#inspired by a childhood experience haha.

[pocketdaan]

You've kept track of the characters on your kid's favorite show, but this one seems brand new!

^ without compression + chromatic aberration. Tried using an old indie animated kids show style! Ones with lineart rough at the edges, have choppy frames, and bleeding watercolors... I swear those exist 'cause I watched em, but I'm having a hard time thinking up an example lmao

As for the premise, like a Candle Cove thing 'cept some adults can still see it. Imagine a kids cartoon playing and one character is always digging at his pockets. Luckily for Pocketcat, his friendly attitude makes it easy to wave off! He's only looking for his keys promise.

[moeblob]

Huevember 22

Brent, the most expressive bard to ever bard.

[thoughtfulchaos773]

Hello! Random question: what are your thoughts on the use of “strange currencies” song in both a sydcarmy scene (the panic attack) and an apparent clairexcarmy scene when he tried to call her in the freezer? My interpretation is that the song is more about carmy trying to understand love or trying to force himself to say the things he feels for both of this women.

I swear if you already made a meta about this and I somehow missed it I promise I won’t get mad if you just link it for me

Thanks 🙏🏻

Hi- thanks for the ask! I'm going to answer your question based on what Josh and Chris say, but there's a reason for it.

But I think you are right. The song is about Claire and Carmy, the beginning of a love story based on what Chris Storer's interview:

...particularly that song. There’s something about “Strange Currencies” that, at least for me, reminds me of being 16 where anything felt possible and everything felt impossible. Because the lyrics are about failing and trying again. I think everyone has a different interpretation of it, but it definitely feels like the potential of something that’s not going to work out.

Haha Chris revealing a spoiler on claire and carmy!

But Executive producer Josh Senior comments that the show also focuses on other relationships in the show:

I have to give a ton of credit to Chris for that. When he and I were talking, he was like, "I want to pick a song that sounds like what it feels like to be a kid, where it feels like anything is possible, but you really can't get anything done. You just don't know how." There's an underscore of melancholy in that song, but it's also really hopeful. It works for the Claire and Carmy dynamic, it also works for the other relationships that we explore throughout the season.

I usually don't pay much attention to interviews with Chris and Josh because they can't provide the full picture. However, I want to point out their quotes because in both interviews, they discuss other relationships on the show, which could be relevant to the song being played during the episode Pasta. It's important to notice that neither of them addresses the song during the pivotal panic attack scene, where the music is chaotic and playing backward—when the song plays forward this is when Sydney appears in Carmy's mind. In fact, Chris and Josh consistently avoid discussing the song in relation to Sydney and Carmy's dynamic. The only time I've heard Chris Storer mention Sydney and Carmy together is during the Season 1 Emmys interview.

Could Carmy and Sydney ever pursue a romantic relationship? "It's a partnership. You'll see."

Anyway- the scene where Carmy is calming down in 2x09 the score plays a particularly hopeful phrase, “You will be mine,” points out his connection with Sydney. I think this is the hopeful part Josh and Chris talk about. In another interview, Chris Storer mentioned that he imagined R.E.M. tapes lying around the kitchen because of Mikey. Many aspects of Carmy’s character are inspired by Chris Storer's childhood experiences. In a podcast interview, he explained that he became a fan of R.E.M. because of his older cousins, which is also reflected in Carmy's character.

Plus: it's interesting to note that Molly mentioned Claire was based on a friend of Chris. Whether this implies a connection to Chris’s relationship with a real life Claire before Gillian or the true like character is based strictly on her career remains a mystery. Let me know if you'd like to see that interview!

To get back on topic, Carmy's connection to strange currencies reminds him of the times he listened to that song while he had a crush on Claire in high school. I believe Carmy is trying to understand the song again in relation to Claire, but unexpectedly, the hopeful part starts to relate to Sydney.

I believe that Sydney and Carmy's relationship is closely tied to the love songs featured in the show, such as those by Wilco, Pearl Jam, and Tommy McGee. The moment when Carmy experiences a panic attack underscores that Sydney is the only source of clarity in his mind. He is trying to truly understand her, and the feelings he has are reminiscent of the crush he had in high school on Claire. Now, he has developed a similar crush on Sydney but this crush is not impossible...it's a potentional to be something more that could work out in the future where he isn't waiting for the other shoe to drop. The time it plays in 3x09 (arguably a sydcarmy episode) carmy is still trying to work out the claire situation in his head. Because the part of it seeming impossible - that's for claire.

[overgrown3d]

Who are you in their eyes? (PAC)

💭How does your friend, partner, crush, colleague, family member, or anyone in your mind view you? REMINDER! This is a general reading & purely their perception of you, take what resonates.

✨How to select your pile?✨

1. Slow your breathing, taking deep inhales. Focus on feeling present in your environment.

2. Looking from left to right, use your intuition to pick the pile meant for you (what you connect most with.)

3. Doesn't resonate? No worries! Pick another, it's message may be just right for you.

!!For Entertainment Purposes Only!!

Pile 1 -> Pile 2

Pile 3 -> Pile 4

🍃Pile 1 ;

Cards: 8 of Wands, Queen of Swords, Queen of Pentacles, King of Pentacles, 6 of Cups

The person in your mind could be someone from your past, perhaps a childhood friend, a classmate, or a family member. If not from your past, either you or them remind each other of a person you guys used to know, maybe they even perform a hobby you dropped, just something from the past. There is a lot of nostalgia here, and the reason why is because they possibly watched you grow up, or knew you from the past and reconnected again in the future, and they are shocked by how well you seem to be doing. The first thing I heard is "I'm so proud of you." They think you are somewhat of a go-getter, and most certainly financially stable. They perceive you as someone who invested a lot of time and effort in developing yourself. This energy feels so nice! They just think you're super mature, that you handle problems well, you're emotionally mature, etc. You just have your shit together, according to them. You may be able to "feel like a kid again", and overall have a lot of fun with this person, and they think the same. It's giving the vibe of "Wow, it's been that long, huh?" Overall, what they think of you is purely positive, and pretty lighthearted!

~~~~🍃

🍀Pile 2 ;

Cards: 3 of swords, 10 of swords, Page of wands, Queen of Pentacles , 8 of Swords

They think you're STRONG. From perception, they think that you've gone through something completely heartbreaking and life-changing, then brushed off your knees and got going again. They think you have such a strong demeanor, like I'm hearing "After all that?" They sense that you've gone through something transformative, like they see that spark in your eyes to use your heartbreak as a reason to strive. This could be letting go of old habits and past traumas. They are honestly baffled how you can keep going. They think you endured a lot emotionally, or resurfaced from a pretty dark place. You're pretty financially okay to them, or near the path to being there. This person could actually be someone that helped you as you were going through your struggles, providing an opportunity for you. You're like a go-getter, not settling for anything other than what you deserve.

~~~~🍃

🍀Pile 3 ;

Cards: Temperance, Page of Pentacles, 7 of Pentacles, 3 of Pentacles, The Emperor, Ace of Swords

The person you're thinking about may be a mentor, a teacher, or someone with experience and influence that gives you a lot of inspiration. I get very strongly that they passed down some intellect to you. They think you're starting out in a new field, but already low-key mastering it lmao. You're going to be pretty bloody quick to succeed. To them, you are pretty focused on yourself, perhaps focusing greatly on aligning your career to your passions, and working hard in all aspects of your life. I'm hearing "They have a lot of potential." so they view you as a person with a lot of skills and expect you to quickly master anything new. They think you are well-rounded and leading a pretty average lifestyle, actually. They think that you're certainly passionate, but not dreaming very big for your future. You're a balanced person in their eyes, very reliable. At first, they would think you're shy or socially awkward haha. They might even be shocked at your progress, like you'll outdo the master!

~~~~🍃

🍀Pile 4 ;

Cards: 2 of Cups, Queen of Pentacles, Queen of Wands, Wheel of Fortune.

While shuffling your cards, a bunch flew out super quick! This person would form a strong opinion of you upon first meeting you, and if you know this person closely already, they would be quick to answer if someone asks what they think of you. You are someone that would've stood out for them, even in mind. They perceive you as someone sociable, seeing you around other people very often. They think you have a stable income or can afford to be leisurely and have fun, and that you were born privileged. They think you're pretty lucky tbh, I'm hearing "They won in life". I'm getting a vibe that this person may be insecure about their assets, or at least need to develop themselves emotionally. They think they are out of your league, and that you are going to be veryyyy different from them, like a whole different level. They think that you've got good habits, they idolize you a bit imho. Looking past that, they think that both you and them have a lot to learn from each other. They think you're steady in life, while also fun-loving. This could be a romantic interest, but this also applied well for platonic relationships!

~~🍃 You reached the end of the reading, 'till next time!

[smilesatdawnmain]

I love LEGO Monkey Kid, but it's hard to pinpoint why exactly. Maybe it's the Anime-inspired art style or my fondness for Ninjago and other Lego shows from my childhood. The humor is fantastic, and the attention to detail in the show is just amazing. The protagonist is not only likable and funny but he just keeps on going, no matter what life trows at him. Despite his struggles, he manages to somewhat stay positive. All the characters are flawed but relatable. They have all made some or many mistakes, but they learn from them and move on. They forgive each other and I love the message of "mistakes happen, but as long as you leave the world in a better shape than you found it, it’s all good". It’s true. We make mistakes, this is unavoidable, but we can also learn from them. Even if you only do "a little“ it’s all good. You don’t have to stop global warming on your own and save the world, but just improve it a bit. Maybe by being a nice person or helping someone. And if you do mistakes on the way, than that is okay ! Wow, didn’t plan on writing so much. Haha I should go to bed now.

There are probably more reasons why this show is so great, but that’s enough for one night.

What I wanted to know, is what makes you like and watch Monkey kid ?

Gosh, SO MANY THINGS.

One, I already loved Journey to the West before watching the show, so it is what initially got me interested to take a look. Second, Animation. I AM HUGE, on good animation. Smooth, fun, and clearly loved animation. Which is everything LMK had. Flying Bark Productions had such a talented team.

I feel kind of sad the latest season dropped in quality, especially knowing what WildBrain Studio's can/has done. It felt like a lot of effort just wasn't put into it. though, Wild Brain has also done other Lego focused shows, so maybe they were looking to match the Lego Style, then the smoother style LMK was known for.

Then, the characters themself. MK and his gang are all so fun and keep me constantly entertained. They are a Found family, which is something I always adore, but they have legit moments of growth and hardship. A lot of this show is fun and games, but when someone they love is in danger, they get serious. I appreciate the show being able to show more serious themes.

The designs of these characters are fun, the voice actors knock it out of the park and clearly are having fun too, and overall, it's just a great experience :D I'm glad it came into my life.

[showtoonzfan]

Just want to preface this by saying i love ur analysis sm- u put my exact thoughts into words when i cant verbalise whats wrong with a particular writing decision 🥲🥲

Anyway, smth ive noticed is how... little time vivzie actually spends on writing or characterizing or fleshing out her characters.

Which has to be the weirdest thing so far bc every writer and artist ive met agree that its the best part of making an oc! Its so fun to think of backstories and tie that into their current personality and generally just figuring out random details to get to know your characters!

Like, my ocs are my best friends, i know everything abt them from their trauma and childhoods, to their favourite food and music.

But time and time again she proves that her characters are at best acquaintances... the fandom fleshes out the characters so well and with so much love and care and thought that vivzie herself cant do and its just sad.

Not even mentioning the hundreds of retcons and how characters will just change personality randomly or act out of character which results in the work feeling like a fanfic of itself. (Ironic considering some fanfics have better and more consistent characterisation)

It feels like shes making it up as she goes, instead of having an actual plan. Just shoving random ideas she likes or picks up from the much more creative fandom into the 2 shows without actually stopping and thinking abt the consequences or implications.

Theres so many decisions shes made that irk me so bad... the ideas individually have potential but they either dont fit the show or have to make huge retcons and result in the plot not making any sense.

Also, ngl but she has the worst case of tell dont show ive ever seen my god 😭😭 like... you realise you have to show things instead of just fucking singing it or having a character say it??? Or is that another thing that the fandom has to do so they can convince themselves that the show has good characters??

Atp idk how to salvage the show... i keep finding more and more plotholes and unless i literally turn my brain off and only focus on haha funny dick joke or pwetty colors, these questions keep popping into my head making it a painful unenjoyable experience.

Again, if the fandom has to justify your bad nonsensical hypocritical worldbuilding then you failed. Massively.

Anyway im very sleepy rn just wanted to rant a bit bc im a writer and artist myself and it pisses me off how someone gets their show on the air and still doesnt care abt putting in effort into their plot or characters beyond aesthetics and random ideas that dont go well together...

You’re speaking facts! And it’s honestly like..kinda funny too that people who have their own OC’s can flesh them out and deep dive into their arcs/backstories ect, yet a professional showrunner who’s had these characters for YEARS can’t even give the majority of her characters flaws or quirks, or even consistency, same goes for Helluva Boss.

Viv is a really good example at letting inspired writers know what not to do when making a story and characters so at least they have that lol.

[timefall-if]

Hii! I got a question, sorry if it is already answered! Which arcane character is the main character inspired by? Or every other characters not only the main? (Btw sorry if my English isn't good it's not my first language)

hi! the MC themselves isn't inspired by a specific character, but more so the things that happen to them. for example, what happens to MC in the prologue is inspired by Vi's and Jinx's childhood. the physiology-changing experiment MC will go through is inspired by that time when Singed saved Jinx's life by injecting her with shimmer (that won't happen to MC haha, just inspiration). MC being able to take the "God" path is inspired by Viktor's arc in s2.

[thaltro]

Hey there! I've been following for a while bc I saw your absolutely gorgeous bad sans ref for Nightwatch and upon finding more content and context i am so excited for the comic- I love the characters and worldbuilding- I wanted to ask a few questions bc I've been loving this everytime I see new art I eat up the new meal :D no pressure to answer all of them ofc! Take your time if you need it-

Will you post the comics on tumblr or a different website?

Was there something that inspired you to make this comic/Kickstart the want to make it?

As someone who really struggles with motivation to do stuff does anything motivate you to draw and worldbuild? Or does it just come to you?

Not sure if anyone has asked this yet but do have a favorite character you made or are making for Nightwatch?

Like I said no need to answer all the questions, love your art and content! :)

Ooh a QnA ok

1) I’m definitely posting the comic to tumblr, but also on my toyhouse! I won’t just suddenly post it though, before that I’ll release pmv trailers which should be very soon.

2) for inspiration I’ve always loved horror- what started the idea of nightwatch was reading I have no mouth and I must scream, the idea of perpetual inescapable torture is fascinating, especially personalized hellscapes. I also really liked AM as a character and he heavily inspired Atrophy (I headcannon his voice to be AMs) (wait I guess it’s not a headcannon hm)

3) I love world building, im a history major and also studying sociology and psychology- I’m definitely inspired from human history and global cultures. Nightwatch’ s world building is a conglomerate of different social stratifications, but leaning heavily towards conservative religious cultures. For world building I really recommend learning history- it makes you passionate about the patterns of humanity and more aware of the tropes you can use.

But for characters it just comes to me naturally (literally) most characters are based off of my Alters haha. So a lot of them like dream, psych, atrophy, memory, killer, horror etc are all aspects of myself. As the host I hold our productivity, our ego, and our low empathy- that’s what psych is heavily based off of. Dream is based off two parts who hold a lot of of our childhood trauma and religious trauma, likewise Atrophy also is based off of alters who hold childhood trauma. When your a system you go typically through some crazy stuff, when I’m done nightwatch I plan in the future to write horror stories based off it but yeah. Aside from system experiences a-lot of the characters who will experience ableism like memory does, is based off my experience with how people treat my physical and mental disabilities.

Suffice to say, I’m an angry person and I hate the world around me. Nightwatch let’s me vent that hatred in a coherent artistic way. I have a big ego and like to think I’m an interesting person so I write stories based off that because I think it’s interesting. My hatred for pop psychology, ableism, child abuse, and religious abuse is pretty obvious in it I guess. If your struggling to write the easiest thing for me at least is to write about what you hate or are scared of the most- then develop a world around it.

4) my favourite character is Dream probably- I mean I never stop drawing him, Atrophy comes close too. Though there are alot of characters I enjoyed writing like Fresh, Dr. Fell, Dust, Epic, Error yk- I like writing comedic characters. But what I’m most proud of writing it’s probably just Psych, Dream, and Atrophy as I put an equal amount of effort into writing both.

Thanks for the questions it feeds my ego nom nomnomnom- kidding I just genuinely like not shutting up and it’s weird that people actually care to ask

[starshower1215]

I loved your fic Sunshine!! It scratched that post-canon itch. I imagine you have good taste in fics, so I wanna ask- Do you have any fic recommendations? Preferably angst. Any pairing (levi pairings, aruani) is good as long as it’s not x reader. Self recs are also appreciated!

Hi anon,

That is incredibly flattering of you, thank you! I'm happy you liked it. Honestly, I don't read a lot of fanfiction at all, and the ones I do read don't tend to revolve around shipping much, so it's good taste to me, but taste is subjective. However, on the topic of recommendations, I always, always direct the inquirer to the first one I'm about to list:

TW: mentions of rape and suicide from here

This Life, After by wbss21, or @cosmicjoke here on Tumblr. It is such an incredible read. It pairs Onyankapon and Levi in a canon post-war world setting and focuses heavily on Levi's disabilities, recovery, and mental illnesses and insecurities — not only the ones resulting from the war and the Survey Corps, but also ones resulting from his childhood and adolescence. Cosmic has such an in-depth understanding of Levi's character and of the issues she depicts, I could not recommend this fanfic enough. I know that it may not be everyone's cup of tea, as even though you've requested angst, it is heavy angst. But it turned my attention to so many things that go unheard and unsaid, like ableism in society, the daily and not daily struggles of a disabled person, having anorexia nervosa, OCD, what it is like as a victim of rape and their experience, suicide, both active and passive. This fic delves into that deep, and due to that, the angst is a lot, but this is legitimately one of my favourite pieces of artistic work ever. No joke, I went into it and came out wanting to be a better person, lol. Being exposed to such heavy angst when all she's doing is depicting Levi's life can make you think, because this is Levi's life, yes, but this is also someone else's experience. Someone else deals with the shame he experiences just from being disabled — just from existing. Someone else felt the terror of being raped and feels the aftermath of it still, every fucking day of their life. Someone else thinks they're worth nothing if they can provide nothing, because that is what life teaches you sometimes. It's just realistic. Yes, the angst is heavy. But that angst is the normal of someone else's life; they don't have the luxury of choosing not to be exposed, and reading this just helps you be more compassionate about it, I guess, especially since she writes it as it is, as raw and terrible and painful as it is. So, I don't know. It's angsty and depressing and for some people, too much, but for me the depressing nature of it is inspiring, in a sense, instead of down-bringing. Anyway, I've gushed like the biggest goofball all in her comment sections, and now I've gushed here, too, but truly, truly, truly, I think you should give it a shot. She is such a blessing as a writer, and honestly, I recommend every single one of her works to you. I can't articulate how unique and meaningful her writing is.

Well, after that, all I can recommend are my own, as I haven't read much else, haha. It's usually angst, though, I'm a sucker for pain. My only "pairing" is Levi and Hange, who I usually prefer to write sharing an alterous love (Sunshine was an exception because it was for someone else). People interpret it both platonically and romantically, though, so I don't think it's a huge issue. That said...

All That I Want is a short work exploring Hange's exhaustion after becoming commander, and the notion of finding peace and rest in death. I think the thoughts behind it are interesting.

But When It's Me is another short one that follows Levi's explicit infatuation with Hange in an academic alternate universe, specifically the physical attraction part of it. It's angsty because his exposure to rape and the plain disrespect of some people's physical attraction throughout his childhood skew his perspective of his own infatuation.

Circles Around the Sun is my canon-divergent long work, yet to be finished, in which Levi escapes the Underground City at 10 years old. You should probably just click the provided link to see it if you're interested, haha. It's hard to explain. Lmao. But I personally prefer this one over the other two, because the exploration of childhood trauma is way more explicit because in the story, they are children. It's just an exploration of their friendship together, their pure connection and love, and the horrors of the world around them that children should never be made to handle.

And then Waiting for a Light by wbss21 (again) is a short but tragic exploration of Kuchel as a caring yet complicated mother to Levi. I can't explain much because it just is as I said it was, but you should read it. Hurt is another work of hers that follows the time Kenny takes Levi in. You have to read it, I simply don't have the words to express it, haha. As I said before, I just recommend her entire account to you, lmao.

Anyway, thank you for the ask! I hope you check these out, they really are amazing (not mine, I mean, lol).

[hanichacha]

hellooooo brewedhq!!! happy to see such a lovely lookin rp in the tags again :') i've been away, but missing having a creative outlet to write in, so if u think you know me, you probably do haha winter is so pretty i cant help it im sorry. but here is hani!!! she's a mix of a bunch of old muses that i miss a bunch so pls bear with me lol. generally draws inspiration from: lee jaemin (seasons of blossom), kanroji mitsuri (demon slayer), yashiro nene (toilet-bound hanako-kun), anna (frozen), etc. just a sweet girl livin in her own lil world rly (major main character syndrome, apologies). i've put together a small profile page and still working on a completed plot page— but i'll list some plot bunnies down below if anyone is interested! more yapping to come under the cut, but do feel free to hit that ( ♡ ) down below if you're interested in some plotting! i do have a dc for plotting if preferred, though for now, i'll be slowly (but surely!!) making my way to your ims MUWAH

we're gonna start by saying i named her hani while thinking about what drinks she likes— i decided on honey tea, btw. hence the url lol

majored in early childhood education and has since been working at a daycare center in the yongsan area

she couldn't tell you that she has any huge aspirations in life. just that her one goal is to marry rich and raise a big happy family

the typa gal to wave hi at every child she passes and allow them to yap her ear off for as long as they want regardless of whatever plans she might have in store for the day

just as friendly to adults, but her greetings are just slightly more tame, never really initiating a full blown conversation unless approached first

was rather popular in school and considered "the mom friend" despite her ditzy/forgetful personality

you can find her occupying a seat downstairs in the coffee shop working on school-related things, if not babysitting her nephew

oblivious to a lot of others' feelings towards her— good and bad. in the past, she's been accused of toying with the feelings of boys she spent time with or labeled a "pick me" by classmates— many she believed to be close friends with. due to these experiences, she tries to be as blunt with others as possible, hoping that she doesn't continue to offend them in the process

possible plots/connections!! off the top of my head

(potentially gonna submit the first 2 as wanted connections since i thought it might be fun to explore but i'll also mention them here for now!!)

hani's older sister whose a spitting image of their workaholic mother in body and spirit! she has a 5y.o. son who hani helps watch every so often

childhood friend who has always harbored feelings for hani but she either has no idea or always just thought that it was just a boygoingthroughpuberty kinda thing....i feel like there's so many directions this could go through some good ol brainstorming

neighbors!!! good relations, bad relations, maybe lots of complaints towards hani OR vice versa!!!

you both seem to have the same exact commuting schedules, often making awkward eye contact on the train but never really saying anything even when taking turns on who is slowly lagging behind the other on the walk back to the apartment complex

we love good ol convenience store plots

maybe some flings that never amounted to anything bc hani was too afraid to take the next step?

frenemies (or just enemies??)

i'm generally open to trying anything that might sound fun! big fan of angst or ic drama if you're looking for a muse that could help provide just hmu!!

[sparklingdemon]

Hi! Since I've been trying to write my own pokepastas (or aus of already existing ones) I just gotta ask, what helps you get ideas for stories? Your stories are always so wonderful and they always give me inspiration (thank you haha!), what helps you think of them?

hi! thanks for the question!

i can't take credit for some of the older stories that i inherited (like dead channel or explorers of death), but i think they still apply to my own philosophy for how i go about writing my own pokepastas. pokemon dead channel is based on the guilt that comes with the inevitability of when you stop playing with the pikachu you spent the entire game making into your best friend, eod is based on the guilt of cheating the mystery dungeon quiz. they're universal experiences that anyone who's played those games can relate to, which gives those stories the hook they need.

as for the stories that -i've- made? they're usually based on some personal experience or feelings i've had with pokemon. like, as an example - forever mine was based on a real cheated shaymin that i felt regret over releasing. bad egg manaphy was based on my own experiences with cheating and how it ruined not just my manaphy egg but my entire childhood diamond save file. fallen leaf was based on my childhood confusion of why red was on mt silver and not leaf, even though i was playing as a girl. and, as i've gone into detail before, monochrome was based on my slow and painful breakup with modern pokemon, and how it affected my love for the older games as well.

so a lot of my stories are based on what i've experienced, and my stories were inspired by that. it's definitely a lot easier to write something that's based on what you already know - at least for me.

but sometimes it's not that deeply personal, sometimes it's just about making something that's fun. my favorite philosophy when making stories is "come up with a cool idea first, make up a reason/justification for why it happens as i go along." and sometimes it's just me going, "hey, wouldn't it be fucked up if [x]" and rolling from there. for example - jack, dummy and ❤︎ all fall into this category. like, "wouldn't it be fucked up if the red from pokemon black actually Liked killing other pokemon characters and wanted to spread out to other games and ruin other peoples' save files as well?" "wouldn't it be fucked up if there was an NPC who ripped you off and stole your pokemon by trading you a worthless glitch pokemon, but it turned out that NPC was also acting out of revenge for [a sympathetic reason]?" "wouldn't it be fucked up if you were a lonely kid who thought you were making a connection with another random human player who was just being really nice to you, only to find out that you'd made a faustian bargain with them from the moment you first traded pokemon with them?"

when it's not just me being self-indulgent though, i like to fixate on specific gameplay elements in pokemon games as well - hm slave is based entirely around the concept of hm slaves and how that gameplay style isn't just abusive for the hm slaves, but also for the other teammates who have to stand by and watch it happen. there's also some other scrapped ideas i had that i still like, like making a pasta based on the cute charm glitch or the minusle urban legend. there's lots of different things in pokemon to fixate on for your stories! whether it's something based on a personal experience you had with a specific pokemon, the feelings that those games gave you when you played a certain way, all of the glitches or urban legends about the games, i think the possibilities are endless!

tldr; my pokepasta stories are either based on personal experience/feelings i've had with pokemon, or just the fun idea of "wouldn't it be fucked up if [x]". sometimes these two things intersect.

but ultimately i think what's most important is just making something that's fun for you personally, and basing your story around that. good luck!

[batbeato]

Sharing some Umineko stageplay EP4 thoughts/impressions. To comply with theater restrictions this will be text-only.

I really enjoyed the stageplay and you can watch the stream archive online for about a week here. You'll need to have a (international?) credit card:

The stageplay this time, instead of being one big performance split into two acts, is split into two separate stageplays: Untruth and End Me.

Untruth is slightly shorter than End Me, and is primarily about Ange (her time at St. Lucia, the first section of her 1998 journey) and also deals with the first section of the gameboard, pre-twilights/murders. End Me deals with the rest of Episode 4, including the Tea Party.

What stands out to me most in the cuts are:

No depiction of young Ange / Eva interactions

1998 Ange summons the stakes again while on a boat (iirc) to Nijima, rather than in a hotel room

Shortens the conversations with Nanjo's son / Kumasawa's son

Cuts out the conversation with the Witch Hunter

Sakutarou doesn't appear in front of Rosa during the fantasy sequences with MARIA killing Rosa

The 'loser flags' extended fight/joke is cut, though Krauss still beats up some goats

The Beatrice/Battler phone conversation is shortened

Battler's "test" is shortened to just remembering his sin (no "I love you, Beatrice", etc.)

Something of note about this stageplay is that it takes a lot from the manga version of Episode 4. This is notable because the manga version of Episode 4 is decently different from the visual novel, both in its ordering of things and in the emphasis it places on certain aspects of Ange's story.

The stageplay also lifts directly from the manga for inspiration: Battler with a blank face, child Battler holding Asumu's hand (Rudolf not included, with Battler to Battler conversation), the cubes with the episode numbers (I think they look silly but they did their best to make it work).

I feel like a lot of the complexity of Ange and Eva's relationship was lost in the stageplay, with much more focus on Ange's experience at St. Lucia, especially with regards to making the bullying there much more overt and physically violent. I don't particularly enjoy this change and appreciate how the visual novel primarily keeps the bullying non-physical and verbal.

However, they did add an extended Amakusa-Ange chase/fight sequence. Amakusa even princess carried Ange and used her feet to kick someone, haha. He also did a jump kick at one point. I also really liked this section of the chase where they went behind a panel, and they had the classic gag of coming out with the wrong person (one of the people chasing them). Amakusa had to go back for Ange and she slapped him. Adorable little interaction.

They even added a moment where Okonogi showed up in disguise (hat, glasses, even a coat...) to help out.

Since they didn't have a child Ange actor, they depicted one or two childhood Ange sequences with these tiny little puppets. They did have a child actor for Sakutarou, though, and he and Maria were so cute together... (They break my heart.)

Another really cute addition for Untruth was that for the 'Beato thinks Battler is super down and comes to cheer him up' sequence, they had the ensemble actors and Beato do this dance with golden pompoms. It was adorable.

For End Me, since they used One-Winged Bird for the opening sequence in Untruth, they actually used the original Umineko VN opening for End Me. It was incredible.

They also had more of Lambda and Bern showing up here and there and being really cute - the Lambdadelta actress absolutely embodies Lambda's pop-cute energy but can still be menacing when need be, and in the stageplay(s) they put more focus on Ange debating whether or not to accept Lambda's offer of remaining in an eternal game with Battler, which was a really nice touch.

Speaking of acting: both Ange and Beatrice's actresses are incredibly talented. I really love Beatrice's acting during the 'sin' sequence; she plays the Beatrice on the board, while they have a body double in the meta with her face turned away (not sure if lines are delivered by the Beatrice actress and played over the speakers, or prerecorded). On the board, you can tell she's completely heartbroken and desperate for Battler to remember. It's really incredible delivery.

Maria's actor also did an amazing job!! She had a lot of screentime this episode and some really intense and emotional scenes with Rosa (which made me tear up), but she pulled them all off beautifully. She also seemed happy about becoming a witch this episode, ahaha.

I believe the current Beatrice actress is leaving, so the curtain call/remarks were very emotional. The Beatrice and Battler actors even came out again (unscripted, I believe?) to say one last goodbye...

Battler also did a princess carry with Beato during the curtain call, it was really cute~

Overall though I had some criticisms of how they adapted the material, the actors were all incredible and it was wonderful to watch them act out this episode. I also found that with live actors, the Stakes were super lively and fun to watch, especially Mammon's dynamic with Ange. And the finale with Beatrice and Battler broke my heart.

[do-mkokoro]

[ IkeVil OCs p1]

Some Ikemen Villains OCs that I drew for my friends! I had fun with intepreting their vibes from what was described and picking the palette for the girls in accordance to their mamas’ designs~ Also some of them have curses and special abilities of their own.

(Artist note is the info I got from reading their stories, not actual word for word description from their mamas!)

More brief info about them below.

1. Stacy Matthews (mama: Miko)

-LI: Alfons Sylvatica

-Curse: The little mermaid - The little mermaid

-Artist note: She is a playful gal who likes cute things and is on a journey of healing after traumatic experiences, while being an occasional castle caretaker at Crown. I hope for the best in her story bc she’s been through a lot of emotional negligence and physical abuse from the past… She deserves all the love and care in the world. 🥲

2. Emily Morris (mama: Anna)

-LI: Harrison Gray

-Curse: none (actually the rare attribute here 🤣)

-Artist note: A police officer who’s also the childhood friend of Harrison, seeking to pursue justice for her dear friend’s sake. She used to be timid and shy, but the pain of having to see the one she loves suffer had encouraged her to become braver, so she can finally be capable of protecting him. Also the one who inspired me to step into the ikevil OC hole haha!

3. Sona Sibera (mama: Solona)

-LI: William Rex

-Curse: The pied piper of Hamelin - The pied piper

-Artist note: On the outside, Sona is the reserved and composed musician (hehe) at the same theatre as Liam. But she can also carry out Crown’s missions in the most efficient manner possible without unnecessary losses. However, as composed as Sona is, if one strucked a nerve, she can become merciless and cruel as a person can be.

4. Maya Syn (mama: Sy)

-LI: Liam Evans

-Curse: The snow queen - The snow queen

-Artist note: She is very adept at combat, and the curse of freezing her surroundings definitely maximizes the effectiveness of taking down opponents, even the guys at Crown aren’t a match. Despite the brute force and sheer power she has, Maya is fairly friendly and easy to make acquaintance with. That aspect made it hard to believe that she’s quite detached from almost all of her interpersonal connections.

[oq-der-na-telha]

((WELP, SENSITIVE TOPICS WARNINH HAHA-))

Another Incredibox oc description

(obs they are from my original world, But they can be inspired by mods or even Incredibox itself, but in this case it's a big mix and my own messy lore lmao)

Mikael Albert Pierre

(Observation: This is an old design, and long before he died, or even before his brother took the necklace from him, But the description will be the current one-)

—Mikael Albert Pierre is currently a 36-year-old man, He is a ghost Polo who before dying was obviously a human, He is the older brother of Percy Albert Pierre (who is currently 34)

Its music icons are: Effect (whisper sounds ig), Melody (guitar) and Voice (3rd vocal in "alpha" v1/second vocal (his brother is the main)

At first Mikael may seem quite antisocial and shy, After all, as a child he never had so many friends (apart from his childhood best friend (and current best friend) Merlin Martinez), But knowing him well, he can be a pleasant person to be around, despite his dark past including the death of his fathers, possessions, Loss of control of his own body to a demon (Who's named Kahunna), r4p3s and even his own death.

Although Mikael does his best to have a good relationship with his brother (who is still alive and is now the current host of his old demon), However, his younger brother still has memories, albeit vague, of the abuse that Kahunna made him commit while he was possessing Mikael's body. Mikael swears he never meant any harm to Percy, After all, he loved his brother very much even though he didn't know how to show it correctly, Percy, upon seeing Mikael, often has flashbacks to the rapes and physical and psychological abuse he suffered in the past, which results in Percy not feeling comfortable in the presence of his older brother.

The reasons why Mikael was possessed were not by chance, This demon had already been persecuting his family since the 1870s, cursing each member as revenge for his death, most of the time using a necklace to have total control of his victims, The demon prefers to be called "Kahunna Kai", even though his name has the meaning of "protector of men" or something like that, ironically, he is the opposite of that, Kahunna uses their hosts' bodies precisely to abuse their bodies and others as much as possible, Making their hosts become alcoholics, smokers, murderers, abusers and in maximum cases even r4p1sts, Kahunna can have complete control of their host if they have a weak mind (like Mikael) and can even stay in their host's body for days without even resting, just feeding on the energy and bad habits. In most possessions, Its host becomes unconscious, and the demon takes complete control of its victim's body, And when he lets his victim become conscious again, the person experiences confusion, memory lapses, frequent panic attacks and/or insanity

Well, Mikael being a ghost, he can also transform into a human temporarily with the help of his best friend (Merlin, mentioned earlier) in which it is average witch, Merlin is also one of Mikael's romantic interests, so they tend to have a very strong connection and a healthy relationship even with trauma on both sides.

Well, I think this is the end of the post, questions and answers in the comments, if I remember something I will edit the post

((off topics: Sum Mikael drawings 🤌🏼))

[jasipereo]

10, 24 for love to the tune of moonlight, 27, 30, and 35: how is writing making the cut going!!! (im still thinking about that last line. you can’t do this to me)

There are a couple of fandoms that I’ve entertained the thought of writing for, but inspiration hasn’t struck hard enough for me to finish anything of note (I’ve had tlc, omgcp, and haikyuu drafts floating around for yearsss). Within PJO I’ve technically written something for every ship/character that I’ve seriously wanted to explore. Whether or not I posted/finished what I wrote is a completely different question 😭

It’s hard to remember my thought process behind love to the tune of moonlight bc I feverishly wrote it all in one night, but back then I was very fixated on the films The Illusionist (2006) and Anastasia (1997)!The idea of conman in the early 20th century was lodged into my head by those movies, and I couldn’t get it out until I wrote it down. I'm fairly sure that I imagined Leo performing his magic act first, and then the quiet moments that followed with him and Piper at the piano in the empty bar eventually became the heart of the story. I originally envisioned the fic in his perspective, so Piper's pov and the theme of memory really took me by surprise!

meet me beneath the christmas tree is inspired by the singular day I was a waitress at a retirement facility for rich people, the whole "tree buddy" thing in branches is loosely based off of a buddy system they had at my first uni, the scooby plush in every scooby needs a shaggy was a real thing that i owned and mutilated as a child, and I named the dog in chips after one of my mom's childhood dogs :') a huge chunk of making the cut will be loosely based on real life experiences as well haha

I have but I have no idea how I feel about it!!! My style is very easily influenced by the things that I read/watch and I feel like that's shown up really frequently in my recent work. There have been a few times in the last five years where I read a fic that I liked in a fandom that I didn't write for and then immediately opened a document to try and capture the style with characters that I liked more. And lately I've been thinking in dialogue more than ever, mostly because I'm more immersed in the film/comics world now and I've been slowly rewiring my brain to keep my thoughts visual. It's weird and it's fun but sooo different from the flowery prose I used to know and love :')

35: how is writing making the cut going!!! (im still thinking about that last line. you can’t do this to me)

I still think about it too dw!! Idk if it's good or bad that I'm debating cutting it into 4 chapters (I'm trying soooo hard not to), but I'm still in the Frankenstein stages where I'm throwing down scenes and writing whatever comes to mind before rearranging everything into something that makes sense. If it helps, I've locked down the final scene and all of the key moments I'd like to include so far. It's supposed to be really long, so choosing what to keep/cut will take a minute, my apologies. Chapter 3 is somehow farther along so I hope that grants you peace!

fanfic/author ask game

[shit-taster-connoisseur]

BOO!

Haha, Did I Scare Ya?

Anyways I Noticed That You’re Looking For Some Silly Questions, So Your Wish Is Granted Mate!

A Simple One Of Course, What Are Your Thoughts/Opinions About One Of The Villains Such as The Interesting Twins?

JXJDB sure did

These guys, are by far my favorite villians, also im sucker for sibling dynamics

Wished they were taken more seriously, but won't deny some of their episode were my favorites by far (especially OP T.R.I.P). Less because of the gags they thrown them in, but rather we do finally see glimpses of their own personalities cause up until then there rlly wasnt much on them besides them failing and falling out a whole damn window all the time xxbdj honestly, that calls into question how resistant these guys are holy shit

The sister(if anyone got any name suggestions for them plz tell so I can steal them too/j), is fed UP, and I love her for it, cause with the amount of shit she's face i'd go fucking insane too. I vote we should give her gun, all her problems would be solved/j but actually, i enjoy that she's a little shit, impulsive, arrogant, etc, but i think it kinda stems from a fear of failure because how else would they've been known as father's bestest spies? Sector V had knocked down a pedestal, and that fucks with her head, but then their failures began to pile up and now she's becoming increasingly desperate to prove that she's still somehow #1– in turn she because implusive, impatient, etc. Sbe 100% cares for her brother, so at the same time she feels like she's dragging him down, it all piles on. Maybe a vaca would do her some good.

The brother, I absolutely adore him – tbh I adore both of them equally. He seems more like the younger of the two in terms of personality, we seem always following his sister's lead despite how irrational it could be. His loyalty and compassion to her is something that kinda pushes him to being my fav twin spot, cuz well im a sucker for good brother characters. And despite his more "softer" attuide compared to his sister's, they're both evil and flawed equally on the same level ‐ mo manipulation or pressure(well kind), nah-da. As the brother is just as implusive, selfish, and arrogant, but he hasn't let their failure get to his head just yet – in turn, he has more clearer head than his sister, so he ends becoming a voice of reason than a leader.

(Readmore cuz this is long jdbdb)

It's pretty popular theory that they're delightful, which is something I think about a LOT when it comes to their characters. And a bit more headcanon here: their non-delightful selves are still conscious, as to me(inspired heavily by my SS au with a friend), being delightful serves as just a filter for kids. Kinda like you feel the urge to chuck a plate, but because you're delightful, it's like a parasite keeping your hands folded in your lap, controlling your behaviors and words.

And they both don't like that their delightful-selves are fighting against old comrades because they were probably ex-KND operatives. perhaps got caught during a mission in Father's mansion, and faded to obscurity in KND history. Either that, or maybe they were father's first delightful experiments? Before the DCFDTL? Maybe that's why they aren't as insync as the DCFDTL, cuz you'd think them being related by blood would strength that bond.

Honestly, i just want an AU where they're happy:))

More headcanons:

Lesbian/Gay solidarity and hostility

They are the entire Evelyn Evelyn album(or not idk, havent listen to it in awhile)

If they ever do end up being undelightfulized, they'd have vastly different asthetics out of spite. Not sure which ones yet

They'd marathon Saturday morning cartoons to get the full childhood experience!!

They consider the DCFDTL sort like cousins, a familial connection is there at least

They're presumed missing, so they live alone in a house bought by Father. They're able to split the chores usually, but the Brother is the better cook between them, so the sister just does the dishes.

Alternatively they also live in Father's mansion, but because they keep falling out of windows at comical heights, they're in bed rest planning their next schemes, therefore more out the way

If they got turned into animals, they'd probably be panthers or owls idk

(Lord save me it's nearly 1am on a school might xmsb)