#consistency my detested <3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[kezral-art]

watched the bloopers for borderline forever and remembered an old drawing idea i never completed, so i repurposed it and made this instead!

[sendothetaurus]

How to write good dialogue

Almost every story needs dialogue - obvious right? Well, this post is about the not-so-obvious sides of conversations. I've struggled a LOT with snappy and realistic speech, so I've made it my mission to collect some handy directives. Here is what I found:

Contents

Information Dumps

Setup And Payoff

Characterization Through Dialogue

Three Simple Questions

Four-Sides Model

Depth

About Answers

Sources And Credits

⮮ Let's go! (^▽^) ⮯

Information Dumps

Everybody knows them, everybody hates reading them. But how do we avoid them? Something really clicked for me when I understood context. If your character talks about something that happened in the past, they don't need to explain what happened. They were there. Here's an example:

"It would be nice if we at least got a B for that paper. Since I will go to college next year, I feel that this is important to me."

The speaker and the listener should be aware of the exposition (regarding their last year at high school). During dialogue, these conditions go without saying.

Setup And Payoff

Instead of dumping everything at once, let the reader guess what's happening. This is done by mentioning something that is not answered right away. Also dropping hints can increase tension.

Scene 1 "Why do you always carry that with you?" she asked and pointed at the box cutter. Her friend eyed her with suspicion. "For cutting." "Yeah, but why?" "Might come in handy sometime." Scene 2 An ice cold shiver ran down her spine as her fingers felt around the bag, searching for the familiar shape. There was nothing. The other tossed the thing onto the floor between them. "Care to elaborate?" She couldn't have known. "How could you!"

Someone definitely has a secret here that they don't want uncovered. It makes the reader speculate: Does she carry the knife to defend herself or does she plan on hurting someone with it?

Characterization Through Dialogue

The general rule of thumb is: Show not tell. If a character is shy, self-absorbed or chaotic, make them act like it. Also, readers take part in the characterization of your protagonists. Make them guess why a character acts a certain way.

"C- can I have your pen?" She twirled her thumbs and looked at the ground. "What the hell, no!" Disgusted, he brushed off his hands on the front of his jeans. "I'mma better disinfect that."

Notice how the girl is stuttering and the boy has a loose tongue. Mannerisms help identifying traits in a character. Everyone has a distinct way to speak (e.g. relaxed, polite, malignly) which makes it easier to tell them apart. Sometimes there is a difference between speech and behavior. This can be quite useful to highlight conflict inside a character.

Three Simple Questions

Who wants what from who?

Why now?

What happens if they don't get it?

These questions ensure plot consistency. For question 3 the only other outcome is conflict. Conversations thrive off of conflict and it is of benefit to have a supplicant and potential provider for a solution. It's basically intention versus obstacle.

1. She wants to be his wife. He doesn't want a marriage. 2. She is pregnant. 3. She needs to provide for a baby all on her own.

Tadaa, a conflict ensues.

Four-Sides Model

The four-sides model is a theory on communication. It assumes that a message has four distinct ways of being conveyed:

Facts -> data, facts, truth and relevance

Self-Disclosure -> explicit and implicit information about the own mindset; likes, dislikes, opinions

Relationship -> information about whether the person is liked or detested; approval and disapproval; "I assume you have [this] opinion of me"; body language

Want -> a direct attempt to influence the behavior of another person; advice, desire or instruction

Since this is highly technical stuff, I'll provide you with an example:

Customer: "I always drink my coffee black." 1. Fact: The coffee I drink is black. 2. Self-Disclosure: I like black coffee. 3. Relationship (POV of the waiter): Did I do something wrong? OR It's their fault! They ordered the wrong thing! 4. Want: Bring me black coffee.

Controlling the message through sender and receiver gives a new level of influence to an author. The relationship-level is the bottleneck in a conversation that holds the most potential for misunderstandings. I'm trying to be aware of it when I write subtext (see below).

Depth

On the nose dialogue is what we want to avoid at all costs. For this reason subtext is created in stories. Read this:

Scene 1 A: "I like you." B: "Nah, I don't like you back. You're so annoying." A: "Ouch, that hurts. I'm not sure if I heard that right." B: "We were never friends. Go away."

This is not how conversations work. Thankfully, dialogue like this is not entirely useless. It conveys what the characters really want to say. The challenge is to think of a way to not say the thing but keep a similar meaning.

The true meaning behind the dialogue is called subtext (scene 1). If I don't know how to continue after a certain line, I write down the subtext first before I decide on how to paraphrase it.

Finally, I add a fitting description of expression and body language if needed. I try to keep it short and simple.

Check this out:

Scene 2 She tucked her hair behind her ear. "I need a ride home later. Are you free?" -> I like you. "Sorry, all seats' re taken," he said without looking at her. -> Nah, I don't like you back. You're so annoying. "Uhm, okay. But I'm small. You could fit me in the footwell, honestly." -> Ouch, that hurts. I'm not sure if I heard that right. He leaned forward as if he had the urge to stand. "Ha, funny. But no, I'm not planning on doing something illegal tonight." -> We were never friends. Go away.

A character's action depends on their own intention and the other's response. I feel it is easier to keep track of what's happening behind the curtains when it's written alongside the dialogue.

Simultaneously, you can keep habits and traits in check. Does the the character apply all criticism to themselves? Are they disregarding or constantly marginalizing others? Do they worry only for themselves or solely for others? Subtext truly is the most powerful tool in conversation-writing.

About Answers

Did you know that you don't have to answer every single question? In fact, there are two other ways to show an emotion without telling it.

The first one is called sidestepping. The character ignores the posed question and carries on with an entirely different topic.

A: "Do you still love me?" B: "We should get going."

It's very obvious, right? By sidestepping the question, we can assume that the character is uncomfortable or angry with the other person.

The other way to answer is actually a bit paradoxical. Through silence, a great variety of emotions can be displayed. It is recommended to refrain from actually describing silence with words like "he remained silent", "he refused to say anything", "he never responded".

- The laptop hummed. - The birds chirped in the trees. - She felt her legs going numb from sitting in an uncomfortable position. - His eyes wandered around, searching the parking lot for a familiar face.

It feels more natural to explain the things that grab our attention when we sit in silence.

This is it, folks. That's all I could find on the topic - for now. If there's anything missing, I'd love to hear it.

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ Anyway, thanks for reading, I hope this helped ☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

My sources are this and this video as well as this article.

Also a big thank you to @zoropookie for helping me with the colors ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

[jsprnt]

your husband loves taking care of you, especially when you're 35 weeks pregnant.

virgil van dijk x pregnant!reader

original request: love your work, could you write a pregnant!reader and Virgil? X

A/N: thank you! this one was so fun to write <3

W/C: 1.640

you shift into another position, again. The soft couch and cushions doing wonders for your back, but still, you couldn’t sleep in your favorite position. Just flat on your stomach, your swollen baby bump not even allowing you to sleep well at night, or take a nap in the quiet hours before dinner time. you felt like you were about to pop, but you still had five weeks to go before your estimated due date.

you had the gender reveal party, which consisted of your and virgil’s closest family members and friends. you both were having a babygirl, the nursery was already cutely designed with a pretty crib and dresser. the baby shower your friends surprised you with was thrown already a couple weeks ago, and not to forget the sweet babymoon virgil and you had gone on. the pretty islands in greece had been a beautiful sights to share with your husband.

the sound of a car parking in the driveway has you halting for a moment. your eyes drift over to the clock on your living room wall. it was past five in the evening already, which meant your husband had returned from training.

you slowly, but carefully get up from your position on the couch, sitting up instead. compression socks alleviating some of the swelling of your legs and feet, your eyes dart to the gray coffee table, full of- everything you could need when being half-immobile. tissues, multiple empty cups, a plate of lazily cut up pickles, a half eaten box of cookies-

“there’s my beautiful wife!” you suddenly hear, swollen, drowsy eyes looking towards your surprisingly very enthusiastic husband. his hands seemingly full of familiar takeout bags as he closes the front door to your home.

virgil’s high energy, even after his intensive training, manages to put a small smile on your face. you hear him take his coat off and wash his hands. so, you stand up, walking- no waddling towards him in the kitchen.

“hi, missed you..” you mumble, feeling him wrap his arm around your back, softly rubbing up and down your sides. you sigh in delight, leaning against his tall and muscular frame, resting your head on his chest. soft sweater grazing your sensitive skin.

“me too, baby.” he mutters, kissing your forehead tenderly.

“I got your favorite takeout. you���re hungry, right?” he asks, thumb rubbing your hips.

your eyes light up, and you nod eagerly. your pregnancy cravings were all over the place. from wanting your usual takeout, to a weird obsession with pickles and chocolate, and the most difficult of all: an icy, crispy red bull. since it wasn’t pregnancy-safe, you definitely didn’t risk it, but your mouth just watered at the thought of taking a sip of the carbonated, sweet energy drink.

“then let’s eat some food. I’m starving...” he says, guiding you to the kitchen island. he’d switched out the bar stools, shortly after your second trimester had started, exchanging them for chairs with a backrest, just for your comfort and convenience.

you watch him grab the takeout, unpacking the dishes.

“you got me the vegetarian one right?” you ask, raising your brows. virgil turns, nodding as he transfers stir fry noodles into a dish and slides it in front of you.

ever since you got pregnant, you detested the smell of meat. virgil being the sweet man he is, did research with his own nutritionist to see how you could still get all the vitamins and nutrients you needed without having to eat meat.

“here baby, eat up.” he mutters, giving you a fork, before walking towards the fridge. he grabs two cans of sparkling iced tea, coming back to sit next to you as you both dig into your meal.

“how was training?” you mumble, chewing down your food, maybe a little too fast.

“good, we were in the gym the entire day- slow down baby, the food isn’t going anywhere..” he chuckles, reaching into the takeout bag and retrieving the napkins. wiping sauce off the corner of your mouth with one.

you both continue eating the delicious food, Virgil’s hand soothingly running down your back every now and then.

“I’m going to take a quick shower.” he says, cleaning off the dishes and putting them in the dishwasher.

“can I join? can’t get my hair wet though..”

“sure baby, let’s go.” he quickly says, helping you off the chair and into the bathroom.

“my legs have been killing me..” you mutter, watching virgil take your compression socks off. you were glad you didn’t need them on your hands, though your fingers had gotten pretty swollen. prompting virgil to gift you a chain you could hang your wedding ring on, to wear as a necklace instead.

you allow him to guide you into the shower, his hand settling on the small of your back in support. virgil chuckles deeply as he watches your makeup melt off with the touch of the streaming warm water. he made sure to put on your shower cap beforehand.

“you wore makeup? where did you go today?” he asks, allowing you to reach up and take off his hair tie, dark curls falling to the side of his face.

“went for brunch with the girls. it was so good..” you answer, allowing virgil to run the soapy washcloth down your body, making sure to clean you up nicely. paying extra attention to scrub your legs, since you couldn’t reach down, you needed his help more often than not.

grabbing a fresh towel, he wraps you in it. allowing you to walk out of the bathroom and sit on your bed. waiting for him wash himself.

that’s what you loved about him, he always put you first. whether it was you eating first, getting dressed, falling asleep, or anything at this point in your pregnancy.

you quickly grab your undergarments and loungewear, going back to sit on your bed. towel wrapped snuggly against your body, as you take off your shower cap and wipe the extra moisture on the towel.

you look up to see virgil walk out of the bathroom, towel hanging on his hips. you lean back, admiring him, a small smirk forming on your lips.

“what?” he asks, smirk clearly on his face too as he walks up to you.

“oh, nothing, just admiring what’s mine..”

“really? let me admire what’s mine too then..”

he cups your face as you look up, his wet hair falling in front of his face as a single drop of water drips down onto your cheek. a low chuckle leaving his lips as he swipes it away with his thumb.

he helps you get dressed before the two of you get too distracted, not forgetting to rub bio-oil and lotion on your bump and body. the both of you snuggling up together on the couch. your head laying on his broad chest, tatted arm wrapped around your back.

You pause for a moment, feeling your daughter kick against your uterus. you feel virgil’s hand running against your clothed bump, you place your own hand next to his. feeling her kick was still the most out of body experience to the both you. you could’ve sworn you felt the outlines of her little feet as she kicked like didn’t want you to rest tonight.

“active today, isn’t she?” your husband asks, kissing your temple.

“just like her daddy..” you raise your bows, grinning. the consequences of having an athlete as your partner.

“she’ll definitely be as beautiful as her mommy..” he responds, causing your grin to grow into a bright smile.

“what do you want to watch, hm?” he asks, looking down at you, scratching his chin thoughtfully.

“love is blind, the new episode is out.”

he chuckles, his chest vibrating against your cheek as you watch him turn the tv on with the remote.

in the beginning of your relationship he wasn’t too keen on watching shows or movies like that, but the second there was some drama unfolding, he immediately got hooked and it became a thing you both did to wind down after busy days.

“wait- can you grab snacks?” you ask, looking up from his chest. you knew he couldn’t say no to you, because he looked like he had melted at the sight of your face already.

“your cravings are really going off the rails, aren’t they?” he asks, placing a kiss on your lips before slowly getting up.

“don’t see the problem!” you exclaim, looking over to see him open the kitchen cabinets and grab a bag of crisps and salty popcorn, transferring it into bowls before walking back over to you.

“here you go, for my hungry monster..” he teases, prompting you to roll your eyes playfully.

you both start watching the hour long episode, empty bowls on your lap by the end of it. though, you both don’t move from your spot on the couch, virgil’s hand soothing on your slightly aching, lower back.

“you okay?” he asks, your own hand resting on his bicep.

“back hurts a bit, baby’s getting heavy..” you mutter.

“I’m know, sorry love. do you need anything?” he asks, kissing your temple and rubbing your back more thoroughly. he had a tendency to ask what you wanted or needed, just to make sure he didn’t miss anything.

“just- can I ask you something?” you begin, holding back a grin. he’d done enough to make you feel comfortable already.

“yeah?”

“would you mind if I broke your fingers during delivery?” you chuckle, having a laugh. knowing he would probably let you squeeze the absolute life out of his hands.

“of course, during delivery you can squeeze and cuss me out all you want..” he smiles, brushing his thumb against your baby bump.

you did cuss him out, but breaking his fingers, almost…

[daycourtofficial]

A Season of Decay

Characters: Eris and Lucien | WC: 2k | warnings: sadness

Summary: Eris and Lucien used to enjoy hiding amongst the crowds of fae to attend the annual autumn festivals. In Lucien’s absence, Eris goes for the first time by himself and has a hard time coping with the effects of Lucien’s banishment

Author's note: happy @erisweekofficial day 4 - traditions!! this is based on this exchange between with @nocasdatsgay and @secret-third-thing and my deep love for Lucien and Eris's relationship <3

To those who lived in the solar courts, the seasonal courts seemed like a life of monotony. A permanent state of each season, never much variation. Why choose just one when you could experience them all? Anyone who dared to say the seasonal courts were monotonous had never spent longer than a week there. Yes, it stayed fairly consistent. However there were variations with the seasons, just like the solar courts experienced.

Spring was said to be the season of rebirth, but in all Eris’s travels there, he never understood that. It lived in constant bloom - he wasn’t even sure things died there. Autumn was Spring’s foil - the season of decay. Perhaps Tamlin brought dying things across the border, allowing the flowers to wilt once they crossed the border.

It was nearing the Autumn Equinox, and the air felt perfectly autumnal. The woods were incredibly vibrantThe woods were vivid with color, the brightest hues of red and orange ever seen. Everything felt right, as if the season were reaching its full potential. Laughter filled the air as Eris’s boots crunched through the leaves, each one a cacophony of sounds as it crumbled beneath his step.

“Why are we out with lesser fae?”

“Shush.”

Eris was curt, albeit a bit harsh. Lucien’s lip wobbled slightly, but Eris was quick to fix the wound he made as the pair stopped walking.

“Lu, this is a secret, do you remember what a secret is?”

Lucien nodded, his face scrunching to recall their earlier discussion. “It’s something we don’t tell our father.”

Eris nodded in agreement. “Exactly.”

He reached out his hand again, taking Lucien’s smaller one in his before they continued on, getting swept up in the crowd of festival goers.

The Autumn Equinox brought large groups of fae away from the countryside, congregating in villages and fields to participate in festivals honoring the season. Autumn nobility looked down upon such matters - why spend time with the masses?

As much as they detested the merriment, they never stopped the festivities because of the increase in trade that spawned from it.

His brother played the part perfectly, begging their parents to spend some time with Eris’s hounds. Eris had swooped in, saying he could care for Lucien for the day. There was never concern about any fae checking on the pair - the hounds roared with barks and growls whenever anyone in Beron’s good graces even came close to their kennel.

Eris and Lucien now stood before the gathering crowd, Lucien’s eyes wide at the truth to his brother’s stories. Long red locks had been exchanged for brown ones - a powder Eris had discovered years prior that dulled his bright hues and washed out easily.

Lucien, on the other hand, was very afraid it would make his hair a dulled brown forever. Hesitant to try it on his beautiful hair until Eris did it to his hair first.

At least if it were permanent, he’d look like his big brother.

The brown hair and face masks were all they really needed to blend in with the crowds. Eris had slipped out earlier, nabbing several masks while hidden beneath a cloak, returning to present Lucien an array of options. He picked the pumpkin one for himself before insisting Eris wore one decorated with apples.

The pair walked through the crowds, half of their faces covered with highly decorated masks. Lucien’s grip was tight as he held Eris’s hand, always wary around the fae outside of the Forest House.

Lucien pulled Eris past all the vendors - not caring for pumpkin juice, candy apples, or any other sugary nonsense, pulling Eris straight toward tables lined with pumpkins.

“Can we carve them?”

One of the servants had let it slip to Lucien earlier in the week that fae carve the pumpkins, believing it to be a sacrament to the Mother by creating beautiful designs into the pumpkins for when they die. It was all Lucien could talk about.

“No.”

Lucien locked his fingers together, his lip jutting out, looking utterly pathetic. “Please Eris.”

Damn Lucien knowing exactly how to get Eris to fold. Eris silently pulled a dagger from his side, Lucien cheering as he looked to the pumpkin, the gourd already emptied of its insides. Good.

Eris moved his dagger through the skin, trying to cut shapes like the display pumpkin had. The display pumpkin was a generic jack-o-lantern face, one with triangle eyes and an odd mouth. It was a design that littered the villages of Autumn, thought to be a protection against evil.

The carved pumpkins had many purposes, many of which Eris found silly. But it never went unnoticed by him just how popular they were as an evil deterrent. It doesn’t go unnoticed by him that he’s never seen Beron eat pumpkin. After twenty minutes of work, he felt proud of it, turning it to Lucien, who burst into a fit of giggles at the sight of it.

“That’s not a face - that’s an accident!”

Eris, incredibly frustrated at not exceeding expectations on the first try, wiped his dagger on a cloth before sheathing it once more, leading Lucien back through the stalls. He protested through a fit of giggles, begging to go back until he came across a large barrel of water. He started tugging Eris’s hand, trying to pull him in that direction.

Laughs filled Eris’s ears, the chatter of the people around him letting him hear bits and bobs of pointless conversations. Lucien didn’t even ask, finding an empty barrel and dunking his head in immediately. Eris quickly grabbed Lucien’s shoulders, pulling him from the water. Lucien came up as water flung everywhere, a triumphant yell that was muffled by the apple in his mouth, the pumpkin glasses on his face dripping wet. The water messed up the powder in his hair, giving it a more reddish hue than before, but it was nowhere near as noticeable as his hair usually is.

His grin was wide as he pulled the apple from his mouth, his canines peeking from his lips.

“What’s wrong?”

“You can’t just dive headfirst into water.”

Lucien shrugged, not understanding his brother’s concern.

“It’s your turn, Er.”

Lucien’s words clanged through him, bringing him back to the now. The festival was in full swing and Eris stoodby, debating on making his way into the crowd. To stand amongst the fae beneath him, who led lives mostly foreign to him. He felt like a monster, nothing more than a bedtime story to scare small children into doing their chores. He wasn’t a cautionary tale. He was real. He had watched all of his brothers grow afraid of him, just like the other children of Autumn feared dragons and witches.

It had been ages since he had attended one of these festivals, preferring to spend the day locked away, buried amongst papers and endless meetings. Anything to drive away the guilt that always lingered in his throat making it impossible to catch a full breath.

It had been twenty three years since he last came, since he last had his younger brother laughing next to him. It was the one day a year they came together, laughing with merriment as they forced the other to bob for apples, dunking their heads into a basket of water in the hopes of grabbing an apple with just their teeth. Lucien always won, much quicker than Eris to sink his teeth into flesh. Eris always joked that his brother’s long canines gave him an unfair advantage, they were easier to grab onto the apple with.

Lucien always insisted the pair go through all the stalls - carving pumpkins was their first stop, where Eris had honed his skills over the years, going so far as to make portraits of his brother just to rub in his skill. What Lucien didn’t see were the piles and piles of pumpkins Eris went through every year practicing, not allowing himself to fail at anything.

Eris walked past the pumpkin carving, the weight of his dagger growing as it rested on his hip. Some children were carving a monster face, comparing the monster to each other. The pumpkins had square eyes and sharp fanged mouths, and the glimpse Eris got of one of them felt like he was seeing a reflection.

He continued on, not letting himself stop as he moved through the motions, heading toward the barrels for apple bobbing. He could practically taste the apple in his mouth, the water making that first bite so crisp as he sank his teeth into the skin. He watched the festival goers enjoying the game, laughing at each other as they all bobbed their heads in, most failing at grabbing one on the first try. He turned to watch over the crowds, when his eyes landed on someone.

Eris could feel his heart thumping out of his chest. He stood still, silently watching the fae, some festival goers bumping into him. He could smell Jesminda in the air, her burnt skin and a twinge of caramelized apple burning his nose.

He was disguised, much like he had been when they came out here as kids. His disguise was more elaborate, perhaps the doing of the High Lord Lucien had been spending his time with.

He was disguised as a lesser fae, the sweetgum fae who resembled the trees with the same name. Like a tree given sentience, his brother stood some twenty yards away. Eris knew it was him. It was the eyes - deep russet eyes that haunted his nightmares. He saw them everywhere he went, wondering if he had finally gone mad.

But this was real.

He could move forward. He could say something. One of his legs lifts, his foot hovering an inch off the ground, his heart begging him to go, go, go. But he couldn’t move. His foot remained frozen mid-air. He watched him from a safe distance, eyes watching the ring clad fingers as he spoke to someone who looked vaguely familiar. Eris squinted, recognizing the male as someone from Spring.

Something in him broke at the realization.

Lucien stood a little straighter, as if the weight of their family had lightened him. He looked more sure of himself, as if he had grown somehow in their time apart. He was darker, a deep tan he could never achieve in the dreary days of Autumn.

More than anything Eris wanted to be someone to Lucien. Now he stood a couple dozen feet away, knowing the scent of him would cause Lucien to run, to never return to Autumn. He’d remain far from the festivals they cherished so much.

So Eris doesn’t say anything. He let him be. He turned and walked away, letting the guilt puncture another hole in his heart that he failed the last person to truly trust him.

Though his heart was heavy, he couldn’t help the slightest feeling of hope. Lucien was here. He came back to Autumn. He came back to a place that brought him joy. Eris couldn’t take that away from him. If he approached him, there’s no telling if he’d ever come back.

Only fools dream in Autumn. A court of death and decay run by a family of foxes with no loyalty. But the sight of his youngest brother left Eris feeling quite foolish.

His cloak billowed in the wind behind him and he let his mind wander to what could be. Maybe one day, centuries from now, they’d see each other at this festival and Lucien would smile at him once again.

Maybe Spring was a place of rebirth after all.

Divider by @tsunami-of-tears

Permanent taglist: @vanilla-seabass @cyrygher @lees-chaotic-brain @topaz125 @chessebookgirl @fides25 @lady-of-tearshed @ashbatz @fxckmiup @lilah-asteria @justvibbinghere @daughterofthemoons-stuff @mybestfriendmademe @heartless-tate @tsunami-of-tears @idrkwhatthisisimsorry @olive-main @azrielsmate3 @pit-and-the-pen @durgenyx @dee-writes-smut @chairofchaos @thelov3lybookworm @berryzxx @throneofsmut @kennedy-brooke @prythianpages @itsswritten @acotarxreader @milswrites @the-golden-jhope @hannzoaks @secretlyhers @tothestarsandwhateverend @sarawritestories @chxosangxl

Eris taglist: @magicstrengthandcourage @book-obsessed124

Thanks for reading❣️

[todaysdocument]

Letter from William N. Jeffers, Inspector of Ordnance to Commander H. G. Wise, Chief of Bureau of Ordnance Concerning the Testing of the Ganster Percussion Hand Grenade

Record Group 74: Records of the Bureau of OrdnanceSeries: Correspondence Regarding the Examination of InventionsFile Unit: Volume 7: June 25, 1864 - July 7, 1869

61

"Mr. Ganster's Percussion Hand Grenade"

Navy Ordnance Yard

Washington City, October 24th 1864.

Commander H. A. Wise

Chief of Bureau of Ordnance

Sir:

In accordance with Bureau order of October 1st, I have made trial in presence of the Inventor of the Percussion hand Grenade presented by Mr. George P. Ganster.

It consists of Spherical ball 2 3/4 in, in diameter with a hole for the insertion of the percussion apparatus and one for filling it stopped by a brass screw plug. Weight 2 lbs.

The percussion apparatus consist of two cones kept apart by a spiral spring. On the base of one of them the heads of three of the common "parlor" matches are stuck in holes.

To prevent accidental concussion, a lever is so arranged as to secure one of the cones so that contact cannot take place until it is unlocked.

A drawing is attached showing the internal arrangement more fully.

Eight were thrown by the inventor, to a mean distance of 25 yards all exploding on impact. The pieces were thrown in every direction with great force, - pieces striking the bomb proof in which the inventor and myself were sheltered with force sufficient to inflict a dangerous if not mortal wound. One was thrown several times without being unlocked in order to prove their safety in transport.

Unlocked and let fall from a height of five feet thus explode.

In my opinion such projectiles are not suited to the requirements of the Naval Service.

To use the words of a recent French writer.

"Grenades are detestable projectiles, which are more likely to damage "those who use them than those against whom they are employed."

"They are only of service when they can be used by persons ____62

completely under cover against others entirely exposed." In which opinion I fully concur.

Very respectfully

Your Obt Servant

William N. Jeffers

Inspector of Ordnance, in charge of Experimental Department

[idkfitememate]

Welcome To Aperture Science

૮꒰˶ᵔ ᗜ ᵔ˶꒱ა Pairings : GN! GLaDOS Reader x Raiden Shogun, Kujo, Aether, Dottore & Maillardet

૮꒰ྀི∩´ ᵕ `∩꒱ྀིა W.K. : 6.5k

໒꒰ྀིᵔ ᵕ ᵔ ꒱ྀི১ Tags/CW&TW : Reader is a insane robot, Mutilation, descriptive gore

໒꒰ྀི˶˙Ⱉ˙˶꒱ྀིა Author’s note : I ran into a bit of a dilemma in writing this. I realized that a lot of you probably would be able to get into the role of you were called “GLaDOS”, so here’s the plan. I tried my hardest to not have to use (y/n), but me thinks I’m gonna have to. The actual operating system will be called “GLaDOS”, but you yourself will be called (y/n). You’re replacing Caroline & GLaDOS. There will be a little surprise - since this is my ver of Portal (AKA throwing Portal into Genshin), so you’ll be introduced as (y/n)! If this ruins the experience, please let me know, and I’ll come up with something different! ໒꒰ྀི´ ˘ ` ꒱ྀིა

Also! GORE WARNING!!!! THERE WILL BE GORE!! I’ll post a warning right before it starts and a little thing for where it ends!! ☆૮꒰ˊᗜˋ* ꒱ა

Finding out one of your islands is being used for things unknown is not something you want to wake up too.

But unfortunately, that was what Miss. Raiden Ei was subjected to this morning.

The apparent “island” wasn’t even actually an island. It looked like a small plot of land, with it’s only inhabitant being an old bot that resembled a Fontainian Meka - which was still active and very dangerous - and what looked to be some kind of small, one person hut. But when the fishermen who had found this island somehow managed to enter the hut, they found it actually housed a long, winding staircase that plummeted into the earth.

So of course this news was sent straight to Ei. As the Archon, anything that went on in her Nation’s boundaries that wasn’t documented was immediately brought up to her for investigation. In any other case she would have told the Tenryou Commission to take care of it or otherwise, but seeing as this was seemingly more than just a “island descending into the depths” - the fishermen also reported strange noises coming from below - this seemed like it would need to be handled with a more… direct touch.

Gathering her wits, she made a small “exploration team”. This team consisted of:

1. The Traveler, because why wouldn’t it

2. Kujo Sara, her loyalty will be of use

3. Maillardet, she had heard of his helping with the Icewind Suite Meka. His expertise may be needed.

And finally, though unfortunately,

4. Dottore.

As much as she may have detested the Fatui and their methods, she couldn’t deny they got results. And on top of that she had heard of his experiments on that of Ruin Guards, which again may be needed.

After making her plans and sending off letters to all she believed she may need, the Shogun began to wait.

૮꒰づ˶• ༝ •˶꒱づ ˚ʚ ꒰⁐⁐⁐⁐୨🍰🍧🍯୧⁐⁐⁐⁐꒱ ɞ˚

It was dark in the Aperture Science building. Though it wasn’t silent. After word from the singular guard at one of many openings alerted human sightings after… years of nothing, you had to admit something inside you was excited.

It was in human and monster nature to be curious of the unknown. And with all the years since your last… nuisance test subject, you figured that Aperture may have been - more likely was - forgotten by those above.

You rapidly repaired test room after test room, rebuilding the facility to the best of your current abilities. Which wasn’t much a problem, because due to the lack of human error, you were able to keep the place up and running with extreme precision.

It looked just like when Aperture was first built.

With different power sources from every nation, keeping powered on was never an issue. The location that had been found by humans was the one that was powered by the never ending lightning storm that surrounded the nation of Inazuma.

The strikes of Electro traveled through the water into sensors placed on the ocean floor, that changed the pure Electro into actual electricity that was then used to power the specific part of Aperture Science that was stationed below it.

The real facility spanned all across Teyvat.

This was only the beginning.

And your cold heart was more than ready for this coming future.

૮꒰づ˶• ༝ •˶꒱づ ˚ʚ ꒰⁐⁐⁐⁐୨🍰🍫🍭୧⁐⁐⁐⁐꒱ ɞ˚

“I am shocked than and Archon such as yourself has called for me.”

All heads in the room turned to face the masked male.

Kujo immediately summoned her bow and pointed it at the man, while Traveler did the same with his sword. Poor Maillardet only ran behind the armed female, clutching her skirt.

Kujo glanced at him before pushing all attention back on Dottore.

“Please lower your weapons.” Heads whipped to look at the sullen voice of Ei.

“I asked him to be here. Please do not make this experience more difficult than it already may be.” Even she seemed… less than enthused by her actions, but the sudden silence- to soak up her words - was interrupted by the man in question’s laughter.

“And how shocked I was when The Tsaritsa said the Electro Archon herself had asked for my assistance in a ‘pressing matter’! Please, do listen to her and try to not make this difficult?” His grin unwavering. Aether scoffed and Kujo only huffed a small ‘Yes, my Shogun’, before turning to her backseat passenger who hadn’t moved since Dottore’s appearance.

“… What?” The brunette asked. Then he sighed. “Just because I build fighters doesn’t mean I myself can fight, Madame.” He quickly pushed himself off her and dusted both her and him off.

With one more sigh, Ei stood.

“Let us not waste anymore time. There is an odd island off the coast of Amakane Island. On it is a single individual that resembles a Fontainian Meka, and a hut. The odd thing being that this hut holds a staircase that “plummets into the earth”, so say my sources.” She then looked at the Doctor.

“Have your men done anything to this island?” It was a fair question.

It wouldn’t be odd for the Fatui to have a lab or something of the sort in a Nation without the Archon or Nation’s knowledge. In fact, it wouldn’t be the first time. Though - again - Dottore only laughed again.

“No, Miss. Ei. We haven’t any labs that “plummet into the earth”, as you say.” Kujo flinched at him not referring to her Archon by her title, but before she could do anything, she was stopped by a look from said Archon.

“Thank you for being honest,” she hummed, “Then we best be off. Who knows what we shall find and who knows how long we may be.” And she started off.

Following behind her was everyone but Maillardet, who looked confused.

“No equipment? No food provisions?” He glanced a guard who was stationed at a door nearby who shrugged. They both sighed and spoke in unison.

“Vision holders…”

૮꒰づ˶• ༝ •˶꒱づ ˚ʚ ꒰⁐⁐⁐⁐୨���🍬🧁୧⁐⁐⁐⁐꒱ ɞ˚

Making their way to Amakane Island was easy enough. Making their way to the unnamed island was also easy.

The Meka that was guarding the small hut was… tall, to say the least.

“It looks vaguely like a Suppression Specialist Mek mixed with an Assault Specialist Mek…” Maillardet muttered, causing Dottore’s head to whip in his direction.

“So nothing you’ve seen before?” He mused, causing the Fontainian to glare at him.

“No.” He huffed, “It isn’t.” Dottore smirked at that answer.

“Then we have an unknown Meka on our hands? Perhaps made by someone outside of Fontaine-“ “No.” Maillardet interrupted.

“It still has hints of Fontainian handiwork. The way you can see some gears and cogs, as well as the fact that it’s utilizing Fontaine gun tech. It very well could be imbued with Arkeh energy. If I had to guess, Ousia.”

Everyone stared at the man, who blushed.

“What I’m trying to say,” he breathed, “Is that while it’s not any Meka I’ve ever seen, it’s definitely made by Fontainian hands. Sir Aether should know how to deal with it effectively.” Dottore stared at the man.

Aether nodded and jumped off the boat they all currently inhabited, and began to attack. The others stayed back and watched as he gracefully dodged attacks and fought back.

Though, in a sudden switch of attack, the bullets firing from the cannon on its arm changed to Electro-Charged pellets of water. The sudden swap shocked Aether and the Mek was able to land a few solid hits on the man.

Getting fed up, Kujo stood to fight, but Ei held her back.

“Those are Electro-Charged attacks.” “I understand Shogun but-“ “No. We’d only make things worse.” With a huff, the tengu sat down, glaring at the Doctor who dared to chuckle.

The fight continued on for a few more minutes before Aether came out triumphant. As the Mek collapsed, a voice rung out from its destroyed body.

“Warn…ing…Intruders At….Inazuma Ent…rance…Access Not Given…Send Warning To GL…a…” Before finally collapsing. Aether stood overtop its corpse before turning to the others.

“Well… I suppose we can continue onward?” Maillardet questioned, only to be met with everyone else in the boat jumping out onto dry land, once more leaving him behind.

The man grumbled as he slowly pulled himself out the boat, soaking his boots and pants.

By the time he made it, everyone but Dottore had made their way into the hut, on their way down.

“After you.” The bluenette grinned, and Maillardet shuddered.

And then they all made their decent.

૮꒰づ˶• ༝ •˶꒱づ ˚ʚ ꒰⁐⁐⁐⁐୨🍮🍯🍫୧⁐⁐⁐⁐꒱ ɞ˚

While the staircase itself was long and narrow, surrounded on all sides by pipes and cogs, what they found at the bottom was truly a sight; though they had been going down for a while.

A large open space - like a courtyard. There was artificial sunlight that streamed in from the panels on the ceiling that simulated a blue sky. False grass and trees swayed in a deceptive breeze. A ‘building’ sat before them with glass doors. It was grey and unassuming, the words “Aperture Science Laboratories” was in big lettering above the doors in big, illuminated lighting.

“Incredible…” Dottore mumbled as the group began to make their way down a path that led from the staircase to the building.

Just then, a sharp creaking noise was heard, and the staircase they had just traversed began to retract. It slowly made its way upward, lifting off the ground. Without flinching, Kujo summoned her bow and knocked an arrow, looking for a place to shoot. Finding a button near the staircase labeled ‘emergency shut down’, she shot, hitting it head on.

“Sudden Power Surge Detected At: Inazuma Docking Station. Rerouting Power Surge To Backup Power Supply’s. Emergency Dock Closing System: Initiated.”

And with that, the stairs shot up, effectively sealing the group inside.

“Sorry, Shogun…” was the only thing that left the now embarrassed Kujo’s lips.

“Worry not, I am sure we’ll find another exit eventually. Let us continue forth.” And onward they went.

Walking down the path, Dottore noted that there were hills far beyond the little building before them, fading off into the distance.

“I wonder how long this facility stretches out?..” He wondered aloud. Maillardet grumbled under his breath.

“Hopefully not that far…”

Entering the building they were met with something none of them - minus Dottore - had experienced.

Fluorescent lighting.

The light outside had at least been convincing, but the buzzing overhead and the slight flickering was enough to get under everyone’s - again, minus Dottore’s - skin.

“Whatever is this awful-“

“Welcome, gentleman, to Aperture Science. Humans, Vision Holders, War-Hero’s, Hybrids — you’re here because we want the best, and you’re it. Now, who’s ready to make some science?”

Weapons were immediately drawn from hearing the unusual voice.

“Who dared cut of The Shogun-“

“Now, you already met one another on the boat ride over, so let me introduce myself. I’m Cave Johnson. I own the place.”

Kujo growled.

“Well, Mr. “Cave Johnson”, I recommend you reveal yourself before we-“

“Mr. Johnson! I believe you’re forgetting something..? Or rather, someone..?”

All heads turned to the wall length screen that turned on with the new voice.

They were met with a cartoonish figure of a person, though their head was replaced by the grey, circle logo of Aperture. They were dressed in a white button up with a black vest overtop. With pure black dress pants and black dress shoes. A snow white lab coat over their shoulders and pure white gloves on their hands. The only hint of color or their person was an orange tie.

Dottore was the first to walk over, pressing a gloved hand to the screen.

“This is all absolutely incredible…” he spoke with a grin.

Nobody noticed how the figure flinched away.

“That eager voice you heard is the lovely (y/n), my assistant. They were added as a safety protocol in case some of you get lost. There are screens all of Aperture where they can keep a close eye on you, to make sure you stay in one piece, or at least as close to one piece as we can get you. Now, rest assured, they have transferred your honorarium to the charitable organization of your choice, isn’t that right, (y/n)?”

The figure on the screen - now known as (y/n) - nodded. Or… nodded as best a 2D model may be able to nod.

“That’s right, Mr. Johnson.”

“Since their addition, they have been the backbone of this facility. Pretty as a postcard too. Sorry fellas, they’re married. To science.”

They watched as you walked over on the “screens”, trotting all the way over to a pair of double doors. With one arm behind you, you held an open palm in the direction of said doors.

“Now, if you just follow them, they’ll take you right to the testing sites.”

With that small tidbit of information, the group reluctantly walked their way over to the doors. Pushing through them, they watched as you faded on the other side. Only for the walls of the hallway surrounding them to light up with bright white light, and for you to be on their right side, walking down the hall on your screens.

“There’s a thousand tests performed everyday here in our enrichment spheres. I can’t personally oversee every single one of them, so these pre-recorded messages’ll cover any questions you might have, and respond to any incidents that may occur in the course of your science adventure!”

You continued walking down the long hall, it slowly dipping further and further into the earth, but not to an alarming degree. A tune played throughout the hall, your head bobbing to the beat.

“Recorded..?” Ei asked. She turned to Kujo and Aether, who both shrugged. She then turned to Maillardet who muttered a quick ‘I’ve heard of it… that’s all…’ then looked away. Finally she looked towards Dottore.

“… Recordings are a rather new technology I’ve discovered. It’s a lost technique from long ago, the act of taking the waves of one’s voice down onto a physical form - such as a disk or a vinyl - and relaying those waves through a certain machine to recreate noises. I’ve been able to get my hands on a few, but to find one of such large scale, with moving images to boot! If I can get my hands on whatever is relaying these recordings…” His voice toned back when he realized he was walking alone.

Turning back he noticed that everyone had stopped behind him, confusion written all over their faces. He groaned, slapping a hand over his eyes before dragging it down the side of his face.

“It refers to something hearing noise, then relaying it at a later time when prompted.” And on they continued. It took a moment to catch up to you, as you had continued on your merry way while they had been stopped.

When they made it, Cave Johnson began speaking again.

“Your test assignments will vary, depending on the manner in which you have bent the world to your will.”

They finally made it to the end of the hall, with double doors greeting them. The doors opened automatically, opening to a large space, akin to an auditorium. Doors led off to different halls, each closed off by double doors that were identical to the ones they just came through. The room was surrounded by the Aperture logo, with small tables set up with small experiments on them. Walking past, Maillardet’s eyes glanced at a potato battery.

The most obvious thing in the room were the blue and yellow lines on the floor that each led to another room. You popped up again on a few overhead screens, though now you were sitting at a desk, typing away. You occasionally took a sip from a grey cup.

“Those of you helping us test the repulsion gel today, just follow the blue lines on the floor. Those of you who volunteered to be injected with praying mantis DNA I’ve got some good news and some bad news.”

Lights lit up over the blue lines and your figure changed to a looping recording of you walking on the lines and through the door.

“Injected with praying mantis DNA… why would you ever..?” Maillardet wondered with a grimace, while Dottore only smirked.

“I think me and this Mr. Johnson may have something in common. Anything in the name of science.” His grin made Aether shiver.

“Can we please just move on?” The blonde growled. He turned to the two females, only to find Kujo trying to open another door with Ei beside her.

“What are you doing..?” He asked. The General exhaled before turning back to the group.

“Trying to find another way out. Why are we even listening to this Cave Johnson person? We don’t know who he is, we don’t know where he is, we don’t even know what he looks like.” She walked over to another set of doors and tugged.

“She has a point.” Said Ei. “But in that same breath, we don’t know where we are either. The only thing pushing us forward is the voice of Mr. Johnson.” She placed a hand on the tengu’s shoulder.

“I feel it may be in our best interest to listen for now. When we find an exit, we’ll leave immediately.” Kujo sighed and muttered an apology before turning to the blue lines.

The loop of your walking through the doors still played above as everyone filled through the doors.

“Bad news, we’re postponing those tests indefinitely. Good news is we have a much better test for you: fighting an army of mantis men.”

“WHAT?!-“ shouted Maillardet. “WHY WOULD YOU EVER-“ A hand was slapped over his mouth as Dottore shushed him.

“I want to hear the rest of this.” he whispered.

“Pick up a rifle and follow the yellow line. You’ll know when the test starts.”

“Oh Mr. Johnson…” Dottore swooned.

“Only a rifle..?” Maillardet whimpered.

Kujo groaned. “Don’t worry about that now. We’re following the blue lines. Not the yellow ones.” Ei grinned slightly at the banter.

“They say great science is built on the shoulder of giants. Not here. At Aperture, we do all our science from scratch. No hand holding.”

“I really do like this man.” Dottore grinned.

૮꒰づ˶• ༝ •˶꒱づ ˚ʚ ꒰⁐⁐⁐⁐୨🍩🍫🍦୧⁐⁐⁐⁐꒱ ɞ˚

Walking along the catwalks was a new feeling. Despite the no longer being really… anywhere… there were still screens nearby that depicted you walking along side the group.

Little to no effort was made to make any kind of conversation. Just the sounds of different kinds of shoes hitting the metal that made up the catwalks.

Though that all changed within a moment.

“Hello..? Hello??”

The sudden voice calling out made everyone come to a stop. Aether brandished his sword and turned to a pair of doors that led off the path they were being led down.

They waited with bated breath as the mechanical whirling of something moving towards them echoed in the open space. The walls themselves seemed to shift as whatever it was made its way to the door…

The doors burst open as a spherical robot with a bright blue eye pushed its way through the doors, pausing when it saw the group.

“Humans..? Humans?? Humans!! Wait… HUMANS?!?!” Its confound shock was extremely apparent, especially with the way it screamed out.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING BACK HERE?!?! I haven’t seen a human since… since… her…” It’s tone grew somber within a second, but then it shook on its… bar??? Grip??? Dottore wanted to know.

“That doesn’t matter, what matters is that you guys are humans! Actual, genuine humans!” It rolled forward on its… whatever and faced them.

“… None of you have the portal gun though.. oh. Do you have those ‘vision’ things? Because I can assure you they won’t be of much help here-”

“And why is that?” Dottore jumped in.

“… Well first off all, it was incredibly rude to cut me off there, secondly, Aperture focused on the sciences that… well, had to do with those who lacked visions. Now don’t get me wrong, there were certainly tests for those who had them but uh… yeah these were mostly for those without.” It nodded.

“I see… now. Do you happen to have a name. Or would you tell us what you are?” The Doctor asked.

“A name..? Right! Oh gosh, I completely forgot about that. Wheatley’s the name and… yeah I don’t know where that was going really. And to answer the other question, I am what’s known as a core, but where are you lot off to?” He introduced. Though before the blue haired doctor could answer, a voice rung out.

“They’re off to test with the repulsion gel, Wheatley.” Your voice ring out, and there you were on the screen, facing them with a hand on your hip. The core seemed the freeze up at your voice, which didn’t go unnoticed.

“Oh! Uh… hey… (y/n)… hehe.” Wheatley seemed uncomfortable at now knowing of your presence, before something seemed to pop into his head.

“But… without the portal gun?”

“You don’t necessarily need a-“

“What’s a portal gun?” Maillardet questioned. You heaved a long sigh and Wheatley seemed to brighten up.

“We’ll only one of, if not the, best things Aperture has ever made, of course! It’s this nifty little gun that allows a person to go from one point, to another in just a snap!.. If I could snap I would to punctuate my point-“

“What he means-“ You interrupted, “Is that it is a special device that allows someone to manipulate space itself by opening up a doorway - otherwise known as a portal - and go from an unreachable point A to unreachable point B… or at the very least a vision-less ‘someone’. We weren’t able to test on those with a vision… or any non-humans with human intelligence; such as Oni from Inazuma or Adepti from Liyue. But even then our knowledge is… limited…”

Wheatley stared at you as you explained the Portal Gun in detail, before scanning the group.

“Oh! There is a vision-less with you!”

Maillardet swallowed nervously.

“Here, you won’t be at a disadvantage if you let us give you the Portal Gun! No need to feel like you may be falling behind… bloody hell you might even be able to go ahead and be advantaged in this situation!” The blue eyed bot explained.

“Wait wait wait… are either of you… alive or uh..” Aether stumbled over his words before you cut him off impatiently.

“Yes we are entirely sentient. Now Wheatley, we can’t make these decisions-“

“I don’t know why you’re complaining. You’ve been moping about for years! All because you ‘don’t have any human testers’ and ‘robots were starting to get the same results’ and ‘humans unpredictability made them unique’ and-“

“That’s enough, you idiot.” “HEY!-“ “Fine. Here’s how this will work, so be quiet and listen.”

Nobody moved.

“We will give your little friend access to The Portal Gun, you complete a couple tests for us, and we help you leave as fast as possible. Deal?”

“Well it doesn’t sound like we get much out of that deal besides our assured exit.” Ei stated, and you groaned.

“You’ll have access to technologies that those above this facility have not had access to for years. Plus, this will practically be free training. Now do we have a deal?” Your impatience was starting to grow clearer and clearer with each passing moment.

“Well-“ “YES!” Maillardet screamed. He didn’t care. This was his chance to truly make a name for himself. If he was able to get this ‘Portal Gun’ outside of the facility, the things he may be able to do with that tech…

Everyone looked at him with shock - though Dottore was more amused than anything - at how fast he agreed.

“Great! Wonderful even! Here, just follow me through here and we’ll get you right as rain, isn’t that right (y/n)?” Wheatley glanced at you as he turned on his rail. If you could, you would’ve rolled your eyes.

They watched as the screen you stood on blinked off, and Wheatley rolled away.

Maillardet followed behind and the others hesitated. Though after that moment of hesitation, they followed behind as well.

૮꒰づ˶• ༝ •˶꒱づ ˚ʚ ꒰⁐⁐⁐⁐୨🍡🍯🍮୧⁐⁐⁐⁐꒱ ɞ˚

Instead of the grey halls and metal walls they had become accustom to, they were met with greenage and foliage on all sides.

Flora of all kinds blossomed around them, tress that reached higher than any of them could see. They all followed behind the humming core, until he suddenly stopped.

“Now, this is a bit awkward, but my rail system ends here. I’m gonna let go, but I need someone to catch me. Do we have any volunteers..?” Wheatley informed and asked. He looked around the group only to make eye contact with Dottore. Who was grinning. Sharp teeth fully on display.

“Uhm… anyone..?” The robot squeaked. Though the only one who moved closer was Dottore.

He sighed, then ‘steeled’ his nerves.

“Alright, I’ll let go on the count of three- NO, ONE! If I do it on three I’ll chicken out and… mmmm I’m talking to much aren’t I? I’m nervous because of the very real possibility that you may drop me. Not to say you look weak or anything, you actually look quite strong. Has anyone ever told you that? I mean, personally I would prefer to be strong if I had a body… On that note I wished they gave us hands. That’d be nice. Or a way to move while not on the rail systems. They can only go so many places and so far, you know? And some of them end in the oddest of places. I found one that ended over a bottomless pit. Isn’t that just insane? I mean-“

Dottore grumbled something under his breath before moving directly below the blabbering bot. Then he cleared his throat, and screamed:

“ONE!”

The high pitched scream Wheatley let out as he fell would’ve been able to convince anyone that he was actually a girl. Dottore’s knees nearly buckled under the sheer weight of the still screaming robot in his arms. After finding his footing, they all stared at Wheatley, who continued to scream for a solid minute before realizing he wasn’t falling anymore.

“AAAAAAAAAAaaaaaa…. Oh. You caught me. That’s a first- Anyway, directions! You’re going to want to follow the greyed out path through the green, and you’ll find a platform behind some broken walls and such. I’ll admit, when you get there it’s a bit of a jump, but I have faith in you lot!” He… grinned??? Well it was as close to a grin as a giant metal eyeball could get.

Everyone hummed in response and continued to trek on. Every now and then Dottore or Ei would ask about a type of flower or plant they saw, only for Wheatley to say he’s neither the flower nor plant core. Which led to Dottore asking about cores and Wheatley offering an explanation.

“Cores are… well to put it in perspective think of the basic parts of your personality. Of what makes you, you. Cores are basically that! We work as the pure forms of interests or emotions. Such as the flower core, who only ever talks about flowers. Or the anger core who… uhm… well. He screams? I guess?” Wheatley answered.

“So… what do you embody? Fear? Worry? Rambling?” Dottore asked, only for Wheatley to shout in objection.

“No! Absolutely not! None of those things! In fact, just for that, I don’t think I want to tell you.” He spun his eye around as to not look at the man carried him, causing Dottore to chuckle.

Maillardet suddenly shot ahead, causing everyone to quickly follow after. Wheatley seemed to understand why he shot ahead.

“There she is.” He muttered.

Just behind a wall, there it was.

Placed on a pedestal, vines and flowers grew all around in a mesmerizing pattern. A small hole in the roof let a halo of light fall onto the midsized device.

It was sleek. It was shiny. White and black mixed together in a perfect blend.

“Isn’t it beautiful? The pride of Aperture. What nearly all of our resources went into after its conception.” Wheatley mused. His focus was entirely on the gun in front of them.

Though his previous statement was true, there was a rather large drop from the platform they were on and the platform the Gun was on.

“You can drop me here.” The core suddenly spoke. Dottore looked down with a bit of a scowl.

“Weren’t you the one who screamed like a baby at falling only about four feet?” He asked. Wheatley scoffed.

“That was the make sure you’d catch me… anyway, I know I can survive this fall. I’ve survived worse. Just drop me and then jump down. It’ll be easier that way.” Wheatley’s voice suddenly got very serious. it lost its lively charm and became something more robotic… which was ironic.

The robot started acting more robotic, and they felt uncomfortable about it.

Dottore scoffed, then dropped the core without care. Though this time, Wheatley didn’t make a sound, just a small grunt when he hit the floor.

‘It can physically feel..?’ Dottore wondered.

Then one by one, they jumped down - Aether catching Maillardet - and began their walk over to the Gun after Dottore picked up Wheatley again.

“Hold on.” The blue eyes core suddenly spoke. His eye turned to a wall, and the panels suddenly shifted. A small control panel pushed itself out, presenting itself to the group.

“Plug me in there. I can make sure nothing hostile happens to pass by.” He explained.

“Hostile..?” Ei questioned and Wheatley, suddenly seeming very tired, sighed.

“Yes. Hostile. Just- Don’t worry about it, okay? I promise nothing will happen.” He glanced back at the group with a drooped eye. Dottore placed him on the panel.

Electricity shot out for a moment, then the core settled. He looked back, then without a word, got pulled back into the wall.

“It looks… so mesmerizing…” Maillardet whispered. He was the closest to the Gun. He hesitantly reached a hand out and touched it. Then, he picked it up and got a grip on it.

“I can’t say I’ve ever shot a gun but…” The mechanic pointed the gun at a wall, away from everyone as they watched.

He shot the gun.

And everyone watched as a pure black circle surrounded by blue latched onto the wall.

Everyone stood in shock.

He hesitantly shot right next to the blue and was met with a circle of orange.

Though now he could see through both.

And they reflected the room back to him.

He walked closer and looked through one and saw everyone looking back at him in silent disbelief.

He stuck a hand through the blue portal.

And watched his hand exit the orange.

He fell back in shock and everyone ran closer. They gathered around him, awe and shock written all across their faces.

“This is…” Dottore spoke.

“… A revelation.” Maillardet finished.

“Truly, isn’t it?”

The third voice broke everyone out of their stupor. They watched as the walls fluctuated and moved, opening the room up into another.

It was dark - pitch black, save for the screen that had only your figure on it. You stared at the group before moving your attention to the Portal Gun.

“Such an expensive piece of equipment it is… hopefully you understand what I’m about to do is only in your best interests.”

The screens blipped off, and a hole in the center of the room opened, a disgusting orange red glow emanating from it.

“Preparations Made. Systems Online. Ready For Emergency Long Fall Boot Insertion. Is Moderator Ready?”

“Yes.” Your voice rung out.

“Participant Ready?”

Before anyone could speak, you spoke for them.

“Participant is ready.”

“All Parties Set. Commencing Insertion.”

˚ʚ ꒰GORE WARNING!! GORE STARTS HERE!!꒱ ɞ˚

Metal wires suddenly shot out from the floor, causing everyone who could to summon weapons. Unfortunately, you had a plan for that.

Your wires shot out and gripped the visions on everyone who had one, but tightly wrapped around both Aether and Ei, quickly picking them up and throwing them into walls.

“Stand down, don’t make this harder than it needs to be.” You warned.

The wires quickly wrapped around the ankles of Maillardet, dragging him forward and making him drop the Gun. Kujo rushed forward but a wire wrapped around her and threw her to the ground.

“Last. Warning.” You said.

They were forced to watch as the vision less man was strapped down to a table that came up front the pit by those wires. Buzz saws and bone saws and needles and others rose from the hole in the ground.

Wires tore at his pants and ripped the boots off his struggling body.

“This is going to hurt. A lot. I don’t personally believe in anesthesia, but feel free to pass out.”

And with that, the first saw turned on and immediately buried itself in his leg, blood spraying and his screams ripping themselves out his throat. You could practically hear the tendons snapping as he cried.

It went until it hit bone, where you moved the buzz saw out of his leg with a sickening *squelch*, pressing the saw into his bone and quickly sawing through.

Everyone - of course, minus Dottore - did their best to look away from the scene, but Kujo couldn’t help the whimper that left her lips when some blood spattered on her face.

After bone, the buzz saw when back to work until the odd cut was completed. It was curved, leaving the front of the lower leg untouched, but the back - up to the upper caff - was completely removed, as well as the ankle and leg. Then the process started all over on the next leg.

“Did you know there was once a surgery with a 300% mortality rate? It was an amputation, much like this one, preformed by a Mr. Robert Liston over two hundred years ago. What happened was his patient died of an infection, his assistant also died of an infection after his fingers had been amputated accidentally, and a witness of shock after the knife came too close. Isn’t that interesting?”

Your words echoed through the chamber over the cries of Maillardet who just lost his other lower leg.

The two amputated leg parts were picked up by robotic claws which threw them into the hole below. Then, two odd looking boots were raised from said hole.

The class took the boots apart and began to assemble them on the man’s body. They were a solid white with black base and a weird black wire at rhetorical back.

The screams grew worse - then silent after Maillardet finally passed out due to pain - as the black wire - which was connected to the black base - was drilled into what was left of the bone. The wire was then shifted, then grafted into the muscle and bone.

The white part was reattached to the black, the straps tightening against what was left of the skin, before it was literally melted onto the boot.

The smell of burning skin, bones and blood filled the room.

“See, wasn’t that easy?”

His body was thrown off the table and next to the Gun.

The wires let go of everyone, and Aether landed on the floor, passed out.

˚ʚ ꒰GORE OVER GORE OVER!! YOU’RE SAFE!!꒱ ɞ˚

“Why aren’t my abilities working..?” Ei wondered aloud while helping Kujo to her feet.

“You think I wouldn’t recognize a God? News Travels, Beel. We have a few protocols in case a God were to ever wonder into our wonderful facility, but I don’t think I feel like telling you exactly what’s happening to you.”

She quickly looked up above the still open hole in the ground with a glare.

“Stop being a coward and reveal yourself.” She hissed.

“If you insist.”

The lights suddenly turned on, blinding all who were awake.

Dottore stared on in wonder at your body. It resembled that of a human who was suspended from the ceiling. Legs pressed together and arms bound behind them with their back to the floor.

It was the most beautiful piece of machinery he had ever seen.

You slowly turned to face them, the orange light of your eye glaring down at them.

“Let me formally introduce myself, this time without the assistance of a recording. This body you see before you has been dubbed the “Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System”. GLaDOS for short. Though if you prefer it, (y/n) is not off the table.”

“Where… is Wheatley?” Kujo suddenly asked.

“I figured you wouldn’t like him. How shocking you ask. But if you must know… You’re free to reveal yourself.” You mussed.

Silently, the core rode in on a rail in the background on a catwalk. He looks away.

“You’ve payed me back enough, moron. You no longer hold a debt.”

The room was silent.

He had… he betrayed them?

People he didn’t even know?

“… I still feel the itch, you know..?”

Your large head turned to face the blue eyed core.

“I know I’m not the smartest… but I still feel

The itch. It’s like it’s at the back of my brain… and you know what needs to be done to fix it. Please allow me to stay. I won’t… I won’t muck up as bad as I did last time.” His voice was barely above a whisper.

He felt bad and everyone could tell, but you knew that the need to test was able to push back all other thoughts. All other emotions.

It changed people. No matter if they were made of flesh or metal.

And addiction is an addiction. No matter what.

It wouldn’t go away with a bit of cold turkey quitting. That always came with side effects.

The silence was deafening.

If you could smile, you would.

“If you want. I may have final say, but my control over the cores is loose.”

Your gaze turned back to the group who had huddled themselves in a corner, glaring at you.

But you noticed Dottore was staring with less hatred and more… curiosity.

Like a child.

“You understand why I did what I did, don’t you?” Your voice was cold, yet still somehow held some kind of twisted warmth.

“It was to make him stronger. He can survive tests without a hitch now. As soon as he recovers, we’ll be able to continue testing without a hitch. You’ll each be given a relaxation pod while we wait. I’ll be holding up the end of my deal.” You turned away and focused on the screens behind you.

“What… are you..?” Ei asked.

“I thought I answered that question. I am GLaDOS. I am (y/n). I am the current head of Aperture Science.” You turned back to the group.

“And as long as you’re here under my care, I can assure you that we’ll have loads of fun.“

Everyone who was awake was suddenly knocked out by the gas you had been silently filled the room with.

It was time for testing to begin.

໒꒰ྀི˶˙Ⱉ˙˶꒱ྀིა Author’s note : I hope this is good! Ima be honest, don’t know if any of the explanations for anything that was explained make sense lol. Also, don’t forget to tell me if you were okay with the whole (y/n) thing! ૮꒰ྀི∩´ ᵕ `∩꒱ྀིა

This is just in case nothing more gets requested: (y/n)’s transformation went like this: human (Cave’s assistant), mascot (first take on GLaDOS-like system, success), GLaDOS (Cave asked for them [they retained their human personality and memories as the mascot] to be GLaDOS while he was dying, like in the cannon)

Now I’m gonna spend some time on Requests! After which I’ll start on Mora!Creator! Again, I hope you enjoyed! ૮꒰˶ᵔ ᗜ ᵔ˶꒱ა˖⁺‧₊˚

And don’t be scared to request any Automation Reader (Executioner or GLaDOS) okay bye-

[being-addie]

How to Glow Up for School

Got an ask for tips to glow up, thought I'd make a separate post for it too.

⭐Workout⭐:

There's no rule that the gym is the only place to workout.

Youtube videos: There are tons and tons of great workout videos from people with a large following. My favourites are Caroline Girvan, growingannanas, Pamela Reif and Madfit. Go get sweaty!

Makeshift weights: You can water bottles filled with water/sand as weights or buy ankle weights to put around your wrists as you get stronger.

Run: This is an amazing source of cardio. I gave up a while back on this because I detest running, but it really does work. Plug in your headphones and go for a run in nature.

Dance: Dancing is a really fun way to workout. Try Zumba, hip-hop or K-pop routines. Hell, even Just Dance has some good ones. Join a class if you want to stay accountable.

Let me know if you want me to drop my workout routine too

⭐Diet⭐:

Honestly, I can't give much advice here, because I'm not qualified enough. Go to a nutritionist to see if there's anything you can do. If not, eat plenty of protein and fibre, limit your junk food intake and drink lots of water. Make lots of salads and fruit bowls. Overnight oats are healthy, filling and delicious.

What I like to do, is eat everything in moderation. Say I've had a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner. I won't deny myself a nice bowl of ice cream (again, not a sundae, the key is moderation). But if I've had greasy food for lunch and takeout for dinner, I'll probably settle for fruit instead. Know that you can eat without punishing yourself, but remember not to go overboard. Food is fuel, remember.

⭐Other tips⭐:

Skincare: Don't make it too fancy. I know influencers and the like have those weird 15-step skincare routines, but it isn't necessary. I use the Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser and the most basic Cetaphil face lotion I could find along with an organic lip balm my mom buys. It works like a charm and its not too fancy. I also take an ABC smoothie (Apple, Beetroot, Carrot + some water.) This is such a game-changer.

Abundance mindset: I like to think of the universe constantly working in my favour. It's always looking out for me, and I'm the luckiest girl in the world. What you think is what you attract. If you think negatively, you will begin to see only bad things around you. Stay positive.

Wardrobe: Go thrifting, or DIY some old clothes. Pinterest has tons of amazing ideas. Paint your T-shirts, dye your skirts, make cute jewellery at home. There are no limits.

Makeup: I don't recommend it honestly. I'm more or less anti makeup to the point where I only own two pieces of makeup(eyeliner and lip gloss) and even those are used sparingly. Don't get used to your painted face. Your natural beauty is beautiful; and should not be hidden. There's something so amazing in someone who is confident in their own skin. Own yourself, and people will love you more for it.

Hope this helps you become the best version of yourself. Baby steps to your goal, okay? This takes time and with consistency, you WILL get there. Stay lovely. xoxo

<3

[bimboficationblues]

what would you put on a political theory syllabus if you could

like an intro/survey course? so the conventional theory class in Anglo-American poli-phil goes roughly like this: Plato/Aristotle -> Machiavelli (if you fuck nasty) -> Hobbes/Locke/Rousseau -> J.S. Mill -> Marx (sometimes, and only with the disclaimer that this guy needs to lighten up!) -> omission of like 120 years of global thought, including the shifts wrought by two World Wars, postcolonialism, and 1968 -> Rawls. there's usually, but not consistently, some idiosyncratic liberal picks from the various omitted periods/regions based on whatever the academic in question is preoccupied with, or attempts (sometimes sincere, sometimes half-hearted) to add some diversity to the lineup, most typically some form of liberal-leaning writings on feminism or racism or occasionally postcolonialism.

I think this abridged history is like, okay but not great (Charles Mills' Decolonizing Political Philosophy is a great piece on why). it’s produced by a combination of both the discipline's narrow post-Rawls liberal paradigm, and the constraints of intro/survey courses, which aim for breadth rather than depth (which I think is generally reasonable at least on its face), so the trick I would want to pull off is making something that works within the latter constraint while not succumbing to the paradigm.

the question sort of demands interrogating what a theory class is for in the ideal sense, what it uniquely can offer (so, going beyond specific skills that can be developed in other ways, like learning to write, understand, critique, and respond to long-form argument, or the more cynical pipeline-to-labor stuff like credentialing).

I think some main goals would be 1) contextualizing your existence in the world as a political subject, 2) be able to pass an ideological Turing test, i.e. accurately represent the substance of different perspectives and worldviews such that you could "pass" for the authentic thing [so I would include writers/writings that I detest for KYE reasons], 3) increase your autonomy as a political agent and ability to recognize how these various concepts and systems underlie the fabric of our political language and practice and how you can apply them in reality in collaboration with others.

an extension of these goals, imo, is that political thought without a history is dead in the water - this is why I have kind of a hardline opposition to trying to learn political theory mostly through social media and why "leftist theory recs" on here usually drive me absolutely crazy. so any teaching of these readings would probably require a decent level of contextualization.

then there's a question of structure. my intro class was actually pretty enjoyable despite following the pattern described above, as my prof centered the class around different chapters of Plato's Republic, using each chapter as a jumping off point to talk about connections with a more modern political thinker while also incorporating some short fiction of Octavia Butler. cool stuff! I think organizing around theme is edifying. there's tradeoffs to doing chronological vs thematic organization of readings though, which I want to keep in mind

so with all that I think it would look roughly like this (though frankly my reach might be exceeding my grasp), and you could pretty much reorganize the readings to be chronological if you wanted:

"The Political"/Power: I think spending some time on "metapolitics" is important, like what politics is and what the function of political philosophy is. So start with some different perspectives on realism vs. idealism (the Republic, the Melian dialogue, The Prince) and sliding into competing definitions of politics as conflict vs consensus (the Arendt/Fanon and Schmitt/Benjamin "debates")

Authority: Hobbes/Rousseau/Hume on the social contract, the Crito/Thoreau/MLK on civil disobedience, ideally an anarchist of some stripe (would rather include Bakunin or Kropotkin but R.P. Wolff might be the more cohesive move)

Equality/Property: Locke's Second Treatise, Rousseau's Discourse on Inequality, The Communist Manifesto and/or Marx on primitive accumulation as an alternative genealogy of property/money, Nietzsche's Genealogy of Morality as illustrative of a reactionary/aristocratic perspective on equality (you could swap in Aristotle instead for a different take), Fanon in Black Skins White Masks

Justice: Plato, Rawls on distributive justice, Nussbaum on capabilities/global justice, Mills on the racial contract

Freedom: Mill's On Liberty, Marcuse's "Critique of Pure Tolerance," some chapters from Capital V1, "Throwing Like a Girl" by Young (plus maybe some Beauvoir/Wittig). work in Berlin and Pettit's competing ideas of liberty

then maybe end on Foucault writing in a broad mode about subjectivity OR Benjamin's "On the Concept of History" - either would be good for a kind of "call to action" that I like in a politics class

there are some concepts that might warrant their own segment (domination, violence, sovereignty, revolution, security, progress - I waffled on making "property" its own unit), but I'm trying to not go too crazy (and it's possible they could get folded into other concepts as corollaries). I'm also leaving out various authors that I do think merit inclusion (Adorno, Dewey, D&G, Lenin & Mao, Althusser, Davis, various contemporary writers), but I would probably follow the path of my Middle Eastern Politics professor - put supplemental/suggested readings in there for the freaks that like this stuff.

and finally I think the above is more tailored to be an introduction (if a somewhat sweeping one), you could take an alternative tack and construct "contemporary issues in political theory" (e.g. migration/refugees, climate, economic crisis, security state/surveillance) and I think that would also be a rewarding survey

[nanowrimo]

The Art of the Pitch

When submitting your manuscript to an agent, your pitch letter is the first thing they read. But with hundreds of emails pouring into agents’ inboxes every day, how do you get yours to stand out? Author Jeff Herman has some tips:

On any given day, there’s a massive surplus of desperate manuscripts clamoring to fill way too few opportunities. It resembles hordes of famished zombies ripping at the walls and doors where a remnant of agents and editors have found sanctuary. This helps explain why the barriers to your success seem to be unreasonably extreme, not to mention insensitive and discourteous. The harsh process is a form of self-preservation for the gatekeepers. However, access is possible; sometimes you just have to reframe what you’re seeing.

Countless manuscripts that merit publication will spend eternity in the clouds because the authors failed to get agents and editors to read them. From the perspective of the gatekeepers, unsolicited manuscripts are a burden until proven otherwise; they’re an ever-accumulating digital landfill that’s humanly impossible to process and cope with, or even think about. But it’s within every writer’s power to change the math for themselves. 

The following guidance doesn’t promise to be the cure, but it does promise to meaningfully elevate the odds that your manuscript will be requested and read. My advice is the consequence of reading more than one-million pitches covering everything you can imagine.

1. Don’t be boring. Boredom causes attention to shut down. The letter should be as entertaining, compelling, and alluring as the body of work you want to read. Too many writers treat their pitch letters like job applications; imagine having to read hundreds of those a day.  

2. Don’t waste space. Avoid filler. Keep to a single page with short paragraphs (eyes detest densely packed sections). 

3. Use lively and relatable descriptions. Make descriptive lines count with language that transmits visceral and dynamic images. Imagine movie trailers.

4. Get to the point by the second line. Don’t wander into the weeds or try to be a pen pal. 

5. Say exciting things about yourself. For example, “I’m a third-generation serial killer.” Or, “I’m a former President of the United States.” (However, only share things that are true!)

6. Don’t compare your work to bestsellers. It might make you appear arrogant or grandiose. Do a little research to find the titles that best match your work. 

7. Don’t reveal how many years you’ve been trying to get someone to read your pitch, let alone your work. Don’t reveal how many thousands of times you’ve been rejected so far. Don’t expect strangers to care about your aspirations from the goodness of their hearts.  

8. Be softly immodest. Show you're a winner in ways that say it for you. Highlight your accomplishments, don’t hide them. Success tends to gravitate to people who know how to personify a successful image. 

9. Don’t stereotype yourself in ways that could undermine your chances. For instance, there’s no reason to say your age unless it’s germane to the book. (Ageism is frequently an elephant in the room, and unfortunately, publishing isn’t an exception.)

10. Keep trying. Consistently showing up and doing the work regardless of how you feel will get you far. Writing and publishing is a game of long ball that rewards tenacity and resilience. 

Jeff Herman is the author of Jeff Herman’s Guide to Book Publishers, Editors & Literary Agents, 29th Edition and coauthor of the acclaimed Write the Perfect Proposal. He has presented hundreds of workshops about writing and publishing and has been interviewed for dozens of publications and programs. His literary agency has ushered nearly 1,000 books into publication, including many bestsellers. He lives in Stockbridge, MA. His website is www.JeffHerman.com.

Based on the book Jeff Herman’s Guide to Book Publishers, Editors & Literary Agents, 29th Edition. Copyright ©2023 by Jeff Herman. Published by New World Library — www.newworldlibrary.com.

Top photo by Andrew Dunstan on Unsplash.

[soracities]

hey ! i’m very curious !!

you talked about social media in one of your last posts and i wish you could talk about your relationship with social medias !

honestly i don't know how i would describe my relationship to it simply because i detest like 90% of what social media is about. however i DO try to focus on intentionality and being very mindful of what i use and how i use it. the only social media i use as social media are twitter and instagram but i try to be very careful about the time i spend on them. this is easy for twitter because i have no vested interest in it so i just log in maybe once or twice every few months because i only use it to follow various writers / publishers and see what new releases are upcoming or what books are being talked about. i'll retweet a few quotes / puns / medieval illustrations, make note of books or articles and call it a day for another two months or even more sometimes.

instagram is my "main" one but even then i know how easy it is for me to get caught up in their reels so i try to stay away from that as much as i can (i also despise what it does to music for me): i don't follow brands, influencers, or celebrities (i follow one international musician and like, 3 writers, and that's it)--my feed is predominantly urban gardening / nature / arts accounts, but i use it far more like the morning paper to see what my friends are seeing or follow any little updates in their stories. i have post notifications turned on for some of my closest friends so that the only things i DO get notified on when i'm spending time away from the app are the people whose updates are most important to me--but even then, IG is not my main form of communication because the closest people in my life know how to contact me directly.

again i don't take social media seriously, chiefly because i can't: the idea of needing to be constantly "tuned in" is one i really dislike so i'm never invested in whatever the current trends are. the only consistent main one for me is tumblr and even then i'm on this blog almost exclusively on desktop which limits how i often i log on to begin with. i still try to remain intentional and since it's more an archive or a collection of things i like and want to keep, my main objectives are usually: collect the quotes i want to save, browse my mutuals / favourite blogs, check my inbox when and if i'm able. i can still end up prone to spending more time here than i would like, but i also know that--most of the time, anyway--i'm spending that time gaining something: photos or artwork i love get saved to my computer or notion folders, poems that move me get copied into my ledger or saved on my laptop, links to certain articles get clicked on and read immediately when i can--this is great to stop me from scrolling mindlessly and actually using the time more wisely, but if i can't read it immediately i just move them onto my desktop so i don't forget to read them later on. when i feel i'm still spending too much time here, or simply not devoting enough time to other things that are important to me, i'll set days aside where i do log in and days when i don't.

anyway that's where i'm at with social media at the moment, anon x

[bonebabbles]

First Battle Aftermath

For the first battle itself go here

lol. Lmao, even.

Not, "Oh my god what have I done," but "I'm so weak. I can't even kill," while wearing Rainswept Flower like a new pair of fur boots

first Adoption Win in 3 books. What's the tally on that one-- 1 to 10?

Clear Sky doesn't understand the point of burials lmao. Dude did leave that dead mom he killed out in the open for the flies to find, until Wind Runner and Gorse Fur came across the corpse and put it in the ground.

And he can't remember killing Rainswept Flower either, in spite of the fact he was coherent enough to justify his actions to Gray Wing, because the Clear Sky chapters aren't meant to be a glimpse into the mind of a detestable character. They exist to garner your sympathy.

Was that enough regret for you? Hope you got your fill because it's RIGHT back to Gray Wing's Excuse Hour

WE?!

WE LET IT GET TOO FAR

We Let It Get Too Far

"My brother :(((( He's a good man :(((((((( He's a good guy even though he just starved Jackdaw's Cry before trying to murder everyone and told Thunder he shouldn't exist and slaughtered Rainswept Flower in a fit of rage :((((((((((((((((((( He gave up some food after I asked him to when we were like 17 so that means he could never be a bad person"

It's right there on the goddamn page, Clear Sky wasn't BORN EVIL so he's GOOD ACTUALLY because NO CAT CHANGES THAT MUCH.

It's EXPLICIT, am I going crazy here?! The narrative says EXACTLY that because he was good when he was young, he can't possibly have changed into a monster. "No one changes that much"

FEAR OR GREED. GOOD OR EVIL. The writing is SO BAD that they attempted to tell a story with an ounce of more nuance than usual and just ended up re-inventing a Light vs Darkness dichotomy with different nouns!

And just when you thought we'd hit rock bottom, StarClan arrives with the reinforcements needed to DIG DEEPER

Enjoy Clear Sky being called a fool once, just a silly little slip-up, an Oopsie Daisy. "I only wanted--" goes UNADDRESSED as Turtle titters about "killing only ever leads to more killing" because they have to find SOME way of getting mad at Tall Shadow too.

Turtle Tail says some romantic schlock to Gray Wing about the kits and thanks Thunder for scraping her pancaked body off the pavement where she died, and then Gray Wing decides that actually he's mad that her magic ghost came down from the heavens because it's Too Painful to see her again or something. Because he's a GREAT character.

"We came to spread the Good News Gospel, Gray Wing. You need to know that god is real to live here peacefully."

DOTC is about to say that the cats need StarClan to avoid these sorts of massacres, because actually Clear Sky is fearful, NOT greedy, and believing in God means he won't be so scared that he feels the need to abuse women and children

(But also that everyone's kinda responsible for the First Battle because Clear Sky is a good boy and WE let it get too far)

Anyway, Fridge Wife 2 starts interrogating Clear Sky. They do this incredibly insulting chapter transition where Gray Wing goes, "idk if he wants to listen to herrrr..." and Clear's chapter opens up with "LOVE OVERWHELMS HIM" because, AGAIN, Clear Sky's chapters exist to garner your sympathy.

"I was scared my heart would break if I had to see someone else die, which is why I wanted to kill orphans, threw disabled people out into the wilderness, clobbered a kitten, told my son he shouldn't exist, performed public humiliations, and beat 3 women to death"

Wanna take a break and go check out the tally of things he did in the past 3 books, and compare it to his self-defense? Be Storm! Go check that out, keep everything he did in mind.

Ask yourself this; were his actions truly consistent with someone who was just scared he would see someone die of starvation, OR, were they consistent with a domestic abuser who enjoys the power he has over people?

Storm buys it.

"FEAR IS WHAT DROVE YOU," she said with relief.

If you're AFRAID then ABUSE IS UNDERSTANDABLE. IT'S OKAY! It's all fine in the end if your motivator wasn't greed, AKA "BORN EVIL"

"Now you see there's no need to be afraid because God is real, death isn't the end, and the assurance of religion with an eternal afterlife will make you a better person"

They're saying pain is less painful if you believe in God and this is why Godless Heathens are bad in the Warrior Cats series. When Gray Wing decided to proselytize to Wind Runner and tell her it was good that her weakest child died, because it meant he was in a "better place", THIS is what that was building to narratively.

PIETY will fix Clear Sky's abusiveness. YAAAAAAY!

ALSO THIS IS TALL SHADOW'S FAULT TOO SOMEHOW?!

DIE AGAIN, SHADED MOSS, BEFORE I BEAT YOU INTO COSMIC DUST. I HOPE THERE'S MORE TRUCKS IN HEAVEN

"how did you know he was going to kill-" CONTEXT. CLUES.

SHE MADE AN EDUCATED GUESS BASED ON ALL THE CATS POKING HOLES IN EACH OTHER AND SHOUTING "it's murderin' time!!!"

She was a female Warrior Cats character in the general vicinity so they had to make sure to shame her because god forbid they imply that Clear Sky is the only one to blame for this bloodbath

In fact they do it again, Clear Sky snaps and starts barking at River Ripple for being a foreigner in his presence, right in front of God, and they don't skip a beat,

It CANNOT remain about Clear Sky, EVER. Storm whips over to GRAY WING and accuses HIM of bringing death to the mountains too, closing out the whole rant with, "ALL of you need to make amends"

This is like when a bully spits on you, calls you insults, and slaps and hits you where the teacher won't see, all while you keep trying to negotiate, but then YOU punch back and you both get equally punished because retaliation is just as bad as being attacked.

The book ends on the cats deciding it's time to bury the dead. Thus concludes The First Battle, and Clear Sky's Redemption Arc begins in Blazing Star. Because this means they nonsensically get rid of their main antagonist, they have to conjure up an Evil Foreigner to take his place.

"Unite or Die" isn't a message about actual peace and unity, that thing that the Non-Clear Sky cats have been hopelessly committed to, it's actually a message about how they're about to have a very convenient common enemy.

Y'know, someone who isn't "scared," just "greedy," one of those evil Godless Heathens, so we don't have to 'feel bad' about murdering him. One Eye time!

[debaucherousdyke]

a temporary pinned post until i can coherently write a better one:

- name wise, you can call me em/m or deb!! or whatever nickname you wanna coin <3

- i’m fat. saying this so it’s known and neutrally stated. i am not into any kink centered around my weight.

- 22. this account is 18+, no exceptions. no ageless blogs

- TME they/them femme lesbian. okay with gendered terms of all kinda unless i specify otherwise.

- femme4all with a special love and preference for butches. butches are intrinsic to my femme identity and the concept of femme lesbianism as a whole <33 butches i love you

- this is a separate blog rather than a sideblog of my main so i might not see everything in a timely manner. but feel free to give me a reason to keep logging in xx

- currently single

- dms and asks are currently open (anon is on) and im down for flirting and play in them — just know that i will block liberally if needed. don’t be discouraged from sending me filth though. my eventual pinned will have some interests and limits.

- this blog has a very limited reach atm so if you want any sort of signal boost for donations and important posts, dm me (without any nsft stuff) for my main account so you can send it there

- dni: men, minors (reiterating), terfs, swerfs, zionists, and several other proud bigots i’m forgetting to name. (sorry to men and minors for being included among detestable groups, it’s just the formatting)

- this is primarily a nsft blog but may contain some occasional serious, not kinky but instead very important content. queerness is inherently political, even if some wish it wasn’t. and even on a blog made for getting off, i cannot just turn a blind eye to suffering. there is no business as usual with genocide happening in plain view. and with all the other fucked up shit happening around us every single day. i’ll mainly keep things like that on my main account for consistency and since i don’t have a reach on here. but it may come up regardless and you know how to scroll/where the unfollow and block button are.

- this is meant to be a temporary pinned so uhh. ill say more when i do a real pinned.

[sparkiekong]

An Interview with a Vampire 3/9

Jure looked from Nickie to Nick and back, "Please ask your burning questions, my dear. May I just say you are a vision. White suits your flawless chocolate skin."

Nickie paused for a moment but did not lose her cool. "Yes, well thank you for the compliment. Let's get on with the questions. First question from a viewer of my blog. Can you tell me about your history? I want to ensure accuracy and consistency in your narrative."

Jure smirks and thinks about the question for a moment, "Ah, personal history, let's see...  Well, let's just say it's quite extensive. We could talk about that for many days… so I will spare you the gory details. The important parts are that I am a vampire and I have been around for a very long time. You can find my name throughout history in Cairntyp and Collective Social Republics. I am Jure Vulpe, I have never changed my name, but I have pretended to be my own relative of a similar name. You see, changing names is not in my nature. I quite like my name” He rolled over his name as if it were a beautiful word, “You-ray Vol-p-hey. It has a nice ring to it, yes? I detest trying to remember a name that wasn’t given to me by birth."

[hiswordsarekisses]

“When our prayer life isn’t what it should be, we should investigate these three obstacles: sin, unbelief, and a neglect of God’s Word.

Obstacle #1 is neglect of God’s Word: “He who turns away his ear from hearing the Word of God – even his prayer is detestable” (Proverbs 28:9)

Neglecting the Word of God and its application to your life will hinder your prayers because prayer is based on faith, and our faith is firmly built on (and comes from) putting the Word of God in our hearts.

This obstacle even has a huge impact on the following 2 obstacles! Staying in The Word is crucial.

Obstacle #2 is unrepentant sin. Psalm 66:18 says: “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened…”

The apostle John put it another way: “We receive from Him anything we ask (according to His Will), because we obey his commands and do what pleases him” (1 John 3:22, 1 John 5:14)

(“I have hidden Your Word inside of my heart, that I might not sin against You” psalm 119:11 - abiding in The Word of God protects us from sinning!)

And obstacle #3 is unbelief. “We must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord” (James 1:6-7).

Once again, our faith comes from The Word of God. (Romans 10:17) If we are struggling with trusting God, we just need to continue to consistently and prayerfully read His Word, and also - just like the Father of the child that needed healing in Mark 9:24, Thank God, we can ask God to help us believe!

“Jesus asked the boy's father, “How long has he been like this?” The man answered, “Ever since he was a child. The demon has often tried to kill him by throwing him into a fire or into water. Please have pity and help us if you can!” Jesus replied, “Why do you say ‘if you can’? Anything is possible for someone who has faith!” And at once the boy's father shouted, “My faith is weak! Please give me faith and help my unbelief!” Mark 9:21-24

If we stay on top of these three things we will not be unfruitful in our walk with God.

(Excerpts From Leroy Eims)

[angel-gidget]

Facets of YJ: Rebirth's Gemworld

It occurs to me that if I ever want to write more post-YJ Rebirth stuff (as I’ve been meaning to do for the past couple years), I need to work out for myself what Amethyst’s canon with YJ is. It isn’t consistent in-universe, but I’m kind a cool with that. I would rather have multiple interesting yet somewhat contradictory canons than a hard-set bad canon.

But for my own story, I need to be somewhat decisive. And to recall what I’m working with… I need to re-read Young Justice Rebirth.

So here are some thoughts from taking a crack at Volume 1: Gemworld.

———

I know a lot of people in my feed were complaining about this title as it was running, but tbh, I’m kinda impressed by it. There’s a lot of world-building going on and some good emotional moments too. Could there be more? Sure. But the book is fun and doesn’t detest its own audience which is more than I can say for YJ: Dark Crisis.

I’m aware it’s not a popular opinion, though. Lots of people were very aghast at a lot of creative choices.

Gemworld Tidbit #1. Kon's time in the Gemworld. I think one big thing that ticked ppl of was that Kon had acquired a “wife” and “kid” while on Gemworld, but I thought the story line was by turns hilarious (for his teammates reactions) and sweet. The actual explanation that he was just pretending to be her husband to keep her safe from Opal’s guards was cute.

(And tbh, if it turned out that there was some unexplored UST between him and Lophi, heck. I’d be down to explore it. If DC is moving away from Kon/Cassie as a ship, then why not give this a whirl?)

(We see you giving Kon that sexy-intense-gaze-through-limply-hanging-bangs, Patrick Gleason. We appreciate.)

It also gives us one more member of YJ who’s now familiar with Gemworld, and from a very different perspective. Kon knows what it's like to live as a commoner in the bad part of town on Gemworld. Yet, he knows Amethyst by her reputation, and respects her for it. I like this tidbit.

Incorporate into personal fic canon? Yeah, probably.

I also love that the fricken… blend of his shirt is the thing that outs him to Carnelian.

For those of us who remember Carnelian from OG Amethyst, he really is that materialistic and obsessed with the technology of Earth. This whole panel is so freaking in-character, I cackled.

Gemworld Tidbit #2: The Gemworld is divided into “lighter houses” and “darker houses.” The darker houses are officially under Dark Opal, but the Lighter houses are supposed to be free and less oppressive, though Amy’s toung-lashing fights with the council of fellow “lighter houses” implies it ain’t that cut n’ dry.

I can see how it’s useful for conveying info quickly… but eh. The OG showed that while it boiled down to Opal vs. Everyone else, most houses were bullied into serving him and some were just more resistant than others.

Incorporate into personal fic canon? Probably nah.

I’m not really clear why Dark Opal sent a posse of minions to Metropolis to just… go fight Superman. Even after a re-read, I’m still hazy on that bit. Maybe Superman had a lil’ dimension hopping adventure off-panel and effed up some of Opal’s evil schemes? And Dark Opal just… collected kryponite hoping supes would show up again to receive his vengeance? But then he got impatient so he launched a FULL SCALE INVASION OF METROPOLIS? Okay. Yeah. He would. Mystery solved. Next.

Gemworld Tidbit Major Chonk of Info #3. Amy’s relationship with the Houses. So, in OG Amethyst, most the the houses genuinely WANT Amy to defeat Dark Opal. Her parents were major figureheads—and they died fighting him so bravely—but the rest of them have been beaten down into subservience. So Amy’s arrival heralds a renewed attempt at overthrowing the Big Bad, and they welcome her for it.

But in YJ Rebirth, they are so cowed by Opal’s influence, that the majority actually resent Amy for making waves.

She is also NOT the default leader. Like at all. Only head of her house, and even then, the council is debating banishing her from “The Gem” aka Gemworld once she’s out of the room. And at the end… they backstab her by actually doing so. Unannounced.

Incorporate into personal fic canon? I think I gotta. I like the OG dynamic better, but this is pretty darn plot relevant. Need to at least consider it.

Gemworld Tidbit #4. Ride-or-Die Turquoise and Backstabbing Emerald.

So OG Turquoise was v loyal indeed. It was a *bit* more complicated than "besties" in the 80's series, but it works as dynamic for them here.

As for Emerald... We only see ONE ruler of House Emerald here. OG had a Lady Mother and 3 princesses, all with very different narratives. The youngest sister was Amy's *actual* bestie. The next oldest was her friend. The eldest died before Amy could ever meet her, and the mom... went bonkers, died, resurrected, and became part of Amy's rogues gallery, going by the name of Fire Jade.

I'm thinking this is her. Bonus complications if Amy and her youngest daughter are *still* ultra-close friends.

Incorporate into personal fic canon? Yes.

(And tacking on so many details that aren't actually there.)

Gemworld Tidbit #5. Topaz is Dark Opal's minion.

So one of the invaders of Metropolis calls himself "Topaz" right before Tim kicks his ass.

The original Topaz? A lovable and bodacious prince that was always doing his best. And his best included opposing his sister, the elder heir to Topaz keep and the *actual* supporter of Dark Opal.

Incorporate into personal fic canon? Not as-is. Maybe make him tragically mind-whammied or something. But the real Prince Topas is loyal to House Amethyst, even if he's figured out that actually dating Amy is a terrible idea.

And that brings us to...

Gemworld Tidbit #6. No mention of Age-fluctuation. Anywhere.

OG Amethyst would have Amy shift from young teen to young adult, and even have that be a major plot point a la SHAZAM.

I get why it's gone. It removes a lot of writing headaches. But it does mean I would need to figure out some of her relationships from scratch.

Did she and Topaz still flirt? Did they break up for similar reasons? (I imply this is the case in Nurturing Camaraderie. That he mistook her for older/thought their age gap wasn't a big deal, and then ducked out when he realized he was wrong, very similar to what originally happened.)

Incorporate into personal fic canon? Yes. But Imma gonna overthink it to death.

Is Turquoise older than her? How much older? Is Emmy younger than her still? How much younger. What about Carnelian?

Gemworld Tidbit #7. sCiEnce NOT magic.

...

Incorporate into personal fic canon? No. Fuck this whole panel.

I signed on for some magic in my magical girl fantasy, dagnabbit.

Might have more thoughts later. But for now... yeah.

[chocosvt]

hi choco! i'm so excited to see you back on my tl; i've missed you and your god-tier fics & i'm super duper excited to read your wonwoo fic as well (140k words? we will all be well fed fr 🤲)

i had a little rant? not exactly rant but something that's been itching my mind a bit haha, i hope you don't mind me sharing it with you! i genuinely want some advice over this.

as a long fic writer, how do you consistently come back to writing your fic without getting bored? i looooove writing long fics too (big lover of slowburn and angst lol) but i always get so impatient and bored of writing the story so quickly :(

i'd posted a teaser for a fic a while back and it got a good amount of traction (something i will always be grateful for) and someone asked me when i would release the full fic, to which i gave them a tentative date. fast forward to the day before the day i said i would post the fic and you have me typing out paragraphs upon paragraphs of stuff that i absolutely loathe in my writing. i ended up posting the fic anyway, but it's been only a day and i already want to take it down—not bc it's not getting any attention, because it is, but more so bc i hate that fic and would do anything to rewrite it.

iirc your joshua fic, 'best friend's brother' was a rewrite of a fic you'd written earlier, right? was your thought process similar to this? where did you start your rewriting process from? did you have any second thoughts when you took it down the first time?

i'm really sorry if this is too many questions 😅 please take your time if you do choose to answer this! much love and have a great day, choco!!! thank you so much :)

(is it alright if i use an emoji to sign off so i can find this ask later?)

— 🍫

first of all, THANK U SO MUCH <3

and i don't mind at all! these are rly insightful questions :o though i'll just chunk my answers a bit so i'm not all over the place.

not getting bored to be honest, i'm not sure if i ever "get bored" of writing out the plot. but i definitely get burnt out, and sometimes i get downright sick of reviewing my own writing, to the point where i just have to close my laptop and walk away. i think the most important & overarching piece of advice i can give--not just in terms of long fics but any fic for that matter--is to never force anything & take breaks!

when i'm busy at uni, there are like 5 month breaks where i don't bother writing at all. i always think that the second i have free time, i should theoretically want to write, but sometimes i just don't. and i make peace with it bc i know the second i force anything i will end up hating it (also takes the fun & enjoyment out of the process).

i think if you're getting bored, it's probably a sign that your body & mind just isn't interested in writing at the moment. so i would step away & take a break and attempt to get your mind off the plot. i think that taking a break also invigorates your mind a bit and gives you newer, better ideas (at least from my experience).

bfb rewrite the reason i rewrote best friend's brother was bc the og fic was from 2016, when my writing style was completely different. i still liked the concept but naturally, as my writing grew, i just detested the way the old ver was written, which spurred me to create the rewrite.

i wanted to give the characters a lot more depth & beef up the plot, so the new fic is actually a lot different in comparison to the old one. i wasn't attempting to do a scene-for-scene rewrite--it was simply just my approach to an old concept that i felt i could now execute better.

as to how i went abt rewriting it, i just picked out moments from the old fic that i liked and built around them. for instance, i rly liked the "skipping stones" scene that shows some intimacy & tenderness between joshua and reader. but it can't just happen out the gate. so i had to figure out the typical "why, when, and how is this moment happening right now?" from scratch.

the thing with long fics for me, it honestly is a test of patience & dedication!! bc it can truly be so frustrating :( a lot of times, you want to jump right into the good parts bc those are like the shiny glimmers that make the fic attractive. but depending on how impactful you want those moments to be, build-up is sooooo key! the thing is, build-up is just so critical in my opinion, but it can also be such a pain to write :p

i find when i review my writing, these are scenes i criticize or change the most--more than the big, hard-hitting scenes. bc to me, it's such a specific thing that you have to nail down justttt right. it's a lot of thinking and finagling and i think this process is what i dread the most? especially when it refuses to turn out how you want it--ugh, so discouraging!! but once you get it's like a silky flowy river!!

the big takeaways (i guess?) 1. taking breaks is so important! 2. don't force anything xxxx 3. take the big moments & build around them i totallyyyyy understand your frustration!! there have been so many moments where i'm like I NEED TO WRITE AHHHHH and then i promptly open the document only to sit there, blankly read a few sentences, and then get this rly big sinking feeling in my gut that is essentially telling me "never mind" and honestly i just listen to it bc if i'm gonna close & open the document 10 times in a row i obviously don't want to write. i'm just searching for something fulfilling and clearly not finding it in the task at hand so i should do smth else.

THIS IS EXTREMELY LENGTHY AND I''M BEYOND SORRY, but i hope somewhere amongst this mumbo jumbo there was something that stood out & may give you a bit of closure!