#like for example here in the posting thing everything is in english which makes no sense

[broke-on-books]

☕

The live action Scooby-Doo movies?

I did not see this ask until RIGHT now (first time on desktop since crab day, second time since Nov 5 2020 [which was DOUBLY experience since I got my phone taken the same day]) so I'm going to assume this ask got eaten on mobile because tumblr, HOWEVER you poked a bear with this ask anon (as I'm sure you knew when asking) SO without further ado: my Scooby Doo live action opinions

So when you say 'live action Scooby-Doo movies' I'm assuming you're talking about the James Gunn films, starting with Scooby-Doo (2002) followed by Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, just due to like, generally popularity and also the fact that I have actually seen those films. However shoot another ask if you wanted me to include Curse of the Lake Monster in this (because I will if anyone cares and turn this into a live-action scooby dissertation, i'd just need to like. watch the movie first) But anyways where I'm going with this is that this post is about the Gunn movies aka the ones with SMG, Freddie Prinze Jr., Linda Cardellini, and ofc our #1 man, Matthew Lilliard.

Okay so my take on these movies is... complicated. I wouldn't say it's as complicated as my feelings towards SDMI, because I watched the live actions way less as a kid and generally care less about them, but still no matter how much shit I throw at these two movies there are parts that I generally like (even love) that stops me from totally condemning them wholesale. Like the fact that these movies are FUNNY! There's so many moments from this duology that are just beyond iconic "like, that's one of my favorite names!" the whole thing with Scooby in the dress at the airport, ET. CETERA (like I can go on!)

The Gunn movies are genuinely SO fun and I can 100% see and understand how they've stood so well in the public view as a representation of Scooby. HOWEVER, this is where you start to see my problems with them. For the general American, (because that is the audience I'm familiar with) ESPECIALLY millennials and younger, who happen to make up the majority of both people on this site AND people I talk about Scooby with in real life, these movies, and the elements they introduced as "quintessential scooby tropes" are the base of their understanding of the Scooby franchise, along with likely some miscellaneous WAY episodes and maybe SDMI.

Which is where I get pissed off. In the pushing of the narrative of "breaking away" from the Scooby norm, Gunn basically invents (aka totally makes up) an idea of what classic era Scooby was like, cementing an idea of classic Scooby into the public mind that is totally disingenuous and just straight up false. For example, in attempting to portray Daphne as having taken strides to be seen more seriously in solving mysteries and defending herself, it pushes the narrative that in the classic era she WASN'T taken seriously, and only existed as a damsel-in-distress prop of a character, which is just not true??? Like yes, Daphne is clumsy, that's a part of her character, and her friends (because, fun fact, the gang ARE friends) joke about it sometimes because that's what friends DO. Framing that in some kind of sexist "that's all she does" lens is just total bull, especially as gang members fall into secret passageways/get lost etc. in WAY ALL THE DAMN TIME because that's how the plot functions! Like are we calling Velma ditzy for losing her glasses every other episode? Of course not, and Fred falls into passageways all the time, not to MENTION Shaggy and Scooby and all they get up to. Also one last thing on the topic of Daphne, like this idea of her mystery solving skills not being respected by the gang is just so supremely bullshit it amazes me sometimes, especially when she was the LEADER (or leader adjacent) through pretty much all of her appearances in the 1980s [Not that James Gunn could look at '80s era Scooby without spitting on it, but I digress]

AND THIS IS JUST DAPHNE! Like the perceptions pushed towards Fred (and Velma, but mostly Fred) through these movies are just as bad! Like okay, with Fred---In these movies Fred is just an asshole. I hate Gunn Movies!Fred. I mean yeah he can be funny but it's almost always so mean! Almost nothing makes me madder than a mean Fred by the way. If he's putting other gang members down (even halfway, like with his whole "dorky chicks like you turn me on too" line, which... ew) then to me something has gone very, very, VERY, wrong in your basic understanding of Frederick Herman Jones as a character. Like he's the cheerleader! He puts himself in between his friends and danger! He loves nets, and traps, and Elvis impressions, and wrestling, and the trapeze, and cars, and most of all he LOVES sharing the things he loves with his friends! (Sometimes to a bit of an extreme. No one wants to hear about your net facts, Fred) And the live action movies just don't understand that at all. And I know there's maybe something to say I suppose in that some of those aspects of his characterization hadn't been "established yet" by the time "Scooby-Doo" came out in 2002. But it's there if you look. For Fred Jones, being the leader means being the caretaker, (he's the Mom friend what can I say) and any version where he's cruel and arrogant and just DOESN'T CARE about his friends in the way he's shown to in the Gunn movies is just so far from Fred to me it's not even funny. And what makes it even worse for me is that this (or at least something similar) is the idea of Fred that has really spread to the popular culture. Just the "leader", the jock that makes the rules, the one that [insert X adaptation here] finally gave a personality and made interesting (something that has been said more times than I can count for pretty much every gang member, save Shaggy and Scooby).

And I haven't even touched on Velma, and how they gave her a bit of a early 2000s smart superiority girl complex against Daphne, plus the whole makeover thing and etc. etc. The Gunn Movies are pretty much what would happen if you took someone who hadn't seen Scooby since they were 7 years old (and honestly had a pretty negative outlook against it then) and tried to "fix" it, only his memory was so bad he just made up problems (and threw in a good helping of early 2000s style sexism with it) convincing pretty much the entirety of the popular culture that said problems exist and that Gunn was absolutely brilliant for fixing them (and then bringing up said "problems" whenever anyone wants to talk about Scooby) and this entire rant has been without even fucking MENTIONING what is probably the reason you, anonymous tumblr user sent this ask in the first place, to I, Swishy "Scrappy Doo Redemption Arc" Broke-on-books (dot tumblr dot com), which is his HIGHLY SUCESSFUL and utterly sadistic character assassination of my number one man, Scrappy Doo.

And I am going to try my damnedest here not to get totally into my highly passionate opinions over what James Gunn did to Scrappy in the first of his Scooby movies and how thoroughly it has pissed me the fuck off because I have been writing this post for over an hour now and if we start to really get into my feelings on this topic it will certainly be a couple of hours more but like. That Fucking Bitch. I give James Gunn personally a solid eighty-five percent of the blame for making my life as a Scrappy Doo fan UTTERLY unbearable with this stupid fucking movie alone, and just his Scrappy crimes would honestly be enough for me to say that I hate this movie, not even considering the numerous Scooby crimes I've been talking about here for the past million paragraphs, but the part about this movie that makes me the MOST mad the most pissed off is that it's actually a good fucking movie. James Gunn wrote two hilarious and entertaining movies that have become beloved in the popular culture for their successes in that arena, while at the same time pissing all over the core themes and messages of the franchise of which it was based, that of friendship.

TLDR; The Live Action Scooby Doo movies (written by James Gunn) are highly entertaining and fun pieces of media to watch, and are widely loved by the general public and looked at with fondness and nostalgia because of that. However, as a hardcore Scooby Doo fan (writing that phrase sounds so ridiculous but oh well) the existence of these movies and their impact on the popular culture can be extremely frustrating (despite any personal nostalgia said fan may have) due to their spreading of a misinformed picture of what "typical Scooby Doo" looks like. This picture is especially frustrating due to the fabrication or exaggeration of problems present in classic Scooby (such as sexism in regards to the girls), as well as giving more ammunition to other problems in Scooby fandom (such as oversexualization, and sexualization in general, which no one wants to see in regards to their children's cartoons, like HONESTLY.) Discussions of sexism and sexualization in Scooby (both of which ARE present and are issues, although not at their worst in WAY) can often lead to an overlooking of the issues that are very present and clear in WAY and have continued since then with far too little resistance (I'm 100% talking about the racism here) HOWEVER that topic deserves at least a dozen posts of its own that I am no way informed or qualified enough to even begin to think about writing. The Gunn Movies are frustrating to many longtime Scooby fans because of these reasons, but for me, and fellow Scrappy Doo fans there is also the added aspect of the demonization of Scrappy Doo in the live action movies and the affects that has had on the popular culture as well, making it uniquely inhospitable to like or enjoy the character of Scrappy. End post.

[aroaceofthesea]

Ive had my phone in english for a while but i changed it back to catalan today and apparently i have tumblr in default language but tumblr doesnt have catalan and damn this is a mess

[an-spideog]

Don't Use Duolingo if You Really Want to Learn Irish

That title is a bit dramatic, but I really don't think that duolingo is a useful tool for Irish, especially in its current state, so I want to talk a bit about why, and I'll also talk about some alternatives.

Pronunciation

The first and most egregious issue is that at some point recently-ish, duo decided to start using Text-To-Speech for their Irish course, rather than recordings of a native speaker. The problem here is that their TTS is not trained on native speakers of Irish and pronounces words incorrectly. It doesn't make consistent distinctions between broad and slender consonants for example.

Irish has no standard pronunciation, so I understand how it can feel weird to choose just one dialect for the purposes of pronunciation (the old recordings were from a speaker of Galway Irish), but having just one dialect is much better than TTS which sounds like a learner, imagine if they had TTS for the French course which sounded like an anglophone schoolkid trying to pronounce french, and claimed they were teaching you how to speak french!

Grammar

Duo tends to be correct on grammar at least, which is a start. But often people using it get very confused about the grammar because duo doesn't explain any of it. I think there's a place for immersion in language learning, and I don't think everything has to be explained like that, but within duo's system of sentence testing and exercises like that, not having any explanation for why it's "mo chóta" and not "mo cóta" can be really confusing. Duo used to have more grammar information, it's a shame that they removed it, I wonder why they did it.

Money and Motivation

Duolingo is a business, and their motivation is not to help you learn a language 'fully', but to keep you using their app and hopefully have a higher chance of sharing it with others, competing with others, buying or causing others to buy memberships or lingots or any other in-app purchases.

I don't want to make it out like duo is some big conspiracy and they're tricking people, I don't think that's the case, but it's good to remember that their primary motivation is to keep people using the app, rather than help people move to a level in a language where they don't need the app anymore.

Keep this in mind whenever you see people trying to sell you stuff for language learning.

Why do people use Duolingo

I do get it, and I don't want to make anyone feel bad for using duo, there's a ton of reasons people tend towards it at first 1. It's really well known, so especially if you're learning a language and haven't heard of other resources for it, you'll check duolingo 2. It's very motivating for a lot of people, checking in every day and forming that habit is a really good way of sticking with a language 3. It's fun, people enjoy it

If you use it for reason 3. and you still like it, then don't worry about this post, I'm not trying to yuck anyone's yums, keep having fun!

If you use it for reasons 1. or 2. you can still keep using it if you like, but I want to suggest some other things which you might find helpful in trying to get to a higher level in Irish.

Other Resources

To address the pronunciation issue, I'd heavily recommend you disregard the pronunciation in duolingo, if you're looking for more reliable sources of pronunciation, I'd look towards recordings of native speakers, you can find that on:

Teanglann and Foclóir (they use the same recordings)

Fuaimeanna

and a really useful and underused one: https://davissandefur.github.io/minimal-pairs/ where you can hear the difference between similar sounds that English speakers often mix up in Irish.

A lot of people like duolingo because it's nice to have a clear path forward, a progression that you can get into without too much decision-making. For this I recommend getting a good textbook or course and working through it, the ones I'll recommend also have native speaker audio on them.

Learning Irish by Mícheál Ó Siadhail, this book teaches Galway Irish, not just in pronunciation but in grammar too. It's quite dense but it's well thought out and well explained.

Teach Yourself Irish (1961) this book is available for free online, and is a really good option if you're interested in Cork Irish (Munster), and have some experience with grammatical terminology. I used this book myself and really liked it, but it's very intense and not for everyone. (If you do end up using it, feel free to skip the appendices at the start, they're more of a reference and sometimes put people off from actually getting to the first chapter. Also if you have any questions about it or need any help just let me know.)

If you want a video course, there's a great course called "Now You're Talking" which is available for free online, along with audio files and worksheets here. It features Donegal Irish and leads into the more intermediate level course called Céim ar Aghaidh also available online.

There's other textbooks that I have less experience with (Buntús na Gaeilge, Gaeilge/Gramadach Gan Stró, etc.) but if they work for you, stick with them, there's nothing worse than not making progress because you keep switching resources trying to find the "perfect one"

Whether or not you continue to use Duolingo, I would really really encourage you to try engaging with media in Irish. People often shy away from this when they're learning because they don't feel like they're "ready" yet. But you basically never feel like you're ready, you just have to try and find something near your level and try to get comfortable with not understanding everything. This is where you learn a huge portion of the language, you hear how things are pronounced you see what words mean in what contexts, getting input in your target language is so important!

I know content can be kind of hard to find, so I'll make a few recommendations here: There's a wealth of content available for free online (more if you're in ireland but some internationally) on TG4 If you're still starting out, I'd recommend trying to watch some kids shows since they'll have simpler language and will be easier to follow. I wouldn't recommend using English subtitles when you watch them. Some good options include:

Dónall Dána: an Irish dub of Horrid Henry, silly and childish but the actors have good Irish and importantly the show has Irish language subtitles, they don't always match but if you're still beginning and can't necessarily get everything by ear, they're really useful. (Mostly Galway Irish)

Curious George: another dub, again with Irish language subtitles (I can't remember what dialects were in it off the top of my head but I'd assume mostly galway again)

Seó Luna: No subtitles, but a good option if you're aiming for Munster Irish, the lead character has Kerry Irish

Miraculous: No subtitles but a better show than most of the other kids' ones and more bearable to watch as an adult (Mostly Galway Irish)

Ros na Rún: Moving away from kids shows, a long running soap opera, this has Irish subtitles and a really good mix of dialects within the show. If you're finding the kids shows boring or too easy I'd really recommend it, but it can be complex because of the amount of characters, dialects, and plotlines. I'd recommend starting at the beginning of a newer season and just trying to catch on to what's happening as you go.

There are a lot of books, if you live in Ireland you can get nearly any Irish book for free from a library, so please check out your local library or request some of these from other libraries in the system:

There's a series of fairytales (Rápúnzell, Luaithríona etc.) by Máiréad Ní Ghráda which are illustrated and for children, which are a really good option for when you're just starting out reading

There's kids books about Fionn and the Fianna by Tadhg Mac Dhonnagáin

There's a cute little kids' book in Kerry Irish about a cat named Mábúis

Leabhar Breac has a lot of graphic novels, some of them based on Irish mythology, some on other stuff. The fact that they're illustrated can make it a lot easier to follow even if you don't understand all the words at first.

Gliadar has just released their Scott Pilgrim translation

If you're looking for something a bit more advanced you can look at some of the books for adult learners by Comhar, they contain simplified language and glossaries but have full original adult stories.

And if you're wanting full, natural, native-level Irish there's a load of books by those same groups, and others like An Gúm, Cló Iar-Chonnacht, Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne, Éabhlóid, Coiscéim, and more.

And don't shy away from older books written in Seanchló either, they can be more challenging but it's a whole extra world of books

If you're trying to improve your listening comprehension, I definitely recommend listening to shows on Raidió na Gaeltachta, hearing native Irish speakers talk at full speed is really good practice. But I get that it can be overwhelming at first. Here are some things you can do as you build up to that:

Watching those same TV shows I mentioned without subtitles is a good way to build up listening skills.

Vifax is a website where you can practice listening to short news segments and answer questions on them, then getting to look at the transcript with notes afterwards.

Snas is kind of the evolution of vifax, now using clips from both the news and Ros na Rún.

I really hope that this post can help people move away from duolingo if they're looking to take their Irish learning to the next level, if you've got any questions, just let me know!

[damienns]

My GIF Making process: Screen capturing using MPV player, Organizing files, 3 Sharpening settings, Basic Coloring PSD + Actions set

This is a very long post so heads up.

I’ll try to be as thorough and true as much as possible to the way I make my gifs (I already use Photoshop Actions which I’ve long since set up but now for this tutorial I’m reviewing them to show you the exact steps I’ve learned to create my gifs 😃) and present them to you in a semi-coherent way. Also, please bear with me since English is my second language.

First things first. Below are the things and tools we need to do this:

Downloaded 4K or 1080p quality videos (let’s all assume we know where to get these—especially for high definition movies and tv series—so this post doesn’t get removed, okay? 😛)

Adobe Photoshop CC or the CS versions can work as well, but full disclosure I haven’t created gifs using the CS versions since 2020. I’m currently using Adobe Photoshop 2024.

mpv player. Use mpv player to get those frames/screenshots or any other video player that has a screen grabber feature. I’ve used adapter for the longest time but I’ve switched to mpv because the press to screenshot feature while the video is playing has been a game changer not to mention ultimate time saver for me. For adapter you need to play it in another video player (like VLC player), to get the start and end timestamps of the scene you want to gif which takes me ages before I can even open Photoshop.

Anyway! Please stop reading this post for a moment and head over to this amazing tutorial by kylos. She perfectly tells you how to install and use mpv player, both for Mac and Windows users.

One thing I have to share though, I had a tough time when I updated my MacOS to Sonoma since MPV is suddenly either duplicating frames or when I delete the duplicates the player seems to be skipping frames :/ I searched and found a solution here, though it didn’t work for me lol. My workaround for this in the meantime is decreasing the speed down to 0.70 then start screenshotting—it’s not the same pre Sonoma update but it works so I’ll have to accept it rather than have jumpy looking gifs.

Now, after this part of kylos’ tutorial:

you can continue reading the following sections of my gif tutorial below.

I want to share this little tip (sorry, this will only cater to Mac users) that I hope will be helpful for organizing the screenshots that MPV saved to the folder you have selected. Because believe me you don’t want to go through 1k+ of screenshots to select just 42-50 frames for your gif.

The Control + Command + N shortcut

This shortcut allows you to create a new folder from files you have pre-selected. As you can see below I have already created a couple of folders, and inside each folder I have selected screenshots that I want to include in one single gif. It's up to you how you want to divide yours, assuming you intend to create and post a Tumblr gifset rather than just one gif.

Another tip is making use of tags. Most of, if not all the time, I make supercorp gifs so I tag blue for Kara and red (or green) for Lena—just being ridiculously on brand and all that.

Before we finally open Photoshop, there's one more thing I want to say—I know, please bear with me for the third? fourth? time 😅

It's helpful to organize everything into their respective folders so you know the total number of items/frames you have. This way, you can add or delete excess or unnecessary shots before uploading them in Photoshop.

For example below there are 80 screenshots of Kara inside this folder and for a 1:1 (540 x 540 px) Tumblr gif, Photoshop can just work around with 42-50 max number of frames with color adjustments applied before it exceeds the 10 MB file size limit of Tumblr.

Sometimes I skip this step because it can be exhausting (haha) and include everything so I can decide visually which frames to keep later on. You'll understand what I mean later on. But it's important to keep the Tumblr 10 MB file size limit in mind. Fewer frames, or just the right amount of frames, is better.

So, with the screenshot organization out of the way, let's finally head over to Photoshop.

Giffing in Photoshop, yay!

Let’s begin by navigating to File > Scripts > Load Files into Stack…

The Load Layers window will appear. Click the Browse button next.

Find your chosen screenshots folder, press Command + A to select all files from that folder then click Open. Then click OK.

After importing and stacking your files, Photoshop should display the following view:

By the way, I'll be providing the clip I've used in this tutorial so if want to use them to follow along be my guest :)

If you haven't already opened your Timeline panel, navigate to Windows > Timeline.

Now, let's focus on the Timeline panel for the next couple of steps.

Click Create Video Timeline, then you’ll have this:

Now click the menu icon on the top right corner then go to Convert Frames > Make Frames from Clips

Still working on the Timeline panel, click the bottom left icon this time—the icon with the three tiny boxes—to Convert to Frame Animation

Select Make Frames From Layers from the top right corner menu button.

So now you have this:

Go and click the top right menu icon again to Select All Frames

Then click the small dropdown icon to set another value for Frame Delay. Select Other…

The best for me and for most is 0.05 but you can always play around and see what you think works for you.

Click the top right menu icon again to Reverse Frames.

I think Photoshop has long since fixed this issue but usually the first animation frame is empty so I just delete it but now going through all these steps there seems to be none of that but anyways, the delete icon is the last one among the line of feature buttons at the bottom part of the Timeline panel.

Yay, now we can have our first proper GIF preview of a thirsty Lena 😜

Press spacebar to watch your gif play for the very first time! After an hour and half of selecting and cutting off screenshots! 😛 Play it some more. No really, I’m serious. I do this so even as early (lol) as this part in the gif making process, I can see which frames I can/should delete to be within the 10 MB file size limit. You can also do it at the end of course 🙂

Now, let’s go to the next important steps of this tutorial post which I’ve numbered below.

Crop and resize to meet Tumblr's required dimensions. The width value should be either 540px, 268px, or 177px.

Convert the gif to a Smart Object for sharpening.

Apply lighting and basic color adjustments before the heavy coloring. I will be sharing the base adjustments layers I use for my gifs 😃.

1. Crop and Resize

Click on the Crop tool (shortcut: the C key)

I like my GIFs big so I always set this to 1:1 ratio if the scene allows it. Press the Enter key after selecting the area of the frame that you want to keep.

Side note: If you find that after cropping, you want to adjust the image to the left or another direction, simply unselect the Delete Cropped Pixels option. This way, you will still have the whole frame area available to crop again as needed and as you prefer.

Now we need to resize our gif and the shortcut for that is Command + Opt + I. Type in 540 as the width measurement, then the height will automatically change to follow the ratio you’ve set while cropping.

540 x 540 px for 1:1

540 x 405 px for 4:3

540 x 304 px for 16:9

For the Resample value I prefer Bilinear—but you can always select the other options to see what you like best.

Click OK. Then Command + 0 and Command + - to properly view the those 540 pixels.

Now we get to the exciting part :) the sharpen settings!

2. Sharpen

First we need to have all these layers “compressed” intro a single smart object from which we can apply filters to.

Select this little button on the the bottom left corner of the Timeline panel.

Select > All Layers

Then go to Filter > Convert for Smart Filters

Just click OK when a pop-up shows up.

Now you should have this view on the Layers panel:

Now I have 3 sharpen settings to share but I’ll have download links to the Action packs at the end of this long ass tutorial so if you want to skip ahead, feel free to do so.

Sharpen v1

Go to Filter > Sharpen > Smart Sharpen…

Below are my settings. I don’t adjust anything under Shadows/Highlights.

Amount: 500

Radius: 0.4

Click OK then do another Smart Sharpen but this time with the below adjustments.

Amount: 12

Radius: 10.0

As you can see Lena’s beautiful eyes are “popping out” now with these filters applied. Click OK.

Now we need to Convert to Frame Animation. Follow the steps below.

Click on the menu icon at the top right corner of the Timeline panel, then click Convert Frames > Flatten Frames into Clips

Then Convert Frames > Convert to Frame Animation

One more click to Make Frames From Layers

Delete the first frame then Select All then Set Frame Delay to 0.05

and there you have it! Play your GIF and make sure it’s just around 42-50 frames. This is the time to select and delete.

To preview and save your GIF go to File > Export > Save for Web (Legacy)…

Below are my Export settings. Make sure to have the file size around 9.2 MB to 9.4 MB max and not exactly 10 MB.

This time I got away with 55 frames but this is because I haven’t applied lighting and color adjustments yet and not to mention the smart sharpen settings aren't to heavy so let’s take that into consideration.

Sharpen v1 preview:

Sharpen v2

Go back to this part of the tutorial and apply the v2 settings.

Smart Sharpen 1:

Amount: 500

Radius: 0.3

Smart Sharpen 2:

Amount: 20

Radius: 0.5

We’re adding a new type of Filter which is Reduce Noise (Filter > Noise > Reduce Noise...) with the below settings.

Then one last Smart Sharpen:

Amount: 500

Radius: 0.3

Your Layers panel should look like this:

Then do the Convert to Frames Animation section again and see below preview.

Sharpen v2 preview:

Sharpen v3:

Smart Sharpen 1:

Amount: 500

Radius: 0.4

Smart Sharpen 2:

Amount: 12

Radius: 10.0

Reduce Noise:

Strength: 5

Preserve Details: 50%

Reduce Color Noise: 0%

Sharpen Details: 50%

Sharpen v3 preview:

And here they are next to each other with coloring applied:

v1

v2

v3

Congratulations, you've made it to the end of the post 😂

As promised, here is the download link to all the files I used in this tutorial which include:

supercorp 2.05 Crossfire clip

3 PSD files with sharpen settings and basic coloring PSD

Actions set

As always, if you're feeling generous here's my Ko-fi link :) Thank you guys and I hope this tutorial will help you and make you love gif making.

P.S. In the next post I'll be sharing more references I found helpful especially with coloring. I just have to search and gather them all.

-Jill

[axiina]

I saw your post about writing for Coriolanus Snow Andi was thinking classic enemies to lovers nsfw I’ll give you free liberty with everything else 💕

'I hate you' is new 'I love you'

Pairing: Coriolanus Snow x capitol!reader (gender neutral afab)

Summary: When your professor tells you to come to an agreement with your enemy, and you take 'come' too literally.

Words: 3.2k

Themes: smut, nsfw

Warnings: using of 'you' to reader, set before events of tbosas so no actual spoilers, more like academic rivals to lovers but they want to fight at some point so I guess it counts, NSFW | public sex (or more semi-public), unprotected sex (wrap it before tap it), p in v sex, kinda toxic but it's enemies to lovers, more like enemies who fuck, Coryo is pretty rough and possessive, marking, making out, idiots in love but they prefer fighting with each other

Author's note: I found some free time between studying, so I decided that I can no longer delay. English is not my first language so i hope that i didn't do too much mistakes. It is possible that a single "she" or "her" will appear here because I changed the concept during writing and I do not know if I got rid of everything. Let me know whether to stay with the use of 'you' or maybe replace it with personal pronouns or 'y/n'. I hope it's not written very awkwardly and you will like it!!

Coriolanus Snow is a peculiar person. Most people love him. Nice, classy, handsome and rich from a wealthy family. What more could one want? However, one of Coriolanus' traits that everyone seems to turn a blind eye to is his two-facedness. Some say this is merely a symptom of his cunning and wits. He knows when and how to behave to make his counterpart happy. You are not one of those people. Saying that you and Coriolanus Snow don't like each other is a huge understatement. You guys hate each other. From the very beginning when you both met at the academy it was known that you would cause a lot of problems. Too much of a character difference, or perhaps too much of a similarity between the two. However, this is not what is crucial. Whatever it is, it makes you two most likely to kill each other if you could. Every move you make you do to screw each other up. To prove who is better.

Professor Satyria's pleas for you to finally come to an agreement are of little use. The conflict must go on, and neither of you has any intention of giving up.

You like the way things are working out. At first, Snow was annoying and you didn't understand how people couldn't see him for what he really was. Fake. Now he is still annoying, but getting under his skin has become a sort of routine. Quite a pleasant one.

"You have to get along with each other and set a good example as rightful citizens of the Capitol, otherwise the Academy will draw out the consequences."

Professor Satyria's words continue to ring in your ears as you get ready to go home after finishing classes and doing punishment work. On the one hand, you don't want something as silly as arguing to weigh on your future, but on the other hand, reaching out to agree is like admitting you were wrong. Failure.

"Wherever I am you must also appear. Are you obsessed with me?" Behind your back, you heard a familiar, annoyingly kind voice, in which you could sense some arrogance. You groaned turning around to see no one else but Coriolanus.

"Don't you have anything better to do? People are finally getting tired of your idiocy?" Your words, however, did not budge the blond. His expression remained unchanged. One that might make most people think he is a nice person. You, however, have known him long enough to see right through it. Perfect. Too perfect.

"We need to talk. A positive outcome for both sides. It will interest you." Well, the threat of Satyria. He is the first one to extend his hand for agreement. Where is the trick? You look at him suspiciously without saying a word, and so Snow takes it as a sign that you are thinking about the proposition. "Do you have free time? Maybe we could go out somewhere together?"

The suggestion makes you burst into laughter. "With you? No thanks, I'll pass on this pleasure."

Coriolanus is not surprised by your answer. He knew it wouldn't be that easy. Accepting rejection, however, is not his strong point. He is annoyed by your behaviour, but he bites his tongue to avoid responding in the same spiteful way. Instead, he doesn't give up.

"I know we were never on good terms, but I want this war between us to end. I hope we can put behind us all the bad things that happened between us and start fresh. What do you think about this?" he says, sounding quite sincere.

"Let me think." You say and sigh, pondering the answer, which is obvious, but you can't let go of a little malice. "No."

The expression on Snow's face became more serious. It seems that your refusal offended his pride. But he doesn't show it in his tone of voice.

"Why not?" he asks and you notice how he clenches his jaw and his gaze becomes unpleasant.

You enjoy the view and it fills you with satisfaction. "Because you think that with a pretty face and fake politeness, you can get anything. Maybe it works with others, but I'm not that stupid. Additionally, you are damn annoying. That's why."

The expression on Snow's face becomes dark. Typical when he fails to get what he wants. His usual tone is completely gone. His face is twisted with anger. He still tries to maintain a polite voice. The attempt fails.

"Do you want to repeat it?" he asks through his teeth. It's obvious that you've hit one of his sensitive points. That was the plan.

"Exhausting, isn't it? Hiding behind the mask of a nice and put-together boy from a highly placed family who is a veritable ideal is tiring, isn't it?" A mockery can be heard in your voice. Coriolanus is very sensitive to it.

"What do you think you know about me?" He asks through clenched teeth, his tone no longer artificially polite, it is filled with rage. Your mockery has really gotten to him. He tries to calm down, but it's all in vain. Coriolanus has never had problems with self-control, but something about you makes him ready to abandon everything. You manage to get him off balance with ease. In his head, he has one plan. To destroy you.

"Do you think you pretend so well?" You burst out laughing and shake your head. You know you shouldn't say such things. The academy is practically empty, and Coriolanus's angry enough can be unpredictable. However, you can't help but point out everything that annoys you about him. "It's actually quite easy to see what kind of person you are. You look at people with disgust, but when they look in your direction, you suddenly change dramatically. how fake you are to everyone. I wonder how they don't see it. How empty and shallow you are."

"You don't know anything about me!" Snow shouts at you, his face twisted with rage. He is barely able to control himself. He doesn't even try to hide it anymore. He stares at you with hatred in his eyes.

"Don't you dare assume that you know everything about me. You don't know me one bit. You don't know what my life is like. Don't think so highly of yourself. You aren't better than me." He continues, his voice getting louder with every word he says. You really hit his sensitive spot.

"I don't know everything and I'm not going to pretend otherwise. For me, the most important thing is acts, and in your case, they are fake and two-faced. You despise people, and you yourself are at the bottom." Irritation takes over. You know that at any moment you can say one word too many if you haven't already. However, someone has to talk it all out for him. Adrenaline makes you take a step closer to the upset boy without considering the possible consequences.

Snow seems to be on the verge of a breakdown. His fists are clenched and his eyes are wide open with rage. He is breathing hard, trying to control himself. He's not used to being treated this way by anyone. He has come this far over the years, solely because of himself and what role he has taken in society. You really succeeded in hurting his pride. "I warn you right now. Don't mock me any further."

"Why? What will you do? hit me? do it, I dare you. Then everyone will see how "perfect" you really are." You know the situation is starting to get dangerous. However, you come closer. It's stupid, you know it, and yet you do it. Maybe it's the way his reactions give you satisfaction, or maybe it's the way he looks at you.

You can see the hatred oozing from his eyes when they are locked on yours. His face is full of rage, his breathing heavy and his muscles tense.

He takes a step toward you with a clenched fist. You can see his knuckles turning white. He grabs you and presses you against the wall, his body against yours.

A second later, you feel him pressing you against the wall tighter than before, and his hand grips your throat.

You feel the warmth of his breath on your lips. Your heart is pounding as if it wants to jump out of your chest. You feel a strange sensation in your lower abdomen. His eyes are cold, yet they make a pleasant shiver run through your body. His face is right next to yours, flesh pressing against yours. It was a matter of split seconds as you two pressed your lips to each other in an aggressive and hungry kiss.

He returns the kiss, wrapping his free hand around you. He seems to enjoy the kiss as much as you do.

You can feel his body trembling as he still tries to keep control of his overwhelming emotions, or maybe it's because of the situation you're in.

The two of you kiss aggressively. Snow's body shakes as he fights between his desire and how much you get on his nerves. You feel how rough but passionate his kiss is.

He draws you closer and your bodies press against each other. The friction of your bodies makes you uncontrollable over the muffled whimpers you make. You feel the bulge forming in his pants rubbing against your body.

The situation seems hazy, and only fragments register in your mind. How you both enter the bathroom without stopping your hungry and clumsy kisses, and your hands work to get rid of clothes that only makes it difficult. How Coriolanus presses your body against the wall slamming his hips against yours.

All this is to express yourself and give vent to all the negative emotions you have been holding for years.

Snow's body is now almost completely controlled by his emotions. His movements seem full of hatred and at the same time passion. He just wants to express himself using his flesh to claim you as his own.

You feel as if you are on fire, your body moves and reacts according to your desires. The tension that has built up between you for years is finally released, and it all comes out as raw passion.

His fast and aggressive movements make the place where your bodies meet burn in a pleasant way, and you think to yourself that it will be a miracle if you walk normally tomorrow. His dick stretches you nicely and his movements make your inside sting slightly. It's not a problem for now. Not now when your legs are wrapped around his waist and the only sounds you can make right now are moaning and repeating his name like a mantra.

Your body trembles at how rough his movements are, but you don't care now. The most important thing for you now is to show him how much you hate him. A broken moan leaves your lips when he reaches deeper.

Coriolanus feels your legs tighten around him. He moves slower now but is more passionate and rough. He holds your hips tightly, not caring if it is uncomfortable for you. His lips move to your neck, where he bites as if he is trying to unload all the emotions you are causing you this way.

His hips buck firmly against you. Each thrust makes your body more tired and aching but at the same time, it makes the whole experience even more pleasurable. If someone told you that you would end up having sex with your biggest rival in the academy bathroom, you would laugh in that person's face. There you are, panting, with your arms around his neck when Coriolanus Snow is abusing your cunt sensitive from too much friction.

Coriolanus brings his lips closer to your ear. His warm and irregular breathing makes a shiver go through your body. "Do you like it when I claim you as mine?" He purrs, his voice still filled with desire.

"I hate you, I hate you so much," You exhale in a trembling voice that takes a lot of trouble to keep from cracking. You bite and suck at the smooth skin of his neck, leaving there dark marks. "I hate you, Coriolanus Snow."

"I hate you too," Snow says with a low growl as he continues to hold you. He bites your shoulder, leaving marks on your skin. His moans are muffled by your skin, which he touches constantly, as if afraid that at any moment you might escape and leave behind only a faint memory.

You hate him, but you enjoy him. You are pleased when he takes you as his own. You are excited when he uses your body. You feel his passion and desire through his body. You feel his raw passion and it's hard to hate him now.

"oh go to hell" You hiss and bite your lower lip to stop your moans, feeling him moving faster.

He doesn't care if he hurts you or not. All he cares about is that you belong to him right now. His hips slam against yours in an aggressive peace. The bathroom is filled with sinful noises because you don't even think about the fact that someone might come in and hear them.

"you may have already fallen in love, but with me, it's not so easy" A trembling laugh leaves your lips. You feel your head getting foggier and foggier. It's hard for you to put together a meaningful sentence, "but you're doing a good job" a loud moan leaves your mouth. you close your eyes and throw your head back "mmm my sweet toy."

He hears your moans of pleasure, and his eyes close with a smile. He has won and he knows it. Snow always lands on top. He presses you against the wall with his body even tighter. His movements become more sloppy and deeper as if he wants to bury himself inside you. His body trembles as his lips leave broken moans and whimpers.

Passion is so strong that you can almost forget about hatred. You can almost fall in love with Coriolanus Snow. Almost. But you know that what you feel now is only lust, and you know that it's all temporary.

Not him. Not the arrogant boy whose whole life is based on lies. Not that boy who doesn't care about anyone. Not that boy with a beautiful face and mesmerizing blue eyes. Not him.

You press closer to his body, almost clinging to him as a wave of pleasure sweeps over your body.

Coriolanus lets out a raspy throaty moan feeling your walls pulsate around him. His voice is low and shaky. He doesn't seem to notice anything except the way you cling to his body. He moves faster and harder, making sure he satisfies you completely.

Snow is fully immersed in feelings. He can't think clearly or rationally. He only knows that he has to claim you, that he has to satisfy his needs. He wants to feel you and make the most of the situation. All his thoughts and desires are focused on you. His hip movements speed up as he reaches the climax. He hides his face in your neck to muffle his moans. His body stiffs as he comes inside you.

Your arms wrapped around his neck, while his wrapped around your waist. you cling to each other, still not making contact with the real world as your breathing slowly calms down.

What happened in that bathroom is over, they both return to reality. Snow steps back slightly and helps you stand on your own two feet. He looks at you with heavy eyes. All the emotions he had been hiding inside him had finally been released.

He has won and he knows it. He has succeeded. But what now? Was it really worth it? This is not a question for now. Coriolanus does not look far into that future with his thoughts.

You look at each other in silence. Slowly you begin to realize what you have done and now you look at each other awkwardly and somewhat panicked.

Coriolanus is the first to break the silence. His cheeks are flushed and his breathing is faster. The passion he felt a minute ago still lingers in his heart, something he tries to hide from you. He looks at you with a somewhat absent and uncertain gaze

"Do you think we should forget what just happened?" He tries to make his voice sound normal as if nothing had happened.

"Definitely." The words leave your lips before you have time to think. You stare at each other in silence for a few more moments and begin to quickly put on your clothes.

Snow is surprised at how quickly you agree with him. He needs to make sure this is the end of what just happened between the two of you, so he adds.

"If anyone asks, it never happened." He now looks at you with a somewhat panicked expression on his face.

"You don't have to tell me," you scoff, buttoning your shirt, "if you tell even one soul, I'll kill you, I swear."

Coriolanus looks at you with small amusement while fixing his jacket. "I hope you won't become obsessed with me after this."

"Maybe in your dreams," you say with a slight smile fixing the collar of his shirt. " you better be careful that you are the one who will be lost in memories of me." Before you leave the bathroom you stop in front of the mirror and fix your uniform and hair. Coriolanus smiles for a moment but then quickly clears his throat and tries to look cold.

You both come out of the bathroom, look at each other and part your lips, as if to say something to each other, but you look at each other in silence "Now everything is back to normal. We can still hate each other," you say, but this does not improve your mood at all.

"It never happened," Snow says trying to look you in the eyes, wondering if you're thinking about it too. He wonders if what he feels is real, or if it's just a moment of passion.

"Never" You agree by nodding your head. Your gaze goes down to his mouth. As you look into his eyes again without a moment's thought you move closer to him and press your lips to his in-hungry kiss. He kisses you back wrapping his arms around you to bring your body closer.

You parts away after some time and you both catch your breath for a moment after this passionate kiss. Coriolanus is completely consumed with passion and there is nothing in his mind but you.

You move away and nod to each other as if you have just made a deal and each is walking in your own direction in a much better mood.

Maybe that's not exactly what Professor Satyria meant when she said you two should come to an agreement, but it certainly worked.

[gloriousdreamerland]

Wait for me?

Pairing: George Weasley x Ravenclawn! Fem! Reader

Warning: Bullying (not by George ofc); Insecurities; Bad english and bad writing (really bad)

Words: 3.2K

Autor notes: I've never posted my fics here, or anywhere, i'm kinda nervous. They're so cute it makes me sick

Synopsis: Angelina and Fred are tying the knot and suddenly Y/N has to face unresolved feelings for George, which is even worse considering she never told him they are soulmates. 9 days of partying are more like 9 days of torture, hopefully she will survive, only if he stops giving her a heart attack every five minutes.

I know i'd go back to you - 01

“I hope you find someone who speaks your language, so you don’t have to spend a lifetime translating your soul” -Thema Bryant

    “Careful with your head”

    “What about my head?” Y/N said as her head got hit by a loose board from the front door “Ouch!”

    “Told ya” Angie chuckled as we entered her childhood home. What a way to get off on the right foot. “Dad really needs to fix this door before the wedding”.

Normally, Y/N wouldn't mind spending her summer with the Johnson’s, actually, that would be a good way to spend her time, she loved them dearly and grew up visiting this house since her Hogwarts years.

Even though they were sorted in different houses, Angelina in Gryffindor and Y/N in Ravenclaw, their friendship has stayed strong. Y/N was the shyest between them, but her courage steak was what put them together, practicing quidditch together, sneaking out to Hogsmeade together, damn they even fought a war together��

“Look, the Weasley’s are already here, but don’t freak out” She said as she grabbed her friend’s arm, trying to comfort her or trying to prevent her from bolting. Who knows.

   Unfortunately, they also got their soulmates in the same family.

“Why didn't you warn me sooner?!” she whispered in exasperation. Maybe Angie wasn’t actually getting married, maybe this was all some sorta of intervention. 

   Most people would love to have their soulmates in the same family as their best friends, why wouldn't they, but her case was particular. You see, Y/N used to have the fattest crush on George Weasley, aka her soulmate and groom’s twin brother, and that would be a good thing, only if she didn’t embarrass herself in every and any opportunity possible.

   Stuttering every time they needed to do a project together? Done, Hitting the wall every time she heard him laugh? …Done, Trying to show-off every time he’s around only to do everything wrong and feel stupid afterwards? Also, sadly done.

   What also didn’t help her useless highschool crush was her friends: Angelina Johnson, Bride and traitor and Katie Bell. Y/N love her friends to death, really, her best moments were around those two, they’re are one of the strongest,smartest, prettiest and brightest woman she ever meet, and considering what they’d done to “help” her and her love live, probably the shameless woman this town has ever seen.

   Any method you could think to get you friend close to her crush they probably have not only done, but maximized it to it’s scandalous potential, for example, putting a feet in so she would fall gracefully in his arms so he would finally see how pretty she is, only for Y/N to miss it and fall head full on the ground.

   Explaining what happened to Madame Pomfrey was so damn weird, at least they got a laugh over it, even Y/N after getting over it. Kinda.

   And, what’s worse to a girl trying to ignore falling head over heels to someone untouchable? Said person being one of the most caring people in the world. It would be easier if he was a dick, but, of course he isn’t or else she wouldn’t like him this much.

   If you asked anyone in Hogwarts who George Weasley was, they would probably tell you all about his pranks and how he and Fred are glued to the hip, for Y/N, somehow she got to see a sweeter side of him, don’t get me wrong, she found his pranks funny, most of the time, laughed at his jokes and though he always got even hotter when he smirked, omg who said that, although, she loved even more when he waited for her when all of the friend group was walking ahead, or when he got her candy, never those disgusting flavors, he always somehow got her the good ones, or how he never let her fall in quidditch, or even when he used to make jokes to get her off from the spotlight, knowing how much she hated it, and for a while she thought she had a chance, till it got too much for her to handle.

   Some people, disgusting unfunny people, used to make fun of her and her mannerisms, then adding all those times she embarrassed herself in front of him, it became too much then she bolted, not from him although, Hogwarts Y/N wouldn't ignore him even if she wanted to, she didn’t have it in her, but she started to ignore her feelings and wait for the day she would finally get out. She didn’t change her mind even when she got her soulmate mark, a firework shaped like a heart, and noticed it was the same as George’s. The girl actually felt kinda sad for him, between all the people in the world he got her as soulmate, he couldn’t be more unlucky.

   Then the war came and all her feelings were put on the sidelines for the sake of her survival and the others. The afterward was also bittersweet, not only the Wizard world needed to be rebuilt, but also Y/N. She moved to her childhood town in the muggle world, got a job, got a boyfriend here and there, none of them lasted though,  and tried to leave the past where it belonged. All this time it was enough, her friend told her the new gossip from time to time, but she always did her best to forget everything that could bring her to her past self, George included.

   So why on earth was Angie torturing her like this?

   The day she got her soulmate mark was a special day to Angelina Johnson, who found out her crush, Fread Weasley, was also her soulmate. They were always sicking cute together, true partners in crime, sorry George, they got together so many years ago Y/N couldn’t even remember a time where they weren’t a thing, so it wasn’t a surprise when some months ago Angie called her in the middle of the night to tell her all about her new shiny ring, and it definitely isn’t a surprise to be there for the week to finally see the vows.

   But hearing that the groom’s family was already here was definitely a surprise that Y/N’s poor heart was taking hard.

   “Look i know it wasn’t what was planned, but eventually you would have to meet him” Angie guided the girl in the house like she hasn’t stayed there since they were 11 “And, didn’t you say you were oh so over him?” Angie side-eyed her.

   “I did!” Y/N flushed seeing some of Angie's family members looked up to see who just shouted “I did, i am over it, but i would be even more over it if i came prepared”

   “You wouldn't need “preparing” if you were” her friend refuted. A traitor honestly.

   Angie was always like this, brave to the core, a true gryffindor, definitely not Y/N.

   “Girl calm down, you didn’t even let me say hi to your mom, i don’t want to be a rude guest” The witch untangled her arm from Angie’s and started searching to miss. Johnson and an incredulous Angie hunting after her not so behind. “They can wait for a bit you know, and your wedding is a week away, shouldn’t you be talking to his family instead of-” Thung, she turned a corridor and fell on someone. She really should look where she goes. “Shit, i’m so so sorry, i was just-” She said looking up to the poor soul who happened to be in her way.

   Holy crap

   She absolutely needs to look where she goes if she wants to survive this week.

   His red hair is longer from the last time she saw him, his arms stronger and he shouldn’t be allowed to be so damn prettier after all this time. Hogwarts Y/N’s poor little heart would have stopped at his sigh, but not grown Y/N’s, she will wear her grown up pants and will show Angie and her giggles, that she thought Y/N didn’t her, or simply didn’t care, that she is way better than little Y/N.

   “Damn, L/N, i see you’re still the same” George Weasley looked her up and down at her and smirked. Even his smile is prettier?! 

   “Uh- I- I- Just-” So. Damn. Embarrassing. Y/N took a deep breath and tried to get her shit together. “I was talking to the bride here. Didn’t see ya, sorry.” She tried to give him an unaffected smile. Keyword: Tried.

   “Y/N here was going to say hi to my mom then we would go after you guys, hi George” Angie smiled and hugged her brother-in-law.

   “Hey, Angie” he greeted her “Always glad to see Y/N, or fall on her” The bride giggled at his joke. Even though he said it to her, his eyes were on Y/N. 

   “Is Fred with your family? I haven’t seen him in a while”

   “He’s with mum outside, I saw him just now”

   “You’re one step from marrying him and even now you guys are glued to the hip” Y/N teased her friend. With a grain of truth however, they should really ease up on the PDA.

   “Can’t wait to spend a whole week trying not to see them all over each other.” George chucked. “Y/N let’s run away, forget the wedding”

   “Miss. Johnson and your mom would notice. There’s no escape fear” She said dramatically, forgetting for a second all the nervousness. George does have that effect on her.

   “If you guys were with your soulmates, you wouldn't be so bitter, lonely, and single.”

   “I’m sorry? I can pull anyone” No. She definitely can’t pull anyone. Especially her soulmate.

   “if You say so…” Angelina’s eyes went dangerously between her and him with an idea forming in her head. “I better go searching for my dear fiance. George, could you help Y/N with her luggage? She’s staying with Katie.”

   “No!” Y/N flushed looking like a deer caught in headlights “I- I mean, let him rest Angie, i’ll be fine”

   “Don't sweat it” The man picked up the luggage she dragged here like it was nothing. “Let me help you and let Angie go find her fiance, or else i think she’s going to have a breakdown” George joked, earning a slap in the arm before Angie went to find her lover, all while Y/N stood there, cheeks almost the same color as a tomato.

   “You don’t have to do that”

   “I know”

   “Really you can go with her, i’ll be fine.”

   “I want to help you”

   “But- don’t you want to be with your family? I bet they-”

   “I’ve spent enough time with them, -” He placed his hand on her back, guiding her to the staircase that led to the bedrooms. Her heart raced so fast with the sudden closeness that she almost missed what he said next “and I missed you, ya know. Didn’t you miss me?”

   “I really did” she showed an honest smile. “It’s been a year since the last time, right?”

   “Way too much time, although I missed you since the first week. Show me the way?” 

   She couldn’t catch a break.

   Y/N shouldn't have gotten that letter, the one that invited her to Hogwarts. If she didn’t accept the letter she wouldn't have met George, or Angelina, wouldn't have made a fool of herself so many times in front of her soulmate and wouldn't have to attend this wedding, and definitely wouldn't be feeling like sixteen again.

   She’s dramatic like that.

   Can you blame her? It’s been exactly 6 hours since she got into the Johnson’s household, and in those 6 hours, it seems like George has made it a mission to go after her. Some years ago she would be glowing with such attention, nowadays? not so much.

   The worst part is that she can’t say no to save her life. Fight a war? Count with her, say no to the redhead with bright eyes? uh-, what she didn’t notice is that she wasn’t that bothered with it, much to her dismay, quite the opposite. But it's a long way to go before she starts to see that she didn’t hate it, just the feeling of being vulnerable.

   Feelings apart -disgusting really-, she will finally catch a break tonight. After greeting Molly, who has the best hugs in the world and definitely the source of George’s sweetness, the older woman mentioned that tonight they would visit a family friend in the city and probably wouldn't make it to dinner. So, for now, it’s just her and the Johnson’s.

   “Sweetie, could you put the juice jar on the table, please?” Miss Johnson asked her.

   “Sure!” Y/N got the jar and some cutlery beside Ms. Johnson “Where is Angie?”

   “She’s helping her dad fix the door, David has been procrastinating since February” She stated “I think they’re almost done”

   Obeying the woman, Y/N put the table in the dining room. When she was 11 she used to think people didn’t really have a dining room, back home you eat in the kitchen or in the living room, so when she came to this house for the first time she was shocked. Y/N always knew money wasn’t a problem for her friend, she always had nice clothes, torn uniforms got fixed the next day, and especially: She always got the good candy in the train, but she didn’t know they were really well-off. 

   The woman took a seat in the middle of the table so there was enough space for the rest of the family, even though space wasn’t a problem now that the Weasley’s were probably, read definitely, eating out. So it was a surprise when mis.Johnson entered with her daughters and husband with a stack of plates in hands while mr. Johnson carried the diner.

   “More plates? Molly said they were going out to eat”

   “Just a backup if they can make it to diner”

   And just when she let her guard down, Murphy's Law has never been so true.

   Knock! Knock!

   Then the house was invaded by a horde of redheads.

   “Molly, dear! Have a seat, we were just getting started!” Ms. Johnson gave Molly a hug then took her seat at the table.

   Change of plans, but it's okay, not considering her thing, or the lack of it, with one of the sons, she actually enjoyed the Weasleys company. They really are a funny bunch.

   “You can’t believe who we encountered downtown!...”

   Y/N smiled to herself watching the family catch up. She really likes them.

   “Can I have a seat?” George, appearing out of nowhere as expected, asked her, mentioning the empty seat beside her.

   “Yes!...Well uh- no” Always the charmer.

   “For a second I thought someone beated me to it” He smirked and she didn’t think much of it -except how this makes him even more handsome. Nothing new, really-. “Have you already visited the town?”

   “Sadly no, i was kinda tired from the travel”

   “Not using the wand, i see”

   “I felt like using the plane, who doesn’t love the feeling of throwing up when you're on your way up there, right?” George chuckled at her joke.

   “You really should visit the town, it’s our only escape from all this wedding thing” he whispered the last part, like it was some sort of secret between them.

   “They’re so damn sickly sweet” She whispered while looking at the loving couple at the other side of the table, entering the plot “Disgusting, really”.

   “We really should run for the wheels, right?” She didn’t even think before saying that, then George’s smirk turned a little more sweet.

   “Totally, they’ll never find us. I’ll make a distraction then you make a run for it, i’ll meet you there.”

   “You really gave it a thought, Wesley” She teased him. This confidence really came out of nowhere.

   “I’ve been dreaming of it even before getting here, just you and me-” Something seemed different in his words, maybe a softness in his eyes that she still didn’t get, but, to any outsider, it would be clear that his wounds held a bit of truth. “And a city far away. Far away from my brother and our friend exchanging saliva in front of a crowd.”

   “Could you remember we are eating and not make me throw up in front of everyone? Thanks” She faked disgust. Well, not faked, but exaggerated, then turned her attention to Ginny on the other side of the table, sitting close to the potatoes. “Ginny, could you pass me these please?”

   “Sure Y/N” She smiled and passed her the potatoes, but, before she could catch it, George took it from his sister, took some potatoes, then passed it to Y/N.

   “Here Y/N, for you” The girl rolled her eyes with a smile as his sister looked at her in disbelief.

   “Thanks, George” She put some on her plate and returned to eating.

   “Are you Ginny?” The redhead asked her brother. “I heard Y/N asking for Ginny”

   “Don’t be jealous over potatoes, dear sister. There’s enough for everyone”

   While the brothers started bickering, Y/N backed her attention to her food. Angie’s mom is probably one of the best cooks in the world, but don’t let her mother or ms. Wesley hears that.

   Soon enough, the family has finished eating and some have started getting ready to go to their rooms.

   “Angie, could you clean here for us, please? my back is killing me”

   The woman clearly didn’t want to, probably wanted to spend more time with her new in-laws, especially with her fiance. Y/N being the good friend that she is took action.

   “Don’t worry ,ms. Johnson, I'll clean up here” She smiled at them and her friend’s face clearly showed her gratitude.

   “Oh dear, even being part of the family you are a guest, you took a long flight, go rest.”

   “I can help her, ms. Johnson, you guys can go rest.” He stood beside her then put a hand on her shoulder. Oh, the butterflies are back.

   “In that case, i guess i’ll be leaving the kitchen in your care, don’t let Y/N sleep too late. Good night family” She said while leaving the room.

   Fred showed up beside George, his smirk almost identical, but obviously more sarcastic.

   “Dear Georgie, is helping clean the dishes? Back in our flat he’d never-” Before he could finish, George shoved him by the shoulder.

   “You should go find your wife-to-be, maybe after five minutes with you off her back she finally noticed that you’re the less attractive twin” He bantered. Fred listened to his twin and left to go after Angie while muttering something that didn’t reach Y/N’s ear.

   “Let’s go, Y/N?” Just when she felt like she had gotten used to it, he goes and rushes her little heart again when he puts a hand dangerously close to her hip, guiding her to the dining room.

   It’s gonna be a long week.

[talon-dragonbeast]

Anglocentrism in alterhuman communities: ramblings of a Spanish-speaking dragon and a cat

[original in spanish here, though i have no doubt that this version will be disseminated more widely] • [original en español aquí, aunque tengo la certeza de que esta versión se difundirá más ampliamente]

this post was originally written as part of The Sol System's Alterhuman Writing Challenge. written by @talon-dragonbeast, with the help of my sibling @watcherwingedcat. we hope you like it!

word count: 2422

This writing, which is more of a rant with myself than a proper essay, is one I've been meaning to write for a long time; ever since I first joined an online community, to be more precise. Anglocentrism, according to Wikipedia (and yes, the irony of the article not being available in Spanish is not lost to me), is "the practice of viewing the world primarily through the lens of English or Anglo-American culture, language, and values, often marginalizing or disparaging non-English-speaking or non-Anglo perspectives."

If you are monolingual and your native language is English, chances are you have never stopped to think about the advantage this gives you over those of us who are not so fortunate as to be born with the lingua franca on our lips. Yes, you may have had to study some Spanish in school, but let's be honest, very few people remember what they learn in elementary school. As an English speaker, the whole world is built for you, and it's the rest of us who have to fit your mold. Culture, scientific articles, movies, books, video games, the internet, online communities, technical language, educational videos: even in the most international spaces, everything revolves around English. Which brings me to the subject of this writing: The Alterhuman community.

My name (as I am known on the internet, at least) is Talon. I've been a member of the alterhuman community, and more specifically, the otherkin community, for a little over a year now. Otherkin (a word that comes from other, in Spanish otros; and kin, shortened form of kind, in Spanish tipo) are people who identify as nonhuman in some way. For example, I identify as a dragon (among other things), and that's what I am, even if I look human on the outside and am perceived as such. There are many reasons why someone might believe they are not human, but I'm not here to discuss that, so let's get back to the topic at hand.

Since I've been in this community, I haven't written a single post in Spanish. And not for lack of desire, nor because I am intimidated to share something as personal as my mother tongue. No, the reason is simple: The community does not exist in any language other than English. By this I don't mean that there are no non-humans outside of England or the United States, because of course there are (even if they are on other platforms like TikTok or Instagram), and I'll talk about those later. But simply put, the reason you don't see many alterhuman communities in other languages is because all the resources, the introductions, the chronologies of the (English) alterhuman community, the definitions of the terms, the terms themselves, everything is in English.

I have always been bilingual. Well, trilingual actually, although my third language is not too relevant in my day to day life and I only use it in classes or when someone starts a conversation in the language. It's hard to explain how your brain works when you speak multiple languages fluently, but basically it's like running two parallel systems at the same time, but with thoughts. I don't usually think with words, but when I do it usually happens that some of my thoughts are in Spanish, and others in English, roughly in a 50/50 ratio. Or it can also happen that I start the thought in one language, but finish it in another. Or I may try to use a specific word in English that does not have an exact translation into Spanish, so that when translated literally the sentence does not make sense. Basically, everything I write or say out loud I have to run it through several filters first, one to remove the words from the other language, one to find the words to replace them with, and one to make the sentence make sense. Sounds exhausting, doesn't it? It is. Now imagine if in order to express yourself as you really are, in order to participate in a community with beings who understand and accept you like no other, you had to basically suppress half of who you are, all the time.

The problem is not only not being able to use my native language to express myself. As I have demonstrated in the last year and a half that I have been in this community, I am fluent enough in English not only to be understood when I speak, but also to express such complicated concepts as the self, human nature, the psychology of being, and all that comes with existing as nonhuman. The real problem comes when I try to express relatively common alterhuman concepts in my native language. I'm not just talking about labels like otherkin or therianthrope, which can be adapted to Spanish with relative ease. It's the little things, the simplest things.

For example, the term shift. The word itself is already difficult to translate; during my searches, I found a glossary of terms on the Otherkin Hispano website in which they call them "desplazamientos", which... is an accurate translation, I guess, but impossible to use comfortably in everyday life. There are also terms whose definitions use expressions that simply cannot be translated into other languages. For example, otherkin and otherhearted. In English, the difference between these two terms is that otherkin means "[to] identify as" while otherhearted is "[to] identify with". But this is a purely English expression. In other languages, the distinction does not exist, or it makes no sense to use it; therefore, these terms are totally inaccessible to any international user. Or compound words like "catkin", which are difficult to express in other languages. According to Otherkin Hispano, in Spanish it would be said as is without translation, Soy catkin. But that... is not grammatically correct, since it would be mixing two languages in the same sentence. The most appropriate would be to say Soy gatokin, which sounds wrong and doesn't make sense anyway, because kin is still an English word. Or "hearttype", which in Spanish could be roughly translated as "tipo del corazón" (kind of [the] heart). When saying that you have a specific hearttype, for example "corvidhearted", one way of expressing it could be a simple Soy corvidhearted, which carries the same problems as catkin. Or you could, as Wikipedia advises, say Soy corazón de córvido ("I am heart of corvid"). I don't dislike it, to be honest, but some might find it too metaphorical or poetic.

Finally, and before reaching the conclusion, I want to dedicate a few paragraphs to talk about the alterhuman community that exists in other languages. I mentioned before these communities; that although they do exist, they are very scattered through platforms such as TikTok or Instagram, with which I am not so familiar. But since I can't talk about Anglocentrism without at least talking about the Spanish-speaking alterhuman community, I asked my sibling Watcher @watcherwingedcat what it thought about the topic. This is what they wrote:

Hi guys, I'm Watcher, and I'm here to talk a bit about the Spanish-speaking therian community, which I think is the pristine example of the hate we receive both from people outside the community and from those inside, both Spanish and South American. While this post focused more on the language barriers, I want to focus on the real consequences of this barrier, how it divides us in the way we interact with each other: The social part of this whole thing (as I already said some other time or another and some of my followers know, I am studying Social Education, so from my point of view the social part is very relevant for everything we do). As my sister already said (hi Talon!), the English community is the majority in alterhuman spaces, but, what is the Spanish-speaking community really like?

Not very large, is the answer. The term itself is not very widespread, and the community is quite small. However, after a while of searching, I found it in a little corner of the internet. When I found a community in my own language, I was excited, but my curiosity and joy were soon extinguished... When I saw the reactions to their videos and posts on tiktok mainly. They were packed with hate messages. Packed. If you think hate in the English community is bad, you are not prepared for the hate received in other communities, especially the Spanish one. This is more a matter of culture, a little bit also due to the closed mindedness in countries like Spain, Argentina, or Colombia.

In general, the non-humans of the Spanish-speaking community mostly post about quadrobics and masks. At least, I haven't seen much beyond that, and the community is mostly in tiktok. And the reception of their expression of way of being? Disgusting. To give an example of how bad the hate is, in one of the videos I found (I think it was a therian making a mask or something), humans and non-humans were insulting the therian posting the video, discussions about how we are crazy and sick in the head and should be in mental institutions... It was horrible. The worst were the death threats, even, wishing the therian to die, or hang themselves, or worse (I've even seen rape threats). Comments that said things like, "If my sister told me she was a dog I would take her clothes off and force her to sleep outside and eat animal food, if she wants to be a dog I will treat her like one." Threats of abuse, both physical and sexual... Absolutely disgusting. And the worst thing is that the tiktok platform did not remove these hate accounts, the copy and paste messages of insults, the threats....

I am proud of the Hispanic community for being so open about their identity, don't get me wrong, but there are times when it is safer to just not share that part of who we are with others, especially if you are a minor and vulnerable. That's another issue that concerns me, as I've seen people coming out to parents, siblings, friends, and them just belittling them. That, coupled with misinformation, is a recipe for disaster.

I couldn't help but notice the deep root of misinformation in the non-human community itself. They confuse definitions, the different terms, which leads them to spread even more misinformation. This I don't think is entirely their fault, or that they are so young for the most part, as I have not seen Hispanic therians over the age of 18. I think this is largely due (as Talon already mentioned) to the language difference, and the lack of translation of certain terms. In general, when talking to friends with whom I am open about my non-humanity, I use English terms. It is a little weird to use those words in English while speaking in Spanish, but I am bilingual and for now there is no solution to that. I think the Spanish community would benefit from spreading correct information, and having a platform to express themselves with their own, like tumblr is for the English community. Something my sister expands on in dreir post. As for me here I finish my little comment, I'll leave you with Talon now. Watcher out.

As a conclusion, I would like to talk about the consequences that Anglocentrism might have on non-English speaking alterhumans, and then propose some ideas on how we might begin to address (or at least mitigate) it as a community.

First of all it is the obvious; the vast majority of non-English speaking alterhumans simply never realize that they are alterhumans in the first place, on account of the language barrier. All of the resources for beings who are questioning their humanity or lack thereof are in English, so they are not accessible to people who don't understand the language; therefore, a non-English speaker would have a much harder time accessing them. Another consequence is not being able to express your alterhumanity fully, both internally and externally. Remember when I mentioned that my thoughts are evenly distributed between English and Spanish, always keeping a 50/50 ratio? Well, recently, I have noticed that when reflecting on my identity as a dragon, all my thoughts are automatically generated in English. I find this deeply shocking, as I feel that a fundamental part of my identity is being eroded. It is devastating to feel that you can only express half of who you are, suppressing what could otherwise be a complex and multifaceted identity. Not being able to express myself in my other language limits my ability to explore that part of myself.

Anglocentrism is a cycle that never ends; since all the resources are in English, no members in other languages can join, and since there are no members in other languages, all the resources that are created are in English. And while I wish I could say that I have a solution to end this Anglocentrism once and for all, unfortunately, I do not. I am only one person (dragon), and this is a problem that I alone cannot solve. True, there have been some commendable attempts by the international community (translations of writings, alterhuman blogs in languages other than English, the Eurokin server on Discord are some examples); however, these initiatives often don't often get very far because of the very nature of the community. As I have already said, most of the alterhumans are North American or English, therefore any attempt to globalize the community would be restricted by the fact that there are not many members who would be interested in this in the first place. So what can we do to change this? The answer lies in you, reader. If you have a second language, encourage yourself to create writings in it from time to time. If you come from a culture other than the mainstream, talk about how that affects your identity. If you have traditions specific to your country that you believe are alterhuman in nature, share them. And if you are part of the English-speaking majority, I invite you to contribute in a positive way through simple actions, such as listening to us when we express ourselves in other languages, recognizing that we do not all share the same culture, and keeping an open mind when discussing topics that may be unfamiliar to you. Our strength as a community lies in the diversity of our members; let's embrace it.

[gummilutt]

250 followers Custom Memory Bonanza

It's finally time! To thank all you lovely people for your support, I have been working hard to get this ready for upload and here we are. Today I am sharing my custom memory object, and my library of a whopping 201 custom memories. Based on the wonderful Tattered Diary by DiLight over on MTS, and the tutorial she shared of how to make your own custom memories.

I've always cared a lot about memories, to me they tell the story of the Sims life. Some of you from MTS may recall when I did the whole several year rebuild of my hood, replicating every last detail of the original. I'm memory crazy, okay? And when DiLight gave me the power to make my own, I may have gone a tad overboard. Or just the right amount, you get to decide :P DiLight taught me most of what I know about making custom memories, and the base BHAVs are from her, but as I've learned more I've added some bells and whistles that I hope you will enjoy. It's a new clone and separate GUID from the original tutorial object set up by DiLight, so if you have your own you can have mine too without issues :) Found in misc/misc, costs 1 simoleon.

Download on simfileshare

Features - Brand new form, created by me. Resized BV photo album with new mapping and new texture (seen above, in game pictures at the end of this post). I wanted something that was uniquely mine, and that you don't necessarily have to hide away in the attic or under the foundation. If you don't like it, you also have some additional model forms you can switch between through the pie menu. - Adaptable dynamic menu. Thanks to a really neat trick from @picknmixsims the menu reflects the memories you put in your downloads. If no file with the correct guid is found, the option for it won't show. Which means that although I am crazy enough to have 201, you can go ahead and only pick your favorite ones and the object will automatically detect and adapt the menu to that selection. - Memories all have a custom icon, that's made from game icons from TS2 or TS3. Some I am quite proud of, some are admittedly not great. Not everything is easy to convey through game icons, but I've tried my best, I hope the effort shows. 5 memories have icons that are not from the game, but I tried to match them to the aesthetic as best I could. - Memory subject menu shows only relevant age groups. For example, if the memory is about having a baby, only baby/toddler Sims will show as options. Goal being to keep menu as concise as possible. If you wish to assign memories retroactively, please see jonasn's excellent Memory Commander object, which has support to add my custom memories without age limitations. As well as a whole lot of other useful memory-related stuff. - Extensive documentation detailing everything you may need to know about the memories (text, icon, background, who can get it, who they can get it about, repeatability, where to find it on the object) to help you select the ones you want for your game, and familiarize yourself with them. - English and Swedish translations of memories, and object menu. If someone wants to add their language, that would be great but it's a lot of work so I don't expect it. You are welcome to share your translated versions directly if you wish, or you can send them to me for me to update files shared here :) If you want to learn how to translate the files directly, Episims has a great tutorial found here.

Examples of types of custom memories included - Extended family members memories (got cousin, got aunt/uncle, got sibling, got twin sibling, got great grandchild, got stepparent, got stepchild) - Birth related memories (pregnancy, becoming parent, late in life parent, had multiples birth, premature baby) - Marriage related memories (divorce, parental divorce, custody things, alimony) - Relationship related memories (fighting, breakups, additional love memories) - Woohoo related (memories for specific woohoo locations, repeatable generic woohoo/public woohoo) - University degree related (declared major memories, got a minor degree memories, got a major degree memories, for remembering having studied multiple things and being able to see what major your Sim chose without looking at their diploma) - Loan related, for remembering taking and paying off loans of different types - Moving memories (first apartment, child moves out, various memories for sims moving in with others) - Kids related (child's first day in school, got their own pet, nursery rhyme, giving up for adoption, living at orphanage)

Mods automating delivery of my CC memories (more to come) Learned nursery rhyme from - Found here, by me Wrote restaurant guide - Found here, part of jonasn "Novel Writing Improvements" mod

Credits: DiLight, @picknmixsims, @morepopcorn, @latmosims, @joplayingthesims, maxon, @keoni-chan. For detailed info on how they all impacted the creation of this, see readme :) Policy: Give credit to DiLight, beyond that, totally open. Enjoy!

[dunmeshistash]

hi! I’ve heard not all of Daydream Hour has been translated— do you know which parts haven’t? I got my hands on a copy at a con and I’ve been translating on post-it notes just as language practice, but I’d be happy to do some proper typesetting/sharing for bits that aren’t already out there.

(I know an official English version is coming out later this year, but hey, it’d be fun anyway haha)

Nice! Most of the new parts have been translated by now but I think mostly some small new commentary hasn't? Pretty sure the pages with a lot of info like the comics and such all have translations floating around

I couldn't say which of the commentary have or haven't been translated currently, I mostly only notice when I look for it and can't find (Some I have attempted to translate myself when making posts cause I couldn't find it online, the Laios one for example I only found the blog version translated, but I tried to re translate anyway cause I wanted to use the daydream hour version on the post)

It's usually small commentary like those that I can't find translated on the image itself, but here's a couple of pages I don't think I've seen translated before? (Minus the kobold section someone translated it for me and I edited that pic above)

Other than small things like that the ones I've never really seen translated at all are the pages at the end with art that isn't dungeon meshi related, here's some.

Hope you have fun with your daydream hour! I cant wait for the English version so I can have all the pages translated with everything together

[elyvorg]

The Most Significant Change in AAI2’s Official Localisation (according to me)

Ace Attorney Investigations 2 finally has an official localisation! This is kind of mind-boggling to those of us who played the fan translation and have loved it in that form for years, never expected an official localisation to happen, and now suddenly have to get used to everything about it being Just Slightly Different.

Having played the official localisation in full, I can say that for the most part, it’s even better than the already-excellent fan translation! Most of the lines have just a little bit more colour in them now, and there’s a bunch of small nuances that went over my head before that are emphasised better in the new version. There are some lines I prefer in the fan translation, but they’re vastly outnumbered by all the lines I prefer in the official version. All in all, strongly recommend fans of the fan translation to check out the official version in some form.

However, among these minor lines here and there that I prefer in the fan translation, there is also this one small but much more significant thing from the fan translation which is not present in the official version. I happen to care about this small-but-significant detail a lot, so here is a post explaining exactly why this is a Thing that Matters (to me, at least).

(This will mention major spoilers for the game! Do not click the readmore unless you have experienced the entire story of AAI2 in some form.)

The Thing is this: In the fan translation, Simon refers to his friend as “Knightley”, all the time. Meanwhile, in the official localisation, Simeon always calls him “Bronco”.

Now, I get why the localisers did this. It’s a Japanese cultural thing – in Japanese, it’s common for even close friends to address each other by their surnames, and indeed, Sim(e)on referred to Knight(ley) by his surname in the original Japanese game. This is usually changed into friends using each other’s first names in English localisations, because it feels strange in English to see two close friends addressing each other in what feels like a distant and formal kind of way.

(For example, in The Great Ace Attorney, Ryunosuke and Kazuma addressed each other by their surnames in Japanese, and this was – very correctly – localised to them using each other’s first names in English. It would feel wrong to an English speaker for these best friends not to do that, even though they are still characters from Japan.)

So it just makes sense as the obvious localisation choice to have Simeon refer to his friend with his given name, rather than his surname.

However! In this particular instance, I firmly 100% believe that this was the wrong decision.

See, Simon calling Knightley by his surname in the fan translation isn’t just an awkward holdover of a somewhat more direct Japanese translation – it actually means something. It’s a subtle hint that Simon doesn’t actually see Knightley as the friend he supposedly is; he’s distancing himself from his friend by talking about him in this more detached way.

This is subtle enough that it isn’t a spoiler, either! On my first playthrough of the fan translation, I never batted an eye at Simon using his friend’s surname. Some people in English-speaking countries do just prefer to go by their surname, even to their friends – particularly when their first name is kind of awkward. It felt perfectly natural that Knightley might prefer to be called just that even by his best friend, instead of “Horace”, which sounds somewhat old-fashioned and dorky.

(And this would go double, surely, for someone whose first name is freaking Bronco of all things. It’d make plenty of sense that he’d rather be called Knight!)

Knightley himself probably didn’t even question it. I imagine Simon would have called him Horace while they were kids at the orphanage, but then when Simon reappeared in his life years later after his disappearance and was calling him Knightley instead, Knightley probably shrugged and figured, yeah, Horace is kind of a dorky name, he’s not a kid any more, “Knightley” is way cooler. (Especially with his obsession with chess, not to mention his whole white-knight complex towards Simon.)

The biggest reason why this means something is that Simon calls him Knightley almost the entire time, with one single exception. In the flashback to their impromptu nighttime meeting in the prison, in which Simon knows he’s about to get his “friend” killed and this is the last time he’ll ever see him, the final thing he says to him is, “Goodbye, Horace.”

He uses Knightley’s first name, for the only time in the game’s present. And so, precisely because he’s used his surname every other time, this simple line becomes an achingly telling sign that Simon still cares about his best friend despite everything, despite the fact that he is literally getting him killed. It’s like he’s remembering the happier times they had being friends at the orphanage before everything turned sour, like a part of him wishes they could still have that, and it breaks my heart.

(This is the same in the Japanese, too – he uses his friend’s given name, which is a sign of extremely close friendship in Japanese and would have even more of an impact to Japanese-speaking players.)

This implication isn’t there in the official localisation, because it can’t be. Not when Simeon calls him Bronco all the time anyway, even when he’s revealed his true colours and is no longer pretending for the sake of Edgeworth and company. Which means that he simply did call him Bronco the whole time, even after they reunited, even while secretly wanting him dead. In that context, using the name Bronco when saying goodbye to him in the prison means nothing in particular. It’s just the name he always uses.

…Okay, granted, it’s not like that flashback scene has no emotional weight in the official version. It still is Simeon coming to talk to his friend one last time when he doesn’t really need to, which still means a lot on its own. But the final line itself isn’t a particularly notable part of it. In the localisation, it’s “Goodbye, Bronco. …And farewell.” The added “farewell” mostly just serves to make it obvious that he knows this is the very last time they’ll meet, but I suppose there is at least something to the fact that you wouldn’t usually say that to someone you didn’t care about. I don’t think it hits nearly as hard as calling him Horace for the first and only time in twelve years, though.

It seems like either the official localisers didn’t notice the significance of the given name in that line there, or they did notice it but they decided that localising Simeon to use his friend’s given name the rest of the time, like localisers normally would, was worth losing the impact of that line. And I firmly disagree that this was worth it. There’s nothing inherently wrong about Knight going by Knight even to his best friend, even if it might feel a little awkward in principle, and the emotional impact of the final thing his best friend says to him would have absolutely made up for that.

[visualtaehyun]

P'Den held a space on twt last week wherein he answered questions about the four shows he's currently involved in - Zomvivor, The Next Prince, Khemjira and Love Upon A Time - and shared stories from on set of the different shows, about the actors, about his work in general as well as his methods etc. Since I've kinda become a Domundi girlie and follow P'Den on twt, I thought I'd share what he talked about on here ✌

Disclaimer: not a native Thai speaker, still learning 🙏

He spoke Thai most of the time so I'm mostly translating here but some questions were answered in English and then summarized in Thai so those parts I tried to consolidate to a degree. This entire post is not a 1:1 transcription or translation but I tried to stick as close to his word choices as possible, while still writing from a third person perspective. Oh, and I also sorted everything into four parts according to which show he's talking about instead of following the space chronologically.

Cheers, have fun, and do feel free to ask me any follow-up questions!

(Full post under the cut for length.)

To keep things concise (oh the irony after that previous sentence 🤡), the four shows will be abbreviated as ZVV, TNP, KJR and LUAT from here on out.

🧟‍♂️ "Spoiler about SanNon please, Kru🤣" (San and Non are Zee and Nunew's characters)

He likes seeing people's guesses from the teaser and that there's been a bunch of people who got close to what actually happens in the script. Are we gonna see them fight? ZVV is about raw human instinct coming to light when faced with disaster. The disaster or monster is a representation of a crisis or of problems within society. ZVV is set at a university so, once there's a zombie outbreak, how do the students deal with the problem?

🧟‍♂️ "On the set of ZVV, were there actual ghosts?"

ZVV was filmed mostly on a university campus, though there are some scenes outside of that setting. [In comparison to the set of KJR] they didn't really have any ghost encounters on set. But people were still afraid sometimes because they often filmed at night. For example, they shot in a library that was closed for renovation so there hadn't been any people in there forever. Or sometimes they shot on campus at night and had to turn off all the lights to set up the lighting. The only ghost encounters where when he'd run into some the extras in the restrooms, especially when he'd be lost in thought, after the extras were already in full zombie makeup. In that case, he'd be screaming sometimes.

🧟‍♂️ Talking about workshops

Lots of animal exercises where everyone would get assigned a different animal, observe that animal's behavior, and then play as that animal. Some human behaviors are already associated with animals, like 'mischievous like a monkey' or 'furious like a tiger'. Taking those animalistic sides into ZVV made the actors open up to their own instincts.

🧟‍♂️ "Were there any challenges in filming ZVV? Like anything you'd say was hard to film?"

There was one scene, one sequence really with many small scenes, that took 3 Qs to film! It was a big scene with effects, action, filming with special equipment, rain that had to bet set up. Plus the amount of actors being almost the entire label, maybe 60-70 people in the scene in total. And Aof and Kla wanted it to be perfect as it's one of the major scenes in the show. It was tiring for the actors, too, of course. But they did it and can be really proud of the final product.

🧟‍♂️ "Development of ZeeNew's acting from ZVV to TNP"

He says they were already good to begin with, ZVV just required a bit of adjustment for them since P'Den is one for realism. Not just them but all the actors had to train 'physical' with Om and Fuang - using one's body, combat scenes, letting one's body respond to emotions, movement. His part was more focused on the script and the character's inner works. ZVV was also intentionally filmed like a movie, making the acting choices really authentic in those situations. Many times, he wouldn't give the actors any choices beforehand, unlike during filming a series usually goes, where he'd go over the blocking, choreography, cues etc. Instead they explained the situation the characters were in, told the actors where the camera(s) was/were, and how far they could go in terms of blocking - but the rest was left up to the actors to go free and explore their own choices. So for Zee and New, at the very beginning, they were used to being given choices or having choices thought-out ahead of time. But once they met with P'Den, he tried to have them be in the present moment as much as possible and make choices according to what their characters feel at the time. He could tell they weren't used to it, but used to getting more input, so he met them halfway at first, giving them some help but still encouraging them to find and explore by themselves. Once they started TNP, they were much more used to his method and developed to be actors that are more free. They'd still ask for his feedback on their own choices sometimes, even though P'Den says they already thought like their characters and understood them well.

🧟‍♂️ Air date

Coming in the 4th quarter of 2025, as announced. He implied again that it will be aired on Netflix. It's still in editing, considering the CG, but almost done. We'll see the Domundi boys in roles that they don't usually get to play or are a departure from previous ones, like getting to do action and dramatic scenes for some that routinely play comedic roles or trying out comedic scenes for those that come from drama. There are many flavors in this series.

👑 "Does TNP still have any surprises, wow moments, stuff to leave us stunned, something that fans would never see coming? Like something we'd never expect to see lol"

So many! TNP is just The Most in his life so far. Everyone's using every skill they have and still learning new things for the show. There are scenes from the novel and new scenes, there are many grand scenes and special situations. The actors had to learn horse riding, fencing, ballroom dancing. There are many surprises that weren't in the pilot and characters that haven't been introduced yet.

👑 "First impression after working with P'Zee and Nong Nunew ☺️ Thank you, Kru Den, for being so passionate about TNP!"

He first met ZNN for ZVV and is happy to have met them. From an outsider's perspective they look utterly perfect, he had no clue what their real selves would be like. Zee seemed mature and prudent and Nunew's the miracle child who can do anything. Once he got to know them though, both of them still seem really young. They have so much enthusiasm for work, ask a lot of questions, want their work to turn out well, are down to earth and easy to talk to. They're really lovely Nongs to him but really all of Domundi's actors that he's worked with are lovely. He's never felt troubled when working with any of them because they all take their responsibilities seriously. ZeeNew work so much, he sees that they're working every day, yet they always do their homework. He never has to tell them which scenes precede and follow the scene they're currently filming, never has to tell them what their character is doing or feeling. He only has to help remind them of certain points or suggesting choices and then lets them play, sometimes letting them suggest choices themselves for him to decide which one would be most fitting, especially for difficult scenes. For New, that would be scenes where he has to cry right from the start of a scene. Playing music or talking about his character's feelings gets him there. Similarly for Zee, talking about what his character's been through gets him there. He's really happy to be working with this label's kids.

👑 Talking about workshops

The emphasis was on interpreting the script and finding the private moments of the characters and what they're like in those moments, what they think, want, are lacking. When they're with other people, what mask do they need to wear, who do they need to appear to be? TNP is about personas we need to portray in the world. It's Khanin's journey of suddenly finding himself to be a prince who needs to compete in the tradition of fencing, so he has to conduct himself differently depending on the individual. What is he like with his friends, with Charan, when faced with the public? Same goes for the other characters. They also improvised situations that aren't in the script, like filling in the parentheses to understand the course of events.

👑 "If you had to choose three words to describe the first episode of TNP Series, which ones would you use?👀"

Emotional. Roller. Coaster.

The first episode is always the establishing one, the one that explains what a given series is gonna feel like. So of course the different flavors we'll see in the entire 14 episodes of TNP, are all gonna be there in the first EP. No need to be afraid that the first EP's gonna be plastered in exposition. We're getting all the flavors right off the bat. Whatever we assume must be in TNP, we'll get in appetizer format in EP 1. All crew members that got to watch it, and P'Aof too, said that EP 1 has the vibe of a foreign production, kinda like Heartstopper, kinda like Red, White & Royal Blue, kinda like Bridgerton. There are gonna be lots of emotions, twists and turns, a bit of romance, a bit of comedy, a bit of drama, action, royalty. It's an introductory episode with its own depth and style.

👑 More than one person asked about Itthi, a beloved character in the novels

P'Den asked P'Aof for permission earlier to address this. About Itt - TNP has a script advisor, Kru Aumm, who's a talented screenwriter known for Analog Squad, for example, and has worked as a script advisor for Netflix Thailand and GDH. P'Den has worked with her before. Though P'Den is the acting coach for TNP and thus has nothing to do with the script but he knows that Kru Aumm advised about Itt and Wetid. In order not to have the cast size get too big and because these characters have really similar functions (in the story), she advised to merge them into one person, who would serve both Wetid and Itt's purposes. This was also done to tighten up the script. Of course they didn't want to cut too much from the plot that would make the main plot go down. So both characters have been combined into one character, Wetid, that is played by Most Witsarut. His acting skills are great, he's a Directing and Acting graduate as well and P'Den already knew and has worked with him before. As Wetid he'll be fierce and Charan's helper in lots of instances related to the main plot. P'Den saw questions about Itt come up again and again, some people thinking we'd just have to wait to see him in the series, so he asked P'Aof if he may announce that there's no Itthi in the series but that he's been merged into one character with Wetid.

👑 Someone asked about the photo of ZNN napping and cuddling on set of TNP that P'Den shared on twt

It's obvious that, once they need to change scenes, different people would disperse all over the place to get dressed, get their hair and make-up done, and read their own scripts. But these two get together - helping each other memorizing lines, rehearsing by themselves so it'll be faster and easier once they're on set, playing with each other like we've seen in photos. If there's time to rest, they'll play around together, teasing each other back and forth. If they're tired, they'll hug or sit on each other's lap. Sometimes, if they're too lazy to walk onto the set, they'll carry each other onto set. You'd think P'Den would be used to it by now but he still isn't. There's always something new to observe. Most of the time, it's probably New trying to annoy Zee, Zee teasing him back, New acting sulky and then Zee making it up to him. And then they're cuddling (while lying down). It would go something like that. They play with, comfort, and take care of each other all the time. If New gets tired, Zee would get to him even before a crew member. Sometimes New gets water or tissues, for example, even before the crew could (for Zee). Sometimes they fight, just like any other people who are close to each other - same as P'Den and his boyfriend [legally wedded, actually 🙂‍↕️] sometimes tease each other or fight with each other for some spice in their relationship [his words, not mine 🤣 sounds familiar to zonzons, too, no?], and then hug it out, comfort each other, and call it a day.

(ZeeNuNew) are very professional. At first, he felt a lot of pressure to be working with them because they're already very successful and famous and he was afraid that he wouldn't get up to par with them. P'Den isn't the type of person who feels like he needs to prove himself, he just always does his job the best he can. So he studied the script and scenes extensively, prepared his own timeline for all the scenes and situations, in terms of how the relationships change and the characters grow and develop, so he'd have his own documents to refer back to when he's coaching them or when they have any questions.

The crew is amazing, too, everybody remembers the timeline of the story and helps with the continuity of acting, emotions, hair & make-up etc. Since everybody does their jobs to the best of their abilities and with lots of passion, he hopes that'll prove itself. Nothing is perfect, of course, like there still might be oversights or mistakes but everyone's trying really hard because they know we've been waiting for this for three years. P'Den understands (the frustration) because he himself is also a fan who's had to wait years for things he's a fan of. But they're all really trying to get it right for us.

👑 About the script + final words

There were lots of script adjustments from the novels, both to tighten up the plot and make it more intense as well as to add stuff to make it more fun. There are more scenes to show Khun Charan's and Khanin's skills, in terms of sports disciplines, action scenes, drama. But there's still lots of cute scenes like in the novels. Kru Aumm's team, from Netflix, was coordinating with the script writer all the time to make several instances more condensed while retaining Khanin and Charan's character growth without leaving anyone behind. We are definitely getting the issue of the royal houses vying (for the throne), family issues, issues related to trauma, some political issues that are gonna make it more modern to current day audiences that P'Den thinks we'll enjoy debating and analyzing for sure, various symbols [unsure if he means literal emblems and such or symbolism], beautiful luxurious costumes and locations with hidden meanings that we'll also likely enjoy analyzing.

👻 "Kru Den, which scene in KJR do you think has been the most difficult? Have you encountered a lot of obstacles while filming? I saw that during the latest Q it was raining too ㅜㅜ"

Filming's been going pretty smoothly since it's dry season, the weather's pretty cool, and there's barely any rain. If it is hot, there's always fans, AC units, cooling wipes on set. On Domundi sets there's never a need to worry about the well-being of the crew and actors. Three meals a day, another two that are snacks, and tasty beverages! [lmao] It's just been recently that nature's interfering, like the rain during the previous Q. Which scene does he think was the most difficult? There's been one day where he said it was the biggest and most tiring day since the start of filming, in terms of filming technique, the number of people in the scene, the difficulty and intensity of the scene. People can probably guess what scene it is since there aren't that many scenes in the novel with that large a number of people and that're this brutal.

👻 "For KJR, could you spoil if there's gonna be more exciting things from now on, be it about the cast, scenes or anything else? After announcing the casting of Granny Si, there haven't been any more surprises to get excited about. Could you maybe spoil a little bit more? 😣"

There's so much still! There are still many characters from the novel that haven't been announced so there's still many actors to get wowed by once the series is on air.

👻 Talking about workshops

A lot of improvisation exercises to find the relationships, backgrounds, connection to the past etc. until they could speak and think like their characters.

👻 "KengNamping, TleFirstOne, how is their acting to you, Kru Den?"

It's good he met them ever since the pilot so he got to know everyone's strong points and what they'd still needed to work on.

Keng, for example, comes from movies so he struggled a bit at first with the way series are filmed, since you have a lot of cuts and angles and need to keep playing them the same way to keep the continuity. Whereas in a movie you'd be more free in your acting. He got used to it after the pilot and the workshops. Keng's role doesn't allow him to express a lot. Paran isn't the type of person to show what he's feeling outwardly or immediately. He has a maturity and circumspection to him, a feeling of keeping everything, all his feelings, tucked away in a drawer. For him to outwardly show something, it has to be notable. So Keng's challenge is that he can't feel and express things in one layer, he has to keep it to himself and select how much he'll show. For example, other characters might shout at each other but Por Kru wouldn't do that. He uses his gaze, his deep piercing voice, but wouldn't yell loudly. But Keng does it really well, a little goes a long way. And Keng has a great sense of give-and-receive with his scene partner. Sometimes just seeing him sit with a scene partner, like Mae Nok Noi (the actress who plays Granny Si), just the two of them, there's no need to even be speaking and it's already just right.

Namping is like P'Den, personality-wise. It's like he has two modes: Playful all the time but once he walks onto the set, he's calm, concentrating, ready for rehearsal and blocking, remembers his lines right from the get go. He doesn't hold his script when he enters the set - none of the actors P'Den is working with do, actually. Everyone memorizes their lines at home and did their homework on the ride to work or in the dressing room so once they're on the set, everyone's quiet and ready for blocking, rehearsal, and filming. Namping is that way - in the dressing room he's still playing around but as soon as they're preparing to film, it's on! Cut, moving the camera - and he's back to his cheerful self. P'Den has never seen Namping be exhausted in the almost 20 Qs so far, he's always full of energy which gives the people around him more energy, too.

Tle is detail-oriented, always the first one to get on set, very diligent, open towards different choices. The role of Charnvit isn't easy. It has a nerdiness that's approachable, instead of completely absorbed in one field of interest. He's critical and believes in cause and effect and it's this rationality of his that helps the group. Tle executes that well. Tle also doesn't really play around once he's on set - worlds apart from First!

First is mischievous but once he has to focus, he is really determined. He'll suddenly turn into a school boy, gaze fixed on P'Den and always asking so many questions. People like to ask if Tle and First aren't just playing themselves but Jettana (FirstOne's role) actually has so many dimensions. First can do them all, be it serious parts, dramatic, loving his friends, fun, funny, action, mischievous etc. and not all of them are First's real self 100%.

👻 "Which of the locations for KJR do you think is the scariest, Kru Den?"

Yesterday's! (Q19)

👻 "P'Den, about KJR, would it be any differences about Khemjira's character between series and its book? Because Khem is too easy to cry in its book kaa."

Yes, there will be some differences. When it's understandable that Khem is emotional, sensitive, and feels like crying then he will be crying in the series. But they're not going for a weak Khem. It's good and touching in the novel because you get to feel with the character. When reading you connect via the words and your own imagination. But once it becomes visual on-screen, he thinks people don't like to see the main character cry that much without doing anything for themselves or others. So in the series Khem's gonna be a little tougher. He'll still be sensitive, emotional, naïve, reserved but he will try to survive, just like the title. He'll try to persevere and do things for himself and his friends more.

There are gonna be some side-stories to showcase Paran's ability in dealing with ghosts and supernatural beings in the village, his relationship with the people in the village, and beliefs around shamans. And also side-stories to showcase Khem's strong mind and will and his ability to survive - if he managed to survive 20 years of his life, without his mother, seeing ghosts all the time, enduring all that, then he must be a strong person, not a crybaby. What he will be crying about would be personal and because of his feelings for the other characters. Of course Khem won't turn into the Daughter of the Village Chief [a wild child tomboy female character] but he will be a bit stronger than in the novel.

👻 Final words

They're still going strong with filming. As he said before, there have been some additions and changes to the script so it's still intense but can be shot more realistically. There's interference with beliefs, the principle of karma and the wheel of dharma, saving each other, saving oneself, taking a life to survive in any way, surviving like you're the only one to survive or surviving like we help each other to go on. The message is gonna be concentrated on cases of wiping out ghosts and meeting villagers who can make us come to terms with something. Which is in line with P'Aof wanting to make series not just for entertainment purposes but also to discuss and bring up various issues.

Since the show is 12 episodes long, some parts of the special chapters are going to be mixed into the series as well as side-stories and events from past lives. We're going to see a lot of culture, history, and a thrilling romantic story.

⏳ "P'Kim shared that the scarf scene was improvised, now I wonder how often the boys improvised the scenes?Another one is the part where PhopKhun being intimate, was the awkwardness a deliberation or was it coz JJ was too shy?"

He isn't very keen on improvisation since every scene has to connect to the scene before and after, they can't allow all improvisations to make the cut since the emotions and relationships have to be consistent and some scenes require an agreed-upon sequence, like combat scenes. If there are improvised moments that were kept in the pilot it's because they discussed whether the actors' instincts during filming fit the scene, in which case he let it pass, or not, in which case they'd discuss if it could be adjusted in a fitting way. They mostly just follow the script as is standard practice, these kinds of instinctive choices can make the scene stand out and fit each actors' interpretations of their character. So it's about 90% following the script direction but actors are also free to add their own interpretations and encouraged to be in the moment.

The awkwardness between Phop and Nakhun was indeed deliberate. Some of the choices are of course JJ's, like the facial expressions, but it was scripted to be this way, it's not because JJ was actually too shy or anything. There are gonna be parts where Nakhun becomes more daring but since the pilot takes place at the very beginning of the story, Nakhun gets shy a lot with Phop.

⏳ "Tell us about LUAT please"

Regarding workshop, it's a lot about language. It's like acting in a Shakespeare piece because we're trying to speak an obsolete language. So the kids had to translate their scripts into modern day language and then they'd act out the scenes with modern language first, in order for them to understand the characters' feelings and wants within a given scene. All four understood their characters and scripts, everyone just had their own things to work on, e.g. Nong Tte speaks too fast sometimes, Net doesn't always enunciate clearly. Some things are habitual and just part of their speech patterns, so they'd be difficult to change within the 2 months they had between workshops and filming the pilot. Learning to speak a 2nd or 3rd language accurately and precisely takes time. The LUAT actors are gonna be working with a speech therapist/vocal coach soon.

⏳ "For LUAT, was there any scene that was hard for the crew or the actors?"

Since this was a pilot, they had 2 Qs of time to film it. And during Q1 they had to move (between?) 2 locations so they were tight on time for actual filming. The kids got very little chance to play several takes since they had to keep going. So for the pilot they rehearsed extensively beforehand, ever since the workshop, every single scene. What we see in the pilot, most if not all of it was shot in under three takes. Among those three takes, none of them were bad either, but they were different choices, in the sense of being less or more, or different options for editing later.

What was hard for the crew was the scene of them sitting and drinking together, half-way into the NC scene, on the terrace. It took almost an hour to set up the lighting because they hardly used any electrical lighting, it was mostly practical lighting, lighting up candles and lamps. Meaning the candles had to continue, they had to change them out after every cut, and the oil lamps had to continue, the fire had to be consistent. And the actions and feelings between the characters were difficult as well. It was almost half past midnight at the time so everyone was tired. He remembers this scene requiring a lot of time and effort.

Another difficult one was the lantern-floating scene. A Krathong will just follow the flow of water but they needed it to be in front of the camera to get a nice shot of the pretty candle light on the lotus pond. So an art team crew member on a rowboat had to keep rounding up the Krathongs in front of the camera. It had such a cute vibe, actually, seeing them row back and forth to collect the Krathongs. It was late at night then, too, the other Q's night. Since this was an outdoor scene in a waterfront pavilion without lights or electricity, the light had to be completely set up, which also took a lot of time for the crew. As for the actors, it was an intimate moment wherein the characters finally know their feelings but Klao still feels like there might come a day he won't be here anymore - both in the sense that someone might mean Klao harm and come to hurt him as well as in the sense that he might just warp back to the present at any moment. There's a bittersweetness to it that dampens the romance but doesn't make it sad either so the actors had to find the balance.

⏳ P'Den couldn't find the question anymore but it was: "For LUAT, I'd like to know about Tte's development and him working together with P'Kim - how is it?"

(La)Tte surprised P'Den with how little he speaks, like, he's really silent. He seems like a hard-to-approach manly man, at least from P'Den's perspective as a queer. But he's actually really lovely and diligent and P'Den only just found out that he went to law school. He also takes down every single word P'Den says! Whether it's serious or joking or whatever, he takes notes on everything, as if he's sitting in a lecture hall. Those lines that are an almost-rap at the beginning (of the pilot), where he says so much, were the first lines during workshop. He's really hard-working - during break on-set, P'Den would turn around and see Tte with his script jotting stuff down endlessly. He feels the pressure on him since the last pilot, he's read the comments and knows what he needs to work on so he's really trying to improve at all times. P'Den sees his determination.

As for Tte's chemistry with Kim - they like teasing each other. Tte likes teasing Kim and sometimes Kim will tease him back. For example, when they were shooting the present-day scenes. P'Den saw Tte teasing Kim a lot so that Kim would actually feel annoyed like Nong Pun. Which would come back around once they shot the past scenes. It's one kind of relationship that's really fun, where the Nong messes with/teases the Phi and the Phi gets all huffy.

Kim also surprised him. P'Den knew already what he was capable of but he delivered since the very first take. There's no nervousness because of the camera at all. It's like he's fully prepared. He's a new actor who's done his homework well so there's almost no need to coach him, it's just about helping him in making acting choices. Kim was really sensitive, emotional, about the pouring water part to the point it became another key scene that everyone was talking about. That came from Kim, the credit is almost entirely his for that. He found that (in him) himself.

⏳ "For LUAT, is that one important event still gonna happen?🥹🥹 and are Mae Wanna and Khun Pim part of the script?"

They're currently having script meetings for LUAT. They got a script writer who's previously written period pieces, like Royal Doctor, Thong Ek: The Herbal Master and Ruk Laek Pop. The fact that LUAT is a period piece is pretty straightforward but there might need to be adjustments in the way the story is told because, reading the novel, there is a lot of Nakhun just going about his daily life at times and lots of descriptions of characters' feelings. So they need to add the situations and actions of the characters in order for the audience to get the picture. And they can't just have the characters describe every circumstance in a voiceover or directly tell the audience. They might need to be expanded into situations (small scenes).

But that one really important event is definitely going to be there, otherwise it would become a different story, it wouldn't be LUAT anymore. Therefore, whatever is key to the story - finding his identity, trying to find out where the previous Klao disappeared to and what's going on, disguising himself to get into the opium house and the brothel, adjusting to life in the Ayutthaya period, slowly falling in love with P'Phop, gradually revealing how they could've been close before - all of that has to be there.

As for if Mae Wanna and Khun Pim are going to be in the script, they are catalysts in the relationship of P'Phop and Nakhun. They have their function, they make us see that P'Phop really doesn't care for anyone else aside from Nakhun, no matter if in the past or in this life. And that also makes Nakhun more confident in this man. So P'Den thinks the series script has to have them but he can't say how minor or big their parts are going to be since they're still in talks about the script.

⏳ Final words

More script meetings coming up! P'Den directed the pilot and is also going to be directing the full series. Next up, he'll be sending the kids to clinical speech training with a vocal coach who's a colleague of his at Chulalongkorn University from the faculty of Arts and who got his degree in the US. They'll be learning how to enunciate and pronounce ancient Thai speech more clearly and comfortably. As for the script, they'll try to keep the important or key parts as they are but the way of telling the story might be different, to make it a more modern interpretation, at a time where there are countless period pieces, to make this BL period piece stand out. It won't be just a comedy, that's for sure, it will still have its drama, suspense and thrill. P'Den says he likes series with many different flavors so he'll try to make it as well-rounded as possible.

---

Unrelated to any show but very interesting nonetheless:

"what brought you/inspired you into the world of acting, writing, and directing? how is teaching it like?"

A few more notes: 1) There was a question about what Ar Ning (the actor who plays the King in TNP) is like - I axed it cause I figured most folks on here have no clue who he is anyway 🥴 2) I've read the novels to KJR and TNP but not to LUAT, so I had no way of verifying my choice of name romanizations and my translations for some of the plot details in the question about Mae Wanna, Khun Pim, and the script. Apologies if I've made any mistakes 🙏 3) There were also some shorter questions about learning Thai, several instances of him speaking Spanish (which I can vaguely follow from having learned other Romance languages before but would never actually be able to translate), and some pointless questions I didn't include like "Is NuNew gonna sing an OST for TNP?" which- Duh.

[skamenglishsubs]

Subtext and Culture, Young Royals, Season 3, Episode 4

Last episode ended with Simon coming home to a smashed window, this episode starts the morning after, Simon takes the bus to school, while Wilhelm is anxiously waiting for him.

Culture: At a high school level in Sweden, there's national tests in Swedish, English, and Math. Like everywhere else, the purpose of these tests is not only to grade students, but to align all schools across the country to combat grade inflation.

Blink and you miss it: Vincent is trying to cheat by looking at Nils' answers.

Blink and you miss it: Vincent draws a dick in the gravel while waiting for the others to be done with the test.

Subtext: This entire episode is overflowing with examples of privilege. For Vincent, and many other rich kids like him, studying and learning doesn't matter, they'll graduate regardless, so he doesn't care about the exam, he only cares about the graduation party.

Cinematography: Even with Felice and friends being completely blurred out in the background, you can still see Stella and Fredrika turning to look at Sara, and then turning their backs on her.

Culture: In the US, a lot of people are using "socialism" as a catch-all phrase which means politics they don't agree with, regardless of its actual ideology. Likewise, in Sweden, a lot of people use "communist" in the same way about generally left-wing politics, which is what Vincent is doing here.

Subtext: Wilhelm asks Simon if he can reconcile the conflict of dating a royal while being anti-monarchy, but the real question is of course if Wilhelm can reconcile the conflict in himself.

Subtext: This is where the show's political stance shines through, and this argument, that Wilhelm wasn't allowed to choose his life for himself, is the main argument they're gonna use in the finale.

Subtext: Wilhelm is weakly defending the monarchy, but just ends up repeating what his mother told him; it's a privilege, not a punishment, but does he believe it himself?

Subtext: The letter-to-yourself plot is mainly there in order to help August along his redemption arc, but here the show is using it to reinforce the point of the previous scene. Who does Wilhelm want to become? Does he have a choice?

Culture: In Sweden, Säkerhetspolisen, SÄPO, is the government agency in charge of national security, which includes providing security and assigning bodyguards to the royal family.

Subtext: Note the great use of passive voice here by Farima to avoid taking responsibility for the decision to force August to join the birthday foundation event. She's also expertly bargaining with Wilhelm to get what she wants.

Subtext: We know it was the far-right assholes who posted comments to Simon's videos a couple of episodes ago.

Blink and you miss it: Jan-Olof really perks up when Linda talks about moving to Gothenburg, because that would probably mean the end to the relationship between Wilhelm and Simon, which would solve all of his current problems.

Subtext: Like Farima, he bargains with Linda and Simon to get what he wants, for Simon to stop posting things to social media. It's almost as if their strategy was to do nothing at the start, waiting for things to blow up so they could swoop in, help out, and start making demands in exchange...

Blink and you miss it: The option to inactivate and hide your social media account is right there, but of course Simon has to choose to delete everything, because it will cause more drama and anguish.

Blink and you miss it: Fencing! Woohoo! I did fencing for five years as a kid until 8th grade or something, but I only did foil, and not épée like these students. I have absolutely no idea where these two are coming from or going to though, where would they practice? Is there a hidden fencing hall somewhere on the grounds that we haven't seen yet? How many kids at Hillerska are fencing? Also, he's carrying a practice blade and not an electric competition blade, so that checks out. Of the three types of modern fencing, épée is unique in that the entire body counts as a valid target, while in foil only the torso counts, and in sabre only the upper half counts. Oh wow, it looks like the gear is now wireless and every fencer carries their own indicator lights. Cool! Back in my day you had to be strapped in with a cord for competitions.

This tumblr is now about French School fencing. Allez! Touché!

Subtext: The narrative is that it's perfectly ok for the crown prince to be gay, as long as he's not gay gay.

Culture: The show keeps saying this, but in real world Sweden it's no longer the case. Supporting los jibbities is viewed as a completely mainstream and inoffensive opinion, on par with supporting human rights in general.

Subtext: Another example of privilege is being in a position to do a lot of good, and then just not caring about it. Simon is fighting for the causes he believes in, so seeing Wilhelm just casually throw it away is extremely disappointing for him.

Subtext: Unlike Vincent, August is actually a natural leader, someone people listen to, which is why he manages to quiet down the room when Vincent is unable to. Maybe a good quality in a future king?

Subtext: Simon is continuing the argument from before. Wilhelm could have shown solidarity with mental health causes or LGBT causes, but chose not to. However, he immediately decided to join in solidarity with the other rich kids protesting the school rules, which is rather selfish.

Subtext: Colour theory! Sara in purple, because part of the reason she's back at school is that August asked her to? And Simon in yellow, because he sure isn't loving Wilhelm very much right now.

Subtext: Just a reminder that Sara has actually been completely out of the loop since the end of season 2. She has no idea about the school rules, what's happened at home, how it's going with Simon and Wilhelm, or what's happening at school.

Blink and you miss it: Fredrika is so close to stop striking as soon as she's threatened with repercussions.

Subtext: I keep hammering this point home: The culture is in the walls, it's not something some of the kids made up. The visiting alumni were also hazed as new students and kept it going as third years. Same for the parents of all these kids. They're all part of the system, they all kept the cycles of abuse going, because they want the school to be like that.

Subtext: Privilege is thinking you can get things your way with almost no effort. None of these kids have ever struggled or protested something for real and then not been given what they wanted, so they seriously believed they'd win immediately.

Subtext: Another theme of this season is bringing secrets out in the open. We've all seen August struggling with body dysmorphia and an eating disorder since season 1, but no-one has ever called it out and put words on it, until Simon immediately recognizes it and calls it out.

Subtext: ...while the rich kids are just stuck in denial, because eating disorders is for poor people or something, it's not something that happens to them. And if it did, you certainly wouldn't admit it to anyone else.

Subtext: August tries to jokingly fend off Nils because he doesn't want anyone to know that the letter actually meant something to him, until Nils pushes too hard, and August punches him.

Subtext: Vincent talked a big game about striking in solidarity, but when they're caught as hilariously unprepared as they are, they're not pooling their resources in solidarity with each other, and instead resort to selling them to the highest bidder. Capitalism in a nutshell, illustrated perfectly by the behaviour of spoiled rich kids. Also, pet peeve, the English word for the currency of Sweden is "kronor", not "crowns".

Lost in translation: They're actually repeating a single word in Swedish, "svikare", which is pretty hard to translate. The verb, "svika", is a bit worse than letting someone down, but not as bad as betraying someone. The adjective, "besviken" typically means disappointed. So "svikare" means a person who is letting other people down, disappointing them, or betraying them.

Subtext: The culture is in the walls of the place, but the kids are also pretty damn complicit in continuing all the shitty traditions. This looks like a game of strip poker or truth or dare that went off the rails and just resulted in more bullying, with everyone joining in.

Subtext: The other girls are upset with Felice because she broke the code. You don't snitch to outsiders, you don't tell the truth, you keep up appearances.

Blink and you miss it: Henry won the potato chip auction, happily ate the entire bag, and passed out in a chair, clutching the bag. Mmmm, sourcream and onion.

Subtext: Speaking of closing ranks towards the outside, this also applies to this strike. It would be bad PR for the school if anyone outside found out that it happened, so it's better to solve it quietly and discreetly. Vanessa can trust the kids not to snitch. Vincent is also right, the parents, who are paying the tuition fees, are on their side.

Subtext: Felice can't be seen talking to Sara, so she checks that the coast is clear, and then drags Sara into a private bathroom to have their conversation.

Subtext: Likewise, Sara was probably Felice's first real friend.

Subtext: Nice little foreshadowing. I would have loved seeing Simon's drawing though!

Subtext: Well, he could have just made his social media private, but the show has to maximize the drama, so here we are, piling on more examples of how Simon is losing himself to the monarchy, that maybe he can't reconcile the conflict.

Subtext: Erik spent three years living at Hillerska, of course he wouldn't have told his then twelve year old kid brother about all the shit going on at the school. August spent an entire year living with Erik at the school, seeing what went on first hand, so of course he knows a side of Erik that Wilhelm doesn't.

Subtext: August has been trying to keep his mouth shut and avoid Wilhelm, but since they have yet another fight, he decides to drop the bomb about Erik to hurt Wilhelm.

Subtext: Again, the culture is in the walls. This is not something that only Erik's class did, once. It's probably been happening to all the boys for decades. It happened to the current second-year students, it happened to Erik, and lots of students before him who kept this shitty initiation tradition going.

Culture: Let's talk about the gay porn hazing a bit more. To me, this is an urban legend. I heard about it when I was a teenager back in the 90's, but I don't personally know anyone it happened to, or anyone who did it to anyone else. It was always hearsay, it happened to a friend of a friend's brother, or a classmate's cousin's friend or something similar, as is typical of urban legends.

Let's also make one thing absolutely clear: It doesn't work. The homophobic idea behind this shit is that if you are forced to watch gay porn and get a boner, you are gay, and if you don't, you're straight. But that is actually not true, erections don't work that way, and the fear of being found out is quite the boner killer. Also, what if you like guys, but the guys in the porno aren't your type? There's just so many ignorant misconceptions behind this idea.

I've also seen a lot of fan comments that keep playing into this ignorance; that the only reason Nils decided to stop the tradition was because he obviously failed it. Or that the only reason August is against it is because he failed, and the only reason he failed is because he's secretly not straight. No. Remember that the test doesn't work. Nils probably passed, despite actually being gay. August might have failed, despite being completely straight. Regardless of what happened, they both found it humiliating, and that is why they made a pact to stop it.

[4str0nuts]

DEEP DIVE INTO HORROPEDIAS AUTISTIC CODING : A GIANT ANALYSIS THING

ALTERNATE TITLE IS WHY THE FANDOM SHOULD CHECK OUT HOW THEY TREAT AUTISTIC CHARACTERS

Disclaimer before I go in; i’m using the global translations and the english voice acting as I am on the global server lol. This may affect some things but hopefully not a lot! Also i’m using this video [https://youtu.be/ygAkz4L2AMo?si=elrUeXGompMKYXUJ] for my proof and will provide timestamps!

Horropedia is one of the most loved characters in Reverse:1999 (bc haha funny autistic guy) , yet I literally see no serious posts discussing his character or even going into his character— even at a basic level. I’ve kinda been off to the side observing how the fandom treats Horropedia and it makes me question if people actually like him or some alternate version of him. Yeah sure this is a problem in every fandom but I’m too attached to Horropedia and i’m going to make it everyone’s problem.

There's all sorts of mischaracterisations of him where his autism is reduced to him being an “asshole” and “uncaring”, or that he is some funny reddit meme sona when that’s the case at all! Every other character gets to have serious posts yet when it comes to a very blatant autistic coded character, suddenly no one knows how to act despite the fact the fandom (going off of the twitter fandom here) prides itself on neurodivergency; so I’m here to dump a ton of analysis on Horropedia using ingame sources as proof as well as my own knowledge (as someone who is autistic myself), whilst also debunking mischaracterisations of him. I’m also doing this as I don’t think people treat Horropedias autistic coding seriously, seeing it as silly and thus ignoring all of his character.

Jumping straight in, Horropedia is not an asshole and is actually quite a caring character, even if he doesn’t show it conventionally. To me, it’s quite obvious that he cannot understand people at an emotional level, and always relies on his logical way of thinking no matter the situation; for example, when he broke Blonneys camera, he clearly does not understand why she is mad/upset and instead tries to comfort her logically rather than emotionally. Even when Blonney is very much showing she is mad, Horropedia cannot process that and cannot understand until she actually explains it [Part 5 54:07-57:20]. I can see why people may see it as an asshole move since he tells her to be “reasonable” over the camera breaking, though it is clear that this is another one of his autistic traits as people with autism have a hard time connecting with others’ in an empathetic way(which can come off as being blunt and uncaring) yet no one seems to mention that. Despite this, he still offers her to buy her a new camera once Blonney vents out to Jessica, coming to terms with what he did and making it up to her. [Part 12 2:10:37]

Adding onto the last point, Horropedia shows concern and care multiple times throughout the story. Even if he is bad at comforting people, he still tries to acknowledge what is wrong in regards to the situation. I’m trying to keep this short as I don’t necessarily think this is due to his autism but a cool detail I found with the English voice acting is that his tone gets softer when he’s more genuine (it could be seen as masking but shrug. Not too sure on this one as I'm making this point to show he does care in his own way.) He constantly makes sure everyone is safe and goes out of his way to protect others [Part 4 51:08 , Part 6 1:16:18-1:16:39], which is a small detail I think people gloss over. It’s just nice seeing Horropedia care for others in his own way since I struggle with expressing affection / emotions like him.

Back to his way of thinking, it’s practically plastered everywhere that he thinks in a logical way and takes everything at face value no matter what, which is a trait associated with autism. At the very start of the very event, he even breaks down Vertins joke and still a conclusion was that she wasn’t the person he was looking for (knowing full well she was) [Part 1 11:06-11:50]. Horropedia also explains things at face value— in a basic and straightforward way no matter what it is, which is another example of not truly understanding things at an emotional level! [Part 9 1:42:45-1:43:09]This does not mean he does not consider the consequences of a situation, and Horropedia actively avoids situations where it poses a threat / harm to others. Mentioning this to point out how some people in the fandom treat him like he is stupid?— Despite how he is the basic definition of a nerd with references to it all over his character and voice lines! Yes, he could be seen as careless considering he goes to Green Lake just like that with no approval, but he certainly isn’t oblivious to dangers around him. Horropedia himself explains that he is into horror movies because of how illogical they are(stating how it is like a puzzle), not necessarily the fear of them; so it makes no sense for Horropedia to directly put himself or others in harm's way.

Still relating to his way of thinking, Horropedia uses his horror logic so he can understand situations around him. He directly links back to his special interest to understand things— and to an extent others— better, special interests are a trait exclusive to autistic people! By using his horror special interest, he can understand the world better from his perspective. I don't even need to get examples of this because throughout the Green Lake event he makes references and links to horror movies, basing predictions on what to do in order to survive in the stereotypical like scene of Green Lake. Horropedia is full of reasoning, and despite his “debatable manners” (thanks Sonetto),he is not always too absurd with his predictions. It baffles me that people treat Horropedia like he is some happy-go-lucky kid, running head first into danger; he takes the time to understand a given situation in a way he would understand before doing anything.

Another really obvious thing is that he can’t understand social cues, or the body languages of others at all. Essentially he cannot read the room. The whole “I know the rules of social courtesy” [Part 12 2:19:19] line doesn’t necessarily mean he understands social cues— rules are (usually) based in logic and reasoning, and not emotions. Social courtesy just means the rules of society (or the foundation in this case? eh), and Horropedia knows he HAS to abide by the rules or else he will be in trouble. Something seen as ‘basic’ and ‘simple’ to people considered ‘normal’ by society may be hard to grasp by people who do not benefit from society (autistic people). Horropedia understands the ‘logical reasoning’ of how someone acts but he can’t connect with or understand someone else’s emotional responses. Literally look at most of his interactions with the film crew and Blonney, Jessica even steps in at one point to stop him from making the fight between Jason and Blonney worse [Part 6 1:11:38]; and even then he tries to use logic to break down the situation. Horropedia can’t pick up on social cues for the life of him, including body language and tone.

Smaller point here but I have a feeling Horropedia’s tone is hard to understand to some of the characters. Tooth Fairy couldn’t tell if Horropedia was joking towards the end of the event , where he shows off his “sense of humour”. Nothing much to add here I just found that really interesting…

Ive rinsed out all the notes I’ve taken on Horropedias autistic coding so far…….. feel free to add on more….. I may have gotten some things wrong because I have been working on this for a few hours straight. Surprisingly I still have more to analyse outside of his autism so if people are interested let me know bc i’m desperate .

TLDR: horropedia is autistic thanks for reading.

[codecicle-archive]

The QSMP is looking for smaller English-speaking streamers, so I figured I'd take the time to introduce qsmpblr to none other than Eric "Condi" Condifiction!!

// this will contain (very minor) spoilers for jrwi riptide, apotheosis, bitb, some prime defenders, and the SCU //

Condi is an English-speaking Canadian who's a part of Just Roll With It (JRWI), the absurdly powerful dnd podcast he runs with his friends Bizly, Grizzly, and Slimecicle!! He plays several characters across their multiple campaigns, along with DM'ing his own campaign of Apotheosis. He plays/played Jay Ferin for Riptide, Rolan Deep for Blood in the Bayou, Sylnan Vengolor for Fated, Flynn Gustwind for Convergence, and Vyncent Sol for Prime Defenders. (plus something im probably forgetting whoops anyway)

He is insanely talented at rp and improv, with some of the more infamous and my favorite examples being episodes 53, 100, and 101 in JRWI: Riptide. The way he plays Jay Ferin is emotionally devastating and incredible, and she's genuinely brought me to tears multiple times. Though he plays his absolute heart out with every character he makes, she's just a neat example of his range and talent. Looking at the differences between Jay, the Navy's daughter, and someone like Rolan Deep, a lawyer returning to his hometown of Galloway to experience The Horrors™ is just wild man. Not to even mention everything he does with Vyncent and his multiple different characters inside him; along with everything he made for his own campaign of Apotheosis.

Something something charlie slimecicle calls him "God Gamer Condifiction." He's really good at video games dude I have no way to talk about this he just is its really scary honestly. On one of his more recent streams he went live playing Only Up! and he beat it in one go without any major setbacks, fast enough to refund the game and get all the money he spent on it back. Just for context.

He also has a background in minecraft roleplay specifically!! He was part of the SCU (Slimecicle Cinematic Universe) where he roleplayed several different characters. God!Condi and 100Days!Condi being the more defined ones. Everything he did in the SCU was nearly pure unscripted improv and incredibly impressive, and I highly recommend you go through and watch it!! (I go into detail on how to get into it on this post)

He doesn't just have background in the roleplay aspects of minecraft though, he was also briefly on SMPEarth and is skilled at regular minecraft too. He mainly strives at the roleplay aspects, but again the whole God Gamer Condifiction thing so ^_^

^ Here's a good example of his regular PVE skills in this video where his chat tortures him through a crowd control mod as he tries to build a cottage core lesbian house

^ Along with a link to of one of my all time favorite videos of his, which I think shows his humor and style of jokes off in a cool way :]

Overall I just really need my dnd guy to be in my favorite minecraft server so he can make so many SCU references with Charlie Slimecicle, then emotionally devastate us through the roleplay aspect. I really hope he manages to get in so everyone gets a taste of his amazing roleplay and gaming (i guess thats how im phrasing it) abilities :DD

Condifiction 👍

[nadiuu]

I saw a post mentioning how Matt most likely has ADHD, and since I 100% agree, I wanted to elaborate a bit here (also because I’ll approach it from a matt/mello angle and I don’t want to annoy anyone who doesn’t ship them). I’ve also noticed that this is a headcanon that many people share, so I’d like to delve deeper into it. I’ve been meaning to write a mini-analysis on why these two are so compatible due to their neurodivergences. Please keep in mind that English isn’t my native language so sorry for any mistakes, and I’ll be projecting a lot of myself here, so be kind XDD

It’s not crazy to think that Matt might have ADHD based on the few clues we have in canon. Mogui and Misa’s escape could indeed be attributed to good planning, and not necessarily Matt’s fault, but the guy makes it clear that he’s absolutely bored to death having to keep watch and is always glued to his console.

And you might say: Nadiu, just because he gets bored watching something static doesn’t mean he has trouble concentrating. Sure, it’s normal to get bored. But Matt is aware of how important it is to keep watch, and even then, he can’t help it. If his brain doesn’t receive enough stimuli, he dieeeees (which could be an indicator of his giftedness), and he’ll seek out little dopamine boosts wherever he can. If it’s not gaming, it’ll be eating junk food. If it’s not eating, it’ll be smoking. This could indicate a certain level of anxiety (again, a possible indicator of giftedness or ADHD).

We also know he’s someone who hates the outdoors. Why might this be? For someone with ADHD, being surrounded by too much stimulation can be overwhelming. Gifted people will tend to notice everything around them, and those with 2e (gifted + ADHD) may struggle to focus their attention if they’re overstimulated. They pick up on all the stimuli and can’t focus on just one. This could lead them to prefer isolating themselves, at least occasionally, especially when they reach burnout.

Another thing to consider is his lack of sociability. This doesn’t have to be exclusive to ADHD because it’s also common among gifted people, even without 2e. For gifted people, socializing can be hard if there’s nothing engaging to take away from a conversation (our greatest enemy is small talk hahhaha). This doesn’t apply to everyone, but it’s a fairly common factor. We like to keep our brains stimulated 24/7.

Now imagine someone who perceives everything around them, analyzes every detail, and can’t discern what’s important and what isn’t. They’re chatting with you, but instead of focusing on what you’re saying, they can’t help but notice your eyelid twitching e.g., which might mean you’re stressed, and then they start thinking about all the possible reasons you might be stressed. Meanwhile, there are countless sounds and stimuli around them that they can’t ignore. It’s going to be hard for them to really listen to you, and they might not feel at peace until they get home, where they can finally relax. Gifted people can also be sensitive to light and sound; in our homes, we control everything. They’re our safe spaces.

Again, this doesn’t have to be true for everyone. Let’s remember that every person is unique.

That leads me to Mello—he’s an example of how someone can be gifted and still be sociable. I don’t think Mello has any neurodivergence beyond his giftedness, without 2e (adhd or autism). I know there’s some debate about whether giftedness counts as a neurodivergence, but let’s assume it does for the sake of this post ahhahah

I think the most interesting trait of Mello, in terms of his giftedness, is his hyper-demanding nature. We tend to be perfectionists, extremely demanding of ourselves, which leads to low frustration tolerance. We want to achieve excellence and can become obsessive in pursuing our goals. However, we’re very likely to encounter obstacles (without obstacles there’s no growth), but we often don’t know how to deal with them. Needless to say, this ties in with Near, who is a prodigy, and with Mello’s inferiority complex.

So, why are Matt and Mello such a good match?

First of all, in Wammy’s House, Matt didn’t pose a threat to Mello. Matt was ranked third, and whether it was due to a lack of interest or difficulties with studying, he never surpassed Mello. For Mello, anything below him wasn’t important; what deserved all his attention was whatever was above him.

We have to assume they maintained some kind of friendship at Wammy’s House because years later, when Mello is left on his own, he reaches out to Matt, and Matt comes to his aid. Matt drops everything to go to him. He knows what he’s getting into, the risks involved, and yet he does it. He must have some motivation to help find Kira. And if it’s alongside his old friend, even better.

Here’s where the sociability factor comes in. How many friendships could an introverted guy have made in those five years, after losing the ‘shelter’ of an orphanage full of kids similar to him and being thrown into the real world, surrounded by neurotypical people? You get what I mean, right...? Mello must have left some sort of mark on him if Matt went all the way to New York for him. Could it be that he was already in New York? Maybe, but let me dream hahaha

Now imagine how an introvert and an extrovert, both incapable of forming and maintaining relationships with others due to that sense of being misunderstood (‘the world is neurotypical and I’ve never dealt with it’), complement each other. This makes me think about Near’s loneliness, but we’ll leave that for another day XD Matt works from the safety of home, and Mello, obsessed with success, has no problem going out because he takes the world head-on. Matt, who has likely felt somewhat useless his whole life because of his ADHD, has Mello by his side telling him “I choose you”. Matt, who might have always been a bit insecure, has Mello betting on him. Maybe because he has no other choice? Maybe, but if Mello wants to find someone else who can truly understand him, his only option is Matt.

Mello, who’s willing to blow himself up to win, then has Matt telling him, “Calm down. Stay in tonight to play video games and smoke a joint.” Mello, who has some suicidal idea for catching Kira, shares it with Matt, and Matt agrees because his brain has produced more dopamine in two months than in five years. The Kira case is a puzzle that stimulates them and gives them a purpose.

To wrap this up, I want to share a dialogue (still a rough draft) that will appear later in my fic, putting the cherry on top of this tragedy. Matt tries to dissuade Mello from pursuing the Kira case after the massive scar he earned on his face.

Matt: Why is it your duty to keep going? Why yours? Mello: Who else will do it? Who can keep up with Kira? Matt: You, right? Or Near. Or me. Because we had the sheer luck of being born with this intellect. Mello: Yes. Matt: No. You and I have no duty to a society that failed us. We don’t have to fix the problems of a society that let us rot in that institution. Is it because we’re orphans? Is that it? Do we have nothing to lose but our lives? No one to mourn us if we die? Because there are plenty of other people out there with the abilities you and I have, and I don’t see them risking their necks the way you do. They weren’t pushed to become detectives. They have something to lose; they have their families. Do you deserve to die just because no one will miss you?

And if you’ll allow me to break your heart a little more, Matt’s next thought is:

'Because it’s not even true. You’ll kill me if I lose you again.'

[dailyhatsune]

hi! not exactly a request but i do wanna ask, whats your process when you're rendering more paint like art? (if that makes sense, English isnt my first language so apologies hdskhsjdbd) i really love how you use the colors and im curious how you do it :0

i’ve been meaning to answer this one for a while so here’s how i painted miku in today’s post (put under the read more because yeah prepare for a long post

i’d also like to preface this by saying that i never follow a set way of doing things, so in terms of what my personal process is like, these are only broad strokes of what i do! sometimes i’ll combine or skip parts entirely, depending on how i feel. also, this is not a tutorial, just how i do things, so please don’t treat it like one :’D this will read like the ‘how to draw an owl’ picture if you do

first, like every artist, i sketch. more specifically, i’m getting an idea of what i want to paint later on. this could be how a scene is set up or in this case, how a character is posed. here i’m not concerned about details or getting everything perfectly, i’m only planning how the thing will be composed. maybe a lot of canvas size changing, or adjusting what miku’s doing (note how busted miku’s right hand looks from all the transforming!) however, i still have to be concerned with how clear the sketch will be to future me, because the sketch won’t be any good if i can’t read what miku’s doing

after that, i lay down a flat gray under the sketch, mainly focusing on giving miku a clear silhouette. this is also a good time to make adjustments to the composition on the fly if i suddenly feel like something can be improved upon, like shortening miku’s left arm from the sketch!

after painting a flat silhouette, i start shading in grayscale, focusing only on lighting. i usually do it in two passes, one for the lightest and darkest tones i’ll use (not black and white) and then a second for midtones to blend them better with the base gray but i forgot to screenshot the result of the first pass 🗿 nevertheless, here is where i can start adding some amount of details. i’m not including any extra accessories yet, just focusing on the base design of the outfit and the character herself (for anyone wanting to draw characters from That Gacha Game, this is how i personally make the process more bearable for myself.) i still use the dark gray to separate where certain details (like the facial features and fingers) begin and end, mainly to make colouring more bearable later.

now here’s where i get the Good Colours. it’s a cheat lol. i put a gradient map layer over the grayscale painting so that there’s a little bit of color to start. some gradient maps can be applied as is, some need the layer settings adjusted to make it look good. this one, for example, is a (free) gradient map set from the csp assets store that needs you to set the layer opacity to 20% and to set the blending mode to color to achieve this result. in general, i tend to pick which gradient map i want to use based on vibes, or basically whether i want the work to be warmer or cooler, colour-wise. but this does do quite a bit of lifting for the colors in my stuff.

and then, finally, i add the colours. i add flat base colours in an overlay layer. at this stage, i’ve made the character silhouette clear enough that i don’t need to refer to the sketch anymore for what miku looks like. also, the gradient map layer does its magic by making the shading a bit more vibrant than it would’ve been without it. after that i paint over with a new layer to add details like the lace.

and then i put some extra shading on top. basically this is where the ‘better lighting’ happens. again, this isn’t a tutorial, so i’m not here to say what each part of the lighting is, but i’ve labeled which layers do which job. in other works where the lighting within a scene is more defined (from a window, from a small crack in the walls, etc) the glow dodge layer may be more opaque and sharper, but since this isn’t a work with that, the lighting was applied using an airbrush. the linear burn layer is also there to make the whole thing darker so the glow dodge doesn’t end up oversaturating miku. i also usually match the lights to the vibe i want, and use a complementary color for the shadows. so here you can see i have warm colors on the glow dodge layer, but light purple on both the linear burn and multiply layer.

and that’s it for the character—here’s a gif showing how each layer adds to miku! (sorry it’s so toasty)

as for the background, depending on the complexity, it may go through a similar process, or if i can settle with flat image backgrounds, i just go for that. it’s ok to use external image materials. i didn’t have a background in mind for this miku in specific, so i got some default csp materials and threw together something

and that’s about a rough overview of what my process for more finished works looks like! again, art is a fluid process so i never specifically stick to certain steps all the time, and you shouldn’t either. i can probably answer why i’d pick this colour over another in one particular work, but it’s something that kinda has to be learned on a grander scale. i think everyone can already feel what colors work with what atmosphere or what setting, even if they can’t immediately explain why. colors and composition do take some level of experimentation to find what works best!