#story wise I think it would be better to acknowledge that it’s not going to work instead of changing the characters to fit into each other

[pointlesschairjokes]

A Needlessly In depth Analysis of the Hypnos Subplot thus far

So, the new update is out and my sleepy boy has gotten his own story moment. I have... concerns. Going purely off of dialog I'm worried the subplot is going to simply be comic relief. The joke set-up has been obvious. Mel thinks Hypnos is wise and powerful, everyone else is being sarcastic because they know he's a lazy goof. Hypnos wakes up, Mel's image of him is shattered, cue laughter. On the one hand, I would personally find that resolution disappointing because I'd like to see more done with his character, but on the other, I hold out hope because a purely comedic subplot just wouldn't make sense. I've seen comments here and there saying Hypnos must just be conked out cause Hades and Nyx aren't there to scold him, and if this were to be pure comedy that'd probably be the case. But, if there is one thing Hades 1 makes clear, even if you interpret Hypos' character in the shallowest possible way, he cares very deeply for those he loves. When he drops his cheerful tone to ask Than to spend more time with him, it is distinct, and he nearly tears up calling Zag his best friend. I simply do not buy that he would choose to sleep for years when it means being separated from his friends and family. But then again, the first games treatment of him was just a bit odd. The only time him being the god of sleep is relevant is a single line of flashback narration where we learn he's able to put the entire house, including Hades, to sleep. For the rest of the game no character acknowledges that it makes sense for the god of sleep to be sleepy, and his keepsake, the coin purse, has nothing to do with his aspect or his character. I really hope the subplot goes in a direction of addressing that disconnect. So as to what we actually have so far: the dream scene. A lot of what we see is fairly easy to interpret, Than is there resting close to Hypnos, Hypnos is surrounded by massive stacks of work with an angry Hades looming in the background. Now this is a bit interesting, as in the first game Hypnos appears oblivious to Hades anger in his interactions with him. Perhaps this is evidence that some of that cheeriness is a defense mechanism, its hard to say, but its clear that Hypnos feels overworked. I feel its also important that Mel remarks how unusual it is that he is still asleep inside the dream. Given that, and given that there's a craftable item involved, I suspect that the scenery of the dream is going to be different each time Mel uses the dream vapors. There may even be a puzzle involving the character cutouts. As for why Hypnos is asleep, its still unclear. Could it be exhaustion due to overwork? Possibly, although it wouldn't be the most satisfying answer. I'm actually a bit reluctant to say its Chronos' doing. None of his magic seems to operate in a way that would make sense in Hypnos' case. I'll throw out one wild theory though, that its actually the Fates who have put him to sleep. We know from the prophecy list that Mel is going to locate them at some point in the story, and thus far its completely unclear how. If she can communicate with them in dreams however... What could be a better ace in the hole than a god who not only is underestimated by everyone, but who's also in an 'eternal' slumber?

[th3-c0ll3ct3r]

Mildly warm take, Tommy does NOT owe his entire career to Dream

Because, YES the dream smp help propel his career as a content creator, but it does not constitute to everything you've done to make himself and his brand better

Did dream write all the jokes? The vlogs? The books? The MCC wins? The friendship formed before and after? The smp's to follow later? Origins? The comedy? Twitch con?

Because if you say That Dream did all of that for Tommy then I'm going to assume Dream Is Crawling into his skin and piloting his body

Saying dream owns Tommy's as well as other people's careers, is like saying that if I were to bake a cake it wouldn't be my cake it would be the person who made the ingredients. I still baked the cake, put the ingredients together, bought them, got the recipe and just because I didn't grow the wheat or milk the cow it doesn't make it not my cake.

The smp did objectively help his career there is no fault in that and even Tommy acknowledges it, but you can't attribute every single thing that he does now to Dream.

And you can also argue that dream was a bad person, because he was. Regardless of allegations and other people's experiences, dream intentionally seeked out a 14 year old streamer, made him sign a legal contract, took every single bit of credit, got into fights with him on a regular basis, a made him feel so bad you will slamming his head against the desk.

That's not normal. None of that's normal.

And then in an alternative perspective dream didn't do us much for the smp as he claims. The only things he did was bring the content creators together, start the server, and play as his own character.

I do not get me wrong there is credit in that and he did do those things that allow the server to operate, but those with the only things he did.

Wilbur (as much as we hate him) wrote the scripts, and alot of Tommy lore. Will stopped writing the Script after he died canonically, and then later came back because in his own words " lI had to write myself back into the narrative [...] I didn't like where it was going. Not to see dream is a bad writer, but we had different ideas". That's him putting it nicely, the worst bit for the smp realistically was when dream was writing the lore.

And I'm not saying that it was bad but what I am saying is that the majority of people found it bad, so bad in fact that they had to bring Will back.

Dream did not write his own story.

And to the other content creators, on the server they will their own lore. And they acted it out themselves, dream was no part of that yet they still had to sign contracts because it was still on the physical server.

Ranboo and Technoblade in particular had some of the best story writing and telling, and they did it all themselves.

But there's only one thing in common, that makes sense but I think we all missed, dream was in every single person story or had planned to be. And I get it it's his server but on the other hand they could have had amazing stories without his input. Ranboo could have replaced Dream with a mysterious unknown character in his lore, and the outcome and affect would have been the same story-wise. Dream didn't need to be Puffy's son, but he was. Technoblade and Philza could have skip to the side plot of saving dream and instead it needed to return a favour to someone else.

The storytelling within the server is a amazing but if you subtract dream and put someone in his place it's still would have been the same story. It's like he was made to be sandwich in everyone's story. And yes he was a great character in most stories, but in others he was unnecessary.

Put with the overall fact that he had to be in every single story obviously ties back to the server being his, but it's also a reflection of his own ego. He probably still to this day believe that every single person has a career because of him and do not because of who they are now. He definitely helped but it's not all him.

And I would say George, Sapnap and Dream, have the same issue with ego. You see the way dream behaves with over people, he dominated people's careers for many years and had it done by fear.

Sapnap, he would swear and curse every single person, to the point where Scott said he was the most difficult person to put on a team because no one wanted to play with him (I have a different post about MCC). There were many offensive and situations in which the pair of them actually ruin the game for a lot of people. If you were not a person who watched MCC back in the day then I can tell you from now they had to change so many rules, Scott had to start making applications because of the amount of times that they would bail or not communicate with him or simply people didn't want to play with him and wanted to avoid him, and due to their obsessive behaviour in needing to the practice the maps so much that when the game was chosen some people didn't even try because they knew who would win.

They're talented don't get me wrong but there is an extent in which that their Talent crosses with ego and makes the whole game unplayable. This is without mentioning the amount of people who were scared to play with this team or against this team. No one had a fun.

And even in the smp, some people purposely avoided Sapnap, because he didn't know how to manage himself.

And George you could argue also has a large ego because of the people he surrounds himself by and he's a success. He is an objectively/ conventionally attractive male, and there have been many instances including in recent times and in certain develop it situations that he used it to his advantage. He doesn't behave his age and he treats people cruelly.

And most importantly, the fans. Yes YOU. You heavily contributed to the success of the server and to the success of the creators. But the level of obsession people would have regarding these content creators is something that will always baffle me.

And alot of people asked them to speak out, especially Dream. And he didn't. Dream actually encouraged his audience by selling sketchy merchandise and a USB stick with his baby pictures on it. He enables his radical audience because they are what keeps him going. Realistically without the radical side of his audience he would not be as successful and financially well off as he is now.

Additionally those people attack literally anyone that set something bad about him, and at first he tried to downplay it, then he assured people he would manage it and tell them to start, but then along the way he must have realized that these people a Ride or Die for him and that if he drives away these people he drives away a lot of money, free advertisement and a defense system against his brand- and I say this because these people would defend him in any circumstance

So then he doesn't stop them, and now you've got a 19-20s yr old with an unfortunate amount of mental health issues, some people who continue to jab him with needles anytime he's upset.

And it's sad. Is far beyond something that his parents can protect him from, yet he hasn't found the resources to protect himself. He's not happy with himself. He used to be scared to stand with someone successful even though he's successful.

And I'm genuinely proud of how much Tommy has grown. He is and continues to be a dedicated, passionate and nice person regardless of circumstances, he continues to be real with his audience and tries not to waste thier time. And none of that was taught to him by Dream. He taught himself how to be himself. If I see one person saying that he's a clout chaser I'm gonna have to tell you that you're wrong because he's done so much for himself to the point where you can't even count it yet you can count the things dream did for him on a Post-it note.

Tommy did well

[infamous-if]

There's been some discussion recently about MC that caught my attention because I agree. MC feels like a loser when you think about all of the other characters. When I play an MC who did nothing wrong to Seven it just feels like Seven is angry for no reason. Seven is allowed to act like a child while MC has to take it? Doesn't seem fair.

Everyone has something going for them and what about MC? No one likes them and everyone hates their guts. Aren't they supposed to be the main character? Why does everyone hate them? Why aren't they considered more talented? It just feels like MC is a doormat while Seven and the other ROs are these talented superstars.

I don't want this to come off any way but I feel like the story would be stronger if you made MC a bit meaner or at least made people acknowledge MC as a better singer.

I don't want to sound rude but I'm very much exhausted by this topic. I've probably explained this 5+ times but I'll try to break it down one last time just so people can understand what I'm trying to do.

First, to get it out of the way, we are only on Chapter 2. I just want to reiterate that. The story just started.

It just feels like MC is a doormat while Seven and the other ROs are these talented superstars.

Secondly, MC is a character I try to give as much customization to, both personality and appearance wise. There's a variety of ways you can approach everything, or I at least try to in a way that doesn't sacrifice what I want to write for the plot, but I think people are under the impression MC is 100% a blank slate character when it's not true.

MC is still dependent on the plot and I always strived for MC to have their own narrative arc. The same way the ROs have their own character arcs, MC will have their own, because they are a character in their own right and going through some that fundamentally changes their life. That means the MC from Chapter 1 will not be the MC at Chapter 20. They will be different. That's what a character arc is. Character development is expected. How can you expect a slew of ROs to grow and change and MC remaining stagnant? Doesn't make sense narratively and it seems unfair to MC.

The MC is not a completely blank slate, and that's where people are getting it confused. In the beginning, MC is going through such a change with BOTB, without their family, and on the heels of a band breakup that's still impacting them today. MC is a little down, maybe even depressed if that's how you read it, and they're getting pushed to be leader by their manager. They are not really okay right now. They have to be professional and put on a brave face for the sake of their band, who, if you paid attention to what Rowan said in Chapter 2, are all depending on this. This is what they worked for since high school. MC is not going to flip a damn table on Day 1 just because you want them to. MC can fight, if you choose, against UWB. That's not supposed to be a smart choice, but emotions get the best of all of us.

They are only just navigating a worldwide globally famous show with a cheating allegation hanging over their heads, and a manager who wants them to be leader when, up until now, they haven't been. They've just been friends making music and miraculously having a fanbase. Now they're really in it. They have been thrust head first into the industry in a way that is so big that MC has to go from singer playing with their friends to a leader of a band who may just become globally famous in a few months if they play their cards right.

A lot of their actions are influenced by the fact that their band almost broke up and it's a thing that hangs over their head. Their past influences them. That's...how people work.

Now, if we're at Chapter 20 and MC is still acting like a scared bunny who doesn't know what they're doing, then be my guest. Scream in my inbox, I'd understand. That would be terrible writing, but we're not. The tour just started.

I play an MC who did nothing wrong to Seven it just feels like Seven is angry for no reason. Seven is allowed to act like a child while MC has to take it? Doesn't seem fair.

MC doesn't have to take it lol. I've always given an option to be rude to Seven/try to put them in their place.

People think I favor Seven when that's not true. (Seven isn't even my favorite RO)(That title goes to August lol). Seven acts the way they act because they are not in a healthy headspace. Their actions are not meant to be understood, because they are not entirely justified. Seven has a lot of growing up to do, but I have never sat here and advertised Seven's emotions as correct. Everyone knows Seven is childish, everyone knows Seven is handling everything terribly. People in the story have mentioned it. Their abandonment issues GREATLY influence their characterization and actions. MC has abandonment issues as well, of course, but MC is not as emotionally unstable as Seven. That's canon. It is what it is. Seven has a whole subplot about it.

As do other ROs. The only difference is that they're not so open about their struggles. Seven just doesn't care. Their emotions guide them. They can't control it. That's who they are. I have also said that many times.

I don't know why you think Seven can get away with everything when 1) it's only been 2 chapters and 2) no one knows how anyone feels about Sev because it's in MC's POV. Seven goes through their own trial by fire. As every RO does......thats a narrative arc.

Seven was always going to be a plot point, whether they were an RO or not. They were always going to be MC's former best friend.

Everyone has something going for them and what about MC? No one likes them and everyone hates their guts. Aren't they supposed to be the main character? Why does everyone hate them? Why aren't they considered more talented? It just feels like MC is a doormat while Seven and the other ROs are these talented superstars.

This one bothers me the most, mostly because I don't know where this came from. "No one likes them" Jenna and The Jewels does. Slow Crawl does. Their fans do. We haven't even properly met the other bands. Of course there will be bands who don't like MC: they're competitors. They're not friends. They don't know MC, why would they be biased towards them? Because they're the main character? They don't care about that?? It's how fiction works.

Maya is following the band around because of how much she admires MC.

Orion quit his job because MC's singing inspired him that much.

G listened to MC and saw something in them. Literally calls them the 'Chosen One'

Fans of the old band preferred MC over Seven. They liked the songs where MC sang solo. MC was better for their future over Seven. Hence why it was Seven getting demoted, not MC. I've said this. It's in the story.

I don't see how being the lead singer of a band on a global show at 26 makes anyone an actual loser but I digress.

Literally in Part 2 MC is acknowledged so maybe it'd be better if we waited? Say a good few chapters...?

If you wanted a story where MC is Queen level famous right out the gate and the #1 draft pick for BOTB and has no problems and better than everyone, then I'd advise you to look elsewhere. I don't like that. I like giving MC obstacles because conflict creates story. I like MC having to fight for their spot. It's more realistic, and this has never been a story of fame. It's been a story of their journey to fame.

That's their narrative arc. They grow into it.

You are allowed to hate/dislike Seven. I encourage it. I have given MC the option to hate Seven, because I'm aware that what Seven is doing is unfair. I am not punishing you for hating Seven. And this goes for all the ROs. It does not bother me if you dislike my characters. It means I haven't made them squeaky clean and have made them realistic enough to have people both dislike and like them, much like real life. I get it.

I've always advertised Infamous as a messy, angsty and dramatic story. I've used the term 'melodrama' for it often. I've always said the ROs--especially Seven--are flawed. Some more than others. I've said, verbatim, they are not wholly good people. I don't know why people act so shocked when they act some type of way. Like...I've always stayed true to what the story is. Half the dynamics aren't healthy right now...but that's the 'growing up part' of the story we haven't even gotten to yet?

If that doesn't interest you, then that's perfectly okay! If you don't like the narrative arc I have planned for MC, that's fine too! It just becomes a bit disheartening when people ignore the narrative.

I will try harder to write in a way that specifies my intentions. I always believe that if more than a handful of readers have the same complaint, then it's on the writer to fix it.

I hope my tone didn't come off rude, I'm just really really tired of this. I've had to deal with this since even before the demo dropped :) but your critiques are valid and everyone is always free to express themselves however they want. <3

[zooone]

FREE ... (I GUESS) ... ?!

aka. reluctant trick-or-treating with toji fushiguro.

words ?! - 553

content ?! - no warnings!

an ?! - i really hate this but i feel bad for not doing day 4... im sorry guys ... im sooo tired ,. also his wife could be you or mamaguro, up to u ..

#znfspooktober mlist

"this is dumb.”

“toji!”

“i dont get it.”

“its free candy."

“... okay fine.”

famous last words. to toji, at least.

he was never one for holidays. during christmas, he would sit just sit there and enjoy the food that was provided. if one were lucky, he would be wearing a santa hat. maybe.

but now that his kids were old enough to actually trick-or-treat without crying and bailing out after two houses, he very reluctantly decided to come with. it was definitely not because his wife very politely asked him to and of course, he could never say no to her. totally.

he stood there, carrying all the coats and bags that no one else wanted to carry. the most he did costume-wise was let his wife draw faux scars and stitches and he pretended he was a zombie. megumi insisted on being a dog, and tsumiki a cat.

“can we go to this house next?” tsumiki asked, tugging on toji’s sweatpant leg.

“‘course we can. cmon megs.” he guided both of his kids to the house, snorting at the decorations. weird pumpkins and skeletons and witches, it made him roll his eyes.

little did he know that his wife was behind them, holding up her phone and recording the way that he gently rested his big hand against his kids’ backs. it was a domestic action that somehow came naturally to him.

“honey?” he turned around, one eyebrow lifted in a sort of confusion when his eyes locked with the camera. “what do you think you're doing.”

“nothing!” she giggled, placing the phone behind her back and batting her eyelashes in a fake innocence. toji glared.

“come. here.”

and she jogged up right next to megumi, who was already prepared in holding up his little bucket to receive his candy. he had barely spoken the entire night, but his lips were slightly curled upwards and he hadn’t complained much. tsumiki on the other hand was a chatterbox, telling stories that they already heard, but no one stopped her from telling them.

“you’re so cute, honey,” she giggled towards her husband, reaching up to pinch his cheek right up against a drawn-on stitch. she spoke in a mocking tone that made his eyebrows furrow.

“you’re overdoing it.” he groaned, but he held back a grin. he loved how enthusiastic she was. and if that came at the cost of his dignity, it was a price he was willing to pay. “this house better have some good candy.”

“my friends told me it doesn’t..” tsumiki chimed in, nodding her head matter-of-factly. her ponytail bobbed as she did so.

“what? then why the heck are we here?” his face curled up in a scowl as he tapped his foot on the house’s porch.

“i wanted to see the pumpkins..” she pouted, mastering the wide eyed look that made it impossible for toji to ever say no. not that he would to begin with.

toji turned around to see what tsumiki was talking about, and he scrunched the space on his nose. “the pumpkins are ugly.”

megumi didn’t have to speak, he just lifted his hand and pointed. and everyone saw the house owner in the doorway, crossing his arms and expecting a sort of apology or acknowledgment. but all he got was a,

“what. its true.”

10.25.24

SPOOKTOBER MLIST!

regular mlist

[nicodrawings]

Dump time featuring Billie Morales aka Silly Billie

Update 2: oh! Also the first two illustrations are based on Yotsuba art!

Update: ok HC time, if you wanna know more keep reading as usual.

BILLIE SECTION

-I made Billie 5 years old.

-I’ve mentioned this before but Billie has Asperger’s.

-She didn’t talk until she was like 3 going on 4.

-Her nickname is "silly billy"

-Miles always says "how's my favorite girl in the whole wide world?" when he comes home from school on the weekends.

-Miles is a doting big brother and helps take care of her as well as connecting with her interests.

-As much as she loves her parents, she thinks the world of Miles. She's up under him the most, especially when she's over stimulated, stressed or sleepy. His heartbeat calms her.

-She has a limit to physical contact and taps when she’s ready to let go. She usually only hugs her family. Her and Ganke do hand touches instead of hugs.

-The family helps her navigate her environment and her emotions as well as socializing but never push anything that makes her uncomfortable. They always ask questions and have special routines to help her.

-A part of her routine is on Saturdays they go to the park so she can see the pigeons.

-Miles does not like pigeons, but tolerates them for Billies sake.

-They also have special songs for her like "🎶when you walk across the street take ur eyes off your feet🎶" to remind her to look both ways and pay attention when walking across the street since she can get distracted easily.

-The songs they use also attach her to music. So whenever they go to ganke he plays the piano for her and they make songs up and when she hears a song she likes she starts stimming and wiggling.

-She also takes interest in drawing because she sees Miles drawing and they draw animals and watch Steve Irwin on Saturdays too.

-She doesn't understand figure of speeches so if you say "don't sweat it" she would be like "...sweat what?"

-she doesn’t show a lot of emotions unless she’s feeling something intense.

-She rarely sees Miles in superhero mode in public but when she does she just goes “SPIDER!” and smiles and he waves at her.

-Moral of this story, she is loved.

HOBIE

-He lives with his grandparents in the Bronx area (I’m not sure which side yet tho).

-He loves his grandparents very much.

-One time at a punk rock concert a wise man told him “the most punk thing to do is to take care of yourself, don’t be reliant on the system to do so, cuz they ain’t”

-He told his grandpa the following day and they had a heart to heart about it considering that Hobie was very depressed at the time.

-So with that being said, health is incredibly important to him.

-Some ppl tease him and call him “straight-edge” but it don’t bother him much.

-Hobie officially meets the other spiders when he’s 16.

-Clicks with Gwen and Miles almost immediately.

-Especially Miles, Peter always jokes and says that they were definitely brothers in their past lives.

-Gwen and Hobie bond over music.

-Gwen gets the crush first.

-But unlike Miles she’s more forward and doesn’t wait a billion years so she’s asks him out.

-Hobie says yes.

-Only one that knows how to drive by the time he’s 18.

OTHER STUFF

-Gwen’s relationship with her father just…never gets better in my AU. He’s just an ass and as far as Gwen is concerned they’re not family, they’re just related. With that being said, although it’s never acknowledged, Gwen definitely sees Peter as a father figure in her life. She even has him as her top emergency contact. Peter started to understand this when she was 16, he never questioned it and sees her as his oldest daughter. When she’s had really bad arguments with her father she goes to Peters and spends the night.

-Peter and MJ’s home is open to all the spiderkids. No questions asked.

-Peter and MJ always say “On our taxes we have one kid” when people ask them how many kids they have.

-When Peter gets home he sees how many pairs of shoes are at the door then yells “how many kids are in the house?" They usually yell in response which gives him an idea as to how many kids are there.

-On average there’s no less than 2.

-One time he asked and a really deep voice responded along with the kids.

-It was Venom.

-All the spiders have their own therapist’s but every other weekend there’s a group therapy session for kids with powers funded by S.H.E.I.L.D. It’s not required that they go but it’s open for them regardless, just sign up and come in.

-Ganke donates some of his legos to the program and helps assist sometimes with running it since it’s not ran in the best shape.

-This connects to a bigger problem of helping hero’s with their mental health and stability, especially when they decide to retire.

-If you read the other AU list I had, this is the reason why Ganke switches his major to Social Work when he goes to college.

NICKNAMES

Peter’s nicknames for the kids:

Miles-“Junior/Little Man”

May-“Mayday”

Gwen-"Gwennie Pie”

Ganke-“Goober”

Hobie-“Hobie” (obviously)

Anya-“Ani”

Ganke’s nicknames:

Friends-“Gee” judge calls him “G-money”

Miles’s mom-“Honey”

Ganke’s mom-“Gee-Chan”

The boy that bullies him AKA Sean “Gay-ke”

Peter-“Goober” (as I’ve said before)

Venom and Eddie-“Boy”

Miles’s for when he’s feeling affectionate-“Cariño”

Anyway that’s all I got for now! If you have any questions about my AU please feel free to ask away. I love talking about it as you can see.

[arttsuka]

Some thoughts about the mouthwashing fandom and some character analysis(?) under the cut.

While the game is clearly meant for older audiences (14+ at least, from my understanding, although I couldn't find an official age rating), the fandom is flooded by kids and teens too young to even play the game or understand the characters and actions they take.

The game deals with some very upsetting themes. From murder and suicide to self harm and sexual assault (some more prominent than others). While it's totally fine if someone feels uncomfortable with any of these themes, that doesn't erase them from the game and shouldn't discourage people from showing them in the fandom. If it's truly that upsetting to someone I would recommend they go into some other fandom (at least where the source material is not as triggering to them). We are here to have a good time, not a stressful one.

The fandom is this twisted 'happy/nothing bad happens' and everyone is turning a blind eye to how disturbing and disgusting the game was.

Don't get me started on the treatment Jimmy goes through. Yes, he is a terrible person for what he does in game but 1: he was clearly mentally unwell* (I'll add to that later), especially after a point and 2: 'fandom Jimmy' literally did nothing wrong (unlike cannon Jimmy), his depictions in the fandom is him being brutally murdered or just existing.

*It's not only implied in game that he's mentally unwell, we literally see him descent into madness by the end. From the beginning (him refusing to cooperate for the phyc evaluations), to the breakdown he was having after he navigated the ship to crash into a meteorite, to him having hallucinations (the graveyard, the cake scene with everyone gathered etc).

Also Curly, damn. I get it that he enabled Jimmy's actions to a degree but are we forgetting Swansea also stood there and did nothing? He said Anya was telling him 'all sorts of things' (implying the SA from Jimmy) yet he still did literally nothing, not even attempt to talk to him. Curlys worst sin was him being a realistic and complex character. Having a personal crisis about his own future and fulfilment in life, trying to navigate the whole 'pony express is closing' with an unhappy crew, having to help Anya who was having basically a breakdown and was on a high risk of hurting herself with the gun, having to confront Jimmy about the whole affair (it was implied that he didn't know from the beginning that the pregnancy was not only unwanted but also forced), trying to help an old friend. It all piles up. He could have handled things better, sure, but to pretend he is equally as bad as Jimmy is just wrong and shows the lack of judgment, understanding and overall empathy of realistic characters and situations.

Neither Curly nor Swansea did anything drastic because there was nothing they could do. Curly was trying to help everyone in his way, too blinded by their friendship to acknowledge or predict what Jimmy was capable of before it was too late.

Personally I think mouthwashing is an excellent game, definitely one of the best I've ever played. The story, the way the events take place, the characters, the imagery, the music. The way it successfully builds up the uneasy atmosphere without any jumpscares, embracing the 'psychological horror' element to it's fullest. Truly a great game, I just wish the fandom was a little more 'mature' (mentally wise).

[mot-hesbian]

Marina Crane, Nuance, Human Decency, and Differing Opinions

Let's talk about things that might make people mad on the name of addressing important issues

Let's start with some facts

Facts:

The hate Ruby Barker got is inexcusable. She's a human being and deserves to be treated as such. She has no control over her character and her character's actions overall.

Marina is a nuanced character with an interesting and tragic story. You can hate her and acknowledge this.

Marina is a flawed character who does bad things. You can love her and acknowledge this.

You can love or hate her without taking it out on other people or being disgusting about it. Loving her doesn't give you some moral superiority OR justify her actions. Hating her doesn't give you some moral superiority OR edge.

Some of the hate directed her away is because she's black and if you're one of those people you need to do some introspection.

Now, let's get into the opinion portion of this

Personally, I hate Marina. I don't wish a horrible death on her because that's horrible. I wish her circumstances were better. In fact, had her actions been slightly to the left I'd probably like her. My hate towards her also has nothing to do with racism, unlike some people.

I hate her because I've been on the receiving end of her actions. She's emotionally abusive and does not feel the need to apologize for it. She uses actual abuse tactics, many of which I have been the target of.

I see my abusers in her in those moments, outside of those moments I enjoy her story and character. I would have loved to see her play some Lord looking for a match of convenience. Instead I got to see some scenes that are extremely triggering to me. Marina is a traumatized characters, that doesn't give her the right to add to Colin's trauma.

So many of his actions in s2 and s3 are direct results from this, she traumatized him. This pain and hurt doesn't go away easily, I've been trying for 7 years to move on and I'm still a work in progress.

I don't hate her because she got in the way of my ship (I'm a hardcore polin fan), I don't hate her for existing, or for her situation. I hate Marina because of her actions. She had other choices in gentlemen who were close to her age and might look the other way with regards to a child that wasn't their own. Let's not discuss that topic today, I only mention this in regards to her treatment of Colin and how that choice led to it.

Colin was a romantic and felt an attraction to her, she saw that and took advantage. She singled him out, she was desperate and thought the love of her life had deserted her. Part of her draw to him was his family, both connection wise and, likely, in terms of family dynamic.

She love bombed him. It's that simple. The compliments, laughing at jokes she clearly finds unamusing, and the constant attention.

She manipulated him and his feelings, she's good at playing his thoughts and feelings against him. He wants to be seen as a man and taken seriously. What better way than for him to take a wife? In her obviously. She lets him think it's all his idea. He has a hero-complex so she mentions how horrible the Featheringtons are to her. It's calculated. (Again, if she did this to someone who didn't have feelings for her, I'd be cheering for her to get that bag.)

She isolates him from his family. With a tinge of gaslighting regarding his mother's feelings as Violet wouldn't have opposed their marriage if it made Colin happy. She creates this “us against them" mentality to separate him from his family. The Featheringtons are cruel to her and his family does not approve, there is no way this could work.

Does any of this justify hating on people who love her character? No.

Does this justify hating on the actress who played her? Absolutely not, she's not her character.

Until next time 🫡

[clairedaring]

Spare Me Your Mercy is less a "Sammon series" than it is a "Wo+Lux series"

So I came across this Reddit post where OP explains how they're unable to enjoy the ongoing "Sammon series" aka SMYM and Petrichor.

And it just doesn't make sense to me how people keep categorising SMYM as a Sammon series when she didn't even do the screenwriting on this one, at most she's consulted for professional and specialised knowledge. Meanwhile Petrichor is based on the novel "Rust in the Rain" (หยดฝนกลิ่นสนิม) by SixTeenSeven but it's a Sammon series because she wrote the script for Petrichor with five other screenwriters.

I don't know but for me I'd find it more appropriate to compare Spare Me Your Mercy to series like To Sir With Love, Century of Love, Laws of Attraction or even Kahon Maha Ratuek which are directed by Wo & written by Lux.

Spare Me Your Mercy has already deviated itself by being an adaptation of two volumes of Euthanasia by Sammon rather than being a close-to-novel adaptation of one Sammon novel like MOD and Triage. Perhaps it having similar characteristics (rural settings, cops, doctors, thriller, crime, mystery, investigation) is enough for some to brand it a "Sammon series" but it's not the case for me.

Absolutely no idea where I'm going with this but I'm just really frustrated at people calling it a "Sammon series" when all the "underdeveloped", "rushing" sentiments are due to the major condensing of a large body of source material rather than a weak story (I have my tiny qualms with the novels as well, don't get me wrong but that's a story for another day. Great books though, could do with better translations).

Like you don't compare a Ma-Deaw Chookiat Sakveerakul work and a Wo Worawit work just because they have source material from the same author. That is not to mention that production company aka producers can have large influence over a story (especially its ending) and thus politics of producing a series for a BL koojin can also affect quality of a work.

Condensing stories wise aside, I do think Spare Me Your Mercy is doing a great job on sparking the debates on euthanasia with fair amount of scenes spent on Kan & Tew talking about their clashing views on this topic. If Lux and Wo's sole goal in making this series is to showcase a crime investigation series with two main characters having clashing views on euthanasia, I think they're doing well.

It's surely debatable whether the main characters' romance is convincing or not (This discourse I will I leave this to the non-readers who are getting to know KanTew throught the series and not reader audience like myself). Characterisation wise, I would say they're the exact same as the novels, with the lacking aspect being a lack of runtime to flesh out and develop the serial killings/the investigation/the development of characters' relationship.

I'm probably getting beside the point but perhaps if you want to watch a good suspense lakorn from screenwriter Lux about a cop investigating serial killings with his lover being a prime suspect, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Kahon Maha Ratuek กาหลมหรทึก (2018) (engsub grey watch here)

No idea what my original point was in writing this since I'm not a stan of any of the mentioned creators (Wo, Lux, Sammon...) so I'm not writing this as a defense for anyone... I just prefer that critical comparisons be made with understanding of context and acknowledgement to different creative teams of respective series instead of crediting/attributing everything to one popular name in BL-sphere and using that to make quick judgements of a series.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

I’d like to know what your thoughts are on the ramp to the entrance to Collège Françoise Dupont that was built between Seasons 2 and 3.

Remember, from “Heroes’ Day - Part 1”

ALYA: Last year, I wrote an article about equipping public buildings with disabled access. But after seeing Ladybug and Cat Noir going that extra mile every single day, I decided that I, too, can do better. So I got the mayor’s approval to improve facilties so that handicapped kids can actually attend our school.

The stairs from “Origins” to “Heroes’ Day - Part 2”

The stairs in “Chameleon” and onwards

On paper, this is nice. A piece of worldbuilding on par with the akuma alerts like the one in “Riposte”.

However, there are three problems with this:

No one I’ve seen react to the show has noticed or remembered this, since the handicap accessibility is just a throwaway line from Alya that we don’t actually get to see being built.

We know how badly representation is presented in this show, so it’s not like this is getting any brownie points from me.

How the heck is a handicapped student supposed to get up a ramp that steep?

Collège Françoise Dupont's design is based off of Lycée Carnot, a real Parisian school, so I looked to see how the real school handled this issue. After looking at pictures of the school on Google, those steps seem to be a show-only addition. Which is interesting because the show tends to just copy the locations that inspired it. Now I'm wondering if those steps were inspired by something else?

Either way, it's hard to be too critical of the ramp's appearance without knowing the full story. While I fully agree that this is not a functional ramp, we do have to remember that there is a real-world cost associated with adding the ramp to the show. Someone has to design it and add it to the model, so I understand why they did it cheaply. Redesigning the steps into something more elegant and truly functional would have been ideal, but probably impossible to justify budget-wise since it's just a minor visual element. Same goes for animating someone putting in the ramp, which would be even more expensive. I'm honestly surprised that they added the ramp at all!

Now, does that mean that they should be praised for taking the time to put in a slap-dash ramp while never actually acknowledging or using it? No. To me, this feels like a lesser version of their choice to make Marinette a fashion designer while working in a medium that rarely allows her to design anything or even just change her outfit because, once again, budget! Before adding something to your script, you really should think through whether or not you can execute it properly. If you can't, then maybe pick a different path?

To be fair, it's possible that they didn't realize how bad the ramp would look until it was time to animate it. At that point, there's not really a great way to fix the problem. Do you leave the steps as-is even though you've explicitly drawn attention to the accessibility issue or do you be technically faithful to what you promised and put in a non-functional ramp? I don't know. I'm leaning toward "just don't add it," but neither choice is great.

It's even possible they may have only seen the ramp after it was too far in the animation process to revert back to the steps. With most or all of the animation being done out of house (I'm not actually clear on what if anything was done in house prior to season six), they almost certainly weren't seeing every step of the process or having daily reviews of what things were looking like, allowing for detailed input. How much input did they have? No idea! They absolutely got to review story boards or possibly even make them, but between the story board and the final 3D product? No idea.

I looked online for a general guide of the steps involved in working with an outside animation studio and this one generally matches what I know of the process if you want a high-level idea of how this can go and why redoing things may be no small request even if the models already exist. Once a scene is rendered, you have to completely rerender it to make any changes and that's pricey! Sometimes you just have to take a lesser quality product and go with it.

In summary, without knowing more details about what happened here, I don't feel fair being super critical of this, but it's certainly not getting any praise from me.

[californiannostalgia]

Processing identity as a child abuse survivor

Recently I had a huge revelation. Come with me on this childhood trauma realization journey (if you want).

This post was written for those wavering on the 'was it abuse' question.

Fair warning, each of these revelations were a whammy. I recommend you keep in mind that these revelations will transform the way you see yourself and the world. This took me out of commission for hours at a time.

Revelation 1: Was I Abused?

Read this Tumblr post. Go down the list. Check the 'yes'es and 'maybe's.

'Was I abused' is a yes or no question. I need you to really think about this if your answer is 'kind of'. If you could be truly honest with yourself, what would your answer be?

For years I've gone to the logic of 'it wasn't that bad,' and 'at least the worst didn't happen,' or 'others have had it worse'. This is such a low bar. You deserve better than the bar your parents set for you. The socioeconomic circumstances and the normalization of violence in your living area? Yes, influential. But not a justification.

At the end of the day, the veracity of these statements don't even matter. It's a yes or no question: 'Am I a survivor of child abuse?'

It may take a really long time to truly process, and even then it might feel uncomfortable saying it like it's truth. I need you to know your truth is truth. It's a yes or no question.

Take a break. I recommend you don't progress further until you've processed Revelation 1.

(Shameless plug-in of my fandom blorbo interests: Rick Riordan's Trials of Apollo series really helped me with this first revelation. It made me feel seen and less alone. It may not be perfect, but I personally liked it!)

Revelation 2: What does this mean? (health-wise)

Listen to this Ted Talk by an expert (medical professional).

This is the part where I got angry and really fucking sad. Let yourself be sad. Let yourself be furious. Our life is not our fault and we're still stuck with this lot.

Genuinely this was such a shock for me to realize. The thing that has the biggest impact on my life is not my anxiety, depression, ptsd, insomnia, blood pressure, immune health, etc. The root cause of my physical and mental illnesses is Adverse Childhood Experiences.

ACE is more common than you'd think. Acknowledging that what happened to you was bad will be beneficial to humanity's survival in the long run. Like any illness, ACE can be fought at a societal level.

Take a break. I recommend you don't progress to the next revelation until you've processed Revelation 2.

Take your time to be angry and sad. Take forever. You never have to forgive your abuser, even if they change their behavior. The chance at a civil acquaintanceship you might be willing to extend to your parents doesn't require your forgiveness.

.

Revelation 3: Why is your therapist recommending you retell your life story?

This one is mostly for when you have steady access to a therapist. Here are some things I wish I'd known before seeking out therapy in the US.

(Is it shitty that you can't get therapy on your own terms when you're underage? Yes, it fucking is. To those of us who survived to adulthood: holy shit y'all. At 19 I felt like absolute fucking bullshit, like my brain was a burning ball of tangled barbed wire. It does feel absolutely shitty. But reaching 19 is an achievement.)

The thing is, I do or say a lot of things that I later come to think of as embarrassing, inappropriate, or in certain circumstances, potentially abusive. Genuine trigger reactions happen. I will always have to live with a piece of my parents in my head. But I don't want to do to another person what they did to me. Self-awareness is what separates me from my abusers.

What to do about this? Number 1: chill out. You're not gonna be your abuser. Humans are unique and imperfect. They have not replicated themselves in you. It's okay to make mistakes when you're talking or reacting. Your brain is fucked up. You can do something differently next time.

Number 2: read this article about Overthinking, Over-apologizing, Oversharing, and Overwhelmed as trauma responses.

Then read this article on how to deal with Unresolved Trauma.

Yeah. It be like that. Isn't it fucked up? Recognizing the four Os in my behavior helped me realize I'm not an antisocial asshole by default.

Unresolved trauma is the root cause for my behaviors that I think of as unhealthy. This revelation happened very recently for me. Before this point in time, I couldn't understand why I would want to recount traumatic events in therapy.

At this point in time, I have regular access to a therapist I'm okay with. Going over memories and deconstructing the blame system seems like a reasonable thing to try.

What happened to you as a child is not your fault. You're not the one who landed yourself in your life. You've been given an unfairly difficult situation to be responsible for. You did not create your coping mechanisms for shits and giggles.

So yeah. Number 3: figure out your life with the help of a therapist. Let's see where we are ten years later or something.

Nothing is easy and everything is confusing. Take a break, hydrate, eat, sleep, do something nice for yourself. Do something you like doing. Thanks for reading.

[iztea]

dy have any tips to make your art look less lifeless? I stare at my rendered digital art and everytime without fail i start to rot from the lack of soul in it

ok first of all, I think you might be judging your art too harshly. The only quite literal soulless art is AI art so as long as you create something, there's soul in it. But I understand what you mean. Honestly, I'm not sure if I'm best suited to answer this since it's something I struggle with myself, but since you asked me, here are my two cents on the matter

A lifeless look in your art may come from two places: a lack of skills or a lack of message/delivery

Skill-wise, there's a looot you can do and improve on : gesture, dynamic poses, more expressive faces, better color language, strategic line expression, shape language, using color theory to better express a certain mood of a piece etc.

i could go into detail for each point but it would take too long so I'll leave it up to you to google and research things on your own ( or you can shoot me another ask if you want me to yap about a certain technical approach and I'll gladly do so)

but honestly, these are just skills and tools that you master in time. A first step is to at least acknowledge their existence. I want to talk more about the second aspect of this issue: intention. The intention behind your art is more valuable than you think. Art can feel soulless if it doesn't send any message, if it's generic, if there's no emotion behind it or if there's nothing to be interpreted. I'm not saying all art should be super deep or profound to hold value of course, but i often feel like this is a rather neglected part when discussing art. We sometimes get so tied up in the technical aspects like rendering or anatomy but the truth is, a general audience (aka the people who will see your art) doesn't give a crap about the technicalities. They judge something at face value and the first thing they look for is the /message/. What is this painting about? Who or what did you draw? The second thing they will look for is connection. When they can relate to the emotion conveyed or the subject matter, the experience becomes more rewarding and engaging. The same applies to the artist. Creating something meaningful and personal often leads to a greater sense of accomplishment. Honestly, skill comes second.

Case in point: why does hyperrealistic art get shit on? It's very impressive technique-wise, yes, you can't deny the artist isn't skilled, but does it express something? Nope, they do the job of a printer which again,. it is impressive but not from an ~artistic pov, just from a skill pov. On the flip side, why do poorly drawn sob stories get so much attention and praise? Because the art triggered a certain emotion (that has overwritten an already untrained eye) and emotions are extremely powerful for humans as we all very well know and it basically makes them ignore or neglect the execution

So, my piece of advice is to draw something that has personal meaning /to you/, that ignites a certain feeling you can't shake ( it doesn't have to be something #deep or sad, laughter and joy are equally valuable so keep that in mind), a certain situation or scenario and I can guarantee your art won't feel as lifeless to you as before. To better express this idea of yours that you now possess, you can now think about the technical side of how you'd express it. For example:

~deliberately messy brushstrokes and textures -> create chaos.

~maybe you're feeling something lovely dovey and soft -> warm colors to express that + brushes with lost edges

~maybe you want to tell a story in a comic format -> focus on calligraphy; shaky lineart gives off the impression of vulnerability; leave whitespaces etc

~something funny? -> goofy facial expressions or lowkey downgrading the quality usually makes something funnier

~Colors ! colors ! colors !!! pretty self-explanatory blues and grays for depression pinks and rainbows for the happy ( or NOT if you're feeling adventurous winkwink)

BONUS TIP: hiding/blocking out/blurring the face of your subject makes the painting feel more immersive. The viewer can relate to the person you're drawing ( "oh he's just like me fr")

There are artists who are insanely skilled but make kinda "boring" art and then there are artists with cool ideas but with maybe an underwhelming execution.

Ultimately, it's a combination of BOTH awesome skills and intentions. Those are my favourite artists. When i find someone who draws something that makes me stare and wonder how tf they drew that while also appreciating how cool the concept is I knoww I hit jackpot. And if they draw fanart of my fave?? bonus points

okkkkkkkkk i yapped for too long sorttyyyyy hope it helped maybe idk

!!!!DISCLAIMER!!!! this is all my personal interpretation and how i view things I'm self taught I've never been to art school or taken any art classes so i might be completely wrong !! take everything with a grain of salt !!

[kallamars-spouse]

In defense of my wife…

Disclaimer: I use she/her pronouns for Kallamar. Why? That’s a transfemme lesbian squid and she told me that while I killed her with a warhammer. 

I am also viewing this following essay through the lenses of the Bishops and their family and how they treat each other. This isn’t a defense of how they treat mortals, and isn’t about anything beyond Gods at all.

I understand why Kallamar would tell the Lamb to kill Shamura instead of her. I also think there’s more nuance to it than “omg she would sell out Shammy!” when Shamura is absolutely not blameless. None of the Bishops are. I’m the Bishops’ BIGGEST fan, but I’m not going to act like their family isn’t dysfunctional as all Hell. Now, let’s start from the top. 

The age order from eldest to youngest is Shamura, Kallamar, Narinder, Heket, and Leshy. We can tell in the game that Shamura’s favorite was Narinder simply due to the fact they still love him, refused to kill him when we know it’s possible, and kickstarted an entire extinction of a species to ensure he would never be free- but that he would be alive. 

x

From Narinder’s dialogue, we can deduce that he hates Kallamar the most. 

“Kallamar was always a coward. This land is a better place now her pathetic, sniveling carcass is nothing more than a mound of rotting flesh.“

This isn’t elaborated upon, but his words after her death are downright the most vicious. Narinder says that his older sister was ALWAYS a coward.

Shamura also says this about Kallamar, and as the eldest they would’ve known her longer than Narinder has.

“Kallamar was always frightened of the Red Crown. Yes, fear made a coward of her.”

This implies that not only was Kallamar not always what we see her as, but that Shamura believes her to be afraid of the Red Crown itself. Yet, this is what Kallamar says.

“It seems you cannot be stopped by disease or hunger. And he sends you back from death stronger each time. Please know, it was not my idea to cast out the Red Crown! The other Bishops, my siblings, the blame lies with them. Please, I beg you, spare me. Kill Shamura, but do not send me to my death. Do not send me to him!”

Kallamar acknowledges that neither she nor Heket could stop the Lamb, and that she doesn’t believe she could win against them. That’s why she begs for mercy. 

She states that locking Narinder up wasn’t her idea.

At this point in the story if you kill them in the canon order, Leshy and Heket are already dead. Kallamar throwing them under the bus does not matter, as she knows they are dead. 

Lastly, Kallamar expresses fear over Narinder. The Red Crown isn’t what scares her. Death isn’t what scares her. It is Narinder himself.

x

Shamura is the one who made the call to lock Narinder up, as they directly state themself.

“Though no longer wise, I am no fool. I know the end draws near. I can take some comfort in confession. The blame hangs heavy 'round my neck. I introduced him to ideas of change; for my domain is knowledge, and it is ever evolving. An organic state of being for myself, but for him… most unnatural. Death cannot flow backward. It was I who had him chained. Forced into subjugation by the four of us.”

It was not a group decision. It was Shamura’s word, and their siblings obeyed them without question. They blame themself, as they’re the one who was letting him “explore” his domain. Since it’s implied that reversing death (for example, resurrection) is heresy, only then did they step in. I assume after this, perhaps Shamura plotted to chain him, Narinder discovered, and that’s why he struck first. Or he directly attacked due to Shamura and the others “turning against him”, and that’s why he was imprisoned. We aren’t told exactly. 

All we know is the Bishops have injuries, but Narinder does not. There’s no way in Hell that he could take them on all at the same time, nor that he could beat Shamura or Kallamar. Both of them are more powerful than he is. You could argue that Kallamar wouldn’t fight back, but that would ignore her violence towards the Lamb (who she was terrified of). Shamura is the Bishop of War, and they wouldn’t have willingly let Narinder attack them. Heket sure as Hell wouldn’t have let Narinder get away unscathed if he attacked her head on. Leshy is the only one who wouldn’t have stood a chance.

This makes it seem like he stalked and attacked them while they weren’t aware. 

x

So, we know why Narinder did what he did. He said he was betrayed. But we also know that it was Shamura’s idea to imprison him, so why did he target his entire family? 

This I believe was out of spite for Shamura themself, as they were obviously devoted to their siblings. 

They’re willing to fight the Lamb, knowing they’d be slaughtered, simply in the honor of the other three Bishops. 

They kept Narinder alive because they couldn’t bear to kill him. They even brought two innocent children to him so that he wouldn’t be “lonely”.

They already know what’s to come, but they still show up to Anchordeep to send enemies the Lamb’s way just to buy Kallamar more time to live.

They always appear by their siblings’ sides when they confront the Lamb, save for Kallamar. They still are there though, just in the background.

x

Back to Kallamar. This squid could’ve hopped into the ocean and left. She chose not to, even though she was terrified. She doesn’t attempt to fortify the door to her temple. She flat out tells the Lamb where she’ll be. She has her weapons already on her by the time they arrive.

I just feel like if you don’t give a fuck, you wouldn’t do all that. Why is it just assumed that she is selfish and didn’t love her siblings? Because she was terrified and saying anything to avoid being sent to Narinder? 

Would you want to be sent to your abusive relative who despises you? 

Would you not feel a bit angry that your eldest sibling would choose to keep this absolute lunatic alive, even against common sense and the safety of yourself and your younger siblings.

Would you feel a sense of blind loyalty to someone who values your ABUSER over you? 

Kallamar was afraid of Narinder before he ripped her ears off. Why is that? You aren’t just terrified of somebody for no reason. 

The Lamb kills her younger siblings. 

Kallamar knows she will be sent straight to him, condemned to eternal suffering.

Like what are we expecting from her? “Ah yeah, this is fine. I’m fine. I’m not upset at all that my enabler of a sibling chose an abuser over me, refused to put him down after he revealed himself to be unhinged, and forced me and the others into a wild goose chase concerning sheep. I’m not at all bothered that my baby siblings have been slaughtered and that I’m next. Me personally? I’m chilling!”

🙄 Y’all always on this “Narinder redemption”, WHAT ABOUT KALLAMAR? Why isn’t she allowed grace? The Bishops aren’t good creatures, but neither is their brother. We should acknowledge that and acknowledge the nuance. 

This post was brought to you by my homoerotic devotion for Kallamar and my long history of living in an abusive, dysfunctional household. 

[dokidokitsuna]

im really endeared by your concepts for re_rise, i was unsatisfied by return of the mammilians and you’ve put together a really sound story! about to say what i’ve taken from it, so sorry if there’s some innacuracy…

my favorite part off the bat is switching the splatoon for deep cut. imo they’ve been the unquestionable good guys for way too long. plus accidentally working against an oblivious/aimless squidbeak splatoon who’s goal is just to get their gramps back, when youve been investigating grizzco and alterna all game is just a refreshing and well contrasting take on a story. it feels like acknowledgment for the previous campaigns story flaws (being it’s in-general non seriousness!!!)

i always felt deep cut always had the potential to be a bunch of very cool and laid back mentors. they just seemed experienced in what they do, and working alongside them sounds VERY cool for a 14 or so year old cephalokid. (additionally, thered be a break in formula by not making the new kid an agent, rather a personal member of deep cuts heist squad. WAY cooler!!!) always felt their dialogue and personalities are pretty exaggerated when they’re on-air, so seeing what they’re like without an audience sounds more than interesting. if that’s the route you go, itd be another way to set them apart from the previous idol bands, who are always their authentic entertainer-type selves when cameras are on. in that case, what would they be like? what things would they feel like talking about? how different would they really act? all things you can answer if you want. but that was my love letter! thanks for writing up such cool concepts, and making such amazing designs. i even made little analyses on them for the color choice… this is long enough already though. tldr thank you!!! 🩷

Okay so first: thanks so much for this; I love it when people analyze my work (you gotta explain the color choice thing to me sometime, because that has me really curious) ^^

So I totally agree with you about the idea of the player character not being an agent for once…even though I still technically call them Neo/New Agent 3. ^^; I just couldn’t think of my own thing to call them; I feel like such a huge break away from the series’ convention is something that should be determined by the canon…and probably will be soon if my predictions about Splatoon 4 turn out to be correct. ;)

I guess it would be cute if Deep Cut gave them a funky nickname instead, like ‘Shark-bait’ or something. Although that would work better if they all had nicknames for each other; like true alter-egos for their bandit work…I would like that~.

Anyway, as for the main question: tbh I didn’t really put much thought into how Deep Cut’s personalities might change…but that’s mostly because I felt a ton of added depth would be inevitable, by the simple act of elevating them from roadblocks to actual characters you can interact with. ^^; So this is basically what I would do:

-Shiver kinda has a ‘2 Cool 4 Skool’ girlboss thing going on (I think?? Tbh for a series as campy as Splatoon, her characterization is really weak…) so I think her alter-ego should have a more grounded, ‘wise mentor’ persona. Like, she can still trash-talk you and keep that ruthless attitude that she has, but here we’d supplement that with real teaching moments and positive affirmation to show why people should really be drawn to her.

-Meanwhile, Frye has this hyper-cute yet ‘rough-and-tumble’ personality, so I think her alter-ego should be more laid-back and relaxed. This way she can keep her positive demeanor; she’ll just express it in a different way, maybe showing the audience more of her mature and sensitive side. 

-Last but not least, Big Man is characterized as a typical airhead, with hints of a responsible ‘parent friend’ (eugh) underneath…so I would let him be more serious as a bandit, maybe even a little edgy. Of course, seeing as he’s a giant manta ray with an (owo) face, ‘edgy’ is probably still gonna come off as comedic for him, but I think that’s fine as long as he has actual moments of gravity to ground them. I want him to feel like a real ‘senpai’ for the player character, not just a funny mascot…y’know, occasionally commanding the respect that you’d think a ‘parent friend’ would have.

[love-kurdt]

Swooping, Sloping, Cursive Letters: 23

word count: 674

PLEASE READ THIS IS ME TRYING FIRST, AS THIS STORY RELIES HEAVILY UPON THE CONTEXT OF TIMT

June 27, 1989

Dear Will,

I’m not gonna lie, I thought things between us would get at least a little awkward after you came out. I thought that maybe you’d stop wanting to hang out as often, that you’d pull away from embraces faster, or you’d start calling me “bro,” and “man,” to distance yourself from me, like you had during the Vecnapocalypse after the Almost Kiss™. But none of those things happened, and the fact that things are so ordinary is confusing the hell out of me.

I think I’m starting to imagine things. Things as in reciprocated feelings. The signs are all there. When we’re together, we’re always engaging in a form of physical contact; whether it be leaning against each other, laying in each other’s laps on the couch, or even holding hands (this only happens when we’re alone, but I’m gonna let it count), we always have to be connected in some way. When we’re talking with the Party, they often acknowledge us as a pair; we’re MikeandWill, not Mike and Will, and neither of us ever make it a point to correct them. When you came out, we all formed a group hug around you. But when we pulled away, everyone’s eyes drew to me for some reason. It was like they were waiting for me to come out, too, and they looked kind of confused when I didn’t say anything except “We love you, Will,” and “We accept you, no matter what.” But then again, I’m probably just fabricating all this in my head. I guess that makes for good content for my stories. Author problems, am I write? Get it? …I’ll see myself out.

Speaking of the Party, they have become absolutely fucking insufferable when it comes to discussing your love life. You claim there’s nothing to discuss, but the constant wagging eyebrows and teasing vocal inflections of our friends tell me otherwise. For instance, the other day, they were asking you about your dream man and the characteristics he’d have, both physically and personality-wise. In short, they wanted to know your Type™. I began to think of what they’d look like. What were their names? Were they creative too? Were they gay or bi? Did they watch Star Wars for Han or Luke? Did they like popcorn or pretzels? Or did they prefer a psychotic combination of the two like you do?

I braced myself for the impact, not wanting to hear what you had to say, because I knew I’d inevitably get hurt. And yeah, I know I said in one of my previous letters (Exhibit A: September 18, 1988) that I’d be fine if you’d just rejected me and I’d be grateful to have you just as a friend, but the more I think about it, I’d probably be just a little bit destroyed… demolished… decimated. Vocabulary. Cool.

But you took a deep breath and said, “Guys, this is kind of ridiculous. I don’t even have a type.” Dustin and Max called bullshit immediately, to which you responded, “Even if I did like someone, I wouldn't tell you guys who it was. If you must know, I like guys who are confident, emotionally intelligent, and tall. That good enough?” Everyone else seemed pretty satisfied with that answer, but while the conversation shifted to another subject, my mind could only focus on one word: tall. 

I’m tall. Six feet and three inches tall, to be exact.

Yeah, I know, I’m not exactly confident (that version of me died when I came to terms with my feelings for you and what that meant in a wider social lens) or emotionally intelligent (maybe I am on paper, but in conversation? I have the emotional intelligence of a speck of dust), but I’m tall. I’m really fucking tall. So at least I have that going for me… right?

God, I sound so juvenile and desperate. But what the hell, I have one third of a chance with you, and that’s better than no chance at all.

Love,

Mike

-

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[ghostradiodylan]

Thirst Games

Kaitlyn threw up a three-finger Mockingjay salute. “May the odds be ever in our favor, you’re the gay Peeta Mellark to my Katniss Everdeen and these are The 74th Annual Thirst Games.”

“Me as Peeta kind of ruins the whole love triangle thing though, no?”

Kaitlyn shrugged. “Love triangles are tired.”

“Yeah, agreed.” Dylan nodded. They both recognized the irony here but refused to acknowledge it. 

———————————————

Ryan was dutifully rinsing down the canoes outside the boathouse when he noticed a tall figure approaching out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head to see Dylan loping toward him from the direction of the lodge.

“Ryan, hey! I brought you something for your next campfire!” Dylan reached into his pocket and produced a small zip-top bag full of white powder. He handed it over to Ryan, who eyed it suspiciously.

“Dylan… is this cocaine?”

“Yes. Definitely. I’m giving you cocaine for the campfire with your 10 year old campers. First one’s free. That’s how I get you.”

Ryan looked at him blankly. Dylan sighed.

“It’s coffee creamer, you absolute narc. If you toss just a little in the fire, it flames up and you should get some cool sparks. It’s the magic of chemistry. The kids’ll think you’re a wizard. I thought it’d enhance the vibes for your ghost stories!”

“Oh, wow, that’s… actually really cool.” Ryan’s face broke into a grin. “Thanks Dylan!”

“Don’t mention it,” he winked roguishly, “I like you Ryan, but not enough to share my cocaine with you.” 

Ryan chuckled at this but as he watched Dylan saunter away toward the radio hut, he had to admit that he really didn’t know if he was joking or not. Ryan was often sarcastic himself, but he also had a habit of taking things others said a bit too literally. He figured Dylan probably was not doing lines in the little shack where he worked over the schedules with Kaitlyn and made his announcements, although if he had been that would explain some of his more colorful broadcasting choices.

———————————————

Dylan was alone in the radio hut waiting for Kaitlyn. He had his back to the door, fully absorbed in trying, unsuccessfully, to unstick a stuck button on the ancient PA system, when he heard the door open.

“Sup Kaitlyn?” He called without looking, “you won’t believe what Ryan said today!” An unexpected warm bass voice came in response.

“What did I say?”

Dylan’s head whipped toward the source of the sound so violently that he nearly toppled out of his chair.

“Uhhh something very wise and cool, obviously,” Dylan fumbled, his hand flying to the back of his head disarmingly as he took in the handsome sailing instructor he’d just been all too ready to gossip about.

“Smooth,” was Ryan’s only reply. He was wearing one of those inscrutable smiles he seemed to favor, the ones that drove Dylan crazy, for better and for worse.

“Sorry, I was expecting Kaitlyn.”

“Yeah, I gathered that. So, what were you saying about me?” Dylan could feel heat rising in his cheeks. He felt like he’d been caught in a transgression, but Ryan didn’t sound angry or even suspicious, he merely seemed interested.

“Oh, just about you mistaking the coffee creamer for cocaine. I thought that was pretty cute.”

Why the hell had he said that last part out loud? Did he forget his Adderall again today? “I mean,” he quickly continued, “I just hope you didn’t try to snort a line or whatever. Woulda' been disappointing to get a nose full of French vanilla and no head rush.”

This seemed to put Ryan at ease. He laughed softly.

“Anyway, what brings you to my humble radio station today, sailor?” Dylan put on what he hoped was a winning smile, “what can I do you for—um—do for you?”

“I was actually thinking more about what I could do for you.”

Mysterious. Cryptic. Intriguing. Why was Ryan like this? And why did Dylan like it so much?

“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow. “Do tell.”

“Birthday present for you,” said Ryan, “I talked to Mr. H and he finally agreed to let you guys take the van tonight since I’m going too.” Ryan pulled a set of keys from his pocket and twirled it on his index finger before tossing it to Dylan.

Dylan had to concentrate very hard to actually catch the keys hurtling toward his face, but he managed to do so and was incredibly thankful he hadn’t beefed it in front of Ryan.

“Hey, sweet, thanks dude!” Dylan was actually touched. Ryan hadn’t had to do that, but he was glad he did. Ryan thought the van was the present but Dylan wanted to tell him his presence was the only present he needed. Fuck, that was corny. Being in love made him so corny. He refrained. “I’m really glad you decided to go.”

“Sure thing. I could use a night away from the kids, honestly.”

Dylan and Ryan were grinning at each other when the door burst open again.

“Honey, I’m home!” Kaitlyn called to Dylan before noticing that Ryan was there. “Oh,” she raised an eyebrow at Dylan, “am I interrupting something?” Ryan answered her.

“I was just letting the birthday boy know I secured the wheels for this evening.”

“Oh, cool beans! Can’t wait for our wild night out clubbing in North Kill, the the city that never wakes, with three entire businesses that are open past 7 pm!”

“Hey, we’ll make our own fun,” Dylan promised her, “we always do.”

“Well, it’s almost time for rowing lessons,” said Ryan, by way of excusing himself, “see you guys when you get off tonight.” 

Yeah, definitely gonna see you when I get off tonight, Dylan thought lewdly, I usually do.

“Later Ry-guy,” said Kaitlyn.

Once she was sure Ryan was out of earshot she wheeled around on Dylan.

“Oh my god, your face when I came in just now,” Kaitlyn tittered as Dylan’s cheeks went slightly pink, “Dude. You’re so whipped. You look at that boy like he’s the moon. Like you’re stoned out of your mind and he’s last bag of Cheetos on earth.”

“I knowwww,” Dylan groaned dramatically, dropping his head onto the desk, “I’m so obvious, it’s painful.”

“Well, you’re obvious and he’s oblivious so that’s an interesting combination.”

“I keep flirting with him thinking he might be flirting with me too, but it’s so hard to tell.”

“I can’t get a read on him either. Of course, I haven’t tried to flirt with him. I let men come to me. Or not. It’s whatever.”

Dylan snickered lightly at this, “I don’t think either method is getting us anywhere but, hey, may the odds be ever in our favor.”

Kaitlyn threw up a three-finger Mockingjay salute. “May the odds be ever in our favor, you’re the gay Peeta Mellark to my Katniss Everdeen and these are The 74th Annual Thirst Games.”

“Me as Peeta kind of ruins the whole love triangle thing though, no?”

Kaitlyn shrugged. “Love triangles are tired.”

“Yeah, agreed.” Dylan nodded. They both recognized the irony here but refused to acknowledge it. 

“Aw, shit,” Dylan continued, “you would look hot as fuck with a bow and arrow.”

Kaitlyn gave a small bow of acknowledgement indicating that she did not disagree. “Well, if things go sideways, I’m not frosting myself like a cake,” he shot her a wicked grin, “might let Ryan do it though.”

“Oh my god!” She laughed in disbelief. “That is so wrong.”

“You’re right, if we’re sticking to the bakery metaphor, it’s really more of a glaze.” 

“EW! You repulse me, Lenivy. I’m out.” Kaitlyn waved a hand dismissively and turned to leave the radio hut.

“Shut up, you love me. Hey, wait up Short Stack!”

"Catch up, Stretch," she shouted back.

Dylan scrambled after her. He did catch up pretty easily since her little legs were like half as long as his. They were heading to the boathouse for their Monday ritual of watching Ryan row across the lake in a tank top. Their ostensible purpose was to act as lifeguards in case any of the kids fell out of the rowboats, but Ryan hadn’t lost one yet so they mostly just chatted together and ogled him shamelessly in the highly flattering golden hour light.

Dylan was gazing at Ryan through a pair of binoculars, watching Ryan’s toned arms and shoulders flexing and releasing as the propelled his boat across the lake. Happy Birthday to me, he thought smugly. Of course, it would have been sexier if Ryan hadn’t had to wear that bright yellow life jacket that obscured the rest of him, or stop to shout instructions at a bunch of middle school kids through a megaphone every few strokes as they screamed and flailed and invariably dropped their paddles into the lake, but Dylan would take what he could get. 

He heard someone approaching him from behind but couldn’t imagine that whoever it was could possibly be more interesting than Ryan’s biceps, so Dylan kept his eyes right where they were until he felt a hand firmly grasp his ass. 

“The fuck—?“ he yelped, jumping and nearly dropping his binoculars.

“Happy Birthday, babe,” said a smooth voice in his ear. It was Nick. Dylan swatted Nick’s hand away, tsking in disapproval and kicking backward, halfheartedly, at the other boy’s shin.

“I swear, Nicholas, if you don’t stop sexually harassing me you’re gonna end up sucking my dick. And that’ll be so embarrassing for you when I get drunk off my ass and tell everyone about it at your and Abi’s wedding. Which I’ll be DJing, obviously.”

“I see no reason that I should be embarrassed by any such boyish transgressions of my bachelor days.” Nick shrugged affably, taking a long drag on the joint he’d brought to the boathouse with him and slowly releasing the smoke through his nose.

“Oh my god, get a room you two.” Kaitlyn held out her hand expectantly, her binoculars still pressed to her face and trained on Ryan. She’d smelled the weed without needing to see it. Nick passed her the spliff and she took a hit.

Dylan had no interest in getting a room with Nick. The tall, wavy-haired guy was certainly attractive enough (plus, who wouldn’t go a little weak in the knees the first time they heard that accent?) and Dylan had made a few earnest passes at him before settling on Ryan as his summer crush, but he was pretty sure Nick was straight, or at least mostly straight. He flirted with Dylan in a joking way, sometimes he even crossed the line a bit, like he had just now, but the way he looked at Abi, the deference with which he treated her, the way he got all cute and fidgety when she spoke to him, that felt more like the real deal and Dylan shipped it. He was trying his best to get Nick to make a move, but thought he was pretty hopeless. Which was maybe a little hypocritical of Dylan since he couldn’t seem to make a move on his crush either. But tonight, he thought, that could very well change.

Anyway, it hadn’t taken long for Dylan to realize he only had eyes for Ryan. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. His heart and other prime real estate was reserved for Ryan alone. His eyes however were free to wander over Nick’s bare chest and abs at the pool if they so desired, and it often turned out that they did. But Nick was a follower and no amount of abdominal definition could make up for that in Dylan’s opinion. He was pretty sure the only reason Nick kept flirting with him was that he was mirroring Dylan’s playfully flirtatious energy back at him. He did the same with Jacob, becoming a meathead obsessed with ‘getting chicks’ if they hung out one-on-one for too long.

Ryan, on the other hand, was his own person through and through. He was into the niche little things he liked, black metal, ghost stories, cryptozoology; he didn’t care who knew it or what they thought. And while they generally had a friendly repartee, Ryan challenged Dylan if he thought he was wrong and, as much as Dylan hated for anyone to think he was wrong, he admired the backbone it took for Ryan to point it out, even when he disagreed.

Nick offered the joint to Dylan, who considered it for a moment and declined. “Nah man, Ryan’s coming tonight. I gotta be straight.”

“I feel like you’d want to be anything but straight in every possible way if Ryan’s coming,” Nick chuckled.

“You know what I mean,” he brought the binoculars back up to his eyes in time to see Ryan frantically fishing yet another lost oar out of the lake, “I have to focus.”

“Are you really gonna be straight edge on your own birthday?” asked Kaitlyn, still not taking her eyes off of Ryan. “BOR-ING!”

“No way, I’ll definitely be drunk later,” Dylan assured her, smiling.

“Good,” said Nick, “because I have a handle of vodka in the walk-in with our names on it.”

“Perfection. I’ll stick with that. I just don’t wanna get paranoid around Ryan. He already puts me on edge. Plus, your stash is of a questionable strain if you ask me.”

“Hey!” Nick protested, “It is not! This is perfectly good bud, just because you were convinced that your head was physically fused to the futon last time we smoked, doesn’t mean it’s a quality issue. Didn’t happen to anyone else, did it? That’s the fault of the partaker, not the product.” Kaitlyn was giggling.

“Either way, you guys better get rid of that before Ryan gets finished with the lesson because he will FUH-REAK if he catches you smoking on the property.”

“Ugh, he’s such narc,” Kaitlyn’s eyes were obscured by the binoculars, but Dylan was pretty sure she was rolling them.

“I told him the same thing earlier. I guess we are technically supposed to be ready to jump in the lake to save someone at a moment’s notice, so, maybe he’d be justified in wanting us to not be compromised. For once,” Dylan granted. 

“Yeah, well, good thing you aren’t partaking so you don’t become one with deck while one of the campers drowns.” Nick smirked. Dylan kicked him in the shin for real this time.

———————————————

Happy Thirst Games Thursday, have some pre-canon Hacketteer camaraderie.

This is a WIP inspired by Dylan's birthday being right in the middle of camp and Ryan's line about vodka bringing people together. It's either going to be a one shot posted on my AO3 or it'll get folded into Particles & Waves as a flashback, I haven't yet decided which.

I love these jerks. 💕

[bbcmerlin-reversebang]

BBC Merlin Reverse Bang Masterlist

Thank you to all the fantastic artists and writers who participated in this round of the fest! Without further ado, here is the masterlist for the 2023-2024 BBC Merlin Reverse Bang!

So Familiar A Gleam

Artist: MerlinLikeThe Bird

Writer: Excited_Insomniac

Summary: They say the druid in the forest who guards the sword in the stone has never woken. Unchanging, no matter the season, no matter how many years go by; lost in a dream that will only be broken by the Once and Future King.

Fic & Art: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/bbcmerlinreversebang/works/54501022

***

Agate

Artist: Papysanzo89

Writer: ironfamjam

Summary: “I’ll give you whatever you want,” the king says, shoulders drawn back, “just help me save my people.”

The sun strikes his face and for a moment, Arthur looks made of gold. Pretty, Emrys can’t help but think. But still just a man. 

“Whatever I want?” Emrys’ smirk widens, “I want your pride. Now bow down to me and beg.”

-

When long-time immortal and full-time hater of humanity, the great Emrys himself, finds the newly crowned King Arthur at his doorstep asking for his help, he gets way more than he bargained for on their journey to revive Camelot’s old wards and save the kingdom from war. Unfortunately for him, he's going to make friends, fall in love, and become a hero whether he wants to or not.

Or, Merlin's been waiting centuries for something to believe in.

Fic & Art: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/bbcmerlinreversebang/works/54417334

***

Dragon of the Dawn

Artist: LikeAPaperPlane

Writer: SlantedKnitting

Summary: To avoid war with the Druids, Arthur lifts the ban on magic in Camelot. As a sign of peace, the Druids gift him a dragon egg. Now Arthur must decide if it would be wise to bring a dragon into the world, or if his interest in the egg is only due to the handsome Dragonlord who wields the power to hatch it.

Fic & Art: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/bbcmerlinreversebang/works/54702940

***

World Within a World

Artist: MerlinLikeTheBird

Writer: Sage_Owl

Summary: "Stories never really end. They can go on and on and on. It's just that sometimes, at a certain point, one stops telling them." ― Mary Norton, The Borrowers

Fic & Art: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/bbcmerlinreversebang/works/54609637

***

Touched by Magic / in time of daffodils

Artist: willoswmarika

Writer: archaeologist_d

Summary: “When you’re touched by magic, nothing’s ever quite the same again.” Charles de Lint.

Five people discover Merlin’s magic. Their reactions might vary, but sometimes, acknowledging it is the hardest thing of all.

Fic: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/bbcmerlinreversebang/works/54803929

Art: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/bbcmerlinreversebang/works/54802045

***

All That Lies Between Us

Artist: MerlinLikeTheBird

Writer: thetreeofwillow

Summary: With a gasp, Arthur wakes.

He wakes to the warmth of the blankets around him, the sight of the stars above and Merlin’s hand grasping his. He wakes surrounded; by softness, by love, by light. Gasping in breaths, he wakes holding tightly onto Merlin’s hand, tethering himself to the word through that strong, sure grip.

He wakes and he’s not alone and everything's better.

He settles back down, his breath not quite steady yet, but getting there. He holds on tight to Merlin’s hand, looks up at the stars and lets himself drift back off to sleep, safe in the knowledge that he’s free.

- 

Merlin and Arthur are held captive together for a month in the dark.

Back in Camelot now, the two face all they went through with the help of one another, their friends, and the night sky.

Fic & Art: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/bbcmerlinreversebang/works/54826897

***

Till Death Do Us Part

Artist: Sunfall_of_Ennien

Writer: Pearl09

Summary: The battle of Camlann is now, and Arthur just manages to survive the battle thanks to the sacrifice of a sorcerer who had strangely taken Camelot's side. When he later learns out that sorcerer was a disguised Merlin, however, he's left to try and patch his broken world back together. Meanwhile, Merlin thought he was dead but instead wakes up in Cenred's prison, the man in question having rescued Merlin to try and force him to join his army.

Fic & Art: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/bbcmerlinreversebang/works/54895198

***

Malediction Amplexus

Artist: griffonskies

Writer: Camelittle

Summary: Arthur is only trying to protect his idiot flat mate from a deranged person who claims to be a witch. But then she goes and blasts him with a "hug or die" curse. Not only does this force Arthur to swallow his pride and seek hugs from those who care from him, but also it turns his rationalist world view on its head. Despite all his best efforts to deny the fact, he's forced to confront the idea that maybe, just maybe, Merlin wasn't kidding about having magic after all.

Fic & Art: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/bbcmerlinreversebang/works/54400465

***

Overhead Of The Aqua Blue

Artist: Dollopbrain

Writer: lavenderspice

Summary: Merlin is not in love with Arthur. Arthur is not in love with Merlin. It's as simple as that.

But then, an impulsive decision made in the heat of the moment changes everything between them. The casual, friendly touches turn into fleeting kisses and meetings in hidden alcoves.

It's not anything serious though. Merlin and Arthur are still definitely not in love.

Or are they?

Fic & Art: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/bbcmerlinreversebang/works/54988165

***

Light and Shadow

Artist: griffonskies

Writer: sacredraisincakes

Summary: "If love is light, then fear is its shadow." - LJ Vanier

Basking in the dawn of the golden age of Camelot, Arthur doesn't question anything when he is given the small token from Gwen and Lancelot's daughter. Why would he? He doesn't see anything wrong with the way his life is heading... Merlin, of course, questions everything, but the arrival of his mother with life changing news puts his questions aside for now.

Fic: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/bbcmerlinreversebang/works/55041709

Art: https://www.tumblr.com/griffcreations/747145662845616128/merlin-bbc-reverse-bang-202324-light-and-shadow

***

Guardian Angel

Artist: Mirayla

Writer: ClotpolePoet

Summary: Set in a world where magical abilities manifest wings proportions to their power, Merlin, Arthur and the knights are sent on a months-long mission by the king.

Merlin struggles to find time to preen and care for his large wings during the journey, but when Arthur finds himself in danger, Merlin is forced to reveal them in order to save the prince and in doing so gets himself kidnapped and tortured.

Arthur and the knights are faced with saving Merlin from a deadly man whilst dealing with Merlin’s magic reveal revelation.

Fic & Art: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/bbcmerlinreversebang/works/55075855

***

The Totality of Partial Impressions

Artist: OnePepperCorn

Writer: s0mmerspr0ssen

Summary: Arthur starts his first year at Camelot University hoping to elude his father’s influence. But Uther’s control persists and Arthur soon faces the same pressures he had hoped to escape. To make matters worse, his roommate proves to be a complete pain in the arse, though Merlin thinks the same about Arthur. Unfortunately, Arthur is not only infuriating but infuriatingly attractive, and Merlin cannot help but wonder if Arthur’s guarded looks convey a deeper meaning – one he’s too afraid to admit to.

Fic & Art: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/bbcmerlinreversebang/works/54425791

***

The Other Side Of The Door

Artist: monoisbored

Writer: SaltedKiss

Summary: Arthur Pendragon chose to take on a fake name and major in History of Magic at Camelot University after finding out about the atrocities his father did to the magical community. He looked forward to learning more about magic users, but never expected to be attacked by an actual dragon the first time he met a sorcerer in person.

Starring: Cannonball Aithusa, Arthur "American Football Cosplayer " Pendragon & Merlin "Any excuse to take Arthur's shirt off" Emrys.

Fic & Art: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/bbcmerlinreversebang/works/55103026

***

a single thread of fate (tied me to you)

Artist: azimuthal

Writer: remaymber

Summary: Merlin paused, took a deep breath, and a delicate, red band appeared in front of him, softly flowing in the breeze. It was wrapped around his wrist and then disappeared into the distance.

Merlin took it between his fingers, held it as he focused on the gentle pull he felt. With his eyes, he followed the faint thread into the distance and couldn’t help but wonder who might be awaiting him on the other side.

Fic: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/bbcmerlinreversebang/works/55104175

Art: https://www.tumblr.com/azi-muthal/747649862663864320/my-contribution-to-the-bbcmerlin-reversebang-this

***

Devouring Glory

Artist: Mirayla

Writer: gil-galadhwen

Summary: When a person with magic dies, where does their magic go?

Merlin has been feeling peculiar lately. The sun seems too bright and his skin feels unusually sensitive beneath his clothing. His magic seems to be growing too, in a way he’s unsure he can control. Like an unruly garden. Like he’s overflowing with it.

Fic & Art: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/bbcmerlinreversebang/works/54716203

***

Live for the hope of it all

Artist: Papysanzo89

Writer: MyKingdomComeUndone

Summary: At sixteen, during a hunt gone wrong, Arthur meets a strange boy in the woods—a boy who uses magic to save him, and goes by the name of Merlin. This is the story of an unlikely friendship, a friendship that ends up changing not only Arthur's life, but the future of all of Camelot.

Fic & Art: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/bbcmerlinreversebang/works/53840449

***

Up Pendragon Creek Without an Oar

Artist: eachpeachpearplum

Writer: Laurieonalark

Summary: When Agravaine betrays the Pendragons, they lose everything- their money, their property, their status, it's all gone. With nothing to their name, they are forced to relocate to the sleepy town of Ealdor, living in the rundown Camelot Bed and Breakfast. It's nothing like any of them were prepared for, but it may just be exactly what Arthur and Morgana need.

Fic & Art: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/bbcmerlinreversebang/works/55276900

***

Towards the Stars

Artist: treasureguardingdragon

​​Writer: just_snakess

Summary: The year is 2372. When King Arthur finally returns, Merlin is on the other side of the solar system, and is helpless to prevent him being swept up by the government. Thus begins a journey across the solar system, crossing paths with crimelords, rebel leaders, and very, very old friends. Will it be enough to free Arthur? Or will the Once and Future King fall victim to a mysterious plot that threatens the very border between life and death?

Fic & Art: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/bbcmerlinreversebang/works/55300255

***

Learning to defy expectations

Artist: treasureguardingdragon

Writer: Ace_Teagirl

Summary: When Arthur gets sent away by Uther to secure a treaty between Camelot and Tir-Mor, what should have been a normal diplomatic trip turns into more than Arthur could have expected. Along the way, he learns valuable lessons about trust, friendship and the weight of duty.

Fic & Art: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/bbcmerlinreversebang/works/55365187

***

Hide Yourself

Artist: ClotpolePoet

Writer: bang-the-smoke

Summary: When Merlin finds out about an assassination plot against Arthur that is set to happen sometime during the annual three-day masquerade ball that Camelot hosts, he is forced to enter the ball, disguised. How will he be able to save Arthur's life when the prince attempts to court him during the ball?

Fic & Art: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/bbcmerlinreversebang/works/55301731

***

All My Scars Are For Him

Artist: Dollopbrain

Writer: ApproachRoach

Summary: “I was here a week ago,” Arthur blurted out. “Before, it was a desert—it almost killed me. Now it’s a rainforest.” Arthur stated. “I’ve only ever heard about rainforests in tales about magic, and in those stories, the magic was dormant. Its only purpose was to keep the forest alive. Here, I can even feel the magic in the air. And if I’m honest, it feels a little like coming home. It feels safe.” He stated it so simply Merlin almost didn’t realise the magnitude of what he was admitting.

His admission, if he was anyone else, would have him hanged.

-

Arthur Pendreagon is a lot of things; he is his fathers son. Camelot’s Prince. The Captain of the Knights. Himself, is rarely one of them.

What if, for once, he was not the things he was supposed to be and was simply, himself? He confesses something he had never really thought much of and somehow everything else does not matter anymore. He is himself and that is all that is important, he is finally, who he is meant to be; the Golden Prince

Fic & Art: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/bbcmerlinreversebang/works/55073416

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Four reasons to kill

Artist: wortvermis

Writer: Brechtjeeatscheese

Summary: George Brass has been killed.

Merlin is an undercover agent, it seems an afwull lot like the attack was meant for Uther Pendragon, CEO of Pendragon Inc. After some inspecting, Merlin can only come to one conclussion, his son, Athur Pendragon, has motive and oppurtunity, unfortunatly he has an alibi.

Merlin needs to go undercover in order to prove Arthur did it. What he didn't account for was that he would fall head over heels in love with Arthur. There is only one problem that rests, if Arthur didn't do it, then who did?

A tale about falling in love, hiding who you are, sacrificing everything for your job, and trying to catch a murderer while doing it all. No wonder Merlin is stressed and depressed.

Fic & Art: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/bbcmerlinreversebang/works/55362367

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Le Démoniste et Le Dragon

Artist: Pearl09

Writer: Salamandair

Summary: Merlin moves to Camelot after the death of his mother to help his Uncle Gaius in his Apothecary and to get a fresh start away from his small village where no one liked his magic.

In Camelot, however, most people hate magic too. But why? What happened here that made everyone hate magic so quickly? What is Gaius keeping from him?

When Merlin is forced to seek refuge in an abandoned mansion a month after his arrival due to being chased by magic hating men, he is thrust into a world that will turn his request for a ‘new start’ on its head.

Fic & Art: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/bbcmerlinreversebang/works/55453966

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Echoes of Magic and Nature

Writer: HadrianPeverellBlack

Summary: After the lands of Camelot lose their life, it seems that hope for the kingdom is lost for good.

That is until Prince Arthur decides that he would save his people.

But he will not make this journey alone. He will have allies, even in the most unthinkable places.

After all, to heal the wounds made by an impure heart, it is needed the purest of them all.

Fic: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/bbcmerlinreversebang/works/55790572

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The Blue Butterflies Follow You (so do the moths)

Artist: zazrichor

Writer: Crimson_Fanfic_Writer_7

Summary: Arthur is fed up. He trusts Merlin with his life but he doesn’t think the same goes for Merlin. Merlin is hiding something, has been hiding something the entire time he has known him. It’s eating at him, it’s tainting their relationship in a subtle way he can’t even name.

Fortunately for him, there is a young druid who – even if not for the same reason – is fed up with Merlin’s lies as well. The young druid has grown up on stories of how the great Emrys will help the Once and Future King to unite the- blablabla yeah well WHEN is that going to happen though?! It’s been ten years, the oh so great master of magic could finally get a move on! Maybe he needs some incentive. Maybe he’s grown too accustomed to lying. Well, no more.

Fic & Art: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/bbcmerlinreversebang/works/55807864

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You are Someone Else (I am still right here)

Artist: Stelle_Loves_Reading

Summary: “After Lancelot is gravely injured by a group of druid hunters, he’s found by the most unlikely of rescuers: the fearsome Monster of the Darkling Woods and her companion, Merlin, who really wishes she’d stop bringing him broken creatures to fix.”

Art: https://artstelle.tumblr.com/post/750041304120033280/you-are-someone-else-i-am-still-right-here-art