#major characters take a LOT of work. you're just seeing the tail ends of what I've come up with

[tiktaaliker]

WHY DON'T PANIK AND TYTO HAVE DESIGNS. THEY'RE COOL AND RELEVANT!!!! 😤😤😤😤😤

ok answering this now just to say that it's because almost all the other characters had a design first and THEN a personality/role. tyto and panik had their role made later and I DID go thru a design or two but since I was working backwards it just. didn't work out? like ok a character getting a design at the same time as they got a personality/role is EXTREMELY rare with all of these. if a minor character has a face it's probably because the face came WAY before the character lol. like pedal had a design before gazer did but wasn't shoehorned into the story until like a few months ago. nil only got a face until like MAYBE a year ago after not having one for almost 4 years despite having a VERY developed character arc. like I've also got a hefty amount of other unused designs I probably COULD make tyto and panik but I just haven't clicked with anything yet

[teratosfavouritesnack]

~ Dirty Hobby ~

roommate!werewolf x afab!reader - roommates to lovers, sexual frustration, (slightly) dub-con, dry humping/frottage, thigh job, impact play, cum play, degradation kink if you squint

3,4k.

Writing stories is a lot of fun. It's a passion for you, something you enjoy doing in your spare time, but you also see it as a way to release emotions that would otherwise weigh on you. Typically, you prefer romance although your stories always end up being far spicier than anticipated. That may reveal something about you, specifically that you need a good fucking, but staying at home all the time and never socializing with anyone doesn't pair well with being sexually active. Last time you let a not-fictitious being fuck you must have been not less than 80 stories ago; 5k words each, mind you.

The only non-fictitious being you interact with on a daily basis is your roommate, Alexis, also known as the 'good boy'. You call him that on occasion simply because you love the way his long fluffy tail eagerly wiggles back and forth, in stark contrast to the grimace he always gives you in answer to your playful mocking. He's also a 'good boy' because he never caused you any trouble in the six months you've been sharing a flat. He is clean, not nosy or noisy, and rarely invites people over, which is a huge plus for you.

Another major benefit of having Alexis as a roommate is that you basically have a living, breathing prototype for the protagonists in your works of fiction. Perhaps it sounds weird, but you've used him as the base of the love interests in your romances more times than you probably should have... Does that imply that you're in love with him? No! Well, not exactly. You could say you are attracted to him. You enjoy his presence, his massive presence, as well as his grave but sweet voice, his kind eyes, his long snout that screams 'pat me! pat me!', his long muscular arms that could so effortlessly sweep you up and...

Anyway. You like the dude. As in, he's a good friend who also happens to be very good to look at. You've done your best to separate him from the dozens of characters he has inspired thus far, and you'd like to keep it that way. Separate. Luckily, he is unaware of your… recreational activity. And he'll never know about it.

However, while your mind has managed to make things feel acceptable and not as odd as they actually are, what your body does is a very different story. Writing erotica has an undeniable impact on the writer, especially if you're describing fantasies you've indulged in far too many times before. What that entails for you is that you're aroused on a regular basis. And the fact that the character from your stories is walking around the house, chatting with you and parading around the very assets you fawn over in your wildest dreams makes it even more difficult for your body to remain partial... Makes things all the more wet, to be precise. Yes. Sometimes it's so uncomfortable that you have to take care of it right away, cleaning up and changing your underwear before returning to your chores. Other times, you just get on with your day despite your damp panties. You're used to it by now, so it's not a major issue for you…

It's a major fucking problem for your roommate, though. You have absolutely no idea. You can't even begin to imagine how challenging it is for a werewolf like him to ignore the scent trail you leave behind wherever you move inside the house. It's actually maddening! A torture! If he didn't know you better, he'd assume you were doing it on purpose just to drive him nuts. He tried to remain unaffected, to suppress his urges, but weeks after weeks after weeks, your scent became all he could smell inside the house, inside his own bedroom; even the food tasted like you! He considered moving out, to avoid the risk of doing something he would definitely regret. He does not want to hurt you, of course. It could be a situation beyond your control or a health issue. What does he know? What he knows is that he can't handle it anymore! He can't focus on anything else but your sweet mouthwatering fragrance that makes him hard all the fucking time. He ought to do something about it. He needs to! Before he loses his mind completely.

He's oh so very close to losing it when he barges into your bedroom one evening while you're tapping away on your keyboard, as usual. The sudden bang of your door being forced open makes you jump on your seat, and your eyes instantly snap to him. They widen in shock at the sight of his disheveled state; his shirt is unbuttoned all the way down to his hips, his belt unfastened and the zip of his jeans is halfway down, making his enormous bulge stand out even more. You divert your gaze from it as soon as possible, locking eyes with his instead. But his gaze is no better. His pupils are dilated, and he stares at you as though you're a piece of raw meat. He has never looked so feral before.

“A-Alexis?”

He growls in response, his legs twitching as if he’s ready to pounce on you, but instead he moves his clawed hands to his head and runs them through his ruffled fur in a calming gesture, one you’ve seen him do before whenever he got a bit too fired up.

“I can’t take it anymore-” he rasps, taking a deep breath before fixing his piercing stare on you again. “Whatever it is, you need to take care of it. As soon as possible.”

His words don’t make any sense to you. What should you take care of? Did you forget to take out the trash today? What day is it? No, it’s a tuesday, it’s his turn-

“Did you hear me?”

His voice genuinely rattles you, you’ve never heard him sound so upset before. You must have really pissed him off somehow.

“I’m sorry, I have no idea what you’re talking about-” 

He doesn’t seem to hear your answer though, for he starts to move his snout back and forth, from one side of your room to the other, sniffling as if something has suddenly caught his attention. A deep puzzled frown emerges on your face as you watch him step further inside your room, scoping his surroundings like a hound searching for a bone, until he comes to a halt in front of your wardrobe and slams it open without asking for permission.

“What are you doing?”

He ignores the hint of apprehension in your voice and starts to rummage through your clothes so carelessly that you fear he will tear them all to shreds. 

“Alexis! What the heck-!”

He growls in frustration, his clawed hands finding purchase on the cabinet door frame, causing the wood to creak under his grip. You can't see his face since he's still buried deep inside your wardrobe, but you can clearly hear his frantic sniff sniff sniff as he obstinately pursues the source of the smell that apparently irritates him so much he turns into a literal beast. 

You’re unsure whether to approach him in this state or just wait for him to put an end to whatever’s happening, but before you can come to a conclusion, Alexis crouches down with a satisfied huff and pulls back from the wardrobe with…

"My dirty laundry…?"

You give him an odd look as he drops the basket on the floor in front of you. Is this the source of the smell that bothered him? But there's no foul odor coming from it, at least not one that you can smell. There's not much inside after all, only a towel and...

Your eyes widen as Alexis reaches out with his hand and grabs a pair of dirty undies from the basket, instantly sending your face blushing with heat and your stomach flipping in embarrassment.

"Wha-! P-Put that back!" You stutter, clearly flustered, attempting to steal your underwear from his grasp, but he quickly moves them out of your reach, bringing them to his nose and taking a good sniff. Your face turns even more red at the sight.

"This." he growls, peering down at the fabric, his gaze fixated on the still damp patch sitting in the center. "This is the problem."

You're too mortified to argue with him about it, so you quickly blurt out, "I'm washing it right away, okay? Now give it back!" as you reach out again, only for him to jerk his arm away a second time.

"No. You do not understand. It's not just today," he says, clutching your underwear in his palm and piercing you with his golden eyes. “It’s everyday. Everywhere. I can only smell this.”

Oh.

Oh.

So… all this time… he could smell your…

Shock roots you to the spot. You’re left gaping at him, lips moving yet no sound comes out of your mouth. You had no idea. You didn’t even think about it. If you knew, maybe you could have refrained from writing so much, every damn day… You could have gone to a cafè instead of staying at home… Or you could have at least been a tad more careful-

"What's got you so worked up every fucking moment?" he asks, huffing in exasperation and looking around your room as if seeking the root of your problem, until his gaze settles on your desk. "You're always on your computer, tapping on that damned keyboard. I can hear you from my own room. You've got a long distance relationship or something?"

"I…I’m sorry. I d-didn’t mean to uhh… upset you?” You fumble over your words, struggling to find an appropriate response to this ridiculous and surreal circumstance, while simultaneously stepping back in front of the computer to hide it from his observant eye. "This won't happen again... Alright?"

His brow raises in interest, ears perking up and golden eyes peering into yours. You're sure he can tell how nervous you are. Gosh, you know now he must also be able to smell how shamefully aroused you are at the chance of being caught, your secret dirty hobby being exposed.

"Whatcha hiding, mh?" he taunts, taking a step closer, amusement and vexation mixing in a lethal combo. He cranes his neck to look behind you, but you're too close to the screen for him to catch a glimpse of it. "A secret lover? I'll grant you permission to let them come over. Maybe that will help you."

You're physically shaking with both dread and excitement, your wide eyes locked on his face, your hands reaching out to shove him back. Your stomach flips as you realize your palms have made contact with the fur on his chest and heat instantly pools in your abdomen when you spot the dilation of his pupils; they get so wide his golden irises almost disappear.

Before you have any chance to avoid it, he has you imprisoned against his body, his palm wrapped around the back of your neck, burying your face in his chest while he bends over to your computer. Your complaints are muffled by his fur, and your hands clutching at his sides are merely giving him a massage. There's nothing you can do against him. He is too big and strong... and warm, and soft, and he smells like fresh grass after rainfall. Oh, it’s even better than what you imagined…

You feel his muscles tense up around you just a moment before a loud bark of hearty laughter erupts from him, rumbling in his chest against your cheek and pulling you out of your reveries.

“Hunter’s Moon! That’s what you’ve been doing all along?” He pulls you back by tugging at your hair, his eyes full of mirth - and maybe a hint of mockery - as he stares down at you. “That’s what makes you so wet all the time that I can’t fucking breathe?”

“T-That’s not-!”

You're so ashamed that you'd rather combust into millions of particles and disappear right now. But there's also that wicked part of you that is pleased to hear you've had such a profound effect on him with your scent. The same side that relishes the way he's holding your hair, looking down at you, and laughing.

“You want a beast to fuck you?”

The way he spits out those words makes you shudder, and all you can do is stare up at him, astonished. His other hand moves to your face, grazing the outline of your cheek with the back of his clawed fingers, making your taut body shiver even more, your stomach doing somersaults. He can certainly feel it. He can see the desire wallowing in your wide shiny eyes. And it excites him. 

“Oh, sweetie. You could have just said so.”

And with that, he has your heart bursting downright out of your chest as he twists you around and bends you onto your desk, your fingers grasping the edge, your head almost colliding with your computer's screen. His hand pushes on the small of your back, causing your body to arch and your bottom to stick out. You feel his erection push against your jeans, directly against the crack of your ass, as he bends over you, his hot breath brushing the shell of your ear.

“Who would have thought you were so naughty…” he whispers slowly, voice laced with amusement. "Writing about werewolves ravishing you…" His free hand creeps over your hip and slides towards your belly. "Destroying your little human holes…" His fingers creasing and raising the thin fabric of your tee as they dig into the soft flesh of your abdomen, steadily crawling lower. He laughs again, blowing warm air into your skin when he notices you whimpering quietly and trembling under his touch. 

“Isn’t that what you write about, mh? Why don't you read it for me?"

Your eyes widen, and you meet his amused look with a shiver that runs down your spine and lands between your thighs. He gives you a wolfish grin before nudging your head with his snout and turning it towards the screen. "C'mon. Read it."

You can't think clearly, let alone focus on the text on the white screen. Your heart is racing and the heat in your lower abdomen is becoming unbearable. If only he moved his fingers lower to offer you just a little relief...

“Start from the line that says how the beast rips your pants apart… That sounds like fun.”

You’re panting so hard already and he’s barely touched you. You have to swallow a couple of times to clear your throat and moisten your dry mouth before you’re able to speak again. But even then your voice comes out shaky and subdued as you start reading your own wicked fantasies out loud.

“...he groped the round sphere of her ass, massaging her flesh as if to prepare her for what was about to come-”

You yelp as you feel both his palms land on your ass, groping you over the fabric of your pants.

“Keep going. Don’t leave me hanging…” he croons teasingly in your ear, giving your cheeks a squeeze as an incentive.

You take a shuddering breath and then exhale, hoping to calm your frenzied heartbeat - as if that’s possible in a situation like this - and resume reading from where you left off.

“...a loud gasp of shock escaped her lips when his hands pulled at her pants and ripped the fabric apart as if it was made of paper-”

And with that, your pants are gone too, leaving only a few bits of fabric hanging around your thighs. You don’t even care about your clothes right now, you just want him to take you. You need him. You want him so badly. 

His claws run along your panties, purposefully missing the wet spot sitting right at the center. Your legs weakly buckle in protest.

“What about these? What happens to her soaked panties?”

“Ripped apart as well.” you answer forthwith, pushing your ass back to seek more friction and thus sending him laughing at your eagerness.

His fingers coil around the fabric's edges, yanking at it as if ready to tore it, only to let go and snap the elastic band against your skin.

"Nah. I think I'll keep them on for now," he muses, his voice still cracking with amusement as if he's thoroughly enjoying torturing you and driving you insane.

Your indignant cry rapidly turns into a shocked gasp as you feel something long and hard shove against your panties-clad folds. When you look down, your jaw falls at the sight of his huge throbbing cock stroking against your cunt back and forth, its dark pink skin already glistening with your juices dropping through your drenched underwear.

"So wet…" he croons, nestling his face in the crook of your neck. His moist nose brushes against your boiling hot skin, giving you chills. "So wet for me."

He keeps moving against you, maddeningly slowly, making you quiver with both pleasure and desperation. Breathy whimpers and moans fall from your parted lips, mirroring the rhythm of his thrusts.

"A-Alexis… please…"

You’re begging him to fuck you. He knows that. It's so obvious. It pleases him greatly, yet he won't let your precious little cries deter him from his own plans. His movements almost come to a halt as his warm, wet tongue slides out of his mouth and licks the side of your neck.

“You’ve driven me mad for months.” he growls in your ear, frustration once more edging his tone. His hands eagerly reach for your thighs and push them together to squeeze his cock between your soft flesh. You moan in response, surprised and satisfied by the additional friction, although still frustrated by the emptiness you feel inside you, with your walls clenching desperately around nothing. 

“Now it’s my turn.”

A jolt of pleasure strikes your core as his arms wrap around your middle and he starts to buck his hips against your ass at a punishing pace, rocking your whole body with such force that you’d be slamming against the desk if he wasn’t holding onto you like a vice.

You whine and mewl ever louder, the knot in your lower belly tightening at an alarming rate. Your hands grasp onto his strong arms, fingers tangling in his fur, while your head bobs feverishly upon his shoulder.

“A-Alexis… I-I'm- I’m!”

His moist nose taps on your neck, tongue lapping at your skin, as his cock keeps on bullying your poor swollen folds. The fabric of your underwear is so wet at this point that it's almost as if it's not even there; you can feel him entirely, rubbing your small bundle of nerves with every thrust.

"Already?" His laughter vibrates through your writhing body, heightening the friction between your thighs.

You try to hold back, a little offended by his derision, wanting to last a bit longer, but with a harsh yank of his hand, he pulls your panties to the side and finally seals your fate. Tendrils of pleasure ignite from your core, sending you spasming sharply in his grasp,your cunt gushing cum on his length.

He growls in your ear, tightening his hold and lifting you off the ground while chasing his own high. Feeling you contort in ecstasy and soak his cock has excited him viscerally, and it's only a matter of minutes until he follows you, shooting his sperm into your panties and mixing his juices with your own. You're both left panting, breathless, and light-headed, your bodies buzzing with the last shreds of bliss.

Alexis adjusts your underwear, cupping your cunt to ensure you feel his cum smear across your tender flesh. You whimper lazily in response, turning your head to glance up at him through heavy-lidded eyes. He meets your gaze with his own glazed look and smiles, that wolfish smile that inspired oh so many stories.

You need more. You want him. You want to feel him inside you. This was not enough. Not enough to satisfy months and months worthy of fantasies and soaking panties.

As if sensing the need within you, Alexis raises his hand to your hair and caresses it with newfound affection.

"Don't worry, sweetheart. I'll give you plenty to write about..." he teases and grins at the way your eyes seem to lighten up at his words, only to see your face fall a second later as he adds: "In due time."

He gives you a playful smack on the ass and then walks out of your room, snickering.

"Whatcha having for dinner?

🪷. You can leave me a tip on ko-fi if you want to support me

[cerastes]

Deirdre being a bnnuy obviously could has some animalistic features but for the most part youd likely attribute any features gained to like speed or agility, though I think you went more with making her a powerhouse though that's beside the point.

Our lovely archbishop though has a very obvious animalistic feature ie the tail, now I'm an absolute fucking sucker for those kinds of features(you can do so much emoting and fun tricks with those bad boys) and I was curious if you had any plans or thoughts of incorporating that with anything she does or if it's more just a baller aesthetic.

Loving the two you've made so far look forward to more of this world, as you add more I'd love to see a master post tag sorta deal if its not too much effort on your end.

I've always thought that animalistic features can make a killer aesthetic, but I've also always wanted to not really necessarily lean into these features being decisive in what to expect, necessarily, from a character off the bat. There is such a thing as stylistic expectation (ice powers people having white or blue hair, fire powers people usually being very loud and energetic, etc), but beyond that... No, not beyond, necessarily, rather, in balance with that, I think have you take some time and make a character feel like a person beyond their immediately discernible characteristics if you really want interesting characters.

So, for example, if I have the Country of Bunny People, I don't want them conforming to an easily-slotted-to-bunnies assumption because I feel like that can become an easy out that can negatively impact your worldbuilding when relied upon too much. I don't mind giving them some characteristics like that (they are culturally good foragers because IRL bunnies are good foragers, for example, an aspect which you can then tie to their backstory, such as The Bunny Country having gone through a long time of poverty in which foraging became an important skill) but otherwise I think prioritizing these attributes as an aesthetic to work with rather than being necessarily informative of their character in major ways is the best way to go.

Deirdre's case has to do with her partial inspiration, which her Gladiator ring name, Caerbannog, might have hinted towards: The Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog, also known as the Vorpal Bunny. Her being a strong physical powerhouse is more informed by this as well as her "wild rage with focused purpose" behavior and other things we'll explore in due time. I do think personality or demeanor is better informative of abilities and attributes, whether it means going along with that or subverting these expectations, but that's my personal preference.

With Seirian, well, I don't wanna give away too much because I do have some ideas with her and her features that I think would lose impact if I just discussed them here as opposed to seeing them in action when I finish writing this. Stay Tuned! (It Will Involve The Tail, Obviously, Heehee).

Thank you very much! It means a lot to me to hear you're enjoying my stuff, haha, I do plan on commissioning more arts of the characters from this story (and this world) in due time, my money is Being Directed Towards Something Else for now, Please Wait Warmly. I'll use the "Ivarea" tag as a sort of catch-all master tag for now, for the existing posts (that I can find) and for any future asks or posts regarding these characters and this world.

[goombasa]

My Bile Fascination with Quest 64

I'd like to think that everyone has at least one game that they have some sort of weird fascination with. Like, it's a bad game, and you know it's a bad game, but you don't like it at all. And yet, every now and then, despite the fact that it isn't fun and you don't necessarily derive any pleasure from it, every now and then, you still find yourself going back to it, even if it's just to remind yourself just how bad the game is.

Quest 64 was that game for me.

Anyone who grew up with the Nintendo 64 will remember that, for everything great that system had to offer, one of its major weak points was RPGs. Most of the major players in the space at the time were quick to jump ship to Playstation and the warm embrace of Compact Discs, though they did toss some handheld games out to the gameboy in the meantime. A majority of the RPGs for the system were locked to Japan as well. Here in America, what did we have for RPGs on the system? There was Paper Mario, yeah, but that was released near the tail end of the system's lifespan. There was the Aidyn Chronicles. Oh, and there's Ogre Battle 64.

The only other one to see release here in the west was Quest 64, and early coverage of the game made it seem like it was going to be a hell of a game, playing as a powerful mage with the ability to learn and cast various spells based on the elements. Unfortunately, the game itself was… underwhelming, to put it politely.

The story was barely a factor, with almost no memorable characters or set pieces, most of the time you didn't know where you were supposed to go or what you were supposed to do, the environments were simple and easy to get turned around in, and despite that, the game is incredibly barren, with almost no real exploration to it, because there's not really a lot to find there. The characters and their designs are okay at least, nothing special, but nothing offensive either, but no one has anything interesting to say. It is as bland as possible, and a lot of cut content is known about, but there's not a lot of substantial material behind it.

For example, there was supposed to be a full party system in the game, but instead, in the final product, you only play as a single character, which, while you have a lot of spells to choose from, it makes combat feel very… empty. Even when you're going against a massive group of enemies, only one of them moves at a time, and then Brian (the player character) moves, then the enemy, then Brian, and so on and so forth, so there's not a lot of strategy beyond just making sure that you line up to throw the spell you wanted to cast. Not that it matters much, because no matter how much power you gain or how many spells you learn, the game always feels imbalanced. You always feel weak and frail compared to the enemies around you, and most attacks, even the most powerful forms of those spells, feel either like you're going to miss with them, or they don't do as much damage as it feels they should.

I think what it boils down to is that there are motes of great ideas here. On paper, for example, the leveling system seems like it should be really interesting, as you don't have traditional levels. Instead, your various stats increase by your various actions. Defense increases by taking damage. Hitting things with your staff increases your total HP. Your MP increases by casting spells and your evasion increases as you run around the world. On paper, especially for a game with only one playable character, this sounds like a pretty good idea. But the main issue is that all of these means of leveling up work against one another. If you're taking hits, then you aren't attacking with your staff, so you aren't gaining HP, and you aren't casting spells, so you don't gain MP. And of course, having to choose between your staff and your spells further muddies the water. Add that in with the fact that it takes forever for these stats to go up, makes it feel like you aren't really making any progress in getting stronger, and really makes grinding (a necessary activity in this game, I'm sorry to say) a huge slog. That's coming from someone who actually enjoys the act of grinding in older RPGs, by the way. I find it to be an enjoyable form of monotony, and I understand that I am very strange for thinking that. But in this game? No. The battle system feels slow and clunky, and raising your stats is a slow, clunky experience as well.

And that's not even getting into probably the part of the game that is most disappointing: the spell system. See, like everything else, your magic spells level up as time goes on too. You can gain levels in each spell element (earth, wind, fire, water), up to a maximum of fifty and every time you hit specific milestones, you gain new spells, or upgraded versions of old spells. There's even a nifty menu system for the spells where you press the C buttons in specific combinations to find the spells you're looking for in each element. The problem is, this is a bit of a trap. A first time player isn't going to realize that trying to level them all up equally is basically a great way to make yourself ultra vulnerable and underpowered for the rest of the game. It's almost impossible to get even two elements to their maximum level, and there are only a couple of elements that are worth investing in, primarily water because it's the only element that gives you a healing spell, and earth, because not only does it have the most damaging spells in the game (next to your staff, which is actually consistently the best damage dealer in the game), but one of the last earth spells you learn is a magic barrier spell.

The magic barrier makes you immune to everything except physical attacks, something most enemies don't have, for up to three turns at a time. This is a massive game breaker. And yes, you CAN focus on Fire or Wind if you want instead of Water or Earth, but doing so means you are intentionally handicapping yourself for most of the game, which is never fun. Once you figure this it, it drastically diminishes the one element of the game that might have made it very fun to replay, despite the limited story and linear progression.

And in laying all of this out, I think the reason why I find myself coming back to this game is because, despite how bad it is, I see the glimmers of potential that are there. Most bad games always have some potential buried away, some elements that work about it, or could have worked if they'd been given more time to iron them out, but that's basically everything about this game. So many of its elements could have worked so well  with some more refinement, and given the sheer mountain of cut content, I really do think that the developer, Imagineer, could have made something more interesting, or maybe refined it in a sequel. In fact, a sequel was planned, but the negative reception of the first game basically stopped that in its tracks.

I need to stress this, I am not in any way saying that this game is worth trying or even worth defending. It had potential and I see a lot of the diamonds buried under the ashes with this game, but that doesn't mean it's worth experiencing or reviving at this point, and if I could actually get rid of this weird compulsion I have to return to it every once in a while, I would happily do so. But I am interested to hear if anyone has any stories about their own experiences with the game, or if there's a similarly bad game that you all have a similar feeling on.

Please let me know. I really want to know I'm not alone in this feeling of self-flagellation that is this horrible Nintendo 64 RPG.

[casspurrjoybell-29]

Forging Ties - Chapter 13 - Part 2

*Warning Adult Content*

You said you helped someone else who was attacked by a vampire. Who was that?" Miriam asked.

"Duran," Skye said.

"Ah. I don't think I know them."

"He was with a group of travellers from the south," Skye said.

"They said they came from The Spire."

"The Spire? Really? They're a long way from home if that's true."

"That's what they said. They're trying to catch a boat back."

"They won't have much luck with that," Miriam said.

"Ships don't pass that way. The currents are too difficult to navigate to be worth the trip."

"Hmm," Skye said, his attention wandering.

He wondered if Miriam would let him sleep in her bed through the day.

Maybe he'd just go lay down and see if she stopped him.

"Though I have to say, I'm curious," Miriam said.

"It's probably been about forty years since we've made contact down there. Can you go and get your new friends for me?"

Skye nodded and headed back outside.

After inquiring with several people at the docks, Hamish learned that there were no ships that travelled to The Spire or its vicinity.

He was just about to turn and head back to the inn where he had left the others when he collided with Skye, who had been standing directly behind him.

Despite his slender frame and graceful movements, Skye felt surprisingly solid.

Hamish grinned at him.

"Oh, hey there. I thought you were done with us."

"Me too," Skye replied as he took hold of Hamish's hand and led him away.

"We're holding hands now, are we?" Hamish asked with a hint of amusement.

Skye didn't respond but Hamish didn't mind.

He found Skye to be an odd character but there didn't seem to be any ill will in him.

Skye stopped in front of a bright red building and fished a key out of his pocket before unlocking the door.

As he yawned, Hamish caught a glimpse of his small, pointed teeth and long canines.

Skye led the way up a long ramp and into a large, dimly-lit room.

On one side was a living area with a bed, table and chairs and a kitchen area.

On the other side, the space had been converted into an office, complete with a desk and shelves stacked with books and papers.

A thickset woman in a wheelchair with dark hair shaved stubble-short looked up from behind the desk and offered Hamish a friendly smile.

She had a blanket draped over her lap but when she wheeled out to face him, the end of a thick, flat tail, like that of some sort of marine mammal, peeked out from beneath the bottom of the blanket.

"It's more useful in the water," she said, noticing Hamish's gaze.

"You're one of Skye's friends from The Spire, right?"

"Hamish," he introduced himself, holding out his hand for her to shake.

"Yes, I'm from The Spire."

"Miriam," she said, shaking his hand.

"I heard you're trying to get back home."

"Trying being the operative word," Hamish said.

"I've been told it's not accessible by boat."

"How did you end up here in the first place?"

"Oh, you know," Hamish waved a dismissive hand.

"Some sort of magical bullshit."

"Ah. And I take it not the kind where you can just do it again and get back?"

"Unfortunately not. Don't get me wrong, this has been a fantastic adventure but not being able to get home at all isn't something that sits well with any of us."

"I understand," Miriam said.

"I run trade ships, though not to The Spire. How are things down there? Any news?"

"Well, we did have a major confrontation with the large human settlement recently and somehow it ended in talks about peace and ending slavery for the mages in their community. I think that counts as pretty big news."

Miriam's eyes widened.

"If that's true, if it really works out... it changes a lot of things."

"The truth is, I am human," Hamish admitted.

"I've been living outside of their territory for a couple of years now but that was where I was born. It's a complicated situation but I believe change is happening."

"I'd like to help you but my ship is a trade vessel," Miriam said.

"To even attempt that route, you'd need something lighter and more manoeuvrable. I'm not sure I'll be able to help you but stick around town for now. I might be able to make something happen."

[ganymedesclock]

knuckles as a first blorbo is a really big thought sinces with the movie being a big thing, the takes on his character and his development over time, and the movie probably putting the idea of Knuckles as being sonic's most direct and prominent foil, its like.. IDK what its like but Knuckles thoughts are big on the mind so I guess one thing to think about is, what's your thoughts about brining Knuckles to his roots as Sonic's foil?

So disclaimer that I really need to see the Sonic movies and I haven't yet, but, I actually have a fair number of thoughts on Knuckles and Sonic as major foils to each other.

Sonic, y'know, attracts a lot of foils/rivals, but I would argue that Sonic and Knuckles' dynamic is very interesting because it's one of the times that the lore of sonic is actually directly talking about Freedom and what it means.

Sonic, as always, is characterized as the voice of freedom. He wants to have a good time. Half of his 'mascot with attitude' traits that endure is that he's actually not stalwartly, reliably Of Service like we think of as a hero classic- he's busy, he's bored, he wants to do things his way and the things he wants to do are entertaining.

This actually marks a conflict in Sonic's character because he cares so much about having the freedom to do his own thing, it means he can empathize with just how horrible it is to lose that freedom. So, superficially, him actually being a hero, is an easy choice to make. You see bad stuff, people being trapped and sad and not having fun, and that's a buzzkill! You're strong and talented, go fight it!

But the thing about being a hero is it's actually a commitment. And in most circumstances, the opposite of freedom isn't tyranny it's responsibility? To the point that a tyrannical environment tends to be one that mounts immense responsibility or obligations onto you without giving you any freedoms in response. But it means that the natural rival to a freedom-focused hero isn't necessarily a full-bore tyrant- it's someone with excessive responsibility.

To me, the Adventure games were incredible in how much they contextualized Knuckles. And I think it's an important point to make that in the early games, and in the Adventure games, Knuckles' problem is not gullibility. If anything, it's the opposite- he's too paranoid.

In Sonic Adventure, Eggman can insinuate to Knuckles that Sonic might also want the master emerald, and Knuckles' response, in essence, is "that's fishy, but, also, oh no, what if he is, I don't know if I can trust him, I'm suspicious of Eggman but sometimes he does actually give good information but what if-" and by the time he sees Sonic and Tails conversing over something crystalline and luminous he's worked it up in his head and punches first, questions later. And the reason why is spelled out very plainly through those two games.

Knuckles entire civilization collapsed- was leveled to ruin- over the chaos emeralds and the master emerald. Knuckles is the last survivor of that. That's more than a tragic backstory; it's an obligation. He has basically a cultural debt and shame to making sure this big shiny rock and its subsidiaries doesn't hurt anyone. In adventure 2, it's a load-bearing plot point that he lectures Rouge on the importance of the Master Emerald- that he thinks she doesn't get it because she just talks about it like it's a big jewel for a treasure room.

Knuckles is... not free. But it's not because he's ruled. It's because he's responsible. He's obligated. The fact that in one of the movie trailers, he has this exchange with Sonic of "I've been training my whole life for this" to which Sonic cheerfully rebuts, "and I've done NO training at ALL" really drives it home?

But again. It's not like Sonic lacks responsibility. Because at the end of the day, Sonic... does not want bad things to happen. He doesn't want people to get hurt. Even selfishly- because he likes people and likes the world, he doesn't want things to happen to it- he nonetheless has actually more solid of a moral code than he or anybody gives him credit for. He's lazy and selfish, but he has standards and compassion.

And on the flipside, Knuckles is... man, he's plenty young and vulnerable himself! There's only so long you can live literally alone on an island in penance for something your ancestors did so immensely long ago that even you don't remember, that you have to ask, why was it my fate to guard this? Knuckles has felt an obligation to protect the master emerald longer than he's even known why, or how to use its power.

Knuckles. wants to be able to kick back and do other things. And it feels like a betrayal to his strong-held ideals. But it's some kind of abject horror to be a teenager who can't even take a day off and mess around without constantly feeling like he's leaving the entire planet in danger of a horrifying superweapon because he's not at home babysitting a rock with everything he's got. And every time something bad happens on his watch- which it inevitably will, because he gets tired and the Master Emerald doesn't- it just reinforces to him that he should've been better.

So you have a setup of two people who have the same grander sense of morals (people should be alive and okay! it's terrible to be trapped and alone!) who nonetheless would hate each others guts on first impression (Knuckles can only see Sonic as horribly irresponsible with his gifts and with the emeralds; Sonic can only see Knuckles as a malicious obstruction who's defending bad things) and struggle to reconcile (Knuckles envying and resenting Sonic, which makes him susceptible to being led by Sonic's enemies; Sonic's own bullheaded streak making him unlikely to explain or try to deescalate before they've come to blows), but ultimately at the end of the day, they are more alike than different, and they have stuff to gain from talking to each other.

I think it's a good way to refocus Knuckles, because I think just making him Sonic's fun hang-around pal with no complications or conflict causes him to lose some of his edge. I don't have a problem with them being friends, but I think as friends, they can afford to play a little more into the hero-and-rival kind of dynamic; even once things are good, they're still competitive, it's just on friendlier terms.

[darkqueenofshadows85]

Sonic and the Black Knight (2009) Story Review

Disclaimer: I will be judging this game by the plot and writing, not the gameplay.

Introduction

Greetings, mortals! For today's review, we'll be looking at the last of the five main Dark Era games, Sonic and the Black Knight.

This is part of a series of reviews in which I’ll be going into slightly more detail about my thoughts on the main series Sonic game storylines, and why I think they're either well written and engaging, or an absolute trainwreck (or somewhere in-between). I’ll be giving my stance on the character portrayals, visuals, soundtracks, voice actors, and what themes/messages they had to offer. Keep in mind that these are just my own personal thoughts. Whether you agree or disagree, feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions!

Anyway, let us begin! ^^

Plot

Merlina continues her grandfather's plan of taking over Camelot and her fear of death leads her to make the Camelot citizens believe that the fake King Arthur has turned on his people as the Black Knight, making herself look like the weak victim. She uses her magic to bring Sonic to Camelot. Merlina gaslights Sonic into trusting her as the two go on a journey across Camelot to bring down the Black Knight.

Characters

I must say, whoever wrote this game captured the characters PERFECTLY! I know that all of the characters except Sonic are not really their normal characters, but the personalities and attitudes fit their originals. And their interactions have true meaning. It's not a bunch of stereotypes speaking in a detached way. It's the Sonic characters we know and love interacting naturally and with lots of energy.

This game handled Sonic's personality beautifully. I consider it to be my absolute favorite portrayal of the character. Sonic is truly himself here: heroic, snarky, optimistic, selfless, bullheaded, etc. This is Sonic's characterization at his best. If ever you're looking for a reference as to who Sonic is and should be, you simply look at the masterful writing this game entails.

Merlina is very underrated. She's one of the few female villains in the Sonic series (besides Zeena and Nega-Mother Wisp). She starts off as Sonic's travel guide to the world of King Arthur but is secretly the main villain of the story. I have to say, it was so surprising to see that King Arthur was an illusion the whole time and Merlina was the one behind all of it. She falls into a sort of gray area between good and evil, and it makes her one of the most well rounded characters in the Sonic franchise. While what she was doing was wrong, she genuinely believes that she's doing the right thing. As a character, she is multilayered, three-dimensional, and probably the best twist villain ever.

I really liked the interactions and dynamic between Sonic and Caliburn. They initially have a distaste for each other, but soon start to grow fond of one another as their adventure goes on. Throughout a majority of the story, Caliburn continuously refers to Sonic as a “Knave”. This all changes when he drops the name in one scene though, and instead refers to him as “Sir Sonic, Knight of the Wind”. This is a clear sign of character development for Caliburn in which he finally respects Sonic after his hard work as a knight.

I loved seeing what roles Sonic's friends take in the world of King Arthur. Tails is a blacksmith, Amy assumes the role of Nimue, Lady of the Lake, and Knuckles, Shadow and Blaze assume the roles of Gawain, Lancelot and Percival respectively.

Visuals

I love the art style of the 2D cutscenes and the CGI cutscenes at the beginning and end look really good as well.

Soundtrack

I think this game has one of the best soundtracks in the entire series. The main theme, Knight of the Wind is AWESOME, and the other vocal tracks, Fight the Knight, With Me and Live Life are all fantastic as well.

I also like how they play the characters' theme songs when Sonic meets them. For instance, when Sonic meets Lancelot, they play Shadow's theme from SA2, Throw It All Away, and when Sonic meets Gawain, they play Knuckles' theme, Unknown From M.E. It's a nice little callback to the Adventure games in my opinion.

Voice Acting

The voice acting, like everything else in Black Knight, is top notch. Jason Griffith (Sonic and Shadow/Lancelot) once again gives an excellent performance and Melissa Hutchison (Merlina), Casey Robertson (Caliburn), Dan Green (Knuckles/Gawain), Bella Hudson (Blaze/Percival), Lisa Ortiz (Amy/Nimue), and Amy Palant (Tails/Blacksmith) were all fantastic as well.

Theme/Message

The central theme of Black Knight's story is thanatophobia, the fear of death, what it causes and how to contain it. Merlina has a fear of the end, so she wanted to save and prolong the life of her kingdom by bringing time to a standstill and creating a world without death, but then at the end she learns that even though the end is inevitable we can still make the most of our lives by living it to the fullest.

Conclusion

I ADORE Sonic and the Black Knight. The story is near perfect in my opinion, and I feel that it truly ended the Dark Era on a high note. It's awesome, dramatic, sweet, funny, and most of all, very well written. Sadly, the same cannot be said for what immediately came after... (you know exactly where I'm going with this)

My final score:

5.9/5 (Amazing)

[omegangrins]

A Rant on the End of Tremors 7: Shrieker Island

As the main man said,

Throwing caution to the wind because this blew up elsewhere.

If you can do it with Justice League, fuck it, let's do it for every shitty movie we've got.

While we're at it, can we change the ending of the 7th Tremors movie so *MAJOR FUCKING SPOILERS* Burt Gummer doesn't die or at least bring Jamie Kennedy back, or Marvel style recast Jon Heder, so he dies saving his son instead of a random-ass person who could have easily saved themselves. Or cut the forced montage of Burt clips at the end so his death is at least ambiguous. Seriously beyond pissed about that one. THAT is no way for him to go.

I would also like to point out that the next Tremors *HAS* to be titled Tremors 8: Ouroboros and bring everyone back for Burt's funeral . Otherwise, what's the fucking point?

I have feelings about it, people. *FEELINGS!!!*

One of my favourite childhood memories is picking out Tremors 2 from the local gas station's movie rentals and forcing my parents to watch it. I was probably 5-6 at the time.

Let's say that it's been a lifelong love affair ever since. It took me another 10 years before I even watched the 1st. Probably why I hold good sequels in such high regard.

I didn't even know about the 1st until it played as a trailer in front of 2 and never thought to watch until years later. That's a testament to its filmmaking if I ever knew one.

So seriously, that's how they chose to kill off one of the most well known and prolific characters in a movie/TV series known around the globe? With an unnecessaryily needed death and a montage of clips from all the other movies that are obviously better than this one.

And I'm saying that as someone who defends Chibnall/13th Doctor...

...and I'm fucking fuming because THIS is how you *actually* destroy something people love and hold dear to their hearts. It's like the ending of Game of Thrones. His shitty ass death has made it a loooooot harder to rewatch. And they are one of my favourite series!!! Not flawless but fun. But I will defend every other movie and all the episodes except this. Honestly I'll still defend 7/8ths of this one as well.

Like I said, it's easily fixed too. Fucking vice versa swap out Jon Heder for Jamie Kennedy, who the movies have been building up for the last two, and have Burt save his son in front of his old flame. Boom, you won't even need the montage of clips cause you can just have Travis and his mom reminisce about Burt instead. Show not tell. I don't even care he died by Graboid (although in all honesty, I've allways wanted El Blanco to take him down or Burt kills himself from the PTSD. It would have AT LEAST MADE SENSE. Hell, the best would be a heart attack to callback Val's "Yeah, Burt, the way you worry, you're gonna have a heart attack before you get a chance to survive World War Three.". But none of us ever get the best death.). And it's not even about Burt sacrificing himself to save a nobody. Cause that could work too. BUT YOU NEED TO BUILD THAT SHIT UP. Not just fucking drop it like it's hot.

Like I said too, the first 7/8ths ain't bad but it's an entirely different story than a swansong for a hero.

It's all about some billionaire scientist/cowboy hunter dude who likes to get his jollies off hunting the biggest and the baddest who ends up inviting people to this island so they can hunt down Super-Graboids he designed for shits and giggles. But then some Shrieker-fy....

And the pretentious douches come and die one by beautiful one while Burt tries to save them anyway and it's all spectacularly dumb fun until it comes crashing down in the final 10 minutes. Fuck, they should just cut the last 10 minutes. Then it's a perfect little Tremors ditty.

#RELEASETHE7THTREMORSWITH10MINUTESFROMTHEENDCUT

This isn't even about Jon Heder either. He's just doing his job. Hell, do what /u/VoiceofRonHoward pointed out.

"It is clear that Jon's character was just pasted in over Jamie's, the artifacts of the father-son relationship are all over it. They should have gone full Marvel and just replaced Jamie with Jon and acted like nothing happened."

CAUSE FUCK YES!! The only time a story sucks is when they don't commit. Commitment makes all the difference. Now, I'm pissed double-pissed they didn't do that instead since Heder and Kennedy are similar in terms of white-boy-ness.

Even Michael Gross agrees:

"Yes, yes. Now I can't presume to speak for Jamie [Kennedy]. My understanding was they asked him and he said no. And so that's why they went with somebody else. So I had nothing to do with that decision. I just heard the stories. I missed him for that reason. You begin a relationship with the character, and you want to continue it....

...As you build a relationship with this son, we had two, it would've been nice to have three, but that was the hand I was dealt."

One of my favourite bits of Tremors lore comes from the 5th too so it's not like I hate sequel changes out of hand:

"This is a warrior dance. Our ancestors hunting the lnkanyamba and the Impundulu.

"What's that?

"Impundulu. It's what you call the Ass Blaster.

"Ass Blaster.

"Yes.

"Yes.

"Hey, you know, you make Ass Blaster sound good.

Primitive cultures fighting Graboids, Shriekers and Assblasters. I just love that thought.

Hilariously, my meta opening to the 8th movie would be a flashback to 10,000 years ago and a Neanderthal-like Burt Gummer teaching others how to drive Graboids off cliffs like they did with mammoths.

Thank you for giving me the space to rant. Cause fuuuuuuhhhhhhhhuuccck!!!

Here's Michael Gross' own words from his AMA that prove the people making Shrieker Island didn't know their shit.

"The Tremors series is one very close to my heart and I want you to know how appreciated your continued effort is for your core fan base.

My only question would be were there ever any studio decisions made for Burt that you refused to comply with? Or was everybody pretty much always on the same page on what to do with the character?

Thanks again for your dedication.

- Josh"

"Thanks for the kind words, Josh. As regards the first four films, with Wilson and Maddock as the writers, we were very much on the same page. 5,6, and 7 were a bit different, because there was a 13-year hiatus between 4 and 5, and we had to refresh our memories while "reinventing" the franchise for a new audience. I will give you one example: in an early draft of Shrieker Island, a new writer wrote a draft where Burt threatened to shoot one of the bad dudes, and I had to tell him—this is true—"Burt never intentionally points his gun at another human being."

And his own thoughts on Burt's "death" and how to bring it all back together again.

Universal and the director [came] to me with this idea, and they said, 'This could be emotionally very powerful, if we have to say goodbye to this man after 30 years. And I hemmed and hawed, and I thought about it a little bit. And I said, 'You're absolutely right about the emotional gut punch this can be.' And I said, 'You're going to hurt a lot of people's feelings.' And I said, 'But I thought this franchise was over after four. So I could certainly live with it being over after seven.'

"What we negotiated -- well, it wasn't really a negotiation, we all agreed on this -- is that we kind of left the door open. >!Because although Burt is gone, we never see a corpse. We never see his remains. Everybody assumes he's gone. Is he buried somewhere? Is he unconscious somewhere? We never see Burt dead. We see Burt gone. We see Burt not returning. What does that mean? Has he been knocked out? Does he have amnesia somewhere? Does he wander off? Is he in a kind of coma? So yes, the way it ends is pretty profound."

"As regards to the end of Tremors 7, let me just say that while people ASSUME Burt is gone, we never see his remains, do we? Just sayin.'

"The only reason he has become the main character is that everyone else in the original cast moved on to other things. I NEVER thought of him as the central figure, but it just worked out that Michael Gross, like Burt Gummer, was a "survivor." :0) "

"No one would like to see it more than I!!! One of my greatest regrets is that so many other cast members fell away over time. Reba was on to other things, Kevin said no to a second, Fred said no to a third. I would LOVE one last go with all of them, but it is not up to me. :0( "

"There are no guarantees, but for those who wonder aloud if this is the final film, I will say what I have said before: SALES drive sequels, Show biz is 5% show and 95% business, so if this latest addition to the Tremors franchise, sells well, [Universal] will follow the money, and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment may will be back for more."

/u/ActorMichaelGross, the bell has been rung and the song sung. Get the producers on this ASAP!!

I was also the first person to discover the symbolic foreshadowing of Stumpy's end with Earl's sleeping bag in the original movie.

Let's just say, I really *really* love these movies. So if anyone knows anyone, hook me up to the producers of this series and I'll Justin Lin in the Fast and Furious out of this shit.

Since I don't think it's good to critique without proposing either, I say we can make up for this fuck up with the next movie. We'll call it Tremors 8: Ouroboros. After the snake which eats its own tail.

We find out Burt faked his death to get the Proudfoot Corporation to let down their guard and when everyone from the previous series comes back for Burt's fake funeral they give him ever loving shit for being such a paranoid whack-job that he would fake his death to fool a government agency. Why would he do this? He found an old photo of Hiram Gummer with a Graboid warning on the back and asks himself why this valley, why these things, why allways me? And we find out, it's not Burt. It's that lifestyles of extremes will end up in places of extremes. Burt and the Graboids are survivors of different species. Sure the Proudfoot Corporation IS using Mixmaster to combine Graboids, Shriekers, and Ass-Blasters into one super creature for the military but it pales in comparison to Burt looking at his life and wondering in shame how many ancient giants like himself he has killed. And with that, he actually dies, and we keep the ball rolling with the rest of the characters trying to stop what they allways thought was just another one of Burt's crazy conspiracies.

That's why it's Ouroboros. Everything comes back around. We could end/start the movie with Grady, Earl, and Jodi opening a Monster World in Perfection Valley a la Desert Jack's Graboid Adventure. I don't know. I'm fucking trying harder than the people they paid to do this already.

It ain't perfect but I'm building on sand here so changes are gonna get made.

Like if the makers of Tremors notice this,

Then DM me because fucking A you guys need some help.

[the-era-of-shadow]

A random Harazuki headshot ❤

✨ Pride version ✨ and ~transparent version~

~Ramble below contains me going off about Hara's whole ass backstory basically, I know some are just here for the OC art, also the Ramble includes a death mention or two sooooo ye cut off point~

Ya know? I'm not fully sure what to call Hara

Like, she's the midway point between Shadow and Eclipse, but only kinda?

She was created quite a bit after Shadow, Shadow was finished in 1954 and Harazuki was created in 2003, ya know? She's the sequel no one was expecting, well, sorta. With doubts of the planned invasion of Earth set for 05, Harazuki was made to replace Shadow in a way.

But once she was finished, she was mostly regarded as a failure, mostly due to her short stature (she's like a full foot shorter than Shadow) and her less than powerful Chaos based fighting, as a lot of the Chaos energy inside of her was being used up to power her unique Chaos Flight power (not showcased here, but basically she can manifest wings made of Chaos Energy (similarly to how Shadow's Chaos Spears are) and use them to fly). Black Doom believed in her a bit more than Black Death did (yes, they both worked on her, but Death did most of the work while Doom mostly oversaw the process) but ya know, two years after Hara was created, Doom died so... either way she was more considered in Death’s family anyway, both because of him doing most of the work on her and the fact that between her creation and the events of ShTH, Harazuki lived with Death’s grandmother Lillian (another oc of mineee ;p).

Either way, she was meant to be a new Shadow, but she was intentionally made a bit more alien like. Shadow had to be created to look almost perfectly Mobian because that's what Gerald demanded, but with Harazuki, there was more freedom, though Black Doom desired her to still mostly resembled Shadow, both as to make her a more welcoming, sibling-like presence if they were able to get Shadow back, and also cause Doom missed Shadow a good bit still :'). Hara notably does not have Shadow's nose, and her mouth """"fur"""" is very light while Shadow's is rather dark, but she has the hedgehog ears, and Shadow's eyes. She both does and doesn't look like she could be Shadow's younger sister, she more looks like a cousin. As far as actual relation goes, no one but Doom and Death know whether Doom's blood was used in Hara like it was for Shadow, and as I said earlier, most people see Hara as Death’s daughter rather than Doom's. Death refused to let Hara live with Doom, as to not place a "burden" (his words not mine) on the Dark Lord. As for Doom, he truly just wanted Shadow back, and then the idea of Doom taking Hara in was completely shut down when his wife Black Widow (again, another oc :3) fell pregnant.

But the events of ShTH aren't the end of Hara's story, far from it. Despite being basically shunned by him, Black Death forced Harazuki to come with him on his away mission as "assistance". Perhaps he started to see the good in her? Maybe then that she would become the new Shadow she was meant to be?

But those dreams of Hara's were never fulfilled, as the events of ShTH happened, and just like that, she lost so much. She lost the woman who took her in, she lost the one of her two creators that really seemed to love her. All she had left was one of her two best friends that she had made in those two years on the original Black Comet (maybe one day I'll talk about the one who died. They're more of a fan character than an oc just owned by me... haha), Black Death's nephew, Yuki. Yuki wasn't even supposed to be on the away mission, but he snuck in because he didn't trust Black Death with Hara alone (seeing a guy killing your mother in a blind rage right in front of you will do that to ya, ya know?). Hara, trusting herself with Yuki after him doing such a thing for her, stuck by him for a good couple of years.

But enough of the sad stuff for now, I'm actually about to cry.... haha (well maybe if I wasn't listening to "Hey There Delilah" while writing that part I'd not be-)

Anyway, right after getting the news that Shadow killed Black Doom and the majority of the Black Arms, Black Death quickly got planning to get revenge, and took the base idea of Hara and took out some things (mainly the Chaos Flight), expanded on other things, added an all new Monster Form, and long story short, Eclipse the Darkling was created. Eclipse looked full on alien, though that look includes having Hara's mouth/nose area structure and her tail (not showcased in the picture).

So, there's arguments to make for calling her a hedgehog, yes (mainly the ears), and you probably could call her a "hedgeling" or go through the effort to constantly write "Hedgehog/Darkling hybrid" but after writing all that and info dumping on y'all with minimal warning like Doom did to Shadow in the cutscene before Sky Troops, I think calling her "Harazuki the Darkling" works well

Or I could just use her full name Harazuki Chai/Harazuki Black-Chai

If you're reading this part, thanks for reading my nonsense haha-

Why don't you read a bit more while you're at it? Here's my fanfiction.net account link, where you can read more about Harazuki and other characters of both mine and SEGA's https://www.fanfiction.net/u/14774919/

[arkus-rhapsode]

Ok. So what do you think of the latest chapters of fairy tail 100 years quests? What what's happening to characters? I think you're so possed that you even stopped reading more

Hoo boy... *Cracks knuckles* We may be here for a while.

So before I start, let me make clear that I actually keep up with 100YQ, though not for any actual interest anymore. I now stay with it for ironic enjoyment. Because I could say EZ has dumb stuff, but at this point, if you’re Hiro Mashima’s main audience, its fine. No, 100YQ is unique in that it has WTF moments that transcend just the FT fandom sensibilities.

Before I dig in, I’m gonna lay out some formatting rules because we’re cover A LOT. Im gonna be fair and split this up into positive and negative aspects of the series. Because I at least try to be intellectually in what I do.

To avoid from going on tangents and jumping around, I’m gonna be going in chronological order of events. Now this will not be an overview of the series up to this point because that’s stuff I’ve already talked about. Instead I’m gonna start from the point this went from genuine interest to ironic interest. That begin the Whited Out FT Guild.

Positives:

The concept of the wood dragon god having a kingdom on his back is really cool world building. Its actually something that I really liked about the Sea Dragon God as well. Having a realm reliant on the dragon as well as a reason to revere them. What with the water dragon god controlling the tides while wood dragon god is the supporting the city on his back actually makes them seem like god figures and adds to the lore of the world of Earthland in a way that Ishgar and Alvarez sorely failed at.

Laxus punching out Kyria. Petty yes, as Kyria is my least favorite dragon slayer. However a lot of Whited out FT mages were getting jobbered like crazy or just given unceremonious defeats. So Laxus actually seeming like an obstacle was good.

The cat twist with Touka is actually a funny bit of trolling and was one of the few times there was effective foreshadowing with Touka having a tail. (Too bad it was suck in the meandering Gajeel plot.)

The Dragon Eater guild is a much better final villain army than Spriggan 12. The 12 had little structure as to who was the stronger members, resulting in multiple Spriggans feeling like such major disappointments.

Most Mashima Villain organizations tend to broken up like this: Boss->Special Units (I.E Spriggan 12, Nine Demon Gates, Element 4)->Fodder Units.

No one cares when the fodder of a villain group is beaten as they’re just faceless minions. However, when you get to the special unit, that’s wheen there are actual obstacles and the villains start becoming more like characters. However, Hiro has been bad at this when he’s dealing with bigger organizations.

He never had to worry about telling you which member of the villain group’s special unit were more powerful than the others. Due to working with units composed of low amounts of characters, such as Team Lyon, Element 4, and Death’s Head.

You could say that all were roughly around the same power threshold. However, where the spriggan 12 royally failed was there were 12 of them in that unit and they were all just given the blanket term of being on the same level of the number 1 wizard saint. Yeah... that’s a check so large that Hiro could not cash it.

Hiro even seemed to retroactively acknowledge this by stating that August, Irene, and Larcarde were the three best to cover his ass for the fact that all the spriggans seemed to be jobbered far easier than ones supposedly equal to the number 1 saint.

However, the Dragon Eaters are opponents we’re gradually introduced to over the storyline and we actually see a demonstration of what a group of them can do, instead of 1 just trying take on all of team Natsu at once. We see that Skullion’s team is roughly equal to Team Natsu, giving us a gauge for the Dragon Eater strength, but then we get both Wraith and Nebal, underlings not part of Skullion’s thre man team, implying that are of a weaker variety and thus serving as a stepping stone to fight Skullion. But also introducing us to the Black Dragon Slayer Cavalry. Members above Skullion’s team that give us an idea if when they show up what the audience should expect of their strength level.

There’s a reason why in One Piece why Yonkou opperations have so many categories. You’re not gonna care about the minor thugs, but by making a distinction between the Headliners and the Disasters in Kaidou’s crew, you’ve made it so that we the audience will not feel disappointed if a Headliner is beat by a weaker character like say Usopp but still know that they are more than a foot soldier so this win meant something.

Now time for the negatives:

The concept of White Out is not awful, and is actually a fairly interesting concept for a villain motivation in FT. However, the White Witch is one of the most transparently evil characters in the series, thus you know that she’s doing this morally ambiguous action because she’s evil. Imagine if this were about humans or royals who feared the growing power of mages. Or a disillusioned mage with the concept of people like Zeref or the GMG, where is seems like magic is endless and how that’s a threat to the world. No, White Witch really seems like she wants to be this grand manipulator and actively enjoys calling heer whited out people, puppets.

However, there’s also the fact the whiting out doesn’t make too much sense. Some characters seem like mind controlled puppets like Juvia, while others are basically the same except their evil now like Gajeel, Mira, Elfman, Laxus. And some are dumb jokes like Jellal.

So there’s no consistency to this brainwashing. Only other time I’ve seen a mind control plot like that in media before is Yugioh GX. Sometimes people act like they’ve been brainwashed into something different like Alexis. But then people like Bastion and a lot of the gag members of the society like Rose and Bob act as if they’re not affected by anything.

Yeah, this white witch plot feels distractedly ripped off from the society of Light from Yugioh GX.

The concept of Team Natsu vs FT in the vain of the fighting festival arc is dumb narratively from two standpoints. First from a story standpoint in the idea that why the battle of FT arc was opportunity, due to the fact they were all willing to fight to free the frozen girls. Which allowed for others to show shades to their motivations Like Alzack willing to mow through his other comrades for Bisca or Thunder God Tribe assisting in protecting Laxus so he’s the last man standing. There’s a tangible reward on th line that motivates the characters to act as do.

Here, the characters are clearly fighting against their will because of an intangible force. This white magic makes them slaves and are fighting because “white doctrine.” Something they only believeebecause brainwashing. As such, you want to see Natsu and gang beat them up to stop the white witch and free them. There’s no force or intrigue that makes the audience care about both sides like seeing Alzack vs Jet and Droy because you know they both want to save their partners but only one can. Instead people only care because a surface level of “friend turned evil” device. It takes the B and C list cast of the FT guild and makes them props.

And from a meta standpoint, there is no tension, due to the fact this is a post final battle with acnologia Team Natsu. The team is bounds ahead of so many guild members like Macao, Reedus, Max etc. that the only real threat is the S class mages. So that makes that big page spread of evil FT in cult robes dull as only like 3 of them are gonna actually matter.

Then there’s Wraith. Nebal was a boring an generic crazy guy is unimpressive, Wriath was actually really interesting at first. Is ghost magic allowed for an interesting fight and his possession actually having limitations on how effective it was made for a cool skill.

But then the reveal about him and Makarov. I eye-rolled at that point, but then I saw the previews and was like, maybe this’ll be the best thing to come out of this series. Everyone wants to know more about past FT around team Makarov’s time.

But all the potential of young Makarov and young Porylusica and the rest of their team is put on fast forward as they’re all suddenly thinking about leaving. But maybe the reveal with Wraith could be interesting. I saw a lot of good theories like Wraith was Makarov’s half brother or Wraith was the son of Makarov and Porylusica who was killed by Ivan.

Well... Any theory would’ve been better than Wraith was some random ass mage and when they say he a Makarov are related its because the bonds of FT that is real family and transcends death itself.

...Gag me...

And and Wraith just fucks off into the afterlife. Because we can’t actually end a fight because of the protagonist’s ingenuity. No, the villain just kills themselves because feels. Isn’t that right August and Irene?

In conclusion

That’s my thoughts as briefly and coherent as I could make them. So if you wanna know my feelings on 100YQ, it can basically be summed in FT being FT. If you expected more, you’re gonna be disappointed. But if you genuinely love the world and character regardless of Hiro’s writing, you’ll probably still enjoy it regardless of what I’m saying

[texasthegreatdestroyer]

So, I don't usually do these, because I always felt that shipping oc's with characters from other fan works was socially frowned upon, but since I've been seeing a few of these around, I'll give it a shot. My OC shipped with Auron.

Auron x Texas.

Yes, Auron's current partner in crime, rather he'd liked to admit it or not. Their meeting was rather... comedic. Auron didn't really notice his co worker until he accidentally rested the elbow of his sheifed arm on her head. She was very short, Her height being 4'8. He looked down to find a short, albino girl with wolf ears, and a tail. The whole package. Everything else looked human, she just had a few furry parts to her. Another key thing about her is that she always came off as the, "edgy" type, for her preference in black lipstick, and eyeliner. When he did get to know her, Auron has always found her annoyingly chipper, and overly friendly. The two attended a funeral together once, and she wouldn't stop smiling. Seriously. How does someone smile that much at a funeral??? Auron asked her about it.

Her response: Usually when people die, they don't want people to mourn over them, there for I choose not to mourn.

She wasn't entirely wrong, speaking from his own experiences, however it wasn't exactly the majority opinion, as Auron had to keep the wife of the dead man from trying to punch Tex in the face. Tex was almost always very clingy in the irritating and physical sense. She liked hugging a lot. She would hug Auron everytime she'd see him, and it usually would last 5 minutes before he would have to eventually pull her off. As time went on, and they grew closer, Auron started to notice that something was very wrong with Texas. Her extremely chipper personality was used to hide some dark, twisted thoughts, feelings, and even experiences. He came to this realization when he went to visit her one night, and she didn't answer her door. She lived in a dormitory like area, where there was the bedroom, and then a small room next to it that was a kitchen, and the bathroom being against the the smaller side of the rectangular kitchen. It was a nice little place for someone who likes living alone, but it had its downsides, like paper thin walls. You could hear the inhabitants, and they most likely can hear you as well. After a minute or two of waiting, just as he turned to leave, Auron was startled by the sound of soft, female sobbing, coming from Tex's dorm. He knew for a fact that if Tex was crying, which he had never actually seen her do, something was horribly wrong. He immediately opened the door to find a mess waiting for him. Texas sat their curled up in a ball, hands grabbing at her hair and pulling, make up smeared, wrists bleeding from self inflicted bites. Scattered around her were drawings of morbid, violent, and just horrid depictions, along with words scribbled over them along the lines of, "Worthless", "Dead", "No Future", "I'm nothing." A common sign of depression. If there was one thing Auron always knew about Tex is that she had a talent for art. She did this thing that she called a web comic. Auron, not really being kept up in technology, never really knowing what it was, let alone reading it, thought nothing of it, but he had seen her art, and it was phenomenal. It really opened his eyes to what she truly was when he saw that beauty and talent turned into something so ugly and self degrading. When Tex finally noticed him, her reaction was just to try to hide herself in the comfort of her knees. Auron began snooping around, and grabbing rags, then pried Tex's hands from her head, and wrapped her wrist.

Auron: Moron. What were you thinking???

Texas: ...

Auron pulled her into an embrace, still holding the rags to her wrist.

Auron: Would you like to talk about why you bit yourself up like this? Or the sketches for that matter?

Texas: I-I don't know what to do! My art! My comic! I- the deadline to get chapter 9 out is tomorrow, and I thought I could just push through it in a day with enough effort, but I don't even have content! I don't have a script! I have no story, no art for chapter 9! I'm a fuck up! I'm stupid! I'm nothing! I-... I'm so sorry... you shouldn't have had to see me like this...

Auron: It's fine. You're human after all. I expect you to have emotions, breaking points. As for your problems. Tex, the comic is just a for fun thing, right?

Texas: Yeah...

Auron: Great. Take some time off until you get over your writer's block. The timely fashion of updates doesn't matter, the quality does. If you can't produce anything good, then step back and take a break. It's obvious that it's affecting your mental health. This will make you hate what you do, so step back from it. Take a break.

Texas: You're right, I've just... meh.

Auron: Don't be afraid to show your emotions around me. It shows me that you are human.

That night, Auron didn't leave Tex's side, mainly out of fear for what she might do when she's alone. This opened a pathway for future sleep overs. Auron didn't share his bed with many, but with Tex, it had become routine, and he didn't mind. He actually liked the cuddles. A few months later, he receives a message from Tex. That night, she wasn't with him, she decided to stay at her place to do some cleaning.

Message received at 1:23 am:

Texas: Hey. Are you awake?

Auron: I wasn't until you woke me. -_-

Texas: Oh sorry. I forgot that your ringtone is up all the way usually... I'm sorry. XD

Auron: This better be important if it warrants you texting me at one in the morning...

Texas:...

Auron: It's not that important, is it?

Texas: ... No comment...

Auron: Tex...

Texas: I'll leave you alone then.

Auron: Why do you do this!? Spit it out! I'm already awake!

Texas: Are you sure? It can wait until tomorrow.

Auron: Tex. Spit. It. Out...

Texas: I can't! You're making me nervous!XI

Auron: Why would you be nervous?

Texas: Because it's kinda personal...

Auron: Okay. Pretend I'm not here. Say what you have to say.

Texas: ... that is so unaffective when I'm staring directly at that message...

Auron: Point taken. Just tell me.

Texas: Okaaaaay! ...

The icon at the bottom that says that Tex is typing stays that way for 5 minutes.

Auron: So?

Texas: Okay. Here goes nothing. And when I say that, I mean here goes everything I could possibly hold dear in my life. XD

Auron: Are you going to say what I think you're going to say?

Texas: I would really really really REALLY like to punch you in the face!

Auron: Okay, that's not where I thought you were going with this.

Texas: With my face, gently... I Love you! You are amazing, and wise, and sweet, even when you hide it under your protective layers! I simply love you. End of story. And I was wondering if you would allow me to take you out to dinner! I'm going to go cry now, because I feel like I'm dying XD

Auron: I stand corrected...

Auron: O//_//O...

Auron: No.

Texas: No?

Auron: No.

Texas: Okay then... What? No reason why? Like I'm cool with it, if you don't like me like that, but still. At least give me a reason...

Auron: Okay. I'll tell you exactly why. Yeah. I like you. I think you're cute. However, I don't appreciate you waking me up at 1 in the morning to text me with a confession. You want a relationship? Fine, but take initiative and tell me to my face. Quit being a coward. -_-

Texas: Ouch. My feel goods. Anyways, I guess I'll talk to you tomorrow man. Sorry about this...

Auron: It's fine :) Sleep well, Tex.

Texas: You too bro <3

After Auron and Tex finish messaging each other, Auron goes back to sleep. The next day is pretty amusing. Auron waits for his partner. Half expecting she hopes to forget about the previous night. Auron hears running behind him, and turns to find Tex in a suit and tie running up to hi., screaming, "I love you, you sexy, sexy son of a gun!" She knocks his feet out from under him, and steals a very, very passionate kiss, but soon afterwards, causing Auron and Tex both to fall over to the ground. Because her tiny frame is too much for his bigger, heavier frame. Luckily Texas's arm was under Auron's head when they fell, so no brain damage was caused to the older male. Texas turns to Auron, half expected to be heated, and she wasn't wrong, just heated in a different sense. Auron's face was bright red, slight tears to his eyes, he bursts out laughing, black lipstick smeared on his lips.

Texas: What? You told me to take initiative!

His laughter fades to a light chuckle, and then he stops.

Auron: Wow. That was... cheesy.

Texas: Also clearly failed...

Auron: (Still catching his breath.) No it didn't.

Texas: So it actually worked!?!? YAY!

Auron: Just don't do that again. You took us both out in the process.

Auron pulls Tex into his lap, and the two share a proper kiss.

Auron: See. That in of it's self is enough for me.

Texas: Yeah, but it wouldn't be a confession from me if it wasn't stupidly cheesy and didn't make you smile.

Auron: It's missing something though.

Texas: And that is?

Auron: The amazing pick up line from last night.

Texas: Ah yes, you have good taste, my kind, gentle sir. I would really.

Auron: Yes?

Texas: Really.

Auron: Go on.

Texas: Really.

Auron:...

Texas: Really!

Auron: Hopefully this is the last, "Really."

Texas: Like to punch you in the face. With my face gently, romantically, and in other places besides your face.

Auron: Okay. Okay. Calm down. We haven't even had dinner yet...

Texas: Exactly. Dinner.

Auron is very flustered at his now girlfriend's sense of humor. Safe to say, they had a very romantic evening together. ;3

This is my contribution to OC x Fan work Characters. Hope you enjoyed!

[vanherst]

Identification.

I've been busy as of late with life problems of all things. One of which is trying to manage personal life transitions towards actual work, not forgetting my MtF transitioning.

A constant requirement for the sake of my mental health is always giving some form of personal evolution of art and a constant cycling of self identification. And as someone who works a lot of art, I usually use said art to display it. If you're an avid follower of my art, you've probably realised that it's what I've been doing for years. Even moreso over the past couple weeks. The long awaited reconciliation on personal goals, morals and self identification. That being said, as described before, one of the things I've been developing is once again another step towards my personal branding and self imaging.

To be honest, it's been a huge problem for a while now. I think the "VeryVhersty" tag i've been going under a while was cute, but I think with the slow evolution of myself turning into both a female and and a more and more semi-compitent adult, or at least looking more like I know what on earth I'm talking about on behalf of my designing carear. It's more of a feeling that I actually need to start proving myself a bit more now that I want to focus on it from a carear perspective a bit more, and taking the extra few steps to do and to prove myself to be able to do said tasks. Especially considering my current logo is just Bebas with a bit of gradient trickery done in AE.

Here's my initial concept art for something I wanted to create with some ideas I had alongside some character development stuff I must get around to writing about. But that's another post for another time, lets continue with the topic at hand.

I think this initial design is really bad, unclear and awful. The idea is there but the design is too enlongaged, tall and the focus of the actual fontwork is SO off-center it really drags down the concept I had in mind. After producing this, I really did feel awful about it. Not conisdering mental stuff I was going through trying to give validation to myself of considering myself a designer in the first place, but generally as someone who isn't sure what on earth their place is in life.

The original concept was meant to be based on my full name, that being Vanherst. However, the spacing and alignment of the typography ended up being all over the place, so I cut it back to what the majority of the name sound is. Van-her-st. Additionally, the tail at the end of the logo really didn't help with the issue I was having trouble with in the first place, the spacing it was using.

Other than that, the idea for the VA was pretty much what I had in mind, but the N is unclear to read and the H is unclear to what it's meant to signify and represent. The flow between lines isn't clear and the overall design doesn't feel smooth and blend into eachother the way it should.

And after 3 more days of tweaking and coming back to it, here is what I ended up coming up with. I ended up getting a bit of style insperation from Ye Ol' english, I think the H shows that off a lot. I have a few means to incorperate it into my branding a bit while still having that modern feel I want to try and chase after.

I'm still not THAT happy with it, but it's mainly determining to myself if it's actually effective or not, so I essentially just have to sit on it and see if I still like it without the after-haze of creating this.

From what I can say from a design standpoint, a lot of my previous logos I've usually had issues with don't really apply, so i'm finding it really hard to judge it's more objective effectiveness based on relative lessons learned. And that's simply because they always end up seeming so simplistic and flat looking. God, am I sick of straight lines. I think it's more of a evolution on the idea of most of the things I've been studying and learning about from design to politics to computers have always been a complicated issue and that's what I probably get my personal interest of it from. Life is always a bit more complicated but maintaining simplistic to an overwealming degree, and I want my next step in life to display that.

This design kinda reminds me of my rainpro.dash logo, which prior to this, was probably my personal favourate design I've managed to make. As much of a parody piece it may seem, it's pretty effective at what I think it's trying to accomplish.

Either way, I really feel this is a step up from my regular work, at least from a creativity standpoint specifically compared to older logo designs I've created in the past. All there is to contemplate now is a banner design towards this new found phrase of my life.

[lexpistachio]

First off I want to say that I completely understand where your interpretation of the comic comes from, and I just want to offer my own. I'm not trying to say you're wrong or change your mind, and wanted to clarify that since I'm not the best over text. So 1, I don't think Kent is being set up as an antagonist. I know others said that when Ngozi made a comment about Year 4, but all she actually said was that he would play a larger role. 1/

I saw the bar scene as a way to show how different Kent’s situation is, especially juxtaposed with Jack’s teammates. Jack and Kent both need that kind of support, but only Jack has it. So I see that scene as an example of what Kent experiences and also as a set up of how that might improve in Year 4, since Ngozi has said she thinks Kent fans will like the ending she has planned. Which also brings me to the fact that we have a whole year left. So 3.26 is not how his story ends. 2/

We’ll most likely get that big confrontation and talk between him and Jack, and more positive resolution (I hope!) For me, 3.26 opened a lot of doors for character and plot development and I’m excited to see where they go. I wanted to offer that perspective because I’ve seen you (and others) talk as if the door is shut on Kent’s character. 3/

I also want to make a quick side note that rookies win the cup every single year. Since the Falconers had made playoff appearances before, it’s not unrealistic for Jack to win it in his first year. Him getting the gwg in ot was unrealistic, but to me that felt more like coming with the territory of being a major character in a fictional story. 4/4

I want to clarify that my perspective comes from someone who has read the comic since year one came out and has read it after every update came out. As such, I think the story is more malleable to me, than someone who has binge read the most part and who takes the canon as it is. For me, for every (disappointing) writing decision that the author has made, there’s a diverging road it could have went instead to make it a more compelling coming of age story but didn’t. So in a way, my views are by someone who looks at the larger story line and character arcs, rather than examining and swallowing the story the comic is trying to sell me as it is now. I”m just not invested enough.

That is to say, if you want to be invested in year four, you do you! I don’t really get why there has to be uniformity in our interest levels here. If you’re excited that you think Kent will get a proper treatment, that’s all well and good!

As someone who’s much invested in the larger perspective of things, I believe that whatever closure that Kent will get will always be limited by how year 4 has been framed, and Year 4 is preceded by a disappointing year where its main protagonist hasn’t any character development and his main issue is hurting while in the closet and equating coming out to the entire world as a panacea to their imbalanced relationship dynamics. Those entire three years set Kent up to be a foil, and that in itself? I don’t like that, especially when in the face of a couple who basically had to ghost and dodge every conflict resolution that was inherent for their dynamic to survive. I reject that narrative where his only worth depends on how this characters who hasn’t and will never suffer his burdens will choose to treat him.

There was an ask some time ago (not sure if i’ve answered that one actually) suggesting what if the comic dared to make Jack choose to ask Kent for advice instead, because Kent has been in the league for years longer and while closeted, instead of the comic treating the only lgbt characters this comic has to offer as adversaries first and foremost? And I love that so much. The comic deals so much with so many rudimentary comparisons and contrasts (closeted and sad/out and happy; get what you want and be sad/get what you didn’t want and be happy; alone with anxiety/anxiety + love = anxiety at bay) where, to make her point, the author feels like Kent should be stuck with all the negative attitude in the personality spectrum (desperate, alone, sad, angry) to boost her main characters’ story, that we forget that it doesn’t have to be that way in the first place. That sort of writing is so prosaic, imo, and shows such a prosaic way of thinking and dealing with all sorts of issues that were presented, such as mental illness and being gay. My hesitation to read the rest of the comic is the tail end of a very long unhappy engagement with it.

And by the way,  I’m fairly sure that the word “antagonist” was thrown around by N herself in relation to Kent, not just by the fans. I don’t like rereading the comic, so I won’t just to give you a link, but I have someone to corroborate that N said the Kent was the antagonist to them personally, so.

And it’s not bad! “Antagonist” doesn’t have to refer to characters that are intrinsically evil or will end forlornly; they’re basically just oppositions to your protagonists’ goal. Though I, myself, am not fond with labeling characters as antagonists/protagonists that sets up expectations that are not necessarily actually demonstrated through the writing (whereby your protagonist’s only goal has been what, to support his bf? to bake some pies over and over? to come out, seriously? how can i seriously call that a protag, much less get invested in him?) I do agree with you that Year 4 offers a lot of development for Kent! I hope that N gives him justice to the best of her abilities, and I’m happy for people who would get a future for this character that they love. I’m just personally not up for that.

Another example of the larger perspective: you saying but winning as a rookie is totally believable!– And I know that, on stacked teams, I can give you three examples on the spot–but again I cited Jack’s unrealistic NHL career in the context of his story. When he supposedly “failed” to get what he wants (because it’s his birthright to be first in the draft? entitled much?) and still plays in the NCAA (nope) and below his skill level for the next four years, signs with the NHL and plays with pretty much no adjustment period, comes out to his teammates despite the possibility of any of those team mates being gone by the trade deadline, faces zero homophobia in-panel, carries his team to the playoffs and scores the Cup-clinching goal? And again, his story initially was supposed to learn how to open himself up to people and to learn to work as a team, but how stagnant has that arc been when he pretty much had his way with everything anyway? You’re right, totally understandable to his narrative, but still prosaic.

[winter-is-ending]

Flower ask: Anemone, baby's breath, daffodil, hyancith, hydrangea, iris, poinsetta, rose, sunflower, daisy, tulip, petunia, and lilac (my question for lilac is: If someone wrote you in a fanfic, would you make guesses on what you'll end up actually doing in the story before your official story/chapter debut is uploaded, or keep your actions a surprise? Regarding this, what do you predict you'll end up doing by yourself or with Tracey and Barry by the time you're in Subzero Hero (my fanfic)? :P

Anemone: how old were you when you first started writing?

I was either 13 or 14. I was a freshman in high school at the time when I first found out about fanfiction.net

Baby’s breath: about how many fics have you completed?

Full chapter stories: 3 

Oneshots: Too many haha

Daffodil: do you prefer to write about an OC or an unnamed reader (y/n)?

I prefer to write about an OC (as the numerous stories with OCs tell you). I like to be able to create a personality and backstory on a character rather than reader insert. That’s just my preference though. I do read plenty of both OC and reader insert stories.

Hyancith: do you prefer to write angst or fluff?

It honestly depends on my mood when I write and whatever is happening in the story, but I LOVE fluff. If I read something with really fluffy stuff I will be smiling the entire time. Fluff is also how I’ve met some friends on here and on fanfiction like @thewintersoldierdisaster when I read her storTuy where Bucky was babysitting Steve’s son. So cute!! I was smiling through every chapter haha.

Hydrangea: what inspired you to begin writing in the first place?

I think I’ve always liked to write even when I was little. I wrote two short stories for some assignments back in elementary school (I just found one of them recently actually). But to start writing fanfiction I was inspired by this anime/manga I used to watch and read called D Gray Man. My friend let me borrow the third book one day and I was hooked. I developed a crush on one of the characters (as 13 year old me does) and fell in love with the story and the world. I created a character in my head and it wasn’t until that same friend or another friend told me about fanfiction.net that I decided to build up the courage to start writing. Looking back at that fanfic I cringe so much at the cheesy-ness and the horrible writing, but it shows how much I’ve improved through the years!

Iris: do you prefer writing about a man or a woman character? why?

I prefer women because that’s all I’ve been writing for mostly. I’m not sure why though. I think it’s because I can relate to some things that happens to my character or because I’m a woman and know how we think. However, I do want to write more for men I’m just horrible at creating male characters, but I need to practice more if I want to get better.

Poinsettia:  is it hard for you to make up names for characters in your fics?

Sometimes. Sometimes the names come to me in an instant and other times it takes me forever to think of a good name. I’ll have a character already in development and ready to start writing for but it will take me a few tries to get a name just right. For instance, one character I created was for the anime Fairy Tail and I had her look and personality finished, but I couldn’t think of a good name until I talked with @the-argosy and got a better name from her than what I had at the moment.

Rose: which of your works is your favorite? why?

The Winter Series because it’s the first series that I have actually successfully finished chapter stories in. The number of chapter stories I have started I have failed to complete. I also love the characters I have created, they’re my trash children. 

Although one story that holds dear to my heart is my Four Brothers story. It’s a story I started and had a lot of plans for that I haven’t touched since high school, but I have this feeling that one day I’ll get back to it and continue it. I love the characters from the movie and I love the character I created. I hope to one day get back to it.

Sunflower: what is the best feedback/compliment you’ve ever received regarding your writing?

That’s honestly the hardest question to answer out of all of these. I can’t remember the best feedback/compliment I’ve ever received. I’d have to look through all my stories to figure that one out. But there is one recent review I’ve gotten that was from the recent chapter of What Happens Now? 

Loved this chap. I just want to say that no matter how long between updates, I will always follow this series until its completion! It is one of the best fics I’ve read for Avengers and it is amazing. You will always have my views!I know that, for me at least, I need someone to tell me they are still reading my story even after I haven’t updated in a while. So, I’m doing that for you! Can’t wait for your next update!SuperWhoLandLocked

Seeing this review after nearly of year of not updating made me smile a lot. I’ve been feeling down about my writing and my story. I feel like the series hasn’t been doing as well as it did when I first started and that I lost readers. I also have been really busy which has kept me from writing which has always been a stress reliever and a hobby of mine which has made me a little upset. Not upset to the point I’m depressed every day, but just upset when I try to sit down and write and nothing comes to mind. But this review honestly made me really happy. Reviews have always encouraged me to continue writing and have let me know that I still have readers who are waiting for what will happen next. Seeing this review made me so so happy and this person is one of the sweetest people I have talked to in the past. So thank you so much for this review it definitely made me a lot more confident after posting the recent chapter!!

Daisy: would you ever consider a career in writing?

Yes! I am studying journalism as my minor along side my fashion retail major. I hope to one day write for a fashion magazine. But for now I am working on a fashion blog at mstreetfashion. It’s not the best, but it’s a start. I’m still developing it and learning how to edit the blog itself so it looks 10 times better than what it is now. I also am thinking over the name and trying to find a new name for the blog.

I hope to one day have a strong following with the blog and inspire people to be themselves and dress how they like to dress! Fashion is a way of expressing yourself and my clothes show my personality and my favorite things like my graphic tee shirts I wear every now and then. I want to be able to show that it’s a great way to express yourself and be who you are. 

Tulip: what is your favorite writing blog on tumblr that you feel deserves more followers and reads?

That’s a hard question. I have a good number of friends who write that deserve readers and followers! There’s @booksthegreatestweapon @herebesparrows @thewintersoldierdisaster @step-into-my-office @the-argosy and @puffandproud. And you, you have a lot of good stories on your account. There’s so many more that I could tag and one day if I ever reach my next 100 followers I’ll do a follow forever or just tag people who deserve recognition because I know way too many writers on here who deserve recognition.

Petunia: who is your favorite character to write for? why?

Out of my OCs definitely Tracey. She’s grown so much on me over the years and she’s the OC I’ve written the most for. 

Out of canon characters that’s hard. It’s a tie between either Clint, the Maximoff twins, Sharon, Sam and Bucky. They’re just a few of my favorites. I also like adding Sharon into the mix of the series because she needs more screen time than what she got in the two movies she was in. Pietro and Wanda because I love their relationship so much! Clint because he’s a little shit. Sam because he’s Sam. He’s cool. Bucky because he is such a dynamic character and it’s great to show a happier side to him but also get to write a dark side to him.

Lilac: 

It depends on the story. If I come in right away I can’t exactly guess on what I’ll do because I’m not sure where the story is going. If I appear in the middle of the story I could take a guess as to what I could do. It also depends on the author because it depends on how well they know me personally to get my actions and personality down for whatever situation I am thrown in. 

What I’ll be doing or what the twins will be doing in your story is a mystery to me. The twins could either end up being teachers somehow in it or you could have made them teenagers and part of the student body. The same goes for me. I’m excited to see what you’ll do though!

I am sorry for the long post. I still have no idea how to do the whole “keep reading” thing. If anyone knows I’m all for a tutorial haha