#it’s halfway plotted!! just trying to draw some art for each chapter

[kennmarsh]

working on a multichapter thing rn but i’ll be posting a oneshot in the meantime since it might be a while

[bokunoheroanalysisforthefuture]

Alright, chapter 8! And man is there a lot to talk about here. I don’t really have any pre-content things to say, so we’ll just hop right into it today!

[No. 8 - Rage, You Damned Nerd]

I swear, this first page has a LOT to talk about on it, so I’ll go from panel to panel and do some rambling thoughts on each segment. 

First off, UA doesn’t actually handle the costumes the kids get! It’s support companies affiliated with the school that does - which makes sense, since the school has to focus on teaching their support students before letting them get their hands on actual costumes that these kids might be fighting in.

I mean, they seem to be allowed to practice on like, minor support stuff (read: Mei making Izuku his new gloves post-Nighteye or somewhere around there) but not full costuming, which is… actually a bit reassuring? But also explains some of the lag time in getting costume repairs / upgrades since they’re probably busy companies. It also explains why there probably aren’t major alterations to any costumes besides between the summer and winter variants, since it would be time-consuming to remake these costumes so regularly.

(It still doesn’t excuse some of the costumes the kids got, but that’s more on the whole ‘eye candy’ thing for readers than actual practicality, so whatever.)

(Also, I can’t get over the fact that Snipe has a support company. Fucking Snipe. Guess we know another canon or likely-canon Support teacher.)

Next we get a preview of what the kids sent in for specifications for their costumes:

We get a bit of insight into a few of the characters - as background stuff, we get Shouji, Mineta, Aoyama, and Sato. Mineta got pretty dunked on for char design and costuming, and Aoyama’s costume almost looks like a magical girl outfit like this, which honest to god would have been fantastic to see him in. More interesting (at least to me) are the other three: Ochako, Tenya, and Katsuki.

Ochako first, because that pressure point thing is interesting, and I dunno how often those actually come up in fics besides a passing mention, like. What if her support bracelets / neck piece broke during training / a mission / whatever? Would she suddenly have to fight through the nausea? By the point of current canon (War Arc) she’s probably trained enough that she doesn’t need them as much, but man, it could be an interesting little thing to explore, like, post-Kamino.

Tenya is a bit surprising, since we know he comes from a well-off hero family. Logically, this was before the whole Hosu / Ingenium plotline was really developed, so Tenya didn’t have that to fall back on, or it could be argued that the support company that Ingenium is associated with also works with UA. Alternatively, it could be that either Tenya didn’t want to rely on his family (which seems silly when they’d know how to work with his quirk best) or UA is very firm on ALL costume stuff going through them…

But then again, Katsuki. Oh god, Katsuki. What fucking support company looked at this kid and went ‘yeah we should give him a way to store more explosives AND give him bombs’ and just. Did so. Why did UA not vet that. Maybe the support company didn’t realize how strong his explosions were without the gear, but UA, man, I just. I suppose they had no way of knowing how reckless he’d be with them, but honestly, after the battle trials, they should have been fucking yoinked from him so damned fast. 

Anyways, onto other parts of Katsuki’s costume, we see he’s a fucking dork. Possibly what lowered their guard. ‘Something scary’ and ‘Dynamighte all over’. What the hell, kid. At least your designer stuck close to your design… including the huge-ass clunky gauntlets. Man, the Musketeer Trio movie poster ones are so much better looking and so, so streamlined. Works of art, they are.

Moving on, we get a bit of a flashback to ~three weeks ago, which by the calendar would be around March 20th? So a few weeks after the Entrance Exam. And Izuku is only NOW getting around to updating the quirk registry? Izuku baby seriously, how the FUCK did none of the UA staff notice the ‘quirkless’ on your application form at any point before this?

But yeah, he’s worried about his registry, so he calls Toshinori, who explains the update process. It gives the example of someone who might alter their stuff with updated information, with one or two allowed - though major ones aren’t accepted. Toshinori then says it’ll probably be okay since he started with nothing, then tries to correct himself to ‘definitely’, only to get cut off because Izuku accidentally hangs up in a panic when Inko calls out that she’s home. Haha poor Toshinori, and poor Izuku, the two anxious dumbasses. 

Anyways, moving on from that is Inko showing off the jumpsuit she made, with Izuku surprised. She admits it’s not the coolest, but she based it off of the design in his notebook (the one we saw back in chapter 1). She tells him she regrets giving up on him back then, and how he never quit regardless of her faith. She apologizes and says from there on she’ll be cheering him on with all she’s got. 

Izuku’s narration notes that it’s a symbol of his mom’s love, and that he couldn’t wear anything else, even if it’s not ‘efficient’ or ‘cutting edge’. (Or even at all decent looking.) And it’s also hinted through the present thoughts on it that it’s meant to be an homage to All Might (the smile and the hair pieces) which is just such a dorky thing.

We get to the wide-spread of hero costumes, which- wait a second.

That’s Momo’s initial hero costume design???? Why did Hori not stay with that??? It’s a LOT better than the stuff we’ve seen her in later! Like, sure, it’d still be improved with the main opening being her stomach and not her chest, but this still looks like actual human clothing and not a sexy Halloween costume variant of her hero uniform. Fucking hell, now I’m even more mad.

Tsuyu’s costume meets the approval of the discord server as basically ‘no changes needed’ asides from maybe the goggles being a bit bulky.

Tenya’s costume, I’m sorry, I know it’s an homage to your brother / family, but were the additional pipes really needed? Also, the helmet isn’t a bad idea since he goes fast, and bugs in the mouth/teeth have to suck, but it just looks so damned Gundam-y I can’t help but laugh a little.

Shouto… nah, too easy a target.

Aoyama is Aoyama. I’m actually a bit disappointed now that it’s not a magical girl costume, but alas, I suppose even Hori couldn’t be that brave.

Kaminari… I forgot he had that headset thingy. 

Don’t really have much else to say about anyone else, so let’s move on.

Izuku bugs out a bit about Ochako’s costume/appearance, while she compliments his more practical looks and laments not being specific, saying it’s a bit too puffy and curvy for her. Which means it’s more the accessories which seem to be her issue with it over the main costume itself? Huh.

Anyways, after All Might confirms they’re all there, he notices Izuku’s headpieces, which are a match to his costume, and has to turn to muffle a laugh for how obvious a reference it is. Tenya steps up, asking whether they’ll be doing cityscape maneuvers again since it’s the same field used in the entrance exam. Izuku thinks to himself how cool Tenya’s costume is, while All Might explains that they’re moving onto step two - indoor anti-personnel battle training!

He explains what while villain battles are most commonly seen outdoors, statistically the worst crimes and villains are more likely to be found indoors. Confinement, house arrest, black market deals… the clever villains luck indoors to avoid heroes. Which is why the class will be split into teams of two and pit against each other, heroes versus villains style!

Ah, Tsuyu. Calling him right the heck out, as expected. All Might then notes that in this scenario, the fight won’t be against disposable robots. 

This entire page is just fucking hilarious. The class and all their questions while All Might is shaking with nerves. The fucking cheat sheet he uses to try to get back on track. Him being questioned on the lot drawing, and shaking while Izuku accidentally ends up covering for him. I just. All Might was not prepared for this mess and it shows. He was doing so much better when it was the one on one stuff with Izuku.

But yeah, Izuku notes the scenario is like from a western comic plot, and he’s also the one who ‘realizes’ the lots are like when heroes from different agencies have to team up for emergencies without prior warning. 

Lots are drawn, and we have our teams:

Izuku’s so stressed out because he still can’t really talk to her, while she’s excited to be teamed up and calls it ‘fate’ that it happened. All Might draws the first two teams to participate, and… team Izuku and Ochako (as the heroes) versus team Katsuki and Tenya (as the villains). Both Izuku and Katsuki are alert from this development…

Which makes this a good point to cut off, since it’s halfway through and we got a lot of information to chew on already. Second part should be out this weekend (hopefully). 

[ilkkawhat]

Any tips for first time writers? Specifically any tips and tricks for writing CSI stories and the Nick/Greg ship? Trying to stay in character and make the story interesting like a show episode instead of a boring text procedural is hard.

lmao as someone who is forever insecure about my own writing when it comes to keeping the characters in character, I think something to keep in mind is that you may view a character differently than someone else--and sometimes those views align with others, and most of the time it's better than what's presented in canon, and it can be really difficult to get confident about that, but I think that creating anything, even if it's not just writing--drawing, giffing, photo edits, etc, you do know and love that character enough to bring them to life under your hands and it's something that's just so like, poetic about keeping these characters alive, even if the show offed them or the show is cancelled, in these works (honestly the song "poet" by bastille says this best imo) and you may end up discovering parts of yourself as you explore these characters in depth, you'll learn more about them, too, and the more you write, the more confidence you will gain

but be weary of the validation trap (says someone who falls into it literally every time I post a fic)--do not rely on comments and feedback to let you know you're doing it "right." the fact that you're getting thoughts into words onto paper is good enough, and you are good enough and even if you don't end up sharing it, you still did something special that nobody else has done before, and that, is amazing!

I'm not gonna lie, a huge weakness of mine that I feel I've known ever since I started writing CSI fic is that I really don't do well in making cases for the CSIs to work on--and even when I do, the case is usually forgotten by the end of the fic and I end up just kinda focusing on the emotions between the characters and describing their feelings and actions the best I can and unfortunately the plot sometimes suffers because of that.

I guess it really depends on what you want out of your story--do you want a really intriguing case and basically make an episode of CSI, or do you want to kind of bend out of the procedural drama, and just write something fluffy like Nick/Greg going on a roadtrip or something actiony like them getting into some sort of trouble? (as I often do lmao)

Something that does always help me when I do decide I want an actual like, "plot" to the fic beyond just playing around with the characters and making them do things or experience things is that I'll make myself a very flexible outline--which I will admit, at times, does kinda drain the fun out of the actual writing part but I found that I'll try to write chapters/fics in segments in this way, like I'll have the start of a fic, and then when I feel like I need to break but want to write what I got going next, I'll have something in brackets like: [Self deprecation at home/drinking, evil Nick in the mirror?] (for agony), and sometimes maybe a bigger summary, and sometimes less to just kinda remind myself of what I wanted to accomplish with a fic

BUT know that there are gonna be things that pop up sometimes. twists that come to you halfway through a fic--or if you're lucky, you'll find that your reader friends will kinda give you a twist to add in (my fic Last Breath is the greatest example of this--I originally was gonna do like, 12 chapters but then @dannilea said "HEY MK GIVE NICK AMNESIA" and then the fic got doubled in length lmao) so don't feel confined to any sort of outline. go with the flow, go with what feels right for you.

I know it's a lesson I'm still learning myself, but do not pressure yourself with these sorts of things. there are no deadlines. you're not doing anything wrong. if you don't like something you wrote? don't delete it (i've deleted so many things--fics, my entire blog, old art and gifs I did and it's one of my biggest regrets that I carry with me and god...it just hurts) but don't be afraid to tweak, re-write or rework if you need to--I know ao3 has an option where you can even say something is a "remix" of another work if you write a fic and then somewhere down the line, decide to expand on it or change it up? (I think it's meant for that at least, I haven't done that sort of thing....yet)

and that's another thing--you'll always be learning new things as you keep writing. I've been writing since I was like, twelve years old. Had a long ass depressive gap (though I did still write some things, just not...as intensely as I used to) before I came back to the CSI fandom (which I never felt I contributed to before, when I joined tumblr I posted some caps but that was about it, it really wasn't until 2018 that I started giffing and writing and three years later lmao here we are!) and there are just hard lessons you do learn--like I said, the validation trap and pressure and all of that

but motivation wise, something I've been (trying) to do is write at least 100 words per day. Doesn't have to be a specific fic, doesn't have to be anything I intend to make a fic, but just...getting the words flowing. But again, no pressure, because I recently had another depressive bout and went 33 days without writing and it climaxed to me having another mental breakdown swearing I was never gonna write again and damn near deleting everything and giving up.........only to start writing again the next day (and full disclosure, I did have a friend helping me literally every day with that and if they read this, I hope they know how forever grateful I am that they convinced me to keep going and I would not actually be here without them)

You will need to recharge, you will need to be mindful of outside stresses that may be impacting your creative energies. And sometimes, you can try doing things not relating to writing at all. Make a playlist of songs that make you think about the fic; if you can, draw or make photo edits of the fic. find a friend to bounce ideas off of--so many of my fics were enriched by that, I can't even begin to list them all lol.

But above all, again, just know that what you're writing is unique to you, nobody else will be able to write the way you do, and that is just...so special. writing can be difficult, it's exhausting, it's a thankless job at times but when those words start clicking together and your fingers just keep typing/writing, you'll just kinda get this like, rush like nothing I've ever been able to match.

and lmao I know you said specifically CSI and Nick/Greg and feel like I got sidetracked--but the great thing about CSI is I feel like you'll have excuses to put them in situations given their line of work, but like I said before, you can bend out of the genre a little bit. Have Nick and Greg go on a vacation, or make an AU (even something as wild as a sci-fi AU--honestly Specimen Stokes is the most fun I've had in writing the past three years) or if you do want to stick to canon, and don't want to make a whole new case or elaborate on the details--play with an established episode. If there was a Nick focused episode, what was Greg doing and vice versa? Did they talk about things afterwards, or did something happen leading up to the episode that made them act a certain way around each other?

I'll honestly find inspiration also just watching the episodes--something I've been doing in these past few months of my rewatch is making little ficlets about the episode, like I wrote one about Nick and Greg post 6x02 elaborating on the breathplay that Greg hinted about earlier in the episode, or I made a revenge fic for 14x12 where that douchey abusive husband went after Nick, etc. So sometimes it helps to dive back into canon and play in that sandbox too

I hope these tips can help get you started and honestly, don't feel obligated to agree or do any of these things I listed above. We all have different ways of going about writing, and it is just one big learning process and something I don't think I'm ever gonna perfect or master in any sort of way--(not to say I think I'm the worst writer in the world but I just...try to humble myself and not believe I'm the best or better than anybody else cause that's part of the validation trap, you get those ideas in your head and then it can destroy you when you realize you're definitely not)--and there will be times you get heavily discouraged, but...you just gotta keep going. keep pushing. find outside encouragement, but don't rely on it. practice a lot of self care and don't pressure yourself to finish or share or write more than you think you can. just...let it come, and enjoy the ride

I honestly feel like I'm one of the least qualified to say all of these things, but I really do hope it helps and hey, you already got one cheerleader, me, who will be excited to read whatever you share!

[subtlereferencetomyinterests]

Complexities Unknowable Chapter 3

Ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23274334/chapters/57175900

Chapter Two link: https://tha-best-url-evar.tumblr.com/post/614327945408987136/complexities-unknowable-chapter-two

MasterPost

Relationships: Established Relationship Dukeceit, eventual intrualiceit, background analogince.

Warnings: Remus says some things (mentions of biblically accurate angels, gore art description), food mention, mild sleep deprivation, cursing. As always everyone is sympathetic. Roast me if I forgot something. 

Word Count: 1,851

Remus was, once again, sitting on the counter in the light side kitchen. It was an ungodly early hour of morning, so the Commons were deserted. He was supposed to be waiting for Morality, according to the  spiteful little plot Dee had offered him that he hadn’t listened to all that well, but he surmised it meant he was supposed to fuck with a light side, so… Duh. Of course he was in.

Truth be told, three out of four of the self-proclaimed ‘light sides’ hardly bothered him! They were stuffy prudes, sure, but their insults slid off his back like blood off of steel. As long as he was doing his own thing with Deceit alongside him, everything was fine (he was still pointedly ignoring the existence of another Creativity). But looks like what Deceit wanted to do was torment Patton into, like, repenting? Or something? Like he said, he wasn’t listening.

Anyway! Waiting and watching was what he was doing! And doodling, because sitting still was literally impossible in Remus’ experience. Thankfully, he soon saw the paternal trait springing down the stairs. Straightening his back, The Duke put on his best intimidating face (which he thought looked rather silly, but Deceit assured him was very unsettling). He set down his sketchbook and blurred his edges. It didn’t work very well up here, but it was a little trick that they’d all- Virgil included- learned years ago. Honestly, he just used it to get cheap scares every now and then.

Patton strolled into the kitchen, whistling some jaunty tune and holy shit , Remus had figured it was some shtick, but was he just a cartoon character all of the time ? That was- sure, very adorable- but mostly all the more entertaining to scare!

“What’s up, Dilf!?”

Patton shrieked, nearly dropping a mug. With wide, startled eyes, he found the source of the noise. Said source watched the emotional trait force his expression into something amicable, laughing loudly.  

“Um- good morning, Remus! I, uh, didn’t see you there.”

“That was the point, MoMo,” Remus replied, dragging his claws screechingly down the side of a cabinet; Patton winced at the sound.

“Can I help you with anything?” Read: Why are you still here? Sometimes Remus wondered if he was too good at his job!

“Nope! Just enjoying the atmosphere, sketching, terrorizing…” He flipped onto his back, throwing his arm out and presenting his open notebook.

“You draw?” Patton seemed weirdly happy about that fact, managing a more natural smile. Seemed he thought he’d found something to work with, but that was likely to change.

“Of course I do, I am Creativity, after all! Here .” He handed over the sketchbook with a Cheshire smile. The creative trait had ensured it was flipped open to a detailed depiction of a being composed of several flaming rings, all of which absolutely covered with bloodshot eyes. It had an indiscernible amount of wings that could only be counted as ‘too many’. In the center of the rings was a swirling black void (a type of ink that took Remus weeks to conjure properly, thank you very much).

He watched carefully as Patton studied the image, looking bemused.

“It’s an angel!”

That seemed to only confuse the moral side more, making him tilt his head to a few different angles to look at the drawing. But he still didn’t seem upset by it, oddly enough.

“It certainly is an interesting interpretation,” He responded at last, “and all of these little lines must have taken you forever, that’s so impressive!”

Truth be told, they had taken a while, and Remus was very happy that the effort had been noticed- but that wasn’t the point!

“That’s nothing,” he took the sketchbook back from Patton and flipped through more pages. Aha! This would fuck him up, for sure! A full-color illustration of someone hung up on a meat hook, rib cage pried open like a spike trap to reveal very painstakingly rendered organs. He was actually quite proud of this one.

The only response that Patton gave, however, was a slight wrinkling of his nose when he first saw it, followed by more quiet observation.

“What do you think?” Remus prompted, watching as Patton set the drawing back down on the counter and began to assemble things for breakfast, seemingly unaffected.

“I wish I could draw that well, but I’m still not super good at it,” he said admiringly.

“I had to crack open my own ribs to make sure it was accurate, you know!”

Morality yelped at that one- score one for Remus! Finally!

“You wanna see my re-imaginings of my favorite Final Destination deaths? I’ve painted some with real- well, conjured- but real enough blood!”

But Patton didn’t even flinch this time; he looked more determined even!

“Art is a healthy outlet for expressing yourself,” he was almost certainly parroting Logan there, and he even seemed to believe the statement. Perhaps Remus would have to be a little more creative to get more reactions.

. “I agree! I didn’t expect you to have such an open-minded point of view. I’ll be sure you’re the first side to know when I make my next amateur taxidermy sculpture! Emphasis on the amateur!”

“Great!” Patton practically shouted, very stubbornly staring at the stove.

Before Remus had the chance to continue, the distinct sounds of Logan and Roman arguing their way downstairs met his ears, and he cut himself off. That was enough for one day, he decided. And anyhow, he looked forward to trying new ways to bother Patton next morning.

Deceit rose into the shadows of the Light Side commons with a smirk. It was an awful hour of the night, which was part of the plan. Not only was Patton the first awake in the morning, he was also often the last to sleep. Deceit supposed that Logan was looking after Roman and Virgil’s sleep schedules nowadays, which made it much easier to catch the artificial patriarch alone. That isn’t to imply that Dee had been tracking their schedules or anything, but the overwhelming lie that Morality surrounded himself with made him easy to track- especially in the night, when he had to pretend even harder that he was fine without the presence of his little family. Deceit entertained the idea that he should feel bad for the side, and maybe he did somewhere deep down. Deep, deep down. No, further than that.

Regardless of any such feelings, he was here to mess with Patton. Still unnoticed, he watched quietly as his target scrolled through Netflix, illuminated only by the dim glow of the television. The side looked so tired that he could’ve passed as a corpse, but gave a tiny smile after finally selecting whatever it was he was going to watch.

Wait. Wait. He was watching that ?

Deceit stared at the unmistakable green text that was the intro to The Good Place playing across the screen. If there was one thing he was expecting Patton to watch (Cartoons? Friends reruns? Slime videos?), it wasn't his own favorite show.

“Hm.” Deceit hummed.

In response, Patton shrieked and fell halfway off the couch. His head darted around until he finally spotted Deceit, who had slid down to sit on the sofa as well.

“Oh- um- good evening, Deceit! Wow, today is just full of surprises!”

“ Surely you won’t mind if I join you? This is one of my favorite shows, after all.”

Patton fixed his position so that he was no longer partially on the floor and looked the snake up and down. He paused the episode.

“ Really ?”

“Really,” and then, after some trepidation, “Honestly.”

Suddenly, Patton lit up dramatically, a happy smile stretching across his face. Fuck, wrong direction, Deceit wasn’t supposed to be cheering him up!

“I’m surprised that someone like you would like it,” Deceit continued hastily. Patton’s smile fell a little and he tipped his head in confusion.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean ,” He lounged back against the couch, “I didn’t think you’d approve of a show where all of the characters are such bad people .”

“What?! The whole point is that they aren’t bad!” Good, Back on track .

“Oh? Then what are they? Last I checked, the main character was very selfish .”

“I- okay, I see what you’re trying to do,” Patton turned to face Deceit entirely, “But they’re- they also-”

“Also what ?” Deceit was also sitting sideways on the couch now, his eyes glinting. He was certain that he’d talked the trait into a corner, which was why he was so utterly unprepared for Patton’s response.

“It’s, like, they all start off not great, but that’s because they were all set up for failure before the afterlife! They had it hard before dying, but when they were finally given the chance to actually get better, then they got better! They aren’t perfect , but they care about each other! And I think it really shows that sometimes, somebody can be wrong over and over and over again, but that doesn’t mean that they’re hopeless, or that they’re a bad friend, or…” He trailed off, looking down at his lap and blinking very quickly. “Or that they’re a bad person.”

Suddenly, Deceit wasn’t that sure that he wanted to see Patton upset anymore.

After a very uncomfortable silence that lasted far too long for his liking, the scaled side realized that he should probably be the one to say something.

“That’s…  a very in depth analysis, Morality. I’m inclined to agree with you.”

“Thanks,” Patton replied. When he looked up, his eyes held an odd recognition. It was a look that no Light Side had ever given Deceit, but they gave it to each other plenty of times. The side in question wasn’t sure if he liked it, but he sure knew that he was uncomfortable.

“So… The show…” He prompted.

“Oh, right!”

Patton pressed play.

Deceit had planned on doing some more provoking of Patton as they watched, but he found himself rather caught up in the program. The conversation he did end up making with the other incidentally slipped into chatting about their shared views on the show. It was almost nice. Maybe. Whatever.

After a few episodes, Deceit elected to return home for the night. As he was sinking out, he heard a sleepy voice bidding him farewell.

“G’night, Kiddo.”

He popped up in his bedroom after that, eyes quickly landing on a half-asleep Remus half-watching Saw 4 . The lights were dimmed to a glow, and the TV’s volume was so low that it might have been inaudible to anyone other than the more animalistic sides.

“You didn’t have to wait up for me,” Deceit murmured warmly, sitting beside his fellow Dark side. The trait yawned and rubbed his eyes, instinctively leaning into him.

“Wanted to,” he responded, voice groggy, “How’d it go?”

Deceit snapped his fingers to change into sleep clothes, reaching across Remus to flick off the lamp. As he settled in to semi-watch the movie, fingers automatically moving to card through his partner’s hair, he carefully considered the question.

“Fucking. Weird.”

Chapter 4

Tags: @deceits-left-glove​ @princemesscharming

[thebibliomancer]

Shadows of the Dark Crystal liveblog pt 15

Shadows of the Dark Crystal by J. M. Lee because urVa is a delight.

Last times on book: Naia is on a journey to Ha’rar with Kylan to clear brother Gurjin’s name and warn the All-Maudra about all these dark crystals. Their journey took them through the Dark Woods where Naia dreamfasted with a tree and made the forest less spooky. Then urVa burst out of a tree and invited the Gelfling for a cryptic soup dinner.

Chapter 17

urVa teaches Naia about archery but mostly says a lot of cryptic stuff that Naia and Kylan can’t make sense of. That’s how it be.

Naia has a flying dream.

I swear, this has to be building up to something.

When she wakes up, Kylan is already up staring at the mysterious writing again because darnit he wants to know.

Naia ponders some more whether urVa is truly alone in this dirt hovel.

From the limited belongings he kept, it was hard for Naia to believe he was completely solitary. Life in Sog was very different, with every family keeping their own stock of meat and preserves, ranging gear and ceremonial garments, spears and bola, trinkets and family treasure. The Spriton had lived in communion with one another, too, each village hut full of material evidence of life and family and the village as a whole. Even the Podling burrow they’d found had had that same proof... but should urVa one day pass away, or leave for another place, the only thing left of him would be the bare walls with the writing Naia couldn’t read. And even then, it wouldn’t take long for the wild and the elements to eat away those as well, and then there would be no record he had existed at all.

Somewhere, the Skeksis have just broken out into a cold sweat.

urVa interrupts her melancholy to offer her some ta, which is almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea. Since it has red steam once the water hits the herbs, which I’ve never personally seen tea do. But as a name, ta still has the feel of caf or choc where writers don’t want to be just so mundane as to have coffee or chocolate in their fantastical world.

Cough Star Wars Cough

Despite his size and dragging tail, he was surprisingly stealthy and was already halfway across the small den’s space, heading toward the kettle. As he walked, his spine snaked in a liquid motion from his head to his bulk.

This. This is some good description.

urVa makes a comment about having all three suns in the sky at the same time which makes me wonder if there’s a time when that doesn’t happen and what that does to day and night.

Ta apparently tastes tangy and like alfen fruit. Fascinating.

Naia asks for directions from the Black River and urVa just gets up and gets his stuff and sets out. He’s a show, don’t tell kinda guy, I guess.

The Dark Woods is some whole other animal after Naia healed it. Full of life and joy and new growth. They’re going to need a new name for it, probably.

When the group stops for lunch, Naia asks about the corded staff and feathered spears urVa carries and he explains that they’re bow and arrows and asks if she wants to see.

They leave Kylan to rest his feet and go to a ledge where urVa can demonstrate.

“Bow -- two ends connected by a single string. Arrow -- head and tail connected by a single shaft.”

“For hunting? They look like spears.”

“Bow and arrow do not hunt; a hunter hunts. I am not a hunter.”

Naia be like ‘doubt’ but she’s impressed when he fires an arrow.

urVa hands her the bow and she tries to use it but the thing is nearly as tall as she is and the bowstring is bowstrung with the expectation of a Mystic’s bulk and four arms. She doesn’t really have success pulling back the bowstring, even without an arrow.

He helps her pull back the string and she manages to shoot an arrow, although it goes bouncing off everything because she didn’t so much shoot it as lose her grip on the bowstring.

Neech wants to go chase the arrow because that’s what he do but Naia settles him down.

urVa chuckled. “We need a Gelfling-size bow.”

Oh there’s a really cool picture of Naia and urVa on the ledge. The art in this book is so good.

Naia shoots off a few more arrows, getting better at it. She also takes the time to examine the bow and how the string is notched, the amount of curve and the type of wood. She looks at all his different arrows too.

Each was unique, with a different engraving or colorful adornment. Some had glittering sea-green scales along the sides, some had feathers or barbed orange leaves. The arrowheads were an array of hard materials, from stones and claws to bone and ancient wood. One even appeared to be made of a tooth. Every arrow was different, made with painstaking care and detail.

I wonder if Naia takes and spreads this knowledge and that’s how archery among Gelfling becomes so widespread that Toolah in Beneath the Dark Crystal can use arrows to solve every problem.

I’d like to think so.

Naia offers to go retrieve the arrows she had fired but urVa just tells her he’ll make more.

She gets really antsy about this because of the craftsmanship of the arrows and how the tradition in the Sog is to retrieve your bola. It makes her feel a little like shit that such good arrows will be lost forever just so she could see how archery works. She goes to climb down anyway but urVa pulls her back gently.

“Ah, Gelfling, little Gelfling,” he said. “Let them go. They were made of Thra and have returned to Thra. Now that my quiver is nearly empty, I have room for new arrows.”

So there was a thing I saw in a magazine profile of urVa that said he was so good at archery because he knows when to let things go and it simultaneously annoyed and impressed me because I hadn’t quite reconciled archery with how the urRu usually are but the explanation made perfect sense and was also kind of wordplay.

But it really works here and it really works as a dynamic against which Naia can butt her head.

She considers sneaking down to retreive them anyway but he just keeps staring at her so she gives it up.

“A stone in each hand leaves no room for a fifth... Mm, or in case of Gelfling, a third. Holding on to things too tightly will prevent you from moving forward.”

He’s just super good at letting things go.

But this also doesn’t sit right with Naia and tries to argue the point that if you let go of the things you care about there’s no point in trying and that there are things that are more important than stones.

urVa didn’t argue, simply bobbing his head from side to side. Though she hadn’t really expected to change his mind, Naia felt a pinch of frustration when he didn’t reply at all, but she kept it to herself. It was fine to disagree, after all, so long as neither of them held the feeling in contempt.

Naia: ‘i came her for an argument!’

At least its not getting hit on the head lessons.

But, the more urVa the more I like urVa. People could learn a lesson from how chill he is.

Naia asks urVa whether the visions and phantoms the Cradle-Tree showed her were just illusions and echoes of her fears.

“Hmmm,” urVa murmured. “Yes and no.”

“Yes and no are opposites,” Naia said, though it pained her to state the obvious.

urVa’s point though is that the Cradle-Tree is a tree and can only show what’s already there. “If you heard it, someone said it. If you saw it, someone did it” but context is key.

This doesn’t really answer the question of whether it was real for Naia but I think she’s getting used to that at this point.

While on the arrow quest, Kylan has been dream-etching the words he saw in urVa’s hovel into his book.

“Smart one, this one,” urVa said with a chuckle ... “What words are for, you know. Passing along a message from one place to another, even when the original dreamer has, himself, passed along and gone.”

The group sets off again and they pass under where the broken bridge was. And nice scenery building, the broken bridge was actually a branch of the Cradle-Tree, broken due to its darkening. Nice. I like that it ties together.

But urVa draws their attention to a figure traveling along the ridge and tells the Gelfling that its looking for them and then shrugs when they ask how he knows.

“An archer knows the path of an arrow from either end.”

Another way of saying a hunter knows when he’s being hunted, Naia thought. At least sometimes his riddles made sense to her.

Naia doesn’t worry about their maybe stalker because there’s nothing she can do about it until the pursuer catches up except pick up the pace which she does do.

They arrive at a stream that urVa tells Naia and Kylan will lead them to the Black River.

“Thank you, urVa. And for showing us the way to the river.”

“May we meet again,” urVa replied. “Even be it in a different form.”

Uhhhhhhm I mean, I like the sentiment here but I have a sinking feeling that he is going to meet them in a different form and its not going to be as pleasant.

Cough the Hunter cough.

Naia: “He seems very wise, but what good is wisdom when it can’t be understood? I didn’t understand half of what he told us this entire time.”

That’s the Mystic experience for you, Naia.

Alas, I’d like more time with urVa but he has other plot to attend to and really he’s like a super high leveled guest party member. He’s a tension breaker. For the good of the story, he has to go shoot arrows to annoy Aughra.

Bye urVa. You were a delight.

[franeridart]

Anon said: Um so hello, I’m just here to say keep up the awesome work, I love your kiribaku art and it’s adorable and I go on binges through your blog (omg I sound so creepy I’m sorry I just love ur art so much) and it makes my day so yeah please keep drawing!

Ahhhhh you don’t sound creepy at all, don’t worry!!!!! Thank you so much for liking my stuff that much!!!!!!! <3<3

Anon said: May ask what kiri///mina would look like in your style? You don't have to draw it if you don't like the ship.

Gosh sorry but I really really don’t ship it!

Anon said: you know how I miss?? your OCs!!! they're the cutest!!

AWE thank you so much!!!!!!! I have a few comics planned for them, hope I’ll manage getting to them soon enough!!! (oT^T)9<3

Anon said: This is so sappy but some of your kiribaku posts really make me really appreciate long relationships! I’ve always found pining and crushes the cutest bc it’s full of intense feelings, but you portray being in love and accepting each other so well!! it’s amazing how you show characters interacting with each other and being so comfortable instead of worrying about hiding part of themselves and long story short I love your art and ideas so much

This ask!!!!!!!!! means the universe!!!!!!!!!! to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m so glad I can manage portraying love in such a way, I’m so in love with the idea of open, accepting love, andI try seriously hard to make it look healthy in my comics so!!!!!!! thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have no clue how many times I’ve reread this ask I’m not even exaggerating TT^TT <3

Anon said: I just want to start off by saying you’re my favourite blog on tumblr, your art is incredibly adorable and always makes my day!! I was just wondering how you were able to create your own unique art style? It’s something I’ve been struggling with a lot lately with my own art. Any advice is appreciated, thanks for everything you do!!

I think it’s about finding the right spot between what feels comfortable for you and the end you’re using your art for? In my case what’s comfortable is something fun and smooth, and the main end has always been to be able to draw comics - I’ve always liked comics because I like writing and I like drawing, but my attention span was too short to manage finishing them, and the way I had of drawing was too stiff to properly convey emotions the way I wanted to, which made drawing comics sound like an impossible dream haha I fixed it by simplifying my style, by taking away or reducing to the bare minimum everything that took me ages to work out/draw and pushing my expressions and body language to extremes to make up for the lack of details. 

That’s just my experience with it, though! The best advice I can give you is to sit back and look at your current way of drawing from an objective perspective - do you enjoy it? Is the process of drawing something you’re comfortable with? What’s uncomfortable in it for you, and in which ways could you change it to make it comfortable and fun? Does your current art style allow you to do what you want to do with your art? If you want to paint, does it allow you to paint in an easy and fun way? If you want to make comics, does it allow you the range to properly portray a character moving and living without making you wish you’d never started drawing halfway through it? 

Imho the first step to find a style that’s your own and feels right is to find a style that’s fun to use and doesn’t stress you to hell and back every time you pick up your pencil. This is easier to do the more things you attempt, so for a bit being inconsistent in style is a good and normal thing - try things out! The best one for you will definitely stick in the end. And if you already feel comfortable with the way you have of drawing, then hell! You already have a style that works for you! Just because to you it doesn’t look unique and special it doesn’t mean that it isn’t - if you asked me to point out what makes my style unique I wouldn’t be able to tell you either, the way I see it my style is the most uninteresting and common-looking style out there. To be honest with you that’s probably just how it is for every artist out there hahaha

Anon said: Hi!! I love your art and just want you to know I always get a big, stupid smile on my face whenever I see you cross my feed, whether it’s something new or a reblog of an old post. Everything you do is just amazing and I love it

AHHHHHHH Thank you so so much!!!!!!!!! (TT^TT)<3<3<3

Anon said: Hey Fran! First off, thank you for the Fire Force art. I remembered to actually check it out, after seeing it lol. Second, I still can't find your Fatgum 😭😭 the link didn't give any, and searching on your page didn't help either. I WILL FIND IT ONE DAY

I think it’s a problem of the app orz I can see him just find from desktop but the app can’t find him either T-T stupid app!

Anon said: Do you have a mini Bakugou and Kirishima living in your head? Are they just living their lives up in your brain and that causes your hand to to write and draw the most perfect and accurate things? Of course mini Kaminari, Sero, Mina, Jirou, etc. also come to visit your head hole from time to time and just chill with mini Baku and Kiri. That’s the only logical explanation on how all your Bakushima content is so inconceivably spot on

That’s such a kind thing of you to say, anon!!!!!! I’m glad you find them that IC!!!!!! I try my best, but sometimes I admit I just have them do and say stuff I’ve done and said myself, the only difference is that I word things in a way that feels right for their usual way of talking hahaha

Anon said: I personally would love to read your essay on why bakugo is the best character ever because I really really really want to love him that much but i feel like there's something that I'm just not getting about him- there's something I'm missing about his personality (keeping in mind that i kinda left the manga after the whole mirio/8 precepts arc). I've always found bakugo compelling and would love love love to read your take on him! Hope you have a great day!

Bakugou has had some amazing character development scenes after the overhaul arc!!!!! He’s outright shown he understands where he was lacking and where he was wrong, that he’s perfectly capable of working in a team and letting people help him and helping them in return, that he cares about his class and how the rest of the world sees them! (and that he worries/cares about how the world sees him too, actually, that broke my heart a bit ;; ) We haven’t seen him in a hot minute by now, but most of anything before the current arc has had him improve and develop and become even better than he already was -  I’ve always thought him a good guy with just a lot of troubles relating to the world around him due the way he has been brought up as special and different (it creates a drift between yourself and the rest of the world when everyone around you keeps treating you as if you were other - when you tell a kid he’s different and better for his whole life he’s bound to grow up believing it, after all), but if the problem you have with him is that he isn’t showing the good in himself plainly and obviously enough, then the arcs after the overhaul one are gonna help you like him better, definitely

Well, the thing about Bakugou is that he’s not a plain/obvious character, so you need to think about his actions and his words a bit more, and can’t just take him at face value - it’s what I like about him, actually! How much you need to think about him to figure him out on a deeper level than just the surface one. Since I dunno why you like him and why you feel something’s missing, I can’t tell you specifically what it is in the way I see him that completes him for me, but as I said I try to keep him as IC as I can so probably reading my comics about him might help you understand the way I see him. To me Bakugou’s honest, and kind, and loving, but he’s also arrogant, and angry, and used to taking some things for granted, and I like how all those things work with and against each other in his character. He’s at the same time incredibly proud and absurdly insecure, and I like that about him too - where each comes from and where and how they clash, I like the complexity it gives him. I like that he’s a people person in the sense that he likes having people around himself, and I like that at the same time UA is the first time he’s had actual, honest to god best friends, and how that means that he’s gonna be awkward when usually he’s so sure and proud simply because he isn’t used to having people he actually specifically cares for, I very much like that about him. I like that he overthinks everything he doesn’t immediately gets, I like that he still acts on instincts more often than not, I like that somehow with him those two aren’t mutually exclusive. I like that he’s smart and still so damn dumb, I like that he’s just as simple-minded as he is an actually labyrinth in thought process, I like how one-track minded he is even on the most silly things - how once he sets his eyes on a goal he goes for it like his life depends on it. I like that he’s barsh and rude and impulsive in what he says and does, but when he fucks up he knows he fucked up, and he backstracks, and he does his best to make amends. I like that he sits in stupid ways and has the worst posture in the class and then he wears his hero costume and suddenly he’s a model on the catwalk, that’s so damn endearing to me. I like how ridiculously hyperbolic he is and how he just assumes people will get it, get what he actually means, like there’s a point between his brain and his mouth were things get blown out of proportion and he doesn’t even realize it. There’s just so many things to love about him, for me!! 

But most importantly I like that he started as low as he could get and that because of it his plot is a one way towards the summit. I like it. I like watching a character grow and every new chapter become a better version of themselves, I love it. Ultimately that’s probably why he’s my favorite, after all haha

Anon said: Hi, this isn’t a question but I just wanted to say how much I love your art and the way you clearly appreciate Bakugou as a character. So many of my friends hate him, but I think he has a lot of depth and so much potential. Your art always makes me smile! Thanks for doing what you do. :)

THANK YOU and thank you for liking the boy too!!!!!!! He deserves it, he absolutely does deserve it!!!!!!! <3<3<3

Anon said: I just went digging in the archives of my blog (which is.. a mess) and found some old art of yours (like... I'm talking bokuto and kuroo level old) and g o s h. I already loved your art so much then and I still do n hhhhhhhh u go. U great.

Gosh you’ve been around a long time then!!!!! Thank you so much for sticking with me all this time!!!! ✨o(TT0TT)o✨

[lucifer-lacroix]

Interview With a Witcher Chapter 2

Geraskier - Fanfic - Romance - Fantasy - Netflix Series - Wild Hunt - Future Plot - Ravenloft

(For Chapter 1 go here)

Geralt rode up to the castle that Jaskier had circled his map of Novigrad. Out on the far coast of the western reaches, a once-abandoned castle was in the middle of being rebuilt. Blanketed construction scaffold lined the wall while dozens of men brick and repair the stonework. A new settlement of families had moved in, and there were large dogs who ran around with kids in the late hours of the afternoon. The dinner bell rang in the distance as Geralt rode through the homes towards the castle. About three hundred meters off Jaskier came around the bend with sweat dripping from his brow and he struggled to catch his breath. He ran the entire way by hopping fences and using a shortcut to catch up to Geralt who was now in eyesight. By the time Jaskier had reached village his legs were ready to give out as he leaned against a tree trying before he could continue.

“Halt!" A guard dressed in black armour stopped Roach before she could step onto the bridge. "You have arrived at Castle Ravenloft. What is your business with his Majesty King La’Croix of Ferelden." The knight addressed Geralt with a salute. "I’m here on behalf of Julian Alfred Pankratz... Viscount of… Lettenhove, the owner of the Chameleon. The theatre wishes to personally invite his ...highness to the next show." Geralt nodded to the guard after stumbling over the name. "Sir Eckhart will show you the way." The guard motioned Geralt to cross the bridge where a man sat on horseback wearing midnight armour and a violet caplet on his shoulder.

As Geralt crossed the bridge, he felt his heart beating in his throat as Roach came to a stop in front of the black knight. "Sir Witcher." The black knight removed his helm and revealed himself to be a man with raven hair and tipped ears. "His Majesty bids you welcome. I am Sir Nathanial Eckhart, Knight commander and personal guard to his majesty Lucifer La’Croix King of Ferelden who is here fleeing from the blight with his people. If you pose a threat to his grace or his guests, I have authority granted to me upon King Radovid V ruler of Redania to strike you down where you stand. Are we clear?" "Crystal." Geralt replied as he was lead towards the stable up the mountain trail.  

Jaskier had finally caught his breath and took off running once again. Once he reached the gate he was just in time to see Geralt be led away by a knight. Jaskier cursed “Shit Balls fuck! Dammit! Geralt!” Jaskier quickly approached the bridge sliding to a stop. “Halt!” the guard said, “What business do you have at Castle Ravenloft?” Jaskier gave a small flourish, “I have come to invite the King my magnum opus performance The Princess and the Frog live on stage in three days time at the Chameleon. Forgive my friend he seems to have arrived before me and didn’t bother to wait for me. So hard to find good help these days.” The guard looked over the exhausted-looking mess which was Jaskier as he ranted. His hair mussed, and his skin clammy and red. The bolero he was wearing under his arm, with the top few buttons of his shirt undone.

The guard waved to the battlements above as a man with a crossbow ducked out of view. “You will have to come back…” The guard started to turn him away when Jaskier started protesting. “Wait, wait! I am a Viscount of Lettenhove. I am the proprietor of the Chameleon. Please let me prove to his royal highness that I am indeed the greatest bard that will ever rejoice his name.” The guard hesitated and looked away for a moment before lowering his spear. “Go a head.” He said and let Jaskier through with a wary glance. “You will wait for Sir Lionheart to lead you inside.” The guard looked up to the battlements again and waved. A teenager ran down the stairs and appeared a few moments later wearing scouts armour and a purple caplet “Sir…” the boy had a sour pout on his face as he walked up to the Jaskier. He had long raven hair tied in a ponytail, and youthful looks but walked about with a scowl as if someone had to spit in his waterskin. “So you’re the famous bard Dandelion?” Sir Lionheart asked. “You’re pretty old looking.”

Geralt and Roach followed Sir Eckhart in eerie silence, no questions or resistance into his person or his goals as Geralt stared at the silver sigil on Sir Eckhearts back. Suddenly he heard a familiar voice behind him, slowing Roach down to listen. Before he could focus, Geralt spotted a man with a crossbow pointed at him from the battlements. “Keep moving.” Sir Eckhart spoke, breaking the silence between them. “Not a very nice way to greet a guest…” Geralt spoke and stopped the horse as the Knight turned around and drew his sword. “You are no guest. You are a witcher who threatens this castle. March.” Sir Eckhart sat tall on his horse sword at the ready, making Geralt sweat. A fight was not what he expected and when Geralt tried to draw his sword he heard Jaskier close by.  

Jaskier followed behind Sir Lionheart. “Hey! It’s seems as if there is a misunderstanding, I know the King he came to my show last month!” Jaskier over sharing as he fluttered around the knight. “I apologize for my friend barging in without—- ” Jaskier noticed a glimpse of silver-white hair ahead of him. “GERALT!” He called out. “Jaskier what are you doing here?” Geralt asked and jumped off of Roach. If he was going to be shot, he didn’t want her caught in the crossfire. “Get on Roach and go.” Geralt said sternly. “I shouldn’t have come alone, but it’s too late.” he tried to speak, but Sir Lionheart drew a knife and pointed it at Jaskier’s neck from behind. “Not a step further. You will deliver your invitations in person. You know, because you’re so chummy with the King” Sir Lionheart threatened.

“The Witcher and The Bard will both be greeting his Majesty this late evening. We will see if you are telling the truth. Put down your weapons, you are surrounded.” Sir Eckhart spoke loudly to catch his attention. “I pray you mean no harm, or else we will be forced to ensure the safety of our own.” Nathanial said as Geralt and Jaskier shared a worried glance. Although directed to surrender his weapons Geralt did not remove the swords from his back. “No thanks, I will keep them sheathed but you aren’t touching them,” he replied.

In the main hall of the castle, a line of wine casks lined up along the wall each one the size of an elephant. Halfway down the foyer standing in front of a cask draped with red cloth sitting under a magnificent stained glass window stood a man wearing midnight blue evening robes, his long raven hair falling past his waist and tumbled into soft curls. It had been a while since he had last shaved and his balbo styled goatee was overgrown into a dense scruffy beard. Sir Eckhart escorted Geralt at sword point while Sir Lionheart held a dagger to Jaskier's back. They marched forward up to the King of the castle who turned to them with a wine glass in hand. "What is the meaning of this? Why are they being threatened." The King demanded. Jaskier had heard rumours but had not ever having been this close to King Lucifer La’Croix in person. His pale skin like snow contrasting his pure blue eyes which glowed in the dim light. "They claim to be inviting you to the theatre, but this one is a witcher he arrived in Velen by boat this morning." Sir Eckhart nudged his blade into Geralt's back, making him step forward. "So what? Has he posed a threat to me?" Lucifer asked, somewhat offended. Jaskier cleared his throat, “g—good evening,your highness,” he tried to greet the King, but he was slightly distracted with the dagger pointed at his back. His skin prickled with goosebumps knowing that this was a situation to employ wit and not brutality. “The Witcher is Geralt of Rivia. He is with me, not as a Witcher but as a fellow patron of the arts. My first muse,” Jaskier tried desperately to talk his and Geralt’s way to safety. Hopefully, Lucifer could sense his honesty and would be willing to listen.

“Wait, I know you,” Lucifer said, looking at Jaskier for a long moment. “Yes! You’re the bard Dandelion the one with the catchy tunes but can be off-key in the high notes Your theatre runs those boorish plays in the slums. You need a better writer.” Lucifer said as he placed his wine glass down next to three others All of which were filled with various wines in the middle of a taste testing. Jaskier’s lips pursed as Lucifer told him his notes were flat. “Perhaps you’re tongue can be used for other things here this will be better… well put down the blades, and everyone have a taste.” Lucifer walked up to Jaskier and handed him a glass of white wine. “Sir Eckhart, go back to your post. Sir Lionheart you can stay.” Lucifer waved them off, but Sir Eckhart and Geralt were in the middle of a staring contest. “I don’t trust this witcher.” Sir Eckhart said and sheathed his blade.

“I have not lived this long by not being cautious, my friend, Sir Lionheart, will keep an eye on me. Won’t you son?” Lucifer smiled graciously, and despite the rough greeting of his armed guards, the King of Ravenloft was welcoming and kind.  “Not interested. Jaskier wants to invite you to his show at the end of the week and to write a good review, there isn’t enough creativity in Novigrad, and your words put a dent in business.” Geralt spoke up in defence of Jaskier, however, was incredibly distracted by the words Jaskier had used. Why would he say muse? Also, why would he say that in the past tense? As Geralt battled those thoughts in his mind, Lucifer’s gaze focused on the witcher with intensity as if he knew. Jaskier took a sniff at the wine, checking the aroma then took a sip. “Hmmm… not bad, there are some nice sweet notes in it,” he commented, examining the glass. Jaskier noticed the intensity in the air and tried to think of how to change the subject back to the reason why they were there. “Right, I would like to personally invite you, most gracious King Lucifer La’Croix to my latest show at the Chameleon, it will be a grand affair of song, dance, wine and music.” Jaskier said with a flourish of his hand and a jovial bow. “I am hoping my latest piece will inspire you to review us more favourably.”

“No, you haven’t. You came to make sure Geralt didn’t try to kill me, you told him I am a vampire and witchers slay vampires so when he disappeared after your lovers quarrel you thought. What?” “Hold on that’s not fair.” Geralt tried to interject. “Oh yes, Geralt of Rivia, I know who you are the white wolf. My brethren have warned me of you.” Lucifer said with a smile, waving his fingers at Jaskier like he was a naughty child. “Oh, how the gods laugh upon me, a silly play is what reveals me to you,” Lucifer said and started to walk down the hall towards another cask. The torches in the room shifted as their flames all pulled towards the rear window, which was open. The sound of rain softly rattling against the glass as the leaves of trees began to sing. “I’m not come here as a Witcher.” Geralt snapped as Lucifer came to a stop at the next cast. This one smaller than the rest with a burned dwarven rune on the side of it. Lucifer poured another glass this one, blood-red with a pungent smell. Jaskier couldn’t place, but it was intense and inviting. “I admit, I invited him with me because I had figured out what you are and asked Geralt to accompany me because I was afraid to approach you alone,” Jaskier tried to plead his case to Lucifer. “But it was only to invite you to the show. That’s it, I swear to you. Nothing more, not even a threat for a good review! Your grace delighting our presence is all I need” Jaskier nervously laughed while Geralt stood there glaring at Lucifer with malice behind his gaze. “So you are a vampire?” Geralt asked as Lucifer brought the glass to Jaskier. “So what if I am? Does that make me the villain? A monster?” He asked and placed the cup in Jaskier’s hand after delicately taking away the white wine. “Tell me, do you find me that terrifying?”

Lucifer asked, his gaze like a mirror Jaskier could see himself within. A window into the truth which Jaskier wished to see more of. “What are you doing?” Geralt asked, noticing how intensely they were staring at one another. Jaskier’s eyes glazed over, and a small smile appeared on his face. “No, you’re not a villain. Someone with an acrolite carved face and eyes that shine like crystalline glaciers? Not at all… misunderstood perhaps… hmmm… I want nothing more than to make you melt with heated passion at my performance, ” the bard pondered a moment examining Lucifer intently. “I’m certain you have amazing stories as well. Ones that could inspire song and lyric that would enchant the world over!” Jaskier seemed quite taken with Lucifer. His eyes sparkled with inspiration Geralt has seen before. “Please your highness, tell me your story. I will make people better understand you and your greatness,” Jaskier exclaimed wide eyed as he waited for Lucifer to reply.

Lucifer hungry eyes gazed upon Jaskier wrist, his black painted fingernail grazing across Jaskier’s delicate skin along the artery in his forearm. Lucifer attention taken away at how calm Jaskier was. When their eyes locked Lucifer was suddenly infatuated by him. Jaskier spoke nothing but the truth and Lucifer quickly let go of Jaskier’s wrist. A small imprint in his skin that was about to bleed as Lucifer stepped back away from him. “My story? It’s long and complicated.” Lucifer turned away from the question. Geralt suddenly confused by the whole situation as the two exchanged longing looks. “Jaskier?” Geralt asked as he focused on the lovey-dovey face he recognized since Jaskier made it to every muse he had ever taken. “Hey, snap out of it.” Geralt marched up to Jaskier and snapped his fingers in front of his face. Jaskier seemed not to notice his attention on Lucifer. “I have time, please. I must know,” Jaskier all but begged at this point. Lucifer was the most fascinating person he had ever met and damned all to hell he forgot to bring his lute. “Geralt, you horse’s ass. This is not about you!” Jaskier cried with tribulation.

“A pity I feel like on a different day and under different circumstances I would have enjoyed your company, but alas I cannot tell you my tale oh sweet… Jaskier.” Lucifer turned to Sir Lionheart and nodded his head. “Take the Witcher to the private suite and lock him inside until I figure out what Jaskier’s real plan is. Come here.” Lucifer beckoned to Jaskier who forced by magic walked forward. “What! Jaskier snap out of it!” Geralt went to strike the bard, but Sir Lionheart attempted to grapple him. Geralt slapped Jaskier across the face in an attempt to break the spell as Sir Lionheart failed at trying to grab hold of his arm.

The teenager was not strong enough to fight against Geralt’s muscle. He palmed the boy in the face and knocked him on his rear using his Ard ability. The table leg holding onto one of the larger kegs broke as Sir Lionheart collided with it. Geralt watching at the barrel began to rock off its stand and onto the boy. Jaskier paused for a moment after Geralt slapped him across the face. He held his cheek looking a little dazed. “It’s alright, Geralt. I am just going to speak further about the cabaret. I very much want his approval,” still enamoured with Lucifer Jaskier would follow him anywhere. Geralt grimaced as Jaskier walked away and caught the keg before it rolled onto the kid. Lucifer watching them all as his expression fell to horror for what happened within moments of these two entering his castle. “It’s going to be that kind of night.” Lucifer sighed and with a wave of his hand, the table leg snapped back into place making everyone in the room stop for a second. “If you please. We will speak in my study. Come, Witcher, I will not harm him, less I steal from you his love.” Lucifer winked, and Geralt let go of the keg and used his Axii ability. Reaching into Jaskier’s mind using the powers of chaos taking control of his will for the first time. “Step back! He’s dangerous.” Geralt warned.

“Uh! That’s my move!” Lucifer gasped and noticed Sir Lionheart scramble up to his feet with his dagger drawn. “Halt!” Lucifer said to the knight before he attempted to stab Geralt from behind. Jaskier stopped moving and took a cautious step back from Lucifer. He blinked a few times as Lucifer’s charm went quiet at Geralt’s warning. Jaskier continued to step back until he was away from the vampire. His eyes didn’t leave Lucifer as he carefully and cautiously flead back to the witcher. “Geralt…” he whispered, “I think I should have just swallowed my pride and not have gone looking for the King’s approval.”

“You think?” Geralt snapped but realized he caused this situation at equal blame. “Listen, I am not here to kill you.” Geralt said firmly to Lucifer. Lucifer couldn’t read him, a blank slate and Geralt could not understand him. Jaskier was feeling overwhelmed while looking for and exit. He did not dare to move while a stalemate between his dear friend and a misunderstood vampire. The castle Ravenloft sitting in a cursed silence. It was an inspired moment, and Jaskier suddenly understood what he had been missing in his recent works. “Your Highness, I think Geralt and I would like to take our leave. I do hope to see you at the Chameleon at week’s end. I promise you it will be a show you will never forget!” Jaskier grovelled. “And walk into my assassination like a lamb to the slaughter?” Lucifer asked with a delightful grin. “How scandalous? You think once you came into my castle, I was going to let him go?” Lucifer asked, pointing to Geralt. “No, he does not leave… you may go and if you come back I will make sure you and everyone you love disappear. Luke take him away.” Lucifer dismissed the Bard and glared at Geralt. “You wish to fight me alone?” Geralt asked, noticing the room would be just the two of them once they left. Geralt’s witchers senses were paying attention to each and every little thing in the room. Lucifer was no ordinary vampire. The smell on him was old, like a carcass dug up from an ancient tomb. The simple parlour tricks Lucifer had shown so far just a hint from the aura of chaos which exuded from the King. Geralt hoped he had what he needed, superior oil for slaying undead creatures. A potion of black-blood already in his bloodstream to poison a blood sucker. All of these things which Lucifer had probably picked up on by the speed of his pulse. “Are you afraid of me?”

Geralt asked. Sir Lionheart following orders and forced Jaskier away. “Of course, a coward hides behind a lie. Is it so alarming that I fear death?” Lucifer replied nervously scratching his chin. Jaskier struggled against Sir Lionheart. “No, I’m not leaving without Geralt,” Jaskier had to think quickly. He needed to say something that would get Lucifer to let Geralt go. “I— I can’t perform the show without him! Geralt is one of my leads! Without him, there is no show!” Jaskier exclaimed as Geralt’s eyes widened with sudden enlightenment, and he nodded quickly. “Yes! I’ve been on the stage before with Irina and Pricilla last year. The play was called “The Doppler’s Salvation,” I played the witcher.” Geralt said speaking the honest to gods truth.

“Do you expect me to believe Pricilla, the gorgeous, the grand and my love Let you perform with her? That is a laugh you can barely express the truth let alone a human emotion. Who pre tell are you playing this time? Another witcher? Do you take me for a fool?” Lucifer said rather astounded at the garbage coming out of the wolf’s maw. Jaskier butted in to wrangle the conversation in their favour. “Yes, Geralt is usually very method, but this time he will be playing the villain. A glorious call back to his first role in one of my stories,” he was getting elaborate. “Of course Pricilla will be our leading lady and as for my role… that will be a surprise!” Jaskier sounded as if he had planned all of this from the start, but truth be told he was making it up on the spot and going to need to write a whole new script that night if Lucifer let them go. For More Fanfics go ( here )

[stargirlficrecs]

Stargirl222′s Favorite Stuckony Multi-Chapter Fics

Hello everyone! Here is my next rec list. I have limited this to only finished multi-chapter fics that are not part of a series (unless its the main fic with lots of side stories). This unfortunatley excludes some of my other favorites. Hopefully at some point I will make a post about my favorite series. Again if you want to request a specific type of fic rec list just send me an ask either on anon or not. Thanks so much everyone!

Warning, most of these are going to be rated E becasue my personal favorite type of multi-chapter fic is lots of plot with a dash of smut so… sorry? Or not sorry, depending on how you feel about that.

Long Distance by @not-close-to-straight: At the end of a bad day, Tony gets drunk and texts Rhodey all his woes. Except he typed the wrong number, and has been texting someone named Steve– who is blond, 28, teaches art and somehow charmed by Tonys drunk rambles. One conversation turns into another, and soon they are texting and talking and flirting every day for weeks until Tony finally takes a chance and asks Steve to meet in person. Steve replies that he and his boyfriend Bucky would be thrilled to meet. Devastated, and feeling betrayed, Tony stops talking to Steve all together, and their budding relationship comes to a screeching halt. But Bucky has been eavesdropping on their conversations and texts and is halfway in love with Tony too, so he takes it upon himself to fix the rift between Steve and Tony. Tony isn’t sure about it at first, but after some cute videos, sexy selfies, several date nights, Tony starts to think that the three of them may actually work. Can Bucky and Steve convince Tony there is enough room in their bed and their arms for each other AND him? Will this Long Distance texting and phone call relationship ever make it into the same zip code?  

Pirates Heart by @not-close-to-straight: The 1700s, the Golden Age of Piracy, and Captain Steve Rogers has all he wants: a ship, a loyal crew, Bucky at his side, and the horizon offering a new adventure everyday. But an impulsive kiss gone wrong leads to a forced marriage between Steve and Tony Stark, and now Steve doesnt know what to do about ANYTHING. Steve loves Bucky, but something about Tony draws him in and one kiss leads to more. Tony is too innocent for this life, but he picks up a sword anyway. Bucky is Steve's love, but when he offers his hand Tony takes it and now the three of them are something new. When the truth about Steve's mission to ruin the Stark name comes out, Tony runs away, leaving Steve and Bucky behind in search of answers to the secrets hidden from him his whole life-- about his company, about Uncle Obie, about his parents death. Steve and Bucky cant abandon their mission against Stane and Tony cant deal with the answers he finds in New York.Is this the end? Is Tony gone forever? Or will he leave everything from his old life and return to the sea and to the Pirates that hold his heart?

Hide a Heart of War by RayShippouUchiha: “You’ve got war in your heart boy,” Howard sneers, “don’t ever try and pretend to be anything but what you are.”Tony feels the familiar burn of a flower mark being etched into his skin but he doesn’t look, doesn’t try and check to see what it is. Instead he keeps his eyes on Howard and his hands cupped around his bleeding mouth and nose.

Carrier by just_another_tinker: Tony swept his gaze over the jacket. It was well used, heavily worn down, but not in a bad way. The fabric felt softened over years of use, and the slight discolorations seemed to suit it. Tony could see the marks left over from the previous owners. A small patch, sewn perfectly in neat little stiches on the inside breast pocket screamed of Steve’s steady hands, while the fraying on tails remained as evidence of Bucky’s impatient tugging.Or, Steve and Bucky gift Tony with their jacket that survived from the 1940's. Turns out that wasn't the only thing that survived.

Three Days, One Week, and a Lifetime by swtalmnd: Bucky and Steve work at a coffee shop. Tony meets them when they actually make his insanely caffeinated order. Sparks fly and pants drop. 50% Actual Porn, 40% Schmoop, 10% clothes & coffee porn.

Of Spiders and Super Soldiers by AuddieAussie: After the hell that was Ultron and the Sokovia Accords, Tony doesn't blame the team for wanting nothing to do with him. To make up for past mistakes, Tony disappears into his lab and focuses on using his money and brains to provide the Avengers with more fancy tech than they'll ever need. By doing this, he also doesn't have to worry about Steve's grim frown, Bucky's hateful gaze, or everyone else's cold annoyance. For six long months, this formula worked, but then fate decided to be a Loki-like dick and Tony wasn't sure how it happened, but in the span of one week, he'd somehow acquired a kid.

Sorry to those authors who I don’t know the tumblr of. 

[alo-piss-trancy]

Hello, you have been identified as An Awesome Writer™! Congrats, you rock! So that all of your readers can shower you with some extra love today, please tell us your favorite five (or as many as you want) stories of yours and why you like them and then send this to another five fic authors you think deserve this title! ❤

Gee, I wonder who this could be from? c; (Thank you so much I love you!)

Okay so I’m doing seven because as you all know from my zillion ships and characters I’ve written for/screamed about, I’m incapable of picking a specific favourite lmao. But it’s still less than half my fics so it’s fine. Also none of these are ranked, I enjoyed them all equally tbh. (Forgive my lack of heart emojis RIP, I’m on desktop for this one)The Troubles Rain Can Bring (Pers/ona 5) : Of course I have to bring this one up, since it’s the one I consider my first legit omo fic (Jade was my first foray, but since it’s unfinished and I picked a dead fandom specifically so I had less chances of getting mean comments, I consider it more of a practice run). This was my first time writing for a very active and current fandom, so it was really intimidating, but I was also really excited to participate in creating for a game I was so passionate about! Also that fic was just a total labour of self-indulgence and love (excuse for fluff with my otp? combining all my fav tropes? Gratuitous Akira Suffering? Including the others for fun towards the end? I was in hog heaven!) While I definitely can find parts where I could improve the writing now, I still love it for all of the effort I put into it, and I got such a lovely response that made me feel really welcome on ao3, the omo tag on tumblr, and in the p/5 fandom! It’s kind of nostalgic for me, even if it was only written like a year and a half ago, haha.All Bottled Up (Dang/anRonpa: THH) : I’m just really proud of this fic, and I had so much fun writing it! I think it’s probably one of the few fics I’ve written that was a completely smooth ride of inspiration and fun from start to finish, without any hitches in the writing process or me getting bogged down with other projects. Seriously I think I hammered the entire thing out in like a week or two lmao. I love Naegiri so much, and the idea was a treat to work with even if it’s some of the most cliché omo scenarios, it was just a nice relaxing bit of indulgence! Also I got to dig into Kirigiri’s character, which I didn’t get to do in my other fic of her (since that one was so short and oddly styled). My favourite bit was probably getting to mess with the drawbacks of her gloves/hand injuries, and of course those fluffy bits with Naegi! Getting Your Feet Wet (Pers/ona 5) : This one, hoo boy. Definitely one of my longest fics, and while at the time when I posted it I kind of hated half the stuff in it (just because I had been nitpicking it for so long lmao), now that time has gone by I can genuinely say I love it and it’s probably one I’m proudest of. Not only was it my first full dive into snut (and I’d like to think it isn’t too shabby), but I got to work with a rarepair that I’ve been intrigued by, with two of my fav npcs from the game! So fun times all around! It was great to imagine how Sae might have changed and opened up since the game’s ending, and what Tae could do to help draw her out of that strict shell while still making her feel secure and comfortable. Also I got to include pet/p.lay which is something I’d been dying to write since I started that account, so bonus points for that! And I got a way better response than I was expecting, so that was nice!A Sinking Ship (Pers/ona 5) : ((Okay I swear I still plan to update the other half of this one someday soon, I literally have the draft halfway done I just haven’t been able to get it finished to the level I want.)) Anyways, I have a soft spot for this one because 1. It’s Makoto, and you all know how much I adore her, 2. I finally got to write some legit palace battling and shenanigans, which I really enjoyed and want to include more of in future projects, 3. I literally put so much detail into this one, from the setting descriptions to the dialogue and going out of my way to include the entire team interacting with her instead of just one or two chars, and I’m giving myself a fat pat on the back for that. And then throwing in actual anxiety and plot issues instead of just making her desperate for the sake of it, which may have been ambitious (hence why it’s kind of on a cliffhanger right now while I finish the comfort half), but I really just wanted her to have one of my best fics possible because Makoto deserves the best (of the worst suffering oops sorry bby). Also did I mention The Shumako Bridal Carry scene? That was absolutely necessary to include okay? Also there’s gonna be quality Shumako bonding in the second chapter so I’m biased to love this in advance. Basically I love this one specifically because it’s my own self-indulgent bullshit, which is kind of every fic I write but this is definitely one of The Most Indulgent. I also consider this one my very best omo fic in terms of the actual omo writing/content, even if it’s long AF, because at least you’re getting desperation and wetting for pretty much the entire thing, even when other stuff’s going on around it. So yeah I guess if you don’t mind a cliffhanger ending (for now) and have a decent knowledge of p/5, this is the one I recommend reading!Conundrums Lead to Collapse (Doc/tor Who - 13th Doc/tor) : I really liked writing this one because of the whump, actually. I rarely have excuses to injure characters for Even Worse Omo Suffering/Comfort, so the fact that I could write based on a canon injury was the perfect excuse! Also I’m just weak for the 13th Doctor so I’m always down for omo of her, but it was also a fun excuse to explore her character. We hadn’t gotten to see her angry or broken down at the time it aired, so I enjoyed getting to play around with how things affect her when she does finally lose the positive attitude and confidence, and bringing a character as powerful (and semi immortal I guess) as The Doctor to the floor was just a fun exercise. Also it’s kind of hard to find whump fics focused on female characters that don’t involve a certain kind of violence (or just female whump in general actually), so I just really enjoyed using all of the fandom tropes I’ve read over the years in those fics to create something for those of us who wanted it the other way around! I would also like to say this one gave me the excuse for Found Family Coddling, everyone comforts and helps her towards the end which is perfect for my fluff-craving heart after all of the angst.Holding More than Cards (Ka/kegurui Compulsive Gambler) : Oh boy, I’ll be honest the reason I love this is purely because it’s pretty much the only fic for this pairing that I’ve found for my tastes and I had to make it myself dang it (They basically had a whole two episodes where Midari creamed herself for Yumeko and they had that scene where they held each other’s faces staring into their eyes, HOW is no one jumping on this ship??? There’s literally 5 fics total on ao3 I’m not joking). I really enjoyed getting to dig into Midari’s characterization for this one, especially since I had such a tiny bit of canon to go off of and had to set it after the anime’s s1 developments. I got to write Yumeko being a dom and dropping her cheerful attitude too, which was really satisfying. Also while this doesn’t have full on snut in it, it was the closest I’d come at the time, so that was an interesting challenge. This was a rare chance to indulge in unhealthy ships too (bc literally every ship in that show is unhealthy on some level lmao) so that was entertaining to try and navigate.Capture the Fly with Nectar Sweet (The Ch/illing Adventures of Sabrin/a) : I just posted this one recently but I’m adding it anyways, because I had an absolute blast working on it. It’s so starkly different from anything I usually write, because you all know I love close friendships and found family and all that quality fluff and caring. But instead this one was me staring at my laptop thinking of how I want to tell this character to go to hell, except that would be pointless because that’s literally where she came from. I really got to stretch my wings outside my comfort zone and dig around in the dark, manipulative side for a while, and it was so much fun to study one of my favourite villains (anti-hero? she’s such a mysterious mess idk how to classify her) and her relationship with Sabrina. I also got to attempt writing desperation from the outsider’s perspective instead of the victim’s, and while I feel like I definitely still have room to improve with that, it was a nice break from the way I usually write my omo fics. I also got to shift around my writing style for this one, using words like ‘betwixt’ (which I love but never get to use lol) and using a bunch of metaphors and similes to showcase how Madam views Sabrina. This is probably the fic that makes it obvious that Language Arts was my favourite subject in school and that I’m Extra when it comes to predator/prey comparisons lmao. (Note: Please read the tags on this one, the Dead Dove: Do Not Eat warning applies here.)

I actually don’t know who else to send this to that I haven’t already, since like half the omo tag has vanished and I’m blanking on usernames, so if any of y'all are reading this post and you write fics: consider this me asking you to do it so I can hear about your fics! :D

[the-space-case]

Hi! First of all I love your art and I love you

Hello and Thank You!!!! I’m not sure if you’re talking about a fan comic or an original, or long or short but I’ll give you some tips. GRANTED I am not a professional and you may find a different way that is easier for you.

1.) Think of a basic storyline or prompt. Like, “Man is dying and is going to a mountain to see it before he dies and meets his DESTINY???” it can be stupid. It can be silly or vague so long as you have something to start with.

2.) Think of the protagonist, as well as a bit of the timeframe or universe. Are they human? Alien? Medieval? Elf? For our example here lets say its a medieval man from a heavily forested area. He is a lumberjack who hates potatoes and his old man told him stories of the mountain in the west that holds a magic temple; only the pure of heart may enter. He is dying, and wants to see this mythical place before he passes. Draw a few examples. You’ll want some basic refs to look back on.

3.)Think of the antagonist. It can be nature, machine, man, elderich horrors, etc....(typical story tropes are something like man vs. machine or man vs. nature). For our case lets say its mainly man and nature. Bandits, bad weather, illness, etc...DRAW SOME OF THOSE REFS. These beginning ones don’t have to be in depth. just basic stuff.

4.)Hash out what you want to happen in the BEGINNING, MIDDLE and END. These are kind of the most important parts. Its definitely important to think of the end ahead of time instead of thinking about it when you’re halfway through; thats a quick way to never end it at all. Our lumberjack begins his journey selling all he owns and getting a horse to set out to the mountains with nothing but a bit of gold, an old axe and a sick ride.  In the middle he encounters various trials that test his “pure of heart”-ness. Probably three, they can be as long as you want so long as they are generally even alongside each other. (3 or 7 are magic numbers WINK). In the end he reaches the temple and is welcomed inside due to his good deeds and it was allllll along a metaphor for the journey to the afterlife.

5.)get some good references. You have a time period set, a scene in mind, and some tools. Gathering from our example, we’re going to want; various forest scenes of pines, plains, dirt roads, medieval towns, mountains, temples, animals, people, cultures, etc. We need refs for our horse, axe, and gold. Remember those quick refs of characters you made in steps one and two? Now is the time to finalize those. They’ll have developed with the level of detail in your story. Add background nonsense no one else will notice but will enliven the story like how our axeman always ties his beard when mad or how he prefers apple cider over beer anyday. Give those fuckers some names. Bandit Bill challenges Axeman Abel for his horse and loses his head (literallly???)

--if you can go to like, museums or lectures or fairs about these things and take notes. USE YOUR RESOURCES!! ASK QUESTIONS!!! (For ilulatte I visited a couple of coffeeshops and roughed out some cafe drawings haha)

7.) Separate events into chapters. Generally theres a prologue, chapters 1-whatever, the end, and an epilogue. Our axeman has a prologue of starting out on the road, chapters 1-3 depicting pure-heart-trials, climax/end of reaching the temple, and an epilogue of someone else starting their journey to the temple based on his influence on the world because this shit is cyclical, baby. 

6.) make a fuckton of thumbnail drafts. You know these characters now; you built em out of your own head. You know how they move and talk, so slap down their journey in tiny pages. add minor details to the sides. (Here’s a shitty example of mine from ilulatte!!!!!)

7.) finish allllll of them. or at least the first few chapters. Its good for you I promise. You’ll notice the pacing much better this way! You can add a bunch of extra details in the margins like extra panels and bg notes. Don’t be afraid to experiment with the direction of your story, but try to keep the overall plot the same! (sticky notes are great for this!)

8.) start roughing out the actual pages. You’ll change things from the thumbnails (like I always do haha); thats okay!!! They’re more of a helpful guide than solid stone rules.  It’s like making the scaffolding to make the base for the rest of the building.

9.) do the lineart, bgs, text, etc. There’s tons of helpful art programs for this like CLIP studio paint or medibang if you’re doing it digitally. Remember those refs you collected for our horse, axe, and bgs? Now is the time to use em. BE VIGILANT. Keep copies of the originals. Go back frequently to look for mistakes or missing details. Keep a check list. Freckles? check. Scar on nose? check. shading???? UHHHHHH----SHIT.

10.)you should probably number the pages. keep em in a nice sized resolution if you want to print but lower it if you’re posting to the internet to dissuade reposters. keep em all in one organized folder if possible. Slap your signature on em for extra safety.

11.) ????? Sell it on gumroad idk.

GENERAL TIPS:

-start with short stories. Build your own stamina.

-have relatable characters with flaws. Tumblr seems to hate “problematic” characters but thats literally the point of character building and narratives. THEY’RE RELATABLE IF THEY’RE FLAWED. If a story doesn’t have characters that conflict with each other its a boring one. Axeman Abel wants to help everyone; Bandit Bill wants to help himself only. LET THEM HATE EACH OTHER.

-its also good to have characters that are friends but still conflict with each other. The Dragon Age series is phenomenal with this (their characters are good in general, take notes!!)

-theres a lot of shitty people out there. USE THEM. (seriously though examine other peoples interactions and you’ll make better characters. )

-bad things happen to good people. Bad things also happen to bad people. Bad things just sort of happen. Don’t shy away from unfortunate events; your story will fall flat without conflict both planned and random.

-Obviously you don’t have to share the same world views as your characters. (dont let the antis fool you.) Axeman Abel can hate broccoli but you can still enjoy it. Bandit Bill can be a racist piece of shit but that doesn’t mean you are.

-have characters of various personality, body type, race, height, etc….it really livens up the story.

-generally you don’t want the bg to overwhelm the characters, so most people do a sort of painterly bg against the solid outlines of the characters but thats all really up to you and how in-depth you want it to be.

-you should also make a regular schedule, if you can. Say, something like “twenty finished pages a month” or “four pages a week” depending on the level of detail. Simplistic style and palettes of course take less time to make than full color/heavily detailed pages, so plan accordingly to prevent burnout. If you post weekly, having a few pages done ahead of time will be good in case you need an emergency break.

-be open to critique but don’t be a doormat, either. ESPECIALLY if you’re doing it for free. People will try to take advantage of you; don’t let them. Block them and move on.

-above all; BE DEDICATED. Comics take a great deal of time by yourself, but doing them helps you develop important skills in the end like time management and general technical know-how like digital programs and writing. It’s not just art, though that’s a major part of it.

-probably should’ve said this earlier but make what you enjoy??? People can generally tell if you dont enjoy your own work. There’s less effort there. 

THIS WAS REALLY LONG SO I HOPE IT WAS HELPFUL IN SOME WAY ILU HAVE FUN BE SAFE OUT THERE

[casscutting]

Best and Worst Reads of 2019

Let’s talk about books baby…

Before I get into my favorite and least favorite reads of 2019 I want to talk about the rating system that I adopted halfway through the year. I now use the CAWPILE method which I got from G. over at Book Roast on Youtube though I’ve changed it some.

CAWPILE breaks down a book into 7 different categories:

C = Characters Backstory Growth Arc Did you feel like you knew them? Were you invested? A = Atmosphere World Building W = Writing Style Did you like the Writing Style? P = Plot Did you like the plot? Were you able to follow it? I = Immersion Did the book keep your attention? Did you want to keep reading? L = Logic Did things make sense to you in the context of the story? E = Enjoyment Did you enjoy this book?

Now here’s where I made changes G. rates each section out of 10 then does some math to make it fit into the Goodreads 0-5 start scale. I, on the other hand, wanted something more simple so I rate my categories out of 5 stars then add each section up then divide by 7 (because there are 7 categories) For example:

Here is my break down of The Young Queens by Kendare Blake, which I loved but wasn’t one of my fav’s of the year.

C = Characters 3 Stars A = Atmosphere 5 Stars W = Writing Style 5 Stars P = Plot 5 Stars I = Immersion  5 Stars L = Logic  5 Stars E = Enjoyment  5 Stars = 33 out of 35 33 devided by 7 is 4.712% which makes my raiting for the book a 4.75 out of 5 stars.

I wanted to start off this post by going over my favorite and least books of 2019, let’s start chronologically with my favorites:

In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire 5 out of 5 stars

This is the fourth installment in the Wayward Children series or novellas. For those that don’t know these books follow children that have made their way into portal worlds like Oz and Wonderland but have for one reason or another been spit back out into our world. The kids usually cant readjust so they are sent to special boarding schools. The one school, in particular, is Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children. The first three played off each other whereas this one we follow a child we haven’t met in other books. If fact this book takes place years before the first three books in the series.

In an Absent Dream follows Lundy, a very serious young girl who would rather study and dream than become a respectable housewife and live up to the expectations of the world around her. As well she should.

When she finds a doorway to a world founded on logic and reason, riddles and lies, she thinks she's found her paradise. Alas, everything costs at the goblin market, and when her time there is drawing to a close, she makes the kind of bargain that never plays out well.

NOTE* I read this book prior to adopting my new rating system but I think my rating would be somewhere between 4.5-5 stars with my new system.

The Savior's Champion by Jenna Moreci 5 out of 5 stars both times with a CAWPILE rating of 35

This is a self-published book that in my opinion would rival any traditionally published work. The Savior's Champion is the first in a series of which I can’t wait for more to come out... This story had me hooked from the first chapter which I read before it came out in 2018. I got this book on Audio and the narrator Nick Denton, who is a sweetheart by the way, is amazing.

This book follows Tobias Kaya doesn't care about The Savior. He doesn't care that She's the Ruler of the realm or that She purified the land, and he certainly doesn't care that She's of age to be married. But when competing for Her hand proves to be his last chance to save his family, he's forced to make The Savior his priority.

Now Tobias is thrown into the Sovereign's Tournament with nineteen other men, and each of them is fighting -- and killing -- for the chance to rule at The Savior's side. Instantly his world is plagued with violence, treachery, and manipulation, revealing the hidden ugliness of his proud realm. And when his circumstances seem especially dire, he stumbles into an unexpected romance, one that opens him up to unimaginable dangers and darkness.

Trigger warning: this novel contains graphic violence, adult language, and sexual situations.

The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons 5 out of 5 stars both times with a CAWPILE rating of 35

This is the first book in a high fantasy series (or trilogy I don’t really know which lol) The story grabbed me right away but it did take a second to get used to because you are following Kihrin through two parts of his life and the story jumps from the past to the present throughout the book. I listened to this book on audio and it was amazing. The THREE narrators (Vikas Adam (Kihrin), Feodor Chin (Thurvishar), and Soneela Nankani (Talon)) were amazing and I only hope book 2 and eventually book 3 will have the same VOA’s

Kihrin grew up in the slums of Quur, a thief and a minstrel's son raised on tales of long-lost princes and magnificent quests. When he is claimed against his will as the missing son of a treasonous prince, Kihrin finds himself at the mercy of his new family's ruthless power plays and political ambitions.

Practically a prisoner, Kihrin discovers that being a long-lost prince is nothing like what the storybooks promised. The storybooks have lied about a lot of other things, too: dragons, demons, gods, prophecies, and how the hero always wins.

Then again, maybe he isn't the hero after all. For Kihrin is not destined to save the world.

He's destined to destroy it.

Now on to the ones you really care about, I know you just skipped to this part…

I only had three disappointing reads this year and one of them was a re-try that I had DNFed when I got the ARC.

Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart DNFed AGAIN

Imogen is a runaway heiress, an orphan, a cook, and a cheat. Jule is a fighter, a social chameleon, and an athlete. An intense friendship. A disappearance. A murder, or maybe two. A bad romance, or maybe three. Blunt objects, disguises, blood, and chocolate. The American dream, superheroes, spies, and villains. A girl who refuses to give people what they want from her. A girl who refuses to be the person she once was.

I first got this book as an ARC back before it came out (obviously)  I got 50 pages in and I wanted to rip my hair out that’s how much I was disliking it. So I thought that maybe Mystery-Thrillers weren’t for me. But now having a few under my belt and I’m liking these genres I’d give it another go especially since some of my favorite book bloggers and booktubers really enjoyed it.

Oh boy was I WRONG. I made it to that same spot and wanted to rip my hair out but I thought no keep going maybe it will get better. Wrong again, the MC was bland and boring and found myself wishing she would adopt a good personality or really any personality at all would be a vast improvement over who she was portraying at any given time. I didn’t care about the plot or her backstory or why she was hiding.

So I DNFed this book for a second time at around 100 pages.

The Umbrella Academy, Vol. 1: The Apocalypse Suite by Gerard Way 1 out of 5 stars

In an inexplicable worldwide event, forty-seven extraordinary children were spontaneously born to women who'd previously shown no signs of pregnancy. Millionaire inventor Reginald Hargreeves adopted seven of the children; when asked why, his only explanation was, "To save the world."

These seven children form the Umbrella Academy, a dysfunctional family of superheroes with bizarre powers. Their first adventure at the age of ten pits them against an erratic and deadly Eiffel Tower, piloted by the fearsome zombie-robot Gustave Eiffel. Nearly a decade later, the team disbands, but when Hargreeves unexpectedly dies, these disgruntled siblings reunite just in time to save the world once again.

This may have been partly my fault because I watched the Netflix adaptation before I knew the source material existed. I LOVED the show, it is hands down one of my new favorites but the graphic novel wasn’t well put together. I have been reading graphic novels and comics my whole life and I know you’re not getting a novel with dialogue and story spelled out for you. I know that there is a harmony between what is written and the art but the artist had to work twice as hard to convey the story. What little written word was there wasn’t the best.

I did like the art style it was fun and really the only thing that kept me going thought out this volume. I won’t continue in the series as far as the graphic novel is concerned but I am highly anticipating the next season of the show.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum 2 out of 5 stars

When Dorothy and her little dog Toto are caught in a tornado, they and their Kansas farmhouse are suddenly transported to Oz, where Munchkins live, monkeys fly and Wicked Witches rule. Desperate to return home, and with the Wicked Witch of the West on their trail, Dorothy and Toto - together with new friends the Tin Woodsman, Scarecrow and Cowardly Lion - embark on a fantastic quest along the Yellow Brick Road in search of the Emerald City. There they hope to meet the legendary, all-powerful Wizard of Oz, who alone may hold the power to grant their every wish.

I grew up with both the movies and had been a huge fan since childhood. The filmmakers took a lot of successful liberties with this story and were able to convey everything so much better than Baum. My least favorite part was the Witches of Oz, the Wicked Witch of the West she seemed more like a stern grandmother than an evil witch, though she had her moments with the Tin Man, Lion, and the Scarecrow.

But I will continue in the series because it is a goal of mine to read them all.

[shadowsong26fic]

Coming Attractions!

No, I did not forget to do this! ...exactly...

I am super late again this month—buuuut I wanted to wait until I’d posted the delayed Precipice chapter, so.

Fanfic:

Precipice:

Sorry, sorry, sorry for all the delays in the last couple of updates—the last two weekends were super-busy, and then last week ended up being slammed at work and my brain just went pfft. Anyway, there will be another update this week/weekend (probably Rex and Leia), and I’ll hopefully meander back on schedule after that.

And I finally finished Commander! \o/ It was a fun arc. I’m very fond of that arc. But…yeah, it’s a long one, particularly given that very little in-story time passes. (Seventeen chapters to cover one very eventful week…)

So, yeah. Lessons is going to be a much quieter arc, something along the lines of Homecoming in terms of content/pacing. Resetting ourselves, establishing our new patterns, etc. Leia starts getting trained, Luke starts helping Mamma at work more, and bonding with Lavinia/actively being the human ray of sunshine he is. Probably Winter will turn up, too. I’m going to try and focus more on the Coruscant/Imperial Center thread this arc, particularly since Commander was so heavily about our Jedi friends…anyway, I’m guessing this will be a relatively short arc (8 or 9 chapters), and not much Drama/not very Plot-heavy. Other than Infernalis introducing himself. (He’s a lot of fun—there’s a bit I have half written where he’s all “yeah, I know Sidious is using me, but a) that’s what sentients do; we use each other and b) I’m using him too and c) I get to do ALL THIS AWESOME SHIT. So I kinda feel like it’s worth it.” Like…I don’t write unapologetic/Always Chaotic Evil/for the LULZ villains very often, but Infernalis is in that mold.)

Also! As of this Thursday, I will have officially been posting this behemoth for a whole entire year. I’m going to do a bonus fic (I’ll probably put up a prompt call post later tonight or tomorrow), and I’m hoping to commission art as well, either a full cover or one or more arc covers (for completed arc(s)). [Eventually, I probably will want ALL of the covers (i.e., main title/all planned arcs); but that’s a long range project because lol budget.]

ANYWAY if you have any specific requests for bonus fic and/or are interested in getting paid to draw pretty things/know someone who does this kind of thing and is open for commissions (since I do not know how to draw pretty things), let me know!

Distaff:

I FINALLY CONQUERED THE OPERA HOUSE \o/ ::throws confetti::

...heh.

Anyway, yeah. So, that’s moving again! Next chapter should not take nearly five months to come out, as it’s a lot less…mmmm…I’m trying to figure out how to word it. The Opera House was hard, because—look, it’s kind of dumb; Anakin is being really really dumb, we make fun of that scene for a reason, but it’s also one of if not the most important scenes in this entire arc? In terms of what Palpatine’s trying to do, I would argue that it’s even more of a key moment than the final revelation in his office some indeterminate time later, after Grievous is killed. Or, at least, it’s a bigger risk—once he gets Anakin past this point, the next one will come much easier.

Plus, you know, having to figure out an alternative Sith Legend™ to throw at her, since Plagueis doesn’t really apply. And Palps’s hand, so to speak, isn’t quite as strong as it is in canon (but, I mean, we’re talking if canon was, like, a straight flush, in Distaff he’s playing four of a kind or a full house; so still almost certainly a win). So there’s all of those factors to consider, too. (Also, it was his POV, which is…a fun headspace to get in, let me tell you, internet. Although whining about that at my ever-patient roommates did lead to me nicknaming him Skeev Palpatine which honestly I’m surprised I hadn’t thought of sooner.)

Buuuuuuut anyway. I make no promises for exactly when the next chapter will be out, but it definitely won’t take quite so long. Should be sometime this month. Fingers crossed, anyhow.

Masks:

…blaaaaaaaaaaaah. I don’t want it to die. I really don’t. On the other hand, I’ve got a whole lot of other projects ongoing, plus RL and all, plus I’m still having trouble getting into ANH!Vader’s head, so…ehhh, IDK. Essentially, I’ve decided that this is really super back-burner for the time being. Possibly I’ll do it in AU Outline form at some point, if I don’t manage a proper update, but for now, it’s on a vaguely-defined “if my brain cooperates” hiatus. I am (probably) locking canon for it as of TFA (meaning it won’t be as much of an In Spite of a Nail AU past that; and more just an…AU AU, if that makes sense?), though, because I like the plot I have. Though I reserve the right to change my mind on that after TLJ. Anyway, I’ll probably stop talking about this one (unless I use one of the spinoff versions of it as an AU Outline or something) until I actually write/post more.

Auxiliaries:

Update will be up very soon! Not a direct continuation of the last bit I posted, because I’m still working on that, but still something! (Ahsoka is involved because I love her.)

AU Outline:

…yeah, I dropped the ball on this one again. It was going to be the Mask of Zorro/California Gold Rush AU No One One Person Asked For, but I need to sit down and watch Zorro again to put that together, and I haven’t gotten around to that. Also, Ventress and her Tiny Time-Travelling Conscience were speaking to me. …well, less them and another thread of that same AU, plus a couple unrelated AUs... Anyway, I’m going to try and put something up sometime in the next couple days. It’ll probably be the continuation of the Ventress and Luke one but we shall see.

Original fic:

…yeah, I didn’t actually write any this month, lol. I’ll do better in October.

Miscellaneous Other Things:

[In a generic list format because why not]

- Epic Crossover RP OF DOOM! I’ll keep posting snippets from time to time, because it entertains me. And my RP partner and I think we’re funny/clever.

- NaNo is coming up next month! I’m probably going to do the same thing I did last year—set myself an ambitious Total Word Count goal for the month, rather than focusing on a single project. Possibly give myself a list of projects to choose from; probably set a minimum amount that must be on original work/not fanfic. More on that when we actually get close, probably.

- I’ll probably do another Open Question Night sometime halfway through the month, because those are always fun.

- …should I do something Special for Halloween? (Like I did holiday bonus fics for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day?) If I did, what would y’all want to see?

Goal Lists:

September Recap:

1. Keep up with Precipice updates.--not so much

2. Opera House.--FINALLY \o/

3. Another Auxiliaries snippet--missed

4. Work on Masks--missed

5. Another crack outline--missed

6. Update Lux and Farglass Cycle archives--someday I will actually do this

7. At least 5k on projects that are not Precipice--not quite, but I think between half-finished snippets and 3k worth of Distaff text I churned out, I got to like 4k or so?

8. At least 15k total on any/all projects--Not quite, no.

9. At least two pieces to Rainbowfic.--Nope.

10. Put some text down on something publishable.--Nope.

October Goals:

1. Keep up with Precipice updates.

2. Update Distaff.

3. Update <i>Auxiliaries.</i>

4. AU Outline--Mask of Zorro fusion and/or continuation of the Ventress one unless something New and Exciting comes up.

5. At least two pieces to RF.

6. Update the Lux and Feredar archives.

8. Write at least 15k total, at least 5k must not be Precipice

9. Write at least 10k on Precipice (bonus fic counts, meta/answered asks do not)

10. Put some text down on something publishable

[mhalachai]

so look i know my blog’s turned into a morass of Yuri!! On Ice in the recent months (not actually sorry about that), less MCU which I assume a lot of you are following me for, and I know I said I’d be working on Hands of Clay over break, which I have been, only I ran into another brick wall with the direction that I was going. 

I had to make the call to chop what I’d written (and shelve a few minor plot angles as a result) as I was in a quagmire. The good news is, since i made that call this morning, I’m back on track and the plot is progressing. 

But since I have no filter, I am putting up the chopped stuff here as an “in between” of Hands of Clay chapter 28, and the upcoming chapter 29, in case you want to read the family hanging out and Clint and Natasha being supercute (and superloud) over lunch.

Before Hands of Clay Chapter 29

Saturday began well enough. Steve, Abraham and Clint showed up at James’ house around noon to drop off their stuff, then everyone walked to the shawarma place Steve had been going on about. In spite of James’ lingering apprehension about something going wrong, the five of them were soon seated and had their food. James was too busy trying to keep the children from making a mess to pay much attention to Steve and Abraham’s conversation; he only managed to eat his own pita once Natasha and Clint were reduced to picking at the remains of their lunch. Steve had been right; the food was really good.

As Steve wiped Clint’s hands with a napkin, Natasha turned to Abraham to voice her desire for ice cream after lunch. James continued to eat his falafel, concentrating more on not getting hot sauce on his prosthetic’s finger plates and less on his child.

“Daddy,” Natasha interrupted as James shoved the last of his pita into his mouth, “Can we have ice cream?”

“You just ate lunch,” James said, reaching for the last clean napkin to wipe hot sauce off his chin. “How about we have popsicles when we get back to the house?”

Natasha crossed her arms over her chest and glowered. “Daddy,” she said in a huff. “Popsicles are not the same.”

James wiped his mouth again to hide his smile. “No, they’re not, but you had a lot of lunch and you’re going to have a big dinner too.”

Natasha glared some more, while Clint cast his saddest expression up at Abraham. “Grandpa Abraham, please,” Clint begged.

“Ah, no,” Abraham said, patting Clint’s cheek. “You heard James. There are popsicles at his house, and we are going there next.”

Clint and Natasha looked at each other, then bent in close for a whispered conversation. James looked at Steve, who had watched the whole conversation fondly from the other side of the table. When he saw James’ eyes on him, he raised his eyebrows. “What?”

“You got any two cents you wanna throw in here?”

“Nah, you’re right,” Steve said, throwing at balled-up napkin at James, who batted it away with his prosthetic hand.

“Can I get that on tape?” James asked, making a show of digging for his phone. “We’ve known each other for how many years and how often do I get to hear that?”

“All the time,” Steve said, laughing by this point. The children had stopped their plotting to stare at the adults. “I said it a bunch when we was kids.”

“Yeah, right,” James scoffed. “When we was kids? Every day was you chargin’ into some new fight and me followin’ along and trying to keep you from getting turned into apricot jam.”

“Daddy,” Clint said in a horrified voice. “Did you fight?”

Steve kicked James under the table. “No, buddy, not like that,” he said. “What James meant was that I used to get into a lot of arguments. No hitting.”

“If you did not fight,” Natasha interjected, “Then why did you turn into jam?”

Steve gave James the stink-eye. “Nat, honey,” James said, “I was using a metaphor.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s when you say one thing to mean another. I was speaking metaphorically.”

“Indeed,” Abraham said, reaching for Clint, who slid off his chair to go around to his grandfather’s side. “When your father came to live with me, he used to argue with everything and everyone.”

Steve’s cheeks went pink. “Abraham,” he said as he ducked his head.

“Oh, it’s true,” Abraham said. He pulled Clint up onto his lap. “Halfway through his first year with us, I told him that he could join the debate team and get school credit if he wanted to argue so much.”

“Did he take your advice?” James asked, staring pointedly at Steve.

“Yeah, about two years after I shoulda,” Steve said. He reached over to ruffle Clint’s hair. “That was me as a kid, couldn’t ever take advice when it was given.”

“What about me?” Clint asked, still looking worried. “Do I have to fight with people?”

“Absolutely not,” Abraham said, pulling Clint into a hug. “You do not have to fight with anyone, ever.”

“My daddy says that best friends fight, sometimes,” Natasha said, looking thoughtful.

“Best friends don’t always agree,” James interrupted. The last thing any of them needed was the children getting into a fight about not fighting. “The most important thing about being best friends is knowing that you care about each other all the time, even when things are rough.”

Natasha rubbed her nose contemplatively. “I don’t like it when I don’t agree with Clint,” she said finally. “It makes me feel bad in my tummy.”

“Me too.” Clint slid to the ground. “Can we go home and eat popsicles and play in the sprinkler? Please?”

“Yes please.” Natasha climbed down from her chair and stared at James expectantly. “Daddy, you said we could have popsicles.”

James heaved himself to his feet, wondering if he had been played by two first-graders. “I did say that, didn’t I.”

It took them a few minutes to leave, after making sure nothing was being left behind. They emerged from the restaurant into the hot Brooklyn afternoon with everything intact, and the children quickly claimed Abraham’s hands to hold on the walk back to the house.

“That was pretty good,” James said to Steve as they trailed along behind the others. “You know, it’s close enough to Nat’s dance studio that we could grab dinner here after class one day.”

“I’m glad you liked it,” Steve said. “My favourite spot is still up in Manhattan near the office, but this is good to.”

“You eat like this often?” James asked.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“With those abs?”

Steve blushed red. “Hey, I spend a lot of time in the gym.”

“Yeah, because you got a job where you can work on the treadmill. I had to join the army to get a deal that good.”

Steve stepped closer to James, bumping his shoulder against James’. “It’s not too bad,” he agreed. “Some days, though…”

“What?” James asked when Steve didn’t continue.

Steve sighed. “It’s just… work, you know? Some days I wish there was a way I could support Clint with my art, you know?” He pushed his hair back from his face. “But there’s not a lot of paying work out there for graphic artists.”

Up ahead, Clint and Natasha were taking turns hopping down the sidewalk, each trying to out-jump the other.

“I’m not complaining,” Steve said after a pause. “It’s a good job. It’s just what I need for Clint and me.”

“Yeah.” James rolled his left shoulder, reaching up to settle the prosthesis’s strap across his chest. “Do you still draw shit in your spare time?”

“What spare time?” Steve scoffed.

James took in the hunch of Steve’s shoulders, the way he wasn’t looking up from the ground, and changed the subject. “What do you want to do when we get back to the house?”

Steve took a deep breath. “If we don’t give the kids popsicles, we’re probably going to have a riot on our hands.”

“How would that be different than any other day?”

Steve finally looked over at James, and he was smiling. “Hey, you want an afternoon of screaming, you go right ahead.”

James rolled his eyes. “Hey, kids,” he called. “What are we gonna do after popsicles?”

“Sprinkler!” Clint bellowed.

“Yeah, I want to go in the sprinkler, Daddy.” Natasha hopped in place until James caught up with her. “I’m going to wear my party bathing suit!”

James let out a dramatic sigh. “Oh, all right,” he said, catching Natasha’s hand and helping her to bounce along the sidewalk. “That sounds like a plan.”

“Grandpa Abraham, you gotta come in the sprinkler today,” Natasha said. “It’s the best and you’re the best.”

“Why, thank you.” Abraham smiled down at the girl. “It is nice to be the best, yes?”

“Yes!” Clint cheered. He grabbed Steve’s hand and swung it wildly. “I like it best because I’m the best Clint ever!”

“Yeah,” Natasha said seriously to Abraham, stopping her bouncing for a moment. “I said to Clint that he is the best friend in the whole world, and it’s true.”

Abraham patted Natasha on the shoulder. “I agree with you,” he said. “I think Clint is the best in the whole world.”

Clint grinned as big and wide as the sunrise.

The rest of the walk back to the house was full of the children’s’ chattering, and soon everyone was entering the dim and blessedly cool interior of James’ house. James send the kids upstairs to charge into their bathing suits while Steve vanished into the bathroom.

“Ah, what a hot day,” Abraham said as he took off his vest, leaving him in his long-sleeved shirt. “You know, not many Germans like the air conditioning, but since we moved to New Jersey, I like the chill.”

“Agreed.” James emptied his pockets onto the sideboard, pushing Natasha’s inhaler into its usual spot. “After I got back from Iraq, the heat just gets to me sometimes.”

“Yes, Iraq.” Something in Abraham’s voice made James look at him warily. “Steven has told me that you were in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

James nudged a quarter back towards the haphazard pile of coins. “Is that a problem?” he asked, cringing internally at the defensiveness in his voice.

“No, not at all.” Abraham’s expression was neutral, like far too many doctors James had seen in the years since losing his arm. “Does it bother you that I know?”

James shook his head. “I mean, I was in the Army, and with this,” he gestured with his prosthetic, “Anyone could guess I didn’t get an easy hitch Stateside.”

Abraham’s face shifted out of professional blankness into something more real, softer and a little sad. “When I was a child, a very young child, there were many men in our town who had come back from the war missing pieces of themselves.” He moved to the kitchen sink, reaching for a glass in the drying rack. “It was a very strange time and place to grow up. It made Marta and myself happy to have our girls grow up in America.”

James leaned against the counter, not sure if he was supposed to ask Abraham more about growing up in East Germany. Were they at that point yet? Or was James just supposed to nod?

Thankfully, the children saved him. Clint and Natasha burst into the kitchen, clad in their swimsuits and ready for action.

“Daddy!” Natasha shouted. “It’s sprinkler time!”

“It’s popsicle time!” Clint bellowed.

“Kids, jeeze, use your inside voices,” James chided. “Popsicles first. But outside!”

The children darted forward to pull at Abraham’s hand. “Grandpa Abraham!” they screeched in chorus. “Come eat popsicles with us!”

“I will come with you,” Abraham said, letting himself be pulled along to the back door. “But careful, I do not want to spill my water.”

“I’ll be careful!” Clint promised.

“Me too!” Natasha chimed in.

James dug around in the freezer for the box of popsicles, noting distantly that he would need to stock up on frozen vegetables soon.

“Hey,” Steve’s voice floated into the kitchen. “Why’s it so quiet in here?”

James straightened up. “The kiddos kidnapped your dad,” he said as he tossed the popsicles onto the counter.

“He likes them.” Steve walked across the kitchen to James’ side. “And he likes you.”

“Well, good.” James put his arm around Steve’s shoulders. “I figure once the kids get sugared up, we get ‘em with the sunscreen and let ‘em loose until it’s time for snacks.”

“Sharon just texted me, she’s going to be here at three.” Steve rested his forehead against James’ hair. “Thanks again for all this, Bucky.”

James held Steve close, sinking into the feeling of safe and warm he felt when he was with Steve. “Hey, anything for my favourite guy.”

Steve leaned back, his eyebrows raised in a question.

“I’m talking about Clint.”

Steve shook his head. “Whatever you say, jerk-face.”

“Butt-head.”

“Bird-brain.”

James slapped Steve’s arm. “It’s too bad that fancy college education of yours didn’t do anything to improve your vocabulary.” He picked up the popsicles. “Get the sunscreen, will ya?”

James headed outside, to find the children and Abraham sitting on the porch stairs, in the shade of the building. Clint and Natasha looked up at James eagerly. “Popsicles!” Natasha pleaded, holding out her hands.

“Manners?”

Natasha rolled her eyes with five-year-old irritation. “Popsicle, please?”

“Yes, please!” Clint chimed in.

“That was very polite,” James said gravely. He handed over the popsicles, then settled himself on the top step to supervise as the children ripped into the wrappers.

“Grandpa Abraham didn’t get one,” Clint observed around his purple popsicle.

“Ah, but I do not want one,” Abraham explained. “I have my water here.”

“And Grandpa Abraham is an adult, and he can help himself to anything he wants,” James added.

“When do I be an adult and eat all the popsicles I want?” Natasha asked. Already, red drops were melting onto her hands, arms and belly. James was inwardly grateful that she was wearing her purple bathing suit, that would show no stains.

“When you’re sixteen.”

Natasha giggled. “When I am sixteen, I will drive a car!” she declared.

“What about you, Clint?” Steve asked as he emerged from the house. “What are you going to do when you’re sixteen?”

Clint crunched on his popsicle as he considered. “When I am sixteen, I will go to the Olympics,” he said. “And I will shoot arrows, and I will win all the ribbons.”

“I don’t think they’re going to have the Olympics that year, buddy,” Steve said as he sat down next to James. “The summer Olympics are going to be in 2028. You’re going to be fourteen then.”

Clint shrugged. “Then I’ll go then and win all the ribbons then.”

“I’ll go with you,” Natasha promised. “I will cheer for you!”

and that’s it k more in the real chapter 29 soon

[deitiesofduat]

DEITIES Updates 5/7/17

Heyyyy everyone~ It's been a while since one of these update, hasn't it... oTL

I've been meaning to write a proper update for the DEITIES blog this month, and while I had mentioned some of what I've been up to in this last ask reply, I'll try to expand on the more relevant topics here!

Most information will be under the cut, but TL;DR this update will cover the (almost) end of my semi-hiatus; progress with the main and prelude stories of DEITIES; plans for Worldbuilding June 2017; the upcoming Patreon for DEITIES and my other artwork; and other updates and plans for DEITIES Project and the blog.

END OF SEMI-HIATUS (N-not yet, but soon…)

As the post regarding the semi-hiatus had mentioned, I hadn't planned to end it any earlier than the end of May / beginning of June. And with all that's been happening the past few months, I think it'll be best for me to stick to that initial estimate. Once I finish the bulk of my obligations this month it'll be a little easier to breath and return focus to my artwork and DEITIES progress, and with keeping the blog a bit more active.

Having said that, I'll admit that taking this hiatus was probably a good call. I've missed updating the blog, but it helped that I took time away from it without fretting over staying active. I was able to revisit other personal artwork and interests, had time to handle some personal struggles, and have been making some necessary (but positive??) adjustments to different areas of my life, both online and offline.

While I'm still figuring things out, I'm feeling more at ease and I'm in a better place than I had been 3 months ago. And I thank everyone for being patient and bearing with my MIA-ness during this time.

As for DEITIES, my motivation to continue working on it hasn't diminished; in fact I'm feeling more energized to work on sharing updates with it soon. But I have been using time to reflect on how to keep everyone updated and engaged with the project, while simultaneously focusing on creating the comic for the main story -- both of which I enjoy, but also each take a lot of time and attention as an independent creator. Which bring me to the following updates:

MAIN STORY + PRELUDE PROGRESS

Even tho I hadn't had much art to share on the blog during the semi-hiatus, I did keep to my goal of making significant progress on  drafting the story for DEITIES, albeit not in the way I expected. Before the hiatus, I was at about the halfway point with the main story, and when I went back to revisit it, I realized I needed to adjust my approach. So I spent some time re-formatting my longer synopses into more digestible outlines -- something that seems more intuitive in hindsight, but that I had never really learned or practiced, before.

While doing so, I was able to make a few changes to the storyline and even figured out how to fix a few roadblocks / potential plot holes I was stumped on -- at least, so far. I even managed to draft out the ending chapters of the story -- which would be SUPER EXCITING if I still didn't need to work my way thru the remainder of the middle so the plot makes sense o)----< But at this point, I can say that the story's draft is about… 3/4th done?? And if I can keep up my momentum I can hopefully finish it this summer, if not sooner.

As for the prelude -- for those just tuning in, DEITIES has a prelude comic in the works -- a way for me to practice the process of creating a shorter comic before diving into the larger one. Unlike the main story, the prelude's first draft IS more or less completed, but it needs heavy revision, esp with the changes I've made to the main story. It'll get worked on soon tho, and hopefully I can start moving to thumb-nailing, and then page-making, soon!

WORLDBUILDING JUNE 2017

Yep, it's nearly that time of again~ My run from last year's Worldbuilding June was one of my more productive months in 2016 for sharing written and drawn worldbuilding notes for DEITIES verse. I'm hoping I can do it again this year, not only to complete some long-overdue notes, but to also update older notes and complete some missing/placeholder artwork -- even redraw a few of them if I find the drive and time!

For now, I want to complete at least two new sets of written notes -- “Divine Regalia and Weapons,” and “The Was Scepter” --  and all artwork that comes with it, but if I can get to more notes and artwork in that time, I'll do so! It'll depend on how much free time I can afford while I work on another large project in June -- one that I’ve considered for quite some time, but that I've finally decided was worth starting...

UPCOMING PATREON (~JUNE 2017)

Guess I might as well share this too haha >> The idea of starting a Patreon to help support my work on DEITIES has been on my mind for a while, but I wanted to wait until I had the project well established first, and had gathered enough interest. I also wanted to be sure I had the means and time to offer decent incentives to those willing to become a patron, as a thank you for the extra support.

During my hiatus, I had time to revisit the idea, as well as observe other creators launch their campaigns and watch how they managed their patreons. I eventually realized it would be more ideal to start my own patreon campaign sooner rather than later, so I'd have the time to practice and learn the interface. And by supplementing my art with a bit monetary support, I'd be able to more easily prioritize time to work on my general art and DEITIES Project.

For anyone who's concerned about missing out on things because you’re unable to make a pledge at this time, please don't fret! I've never obligated anyone to make donations to DEITIES Project, nor will I require donations to view artwork that I already share. Patreon will simply be a way to allow supporters to enjoy a few extra perks, including but not limited to: early access to viewing my art (and eventually, comic pages from DEITIES); WIPS and progress shots of said artwork; and some visual and written notes for the story that I normally don't post online! There will also be some milestone I'll set that will not only unlock more rewards and tiers, but also allow me to provide more art and content online, for everyone to enjoy!

This pitch is very simplified from the one I'm working on for patreon, but I'll save the details for later this month / beginning of June -- which will be more than likely when the patreon will "soft launch" for the first few months as I restore activity to the blog during Worldbuilding June (meaning, patrons will get to see artwork and notes early as I work on them o)9). Once it goes live, I hope you'll all consider pledging early to help support me and the project, and with spreading the word, which will be greatly appreciated!

OTHER UPDATES 

It's been a while since I've mentioned it on the blog, but the DEITIES Spotify has had some playlists updated with new songs -- though you may have to look thru the tracklists to see which ones they are >> Off the top of my head, Set's Masterlist and the Set & Sobek Masterlist have been updated with some notable tracks, with the other playlists adding new tracks here and there.

I also still have about 3 other playlist in the work, I've just lacked time to makes decent covers for them. That, and one… well actually maybe 2 of the upcoming playlists also veers into nsfw-ish territory (lyrics-wise, not the cover lmaosdjflksdf), so I'll be sure to mark it and mention it as a heads up. But as a comparison, if you can comfortably listen to the two aforementioned playlists above, these next ones should be fine~ Just use headphones--

Meanwhile, updates on the DEITIES Instagram have slowed a bit, as I work on drafting the story and the patreon, but they will resume once I kick myself to draw more pencil sketches in general. Chances are some pencil sketches will be shared on IG after I share the finished artwork on patreon and the blog, but they’ll still remain available for all followers to view.

Annnnnnnnd I think I’ve covered the bulk of things? From now until the end of my hiatus, I’ll continue building the patreon, drafting more of the story, and prepping for Worldbuilding June, as well as making a few tweaks to the blog here and there. As usual, the DEITIES Askbox is still open for any general questions or comments about the blog, characters, or story.

Until then, thanks again to everyone for your interest in this project and your patience with my absence (and with skimming this update haha) -- I can’t wait to return with more progress on DEITIES Project soon!