#and that’s mostly because they are also their own character

[clockwork-hearted]

This was the first queer movie I watched in high school. I remember finally having good, strong WiFi and exploring YouTube one night. Was using my refurbished MacBook that I begged my dad to get me so I can have something to use for school.

I don’t remember how exactly I came across this movie (honestly was probably going through some YouTube rabbit hole of “movies where guys make out” or the classic “two men kissing” search), but it was the full length movie. And it was free.

I was so excited to watch it and see what kind of guy on guy action I would get to see. But being forced to stay in the closet growing up, I couldn’t just outright watch this movie while my parents were home.

So I bookmarked it. Made sure I even saved the link somewhere. And had to wait until my parents weren’t home.

Thankfully, I ended up realizing that I was a teen that was allowed to stay up late on the weekends. So I stayed up, waited until both my parents were in their rooms, fast asleep, and then I went into my room, closed the door (couldn’t lock it though. Locking bedroom doors was an offense that would cause a scene every time for absolutely no reason), plugged my headphones in, and snuggled up and watched it.

I remember sitting upright to start it then getting tired and deciding to lay down. Ended up laying the laptop on its side just so I could keep watching haha

And I remember going through the rollercoaster of emotions seeing these two characters having a connection but being so twisted up about it. Regardless of everything they went through, I still wanted that. I still wanted someone I could kiss passionately. Someone I could go to bed with and wake up next to in our own little world. Someone I could go to the beach with and spend all day with. Someone who wanted to push me for my abilities (don’t have any but it played into my fantasies lol) and strive to be the best I could be at them.

And then reaching the end of the movie and being so happy with it. I remember crying. Crying so much that I thought I wasn’t going to be able to stop. I remember shoving my face in my pillows to try and muffle my crying.

Oh, I learned to cry silently so very quick in my home. How I learned what it meant to be even more suppressed than I already was. How I had to learn to hold back all the choking sounds my throat would utter and just let the tears flow. Silently blowing my nose into tissues so I wouldn’t wake my parents and cause a scene.

“Why are you crying? What’s happening? What did you watch? What’s going on? Etc. etc. etc.” - yeah, like I was going to come clean about my emotions and be able to talk these things out. Pht. How I wished and how I dreamed that I could. Would’ve made growing up easier. But I didn’t have those kinds of parents.

So the first night I watched this movie, it meant a lot in such little time. Movies like this really saved me as a teen.

I started doing a deep dive into any and all other queer movies I could find online for free (but that’s a story for a different time).

Tbh, I had forgotten about this gem of a movie. Made me feel a little guilty for forgetting, mostly because it really helped me continue pretending, and knowing that one day I would find someone to experience beautiful moments with. It allowed me to realize that queer media (that wasn’t porn) was out there, that I didn’t have to feel alone, and that it was only a few key strokes and google searches away.

For anyone who read through this whole thing (I know I blabbed, but I really needed to get this off my chest and my mind), thank you.

And I also hope that even though the world can feel so against you, even in spaces that are supposed to be safe, that there are people out there that know and understand you and can relate to how you feel.

I know it’s always easier said than done, but hang in there. And if it all gets to be too suffocating, please remember there are resources out there to help. But please, please, please, don’t get snuffed out. Let yourself burn as bright as you can. Because at the end of the day, you will always find Shelter- whether it’s with family members, friends, teachers, chosen/adoptive families, online communities, etc. you will find it. And you will be safe. And you will be loved.

I wish you all the very best. May this movie and many others bring you as much joy as it did to me. <3

Shelter (2007) dir. Jonah Markowitz

[trulycertain]

On Dragon Age & Accents

(My unhelpful tuppence, as an English player.)

One small thing I wish had come up in Veilguard from previous games: the accent worldbuilding. It wasn't always consistent - DA:O only seemed to care about country or race, anyone non-human being generically North American and anyone human being mostly RP English unless they were Antivan; for regional accents, they seemed to purely use them for effect or go with VAs' natural ones. (There are about two bandit NPCs who seem to have badly-done Midlands English accents purely because they're not meant to be very bright; thanks, love Canadians reinforcing that stereotype. Anders being Lancashire seems to be pure coincidence because of his voice actor - you rarely ever hear the accent in any consistent way in other NPCs, and it's completely ignored in his very Southern DA2 recast.)

But by DA2, there seemed to be definite trends: Free Marches could be RP English or North American depending where you came from; dwarves tended to sound North American but there were exceptions for some people raised on the surface; elves tended to be either Welsh or Irish, which matches the "very old culture with a linguistically completely different root from Trade/English". Starkhaven is most definitely Scots.

And then DAI! DAI, my love.

DAI kept DA2's trends, while finally giving us more complexity and regional accents, albeit limitedly (and still with some inconsistencies). Finally, we have a (vaguely Germanic) Nevarran accent! And Miranda Raison did such careful work constructing it! The Avvar, Ferelden's mountain folk, sound Northern English. I'd hazard a guess that several sound Yorkshire, actually - this matches the whole "the Orlesians got up there less" lore in real terms; Northern England and Scotland, particularly Yorkshire, was under Viking rule longer than the South, which became Norman-conquered earlier, and there are subtle dialectal differences to this day. (Similar thing happened with the Celts and Romans, and the Avvar are blatantly Celtic and Pictish). There's a reason that RP ("neutral posh") English is Southern, from the seats of power. Cullen's from Honnleath, somewhere smaller and less Orlesianified, and while it's softened by the character's travel and the VA's own posher bents, there are moments the Northern English accent gets leaned into, a little similarity with the Avvar. It's a coincidence but it works so well, lore-wise. Sera's VA sounds... Derbyshire? I think? which is Midlands/Northern border and sounds more than Northern enough to keep a consistent Fereldan sound. And in terms of NPCs? A lot of Fereldan NPCs suddenly start turning up Northern, albeit less broad in their accents! Have a listen round the Crossroads. I remember Gaider mentioning Dorian wasn't originally meant to be Indian, they sealed it for sure when they cast Ramon Tikaram, at which point everyone went, "Yup, let's run with it", cast his dad accordingly, and Gaider figured that Dorian was either part of a pretty big migrant population (which, other than the Dorian Gray reference, the fact his name roughly means "from across the sea" also makes sense), or quite a lot of Tevene folk natively were. Considering Tevinter started as essentially "mage Rome" and morphed into, even according to the writers themselves, "mage Byzantium" and it's very close to Seheron, which I feel is North Africa/Middle East influenced - Tevene folk being akin to folk of Turkish, Middle Eastern, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan and Bengali backgrounds makes a ton of sense.

It is... exceedingly rare to hear working-class British accents in fantasy series at all (unless Brits make them, and then we're still often peasants or generic NPC #2, a la Origins). It is even rarer to have a fantasy series bother to keep immigrant accents and show the moulding of them through the generations. And I can only think of one other video game that has consciously cast British Asian actors, that's how rare it is even in games that supposedly care about representation - despite the fact that Asian folk make up something like 30% of our population.

Now: would I like some more background on why some accents in the Marches sound British and some don't? Yup! Would I have liked to have more regions in the elves' Irish accents and the dwarves' NA? Yup! But do those really matter? Nope! They would have been lovely icing on the cake, but the underlying cake was great. The plot didn't need it. It didn't have to be perfect, and the filtering of British culture through Canadians, and strategic anachronism? Those are things I love about Dragon Age. I loved how much they seemed to be trying and how much they were thinking about the lore. And I loved hearing a "British accent" that finally made sense to me, not played into the long attempts by toffs to stamp out everything North of London or outside England.

And then Veilguard sort of... forgot about it most of it? Adored that we could play as a Geordie! I really, really love them continuing pointed casting of folk with British Asian ancestry for several Tevinters (*waves lovingly at elek and neve*). But then... uh... look! Working-class Tevene people with generic Mancunian accents! To show they're working-class! That's fantastic progress... for Origins. But lore-wise, by DATV we've already shown that Manchester and Northern English accents live... *points at Ferelden* somewhere over there. We're back to "Tevinters mostly sound like generically evil English folk", as in DAO and bits of 2, which, sure, Dorian doesn't contradict - but then why not have everyone sound Southern, like him? Or add a different tint to it? And no, I am not saying everyone should put on bad "ethnic" accents, and I do appreciate the number of American, English and Mediterranean accents in Tevinter showing a very Roman "you're a citizen of the Imperium but you might have been born in one of its several countries" - but…

Gideon Emery's slight Afrikaans tint made a ton of sense with Fenris and what part of Tevinter he was meant to be from, even if it was unintentional; Jennifer Hale's take on Krem was going for English but came out more Aussie to my ear. Something like those could have been really interesting. But that also means that, including Fenris, we've now had several slaves with an accent that reads... quite posh, to English ears. Same with Neve, who is supposedly proudly from the shithole part of Minrathous, but she and several others have very RP "posh" accents (while others like Tarquin and Elek are Mancunian). Now, not everyone picks up their local accent! I am one of those people! I ended up cursedly plummy for a long time! But... we had hints through the series that Tevinter class markers would be very different from Fereldans', but they're now the same, for some reason?

Add that to the fact that they didn't want to make even one VA suffer through doing the Nevarran accent... See, it makes total sense for Emmrich, who's a posh professor who's done a lot of international study and would probably have learned Common as a second language with a very generic, "neutral" accent; he also was very concerned about appearances with his class background and trained himself not to give much away. And I'm sure the Mourn Watch has international students. But no Nevarran NPCs sound pointedly Nevarran? Not a one? Kal Sharok has hints of something interesting going on but it's rare, and the Anderfels is just... full of sad English and American-sounding people. Rivain is supposedly Caribbean and there are a bunch of actors of Caribbean descent they could've cast, but we only have one NPC sound even slightly so? That's when it stops being "Trade is taught with a neutral accent and there are a lot of Fereldan immigrants and slaves in Tevinter" and starts feeling handwavey.

Basically: I wouldn't mind if we'd gone with most fantasy games' "Eh, we cast broadly based on sound, stereotype or none of the above"; I'm very happy to just go with it. However, DAI told me to pay vague attention because the accents meant something. Then DATV has heel-turned and is telling me "Nah, go with it" the way Origins did. My ears are... confused, to say the least. And we're back to "'working-class' has one accent, and characters with something to say who aren't cast as stereotypically plucky underdogs are all Southern and posh", which just... makes me really sad. I don't hear people who sound like me, my family, or my friends growing up, in Dragon Age anymore. I did hear they had a different voice director in DATV, so maybe it's that?

[zombiecowboy65]

guys . Oh my god lmfao. What ever happened to character development. What ever happened to letting people grow. I don’t understand why everyone saw book 1 Jeremy and decided he was just the worst man on the planet. Andrew drugs Neil in book 1. Straight up drugs him. And while I do not condone the constant pushing Jeremy did , he’s already a step beyond drugging his future love interest.

obviously Jean is traumatized. We all read the book. Obviously Jeremy is not qualified to deal with this. But is Jean not allowed to heal and be in love? Is Jean not allowed to heal and then be in love? I’m pretty sure there’s a reason for Jeremy’s “I can fix him” attitude. And mind u he did not offer to be Jean’s therapist, or even to “fix” him at all. Mostly it just seems like he wasn’t able to help someone in the past (his brother or himself, even) and it’s coming out in him trying to help Jean.

(also—Jeremy literally has his own therapist? And we don’t even know his history yet. )

what is with this I need them to be perfect from the start ideology everyone has? And why is it coming out bc Nora gave a new release date?? The original release date had nothing to do with Kevin at all. I don’t understand. No one said Neil couldn’t be with Andrew because he had trauma. No one said Andrew couldn’t be with Neil because he was literally medicated until halfway through the year and assaulted ????

[werewolfcave]

I think generally one of the biggest overall faults of ORV is how much the women are so frequently defined by the men around them.

Jung Heewon is Kim Dokja's sword and a matching pair with Lee Hyunsung. She was sexually assaulted and left to die and only survived because a man saved her. Her connection with Uriel is the most major one she has with another woman, which I cannot understate but it is something we only see glimpses of. The Paradise Arc is one of the few places where we really get to see Jung Heewon's own feelings, outside of just the definition or framework of the men in her life.

Uriel's most notable defining traits that make her more than just WoS Uriel are (in the 1864th turn) her love of Kim Dokja and Yoo Joonghyuk and (in the 999th turn) being in love with Yoo Joonghyuk. [This is a bit of an oversimplified and pessimistic view of the way Uriel is presented but I think you guys get what I'm trying to say]

Lee Jihye is mostly defined by Yoo Joonghyuk (the guy who taught her to fight), Kim Dokja (the guy who convinced her live), and Kim Namwoon (the guy who has feelings for her that she doesn't return). She is close with Jung Heewon but we never actually get elaboration on this fact! Na Bori and the kids are like the only things we get outside of the men in her life and even then she is usually just the babysitter!!

Lee Seolhwa is literally only spared because Kim Dokja thought that Yoo Joonghyuk would fall apart if she didn't live! Not because of her extreme medical prowess, not because she is a person, but simply because her boyfriend would be sad. Hell! We barely know anything about her outside of Yoo Joonghyuk!!!

Yoo Mia is also entirely defined by Yoo Joonghyuk! We don't know anything about her besides her connections to her brother!!

Anna Croft is pretty much exclusively defined by Yoo Joonghyuk and Kim Dokja! Neither of which have good opinions on her! So she's just kind of framed as a bitch with little elaboration otherwise. There are implications she is more but goddamn if we barely get to see them!

Don't get me wrong, ORV has its really awesome moments. But fuck do a lot of the women not really exist outside of the men for a large portion of the story.

I know this has likely been talked about to death for most of the characters but Jung Heewon was one that particularly stuck out to me as Jung Heewon in the sequel is not only saved by a man but saved by a man who is specifically a fanboy of hers (not sure how it's handled past that tho).

[captain-kit-adventuress]

I haven't read any cozy fantasy, to be fair, but because these posts are mostly talking about the fundamentals of good writing while the fundamentals of cozy fantasy are taking more of a backseat, I feel comfortable throwing in my pov. I agree with all of the above, but I think we should probably add on discussion of why tension works even when stakes are low.

Given all of the GBBO mentions, let's liken writing a story to baking. So what differentiates a cake from bread from a biscuit from [insert thing here]? Mostly ratios. Cakes and breads and biscuits are all made with the same fundamental ingredients, for the most part, but the ratios of each differ greatly between them, as do some of the techniques used. A more traditional fantasy is mostly plot-driven. That's one ingredient. Of course, you still need character and setting and all the rest, but because a traditional fantasy tends to use a big window into its world, you'll need lots of plot and worldbuilding in the mix. There is The Quest or The Prophecy or The Villain's Downfall or The Hero's Redemption or whatever, and these kinds of story tropes require a lot of moving parts to get to the end. Character is still important in a plot-driven book because it will enrich whatever that plot is, but the big window you're opening will swallow up the characters if you're not careful to get the other ratios just right.

But a cozy fantasy isn't like that. The window is much smaller, and so the ratio of ingredients necessarily has to change. Tension vs stakes is a great way to think about that ingredient mix, but when you're shifting your main base, you also have to shift the ratios of the other ingredients or it's going to turn out wonky. With a smaller window generally comes a smaller (though no less important) story. We don't see as much of the world in a cozy setting, so focusing too much on worldbuilding might crowd out the other elements in the story and overpower them. What tends to fit well in a smaller window is character. But if you want to create tension instead of stakes--and it is incredibly important to know the difference between the two, as the above post illustrates well--you can't rely on plot so much. Tension is all about character.

The reason tension works in GBBO is not just because the characters care about the outcome, it's that we bond with them and care about it also. We want it to go well for them. (Or at least, go well for our favourites lol.) So with bland, uninspiring, nothing characters, even introducing tension isn't going to work well if readers have no reason to root for your characters, and wanting to see good in the world just won't cut it. In the case of the fantasy coffee shop idea, why do we care that this coffee shop survives? What makes the character care? What is the thing (or things) that makes the character get out of bed every day to run this shop? It doesn't have to be a big reason, either. It's not like it has to be to honour the memory of their dead mother whose dying wish was to own a shop like this, it needn't be dramatic. But it does have to feel like a real reason this person would be so motivated.

A different cozy genre that does this well is cozy mysteries, and those are all about characters. We always know there's going to be a murder (or at least the appearance of one). So that part of the plot is taken care of. What the author of a cozy mystery must do, then--besides solving the mystery--is tell us why that murder matters. The only question an author needs to answer before writing a cozy mystery after they've answered whodunit is why they did it. And you can only do that through the people that are still alive. The worldbuilding may contribute to it, but the murder doesn't matter except as it relates to the ones who are left in the aftermath.

Something I've noticed in recent years is that some authors are starting to approach independent stories like they do fanfic. To some extent, that's fine because good writing is good writing is good writing. One of the biggest differences between independent stories and fanfiction, however, is that fanfiction doesn't need a reason to exist. You can write that cute scene with no stakes and no tension and people will read it because it's like a deleted scene from the original, and it has all of the canon to support it. The existing canon is the primary reason fanfiction exists.

Independent stories are not like that. They must have a reason to exist outside of "this is cute and I like it." We readers don't have access to the world in your head in any other way than through the published material, and it's an author's responsibility when writing independent stories to give us that access. You have to show us why we should care, and if you're spending too much time worldbuilding and plotting and dialoguing and not enough time making us care about the people in the story, we're not going to be any wiser at the end, and tension vs stakes vs anything else isn't going to matter.

Cozy Fantasy and Why It Doesn't Work

I think I am among many who feel like they should love cozy fantasy and have found it an incredibly lacking genre.

This newly branded "cozy fantasy" genre that has taken readers by storm since 2020 and while it is new that books are now marketed as cozy, the genre itself isn't new. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones is a great example of the genre before it was labeled and also how to make it work.

Cozy fantasy is defined by many as fantasy with low stakes. Fantasy aesthetic but less sword fights. On paper, it sounds great. But the execution has been less than stellar for readers like me. The lack of physical stakes has also impacted the emotional stakes of these books, creating forgettable characters with boring problems. As a romance reader, I find this frustrating. Romance is known for being a predictable and formulaic genre, the now defunct Romance Writers of America defined romances as needing happy endings, a term romances have continued to follow. Yet these romance texts manage to have low physical stakes (how to date your neighbor, how to confront your toxic friends, etc) while still maintaining high personal stakes that keep readers invested and begging for more. So I was initially confused why cozy fantasy authors struggle to write texts that connect to readers like me.

I think I have found the answer which is the genre is just here for vibes. It is all about aesthetic, not even worldbuilding that fantasy is known for as most cozy fantasy I read have so many problems as soon as you ask one question. It is hard to acknowledge that a genre that is pitched to work for readers like me doesn't work for many of us. Especially because occasionally there is one that works beautifully to my taste.

I often say my favorite cozy fantasies that are more contemporary are short and visual, which I plays into the idea of the genre being an aesthetic. The Bakery Dragon by Devin Elle Kurtz is a good example because it is a simple story that is given the perfect amount of pages and gorgeous visuals without dragging on when the message is very clear and easy to understand. Books like The Phoenix Keeper and Legends and Lattes have absolutely nothing for me, their very clear message hitting the reader over and over so the readers don't miss it and focusing on the aesthetic of worldbuilding rather than the reality of the fantastic elements within the world.

I guess my point is. . . I realize this genre isn't for me since I have realized it is more of an aesthetic than anything. .. .but I want it to be. Should I let it go and put my efforts elsewhere? Or should I keep exploring this new trend and find the hidden gems?

[flowersforthemachines]

Some facts about Taash (and also the Lords of Fortune, the Qunari, Dragons and other related things) gathered from the banters

Featuring Shathaan's stories about the Crows!

I went through all companion banters on DanaDuchy's channel after playing the game to write down all facts about companions/the world that I haven't seen brought up anywhere in the game as a writing reference (and for funsies).

Note: This list may not be exhaustive. I might have missed some something or didn't write it down because I considered it common knowledge. If you have anything to add, please DM me or send an ask! (do specify what banter the information is coming from, though)

Note 2: Posts from this series (mostly) don't include information from banters specific to quests or between companions and faction members. I plan to do another playthrough to capture more of those and will add any relevant info to the character posts.

Other characters' posts: Bellara, Davrin, Harding, Lucanis, Emmrich, Neve. I'm also planning a post about just the Lighthouse some time later

About Taash

General: 

Taash gets grumpy if they stay inside for too long

Taash may polish their treasure hoard or clean the dishes (even somebody else's) to get out of their head

When Taash is feeling sad, they ask somebody else about how they are doing, so they can focus on somebody else instead of themselves

Taash doesn’t like talking about their feelings because it makes them sad (Lucanis can relate)

Taash doesn't read books before bed because they have a tendency to stay up past their bedtime to finish the exciting parts

Taash seems to care quite a lot about fibre and digestive health (they are so real for that). For example, they enjoy the smell of coffee but don’t drink it because it’s bad for their guts

Taash drinks alcohol 

Taash once requested Bellara/Lucanis to cook them a demon (the suggestion was disregarded) 

Taash liked Lucanis’s deep-fried peppers 

Taash liked Bellara’s stir-fry 

(If Rook is in romance with Taash) A spirit of devotion appears next to Taash after they enter a relationship

Taash doesn’t want to look for more dragonfire tablets because “they are just more orders”, and they already have enough  

Taash doesn’t kill in cold blood and needs to get angry in order to kill someone

Taash has good taste in gemstones, knowing which colours match which (based on the banters where they recommend gemstones for Emmrich’s lich helmet). They say it’s a Lord of Fortune thing, they have to know how to make gems look good 

Taash isn’t afraid of the Fade, because the spirits there mind their own business and don’t try to possess anyone (or anything) 

Taash thinks that even if the Nevarrans almost brought their dragons to extinction, they will still come back eventually

Taash is extremely excited to hear that Morrigan can (potentially) turn into a dragon and wants to ask her about it next time they meet 

Taash doesn’t mind finding no loot when hunting dragons because as long as you survived an encounter with a dragon, you have a new story to tell 

Taash doesn't think of dragons as monsters since they are a natural part of the world and have been around longer than anyone else

On fire-breathing: 

Taash started breathing fire when they were a toddler

Taash needs to eat greens after breathing fire, or they get headaches 

According to healers, fire breathing hurts Taash’s lungs

Taash accidentally set their first female partner’s hair on fire during their first sex

Taash once tried to cook with their dragon breath and accidentally melted a pot and set the kitchen on fire 

On Taash’s sense of smell:  

Taash got their heightened sense of smell after they got sick and couldn't breathe through the nose for a couple of months. After they recovered they could suddenly smell everything

Tassh can smell when someone is ovulating. They can also smell who had been in the room before them, and who is hungover 

Taash could also tell Neve got together with Rook or Lucanis from the smell even before anybody told them

To Taash, Minrathous smells rainy and ‘like rich people hurting poor people’

Early life and the relationship with Shathann: 

Taash learnt to swim before they learnt to walk

Shathann sometimes wouldn't let Taash play/go swimming until they finished their studies (like being able to tell the difference between some pottery shards)

Shathann gifted Taash axes during one of the gift-giving holidays when they were younger. They were simple kindling choppers, but Shathann helped decorate them to make them look like Qunari weapons. During a conversation with Bellara, Taash realises that may be the reason they are still using axes to this day

Axes are also good at lodging between dragon scales and allows them to climb up

Taash grew up poor, though they didn’t realise it because Shathann always made sure they had enough food, even at her expense (like pretending she didn’t want to eat because “Rivaini food is too rich for her”)

Taash spent the money they made from their first job as Lord of Fortune on buying Shathaan a dress. Shathann didn’t appreciate it, instead urging Taash to buy themselves boots or some other useful things 

Shathann hated apples because their skin would get stuck in her teeth (“Evataash, that fruit is stupid!”)

If Taash chooses to pursue Rivaini culture and wear Shathann’s horn as jewellery, they have a blacksmith do runes in the old Qunari language along the edges and get a Seer to bless it

Shathann stopped telling stories about the Crows after Taash once climbed on the roof to play as a Crow

The things Shathann taught Taash about the Crows:

Antivan Crows make themselves invisible to dragons by imitating the dragon's shadow

Antivan Crows coat the beaks of actual crows with poison so that the crows can kill people by pecking

Antivan Crows can slow down their breathing until they become invisible

Antivan Crows come through houses at night and kill children who aren’t in bed

Antivan Crows can do a special move that stops their enemy's heart

Antivan Crows can strangle a Qunari with their own dar-saam (but only if it’s tied incorrectly)

Relationships with companions: 

Bellara gives Taash advice on cooking dinner for their mother

Davrin teaches Taash to use buckets filled with water and sand for lifting

Taash has never flown a kite before and asks Harding to teach them

Harding's mother sends Taash a letter with homemade candies after Shathann’s death, calling it “a hug from afar” (Taash appreciated the gesture and liked the candy) 

(If Rook is in romance with Taash) Taash asks Lucanis about what Rook likes to eat, and Lucanis offers to teach them how to make coffee/tea/chiocolata calda 

Taash isn’t scared of Spite, and even convinces (or more like intimidates) him not to talk about how other people smell without their permission

Lucanis agrees to teach Taash how to kill targets with flair (with varying degrees of success when it comes to cool one-liners) and then plans to ask Teia to make a Crow cape just for them (Taash is very excited about it, as they love crow capes)

Taash insists Neve should get some trophy from Aelia (a ring, or an amulet with her name) to show everyone she beat her, and doesn’t understand why Neve isn’t interested in something like that 

Taash offers their blood to Neve for blood magic purposes (Neve doesn’t take up the offer)

Taash thinks Neve’s ‘dresses’ are pretty

Taash thinks nobody can go toe-to-toe in magic with Neve

Taash offers to hook Neve up with their jeweller to get her a discount (in case she wants a new leg) because “Neve deserves nice things”

Lords of Fortune:

Lords of Fortune have a drunk game where they throw a goblet made from fool’s gold into the water for others to find. Whoever finds it gets free drinks for the rest of the night. The game has only one rule: no punching in the junk

There is also another drunk game where drunk Lords jump off a giant cliff. The only rule is not to hit the water face-first

Even if those are “drunk games”, you can participate in them sober, as long as you are willing to be as stupid as the drunk people

The Lords of Fortune pick new jobs by Isabela throwing daggers at a map or racing nugs (the winner picks the job - could be its owner, or the nug itself)

The lords used to blindfold Mateo (the faction merchant) and spin him around in circles until he tripped on something like a map. They stopped doing that because a Seer told them to quit (the whole thing gave Mateo headaches) 

After Shathann is gone, Taash is in charge of appraising Qunari artifacts for the Lords until they find a better expert

The Lords of Fortune work with a Dalish clan keeper Shivanas (Taash calls them ‘Shiv’) who appraises artefacts for them (tells them what’s okay to sell and not to sell etc.) 

After losing his hand, a Lord named Bernst got a lock-pick hand prosthetic decorated with gems

About Dragons:

Different breeds of dragons can mate and produce offspring. That’s how ice- and lightning-breathing dragons came about

The muscles of dragon wings’ are vulnerable behind. Another weakness is the underbelly

Fighting Dragons is all about making them come to you, either by having them see you as a threat (so they come down to assert dominance) or prey (so they come down to eat you) 

There is a dragon called Wildervale Spitter, which can breathe fire or poison gas. The “fire breath” is actually just poison that burns when the dragon breathes. Most dragons always ignite their breath. The Spitter's special for being able to choose whether to light it up.

Dragons have an extra eyelid that they shut while breathing fire in order to protect their eyes

About Qunari etc.:

Eb-ketarra means something like “growing memories.” When you graft someone’s horn onto yours, you also add their strength to yourself

Qunari food uses a lot of oil for frying

Qunari have a much better sense of smell than humans

Qunari can bury their dead with large jars inlaid with a flame pattern. It’s called ‘issalatar’ and is empty inside, representing that the deceased’s body is also empty now that their spirit is gone

The Rivaini armada can hold its own against the Antaam fleet, but only in good weather. They can’t match the Antaam in firepower, but they can outsail them

Isabela is apparently still a captain of the Siren’s Call 

[negrowhat]

Sangmin Dinneaw Ep 1 Elevator Pitch

Because the tag only has like 4 people talking about it and I want to talk about it with some of mutuals and strangers alike. Ep 1 dropped 6 days ago and I still have no one to talk about it with so here we go!

This is Dinneaw! He is a very cute young man who helps his beloved mother run the family homestay, 'Dinneaw Homestay'. He does quite a few jobs for the homestay which includes checking guests in and out, working as a barista at the homestay's cafe, and selling Dinneaw Homestay goods at the local market. Dinneaw's ultimate dream is to be a tour guide.

This is Sangmin. He's a handsome young Korean man who travels to Thailand and winds up staying at Dinneaw Homestay. He's actually lived there before at a very young age through some sort of foreign exchange situation. I'm not really sure how long ago it was exactly IQIYI subs aren't that reliable but sometime between one and two decades prior to his return as an adult. Judging by the way Dinneaw's mom talks about him, he's at least one or two years older than Dinneaw.

Unlike a lot of BLs we have seen that like to use characters from other Asian countries as a plot point, Sangmin actually does speak Thai. He's not expert in it, but he knows enough to have full conversations with the people around him. He does get mixed-up and stumped from time-to-time but that's okay.

Dinneaw does seem annoyed by Sangmin's presence but that is mostly because his mother seems to be a tad more fond of Sangmin than Dinneaw would like. Like she thinks about Sangmin daily and she misses him dearly and she immediately recognized him when he showed up again. In her defense though, Sangmin was kind of forced to leave her home and he was very young and she is a mother who took care of him so in her mind he's another son who's been missing for over a decade.

Anyways, Sangmin and Dinneaw have instant chemistry. Sangmin seems immediately interested in Dinneaw and smiles very happily every time he sees him. Dinneaw definitely seems attracted to Sangmin but he still finds him annoying and he picks a lot of fights with him. We do get quite a few scenes that display the chemistry between them...one being an insanely oily massage scene.

We also have our side pairing introduced already. Athit and Tor. They're both friends of Dinneaw and both own vendor stalls at the same market. Athit sells herbal liquor and Tor sells chicken meatballs. Athit already has his sights set on Tor and Tor is just happy to have a regular customer. If you recognize them it's because they also played a side couple in The Rebound.

Anyways the ep ends with Sangmin and Dinneaw sneaking out to go drink together so ep 2 is no doubt going to start with them getting drunk together.

Ep 1 was a good mix of comedy, flirting, slice of life, and the tiniest tinge of sadness. After y'all watch ep 1 of The Boy Next World slide on over and catch up with Sangmin Dinneaw, it will also be airing on Sundays on IQIYI.

[sprinklenoodles]

I think that out of all 3 movies, Sonic 1 Robotnik is my fav if we don’t look at the fact that he’s supposed to be, well, Robotnik. Like, sure, he’s not the most game accurate, but if we don’t look at that, I do just like him better.

In the first movie he obviously hasn’t gone crazy just yet. But not just that, he seems more rational, more confident. He doesn’t want revenge like in the second movie nor is it like anything in the third movie, he is just interested. There’s an alien on Earth and he wants to get to know all about it.

And while he is technically working for the government, it’s clear he couldn’t care less about that. He does his own thing and sees them as nothing but idiots- well, with the exception for one… for the most part.

It’s clear that before Sonic he had never lost, that he had never failed. He truly was the smartest person on Earth, and nobody could stop him or even try to contain him. If anything, it’s a wonder he’s working for the government in the first place.

And then there’s his relationship with Stone because of course I have to talk about that too. We don’t see a lot of them, especially Stone just sorta… disappears, but their dynamic is really interesting, especially when they’re around others.

Like, Agent or not, but we see from the very start that Stone is loyal to Robotnik, immediately ‘translating’ for him. And then Robotnik asks if he ‘can feel it’. It’s a very small thing, but we can clearly see that Robotnik values Stone more than anybody else, at least from what we’ve seen so far.

And then when we see Robotnik analysing Sonic’s footprint, he explains everything to Stone, even moving out of the way so he can see it clearly. He does also insult Stone is this scene, yet it seems more… mild compared to the insults he gives to other characters, something that continues for the rest of the movie.

Stone is also always next to him. Not behind him like all of the other agents, but always next to him. It’s a small detail for sure, but one I did just want to point out.

And honestly, there’s even more than that. I could most definitely go into more dept if you guys want, but I also want some sleep, so… Gonna have to leave it here for today. I just really like his character in Sonic 1, mostly because it’s just so different from the Robotnik we have almost everywhere else.

[fancyfade]

im sorry but if you think someone having hypnotherapy while the writer focuses mainly on the male character's reaction, not giving the female character agency to deal with her own trauma (sorry being hypnotized and focusing on a man's reactions isn't agency) after being injured and treated as incompetent to make a man sad is good writing for a female character you simply are living in a different world than I am, one where it's OK to treat female characters as less-than as long as they're in a male character's comic.

sex isn't something ollie does to dinah, but the main focus of the fallout being sex and how it affects ollie is the issue.

if this is the treatment she gets in GA comics and it's OK b/c ollie's the main, she should not be in GA comics.

like honestly I don't like Dixon's politics, but your'e ignoring the non-dixon writers.

the spin offs and solos in action comics weekly sound interesting. I was mostly making a humorous observation that Ollie drags Dinah down when she is treated as love interest, if he's alive but she's allowed to be a solo hero it's fine. She was in BoP while he was alive for quite a bit and got good writing, same for JLA.

(also i don't remember Dinah getting to do much in JLI, just mostly be annoyed with guy... like are we reading different comics????? What did she do in JLI that makes you say the writing was really good? It wasn't aggressively bad, but good???)

But I still stand by the best she gets treated in the GA comcis I've read is "verbally acknowledged as competent, but not allowed to affect the plot much" and the worst is terrible sexist writing GA fans are hellbent on defending because it redefined their blorbo or made him look cool or whatever.

Ollie died because he's a FEMINIST. He knew that Dinah wouldn't be getting good writing while he was alive so he told superman to let him die instead of lasering his arm off to save him from that bomb. Get your facts straight

[urautismdiagnosis]

Peso

Peso my lil Habibi <3 <3 <3

hes just a top tier character

my Hispanic coded son, mylil guy who's learning how to believe in himself

i just I lovepeso guys he's so pure and supportive and caring and lighthearted and silly and he's really doing his best??

he could probably cure my mentally illness with a bandage I'm sure

imgonna be so real I think he has game tho, like I'm 300% he could pull any maiden

he can become friends with like any sea creature too probably

hes my hero and my son and I think he low-key judges everyone internally

cuz like idk if y'all have met people who refuse to swear out loud verbally and hate confrontation, but the internal dialogue omg

i just know one of these days if he gets pushed too far hes gonna threaten someone with his slappity flippers

like y'all know the look birds do where they just sideye you??

that glance???

i think he does that whenever people do things that are stupid

like he loves them all dearly but shellington why would you touch The THing That Will Hurt you, no shellington you cant eat that for science-

Also I think he and dashi would listen to music together i think they might spend evenings relaxing together. I mean their rooms are right next to eachother so like I'm sure they've had some lovely little evening conversations and stuff 🥰 i can just imagine dashi tryna teach peso yoga and like 😩🙏his penguin body wasn't built for it but he still slays

Hes like the little sibling but in the actually I am the most mature way???

I think its cuz he looks up to alot of the other members (altho he's definitely gotten alot more confident as the show has progressed) but he also like..

He gives me the vibes of the oldest sibling of not just the siblings but of all the cousins??? This might just be me projecting but like why did u even become a medic for such a wide range of medical creatures and sign up to join the newly formed highly experimental water nasa???

I think he probably had alot of high expectations on himself because everyone just always believed he could do anything. And that sounds super supportive in theory but when ur like tryna be the oldest and first one to support ur family and everyone is always looking at u because like.. most other people in ur family are younger or ehatever.. that pressure and extra attention can cause alot of perfectionism and high self standards

That mixed with being The Caretaker in your family especially as a child is a pretty good recipe for getting anxious about any big goal in your life and how others perceive you. I think he tried to like humble himself by saying oh no I'm not really capable of all those amazing things so pls don't have those huge expectations hahaha but then it just turned into not believing in himself as much???

Also we slay genuinely caring and kind people having alot of pent up frustration they never show because they love everyone too much. It still hurts inside tho.

Anyways uhhhhhhhhhhh this totally ain't me projectin or anythin.

also hes like a mixed kid, but he's mostly gentoo penguin id say based on my own design

speaking of penguins I think that their homes would be actually made of stone lol. Their homes would have like different smaller homes for privacy around like communal areas.. they still gotta deal with predstors like albatross or ehstever tho. But their albatross for example might work in groups or even be larger.

Friendly reminder my lore for the octonauts is a bit different than the Canon. Sure People People being like hunted is wayyyy less common than irl but They're basically still playing their evolutionary roles kinda like how we see with sea otters in the show.

I'm gonna make the post for their social norms and etc on this within the next few days actually lol but back to peso

Do u guys ever think peso wouldve jumpscared the crew by being like "oh no the shelf is too tall!" And then busting out the "hey did you know that penguin legs are just folded and much horrifically longer than ud think they are?" On them 😩🙏

"Wh- why would ye show me this??"

" because no one will ever believe you"

Hes very sweet but I think he deserves to be a little bit of a sneaky sht

If uve made it this far thanks for reading the brainrot I hope it was comprehensible pls lmk ur headcanons about him cuz I need more ngl

[scribescrawls]

Sentinel as a Foil to Starscream

Though I think the more intentional foils to Sentinel are meant to be Orion/Optimus and D-16/Megatron in terms of the writers' intention, I think in some ways Starscream and Sentinel do foil each other whether the writers intend it or not and I think they have the potential to foil each other in interesting ways in the future too even if Sentinel is dead if they ever explore TFOne Starscream's character more. Now everything I say is mostly interpretation, inference, and headcanons since we had a total of like 5 minutes of screen time for TFOne Starscream lol so I would like to preface that these are just my personal delulu thoughts. I think what's interesting about the potential parallels between Sentinel and Starscream is that in some ways they may share many similarities, but also greatly diverge in other ways. I think they are cut from the same cloth in a lot of ways. For instance, in terms of similarities I think they share traits of being very prideful, arrogant at times, ambitious, scheming, cunning, vain, and inclined more toward self preservation and can have tendencies of self-interest.

It's kind of ironic and funny that one of the major differences between them is loyalty. In most other continuities Starscream is the one betraying leaders to take power for himself, but in this one its Sentinel who does that. And in some ways TFOne Starscream's actions can be interpreted as showing a very strong sense of loyalty to the 13 Primes. Like instead of trying to make any deals with Sentinel to save his own skin he'd rather choose to live 50 cycles in exile on the dangerous surface in terrible conditions with no energon flowing on the planet and being hunted down like animals by both the Quintessons and Sentinel (even after they get caught he instead curses Sentinel and tries threatening him instead of trying to join Sentinel's side to save himself). Not only that but he and the rest of the High Guard are essentially committing guerilla warfare and still trying to sabotage Sentinel even after 50 cycles of these living conditions. I've mentioned it in other posts, but most people do not simply commit guerilla warfare under those conditions for your average deceased leader. To choose to suffer like that I think potentially indicates the possibility that the High Guard and Starscream cared very much for the 13 Primes to keep fighting to avenge them. So in this way I think they foil each other in that Starscream ironically shows great loyalty to the 13 Primes and their memory while Sentinel shows none.

It's also interesting to note that Sentinel criticizes the 13 Primes mentioning his disdain that he spent half the day watching them losing a war and the other watching them waxing poetic about 'loyalty' and 'honor'. Sentinel seems to not have cared at all or at least very little for their cause and for the Primes. Meanwhile Starscream when talking about who they are mentions that they were the High Guard who witnessed Sentinel's betrayal and saw the Primes fall and that they've been doing whatever they can to sabotage Sentinel. Like to hold such anger at the betrayal implies a certain amount of 'loyalty' and 'honor' to either the cause you were all fighting for against the Quintessons, defending Cybertron, or for the 13 Primes themselves or maybe even all of the above. If Starscream and the rest of the High Guard did not care for these things there would be no reason to be so angry and emotional over the betrayal. Because if they do not care for these things why not join Sentinel and the 'winning' side? But they don't and they're full of anger and vengeance so it means they must care a great deal.

Now you might wonder ‘If Starscream was apparently so loyal to the 13 Primes, why did he not follow Optimus and pledge his loyalty to him since he’s the new Prime actually chosen by Primus and holds the Matrix of Leadership as proof to back it up?” And of course this is just my headcanon, but the reason I think Starscream holds no loyalty to Optimus is because to Starscream Optimus from his point of view has not proven himself as a leader worth following and has not done enough to win Starscream’s loyalty in his eyes (I might make a separate post about why Starscream thinks this about Optimus later but this post is already getting very long so I leave that for another time lol, also I would like to note that yes I do personally think Orion was worthy of being a Prime and holding the Matrix but I'm discussing things from specific character perspectives in this post). I feel like to Starscream just having the title of Prime is not enough even if you were chosen by Primus himself. He strikes me as a skeptic who wants to see proof that you deserve the title and are worthy of it before he’s willing to follow you. And considering the movie portrays the 13 Primes in this continuity as honorable leaders who live up to their title and names, I think their deeds and actions proved that they were worthy leaders worth following for Starscream. I think this is one of the potential great contrasts between Starscream and Sentinel in TFOne. Whereas Sentinel’s loyalty will never be to anyone except himself, Starscream’s loyalty is also to himself but it can be extended to others.

However, to gain Starscream’s true loyalty I believe is very difficult but once you have it I think he’d go to great lengths for you even so far as going into exile and using all his wits to scheme/keep you alive/do anything to see your side wins/succeeds. I personally believe that he followed the 13 Primes not because they were Primes but because of who they were as people. So even if Optimus is a true Prime chosen by Primus it means nothing to Starscream. I feel like Starscream is the kind of person who’s audacious enough to tell god to his face that he thinks he made a stupid ass decision if he truly thinks so and will elect to ignore the decision if he disagrees with it. It’s arrogance bordering on hubris that comes with both pros and cons. On one hand, it’s a good thing to not just blindly follow anyone just because they have the title and it’s important that there is someone there who will point out a leader’s blind spots or poor decisions even if the leader most of the time makes good decisions. On the other hand, this arrogance also potentially results in pig headed stubbornness when you’re convinced you’re right even if you’re wrong.

I don’t think Megatron at this point in time has Starscream’s true loyalty either. Not that he’s already planning to betray Megatron since I think he actually believes Megatron has the potential to be a leader worth following, but that Megatron only holds his tentative loyalty. I think Megatron won major points in Starscream’s eyes in succeeding to kill Sentinel but I think Starscream will only follow Megatron so long as he deems Megatron is living up to his role as leader and I think unlike other members of the High Guard he’s the most skeptical and critical of Megatron’s inexperience in war and leadership even if he holds belief in Megatron’s potential at the same time.

This is not to say that I think Starscream is incapable of betrayal. I think he very much is but I think the reasons that would push this version of Starscream to betray someone are different. I think the reason why TFOne Starscream never tried to betray the 13 Primes to gain power in this version is because he saw no reason to. Yeah you guys haven't won the war against the Quintessons, but if the leaders are competent and you care about them and they care about you, you feel like you're all in this together and have a good work environment. I don't think Starscream was unambitious, I think he was very ambitious considering he made it all the way to leader of the High Guard, but I like to think he was satisfied with his life pre-Sentinel betrayal and therefore had nothing larger to prove as he'd accomplished a lot at that point. Leader of the High Guard working directly with the Primes, known as legendary warriors and defenders of Iacon, and noteworthy enough that you are recorded in history in the archives that Orion notes he read about them and Bee knows them both by name and face to be able to point them out individually from each other. It is prestigious even if the job may be dangerous.

And even the Decepticon logo in my opinion has a very personal meaning for the High Guard different than for Megatron/D-16. Because to the High Guard Megatronus Prime was not just a figure they heard great stories about. Megatronus was someone they probably fought side by side with, someone they knew personally. They probably talked with Megatronus, made jokes together, shared meals while out on campaign fighting Quintessons, risked their lives in battle fighting together. To them having Megatronus' face branded on them is probably not simply the way a fan picks their favorite superhero as their logo for a movement, rather to the High Guard the action to them probably feels closer to remembering a beloved deceased friend and comrade-in-arms they admired. The branding mark probably symbolizes multiple meanings for them. For many it probably also symbolizes how they'll never forget him and will always remember him carrying him with them in every battle. And I personally don't think this contradicts them believing the age of Primes is over. I think for the High Guard they hold a certain reverence for the original 13 Primes and only the original 13 Primes. But the "Age of Primes" for them has ended because their leaders/friends are all dead and are never coming back.

I think one interesting angle they could potentially go with if Starscream decides to betray Megatron and try to kill him in the future is if he thinks Megatron’s way of leadership and decision making down the line have become a threat to Starscream's life and the lives of others under his command. Because the High Guard have been fighting together long before the start of the movie I think it opens for the fun possibility that Starscream cares about the members of the High Guard to a degree and there is a certain bond that forms from spending so much time fighting side by side together even if you may get on each others' nerves at times. Therefore I think it'd be interesting if he betrays Megatron trying to kill him in a warped way of trying to save both himself and those he cares for. A 'you're going to get us all killed and I won't wait around for it to happen. I did not spend 50 cycles trying to keep as many people alive for you to throw it all away' sentiment.

It would even be more gut-wrenching if in the beginning of them working together Megatron and Starscream had grown to have a somewhat amicable working relationship with Starscream as a mentor-like figure guiding him and they became almost somewhat friends before things start devolving and fracturing as time passes. Starscream thinking something along the lines of 'It's simple math. You kill one to save the larger number of people even if it hurts to do so. Someone has to make the ruthless and hard decisions. There's no room for sentimentality in war. I have to think of the bigger picture.' And even worse if the betrayal and attempt to kill Megatron fails and Megatron feels like he got betrayed by someone close to him again thinking Starscream is just like Sentinel trying to gain power and leadership for his own selfish ambitions and vanity. Meanwhile Starscream feeling like he's been driven to a point where he has to go to extremes because he thinks Megatron won't listen to anyone but himself and thinks Megatron is blinded by selfish personal desires like Sentinel that led to Cybertron being almost doomed because of shortsightedness throwing away lives of their own troops for little gain just like Sentinel did. Sentinel being the ghost who haunts their narrative and plays on both their traumas of the ways Sentinel's betrayal affected them warping their perceptions of each other. For Megatron it's being betrayed by someone who he thought was on his side again/trusted, while Starscream feels Megatron will doom them and the entire planet through his reckless and shortsighted plans to feed his own personal selfish desires/grudges. Large parts of both their personalities differ from Sentinel, but I think if things hit this breaking point they will only interpret each other's behavior through a 'Sentinel lens' if that makes sense seeing only the worst parts of each other.

I got a little sidetracked lol, but back to Sentinel and Starscream being foils I think even the ways their vanity is displayed demonstrate their differences. Sentinel has his statues of himself and Starscream has a whole throne built for himself. They both show signs of vanity and self-importance. However, Sentinel's statues are pristine golden statues essentially obtained through selling out your own species to the enemy for short term gains by truly bowing to the enemy. Meanwhile Starscream's throne is a made of what looks like scrap metal in a dilapidated ship because he chose exile over bowing to Sentinel or the Quintessons. TFOne Sentinel and TFOne Starscream have the potential to be really fun explorations of characters who on the surface may be very alike but in certain core aspects are so different. I hope this adequately answered your ask!

[ducktoonsfanart]

Happy New Year! - Celebrating Panchito Pistoles, Aracuan Bird and The Three Caballeros’ 80th Birthday, Fethry Duck’s 60th Birthday and Donald Duck’s 90th Birthday - Celebrating New Years with Donald Duck, his friends and family - Donald Duck and kids (preetens and teenagers) - Modern Three Caballeros - Quack Pack AU - Duckverse - My Gift for Friends - My Style - Happy New Year, Happy Birthdays and Happy Holidays!

I wish everyone a Happy New Year, a New Year 2025 with lots of wishes and health, and happy holidays!

Happy New 2025!

A similar drawing, but this time with children and teenagers, mostly as I imagine in my Quack Pack version. The previous drawing was mostly of adults so I divided it into two parts. Everyone celebrates those anniversaries and birthdays together.

I apologize for the delay, because I worked on this drawing for two days, considering that I had other things to do, but I certainly did this now. Unfortunately, I was not able to do last year’s celebration of my favorite duck on the occasion of his 90th birthday where he celebrates with his family and friends except for a few drawings, as well as the birthday of Fethry Duck and Panchito Pistoles, so I wanted to bring everything together in my new first New Year’s drawing, as they celebrate an important anniversary, and you can see it on the cake where they write in the form of candles.

9/6/1934 The Classic Short “The Wise Little Hen” was shown and Donald Duck appeared there for the first time. Donald Duck will become one of the main stars of not only Disney, but also cartoon films, comics and video games at all. Certainly there is no need to tell his history. Yes, on December 21, 1944, the movie “The Three Caballeros” aired and Panchito Pistoles and the goofy Aracuan Bird appeared in that movie. And that’s how the Three Caballeros team was born, in my opinion the best Disney trio, after Huey, Dewey and Louie. Fethry first appeared in the comic book “The Health Nut” which was published in 1964, and on August 2, in the comic book Topolino number 453, in the American edition it will come out two years later. That comic was written by Dick Kinney and drawn by Al Hubbard. So I wish all of them a happy birthday and happy anniversary. In addition, I wish Daisy Duck a happy 85th birthday this year.

Otherwise, they celebrate in Brazil at Jose Ze Carioca’s (José Carioca-Zé Carioca), because it’s summer there. Last year I drew a couple of drawings of adults and children celebrating New Year’s Eve in swimsuits and you can see them here: https://ducktoonsfanart.tumblr.com/post/738405983887474688/happy-new-year-celebrating-new-years-in-brazil

Similar to the previous drawing, here I drew it in my own way adding a lot of characters as I usually like and mostly I combined from Quack Pack, The Legend of The Three Caballeros, Donald Duck comics (Italian comics), Ze Carioca comics (Brazilian comics), Darkwing Duck, Ducktales both versions, Double Duck and Duck Avenger (Paperinik) comics. It’s mostly part of that Quack Pack AU of mine. I drew mostly in my own way. And this is also part of my version of Modern Three Caballeros. Just besides Donald, Panchito, Jose Zé Carioca (José Zé Carioca), Aracuan Bird, Fethry Duck, from the adults there are Daisy Duck and Uno Ducklair from the Duck Avenger (Paperinik-PKNA) comics, and the rest are children (preteens and teenagers).

Mostly there are Huey, Dewey and Louie Duck (Donald’s nephews), April, May and June Duck (Daisy’s nieces), Phooey Duck (fourth nephew), Zico and Zeca Carioca (Jose’s nephews), Gosalyn Mallard, Honker Muddlefoot (Darkwing Duck), Webby Vanderquack, Gene the Genie (OG Ducktales), Minima De Spell (Magica’s niece), Sonny Seagull (Garvey Gull), Newton Gearloose (Gyro’s nephew), Dugan Duck (Fethry’s nephew), Shamrock Gander (Gladstone’s nephew), Vanessa (a friend of Donald’s nephews from the Area 15 comics and mostly Dewey’s and Louie’s girlfriend), Susie McGuider (from the Quack Pack “Ducks by Nature”) and Katie Duck (a newspaper carrier and girlfriend of one of Donald’s nephews in the Quack Pack). I only forgot Little Helper, but I’ll get to that another time. Sorry for some of the mistakes I made while coloring, I was in a hurry.

I hope you like this drawing and this idea and feel free to like and reblog this and please don’t copy my versions of these characters and my ideas without mentioning me. Thanks! I wish everyone a happy 60th birthday to Fethry Duck, 80th birthday to Panchito Pistoles and Aracuan Bird, 85th birthday to Daisy Duck and 90th birthday to the best duck who inspired me, Donald Duck! And a happy New Year to everyone!

P.S. By the way, this is a gift for all of you, especially fans of Donald Duck and his comics, video games and cartoons. But I dedicate these drawings in particular as my gift to these people, for @elmer-dat-gander, @isabellanajera, @you-big-palooka, @fantasticenthusiasttale and to everyone else who loves these characters. I hope you like my gifts for this holiday season! Enjoy and Happy New Year 2025!

[adnirod]

Book 2 for 2025 book bingo! For the "Published Before 1950" square (so many options! I love to read older books!) I selected the original "The Adventures of Pinocchio" (1883), translated by Carol Della Chiesa in 1926.

All I knew about this book was that it was different from the Disney movie, and that instead of the wise and friendly Jiminy Cricket as Pinocchio's conscience, there's a talking cricket that tries to advise Pinocchio until Pinocchio smashes him to death with a hammer. (I think Stephen King mentioned this in something of his--maybe "Danse Macabre"?). So I wasn't really at risk of tonal whiplash.

As promised, this is a pretty dark story--Pinocchio is mostly a pure chaos agent, kind of like Curious George except with violence and death, plus always someone looking to trick/prey on/take advantage of you. The narrator delivers morals, but for most of the book they come across (to me, at least, in translation and from my different historical context) as brightly tongue-in-cheek, since once a moral gets set out, Pinocchio generally smashes right through it. He's not malicious per se, but he is entirely impulsive and only does what he wants to do, and then cries about it afterward in self-pity once he has Fucked Around And Found Out. Then he gets rescued somehow, and heads back into the FAFO cycle.

I enjoyed the Fox-and-Cat sections, because of the difference between what Pinocchio knows, how the narrator describes things, and what we as readers (if we can get the hang of unreliable narration) know. They're con artists, they have unacknowledged cover stories and nefarious plans, while Pinocchio (and the narrative) is taking them entirely at their word. I can't remember when I first learned to navigate narrative unreliability in my own childhood reading, but I definitely came to love that feeling.

The last section of the book feels different--the stated morals start feeling more serious, and Pinocchio starts doing kind and positive things without being forced to. That means the sense of humor changes too--it kind of filters away, as does the sharp irony and the layers of unreliability. And a few earlier events get softened--like, the Talking Cricket reappears toward the end of the book without any explanation, scolds Pinocchio for the hammer thing, delivers a sententious moral, and Pinocchio apologizes and agrees with him. Definitely different than the Pinocchio of the earlier sections. (Although interestingly, Pinocchio may have Plot Armor, but even once the book has gentled a bit, other characters still die--like, Lamp-Wick, someone who convinced Pinocchio to misbehave, doesn't get rescued from being turned into a donkey the way Pinocchio was rescued. He's bought and then worked to death, and dies in a sad on-page scene.)

I read more about the book afterward and found out it was originally a magazine serial, so it all makes perfect sense, the episodic nature and the tone change and whatnot. Wikipedia also said that the serial originally ended fairly early on, when Pinocchio is punished by being hanged by the neck from a tree and dies (whereas in the book he's hanged and almost dies but is rescued). (Man, my childhood books were never like this.)

It really benefited Collodi to start up again with a fixit, given how popular the happy-ending book version became all over the world. It's hard to imagine a dead-at-the-end version becoming as beloved in places like the U.S.--at least in my sense of children's literature at that time, it wouldn't have much room for such a pitch-black tone.

@batmanisagatewaydrug

[mastermatoyas]

Isekai/Isekai Adjacent Recommendations Post - Female Protagonist Version

So since a few people are sharing their own isekai recommendations, I figured I'd make a post of my own. Most of these are Korean manhwa, most of them lean more towards romance fantasy than action, and all of them have female protagonists.

The reason for this is that, after noping out of Mushoku Tensei like half an episode in, I now refuse to read/watch any isekai with a male protagonist unless it is recommended to me by like three people that I actually trust.

Anyway, recommendations!

All Time Favourite: Ascendance of a Bookworm

Summary: after dying in an earthquake, a book-loving young woman finds herself reborn in the body of Myne, a sickly peasant girl in a world where books are luxury items reserved mostly for the nobility. Horrified by her circumstances, she resolves to make her own books... and everything snowballs from there.

Why I like it: The worldbuilding in this story is absolutely fantastic. The protagonist is an extremely fun character, and plays really well off the supporting cast. The series is called "Ascendance" of a Bookworm because, in the process of trying to bring books to the masses, Myne brings massive changes to both her own life and the world around her.

Sometimes it's funny. Sometimes it's heartbreakingly sad. Sometimes you get lovingly detailed descriptions of printing presses, medieval economics, and soup.

A lot of these recommendations are romance-focused, but Ascendance of a Bookworm contains very little romance (arguably none for the protagonist, depending on how you interpret Myne's relationship with a certain character). Because of that, this is the one I would most recommend to people who are not interested in romance.

There is a manga for this one (and an anime), but it isn't finished. The light novel, however, is finished and has a complete official translation. Unlike a lot of light novels, the prose is actually pretty good, too! I would highly recommend the light novel if you're looking to get into this series.

Possible Second Favourite: Concubine Walkthrough

Summary: High school student Yona gets quite literally sucked into the world of the VR game Concubine Walkthrough. Now stuck in the body of the villainess, she has to beat the game and escape this virtual world in time to take her college entrance exams.

Why I like it: The premise seems fairly cliche at first, but unlike a lot of romance fantasy isekai that stay strictly within the realm of fantasy, Concubine Walkthrough is actually science fiction. It's also a tale of palace intrigue, the cruelty of the modern (well, near-future) world, and - yes - it is a love story.

It's hard to fully explain why Concubine Walkthrough is so good without spoiling it, so I won't say any more than that. Just that this is a journey worth undertaking.

Other Recommendations, in no particular order except maybe alphabetical

How to Win my Husband Over:

The protagonist wakes up in the body of Rudbeckia de Borgia, a novel villainess destined to die at the hands of her husband, Iske van Omerta. In order to survive, she begins a campaign to suck up to those around her and convince them that she is not a threat.

Rudbeckia ("Ruby") is a complex and troubled protagonist - a heart-rendingly realistic portrait of a woman who has never felt truly safe in her life. This story comes with massive content warnings for family violence, eating disorders, and self-harm/suicide. Some people find Ruby to be a really frustrating character, since her inability to trust others causes a lot of conflict in the story. I personally really like her, because her inability to trust others causes a lot of conflict in the story.

I'll Save this Damned Family:

The protagonist wakes up in the body of Tara Elias, who is - you guessed it, a minor villainess whose entire family is doomed to face execution. In order to save her entire household, despite the fact that most of them suck as human beings, Tara must use her wits to enter the arena of fantasy politics, throwing her support behind the illegitimate Prince Kyle. (Yes, for some reason most of the people in this one have normal-ass modern names).

The political intrigue in this one is incredibly complex. Tara is incredibly clever, but she doesn't always succeed - she is often outmanouevred, which adds a real sense of tension and urgency.

There's kind of a sideplot early on about Tara losing weight, which some people might find inherently distasteful. However, she goes about it in a normal and realistic way, and the story makes it clear that her worth as a human being isn't tied to her weight, which is actually kind of a big deal for a Korean manhwa.

Mother's Contract Marriage:

Lyrica is a normal eight-year old girl. No, really, she's completely normal - she has no memories of any past life, nor has she gone back in time after facing any sort of grisly fate.

Her mother, on the other hand, suddenly changes one day. Formerly a neglectful drunk living in the slums, she finesses her way into the imperial ball and secures a contract marriage to the Emperor, catapulting Lyrica into the glamorous life of a princess overnight.

Of course, as the audience, we figure out pretty quickly that Lyrica's mother has gone back in time, and is using her knowledge of the future to save both of them from a terrible fate. The story isn't actually about that, though - it's about Lyrica charming everyone around her, finding out about her own magical powers, and unknowingly fighting back against the darker side of the nobility.

The art style is absolutely gorgeous, and really sells the fact that this entire story is being filtered through the perspective of an actual child.

Not-Sew-Wicked Stepmom:

Children's fashion designer Lily Lee wakes up in the body of Abigail, the evil stepmother from Snow White. She resolves to shower her eleven-year-old stepdaughter, Princess Blanche, with affection, and to browbeat her distant and cold-hearted husband into doing the same.

This one is extremely sweet and heartwarming, while also dealing with some seriously heavy topics including body image and pretty much every kind of child abuse. Both Abigail and her husband, King Sabrian, are fundamentally good people dealing with some extremely difficult circumstances. Blanche is a sweet kid who has been forced to become mature beyond her years, and who wants nothing more than a loving family.

The Crimson Lady:

Karen Heyer woke up as the heroine of a romance novel. Since then, she has lived through the same year one hundred times. No matter what she does, she is destined to die a painful death at the end of each year - no sooner, and no later.

Having been hollowed out into a broken husk of a person, she resolves to become a serial killer, hoping that death - rather than love - might bring an end to the cycle.

This one seems to be getting close to its conclusion, and every chapter is a massive goddamn cliffhanger. It's one of those stories where every time a mystery is solved, it just brings up more questions, and I WANT TO KNOW UGH.

The Fantasie of a Stepmother:

Shuri was brought into the Neuschwanstein family as a child herself, raised by the ailing Marquess for the sole purpose of protecting his four children after his death. Despite being despised by her four step-children, Shuri nevertheless managed to shield them from harm, and looks forward to finally having a chance to live her own life after the marriage of her eldest step-child.

Instead, however, Shuri wakes up seven years in the past, right after the death of her husband. She must now relive her entire experience of raising the Neuschwanstein children - but is this an opportunity to repair her bond with them?

(Note: yes, Shuri was a child when she was married to Marquess Neuschwanstein. That marriage was not, uh, consummated. I would not call her husband a good man, for a number of reasons, but CSA isn't an element of this story. Important to note because that could obviously be a deal-breaker for a lot of people.)

This is one of the most popular romance fantasy manhwa around, and with good reason. The art is beautiful, the story is intricate, and the characters are vibrant and likeable. Also, the original web novel was written by the same author as How to Win my Husband Over.

The Glamorous Life of a Fake Mistress:

This one isn't super popular from what I can tell, but I'm recommending it because it's actually one of my favourites.

Sally, a common dancer, was taken in as the mistress of Duke Casis Estaban, who desperately wants to divorce his wife, Elysee. Although Sally falls in love with Casis, he remains cold and professional towards her, treating her as a mistress in name only. Elysee torments Sally behind the Duke's back, eventually torturing her and killing her.

After finding herself sent back in time, Sally initially attempts to avoid getting involved with Duke Esteban. However, after realising that this would simply transfer her fate to another person, she makes a deal with Casis - she will be his fake mistress and help him secure his divorce. With the knowledge she gained in her first life, both of the future and of noble etiquette, Sally sets out to achieve her goal.

Along the way, she gives a lot of very modern advice to noblewomen about sex, relationships, and self-esteem. I honestly just like this one because it's a breath of fresh air - Sally is a genuinely kind person, and I think it's easier to root for her in a way because she is a real underdog, as a commoner in a world of nobles and a mistress in a world of "respectable" women. Also, we love a girls' girl.

Villains are Destined to Die:

Probably the most popular isekai romance fantasy out there at the moment. The protagonist wakes up in the body of Penelope Eckhart, who is both the villainess of an otome game and the protagonist of that game's hard mode. The protagonist never actually managed to beat the game, having instead witnessed Penelope's constant deaths at every wrong turn.

Terrified of her fate, and deeply resentful of everyone within the game world, Penelope resolves to survive and beat the game.

In a pattern you may have identified, I like this one because of its protagonist. Penelope is cold, paranoid, and views the people around her as game NPCs. She tries to manipulate others without developing any attachments to them, focusing solely on her own survival. She isn't an inherently cruel person, but caring for others is a luxury she cannot afford.

[solar4seekstron]

New Recruit

TFRescue Bots!Heatwave x Cybertronian!Femme!Reader

Content: 16+, Heatwave is a bbg in this because he’s my bbg <3

TW/Tags: Reader is adorable, mention of gender transition, couple characters ate homophobes, heatwave and reader are being school crushes to each other. Better love story then i did lol

Notes: We all know Hightide and Optimus are good friends so Heatwave is pretty young. At least in here if I’m wrong. So how cool and interesting would it be if reader was Hightides daughter but she chose to be neutral and just visited the Rescue Bots to check up on them. But ends up falling in love? Hehe. Reader is a couple inches shorter then Heatwave.

It was like any other day for the Burns. The Rescue Bots doing their usual job while Heatwave decided to one day go out on his own.

The city already knew about him and the others being alien robots.

So driving around and people waving at him when they passed by was still something he was getting used to.

So imagine his surprise when he sees a femme but.

A femme bot who had no insignia of Autobot or Decepticon. A bright smile on her dermas while giggling at what a lady with her child was saying.

Yes, he was staring at you with an open intake out of mostly shock and surprise.

You had a few good scratches in your frame. You had a long sword in the holder on your hip. Your frame is bulky but also slim at the same time.

He can tell you’re both strong and fast. Your colors a bright red mixed with green. Somehow making it work.

He stared at you from behind one of the large buildings. It was a good distance since you were at the beach.

A bright smile on your dermas even when you waved goodbye to the woman and her child.

You pulled your mouthguard and visors back on. Which made you look a little intimidating. You start to walk towards the city.

Heatwave got fully behind the building. Feeling his spark race a little.

He then looked down when he noticed a couple staring up at him. The man with his husband then chuckles before speaking.

“Don’t worry. I got scared and nervous too when I saw my first love.” The man said turning to his husband at the last word.

The husband smiling. He too speaking. “You got this buddy.”

The couple then walked away. Heatwave just watched them walk away while remaining still. He then looks forward with wide optics while his mind races.

Both were unsure of what the two meant while at the same time understanding what they meant. He got a bit lost in his helm until someone poked his cheek gently.

“Hello?” You asked casually.

Making him flinch and back up with his arms and cervos up ready to fight.

You then put your cervo to your chin. Your other cervo was on your hip while your mask and visors remained on.

S smirk of course under your mask. Heatwave then since stood a bit straighter before soon gathering himself together. Placing his cervos on his hips nervously as he cleared his throat before speaking.

Only for you to beat him to it.

”You must be the one called Heatwave. Correct? Name’s Y/N. You might’ve met my Sire Hightide already?”

You said casually. Heatwave was taken aback a little. “Uhh.”

He looked you up and down. You’re his sparkling?? He thought to himself.

You let out a soft chuckle that caught his attention once more. “My Carrier always had a taste for “larger bots” if you know what I mean?”

You continued. Before looking around then back at him.

Heatwave just blinked. You tilted your helm. “So, was I correct. Heatwave?” You were about to poke his cheek again until his cervo held your wrist.

Catching you by surprise a bit.

He cleared his throat once more before finally speaking. “Yes, I am Heatwave. And if you are Hightides er- sparkling.

How come you two look nothing alike? Besides optic colors.

He kept holding your wrist while you just stared at him. You let out another chuckle. “Well, you see heatwave.” You politely pulled your wrist away.

”It’s called a transition.” You started to walk towards the base. Already know thanks to Optimus. Heatwave realized this and started following you. Standing in front of you up to when you finished talking.

”I was once a big and bad mech just like my sire. But primus was it tiresome to just be that. It never felt right anyway. So changed up to what made me more comfortable and do what I do. Which is fight when I need to and travel to where ever boss bot needs me to go.”

Heatwave spoke. “So that’s why you….oh. I- I’m sorry I-“ You interrupted.

”Now what are you sorry about? I’d say my new look is pretty great. Wouldn’t you say?”

You said the last sentence while both your visors and mouthguard came off.

You looking at him with soft optics. Heatwave felt himself almost blush. Before turning his helm away and his cervo covering his face as he spoke. “N-nothing. Is there a reason you’re here? Like actual? I-I mean uh.”

“As usual when Prime is too busy, he’ll send a bot to come help out the Rescue bots whenever he can. Which I’m sure is a constant thing for you and the others.”

You said in a bit more of a serious tone. Heatwave responded.

“Yeah, so you just visiting or will…?” You let out a soft chuckle. Giving him a warmer smile.

“Like me already hm? We’ll see. I’ll be staying for a few days if that’s alright. Not sure if I’ll see Hightide while I’m here. But we’ll see.”

You said the last part with a bit of discomfort. Heatwave raised an optic ridge before realizing why you said it like that. You noticed and let out a deep chuckle.

“I’m a neutral. Never wished to join whomever. We’ll all end up at one place at the end of one day at some point. Something my sire wasn’t too happy to hear long ago.”

Heatwave just stared at you. Then gets an idea. Slowly he placed a cervo on your shoulder.

A small smile on his dermas. speaking once more.”Well, I’m sure the team will be happy to meet you. Even if it’s the first time.”

This made you feel a little better. You glance down at the ground for a moment before looking back at him.

A small blush appeared on his cheeks. he turned away again and let out a deep chuckle.

“We should start heading to the base now. It will be dark soon.”

You just nodded when he looked back at you.

You both walk over to the base. Getting to know each other along the way. He then helps introduce you to the others.

—————————————————————————

A couple of months have gone by since then. You’d help with missions. You and Blades got along very well. Between then when you met Heatwave.

Chase seemed to like you because you’d watch those comedy shows he likes. And Boulder..

You two were pretty chill.

One day though. While you and Heatwave were hanging out in the base as the others were out for patrol.

Both you and Heatwave sitting on the couch. Having finished speaking to Optimus on the TV earlier about your mission.

You sat casually and more like a typical lady would. Your cervos on your lap while you watched this action movie Cody wanted you both to check out.

Something about two witches becoming friends. The songs were good you’ll admit.

There was some good distance between you both. You kept watching with a smile. Not noticing the glances Heatwave would give to you.

His cervos were originally on his lap before sitting on the couch on his sides.

Your smirk grows a bit wider. Yes, you had a small crush on the guy. And thought why not give this relationship a try. Maybe he likes you back.

Casually, well as best as you can. You placed your cervo a bit close next to his own.

His optics constantly glancing from the TV back to his and your cervo. He tried thinking fast. Maybe starting up a conversation will calm his nerves.

”So uh, what do you think of Griffen rock? Pretty nice to live at.” He turned his helm towards you. You then look at him.

“Yes, I really like it here. Optimus never told me how entertaining it can be when hanging out with the bots. Along with how kind the humans of this planet are.”

You continue to glance at Heatwave. “I might even start calling this my new home. If your bots will have me?”

Heatwave rubbed the back of his helm as a small smile appeared on his dermas.

”We’d….”He hesitated. Looking at your cervo next to his. And so with a deep breath. His cervo went over your own gently. Looking into your optics once more as he said.

“We’d love to have you stay with us.”

You faced him fully. Your smile grew wider as you both just stared at each other, both with smiles on your dermas.

After what felt like minutes was suddenly interrupted by the sound of the alarm.

Causing you both to stand until you both got a call through the comm by blades.

”Sorry for the alarm guys. But uhh we have a Decepticon issue in the city.” You and Heatwave looked at each other. Heatwave then responding. “We’re on our way.!”

You both making it into the city together.

Soon you both see what appears to be a pink decepticon. Wait is that? Oh no. You thought to yourself with an annoyed expression.

Standing there fighting against the others while the humans evacuated was no other Glowstrike.

A femme you weren’t too happy to see. Your visors and a mouth guard soon on. Heatwave glanced at you while his fists were up. He then asked.

“Old pal of yours?”

”Something like that.” You responded. She was able to easily put the others down with causality. That is until she noticed you and Heatwave.

Making her way over. You then spoke, only loud enough for Heatwave to hear.

”Heatwave let me handle her. I’ll be fine but you won’t. She always has a trick up her sleeve.” He glanced at you as he responded. “Y/N what are you talking about? I can’t just leave- “

He’s interrupted by the pink femme.

”My my I’ll admit. Having all these mechs to yourself on this island makes me a bit jealous. Too bad you have them much longer femme.”

Good, she doesn’t recognize you. Heatwave was a bit confused. “Y/N we can take her, I’ve seen you fight before!”

”Y/N?” She looked at you confused. Then recognize your optics. Her expression soon turned angry. “YOU! So this is where you went?! And why do you look like that!?” You just rolled your optics.

”I got a makeover. To look better than you!” You ran throwing in the first punch. She didn’t block it in time. You then yelled telling Heatwave.

“Heatwave call for Bee. Tell him one of his Decepticons got here.” He nodded ding say while you kept Glowstrike down. Luckily her being surprised seeing you caught her off guard.

She started to yell slurs and tried to get out of your grasp. But you had a strong grip like you did before your transition.

Heatwave calls Bee while he puts her in cuffs and this neck cuff to weaken her.

You both waiting for Bee and one of his team members to come get her. You then help the other up. Boulder and Chase heading back to base.

She did hit them pretty hard. Blades shooting to stay so he can see Bee.

As your three wait. Having knocked out Glowstrike. Heatwave started speaking, his voice full with a little bit of concern.

”So..if you don’t mind me asking. How did you and this femme know each other?”

Your visors and mouth guard go back so your face shows. You then spoke to him with your sweet tone as always.

“We were uhh…exs before my transition. She too was into bigger bots..” You giggled nervously. Heatwave just stared at you with a soft smile.

”She… didn't wish to change her ways after the war.” You let out a small sigh. “Pretty much.”

G

You looked away for a moment unsure of what to say. Heatwave's smile went away as he looked away as well. Until he noticed blades with an angry expression at him.

Blades then gestured towards you for Heatwave to do or say something. Being the wingman that he is.

Heatwave took in what the humans said a deep breath. His face shows determination as he turns to face you fully.

“Y-Y/n I know it’s been only a couple of months. But I was w-well wondering if you’d.” He let out a groan. You have turned to face him as well. Your optics connect once more.

”I-I wish to ask if you’d like to.” He’s then interrupted by a booming voice. “Well, well look at who decided to come to my island!”

Hightide yells in a not-so-excited tone. Walking out of the water so casually. You, Heatwave, and Blades looking at Hightide's direction. Heatwave noticed your expression.

You were trying to keep it together as you crossed your arms.

Hightide made his way with his usual frown when he looked at you. Getting close enough once he spoke once more.

”Let me guess, Optimus sent you here to help out the Rescue Bots. Out of all the bots.” You remained silent. Hightide only got more upset. “Still giving the silent treatment. Something a part of your true self as well?-“

”That’s enough Hightide. They’re here to help us out. Is there an actual reason you’re even up here?” He stood fully next to you. You glanced at him a little surprised.

But a small smile soon formed on your dermas while Hightide then spoke.

“Just had to see how much smaller my sparkling decided to make himself. I see as small as his carrier.” His words hurt you. Though you did your best to not show it,

Heatwave only got more and more angry. Talking over Hightide with a more angry tone.

“You don’t speak to her like that! She is a femme and you should respect that!” Hightide was taken aback. “If you have such a problem with her being here with us to help out.

Then take it up with Optimus Prime!”

Hightide was confused. “I never said anything about-“ Heatwave has made his way to stand in front of Hightide. His voice was rougher showing his anger. “Take it. Up. With. Optimus.”

Hightide just stared down at him before looking at you. Then looking back at Heatwave. Letting out a huff after a moment and turns back.

Walking over back to the water without saying another word to you. You watched as Heatwave turned around and walked back to you and Blades.

Blades having a fan moment. That’s when Bee and Strongarm finally arrived to take away Glowstick.

You and Heatwave remain quiet with each other. At first, he thought you were maybe mad at him. But when he glanced at you while Bee and Blades didn’t flirt with each other.

Heatwave noticed a smile on your dermas. You were looking at him before looking back at the others with a smile.

All that’s needed is to tell Heatwave that he did good. The day carried on as it days every day after that. And that there was just a good start to your friendship taking the next step to become even more.

This was going to be a good year for you both.

This is SO fun to write. I can honestly see Heatwave being a little nervous bit and I enjoy that first love at first sight trope, sue me. I hope you guys enjoyed this sorry to Hightide fans for making him a bit of a jerk here. It just fits with the Tory.

Anyway, I hope to see you guys in the next posts, and as always a repost is always appreciated! And hope you guys have a good rest of your day! See you all Tuesday!

[zaycheese]

Mmm Oc Art

I didn't realize till later how fucking zoomed out it is till now but hopefully the text is somewhat visible anyway

Close ups!

Batshit insane ramblings under the cut!

My beautiful blue child whom I love

Sorry anyone who has been around me the past three days has been subject to me randong about photosynthesis in animals due to me going "I wanna make a guy who can do photosynthesis and also control light waves to a certain extent."

Everyone appreciate my Amphibious daughter rn, I could go on for like a straight up hour about all my scifi sciencey bullshit about how this species developed and what their environment is like. (I get more excited about that than the actual character I fear)

I have so many thoughts but I'm really bad at expressing them but behold my shitty Star Trek oc fan made alien guy I suppose

Basically they are an amphibious species that evolved in water with low levels of oxygen, this caused them to have a symbiotic relationship with a species of algae that found its way into their cells and consumed the nitrogenous waste from mitochondria, while producing oxygen in the eggs allowing them to continue to grow. (See Yellow Spotted Salamander for real life instance of this.)

Over time they evolved into quite the apex predators mostly living in water, but due to shifts in the planets climate and atmosphere they became land animals and build civilizations close to the water.

The star system they are in is pretty far out of federation space so a different alien species native to their solar system lands on their planet before they are NEARLY evolved enough and due to the planets rich resources in being a largely tropical environment they set up outposts there

Because of this the species (Who I'm tentatively calling the Z'oldar) never really evolved their own technology, trading and utilizing other species in their quadrant, and civilization migrated largely to the mountainous regions of the planet where outposts were located for work and better access to the goods brought into this planet

Long and short of it K'prin works at one of these outposts as a bartender for most of their adult life, having been raised by the workers there, when the Borg show up and totally fuck up the whole (Already technologically limited, compared to the federation anyways) solar system and start assimilating Z'oldar outposts first, K'prin manages to find their way into a small impulse shuttle craft that was definitely stolen from the Federation like a solid 15 years ago and got traded to this side of the galaxy.

With absolutely 0 flying skills, Borg related chaos and an old ass shuttle head together with scrap metal, K'prin totally the course and it is left with 0 rations and minimal life support drifting through space when suddenly (for the plot okay guys listen) a wormhole opens up near by and sucks then it, leaving her in weird worm hole time stasis for like 10 years before spitting her back out in the dead center of Federation territory

Who then logically freak the fuck out cause how the fuck did a unidentified ship on IMPULSE POWER get this far into federation territory, and why.

Anyways theres more but I realized this is hella long already and I kinda feel bad for any unsuspecting mutual who just happens to click on the read more. I'll explain more if anyone asks and can go into more detail about K'prin specifically, I have so many thoughts, character ggrrr