#i mostly just did that because i don't want to make you feel like you have to but it'd definitely be welcomed and i'd love to get the-

[ladyloveandjustice]

I mean, Legend of Lattes did have a conflict, her coffee place straight up burned down? It wasn't a major focus for most of the book but it happened.

I've only read a few cozy fantasy things, and didn't find a few of them super memorable myself, but the definition of cozy fantasy is pretty broad from what I've seen. Emily Wilde is categorized as that and it is FULL of conflict and action and has some great and memorable characters.

But people have always liked stuff that's low tension/stakes/fluffy. See coffee shop aus in fanfic, or fanfic tagged fluff. See slice of life anime where characters are just hanging out. It's not a new thing. People have always wanted to watch or read things that just give cozy vibes and allow them to hang out with characters. The book industry realizing there was a market for that was inevitable. If it's not for you, it's not for you, but it's obviously for someone or it wouldn't be doing well.

I also think this is a good example of how condescending we can get when talking about a genre we don't like. Rather than say "it's not for me, I don't find the characters memorable and want better stakes, maybe there should be more variety" (which was more where OP was at) it has to be somehow bad for people to read it and write it. like...

And so sometimes it feels impossibly challenging to write any book except one where nothing bad happens and nothing is in danger and nobody is really bothered or worried about anything and everything is mostly fine and there aren't any major setbacks…..

That is a hell of a condescending assumption to make about those writers. Jesus. I'm a professional author too, but I would not want to make these assumptions about my fellow writers.You don't know if they're doing it because it's easy, or if they're doing it because they felt there was a need for it, or it was just an idea they liked writing. You don't like it, great. That doesn't mean those writers are slacking off or doing something wrong somehow. You don't know that they don't also write books with tension and conflict. I feel like most of them probably have, actually. Assuming they sat down and thought "omg this will be easy I'm so lazy" is just...do you make the same assumption about romance writers? It can get pretty formulaic, but that doesn't mean it's easy to write. Have you tried to write a cozy fantasy and sell it and make it do well? If not, I don't think you should talk about how easy it is.

But that leaves readers cold.

I mean not all readers obviously, since it wouldn't be doing well or selling well?

And frankly, I don't feel like it does much of anything to nourish either our souls or theirs.

It feels like eating a bag of potato chips for dinner instead of going to the effort of even just heating up a frozen dinner that has a vegetable in it.

Why does reading HAVE to "nourish your soul", whatever that means? What's wrong with eating a bag of potato chips? You teach college, so I wonder if you've ever run into a colleague who thinks this way about regular fantasy and sci-fi. Where they think that genre fiction is inherently more disposable and less challenging than literary fiction. I've sure as hell run into those professors, that look down on readers and writers of "commercial fiction", and I've seen the bad impact they have on their students. Do you agree with them? Because you're sounding a lot like them right now. This is the exactly the kind of argument they'd make.

You don't know whether these people don't also read books with more stakes or a variety of genres as well. Low effort reading has it's place, it just maybe shouldn't be the only thing you read if you want to actually experience the breadth of literature.

And I see this a lot in the book community, but dissing the stuff people are into and saying they need to challenge themselves more or they won't be smart like you (I see this with YA a lot too) is not going to convince them. It frames reading as a chore, and people often don't like doing chores in a life full of them, and reading is a hobby for a lot of people. Rather that say "you need to read this to better your mind" say what can be interesting or intriguing about these books that are more challenging, what kind of cool things you can get from them. Sometimes it seems to me like the point of these arguments is to feel superior, rather than actually convince people.

Nothing's wrong with reading low effort books or watch low effort shows--it's when say, a YA reader says books are inherently flawed if they don't spell things out like YA sometimes does or has more challenging themes. Or a cozy fantasy reader acting like all books should be cozy fantasy and books with tension are bad. Those are the people that ruin the discourse. But, doing the inverse isn't any better.

idk, man. I've taught university classes about this shit, but what do I know.

I teach grad school classes on writing, (I don't like to pull that card, since it's not like teachers can't have flawed ideas about their subject but since we're here) and have taught similar lessons. Yet, here's what I think I do know: telling students the genre they write is wrong is not something a teacher should do. Those literary fiction professors love doing that, and I'm not them.

As a teacher with a variety of students in a variety of genres, I have to read genres I don't like all the time--god I hate most 'dark romance' and man do I not get or like omegaverse, but I sure as hell had to read both. But just because I don't like them doesn't mean they're worthless, or there isn't a market for them, or it's wrong to write them. So I put those feelings aside, think about what kind of help the student needs to be successful in their chosen genre, and what the audience would want, because that will help them improve. (though I do try to hint if something seems like, incredibly sexist, that maybe we should reconsider that, or look at it from all angles and decide if it's something the story needs). And at the same time, I do teach them basic lessons on how to structure a story, and what's good about conflict, stakes, etc.

But I wouldn't tell any of them they're wrong for writing cozy fantasy even if it's not always my cup of tea, because there is a market for it, and I want them to do well at it and do what they love. What pays the bills pays them, and if you actually like what you do, that's also important. Writers do need to challenge themselves, which is why I encourage students to be open minded about all genres, try out writing them, try writing different POVs, different stuff even if they don't publish it, because that can only help them get better at what they do. But if what they publish is cozy fantasy, hey, it gets them good money and they like doing it, that's more than I can say for most jobs.

Cozy Fantasy and Why It Doesn't Work

I think I am among many who feel like they should love cozy fantasy and have found it an incredibly lacking genre.

This newly branded "cozy fantasy" genre that has taken readers by storm since 2020 and while it is new that books are now marketed as cozy, the genre itself isn't new. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones is a great example of the genre before it was labeled and also how to make it work.

Cozy fantasy is defined by many as fantasy with low stakes. Fantasy aesthetic but less sword fights. On paper, it sounds great. But the execution has been less than stellar for readers like me. The lack of physical stakes has also impacted the emotional stakes of these books, creating forgettable characters with boring problems. As a romance reader, I find this frustrating. Romance is known for being a predictable and formulaic genre, the now defunct Romance Writers of America defined romances as needing happy endings, a term romances have continued to follow. Yet these romance texts manage to have low physical stakes (how to date your neighbor, how to confront your toxic friends, etc) while still maintaining high personal stakes that keep readers invested and begging for more. So I was initially confused why cozy fantasy authors struggle to write texts that connect to readers like me.

I think I have found the answer which is the genre is just here for vibes. It is all about aesthetic, not even worldbuilding that fantasy is known for as most cozy fantasy I read have so many problems as soon as you ask one question. It is hard to acknowledge that a genre that is pitched to work for readers like me doesn't work for many of us. Especially because occasionally there is one that works beautifully to my taste.

I often say my favorite cozy fantasies that are more contemporary are short and visual, which I plays into the idea of the genre being an aesthetic. The Bakery Dragon by Devin Elle Kurtz is a good example because it is a simple story that is given the perfect amount of pages and gorgeous visuals without dragging on when the message is very clear and easy to understand. Books like The Phoenix Keeper and Legends and Lattes have absolutely nothing for me, their very clear message hitting the reader over and over so the readers don't miss it and focusing on the aesthetic of worldbuilding rather than the reality of the fantastic elements within the world.

I guess my point is. . . I realize this genre isn't for me since I have realized it is more of an aesthetic than anything. .. .but I want it to be. Should I let it go and put my efforts elsewhere? Or should I keep exploring this new trend and find the hidden gems?

[xiepheer]

If you're up for it, how about a headcanon of reader, shadow milk, and pure vanilla as a throuple? Feel free to go both SFW and NSFW if your mood is up

Truth and Deceit

Pure Vanilla cookie x reader x Shadow Milk cookie

Hello everyone! Honestly tysm for the likes in my previous post!

ANYWAYSSSS reader will be a fem here!

Hope yall enjoy this! ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧

Also so sorry if this is bad 😭🙏

Dating the truth and deceit is crazy work.

Imagine just having a calm boyfriend and a boyfriend that wastes his time on shows, carnivals, puppets, etc.

That's exactly what it is.

Pure Vanilla cookie would most likely be the calm and collected one in your throuple.

Meanwhile Shadow Milk cookie would be the one who mostly be the chaotic one and the one who gets in trouble all the time.

And you have to handle all that.

Both truth and deceit loves you very much.

The truth would spend his time being with you, teaching you ways of Earthbread.

The deceit on the other hand, would let you watch with him as he manipulates cookies. Making them his puppets for his shows.

Pure Vanilla cookie would scold him whenever Shadow Milk cookie teaches you things like how to manipulate cookies.

But very often, Shadow Milk cookie wouldn't care about him and would continue doing so.

Why would he listen to him anyways.

These two had different jealousy.

For Pure Vanilla Cookie, it is simply just talking about it to you and how it made him feel slightly jealous and would politely ask for you to slightly distance from them a little.

For Shadow Milk cookie, he would NOT talk about it to you. He would manipulate the cookie using his strings to say mean things to you which can make you think they're actually being real at their words.

Then when you actually cried to them about it, both would comfort you.

But Pure Vanilla always suspects that it had something to do with Shadow Milk cookie.

Because of his slight smirk after you crying to them.

Pure Vanilla would talk to him about this but he most likely ignores him.

Both still love you very much.

No matter what, they love you and would do anything for you. (Pure Vanilla would do anything except for foul things like murder and robbery)

During events, Shadow Milk cookie would host the most incredible shows you would have ever seen and it's all for you.

Pure Vanilla cookie would make you a whole table full of delicious food for you, him, and of course, Shadow Milk cookie.

Since Shadow Milk cookie thinks giving you items and beautiful gifts make you happy,

So Shadow Milk cookie would give you the most beautiful jewels he could find all for you during Valentine's or birthdays or everyday.

Meanwhile, Pure Vanilla always gives you affection. The affection you wanted.

Shadow Milk cookie would also scare you sometimes which can end up to you crying or laughing. 50/50 chance.

And if you DID cry, Pure Vanilla would comfort you and scold Shadow Milk which ends up to Shadow Milk snuggling up to you at night as a apology.

Shadow Milk cookie is like an affectionate cat when it comes to cuddling. He would nuzzle to you or your chest and sleep there or on you.

Pure Vanilla cookie would lay on your lap and sleep there.

They would sometimes snuggle on both sides of you body if you're asleep by yourself.

Pure Vanilla cookie, the gentle ancient, hero, and lover

Shadow Milk cookie, the chaotic beast lover.

Though both don't usually get along, you managed to get them to get along overtime.

Both reminded you who you belong to. You belong to Them. Always.

So sorry if this is short! I'm trying!

Anyways Pls correct me if you need to, I dont mind! Have a great day! (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)

I hope you enjoyed this!

[indycinders]

Love and Valentine's :: LADS Headcanons

I've been feeling icky today so I decided to make fluffy, SFW headcanons for each boy and how they'd spend Valentine's Day with you (❁´◡`❁)

Maybe it's just my feed LMAO but I don't see enough fluff, or stuff catered to aces. Sometimes domesticity is better than smut.

Xavier - "You rest, I'll be by your side. Always."

🟣Would create a little nest in either of your apartments. Blankets draped over furniture, tons of pillows and plushies inside, fairy lights strung around providing soft lighting. 🟣He'd have a pile of movies, older romance ones that neither of you have seen before, ready and waiting for your first pick 🟣Bought all your favorite snacks and beverages 🟣Holds you close and strokes your hair or your arm, whatever he can trail his fingers over in gentle comforting strokes. 🟣Mostly watches your reactions during the movies, seeing what makes you light up and what you find too cheesy. 🟣Both of you would probably fall asleep, tangled together in the warm little fort he provided.

Zayne - "... You were the one who protected me in my dream."

🔹He prefers it when it's just you two, so he'd make your favorite meal at his house. 🔹Candles, your favorite flowers in a vase if you don't like roses, soft music. 🔹No wine or alcohol because he wants both of you to enjoy each other without the added effects of alcohol. 🔹Active listener while you talk over dinner, his attention is 100% on you. 🔹Fine with cuddling on the couch after dinner, watching your favorite movie or show. Seems to get invested in the media as well, giving you two something to gossip about during breaks. 🔹Orders a delicious dessert for both of you to share, teasing you by smearing a bit of chocolate on the tip of your nose. 🔹Ending the night cuddling on the couch again, his arms around you as he softly reads from a poetry book, the prose saying everything he struggles to.

Rafayel - "Our bond has existed for years."

🩷Sushi date? Sushi date. 🩷Walking barefoot on a private beach at sunset, holding your hand and listening to you chatter about anything and everything. He's attentive and focused on you. 🩷Still playful of course, so he'll tease you once in a while. Probably get into a splash fight near the water's edge. Laughing and chasing each other in the sand. Lifting you up and spinning you around until you both fall dizzy and breathless on the sand. 🩷Laying on the sand and watching the stars in the sky come out, his fire and warmth keeping both of you from freezing. 🩷Back in his studio and dressed in warmer pajamas, silly romcoms playing in the background as you two do that couples painting each other activity. 🩷Giggling at each other's depiction of the other. He paints a flower on your shoulder and you paint a little heart on his cheek. 🩷When it's late, you both cuddle in his bed as he sings your favorite Lemurian lullaby.

Sylus - "Who could ever do anything to me except you?"

⭕If you're into the whole lavish wining and dining, he'd 100% do it for you. Flowers, dressing to impress, dancing, all of it. ⭕Otherwise, he'd prepare one of your favorite meals or order take out for a night in. ⭕Both of you on the floor on some comfy blankets in front of the fireplace. A nice little in home picnic, your favorite records playing in the background. ⭕Playing board games or card games, whichever you prefer. Enjoying each other's company. ⭕Dancing in your socks and comfy clothes around the living room, giggling every time he spins you or dips you. ⭕Hide and seek with Mephisto because of course. ⭕Carrying you up to the bedroom and whispering how sweet you were today. ⭕Holding you in his arms as you sleep, humming softly the way he knows relaxes you.

Caleb - "No matter what happens, I'll always be the first person you can share things with."

🟧100% already had everything prepared for when you came. 🟧All your favorite dishes made. 🟧Also bought your favorite candy/chocolate like he did every year before. 🟧Both of you wearing matching sweaters because you're adorably dorky like that. 🟧Recreating pictures from when you were younger. 🟧Nerf gun fight? Nerf gun fight. 🟧Will pull you into his lap as you cuddle on his bed and watch movies. Both of you wearing face masks because he does everything with you. 🟧Will give you a massage if you need it, otherwise happy to just cuddle and fall asleep with you in his arms.

I hope I did them justice! uwu I might do a HC thing for disabled/chronically ill peeps like myself as well. All the comfort (❁´◡`❁) Which date night would you prefer out of the above? :3

[writingpitcheswearingpearls]

I'm trying to figure out why I don't like the way most dp fic writers add Dan to the gang. I'm talking about when he's filling a kind of Knuckles or Red Hood kind of role within the group, as the large, buff reformed dude that becomes a trusted member of the group.

I think I've narrowed it down to a couple of reasons:

1. They almost never address the amount of people he killed in the other timeline and what he attempted to do in the main timeline with any serious accountability. From what I've seen, anything in the form of a redemption arc for Dan is 99% of the time completely happens "off screen" and you never find out how he went from having a decade long evil bender where he had no qualms about killing anyone to being reintegrated into the group and everyone acting like he is safe to be around. It's giving "somehow Palpatine returned" levels of wanting your audience to just accept jarring information without any satisfying explanation.

2. They almost never acknowledge that he was Danny. I mostly see him get treated as just another clone by both the narrative and the characters. Up until the explosion, he had all the same memories as Danny because that was his life too. Most of the time he just gets treated as an entirely different entity, and I bet if someone read one of these fanfics with Dan they would assume he was another one of Vlad's clones that came out wrong. He's not just another guy, he is a sinister reminder of what Danny could have become under less fortunate circumstances because he literally IS Danny under less fortunate circumstances.

3. They usually don't take his pain seriously and take away what makes him interesting. He lost everyone he loved all in one go and it RUINED him. He was so fucked up by his feelings that he destroyed his human half to try to feel less, and when that wasn't enough he absorbed Vlad's ghost half. He's interesting because it's never clearly expressed within the show how much of his mind is Danny and how much is Vlad. Is Dan a fusion of them, or is he mostly Danny with Vlad affecting elements of his personality/emotions/empathy, or did he only absorb his power and that darkness is all Danny? Not only does the man threaten the lives of Danny's loved ones, he also threatens his sense of identity as a heroic person. All of this potential is ruined when he is treated as just a buff clone of Danny that likes fighting.

If you're going to add reformed Dan into your story I BEG you to put some effort into showing how he went through such a dramatic redemption arc to the point where he wants to be good again and that he earns his way back into the group, or at least have him show remorse for what he's done. PLEASE don't just make him the buff violent guy on the team where you're left wondering why any of the characters trust him all of a sudden.

[utilitycaster]

My friend has shared with me his dropout and i'm thinking of getting into the dimension 20s; do you have any ranking for them or recommendations? Any notes on the pitfalls or really cool things on any given series/dm's styles? I have to admit i've been a little hesitant to jump in, not just bc i was watching c3 but bc some of the d20 fandom discourse trickled onto my dash and for lack of a better term i "got the ick." I've resolved to myself that it shouldn't matter since i don't engage with dropout fandom anyway, and so we're currently watching mentopolis

Hey anon! So some quick thoughts:

You are correct to simply avoid the fandom, but also...the bad is very, very dumb and obnoxious, but the worst of that fandom skips half the series anyway. if it's not D&D they aren't showing up.

Mentopolis is a great series, great pick.

Of the Intrepid Heroes campaigns (Brennan GMing, cast of Emily Axford, Ally Beardsley, Siobhan Thompson, Lou Wilson, Zac Oyama, Brian Murphy) the only one I didn't care for was Neverafter. A loose ranking is that A Crown of Candy is I think the strongest, and then Fantasy High (3 seasons) vs. The Unsleeping City (2 seasons) are both good and it's just a matter of taste (i think fantasy high is a stronger story, unsleeping city is a stronger and more consistent world, characters are all great, and it mostly comes down to whether you do or do not want to watch a narrative about high schoolers, which is valid). I do like Starstruck Odyssey but it gets VERY chaotic, and I think it's only ranked lower than the previous two because it doesn't have as much time.

Of the sidequests run by Brennan, I am a huge fan of Escape from the Bloodkeep, Pirates of Leviathan and the Seven (both set in the same universe as Fantasy High but you can watch as standalone if you don't mind Fantasy High spoilers), Never Stop Blowing Up, and I haven't seen the latest Dungeons & Drag Queens but I did like the first one a lot.

Of the sidequests run by other GMs: Aabria Iyengar's A Court of Fey and Flowers, Jasmine Bhullar's Coffin Run, and Matt Mercer's Ravening War (ACOC universe prequel) are the strongest ones. I enjoyed Shriek Week at the time but unfortunately the GM turned out to not be a great guy. For more Aabria, Misfits and Magic season 1 was good but it did make me go "you know, I think I'm over the whole Harry Potter pastiche thing, even if this one is done very well" and so I didn't check out the second, but definitely give the first a try if you are interested! I did not personally like Burrow's End but it has a fantastic cast.

Similarly: wasn't a huge fan of Tiny Heist just bc D&D was not a good system for it; it is also a great cast. I feel similarly about Mice and Murder. I have not watched Time Quangle but that's a series of one-shots I think all with Intrepid Heroes characters.

[nieisan]

Valentine's Day Idia & Leona

Idia is someone whose knowledge of romance comes mainly (and purely) from the internet and maybe his parent's relationship (don't quote me on that). So, obviously, he likes someone so he has to do something for Valentine's Day.

What will he do, that is the question? First, the most normie option there is, chocolate. That is not really an option he wants to do, mainly because Idia thinks Leona will not like it (he would love anything Idia gives to him) but mostly because he feels simple chocolate it's unoriginal. So he begins thinking. What can he do?

Then there is the big idea; he should do a chest table and pieces out of chocolate! That's something that Leona would like and probably use, (for how long? Until he eats it, of course!) even more if he uses some magic for it to remain in without melting.

He starts working on it two months in advance and finally when February 14 is coming around, Leona receives his gift.

Leona: What is this? Did you make me chocolate or something? Idia: Y-you should open it first! I spend a long time with that! It was a high grade difficulty mission even for me! Leona: Huh. Let's see what it is, then.

And of course, when Leona opens it, he is truly surprised. Because he knows Idia did it himself. And he can see the work that goes behind something like that, even more so when you aren't a great cook. The smile in his face bigger than ever and Idia thinks that just for that any effort is worth it.

[sadlynotthevoid]

Tbh, ever since I saw this one anime scene in youtube where an old man told (who i suppose was) the mc of course he'd recognize his own son, he's his dad (as in, he noticed the person in the body wasn't his own son anymore), I think my expectatives went a bit way too up.

That said, I think what bothered me wasn't that no one noticed he changed, but that they did and, at least in Krs!Cale's side, no one went to him about it.

I mean, team 1's first thought when Heniroksoo exhibited not-rok soo behaviour was going to check on him to see if he was okay. They were concerned for his health, thinking he could have hit his head or something.

Meanwhile in Krs!Cale's side, people didn't worry until he went and ended up getting hurt. Which, valid. Most of them didn't meet him until the soul swap had already happened. But his family saw him suddenly start to act strange and went like "oh well" and Deruth specifically was "oh well, I have more urgent matters to take care of". Sir??? that's your damn son!

And like, I know they noticed he changed but— *frustrated noises* it gave off the impression that they were relieved. And if they had talked about it and gotten the impression that Cale just changed, matured, whatever, it wouldn't bother me. But they didn't (at least I don't remember they doing so, or they didn't as far as I read. No, sending your butler to stalk him doesn't count. Not all issues can be told at first sight), they just shrugged and kept with their day. It gives me the feeling that they thought of him like you think of troublesome matters you don't want to deal with. Like, "as long as is not a problem". (To be fair, I really don't expect Bassen or Lily to have such talk with their older brother. They're kids. But Deruth is his father—)

And also, or what they know there could had been a problem, just one they didn't notice or that didn't cause trouble as his usual self. I mean, team 1 was into something, he could have hit his head. He could have been blackmailed and the behaviour being a side effect of seeing just one side of the picture. It's a fantasy world, he could have been possessed by a ghost or something. He could have decided to complete a bucket list (which actually makes sense btw). Uh, I really don't know about this but maybe a personality disorder? They didn't really know what was going on. But they also didn't really cared until Cale started to get hurt, which was after he changed so... Yeah, it bothers me because it makes me feel bad for OgCale.

Now I need an AU where they don't exchange bodies, but OgCale's starts acting odd anyways. Like, toning down his lout behaviour, being less harsh and so, maybe doing strange stuff but that doesn't really affect them. And turns out he's completing a bucket list or got amnesia and is trying to hide it.

And his family and such don't start to worry until way later on, when the realization something big happened hits them in the face (let's be real, I mostly mean Deruth and any other responsible adult). Luckily, Rok Soo (maybe ogCale's new friend, maybe a classmate or coworker, maybe the guy from ogCale's usual cafe) got involved way earlier and they (as in Rok Soo, whoever comes with him, and OgCale) were handling it.

Sometimes i forget everyone *did* notice something was up when cale and og cale switched in both worlds. Team 1 noticed, but also literally everyone at the henituse fief. Its just that noone is abt to guess “a person from another world took over his body”, the most supernatural thing ppl might have guessed would prolly be “he got three ghosts of christmased”

[bi-bard]

I Blinked and Suddenly, I Had a Valentine - Dr. Frank Langdon Imagine [The Pitt]

Title: I Blinked and Suddenly, I Had a Valentine

Pairing: Dr. Frank Langdon X Reader

Word Count: 1,125 words

Warning(s): mention of burnout

Summary: Frank is stuck working Valentine's Day. His original plans may be slightly derailed, but that doesn't mean that he won't try his hardest to be a true romantic.

Author's Note: Real simple plot here. We're testing the waters. And it's Valentine's Day, so why not?

If there are other The Pitt characters you want to see on my account, then let me know. The show is new, so I don't really know what people want to see. I'm considering something about Dr. McKay, but I'm open to suggestions (I know y'all love Noah Wyle).

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

I've always had mixed feelings about working from home.

There were great things. I had a lot less stress when getting ready in the morning. I didn't have to commute. I was always in a comfortable environment. I able to find peace and quiet when I needed it. I also never had to worry about forgetting to bring my lunch because my kitchen was down the hall.

However, it wasn't all amazing. I had always been an isolated person, even before COVID forced us all to be. I relied on work to force me to interact with people. It helped me feel a little less lonely. This arrangement also made me realize just how long I spent sitting at a computer or on the phone.

I was also made painfully aware of how long Frank's shifts were. I never realized how stupid I had been about his work before this started. I was used to leaving a little after him and getting home a little earlier than him, but I never realized how much later or earlier that had truly been.

Most days, I could ignore it.

I would work, eat, paint, and ignore how quiet it was through most of the day. But some days were worse than others.

Birthdays were the worst.

The holidays would be either normal or awful.

Today was one of the awful ones.

Valentine's Day was a holiday that was commonly met with a little bit of disappointment, but I felt like that had changed when I started seeing Frank. We had managed to mostly make time for each other, at least around the day if not directly on it.

This year had been different. My workload had increased significantly on top of Frank's work and schedule. I felt awful. I had derailed everything.

I spent all day consumed by my work. Even when I was able to step away to grab food, I would my mind was so clogged by what I had to do that I hadn't been able to focus on anything around me.

Imagine working so hard to be able to afford a place of your own- no landlord or big management company- and you aren't even able to appreciate it because of that work.

When I finished my day, I felt my body go heavy. It made me feel ridiculous. Being exhausted after sitting at a desk. How tedious does my work need to be for me to feel like this? How much of a strain on my mind is this work if I end up this miserable?

I took a deep breath before pushing myself out of my desk chair.

I first noticed something was off when I stepped into the hallway. I paused. It was like the air in the space had shifted.

I did a circle waiting for my eyes to catch onto what was different.

I found it a moment later.

Sitting on the wall was a painting. Not just any painting but one of my paintings. One of my paintings was sitting on the wall and I did not put it there.

I walked down the hall, popping my head in each room. There was art in the bathroom and the living room and the dining room. There was even one in Frank and I's bedroom, and I didn't even see it this morning.

I soon found myself sitting on the couch, hand over my mouth and tears falling down my face.

I had always talked about decorating my home with my art. I had just always been renting or too busy. I had dozens of pieces that I thought would look nice somewhere other than my office. And now I was seeing it. And it was everything I had ever dreamed for it to be.

What else could I do but cry?

"I'm home- What's wrong," Frank asked as he closed the door behind him.

"I... I hadn't come out of my office all day- well, I hadn't been paying attention," I muttered. I pointed around the room. "I just saw everything you did."

"Oh," he sat next to me on the couch. "These are happy tears, right?"

"Yeah, they're happy tears." I chuckled. "Thank you so much for this."

"Yeah, I knew that you've been putting this off because we were renting before but... this is home now. And I want you to be able to look around and clearly see just how much love you've put into this space."

I grabbed his hand, leaning over to press my lips to his. He leaned back.

"What?"

"There was a... bodily fluid incident today," he explained. "I cleaned up as best I can, but I would much rather take a very, very long shower before you kiss my face at all."

"Valid," I nodded. "Blood?"

"No."

"You changed your scrubs, right?"

"Yes."

"That's all I need to know."

"Valid."

I smiled a little wider before leaning over and kissing his shoulder. "I love you."

"I love you too," Frank said.

"Now, how about you go take that long shower and I will order us dinner," I offered.

"That sounds absolutely perfect."

By the time Frank came back out, dinner had arrived, and I had put a small gift on his side of the table. I was smiling nervously as I awkwardly leaned on the table. I was suddenly feeling significantly less confident about my gift of choice.

"What's this?" he grabbed the box and started pulling off the wrapping paper.

"It feels silly compared to all of... this, but you had been talking about getting a decent watch," I explained as he opened up the box. "This one had some amazing reviews, and I even saw a few nurses and doctors saying they loved it."

"Wow, this is really nice," he placed it over his wrist and clasped it.

"You like it?"

"I love it," he replied. "Also, 'compared to all this'?"

"I bought you a watch," I said. "You framed my art and hung it around the house like I've been talking about doing since I was in college-"

"And? As far as I'm concerned, the amount of care is the same," he shrugged. "You didn't blindly pick this out of a bargain bin."

I nodded. I must have done a poor job of hiding my skepticism of the whole concept because he motioned me over to him. I made it over to him, letting him pull me close and kiss me gently.

I touched his sides, grinning into the kiss.

It was the perfect moment. The best moment I had ever experienced on Valentine's Day.

I leaned back slowly. "I love you. So much."

"I love you too," he muttered. "Happy Valentine's Day."

"Happy Valentine's Day."

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[royalarchivist]

This is what it feels like every time a new SMP has streamers I like

[somnimagus]

did some vesperia chibis, i always forget how happy i get drawing these guys. i love them dearly

[id in alt text]

[mellifera38]

I think you kinda hit the nail on the head here. I think it's a big part of why a lot of people left the campaign feeling less attached to Bells Hells compared to the Mighty Nein.

You got a little of this flavor in the beginning as Bells Hells got to know one another and kind of tackled some of their background baggage, but as the campaign left the honeymoon period and headed into The Main Plot, you got less and less inter-character moments. Huge stretches between them that left you going 'so how are they feeling??? When are they going to get some downtime to process all this?' We kept being left waiting, sometimes for like three episodes. We as the viewers were used to having that after C2, its like the treat at the end of the stressful fight. All we got instead was Stress Stress Stress for like 70 straight episodes.

Once all hell had broken loose on the apogee solstice, the whole thing felt like a big rush to the finish line, and Character Time was mostly over. It's dnd and you can play it however you want, but I think not getting that time contributed to them not really knowing where they all stood at the end or what they should do, which then caused us frustration as viewers.

To expand just a bit, to me, it felt like we had a specific group of heroes who were very suddenly thrown into some other group's religious story narrative and forced to make a decision that very few of them had personal stakes in other than 'I hate Ludinus'. Their backstories were not religion focused other than FCG. They didn't really have the chance to form new beliefs until after they already had the weight of the world on their shoulders and every interaction with the gods made them feel they were just being used for survival. If a god had reached out previously to help them unbidden in a time of need (other than The Cleric), they would have had a completely different motivation to pick a side bc it would feel like the gods genuinely cared for their children. Even a storyline to pit them against the gods instead of just feeling like they were invisible to them could have been beneficial to their larger character arcs in relation to The Plot.

It was an interesting experiment to put these very neutral unbiased people in charge of that kind of situation, don't get me wrong, but then the vast majority of Character Moments we did get were the constant confused/angry circles of 'why do we care about Them?' and 'but what happens if we do nothing' and it got repetitive and tiresome and people got pissed off at different characters and none of them really even changed. They still didn't really understand one another. In the end, even after learning about the eidolons and the Dawnfather being a dick and talks with the Matron and the Arch Heart, the only thing that STILL tethered them personally to the story was 'Let's stop Ludinus because we hate him for getting Laudna/Oryms husband killed and at least we know he's bad and we'll figure it out this god shit when we get there.'

Not the most compelling but hey, it got them to that finish line.

I think at least some of these unsatisfying pitfalls could have been avoided if they'd had more chances for character/relationship exploration beyond like the first third of episodes and maybe with some more religious theme overtones. It was also kind of a shame that all that build up of the new setting at the start was completely left by the wayside. They Needed a Longer Honeymoon. The apocalypse just rolled around way too early.

I love the C3 characters a lot, but its not the same kind of way I love the M9, and I think its mainly because this campaign was a vehicle for the world's next historical era. There's nothing wrong with that, necessarily, but it is polarizing, and a huge shift from C2. With the M9 we had 140 episodes exploring these characters and who they really were as people and where they came from and how they helped each other heal. You can't get that in just 40 episodes leading into an apocalypse speedrun. They are just two completely different kinds of campaigns. It really is a matter of taste but I'm also quite certain that if Matt could go back and do it from scratch knowing what he now knows, he might have approached this very differently. I do think even the players were left floundering and trying to understand what the narrative wanted from them. This kind of Big Picture History Story needed characters at least a little bit built to theme, I think. This is why Brennan's EXU mini-series are so successful.

Sorry if I took your post a little off topic I just suddenly had a lot of thoughts and I haven't talked about any of this yet lol.

Whatever C4 ends up being and whenever it is, I really hope we see a return of the consistent "I go over to *insert character*" that was lacking this campaign. It's something so simple but so foundational to why I love CR. It used to be so consistent and made even the most mundane things like setting up camp, night guard duty and travel something to look forward to.

I can't tell you how many of these moments with characters just simply talking to each other about anything and everything became some of my favorite moments in all of CR. I remember so many episodes where I looked forward to these breaks more than even combat or some story elements because it immersed me so much in every aspect of the campaign.

To me this is when CR is at its best, it is the foundation that separates it from other AP's and is what pulls you in and hooks you so you're equally as invested to the story or action or honestly anything just like the characters and the cast.

[vaguely-concerned]

walking through lucanis' mind prison. the tam lin of it all

[kakusu-shipping]

HELLO THERE

My name is Emile, I'm a Proship selfshipper who loves drawing other people's Self Inserts above anything else and for this week and this week only I am opening $10 RUSH ORDER SKETCH COMMISSIONS!

Do you want a drawing of you and your F/O for cheap and don't mind it being a little rough? Consider DMing me and you could get something like This!

For the low low price of $10 a sketch!!!

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From right this very second through Thursday night my DMs will be open to anyone interested! I only have Paypal to accept payment so please be aware of that!

Thankyou for your time!

[bloodanna]

Okay, so this is mostly conjuncture on my part, but I think it is because

1. Silco was the brains and Vander was the brawn behind the bridge attack/rebellion. Silco helped form the majority of the plan and maybe even gathered/made the more explosive weapons of the riot (in my head, he was a demolitions guy in the mines, while this makes sense and fits with how he and Jinx mirror each other/interact it is mostly a headcanon)

2. Vander went with the plans because he thought they could do it, he thought they were smart enough and numerous enough and strong enough to do this and win without worry. (See how Vi was with the heist of Jayce's apartment)

3. Things started going wrong. Too many Enforcers. Too many tranchers that didn't know the exact plan. Too many guns. Bad weather. Who knows. Just a ton of small things leading to The Enforcers going ham and actively killing the rioters.

4. So Silco stopped fighting with his fists (he wore arm wraps like Vi and so we knew he can/did) and fought back the strongest way he could: with molotov cocktails and fire and explosions, but (as with Powder's Monkey Bomb) it was too strong, it couldn't be contained and ended up taking out not only Enforcers, but also their own people: including Felicia and Connol(?) - Vi and Powder's parents. The very people that this plan was meant to help. Meant to free. It is even possible that they weren't mean to be there. (Vander might have even for a moment thought that if they were there and dead than so were Vi and Powder)

5. And rather than admit his guilt for going along with this plan or admit that it was an accident: Vander blamed the person that was safest to blame: the person closest to him, the one that wrote out such grand plans, the "radical" who wanted a 'Zaun Nation', the one that threw the first bomb. He blamed Silco.

6. Basically Vander realised the price of war and lashed out at the person nearest to him because in that moment it was easier to blame one people and believe that it was all a plan and a manipulation than to admit that he was also responsible for killing some of the people he cared for most.

(I don't know the exact timeline but from what we are shown in the show it is my assumption that it goes: the explosion happened. Vander saw Silco standing over the dead. Vander lost his mind and tried to drown Silco. Silco escaped. Vander crawled back up to the bridge and began beating (to death and beyond) any Enforcers left alive. Vander sees Vi and Powder and finally, finally snaps out of it)

7. Of course he then realised that he was just as much to blame for what went down, his hands were literally just as blood-covered, and that he also had nearly added to the deaths of those he loved by drowning Silco. And that was *on purpose*. That was a *choice*.

8. The note is Vander admitting he had gone mad and that nearly drowning him was a mistake: just like the one Silco made and now he understood how Silco could have done it. It's him admitting that he is *just as dangerous* and asking to see Silco to apologize in person. In many ways I feel like the letter was saying: 'let me apologize even though I could never be worthy of forgiveness. Let me look you in the eyes and tell you I'm sorry, even if you kill me after. It's what we deserve.'

Does... does that make any sense? I feel like I said a lot of words, but I have no idea if I answered the question. XD

Something's been pickin at my brain

In Vandors letter to Silco that he left in the mine, he says in it:

"When she died…I lost my head. I told myself what I did to you was for the greater good, that you deserved it..."

I know he says later that the dirt was on both of their hands, but it still doesn't make sense to me. But how, in any way, shape, or form, does mauling your "best friend" (let's be real boyfriend) to the point of ALMOST DYING and taking his eye??

I understand that after he saw Vi and Powder, it kinda hit him how what they were doing wasn't the "right" way. But, still...

If y'all can help me out here and maybe explain to me like I'm 5, that'd be great haha

Dont be rude or condescending, I will cry.

[kyouka-supremacy]

Well.

[weirfq1]

with all these gaston crackships/rarepairs that are coming out lately it would be so fucking funny if he had a flig with all the main characters (ambar, nina, simon... hell luna too if you want) and they all know it except matteo