#but youtube flagged and blocked it so i had to change it

[beck-nightengale]

Might've had way too much fun with the endscreen sequence for the most recent video of my Let's Roleplay series.

This bisexual disaster of a woman, I swear to god...

The song is good, though.

[villain-menagerie]

Honestly, the most red flag thing isn't even the trailer or name change, but the tryhard overpositivity over smallest things

It reminds me of so many bad games and movies where creators knew the product was shit but still had to sell it so they overhyped it so much it's almost comical (Lion King remake, Alien Marines game, Dragon Age 2, etc... "Wha Happen" and a lot of other YouTube documenatires really showed me how common it is)

"it's about the team!! You'll see it when you meet them!! It's such a focus on team!! It's special!!! We pinky swear guys :))))))"

Okay, you changed the name, whatever, you could've just said it's a creative decision or better marketability or whatever, I wouldn't give half of a thought to name change I do now if Bioware wasn't bringing extra attention to it

If I wanted to bring up the real issue with name change is that it's an indicator that the development was so bad that they had no idea what game was gonna be called (and about) till last second since they changed their tune from "it's about Solas!!!" to "actually Solas isn't the main part of it" pretty late

"the best companions of the entire series!!! trust us!!!"

Okay, companions look alright, but what's with the constant insistence that these are "the best companions of the entire series" and that they have "unique stories, abilities and choices" that affect them??? Did old companions not have "unique stories" and abilities that affect them????

Why not just say sth about "continuing Bioware's legacy of writing strong, compelling and memorable" companions with "fun combat abilities"????? Why insult previous companions by implying they're not as good????? Is this the same "Hawke is the most important person in Dragon Age history" they did before DA2 came out when they tried to make DA Shepard... right after DA:O when the Warden was clearly true "Shepard" of the series???

"Everyone who worked on this game feels like this is the best game we ever made and we're super excited to see you play it I swear guys plz :))))))) everyone loves it!!!!!"

Half of ppl who worked on this game got tossed by the company like trash and you expect me to care about game testers opinions???? Same game testers and insiders who wouldn't criticize Bioware or game for fear of getting blocked by Bioware/EA??? DA2 was also called "evolution of the series" and see how that came out. It's almost like they're trying to sell us sth...

[ire-as-iris]

What do you need to hear right now? [Divination Reading no. 1]

✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

🚩 Remember to take what only resonates to you.

✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

┈┈┈┈․° ☣ °․┈┈┈┈

Pile 01

"I can't give up now before its too late." "I've had enough shit in my plate, get lost" "It's better to stay than to go with you" Pile 1, you maybe moving on from something or someone/staying on the path you started. For those who are dealing with a person: You can't move on from the memories but you know deep down this relationship was doomed from the stort and the universe gave you a chance to see it but you ignored the red flags listen to your intuition carefully to avoid this mistake again (is this the third time you let this person in?) I'm sensing that this pile is too focus to this relationship and for a few of you that is not dealing with a person but a situation to yourself, you're going to be at a better place right now (even if you don't notice it). You decided to fight for this passion, you're not letting the doubts take your dream away Additional messages: Nape, neck, taurus, capricorn, 939, B, V, X, Y, Z, W, chick style clothing, pasta, hoodies, jeans, milk, cereal

Pile 02

I'm hearing: Temptation, don't let temptation get the best of you

This pile has an addiction

I'm also hearing drúgs, I was almost going to cough when I write that but I managed to stop it, something about your throat seems blocked. For some of you, you may have fever or feeling sick of everything in this life So you cope with it using that addiction.

My spirit guides are telling me to take care of your mental health, are you depressed? If you're going to cope with something, make it hhealthy One example would be talking with the people you love to reduce the stress, anxiety; doing something you're passionate about etc.

Some of you are fighting the negative self of yours.

Stop whining and doing nothing (oh, some people are demanding change but lazy.)

Remember that in order to heal, you don't need someone (some people have it but they lack what?) cooperation, resiliency, and determination...that's what it takes to heal from your mental struggles.

As a psychology student, I'm begging you please, don't let a thing or person ruin everything for you. You already have passed so many obstacles in life just by being here, look how far you have come!

Additional messages:

Throat chakra meditation, blue, 2, 8, 9

Pile 03

Self love is the main of this pile, you're healing the wounded parts of yourself, CONFIDENCE seems to the number of people who picked this is working on. Keep on going bro! I feel like there are more guys in this pile than 2 and 1 (you're may be drawn to pile 1 as well)

My spirit guides wants to tell you that you've been doing a great job! Also, they said to consider exercising and include healthy foods for your diet to boosts your confidence more.

Something good will happen... you'll see it soon.

Additional messages:

4th house, 5th house, 6th house

┈┈┈┈․° ☣ °․┈┈┈┈

METHOD USED: AUTOMATIC WRITING and spotify playlists

✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

❤️‍🔥FOLLOW ME HERE❤️‍🔥

Facebook Pages: IREN & IRE

Instagram: iren_n_ire

Pinterest: iren_n_ire

Twitter: iren_n_ire

Tiktok: iren_n_ire

Tumblr: iren_n_ire

YouTube: iren_n_ire

✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

❤ Thank you! See you on my next post! ❤

💋 Be you, Do you, You are You! 💋

[fkinavocado]

okay...my unfortunate dating app stories...

after my divorce i joined an app, i don't remember which one. i met a few of the guys who just wanted hookups, which i expected. then i started talking to this other guy who seemed sweet but he was already like ready to make us a couple before we even met. it kinda freaked me out so i ghosted him and deleted the app. i felt bad because i hate having it done to me, but i think i just wasn't ready yet. a few months later i joined another, i think it was okcupid. i started talking to three guys, all younger. one of them lived nearby, the other two on the other side of the city. i met the first one, he was cute and we hit it off, then he ghosted me the next day when we were supposed to get together again. he'd blocked my number and everything. second guy i think was just a fake who was having fun flirting and pretending. i never met him. third guy i hooked up with several times. but i should have noticed the red flags from the beginning. he claimed he had a female roommate who had horrible anxiety around new people, so i had to come over when she was at work. his bathroom was full of female stuff like makeup, etc. he claimed she didn't have a phone. the first night we went to a motel and he said he had to get home because his roommate was home and freaking out about something. i asked how she could text him without a phone and he laughed and said she used facebook on her computer. over time, i told him i was fine with meeting her, i wasn't gonna bite or anything. then it finally dawned on me that she was not just his roommate lol. i felt so dumb. but it wasn't until he broke it off with me. like i knew, but i didn't wanna admit it, you know?

months later i heard from the first guy again. he told me he had this crazy ex gf who saw our interaction and was threatening him and to kill herself or some shit. but that he finally got rid of her and wanted to see me again. i gave him another chance like a dummy and he ghosted me again. i think he was just having fun playing games.

so a year or so later, i finally got up the nerve to try a third app, hinge. i started talking to this guy who messaged me first. we talked for a while and he said he was from london but had been living in my city since before the pandemic and was currently in la on business. we made plans to meet up when he got back. but he kept pushing back the date of his return. this went on for a couple months until he sent me a "new" pic that had the name of his business in the background. i googled it and it was a company that he supposedly owned, or at least the man he claimed to be owned. but it didn't add up because the guy he claimed to be still lived in the UK. i found his instagram, his website, and even some youtube videos. this guy had never lived in the US. in fact, he had gone to a wedding which he had a video of on his instagram. i called him out on it, saying he couldn't be at two places at once. long ass story short, this guy owned up to it, but would never tell me who he really was. no surprise. he even had the nerve to keep trying to contact me after all of this shit, so i finally changed my number, my email, and all other personal info. i nearly had a nervous breakdown over it, and lost $400 which i won't get into. let's just say it was the most humiliating experience of my life. i will never do dating apps ever again.

oh lordy lord. girl all of that was such a rollercoaster!!! i absolutely don't blame you, i mean i talked to some weirdos (thankfully found out they were weird before we actually made it to a first date) and then had this one date that was fine, i just wasn't into him in person- and i feel like never giving anyone a chance on these apps again!!! but what you guys are telling me really puts things into perspective! damn. i can't pick which one is the the most traumatizing for me... (just conceptually ofc since i don't know the full story) but i feel like the what must've been married guy would've been the worst one for me :( i'm sorry hun. clearly the one thing all these man had in common was they were pathological liars. you didn't deserve any of that:(

[getvalentined]

I actually don't think that Premium is the goal here—I think the goal is to get as much user data as possible regardless of whether or not they're paying customers. I have a very good reason for believing this.

See, I have Premium, and I have for like four years. I am exactly what you would assume they want all users of the platform to be. I pay monthly for access to a handful of features that I find useful, and they don't serve me ads at all.

I still make sure to block all tracking cookies whenever possible, because I'm not using the Internet strictly for YouTube, and I'm not in the business of allowing myself to be tracked all across the web when I can avoid it.

A couple weeks ago, YouTube stopped working for me entirely. After having it running in the background more or less all day while I was drawing, it suddenly stopped loading anything but the skeleton.css stylesheet, which looks like this:

Nothing here is clickable, it's literally just a bunch of static graphical elements. I couldn't access my account, settings, anything. I was completely locked out of the service.

I did some digging, and found out that this is one of the things that happens when the anti-adblock protocol catches up to uBlock Origin and shuts down people who refuse to remove that protection. But...I have Premium. The platform doesn't serve me ads at all. There is absolutely no reason for them to block my access to the platform.

Still, I tried turning uBlock Origin off, and it didn't change anything. Weird.

Eventually I got ahold of someone in tech support, and I was told to do the following:

Stop using Firefox, reinstall Chrome, and only use that to access YouTube. This is because that is apparently the only browser that is "truly compatible" with the platform, and if I'm using another one then they can't promise that it will work. (This is a lie, and after a half hour of back and forth with the agent she admitted it, linking me to a page showing all compatible browsers, among which Firefox is prominently listed.)

Completely uninstall any adblockers I have on any browser that I use, because having them at all could cause YouTube to block my access. I was not told to whitelist YouTube, I was told to completely uninstall the extensions on any and all browsers, and then try to access the platform again. This kind of explains the fact that turning UBO off didn't work—the implication here is that my account was flagged as having an adblocker active, even on an alternative browser, and the account itself would be blocked until they were removed.

I was told that unless I completed both of these steps—and these were the first troubleshooting steps offered to me, as a note—then we wouldn't be able to move forward with the tech support process. Literally, if I did not do these things, the agent would not even attempt to provide any more help. I basically told her that was unacceptable, and we went back and forth for a while longer. She told me that adblockers are not a form of Internet security, so removing mine would not leave me vulnerable to anything, and told me to install Chrome an additional four times. I told her that I was not going to install Chrome. She told me that we couldn't move forward unless I carried out every step she instructed me to do in order to fix the problem.

I told her that I was sorry if I seemed nasty, but it seemed like she had no intentions of actually offering any help and was just following a script telling her to make me install Chrome—and that she needed a better script. Her response was "I'm sorry I don't have better news for you," and that ended the conversation.

Again, one more reminder, I have Premium. I am not being served ads at all. That didn't matter, I was still instructed to uninstall those extensions outright, and refused assistance or access to a platform I pay for unless I agreed to do so.

Want to know how I got the platform to load again?

I manually turned off JUST the tracking cookie blocker.

They don't care about users' money, they care about users' data. They care about knowing what you are doing and where you're doing it, even when that information isn't being used to serve ads.

Anyway I cleared my cache/cookies, updated the extension, logged out, restarted Firefox, manually turned the tracking blocker back on, and logged back in. It's worked fine since then.

[qnewsau]

Doc Q: Rethinking your weight loss goals

New Post has been published on https://qnews.com.au/doc-q-rethinking-your-weight-loss-goals/

Doc Q: Rethinking your weight loss goals

WORDS Dr Rhys Young

Already this year, I’ve seen a wave of folks eager to shed some kilos. It’s that post-New Year’s buzz – you know, the one that makes you think that this is the year you’ll finally start flossing daily.

But just like every other year, February is where most New Year’s resolutions go to die. Instead of getting caught up in the fleeting resolution craze, let’s talk about practical, long-term approaches to losing weight and feeling great if that’s something you want to do.

Ditch the scale

Tired of the scale giving you that judgmental glare, like a homophobic aunt at a Christmas lunch? Ditching the scale doesn’t mean giving up on your goals.

Goals could be to save some money by avoiding takeout, or feeling less breathless when climbing stairs or getting down and dirty.

There’s actually evidence that lifestyle changes are effective in reducing erectile dysfunction, and who doesn’t love a nice stiffy! The queer community has even more pressure when it comes to weight and body shape. Did you know that we are also more likely to experience eating disorders and body dysmorphia?

Sometimes what might feel like a healthy New Year’s resolution, might not actually be so healthy. A good place to start is to spend some time focusing on your health and how you feel, rather than just numbers.

NEAT tricks

Rather than signing a 12-month contract to a gym that you’ll never see the inside of (OK, I may have done this once or twice), I want you to focus on NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis).

This isn’t about the heat between your thighs while watching Saltburn; it’s about incorporating more activity into our daily routine. Things like getting off the bus a stop early or walking your recently groomed poodle-cross around the block rather than just watching him at the dog park. And yes, you can count sex towards your step count. You’re welcome.

Rainbow plates

I remember as a junior doctor seeing someone in the emergency department after a cucumber had gotten stuck in an orifice it should not have been in. So if there’s one piece of advice I could give everyone, it would be to eat your veggies (and use sex toys designed for purpose).

We know that most Aussies aren’t getting the recommended amount of vegetables. Aiming for five serves of vegetables is easy if you make sure your lunch and dinner are at least 50% veggies. Also, the more colours the better – it’s like having a Pride flag on your plate. Who knew vegetables could be so inclusive?

Foodie Allies

I also want to acknowledge that understanding how to fuel your body can be confusing. You’ve got to juggle supermarket labels, fast food advertising, a new shocking Netflix food documentary every other week, and societal pressures for what healthy bodies are meant to look like.

To make life easier, hook up with a dietitian. For dietary advice, of course – although I hear they’re all pretty good in the sack. A dietitian can help create some realistic & healthy goals and then give advice to put you on the right track.

As 2024 pushes on, let’s remember: our health journey is more than just numbers. It’s about finding joy in being active, loving what we eat, and embracing our unique journey to health. And never forget: that cucumber deserves to be on your plate, not in your butt.

For the latest LGBTIQA+ Sister Girl and Brother Boy news, entertainment, community stories in Australia, visit qnews.com.au. Check out our latest magazines or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

[nickgerlich]

Unvarnished Truth

If there is any prevailing mindset on the internet, it is that it is the wild, wild west. From the moment we were able to access it easily, it was pretty much a case of anything goes. Let the user beware, because you needed to take everything with a grain of salt. The burden has always been on the user to verify before acting upon.



Of course, today we have heard many instances of censorship, with accounts being closed in extreme cases, or content blocked because it violated “community standards” or did not pass fact checkers’ scrutiny. Users have been remiss in not recognizing that platform owners, like Facebook, Twitter, and all the others, can do whatever they want, and we use their platforms at their pleasure, not ours.



But the Supreme Court is reviewing a subject that could have major implications for all sites and social media platforms. Justice Samuel Alito asked the big question: Would the internet collapse if sites were responsible for the content displayed on them?



Wow. Suddenly every bad restaurant or hotel review could become a legal war zone if the restaurant or hotel feels it has been maliciously misrepresented. So much for honest reviews.



As it turns out, the US has had a liability shield in place for 27 years, leaving counter-arguments from those receiving bad reviews to simply fend for themselves. After all, how could Google, YouTube, et al., possibly police so much content anyway?



That could all change in a heartbeat, and soon.



You might already be thinking about copyrighted music on sites like YouTube. Is YouTube liable if you post a video with your favorite song as a music bed? Technically, no, because following a 2007 case in which Viacom charged YouTube with copyright violation, the burden of proof is on the copyright holder, not the platform. But YouTube (and essentially Google) willingly installed its own algorithms to check for it anyway just to keep trouble to a minimum. 

As it turns out, in the EU, YouTube is liable, so it makes sense for YouTube to err on the European side, much like all big websites have done regarding cookies.

Music is one thing, though, and perceived commercial libel is quite another. Sites like Google, TripAdvisor, Yelp, and others thrive on customer reviews, which can range from stellar to abysmal. And given the greater propensity of people to complain rather more than congratulate, it’s easy to see how businesses would fear keyboard warriors and the venom they can spew.

In other words, what would be the point of any review sites if the site owner had to police them as well as fact-check them? Nothing would ever be posted aside from glowing 5-star reviews. Those are the ones we as readers trust less anyway, because we are naturally skeptical of high praise. Can anyone say paid shill? Family member?

We automatically expect a hotel to be less than perfect as judged in the court of public opinion. I know I do. I am willing to consider any hotel or restaurant that has an average review of 4.0 or better, out of 5. A 4.4 is pretty good, because it means there haven’t been too many negative reviews.

Basically, negative reviews are the expectation, and the fewer there are, the better the business must be. But absence of negative reviews raises a huge red flag.

I shudder to think how the internet would look if the Supreme Court were to reverse that liability shield. I don’t want to live in a digital world in which it is always sunny and 75. If a reviewer gives you a bad rap, it’s probably because you deserved it, and even more true if there is a plethora of scathing comments. I don’t want to be shielded from the truth.

That’s another way of saying that the liability shield extends to us, shielding us from a glossy veneer that hides the truth about a company. I’m good with this, and I pray that the Supreme Court realizes it before it ruins the internet for everyone.

Dr “Taking The Good With The Bad“ Gerlich

Audio Blog

[caffeine-n-words]

Sarra Cannon's HB90 Bootcamp

Image: 2023 Quarter 1 vision board. Background: Asexual flag. Top left to bottom right: (1) A person writing in a journal with their laptop in front of them, (2) upside-down picture of a hand heart against a sunset, (3) a person relaxing with a cup of coffee, (4) a piece of paper torn away to reveal the word “plot,” (5) Q1 Focus!, (6) A book with light and letters coming out from between the pages, (7) a book with two pages curved over to make a heart, (8) a mysterious shadowed figure against a greenish light, (9) a girl in a white shirt with red stripes standing back-to-back with a girl in a black-and-white striped shirt.

You can read this article on Substack!

Hello, all!

So, recently I decided to take a one week intensive course called the HB90 Bootcamp, which is run by Sarra Cannon of HeartBreathings. I’ve followed Sarra on YouTube for a few years now; she’s a very successful indie author, and someone I look up to. This bootcamp teaches her HB90 system, and a lot of other authors have sworn this has been extremely helpful for them, for a variety of reasons.

So what is the HB90 system? It’s a system of goal setting and planning. It uses Sarra’s planner system, which has been developed over years of her own experimentation, combined with a kanban board for visual representation of the things you’re working on. You then set your goals for the upcoming quarter (no more than three), break the goals down into projects needed to accomplish them, and break the projects down into individual tasks.

The class itself teaches you how to do these things, and also how to set up the planner (like how to map your available time and estimate how much you think you’ll need to complete a task and/or project, so you can estimate how long you’ll need for the goal), and how to set up your kanban board.

Was this class useful to me? I feel like it was. It definitely forced me to take my lofty writing and authorial goals and make them into something concrete. I had to state what I wanted, and make an actual plan to accomplish it—something more solid than “write a book, find an editor and cover artist, hit publish.” In fact, I set three goals—one for my future as an author, one for my fanfiction (because I need to write that, it helps me decompress and it’s fun), and a personal life goal. Most of my time is going into the first goal, but having the other two let me schedule in time for mental health and personal improvement as well.

Do I think it would be helpful for other people? Overall, yes. A lot of the material is geared towards authors and writing, because Sarra is an author, but I think it would also be helpful for everyone else. A word of caution, though, when it comes to scheduling time—it asks you to be brutally honest about your available time, and you make a chart of every activity you do. This can be overwhelming if you’re not prepared. I have anxiety, and for me, once I saw the visual representation of my schedule, I almost had a shut down at how packed it looked. Mostly because of work hours.

That said, my schedule is based off my current work schedule, and once holidays are over my work hours should drop back some. It’s also an “idealized” schedule—my work days change week-to-week, so (for example) I probably won’t have two days off in a row, but that’s how I blocked it out. I’ll have to adjust the actual plan on a weekly basis. These realizations are honestly what kept me from shutting down and deciding I can’t do what the class asks. If thinking about the sheer amount of work you have to causes any kind of similar reaction, this may not be the class for you. At the very least, you’ll need to make some adjustments to it.

Is the class effective? It definitely has been for making the actual plan, but when it comes to the execution…I guess I won’t be able to tell until the end of the quarter. I’ll definitely do a follow-up post then, let you all know how the overall plan went, and some updates throughout Q1 to let you all know how things are progressing!

[dracota]

so... that uhmmm... hot guy tossing out the ideas about that pseudoscience i mentioned idk in the last week or so? It led me down a short rabbit hole that was so, so much worse then that. And then it got even worse.

First, i thought i had finally found the ad again. i clicked the link thinking i would just send it from the IG app to my email. curiosity got me to click it for background noise and... it was so awful. I grew up watching infomercials and this wasn’t that. It was just mindless droning on with lots of “you think this” every change they could.

The danger flags went off before I really registered what it was he was saying that was causing it. Once I started paying attention was when I noticed how my of what he was saying reminded me of someone trying to gaslight me.

Then i noticed that the particular pseudoscience had not been mentioned once, so this was probably the wrong guy also.... but i decided to google the horrible ad for a review... and as soon as i had the name typed in

There was a video that caught my eye and it was a reaction video to another video. I watched both and I have the reaction one down under the cut. He goes into a few things from the other video but the most interesting is his dissection about the fake or bought subscribers. That part was super interesting. Especially since it is so obvious that google should be tanking the frauds exposure and not rewarding it.

And then i checked out his profile and it turns out he is a joe rogan fan. for fucks sake. and then it just got worse from there because then next video that caught my eye was anti-trans and I wish I could block youtube creators that I don’t ever want to see on my recommended feeds.

It no longer surprises me how fast people can be fed shit like this and yet, shit like this happens.

[kiivg]

What your art process? Do you do the backgrounds first or last? How do you pick colors? Sorry if you answered ask like this before. I am just big fan of how the art is completed looks! I like looking at all the small things and people in background!

.Thank you so much!! I am trying very hard with my art at the moment to do a few new things, always trying to improve, and I'm super enjoying it at the moment despite the 8,000,000 year art block I had hahaa.

.There's a sort of in depth look at my process below, but also I have a gigantic grand total of 2 videos on my youtube channel and I do not know how to record on this tablet so idk what's going to happen there :)c.

.So initially, I don't ever just sit down and draw something, like I have to at least have a vague idea in my head of what I want to draw. Right now it's all Dragon Age because I replayed DA2 and actually managed to do the Fenris romance, and then I wanted to try his rivalmance because Anders' rivalmance is delicious but apparently Fenris' sucks so... Wah. Also Sebastian ehehehee.

.Anyway, (if these pictures are unreadable I will scream and upload them separately), Depending on how clear my idea is on what I want the picture to look like depends on how clear the initial sketches are that I do. Like I could try to draw a few different angles or a few different poses, or start drawing like, for example, Hawke dancing whilst playing the lute thinking he was going to be in a tavern, and then changing it to a more sombre version of him in Crestwood at night with a few of the Inquisitor's companions. Like I say a lot, I like to have a story in mind with each picture, so the Champion in Crestwood image lead to things like, does Hawke have a fling with Dorian where he's very clear about not being able to give him what he wants (re: a boyfriend), because he's still in love with Sebastian, despite them breaking up years ago (re: Anders blows up the chantry). And I think that adds up to a lot in the picture, because it lets you put more things in that fit into a context; even if the majority on that picture is covered up by people.

.If I don't know what I'm drawing entirely, then I'll draw it in sections, like I'll draw what I know I want to draw, and then kind of fit things around it. The exception being that if I have a particular angle I want to draw, then I will sketch only the thumbnail and then the background, and then fit the thumbnail sketch better to the background, and then carry on as usual. Most of the time, the background is just framing lines and maybe the vague outline of what could end up being a pillar, or a flag, or a statue, or those kinds of things.

.Somethings end up being like a foreground filler (Varric is surprisingly good for that haha), which add another layer to the picture and hide something that can be quite monotonous, like drawing Meeran's trousers in that last picture, I didn't feel like they were interesting enough, so I just put two people playing cards in the front. It makes it a lot better, like yes, I did draw Meeran’s trousers, and his boots, and I ended up removing them. 

.But that’s a lesson I had to learn. I can actually draw something, completely line it, and then decide, actually it’d be cool if this was there instead, and just erase part of my picture. Like so many times I’ve watched youtube timelapses and watched people sketch everything, and then line everything, and then colour everything, and nothing is ever thrown away. But you can throw it away if it doesn’t fit, and you don’t get special artist points for not doing that or whatever idk, imaginary artist rules are dumb.

.One thing I do want to say is that when I’m drawing, I do take several hours to do a picture. Because like the Fade picture, that background is so line heavy, so many lines, so much to colour in and shade and everything. But it looks so cool haha. And since I take several hours I can get bored of just linearting the same thing. I’m not going to enjoy drawing someone’s outfit from head to toe in one sitting. It’s just too samey for me, so I like to flit around the picture. I’ll draw Carver’s face, and then I’ll draw Hawke’s face, and then I’ll draw Carver’s hands, and then start on the Inquisitor. Not only does it keep my brain finely tuned to what I’m doing, it also gives me fresh eyes on what I’ve already drawn. 

.Adding to this, it’s also good to go back to the sketch when I’m slowing down on lineart. I don’t know about other people but I don’t use pen pressure, all my lines are 3px, that is extremely samey across the whole picture, it can become kind of repetitive. So I go back to the sketch, and if there’s nothing that I haven’t drawn properly or clearly enough (I hardly ever sketch hands/feet or the things connected to on the first go round) I just add something else in. Maybe someone could be wearing another belt, or some fancy embellishment on their clothing, or maybe a whole other dude is there in the background. Just the simple action of going from clean straight lines to messy chicken scratch kind of loosens up the hands and switches the brain round, and after I’ve sketched what I need to, I’m fresh on the lineart again.

.So onto colour, I’m not going to lie, I do a lot of colour picking initially from my old stuff haha, and then edit it from there. It allows me to kind of pick skin/hair tones and then build off of those, so I’m not just white canvas to colour immediately. I also tend to sick to a very loose colour gamut, ranging from desaturated blues, purples, pinks, reds, and sometimes desaturated yellows. I don’t like using orange and I don’t like using green, the exception being the Fade picture which HAS to be green so I’m brave, I left my comfort zone there, and it worked, lmao, whatever.

.But what I start with is a limited palette, I have maybe three or four colours to start with, and then I slightly change those colours depending on what I need. Like for an example, does Sebastian’s jacket need to be lighter than his pants or darker, then I can just grab the colours of his pants and then change it as per what I want.

.The secret, imho, is putting the colours of people into the surrounding area like I explain below. It makes their skin or their hair or their eye colours fit in to the picture; it’s like an alternate version to reflective light (I think?). Yes this character does have blue eyes, but in this picture? Purple. Yes this character does have grey hair, but in this picture? It’s golden. It’s reflective light, it’s a colour gamut, and it’s colour theory. Which I’m not an expert on and other people can probably explain it better :).

.Throughout the picture’s process I will tend to change the colours of some things, or add layers of “Darker Colour” or “Subtract” or all those fancy things because I sort of know how they work. I used to use the “Soft Overlay(?)” but I prefer “Lighter/Darker colour” because it will only change a percentage of the image. Like for the picture above I made the whites of Sebastian and his wife’s clothing more yellow and subsequently warmer using the “Darker Colour” filter. If you experiment with those, you’ll learn how to use them how you like.

.For changing the colours of things (like Varric’s coat or the wine tray), it’s mostly about trying to balance the image out. It added some darker elements to the picture above because everything was no longer super pale. It frames Sebastian, his wife, and Hawke in a better way, they are essentially the brightest things in the picture.

.I also found out that personally I like to make things dark and the add highlights as opposed to the other way around. I feel like adding an orange light can be more beneficial than adding a blue shadow. But you could also do both which looks banging. Another thing with colour is the actual colour of the lineart. I usually take the darkest colour on the picture, and put it at anywhere between 15% and 50% on a layer above that only affects the lineart. (Can’t remember what that’s called exactly oops.) but that also helps to tie the picture in together.

.Anyway!! Thank you again! I’m having a lot of fun drawing and have gained a lot of followers lately, hello :). I’m always open to questions (especially about my OCs god if you ask me about them I will just be ecstatic) and I love reading all your tags and knowing all the pain I caused with that picture of Carver in the Fade >:)c hehhehehehh.

.Hopefully this is helpful? Or Interesting? Or, if this is TLDR: Sketch, lineart; you can do those things simultaneously, colour gamuts are your friend, the state of your art is not permanent, and I love you :).

[itsclydebitches]

I like the cropped screenshots. The narrow aspect ratio makes it cinematic. Thanks, crappy login ads! Seriously, though. Last time I tried to watch RWBY on RT's site it gave me an ad for a movie watchalong that had happened literally days ago, and by the second of such ads I saw I decided I'd rather just buy the volumes digitally than go through the rigamarole of using their site.

Okay, we're going with that from now on. It's 💫 artistic 💫lol.

Seriously though, I've been thinking about the design of RT's website in the wake of the ever-present complaints about "critics." (A nebulous group who, whenever they are defined, I go, "Huh, me and my online friends don't meet any of those standards...") Specifically though, there have been plenty of conversations regarding RWBY's free-to-watch status which, you know, is a really good point. A lot of criticism carries the weight of a commodity behind it — I paid for this and therefore I expect a certain level of quality. It's one of the reasons why we shouldn't critique fanwork in the same way we do a multi-million dollar company — so if we put aside the things you do have to pay for (tie-in novels, manga, comics, games — all things that are theoretically supplemental) fans are right to point out that hey, you're getting this for free. Sure, we can likewise discuss modern day spoiler culture and the difficulty of being a week behind a fandom you want to participate in, but ultimately no one is forcing you to purchase a FIRST account. Block "RWBY" and wait a week. Wait a few months and binge it all in one go. There are options.

Thing is, all this hinges on the material being accessible as well as free. Much like its supplementary works, RWBY exists in this strange space where yes, technically this is possible, but realistically there are a number of snags. Technically you don't need to have kept up with the interviews that discuss Ironwood's semblance, but realistically it sure does change the story to know about it. Technically you're 100% able to watch RWBY for free, but realistically it's not as simple as hopping onto the site and pressing play. How all this is occurring is worth considering even if, yes, technically that primary end-goal is still available.

In the website's case (I'm bypassing their iffy player and ads entirely), things went downhill when RWBY was removed from YouTube, the site most people are familiar with and are comfortable navigating.

"It's their product though. They should be able to host it themselves."

I agree! The splitting of streaming media is a conversation for another day (how many websites do we have to access — how many do we pay for? — in order to watch a diverse collection of material, rather than getting a centralized space like cable?), so for now let's just agree that yeah, RT should be able to have a RT website where they show RT shows, including RWBY. Now what do we have to do to actually watch that free show?

Well, you go to the site and there's no mention of RWBY, despite that it's supposedly their "flag ship." That's fine though. We're all literate Internet users. Just go to the "Series" category.

Hmm, that's not particularly helpful at first glance, but again, Internet literate. We can use the drop-down menu to sort alphabetically (why the default would be "newest" is beyond me), or filter everything down to the "RWBY Universe."

If you're a seasoned fan you already know what you're looking for. If you're not... well, you'll probably figure out that the one labeled just "RWBY" is where you want to start. Mousing over doesn't provide any information though, so if you want to know the difference between "RWBY" and "RWBY Complete," you need to start comparing them yourself.

But we've gotten to RWBY! And look, the page is nice and organized here. We start on Volume 1, Episode 1 is listed first, you now know that everything important to RWBY's main story is laid out for you to watch. Oh, provided you ignore all the character shorts listed under "Bonus Content."

Personally, I wouldn't call them bonus when they're the bridge between Volumes. They're not even listed together, with Blake's tucked at the bottom after announcements, trailers, and Volume openings.

Personally, I wouldn't call them bonus when they're the bridge between Volumes and do much of the character work that's then notably not in the Volume itself... but that's just me. From a design perspective they're not even listed together, with Blake's tucked at the bottom after announcements, trailers, and Volume openings, the stuff that's actually bonus material.

But you know, let's not be disingenuous. At the end of the day finding RWBY isn't hard by any Millennial or Gen Z's standards and so what if there are some missing pieces? Get into the show and you'll likely hear about these videos at some point, or discover them for yourself. The point is you can watch RWBY now, entirely free.

Well... sort of?

Try to watch and a few minutes in this will pop up.

It covers more than half the screen (as it's intended to), making it pretty impossible to enjoy the episode with it up. "Maybe I can fullscreen?" I thought. Nope. I literally do not have a fullscreen option.

I can only assume that fullscreen abilities will return after I login. I don't know because I couldn't login. Every time I tried I got this message.

My browser is configured to allow popups, so I can only assume this is the result of my add blockers. Yes, blockers plural. Out of curiosity I tried disabling them all for RT's website — something I probably wouldn't have bothered with if RWBY were a new show I was meh about watching — and I still couldn't login.

The point here is not to fix my particular problem. The point is that the website is designed in such a way to make not having a FIRST account as annoying as possible.

"Register and keep watching with a FREE account - or join FIRST like all smart, attractive, and confident people do."

I do have an account, which I can't get into, which makes the whole "It's free!" aspect kinda useless. Which only leaves me with three options: 1. Buy a FIRST account, 2. Buy RWBY another way like you did, Meltykarasu, or 3. Pirate. Obviously RT is hoping we'll take one of the first two options because in this day and age "free" doesn't mean easy. Or enjoyable. It's the sad, ad-ridden, broken option for those who refuse to cough up some cash.

And yeah, there's another conversation here about artists being paid for their work, but within RWBY's fanbase the point is we can no longer use "They're giving you this amazing show for FREE" as a catch-all push-back against evaluating quality. Sure, technically speaking it's still free, but over the years RT has set up more and more hoops for us to jump through in order enjoy what they're supposedly offering up willingly. Though not at the same level yet, it feels like RWBY is throwing itself headfirst towards comic book territory. Meaning, I can't just tell a friend to, say, get into Doctor Strange because "getting into Doctor Strange" requires compiling a complicated list of various source materials to follow even one major story arc, many of which are no longer available to buy except at exorbitant prices (I know because I've done it). Now, "getting into RWBY" requires compiling a, not as complicated, but complicated-ish list of various source materials, many of which are no longer available as "free" storytelling, or were paid-for from the get-go. That's fine (well, it's normal) — it's the standard for most franchises nowadays — but in RWBY's case it throws a massive wrench in the "How dare you criticize something these writers have given you for free" take. We're in a fandom where the multi-million dollar company doing everything possible to get you to couch up another subscription is above criticism, but the fans actually doing rewrites for free as a hobby are fair game. We've got it backwards.

[senadimell]

evil western capitalism ruins maoist propaganda

[ID: a screenshot of a youtube video that is unavailable due to a copyright block.]

[ID: A screenshot of the video title and stats. It is The East is Red (1964) and has had 116,200 views since its uploading on April 27, 2011. End ID]

.

.

Do you know how funny this is to me?

The East is Red is the most propaganda-y propaganda you can imagine. It’s about two hours worth of communist ballet and starts with a song glorifying Mao as dancers figuratively depict his birth by emerging from a flower. There is everything. There is a ballet of guerilla soldiers in a cornfield singing about how the people love them so much that they never want for anything.

literally, it starts out by saying something to the effect of “The East is red, the sun rises, China has Mao Zedong” (more literally, ‘china has birthed/produced a Mao Zedong. It rhymes a lot better in Mandarin).

Then two hours of the “history” of the PRC with a full-scale orchestra, a choir of probably at least 200 people (idk, I can’t estimate crowds) and an entire auditorium of people was filmed watching it. The ballet is intense. Massive cast. Truly amazing. The epitome of state-communist extravaganza.

It’s also a very imperialist text (esp. the depiction of Tibet).

Anyways, I cannot express how funny it is to me that it’s been struck down on a copyright claim from *check’s notes* YB media, which is apparently an digital marketing company.

what in the name of mao does YB media have copyrighted in this film? and why? you’re literally the ultimate bogeyman of films like this: a western capitalist advertising company. The only thing that could make it worse is if you were a  KMT-member-led western capitalist advertising company.

Anyways, this reminds me that I need to update The East is Red’s Wikipedia page because it currently says:

“The East is Red was the first occurrence of Han Chinese and ethnic minorities in China dancing together on the same stage. It has formed a vivid, emotional and specific national image in the hearts of the people of all ethnic groups, and achieved the integration of marginal culture and central culture. In this musical and dance epic, we can see the emotional expression of many ethnic minorities and Han Chinese, such as the meeting between Tseten Dolma, one of the leaders of ethnic minorities, and Zhou Enlai. In the whole music and dance epic, the image of ethnic minorities is related to singing and dancing with a sense of joy and optimism. For more than 40 years since then, the image of ethnic minorities has basically been defined in this expression, without much change. The expression of the image of China's ethnic minorities is closely linked with the expression of the image of the country. Ethnic minorities are considered to be an integral part of China, and the unity and harmony of all ethnic groups have become the basis of the image of the country.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_East_Is_Red_(1965_film)

Yeah, so I can’t actually argue with the bolded part’s factuality. It just neglects to mention that it’s kinda a problem to depict your “55 ethnic minorities” for more than 40 years as happy-go-lucky ethnic dancers with special costumes who adore their savior, the CCP, and are not oppressed or targeted at all, ever, because the government is so benevolent and supportive.

so, uh...yeah this is a world where Tibetans sing happy pretty songs of praise to their CCP allies and saviors and would never, ever consider self-immolation in protest.

Anyways, off to at least flag the article as problematic.

(here’s the taken down video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbSQc6btIQc )

[johnnyraine]

And so, I've finished yet another Taiga Drama: Fūrin Kazan. - 6/10

Spoilers, obviously.

I fucking loved the music. This is a major thing to me, and it passed for me. Favorites: Theme, Ikiru, and the final song (I don't know its name).

I loved the fact that they acknowledge the people's name changes: Nagao Kagetora (Uesugi Masatora) & Takeda Harunobu (Takeda Shingen).

After seeing this, I gotta respect the fact that these writers likely had to make up an amount of historical inaccuracies, just to make a good story. Now I'm no Japanese Historian, and I don't know a lot about Kansuke, but I still feel like they added stuff to make it interesting; it worked.

I'm a bitch who screenshots shit they like, and boy did I like alot. Especially GACKT as Nagao Kagetora/Uesugi Masatora, whew that man is attractive.

On the topic of Kagetora/Masatora, why did he have boots? I thought it was funny that this beautiful man had boots while everyone else had waraji. Also, during the Odawara siege, I thought it very... immersion breaking? (Idk) When he sat before their gates and they missed hitting him as they fired arrows and bullets, but someone on YouTube said that he knew their range (and accuracy) and just sat outside of it, so I'll just believe it and move on.

It's not really big but I fucking laughed, THIS MAN (Kagetora)! Fucking threw a man off his horse and beat him, in front of everyone. Kagetora thought this guy was insulting him by not getting off his horse and did what I previously stated. Turns out that guy was showing respect the way his ancestors did. ...fuck. Haha. So that was funny. Learn the lesson people, if you're gonna rule over people, know their customs.

There was perhaps some overacting: revealing the Fūrin Kazan flag, I don't believe anyone would be that hyped. Okehazama, not the scene(s), but when they mention its name, not really acting, but just too much attention to it. I know how important it is, but still.

I saw the "romance" of Kansuke and Princess Yuu coming from miles away, they don't do anything together, but it's clear they do like each other... but I did like some of the things they did with this relationship, some of which nearly made me cry (promise to marry someone scene).

I Fucking LOVED when they included the clash between Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Masatora at Kawanakajima. This man, Masatora charged across the entire battlefield directly towards Shingen, who saw him, and did not move. Unmovable as the mountain, all he did was when Masatora got close and struck at him, he raised his gunbai and blocked the blows until his men chased Masatora off.

Legendary.

I called Heizo killing Kansuke, I was wrong and he (Heizo) was shot in the back with an arrow; he lived (maybe). Kansuke took so many blows to his body, I'd be surprised if his body didn't have a hole in his chest from the many gunshots to it. He died... not from the gunshots, spear stabs, and such, but from being beheaded.

Anyway, I felt like crying multiple times, music was wonderful, I loved the looks of Shingen & Masatora (definitely), I might be convinced to give this a 7, but currently it's a 6 and that's pretty good.

6/10 - Pretty Good.

Edit. This is now a 7/10, seeing as I recently find myself thinking about it alot.

[thefamilycryptid]

MCYT Fans Stop Scrolling this is Important!!!

Ok so anyone who follows me knows I am very strongly opinionated about things such as consent, rape, and Pedopillia,  

So this shouldn’t come to much surprise that when I learned about what is going on with Tommyinnit I would get very angry very fast. This is a fucking CHILD but NSFW works are being written and drawn about him. This is in no way ok, ESPECIALLY considering he had to REMIND PEOPLE THAT HE IS A MINOR THEREFORE NOT OK WITH IT.

(Here’s that clip) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znV45O8zWcs And now you think that would make people stop this shit but NOPE. If anything it got worse, luckily people who actually give a shit about Tommy have been mass reporting and flagging these posts. So I need all those people to help me out with this.

Today I went on Ao3 and found this monstrosity

From the tagging and relationship marks alone you can tell this fic is not ok, I went into the comments about to tell them to take it down when I found this.

The creator of the fic itself outright says that the content creators should not have to see NSFW of themselves, and their ‘excuse’ is that they made it so only people with accounts can see it, completely disregarding the fact that even if the CC’s dont see it doesn’t make it suddenly ok.

They also go on for about 4 bullet points telling you to donate to charities about these issues, which is a good thing yes, but them outright blocking and changing the subject is similar to the actions of the YouTuber “h0peful lucille” - who during her ‘explanation of her actions’ when she was accused of child grooming kept changing the subject through her video - its meant to throw you off and slow you down.

And then is the 6th bullet point

Excuse me did I read that right

This dude really just admitted they in fact were NOT a minor with trauma but instead an actual adult?? Like if they had been a kid just going through some stuff it would be a bit more sympathetic, still not an excuse to publish those works but hey I know people write to cope, but even if they were a kid this should not be made public, it should just be a vent fic that you never show the world because TOMMY IS NOT OK WITH THIS. But they are an adult, an adult who should know better than this. Tommy is a minor and Wilbur, Dream, and Technoblade are all in their twenties (Being 24, 21, and 21 respectively) making this fic actual pedophilia between REAL PEOPLE. 

And before anyone gets on my ass about how Dream said it was ok please know if you say that I will smack the shit out of you. Dream (in the clip everyone is talking about) is saying He and his friends, Sapnap, George, and BBH are ok with those kinds of fics because they find them to be humorous. IN THE SAME CLIP he also says it should NOT be written about minors or people who have said they are not ok with it, Tommy falls under both these categories. 

I had a friend report this fic a day or so ago but it still has not gone down. Please stop writing these kinds of fics and if you do keep them to yourself and dont let them see the light of day. 

[rosartemis]

Your Phenomenal Dramaturgy DSMP Animatic

Was gonna post a YouTube comment, but then I realized I didn’t want to get eviscerated by the dsmp fandom for having a different opinion, so submitting my interpretation of the lyrics/animatic in regards to c!Dream here instead :P

“But I don’t know a thing, love or losing, see?” I believe references how before Wilbur and L'manburg these kinds of conflicts/wars were never a thing on the server and Dream had no idea how he should deal with it. “So I threw to the side any human in me.” Implies Dream believed he had to make harsh choices to end the conflict, he couldn’t be soft, “No mercy” right? “If I live a lie of shallow words and empty replies, then what am I?” implying Dream keeps his word, but the people of L'Manburg don’t. It’s framed as a response from Dream to Wilbur during the declaration of independence, and makes sense if you consider the fact that Wilbur was scamming everyone out of their own potions supplies and made L'Manburg in part as an excuse to get away with it when the other members of the server got mad (Dream was uninvolved at this point, but he likely heard about it from Sapnap, who was one of the people that had confronted Wilbur and Tommy about their theft). “Then it stuck in my head, gotta run away” Dream and Sapnap getting carried away with burning down the forest surrounding L'manburg. “Playing out like a scene, posing every lead Near the end of the show, waiting in the wing, see?” Not sure about the first line, aside from referencing how everything’s a play and Dream’s the lead actor, but the second line refers to Eret’s role as the hidden traitor “Waiting in the wings”. “Run to front stage, you’re all actors anyway, no one to watch, You’re all part of the play” Dream having to make tough decisions as the de facto leader of the Greater Dream SMP faction during war. He’s planning out strategies with George and Sapnap, but the map turns into a chess game and he hates how he has to consider using them like pawns in the game to win this war. “There’s no one inside me There’s no one that’s hiding Always been me, empty, a body but nobody here to see” Montage of Dream prepping for the battle, there’s a scene in which he’s stepping into an argument between George and Sapnap. He’s steeling himself for the battle ahead. From a meta standpoint, these are all the scenes we as viewers never got to see, but they still happened, and it was still Dream who had done all this for his faction. “And knowing that those eyes are watching…” From the animatic implies that Dream seems to think things aren’t quite over yet, so he’s keeping an eye on things. “Til before we could see, we were monsters in skin ” Dream and his relationship with being called a monster/tyrant/villain continuously by the other members of the server, in particular those that are a part of L'Manburg. Could also be how he hadn’t noticed himself slipping into that role until far too late. “But even if I had tried to move on, why can’t I leave my past?” Same as above, but this time with the bonus of Pogtopia Wilbur manipulating him and convincing him he’ll be nothing more than a tyrant, a villain despite his clear attempts to amend that opinion of him and change by siding with Tommy (and Wilbur), who he thought were the “good guys”. ““Considering it’s you, better give up soon” “Cuz no matter what you do, you will always lose”” Dream talking in reference to Tommy and Wilbur (?). “And then I was alone way before I knew Blocking every little thought that I couldn’t sit through” George leaving the conflict (and Dream) alone to build his own thing. Dream realizing he’s alone/his friends don’t seem to care about him as much as he does them, and trying not to think about it. “All they want now is safety from what’s around Waiting for help but never learning how” Dream constantly covering for George and Sapnap during conflicts they got themselves into without asking for anything in return, and George and Sapnap never learning how to stop causing conflicts/resolve them by themselves. (taking advantage of Dream’s help) “I don’t wanna think now” Doesn’t want to remember the good times he’s had with everyone/his friends. Him swiping away the pieces like he wants to stop this stupid game of chess. “I’ll play dumb anyhow” Reference to Dream losing his godly powers because of the exorcism and being split into 2 (as explained by creator of the animatic) and pretending everything was fine afterwards. “Always been me, empty, a body but nobody here to see” Realization he’s lost his powers and can’t rely on XD to help resolve the Manberg/Pogtopia conflict. Here his mask goes from covering the top of half of his face to covering his entire face, a “loss of humanity”/“empty” (from a circle to being fully molded onto his face covering), and is also when the strings motif starts. Trading chessboards for puppet strings. Very obviously, you can see him slipping and his mental state deteriorating. “So standing at the front line and maybe this time I’ll be there with a flag high” Reference to the Manburg shield hinting at his allegiance and how he’s leading the Manburg “army” during the battle. “Outmatched but easygoing "Never gonna need a script with me”“ Dream surrendering and playing along with their expectations (Pogtopia winning against Manberg). "Oh you too yes yes so take a deep breath "Swear that you’ll see me again” One chance is all I have now And so I better make it count Climatic ending, come see The final act, I’m shaken to my knees" Speaking to Tommy about meeting him for the final confrontation, Tommy realizing this is his chance to take down Dream for good, “climatic ending” the finale Dream’s planned out for them. Dream is determined to see things through to the bitter end. “Yet crying and lonely” But what has he lost to get to this point? (also the juxtaposition of Doomsday Dream with his armor and cloak staring at the sunset atop his obsidian grid, framed by destruction being swapped out for an image of the old Dream, still with strings tied to his hands, but staring up at the softer night sky being framed by trees, is just, so good) “The world that I locked out is nowhere to find The people who mocked me are gone from my sight Emotions and feelings are useless to keep The tears that had fallen were not mine to weep” Hardening his heart against George/the rest of his friends (who later in turn abandoned him/left him), beating down those who had wronged him in the past, letting go of Spirit and the attachment associated with them so they’ll never be used against him again (representing him cutting off the rest of his attachments to do the same thing) despite it being very obviously painful and hurting to do so. (choosing to let go, but finding that doing so hurts anyways. Crying for something you think you shouldn’t cry for.) “The kindness and warmth, I can’t feel them at all The hands that are offered, I’m scared that I’ll fall The hole dug inside me can’t hold any love Instead, you can see me break down from above” Unable or unwilling to form healthy emotional attachments/connections with other people. He’s scared that if he does he’ll just be hurt again, and so he pushes them away, even those who’d offer him their help. He’s lost so much that he’s grown emotionally repressed (his past as Cornelius and how he lost his entire family in a week) and has trouble feeling things like “love”, and starts collapsing under the lose. (his mental health spiraling hard) “Hey, remember when you saw that they were nearing their end? And you looked like you were laughing at the pain they were in But what did you see? Oh really what could it be Well, take a breath ‘cuz you’ll need it, so c’mon saying” Something more happening with Dream behind the front of “big bad villain” that he puts on for the rest of the server, what was he really feeling? What was he really planning? We don’t know. “We’re pulling at the boundary, unseen A curtain dyed in black soon came to be And knowing that those eyes are watching…” The end of a season/the “show”, Dream’s put in prison and the curtains appear to be closing, but there’s still some loose ends that haven’t been tied with the other characters, and Dream’s presence can still be felt all around the server despite him being locked up in a literal torture box with no real power (power that could get him out of said torture box). (also, just loved how you incorporated the chorus! I’ve known about Dramaturgy for a long time but hadn’t realized how well the lyrics just fit with the DSMP plotline XD)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wow, thanks for such a detailed response to my animatic :D I’m really glad you enjoyed it enough to type so much out!

I really like your interpretation, you basically got most of the things I was going for. While I yearn to type out something longer, I don’t really want to tell people how to interpret something lol

Thanks again <3

[dear-evanrosier]

Youtube Star (Muggle AU) (Parts 1-3)

Wednesday

Remus thought it was absolutely hilarious when the kids in his class were talking about the new video that Sirius Black had uploaded the day before, especially when one of them asked if he watched the latest. This specific set of questions had started when Remus had accidentally shown his screen saver- a selfie of him and Sirius, which Remus had taken right after making a corny joke, so Sirius was laughing in the photo- to a student while checking a text from said husband. It had sparked so many rumors that he still got bombarded with questions, and the slip up was over three months ago.

"So, Mr.Lupin did you watch Sirius Black's new video? He uploaded one last night!"

Yeah, I spent three hours helping him edit it and pick out the topic.

"No, I don't watch his content."

---------------------------------------------

"Turns out Sirius Black is married! Did you know that?"

Yeah, I was the one who put his ring on.

"Nope, that's very cool. Now do your work."

---------------------------------------------

"Did you go to his meet and greet in London last week?"

Yeah, I was backstage for ten hours waiting for him to finish talking to all of you.

"No, I went to the park."

--------------------------------------------

He ended up having to change the lock screen so the students wouldn't try to go through his phone. He was just lucky none of his students had noticed the ring on his right finger matched the one shown on accident multiple times in some of Sirius' videos. He knew if the students found out then they would never get any work done, so Sirius agreed to keep it a secret.

That is until one morning Remus frogot his lunch at their house, and he only has twenty minutes to eat but their house is thirty minutes away. He decided to go without it, not wanting to make his students miss the test they had the next class. The period ended and he checked his phone, noticing a text sent almost fourty minutes ago.

Sirius❤-You left your lunch at home, can't have my Moony starving. I'll bring it over there.

He rubbed his face with one hand and listened outside, realizing the hall was louder than usual and there was laughter along with a heavy clacking sound that he knew belonged to the black combat boots of his husband.

"Who's that bag for?" Came from the hall, quite muffled due to the wooden door and chattering students.  He stood up and stretched, and walked over to the door, opening it slowly.

He immediately spotted the thick black curls down to the shoulders, wearing Remus' favorite outfit. Plain black jeans that hugged his legs, a chain dangling from one of the belt loops to the closest pocket, and one of Remus' dark green jumpers over top. The black hem of a band t-shirt just visible under the v-neck. He was also wearing a tad bit of eyeliner, which made Remus think he was even hotter. He was taking pictures with the students lining up in front of Remus' door, waiting for their next lesson with him. At the sound of the door opening, Sirius looked away from the camera and spotted the fluffy sandy colored hair and freckles covering his husband's face. He took the picture, muttered an "Excuse me." and ducked from underneath the outstretched student's hand. He walked past the rest of the line up to Remus, who was blushing terribly and had an eyebrow raised. "Yes, Black?" He inquired, and Sirius snorted.

"That's Lupin-Black to you, love." He replied, and placed a soft kiss on Remus' lips. Remus put a hand on his cheek and let the kiss last a second longer before he pulled away and gestured to the shocked expressions across the students' faces. "You know they had a test today, right?"

Sirius smiled and shook his head. "You did not tell me that. Sorry, love." He kissed Remus again and lifted up his hands, showing a paper bag with 'Moony❤' on the front. Remus rolled his eyes affectionately and took the bag. "Thanks, love." He looked back at the students. "I think you broke them," Remus told Sirius, who also turned around to look at the students' faces.

All of the kids who followed or knew of Sirius had their mouths open almost comically. Sirius let out a bark of laughter and turned back to Remus. "What, did you take your ring off?" Remus shook his head and held up his hand, showing Sirius that he still had on his identical ring. A student gasped and grabbed both of their hands, comparing the rings. "You alright there, Lavander?" Remus asked, and the bell rang. Sirius went to leave but the students wouldn't let him, blocking him from leaving the hall. The students in Remus' class ushered the two into the room, not giving them a chance to leave.

It wasn't that big of a shock that they were gay. Both of them had been public about it, actually. Remus wore little pins with pride flags on his jumpers often and would hand them out if a student asked. And Sirius' video with him coming out had gotten well over 10 million views. It was just the fact that their soft academia teacher who liked books, tea, minimal social contact, wearing oversized jumpers, and poems is married to the complete opposite. A grunge YouTuber who loved coffee, wearing band shirts and chains, adored being in the spotlight, and always had on some form of makeup.

After they had practically forced the door closed and sat in their assigned seats, Remus' couldn't help but chuckle. "I must say, this is the most focused I have seen them all year." Sirius laughed and sat on the edge of the teachers' desk, till Remus lightly pushed him off. He hopped off and eyed Remus. "Ok, where do you suppose I sit then?" He asked, and Remus got a cheeky grin, gesturing to an empty student seat in the front row.  "I am twenty-seven, not fourteen." Sirius scowled but took the seat, the students' eyes following him because Sirius Black, a youtube star, is in our classroom and is now sitting five feet from us.

Remus called their attention to the front of the room, but the students still glanced over a Sirius every few moments. "Ok, if we can get through this lesson, we can spend the last twenty minutes of class questioning my husband and me but only if you take some notes. I'll push your test back to tomorrow." A few of the students clapped, and Sirius did too, earning an eye roll and a shhh from Remus. Sirius chuckled but remained quiet during the class because he knew how much teaching meant to Remus. The kids still stole looks at Sirius whenever they could manage, but he kept his eyes on Remus the entire time, enjoying the sparkle he got whenever Remus did something he loved, not just teaching.

The class was surprisingly focused. Remus expected them to not shut up, but it was the complete opposite. Every eye was on him, but he was avoiding a specific set that normally would not be in there. He knew they were probably turning back to Sirius when he wrote something on the board. He ended up being done with the notes in only twenty minutes, giving them half an hour to question them. "Ok, we're done with notes. You can start asking questions."

The students began immediately. There were so many and they were so loud neither adult could make out the words except for few parts.

"Can-"

"Video-"

"Star-"

"Ring-" And that was basically all they could hear.

Sirius got up from where he was sitting and moved back to the teachers' desk, and didn't get shoved off this time. Instead, Remus came over and sat next to him. While the students were shooting their rapid-fire questions, Sirius turned and whispered in Remus' ear, "How often are they like this?" Remus whispered back, "Only when they talk about you, so I'd say all the time." Sirius just chuckled in response. The kids had stopped asking questions by then, so they were just staring at them while they had their short, whispered conversation. "Ok, since you guys stopped asking questions, please ask one at a time," Remus asked, and the students began the questions, just slower.

"Can you post a video so everyone knows?"

"Is his the voice the one in videos from a different room?"

"Since when did you like youtube stars?"

"How come you never showed us your ring?"

"How long have you been married?"

"Forget that, how long have you been together?"

And a lot more. After they stopped talking again, Remus and Sirius began answering questions.

"We've been together for twelve years, married for eight," Sirius told them, and a couple of kids swore because he started making videos ten years ago and nobody realized that he was married for the majority of that time. "How come you didn't mention it?!" A girl from the back shouted, and Sirius chuckled. The two kept answering questions until they got to the last one. "Are you going to make a video making it public?" One boy asked, and the two adults glanced at each other. "Er, I don't know. It's up to Remus, really." Sirius told them, then checked his watch. He jumped off the desk quickly. "Shit, I have to go. I have that meeting in about ten minutes." He placed a chaste kiss on his lips, then waved to the students. He opened the door, waved one last time to Remus, and left. The students in class turned expectantly to Remus, but they didn't get a chance to speak because the bell rang. It was the end of the day since it was an early let out.

A few of the kids in the school who drove managed to get pictures of Sirius on his motorbike, waving at them before he sped off, none of them knowing what he was doing there.

When Sirius got home two hours later, Remus was sitting on the couch, reading a book. After a small discussion, they went to bed, excited for the next day.

Friday

"Quiet down! Quiet down, everyone!" Remus began the class, attempting to call attention to the rowdy group of kids. After they all stopped talking, Remus began his speech. "Since you, all got great marks yesterday, you can have a free day today. Do whatever you like, just stay in your seats and please remain quiet." He sat down at his desk, leaving the students to their own devices. A girl stood up and walked to the front of the room where Remus's desk was. He looked up when she was standing next to him.

"Can I help you, Lavander?" He asked, and she smiled. "Actually, professor, I was hoping I could play a video on your computer?" She asked. Remus, who already knew what video she wanted to play, agreed. She searched up the video titled 'Introducing... My Amazing Husband!' and paused it before it started, turning back to the class. "Have any of you seen this yet?" She asked, and everybody shook their heads. "Good."  She pressed play and sat down, every eye on the projected screen.

Sirius was in his normal chair, his hair in a bun and wearing an oversized jumper and multiple rings on his fingers, giving a mixed vibe. "Ok. It's on. Hi guys! So yesterday, I went to visit my husband at work so I could drop off the lunch he forgot. He does that often."

"No, I don't!" A muffled voice came from behind the closed door, and Sirius snickered and swiveled his chair to face the door as he cupped a hand over his mouth. "Whatever you say, Moony!" He called back before turning his chair again to look at the camera.

"Anyways, I brought him his lunch and his students found out. So when I got home from a meeting later that night, we talked a little. And did more."

"Sirius!" Another muffled shout. Sirius just laughed in response. "Ok, ok! But my dear husband has decided that he is okay with everyone knowing who he is. So, will you come in here, love?"

The door opened to reveal Remus, standing in plaid pajama pants and cropped band shirt hanging just above the waistband of his pants. Sirius eyed him as he came into the room, sitting in Sirius' lap.

"Did you really have to wear my crop top? You know it distracts me." Sirius told him, wrapping his arms around Remus' waist. "Yes. Yes, I did. It's payback for when you wore it and you knew I had to grade papers." Remus responded, and Sirius let out a short bark of laughter. "Fine."

He looked at the camera again, gesturing to the man in his lap. "So, this is my husband. And I wanted to show some videos of a younger us, which Remus has agreed to show. Isn't that right, dear?" Remus nodded and Sirius pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. "Please be warned that there is some blood in a couple of these videos, I just figured I should tell you in case that stuff freaks you out," Sirius explained.

The footage changed, showing the two as teens, seventeen at the oldest. It was light out and looked to be around summertime. Both were only wearing swimming shorts. Sirius' were dark green and Remus' was a light blue. There was a large tattoo of the star constellation, Sirius, over his heart and the alchemy symbol for water on his right bicep. Remus had phases of the moon tatted on the inside of his right forearm.  They were standing on a roof, the footage shot from the ground. "Jump! Jump, Sirius, jump!" The cameraman yelled, and Sirius nodded enthusiastically while tying his long hair into a bun using the scrunchie on his wrist.

"Of course! You know I always will!" Remus grabbed his hand as soon as he let go of his hair, yelling back. "Absolutely not, James! I don't care if it's onto a trampoline, he will not be jumping off a roof! Peter didn't, so neither will he." Sirius gave a mischievous glance towards the camera then back to Remus, whose eyes widened.

He quickly tried to free his grasp, but Sirius clenched his hand tightly. "No, no no! Sirius Black, I swear on Merlin's saggy tits if you-" his promise was cut short by his own screaming. Sirius ran off the roof at a sprint, dragging Remus with him. The camera followed them as best as possible considering how fast they were falling.

Their hands broke free when they landed, and Sirius bounced away, almost falling off the edge of the trampoline had he not grabbed the metal. He climbed back over and jumped over to Remus, who was laying on his back in the middle. He rolled over him, pushing himself up by his legs and arms overtop of Remus. "Ok there, Rem?" He asked, and Remus huffed, staring away from Sirius.

"No! You could have bloody well killed me!" Sirius laughed and shook his head. "No, I couldn't have. It's barely a ten-foot jump. You've done worse." Remus huffed again and crossed his arms to the best of his ability since Sirius was still hovering over him. Sirius changed his position, moving his legs so he was basically sitting on top of Remus. He used one hand to cup Remus' cheek and force him to look him in the face. "You fell for me." Remus smiled slightly and cupped Sirius' cheek back. "Why, I suppose I did. But that didn't have a bad consequence, so I don't really see how that's worse." Sirius ignored the last bit and brought his face down to Remus' kissing him, who eagerly kissed back. A boy with brown hair jumped over them, causing them to bounce away from each other, and Remus really did fall off the edge.  

Sirius got over there as fast as possible, jumping off the trampoline. James followed him on the ground. Sirius was helping up Remus, who was holding his face with a hand. It looked like he had hit his face into a nearby lawn chair, which had blood on the leg. "Please, let me see." Sirius pleaded with him, and Remus winced as he pulled his hand away, exposing the wound. The large gash went from his left jaw diagonally up to the bridge of his nose. It was an angry red but the color was almost purple around the edges and bled freely.

"Peter! Get the car! We have to go to the hospital!" Sirius called, and Remus put the hand back over his face. The boy with light brown hair ran past the camera to the cars, apologizing over and over. And the camera changed scenes.

Now it was dark out, the stars lighting up the night sky along with fairy lights strung up. The people there were dressed in fancy dresses or long-sleeved collared shirts and slacks. One woman had red hair tied into an elegant bun, adorned with pins that sparkled, had on a wedding dress that was to the floor and flowy. The bodice was covered in jewels that shone when the light reflected off of them. She was dancing with an eighteen-year-old Sirius.

"You really do look beautiful, Lily," Sirius told her before spinning her around and dipping her. She giggled and replied with a "And so do you, Sirius." They kept dancing for a moment until Lily looked away and then quickly turned back to him. "So?" She asked, and Sirius raised an eyebrow. "So what?"

Lily rolled her eyes and gestured to two guys dancing, one in a tux and one wearing black slacks a light blue collared shirt. The one in a tux had glasses and unruly black hair that looked like it had a bad attempt at flattening it. The man in the blue shirt had a large scar across his cheek from his jaw to his nose and freckles covering his face. His soft honey-colored hair was fluffy and hanging over his face. They seemed to be laughing and having fun as they spun each other around. "When are you going to propose to Remus?" She asked, and Sirius stopped for a moment before he continued the small patterned dance.

"How did you know about that?" It was in a hushed tone, but the camera still picked it up. "I was in your flat getting the planner that James left, and I found it when I looked in the couch cushions. Turned out the book was under your bed." She was practically laughing as she told him, purely because of the shocked face. "Besides, it's not like it's a big secret, anyway. You give him this look every time you see him, and he does the same. I'm surprised he hasn't proposed to you yet." Sirius contemplated her words for a moment and offered a small smile. "Thanks, Lils. Oh! I think James wants to dance with you." He nodded his head behind her at the man with black hair.

He held out his hand to Lily and bowed. "Can I have this dance, my dear wife?" Lily giggled and freed herself from Sirius' arms, taking his hand. "Why you can, my dear husband." James chuckled and led her away from Sirius. Remus took her spot, resting his head on Sirus' shoulder as Sirius put both hands on Remus' waist. "Hello, love. Enjoying the wedding?" Sirius asked, and Remus shrugged.

"No matter how many times James said he would marry her, I never actually thought it would happen," Remus spoke freely, and Sirius laughed at the bluntness. "I don't blame you. It took him six years for a date, and I was worried he would screw something up at one point." Sirius responded, then caught sight of the camera on them, and his eyes widened. He murmured something to Remus and let go, walking to the camera.

"Peter! How much did you get?" Sirius asked, staring straight at them. "Almost all of your dance with Lily." The person behind the camera responded, and Sirius groaned and ran a hand through his hair, glancing back at Remus. "Please don't show this to Remus, I don't know when I'm going to do it, and I definitely don't want Remus to find out because you showed him this video." Peter spoke again, "Of course not, Sirius. I wouldn't want to ruin your plan."  "Thanks, Petey." Sirius flashed a grateful smile then walked back to Remus, spinning him around twice before dipping him and kissing him madly.

The screen changed again, showing young kids all wearing black shorts and white t-shirts, holding water guns. It looked like James, Lily, Peter, Remus, and Sirius in a line, in that order. They looked to be about fifteen and were standing in a large grassy field, a large stone manor off to the side. "Mum, are you recording?" A young James asked and someone out of shot responded. "Yes, hun. Am I going to be recording this entire thing?" James nodded eagerly and started talking. "Ok, I don't know if this will ever be put somewhere public, but we're recording this because we want to. Maybe we can show our future kids. Eh, Evans?" He turned to the redhead next to him and she sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Really, Potter? I'm only here for Remus, and that's cause he's almost my brother. I am not here for your terrible attempts to get a date." She huffed and moved in between Remus and Peter to escape James. "Alright, I'll leave you alone. But anyway, it is our dear Remus' birthday and being the genius that he is, came up with the best idea for us to do. Tie-dye war!" He held the water gun above his head, the dark liquid sloshing around inside.

"All of our water guns are filled with a different tie-dye color. So we are going to put these goggles on so we don't get any in our eyes- Sirius will you get the goggles?" Sirius walked off-screen, coming back a moment later and passing out the goggles.  He returned to his spot in line and snapped his own pair on. "So. How this works is we just shoot each other until everyone is colored. The person at the end of the game who has the whitest shirt gets to give each one of us a dare later tonight when it gets dark and we set up a fire. Does everyone agree?" James looked down the line and got smiles and nods from everyone. "Ok, then. Mum, on the count of three?" He looked toward the camera as he said it, and the woman behind it immediately started the countdown.

"Three... Two... One... GO!!"

All of them took off, running in different directions trying to hide. Remus, before taking off, managed to shoot each of them with a long stripe down their backs, so that if they stood in a line you could see it. He ran to the side, hiding behind a large tree out so the camera didn't see him. There was a loud shriek, however. Remus ran out from behind the tree, Sirius following right behind him, shooting him with the gun so his back had turned into splatters of navy blue. Remus ran behind a large rock, out of Sirius' view. So he turned his attention to Lily, who was standing near a mound of wildflowers. Her eyes widened almost comically wide, and Sirius aimed for her shirt.

As he shot the dye, Lily was shoved out of the way by James, "Noooooooo." whose front was now almost completely blue as he laid in the grass. Lily knelt down beside him. "Why are you so dramatic?" She placed a kiss on his cheek then ran off, leaving him to be attacked by Remus, who had now left his place from behind the rock to take his turn at the sitting duck. No one noticed Peter and Lily from behind the trees, sneaking up on the group. Then they yelled, "CHARGE!!" and everything was fair game. Hot pink and navy blue and dark green and pastel blue and mint green were flying through the air, all of the colors landing on the others. Well, on most of the others. When the game was finished, Remus had won with his shirt only partly covered in color, the majority of his front was white. The others were completely covered in a mix of colors, hardly any white spots.

They stood back in the line, eyeing Remus with jealousy as James' mother declared him the winner.

TW: Mentions of Child abuse, blood

It was dark again, and they all had blankets wrapped around them, huddling in front of a fire. The camera shifted a bit then was still. "James, honey. I'm going inside to make sure dinner is done, your father will be home soon. The camera is set up in that chair so it can see you all. Don't do anything too reckless." The woman's voice was back. James smiled and looked above the camera. "Thanks, mum. I love you." "Love you too, James."

"OK, since I won, I get to give you each dares!" Remus bounced to his feet and the others groaned. "Should have known you were going to win, mate. You're too smart for your own good." Remus chuckled at Peter's remark and walked around the circle, eyeing them as he passed. He stopped in between Lily and James, smirking at them. Lily's smile dropped. "Remus Lupin I swear to Merlin if you do what I think you're going to do-"

"Oh, don't worry Lily. This is in your favor. Kind of." He waved her off with his hand. "Lily, I dare you to kiss James." Lily looked shocked, and James was elated. She stuttered, and Remus bent down to whisper something in her ear. He stood back up and smiled, but Lily only returned a glare. "Fine. I'll do it." She stood up and took a step closer to James, pecked his lips for less than five seconds, and sat back down. James had a large grin on his face, as did Remus.

"Ok, James. Your turn. I dare you to not ask Lily out for two months." James' grin fell and Sirius roared with laughter at his face. James glared at Remus and huffed. "Ok, then. Only cause it's your birthday. And cause it's getting a little old." Remus' grin spread and he walked back to Peter. "I know you don't like anybody, so I'm giving you something different. Jump off the tree. The small one, of course. I don't want you getting hurt." Remus motioned to the short tree next to them, and Peter stood up, dropping the blanket on the ground where he was.

He walked over slowly, climbing up as high as he could, which was only about four feet off the ground since it was a small tree. "You'll be fine, Petey!" Sirius called at his hesitation, and he yelled back, "Ok!" before jumping off. He rolled once he reached the ground, spinning once or twice before he stopped, sitting on his knees. He held his head for a moment before staggering up and back to his spot on the ground. Sirius clapped him on the back and looked to Remus, who sat beside him.

"Ok, Remmy boy. What's my dare?" Sirius asked, and Remus put a  hand on his chin in mock contemplation. "Kiss me." It was clear what he said, but Sirius still exclaimed in shock. "What?" Remus stumbled over his words at the reaction but stopped the moment Sirius grabbed the top of his shirt and smashed their mouths together roughly, getting catcalls and wolf whistles from the other three. Sirius pulled apart, breathing heavily and still holding onto his shirt.  "Was that a good dare?" Remus asked, and Sirius responded by kissing him again.

The footage changed once again. The room was filled with candles and it looked romantic. Sirius was standing in a white button-down and black slacks, his hair neatly parted. "Remus, can you come in here for a moment, love?" Sirius called, and a voice came from behind the door. "Just a minute, Siri! I'm making dinner!"

"This is more important than dinner!"

"Fine, fine!"

Remus came into the room, wearing just a jumper and jeans. He looked around at the candles, breathless. "Holy shit, Pads. This is amazing." He stepped forward cautiously, making sure to not knock any over. He looked Sirius up and down before practically jumping on him and kissing him madly. After a moment he put his feet back on the floor, still holding onto Sirius' shoulders and their foreheads together. "This is so beautiful, Sirius. I don't deserve this."

"You deserve the world, Remus. That's why I did this. And also so I could teach you to dance." He moved them into a waltz position, one hand holding onto Remus' hand and the other on his hip. Remus copied the position. "I know I suck, but why teach me?" Sirius chuckled and began the movements with no music. "We may need it someday. You never know." He placed a kiss on his nose and spun him, making a candle knock over. But it didn't catch on fire. Sirius took note of the shocked face and chuckled. "The ones on the floor are fake, I know how clumsy you are."

The footage changed once more, with a Sirius sitting in front of the camera and adjusting it, his dark hair curtaining his face. "Love, what are you doing?" Remus's tired voice came from behind, and Sirius finished with the camera, backing up and sitting next to Remus on a light blue couch, grabbing his hand. Both were sitting in Christmas pajamas and a tree was in the background, the colorful lights standing out against the grey walls. It had to be the previous Christmas or the one before since both men looked almost the exact same.

"Sirius, it is eight-thirty in the morning. I want to go to sleep. So, please, tell me what I'm doing so I can pass out until we have dinner with Peter, James, Lily, and Harry. I'm quite sure Marlene and Dorcas are going to come. And there's no doubt that Lily invited Frank and Alice, who are going to bring Neville. So that's seven other adults and two children. I need energy for this bullshit."

Sirius chuckled, kissing Remus' hand quickly. "Yes, love. I know. But I wanted to film a video while I had the idea. And I won't even think of posting it till you're comfortable with being out." Sirius smiled at Remus, who rolled his eyes. "Fine. What this amazing idea you had to wake me up for."

Sirius let go of Remus' hand to turn around and pick up a notepad that was sitting on a table just behind the couch. "Terrible pick-up lines." He grinned, and Remus groaned, grabbing a throw pillow and pressing it over his face. "Do you really have to? On this Holy day?"

His voice was muffled by the pillow, which just made Sirius chuckled again.

"Yes. You know I'm an atheist. So come one then, love. It'll be fun."

Remus took the pillow off his face, grumbling, "Tell me why I married you again."

"Because I'm handsome and you love me." Sirius grinned, and Remus grumbled something the camera didn't pick up. But it was enough to turn Sirius a tad bit pink. "Well yes, that too. But anyways."

Remus smiled at his flustered husband and looked at the camera, eyebrow raised. "So are you just going t say random pick-up lines, or are they all Christmas themed?"

Sirius shrugged, running over the list. "Little of both. I just wanted to see your reaction to some of these, considering you don't get embarrassed easily."

"I probably will since one, it's you and I'm one hundred percent sure that at least three-quarters of those are going to be dirty, and two it's on camera so you will definitely be using this against me in the future."

"Nah. Only half of them are dirty. So, can I start asking them?"

"Fire away, love."

Sirius smiled and kissed Remus quickly, then pulled his finger down the line until he found one that made him smirk. Remus' own smiled dropped lightly, trying the read the list upside down before Sirius pulled it away quickly. "Tch. Nope."

Remus groaned again and Sirius smiled before reading one of the lines.

"Good thing I have my library card, cause I'm checking you out."

He added a wink to the end of the line, and Remus shook his head.

"I sure hope you do, considering we're married."

Sirius narrowed his eyes slightly and huffed before reading the next.

"You stole my heart, so can I steal your last name?

ubnbnubnnu9n9ubn9ne9uvnvnfsvns9nsfubnfb

Now James was holding the camera, trying to set it up on an unseen object. Remus was behind him, shaking his head.

"Let me do that, James. I usually help Sirius so I know how to do it."

"Sure. Knock yourself out, Remmy boy."

Remus rolled his eyes at the nickname and moved in front of the camera, only taking a few more seconds to put it in place. He moved back and sat next to a huffing James.

"I did most of it."

"Sure you did, James."

He huffed again and leaned back on the couch, stretching out. The full extent of the room was open, and it was beautiful.

A large ornate crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling above the sleek leather couch the two sat on. A large cabinet with no doors behind them was full of framed photos of James and an older woman and man, smiling at the camera. A few had Sirius in them, arm slung over James shoulder amd smiling widely. More frames lined the walls of the large room, some paintings and some pictures of James and his friends.

"James, what are we doing?" Remus asked after a moment of the other doing nothing.

"My dear Remus, we are going to-"

James cut off abruptly, turning his hesd to look at something off screen.

"Did someone knock at the door?" Remus asked, and James nodded, getting up and walking out of frame. A small squek signaled the door opening, before James shouted.

"Sirius! Oh my god, what the fuck happened to you?!"

Remus jumped up and also ran off camera, coming back with James half dragging a bloody Sirius between them. They set him on the couch and he winced and cried out, his injures fully  exposed to the camera.

A large cut ran from the corner of his lip to under his eye, similar to one of Remus' s scars and still bleeding a little. His lip was busted and swollen, along with a black eye. He tried sitting up and cried out again, clutching his side in a way that suggested he broke a few of his ribs.

"Sirius, what happenened?" James repeated, and Remus held a hand out to stop him.

"Hold on, James."

He bent down, taking one of Sirius' hands into both of his own. The other was still clutching his waist.

"Sirius, I need you to tell me what happened, ok? Will you tell me?"

He let out a broken sob and leaned forward, trying to put his head on Remus' shoulder, instead yelling out once more and falling back on the couch, panting and wincing every few seconds.

"Shh, baby. Please tell me."

He lifted Sirius' hand to his mouth, kissing it gently out of the view of the camera.

"She found the letters."

It wasn't much, but Remus visibly paled when Sirius said it.

"What does he mean? Remus?" James was looking between the two, face caught in a worried expression. Remus turned to him, lip caught between his teeth.

"We wrote letters back and forth instead of texting. His mother found them."

James paled too, and walked closer to the couch.

"James, the camera. Get the camera. We'll have to show this tape to the court."

Remus stood up, placing a gentle kiss to Sirius' forehead and leaving the room while James walked quickly towards the screen, looking angry amd scared all at the same time.

It went back to just Sirius.

"I am so sorry, I did not know that taoe was in there. I apolgize if I have triggered something for any of you."