#one day I will complete their overly complicated lore | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

adobe-outdesign · 5 months

Note

in honor of international women’s day, could you review some royal neopets (since all women are queens?)

(Royal has a lot going on with it, as there's not only the usual customized vs UC designs, but also the royal boy vs royal girl designs on top of that. For purposes of this review I picked out royals where both genders look great, but let me know if you guys would be interested in seeing a royal girl/royal boy-specific review.)

Royal is one of the more complicated Neopets colours, having special art and poses pre-customization and having a gender split on top of that. Normally I'm not big on gender splits as a whole for being overly cis, but I'll forgive it in this case because it is actually possible to get a female royal boy pet and vice versa through lab ray shenanigans. Customization also allows for clothes to be swapped around at will.

One thing that I always found strange about royal as a colour is that it oftentimes doesn't really match up with anything lore-wise. For example, Blumaroos come from Roo Island, and their leader, King Roo, is vaguely dressed like a jester because Roo Island is the happy-go-lucky fun land. Makes sense! But then the royal Blumaroo colour is... space themed, for some reason?

It's not that the colour literally needs to match up with actual Neopian leaders all the time, of course; it's just that sometimes the choices made feel random and ill-fitting for the species.

Another instance of this is in the royal pets that are based off a specific country/region. I do like the diversity in not having all pets share that Meridell-esq European look, but sometimes it does make me raise my eyebrow. Like, where in Neopia is "Mongolia", exactly?

And in terms of customization, royal pets generally got hit pretty hard. Previously, royal pets were bipedal, and many of them had subtle anatomically changes to give that them royal look. It's not even that royal pets just got converted in general, but many of the conversions seem very poorly done—such as the poor Aisha above, which inexplicably lost an entire set of ears. Like I said, I like the ability to trans our Neopets easier, but that's about the only benefit.

Favorite Species:

Skeith: One common problem with royal pets tends to be that the royal girl and royal boy look completely different, with one of them (usually the male) looking significantly better. Thankfully, the royal Skeith do not have this problem, with both male and female sharing a white base with a subtle accent color and similar-but-distinct sets of clothing. The Alice in Wonderland inspiration is also very fun, and feels supper fitting for the species. Great stuff.

Kyrii: I already went over these designs in my Kyrii review so I'll keep this short, but the UC/styled royal Kyrii are just fantastic designs all around. The squarer head shapes than normal give them a very elegant look, and the designs make full use of the Kyrii's distinctive long manes (not to mention the old BD poses, which were just delightful). The only drawback is that the converted versions are particularly bad, to the point where I'm not even bothering to show them here to save space.

Peophin: Something about underwater royals just tend to hit, and the Peophin is no exception. The species already has their distinct head ornamentation, but the royals take it a step further by adding extra jewels and extending it over the ears and head fins, then accenting it with even more additional jewelry. I also really like the robes, which feel surprisingly natural for their body shape. Beautiful all around.

BONUS: Remember how I was saying that a lot of royal designs feel random and ill-fitting for their species? The royal Koi avoids this completely by basing the royal boy design off of King Kelpbeard, the ruler of Maraqua. Once again, both designs here are well balanced and go well with each other, and I like the degree of underwater elements—coral crowns, seaweed accents, and pearl necklaces.

(Side note: a very honorable shoutout goes to the royal Mynci and Flotsam, which didn't quite make the cut but are still excellent designs.)

Least Favorite Species:

Moehog: Most royal pets are at least interesting, but I can't say that about the poor royal Moehog, which is mostly forgettable; just the standard clothing that you'd expect from royals. The royal boy is slightly better, at least sporting a nice dark blue base, but the royal girl has a very "cheap" design, like it's wearing a Halloween costume instead of actual royalty. The royal Moehog never got a UC option, but they did have pre-customization designs that were slightly better–but only slightly.

#neopets #neotag #skeith #kyrii #peophin #koi #neopet reviews #long post

28 notes · View notes

pickledpascal · 9 months

Text

Bewitched

Chapter Five: Collar Full

Warnings: SMUT !!! beau is the bottom (obvi)

Word Count: 3.8k

Bewitched Masterlist

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

It was right after Winter Break and Kiera was up early to try and make Dalia some breakfast before she went back to school. One of her safe foods was toast with peanut butter so Kiera could always rely on that if she didn't want to make anything overly complicated.

So she made two perfectly toasted pieces of bread and slathered them in a layer of peanut butter. Kiera took a bite of hers once Dalia’s was finished.

“Did you know that, in Texas, if you take a cowboy hat off a cowboy and put it on your head, it means you're basically married?” Dalia appeared out of nowhere. Kiera got used to it. It had been a phenomenon since she could walk.

Kiera set Dalia’s plate in front of her on the counter. “No, kiddo. I didn't.” She smiled softly.

Ever since meeting Beau, Dalia had been obsessed with finding out everything she could about him and Texan traditions. Kiera was convinced Dalia was teetering on breaking her rule of not eating ethically sourced meat just to try the barbecue. That was until she realized they'd likely never travel to Texas. Dalia didn't like planes and she hated being in a car for more than a few hours. Kiera was glad Dalia was younger when they moved to Montana or else it would've been an even worse nightmare.

Dalia dug into her toast, pursing her lips as she chewed. “You should do it to Beau.” She said before taking another bite.

Kiera rubbed her forehead. Dalia had also been intentionally trying to get her with Beau. Not that she needed any help. In fact, it was a little funny.

She took a sip of coffee and sighed. It wasn't her favorite cafés coffee but it'd do. Kiera wasn't going since she was able to work from home today. There was no need to leave the house just for coffee unless she was going into the office.

“Maybe I will.” Kiera smiled into her mug.

Dalia didn't smile but her eyes held a sparkle of mischief and pride. Maybe one of her plans would work. For once. Her mother was so keen about what went on in her head that Dalia thought she had some sort of mind-reading power sometimes.

Kiera took Dalia's plate and washed it along with her own. “Wanna get a ride to school or take the bus, sweetie?” She called over her shoulder.

“I'll take the bus.” Dalia responded.

Kiera could hear her shifting, probably to get her backpack. Dalia was still very short. Especially compared to her mother. Kiera believed she'd be five-eight by her pre-teens. Now, though, Dalia stood at about four-five.

—----

Not knowing whatever possessed her, Kiera thought it would be nice to invite Beau over for lunch. For a surprise. She completed her work earlier than usual and she knew Beau had a lax day at work so his deputies wouldn’t mind if he had a particularly long lunch break. She hoped. Kiera wasn’t so sure about Jenny.

She didn’t visit the precinct often. The very thought of being in a room full of cops made her skin crawl. But when Kiera did visit, the blonde was attached to Beau’s hip. Every room he was in, Jenny made sure to be in it with him. Kiera wasn’t jealous. She knew Beau loved her and her only. He was hopelessly in love and everyone could tell. That’s why Jenny tried to butt into every conversation Beau and Kiera had, sat at the edge of his desk a few times, and even offered to go out with him for drinks. Drinks were ultimately turned down to have dinner at Kiera’s house as he listened to Dalia talk about mythological creatures or whatever kind of lore she was obsessed with that week.

“Hey, darlin’! I got sandwiches from that diner you—” Beau’s words were cut off at the sight of Kiera sitting with her legs crossed on the couch. He nearly dropped the two boxes of food he had in his hands.

Kiera herself looked normal. Oh, except for she was in nothing except for black, lacy lingerie. Her hair was in its naturally straightened state but it looked so different against her exposed skin. Beau had barely even seen her exposed shoulder. Seeing all this new skin made him feel like a Victorian man who caught a glimpse of a woman’s ankle. He noticed the small silver piercing on her belly button. So his suspicion was right. Kiera did have piercings elsewhere beside her face and ears. The new question became if she had one in a lower spot.

Kiera had to suppress a laugh at Beau’s reaction. He was like a deer in headlights. She took the food from his hands and set it on a nearby table before she tapped on Beau’s cowboy hat. He had a few he rotated through. This one was a deep brown color that had a black sash wrapped around the base of the crown. She smirked at Beau as she took it off his head and put it on hers. Beau swallowed thickly, wide-eyed as he watched the movement.

“Hey, cowboy,” She smirked as she wrapped her arms around Beau’s waist and pulled him close. Kiera pressed her lips to his. That was all it took to unfreeze him. His arms found their way to her neck as he leaned into her lips. “Missed me?” She pulled away with a breath.

Beau chased after her lips. “You have no idea,” He breathed as he tipped the hat back for better access. As if he had a moment of clarity, he stopped himself while Kiera got her lips acquainted with his neck. “Darlin’—fuck—I still have work.” He reminded softly. The reminder was for himself. He knew if he ended up in bed with Kiera he wouldn’t want to leave.

“I know,” Kiera whispered into his ear. “But I think the sheriff is entitled to have a little break every once in a while.” She pushed Beau’s jacket off his shoulders as she sucked a few bruises onto his neck. Ones that he wouldn’t be able to hide with any kind of shirt or jacket unless he wanted to invest in a scarf.

Kiera might be a territorial lover. She wanted Jenny to see them and hopefully get the message Beau wasn’t hers for the taking.

Beau let out a low whine, only spurring Kiera on more. “Darlin’, we need—” He drew in a sharp breath as Kiera bit underneath his jaw. “Your bedroom?”

It had been so long since he had sex. He wasn’t the type to have one-night stands or friends-with-benefits kind of relationships. He wanted to do it right with Kiera. Not on her couch, which was comfortable, but not nearly as comfortable as he imagined they would feel on her bed.

She must’ve forgotten about that part, a little too lost in desire. Kiera pursed her lips as she took Beau’s hand and guided him up to her room. It was the first time Beau had seen her room even after the countless times he’d been to her house.

The room wasn’t too different from the rest of the house except for the black walls, a few handmade dreamcatchers above her bed, and the velvet drapes over her windows. Without the lights on, Beau imagined it would look a little horrifying and hard to navigate. However, with a few nicely placed lamps that emitted warm light, Beau knew he’d love to get his brain melted by Kiera. If that’s what she wanted.

Beau would do anything as long as Kiera wanted it.

Pulling Beau back into reality, he could feel her fingertips underneath his shirt. He helped her take it off, pulling it from his head as Kiera’s hands spread across his stomach. He didn’t realize just how big her hands were until that moment. Her hand lifted to his shoulder as he turned in her arms.

“Your whole body is freckled.” Kiera breathed, admiring the dots on his shoulders as if they were stars in the night sky. Among the freckles, she noticed a few tattoos she had never seen before on his bicep and chest. She honestly didn't expect Beau to be inked. She'd ask about those later.

Her hands lowered to Beau’s belt. Her dark eyes flicked up to his. “Little help?” She didn’t have much experience unbuckling the kinds of belts Beau wore—he nearly always had a hefty silver with a Texas Longhorn engraved on it.

Beau chuckled softly as he unbuckled it with ease and slipped it from his jeans with one hand. He dropped it as Kiera dove in for another kiss, cupping his face as she stepped forward. He stepped backward. The back of his knees met the mattress, causing him to fall with her on top.

“Shit.” Beau breathed while Kiera wasted no time to work his jeans open. The cowboy hat hung onto the edge of the bed once it fell from her head.

Kiera let out a small laugh, “That’s the first time I’ve heard you swear, cowboy,” She slid his jeans off his legs with ease before she crawled back up his body. “You should do it more often.” She whispered into his ear.

Beau couldn’t respond, afraid of what would come out of his mouth if he did. So he opted for another, deeper kiss. Kiera let out a small noise of satisfaction against his lips and Beau tried his best to memorize it. He didn’t know when this would be able to happen again.

He had quite a few dreams of what it would be like to have sex with Kiera. Some of them ended up with him in the shower with his dick in his fist as he imagined fucking Kiera. Or sometimes, the other way around. She was fairly open about her genitalia with him. Likely because she thought he’d care and end their relationship. He didn’t care. Not in the way Kiera thought he would.

Kiera rolled over so she was on the bed and pulled Beau over her lap so he straddled her waist. He let out a surprised noise at the movement. “Now this is the position I want you in, cowboy.” She hummed. Her bra was discarded and Beau didn't have enough time to admire the new skin as a hand slipped under the fabric of his boxers on his thigh.

Beau sucked in his bottom lip as he lifted his hips to take off his boxers. He was so desperate for Kiera that it almost made her laugh—if only she wasn't just as desperate for him. Her hands immediately went to his hips once he was fully naked. He devoured Kiera's lips in a hot kiss as his hands roamed all over her body.

“Fuck, sweetheart,” Kiera sighed against Beau's lips, pulling away. “I know you need me but,” His lips almost stuck out into a pout. He didn't feel like waiting. “You need to be prepped okay? Especially cause this is your first time.” She reasoned softly.

Beau watched as Kiera opened the drawer to her nightstand to grab some lube. “What makes you think this is my first time?”

The face Kiera made at the comment needed to go in a museum. She quickly collected herself and replaced her expression with a smirk. “Well, you haven't had me yet? Now have you?”

Beau swallowed thickly as he shook his head. In the back of his mind, he was aware of the bulge he was sitting on. It was hidden underneath the lace of her underwear. He ground his hips down on it to get a better feel. Beau’s legs tensed slightly. Even covered, albeit thinly covered, he could feel how big she was.

“Rethinking your choices?” Kiera asked softly.

Beau shook his head. “No. I want you inside me. More than I did before,” He admitted. “Please. I—” He was cut off by a lubed finger pressing inside him. He didn't curse but he was surprised, the wind knocked out of him for a second.

“Continue. You were on the verge of begging,” Kiera smirked, pressing a kiss to a newly formed hickey. “I liked it.”

Spurred on by her words, Beau let out a soft whine as Kiera added a second finger to stretch him properly. “I need your cock, darlin’, so fucking much.” He wanted to move his hips against her fingers but her spare hand kept him in place. She was strong and he wouldn't be surprised if she could press him up against a wall and have her way with him. “God, fuck!” Her fingers curled in just the right way. “Fuck, I've dreamed about this.” Beau sighed. The words left his mouth before he could think about them.

Kiera cocked a pierced eyebrow. She added a third finger that made Beau let out a soft whimper. “What did you dream about? Can't just leave a girl hanging, sweetheart.” She teased.

“I-I imagined,” Beau took a deep breath as Kiera moved her hand so her fingers could thrust in and out of him. “Your cock inside me. M-Making me feel amazing,” Trying to remember his dream was getting hazy, too caught up in what he was feeling. “You were deep. You bent me over my desk. Pulling on my hair. You tried to keep me quiet. You–fuck!–even gagged me with a scarf for good measure. I—ah—had a long shower thinking about it.”

Kiera hummed softly and leaned upward to kiss Beau. He had a feeling she would keep that in the back of her mind for later. “I like that idea too,” She removed her fingers but before Beau could whine about the loss, she cut him off. “Take off my underwear, sweetheart.”

Eagerly, Beau did as asked. Like he expected, Kiera was large but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. And the piercing on her tip—that made his mind reel with anticipation. He wanted to know how it would feel. Thankfully, he was about to know. He licked his lips at the sight of her completely bare. Completely bare and underneath him. The rise and fall of her chest, her parted lips, her dark eyes that somehow looked darker, her hair that somehow still looked immaculate and not tousled. She looked perfect.

Kiera lifted Beau's hips and let him slowly sit down, her cock slipping inside him. He screwed his eyes shut for a moment as she bottomed out. Yeah, that piercing was a welcome addition. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed thickly, reveling in this feeling. Beau couldn't remember the last time he had done something like this. He just knew it had been a while. A long while.

“That's a good boy.” Kiera murmured, caressing his hip bone with her thumb. She still couldn't believe the miles and miles of freckled skin Beau had. Every single inch of him donned the little dots. Some were more apparent than others, bigger, and darker while others were more faint.

Beau’s thighs clenched underneath Kiera's touch at her words. “Fuck.” He breathed softly.

Kiera looked up at Beau, a bit surprised he liked her comment. She wasn't sure he'd like that. In fact, she didn't think he'd like to be the bottom in the equation. That wasn't to say she would always top but from the way Beau was looking at her, she had a feeling he enjoyed this a lot.

“You wanna ride, cowboy?” Kiera’s hands moved to capture Beau's so he could balance correctly. And so he had something to hold onto.

Beau licked his bottom lip as he looked down at Kiera. “I think the song goes: save a horse, ride a cowboy. Not save a horse, get a cowboy to ride you,” He teased softly, only making her smile wider. “But I think,” He rolled his hips and her lips dropped open. “I can make an exception.”

Kiera's jaw tightened as she looked up at Beau, squeezing his hands as he started to move properly. He couldn't believe his eyes. Her dark stare. It looked like she would eat him if she could. And the small blemishes across her skin. Her strong hands. The muscle in her arms and abs and her light, feathery noises just—God. It was all so perfect for him. She was amazing. Everything he could have ever asked for.

“That's it,” Kiera breathed, eyes scanning Beau's body until they fixated on his blissed out face. “So good, sweetheart.” She wanted to feel up his thighs more but she knew Beau would prefer holding onto her hands like a lifeline instead. Maybe next time.

Beau couldn't help the noises coming from his lips. His brain felt like it was on fire and his body felt wonderful. The aches in his muscles didn't matter. Chasing his high did. Chasing his high on Kiera's dick was the best part of it. Her cock, her bed, her house. He wanted her to own him. He didn't voice it. His lips were too caught up with whimpering and moaning with each drop of his hips.

He couldn't help but feel like this was everything he had ever wanted. And more.

Kiera adjusted her hips slightly so her cock drove in a different angle. The angle was perfect to hit his prostate. Beau let out a sudden, loud moan at the change. Certainly more.

“Fuck! Ah–Kiera—” Beau choked on his own words. He felt like he couldn't breathe. His lungs were screaming for air. “Fuck, baby, I—” He didn't register what he was saying. Words just jumbled out of him.

“You wanna cum, sweetheart?” Kiera asked. She was more collected than Beau but he was still able to hear her harbored breaths and soft, pleasured noises. She was just intrinsically less vocal than he was. Beau let out a low whine, lips slightly ajar as he nodded. “Use your words.”

He nearly choked on air. Beau had to collect himself while Kiera stared at him with a knowing look and a ghost of a smirk on her face. She knew how she affected him. “Yes,” He finally said, “Please, baby, fuck—” Kiera bucked her hips upward and forced a moan out of him. “Please! I-I need you. Need to. Fuck—so bad.”

“Need to what?” Kiera challenged softly. She set Beau's hands on her stomach and moved hers to settle on his hips. Fuck next time. She wanted to hold his body.

“Need to—ah—cum on your cock!” Beau moaned, losing any restraint he had left. He turned into a common whore. He couldn't care less. He was focused on Kiera and the way she felt inside him.

The delicious drag of in and out. The feel of her hands on his body, her fingers digging into his skin. He wished she would be able to leave a print there to remind him of her while he was by himself. A reminder of who he belonged to. Who he loved.

Fuck, he loved Kiera.

Kiera pulled Beau down until he was a few inches away from her face. “Then do it.” She pushed her lips against his in a fierce kiss.

He moaned against her, leaning into her touch as he felt his orgasm build and build until he came. The tension in his body released and he had to do everything he could not to just collapse on top of Kiera. She pecked Beau's cheek and then peppered a few kisses on his jaw.

After a few moments of painting, Beau looked up at her. “You, uh—You didn't cum.” He swallowed. Beau still felt dangerously hot. But he also is a courteous lover. He could still feel Kiera hard inside him. He also knew she was close. There was a look in her eyes, her bated breath, the way she held onto him like a lifeline.

“I didn't,” Kiera confirmed. The edges of her lips threatened to form a smile. “Do you wanna change that?” She asked in a whisper. Her hands lowered to rest on Beau's thighs. And he wasn't sure that his brain could malfunction more, though it did.

Beau nodded wordlessly, his bottom lip jutted out. He was sore, but not terribly, so he pushed himself up to straddle Kiera properly again. “C'mon, darlin’, I wanna feel it,” He breathed as he rolled his hips. She let out a sharp breath. “Please, darlin—” His voice was slipping more and more into his native Texas accent. He was plenty sensitive after he came. “I need a reminder of you, fuck!” He whimpered as she thrust her hips into his.

“That's what you want?” Kiera asked lowly, licking her teeth. For the first time, Beau noticed a metal bulb on her tongue.

His mind was too busy reveling in pleasure but the sight was tucked into the back of his mind for later. His throat pushed out an “Uh-huh” as he rode her, thighs tense and sore and he knew he wouldn't be able to sit comfortably for a while but he couldn't have cared less.

“Ah—fuck!” Kiera hissed softly, head leaning back into her pillow as she came. She drew in a shaky breath as Beau relished in the feeling of her inside him.

Beau breathed heavily, his mouth was dry as he looked down at Kiera's blissed-out and sweaty face. He knew he didn't look much different. He brushed a hand through her hair while her hands ran up and down his thighs. The touch was maddening. And almost made him want to go again.

Almost.

“I'm hungry now… thanks for bringing food.” Kiera hummed softly, leaning up to bring Beau into a kiss.

——

Beau stepped into the County Sheriff's department, hair a little messier than this morning but otherwise he looked the same. Minus the cowboy hat he wore earlier.

Mo met him as he neared his office. “Have a good lunch?” He asked smugly before he got serious, “We got an update on the Neighborhood Killer.” He handed Beau a file as he followed him into his office.

Going into work mode, Beau flipped open the file on his desk and sat down. He hissed and immediately stood back up to notice Jenny came into the room. She looked at him weirdly. He coughed as he glanced down at the file.

Another murder. Near Kiera too.

Beau pursed his lips. He really hoped Kiera was safe. He didn't want Kiera to be in danger. He tried his best to reassure himself that nothing would happen.

-------

taglist: @deans-spinster-witch

taglist open here !!!

11 notes · View notes

dontcallmecarrie · 1 year

Text

For anyone wondering what’s going on with BDEL, Darth Calamity and...basically 99% of my AUs: every time I write, stuff going on in my life keeps coming out. Which normally isn’t bad, but we’re talking soap opera levels here. Like, ‘any more and I might as well write a biography’, and that’s Not Fun on a number of levels.

So, status update/ my internal narration on what keeps running through my head on the AUs you guys may or may not be wanting to hear about. Heads up for some minor spoilers, but way less than the outlines linked on my pinned post.

By Dawn’s Early Light:

...I have all of one (1) scene I’m eager to see, and that’s Howard Stark getting punched by Bucky in front of Steve Rogers. And maybe reassess how realistic this AU is, but tbh that feels more like something to tackle in the Coding Nightmare Fic I Have Yet To Finish because like hell I’m rewriting this fic.

By Myself But Not Alone:

look upon my works, ye mighty, and despair! Sing, oh muse, of the hubris of the fool who thought they could make their overly-complicated vision into a reality while only knowing the bare-bones basics of HTML.

...okay, but really, my main problem is that I’ve got several dozen pages of handwritten notes and outlines of potential Bad Endings to spice things up, but. Completely and utterly blocked on actually writing it out. Kinda debating on just posting what I’ve got and calling it a day because my brain refuses to expand on anything right now.

Live Through The Rain AU:

First off, I really want to brush up on Welcome to Night Vale to make sure I’ve got the tone right. Secondly, this one’s slated for Howard Stark redemption/character development boot camp via ‘yeah your world was just completely upended by one of the people you trusted most, no, that was just the first of many curveballs coming your way’, which I write when I’m trying to tackle a sympathetic and nuanced perspective of a very, very complicated man with a lot of issues.

...which means I have to be in the frame of mind to be sympathetic. Which, right now, I am not.

Incidentally, if you’ve noticed a sharp uptick in the levels of family drama in NHDD, this is why. Justin’s father is what happens when I am not inclined towards trying to be sympathetic towards parents who don’t have their shit together and insist on dragging everyone else down with them, Howard Stark is what happens when I’m not venting my issues onto fictional characters. [...apologies, btw, for anyone reading this. I try to keep personal stuff personal, but. This stuff keeps leaking into everything I touch, no matter how hard I try.]

Blurred Lines:

...this was my first fanfic, really. I’m kinda torn on how to approach it, really, because I started it out as an exhausted aspiring pre-med student who was not in a great place.

It’s been years since then; I am not where I’d once expected to be. It’s been over a decade since I’ve been up to date on what’s going on in Doctor Who, and noped out of Sherlock after the hot mess that happened after Season 2. On top of that, my writing’s all over the place because my teenage self had a long way to go when it came to storytelling, and part of me wants to go back and edit but the rest of me can’t help but think, ‘no, this fic has literally grown with you,’ even if it sounds cheesy as all get out.

All I know is, I want to finish this fic. I have a bullet point outline, next to no knowledge of Doctor Who lore and probably need to do a lot of research to do it, but it is going to happen. Eventually.

Ere The World Falls/The Lullaby of Obliteration:

Writer’s block hit me like a battering ram because ETWF was supposed to be finished in a week.

Look, this is what happens when all you have is a single scene you desperately want in the next chapter, but absolutely nothing else. Specifically, this snippet:

“Oh, I like you,” Hela laughed, something as cold and sharp as the rest of her and Tony didn’t know if he was imagining the goosebumps he felt right now.

Also, ETWF’s meant to be chaos incarnate and found family and end with hope for a better future for everyone, but... I kinda wrote myself into a corner on some things, and found a great way to tie Norse mythology and Marvel comics lore that would require either a lot of heavy editing, or a grimdark remix that I don’t actually have the energy to tackle, because I really kinda need happy endings right now.

Darth Calamity/The Man Who Sold The World:

you know what? I’ve been up to my ears in rl family drama, I am not up to writing fictional angst right now. The remix with more identity shenanigans? Maybe, but first I have to wade through Skywalker family drama to get there. Hmm. Where’s inspiration when you need it?

No Hero [Downward Descending]:

yes, I know Justin Hammer doesn’t come across as being good at this supervillain thing. No, I don’t know how we got here either, this was supposed to be my stab at writing a SI-OC [emphasis on the OC] that got a tad bit out of hand. Especially when it came to the family drama, because I originally had zero intention of expanding on it beyond ‘Justin’s life went on Hard Mode from an early age, and it’s part of why they are Like That now’, but turns out Hammer Senior is a great heat sink for some things. Apologies for that, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ turns out I really needed to vent.

...in retrospect, I missed a golden opportunity for said OC to make a comment about vaguely expecting to see everyone running around in spandex, and that is one of the few regrets I have. Just as a metacommentary on how desaturated the movies got later on, compared to what little I know of the comics.

Beyond that, though, I’m having a lot of fun with a protagonist who accidentally weaponized the power of friendship.

The War is Far From Over Now AU:

Main fic’s finished, still too burned out to consider tackling the sidefic.

The plan currently is to take all the ‘Stuff I Couldn’t Quite Fit In’ posts I made- aka all the plot points that ended up getting cut for my sanity, because my heart had been set on finishing TWiFFON before graduating undergrad and even that ended up going sideways- and playing by ear from there.

Specific plot points I’d once been eager to tackle had included stuff like ‘The Curious Case of James ‘Bucky’ Barnes’ [aka SI Legal’s freakout over the files they end up having to sort through in the aftermath of the Civil War arc], and ‘Vision’s Adventures In Trying To Become a Psychiatrist’ because multiple commenters basically went ‘wow JARVIS really needs therapy, and no one on Earth really is equipped to help Skynet here’ and I remember thinking, “lol yeah, that’s kinda the point, but also that’s a great idea!!!” and had been planning to write something to that effect. Only, things hit the fan in my life not long after, and then burnout on top of that, and next thing I know it’s been years since I last touched this AU but still feel no inclination to do so.

#Naught rambles #thinking aloud #by myself but not alone #By Dawn's Early Light #Live Through The Rain #blurred lines #Ere the world falls #The Rise of Darth Calamity #The Man Who Sold The World #No Hero [Downward Descending]#3 am musings #writer's commentary

13 notes · View notes

erindrifter · 2 years

Text

Alright. My Doctor Who kick has begun again, and this is mainly because the Chibnal Era has ended.

Now, don't get me wrong, the individual stories were alright. I can revisit single episodes of the Chibnal Era of Doctor Who.

But overall, I think that Chris Chibnal decided to change too many things.

I was a BIG fan of the show when Peter Capaldi left and Jodie Whittaker took over. The first season maintained that, and I was having a great time! But, then I decided to rewatch the entire show again, but just the highlight episodes. The ones that really stick out to me, and that's when I realized that... There weren't any big ones in that season. I like the first two, but then... Not much beyond that. I only watched the season finale one time, and all I remember is being very confused.

The second season is where things started getting messy. You are introduced to The Master again! And, I like this guy! He's got that sort of manic energy to him to counter Jodie Whittaker! But, the character arc set up at the end of Peter Capaldi era was just completely ignored. The fact that the Master was supposedly permanently killed on screen was ignored as well! Not even a passing remark!

Advance forward, and we learn there's more to the Doctors history than we knew! And at the end, we learn that... Well, the Doctor isn't even Gallifreyan. They're something that isn't even from this universe, and are the actual source of regeneration. This solves the age old question regarding what they'll do about the regeneration limit, but it DESTROYS the entire lore set up in the previous 60 years of the show.

The show had a rough history with Gallifrey as well. Firstly, it was destroyed in the Time War, a burden the Doctor had to carry for centuries. But then, we learn that Gallifrey wasn't destroyed, just lost for a bit, but it came back! The Time Lords have returned! For TWO SEASONS!! Then, they get destroyed again because the Master had a hissy fit. How? We don't find out. The Doctor had to get the most powerful weapon in the universe to destroy them the first time, but the Master had the script on his side, I guess.

And then the filler episodes (which was the majority) were just kinda boring. They don't set up anything down the line, so revisiting them is kinda just pointless. I went through both seasons in two days when I rewatched them, and I was busy both days.

All of these issues come from Chris Chibnal. I really liked Jodie Whittaker, and all the companions. But, I couldn't remain invested. The show was either boring or ignoring what I had come to enjoy. I never even finished Flux. Barely even started.

Anyways. I do hope that with the return of Russel T Davies, we get a return to the familiar format that made people love Doctor Who so much. (At this point, I'd welcome a return from the overly complicated and self masturbatory story writing of Steven Moffat)

1 note · View note

krpgarden · 8 months

Note

so while we would LOVE to see more of these groups, it's harder to really keep up and maintain despite loving the things we put out /// as someone who would love to open a fantasy rp and as someone who has attempted to join previous fantasy rps, i'll admit my main issue is that i struggle to find muse when the lore is overly complex! that, or if the lore is solely based off of a franchise (i find that to be pretty restricting if i'm unfamiliar with the franchise's lore). admins put so much life into fantasy roleplays and it's impressive. it's something i could have definitely handled 5-10 years ago when i was pushing out novella replies daily. that being said, i think fantasy would gain SUCH a positive resurgence if things were kept more brief and digestible! this isn't to say you should strip your roleplay from all of its story and personality; of course not. i'm saying this in a way where, for instance, if you have 3 paragraphs giving lore on a playable species... try to make it 1 paragraph! a lot of fantasy writers (myself included) pride themselves in flavor text and purple prose, and i think that's totally fine in moderation! in a changing rp world where people are busier, though, or where people want to quickly escape into rp without having to study the guidelines and premise/lore for days before applying, i think brevity would fit with the modern pace of krp. also, another important point of this is that brevity makes it more accessible for those with attention disorders and memory issues. ideally, we want to encourage everyone to try out our fantasy roleplays; not just seasoned veterans! when handled like this, it keeps new and returning muns from having to constantly cross reference your roleplay. after all, the faster you can immerse yourself completely, the faster interest and interactions will take off! my point is, i love, love, LOVE lore, but, these days, i think it's something that should grow WITH your community. giving muns a metaphorical textbook before they join is going to scare some away, and this will contribute to the low engagement you mentioned. i'll admit that (as a fellow fantasy fiend) this is the main reason i've been hesitant to join past fantasy rps. a basic story/plot alongside a basic "why are they here/what is their purpose in the rp?" question would be such a good jumping off point for most muns/muses. this, in itself, gives beginners of this genre room to learn and grow, without forcing themselves to bend to the unrealistic expectations of things they need to write out and things they need to know. on the other hand, it gives an open-ended prompt for novices and seasoned fantasy writers to expand upon what they were given. sorry for the wall of text! i'm super passionate about fantasy rp, and i truly feel it can make its comeback if we relent a little and experiment with more accessible forms of worldbuilding/storytelling. /nm /gen ♥

Hi there, thank you for your opinion 🩵

I can’t add much ~ I think sometimes lore gets complicated because on the one hand, if there is too much information members don’t read it, and on the other hand if there’s not all the information then people might send in a million questions or make characters that don’t quite fit the lore? Not sure if what I’m trying to say is clear, but I do generally agree with everything! 🩵

#krpgarden: discussions

0 notes

theoristsden · 2 years

Text

Theorists Den revival

Welcome to the Theorists Den 2.0

What is it? A blog dedicated to archiving all the major JSE community theories, observations, and “what if”s. Yes you’ve read right, community’s.

The blog has been inactive between 2019 and 2022, but still it contains over 400 links featuring all the JSE community’s discoveries and ongoing hcs/theories I managed to gather since the beginning of ego lore on the channel till my hiatus. And as the title says - I am intending to revive it.

Ever wanted to get into theorizing but didn’t know where to start? Want to catch up with all the lore and ideas that have been in the community since the start? Well this is your lucky day. The archive of this blog is separated into:

fully fledged&lengthy theories,

shorter hypotheses&thought dumps,

observations&confirmed hints,

masterposts and full timelines of videos, posts, and literally everything ego.

This is not a personal blog and will not clutter your dashes with spam, but will only be a place for theories and operate whenever there’s new discoveries.

Can I use this archive for my theorizing needs? But of course. This archive is fully accessible on both desktop and mobile and will be updating as the lore progresses.

How can I contribute?

Reblog. Either this post, or the archive itself (in the description). The more people know this archive exists, the more it’ll evolve, the easier it’ll be for people to catch up with events and find theory material! You don’t find this archive useful? Well maybe this is exactly what your followers need, let them know it’s a thing.

Submit theories! Asks, submits and dms are open. Think you’ve noticed something new? Have a theory you think others should read? Tag @theoristsden . The posts will be added as soon as I get the time.

See a “broken link” or “link gone” note in the archive and have a reblog of the post you think was there? Maybe the OP renamed their url and you happen to know what their url is currently? You’re welcome to contact me. This blog has been open for a while and a lot changed on the platform since...

As an ex theorist myself, I know how disheartening posting theories can be- especially when your blog is new and your audience is small. Hopefully this blog can become a platform for those wanting to reach the community but lacking the means :) especially when this website is so broken.

All opinions are welcome! If you disagree with someone, feel free to provide your opinion and ideas. But no bullying of others for having different opinions than yours will be allowed here. An opinion can’t be right or wrong, same way a theory can’t be right or wrong. (assuming it’s not denying existing canon, of course… then it’s technically not even a theory…)

You might notice that I never took any theories down, even if they ended up being “wrong”… That’s because we don’t write to be “right”, we make theories for fun. An idea that you think is dumb, might be exactly what someone else needs in order to finish a theory. Sharing our thoughts and findings are the only way to understand the overly complicated hints that are being thrown at us.

Do not contact OPs of old theories intending to prove them wrong and definitely not to call them out over “freaking out” over something that turned out to not be a hint. This community existed for years, of course not all theories are correct, we used to jump at shadows back in the day and the current attitude might be completely different... even the ones who wrote the posts might not even believe in them anymore so remember to stay mindful and check what dates posts were posted on before contacting OPs.

Don’t want your theory to be in the archive? No problem, pinpoint the exact post you want me to take down.

And lastly, @therealjacksepticeye hasn’t been active here in years but its a tradition to write this so: if you end up stumbling upon this blog- feel free to use it. This can be a good place to check what the community has discovered so far or look for new ideas! *whispering* the community doesn’t need to know if you use it… It can be a secret y’know…

Signal boosts are extremely appreciated, again- this is not a self-gain personal blog. This is a community blog. I may be operating it alone, but the entirety of this archive wouldn’t exist without this community...

- @aceofspades-lena

Old notes:

Update 18/01/2019: An experimental theme is now up!

The archive should be back to being fully accessible on desktop. This theme was checked in advance, but I’m human too and could’ve missed something so if you happen to see posts appearing on top of each other/images that seem to be in the wrong place/or just random havoc and broken pages- please let me know!

Update 14/01/2021: Activity.

As you might have already noticed, the archive has been inactive for a very long time and unfortunately it’s probably going to stay that way… But it’s going to stay up regardless so that current theorists who might want to get into older theories that existed in the community in the past :3

Update 24/06/2022: Revival + theme bugs

I’ve went through the archive and double checked how many links are still working… Seems to be somewhat okay XD Added a few new posts to the archive but there’s still a p huge gap between 2019-2022, which will likely stay forever ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I’ve also noticed a few visual bugs in the blog’s desktop theme but that’ll have to wait. It should be usable for the time being regardless… just sometimes shows the wrong avatars on posts.

#jacksepticeye #antisepticeye #jse egos #jse theories #jse community #theoristsden

14 notes · View notes

condorclaw · 4 years

Text

Why It’s Hard To Understand c!Technoblade

Note: These are my own thoughts and beliefs. This isn’t meant to be hate or critical at all, but rather trying to figure out why Technoblade’s actions are harder for some people to understand. I’m always open to friendly discussion, as some people might have noticed things that I haven’t!

After completion note: This could be slightly hard to read due to my jumbled thoughts, and the sudden realization I had while working on this, but I tried to explain everything as best as I could! This is now not even c!Technoblade critical, but rather Minecraft critical /j

A quick lookover at the cast of the Dream SMP will definitely show how many unique characters there are within the story, and that’s only based on appearances. Diving deeper into each of them, they all have their own morals, backstories, and relationships that drive what they do.

There’s another factor that makes each of them unique too, and that’s how they tell their stories. Some are more reactionary, while others take time to work out their own feelings and thoughts. Imagine it as a scale:

While some characters are more introspective and express their feelings and motivations more through words (ex. Ranboo, Ghostbur), other characters share their own morals through their actions, be them extreme or subtle (ex. Sapnap, Dream). Of course, those aren’t the only two options, with the storytelling being a sliding line where there is a middle ground for some characters to display their own feelings through a combination of words and actions (ex. Jack and Tommy).

Now, this isn’t saying that Ranboo can’t act on his morals, or that Dream can’t use his words (we’ve all seen them do both very well). It’s more so a representation of the storytelling they’re most common with. All the ones who use words to express their feelings have backed it up with actions, and the ones who’ve acted on their thoughts have shared reflections on it with words. One way of storytelling is not better than the other, and it’s rather good to have multiple ways of seeing how characters react to situations through their common/preferred method of expression.

However, when it comes to Technoblade, he exists on the scale in a very weird way.

While he can appear on the scale, he doesn’t exactly fit within the similar boundaries of other characters. He acts, but rarely backs it up with almost any words. When he does use words, while they make sense, there’s too little to connect them to the full extent of what he does.

There’s another character who’s also in the same spot as Techno on the scale: Phil, who does tend to act in the same way Techno does, also having the same explaining gap as Techno.

So why do I understand Phil’s reasoning more than Techno?

It’s because of something else outside of words and actions, just rather character explanation. It’s an overlying trait.

Phil’s overlying trait is that he’s centuries old and has seen loved ones die. With this knowledge, it’s much easier to come to an understanding of where Phil’s own thoughts lie and why he acts the way he does. Of course this trait isn’t applicable to all his actions, but it allows us to bridge gaps between his disconnected actions and come to an understanding of why he might believe in specific ideals and morals.

Overlying traits can change though, Ranboo being an example of this. At the beginning, his trait was memory issues, which caused his feelings to be affected by his condition, and seek out those who he remembered to be good. It’s why he had the memory books, and why they were used to bridge parts of his own thinking and actions. Currently, his overlying trait has shifted to wanting peace. It’s through this why he takes his alliances and friends into consideration when making decisions, because all he wants in the end is the best result for everybody to benefit from.

Techno doesn’t appear to have a current overlying trait that originated from anywhere. “Destroy the government” could possibly be seen as this, but it’s more of an overlying statement than an overlying trait, something that’s rooted in mostly words rather than in a fact. “I’m a person too” could also be it, but that thought is rarely covered, with Techno currently leaning towards a more militaristic and authoritarian mindset.

At this point, there doesn’t seem to be a clear overlying trait for Techno’s character that connects his actions together. Techno rarely goes into his own mindset, rather acting upon what he believes in the moment without exploring it in a coherent way. With characters like him who don’t use their words for solid explanation, visuals are especially important to convey how a character is feeling outside of said words, which Techno tends to do.

Now, this isn’t Techno’s fault in being unable to convey his specific emotions to his audience. IRL limitations are in the way of that, such as cc!Techno streaming very infrequently. With cc!Ranboo, he streams every day, so there’s time for him to introspect and to do what he wants to do in terms of lore. Minecraft is also extremely limited in specific emotions of players, which is why crouching is the closest thing to conveying fear or playfulness, and the arm motion is used for waving or expressing anger.

For c!Techno, facial expressions would be the most useful tool in explaining his internal thoughts, but he can’t show them like how he could in animation or live-action. As seen in the content created by the fans, famous Technoblade scenes will have a wide variety of facial expressions, since that would be the visual focus of his character.

I believe the reason it’s so hard for people for understand Techno as well as they could, is because he doesn’t express his feelings through words or actions, but rather a third category: his expressions, which we are unable to see due to the limitations of the game.

Actions don’t always equal true feelings, and while words are important, they can be inconsistent with how one expresses them.

So while this is the more linear form that we can expect:

In reality, it’s actually more like this:

And with the third category, the previous linear form is rather inaccurate within itself. Yes, this makes things more complicated in terms of working out how each character can portray their own morals and ideals.

But isn’t that what Dream SMP is about? Absolute insanity wrapped in different perspectives that might not be as clear as they seem?

TLDR: Technoblade is hard for me (and possibly many others) to understand due to the most important factor of his storytelling, facial expressions, being limited to nonexistent within the game Dream SMP is set in.

(Thank you so much for reading this if you got this far! I really appreciate it!)

#please read this I am literally such a genius /j #nah just kidding jdjfhfh but I'd really appreciate it if you took a look! I think it might help a lot of people with seeing something new i #terms of conveying story!#dream smp #dsmp #dream smp analysis #dsmp analysis #c!technoblade #c!technoblade analysis #c!techno analysis #my post #I KEEP BANGING THESE OUT IN ONE GO HELP MEEEE

81 notes · View notes

darealsaltysam · 4 years

Text

HEY GUYS WHAT ABOUT A DREAM SMP SPIES ARE FOREVER AU???

(before I even get into it please note we're removing ALL romantic plots – that means Curt and Owen having a relationship, the whole misunderstanding between Tatiana and Curt and the subplot with Barb having a crush on Curt. Everything in this au is PURELY PLATONIC)

first off, the setting;

we're removing the au completely from the cold war setting and instead putting it in an alternate dream smp timeline type of place – with some things changed. (this also means that there's no nazis in this since uh.... it would be strange to take a character and say “you can be the nazi :)” LMAO.all actual countries and their politics are completely removed from here)

l'manberg, the antarctic empire, the greater dream smp and the eggpire/badlands (sort of merging them into one in this au) all exist at the same time, with some changes to who's allied to which faction and how they function.

currently, l'manberg and the antractic empire are in a state somewhat mirroring a cold war – at the verge of firing at each other, but holding back and constantly ready to attack the other. In the center of it all, the greater dream smp has just been settled and is trying to gain power, meanwhile a fallen empire, known as the eggpire, is trying to rebuild after losing power formerly

the eyes of the whole world are on king eret and his son, prince fundy – and every nation is attempting to seize power through both of them. so that's the setting, basically

secondly, the characters:

first the obvious out of the way – curt and owen go to schlatt and wilbur. (AGAIN, REMINDING EVERYONE ALL ROMANTIC PLOTS ARE COMPLETELY REMOVED. THIS IS STRICTLY PLATONIC). They're both spies for l'manberg and during a failed mission, schlatt “died” because of a mistake made by wilbur and he stops spying all together for four years because of it. He comes back four years later and your usual storyline follows.

Tatiana is replaced by techno – formerly an assassin for the antarctic empire who left his family behind to protect them, trained from since he was around four to be the perfect killer. Again, all romantic plots removed and apart from that the usual storyline follows.

The deadliest man alive is “dream” - and the man behind the mask is actually schlatt, same as it was in the canon. He always has his mask completely down, which leaves his identity completely unknown to everyone around him.

Instead of brians usual character *cough cough* we have bad with the eggpire! Theyre side villains and they want to take charge of the greater dream smp through kidnapping fundy same as the original story, and hire dream to help. And, same as canon, they of course fail.

Cynthia is replaced by phil, since, yknow. She literally says curt is like “a son” to her. If that aint phil I dont know who else.

Barb (once more, without any romantic plotlines) is instead niki – who wants to support l'manberg with her tech as best as she can. This is the pre-villain arc sweetheart niki – as superior as villain niki is, this one fits more-

and susan is ranboo. Because. Just imagine ranboo doing the little “you gotta!” back up vocals during “eyes on the prize I”. just,,, enderman boy,,, helping phil,,,

other smaller characters are;

sergio – connor, the scammer pants

manvanger borshtit – quackity, because he'd make a great reporter at the big ball with all the drama

the singer in the opening – minx? Not sure about this one, but she has the girl boss energy for it

mrs mega – unsure, but could be kristen if you wanna go with the sleepy boys lore, or maybe change that section completely and instead of coming home to his mother all wilbur finds is tommy being home alone and chaotic as per usual. Remove the romantic sub plot thing here completely of course and instead tommy starts admiring techno and being all irritating about how he'd wish HIM to be his cool older brother

song/plot changes:

the opening is pretty much the same, just remove any foreshadowing of owen's and curt's relationship and make it purely platonic. The way schlatt died could probably be made a lot more serious somehow, considering the source (im still not over the fucking banana peel, tcb)

four years later wilbur comes back to spying at phil's request, trying to stop a deal between connor and dream, which is promptly interrupted by techno, who he assumes to be a spy from the antarctic empire. Coming back to Phil he gets told off and then told to follow techno to where he is said to be heading, a casino somewhere in l'manberg

now instead of doing that whole seductive female spy thing the original did we could have a far cooler plotline where techno convinces wilbur to come along with him to the trap in the hotel by revealing he knows a lot more about him than he thought (maybe some sleepy boys family type stuff could be slightly referenced here?) and the usual scene follows

the eggpire reveals themselves and their plans, with dream and techno on their side, but following bad turning on techno and threatening his family techno once more switches sides and helps wilbur escape from dream. The two get out of there and start heading to the big party being held by king eret for political reasons and here the prince fundy plot comes in.

the party happens same as canon, with everything that follows. In the end, niki, techno, ranboo and wilbur all team up to take down schlatt once he reveals himself. The plot ends same as canon here – and it's all just as sad :(((

yeah but anyway that's my overly complicated au that I might snap one day and just write

56 notes · View notes

a-duck-with-a-book · 3 years

Text

REVIEW // Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicle, #1) by Jay Kristoff

★☆☆☆☆

So I’m very late to the party, but I just finished reading Nevernight by Jay Kristoff I had such high hopes for this series based off of what people recommending it had told me and what I read about it before picking up. Dark fantasy? Check. Strong leading lady? I’m here for it. Gays? It’s literally my only personality trait. Sign me up. Unfortunately, this book fell flat in all those categories. It reminded me a lot of Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass, which made me take one point off of to begin with simply for making me think of Maas’s writing. Overall, I just found the book to be too predictable, with bad writing, exposition, and pacing, and too many parts that just made me ~uncomfortable~.

In case you are not familiar with this novel, Nevernight tells the story of Mia Corvere, a girl who lost her family when she was a child after her father was convicted of treason. When the book begins, she is 16 years old and embarking on a journey to join the Red Church, a school for assassins, so that she may one day be able to avenge her father’s death. Along the way she meets a bunch of forgettable characters whose names I can’t be bothered to remember and is taught by the most fearsome killers in the Republic. Here she gains many valuable skills, like how to survive being poisoned, how to fight, and how to get big boobs.

+ Side note: by chapter 3 three I started picturing Mia as the crow guy from RWBY and I could not shake that for the rest of the book

I had many issues with this novel that I will try to summarize in some sort of coherent fashion, but to be honest this book sucked the will to live out of me so I don’t know how much energy I can put into this review.

// image: official cover art by Jason Chan //

FOOTNOTES

The footnotes were probably the most jarring element of the book for me, and, unfortunately, there’s a lot of them. Their function seems to be twofold:

they are the form of most of the world-building, explaining several customs, the history of the institutions and peoples Mia meets, and the mythology followed by the people of the Republic.

they allow for the narrator of our story to interrupt with comical one-liners or cryptic foreshadowing

In my humble opinion, both of these are unnecessary and stupid. The interruptions come off as crass and immature and make the other more textbook, boring exposition come off as a joke, especially when it is dealing with sensitive or serious topics. There is one that explains this brothel called the Seven Flavors, which the footnote explains refer to “Boy, Girl, Man, Woman, Pig, Horse, and, if sufficient notice and coin was given, Corpse.” Now, on its own, this passing mention of pedophilia, bestiality, and necrophilia could very well contribute to the world building and tone of the novel, but when placed side by side with the childish, joking tone of the “cue the violiiiiiiiins” or, regarding the acoustics of a room, “…they were, as it happens, exceptional. Falalalalalalaaaaaaaa”, come off as way too light-hearted for the topic at hand. Maybe I’m being way too sensitive, but I’m pretty tired of authors using serious topics as off-hand remarks as a lazy way to make their world daker and grittier. Plus, these footnotes were just so incredibly cringy that I would recoil from second-hand embarrassment every time. They resemble the things I wrote when I was 14 and trying (and miserably failing) to be funny. Also… there are way too many of them. While at first I appreciated the attempt to deepen the lore of the story (I’m a sucker for world-building), after a while it became evident that the author was just forcing information down our throats without taking the time to actually weave the lore and background into the story itself. It came off as a very lazy way to force exposition.

OVERLY FLOWERY LANGUAGE

This story is BRIMMING with similes and metaphors, like every other sentence is some overly complicated way to describe something that could have been presented in three words. When you include so many metaphors/similes/etc., they begin to lose power. They should allow the reader to extrapolate more meaning and emotion from a sentence, but if the book is bursting at the seams with them, they become increasingly ordinary, to the point of losing all of their luster. One prime example appears on page 30:

“It was a bucktoothed little shithole, and no mistake. Not the most miserable building in all creation. [here there is a footnote about some other inn/brothel] But if the inn were a man and you stumbled into him in a bar, you’d be forgiven for assuming he had—after agreeing enthusiastically to his wife’s request to bring another woman into their marriage bed—discovered his bride making up a pallet for him in the guest room.”

So first of all what the fuck is that supposed to mean? That whole paragraph is a fever dream. Let’s begin with “bucktoothed little shithole”. Bucktoothed? Really? What does that mean. Please, someone explain to be right now what a bucktoothed building is. Is it uneven? Is it awkward? Is it half-finished? Is one side longer than the other? Did they do a bad paint job that only covers on side? Are the windows askew? Is the door too big for its frame? We already know from the paragraph above that it is “disheveled” as well, so why the need for another weird phrasing of its appearance? We then move on to that whole JOURNEY of a sentence, where the inn is compared to a man being cuckolded. That is the most insane tale-can you imagine running into someone in a bar and that story being the VERY FIRST thing that runs through your mind??? I know I’m focusing way too much on this stupid paragraph, but basically what I am trying to get at is that even though we spend half a page talking about how bucktoothed and disheveled and cuckolded this building is, we get no actual physical description of it. Imagine if Kristoff had just written that it was a run-down, ill-kept building that looked as worse for wear as its owner did. Done, one sentence. Great. Let’s move on. Instead, we spend so long reading these absolutely batshit descriptions that ultimately tell us next to nothing. Flowery language is placed over actual context. You may think that a description this long and complex means that this inn is a significant or recurring setting in the novel. Nope. It’s not. Mia leaves and that’s that. The reason that I’m focusing so much on this objectively irrelevant paragraph is because it is so representative of the biggest issue I have with the writing in this book. There are so many unnecessary comparisons that function only to make the author feel clever rather than add anything to the story at all. It’s very à la 2010s Tumblr.

THE (IN MY OPINION, BAD) WRITING

For the first half of the book, we are constantly being TOLD things rather than being SHOWN things. With the exception of one of the teachers cutting off Mia’s arm, we rarely see the ruthlessness that the assassins are so feared for, but we hear about it in nearly every other sentence Where are the consequences? I think this book would have been way more enjoyable if there were actually consequences to the characters’ actions. The inclusion of the weaver and the weird vampire guy completely remove any tension regarding the fate of the central cast. When Mia had her arm chopped off, I was shocked, and pleasantly surprised. How was she going to overcome this unexpected obstacle in her training? Then a couple pages later, its reattached with absolutely no lasting consequences. All of the initial tension and shock value of the loss of Mia’s arm is entirely removed because of the two incest-y siblings. Their entire purpose for existing is just to undo all damage to the main characters. Then suddenly, out of the blue, Mia is willing to take on a ton of consequences and completely throw away her chance at becoming initiated in order to avenge her family just to save Tric from receiving like one punishment??? Like why?? As an aside, the only moment I truly enjoyed was when Ash fucking stabbed Tric to death. I assume that when the reader’s favorite moment is one of the central characters’ death, it does not bode well for their reception of the book.

THE THEMES

TW: rape-y subjects

The author seemed a little too keen to include rape and sexual assault in his story. Mia withdrew her consent in the sex scene in the very first chapter, and even if you read it as consensual (which I do not), it is described as incredibly unpleasant on her end. Tric is the result of a rape, which is brought up several times throughout the story. Further, Mia is constantly facing harassment from men. I understand that this is frames the idea that the world she lives in is misogynistic and ruthless, but there are other ways to push that idea through other than constantly putting in her in those situations. As in, this didn’t need to be the ONLY way we explored this subject. Beyond the uncomfortable propensity for sexual assault, I also very much disliked the sexualization of the 16-year-old main character. Oh. My. Gosh. Mia is CONSTANTLY sexualized. Every single damn character makes comments about her body, how hot she is, how much sex she potentially has. It is so weird and uncomfortable. I feel the need to reiterate that she is SIXTEEN. There is, however, a focus placed on the power Mia can gain from seducing her targets. Girl power? Not to me, really. The issue I have with this is the idea that a woman has to be overtly sexual in order to be considered powerful. This is something that we can see in many female assassins and supposedly powerful female characters in fiction (like Black Widow) especially those written by men. Now, there is nothing wrong with using one’s sexuality as a weapon, and I’m certainly not saying that a strong female character cannot be sexual, but the idea that a sixteen-year-old girl is shown having her body painfully modified tp be more desirable, and in a graphic sex scene with another character, in order to for the reader to read her as liberated and powerful does not sit well with me. I don’t really feel like this aspect of her training should be relevant to the overall story. I wish the time that Kristoff had dedicated to hammering into our heads that Mia is a femme fatale to developing her Darkin powers instead. The way she is written now feels more like she is a faux strong female character written for a male audience.

Secondly, Mia is fully written as “the plain-girl-who-is-actually-pretty”. This whole trope bothers me IMMENSELY. YA is full of girls who are described as plain, forgettable, or ugly while their physical descriptions are just the dictionary definition of conventionally attractive. It seems like a way to market off of girls’ self-consciousness while still being able to market the main character as a hot heroine in official art. And there is, of course, the issue of Mia’s boob job Readwithcindy (just “withcindy” now!) did a whole video about this so I won’t get into it much just to repeat what she already said, but I agree that the idea of a 30-something year old man including this completely unnecessary detail regarding the sexualization of teenage girl, who we have ALREADY seen in a rape and being sexualized by other men in the story, made me really, really, uncomfortable. I highly recommend you go watch her video, as she touches on this in way more detail. [Cindy's video

RATINGS

Worldbuilding: ★★☆☆☆

A lot of thought obviously went into the world-the mythology, society, and politics are well-thought out. But the way they are introduced is annoying and bland. It seems like the author put a lot of effort into constructing this world but realized a lot of it would be left out of the book, so he crammed it into footnotes instead.

Tone and writing style: ★☆☆☆☆ for first half, ★★★☆☆ for second half

The tone of the first half is all over the place, like it doesn’t know if it should be dark and gritty or comical and immature. Footnotes and character dialogue ranges from lighthearted and crass to seeped with themes of torture and sexual assault. It is jarring, to say the least, and often feels like the author doesn’t take these ideas of rape or violence seriously. There are so many instances where the scene is tense or gritty, and Kristoff is actually writing it pretty well, I’m enthralled and on the edge of my seat, and then Mia or some other character (or the footnotes) throw in some stupid comment or make the same “Mia is such an asshole lol” joke for the billionth time and completely ruin the mood of that scene. The second half of the book moved much faster and was helped with way better writing, but it really did not do enough to make up for the horrendous structure of the first half of the book.

Pacing and structure: ★☆☆☆☆

The first half of the book really drags on. Once we arrive at the school, there are constant jumps in timeline, marked with periods when a thousand things happen all at once and the plot moves forward at a dizzying rate, and others when the characters just seem to be going about their daily lessons.

Concept: ★★★☆☆

I found the overall idea of the books to be very interesting, even though it is certainly not the most original or unique concept for a YA fantasy book. The issue is that the potential is squandered with a poor execution.

Characters: ★☆☆☆☆

I truly did not care about any of the characters. The token mean girl, the bumbling nice-guy-who-is-definitely-the-love-interest. too many of the characters just sat nicely within their tropes, doing nothing much to pique my interests. I think my favorite overall was Mister Kindly.

18 notes · View notes

kiranatrix · 4 years

Note

Any tips for writing a well DN fanfiction ?

This is a bit tricky to answer since everyone’s idea of what makes a good story differs. The main thing is to write something YOU like and want to do for fun. But I can give you my process at least.

- Ideas. The idea has to 100% grab me by the neck and shake me. If I can’t get it out of my head, then I know I’ll have the stamina and creative juice to actually write it to completion. If the idea fizzles out after a few days then I doubt I’d be able to make other people interested in it either.

- Characters. Readers like to be able to recognize their favorite characters, so while author interpretation is good and needed, we still want to feel their essence from canon. Closely reading the source material or good meta helps with understanding who they really are/what motivates them. Putting them in new situations but still keeping their personalities, quirks, values, etc. is a good combo. For the same reason, stories centered on OCs will have a harder time attracting readers because the author has to get you to be interested in them. Canon characters have that interest built-in.

- Plots. Have the loose story ending in mind but don’t be afraid to change things up as you write. Twists and turns are fun but when they come out of the blue, not so much. Subtle foreshadowing is your friend! Writing satisfactory character arcs takes some time to build up (multi-chapter), but you don’t need to worry about that in a short one-shot since that’s more like a snap shot in time. Outlining can help you think about the major plot points and it doesn’t have to be detailed. I leave the fleshing out for the writing.

- Vetting. Bounce your ideas off people you trust to tell you something sucks or not. I’m serious, this is solid gold. BUT that shouldn’t stop you if you have an idea you really have to get out of your system. No one can see your vision as well as you can but if you’re writing to appeal to others too, other opinions are worth listening to. Grow some thick skin if you want to grow as a writer because you’ll only receive really helpful feedback if you can listen to it without hurt feelings.

- Proofing. Format it nicely and proofread. Nobody really cares about the odd typo here and there but when there are a lot, it can hurt the enjoyment of the story. Get Grammerly, use spellcheck, grab a beta reader, etc. Break up your paragraphs. When writing dialogue, use line breaks when a new person speaks. Break up long chunks of exposition with dialogue and vice versa. Check a page of a published book to see how professional typographers do it— there tends to be a lot of empty space and line breaks because that is easier for people to read.

- Kill your darlings. No, not your characters, I mean be prepared and willing to cut out writing that doesn’t work. If you don’t get overly attached to any one thing in your writing, you have ultimate freedom to look at it objectively for what works. Your story will be better for that.

- Do something different. The easiest way to carve your niche is to write something unique that isn’t like everything else out there. Maybe you have a unique style? Unique character interpretation? Like to focus on a genre that isn’t very prominent in fanfic?

- Don’t become obsessed with stats, popularity, or comments. It really sucks to write a story that you loved but nobody else seems to. All that hard work! But that’s the game and no one is obligated to read it, like it, or comment on it. If they do, awesome! They have great taste lol! But if not, do not take it to heart, and keep doing what makes you happy. Fanfic is a hobby we do for free and for fun, that’s it. Its popularity will not validate you or invalidate you because it’s not like we’re making money or getting anything else out of playing in the canon author’s sandbox. What I hope you get out of fanfic is from the writing part (the act of creation), not the number of kudos etc.

- DN specifically. This is a complex universe with lots of Death Note rules, shinigami lore, unique personalities, dark themes juxtaposed with humor, moral dilemmas, and complicated mind games. These are the aspects that make canon Death Note an incredible, compelling story. Fans of the series enjoyed it in the main story and will enjoy it in yours, too.

- Have Fun. This is the most important thing. Nothing else really matters because this is where the author’s passion comes from. That means don’t be afraid to break hearts or be fluffy or dark or silly or serious or however it is fun for you to be. If you disregard everything else, just do this.

#asks #anon #death note #ficcinbelike #writersbelike #writing advice

28 notes · View notes

bestworstcase · 3 years

Note

🔥 The combination of the Sundrop and Moonstone

how old is this meme. i don’t fucking remember. i think it’s been sitting here for at least a year it sure would be nice if tumblr put time stamps on things huh. anyway i have no particular feeling about the, what should we call it, the Ultimate Drop exception that it should have been green wtf and as far as the events leading to its creation go i think literally everybody was disappointed with the way they killed zhan tiri so that is not exactly an UNpopular opinion so iNsTeAd i am going to talk about

✨magic✨

and specifically like what the hell was up with the sundrop and moonstone powers & why they are .. the way they are in bitter snow beCAUSE

ok so in canon we are not given a lot of information about the drops which is fine that’s how soft magic systems work it’s all very vague and mystical but there is this general association of the sundrop with like, healing and energy and the moonstone with the direct opposite of that which is decay and [checks notes] unbreakable black rocks? uh something something unstoppable force immovable object i…guess. and like frankly i don’t think there needs to be more explanation than that i don’t think there needs to be clearly delineated symmetry of power between them (although i do think it’s obnoxious that the sundrop is SO much more powerful they are supposed. to. be. equals.)

BUT

it’s so vague and open ended and most importantly i do not like the dark=bad light=good trope and because they are supposed to be two halves of a broken hole i want there to be some sense of like, similarity between them - even though the bitter snow backstory for them is like off the walls straight up not even related to canon anymore lmaoo - but, like, that’s the piece that was missing in canon i think, the sense of these things really being the same in some fundamental way

which is how we got to. the moonstone is a weird fungus also the black rocks are mycelium-like crystal structures formed out of the sundrop’s magical shadow also they’re both associated with decay also they’re birds because reasons and so on and so forth whatever. like i think it’s sort of funny because bitter snow has, obv, a significantly harder magical system than tts and goes into a significant amount of detail on how it works (*squints at sitheach* *and rosalia*) but, also, like compared to canon the actual lore surrounding the drops is a complete and utter clusterfuck so it is just, endlessly entertaining to me. oh you thought canons lore was confusing and overly complicated? here have this NIGHTMARE good luck.

canon demanitus: millennia ago a mysterious event in the heavens divided an ancient power in two and the sundrop and moonstone fell to the earth

me, shrieking: an abyssal parasite crawled out of the dark country and ate jinarche’s heart which ruptured the whole cosmos into two separate realms as her corpse and spirit were sundered and then the parasite became hunger and one of her eyes became insight and they fought and that created hope which almost destroyed everything until ri ni’n the cosmic bridge began to grow and then taught them all how to manifest in the profane realm and hunger became gat as’la and insight became turul and hope became huma and they all planted bits of their power on ki which accidentally sparked mortal life and then millennia passed and gat as’la met this human named dione who—

i’m glad people like my lore but oh my god it’s so funny. every day i see posts that are like but the tts lore makes no sense MEANWHILE IN BITTER SNOW LAND

#i mean i do take the time to explain things in bitter snow #and that’s why different response but omg

11 notes · View notes

drippingmoon · 3 years

Note

I finally read some of your introductions (which I was going to do, but... life. But today an intro dropped right into my lap (on my dashboard), reblogged by someone else and I was swept right into it. This story is AMAZING!) So. I am really curious what was the Turning? The Change? What happened to humans? And how much are the angels like whatever we know from the existing lore, and how much are they different than that, in your creation? If it's too many questions, just answer some of them. ;)

Life, indeed. I just came out of a week of Very Bad Decisions, so I get you completely. Thanks so much for your interest! No better moment than this to practice my seal noises, haha. And that question about how my angels differ seriously makes my day:)

Putting this under a cut because I want to spend a good deal of love on those questions! (Sorry for the *overly* lengthy answer, you got me very excited)

What is the Turning?

What changed?

The change and the Turning are the same thing! It's what the angels chose to call the moment when they broke faith with the humans, when the murders began and when they chose to live another kind of life. It's named after one of their common song-dances.

Most of the humans were killed, and the rest were permitted to flee, because had they extinguished all human life, they'd all have inevitably starved to death. One angel mercifully sang to the undergrowth to grow and hide some groups in its shadow, and the rest hid in caves, thick forests, undergrounds that they'd dug and so on. They were send off with a dire warning: never pray.

Angels need prayer to stay alive. It's their way of feeding, or, as they discovered mere moments before the Turning, they can also devour human souls to replenish their energy.

Prayer had been scarce for a long time prior to the Turning. This resulted in many angels starving to death, or growing so weak that they couldn't use their wings anymore, and were forced to either stay on ground unable to fly back home, or in Heaven, unable to help their kin out. It happened when it happened, and they had no say in it.

Before that, they did indeed tinker with human souls. They were called when humans their deathbed, to ease their passage and never have them feel alone. But they'd never devour their souls (ie memories and light), so it didn't feed them.

They changed their Aspects. Their first Aspects had been given to them by humans when they first fell into the world, and they were your common qualities or positive feelings: Wisdom, Forgiveness, or even Color (which is very much seen as an emotion)

After that, since they saw that everything that humans cast away they destroyed, maddened and enraged by everything that was happening, they didn't exactly give up on their Aspects which had been their life's purpose.

Instead, they took underwing the feelings overlooked or hated by humans, because they knew they could understand them better: Guilt, Madness, Unrest, Lies (seen again as a sentiment).

That was pretty much what the Turning did accomplish. They didn't have a destination in mind, not really. They wanted to get away from the humans whom they'd grown to loathe from the bottom of their hearts, and even if they wanted that perfect life of angels loving angels and being free, they didn't know what it was supposed to look like, how to achieve it.

Differences from Christian angels

There are a lot of worldbuilding little details, some of which are huge spoilers so I'll be skimming on those.

There's obviously no God, no higher deity and angels themselves aren't omnipotent or omniscient (they're very much idiots, actually, or their hearts lead them down the wrong path)

You could say they're people with wings, but... it's a bit more complicated than that.

They are light. Light that loved, and wanted to feel closer to the object of their adoration, and took their form. This is also how they bound themselves to humanity, and prayer became their source of energy.

One very important theme is the mimicking of gestures as a sign of deep bonds and love. There's no true magic in the world, only living beings and the world itself coaxing each other and wanting to become closer, thus taking on traits of one another.

(I imagine this is a bit confusing, but... I said that the Turning is a song-dance name. Take it from The Turning of the Day, as an example. The Daystar (sun) could very well rise by itself, but it doesn't want to. It waits for the angels to coax it out of its sleep, because they want to and because it loves to be coaxed. Other songs can make plants wither because they're striving to become light, like the angels, but they only burn themselves out.

I couldn't resist the temptation of having angels be a carload of wings. It's incorporated by way of inwings and outwings, but I can't say much since it's a spoiler.

They have a direct connection to the stars (a very big spoiler again)

Heaven is not a place for humans. It's the angels' home, and only after the Turning they've brought humans up for executions. Same with the Promised Lands.

No harps, but like I've said before, songs and dances

They aren't patrons per se of their Aspects. They very much unknowledgeable when they received their Aspect, and had a lifetime to learn about the trait they were supposed to guard for humankind and remind it of what the feeling was supposed to mean when things went astray

They also had chapels built in their name with turrets of stained glass through which they were summoned via prayer. Also tapestries

They are dressed in robes, haha, there's that.

They aren't creatures of love. They can feel any and all feelings, and most of them had to learn to love and to choose the object of their adoration.

No demons, but they appear in stories and legends both humans and angels spun together

Angels can't fall, either. They can become their most twisted selves and hate and hate and still be their true selves

I play around with Biblical scenes like the Garden or Babylon or the Forbidden Fruit but they're mostly blink-and-you'll-miss-it stuff and definitely not the focus of the scenes

And I think I've covered most of it, if not all? Thanks so much for your interest! If you want anything else answered to (and I promise to restrain myself next time haha), don't hesitate to tell me!

#ask and answer #aquiver-aglow #i went a little wild haha #thanks a lot for your sweet words and your questions!#if you want to ask something else feel more than free to

7 notes · View notes

ghoulishhusband · 3 years

Text

I just realized I can actually talk here. Like this is my account fuck u

Fucking uhhhhhh, hi ig lemme ramble abt my God ocs yea?

Ignore this part if you don't wanna hear (likely) unedited rambles lol it doesn't matter

CW: neglect/abuse, assholery/narcissism, manipulation, tread lightly!

read the under cut owo

Also don't steal my art I'll fucking?? Fight you????

I have three main gods that I wanna talk abt especially bc they've been on my mind lately.. Less get it, side notes are in (parentheses) and are bolded cause I have perception issues whoo I don't want it to jumble together is my point lol

First up is my asshole,

Giodine

they/them (preferred)

god/godself (i like pronouns that fit my characters, so I'm giving a bunch away for one night only at--)

ID : Giodine is colored with gold-ish yellow skin and ginger hair. Their eyes are a muted purple and they have tiny eyebrows. Their lips are a muted brown and are full looking, their nose is sharp and points down. They have wings for ears and is wearing a blazer with a long-sleeved, collared shirt underneath it. The background is beige with a yellow square and a dark purple square partially encompassing it. It is signed GH (for ghoulish husband), Spork, 21.

(lemme know if that helps at all! I'm sure I can do better so lemme know!)

If they look weird here it's bc I accidentally made their face too long but believe it or not this is in fact just a doodle Ik I'm so fuckin talented babes.

Anyways, they're basically the first God to ever exist on my version of earth (though even that is fickle rn, world-building is hard unless I hyper-focus on it, and haha Guess What I Haven't Been Thinking About) and they're very egotistical and selfish. As I'll probably yap about later is how they're manipulative as well, especially to another God I'll mention, and very neglectful to the other... other one.

Their partner(professionally), or fiend as they call him, is sam who for the first few eons was, unsurprisingly, absolutely terrible to him. A few tender moments are few and far in between in what could only be described as a completely rancid relationship. I'll describe giodine's side and in sam's lil ramble, I'll describe his :]

I have to explain this because it's a big part of the lore and how they can't work together, even when one of them is very much near The Void (technical death for gods) BUT basically, with Sam, giodine created purgatory. The issue here is that they basically seduced sam into doing it. Well, even if they hadn't, sam was in lesbians(happy pride month lmao) with giodine and would've done it anyway. But the ISSUE is that with the creation of purgatory came complications. See, my gods have to take time to develop into their power, and considering giodine was first and sam was around 666th.. you see the issue. Sam wasn't into his complete power yet and thus lost a giant part of it that went into purg.

See, giodine saw no problem with this (until much later, they do get a VERY SLOW BURN redemption arc cause this ain't even the worst of it), they got what they were aching for out of them and thusly had no need for..sam. They laid him in the spot where she was made (fwi it isn't inherently sexual, it can be, but literally, they just merged together-- taking bits and pieces of each other (which sam did not have enough of) and earth and light yadda, yadda I'll post the story I wrote for that later if I'm up to it) and left him there in the grass.

Again, they saw no problem with that, the deed was done, they didn't care anymore. A common issue in their qualms, sam and Giodine. They did find an issue in Sam finding an issue in the lack of aftercare, which resorted to any message going to or coming from sam going straight to his assistant and going back through them for a couple of thousand years. They found that infuriating-- how could he not face them over something so small! and for years?! it was ridiculous. After forcing a face-to-face meeting, a heated proclaim of hurt from sam, and a bitter agreement to meet up every now and again, they got what they wanted from him. Again. It was a business after all, there was no point in making it harder than it needed to be.

Giodine doesn't necessarily like boundaries and tends to overstep sam's frequently. They also don't like his reaction to his boundaries being long jumped over, which thusly ends up in disgruntled messages being sent back and forth between them and his assistant for a month or three. It slowly gets through to them, but they tend to say some stupid shit and if they want sam to stay, they have to try and avoid mentioning how "overly sensitive" he is to something that happened eons ago.

(quick mention, there isn't like. time. here. so in all honesty, giodine probably counted earth days instead of Heaven 'days' to get that) Soon into their arrangements to meet, they seem to get on at least tolerable terms, obviously, a few meetings where neither of them feels like going apeshit and taking proper shapeless (or in sams case, he's got a newfound form for ANGER OO just for giodine 🤗) forms isn't going to fix a grudge that has yet to be apologized for by the way. But it's a start to a very long process down the road. Tolerance.

Giodine as an entity is very fickle and rude and demanding. They tend to have a short temper that no one else is allowed to have or comment on-- They were the first therefore they were the most important!

This is very obviously an issue. But it's mostly directed to purgatory. Almost all of their seething rage is pointed towards the poor entity, she's barely been alive yet and they already seem to hate her for things she doesn't know how to do. Honestly, I don't think Purg will ever fully forgive them for the unnecessary abuse of her character, but just as Sam and Giodine get on better terms, they had barely just begun fixing the hole in their relationship. As of now, Sam/Giodine don't have any minor plot points with purgatory other than the major one so I don't have a lot to say about their relationship right now. Maybe one day.

I'd go into details, seriously, but I just wanna ramble about their relationships with each other and their impact on each other's existence. Hope you don't mind a few secrets 😉

But, now, it's time for a new God, one I think most people take a liking to...

Sam (Samuel)

He/him

ID: Sam is surrounded by clouds in the light blue, fading to a darker blue sky and the yellow sun. His horns are a darker beige, which is being highlighted by the sun shining down on him, he also has pointed ears. His skin is red which is very prominent in the sun. His eyes are completely yellow, his hair, beard and mustache are also black. He has an orange scar crawling up to his Adams apple. His wings are a darker grey which is also being highlighted by the sun. His nails are painted black and his hand is holding up the black fabric barely covering his shoulders. Around the painting is a gold and red shaded frame with swirls complimenting each side and a crystal at the bottom of it. It is lightly signed GH, for ghoulish husband.

Sam, Sam, Samuel.

If you don't realize right away, Sam is basically Satan, he's the ruler of hell

Like how giodine was the first to appear on earth, as mentioned before sam was 666th for funnie reasons. Sam was made from bugs, dried blood, and sunlight which sounds pretty gross, but he's far from it. He's a silly, yet neat, guy. He wears Hawaiian shirts and khakis (not around giodine lmao) for cryin' out loud! how bad of a person can he be? Apparently to giodine (for a while obviously) he was the most retched entity to exist. This very much hurt him considering the amount of fake care they showed him before. With a mixture of confusing feelings (which wasn't supposed to be a thing but Univerce went "lmao you'll be fine" and left... short explanation, Univerce is the Universe and is the entity who simply builds these planets and gods that'll appear there and leave them to their own devices, xyr not extremely important in this story. Nor would they care.) and feeling used, he decided that no he wasn't going to take that.

If there is one thing Sam knows how to do is to self preserve himself, even if that means getting passive-aggressive notes sent to him every once in a while. While this period, Sam was surprisingly the least productive (unfortunately giodine knew this and eventually mentioned it in one of their meetings which made him hide away cause like hell giodine was going to be critical of /him/) but he managed. It wasn't terrible, but unfortunately, Sam being able to talk it out with someone who does practically the same work as he does and gets newer, more helpful ideas was better in the long run.

Unsurprisingly, Sam was the first to initiate the healing of his and giodine's relationship but it wasn't reciprocated. Who would've figured, aye? Giodine kept pushing it back onto him and ignoring any progress that could've been made before. Which was frustrating.

The painting above was 'painted' by giodine, which is sorta where their relationship gets somewhat on an understanding of each other. Giodine gets to take a deep long look into who Sam is and tries to express it but it never fit him, it makes them realize that they never really-- truly got to know him. And all it does for Sam is make him even more confused about his place in giodine’s mind. He figured it's another fluke to get him to do something, so he ends up distancing himself when they start actually reciprocating his friendship advancements.

Suddenly, like a flash, Sam was forced to stay with giodine which is where the majority. I'll explain.

Sam...isn't actually the ruler of hell. Anymore, anyways depending on the timeline. His and purgatory's relationship has always been complicated, she always avoided him, and when they talked she always seemed scared of him. So in the end, they've never been close. Distant. Sam always wanted to talk to her, he made her, but if she didn't want to talk to him he wouldn't force it. But imagine his surprise as Purg singlehandedly took over hell in a hazed frenzy.

And not only that, had a personal vendetta against him!

Well, that would be the only explanation to Sam considering how he ended up broken and barely 'alive' at the hands of her. Horns broken and in tatters, pain and almost obliterated it felt like a hate crime. He didn't know what to do when he made it to the office, Purgatory was creating chaos outside his door and barely being able to breathe he felt like it was the end. So he called giodine.

Purgatory

She/her

ID: Purgatory is surrounded by flowers that are dark grey and white. The light fades down into a dark green. The light shines down on top of her straight, white hair that has yellow flowers tucked into it. Her skin is a dark brown and has a orange-ish yellow scar on her shoulder trailing up to her neck. Her skin is also highlighted by the sun. In one of her eyes, her sclera is black with an orangey, glowing iris. As for the other eye it it has a white sclera and the same, glowing orange iris. She has wings for ears, one dark grey and one white along with beige horns. She has a white fabric covering her chest. The frame is gold with white accents, but also has vines and moss crawling up the side.

(may have goofed a bit and forgot to color the sclera of her other eye white but ignore that pls)

Purgatory was made by Sam and Giodine, but to her it felt like a mistake. Why make someone that you’re going to be terrible to, she believed. Giodine seemed to hate her and eventually made her section almost obsolete because she simply wasn’t able to keep up with the backlog that she wasn’t taught to deal with. Not only that, she didn’t have any help with any of it, it was almost like she was expected to just do it on her own. Until Death came along to help, but that’s not what we’re going to be talking about right now.

And also, Purgatory is Purgatory yadda, yadda, I wont insult your intelligence.

Giodine’s thought process (other than wanting to be Real Close to Sam and once that thought filtered out, promptly ignored it) was that all the extras that don’t fit in either category of their thought of good and evil they’d go to her. (doesn’t matter cause in Sam's system it filters through ‘levels of assholery’ and depending on how bad you are you either just vibe in the upper city under rule of capitalism and possibly many under paying jobs or being actually tortured for his amusement if you’re just evil. Morally grey. Anyway, it could work p well in heaven if giodine wasn’t such a damn stickler.) But in the end, every day, less and less people ended up in purgatory, leaving her with barely any people and more verbal abuse from giodine who ‘HAS to take them or they would be more dead than they already are’. You see the pain she has to go through, right?

~Idea section, this is probably not canon anyways so dont take it serious~

My thought is that another oc (BA, you may have heard of him idk) takes over simply because Purg took multiple hims from alternative timelines (which isn’t allowed but what’re they gonna do, undead a dead clown? multiple times from multiple timelines???)) because she adored him and they figured ‘well we gotta redo purgatory may as well do it like this’ and make him a demi-dead-god. i think thats a cool idea right? anyhoo

~Idea section over uwu~

Purgatory overall is a fairly timid character, she doesn’t like conflict, is easily overwhelmed, and generally keeps to herself. She doesn’t see the point in being in any drama if she’s just going to be yelled at and scolded even if it’s not about her. The only way i could describe her taking over hell is this:

She was tired. She was angry and after feeling like nothing was in control or in her hands, she snapped. Why doesn’t she get anything or get to be ‘all powerful’ but they do? She knew if she took on Giodine she’d likely get thrown to the void, but sam? He felt fair game. Considering her fear of both of these gods, she planned and got her courage up to take him over. She had considered negotiations but in the end, she ended up going into a haze and ruining everything in sight. She was more powerful than she thought and once she started, she didn't stop until Death restrained her and Sam was already in pieces at God’s doorstep.

The aftermath was fuzzy for her and for everyone really. Godine was planning a take back hell while actually worrying for sam, sam was planning for a retirement, and she was being consoled while trying to get in contact with sam to apologize. Giodine wouldn’t dare let her talk to him, until she just showed up in their office. She didn’t have a problem with Sam, honest, she just was going to take shit over, but it got out of control.

Spoiler, Sam took her apology and they actually became.. somewhat closer after reaching an understanding.

I wanna say that giodine took them being okay and sam retiring as good as sam did about purg running hell, but they didn’t. Giodine and purgatory actually barely got along in the first place, and only begun ‘working’ on their bitterness toward each other because they both had sam to encourage it. I can’t say for certain if they’ll get better, as theyre both undying and have time, but I’ll just say for now its uncertain.

Also, Death is Purgatory’s girlfriend after all of that lmao.

And.. yeah, i hope this makes sense and that you like my drawings and ramblings about my lil story in my head, i guess this is my way to develop it without just keeping it to myself cause god forbid i keep things to myself hshsh. If you made it to the end, thank you for taking the time to read and attempting to process everything, and even if you didnt read and just looked to look at my art thank you to!!

I may post some art over on @ghoulishhusbandart cause.. it was my art account before i completely forgot about it but i might reboot it! But if you wan art NEOWWW follow me on insta (ik cringe lmaoo) by the same name as this account @ghoulishhusband or just click that insta link! also ignore the fact that giodine is the only one without a portrait, maybe I’ll replace it the next time i draw but im graduating on monday and my dad’s coming TOMORROW?? so i won’t have too much time to do it... but i hope you like my art anyways :]

ok!! ty!! ily!!

#ghoulishrambles #ghoulishsporkocs #man this is weird lmaoooooo #THE CUT DIDNT CUT IM SORRY #Man I should've edited this before ppl could see it I'm so sorry if it's a mess shshhs #I keep adding tags bc I have more to say but I wanna pin this but I don't wanna remove that Palestine post just for my ramble so #I'll just reblog it every once in a while

5 notes · View notes