#like it’s good but they cut out a Lot. it was a dense book

[fingertipsmp3]

Finally watched TBOSAS and all I can say is anyone who watched the film but didn’t read the book is severely missing out tbh

[empress-simps]

Missed Hints

Pairing: Remus Lupin x Fem! Reader CW: Language Genre: Fluff Summary: Remus Lupin wanted to make his feelings known; he is trying numerous ways to tell you, but you are simply quite oblivious to the poor boy’s advances.

Note: Am I a bit too obsessed with Rems? Probably. This one's a bit shorter than the rest. Enjoy reading! Pictures used are from Pinterest, credits to the owners!

Sometimes, all Remus wanted to do was run into a wall to knock himself out.

Maybe it’ll help formulate a reason why you couldn’t pick up his signals and actions that he wants to be more than friends. Please cut this poor boy some slack; he’s literally done everything he could to hint that he likes you.

The problem is that you are quite oblivious- being as dense as the castle walls in Hogwarts. Although this hasn’t stopped Remus from pursuing you after several pitiful (also quite funny) attempts, if anything, it made him work even harder to let you know he fancies you.

“Y/n, wait up!” Remus calls out to you, leaving his mates, who were whispering words of encouragement and ‘good luck’ to him. Hearing your name made you turn around, a book in your hand, as you smiled at the taller boy. “Remus, hi!” He smiled, walking beside you and settling in at the same pace as you. Suddenly, a friend of yours piped up, “Y/n, we have to go get something in the dorms; stay with Remus, yeah?” before you could even reply, they were rushing to leave. Remus could only blush as your friends shot him a thumbs up before escaping the scene, trying to stop the giggles escaping their mouths.

It was all up to him now.

“Erm, so how were the holidays?” he asked, trying to act casually as he placed his hands in his pockets. The question made you hum, your eyes lit up. "Oh, it was wonderful! We spent the holidays in Canada, lots of snow, I made a snow man and visited some parks.” She nods, holding her book closer to her chest, seemingly lost in thought. “It was also freezing.” Remus hums in agreement. “Is that so? I’m glad you had fun.” He smiles, and you both walk towards the great hall to have dinner.

You looked up at him with a bright smile and said, “Tell me about yours, Rems! I’m sure it was also fun.” Remus blushed, hearing his nickname roll off your tongue so casually. Even after all the years you’ve known each other, simply calling him by his nickname that you specially made for him has an effect that never faded away. “Well, it was just simple, really. I just stayed at James’ and had fun.” He shrugged his shoulders, smiling at you. He could care less about his holiday shenanigans, preferring you just talk his ear off about every little thing you did, he will absorb what you say word by word, like a sponge.

 "Well, James is quite an interesting person.” She hummed in agreement, Remus felt his eyebrow twitch, a small twinge similar to jealousy creeping up into him. What about him? Do you think he’s interesting too? Was Remus someone who could be worthy of your time?

 “Yeah, that bloke was conjuring up some pranks to pull this year.”

You let out a small giggle and oh merlin please take the poor boy to Madame Pomfrey because he thinks his poor heart can’t handle all the feelings he has towards you. Remus Lupin is such a simp.

He clears his throat, trying to muster up some courage as he asks you the million-galleon question. “So, are you free tomorrow? It’s Hogsmeade day.” Remus smiles, thankfully, his clammy hands are kept under his pockets, making his nervousness almost unnoticeable. Your eyes lit up “Oh! I forgot, but yes, I am free tomorrow.” Remus saw his chance and took it. “Great, how about we hang out in Three Broomsticks?”

For Merlin’s sake, please make this turn into Lupin’s favor. He’s done too many ways to confess to your clueless self.

“That would be fantastic! I can bring my friends along, and you can bring James, Sirius, and Peter too!” you clapped your hands excitedly, not noticing how the werewolf visibly deflated as you exclaimed. Right, might as well reject him right now on the spot to end his misery.

He could probably shout “I love you” and stare at you directly- but you’ll just think he’s talking to someone behind you. Remus had also tried to pass you a note containing his feelings for you back then. Grabbing it without much of a thought, you passed it to your friend, thinking he wants you to give it to her, who shakes her head and sighs, looking at Remus.

The rest of the Marauders and your friends think Remus’s plans of confessing to you were a lost cause.

“Our poor Moony…” Peter frowns, as James shakes his head. “At this point, Moony should just kiss her.” Sirius sighed, feeling pity for his friend. “She would probably think it was a friendly kiss.” Peter snorts, trying to control his laughter, James glared at Sirius jokingly before pushing him. “Bugger off Pads, Y/N’s just… super innocent? I guess.” They resumed watching the two from a distance, a look of anticipation evident in their faces.

“I was kind of hoping it’ll be just us?” Remus grins nervously, sitting beside you as you reach the Gryffindor table. You took a bite out of the apple pie from your plate before replying, “Sure, it’ll still be fun. You’re a great company, Rems.” She smiles, before resuming on eating the remaining apple pie slice. Little do you know the simple compliment you made had a tremendous effect on Remus.

“Moony, your smile hasn’t left your face ever since Y/n agreed. Stop it, I’m getting scared.” Sirius states, Remus turns to look, a hint of a small dopey smile on his face. “Hm?”

“Oh merlin, Y/n broke him.” Peter blanches. They were smacked upside their heads lightly by James. “Come on now, don’t rain on his parade. Moon’s just… well- over the moon.” James laughs lightly, Sirius snorts while Peter tries to hide his smile. Remus rolled his eyes playfully, opening his trunk to pick out the clothes he’s going to wear tomorrow. “Whatever, now help me decide what to wear, you sods.”

“Rems! Over here!” You exclaimed, standing on your tiptoes, arms up and waving in his directions. Remus smiles, maneuvering through the line of students waiting to get out of Hogwarts and to Hogsmeade. “Y/n! you look… pretty.” He blushes, drinking in the sight of you. Remus could swear on his life that he saw a light shade of pink dust your cheek as you tucked a stray hair behind your ear.

“Thank you, I like your sweater. It suits you.” You said, eyes going over his body and one of Remus’s signature sweaters. You can’t deny it; you like what you see, you were pulled from your thoughts when someone spoke.

“Oi! Get a move on you half-blood and goody-two-shoes! Holding up the bloody line is what you’re doing!” Evan Rosier, a Slytherin student complained a few feet away from you and Remus, Mulciber and Dolohov backs their fellow Slytherin and friend up. He snarls, those blokes, looks like they’ll have a new target for one of their nasty pranks.

“If I were you, I would shut my mouth.” Remus warns, standing in front of you, blocking your frame from their view.

Evan raised one eyebrow, amusement swimming in his eyes. “What are you going to do? Pesky little Gryffindor like you are always running around trying to be brave.” He taunts, moving closer to their direction.

“Rems, I’m fine. Let’s go, yeah?” She gently tugs the sleeve of his sweater, he looks down at you, his expression softening. “Alright then.” He threw one last warning look at Rosier over his shoulder; that punk needs to just wait and see what’s going to come and bite his ass.

The two of you are sitting in the Three Broomsticks, talking about basically anything under the sun. Well, you mostly talked while Remus just listens, humming and sometimes sharing his two cents on the topic you are on.

“Rems, thank you.”

Remus’ eyebrows shot up in confusion, “Thank you? What for?”

“Earlier, Evan Rosier.”

“Ah, that prick. It was nothing, y/n.” He offers a gentle smile; he wants to touch your hand that was directly across his from the table but ultimately deciding against it, the last thing he wants to do is make you feel uncomfortable.

“Thank you for being my friend. You’re an amazing person who deserves the world.” She smiles, slowly taking his hand onto hers and squeezing it tightly.

He felt a crack in his heart. “Yeah, you are too.” He managed to choke out, offering a wry smile.

Friends. Is that it? Is he just one of the many friends you have in your life? Is he a friend that will slowly drift away after you graduate from Hogwarts? Merlin, he would even count himself lucky if you invited him to be at your wedding, and if he wants to push his luck then he might even be the godfather to one of your future kids.

You furrowed your brows, “Is there something wrong, Rems?” He looks at you, quickly shaking his head. “Nothing’s wrong. Why do you ask?” You hummed, “Well, you have this kind of haunted look on you when you’re bothered about something; you’re doing it right now.”

Remus blinks, even he himself wasn’t aware of that. He closed his eyes and sighed; fuck it. He’ll push his luck to the extremes by confessing his love for you. Doesn’t matter if you see him as just a friend, you deserve to know.

“Y/n, I have to tell you something.”

“Of course. What would that be?”

“Well, I don’t know how to tell you this without being upfront about it…” He starts, you urged him to continue; well, here goes nothing.

“Y/n, I-“

“Two butterbeers, correct?”

Remus wants to pull his hair out of frustration as the server walked towards them and set down the butterbeers they ordered, interrupting his speech. You smiled, thanking them before turning to Remus, who was frowning.

“What was it you were trying to say, Rems?” You asked, sipping your butterbeer.

“I like you, a lot. Ever since we met.” He simply blurts out quickly, as if he’s scared someone is going to interrupt again. You blink slowly, setting your butterbeer down gently.

“I like you too, Remus.”

“No- you don’t understand,” He shakes his head as you furrowed your eyebrows, utterly confused.

“I fancy you, love.” He emphasizes, taking both of your hands into his large ones, looking at you straight in the eyes, completely serious. She widens her eyes ever so slightly, her heart rate speeding up a bit.

“Why didn’t you tell me? I’ve always fancied you too, Rems.”

Remus felt as if the time slowed down, his heartbeat pulsing faster, eyes blinking owlishly, his jaw slack in shock.

Did he hear that right? Please tell him that he heard that right.

“I-I… I gave you hints, love!” He sputtered, “But you’ve just ignored them every single time!” She frowns, “I didn’t notice…” Remus agreed, “Forgive me, but you were quite oblivious.” A small smile was on his face.

“You could’ve just said outright that you fancy me, Rems.” She chuckles, a faint blush on her cheeks.

“If you like me too, then why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want to force you.” She said, looking at the beverage in her hand. His eyes softened, “Force me? To what, love?”

She sighs, looking up at him. “I didn’t want you to force yourself to try to love me just because I feel that way for you.”  Before Remus could even speak, she opened her mouth again, “I know you, Remus. You would’ve tried either way, that’s just who you are.” She chuckles, sipping butterbeer before continuing.

“You have a heart of gold, Rems. That’s one of the things I love about you.” She rubs her thumb across his scarred knuckles gently. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, the simple and gentle touch made his spine shiver.

If this was some kind of dream, then he would be more than happy to not wake up.

“Can I kiss you?” He breathes out, making you giggle. You stood up from your seat and leaned towards him, you can feel and smell his peppermint toothpaste fanning against your lips, beckoning you closer.

“You don’t even have to ask.” You closed the distance between you and sealed both of your lips with a kiss.

[classypauli]

Hi, could you write some fluff with Jenna and male reader? I love how you write

Kisses & Lattes

jenna ortega x male!reader

an: Hey! Thank you for request, I hope you´ll have fun reading it. For those who are uncomfortable feel free to imagine the gender you would like! I was just using it bc of the request. Thanks again! Take care!!

Sorry for mistakes!

Everything started with a coffee. Ever since you were a kid you were mesmerized by hot drinks like tea and chocolate or matchas but the one that mostly caught your attention was a coffee.

It was quite a paradox since you didn´t find your way to it when you were young. You could always smell it from your parent's breath or every morning when you woke up.

Your parents owned a coffee shop and sometimes you helped them clean or prepare. Maybe that´s how you started this way.

As you grew older and started spending more time in the shop, with a good book to read your hand also found a cup of dark beans with boiled water. That was your must-to-do in a day. Just sit on a cozy sofa in a corner with a book in one hand and coffee in the other.

That´s how you met your now long-term girlfriend. Jenna was a regular customer in your shop. It happened a lot of times you made her a latte or cappuccino even though she mostly came because of a hot tea.

In a country like Ireland where townsfolks often wore jumpers and hoodies, this type of drink was made for it.

„What´s on your mind?“

You were cut off by a gentle voice beside you as you stared out the big window. It was the week before Christmas and the weather outside started getting harder. When you walked outside you could feel the cold air hitting your nostrils and if you weren´t wearing a beanie you could be sure your ears wouldn´t like that.

It just started to snow when you were doing your last preparations for tomorrow's big day. You were finally opening your coffee shop after the long reconstruction. Your parents gave the shop to you despite your declines.

„Nothin´.“ You smiled down at her as you felt her hand reaching to yours squeezing it in her own.

Jenna knew you were getting worried. You were afraid nobody would show up. Yes, the weather

wasn´t helping but would the storm be the reason for it?

You were standing beside each other just looking as the snow started to get dense and the

Snowflakes are much bigger than before.  

„Come, I´ll make you something.“ You pulled her gently into you as you made your way to the

Coffee machine. Her big brown eyes were scanning your every move. How you melted the coffee and got it into the machine. You poured milk into a small teapot and slowly started to froth the milk. You grabbed the cup with the coffee and started pouring the milk into it.

Jenna enjoyed this. You were so calm doing it. Your arms were slowly but confidently circling the cup making some imagine in a coffee.

You stopped and grabbed the cup slowly giving in to Jenna. There was a big heart in it. She was amazed every time she saw it. Your drawing in coffee was perfect, sometimes you drew a swan, and through Halloween, you drew a pumpkin but what Jenna loved the most was the heart.

She gently grabbed the warm cup from your hands and slowly brought it under her nose to smell it. Slowly taking a sip while looking up at you as you smiled.

That´s how you spend the rest of the evening. The only light was the small lights by the bar and outside of the shop. Just enjoying each other's health as you cuddled up in one of your big sofas with a blanket around your legs and sweaters, thinking about what will tomorrow's day bring.

-

You sighed as your nerves were getting higher with each passing minute. Your coffee shop was already opened an hour but nobody showed. Not like you were getting high expectations but you were still a bit disappointed.

The room was decorated with Christmas ornaments. The soft music could be heard from the speakers around creating a cozy feeling. You could smell the hot cocoa and fresh spine.

Jenna was sitting by one of the small tables in your hoodie that was too big for her. Sometimes she would shoot you a look but each time her heart swelled at the sight of you.

She knew you were just being strong not showing how much you care about it but deep down she knew how much it affected you. The weather didn´t stop all night making it almost impossible to walk outside nor drive.

Jenna let out a sigh and stood up from the chair. „Y/N.“ She called after you looking at your back.

„Hm.“ You let out but didn´t turn around. You were focused on cutting something behind the bar.

„Y/N.“ She whispered as she came closer to you hugging you from behind with both of her arms around your torso.

„What´s wrong Jen.“ You turned around and looked down at her big eyes. The freckles were more visible as her cheeks and nose were a bit red from the cold. You swore this was your biggest weakness.

„Are you angry?“ she asked with her small voice searching for an answer in your eyes.

Her question shocked you as you blinked twice like you were trying to understand her question. „What? No, Jen. Why would I?“ you quickly pulled your arms around her.

„You were trying so hard these past months and when it´s finally here...“

You gently brushed the hair that was on her forehead, brushing it back behind her ear. „I´m not angry nor disappointed. I completely understand why it turned out like this.“ You said as you were looking into her eyes to make her sure. „It has to be like this I guess.“

Jenna leaned into your chest to hear your heartbeat with a sense of anticipation.

A couple of hours after, you and Jenna decided to close the coffee shop and get home. You didn´t want to do it but deep down you knew you wouldn´t have a customer today. You promised to make her dinner after spending so much time here. As you were getting your jacket you could hear bells by the door.

„Ow, man! This weather.“

You quickly turned around with wide eyes not believing what you saw.

„Finally! The road was awful!“

„I know right? We barely left the house and almost immediately got stuck!“

There were your friends with a wide smile across their faces. „Y/N!“ They went to you to hug you. „We´re so glad to finally see you! And look at this!“ one of your friends spun around with arms wide open. „It´s so beautiful in here!“

„W-What are you doing here?“

They laughed at your shocked face. „Look at him! He can´t believe we are here!“

„Well we heard that today is a day with a big D so we couldn´t let that slide.“

The realization hit you like a train and you spun around to look behind you. There was standing  Jenna with her small frame trying to hide her smile.

Slowly more people came, your friends, Jenna´s friends, and your parents. Everyone was talking to each other around the room you could only hear happiness. Your hands were full of work but it made you happy. You were feeling complete doing what you enjoy for the people you love.

„It was you. You called them.“ You whispered in Jenna´s ear as you hugged her from behind. She was sitting on your knees as you were sitting down on a sofa.

She turned to her side raising her eyebrows and looking around. „I don´t know what you are talking about.“

You squeezed her tighter in your arms as she let out a laugh. You kissed the side of her head as you leaned on her shoulder. The both of you were sitting there looking at your family feeling warm in your heart as you watched them talking and laughing loudly, enjoying the night.

[koolades-world]

hello ^^

was wondering if youd be able to write something about the demon brothers (and maybe diavolo too) with mc whos a little dumb? as in they forget a lot of stuff (what day it is, where they put something only a few seconds ago, etc) and dont know a lot of things even if its obvious. theyre also a bit gullible and fall for fake news or scams a lot. basically a bimbo/himbo type of mc.

hi!! yeah sure thing!

actually went to google if there was a gender neutral version of bimbo himbo and apparently there actually is

presenting: thembo! haha I love this term

enjoy :)

Thembo/Himbo/Bimbo Mc

Lucifer

very protective of you

can't help but internally smile whenever you forget your train of thought or asks him what today's date is for the third time

if there's an unreliable news source that keeps finding it's way into your hands he sees personally that they mysteriously goes out of business

gotten surprisingly good at finding things you lost, like he'll just move one thing out of the way and what you're looking for will be there (big mom energy here)

Mammon

he's a himbo himself tbh

you're cut from the same cloth so you can be silly together

100% both of you will ask each other the time, check your D.D.D., and only leave that situation with what percent it's at so you have to check again and still don't have the time

you match each other's energy so well it's meant to be

Levi

he's not quite sure how to feel at first

he gets overwhelmed by the amount of questions you ask, but once you start asking questions about his games, you're instantly close

he doesn't mind repeating himself since you actually care about him

sometimes he forgets everything besides gaming so he gets it

Satan

if Mammon is your birds of a feather flock together, he's your opposite attract moment, even better than Lucifer

he always makes sure to let you know if something you've heard is fake or not and always makes it a lesson even though despite you listening, never seems to stick but that's ok he still loves you

however he loves how you embrace all of the things he loves even if you don't fully get it, like all the more complicated books he reads for fun

it's alright he has enough brains for the both of you lol

Asmo

sometimes he's very himbo so he has solutions to your problems

gives you a cute little invisible ink pen that activates when you stand or sit in spots you're in a lot to write on your arm with since regular ink isn't cute (solomon made it <3)

always asks you if you have everything before you leave the house with a checklist, and when you got home

please make sure to thank him!!

Beel

he also has the same oblivious nature, but he's more dense while you're more airhead

if you put your heads together (and with a little help from belphie) you can usually figure it out

will help you look for your D.D.D. while the both of you use the flashlight on your D.D.D.

ultimate duo fr

Belphie

he thinks you're so silly but tries to keep any playfully mean comments to a minimum

sometimes he can't help but poke fun at you but afterwards he always tells you he's sorry and tells you you're pretty

straight up puts tracking devices on important items that you handle everyday so that if you lose something, you can easily find it again, such as your toothbrush and textbooks

Diavolo

another sorta himbo, since he seems like he has no idea what he's doing but actually is very aware

if you lose something and really can't find it, no worries! he can just buy you a new one or have the Little D's search for it since they'll do anything to help you out

very understanding and sweet about it since he kinda gets it

the both of you can embrace this lifestyle together

[bloomeng]

One thing that bugs me about fanon Lxc is when wangxian fans make it seem like he’s totally trying to set his brother up with Wwx bc he’s just sooooo supportive. They act as if this is canon when no that’s not how canon went at all.

When they were teenagers Lxc was worried that Lwj was lonely and so when Wwx showed up and Lwj started to react he saw it as a good opportunity to get Lwj to make friends, bc a) Wwx also seemed interested in being friends and b) Wwx was popular and had a lot of friends so maybe he’d meet more people by proxy. He wasn’t trying to set up his 15-16 yr old brother, he was just trying to get him to broaden his horizons bc Cloud Recesses is very isolated. I think it’s very possible he recognized Lwj’s behavior as a crush but he was not playing wingman.

And none of that even matters bc by the time the war ends and Wwx is fully a demonic cultivator he no longer likes him. He never stops Lwj bc he doesn’t see it as his place but he also has stated that he doesn’t approve of necromancy. He also interpreted Wwx’s denseness towards his brother’s feelings to be purposeful ignorance and manipulation which is fair bc for someone so smart Wwx is very stupid.

I think people forget that the world actually does have some reason to not like Wwx and that necromancy is actually unethical. Not to mention that we the audience have foresight on some of Wwx’s actions that most of the characters don’t.

Lxc was literally thrilled when Lwj dragged Mo home bc he thought his brother had moved on. He legit didn’t care who this random stranger was he was glad he wasn’t connected to Wwx.

And then there was the drama when the scene between Lxc and Wwx came out in the comic—the one where Lxc snaps at Wwx about not knowing Lwj’s feelings— and people on twitter were acting like this scene didn’t already happen in the book. I shouldn’t have been surprised people were mad at Lxc but it was still jarring bc usually people are neutral to positive about him. Lxc is soooo cute until he has human reactions to stressful situations that contradict your perception of him and get in the way of your ship. Cut the man some slack that was the first hour of what was going to be the worst 24 hrs of his life. A man he doesn’t like just came to him, told him his closest friend is up to some pretty awful shit and then acted like he didn’t know his brother was in love with him. And it’s funny because Lxc’s last straw wasn’t Wwx telling him Jgy was suspicious it was (what Lxc interpreted as) Wwx playing dumb.

tldr: lxc is not wangxian’s #1 fan

[drdemonprince]

Can you offer any (academic) writing advice for Autistics and ADHDers? You clearly write a lot and write very well and very clearly, so some insight into your process would be great. Personally, I tend to struggle with over explaining or over citing (cause I am always getting misunderstood) and that I get very fixated on not misrepresenting what my sources are saying to avoid feeling like I'm lying. All this is time consuming and makes it hard to say what I really want to say. Thanks!

Hi there! I've written an essay about a lot of this, here is the free link to read it on Medium:

Much of my writing process is inspired by the book How to Write a Lot by Paul Silvia, and it is specifically tailored to academics. The advice applies to people who write popular nonfiction or fiction just as easily, however. And he does have advice relevant to the self-editing and self-doubt you describe feeling.

The full piece gets into this more, but here are some of the stand-out tips:

Schedule a regular time to write every week and show up no matter whether you are feeling it or not.

Throw out all your magical thinking about what you "need" to be able to write. You don't need the perfect workspace, divine inspiration, the right pen, the right playlist. You just need to show up to write regularly, and do it

Editing, outlining, working with research notes, and drafting all count as "writing." Don't expect your initial drafts to be perfect or to equate writing only with getting new words on the page.

Try writing in public spaces to help get yourself in the mindset of explaining a concept to someone with a different frame of reference and type of expertise than you. Writing in a cafe or a public library can force you think and write in a more accessible way. (alternatively, you can pretend you are explaining the concept to a specific person in your life who you respect but who doesnt have all the same reference points as you -- sometimes this is called the "Grandma Test". Explain something like you are talking to your grandma.)

In addition to all this, I would add that you should read a lot of writing, both good and bad, especially work that isn't dry and academic. If all you read is journal articles, you'll write a journal article -- and most of those are hell to read, even for academics. read fiction. read bad wattsapp shipping. read substacks. read newspapers. read indulgent personal nonfiction in the cut or whatever. read reddit posts. notice what works and what doesn't. develop an ear.

and then write a lot! it took me 15 years to get good enough for anything i wrote to get noticed. you can expect to take many years to get comfortable developing your own voice, too. i dont know how far along you are, but even when you've made tremendous progress you'll only notice your flaws and feel the most turgid brain foggy moments. that doesn't mean you're failing.

also, to some extent you can embrace your citation-dense, precise manner of self-expression. we are living in a moment of maximalism and indulgent, long creative works. it's the decade of the 5 hour youtube essay and the 2 hour album. my 5,000 word essays do better than my 2,000 word ones. you should strip down unnecessary tangents and trust yourself and your reader a little more probably, but ive found that the more blatantly autistic and indulgent my writing gets the more the right people like it. a writer's flaws and their distinctive voice are kinda hard to separate. you're not for everyone!

good luck!

[felassan]

The Art of Dragon Age: The Veilguard - more preview pages, under a cut due to spoilers. Preview pages come from Amazon.

( Other batches of preview pages, spoiler warning for links:

[Foreword]

Google Books pages [Part One]

Google Books pages [Part Two] )

Antiva We wanted the city of assassins to be opulent, seductive, and theatrical. The tongue-in-cheek design concept was 24/7 Batman opera: dark roofs to perch on, rich interiors with daggers behind every curtain. Antivan designs worked best in high contrast with rich colors. It increased the overall drama. We made the rooftops the domain of the Crows. Above the city they move freely, striking bold silhouettes for the population to thrill at. Some parts of the city have sunk deeper into the sea.

Antivan Crow Costumes The Antivan Crows are murderers, yes, but they are wealthy, flashy, stylish, sophisticated murderers. They are not a goon squad killing innocent, helpless people. They are what Antiva has instead of an army to (for a price) protect the nation from threats both foreign and domestic. While outsiders may see them as swords for hire with delusions of grandeur, the Crows are a celebrated and integral part of Antivan culture. This is you working alongside Antonio Banderas in Desperado, not Steve Buscemi in Fargo. They may not be nice, and it is totally reasonable for a player to be opposed to working with assassins, but this specific group is not intended to be uniformly grim. Crows aren’t shy about displaying their wealth. [Center] Originally designed as a seasonal Halloween costume, this Crow was too good not to build. Costume design for a faction that’s all about theatricality gave us a chance to go big.

There are still a lot of different archetypes within each faction.   For the Crows, they can range from ominous to bombastic. It was fun to explore the range of Crows, from the elegant to the scoundrels. We briefly explored giving Crows functional grappling hooks. While the Crows were mostly about leather and silver, we still wanted to have some heavy armor in their lineup.

Furniture tells you a lot about a region. In the case of the Deep Roads, we went for as many single-cut stones as possible. Paragon sculptures celebrate prominent figures in every profession. [top right] A tongue-in-cheek design for a dwarven mining suit. Bas-reliefs, sculptures and signs all speak about what life was like in the Deep Roads before they were abandoned.

[top center] A mobile crucible. [center left] Crane powered by a walking wheel. [center right] A walking wheel-powered pile driver. [center bottom] Industrial-level blacksmithing equipment, including a trip hammer, a grinding stone, and bellows. [bottom right] An industrial-grade blast furnace where tons of metal are smelted and poured out into giant molds.

Rivain Castaways making new lives. The majority are human, descended from Tevinters and their longstanding trading partners. There are ethnicities here who don’t seem to match the currently documented list of nations, hinting at shores not visited in living memory, and there are also Qunari. Some fleeing the Qun. Some not fleeing, but reinterpreting. There is a sizable Qunari community, and it is finding converts and alarming both Tevinter and the Qunari triumvirate. Rivain is a mix of outcast people making something new. Life beneath Rivain is just as varied. Banners of conquerors over buildings touched by many cultures, smuggler tunnels, Tevinter public works, the bones of conquered cities and even deeper infrastructure, elven ruins, deep roads, and deeper roads. Rivain was a great palate cleanser between dense urban regions, midnight swamps, and vast caverns. It may be beautiful, but it’s no less dangerous to navigate. From the earliest sketches, we wanted a land of tropical colors, infested with dragons.

Arlathan Forest Arlathan Forest, once the seat of power for the ancient elven empire, is now a realm where magic runs wild and twists reality itself into new and terrifying shapes. Artifacts from that long-ago time have begun to activate. Infused with the powerful magic that saturates the very ground in the forest, they have made what was already a dangerous place far stranger and more deadly. [right] [there is one more caption in this image that I cannot make out the text of]

[sl-walker]

Self-Promotion as Distraction

Want something to read? Here's my stuff that I'd rec, along with what kind of mood it's good for. Feedback adored if you read any of these and wanna give it.

Supernatural - The (Second) Book of James - Long Good if you like stories written before Season 9, tons of angel lore and metaphysics, angel-vessel relations, Jimmy Novak, a story told backwards-and-forwards, and something with a very bittersweet ending that is not actually the ending. Some warning for tragedy, of a sort. If you love Cas and Jimmy, though, it's a hell of an adventure, especially if you like Cas as a total badass.

Star Trek: The Original Series - The Arc of the Wolf - Long Good if you love your Trek stories very grounded and humanistic. Pretty much the life story of Montgomery Scott, it's very much a Scotty story first and a Trek story only sometime after that. There's drama, humor, high seas piracy, friendship, found family and even if you don't actually know Trek very well, I've been told you don't need to in order to enjoy it.

Star Wars - Witness me - Long Good if you like Maul and specifically Obimaul, especially with the more Legends lean on Maul's characterization. Basically an AU where Maul was captured after Theed, the series doesn't ignore the fact that Maul was cut in half, so it's very heavy on the psychology and relationship building. It also has a whole gamut of emotions explored, and beyond the Obimaul, you also have found family and friendship building and an absolutely awesome cast of clones in Blackbirds: Year One. Probably my most popular work, and not entirely without reason.

Star Wars - Undersong - Long-ish Good if you like id-fic! A Sith AU where both Obi-Wan and Maul are raised by Sidious before escaping together, it's largely written in a serial format, with short chapters and a lot of momentum. Good if you don't like long, dense chapters, but do like a story with some real rollercoaster emotion. I enjoyed the hell out of the supporting cast, and so does everyone who reads it, too.

DC Comics/JLI - Past Resolution's Power - Mid-length Good if you want a shorter tale but with teeth. The prequel series to Stardust, this one primarily looks at the short span of time between the book Justice League: Generation Lost (and Booster Gold Vol. 2) and Flashpoint, mostly centered around Booster, but also with Rani and Rip and Michelle and Guy. It's a pretty heavy and genuinely mature story, though it's got its light spots, too. Also called the Mk. I timeline, as its the first.

DC Comics/JLI - Carbon Cycle - Long Good if you want something long, involved, sometimes incredibly fluffy and definitely filled with warmth. The Mk. III timeline -- meaning the third reboot, versus the Mk. I timeline above -- takes place mostly around DC's Rebirth era, on the notion that the characters aren't getting cleanly reset every time and instead that there are these echoes from past lives. The main story, Stardust, is Booster/Beetle slowburn, lots of funny but also lots of sincerity, and later on some heavier stuff creeping in, but the supporting cast has some serious screentime, too.

How about you, Tumblr? GIVE US YOUR DISTRACTION RECS.

[bluedogxl]

holy fucking shit i just got done with doctor4t’s latest content smp video. now i thought i’d never get invested enough in any sort of minecraft smp to feel the need to post about it but my god. i get it. i sat down to a 3-and-a-half hour minecraft smp slash modmaking video and it handed me my ass and a box of tissues.

(uhh. spoilers under the cut. also a lot of rambling i just have a lot to say about silly block game guy #8247247)

r4t usually being casual and jokey about the lore and story of the server is kind of what made him fun to watch, to me? like it’s obvious he cares about it, but he’s just detached enough to make him, well… approachable? i guess, as a casual viewer. a good on-ramp. i mean, his grudge with arathain (the thing tying him to basically everything in the story) started over netherite spawn rates of all things. it never felt too dense. and it’s fun to see him scheme over his revenge plots and code mods to facilitate them, but it was obvious it was all a game to him. he has fun with the lore (see the anchorblade video) but it feels like an excuse to make cool mods and play some good minecraft.

at the end of this one? holy fucking shit. i was actually about to start crying in empathy.

r4t lost basically his best friend. she sacrificed her life to save his, the same way he sold his soul to save her, and she’s gone. her anchorblade, too, easily the most significant symbol of their friendship and the tool that she used to save him, was taken or erased by a glitch or something, and the whole time he’s processing it and snapping at arathain (who’s here again? somehow?) and dragging her skull back to the cabin and building her grave and mourning her, he just… felt like he stopped doing a bit and became fully immersed in his world. the way he says how he didn’t really take the other deaths seriously, and then calls himself a monster? killed me. pronounced me goddamn stone dead. this man has acting chops. this man, for a whole like ten minutes, truly had me mourning someone who was banned from a minecraft server like she was actually six feet in the ground.

and just. the way it’s put together. so beautiful. the man’s a master of editing. i kept noticing throughout the whole thing that the portal transitions were getting so smooth. and i mean, it’s nothing super flashy or anything. it’s just… good, and solid.

to be honest, i think the video’s length helped sell it all for me. time and time again, dramatic turn after dramatic turn, we see these low points, and yeah they suck, but then you check the bar and there’s still like an hour left and you go ‘aw man i wonder how they’re gonna get out of this one!’ and then you get to lux dying, and you see r4t build her grave and bawl his eyes out and you check the bar and there’s minutes. this is the end of the book. this is the note we’re leaving off on. like, there’s still more to do. blake’s out there still, arathain’s back(?), asai is apparently in on this (i just remembered r4t offhandedly mentioning asai being on with winsweep what the fuuuuckkkkk), and so on and so forth. but that’s for next time. today’s chapter is over. get out of the theater. for some reason that just made it all hit harder.

god at the end of the day i just love this insane goddamn soap opera of a minecraft server. how did this happen to me i just wanted to see funny maid rat guy make silly mods to blow up his friends

[portraitoftheoddity]

Beginner Hiking Guide: Gear - What to Bring Hiking

What you want to bring with you on a hike will vary depending on what kind of hike you’re doing. If you’re going on a very short (under an hour) and easy hike on highly-trafficked and easily accessed trails for instance, you may not need to bring much at all -- though I always recommend a water bottle, sun protection and a hoodie or something. But if you’re doing a longer trek on backcountry trails out in the wilderness, you’ll want to bring quite a bit more with you, because the stakes are higher if things go wrong.

My general rule of thumb is: Pack for the Worst Case Scenario.

What is the worst that could happen if you get lost or injured? How long would it take for someone to find you if your phone died and you couldn’t call for help? If you get stuck out overnight, how cold is it going to get, and will you be able to survive it? How about if you have to wait several hours for a rescue party to carry you out if you can’t walk?

I carry a bunch of emergency items in my pack that, on an ideal hike, I never need. But if things don’t go ideally, given the places and conditions I hike in, they could save my life. In the list below, I’ve put an asterisk next to items I recommend packing even for short day hikes (2 hours or less)

So let’s start with the most important thing:

You Need a Backpack.

If you’re going to carry supplies, you need something to carry them in, and a backpack is the easiest, most comfortable way to do so that won’t compromise your balance or leave you unable to use your hands on a hike. (On short outings, fannypacks are great, but you’ll want a backpack if you’re going out into backcountry).

DON'T: use a drawstring backpack -- this will dig painfully into your shoulders pretty quickly. 

DO: use a backpack with a waist/hip strap (and chest strap if possible). Having more of your pack’s weight on your hips than on your shoulders will cut down on back pain! The more adjustable, the better; you want to be comfortable.

There are really great hiking specific backpacks out there, but they are on the pricey side. It’s something where, if you plan on doing hiking more regularly, I would recommend investing in a good pack, but for your first time your old book bag will probably do okay.

The Ten Essentials

If you do any research on backcountry hiking, you will probably see “the ten essentials” mentioned somewhere. These are the things that you’re recommended to always bring on a hike with you if you’re going out into the wilderness. The list can seem a little daunting, but honestly a lot of the things on it are pretty small and easy to acquire. 

1) Navigation / Map & Compass* -- Have a paper map in a ziploc bag and a compass in addition to any digital tools and GPS you may be using to navigate. Technology fails, and having a map that you’ve familiarized yourself with before you set out will help you to stay on your route and avoid getting lost. REI has useful articles on how to use a compass and how to read a topographic map.

2) Nutrition / Extra Food -- I always bring food hiking. You burn through a lot of energy while hiking, and snacking will help boost your energy levels and keep you moving. Calorie-dense foods with sugar and protein like trail mix, nuts, and granola bars give you the biggest boost while not taking up too much room in your pack. And if your hike runs over, you’ll be grateful for the extra rations.

3) Hydration / Extra Water* -- I typically bring a full liter of water (or gatorade!), minimum when I hike. Nalgene bottles are great because they’re lightweight and virtually indestructible. You’re going to be losing a lot of moisture through sweat and through the vapor your exhale while breathing heavily, so you are going to need to hydrate. Bring more than you think you’re going to need in case things go badly.

4) Insulation / Extra Layers* -- I talked about this in the post about clothes, but always have an extra layer. If the weather shifts, or you get injured and can’t move to keep warm, or you get lost and need to wait for a rescue, the last thing you need is for hypothermia to come along and make your day worse.

5) Illumination / Light -- There’s always a chance of something going wrong, be it a twisted ankle or just misjudging the length of a hike, that can lead to you being out for longer than you anticipated -- and if you’re stuck out in the wilderness when the sun goes down, you want to be able to see where the hell you’re going to find the trail and get home. On any longer hike (especially if you’re starting later in the day), bring a headlamp or flashlight with extra batteries (and test it before you leave!)

6) Emergency Shelter -- Is there any chance that on the hike you’re doing, you could potentially get lost enough that you have to spend hours and hours out here? In the theme of extra layers, if you get lost, injured, or otherwise caught out in bad conditions and can’t hike out on your own for any reason and rescue won’t be there anytime soon (search and rescue teams take time to assemble, deploy and then hike out to you), you want to have some means of shelter. Obviously, you don’t wanna drag an entire tent out into the woods if you’re just going on a day hike, but a there’s a few lightweight options that can make a difference when you’re improvising protection from the elements, such as:

A mylar space blanket / shock blanket

A bivvy sack (basically a lightweight plastic sleeping bag that keeps warmth in and water out!)

....And if you’re on a budget, a large plastic trash bag can do in a pinch!

7) Firestarter -- On the topic of shelter, especially if you’re stuck out in the cold overnight, a fire can be an emergency source of heat and light. Since most of us are not capable of starting a fire just by rubbing two sticks together like in the movies, we’ll want to make it easier on ourselves by bringing something to start a fire with: pack something to ignite it with, and something to use as tinder to catch the flame and sustain it long enough to ignite other fuel you’ve gathered. I personally carry a bic lighter that was like, .99c at the gas station, and a toilet paper tube stuffed with dryer lint for tinder. This is one of those “hopefully you never actually have to use it” things.

8) First Aid Kit* -- You want to be able to treat an injury if it happens, and to address smaller health concerns before they become bigger health concerns. With blisters especially, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure -- putting blister pads on your feet when you’ve got hot spots before they turn into full on oozing blisters is going to make a world of difference. And as someone who has taken a nasty spill on the trail and hiked out injured, I always carry a solid first aid kit with me. You can buy a compact pre-made kit easily enough to carry with you, but you may find yourself customizing it to your needs. I recommend having the following:

Ibuprofen -- good for managing pain, swelling, and soreness

Tylenol/Acetaminophen -- pain reliever, fever reducer, better for head injuries than ibuprofen since it doesn’t thin blood (also, if you’ve hurt yourself and you’re in a LOT of pain, you can alternate Tylenol and Ibuprofen)

Benadryl or some other antihistamine for allergies

AfterBite -- good for stings and bug bites

Bandaids in assorted sizes

Blister pads

Disinfectant wipes x 2

Gauze

A triangular bandage

A lightweight SAM splint 

Ace bandage - good for wrapping sprains

Tweezers - good for removing splinters!

Any important medications you personally need, such as an EpiPen or inhaler, or personal joint braces you require

9) Sun Protection* -- Even if you’re hiking under tree cover, or on a cloudy day, with hours spent outdoors, you’re getting a lot of UV exposure. Regardless of whether you’re someone who sunburns easily or not, it’s good to have sun protection. Bring sunglasses and sunscreen, and consider wearing a hat. Especially at higher elevations, where the air gets thinner and blocks less UV radiation! And don’t forget when hiking in winter, that you can get snowblindness and sunburn from light reflected off snow. 

10) Repair Kit + Knife / All That McGuyver Shit -- A few lightweight and simple objects can make it much easier to jury-rig a shelter, replace a snapped bootlace, or hold together a torn pack until you can get back to the parking lot. I personally always have:

A pocket knife/multitool

Flat-wrapped duct tape

Several safety pins

A handful of zip ties

A spare shoelace

And other people may find other items useful depending on their gear and the kind of repairs they might need.

In addition to the stuff on this list, there may be weather-specific or trail-condition specific gear you might need, like microspikes for traction on ice, or rain gear for hiking in wet climates. You can use your best judgment and the recommendations of others who have hiked where you are hiking to figure out what the best packing list is for your specific hike. This list is a guideline and a starting point.

Other things you may want to bring:

Whistle -- if your phone is dead and you’re waiting for rescue, you can blow on a whistle a lot longer (and a lot louder) than you can yell. Three short bursts usually means ‘hiker in distress’ and will help other hikers or searchers find you.

Toilet Paper + plastic bag -- If you don’t think you’re going to be able to hold it, bring a means to go in the woods. But bring the plastic bag to carry out your used toilet paper so it doesn’t pollute nature (Leave No Trace!)

A ziploc bag big enough for your phone -- if you need to cross a river or if it starts pouring, have a means to bag your phone to keep it dry. If there’s a risk of rain, bring a trash bag as well that you can use as an improvised pack cover to keep your stuff dry.

Insect Repellant -- even if you don’t bring it with you and just put it on in the parking lot, if you’re hiking in spring or summer especially, you’ll want some bug spray.

Keeping It Light

You want to pack smart, which means maximizing the usefulness of what you pack while keeping things as light as possible. Try using a lightweight plastic water bottle instead of a heavy steel one, and packing spare layers that are warm without being too bulky. Put sunblock in a small tube or bottle instead of packing the huge family-size one. The weight adds up, and the final weight of your pack is what you’re going to have to be carrying along with you. Though the good news is, your pack will get lighter as you consume the food and water you’ve packed!

If you are hiking with friends in a group, there’s some things you don’t really need multiple redundancies for -- if one person has a well-stocked first aid kit and another person carries enough sunblock for the group, you don’t need three of each and every item. Communicate with your group to make sure all your bases are covered, but also be sure you stay close together while hiking. Your friend having the group’s utility knife isn’t going to help you if you go off on your own and get separated. And you will all still want your own food, water, clothing, and light.

Organize Your Bag

Having the right gear is helpful. Knowing where it is is even better!

I try to organize my pack so the weight is evenly distributed (with the heaviest objects at the center near my spine to avoid throwing off my center of gravity), but also so I can find stuff easily enough. If your backpack has different pockets and compartments, think about using those to organize your supplies. Put stuff you’re more likely to need to use in easy to reach places. I usually keep my water bottle in a side pocket that I can reach from the outside of my bag, and my snacks in the topmost compartment so they’re easy to get to and not squished.

I also have a couple of lightweight smaller bags inside my pack I organize things in -- a mesh bag I keep all my first aid supplies in so I can pull out the splint, main kit, extra bandage, AfterBite, etc. all together, and a waterproof stuff sack that I keep all my “emergency” supplies (bivvy sack, shock blanket, headlamp, lighter, knife, etc.) inside so they aren’t all rattling around loose at the bottom of my pack where I will never find them. 

-

Using your knowledge about the hike you’re doing, the duration, the conditions, and your own body and needs will help you make smart choices about what you need to bring in order to keep yourself safe, both during your hike, and in the hypothetical scenario where something goes awry. Be informed, be prepared, and have fun out there!

<< Previous Part: What to Wear Hiking

[hollycircling]

would you consider dropping some tips on how you color? your art always has such a nice feeling to it

Thank you so much, and yes, absolutely! 

So... I have been agonizing over how to answer this question for over a week because I tend to make a lot of my major decisions based on what looks and feels good to me in the moment. It’s sort of hard to explain. Then I started getting philosophical with it (“how does one color? How do I explain aesthetic?”), and I started rambling, and had to cut the answer way, way, way down lol.

But here’s what I can help with right now. I think the most important part of how I color is my tools and what they allow me to do. These are currently my favorite brushes to use: 

From top to bottom, I use Kyle T’s Gouache for just about everything. A lot of my recent pieces are done entirely in that– I love the chunky texture and how the pressure mimics traditional gouache. It’s great for children’s book illustrations, and filling linework, and realistic portraits. She is my soft wife and I love her. 

I practically never use the default hard round. Ignore that. 

The roller brush is another one I use for painting. It was my go-to before KT’s gouache, so you’ll find it a lot in my older work (and as a big texture thing in my current works). The “Sampled Tip” below that one I usually use for children’s book styled illustrations. It’s like a really dense, waxy crayon, so it’s fun for textured lines and details.

I always paint in my own shadows and highlights, but I like to use the soft round if I want to blow the shadow or highlight out. It’s for extra large areas.

And finally my pencil. I use it for sketching as well as linework, if I plan on doing a linework-centric piece. I don’t think there’s much of a difference between the two there… one is probably smoother than the other. 

______________

The reason why I like textured, pressure-sensitive brushes so much is because they’re important to how I paint. When I blend, I don’t use a blender brush or a smudge tool. What I do is layer two colors– lightly– then use the eyedropper to select the color between them and continue painting with it. That’s probably the key to most of my work. I’ve gotten pretty fast at it, so I’m constantly selecting colors from the painting and reusing it throughout my painting. 

I still use the color-wheel to hand-pick what I think will look best, though. This is probably going to be a really frustrating answer, but I choose color palettes based on basic color/lighting theory combined with personal aesthetic preference. It can take some studying (of both theory and other artists’ work). If you’re ever looking for a really great reference on the former subjects, I highly recommend Color and Light by James Gurny. Even if you’re not into watercolor or dinosaurs or realism, the guy is a master at explaining all that different stuff in depth. 

Shape and negative space are also pretty important to me, but that's a whole other thing. And as a side-note, I recommend following more children’s book illustrators. Their work may look simple, but a lot of intention goes into how they use color, shape, space, and texture. 

Also, on texture, I hand-draw most of mine. I love to add little scratches and drops and splashes when the painting is almost over. It's one of my favorite things to do :')

____

Now, the other most important tip:

Once I’m happy with the sketch/linework, and once I’ve laid down the basic colors of my piece, I do a Really Terrible Thing. I become a graphic designer’s worst nightmare and collapse everything onto one layer. 

Then I paint directly on top of it, linework and all.

I do this for a lot of reasons, but mostly because 1) my tiny brain is overwhelmed by the clutter of too many layers, and 2) it forces me to approach a piece as if it was traditional media– a process which I find a lot more comfortable and rewarding. I paint right on top of the base colors, and right on top of the linework, effectively redoing and cleaning up what I already have there. Even if I'm working with a blank background, I'll paint a new blank one on top because it gives the feeling of a more unified piece, if that makes sense.

Basically, I approach my drawings as if I’m using traditional media. I like chunky brushes, utilizing (what I personally think are) interesting color combinations and textures, and smashing everything down onto one page so I can just paint. 

Anyway, please let me know if there’s anything specific you’d like me to go into detail on, any pieces of mine you’d like to know how exactly I went about it, etc etc etc. I’m happy to answer ^^

[siriusly-rem-writes]

Where Will We End Up? (Headcanons/Context)

In honor of the resurfacing of JATP S2 rumors, here's some context set in the WWWEU? Universe.

Warnings: mentions of absent fathers, relationships with parents, implied hostile home environment, use of Y/N, Alex is Catholic, implied homophobia, female reader (Let me know if I missed something!)

Luke Patterson

Born November 25, 1977 (13 at the start of the story)

The oldest of the group

Born and raised in Canada

Moved to LA when he was 12 for his 8th-grade year

Only child

Lives with both his parents

Has a good relationship with both but struggles to communicate with his mom more

His dad plays guitar and taught him how to play

Has ADHD

Has a slight accent 

And a stutter

Started cutting the sleeves of his shirts because too much fabric bothered him 

Was overstimulated on the first day of school 

He bumped into Alex in the cafeteria causing both of their trays to fall down

It was his last straw and he exploded

“Hey! Watch where you’re going!”

Y/N put him in his place after he yelled at Alex

He looked for them a few days later to apologize

“I uh, brought cookies?”  

He brings cookies every time he messes up

Doesn’t have physical boundaries with his friends 

It took getting smacked on the forehead by Bobby many, many times for him to understand not to hug him unprompted

Emily loves hosting 

The group used to sleep over at Luke’s a lot 

The more serious Luke got about music, the more arguments he had with his mom

It got so bad he eventually ran away from home

He actually wasn’t allowed in Alex’s room alone anymore after they got caught kissing

Every time he went over to Alex's the air was tense

He stopped showing up the way he used to, instead opting to sneak in

He picked up a job as a waiter at a local diner

The group loves to go in just to terrorize him

Firmly believes that you choose your family and he chose his

Isn’t bad at school, he just can’t focus on it for the life of him

Gets detention a lot because he gets caught not paying attention

The reason they have a zero-tolerance after 3 tardies rule 

He takes boxing lessons with Jose Camacho to release his pent-up energy 

Forgets he knows how to fight

Reggie Peters

Born May 06, 1978 (12 at the start of the story)

Third oldest of the group

Born and raised in LA

Lives by the beach 

Likes to sneak out and listen to the waves 

Can surf

Lives with both his parents 

But he doesn’t have a good relationship with either 

He doesn’t hate them nor have they directed anything at him, he just wishes they’d listen and spend more time with him

Only child

But he babysits Diego Miller, the little boy next door who he decided was his little brother

He’s not as dense as he makes himself out to be 

He just doesn’t like to think about things too much because it stirs his feelings 

Really good at Math and Science

He likes that it's logical thinking, not emotional

Doesn’t like English because it requires him to tap into emotions and he really doesn’t want to 

He doesn’t like History either because it leaves him bothered by the shitty and unfair past

Has selective mutism 

It kicked in badly during one of his parents' fights 

The longest he’s gone mute was 2 months

It kicks in every now and then but not for as long and not around everyone 

He learned ASL because of it 

Sometimes he uses it outside of an episode just because it’s easier 

Everyone else tries to pick it up, levels of proficiency vary

He found “Wright’s Domain” a comic book shop one day after he had walked out of his house

He spends most of his Summers there

He sits in the same bean bag

The more time he spent there, the more he found himself doing random things 

He’d reorganize comics, reposition figurines and when someone asked him where they could find a specific section he pointed them to it 

The couple that owns the store started to notice him

They left snacks by his bean bag chair with a note thanking him for fixing up

He wrote back a thank you with a doodle of himself holding two thumbs up and an arrow pointing out his name was Reggie 

The snacks waited for him every visit

His voice did come back, at the shop 

He spoke to the owners, Donna and Michael, quite often, they love hearing about his day 

He eventually got a job there

Ended up bringing everyone one day

He was a little nervous because the shop was his safe space but so was the group

The owners loved the group too

Donna and Michael live in THE house

Alex Mercer

Born August 23, 1978 (12 at the start of the story)

Second to last youngest

Lives with both his parents 

The eldest

He has a younger sister named Sophia 

Had a good relationship with both his parents up until he came out

Always watches out for his sister

He plays tea party and dresses up with her

His dad made a comment about it and Alex stopped doing it so frequently

Grew up Catholic 

He never really thought much of it until he noticed he looked at boys a lot for being a boy himself

He’s not the biggest fan of it anymore

Was already an anxious kid but as he got older; his religious background, his dad's expectations, and being more aware of the world's problems made his anxiety skyrocket

He fidgets by tapping his fingers on a surface or hitting his thighs with his hands 

His parents got him a drum set to help ease it

He met Y/N when they were 7 

He defended her against a bully

He got detention

She walked home with him that day and they realized they lived 3 streets down from each other

Really wants to make his dad proud 

His dad has a lot of traditional views of men which contradict with Alex 95% of the time

His first crush was on Ryan, a boy he went to church with, but he didn’t know it yet 

His stomach dropped when he saw Ryan and another girl share a quick kiss at the park

Developed a crush on Luke  

His first kiss and boyfriend was Luke 

His dad opened the door to Alex’s room and caught them kissing 

His dad stood there, closed the door and walked away

His dad didn’t speak to him at all through dinner

The next day, his dad told him he’d take him to church to repent

Alex said no and came out when he was 15

They got into an argument

His dad didn’t kick him out (to save his image) but told him that until he repented, he wasn’t his son

He was the first to meet Reggie 

They’re in the same Math class and the teacher asked Reggie to tutor him 

They met up after school twice a week

Alex wasn’t looking for a friend but Reggie being the social butterfly he is, didn’t care

The more times they saw each other, the more Alex got used to him and his antics 

He actually understood Math the way Reggie would teach him

One day Luke didn’t want to go home because he had fought with his mom and Y/N was busy, Alex found Reggie to tell him he had to stick to Luke 

Reggie told him Luke was welcome to join their session

Luke sat across from them and wrote in his journal but was still fidgety 

Reggie cut the tutoring session short and invited them out for ice cream

Alex questioned his life choices as Luke and Reggie’s loud personalities mixed

He initiated his and Luke’s first kiss 

And then immediately panicked before Luke laughed and pulled him back in

He was the one who broke up with Luke

There was an awkward air for like 2 minutes before they talked about everything and went back to being best friends

Bobby Shaw

Born March 16, 1978 (13 at the start of the story)

The second oldest of the group

Never knew his dad

Lives with his mom and grandma

Has a good relationship with both

Only child (not really but we'll get into that later)

Keeps to himself mostly

Skates

He paints, though he doesn’t like people looking at his art 

Took an art class during his freshman year 

He never did anything in class

He’d do it at home and sneak in the assignment the next day, nameless

His art teacher caught him one time and told him he’d leave the art room open for him to do his assignments so as long as he starts signing his name

He spends a lot of time in the art room

Close to the art teacher, Mr. Cervantez 

He was the first positive male influence in his life

Befriends Y/N first, she takes an art class with him

He’s actually not sure how to handle social interactions 

He’s pretty awkward 

He helped Luke on their first week of high school

Luke was being picked on and they had taken the beanie off his head 

He stopped Luke from launching himself at the other guys 

“Come on guys, give it back.” 

One of the guys looked at him questioningly 

Bobby stood his ground

The guys tossed the beanie back at Luke and Bobby walked off as soon as they left

Luke approached him weeks later and he internally panicked the whole time

Has problems with authority 

That guy that will touch something after you said not to 

His grandma hates that he does that but he can’t help it

He’s respectful to both his mom and grandma, no one else really

Lacks a filter, has accidentally hurt people’s feelings because of it

Not a big physical touch guy 

He has to be very comfortable with you to initiate touch

All talk 

Like he can’t fight

He’s gotten by on physical appearance alone 

The guys hide behind him all the time and when Y/N needs him, his tall looming presence behind her has people running for the hills

He’s punched one person and one person only

It was Alex’s dad

Y/N Y/L/N

Born September 01, 1978

The youngest of the group

Only child

Lives with her mom

Dad walked out when she was 7

Her mom started drinking, causing the mother-daughter bond to break

Spends the night at Alex’s a lot

The first time, her bed was set up in Sophia’s room 

After everyone had gone to sleep she snuck into Alex’s room 

The next day, his parents found her sleeping at the edge of his bed with his blanket draped over the edge also to cover Alex who slept on the floor

After it happened 3 more times, they stopped trying to separate the two 

She has clothes in the bottom drawer of Alex’s dresser

Alex’s number 1 protector

They made friendship bracelets, purple yarn for her and blue for Alex 

Luke and her = sibling energy 

Likes to wear other people's clothes

Makes her feel like they’re with her and she’s not alone

Literally carrying their love with her

It started with one of the shirts her dad left behind 

She likes Alex’s hoodies, Luke’s beanies and in the Summer she’ll snag one of his sleeveless tees, Reggie’s flannels and in the Winter his leather jacket, Bobby’s t-shirts and vests

The guys knock on her door when they can’t find the item they want to wear because they know she has it

She and Alex remade their friendship bracelets to include Luke (Orange)

She made them remake them later once Bobby (Green) and Reggie (Red) became part of their little group

All 5 of them wear it no matter what

She likes to draw

Was the first to befriend Bobby in art class

She admired him from afar (because look at him) and wondered what he did, given that he always slept in the class

One time while waiting for Alex and Luke to get out of detention, she walked around school and caught Bobby in the art room

His back was to her and he wore headphones as he painted

She loved his piece and wondered why he never did anything in class

Wrote him sticky notes encouraging him to show his work

Eventually, he wrote back saying he’d reveal his work if she revealed who she was

It was a deal and they started talking more afterwards

Luke was upset when he learned she was friends with Bobby 

Mostly because he thought Bobby was a dick (a dick he tried to be friends with first but failed) 

TEASER

[racefortheironthrone]

I'm a big fan of building commie blocks to ameliorate the US housing crisis -- and putting them in the public parks that were stolen from other communities to give colonisers some trees to look at -- but what policies should be enacted to get suburbanites into beautiful and efficient bedspace apartments with kitchens and washrooms shared by a floor?

As a good social democrat, I'm contractually obligated to prefer Red Vienna to your proper commie block. Short of a complete class revolution that completely upends the social hierarchy, a significant part of ensuring that social housing pulls off being "a living tapestry of a mixed community" is building it to middle-class standards (including aesthetic standards) so that people with the money to find alternatives don't all leave. Art Deco is a hell of a lot chic-er than the boring minimalist crap that luxury developers are getting away with these days.

Also, don't build them in parks: green space is not only important for environmental sustainability but also the health and mental health of working-class and poor communities who can't afford houses in the suburbs, and we should be encouraging in-fill development instead. (Build them on golf courses instead, because they are classist, invasive, artificial monocultures that do nothing for the environment.)

In terms of how to make suburbia more in synch with dense, sustainable social housing, there are a number of necessary changes:

Commuter rail: suburbs predate the car by a fair few decades, and originally sprung up along the routes of commuter rail lines. Well, it turns out that transit-oriented development and dense transit corridors go hand-in-hand: if you can build higher-density units near transit lines, people will use mass transit to commute, and if there are well-planned areas of higher density around major urban areas, the increased number of commuters can support more regular transit services.

Planning/zoning/ligitation revolution: as I mentioned in my student housing post, one of the major reasons why it's so hard to build affordable housing projects is that local NIMBY groups use every legal tool in the book to bury them. So there needs to be pretty comprehensive reforms of zoning regulations (banning single-family zoning, reducing set-backs and eliminating mandatory parking, getting rid of "unrelated persons" limitations, getting rid of building heights limits, etc.), standardization of the permitting and development approval process, streamlining of the public comment/hearing process and environmental review process for model projects, and extreme limits on litigation for model projects.

Financing reform: as I sort of imply in my Red Vienna section above, a big part of making social housing/public housing successful and avoiding replicating or increasing class and racial segregation is adhering to middle-class minimum standards. This has important knock-on implications:

you need to eliminate requirements for absolute lowest possible land costs (which restrict social housing to economically and socially isolated areas).

you need to raise allowable construction costs, so that you can achieve those aesthetic standards and avoid corner-cutting like smaller rooms and lower ceilings, single-thickness walls/floors/ceilings, no doors on cabinets or closets, cheap cladding and wiring and pipes and other building materials, low-quality insulation and HVAC, etc. Not only do middle-class folks notice this stuff and go elsewhere, but it's all penny-wise and pound-foolish, because cheap construction runs down faster which increases maintenance costs, and sometimes it just straight-up kills people.

you need to adequately finance maintenance, services, and amenities. This is crucial to keeping tenants with deeper pockets, but it's also another one of those things where penny-pinching is counter-productive in the long-run. The more you save on maintenance costs, the faster the buildings run down and the more expensive repairs you have to make. The more you save on services like superintendants and doormen, the more your tenants end up having to spend on handymen and the more you have to spend on police and repair costs. And so forth.

And there is a real potential here for all kinds of positive feedback loops: spending money on achieving higher standards of construction and operation means that you can hang onto and attract higher-income tenants, which means you can have sliding scale rents that cross-subsidize tenants and pay for higher construction and operating costs, and the poor and working class tenants who couldn't have paid for those higher costs and amenities on their own enjoy a "positive externality" for once.

[bramble-mouse]

Just Desserts

Bramble finds you in the woods getting attacked by bandits and takes some extreme measures to make sure they learn their lesson.

CW: Fatal vore (you are the observer and Bramble is kind to you), strong language, blood, threats of ambiguous violence

A/N: I had this concept ripping around in my mind like a feral lil gremlin for the past week. Please enjoy!

Your blood curdling scream has a hope attached amidst the fear: to summon help.

"Shut the fuck up!"

The roadside bandit growls while his other two compatriots paw through your camp for valuables. Tears prickle at the corners of your eyes. You feel the cruel, cold edge of a sword at your throat, poised to strike if you scream like that again.

One of the other bandits, a thick framed oaf finds a leather bound book. He opens it, flips through the pages and bursts out laughing.

"Oi, Gerwin, Look at this garbage!"

He snickers and shows the rail thin bandit currently rooting through your cooking gear.

"Focus, Marlow."

Gerwin counters shortly.

"Faster we deal with this, faster we get outta dodge."

Marlow keeps flipping through your sketchbook, snickering and making snide remarks about your work. You might as well be in physical pain from how much the sight torments you. There is a stranger staring at your most intimate thoughts in the form of drawings- and he's laughing at them. At you. Your eyes well with tears, your lip quivering.

The bandit with his sword at your throat (Draven, as his gang call him) smirks alongside Marlow. He presses the sharp blade against your neck and shifts it. You wince and feel a bit of blood welling up, poised to trickle down your neck.

"Oops. I'm so careless."

Draven grins.

And then, the ground begins to shake.

It begins far away, distant as thunder, but as it draws closer, all eyes turn towards the edge of the clearing where it turns back to dense, unimpeachable forest. Your back is to where these men look, but once the ground shakes enough for Draven to pull his sword away from your neck to not risk offing a captive, you know there is something there. A massive shadow casts over the clearing. You smell fresh rain and cedar, feel the weight of something big staring down at you.

"So, fun fact."

A great voice rumbles. You spy fear on all three bandit's faces

"Giants have a great sense of smell and hearing. So...when you cut that person with you, I smelled it."

You flinch as a massive hand catches Marlow in its grip and pulls his shrieking bulk away.

"and I could hear you making fun of them too."

Gerwin makes to bolt but the other hand catches him and snatches him away.

"Let me tell you losers something."

The voice speaks coldly.

"I hate bullies."

You hear one of the bandits shriek, and soon after, a wet squelch. The screaming stops, cut off abruptly.

"I prefer to treat you little guys nicely. In fact, a lot of you are pretty great. But when I see this shit?"

"Fuck, please don't!"

Marlow wails. His screaming abruptly becomes muffled, and then you hear that awful squelch again.

"I don't feel like being nice."

Draven's eyes are wide as a saucers. Fear has frozen him in place, his sword clattering to the ground.

"So? Anything to say? Like maybe an apology to them maybe?"

The voice says in a tired annoyance one might find in an overtired teacher.

Draven takes a step back, quivering like he might wet himself.

"I-I'm sorry!"

He whimpers

"P-please don't eat me!"

You now understand what the squelching was. A low gurgle from behind you confirms the fate of the other two bandits.

The monster behind you ate them. And Draven is next.

The great voice laughs. You watch that same hand snatch him up kicking and screaming.

"Good boy."

You turn around in time to witness Draven's execution.

The creature in question is a giant with shaggy green hair, golden eyes and a feylike face that makes determining thier gender a confusing prospect. Thier jaw parts to reveal a curious green glow inside, along with sharp pearly whites. Draven is tossed inside, swished around a few times and swallowed whole. You watch the lump that is a thrashing human body slowly vanish into an unforgiving digestive tract.

The giant pats thier stomach through a layer of mossy green woolen sweater.

"Yeah, yeah. Squirm all you fuckers want. You earned this."

They snort.

"You lot are food now. That's all you fuckin' deserve."

Then, those hunter's eyes fix on you. The giant frowns and as they reach a hand out to you, you let out a cry and curl up into a ball. You'll be next, you're sure, doomed to die in roiling, bubbling acids next to the bandits that tormented you.

And yet the hand has not grabbed you. You chance a peek up at the giant and find a very different expression from what you expect: worry.

"Hey, little guy, it's okay."

They reassure

"I won't hurt you. I just want to check you over for wounds. I can smell blood."

As if on cue, thier stomach groans gleefully at the living meal inside it. The men inside are at the mercy of the acidic hell they are starting to be digested within.

"I'm Bramble. You're safe. l with me, I swear."

And yet for all the gentleness in thier voice, you sit up a little and let out a sob.

"B-but....you...you ate them."

You manage to get out.

"I...I don't...I don't want to...to die like that."

You are shaking, a mess.

Bramble curses under thier breath in a language you don't recognize.

"Fuck. I...I shouldn't done that in front of you."

They sigh and fidget with thier fingers in their lap.

"I'm sorry. That was probably terrifying to watch."

Bramble chews on thier lower lip. They tower over you even seated as they are.

" I just... couldn't let them get away with the shit they were doing. And I was worried they might try worse with you. So...I'm a dumbass and...ugh."

They hang thier head like a guilty dog.

"I'm really sorry. I uh...I can go."

"No!"

The word rockets out of your mouth before you can understand why. You aren't certain who is more surprised, you or the giant.

You stare at one another in silence a moment before Bramble smiles a little, an awkward but earnest expression.

"Sure. Yeah. Uh..."

They tuck a green lock of hair behind a pointed ear.

"How about I stick around since it's gonna get dark soon? I can watch over your camp, maybe let you get some rest."

Bramble proposes. When you find thier eyes again, you note heavy remorse and maybe even a bit of self loathing mixed in.

Maybe they are genuine. Maybe they really do want to help you.

You manage a nod and cup a hand over the shallow scratch Draven's sword made on your neck. It isn't gushing blood but it has stained the neckline of your shirt.

"...You...really won't eat me?"

You ask carefully.

"No."

Bramble blurts out

"I would never do that to you."

The giant leans forward and looms some, concern written clear upon their features.

"I mean it. I don't hurt people for no reason. You...you looked so scared."

Bramble reaches a hesitant finger forward. You tense but feel how gently thier finger tip strokes the side of your head.

"I wanted to help."

Something shifts. Perhaps it's that gentle touch. Maybe it's the realization that you feel relieved knowing your aggressors won't be able to hurt anyone else ever again. You lean into the finger, shivering from the shock of it all.

"Are you ok with me picking you up? I promise I'll go slow."

Bramble asks.

You nod and feel careful fingers gathering you up. The whole world shifts as they lay down and gently deposit you onto thier chest. You sink into the soft wool of thier sweater. You can hear thier active belly removing the bandits from existence, but there is also Bramble's soft, sonorous breathing beneath you. Strangely, the sound of thier stomach is oddly calming despite the knowledge of what is happening inside.

They rest thier hand atop your body, a welcome but strange weight. There is still fear you might be crushed or devoured- instincts that cowered before the predator holding you.

Instead, you take a leap. You trust.

"I meant it. I won't hurt you."

Bramble insists softly, thier voice rumbling through your frame. You feel so tired, the exhaustion created by so much fear and adrenaline crashing down on you. You decide to curl up atop the giant's chest while they digest the men who hurt you alive.

Bramble's fingertip swirls gently on your back. There is no fighting the heavy sleep that takes you, not even when you ponder what will happen come morning.

Maybe you have a friend now, one that truly wishes to protect. You dream of a heartbeat, of warmth and a kind, crooked smile.

[java-dragon]

Bookbinding/Fan binding for beginners by... a beginner PART ONE

SO YOU WANNA BE A FANBINDER EH!?

RIGHT! so it felt like maybe it might be sorta kinda helpful to put something about a 'how to do the thing' together. Buckle in this is going to be a ride and a half. Edit as of November 16th 2023 The Master List for EVERYTHING is

HERE

SO, first thing is first- if you're fan binding there is a bit of etiquette to follow. But it is just good manners to ask permission to fan bind the fic you're interested in. See if the author has a FAQ available where they state the Yay or the Nay. Submit a DM or a comment. But as a note of disclaimer- this is for PERSONAL USE ONLY. THIS IS NOT MEANT TO BE SOLD ANYWHERE. LOOKING AT YOU ETSY FAN FIC SELLERS THAT CAN GET EVERYONE INTO A FUCK TON OF TROUBLE. That is a breech of fair use laws. Don't breech fair use laws. Don't be a dick.

If you happen to have a EPUB or PDF copy of a fic that has been deleted and you wish to bind it or if you receive no response to the author in question, nod your head, know that you did your best and proceed on with the project and make your fic to put on your shelf. Sleep well knowing you did your best and you can do nothing else.

But if you receive a Nay- don't be a dick honour the author's choice and plop the fic on your ereader and call it good.

Now that we got that all out of the way. ONWARD!

MATERIALS! Musts: (The optional materials will be marked as "OP") Access to a Word processor Printer with duplex printing (It prints on both sides of the page) Fic Printer Paper- regular printer paper is FINE if you're being budget conscious. But if you'd like to splurge:

Hammermill Copy Paper But the Most bang for your buck is Church's Paper

Please note: These are US based links, and I am going from what and where I am located you might have to go to a local paper shop. If you want your book to feel very book-like see if your paper shop can take 11 x 17 paper and cut it in half for you which yields 8.5 x 11 paper on the short grain (paper has a grain there is a stiff side and a floppy side, much like fabric, by cutting the paper in half it makes it more 'floppy' and thus more book like)

a punch cradle I use one made by HoneyMinCo - or some sort of punch guide

Awl

Glue- Elmer's Glue All, Tacky, Lineco , PH Neutral all will do what you need it to do

Waxed linen thread

Curved Needles

Book press- you can make these for cheap with wooden cutting boards, bolts and wing nuts.

A brush you don't mind getting glue all over or you can use a silicone face mask brush like this hell I even use my fingers at times

box cutter or any sort of cutting tool, rotary tool

scissors

metal rulers help

spacers (Not necessary but helpful to have you can also DIY this for cheap) OP

Davy Board/Chip Board/Book Board AKA dense AF cardboard

and some sort of thick paper- like a cardstock

bone folder - butter knives also work in a pinch

Recommendations:

For Printers- Epson ECO Tanks are the best bang for your your buck ink wise and has duplex printing. Inkjet and colour options. Some binders swear by laser printers for speed and the general look for the final product but use what you have. Just make sure you have extra ink on hand.

The upfront costs can be pretty steep but a lot of the materials can be steep but you can get crafty and raid a dollar store and charity shops.

Up Next- How to get a Fic from AO3 to your word processor and how to format a document to get it ready for printing and likely more links, and some people to watch on TikTok or Youtube.

Edit: 11/1/2023:

There is a Fan Binding Starter Kit Found here

[lonelyroommp3]

is there a translation of les mis that you recommend?

the translation i've read the most is fahnestock-macafee, which is the signet classics edition that i believe is one of the more common paperback editions in north america (i bought it on holiday in the US lol) - honestly not sure how common it is in the UK/other anglophone countries. there are certain details i don't love (including, selfishly, that they anglicise the very very very minor character called alix to... alice. but as i've said before my maternal grandmother has been doing this to me for 27 years so i can only gripe so much) but in general i find it fairly easy to read, it's pretty faithful (i say this. i have nowhere near completed les mis in the original french so i am far from the best judge), and it's actually completely unabridged unlike some ostensibly unabridged editions you can find on the market

otherwise:

i've not actually read the isabel hapgood translation because it's best known as the version you find on project gutenberg and i'm just not an ebook girlie, but i've never heard anybody have strongly negative opinions about it haha

avoid norman denny at all costs. i find the style quite dense, don't love all the choices made in comparison to other editions, and it's not actually unabridged. if you'd rather miss out a few paragraphs here and there of some of hugo's more esoteric digressions then by all means go for it, but if you want the actual full unabridged experience of the brick then you won't get it with denny

julie rose is a controversial one because her approach is considerably more casual/modernised than the other translations i've listed here (e.g. the infamous "do you permit it" -> "if it's alright with you" pipeline) but honestly i don't mind it. especially if you don't read a lot of classics, you struggle with dense prose, you're a slow reader, it's been a while since you've picked up a book this long, or you just otherwise want your reading experience to be a little more accessible and free flowing, i think julie rose is honestly a perfectly good choice. you can just cut through that translation like butter, by far the easiest read on the market. but if you prefer your translations more lofty and serious you'll probably find it overly casual and a bit "how do you do, fellow kids"