#hopefully this is in character?? if not i'll revise this

[devotioncrater]

@realbeefman here's a snippet of a scene!!! if you got any constructive feedback let me know?? ty!!!

fic premise: wilson's POV, set during mid-late s2 while they live together. house and wilson enter into a bet about sleeping together. this scene happens after the bet is made, but before they get physically intimate

It’s been more than a decade since they’ve met, and Wilson can count on one hand how many times they’ve been inside of a Wegmans together.

Seeing House against the backdrop of a pasta aisle feels out of place in the same way Sound of Music would feel out of place if it'd been set outside of Austria. Certain people in certain places just don't make sense. Maria in, say, the dunes of the Sahara; and House under fluorescent lighting surrounded by food that needs to be cooked beyond a microwave.

“Farfalle,” House says way too loudly. Dried pasta rattles inside their blue box when he shakes it. “What an unoriginal name for a stupid looking pasta.”

“Yes, because Italians aren’t known for their naming skills,” Wilson replies with a tone as dry as desert air. It’s not his best bitchy response, but he can live with it. He’s only half-listening to him anyway. Where the hell are the San Marzano cans?

“That one Mafia patient of mine would kill you for saying that.”

“As opposed to your blasphemous stance on Farfalle? I doubt it. Hey, do you see any big yellow cans over there?”

“No cans. Why are we here, Wilson? The freezer aisle is over on the other side.”

Sun-dried tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes. Cans cans cans yet none of them are what he’s looking for. Wilson picks one up, stares at it for a second, then puts it back. Damn. “For being a doctor, you sure don’t value nutrition.”

House shakes another blue box full of dried pasta. Acts such like a petulant child that the two elderly men nearby shoot him an annoyed look. “Diagnostics is in another league. Besides, in my professional opinion, nutritionists are on the same playing field as shrinks.”

“So…doctors you should see.”

“Hacks!”

Wilson half-turns, frowns at House, and takes in his antics. House isn’t even looking at him, instead he juggles two large, yellow cans. Figures. The bright lighting glints off of his cane’s handle. The shorter of the two men grumbles something to the other. And it’s withering, the look that the taller man shoots Wilson from underneath his big, white, bushy eyebrows.

The half-full basket in the crook of Wilson’s arm grows heavier. So heavy that it threatens to tire him out to the point of falling onto the polished, checkered, concrete epoxy floor. With any luck, he wouldn’t get up. Ever. At all.

“Sorry,” Wilson apologizes to the men, who only grumble further. To House, he says, “You said there were no cans.”

“Everybody lies.”

“About medical histories and how they got sick, yes. But about cans?”

House shrugs. Still concentrating on the San Marzanos spinning in the air, he deflects, “I bet you seventy-five I can toss these bad boys into our basket.”

“No. House, come on. You’re not twelve.”

“Get ready —”

“House —”

“One, two —”

“If you throw them, I’ll move out,” Wilson threatens. It’s a lie. There’s no way he’s going to. But it’s a lie spoken with firm conviction, so. For all House knows, he’s being serious.

Strangely, the lie does get House to pause mid-motion. “You’re bluffing.”

“I promise you that I am not.”

House huffs, shoots the two grumbling men a Can You Believe Him? look. But he comes over next to Wilson anyway, cans in hand, and places them nicely into the basket. There’s a gleam in his eye — one Wilson instinctively knows doesn’t bode well for himself — and before Wilson can register what’s happening, House turns to face the elderly pair. “Marriage is a scam,” he tells them. “He never lets me have fun anymore.”

Mortified, wishing the floor really would swallow him whole, Wilson opens his mouth to set the record straight when House escalates it by wrapping an arm around Wilson’s shoulders. Which feels…nice. Fitted and warm like how indie love songs paint it out to be. 

Not that Wilson’s in the teenage girl habit of conceptualizing his and House’s friendship as indie love songs. No way. If anything, their thing would fall more in line with, say, prog rock. Intricate, hard to pin down, experimental at times. Fantastic guitar riffs. And yet it’s still reliably within the rock genre. No where near indie.

So, yeah, House’s arm feels possessive when wrapped around Wilson’s shoulder. And, sure, House’s chest feels sturdy under his faded shirt from where Wilson barely presses his palm against the cotton. And, fine, Wilson molds right into House’s side as if those Ancient Greeks were right about soulmates being split into two bodies. Sue him for finding the physical contact nice; Wilson will call his best lawyer.

Or it would feel nice if this wasn’t some sort of reactive humiliation thing. 

Or if it would feel nice if House didn’t plant a kiss on the top of Wilson’s head as part of the aforementioned humiliation thing.

[itsjaywalkers]

my wip has 28k words for now and that's only one chapter and a half . i really don't know how to shut up not even when i'm writing this is an actual nightmare

[noatpad]

Chicory is on the mind again. Every once in a while I'll get nostalgic over that game I'm so fond of, as I still consider it as a small yet crucial piece of a puzzle I struggled a lot with. Can't help but scribble stuff for it (and also can't help but insert some of my characters in there, haha!)

So once again I say out loud, Chicory is very good

It also gave me the opportunity to revise some of the picnicsonas I've done of my own characters some time ago, as well as make some new ones as well! This is also sorta two-faced as there's one more thing I wanted to do, and this was a warmup of sorts to get into that style for a moment. So we shall see soon hopefully...

[fallloverfic]

Han Yoojin's Black Choker

This post isn't going to be everything, but it's going to hopefully be easier to find/navigate than the handful of posts I'm seeing floating around and that I've responded to: a summary of official art with Han Yoojin wearing the black choker in S-Classes that I Raised, its maybe appearances in the text of the novel, and its maybe relationship with fanart. For the short answer, yes it appears in multiple pieces of official novel art, and maybe at least once in the novel text. But it might also be a fan design that's sort of accepted as official at least in some cases? Explanation beneath the read more.

Yoojin's black choker is most likely Grace, the protection item Myeongwoo made from Shalos. Other folks have said it's the translation item he gets from Yoohyun, and I disagree, but I'll get to that.

The novel text

Text-wise the "choker" is possibly from novel chapter 109, where Grace turns into a sparkling choker at one point (which Yoojin notes is more over the top than a bracelet during his struggle to get her to turn into something less ostentatious). Some folks looked at different text in the novel here for how it and particularly Grace look, but just as a warning, there is no official English translation for the novel outside what we get in the manhwa, which is somewhat modified because it's a manhwa adaptation. There are fan translations for parts of the novel, but a lot of folks use machine translation, which can be very dubious.

In other places in the novel she's just described as turning into a necklace, not specifically a choker, though in novel chapter 176, it's described as sitting close around Yoojin's neck (which sounds like a choker). Whatever jewelry she turns into is specifically described as having a blue/silver jewel from which her bird form emerges (as she has in novel chapter 156, which is the chapter one fanwiki lists it appearing in, and in which she is described as turning into a necklace, not specifically a choker). So there's very little textual support for him to be wearing a choker, though he does at least on occasion wear necklaces.

Revised ebook novel volumes

SCTIR the novel was (and still is) originally released chapter by chapter on Naver, Munpia, and Ridibooks (currently Side Story is only available on Naver, but the chapters of the main story are on all three). The main story was eventually collected into 35 volumes and partially revised or at least given additional scenes in places. Each volume contained at least two pieces of art. For volumes 1-14 this was seemingly a character portrait with their bio (e.g., age, height, likes, dislikes), and 1 piece of interior art, with the latter at least being by 비완 (the manhwa artist). Volumes 15+ switched up interior artists, for a total of I think at least 3-4 artists, and those volumes had at least 2 pieces of interior art, with volume 35 having 4. The individual chapters didn't have this, it was added for the ebook release.

The volumes themselves are available on Ridibooks and Naver (they might be somewhere on Munpia but I couldn't find them).

The first volume of the ebook released in May 2020 (the Ridibooks release lists an earlier date for some reason than the one on Naver, which is November 2020). By this point, fans had already been drawing Yoojin wearing a black choker with a gem (usually blue or silver) on it since at least 2019: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. <This fanart is by onlyraii, the artist who went on to make the new cover for the novel published in April 2022 (included down below). So at least some of the official artists were involved in the community and knew of popular fan designs (though notably, Yoojin is not wearing the choker on onlyraii's official book cover).

Just want to emphasize: there's a difference between an author drawing/commissioning art and ensuring that it complies with their specifications in the text/their vision and their publisher commissioning art that might not even get approval/comment from the author. I don't know how much geunseo had a say in any of the art for the novel. If there's some interview or something somewhere where they state clearly how many/which pieces of art they approve and the level of control they have over what the art looks like, I haven't seen it. It's not unusual for third party artists to have more freedom to do stuff and draw fan designs/things that aren't accurate in "official" art and for it to get approved (e.g., some of the interior art for the official English translation of "Mo Dao Zu Shi", which actually goes directly against what's on the page; it's kind of unclear how much control MXTX had over this stuff, and heavily implied she had little to none; it's possible that's the same case with geunseo). So whether or not you view this stuff as official is up to you. But it is in the official ebooks, though designs are not really consistent, which implies there was a lack of strong direction in what artists were/weren't allowed to do.

비완 potentially drew Yoojin wearing the choker in volume 13, for the Chuseok art (September 2020, I'm going by the Ridibooks release dates). It's very hard to tell whether that's his shirt collar or a choker. But it sort of looks like it.

The next time it was potentially drawn was by a different artist in volume 18 (July 2021). It's hard to tell because he's holding a bouquet that mostly covers his neck, but on the right side of his neck seems to be part of a black choker.

You can kind of see something that looks like a black choker near Peace's front left paw.

The clearest earliest example of him wearing it in official art is in volume 19 (April 2022), where he's clearly visible wearing a black choker with a blue gem on it. I don't see it mentioned as something he's wearing in the text of that chapter, at least from a brief browse.

He's also definitely wearing it in two pieces (one each) of art for volumes 20-21 (April 2022). Here's the one from volume 21:

In volumes 22 (April 2022) and 25 (August 2022), Yoojin seems to be wearing a cat collar with a similar design in two other pieces of art (one each volume). Not exactly a choker, but he's at least wearing something on his neck. Here's the one from volume 22:

The other art of him with the cat collar in volume 25 is a lot more similar to the other interior art choker designs, with a black ribbon or whatever it is and a blue gem in the center, rather than a blue ribbon.

After that, they switch artists at least once if not twice and none of them drew Yoojin with the choker - or any necklace at all - that I can see. He didn't lose Grace for good in the novel, though he doesn't wear her all the time, but no other artist for the interiors drew him wearing the choker for the last 10 volumes of the revised ebook novel release, if not the last 14. Whether that's a narrative choice or the inclusion of the choker at all is random/whatever the current artist wants/what was geunseo/the publisher's mood, who knows?

The manhwa adaptation

This is how manhwa episode 103 depicts Yoojin trying to get Grace to turn into something wearable after first receiving her (art by 비완), when the alleged "choker" description appears in the novel text:

I'm not seeing a black choker anywhere. The black line near his neck is the collar of his shirt.

As of posting on June 21st, 2024, at least on the free to read Webtoons page and Tappytoon English chapters of the manhwa, there is no art of Yoojin wearing the choker, either as Grace or the translation item he got from Yoohyun. The manhwa depicts the translation item differently, and Grace has only appeared as fancy necklaces or a bracelet. If 비완 drew the choker on Yoojin in the Chuseok ebook novel art for 2020, although the manhwa hasn't gotten there yet, they have drawn him wearing the choker before in official artwork, and yet have not drawn him wearing it since in the manhwa, for whatever reason. We'll have to see how the scene is drawn when the manhwa gets to Chuseok.

In the manhwa, Grace is shown turning into a simple bracelet after negotiation in episode 103:

You'll note he often wears shirts with black collars on them.

This is the translation item that Yoohyun gives Yoojin as it appears in manhwa episode 55:

Which is roughly how it's described in novel chapter 68, absent any specific color description for the metal ornament. Someone else said this is actually what people are drawing when they draw the choker because the design is vague enough to match a choker, which is strange to me, because from what I recall of the novel, Yoojin has this in his pocket/inventory most of the time. He's not wearing it constantly (he also already had it when he got Grace). It's kind of implied if not stated he doesn't like wearing it much and only puts it on out of necessity and takes it off at the first opportunity. He does, however, typically wear Grace (though he does, for various reasons, take her off a decent amount).

The April Fool's 2022 art by ? and the 2022 official novel cover by onlyraii

Someone else pointed out the "sketch" for the official novel art by onlyraii (final art below):

And here it is when it was released seemingly originally on 31 March 2022/1 April 2022 (KST).

In the other post I'm seeing about the "sketch" for this, the unfinished "sketch" listed was actually the April Fool's Day joke for 2022 that seems to parody onlyraii's cover, but with all the guys being bald:

(A lot of manhwa and I think Korean webnovels do April Fool's Day joke posts with fake "new" art done by official artists; 2022's SCTIR manhwa April's Fool's Day joke was magical girl themed, and this was 2024's, which had most of the cast become dinosaurs).

You can also see that while there are similarities, this is very much not what they ended up with, and again, it's dubious this was an actual sketch for the cover: it's not on onlyraii's twitter, though that doesn't mean it wasn't posted elsewhere, and seems more in the style of 비완's art, so it's likely this is the manhwa team doing a jokey post (the manhwa started in November 2021, and 비완 was still doing art for the novel ebook revision at least around 2020, so they'd have been around, and serikachan, the lead storyboard artist, does post about recent novel chapters on twitter, so at least some of them pay attention to the novel). I think it's intentional that all the men are bald as well, to note it's a joke; a lot of the Korean commenters are commenting on their baldness.

A core issue is the similarity and that they were released 11 hours apart (the gag went up around 11 hours before the official cover was released; onlyraii commented on their work for the cover around 40 minutes after the official cover was released). The "sketch" seems to show maybe a planned choker, but if it was an actual sketch in whole or part, it was clearly nixed for the final design. Who made that decision is anyone's guess.

"Sketch" or not, again, onlyraii has drawn Yoojin with a choker many times in their fanart dating back to 2019: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Before the 2022 piece. If onlyraii and/or 비완 wanted to incorporate a fan design into the official art in some way, again, they wouldn't be the first fanartist/community member to do so on official artwork.

In conclusion:

At this point I don't fully know if the design/his regularly wearing a choker comes from the novel or fanon that was later incorporated by fans into canon when they worked on the official art, or if geunseo suggested it or at least okay'd its inclusion on official art, but these things at least are true:

Grace is apparently mentioned as being a choker at least once in the novel text, but it's described as being rather fancy

the fan design/idea of the black choker with a small gem in the middle predates at least the official release of the ebook art with him wearing a choker (if they were released earlier than that on an artist social media post or portfolio or publisher post somewhere, in some form, encouraging fans to use it in fanart prior to the book releases, I have no idea), so at least the stuff pre-2020 was not inspired by the ebook interior art, and potentially nothing before 2022 was inspired by interior art because the clearest art with him wearing it wasn't out until then; it was likely inspired by the potential single/two times Grace is described as a choker in the text, or just generally popular fanon about him wearing a choker (wouldn't be surprising, there's a lot of emphasis on Hyunje grabbing Yoojin's neck all the time and how Yoojin's neck feels when he's not grabbing it)

Yoojin wears a black choker/collar with a gem in the middle of it in at least 3 if not 6 pieces of official ebook interior art, and a blue ribbon collar in at least one piece of official ebook art

after the choker/collar shows up on those 3-7 pieces of interior art, it stopped appearing at all (his neck is visibly bare of any necklace of any kind in multiple art pieces), and he doesn't wear anything on his neck in the artwork for at least 10 volumes; furthermore, despite the manhwa artist potentially drawing him wearing the choker in one of those pieces, they have not drawn him wearing it in the manhwa in the years since that ebook art was released, even after he had both Grace and the translation necklace item, both of which have been suggestions for what the choker is

So does he wear a choker? In the novel text and novel art, maybe, at least sometimes, but not currently in the manhwa. Does it look like it does in fanart? Maybe: it's not really described in the text and the few novel art pieces we have don't quite match each other. The publisher and/or possibly geunseo okay'd at least some official art with it on (though I don't know how much control geunseo has in that decision, and the author of the original work okaying art is different than the publisher okaying art, particularly depending on what degree of control geunseo had over any changes/what could be drawn, or if they were just allowed to say yes or no and that's it).

I'll try to keep this updated if new information/art comes out, so if you're seeing this as a reblog, check the source post to see if there's an update.

[elleneedsleep]

@zsakuva seen so many birthday messages, so I apologise if I was late, but Happy Birthday, Saku! 🎉

I stumbled upon the King Crumpet and the characters he created late December last year, and it's fair to say that I've got all the lore scribbled down in some notebook (somehow I can motivate myself to analyse audios over revising for exams, but 🤷‍♀️). Hopefully I get a job soon so I can pay for patreon, but if not I'll continue to be a loyal (broke) YouTube follower :). Have a good one, Saku!

P.S this artist did such a goof job recreating how your angst affected us all— 😂

[anamoon63]

RL and Sims update post + a thank you note

(Warning: long post ahead, read at your own risk).

I wrote this post to thank you guys for all the likes and comments you keep leaving on my posts, even though, as you may have noticed, I can't be here as often as I used to. Real life has taken over almost completely, as I think it should. There are too many things going on, with me, my family, my country, even my sims and other games, lol.

I'm not going to bore you with daily life problems, much less with sad and depressive stuff, or with previews of a story I don't know when/if I'll ever finish, the only thing I can tell you is that I'm still busy with a lot of work, (fortunately) and family stuff; plus, I (finally) started going to therapy (yes, at my age). So right now, I'm juggling even more things than I already was.

And so I wanted to thank you for sticking with me, for continuing to read the chaotic stories of my wacky characters without judging them; thank you as well for each and every message you have sent to my inbox, be it questions, or flowers and love; and to all of you who continue to tag me both on sims stuff and cute games, knowing that I most likely won't be able to answer you, really, thank you for continuing to think of me. Your messages soothe my heart in difficult moments, and I wish to answer them all, I just don't know when I will be able to do that, hopefully someday.

Now, my sims story. For those of you who might remotely still be interested, I'm currently revising the next few episodes of Time Traveler which I wrote earlier this year. To be honest, I don't know when they will be ready, I just know the story goes on and as soon as I have reviewed these episodes, I'll start taking the pictures. When will they be published? Frankly, I don't know. It could be early 2025, but no promises, as I don't have much free time on my hands now. I manage to write in the evenings, but in-game photo shoots are quite time consuming and have to be done in peace and privacy, of which I don't have much at the moment. So, if I do decide to publish these episodes, it will likely be early next year, and at a rather slow pace.

About my gameplay, in Sims 4 we will continue with the Wilsons until the end of the season (coming soon), and then we will take a small break. As for The Sims 3, we just finished Patrick's story in Bridgeport, so now we'll go back with The Cho Brothers. First, we'll take a brief trip to Lucky Palms with Terence and Cynthia Cho; then we'll spend a rather long time in Hidden Springs and Starlight Shores, to see what has happened with Tyron, the eldest of the Cho brothers. And last but not least, we'll go back to Uni with Dale and Kelly, who I hope will FINALLY graduate this year, hahaha.

Anyway, I just wanted you to know that I am not gone (yet), that if one day I decide to retire I will make a special post about it, I won't leave without saying goodbye, but that day seems far away at least for the moment. 

Now, regarding Inzoi…

I admit Inzoi has captured my interest. As usual, I'm late to the comment party, but I still want to put my two cents about this amazing game. Seeing the trailers and all those beautiful Inzois created by other simmers got me so excited, and at the same time, terribly frustrated to see that the demo didn't contain any gameplay. I need to actually play the game to give an opinion on it! So far it looks beautiful, though I must say that the character creator disappointed me because the sliders are Sims 4 style, which I've always found a bit complicated, I'll forever prefer the Sims 3 sliders, but hey, I had a lot of fun creating my own Inzois.

Hopefully the graphics and gameplay are as good as seen in the previews and its developers won't “break” it into multiple or turn the into a malfunctioning cash cow like EA did with The Sims 4, and to a certain extent, also with the Sims 3 in its time. I hope with Inzoi they'll go for a complete game, no matter if it's expensive, if I consider it is worth it, I'll give them my money as soon as it comes out.

That being said, it is important for me to clarify that I will not abandon The Sims 3 (or even Sims 4 though I don't play it much) for Inzoi. Ever. Neither do I plan to recreate my sims OCs/games in it, because my sims are exactly that, sims. If I ever get to play Inzoi it will be with entirely new characters, although I confess, I did try to reproduce two of my most beloved sims (a boy from the future and a college girl who is a model *wink*) and they turned out pretty well, but nowhere near as adorable as they look in The Sims 3. Plus, the environments in which those two OCs currently move could not be reproduced in Inzoi, at least as far as I know.

Okay, enough of Inzoi. In short: I'm not gone, I'm still here, I'm still reading all your stories, only at a much slower pace, two or 3 simblrs per day at the most. I'm going to read them all, just bear with me, and forgive me again if I don't always comment. Sometimes I don't even have the time or the energy for that. Believe me, 2024 has been an intense year in every possible way, sometimes I really need a break, but I try to be around and will always find a way to keep in touch, even if at times it seems like I'm nowhere to be found, I'll get back to you at some point.

That's all, thanks for reading this far! Have a nice and beautiful start of the week. 💗

P.S. I wrote this post three days ago, wish I had published it earlier, that way I probably wouldn't have gotten a notification that some Simblrs Community 'removed my membership'. When I clicked in said Simblrs Community icon, it said the community was 'private'. I don't know if that's some kind of automatic Tumblr thing, if there's a committee that decides about this, or if it was just a glitch in the matrix; whatever it was, I'm so sorry I wasn't able to be here to keep said membership. I didn't even know Simblr was a private membership. For what it's worth, it wasn't neglect or lack of interest for my part, just lack of time. I hope one day to be able to qualify again and be worthy of this membership. At any rate, I thank you for thinking of me and admitting me in your community in the first place.

[bamfkeeper]

SFW Alphabet: Azazel

a/n: weee surprise character I wanna write a little bit too. I am working on more Nightcrawler stuff don't worry ;; With the new Deadpool & Wolverine coming out in two days, I am so excited to see Azazel, hopefully he is in it for more than a few minutes or just for a cameo. He was a fav of mine in the comics and in First Class, I'm thirsty for more content. Anyway. I like toxic characters don't make fun of meee <3

Also wanna note this might be revised depending on the vibes I get from the film. But in general, this is how I see this character ^^ This is a bit of a test run too, I'll either write more or not depending on the feedback. He's a little brutal, but I made him a little more flexible just because this is fanwork. I hope you enjoy <3

Not edited, got impatient.

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?):

Azazel is very precise with what he does with someone he would be with. I don't think he'd ever say he's with someone as a partner, he'd look at it as something that benefits him better than being with anyone else.

He is manipulative, he knows just what to do to keep you happy and content, I don't see him as being a very affectionate dude. But that being said, he knows what touches to give and how to give them to make it seem like he is with you.

The happier you are, the better he can get you to bend to his desires. He is an opportunist, he will do what he can to benefit himself in the 'relationship' he has with you.

He will do simple things for the most part. Simple touches or pats, sometimes his touch or embraces can feel condescending, but you'd never know. He disguises himself very well in that sense.

I can also see him as being someone who would be pretty possessive if someone else was sniffing around. He staked his claim already, and his ego wouldn't allow anyone else to come around you. Possessive grabs at your hip or wrist, he'd tug you closer to him and make sure the other person knew you were not available.

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?):

Friendship with him would probably be beneficial and transactional. Azazel takes whatever he can to get ahead, and if you could provide him with things he wanted or liked, whatever it may be, then sure, he'd be a fairly good comrade. A bit sadistic, but good.

Having him as an ally would be incredibly good for you too, he is skilled in fighting and knows how to somehow always get his way. The film showed him following Shaw, however in the comics he presents as someone who likes to be in charge. Either way, both positions would be good to have at your side.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?):

Azazel has the capability to cuddle, but I don't think it is his favorite thing. Catch him in a good mood and maybe he'd grab you for a cuddle.

He wouldn't be the one to initiate cuddling 90% of the time. He wouldn't reject you, but he won't be the one to reach for you. A silent invitation of him raising his arm might be the only gesture you ever get.

I feel that he might be more demanding if other men are around. He will get in a possessive fit, and want you next to him. He likes making others want what he has, and having you snuggled next to him fulfills his desires to sense the envy from others.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?):

Highly doubt it.

In a comic run, he mated many women just for the reason to produce offspring and he left every single one of them after conception, as his only desire was to sire mutant children. There was speculation that he did actually love Mystique (though I will have to fact check this later), so I think love can be a possibility with him, however fully settling down might never happen.

Because he was depicted as Russian in First Class, I always headcannoned that he had Russian habits. So Russian foods and such would be something he enjoys. In general I think he likes red meat dishes.

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?):

He'd disappear. If he decided he didn't want to be with you anymore, he'd just vanish out of your life. He's not one to sit you down and explain, if he were to be the one to cut it off, he'd disappear.

If you broke up with him, I can see him asking you a lot of questions because he never thought you'd be the one to break things off. He'd be confused and a bit insulted, he might even stalk you a little bit after just to keep an eye on you and what you're doing, though he'd never let you know or interact with you.

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?):

Ah, already hinted at this one, but committing would be something difficult. I have not read a series or seen any depiction of him where he commits to a single person that way so from what I have consumed of him, I don't think he would.

But I do think he would want his partner to be completely committed to him. If he had someone who satisfied him and was loyal in every aspect, I don't think he'd actively look for any other potentials. Azazel is a man who is driven by his own goals, so if you fulfilled his needs like that, he would be satisfied.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?):

Azazel likes feeling in control, and as a naturally manipulative and pretty much evil character, he would know how to do that. He can be extremely gentle when he wants to be. Fingers grazing your skin, gentle head scratches, back rubs, everything. He is fully capable of it, he just picks and chooses when the right time is to provide those things.

Emotionally he is much more harsh. He is blunt, stern, sadistic, and merciless in his ideals. He can speak in a manner that threatens most around him but also knows how to sweet talk you. He is a womanizer, (dude was able to sleep with dozens of women so), he knows how to charm you when he needs to. He can make himself emotionally available if need be, but he only does it to keep you happy, not because he really wants to.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?):

Like cuddling, he probably won't initiate these. He would let you hug him if you wanted, most of the time he just pats your back or lazily lets his tail come around you if his hands are busy.

If he does fully embrace you back, he is very warm and his hugs are firm. I always imagined him smelling like a campfire, smoke, and obviously a bit of sulfur from his teleporting. However I lean more towards burning flesh when I think of Azazel because he is more hellish than our beloved blue teleporter.

I would imagine a cologne he wears would be something like bourbon, cinnamon, or mint scented.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?):

He'd never say 'I love you', but he'd be another character where his actions or behavior would show how he feels. I feel that he might write it on a little piece of paper if you have been together for a long time and he left you a small gift of some kind, but if you confront him about it he won't make another gesture like that again. The whole emotionally vulnerable thing isn't something he wants associated with himself.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?):

Azazel is more possessive than jealous. He sees his partner as something to own, and why would any rival contender try to take his things?

He would be a little toxic if he spotted you talking to someone who was flirting or liked you, he'd be mad at you and probably be a bit short tempered verbally but after calming down he'd grumble a lot and do something small to make up for anything bad he said to you. He can't spoil his fun with you so he needs to keep you happy and content.

If he's feeling particularly possessive, that tail of his would wrap around your arm or waist as he stands next to you. He coils it around your body and the spade of it points towards the person you're speaking to, which is threatening enough considering that he could shoot his tail straight through someone's neck effortlessly.

Sometimes he will drag the sharp tip of it under your jaw just to show how easy he can move you around and how you react to his possessive playful gesture.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?):

His kisses would be teasing, not the typical grabbing you and slamming his lips into you like I have seen. I think he'd caress you, tease you a little with his words and make you squirm slightly, he knows how he makes you feel and he plays into it a lot.

He gets you trying to lean in but he pulls back, just to get you to whine a little bit. Then he lets his lips graze over yours, barely touching, before he places a solid kiss.

Sometimes he won't kiss at all and he pulls back fully, leaving you a wanting puddle until he hears you beg enough for a kiss. He finds it amusing when you're needy.

He likes to place kisses in teasing spots too, your neck, right below the back of your ear, your inner wrist or palm, and the corners of your mouth.

He lets you kiss him wherever you want, he likes to feel basked in your affection because he feels powerful.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?):

I think his involvement with children is very limited...he wouldn't want to be around them.

The bamfs are close enough to children and he has his hands full with them.

If you were to ever bare a child with him, his involvement with the care of the baby would be little. He'd probably do less than the bare minimum, I think he figures he popped it in there, and his role as a father would be to simply provide things you needed.

But this also depends on what scenario you want to imagine. I think this topic can be twisted and flexed a lot.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?):

I have no idea why, but in my head Azazel is not a morning guy. He is a Neyaphem, so their environment is more dark and gritty. The Brimstone Dimension has been depicted several different ways, but going along with the whole 'demonic aesthetic' thing that so many runs have done, just imagine it being dark like a mock Hell.

Naturally this would persuade Azazel to lean more towards nighttime.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?):

He likes nights better, its darker and he can hide a lot if he decides to roam around. He has a mischievous side and I can see him going and scaring people on purpose just for the fun of it.

Some nights he will stay in, keeping you entertained for the fun of it. He likes to watch you get excited when he tells you he's staying, knowing you rely on him.

His army of red bamfs are always around, wild gremlins that are pretty destructive. It makes your nights a lot more entertaining. Sometimes Azazel gets annoyed when they listen to you over him.

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?):

Azazel would be open about some things, but a lot of things he'd keep to himself. He wouldn't want to reveal everything, he likes keeping some things secret.

You'd have to be with him for a long time before he began to reveal more secret things about him, but he would have to really trust that you were loyal to him before he'd reveal the deeper things he kept away from you.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?):

Azazel can be controlled, but he can be easy to piss off too. He wouldn't like a lot of headbutting back when he says something or tells you to do something. He would expect his partner to just do what he asked. He wouldn't want to be with anyone too headstrong, he wants to be in charge and he wouldn't like anyone who spoke back or didn't listen to him.

At the same time, he has enough sense not to completely snap at you. He might say something in the moment, but he would come back around after he has cooled off and figure out a way to smooth things over.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?):

Surprisingly, he has an excellent memory and he remembers a lot of things about you. He notices little things and silently takes note of them, your favorite flavors, flowers, colors. He also remembers things you like for when you are lounging or in need of comfort.

He will remember touches you like the best, how you like to be held, what foods you enjoy. Simple things he can do that he doesn't see as damaging to his reputation.

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?):

I don't see him as the type to think back on points like this, but if there were a moment he remembers, I would imagine maybe a time where you got tired of his bossiness and finally snapped back at him.

The stern scolding towards him shut his devilish bamfs up and he just stares at you, since you've never been so stern with him before. While he typically doesn't like this...the first time you did it, it came as such a surprise he will always remember it.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?):

Since he would view you as a possession, he would be rather protective, borderline controlling. He likes to know where you're going, and always has one of his bamfs with you or following you.

He would take something towards you that isn't very threatening, such as a handshake from another person, and escalate it to attempted murder.

The way he would teleport the person away to get rid of them, leaving you confused.

He'd be hovering over you anytime he could, his yellow eyes scanning everyone around you. His tail always finds a way to wrap around your wrist to keep you near him.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?):

He is absolutely capable of being romantic, after all he has to have some charm to sleep around so much. He is a smooth talker, and he absolutely has the skills to be romantic and put effort in.

However he doesn't do it very often. I see it as being a maybe birthday or anniversary thing when he really goes out and tries.

In general, if he tries to do something nice, I see the gesture as something indirect. Such as having a bath set up for you, your favorite foods or desserts ready to eat, etc.

Speaking of desserts, he'd make sure to get the best, even if it was chocolate from across the world, since travel isn't a problem for him.

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?):

Well, overlooking the mass sex to produce children for his cause, serial murder, torture, general evil deeds...he's manipulative, power hungry, and devious.

He knows how to get what he wants, and his manipulative tactics will be used against you if you take up with him, that's just how he is and it is unavoidable. Though, he is more cunning about it and often will sweet talk you to get things he wants.

Realistically, I do think he would have a habit of being verbally abusive at first, because he isn't used to being with someone for longer than a night or a fling, but he learns how to control it and learns how to get his frustrations across without speaking so ill towards you.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?):

Azazel has an ego a mile wide, he thinks that he's a handsome, irresistible devil. He loves when you call him Satan or The Devil. It boosts his ego even more.

He grooms his goatee and his hair every day and keeps up with his hygiene, he makes sure to always look presentable when possible.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?):

He thinks no. But if you have been with him for a long time and suddenly something happens where you are no longer in his life, he might feel like something is off for a while, but I don't see him as reminiscing in the past.

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.):

He has a high tolerance for alcohol. He can drink a lot of it at one time and not feel much from it. He likes heavy alcohol over more subtle ones. He's never been super hungover, and only ever experienced a mild headache the following day after heavily consuming drinks.

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?):

Anyone who challenges his authority would piss him off. He likes to be in charge, he is the 'big bad' who orders others around, being challenged or being told what to do would be a no go for him.

Criticizing also would put a bad taste in his mouth and he wouldn't appreciate it. It doesn't matter what it would be about. Appearance, methods, the way he bosses people around, any kind of criticism would annoy him.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habits of theirs?):

He is a pretty heavy sleeper, he has to be having all those red bamfs around. Before you, the bamfs didn't sleep in bed with him, they weren't allowed to. But you always 'babied' them, in Azazel's words, and they began to sleep cuddled with you.

Now the bed is full of red bamfs and Azazel grumbles about it. You always sleep happily and peacefully, he has a hard time falling asleep but once he does, he will sleep heavily.

Thanks for reading.

*BAMF*

dividers by @/adornedwithlight

Cover image from Amazing X-Men #3 (2014)

[steamberrystudio]

24/03/2024 Devlog

Hallo! Time for the bi-weekly tumblr update! 

Writing:

I have finished revising Chapter 6 and am about halfway through Chapter 7. Chapter 7 is the longest chapter in the game (by far) and will be longer when it's done as one of my goals is to flesh out the character interactions in this chapter and make them a little more interesting.

Art:

Received two new completed BGs (a restaurant and a Kav-specific BG) plus a new location sketch of, appropriately, a very sketchy place where sketchy things happen.

Other Stuff:

Nothing significant. I've been formatting each chapter as I get it revised but unlike a few months ago, I don't really have time to pick up many little extras on the side right now as real life is quite chaotic and busy, which means it's just easier mentally to focus on one game-development thing at a time instead of bouncing around.

I do have a little break this upcoming week so hopefully I can tick a few small things off the to-do list though including a few residual things I have to finish for GS backers who are waiting on some artwork.

Upcoming Weeks:

Mostly I will be focusing on the revision until it's done. I'm currently more than halfway through editing, and making decent progress though it doesn't always feel like it.

Chapter 7 is about halfway edited and is the longest remaining chapter to revise. (Not that the chapters after this are short - just short by comparison.)

The next two chapters are a little shorter and have a slightly higher ratio of common content in them so I'm hoping I can edit them faster since the "common" content has already been revised once.

I'm not quite optimistic enough to think I could get through two whole chapters in the upcoming week but I'll dream about it at least. Ha ha.

That's all for now!

Remember if you want more detailed and weekly updates, you can support on Patreon, where I update every week!

[supersoakerfullofblood]

Beta Reading, Workshopping, and Peer Editing for Indie Writers: a Guide

Beta reading is a term you might hear tossed out as a vague buzzword, kind of like how people talk about "character development" and "worldbuilding"; I've made a bunch of posts to demystify words in that latter category, but beta reading is a different type of term. Where those latter words and their ilk are terms of craft, things we can discuss in theory ("this is how I think characters are developed best"), beta reading is about a novel after its first draft and first wave-ish of edits. Pretty much everything before and after the production of a novel or story is purely up to what works best for the writer, so this post will introduce beta reading if it's new to you, and I'll give you my process if you want to tinker with it!

Beta reading is when interested readers work through your polished manuscript and make workshop comments so you can make an extra wave of edits. Publishing houses usually have two waves of this type of reading--alpha reading (AR) and beta reading (BR). If you can find enough people to alpha read for you (and you want alpha readers), go for it! But if you're confident in your grammar, your ability to craft a scene and characters, and the other formalities of creative writing, alpha reading isn't a requirement (as an indie. If you ever query your work to a house, it'll probably go through alpha reading).

Alpha reading is to catch grammar and syntax slips, mischaracterizations, character development that doesn't add up, excesses of adverbs and adjectives, and other craft faux-pas that the average reader wouldn't catch. Your alpha readers should pretty exclusively be other writers.

Beta reading is to gauge what your audience is thinking or feeling while they read your work. If your beta readers want to make alpha reading comments ("I don't feel like [character] would do that here"), that's A-okay, especially if you didn't have alpha readers, but that shouldn't be your chief concern with your betas. These are your audience surrogates! The job of beta readers is to tell you what they think or feel: "I like this," "I don't like this"; "This paragraph hit me hard"; "This word is confusing"; etc. If they add more words to their comments, that's A-okay ("I like this because these words go well together" or "This word is confusing--does it mean X or Y?") but not necessary! If your beta readers are your audience and not people who really get how writing works, then you should be taking any reasonings in their comments as loose, loose suggestions. Maybe those words that go well together to one reader feel, as you look at them a second time, cliche. Or perhaps the confusing nature of a word or phrase was by design. In any case, try to see your beta readers as a "live audience reaction" and not a "live reactionary critique."

One aside about alpha/beta reading: "this is bad" and "this is good" comments are toxic and should be avoided at all costs. Tell your readers to avoid these before they start writing. No good can come from these. Even "I don't like this" and "I like this" are worlds better, though still not great. But absolutely warn your readers against using objective blanket statements like "good/bad" as they read.

Now that we've laid the foundations, I'll go into my own process so hopefully everything above makes more sense.

Before I give my manuscript to beta readers, I go through 2-3 waves of revision on my own. After I finish my first draft, I wait about a month to let the dust settle, to gain at least a little emotional distance from the project so I can look at it a little more objectively. Then, I read it through, revising for content: cut this scene, add a scene here, chop paragraphs and sentences, add paragraphs and sentences, move this chapter here, make sure this character actually functions as he should in the narrative, etc. These are my macro edits.

Then I let it sit a week or two and go into line editing: punctuation and syntax, word choice, tweaking figurative language, etc. Close pruning of your work. Filing your nails after you've clipped them.

The third read-through is at a normal reading pace, as if you were a reader, to catch anything that may have slipped past during your close edits and revisions. This third read-through is likely the first time you've read your manuscript as it should be read--a book! This step, then, is a victory lap, but it's also one last troubleshoot. You might not find the errors in a computer program until you run the program. So too it is with writing.

This is a lot of work! You might want to relegate these tasks to your readers, but DO NOT!!! If you're still heavily revising and editing your work, don't let your readers to the table. This is your work and your story, and outside influence will stray it from what you want. Own this. Buckle down. Read.

Once you've got your polished draft, it's time to contact your readers! I would recommend 4-6 readers total unless you think you can handle more cooks in your kitchen at a time (I cannot). I typically just ask some of my friends to beta for me. Here's an example text:

"Hey all! I finished that book about church camp a while ago and was wondering if you'd beta read for me! Basically, I'd just need you to read through the book and make comments in the sidebar whenever you like something, don't understand something, are excited or intrigued by something, or other general impressions. You can comment however often or little you feel comfortable with--some people make one comment a chapter, others make multiple comments a page--anything works great. Really all you shouldn't comment are blanket statements of "this is bad" or "this is good," but feel free even to say stuff like "I like this" or "I don't like this." Just avoid objective language when possible.

I don't have any money for this, so sorry in advance, and if possible, I'd love for all of my beta reading to be done by the end of summer.

Let me know if you're down or not! :)"

I really have had readers comment that much and that little on my manuscripts. This is normal. If your readers are supposed to comment whenever something in their attention triggers, different readers' attentions will trigger differently.

It's also a wise idea to form your beta reading group (again, especially if you aren't doing a wave of alpha reading) as a mix of people from different backgrounds and writing experience. My church camp novel group is below:

Person A who went to church camp with me, is into poetry

Person B is into fanfiction, little church experience, mindful of social issues

Person C has little church or writing experience, mindful of social issues

Person D is very into writing, pretty into church

Person E is very into social issues and church, not a writer

I would advise to find a similar balance of people who are into your subject matter and those who aren't.

It's also helpful to give them a timeframe to read by, and make this longer than they need. I gave people ~two months for my ~60k-word novel.

Also, as a little incentive for your readers, plan something for when everyone's done! A post-beta party! Something like this will also encourage you through the process :)

Once you have your betas' comments, it's time for one last wave of revisions. Compile these comments however you like, and start tweaking. I like to have each beta's document open so I can cross-reference while I work through my own doc. And remember: these are audience comments, not writer comments (unless you explicitly brought writers on). If someone says something confuses them, that might just be their cross to bear. If none of your other betas were confused by it, or if one of your betas compliments the same section, it may be worth ignoring that first comment. Try to rule with the majority when you can, and take everything with a grain of salt. "I don't like this" doesn't mean it needs to be changed. It means you should figure out why that reader doesn't like it.

If you have any questions, my asks are open! Again, this is a pretty open concept where anything works as long as it works for you, so don't feel pressured to "get it right." But if you have any questions or suggestions, I'm all ears :)

Hope this helps!

[oc-challenges]

WELCOME TO THE OC NEW YEARS CHALLENGE!

Since the winter challenges struck out, we're crawling home. Luckily, the new years oc event is here and hopefully it will be the toast of the town. So before we all have to clean the glitter off the floor after the party, we're going to hold onto the memories of 2023 and looking forward to 2024. This event comes from @aliverse (me) and @elmunson with suggestions and feedback from the OC Challenges & Potluck discord, and it spans from the 26th of December 2023 to the 1st of January 2024. With the hope that you may never become a stranger to the oc community, let's go over the rules and then get to the challenges!

Rules

DO NOT copy others edits, if you feel someone has stolen your edits, follow these guidelines!

If you are doing crossovers, PLEASE make sure that the creator of the other oc is okay with crossovers.

If you want your post to be reblogged onto this blog, it must contain the hashtag onyc23.

Feel free to ask any questions, I promise I'll stay even when your scared, and I'm lost, and you're running away.

Everything is up to the creators interpretation, although I have tried to include some examples for help!

Have fun!

Day One: What A Tangled Web We Weave

On the first day, let's take part in one of my favorite trends this year—web weaving! Weave a captivating web incorporating quotes, images, screencaps, and more for your OC. If you're not familiar with the concept of web weaving, here's an account with a lot of examples.

Day Two: I Polish Up Real Nice

Sometimes we get tired or bored of an oc or an edit, but there still things we love about them. To reignite our love for these things, we're going to revise and revamp. Choose an oc, a story, or an edit to to refine and enhance to its fullest potential.

Day Three: In My ＿ Era

On the third day, let's reflect on the defining periods that have shaped either us or our original characters. Despite the initial impression, and my well known obsession, this is inspired by The Eras Tour but doesn't have anything to do with her.. We delve into the various eras within our OCs' lives, whether categorized by tv show season, movie, age, or any other criteria you can think of. Alternatively, share insights about the current era your in as a creator, like "in my hunger games oc era" or "in my gifset era".

Day Four: Everything New

Now that the studios have stopped being bitches, we can acknowledge all the remarkable releases of 2023 (a special shoutout to the talented individuals who contributed to their excellence). On day four, craft something inspired by a creation that emerged this year, whether it's an entirely new series or just a fresh installment in an existing one.

Day Five: Don't You Forget About Me

Though 365 days sounds like a long time, it doesn't always feel that way. In the midst of our activities this year, some things may have been unintentionally overlooked. Fortunately, there's still time to make up for it. Take this opportunity to craft something for an OC that took a backseat this year, bring to life that edit you've been yearning to create all along, or share that chapter you've been gradually working on throughout the year.

Day Six: In With The New

Let's not do out with the old, but we could certainly do in with the new. For day six, introduce a brand new oc or story you hope to be your newest muse for 2024.

Day Seven: Exchange The Experience

Tidings, tinsel, and a year of beginnings. It's start of a new chapter of our lives, especially for our original characters. Be sure to celebrate this new chapter by signing up for the OC Potluck New Years exchange and spreading joy.

[ravenstargames]

✦ Lost in Limbo Devlog #7 | 11.02.23

And November is here! 💜 This month has been packed with work for all of us and a few of irl events like birthdays, family vacations and so on! We hope October has been a good month for y'all—we have made some progress on different areas, so let's jump right into it, shall we?

For the spooky month we had Kayden work on both the Halloween Special Ravenstar icon and an art piece of our dear Master Gael enjoying the festivities! I wanted to feature this piece in the devlog as we only posted it on Twitter—my fault! I came back from a trip with my parents last saturday so everything was a bit chaotic and I didn't schedule the tumblr post T_T But here it is! We hope you like it as much as we do!

And now for the actual progress of the game, Raquel has finished Amon's CG and has been working on Envy's (we are giving you this little sneak peek!). She's also getting ready to work on Gael's, and we estimate that as soon as Gael's is finished, we'll be able to open our itch.io page! I have also been working on the itch thumbnails, covers, etc! 💜

We have also started working on the concept art of the first secondary character you'll meet in the demo. They had a sprite already, but we have improved so much it didn't sit right with us to just use the old sprite. We are redoing their design for it to be more attractive and unique!

In previous devlogs we talked about having six supporting characters in the first demo, but that changed along with the script. Don't worry—you'll meet them eventually!

The programming department (me) has been working hard to finish the last few screens of the demo, those being the Extras screen, the Gallery selection screen, each LI's individual gallery, and the credits. I have also been testing how to unlock the CGs and adjusting a few more things. This month I'm confident I'll finish the last screen left and then there will only be a few adjustments left. We'll see, hehe. I like to remain positive! 💜

The demo script is officially done and being revised by Allie, our lovely editor! As of right now, they have finished reading the script for the first time and we have already talked about having a meeting to discuss some things. We are beyond excited! I have also sent the script to a few friends who are interested in the project to gather as much feedback as I can, so hopefully I can start coding the script really really soon! 💜

In this devlog, you can tell some departments are finishing their work! Writing and Programming are coming to an end, so I (Seyl) will most likely move to other areas that need help. We are still working hard to bring you the demo around February, but we'll see how things work out for us. There's still a feeew things to do, but we hope you are as happy with our progress as we are!

See you all very soon! Remember to rest, take care of yourselves, and remember that your best and your worst looks different every day! 💜

[bayofwolves]

Rereading The Evertree

We've come to the end. I'm finally at the last book of the first arc! Hopefully I can stop explaining what these posts are now, but one more time for anyone unaware: These posts are a compilation of notes taken from my rereads of the Spirit Animals books. They include interesting details, stuff I missed and how I plan to change certain things in my retelling of the series, A Revised History of Erdas. Shall we begin?

"I know you were supposed to be your village's Rain Dancer and all, but can you lighten up on all the dancing?" I know Rain Dancers have to engage in rituals and meditate extensively before they can produce rain, but Abeke influencing the weather with her emotions is a fun idea. Imagine the ceaseless rain is brought down by her pain and sorrow over Shane, Meilin, Tarik and her family.

It definitely feels to me like Tarik was one of the Greencloak leaders, alongside Lenori and underneath Olvan. His role in training the Four Heroes themselves, him having a seat at the table with the other leaders and a place at their important meetings, et cetera... it all seems like his rank was higher than he let on in-text. (Also, my two cents: I would nominate Finn to take his place as the third Greencloak leader.)

"The image of Gerathon's smiling jaws and slithering body disappeared, replaced instead with Rollan's lopsided grin and Conor's encouraging voice, Abeke's clear laugh." I am crying.

The typos in this one are funny. Kalani's dolphin, Katoa, is referred to as female even though he was introduced as male in Against the Tide. And Devin is mistakenly called Devon.

I don't like how Kalani and Rollan made up by completely forsaking the cultural beliefs of Kalani's people. If Hundred Islanders believe something is tapu and want nothing to do with it, they shouldn't be forced to go against that. They already introduced the concept of a ceremony to rid someone or something or tapu (noa), so they could have simply had Kalani perform this for Rollan. I've been saying this, but I'll say it again.

Finn should have been the leader of the Greencloak expedition from the beginning. He already has experience with these kids, and placing him back in a position of authority would be much less likely to spark resentment than a completely new person like Dorian would. Narratively, I do think it was necessary to see more of how Tarik's death affected the Four. But logically...

The Conquerors are monitoring their own people for signs of disloyalty. Interesting.

It seems some records of Stetriolan wildlife survived after all -- Finn knows that the animal who stole their provisions is a dingo. Since it was established earlier that the Greencloaks know next to nothing about Stetriol, I would have liked it better if Abeke was one of their only sources of information. She could use whatever she learned about the continent from Shane and the Conquerors to help guide them in their quest. And she identified a dingo in Against the Tide, so she could have done the same here instead of Finn.

Strange how the party just left the dead horse behind and continued on, instead of using it for meat. Between the meat from the horse and the water bulbs Abeke found, they would have been set to last for even longer.

Abeke swinging up onto her horse's back reminds me of that scene in Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers where Legolas does that crazy mounting technique. I'm willing to bet that was done on purpose; both characters are great archers, after all.

Shane's intense reaction to Gerathon entering his mind must mean that this is the first time she has controlled him. It makes sense, given that she probably wanted to make him feel like he was the one in charge. Oh, what I would give to get inside Shane's head during this battle.

Gerathon forcing Shane to aim for Abeke specifically was definitely intentional. Her method of reading people and then turning them against the ones they love the most is the highest form of torture.

I know I've mentioned that Sundown in Rise and Fall may be my favourite chapter in all of Spirit Animals, but Duel is a strong contender, too. The contrast between the raw pain and rage of Duel and the peacefulness, the gentleness, the emotional vulnerability of Sundown is incredible. It makes sense why both are so close to my heart; they go together, hand in hand. You can't have one without the other.

Everything I read about the Four Heroes' travels is telling me that Erdas is a remarkably small planet.

Conor is sorely mistaken about the crater around the Evertree being caused by an ancient volcano. Additionally, when Abeke later sees a vision in the sky of how the world came to be, including the birth of the Evertree and the Great Beasts, there is not even a hint about the Wyrm. It makes me wonder if the authors had conceived of the Wyrm's landing at this point (or if they were purposefully covering up this plot point to surprise the readers).

Only the Great Beasts know the location of the Evertree. I wonder how it has remained hidden to the rest of the creatures on Erdas. Surely there are tribes living in southern Nilo, yes? It would be cool if the Great Beasts were able to conceal it with their combined magic, making the crater and everything inside it invisible to the human eye.

The Evertree bears fruit! Its description of "pure white" and, well, the fact that it comes from the Evertree itself makes me imagine it has magical properties of some kind. What could this fruit bestow upon you if you were to eat it? Good health? Eternal life? If humans knew how to find the Evertree, I'm sure wars would have been waged over this very question. (It could have made for an interesting storyline if Shane had managed to steal one of the fruits before he fled. Perhaps he would eat it, perhaps sell it, perhaps keep it to look at. I imagine it would stay fresh even after being plucked and never spoil.)

In ARHoE, Arax appears at the Evertree with a broken horn from when Barlow threw him off the cliff. Just a cool detail I thought to mention.

Tellun sacrificing himself is supposed to be seen as a noble act, but at a closer look it actually works against our protagonists. Kovo has made his intent to rule the whole world quite clear. While the Great Beasts dying might sadden him, it won't stop him. By taking themselves out of the battle, Tellun and the first few are leaving it all up to a bunch of kids (warriors, yes, but still kids) to bring down this age-old, godlike gorilla, instead of using their combined might to stop him and save the world they swore to protect. If Tellun had learned something from the last Great War and decided to fight this time, aided our heroes in driving Kovo into the Evertree and died in the process, it would have been so much better! On the flip side, though, it could be read as a testament to how selfish the Great Beasts actually are -- how they are shown time and time again to care more about themselves and their talismans than upholding their oath.

I would have preferred it if the brief moment when the Four Fallen appear as Great Beasts once more happened at the Evertree and not Muttering Rock. Like, if being in the presence of the tree that created them temporarily restored them to their old forms. Great Beast-sized Briggan, Uraza, Jhi and Essix fighting Kovo, Gerathon and Halawir with the rest of their brethren, a more hopeful and heartbreaking rendition of their last battle all those years ago, would have been amazing.

Something about Shane presumably fleeing further into Nilo, home of the friend he betrayed, and perhaps wandering there a while in the wake of his defeat... and many months later, Abeke restoring her bond with Uraza in Stetriol, home of the friend she forgave. Everything is connected.

Wow. This was a powerful finale -- high stakes, epic final battle, emotional climax, descriptions I could see in my mind's eye. There were quite a few things I didn't like about this one, though. Outside of what I've already mentioned: The ending should have been heartwarming, and for the most part it was, but Abeke reconciling with her abusive family soured it for me. I wish the Four had reconvened with Finn, Maya, Kalani and the rest of their party at some point, instead of them vanishing in the middle of a battle and never being heard from again. And once again, I protest the exclusion of Irtike! Aside from all that, though, The Evertree was a great read and a solid conclusion to arc one of Spirit Animals. There are a lot of loose ends to be tied, but for now, the war is over, and our protagonists can finally breathe.

It's been a good run. I plan to take a short break here, but I'm excited to turn the page and begin a new arc soon!

This is part of an ongoing series.

Wild Born | Hunted | Blood Ties | Fire and Ice | Against the Tide | Rise and Fall | The Evertree

Immortal Guardians | Broken Ground | The Return | The Burning Tide

Heart of the Land | The Wildcat's Claw | Stormspeaker | The Dragon's Eye

Tales of the Great Beasts | The Book of Shane | Tales of the Fallen Beasts

[chiscribbs]

WIP game

Rules: in a new post, post the names of all the files in your wip folder regardless of how non descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet and tell us about it!

[OOF, okay- I can't possibly list everything in my wips folder here, so I'll just put the most recent (and hopefully this will push me to finish them). Most of my titles are pretty straight-forward, but some of them might be a bit cryptic if you don't know the abbreviations, I guess (lol). Alrighty, let's go!]

Art WIPS:

GA Character ConArt (ROTTMNT)

Birthday24

Calder R Design Sheet

APT Sketches

ROTTMNT GA AU - Beats

Sona Concepts

GA TAC - Interact01

GA TAC - Plot01

GA TAC - Interact02

GA TAC - asks01

Disconnected ConArt (ROTTMNT)

Human Designs ConArt (ROTTMNT)

GA Chara Profiles (ROTTMNT)

SoPMeme (ROTTMNT)

Disconnected Comic A101

Writing WIPS:

GA AU Snippets

Grown Apart AU - Outline (ROTTMNT)

Shades of Purple - Notes (ROTTMNT)

Disconnected Beats (ROTTMNT)

Collab Rise Proj. Notes

Disconnected AU - Planning (ROTTMNT)

Apoc. Future HC (Rise)

Annalise (Overview)

The Story of the First King

30-90 - Storyboard (Rise)

Disconnected AU - Beats

Short Donnie+April Scene Script

Warrior of the Mind

Character Profiles (revised)

Patient-0 (Story Concept)

...aaaaaand that's all I'm gonna share for now. Ask away! And feel free to do this yourself, if you feel like it - I got it from @phoebepheebsphibs. ❤

[ri-writes-if]

Progress Update — 30/04/24

The work on the chapter is going strong. I think I'm 60% done with the first draft. It has 50K words; I still will need to add a lot of variables/flavor text and I'll get to that when I'm fully done with the first draft and start doing revisions.

All first personal scenes with the five are finished. I’m onto the second scenes with them and the second visit into the Abyss. It will be quite different this time!

We will also be reaching 1K followers in the foreseeable future (still can't comprehend such a number!), so I'm already thinking what I'll be writing as a thank you (besides the chapter). I'm leaning towards the characters' focused short stories, with romance or without, and I'll either choose the idea for them myself or let you decide. If anyone has any requests, that's it (you can send it to the askbox).

I’ll write another update at the end of the next month. Hopefully, I’ll be done with the first draft by then and deep into the editing stage. Have a good week, everyone! 💛

[wipbigbang]

Potential Start Date Of The 2024 WIPBB Round: May 1st.

Okay. So aside from a few minor details, I got most of the stuff I need to take care of for housing done (I have lost my wallet so now I need a new ID card and Social Security card and that takes about three weeks...hopefully I can get it on Monday), so I can start getting some time online to researching low-income housing and working on advertising for WIPBB. The reason I didn't do it today was I had to factory reset my laptop because it didn't take its newest update/wasn't connecting to the internet/was stuck on March 22nd as the date.

I'm going to try and do the advertising set-up this weekend and run it on a queue of 30 posts a day, with 15 advertisements and 15 filler posts. I think I have enough in my drafts for that. I'm going to not worry about tagging fully for the fandoms I don't know as much (I'll do main characters and ships portmanteaus if I can) but yes. Advertising will start tomorrow, the revised rules and schedule will go up on Tumblr and Dreamidth, and I'll set up the form for sign-ups this weekend as well, even though they won't start until May 1st.

[choicesbookclub]

In the heart of Cordonia's grand ballroom, an eclectic cast of characters gathers, their lives interwoven as a result of a shocking turn of events. Trystan Thorne, the exiled prince with a taste for mystery, Olivia Nevrakis, the snarky Duchess skilled with daggers, Tyril Starfury, the noble elf Lord with magical abilities, Amalas, the enigmatic spy queen, and Prince Hamid, the charming and formal imperial prince. Amidst the grand party of the birth of King Liam's third heir, Princess Ariana, the joyous celebration is broken by a piercing scream, a dead body, and a room full of royal suspects.

Join the adventure starting July 21st and see if you can uncover the secrets of Shadows and Deceptions: A Royal Murder Mystery.

This fic is approximately 3K* words but will be released into several smaller sections beginning July 21 and ending on July 24 (National and International Private Investigators Day). Each section will give you a little bit of the information to hopefully give you time to analyze the clues yourself and decide if you can figure out the mystery before the end!

I am thinking about doing a giveaway for anyone who participates!!!

Please let me know if you are interested in participating in this event, I'll start a tag list if you are. You do not need to be participating in our Crimes of Passion Book Club to join in, especially since it includes characters from numerous choices books.

Also, if you have ideas for other events, games, quizzes, questions, anything else we an do to celebrate National Private Investigation Day as it relates to the book club, please let me know!

*It's 5K as of this update, but I only completed the second draft. The length might increase as I revise it. 🙈