#in my mind the art reminds me of a lovely fantasy story

[juicingbeetles]

Bungo Stray Dogs as Tarot cards <3

[leahnardo-da-veggie]

Introductions (2.0)

Hello and welcome, all! I've been around these parts for a while, but I felt the need to revamp my intro :)

About me:

↪ Leah, she/her/any pronouns

↪ In my early 20s

↪ Reader, writer, sometime animator

↪ Been doing martial arts for over a decade

↪Huge fan of CJ Cherryh

↪I reblog stuff from @leahpardo-pa-potato

My writing:

↪ Generally fantasy, with sides of horror

↪Posted in regular chunks of 500-1k words

↪I love tag games, esp OC ones :)

↪I do mini-series, one-shots, and novels

↪I will love you forever if you send me an ask

↪See my full list of writing here

↪I have a taglist, interact here to join!

WIPs / Longer stories

The Unwanted Visitor: (Completed)

Aida's house has been haunted by a spirit for as long as she can remember. Thing is, she's grown used to her Unwanted Visitor (or Vis, as she likes to call him). So when exorcists come after him, she does what any sane person would: protect her brother friend.

↪ Urban fantasy-comedy, very light-hearted

↪A lot of found family and sibling squabbling

↪If you like teens causing chaos, this is for you!

↪Final bit here

A Perfectly Normal Schoolgirl:

All Katherine wants is to eat mortal food, bask in the warmth, and be a normal schoolgirl. But when a boy begs her to help him save her parents, she finds herself fighting for her (and his) life once more.

↪Urban fantasy with a side of horror

↪ Basically an inversion of a bunch of tropes

↪My attempt at writing fantasy without mentioning magic by name

↪Latest bit here

Fast Food:

An embarrassment to his entire tribe, Hash is lazy and uninterested in anything. So, when he reaches majority, he gets unceremoniously booted out of home. Follow his adventures through Triworld, as he somehow ends up in every single single conflict across the continent.

↪High fantasy with a side of humour

↪Very heavy Lore™ and Worldbuilding™

↪ My excuse to ramble about fictional history

↪Latest bit here :)

Lich-Queen (Completed):

Iraela has all but won: the King of Ceredell and his bride are gone, the cities fallen to her army of undead, and the way to the throne cleared for her. But her coronation, and her sanity threaten to fall apart under the weight of duty. Can she hold it together until she truly becomes Lich-Queen?

↪High, dark fantasy with some horror and gore

↪Watch Ira slowly lose her mind in real-time

↪If you like cannibalism, you'll love this

↪Full thing here

The Novel™ (Mind of a Mercenary):

Luna, Terror of Garvenoi, mind-mage extraordinaire, has been caught at last. Whilst everyone celebrates, she is given an ultimatum: Be an indentured hunter for the government, or die. But when she signs on with them, she finds that perhaps death might have been a better choice...

↪ Urban Fantasy set in a Non-Earth world

↪Starring a sassy, mean-girl villain protagonist

↪Enjoy several hundred pages of Luna trying and failing to run from her duties

↪Latest snippet here (find the others on my masterlist of writing)

Finally, my taglist! If you interacted with this post/already asked me to add you, and you don't see yourself here, please remind me! I may have accidentally missed you :')

@coffeeangelinabox, @dorky-pals, @calliecwrites, @kaylinalexanderbooks, @shukei-jiwa

@thewingedbaron, @pluppsauthor, @cowboybrunch, @wylloblr, @possiblyeldritch @ramwritblr, @urnumber1star, @fortunatetragedy, @bigwipscholar, @ratedn

@vampirelover890, @possiblylisle, @illarian-rambling, @the-ellia-west

@finicky-felix, @evilgabe29, @glitched-dawn, @rivenantiqnerd, @dragonhoardesfandoms

@drchenquill, @everythingismadeofchaos, @owldwagitoutofyou, @dimitrakies, @beloveddawn-blog

Oh pls kill me I felt so silly doing this- Anyways bye guys hope to see y'all around don't judge me for this

[foone]

I think my brain has decided to dump mind control/hypnosis into the same bucket as fursonas and TF.

Specifically the one where it's like "this would be extremely interesting if you could do it, but you can't, so why bother with something that's only fantasy?"

Which is strange that it happens here. Like, there are definitely interests/kinks that are completely fantasy but I'm still into them, still enjoy reading about and seeing art of them. (I'm not gonna specify which ones because this is not a TMI Tuesday post)

But for some things my brain decides that I'm provisionally into it but only if it can be done for real. Like... Imagine someone who is into bondage but has zero interest in bondage porn/erotica, only in doing it for real... And then imagine they're someone who can't do any bondage for partner/disability reasons. That's where my brain is at.

I'm not sure if it's that I'm not interested enough in these things, or I'm too interested.

Like the former makes sense: if I was majorly into TF, I'd be into it even though it's impossible. The fantasy would be so erotic/interesting that I'd be all over it, even knowing I'm very unlikely to ever get slowly turned into a deergirl with antlers.

But the latter might be closer: I'm too into these things. My brain is like "omg this is the best idea ever! We need to do it now!!!" and then the disappointment at realizing it's impossible just sours me on the whole damn subject.

Like I can't get the motivation to design a fursona because it keeps reminding me that I can never be the cute cow. I don't want to have a fursona that's just a thing in pictures and stories, I want to have hooves and big horizontal ears and NOT BE A FUCKING HUMAN.

It's annoying because I think in all these cases it's something I could legitimately be interested in and get a lot of enjoyment out of! Like, furries are awesome! (and I am one, even without a fursona). They have lots of fun with their fursonas. I could commission art of my fursona using old computers! I could design keyboards for use with my hooves! It could be tons of fun.

And TF? Don't get me started. I am constantly saying I need to be less human. I theoretically love the idea of turning into something else. But nope. I can't enjoy it, maybe because I'm going "why isn't that me?"

And I've read some mind-control/hypnosis stuff recently and I'm having the exact same reaction. There some parts where I'm like "this has a lot of interesting ideas! Why can't I do this?" oh yeah because it doesn't exist. Damn it.

And that "damn it" emotion is when I close the story. So I can't really enjoy the parts of it I like, I'm too dissuaded by the disappointment.

I dunno if this is an autism thing. I've known some other people on the spectrum have similar issues with just deciding subjects are zero interest to them, after only a quick glance. I don't know if that's the same or a similar thing than I'm talking about.

(also, hypnotists? Don't come saying "but hypnosis is real!" to me. I know, but it's not real in the ways I'm interested in)

[daydreams-after-dark]

What's your fanfic fantasy? part 6

Chapter Contents.

Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 // Part 4 // Part 5 // Part 6 // P art 7 // Part 8 // Part 9 // Part 10 // Part 11 // Part 12 // Part 13 // Part 14 //

Premise: OFC + Chan + Jisung 18+ fanfic. This is an AU story about Chan bringing your fantasies to life... but what happens when boyfriends Chan and Han fall in love with you?

Chapter Summary: Chan is freaking out about what just happened with you. We have a tender moment with Chan and Jisung

Warnings: m x m, blow job, cum eating, confessions.

Chan pov

Chan thinks he's going to hyperventilate. Or vomit. Or die. He gets back to his room and fumbles at the handle, desperate for the safety of his bedroom. After what feels like an eternity, he finally manages into get inside. He's safe now.

“How did it go?” Jisung perks up, looking up from his phone. From the sounds coming from the device he's watching porn.

He looks expectantly at Chan waiting for details of the evening.

“I fucked her face.” Chan is mortified by the words that come out of his mouth, and he rakes his hands through his hair.

“What!?” Jisung tosses his phone to the side and sits up wide eyed and all ears, wanting details.

“I fucked up, Jisung.” Chan chokes.

Jisung squints and shakes his head like he must have misheard. “I thought you said you fucked her face?”

“I did.” Chan absentmindedly finds his way to the bed and crashes face down on it next to Jisung.

“Fuuuccckkk!” he screams into the pillow and punches the mattress. After a moment he rolls over to face Jisung.

“How is this a bad thing, babe? I thought this is what you wanted?” Jisung looks confused, but also worried. “What’s going on?” he whispers gently to his lover.

Chan takes a moment to gather his thoughts and compose his emotions.

“It wasn’t part of the plan. She didn’t ask me to… I didn’t ask if it was okay…” he starts to breath heavy and that sick feeling of needing to vomit returns.

He turns to Jisung. “I really really fucked her face. Rough. Without caring about what she wanted.” He swallows hard and Jisung watches him with his big beautiful doe eyes. Chan loves those eyes, but right now he feels too ashamed to meet his gaze.

“Then what happened?” Jisung gently pushes. “Did she seem okay with it?”

Chan scratches his head. “She… she came. God she looked gorgeous with my cock in her mouth. Then I came. And she swallowed it all.”

Jisung wraps his arm around Chan.

“Then,” he continues. “She wanted me to hold her.”

Jisung sits straight up. “Then why the fuck are you here and not with her?” he demands.

Chan sits up too. “Because I fucking freaked out. Okay?!” he says nd defensively. He knows he hasn't handled himself well. What a fucking idiot, he thinks.

“So what is she doing now?” Jisung takes Chan’s hand in his and squeezes it. Jisung always knows how to ease Chan’s anger or frustration.

“I tucked them into bed.” It sounds preposterous when he says it.

Jisung thinks it sounds preposterous too and laughs in his face.

“You fucking tucked them into bed?” he taunts. “Man, that must have been one hell of a blow job. You’ve lost your mind!”

Chan laughs too. It does sound absurd. He wonders what you and Minho must have thought to that. He also wonders what they are doing right now. A frown forms on Chan’s face.

Jisung, reading Chan’s body language decides to change the subject. “You know who didn’t get to come tonight don’t you?” he asks fluttering his eyelashes.

“You mean you didn’t jerk off to your porno?” Chan teases, nodding towards the phone.

Jisung shakes his head. “Na-uh! I was waiting for you.” He walks his fingers up Chan’s chest suggestively.

Chan growls and flips Jisung onto his back. He might as well distract himself from the anxiety in his chest and the sick feeling in his stomach. He bites his lip and allows himself to gaze into Jisung’s eyes, then he leans down to give him the most tender kiss. He reminds himself of how much he loves Jisung and how safe he feels when they are together. Jisung melts under his touch, and brings his hands up around Chan’s neck.

“Channie?” Jisung whispers between kisses.

“Mmm-hmm?” Chan responds whilst he tries to deepen the kiss.

Jisung breaks away. “I really like her… and so do you…” he trails off.

Chan lifts up off of Jisung and rests on his elbows. “And?” Chan snaps a fury burning in his eyes. He really doesn't want to be challenged. He's quite happy living in denial. Well not exactly happy, but he knows that if he is in denial he could soften the blow when you reject him. Actually, he doesn't plan on being rejected because he is never going to admit anything at all.

“I.. I think..” Jisung struggles to find the right words. “I think we should ask if she wants to…”

“To what, Jisung? Be our girlfriend?” he spits sarcastically. “As if. Why would she want that? Don’t be so fucking deluded.” Chan refuses to even tryto entertain that thought because it sounds so far fetched. Oh but imagine what it would be like? His dear Jisung and beautiful you… his?

“I think I'm in love with her, Chan.” Jisung blurts out. He stares into Chan’s eyes, not backing down despite having fear written all over his face. “And you are too.” He dares to add.

Chan sucks in a breath. “Fuck.” He slumps down on top of Jisung and rests his face into his neck. Jisung cautiously wraps his arms around his back and holds him close.

“Well, you could least give me a blow by blow of what actually happened tonight… you know… with the whole blindfold thing.” Jisung pouts.

Chan manages a soft chuckle and proceeds to fill him in on the evening, all while kissing and caressing Jisung’s body.

Jisung listens wide eyed and by the end of the story his cock is rock hard.

“Chan? Look what you’ve done!” he points to his erection. “You’re gonna have to fix that!”

Chan gives Jisung a sly smirk and shifts his attention to Jisung's pants. He slides down and hooks his fingers into the waistband and gives Jisung a devious little wink.

Chan has Jisung’s cock out in a heartbeat, taking the head to his mouth and licking the pre-cum off the tip. Chan loves to taste Jisung. He has the prettiest cock he’s ever seen. It's the perfect size and thickness for Chan. Like he was made for him. He loves how it made you moan and shiver. He relishes the thought as he sucks the cock that made you lose your mind yesterday, just as he himself does often. What if they can all be together? What if…

“So.. Let me get this straight.” Jisung cuts off Chan’s thoughts. “You’ve seen her naked. You’ve had her naked body against you. And.. Ahhhh…Channie… Fuck… Shit… that feels so… ahhh” Chan is getting riled up just listening to Jisung talking about you naked.

Chan takes Jisung’s cock in it’s entirety into his mouth, deep throating and assaulting it with everything he has. He's not going to go slow or prolong the blow job the way Jisung likes. No, he's going to make Jisung come quick.

“Channie… okay… I’m sorry! Please…. Slow down… aghhh…” Jisung begs, writhing around underneath Chan.

Chan hears his lover’s request and does as he is asked. He always does what Jisung asks for. He slows right down to a pace that Jisung prefers, bringing his hands to his hips and squeezing them lovingly. His hands drift up to explore his abdomen. Slowly running his hands along his defined muscles. Chan loves Jisung’s slim waist, and he let's his hands linger there.

“Channie,” Jisung whispers. “I love you.” And with that he releases himself into Chan’s mouth. It's a soft and emotional orgasm for Jisung, Chan can tell.

He eases his way back up the bed to lay face to face over Jisung, and leans down to kiss him, pushing his cum into his mouth. For a long moment they just kiss, pushing the taste of Jisung back and forth.

“I love you too.” Chan whispers between kisses.

“Channie?”

“Yes my love?” Chan rest his forehead against Jisung’s.

“And I love y/n too.” He says in a small voice.

“Me too, Jisung. Me too.”

a/n: I hope you liked this little insight into Chan and Ji's relationship.

tag list : open

@rylea08 @channieandhisgoonsquad @noellllslut @itsseohannbin @weareapackofstrays @kangnina @3rachasdomesticbanana @palindrome969 @xxkissesforchanniexx @chuuchuu1224 @fun-fanfics @wolfennracha @rhonnie23 @jisunglyricist @strayywayy @rixenluv @piscesrising01 @lunearta @shltsnglggles @lilbabiebunni @jiminssluttyminx @armystay89 @krayzieestay @stellasays45 @hxnnielk @yaorzu-blog @anjian03 @tsunderelino @igetcarriedawaywithyou @mylittleponeypinkrosieposie @privhace

[fobnsfwdoodlesbackup]

New painting!

For this fic! I believe it's by @shark-myths (if this is you hello I need to talk your ear off for 20 years about this fic)

A couple of weeks ago I read the fic I'm A Wing I'm A Prayer on AO3. I don't have a lot of experience reading fanfiction or fantasy, and I was completely floored by the craftsmanship in this story. I'm still (clearly) reeling from how moving it was. Art begets art and I couldn't stop thinking about painting the fic, but especially the graveyard scene.

I think part of what captured me about this scene is that I have often felt like Pete. Sleep deprived, run ragged, working faster than a human should but still never fast enough. Stinging hands and a difficulty communicating.

But where words fail and connection feels full of red tape, sexuality is a path back to feeling human. A language I can speak. Slow and intimate and silent, plucking clothes off one another like swan feathers. Sex as a confession of devotion, sex as a forgiveness to the self for having desires or wanting love. When the world is spinning out and you don't have control over your body, sexuality as a reclaiming of your vessel.

And I love the scene for the symbolism it's layered up in its story telling. Swan song comes to mind as this is the final act of humanity before losing each other. The beauty of the feathers falling among the graves and moonlight and stinging nettle, among the constant reminders of death. The difficulty Pete has with his hands, and the choice to use them anyways. The insistence that when the world doesn't recognize you I do. When you don't recognize yourself I do.

I want to grow in art so badly, and so I've challenged myself to use more references and to push meaningful details when painting. You can watch the process on my reels but it doesn't show how I was jumping between images of graveyards, swans, hands, Pete and Patrick, stinging nettle, bodies non stop. I really feel like it paid off and I'm happy to feel like for the first time I have a painting where the environment is equally show cased and adds depth to the subject. Thank you so much to the writer of the scene not only for telling such a beautiful story, but for making this moment so visually and emotionally full.

Alts:

[2-dsimp]

Hi NightFlurry again!!

Thank you so much for loving my ideas. I'm an avid reader of your blog and love making my own stories; I always check if you have anything interesting to read or any cool art.

While I was reading your genshin yandere otome game, my brain started churning, and I thought to myself, 'If there's a yandere school au, why can't there be a yandere fantasy au as well' I'm so glad you love my work, I was afraid that it wasn't good enough...ToT Anyways, I'm trying to brainstorm some backgrounds for other characters, so far I'm working on Kazuha, Wanderer, Ei, Dainself, Diluc, Kaeya, and Zongli, but feel free to ask/request for any particular character!!

Also, I love it when people comment back on my work. It makes me feel so happy when I read each comment even if it's as lengthy as 4 paragraphs! So please feel free to comment! P.S. I'd also love to hear your opinions 2-dsimp!!

Bye NightFlurry!!

And thank you for blessing me with such good food o(≧v≦)o

I just came back from a jog so my mind is racing with ideas to share and add onto to the fantasy au from my pov! Firstly I’ll just list off the few possible candidates I can see vying for the readers hand in holy or unholy matrimony depending on what ending you get!

Itto the Terrible (He’s a dragon Oni )/Childe the Abyssal knight. but I’ll probably introduce them sometime later so for now I’ll officially announce…

Tyrant Prince! Scaramouche

He’s shunned by the royals and commoners alike. The royals find him to be unfit for succession of the queens throne simply because he was adopted by the shogun and to add insult to injury he had commoners blood running through his veins or so they thought.

As for the reason why the commoners held Tyrant prince! Scaramouche in such low regards was because of his crass and cold behavior towards them. Just imagine the look of fear, embarrassment, and shock the commoners had when he looked at them like they were mere ants, an insignificant existence that wasn’t befitting of his presence nor his attention. And treated them as such.

Although To be fair, Tyrant prince!Scaramouche wasn’t always that way. In his younger days of youth he used to be sociable and warm towards his subjects. But an incident which brought his downfall into the dark abyss of turmoil. That was done by the hands of one who he thought of as a true friend. Caused his heart to grow cruel and cold towards commoners and nobles as a whole.

To make matters worse his relationship with his mother was already strained to the point where only bitterness remained lingering on his tongue whenever he spoke of her.

Not only that he wasn’t the only one the shogun adopted being the meticulous woman she is she rounded up potential orphans that would carry on her legacy. The succession battle was nothing less then pretty since everyone who was an orphan knew the terrible conditions of those who lacked power. And so every son and daughter had the intention to kill anyone getting in there way.

With those factors Tyrant prince! Scaramouche made a promise to himself to never let anyone in as he was all he had left to salvage what remains of himself. Until he met you someone who reminded him so much of himself and yet the only difference was you were strong enough to try and free yourself from what chained you down. Instead of wallowing in self pity, hatred, and helplessness.

However, with your help he knows that the both of you could take over his kingdom via rebellion and claim revenge on the ones who wronged you both. While You deal with your shameless parents who’ve tried to sell you off into marriage with a fat old rich king from afar. Just for a quick buck to prevent the decline in their poor province.

He will execute any and all loose ends so he can truly be set free as his own person. With Tyrant prince! Scaramouche by your side it’s a guarantee that the two of you will govern his country with nobody to stand in the way of y’all’s powerful reign. All you have to do is accept that your his precious tyrant queen if not well he has his ways of convincing you otherwise. As he’s not the type to keep his hands clean…

“Isn’t the scenery beautiful my queen look at what we accomplished, now that we’re in power no one will be able to defy us nor deny us of our existence. Together we’re unstoppable— My dear why’re are you shedding your precious tears? Aren’t you happy that your family is dead, you wanted them alive you say? Haha you’re joking right? Well I suppose you’re not, I offer my utmost condolences my love but they were the ones who almost prevented us from being together. For that I couldn’t just exile them…No, for such a grave sin it ‘twas only natural that death was the only option available for them to truly repent for what they’ve done.

————/———————/———-

I might post doodles of him sometime later XD

[branches-and-thorns]

Listening to Epic on shuffle P2

Because there’s a second power cut!

This time I’m listening to a playlist of mine that has some covers included.

11:44am: Open Arms! My light just came on for 2 seconds and scared the shit outta me (it’s off again now). I’m vibing why is Polites’s part so good—

11:47am: MUTINY GODDAMNIT. IMMEDIATELY GETTING WHIPLASH. God this song is amazing tho. Armando Julián’s singing is top tier. AND JORGE IS GREAT AS ALWAYS. THE SINGING THE MUSIC I. AHHHHHHHHHHHHH

11:54am: RUTHLESSNESS! It’s the Annapantsu cover but god it’s good and I am VIBING so much rn. I also think I should draw one of my OCs (Vivienne) with this song. Or Kore, actually. Idk I’ll decide when I can actually do animatics.

11:59am: JUST A MAN! Gonna zone out and think about OCs (Lucius) for a second. Okay now I have a non OC art idea.

12:02pm: SCYLLA! Pretty voices for the win! Gonna ignore the insane whiplash I’m getting today and just vibe with the voice. Actually listening to it the second half of this song would be great to draw Lacey to.

12:05pm: DONE FOR! 12pm is just murder girl hour I guess. God I love this song tho. Honestly the Circe saga is probably my favourite overall. Like I like Monster the most but if I had to add all their scores up the Circe Saga would win.

12:05pm: Warrior of the Mind, Caleb Hyles singing Athena and Annapantsu singing Odysseus. I haven’t heard this cover in a while so I’m just gonna vibe. Okay I forgot how much range Caleb has this is great.

12:07pm: No Longer You, Lydia the Bard. This cover sounds kind of…tragic? To me? Idk if you get it you get it I guess.

12:14pm: There are Other Ways! This really is girl’s hour wow— last time I talked about the tapping beat reminding me of a dance scene so I can’t talk about that so I will talk about the characters I mentioned then until the songs end. Nobles in a fantasy autocracy, sirens, friends to enemies, shared crush, severe violence issues, hypocrisy, and frankly I should draw them with the ‘no I’m not a player I’m a puppeteer’ line. AND TIME.

12:17pm: SURVIVE! Girls hour is over sadly. So funny story when the new versions got released I switched the versions over in my playlists planning to check them out after listening to the thunder saga and then had to leave home due to noise and forgot about it. So the first time I heard this song it was on shuffle on the Millia playlist and the squelch made me JUMP.

12:23pm: Warrior of the Mind, Annapantsu singing Athena, Caleb Hyles singing Odysseus. The girls are back and I’m gonna vibe again!

12:26pm: The Horse and the Infant. Okay I’m gonna vibe for the first half and cry for the second. ZEUS PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GODS. FUCK. OFF.

12:39pm: (took a break to get water and check on the electrics. Still nothing!) Full Speed Ahead! No thoughts just vibes.

12:42pm: The Underworld! I am preparing tissues. However I am also just. Vibing to the music. God the music in this whole musical is AMAZING. OKAY I CAN DO THIS. OKAY I DID IT BACK TO VIBEY MUSIC.

12:46pm: No Longer You, Caleb Hyles covering. I have listened to this one a lot and the ending goes off the rails so looking forward to that. Beginning to wonder what Epic would look like as an stage production. OKAY THIS IS THE BEST BIT!!

12:49pm: RUTHLESSNESS! See I think this version would be good for a Cain animatic because that bastard gets PISSED. Blind fury isn’t a Vivienne thing, but Cain? YES.

12:53pm: MONSTER! God. Favourite song. Hands down. Part of this is for sentimental reasons I mentioned last time but a lot is just that I feel like it really suits one of my blorbos and I really think I should draw him with this song. Especially considering the different reactions from the rest of the leadership…hm. Thoughts.

12:57pm: DIFFERENT BEAST OH MY. Okay so last time I was beginning to have oc thoughts about this song and it relates to the same oc I associate Monster with. It’s not even the revolution routes that triggered this it’s the siren route. Aka the one time Lucius went too far for THORN. I should draw it.

13:07pm: THUNDER BRINGER! God I swear I have the first minute of this song committed to memory. I think that’s slightly concerning. I might have slightly hyperfixated on the song while doing a very difficult art piece shortly after it came out. Okay gonna cry now.

13:12pm: MY GOODBYE! God this also carries a lot of OC associations, and it was really early in these characters development, so it stuck. Neither of them are gods so there’s that, but just…the I’m left to deal with the strain bit. THEM. AND ALSO OUCH. I am absolutely going to draw them to this song when I can draw things to songs.

13:16pm: WOULDNT YOU LIKE! I should draw this to SOMEONE in my catalogue but like. Who. I’m not getting any immediate ideas. I should think about this a bit. TBD!

Gonna wrap up there before my data runs out!

[breezy-cheezy]

Who are Rook and Trey (if you don’t mind my asking)? (Love your art btw)

*Takes a DEEP breath* How much time you got- /half joking

Aight so. Rook Hunt and Trey Clover are two characters from a phone game I've been into recently, Twisted Wonderland. Yes. The. The Disney one. Written and Drawn by Yana Toboso (the artist/writer behind Black Butler. No I'm not kidding.) HEAR ME OUT kjhsdjkgdf

It's one of those gacha/visual novel-like games that gets marketed as like a dating sim, but has some of the most. Un-romantic settings/characters I've EVER seen. As an aro/ace, I applaud this lmao. Also amazing character and story writing like what the heck.

Very....boys will be boys energy but not the mean way, more of a “y’all are so stupid and ridiculous” in a fond way??

Actual answer under read more because I'm insane:

So every character is like. They aren't the Disney characters themselves but more like BASED on them? Sometimes several. I'm making a powerpoint on this to connect all the dots, here's Trey's lmao

Heartslabyul house! Based on: Mad Hatter, 3 of Clubs, King of Hearts, etc. Generally chill. You think he's the normal one, then he turns around and gives you an hour lecture on how to brush your teeth properly. Ok mom.

He also reminds me along of Ignis from Final Fantasy 15. He's. That type. But also not?? Still instant attachment that way LOL

Thing is he's VERY devoted to his childhood friend/Dorm leader, Riddle. But he will never admit this, not even to himself. (due to Trauma and also being totally completely normal. Uh-huh.)

SO IN WE BRING....ROOK HUNT (who is already on that slide HAHA)

Different house (it's a school setting, like Hogwarts but more Themed Houses based around. Different Disney villains) and SO. How do you explain Rook. Well he's based off the Huntsman from Snow White, mainly.

Gives these vibes. Incoming. Smiley. Will give affection. Somewhat of a threat.

Theater kid set loose. French. Loves beauty in all its forms. Drama, sparkles, has SO much love (platonic, I must preface, every time I use that, I mean in an unromantic manner) to give and is VERY vocal about it. Compliments you constantly and finds uplifting things to say even when you did horribly on something. You fell on your face? He will tell you you fell with magnificence or something idk he's just LIKE THIS ALL THE TIME, he means EVERY WORD TOO-

This dude will not lie. His eyes are too good, he is too perceptive. Oh also he hunts some students for sport, there's that little detail (HE NEVER HURTS ANYONE as far as I know he just. Watches. Love this lil weirdo. Some of his lines are "let's play tag!" and I'm like oh NO LMAO) so like I laugh at him but he's also MILDLY TERRIFYING AND CAPABLE LIKE DUDE-

Anyway, TREY you meet early since he's in the first house you deal with, Heartslabyul. But my first exposure to ROOK was through Trey's Lab Card story, which is honestly a fun time on its own. They are science club buddies!!

So right off the bat you have a very :D :D vs calm =w=;;; dynamic, which I love. But then we have....Trey, who denies how much he cares for people, for Riddle. Who shows care through his actions, baking, Due to Reasons, words of affirmation might murder him on the spot. And then we have Rook, who is a font of flowery warm appreciative words who loves and loves loudly, watching this like 👀 I see you. (incoming shots of Halloween Event part 2)

The guy calls him Chevalier des Roses to his face. Constantly. Rook has little nicknames for alot of people (most dorm leaders he calls "King of Roses" (Riddle), "King of Lions" (Leona) etc.) but he calls Trey a Knight. Of Roses. He's calling Trey Riddle's Knight. And it's very cute.

(Halloween event tossed them together and it was WONDERFUL)

But yeah Trey has his own reasons for shying away from the title. He's a baker's boy, he has no sword or armor or anything, also it's embarrassing as heck-

But Rook still sees how he treats people. He calls a knight for what it is. Rook himself ADORES his dorm Leader, Vil, and sees Trey trying to hide this same devotion and just goes "you are like me!!!" Trey: oh please no I could never-

Also they're SUCH. PARENTS.

It's just. A really good dynamic I'd LOVE to see more of, y'know? An understanding, somehow being understood by someone more than you know yourself. Rook is also weird as HECK sometimes (what do you mean you can see how Leona is yawning ALL THE WAY ACCROSS THE FEILD) and Trey nearby is. His friend. He's just like "I'm so sorry he's just like this" and it's VERY funny akjshdjksdhfs he may have to hold Rook back from blowing up the labs again, dude gets carried away.

I do love this very CUTE fan art here.

Twisted Wonderland has some lovely character dynamics. Also no one is "normal", but Rook is just another level of w h a t.

It feels like alot of interactions were just "hm spin a wheel, see who we get, slap them together" and it WORKS. SOMEHOW. Platonic Rook Trey is just one I've become extremely fond of and it's a rarer one....

You probably weren't expecting that much but it was a fun thing to answer. And THANK YOU About the art!! I wish to post more!! After school ends....soon.

[aotopmha]

I haven't even started the lvl 89 Endwalker MSQ and I'm thinking about how annoying certain opinions around it are.

It's annoying me and I don't want it to distract me in my playthrough, so I'm just going to air it out via this post.

The story really clearly foreshadows what happens. In fact, it directly tells you.

But it is fairly common for people to call twists that are pretty directly foreshadowed still out of nowhere. (And of course, a text can be read in many different ways.)

And I think regardless of any of this, people still don't have to like what happens!

But I've talked about this a bunch regarding other pieces of media, and at this point, nerd criticism is so obnoxious to me because it's often so much more about telling other people how much smarter you are than the writers or the people who like their writing.

I'm not interested in listening you putting yourself on a pedestal and telling me how smart you are.

It's such a boring way to engage with art/writing to me.

In fact, it isn't even about the art, but a shitbag telling me how they would be above any of this kind of "mistakes" in their writing.

This talking point just reminds me of my most smart alec, know-it-all late teens/early twenties moments that have an air of arrogant ignorance to it. Where the criticism absolutely can have its basis, but there might be elements to the narrative decision that have issues in their own right.

It feels like certain storytelling tropes have become "taboos" regardless of how they're executed because of the perception of storytelling "rules"/"basics" being "broken", when in truth those have always been just "guidelines" and even the best-told stories probably have these "flaws" in there somewhere if you look hard enough.

If a major part of the enjoyment of a story for you depends on how many characters die and you obsessively count on your fingers who lived through impossible odds and who didn't, Final Fantasy 14 was probably never a story for you.

I say all of this as someone who at this point has seen The Endwalk probably dozens and dozens of times via playthroughs and cried at it almost every time.

(It's gonna be great for me when I get to it, I can tell!)

Because I find it incredibly meaningful regardless of any issues I might have with it.

To engage that critical mind for a second, if nothing else, I think the story absolutely does need to drop the fake death trope it likes so much, and firmly decide on the characters it kills and that alone would go a long way to reinstill a stronger sense of base tension.

In fact, I do agree that actually killing any of the long-term main characters might need to happen. (And it might need to be staged in a super unexpected way, at that.)

I just do not think Endwalker was the place to do it considering what it is about.

The obvious "hopeful" framing to everyone dying and you alone surviving would be for you to carry on their legacy/work, and the patches then would be finding new connections, but pulling this off could also send the opposite message and come across as amatuerish shock value.

Hey, life is suffering and a path for you to find the good in the bad, so guess what everyone you ever loved dies after everything they've been through!

But there is hope, though!

It looks "ballsy" to kill everyone on the surface, but actually might just thematically fly in the face of the entire story.

All of these characters that have suffered loss and much pain in their own right, yeah, all they get is death in the end!

But there is hope, though!

It's the second point that gets me the most. It would've felt so hateful to me (and it often wished for in such an hateful manner by those who wanted it to happen), especially for like G'raha who was stuck in a tower for a hundred years.

And just a single or few characters dying would feel wrong in a very specific "shock value" way, too.

Why those characters specifically?

That's not what FF14 ever was to me, not even in HW, the section of the story that had the most major deaths.

I think Thancred dying in ShB would'be been perfect, for example.

Main character, paving the way to another character after making peace with his situation with Minfilia.

Would've pretty automatically fixed the general tension issue, too, I think.

But in EW? I think the losses everyone already experienced and the suffering we saw across the entire game from ARR-EW are enough to make the point.

[ladybeug]

was scrolling thru your art tag enjoying your comics when i suddenly discovered you were the one that wrote strangers in the bright lights. having gotten into miraculous only very recently, was tickled to experience a very small identity shenanigan of my own

incredible fic btw; i love it soooooo much. brilliant, hilarious, sweet, poignant. out of curiosity have you read much postww1 modernist stuff? i adored the usage of free indirect discourse for the narration, drunken and in motion and alive, almost reminded me of virginia woolf in a weird way lol. sorry if this is weird

Hello!! I'm about to get long-winded and self indulgent in this reply, fair warning :)

here goes:

Wow!! I don’t know how you found strangers in the bright lights if you got into ladybug in any time frame that can be described as “very recently”, I wrote that in 2018 when I was digesting some personal stuff and in a fantastic ladybug renaissance (of which I have now had several, I think I’ll die in this fandom).

But I’m so glad you somehow did. I only write every couple of years when I get really specific ideas, and the time I spend on it turns into memories of who I was when I wrote it. I feel like that must happen to actual writers too, ones who write often, but I haven’t written “often” since like 2009 and have never asked, so there you go.

But I guess that’s all to say that I am very attached to that story and it’s also one of the only things I’ve written that still feels like it hit the chord I was aiming for. It is so cool that anyone still reads it!!

To actually answer your question: I have never read virginia woolf, and the only modernist stuff I've read was years ago for school classes. I have to admit none of the style was inspired by classics, but instead inspired by the weird disassociation of trying to be alone in a crowd.

I have a final self-indulgent thought, it is a fun fact I realized as I was going down memory lane about this:

I associate ‘strangers in the bright lights’ with a friendship I made that stands out as one of the luckiest and rarest friendships I’ve made – I went to a mountain goats concert alone, and stood up at the front early, and met someone else who had gone to the same mountain goats concert alone and had stood up at the front early. It was one of the fastest and most comfortable connections I’ve made, and we liked each other so much we stayed in touch, even after they moved away. We are still in touch every so often, and as far as I’m concerned in a few years they’re going to publish the best fantasy novel you’ve ever read, so watch out for that.

The fanfiction is in part inspired by that beautiful feeling of meeting someone new that you want to talk to, and they want to talk to you, and a drink or two has propped up your self esteem and you don’t have to worry about who you are tomorrow, just who you are right now. It’s escapism. You feel important, and carried by that feeling, for as long as you are there. Lonely who? Not me. Trapped by past versions of myself, who? Not me.

Anyways the fun fact is - I found out this morning that concert was a year AFTER I posted this fanfiction. I didn't know about that moment of my life as I was writing this. The two are so connected in my mind that this is genuinely surprising, but the concert was in September 2019 and I published the fanfic a year beforehand.

In the words of mr. mountain goat himself: we held on to hope of better days coming, and when we did we were right!

[pixelgrotto]

Dogmatic Dungeon Master

The last four weeks of my gaming time were consumed by Dragon's Dogma 2, an extravagana that's something like experiencing a wild D&D campaign that keeps going off the rails over and over again. (I'm pretty sure Capcom would be pleased with this comparison, seeing that they released promo art heavily based on AD&D's classic Red Box.)

DD2 has been a delight to devote 100+ hours to, and I find myself wishing I'd bought its predecessor ages ago, especially during those Steam sales where it sold for ridiculous prices like three or four dollars. I never did because I thought it looked sort of generic. Joke's on me! To be fair, this second one could also be described as looking generic upon first glance (though Capcom's RE Engine is certainly proving that it's got legs since Resident Evil 7), but I feel like that was an intentional decision. The goal here was clearly to create something with the trappings of the iconic Western fantasy setting (plus the inclusion of cat people, AKA Beastren) to draw players in and get 'em comfortable before presenting them with one of the most wacky open worlds in recent memory.

How's it wacky? Well, DD2 has a billion different systems under the hood, all colliding with each other. There are the systems that dictate the schedules of NPCs, who you can find wandering roads and getting into fights with enemies. Said enemies have their own systems, and on more than one occasion when I was fighting one of the game's huge bosses (drakes, golems, minotaurs, ogres and the like), that fight spilled over into the territory of another boss, who proceeded to attack both me and the first boss. A kaiju rumble ensued as the systems of both bosses collided with each other, and sometimes this rumble veered too close to the borders of a settlement, attracting the attention of pawns, which are basically the sidekicks assisting the game's main character, the Arisen.

If you're playing online, pawns created by other players can randomly appear in your game, and there were many special moments when I ran into a bizarrely off-proportion thief with the incredible name "Frog Nasty" and a half-naked mage dubbed "Lucy Liu." On one such occasion, Frog and Lucy joined my ever-evolving kaiju battle, and the incredible chaos continued until a griffin just happened to swoop down from the sky to snatch me up in its arms. As I went in the sky, I proceeded to climb atop that griffin’s head and smacked it silly with my mace until it dropped me into the ocean where I was devoured by Brine, AKA DD2’s in-world explanation for why you can’t just swim everywhere.

My description of this incident is no exaggeration. Unscripted mischief of this ilk happens every five minutes in this game, and it's the result of all those systems smashing into each other with delicious gusto. That said, not all of the systems work as well as they should, and some are half-baked. For instance, there's a romance/affinity system that's a carryover from the first Dragon's Dogma. The affinity levels of characters are never truly explained, and you can unexpectedly cause random people to fall in love with you by giving them the right gifts again and again, or completing their sidequests at the expense of others. This means that the Vernworth tavern keeper, who plays no important role at all, can suddenly show up in the final cutscene as your true heart's desire, in the clutches of your mortal enemy. I guess even when DD2's systems are half-baked, they still yield entertaining results.

As someone who runs a lot of tabletop RPGs (but often doesn't get the chance to act as a player), Dragon's Dogma 2 truly reminds me of a dedicated Game Master who doesn't mind when players test limits. This is a GM who clearly loves madcap battles full of unexpected twists that can take up an entire gaming session, as well as expansive side quests with more flavor than anything else in the campaign. The main story is not said Game Master's preference, which serves as a handy explanation on why you can find many Reddit threads decrying DD2's plot as kinda blah.

I get these complaints. The game's main missions are not terribly long - 40 or so hours, probably - and the clear meat of DD2 is in the exploration and combat. This isn't to say that the story's total rubbish, as it does have poignant moments in its cyclical, meta take on an Arisen who rises up every couple of years to complete a destiny of fighting the titular dragon. There's a secret endgame that also delves even farther into the tabletop RPG comparisons, giving you the chance to "defy the Dungeon Master," if you will, sending the campaign even further off the rails as you potentially see what happens when the GM just has no shits left to give and decides to turn the world into an apocalypse.

All of this makes DD2 probably one of my favorite open world games. I've been thinking a lot about what sort of open worlds attract me, since I'm a firm believer that more often than not, video games don't need to go all massive. (Give me a small-scale, well-developed area over a massive map filled with junky quest markers.) That said, I've noticed that I like open worlds that buck the Ubisoft-style trend of having busywork for really good writing (The Witcher 3 comes to mind) or simply invest in their mechanics to the point that everything fills up like a wonderful sandbox, with lots of bits and bobs to play with (that would be The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild).

Dragon's Dogma 2 is definitely more on the kooky sandbox side of things, with its oversized monsters at every turn and wonderous pawn shenanigans. The true appeal of this game, however, lies in the little stories that you create with your main pawn and other pawns along the trail. There's something special in the relationship you forge with these AI allies, who aren't real in the slightest, but bring forth that feeling of being a Game Master yourself as you corral them into taking down a drake. I was downright emotional when I said farewell to my main pawn at the end of the game (okay, the fact that I designed her to look like my wife probably helped, but still).

So here's to Dragon's Dogma 2, a wild piece of entertainment commandeered by a Game Master who clearly loves the journey more than the destination. Here's to those moments when you and your loyal pawns are facing down an ogre in its lair, or just barely survive a golem's laser beam after a series of hobgoblins stunlocked you into low health over and over again. Here's to sitting by a campfire, enjoying an unpredictable open world, and realizing the grand truth that comes with all tabletop RPGs - that the unscripted moments truly are the best part of the adventure.

[crystallinestars]

Yeah English isn't my mother tongue so thank you for the compliment 🥰 Honestly I saw the way you write (it's scrumptious) and the Argenti header and thought "damn I need to be on my best behaviour!" haha

Also never apologize for going off on a rant, I truly love your input!

Oh I do agree that it must be a mix of multiple things and that virtue signalling is definitely part of it! And the point you make about people creating a safe bubble for themselves and others really does make a lot of sense! I'd even be so bold as to say that this initial sentiment has unfortunately spiralled into having kneejerk reactions against any kind of perceived threat (for their identity, etc.). While I understand the need to be careful about who you let into your circle, it's a shame that instead of meaningful conversations (I'd imagine something like "I enjoy X thing in this story", "oh that's great, I have a different hc / interpretation but I'd love to hear your reasoning!") we're having a lot of passive aggressiveness or even full on pissing contests within the communities.

And if I had to sum up why I dislike, let's say between 60% to 90% of 'fandom culture' depending on whether or not it's a good day, I'd say that it's because of how often I have to see the utter glee and contempt this subsection of the fandom radiates whenever they feel like they've won their one-sided arguments / they can lord a win over someone's head for the dumbest things. It just boggles my mind. What happened to basic courtesy? I feel like people have grown so accustomed to living their 'bad bitch' fantasies on the internet without having to shoulder any responsibility for it (because of anonymity) that they've started to become waaay too comfortable coming into your space and being rude at best.

This is a bit of a digression, but for the sources, an example that comes to mind is a post I saw a while ago about the maple leaves associated with Dan Heng and (no shade to the person, it was an interesting read). However, they presented their argument in such a way that you just KNEW it wasn't just about Dan Hend, but about Blade too. They gave a list of symbolism for maple leaves, and the last point (the one highlighted by the structure) was "they also symbolise lovers!". It's in cases like this one I'd love for the OP to provide a source for their analysis, because the uni student in me just cannot accept claims on specific fields without credible evidence. Like is your analysis based on a discussion you had with a native? A paragrapgh you found on a blog named "sakurasdreamygarden.com"? A book you've read? Please, I'm not here to troll, I want to educate myself 😭 In this case it was also worth noting that someone in the comment added that 'maple leaves' is the literal meaning of Dan Feng's name (丹枫), in which case (this is just me adding my two cents) you could also argue that the maple leaves, specifically on Dan Heng's splash art, could symbolise the shadow of a past he cannot completely get rid of.

I was feeling like sticking my head in a lion's mouth when I wrote the 4th point 😂 And since I still do, I will just say that Mihoyo's pandering extends to hetero relationships too. Remember how I said these games remind me of Kpop? What I meant by that is that what they do is basically "All for the glitter and the aesthetic with zero commitment to the bit". So far in Genshin and HSR, they seem to focus especially on giving players shiny little toys to play with (attractive playable characters). And I say that their pandering extends to hetero relationships because as of now the only playable character with a semi-canon relationship is Welt, who's a Honkai Impact character (at least that's what I've heard, I don't know anything about Honkai Impact). I'm thinking especially about Yukong when I say this, because when she became playable in 1.1 I think, they wasted no time to clarify in 1.2 that actually Qingni is her ADOPTED daughter, which is basically like telling players "don't worry, Yukong hasn't been tainted by any man and is just as much of a shiny little toy freshly out of the box as the others!" Like, what am I supposed to believe with that? That for HSR the censorship this part of the fandom loves to bring up was magically extended to the heteros?

Also, I know nothing about Hi3 but since I love semantics, identify as a relationship fiend and still feel like getting shot by the fandom today, I'd also like to ask people to please explain to me how a kiss (yes, even on the lips) is objectively an undeniable act of romance. I'd argue that it's a sign of intimacy because it involves letting someone else get super close to you in a vulnerable moment, but that does not make it inherently romantic. Truthfully I'm just being facetious here but my sentiment is genuine: I would be eternally grateful if we stopped taking certain things for granted "because it's obvious" or whatever, and if we truly started to take the argument that many things in relationships are social constructs seriously. (PS: I mean "intimacy" here as "the state of having a close personal relationship with somebody", based on the first definition given by the online version of the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary)

Oh yes, Childe. I had heard of him before I started playing Genshin and when I arrived in Liyue I was like: "really? Is this the little guy you've decided to call daddy??" Childe's case hurts me less than Aventurine's solely because I decided recently that I would get Arlecchino and then uninstall the game for a while but I also really feel you! For HSR I'm here mostly for the lore and the Aeons and it really doesn't help that while I don't particularly mind shipping, it's something I indulge in sporadically, when a pairing scratches my brain just right. So I'm sitting here on the outskirts of the fandom watching people get mad at fictional corpos (the IPC, especially Topaz) but then jumping through so many hoops and getting up in arms to protect Mihoyo, or acting like the social justice police 😐

Oh and the fanarts you're talking about. I've been lucky enough not to see anything like that but like. Out of all the characters they could rough up they chose Aventurine?? Now it's reminding me of that one slave owner fanfic and I just have to wonder what it is about characters like him that always attracts the most unhinged fans.

They complain about Paimon hogging the spotlight in Genshin but then are taken by surprise whenever they fail to pick up hints, it's lowkey disheartening to see.

Honestly for Kaveh I feel like people had massacred Alhaitham's character even before Kaveh was introduced, to make it fit into any sexual fantasy trope. I just remembered this but whenever I hear about haikaveh or any shoe-horned ship for that matter, I start hearing this post:

https://www.tumblr.com/what-even-is-thiss/739539118572371969/sometimes-someone-just-isnt-into-you?source=share

The answers trying to make the character played by OP admit they've got hidden feelings is really how people with shipping lenses glued to their heads behave 😭

I'm also glad to see people focusing on characters individually and picking up interesting things about them! And I'm going to be honest: I mean this as disrespectfully as I can but if someone is surprised by reveals like that in a story like that, I'm just assuming they've never read anything else in their lives. Like, if your first reaction to anything in a story is to neatly categorize it as a trope (especially a romance trope) I genuinely need for this person to start educating themselves and engage with other media because there's just no way 💀 I can understand making assumptions / theories and then be proven wrong but this just on another level.

I hope I was coherent enough with all of this, and that you have a great day, evening or night too!

🪻

I’m so happy you like my writing 😭💚 I believe you can write amazing things as well. You’re really good at expressing your thoughts. The Argenti header is there because I like him and think there’s not enough of him in fandom haha.

The gleeful attitude some people have when their bullying succeeds is honestly repulsive. I only saw a bit of it, but it’s nasty how they act as if they accomplished a good deed. I daresay they even purposely go after people with differing opinions just to bully them into submission and feel good about it. As you pointed out, basic courtesy went out the window a long time ago due to anonymity of the internet.

Haha the Dan Heng maple leaf bit is proving my point! While people do try to be informative about symbolism and whatnot in character design, it’s also a means of validating their headcanons/ship. If Dan Feng’s name means maple leaves, then it makes perfect sense why maple leaves are a big part of Dan Heng’s design. Not everything about characters is linked to a ship, and I would love for more neutral discussions regarding the symbolism and culture behind their designs 😔

About Welt. I actually played Honkai Impact 3rd and read some of their comics (I was on the hunt for Su and Sumeru lore in preparation for Sumeru’s release). HI3 has a lot of canonical NL and GL pairings. Welt’s love is Frederica Nikola Tesla. There are more moments between them in the comic than the game, but it’s very obvious they’re in love with each other.

But of course, when he was introduced as a playable character in HSR, that part of him was buried. You can see Tesla in his splashart, but that’s about it. Same with Yukong. I was surprised they made her a mother since that’s a very bold move for a gacha game, so I knew there had to be a catch. And sure enough, she’s just an adoptive mother.

Gacha games are notorious for marking their characters single. If playable characters have a confirmed relationship, a lot of players would get very angry and jealous, and the company would lose profit. For example, I heard that back in 1.1 or so, Mihoyo wanted to release a lore book about Zhongli and Guizhong. I haven’t read it, so I can’t say if there was any romantic implication between them in the book, but Zhongli fans threw a fit, so Mihoyo scrapped it. Similarly, before Inazuma released, a leaker falsely said that Thoma was Ayaka’s fiancé, and again, the community got angry and cursed Thoma to hell. Ironically, it seems like players are far more accepting of same-sex relationship between characters than of opposite-sex ones 😅

I think kissing is strongly associated with romance because we have been conditioned to perceive it as such. Movies and other media make kissing a big deal between characters, there’s a lot of emphasis put on it as a turning point in their relationship. It also doesn’t help that practically every aspect of physical intimacy gets relegated to romantic relationships (hand-holding, cuddling, etc).

In our modern era, a lot of people feel isolated. Physical intimacy between an individual and their friends and family is rarer, so they think that if they get a significant other, they’ll receive the physical intimacy (and not only physical) that they crave. It’s a social construct for sure, but it’s very wide-spread and hard to break out of. At any rate, this is all just my conjecture.

Aventurine is a tragic case. I’m glad the amount of abusive fanarts of him has died down, though Childe doesn’t have that luxury 😔 I suppose the fuckboy type makes people think the character is up on a high horse, so they want to knock him down a peg. Some also perceive the trope to be inherently masochistic for whatever reason. I doubt we’ll ever know.

Lmao that post you linked! So true! That’s exactly how they behave! Gaslighting everyone, even the author, to convince them there’s romantic feelings between the characters when there are none. Characters used to be interpreted as friends, enemies, family, etc, but nowadays every character relationship gets seen as romantic. I miss the days when characters could be just friends or found family.

And I agree, Alhaitham was already butchered since the Sumeru Archon quest. People see a hot, muscular guy and focus only on how sexy he looks, and how hot it would be if he was dominant or aggressive, despite it not being his character at all. I get that people are free to imagine whatever they want for the sake of fun, but with how widespread some of those interpretations become, the character gets quickly reduced to tropes, and people forget what they’re actually like in canon.

To this day, there are still people surprised that Alhaitham is actually very nice and kind, even to children. He took in a broke man he didn’t particularly get along with and hasn’t seen in years, so if that isn’t a big fat hint that he’s a nice person, then I don’t know what is. As we have both agreed, a lot of people don’t pick up on the nuance of character writing 😔

Thank you for stopping by 🪻anon! I also hope you have a great day, and take care 💚

[h3lfaerie]

Hi!!!! I absolutely LOVEEEEE Trail to Alfheim, you are SO INCREDIBLY TALENTED!!!! Do you have an example for what the reader’s “tattoo” might look like, or is that a surprise for later? THANK YOU FOR PUTTING THIS BEAUTIFUL CREATION INTO THE WORLD 🐉❤️🐉

Hello!!!

First of all, thank you SO MUCH for your kind words! Path of Alfheim is basically my 2 am brainchild, which has now developed into a full-fledged outline for the whole fic (it doesn't help that when I get on the keyboard, the characters decide to stray from the plan and do whatever the fuck they want -> I DID NOT PLAN THE STABBING SCENE! IT JUST OCCURED! )

Something I really like to remind my readers is that the visuals and concept art I personally use for inspiration are more of a guideline rather than a concrete/"canon" depiction of my writing. I'm a huge fantasy reader and one of the primary things that make me passionate about what I do, is the fact that every individual person gets a different "movie" in their head depending on their personality, visual ideas, the content they've consumed so far and so on. I am DYING to see what you guys imagine whenever you read Path of Alfheim, which is why I quite literally foam at the mouth whenever I see fanart.

What I've revealed about the tattoo up until now, is that it is whorls and swirls of black ink along the collarbone.

What I personally visualized while writing (which doesn't have to be what YOU imagine ❤️) was basically swirling tendrils of black smoke.

Keep in mind that nothing in my writing is coincidental ❤️ I've devised the entire story from start to finish, which is why I've already planted quite a bit of foreshadowing at the start of the fic.

I will not be apologizing for phones thrown across the room <3

Much love to you!! And thank you very much for the question!

[northern-passage]

I assume you get a lot of questions of people asking if you have read/played witcher and if tnp is inspired by it, so instead can I annoy you with a different question?

Have you ever heard of the manga(or the unfinished anime) Claymore?

It's about an order of half mutant women who hunt Yoma(humanoid shapeshifters that prey on humans)

Due to having half yoma blood, their powers are very unstable and they can transform into creatures even more dangerous than the ones they hunt, the monster designs in the later parts of the story get very creative.

Not even asking if tnp draws any inspiration from it, just curious if you have ever heard of it.

ah yes.... my nemesis, the witcher...

i was just talking about this with someone the other day actually, i always find it interesting that people compare it to the witcher but no one ever says anything about grey wardens, which is actually where i got most of my inspiration from. it will probably become more obvious as the story continues... but i suppose the witcher did influence it in some way, just probably not in the way most people think... i could never get into it (sorry everyone i find geralt to be the most boring protagonist alive and could never connect with him) and i barely managed to get through even an hour of both the first and third games combined. tnp is kind of my response to a lot of the genre being quite boring and male-power-fantasy centric... so in that way, the witcher did inspire it, hahaha.

anyways, as for your question, i have not heard of it, actually! i can't say i'm a big fan of the human character designs (where are their organs and how is she lifting that sword with those twig arms) but to be fair i feel that way about a lot of animation in general when it comes to female designs. that being said i actually think the art style is pulled off better in the manga than in the anime, and i like the look of a lot of the monster designs. i really like whatever the hell is going on here:

some of the designs remind me of H.R. Giger's work which i always love to see.

i don't really watch a lot of anime or read any manga, unfortunately. it's probably obvious that i have seen and read Fullmetal Alchemist, the way the hunter's transmuational alchemy works is directly inspired by it, but other than that i've only watched Cowboy Bebop and Wolf's Rain, which i both only saw when i was a teen.

thanks for telling me about this, i'll keep it in mind if i ever feel the itch to read some more manga. if nothing else i really liked checking out the art and the monsters :-)

[a-man-for-hire-and-his-archives]

Black Sails star Luke Arnold headlines Stan’s excellent new series, Scrublands, based on Chris Hammer’s novel

For Black Sails star LukeArnold, being front and centre in the small screen adaption of Chris Hammer's bestselling Australian novel, Scrublands, is a collision of his own two worlds.

The Aussie actor, a graduate of WAAPA (Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts) who shot to fame playing Michael Hutchence in the 2014 INXS mini-series Never Tear Us Apart, is also the author of three fantasy novels.

His Fetch Phillips series, published around the world in multiple languages, means he now balances taking acting gigs with devoting time to his burgeoning career as a writer.

And this gig, based on Hammer's compelling crime story, came at the perfect time.

"Doing a great mystery, where I get to be the journalist on the trail, I think this was something I was really hungry for about it, and then doing (the SBS series) True Colours," he tells STM.

True Colors saw Arnold step into the role of a detective, investigating an accident in a remote Indigenous community — Scrublands sees him playing an investigative journalist, Martin Scarsden, whose career has been derailed.

Scarsden is dispatched to Riversend, a small country town, to do a "puff piece" on how the residents are faring a year on from their village priest taking out a gun and shooting dead five of his congregation after Sunday Mass.

Jay Ryan plays the murderous priest Byron Swift, and he's terrific in the role — acclaimed actress Bella Heathcote steps in to play another character central to the story and she's equally compelling.

This series is Aussie Noir at its finest — perhaps unsurprisingly when it has Wolf Creek's Greg McLean as its director — and it paints a dark tale, beautifully realised.

And as Arnold's character pieces together what actually happened that fateful day, it only gets more compelling.

Arnold admits he was equally taken when reading the scripts, written by writer and producer Felicity Packard.

"I hadn't read the book, but I was definitely aware of it... wo when the opportunity came up, I started reading it and I really loved (it)," he explains.

"At the same time, I was reading the scripts, and actually, (they) are quite different from the book."

"The book is so beautifully in Martin's head, and like a lot of great novels, it is very internal. I think Felicity, and other writers on this show, have been really smart and really savvy in the way they have taken of the book, and the characters, and made it something that really pops on screen."

Arnold believes that fans of the novel will also find plenty to connect with in its screen adaptation, "but also, you are still in for a bunch of surprises, because it does go it own way," he admits.

Though the novel was set in NSW's Riverina area, this production was filmed in the Victorian country towns of Castlemaine and Maldon, which doubles for Riversend in the series.

Arnold says he relished his time shooting there with the show's cast and crew, providing, as it did a welcome change from his solidarity life as an author.

"The beauty of acting is that you generally work for big chunks and then have some big time in between, which is really great for lots of things, but as author it's fantastic," he says.

"I think I enjoy acting more, but writing is working out really well, because I now have this other outlet which is all me and my ideas, and I get to wake up every day and go to work. It feels really freeing and exciting to be able to have my own stuff. But after a few months of being alone in a room with my own mind, it's such a joy to do this other thing."

As long as it's possible, Arnold, who has several projects coming up, says he hopes to be able to continue to straddle these two worlds.

"I get excited about getting to write more stuff, and if opportunities come up as an actor, it can be tempting to do more of then. I have got to keep reminding myself that I have this other career that is on the way up as well", he explains.

"I feel really lucky that this other one is going really well, and I get to bounce back and forth."

Source: The West Australian (paywall)

big thanks to friend from Sunder City server for help with the screenshot!

[radioactive-earthshine]

While I'm talking about Klarion and his incarnations I just want to gush very messily about a little known else world's story that I feel very strongly about being animated that has one of my favorite versions of him.

It's title is Zatanna and the House of Secrets and is stars Zatanna, of course, Zatara, Pocus, and Klarion written by Matthew Cody and drawn by Yoshi Yoshitani.

The following isn't any sort of meta or analysis really this is just me squawking about this book and some favorite scenes while trying to make the core point make sense to hopefully convince you to read it.

The art alone is breathtaking.

It's an absolutely fun and delightful origin story for Zatanna full of whimsy, soft moments, some peril and of course great character interactions. If you're a fan of 80s/90s media you might get a lot of vibes from some popular fantasy movies of the time visually and thematically.

In this version we also get to see Klarion's mother (unnamed in this) as the primary antagonist and I am in love with her character and her design. In this version she is the Witch Queen with Klarion as her direct heir. Naturally, Klarion wants nothing to do with it.

Even so, when Klarion first shows up he doesn't make the best impression on Zatanna but we find out quickly that he's more or less pretty unwilling in his mother's ploys.

(Also I really want to see Zatanna smacking Klarion animated).

The story is also about Zatanna's growth and coming into her powers while uncovering secrets tied to her father and mother.

They each share the braincell here.

Though the be fair Klarion is not as powerful here as he is in other versions of himself so he relies on Zatanna multiple times to save the day.

Pocus is such a delight in this, he reminds me a lot of Binx in Hocus Pocus.

These panels... You can feel the love. I wish my cat would let me hold her like that.

Klarion throughout this adventure with Zatanna really does grow to care about her...

It has soft and cute moments from two parallel people, without giving too much away Zatanna feels alienated by being kept secrets about herself, and her dead mother that Zatara was complicit in. He had his reasons, but being a 13 year old girl those reasons do not feel valid for her right now.

Klarion meanwhile was a child under a stern and strict ruler who does not radiate warmth or love and he is told what to do, and what to be, so much that he does not feel like he has control over his own life. All while maintaining that Klarion whimsy in that he just wants to have F U N.

Klarion begs Zatanna to run away with him and forget about her father who had lied to her all her life, so they both can be free and revel in that childish fantasy of being unbridled by rules like Peter Pan's Lost Boys.

Another scene I desperately want animated.

Sadly, Klarion made a misjudgment and fell back on some habits that the characters is known to do and he loses Zatanna's trust for a while.

Even though they have a sudden bridge between them Klarion still has no desire to really help his mother, and by the end of the book he's not afraid to snipe at her and defy her openly. He's made up his mind about what he wants.

Witch Queen turned both Teekl and Pocus into stuffed effigies and Klarion guards them both, angrily. If you know anything about Klarion there is one thing you do not do... fuck with his cat.

Eventually, Zatanna comes to learn some more truths and fully embraces her magic, which gives her an edge over Witch Queen.

The hopeful look Klarion gives his mother kills me. Naturally, Witch Queen doesn't really answer her. She's hot but there's no warmth in her heart.

And so Zatanna saves the day, Witch Queen is defeated, the house is put back in its natural state and her father, Pocus and Teekl are all restored.

The only thing that wasn't quite fully restored was her budding friendship with Klarion.

It doesn't end entirely on bad terms between them, but it is a note of bittersweet.

I really love this story, it captures fun whimsy while showing a realistic story about a 13 year old extraordinary girl dealing with unnatural problems, and normal mundane problems as well.

Klarion here is very divergent from almost all of his incarnations but he is still recognizable as himself being that fun and free person unbridled by rules. Also his design here is delightful as he has more beast-like traits with fangs and pointed ears. I wonder sometimes if this Klarion will ever get antlers.

10/10 recommend and I really, really feel strongly that this story should be adapted into animation.