does the singer have a high voice or a low one, or a mix? 

How does the song make people who hear it feel? Is the singer doing anything else while they sing?

Let’s say the main character has a song stuck in their head. One way to show the reader (if it’s important to the overall plot) is when every time the song gets stuck in the character’s head, the paragraph would stop and a new one would start with the lyrics.

Part 3

Create an emotion profile for why the character is singing

Is there a message you want to convey? This can be shown by how the character sings.

Tone/breathy, maybe the sound of an exasperated sigh would be heard in parts of the singing.

How the character holds tension in the body can really influence the emotion. Are they rigid, loose? Perhaps seemingly overthinking it.

Diction can be shown through how you write the lyrics the character is singing. For example, hard/soft on the consonants using bold letters or capitalization. The character can have pauses and slurring in the singing, shown through the way you write the lyrics.

Breath. Every emotional state has a breathing pattern associated with it. Ways to write breathing for singing would be through body language and onomatopoeia. For example if the character is scared and is hyperventilating: He placed a hand over his heart, barely able to stare into the crowd of onlookers. Wheeze, gasp!  Was all the lyrics we heard from him that night”.

Think about the type of song and the genre. For example, if you’re writing about rock music, the instruments will be guitar, drums, piano. So ‘Her voice rose higher, while trying to follow the raspy, intense notes of the musician’s bass.  

Is this a new song?

If you’re using well-known songs, include action, internal monologue, and scenery description to avoid a reader skipping over to the actual story.

If a song is new or a unique take, you can paraphrase the lyrics in a way that tells you something relevant to the character or moment.

Example: The goofy man staggered down the street in his drunken stupor singing: “You ma-a . . . blue-eyed girl!” He took another swig from the bottle in his hand. “Do you remember when . . . we used to sing: Oh la la, la la, la la, la la, la te da! Just like that!”  He took another swig. “All alone on my own. I thought I saw you the other day. But it was my dreams—” He was silenced by sirens coming from behind him down the alley. He bolted!

Part 4

Create emotion profiles for the song.

Purpose of the song. Is the message in the content of the song or the characters reaction to them?

Songs in fiction have multiple purposes such as giving background details, foreshadow, used as a metaphor, portray emotion or conflict, reflect or mirror events of the story, used for character development, etc. The message you are trying to convey will determine how you write them.

One method is good for when the content of the song is unimportant or secondary to the characters reaction. Simply include a description of the song. Using broad terms, describe the topic and style of the song but keep focus on how it affects the characters.

Part 5

How does it end? Good note or bad? Audience wanting more? Character feeling happier?

Don’t be afraid to end the scene or chapter here.

When it ends, is there thunderous applause?

How are they feeling? What are they thinking? Their posture. Are there any subtle movements in their hands, eyes, and breathing patterns?

After singing the character could simply move on to later that night or the next day. You don’t necessarily have to show what happens right after. It may even make the reader curious. You can show the results of singing throughout the story, for example, if other characters start treating the singing character nicer, or they get a contract deal, or if their depression has subsided. Example:

Intense, was the crescendo as it built to a slow roll that crashed like a great wave into the souls of those that listened. A calming silence fell over the eager audience; they were captivated by the intoxicating tune coming from this slender throat. From the depths of his soul, the lyrics rose and swelled around everyone in that room as if all could feel his misery. In this moment, his pain was their pain and the audience and singer were as one. 

Some Personality Traits of Singers

3,088 singers were surveyed to learn what personality traits and interests make them unique.

Singers are artistic and enterprising. They tend to be predominantly artistic individuals, meaning that singers are creative and original and work well in a setting that allows for self-expression. They also tend to be enterprising, which means that they are usually quite natural leaders who thrive at influencing and persuading others. [Using the Holland codes]

The top personality traits of singers are openness and social responsibility. Singers score highly on openness, which means they are usually curious, imaginative, and value variety. They also tend to be high on the measure of social responsibility, indicating that they desire fair outcomes and have a general concern for others. [Using the Big Five]

Character Development through Music

One device that is highly effective in understanding character is music. Music is nearly universal in its influence.

It’s a bit too easy to just answer the question, “What kind of music does my character like?”

More difficult might be, “What kind of music would my character turn off?”

You might think of an entire type of music or, more likely, a specific song. Maybe a song that would break your character’s heart in two at just the first beat.

Think about instances of revealing character traits using music as a way to show your reader more about how your character interacts with the world.

Music can be explored in literature showing us just how responsive this device can be to character.

Our knowledge of character may be deepened by their interaction with music.

How might this work in your own writing?

Try this exercise, using the first few words from Prince’s iconic “Kiss”:

“YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE BEAUTIFUL…”

Copy this line, including the quotation marks. Unless your character is Prince, write says, or sings, or said, and your character’s name.

Imagine your character speaking these 6 words.

To whom did they say them? Where are they talking? Are they singing at a bar? Or is your scene NOT connected to the reality of this song at all?

You can imagine that your character is the first person to ever say these words to another. Take time to free-write this scene, and see what happens next.

More references:

On Sensory Language ⚜ Word Alternatives: Auditory

Words to Describe Someone's Voice ⚜ Key Musical Terms

Sources: 1 2 3 ⚜ More: Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

Hope this helps. No need to apologise, this was such an interesting request for me to look into. So thanks so much for that & happy holidays to you! <3

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

Have you noted that no one from Azula's family was shown to express love and affection towards her?

That is mostly true. Ozai's affection is clearly conditional (and full on manipulation at worse, like we see in the finale), Ursa canonically favors Zuko to the point that we never see her spending any alone time with Azula like she did with Zuko, and while Iroh gave her a toy like he did to Zuko the toy in question was so OBVIOUSLY wrong for a kid like Azula that it's comical AND show's he did not really know his niece at all.

But there is a constant exception.

Zuko's relationship with Azula is complicated. He clearly admires her strength and power, but he hates how she uses it. She lied to him many times, was seen apparently cheering Ozai on during the Agni Kai, tried to have him imprisoned and even said she'd celebrate being an only child - and then allows him to come home as a hero after Ba Sing Se, even though SHE had the control of the Dai Li and was not yet aware Aang could have survived, meaning she had nothing to gain from it.

And when she lets him know that if he's caught talking to Iroh people might think he is a traitor too, and explicitly says "Believe it or not, I'm actually looking out for you" Zuko drops his innitial suspicion that she wanted something and that's why she was helping him.

On The Beach, he just follows her when she say their old family home is depressing and they shouldn't waste their time there. When she's asking him who she is angry at, she mentions herself and Zuko explicitly says that is not the case.

He doesn't trust her and know she has a tendency to mock or full on lie to him... yet when he wants to know about Fire Lord Sozin he asks her about it, and lets it slide when she mocks him by saying he should make sure the royal painter got his good side - for a character as quick to anger as Zuko, that is a big deal. In Nightmares and Daydreams he also goes to her to find out if he'll be allowed at the war meeting.

More importantly:

1 - Iroh's infamous "She's crazy and needs to go down" line was only said because ZUKO, without anyone putting that idea in his head before, suddenly went "I know what you're going to say. She's my sister and I should be trying to get along with her"

2 - Zuko only jumped into the fight in Ba Sing Se when Azula was being cornered by Aang and Katara.

3 - Zuko looked genuinely shocked and even distressed when she was falling off that cliff. He just sounded so shaken saying "She's... not gonna make it..."

4 - In the writer's own words, Zuko felt no hate but only pity when seeing her breakdown. Katara tried to comfort him because, canonically, even though Zuko and Azula are enemies, this was never what he wanted because he still sees her as family. That's why the Last Agni Kai's music is not the epic you'd expect from a battle, but a tragic one.

5 - Aaron Ehasz, the lead writter for the show, probably the person with the most influence after Bryke, has REPEATEDLY said that he always felt Azula should have gotten a redemption arc, Zuko being an Iroh figure to give her advice and be the only one still by her side when all else was seemingly lost to her forever.

Even the comics (most of which I HATE, mainly because Azula's storyline checks nearly every box for "the mentally ill are inherently evil/less human, so it's fine if literally every other person on the planet mistreats them") didn't fully abandon their complex dynamic.

Zuko is not a perfect sibling, and for a long chunk of the story he seemed too focused on his own issues for Azula to ever be a factor in his mind (aside from the moments in which she was a potential/explict threat), but he DOES still feel a sense of obligation towards her, to the point that it made him do something no one else in their family had done before or since - actually look at Azula. Not the prodigious daughter/perfect weapon, or the problem child that is difficult to handle, or the pontentially deadly enemy that was in the way, but Azula.

His 14-year-old sister that got on his nerves a lot, was far from the kindest person alive, and that he had a ton of issues with, but that he could never fully hate or even be indifferent to. Because she's family. Because he remembers a happier time in which the gap between them didn't seem so big. Because if things had been slightly different he could have been her. Because he went from wanting to be her to seeing just how miserable her life ended up being - especially compared to the one he now had - and feeling deeply sorry for her.

Now if you guys excuse me, I'm gonna go cry in the corner. Have some wholesome/bittersweet fanart if you wanna cry too.

[sirfrogsworth]

I keep wanting to write the ultimate post on autotune but I just never quite finish. I think there are 3 versions of almost-done autotune posts in my drafts.

So I'm going to leave out the technical and try to simplify my points.

Autotune is not the devil.

It is not good or bad.

It is just a tool.

It can be used well.

It can be used poorly.

And most importantly...

Autotune cannot make you sound good.

In fact, reverb and EQ can do more to make a bad singer sound okay than autotune.

All autotune does is correct pitch.

Singer sings the wrong note.

Autotune shifts that note.

Nothing about that makes you a better-sounding singer. It doesn't change your tone. It doesn't give you more range. It doesn't give you more power or dynamics. It doesn't give you vibrato.

It just makes you... in tune.

I have never heard anyone say of a great singer, "Wow, they are so in tune!" No one cries over a beautiful performance because the singer hit all the right notes.

And I guess if you are wildly out of tune, people might say you are a bad singer, but I would actually say that makes you an *inexperienced* singer. And whether you are good or bad cannot really be determined until the tuning issues are addressed. (Which most of the time is just a matter of training and practice.)

Good singers can sing the wrong note. It happens quite a lot, actually. Especially with material they aren't familiar with yet. In fact, every singer hits wrong notes. Even people with perfect pitch hit the wrong note. They just know immediately when it happens. This is because singing a note is a physical action and if your vocal mechanisms are not warmed up or you have a cold or the temperature is hot or cold, it is impossible to know if you are going to hit the perfect pitch at any given time.

This is why people warm up and rehearse and do scales before actually singing anything.

Autotune's main use is to fix good takes that have a few sour notes. That is what it is used for 95% of the time. Otherwise you are burning through expensive studio time doing take after take until you hit every single note at the perfect pitch. Sometimes a singer will do an AMAZEBALLS version of a take and they hit one sour note and instead of trying to create that lightning-in-a-bottle moment again, they just nudge the one note and save the performance.

You do not notice autotune the vast majority of the time. If it is used properly, autotune artifacts are completely inaudible.

In fact, I would argue that autotune makes inexperienced singers sound worse. That robotic sound you sometimes hear means the singers were very out of tune. The more out of tune you are, the worse autotune sounds. The more in tune you are, the more invisible it is.

There are very few people who are actually tone deaf. Which means everyone can be taught to sing in tune with decent consistency. And so if there is an instance where someone uses a lot of very obvious sounding autotune, it means they weren't interested in practicing. Or that they got tired of doing multiple takes and had better things to do.

And it isn't that they are a *bad* singer necessarily, but they are probably a lazy one.

Now, there is a different discussion about using autotune to "fix" notes that probably don't need to be fixed. Some variation in pitch can be a good thing. It can show emotion and give notes some spicy flavor. Sometimes singers will start out of tune and shift up to the right note. Like a vocal guitar bend. Being perfectly in tune can sound sterile. And sometimes overzealous producers will let their perfectionism get the better of them and make sure every single note is accurate to the cent and it brings a lifeless feel to the song.

When musicians complain about autotune, this is usually what they are talking about. Not some nepo baby with a record deal who couldn't be bothered to practice their song enough to get it mostly in tune when they sing it.

You should only use autotune to fix pitch when a note truly feels wrong. Like, it is so out of tune that it breaks your immersion.

Otherwise, leave it spicy.

[thechillsquid]

Weird Grunkles- Blind Eyes Au

Little Drabble writing for the au cause I can

—

Dipper stared long and hard at one of their puesdo-grunkles, Bill, for what felt like an hour before he finally couldn’t stop himself from speaking, “How in the world did you get up there? More importantly, why?”

Bill was by far one of the weirdest people Dipper had come to know since coming to Gravity Falls, only really being beaten by Toby Determined by just barely. The guy was of an average build, about a head shorter than Stan (and just as wrinkly), with strange tattoos along his arms and legs that the boy was about 90% changed daily.

It took a moment to actually get a response, Bill staring back through his curtain of white-streaked curls before shrugging, “Squirrels were looking at me funny, kid, someone’s gotta chase em off.”

The preteen quietly repeated that to himself before asking slowly, “Are you… like stuck up there?”

He got a beaming, almost painfully wide, grin, showing off one golden canine and the gap between the older man’s front teeth. “Perhaps!”

Really Dipper couldn’t fathom half the shit he saw Bill do, espically when he was apparently older than Stan and Fiddleford (and trying to get any answers about any of the three’s ages was a nightmare he’d long given up on trying to figure out). The guy wasn’t exactly strong like Stan or much of an academic like Fidds, but he was sly and scarily insightful. As well as probably insane, seeing as he was most definitely pushing 50 years of age at the least and still got into situations like this.

This wasn’t even the first time this week that Dipper had spotted the guy in a spot where no one should be, like on top of the totem pole or balanced in tree branches. It was weird and unnerving and Dipper was fairly certain the guy wasn’t actually human.

“I’ll get a ladder…”

“Ask Specs, good ole Fez’s got a fear of heights,” Bill practically spoke in a sing-song, settling down so his back was against the tree’s trunk now. “Thanks, kid!”

Dipper just nodded slowly and went to find grunkle Fidds.

This town was so weird…

[spaceorphan18]

The Lady Whistledown Papers : 2x01 Capital R Rake (Part 4)

Welcome back, Gentle Readers, to The Lady Whistledown Papers, where I’m taking an in-depth look at Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton’s character arcs and romance within the show Bridgerton!

For previous issues, follow tag : The Lady Whistledown Papers

Portrait of the Featheringtons

Lady Whistledown is particularly vicious -- going after Anthony (Pen and Anthony don't really get much interaction, it makes me wonder what their dynamic is like) and then continues to goad the Queen (which, girl is getting incredibly bold). Meanwhile, we cut to the Featheringtons lounging around -- and I feel like is this what they do most days? It seems like a very boring existence.

While reading LW, Finch giggles and snorts as Penelope has made another plant pun in her writing, to which he appreciates. I kind of love that he is a LW fan, and really, he seems to enjoy Penelope in general. I kind of love that. Penelope is thrilled as his amusement, and is glad someone appreciates her cute, little plant puns.

But maybe more importantly, the juxtaposition is that at the ball, she's being clever and witty, while being ignored not only by suitors but by literally everyone. Meanwhile, as LW, everyone is reading her, and enjoying her. And, I should say -- the usage of the same kind of plant pun humor is also a reminder that Penelope and LW are the same person.

Btw, I love her little smirk and book snap as she jumps up at Finch's compliment. She must really enjoy when her family actually appreciates her.

Penelope might be in good spirits, but Portia is not -- and begins asking Varley if they can get anything for the candlesticks, as she's now starting to sell anything she can to get some income.

Penelope notes this - and while her sisters aren't alarmed, she is, and she is well aware that her family needs some good fortune and quickly.

Also, side note -- I want to know what Penelope is reading!! We get no good shots of the book. Though it looks like the book she was reading at the very beginning of the episode.

[I just want state that the scene in between this one and the next is a delightful Bridgerton family scene -- I still adore all the family dynamics, as it remains one of my favorite parts of the show. Also, Anthony is a great main character.]

Letters

Can we take a moment and appreciate how beautiful Pen looks in this scene? Like, seriously, look at this girl. There's a reason they show puts her in ugly dresses and has her hair in weird configurations -- because it'd be hardly believable that anyone wouldn't notice her if she looked like this at the balls.

Anyway, Penelope's in her room when she hears Prudence's irritating singing coming down the hallway. (Omg, I love the throwback to Season 1.) She just knows Prudence is going to be a nuisance, so she has to act quickly, as she's doing some LW things. She scurries to get the floorboard closed and covered again.

And... this makes me curious. Did the house just happen to have a loose floorboard there, and little Penelope discovered it one day and uses it for her secrets? Or did she make an effort to cut the floor open to have herself a hiding spot? Yes, these are the kinds of questions I think about.

So, Prudence does barge in and the first thing she asks is why Penelope is being so quiet. And... it's a very weird question. How could Penelope be loud? I realize Prudence probably spends a lot of her time singing badly, but there are only five of them in that very big house -- it's hard to believe there's any way that any of them could be making that much noise.

But anyway, Penelope tries to ignore her and states that she is reading. Prudence continues being invasive, stating that Penelope is incredibly boring, and then goes on to why she's really there -- she wants to complain about how Phillippa is now preoccupied with Finch -- and I have to imagine that Prudence isn't really thrilled that she's losing the sister she's bffs with.

Also, the look of annoyance on Penelope's face when Prudence says petrified wrong. Like, the levels of her sisters' stupidity grate on her ever last nerve.

Prudence then decides to snoop on Penelope's desk, and finds that there's a letter there she's amused by. I kind of wonder if the show wants you to think that Prudence has found a Lady Whistedown column? But I mean, Penelope is pretty smart and would never leave that writing out for her sister to read.

It is interesting, however, that she leaves her letter to Colin out in the open, however. But I suppose that is less scandalous? (Though it's pretty scandalous -- as unmarried men and women who weren't related to each other and aren't courting don't write letters to each other. Just another example of the two of them breaking the rules.)

It's also interesting that -- Penelope has been writing him for months now, and no one in her household has noticed. I'm guessing that Penelope is always jumping for the mail first, because he's definitely writing her back, and there's no shortage of letters there, and she must be getting the mail every day, because I'm sure someone would be suspicious that Pen would be getting so much mail.

I also kind of love that this is such a sister moment with Prudence taking the letter and Penelope crying for it back. Idk, it just reminds me of the times I've fought with my siblings like this.

The noise brings Portia into the room (and, lol, Portia looks like she's got a constant headache these days) and wants to know what the fuss is all about. Prudence spills the beans about Penelope writing Colin.

Portia's reaction is... fascinating. She isn't really that alarmed by it, and the first thing she notes is that all the letter writing has gotten her hands dirty. And then she kind of eye rolls about it -- as though she doesn't understand why Penelope would be wasting her time and energy.

Penelope defends herself -- exclaiming that Colin is her friend (which is kind of an extraordinary statement for the time period).

But, I mean, I love LOVE that the show made sure to add this piece of their relationship. The correspondence that Penelope and Colin have been doing while Colin's been traveling is so important and so special. (And I kind of wonder who started writing to who? Did Colin think to send her a letter as something reminded him of her while away? Or did Pen start writing him after Eloise grew bored of giving responses? I'm so curious as to how this all happened.)

The letters, however, are integral to their story. It's a place where the two of them can be themselves without the confines of what society allows. It's a chance for Penelope to be her clever and witty self and express the person she is without fear. And ironically (?) it's the same voice that she probably uses for Lady Whistledown.

And I'm of mind that through these letters are how Colin really fell in love with her. And it's somewhat fascinating that he unknowingly fell for her and Lady Whistledown at the same time. It's clear that he never reads the column, because how could he not pick up on the same phrases and the same sense of humor and the same writing style. She probably does not mask her writing as her Lady Whistledown persona is a reflection of her true voice, and undoubtedly her letters to Colin would be the same way.

Anyway, these letters are something that is very important to her. If you watch how she clutches the letter as her mother scolds her about it, how she has it close to her as she defends herself, and calls Colin her friend. The fact that Prudence is making fun of her and the fact that Portia is completely dismissive of it is incredibly hurtful to her. This relationship means everything to her.

It's interesting that Prudence rolls her eyes -- thinking that Colin would waste time on her, because clearly she doesn't notice the amount of mail that Penelope is getting back. But also doesn't notice that the only one who does pay any attention to her is Colin Bridgerton.

And another side tangent though - I do wonder what Prudence and Phillippa's opinion of Colin is, especially after the whole Marina thing. I mean, I don't think it's much -- but they are aware of how much Penelope spends time with the Bridgertons. And I can see them thinking it's hilarious that Penelope seems to be infatuated with her bff's brother. (I'm guessing, too, that Eloise didn't spend too much time over at the Featheringtons -- and encouraged Pen to spend time with her family instead.)

But, I mean, again while Portia is a bit blind to it -- she becomes completely distracted, asking if she could sell the books because the money issue is way more an actual thing to be concerned about, I do wonder if Penelope's sisters picked up on her feelings towards Colin. At least as so far as her being enamored when he was around would be another thing for them to make fun of her about.

Anyway, Portia scolds Penelope for wasting her time with 'silly letters'. And declares that if Colin is her friend -- then she is, in fact, Catherine the Great. And, I mean, that's the saddest thing. Her own mother doesn't take her seriously. In any other context, this would be seen as a scandal, but Portia finds it frivolous. She doesn't believe that her youngest daughter would find any kind of connection with a man and that's just... sad.

And poor Penelope is just deflated. She had been riding high on all the success of Lady Whistledown, but the reality is that in reality, she is just a girl clinging on to what little stability she has while those who should love her the most mock and ridicule her. It's incredibly disheartening.

Portia leaves by telling Penelope to clean her hands because how dare anyone think she would be a commoner. It's like the finally needle into Pen's side, like Portia has to take one last jab before she leaves. And, oh, how Penelope just has to stop and take a deep breath to reorient herself. She has survived another day of torment.

Penelope uses writing as a way to escape her life, and as a way to deconstruct the world around her. It makes me wonder what she does next -- write a scalding LW column to release her anger? lose herself in fantasy writing to Colin? Or does she have a journal for thoughts too private to even share with anyone at all.

[utilitycaster]

did companion quests this morning before driving for two hours for nothing (site visit that got fucked up) so I'm going to send some emails but first let us recap because it is a WILD series of events I have had.

Went to the Necropolis (I always start singing The Church's Metropolis in my head when I say "Necropolis") to lay flowers on Emmrich's parents' graves while he talks to me about lichdom. I'm aware of the consequences thereof though I know it's a ways off, and learned wild new things about Hezenkoss, but specifically it sets up such a fascinating conundrum. Great job; it's fun to play this as a Mourn Watcher who isn't a mage, incidentally, because the dialogue actually handles that scenario gracefully for once.

Went back to the Lighthouse, where Lucanis and Davrin were getting drunk and swapping stories. They're bonding! Finally!

Went to Dock Town to go to dinner with Neve, who is like "Hal's not there so sorry we're skipping stones" and this turns into her having an epiphany on the case with Aelia. It's a good moment and I'm going to talk about it later because...

Lucanis's companion quest (which, as I understand it, is NOT available if you chose to save Minrathous) is also in Dock Town; Teia and Viago have information that's too hot for Treviso so they meet you in the Cobbled Swan instead. They reveal that Caterina's ring was thrown out, which is NOT a thing Illario (only Dellamorte present) would do, which means it's a signal. At this point, Spite takes over and addresses Rook and you go into Lucanis's Mind Palace Prison and it's INCREDIBLE. Genuinely one of the most intense and wild social encounters. I have like 5 memes in mind for later. Literally the only criticism I have is that as you go through the four "locks" (insecurities slash traumas slash Lucanis being more than a little suicidal) is that the Veilguard Team Insecurity should have been represented by Davrin rather than Harding; ngl I missed a lot of Harding's mixed feelings about Spite because that's very early in the game and I tended to do Rogue + Mage partners for quests early on and wasn't as good at eavesdropping on Lighthouse conversations so I kind of missed Harding's trepidation, whereas Lucanis and Davrin's animosity is made much more central. But Caterina and ESPECIALLY Neve (who, because I'm romancing neither Lucanis nor Neve, gets some UNHINGED commentary from Spite) and Illario are all flawless encounters. And THEN after you convince Lucanis to work with Spite and most importantly that he deserves to live and stop punishing himself forever (fun fact! the comedy mask options, which usually aren't my bag? feel really natural and good here, which I think makes sense, as a person who has irl talked more than one person, including myself, off both some dark emotional paths and also bad trips, usually not at once) you both come to and Viago and Teia are like why are both of you dissociating. focus up. A+ quest only one note.

I then returned to the lighthouse where Neve has Emmrich do necromancy on a Shadow Dragon's skull, which is all very nice, and THEN immediately Lucanis is like. Rook! I baked a pie that is Neve's favorite! Have I fucked up everything ever? And, of course, I was like "please for the love of the maker, in whom Rook doesn't believe* tell her how you feel." Anyway this rules.

I think I'll have to finish the full playthrough to give final judgment, and I do think saving Minrathous would be interesting, but from what spoilers I know and from what I've said previously about Neve I think saving Treviso is genuinely the stronger story. Like, on a main story narrative level Treviso is more defenseless and the Shadow Dragons are screwed but Minrathous itself isn't nearly as fucked up by the dragon attack as Treviso would be, but also the Dock Town folks rally better than the Antivans do and that extends very much to Neve and Lucanis. Neve is furious and heartbroken, but she shows up to the story deeply cynical and there's something extremely rewarding about having her come back and say "I knew it, I can only rely on myself, people always let you down, everything sucks and the work will never be done" and to, through persistent work and patience, show her that sometimes people fuck up or let you down and they didn't mean to hurt you and sometimes they can make amends (to the point that we are on quite good terms now!) whereas if you abandon Treviso something breaks in Lucanis and never really recovers. Like, both of them are very pragmatic, but Lucanis does, deeply, want to see the best in people despite everything, and Neve is already, as I said, very cynical and self-reliant even before she's hardened. Also frankly she comes into the story somewhat more mentally well having not immediately been in a torture prison experiencing demon possession for the past ten months. Not that anyone here is mentally well, the reason I'm so obsessed with this story is because "a bunch of highly competent bisexuals with extreme perfectionism issues and various flavors of anxiety and depression move into magical co-op housing, fight god" is, you know, kind of my whole deal, but Lucanis is much more fragile than she is to start.

*I literally played Mourn Watch entirely for the Old Kingdom/Locked Tomb/General Goth Tendencies of it all, and also because I saw a chart that said it was one of the less popular factions and so I was like well then, I shall pick that one, but I cannot stress how much as a Jewish person it speaks to me. Like wow a focus more on ritual and works and importance of knowledge and duty as opposed to faith? Thinking cremation is a weird death custom? The belief that there is a particular importance and selflessness in the work you do to lay the dead to rest? Kind of meh about the main religion of much of the surrounding world but must admit the aesthetic fucks? Anyway. Highly recommend Mourn Watch.

Also btw I learned no one knows what Vorgoth is (which is very funny because we know what he DOES, he executes people who do high crimes against necromancy) but we don't know if he can fuck. He DOES collect landscape paintings? Also if you're Mourn Watch Myrna is kind of mean to you and it's pretty great.

[mama-qwerty]

After witnessing Wade's low budget rock opera fever dream, I want to know how a SCU project can tackle being a full musical while also giving a logical explanation for why everyone is singing… but more importantly, who's our lead character taking center stage?

Okay, I put this ask on the back burner for a few days because I couldn't come up with a good answer for it, but it was so interesting to think about. Then it slapped me upside the head as I drove home today.

Who's our lead? Knuckles.

I can almost hear the eye rolls - Of course Qwerty would put Knuckles center stage.

HEAR ME OUT

My headcanon is Knuckles likes musicals, because everyone in a musical actually admits how they're feeling. He has a very hard time determining that in real life, and character motivations in most movies are handled subtly, making them hard for him to follow, so having people flat out say (or sing) what they want or how they feel is refreshing to him, and he's grown to appreciate music more since his little road trip with Wade.

So maybe one night after the family watches a musical, Knuckles kinda muses to himself how nice it would be if life were more like that. If everyone simply said how they felt instead of trying to deceive others. The ME catches wind of this 'wish' and grants it.

Next morning, he goes downstairs and Sonic's singing about how they're all out of Froot Loops or something. Knux doesn't pay it any mind, because it's Sonic, and the guy tends to break into some sort of sing-songy thing every 5 minutes.

He's off to meet up with Wade for something or other. Wade's kinda singy, too. But, again, Wade likes music, so it doesn't really stand out.

Knux goes about his day, slowly coming to the realization that everyone around him is bursting into song. And while he doesn't really know a lot of Earth music, the songs they sing seem awfully specific to whatever they're doing, or whomever they're interacting with.

It hits him. Just like a musical.

He rushes home to talk to Tails about it--the fox is smart, he'll know what to do--when Tails starts a ballad about how he loves his new home, and is so afraid of doing something wrong to be kicked out. Music comes out of nowhere, and Knux is dumbstruck as Tails goes into this big finish about finding a home where people love and care for him.

Uh. Okay.

He goes to Maddie. Her song is about taking care of others, but feeling a little stressed about it.

Tom. His is about how he wanted to make a difference in the world, but discovered that being a father was what he truly wanted.

Knux is starting to freak out. Everyone's singing, but no one seems to realize they are.

He's frustrated and confused and has no clue what to do, when he starts singing. About his lost tribe, his time roaming the galaxy, his shame at trusting Robotnik. And finding his new tribe, his new home. He feels something in his chest, something he hadn't felt since he lost his tribe all those years ago. Acceptance? Peace? But he's a warrior! He shouldn't care about such things!

But he does. He likes these feelings, and has realized how much he missed them.

And realizes that he likes his new life. His new home.

And as he finishes his song, belting out the final notes, he feels a shift. The mysterious music that had appeared out of nowhere was gone. As he made his way back home, no one breaks into a well-choreographed dance. No one as much as hums as they tend in their garden.

The curse is lifted, and he feels more at ease with himself and his new situation than he has for the entire time he'd been on Earth.

But, he had to admit, everyone bursting into song was a little annoying after a while.

[simslegacy5083]

NSB (Straud Legacy) Gen 9 Ep 78: Awkwardness, Overcome

Luigi was so wrapped up in wrestling with responsibility and morality that just like with his father, he didn’t notice Noemi until she sat down next to him.

He looked up in confusion; desperately glad to see her but embarrassed to be in such poor shape. Her wince when she got a good look at his face didn’t help put him at ease. “You have quite the shiner there, friend. It’s not too late for us to bail if your family isn’t as friendly as you thought.”

Luigi gingerly reached up, grimacing as his fingers met the bruised and swollen skin encircling his right eye, all the while struggling to process that Noemi was really here and that she’d said us. “I guess I must look like the monster I really am right now, but even I’m not evil enough to ditch Dad tonight.”

“Evil!?” she asked. “Whatever gave you that idea?” Luigi explained about the fight with Leroy, Amaya's angry words, his father's disappointment, and his larger secret shame. “I really hurt Beau. Am I going to keep hurting people because I can’t control myself?”

Noemi shook her head “You are a lot of things, but evil certainly isn’t one of them. Just the fact that you feel so terrible about what happened with Beau proves that.” When his downtrodden expression didn’t shift, she gently squeezed his hand and decided to try a different approach.

Turning playful Noemi said in a sing song voice: “Ooo look out, I’m evil Luigi! I’ll defend my friends from your insults and then become your co-captain and maybe best friend on the team! I’m so mean I have tons of friends and… she looked meaningfully through the window at the dancing and laughing crowd inside … way too many relatives who want to party with me.”

She made vampire hands to snatch at the now bemused Luigi who was watching her tirade with a much more put upon, but much less pitiful, look.

Noemi smiled as Luigi chuckled, feeling much better after her lighthearted show. “Thank you for that. I guess you’re right, maybe I’m not evil, but I obviously have some work to do controlling this stupid temper and making a better habit of repairing relationships like I did with Beau.”

Luigi knew that making amends for bad behavior wasn't the same as not causing the trouble in the first place, but saying sorry to those he’d hurt was a step in the right direction. He resolved to reach out to Bryon on Social Bunny one day soon and apologize for that whole mess as well.

Noemi agreed “There’s always room for personal growth. That’s… actually why I decided to come here after all.”

Now serious she explained “Luigi, I’m so sorry. Social situations are so hard for me, and this big wedding is terrifying. After you left that night, I tried to tell myself it was for the best, but I couldn't get you out of my head. The silent apartment you left behind taunted me with every empty room.”

“I looked at the future I was headed for and I didn’t like it one bit. I don’t want to end up a recluse afraid of crowds, but most importantly I don’t want to end up without YOU. It took me forever to find the courage, but I decided to come here and get my boyfriend back. Assuming you’re still willing to introduce us to your family that way.”

Luigi’s expression morphed into an excited smile. “Are you kidding?! You show up, turn my misery into happiness once again, and offer everything I wished for! I’d like nothing better than to take my girlfriend inside and show her around.”

Rising Noemi took a deep breath, muttering nervously “Let’s get this over with.” Luigi leaped up to embrace her, grinning like a fool.

“I’ll be there for you every second, and if all those hours of Sims Forever have taught me anything, it’s how to come up with a story to explain away an unusual situation!” They walked inside hand in hand, shocking his parents with his transformed mood and even more unexpectedly altered date.

True to his word, Luigi spun truth and lies into a smooth explanation. Meeting and discovering they shared a major at Harvestfest, their friendship deepening over time, and the awkwardness Noemi felt about meeting everyone again causing them to keep it all a secret until now.

His elders took the whole thing in stride. Peachy joked “there’s nothing wrong with keeping it in the family!” while Valentina simply said, “its lovely to see you again dear”.

With that hurdle overcome at last, Luigi led his reclaimed lady to the dance floor. Just like before that fatefulHarvestfestdinner he was excited to take their relationship to the next level now that they were out of hiding and Noemi was finally free of the burdens of the past.

View The Full Story of My Not So Berry Challenge Here

[justwritedreams]

I want to read dad baekhyun and his 3 little daughters. 😭 What will be the fourth one 👀

Ok so why not take advantage of exo as dads series to talk about baekhyun, right? RIGHT!

EXO AS DADS SERIES | BAEKHYUN VER.

Xiumin Ver. | Chen Ver. | Yixing Ver. | Jongin Ver. | Chanyeol Ver. | Kyungsoo Ver. | Suho Ver. | Sehun Ver.

Word count:  Author: Maari Summary: A series of what exo would be like as a parent, from discovery to growth

First of all, good luck to the future s/o because you will be a rabbit!

I can clearly see Baekhyun as a girl's father but trying at all costs to have a boy

And that's how he got to the 4th daughter 🤣

And of course he already knew because after all, they had been trying for another baby for a long time.

In fact, I'm pretty sure he'd be like "Are you sure that you're not pregnant yet?"

"Honey, I already took two pregnancy tests."

"One more reason to make a third."

And then all of a sudden one night his s/o would be throwing up and he would already know it's the baby!

I don't think the daughters would have a big age difference because

I really think he likes having a baby at home

There's something about seeing that tiny baby sleeping soundly in his arms that is 😍

And I think he's the kind of playful father who takes things seriously when he has to much like my father is

But he's the best friend of his little girls!

Seriously, there is nothing they wouldn't say or ask him for

Helping with a school homework he has no idea what it's like? He will learn just to teach them properly.

Daughters want a different hairstyle to go out? He will do it.

Watch Barbie movies and sing along? It's his favorite part of the day!

Talking about where babies come from? … Oh, well, that he probably won't be able to say without laughing from sheer nervousness 🤣

But you got my point, right? Ok

So when he and his wife found out that another baby is on the way, he was ready to tell his little daughters.

And I think it would be the best and cutest conversation ever 🥺

He would do it in a natural way that wouldn't make the girls jealous of the attention the baby will receive but rather excited that another baby is coming soon.

And he'll probably have to hear every day when the baby is coming

Because his enthusiasm rubbed off on his daughters 🤣

But I imagine him together with his daughters making drawings for the new baby 😫

They wanting to help the father set up the baby's room

And probably making him give up in the next 15 minutes because they are making him more tired than the crib he has to put together.

And if you thought of them helping to paint the room, then you thought right because so did I!

In the end, everyone knows it would be a paint war and his wife would probably have to arrive to end the game and tell everyone to take a shower because there's even paint in their hair

Family shopping!!!

Him choosing clothes for the baby together with the girls oh my god I'm going to die of cuteness

"Dad, I think this one is prettier."

"But I liked that one, dad"

"Only this one will suit better!"

"You know what, let's take them all!" and that's how he came home with more bags of clothes than he had planned 🤣

But most importantly, he would make sure he was paying attention to all the women in his life.

He would take all the daughters to their beds in one night, when everyone else was already asleep in the living room.

And his s/o too!!

Because there is no more important woman in the world than her 🥺

"Love, I don't think you're going to be able to carry me to the bedroom."

"What kind of husband would I be if I let my tired pregnant wife walk around with those swollen legs?" he would say, while trying to arrange the best position to hold her in his lap… But her belly wouldn't let him. "Yeah, I think that it's better if we just sleep here!"

Would wake up early to prepare breakfast for everyone!

He'd take the girls to school, and he'd probably cry in the car when he realized how big the little girls actually are.

The priority would be his family!

Even though he was working, recording new songs, during breaks he would call his wife or turn on the home camera on his phone to see if everything was alright

Even tired, I'm sure he would make his daughters help put away the toys they spread around the living room or bedroom.

He would teach his daughters to sing to the baby in their mother's belly why am i doing this to myself? 😫

But make no mistake, even though experienced with sudden baby arrivals and births

He would be a nervous wreck for the birth of his fourth daughter!

I would be so nervous that I wouldn't know who to call first, the parents, the in-laws or the members 🤣

He would definitely pass on the view that he is a first-time father

But not fainting during childbirth, as happened with the first daughter

I think he would cry holding his newborn daughter in his arms!

And the wife seeing this would be like "are you crying for real?"

"She's just so beautiful! She has my nose."

But I think the most exciting moment for him would be when his daughters go to the hospital to meet their new sister.

He would probably be able to hold back the tears and look with a twinkle in his eyes with so much pride for the family he has 🥺

Will fight and die for his family!

He will be the attentive, helpful father who will talk to his daughters about how they need to keep their voices down when the baby is sleeping

He will let the daughters help change the diaper, bathe and rock the baby because he also wants to capture these moments with good photos!

I really think he would be an extraordinary father, devoted to his daughters and only thinking about what's best for them.

For example, I'm sure he wouldn't expose any of them to the media or anything like that.

Because he wants to preserve all of them as much as possible and if one day they want to be artists like him, there will be no one who will support more than him!

But deep down he hopes they follow other careers 🤣

One day, when all the daughters are napping together in the afternoon, he would hug his wife and look at her as if she were the most special jewel in the world.

"We are very lucky parents, aren't we?"

"Yes, we are!"but the wife would know that he was going to say something, because that little smile of someone who is going to do something is there "We are not having another baby!"

"How about a dog then?"

[auroragehenna]

AI-less Whumptober

Day 5 - Sensory Saturday (Overstimulation, migraines, “I can’t take this anymore.”)

"Torture, watching stuff, singing" - Universe

TW/CW: Overstimulation of skin nerve endings, attempted forced to beg, restrains, creepy whumper, defiant whumpee, mostly Whumper POV Word count: 983

"What are you up to this time?", Lyra asked Adam who was standing with his back to her. Staring at an array of tools she knew were there. Talking helped her feel more brave and, more importantly, prepared for whatever was about to happen. As she lay restrained to the dentist chair/bed.

"Questions over questions. Its almost as if you're training to become me.", was all he gave her as a response. He didn't see her perplexed and then disgusted mimic. Now armed with a small pen-like gadget and a duster with long feathers in his hands Adam finally turned back around. "Let's get started, shall we."

Lyra's gaze instantly darted to the items but she couldn't really make sense of them. At the feathers the thought of tickle torture shot into her mind and she paled yet quickly shoved it down. He wouldn't do that…Right? Right?

Adam chuckled at her paled face. "You flatter me, Thýma.", he said walking up to her and laying the tools down next to her onto an attatched plate. "How much I want to know what just went through that precious mind of yours. But alas I have other plans." With those words he picked up the pen and pressed a button at its side. Electricity crackled to live between two small prongs at the top and he pointed it towards her restrained body before letting it wander over her limbs and torso. Just barely hovering. "Where to start, where to start, hmm?"

Lyra took a composed breath at the elctricity, she knew how it felt but this one looked small in comparison to the others she experienced. But that didn't necessarily mean it was harmless. The anticipation was killing and she wholeheartedily believed that the bastard knew that. As he hovered the pen over her arm Adam's hand brushed her skin and a sharp intake of breath escaped her lips. To her horror.

Adam didn't stop at her intense reaction, only chuckled darkly. Then without further warning he dragged the prongs up Lyra's entire side. Revelling in the way she twitched and convulsed in the restraints. But only little pressed sounds escaped her throat but it was alright, they had time. "How did that feel? Good? Good.", he asked cheerfully, not really wanting or allowing a response before he again dragged it over an exposed patch of skin. This time her left leg, if it wasn't restrained he would get kicked straight into the face.

"Argh.", Lyra grungted through pressed together teeth. "Do you actually know how to use a taser properly or do you need a manual?!", she asked angrily. What was he doing?! This didn't make any sense?

"Huh, oh why is this way of using it not to your preference? I can switch tools its really no trouble at all." Adam put the taser pen down and picked up the feathered duster instead. With his left hand he pushed stray strands of hair out of her face and stroked her cheek, delighting in the way she had nowhere to go. Then with the duster as an expansion of his own arm he carefully, all but gently stroked it over her body. Especially the areas he just electrocuted. Grinning saccharinely sweet at all times.

Lyra's groans nearly turned into whimpers at this. The already sensitive and irritated skin burning and stinging. But she would not give him the satisfaction. No way. Only problem was her nerve endings screaming at her!

Adam now gently stroked the feather tips over Lyra's throat and face, enjoying how her face scrunched up in desperation and she pulled at the restraints that barely allowed for her to turn her head from side to side. But even then she couldn't escape the touch.

Lyra pressed her cheek into the cool leather of the "chair", enjoying the harsh and cold sensation against her burning skin. The small moment of partial reprieve. But she coudln't stay like this forever...She couldn't strand it. Suddenly two warm fingers creeped underneath her cheek and forced her to turn back around.

"Aww, what's wrong, Thýma?", he asked, voice dripping from faux sympathy. He leaned down until the tips of his red hair tickled her face and momentarily coloured it with red maroon lines. "You know how to make this stop.", he explained and cocked his head. Letting the hair over her face move with him.

Lyra could barely focus on what he was saying. Her skin and nerve endings burned! As somebody serverely touch starved she never thought she could feel this way! So desperate to get away from the touch as she was now. With no idea as to how long she could stand this without betraying her own principles.

Adam straightened back up but didn't remove his hand from her face. Instead dragging the nails over it, over the eyelids, cheeks, temples and also the throat.

As Lyra was sure she couldn't handle much more without some kind of stronger reaction than the evidences of weaknesses she had already shown a loud sound tore through the otherwise silent hall.

Adam's face fell into an annoyed snarl as she fished out his phone and walked away to take the call. After an undeterminded amount of time he returned, clearly annoyed. "Well, little bunny, looks like you're lucky, I have to be leave for a while, I'm sure you won't mind staying here for a while, do you." And with those words and a last stroke over her stomach he left.

Lyra was left staying there, half naked and restrained to the chair. Nerve endings still on fire. Finally she was able to take a shuddering breath and let out the whimpers she kept trappen inside for all this time. As much as she appreciated this break, Adam's return was dreaded as the sensory deprivation that would settle in now would make it way worse afterwards...

Taglist: @ailesswhumptober, @yourlocalgaefae33, @princessofhe11, @greatkittencloud, @bisexuawolfsalt, @shattermind-8

[musicismymoirail]

Since I've back on my Infamous kick, I decided to sit down and try to actually figure out Fel's look. I really wanted him to have full silver hair, but it wasn't working for me so black sides for a nice contrast? I like it a lot more, and it still fits his 'very much in love and inspired by moon thanks' vibes, lol.

I also feel a touch bad for him because boy is majorly dysphoric when people can see his freckles and natural hair color, but that's gonna be hard to hide while on a tour bus and in front of cameras constantly. I don't think anyone outside of the band has seen either, not even Orion.

And since I did this for X.O., have some silly headcanons.

• Band is Goodbye Blue Monday. It fit him better than X.O. and I'm glad~ They're more.... indie with folky and minor punky vibes? I always imagine it's a bit like The Decemberists or meWithoutYou's It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All a Dream! It's Alright album?? Like, this song is super Fel! c:

• Fel claims he was a remarkably stupid child, and his main story to back this up is when he was super young, he was terrified of darkness. He thought the moon was too, since it disappeared a lot so he'd sing to it to try to make it feel less scared. Fel's origin story for his singing and song-writing is just his weird compassion and love of the moon.

• Kid went to college but dropped out pretty early into his sophomore due to his crumbling mental health and realizing how much of it was simply trying to please his folks. I imagine this Didn't Go Over Well with them (especially Mom) and it's partly Fel has no love left for them. He may be a bit of a Stepford Smiler, but even he has his limits, thanks! 💖😤💖

• He went to Harvard too, so Mom might've been doubly upset he dropped out. He had planned on eventually going to Law School, but the Band and Seven won out (and he is happier for that, despite ...everything.) That being said, I always feel like his undergrad was in comparative religious studies or something. It just feels very Fel??

• The band's big hit is based for the old fable, the Moon and Her Mother. It became a bit of anthem of shitty relationships (parents) and gaslighting. There's a healthy debate among fans if it's about Seven (and if so, if Seven's the moon or the mother), Fel himself, Fel's own parents, or if there's any true-to-life to it at all since it is based off a fable. Mainly, Fel just hated the fable and wanted to write something for the Moon …and more parental feelings slipped in then Fel realized at the time, lol. Moon's Momma is harsh and Fel didn't realize how harsh at the time. :')

• While he's good at putting on a face and playing up his flirtious and carefree personality, Fel himself is a painfully sweet and anxious soul. Growing up was a lonely experience. His family moved a lot, though always in the Boston and South Shore area, and Fel found himself more often than not bullied by his peers. Weird, stupid, freckles, shy, take your pick. Kids found a lot of flaws to constantly pick and make fun of.

• Fel does have an (obvious) crush on Orion. Orion is a very attractive and smart and dedicated and witty. And more importantly, Orion is safe. Orion tolerates him kindly, but it's nothing more than that. It helps his heart after Seven. I think when he realizes that attraction isn't as one-sided as he thinks, Fel will have an absolute freak out. "Why would you even like me?! Don't you have better taste?"

• Kid's self-image is pooooooooooor.

• Fel enjoys cooking too! There's only so many tv dinners and take-out you can eat, but Fel grew tired of them both about he was 13. He's an exceptionally good cook and baker, and loving cooking for his friends. He makes them all special meals or treats for their birthdays every year and I can't wait for him to cook for Orion for the first time. c:<!!

• Also, Fel definitely has a Thick Boston accent when he talks. He's not embarrassed by it though sometimes he hangs his head when he hits the Boston especially hard.

• Kid also digs Clefairy despite his gothy punk aesthetic, much like X.O. digs Gengar despite her opulent pink aesthetic, lol. ^^;;;

[shynypeacekitten]

Five Times the Residents of Littlewood Stuck Their Noses Where They Don't Belong

Summary: Explained by the title >:) Hpapy bornday

Pairing: Marley x Oliver

Tags: Fluff, crack, swimming in a river in Egypt, Oliver being absolutely down bad, nothing bad happens ever au, no angst no trauma nothing

Warnings: My knowledge of this universe is limited to what I’ve been told and also the slideshow so maybe ooc, I also made up the relationship dynamics 😭, underage drinking mentioned, fleeting mention of drug use at school, I say “Oliver” 48 times

Word count: 1.7k

Oliver liked it in Littlewood. He really did.

It had Marley, lots of cool new friends, safety, Marley, a good supply of potatoes, Marley, and a place where he didn't have to fight for his life at every moment. 

Except, Oliver grumbled in his mind, maybe he kind of did.

Take just a few months ago, for example. Oliver had been sitting there, minding his own business and replaying an interaction he'd just had. Normal stuff, right?

There he sat, face cupped in his hands and elbows propped up on the table in front of him as he remembered how his very good friend Marley had walked by; Marley had been looking ahead at first, but he must have seen Oliver out of the corner of his eye because he'd turned to smile and wave. Marley's eyebrows had raised a little, his lips had curled into a small smile, and he'd lifted his entire forearm to wave at Oliver. 

That was a lot of effort for a wave. 

Marley had also been looking ahead; was Oliver sitting far enough into his field of vision for him to have casually noticed him, or did Marley just have more awareness for black blobs in his peripheral vision? Maybe he—

All of a sudden, Oliver heard this agitating, grating voice approach and make itself comfortable right in front of him.

"God, you're hopeless." 

"You'd know all about that, wouldn't you?" Oliver shot back, begrudgingly opening his eyes to torture them with the sight of his good friend, (good riddance, you mean) Piper Fang, leaning back against the table behind her and across from Oliver, a stupid grin on her stupid face.

Piper's grin only widened. "I don't knoowww," she sing-songed, tilting her head irritatingly to the side. "I can actually greet my friends like a functioning human being."

Oliver went to make a comment about how she had no friends, but stupid Piper—who always had to be one step ahead—saw it coming and spoke in sync with him, putting on a mocking voice and making a face.

Even when she finally got up to leave, Piper reached out to smack Oliver on the head as a parting gift. The two briefly fought for possession of the rabbit’s head before Piper managed to snag one of his ears, and the several losses left Oliver in a foul mood. 

But Piper wasn’t finished with Oliver yet.

A month after the fateful greeting, Piper went and got herself an annoying boyfriend who reminded Oliver a little bit of Marley but not very much because Marley was not annoying and not overconfidently good at everything. 

And most importantly, Oliver did not have beef with Marley. 

If Marley wanted to get beef with him, though, maybe—

Anyways, Oliver had been hanging around with his amazing friend Marley when he looked over the fox's shoulder to see Piper and Isaiah very obviously spying. 

They were standing by Isaiah's obnoxious motorbike, both faces turned and openly staring at Marley and Oliver. They didn't even turn away when Oliver made offended eye contact with them over Marley's shoulder! In fact, Piper had opened her jacket to reveal a shirt with the words "DUMP HIM" in large red letters. 

Where did she get that shirt? Did she just wear it around in case the opportunity to clown presented itself? Why were they friends?

Marley was not taking it anywhere near as seriously as he should have, and he simply laughed and rolled his eyes when Oliver brought it up to him, chuckling about how the two were menaces.

Shortly after, Oliver heard the unmistakable sound of Isaiah's motorbike revving and the combined voices of Idiot Number One and her horrible choice of a boyfriend. He didn't hear what they said over the roar of the bike that served as his unwanted alarm clock most days, but he could bet that it was something suggestive and stupid, judging from the shit-eating grins speeding past him and the embarrassed blush creeping up Marley's cheeks. 

How did one see a blush on red fur? Oliver didn't know. 

Perhaps life and its phenomena would be easier explained if he could brush all the blame off on Piper or her now (thankfully) ex.

Unfortunately, that was not the case.

Wulfric the raven was a pretty cool dude. He'd helped Oliver and his friends a lot while they'd been trying to survive together, and he'd told them of Littlewood and its safety.

He did, however, give unsolicited advice that Oliver didn't even need.

For example, Oliver had been minding his own business, watching—ahem, listening to Marley talk about the cool photos he took on his most recent mission for resources when a loud "HEY, LISTEN" squawked from above.

Now, Oliver had heard this greeting many times and didn't startle anymore, but what befuddled him was what came next: relationship advice. To be specific, romantic relationship advice. It wasn't very good, either.

As Wulfric yapped on about consent and tea for some reason, something rose in Oliver's chest. 

It felt a bit like fear, but what reason would Oliver have to be fearful? Perhaps if he secretly liked Marley and felt that Wulfric's bad advice hinted at his hidden feelings and he didn't want to confess by way of a sentient bird, but Oliver didn't like Marley that way, so that couldn't be it. Was he embarrassed? Perhaps. Maybe he was a little irritated, too. He and Marley were not dating each other; they were not dating anyone! Oliver told Wulfric so.

"Oh? What's that?" Wulfric suddenly perked up with way more perk than he usually gave. "I think I'm being called away by The Wizard. Oops, gotta go!" And he flew away, leaving no one convinced.

Oliver's face burned, and it was because he didn't want to be given relationship advice when he wasn't even in a relationship and because he would definitely never be interested in Oliver that way at all. 

It was not because Wulfric's bad NPC advice was treading into very dangerous territory with Marley right there, because there was no dangerous territory when Marley was there. 

Because Oliver did not like Marley that way. No, sir.

It seemed no one else could see that, however, and yet another person Oliver could blame for sticking their nose where it didn't belong was resident Golden Boy Anthony. 

Tony was awesome, except for that one time he'd mom-friended too close to the sun and gotten everything completely, totally, definitely wrong.

It was the morning after Oliver and Marley had decided to be the reckless teenagers they were and engaged in a light spot of underage drinking.

Okay, a lot of underage drinking. A tremendous spot, if you will.

If his head didn’t hurt so badly, Oliver would have been wondering how and why they were not seen or stopped. 

But it did. 

So he was not. 

Perhaps it had something to do with the apocalypse.

Mind-numbing logic aside, Oliver had been very hungover and wondering what his alcohol tolerance would be if he'd drunk as well as done drugs back at school when the sun itself came waltzing into his room.

Squinting against the onslaught of good influence, Oliver saw the blurry outline of Tony placing an assortment of snacks and some water on a table before approaching the bed. Tony fussed over Oliver for a bit, muttering about "kids these days" and "should have taken a fire extinguisher for Marley", and then said something so outrageous it could have been a figment of Oliver's hungover imagination:

"I'm glad you two are taking steps to further your relationship together, but please don't forget to look after yourself while pursuing Marley." He gently scolded. "I want you both to—"

He didn't make it much further before Oliver jolted, eyes widening as much as they could without causing pain and a waterfall of denials tumbling from his lips. What did Tony mean ‘further their relationship’? He wasn't ‘pursuing Marley’!

None of this seemed to deter Tony, who only gave Oliver a Mom Look™. 

"Okay," he sighed, the corners of his mouth suspiciously twitchy. "Just make good decisions, and be sure to think things through." He turned to leave, paused, and looked back just before closing the door.

"Go see Marley when you've eaten and had something to drink. I think it'll make you both feel a bit better."

Of course it would, Oliver thought. Because they could poke fun at each other for being in pain. No other reason.

But Tony had been right. Seeing each other often put Marley and Oliver in a much better mood, hangover or not. Much like how seeing Oliver had put a smile on Marley's face all those months ago, Oliver felt as if simply being in the presence of his fox friend made him a better person. The strength of Marley's fire warmed and defined the shape of Oliver's shadow, and Oliver didn't know who he'd be without it.

Which is why it should have been completely normal and expected for him to greet the very platonic light of his life by running full speed at him, flinging himself bodily at his sun, and cheering, "MAR MAR!"

That, however, was not how anyone else saw it.

An "awwww" came cooing from behind, and Oliver whipped his head around to see Jackie holding her face, a rapidly growing smile spreading across it. "You two are adorable! I'm so happy for you—"

"WE'RE NOT TOGETHER!" Oliver shoved away from Marley in a panic. "I mean— I'm very straight I love girls so much they are so women," he rambled, eyes flicking from Marley's faintly confused face and what looked like—but could not have been—a knowing smile on Jackie's. What did she know? There was nothing for her to know!

"We are very good friends isn't that right my super awesome boy friend who is just a friend and a boy and who has some very important things to do with me right now mm hmm sorry gotta go." And he grabbed Marley's arm, turned, and sped off, lungs burning from the exertion of speaking without breathing and definitely not because his heart was working overtime.

It didn't matter that Jackie was almost literally a cloud of bubblegum and friendliness and okay with it. It didn't matter that even Piper's stupid ex thought he could see and say something about it. It did not matter that every one of their friends and their talking ravens were supportively poking around in their business because there was no business to be discovered.

Oliver did not. Like. Marley. That way.

Right?

for @thesplashyeth

[darkstarofchaos]

A Year in Review

Just watched a video about recontextualizing productivity by looking at what you've done over a long period instead of day to day, and you know what? I spend a lot of time feeling like I'm wasting time instead of doing things. So sure, let's look back over the last year and see what actually got done. No particular order, just accomplishments.

After two years of struggling with a computer science degree, I switched majors to art and design and went from struggling to pass my classes to my first ever term of all A's and B's. Among the classes I took last year were an improv class, which I enjoyed so much more than I'd expected to, and a 2D game design class, which. Well, I technically had a playable character, an item to collect, and an enemy to avoid at the end of it, but I hesitate to call it a game. It was a good learning experience, though.

I joined a few fandom events and projects. Among them was the TF Reverse Mini Bang, which... Led into a long-term project that has consumed my fic life since May, and I have gone back and forth between having so much fun and regretting my choices because my ADHD hates focusing on one project and ignoring all the others for so long, but I also ended up posting fic regularly for a few months because of it, so blegh. That's a whole thing and it's complicated and I badly need to figure out a balance between things I need to do and things I want to do, because taking breaks from the "should"s is important.

Oh yeah, and I got diagnosed with ADHD. And autism along with it. That was a big accomplishment that dominoed into getting set up with a primary care provider for the first time in my life. Also discovered that you can have Seasonal Affective Disorder in the summer, which might explain why summer is consistently my least productive season for writing, and why I just have no energy or motivation. Probably made worse by the autism, because summer comes with so many unpleasant sensory experiences, and I'd much rather bundle up under a weighted blanket and listen to the rain. All of which sounds pretty negative for an accomplishments rundown, but now that I know it might be a problem, I can try to accommodate it. So that's good.

I took an audiobook class in the spring and learned that kind of helped me push through my discomfort with talking to myself. More importantly, I learned a few things about taking care of my voice and using it in a healthy way, which means I've finally broken out of head voice/falsetto while singing. Which is great because singing is a stim I've been trying to indulge more, and it's more enjoyable without the strain and feeling like I've swallowed cotton afterward.

Now I just need to figure out how to strengthen my speaking voice so people can stop blaming my masks for their inability to hear me. Which ironically means unmasking, because I'm pretty sure the default social voice is an autism masking thing. I'd hoped wearing earplugs more often would naturally lead to that because I'd be trying to hear myself, but nah.

On the other hand, the earplugs probably help. Got a nice pair with holes in the center so I can still hear people while muffling background noise. I didn't think I had a problem with general noise outside of classes where I'm trying to think, but dang do I notice it when I'm not wearing them now.

Oh yeah, and I learned that tedious reading is easier for me when it's in audio form. It's not foolproof because some speakers are terrible to listen to, but if I can get a schoolbook in audio form, I'll take that over reading it myself any day.

My various classes mean that I've begun to learn some Adobe programs. Which is eh because Adobe sucks, but they're good skills for employability. So sure, I'll count that as an accomplishment.

I rigged my first model in Blender. Sort of. It has the deform rig, but I never got around to adding the control rig. Really need to go back and finish that.

Honestly, it's been more a year for self-discovery and learning than actually making things. Which isn't a bad thing at all, because that's information I can apply moving forward. Especially now that I've changed degrees to something that I'm actually enjoying.

Now I just need to get the darn executive disfunction out of my way.

[mad-raptorzzz]

MUFASA SPOILERS BELOW

Gonna be talking about major plot points so if you are at all interested in the movies, come back later.

Lion King 1 and 2 are some of my favorite movies, ever. Certainly lots of nostalgia there, but they are also wonderful. Lion King 2 is definitely the best direct to video animated showing from the mouse. So I was delighted by the Lion Guard, a cannon lion king show, making Kiara cannon. (I have lots of thoughts about this show, but all in all for being a disney preschool show they really snuck in some heavy themes, especially in season 3). Even more delighted when she was set to show up in the Mufasa movie. So I had to see it.

And overall, it was pretty good. Nothing stellar, I think they had a few chances to make it stellar but couldn't quite stick the landing. Dope that they kept Taka's name from the books! I am actually ok with Scar and Mufasa not being blood brothers, because that was never officially stated. They were always just called brothers, so you can interpret that however you want. And it gives some context for why Scar was so obsessed with having a 'good' and 'strong' successor that may not necessarily be his blood, aka Kovu. He has seen first hand how blood can destroy you, and would rather have a strong moldable chess piece than a weak heir (like himself). I enjoyed all the small bits of Kiara in the movie. I liked how it was almost Lion King 1/2 esque with Timon and Pumba interruptions. That was fun. The songs were all right, except for Bye Bye which absolutely slapped. I would have appreciated the scene it was sang during to be a bit more dynamic. Honestly, Kiros singing it as his pride stalks Taka and Mufasa in the woods (like that one cool animatic you can find on YouTube) would have been dope. A little bit of fog and the white lions blend in and can pop in and out. It's also cool that we got context for some of the outsider hatred. Sarabi was cool, wish she would have gotten a good fight scene for herself because in the original movie I always liked how calm and poised she was, but you could tell she didn't take nobodies shit. And I thought her falling for Mufasa was nice and not super rushed.

Loved Kiros, he was a delight. Big fan of how he stretched with pleasure every time he was about to kill someone. This is just a guy who loves to do evil guy things. Let him live his truth. I liked his evil henchwomen too, the two main lionesses who gave him information and hyped him up.

I think they did Taka pretty well. I liked that they referenced the flinging off the cliff scene twice. The first time, when they were cubs, me and the rest of the audience audibly gasped. It was great, and I thought that would be it. But when it came around again, it was a delight. Because that means... third times the charm. It was tragic to see how much he wanted a brother and that he let Mufasa win the race to get him to stay, all to eventually kill him and try to murder his son. His song also is pretty cute, but also shows that he was fundamentally set up to think he was better than the other animals and better than Mufasa. I at first didn't like how quickly he went to Kiros to plot Mufasa's death, it seemed a bit rushed. But, they saved it by having Taka flip flop again after his temper cooled. You can tell he knows he made a mistake. And then I remembered, that this is functionally a teenage boy. Teens do all kinds of crazy overdramatic things, especially regarding love and romance, so it actually makes perfect sense. I am happy that it wasn't Mufasa who put the scar on Taka's face, because I thought I could see it going there for a second. Especially with Scar's 'I wouldn't dream of challenging you again' quote from the 2019 movie. (More on the scar later)

Oh and most importantly, speaking of the 2019 movie, they gave the lions emotions. They have much more expressive faces now. I think they made the eyes of the cubs specifically much larger and allow them to use their ears to show sadness and anger. It works so much better. For a great exampled, watch the stampede scene in the 2019 movie. Keep that in your brain when you watch the flood scene in Mufasa. Look how much more expressive baby Mufasa is!!! Simba doesn't look fazed at all compared to the terror on Mufasa's face. They sacrificed some realism for sure. But this is a movie about singing lions. It was never realistic to begin with!

Overall, an enjoyable watch. I was for sure cheering for Mufasa with that final roar. Now for the critiques.

The theme of all the animals coming together could have been stressed a bit more. Ideally, they should have had Mufasa's adoptive mom teach him a bit about talking to other animals. Have a scene where Mufasa talks to a baby gazelle or zebra, and Taka comes over and says how weird it is because they will eventually eat them, then he jumps at the prey animal to scare them away. And Mufasa laughs with him, but has a thoughtful look. Then maybe when they are first running away in the woods, Mufasa tries to ask for help from some forest dwelling animal. But they turn him down because 'what has a lion ever done for us anyway?' Chase scene ensues. They find Sarabi, who's family evidently employs at least birds, which I would love Sarabi to mention in passing. Like 'oh yeah, Zazu is just my scout, my father had a host of vultures, hawks, parrots, and oxpeckers who would all report to him. In return, they got first picks of roosting trees near our den and first pecks at the food after we finished.' So now Mufasa knows it can work. Then Rafiki joins as expected. And maybe after the elephant stampede, where Mufasa again tries and fails to get help, there is a trapped baby elephant they have to save. And they save it and the mother comes over and says something like 'Why would you do that, you're starving and exhausted yet you risked yourselves for my child, you could have just waited for her to die and had an easy meal.' And Mufasa says 'something something heroic something something. It wasn't here time in the circle of life.' And shares a quick glance with Rafiki. The mother elephant gives a nod and says 'thank you, if you ever need an elephant's help again, you'll have my herd.' And then, in the final battle, we now have Mufasa with some experience asking for help, and an elephant who will vouch for him. Maybe even that gazelle/zebra from all the way back? And there's a bit more context of all animals fighting to help? I don't know I just wanted more of why the animals want to live in the Pridelands if they just get eaten.

I also wish they would have hit just a little harder with Taka being compared to and then turned down for over Mufasa. Emphasize it a bit more with his mom. Maybe has a bit more with Taka's dad fully accepting Mufasa right before they get yeeted out? Then have Taka try and fail a few more things that Mufasa gets right. Just to really let it all fester a bit more. And then you can have Kiros really ham it up, call Taka his son and say how proud he is of Taka realizing how evil Mufasa is, etc etc manipulate the child. I just wanted more angst.

And the big thing. The scar itself. For those not super well versed in the Lion King lore. There are now three semi-canon-ish ways that Taka has gotten his scar. First is the least canon version, as Disney themselves has proclaimed them 'semi-cannon' or 'loose cannon.' There were books published after the first movie where, in The Tale of Two Brothers, Taka gets his scar from a water buffalo after trying to get Mufasa hurt. In the book, Taka is already a right dick before the scar because Mufasa is the favorite child. The movie people must have at least known about the books because this is where the name Taka comes from. I'm neutral about this method of scar delivery. It's fine, but the book really just sets Taka up to be the evil little brother. I think you can read between the lines and see him as someone who has always been looked over and passed over and pushed aside for perfect big brother Mufasa. But again, you have to imagine that yourself. Method two is from the Lion Guard. Here Scar gets the mark of evil from a snake bit after a strange lion tricks him. It is implied that the snake venom makes you go crazy and become evil. Mufasa then nicknames him Scar because of the mark. Kion then gets the same bite and the same mark and has to deal with almost becoming evil. I like the journey that Kion has to go through because of this, but I don't like the magic evil snake venom thing for Scar. I don't want him to be evil just because of magic evil snake juice. I want angst and miscommunication and festering and eventual snapping. And the third way is here. After betraying Mufasa, he has another change of heart and jumps in the way, taking the killing blow meant for his brother on his face. Now marked forever by his betrayal but also by his saving of the very lion he would continue to try and undermine for the rest of his life. Now that is angst! Again, very happy that it was not Mufasa who gave him the scar. And I like that he even names himself Scar. A bit of agency to the lad. All in all, I like the fan adaptions of Taka's younger life and method of scar acquisition more. But this movie has my favorite canonical method. And you can even argue that the Lion Guard may still be cannon. As Scar could very well be lying to Kion about the snake bite to get into his head and mess him up mentally.

I wish they had said that the cub at the end was Kion. I am choosing to believe it is Kion! And with all the mention of outsiders. It makes me wonder if they are planning a theatrical adaptation of the Lion King 2.......

I would recommend the movie to any Disney/Lion King fan. It's not horrible and was entertaining!

[riverbills]

Task: Share an early memory your character has had at Woodrow House

Date:1989 & 1984

Location: The Music Room and a recording studio in LA

The size of Woodrow House wasn't what overwhelmed River. He had been in plenty of grand hotels in his short life and he grew up in a large house. However, instead of aging wooden surfaces and walls lined with large bookshelves like in Woodrow the house River grew up in was full of reflective white surfaces and walls lined with platinum records. More importantly the house he grew up in was home. Woodrow was never going to be home, he decided with his arms folded. He missed his playroom and the familiarity of home. Most importantly he missed his parents.

River sighed and rolled over to look at the clock on the bedside table. It was illuminated by the low light of a purple lava lamp (one of the few personal touches he had added in the brief time he had been at Woodrow). It was roughly one in the morning. It was still the middle of the day in California. He wondered what he would be doing if he still had his parents. He decided he would probably be jamming with them in the family music room.

It was always an exciting adventure when River was taken into town. It was a rare occasion and whenever he asked his parents or nanny why they told him the city was dangerous and a special treat. However, as he squirmed in his seat, being allowed to accompany his dad (or Uncle Marty as he was told to call him in front of people) didn't feel like a special treat. The adults were too preoccupied with recording music to pay attention to him. Occasionally he would lean over to talk to the sound engineers on the same side as the booth as him and he would be shushed. His cabbage patch doll and crayons could only keep him preoccupied for so long.

There was a brief break in recording because his dad had gone for a piss break. River decided it was his opportunity to introduce himself to the session musicians. It had been too long since he talked to anyone and musicians were always rad. The sounded engineers were too wrapped up in a conversation that sounded boring . It was the perfect opportunity for him to sneak into the other side of the booth. The drummer and bassist gave him an apprehensive look when he walked into the studio but didn't say anything. He would introduce himself to them if he had time but his attention was drawn to the guy on the weird keyboard thing. The man had a shirt with the first three buttons undone underneath a leather jacket. His shirt was white with various blue and pink geometric shapes. What River noticed from where he was sitting behind the soundboard were curls cascading down past his shoulders. Now that River was closer he could see that he had a hoop earring and smaller silver hoops further up his ear. He was cool in a way River couldn't describe when he was seven and for reasons he couldn't put his finger on

"Hello River greeted, enthusiastically.

The weird not quite piano player took a drag from his cigarette before replying."Hey" He answered with a bemused expression.

“I really like your earring. You look like a pirate”

“Hope you're not trying to say I look evil.”

"Oh no, not all pirates are evil. Some pirates in movies are actually nice but they're fighting a mean government.”

“It's always good to fight mean governments.”

“What does this do?” River asked, pointing at the weird not quite piano.”It looks like a piano but it makes noises that sound like a robot singing.”

“It's a synthesizer. It's basically an electronic piano and you can change the settings to make it produce a range of sounds. Do you want to have a quick go?”

River nodded excitedly. The synth player stood up and gestured for River to hop on the stool. He put his foot on the pedal to adjust the height once River sat down. River pressed a sequence of keys and squealed in delight at the sounds it made.

The music room was silent. River stared down at the piano keys. He breathed in deeply. It should have been easy to press a key. He had done it countless times before. But it didn't feel right. His limbs felt heavy and music didn't sound the same anymore. It was as if how wrong his life felt without his parents extended into music as a concept. Every note seemed out of tune. He lifted his right hand up and it hovered over the piano, shaking slightly. If he pressed a key he would feel like he was betraying his parents. He couldn't have music without them. He felt like he shouldn't have been in Woodrow's music room. He thought he shouldn't be at Woodrow at all. He wanted to go home. He wanted his parents back. He felt the tears begin to fall and it was difficult to breathe. He jumped off the stool on shaky legs before kicking it over.