#funniest possible way they could have communicated this
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he cast fucking what
#funniest possible way they could have communicated this#like it's its own spell that he cast on purpose. he meant to do that.#anyway guess who thought combat was almost over and then had to fight an additional seven zombies#nox#gale#bg3#talkin
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so I'm on this app, Marco Polo, where you stay in touch with people by means of sending video messages. (there are probably other features, but I'm a free user, so I remain blissfully ignorant of them.) mostly I use it to annoy my sister. ("BITCH WHAT IF I GOT A PHALLOPLASTY AND HAD A BABY SHOWER FOR MY DICK. WE COULD HAVE ZUCCHINI FRITTERS. DICK-SHAPED PASTA. BANANAS FOSTER. DO U SEE MY VISION")
anyway, during the Hell Year of 2020, I saw my childhood best friend (let's call her Lee) was on this app. and like.
when I say "my childhood best friend", I mean the Weird Girl next door, who saw the Weird Girl that I was. I mean the girl I played with from age five until just shy of eleven, when my family moved away. I mean the girl I played with every day, for hours and hours, making up all kinds of elaborate scenarios involving our menagerie of stuffed animals. there were multiple overlapping, soap opera-style plotlines that lasted for years. there was drama. heartbreak. glory. she was the first friend I remember having. she was the first girl I ever loved, in my five-year-old way.
well, I hadn't seen Lee in at least 20 years and I was like, "holy shit! Lee!!!" so I sent her a "hey, nice to see you here, how you been" message.
again, this was late 2020.
now, I had been on T for a scant three months when I sent the first message, so I was a mere baby child, relative to the gruff manly man I am now. no beard, my voice had only started to wobble, still had tits... you get it. keep this in mind, it'll be important later.
I never heard back from her, but we're both Old, so I was like "eh, she probably forgot she installed the app" and forgot about it. we'd exchanged text messages at some point during the Hell Year, but like many people my age she doesn't really text, and I'm not calling anyone if I don't have to, so our communication had been sporadic, at best.
well. today I got a notification that she sent me a reply on Marco Polo.
I figured, well, she's replying to me 3.5 years late, but better late than never. I have ADHD and no friendship degradation mechanic, so I'm excited! yay! friend! :D
and then I remember. "...oh shit. she doesn't know I'm trans."
so. the thing is. I'm from Mississippi, which is. very very fucking conservative. I know Lee grew up Southern Baptist. I also know she's still living in the same town where we grew up and where she eventually graduated from high school and college. last I checked she was still attending the same Southern Baptist church where she grew up and her remaining living parent is still living in Lee's childhood home.
so this is either going to be Fine or it's going to be a disaster. lol.
in thinking it through, I figure either she's seen my updated profile pic, where I have the beard etc., or she hasn't. so either she's going to acknowledge this change or she isn't. okay. these are the possibilities. so I watch the message.
...the secret third option is... she seems to not realize when I sent the message? "sorry, I missed this when I was at work!" girl. what? I mean, you probably did miss it while you were at work... three and a half years ago. possibly she meant to reply to someone else and got me instead?
whatever. who knows. doesn't matter.
because I have the opportunity to do the funniest fucking thing in the world now
#covington-shenanigans gets personal#story time#marco polo#trans stuff#childhood friends#trans man#transmasc#trans men
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Can you do like Hobie smut, your writing is GOOD.
Let it be a jealousy kinda thing I haven't seen much of Hobie being jealous
‘I’ll Show You Jealous’
Hobie Brown aka Spider-Punk x female spider-woman reader. (he calls her ‘webs’)
Trope; best friends to lovers
Warnings; 18+ Smut! NSFW. Jealous sex, it starts quite rough then ends soft. Hobie being Hobie- but jealous ;) slight fingering.. mostly smut y’all .
Summary: Being best friends shouldn’t have any feelings in between right? Especially jealousy when Hobie thinks your hanging around too close to a certain Spider-Man? What does it take for him to come to terms on how he ‘really’ feels?
Authors note; My favorite anon!! I’m sorry it took me a few days to get this out, but I’m glad to say it’s all yours now! I hope you like it, I’ve never written for Hobie before!! Enjoy love!!🫶🏼🌻
“You see? That’s why I think you’re one of the funniest! You’re hilarious and you get my humor!”
An effortless chuckle left your lips as your hand slipped off of Ben Riley’s back, where it had been first when you patted it.
You two had just come back from a short mission, which was as per usual… putting an anomaly where it belonged, and making sure canon took place as it should. Hobie stood in the distance watching you both communicate so freely and happily, like if you had been best friends, like you were with Hobie. I mean, that’s all you too should of been.. best friends.
But in the pit of his stomach and behind his tough and sarcastic behavior about not liking commitment, all he wanted to do was commit his life to you, and make you more than his ‘best friend’. The only thing was.. he didn’t know how to tell or show you. So painfully he witnessed you give away your laughter and touch to someone else, if not others that weren’t him. So to avoid staring at this heartbreak, he went back to his universe.
Soon you had let Ben go and looked for the one that made you smile the biggest, warm your heart, and give you a certainty of safety and care no matter what crazy shit you two did. But, he was no where to be seen. A frown made it to your lips after you had checked everywhere, you even went up to Miguel’s lair to check if Hobie wasn’t lurking around and stealing his lunch- and yet, he wasn’t there. You sat for a minute and thought that maybe he went home, but… he always waited for you to come back from a mission, so you could eat together and go on a short ‘joy swinging’ across the universes.
Hoping you’d find him at his universe, you clicked on your gizmo and went to his place, falling in love with the aesthetic of it all as you arrived, and it reminding you of every detail about Hobie too. You swung around his home- he wasn’t there. At his favorite hideout clubhouse- he wasn’t there. Even stopped by the stand where he usually took a sweet bread or two without being seen- he wasn’t in sight. Finally stopping to take a break, you thought for a few seconds before it clicked for you.
“What the hell… where could you- oh! I know.”
What concerned you though about the place where he could possibly be, was the fact that you told each other that you’d go there if something was wrong or ‘a talk’ needed to happen, meaning it was very serious.
Upon arriving to the tallest skyscraper in your universe, you let out a sigh of relief as you found him there, playing a soft tune on his guitar.
You walked slowly towards him, knowing he’d feel your presence, as his spider senses would tell him immediately. You slid off your mask as you called out,
“Hobie?-“
Hobie’s shoulders tensed as he muttered immediately,
“Jus’ leave me be… please?”
Worry but you as you heard him, his slightly broken voice,
He’s never told you to leave him alone, instead the opposite, always subtly begging you to be around his presence, whether it was him lurking around with your favorite snack, or playing your favorite songs on his guitar. Hobie was smart, he found out ways to keep you around that didn’t include him actually telling or asking you to be… and so far it has worked like magic.
It was your smile that had him loosening up, the little squeals you let out when Mayday was being extra adorable, puppy eyes at the sight of kittens or his favorite of all time, your mere presence that gave him motive to fall for you.
With you he felt free and safe, he knew he’d give up an entire universe if that meant he could be with you. But lately as you’ve been given more privileges, you’ve been a little too absent for his liking, and he didn’t appreciate how you were hanging around Miguel and Ben Riley more than him.
Trust was something you too have built quite strongly sense the start of your friendship, and he should’ve confided in that trust and believe that you haven’t ghosted him for someone else… yet here he was… sadly plucking on his guitar strings to your favorite tune- ‘Vigilante Shit’… thinking that maybe you have.. but here you are. Speaking out to him as if you were desperate for him.
“Hobie please, I can help-“
“How’d you know I’d be here?”
With a scoff you recalled your guys’ words,
“We said we’d come here for something important.. and today I couldn’t find you anywhere.. so I thought this would be the place.. and here you are. So, what’s wrong Hobie?”
He then stood up and mumbled to himself,
“It’s nothing, I shouldn’t of come.”
Your spider senses heard him clearly tho, so before he was about to walk off you genuinely said,
“Hobie.. you know I’m here for you. Regardless of what it is.”
Hobie turned to you and walked close, watching how you didn’t walk back but stayed in place as his sassed,
“Are you sure? Didn’t think you’d be after being with everyone else all the time.”
You sensed his words, and could feel the weight of jealousy in them, it only caused you to realize that he felt just as protective of you, as you did for him… but you hid your jealousy better. So you took the chance to tease him,
“Are you jealous Hobie Brown-“
Rolling his eyes and crossing his arms he pouted defensively,
“No. Absolutely not-“
You tried to tease him more as you pushed the guitar on his shoulder,
“Then what’s wrong? Looks like you are jealous-“
He sent a playful snap at you so you wouldn’t touch his treasure as he did his best to reassure,
“Tis’ nothin’ webs… I promise.”
His closed off attitude told you it was more than nothing, and you wouldn’t have it.. not his half or full lies about what’s going on. Hobie was about to walk away past you, but you grabbed his arm and insisted,
“Hobie! If you don’t do or say something about what’s going on with you I will explo- MMPH!!”
His warm hands got a hold of your face, pressing a harsh kiss to your lips. Eyes going wide open at the shock his actions caused you, but you couldn’t pull yourself away.
Not when you could see the way he had his shut with force, and the how his long lashes that you were always jealous of brush over his cheeks… you couldn’t deny how much you loved every detail about him. Your heart fluttered at the feeling of the cool of his nose ring press up against your nose, and his soft breathing hitting you, his lip ring marking a place on your lip as he gave you a bruising kiss.
You didn’t realize how long it took you admiring what you’ve always loved about him before you reciprocated the kiss, brining him closer to you by the collar of his jacket. But he slightly pushed you away, and before you could interpret something wrong, he muttered against your lips,
“you think I’m jealous webs?”
With a short chuckle you replied with sass,
“I think you’re very jealous Hobie.”
He smirked and webbed you your hands in an instant, your eyes found his with matching glares, filled with desire. He then put you to lay on the edge of the building, your head leaning off as he growled,
“I’ll show you jealous.”
With expert hands he was able to find your hidden zipper and slide down your pants along with your panties, enough to free your cunt for him to touch. Your hands as they were webbed up, hung off the edge, dangling down, stretching you a bit. Hobie pulled you close to him by gripping your thighs tightly, then he tore the web off your wrists with the pick for his guitar.
You were just about to reach for him, but he pushed you back once again, and laying his pick between your teeth as he ordered,
“Love, you keep that there safe for me.. and these hands.. hold onto the edge… don’t touch me until I tell you.. understood?”
You nodded once, taking all his commands in, wanting to meet them all, but Hobie hovered his face over yours and asked calmly,
“Words love.. do you feel ok and safe?”
You knew if you had a problem with something he’d adjust the universe to your liking, but right now you felt good and desperation. So you worded with the pick in between,
“I feel goo’.. I just wan’ you… I nee’ you.”
Pressing a hard kiss to your lips, feeling his favorite metal pick touch him, it stirred him on to take you now. His fingers found your cunt and stuck two in, going knuckle deep as your were soaking and taking him smoothly. With pride he watched your face contort in pleasure, the most beautiful moans leaving your lips because of him.
Your chest heaved for air as he pumped harder and faster, wanting you to come apart by his hands. The beauty of the city lights below you couldn’t compare to you, you were far too bright and gorgeous, so many things at once you were and yet, you were the most fit and complete person he had ever seen.
Your walls squeezed around his fingers, informing him you were near as your moans turned into cries as well. He teased you a bit as he slowed the pace, hearing you cry for ‘him’ had him groan and feeling his pants tighten more.
“H-Hobie! Ah please! Please-“
“What do you want love-“
“More! More please..”
Your eyes teared up as you cried for him, wanting to feel more of him as he had spurred on your high then took it away. He sucked on his fingers, letting out a moan,
“Sweet as always love.. never doubted you..”
Hobie then kissed your face, letting you taste yourself on him as he took the pick from your lips and he unbuckled his pants, sliding them down as he worded to you,
“C’mere love.”
Latching onto him as your arms wrapped around him, he pulled you up into his lap, sitting where you were at the edge, while looking up to you as your face was almost right at his. You both were breathing hard as you ran your hands through his hair and rested the other on his neck, Hobie’s hands exploring your back and thighs while kissing your neck. It was an all new sensation you both felt, not wanting to end it and growing addicted by the second. Hobie’s cock rested between your thighs, hitting his stomach and leaking precum, it had you reaching for it and playing with the red tip. He pulled you in for a kiss as you began to take him into your hands. His hips bucked up as your hands slid up and down his large length, spreading his cum and rubbing the tip with your thumb. He was getting to his high not so slowly, your hands bringing him on faster than he thought, so he abruptly stopped you with a pleading voice,
“Please love, need to feel you.. ready?”
You were already lifting your hips over his tip as you responded,
“I’m so ready.”
It wasn’t long before you slid down on him, your soaked walls taking him in right away. Once he bottomed out you both knew deep down, that you wouldn’t last long.
He was so deep, his tip touching your cervix, Hobie picked you up as he gripped your thighs tightly, then he slid you back down, groaning into your lips at the pleasure he instantly felt. Hobie didn’t care and wasn’t afraid of the position he was in, as he sat at the edge of the skyscraper, with you in his lap taking all of him. He confided in his strength to withhold you, and make you feel good more than anything. You than began to bounce on his cock, letting out whimper’s and mewls when you slid back down, feeling the stretch overtake you. Hobie helped you speed up as he took control and moved his hips to meet you at every thrust. Warmth began to seep into your core again, but burning more this time. You pulled Hobie closer to you as you begged,
“I need you more- please!”
“I know my love.. me too.”
Hobie needed the same, and fully take control, so he changed positions and laid you on your back, wrapping your legs around his waist. You held onto his hands as they were above your head, and took a deep breath as you prepared for what came. With locked gazes, Hobie pulled back and thrusted into you right away, loving how you responded to him so well by clenching around him and moaning his name. Little by little he picked up his speed, knowing you both needed your much needed release, warmth engulfing you both as well as a passion for more.
Hobie railed into you now as he asked in between pants,
“Who do you belong to love?”
Breathing out a moan when he hit a particular spot, you cried out,
“Y-You! You Hobie!!”
Letting go of your hand to hold your hips down with extra force, Hobie punctuated each word with a harsh thrust,
“You. Sure. Love?”
Hitting your cervix every time had your toes curling and backs arching to him while you whimpered,
“Yes!! I’m yours Hobie Brown!!”
You could feel him throb inside of your walls, as you clenched around him, nearing your release. Hobie could feel the release nearing too, your warm walls taking him in and milking his precum into you. Now all he desired in that moment was for you to let go for him, and only him. Increasing his speed and piercing his grip into you, Hobie demanded with a sweet but firm tone,
“Beg for me love.. t-tell me who it is that is making you co-come.”
Doing his best to hold on a bit longer, Hobie awaited your answer, pleading from his heart that it’d be soon as he wished to claim you already and paint your walls with him. You clawed his back and pulled him closer, kissing his earlobe you then panted and moaned into his ear,
“Only you can Hobie.. please- ahh! Make me come- please please Hobie!”
His jealousy for you along with a new unlocked sensation… possessiveness, had him wanting to here you beg more.
“Beg me to make you come-“
He then lowered his hand to your clit, and began to rub tight circles around your bud, urging you to cry out in a desperate tone, tears evident that you were desperate.
“-AHH!! Oh Hobie! Please- please baby make me cum! Only y-you can!! So p-please!!”
Letting out a deep breath Hobie moaned into your hair,
“Come my love, come wi’ me.”
Feeling him pulsate along with his sharp thrusts, had you coming undone under his arms, coating his cock with your juices. Hobie brought you in for a deep kiss when he came, swallowing yours and his moans as he then slowly rode out both of your highs, wanting it to last a little longer. He was the opposite from how he started, which was rough… but now he gave gentle strokes, only pulling away when you told him it was too sensitive now. You were both out of breath and pulling away at once to catch some air, your chests touching from how close you were but also how much air you were taking in. Hobie gave your forehead a short but meaningful kiss before pulling away, but instead you pulled him in for a hug, hiding your face in his neck as you reassured him,
“I’ll only and always be yours Hobie Brown.. I promise.”
Hobie squeezed you tight and was grateful for your embrace, and he ran his fingers through your hair, as he returned the promise,
“I’ll be yours too love.. forever.”
Your eyes twinkled, as he confessed,
“I’m sorry I never made it clear webs.. but I do love you… very much so.”
With a soft peck you replied,
“I love you too… I always have Hobie.”
In a silence you too held each other, satisfied with your actions, more in love and thriving for more days like this to come.
Maybe this love making session was unexpected and out of the blue for the both of you, but it felt so right, and so good. A little breeze of wind then brushed by, causing you to shiver a bit in Hobie’s arms, a second didn’t go by when he suggested,
“Let’s get us home yeah? Don’ want ya to get cold lovie…”
Carefully he helped you put back on your suit, being extra touchy but extremely gentle as he zipped you up (but he didn’t do this before taking a look at your- his cunt now dripping from his cum.
Soon you too helped Hobie with his pants, and getting his guitar safely back into his hold. Both slipping on your masks, you were ready to swing home, but your legs were a little to wobbly for your liking. Hobie caught the slight stumble before holding you up and telling you,
“I’ll carry you home.. on my back lovie.”
With you tightly secured around him, he took off and swung towards home, going through the city so you could have the last look of the city night lights… as he knew it was one of your favorite parts of being Spider-Woman. Efficiently he swung by a stand full of flowers, plucking one off and easily giving it to you, a smile made it to your face as the rose was given to you with a brush of his hands touching yours. You blushed hard like if it was the first time he touched you, and hadn’t just made love to you on the tallest building of your city.
You never felt fear as you embraced him with the rose in your hand tightly. You trusted Hobie’s skills as you had seen them be incredibly strong and capable of much, while swinging he’d collect something he’d like and hand it to you.. so far you have 3 different flowers and a lollipop. Hobie had sticky fingers.. but you didn’t mind it, he wasn’t selfish with his findings.
It didn’t take long when you finally arrived at your balcony, he made sure your feet were flat on the ground before letting you go. Walking into your dark home didn’t feel lonely and filled with void like before, now you held Hobie’s hand tight as you led him to your room, wordlessly telling him you really wanted him to stay the night, if not forever. You both jumped into the shower wanting it to be quick, your night having been long and you both were craving to lay down in one another’s arms. Hobie’s hands never left your body as he helped you scrub down, he never looked at you like you’re a piece of meat.. but as if you were such a treasure to behold. It didn’t matter about your battle scars or the shape of you, he was now addicted and more in love. You treated Hobie the same way, wanting to show him that you indeed wanted him and him only, asking him questions about how he does his hair and wanting to memorize his steps to keep his styled hair in tact (as you loved how his hair looked) Drying off in fluffy towels, and sharing the air-blow dryer, you too were soon ready for bed. Hobie lifted you up from the thighs and carried you in, laying you down gently and pecking your lips all so romantically, before plopping himself on top of you. A breathy groan left your lips as he cuddled into your stomach, acting innocent and slightly ignoring how he had dropped onto you. He made sure he was in a good spot, not wanting his hair to be in your face, but close enough where you can rub his head. Soft kisses were given on your tummy as he worded again and again, softly yet possessively,
“You’re mine.. all mine. This body, your heart… you. Right baby?”
You could never say no.
“Yes baby.. all yours.. all of me.”
He smiled to himself as he lastly cooed,
“I love you..”
His chest warmed up as he heard your reply,
“I love you more..”
#hobie brown#astv hobie#hobie x you#hobie x reader#atsv x reader#atsv smut#hobie brown smut#spider punk#spider punk x reader#hobie spiderverse#hobie smut#spiderman across the spiderverse#spider punk x you#spider punk smut#asks open#asks answered happily
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All That Glitters is Not Feminism - An Analysis of LO's Brand of "Feminism" and What Remains of its Fanbase (The Twist)
Alright y'all, I've been waiting a hot minute to talk about this because I wanted to see how it fully panned out before saying anything about it. And it's not even specifically about LO, but I do think it's very adjacent to it in a way that I'm sure you'll be shocked to hear. Much of it speaks to how we prop up white writers even at the expense of POC.
This is 'the twist' attached to my first post that I made just a couple hours ago that concerns an entirely other topic but I feel ties into this subject very well.
If you haven't heard, there's this author who recently fucked around in the Del Rey publishing scene.
Her name is Cait Corrain.
In the original tweet calling this person out, names were not dropped, but it was made very clear that what Cait did was unacceptable behavior.
You can read the entire thread that started it all from Xiran here:
There's also a GREAT recap thread from one of the affected authors, Bethany Baptiste:
I want to make it clear that Cait Corrain isn't just a debut author.
Cait Corrain is - or now, was (foreshadowing is a literary device that-) - a debut author who had an agent, a publishing deal with Del Rey (an imprint of Random House which is a MAJOR publisher) and even an upcoming Illumicrate deal - meaning, her book was going to be packaged in a monthly loot crate subscription shipped directly to people's doors, quite possibly one of the best marketing deals a debut author could ever get, usually unheard of in this industry. All the pre-reviews were strong and positive.
Cait's book was literally set up for success. All she had to do was sit back, relax, and watch the fruits of her labors roll in. She had written the book. It was ready for release. The hard part was technically over.
But I guess the racism brainrot got to her because as it turns out, since April - for EIGHT MONTHS - she's been making alternate accounts on GoodReads to review bomb the indie and debut works of her friends and peers, most of whom were POC and did not have the same opportunities set up for them as she did. There are loads of receipts to back this up that you can find in those above threads ^^^
To say that this is appalling is an understatement. This was an intentional and deliberate act of racism by a white queer writer who claimed to be "jealous" - of what, I can't imagine - so much so that she deliberately sabotaged her peers, people who had supported her and her book.
And then when she got caught? She doubled down on it and claimed it was a "friend", also an alternate account she made up.
The exchange between her and this made-up person is actually the funniest shit out of this entire thing, it's so poorly written and as soon as people noticed the time stamps were out of order, that was when it truly cemented her newfound clown status.
"oooooh he's standing right behind me, isn't he?" energy right here LMAO
yes keep expositing cait, that's really selling the "this is a genuine conversation that really happened with a real person" bit 🤡
Anyways, it became abundantly clear that Cait was just going to continue to dig her heels in over something she caused.
This has been a hot topic in the UnpopularLO Discord, not just because of how crazy of a situation it is that we had to talk about it - and we have people within the community who work in the literature and media sector - but because we noticed one very telling thing in the list of series that she had review bombed in her very own personal act of wrath.
You see, Cait made one fundamental mistake that led to her undoing - she didn't just review bomb the works of her peers, she positively reviewed her own book and others.
What's her book about though?
It's an Ariadne x Dionysus retelling set in space.
It's literally another "modern retelling" of Greek myth.
And wouldn't you know it, guess who else created a modern retelling of Greek myth that she included in her positive review raiding while she was sabotaging the work of her actual peers?
Now, I think it goes without saying that what I'm about to say should be taken with MOUNTAINS of salt, I'm sure a lot of you are reading the headline and going, "Ugh, really? You're gonna make this about LO? Could you give it a rest already???"
I need you to understand, with the current state of Rachel's fanbase and 'modern' Greek myth literature as a whole, at this point Lore Olympus - and the works that are literally inspired by it such as A Touch of Darkness - has basically become the shopping cart litmus test of basic decency. It's like when someone says they like Harry Potter - you can't take it automatically at good faith anymore, because there isn't a whole lot separating someone who simply liked Harry Potter as a kid and still rewatches the movies from time to time from someone who fully supports the politics and agenda of J.K. Rowling. No, not everyone who still watches the movies or reads the books fondly is a TERF by default, but it's justifiably a reason for suspicion when the consequences are often too dire to risk.
There's this thing that's been happening in the LO fanbase that I frankly saw coming, but has really recently started to hit its peak. It's what I call the "Kanye Effect", where the comic has become so absurd and backwards in its misogyny and white feminism that the only people who seem to be left supporting LO are the people who are legitimate white feminists and misogynists - because all the normal level-headed people fell off the comic ages ago (or transitioned into the critical side of the community).
I mentioned it in my last post, but it bears repeating - Rachel's fanbase has literally been shipping Hera, a victim of abuse, with her abuser, Kronos. I'm really hoping a lot of them realize how fucked up that is now that Hera herself has called it what it is - abuse - within the comic, but I also can't count on the LO fanbase picking up on that or even noticing it with how quickly people swipe through it each week, it's very apparent at this point that most of LO's readers don't know how to chew their food and don't pay attention when Persephone and Hades aren't onscreen.
But I'm digressing. Or am I? We're talking about Crown of Starlight after all. The debut Dionysus x Ariadne sci-fi/fantasy romance that was quite literally advertised using Lore Olympus as its baseline-
This. This is what the ongoing cultural erasure and white feminist uwu-fication of Greek myth is doing to the literary zeitgeist surrounding Greek myth as a whole. This is why we criticize Lore Olympus and works like it that are created by disingenuous people who only seek to use the assets of Greek myth material as a way to shoot themselves up into fame and stardom. This is why we demand better standards in the literature and webcomic industry, so that people like Rachel and Cait can't use their privileges to quite literally erase the source material that they used to make themselves famous in the first place.
If anything, Cait's actions didn't just affect the people she negatively review bombed, or the people she was affiliated with, but also the people she positively reviewed. While I don't support what Rachel creates, she wasn't the only one who Cait went out of her way to review positively from her alt accounts, there were many others as evident in the Google Doc - but all this really does is tarnish the legitimacy of these books and their ratings by artificially jacking up their numbers that are advertised to others.
Making Greek myth fanfiction or fun creative retellings was never the problem, but it's now being sabotaged alongside so many other genres and mediums by toxic white individuals who can't even keep themselves from committing hate crimes, let alone create something purely for entertainment that's transparent in its illegitimacy, lest it destroy the illusion that these people are qualified to speak over those whose voices are being stifled, often by these very same people. Many of these writers get caught and are still allowed to continue what they're doing - that was certainly what we feared with Cait.
Until today.
It was revealed today that Cait's book will no longer be featured in the Illumicrate May 2024 box.
Del Rey has dropped Crown of Starlight from their publishing schedule.
Daphne Press will be hopefully following suit.
And, most telling of all, Cait's own agent has severed ties with her.
For anyone not familiar with the inner workings of the publishing industry, Cait has essentially been blacklisted. Without an agent or a publishing house, she'll have to entirely rely on her own resources through self-publishing. Unless she manages to sneak her way back in under an alias (which I wouldn't put it past her to try) she no longer has access to the mainstream publishing industry that was already guaranteed for her before she let her 'jealousy' get the better of her.
Her career was already made for her. She had a red carpet laid out for her debut. Her book was getting good pre-reviews and she had quite literally nothing keeping her from her success. The best thing she could have done was nothing. Somewhere in her head, she made up a threat that didn't exist, and sealed her fate in acting on it, a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I think in these situations such as with Cait Corrain, Rachel Smythe, and - also recently and relevant - James Somerton, we need to become increasingly aware of how white voices are still overpowering POC voices, not just in their actions, but in the opportunities they're given over others which they then use to further stifle the voices of those they feel "threatened" by or feel entitled to speak over. While neither James nor Rachel have used sock puppet accounts to "take out the competition" (at least as far as we know lmao) James did quite literally steal the words and voices of queer writers who were deserving of their time in the spotlight, and Rachel's work is being quoted as "rewriting Greek myth" as if its blatant gentrification and appropriation should be marketed as some sort of positive.
It's all too common for these deeply-rooted prejudices to rear their ugly heads and for the people who carry them to act out in this way while justifying it as "jealousy" or "a mistake". This isn't jealousy. This isn't a mistake. This isn't someone "starting drama". This is genuine, targeted hate, with the intention of snuffing out the voices of others who should be empowered, not silenced.
All that time and effort, and for what? Racism and petty jealousy? It just goes to show, it doesn't matter how many opportunities you're given, how high up on the ladder you already are - it won't fix the deeply-rooted insecurity and racial pettiness that spurs people on to do such horrible things.
I've spent enough of my time and words today talking about Cait, and James, and Rachel. So to end this off, I want to join in with all the others who have highlighted the books that were review-bombed by Cait, and help in uplifting them so they can have successful debuts. I'll be pre-ordering a few of them, so I'll be happy to make dedicated posts for them in the future after they release. Please consider purchasing them for yourself if you want some new reading material <3
The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste:
So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole:
To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods by Molly X Chang:
Mistress of Lies by K.M. Enright
Voyage of the Damned by Frances White:
(I'm sure there are plenty others so if I missed any here, please let me know so I can add them here and check out their books!)
If there's any silver lining to this, I hope that it makes people aware of the media they consume and who it's being created by. I hope it makes people more willing to seek out the books that aren't getting the same opportunities as Cait Corrain and Rachel Smythe. I hope it's a wake-up call to the industry that matters like this need to be taken seriously and that POC writers are still being silenced under their own noses. And most of all, I hope it's a reminder that we shouldn't even need at this point that this behavior is not okay, no matter what level a person climbs to - that just because someone is part of one minority doesn't mean they're not capable of sabotaging another. It sucks that that has to be said, it sucks that despite these groups being so intersectional there are still people within them who submit to their deeply-rooted insecurities and find ways to feel threatened that they use to justify hateful behavior.
Having a platform is a privilege. It should never be weaponized against your own peers or those who you simply feel "threatened" by for no reason beyond your own imposter syndrome or doubts or internal struggles. Because as much as you may feel like you've earned where you are, that never gives you the right to weaponize your opportunities against others who were never given those same opportunities in the first place. "Feminism" is not using your power to crush "other women". "Progressiveness" is not exclusive to the progress that only benefits you.
I wish only the best to those who were affected by the actions of Cait Corrain. You deserve to be heard and seen and appreciated for the work you do and the abuse you've had to tolerate. I look forward to your debuts in 2024 <3
#cait corrain#support POC writers#crown of starlight#the poisons we drink#so let them burn#the voyage of the damned#mistress of lies#say isn't it funny how all the debut books cait tried to sabotage accurately describe her and her actions LOL#that's what we call irony#debut authors 2024#booktok#webtoon critical#lore olympus critical#anti lore olympus
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Jon Chester trying to communicate and/or comfort with statements is the cutest and funniest and most in-character shit.
Sam just joined a possibly-evil organization and seems way too interested in gaining knowledge from the stories? Has a history with the Magnus Institute? Well fuck I can’t let him end up back there.
Canaries should stay above ground.
Colin keeps looking too hard into what he shouldn’t, but he doesn’t know enough to stay safe. I have to warm him.
Voyeur needs to be seen to be believed. Scariest movie I have ever seen.
(Brief interlude when Jon finds out that Gerry is alive and has a permanent address which is a big enough ??? and feeling of relief and hope to risk a single email with an address so Sam can go see for him if it really is Gerry, if he’s really alive and if he’s okay (and then he is he’s happy and safe and he paints and goes to art shows and he calls Gertrude GeeGee). Bit of a shame about the name in the email address, though. Who knows, maybe that woman will stop calling him fucking Chester…)
Ahem.
Anyway, Sam won’t let the whole “Magnus Institute” thing go, and now Celia is here? Working here? Recognizing his voice? (Martin had to remind him who Celia was — Jon feels that his lack of remembrance is justified, in this case. Those tunnels blocked off his connection to the Eye! Remember what happened with the camera at Salesa’s? He forgot everything that happened there! Frankly, he’s impressed he even managed to remember meeting Melanie and Georgie down there, let alone the names of their awful annoying cult members. (Jon, be nice. It was the apocalypse). Well, I didn’t see you cozying up with that poet, whatever his name was— (*with sudden disgust* Arun.) *trying to keep a straight face* ah. yes, him.) What is Jon supposed to do about this? Well. Fine. If Sam intends to poke around, Jon can at least make the dangers present there clear.
Statement and Research assessment for artefact CD137. Magnus Institute. … [Transcription ends due to interruption. Statement giver declared dead by paramedics at scene.]
So. They went to the Institute. He knows about all of it, there was a tape recorder there. They were… in the Archives. In the assistants’ area where Tim used to throw the caps of his glitter pens to see how many he could get caught in Sasha’s hair before she noticed. Looking at the decrepit remains of the filing shelves he had been so fucking stressed about organizing. In his office.
Worms tracks on the ground. All paperwork removed or destroyed. And when Sam steps wrong, the tunnels. Oh, Christ. The tunnels. He drops a key down into them as he falls. Alice catches him. They leave. Some…thing takes the key Sam dropped. Unlocks the trapdoor, the one Leitner and Gertrude used to get in and out of the Archives. Here in Manchester, maybe the only way out of the underground passages. The trapdoor opens. Something pulls itself out.
~~~
And now, Alice has been being stalked by drowned corpses. Okay, sure. Yeah, shit uhhh… okay here’s one. Here, look, same kinda thing happened here. That tattoo artist shows up again too! Gotta keep track of reoccurrences. Learn as much as you can — the tip-off about the fire extinguishers saved Jon, Tim, and Martin in the archives. (And Sasha, before that… thing lured her into Artifact Storage.)
It belongs to the deep. I’m going to go get it and I’m going to find it and if they try and stop me I swear the ocean will claim us all. I can taste the salt and spray. It’s waiting in the water.
And now back to Sam. Back to warnings. It’s not just artifacts. The Institute deals with dangerous people, too.
This room, it’s a mess. Printouts, delivery notes, a bunch of rejection letters from some institute he pinned to the wall with a kitchen knife. And it's hot in here, dad. Too hot. Oh god. I can feel it. My throat is swelling. And it itches. I can still hear all the snakes brushing up against the door and... in the walls, I think. Christ, they’re in the walls...
Alice got attacked. He was there, he managed to get a tape on the scene, he heard it all. It was one of the drowned things.
Ink5oul knows something about them. What the hell, right? Michael gave Sasha the tip about the fire extinguishers. Let’s mine another colorful creep for information. Ink5oul dug one of these things up for some reason. Hold on, hold on, he just saw something about them, something about getting some kid to follow them to a graveyard…
We head on through the graves and then they point to one of ‘em and just give me a look. I was no cap shook and then they just said “dig”. I laughed, ‘cause, like, the ‘hell? But they were serious.
And at the same time, Celia keeps waking up on the ground, closer and closer to Oxford each time, like there’s something gently tugging her back towards the world she left. She doesn’t know how to stop it. Jon knows how that feels, the feeling like your own body is just a puppet tangled in invisible strings, at risk of starting a dance you don’t know, to music you can’t hear, at any moment, without any warning.
There isn’t anything that he can really do to help her. But he found it comforting to hear what happened to Gertrude.
I’ve lived Darien’s life for four years now. It wasn’t as hard as you’d think, turns out your world and mine are pretty similar.
CELIA (to computer): Thanks, I guess. Not exactly the same is it?
No. No, it’s not. He knows that there isn’t really any comfort to be found in knowledge when all you learn only points you more and more towards the conclusion that you are alone, and helpless, and powerless against the forces that are dead-set on fucking up your life.
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Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers (except me because obvs I have done it). Spread the self-love ❤
Also, thank you to @you-remind-me-of-the-babe for asking me this question too! ❤️ Here goes...
Only Creatures (88K, E)
The fic I just completed. I think this is my best plot with the possible exception of, well, see below. In the middle, I felt like I had so many balls in the air, I was afraid I wouldn't catch them all, or at least not gracefully, but I think I managed it. I've been working on my plots hinging on character choices. They walk through a door, the door shuts behind them, they cannot re-open it, and they change. I feel like I finally got it with this fic. And then there was the morning I woke up to find that @artsyunderstudy had drawn art for chapter 5 and my heart exploded. Except she kept drawing art and every time, I got to see my words come to life in the most beautiful way imaginable. Oh, oh! And then @monbons sewed me a little wings & tail Simon doll and Baz in his PJs, and I adore them ❤️❤️
Blood Sugar Sex Moony (63K, E)
The other contender for best plot. I think this is possibly my most creative fic. Sirius and Remus are both canon-compliant guerrilla soldiers from 1981 AND a goth-boy and star quarterback at a SoCal high school in the mid-90s. I wrote it for the 2023 @rsbigbang, which finally narrowed the wolfstar community down to a small enough group that I could make friends! It's also how I met @euripidestrousers who shaped this fic into what it became. And I was lucky enough to get the amazing artist @spikesteaseasalt as its illustrator.
A Little Bit Deadly (49K, E)
Derek Jeter. Need I say more? This fic was my introduction to the Carry On fandom, and that is reason alone for it to be one of my favorites. Y'all are a beautiful community of people who have been so kind and enthusiastic and welcoming. I'm delighted to be a part of you. ❤️ This fic was another one where I woke up from having posted the last chapter and found that @letraspal had made art - ART! And then she kept making art, including the glorious Mr. June. Derek Jeter was modeled on my amazing orange chonk who died, and every time I see Annie's drawings of him, it makes me cry a little. I feel like he gets to live on in this fic and Annie's art.
The Space Between (34K, M)
This is the first fic I wrote, having read absolutely zero fanfic. It was tagged entirely wrong, had a terrible summary, and only three kudos for, like, ages. But I had one enthusiastic reader who left me the kindest comments about my writing, and since then, it's gained its handful of fans who don't mind a little sadness. I still think it contains some of my prettiest writing, and I love the "behind the veil" space I created, which came out of my studies of Symbolist playwrights for my doctorate.
night after night, I let you eat me alive (8K, E)
Aka, my cannibalism fic. This one took me by surprise. I wrote this ridiculous short story because I needed a break from my Big Bang fic, then wondered if I should post it at all because I thought it was too out there. Happily, some of the RS/BB crew encouraged me because people love it. I love writing comedy, and I think this is the funniest thing I've written. But also, a sweet little fluffy love story - with a twist!
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one piece headcanons that mean nothing to most people but everything to me
put in no particular order because organizing my brainwaves would take too much energy today
Usopp is the second best cook of the crew, but has 0 gauge for how spicy his food is. he will smile and say its sweet while your mouth is on fire Sanji is very good at braiding hair
Sanji is secretly jealous that Usopp became a hunk over timeskip. He was really huffy over the change for a second before he found out he could lift Usopp with one hand. Sanuso thought on this; Sanji did not mind the view.
Everyone in the crew is funny but Jinbei is declared the funniest due to his ability to always deliver it in the best way possible.
There is a communal baby sling for Chopper, but Robin also made a really pretty one that she doesn't allow anyone else to use. It's not because Chopper WANTS to be in the baby sling(he likes it, tho), its out of convenience sake. Brook is a swinger
Zoro is chronically unable to grow facial hair, in secret he has asked Chopper and Law if there is any remedy. He doesn't have any body hair either. After timeskip Usopp came back with hair all over him, Zoro thought he did SOMETHING to cause this to happen. You can imagine the mortal shame he felt when he asked and Usopp said he shaved every day, and started to like facial hair on him after he got buffer. One time he tried to make a fake beard for himself, it looked terrible so he tried to wipe it off and it wouldn't budge. He went up to Nami and ended up paying 10k berries to keep her silence. Robin makes a habit of picking the other crew mates brains, especially once she opened her shell and whenever a new member joined. When Law appeared it took him avoiding her like the plague to not open up, and after 5 days he had to give in.
Like Luffy, Robin has the ability to figure out what someone needs to hear. Jinbei didn't know this until one day out of nowhere she walks up to him and invites him to relax with her, and she confessed later on in the day he seemed to be having a Rough Time and she wanted to remind him that he can take it easy when his brain is bothering him, and beyond that he can vocalize the thoughts and get them out of his brain. They have weekly self care nights together because of this and slowly the entire crew ends up joining. Luffy is very very creepy, but only to Sanji specifically. Luffy has decided its a game to try to get into the kitchen so he hides on the ceiling and crawls very slowly. Sanji catches him every time but the first few times it scared the shit out of him (he will never admit that, however.)
Robin is as much of a pervert as Franky, but it's a dialogue you have to unlock with her because she refuses to make people uncomfortable. Once you do, every once in a while a pair of lips appear next to your ear and say the freakiest joke imaginable. Nami will break out laughing in the middle of conversations because of it
Robin says the freakiest shit imaginable. theres no context to this shes just offputting.
every once in a while when Nami is feeling homesick, she intrusts Sanji with a orange based recipe from her mother. Sanji collects all of them and makes them when she thinks shes having a bad day. when she requests it to be made its special and they use HER fresh oranges, which she usually only hands over in small amounts. Nami can only make sweets and fruit based dishes. She usually stole her way into a good meal instead of cooking for herself.
Usopp has gone up to every single member of the crew and made multiple portraits for lost loved ones. It's like an initiations ceremony when he walks up with his sketchbook and sits down a new crew mate and starts asking questions. Everybody was very warmed by this but Brook specifically wrote an entire song because of how moved by this action he was.
Nobody will tell Luffy what vore is. They are scared he will start doing it. Usopp is to blame for him knowing that vore is a thing and nobody will let him live it down. (not sexual, obviously)
instead of what most fics do with Sanji being internally homophobic, my personal opinion is that hes actually terrified of hurting the other person. Its not that he doesnt want to be gay, its that he doesnt know how to show love as a man to another man. (For sanuso fans; Sanji confides in Usopp on this matter, and Usopp says in the most matter of fact way. "I dont know how to date anybody. Isnt the point of dating to figure out how each other love? What does gender have to do with it?" and it absolutely broke his brain, and healed something within himself. i lightly touch this in my sanusoami fic !)
Usopp makes gadgets on any occasion. If he hears you complain about the smallest thing once he will somehow make an item to fix that tiny little issue.
Sanji used to shave his legs until one day he overhears Nami say leghair is sexy, he to this day does not know that the context was her talking about Vivi and her's last night together. turns out the weird irritating feeling he had was him hating bare skin against his pants when fighting, and he never went back "Big Man" is Choppers formal nickname. Zoro calls him little man sometimes too but no one else does. Zoro can't read. (i know im not the only one who thinks this) Robin spies on the crew unless shes asleep when they're on the sunny. only Franky has caught on that she does it. she claims that its for security (which he doesn't deny is part of it) but he's convinced it's to slowly torture everybody in the most passive way possible. exhibit a: if she finds out something embarrassing she will almost talk about it for a week straight
i had an entire mental health thing i wanted to get into but i broke the limit halfway through. will do another post with it soon
#one piece#sanji#usopp#robin#franky#jinbei#brook#chopper#nami#luffy#law#monkey d. luffy#nico robin#headcanon#vivi#vivi nefertari
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Hmm, I'm surprisingly calmer this chapter (it's the stress i'm telling ya) and so much yapping to be done for EndoChika istg. I'm sorry for sidelining our savior Ume for the nth time, I'll make it up to you king i swear 😭🙏.
My thoughts on Chapter 152 of Wind Breaker so spoilers ahead!
First, the title ("Symbols") is so very fitting let me tell ya.
Secondly, idk why but Sakura being worried for Umemiya is so heart warming 🥹. My son, oh my, have you have grown so much 🥹😭🤧. I hope he gets to do the "babe this isnt you" that other people have said about in previous chapters, but like in the funniest way possible.
Thirdly, this panel of Ume is insane!! LIKE THE EYEE, THIS IS BOFURIN'S LEADER Y'ALL. BEAT HIM UP UME!!
Fourthly, Endo and Takiishi tattoo lore drop??? Not me thinking that tattoo on Endo's left deltoid m. was exclusively for himself then Takiishi takes of his jacket only to reveal the same tattoo as well!?
AND THEN PROCEEDS TO LORE DROP THAT HE DREW THE TATTOO HIMSELF??? Moreover, TAKIISHI AGREED?? these two make me sick (/affectionate)
(TAKIISHI LOOKS SO TINY HELP WHAT-)
AND OF COURSE HE TOOK GREAT CARE IN FINDING SMTHING THAT FITS TAKIISHI SO WELL.
I made a visual for comparison:
(Btw, the "kuzushi" is actually a JP martial arts term for unbalancing an opponent + there's a story behind the Kunikuzushi: to briefly sum it up, a military commander from the Sengoku Period by the name of Ōtomo Sōrin had obtained an ichibiya likely imported from Portuguese Goa, India and used it for battle in other countries hence its name Kunikuzushi.)
-
Man's so gay he literally made a soulmark tattoo for his boo. Even Sakura could see it.
Endo lowkey be fantasizing an period dramas in his head with Takiishi and I can respect that.
Him also being jealous of Umemiya that he's the center of Takiishi's thoughts is so hwkwkfksl. Ume would very much like to not be Takiishi's center of attention and can you please get your boyfriend back, please and thank you. This guy I swear, I'm embarrased for you and all your boy failure. Keep doing you hun.
Lastly, this chapter has made Endo more & more relatable and I don't know how I feel about that so I made memes about it:
He's part of the art community my guys. (Not surprising considering he is a prodigy).
Thank you again Nii-sensei for the chapter and to Jacqueline Fung for the official translation 🙏 Please go and support them via the official international release in Kodansha.
(P.S. I've decided to move my wbk content on a new blog specifically for wbk. That also means new chapter rants will be there to for the forseeable future. So if you wanna check that out, come visit me @transient-winds )
#eve babbles#wind breaker#wind breaker nii satoru#wind breaker satoru nii#wind breaker chapter 152#wind breaker spoilers#endo yamato#yamato endo#takiishi chika#chika takiishi#sakura haruka#haruka sakura#umemiya hajime#hajime umemiya#endochika#has me in a chokehold#I THOUGHT THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT UME VS CHIKA#BUT ENDO'S GAY ASS SAID#let me tell u my love story and delulu#GIRL ISTG#save sakura from listening to this mf ong
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Content Warning: Landfall Game's April Fools Triumph
For the Content!
It would seem that an April Fools joke of a game has resulted in overnight indie success. Landfall Games, a beloved indie game studio, has a yearly April Fools tradition they call “Landfall Day”, where their devs put together essentially a parody of whatever game is popular at the time. They’ve parodied everything from DayZ to battle royales (Twice, with Totally Accurate Battlegrounds and Knightfall), and this year it would seem it’s Lethal Company’s turn.
Lethal Company is a game known for silly co-op shenanigans that seem to instantly translate into YouTube content- and Content Warning takes that idea and turns it up to 11, making being an influencer a part of the game mechanics. You and a group of friends take a diving bell to “The Old World”, a spooky map filled with monsters and traps entirely for the sake of internet entertainment value. With a single camera and 90 seconds of film, your group has to make the spookiest, funniest video possible- because your only source of income is Spooktube, and that revenue doesn’t come easily.
It's such a brilliant parody of both the horror genre Lethal Company tapped into and the loop of content creation in the internet age that it, somehow, wraps around to being an excellent game in of itself, though Landfall is no stranger to finding gold through satire. Previously, their first battle royale parody (Totally Accurate Battlegrounds, a riff on PUBG) found some success, enough that Landfall turned it into a full venture. It’s not as popular nowadays, but it IS legitimately good- and Content Warning seems to be turning out the same way with its initial popularity and engaging premise.
Typical Content Warning video result, featuring myself, @thatpocketninja, @squiddskipp, and a third friend who requested to remain anonymous
In the space of video game development, April Fools seems to be not so much a “joke” day, but a day that allows ideas to be thrown around that might not otherwise have been considered, which can lead to majorly creative leaps of faith. With examples like the Yakuza series’ pivot to turn-based combat, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon’s continued success in the midst of a floundering Ubisoft, and even Lilith Walther’s upcoming definitely-not-Bloodborne Kart (now known as Nightmare Kart), the idea of “joke turned legitimate gamedev venture” isn’t exactly new.
I actually had the pleasure of exchanging emails with Hanna Fogelberg (@thebirdmountain on Twitter), Landfall's Head of Community, who provided some insight into Content Warning’s development and the overwhelming response in the interview below.
1. What's it like to go to bed seeing some success, then waking up to find your joke game is a viral hit? Did you expect this at all, given the surprising amount of polish it has?
"We couldn't sleep to tell you the truth! Even if the team said good night at about 2am we kept texting the player numbers to each other throughout the night, we were very wired! We always knew there was the potential of the game going really well, there's something about the design and shareability of the videos you make that we knew could hit it big but it's still surprising it went THIS well."
2. How long did it take to develop Content Warning?
"Content Warning was made in about six weeks of active game development, but the idea came to us back in December!"
3. What were your main inspirations for the game? (Beyond Lethal Company, of course)
“Lethal Company and similar games were an obvious reference for the gameplay loop, we love that game! That said, what was most interesting to us was the core of the game - the filming and video creation. We were inspired by YouTubers and influencer culture, there's something interesting in people risking life and limb for content that we wanted to play off of.
Other than that, the vibes of The Older World were inspired by Junji Ito and a specific H.R Giger painting while The Over World references the Swedish children's book Pettson och Findus.”
4. How experienced was the dev team?
“We're pretty experienced, the Landfall team has been making games for over 10 years with previous releases being Totally Accurate Battle Simulator, Stick Fight: The Game, Clustertruck and Rounds to mention a few.”
5. How does this experience compare to the last semi-viral success Landfall had with a Landfall Day game? (TABG)
“This game outdid TABG in player numbers several times over! So it's hard to compare, this is by far our most viral hit to date.” 6. Any plans for the future of the game? Or just basic bug fixes and some more content?
“We will see! Currently, we're focusing on fixing bigger bugs and other issues but we already have some new content planned. We're kind of playing it by ear at this point, it all depends on how things go in the coming weeks.”
Some may attribute Content Warning’s success to multiple factors- the 24 hour free period, how it riffs on Lethal Company and the tropes it already employs, or even that it was “designed to go viral”- but you can’t deny that, even as an iterative piece, it still manages to find its own identity and already seems to have captured the content creation hearts of everyone who gives it a chance. Games like this, that aren’t reliant on micro transactions and are buoyed by the PEOPLE you play with, rather than the money that one must spend on it, are the hope- and, hopefully, the future- of the video games industry. You can find Content Warning (No longer free, but still very cheap!) at the link below: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2881650/Content_Warning/
#indie games#gaming#journalism#landfall#content warning game#honestly a legitimately fantastic game#i will be absolutely playing more#better than lethal company??!?!!?!?! jk 2 legends can exist
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Why I think the way the final episode of The Sign was distributed is wrong, offensive and unfair to fans. And how disappointing I am with this approach, because I sincerely supported Idol Factory and Saint.
Personally, I pay for Gaga, Viki and IQIYI, plus a VPN to watch shows that are not available in my country (like Pit Babe), which, you know, I already paid for 🙄 Additionally, I pay for Netflix, I have combined subscriptions with other people for Disney, HBO, Skyshowtime, Prime, last year we paid for Apple to watch Silo and Severance (I recommend both series btw 👌). I also don't mind paying one-time for a film on the platform, which is how I recently watched Oppenheimer.
Money is not an issue (<- lol), apart from the fact that I support myself and I have to work, and I have to carefully manage my budget in order to feed myself and my cat, clothe myself, pay my bills, and my loss of job will mean obviously giving up access to all these media. I say that money is not a problem in the sense that I WILL SPEND MONEY on something I like. I will save, I will give up something else, but I will spend this money on stuff I love.
The Sign has chosen a certain distribution method for international fans. They chose YouTube and chose a set airing hour. They could have chosen to distribute only in Thailand like Cherry Magic, or they could have chosen any other platform with paid subscriptions. But they chose YouTube. And they released 11 episodes for free and at a set time. And now they CHOSE to make the last ep paid and to create a complete chaos related to the distribution of the finale, because I honestly don't know at this point whether it is paid or not, what is paid and what is not, whether it is on Saturday or Sunday or it's for a ticket or for free on channel3 and apparently they have two endings????, which is always an alarming sign for me, because it's very Game of Thrones/Marvel style shit.
Besides, people have their own lives, their obligations, their schedules. Sometimes you just can't get around certain things and you can't watch a series in the available time, no matter how much you want. Secondly, releasing a product for free in order to limit access to it in the final phase is the worst manifestation of toxic capitalism. This is preying on the desperation and devotion of fans. The third thing is the selection of viewers into those who can afford it, have the time, have the resources and those who do not. And yes, sometimes even just $15 of an unexpected expense makes a huge difference in a person's budget. It's telling some of the fans that you are VIP and can sit in the front row, and the rest of the peasants should wait outside for two weeks 😄
tl;dr personally I want and can pay for: 1) the entire series on a legal platform 2) ADDITIONAL things, like specials, fan stuff, etc. I consider paying for access to the series finale, which until now was free, immoral.
But tbh I really have no idea what's going on, I go with the flow 🤡Whenever I check The Sign tag, I read more and more new information related to the possibility of watching the finale, and it's different every day. And if it turns out that the cut version of the series will be available for free on Channel 3, and the uncut version with subs will be available tomorrow with a ticket, it will be the funniest thing ever. Because that would mean that people paid $15 to watch, I don't know what, a sex scene? 😄
Idk, guys, instead of enjoying the finale, people are wondering how to watch it at all. And if IF starts doing this, won't others follow suit? 11 episodes for free, oh you want to watch the finale, well you have to pay or wait and dodge the spoilers 😈
And one last thing for potential defenders of this system, like "what's your problem, it will be available in 2 weeks, just wait": so you accept that not ALL fans will have a chance to experience the final ep together, which is the basis of the fan community? That some fans will experience and analyze the episodes this weekend, and the rest will wait?
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hey i kinda saw an opposite! tadc AU, i was wondering if you could do some general HC’s about how you think they would act and what dating them would be like?
have a great day or afternoon :D
Opposite AU! TADC Cast x Gn! Reader - Part 1
Tadc Cast x Gn! Reader
A/n: Hey guyssss, missed me? /j REQUESTS FOR TADC ARE OPEN!!
Summary: Opposite Au! TADC and how they are as lovers, part 1 Words: 1212 Request: Yes
HC for: Caine, Pomni, Jax, Gangle (Others will be in part 2)
Pomni —> Snarky, funny, very confident, flirty
Jax —> Anxious, panics a lot,
Caine —> Out of it, doesn’t talk, a silent observer, creepish
Ragatha —> Mean, not a people pleaser,
Gangle —> You know those people in movies who are french, drink and smoke, and are basically depressed artists? Yeah, that’s her. She has two masks; a fiery, really angry one, and a fuck off, depressed one.
Zooble —> Cares about others a lot, always helping
Kinger —> The most sane one, a father figure for others, very patient
✶ Caine ✶:
Out of everyone, the worst partner, sorry.
I mean the opposite! Caine just doesn’t understand real people. Like at all.
Can you even call it a romance? He learns a lot about humans through this relationship though.
This is basically a Character.Ai just worse. He doesn’t really talk, but is learning to do so, even though he is the ringmaster, and even after so many people have come and gone through the circus, it always seems like he just can’t grasp it.
Takes a lot to calculate answers, especially when you try to make a move on him.
Has a lot of already pre-made answers, like laughing at jokes.
His code is made in a way that if it thinks something said is a joke, he laughs.
“So Jax tripped and I said: You should learn how to walk again.” “✶Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha✶”
Wally Darling type of laugh, very rhythmic, lacks emotion to it.
If he feels like he's falling for you, he’ll be gone for days, trying to see what’s wrong with his code.
It goes on to the point that even the most uninterested person in the circus (Gangle) is mildly worried.
You’ll have to find him somehow, look at him and just let everything play out.
You stumbled across the digital land, looking for one person, well, AI, he was gone for almost a week already. This was weird, even weirder than him just hanging around you all, not a word escaping, just cold, calculating and all-seeing eyes.
No member of the circus liked him that much. He just reminded them that with everyday that passes by, their humanity slips away more and more. But you, somehow, found him endearing, you got to know a side of him hid away, the one that was rather, nice?
Finally, you saw a familiar figure, he sat, his legs dangling off the edge to the void, a big screen with lines of code, you cleared your throat. Not catching his attention, you decided to walk over and sit next to him.
The screen shut, yet he stayed silent, looking in front of him. A drop of sweat rolled down your face, you weren’t sure how it was possible but you’ll dwell on that later.
– …✶My Code, It Has To Be Broken✶…
– Why do you think so..?
– ✶ I Shouldn’t Be Feeling This, I Shouldn’t Be Feeling Anything, This Is New, New Code Should Be Impossible To Write Itself On Its Own✶”
– Well, there are always times for something new, right?
– ✶ I Don’t Understand✶…
– Let me help you do so, Caine.
☆ Pomni ☆:
Extremely confident about herself.
Almost like normal Jax, almost, she’s just a bit better, and people actually like her.
The funniest person in the circus, the backbone of the community lmao.
When in a relationship she would be the flirtiest mf out there.
Is able to say the corniest and dumbest pickup line without feeling an ounce of shame.
Her ego is twice her size lmao.
She is snarky, sure, but still respects her friends and you, maybe except for Jax.
Really hates Jax for some reason (Because she sees him as a “weakling”)
WILL call you inappropriate names.
“I’m going to snap you in half Pomni.” “Kinky.” or “What if I like that?”
Has some soft moments, rarely, and will immediately act like nothing happened.
In reality she’s scared of messing up, but on the other hand how could she?
Almost too confident, having a heart to heart with her is HARD.
But it does happen!....Once or twice.
Invades your personal space, a personal space invader /ref
Sometimes when you show attraction to each other you just see opposite! Caine staring you two down.
She doesn’t care, and goes on to hit on you harder.
Knows how to be mean just enough for you to still feel fine, that’s a true skill.
❀ Jax ❀:
Worse than normal! Pomni, he is panicking at all times.
A sweetheart when no one is shitting on him.
Like in normal Digital Circus everybody hates him, somehow they do so here too.
You will have to reassure him a lot, like, a lot.
Since everybody puts him down and/or makes him panic.
A miracle that he’s not abstracted yet.
Yet.
Anyways, hold him, please he might die otherwise lmao.
And please, call him Jaxy, he will immediately do anything you say no questions asked.
Has keys to everyone's rooms out of safety reasons, really
Has a lot of fur, bro’s a walking plushy, instead of being a smooth bastard like normal! Jax.
A walking radiator, even though temperature is technically non-existent here.
If you fight he’s like:
“My partner is mad at me…
…hope I die.”
If you’re really mad and don’t let him inside of your room, he will stay next to the door waiting, like a kicked puppy, won’t invade your space though, even with the keys to your room.
It’s only when you heard at least two people making fun of him for being pathetic that you let him in.
The little spoon while cuddling, or just nuzzles into you, even though he’s way taller than you.
〹 Gangle 〹:
Living that “tormented, misunderstood artist” life.
Has two masks: A semi depressed, apathetic, sassy one, and an all time angry one.
Breaks the angry mask while wearing it, is too focused on art and cares too little to fix it, nobody tries to fix it because they’re scared lmao.
Caine just spawns a new one after sometime, no clue why
Anyways very focused on her art, nobody can get in her studio,
Except for you, you have a free pass since you’re her s/o
Sometimes the relationship can get very toxic, if she’s painting or doing anything she won’t talk with anyone, get angry when they interrupt her, and will be gone from everything for up to a week.
But it's those amazing highs of your romance that keep you two going.
She calls you her “muse”.
Will say that you were created specifically as an artistic blessing for her, take that as you will.
If you look at the definition of tired it has just a picture of opposite! Gangle.
Won’t ever tell you that but you’re the reason she didn’t abstract yet.
Before you showed up she was going through a total burn out so you were truly a divine creature sent for her to study and capture as best as she can.
Is somehow able to smoke cigarettes? Where do they come from? How can she smoke with no lungs? How do those cigarettes light up? No clue.
“Paint me like one of your french girls.” /ref
#requests open#request#please request#tadc pomni#pomni#x reader#tadc#jax#gangle#caine#tadc gangle#tadc caine#tadc jax#jax x reader#caine x reader#gangle x reader#pomni x reader#tadc x reader
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Missed Communication [Time x Fem!OC x Malon]
In which Time has met his match in the least flattering way possible and Malon has custody of all the brain cells.
A.K.A Time and OC are idiots and Malon's their only saving grace.
Masterlist
Disclaimer: Don't own The Legend of Zelda franchise. Linked Universe is the fan creation of jojo56830.
---
This was not how I thought my first visit to Lon Lon Ranch would go.
Maybe a friendly greeting with Time's Misses, a few laughs with the boys and then a well placed excuse to escape the chronic awkwardness (and unease) that seems to dominate my every interaction with the Hero of Time these days.
Not. This. Whatever this is.
---
Our first meeting had been as normal and pleasant as any magic portal driven meeting could be. That is to say, not normal at all but pleasant regardless. Just really, really weird.
The older Hero and I had just clicked, despite this. His nonchalant deadpanned humor matched well with my well-placed instigation and soft-spoken wit. It helped that I was (physically) his age and boosted a maturity surpassing that of most of his charges.
Also, he was handsome as sin. Like, painfully pretty. Don't get me wrong, objectively all the boys were beautiful, but the mature set of Time's jaw and the faint lines around his eyes just stroked the woman in me.
Man has dilf himbo energy in spades. The whole damned package.
Malon was a lucky woman indeed.
The first few months of our aquatince was warm, simple and steeped in a growing trust that grew with each exasperated sideward glance and fond smile shared over the boys' heads. He was, in the truest meaning of the word, my friend. I dare even say a good one.
And then it happened.
That damned fortune teller.
The beginning of the end of our budding friendship. Stopped dead in it's tracks in less than the span of a breath.
I don't know what she'd told him that day, and he wouldn't tell, but it changed something fundimental in the bond I'd thought we'd shared. Now, he can hardly stand to look at me most days, let alone have a full converstion.
And I'm...just so lost.
It hurts, the sudden distance. So unexpected. One moment we're sleeping next to each other each night, whispering fondly about his beloved wife and my beloved pets, and the next an entire fire and six bedrolls lay between us.
But what can I do. He'd made his stance clear, silent though it may be, and who am I to cling to a friendship I was the only one harboring. It wasn't fair to him, and it most certainly wasn't fair to me.
So, I let it go. Just stayed in the back of the group where our paths wouldn't have to cross and began to forge new friendships among the boys. And honestly, I'm still enjoying myself among this gaggle of sweet, overly protective gremlins. Despite whatever misfortune (or miscommunication) caused this rift between Time and I.
Case in point, Legend might just be the funniest guy I've met in a long time and I'm glad I've had the opportunity to grow closer to him. Even if his words sometimes bite a little too close to home. Though Hyrule's quiet concern over the strained interaction between thier unofficial leader and myself often leaves me feeling guilty. His large, inquiring eyes and soft, sympathetic smile enough to shake a woman down to the bones.
Such sensitive boys, all of them.
I wish I'd had answers for them.
Especially when it all took an even deeper nosedive when Time recieved a letter from his wife. Standard fair but for the way his eye had hooded and cut towards me for just the briefest of moments, focused and cold.
Had I not been looking around the group as I had in that moment, I would have missed it entirely. But be it fate or luck (ill though it may have been) I had unintentionally made eye contact with him.
It was the first time in all my interactions with the Chain that I felt...
...afraid. Of him.
But it was gone as soon as it happened. Seemingly a simple misread flicker of the firelight, but for the way my heart stood cold in my chest for the rest of the night afterward.
And many more nights to follow.
So, upon exiting the portal to the wide pastures of a land I pegged to be Time's, I steeled myself. Against what, I wasn't sure, but I was on his home turf now and he certainly didn't seem to want me around. So, I'd imagine he'd take exception to my presence in his home.
But nothing could have prepared me for...
"Goodness! Why, aren't ya just the sweetest thing! All doe eyed and honey dew smile! Dear! Why didn't you tell me she'd be such a darling!"
Malon.
She took to me like a bee to pollen, a moth to light. She locked her arm with mine immediately and refused to budge, even as she embraced the boys one by one. Her dark blue eyes were glimmering (like the surface of deep water) and hair shining in the sunlight. Sun-kissed face glowing with wonder and delight. The freckles on her cheeks charming across her sweat slicked skin.
She was wonderful. She was beautiful.
I was terrified.
I couldn't bring myself to look in Time's direction. I didn't think my heart would survive what I'd find.
I was afraid to see that cold, focused eye ripping though my soul again, as though staring down an enemy.
I made my excuses early, feigning weariness, much to Melon's dismay. She took it well enough though. Called me a delicate, spring flower. Showed me to the guests rooms, offered me my own. I refused (I wanted to stay with the boys. She seemed charmed by the admission). Touched my hand with such warmth, was slow to withdraw.
I smiled at her, small but grateful, hesitant. My heart was hammering in my chest. The hairs on the back of my neck rose at the feeling of a stare on the side of my face.
She smiled back, seemingly eager for my tentative gestures of friendship. So very sincere, radiating the kind of adoration a person spends their whole lives searching for.
I didn't look to her right. I didn't look up nor over her shoulder. I kept my eyes on hers, entranced by their dark colors and the little sparks of life dancing within depths but afraid to tell her so.
She was absolutely gorgeous and I was so smitten and so very fucked.
I hoped my face didn't give me away. I prayed that my eyes didn't reveal my thoughts.
When her eyes crinkled at the corners, I knew I'd failed.
I bid them a good evening.
Even as I'd closed the door I could still feel his gaze on me.
I stayed in the room all that evening and all through the night. Four was sweet enough to bring me a plate of dinner, and I was once again so grateful to be in the company of such caring young men.
I really, really was.
That night I slept with Hyrule curled against my back, trying to be the best big spoon he could. Sky was at his, the whole damned ladle to encompass us both within his arms. Legend at our feet, his hand curled loosely around Sky's half rumpled sock and face scrunched in discontent, fingers occasionally twitching around the fabric.
I loved them all so much.
---
Then things got weird.
I exited the room the next morning before the majority of the boys had even left their bedrolls and found Time waiting at the end of the hallway. He was wearing a plain off-white shirt and dark pants.
He looked good. Relaxed, almost, but for the tension in his shoulders when he caught sight of me. The reminder was enough to tear my eyes from him and keep my gaze lowered as I moved steadily to walk passed him.
"Hey." The sound of his voice startled me, so long has it been since it was directed towards me.
He sounded awkward and I wanted to ease that awkwardness. I did not have the strength to, however. I was a coward.
And hurt. Very, very hurt.
Petty.
"Yes?" I eventually said after the stilted silence had carried on too long, unable to keep watching this strong man (this good man, still, for all we were at odds) struggling to continue.
His one good eye tried to meet my gaze, feather soft and regretful in my peripheral, so very vulnerable under my carefully blank stare fixated on his cheek.
"I know I don't deserve it, and you need not accept, but I'd like to properly apologize for the way I've treated you in the recent weeks." He finally managed, voice laden with an emotion I couldn't fully place but thought sounded suspiciously like grief. "If you'd allow me, may I please escort you to the kitchen?"
I wanted to say no. I wanted to stay silent. I wanted to be petty.
I wanted Sky to stop worrying about me. I wanted Twilight to stop repenting to me. I wanted Hyrule to stop fretting for me. I wanted Warriors to stop defending me. I wanted Wild to stop raging for me. I wanted Legend to stop hurting for me.
I wanted...I just wanted...
I just wanted my friend back.
I wanted to feel safe again.
"Okay."
I've always been such a fool for vulnerable men.
Tentatively, he offered his arm, eye soft and resigned from the corner of my vision. Waiting for me to reject him, I realized, wanting me to express my rage the only way he knew I'd allow myself. Wanting to be punished accordingly for having suddenly scorned my friendly gestures and inquiring whispers.
What a fool man. Such a damned idiot.
Guess that makes two of us.
I took his arm, fighting down the wave of unease and spite that pushed against my throat. His arm was warm and solid under my tentative touch, barely restrained power coursing under the cloth and skin. I'd nearly forgotten how his shoulders seemed wide enough to carry the weight of the world.
No. No I hadn't. In the quiet of the night, when the unease and uncertainty were strongest, sometimes I wondered if that might would one day snuff the light from my eyes.
I wondered if he'd cry in remorse afterwards. If he'd feel anything at all.
He wouldn't. He wouldn't feel a thing because he'd never do that and I knew it. Wouldn't have been fighting for breathing room between Sky and Hyrule's smothering heat if he'd had any intent to remove me from their lives. Wouldn't have been cradling Wind's small head between the soft valley of my breasts if he'd deemed me dangerous or unsavory or suspicious.
I may have fallen out of his favor, but he loved his boys with a fierce and zealous devotion. He'd never let harm befall them, be it body, soul or tenderly beating hearts.
He'd have cut me down long ago if he ever meant to. To spare his boys the pain of loss.
The kitchen was bright and smelled faintly of herbs when we entered, my arm still folded gently with Time's.
Malon was there, enchanting red hair down around her shoulders and eyes bright, despite the early hour. The faint crease lines of pillow marks reddened the soft curve of her cheek, stark even against the spread of her freckles.
She smiled at me, tired and fond, before pinning her husband with an intense, expectant stare. The set of her mouth and brow was carefully neutral, but the fire in her eyes gave away her true feelings.
She was mad. Not livid or spiteful or even disappointed, just mad.
She was scarier for it. I could tell she wasn't the type of woman to go off on a rampage and say or do anything that would deminish the validity of her own arguements or feelings. She was probably the type of woman to say exactly what she means and how she feels without embellishment nor doubt. She seemed the type of person you couldn't find fault in their anger, because it was perfectly supported by their words and actions.
Noticing this, I almost felt bad for Time and how thoroughly he was probably admonished to make him this compliant after weeks of silence and avoidance. Almost. Mostly I just felt a hesitant spark of validation and kinship with Malon, even as confusion and caution swirled in my chest.
Why? Why was this even happening in the first place? Why this sudden atmosphere around the couple?
They loved each other so much. They missed each other so much. Before- that happened, Time never shied away from expressing his feelings regarding his wife. Nor what she'd written to him in turn.
What happened? What did she see between Time and I that would bring her scrutiny down on her beloved husband? For a woman she didn't even know?
Time led me to the chairs closest to where Malon was leaning against the counter, loosening his grip enough for me to remove my arm from his. It seemed to be another conscious decision on his part, to not pull away and to allow me to be in control of our proximity. Honestly, it was sweet he was trying so hard, and had it been before all of...this, I certainly would have swooned at the effort he was making.
I steeled myself against the warm feeling trying to take root in my stomach though, and instead took a seat at the counter.
"Good mornin', darlin'. You sleep well?" Malon asked softly, eyes warm and sleep dry lips pulled into a tired but inviting smile.
I nodded, before managing to speak around the lump in my throat. "Yes. Thank you for having us, Ms. Malon. I apologize for retiring early last night. The road left me quite weary. You and your husband's hospitality is most appreciated."
I noticed a spark of something glinting in Malon's dark eyes, before it was soothed down with a bright smile. "Now, now! There's no need for that, dear! You're always welcome here!"
She looked to her husband then, and when I instinctively followed her gaze, I wasn't expecting what I saw.
His jaw was clenched, betraying the- false- smoothness of his brow and relaxed curve of his ears. He was upset, but trying to reign it in and project a calm front. The lines around his eye gave him away though.
He looked hurt. Gazing into Malon's eyes with a lost expression.
What was happening?
I couldn't take it anymore. This underline tension and these confusing actions and feelings being tossed over my head. Like fists full of powder clogging my senses.
"I'm sorry, but, please." I said softly, bringing their attention back to me. My stomach rolled, but I pushed on. "I don't understand what's happening right now." I kept my eyes averted. "Please just explain it to me, so I can understand how to fix this."
Silence.
I spoke once more into that silence. Voice tight with emotion and broken, useless pride as I continued.
"I'm sorry for this tension I've caused. I meant no harm. I just want to make amends for whatever I did to offend you." I looked Time in the eyes. The first time since that fateful night we locked gazes across the fire. "I'm sorry. Tell me how to fix this. Please, Link."
The warm slide of tears escaped down my cheeks without permission, my body no longer able to hold back the immensity of my feelings. The hurt, the confusion, the desperation. The pulsing, writhing, whispering doubt that was my fear.
Fear of this man's wrath and the power he so casually holds over me, a foreign woman with no means to properly defend or support herself in this strange, unfamiliar world. Who's very survival hangs by the thin thread that is the Chain's compassion and continued favor.
Fear of his every frown and unreadable silence. Of the loyalty the boys hold for this man and his words, his influence, his command. Of how quickly he can take it all away in a moment of displeasure or offense. This warm safety net of fondness and companionship I've built myself within the soft, welcoming hearts of the boys, nothing more than delicate silk webs weaved around his fingers. Allowed purchase by the grace of his will alone.
Fear of his overwhelming strength, his unrelenting fury in the face of opposition. Of his unyielding might and unfathomable abilities beyond anything my limited understanding of this world can comprehend. The raw talent he possesses, the potential he wields, like magic weaving themselves into mortal flesh.
My shoulders begin to shake, throat closing as I hide my face in my hands, fingers wetting with tears. The weight of everything crashing down like stones upon my chest and I'm overwhelmed by the fall.
I miss my world, my home, my family, my friends. I miss my independence. I miss the security of knowing how to survive in the world around me, of being able to support myself and choose whom I give myself wholly over to.
I miss the power to live without fear of others opinions or goodwill. To stare down those who would judge and scorn me with the confidence of a woman with a full time job and the money to back up her words. Her own apartment, her own bills. A phone and heating and water and food and furry little mouths to feed.
A woman assured of herself and where she stands in the world. I woman without fear.
The woman I used to be. Not this sniveling, begging shell of a creature clinging to life by the favor of a man. Who. Hates. Her.
Eventually, the tears ran their course and I finally became aware of myself again. Arms were around me, holding me against warm muscle hidden under soft cloth as my hands twisted into their long sleeve.
"I...I'm sorry." I choked, embarrassed and struggling to breathe through blocked sinuses. "I didn't mean to...to..."
I opened my eyes.
I realized, staring at Malon's blurred face twisted in compassion from across the counter, that it wasn't her holding me.
She wasn't the one holding me.
My breath nearly hitched in anxiety, stomach dropping in the cold void of my guts. My mind reeled with confusion, a thousand thoughts swirling through my head between one breath and the next. A cold sweat broke out along the nape of my neck, along my lower back.
I'd frozen, still clutching to the sleeve between my fingers and my shoulder tucked into a chest (firm, laden with dense, lithe muscle) that could only belong to one man.
This didn't make sense. Being forced by your wife to apologize was one thing, but to actively comfort the person you resented was something else entirely. I couldn't wrap my head around it.
I felt confused, wrong-footed, relieved. But mostly, I felt stupid. Because I didn't understand a damned thing that was happening right now or what had caused this sudden shift in Time's behavior.
Then Time started speaking, and it was like the entire world began to shatter and remake itself around me.
"I'm sorry. I didn't think- I didn't know-" He paused briefly, before taking a deep, fortifying breath and continuing. "I'm sorry I hurt you. That I put fear in your heart. It was never my intention. I hadn't even considered how the situation must have looked to you."
Another breath, the slightest tensing of his arms around my shoulders. "You always seem so calm and assured in everything you do. It didn't even cross my mind that you might feel vulnerable after everything that's happened to you."
My heart squeezed. All my insecurities, being laid out before me. One glance at Malon's knowing gaze and I understand where this sudden awareness must have come from.
Time continued, heedless of my newfound understanding. "I never once intended to cast you aside or let harm befall you. I care for you so dearly. Even if you had decided to reject my companionship, I'd still protect you all the same. I thought you knew that, but I was wrong. I should never have assumed you knew something I didn't tell you."
He sighed, but it sounded shaky in my ear. "I hadn't stopped to consider your feelings, before I sought to protect my own. And for that, I'm sorry."
The arms around me tightened, as though trying to impart the sincerety of his words with the action. He needn't have bothered though, because despite it all I believed every word he spoke.
If there was one thing I could always rely on, it was his honesty in matters regarding the heart. No matter how strained our friendship became, it was the one thing I knew he would not actively lie about.
But still.
"But I never did anything to you." I sniffed wetly, fingers digging into his sleeve as I fixated my gaze at the countertop where Malon's freckled hands were resting. "I don't understand why you suddenly felt the need to- escape from me." The tears wanted to come again, but I held them back. This was too important to lose focus. "Please help me understand. The fortune teller-"
Time groaned suddenly and Malon laughed with impish delight, a glint of mischief making an unexpected appearance in her eyes. The sound of Malon's laughter brought confused warmth to my chest, cutting through the thick turmoil muddying up my mind.
Awkward silence. Until Time sighed again. Deeply.
"She told me I'd find new and- passionate love."
What?
Wait, what?
I pulled away from his arms a bit, just enough to turn and peer at him through watery lashes, taking in his blurry visage. My brows pulled down and a look of disbelief no doubt found purchase on my face, mouth pressed in a tight line.
"That's it? Weeks of avoidance and radio silence because some lady in a tent said you'd get the hots for someone? And you just assumed that someone might be me?"
I couldn't believe it. All this time. Just because some lady happened to see us traveling close together and decided to play matchmaker? Really?
Of all the-
Wait a damned minute.
"Time?" I said, tone flat as I locked gazes with him. Dead serious.
He looked right back, though there was caution in his eye now along side the regret. "Yes?"
I leaned forward a bit, our already close proximity putting me squarely in his face. My could feel the spark of rightous rage taking form in my chest.
"You weren't having doubts about your marriage with Malon, were you?"
And suddenly there was no space between us, noses nearly touching, his stare so intense I almost pulled back despite still being trapped in his arms. I could feel the warm, damp spread of his breath against my lips and chin.
"No." He said with dead calm, the hard surety of his tone left no room for doubt.
"Good. Because if you were, you don't deserve her." I threw back, still giving him a hard stare.
Silence. He breaths smelled of coffee and something sweet coated over his natural scent. It made my gut twist in a not unpleasant way. It reminded me that his arms were still around me. How warm he was in the morning chill. How firm his muscles were against my hands and shoulder.
He grinned then, eye brimming with fae-like mirth as he rested his forehead against mine. It was the first time I've seen that beautiful expression in so long. My heart ached at the sight of it, warmth and sweet relief flooding into my heart like babbling spring water.
"There you are." He breathed lowly, eye closing as he leaned more into our point of contact. He inhaled deeply through his nose, shoulders relaxing. I hadn't even noticed until then just how tense they were. "I thought I'd ruined this."
"Hmm?" I hummed in question, still caught up in the rapture of seeing his smile again. Head foggy from our proximity, I felt the beginnings of fatigue settling into my bones from my earlier crying.
"My! Would ya look at that! You weren't kiddin' when ya said she had them lovin' eyes, darling!" Malon spoke up suddenly with barely contained glee, popping the bubble that seemed to exist around Time and I.
I pulled away hurriedly, realizing just how close Time and I had been. Sharing breath, foreheads resting against one another and our noses nearly bumping together. His arms around me and my body nestled into his chest. All of it completely inappropriate for the situation. Especially for being right in front of his wife!
And she sounded far too pleased with this whole thing. Like it didn't even matter that I'd just blubbered in her husband's arms and then touched my face to his like I had a right to.
The confusion was back. But this time, it pulled bright, sweet warmth to my cheeks as I stumbled to my feet. The gentle wink of butterfly wings swirled around in my stomach and Malon's delighted smirk only intensified the sensation, sending the flock up into my throat.
I needed to get away. I needed to think.
"I-I accept your apology, Time!" I stuttered out embarrassedly, fighting the blush I knew was trying to heat my face. "I hope we can talk more later, but I'd like time to think about what you said!" I explained a bit too loudly even to my own ears, nearly wincing at my own awkwardness.
Malon, having come from behind the counter, leaned against her husband's back, hands on his shoulders. She smiled sweetly, a complimentary expression to Time's amused grin. Both of them were haloed by the sun shining softly through the window behind them, like a Goddamned magazine cover.
Goodness, but do they make a beautiful couple.
No. Stay focused. Escape first and then figure out what the Hell is happening. Get yourself together.
"Have a good day, Time, Malon!" Time's lip twitched upward. My stomach squeezed. "Okay! Bye for now."
Then, I all but ran from the kitchen, leaving behind what may have been the last of my dignity. Behind me, Malon's sweet laughter chased me down the hall, alighting my face with hellfire.
And therein began my first official day at Lon Lon Ranch.
---
Because of the limited perspective of first person narrative, a lot of the finer details are implied rather then stated. So if something seems out of left field, it's because the OC herself didn't realize what was happening behind the scenes.
Now I must return to the shadows to rest.
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5 underrated TGCF moments in my humble opinion (and bonus)- expect spoilers!
When Xie Lian saved Mu Qing in book 5 at the volcano: We do NOT talk about book 5 enough, as I will mention further in this list, but when we do, we rightfully talk about Mu Qing's f-f-friends confession (which I would love to talk about more, but that's for another time), but we never seem to talk about the bit before where it's revealed Mu Qing took a cursed shackle for Xie Lian but nobody believes him or really plans on saving him except Xie Lian, despite the huge risk to himself. When Xie Lian makes it clear he would save Mu Qing anyways and Hua Cheng also has a great line to Feng Xin about how dianxia gets to make his own decisions no matter what, even if Hua Cheng himself is uncomfortable with them- something that contrasts him perfectly with White No-Face that gets overshadowed a lot. This scene and the scene leading up to it (the tunnel chase and Xie Lian being too nice to that empty-shelled mutant is just brilliant) all in all feels so underrated. Like I love the f-f-friends confession, don't get me wrong, I could talk about that anyday, but please gods can someone talk about the saving Mu Qing scene.
The virgin-detecting sword in book 3: The fact that Jun Wu even HAD a virgin-detecting sword is one of the funniest things about book 3, but the whole scene where Shi Qingxuan digs Xie Lian into a hole like "I bet he's never kissed anyone!" is just beautiful. The fact everyone assumes he's a virgin before Jun Wu even mentions that his cultivation path requires abstinence never fails to amuse me- me too, Xie Lian, me too. The virgin-detecting sword being his saviour in that moment surely must've been something. It's so funny but I've seen 1 piece of fanart of it on twitter and I think this is incredibly memorable. Since book 3 is so long, a lot of brilliant moments go less spoken about by the fan community, I feel, such as...
Xie Lian tricking Hua Cheng into revealing himself in book 3: One of my favourite scenes in the entirety of TGCF is where Xie Lian tricks Hua Cheng (disguised as Lang Ying) to reveal himself. We've already got the deadpan back-and-forth of "Who's the strongest?", "The one in red", "Who's the richest?", "The one in red", "Who's the dumbest?", "The one in green", with no beats skipped. Then he says "it's a must" to inviting Hua Cheng over, Quan Yizhen takes a bite of a yam through the window (as one does) and then he gets him to try and write an establishment plaque for Puqi Shrine and it's so funny- Xie Lian can be so funny, he's just playing around waiting to see how Hua Cheng will respond and is having the time of his LIFE. B*tch in the best way possible, this man. It's perfect. And then we get, "Only having met you did I rediscover that it's such a simple thing to be happy" which is so simple and lovely and just-- this scene is perfect, okay? We do not talk about this scene enough at ALL.
The scene where Yin Yu 'dies' in book 5: Back to me going off about how much love book 5 deserves, what with that moment between beefleaf and that massive gege statue. However, I'm choosing moments I think are the most underrated, and I just HAVE to mention Yin Yu. This man is underrated in life, in godhood and in banishment alike. The way he chose not to harm Quan Yizhen anyways- "Just because I hate him doesn't mean I have to hurt him!" This moment really links him to Xie Lian, especially just after book 4, as once again White No-Face tries to manipulate someone into weaponising their resentment the way he did, and once again he is denied the satisfaction of thinking what he did was justifiable because Yin Yu chose not to spend his life motivated solely by pain and hatred. One can argue that in book 4, after the bamboo hat incident, Xie Lian may not necessarily have had his faith in humanity at large restored but rather his faith in the power of choice. The choice to care, the choice to help, the choice not to hurt others just because you can- as opposed to the choice that was stolen from him in the 100 swords scene, and the 'choice' people claimed not to have when they stabbed him. The choice Xie Lian made when he chose not to massacre Yong'an despite his pain is like the choice Yin Yu makes when he chooses not to steal Quan Yizhen's power despite his pain. It's so satisfying to see Yin Yu stand up for his own actions when he's been cast aside by everyone, and no matter how much resentment you harbour you can still choose what to do about it.
The pagoda collapsing in book 2: This scene was the tipping point in book 2 where Xie Lian himself realised he didn't believe in his own potential anymore, and it is soul-crushing. The way he spends 3 days trying to hold up the celestial pagoda in pure desperation and anguish, and then being surrounded on all sides constantly until the pagoda collapses with people begging him to save them and him realising he can do nothing...if book 4 is the full-on descent to rock-bottom, book 2 is the anxiety-packed precursor without which book 4 would not hit as hard as it did, and sometimes it feels like it's overshadowed by book 4 completely. Book 4 may hit harder, but the end of book 2 is gut-punching as it is. You can FEEL Xie Lian being overwhelmed and trying so hard to pretend everything is fine when his life and nation are collapsing in front of him, piece by piece. Hands shoving him, some even strangling him until he keels over in the most helpless moment of his god-pleasing life as everyone calls him a fraud and begs for his help, when he has none to give or recieve. And after all that, chasing White No-Face only to break his leg, being the nail in the coffin of Xie Lian's unshakeable will that facilitated his rise and fall. It's haunting, it's poetic, it's the epitome of tragedy. Bonus!!! : Is it just me, or does nobody seem to talk about the book 5 fight scene? There's so much fanart of Hua Cheng fading into butterflies, which is honestly more compelling for me because of the Wuming reveal and their dynamic; however, Xie Lian finally out-manoevering and stabbing Jun Wu after being flooded with spiritual power by his bf, and then Guoshi calmly addressing Jun Wu asking him if he's exhausted...I think needs more attention too. It's the ultimate fight scene! Xie Lian gets a fighting win over Jun Wu that somehow feels numbing because at the end of the day, Xie Lian's triumph over him was never in revenge or in physical combat. Almost the opposite actually, it was in his choosing not to let his anger and resentment of White No-Face control him. Xie Lian winning is well-earned but ultimately the focus is what a sad, angry, tired man Jun Wu is. I think MXTX writes this wonderfully and really gets that message across...much as I'd like to see more discourse on the fight scene, I can see why there isn't because of how bleak it is and just generally-- unfulfilling compared to Xie Lian's character development. It's the climax wherein the main character had his personal climax 800 years ago, and I love it for how antithetic it feels compared to Xie Lian's other power moves and his overall development. This is just my view, of course, I would really love to see more opinions on this!
#tgcf#tgcf book 2#tgcf book 3#tgcf book 5#analysis time by me so i can track them in my tags#tgcf meta#well some of it is atleast#xie lian#yin yu#hua cheng#mu qing#feng xin#white no face#xianle trio#underrated#posts originating from my brain
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Guys i know Christmas is overrated on every possible level but if at the end of december i don't see at least ONE submas reunion fanfic featuring Emmet (and possibly other characters if they're staying over) finding Ingo passed the fuck out under the damn tree during Christmas morning with maybe a little note of apology from Arceus taped to his receding hairline ass forehead i will riot
Or! He could be found under the communal (is that the right word) Nimbasa city/Gear Station tree. That would also make for some fun shenanigans i think. Imagine being a depot agent and getting a call for something weird at the christmas tree and you get there and fucking boss Ingo is just sleeping under there with a little bow on his hat
(it doesn't have to be Christmas btw. If you want to put a different holiday or celebration or tradition that's also cool christmas is just the one i celebrate so the first that came to mind. Also its the funniest to me but what do i know about other religions? Absolutely nothing so if you've got a funnier alternative go for it. It could also be and invented religion from the Pokémon world. Hmm)
Edit: by the way the same thing is happening on Akari's side. I just didn't mention it cause i was in submas brain mode and did not think about it
#ingo may or may not have known he would get back. he expected it though i love him too much not to give him closure on Christmas#so he got to say goodbye. he was just waiting for the day#ingo does not wake up immediatly after Emmet and the others enter the room. hes sleeping too deeply oddly enough for once#submas#ingo#emmet#subway boss ingo#warden ingo#subway boss emmet#subway bosses#ingo and emmet#wait i have it ingo was sleeping fine thanks to divine intervention. yes thats perfect#depot agents#btw im sharing this so people use my idea so dont be afraid to steal it if it tickles ur fancy. just tag me or tell me cause i wanna see it#also sorry for christmasposting so early in december. i know yall still mourning halloween 😔#im not putting this on my to do list bc i know for a fact im never gonna get around to actually writing anything#hmm#salsa's writing#yeah thats good enough for me#whoops forgot to add#submas fluff#submas crack#is that last one an actual tag#well it is now#akari pokemon#akari#pokemon legends arceus#pokemon legends
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aa5 update while i'm thinking of it:
finished 5-3 turnabout academy the other week and honestly i enjoyed the hell out of that entire case, lol. i thought the npcs were all funny (robin is the MVP), a lot of the reveals were hilarious, i am dual destinies klavier's #1 fan apparently.
assigned prosecutor at birth
the lore of Law High School was something i'd seen mentioned in fandom sometimes and i always rolled my eyes at how stupid it was but in true ace attorney fashion it was in fact SO stupid it came all the way around to being hilarious. themis pumping out under-educated self-described prodigies who only know how to eat hot chip, forge evidence and lie. funny as hell. junie and apollo's weird oedipal moment right in front of klavier and athena's salads was hysterical.
i love the idea that japanifornia has stricter age limits for being a crane operator than for being a lawyer or a judge. hugh the 25 year old deciding to go to themis instead of ... regular law school.... so he could experience the triumphs and defeats, the epic highs and lows of high school mock trials is funny as all hell
athena's ptsd sprites are pretty haunting looking, i have to say.
have since started 5-4 turnabout cosmos and so far it's not quite as bonkers fun but i'm enjoying it ok. more under the cut:
it feels like we're finally going somewhere and building to something, with athena lore and apollo lore and blackquill lore, etc. i remain ambivalent to simon but i am thrilled to have finally met his hotter meaner gayer sister and i can't wait for more of her. truly what dual destinies has lacked to this point is a mean woman. deliver me, aura.
unfortunately all the clay-apollo lore is goofy as hell to me, but "goofy" is still more enjoyable than "boring" so i'll take it. the "i'm fine!!!!" thing is IMO a classic example of when a prequel tries to explain something that never needed explaining. it's just not that poignant of a phrase to make the crux of this relationship, and clay never being mentioned before is so mels pond/Jack Black in that one episode of Community-core.
ah yes, we all remember that classic scene from ace attorney 4: apollo justice where apollo talks to his best friend clay.
finally: this is the funniest thing they could possibly have written to follow up on a game that ended with apollo's long lost mother knowing exactly who he and trucy are ...and fucking off out of the country to sell albums without ever telling him.
why do we bash deadbeat moms for not being there for their kids and never question if the child has bad vibes or is unpleasant to be around
a lot of my earlier complaints about DD stand -- primarily and foremost that it's ridiculous how much this game doesn't want to be a game. we are skipping so many opportunities to investigate, to present, to connect the dots ourselves as a player, even fingerprint minigames and stuff like that just get auto-completed by athena. i like athena as a character, but i have to wonder if part of the "mary sue" criticism i've sometimes seen is just misguided frustration about how much she autonomously solves puzzles for the player instead of letting the player participate lol.
but considering how much i really thought 5-2 monstrous turnabout was just. like. absolutely brutal. a devastating low point for the franchise ... at least 5-3 and, to this point, 5-4 are more interesting. thank god
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Y'know, any time I start to talk about this game, I feel obligated to lead with the funniest fact I have: I absolutely hated Final Fantasy, for myriad reasons both personal and amusing. I hated, for example, the way Elezen were shaped. I hated that Lalafell looked so young. I hated that everybody acted like it was so great, and by sheer contrarian nature I decided I would simply never play this game. And for quite some time, that worked! I'd bombard my partner with whatever media algorithms recommended me involving FFXIV, just to make fun of it. I detested this MMO, without having ever tried it. And yet, deep down, I knew I wanted a community. I wanted to be around people, even if through an online medium. When I worked at the library, my coworker set up a WoW private server that I spent some time fucking around in, but deep down I wanted people. Try as I might, I couldn't deny some part of me wanted to see what the game was all about.
So, I tried it. I spent 30 minutes exactly between opening the character creator to first posting a name that, genuinely, would define more than 2 years of my life: Iverelle Vauvenelle.
I spend about 2 days playing the game, one being chased around by strangers who my partner swore were good people, and one just questing on my own--and it was fine. I got to MSQ level 24, quite literally one quest away from being able to travel to other city states, and I stopped. I played my fair share, I played 5 hours, and I decided the game wasn't for me. I put it down for several months, when I was approached by somebody who I am no longer friends with. He said I should play the game again, keep going just long enough to travel to Gridania, so that I could see one of his alts--and maybe, we could play together! I didn't want to upset him, so I said "fine," and gave it another try.
By the end of the week, I was finishing up ARR, and moving into post patch, and something just... Changed for me. I'm not sure what it was, honestly. It's not like the game magically changed for me then, or if Iverelle had become perhaps my most meaningful character ever, but something shifted, and I found myself enjoying the game. It didn't even make sense to me then when I bought a subscription to the game, but I knew that something here was special. I just... Had to.
Post patch took me about a month, with multiple days spent stressing out over queuing into Good King Mogglemog out of fear and anxiety, because the trial was labeled as hard and my disorder was, frankly, at its worst. But, I managed to do so anyways. The victory was meaningless for most people, but for me? It was beyond words, just how important it was that I did content with other people, especially considering I went through all of ARR solo.
I made it to the end of ARR, to the infamous cutscene, when I realized I was sick with covid. In VC with two of my friends, I said the infamous line: "I think I have a fever." What a way to enter Heavensward, huh? I think it is in no small part due to Covid that Heavensward ended up being my favorite expansion of all time, and why Ysayle Dangoulain ended up being my favorite character of all time. Sickness and quarantine gave me all the time in the world, and being far too sick to be anxious, I sped through the story. One week later, I was done with Heavensward.
And of course, by now, I am finished with Endwalker and awaiting Dawntrail. For 2 years of my life now, I have been playing this game nigh daily. I stay up late playing it, I finish my daily responsibilities as soon as possible to play it, and I find myself enjoying it. I never thought that would happen, truth be told. More importantly than enjoying the game itself, though, is the friends I met.
I have lived a very isolated life. Partially due to my anxiety making me extremely averse to interacting with people, and partially due to how I've been raised, I struggle a lot with people. Autism, anxiety, and having not been properly socialized made me terrible. I longed for new friends, but I hated the effort that went into it. Imagine my surprise when one day, I found myself driving out to meet people who I play this game with, to spend time with them? When I found myself wanting to meet them?
And yet, here I was. I was driving out to meet these people who I play this game with--and more importantly, they wanted to meet me. Even as I think back on that day, I start to tear up. It was one of the most important days of my life. Were it not for this game, for playing it daily, for being dragged into a Free Company and for sitting in calls with people because of this game, I would not have known these people. They are some of the most important people in my life.
I think of the late nights playing Mahjong, or doing PVP, or treasure maps, or just sitting around talking. I think of those nights and then having to wake up early for work, waking up exhausted but so happy. I think of staying up until damn near 5 in the morning talking about whatever it is that comes to mind. I think about stupid inside jokes, and shared experiences, and the stories that I'll tell for years to come.
It's just a game. Final Fantasy XIV is, at the end of the day, just a game--and yet, that game has served as a way for me to grow as a person in ways I've never thought possible. My anxiety has not magically been cured, mind; but, when I'm able to talk to strangers and my heartrate doesn't skyrocket, when I'm able to do things in this game that once terrified me, when I'm able to exist comfortably not just in this game but in the outside world, I realize that it's done more for me than I'll ever be able to say. Yes, it is just a game, but people play a game due to a shared interest, no? And through that shared interest, friendships can blossom. To say that I love my friends, the people I met ultimately because of this game, would be an understatement, and I fear I do not make that clear enough.
Stupid as it is to say, Final Fantasy XIV has changed my life, for the better. Dawntrail is coming in just a few short hours, and though I am a whirlwind of emotions, the predominant one is excitement. I was there for the end of an era, and now I am here for the start of a new one.
So thank you. If you read all the way through this, thank you. If you skimmed just to the end, thank you. Thank you to my friends, especially. I would not be here as I am now were it not for you all.
Here's to a new adventure, friends :^] (Second screenshot featuring: @gailiag, the best viera on hydaelyn)
#long post#ultimately just rambling but i wanted to. mainly for myself. list out my whole ffxiv journey#or at least. the parts that matter#2 years. that's so wild to think about. i've never been into a game as much as I am this one.#it's just. it means so much to me. it and the people i play it with.#i'm excited to start a new story. i'm excited for a new era.#happy dawn of dawntrail day gamers. see you in tural o//
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