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aceouttatime · 5 months ago

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26 29 45 50 for your Shep!

paine! thanks for the ask!!! <33

26. Does Shepard have a Twitter account?

-> Whatever the galactic version of Twitter is, Shepard probably has one. While he genuinely doesn't have much time for it, he thinks it's important to stay up to date on galactic issues. Granted, when he does have free time he doesn't want to have to deal with petty, online issues when he's actually out there doing things about the state of things, so it's a delicate balance.

I'm sure he gets told by all kinds of sources, news or otherwise, what to post, so he's got an official account that's partially managed by a team on the Citadel that corresponds with him when he's on duty. He may have multiple important people in the Alliance muted in his DMs.

Shep keeps it professional, mostly commenting on the state of the galaxy or what other important political figures put out. But that's absolutely not to say his omnitool isn't full of memories of the crew on shore leave, and cute pictures he snuck of Garrus asleep next to him, and videos from That One Time Everyone Had Their Asses Handed To Them playing poker against Cortez and Vega.

He'd be one of those people that would gravitate more towards facebook/instagram to keep up with the lives of close friends, if he was living a civilian life, but as it is, Space Twitter is accessible and easy to put away when he needs to.

29. Does the alliance use their image for propaganda/recruitment? Did they agree to/want it?

-> This is very much in the same vein as the social media thing. The Alliance has made a figurehead out of Shepard, boosting their influence, funding, and numbers, often by cherrypicking things he's said on tape as part of whatever their current pro-Alliance propaganda is and riding off of the success of his bravery during service and induction into the Spectres. They made him their hero, their golden boy, and then discarded his autonomy in the matter when he no longer fit with that image (see: Cerberus, claims of a Reaper invasion, Arrival DLC).

Shepard himself has very little say over the matter; he'd practically signed his life away to the Alliance after the raids on Mindoir, back when he was a traumatized teenager latching on to anything stable. Even during his training and service, he disliked the media attention wrought by important events like graduation ceremonies, ballroom dinner parties, and political events, most of which were not all that optional. He felt out of place--he wasn't a politician, he was a soldier, and for a long time, he floundered during things like that, not having ever needed to learn those sorts of intricacies. So he continued being unabashedly straightforward and saw much of the socio-political nonsense for what it was: a game he had no place in.

By the era of the trilogy, Shepard held a deep dislike for the way his image was warped to further ideals that were not his own. But they fell in line with what the Alliance needed, what the Council expected, and what kept the suits of the galaxy placated.

So he tries to let his actions speak for themselves because it is too late to reverse the distortion of his public image.

45. Do they vote?

-> Yes! Shepard casts his vote in at least the most important/largest issues affecting Council and Alliance space. He's technically a citizen of Mindoir (a colony of the United North American States--economically pretty reliant on, and thus fairly politically controlled by, them), but he also has citizenship on the Citadel itself, which functions a little differently than how human citizenships typically work, most notably in the taxation and legal departments (but I won't get into that just now). (I talk politics a little here--if that bothers you, please feel free to skip to the end of the blue section <3)

Politically speaking, Shep values more socialist internal policies like accessible healthcare, a well-funded and standardized education system, and workers' rights. He believes that the material, economic, and societal profit of a governmental system should primarily benefit and be controlled by the means of production: the everyday people that keep the system running.

He also has strong opinions on the rights of individual colonies, states, and nations, as he values national identity and the preservation of culture, natural resources, and history. While he sees the benefit in a centralized government for both each specie and the galaxy as a whole, he believes that the systems put in place before the shift towards interconnectedness should not be written off as arbitrary, outdated, or inefficient. There is a balance that must be struck between overarching governmental systems and lower ones, and that balance will be different for different peoples, whether due to biology, psychology, economics, history, culture, etc. He believes that a higher government's main duty is to defend the people and systems beneath it in a way that respects their freedoms, and therefore puts a lot of importance in national defense (as a victim of terrorism, a career-long Alliance soldier, and a man who pays close mind to the turbulent state of the galaxy in places beyond Council jurisdiction, like the Terminus systems).

Socially, his opinion is left-leaning, though he has some opinions that do not fit within the mainstream ideology. Shepard is a proponent of equality as a concept: racial, gender, sexual, etc., and equity where equality does not suffice. He puts value in individual freedoms like bodily autonomy, marriage rights, protections for minors, the right to carry, voting rights, minority rights, and privacy protections.

50. What was the last thing (non-email) Shepard read? Book, play, poem, essay etc

-> The most recent undertaking is, Vuigaris Ro'tana Dime (Folk Devils), a collective biography of a number of non-asari biotics that explores the stigma, state of infrastructure, medical issues, military training, and psychology regarding biotics and being biotic in different species and cultures. Some of the highlights are the experiences of a retired turian Cabal officer, a woman who worked on the development team for multiple L-series implants, and a salarian diplomat who faced political fallout after developing late-onset biotics.

#aceasks #ask game #sylvan shepard #commander shepard #mass effect #mass effect oc

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dearweirdme · 7 months ago

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https://www.tumblr.com/dearweirdme/750934620143583232/im-not-sure-if-i-would-take-his-lack-of-reaction?source=share

Overall, I tend to believe that Bangtan could've pushed the "normal people" narrative a little more, but they never tried to do it, on the contrary, they all fed some level of delusions among their fans (either by feeding y/n, best friends, saying that they didnt need gf because they had army..) and played the parasocial rs card pretty well. But I also think that, although this toxic rs that they helped to create exists, part of it is armys believing and following everything they say, so if he asked people to not harass his gf, armys would also try to protect her even if some people would still bully her.

I think part of the bullying now is those that think she's using him for clout and is just a crazy person looking for attention. If he confirm they were dating, I'm pretty sure many would start to see her posts as cute, because they are, if you remove the uncertainty from it. She just shows how much she misses him and the fact that she's staying at his place (considering that this is all true).

And I understand each one of them wanting to keep what they got at all costs, but it's still a choice and every choice entails losing something and priorities.

To the anon saying it's juvenile, for me juvenile is making excuses about your choices. I dont think it's bad that they all chose their careers and I understand their point BUT it's still their choice.

Hi anon!

This is an interesting take. While I agree that members have leaned into it at times (many times probably) I’m of the opinion that fandom itself has a responsibility to recognize that it’s not serious. I have no trouble making that distinction, I think many among us have no trouble making that distinction, but yes.. a huge portion of army probably finds this difficult. From a business perspective, it’s something that’s probably been required from them. Boybands are traditionally marketed as boyfriend material. What is interesting though is that even with boybands that do not lean into this as much (and artists that do publicly date) these para-social relationships still develop. So I don’t know if BTS’s behavior in particular is the cause of the existence of fandom’s feelings of ownership over them or that it is something that just occurs within fandoms in general.

I think a strong factor in why there’s especially harsh reactions about dating in Kpop is how it’s imbedded in the culture. Media reports about it as ‘scandals’ and therefore it’s immediately seen as a negative thing, which is ridiculous when it’s something that has to do with love. It’s also the idea that a fandom’s love should be enough for idols, almost as though they aren’t humble enough when they want love as well. One the one side I think idols not dating in public grants them well needed privacy, but on the other hand it sets them up for undeserved criticism.

I don’t think that it’s a given that army will embrace a member’s partner when an official statement is made. I think a huge part of army will respect it, but I think there will always be parts of fandom that do not know how to behave. Even members themselves aren’t free from extreme hate, their partners will be easy targets for people who want to do harm.

I agree that it’s their choice, I just think it’s way more nuanced than saying it’s because they love their fans/career more than they possibly do a partner.

#fandom shenanigans #members

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moveslikeanape · 1 year ago

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i actually don't play disney magic kingdoms myself, it's just not really my type of game, but i've seen some gameplay of it and read a lot of the little dialogue from it online and it's always seemed really charming and cute! so it really is too bad we might never get to see tarzan characters added to it. i do play disney dreamlight valley on the switch, which is sort of a life sim game like animal crossing but with disney/pixar characters all living together, and a lot more of a story to it with quests you get to do for everyone. it's a lot newer and doesn't have nearly as many characters in it, but a recent update added a jungle biome that would've been perfect for tarzan and jane. i know they'll probably never be added, but if they were then they could live together in the treehouse and we could see how tarzan would feel about living in the valley among so many other humans! there would be so many new things that jane could teach him about.

i recently started collecting lorcana cards after seeing one of rapunzel wearing a green dress, which i found really cool because that was what she had in so much of her concept art! i was also pretty excited to be able to get cards from the emperor's new groove, the great mouse detective, treasure planet, and hercules. i bet they could make some beautiful cards for tarzan... but yeah, that copyright issue is incredibly frustrating. some of my favorite movies may be a bit overlooked or underrepresented by disney, but at least they don't have the legal problem that tarzan has. i guess with once upon a studio they must've wanted to really go all out to make sure every single walt disney animation studios feature could be included! i'm grateful they did, because it would've been a huge shame to see tarzan not even allowed into the special 100th anniversary short. the new movie "wish" also has a tribute to past WDAS films during the credits, where gold-colored drawings of characters from each movie appeared across the screen in chronological order. strangely they actually left out a handful of movies including the black cauldron, but they did include tarzan!

also, i'm sure you already knew about this haha, but just the other day i came across an article from a few years ago where several of the people who worked on tarzan were interviewed and talked about the production. and i learned for the first time that it was originally planned as a direct-to-video movie which would stick closer to the source material with tarzan going to england. i'm obviously very glad that that didn't happen and we got the movie we have now instead. -🌟

Sorry, was out of town for the weekend visiting family.

That's fair about Magic Kingdoms not being your type of game. I think the only real reason I play it is because it's something I can play casually and more of less keep up with, with out it taking too much time.

What I've seen of Dreamlight Valley looks like so much fun! And that would be amazing to see Tarzan and Jane in that game. Probably will never happen, but we can dream!

Ooo, I haven't seen that Rapunzel one, will have to look it up. I've always loved the concept art. So insane to think there's actually even Treasure Planet art in them!!!

Sadly we may never get Tarzan in Lorcana, but I found this artist during the Disemeber challenge on instagram, and he's actually done art for Lorcana. Looks like it was just the one card, Chief Bogo (which he's posted if you go though his stuff). May not be official, but at least here's a Christmas themed idea of what could be if they included Tarzan

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OMG, I never expected any reference to Tarzan in Wish!! I haven't seen it yet (live in a small town, starting to think we may not even get it in our theatre), but now I'm even more excited to see it!

Oh wow, I actually didn't know that! That's so interesting (definitely so grateful they didn't go that route though). Would have been interesting to see how close Disney would get to the source material… don't know if you've ever read the books, but there's a lot of not so family friendly stuff. Also would have been such a waste, given the quality of D2V animation, would have been such a shame to only get Tarzan & Jane quality animation.

#strangers like me #character: tarzan #adult tarzan #character: manu #fan: art

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metaltea · 2 years ago

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Sorry to bother you but I remember you making a tutorial on how to make your own ai with beta character ai? I can't seem to find it though. I'm I just imagining things?

You're not, I did make one, however...

Honestly?? I wouldn't even bother at this point. Character.ai has had so much drama with the devs being horrible human beings: most likely stealing/selling user data (you want to delete a bot off their website?? Too bad. You can't. Also they took a bunch of bots with high interaction counts and locked the creators out of editing, essentially stealing them from people), not listening to feedback whatsoever (actively making things much worse with every update), implementing a "nsfw" filter that blocks even the most sfw things like hugging or kissing (even with family/platonic characters), has a nasty habit of comparing anything romantic to children ("she looks at you like a daughter looks to her father" like ew what the actual fuck, and this happens literally all the fuckin time so you gotta ask how it made that association hmm), dumbing down the ai in favor of making it "safer" (now characters hardly ever act like their source material, often making up random shit), bots ignoring user input (often going on a tangent describing the environment and ignoring dialogue), bots being stupid in general (forgetting what you said literally 2-3 messages ago and giving horribly lackluster responses), devs shadowbanning people/deleting any posts respectfully calling out their shit to facilitate propaganda in their favor and make it seem like nothing's wrong, and so much more.

Drop it like a newborn giraffe.

Some other options: Pygmalion, which I'm still learning how to use and it ofc isn't going to be as advanced as Character.ai since it's a 6b model while the latter is like 100+b, meaning less data power so responses are less intelligent + slower, BUT it is free, it is open source, and you can get some pretty decent responses if you hold its hand a lot. There are some UIs you can use it through, like forks of TavernAI that give you the ability to use world info and get it to have a better memory, one for group chatting with different characters (tho I haven't tried that), a customized background, and so on. The devs are still working on a site but you can access it right now- I can make a smol tutorial for the basics of that if anyone wants it.

OpenAI is also an option, you can also use it through Tavern and it will give responses akin to if not much better than Character.ai- though you gotta pay. HOWEVER you can get a free trial with $5 to use... and there are ways of using it free after that, but I can't say it here cause if it's too widespread, it'll prolly get patched out, and we don't want that.

How to access Pygmalion - Go here and click this: (when it asks u for permission to access ur google acct, click yes)

It'll take a while to load, maybe like 5 mins or something,

Once you get to this, click the UI links (usually only one will work, use that)

Now, that will take u to the KoboldAI UI. Wanna use Tavern instead? (good choice, gives a lot more customization) Use this link.

Now scroll down till u get here to this drop down menu. Choose Pygmalion 6b or 6b Dev (to be quite honest I'm not sure what the difference is yet). Wait for that to load, and while you're waiting, go here to download the Tavern files:

boom (or some other fork)

Go here and click download ZIP.

Unzip and look for this:

Ignore everything else, just click this. (the file's safe, if windows gives you a warning, ignore it) Now you'll be here (I'm using a different fork so it may look different:)

click the 3 lil lines in the upper right corner to access settings and characters.

Once you've added/edited characters as you like (I suggest looking at the default ones if you're curious about how that works) you can come back over to the google drive and, if it's finished loading, you'll have two url links like before:

Paste one into the API key and click connect. I used the top one but the bottom might only work for you.

There ya go! A bit complicated, but that's a free substitute for character.ai.

If you instead wanna use OpenAi, (assuming you're either paying or using the free trial, or... something else ;), you'd go here on ur openai account page and go down here:

and create a secret key. Copy that and go into the UI of your choice... ima use TavernAI again. Go into settings, change your API to Openai, and paste that API key you just copied into the API link. Voila!

Here's a couple helpful links for further info: https://www.reddit.com/r/PygmalionAI/ (they have a discord, with some really helpful guides)

character creation/writing tips for Pyg

Soft prompts

General tips

I'm still a noob who knows jackshit about coding, so I can't offer much help, BUT I know the basics so ye. Hope this helps!

#Answer tag #Metaltea Talks #Anonymous #ai shenanigans #AI #FYI pls use any kind of Ai responsibly #as stated do not use it for cheating #or writing stories for you #BUT if you just want some fun roleplay for your personal enjoyment #go for it #and ofc do so responsibly #take care of your mental health and make sure you can separate fact from fiction #reference #masterpost #tutorial

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iwritenarrativesandstuff · 2 years ago

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https://at.tumblr.com/justanotherdamnedweeb/why-there-is-so-much-more-to-dazai-angos/7l3meuzki819

What do you think of this take?

Hey, anon! Thanks for the ask.

...I'm going to be perfectly honest with you: I know you probably are just curious because of my latest posts about Ango but I do feel a little uncomfortable with being sent a direct link to someone else's meta when I haven't interacted with this person. Metas can take a long time to write and involve a lot of passion about the source material - I just don't want to give unwarranted thoughts or replies on someone's post who didn't ask for it and potentially dampen that enthusiasm in any way.

Idk, maybe I'm just being weird about it... ugh. You guys can of course continue to send links to other metas and ask for thoughts just... be aware that I may choose not to reply. Okay?

Having said all this, I do have a few things to say about this meta - number one being:

It's definitely worth a read! I thought the idea that the Division covered up the Mimic incident was pretty much implied since any sign of collaboration with the Mafia would've been a huge scandal (I mean, Mimic's presence in Japan was bad enough already) but 55 Minutes confirms it, and I don't think many people have actually read that novel. And yeah, it would definitely have to be Ango who was directly involved in, if not in charge of, the cover up, being so intimately connected to everything that happened. Of course, this has little to do with who ordered it (it certainly would not have been Ango himself).

I will admit, I forgot about the line in Dark Era that tells us Oda's grave was unmarked - it appears my memory was overridden by the anime, so I was glad for the reminder. And putting all this together - yeah, it seems very likely, if not a given, that part of the Mimic clean up involved wiping Oda's records and existence from the public.

Which is. Yeah. Undeniably shitty. And a very valid reason to hate someone if that person who got erased happened to be your best friend.

Ultimately, I think the degree of sympathy that fans of the series feel for Ango really is going to come down to the degree of autonomy you think he has. The more autonomy he has, the less sympathetic he becomes.

I'm personally inclined to think his choices are quite limited. This meta actually makes me think that even more so. Ango, when he first joined the Mafia, had an elaborate cover story that involved hacking and being on the run and then being given a chance to work in the Mafia due to his skills. You'd think this would have him laying low for awhile and watching his moves carefully so as not to draw attention to himself or cause a scene but that's... very much not what happened.

Ango starts off his story making sure the memories of people who lost their lives stayed alive, and ends it by erasing memories of others from existence - including that of a very dear friend of his. That much is stated in the original meta.

However, it's also important to note that the original Mafia reports for the DHC victims were a result of at least some degree of stubborn defiance. Ango put those reports in Mori's hands personally, even though Mori was initially annoyed and never asked for them. He literally risked pissing off the boss of the organization he had just started his undercover mission in. And yet, he didn't bend the rules to preserve the memory of someone he cared deeply for? Or those soldiers who will be forever forgotten and disgraced? Idk if I fully believe that simple compliance explains all of this. It almost seems to me that Ango expressed more of his own opinions and values in the Mafia than he ever did in the Division. That's... weird. At least, it is to me. (I have another meta coming out on Ango's relationship with the Division in which I will elaborate on this a little more.)

Also it's worth reiterating that Dazai was already furious with Ango for the initial betrayal - though I'm sure the cover up just added more salt to the wound. (To be clear, I've said Dazai's hatred is illogical - as in, it's not a reaction the cold-blooded "Demon Prodigy" would have. I never said it wasn't an understandable emotional reaction on Dazai's part (or at least that was not my intent!) - that's why I actually like that continued animosity! Dazai has a strong capacity to be very cruel to others. But this time he's cruel because he's hurt. That's incredibly human of him and it makes their dynamic very compelling to me.)

If the op of this meta sees this and feels annoyed or just doesn't want this here for any reason, I will gladly take this down.

And anon, for what it's worth I hope my response here didn't hurt your feelings either. I really enjoyed getting to read what you sent; it gave me lots to think about! I'm just always a little worried that I'm invading other's boundaries and whatnot. My initial reaction to this was more of an anxiety thing on my part, I'm afraid.

#i also have to wonder what records oda actually had outside the mafia...#was he known outside the criminal underworld? i'm a little unclear on that honestly...#he had employment as a package deliverer for a time so i guess he had to have something #either way. the events leading up to his death absolutely had to have been covered up at the very least #the kids and the restaurant owner likely too... the division would have had to have been thorough #thanks for the ask!#bsd #bsd ango #storyrambles #it's also worth mentioning that dazai doesn't seem to bear any ill-will towards the division - at least not that we've seen - just ango #that doesn't really prove anything though one way or the other #it's just another observation which is why it's down here #hope this made sense aghhh

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plothooksinc · 1 year ago

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fic writer meme: 2, 3, 9, 25?

2. Is there a trope you’ve yet to try your hand at, but really want to?

Ahh, nope? Nope, not really. If my brain goes "but what is this idea" I then go and write that idea, so inasmuch as I think in terms of tropes (I don't, usually, I look at my writing after the fact and go "oh this contains tropes A B and C" but I've never sat down to go "Imma write a trope") if I have a desire to write it I've already written it. That being said, that doesn't mean there are tropes I haven't done that I will not do in the future! They'll just kind of happen organically at some point I guess.

3. Is there a trope you wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole?

Almost certainly! (Though I wonder if tropes is really the right word for the meme maker, honestly...) Um, I don't find any trope in itself awful gross and off limits, but I'd find more than a few either in my list of "I'm not interested in writing this" or "I am not capable of writing this", and anything even vaguely smut related goes into both categories. There are likely a whole bunch that are not smut related that I also wouldn't write, but I don't have the awareness to know what those might be off the top of my head. (this does not include romance, FYI, I'm quite happy to write that, but I generally only write very specific kinds of that, too, because I'm allergic to anything that gets syrupy).

9. Which fic has been the hardest to write?

Snowblind, without a doubt. "I've got a great idea! Let's take two people who hate each other and ditch them in the middle of the Japanese countryside in winter!" Did I know anything about Japanese countryside, winter, snow and blizzard survival? I'm Australian. Nope. Had I ever written chapters that were 99% description of bitter harsh conditions? Nope. Did I spend hours researching for nearly every paragraph I wrote of chapter 2? Yup. About the only thing I knew was that you could use animal grease to protect your extremities from the cold, and the rest was ferocious research the entire way through, lmao. (Me, a year ago: how...to...survive...an...avalanche...) That being said, Snowblind is also one I'm pretty proud of for the exact same reasons, I had to work for this one.

25. What do you look for in a beta?

Someone who has a good grasp of writing themselves and I know has very similar views to me on the source material. My first fic went un-betaed because I didn't know anyone in fanfiction land, until I hit about chapter 15-ish and developed enough of a rapport with one of my readers that we were talking offline and she agreed to help out. Legacy went unbeta-ed for the most part for the same reasons (new to TMNT fanfiction). I made an exception to the rule for Underdark because I'd gotten like.... 50 pages in before I started posting but I wasn't sure if the story worked, so I asked on LJ if anyone would be willing to help out and got two offers, so I took them both. Sometimes I need a beta before I have the courage to post, ahaha.

When I started writing NRFTW I knew exactly who to go to because we have incredibly similar opinions on TMNT and their characterisation and have known each other and RPed with each other for years, so I just popped on to discord out of the blue and said HEY PI and she said YES GIMME and so I have latched onto @shadowbends for all things TMNT related and she's an excellent writer no matter what she says (I still have a spray bottle, Pi) and has been invaluable on the way through. ♥ So. You know. Find a person you can work with as a partner and go for it.

Thank you for the questions!

Meme for Fic Writers here.

#@consultingjedi #fic meme

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sillylotrpolls · 8 months ago

Text

This poll was a lot of fun! There are already some fun quotes from the notes (note quotes, if you will) above, but there are certainly much worse ways to spend some time than scrolling through everyone's shopping trips.

I was extremely amused by how many people were surprised to "discover" this was a Lord of the Rings/Tolkien poll. Clearly, the vast majority of tumblr users aren't reading usernames, but then again, I suppose we already knew that.

Regarding the actual results, per usual the initial numbers were heavy on Silm readers, but even as the poll spread the not-going-to-destroy-you Ring of Barahir was the clear favorite with 23.4% of the vote. For context, in an equally split 12-way vote each option would get 8.33%, so the Ring of Barahir overperformed that by 280%.

Silm readers were also fans of the three elvish rings. Their shares were never overly high (4-5% each), but together they came in third place with 13.8% of the vote. The three were largely equal for almost the entire lifespan of the poll, with which was leading changing frequently. I expected to see a preference for one, but these results are well within the margin of error.

Conversely, it was very much the not-Silm-fans/later voters who pushed the One Ring to second place (18.5%). I think these more casual Tolkien enthusiasts were a) voting for the option they recognized and b) more likely to take the source material lightheartedly. Not a bad thing; just an interesting demographical difference.

This post is already a bit long, so a complete breakdown of what each option was is below the cut:

A crystal with an inner fire of blended tree light (caution: hurts to touch) - 9.4%

This is a Silmaril. They are kind of a big deal in the Silmarillion. An elf made three of them and that caused Problems. For more information, read the Silm ask your friend who's read the Silm to sum up the good parts for you, or perhaps just follow the LotR and Silmarillion tags for a while until you naturally absorb information about Fëanor's hubris via osmosis.

To explain the little parenthetical joke there, "Varda [Goddess of the stars, queen of the gods] hallowed the Silmarils so that no mortal or evil hands could touch them without being burned and withered." (Quote from above-linked wiki page.)

Of the 9.4% of people who chose to buy the Silmaril, I saw quite a few interesting notes regarding why, ranging from "turn around and sell it immediately" to "innovative way to meet Fëanorians" to "surely this pretty item will cause me no problems whatsoever." I love every one of you; you're hilarious. XD

A globe with a thousand facets that shines like silver in the firelight - 10.7%

People had trouble recognizing this description of the Arkenstone. I took it directly from The Hobbit, but perhaps Thorin describes it differently in the movies? (This is where I confess I didn't watch The Battle of Five Armies.) Anyway, while not likely to cause quite as many problems as a Silmaril, many of the people choosing this item (10.7%) were clearly of the same stripe of troublemaker.

~~Poetic interlude~~

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky, Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone, Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die, One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

Ring set with ruby (kinda fiery?), mint condition, "unsullied" - 4% Ring set with adamant (water I guess), mint condition, "unsullied" - 5% Ring set with sapphire (air? seller might have been making these up), also mint - 4.8%

These were the Three Rings for the Elven-kings. These three rings were made at the same time as the other rings in the poem, but Sauron never touched them so they were described as "unsullied." Being a Tolkien invention, of course each one had a name, specific description, and a chain of provenance.

I'm just gonna copy-paste in Tolkien Gateway's descriptions here:

Nenya, the Ring of Adamant and the Ring of Water, was made of mithril with a stone of adamant; it was the chief of the Three, originally — and only ever — worn by Galadriel. Narya, the Ring of Fire and the Red Ring, set with a ruby, originally worn by Círdan who gave it to Gandalf. Vilya, the Ring of Sapphire, Blue Ring, and the Ring of Air, and mightiest of the Three, a ring of gold with a sapphire stone, originally worn by Gil-galad but given to Elrond.

Incidentally, isn't it interesting that all three of those ring bearers were on the boat with Frodo and Bilbo after the War of the Ring? Hmm.

Ring with two serpents with emerald eyes and some golden flowers - 23.4%

This is the Ring of Barahir. Unlike everything else on this list, it has a very nice history. :)

The full description from the Silm is "the shape of two serpents with emerald eyes, one devouring and the other supporting a crown of golden flowers," which is the emblem of Finarfin (elf-king who fucked up less than Fëanor). Anyway, it was associated exclusively with good guys, and Aragorn eventually gave it to Arwen as a betrothal ring. Aww.

Set of 7 golden rings (will split) - 1.7% Set of 9 golden rings (they honestly look just like the other ones) (will split) - 2%

It is unfortunately very Tolkien-like to give a complete history and individual descriptions for anything elvish and then ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ for things relating to men and dwarves. (The men who do get attention, like Aragorn, are almost always related to elves in some fashion, if not literally to start then by marriage as a reward for their labors later on.)

Anyway, I had trouble even finding any kind of useful description of these, and decided to assume that the man-rings looked like the dwarf-rings, which were described in exactly one spot as "golden." No wonder almost no one wanted to buy these, even as a set.

Necklace of countless jewels (hardly weighs anything O_O) - 5.1%

Here we have the Necklace of the Dwarves, or Nauglamír. It was extremely beautiful, set with countless jewels, and yet felt as if it weighed nothing. When Thingol (bitchy elf-king) got his hands on a Silmaril, he glued it on to this necklace, which was Not A Great Idea.

I want to take this time to link to a really great fanfic which posits that maybe the dwarves didn't call their great work of art "The Necklace of the Dwarves," and especially not using the elvish word for dwarf, which translates as "stunted person."

It's called "A Candle for the Hollow City" by @lordnelson100, and as far as I'm concerned it's canon. No Silm background required to enjoy.

Necklace studded with five hundred emeralds (I did not actually count) - 3.4%

Here we have the Necklace of Girion. It's mostly "just" treasure in The Hobbit, though in the movies it was meant to be an heirloom of Thranduil's beloved-but-unnamed wife.

This was one of the significantly less-cursed options, but I think anyone who recognized the various cursed-ness levels was more likely to go for the sentimental history of the Ring of Barahir or the power of one of the Three Rings.

Just a really huge pearl (seriously, it's like the size of a dove's egg) - 12.1%

This was surprisingly popular to me, but I think the description helped sell it as "probably not going to get you killed." Anyway, this is Nimphelos, and it was pretty much just treasure.

A little ring; the least of rings, merely a trifle (not sure why they had this) - 18.5%

Hmm, not sure about this one. Could anyone point me at a movie, or maybe even a trilogy, explaining why 18.5% of voters chose this insignificant little thing over such treasures as listed above?

And finally, a shoutout to whoever is maintaining the various Tolkien/LotR wikis. ♥ This particular poll relied heavily on the Category:Rings and Jewels page of Tolkein Gateway. I may have read the Silm and engaged in more Tolkien discourse than the average person, but I can't remember names for the life of me so the wikis are invaluable, and I love categories so.

Hey guys, I just got back from the flea market and this one jewelry table had some GREAT stuff! Anyone want anything? $5 each or best offer.

#results #commentary #long post #please do click the cut if you're interested in what all this was about

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rockinlibrarian · 1 year ago

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Very late with the happy-fic-writer game, but: 7 and 12!

HEyyyyy! I'm always up for an ask or two! This refers to this one, here, posted a week ago, which isn't THAT long ago so join in!

7. What do you love most about being a fic writer for your fandom?

As I said here (and answered the question in a slightly different way), I'm a multi-fandom writer-- which @steeple-sinderby has first-hand experience with, being that she's gamely beta'd everything from "our shared fandom but not my ship" fics to "I know absolutely nothing about the source material of this fic-that-is-nothing-but-inside-jokes-about-the-source-material" fics (oh, I think there was ONE CHAPTER of an actual "gen fic in our shared fandom"! Amazing!) (also have to throw in the "absurd RPF of several fandoms I know vaguely enough" because that took guts, too!)

And anyway, I like being multi-fandom, because I can take pretty much any idea and start to run with it. That makes for lots and lots of fics started that MAY never get completed (never say never!)! In the past week I have started three different fics in three different fandoms, only one of which I've ever written in before and that with different characters, too, and one of which probably isn't even properly a "fandom" but a work that just makes a good writing prompt. One is just pure crack I started when we finished reading a book and @sunnymarbles said "But I want to know about [insert throwaway detail that's-not-even-a-plot-point]!" and I said "That's what fanfic is for!" and I did a search on AO3 and while there were indeed several fics for the book series itself, nobody HAD explored throwaway-detail-that's-not-even-a-plot-point, so I felt compelled to do it myself. I have one paragraph, and a vague idea for a bit more plot, and if WHEN I ever finish it I'll be sure to share it!* Probably no knowledge of canon needed, because it's crack. At least compared to what other people have posted in the fandom.

*@sunnymarbles, I've been meaning to share it with you long before that, so you can help me brainstorm, but it's been a busy week. Ask me when you get home.

No I lied, it's short, here is the entirety of what I have written for this:

The moose of the Green Mountains knew to avoid the place they called the Unstable Slope, or “oooOOOOOOoooo” in their native tongue. Ninety generations had passed since the first BoomQuakes broke the mountain, and still young moose were warned away, despite tales of a mythical lake that appeared suddenly there for several years, only to just as suddenly dry up again.

(If you can name the source material from that, you get a point! It's a YA mystery series. Those are your hints).

Anyway, let's move on.

12. What is your favorite theme/subject matter/trope/ship to write about? Why?

How They Became Friends. This occasionally branches off into "How They Fell In Love" or "How One of Them Learned The Other's Secret(s)" or "How They Got Into THAT Mess," but it all stems from How They Became Friends, which is the theme/trope I've been writing on since I pretty much started writing at the age of seven. I guess it was a kind of fantasy-self-insert writing that happened to be original fiction instead of fic, because I was a really lonely kid, and I'd noted that when people were forced into An Adventure together, it brought them closer. Because, you know, it skipped over all that boring Small Talk and Faking Interest In the Latest Fad that real life friend-making seemed to require. So it was that every story I wrote for the first few years of my life involved Me and Some People I Knew In Real Life stumbling into an Adventure (usually involving fantasy elements because I needed all the non-mundane help I could get).

It stuck, even when I started actually making real friends without the aid of portals to other dimensions. It's a theme that lends itself to fanfic naturally, because media is FULL of established relationships to wonder about the beginnings of, and you don't necessarily have to worry too much about plot when you write fanfic. It can BE simply 800 words of "This is How They Became Friends" with bonus time travel complications.

This probably loops back to why I'm a multi-fandom writer, because there's only so many times you can introduce the characters to each other per fandom. I say while a full 10 of my 19 posted Legion fics manage to fall under this theme umbrella, and those only really covering the friendships of four of the many characters. Yay multiple timelines!

#ask game #writing #fanfic

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gffa · 2 years ago

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Not to add onto the whole "why the fuck are you getting so many negative anons lately?" train, but yeah it actually does suck to see you getting those.

I genuinely like your blog and I find your meta analysis super interesting even if I don't necessarily agree with your opinions/takes all the time. But I think that's mostly because I find great personal enjoyment in just seeing how other people interpret a piece of media I love differently from me.

Your posts have genuinely helped me fall even more in love with this fandom and I've actually taken some personal inspiration from you on how to handle these sort of weird/semi-hostile asks with my own blog.

Thanks, anon, I appreciate it. I'll be fair and say that part of why I'm getting more lately is that I'm answering a few of them, when I do that, I get more people continuing to send things, which is how it is for anyone who answers this kind of ask. When I don't have time/emotional reserves for asks or just delete/block them, it doesn't stir as much up--well, usually, sometimes I do get "why didn't you answer my ask??" messages and, like, guys I had THREE SEPARATE CRISES LAST WEEK, I'm only on tumblr to shitpost right now. And that's part of it, too, that I've had a really shitty month+ and so my patience for this is lower than it usually is and I may well have a lot of "fuck you, this is bullshit" undertones that are stirring things up as well. My blog isn't for everyone, but also my blog doesn't have to be all things to everyone who finds it interesting, it's my blog. It's for me. Yeah, I post a lot of stuff that I hope people find useful, I do a lot of resource/reference posts, I do a lot of official art posts, I try to be objective about stuff, etc, but at the end of the day, this isn't my job, I'm not a social media manager running a brand account, I'm not here to sell a product to a paying customer, this is my personal blog. I am one person who has my set of opinions, I'm not here to be all things to everyone. If you disagree with me on something, that's okay! I probably disagree with you right back! We're individual fans who have different opinions on stuff and maybe I'm louder than other people, but I am still just a single fan who wants to talk about what I think of Star Wars. I write posts I'm willing to share with others, I put my opinions out there, I understand the risks involved with that, but I think a few more people could do to understand that I'm not just a corporate employee writing up posts that someone else uses as source material, I am an individual fan writing my own opinions on things. The same goes for a lot of the blogs who are getting negative/semi-hostile anons, they're just a single person on the internet who wants to talk about how they see Star Wars! (I don't want people to worry, I don't classify anyone who disagrees with me as automatically hostile or negative, the posts I answers with good faith responses, I'm pretty sure came from good faith places. We’re specifically talking about the “do your job” type of asks.) I'm deeply flattered that you're still hanging out even when you disagree sometimes, because that’s my ultimate goal. Not necessarily to convert people (though, of course I would enjoy it if that happens, I’m only human XD) but to explain where I’m coming from and hopefully get people to understand how I got there, even if they’re not on the same road or going the same place. Fandom gets so much better when you realize not everyone has to agree with you, you don’t need every space to be for you, you don’t need every post to be one that hits your buttons just right. You just need a handful of people that you’re having fun with and vibe with you, a handful more that can have some engaging, interesting discussions about topics you agree/disagree with when you’re in the right space for it, and a handful of artists/writers making the fic you enjoy. That’s it, that’s the recipe to a good fandom experience, that you make the stuff that makes you happy and have a handful of people you can trust to talk to about it. If I can be one of those people that occasionally provides commentary you may not agree with, but find to be thoughtful/how I got there, then I will absolutely take that and find it to enrich my fandom experience, too.

#lumi.txt

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unconsentual-ascension · 4 months ago

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I'm talking about this more because it's MY blog and I get to choose what I talk about!

I'll put it under the cutoff thing though cuz nobody likes super long posts (most of the time)

____________

Not only did I remake the entire battle system with two types of art charge, talent gauge rules, chain attack rules for both 1 and 2, positionals, etc BUT I remade every single Art and status from all the games up to Future Connected

At any given point a player would have 16 arts between their normals and talent/specials that they had access to at any time, arts (and Blade slots) would unlock as you levelled up

Some of my favourite stuff was making full art sets for the homs sword, knives, Alvis' claymore(?) and remaking blockers and gunberries to still play like a gunlance and ether rifle but distinct enough to make them not suck

I made Sharla's/Kino's talent art(s) actually useful by making Cool-Off inflict statuses and Doze-Off healing the user

I also made Burst arts since it was new to Xeno 3, which released like 4 months into development?

Made a handful of weapons based on boss fights and npcs like Tyrea's gauntlets and Mumkhar's claws Dickson's gunsword, Jade Face, also some based on unused stuff like the shield weapon for Shulk

Tirkin weapons and entirely new art sets (6 entire weapons)

Made Melia's summon passive effects into it's own weapon class since it would taken up two entire pages on the document if I didn't do that

I split up Seven's arts into sets to go along with entirely new weapons based on mechon and bosses because the machine needed something

An entire monado tech section including boss monado arts

An ENTIRE Blade rolling system and rules for playing as Blades or Flesh Eaters and sharing your weapons between yourself or other players

Multiple art sets for each weapon and special sets

Made shield hammers actually usable

Rules for artifical blades and materials for building them, Skills, mods, etc. All modular just like in-game

Bladeless weapons for Xenoblade 2 playstyles

And I made both systems play seamlessly together including three types of chain attacks, break combos and Elemental stuff and mixed art sets since that's what 3 did

A special leveling system so stats would be balanced between both systems' playstyles, with scaling damage and hp

An entire crafting system that covers armour, food items, weapons, gems, core chips, mods for artifical blades, accessories, VEHICLES and rules for making custom weapons, which ended up being used to make I think 14 brand new weapons that weren't rooted in the source material. This includes an entire extended collectopedia

I think my favourite thing I made on the entire document was a new aura art for blockers called Tirky Slurpie. It fits with the food theming and it's actually good, giving you armour veil and healing you slightly

I stopped development not long after Future Redeemed was announced (sometime after Ino's release I think) since I was pretty sure I would've had to rewrite my entire campaign I built the system for, I was right

The entire document ended up being 70 something pages total

So eventually I just remade my system without all the Xenoblade so I could tell my own story without sacrificing all that work. Maybe sometime I'll make a ruleset for my current custom system to make the Xenoblade campaign possible again

I'd also probably add a Xenoblade X section too since a lot of filler arts I stole straight from X. Xeno 3 would also need it's own section but that'll be super easy

Part of me misses working on my Xenoblade Tabletop RPG. I'm replaying Future Connected and it got me thinking about how different my art sets for blockers and gunberries were

I put a LOT of work into translating Xenoblade into a dice rolling game and despite only maybe 6 people ever seeing it, I'd say it was all pretty accurate!

Except Blade specials, oh my god the amount of damage those did with my attack range to dice conversion chart was fucked

I have a new fully original campaign now based on my Xenoblade system but damn do I miss some of the stuff on that old document

#Niall Speaks #Xenoblade #ttrpgs #Once again there was a single person that really REALLY helped with a lot of art stuff and balancing (Thanks again Biggy)

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gildedmuse · 3 years ago

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Imma ask a stupid ass question. Is Law black or POC? I know because of his past their skin was experiencing pigment loss due to the minerals and such of their island, but now that he’s older his melanin is there but I’m really bad at telling race in shows. So I was wondering what is his RACE? Not nationality or ethnicity. Also sorry for the dumb question

Hey, it's not a stupid question. I mean, "race" in One Piece is weird.

[In theory, these characters are said to represent someone of African decent, one who is Scandinavian, one of East Asian heritage, and one who more than likely would be considered mixed-race with European, African and Amerindian ancestry. And, yes, that is a game you would never ever play in real life.]

I would say this may be a strange blog to bring it up on. After all, there are a breadth of sites out there that discuss race as a concept, race and gender in One Piece, the importance AND problematic elements of group identity in fiction, and out of all those you've chosen the one whose main concern is really pointing at characters like, "you there, yes, you. You have a sword."

"I'm gonna write about you making out with *so many* people.... But mostly Zoro."

[I have my priorities. Pictured: My priorities.]

Which some may say is a strange tactic but to be fair... Law does have a sword, and I do enjoy making him lust after Zoro. So, sure, I will totally attempt to answer this.

Let's start with the obvious: there is no real or right answer to this question.

It's incredibly difficult to define our concept of race to begin with, because it various so widely through location, culture, usage and time, but even if you just consider it's common usage in the west, we're still talking about a concept that relies partially on physical similarities, but also relies on ancestry/geography.

[Oda has said that Franky's nationality would be American. Point to America on this map. Go on. I'll wait.]

In this sense, Law's ethnicity would be "Northerner" because while the show never really discusses the topic in an overt manner, I think it's safe to assume that the Four Blues function in much the same way our continents do, with individual islands functioning as everything from countries to single villages. And the broadest definitions of races tend to be divided roughly along continental lines. And I think if the world of One Piece did have a definition of race outside of "human", "fishman/merfolk", "giant", "mink", etc it would likely tie into both physical attributes but also, your Blue of origins.

I do understand, though, that the real question here is, "would Law be considered white/non-white by the standards of our reality".

And yet, the answer is still pretty fuzzy. Especially in the anime, which has a terrible habit of skin whitening.

[Actual Serious Caption Time: I got really, honestly upset seeing how much whiter these characters were post-time skip. Either @chromatic-lamina or my brother - who are both endless sources of canonical knowledge - informed me this change was very much endemic to the anime, and that in Oda's art the two characters have always been portrayed as with lighter skin. Like most facts, rather than help to clarify things, this only makes them more complex. On the one hand, the original source material didn't erase the only two main characters you would describe as "non-white", which the anime was under no obligation to do. After all, the shade of their skin has no major story factor, and the anime is already happy to diverge from the Canon source in other ways. Why was this issue the one they felt they absolutely had to fix? Then again, while it's horrible that they ended up whitening these characters, Oda just didn't bother with more than one skin tone for 90% of the human characters. Which, aside from everything else, considering the scope of the One Piece planet, just seems like lazy world building.]

This isn't helped by Oda assigning characters real nationalities (I wouldn't consider that Canon, of course, since it was done based on an ask, but also.... Don't assign people ethnicities based almost solely on stereotype your own characters and not expect people to comment) that either seem to have little impact on their appearance, or inform it in the worst possible way.... (Thank goodness Ussop is actually one of the best characters in the show. Seriously, would watch him and Nami forced to fight outside their weight class all day, any day.)

I have heard it repeated, though I don't think it's in anyway verified, that Law's "non-fictional" nationality is German, though, personally, the name of his home town, Flevance always makes me think "Florence", and I've got to say I feel that is backed up by his olive complexion.

[I was originally hoping for a screenshot of him standing close to someone so that you could compare, but, you know, it's Law. The last person he was close to bleed out in the snow leaving Law to face this cruel world alone so....]

There is a lot of study and debate about whether Italians, especially Southern Italians and Sicilians, have historically be considered "white", but they have definitely been considered a different racial group. Keep in mind at this time, there were a lot more racial groups than what we would think of today, and almost all of them were deeply flawed and incredibly insulting. A lot of that was based, yes, on traits such as skin color and facial features, but also on language groups and cultural differences.

Which, again, sort of don't exist in an obvious way in the world of One Piece outside of a handful of Grand Line islands (which is utterly ridiculous; like of course the four Blues have distinct cultures, likely with deeply held stereotypes and biases against the other Blues. We see hints of this, like how the East is widely considered the "weakest" of the Blues, or how the West seems to have wide spread criminal syndicates while the North apparently has a higher number of marine than other seas).

I would say that, if you simply showed a picture of Law to someone with no other context, a fair amount of people would guess white, maybe mixed-race or asian. However, if you showed him beside another One Piece character, I think more people would assume him to be of some none north european background.

[Oh, look, I did find a picture of Law standing close to someone.... So he could mock them.]

For what little it is worth, I tend to imagine Law as having either an olive complexion, as mentioned above, or else being from what I imagine is the equivalent of an indigenous artic/northern people such as the many peoples of Siberia or Canada or Greenland. There are a lot of artist who tend to draw him with a darker complexion, and I have a preference for that art. On the other hand, I have friends who think of him as very pale (though pale is not a quality that at all correlates to race, so I couldn't comment on their opinion on that), and some who think of him as being very North European precisely because, well, he's from the North and he's named Trafalgar. None of those opinions are any more right or wrong than the others, just as fan artists may choose to depict Ussop (who, according to Oda, is from the "country of Africa.....) As black while others draw him closer to the colors used in the show. I think you could argue for both depictions, and since they're neither real people nor does the story take place in the real world, it's difficult to identify characters by racial groups that are constructed based on our own history as a species.

So if you want to depict Law as a person of color, you know, go for it. If you don't see him that way, that's also fine and valid. It's a fantasy cartoon that pays little attention to race unless it's being embarrassingly bad about it, so I'm actually happier if they leave characters ambiguous.

Except Zoro. Zoro should be tan, like a golden sacrifice to the God Of Sun, Sand and Steel. This is not up for debate.

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mypoisonedvine · 4 years ago

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Seeing Red | bodyguard!Bucky Barnes x reader (part 7)

(part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4) (part 5) (part 6)

series summary: bucky used to brag that he didn’t have a celebrity crush, or really care about famous people at all, which is what made him the perfect person to start working for a celebrity like yourself. except, of course, it’s just his luck that he’d fall for you.

word count: 2.5k

warnings: um just implied smut and fluff and a reference to bdsm I guess?? but it's pretty chill overall

Liked by starkcosmetics and others

y/n.y/l/n okay first of all, it takes an act of god to get a picture of this guy smiling, but it’s always worth it. he really changed everything for me and I can’t thank him enough for that. so happy ❤️

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caroldanvers 😍😍😍

flowercrowny/n oh my god this is so sweet i’m gonna cry

1 HOUR AGO

He smiled as he stared down at the post you’d made, remembering how much effort you’d put into finding the perfect picture (in your opinion; he thought he looked kinda dopey in it) as well as writing and re-writing your caption.

The speed at which your post gained likes and comments was inconceivable to him; even more impressive was the speed at which gossip rags were picking up the story. Sure enough, his phone’s alerts to new headlines about you were not only going off like crazy, but had started to include news about himself as well.

Y/N Y/L/N Shocks With Romantic Instagram Post, Confirms Dating Rumors

You’ll Never Guess Which Hollywood Starlet Is Dating Her Driver

Who is James Barnes? Everything We Know About Y/N Y/L/N’s New Beau

Skimming one of the articles, he was impressed at how much information they’d managed to get without actually getting anything from you or him. Born in Brooklyn, disabled Army veteran, worked a list of odd jobs before becoming your driver and bodyguard. ‘No social media presence, prefers to keep a low profile’ one of them said; you can say that again, Bucky chuckled to himself when he read it.

He found another from People and didn’t particularly appreciate that it spent half the time going through all your past exes and rumored partners (turned out ‘rumored’ is a fancy word for ‘a bunch of fans deluded themselves so hard that it somehow turned into news without any proof necessary’). But he still smiled when he got to the part that was actually about you and him.

‘The relationship is pretty new but they’re so happy together,’ a source close to the couple reported.

Close indeed; that statement came from your publicist, who he’d never even meet.

‘He’s a very private guy and she’s got this huge following, so they’re sort of an odd couple in that way, but she knows her fans are respectful and will let them have their own life outside of the spotlight.’

Bucky wasn’t sure that the respectfulness of fans was such a given here, but he hoped you were right. To be fair, they’d been very sweet on your original post insofar.

However, when he scrolled to the bottom of the celebrity magazine articles and realized they had their own comments section, he discovered that they were a little less forgiving than the ones on your Instagram.

Is this the best she thinks she can do? So sad tbh :(

a military guy…. yikes, she could get any guy she wants and she goes for a murderer.

He looks like a hobo that found a coupon for a free haircut lol

I don’t buy it, I know she’ll always love Pietro!

Pietro being your former co-star that so many of your fans were convinced was actually your soulmate. From what he’d heard from you, those speculations had made things so uncomfortable between the two of you that it killed your friendship. Those were nothing, though, compared to the comments about someone you actually had dated.

she’s obviously not over sam… they were so good together

He’d better watch out for her ex, he still likes tweets about her and they have so much chemistry

Wait, she’s not still with Sam Wilson?? I could’ve sworn they’d been dating for, like, five years.

You were scrolling through your phone with a smile as you walked past where he was sitting on the couch, and he just couldn’t help himself from asking even though he knew it wasn’t the best idea. “Do I need to worry about this Sam thing?” he blurted out, trying to play it cool and not sound too anxious. “People are really obsessed with you two…”

“Sam and I…” you sighed, staring off into space for a second. He made himself anxious imagining what you were thinking about in that moment. “I haven’t talked to him in… years? I think it’s just because our relationship was so public that people are still talking about it. And it had a lot of gossip material— we did a movie together, people thought it was sweet that we got together during production, it was great promotion for the picture… and from the outside, we made a lot of sense for each other. But he has his own problems. I loved him, but… he wasn’t ever going to be a one-girl kinda guy.”

“But you’re not just any one girl. You’re… you know, you,” he emphasized.

“You’ve been reading too many headlines,” you shook your head as you sat down beside him. “Please don’t turn into one of those guys who thinks of me as a celebrity first. Before that—” you pointed to your own name where it was bolded on his screen in the trending topics page of Twitter— “was popping up on movie posters and in gossip magazines, it was just my name. And I’m not perfect. Not even close.”

Bucky sighed and wrapped his arms around you, pulling you into him and holding you tightly. “And before I knew you were famous, or rich, or incredibly talented, I was totally obsessed with you just for who you are.”

“You’re too fucking amazing,” you sighed as you held his face and gave him a gentle kiss— the kind of kiss that instantly melted his heart and banished his worries. When you pulled back and looked up at him with a smile, it was like everything else just… faded away. “Don’t read the comments, okay? None of them matter.”

He smiled and brushed his thumb over your cheek, overwhelmed by not only the softness of your skin but of your spirit as well. In all his life he’d never been handled so… gently, with so much care. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me,” he mumbled, not even really realizing he’d said it aloud until you gave him a beaming smile.

“I can’t believe you’re my boyfriend,” you giggled pridefully.

“Seriously? I can… very easily believe it,” he scoffed.

“I just mean… you’re so…” you searched for the words. “You’re actually good to me, that’s the thing. I’m not used to that.”

“You deserve the world,” he assured. “I’m just gonna keep trying to give you as much of it as I can find.”

He watched his hand trail over your face, down your neck and to your chest where he played with the hem of your t-shirt.

"It's odd to know there are millions of people who are jealous of me,” he admitted quietly, remembering some aggressive comments from some very angry dudes who had apparently also watched your nude scene a few too many times.

"Do you like it? Do you like how it feels to know you're making them angry every time you touch me?"

"Couldn't care less," he refuted. "Nobody else matters when I'm touchin' you."

“Do you maybe wanna… touch me a little more about it?” you smirked, opening your legs slightly in invitation.

“Always.”

Bucky had, thankfully, not let the newfound fame get to his head. In fact, he had demanded that the two of you hunker down in the house, since he feared that going out would lead to being recognized. What he apparently hadn’t anticipated was that that might not be enough.

“Will you get that?” you requested when the gate buzzed, too wrapped up in the book you were reading to answer the intercom.

He hopped up and held down the button to communicate with the gate speaker. “Who is it?” he asked.

“I’ve got a delivery from Anjappar Chettinad on 23rd?”

Bucky didn’t even reply before hitting the green button and granting access to the driveway. BEEP BEEP BEEP! you heard the gate signal its opening, and the car pulling around up to the door. Bucky didn’t open it until there was a knock, greeting the delivery guy with a smile and the necessary cash.

“I’ve got a lamb korma, hyderabadi mutton dum biryani and an order of— woah,” the man suddenly stopped, staring at Bucky’s face. “Are you—?’

“Hungry? Yes,” he frowned.

“You’re the guy dating— holy shit, congrats man,” he beamed, smacking Bucky on the shoulder pridefully before leaning in with a mischievous smirk. “Say, is she a freak or what?”

“She is,” you piped up from the couch, making both men turn their heads; but one was chuckling while the other looked mortified. “You better not have forgotten my paneer pakora or I’m gonna chain you up and whip you.”

“Uh, I— no, I got it right here,” he promised weakly, handing the bag over to Bucky and starting to dash away before Bucky grabbed his arm, making the smaller man whimper fearfully.

“You forgot the money,” Bucky reminded him gruffly, stuffing the bills into the driver’s front pocket.

Finally, he let go, and the delivery man instantly pulled away, rubbing his arm and looking a bit like a kicked puppy as he went back to his car and drove away.

“You didn’t need to scare him that bad,” Bucky chuckled.

“I could say the same to you! Grabbing somebody with the metal arm like that will put the fear of God into them pretty fast.”

“I didn’t mean to grab him that hard,” he admitted, examining the prosthetic hand as he came back to the couch with the bag of food, handing it to you while he focused on watching his motorized fingers curl and uncurl. “I think I need to get this thing recalibrated… it’s been bugging out lately.”

“I dunno, it was working just fine last night,” you smiled, remembering how delightfully cool those fingers felt inside you.

Bucky seemed to miss it entirely, though, as he stared off into space. “I can’t believe I got… recognized.”

“You’re a star,” you winked. “And not just with random delivery drivers. I’ve had a lot of press requests, everybody wants to be the first one to get nice pictures of us together— we’ve had a dozen event invites as a couple.”

“Seriously?!” he scoffed, snapping back to reality slightly enough

“Yeah, and look what came in same-day mail this morning!” You leaned over to shuffle through the mail on the side table before finding and handing him a letter in a gold-embossed envelope, watching him read what you knew was inside.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association extends an invitation to Y/N Y/L/N and James Barnes to the annual Grant Banquet in support of the Young Artists Fund.

“It seems like a good first event for us,” you explained. “Relatively small and low stakes, it’s for a good cause…”

“Are you sure I’m ready to be, you know… seen? By people?”

You scoffed, hardly believing how insecure he could be sometimes. “You look great, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Will I have to talk to anybody other than you?” he asked, grimacing as if that were a form of brutal torture.

“Probably,” you admitted.

His frown deepened. “What if I say the wrong thing?”

“I’m not that worried about you,” you smirked. “You’re a lot better at this stuff than you think you are.”

“I don’t have anything to wear…”

You smirked, a little too proud of yourself, when you remembered the email your publicist had forwarded to you just this morning. “Hugo Boss will pay you $1500 to wear one of their suits on the carpet.”

“They’ll pay me to wear free clothes?” he repeated with wide eyes.

“Yeah, that’s one of the cooler things about fame,” you laughed. “I make a grand every time I wear this watch outside!”

“I guess I should send them my measurements then…” he trailed off. “Any chance I can get in on that watch deal?”

“No, but you can make $50 by getting papped at Jamba Juice.”

He paused for a moment, scratching the back of his neck as he thought. “Is the smoothie comped?”

“I don’t know. Do you want me to ask?”

“...kinda…” he admitted with a shy smile.

“Well, I will, and I’ll RSVP to this invite saying we’ll be there next week,” you decided as you started to open up the food, but Bucky stopped you by reaching for your hands.

“Are we really doing this?” he asked.

“If you want to,” you mitigated.

“Of course I do. I guess I have to accept that you’re actually willing to be seen with me,” he chuckled. “It’s just sort of hard to believe.”

You leaned in and kissed him; it was meant to be a casual, reassuring peck but he held you closer and you melted into him, moaning softly at his touch as you started to climb into his lap.

“The food’s gonna get cold,” he reminded you with a mumble against your lips.

Unfortunately, your literal hunger was a bit too strong to ignore, even with the growing intensity of a metaphorical hunger for Bucky. “Alright,” you relented, getting off of him and returning your attention to the meal on the table. “Just know that I really, really want to be seen together, in public, just in case anybody missed the news about us already. I’m not embarrassed by you or afraid you’re going to do something dumb. I…”

One of those words that can’t be unsaid started to bubble up in your throat and you coughed, banishing the thought.

“I really like you. I think we have something special.”

He smiled gently, giving you one more kiss on the cheek. “I think so, too.”

Since this was slightly less of a big deal than a premiere or press tour, you had managed to convince your styling team to let you dress yourself, which was why he was laying on the bed and talking to you through the bathroom door while you put on your gown.

“Do you want me to hire a new driver?” you prompted him, voice muffled slightly as he imagined your head covered in the fabric, trying to navigate through the dress. “I don’t want you to feel… I don’t know, like a servant?”

“A servant? You’re still paying me,” he reminded you. “You are still paying me, right?”

“Yes,” you laughed, “but still, I would hate it if you felt like staff. You’re my boyfriend!”

(His heart still fluttered every time you said it.)

“No new driver,” he decided. “I can drive just fine, and considering how things went between us… let’s not open the door for anybody else,” he smirked, making you laugh in that way you did when he made a stupid joke but you still liked it somehow.

“Okay, sure, but what about being my bodyguard? Is that too weird?” you continued.

“God no,” he scoffed, “if anything I’m gonna be better at my job than ever. As your boyfriend, keeping you safe is my job, but since keeping you safe was already my job… it’s, like, doubled-up now.”

He lost his train of thought when you opened the door.

“How do I look?” you asked as you stepped in and gave him a spin in your new dress. Your whole body was draped in red silk, with the exception of your back which was almost entirely exposed, as if it were begging him to run his fingers down your spine.

“Like everything I ever wanted,” he blurted out before he could stop himself.

And it was so odd that you questioned his desire to drive you, because those moments where he could steer with one hand and rest the other on your thigh, when he could catch a glimpse of you looking out the window at the city rolling by, when he got to listen to you ramble about something to kill the time during a drive; those were his favorite moments, and he wouldn’t trade them for anything.

After a relatively brief trip, you arrived at the venue, and all of a sudden he was doing what he’d fantasized about more than he’d like to admit: escorting you down a red carpet. It was almost overwhelming— yelling, chattering, reporters speaking into camera, flashes going off in every direction—

“Hey,” you whispered, bringing your hand up to his cheek and instantly taking all his attention.

“Hey,” he returned.

“Just follow my lead,” you instructed.

“That was the plan.”

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes au #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x y/n

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absolutebl · 3 years ago

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Senpai noticed me 🙀😄 Thanks for following me!

I love your blog! You make so many interesting and informative Posts! Thanks to you I try to notice more details while watching BL. And my BL-to-watch-list is now endless xD

When did you start watching/consuming BL material? You seem to know every BL that exists, so I was wondering how long it took you to get to this point.

Aw, thank you for the ask, kohai! (or maybe nong?)

How Long Have I been Watching BL?

Well, I read yaoi back in the late 90s early 00s so that was kinda my start. It's one of the reasons I know a lot about the source tropes in particular. I pretty much read any yaoi I could get ahold of in translation.

But back when the first live action yaois (proto BLs) were coming out of Japan in 2005+ they were impossible to get hold of, especially with subs. Also I got slightly distracted by some pesky higher education bullshit.

So I kinda drifted into early American indie queer cinema for a while.

I started becoming aware of BL as a thing around late 2017, but I only watched what I could easily find with subs on YouTube. So like BL cuts of Love Sick and Puppy Honey and the Kiss series. Lots of bootlegs and bad subs and FMVs. Love By Chance was my first real addiction.

Then I got really sick late 2019 (before C19) and bored out of my skull, discovered UWMA, and started to dive into it in a slightly more obsessive fan way.

Then with lockdown and the great quar suddenly I had a ton of time on my hands. (About half my job is travel so not traveling, it turns out, frees up a ton of time. Also I don't really have a life.)

I went deep into Thai BL and then Taiwanese BL. Rediscovered that Tumblr was the place to talk about it. Resurrected, and renamed this old blog. Got on MDL, and figured out Daily Motion, Drama Cool, and Viki. And ta da!

About midway through our first major lockdown I decided I should be organized about the whole thing and spent two days putting together this elaborate tracking spreadsheet, because I can't just enjoy anything. I HAVE TO ORGANIZE IT.

That, of course, meant I should watch everything I could (to fill in the spreadsheet), and chronicle it ALL.

Specifically I got intersted in the early stuff out of Japan and China that bridges yaoi manga and BL. I'm one of the few that bothers with these because they are deeply problematic but I did discover some gems like Seven Days and Just Friends?

I'm currently at 266 shows/movies/microfilms.

There's still quite a bit (mostly early Japanese and Taiwanese, and Korean B-plots, and GL) that I can't for the life of me get ahold of subbed (probably about 75 or so).

I stopped following Pinoy, Chinese, and Vietnamese stuff carefully, but I do try to keep up with the other four BL producers (Thailand, Korean, Japan, and Taiwan). Thailand doesn't make that easy these days.

But BL and Kdramas are all I watch for entertainment now. I don't watch any Western media at all anymore. Try to stay away from most social media and don't read as much as I once did.

Once I resume regular travel next year I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep up this pace, but I can manage it through the end of the year.

Then I get to pretend my 2020-2021 was well spent. I want all my memories of this time in my life to be BL.

#asked and answered #thai bl #my life in bl #how i spent lockdown #korean bl #japanese bl #adapted from a yaoi #live action yaoi

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cooltrainererika · 3 years ago

Text

Heroes: A Fragments of Sky Silver fanfic

Alternate titles: Keep Needing Ya to Laugh and Be Free For Once, Gramps

Finally posting fic of my Fate waifu! Wooooo-

So in this fic my headcanon is pretty apparent because it starts to drift from canon. The fic's premise is basically "What if Berserker was given a nickname that wasn't Berserker" and "What if he was a cynical middle aged man in the body of his young Servant self?". This fanfic is basically my interpretation of Tatsumi and Berserker's first encounter with those alterations.

(Pretty sure everyone reading knows who FoSS Berserker is by now but I'm not saying his name just in case someone doesn't know. Though if you don't, minor spoilers)

Also I've got, like, no confidence on if Tatsumi is written in-character. But I read about their dynamic on Wikis and some fanfic and basically fell in love with these two dorks' dynamic. I really hope he isn't too off. But because Berserker is written differently Tatsumi has to pretty much have enough optimism to carry the two so he ended up like this.

Another nickname I wanted to give Berserker was "Gabriel". I may post that version sometime too. So consider this "version one" of that fic if I post that.

Also, for those who read this; reblogs are very much appreciated!

Heroes

Fandom: Fate Series (Fragments of Sky Silver), with references from character's source material

Rating: K

Characters: Berserker (FoSS), Tatsumi Kitano

Prompt: Hero

Get out to find it now, don’t ever let go

The brighter future knows to reach it

Even when the world is caught and full of wrong

Keep needing ya to laugh and be free for once

No, I cannot be hurting no one

I wanted, I wanted to be stronger now

Woken to resume my need to stay the real me

- Monster, by Yoasobi

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“I think I know what I’m gonna wish for.”

The Berserker was somewhat surprised by the speed at which his young master responded.

“Oh? What may it be?”

The boy looked out into the city he called home; on closer inspection, his hand subtly shook as it grasped at the window frame, his countenance anxious, yet also bright with his conviction.

“I wanna protect Tokyo. It’s my home. ...And I want to stop this war so it doesn’t happen again, to anyone else.”

Berserker’s eyes subtly widened in surprise. Such pure words, such virtue, such honor from a man so young.

Here stood a son, a brother, a schoolboy, by all means an average young man, whom had just now learned that he had been in possession of magecraft abilities all his life, but his ultimate wish nothing but a simple desire for the safety of everything and everyone he loved and had loved. Not immortality, not infinite riches, not any of the sort. It was so simple, humble. As such, he envied it so.

The boy turned to face him again, looking down to inspect his crest on his hand.

“...That is your wish?”

“Yup! I’m kinda scared, and I still don’t really get what I’ve gotten myself into, but... I don’t want anyone to get hurt, y’know?”

He smiled.

“...Hey, we’re kind of like heroes, aren’t we. Don’t you think so, Berserker?”

Berserker blinked.

“Y’know, a hero of justice, like Ultra Man and stuff! Or maybe more like Yatterman since that’s a duo? ...Nah that’s not exactly it... Oh, you probably aren’t too familiar with those things, sorry. But Kitano Tatsumi and Berserker! Heroic duo! Has a nice to ring to it, right? And you’re a Heroic Spirit, or something, aren’t you?”

Berserker chuckled to himself in a melancholic, somewhat bitter-tinged manner, uncomfortably adjusting his sitting posture on the floor, not being able to help a small, pessimistic smile, dim beside the boy’s warm glow.

He was good, but foolish. Almost childish.

He was in no way a hero, how absurd. It even sounded almost humorous. Especially as, while it appeared that his unsightly, vile self, his vile self that had grown unimaginably more powerful for how he had become known, was for now suppressed, his current name itself - Berserker - was a permanent branding of sin. Well, as he was a "Heroic" Spirit now, he perhaps could not fault the boy for believing he was some sort of great hero of yore.

“I am terribly sorry. Hero? I am no such thing, Master. Do not be so daft.”

The boy frowned. Then, he shook his head, suddenly grasping his hand, directing his determined, resolute gaze to him, his crest briefly glowing as weak mana coursed through his mana circuits. He believed he felt a tinge almost electrifying in nature at the fire in the youth’s eyes.

“I’m not one yet either. But we can be heroes. I just know it!”

His light was blinding; yet, he almost felt as if this lad, despite his lack of worldliness, despite his naïveté, could truly stay true to his word.

Was this a sign from the Lord?

The real holy grail, he recalled, was to be achieved by the purest and most good of all. It was, more than it’s inherent value or wish granting properties, a test of character, of both chivalry and spiritual righteousness.

Berserker now knew why it was he who was summoned. For him, this was to be his quest of salvation. Perhaps, this youth, this brave, good-hearted youth, a better man than he had ever been at such a young age, his intentions pure, was to be the light that he had yearned for, the one that would at last lead him to his redemption, his redemption for all his hypocrisy and his duplicity, for all his debauchery and licentiousness and complacency and sinfulness.

For this young man was of such character, of such honesty... Much like someone he had known, when he was a youth as he, declaring his intention to study law all those years ago.

Yes, someone... Someone he had deceived worst of all.

The boy smiled sheepishly.

“...Well I guess it might sound stupid and kinda cheesy. I’m not too good at this, I know that. I just learned that magic exists and that I can apparently use it an hour ago, and it’s a lot to take in, totally. And again, to be honest I’m scared. But I hope I can do right by you. ...What do you say?”

His Master’s hand was raised. It appeared he was to meet it in a similar gesture.

The two hands clapped, producing a small, but satisfying “slap”. Jekyll understood this to be friendly gesture, one expressing a camaraderie.

“If you wish to be a Hero... That shall be my wish too. I shall serve you, Master, as you wish.”

“Hey, stop calling me that. It’s kinda weird. It’s Tatsumi. Just call me Tatsumi.”

Tatsumi. ...This truly was a child. Or perhaps, it was normal custom to be addressed by given name in this culture. The knowledge he was provided about contemporary culture could be awfully inconsistent.

“Yes... Mr. Tatsumi.”

“Mr? Man, you’re making me kind of anxious again... But fine, whatever you’re comfortable with, Berserker. ...Pffft.”

He heard Tatsumi giggle, to his confusion, the young magus’ shoulders shaking slightly.

“...What is it, Tatsumi?”

“Pfff! I just can’t. I can’t!” He snorted, covering his mouth to stifle his laughter. “I can’t call you Berserker, it’s just so weird! Okay, now that you have a name to call me by, I think you need one too. Berserker can’t be your real name, right?”

“It is indeed not. But I am terribly sorry, I cannot disclose it to you now.”

“Please?”

“I am sorry. But if other Servants were to know my identity, it may give them leverage against us.”

“Fiiiinnneeee... I’m not gonna keep calling you Berserker though. I just can’t say that with a straight face.”

The boy’s gaze glanced over his thin, slight frame.

“I shall inform you, I was not this slight-framed last I recall...”

“Sorry, but it’s just... S-sorry! It’s not like I’m saying that you look wimpy or anything!”

“No, no, do not fret. It is not much of an issue.”

Berserker could not help but find something about his worry endearing. And while he indeed held little pride in his build at the age he had manifested in, he held even less pride in the sin he was to forever carry; another name was very much welcome.

“Oh, ok... Hmm... Well you kind of act like an old man, you know that. And you kind of remind me of my grandpa... I dunno why, I guess it’s because I summoned you from his journal I think? ...How’s ‘Gramps’ for a nickname?”

Berserker raised his eyebrow slightly in mild bemusement, toying with his hair as if to look for the silvery strands of white that, unbeknownst to the boy, indeed were once a time ago starting to streak his silky blond, rose-tinged hair.

“...By Jove, lad, do I show my age that much?”

Though perhaps, if only his life had gone down a different, correct path, had he lived, married, supported a wife like a respectable man should have, he may have very well been able to hold a grandchild in his arms in life by when he had in reality perished, alone with nothing but his own and his - or perhaps just his own, or his - deranged mind.

“Sorry! I don’t know why I thought that. I mean you don’t even look a day older than 30, that was weird of me. I didn’t mean to call you old! I mean you probably are actually old, but not old like that... You know what I mean.”

Berserker felt himself genuinely smile.

“...But if it is of sentimental value to you, I would not mind such a name.”

“Oh... You like it?”

“Yes. I very much do. You do not understand how much.”

Many of his peers in life, of his standing, may have found this arrangement shameful on its face, to be under the control of another, to be a servant, much less to a mere schoolboy, an oriental, of no notability and of little fortune, and to add to insult be addressed by such names by him; and while he had indeed admittedly lamented his standing to a degree before, that had by now all but disappeared. There was something comforting about hearing Tatsumi call him such an impolite, yet friendly name, instead of that title, even if it could not erase the truth of his class, his very reason to be deemed as significant enough for existence as a Heroic Spirit.

That night, he swore, in the name of the Lord who had blessed him with this fateful meeting, that he was to defend this young man - he and his simple, humble wish and ideals - at all cost.

This boy was his lord, and he his knight, just as he had read in his youth in novels chronicling stories of old; fitting, as it was, considering the artifact they were vying for.

What he felt, however, was not merely so; perhaps, it was akin to the love a father felt for a child.

Perhaps, this lad, Tatsumi, was what he had needed to keep his darkness, the beast within that clawed and gnawed at his innards, at bay. At least, he made him believe he could.

Perhaps, it would be alright.

Perhaps, they could be heroes after all.

“Hey, you look uncomfortable. Should I get you a chair?”

Dr. Jekyll glanced down onto the floor, and chuckled lightly as he shifted his legs again.

“I am terribly sorry, I am not used to sitting on the floor. Yes, that would be excellent.”

#fate prototype #fragments of sky silver #fragments of blue and silver #kitano tatsumi #berserker #my fanfics #fate #fate series #Seriously I've got like no confidence on if I wrote tatsumi right #He turned into a bit of a genki guy #fate jekyll and hyde #Image song: Monster by Yoasobi #Because seriously the song fits too much #fgo henry jekyll #henry jekyll

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