#curiocity

[frozen-banana-guacamole]

[brbgensokyo]

yknow in 2024, i gave alot of shit a go that i normally wouldnt touch and i dont regret any of it but ive found out theres a fuck load of shit thats hyper popular among the people i congregate with that i do not click with

[pumpkinwastaken]

I wonder what like, the psychology is behind avatars always being a face. yknow? how like, its either a selfie or like ur sona or some character from tv or fiction? I wonder why we always lean towards that instead of just an image of i dunno. a tree for example.

[inexplicifics]

Hi! Read the AWAU over the course of a couple weeks, loved the pacing and the rhythm of a couple short fics — a long, plot-heavy one — several short fics in the recommended reading order.

Out of curiocity, is there any chance at all of Regis appearing in the series?

Thank you, I'm delighted the AWAU brings you joy!

If he does show up, it'll be during the Progress, but I haven't yet figured out if or how that will occur.

Kaer Morhen does need some more medical professionals...

[mirkwood]

feanormelkor/ feanope 31

Hi thank you for the ask!! And sorry for the delay <3

Prompt 31 : After a small rejection

Pairing : Feanor / Melkor

Fëanor can sense the Vala’s presence the moment he enters the forges. 

The air, previously heated by the forge’s flames, abruptly turns icy. The sudden chill makes the sweat on Fëanor’s skin feel clammy. He doesn’t need to turn to see the intruder. Familiar with Melkor's constant lurking, he knows when he is there, watching him silently.

He finds himself instinctively searching for him in every corner, in every dark room.

Gripping his hammer tighter, he wills himself to remain composed. 

“Whatever brings you here,” Fëanor says, his tone devoid of any warmth or welcome, “I have neither the need nor the time for it.”

A moment of silence fills the space between his words and the darkness behind him. As if the presence he felt was nothing more than just a trick of his imagination. 

But still, he waits. 

And there it is, a faint hum that morphs into a deep chuckle, reverberating through the forge room. 

“I doubt you truly mean that, Fëanáro,” comes the response, teasing and casual as if Fëanor is his friend.

It is a cruel melody, a rumble that could shake down the foundations of Fëanor’s resolve. He hates the way it makes him feel. Weak and defenseless against that voice dripping with saccharine deceit and lies.

Turning sharply, hammer still in hand, Fëanor faces the part of the forge where the fires' light doesn’t reach. In the darkness, two fiery eyes meet his gaze.

Melkor finally steps into the light, yet Fëanor can only spot his pale face, cloaked in darkness as he is. Fëanor straightens his back and folds his arms in front of him, waiting for Melkor to speak his lies once again. 

“I have a proposition for you,” Melkor breaks the tense silence while looking around the forge with an innocuous curiocity. Fëanor knows what he is looking for, and he also knows well that it is not here. 

He remains silent. 

“We could achieve great things together,” Melkor says, approaching the bench where Fëanor’s new project sits untouched. “Your brilliance and my insight could create something unparalleled.” 

Fëanor's expression hardens as he turns to face the Vala. "I have no interest in your schemes, Melkor,” he rebukes. “I work alone, as you well know. Nothing can change that.”

Melkor falls silent, his gaze lingering on Fëanor’s workbench, as if it is the most interesting thing in Arda. For a moment, Fëanor wonders if his words have gone unheard. 

“You are making a mistake, son of Finwë,” Melkor speaks again and his voice holds a dangerous edge to it. Gone is the friendly lilt and the false sweetness of it. “You would do well to reconsider my offer.”

Fëanor scoffs, his anger fully resurfacing. “Save your threats. I know what you are and I will not let your tainted hands or your insight near my creations,” he says with a sneer, the fire in his eyes blazing. 

Melkor turns to face him, and beyond the bitter disappointment and frustration, Fëanor can see destruction and death in his steely gaze. 

"You are a fool, Fëanor," Melkor murmurs, stepping away from the workbench and closer to Fëanor until he is mere inches away. "But a brilliant fool."

Before Fëanor can react, Melkor leans in, his lips brushing against Fëanor's cheek in a quick, provocative kiss. The unexpected contact sends a shockwave through Fëanor, and he jerks back, his face flushed with a mix of fury and bewilderment.

Melkor steps back, a satisfied smile playing on his lips. “Do not keep me waiting, Fëanor,” he says. 

Fëanor holds his ground, refusing to look away. It's a battle of wills, and he's determined not to yield. He waits until Melkor chooses to leave, his cloak melding into the darkness as he departs.

Just as quickly as he arrived, Melkor is gone, the heavy iron door of the forge clicking shut behind him.

Fëanor's fingers linger on the spot where Melkor kissed him. He can still feel the warmth of his lips.

A fire ignites in him, a fire fueled by rage and a new unspoken, unacknowledged spark.

Send me a ship and a number

[puppybytes]

On a planet which cannot exist, a only few thousand lightyears away

A being looks up at the stars from their place in the shade. Its glow illuminates the shadow the overhanging arch, and dust storm orbiting the equator, casts over their body. They pick up a piece of quartz from the stock, and place it in their core.

The coiling, roving magma, quickly envelops it, heats it up, and breaks it down. The feeling of rest envelops their entire being.

Some slag builds up near their platings. In one swift move, its three fingers scoop it up and toss it in one of the many thermal vents nearby. Its crystalline gaze quickly referred to the cloud of dust orbiting overhead.

There's only a few of their kind on the planet: It can't support much more. The other ten, twelve, are scattered, nearer to the pole which faces the sun. They'd rather stay here, watch the dust spin, pool, and turn. Illuminated against the infinite void of space. Before returning to the pool of magma that sustains them.

It's heard people try to see the other pole. The one that's always cold. There's rumours of easily excited crystals there. A white dust which vapourizes on first touch.

It's a nice, warm day. Sixhundred something degrees kelvin, we'd say. And sitting there, the being looks at the dust and sees it light up a dim red due to their own body. A cloud of various gases sweeps by from the pole, and in an instant, is taken into orbit with the dust.

It looks up at the orbiting cloud. The carbon dust, those parts of the belt which has been spinning around this little orb, carving a path through the planet itself by time alone. Have lit up in the gases' presence. The swirling coals burn up in red, glowing lights. It stands up.

Their curiocity flared up by these lit cinders, for as far as you can compare a thought between species that function so differently.

And as far as they thought, they thought of a world, of a planet which cannot exist, only a few thousand lightyears away. They dream of a planet unbelievably cold, one where that white dust falls from the air. They dream of a planet where things live, so far from their star, that people like them wouldn't survive more than a few seconds on there. A planet with a pull so strong it would pull the magma right from their tungsten frame.

A planet with an atmosphere of volatile gases, that burn through coals like the ones in the equator's belt here. With seas of liquid that would extinguish them in seconds, and the things that live there.

A planet so huge, to support hundreds of millions of species, with populations in sizes one cannot fathom. They reach for the hot, glowing dust, and parts swirl out of orbit by the intrusion of their fingers.

Feeling the slag building up between their plates from dust or digestion of quartz, noticing their core temperature slowly but steadily dropping. they didn't care

They were too busy looking at the falling dust, and imagining that only a few thousand lightyears away, there was a planet which cannot exist.

[cioud-berries]

A Dance with the Fatui || Chapter 2

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Summery:

Prime was a lonely harbinger. He wanted someone to 'love' but never had the time to seek out or maintain a relationship. So he did what he does best: make a clone do it for him. After many unsuccessful 'relationships' the clone was left to scavenge around for any possible suitors. This eventually led to Y/N, who lived in a small village in Teyvat. Being forced to live with him was a pain. She had to learn how to deal with his antics. But how will things end for the two?

Category:

Il Dottore x Female Reader

Chapter Warnings:

Cussing

Word count: 4,829

Rewritten on: 11/28/24

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<- Previous Chapter || ADWTF Masterlist || Next Chapter ->

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New Beginnings

        The next morning Y/N woke up early to make sure was able to pack everything she wanted to bring with her. While she did her normal morning routine, she found herself paying more attention to the little details of her house; The peeling of the wallpaper in the corner of her room, the small rust on her sink from the years of water going over the metal; the loud creak her closet door would make whenever she had open it to retrieve her clothes. No matter how small the mess or issue it was what made the home unique. Made it her home and she gazed upon everything as if it was the last time, because it might very well be.

        She heaved out a large sigh as she finished packing her luggage cases. Her gaze stayed on it, knowing that it meant the thing she dreaded was nearing. Her thoughts drifted to everything she would miss about her small corner of the world. Knowing that her leaving meant that everything would be safe and stay the way it is was the only thing keeping her from being distressed about the situation. She knew she had to stay strong for everyone’s sake. If they saw she was worried, they would be worried.

        She made sure to wear comfy clothes for the seemingly long trip. Even though everything was clearly very worn out, that is what made it comfortable. She did not care for her looks, only comfortability.

        A little meow could be heard behind her, dragging her out of her thoughts. Quirin, her little orange cat, meowed at her as if he knew she was leaving. The old cat jumped onto her bed swishing his tail, waiting to get attention from his favorite person. She gave the cat a sad smile, remembering when she had first brought him home. Even though he was the family’s cat, he always wanted her attention the most.

        ”Awwe Quirin.” She cried as she picked him up. “I’m going to miss you too. I’m sorry I can’t bring you with me. But I have to do this. For the sake of the village." 

        The cat meowed in response to her as he started to purr from her rubbing his head. She kissed his tiny face before placing him back down. She pulled her luggage cases off her bed and walked towards the door. She stopped in the doorway, turning around to get one last good look at the room she was raised in. 

        Quirin rubbed up against her leg in the process, wanting more love from her before she went. She looked down at him as he sat in front of her meowing again, his tail curled in curiocity. He was making it harder and harder for her to leave. She placed one of their luggage cases on the ground, petting him one last time before stepping over him and walking down the hall.

        She wished to bring him with her, but there was too much she did not know. Quirin was old and she did not want to stress him out. She honestly did not even know if Il Dottore liked cats or if the place she would be going would allow cats. All she knows is that she will get in a carriage with a stranger and never return. There was too much uncertainty of the future that brought tears to her eyes. She thought about what she would have done differently if she knew that yesterday was the last party she would throw with her father, or the last day she would ever set foot in the village.

        She walked down the steps carefully, making sure she did not fall with the luggage. Instead of heading to the front where Dottore was most likely waiting for her, she left out the kitchen door that led to the back of the house. 

        She arrived at her destination, her mother's grave. After placing her luggage cases down, she sadly traced the lettering engraved into the stone. ‘Beloved mother and wife’ it read.

        "Hello, Mother." She whispered while picking at the grass. "I am leaving today. I don't think I'll ever be coming back here. While I'm gone, please watch over father. I know he will need it." 

        "I think she'll be watching over you. You need it more." Her father chimed in as he sat down next to her. 

        Y/N looked off to the side only muttering a small "Yeah," not wanting to look her father in the eye because it made her feel as if all of this was just some sick joke and not reality.

        "I have a gift for you," He reached into his pocket to pull out a small box. "It was your mother's. She always wanted you to have it." He opened the box revealing a beautiful diamond necklace.

        He did not have to tell Y/N that the necklace belonged to her mother; Due to the number of times she had worn it. It was rare to find her mother without the necklace rather than with it. Y/N was surprised that her father had it after all this time. She had assumed it was buried with her mother.

        “Thank you, Father,” she softly smiled, pulling him into a tight embrace as she started to cry. “Thank you so much for everything." 

        He reciprocated her embrace. “Of course sweetheart. I love you so much.” He struggled to hold back the tears, wanting to be strong for her. 

        ”I love you too.” She whispered quietly, voice breaking as she tried to seem strong.

        "Please be safe." He said looking into his daughter's eyes, remembering the first time he looked at her when she was born.

        Their sad goodbyes were rudely interrupted by the cause of the situation. “I’m sorry to barge in on this… heartwarming moment, but we need to leave now if we want to get to the inn by nightfall.” 

        With a cocky tone accompanied by a cocky smile, there stood Dottore. Y/N and her father looked at each other with sorrow knowing their time together was up. She stood up and brushed any grass or dirt off herself. She wiped her tears not wanting to show any weakness to that man.

    ��   "Goodbye, father." She said as she picked up her bags and walked past Dottore not even giving him a glance. The Clone gave one last look at the pitiful village Lord, giving a sadistic smile at the scene. He turned on his heel, following close behind the girl.

        Walking around the side of the house, she saw many of the villagers gathered around. Everyone she was close to was waiting there for her. All of their faces had shown some sort of negative emotion. As she approached, they all turned to her, giving their condolences and sharing their sorrows.

        “I’ll be fine.” She constantly repeated. Trying to stay strong. “I’ll miss you.”

        When she walked up to the carriage, she loaded her bag in the back, making sure to secure it with a strap. Dottore held his hand out for her to grab while getting in, but she avoided it, irritating him as he got in behind her. He sat down across from her.

        The carriage slowly took off. Y/N looked out the window watching everyone waving her goodbye before all she saw was the trees in the forest. Dottore just stared at her with a frown on his face. Overreacting to the small incident that just happened. He felt emasculated as he had been rejected in such a way. He thought of how she would fare in a fight, causing his frown to slowly into a small evil smirk.

        He looked at her up and down thinking how she would do in a fight against him. But slowly his bloodlust thoughts turned to admiration. He started thinking about how pretty she was and how they would be together. But of course, there was always a small thought in the back of his head of how he could turn her into his next experiment. How he could 'enhance' her body into a disgusting creature that he thinks is perfect. That he thinks is beautiful.

        His thoughts on the subject were interrupted by her staring back at him. Yet another smirk grew on his face. "Why hello there, Princess." He tried to woo her.

        Y/N visibly cringed at the nickname. "That's not my name." She replied coldly. All of her previous fear for the man had mutated into unfiltered hatred.

        Dottore's smirk wavered at how she yet again denied his 'kindness'. "Fine then. Since you're so against my little name for you. What do you want to be called?" 

        An annoyed sigh left her mouth."My name, Y/N." 

        "There's no need to be such a bitch, Princess. A beautiful girl like you shouldn't have such an ugly frown on her face." He said smoothly. Thinking that this was an appropriate thing to say to her.

        "Do you ever just shut up?” She snapped back, further irritated by his presence. “You just took me from my home, and I don't even know what you want from me. If you want me to be at least a little bit cooperative you could tell me where we're going and what I'm going to do there."

        Dottore was stunned he has never had someone stand up to him like that. All the people around him fear him. Fear of saying something wrong and becoming his next project. Although he is not mad like he normally would be, he found her little outburst veryamusing.

        He could not respond to her query. He did not have a true answer. He did not know that he would be leaving with just one person. He was planning on just experimenting on her. That was until he actually met her. Now he just wants her to be near him. He needs her to be with him. He does not want to take her to Prime, he wants her all for himself. But what excuse could he make for her?

        "Well, that's only fair. We're going back to my main lab and my home. I recently 'lost' my assistant so you have the greatest pleasure of being my new one." He said, crossing his arms. He came up with the excuse on the spot.

        Y/N looked out the window again. She thought to herself, knowing how the Fatui worked she worried what being his assistant would entail. Worried that she might have to kill someone. 

        "Well how long until we get there? I don't want to be in here with you." She mumbles the last part and thankfully he didn't hear.

        "It'll take two days. We're going to stay at an inn tonight, but don't expect company from me." He told her like she was going to be devastated over it. He turned his head away from her, trying to show that he was upset with her and this was her punishment.

        "Don't flatter yourself. I want a separate room regardless." She quickly snapped back.

        Dottore’s frown was deeper than the one earlier. 

        "I'm trying to be nice to you but you keep acting so mean. Listen, sweetheart, whether you like it or not, you're stuck with me. So you better get used to it quickly, because if you keep acting like… this, you'll regret it."

        She could care less honestly. Dottore kept bickering at her until there was an audible bodily growl in the carriage. Dottore paused his thought, looking at Y/N as she held her stomach. She was very embarrassed about her body making such an ungodly noise. She had not eaten since she had first woken up and it was already close to dusk.

        "We'll arrive at the inn soon.” Dottore huffed as he looked out the window. “We can eat when we get there."

        Things went silent as they continued on down the road, leaving Y/N finally alone with her thoughts. Everything started to finally hit, she thought back to moments with her father. Moments she did not know would be their last.

***

        It was a few days before Il Dottore would be arriving. While everyone was running around, preparing for the party and his arrival, Y/N sat under a willow tree reading her book.

        The willow tree sat at the edge of her property. A small pond sat in between her and the house. She sat on the roots of the tree, the water of the pond only being a few feet away from her.

        When she was young, her mother used to read to her in this spot, but the grass had grown taller. The water line inches closer to her every year as the land erodes. Still, she visits the spot often, reading during her free time.

        She knew the next couple of days would be hectic and all she wanted to do was have a bit of peace and quiet before then. She was reading a book she had read many times over. Whenever things would become stressful, she found herself with the same book.

        The book was about a princess forced into an arranged marriage, who’s husband died soon after. The now queen was tasked with ruling an entire kingdom on her own with no experience. While the queen tried her best to rule, her court pushed her to remarry and let another man rule instead.

        Even though the plot twists never came as a surprise to her anymore, she still found new perspectives every time she read it. She would continue to read until she finished, but her dad walked over.

        “I knew I would find you here.” Her father said, always knowing where she would be.

        She closed the book on her finger, not wanting to lose her spot in the book. “Did something go wrong?” She wondered why her father was seeking her out.

        “No.” He said, sitting down next to her. “I wanted to get away from all the commotion. Just like you.”

        Y/N only hummed in response. She knew that this spot used to be her mother and father’s before she was born. Her mother even told her that this was the spot where they got engaged. But over time, after her mothers death, her father stopped coming here. She suspected it was because the reminder hurt him too much.

        They sat in silence, looking at the wind pushing the water in the pond, creating ripples. Y/N turned to her father, noticing how calm he was now, knowing he had not been for the past two weeks.

        “Are you feeling better?” She questioned. She worried about his current health. 

        He let out an exasperated sigh, knowing he could not get anything past her. She was just as perceptive, if not more, than her mother. “Not really.”

        “What’s wrong?” She asked, turning her body towards him. “We promised not to hide things from each other after everything that happened surrounding mother’s death.” She softly reminded him.

        “I know.” He whispered. “I just don’t have a good feeling about all of this.”

        “Then why don’t you cancel?” She suggested, trying to help in any way she could. “Say that you changed your mind?”

        “You know I can’t do that.” He was right, she did know that, but she was just trying to come up with some sort of idea. “It would be insanely rude, and we don’t want to make the Fatui mad. Plus all of the preparations are almost done.”

        “Why-” She started, quickly closing her mouth trying to rethink her sentence. “Why do we need to make a deal with them? We’re doing just fine. We don’t need the extra help.”

        “You already know the answer to that, sweetheart.” He sighed looking up at the branches of the tree.

        “I just don’t understand.” Her tone slightly rose as she was starting to get upset at the conversation they have had many times. “We don’t need further protection. I made sure those treasure hoarders will never come back and terrorize us ever again. And if they do, I’ll be here to fight back. I know I can win against them.”

        “You don’t know that though.” He said turning to her, wanting her to understand how serious he was about it. “You have much to learn. Just because you got that vision doesn’t mean you’re invincible. They too could come back with a vision user or other kinds of weaponry we’re not used to. Or even make a deal with the Fatui themselves.”

        She looked away from him, knowing he was right but hating the position it put them in.

        “You won’t always be well enough to fight for all of us. It is better to get more people as strong as you.” He put a hand on her leg for comfort. “I appreciate how much you care about the village. You have a lot more to learn but I know you’ll be a great leader when your time comes.”

        She scooted closer to him, laying her head on his shoulder, comforting herself. “Just promise me: Whatever deal you make, it’s in the village's best interest.”

        He chuckled at her. “I always do what’s in the village’s best interest.”

        She took her head off him, staring at him. Her face was only a few inches from his, her expression very serious. “Promise me.”

        “I promise.” He held his pinky out for her to intertwine with his.

        She hooked hers around his and shook her hand slightly to solidify their promise. She went back to leaning on his shoulder. They sat there in peaceful silence watching the nature around them.

 ***

        About an hour later they arrived at the inn. It was very small and slightly run down but it also gave off a cozy feeling. Y/N practically threw herself out of the carriage the second it stopped, getting claustrophobic from such a small space. She stretched her arms up feeling free and happy being out of there. Dottore grabbed both of their luggage cases while heading into the building to pay for the rooms.

        Y/N was too entranced by the feeling of being out of there to realize that he had grabbed her luggage case as well. When she turned to get hers and found nothing, she ran into the building to find him.

        "Hey! I can carry my own." She yelled after him.

        "It's fine I already got it." He said carrying on down the hall. Stopping in front of a door placing down Y/N’s case. 

        "This is your room. I will be next door if you need anything.” He said holding out the room key. “I'll come to get you for dinner soon." Dottore handed her the room key and walked into the bedroom next door without another word, angered by her attitude.

        Unlocking the door, she walked in. She made sure to lock the door behind her before she laid her case on the bed. The bed was sitting in the middle of the room. It was strange for her, she's never really slept in another room aside from the occasional sleepover with friends when she was younger. But it had been quite a while since then. 

        As she grew older she had lost most of the close connections she had. She started taking her responsibilities more seriously, having less time to spend with them. Even when she would spend time with her friends it was her either worrying about her responsibilities or complaining about them. None of them really wanted to hear about it and started inviting her less and less. Her only true friend had become her father and the other council members.

        Even though she did not really have any friends, everyone in the village still loved and cared for her, as she did them. They could always rely on her to quickly solve any issues they had. Her father was a good leader but he was slow with decisions and had made a few big mistakes in the past. But with Y/N, she was quick and smart. They could tell she truly cared for the village and they could not wait for her to become lord, they knew that they would prosper under her rule. But Sadly, now that would never come

        She sat on the bed thinking everything over again. Realization of her current situation was beginning to set in. Just yesterday morning she was living her normal life. Helping the people in the village, talking with her friends, and having a meal with her father. But in a single night, it was all taken away and there was no way around of it.

        She laid down on the rough covers, holding herself as tears slowly streamed down her face. Everything she knew and loved was taken away from her so suddenly. She told everyone else to be strong but she was truly weak.

        Y/N wanted to keep her village as safe as possible. So if her leaving would make it better then she shall leave. But she didn't like it, she didn't want to leave. She wanted to sneak out right now and head back. Only Archons knew what would happen if she left after the deal was made and she could not risk that.

        A sudden knock at the door sprung her out of her thoughts, followed by a familiar voice "I'm heading to dinner if you would like to join.” Dottore said from the other side. “I know you were hungry."

        Without any word to him, Y/N got off of the bed heading to the bathroom. She grabbed a hand towel off the rack and turned on the cold water, letting it run over the rag. She squeezed out the excess and pressed it to her face to calm her down. Sighing, she looked at herself in the mirror. The skin under her eyes had grown puffy and red from the crying. She rubbed her face one more time before leaving the wet rag in the sink.

        She went back into the room and opened her case. Wanting to change out of her travel outfit, into something more suitable for dinner. After changing out of the clothes, she set them aside knowing she would have to wear them again tomorrow. 

        Y/N left the room, heading towards the dining room she had passed earlier. There were only a few other people in the spacious room, showing how empty the inn was. Y/N easily spotted the light blue hair of Dottore behind a big menu, and headed over to the table he was sitting at. 

        "Glad to see you.” His tone was slightly sarcastic. Taking a jab at how long she took. “I thought you would never join me."

        "And you've been looking at the menu this whole time?" Y/N questioned with a slight smirk at his stupidity. 

        "Hey, I'm a gentleman. I was waiting for you to come." Dottore replied, looking at her over his menu. 

        As he was a clone, he had no use for human-ly things such as food. This was one of the first times he had to eat. He had already made up his mind; He wasn’t bringing her back to Prime. On the other hand, he wanted her to believe he was human, knowing he needed to put up the facade of such. Meaning he had to eat. 

        "Gentleman my a-" Y/N was cut off by one of the workers coming up to them asking what they would like to drink.

        “Just water.” They both said in unison. 

        Dottore smiled at Y/N as she glared back at him, questioning why he was smiling like that at her. He was surprised to see that they had the same idea. He was very happy to know that they were on the same page about simple things such as what to drink. He knew that this was a good sign for the start of their relationship. 

        “Two waters.” The waiter mumbled to himself as he wrote it down on his piece of paper. “Have you two had time to look over the menu?”

        Dottore kept looking at Y/N as to ask “Are you ready to order”. Y/N looked down at her menu, letting out a slight “Um.” as she quickly scanned through everything. “Yes. May I please get Tea Smoked Squab?” She ordered the thing that sounded the most delicious to her.

        The waiter nodded, looking over to Dottore. “And for you sir?”

        “I’ll have the same.” He said handing his menu over, not knowing what to eat. Y/N glared at him, knowing he was just copying her at that point. The waiter took her menu as well and left.

        Y/N could not stand to glare at Dottore any longer, as it was beginning to hurt her face, so she turned her attention out the window, watching the setting sun. While Dottore just stared at her, he admired her beauty in the natural light, noticing more details of her body by the second.

        "So what will I be doing as your assistant?" Y/N asked, breaking the silence. She couldn't handle him looking at her, like he wanted to eat her.

         Dottore huffed knowing that she would start to question things sooner or later. "Hm, it's mostly going to be Fatui paperwork... amongst other things." He said drifting off at the end. He did not want to tell her about his ‘passion projects’ just yet. He just needs to find other things for her to do in the meantime.

        "Other things?" She questioned, wary of what 'other things' meant.

        He realized he should have just left that part out. "Yeah, you know…” He quickly thought of something else the Fatui does. “Like debt collecting." 

        "I have to be a debt collector?" She questioned disgustedly.

        Dottore smiled back. “Only if you want to be.” The way he said it made her feel like she did not have much of a choice. He turned his attention to requesting a server to come over, most likely to complain about how they have not been served their drinks yet. 

        Spacing out from their conversation, not wanting to listen to a grown man complain over some water like a child, Y/N was left to her own thoughts. Sadly, she realized that he was right. She is going to be stuck with him for a while and stuck with working for the Fatui. So she might as well get used to it. What has happened, happened, and what will happen, will happen. So she needs to stay strong for everyone and herself. But that was easier said than done.

        She faded back into reality when she noticed Dottore glance back at her with another quick flash of a smile, the server already back with their drinks. Y/N wondered what they talked about since she spaced out. 

        Before she could question, another server with their food had arrived. During their dinner, she could not help but notice the way he would eat. It was kind of entertaining seeing Dottore try to put food in his mouth with the mask covering half of it. 

        "Dottore?" Y/N called out.

        "Hm?" He replied, still chewing his food. 

        "Do you normally eat alone?” She questioned curiously. “Because I thought you would have taken off your mask to eat." 

        "That's a bit rude to ask... But if you have to know. Yes, I do, but that's mostly because I work while eating.” Dottore replied curtly. “And before you ask, no I am not taking off my mask." 

        Y/N frowned that he was seemingly a mind reader and knew what she was going to ask next. "Well, why do you wear that mask?"

        "There are just some things about me that you may never know." He smiled at her. 

        Y/N’s frown deepened because the curiosity is starting to get to her. Plus she was trying to get to know him better. Knowing they would be spending a lot more time together, but he was making it hard. 

        They both finished their food and started heading back to their rooms together. Reaching Y/N’s door, Dottore stopped behind her, as if he was expecting something. 

        "Thank you… I guess," Y/N said while entering her room. Closing the door behind her, she headed towards the window and opened it. Leaning on the ledge she took in the fresh air that blew past her and entered the room.

        "Here's to starting a new life." She said sadly, trying her hardest to stay optimistic.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Overall Masterlist

Discord link

[chacharoni]

end of 2024 ramblings

I haven't really made a proper post here in ages, so here's me rambling about things I really enjoyed in 2024, primarily animations but also some other media and ttthings.

Asks/comments regarding this post are very welcome, thank you and I hope you enjoy reading!

Sailor Moon

Starting off with this, as of this year (2024) I have finally watched the whole show (and I'm slowly reading the manga too). I will be talking about some spoilers so do skip the Sailor Moon section if you don't want to read them.

My only real exposure to the Sailor Moon series prior to this year, was trying to watch it on TV as a kid, but to no avail as it aired in ungodly early hours of the morning… and I suppose all the art and memes that I would later stumble upon online from time to time. So my thoughts prior to watching it summed up to 'Sailor Moon is a classic and its cultural impact is tremendous' and 'it also has lesbians I guess?'.

Needless to say Sailor Moon is, similtaneously way more and way less than I expected.

There's so much that can be said about the anime adaptation and its differences from the manga. I'm personally of two hearts on the matter, I don't like how the manga's stories were dismissed for not having a broader appeal, but I enjoyed the extra content of the anime more often than not.

While the anime expands on the manga in a very repetitive manner by sticking to a 'monster of the week' format, causing plotlines to stay flat for too long or even rolling back on plot progress made on occasion, it manages to flesh out a lot of characters way more than their manga counterparts.

A side effect of that also being that some characters get stories that conflict the manga canon to an unrecognizable degree, but that's usually not a bad thing.

Examples of positive change (in my very honest opinion) are evil twink Zoisite and Koan's survival and redemption arc. I loved these two characters a lot so I was glad to see them stick around for as long as they did. Sure Zoi could have done without the hints of homophobia baked into his character and Koan should REALLY REALLY NOT have been de-gothifyed around the end of her story relevance, but no point crying over 30 year old spilt milk I guess…

My overall watch experience through season 1 and up until the end of season 2 was mostly curiocity satisfied. 'This show is history and that's why I should watch it' was my main drive. Despite the fun parts, the first two seasons did get somewhat boring and I wasn't very font of either plotline.

(My knowledge of the manga also rans out by the end of with these two arcs so I have little to comment on the differences between the two versions past this.)

Nothing really prepared me for the director change that happens for Season 3. A difference that can be felt from the very first animated frames of this arc and especially in the world shaking impact the 'sailor moon lesbians' have on the story, through the character conflict they bring on the table.

I love Sailor Moon season 3 more than anything I've watched this year (and I watched a LOT of really great shows).

Nothing quite made me feel like a child watching my favourite show on TV impatient to see my favourite character show up again like this season managed to.

Haruka Tenou is the best Sailor Moon character and this is a fact, not just my poor little guy honest opinion. I'm incredibly happy to have been blessed with a director that was aware of this fact too and did all in his power to let her shine as much as she did.

Haruka and Michiru's presence in the show brings intrigue and investment in the plot that was sorely lacking in the seasons prior. They're also a vast improvement to the rom-com aspects of the show, with how they make the rest of the sailors soldiers question their sexuality.

So yeah… I really loved this season, it only kinda disappointed me at the very end because it gets vague and anti-climatic. From research I did, that seems to have been the fault of studio execs, so I'm more mad in behalf of the director than anything.

Sailor Moon s3 walked and fell on its face so Utena could run basically.

I don't really have many more thoughts on Sailor Moon. Season 4 was well directed, but I hardly cared about Chibiusa and her horse bf. It had no Haruka, like at all, so that was a massive downgrade. It was still better than s1 and s2 though.

Season 5 was the other Good One imo, what it does with the guardian lore is pretty cool and Seiya was a fun character. Also Haruka comes back for this one and she's still great despite the different directors, so this is my second favourite season.

Anyway, I'm kinda scared to start reading arc three in the manga because I heard they're quite different. I hope I like manga!Haruka too…

Wakfu Season 4

Hrm, we're back here huh.

So Wakfu season 4 was good, great, amazing and then also bad in very predictable ways.

I have been actively holding myself from commenting on it before. Specifically because I think some of the frustration I have vented about this show before was a tad vitriolic and I'm not happy with it anymore.

But it's been years since then. I've changed and grown a lot (for the better I'm hoping) and Wakfu and its primary author also have undergone changes of their own, so no harm in going back in and talking about the new season, right?

Wakfu season 4 starts a new leaf for the direction of the show. The brotherhood of the forgotten is promptly send their way in the first episode so we can dive in the new story at hand.

I will be honest I expected nothing at all going into this, negative, positive or otherwise, which is why I was quite pleasantly surprised at first.

The first few episodes are pretty good, the general direction of the show is very solid, telling the story at hand in a more competent manner than the unfortunate s3 had prior.

The new characters introduced are very intriguing, especially the Eliatrope goddess and Torross. The animation is incredible, which is to be expected frankly, Wakfu always had good animation, but its no lie this season went a bit harder than usual. Nora's journey and the Eliatrope Goddess backstory sequence are still in my mind months later.

While I've never really been in love with the main characters, I did like the changes made to them and their dynamics in contrast to the slog that was s3.

The direction of the story also managed to keep me invested in them, at least up to the point where it seemed the big bad was going to get pummeled not with an 'EPIC BATTLE OF EPIC PROPORTIONS' but simple sticks and stones for a change.

But sadly as soon as that possibility faded from the horizon, so did my attention.

A glaring problem with this season for me is that a few too many of the plot threads laid out have been left aside for a later one/different potential stories. Because of this some characters just go in directions that I don't particularly feel made for a compelling continuation or exit from their established stories.

I'm not really happy with what the mechasm was dragged in to contribute to the narrative at all. I was super stoked to see it but it was massive a let down it just gets reduced to a power source to replace the eliacube…. The eliasphere…… My god, this just fucking sucks, ESPECIALLY so if that's supposed to be the point, why go out of the way to glorify Qilby's actions this time around, come the fuck on.

(The showdown between them was pretty cool though and it was incredibly funny Qilby had that one sexist line towards the mechasm around the end, what the fuck is wrong with him?? good god)

Aspargone was way way better characterized this season, her 'gaslight, gatekeep, feed the orphans' shtick is funny as hell. I was just not pleased she didn't get to have proper closure with Ruel. I don't think their story needs to drag on further than this season and I kinda hope it doesn't.

Torross was cool but does not feel like he was dealt with in any meaningful way. I understand he has to stay alive because he needs to exist and show up across the games that are set in the past or future of the story in s4, but I find that a flimsy excuse for the underwhelming finale.

Yugo doesn't seem to have learned anything meaningful from him, just has potential to reflect upon what happened in a future story and that just doesn't feel like a satisfying ending to all this. (Oropo bringing some arguement in the narrative against Yugo acquiring more power doesn't matter to me. There has not been one instance of Oropo trying to fix things that was good or benefited anyone at all and he's also boring as hell and I don't give a shit what he has to say.)

I'm also somewhat annoyed that Torross's backstory is as vague as it is cause it's quite interesting and I wanted to know more about what sort of place his planet used to be. Why does it only seem to have hosted three gods etc etc.

Nora's demise was another let down. She was the character I was most invested in and I was really hoping she would be added to the main cast.

Like, finally we get an eliatrope who's actually grown on me, her design was made to cater to me specifically and she has A LOT of potential character development she could undergo laid out and… She just gets canned end of the season?

I will only reconsider my frustration over this if she comes back in the future somehow, sheesh. :v

Eliatrope is the character I was most pleased with (while not my fave, I think she's the most well-rounded). It's very cool how she has an air of uncanniness to her that never quite leaves no matter how much of wet puppy she acts at times. I don't believe her side of the story is all there is to it and again, while I'm not happy it was left for another arc, I hope whatever we get about the gods' lore lives up to the unease she's build up.

Pinpin is the character I have the most mixed feelings about. He's back to be the amicable doofus he used to be, which is great and he's now kinda(?) better taking in that he's a grown man with a wife and three kids.

His character development is not unwelcome, same as Yugo's, I'm glad they're not being little dipshits anymore, but I feel like that change has come out of left field a bit.

We never get to see what drove either character to mellow out of the negative growth they've undergone in the OVAs and S3. And yeah it's good Pinpin finally got around to telling Eva, his wife that he has three kids with, that he loves her for the first time in their relationship, but holy shit that sucks so fucking much. I feel so bad for Eva.

So yeah, I think this season was way way better than last one. Not enough that I'm wholly in love with it, but I think some of the ways it failed for me won't be present for a future season.

The 'brotherhood of the tofu' in my opinion should be left behind to tell different stories about different characters in this universe, cause they're not particularly compelling, and especially Eva/Pinpin and their kids really feel like screentime that would be better used on other characters.

They could work better as assisting characters, you know? It might help a lot with their screentime quality if what development they get is more purposeful and measured.

Overall this season really felt like it was setting up for a future one to its own detriment. More focus should have been placed in making this a great season that can stand on its own two feet and be watched individually, than a season that is leaking plots left and right in favor of the transmedia narrative.

A good balance between those two has not been reached yet, but it feels closer in this season than it was before… I really hope if and whenever a new show or season comes out, I'll be pleasantly surprised once again.

Vocaloids, figures and other escapades

So I've ventured back into Vocaloid recently and it's been quite interesting to see how the fandom around them has changed since I was last here. Main reason for my return is that I've gotten into collecting figures, specifically Mikus, insane how there's like a bazillion of them btw, and that got me curious about Vocaloids again.

While the fandom is still going strong, it is, at least in terms of global marketing, wholly under Miku's chokehold. A fact that I don't like so much frankly, it would be nice if more vocaloids, none-crypton vocaloids, got their time in the spotlight too. But anyway...!

Here's my most favorite figure I got this year!

I bought her secondhand earlier this year. She was super cheap cause her standing leg was slightly damaged and coming off where it connected to her leotard. Gluing her back was a bit of a challenge but I pulled through and now she looks good as new!

I really like her outfit and expression here and I think its of her best figures for its price range… It's just good, I love it a lot.

Also, Vocaloid unrelated, by I have nowhere else to put this, please look at this tiny ass Haruka keychain I got……

She's so tiny I had to leave her hanging on my pinboard, I'm scared that if I put her on my keys with the rest of my keychains she'll be obliterated within a couple of days. And if anything happens to her I'll kill everyone in this room etc etc.

I really wish Haruka got more figures, esp of her civilian outfits. All her figures that I actually like are sadly garage kits that I have no way of getting….

Merch aside, I did my first cosplay in over 10-15 (idr?) years for comic con! And it was not a poorly thought out closet cosplay this time (I did still replace some parts of it with clothes I had I thought better fit what the outfit is supposed to look like a bit better). I've been slowly gathering this outfit for a year or so and finally I was able to go as Kenshi Yonezu's Sand Planet Miku. I had already decided the cosplay would be a Miku and his music was the reason I first got into vocaloids so... it was only fitting I would start with this one, it's one of my most favourite of his Miku designs.

Cosplaying was something I enjoyed way more than I expected to and I might try to get my hand on more costumes in the future (I have my eyes on Haruka in her mustard suit as a possible next one, but only time will tell if I actually do that one)

Despite how fun it is however, the public interactions that cosplaying encourages are a bit of a strain on my social anxiety, no matter how pleasant they have been so far. I don't plan to stop because of this but fingers crossed I'll get better about it in the future.

Anyway to close the vocaloid segment here's some bangers that came out this year that I really love:

Monitoring by Deco*27

I'll be honest I'm a bit lukewarm on some of Deco's songs, even if it's incredible how he uses Miku and I'm amazed how far he's come as a producer. Him swapping out of using Gumi for Miku and then even re-releasing Mozaik Role with Miku is an affront to me specifically and I will never forgive him for that.

That being said he really ate with this one, fantastic song, I love the MV so much.

Donut Hole by Hachi

We are SO BACK!! Not a new song by any stretch of the imagination, but the MV for it sure is new and also the first vocaloid related post we have gotten from Kenshi Yonezu in years. I'm kinda livid about it also, I love the new designs for the girls and how chainsawman-esque it is! I'm also pretty sure that's SF-A2 Miki as the villain and Kaai Yuki as the child character which just really makes me happy...

I don't know if this means more of his old songs have the potential to receive an animated MV, I hope it does, but if not I'm super happy we got this one at least.

Awoo by Van de Shop

This song was an entry for the Project Voltage event that happened late last year/start of this (2023-2024) and I love everything about it. The art is insanely beautiful, it's ghost pokemon themed (based), very catchy and it really makes me nostalgic of my early days in the fanbase.

I love this song a lot and this producer is nuts for using Meiko this well, I'm honestly impressed.

Intergalactic Bound by Yunosuke & CircusP

This one I'm a bit ambivalent about, I don't quite like the commercial-ness it emits but... It's a pretty good song and I really love the MV and the designs Miku has here, especially the last one. It's a very fitting song to celebrate the 10th Miku Expo and since I did attend that, this song is very special to me...

Now for Some Youtube recs!

I'll have to plug in Toaster first and his insane ability to make an incredible amount of Let's Plays. Thanks to his channel I've been able to get to experience a lot of games I don't really have the time to go through myself. He's doing whole series runs of games like Castlevania, Silent Hill, Panzer Dragoon, Zone of the Enders and many, MANY more.

His Up Late With 'X' videos are also very insightful reviews of the series he talks about in them and I really recommend them.

Also if you're like me and you like to watch all the videos on a channel you've just found and you loved, I wish you godspeed cause I have been defeated in this game for the first time OTL....

Ben G Thomas is a paleontology channel that covers a variety of discoveries from dinosaurs, to sharks, to worms, to weird fucked up shrimps both old and historic ones and recent ones. I have learned a lot from this channel so it's very dear to me, and I'm glad to slowly be brainwashed to actually remember the names of species etc.

Also one of this channel's segments, 7daysofscience, that covers more broad weekly science news was recently moved to its own channel, so check that out too if you're interested!

Ok, now I started following a CJ th X while ago because their videos are very very entertaining and they post banger after banger not gonna lie. 'Noface is an Incel' honestly improved the way I viewed that character, sure its been a really long time since I saw that movie but I don't think I had really ever considered this angle. Another I really like is the more recent 'How Jordan Peterson's Suits Taught Me Fashion', this video has a lot of interesting things to say about the social aspects of gender and I'm honestly very here for it.

And that's all, I'm glad I got to the end of writing all this and if you read up to here, thank you for sticking along!

[aktenorbrown]

What a nice and beautiful symbol that resembles an eye

I wonder what happens if I follow this weird glitch-ass owl and loose my identity while I'm at it.

Look at this bitch. Glitching like he owns it. Luring the MC.

SURELY IT IS ONLY MY HUMAN CURIOCITY THAT FORCES ME TO KEEP PUSHING FORWARD, ISN'T IT?

Seriously, mc, you have like 0 self-awareness while talking shit like this:

[louisupdates]

FITFWT23: SEATTLE RECAP

Concert number: 17

Date: 24 Jun 2023

Place: WAMU THEATER

Capacity: 7,200

Venue: [oli crump] [oli crump] [jdelf] [external]

Full livestream: none

LTHQ Twitter, IG, rockstar, Joshua HQ

Concert Group Picture

Fashion: Calvin Klein tank top, Grand Collection pants

Lithograph

Openers: Andrew Cushin, The Snuts

Setlist: Louis sings Common People for the first time on FITFWT23

Photos: [water for fans] [x] [rainbows] [x] [gifs] [red gifs] [x] [delicate] [x] [x] [WOW] [smiling HQ] [pointing] [strutting gifs] [back view] [x] [x] [HQ] [HQ] [b&w HQ] [HQ] [HQ] [HQ] [michael blackwell] [HQ] [HQ] [HQ] [WaMu] [body gifs] [b&w HQ] [helen seamons] [gifs] [barricade HQ] [barricade gifs] [peter bevan] [A Teeny Tiny] [x] [gifs of a theater kid] [Joshua]

Videos: [x]

Speeches: The atmosphere is different, We look after each other, We had another opportunity to show how tough we are as a fanbase, What’s next?

Outro: There Is A Light That Never Goes Out, by The Smiths

Press: WAMU Seattle, Outjamz, Outjamz, Curiocity

Trends: [x]

Misc: football after the concert

[alphaori]

When they ask if they called upon the angel of the Lord, I do not clarify.

They are not wrong, and yet, I am a liar, such is the complicated nature of earth. I look upon them, trembling, and conceal, until they think I have a face like theirs. I wonder what they see. I feel blind. They claim to hear the voice from above, and it has been so long I can not tell if it is true. The man clutches a book, hand-written notes spilling from it, and speaks a crude imitation of a tongue I once knew. I would have understood regardless. They want a miracle, to convince a man. I can do miracles, but I can not move hearts. They accept. 

Humans say "in a blink of an eye" to mean something quick. I deliberate over the phrase. Time is something that binds me now, though still not as tightly as them. In the time it took a human to blink, eons could have collapsed before me, or every fiber of the universe could have stood still. Now I am a slave to time, and time is the master of me. It has been six thousand years. In a blink of an eye, I am called upon once more. 

The woman from before is there, and a different man is with her. When she sees me, she falls to her knees, but he remains standing, though I know he fears. She begs, in crude sentences of the old tongue, for a holy miracle. I do not tell that the only power I command now is of fire and brimstone. It is miraculous, in a sense. After all, is the sun not the brightest of the Lord’s creations, and yet, is it not made of only flame eternal. I try the best I can to imitate the warm glow of the sun for them, a simple sign of grace. They both scream. 

Apparently, they were satisfied. The man has given them money to build the holy land. I say nothing. They walk a desecrated path, but who am I to guide them to holiness? Still, they pray and live in His name, though no one watches over them. So, I do. Two wrongs do not make a right, but there is no harm. At least, I reason so. 

Humans fascinate me. To think how much they changed in so little time. This curiocity of mine has always been my dishonor, and yet, I hold it close. I watch them come to this land, and I see through time all the beasts and men that walked and tended the earth, and I see the blood and iron and lead beneath the prairie. I watch them accept new believers. I watch them build a house. Eventually, they have kids, and I watch them too. I was never a guardian, but surely this is better than nothing. I watch them grow, and I watch them change, and I watch them weep. The sun goes up and down, as do the workers in the field, as does the knife of a butcher, as does the hand of the father. 

One of the children prays, calling for me. The man and woman rarely call for me now, and when they do they are satisfied when I give them fire. But the child asks for something else. She wishes for the world to not end. Nothing is infinite, of course, but I sense that she means something else. She says the world will end in sixteen days, or so the family believes. I can not know if that is true. Could they? I light a candle on her bedside table, the only reassurance I can give the poor thing. Eventually, she sleeps. 

I look for the signs, daring not to ask. I can see no mirth, no love, no divinity now, but I can still see the world, misery of it vast like ocean after the storm, and I do not see the end. It can not be. When I return, I see people praying, begging for forgiveness as poison dries on their lips. There is a space in the line of them. In the house, the man and woman wrestle their own child, and while I can not know, I believe there is little divine of their madness. I reach into the world with all my might and tell them to stop. The child keeps sobbing. The man and woman only scowl. 

“▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒, stay out of it!” - the woman says.

“▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒, I command you to step down, now!” - the man says, my name frivolous in their mouths.

At another time, in another life, I would have no choice but to obey. But one good thing about falling is that I am not bound by that name any longer. I wish I could fill the house with fire, burn it until ashes fly back to heaven, but I do not. 

The man pulls from behind his back a long thing of steel, a weapon, and fires at me, and sees its power useless against me. I am not a being like them, at least, not yet.

I say, truly say, in my true voice, a single word in their tongue. Perhaps it sounds as mangled to them. I do not care. I gather the little true strength I have to say: “Leave”.

Glass shatters in the house, and birds fall silent. 

I can not move hearts. 

I can not pray. 

I almost do. 

They relent. 

I watch them stumble out, and into their metal carriage, and away, until I can not see like this anymore. Until my fire burns out, and I have eyes like them, and a body like them, and I bleed like them from the shattered glass. Until the child calms, enough to crawl out and see me. 

“I am sorry”, I say. I can still speak in her mind. That is good. Less frightening.

“It’s ok.”

We sit in silence some more. Eventually, she starts asking. 

“Are they gone?” “Yes.”

“Forever?”

“I do not know.”

“What… what about the others?”

I say nothing, and there is silence again.

“What do we do now?”

I deliberate. 

“We should leave. Unless you wish to remain?”

She shakes her head. 

I feel something. In my flesh, newly forged in flames, a sensation stirs. Perhaps it is sin. Perhaps it is joy. I know even less now, and yet, I do not miss it. 

“▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒?”

“You probably should not use that name for me.”

“Before we go, you should probably dress up.”

Something twitches in my chest. Muscles tighten, choking my breath. For a moment, I worry that I made a mistake. In the next, I let out a laugh. My lungs fill with air and then release it. My heart pumps blood through countless blood vessels. I thought about this for so long. I was not fully prepared. Still, it is a good day. I observe the long streaks of sunlight falling on a burnt out candle, and the dust dancing in the air. It is warm and peaceful suddenly, like another place I remember, but I do not dwell on the memory and get up instead. 

[frozen-banana-guacamole]

Veronica by cabinet_of_curiocities

[lordcrumps]

Your SCHOOL mod looks cool, my lord. I have a question (out of curiocity, not request). Would it be possible to make something similar for CHRIS HATCH school mod?🤔😀

I am not familiar with this, is this the one where you run the school? Could you elaborate more? Or link me to the one your on about? Thanks!

[doomspiral]

with the same level of curiocity and determination that i learned how to draw and continuously improved (until i decided to be bad on purpose), i am now doing that but with math. I entertain myself with... cool math videos. And do sudoku an play chess and try to do workbook problems. I hope it works!

[coffee-in-veins]

@bingubus​ my dear fellow human being, just a quick question out of pure unhinged curiocity, but what do you think other people base their assessment of “how hard to learn a language” on instead of academic sense?

[mousterian-writes]

Shifts in Staff Envy Over Time

I passed the one year anniversary for posting Staff Envy and I would like to take the time to talk about the upcoming chapter. The Gadgetzan sequence is actually the oldest part of my story and it has gone through the most changes since its original inception. 

Back in the day when the story was called Get that Staff! this was actually the beginning! 

The first iteration involved Kel’Thuzad traveling to Tanaris to hunt down a one-eyed orc he believed to be in possession of the base of Atiesh. Along the way he encounters Amnennar the Coldbringer, Gets sick and Melts, makes friends with the Bronze Dragon Zaladormu who recruits him to help find Thrall (who the dragon had recently lost in an alternate timeline) and finally reassembles Atiesh and accidentally blows up half of Gadgetzan. 

The second iteration had every element from the first, but it took place after the library confrontation. KT, now in denial, is running away from his responsibilities and is punished for it. In pursuit are Modera & Rivendare, they think the lich has kidnapped his daughter. 

Finally, we have the modern iteration. Almost none of those things happen in this chapter at all! Some items have been scrapped from the story all together, like Amnennar. Zaladormu and the melting were rearranged to happen at different times. So what happened to cause all of these changes? In short, it was the trajectory of the characters and the creation of Vael.

Vael

I have a confession to make: I generally like to keep canon characters and OCs separate. I also don’t, as a rule, make fan kids. And yet I’ve technically made two for this story (this is why I’m a hack). Although I could make an argument for Ghastly as there are references to Kel’Thuzad raising plague drakes, Vael is pure fabrication. So why the hell did I do it? 

The primary reason is I needed a way to get the characters from point A to point B, which I will discuss in the next subsection. But, having a kid also adds new avenues for drama that the story did not previously have. It heightens the stakes and creates another wrinkle in KT & Modera's relationship. Finally, it gives KT & Modera that bit I needed for their arcs. 

The Characters

In Get that Staff, KT was on a journey by himself and the story was more focused on his adventure in the alternate timeline. Rivendare was not in the story & Modera and Vael only existed within the other timeline. But this had some issues- for one, his motivations were sort of nebulous and it was difficult to link set pieces together. Also, the cast was too small and inconsistent. As in there was a revolving door, no one to challenge him or remark on his growth.  

I made the decision to expand Modera’s role first because it gave him another person to consider and made his goals more personal as opposed to materialistic. But this still caused issues because IIRC there were still questions on how to get all of the characters to the alternate timeline. Modera might follow him if he was searching for Atiesh, but how would she find out? And would she really follow him into another time by herself to stop him? I don’t think so.

This is where Vael comes in. This is a character that is really able to push the plot forward because the protagonists are naturally invested in her. In addition, she inherited KT’s naive curiocity which can get her into trouble (like in chapter 3), but it is also what gives KT the idea to look for the ledger and ultimately learn that he had a child. I guess this is what they mean by characters moving the plot forward. I think ultimately that's why I’m at peace with making a fan kid- she serves a narrative purpose and (I hope) she isn’t annoying. 

So, this comes to the shift away from the second iteration of Gadgetzan. 

By this time, chapter five had been published. We’ve already had two chapters of Kel’Thuzad being in denial about having a kid. I did not think it made sense for the story for him to continue to be in denial or to run away from his problem anymore. I thought this would be boring for the readers and make him somewhat unlikeable. However there was a second problem- the story was becoming more about Kel’Thuzad and Modera’s relationship. If he ran away, based on the chapter layouts at the time, there were going to be almost seven chapters before they were on screen together again. This would kill their arc. 

It also presented one final and potentially the most important problem: if KT was running around by himself, he would also be completely removed from the A- Plot (rescue daughter) because he would have no knowledge that she had been kidnapped in the first place!    

Which brings us to the modern version of the chapter. Now, KT and Modera are moving together to find their daughter. Instead of going to RFD, they go to Theramore (so long Coldbringer). Zaladormu doesn’t need to be here anymore because they already have a reason to go to the Caverns of Time. KT isn’t actively looking for the base, so the crumbs about a one eyed orc can go away. Instead maybe he and Rivendare are bored and decide to look in a pawn shop while the other two are eating, etc. 

All in all, the changes this chapter have gone through mirror the way the story has grown since its inception. I hope my weird ramblings have been entertaining at least