#i had the biggest difficulty with this drawing

[alicenpai]

i love...wanpee...........🍊🍶🧡💚

[pixies--dust]

I’ve either had the smartest idea ever or the worst idea

[katelynnwrites]

kisses to my exes | laura freigang

warnings: ~

word count: 562

summary: without asking laura, you decide to do what you think is best for her. except that you couldn't have made a more wrong decision.

a/n: first thing i've written in a long time 🫠

really, you don’t know what you had been thinking, opening the door for your ex like that.

after all, you’re the one who broke up with her.

but laura was standing out there, in the pouring rain and her clothes were already getting soaked. that silly yellow umbrella she’d been holding had done little to nothing to help shield her from the storm.

now you stare at her, unable to tear your eyes away.

she’s shaking a little in her cream sweater and jeans, clenching something tightly in her fist.

her voice is hoarse when she speaks, ‘you broke up with me…and i have every right to be upset. really upset. i was so hurt and awfully confused because up until that moment, i thought we were doing good together.’

you swallow with some difficulty, eyes finally darting down to the ground.

‘then syd said something while we were in paris. she said that you didn’t strike her as a bad person and maybe you broke up with me out of some misguided notion that you were helping me somehow.’

the pain in her voice is evident, the raw edge of it only growing as she continues, ‘i thought she was making no sense. until i remembered something you once said in passing. that you felt like you were holding me back.’

‘laura please. let it go.’ you whisper because she’s stepping forward and getting too close now.

the german woman ignores you, coming right into your personal space.

‘so it’s true.’

‘i’m sorry.’ you murmur, already resigning yourself to her hating you.

your ex must read the thought on your face because she shakes her head with a scoff.

‘stupid. you’re still so stupid because how can you not see?’

‘see what?’ you weakly say.

‘that all of this-’ she shoves what she’d been holding into your hands.

‘-means nothing without you!’

in your hands is her bronze medal from the olympics. you stare at it rather dizzily.

‘oh.’

‘oh.’ you repeat, swaying a little on your feet.

vaguely, you register laura’s mouth moving but you can’t hear anything.

not till she grips your arms firmly to steady you. the harsh pressure forces the world to come back into focus, just in time for you to hear her say, ‘idiot. my misguided self sacrificial idiot. the biggest idiot i’ve ever known and yet i love you.’

‘you love me?’ you faintly ask.

‘never stopped.’ she breathes, ocean coloured eyes meeting yours with an unblinking intensity.

with a rush of emotion, you practically fall forward into her arms, ‘forgive me schatz. i’m so sorry. i love you, i promise.’

laura’s arms were practically waiting because she draws you close immediately, ‘already have. swear you’ll never do that again okay? there are other ways to show that you love me.’

right there and then you decide that you never will do such a thing again. the blonde is entrusting her heart to you again and you’ll be damned if you mess this second chance up.

the dampness of her clothes don’t register, all that matters is her familiar, solid and all encompassing warmth. the months apart have not impacted how she feels like home.

as she said, there are other, less foolish ways to show her that you love her and you are intent on showing her each and every one of them.

German Translation:

schatz - sweetheart

[teddybeartoji]

mickey i need ur thoughts on jjk men (esp satoru) helping out and showing love for their partner with autism

like uuuuuuuu i was thinking abt toru keeping a pair of his sunglasses with him hust in case youre visually overwhelmed. ORRRR him teleporting you to a quieter space when he notices that theres too many complex sounds that are upsetting you.

ughhhhh like imagine one of them remembering that pressure is soothing for you and js puts their full body weight whenever you come back home from a bad day.

GUHHHH them keeping candles of your favorite scents and alwaya makes sure to keep your safe foods stocked up whenever you visit

OH NOW I'M REALLY KISSING YOU GRAY MY BELOVED!!! THIS IS SUCH A WONDERFUL LITTLE ASK WAHHH I GOT SO GIDDY

i agree with everything you said!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! now i know that every single one of them would do anything and everything to help you out!! but i did pick some things out that really made me think of them!!! anyway hello my fellow autistic ppl this one is for you all i love you very very much<333

satoru 100% carries extra sunglasses with him and i think he'd actually carry his black blindfold aswell. obvs he's not gonna make you wear it as you're moving through public but he'd lead you to a quiet spot and then just let you have a moment. he's either sitting you down next to him or he's holding you against his chest, protecting you from every single ray of light that could possibly make it any worse for you. bc honestly... sunglasses are sometimes just not enough for me personally. i've had my fair share of times where i just have to cover my eyes with my hands bc it just hurts so much.

we all know that satoru is a big yapper but i know he needs his quiet time too. i think he would love to just Do Nothing with you in complete silence. maybe you're both just taking a nap together, maybe you're just laying in the sun out in the park. maybe you're resting your head on his lap, maybe he's resting his on yours. it's all just about gentle touches and looks.

he loves it when you ramble and he's literally your biggest hypeman!! he's ready to spend all of his fucking money on you and any fucking equipment you could ever need. you want a new game or a new console? they're both already waiting for you at home. you want to start drawing? he has already ordered a tablet for you to practise on. you want to get into photography? he's buying you a camera and three different lenses. he wants you to be happy and he wants you to be able to do everything you could ever possibly want. he's just the sweetest guy ever i am crying rn actually:((

he's the best little autism bf btw. bc he gets it. he understand. he knows. he knows all about the light sensitivity. he knows all about the difficulty of eating "normal" foods, always munching on candy and snacks bc that's just easier. he knows about the fidgeting, he knows about the innate need to have somebody lay on top of you. he knows about the rambling and the hyperfixations. he knows about the confusing social clues and the ridiculous differences of speaking tones. he knows about the eye-contact problems - whether you're someone, who struggles to keep it or you're someone, who can't tear your eyes from everybody else just like him - he understands! he knows about being straighforward and speaking exactly what's on your mind and then being scolded for it. he knows about Not Really Understanding personal space. he truly does understand and he's ready to do anything and everything to help you cope with Life.

toji is theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee best weighted blanket and i stand by that. he's so fucking huge and he's so fucking heavy - he's perfect. he's gonna tease you about it but just a little!! you tug him by his hand and he gladly takes his place on top of you bc let's be honest... he's gonna love it, too. he's protecting you! he's taking care of you in a way that doesn't need words! he's trying his best! and if this is what you need - he is going to do it!!!

also with the light and sound sensitivity - he'd gladly pull you into his chest and cover your eyes with his big ass palm. and it would feel soo comforting wtf. the weight of it and just the fact that it's him?? fuck, i know it'd be so good. or your ears. he's placing them on your ears, muffling the overwhelming sounds while cradling you and wahh:(( he'd make you feel so safe.

suguru and shoko and parallel play. it's amazing. they will read a book while you're gaming. or suguru's painting while you're reading. or shoko's having her morning smoke and coffee while you're doing your skincare (i'm sorry i just can't get out the beautiful picture of her sitting on the little windowsill of your bathroom, a cig inbetween her fingers and a cup of coffe in her hand. no words are being spoken - it's just the sound of the birds outside, the water running and her gulping down her little espresso. thank you for listening.)

or suguru's doing his little home workout routine as you're crocheting. or it's you and shoko just laying on your shared bed scrolling on your phones in silence. could literally be whatever. they're gonna glance at you every once in a while, they're gonna ask how you're doing, how you're feeling and then they're gonna give you a tender smile and a kiss on your cheek and continue on. i'm melting just thinking about it.

suguru is obviously also going to be there for you if you have sleeping problems. he understands them all too well and he's pulling out all the stops to help you fall asleep (and himself). he's gonna make the tea one night and you'll make it the next night. it's equal. maybe you're also going to take a lovely little bath together, you'll giggle exhaustedly as you both slur out very stupid jokes and after that you'll both climb under the covers and take turns in listening to each others heartbeats and (hopefully) fall asleep.

shoko and sarcasm. she definitely makes a lot of sarcastic jokes and comments and she'll be a bit confused at first when you just blurt out the good-old "i don't know whether you're joking or not". but i think she'd find it super cute. she'll still occasionally make the comments but she'll make sure to check in whether you got it or not. i think she would tease but she'd do it very lightly (she definitely cackles when satoru doesn't understand sarcasm though lmao but you're her baby and she doesn't want you to feel bad). and i think she would love if you made terrible sarcastic jokes. like she would laugh until there are tears prickling in her eyes and you'd still be like ????? i don't understand and then she'd laugh even more. she's so cute.

kento is always ready to cook for you. he understands how hard it can be, how overwhelming it can be. he doesn't mind it a bit. i truly think this would be good for the both of you! he loves to cook and it's such a relaxing thing for him, and it's even better now that he knows he can see you fill your cheeks with delight. he needs you to eat well and he will make sure you do!

i also think that he's so patient with you and he'd never ever make you feel like you have to speak with him. he buys little plushies that you can turn inside-out, a pink side and a blue side - indicating how you're doing on the Speaking department that day. and these tiny interactive pins and you can express whatever you're feeling without ever speaking a word. he never pressures you in any way, always just reward you with more reassurance and a kiss to your temple.

he's ALSO the best listener. like he never talks over you. never. not even on an accident???? it's a superpower i think. he let's you talk at your own pace and he just stares at you with very soft eyes:((

wait i also think that shoko, utahime and yuki would gladly speak for you. in a sense of if you have social anxiety or you stutter or anything like that, they'd easily take up the task of ordering for you! they literally have all of your orders remembered and everything.

[mamaspeckles]

Hey my lovely! So there was some difficulties when working with the fic so here is a fixed version! Mama apologizes!

Velvet x Fem Reader SFW And NSFW Headcanons

CHARACTER IS 18+

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

SFW

-She was undoubtedly the first to develop feelings for you. Despite being a mega star alongside her brother, you weren't initially fazed by all her glitz and glam. At first, you were in denial that a famous pop star with numerous hit sensations would be interested in someone of a lower level like you. "I like you, Y/N! I've always had!" "I know... I knew from the beginning, but why?"

-Being her loving girlfriend doesn't guarantee she'll be all soft with you. She's had a bad attitude since childhood. If she dislikes something you do, expect a glare or a warning grip on your shoulder if you're beside her.

-You and her keep your relationship subtle and private, mainly because her fans crush on her and find her attractive. She believes it's not just her music that draws them in, but also her seductive and attractive aura. Only close family knows about the two of you, and it will remain that way until she finds the perfect time to reveal your relationship to the world.

-She throws her credit card on your lap if she sees you eyeing things you want, but she subtly judges your taste in fashion, mainly because you don't wear gold like her. "Oh, you want that? Okay, put it on my card, babe."

-Velvet's only pet names for you are "babe" and "hon"; she doesn't go overboard on nicknames. However, if you manage to make her truly mad, she'll refer to you as "bro."

-Velvet definitely bought those tap and buzz couple bracelets just to bug you, and she freaks out if you aren't wearing them. One time, you were asleep at 4 in the morning, and she full-blown spams the bracelet, waking you up.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

NSFW

-velvet is a very bold girl and isn’t afraid to say straight forward things to you “Shut up and take your pants off …I want to watch you touch yourself for me.”

-Sex doesn’t affect velvet. The only problem she has is the fact that her body will be covered in sweat when she’s done- She likes showering after. If you want to join her she doesn’t mind- if you are looking forward to her giving you after she won’t do anything to help you unless you tell her what you want.

-During sex, romance isn’t the biggest part of it for her. She mostly likes it to be strictly pleasure-based. She already shows you love in wholesome manner why show it with sex?.

-Velvet LOVESSSS seeing you beg. Anything that sets a power dynamic in general. Get on your knees for her and she’ll be ready whenever you are.

-She doesn’t make too much noise. Maybe a gasp and an mini groan every once in awhile. Vocals aren’t her pride. She doesn’t see the reason to force out noises for somebody else’s mental pleasure. - she does love hearing you cry in pain though..

-She owns toys…a lot of toys. Mostly for sex with you. She strictly uses them on you if you want to.

-she has dirty thoughts of fucking you senseless with a strap on but she doesn’t act on it.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

MY HANDS HURT UGH😭I HOPE YOU LIKED THIS (please like it)

[askagamedev]

Would you agree that one of the only ways Concord stood out from its competition was through its character designs?

Going just off their clothing, their color palettes are hideous.

Concord really needed better character designs. When the player experience is greatly changed by the character or role the player chooses to play, the way that character or role is played must be clearly conveyed through its visual design. I thought Concord actually played quite well - several of their developers were former Bungie developers and Concord's gameplay was very much like early Destiny PVP. The game performed well and the characters played in fairly interesting ways once you started playing. The major difficulty was figuring out how a character played from how they looked.

For example, each of these characters from Samurai Shodown 2 really conveys what kind of gameplay a player can expect at a glance. One is a mid-range character who excels at keeping opponents at the right distance. One is a very fast attacker with short range and high combo potential. One is a heavy and slow heavy hitter. Earthquake, first, is clearly the slow and heavy hitter - his size is the biggest tipoff. Huge muscles, huge belly, and an extremely large weapon that can reach. Nakoruru, second, is the fast, short range fighter. She's got a hawk, a very fast animal, with her and she's got no visible weapon. The third character, Ukyo, is the mid-range character with his sheathed sword and sword hand ready to draw. It's immediately apparent that he's ready to draw that sword in a blink of an eye on anyone in range.

Here are three Concord characters - Daw, Duchess, and Vale. Among these three, there's a healer, a sniper, and an explosives expert. Is it easy to tell who's who at a glance? I would argue that it really isn't. The first character has a long rifle and goggles which suggests a sniper, but the white clothing and stylized red crosses suggest healing as well. The second character doesn't really fit the visual profile of any of the roles - judging by the size and bulkiness of the character's clothing, I would have thought he was a front-line tank of some kind instead, but I could see maybe that character being an explosives expert if there were any actual visible explosives. The third character's visual design doesn't say much at all - she looks like an old superhero with a gun. There are no real visual cues as to which role she fills. These characters are, in order, sniper, healer, and explosives expert respectively. This lack of visual clarity severely hurts the interest of anyone thinking about picking the game up because they aren't immediately drawn to a character or role they could be interested in.

From what I've gathered, one of the big issues during development with the character design was, as I suspected, design by committee. When the leadership wants things a certain way, those of us in the trenches must acquiesce. I've had situations where I've been assigned a particular task and thought it was a bad idea. I voiced my issues to the leads respectfully, I was overruled and told to do what they said, and I delivered what they asked. I know of another developer who got too close to a particular feature he worked really hard on and threw a massive tantrum when that feature was cut. That unfortunate dev was fired for his behavior. As much as those on the outside might think that we get to do whatever we want during development, individual contributors really are beholden to the decisions of our leadership.

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[amnesique]

Hi sweetheart, can you write more about nicholas leister? maybe something very romantic and fluff

i'll always love you — nicholas leister

you begged nick so many times to watch a romantic movie with you, that many times that in the end he agreed. and now you were both on his bed watching the movie projected on the wall while you let your head fall on his shoulder.

but nick's comments did not hesitate to appear.

"how come they're already singing?" he sighs into your hair, reaching his hand behind your back to hug you closer to him. "it's just the beginning of the movie!" he continued dramatically. "we don't even know who the main characters are!"

you whispered to him to shut up and watch the movie and he barely resisted to keep his mouth shut, regretting letting you pick a musical.

less than a few minutes later you heard him comment something about the traffic that had been in the movie and you nudged him lightly with your elbow, chuckling, making him chuckle in turn, before he shut up again.

when the characters start singing again, he rests his head on yours, ready to give up all his patience, whispering, "does they really need to sing every god damn time?"

you ignored him and paid attention to the movie. and because he was bored, he started absently drawing circles in your palms, making you smile a subtle smile.

further on in the film, after nick had fallen asleep for a short time. and when he woke up, the characters were having a heated discussion, being at the table.

"did they really start arguing over nothing?” he whispered to you, now somewhat attentive to the screen, and you approved with a nod.

"i wouldn't have said that," nick finds himself saying, in a very serious tone, and you start giggling. you knew that he always did his best to support you in everything, and for him to have said anything negative about your dream was impossible. he would always be your biggest supporter.

"i know, love," you whispered back, letting your head fall back onto his shoulder and he rested his head on top of yours, wrapping his arms tighter around your waist.

seeing the characters bicker over nothing, when they could have very easily communicated and worked it out, annoyed nick. "can we watch something else?" he murmurs like a disgruntled child into your hair. "we had agreed to a romance movie, not this kind of a drama."

"it is a romance movie!" you said with a smile on your face and turn around to face him as you found his insistence adorable.

he raised his eyebrows and pointed at the screen where there was a montage of how badly the characters were doing without each other. "is that what you call a romance movie?"

"it's realistic!"

"yeah sure. then people like that really need some communication courses." he countered, rolling his eyes, annoyed at the movie.

you giggled softly as you leaned forward, with difficulty because of his arms around you, and paused the movie, and then you turned back to him to take his face in your hands and place a quick kiss on his lips.

you pulled back and looked at him with a smile on your face, admiring how handsome he was and feeling lucky that he was yours. "then what movie would you like us to watch?" you asked him.

he tried for a few seconds to think, but then a playful grin appeared on his lips.

"what?"

he grinned, placing his hands on either side of your waist to lift you a bit above and move you so that you could wrap your legs around the both sides of his body. "maybe we should make a movie," he suggested.

you weighed the situation for a few moments and smiled, biting slightly your bottom lip involuntarily, "ok," you agreed. "let's make a movie."

[mumblers-lobby]

Hey mumb 😊

Dropping in to say thanks for playing the GO Ask Game! How about question... 10, 14, 22 and 34?

Have a great day

OMG HIII THANK YOU FOR THESE! They're really fun >:3

10. What traits do you share with Crowley?

looks like a badass but is a soft cotton ball with people they trust lol (physically I share the legendary one-eyebrow-rise default face with him lmao- and I so have trends of dyed red hair and the manbun 2009 hairstyle lol and I ware sun glasses outdoors! and I can hipnotice people with my eyes/hj)

14. Who is your favorite background character from S2?

If you mean background character as in secondary character then It's Shax!!! She's a baddieee I love her so much!! I love all of her styles and she does work as a good Crowley replacement! She is mean and manipulative but she's also really silly at times and I LOVEE that

22. Bildad The Shuhite: hot or not?

Y E S

34. Have you made connections with other people in the Good Omens fandom, here or elsewhere?

YES THE GOOD OMENS FANDOM BECAME MY NEW FAMILY FJKSDNGKS I love every person that became friends with me, I still have some of the friendships I did when I got into it!!

I think the first real friends I made because of it was in a discord server when EVERY got leaked (picture 2 was for my friend Trenton, he did that crochet sweater and I wanted to draw Azi on it <3!! and picture 3 was when one of those friends called Dory make the big effort to send me GO official merch and I cried about it nkjfgn)

Then my biggest group happen when S2 came out, I hosted a stream for over 200 on our discord server at the time. (picture 1 is the group of friends we had at that moment, I still have most of them in my life!) I found my people there and they helped me out a lot 🥺🥺💖

I also found lovely people here and on twitter!! Big artists that started following me and people I admired became my friends /sobs (pix i'm talking about you KJFSDNF) but over all it was, and keeps being, the best community I've been part of and I don't plan on leaving any time soon >:3 we stay strong in the face of difficulties and hug each other!

[vintagegeekculture]

So even though it's kind of the Marvel line, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby didn't really quite reignite Superheroes, the Flash was around a good bit before. But nothing would have been the same without Marvel breathing new life into the genre. What state do you think comics would have been in if instead of writing the Fantastic Four Stan Lee had quit to go sell used cars? Was it inevitable someone would have paired with Jack to do it? What would comics and pop culture look like now instead?

I'm a Marvel True Believer first and foremost, but I think you're underselling how enormously successful Justice League of America was from 1960-1969. Marvel books, especially Fantastic Four (at the time, the "flagship" Marvel comic of the 1960s) regularly topped the polls as favorites for the serious fans in 60s fanzines like Alter Ego, but they were not top sellers until 1970, when Marvel acquired their own distributor. Prior to that, Marvel published their books through DC, who made sure Marvel's runs were lower. They also limited the amount of books that Marvel could print, which is why books like Tales of Suspense had two characters in them (Captain America and Iron Man shared a book). As soon as Marvel got their own distribution, they pushed DC out of the top selling lists.

Justice League of America was a huge success when it came out, for a reason that may surprise people: nostalgia. Essentially a revival of the 1940s heroes, it was a huge hit because the adult audience bought it.

It's interesting how nostalgia itself as a cultural concept with actual power is a kind of recent phenomenon. Prior to the 1980s, there were huge volumes of books aimed at old people like Hallmark's "Remember When?" books.

I do think the single greatest what-if of the Marvel Age is one you didn't mention: what if Joe Maneely had lived to work on the Marvel Universe?

Whenever Stan Lee was asked who the greatest artist he ever worked with was, his response was unexpected: Joe Maneely, a name that even some serious fans of the Silver Age may find unfamiliar. But Joe Maneely worked with Stan extensively in the 1950s in Marvel's non-superhero comics like Black Knight and Yellow Claw. He was a beautiful artist, a professional who was always punctual, and even more so, he understood and developed the "language" of comics, and had an even better relationship with Stan than Jack Kirby did, who, by all accounts, was a genius artist but was, interpersonally, a difficult, sullen wound collector who had difficulty keeping friendships (as his Captain America co-creator Joe Simon can attest; he and Jack had a "breakup" long before he ever met Stan).

Meanwhile, contrast all those interpersonal problems with the difficult to get along with Kirby, with how Joe Maneely used to draw him and Stan holding hands and walking through the park together and so on.

The downside is that Joe Maneely died at a young age, 1958, in a tragic accident where he fell between railway cars, all 3 years before Fantastic Four. He was the biggest Atlas-era Marvel artist to never work on the Marvel Universe.

A Marvel Universe with Joe Maneely as the major creative force alongside Stan Lee is a change so deep and fundamental I have no idea what it even would look like.

[wanderingelvis]

Reader has major wardrobe malfunction with her bikini bottoms in public. Reader whispers her problem to Elvis. His eyes go wide as he tries to figure out what to do about the problem. Maybe reader is trying to hold them to cover herself and elvis tries to fix them but he makes it worse and they just fall off. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t slightly enjoying the situation as he helps shield reader from others

I love this! I'm picturing Blue Hawaii Elvis for this! 🌺

🧚🏻 Masterlist 🧚🏻 word count: 1,838

pairing: elvis presley x f!reader

You and Elvis weren't dating but you both had unspoken feelings for each other. Right now, the official line was that you were just both good friends and co-workers.  You were an up and coming actress, on the rise and getting more notoriety and bigger roles. You were pleased that all your hard work in the movie business had paid off but you were becoming increasingly reclusive, wary to trust a lot of people after pictures of you changing on set had leaked to gossip magazines as well as things you'd said in confidence to various people had spread like wildfire. It was the ugly side of fame, one that you hadn't really been very prepared for.

It was the ugly side that Elvis knew all too well. He too, struggled to trust many people other than his Mafia and a few other close and very personal friends.  That's how you grew closer to him, anything you and Elvis spoke about was always kept between you two, even if it was just something as simple as what you were planning on having for lunch.  Elvis' friendship and company was always very welcome and the chemistry between you two was palpable - even the studios and audiences had noticed it. Everyone loved you two together, the way you'd bounce off each other in a conversation, or quietly giggle together between sets or the on-screen interactions that would have audiences desperate for more. You and Elvis had been contracted by Paramount Pictures for a three-movie deal, where both of you would be the main protagonists, falling in and out of love, three times over. You didn't mind, Elvis was the biggest star on the planet and to be chosen to be his leading lady was an incredible honour.  Your latest project was set in Hawaii, on tropical beaches where you and Elvis currently found yourselves, in between takes. You were dressed in a cute bikini number, bright yellow which complimented the glowing tan you had. The only difficulty of the whole get-up was the strings that kept coming undone, no matter how many times you tied them, tighter and tighter.  It was about the seventh time that you fumbled about with the bikini bottoms strings, undoing them and pulling at them again. This time didn't quite work in your favour however, as the elasticine snapped back on your fingers, tearing the threads and breaking the fabric, causing the string to completely fall apart and snap.

"...Fuck." You whispered, your cheeks beginning to burn up as you tried to wrangle as much of the string as you possibly could, but the bikini bottom was snapped and there was no way you'd be able to keep it tied.

You began to chew your lip cutely, looking up and around for the only person you really trusted to help you in such a vulnerable position.

You shuffled as subtly as you could towards Elvis who was stood near the back of the beach, studying his script. You felt embarrassed and humiliated, but desperate, knowing you needed his help.  You lightly tapped his arm, not wanting to draw anyone else's attention your way. Elvis turned, raising an eyebrow and looking at you coyly as his eyes raked up and down your  bikini-clad body.  You gestured for him to lean down, which he did, allowing you to step on your little tippy-toes and lean up to whisper into his ear, shyly. "My bikini, um, my bikini bottom is broken I think." You said with a wobbly, soft voice. Elvis drew back from you, seeing your hands, balled up as little fists, trying to keep the material together and in one-piece so that you wouldn't end up flashing anyone. A smirk appeared on Elvis' face, that shit-eating grin that would make you roll your eyes.  Elvis took his large hand, brushing his fingers across your bare thigh to move your hands ever so slightly, so that he could inspect what was wrong. Tingles travelled through you as his hand grazed your hot skin, you swallowed as you looked down at your feet, trying to keep your composure. Elvis leaned back down to you, pushing your hair gently over your shoulder, tucking it behind the shell of your ear which sent shivers down your spine. "Baby, if you want me to take off your clothes, all ya needed t'do was ask." He whispered, cooly. You jolted back, giving him a light smack on his upper arm. "Elvis, no, I need your help!" You lightly scolded, making Elvis chuckle fondly down to you. 

"M'nervous it's gonna snap, I can't shoot the next scene like this." You said quietly and Elvis instantly felt bad for messing with you, sensing how worried you were.   "I'm sorry doll, I'm only teasin' ya. Now, let's see what's wrong, hey?" He said as you nodded eagerly.  Elvis knelt down slightly, his eye line perfectly aligned with the side of your hip, dangerously close to your crotch. Reluctantly, you let go of your bikini bottom straps, allowing Elvis' large hands to take them from you. 

He tried to you tie them back up again, but after snapping, there just wasn't enough string, causing the string to pull and pinch your soft skin, making you yelp and wince a little in pain. 

"Shit, sorry honey." Elvis hushed, gently kissing the spot on your hip, smiling up at you. You couldn't help but blush and smile back.  Elvis really had a number on you. He was gentle, protective and caring but he was also powerful, dominant and brash, and you were completely obsessed. You found that he was the person you'd always turn to whenever you were at work with him. You wouldn't confide in your assistant, any of the costume team that you used to be very close to, no, it was only Elvis.  You'd actually spoken to him about it a bit. You'd shared your anxieties and fear of this growing fame, and only he could really relate and understand where you were coming from, and he helped. He'd promised you that he would keep all your secrets, even if he teased you about them.  "Hm.." Elvis mused quietly, glancing at your bikini bottom, where a small, wet patch of arousal had formed. The intense mix of excitement and nerves must've gotten to you as Elvis noticed the slick coating the elastane material.

"What?" You asked, not yet catching onto what Elvis had spotted. "Been into the sea for a dip recently, sweet thing?" Elvis asked.

"Um, no, not since the first scene." You shook your head, a little confused. "Why?"

Elvis smirked. "Nothin' darlin', just that these lil' panties you got on would suggest otherwise." Elvis said.  You're cheeks turned a deep shade of pink, realising what Elvis had meant. Your mind had just drifted as Elvis touched you innocently, you couldn't help it but by God, you were embarrassed now. "I, um, I-" You stammered, feeling like your whole body was on fire. You held your cheeks in your hands, trying to gather your composure. 

Elvis rubbed your thigh soothingly in an attempt to reassure you. He wasn't stupid, he knew the effect that he had on you and he loved it. He wouldn't humiliate you though, he just loved to make you squirm and get all flustered and hot, he just wished he could do it in the privacy of his bedroom.

"S'okay honey," Elvis cooed. "Y'know, this happens to a lot of the ladies I talk to," Elvis teased you, knowing he was being an ass. "Shut up, Elvis." You giggled as he winked up at you, making you feel better.

Elvis kept fiddling with the straps, muttering profanities as the elastic would snap his fingers every now and then until he cursed a little louder and a sudden breeze could be felt across your lower area. You froze, knowing exactly what had happened. Elvis' eyes widened as he was staring straight at you, bare and exposed.  Panicked, you crouched down to Elvis' level, cowering over with your legs tightly shut. Your heart was pounding as you looked around, praying that no one from set would turn around, fortunately, Elvis was shielding you as he was crouched in front of you, but if he moved, you'd be done for.  "Fuck, baby, I don't know what happened, they just snapped and dropped." Elvis said.

Elvis sighed, cooing at you as he noticed the pool of tears forming in your eyes. "Oh baby, it's okay." Elvis said, trying to comfort you. 

"No one can see me, Elvis, I swear, I can't risk anyone seeing me like this, please." You said, your voice cracking.  Suddenly, a usually confident, composed and bubbly girl was vulnerable, nervous and desperate for Elvis' help. "Here," Elvis said, unbuttoning his shirt. Your eyes widened at his bare chest before you averted your eyes, quickly wiping the tears from your eyes. 

He held the shirt open in his arms for you to crawl into, wrapping it around you lovingly, as if it were a towel and you'd just had a bath. He adjusted it ever so slightly to fit your frame and completely cover your most intimate areas. He tied a knot into the side of it, making sure that it wouldn't drop from your frame as soon as you got up. 

Elvis uttered little whispers of reassurance to you as he fixed his shirt around you, trying to soothe your racing mind, praising you for staying so calm and letting him help you. His words helped, they comforted you and helped you concentrate and level your breathing. "Now, I'm goin' to pick you up and take you to my trailer, okay little lady?" Elvis said, waiting for you to nod, letting him know you were listening. "And if anyone says anythin', we're goin' to tell 'em that you twisted that little ankle of yours, okay?" "Okay." You nodded, liking the idea. "Good girl, c'mon now." Elvis said, scooping you up in his arms, bridal style with his shirt covering your modesty. "I could get used to holdin' you like this, y'know?" Elvis said, making you giggle furiously and instantly feeling better. "There's that smile I've been missin'." Elvis said fondly, starting to head towards his trailer. "EP! We're nearly ready for you!" The director yelled. "Just takin' Y/N to the nurses station, she gotta nasty twist in her ankle." Elvis called back, making you giggle again, thankful that you had Elvis. It wasn't long before the pair of you arrived back at the trailer with Elvis placing you down gently on the couch.  "Thank you, Elvis." You said softly, breathing a sigh of relief, trying not to let the embarrassment of the whole event get to you too much. "Are you gonna tell anyone about this?" You asked quietly, nervous that you'd become a funny anecdote at a Memphis Mafia dinner. "Our secret, little one." Elvis said, holding out his pinky finger for you to take. "Our secret." You agreed, the both of you staring at each other, knowing that things had changed between you both now. But really, neither of you minded. Not one bit.

[eternalfrowning]

Hi!! So I've been following your blog since middle school and it's TG days, and now I'm in university for art and you've always been one my biggest art inspirations and muse! So I know this sounds crazy and maybe jealousy-filled and envious, but sometimes I feel like I can never ever reach your level? Like aside from the technical aspects, the way you have mastery over your style, approach to color, "soul" that embodies your art... There's something in it that makes you feel emotion.

Meanwhile I feel like a robot who can only draw and paint technically well, but my art doesn't inspire feelings. It's always the same things with no variation and I'm always scared of getting out of the box and being truly free. Like I'm simply not creative. It's just that no matter how much I improve in art, I feel like it means nothing at the end at all because there's these hard limits regarding creativity set upon me. Even in university, my classmates have so many creative designs but nothing ever comes up in my mind. Do you ever feel like that? How do you get over it?

Hello Anon ! I'll begin by saying thank you so much for your message, and for trusting me with your words and raw feelings about your art journey ; i hope i can be a good listener here, and help you a little..!! im honored my blog has been a part of your path for so long, and still be a place you like today.

(It's a pretty long reply so i cut here!)

Now, to reply directly to your last questions: yes ! I do/did feel like this ! And the 'how to get over it' has no clear answer, it's a personal one, but all these feelings are natural i think, but not absolute, it goes away, it comes back, it becomes minuscule.

It's interesting because what you describe liking about my drawings, are things that is/used to be such difficulty for me, and such fears !! Colors are still a real struggle, and, i'm opening my heart here, because you were kind enough to open yours, i'm always deeply scared my drawing doesn't say anything, i fear it holds no soul, i worry it makes the viewer feel nothing. It's always something in the back of my mind. And i feel no expertise in my techniques! So your enjoyment about my drawings is a very pleasant surprise to me, and a tiny slap in the back of my skull that says : 'chill sometimes!!!! it's okay, you're doing great!!' , and, i hope i won't sound impolite, i'm saying this with tenderness, but maybe that's what you need to hear too !! So i'm saying it to you Anon ! You speak of yourself very harshly, with like a severe sentence over your head that tells you what you're capable of or not, a sword of Damocles awaiting to strike and stop your body from drawing. It's too mean and wrong. Take good care of yourself, it is you who matters most! I had a terribly shitty time in art school, i don't know how is your university, but i hope it's not making you feel bad, i hope it doesn't crush day by day your relationship with your art and with your self. The way you kindly describe your enjoyment about my drawings over the years, and the way you're serious about what you do and what you'd like to do, tells that it is deep to you, that it is something you hold dear ; if i can keep on giving advices here, i think maybe connect again to that, your enjoyment; you like drawing ! Also, i probably just heard one single interesting thing in art school, but it helped : '…it's just line on paper.' At that time, i was having a nervous breakdown in the classroom, the teacher was flabbergasted, and blurted out that to me. I was working on a large format and my mental health was IN THE GUTTER, i felt my life was on the line with every little buildings i was drawing, my whole body was trembling ! But, between very unrespectful and crazy statements, here she was right. We can be serious about what we do, and still remember that it's just lines on paper, pixels on screen. We can go back to it tomorrow, we can erase all of it, it's okay. It doesn't matter as much as us waking up, drinking a good glass of water, drawing a smiley on our skin to cheer us up!

More precisely about what you said about creativity, i had the same feelings in art school, i thought my classmates were so much smarter and creative ! And they ARE brilliant, i met wonderful brains there !! We talked together about how i felt behind, and for example my friend was surprised because they were really admirative about my drawing ! The confusion was mutual haha ! I still feel inadequate sometimes, but we all have our own aspirations and interests, and it's actually so much fun to share, have mutual inspirations, together. Did you talk with classmates you trust about your struggles ? You would be surprised!! It's interesting to hear what other people have to say ! Do you think they feel nothing when looking at your drawings ? Did they say it to you ? Or is it something you believe in the back of your mind only ? And even if they did say something like this to you, did they provide fertile feedbacks ? Also, the fact that art inspires feelings or not, or the fear i talked about earlier that haunts me sometimes..i think we can agree it's so subjective!! Something you love, something you want to cherish all day and keep below your pillow because it makes you feel so much and strongly, can be a complete 'whatever' to someone else aha, and it's just like this, and it's the very same 'something', it's okay, it's good like this actually!

Creativity, from what i understand, is a difficult thing to define and characterize, honestly. But i'd say, while there is this tiny spark of indefiniteness inside a process, the little squeeze in the chest where you feel you're getting something coming up, the bubbly things you want to process and tell in your drawing, it's not all there is to creativity in my opinion! These 'ideas' can be fuel or the sparks in your drawing motor yes, but creativity is most importantly the choices you make ! You said you have technical skills, and improving, and it's this technicality that can guide! A lot of artists think of themselves more as crafter, or even 'robot' sometimes ! It's automatisms over automatisms, choice over choice over choice, to get something as close as possible as the goals we had in mind, as close as what we like or imagine or need. Be rigid! there's nothing wrong with it.

That being said, you mentioned that you're drawing the same things. In what sense ? If you portray the same subjects and you're not happy with it, it could be good to change subjects, draw whatever !! Your interest will spark in space you wouldn't imagine ! And, if it doesn't, coming back to what you know with other things done will revive old flames.

What seems to hold you back is fear (and deep fatigue if i can add this, i'm serious take care of you). We know how much seriousness and love we pour into drawing, it's personal, but it's not a reflection of our self in absolute, it doesnt say anything about you, your value, what you can or can't do. For real, the limits most of the time are on the technical side, and it seems you have this covered, i trust you to ease your brain into trying new things for you, trying things again with an unserious mind also, look at how fun your brush hitting the canvas is, mix mediums, or don't haha! And, if it's difficult to do it 'mindlessly,' once again it's about choices ; 'i deciced the light should hit there because it's the main subject', 'i decided this color meant /thing/ that's why it's there', 'i decided the lines should be thicker because it's a reference to /this/ and it made sense to', You can be very free inside your own box, truly ! You will expand your world without realizing it! I hope i make sense, and didn't say too many stupid things. I talked a lot once again, and a lot about me ouargh but since you asked about my experience, i hope it's okay, and that you can find some points useful to you. For now that's what i can give !

I'll finish all this by saying thank you again, and wishing you all the best in your path, in whatever form it takes. Don't hesitate to contact me again if you feel like it, or to talk about it with classmates and people you trust, and take a step back when needed. You got this!!!

<3

[transparencyboo]

For the last two weeks or so I've been playing the Mega Drive dungeon crawler Shining in the Darkness. I've recently been going through all the various action-RPGs the system had to offer and kinda found myself lusting for more, so I expanded the scope.

Shining in the Darkness had one of those cover arts I vividly remember seeing in game stores during the 90s, I understood already back then that whatever this was would be too complicated for my feeble preschool brain, but it had a shiny glossy allure that still beckoned to me with promises of daring adventures and grand battles. Questions lingered in my head: Who is that evil bastard zapping sparks at Cavin from the Gummi Bears? Why has the king entrusted the safety of his kingdom to a meagre boy and his two misfit friends?

Well, it turns out that big bad guy is called Dark Sol, the bane of all game difficulty discourse, and the reason the king has enlisted three poor kids is because there is no one else to rely on after your daddy went missing. Everyone else just sorta gives up along the way.

My initial conclusion of this game was to commend my young self for the striking assessment, my five year old self would never get anywhere in this game between the English text, abstracted navigation and number crunching battle mechanics. Shining in the Darkness is a bona fide classic dungeon gauntlet endurance simulator, where you traverse vanishing point block tunnels and encounter enemies. I've played one or two games like this before, like the original Phantasy Star, but this time a new desire struck me. I wanted to draw maps. Maybe I'm just getting older and more patient, leading me to wilfully ignore easily available resources online.

By my recollection, this is the first time I've dedicated myself to playing a game like this. Usually I just resort to my sense of direction, which I've gathered seems to at least be above average, since anytime I go anywhere with anyone I always end up playing shepherd so they don't get lost. Worst case scenario I'll just fall back to mapping efforts by online heroes from years past. For Shining in the Darkness I persisted blindly about halfway through until I admitted to myself charting a map of the labyrinthine caves would be a lot easier. Luckily, the game allows you to spend 1 MP to see a chunk of where you've walked, meaning I could get neatly organized segments to copy by hand.

Perhaps my biggest takeaway from this endeavour was how much of the game experience was expressed through this map project. I spent just as much time slaying beasts as I did counting tiles and filling them out with my pencil. It became a natural counterbalance that provided vital pacing to the game mechanics. Walking, fighting, charting. In turn, through the principle of learning by doing, I gained a more intimate familiarity with the environments by just replicating them out on a sheet of paper. I found that while the map helped, I actually didn't need it much for backtracking because my drawings had helped me remember the layouts of the corridors anyway.

I guess the lesson learned is that while old design sensibilities may appear to be arcane and cumbersome when easier solutions exists, the obfuscation is part of the fun. The game hands me an intentionally hard to navigate world, shows me that it's fully capable of displaying maps of it, but still asks me to provide that dimension myself. Through doing this, I discover that drawing maps is both surprisingly enjoyable and cognitively stimulating. I realize that had I downloaded some pre-packaged maps online and used as my bible, Shining in the Darkness would've been a vastly different experience, one of monotonous meandering through endless fights while confidently striding along the known path.

Perhaps that's why the game was called Shining and the Darkness in Japan, it doesn't flow as well as the western title, but at the same time it poetically reflects this act of discovery. I am Shining, the game provides the Darkness, we work together, we must unify to become whole.

As for Dark Sol, he turned into a big monster boy and was vanquished by a spunky cartographer child and her two cohorts. The unknown has been made known and the kingdom is once more saved.

/Kiki

[jev-urisk]

Writing thrupples with a 'hinge', from someone who falls asleep in the middle every night.

A hinge thrupple is where two people are dating the same person, but not one another. So, not a triangle.

I don't know any thrupples with a childish Jacob-Edward rivalry over the 3rd person (annoying, overplayed)

I don't know any always lovey-dovey thrupples where the two suitors don't do anything outside constantly showering their 3rd with affection (honestly a bit creepy to me)

I'm bi/pan and nonbinary/fluid. My partners are a big burly cis dude and a tall snarky androgynous lesbian, they're not at all attracted to one another. Sexuality/gender plays a big part in dynamics and what I'm called (one calls me Wife and the other calls me Boyfriend).

Many poly peeps set out with intention to have multiple partners, my situation happened accidentally with some help from my autism. Basically I fell in love with two people like the movies but instead of drama I had an honest conversation and they both agreed to try it out. 🤷

I call both my partners 'babe' which in hindsight maybe I should've used 'hun' for one of them, but it's also so cute when I say babe and have two people turn to me. ❤️ They do have some unique, less appropriate pet names tho.

So so so much communication is needed to make sure you're on the same page as your partners. Google calendar helps, as do chore charts. I have 2 date nights a week, one for each partner. Holiday plans are discussed months ahead of time.

Relationships develop at different speeds! One partner may be ready for a milestone a month in, a different partner may be ready for the same milestone in 4 years.

So many perks! Splitting bills, splitting chores, coordinating when emergencies happen, and VOTING! With 3, the discourse for deciding anything from what to eat to what color to paint a room is SO much quicker.

I think the biggest difficulty was getting over my fear that I was doing something wrong, that I was selfishly drawing 2 people into something that would end in heartbreak. I was also afraid my partners wouldn't get along. 😵‍💫

Minor difficulties include deciding who to take for events that are +1 only, remembering who we've come out to, and getting crushed in the middle of the night when both partners roll towards the center of the bed where I sleep. 🪦

I can only be legally married to 1 partner where I live, but my other partner hates the idea of doing joint taxes so 😂 when we have a wedding one day, we're going to get legal permissions to, say, visit me in the hospital when I'm dying and call it good.

Yes, I can have another wedding and it will be just as beautiful and symbolic as the one that included legal paperwork.

Only two people can be on a marriage certificate, but three people can be on a mortgage! We've jointly owned a house for almost a year and a half and it's been so much work but so nice to have our privacy.

My partners get jealous of one another, that's normal. They know to communicate that feeling with me so I can give them some 1 on 1 time or special attention.

If me and one of my partners are struggling in our relationship, I DONT vent to my other partner and just give a basic 'I'm working through something with X right now'. I know too many polycules that have become a drama mosh-pit. 😓

My partners can be friends, or lovers, or simple acquaintances but THEY decide that and I don't push them to do anything except communicate when needed. My partners are introverts and it's taken years for them to build up their platonic relationship lol

Yes, I do occasionally get double-teamed in sexy ways (less than you'd think). 90% of the double-teaming I get is both of them calling me short or agreeing that I'm cute when I'm angy about trivial things, though. 😾

My partners now consider each other metamores, friends, and team-mates. My lesbian partner calls my male partner their 'husband in-law' sometimes, particularly when they want something from him.

Sometimes my partners bicker and I think it's cute bc it means they've become very comfortable with each other. If they have an actual issue I just encourage them to talk about it/I don't try to fix it for them.

We generally live a comfy, laid-back life and do all the mundane things you'd expect of mid-twenties to early-thirties folk- raising two dogs, fixing the sink, caving and ordering taco bell, forgetting to make that appointment, griping about the economy, bringing home plants, watching birds fight over the bird feeder, and sleeping in on the weekends. We just do it with 3. ☘️

Extra note: Polygamy is a term used in religious and male-centric plural partner situations. We use polyamory, polyfidelity, harem (jokingly), and thrupple to describe ourselves. Maybe some use polygamy and like it, but where we live (Utah) the term is generally reserved for fundentalist mormons.

There's probably a lot more to say, so maybe this is just a part 1. Feel free to ask me questions or comment with your own hinge experience (or tell me about your thrupple ocs)!

[slytherinshua]

ONLY YOURS

genre. fluff. newlyweds. warnings. kissing. pairing. husband!soobin x fem!reader. wc. 698. a/n. i want it to be winter so badly omg. also everyone needs to thank me for switching this angst fic (yeah, it was gonna be angst) to fluff at the last minute.

December 24th, 2011.

9:02 am.

“Race you up the hill!” Soobin giggled, already picking up speed to get to the top of the snow covered sledding hill.

“Wait up!” Your high pitched voice shouted, racing after him, tumbling over your own two booted feet seconds later with a shriek. You rolled down the snowy hill, giggling. You could hear Soobin’s laughter drawing closer. He peered over into your view.

“Idiot.” He whispered, the biggest smile on his face, a dimple popping out on his cheek.

“Idiot, yourself!” You threw some snow at him as he tried to help you up. While he tried to make sure you hadn’t hurt yourself, you took the opportunity to get a head start. “Last one up’s a rotten egg!” You shouted back to him.

“Hey!”

“Soobin! Y/n! Hot cocoa’s ready when you’re done playing!” Soobin’s mom called out from a distance. Your mom laughed and continued to record the moment on the video camera. 

Pause.

Rewind.

Play.

“Race you up the-”

Pause.

You couldn’t hold back the endeared giggle that left your mouth at the paused frame. It was a low quality video given when it was taken, but Soobin had the biggest smile on his face, and you melted just looking at him.

“Babe, where are you? I finished putting away the kitchen equipment. Should we do the bedroom next?” Your husband of 3 days called from downstairs.

“I’ve already started on the boxes!! Come look at this.” You shouted back, smiling as you rewinded the video again.

“This is why it always takes twice as long for you to clean anything.” Soobin commented quietly, walking into the empty bedroom to join you on the floor. 

You had both managed to set up the bedframe with some difficulty deciphering the model pictures on the instruction, but that was the only thing currently set up in the bedroom. You had tried to do it the night before, but had ultimately been too tired and had crashed on mattresses on the floor next to each other.

There were many things you were getting used to now that you had moved out of your parents house and into your new home with Soobin. You had grossly underestimated how long it might take to actually unpack everything. 

You were glad that your honeymoon trip wasn’t scheduled immediately after the wedding. You still had 3 days to get the house ready so you wouldn’t have to worry about it when you returned.

“I found my mom’s old video-log.” You showed him the camera eagerly, pressing play on the grainy video once again. “Look at your cheeks!” You cooed.

“What? How do you still have this?” Soobin giggled, “You were taller than me.”

“That was a short lived era, you giant.”

“Being tall lets me hug you easily.” He pointed out, demonstrating by wrapping his right arm around you.

“But you complain about your neck hurting when you kiss me.” You reminded him.

“I should take the chance now while we’re both at the same level.” He smiled, leaning in slightly for you to kiss him. You laughed before obliging, placing a gentle kiss on his lips.

“We need to finish the bedroom before dinner.” You said, placing the old video camera back in the box. Soobin groaned at the reminder. He had been working on the downstairs all day, unpacking and organising everything.

“Can’t we just take a little break?” He suggested, using the arm he had wrapped around you to pull you down to the lie on the floor, your head resting on his chest.

“We can’t put this off for much longer, baby. We need to sleep on a proper bed tonight.” 

“Just 10 minutes, okay?” He had already closed his eyes, relaxing completely into the floor. He rubbed his hand back and forth across your back, hoping to get you to relax as well.

“Fine. Just 10 minutes to cuddle with my husband.” You kissed his cheek and Soobin smiled at that. He was your husband. Only yours. And though he had only tied the knot 3 days ago, he felt as if he had been yours since he was little.

↳ txt taglist: @kangtaehyunzzz,, @yeonjuns-redhair,, @90steele,, @ddeonudepressions,, @skz-minchan-enthusiast,, @delcakoo,, @wolfmoonmusic,, @98-0603,, @weird-bookworm,, @edensgardenn

[savethegrishaverse]

Here is the Transcript to the Questions Answered by Eric Heisserer!

Recently, we were very fortunate that Shadow and Bone showrunner Eric Heisserer agreed to answer some fan questions! Below is the transcript of the screenshots that have been previously shared—not an entirely new interview. The transcript in this format should be much more accessible and convenient, particularly for anyone using a screen reader.

To make it easier to read through Eric’s responses, we’ve nested his answers below coordinating questions.

Okay, taking these one at a time -- because some of these will have very long answers, and I may have to return at later intervals to answer them: (note: questions will be in bold)

"I'd like to know if there's a way to liberate the pre-written scripts if Netflix doesn't plan on using them" - Asked by Christian Thalmann, the creator of the Fjerdan language.

"There is a way to liberate the Crows scripts from Netflix, yes, and in fact that would be part of the buyout for another streamer when acquiring the rights to Leigh's novels. It would be a package deal."

"In my view, "The Crows" have the potential to revitalize the Grishaverse. Unlike "Shadow And Bone," this new show could rely less on elaborate visual effects and offer a fresh narrative angle. Heist-themed shows are currently in high demand, adding to its appeal. Am I mistaken in thinking that our focus should primarily be on "The Crows"? The likelihood of "Shadow And Bone" returning seems slim, but l've always believed that "The Crows" had a greater chance of success." - asked by fellow fan Joleen

The focus on the Crows is helpful in two ways -- first, those scripts are written, which lets us get a running start at production, and second, just from casual analysis of book sales, it's far more popular worldwide than other Grishaverse titles. So it will be a bigger draw for viewers.

The trap though is the cost. It's more grounded than S&B, sure, but the Ice Court is a unique location that either requires a really costly set build, or set extensions and VFX work to make it look authentic, which means nearly every shot of the heist once our crew gets there could be a VFX shot.

My guess is the budget would be on par with S2 of S&B.

"If/when the spinoff is back (finger crossed) was there anything he had planned that would completely surprised, for good reasons obviously, the audience. And we should hold our breath for that twist/turn?" - asked by fellow fan Rti

​​Yes, there is a surprise or two in the Crows spinoff season, but overall it's as close to the novel as we could make it. And Leigh's novel is such an amazing story with natural cliffhangers that work as episode "out" moments, etc. I think the biggest move we made was to feature every single Crow's backstory to go with their episode. So that was fun/sad/exciting.

"What was the difficulties you mentioned about filming Season 2 in that Reddit comment? Don't want to sound negative but what went wrong?!" - asked by fellow fan Mitra

S2 kept throwing challenges at us, and it started long before we got to production. Like months earlier, when we learned the location we used for the Little Palace in S1 was closed to us due to the pandemic. So right there we lost out on a ton of S&S scenes, because it wouldn't be a match. But we also had written a compelling side arc for Ivan and Fedyor in S2, these two Grisha trapped on either side of the civil war. Each of them played a big role in the story, but Simon (Ivan) had a feature film that overlapped with our schedule and couldn't move, which meant we lost him. So Daegan worked to revise the season keeping Fedyor and leaving Ivan as most likely dead from the end of S1. He was Kirigan's right-hand man for the season. But poor Julian caught COVID just when we were to shoot out most of his scenes, and after trying to make the schedule work, we had to come to the brutal truth that there wasn't a way to keep Fedyor in the story. Our only option was to bring him in at like episode 8, which would've been too little, too late.

COVID continued to be a monster all through production, requiring us to juggle schedules and miss out on days, and it was madness for the cast, who had to pivot with almost no notice whenever someone was ill and quarantined. This isn't unique to our show of course -- it happened with everyone. It's just a challenge.

Beyond that, we had been given the go to write a special standalone story, The Demon in the Wood. This would have been released on its own around Christmas, like a BBC special but for Netflix, and would help bridge seasons 1 and 2 by showing a little of what Kirigan was doing before we see him in 52, and also provide more character context, etc. Christina Strain wrote that and did great work adapting Leigh's short story. But it never went the distance.

There was a lot more to 52 as well, scenes and side stories and little interactions that were lost due to budget or time restrictions. Again, not unique to our show, but agonizing all the same, since what you get is not what we had written, or in some cases even shot.

I'm incredibly proud of the cast and the team, and Daegan did the heaviest lifting while I was off finishing the Crows writing room. But we had a lot more thrown at us.

"How long was the sizzle reel ready to go but he had to keep it secret?" - Asked by members of the Discord Team

That sizzle reel was put together about four months before the second season dropped.

"I would love to know his perspective on the impact of streaming on storytelling. Would we have had to launch a campaign like this 10-15 years ago for a show like this? What are the main pain points when it comes to streaming models & telling unique, diverse stories?" - asked by fellow fan Acorn_Bri

Streaming is a challenge to serialized storytelling in that it looks at 'content often with a different agenda and uses metrics that can take a creative issue and exacerbate it. Like in broadcast, if viewership and thus ad revenue has slightly declined, the show will need to find a way to make their 22 or 13 episodes on a proportionally smaller budget. What is not done is reduce episode order. But if a streaming series underperforms or doesn't meet expectations, and the streamer doesn't cancel it outright, the go-to budget reduction idea is to reduce episode order for the next season.

When you just have 8 episodes and continue to deal with notes to compress, pace up, or omit for what you'd scripted for a longer season, reducing further to six or four episodes is exhausting.

This happens due to a slide in autonomy from what the showrunner position had been. What the chatter on the picket lines revealed to us is that most showrunners today don't get to see their own show's budget, and thus don't get the freedom to make budgetary decisions that could better protect the story they're telling. More and more, showrunners not at a legacy network aren't the final say or at times even involved in hiring key roles. I don't have any ideas that aren't already in a contract language, I just see how the job on this side has gotten harder and there isn't much of a way for us to make it easier for each other like we could with having writers on set or in post production, because the streaming model has made that impossible.

—

Once again, we would like to give a big thank you to everyone who asked their questions, and an even BIGGER thank you to Eric Heisserer for answering them!

[enkvyu]

the world cries snow.

gojo lifts his foot out from the ground once more. the effort it takes is minimal but piled up repeatedly, the sorcerer only becomes more and more aware of how time consuming it really was.

this was no time to play around in the snow, he needed to find elsa.

“elsa!” he screams, but the fierce winds sweep away his desperate cries. he doubts she could even hear him, if he himself struggled to pick out his voice against the howls of winter.

but hope is a cruel thing, and his voice is torn and repaired over and over with his technique as he searches for elsa with her name.

he contemplates soaring the skies in search of her but erases it quickly from his mind. whilst it would be easier, his six eyes could distinguish her against the backdrop of a blizzard without difficulty, he worries if the sight of him might scare her away.

he had to be careful, he couldn't risk losing another friend due to his ignorance.

gojo trudges onwards, eyes seeking a familiar figure. he pushes aside a cluster of branches and comes face-to-face with a clearing in the forest.

as if fate had relented and granted his wish, his heart leaps with relief then drops in worry at what lay before him.

elsa kneels in the centre, hunched over the edge of a crystal-clear lake.

the beauty of the lake is lost on gojo as his eyes trains on her fragile body, trembling softly.

because the cold never really bothers her anyway, gojo doubts it was the chilly winds that shook her shoulders so.

"elsa." gojo says again, closing in. he watches as her body freezes at his voice, looking over her shoulder to meet his eye.

an electric current runs between them before elsa picks herself up hastily. "gojo! what are you doing here?"

a jolt of pain stabs through gojo's heart as he watches her wipe away half-frozen tears. "i came after you."

"you shouldn't be here." elsa laughs, but there isn't a trace of humour in the otherwise beautiful sound. "i bring danger wherever i go, you won't be safe with me. please, if you care about yourself or even me at all, please just leave me alone."

"wait, you have to listen to me, elsa."

"no! you listen to me, gojo. can't you see what i've done? haven't you seen how many people are in pain because of me? everyone looks at me like i'm a witch." then, quietly. "maybe i am one. but even then, my biggest fear is that you'll come to fear me."

"we can fix this." gojo persists, taking another step after the other. he doesn't miss the last part of her mumbling and hope warms the tip of his ears. "come back with me and we can show them that you aren't a threat."

"i can't."

"you can. it wasn't your fault."

"only you think that."

"and together we can make them all change their mind."

elsa hugs her arms closer. "it's hopeless. they won't believe me."

"i believe you."

"you aren't enough!" she snaps, whipping her head around to glare at him. "the look in their eyes told me enough, gojo. they don't want me there because i'm a hazard. and it's fine, really! i belong here anyway, in the snowy forest."

gojo balls his fists at his side. it pained him to think she didn't understand that she belonged with him. didn’t she feel their connection, the ignition when he draws too close, a sign that they were two kindled flames? together, they were destined to walk side-to-side.

so he tells her. "you belong with me."

elsa's eyes widen, and warmth colours her face. she opens her mouth to deny his words when she finally realises how close he had gotten. a rush of unidentifiable emotions encases her heart and the snowstorm rushing around them picks up in velocity.

"stop it, gojo! don't come any closer."

shit, gojo thinks. he should have been more subtle. still, he wasn't about to let this opportunity go to waste.

his hair dances furiously in the wild wind, and ice pelts his uniform over and over, pushing him back. his blindfold is taken by the gales, but he lets it happen. he gives up on coaxing, and takes big, demanding steps forward.

elsa tries to take a step back but the lake stops her.

"please, gojo." she cries and it really is such a beautiful sound, even when shaking with grief. perhaps he really was in danger, and elsa was a siren luring him in for a feast. even then, gojo believes he would walk right towards her as he was doing now, eyes and heart wide open for whatever she wishes.

he had long been enthralled into her trap.

elsa buries her head into her arms, palms pressed against her ears in an attempt to deafen her rebellious thoughts. "i can't hurt you too!" she pleads, withdrawing into herself.

if she hurt even the person who she held most dear, then what was she good for? though their separation would be a wound that never heals, a scab picked at time and time again, she thinks it might be better than this.

a hand grasps her arm and it's warm.

she looks up, eyes wet with unshed tears and finds herself staring into gojo's blue eyes. the shade of blue is startling and for a second, elsa relishes in the calm.

“you could never hurt me.” he promises and his voice is the only thing she can hear in the snow. with her heart beating in her ear, heat rushing to her cheeks, the blizzard around them seems to quieten.

a single tear rolls down her cheek. "how?"

gojo lifts his other hand and gently takes a hold of her’s. slowly, as if afraid she'll run away, gojo brings their interlocked hands up between them. then, he lets go.

panic surges through elsa. she had delusioned herself into thinking that without gojo, she would be okay. this selfless decision of hers was for the greater good, even though her heart throbbed in protest, she had pushed through regardless.

but when push comes to shove, elsa feels the empty hole that gojo's absence would leave, and realises she simply could not be without him.

she reaches forward with a start, then pauses.

her fingers stop centimetres away from his.

"see?" gojo says, a small smile blessing his face. "you can't hurt me because i'm the strongest."

"this is..."

"infinity. a convergence of infinite series so that anything that approaches is slowed down and never reaches." he turns off his technique and closes the gap, interlocking their fingers once more. "basically it means you could never hurt me, elsa. not in this lifetime and not even in the next."

hope is a cruel thing. it overwhelms elsa in seconds and she presses into the hold. the cruel emotion makes her gaze slow as she looks up at him. "then, that means, you're safe around me?"

"even if you did hurt me, did you think i would run away? i couldn't be away from you even if i tried."

“but i pushed you away! do you… do you still even want to be with me?”

the whistling snow picks up again, but it's a slow, dreamy pace that the ice takes on as it encircles the two.

“my place is with you.” he confesses.

"what are you saying? you better not be saying this just to calm me down."

"i'm not." gojo takes their connected hand to his lips and place a kiss to the back of her hand. "i love you elsa. always and forever."

that day, arendellian citizens would witness a sudden clearing of the sky and a lifting of the snow, clouds drifting apart and fading away to reveal the blue skies, a shade as blue as gojo's eyes.

tiktok has done numbers to my brain. dedicating this one to alice my biggest hater bc she has yet to see the vision :3 word dump + not proofread LOL