#i have strong opinions about a silly game that i get paid for now

[superb-fairywren]

with our collective dracula obsession I just wanted to share a stupid thing I have to live with

MTG published a set of cards last year focused on a vampire wedding with special cards that have characters from Dracula on them so when we get our emails from Jonathan and Mina I get to think of them like this

[superb-fairywren]

Good news @ladyothelakes - it's less subtle in the D&D core book!

it is funny that wotc just reused art from C21 and STX for 4/5ths of the book.

A redraw of the subtly sapphic Magic card “Secret Rendezvous” as, well, explicitly sapphic. A fun practice in backgrounds for sure!

[daxieoclock]

Oh oh! Vane shooould do this meme with one or all of the WKTD gals:

Ah thank u for the ask!!! i’m gonna skip the pairing questions bc. it’s sort of a game about the three of them getting together and there arent enough periphery characters to make those questions work.

Venus

• Fav thing

I love her fluffy hair? djfhbgjhdfg i mean that’s kind of a silly thing but that’s what comes to mind. also her ending dialogue is fucking poetry wow wow wow

• Least fav thing

I love jupiter and neptune a lot but venus is just as much of a member of the polycule as they are and there’s like so much art focusing on just those two without venus, and it always bothers the fuck out of me bc like. on its own? not bad. but in aggregate? kinda sucks.

• Random headcanon

She wears long pants and long socks and she has damn good reason to do so.

• Unpopular opinion

i think her seven minutes in heaven scene should have had her and neptune kissing.

• Song

You Are A Beam Of Light by The Beths

• Favorite picture

Jupiter

• Fav thing

Uh. I mean the entirety of Jupiter’s ending is fucking unreal and it hit me like a truck. It hurts and it feels so TRUE and good and i’m still reeling from it.

• Least fav thing

I guess the fact that the pace of jupiter’s ending is TOO good??? djfhbghj like? the hairband the fucking hairband. of the three of them, that tic is so small and so powerful when it’s finally paid off, and i WISH Venus and neptune had something like that. just something small and innocuous that can be used later to hit like a truck. “Seeing light” and “coughing” don’t feel as powerful as jupiter just fuckin. snapping her hairband against her wrist. it’s so good.

• Random headcanon

This is like. nearly canonical but i think Jupiter has a justified fear of the men in her life. hands are used for more than just holding.

• Unpopular opinion

Jane has the best jupiter voice you can all go home. ;p

• Song

I Can Get Back Up Now by You, Me, and Everyone We Know. also Tancred’s entire discography holy shit would Jupiter love Tancred.

• Favorite picture

Neptune

• Fav thing

Even though the writing of Jupiter’s ending hit me the hardest, I’m thematically the biggest fan of Neptune’s. Like??? The water, the fucking water jdhgbj

• Least fav thing

The pacing of her ending, I guess? Like? it’s good! it’s very good! but of the endings, i think hers feels the most abrupt.

• Random headcanon

Neptune’s hyperempathetic and goes numb when people suffer or have strong emotions around her. she doesn’t cry around people, she can’t be that vulnerable. or she thinks she can’t, at least

• Unpopular opinion

I said it with Venus’s but I’ll say it again. Neptune is in love with Venus too. please don’t ignore that, ESPECIALLY not sidelining the trans woman in a polycule to fixate on her cis partners.

• Song

Pox by Good Kid and Zombie by Bad Pony

• Favorite picture (picked two cause these ones need to go together)

[bonesgadh]

Each finalist’s pros, cons and key to winning the crown according to yours trully:

Jaida Essence Hall

Pros:

Talent

Jaida is an amazing performer, she dances, she sells her act, she is a very good designer and seamstress, she is polished, funny and overall a very complete queen. Most pageant queens who have been on the show are one-note queens, which is not Jaida’s case. Her looks are always on fucking point and she is simply gorgeous. There’s nothing else I can say about Jaida that hasn’t been said already.

Record

Only Gigi had a better track record than Jaida. She won three challenges and although she was in the bottom two once, she was always a good and strong contender.

Consistency

Gigi had a strong start but fell flat and Crystal woke up during the second half of the season, but Jaida was always a good queen (except for the second-to-last challenge). She didn’t really get a chance to put herself in the frontrunner position during the first half of the season because Gigi was dominating the competition, but she was patient and it paid off. It’s true that she failed at the one-woman show, but she quickly recovered and she proved it had been nothing but a slip. Ru likes stability, which can help Jaida’s chances.

Public image

Jaida is a very popular queen amongst her fellow queens and fans. She is charismatic, she has a likeable persona, she is an activist, she stands for diferent causes, and an altruistic queen is always a very good choice for a winner.

Cons:

Uniqueness

Although Jaida is a very talented queen her main style is something we have seen before, and one of the things Ru looks after in her winners is uniqueness, so that could play against her. 

Relatively slow start

Jaida won episode two, and after that she kind of fell into the background. Sh*rry P*e and Gigi won the next five challenges and Gigi’s domain of the competition didn’t allow for anybody else to shine, including Jaida. Her presence didn’t feel that much until after episode 8, when she started to win again.

Age

Ru is known for choosing young queens as winners. Raja and Bianca are the only queens above 30 to have won the competition, and that was because they were something else. Jaida is 32, which statistically speaking can affect her.

Snatch game performance

With the exception of Bebe (there was no Snatch Game in S1), Tyra (who had inmunity), Yvie (who was in the bottom two) and Violet (who was safe), every other winner has placed either high (Raja, Sharon, Bianca and Sasha) or has won the Snatch Game (Jinkx, Bob and Aquaria). Jaida’s impersonation wasn’t bad but it wasn’t memorable either.

Gigi Goode (honestly I don’t think Gigi stands a chance after her fuck up from yesterday. Not a single one. Even if her performance is flawless there’s no way Ru will crown her)

Pros:

Strong start

From the moment she entered the werk room you could see there was something special with her and with three main challenge wins by episode 8 she was the obvious frontrunner. At that point, you didn’t imagine any other queen taking the crown away from her. 

Versatility

Gigi is a very versatile queen, which is not very common. She is a skilled seamstress, she serves looks, she sings, she acts, she dances and she is an amazing performer. Her win in the Snatch Game proved she is quick-thinking and can be goofy, her win in the Ball challenge showed she is creative and skilled and she also did very well during the improv/acting challenges (World’s Worst and Gay’s Anatomy), which proves she is not a one-trick dog.

Challenges won

She won the Snatch Game which usually serves as the turning point of the season; it can either propel you to a frontrunner position or send you straight to the bottom. Like I mentioned above with Jaida, winners historically do good at the SG. She also won the Ball, another challenge winners have won (Bebe, Tyra, Sharon, Violet and Aquaria all won the Ball and, if you ask me, Bianca should have won it too).

On the other hand, no winner has ever won the Rusical/Lip sync extravaganza.

Performance skills

Although she didn’t have to lip-sync for her life she could benefit from the lip-sync for the crown format because she won two Rusicals and came very close to winning a third one, which proves she knows how to sell an act. Also she has already performed at the Werq The World Tour so she has an advantage when it comes to lip-syncing from her home.

Track record

Gigi has one of the finest records in Drag Race herstory. She won four challenges, a remarkable feature since she is only the third queen to achieve it (after Sharon Needles and Shea Couleé). However, contrary to Sharon and Shea, Gigi never placed in the bottom two—and Shea shared two of her wins with Sasha—. Tyra, Bianca, Violet, Sasha and Aquaria won their season without having to lip sync for their lives.

She rises up to the challenge

Gigi admitted she was not a particularly good dancer and struggled whenever she had to perform in a dancing challenge, but she delivered and excelled at them. Also during the Madonna Rusical she wanted to be cone bra Madonna but she gave up the part and still won the motherfucking challenge. I hate it when queens who don’t get their way just complain and throw tantrums and come up with excuses to justify why they did bad in the challenge, but she simply trusted herself and did and excellent job. 

Age

When picking the season’s winner, Ru leans towards younger queens. Except for Raja (36) and Bianca (38) every single winner won their season when they were less than 30 years old, and Tyra (21), Jinkx (25), Violet (21), Aquaria (21) and Yvie (25) were 25 or younger. Gigi is 22, which gives her a slight advantage against Crystal (29) and Jaida (32).

Cons:

That tweet and the controversy that came with it

For those of you who didn’t hear, yesterday relatively early in the morning Gigi tweeted about her excitement for the season 12 finale and she literally used the words: “I can’t breathe”, which was a horrible thing given the murder of George Floyd. 

Now here’s the thing: Gigi did what she did because she clearly had no idea of what had happened, which is worse than the tweet itself if you ask me. But then she comes with a long-ass statement to adress the issue and she only digged herself into a deeper hole. As a mexican woman I have experienced racism and I hate it when people just look the other way because they are acting from their own privilege, the privilege of knowing that the decision made by those in power won’t affect them, but the rest of us can’t afford to shut everything out or to blame it on our anxiety. 

Political issues were a big thing this season and the truth is you can’t aspire to become America’s Next Drag Superstar, a title that demands you to be politically and socially aware, and come up with excuses like: “oh, I don’t get into politics because I find them awful.” Gurl, when Aquaria came to Mexico a day after being crowned and I was lucky enough to see her, she adressed the presidential election that was happening the next day and threw shade at her own country. She had no reason to know there was going to be an election but she encouraged us all to vote because we needed our voice to be heard. She was the same age Gigi is today and she was never in the need to use the anxiety card to justify her political ignorance, and although she has also screwed up many times before she has tried to educate herself because she is aware of her privilege, and I respect her for that.

I’m very sorry for Gigi, I’m pretty sure she ruined her chances of winning which is a shame because I don’t think she is either a racist or the devil with human form, she made a terrible mistake and I hope she learns from this and bounces back. She owes it to her fans and to herself to do better next time.

Lost momentum

By episode 8 she had won three challenges but things went south for her after that, which allowed other queens to rise (especially Crystal and Jaida). She went from a 10 to a 6.5 in three episodes and it was painful to watch, and although she bounced back to win the final challenge the truth is she lost a ton of momentum, which can really hurt you during a competition as tough as Drag Race. You can’t allow yourself to lower your guard.

Uniqueness

Just like Jaida she is not a particularly unique queen, and one of the things Ru looks after in her winners is uniqueness. Although she is very versatile, her main style is something we have seen before. Personally she reminds me of Aquaria, although if you ask me—and here’s where a probably unpopular opinion quicks in—Gigi has a wider range than her. There are also traces of Raja and Violet, so that could play against her.

Self-sabotage

Gigi showed she can laugh at herself and be goofy, and given her good performances at the improv challenges and the snatch game I was surprised to see her fail the way she did at the commercial and debate challenges. Her performance at the one-woman show was “fine” and her make over challenge was mediocre, which is kind of unforgivable for a look queen because you expect them to excel. Sometimes it seemed as if she was trying too hard, but my guess is after performing so well she thought Ru and the judges wanted more, and her fear of failing is what brought her to fail. She chose to put her silly side aside, completely forgetting Ru likes it when queens just let go and have a good time.

Crystal Methyd: She needs to bring her A+ game to the lip syncs. If she manages to channelize her charm and uniqueness into friday’s performance then watch out, because it won’t matter if she is not as polished as Gigi and Jaida. Ru will choose a queen with a heart over a pretty face, as long as said queen gives her all.

Pros:

Uniqueness

Although her style is similar to other queens, she injects her performances with her own sense of humor and fashion. It is always amazing when a “different” queen does good in the competition and it makes you root for her.

Attitude

Crystal is one of the most kindhearted queens to have ever been on the show. She is likable and has a heart the size of the world and she won over all of us. If there’s one thing I like about Crystal is she enjoys what she is doing and she is obviously having so. much. fun. It is not common for queens to have this approach to the competition.

Growth

No queen grew during the season as much as Crystal did. Period. The glow up she had was just impressive and extremely pleasing to look at and it makes you feel proud of her. She listened to the judge’s critiques without altering what made her unique and Ru likes that. No choice but to stan.

Storyline

I don’t really like it when fans talk about queens getting the “villain edit” or the “winner edit”, what I do think is queens have a storyline because Drag Race is a tv show after all, so you have to be able to see the queens’ journey from start to finish. Having said that, out of the three finalists Crystal has the best storyline. She is the underdog, the queen you thought was going to leave first, and she fought her way to the top against all odds. 

Age

Just like I said with Gigi, when picking the season’s winner Ru leans towards younger queens. Crystal is 29, and although she is older than Gigi she is the same age Bebe, Sharon, Bob and Sasha were when they won (okay Bebe was 28 but in order for this to work I’m gonna say they were all the same age).

Cons:

Talent

Like Ru said, charisma and uniqueness can only take you so far. Obviously Crystal is a talented queen (she wouldn’t have reached the top if she weren’t), but objectively speaking I think Jaida and Gigi are on a different level than her. She grew a lot, yes, but with her there’s still room for improvement while both Jaida and Gigi are already excellent. I see her more as the lovely runner-up than as America’s Next Drag Superstar.

Record

In terms of record Crystal is the weakest out of the three queens. She came close to being in the bottom a couple of times, she had to lip sync for her life once and it took her a while to warm up, but once she did she stayed in the top. However, her weak start could play against her.

Odd queen

I doubt Ru will have odd queens winning back-to-back seasons, especially since I think Yvie was a better queen than Crystal.

Snatch Game performance

Tyra and Yvie are the only queens who went on to win their season despite performing poorly at the Snatch Game, and although Crystal didn’t have to lip sync for her life she was in the bottom three.

[sister-ruan]

Dream Royal Chaos

So, I follow Facebook’s Royal Chaos group, and there was recently an announcement of another server merge. My friends @lady-reinian​, @noble-consort-yi​, @yingyuerc​ and I started venting, and I suddenly had some ideas for how I would like it (and my friends seemed to agree with me). So I shall explain what my dream Royal Chaos would look like.

Donation Tier

User Controlled Server Switches

Elimination of payer-only abilities

Consistent Story Progression

Donation Tier

So, anyone who has played Royal Chaos is aware of the VIP rankings in the game. This has caused some... frustration, to put it lightly. Only those who shell out a lot cash regularly are able to be a number 1 VIP. And ultimately, being a VIP doesn’t do anything besides occasionally giving you... like... a new speech bubble style or frame for your picture. It basically just says “I sold part of my soul to enjoy this game a little more”.

I’ll get to that whole “pay to enjoy” thing later, but I still think this is important. Many old online servers, like Gaia Online, would rely on donations to continue to keep things running and pay the people running the site. For that, the people who donated would get one item that was exclusive to donors (in Gaia’s case, a halo). While I understand we are not on Gaia, and not in the early 2000′s, this is still a decent idea.

Many YouTubers and other people who work on the internet use Patreon as a means of asking for a little extra to give a little extra. And often times, people who use Patreon have a Donation Tier list; where your placement on the tier is determined by how much you donate. This is ultimately what Royal Chaos’s VIP list is, only you can’t tell how much you have to donate to get on any particular level until you’ve paid it. But unlike Patreon, being on a VIP list doesn’t provide anything for the people paying money to get Jade, besides actually getting Jade. It’s less of “give a little to get a little” and more “give us your first born child to get two jade”. I believe a donation tier would be... more satisfactory.

User Controlled Server Switches

To try and eliminate “dead” servers, the big cats who run Royal Chaos will periodically merge servers to prevent users from losing their process while also providing a way to up activity; which is rather irritating for those of us who like quiet servers. This also can cause you to lose a lot of progress you’ve made in promotions because people who have money to burn are better at maintaining their status. (Yes, I’m aware of the theme.)

So, what’s my solution? Don’t leave it to the admins and mods to merge servers. You send out an announcement of which servers are going to be closed and warn users that if they don’t move their data to a new server before the deletion date, their data would be deleted. Providing users with a choice of where to go can allow users who prefer chatty servers to go there, and those who like quieter servers to go to the “new” servers. This would also free up the data used by inactive accounts that people have abandoned. And the players wouldn’t be so angry at the admins and mods.

Elimination of Payer-Only Abilities

For as long as I’ve played Royal Chaos, there has always been a great disadvantage to players who want to play for free. Players who can shell out cash have the ability to buy more supplies to get better heroes, pets, weapons, clothes, flowers- anything that is needed for competition (which is ultimately 90% of the game). This makes the game less enjoyable for those who don’t have the money to make it rain. Those of us who spent anywhere from several hours to several months trying to get strong enough to move to the next stage don’t stand a chance compared to those who spend $200 to make ten times the progress in a fraction of the time.

So, in my dream Royal Chaos, that would be eliminated. Completely. Sure, if you paid for stuff, you still get to keep what you bought. But progress is to be made through grinding, like the rest of us. Want to level up your warriors? Better start battling. Want to beef up your pet? Feed it. Don’t have the supplies for that outfit? Gotta start doing some travelling. Making it so everyone’s progress is based on how much time their willing to put into the game will make things more fair and equal. However, you know the admins and mods wouldn’t be happy with a completely free game.

My solution? A once a month special item for a reasonable price. How is that different from now? Well:

It’s at a reasonable price. Not $50

It’s not a gamble. Part of why these “exclusive items” are undesirable is because there’s no promise you’ll get them

What’s a reasonable price? In my opinion, $10. “But [my name], won’t the admins and mods think that’s too cheap?” Initially, yeah. But as they say, “You attract more flies with honey than vinegar.” If you give people a promised item to them for a reasonable price, you’re more likely to get more buyers. And even $10 is a bit pricey, but compared to a $50 gamble it’s nothing.

But how is this different from the Payer Exclusive items? The monthly item released is cosmetic. It’s just a costume or a new hair style. It’d be nothing that would really effect the game play. But costumes wouldn’t just be exclusive to once a month; costume recipes should come back. I’ve got more than enough of... everything... to make tons of costumes. The monthly exclusive is just one item that you don’t have to make.

Consistent Story Progression

Three months = one chapter? Uh, no. That’s silly. I’m sure it has something to do with the voice actors and the technology behind it, but it’s silly. For people like me who are primarily on Royal Chaos for the story, a lot of time is just spent doing dailies for five minutes and then signing out because there’s no update. I would much rather be spoon fed pieces of each chapter consistently than get one chapter, finish it in five minutes, and then be bored again for another three months.

I believe this one is more about time management and less about more workers being involved. Plus, these last couple chapters didn’t have voice overs. In fact, I think there should be regular maintenance done to make sure all of the voice overs still run for the chapters, so there are no bugs, and to give an option of just keeping comments turned off for the story. Chances are, it’d have to be a one or the other situation.

I’m speaking from my point of view as a player and as someone who doesn’t need to be fed ads. I feel like actually accommodating to those who are playing for free rather than excluding them is just being respectful. I know tons of people who have left because they just can’t keep paying for all of these upgrades they need just to keep up. And I think that it’s unfortunate because Royal Chaos has so much potential as a game, and it’s being thrown away for the sake of profit. Games are better when you can enjoy them without buying all the bells and whistles.

[superb-fairywren]

HOLY SHIT????

[duhragonball]

For the writer's ask, can you please do 26 and 27?

Sure.

26: What is the worst writing advice in your opinion?

27: What is the best writing advice?

Maybe this is a cop-out, but I sort of feel like any writing advice can be good or bad depending on who you're giving it to. People usually point to oft-quoted "rules" like "don't use passive voice!" or "don't use too many adverbs!" But I think those have some value. I imagine someone who actually needs to hear that advice, and they probably wrote like this:

The handrail was steadily grasped, and the stairs were decended noisily by the ruggedly strong limbs of the same man: Tex Danger, Robot Cowboy.

And you can do stunts like this, but nobody wants to read a whole story of clunky sentences. So I always assumed the "rules" about adverbs and passive voice originate out of necessity. A teacher whose students were just figuring it out as they went, and just throwing in words without considering how they look when you read them back.

Actually, I'll bet it was a word count trick. Adverbs and passive voice are great ways to pad out a book report, and short story writers do get paid by the word, so there's plenty of incentive to try it. Either way, I feel like someone needed to hear it, but now the pendulum has swung the other way, and novice writers worry about using adverbs at all, which is silly.

By the same token, I'm tempted to say the best writing advice is to just do it. Someone on Twitter asked Thunderbolts writer Jim Zub for advice on how to start a story, and he replied "Start". It cuts to the heart of the matter. People want a list of steps to follow, but this isn't like baking a cake. There's no ingredients to buy, no oven to preheat, just you and a blank page. Step one is writing. Step 100 is writing. There's smart ways to go about it, but organizing your gel pens and decorating your writing dayplanner isn't part of the process.

On the other hand, Jim Zub's run on Thunderbolts was fucking awful, so for my money "Start" was the first mistake he made on that book. He also wrote a tweet about how stories should always have a plan, rather than just improvising shit, like they did with the final episodes of Game of Thrones. Again, solid advice, but all I could think of was how lousy and slapdash those Thunderbolts issues were, and that this was apparently by design. It was supposed to be a shitty twelve-issue commercial for Secret Empire. He planned it that way. Fuck...

Sorry, I'm getting off-track. The problem with advice like "Just DO IT!" is that it's a little too dismissive. It overlooks why writers are reluctant to get started. Do they lack confidence, or do they just not have a proper handle on what they want to do? I've been Just Doing It since 2015, and I still get stuck from time to time, so it wouldn't help me much to hear that advice. I'm already taking it.

For what it's worth, I think the best advice I know to offer is to experience other stories, especially ones you have to read. Nothing wrong with watching a show, but I think it helps to see the printed words, so if you see a turn of phrase or an apt description you really like, you'll know exactly how to use it yourself in the future. Other people's stories are a great way to gain inspiration. The key is not to just get mired in one kind of thing. If all you ever read is Teen Wolf slash, then you're going to end up in a bubble where it's hard to write anything else well. I doubt your Teen Wolf fic will be any good either, because it'll end up looking like all the others you've read. You need some diversity in your head.

"Write what you know" is generally decent advice, although I really only benefitted from it as I got older and had more life experience to draw upon. It's shitty advice for teenagers and twenty-somethings, because it makes them feel like they aren't knowledgable enough to write anything, or that their raw imagination is 't good enough.

"Show, don't tell," is pretty shitty advice, at least where prose is concerned, because showing and telling are the same thing. I mean it makes sense when you think about it, but it's like the adverb thing. All it does is make writers paranoid that their show/tell ratio is out of specification. It's art, not science. People like to be told things once in a while, it's okay.

You can trust your readers to imagine the stuff you don't describe. If you're trying to describe things in extreme detail, you'll just bore them to death, or offend them, if the thing you're describing is a woman. If you want to tell your reader a woman is beautiful, just have her show up, and have another character go "She's beautiful!" Don't even explain why. You can even have another character go "Enh, I don't see it." Let your reader decide the hotness for you. I've seen too many male authors embarass themselves trying to explain why asses are sexy. Just acknowledge that asses are sexy and move on.

Other shitty advice: Outlines. I'm not saying outlines are bad across the board, but everyone hypes them up like they're required, and for a lot of writers they actually kill the creative process. Not everything needs a blueprint. Sometimes you just gotta screw around for a while before you can figure out what you're making.

Good advice: Don't just screw around. Fanfic has a bad reputation mainly because a lot of fic authors are more interested in gratification than quality. Even if you're doing it for free, take some pride in the craft. Don't just slap something together and post it so you'll get comments or kudos or whatever. Dare yourself to do a little better. I'm not saying don't have fun, but I think when you're passionate about something, you can take satisfaction from it even when it's not fun. Writing isn't always fun, so you have yo decide if you're willing to put up with the non-fun parts of it. And improving your skill gives you a way to make it worthwhile.

I think that'll do for now.

[eldritchsurveys]

862.

1. have you ever gotten soap in your mouth for cursing? do you think that’s right to do to kids who curse?: >> I did get soap in my mouth, but not for cursing; for “talking back” or being “fresh”, mostly. I was (understandably...) too afraid to do anything as brash as curse. I don’t think it’s an appropriate disciplinary measure at all, unless your mission is to confuse and frighten your child into obedience... which, apparently, is a lot of parents’ ultimate goal, it seems.

2. what age do you think is appropriate for kids to start watching horror movies with lots of gore?: >> I really don’t have a solid opinion about this. I tend to skew a little unorthodox on this front, which is probably best left unexplored (fortunately, this is all hypothetical and I’ll never have to address this situation in real life).

3. do you know what the word “polyamorous” means? and did you ever hear that song by breaking benjamin?: >> I know what it means, and I do remember the Breaking Benjamin song.

4. how many bug bites do you currently have?: >> Zero.

5. what’s one word you always have trouble spelling and can’t remember the correct spelling of?: >> I don’t think there’s any word like that. Spelling and phonics is one of my few strong suits.

6. what’s one band that really sucks live?: >> I don’t know, I haven’t seen any that I thought sucked performance-wise (I have seen a few whose music I just didn’t care for, like some opening acts, but that has nothing to do with the quality of their performance).

7. do you go to warped tour? why or why not?: >> I have never been to Warped Tour. I just never got an opportunity to go, or I was never interested, or whatever.

8. do you have any wind chimes outside your house? how many?: >> No. Some neighbours have them, I think.

9. do you know someone who actually had someone give them a bouquet of real roses and one fake one, and tell them they’ll love them until the last one dies?: >> I’ve never even heard of that.

10. which do you like better, firefox or internet explorer?: >> Firefox.

11. who is the most attractive person on your street?: >> ---

12. do you have a flat stomach? would you ever wear a belly shirt to show it off?: >> I no longer have a flat stomach, and you wouldn’t catch me dead in a crop top.

13. which do you prefer on yourself, long or short hair?: >> I like how I look with long hair, but I prefer the low maintenance of short hair. So, I buzz my head, and I wear wigs when I feel like it. Best of both worlds.

14. what about on your preferred sex? long or short?: >> ---

15. with eyebrow piercings, do you prefer the ring or the curved barbell?: >> I have no opinion.

16. have you ever pierced something yourself? why and what was it?: >> Yeah, I pierced my ears a few times. I did it because I wanted to? And also because I couldn’t afford to have them professionally done. I also did it when I was 16 because my father wouldn’t let me get a cartilage piercing, so I pierced my own ear at work one day. (My father eventually noticed because I put the most ridiculously obvious jewelry in it... hold on, I’m going to find a photo of what I’m talking about because like... what did I expect to happen)

looked something like that. I straight up deserved to get caught.

17. would you date someone who was five years older than you?: >> I don’t date, but that wouldn’t be a dealbreaker if I did.

18. i heard of a girl whose boyfriend cheated on her with a 13yearold (he’s 18) and got her pregnant, so she left him. what would you have done if you were in her situation?: >> I... just can’t imagine being in this situation, sorry.

19. how old was the youngest person you ever found attractive? and how old were you?: >> Oh, I don’t know. Probably not much younger than myself; my tastes always skewed older (oftentimes much older).

20. isn’t it annoying when you’re trying to start conversation with someone and all they say is “yup” or “really now” or something like that?: >> Not necessarily, unless they’re usually much more exuberant and participatory than that. Then I’d wonder if something was wrong (and if it was my fault).

21. if you have aim, do you have any linked screen names? how many?: >> ---

22. which of your favorite bands released a new album last?: >> I’m not sure.

23. are you waiting for any bands to release new albums? which ones?: >> No.

24. what’s your favorite store for buying cds and such at?: >> Back in the day when that was my primary mode of listening to music, my favourite music stores were Virgin Megastore and Tower Records. Ah, nostalgia.

25. what’s the point in buying dvds like “girls gone wild” and other porn if you can get tons more online for free?: >> Well, people generally do watch more porn online nowadays, I think. But the benefit of having a DVD is that... you never have to worry about the video being taken down, and you always have it available (so, even if you don’t have internet connection, etc). It’s the same argument for having paper books or movies/shows on DVD, really.

26. if you had to have one drug (illegal ones, like marijuana and cocaine and all of them) right now, what would it be?: >> Well, marijuana is technically legal here (although I think new recreational dispensary openings in this city have been kinda interrupted by the whole pandemic business, so it’s still a bit hard to access for now). The only drugs I’m even interested in anymore (besides maybe a little low-THC weed, just to see) are psychedelics, and I don’t just want to take them casually, I want a tripsitter or a therapist present. So it’s more complicated than just “getting the drug”.

27. would you ever get a sleeve or a half sleeve on your arm (we’re talking about tattoos)?: >> I would love that. I have had the idea to have a tree-rings tattoo down my left arm like the astronaut character in The Fountain for years.

28. do you have a wireless mouse and/or keyboard?: >> No, my keyboard and mouse are both wired, which is logical. Wouldn’t it suck if I was in the middle of a boss fight in FFXIV and the battery in my keyboard or mouse just fuckin died? Yikes.

29. do you think your biological parents love each other?: >> They did not love each other, from my perspective. I don’t even know if my father is capable of loving anyone, the way he fucking acts.

30. do you have callouses on your feet?: >> No.

31. did you see the commercial for that “foot grater” on tv that basically shaves the callouses off of your feet? isn’t that nasty to think about?: >> That is nasty to think about, and I don’t think it’s even necessary. Anything to make a buck, I guess.

31. what’s your favorite color combination (ex. pink and purple)?: >> I don’t know, I like a lot of colour combinations.

32. ever been to watchmovies.net? what do you think of the quality of the movies there?: >> Yeah. I don’t like sites like that because I can never get good subtitles and also they’re always buffering and shit. I can’t put up with that anymore, I paid my dues back in my literally-broke days.

33. what’s one movie you’re dying to see but haven’t had the chance to see yet?: >> Everything on my watchlists across the four streaming services I patronise. I just don’t always have movie-watching energy (or time), so it’s slow going to get through all my watchlists.

34. would you rather live alone in a huge mansion or alone in a small studio apartment?: >> Alone in a small studio apartment. Unless the huge mansion had a staff, because I really can’t fucking imagine keeping a mansion clean and maintained otherwise. But... huge mansions often come with a lot of acreage... and no neighbours... that’d be nice.

35. if you came across child porn on your computer, what would you do?: >> How the fuck would that even happen? Let’s not get silly here.

36. what’s the last computer game you played?: >> Final Fantasy XIV.

37. what’s the name of the street you live on?: >> Eh, let’s not.

38. would you ever dye your entire head blonde?: >> No.

39. what’s the randomest thing you ever heard of someone collecting?: >> I don’t know, most things people collect seem random to me.

40. how often do you use “<3” or “:]”?: >> Rarely.

41. isn’t it annoying how people walk around thinking hollister logo tshirts and ripped jeans are preppy, even though those things would never be allowed in a prepatory school because of the dress code?: >> *stares blankly in “I don’t care”*

42. how do you feel about abortion?: >> I am pro-choice.

43. what’s one thing your grandmother does that you can’t stand?: >> ---

44. did you ever notice how it’s more tragic if a younger person dies than an older person, even if they both died of the same cause?: >> It does seem that way to people, but I don’t see it that way myself. Of course I’d rather die when I’m old than, like, right now, but hey. It be like that.

45. when’s the last time you snuck around, and where did you go?: >> I don’t have to sneak around.

46. how often do you wash your hair?: >> Once a week, provided I remember.

47. do you think the price for a movie ticket is too high these days?: >> Not here, it isn’t. In NYC, it was fucking astronomical.

48. have you ever been to a drive-in movie theater?: >> No. I’d like to one day, that seems fun. But only if I have a convertible, lol.

49. what’s your favorite musical?: >> Phantom of the Opera.

50. what do you think of dr. seuss?: >> I’ve never read him (that I can remember) and I don’t care.

[arealestatezine-blog1]

How Do I Know I'm a Real Estate Investor?

Lengthy ago i had a long chat with one of the most successful real estate investors I had ever met. As I often do, I wanted to get a authentic understanding of the "Why? " he did real estate along with what he wanted to accomplish for himself by attaining financial freedom. You see, I am firmly convinced of the facts that "If you have a big enough 'Why? ' to try something, the 'How? ' will reveal itself to your account. This gentleman had some good things to say about the thought and completely opened my mind up to even more deeply levels of understanding about the terms "success" and "freedom". Listen closely, if you're serious about making real estate investing an ultra-successful professional for you, you have to go even further than just having investing in properties be what you do for a living. It has to become a standard of living. He threw my questions right back at me and even we had some great give-and-take and it was like you could fully feel that chemistry that comes into play when entrepreneurs are speaking about their passion of investing in real estate. For him, it again came down to asking this question, which fans for Tony Robbins should recognize its like: "If I did unlimited time, unlimited money, unlimited resources and confidence, unlimited tools and teaching, unlimited support from friends, and unlimited belief in myself... what would I? Who would I be? " Most of us would do the things which are passionate about, right? He was able early on to make sure you answer that he wanted to be a real estate investor who made it easier people solve problems and made money by purchasing real estate. What he shared with me, however , is that he didn't self-identify as a "real estate investor" until a large number of, many years later. Until that moment, years later, once he claimed and began now to internalize the belief that "I am a real estate investor", he was an important hobbyist, a dabbler, a dreamer. He had this connection with self-actualization at a real estate seminar where one of the participants quizzed the speaker "How do I really know that I'm a genuine estate investor? " The speaker responded that "You know you're a true investor when you can't NOT expend! " He then went on to tell me that during the equivalent seminar someone, obviously someone without a very strong "Why? " or motivation yet to become successful, asked the sub "How can I find time in my busy schedule to perform this business? " The looked at this questioner with the very same patience and understanding that showed that this was the hundredth time the speaker had fielded this question, not to mention said in effect "If you're a real estate investor, you may not find time to invest and do this business... if you're fascinated by this business you make time to do it. " After my best incredibly successful investor friend let that sink to him and he found that he could really understanding hold of those two simple concepts, he realized therefore and there that he'd always been trying to FIND the time to shell out and take the necessary actions to get his business looking. For all of his "career" to that point he had long been finding and taking that time to do his "business" ONCE other things that his attention and time expenditures HAVE SHOWN were MORE important to him than becoming successful through real estate. The difference, after he had let these two strategies sink into him and really started to understand it all and, most importantly, APPLY his understanding to his believed patterns and daily routines... ... the difference was that they did not just IGNORE the real-world practical matters that NEED to become part of someone's life (like for example to the beginning realty investor, a steady income from a stable source to provide bills' money and put food on the table) but other than that, he ASSURED himself that he would always MAKE moments to create the life he wanted that was in answer to the compelling "Why? " to become successful- and he did it by taking solid, CONSISTENT actions and gaining unstoppable push. I think that these 2 concepts- of IDENTITY and making a claim that you ARE what you want to be, and CONSISTENCY in finding the time needed to DO what you ARE- applies to anyone wishing to turn the dream into a reality, whether it is to become a successful real estate individual or whatever, be it a published author, big ticketed actress, or even just someone who wants to become the "World's Finest Dad". Just substitute whatever it is that you're passionate with regards to for finding time to do "real estate investing" and also knowing how you are really a "real estate investor? " plus you're on your way, if real estate investing is not your enthusiasm. I understand for many people it's NOT. Many people want to USE the VEHICLE in real estate to take them to a place where you have the flexibility and the luxury of time, and you have been able to achieve any financial security and independence to do what you want when you want. At this time, with me, it's writing. I'm passionate about writing, and definitely will write whether or not I get paid for it. It's not just what I, but it's who I AM. How would you answer the friend's question... if you had everything you ever needed previously ACCOMPLISHED by investing in real estate and building a positive as well as successful lifestyle with plenty of passive income coming in obtain? What would YOU do? Who would you BE? What's the dream? What's YOUR true passion? What will you do using the extraordinary wealth you can accumulate in real estate? Now I'd like you to write down what you are passionate about. You are serious about something besides money, right?; ) I most certainly hope so! If you aren't, it's time to ask yourself a good quality hard question and take a long look at yourself and find out why not! Maybe your answer is like mine, that huge selection and income from real estate investing can give me the particular freedom to write whenever I want, to get paid or not likely get paid but to have the flexibility for it not to MATTER. Maybe you want to spend more time with your family. Maybe you want to get away from the 9 to 5 grind and make sure that you never ever miss another Little League game. Maybe you want to spend an afternoon golfing, fishing, or sailing, or learning the particulars of Thai cuisine. Maybe in financial freedom you'd probably want to travel all over the world (of course, you'd at least View real estate while you're there right? That's called taking a PAYcation instead of a VACATION and you need to ask your tax pro about THAT little gift from Uncle Sam). Whatever your own "Why? " is take a moment now and write the software down! Commit this to paper. It's important! Now, listed below is where my friend and I agree that most people eliminate. This is hard. In fact , it's often a question that if you will give it the thought and meditation time that it feasible to get just might make you cry or knock you flat with your backside. Asking this next question you're about to determine can be downright HUMBLING or even, in some cases, extremely UPSETTING. And yet, you GOTTA do it! Now, write down your well-thought advice to this question: Why aren't you living this daily life and doing all these things you desire NOW? If you're not even close, what would it take for you to be able to live your life regarding destiny and dreams? Think this is a silly exercise? Just simply ask yourself, "Am I getting the results right now that I really want out of my life? " If you're not, well... it might be a good idea to consider some opinions.; ) Just remember, without a map there isn't an treasure! Your "Why? " is the map that will continue to keep you on track towards gaining momentum to becoming typically the IDENTITY of a true entrepreneur and professional real estate real estate investor. And it keeping this in mind will PUSH you within taking all the actions necessary, in a CONSISTENT manner, for you to achieving everything it is that, until you WRITE IT DOWNWARD, you only SAY that you really want.

[superb-fairywren]

if they ever do a wild west plane and the wanderer ISNT there, then there’s no fucking point

she’s literally the lone wanderer archetype also know as the drifter or the stranger and it is a concept so deeply entrenched in the american ideal of cowboy and cowboy movies which were DIRCTLY inspired, if not fully ripped off of japanese samurai movies, in which the lone wanderer archetype is also very present in the form of the ronin

if wotc doesn’t take full advantage of this literally already built in story and pull together two deeply connected sub genres, they’re cowards and fools

[superb-fairywren]

i just found out that scryfall gives untranslated spoiled MTG cards the fucking best nicknames, so we* here at GRA have decided to immortalise them - enjoy the following for SNC/NCC:

(according to magicspoiler: Omniseer Arbiter, 2B and Unlicensed Dispatch)

[braincoins]

“Come on, it’ll be fun.”

“I don’t know...”

“Please?”

“Okay, but... in costume? You’re sure?”

“Trust me.”

Technically, Lance was here to cover it for the site. 

I love my job so much.

He was getting paid to attend the first Starlight Con, where the geeks of the city could pay honor and homage to their superhero. And he had a press pass to get him into basically any and every event he could want to attend! 

Cosplayers were everywhere, most as Starlight, but he caught a few Paladins wandering around. The dealer’s room was packed with superhero-related RPGs, CCGs, video games, and comics. 

Lance spent a good chunk of time in the artist’s alley, which was full to bursting with fanartists, fanfic writers, and a slew of fancomics. These were the hardcore fans (aside from the cosplayers), and he interviewed a few (and let them promo their stuff in return).

“Starlight does so much for this city, and she really captures the imagination!”

“I think it’s important for my daughters to see a strong black woman hero. She’s their idol - and mine, too.”

“I just think she’s super hot.” Because of course the fanboy contingent was out in spades. Lance drummed up some controversy asking their opinions on Paladin, and there was almost a literal fistfight between two fans when one said he thought Paladin and Starlight should hook up and the other said that Starlight didn’t need a man. Convention Center security was right on that, thankfully. Lance quietly decided not to publish the video he got of the fight; it’d just be embarrassing for them both, and “nerds fight over their opinions” wasn’t exactly newsworthy.

He was taking a lunch break when he saw two people stroll in wearing the best costumes he’d seen yet. They were Starlight and Paladin, of course, and they were almost immediately thronged by con-goers eager for pictures. 

The Starlight cosplayer seemed a little anxious, but her partner whispered something in her ear, then grinned and posed for the cameras. She copied him somewhat uncertainly and everyone snapped away and thanked them. Huh, first time cosplaying, maybe? Well, hers, for sure. He snapped a couple pics as they walked by and went back to eating his overpriced hot dog. Lunchtime was sacred. Hopefully he could catch up with them later.

There was a panel starting at 1 PM about the need for superheroes in this day and age. Lance got there early for some good crowd shots, recorded the whole thing, and got some interviews with the panelists afterwards. There was a police representative who gave the standard “vigilante” line, of course. One of the panelists said she was a cop but stressed that her opinions were her own and not representative of the city PD before saying that she loved Starlight and was glad she was out there, but that she didn’t want normal civilians trying to do what Starlight - and this new one, Paladin - were out there doing. “They’re... unique. Let them do the dangerous stuff. There are so many other ways of being a hero: adopting a pet from the shelter, or adopting a child from foster care! Donating time and money to a soup kitchen or homeless shelter. Taking a moment out of your day to do something nice for someone else.” Lance got every word she said... but didn’t get her number sadly. Oh well; can’t blame a guy for trying.

Coming out of the panel, he ran into the super-good cosplayers again, but they were thronged by other cosplayers asking about how they made their outfits. “Starlight” was uncomfortable with all the attention and questions; “Paladin” seemed to be enjoying himself, saying it was a “trade secret” and he could tell them but then he’d have to kill them and making everyone laugh. Lance let them be for now.

He prowled around the dealer’s room some more. There were some modern day snake oil salesmen here, of course, claiming that their smoothies or drink powders or “super foods” would make you healthy and strong just like Starlight! Lance tucked his press ID into his shirt; they’d pounce on him if they saw a chance for free advertising. He did take free samples though; most of them tasted kind of chemical-y, but there was some sort of granola crunchie thing that was actually pretty good. Might not make me a superhero, but at least it doesn’t taste like cardboard dipped in paint thinner. 

The con organizers seemed to have segregated the wackos into one area. Most of them were obvious nutjobs, but there was one, run by what looked like a high school girl, that made a pretty compelling case for Starlight being an extra-terrestrial. “It explains her gadgets!” the girl declared. “Super advanced tech, like nothing anyone’s ever seen!” She leaned close to Lance to confide, “And I think her ears are actually pointed. I mean, what point in making them look like that otherwise? It’s not like pointed ears are a necessary part of a ‘starlight’ themed aesthetic, y’know?”

“You think Starlight’s a space elf?” he asked skeptically.

She frowned as she straightened up and folded her arms. “That’s reductive. I think she’s an alien who happens to have pointed ears. ‘Space elf’ is just silly.”

“Oh, sorry, of course. Thanks for the food for thought, though.” But, it was a good point: why did Starlight want her ears to look like they were pointed?

Most people weren’t interested in looking too deep into the gift horse’s mouth. They were just happy Starlight existed and was willing to help out. There was another panel at 3 of people who had been saved by Starlight. Lance had to run and it took a flash of his press pass to get in since they’d just closed the doors.

Heh, I wonder if Shiro’ll be here. Everyone at the paper knew that Shiro’d been saved by Starlight hundreds of times, probably. He was probably her #1 Most Rescued or something.

But, alas, no sign of his colleague. Some of the “panelists” were mundane - “Starlight helped me carry my groceries” - but there were some more exciting ones. One guy had been part of a small crowd evacuated from a Planned Parenthood when a wackjob had threatened to blow it up.

“I tripped and fell and I could feel my ankle give. Probably wasn’t broken, I thought - and I was right, as it turned out - but I didn’t think I was going to hobble out of there in time. But then Starlight showed up, picked me up, and ran out of the building.

“You all probably know the rest of the story: the bomb did blow, but it didn’t have enough force to do more than knock out some windows. Made a mess of the waiting room, though. And that was where I tripped. It might have killed me, or at least injured me a lot more.”

A woman saved from her abusive partner. A group of kids who’d not only been saved in the moment from a drive-by shooting but who had thereafter dedicated themselves to making their neighborhood safer, following Starlight’s example. A teenager who said he’d never met Starlight or seen her in person, but that following her crime-fighting career gave him a reason to keep going every day despite the bullying he endured for being trans. “She’s black, like me. When she’s not wearing the mask, I bet she has to put up with bullshit all the time. But she doesn’t let it beat her down. She keeps going out there and saving people. Knowing she’s out there lets me know the world’s not as bad a place as it seems sometimes.”

Lance interviewed every single one of them afterwards, even the little old lady with the groceries. No task too small for our hero, he thought with a satisfied smile.

He was about to leave for the day - the con went all weekend, and he wanted to file the report soon so maybe more people would come tomorrow - when he came across the couple with the awesome costumes again. Last chance! He called out, “Hey, Starlight! Paladin!” and jogged up to them.

They turned towards him; Paladin smiled widely but Starlight just groaned, “Oh my god.”

“Fantastic costumes! Can I get a picture? I work for the online version of The Daily World, and you’d be a great cover image for the story!”

“Anything for one of the citizens of our fair city,” Paladin said in a deep voice. I love it when they’re in character, Lance thought. 

“This is too much,” Starlight protested, doing a spot on impression of that weird, British-y accent of hers. “In the paper? Are you kidding me?”

“Really, you’re a knockout, both of you!” Lance assured her. “Best costumes I’ve seen!”

“It’s important to have only the very best equipment when you’re fighting crime,” Paladin agreed.

“You’re loving this,” she accused him.

“I absolutely am,” he replied with a wide grin. “Come on, Starlight. It’s for the paper.”

She sighed. “Oh, very well. I suppose it will look nice.”

“You gotta pose,” he told her, striking his own ‘Valiant Defender of the City’ pose in demonstration.

“Oh, this is ridiculous.” But she did her own pose anyway.

Lance snapped a few pics. “Perfect! Fantastic! I swear if I didn’t know better, I’d think you two were really them!”

Paladin started laughing, but then Starlight grabbed his arm. “Okay, that’s it, we’re leaving.”

“Aww! We’ve only been here a few hours!”

“That’s more than enough. Besides, if we’re too tired, we won’t be having any fun tonight.”

“Fun or fun?” he asked her.

“Either.”

“Okay, we’re leaving.” He waved at Lance. “Take care, citizen!”

“You too!” Lance said with a laugh as Starlight hauled him towards the exit. He checked his photos of them, which were all excellent, of course, chuckled, and headed out as well. He had a story to write.

{The Adventures of Starlight & Paladin}

[proheromidoriyashouto]

Quirkless Hero!Deku and Artist/Youtuber!Shouto AU expansion

Shouto was expelled from the Hero Course by Aizawa after the Sports Festival for his refusal to use all his might (neglecting half his quirk) when the chips are down. Shouto went to General Studies and after some serious introspection post-Hosu (he was dragged along by Ende*vore to do grunt work as punishment and happened to come across Tenya and an Idaten intern he didn't know facing off against Stain) began to find solace in art and writing classes and decided to take his life into his own hands.

Shouto started a gaming channel because Ochako- while introducing him to Super Smash Bros Ultimate- noted that he has a nice voice and he likes the story-telling capabilities of games, so why not? What does he have to lose? His striking appearance and slight fame will surely garner him a boost in viewership early on, and they do.

He initially has to run the channel from Tenya's home since Ende*vore would never allow it. He starts off playing multiplayer games because those are what his friends introduce him to so they can play together, but he inevitably shifts toward single-player games that devote quite a lot of time into compelling story campaigns and exploration. His first delves are into Horizon: Zero Dawn, God of War, the Fallout series, Portal 1 & 2, the Witcher series, and the Last of Us since these are the most prominent games at the time (remakes of games in 22XX tend to release in the same year and order the originals did to get the most playtime out of fans). He’s not good at it to start. He reads from a script and he’s stiff and uncomfortable in front of the camera. He thought he was desensitized to that given his time in the limelight thanks to his name but there’s something about talking to a small webcam that feels, well, silly, and... intense. Personal. It’s a serious detractor, and the comments he receives about it are almost enough to shut down the channel for good. His friends’ support gets him through though and he starts to develop a considerable following.

Before he realizes, he’s spending all his free time playing games with purpose, creating new videos on a nearly daily basis, brainstorming how to structure  theory and lore episodes, and worrying about how his uploads are perceived. He runs charity live streams, plays fan-picked hero games, scours every last hint of lore from side-quests, get those sweet sweet completionist Platinum trophies that only like 1% of players get for every game.

Ende*vore cuts him off from his money, and inheritance. Shouto tentatively starts support pages and is surprised by the number of people willing to shell out for him. He starts to really feel the burn-out as he struggles to create more video content for awards before Momo suggests making things. Real, physical things for awards that will give him a break for the grind, and that he can use to improve his art skills. He smacks himself when he realizes that he can also use art as a way of re-connecting with his mother.

Visits at the hospital become days spent drawing, painting, sculpting, and knitting. His mother shocks him in a display of lace-making and he feels a pang of grief when he learns that it was a tradition in her family that she hadn’t been able to pass down to him. She’d taught Fuyumi and Touya a bit but Ende*vore found out and put a stop to it, saying that his legacy was the only one they needed to concern themselves with. She was too afraid of the harm her husband would bring upon the children if she tried again with Natsuo and Shouto. After hearing that there’s nothing more Shouto wants to learn (lace-crafts are his awards for months, and then on occasion for years to come).

His channel, SpicyHeathenGaming, steadily grows over the years and once he graduates from U.A., he devotes himself entirely to running it. By the time he has the formal encounter with Deku, he has millions of subscribers and has become quite comfortable in the public persona he’d crafted (it’s easy to slip into given his natural penchant for straight-man-esque dry humor). He’s almost 25, successful in a precarious field, and... happy. Genuinely at peace. There are days when he misses the rush of a fight, the satisfaction of post-rescue, and on bad days, he thinks of all the people he never saved. He schedules an appointment with his therapist and moves on.

Deku is the one to note that the Day They Met wasn’t at the construction site as he thought, but during the battle of Stain vs Team Idaten Round 2 (and U.A. Students) as the media has labelled it. Shouto is shocked but not for long. The similarities to his then-Idaten costume are prevalent in Deku’s short white mask, midnight leg guards, and heavy black soles but the rest is substantially changed. He’s vaguely reminiscent of a teal/aqua All Might- especially with his cowl on- rather than the Ingenium line now.

He’d become infamous for becoming a hero “the old fashioned way“ through interning and shadowing directly with Pros for years, foregoing hero-high school altogether.

While none of the schools outright forbid quirkless students from applying, Deku had said in his debut press conference, despite passing Ketsubutsu, Shiketsu, and U.A.’s entrance exams, I was denied admittance. They all said something to the effect of ‘I had a “weak constitution”’, ‘my “supposed passion” had been deemed insufficient hot air,’ and ‘my “heroic spirit” wouldn’t be enough to match the rigor of a top-rated hero-course’s training.’ A good friend of mine, Tenya Iida, had been at the same U.A. entrance exam as myself and after learning about my struggles put in a word for me with his family. I didn’t ask for a handout, but when the legitimate options are not truly available to you, what choice even is there? I wasn’t going to turn down the one chance I had left. Team Idaten was good to me and I wouldn’t be the man I’ve become if not for them. In all honesty, Deku shrugged, an almost apologetic look on his face, almost. I was starting to fall into a pretty dark place. I might have become a villain.

Deku had faced ire from Pros, alumni and non-alumni from the schools alike for those remarks, and public opinion had been torn between disdain for slandering the institutions of hero education or support for him having become a hero despite all the odds against him- a true, old-school origin story. All Might had surprised many by showing Deku support, and many U.A.-borne Pros had followed in his example. Ketsubutsu and Shiketsu had not been nearly as kind, with few exceptions. Deku’s rivalries with Dynamic Blitz (one-sided feud in reality), Magnitude, Cloudburst, and Sideburn Tress were almost as well-known as All Might and Endeavor back when they were heroes.

Deku was a world-wide icon for the roughly 2 billion quirkless people in existence, only one of a hand-full of quirkless Pros throughout the world since the dawn of quirks, and the first ever in Japan’s history. He was leagues above Shouto. Shouldn’t have paid him any more mind than any other civilian he’d saved. If not for Shouto’s disastrous inability to handle situations like anything resembling a normal person. He’d seen a strong, handsome, trend-setting, status-quo defying, internationally known hero up close in person, who not only recognized him for his channel but his private art blog and shop, reaching toward his evidently panicking self and had activated his right side as though it was the neglected half, and frozen their hands together.

He’d made a fucking fool of himself... but still... wound up with a number in his pocket and a wink emoji. He never got such lascivious flirting sent his way. Curses, that wink emoji. Not with his scar and eye-straining coloration and lack of proper skin and hair care. No way. What if Deku winked at him in real life? In public? Scandalous. What was he going to do?

Fuyumi. Tenya, help me.

Um, sure?

With what?

...kill me.

-Shou-!

W-why would you-!!

Please, just, vaporize me right now, I’m staring at the moon just take me by surprise, I’m begging you. Actually call Aoyama I have money.

Little brother! What’s brought this on?

That’s not an explanation! If you need help-

I... I have a date.

(Shouto is verrrr out of practice with his powers and dating and is a complete disaster gay. Izuku’s kinda suave and you can thank Tensei’s Big Brother Influence for that. Izuku saved Eri and Kouta okay I promise I have an explanation. All Might was a dick and never found Izuku to apologize. Izuku’s kinda bitter about it but he’s living his best life so :///////. OFA? Never met her. Mirio would be OFA’s 9th in this AU after losing Permeation. Will expand into a proper fic and post to AO3 when its done- I already have too many AUs at once going on.

Population estimates put humans stabilizing at about 11 billion in the 2200s - BNHA was already in modern day when quirks came and its been 200 years since then as per canon- and 20% of the population is slightly more than 2 billion. 2 billion quirkless people.

Dynamic Blitz is that motherfucker. You know who Magnitude and Cloudburst are~. Three guess as to Sideburn Tress’ identity. He wasn’t outwardly hostile but something about him set off red-flags for me. Also strikes me as having a lot of school pride.)

[superb-fairywren]

A co-worker of mine came up with the scratch n' sniff cards a couple of months ago - Unscented. (We also thought of some variants like mystery scent, and I just thought of like, combining scents for multicolored cards)

A couple days left to get your choice of a playmat. Sign up at my Patreon page before the end of July.

[twenty-nothing]

NinetyNine

Quick Facts:

1. Sexual Preference? Men

2. Lost your virginity at?   15

3. When did you have your first orgasm (non-self induced)? Lol hasn’t happened yet

4. Number of sexual partners? 4

5. Most times in 1 day? 3 or 4 times

6. Longest “dry spell”? Going on 4 1/2 years right now, haven't dated anyone since my ex and I’m not into hookups

7. Sexiest part of the opposite sexes body?   Jaw line

8. Sexiest part of your body? Nothing 9. How many times a week do you consider normal? 3 or 4

10. Your favorite place to be kissed? Lips and neck

Yes or No

1. Do you like sex? Yes

2. Is there a difference between having sex and making love? Yes, I like “making love” term more. Making love is just a different feel with the person it feels right with, and can be silly, and romantic and sensual and hugs after and I guess it’s “sex” the term,  but it’s different feeling with the relationship. Feels strong in my opinion :)

3. Sex with the lights on? Nope

4. Are showers/bathtubs/pools/jacuzzi a turn on? I don’t know, never tried any

5. Is talking dirty a turn on? Depends on the mood

6. Is role playing fun? I haven’t really tried it

7. Has anyone ever walked in on you? No

8. Use(d) flavored or ribbed condoms? I’ve done ribbed, oh god that was nice

9. Ever worn/eaten edible underwear? NO 

10. Do you consider yourself adventurous? With the right person, yes

11. Ever watched porn? Yes

12. Do you enjoy oral sex? I’m too self conscious to allow someone to do it

13. Does size count? I think so

14. Ever paid for/been paid for sex? Nope

15. Do you ever go commando? No

16. Ever skinny dipped with member(s) of the opposite sex? Never skinny dipped

17. Do you shave your genitals? When Im sexually active, yes. I prefer getting waxed

18. Do you prefer it if your partner shaves their genitals? I do like it at least trimmed

19. Have you ever had bad sex? Yes yes yes. D:

20. Have watched someone else have sex (not porn)? No

Done that/ Want to do it/ Hell no!

1. Strip poker - Want to

2. Mile high club - Want to

3. Striptease - Want to

4. Phone sex - Done that

5. Take and send naked photos - Done that

6. 69 - Done that

7. Use props (handcuffs, blind folds etc) - Want to

8. Sex in a public place (park, train, bathroom, lift etc) - I’ve done a car?

9. Sex Games (naked twister, sex dice etc.) - Want to

10. Role Playing (Nurse and patient etc.) - Want to

11. Sex with a stranger - Hell no

12. Use(d) the Kama Sutra or other sex book - Done that

13. Use(d) food during foreplay (body chocolate etc.) - Hell no

14. Sex whilst driving - I’ve given road head before

15. Home sex tape - Done that

16. French sex - Dont know what that is

17. Golden shower - Hell no

18. Anal sex - Hell no

19. 3 some - Hell no

20. Homosexual encounter - Hell No

Multiple Choice

1. Who should initiate sex? [] The Guy [] The Girl [x] Whoever

2. Best way to initiate sex? [] Say “So like should we do it now?” [x] Snuggle up close and hope they get the message [X] Grab your partner in the “Well hello there area”

3. How do you feel about talking dirty? [] Love it I can come up with all sorts of scenarios [x] I can squeak out a few moans if that counts? [] Talking dirty??

4. Which animal represents you sexual personality? [] Bunny (I like often) [x] Monkey (the more positions and role playing the better) [] Tiger (I like to dominate)

5. Your partner mentions something new that you’ve never thought of. Your reaction is: [] Eeewww no way!! [X] Hmmm, convince me… [] Oh yeah! Let’s do it…

6. What can’t you live without  [x] Intercourse [ ] Oral Sex [x] Foreplay

7. Best time of the day for sex [x] Morning [x] Afternoon [x] Night.

8. After sex you: [ ] Roll over and go to sleep [x] Cuddle [x] Shower

9. If you could only have 1 of the following for the rest of your life which would you choose? [X] As many quickies as you can handle but nothing longer than 5 minutes [] 1 night of hot passionate sex a month [] Only oral sex

10. Would you rather sleep with [] Someone with model looks but that was completely hopeless in bed [X] Someone who’s looks were repulsive but had porn star type skills in the bedroom [] A person who’s attractive, highly skilled the bedroom but is the same sex as you

Long Questions

1. What is your favorite position? Doggy 100000000%

2. Favorite place you’ve had sex? Car sex is the best sex I’ve had

3. Place you’d most like to have sex? Something hot and heavy in a bar bathroom honestly lmao 

4. Favorite Sex toy? I don’t like using those

5. Hottest thing someone's done to/for you? Pulling my hair and slapping me from behind, so fucking hot

6. Hottest thing you’ve done to/for some one? Road head

7. 3 hottest ways for your partner to initiate sex? Spooning me with a boner already, passionate kissing where you know its gonna happen, ass slapping

8. Describe your sexiest outfit. I dont have one lol

9. You have 10 minutes to do whatever you want to your partner and they can’t stop you or say no. What would you do? I dont know lol

10. Most embarrassing moment during sex? lmao lets not

[crusherthedoctor]

Sonic Villains: Sweet or Shite? - Part 6: KING ARTHUR & MERLINA

There are some villains I like. And there are some villains I don’t like. But why do I feel about them the way I do? That’s where this comes in.

This is a new mini-series of mine, in which I’ll be going into slightly more detail about my thoughts on the villains in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, and why I think they either work well, or fall flat (or somewhere in-between). I’ll be giving my stance on their designs, their personalities, and what they had to show for themselves in the game(s) they featured in. Keep in mind that these are just my own personal thoughts. Whether you agree or disagree, feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions! I don’t bite. :>

Anyhow, for today’s installment, we’ll be fighting the knight while living life as we discuss the dark spirit of Sonic and the Black Knight, as well as the schemer behind the scenes: King Arthur & Merlina.

The Gist: Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a peaceful kingdom was threatened by the rule of a corrupted king. A young wizard named Merlina valiantly defied this monarch, the famous King Arthur, and attempted to escape the clutches of his evil army, but alas, she was cornered like a poor little lamb. In desperation, she called upon a brave and noble hero to help save her kingdom.

She got a blue hedgehog instead.

He did it guys, he did the thing, we can all go home now.

Eager to fight the villain of the week, Sonic was instead put aside by Merlina, who explained to him that as long as King Arthur had the scabbard of Excalibur in his possession, he was basically Jesus and couldn't be wounded in any meaningful way. She also explained that the king was once a noble soul, until the Lady of the Lake, Nimue, lended Excalibur to him, presumably under the belief that granting an ambitious ruler immortality and the power to pluck monsters from the underworld couldn't possibly be a terrible idea.

It was.

Luckily for Sonic, Merlina guided him to a forest where a poorly guarded sword was held, the one weapon capable of dealing some real damage to the evil king. Sonic even got a chance to make it count when Arthur himself showed up right after, but since this was still early on in the game, he fucked up so badly that Arthur and the sword itself - yes, the sword itself - were both laughing at him for his incompetence.

By the way, I hope you like desaturated cutscenes.

Nonetheless, the sword - who went by the name of Caliburn - decided to give the cocky teenager a chance in spite of his own reservations, and granted him the honorable title of Knave the Hedgehog. Sonic took issue with this title, because he didn't want to be mistaken for a fancharacter (probably). As they discussed their next course of action, Merlina waxed nihilistic poetry about flowers for some strange reason.

Because that's how nature works, silly girl.

So after a trip to the Blacksmith to get Caliburn in tip-top shape for regicide, Sonic went off to seek out Nimue in order to get an idea of what to actually do. Upon visiting her, he was asked to locate and gather the sacred swords, though he was forced to detract from his mission for the sake of saving some helpless townspeople from a cruel dragon, because that's just the kind of guy that Sonic the Hedgehog is... Just as well then that it was part of Nimue's test all along! (Just as well also that King Arthur was presumably patient enough to wait for Sonic to pass his tests instead of using that time to destroy the kingdom.)

All the while, he confronted the Knights of the Round Table, who - being the king's most trusted and most capable soldiers - did nothing other than get their asses handed to them.

Pictured: Useless twats.

Until at last, when everything that had to be done was done, Sonic and Caliburn went to the Faraway Avalon, where King Arthur himself dwelled. The battle was intense to say the least, but with a little help from the sacred swords, the Blue Blur prevailed, and the corrupted monarch who plagued the kingdom... dissipated? Like the Knights of the Underworld before him...? Well at least they got Excalibur back.

Seeking to get to the bottom of this mystery, Sonic brought it to Merlina's attention, who revealed that the King Arthur the hedgehog slayed was a fake, and that there never was a true King Arthur to begin with, as he was an illusion created by Merlina's grandfather, the great Merlin himself.

She also revealed the slightly more important fact that she's an evil bitch who used Sonic for her own gain, and proceeded to use Excalibur to give the hero a very bad time.

Holding a sword like that with her hair so close? Bitch is mad.

After some reassurance that all was not in vain, Sonic convinced the Knights of the Round Table to stop kissing the now-deceased Arthur's feet and help him save the kingdom for real. Using their sacred swords, the Knights formed a powerful barrier around the kingdom's castle, and then immediately proceeded to go right back to being useless.

Just kidding. The barrier wasn't even strong enough to amount to much. That puts the Knights' usefulness points right back to zero.

“Why do people call this our last hurrah again...?”

When Sonic finally confronted Merlina in her domain, with the understandable query of why she was such a manipulative witch, she revealed that her motives are less “cackling rapscallion” and more “morally grey”. You see, with the supposed rift between Sir Lancelot and Sir Gawain, and the eventual downfall of Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table in general, the kingdom was doomed to suffer an undesirable fate no matter what. Seeking to fix her late grandfather's mistakes, she wanted nothing more than to create a world that would never end, for ultimate peace and prosperity... as far as she knew.

Sonic had none of it and promptly called her out on her selfish desire, but the wizard proved too much for him to handle, as evidenced by the surprisingly savage beatdown that he received immediately after. Caliburn got broke in half for his troubles, and the Knights commanded the hedgehog to get the hell out of there, but Sonic remained stubborn, as he never backs down no matter the opponent. This eventually paid off for him, as his heroic nature inexplicably summoned the power that granted him a new form: the knight in shiny gold armor, Excalibur Sonic. This was fortunately just the right amount of power necessary to defeat Merlina's final form of King Arthur 2: This Time It's Personal.

Beaten, but not outright killed, the depowered Merlina was left a broken woman. But Sonic wasn't afraid to show a bit of compassion to the wizard, as he gave her the advice that while the world may not last forever, we must live our lives to the fullest, and make the time that we do have count.

"Well yeah, that’s easy for an iconic mascot like you to say. As soon as this game is over, my career is finished. Eat shit, rodent.”

Also, Sonic turns out to be the real King Arthur. Because self-inserts are canon. Credits!

The Design: King Arthur's design is a bit on the generic side for Sonic standards, but it's decent enough for the type of villain that he is. Though you do have to wonder how he can stand upright with those gigantic shoulder pads of his.

This photo was taken moments before his kneecaps crumbled into dust.

Meanwhile, Merlina heavily resembles Shahra from Black Knight’s predecessor, as befitting of her initial role as Shahra's replacement for Black Knight, as well as making her true role all the more surprising.

“Shahra? No. I'm my own original character... Backstabbhra.”

When the latter becomes the Dark Queen, she initially settles for turning purple and gaining some fashionable feathers, before unleashing her final form which basically amounts to a collection of blue and black tentacles.

Typical angsty teenage phase.

Arthur and Merlina's designs overall are... okay. Just okay.

The Personality: As someone who is more a force of nature than an actual character, King Arthur's personality amounts to saying a bunch of evil things and not much else. That's alright though, since Merlina is the true villain of this particular story, so it’s her personality that counts here.

But here's the problem... Merlina doesn't have much personality either. She spends the first half of the story taking the role of the typical assistant, and the second half whinging about how her kingdom will be ruined unless she does something about it. That is all you get with her. Yes, there is clearly meant to be more to her, as evidenced with her misguided beliefs and her relationship with her grandfather, but very little is actually done with those aspects beyond giving Sonic more things to lecture her and shout at her for.

The Execution: On paper, Merlina is a character who should be among the greatest of Sonic villains.

On paper.

But you see, while she is unique in the sense of being the rarity of a female villain AND an anti-villain in a Sonic game... there really isn't anything else going for her. Once you get past those two initial brownie points, you don't have much of real interest left. You may get a cool moment like the aforementioned beatdown of Sonic come the endgame, but you're given no reason to actually care about the person doing the deed, despite the game wanting you to do so.

“I've not been given any particular reason to do so, so no.”

There's a lot of telling with Merlina, rather than showing. She's presented as a well-intentioned extremist, but we're given no reason whatsoever to actually bother trying to see things her way, even if we would still ultimately acknowledge that what she's doing is wrong. Even Sonic himself doesn't bother considering her side of the story for a second, and while that is certainly in-character for the Blue Blur, it makes Merlina's anti-villain status - one of the very aspects that makes her unique among Sonic villains - fall flat all the more. Likewise, the only information we get about why the kingdom is destined to be doomed comes straight from Merlina's mouth, and that's it. We're never shown an example of what exactly she wants to prevent aside from vaguely alluded ruination, therefore we're given less reason to express actual interest in her motivation and goals.

Also, it must be stated: There wasn't nearly enough foreshadowing with her true intentions. Of course you don’t want to beat the player over the head to the point where they can see the twist coming from a mile away, but you still need a decent amount of build up to make a twist work, otherwise it practically comes out of nowhere. And since you don’t even need to count the hints with one hand in Merlina’s case, it does feel out of nowhere.

Overall, Merlina - and King Arthur, for that matter - are just kind of forgettable at the end of the day. Not terrible. Not outright bad. Just forgettable. And it's a huge shame, because Merlina COULD have been amazing. She had all the ingredients to stand out and be in the same tier as the likes of Eggman and Erazor. But she simply can't live up to the likes of them because there wasn't enough sufficient effort to make her truly blossom as the type of antagonist she was intended to be. There was something good going on with her, I can acknowledge and appreciate that there was something good going on with her... it just wasn't enough.

Which is kind of how I feel about Sonic and the Black Knight in general. It doesn’t do an awful lot with the things that it gets praised for. And the story as a whole - while serving as a great character analysis for Sonic himself - is just kind of boring for an actual narrative in a Sonic the Hedgehog game.

My favourite Sonic game is the one where Sonic made fun of attempted suicide.

Crusher Gives King Arthur & Merlina a: Thumbs Sideways!