#but at the very least it’s not super heavy on it. It’s not a priority anyway.

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

The Empire Wars

brutal YA dystopian fantasy, start of a duology

set in a future climate-ravaged world taken over by a white supremacist empire

a girl raised feral has to survive being hunted along with other foreigners and political enemies on a deadly magical island

and a princess of the Makari-African people newly married into the regime, intent on bringing it down if she can find a way

[shadow4-1]

Hi! Idk if you take requests, but if you do I was wondering if I could request a 141 x reader where they're on a mission and at some point a grenade gets thrown at them and they don't have enough time to run away so reader pulls a Steve Rogers and throws herself onto it to prevent the damage done to the rest of the squad? If not that's totally fine too, ik it's kinda sad lol. Btw I love your writing it's super good, especially the 141 x shy reader. 💕

I like this idea! It's very heroic and a lil' sad. And, to be quite frank, would've been a much more heroic way for Soap to have gone out in MW3! Here's my take on this prompt:

Shit. Shit. Shit.

How the hell are you going to do this?

Gaz is alive but unconscious, Ghost is on his knees, and Soap is face down in a pool of subway grit. You can't hear, you know your eardrums are blown out from the blast. Price dashed off after Makarov.

On shaky ankles you step around the bodies of friend and foe alike. You can feel the atmosphere bend with the whiz of bullets but you can't hear them shattering the checkerboard tile.

You manage to get over Soap first. He's breathing. He's really fucking heavy too, all dead weight and limp. With all of your adrenaline strength you manage to brute force him over onto his back. He's got some shrapnel in his jaw and littered all over his kit, but nothing too visibly deep.

There's a hand on your shoulder. It's so heavy it nearly brings you down to the floor. You scream, but you can't hear it, only feel the vibration in your chest.

It's Ghost. His eyes are wide, bloodshot, and completely crazed. You can't tell if he's talking because of his mask. He's still on his knees, and his body dips to the side before he rights himself with a jerk. You know your Lt. well enough to know something is seriously wrong with him, but he's conscious, and therefore not your top priority.

Gaz is.

You glance over at your other team member. He's slouched over against a pillar. He's barely awake with eyes rolling and lips bloody. You make a mad dash over to him. You trust Ghost will take care of Soap to at least get him to safety.

You feel more bullets bending around you but it doesn't matter. You're probably hit already and you just can't feel it. Your boots lose purchase in some grime and you slip. You crawl the last few feet to Gaz. He doesn't see you or focus on you even as you fill up his vision.

You try to mutter something to him but you can't hear it and you doubt he can either.

The entire subway platform vibrates. You can feel the rattling of a train whoosh by behind you. You really hope Price caught Makarov. Just as the train passes you by you feel another explosion. Hot air blows down the tunnel followed by a red glint.

Oh no.

You wrap your arms tight around Gaz's neck and pull him down to the floor. He coughs up blood tinged saliva onto your vest. You tuck your body around him, cradling his head against your chest. You realize he's missing his hat as you press your face against the crown of his head. One of his hands weakly grabs at the side clasp of your vest.

For that last moment before disaster strikes, you desperately hope he has no idea what's going on.

[anticanonsposts]

Hurt/Comfort Alphabet-König

Completely SFW

A= Alleviate (How do they go about relieving persistent physical pain?)

He’s a big ibuprofen paired with ice cream or warm compress kind of guy.

If its back pain he also loves it when you give him back rubs.

Especially because of your size difference he is able to lay on his stomach and you can easily just sit on his butt and go at it.

When he has more cold type symptoms like a sore throat, his go to is tea and honey. 

B= Bedridden (How do they behave when they’re sick?)

He is the suffer in silence type and won’t usually make a fuss about himself being sick.

But when you do cater to him, and coddle him a  bit when he is sick, he gets super happy.

But when you do this he also will not directly ask you for anything because he feels bad, but it’s pretty easy for you to figure out what he needs

C= Cling (Whose physical touch is considered most welcome in their minds when they are in need? Is there a specific type of touch they respond well to?)

He’s very open to arm and shoulder touches, at first he tenses up when you touch his shoulders and you always ask if he’s ok, and he assures you that he is.

Eventually he no longer tenses up.

D= Deathbed (How would they react if they realized they may not recover from their injuries?)

He would honestly think of you and his mom, and be thankful for the time he was able to spend with you two.

He would also be worried about  how his death would impact you and your life.

But his last thoughts would be of you, knowing that no heaven could match his time with you.

E= Emergency (What is their gut reaction when someone they care about is hurt?) 

Contrary to what people would think, his first instinct is to make sure that you are ok and taken care of.

He would first make sure that you are out of danger and the threat is nullified. 

Then his second priority would be taking care of the threat.

F= Fight (Are there circumstances under which they would not accept treatment or care? If so, what are they?)

He’s only human so I feel like there is a limit to what he’d be willing to go through.

If the doctor told him that his chance of recovery was very slim WITH a bunch of different and possible experimental treatments…

He would just not want to give you false hopes that he will one day get better.

Both selfishly and selflessly he would not want to go through a intense, aggressive treatment if the likelihood of recovery was low. Both because physically that would be terrible to go through of course, but also he wouldn't want you to see him deteriorate with a false hope.

G= Ghosts (How has their past shaped the kind of comfort they respond to best?)

Due to his history of being bullied and then the aggression he faced in the military he really responds to praises and words of affirmations. 

Even if they are very simple and casual they really touch his heart and make him feel warm inside. 

H= Home (What things (objects, sensations or people) remind them they’re safe after a scary situation?)

Your hand anywhere on him really comforts and grounds him.

Even though you are not the most physically imposing person he still feels very safe with you.

Because at least if you both feel unsafe, you will navigate the issue together, just knowing that he is not alone in it makes him very happy.

I= Isolation (How do they soothe themselves when no one is around to soothe them?)

He usually will sit or lay down and put something heavy on his chest and just try to focus on his breathing, trying to focus on how it feels and feeling the weight on his chest. 

J= Joy (When was the first time they were truly happy after going through something terrible?)

The two of you visited Austria and the two of you and his mom went to a park to have a picnic and he for the first time after the event felt so secure and happy.

He was with the two people he cared about most in the world and couldn’t get enough of the feeling.

K= Kindness (Do they believe they deserve the comfort they receive? Why or why not?)

Years of bullying have really made him feel like he does not deserve any of the comfort he gets.

But conversely he understands why he gets comfort/praise at his job because he is very competent and knows that. 

But he gets very used to the comfort and kindness you show him and values it very much.

L= Levity (What or who helps them take their mind off of the circumstances?)

Based on what I know about military personnel/veterans re-entering civilian society, I think this would be König’s main struggle to overcome.

He would need to get used to the slower paced and calmer domestic life and I think he would still be startled by loud noises/gunshots/fireworks at times, especially if he wasn’t expecting them.

Anyways 

Kind of a simple answer but I honestly think time would be one of the best healers for him 

The more time he spends at his civilian job and with you helps him get more comfortable.

Overall I think just being grounded in the moment helps his thoughts from running wild and reminiscing on the past.  

M= Music (Is there a song that comforts them? Why is it comforting to them?)

I know stereotypically I wanna say he is into German/Austrian rock but also I think that is the most logical answer

I feel like he might have grown up seeing older kids partake in the club scene in Europe, and might be familiar with that type of music.

I also don’t think he would be super picky when it comes to music, and would listen to whatever you put on.

I think he would eventually like more artists as you introduce him to more. 

N= Nostalgia (What things that comforted them as a kid still work today? Does anyone know that?)

Purely my opinion but I think the dark is very comforting to him.

In the dark he doesn’t have to be seen or perceived by anyone therefore no one is looking at him.

I think he finds security in the hidden aspect.

Also as a kid i think his room was his sanctuary in a way, away from his father mainly.

The dark is also very unstimulating and I think when he was working in the military he would be so stimulated throughout the day that it would be nice to sort of ‘turn everything off’ in the dark. 

And listen sometimes when you’re in a brightly lit, loud environment for a while you just need some time in the dark. 

O= Overworked (Who or what tells them to stop working and take care of themselves?)

Now that he isn’t in the military and in a much less stressful and high stakes job, he really doesn’t need this reminder often.

If he ever does get stressed I think you’d just need to tell him gently that it is not that serious and he would be able to chill out. 

P= Please (Have they ever begged for someone to comfort or stay with them? What was that incident like?)

When you first see him both maskless and shirtless at the same time he would be super nervous because of the copious amount of scars he has.

He would want to just stay with you the rest of the day, in each other’s arms. 

Q= Questions (Are they eager to talk about what or why they’re hurting? Why or why not?)

For sure not at first, he was raised with more traditional views/roles so it takes him a while to accept that he can have and express negative feelings other than anger.

Once he gets more comfortable though he gets better and better at articulating what is hurting him and why, and is better able to work towards solutions. 

R= Relief (How do they react to the realization that they will soon be fully recovered?)

Assuming that this pertains more to a physical injury I think like anyone he would feel better that he was going to feel normal again. And be able to do things as he normally did them before the injury. 

He would also reflect a lot on how much you helped him during this time and that makes him feel very loved. 

S= Scared (What would it take for them to admit that they’re scared?)

At the beginning of a relationship I think it would either take a very high amount of fear or lots of time for him to admit it. 

But as the relationship progresses he would be more comfortable accepting and admitting he was afraid. 

T= Time (How long does it take for them to feel better after an ordeal or illness? Do they tend to lie about how soon they feel better?) 

When it comes to physical illnesses or injuries I think he brushes them off pretty quickly since he is used to doing that because of work. 

You often need to remind him that he is no longer in a high stress, unstable environment therefore he can and should slow down and allow his body more time to heal.

An emotional/mental type wound would of course take longer to heal, and I do see him as the type of person to lie about if he was feeling better.

But you get pretty good at reading his moods, so even if he says he feels better and you can tell that he doesn't, you usually just do the same or similar things you do when he does admit to not feeling good.

I also peg him as also being able to read your mood very well (trauma induced hypersensitivity to others’ emotions) so I think he would catch on if you did this but would also be happy that you were not pushing him to talk about the issue and instead just offering him support until he was ready. 

U= Ugly (What part of their recovery process are they ashamed of, if any?)

I think after so many years of being treated like a giant strong man and having people constantly make comments about it, he would feel ashamed when either he physically was injured and had limits or mentally.

I think he would also feel embarrassed that he needed support from you, since in his eyes, he always wanted to be your safety net but now the roles were reversed.

Especially if it's an emotional type of issue, I think he was raised with pretty ‘traditional’ roles and it took him a while to accept that he could feel things and not feel ok and that that was just fine. 

V= Valiant (Has anyone told them they were brave for facing what they did? How would they react if someone did?)

Once he opens up to you about past bullying and other things that have happened in his past and you are nothing but supportive and sympathetic to what he went through…

Your reaction when he told you about the bullying was quite literally you telling him that you were proud of him and he was brave for what happened, I think he’d tense up a bit, not quite sure how to handle it.

He would probably even cry, especially if you two were in a private setting and would try to hold the tears in but you would coax them out of him eventually. 

W= Why? (How did they process what happened to them?)

I personally think that him volunteering for the armed forces was an act of rebellion against his dad as well as a way to get away from his home. I also think with his history of bullying he sort of saw the armed forces as a way for him to do something ‘right’ and even if he was still a victim of torment at least the other volunteers/recruits would be as well. 

I also think when he opens up more and more to you about it he would dismiss a lot of it and insist that it wasn’t really that bad. 

X= Xenas (Do they see anyone as an inspiration in their recovery? Does their inspiration know about this?)

For emotional and physical things I think that if you have had any issues he looks to you for inspiration.

Both because if someone as perfect and strong as you can get better and heal then so can he. As well he pictures a beautiful life together with you in the future, and uses that as motivation. 

Y= Yearn (What gesture, person or thing do they desperately want, but would never actually ask for?)

As much as he loves doing everything for you, he fucking loves being babied. 

Like I can imagine him bundled up in bed or on the couch sick as a dog, you with him, and frequently getting him meals, snacks, water, and gatorade. 

You tried to spoon feed him soup once and he insisted that was too much but secretly enjoyed it. 

Z= Zero (What is the best way to comfort them without touching them?) 

I think just knowing that you are there for him and available if he needs it would be the best comfort. 

For example if you are together in a parallel play type situation, where you are in the same room but doing two completely different things. 

Or if you were both at work, getting messages from you about benign or funny things, not necessarily about whatever he is going through, just your presence and open ears really comforts him. 

[sovonight]

what's exhausting about bg3? I know me and a few others haven't been able to get it bc we're poor and I wanted your take on how it's exhausting if you don't mind

i called it exhausting for ace reasons so if you're not super ace you'll be fine. i do have other disappointments though:

visual character customization is lacking

like okay i'd bought the game blind so my disappointment is 100% on me, but can you blame me for assuming based on posts of people raving about the customization options and saying they 'made their oc' that there would be a fully-fledged cc with sliders for facial features and everything??

what you get is just a set of like 8 preset faces (for human/elf/half-elf/tiefling/etc at least) and 2-4 body options. there's an impressive amount of hairstyles at least, but what the fuck does that matter if i can't even really customize my character's face. there's not even much you can do with the textures--you only get a palette of pre-approved colors instead of a color picker, there's no option to flip or translate tattoos/facepaint, and you can't even layer makeup textures. the ui design here is very clunky too which just underlines how low of a priority it must've been

on one hand i get it, this all costs time and money and they clearly had a lot on their plate with the actual meat of the game, but on the other hand my character gets the most closeups on the camera in dialogue/cutscenes, so why can't i do more with their appearance?? the character customization possibilities everyone raved about really just boil down to class, stats, & numbers, so basically more like arpg character building, where it's more about gameplay than the character

don't get me wrong, the race/background/class you pick do influence dialogue options, but i can't do something as standard as sculpt my character's face?? are you kidding me?? like, if they're not gonna let me do that, then what the fuck are all these high res glossy graphics for?? everyone else in this game gets a unique look except for me, huh? if they care that little they might as well turn this back into a text-centric game and let me import a custom png for my character like in the old days

there are a few points in the game where i was like, they really took the trouble to write and pay a voice actor to voice responses based on player actions to that level of specificity… when that time and money could've been put towards the cc. like yeah it's impressive, but it's empty. i don't need this character to voice my exact actions--i KNOW i took those actions--i want something of worth to me.

navigating the map is kind of a pain

you use the keyboard to control the camera, and you use the mouse to click where you want the character to go. the issue i have with this is that the camera is SO frustrating to orient and zoom in and out sometimes--they go through great pains to try and not show the insides of any 3d models while you're moving the camera, and they'll cut away the rooftops and other levels for you, but sometimes the game just Doesn't Understand What I'm Trying To See. like they've made it so ~elegant~ and ~presentable~ that it gets in my way. i constantly feel like i'm fighting the controls--not just of the camera, but the movement too. tbf, i don't know how this could be made better so i think what they did was the best solution, but i do get very frustrated

there's no undo button if i click "hide" by accident

unlike literally every other button on the hotbar, there's no "click again to confirm" or "right click to cancel". they just instantly hide and that bonus action is WASTED

you can enable tutorial-like informative popups, but they forget to teach you some of the most basic ways to interact with the world

there's a heavy rock at some point that's "too heavy to throw" but is clearly meant to be interacted with. …you're supposed to click and drag to "drag" it away. i had to look up what to do with it and i'm not crazy because MANY people had the same question!! not to mention those small tunnels around the environment where your character's like "well I'M too large to fit in there" and i'm like "oh i'll summon my tiny familiar and have them scurry in there!" only for the tunnel to be like "uh your familiar can't interact with me actually". so i give up because i'm over it at that point and i go online hours later to look it up and SOMEONE SAYS YOU CAN SEND YOUR FAMILIAR THROUGH THE TUNN-- (at this point i have keeled over in rage)

you can press left alt to highlight interactable items, but they only highlight what they think is important based on their own mysterious criteria. you have to sweep around like it's an i-spy game to figure out ALL the interactables in the area

i would like this if the CAMERA WERE EASIER TO OPERATE and if--actually no! no! i would NEVER like this! either highlight everything or highlight nothing at all, don't waste my time! i understand that some stuff is left unhighlighted so that the characters can roll perception checks and go "OH! a hidden lever!" but JUST TELL ME OUTRIGHT WHERE THE CRATES ARE. i play with an unavoidable glare on my screen and also, frankly, i have better things to do than squint and pick out every item in the room. let me get my meagre satisfaction from looting and be done with it!

there is absolutely no firm indication of when you might be stepping into an exclusively romantic or sexual line of dialogue

i would like this if i could turn the sex off. like set sex to no. i'm a fan of not having too many dialogue indicators or visible approval bars, BUT ONLY when i know i can relax and feel comfortable in the game. this game loves suggestive wording so i can never tell whether a scene could just be played platonically or not. like (early spoiler) gale invites you to a private magic lesson that he says can only take place in an intimate setting, so you meet him after the party, alone. given the other conversations i'd just experienced (from the fighter & the vampire) i was like great this is going to be sexual isn't it, but i was weak and wanted character interaction so i gave in and i went--and then IT WASN'T??? in fact you could play it totally platonically?? so i almost MISSED a perfectly good companion interaction because of the overly suggestive way it was worded!

"sovo are you sure that isn't just gale's personality to say it like that" YES BECAUSE EVERY COMPANION EXHIBITS THIS. it's woven into the companions, into the narration, into all the word choices. it's just a suggestive game all around, the atmosphere NEVER goes away, even when it's just a false alarm. it's part of why it's so ABSOLUTELY exhausting--because i know every other person playing this and seeing this is having a blast, and i'm the only one out here with my guard up and 10 layers of emotional shielding because i CAN'T like any companions because they're GOING to proposition my character at some point and i WILL take emotional damage when my only options are "yes let's enter a fully animated sex scene!" or "no i fucking hate your guts". do you see?? do you see my pain?? where is the middle option--the compromise?? and oh yeah, the rest of the real life world thinks my complaints are baseless, ridiculous, and avoidable. "just don't fucking play, idiot!" but do i not deserve to have fun as well? can i not get a CRUMB of something in a world where i have to make everything myself?? just once, can i play a game and have it fit--not perfectly, but at least fit??

just give me the heart icons of da:2/da:i. tell me when i'm walking into a flag i don't want to raise. better yet, when the game asks whether or not you want nudity enabled, add an option there to opt out of romance too. i say romance even though all i want is to opt out of the sex dialogue options bc as we all know romance and sex can NEVER be separated--

anyway those are my gripes. the things i like about it are… well, there are a few fights where i was like, oh that's cool that it actually uses the environment and/or teaches you a mechanic about the game that you can put into use later. the environmental puzzles are interesting, but all satisfaction is lost when i have to look up the basic mechanics they rely on that i was never taught or made aware of in-game. but i don't play games like these for gameplay, i play them for the story and the companions and the romance, so given this specific game i guess i should just keel over and die

[valkyriellis]

Your art is super satisfying to look at. The way you simplify form into shape and chisel details into life (especially the face and folds) is very 'crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.' I especially admire the different values—The almost black graphite lines and shadows are my favorite haha.

How long have you been studying art? What do you think of and prioritize when drawing a picture? Is there anything you find especially challenging to draw?

(Sorry for the rant your art is just like super cool to me.)

Wow, thank you so much!! I love the way you described it haha, and I love these questions! They're some real thinkers... Sorry in advance for my response-rant because you really got me reflecting on some things lol

I've been drawing since I could pick up a pencil, but taking art seriously through classes and commissions and all that started at about 11/12 years old. (I'm 23) I honestly don't know what anybody saw in my art at that age but I can certainly say the few that encouraged me that early are the reason I'm still at it today!

I mean this in the least pretentious way possible, but I've noticed that when I draw I kind of enter like a "trance" state and barely even realize what I'm doing until it's over. I can't say that I'm thinking, focusing, or prioritizing anything, really! When I do start a piece with the explicit goal of *practicing* however, the focus/priorities change depending on what I'm trying to improve. It's probably obvious looking at my art, but I love the look of sharp angles and heavy contrast. My fav part of drawing is the delicate balancing of values. If that's helpful at all

For what I find to be challenging in art- two things. Inorganic shapes, and color. Starting with color, it's not enjoyable for me to use color in art and I therefore find it difficult to use effectively. It goes beyond just my art actually! I don't hate ALL color by any means, but I just truly do not identify with it. Clothes, accessories, home decor, the personalization of my phone case and the home screens of all my devices are all in grayscale, but I'm totally into it my partner wears the rainbow, for example. I could dig into why I think this is, but it'd all be theory. I am well aware of the power color holds in the perception and final product when it comes to art and sometimes wish I could harness that, but it's like it causes me psychic damage to use it lmao. And with inorganic shapes idk it's like a whole different ballpark to me. Buildings and cars are hell lol but flowers trees animals and people rock! You probably won't ever see me draw the former it's genuinely embarrassing haha.

Oh, and backgrounds. Fuck backgrounds all my homies hate backgrounds.

That was a LOT of yapping... Thanks for the questions and I hope I didn't bore you!!

[barry-j-blupjeans]

Day One - Refuge

The cave Barry tugged Lup into was cold, damp, and lacking any comfortable place to sit down, but it still beat the storm raging outside. Earlier in the morning, they had set off from the ship to try and track down the Light. Taako and Magnus had taken the high road through the mountains the Starblaster couldn’t fit through, while Lup and Barry took the foothills at the bottom. They still hadn’t developed a great system for finding the Light yet, but it had to have landed somewhere nearby. Magnus swore he saw it further up the mountain but it was best to cover all their bases.

But with the storm, it might be a lost cause no matter where Magnus thought he saw it.

It had arrived with very little warning time. First, the gentle breeze had picked up into a howling, whipping gust. And then, the bright and sunny sky got swept behind big, dark clouds. The rain came down in one big downpour. Getting back onto high ground had been their biggest priority. But now, in this cave, Barry didn’t really know what else to do.

To be fair, this wasn’t exactly something he had trained for. Hell, what he had trained for is trying to figure out what unknown substances were and how to properly take samples without damaging the thing he was taking the samples from. Now, they were four years into what was supposed to be a two-month trip and he was not having the greatest of times. His back hurt, his legs hurt, his head hurt, his heart hurt-

Okay. No. Back on topic. C’mon Barry.

Lup was pacing in front of the cave entrance, snapping her fingers at her side as she walked. Barry was reminded very strongly of a tiger in a too-small cage.

He and Lup were… not close but not distant? It was hard to be distant when you have spent four years living with someone. But like, Barry was close to Magnus and Davenport and everyone else. Lup mainly stuck with Taako. Taako mainly stuck with Lup. Barry had a feeling that if- that once they all got back to the ship, no one would be asking them to go on separate missions for a while. It had been hard enough getting her here. At least she trusted Magnus.

Not that she didn’t trust him. Maybe? Maybe. Barry didn’t actually know. But Magnus was very big and pretty, uh, pretty strong, so Barry had to assume that made him more reliable. Taako’s quip of “Magnus will look after me, you can look after Barry” before they split up wasn’t super reassuring.

“It’s just rain,” Lup said. It took Barry a moment to realize she was talking to herself. “We don’t have to hide from rain.”

“We, uh, we don’t have to,” Barry said. “But, uh—”

“Like what’s the worse it can do? Get me wet?”

“L— Lup—”

“Taako’s probably still out there. We can at least do some retcon and—”

“Lup—”

“What?” Lup snapped, rounding on him.

There was an awful crashing sound from outside the cave. Lup back turned to watch a heavy tree fell down the hill in a rush of water. The wind swept towards them, causing the ends of Lup’s robe to flare. She turned towards him again, jaw set.

“Uhm,” Barry said. “I— I don’t think that’s a smart idea.”

Lup groaned, running her hands through her hair.

“But if Taako—”

“He’ll be fine,” Barry said. “He’s, uhm, he’s a good wizard. And he’s got Magnus.”

“But he needs me,” Lup said. She looked like she wanted to resume her pacing. Instead, she just balled her fists up at her side. One hand started snapping again, restless. Barry swore he could see little sparks flying from her fingers.

“Does he?��� Barry said. Lup’s look intensified. Barry shrank back a little. “I mean, you know him best! B— but, I mean— he’s— he’s a good wizard, Lup. He can get himself out of shitty situations. But we can’t really help any— anyone if we get swept away or something.”

Also, Barry didn’t know how the fuck to swim. But that was not something he needed to admit right now.

“And you’re a— a helluva wizard yourself, Lup, but I- I would feel safer if we stayed here until it lets up a little.” He swallowed. “We’ve got a nice little refuge up in this cave and if— if we need to, we can go higher up and figure it out. We still don’t know if death is like, a thing for us, and I— like, preferably, we’d test that out in a safer environment-”

“You’re a fucking dork, Bluejeans,” Lup said. But her fists had unclenched, her voice a touch lighter.

“I— I mean, takes one to know one.”

“Ha!” Lup said. The chill that had settled over Barry’s chest felt lighter hearing her laugh. “Fair enough.” She stepped away from the cave’s entrance, rubbing her hands together. Those were definitely sparks. “What’d’you say to a little campfire to warm us up?”

[luuv-zomby]

catrine demew introject? pls and ty!

Catrine Demew

pt: catrine demew

General

✿ —⁠ name : catrine, calico, paris, adora ✿ —⁠ pronouns : she/fleur/mew ✿ —⁠ gender terms : fem ✿ —⁠ presentation (masc, fem, neu) : fem ✿ —⁠ age : 17 ✿ —⁠ labels : femme sapphic, genderqueer, demiromantic ✿ —⁠ birthday : mar 15

System

✿ —⁠ role(s) : mood booster, anxiety holder ✿ —⁠ type : fictive ✿ —⁠ source : monster high

Personality

✿ —⁠ general mood / emotion : upbeat but a bit nervous ✿ —⁠ traits : perfectionist, creative, dexterous, ✿ —⁠ mannerisms / habits : bounces from project to project/craft to craft, sunbathing (with sunscreen!), taking forever to choose what to wear, organizing pens/pencils ✿ —⁠ priorities : fashion sense, keeping hygienic and well groomed (hair styled, nails done) ✿ —⁠ pet peeves : art block, dirty glasses/sunglasses, her purse being too small to fit everything, frayed paintbrushes ✿ —⁠ introvert / extrovert / omnivert / ambivert : ambivert ✿ —⁠ aesthetic : pattern mixing, cluttered y2k, luxury/designer, purple/blue/pink/black & white ✿ —⁠ theme : art/fashion ✿ —⁠ theme song : super graphic ultra modern girl

Appearance

✿ —⁠ body type : athletic pear ✿ —⁠ species : werecat ✿ —⁠ height / weight : ✿ —⁠ voice / accent : french accent ✿ —⁠ hairstyle / hair type / hair color : ✿ —⁠ facial shape : diamond ✿ —⁠ eye shape / eye color : bright blue upturned, catlike pupils ✿ —⁠ nose shape : cat nose ✿ —⁠ lip shape : heart ✿ —⁠ other features : wavy purple hair with pink streaks, usually curled or in a half up ponytail, cat ears that poke out of her hair, very pale purple skin, long cat tail, beauty mark ✿ —⁠ clothing aesthetic : lots of patterns, puffy sleeves, always wearing a belt that holds drawing tools, tall heels, frills but no lace, sequins/glitter

Ideas

✿ —⁠ dream job : portrait painter ✿ —⁠ fears : large dogs, being imperfect at her art ✿ —⁠ regrets : n/a ✿ —⁠ insecurities : when she gets a portrait wrong, letting her tail move freely ✿ —⁠ core values : being good at and passionate about what she spends her time on, looking and feeling her best, self care ✿ —⁠ philosophies : practice makes perfect (or at least progress)

Interests

✿ —⁠ likes : acrylic paint, oil pastels, fashion shows, birds (especially pigeons) ✿ —⁠ dislikes : the blank page, ✿ —⁠ loves : drawing, sketching, painting (especially gouache and oil paint), high fashion ✿ —⁠ hates : chalk pastels, heavy foundation ✿ —⁠ hyperfixations : her newest art project ✿ —⁠ unbearable : makeup melting down her face, being swarmed by mosquitoes/flies/gnats ✿ —⁠ comforts : parisian food, pop music, her friends ✿ —⁠ favorite color : can't pick, she loves them all but prefers cooler colors ✿ —⁠ favorite activity : making art ✿ —⁠ favorite song : changes almost weekly ✿ —⁠ favorite music genre : pop, lo-fi, lounge ✿ —⁠ favorite game : telestrations (like telephone with pictures/gartic phone) ✿ —⁠ favorite TV show : downton abbey ✿ —⁠ favorite movie : mean girls ✿ —⁠ favorite food : a really good, flakey, buttery croissant ✿ —⁠ favorite drink : iced matcha tea ✿ —⁠ favorite scent : florals & sweet scents (cupcake, rose) ✿ —⁠ favorite flower : lilies ✿ —⁠ favorite feeling : putting the final touch on an artwork ✿ —⁠ favorite season : spring ✿ —⁠ favorite weather : slightly overcast, it lets her get good lighting on her portrait subjects

Extra

✿ —⁠ other : art creds to @ 1percentcharge on tumblr and @ GisCoret on deviantart !! picrew creds to this one and this one!!

image id 1: catrine demew from monster high. she faces the right, leans on a stair railing. /end id 1

image id 2: bust of catrine demew from monster high. she holds a paintbrush to her mouth in thought. /end id 2

image id 3: a picrew of catrine demew from monster high. she has pale skin, purple hair, a white bow in her hair and white cat ears that poke out the top. /end id 3

image id 4: a picrew of catrine demew from monster high. she has pale skin, purple hair, a white bow and pink sunglasses in her hair and white cat ears that poke out the top. /end id 4

image id: a green userbox with a beatles album cover on the left. the right says "this post was made by sybil at spoil-the-party" in orange text. /end id

[nohoney]

missing the us series angst train rn heheh

let’s fix that (◕ᴗ◕✿)

warnings: drug use, toxic relationship, not super angsty but a little bit of it

One pair of hands help hold your hair back. There’s one hand at your back rubbing soothing circles as you hunch over, breathing through mouth and trying to pull yourself together. You gather saliva in your mouth and spit onto the ground. Taking in a deep breath, you muster up your voice to say, “I’m okay now.”

“You sure? I can do it one more time if you need it.” Your friend asks, curling her two fingers in readiness.

You shake your head, the nausea you were feeling earlier relieved thanks to the help of your friend. The one that held your hair back helps you stand up, the other one going off to the side to clean her fingers with a spare water bottle. You’re still a little dizzy as you look up, staring in the direction of where your apartment is.

It’s one of the rare times you hope that you won’t be surprised with either of your boys waiting in your home. As much as you’d like for one of them to be present, the smarter part of you knows better than to summon them given your current state. For one thing, your mind is barely hanging on by a thread and you wouldn’t have the words to come up with an excuse if you were grilled on the spot. Hopefully you can sleep it off enough that they won’t notice.

Your priority is only to get to bed.

This is hands down the absolute worst feeling you had ever experienced. At first you thought you were just drunk, that all the drinks you were handed were catching up to you. When confusion had set in along with your vision beginning to blur, you were smart enough to know to reach out for something to hold onto and luckily your friends had noticed the sudden shift in how you were operating.

As grateful as you were for them to take care of you, you did have to point out one thing—

"Next time I sniff something from you, can you warn me if it's not coke?" you huff as you lean over the sink and try to wash your face. Throwing up outside had helped bring you back a little but you weren't quite out from the trip yet. It felt as if you had a heavy weight sitting directly inside your brain. The world around you was slow and you felt so dizzy at the same time.

It was stupid of you though to also not ask beforehand. You were the one feening after you had run out of the bag Touya gave you. Rationale had flown right out the window when you had seen a little baggy with white powder. In your drunk mind, you couldn't have been able to tell the difference between ketamine and cocaine.

"Sorry hon, I coulda sworn I said something."

At least you made it back safely.

You assure your friends that you're fine after you managed to wash off your makeup and at least brush your teeth, waving at them as they walked out the front door. From your bedroom window, you watch as they go to their car and drive off slowly. Turning back to your bed, you realize how badly you want to lay in it but know that you shouldn't. Not until you wash yourself, wash your hair, scrub at your skin and make sure to feel clean.

But your eyes are heavy, the dizziness hasn't completely subsided, and it's nearing almost five in the morning.

In an usual act, you pass out on your couch without even changing out of the clothes you went out in. You have no dreams even. Just only a deep sleep that your body desperately needs after the night it has gone through.

Sadly, you're easy to rouse from sleep as you feel a hand on your shoulder. You're slightly rocked back and forth that's coupled with a small call of your name. Face down into a throw pillow, your movements are slow as you gather the ragged shreds of what little energy you have to sit up.

Keigo is kneeled down by the couch and Touya stands with his arms crossed. "What did you do?" he asks, blue eyes staring down at you.

“What?” You sleepily ask, rubbing your eye with the back of your hand, “What do you mean what did I do? You know I went out.”

A very rare occasion that you are allowed.

“Yes, we know. But what did you do?” Touya asks a little firmer this time.

Your body feels heavy from exhaustion and you’d still like to rest a little longer. “Nothing aside from the drinking and other stuff. I didn’t get any numbers or give out my socials if that’s what you’re worried about.” You try to sigh without any frustration but crankiness is starting to set in from your interrupted rest, “Look, I’m still really tired so can I rest a little more? I got back literally not that long ago.”

“We know you’re not just hungover. You’re coming down.”

Of course Touya would know, he always knows.

Luckily your body betrays no reaction since it’s still too exhausted to operate normally. You wipe a hand down your face and flippantly wave your hand, “From the coke, yeah.”

Touya mockingly repeats your hand gesture and states, “No, not just that. You never do this.”

He’s referring to your current state; still wearing your clothes from last night and sleeping on your couch instead of your bed. There have been nights where you’re wasted or too coked up or even just a little too high to function, but you always made sure to clean yourself up properly before you tried to sleep off whatever you’re on. It was like a cardinal rule that you never ever broke.

You really screwed yourself—you should have just pushed yourself to do your routine.

“Then it’s a first time for me.”

“Stop lying to me! What did you do?” Touya loses his patience and Keigo is already holding out a hand to let him know to calm down. “I know what your comedowns are and this isn’t it.”

It’s partially the tiredness but it’s also the panic that arises inside your body that continues to have you deflect. If you admit that you did something extra you weren’t supposed to, who knows when the next time you’d get to have a whole night out with your friends will happen again? It’d just be another reason that would get thrown in your face that you have no control when either of them aren’t around you.

Like you aren’t allowed a stupid mistake.

“Dove,” Keigo rubs at your arm and gives you that silent pleading look to be cooperative, “you can tell us. You’re not gonna be in trouble.”

Bullshit.

You blatantly deny the accusation which results in a small back and forth between you and your boys. The conversation ends when you start crying, the tears partly genuine because you did feel stupid for snorting something without any question, but you also didn’t have any regrets either. You wanted a night away and even if it ended up with you tripped out and feeling shitty, it was a night that you are able to call yours.

In the bathroom, your movements are lethargic as you ready the shower and take off your dress from last night. The door opens and Keigo walks in holding a fresh set of clothes for you. He sets them on the countertop before approaching you.

He presses a kiss to your forehead and quietly asks, “I don’t have to know what it was, but did you do something other than the coke?”

Unlike Touya, Keigo has the gentle hand. He doesn’t make you as hesitant to tell the truth because he’s raised his voice at you much less than your other boyfriend has. But you know that whatever you give him is just going to be shared anyway, you know all too well what he’s doing.

“I’m tired Kei, I just wanna sleep.” You don’t answer his question and just give with a heavy sigh, what little rest you had gotten was gone very quickly, “I barely slept two hours.”

“I know princess, I know.” Keigo coos and ushers you into the shower, “Just clean up and then you can properly rest, alright?”

You were hoping that he’d offer to join and help, that he’d do all the work of shampooing your hair for you so that you could relax enough. But you’re also grateful that the alone time gives you some space to meditate if you had done the right thing by not being truthful.

The bathroom is fogged from the steam and you’re relieved that you feel comfortable enough to fall into your bed. Your body is beginning to feel even heavier with exhaustion again. A part of you still feels somewhat disconnected from your body and you hope that a longer rest will piece you back together.

When you emerge from your shower, Touya and Keigo are nowhere to be seen or heard. The first thing you do is check your phone and there’s only a single message from Keigo: we’ll let you rest after the night you had.

It’s meant to be a caring message but you know what it really means. It’s a small punishment for not telling the truth. No yelling or reprimands, just you all by yourself. It cuts deep and makes you sink into your bed, rethinking that you should have been truthful if it meant that they would have stuck around. Coming down by yourself was hard and they knew that.

You’re sniffling when you call Keigo’s number and you’re relieved that the call doesn’t get ignored. “Please come back. I’ll tell you. Just please—don’t get mad at me.” your voice is small, trying your best to not allow yourself to be overwhelmed, “I came out okay, just don’t be mad. I don’t wanna be alone.”

There’s a few seconds of silence before you hear Touya’s voice, “We’re coming back.”

You’re relieved that they’re not abandoning you, but you wished that you weren’t so weak. It was pathetic of you to cave in so easily to their tactics.

But you felt better anyway when you were back with them, curled up in your bed with one of their hands rubbing your back to relax you. They don’t make you feel guilty, at least for now, but you know this will come back around to you.

[anonsally]

Days 0-1 of family vacation

So far things are going reasonably well, despite a lack of sleep.

Day 0

Yesterday, I took dance class in the morning, then rushed home to finish packing and getting organised for the trip. We were aiming to leave by 1:30, which didn't happen, but we loaded up the car and left around 2pm. I drove the whole way to the vacation rental (south of Santa Cruz), without stopping for a break until we had nearly arrived. I was proud of myself for driving on the freeway (which I usually avoid), including a winding mountain highway and, in some areas, heavy traffic.

We were the first to arrive, around 4:30 or so, but my brother's family arrived a few minutes after we opened the door. They had the right priorities: they immediately walked across the street and up the stairs to the top of the dune to look at the sun setting over Monterey Bay! We joined them, of course. My parents and uncle arrived just after sunset.

We chose bedrooms, had Thai food delivered for dinner, and then played Isle of Cats, a very complex (at least for a beginner!) game involving polyomino cats. Fun! But that meant I was up until 2am. oops.

Wildlife: a coyote just before sunset as we were arriving.

Day 1

Unfortunately, I woke up around 7:20 and it took a while to doze off again, so I'm not super well-rested. But I got up around 9:15; my dad was the only one up. Around 11:30, when a few other people had gotten up, he and I went across the street and over the dune to the beach to look at birds. My dad got hungry after a bit and went home for lunch, but I took a longer bird walk along the beach and a river mouth (about an hour and a half) and saw a lot of birds, including what I believe were my first ever snowy plovers! (I'm pretty sure. Is that possible, @lies? There were about 45 of them. Many were sitting in little indentations in the sand. They're so cute!) I also saw an osprey, a black phoebe, a great blue heron, lots of sanderlings and willets, several long-billed curlews, a couple semi-palmated plovers, a western grebe, a couple of marbled godwits, buffleheads, surf scoters, some unidentified cormorants and gulls, and at least 500 brown pelicans (mostly at the mouth of the river or a little upstream)! There were also four turkey vultures eating a dead marine mammal, and I saw the (at least partially) decomposed carcass of what might have once been a dolphin.

On my way back, I ran into my brother and his family, followed by Wife, so I told them where to find the pelicans! In the later afternoon, after some discussion about food planning, Wife, my mother and I drove into town to the health food store. (Such a trip is part of every vacation for Wife and me.) In the evening, we had pizza delivered and then played So Clover, a cooperative word game in which each person has to clue 4 pairs of random words (the clue for each pair is a single word) on cards arranged in a square, and then they shuffle the cards and add another, and everyone else has to use the clues to reconstruct the correct arrangement of words. There was much hilarity!

So far, everyone is getting along pretty well!

[vexxandra]

mini pac : small things for this week

ive been having a hard past few weeks, and sometimes its best to focus on the small things. in this pac, well be looking at some things to focus on this week to hopefully make your day a little better :)

pile uno: justice rx, ten of swords, two of swords, mistletoe

the cards came out very satisfyingly and very clean so i assume that what you need to focus on is imminent also to you, or at the very least, its very clear. pile one, you have to learn to let go, and stop looking at things so over analytically and logically. theres so much air here, paired with the mistletoe card leads me to believe that you guys are pessimists, or realists who in reality like to view the world through dark tinted lens. you guys like to look for and find the worst possible way things could go wrong and fixate on those possibilities. it may be difficult pile one, but try to let loose. if you have long hair, a suggestion id make to you is to let it down, or stop tying it so tightly. also opt for clothes that are a little less formal, and a little more comfortable! of course, these are just suggestions, and you are by no means obliged to follow them !

little afternote: omg! i just realized that this mistletoe card (seed and sickle oracle deck) has two swords on it as well! so pile one, this is a super, super prominent sign that you should try to let loose this week! a little at a time goes a long way.

pile dos: the magician, four of swords, two of wands rx, wisteria

the cards came out... interestingly. definitely, lool. anyways, i feel the sense that you at the same time a workaholic but also someone who likes procrastinating. cause with the magician and the four of swords i immediately got the vibe that you have some very priority projects that are taking up a lot of your time, but in the meanwhile, some very important things are being left in the dark. im seeing your relationships with people, but it could also be basic things that are not getting done, such as painting a room, or cutting your hair, or even getting enough sleep. this week, pile two, please take some time for yourself. put that important project on hold, and focus on the small things. im seeing going for a walk, or maybe watching a comfort movie. just something thatll ease your mind, and give you a break. for some of you, get some sleep!!!!!!!!!!!!

pile tres: page of swords, seven of pentacles, the sun rx, rowan

a heavy emphasis is coming up about relationships, but mostly family and close friends. i also see you being urged to create new relationships with people that interest you, or maybe rekindle old flames with people whom you once knew. whatever the case, this week, take time for the people you love. whether they be family, or friends that just as good as, spend quality time with people that are most dear to you. strengthen your bonds, and a weight will be lighted from you.

[rosymourning]

The Dark Justiciar - a Shadowheart build

"Dark Lady, help me strike true."

Shadowheart is a Trickery Domain Cleric and Gloom Stalker Ranger, spreading Shar's Darkness with every strike. This build is heavy on Necrotic damage and gives Shadowheart everything she thought she wanted.

[check out my other builds!]

Gameplay Notes

Many of the items used in this build are discoverable in the world and completely independent of any narrative choices. Until you get the full Dark Justiciar set (and to be honest, even after, though it’s definitely better), this build is nonoptimized, gaining only small bonuses to Necrotic damage and benefits while obscured. As always, I value getting to see Shadowheart in armor that suits her and lore-accurate builds over optimization, so I think it's worth it.

However, at the end of Act 2, the build really comes online with some incredibly strong items. What were small bonuses to Necrotic damage are now worth building around, and what used to be a somewhat finnicky mechanic of trying to maintain obscurity is now dwarfed by near constant Darkness. Notably, all other party members should gain immunity to blindness as soon as possible (using the Eversight Ring, Steelwatcher Helmet, or Helldusk Helmet) in order to function.

Your top priority will be creating or maintaining Darkness. You can use this Darkness as cover to avoid taking hits or as an offensive maneuver to blind enemies and melee attack. With Darkness on the playing field, ranged attacks will be more challenging to make use of.

Stats and Leveling

Final build: Level 5 Trickery Domain Cleric, Level 7 Gloom Stalker Ranger

Shadowheart's (default) stats: STR 13 / DEX 13 / CON 14 / INT 10 / WIS 17 / CHA 8

[STR elixirs will be helpful here - I don't like changing companion stats, but even I can admit these are decidedly not ideal numbers]

Level 1 - Cleric (Trickery Domain) Level 1

Cantrips: Guidance, Produce Flame, Resistance

1st Level Spells [Command is useful throughout the entire game]

Level 2 - Cleric (Trickery Domain) Level 2

Channel Divinity [Trickery Domain is super lame… ugh]

Level 3 - Cleric (Trickery Domain) Level 3

2nd Level Spells

Level 4 - Cleric (Trickery Domain) Level 4

Feat: ASI+ STR>14, WIS>18

Cantrips: add Thaumaturgy

Level 5 - Cleric (Trickery Domain) Level 5

3rd Level Spells [Spirit Guardians is great, but this build doesn’t use/abuse it much]

Level 6 - Ranger Level 1

Favored Enemy: Sanctified Stalker

Natural Explorer: Urban Tracker

Level 7 - Ranger Level 2

Fighting Style: Dueling [only choose Dueling if it still works with versatile weapons + shield]

Learn Spells: Longstrider, Enhance Leap

Level 8 - Ranger (Gloom Stalker) Level 3

Dread Ambusher [bonus action Hide might be the best part to be honest]

Learn Spells: Speak with Animals […at least this is a ritual spell]

Level 9 - Ranger (Gloom Stalker) Level 4

Feat: Polearm Master [I think this is still bugged, but I think it’s fitting for the build, so whatever]

Level 10 - Ranger (Gloom Stalker) Level 5

Extra Attack

Learn Spells: Silence

Level 11 - Ranger (Gloom Stalker) Level 6

Additional Favored Enemy: Mage Breaker [if the build used heavy armour, it’d be Ranger Knight]

Additional Natural Explorer: Beast Tamer [do you think she still likes animals as a Dark Justiciar?]

Level 12 - Ranger (Gloom Stalker) Level 7

Learn Spells: Lesser Restoration

Items

Armor -

Dark Justiciar Mail (1 Grymforge)

Dark Justiciar Half-Plate (Rare) (2 Gauntlet of Shar)

Dark Justiciar Half-Plate (Very Rare) (3 Nightsong)

Melee Weapon -

Shar's Spear of Evening (2 Nightsong)

Justiciar's Great Shield (2 Gauntlet of Shar)

Ranged Weapon - Sharran Crossbow (1 Grymforge)

Amulet - Amulet of Restoration (1 Myconid Colony)

Helmet -

Dark Justiciar Helm (1 Grymforge)

Dark Justiciar Helmet (2 Gauntlet of Shar)

Ring 1 - Shadow Cloaked Ring (2 Ruined Battlefield)

Ring 2 - Ring of Twilight (2 Ruined Battlefield)

Gloves -

Dark Justiciar Gauntlets (Uncommon) (2 Gauntlet of Shar)

Dark Justiciar Gauntlets (Rare) (2 Nightsong)

Boots - Dark Justiciar Boots (2 Nightsong)

Cloak - Vivacious Cloak (2 Mausoleum)

Lore and Flavor

The first half of this build (before any interaction with The Nightsong) is representative of where Shadowheart begins her story. Regardless of my plans for her at the end of Act 2, this is how I usually build Shadowheart in the early game. I love the idea of her getting excited to find equipment from Dark Justiciars and wanting to use it.

The "final" form of this build does require Shadowheart's dark ending, as the strongest pieces of the Dark Justiciar set are understandably given as a reward for actually becoming a Dark Justiciar. While decidedly not the good ending, this is still a powerful story and an impressive character that everyone should experience at least once.

Other Dark Justiciars in the game have a similar combat style to this build, relying heavily on Darkness and a mix of melee attacks and spell casting.

Shadowheart's backstory feels very relevant to this build, of course, but I don't consider this a true "canonical" ending for her. I'm working on writing up something for post-Act 2 that I think fits her much better and, thankfully, works better in the meta of BG3 (so much better, in fact, that it makes me wonder if it was intentional...). A big issue I have with this build is that Trickery Domain is a really weak domain in general and given the gameplay and itemization of this build. But, if Shadowheart is a Dark Justiciar of Shar, I think she would choose an actual domain of Shar. In 5e, that's either Trickery or Death. Death would be great, but isn't an option in game - this would be a cool chance to use some of the incredible Cleric Domain mods out there!

[check out my build disclaimer for info about how and why I don't min/max or completely optimize builds, prioritizing lore and vibe instead]

[pan-magi]

I see that youve been a fan of magi for a long time, how do you cope with the lack of content and pretty much dead fandom? Ive been a long time fan or magi too and ive been trying to get my friends into magi.

Hi, Anon! I guess I have. It doesn't really feel like it though? I got into Magi early 2017 sometime and ran this blog for about 6 months or something until I vanished. This was meant to be my hyperfixation dump blog. The first one was Magi, and it... stayed Magi, lol.

This becomes very long but the tl;dr is Magi was more popular once upon a time and you can track down and return to older stuff with the lack of new content. And be honest to your friends about the ups and downs of what you like or what they could like about the series and keep conversations going with them.

At the time, I'll say Magi content was fairly active. The manga was ongoing but wrapping up, the main anime had ended but Adventures of Sinbad was only a year out or so. It wasn't anything to do with the series of why I left. More so I found new shiny things to focus on -- I had recently graduated college, yes, I'm old -- and fell out of love with tumblr more so than Magi and soon was not producing the content or consuming enough to stay interested in the series after it wrapped.

I'd love to give some great advice to stay interested in less popular series because I feel honored you asked. I can't claim to be good at it myself though. I got back into the series when I was sick late 2021 and binged everything. I re-watched the anime and then reread the manga when I got better.

You can try promoting it to your friends as good binge material. Magi does deal with themes you can sink your teeth into but it isn't super heavy. You don't realize how much you've gone through until you have.

I apologize for such a long answer. Let me try to get to your main point. I don't really think of it as something that's inactive or dead. The anime may be incomplete but the manga is done with. I don't think Ohtaka has much more to say on it, and that's why she has moved on to Orient. The series is wrapped- for better or worse. I'm not here to dissect how good or not the final arcs are. This is long enough and getting off topic XD. If you only have/can watch the anime then that's understandable. Accessibility and availability options are different for manga. For me, knowing the author has a complete version out there in some form and having access to it makes it easier. Content will come and go. Yes, I want more. I at least have a full course meal even if part of the dessert has disappeared into the ether.

Another thing that helps is that Magi is a young series. Not in the age range it appeals to but in how long it has been around. 14-15 years? Baby isn't old enough to drive in most places, lmao. The majority of fandoms I've been in are older or about as old as I am (30s). I am used to droughts in content and things coming in and out of popularity. Both in my ADHD-wired brain and by the fandom at large. I don't mean to say that younger fans are too fickle. As I said, I'm awful at it myself. There's a large gap of time (late 2017-2021) where my interests and priorities were elsewhere. I've only been active in the fandom for a few years at most.

I will say to help out try to explore the backlog of content if you have the chance and haven't already. New fan content may not be the most plentiful. Out of all the fandoms I follow the most relate to Magi and all of the tags are the quickest to breeze through what's new. It's sad. I haven't been active in this fandom for years, and there's stuff in its peak that I haven't gotten around to seeing that is still there for me to find. 14 years may not be that old in the grand scheme of things but that is still a long time for various fan art, fic, and other content to have been put up. If there's not enough new stuff to interest your friends, recommend older stuff you are aware of. Tumblr does not have the best search option and in my experience tags dry up after going back far enough even though I know older stuff exists. That is annoying and don't have a good counter on how to combat it.

Remember the old when you don't have enough new. Cycle through your favorite things at different intervals. Not for Magi specifically, but I reread some of my favorite fic that were over a decade old at the point of me discovering them. Now they're almost twice that age. One day go through one artist's backlog, then the next do someone else's, or read the fic that got you to love the fandom in the first place. If you get tired of older things or seen the same old too often- no worries! You can take a break or watch/read the series again (accessibility or availability again to be determined and yeah that majorly sucks). Scribble your own ideas down, regardless if you want to post them. Scratch that itch for you and no one else.

That is the best advice I can give. Try finding something else you haven't seen before or let yourself enjoy stuff you have. For your friends, this may sound counterintuitive but one thing I do when recommending stuff is give them a heads up as well on stuff they may not like. Like, mine is that I despise Aladdin being a little pervert. I've mentioned before how it turned me off the manga when I first picked it up at random. Don't try to catch them off guard by saying how wonderful something is and leaving out something that may turn them off. In my experience, that leads to annoyed friends. Give them the full picture, with spoilers being whatever you guys agree to, and let the strength of what you enjoy outweigh the caveats they have. Sometimes something is just not for them, and that is okay too. If they do start getting into Magi, keep the conversation up, ask them their favorite or least favorite thing, ship, how annoying and annoyingly charming Sinbad (or anyone) is, etc. Be someone to talk to about it even if they can't find new good shit to enjoy. Be that for each other. I dunno. I don't have friends irl who like Magi. If I did that's what'll I do. *shrug*

I am so sorry for the length and I don't feel as if I have been very helpful. I tried to edit it down and be as concise as I could. I can't do that on short notice or not being able to save drafts on asks. I hope this was a fun anecdotal read at least.

[musesofthesun]

MUSESOFTHESUN ≡ this is a semi-selective, mutually exclusive para multimuse roleplay blog. this blog contains muses from a variety of media, including obscure ones. not spoiler-free, and uses the beta editor. read rules before interacting. affiliated with @musesofthemoon and @starmuscd!

a study in: the psychology & cognition of characters, friendship & hatred, atypical bonds, second chances, horror & trauma, & the recovery from horrible past experiences — there will be dark themes, such as horror, violence, mental illness, and trauma on this blog.

PRIORITY MUSES: yui, siffrin, sherbet cookie, N

muse list — promo — @sisturn (abigail dst sideblog)

RULES BELOW CUT.

RULES. hello, hello! I’m Ender, an adult (19) and an extroverted gal with autism and ADHD. Thanks for taking the time to read this! There’s no password to send in, so no need to look for one! Please read these carefully. Be 16 or above to interact.

TRIGGERS. (i NEED these tagged. i have a physiological and psychological response to these topics that can greatly affect my mental health. My catch-all tags are "ender dont look" and "ender don't look".)

any religious themes and/or religious intolerance.

use of the word “god” in reference to powerful beings. Replacing such things with “ruler”/etc and generally making relations akin to king/subjects are good buffers that I can work with.

excessive verbal swearing

craneflies and daddy-long-legs

Extremely heavy organic gore visuals, especially in regard to the nervous system, organs, guts, and the heart. child (under 4years old) gore

vi.vziepop, good om.ens, supern.atural, c.ult of the l.mb

SQUICKS. i'd appreciate these being tagged as well, but they do not spawn a severe reaction from me. i just want to avoid them.

any deep, in-depth descriptions of non-fantasy occult/magic + occult in general (like direct mentions of ouija boards, details of rituals, and stuff)

all smut and lewd content

Politics/Drama

TAGGING. I tag writing and fictional-related talk of potentially triggering topics as #trigger cw. Images are tagged as #trigger image cw— various medias are tagged as #☼ = media. If I miss anything or you need something tagged, please tell me in DMs! I’m happy to help you curate your experience and I want everyone to stay safe. /gen

INTERACTIONS.

non-roleplay blogs, please do not reblog any of my posts. if it's someone else's art/musing/photo/etc I've reblogged, those are free game! but please do not touch posts made by me whether they are in-character, out-of-character, or just my sketches. thanks!

I am mutually exclusive but am generally super friendly! I'll give nearly everyone a chance, even if I don’t know the muse or media! Crossovers, even with no plotting beforehand, are really fun.

I require a rules page to read before I follow, and won’t follow until I’ve read the rules. I tend to like promos to bookmark them so I can read the person’s rules later.

I won’t follow people who do not tag any of their posts. even basic “ic” or “ooc” or “musing” tags and such are good! I don’t care how fancy or simple your tags are, I just care that you have them and use them consistently.

Specifying muse when you send things in is appreciated. I will skip those who do not specify on starter calls, but if it’s an ask or meme then simply expect my current highest muse if you do not specify.

I am duplicate and OC-friendly! For OCs, I require at least a simple About page to look at ‘cause I prefer to know your character a little before interacting! Duplicates are also fun for me to plot with ‘cause past/future meetings, AU meets canon, etc. are SUPER epic plots and very fun! I’m very used to duplicates and have been for years across different RPCs ^.^

I do not roleplay in “character: text” or *action* format. I prefer to interact with people who roleplay paragraph style and have a basic grasp of grammar, punctuation, and spelling; I completely understand if English isn’t your first language, though!

I do not mind unplotted violence against my muses, but make sure you are prepared for the consequences. I love action and battle threads, but any permanent kills must be plotted.

MUN POLICIES.

Mun does NOT equal muse. Just because I, the mun, think or know something does not mean that my muses will. I’m an omnipresent narrator, they are characters in-universe. They each will have different thoughts and opinions than I will. It should go without saying that I do not condone everything any of my muses do.

I am a slow writer. I have college and several other things that take up my time, so I can’t be here twenty-four-seven! Also, my muse fluctuates. I may reply to something instantly if I have the muse for it, or I may get to it weeks later. I hoard drafts and asks like a dragon to get to them eventually! BUT feel free to nudge me if you want to remind me, I won’t mind!

Importantly, I match my partner’s energy. If someone frequently engages me to talk about our characters, I’m likely to do the same! Unfortunately, the same applies if we hardly interact or talk at all; I’m good at interacting and communicating first, but I have a limited pool of energy.

I do not ship romantically on this blog, minus with mixed-up-multiverse/gracie. I don’t mind others’ romantic content, I simply personally abstain from writing romantic ships due to being harassed over them in the past. However, I love familial ships, platonic ships, rivalries, work relationships, enemy/antagonistic dynamics, and relations that can't necessarily be defined with words!

ON FANDOMS & MEDIA.

Expect headcanons to sometimes fluctuate and also expect canon divergence. I also am keen on plotting when interactions take place, but no pressure!

I am unaffiliated with any fandoms or creators.

I will interact with/make AUs for the following fandoms. Still, they can be tagged upon request: Final Fantasy(i know the most about VII, VIII, IX, X, XV, Unlimited, Dissidia, Dissidia 012), Sonic The Hedgehog, Pokemon, Portal, Gravity Falls, Ducktales 2017, A Hat in Time, Little Nightmares, Over The Garden Wall, OMORI, IB, The Legend of Zelda, Don’t Starve, Pocket Mirror, Super Mario Bros., Spiderverse, and Overwatch. I am very selective but not opposed to Five Nights at Freddy's, Murder Drones and The Amazing Digital Circus interactions. For these, if I followed you first/we’re mutuals, then we’re chill!

& that's all! Please check out the muse list ^v^!

[dukeoftheblackstar]

Desolation of Dorin || 104th Headcanons

Desolation of Dorin : [ Main Post ] <- <- <- <- <-

Sinker:

This would be one of the many few that he would hold his tongue when it comes to airing negative thoughts over daunting realities like he did in “Rising Malevolence”. But as Plo always encouraged them to be true to themselves, you’ll hear him end his ‘observations with’ “Well, I guess I’ll have to sneak some eggs in the ship without the General knowing — or Wolffe.”

100/10 he would but gets caught because Plo would be like “oh no no no no no, boy stahp."

He'd be the first to answer little Kel Dor children with so much positivity his brothers would tease him if he lost a screw somewhere in his head. Boost will shed tears for his vod.

Gets super attached to the kids and begrudgingly let's them dangle on his arms to play.

Boost:

Ya boy will come come through like sunshine. All smiles! Takes time to hand off relief supply with lingering hand squeezes, shoulder pats, head pats.

First to break and just hug a child.

Sneaks in extra rations even if they're from his own person/pocket share.

Keeps close to Sinker because he's either in disbelief that Sinker is being positive or just wants to make sure he doesn't relapse into a sarcastic downer of a twat that we all love very much ♥

Makes sure all his vods are still okay and would very much be willing to cover shifts/rounds if they get tired.

Is very tired, but is the "drummer in the band". His dedication and willingness to be this booth of bliss and hope is infectious.

Comet:

Keeps getting lost so he's walking around followed by very concerned children, teens, and adult Kel Dor citizens to point him in the right direction. He has boxes of treats and snacks and just hands them to everyone.

Doesn't give two shits if he already gave one to someone, gives more anyway.

Leads a train of laughing and amused followers because ya boy busts out singing or chanting, turning in random points to 'peek-a-book' the kids and they're just so entertained.

Trips at one point and gets toppled by all the babies.

Warthog:

Quietly carrying eggs from one place to another.

Teaches Dorin kids rock-paper-scissors.

Gets very much into it and is so close to wanting to gamble but he gets bonked by Wolffe.

Quietly picks up a child after another. Adding to his pile of Kel Dor kids on his shoulder like jenga.

Also gets bonked by Wolfe because endangerment of children is not how the 104th will get decommissioned.

Wolffe:

Wolffe's main priority is the very exhausted Plo Koon who should be resting but is instead with them handing out relief and offering comfort where he can. He knows Plo just came from a very heavy meeting with the Baran Do Sages and that he's not had a decent sleep since the news broke out.

He's very hesitant to do this but is very set on at least offering some respite for Plo. Doesn't want to fuck it up. Comms Ahsoka and recites the words over and over to himself like a broken record. He'd practice with intonations and syllables like it's so gd hard to say. And finally he does it ♥

This is the part where I lose it, okay?

Wolffe, who stands beside Plo handing relief, turns to a Kel Dor and just goes... "Uh... K.... Ko... Koh to Yah."

Plo just looses it. Doesn't even look at Wolfe but they know. They all know Plo's breaking. Proud breaking. Just crumbling because I like to hurt this old man because I love him so much, ok?

Ya boy panics and is unsure if he said it right. But the Kel Dor citizen he gave the relief to replied with the same words and all is okay. Makes all the boys start their greeting with 'Koh to Yah'. Didn't even have to instruct them, they know and just does it.

Plo Koon

— My sun, moon, and stars; love of my life, light of my darkest hour, the he of whom I would burn the galaxy for ♥ :

He'll pardon himself to meditate. The weight of of the galaxy, of Dorin, looms over his shoulders and seeing his boys little by little ease the load, you bet my favorite, overly dramatic Baran Do Sage is gonna need a moment ♥.

As he retreats to his designated rest area, he'll find all all the Wolves buckets upside down full of Kel Dor goodness. There'd be snacks that were big in Dorin (nostalgic ones), some trinkets like toys they'd think Plo might have played with; food native to Dorin that is a popular hit among Kel Dors, etc.

There'd also be a datapad for him to check specifically about the state and whereabouts of anyone related to him that the boys fussed over while Plo was with the Baran Do Sages.

Plo would find that there is a ration bar beside each of the respective wolves helmet. Each marked with their name in solidarity to their beloved General.

Plo, immensely touched, would run his talons over each item before closing the door to "meditate".

[bobbinacrossafricatake2]

En Route

May 14-15, 2024

We thought this day would never arrive…..wheels up! Hurrah, we’re on our way!

It’s not clear who was more relieved to be done with all of the trip prep, Jillebob or Sebbie. The worst of it, of course, was making sure our respective jobs were fully covered while we are gone. For Seb, that meant finding coverage for her clients, whether in the middle of a real estate transaction or not. Because in real estate, things happen all the time so being ready at the drop of a hat is the name of the game. Updating and collecting records, passing relevant information to the colleagues backing her up, making introductions, ugh - it’s a lot! For Jill, it meant spending a year working extra time to offset a full month of flexible time off (the new policy of non-accruing leave her company imposed, just as we finalized plans for the trip) and making sure her various tasks were at a point where she did not feel too bad walking away and leaving them in the very capable hands of her terrific colleagues.

But that’s just the beginning. Yikes, the packing! Our most restrictive weight limit is 33 lbs, luggage and carry-on together. We managed to coordinate some electronic stuff, to eliminate redundancy of things we could share. But even so, the priority items are heavy so 33 lbs adds up quickly: cameras, binoculars, iPad and keyboard, sunscreen, bug spray, etc. And even though we plan to use the soap and shampoo provided, there are still personal toiletries that are a must. And all that’s before clothing. Sarah was talking about this packing dilemma to (her neighbor) Lauren’s friend, Ken, to which he replied, “oh, so it’s a clothing optional trip, huh?” Indeed, if not truly clothing optional, it was extra shirts, packing cubes, a few extra socks and such that went into the reject pile. Pack-weigh-remove a few items and repeat… and repeat… and repeat. And a lot of commiserating and consulting with each other. You get the idea. In the end, we’re each pretty close to 33 lbs. No major shopping on this trip! Well, until the very end.

After a few days of Sarah spending time with her housemate for the summer, Elizabeth, to get her situated and Fergie passed to Kim’s loving care for a month, Sarah jumped into an Uber with duffel and carry-on, and headed toward Jill’s place. Jill was waiting at the door and onward we went to Dulles. Richard, our Uber driver, was delightfully chatty. We were giddy with anticipation and it made the journey fast. Jill found it quite therapeutic to wave at her office building as the Uber drove by. We were super early, plenty of time for a glass of wine and catch up on our last preparations and excitement over the trip. We found ourselves pondering what if we never took that first trip to Ireland when we barely knew each other. Would either of had made the trips we’ve done — India, China/Tibet, South Africa/Botswana/Rwanda/Kenya, Churchill, and Galapagos/Costa Rica? We could agree… maybe we would have, but we would have missed out the best travel buddy thing going, and it wouldn’t have been as fun.

Man, it’s a long way to Johannesburg, South Africa! Seven hours across the pond to Amsterdam and another ten going south. When one factors in transportation on either side, it’s over 24 hours door-to-door. We each slept very little on the first flight and more on the second, seemingly more comfortable flight. The layover in Amsterdam was easy - such a nice airport and good opportunity to get at least a little walking in! As our pilot walked up to the gate to board our flight to Johannesburg, a flight attendant asked everyone to give him a hand for his last flight before retirement! We were clearly in good, experienced hands! Movies to entertain, a few magazines, pretty good food, and we made it to the other side.

[sickgraymeat]

whats your opinion/take on marceline and simon's relationship?

Good question that I don’t fully know the answer to tbh shdbdbbs but I’ll do my best. I have tried to write about it but I think I’ve always kind of shied away from actually thinking about it too hard. If anyone reading this has read my fics, please know that I am ashamed of the way I tried to dance around everything related to him lol. I have so much more to say but it’s pretty painful and I’m not great at writing or completing a story anyway so I took the easy way out and pretended sometimes. As many of us do, easily, and joyfully even— this is me saying that Bonnie being happy to hear Simon’s call doesn’t mean her trauma isn’t real or that she doesn’t associate him with it. If you have to be around someone who hurt you a lot, you can get so good at faking it that you even trick yourself, especially in the moments when they’re around or mentioned. That’s just survival. Anyway!

I think he was a good caregiver and I don’t think he abused her (and I think shipping them is capital G Gross I wish I didn’t know that was a thing lol). I think him flirting with her in “I Remember You” (is that the right one???) is probably NOT a common occurrence based on her reaction. Marcy is obvs experiencing a lot of heavy emotions in that scene and she can be overly trusting, and I obviously may be wrong about that regardless, but my interpretation is that she wasn’t expecting that at all. Simon in his shoulder length hair era (like flashback in “Simon and Marcy”) actually hits super hard for me as a caregiver with a fucked up (dissociative and sometimes dangerously distractible) brain, and I think his caregiving is a really good parallel to Bonnie’s in that it’s something they do for themselves as much as for the ones they care for. Which isn’t to say that it’s selfish (and I can relate to some degree so I can’t really judge either way) but Simon clearly needed Marcy — in particular, needed her to need him — at least at that point. She gave him a sense of purpose and a reason to both live and avoid the crown as much as possible. Also evident in F&C. Not going into specifics jic but if you’ve seen it you know what I mean. He’s also just very much a dad, even to the point of treating his penguins (and NEPTR….. to an extent lol) like children, which again parallels Bonnie— they both created kingdoms where they not only rule but also love in a way that they alone can define. I think Simon’s dad-ness is probably partly just in his character, but also partly missing Marcy and wanting to atone for leaving her, and probably partly just Gunther wanting a father figure if the crown is in play.

Ultimately Simon was there for Marcy when she had no one else, and when she didn’t believe she was worthy of being loved and taken care of. He did an okay job, but she’s spent her life inflating that and idealizing the Real Simon (as opposed to Ice King, who I have to say is not a different person — based on his range of emotions and actions and fallibility, closer to Simon than the pure elementals are to their regular selves). For me, Simon using Hambo to make a portal and everything else about their interactions in that episode is a pretty good indicator that she isn’t his priority. He’s obviously in a hurry and under a lot of stress, but even in “Broke His Crown” when he acknowledges that, his fatherly feelings toward her are pretty patriarchal and not as thoughtful as her feelings toward him. Regardless, I think it’s good for them to have some distance. He was a good caregiver, and she probably needed to believe that he was perfect, but I’m guessing what they have now is more like friendship, and that’s probably for the best. She’s no longer dependent, and he’s not dependable. AND most importantly, friendship might allow them to see each other more clearly and have the conversations they’ve needed to about the times he hurt her and yeah maybe also about the times he hurt Bonnie and everyone else.

Sorry that was so long and thank you for asking!!!!!!!!!