#gb over here making me Think of Things

[desceros]

when u. hhhh. when u thinkin abt a fic and the summary just hits u and it’s. hhhh. it’s. it’s so.

[woso-dreamzzz]

Leaving VII

Alexia Putellas x Teen!Reader

Summary: Olympic chaos with your sister

Y/NPutellas.S has started a live video. Click to join!

"-Got two backpacks," You're saying as Alexia clicks on your video," I think one of them might become my racket bag because the one I'm using right now is falling apart."

You shove the bags away, glancing around the space as you drag more towards you.

"There's a toiletry bag as well which is full of stuff I probably won't even use."

You pause as you scroll through the comments.

"What sport am I competing in? Oh, I'm doing tennis...Who will be the hardest to play against? Iga, always. I train with her most of the time and I think I've only beaten her a few matches this year. She's scary. Coco always gives me a good competition too. I think she text me a few hours ago but I haven't answered just yet."

You go back to showing off your haul.

You're very complimentary of all of the shoes but you seem confused as to why you've been given so many socks.

Alexia takes a screenshot of a weird face you make while trying on the bucket hat and hastily makes it her profile picture.

"I'm not a fan of the opening skirt," You tell your followers," It's not really my style. I'll wear it because I have to but...What's that? My sister's here?"

You crowd a bit closer to your phone, brows furrowed as you scroll up looking for Alexia's comments.

She feels triumphant at the look of horror on your face when you see her profile picture.

"Alexia!" You shriek," Change it back! My eyes aren't even open! Ale, please!"

Alexia does not change it back and you swear under your breath at her.

"I'm telling Mama!"

Alexia Putellas: Go ahead, you little snitch

"I'm not a snitch!"

Alexia Putellas: Yes, you are

"Don't listen to her guys! She's such a liar!"

You've always been more active on social media than Alexia and fans eat up any content you post on your TikTok. Most of your fans are just people that watch tennis but you've gone viral overnight when you posted a video of you and Iga reuniting at the Olympic Village.

Suddenly, everyone wants content from you and you're posting more than you ever have before.

A lot of it still centres around your tennis, out on the practice courts with the rest of team Spain but there's more domestic things like you retaping your racket grip and showing off everything in the Olympic Village.

Something in Alexia snaps when you make a video complaining about how uncomfortable your cardboard bed is. Suddenly, she's stitching your video.

Her camera pans across her normal hotel bed and ends with her giving a thumbs up to the camera with a smug grin on her face.

Her own fans go crazy over her posting something outside of sponsorships and it's strange to see that some people don't even know who you are.

woso.alexia.engen: Who was the first person in the video???? -> captainklittle: Alexia's little sister! She's representing Spain for tennis!

A second stitch appears hours later, piggybacking off a video of you complaining about your lack of AC. There's no sound apart from the very deliberate flick of Alexia's own AC switch.

It seems every complaint you post, Alexia finds a way to show off how much better she has it in a hotel outside of Paris.

You decide, perhaps a little pettily, to show off what she's missing.

"Hi, guys!" You say," I know a lot of people were wondering about pin trading so I thought I would bring you along for the ride! I've already got a Poland one from Iga and a US one from Coco but I've been wanting a Team GB one and I'm also meeting up with Paolini so she can give me an Italy one."

It's another live video and thank god there's a break in training, so Alexia can jump onto it again.

Jenni and Misa crowd around her at the same time, curious as to what's going on with you.

"I was talking to Carlos at breakfast and he was telling me that the coaches have ordered us all mattress toppers because the beds have started to affect how we're performing."

Alexia Putellas: Sucks to be you, doesn't it?

"Alexia, I swear to god if you keep bullying me then I'm telling Mama and she'll fly out to whoop your ass!"

Alexia Putellas: 🤪

"And Jenni I knew that it's you that just sent that because Alexia doesn't understand emojis."

"Fuck," Jenni mutters.

"Wait, give me the phone. I'll fix it," Misa says.

Alexia Putellas: Who's Jenni?

"Misa, I know that's you as well. Stop trying to cover for each other and I'll tell Mama and she'll whoop all of you."

Alexia doesn't get her phone back for the rest of your live but she does get a strongly worded text from Eli after it's over to grow up and not let her friends bully you.

Alexia calls you a snitch.

You remind her that she should stop bullying you.

"Look who it is!" Jenni cajoles as you come running out of the village to crash into Alexia," Baby Putellas!"

But you're not really listening to her as Alexia presses her forehead against yours, whispering fast Catalan to you as you giggle.

"Aw..." Misa continues where Jenni left off," Look at them! Two sisters! Reunited!"

You and Alexia push each other away, turning your back and pretending that you weren't hugging just a few moments ago.

You turn back to her quickly, hand out. "Can I have your pins?"

"What? No! They're mine!"

"You're not even in the Village! You can't use them!"

"Yes I can!" Alexia splutters out," I've been trading them!"

"Yeah? With who?"

"Jenni!"

"Liar! You've got the same pins! Come on, Ale. Give them over!"

"I will...for a price."

As Alexia lays out her terms, you bring everyone up to your room.

Jenni and Misa split off briefly to check out the dining hall but Alexia comes straight up with you.

"It's actually cardboard," She says, poking at your bed frame.

"Yeah? Do you think we were all lying about that? It's proper cardboard. You can draw on it if you want."

A smile splits your sister's face open.

"Never mind. I don't want you drawing on my bed."

Alexia pokes it. "Do you think it's true? That two people can't get on it at the same time?"

You shrug, rummaging through your bedside table. "I don't know. Why?"

You never get your answer though.

Arms are around your waist suddenly and you're being hauled backwards as Alexia slams herself onto your bed, dragging you back with her.

You may not get an answer but Alexia certainly does because the moment the two of you land, there's an almighty ripping noise and your bed goes to ground very quickly.

"Oops," You sister says.

"Alexia!"

"Sorry?"

"You don't sound very sorry at all."

"Yeah...You're right. I'm not sorry in the slightest. Hey! Stop hitting me!"

"You're lucky I'm not beating you with my rackets!"

"Hey. Hey! It's fine! You can get a new bed."

"Jenni and Misa are going to take the piss out of me! How could you do this, Ale?"

As annoying as your sister is, she at least has the decency to push the blame off onto her friends as you both hastily raise your bed up again and wait for Jenni and Misa to arrive.

They seem to have the same idea as Alexia, jumping onto your bed without so much of a greeting.

But, as planned, the bed collapses under them and the shock of their faces is enough for Alexia breaking your bed to be worth it. Their faces are even funnier as they head downstairs to ask for a new one for you.

Behind your back, Alexia passes you a handful of pins.

JenniHermoso10 has started a live video. Click to join!

"Forward! Forward!"

"I am going forward!"

"More forward! When I say forward, it doesn't mean shuffle! It means walk forward! You're a person not a pigeon!"

"And here we have Olympic football player Alexia Putellas and Olympic tennis player y/n Putellas, attempting to climb onto the rings," Jenni narrates from behind the camera.

"It's not going well," Misa says, as Alexia nearly throws you from your spot on her shoulders," Alexia is clearly struggling."

"I'm not struggling!" Alexia insists, yelping as you twist her hair in your hands.

"Forward!

"This is as forward as I can get!"

"That's such bullshit! Move closer!"

"I can't!"

"You can!"

"I don't think they're ever going to make it," Jenni says," It's like they can't-"

"Stop! Ale, stop! Left a bit. No! Too left. Right again. Left! Right! Left!"

"Left, right, forward, back," Alexia mutters," Make up your mind."

"Left and...got it...Wait! Don't let go!"

You haul yourself from your sister's shoulders onto the centre ring, positioning yourself perched on the sliver of the yellow ring that enters the black one.

"Alright," Alexia says," Give me a hand."

"What? No! You'll pull me off!"

"Give me your hand!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

She braces herself on the lower rings and grabs your hand, pulling herself into the centre ring before you can even shove her off.

"Oh," She says," That was pretty easy." Alexia grins at you but the smile drops from her face when she notices the pensive look you're wearing. "What is it?"

"I've just realised," You laugh in disbelief," When Mama said she wanted a picture of us and the rings. I think she meant in front of them. Not in them."

"Oh."

[cheriladycl01]

Winning Gold in Life - Lando Norris x BritishOlympicFigureSkating! Reader

Plot: You and Lando will try to coordinate his helmet designs to your figure skating outfit, so that you guys can match and win together.

"You looked amazing out there baby!" Lando grins picking you up and spinning you around as you got to the edge of the ice rink by the gate to leave.

You orange dress that had the Mclaren Logo all up the sheer see-through sleeves and on the back as if it were a tramp-stamp flowed around you hips as he spun you.

"Ah that was so nerve-racking having you watching me!" you exclaim, leaning your head into the crook of his neck. You both sat on the stands waiting for the results.

"Y/N, that was an fantastic performance. Think we have a chance for Gold!" your coach says coming over to you handing you your coat and gloves like she normally did after you'd been out on the ice.

"Thank you Maddie, I just hope it was enough!" you nod nervously. Lando rubs his hand up and down your legs in a comforting manor before pulling you into his hold.

"You did do well, no matter where you come... I'm going to be proud of you for just going out there today!" he whispers in your ear and tears start to build up in your eyeline. Some of you eyeliner and mascara had already started to melt off your face but Lando couldn't stand to see himself make it worse.

"Ohhhh, don't cry baby!" he laughs seeing your little pouty expression that he found adorable. You look at him is his thumbs wipe under your eyes trying to fix the black and brown makeup that had started to streak and make you loosely resemble a Panda.

As you waited for the results to come in, you anxiously bite your lips until you hear you name said by the Chinese commentator before the English one making you look at Lando and your trainer.

"Was that my name or am i tripping?" you ask looking between them and Lando has a huge grin on his face.

"That was your name baby, GOLD!" he exclaims and you crouch down into a sort of squat in shock. Tears streaming down your face.

"Y/N come on! Onto the ice!" you trainer grins and you take Lando's hand dragging him so he's as close to the barriers between the ice and the stadium seats as possible.

You see the camera on you and the other two medalists who you immediately pull into hugs, you'd gotten close to them since you guys landed here in Beijing.

You stake out to where the podium is and stand on the top place, getting help from someone to get up onto it. You smile at your flag, proud of what you've done for team GB.

The medal gets placed around you neck after the others and you get handed your flowers as you all stand listening to the British National Anthem, your hand on your heart and medal while you look up trying to keep the tears at bay.

You skate back and see Lando is filming your arrival making you make a silly face at the camera before showing your cold medal to him and the camera with a big cheesy grin on you face.

"Darling I'm so proud of you!" he smiles pulling you in for a hug and kisses your forehead as he takes a second to observe you.

"I love you so much, having you here for support was everything!" you admit, knowing you probably wouldn't have done as well if he wasn't here cheering you on.

"Well, now that you've got your first gold. I think it's time that I got my first win..." he smiles.

"Yeah? Will that be in Bahrain with your new matching lid" you grin at him and he nods.

"Need my good luck charm with me, if I'm going to win!"

And that was how you found yourself once again in the fuel scented paddock that you'd become accustomed too over the few years you'd been dating Lando for.

"Things have been looking promising babe! You guy's sandbagged hard!" you grin, knowing there was a lot more oophm to the car than what they'd let on in February's pre-season testing.

"Zac's orders. We'll be up there with Red Bull and Mercedes this year!" he grins and FP1 and FP2 proved that. He had a mega performance having the quickest time in the first and going third fastest in the second.

Sunday came around far to quickly for your liking and you were sat in the paddock in shorts and Lando's Mclaren Shirt for the warm weather Bahrain had brought. You even had to go to the merch stand to by yourself a McLaren hat because the darkness to you hair had started to burn the top of you head.

It was an embarrassing interaction, you asked for a Lando Norris McLaren hat but it was so busy and so loud they'd mistaken it for a Lewis Hamilton Mercedes hat so you were strolling through the paddock with that on your head.

"Ahhh, well if it isn't my biggest fan Y/N Y/L/N!" Lewis says catching you as he strides past on his scooter stopping to talk to you.

"They made a mistake at the merch shop. I didnt have the heart to correct them..." you chuckle and he laughs as well, he pulls out a pen starting to sign it while it was on your head.

"For my biggest fan" he laughs and you cant help but laugh as well. Only seconds later do the media catch on to the two athletes conversing and pull them up on it.

"Hey guys, how are we doing today!" one of the interviewers asks making you freeze a little like a deer in headlights.

"I'm doing great, just you know spending time with a fan!" Lewis jokes making the reporters laughs and turn to you.

"Yep, big fan of his work. Ppppft whose that Lando Norris guy in pole position. I don't know him..." you joke back knowing Lewis and Lando had the front row locked out.

"Y/N, all jokes aside it's great to see you back in the paddock now after all the training ... which clearly paid off congratulations" she smiles and you blush a little nod liking to brag or show off.

"Thank you, my team and I worked really hard. I obviously had the power of Mclaren and Lando on my side and I'm happy to have achieved Gold after my not so good attempt in 2018!" you cringe remembering when you were so much younger and naive that you hadn't performed as well, just missing out on a bronze medal.

"Well all the best to you and Lando!" she grins before keeping Lewis and letting you dash off back to McLaren.

2 hours later and you were anxuously biting your nails watching Lando catch up to the lead of the race after a slow pitstop and reclaim his P1.

It wasn't until the last lap, where DRS was enabled that he could overtake Charles and take back his P1 having an advantage on the final turn and straight for him to cross the finish line in P1.

His first F1 win.

You didn't have the most graceful reaction for a WAG, that was for sure but seeing Lando win after working so hard towards his goal, you couldn't contain your emotions.

You ran up to him, and you jumped on him not caring about the wetness of his suit from sweat and you were wrapping your arms around his neck and legs around his waist as his gloved hands came down to support you holding just under your bum.

"You are amazing!" you cry pulling up his visor so you can see his own eyes that are full of tears.

You later watched on as he celebrated his podium with Charles and Lewis, and you saw the elated and happy expression on your face that you would do anything to keep on their permanently as your favourite thing about him was his smile.

That was your man... and he was forever your man.

y/user

Liked by landonorris, maxfewtrell and pietra.pilao

y/user: Life recently! Winning Gold in all aspects of life ... McLaren Papaya inspired drip, and Lando getting a new lid for 2023 (I’m not allowed to show you guys till race weekend) <3

Tagged 1 person

View all 347 comments

landonorris: my gorgeous baby! I love you 🥰❤️

-> y/user: I love you more! Thank you for all your support recently 🫶🏼❤️

mclaren: when the drip is dripping 😦🤭🧡

-> y/user: always 🧡

fan1: it’s so cute how Lando and Y/N always match🥺

fan2: Y/N show us the lid we won’t snitch!

maxfewtrell: thank you for making it to the merch drop. We miss seeing you!

-> y/user: missing you too Max 🫶🏼

pietra.pilao: beautiful, gorgeous girl

-> y/user: no you 👆🏼☺️

-> pietra.pilao: let’s date ❤️

-> y/user: YES! Spa days for life 🫣🫶🏼

fan3: P and Y/N’s friendship is so funny 🥺🧡

Instagram Story Caption

Back to training, without my mans 😭🫶🏼

Taglist:

@littlesatanicassholebitch @hockey-racing-fubol @laura-naruto-fan1998 @22yuki @simxican @sinofwriting @lewisroscoelove @cmleitora @daemyratwst @lauralarsen @the-untamed-soul @thewulf @itsjustkhaos @purplephantomwolf @chasing-liberosis @summissss @gulphulp @starfusionsworld @jspitwall @sierruhhhh @georgeparisole @youcannotcancelquidditch @tallbrownhairsarcastic @ourteenagetragedy @peachiicherries @formulas-bitch @cherry-piee @spilled-coffee-cup @mehrmonga @bigsimperika @blueberry64857959 @eiraethh @lilypadlover @curseofhecate @alliwantisadonut @dark-night-sky-99 @i-wish-this-was-me @tallrock35 @butterfly-lover @barnestatic @landossainz @darleneslane @barcelonaloverf1life @r0nnsblog @ilove-tswizzle @laneyspaulding19 @malynn @viennakarma @landosgirlxoxo @marie0v @yourbane @teamnovalak @nikfigueiredo @fionaschicken @0picels0 @seomako @urdad-hot @tinydeskwriter @ironmaiden1313 @splaterparty0-0 @formula1mount @styl1shl1v

[kydrogendragon]

"And here we go, Robert Gadling gets ready for his third shot at the pole vault tonight," the announcers call out. Robyn and Orpheus sit on the couch at the Walker's, eyes glued to the television set. Rose, Jed, and Lyta crowd around the living room along with Lucienne and Jessamy and Matthew and even Jo and Rachel. Everyone had come over for the watch party.

"And here he goes. He needs to beat Sam Kendricks's score by at least three tenths if he wants to get a spot on that podium tonight. When we saw him back in Tokyo, he earned himself a silver medal. Let's see if he can earn himself a gold tonight."

Robyn leans closer. He grips the edge of the couch, eyes wide as his father takes a breath and races forward, pole in hand.

"And here he goes! Strong start there, good grip on that pole. Distance is looking good, maybe a bit short and oh!"

Their dad plants the pole down and thrusts himself up, up, up! He curves around the upper bar and...he hits it. He comes falling down, pole and bar alike as he crashes down onto the mat. Robyn deflates.

"Oh. Oh dear. I—" the announcer laughs. "Well, that's just unfortunate. Let's play that back. So you can see here—" the footage pauses as their dad's feet just begin to tip over the upper bar. "—he's got plenty of room here, lots of space up above. Robert is known for his strength and his ability to get good vertical height above that bar. But as he comes down—" the footage continues in slow motion. Their dad curls over the other side of the bar like they've seen him do hundreds of times before. It slows down until it stops right when he hits the bar. Matthew squacks.

"Oh my god!" Rose laughs.

"Oh, he is never living this down," Aunt Jo pipes off.

"So you can—" Even the announcer laughs again. "You can see where he hits the bar. And it's-it's really unfortunate because everything else about this vault was nearly perfect. But it looks like his, uh. Well. His lower half got a bit in the way there."

The camera cuts to their dad standing up from the mat, wincing as he gets to his feet. And then it cuts to Papa in the stands. He's doubled over, whole body shaking, and Robyn knows immediately that he's cracking up.

"Did dad really just hit the bar with his dick?" Robyn asks.

"Robyn!" Lyta cries.

"What! That's what happened, right?"

Jessamy chuckles before patting his head. "Yes, starling. Make sure to tease him about it tonight, okay?"

"There's definitely worse problems to have in life," Matthew laughs.

"Well, I can see now why Dream married him," Lucienne says.

"Please stop talking, I don't want to think about my cousin's junk, please and thank you," chimes Jo.

Orpheus turns to Robyn, frowning. "Dad's not getting a medal, huh?"

Robyn sighs. "No. I don't think so. Maybe in one of the other events, though."

"Hm. That's true."

The camera cuts to their dad, where he's standing at the stands in front of their papa. Dream's face is red from laughter, and even now, he's still giggling. Hob's laughing now, too, pressing a kiss to his lips. Hob whispers something to Dream, who bursts out laughing once more.

"Well, at least he seems to be in good spirits," the commentator says.

"As does his husband," the other chimes.

"Unfortunately for team GB, we won't be seeing any medals out of this event. Let's head over to the Men's Vault now."

"I cannot believe this is how you will be remembered, husband mine," Dream says, running his hand down Hob's chest. They're back at his hotel room, away from the villa for the night, much to Hob's pleasure. Those beds sucked.

"Don't remind me. My damn dick still hurts from that thing. I can't believe that happened. Christ." Dream chuckles, pressing a kiss to his jaw

"Well. Now everyone will know just how...well endowed you are. And how lucky I am to call you mine."

Hob shakes his head with a smile. "Guess you're the real winner from all this, aren't you?"

"If I have you? Then I always am."

Hob wakes up to exactly 46 messages from friends and family and co-workers alike, all commenting on his "performance" last night. Half sent him links to various articles, all labeled something along the lines of "Olympic Athlete Betrayed by his Penis."

Dream nearly pulls a stomach muscle from laughing so hard.

[tapwater118]

tpot 13 spoilers, i say a lot here

hopy mopy that was a good episode. love it when tpot decides to get all cinematic. lots of things to talk about

having the cold open and stinger be about firey and leafy is very very interesting (“dreamier island” is adorable idgaf). didn’t really expect them to build off their cameo from tpot 8 like this, they’re obviously setting up another side plot (likely to replace the robot flower one that just ended). i don’t think leafy died in the storm, that’d be too straightforward for that much screen time. i think one got her, for what i don’t know. what kind of deal would she take?? i must think about this more

also speaking of one what the fuck. she moved a whole goddamn hurricane over to the hotel??? she can do that?? ok so maybe she didn’t make deals with bomby and bell, she’s just stealing the eliminated contestants for some reason. AND SHE WANTS TWO GONE DUDE. scary. probably the biggest surprise was her making it so two exitors join instead of one, which reads to me as if she wanted pencil specifically to join for some reason. interesting interesting interesting

can i just say there are some super interesting freesmart interactions here. pencil’s overjoyed to see book and ice cube (cause she’s been trapped in four for four years) but those two looked EXTREMELY uncomfortable to see her. most interesting is how despite still being avoidant of book ICE CUBE DELIBERATELY GETS HER AWAY FROM PENCIL. SHES WILLING TO PUT HER GRIEVANCES WITH BOOK ASIDE TO PROTECT HER LIKE THAT. what the fuck happened between them. idfb i need you to happen please

i didn’t really have any predictions for the eliminations this time around, barf bag i somewhat expected but needle was a bit of a surprise. i thought tpot 12 would’ve made people like her more? oh well. kinda hoped for more gb and pencil interactions from her being on cloudyay but i guess we’ll have more time for those later. liy being on 🎼 is nice cause she has her old friends there, works as a nice fill in for needle’s niche

the old robot flower is back! by the deal with one uh oh. i actually really like how they handled this, everyone else is happy the old her is back but she sounded really hesitant about it because she still has the same issues from before!!! nothings been fixed for her!!! she still has that want to be like flower dude. that plot line better not be completely dead or else. (also thank you tv for the flower cameo ur great. also tv is talking in mashed up clips again letsgooooooooo)

i think i actually need to watch this episode again, there’s so many little details sprinkles everywhere omga. anyway i voted for pin and book and you should too. peace out

look at her she angy

[differenteagletragedy]

How do you think "Jealous Boyfriend"?

(if Cove or Baxter is a very possessive boyfriend.)

HOT TAKE ALERT

-- I know gb patch says that none of the boys are jealous or possessive, but I don't think that is necessarily true and that is fine.

-- They're definitely not jealous/possessive in a toxic way, but I can see Cove and Baxter getting into their feelings a little bit like this over MC.

-- If you and Cove don't start dating when you're 13 (little middle school sweethearts, bless) and he likes you but can't tell you, then I think he would get jealous if other people give you atttention.

-- NOT IN A TOXIC WAY

Cove: I saw you talking with [person's name] after history, are you friends with them now?

MC: Yeah, they're really nice, we've been talking some.

Cove: That's cool.

Cove's internal monologue: Does MC like them more than me, are they going to be their new best friend, what if they start dating someone and I never get the nerve to tell them how I feel, what if what if what if *combusts*

-- If you still don't confess in Step 3 and go on to be adults without sharing feelings, then he's going to keep it up.

Cove: Oh yeah, you're hanging out with your coworker later? Is it like a date? Just curious!

-- I think if you started being around/seeing someone with genuinely bad vibes, he would get more possessive, like to be protective. More hugs if you all hang out together, more inside jokes, a little glare here and there.

-- But if you found a good person that made you happy, he wouldn't fight it, he'd just sit and stew in his poor little feelings.

-- If you're with Baxter, he is yours and you are his. In a NON TOXIC WAY.

-- The guy is going to be insecure, he just is. And choosing to be with him is choosing to accept that. If you don't want to, that's fine! But friends, please remember, YOU CAN'T CHANGE HIM.

-- So yeah, if you're out with Baxter and somebody gets a little flirty, he's not going to be subtle about it. Hands hands hands, "darling" this and that, the whole thing.

-- To be honest I've talked to @meowzilla93 about this so much that I don't remember where my thoughts end and theirs begin, but preemptive shoutout.

-- But he is so HAPPY to be yours, it's not at all a "you are mine and I am mine," you belong to each other (in a sweet way).

-- Clingy clingy clingy, he's not going to get upset about you hanging with your pals or anything, but if you make friends with someone new then he's going to have his own internal monologue about it where he's happy for you, but he's also scared because he doesn't think that much of himself, but he also wants to be the kind of person who isn't jealous, but he's also kind of just not. This will all take place in his head.

-- Baxter please talk to someone I love you so much

[gb-patch]

[The beautiful guest art piece is by allie_ozS on Twitter]

Welcome to 2023 everybody ✨!!!

We’ve got Baxter, Tamarack, and Qiu to celebrate with us. It is their year, after all.

It's always an exciting time thinking about everything that could happen over the course of a new year. Our Life: Beginnings & Always will at long last get its final DLC and Our Life: Now & Forever will be the major project in development. That's amazing. 

Speaking of, there are two major launches planned for 2023 at GB Patch Games.

Our Life: Beginnings & Always – Baxter’s Story DLC

Second Quarter (April-June)

Our Life: Now & Forever Demo Expansion + Crowdfunding Launch

Third Quarter (July-September)

And those happen to be all the goals I’m setting for 2023. We're keeping it simple, haha. I usually love to plan out as many milestones as I can, and it never works out as intended. Because of that I'm sticking to only the most central production points for the official goals.

But that’s not to say there won’t be anything else to look forward to over these next twelve months, it’ll just be a surprise for you, and me, what ends up actually happening.

For one example, it was mentioned in the year review post that right now the Google Playstore releases are on hold until an error is fixed in the engine we use. There is a chance we’ll be able to start putting games on that storefront in 2023, but it can’t be guaranteed or given a specific date.

And another consideration is that with Our Life: Now & Forever coming to the forefront of development, I'll want to have something else on the backburner. As excited as I am for the game, I couldn't only work on OL2 until it's complete. At least part of my efforts this year will be going into creating another piece of content. But I don't know exactly which, or if it'll only be one thing. There are multiple options. One of these days there might be some interesting previews appearing on the Patreon, and then later on the public social media as well.

▴ ▾ ▴ ▾ ▴ ▾ ▴ ▾ ▴ ▾ ▴ ▾ ▴ ▾ ▴ ▾ ▴ ▾ ▴ ▾ ▴ ▾ ▴ ▾▴ ▾ ▴ ▾ ▴ ▾

Along with these year-long goals, I’ve noted the usual monthly plans in the full post HERE.

And with the updating done, I wanna give all my appreciation to our players! I'm able to go into 2023 knowing with total certainty that I can spend this year working on developing our projects. GB Patch Games has gotten so much support from people who love the Our Life series, and our older games too. It's absolutely wonderful, and I never want to take it for granted. For however many more years I'm around to do this, I'll do my best to make all your kindness and encouragement worth the while.

Thank you again for coming here to see how things are going! I hope we'll all have a wonderful 2023 💕. 

Discord -  Twitter - Website - Patreon

[anilyan]

It's not even his birthday in my timezone yet, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY, beloved! I have not finished anything specific for today, but I have many WIPs (2D, 3D and a longfic):

Writings

First, here is my long fic, Nameless. I will actually turn this into a trilogy, and while the first volume is a canon-compliant Old Mondstdt fic (almost finished, 1 more month give or take), the second volume will be from Venti's POV as he rewinds time multiple times to try to prevent the bard's death. As for volume 3, well, you'll see :>

I sadly couldn't participate in Venti's week here on tumblr, but well, I'm already juggling bigger projects xD

2D arts

Posted on tumblr and twt, my Venti in a cage art. I made a colored version (not as polished as I wanted but still), and a lineart version too:

I also have this Xiaoven wip (I'm a multishipper). It's really far from done yet. I'm kinda happy with the lighting and expressions so far.

This art uses Hamelin's Xiao design, that I created in 3D for a mod (model and textures by me, and the weights were by mimo4e)

I found this AI art and really wanted to fix it. I expected it to be a quick paintover, but kept finding more things I wanted to change, and trying to match the rendering style to the original, so I spent at least 7 hours on my version.

3D models

I stopped making my models public (although old ones can still be downloaded from my gamebanana page, or from mimo4e page since we used to collaborate a lot), BUT, if you are a civilized person who credits mods that you showcase, feel free to request access in my SFW Mods discord server. The xiao mod above and these Venti mods, save the Nameless Bard, are only shared in my server.

Here is everything you need to know about mods in 2024. PC only, free, and no one has ever been banned for using fanskins since mods are not cheats, but that post explains a lot more and teaches you how to use them (it's simple).

Archon skins (5 of them!)

» Update on Murren's Archon mod: On this mod specifically. I contributed to the original version still on GB, but I wanted to give it more shadows, a more magical hair with special highlights, and updated skirt and wings. The wings are made of the feather he uses in his canon outfit, since many fans headcanon he had wanted to give that feather taken from his wings to the bard.

My current WIP is on the left, current gb version on the right

» Moon butterfly: Inspired by that AI paintover I did and shard above, some elements are kitbashed from both honkai games.

» Corrupted Venti: I will make my own design, you can see the sketch there. It's inspired by all of the other arts, sources are: 1 2 3 4

» Boss design: I will adapt this design by gierosajie_art

» The statue design. This one doesn't need explanations.

Regional skins

» Fontaine Venti: It's a kitbash, with parts from Project Sekai and parts from Herta from HSR

» Liyue Venti: Sculpted and textured by me, adapting an old 2D design I also made, with some changes due to modding complications. It's the least developed WIP for now

Others

» Wisp-inspired Venti over Paimon: It's inspired by this lovely art, and the artist loved the model ^^

» Nameless Bard: Public here, and I updated it recently (might even update again in the future).

In my server (with restricted access), I have also created Amos and the Red-haired warrior (both kitbashes with minimal modeling from scratch on my part), and I will create Gunnhildr and Decarabian next. Full credits for everything, like the sources of parts and helpers, are/will be in the post of each of the models. You can see my Amos and Bard render here (there are 2 versions).

Okay, I think I didn't forget anything xD Hope you liked my contributions to our lovely bard and angel ^^

[skippyv20]

Long read, apologies for any grammar errors

This hysteria is getting out of control and is making the anti Sussex look somewhat deranged to an outsider. I’m just what I’m seeing and trying to bring the volume down.

I’ve seen Nigerians being called all kinds of things as being backwards as a result of practicing an unfounded vicious rumor of bestiality on females, when gender surgeries on childfen are on high demand in the west.

They’re are called corrupt, the poorest country in the world, no running water, electricity, kidnappings when human trafficking is on a large scale in the west, less we forget Epstein, Andrew and the other elites and lower elites. Epstein allegedly viciously SAed over 300 young girls. There’s a huge list of missing kids and adults in West? Where did they all go?

Yes, Nigeria like every other country needs help and by God’s grace the lord’s riches will solve all this unnecessary poverty wherever it exits.

Now, Meg’s 43% Nig, and as a Nigerian, I don’t believe, though I’ve gone to Nairaland to get peoples opinions on this visit and her so called heritage. People are more pro her, though there are some detractors with somr sense, though they easily drown them.

Her alleged new heritage is not a battle that a Caucasian will win. It’s best for Nigerians to believe whatever, and it explains how amongst other reason, colonization was easily done. It’s sad that some of my people can be got. People see a black, African, biracial in power and think they’ll be good for black folks. It’s one of the biggest scams in the world and black folks haven’t learned.

I didn’t really articulate myself on why Caucasians should stay out of this. It’s sort of a complex issue. I understand the Caucasians pov, but it’s up to Nigerians to accept it. Has anyone really seen that so called DNA? I have never heard anyone ask? It’s very impossible for a biracial to be 43% N, unless she has a one parent from Nigeria.

It tells a lot: Sussex drops her, but Nigeria welcomes her. I’m embarrassed to be Of Nigerian descent to be honest. I love that we live in the world where we can claim anything. I am now 25 % Antartican.

Imho, the best thing, would have been for people to voice their concerns, but ignore her. That’d have been the biggest humiliation. Just like low ratings of TV shows get canceled.

Once meg, announced she was Nigerian, I knew it wouldn’t have been long for her to claim physical territory in Nigeria. The rf should’ve been waiting and anticipated this, and put those titles in abeyance, and held on to the titles of their children and just said they were sorting things out. My gut is telling that it’s too late for that. It’s like not treating an infection early to prevent amputation of the foot.

Charles on the other hand is serving what?. All I hear from thr rf is the silly nonsense about who invited whom to stay where, who couldn’t see whom, and some other nonsense. When did GB, become like this? When have they lost the courage in acting right? Where is Churchill, Baldwin?

Edward the 8th and wallis could do whatever, but then the difference was that they were no longer part of the firm, kicked out of England, and didn’t leave on their own accord and visit at anytime like harry. That was a reality check. The RF has left this rogue, evil, scheming son get this vicious, and the price to pay is very painful.

Thank you.  The rumours you hear about Nigeria don’t come from this blog or other blogs here on Tumblr.  We have one focus, and that is Harry’s wife.  I do agree that we have a difficult time understanding the love anyone has for her.  But let me be clear….the fact that she is claiming to be 43% Nigerian hits us hard. (Note an author named Georgina Lawton claimed to have her DNA done and announced she was 43% Nigerian, not saying she isn’t, but rather it explains where Harry’s wife arrived at this, as usual she steals from others, including their DNA results).  She has claimed to be part Maltese as well, because a great great grandmother lived on the island of Malta.  She has claimed to be Jewish and Catholic.  She has implied she was Canadian when in fact she is American…I could go on and on.  This is what we all take issue with.  She uses and abuses, people and places, countries, religions etc.  She has always gotten away with these lies because no one would call her out.  We have worked so hard for so many years to expose her.  Now we finally are seeing results, people see what we see.  I am in complete agreement the BRF should have stopped this long ago, I shake my head as to why they have not.  I do appreciate all you have said, and again I will ponder.❤️

[thessalian]

Thess vs The Shooting

About recent news: I'm not going to enjoy the next few news cycles very much? But while this might be problematic short term, I don't think it's going to be the disaster people say it is. At least, not if everyone follows the advice that has been given all along - don't decide your vote doesn't matter, don't decide that third-party protest votes will be your best course of action, just vote and vote blue.

Here's why:

Look, at this point, everyone that's going to vote for Trump is going to vote for Trump no matter what - there is no getting them off that particular Titanic. Marginals? I'm sorry, but Trump does not appeal to marginals. Trump appeals to ... well, MAGA types, and there are a few too many of those. Getting shot at does not make one a viable political candidate, no matter how many people talk conspiracy.

And let's face it - Trump is not going to pull the "Biden conspired to have me killed" card. Not because he doesn't want to (and no one's going to gainsay it because the man who allegedly fired the shots is apparently dead), but because it would probably have that stupid decision the Supreme Court made about what kinds of immunity a president has being relevant sooner than Trump wants it to be. He wants to be able to pick up that tactical nuke that the Supreme Court dropped outside the White House. If anything, if he gets the presidency, he's going to pick it up and use it to round up political enemies "for his own protection" because "he got shot at once, you know". But that entirely relies on his being elected. Which, because of the above, can be stopped by the simple method of a bunch of people actually getting out and voting blue in November.

Plus ... seriously, this is going to eat a couple of news cycles and die no matter how hard Trump tries to capitalise on this. He's currently yelling that America must "stand united" when he's the one who went to such lengths to deepen the divides in the first place, but at the end of the day, it's a piece of news, and most of the news will move on. The ... I don't remember what the American equivalent of GB News is (the one that's worse than Fox), but that one'll run conspiracy theories for as long as it's allowed, and it'll be all over Truth Social and probably Twitter, but news cycles are way different than they were when I was a kid. They blow up fast and blow over faster, and this probably won't be any different.

Basically, I'm not going to panic. I'll keep a half an eye on it, but at the end of the day, news is theatre at this point. It's "what makes good TV" or whatever. It's put together by people who believe (sometimes rightly) that the populace has the collective attention span of concussed goldfish and about as much memory capacity. There's a lot we don't know, and news outlets will spend a fair bit of time analysing what we do know (and why we aren't able to know more, and I'm looking at the ones who apparently killed the alleged shooter, because now we can't ask that individual the kinds of questions that would indicate whether it was politically motivated or it was just like that guy who shot at Reagan to impress Jodie Foster). But after they've wrung out the last bits of information, it's going to fade away no matter what Trump does to keep it alive. And he's basically painted himself into a corner there because he's got that whole "toxic masculinity" thing going on and any attempts to drag out how brave he was in the wake of being shot at after the fact? They're going to look like whining.

But it's going to be a fairly gross week in the news while this gets processed, I'll give you that. I just can't afford to panic until the world proves me wrong about how shit like the news works.

Anyway, life goes on. (I admit to some very uncharitable thoughts about that whole situation in the immediate, though. I generally find it distasteful to wish death on anyone, but I do admit to being uncharitable enough as a person to have a few exceptions, if you see what I mean. But I'm not going to harp on about it at the end of the day because it doesn't help.)

[starlight-lesbians]

okay so this sort offfff counts as a dialogue prompt but this post

https://www.tumblr.com/whatthehellami/734319377214767104/artwork-is-not-mine

for greasedinah! gb is obviously the angry one

You're Killing Me

a/n: greasey's cuteness aggression, basically

synopsis; greaseball is acting all frustrated, and dinah can't figure out why!

sfw, no warnings

Dinah was messing with her head. Greaseball had been irritated for hours, and her girlfriend was only making it worse. She couldn't really be mad at her for it though, it wasn't like it was on purpose. Dinah was just so cute, and it was getting to be too much for her, made her want to punch a pillow.

Technically she had things to do around the shed today, but she found herself stuck in place watching a focused Dinah experiment in the kitchen. The way her nose scrunched up when she was thinking was so frustratingly adorable, and she'd been unable to get it off her mind whenever she tried to think.

"What's got you in a mood today? You look tense..." Shit, Greaseball was hoping flying under the radar would be possible here.

"I'm..fine babe, just distracted" Dinah tilted her head curiously, Starlight she was cute..and made her way over to the couch.

"I don't believe you, you look mad." She pointed out bluntly, tapping Greaseball on the nose. "You sure you don't need anything? I can make some food or something..." Well, shit, nothing ever got past a worried Dinah, she noticed anything and everything, especially when you didn't want her to.

"It's stupid...like so stupid I don't want to tell you because you'll laugh, and you would be so justified in laughing." Greaseball put her face in her hands, trying to hide the redness popping up on her face with an angry expression that didn't quite hold.

Dinah sighed in exasperation, "What could possibly be that dumb? If it's upsetting you, it matters, we've talked about this..."

While Greaseball really appreciated Dinah trying to validate her feelings, that was unfortunately again making the weird urge to squeeze her so tight she popped way more powerful, What was this..?

"Dinah, baby, I'm fine, just in a mood is all." She huffed, still not looking at the coach in front of her to hide her blush as much as possible.

"Honey, your face is bright red...what's going on with you?" Dinah paused, a small giggle escaping her, "Wait a sec...are you just flustered? Did I do that?" She grinned mischievously, big doe eyes locking onto Greaseball's.

"N-no! I don't get...flustered." Greaseball rolled her eyes at the word, "I just told you, I'm in a bad mood, that's it!"

Dinah rolled her eyes, moving to straddle her lap, "You sure? Because from where I'm sitting, you wanna kiss me soooo bad." She pulled Greaseball in by the back of her neck, just barely not kissing her yet.

Greaseball groaned in frustration, pulling Dinah in the rest of the way, "Starlight, babe, not my fault you're so damn cute all the time." She barely broke the kiss to speak before dragging her back in again.

"What was so cute that it had you in a mood like this?" Dinah almost preened, sitting victoriously on her girlfriend's lap, "I need to know so I can do it more."

"Ugh, it's just you, babe. You're just there and you're adorable and I wanna squeeze you so hard you explode, I dunno." Greaseball shrugged, flicking Dinah on the nose

"Hey! Behave yourself!" Dinah giggled, barely able to fake annoyance, "You're cute too y'know, not sure why your response to me being cute is choosing violence though."

"Couldn't tell ya, but I guess it worked out, because now I have you here, and I can be as annoying as I like because you're stuck." She locked her arms around Dinah's waist and started kissing all over her face, "See what you do to me? I get all stupid about you, woman"

Through giggles, Dinah managed to press a kiss to Greaseball's nose, "If you haven't noticed, I'm pretty stupid about you too, so I'd say we're even."

anyways...this was silly

hope you like! and as always requests are open!!

[desceros]

me, innocent, a victim: [goes to look for something in my phone's photoroll] me: [is violently assaulted by gb art] donatello/reader; gn reader; rated t

When you open your eyes, you see, to your shock, Donatello. 

Well. It’s hardly surprising that he’s in your bed, considering he’s been getting pretty good at the whole mind-melting orgasm thing. Maybe half of the nights of your week lately have ended up with your eyes drinking in the sight of him caging you in, your wrists aching with the tightness of his fingers holding them above your head, and your ears singing with the sound of him whining your name when he comes. It’s incredible—he’s incredible—and you’d be pressed picking a time in your life you’ve been happier.

But this. This is… new. 

He’s not wearing his mask. That’s the first thing that catches your attention, once you’re able to move past the totality of his presence in the gentle rays of dawn streaming through your window. He looks… softer, somehow. Different. There’s a closeness to him, physically, literally, that makes you tremble a bit in your very skin. Like you’ve never really been with him before, absurd as it sounds even in your own head. He’s touched you the way no one else has—the way no one else ever, ever will, if you have your way about it—but this. This. 

God. He’s beautiful, you think, gazing at each inch of his uncovered skin and searing it to your mind. You’ve always been attracted to him, but here, it takes your breath away. The curve of his beak beneath his eyes, the angle of his jaw, the squish of his cheek where he’s sleeping on your pillow, the little puffs of air that snooze out with each breath; all of it entrances you, making your lips quiver. 

Slowly, gently, almost hating yourself for it, you reach out. An impossible temptation to resist. The very tips of your fingers on his face, tracing from temple to chin, over and over as you memorize this unseen part of him. Odd, how it feels like you’re pining, yearning for him, when you still feel the aches in your body from how thoroughly he’d had you last night. 

…Though, you suppose, that was him having you. And this is—

—this is you having him. 

Donnie’s lips curl at the corner, and you know you’re busted. Suddenly shy, you fight the urge to pull away, to pretend you weren’t consuming the sight of him. It’s a vulnerable feeling, but you’re rewarded when he opens one eye, blearily meeting your gaze. 

“…Aren’t you usually the one nagging me to sleep?” he says in a mumble, causing you to smile sheepishly. 

“I… couldn’t resist,” you admit quietly, your touch garnering a bit of weight now that he’s awake.

“Had to check and make sure I was real under my mask?” he teases, and it’s tempting to follow him down the path. Tasting bravery on your tongue, you resist. 

“Too handsome not to,” you tell him honestly, cupping his cheek with your palm. You feel the hitch in his breath, the warmth that spreads onto his cheeks even as his scales don’t allow for a blush. “Needed to.” 

Donnie stares for a moment, then gives a breathy laugh, reaching out to grasp your hand from his face and bringing it so he can press a kiss to your palm. This, too, is new—this quiet, non-sexual intimacy. It makes you feel warm, a bit like you’re the one who’s been basking in the sunlight, not him. 

“You’re obnoxiously romantic in the morning, huh?” he murmurs. He doesn’t sound displeased. Giddily, you wiggle closer, feeling him reach out to slide a hand to your back to help pull you close, until only a sigh separates your face and his, your legs so tangled together only the roughness of his scales tells them apart.

“…I could be obnoxiously romantic all the time,” you tell him, looking between his eyes as the other opens, seeing the tender expression on his face. “…If you wanted me to.”

A comforting, familiar, possessive hand cups your nape, his thumb tracing the soft skin beneath your ear. A dazzling glissando of sensation runs along his touch, making your eyes flutter for a moment before you lick your lips and focus on him again. 

Finally, he smiles, an honest little thing that transfigures your heart into a tiny hummingbird. “Yeah,” he says, his tone as warm as the coming morning. “That… sounds great.”

And then, as if sealing a promise, he pulls you close for a kiss even softer than the sheets that ensconce you both. Humming into it, you melt, nuzzling his beak with a lustrous glow beneath your skin. Then—slowly, gently—your fingers again find unmasked skin, loving, claiming, confident now in the long rays of dawn.

[britt-kageryuu]

Donnie just ended a stream, and was going over the stats for said stream, when his phone set off the group chat notification sound, it was April. She was asking if she could come to the studio to ask about something, specifically with Donnie. She was given the go ahead, and Donnie asked his drone children to help straighten things up.

April showed up a few minutes later. She greeted the drones who went back to playing their games. They're seated in the inflatable chairs that are just always left on the set.

"So April, what can I help you with in our studio today?" Donnie asks while leaning back with a slight squeak.

April lets out a annoyed sigh, "Okay, so even with my stellar resume and Degrees, those jerks at the News wouldn't even give me an Internship! They said they didn't take degrees of my level without a recommendation from 1 or more these 5 random sounding tabloid-y magazines!" She was slowly raising her voice as she talks, while griping something imaginary probably the neck of the person who told her she couldn't work for them.

Donnie just quirks an eyebrow, but doesn't question it. She did also have a long list of being fired for the most random reasons.

"So, what kinda of help do you want? Blackmail on the staff, hacking the channel, draining the guys investments? I can go on." Donnie lists off with a slightly sinister smile.

"As tempting as that is, no." April shakes her head in amusement, she's sure he's just listing this to make her laugh, maybe. "No, I wanted to see if you had anything you can have me do with your companies. Like maybe as a 'Manager' or something?"

Donnie thinks it over for a second, "Well if we made you a manager, it would just be just a title, you wouldn't really be doing anything, plus you want to go into journalism, and acting as a manager won't look that great on your, probably highly edited, resume." He pauses to look over something on his tablet. "I have two possible options for you, one is media management for Genius Built, and Four Turtles Production, it's basically putting together the news we want to release to the public about them, along with helping with event stuff, and two basically option 1, but you do it as a Newscaster in videos that we will upload onto our social media sites. If you want you could use a model to mask your identity, if you don't want to be called the 'PR Girl'."

April looks a bit confused, before thinking it over for a few seconds, "So I either, just edit posts and videos that will be put on the GB and FTP socials, or I do it in mainly a video format like I'm reporting the news, maybe with one of your custom models?"

"Yes, either way it's up to you. These are just the options that I believe would look better for your resume, if you ever want to look for another job." Donnie stats, he hands April the tablet, "Here will be your benefits, though remember that all medical problems will lead you to Leon, therapy to Angelo, you get a personal trainer with Rafa, and I become your financial advisor."

April looks it over the benefits, and figures that agreeing to work for Donnie will be better than one of the other jerks that she could possibly work for. "Alright, let's see how this works out. Better than trying to find work around top side anyway. Do the Dragons get the same benefits?"

"Why, of course! They were a bit weirded out by needed to go to Leon for medical, and got freaked out at Angelo, but not Rafa. I don't know why." He looks like he's contemplating this, but he probably knows why.

"So, you already have a model for me right?"

"About 20 at least, we didn't want to assume which one you want so we made a variety you can choose from, and we can make changes from there!"

"Can I help with Cass and CJs models, or are they already done?"

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

Masterpost

I don't think I will actually write posts from April, but after watching a Vtuber news reporter, I couldn't stop thinking "this is how they drag April into what is becoming the family business!" and it fits kinda.

Also writing April was a bit weird, but then again writing any of these guys is weird.

[copper-16]

So happy for the barca girlies, but where is engen and what is Horan and Ada doing there ? But most importantly where are the defenders ?

I am sorry but this award is becoming a popularity contest now with the award going to those with strong prs and popular football countries. Will be glad if aitana wins( she is surely gonna win it ) but if caro wins won't it help the kids of norway there for football...

Hm...I think I might disagree with you a little bit here!

While I find Horan's inclusion VERY strange, I don't follow Lyon enough to comment on Ada's performance. I will say that I wasn't surprised that Ingrid wasn't nominated, I personally never expected for her to be.

Don't get me wrong, I love Ingrid and think she's an awesome player. But I'm not sure I would consider her top 30 in the world, not over some other phenomenal CBs such as Girma or Buchanan. I totally think she could get there, absolutely, but I wouldn't put her above certain players for this year. I think you could make a case for both Keira and Ona to some degree, but again just not sure that top 30 with their performance from the past year is necessarily where I would have put either of them (Especially with Spain's Olympic performance and the absence of GB entirely). They're both amazing, but it didn't feel particularly standout to me to argue that they must have been included.

I feel like also the majority of us (including myself) are super biased. I know that I personally do not watch every league and every team, so there's a ton of individual talent out there I don't know about! Yes Barcelona might be considered the best team in Europe after winning the UWCL this season, but that doesn't mean each individual player is the best themselves - there is the team aspect you must consider that attributed to the win. There is a ton of amazing individual talent outside of the WSL and La Liga, even if those leagues are where a lot of nominations typically come from. I was personally jazzed to see Barbra Banda and Bunny Shaw on there!

All that being said, I completely agree with the whole thing being a PR award. I think that was made very clear by Rapinoe's win back in 2019. The categories to me leave a lot of room for interpretation (having criteria such as "class and fair play" with the inclusion of "character", for example), and means that some of the award is inherently not about football specifically but also a more political/social agenda. I don't think these categories have a lot to do with what help the award could do for certain countries/populations (ie. Norwegian girls), but rather what a player has done outside of football that is more what is being evaluated (not saying that this is fair, but just seems to be more of the thought process from what I perceive).

[soup-sponge]

i am so obsessed with this whole scene it is so good.

first, the framing?? the lighting?? even the still frames are so nice to look at, it is just so visually pleasing. i love love love a good backlighting moment, and here it highlights the amount of training that the actors had in order to prep for this, the gorgeous fight choreography, and just all the work that went into it behind the scenes.

second, it feels so accurate to the characters. lockwood is back on his flippant dickhead bullshit with the all the fancy little moves he does purely for the sake of making himself look cool (source: he told me), and he has great technique, as the golden blade points out. i adore the fact that we can still see that he's shaken from the auction. he's pulled himself back together, but you can still see some of the cracks in his armour that he's trying so desperately to hide.

just by watching the Golden Blade™ you can tell that this man is properly trained, but is also confident enough to break a couple rules and be a bit less (consciously) focused on his own technique, and he leaves us with so many questions, which i feel is a fun little extra we didn't really get as strongly (?) from the post-auction scene in the book.

lucy is out of it for like half the fight but that's important in and of itself. at this point in the show we've seen her do so many amazing things and prove her worth a million times over, but she's also still genuinely not trained for this. her lack of training makes her actions way less precise than lockwood's, but she's still giving it everything she has. GB points this out, and i think it's such a nice detail, especially paired with the fact that she comes out and clobbers him with a board a minute later. lucy very much fights from the heart, and that means that even if she isn't "properly trained" with a rapier, she can still kick ass if need be.

and also i just love a good sword fight.

[aswegoalong72]

July 2024 Writing Update

Hello again! It’s been a few months since I’ve done one of these, and I apologize for that! Between art, life, and illness, I haven’t had as much time as I had hoped for writing.

I'm going to be very busy these next few weeks still, especially when I get a chance to get a new art pen, but I'm hoping to still make some steady progress when I can from time to time!

My last update was on March 6th, 2024, back when I would do weekly updates. Instead of doing that and adding unnecessary pressure unto myself, I'll just be doing monthly updates!

Before I formally begin the update, I would like to share a bit of news in regards to the project; I'm re-writing almost the entirety of Piercing The Veil!

Back when I had a bit of downtime to read what I had over in April, I found I had way too much exposition, not enough dialog, or character development. PTV is the first book I ever wrote, and a lot of the early chapters are definitely showing their lack of experience and age. I started PTV in like... 2021, I think. A lot has changed, and I want to fix it up to better represent all that has since then!

I think, or at least hope, that this will be the final re-write before I get the time to actually finish it. There's still yet a lot to add even once this rewrite is done, as this is going to definitely be considered a saga or epic. In my outline, I have roughly 101 more chapters I plan on adding before I can consider PTV "done". Even then, once I do finish it, I'm going to let it simmer while I work on the first four opening novels.

It's going to be a very, very long process before any of these books come out, or are even considered done. I'm hoping that once I get my art pen back, finish my art backlog, and finish reading my friend's webcomic outline, I can devote myself full time into writing. Until then, thank you for sticking along and keeping me company on this journey!

Without further ado, here's my progress since March!

Dawn - 12% complete (9,323 words) -146 words since March, rewrite for "Alkan's Will" underway Yuniv & Semat - ~1% complete (0 words) Planning stage, waiting on Dawn to be finished Deep Freeze - ~1% complete (0 words) Planning stage, waiting on prior books to be finished To Touch Tenav - ~1% complete (83 words) No change, partial intro only, planning stage Piercing The Veil - ~22% complete (120,531 words)/(8,610 rewrite) +8 words since March, rewrite well underway Head Above Water - ~2% complete (483 words) No change, partial intro only, planning stage Book 7* - ~1% complete (0 words) Planning stage, waiting for prior books to be finished Universal Ideal - ~1% complete (0 words) Planning stage, waiting for prior books to be finished

That's about where things stand. I expect to maybe get back into the art scene by late this month, finishing my backlog by late September if I push it enough, with writing resuming by early or mid October. I will most likely pour all my time into Piercing The Veil, and maybe a little bit of Dawn as well.

Once I get finished with those two, I'll get into the process of getting beta readers, fixing typos & plot holes, finishing an accurate timeline, and getting art for the covers and chapter titles. I'd like to get a decent part of the way into Yuniv & Semat before I publish as well, that way I don't have as much pressure to release things in a "timely" manner as well.

If, and this is a very big if, all things go according to plan, I should be able to publish Dawn by Q2 of 2025. Dawn is a collection of short stories spanning from the prehistory of Lyratet to the stagnation of civilization in what would be the early 1100s in the Gregorian calendar. It's sort of a primer for understanding Lyratet civilization, their early days, and what drives them in their quest for a better society.

Thank you for reading, and for continuing to stick around! Have a lovely day!

-GB