#figure out what they like and what works and how to enhance the dynamic

[rubenesque-as-fuck]

Like all I want is someone to love and adore, but with the smallest inkling that they actually care about me as a person too and won't drop me the first time I'm an inconvenience. If I had that we'd fuck nasty every which way all the damn time and I'd send them cute nudes to fluster them when I was feeling flirty. It shouldn't be so damned hard to find that 😔

[mostlysignssomeportents]

When the app tries to make you robo-scab

When we talk about the abusive nature of gig work, there’s some obvious targets, like algorithmic wage discrimination, where two workers are paid different rates for the same job, in order to trick occasional gig-workers to give up their other sources of income and become entirely dependent on the app:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/12/algorithmic-wage-discrimination/#fishers-of-men

Then there’s the opacity — imagine if your boss refused to tell you how much you’ll get paid for a job until after you’ve completed it, claimed that this was done in order to “protect privacy” — and then threatened anyone who helped you figure out the true wage on offer:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/07/hr-4193/#boss-app

Opacity is wage theft’s handmaiden: every gig worker producing content for a social media algorithm is subject to having their reach — and hence their pay — cut based on the unaccountable, inscrutable decisions of a content moderation system:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/10/e2e/#the-censors-pen

Making content for an algorithm is like having a boss that docks every paycheck because you broke rules that you are not allowed to know, because if you knew the rules, you’d figure out how to cheat without your boss catching you. Content moderation is the last place where security through obscurity is considered good practice:

https://doctorow.medium.com/como-is-infosec-307f87004563

When workers seize the means of computation, amazing things happen. In Indonesia, gig workers create and trade tuyul apps that let them unilaterally modify the way that their bosses’ systems see them — everything from GPS spoofing to accessibility mods:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/07/08/tuyul-apps/#gojek

So the tech and labor story isn’t wholly grim: there are lots of ways that tech can enhance labor struggles, letting workers collaborate and coordinate. Without digital systems, we wouldn’t have the Hot Strike Summer:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/02/not-what-it-does/#who-it-does-it-to

As the historic writer/actor strike shows us, the resurgent labor movement and the senescent forces of crapulent capitalism are locked in a death-struggle over not just what digital tools do, but who they do it for and who they do it to:

https://locusmag.com/2022/01/cory-doctorow-science-fiction-is-a-luddite-literature/

When it comes to the epic fight over who technology acts for and against, we need a diversity of tactics, backstopped by tech operated by and for its users — and by laws that protect workers and the public. That dynamic is in sharp focus in UNITE Here Local 11’s strike against Orange County’s Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort & Spa.

The UNITE Here strike turns on the usual issues like a living wage (hotel staff are paid so little they have to rent rooming-house beds by the shift, paying for the right to sleep in a room for a few hours at a time, without any permanent accommodation). They’re also seeking health-care and pensions, so they can be healthy at work and retire after long service. Finally, they’re seeking their employer’s support for LA’s Responsible Hotels Ordinance, which would levy a tax on hotel rooms to help pay for hotel workers’ housing costs (a hotel worker who can’t afford a bed is the equivalent of a fast food worker who has to apply for food stamps):

https://www.unitehere11.org/responsible-hotels-ordinance/

But the Marriott — which is owned by the University of California and managed by Aimbridge Hospitality — has refused to bargain, walking out negotiations.

But the employer didn’t walk out over wages, benefits or support for a housing subsidy. They walked out when workers demanded that the scabs that the company was trying to hire to break the strike be given full time, union jobs.

These aren’t just any scabs, either. They’re predominantly Black workers who rely on the $700m Instawork app for gigs. These workers are being dispatched to cross the picket line without any warning that they’re being contracted as strikebreakers. When workers refuse the cross the picket and join the strike, Instawork cancels all their shifts and permanently blocks them from new jobs.

This is a new, technologically supercharged form of illegal strikebreaking. It’s one thing for a single boss to punish a worker who refuses to scab, but Instawork acts as a plausible-deniability filter for all the major employers in the region. Like the landlord apps that allow landlords to illegally fix rents by coordinating hikes, Instawork lets bosses illegally collude to rig wages by coordinating a blocklist of workers who refuse to scab:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2022/10/company-that-makes-rent-setting-software-for-landlords-sued-for-collusion/?comments=1

The racial dimension is really important here: the Marriott has a longstanding de facto policy of refusing to hire Black workers, and whenever they are confronted with this, they insist that there are no qualified Black workers in the labor pool. But as soon as the predominantly Latino workforce struck, Marriott discovered a vast Black workforce that it could coerce into scabbing, in collusion with Instawork.

Now, all of this isn’t just sleazy, it’s illegal, a violation of Section 7 of the NLRB Act. Historically, that wouldn’t have mattered, because a string of presidents, R and D, have appointed useless do-nothing ghouls to run the NLRB. But the Biden admin, pushed by the party’s left wing, made a string of historic, excellent appointments, including NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, who has set her sights on punishing gig work companies for flouting labor law:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/01/10/see-you-in-the-funny-papers/#bidens-legacy

UNITE HERE 11 has brought a case to the NLRB, charging the Instawork, the UC system, Marriott, and Aimbridge with violating labor law by blackmailing gig workers into crossing the picket line. The union is also asking the NLRB to punish the companies for failing to protect workers from violent retaliation from the wealthy hotel guests who have punched them and screamed epithets at them. The hotel has refused to identify these thug guests so that the workers they assaulted can swear out complaints against them.

Writing about the strike for Jacobin, Alex N Press tells the story of Thomas Bradley, a Black worker who was struck off all Instawork shifts for refusing to cross the picket line and joining it instead:

https://jacobin.com/2023/07/southern-california-hotel-workers-strike-automated-management-unite-here

Bradley’s case is exhibit A in the UNITE HERE 11 case before the NLRB. He has a degree in culinary arts, but racial discrimination in the industry has kept him stuck in gig and temp jobs ever since he graduated, nearly a quarter century ago. Bradley lived out of his car, but that was repossessed while he slept in a hotel room that UNITE HERE 11 fundraised for him, leaving him homeless and bereft of all his worldly possessions.

With UNITE HERE 11’s help, Bradley’s secured a job at the downtown LA Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites, a hotel that has bargained with the workers. Bradley is using his newfound secure position to campaign among other Instawork workers to convince them not to cross picket lines. In these group chats, Jacobin saw workers worrying “that joining the strike would jeopardize their standing on the app.”

Today (July 30) at 1530h, I’m appearing on a panel at Midsummer Scream in Long Beach, CA, to discuss the wonderful, award-winning “Ghost Post” Haunted Mansion project I worked on for Disney Imagineering.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/30/computer-says-scab/#instawork

[Image ID: An old photo of strikers before a struck factory, with tear-gas plumes rising above them. The image has been modified to add a Marriott sign to the factory, and the menacing red eye of HAL9000 from Stanley Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey' to the sky over the factory. The workers have been colorized to a yellow-green shade and the factory has been colorized to a sepia tone.]

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

[lookingforhappy]

thnk u @air--so--sweet for pointing out the tua prop auction, i am obssessed so ofc im now writing up my own transcripts for stuff. i bet someone else has done this but i couldnt find it so here's my record of it:

this is from Reginald's red book in s1 (i presume the dates are written day/month/year as Reginald is english)

transcript:

"#00.01 Behaviour Part 4 -When given opportunity, he acts in accordance to my expectations, and to my instruction, and only to my expectation and instructions. Further experiments needed to figure out the extent of his blind loyalty. -Unknowable at this time if this productive for the cause or detrimental for the cause. 4/03/01 Conducted experiment in which I sent #00.01 to this woods to watch for threats. Not only did he not ask about said threats, he found ways to come up with his own possible threats. He stood watch in a weak, slight base camp from dawn until dusk, without asking if he should stay on overnight. He is still there. -Is it truly best to have the best follower be the leader??"

transcript:

"5/09/01 Another experiment conducted in which I gave #00.01 an unknowable mission, but this time had him try to lead the team in his cause. I instructed #00.01 to take the team and patrol the state beach. Up and down. Until the threat revealed itself. Within hours all members had referred to pursue mission on such little intel. #00.01 never stopped. Even after the pleading from #00.03. Whom usually shows an emotional weakness for. #00.03 Abilities Part 3 -Makes one wonder if she is all the Umbrella Academy really needs. -Her full potential makes the rest of the team look like an afterthought. -How can I convince her the team needs her? Confounded at not being able to capture a non-existent opponent flag. Their petty feud seems to know no bounds. But if the feud motivates #00.02 in a way to suceed in that types of scale, so be it. Work-load Capacity Ranking 1-#00.05 (negated by disregard for rules and safety) 2-#00.01 (enhanced by propensity to protect siblings) 3-#00.03 (strength in collaboration) 4-#00.06 (follower) 5-#00.04 (untapped and unfocused potential) 6-#00.02 (could be 1st or 6th depending on mood) Discipline Notes -Physical pain yields best results with males. -Emotional trauma yields best results with #00.03 and Klaus. Especially when inflicted on others. -Separation from group does not work on #00.02."

transcript:

"-Sensory Statistics -Visual - 21.4% -Auditory - 8.7% -Kinesthetic - 69.9% -Disorders -Likely tendency toward Oppositional Disorder (ODD) -Maternal family history of possible sociopathy (seems incongruent to dynamics with Seven; background research ongoing ref p.49) -Phobias -Darkness -Solitude -Binds Effective Behaviours Modification Techniques"

edit 03/07/2024: spelling corrections 😬

my thoughts beneath the cut:

Pic 1

interesting that Reginald seems more interested in Luther's psychology, and whether it's a mistake for him to be the leader due to his blind loyalty and strict adherence to instruction (to me, Luther reads as somewhat autistic here, following rules to the letter, but this could also be a result of childhood abuse).

Reginald's interest in Luther's blind loyalty, and experimenting on him to test where or if he has a limit on said loyalty, is very similar to the moon mission. Reginald said there was a purpose to it in s3, but maybe the purpose was testing the extent of Luther's loyalty. Maybe he was waiting to see at what point would Luther actually start to ask his father questions, or make requests of him or even outright defy him. We know Luther had started asking for more food, but maybe Reginald was pushing him further, to see at what point he'd ask to come home.

Since Reginald didn't send any of the Sparrows to the Moon it would seem like Luther's moon mission was unneccessary, but to Reginald there was nothing more important than training the children. Since Reginald seems to doubt whether having a Follower be a Leader, maybe he was trying to force Luther into a position that would help him learn how to use his own initiative?

Pic 2

this one is a gold mine.

Luther once again cannot not follow instruction or leave his work unfinished, but he's also considered to be very protective of his siblings by Reginald (which is a good thing in Reginald's books).

Allison is desperate for him to stop, but also seems like she has self-worth or anxiety issues that Reginald is unable to cure her of, likely related to her feeling like people would hate her if they knew the real her.

Diego's feud with Luther over being no.1 wasn't intentional on Reginald's side, but he didn't discourage it either as he felt it motivated Diego. Which is probably related to the fact that Diego doesn't seem to work well without the group. He also says Diego could be no.1 if he sorted out his emotions, but he ranks him in last.

Five is marked top of the group, above even Luther, but he's too opposed to rules and safety in Reginald's eyes.

Ben seems to be keeping quiet and doing as he's told, which also seems to be a good thing to Reginald.

also interesting that Klaus is referred to by name not number, and is grouped with Allison rather than with the "males".

I don't think "physical pain" refers to torture or corporal punishment, but perhaps exhaustion or intense physical regimines? Mostly because Reginald seems extremely hands off with the kids.

Pic 3

It doesn't say who this entry is about but "Oppositional Disorder" and "sociopathy" seems most consistent with Five. and now that we know his mother was a butcher, she seems the most likely candidate to have been thought a sociopath.

(edit: Although, Klaus is also suggested to have ODD in S3, this doesn't seem consistent with the earlier entry mentioning he is more receptive to emotional pain and pain inflicted on others, than to physical pain inflicted to himself. Plus, Rachel seems very emotionally intelligent, and this entry points out a positive relationship with Viktor which has always been more Five's thing)

I don't agree with the sociopath diagnosis, but it seems Reginald is hestitant to diagnose it in the first place since he notes that Five has a good relationship with Viktor, probably meaning he's not devoid of empathy.

the Phobias is also interesting. Darkness, Solitude and Binds all suggest he was forced into similar situations as Klaus and Viktor, where he had to use his powers to escape cramped conditions. the fact that he notes Solitude is one of his phobias is also v sad all things considered. plus the fact that Five is the only Brelly to sleep on a separate floor to the other 6 siblings - maybe this was Reginald's attempt to cure him of this phobia?

[nerdiqueen]

hang on I have to rant

if you're not already aware, the five-man band is a literary device used to classify teams of 5 characters. it's what I call an external trope, meaning that you fit the trope to the characters, they don't innately have it.

a:tla has a pretty solid one, and it's well known enough, so I'm gonna use it to show you what I mean

it is comprised of:

the Leader, who directs the group and is usually the main character (aang)

the Lancer, who serves as character foil to the Leader and is often a bad-guy-turned-good or rogue element (zuko)

the Big Guy, who solves physical problems for the team and is frequently a goofball (toph)

the Smart Guy, who solves technical/logistical problems for the team and typically serves as an "idea guy" (sokka)

and the Heart, who solves emotional problems for the team- if there's only one girl, she's probably the Heart (katara)

there are three star wars groups I want to look at: delta squad, domino squad, and clone force 99.

first is domino squad, as they fit this trope the easiest.

fives is the Leader, the most strategizing one in the group

droidbait is the Lancer, far less cautious and more prone to injury than the others (the foil to fives' effectiveness)

hevy is the Big Guy, serving the oh-so-common "big gun demolitions expert" variant

echo is the Smart Guy, in the "guys, come on, stick to the PLAN" variant

cutup is the Heart, lightening the mood with jokes (hence the name)

the first to die is droidbait, leaving echo to serve as fives' foil, which allows us to see that fives is probably the most prototypical clone of the bunch. then hevy sacrifices himself, and cutup gets eaten, leaving only fives and echo until the Citadel arc which I haven't yet seen.

then we have delta squad. the thing about delta squad is that there are four of them, and while the four-man band is a thing, they make this perfect incomplete five-man band that I think is really really tasty.

boss (player character) is the Leader, guiding the team

sev is the Lancer, playing the "snarky rogue" archetype

scorch is the Big Guy, again the "big gun demolitions" variant- but with the added flavor of being very by-the-book (which we see the consequences of when he aligns with not only the empire but doctor hemlock himself in tbb)

fixer is the Smart Guy, tech expert

notice anything?

there's no Heart.

and that works. these are clone commandos- meant to be the most effective troops the republic has. they almost never interact socially outside of their squad, and when they do it's kept pretty professional.

we see that again in clone force 99, or as they call themselves, the bad batch

hunter is the Leader, his enhanced senses leaving him the most generalist of the batch (and also he's technically their sergeant)

crosshair is the Lancer, a "silent, ruthless efficiency" type

wrecker is the Big Guy, "big gun demolitions" variant yet again (I told you it was common) in the goofball flavor

tech is the Smart Guy, btw he's really well done and it never feels like he just "knows because he's smart" you can always tell how he figures things out

again, there's no Heart. but wait.

in the Bad Batch arc in clone wars, they pick up another member- echo. we don't see much of echo's interaction with the batch in that arc, but when we come back, echo is solidly in a sort of almost-but-not-quite Heart role. and then.

omega shows up in the "sixth ranger" role, there to shake up the group dynamic. throughout season one, we see omega slowly take over echo's role as Heart- and as this happens, it becomes clear that that was the role he was playing, as he talks hunter through how to best take care of omega. but omega, tagalong kid as she is, is much, much more suited to the Heart role than echo, and she takes his place- which allows echo to run off and have his own adventures with rex throughout seasons two and three, WHICH WORKS because echo is a regular clone who joined the batch later in life and thus isn't quite the same as the others, but omega is a deviant clone just like them!

[raine-kai]

Minor OPLA Details I Love

Now that I have come to terms with the edits to Nojiko (I am a sucker for sister stories and was deeply sad they edited that trust and support out), and watched pretty much every reaction video I could find on YouTube, I have some things I wanna point out that I absolutely adore.

The fact that though this Luffy is softer, less inclined towards insulting and strongarming people like Coby and Zoro respectively, it is done in such a way where it enhances the resulting relationship.

The degree to which Zoro is attached to Luffy warms my heart as a Zoro->Luffy shipper. The way in Baratie he initially wanted to sit next to Luffy, and only ended up farthest from him because his swords wouldn't let him is <3

The toning down of Sanji's fixation on women is done excellently, and is actually enhanced by the change to Nami's character, where she is not inclined to encourage him. If I'd heard about this before I'd seen the season, I would have doubted that it could work this way, but it still feels like them, and I look forward to seeing how this dynamic endures next season.

The Kobymeppo Diaries adaptation worked so well? I'm impressed with how naturally they had Helmeppo progress from asshole to very likable.

The Mihawk-Zoro duel was so good. I am not into action scenes, but this show made me realize that I'm just not into typical Hollywood action scenes, and I'm really into these more choreographed, emotionally heightened fights that OPLA pulls off so well in general, but it was especially apparent for me in the Mihawk-Zoro duel.

Given that they included more set-up in this season to Baroque Works, I'm wondering if they'll bring Kuro back as one of the random Baroque Works agents.

I love that Luffy's growth as a captain gets more focus in this show than it did at this stage of the manga. I love that Zoro is at his side, explicitly his first mate as he councils Luffy to be more cautious than Luffy naturally is.

I also love that the Zoro-Sanji rivalry originates more in Zoro needling Sanji, which seems to be out of his need to be Luffy's right-hand man, and seeing Sanji as a potential threat. (Honestly, I'm not a fan of how their rivalry began in the manga/anime, and as a Zoro->Luffy and Sanji->Luffy shipper, I am so happy that what I headcanon as the real reason they argue is canon so far in OPLA.)

The sheer attention to detail, omg. All the details that lead back to systems and figures and events and companies that we know exist in the One Piece universe is mind-boggling to me and I have so much respect for the crew that put all those set pieces together.

The way they made Usopp's lies a charming personality quirk, both through the actor's charisma and through this version of Luffy's reactions, was remarkable to me.

I just love this show. The way they managed to rearrange canon in a way that still feels so authentic to the characters and their relationships and the world and the story is amazing. I feel so lucky to be part of the One Piece fandom this year, we are blessed. 🥰

[chuckeroo777]

Dungeon Meshi Volume 14 Part 3

Eat or be eaten. There is no hierarchy. Eating is, quite simply, the exclusive privilege of the living.

Come on, it's time to eat! What shall we have today?

I think the real takeaway from Dungeon Meshi is that cannibalism is a firm "maybe".

Slurp!

I remember seeing a post a while ago about Dungeon Meshi being fatphobic, and while I kinda see where they're coming from, I don't really agree. It's not exactly controversial to advocate for healthy eating and moderate exercise. While the body types could be a bit more diverse, especially in the main cast, Kui clearly has respect for people of various body types. Have you seen some of the daydream hour stuff?

They know him so well. Chilchuck in particular I think understands best. After all, his succubus becomes what he most desires, but it isn't what he wants.

I love this grumpy old gnome who spits nothing but facts.

This whole sequence is very nice.

So, I know this isn't literal, but do you think Falin would have been able to fully expel the dragon's soul? But even if she could, she chose kindness instead. And that's really nice.

I wonder what the demon thinks about all this. Has it actually learned any sort of lesson from all this? Either way, it at least seems to be taking its defeat as graciously as one would hope.

A precious image. It's all been leading up to this.

So, all the changes I've noticed. First, she has feathers covering most of her body. Some haven't grown in yet, but the coverage seems to match her chimera form, leaving her hands, feet, head, and tummy bare. She has large canines. She might have enhanced strength, though she was known for bashing heads in before her transformation too, so it's hard to tell. She also has normal eyesight, as opposed to her previous nearsightedness.

God, she is just like me.

WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?!?!

Everyone loves pizza.

I still say familiars are the best solution. He can both make his own monsters, and observe real monsters through the eyes of his creations.

Oh, quit your bellyaching. A quick detox spell will have you right as rain.

An adorable image, and a fitting ending for an amazing manga.

Of course, it isn't quite over yet.

Glad to see she's doing well. Cat's would totally do this if they could talk.

This is so cute. Just like when you were in school!

Was it ever established what the heck living armor eats? Most shelled mollusks rely mostly on filter feeding, but that doesn't work so well in a terrestrial environment. Then again, we know monsters can supplement their diet with mana, and the mana in this dungeon awakens Kensuke later, so maybe they're super efficient to the point that they only need mana. And iron.

I love these dumbasses.

An important image.

Have I mentioned I love the dynamic these guys have?

One final precious image to end things off. What are the odds his wife is just off-screen?

Thanks to everyone who joined me for this tasty journey. I still have some other stuff cooking, so stay tuned! The Laios Got Eaten AU might be a bit. I'm struggling to figure out how they defeat Thistle or the Demon without Laios. I also have another AU I might write involving an OC. We'll see.

Have a great day, and may all your Meshi be Dungeon.

[vilevampz]

Character Development: Inspirations & Techniques (Part 2)

Where to gain inspiration from

Movies/TV shows 

Visual storytelling in movies/TV shows provides a rich source of character inspiration

Character interactions and evolution spark ideas for unique and dynamic personalities.

Detailed portrayal of emotions, dialogue, and body language aids in conveying complex traits and relationships.

Setting and costume design inspire character backgrounds and aesthetics.

Plots and subplots offer examples of character arcs and growth.

Analyzing favorite characters helps identify compelling traits to apply to your creations.

Reimagining characters in different contexts or blending traits from multiple characters results in fresh, original personalities.

2. Dreams

Unique Scenarios: Dreams often present bizarre and imaginative scenarios that can be the basis for intriguing storylines or settings.

Emotional Depth: The intense emotions experienced in dreams can provide insight into character motivations and relationships.

Subconscious Creativity: Dreams tap into the subconscious mind, revealing unexpected ideas and creative solutions that might not emerge during waking hours.

Symbolism and Themes: The symbolic nature of dreams can inspire themes, motifs, and symbolic imagery within stories.

Character Development: Dream figures can inspire new characters or offer fresh perspectives on existing ones, enriching their depth and complexity.

Exploration of Fears: Nightmares and anxieties manifest in dreams can be explored and transformed into compelling narratives.

Surreal Elements: Dreams' surreal and fantastical elements can add a unique and captivating dimension to writing.

Creating Character Profiles

1. Importance 

Consistency: They help maintain consistent character traits, behaviors, and backstories throughout the story.

Depth: Profiles provide a detailed understanding of characters, making them more three-dimensional and relatable.

Development: They aid in tracking character growth and development throughout the narrative.

Motivation: Profiles clarify characters' motivations, goals, and conflicts, enhancing plot coherence.

Interaction: Understanding each character’s personality helps writers depict authentic interactions and relationships.

Creativity: They inspire creativity by encouraging writers to explore various aspects of a character’s life, including past experiences and future aspirations.

Efficiency: Profiles save time during the writing process by providing quick reference points for character details.

Backstory: Detailed profiles provide a comprehensive backstory for characters, enriching the narrative.

Facades: They showcase different facets and layers of a character, revealing their complexity and making them more realistic.

2. What to include 

Hair color, eye color, or anything that describes what the character looks like

Traits to offer a glimpse of their personality and/or quirks

Their family tree and history, education, and any other relevant background info

Their motivations and goals, What drives them? What do they want to achieve? 

Relationships with friends, family, or partner 

Example Character Sheet: 

Character Name: 

Age: 

Sexuality: 

Gender:

Education: 

Eye color: 

Hair color: 

Traits:

Fears:

Strengths: 

Weakness: 

*This is how I do it but you can make it more complex or visually appealing, whatever works best for you. 

Using Programs to envision characters 

Programs like the Sims can help greatly when envisioning characters as you can create exactly what they look like (mods and CC will make that a reality) I use this all the time to create what my character looks like and what their voice sounds like. I know their voices are in similish but I can get an understanding of how high or deep or what tone I am going for in my head. I can also see what they would dress like casually, formally, etc. so if a scene needs my characters to dress a certain way, this helps figure that out. Visualing your characters through a program like this helps but if you can draw your characters that is awesome. There is a good chunk of writers or poets who can’t draw so this helps us be able to see our characters.

[spockandawe]

I'm going to have full cohesive pitches for these books as individual experiences sometime soon, i swear, but since I 1) just finished rereading thousand autumns (first time where it wasn't a third mtl), 2) am rereading peerless for the first time in years, and 3) am reading sleuth of the ming dynasty for the first time ever, I've been thinking a LOT about meng xi shi as an author and trying to scrape together my thoughts. Because I think she's really stunningly good! She's one of those authors whose skill just SHINES through, even when a translation is weak, and that's always something so fascinating to me.

But at the same time, i have a harder time raving about her books than most of my other faves. Trying to pitch thousand autumns to friends was something I really struggled with! The other two are easier, by nature of their central dynamics, while yan wushi cranks this one up to nightmare difficulty mode. But I think that it also provides an example of what I might be having to recalibrate for.

Like, I'm an easy binch. If Hua Cheng is leaving a necklace for Xie Lian early on, or Luo Binghe is noticing Shen Qingqiu's leaves right at the beginning of their books, I'm hootin and hollerin, I'm drumming my heels on the floor. And Meng Xi Shi is NOT about that instant gratification lifestyle. We're not having dessert before dinner, and there is some INTRICATE plot shit happening in all these books that is not getting muscled aside for indulgent ship time.

I'm absolutely certain it's a conscious choice, and one i respect the hell out of, especially since all of these books have the characters woven in with actual historical figures, which always manages yo take me by surprise. I assume details like keeping a wholeass imperial prince secret until he's five are fictional embellishment, but... nope! Actual history! The SCOPE of these plots and the politics they all muck around with means that there are limits to how much an author could spend time on ship bait without trivializing the central conflict. As much as i enjoyed golden stage, i never cared about the politics. And not caring about the politics in meng xi shi's work would be jettisoning SO much nutritional content.

And, that's not to say that there's NOTHING indulgent for me in the earlier parts! Yan Wushi starts delightedly letting people assume he's plowing Shen Qiao as soon as they start traveling together, Feng Xiao spends the second mystery of Peerless totally disguised as Cui Buqu's wife and fighting with him as "this wife", and Sui Zhou and Tang Fan start straight-up cohabiting POSTHASTE. And then. Meng xi shi makes you wait for it.

This isn't bad! The delayed gratification is very GOOD! The tension is delectable. The feeling of 'oh come on now you're just dragging this out on purpose' is mitigated by having characters drag things out in character. Shen Qiao's sense of responsibility pulls him towards Yan Wushi, and then away from Yan Wushi (and yan wushi is also Helping sfhfgdf). Feng Xiao doesn't move THAT fast, but Cui Buqu will Literally Die before he'll admit he has tender feelings. And Tang Fan is textually scared to lose what he has platonically with Sui Zhou by stepping into unknown territory. I'm still howling OH COME ON, but it transmutes into something directed at the characters, not the author.

And the plots we're making space for like this are hefty bois. All of them have heavy political themes, where in my usual diet, i would reluctantly accept a little politics on the side in my ancient chinese fantasy meal. And each of these books has baited me further into caring about mundane politics 😂 In Thousand Autumns, it's very much a balance between lavishly described fantasy martial arts extravaganza and big politics enhanced by the martial arts extravaganza. Peerless, we're down one martial artist in the lead characters, so there's more non-fighting politics happening (and both characters are secret police commanders), but at least one of my boys floats around playing magic music on his guqin. Fourteenth Year Of Chenghua? Goddamn, I'm reading this thing and I'm in the THROES over ancient chinese imperial office politics, like oh noooo oh my god HOW COULD THEY DEMOTE HIM AT A TIME LIKE THIS, fffff, who can possibly intercede with the emepror now-- And i have NO idea how i reached this point, this is so funny to me.

I do think it says a lot for all three of these that they won me over so hard despite not being as tailored to my personal tastes as something like mxtx! I do love all them to pieces. But it's something like... Digging in at the earlier, slower stages of these books was a hell of a struggle. One that paid off, but i worry about people bouncing off them! Something I've said about thousand autumns (and will say again) is that it's a book that asks for a lot of trust from readers. Some of that is PURELY down to yan wushi, but the structure and pace doesn't make that easy. I do think that the trust is repaid by the end, at least in terms of my reading experience, but it makes me worry! I do want people to read these!

Actually that brings me to the last big strong point I want to mention before i get back to reading: the character writing. Because GODDAMN, the character writing. It both contributes to the slow start in these books, I think, but also MASSIVELY enriches the emotional payout as they progress.

Yan Wushi is one of the funniest, most obnoxious characters of all time! He's also cruel, demanding, and overbearing, and a strong, vivid personality like that takes real time and effort to develop. The beginning of the book looks like it could slip into misery porn + stockholm syndrome healing cock = i guess this is a healthy relationship now. And it doesn't! But it's hard to tell how it WILL go, and that makes it hard to commit to a tome like this. Feng Xiao is comparably obnoxious and hilarious, but Cui Buqu is closed up tight as a clam, and both of them deal in secrets professionally, it is HARD to start accessing any hints of emotional sincerity in either of them. And Tang Fan and Sui Zhou are both junior government officials, early in their careers in a volatile work environment, and they present in a pretty reserved, professional way at first, and the subtler/goofier character notes take time and intimacy to properly manifest. wang zhi on the other hand--

I recommend these books! I really recommend them! I don't want to be underwhelming people with 'oh, you won't like it at first, but JUST YOU WAIT.' Because I did like them at first. They didnt elevete me to the same flailing emotional THROES as some novels, but the quiet rich flavor of the relationships in these are FABULOUS. And the sheer scope of the plots she pulls off, I mean, holy shit. I'm not underwhelmed by these books at all, I'm more likely to get overwhelmed, there's a reason I've been savoring the latest reading experience. I like them a lot! I like meng xi shi as a lot! In the sliver of cnovels that I've sampled, her books are doing some really cool things i haven't seen anyone else pull off, especially with such aplomb. I didn't start out LOOKING for books like that, but I'm still really, really glad i found them, and I do highly recommend them, just in general. I'll figure out how to pitch them individually soon.

*holds probably over 1.5M words of meng xi shi tomes* I Just Think She's Neat

[undeath1245]

My former predictions and interpretations for episode seven

I started this post around three to eight months a year ago shortly after watching episode five. Originally, I was going to make a list of predictions on what's going to happen in episode six, but since it was already out, I might as well make some predictions for what's going to happen in episode seven. But then, after episode seven premiered, I missed another deadline yet again. I think it's because either that I haven't fleshed out my predictions enough or that I kept trying to flesh them out that I wound up making scenarios in my head, kind of like what I'm doing for episode eight, of which I'll work on quite later. So, here's another list of former predictions I made for episode seven. I think some of them might hold up in episode eight. I don't know.

After remembering a couple of posts speculating about episode seven, I think this episode will be based on The Exorcist due to the religious horror atmosphere and imagery. However, I can share a prediction of what the episode's stinger would be like, largely involving Nori and Khan. I think it would start out as some sort of recollection between the two during the aftermath of the core collapse. Maybe they'll discuss about what their comrades would like to do now that their human superiors had been wiped out, like maybe do some finger painting or write some books or start a family. We might also see a cameo of Doll's parents, Yeva and Doll's father (whom I'm gonna refer to as Ivan). But then, Khan gets a bit worried, wondering if they all got off too easy, and Nori will then assure him that everything is going to be alright, and if it won't, they'll figure it out together. How's that for a heartwarming calm-before-the-storm moment? Now, to end it with a scene of Nori's eyes glitching yellow.

Uzi, N, and Tessa would survive the fall from the elevator, most likely thanks to N's quick reflexes by grabbing Uzi and Tessa and then flying out of the elevator before impact, at least that's how I imagine it. Tessa would then ask them if they're alright, only for Uzi to respond coldly that they all watched V sacrifice herself to the sentinels, but Tessa would happily reply that V will be cloned back at base (where the three landing pods are). N would worriedly ask Tessa if V would really come back with her memories fully intact, only for Tessa to be hesitant of answering his question, but she would then respond yes. As the trio enters the underground church, probably where the testing or enhancement of the solver powers occurred, N would apologize to Uzi for cutting off her hand when she was using her powers to burst the wall open. Uzi would then say that it's okay, and that her powers have been acting really strange lately and is losing control over them. She would then say conclude that the Solver is taking her over, while Tessa looks at Uzi and N from afar.

I think we'll have a couple of brief flashback scenes of Nori and Yeva sneaking into the underground cathedral either to initiate the plan to liberate their fellow drones or do some reconnaissance. I have a headcanon that Yeva, while her default language is Russian as well as her daughter's, can speak English, and vice versa with Nori speaking Russian. I also have another headcanon that drones can switch to any language of their selected choosing, even if they don't know any lick of them. To tell you the truth, I have zero idea how this scene will play out, maybe with a zany dynamic between the two? The wild, giddy Nori compared to the stoic, serious Yeva. Now that I think about it, considering that the cathedral might by at a deeper depth from the planet's surface, let's say by about 3,000 feet, it could be possible for Nori, Yeva, and other Solver-infected drones to overload Copper-9's core together on a closer distance from the core itself, most likely in the center of the cathedral.

V's sacrifice was honestly very shocking when I first saw it. I've never thought that they would briefly kill off a main character like that, and honestly, I really liked where V's character is heading, especially when she finally put her trust on Uzi, possibly for her to find a way to break herself free from the Solver's control. Now, this doesn't mean that V is truly dead. I feel that it's too soon to kill off a main character like that unless it's much later on in the series like in a potential season three (hope I don't foreshadow anything). There is a good chance that she'll come back in either episode seven or eight, and I came up with a few scenarios:

Rescue scenario: V is horribly injured, most likely from fighting off all of the sentinels; let's face it, there's no way a bloodthirsty disassembler like her would go down without a fight. So, who would finish off the remaining sentinels after V is down? Either J, the defective sentinel, or a combination of both. I feel like V would wind up in a heavily wrecked, limbless state, most likely being forced to be carried by either J or the sentinel. Clone scenario: V wins the battle against the sentinels, but then dies in the process. However, as J stated in episode six, she stated that "efficient drones get cloned", meaning that V would most likely be rebuilt in a new body, somewhere in one of the landing pods Tessa and J used to get to Copper 9. There was a previous concern I had with N and V currently retaining their memories before or after death, as (according to episode five) the Solver had been tampering with their memories before they were resurrected into their clone bodies. But, because that Uzi had assigned herself as their new admin, I feel like we probably don't have to worry about an "amnesiac V" scenario. Resurrection scenario: As before, V wins the battle, but dies afterwards. However, there is a slightly good chance that N also gets killed by the Solver, and Uzi also briefly dies. Essentially, the main trio dies. Bad ending time, right? Wrong. I feel like these three are going to self-resurrect, or Uzi self-resurrects first before subconsciously resurrecting N and V afterwards. They'll probably transform into a new type of drone. I'm hoping that they'll transform into an angelic form of some kind, looking a bit similar to V's concept design.

I think we'll get some solo scenes for Doll, probably when she's walking through the lab corridors. I think she'll head to her parents' lab first. I developed a headcanon that Doll's parents managed to separate her from the Solver's influence, probably when she was at a young age. At first, I thought that they would use some sort of unique antivirus code (I'm imagining it as random zeroes and one at this point; I honestly don't know computer codes) to sever the Solver from Doll. But, since episode seven is heading for cosmic horror territory and possible influence from The Exorcist, I imagine that Doll's parents used a strange machine that painfully severs the Solver from its potential host. So, I think that Doll would try to look for the severing machine in her parents' lab, and we could also see some nice pictures of her and her parents. Either that, or maybe Yeva and Doll's father used a series of

The trio might head over to a weapons vault first, but N double-checks it to see if it's booby-trapped by shooting at it. While he does so, he now retains a serious, militant personality, impressing Tessa and worrying Uzi. Tessa and Uzi will arms themselves up with multiple firearms and blades, with Uzi carrying an actual Uzi submachine gun. Meanwhile, N readies an ultra powerful weapon, the comically large cannon we saw in an earlier teaser, of which I believe to be the weapon that will destroy a Solver-possessed drone, like Uzi. After that, Tessa heads off to search for something to defeat the Solver with, but in reality, she'll actually search for the list of test subjects to hunt down the remaining drones that are potentially infected with the Solver virus.

I believe that the next obstacle the trio will face would most likely be eldritch drone mutants similar to eldritch!J, with many of them resembling spiders, cockroaches, and centipedes; creepy crawly galore. We would see back-to-back scenes of N and Uzi and Tessa battling against the drone mutants. Tessa would get a gash from the leg, with a mixture of blood and liquid metal pouring out of it, but Tessa would shrug it off. While Uzi and N are fighting the mutants, we would then see a scene where Uzi leaves the fight all of a sudden to enter a dark, red sea emitted by a blood red sky, the same one we saw in this teaser posted by Liam Vickers himself. And then, hearing N's cries, Uzi immediately returns back to the battle, only to see that she was knocked down and disarmed. As she gets back up, the Solver appears and assists her by morphing her hands into large, fleshy claws, much to Uzi's horror. The Solver will then take the wheel and start slaughtering its own twisted creations one by one, metallic screaming echoing the church, and N watching in horror from afar.

Later on, Uzi would start breaking down, saying that she won't make it and that the Solver will finally take her over, but N implores her that they'll solve this predicament together.

Lately, there's been speculation by many Tumblr users (@haastera-001 included) about Tessa not being entirely human. For example, she's wearing a heavily tinted helmet, and whenever there's a scene when either of the drones are looking at Tessa, all we see is their reflection of the drones' eyes. Plus, from the scene when a sentinel bit Tessa's hand, not only did we see blood, but also some sort of liquid metal, probably the same substance used to regenerate lost disassembly drone parts, like when N regenerated his head in the pilot episode. And strangely, she's been doing some weird mannerisms similar to what CYN was doing in episode five (i.e. the raptor hands). So, it might be possible that she's not entirely human, and that she may or may not be possessed by the Solver. I have a strong feeling that Tessa might have become either some sort of mutated human or an eldritch cybernetic being.

After his battle with Tessa, N would finally make a crazy choice not to kill Uzi, and during his confrontation with Uzi, he instead pleads with her to fight the Solver's control. While fighting Solver!Uzi, he pulls out this huge "I know you're in there" speech, stating how Uzi inspired him to question his programming, how she saved V from Doll's revenge spree, and how she helped him and V recover back their memories. N tells Uzi that she's the greatest drone he's ever met. He then walks up to her and kisses her, declaring his love for Uzi, before being gruesomely impaled and dismembered by the Solver-controlled Uzi.

Seeing N's body, Uzi begins to break away from the Solver's control, overloading her own system in the process and blowing up herself and the Solver. In the center, something starts to reform and take shape, and soon enough, it begins to take the form of a tall hybrid between a worker drone and a disassembly drone. Uzi is fully reformed into a murder drone, as she spreads her newly mechanical wings and tail wide open. She and N share a tearful hug, and then a kiss.

So far, I came up with three outcomes, starting with the downer ending, which seems to be the most possible outcome for this series. N winds up killing Uzi (most likely with Uzi's help), therefore not destroying the Solver for good, but heavily hindering its plans to assimilate the universe. N will undergo a deep depression after this, and Tessa will try to comfort him and ensure him that he saved the universe, and all is right at the end. She then tries to offer something to ease his mind (like watching TV), but N will coldly tell her to leave and that he doesn't want to see her again. Tessa does this, but she tries to hide her tears. As N sinks into his bed (he is gifted a room at this point), he will be greeted by two digital spirits in the form of Uzi and V (if V doesn't come back, that is).

So, that's all the predictions I made for episode seven.

[bleedingectoplasm]

A Spark (Real or Imagined)

This was inspired by the prompts for DP Side Hoes Week Day 1, Tucker and Power Up! Of course, I am posting it on Day 3, but better late than never, I suppose? I hope you enjoy!

Read on AO3.

Tucker stands frozen outside of Danny’s bedroom door. He wants to knock, he really does, but for some reason, he can’t get his limbs to cooperate. Some sort of disconnect between his brain and his body is stopping the signals from his synapses from reaching the nerves in his arm.

Maybe it’s some sort of self-preservation instinct. Maybe his body knows that his heart will skip a beat the second he looks into his best friend’s eyes. Maybe his muscles know the best way to maintain homeostasis is to stay far away from Daniel James Fenton and his soft hair and sharp cheekbones and paint splatter freckles.

Ever since Danny and Sam broke up, things have been…different. Well, not between Danny and Sam. Their breakup was amicable, prompted mostly by Sam’s realization that her strong desire to be close to Valerie at all times was not, in fact, entirely platonic and she is, in fact, a lesbian. After the breakup, Danny was…completely fine. Shockingly so. While Tucker never doubted that Danny would fully support Sam’s moment of self-discovery, he expected for there to be some hurt in the fallout. It seemed almost unavoidable. But that hurt never came.

When they talked about it, Danny had just shrugged and said, “we both wanted different things.” He didn’t volunteer any additional information, as if that statement was enough of an explanation in and of itself. And then, Danny had given him that look, the one he’s been wearing more and more lately when he catches Tucker’s gaze. The corners of Danny’s eyes get all soft and his lips quirk up into a fond smile, almost like he’s looking for something and liking what he finds. It’s an expression that makes Tucker’s breath catch in his throat, equal parts intoxicating and unreadable and overwhelming.

The shift in their dynamic hasn’t been because of Danny and Sam. In fact, Tucker is pretty sure that if Danny and Sam had their way, the three of them would still be hanging out every day like nothing has changed at all. No, the difference is entirely within Tucker.

Something stirs in the pit of Tucker’s stomach whenever he and Danny are together. It’s a feeling he is intimately familiar with, a want that has burned inside of him for as long as he can remember. The fluttering of infatuation was much easier to control when Danny was dating someone else. But now that Danny is single again, now that the smallest, dumbest part of Tucker is hopeful that there might be a chance for his friendship with Danny to become something more, he can’t seem to get his butterflies to fly in formation.

Tucker hates it. He hates feeling like a little kid with a schoolyard crush, hates that he can hear his pulse in his ears every time Danny laughs, hates the way that ecstasy tips into nausea whenever Danny’s hand brushes his own at lunch. The butterflies are only manageable when Danny isn’t around, so Tucker has been valiantly trying to avoid him for the past few weeks. He’s made up homework assignments and family commitments and pulsing migraines. Danny knows it’s bullshit, Tucker can tell. He can see it in the little furrow of Danny’s brow and the tiny tilt of his head and slight purse of his lips. However, instead of calling Tucker out, Danny’s skepticism will always melt into that stupid fucking look, and he’ll accept the excuse at face value.

Tucker has been completing his duties to Team Phantom remotely, but his latest project requires face to face interaction with Danny. He’s been working on some modular enhancements to Danny’s suit, and there needs to be a fitting before final adjustments. Tucker tried to just get Danny to send over his measurements, but Danny couldn’t quite figure out how to use the measuring tape properly, for whatever reason.

Mechanical engineering is a bit outside of Tucker’s comfort zone. He’s always been more of a software guy, but Danny’s rubber hazmat suit isn’t doing enough to protect him anymore. Danny’s armor needs an upgrade, and as Danny’s guy in a chair, that responsibility falls squarely on Tucker’s shoulders. So, with little to no experience in practical construction, Tucker has been tasked with crafting something that will protect his best friend and guy he’s maybe sorta kinda in love with from facing mortal injury.

No pressure at all.

It should be a simple visit, really. He just needs to take some measurements, have Danny try a few pieces on, and then he can leave. In and out. Easy.

After one more heavy sigh, his brain and his body finally get on the same page, and he forces himself to knock.

“Come in,” Danny calls, voice muffled through the door.

Slowly, cautiously, Tucker opens the door and steps into the room. Danny is splayed out on his bed, scrolling through his phone. His shirt has ridden up a bit, and Tucker can see a small sliver of skin right above the cut of his hip bone. All the air empties from Tucker’s lungs, and he sharply turns away, unable to meet Danny’s eyes.

Danny throws Tucker a lazy grin as he hauls himself into a sitting position, his movements relaxed and self-assured. Tucker is grateful when Danny’s shirt drops to fully cover his stomach and he can breathe somewhat normally again.

“Hey,” Tucker says, hating himself when his voice waivers. “Hey, dude.” He tries again.

“Hiya, Tuck,” Danny smiles back at him. He stands and stretches his arms above his head, exposing that strip of skin once more. Tucker can feel himself short circuiting. The butterflies have become wasps and are pounding at the edges of his ribcage. He’s pretty sure that all the blood in his body has rushed up to his cheeks to paint him bright red.

This visit may be trickier than he initially thought.

“So, what’s the plan?” Danny asks.

“Uh,” Tucker says eloquently. “Um, yeah. Plan. Right. I’m just going to try these pieces on you and see what adjustments need to be made.”

Danny nods, then asks, “Do I need to change my clothes? Or does this work fine for the whole fitting thing?”

Danny is wearing jeans and an oversized NASA hoodie. The hoodie has a small blotchy stain on one of the sleeves, and Tucker can’t quite tell if it’s remnants of ketchup or blood. The stitching of the front pocket is ripping, like Danny has shoved his hands inside of it a bit too hard a few too many times. The jeans are fraying at the edges, and Tucker is pretty sure that they’re the same pair of pants that Danny has been wearing for the last four school days.

He looks beautiful.

“Are you wearing a shirt under the hoodie?” Tucker manages to ask around the lump in his throat.

Danny cocks an eyebrow at him.

“I just mean for fitting purposes,” he rushes to explain. “The hoodie looks like it might be a little thick so, you know-“

“Yeah, I gotcha,” Danny interrupts, stopping Tucker from embarrassing himself further. “I can take it off, one sec.”

Danny crosses his arms over himself, grabbing the sweatshirt from the bottom hem and lifting it over his head. Mercifully, his t-shirt remains in place, and Tucker is spared from seeing any flash of Danny’s torso.

Danny tosses the hoodie onto the bed before ruffling his unruly hair back into place.

“All good?”

Tucker swallows. Hard. “Great,” he chokes out.

The air between them is supercharged with a tension that Tucker can’t quite place. He steps closer to Danny, removing the armor prototypes from his duffel bag and laying them onto the bed.

Piece by piece, Tucker places the suit upgrades on his friend’s body, snapping and buckling the flexible plating into place. He tightens the breastplate around Danny’s chest, careful to touch only the armor itself, refusing to indulge in fantasies of resting his hand on the small of Danny’s back. As he settles the shoulder piece across Danny’s collarbone, he can feel Danny’s icy breath dance across his cheek. It’s tantalizing, and it takes all of Tucker’s willpower to hold himself back.

His fingertips just barely brush against Danny as he places the final piece of the armor around Danny’s forearm. There’s a spark that skitters across the surface of Tucker’s skin where they made contact, and for a moment he thinks it’s just in his head, the same sort of electricity he always feels whenever he gets too close to Danny. But as he catches the incremental shift in Danny’s expression as he winces, he realizes the spark was very real.

Tucker jerks his hand away from Danny, tripping over himself to apologize. “I’m sorry, this is new tech and all, but it shouldn’t have—”

His voice seizes as Danny catches Tucker’s hand in his own and presses Tucker’s palm firmly against his arm, refusing to break eye contact. The atmosphere in the room shifts and gravity collapses into them. Tucker can’t move away, he doesn’t want to. He may never move from this spot ever again. He keeps waiting for Danny to say something, but Danny offers no explanation. The only sound in the room is the twin rattling of their breathing. Danny’s bedroom has become a cathedral, and speaking would disturb the holiness of the atmosphere.

The moment stretches into an eternity. Tucker can feel a flush licking over his skin like fire. He is afraid he may burn up, completely consumed by the flames of his own desire. In a last attempt at self-preservation, Tucker finally finds his voice.

“What are you doing?” The question resonates in the room with a rasp.

There it is again. The look. Tucker’s nerve endings are lit anew.

“Pressure is good for pain,” Danny explains. The twinkle in his eye dares Tucker to disagree.

Tucker’s head is pounding. The butterflies have migrated from his stomach to his skull. His entire body is an inferno. The metaphors are getting all mixed up and Tucker can hardly move. Breathe. Think.

Danny edges forward by a nanometer, and his nose is practically brushing against Tucker’s cheek. He doesn’t know when Danny got so close. Tucker turns his head on instinct, and he can feel Danny’s breath skitter across his lips. An electric sensation zings down Tucker’s spine. His mouth parts ever so slightly, and the movement causes Danny’s eyes to dart down to Tucker’s lips. He can see Danny swallow, hear his shuddering breath, feel his uneven pulse where his fingers hook around Danny’s inner elbow.

Danny moves impossibly closer. Tucker is frozen, either in fear or anticipation. He’s not quite sure. For the briefest moment, Tucker thinks that Danny’s lips will meet his own. He braces himself for the brush of Danny’s chapped lips. He doesn’t know what he wants. He wants this. He wants everything. He wants nothing at all.

Suddenly, Danny pulls away, opening a vacuum between them. Tucker gasps, feeling as if he has been plunged into an ice bath. Danny seems completely nonchalant.

“This looks great, Tuck,” Danny flexes a bit, turning his arm to get a better look at his new gear. “Thanks for the power up.”

Tucker is still struggling to catch his breath. “Uh, yeah. Of course. Anytime.”

“And Tucker?” Danny peers over at him, a patient smile painted across his freckled face.

Tucker absentmindedly rubs his thumb across his lips, the ghostly memory of Danny’s breath still buzzing beneath his skin. “Yeah?”

“Let me know when you’re ready, okay?”

Tucker has never been more confused in his entire life. “When I’m ready?”

He forces himself to meet Danny’s gaze, and only to be met once more with the look.

God fucking damn it.

“Yeah. Just let me know.” Danny says softly, lovingly. “I’ll be here.”

[imaginespazzi]

you’re such an angel from heaven😭 definitely my favorite series after ucla im addicted and if you ever write a real book i would be first to read it, it could be 600 pages and i would read every single sentence 💗 my first time ever giving little notes on your series, so i am so sorry for my rant!

ok some of my favorite things from this chapter

-stephie always mentioning miss buecks

-stephie telling azzi about her interaction with miss buecks and being so hopeful that miss buecks will join her mamas team😭

-valks being a quick pit stop💔

-nothing will ever replace the special place in my heart that is made for stephie and azzi💗

-them being at the gym and miss buecks still being brought up

-paige’s and stephie reunion again after working out with her mama, when azzi realized the luminescent smile paige broke out in when she realized it was stephie ahhhh😭

-AZZI TELLING STEPHIE PAIGE COULDNT GO GET ICE CREAM BECAUSE SHE PROBABLY WANTED TO GO CELEBRATE WITH HER OWN FAMILY😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 LIKE AHHHH NOOO NOT STEPHIE AND AZZI BEING THEIR OWN LITTLE FAMILY W OUT PAIGE😭😭😭

-the tension in the car ride, azzi alwaystalking about paige to stephie and stephie letting paige know- kids man☺️

-PAIGE PROTECTING STEPHIE AT THE SHOP AND AZZI SEEING AND WISHING IT WAS ALWAYS LIKE THAT😭😭😭

-paige being scared to say her fav ice cream and azzi already knowing it, their little inside secret of ice cream being the best

-paige already recruiting stephie to uconn IKTR

-FUCK THE PART IM DREADING, PAIGE MEETING STEPHIE FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME, PROBABLY SEEING HOW MUCH SHES AZZI TWIN, WANTING TO STEAL HER, CRYING WHEN STEPH SAYS HER NAME😭😭😭😭😭😭 and fuck azzi seeing the ring😭😭😭💔💔💔

ok some things i would like to see if it’s possible for the plot💗

-paiges reaction to first ever finding out azzi was pregnant-bonus if we get how stephie was made and w who

-katie and tim reunion with paige seeing her interact w stephie especially bc ik they have stephie wrapped around their finger

-a part where theyre still very platonic but paige is at azzis house and stephie asks miss buecks to put her to sleep

-WHO TF DID PAIGE MARRY AND WHAT HAPPENED

-maybe a part where something happens (not too bad because stephie is my baby) and paige steps in and protects stephie at all cost making azzi realize how much stephie means to her

-azzi and paige having many more sweet moments as they realize they shouldn’t but all they want it to be together

im not thinking to much about the ending right now but i know you love us and will give us a happy ending😇😇 and when you do JUST SAYING a scene with granpa geno, azzi, paige and stephie where geno tells them shes going to be a star at uconn will cure all my depression 💙

ok i love you so freaking much and seriously thank you for being such an angel and writing so amazingly and giving us this master piece💗💗💗💗

Oh my god babes never ever apologize for giving me notes, no matter how long they are like y'all don't get it, the longer the ask, the bigger my smile. Also if you're gonna do this after every chapter (you don't have to but I'm a whore for reviews so I would love it if you did but no pressure of course), do you wanna claim an emoji, that way I know it's you?

-I love how everyone's favorite moments are rooted in Stephie like she really is the star of the show

-The Paige and Stephie reunion was so fun to write cause you had Paige and Stephie being all adorable, meanwhile Azzi's dying and that's just a fun dynamic to write

-Protective!P is one of my favorite tropes and when it comes to Stephie, it's enhanced by a million

-I really ruined y'all with that last part huh? I'm sorryyyyy

Babe you might be in my head cause a lot of the scene you wanna see are already blooming in my head!

-There will definitely be a flashback of Paige learning about Azzi's pregnancy and I will at some point tell y'all how Stephie came to be (after I figure it out myself that is...)

-Lots of Fudd Family scenes coming up I promise (mayhaps one of Azzi's brother is getting married right before the W season?)

-I had a really evil Stephie thought at some point but idk if y'all will be able to handle that so maybe I'll do something a little milder

-And of course lots more Paige and Azzi fluff and angst and everything in between!

I love YOU so much and I'm so thankful you wrote out such a detailed review and it truly did make my day <3

[trickstarbrave]

WIP Whenever

hiiiii i got tagged by @boethiahspillowbook

this is what i got so far on the azura and nerevar piece. not much further bc im still trying to figure out shading and how i want it to be. oof. also unsure abt azura's halo fsr it just looks.... off on her. and i think i wanna make some of the blood a brighter red to tie in together with all the rest of the red. lots of things im considering...

also for written wips. uh.

unfortunately i only have the. fucking cursed omegaverse nerevoryn im working on. once again never consider anything as like a joke or ironically that is the devil talking and you will start doing things for real.

in my defense though omegaverse is such a wild concept that trying to go "okay but seriously how would this work in a society and why would it be this way" is actually entertaining. very fun to go "yes, and...." over and over. oh, fated mates exist? what if they weren't just a cheesy soulmates thing but had a logical explanation. how would these dynamics effect various social classes? how would different cultures be effected? i have world builder's disease clearly

ALSO i tag anyone who hasnt been tagged yet and wants to :> i cant keep up with which of my mutuals have been tagged or not.... let me see ur ideas pls

--

“... In all honesty,” The healer began, sounding exacerbated, “I have never seen a case like this in all my years. But there is only one answer I can come to based on everything else.”

“Go on.” Nerevar tried to keep his voice level rather than annoyed. Azura knows how terrified most people got when he was angry. 

The healer pinched the bridge of her nose. 

“How familiar are you with fated mates?” At her question, Nerevar froze, stunned, before he gave a loud bark of laughter. The healer, however, did not laugh or smile back, and instead only looked more resolute. 

“... Be serious with me.” 

“I am being serious, Lord Nerevar.” 

“Are you--are you seriously trying to say Voryn is my--”

“I understand how strange it sounds at first.” The healer cut him off. “Typically when someone meets their fated mate they determine it quickly. It only takes a few heat or rut cycles before the draw is undeniable.” She sighed once again. “I can only assume because you knew Lord Dagoth before either of you presented, the draw was less noticeable.” 

It kind of made sense, to a degree. When people wrote about fated mates it was usually that they had a scent that was undeniable. Even passing by them on the street, you couldn’t get the scent out of your head for days on end, trying to find it again and again. Even those who tried to deny it couldn’t refuse the pull forever; heats and ruts were unbearable, the longing overwhelming the pair. No one had ever recorded an account of a fated pair who knew each other prior to presenting though; fated mates were absurdly rare, after all. They were more common in fiction than real life, and only the most hopeless of romantics ever went out actually looking for one. Most people just found a mate they liked rather than chase after some destined person, and why fated mates even existed was a mystery. Did everyone have one but distance kept them from finding one? That didn’t seem likely; the most common belief was that some people were born with them--not many members of the population, anyways--and even fewer actually found their ‘other half’. Someone meeting a fated mate before presenting, when you were children not off exploring the wider world yet, was even more unlikely. How would you react if you could constantly smell and see them before either of you presented?

Dumac told him the dwemer scholars believed it had something to do with ‘reproductive compatibility’. Not that it was a mystical, god given connection like some believed, but rather those with a fated partner were less compatible with most of the population, so when they did find someone they could produce children with easily, the desire to mate was enhanced strongly. Nerevar didn’t know if he liked that explanation either though. He found the ideas the gods made destined partners to love each other forever as too romantic of an idea for reality yes, but presuming there must be something wrong with them wasn’t much better. 

It didn’t seem likely that he and Voryn could just ignore the draw for decades though, right? Surely that wouldn’t be possible. The draw was supposed to be strong, impossible to deny past a certain point.

Sure, when he was younger and Voryn was in a rut he always came by to check on him before he was shooed away, but that was just boredom. And when he was in heat Voryn would pass him notes under the door from time to time that he’d bury in the nests he made, but that was just because being in heat made him feel sensitive and sappy. Nothing more. And shouldn’t there be something more if they were a fated pair?

“Your other symptoms make me more certain of it.” The healer continued, pulling him from his thoughts.

“How so?” Nerevar raised an eyebrow. 

“It isn’t healthy for an unmated omega to be around an alpha in rut.” She replied, a fact that always made Nerevar roll his eyes. “It causes excess stress, even if it doesn’t trigger a heat. Unless you are drawn to the alpha in question as a potential partner, usually a rut is off putting, distressing, or nauseating for an unmated omega.”

“They’ve never bothered me to that extent.” Nerevar snarked.

“Precisely.” She locked eyes with him. “You handle it more akin to an omega who’s already been mated, despite not having the scent of one.” Nerevar tensed at that. He hadn’t thought of it like that in the slightest; why would he? He wasn’t mated. Anyone could smell on him that he wasn’t. “Those who have met a fated partner experience mated behaviors before the bond is even set. Rejecting other suitors, unbothered by others in a heat or rut,” She sighed. “Lord Vivec even explained you are giving off the same scent as a bonded omega whose mate is absent.” Nerevar’s cheeks flushed at that. 

“That’s--” Nerevar tensed slightly, “I wouldn’t go that far.” Surely Nerevar wasn’t. He wasn’t fucking bonded, why would he be throwing out the same scent as an omega who went into heat, begging for their mate to come tend to them? 

“You are.” She asserted, though she did have some sympathy in her gaze at least. “Unfortunately, the best I can do is, if you truly don’t want the bond, I can give you suppressants. They won’t actively stop it given you already went into heat, but they should calm some of the worst side effects.” Nerevar already knew what she was going to say next though. “But your next one will be much of the same. The side effects will continue to worsen.” Short of running away to the other side of the continent and burning anything he owned that Voryn had ever so much as touched, he would be able to smell Voryn faintly, after all. In the palace, on his belongings, anywhere Voryn had been might trigger the worst of the symptoms all over again now that he had a heat triggered by his rut no doubt. 

“At the very least, Lord Dagoth is in control of his emotions.” Voryn’s eyebrow twitched at that, his arms tightening. “You can spent ruts and heats together without actually mating, until you come to a decision on how to proceed. It should alleviate both of your struggles.” 

Shit, Nerevar hadn’t even considered what Voryn must be going through. Was his irritation and lack of eating because he subconsciously knew Nerevar was supposed to be his but wasn’t there by his side? When he was younger was that out of character, violent rage because he knew, right there in the stronghold, his mate was being kept from him? No doubt the next rut Voryn would be uncontrollable; before he could hold back because he wasn’t consciously aware of what he wanted, but now that he knew it was Nerevar… 

[literary-illuminati]

Book Review 63 – The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia

This was the last WFA finalist for best novella I was able to get at the library, so I will I suppose just have to accept that I am not going to have an informed opinion on the category. The book is, well – Jamnia’s only other work listed on Goodreads is “Positive Interactions with At-Risk Children: Enhancing Students' Wellbeing, Resilience, and Success”, and you can really kind of tell. Not a bad book – there really is a lot of good stuff here – but subtlety is just nonexistent. Though I suppose better a plot that telegraphs itself from a hundred miles away than one that feels like the author was coming up with it as they went.

The story takes place in a ‘free and democratic’ city state established after a successful war of independence from a struggling and unstable empire, and now a not-particularly-enthusiastic sanctuary to refugees from the rest of the empire. Firuz is one of those refugees, with the added issue of being a mostly-trained blood magic adept, the proximate reason why they and their family had to flee in the first place. Disguising the exact sort of magic they practice, they get work as an assistant healer to the one of (and soon the) only free clinics in the city, doing their bits to try and help the refugee populations through the plague ravaging the city. The meat of the plot is about their investigation of the source of a second strange disease that begins spreading among the refugee population a year after the first plague dies down – looks a lot like anemia, though the word’s never used – and how they try (and just totally fail) to balance their relationships and family against the good they do working in the clinic.

The book is just very earnest, and awkward, and trying to do altogether too many things at once for its length. Also the fantasy!Iranian refugees are called ‘Sassanians’. Which, like, come on. That’s literaly calling your fantasy!France ‘Gaul’.

The medical mystery was fun – strange diseases! Dissections and autopsies! Hiding the magic that’s the only hope you have of figuring out what’s happening! - but it was too strangled for space competing with family drama and a subplot of Firuz adapting and teaching another natural blood mage and just general ruminations to really shine. Which is to say there were exactly two named characters who could possibly be responsible, and it was almost instantly obvious which of them it was.

Which left the book needing to be carried on those interpersonal relationships and character dynamics. Which were like, fine? But every character basically had their key traits and the point of their arc announced on the page – the only character written with any real subtlety or layers was the eventually revealed villain.

The book’s very much queernorm – the protagonist is nonbinary and their kid brother is trans and spends about half the book lashing out as he struggles to cope with his dysphoria. Absolutely no one cares. The brother does get hatecrimed on account of being an ethnic minority and a refugee though, which I admit is a mindset about what bits of reality need to be softened I struggle to wrap my head around. More annoyingly (and, like, actually important at all) it is kind of disappointing that it cuts off any real worldbuilding about sexuality or gender; there are three major cultures in the book, and we go through the entire thing without learning anything much about any of their standards or expectations of femininity or masculinity. The brother’s dysphoria is portrayed as a purely physical ailment – you could replace it with some exotic variety of chronic pain and his role in the narrative would remain functionally unchanged.

Which just seems like a profoundly wasted opportunity to me – it’s fun that there’s one pronoun set that’s used exclusively to refer to the divine! But also I desperately want to know what the differences in cultural understanding between the usage of the two different neopronoun sets used to refer to random tertiary characters are, y’know? If you’re going to devote such a relatively big chunk of wordcount to this stuff then, like, dig into it.

Anyway yeah – as a debut effort, this is really very good. But I’m pretty surprised to see it on any best-of-year lists.

[sapphic-story]

What's Lee working on in 2024?? A Mini Guide:

I have a better job with slightly less hours so hopefully it is time for creative things again yippee!! Text under cut

Slide 1:

Liho (comic)

Themes: definitions of love, social expectations, relationships dynamics, idealization

Welcome to the loveliest campus in the world, protected by the ever adored Cupid Heart!

Ifeolewa is a sophomore college student that has been chosen to become a magical girl and defend the sanctity of love around her school!

…unfortunately, Ife has a 5th grader’s understanding of love at best and doesn’t quite understand the complexities of modern relationships and romances.

Now, Ife juggles school, fighting villains, “fixing relationships”, and trying to win the heart of her crush, Liho (her best friend’s incredibly recent ex-girlfriend).

Slide 2:

Slips of the Stars (comic)

Themes: loneliness, abandonment, free will vs fate, individual perspective

Kaasey “Slips” Marion is a aimless, bored, burnt out college student who doesn’t know where they’re going in life. 

They’re also convinced that every person around them is literally in a story, meticulously recording the story details in her notebook. They believe they are a background character in these stories, probably for comic relief.

Also, every day the world ends and then she wakes up at the beginning of the day again. 

That one’s new.

Slips has to step out of the shadows and work with her main characters to figure out what’s happening, why, who’s causing it, and how to help this story finally have its happy ending before time runs out.

Slide 3:

Hospital Food (achronological ergodic novel-y thing..?)

Themes: Mental health and chronic illness, identity, multigenerational relationships, life and what could lie beyond it (if anything)

Sickly new employee Ward devoted her time and energy to her new job at an inpatient care facility for individuals with deadly parasites eating them alive. Ward and her team fought day and night to save patient lives from the very same parasites that threatened Ward’s life more and more every second.

Now, Ward, her coworkers, and their clients are nowhere to be found. The facility they worked and stayed at no longer exists. 

What happened? Where did they go? Is anyone left alive? All that’s left are the forgotten files, notes, and memos collecting dust in abandoned desks and drawers, waiting to be discovered.

Slide 4:

Other odds and ends 

I share story custody with some friends on some things about spies, zombie apocalypse, urban fantasy mysteries, and more magical girls

You might see me posting about an experiment I did polling college students about loneliness and their relationship to technology

Additionally might also just generally see things for my class/work 

There’s also a lot of story ideas and tropes that I really like (see next slide) so you’ll see a lot of very specific tags regarding those concepts 

I like playing with different mediums like art, writing, music, video games, and many more!

All the art in this is my own :) save for the jojo reference

Slide 5:

About the Author

Hi I’m Lee sapphic-story

I’m a 22 year old Black American lesbian

I use they/them pronouns

I’m a master’s student in educational psychology and work in a community college system to enhance student services 

I have a lot of specific interests including…

Time loops

All things urban fantasy

Perceptions of love

Familial relationships

(Former) christianity 

Atypical relationship dynamics

The physical/emotional/ psychological effects of being a “hero”

Story structures

Self aware characters

And way more I have so many tags 

Stay tuned for further story updates

[shelltasticday]

Hello~

I was hoping you could write the boys with a gn s/o that is a firebender/can control fire??

In headcanon form pls!!

Hello, dear anon. Ofc, sorry if it's a bit short, hope you like it

The guys with a firebender s/o

▉ ▉ Raphael ▉ ▉ ● Raph is very impressed with your ability

● "So you have mystic powers too?" Wow

● Probably asks you to train with him, he gotta see upclose how it works in combat, and he's always up for a challenge!

● If you can control the color of the flame (with heat or as an additional ability) and whatnot, he'd secretly enjoy and be proud that you make your flames redder because/for him. You got to admit that red is a great colour!

● If you don't have a catch phrase, he probably insists that 1) Yes, of course it's important and necessary 2) He's more than happy to help you come up with it

● But of course it's gotta do with fire

● Maybe "Get burned!" or "Feel the heat!" ? Eh, it's a work in progress

▲▲ Leonardo ▲▲ ● Probably the most mesmerized by it, he is so curious too

● "Can you cover your whole arm? How come it doesn't burn your clothes? Do you feel hot when you do it or?-"

● You'd think Donnie would be the one with the most questions but Leo, I think, would go on and on with it… Hopefully you're not overwhelmed

● You have fun trying to see if your fire can go through his portals, with and without you, it's great if you plan on using it in a fight later on

● And of course that Leo makes the most out of the situation… by making the most puns about fire he can when you're around

● "Wow, babe, you're so hot, I think you're on fire" "Leo…" "Okay, okay, no need for the burning gaze, you can just tell me that my comedy just doesn't ignite anything for you" "…"

● Also, you can bet that he'd ask you to use it for mundane, dumb things. Like heating up coffee or for him to warmth up his hands, as long as it doesn't get on your nerves, it's all good

▌▌Donatello ▌▌ ● Like Leo, he has a lot of questions, but from a more sciency angle, he wants to know more about how it works exactly

● "Do you activate it at will? Can it happen without thinking? Is it a chemical reaction that you ignite somehow?"

● Truth is… you don't have all the answers. But, you allow him to try and figure it out… if he can, that is

● He is more than happy to provide you with tech to enhance your powers, or just tech that is helpful for you, perhaps more on the defensive side.

● And he adds an extinguisher feature… just in case. You never know

● If your powers can come up without intent, and they happen to give you a hard time sometimes, he also would come up with something to prevent that or contain it better. Let's say that it can be a really useful gift when in public

⬤⬤ Mikey ⬤⬤ ● Fire twins!!

● He finds it very very cool, specially because you share the element

● Can you imagine how good you are as a fighting duo? Oh mi gosh…

● What if he was able to make some fire, and basically pass it to you like a basketball for you to take and bash a baddie with? It must be really fun, you two would look flowy and dynamic!

● I like to think that Mikey is into every kind of art, so writing is one, of course

● He'd write poetry after being inspired by seeing you using your fire, how graceful it can look, like a dance. He likes to watch you and focus on the way the flames move alongside you and the streaks of light they make in darker spaces

● Also makes you both matching fire themed jackets or accessories to wear together. Maybe he adds a flame sticker on his plastron to represent you too

[mosneakers]

Do you have any tips and tricks for someone (me) starting a sims story to post on Tumblr? Asking for a friend (it's me. I'm the friend)

omggg you're askin me? 🥺

I'm not sure I'm the best simblr to ask because I'm not in it for the trends or popularity; I'm all about the interaction and finding others to talk to at length about my delusional fictional universe that's been going on for over a decade now lol. But let me try:

*puts on my mother glasses* There are two ways to go about it; depending on your goals. There are plenty of exceptions, but simblr sorta has a formula you can follow. Get ready for some contradictions haha

if you aim to appease the simblr community:

reshade/gshade mixed with photo-editing is generally a must. Simblr users will gravitate to pretty pictures, so even if you're an excellent writer, people usually won't give it a second look unless something attracts them to it. The sims is pretty ugly without filters and such, and it will enhance the experience as well. Bonus if you crank up the mxao and depth of field but I prefer to take it a little easy on those lol

CC. Not necessarily a must, but simblr in particular usually hates vanilla sims. same explanation as above, slather those suckers in skin details!!

poses poses poses. readers love reading stories with poses and they spit on screenshots with only game animations! (tbh those game animations do get pretty repetitive after a while so I kinda get it)

Read stories. I'm not much of a reader personally, but there's a huge imbalance in the reader-writer ratio on simblr, and lots of simblrs will return the favor if you read theirs too. Be careful, though; getting stuck in a transactional mutualship can lead to tricky dynamics. Only reach out to other stories if you're genuinely interested in following more stories, not just to gain readers.

BUT, with all that being said, as an "elder" of the simblr community, please consider this as permission to say screw any and all of those above tips if they don't align with your goals.

If your goal is to just have fun and relax:

reshade/gshade. Because let's be real the game's graphics are very depressing. It's not actually a must if you're just enjoying yourself, but if you find the right settings and just play, so you can spend minimal or even no time editing your photos. There are lots of tutorials that explain how to set it up. If you can't figure it out or don't feel like it, that's also not a big deal.

I can be a controlling sim god when it comes to my stories, and I have most things planned out. HOWEVER sometimes it's a little fun to let the sims drive their own storylines. If something is just not working, I consider that a sign to let the story flow in a slightly different direction. IF you're planning on writing gameplay stories/writing as you go, as I do. (which has its own challenges lol)

Sometimes it can be tempting to let readers sway the way the story is going. Sometimes that is a strategy that works. But if you have a storyline that you're confident in, own it and let it play out. Even if the whole community (and your spouse) wants that alien character to go die, you have him there for a reason, trust in the power of your storytelling 😜

Despite being a pose creator, I find using poses kinda tedious and sucks the life and immersion out of the story and gameplay personally, if used too much. Trust me, I do use my fair share of them, but I do try to use the game animations whenever possible. When I do use poses, I personally prefer to keep the expressions very maxis-y.

Don't try to be like any one particular simblr. With a community where we all pull from the same CC and game pack pools, there's bound to be overlap in aesthetics, storylines, and concepts. Definitely find inspiration in all your faves but do what works best for you but don't feel some sort of way if your screenshots don't look exactly like PastelPlumbobPixelLlama's game, despite you downloading all the content and presets from their resource page! You have your own style babe and it's way more unique ♥

Post a "New Story/New simblr" post to get the word out about your story.

PLEASE don't ever get discouraged by notes because you are perfect and creative and if others don't understand your genius that's them problem ok <3

sorry it's so long ;-; there's probably more but that's what came to my mind off the bat.