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remimibanana · 4 months ago

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A bit about Shattered!

I wrote a story about Robin and Sunday!

It's about what may have happened during their past, their present and what the reality during and after the never ending dream held for them.

You can find it here!

I wanted to write a bit about my thought process behind writing this, since I have a lot to say and it might interest some people! I also didn’t want to make my notes section way too long and make it hard to leave a comment or kudos.

All under the cut!

Conception

I started writing this story after 2.2 released, but I didn’t finish it until now. It took me so long but it’s finally here! 30k wasn't the amount I expecting but I am all for it.

It originally was meant to be a love letter to 2.2, but it soon became a love letter to Penacony as a whole since there’s spoilers for everything. I had to rewatch the quests often to make sure I didn’t mess up the lore.

I remember I spent a whole day on the 2.2 quest, a Thursday where I sat down on my phone reading through the dialogue and playing the game while wondering when it was going to actually end at one point.

It was way longer than I expected, but I cried by the end of it all while pacing around the kitchen like a crazy person. Seeing Robin jump for Sunday as he fell, I couldn’t help but tear up. It made me love Robin and Sunday way more than I did before!

It was an incredible quest. It was worth all the hours I poured into it, thanking everything that no one was home when I let out noises and screams like a maniac in the kitchen out of all places. I'm a very expressive person.

I also jumped like a maniac when Acheron said Mei, or Yayi since I play with the CN dub! I love Honkai Impact 3rd a lot, if you didn’t know. I mean, everyone knew beforehand but it felt super validating for it to be explicitly said.

I knew immediately that I had to write something for this wonderful story. I��m always inspired to write after a quest, especially one like this. Shaoji cooked with Penacony and he needs to come back and write more for Star Rail.

I had to write Robin and Sunday, because there was so much I could write regarding these two doomed siblings. I did alternating point of views with both of them, as I wanted to tell both their stories.

I also knew that I wanted angst to the max, especially after hearing what the heck Robin went through and the fact that the game barely touched on anything in her point of view. This is the same case with Sunday.

I’m sorry for the pain I have inflicted on you all! I will write a happy story at some point, I promise you. Then again, I've said this before and I still manage to write angst…

There wasn’t much planning for this, aside from a few things from the quest that I wanted to write into it and use…and yet it looks like I’ve meticulously planned it all out doesn’t it?

I amaze myself sometimes. I quite literally surprised myself actually at times, I made stuff connect and I didn’t mean to really. Is this what they call being a genius?

Let’s take it from the top!

The Past

The first thing I knew I wanted to write was how Robin was shot in the neck.

That sounds terrible, damn. I don’t know how else to word it, I’m sorry!

It was mentioned by Sunday so briefly, and then never brought up again by anyone which is insane to me like what do you mean that Robin was shot in the neck in a war she went into?!

We got to see how he was informed by the Dreammaster about it after showing Robin’s letter and how he was going to pack his bags immediately for Kasbelina-VIII but that was honestly it. This gave me the perfect base to write my rendition of how it all happened.

I structured this part by writing out two letters, the one that Robin sent to Sunday and one that Sunday would have written back if he received it first. I then wrote the actual happenings underneath each paragraph that contradict the letters.

My goal was to make this as interesting as I could since it’s the first thing you read in my story. I needed to hook you all in, and keep you wanting to read on until the end.

There is a lot of story building here, describing the conditions of Kasbelina-VIII and some of the messed up stuff that is happening there. It’s rather realistic, because I wanted it to be. If I was going to talk about a war, I would do so properly without downplaying anything.

I first found it strange that Sunday didn’t know about the war at all. I figured, wouldn’t a war be at least broadcasted by the largest government body, the IPC themselves?

That’s when the idea that the IPC was intentionally covering it all up came to me. It seemed like the most logical explanation, and a very interesting one that I could build upon.

Despite Robin’s letter being in her point of view, we see another being shown. The soldiers who she was staying with this whole time, their thoughts regarding the war and Robin herself.

I had to make a reason as to why she would be shot, because she had to be right in the middle of the battlefield for that to happen. If the IPC was covering everything up, they would also stop supporting the poor planet.

These poor soldiers she’s staying with had no new supplies delivered to for weeks, and yet they still gave what they had left to her, showing that there is still kindness in such a horrific situation.

Based of what I could see, Robin wouldn’t let them suffer like this when she learnt about the supply issue by what I assume was on accident generally. I wanted to give the soldiers some character, so I made them lie to her for her sake about how long they didn’t have supplies for.

We have a lot of lying mentioned in this story, since it’s the main premise for both Sunday and Robin. They both lied to each other for the other’s sake, thinking that it was the right thing to do. Lies after lies pile up, and we see what happened when they all came falling down.

I've never been shot before (god forbid) but I tried to imagine how it might have felt for Robin, the way it would make her feel. It did hurt to write this part, the way she still tried to deliver those supplies...the way she belittled herself for lying...

I wanted to make you all suffer, pretty much. That also sounds terrible.

Now, we go into Xipe and THEIR role. The Dreammaster mentioned how Harmony had blessed her by missing her vital arteries, so I made THEM interfere despite the fact THEY usually only observe and watch everything unfold.

THEY said that the bullet was not meant to hit her, but it still did for some reason that eluded them. This was such a major foreshadowing point that doesn't make much sense until later on, I am such a genius for this!

The same case when it is mentioned that someone could try to calculate their reasonings by forsaking their humanity, I was intentionally foreshadowing what Sunday does later on when he tried to.

You seriously would think I planned all this but it sort of came out this way.

Sunday's letter on the other hand, is much more of a character study of himself if anything. I wanted to explore how he would feel about all this, the way he would handle such a situation of his beloved sister being shot.

We know that Sunday uses puppets, but it's never stated why or how he had them in the first place. We can also see how he can manipulate them, making them act out scenes and characters during the time when we are stuck running through those Memory Zones before his boss fight, which I took and built upon the idea.

Sunday is a very complex character, so I made him a little mentally unstable when concerning his sister. The way he lashed out at his puppets, destroying them all over and over while making up scenarios of her shooting in order to cope. He even thinks that a puppet is Robin for a second.

If this is out of character or not, I don’t know. I wanted to give him more character than we see in the actual story, and naturally my thoughts went to this. It is mentioned how much he loves Robin (as a sister obviously), and so I wanted to see how far he would go for his only family left.

I took the concept of Harmony and expanded on it. We can see that Harmony can alter the mind's state, so why not make it so they can control others by altering their thoughts? I often like adding additional powers for the plot that still make sense in the realm of the game.

For Robin, it was mostly subconsciously done. For Sunday, he does it intentionally for his own reasons. Both use Harmony to alter minds without asking if the intended victim wanted it, making them both in the wrong.

We have these whispers present, the choir above that Sunday can hear because of how attuned he is to Harmony, alongside Robin that he rejects often. I don't think this is a thing in game, but I thought it would make everything so much more intriguing!

His distrust in Harmony grows and the rejection started from the first seed of doubt planted by Mr Gopher Wood. I imagine that his manipulation started young, slowly introducing the disharmony into Sunday's ideals.

This whole section quite literally foreshadows the rest of the story, it's great.

The Present

The major part of this story is when Robin is in Sunday's consciousness.

We have no idea what happened to her there, only that they were “put” to sleep. In Ena’s Dream, apparently it is called Tuning that she went through alongside Welt Yang by Sunday, who mentioned that nothing too bad happened to him there.

Then again, apparently it was Jing Yuan who saved Welt from Sunday’s subconscious???? I don’t really know how that works but point is, I had a lot of playing ground for what happens to Robin in there.

Here, we are introduced to the idea of Memory Zones (every time I read this, I think of Mystery Zones from Pokémon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum), areas of Sunday’s subconscious that he made to house his manifestations.

The first zone that Robin enters is incomplete. I imagine that Sunday never prepared for the possibility that Robin would ever enter his mind, so she was thrown into a zone that was quickly conjured up to keep her.

Since Robin too is attuned to Harmony, she can affect the Memory Zone to an extent. The colours you see on the ground is from her own power, as you can tell by the fact it originally came from her every single time it is mentioned.

As to why this is happening, I think it’s more of a subconscious thing once again. Robin doesn’t truly mean to use Harmony here while stuck in a random zone.

She can also hear the whispers, although they are trying to help her unlike Sunday’s ones. This is clearly a major foreshadowing point that you realise later on that these aren’t the same whispers.

We see the Charmony Dove from their childhood flying around and giving Robin a bit of trouble. This was definitely Sunday’s doing, who finally decided what he would do with her.

I wanted Robin to sing here because I thought that it was the best way to calm down the little bird, and symbolize how important her singing is to her and the world around her.

As she keeps saying, it’s the only thing she is good for at the end.

It was Sunday who made the bird fly away like a puppet with feathers, and Robin ran after it. I feel like she’s very selfless, to the point that she would run into a trap knowingly.

A zone just for her.

I knew I wanted to use that story with the Charmony Dove since it’s pretty prominent in 2.2. The Memory Zone she runs into is a replica of the bedroom the siblings stayed in, with the Charmony Dove now in the cage they kept it in.

This bird isn’t the same one as before as you can tell, since this whole zone is Sunday’s memory of how he released the small bird to its death. Robin helps it to fly, but it only shattered its wings when it fell as Sunday explained.

That’s when she learnt that this was all her fault, and we learn why that bullet that wasn’t meant to hit her did back then.

It was karma. They do say that karma’s a bitch, and for Robin, it took form with that bullet. It sounds like I’m quoting Jojo Siwa but I’m not, I swear ;;

Point is, I AM A GENIUS FOR THIS.

I didn’t intent for it but I wrote down that sentence “Perhaps, Robin was shot in the neck because of what she did” and my brain connected the dots immediately with what I wrote with Xipe earlier.

Sunday finally makes an appearance in person. This whole sequence is interesting because we have him hurting Robin, as if she was one of his puppets. I intentionally made it this strange, with Sunday mentioning after that the zone fell out of his control later on.

I described how his arms were out like an overseer, that’s a very obvious reference to Otto Apocalypse from Honkai Impact 3rd.

The lullaby part is from 2.3, where Robin mentioned how Sunday used to sing a lullaby to her when she was restless at night. I thought it would the perfect final blow.

It isn’t Robin in that zone. But it is at the same time. It’s interesting, isn’t it? Would it be too farfetched to say that it was Robin's consciousness who transferred into that puppet? Who knows.

Robin “wakes up” from that Memory Zone, completely nauseous and disoriented from the sheer amount of Harmony, or Order she was subjected to. We saw this with that doctor earlier with only a small amount of it used.

It was too much for her to handle. It was only when Sunday appears again to cut through it all, does she snap out of it out of his sheer grace. What a kind person he is.

We learn that Robin is in a cage. This is the same cage we see in her splash art! I like to try to integrate them into my stories, like I did for one of my previous stories with Black Swan’s one!

The two siblings share a conversation that doesn’t end well, with him leaving her. It was the only logical outcome for our doomed siblings here. I feel bad for them.

The cage breaking and Robin singing is also based on her splash art, as I needed a way for her to escape the cage that made sense to her and the story. I think it signifies how important her singing is to her and how Harmony interacts when she does.

We see Robin running around all the various Memory Zones Sunday has, noting how there are many puppets in them. I was alluding to when we go through those Memory Zones in the Grand Theater where Sunday tells us some stories using his puppets.

In one of them…we find her companion that was forced to sleep alongside her.

WELT YANG IS HERE.

I just wanted to write him since he is one of my favourite characters and I had my chance to finally in a story!

You can probably tell how much I enjoyed writing him based on how long his part is. If you have played Honkai Impact 3rd, or know Welt’s backstory, this is my little treat for you. If Hoyo won't make him do things, I WILL.

I made Welt finally use his powers. He’s the Herrscher of Reason, he has the freaking Star of Eden (the 9th Divine Key itself), AND HE BARELY DOES ANYTHING PLEASE DO SOMETHING I WANT TO SEE—

Ahem.

Making a bench is child’s play for Welt. I thought it would be kind of funny if he did.

Welt is more childish here since he wanted to cheer Robin up, who looked clearly sad. I think he probably used to do something similar with his adoptive son Joey when he was upset. He couldn't help but do so for his companion.

The idea for him making himself have wings like hers is from this one comic I saw on Twitter that lives rent free in my mind. I thought it would be a great way to cheer her up while also using his power more!

(It took me so long to find this, it wasn't funny how much I scrolled)

His wings smack right onto his face rather comedically and I took that from the official emojis where you can see Robin hiding her face. I imagine that younger Halovians struggle with their wings moving around and his wings are practically akin to newborn ones.

The power of Reason.

This is where I had to make things painful. Welt talks about his experience, the memory that Sunday chose to use against him. I was thinking about what would be the best memory, and of course I went for the jugular for that pain factor.

This is where Welt Joyce, the former Herrscher of Reason died in the city he was protecting. This was where Joachim Nokianvirtanen, who we now know as Welt Yang received the Core of Reason, the name Welt and a mission from Welt Joyce, before passing away.

It’s a very important memory to Welt, and one I would see Sunday exploiting. Only those who know of Welt Yang’s story would know that the man he mentioned was Welt Joyce since I intentionally didn't mention his name.

For Welt recreating half of the town, I was spitballing about the energy part. I don’t know if Memoria would be a good substitute for Honkai energy but I’m just rolling with it. Don't quote me on that.

The main role of Welt here is to reassure Robin, give her the will and inspiration to keep going despite everything. She even tells him all about her experiences, a connection between the two already facilitated by simple communication.

I feel like Welt is such a father figure. If only we all had him in our lives.

Reality

Sunday has now merged with Dominicus and has fallen to those whispers above, as the never ending dream is taking form.

The Dreammaster, Mr Gopher Wood himself makes an appearance as his former form. In 2.2, all his ravens die and he is never seen again, making it pretty clear that he's dead. However, I assume that he joined the Dreamscape and is now an entity that can oversee everything.

Dead only physically, as you will.

The Embryo of Philosophy is named by the Dreammaster here, since I was wondering how Sunday was named that during his boss fight, although it could have been from the whispers THEMSELVES. I also made Mr Gopher Wood show his true colours, to show that manipulative side.

There was a reason for this. He didn't want his son to start rebelling or second guessing his choice, so he used Robin as a way to keep him ensnared in his deception. Evil, isn't he?

I honestly think that Sunday knew that he would ascend to Aeonhood, as smart as he is. At least, he would have had an inkling of Gopher Wood’s true intentions.

Those whispers were Ena this whole time inside of Xipe as we learn. If Xipe absorbed Ena, wouldn’t Ena still be there? I think Mr Gopher Wood and Ena were in cahoots, scheming together. Perhaps even more than that (gets hit).

How…how dare he?

How dare he glimpse Heaven’s will? How dare he change people’s fate?

How dare he decide the life and death of other beings?

How dare he represent the will of all beings? How dare he control the greatest secrets and riches of the world itself?

How dare he…hold the fate of the entire world in his hands?

These lines are from HI3, particularly from Chapter 3 of Part 2 but slightly edited. This is what Baiji thinks of his actions to save everyone, and I feel like it also applies to Sunday.

We have many HI3 references here. I couldn’t help myself.

We now go back to Robin's point of view. This is after she awakens from Ena’s dream.

I don’t know if any other people woke up aside from the Astral Express + Acheron, Boothill and Black Swan, but for plots sake, there was. Just some random people we don’t care about.

We have Acheron! I wanted to write her since she played a huge part in Penacony and it would be a shame not to after I read this:

The bloody sacrifice becomes the sweet dreamland. The real world will lose meaning for them, while the eternal dream will become their only reality. They will no longer think with time. Their dreams will be connected, which will create a true miracle that transcends finality.

This is also a treat for the HI3 players. The words here are the words that Raven tells Mei before Project Stigma takes place. I was playing through that chapter at one point and thought that the words fit perfectly for this story.

I rewrote Acheron’s part because I disliked what I had initially. I was writing about Finality and how it was the same as transcending Order but it didn’t fit well so I changed it. I wanted to say how Finality governs time and how it can change reality if you had the authority...but perhaps another time.

As we know, Acheron was the only survivor who defeated End, referring to Kevin Kaslana all by herself without her companions unlike in HI3. I had to mention this and highlight the difference between their cases.

She doesn't show up again in the story, but she also impacts Robin in a way.

Miss Firefly takes the stage!

We have a bit of Robifly because I do ship them and I couldn’t help myself when I had a chance to write an interaction between Robin and Firefly. I wanted something a bit more lighthearted to break between all the angst and pain.

I saw how Firefly mentioned that she can't dream, and so I just wanted Robin to tell her otherwise to cheer her up. She’s following Welt’s lead, being that kind and inspirational person!

I’m sorry for making you the third wheel…

Speaking of him, we have Welt again appear! I couldn’t help myself, I just wanted to write more of him and I felt like Robin would try to seek him out first.

Did you know that it was called a Dream Pool, that bed in the Reverie? I had to rewatch 2.0’s quest because I didn’t remember the name for the life of me.

This time, we have Welt suffering yet again…I'm sorry that I only write you like this. He mentions in 2.3 that he dreamt about returning to his homeland and seeing all his old friends. This poor man, imagine waking up to find that it was all a lie.

The yelling mention was obviously a nod to Tesla who I would imagine yell at him for taking this long to return without a single word.

I hope Welt does get to connect with his homeland eventually, I want to see them or hear them!

We then go into the battle against Sunday! I purposely chose Sunday's point of view here, since we never receive it in the game.

I was rewatching the fight, and noted how sudden the switch from the question Sunday asked to mentioning how it was their final talk felt like it wasn’t him talking anymore, which I made the case here since we have my wonderful whispers.

We learn more about how Sunday felt during this, and what may have happened after their fall. Robin mentioned how she woke up by herself, which could only mean that Sunday left her there.

I think he genuinely was upset by the failure, but most of all…failing Robin. The feather falling down is a reference from how there were feathers flying around when Robin appeared and how the Trailblazer took it into their hands.

It clearly has the power of Harmony, and that’s what Sunday can feel when he holds it tightly. I imagine that he would keep that feather with him, as a reminder of what he lost.

The ending is based off 2.3, where we learn that Sunday is captured and will face trial. I didn’t go into much detail since we really don’t know much about how he was caught.

It won’t be the end.

It will be the end of all the suffering.

I will realise my dreams.

I will make my dreams come true.

I won’t fail again.

I will never fail.

The poison to Penacony still lingers.

I am a traitor.

These are Robin and Sunday's thoughts respectfully. As you can see, they are both the same fundamentally. That goes to show how they are both traitors in a way, aren't they?

We have a little ending about the siblings, alongside a story with a snake.

The snake is Miss Jade herself, where Robin went to her to make her greatest desire come true...to let Sunday go free. I wanted to reference the end of 2.3 where we see Jade talking to Sunday, how he was free but he refused her.

I repeated the words Acheron spoke for the very end to tie it all together. The perfect words to end a story filled with so much!

End

Thank you for reading all this! I’ve spent way too long on this story and I’m glad it’s finally out there for everyone to read!

I feel like in terms of storytelling, this is my best story so far! I'm proud of all the elements I was able to merge into this!

- Miku

#Robin #Sunday #robin hsr #sunday hsr #honkai star rail #honkai star rail fanfiction #I finished itttttttt #yayyyyy

22 notes · View notes

thatdeadaquarius · 2 years ago

Note

How about Benny in SAGAU? Like a continuation with Razor?? We do not talk about your growing found family 😤

Like, how would be his 'unluckiness'? Dya cancel it or you get pulled with his shenanigans? I feel like he might introduce you to his Dads no, we are still not going to talk about it 😤😤

A little scenario kept getting into my head when Benny applies Pyro and then Razor used his Electro and y'all got yer asses pounded on the ground 💀👌🏻and just taking care of each other's wounds 🥺🥺

You better be with him whenever he opens a chest so it wouldn't only spawn veggies, but decent weapon AND mora as well! You know, actual treasures, HOYO!!

BENNYYYYY ANOTHER ONE OF MY BOYSSS

This kid also arguably needs more parental supervision just bc of his sheer bad luck, poor kid

(i adore the headcanon that no matter the person's gender, he calls them dad lol)

Like,, hoyo cursed him and he's in a world with traps, monsters, fatui, MAGIC?? 💀 bro how is Benny still alive??!!

(LOOK AT HOW CUTE THEY LOOK IN THIS GIF MY BOYS 🥺)

Okay but the fact that Benny calls so many ppl dad just proves his desire for parental/sibling affection 💔

Aight since u phrased this as a continuation of this post <3 RAZOR MY BOYYYY

That is what we shall do :) ! ! !

So ur running with the wolves still lol

Also ur symbol as the Creator reader is 🦄 or 🌈, bc ur gay and special, jk its bc elements i promise lol

Or even 😑 / 😶 for language reader shenanigans

♡

EDIT 4/11/24: HELLA forgot to say theres a sorta Part 3, its more focused on Razor living, rather than Benny tho fair warning!

Lupical for life bro

U r chillin with the pack now

Razor now has a sweet new digs, fits, and now a crazy amount of power

Bc ur just that great 💅

You have officially moved on to purchasing some leftover amenities/new furniture etc. for him and you :D

And while u could get some stuff in Springvale, like lanterns and soap and perfume and whatnot

Ur still not rlly getting furniture like a bedframe or some storage space, like a nightstand, from them

Which u dont need bc u still got an inventory

...but Razor definitely needs to store all his goodies somewhere that isnt up a tree or buried in a hole 😃

Yes, u did have to tell him to stop doing that.

So yall (u and Razor) are in Mondstadt a lot these days, and ur routine consists of grinding domains, hunting for food, hanging with cute Lupical puppies, playing giant tic-tac-toe w/ Andrius bc poor guy is pretty bored these days etc.

So you figured you run into ppl eventually, afterall you'd already re-met Lisa :)

(who at first was kind of taken aback to Razor having made a random adult friend in the woods, but after vibe checking her , and her vibe checking you, yall were cool, tho she did start reading these new lore books you didnt recognize called "Immortal They Return: A Series of Prophesies", she avoided ur questions abt it too..)

It was inevitable that after introducing you to Lisa, he'd gotten all excited at seeing two familiar figures hanging around Kathryne one day

THE BANDS GETTING BACK TOGETHER, ITS-

Fischl and Bennett !! :D the cutest adventurers in all of Mondstadt ! (besides Klee)

The two take one look at you and Razor and coming running

...

....well mostly Fischl,

Bennett got his boot laces tangled together somehow? And is kinda hopping his way over

Immediately the electro vision royalty launches into their quintessential speech (they/them fischl SUPREMACY)

And as u get introduced,

U watch the pyro boy hop and trip over while trying to untie the laces

And just as he's about to go down, and ur debating reaching out and supporting the poor guy bc geez this looks sm worse in person-

Bennett has finally gotten his shoes untied!

Even he looks shocked 💀

And he like, apruptly stops falling over too?

And walks over with no issue??

Theres even a few out of place cobblestones in his path which he sees and moves to avoid

You dont know who looks more shocked and kinda scared you, him, or Fischl/Oz or Razor

Fischl and Razor have stopped talking bc it was more distracting Bennett didnt fall 😭

...yall all just kinda,, stand in a circle of silence (well fly in oz's case)

Staring at Bennett.

(Even Katheryne looks impressed😭)

After a couple of shook seconds, Fischl is nearly yelling about some kind of curse being lifted?? , Razor is like, sniffing Bennett's immediate area for sus scents, Bennett is kicking rocks to see if any of them hit him anymore, and poor Oz is trying to calm them down

(none of the rocks hit Bennett btw, or anything valuable around him)

◇

So after that fiasco, u offer to take them around to the parts of Mondstadt they weren't allowed to go to w/o at least 1 adult :)

Theyre pumped and yall set off!

At first, Bennett hangs back, as Fischl and Razor throw themselves into monster battles yall encounter, as per what seems like a routine u assume bc of his bad luck

Eh, u figure while hes here, u might as well reveal u can make him stronger, u think he definitely needs the HP...

If there were any characters youd be worried about needing more power/HP in Mondstadt that u could level up besides Razor, itd be Bennett, hands down.

Between his adventuring, unnatural bad luck, and no parental supervision..

(even Klee seems better off than him, and shes like 7 💀)

Yeah, needless to say u were worried abt the guy

So he looks adorably fascinated <3, bc turns out they can see some of ur interface!

Mostly it looks like floating magical icons and that weird Teyvat language u saw in game, like that Abyss/ruins language u see all the time?

Bennett showed u his perspective in a sand drawing, hes actually pretty good at art wow

Razor couldnt rlly find the words to describe it before which is why u werent sure what they saw before now

And with that hes called into battle last by the others, mostly to apply pyro 🔥

and he fights at the edges to be further away from ppl u notice so he wont affect their luck..

aw Benny </3 :(

But as he draws his sword and ur getting ready trying to become a cheerleader for both Razor and Fischl but particularly Bennett,

He full on takes out 3 hilichurls at once 💀

...then with the dramatic down swing he does, he accidentally launches a rock right at the bigger hilichurl's foot..

...which trips him out of his axe swing...

...which makes it let go of the axe...

...which goes flying...

....breaks the last bit of the cryo abyss mage's shield bubble...

....

......

........and smacks it on the head too.

..fischl, oz, and razor halfway thru this insanity just like,, lower their weapons and stop to watch

Even the abyss mage is looking at Bennett surprised 😭😭

◇

Congratulations!

Bro, an achievement pops up-

"Lucky Day!!!"

Its little description says, "As Teyvat's God, you give the unluckiest person in Teyvat the luckiest day ever!"

💀

Bennett just sits down on the ground.

♤

(Same Benny because, this is where I lost it all, guys. All of that writing. Gone. Forever. I'm putting this here as both a gravestone for it, and a call out to tumblr. I'm not afraid of this website or its shitty admins, meet me in my dms for a real fight you fucks 🥊🥋🧍‍♂️you took what mattered to me, I'll take what matters to you, you god awful programmers. 🥲😐)

♤

And it just keeps happening like that for the rest of the day you guys are together.

Every chest Benny opens are way higher quality than they should be

Especially for him.

(also u have gotten so comfy from before when u were playing Genshin that u r physically struggling not to call him Benny, so when u do accidentally call him that, u try to apologize politely, but he just talks about finally having a nickname so giddy that u just stick with Benny, what a cutie)

Common chests, Razor/Fischl gets what u expect, you personally maybe get a little extra materials and money,

But Benny?

He opens a common chest and suddenly it's a secret Precious chest

The pyro boy honestly looks a little afraid

◇

You guys have a picnic later on for lunch together, partially bc Razor rlly wanted them to try ur food !! :D

Fischl and Benny were drooling over garlic salt, jesus- Teyvat's been deprived-

The blanket u used was a custom one u got made for Razor for his bday awhile back, all diff shades of purple and some silver wolf puppies and pawprints on it, 10/10 vv cute he loves it :)

(and also showed it off to his friends, Benny in particular looks smitten by it..)

◇

Fischl eventually gets herded by Oz back to Mondstadt bc of their parents wanting them back by dinner,

So u Razor and Benny r left to wander around :]

As u guys explore and get chests and talk,

U all begin to gather ingredients for dinner (not that u dont have an inventory but the boys dont wanna cut into ur supplies, the sweethearts)

... Benny slowly starts to find and accumulate foodstuffs

Those Phileano? mushrooms (the white toasty looking ones that r always on roofs or windmills?)

He finds at eye level on nearly any building u come across.

Crabs?

Benny currently has his shirt turned into a basket trying to contain them, and more are flocking to him lol

Snap dragons? Calla lilies?? Even violetgrass, those purple horsetails, lotus heads, and a few qingqin from Liyue somehow make it into his bag 💀

The real question to ask at this point is, when wasn't Bennett lucky today??

(wow never thought youd hear that one)

◇

So its a few weeks later, and Benny is like spending, every day with yall now lol

Ur getting dinner ready for u guys, and ur hopefully gonna make enough to leave leftovers for Lupical and Andrius,

So Razor has gone off to get some water to boil,

And Benny is climbing this huge tree to reach some eggs

And as he gets farther and farther up the tree away from you, he starts to slip more often 😬

Finally as he reaches the top, u realize after weeks without even a trip from him whenever hes around yall, why he wasnt unlucky-

...the closer he is to you, the luckier he is, and the farther Benny is-

He steps on a dead branch and it snaps :0 !!

Just as he falls, he screams and yells,

"DAD!!"

U push together some thick bushes and vines to catch him luckily

(lord knows u couldnt have caught him no matter how light he is, rip benny)

..Benny is okay, but he does go red in the face, and when u ask if he wants u to get one of his dads from the guild to check him over/make him feel better?

He says quickly "NO THANKS!"

Then Razor comes back like, "You call Lupical dad now?"

Benny: "What? No!"

You: "Do u see me as a, father figure, Bennett?"

Benny: "NO- more like I see u as a BOTHER figure bc ur always BOTHERING ME-"

Lol anyways jk

what a cutie tho,

(Ur Creator vibes made him feel vv at home in a way he hasnt felt before, so u got the honors early <3)

so ur a Dad™️ now (regardless of ur gender btw)

hope u like having a pack of puppies, a wolf spirit god, a wild wolf raised boy, and another wild but adventurer guild raised boy as ur family now 🤷‍♂️

Congratz U R THE FATHER LMAO

♧

You may or may not have also gotten onto Benny for charging straight into battle at other times, bc hes so used to bad luck happening anyway, apparently its canon he will just run in???

(to the point Grand Master VARKAS commented on it??!!)

U were pissed, bonked his head and everything-

He looked sufficiently chastised, but when u originally found out Fischl and Razor were nearby,

And u just hear snickering behind u as u bop him

(U bop them later too for that lol)

◇

Benny is also very good at treating injuries bc of this too apparantly,

So one time when you Razor and him were engaging with a couple hilichurls again on the way to Windrise,

Benny applied pyro, and bc u were standing father away than usual (there was an archer earlier u were dodging)

His bad luck crept in and when Razor went to charge up his wolf spirit electro ult-

...everyone went flying back.

...Including Benny and Razor 💀

You heard a really sick pop!

From Benny's shoulder :(

You quickly start pullin out the healing foods lol shove a fishstick in his mouth screaming IT HEALS like a crazed grandparent lmao

But Benny has already sighed and sat up, popping his arm back into place

🤢🤮

You^

While u do praise his healing??? skills,

U have found out thru him that apparently ur food also gives some pain killer effects

So u scold him and bop him on the head with some dango 🍡

For not waiting on u to help him lol

Which btw-

Any healing food u give him, he treats like the bandages many others give him, like Barbara, Katheryne, his guild dads, etc.

And holds onto them, rarely eating them

(Ur stuff preserves until needed bc its magical Creator powers surprise, surprise)

Benny feels like its a tangible piece of your care he can keep with him <3 sobs

"Well, since you're by my side, I guess I'm not that unlucky after all!"

proud of you son :')

♤

Ok so youve been getting Razor and u furnishings right

And youve been asking him what he wants to add to the caves digs ! :]

(U made a more fortified "front door" to the cave entrance, its also not that deep of a cave so there r only like 3 other "rooms" besides the main entrance area)

U improved both of u guys beds (tho razor will crash urs if he has a nightmare)

Along with some new outfits for him!

And so he has requested some stuff, but as time goes on,

Slowly, Razor goes from telling Benny about what new thing u added or telling his friend abt what he wants for the cave/himself,

To asking Benny what he wants bc he stays over so often 😭

(Youve gotten Benny factored into ur finances now lol, u gave him new clothes, new gear, amenities, etc. It also helps him bc he doesnt rlly have a main caretaker, so if he needs money he has to take commissions, which can be dangerous to him alone bc if u dont know, Benny's Adventuring Team only has him as the single member of it, plus thats not good if he is too sick or too injured to work, so a 2nd source of lowkey income is good for him <3 )

◇

U now have a coffee table as the dinner table (razor was used to sitting on the ground to eat so a high table felt weird to him)

And it has a few pillow chair thingys?

For you, Razor, Benny, and a guest aw 💘

Benny also originally wanted to help make smth for u guys as a house warming gift

but bc he would try to work on it away from ur influence, it would break everytime :(

Eventually u just coninvced the poor kid to help u pick out some nice rugs and stuff lol

He also has surprisingly good interior design tastes, huh, who knew?

(cough when benny stays over he usually stays in razors bed, but occasionally theyre both lonely had nightmares and ask to crash with u, i love these kids sm cough)

♧

Recently youve been visiting Benny in town even w/o Razor sometimes (rare as it is lol)

Mostly bc it seems like he needs the attention too <3

U gotta make sure hes eating real food okay

U dont want him to end up like u in ur world where u ate snacks for dinner when u were his age...

And Benny gets super hype about it every time, hes grabbing u by the arm, hauling u around to talk to ppl etc.

(Did i mention ur one of the few or not at all ppl who he can freely hold onto no matter the weather/situation bc his bad luck doesnt happen to you?? Oh no??? Well there u go :)

Most notably, to talk to the other Guild Dads™️

They deadass lowkey postured at you for an hour at you before giving in bc u seemed to be the only good luck charm the kid's ever gotten in his entire life 😭

They also r rlly happy someone is able to bc of his rlly bad luck willing to look out for him when they cant :)

♡

For his birthday, you guys all celebrated by doing a picnic again like when u first met them, and you made him a cake

Benny's face rlly said " :'D !! "

Later on, for presents, you got him a blanket matching Razor's !!

Shades of red, with some good luck symbols thruout to maybe make up for when ur not there, and puppies all over <3

And at the top, you yourself embroidered (attempted, so its kinda sloppy but still readable, its endearing you like to think)

"Benny's Adventure Team"

With your name, Razor, Fischl, and even Oz and Andrius lol, all embroidered (not by u bc u stabbed urself enough times making the title thx) as team members down below 👍

You also show him a copy of the book record Katheryne keeps of adventuring teams, telling him that you snuck into Mondstadt one day w/o him knowing and officially signed you guys together (the others agreed too ofc)

...

...Benny cried, straight up.

And just like held onto you for bascially the rest of the day ❤️

♡

MY HEART FOR MY BOYS FOREVER

♡

(you also may or may not have signed the corner with "love, dad" haha what)

♡

☆

I just want y'all to know.

I had like this whole thing ready to post.

Then tumblr decided it didn't like any of my writing, and deleted half of this post.

U probably saw the spot i marked where i lost it all :'/

I think it took an hour? Or at least 30 minutes to write.

Guess tumblr didn't like that I was adding so much in one go.

So now it's gone.

Doin smth ballsy bc in order to avoid that, ive just rewritten that lost half, and am just going to post it straight up rather than expecting it to save my draft 🥲

Those beautiful moments between Bennett and us, are gone forever. My memory isn't good enough to rewrite it all. ;-;

If you don't mind, I'll be crying somewhere over those lost Benny moments that I drafted on here and can no longer remember to add.

I guess that's tumblr's cruel way of telling me to go the extra mile and draft my bullshit on a literal Google Doc then come back here and deal with the formatting transition hell.

Thanks tumblr.

Appreciate the writing advice.

💔

(Fischl Voice) TIS I, WATERS OF THE SKY, IN THE NIGHT I SHINE UPON THEE, OH MOST HEAVENLY OF DIVINE BEINGS, FEAST YOUR EYES UPON MY OFFERINGS TO THINE BELOW!! COME ONE, COME ALL, FIND MY LABRYNTH'S RULES, AND REJOICE IF YE FIND THE TREASURE WITHIN!

(Oz translation: hey its aquarius here! I hope you gods enjoyed my writing! Feel free to check out my Masterpost/Writing Rules List if you guys ever wanna request something, including non-Sagau/Isekai stuff! :] )

Cheers,

🌒🌧🌊Aquarius♒️🌌🌘

♡the beloveds♡

@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist

(^^^^

Hey not sure if yall will see this, but while this does have influences of Sagau/Isekai genshin, its still pretty just platonic genshin stuff, so let me know if thats not what u wanna be tagged for - just dm me!!)

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probablyaseamonster · 9 months ago

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On fWhip's new SMP

fWhip, years after ending the Empires series and New Life drizzled out, has decided to create what appears to be the first season of a new series: SOS smp.

Not an acronym (well, i mean, technically) for a longer name, that's the official title and not the fandom tag.

Other fans have addressed the "no lore" thing already, even though the series is only a day old. Check the tag if you want clarity. Or just, you know, watch the videos.

What I want to discuss is the "twist" that sets it apart from other related SMP concepts.

In SOS, every time you die, you leave behind a gravestone. But, the gravestone will also disappear if a set time runs out. This doesn't just take your stuff away, like one might expect. When you die, you enter spectator mode. And if the time runs out and no one ELSE comes to save you, you are banned from the server.

But that's not all! In order to save someone's life, one must ALSO insert a special currency. Each person starts the server with one coin, but you can get more from doing things. This means that a person could not save you, even if they dug into the deep dark or traveled to the end island, if they did not have a coin with them. Horrifying concept, right?

Now that the basic game mechanics are layed out, let's discuss how this relates to other popular SMPs.

This series could not be another edition of the X Life series, for one thing because of there being no world-gen mods, let alone the numerous amounts of other potential gamechangers Afterlife and New Life came with. Excepting everything related to the gravestones, this is a normal minecraft world.

This also clearly can't be the third empires season, for obvious reasons as well as personal context. And as far as I know, no other SMPs fWhip has played in have been this simple.

In fact, this series most closely resembles the Life Series with its simplicity, modded items, and death mechanics. It most obviously resembles the two newest seasons, with the time limit and an implied otherworldly force that could easily be headcanoned as evil.

Now, what REALLY makes me think is how SOS at its core, is set up to foster relationships. A player is 100% dependant on being rescued, but there are no rules that say a person can't NOT rescue someone else, and no penalizing for it. The worst thing a person could do is completely isolate themselves in a far off corner of the map, or worse, antagonize people without making any friends to balance it out. If nobody LIKES or cares about you, or if everyone agrees the server would be better off WITHOUT you, you will be dead forever. Everyone is encouraged to play nice, buy more importantly, develop a deep bond with at least one other person. But even then, there's a chance that person might not even be ABLE to save you. And THAT results in guilt, hatred, and hurt.

Everen, the person who made the iconic Who Are You Really, Everybody Wants To Rule the World, Running Up That Hill, and Battle Cry animatics, once said on stream that Secret Life has been her least favourite season so far, because she felt that none of the alliances really cared about each other. Now, I highly disagree with that take, but I was thinking about it. She said that the creators seemed more focused on making each new episode a Crazy Action-Packed Banger, that they forgot that what most fans really cared about were the quiet moments that make you root for a couple to survive. That, much like Last Life, the twist that season ended up driving people apart and breaking trust, even though the shenigans were funny to watch in comparison to largely angst-inducing. And, unlike Last Life, the winner that season was not the one person who defied the rules more than anyone else; the winner was someone who had played the game, had no allies, and was forced to hurt people and not explain himself. And considering the observation that each season's new rules seems to be based off of the previous winner's Life, I only fear that the next season will be even worse in those regards.

Then, you have fWhip, who'd never been a member of the Life Series (kinda hoped he would, but thats just me), and his new server seems like... like it's rules were made in opposition of that trend.

SOS will, there is no doubt, have at least one tragedy like I had formerly mentioned. Someone will eventually permadie because they had no allies, or were general jerks. In order for the server to end, everyone has to stop saving each other, until there is no one left to save the "winner". There WILL be angst. And there will be relationship drama to make it all hurt more. Even if there is no "lore", no characters or backstories or connections to prior series, there will be fanfics made, fanart drawn, analysis thought of, poetry written, and even songs produced. People will care about this server, even if the community is small and Hermitcraft's stories are booming.

And I am so glad that this series has been made, at this time when Hermitcraft and Life Series seem to hold a monopoly on this fandom.

#SOS smp #Empires smp #Life Series smp #Criticism #fWhip

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bearmemesreviews · 9 months ago

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Skylanders Review: Trigger Happy

Oh yes, my first fave. Let's talk about one of the many "subspecies" of Skylanders: The Gremlins. You see, since a major part of the Skylanders are the collectible figures, they would obviously need a way to make manufacturing them easier. So, while each figure is obviously unique in how it's detailed, they will often use a specific body type as templates for multiple figures. Similarly to how Neopets and their alternate forms work. Spyro shares the "Dragon Template" with several other characters, which we'll see soon, but for now we have the "Gremlin Template".

[Image: Trigger Happy is a short Gremlin with a Firey orange and sandy tan color scheme. His body is covered in uniformly orange fur, with the inside of his ears and the entire front of his body/the area acting as his face being tan. He has small stumpy feet and muppety three fingered hands with forearms thicker than the rest of his limbs. He has yellow eyes with black irises, almost always crooked, alongside fur around & in-between his eyes that's orange - making a pattern resembling a domino mask. He is almost always smiling with his comically large tongue hanging out, with teeth that are almost human-like with sharp canines. He wields two large pistols designed to fire gold coins, and in this specific image, he's straddling a golden cartoon missile Dr. Strangelove style.]

With Trigger Happy you'll be able to get what the body type is all about. A neckless and round being, more like the head itself is its entire body, supported by four limbs. There's not many of them, but each one is so unique it really does highlight how you can stretch one body type in so many ways.

Trigger Happy is a mysterious little guy, being the token "crazy loose cannon" as his name would suggest. He simply showed up one day, explicitly role playing as a western hero type, and protected frontier towns from bandits with custom-made guns that used coins as ammo. He's a Tech Skylander, as being an engineering savant is basically second nature to all fictional Gremlins, and he can even bring out a Coin Gatling gun as a special move.

He has a high pitch, kinda grating, voice; but in early Skylanders trailers he has an accent that sounded like an incomprehensible mix of Spaniard and Frenchman - almost like he's a Team Fortress 2 character.

In fact, doesn't that game have its own...

Anyway, I love these reviews because it really does highlight why I love my favorites. Trigger has a simple design, but making one of your playable characters marketed towards children a gremlin packing heat is just instantly hilarious. And it's only today, as I'm writing this, that I realize that the pattern of fur on his face is meant to resemble a domino mask. That really ties together his "Goldslinger aesthetic," though I still think he needed a ten-gallon hat.

Alternates: I don't know if I'll talk about all the recolors and occasional redesigns some Skylanders get, but I feel like I should tell you guys that Tigger Appy gets to wear an Evel Knievel Daredevil's costume for Superchargers, the game where the Skylanders get to Mario Kart with Bowser and Donkey Kong. Both he and the other two I reviewed by now have another-other form, but they're so weird we'll have to review those things by themselves down the road.

We'll get to Gimmicks once we get to Giants.

Trigger Happy is a fun exploration of his trope, and it's nice to know that the Skylanders team had bangers right out the gate considering he's one of the first few original Skylanders designed after the beta five.

Motto: "No Gold, No Glory." - Great Catchphrase, even if it's very obvious that it doesn't apply to him specifically. His lore outright states that the townsfolk that he saves get rich from the amount of gold coins his battles leave behind. I think that concept applies to the NPCs of Mario and Sonic games too, considering those two mascots become ATM machines whenever they walk into anything with a sharp corner.

The same thing happens to babies by the way. 4/5.

Trigger Happy gets 5 Chompies. The first of my personal roster.

Those cowards couldn't even be bothered to arm this child.

#bmoreviewsskylanders #bmoreviews #skylanders #skylanders spyro's adventure #trigger happy #gremlin

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jetwhenitsmidnight · 4 months ago

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The West Passage by Jared Pechaček

Release date: 16 July 2024

Genre: adult fantasy

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you like:

Eldritch beings

Weird fantasy

Unconventional trans rep

Intricate world-building with tons of lore

Alice in Wonderland vibes

Synopsis

When the Guardian of the West Passage died in her bed, the women of Grey Tower fed her to the crows and went back to their chores. No successor was named as Guardian, no one took up the fallen blade; the West Passage went unguarded.

Now, snow blankets Grey in the height of summer. Rats erupt from beneath the earth, fleeing that which comes. Crops fail. Hunger looms. And none stand ready to face the Beast, stirring beneath the poisoned soil.

The fate of all who live in the palace hangs on narrow shoulders. The too-young Mother of Grey House sets out to fix the seasons. The unnamed apprentice of the deceased Grey Guardian goes to warn Black Tower. Both their paths cross the West Passage, the ancient byway of the Beast. On their journeys they will meet schoolteachers and beekeepers, miracles and monsters, and very, very big Ladies. None can say if they'll reach their destinations, but one thing is for the world is about to change.

Content warnings

Death, gore, violence, body horror

Animal death

Injury

Cannibalism (not graphic)

Vore

Vomit

Review

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC!

It may be too early to say, but I'm pretty sure this is the best book I have read (and will read) this year.

First of all, the world-building is incredible. The amount of history and lore in this thing is crazy, I imagine the author must have spent years and years coming up with this world. The lore of Grey Tower is the most focused on, being that that is where the main characters are from, but we get to see glimpses into the history of the other towers, and every little detail is fascinating. This book reminds me a little of Alice in Wonderland, with how different and weird the people and creatures are, as well as how the certain aspects of the story are just weird and nonsensical. I could go on and on about this, but I think it's best to go into this book knowing nothing about the world and experiencing it for yourself. Even if there was no plot in this book, I would still love reading about and exploring this world.

Speaking of the plot, the pacing at the beginning is incredibly slow, although it gradually picks up, especially towards the end. Most of this book is spent travelling, which is great because you get to spend more time in this world, but not great if you're more into fast-paced action-packed type of stories. This book also switches up like crazy, one moment everything is chill and then BAM emotional devastation that comes out of nowhere, and the characters just carry on somehow. The ending though. I need therapy for that ending. Like, I am so mad about this book, and I mean it in both the angry way and insane way.

This is hypocritical, given all the rambling I just did, but I CANNOT talk about this book further because it has to be experienced with a blank slate. (Which is how I experienced it, I literally requested the ARC based only on the cover, which is so gorgeous, maybe one of my favourite book covers ever.)

Anyways! Read this book it will ruin you <3

#the west passage #Jared Pechaček #booklr #book review #readblr #ARC review #fantasy books #fantasy novel #fantasy #queer books #queer #lgbtq #lgbtqia #queernorm #queer fantasy #lgbtqia books #lgbtq books #lgbt #lgbt fantasy

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rll-sohi · 1 year ago

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Some of my favourite music!

The Brave Little Abacus - Masked Dancers: Concern in So Many Things You Forget Where You Are

An incredible mash of Math Rock, Midwest Emo, some elements of Progressive Rock, and probably much more, I have no idea honestly. This is a hard album to classify; I had never heard anything like it before the first time I listened to it and still have not. I happened to come across this album when I was first getting into music and when I had first made a Spotify account, about January 2019. It immediately enthralled me, with vocalist Demirjian's harsh yet emotional vocals, the constantly innovative rhythms, and a sound unlike any I had heard before and did not know how to classify. I quickly found out: I would spend the next month consuming these new genres I had discovered called "Midwest Emo" and "Math Rock". I believe this album is what really gave me my jumpstart in music listening. If I had not discovered it I probably would have given up on personally looking for music and gone back to listening to whatever was on the radio or in media I consumed lol.

Eventually I found that Midwest Emo was not my absolute favourite genre, but this album has still influenced me to have a love for kickass riffs and any kind of experimental rock. Map of the Stars is the best song ever btw

Deerhoof - Love-Lore

Oh boy what can I say about this. A short, mathy and noisy trip of 34 minutes, but one that will stick with you for a long time. I would not hesitate much to say that Deerhoof is my favourite band; these guys have been pumping out some of the most consistently intricate and interesting arrangements For the past couple decades, and this is them at the pinnacle of those two descriptors I think. Every track on this is great, but I have to highlight 2 and 4.

The second track is, for the most part, a smooth guitar riff backed by an arrangement I can only describe as being similar to a factory assembly line; everything falls into place as if deliberated according to calculations. Satomi's mechanical vocals add to this mood, and her sugary voice keeps it interesting. A couple minutes of waiting pays off, when the guitar explodes into a new riff packed with noise and Satomi attacks her vocals with renewed energy.

Track 4 is 19 minutes, which may be daunting but is definitely worth it. Sections of dissonant guitar plucking, simple rock made enjoyable by Satomi's cheery vocals backed by Deerhoof's characteristicly noisy guitars, and even a section of very spaced notes somewhat akin to Glenn Branca's no wave classic "Lesson No. 2".

Love - Forever Changes

A 1960s Psychedelic Rock classic, but also on top of that a product of folk and classical music. This is, in my humble opinion, the best executed album ever. The instrumentation is nothing insane: vocals, acoustic guitar, drums, violins, and pretty much anything else you would find in any and every other album that those genres listed above encompass. The rhythms are not crazy either. It is the way the instruments interact with each oher that makes this album shine so much. "Alone Again Or", for example, is so dreamy, with Arthur Lee's vocals climbing up and down and doubling each other, while the violin and guitar somewhat subtly climb pitch and volume in the background until both instruments and the vocals explode for a short refrain, immediately followed by a quiet guitar solo to regather everything.

This shit really is psychedelic though, the way Arthur Lee and his army of acoustics pick you up from "Alone Again Or" and keep you enchanted all the way until the end of "You Set the Scene", which is an outright incredible closer by the way. I have listened to this album in full something well over a dozen times and it still never fails to keep me interested. I even get something new out of it everytime: truly, Forever Changes.

Radiohead - OK Computer

I am not going to spend my effort adding more words to the multiple Bibles-length amount of words already written about this album dude All I will say is that it really does deserve the hype

Mr. Ye - The Life of Pablo

This is simultaneously the funnest hip hop album ever and at other times the realest. It is certainly a mess to listen to but that kind of adds to the fu,n and more importantly, the worth of its themes. Something something Kanye knows he is flawed and tries to enjoy life regardless but it gets to him at times, which is very evident in the up and down nature of the album. Sound-wise there is obviously a lot of experimenting, as is characteristic of Kanye. Noise rock fans might be drawn to "Feedback".

Well, that is it I suppose. There are a couple of interesting albums I have been racking hours on recently, so this list may have some new additions. For now, I would like to list some honourable mentions:

Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation (Some of the coolest guitar tunings and transitions ever hoooollyyy this album is so raw)

Swans - Soundtracks for the Blind (This 2 hour and 21 minute behemoth is the most expansive album I have ever listened to. How the hell is an album at times no wave, musique concrete, and at One point EDM?? And it has a cohesive mood throughout the whole runtime?? Gira outdid himself.)

Bladee - Gluee (I apologize for listing a Bladee album along with these other titles but it is such a fun album LMAOOO)

Sweet Trip - Velocity: Design: Comfort. (This album really should not work. I think if it was order one track differently I would not have liked it. GG made me feel like I was having a stroke good album)

Polvo - Exploded Drawing (Avant-garde and post-hardcore goodness. "Fast Canoe" is great.)

#noise rock #math rock #experimental music #indie rock #music

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elrhinochtone · 2 years ago

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Things to do in your V:tM game

1 - One of your player's character has an established gay relationship :

Have a Baron / Harpy / Important Elder they do NOT want to fuck with summon them at some point. The elder was embraced sometimes in the 1500's, and is undergoing a bit of a sexual/romantic awakening. They want the character to coach them through dating mortals to get the hang of this whole "gay" thing.

Treat this seriously. The Elder is treating it deadly fucking seriously. Make it clear that any amount of mockery, sass or incredulity will trigger 500 year's worth of internalized homophobia and will not end well for the PC. Cackle as they try to navigate an elder through the local dating scene.

Use it as an alternating source of tension and comic relief. For the first, just roleplay your classic "I am obviously terribly out of touch but will kill you at the slightest excuse" Elder. For comic relief, just have them text "I wish to learn more about this 'grinder' location you spoke of", or have a ghoul quietly commiserate in the corner or drop a bit of dry humor on the situation.

Getting through the initial "elder is geh" bit without killing the player is the tricky part. Make sure to lay it thick with the reminders that you do NOT want to piss them off.

2 - None of your players know about the extended White Wolf universe :

Have a Werewolf show up once. They are fully capable of obliterating the entire coterie. Things start out hostile - demonstrate, in game, that it can and will kill them if they piss them off. Stick them in a situation where they need each other, and the second the PCs realize they can't fight that thing they'll be quick to point it out, giving you the opportunity to have the Were start a fight without actually killing them all - they accept the need for cooperation when it comes up.

Like 10 sessions later, mention something about a wolf attack. Watch the PCs squirm.

Even later, the same werewolf shows up at their door : they want something. Let them have fun lording it over them, let them joke around and shit. Mid-way through the quest, an entire pack shows up : the thing they want is actually a Thing, and shit's about to go down for the Garou Nations.

Once the scenario is resolved, never mention the Garou again. Beyond the moment-to-moment gameplay, this is a "breathing world" thing - serious stuff is going on outside of the player's sphere of interest and control.

3 - One of your Players knows about the extended white wolf universe :

Hint that the above is happening : Wolf attacks, or, if the players know about Mage instead, strange happenings as a crazy homeless man points at someone and a gas pipe 'coincidentally' explodes at the exact same time. Adapt for Changeling, etc.

Then have the actual thing be completely different. The wolf attacks are some sort of CIA 'direwolf' experiment, the homeless man is actually a psychic desperately trying to warn people about imminent dangers, etc.

This is a weak one to end on, I know, but it's very important that your veteran players get the message that they do not know what's waiting out there. Vampire is, in part, about being a big fish in a small pond, knowing there's an ocean worth of horrors out there. If the players know what's in that ocean it doesn't work.

If you have players that know the lore, rewrite the lore. It matters.

#vampire the masquerade #i am very much assuming that you know what you're doing as a st btw #adapt this to your table obv #this is not advice #it's stuff that's on the back on my mind while i don't have a group to play with

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leafeyrune · 3 months ago

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This is so real tbh, starting as a Dreams moth, watching the sky economy just turn into a hell fire is just crazy to see. I remember the downtime that came after older seasons to where you could steadily get more candles and didn’t feel super pressured with the idea that ANOTHER season is just around the corner. And now I’m just imagining the utter stress new players are facing looking at the crazy cost of items these days without buying candle packs. There ain’t nooo way man…

Also just the prices, whether that be candles or iaps have been getting freaking crazy…If all of them are gonna be this expensive, at least make it worth the cost when I could be using that money for other things as well. Like op mentioned, it reminds me also of the season of nesting shop and how freaking EXPENSIVE the furniture is in ascended candles as far as I can remember. The grind for ascended candles is something I don’t do much anyway, but for people that do it really does sound like a serious commitment. I am genuinely curious on how someone who regularly ascended candle grinds does that and how they feel about it because looking at it from the outside it sounds like HELL

The ticket system is okay for the most part (I just kinda hope they don’t do something like the tournament with how you get the tickets at your own mercy again, more so for the crazy price of the items expecting you to grind out the games…it felt pretty time consuming imo but I’m not sure if other people feel the same (which is very valid I think I am just going thru sky game burnout))

Which is another thing, just with the grindiness of the game, it really does make it a challenge to stay motivated or look forward to get on and play. And don’t get me wrong, I LOVE sky and what it brings, just the mechanics they have been bringing in has been making it hard to enjoy the actual gameplay aspect of the game. (Plus the crazy amount of bugs with only an apology letter for these game breaking bugs that continue to happen almost on repeat) I love the lore but I wish they brought that out more and expanded on it (maybe two embers will go into that but I wish it could also be told in game form more)

I agree, it really makes me sad the state of the economy of sky. Sky is a very dear game to my heart and has brought so many amazing memories with friends and helped me create the characters i think about so hard. But the current state of the game really has me scratching my head at the decisions TGC has been making. Hopefully there will be a positive change in the future. I am holding out for hope.

Been thinking about this a while so as the Shattering Spirits are being rolled back soon here are my thoughts on the Sky Economy. a VERY long post.

Event Spacing (1)

I joined right after Season of Prophecy ended, Season of Dreams was to start in about 3~ weeks? not sure since it was a long while ago.

Later seasons I notice rather than getting up to a month of season downtime, we now get as little as less than a week to break between seasons. Season gaps became slim. Hardly time for off season daily candle quests that make racking up normal candles easier.

On top of this, “Days Of —“ Events became more and more prominent, being mashed on top of Travelling spirits and new off season cosmetics that cost white candles. There’s no room to breathe, its almost a punishment to players who’ve taken breaks from the game after burning out from having to candle run consistently just for new items. Cosmetics that they miss out on get price hikes from their original value in reruns with the new ticket system. It’s a cycle of fomo and it’s what’s killing the playerbase in the first place.

The lack of spacing seems pretentious in a way, since nearly with every update, a new game breaking bug is rolled out, makes it feel ironic since season down gaps have been cut for seemingly no reason.

Ticketing (2)

A while ago TGC added the ticket system denoting inflation in the sky economy, it was made to remedy the fact people can’t keep affording everything with candles.

Yes it did help somewhat, as the tickets are very easy to collect, but with 3 new ftp cosmetics that are bought with these tickets and some things costing up to a weeks worth of tickets it’s easy to have to skip these items because some people just don’t want to do more daily searching on top of the already daily quests from the questgiver.

Returning items not only are insanely expensive but additionally do not equate the energy spent grinding in their original release (The Days of Sunlight towels from last year have no right being that expensive whatsoever.)

Candles (3)

Early 2021, around March the Daily Light “Chevron” was rolled out as a way to farm light without feeling the pressure to grind insanely hard daily (since very many people were asking for a way to get candles more leisurely, since candle running was very time consuming)

It became redundant as the prices for candle items was driven up very far. Not to be so “back in my day” but genuinely the need to candle run extensively in the way we do now wasn’t as big as it is now.

This is funny. Because now I see people asking for the same thing. A faster, less grindy way to candle run.

the first in game event I participated in was the first Days of Bloom, the cherry blossom cape was 70 candles (which to me was VERY expensive at the time). The following year’s wisteria cape cost 105, then the next tulip cape cost 110. The first price driveup was already kind of nuts to me (is the cape really worth a 35 candle mark up to the first one?) It’s hard to even prepare with the aforementioned small event gaps, it’s punishing to newer players and players who’ve skipped events out of burnout without any time to prepare for candles unless you pay real money to get candles quickly.

Assuming an average person clears their chevrons daily (15-17 candles) and heart trades with their friends (-3 for every person traded with) it’s hard to afford everything that comes your way. Travelling spirit prices are near doubling what they used to, items now costing over 100 candles with the inclusion of the batshit expensive nesting shop it really burns people out knowing you can’t afford everything you want in a game you already grind daily in. It’s demanding.

IAP items (4)

Do I even have to talk about this. The Sunlight Chunky sandals cost more than you can buy actual sandals. Why are in game cosmetics costing up to $25 USD. Huh. I could buy a whole meal for that.

Cute little items cost only a dollar before but now they’re like $3 and its kind of bonkers to me. I have to pay $3 whole dollars for a tiny jellyfish on my shoulder. is this not crazy. im not crazy right? dont wanna get deep into this but jesus my wallet

So why do I care so much? (5)

Sky is a game I hold near and dear to my heart. But I notice people including myself have stopped playing for the same, very painful reason. The fact that Sky is very buggy with little to no compensation to players as well as the Economy being so. So very bad. as well as the shithole that was shattering (the hype for that season was so crazy because yay lore!!! no actually Fuck you crab stunlock 100000)

I know people will be “Well you don’t HAVE to buy — item”, but the game’s userbase is driven completely on grinding for new cosmetics. The active playerbase is driven on just candlerunning. The lore is interesting but there’s hardly anything in game to go off of, there’s little to no curiosity for what the game is and it’s story because it gets more and more arbitrary as TGC refuses to talk about it in game. (Jenova Chen saying that games are not an effective storytelling format really pisses me off sorry)

The cycle of fomo that is essentially required to keep the playerbase going just makes me feel like this game is made on popsicle sticks and prayers (thanks aspen for this line). I can’t find myself to love sky in the same way I used to as a moth.

anyways this is really messy. Sorry. but like damn this is kind of a sad thing to me. made this post because a rant on yt got misogynistic in the middle out of nowhere so i wanted to give my own take minus the misogyny

#leafey reblog #leafey talks #I am glad this is being talked about

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teeto-peteto · 1 year ago

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I’m sorry to keep going on about Ashe being treated unfairly by the community but Mordekaiser can have all these lines about “I will rule the world because evil” and people love him and call him a chad. but Ashe has these lines about leadership, praying to her gods, deep stuff, and people lose their shit “Oh, she talks too much, she’s so annoying” I’m just… I don’t know. I’m tired. It happened when Ahri got her VA update, it happened with Nidalee’s, I’m so tired.

On a more positive note, I imagine that all the alternate costumes are in characters Institute of war closets. Just going through outfits “What do I wear today?”

Pack up for another longpost because this is so right and im so tired of systematic sexism in all aspects of League Of Legends including the community. I dont think i have to mention it but just in case, im referring to the toxic male sector, i know not all men are like this, but 99% of men are like this.

I do not deny that there are male champions whose only personality is being hot, or dumb stupid, that only have 5 voice lines that go all way around like a carousel when playing. BUT. The amount of female characters with same characteristics is overwhelming and disgusting and when Riot tries to ''fix it'' either nobody cares, calls it a feminist agenda or just says blaahh blahh woman talking virgin speech.

Rakan, for example, is a great character. He's a charmer, he's good looking and he knows it, he's prepotent, but also very iconic, he always talks about himself in a way that doesnt bother you, he has a glimpse of 'my past wanst good but right now im handsome and im having fun'. Sarah Fortune in a terrible character, she's a woman with a huge childhood trauma in the seek of the man who provoked it but only talks about seducing, seducing for what?! I know there's a comic that adresses this but let me tell you, i dont like it. She's seducing, she's iconic but only because she has a crazy amount of sexual innuendos and THATS it, she gives you this 'ohh im a easy girl but dont provoke me ;)' that is absolutely ridiculous. Veigar has more personality than her and it HURTS goddamn. I refuse to believe that the people who wrote Sarah in Ruined King are somewhat related to her development in League of Legends i completely and utterly REFUSE. She's a terrible character.

Remember Illaoi? Cause i do, WE do. Rest of people? Men??? Boohoohoo she's a muscular woman... thats anti natura, if she was thinner she would be good looking... what the fuck. Shes just a fucking MEME cause someone for once said 'You know what? Maybe lets not do hourglass body type in this one'.

While showering i thought about Lux and Sylas... Look, Lux got a voice update i think a couple of years ago. Shit is recent, and Sylas was THERE already. Can somebody fucking explain to me why Sylas gets to talk all his shit about his lore, and we only have Lux saying 'oooh rainbow shiny!' ? Its infuriating. I know Lux is this positive vibe champion but... she also had it rough you know....? Cant we have a few of those long-movement lore insight lines? You know? Relationship with Demacia itself? Her brother? Sylas??????? Is this asking for too much. Only thing i percieve of Sylas that i dont agree with is that he's your typical shirtless men again sexualizing champions for no fucking reason but mkay i guess they wanted to give him this reckless type of persona. I still dont like it but eh...

Ashe's situation just presents over and over again the fact that being a fucking woman is TOUGH even when you dont fucking exist and you're just a fictional character because nobody gives a flying FUCK about you unless you get pretty skins. If you get too much pretty skins then its the fault of real women players because 'they only play Lux' and everything its so fucking wrong and trust me, things seem isolated or in different contexts but EVERYTHING is conected. A fucking macro company ruled by men that often marketizes of LGTBQ+ community and feminism for literally 1 month or a week then to do NOTHING and never actually standing up to this people. This makes the people working in the company as designers to make characters that either need to have their sexualities covered up so nobody realizes but leaving up hints here and there for someone to pick up but when someone brings it up then Riot blasts a huge: 'NO' and pretend it never happened. Nobody wants to do new designs or new body types cause everytime they do it people mock the characters and never take them seriously, the amount of racist and mocking comments i have read about K'Sante are ABISMAL, Illaoi is a fucking joke nobody takes seriously, Naafiri is great but Riot has the NEED to put eyeliner on a fucking DOG and to give her earrings so she can be identified as a female dog. This only creates a community of fucking creepy males that think they can step on characters they dont like specially the female ones and when someone brings up the terrible decisions Riot made they blast a 'BUT THERE'S MALE CHARACTERS THAT ARE SHIRTLESS' because they dont care about us they only see themselves. NOBODY gives a shit about Briar and its so unnatural how people put so much attention on her feet and the hips and thighs is just so vomitive. This is a whole cycle where a company full of shit creates a bunch of shitholes that hate women and thats what Riot fests on. I dont even care if im overreacting i know what im seeing and i know what i am. Ashe was forced to marry a man just for political power but nobody cares about that cause Mordekaiser is bulky and he's evil so that instantly makes him interesting enough to call the eyes of fucking creeps. You know what shaped league of legends women the best? The fandom, the niche fandom, not the rule 34 fandom that oversexualizes everything. Writers, fanartists, they made a lot of characters what they are now, but sadly, nobody gives a fuck.

Quoting America Ferrera's speach on the Barbie movie cause i believe is fitting to the female characters of the game too:

'(...) But always stand out and always be grateful. But never forget that the system is rigged. So find a way to acknowledge that but also always be grateful. You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish, never fall down, never fail, never show fear, never get out of line.

It's too hard! It's too contradictory and nobody gives you a medal or says thank you! And it turns out, in fact, that not only are you doing everything wrong, but also everything is your fault.'

Im done. Sorry for long posting. Every day i wake up and i hate being a woman. I think thats what women in League Of Legends lore feel most of the time, if im being honest.

About the happy question :) Yes! And i think Gwen and Elise team up to make the skins... And they have little spider helpers... And champions are like suggesting changes or modifications, it would be so cute! And Lulu can do the chromas changing the colours...

#*throws the script* thats it for today #a lot of people call me a misandrist #not that i care i just find it funny #Ashe we listening and we love u honey

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endcraft · 2 years ago

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right now, im working on a minecraft skin (and maybe some character details) for a modded rp-ish server i'm going to be playing on with my friends. while i'm working on the skin, i thought i'd take a break and post about the server as context for my future posts & streams

i'm already willing to say that this is probably gonna be the most legit minecraft thing i've ever been a part of.

the point of the server is that each of us playing has a different mob that our abilities correspond to. the mod we're using is an edited/customized version of the origins mod. our friend (and server admin) dave went through and customized all of our origins' traits to suit us better as players and to just be more balanced. there's gonna be some amount of lore, but i think the degree to which each player RPs as their origin is up to them.

my origin is going to be cave spider! i'm going to base my skin off of the mizuno's 16craft spider, because i really like the higher contrast and the stripes. i also think it would look better with my trademark orange color palette. my origin is supposed to make it so that i can move through spiderwebs easily and climb walls like a spider, amongst other things. pretty awesome.

overall, there's gonna be a bunch of interesting new stuff that we're trying out that is way outside my usual experience as a pure vanilla minecraft player, but also probably not any crazy new items or processes that completely change the flow of basic vanilla gameplay. most of the new stuff outside the origins mod is just QOL, making the beginning manageable for some origins, extending the endgame a bit, and generally sprucing up the end & nether.

i've not been amongst the ones doing all the hard work figuring out the mod pack and getting the server running, but i'm going to try to stream minecraft way more frequently once we get properly started. i'm also going to probably be posting to this blog a lot more as i get deep into the Minecraft World of it all. in the meantime, i wanna shout out a couple of my friends who have been doing most of the technical work on this whole server project and who have gotten the rest of us hyped up and rounded up to play:

dave @ttgodhead is da server god and the one making the origins mod bend to our collective whims

salem @nydescynt has been building, worldbuilding, selecting mods, and helping corral all of us into doing what we need to

both of them have been working very hard on this and i could not possibly be more excited for a server like this.

i'll probably post again a few days before server launch to share the list of everybody who is playing on the server who will also be streaming as they play, with their twitch links and stuff. so keep an eye out for that if you're interested

#mine #minecraft #minecraft smp #i'll make a tag for the group server sometime

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cluelessmoose · 2 years ago

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(They’d had a contest one night to figure out where they all ranked; Sky was last, predictably, and Twi not much better. Hyrule had him beat completely on how well the Traveler could read the others’ emotions correctly, but Time? His greatest ability was a complete, smothering blanket of leisurely serenity that he could and did happily toss over the mind of any misbehaving hero who may be ignoring their need to sleep or relax.

I'd love to hear any lore dump about how the chain ranked in bond distance and other special abilities!

Who am I to turn down a request and a chance to just disgorge all the random useless bits of info I've collected while writing FtL? Sorry this took so long, I had to do a surprising amount of rereading to re-establish what I wrote into canon for this fic and NOT contradict that, hopefully~

Wind:

He's actually got pretty low range compared to most of the others, but he leans harder into it on a baseline level. He's not necessarily trying to read anything through it, he just finds it very comforting to know who's close. Mostly because he's younger and not /particularly/ magically gifted, Wind isn't the handiest at noticing when someone's come in range, but to be honest it's so shit that he's usually seeing them at that point anyway.

Four:

I'll be honest, Four hasn't been shown much in his true potential in Don't Go Into the Lights yet between hypothermia and the degrading sitch with his Colors, so this part may get added to once that is better established, but here it is so far: Four's range is center of the pack, but he really doesn't catch much of the subtler things across the bond unless he's paying explicit attention, because there's a lot going on in his own mind, okay? And it kind of tends to drown out what's going on through the mental connections unless it's really potent. That said, when he does pay attention Four is pretty good at parsing the reasoning behind emotions.

He's not reading their minds, but damn if it doesn't feel like it, sometimes. Red's super suave with the emotions, and combined with the others not much escapes that combined focus.

Sky:

Middling range, but very good at sending comfort down the line and using the bond to supplement reading the others' emotional states. Of all the Links he's the best one to proverbially cuddle with mentally, giving off warm, homey vibes. He's also very adept at feeling the others do stuff through the bond too. Or rather, he's quite good at picking up the ways each Link can use and interact with the soul connections between the Chain, even if he has no way to replicate it on his own with his skill level.

Hyrule:

Has the best range, hands down. In his chapter you got a good idea of it: his magical range is crazy as a fairy, and so far as the soul bonds go it's still pretty wild, like quarter mile distance kind of wild, though it's stretched pretty thin at that point and not much use except as an attendance check. As a fairy he is super awesome at reading the others' emotions, and as a hylian he's only slightly less sensitive but also way worse at understanding what he's picking up.

Time:

Fourth best range when he's trying, but he CHEATS with his magic. It serves much the same purpose and can reach even farther than his bond sense can. He usually keeps it tucked close around him unless specifically spreading it out, but he can use it to ping off of the other Links' similar magic (though it works less well for Wars and Twilight, those magicless potatoes). We all know about his weighted blanket effect- a soporific whammy of a calming herbal tea, handy for soothing harried and exhausted heroes.

Warriors:

Second worst range. He is not magically gifted by any means but he DOES have experience in working with the soul bonds via Mask and Toon in the War of Eras, which is literally the only reason he is anywhere near competent at all in using them.

You bet Mask was particularly brutal in teasing and taunting him about how bad he was at using it; there's no motivation like your little brother running mental circles around you laughing. You want the real reason Wars accidentally learned the memory snatching? He was so determined to work that bond that he just exploded onto the scene, much to his and Mask's chagrin.

On that note, the MEMORY SNATCHING. No, he's not truly stealing them in the sense that they're gone from the other Link's mind. He's just sat down to watch the video, is all. Yes, the other Link knows its happening and depending on who it is, knows the exact memory. Even if they can't, the only time it happens is when there's a memory strongly linked to whatever's happening in the first place, and it has to be paired with Wars trying to use the soul bond, so it's not exactly hard to realize what he's probably seeing when they feel the bond snag like that.

Wars cannot control this AT ALL- it takes all he's got to use the bond in any way, so any interaction comes with the risk of yoinking a memory. The Link on the other side can shut it down by closing the connection from their end (pretty instinctive, even for the less adept) and they do when it's important to them, but unless its something really private they usually let it play out. The Captain always feels super bad about it, but it's either this or him not using the bonds, so everyone is happy to risk it so he can be an active member in the connections.

Legend:

Second best range. He can kind of cast it all out in a linear direction to cheat past the amount of... signal??... he has, a benefit of being very good at delicate magic work. I haven't gotten to him in Don't Go into the Lights yet, so unfortunately I don't have much to say on him.

Twilight:

Worst range, barely out of shouting distance and he's got nothing but his wolf nose to tell if the Chain's around. Pretty weak sense of the bonds, but between high emotional intelligence and his ability to smell the emotion-indicative pheromones he's very, very good at getting an accurate read on the others' emotional well-being regardless.

Wild:

Third best range, but has no idea what he's doing. Everything he does is completely instinctive just like his magic, and it's kind of hilarious and also SAD when Legend and Sky (Hyrule uses terms and descriptions that make NO sense to anyone else) try to teach him better how to use it. Maybe someday he'll get the hang of it, but not that we'll be seeing.

#Follow the Lights #Follow the Lights fic #Follow the Lights Lore #Don't Go Into the Lights fic #follow the lights q&a

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breadedbutter · 1 year ago

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This is going to be a long one but I have a TL;DR at the end on bold:

I’d say that season one, like all first seasons isn’t that good cause they are introducing a lot of the characters. One thing you have to note is that BSD has a HUGE amount of lore and world-building (the manga has been going on since 2012 and the anime since 2016).

World-building aside, Season 2, aka the American arc, introduces North American authors into the mix and we learn about one of the most important items in the entire world.

After season 2 is the Dead Apple move which introduces season 3s villan and gives us more backstory to Atsushi.

Season 3 has mixed reactions from the fans, some love it, some didn’t but I’d say watch it for yourself.

Season 4 and currently 5 are THE BEST seasons in the show! (Won’t give too many spoilers but let’s just say that it’s HYPE)

One thing you should note before you continue is that seasons 2-4 use their first 3 episodes to adapt a light novel from the series (season 1 did this technically with the Azure Messanger thing but they butchered it a lot)

So the season 2 LN (light novel) they adapt first is Osamu Dazai and the Dark Era which gives us more backstory into Dazai and why he switched sides. The story is told from his friend, Oda sakunosuke.

Season 3 adapts the LN: Chuuya, Dazai, 15. Which gives us a backstory to Chuuya and how he joined the Mafia (as well as setting up for another LN called Stormbringer, which rumors are saying might turn into the next movie!)

Season 4 adapts the LN: The Untold Origins of the Armed Detective Agency. Which, as it sounds, is how the ADA was formed and gives us a Ranpo and Fukuzawa Backstory and how the agency was formed!

Season 5 didn’t adapt any LN but that’s a good thing cause this one is PACKED with excitement and craziness

TL;DR: Bungo Stray Dogs has a lot of world building which is why the first season is kinda meh but the others are really good, we also have a movie and the anime adapts a Light novel for the first 3 episodes every new season sans 5.

Overall, I love it and I think you should give it a try!

@ anyone who likes bungou stray dogs, can you tell me what you love about it? like what's the best part of it to you and what makes you want to keep watching?

A friend of mine is absolutely obsessed with it (anime, manga & novel) and we started watching it together but I just can't get into it

we finished watching season 1 and now she asked if I would like to watch the rest of the anime which uhhhh, not rlly

so I'd love to hear some opinions & experiences from people who love it!

#bungou stray dogs #bungo stray dogs #bsd #Like I said #give it a try!

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latestagejenga · 4 years ago

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Why Casino Cups Is a SUBVERSIVE MASTERPIECE

a character who has never met his biological parents and doesn’t give A SHIT, doesn’t have romantic subplot and is possibly aroace which is great representation (Cuphead)

a character that DOES want to meet his biological parents but has motives that actually make sense with his character, is very nice but has deep seated character flaws that drive him through his internal conflict (Mugman)

neither of these “never met their parents” cases have the cliche dramatic“I CaN neVEr BE a FuLFiLleD aNd cOmPLEte PerSOn uNLesS I knOW WhO gAvE BirTH tO mEEeeEe!” motive

the Devil and King Dice aren’t one-dimensional bad guys. They have done bad things but are far from irredeemable as characters and can’t really be pegged as hero or villain. They have heavy backstories, understandable motives, and even good intentions sometimes.

I’ve seen so many Cuphead fanfics that (given that the game takes place in the 1930s) make the characters and/or undertones sexist and homophobic to make it “historically accurate” but Casino Cups just throws all that bull shtick straight out the window. A character’s gender is never made relevant or even mentioned outside of other characters using their pronouns and it is bursting with queer representation which I am so freakin grateful for.

the themes it deals with about death and moving on in life are so unique and thought provoking for a Cuphead au. I have never seen anyone make this take on the cups and their relationship with the potion, especially not with Mugman.

the lore is an absolute GOLD MINE. All Bright’s theories and headcannons about why the isle is so full of magical creatures and people with crazy powers is so intuitive that even the tiniest details from the game like light shining out of the Devil’s neck or King Dice’s green eye animations can spout rich and in-depth backstory and something new and interesting about the characters or the worldbuilding that had never even crossed my mind before. It makes these characters and the world that they live in so fun to learn about as I read the comic and always leaves me wanting more of these looney tuney byatches.

just the right amount of shipping. Not too much, not too little. Just the right amount of shipping. Just the right amount of shipping. JUST👏THE👏RIGHT👏AMOUNT👏OF👏SHIPPING

i of course have to mention Bright’s BEAUTIFUL art style. Honestly when I first saw their drawings of the cups I was a tad bit skeptical of how different they looked from their original designs in the game, but overtime I’ve grown to adore how grown up they look and their sick color schemes and card aesthetics.

I love this series so freakin much and I’m so proud of what it’s grown into and how far this religious toon town has come over the years. I can’t wait to see more now that Camodiel is taking the reigns. Remember to pack your tea, coffee, and just a little bit of whiskey and look out for soul collecting demons! I’ll see you at the casino!

#casino cups #cuphead #mugman #brightgoat #anyone else watch schaffrillas productions #the devil #king dice #camodiel

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stereksecretsanta · 4 years ago

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Merry Christmas, jimtremor!

For @jimtremor, who asked for basically anything. I did my best with that.

Read On AO3

*****

Useful Information

“Mr. McCall will be in the North Dorm and you Mr. Stillinski will go to the East.” The director of student affairs passes them Welcome packets, across his desk. Hn,

They both start to protest but Deaton holds up a quieting hand and stands, quickly moving them both out of his office. “I’m sure you’ll both adjust just fine. If there’s anything you need, my office hours are Monday and Friday 8am to 2pm.” He closes the door in their faces

****

“This is the stupidest idea ever,” Stiles says dropping his pack just inside the door to his new dorm. Stiles notices right away that the room is painfully neat for a college dorm.

“You can’t just throw people together and expect them to form proper pack bonds.”

He flops onto the empty bed across the room from what he assumes is his assigned Alpha and waits what he’s told is the appropriate amount of time for his new roommate to respond but the wolf just flicks hazel eyes at him, before going back to reading his novel.

“Scott— my best friend Scott, we applied to this place together. He’s going to be an Alpha and I’m going to be his bad-ass Emissary.” The wolf continues to ignore him and after a few minutes, Stiles huffs and starts unpacking.

It takes him a few minutes more to realize that his dorm is amazing. There’s a fridge. Not a mini fridge. A full-sized fridge in what might serve as a very quaint breakfast nook. The open area has a desk, a TV and closets next to the beds. When he opens the door to his, he finds a dresser and plenty of room for his meager belongings. His dad had been very proud of the fact that he entered college with a change of clothes, a martial arts trophy, and a six-pack (abs not beer). So Stiles was carrying on the family tradition. Sort of.

There’s a bathroom and if Stiles didn’t know any better a tub big enough to house jacuzzi jets.

“This place is amaaa—"

His roommate reaches over and clicks on a small iPhone dock that looks like a radio. It starts blasting some sort of German metal. Stiles stares at him for a moment before pulling out his grimoires ‘fine be that way then.’ he thinks, flipping through the pages to a spell he needs for his next class.

Scott is so going to hear about this dick.

****

“—a serious neat freak, and he acts like he can’t be bothered to answer even the simplest of questions. I swear Scotty we need to go over somebody’s head. It has to be a mistake that they split us up.”

“Derek Hale!?” Scott suddenly shouts sitting up from Allison’s lap. Stiles glances around hoping his best friend’s dorky exclamations aren’t drawing attention annnd yep people are staring.

“As in Hale Observatory? As in Hale Hall? AS IN THE HALE EXPLORATORY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT FOR THE SUPERNATURALLY INCLINED? The people who might be able to find a way to cure me?”

He says the last part much quieter. He’d worked harder than he ever had at anything to get into this private college. Hoping against hope that they’d somehow turn him back human. It wasn’t that Scott didn’t love every minute of being a wolf, it just came with a lot of baggage, including possibly outliving everyone important to you. Every human anyway.

“There’s no known cure for lycanthropy,” Allison says quietly.

Stiles glances up at the heavens, his ears burning. “Yeah my roommate is Derek Hale. Geez Scotty it’s not that big of a deal.” Scott stares at him as if he’s grown a second head.

“You—you’ve lived your whole life here and you think rooming with a Hale is not a big deal? The Hales own half the town and probably your house Stiles!” Scott’s volume is going up again and Stiles tries not to roll his eyes.

“Having a rich family doesn’t make you a big deal Scotty.”

Scott sputters his eyes going to Allison in a desperate plea for back-up. She just shrugs. Right. She just moved to Beacon hills so she wouldn’t know.

“HaAVing A RIcH FaMILY dOEsn’t maKe You a bIG DeAL.” Scott says half snidely, half mockingly under his breath.

Stiles cocks his head to the side, like he’s trying figure out who the crazy person was possessing his best friend and they begin one of their famous silent conversations.

‘I’m not an idiot’ Scott thinks at him

‘I know Scott but really it’s no big deal. He’s like a totally normal asshole. A painfully neat asshole.’

‘Think you can maybe talk to him about the whole *my best friend is a werewolf who didn’t ask to be a werewolf thing*? Maybe mention that your best friend is desperate for some guidance as to where to find a cure’

‘There’s no cure for werewolf-ism Scott! And Scotty. Friend. Buddy. Pal. I can’t even talk to him about where to put my toothbrush in the bathroom. Apparently it’s important to keep your toothbrush as far away from the toilet as possible. He even has this little protective cover on his.’

“Huh. I just thought of something.” Allison says breaking into the silent conversation. “Maybe they want you to be the new Hale emissary.”

Stiles and Scott both turn to stare at her.

“Huh” they both say

She pretends to study, but Stiles can totally see the dimple at her cheek deepen.

****

Derek is particular about his space, and his things. It’s normal for a wolf. Even at boarding school they hadn’t made him share a room, although maybe that had more to do with the hefty donation his mother had made and less to do with his werewolf sensibilities.

Stiles is in his space for less than a day and he’s somehow everywhere. He smells woodsy- like wet leaves and rain when he finally decides to shower off the cheap body spray. He puts his toothbrush in the wrong spot on the sink and unpacks his one box of belongings.

There’s a pile of spell books on the floor under his bed and pots of herbs line the windows. He doesn’t know what’s in the jars in his fridge and he doesn’t want to know. Instead, he politely tries to tidy Stiles’ things, but it seems like they just gravitate back to where Stiles left them. He does his best not to growl whenever the emissary walks into the room.

His annoyance level is already high. The welcome packet was clear that he was meant to start a pack with this kid. That they should spend their time working together and bonding for the sake of their future pack.

Everything about him was a mess, and Derek didn’t do messy. Not anymore. He’s half asleep when the scent of arousal teases at his senses. He wants to growl but he’s done that for the last several hours. This was definitely not happening.

****

‘Use your finger. Just one. You should be able to find it pretty easily.’

Stiles groaned into his pillow. He was on a dry spell. And when he was on a dry spell he always thought of Lydia. His other best friend, the girl who helped him find his G-spot. He’d flirted with every big dark-haired wolf he came across, but they’d all turned him down. It was strange. It was almost like they were actively trying to avoid even talking to him.

Stiles reached into his pajama bottoms, the memory of Lydia’s very thorough instruction all those years ago is still his favorite, although watching Derek workout was a close second.

“If you’re gonna jerk it, at least have the courtesy to do it when I’m not here. Stiles jerked his hand from his underwear at the miserable tone in Derek’s voice.

“Um..”

“Yeah, I can smell it. For days.”

Stiles groaned and dragged his pillow over his head.

‘who thought the human/werewolf hybrid dorm was a good idea anyway?’

****

Derek keeps his face neutral as he listens to Dr Deaton’s analysis of werewolf mating practices. He’s a little more accurate than the usual crowd but there were still things he’s getting wrong. The emissaries were always considered some kind of authority but human experts on werewolf mating rituals tended to start off wondering if human werewolves really grew knots whenever there was a full moon.

Deaton is at least trying to debunk a lot of the weird lore humans tended to apply to werewolves and it sort of gives Derek hope. Maybe this year he *won’t* have to listen to a half assed lecture on werewolf anatomy and moon cycles. Derek’s hope deflates when he hears the words Transitory Bite.

The last time he put a temporary mark on someone it almost started a war between hunters and humans and gotten him shipped off to boarding school. His mother had kept him out of Beacon Hills for three years. It had taken joining forces with his uncle to convince her he wouldn’t make the same mistakes. Now he was being told to mark some random dorky kid like it wasn’t a total imposition. He had a right to choose or not choose to mark someone and his mother needed to understand that he wasn’t interested in his life spinning out of control a second time.

“I’m not doing it.” Derek gets up to leave but Deaton steps in front of him hands raised. “I assure you Mr. Hale this is necessary. Starting a pack and choosing a mate can be extremely difficult. A transitory bite will allow you to test your compatibility with the mate you were matched with.”

“It won’t work” he growls eyeing Stiles

Stiles’ face is bright red, and he keeps his eyes on the toe of his sneakers. He’d been wearing them since high school. They were his favorite pair. He wishes he’d thought to clean them sometime in the last six years.

So that’s why everyone had been treating him so strangely. He was probably Derek Hale’s mate. He really should have read the welcome packet. He tunes out the rest of the conversation and tries to ignore the hot twist of humiliation in his stomach.

Derek tries to focus on what Deaton is saying but Stiles scent is rapidly changing. The burnt ash flavor of Distress and Despair fills up his senses and it’s all he can do not to gather the entire boy into his arms and run away with him.

“I don’t need this there are—there are plenty of wolves who would love—love to have me for a mate.” Stiles gathers his things as he tries to save face. It’s bad enough this is happening, but he can’t bring himself to look at the other pairs.

“Fine”

Stiles is almost to the door when that single word freezes him in place. He swallows and waits.

Derek moves him back against the nearest wall, with just a few intimidating steps. His hand lands on Stiles’ shoulder, his fingers brushing against the skin at the base of his neck. Derek’s hand slides up the side of his throat, and Stiles sways toward him. He growls at his traitorous body and forces every muscle to stay stiff as a board. The corner of Derek’s mouth kicks up and then he’s leaning in, letting his teeth scrape across the smooth skin at the base of Stiles’ neck.

Stiles gives an unmanly squeak when Derek’s teeth skin in, the pain just barely registering before he feels the brief swipe of Derek’s tongue across the wound. Derek stares at the mark for a long time before turning and leaving.

***

Stiles only has two classes with Scott, but he and Derek share the exact same itinerary. Even though Derek can’t really do the magic part, they’re expected to show a united front, so he sits off to the side and glares at everything and everyone.

Stiles spends his time doodling the different angles of Derek’s head during each class into the margins of his grimoire. When there’s wolf lore he flicks his eyes across the room to Derek. His can almost tell by the set of Derek’s brows whether the stuff being taught is accurate or total bullshit.

He tries to connect with the other students in his classes, but they tended to cut the conversations short or avoid him altogether. He’s pretty certain this only happens when Derek is around. He starts to feel boxed in, like the only reason he was there was to be slotted into the Hale pack, like everything about his future had already been decided. His whole week had been classes more about pack politics and somewhat less about exploring his abilities as an emissary.

Lydia listened patiently while he complained. It was a call that had lasted all the way across campus, and back to his dorm. She wanted to roll her eyes. For a kid who was curious about everything, Stiles hadn’t shown the slightest interest in learning about the alpha he’d been assigned to.

Stiles complained constantly that he was always around. Which was technically exactly how he was supposed to behave toward his potential mate. Lydia was testing herbal mixtures. Hopefully the small satchels would give Stiles some semblance of privacy or at least get Derek to give Stiles some space.

“You need to read the welcome packet Stiles. It’ll help you adjust to living with a wolf. And come to the party tonight.” Lydia says flipping through her notes. “I’ll introduce you to some guys who definitely won’t say no.”

He keeps glancing at Derek, but Derek’s attention stays on his novel, his thumb, sliding to leisurely turn pages. Derek’s pretending not to listen again, so he decides to be that guy. He refused to stay trapped in whatever game Derek was playing.

“Yeah. I’ll be there. I’m really looking forward to getting dicked down again” Derek doesn’t look up, but Stiles can practically feel the way he pauses in the middle of a page turn.

He hides a smile and goes to brush his teeth.

****

Lydia flits through the party commiserating with her numerous slightly-better-than-facebook acquaintances. They make it to the kitchen with Stiles only being handed three phone numbers and groped four times. He briefly wonders if other potential alpha mates are treated this way and then he remembers that he kinda wants to be treated this way.

Stiles is wearing his best button-up and his sluttiest pair of jeans. He fully intends to end the night with his legs wrapped around someone, anyone. It’s a surprise when they leave the kitchen with their drinks and Stiles is brought up short by the feeling of eyes on him. It only takes him a minute to spot his alpha across the room.

Derek is slouched onto the frat house’s well-worn couch like some kind of artist’s dream. He’s wearing tight black jeans ripped in all the right places and a leather jacket. His gaze starts to heat up as Stiles’ eyes hungrily catalogue every inch of him. Stiles eyes settle on the bulge in the tight jeans and Derek just lets his legs relax open. Stiles’ mouth goes dry and his dick gives a hard twitch.

Stiles does his best to ignore the feeling of the wolf’s eyes on him. It’s annoying that Derek can’t seem to make up his mind about ignoring him.

***

Stiles loses count of how many drinks he’s had and that’s when he gets the best idea. He can feel the wolf’s eyes on him as he moves across the room and one of the frat brothers steps into his space. Price or Preston something. He doesn’t even bother listening to whatever the guy is saying, just steps close and bites his lip.

Preston’s eyes drop to them and immediately his tone changes and he wraps an arm around Stiles’ waist. Stiles grins and runs his hands up Preston’s chest. Preston draws him close.

“I love the way emissaries smell,” he says leaning down and taking a deep breath against the side of his neck. Stiles laughs, because at best he smells like Axe shampoo mixed with a litany of the various herbs they have to learn to mix. It’s not a great combination. He tries to put some distance between him and the wolf, but Preston keeps, pulling him close and grinding against him.

Stiles thinks blearily that he’d like to get laid but not in the middle of a werewolf frat party and definitely not with the guy who thinks Axe and sage are a great combination. He tries to tell Preston this but Preston just keeps rambling on and Stiles’ alcohol soaked brain reminds him in his fourth grade teacher’s voice that it’s important to be polite and listen when people are talking.

This was a bad idea.

He suddenly feels Derek is next to him, and he wants to tell him that he has the prettiest eyes, but Preston is still talking, and he has to keep pretending to listen.

“I need to have a word with my roommate” Derek’s eyes flash as he glances at Stiles before stepping between him and Preston. Stiles watches as Preston stutters and stumbles, like a fan meeting their idol. He tilts his head and drops his shoulders in some parody of submissive behavior. Stiles scoffs and glances around the room. None of the humans are paying attention but all of the wolves are watching them closely.

He watches Derek tilt up Preston’s chin with one wicked black claw. “A Beta should know better” He pulls back his lips in a parody of a smile and shows his long sharp teeth. Preston swallows and raises his hands as if he only just realized he’d been flirting with an Alpha’s future mate. He moves as slowly as he can and backs out of the room one step at a time. Derek watches him until he’s certain the other wolf is gone and turns back to Stiles.

Red begins to seep from behind his irises and his smile turns hard. “I’ll kill anyone who touches you.”

He says it softly, but he’s still showing Stiles his teeth.

Stiles holds his gaze ignoring the little thrill he gets from the way Derek is looking at him. “I’m not your property wolf.”

“You are” Derek responds his eyes fully red. Derek’s hand settles around the back of Stiles’ neck, his thumb just barely brushing against the still-tender mark.

Stiles takes a shuddery breath, unable to break the hold Derek’s possessive gaze has on him. He relaxes his shoulders tilts his head back just slightly. It’s enough of an invitation but Derek doesn’t move to kiss him. Instead, he leans in until his lips against Stiles’ ear.

“Careful who you tease,” he breathes

Stiles shivers, wanting to call out to his alpha. Derek is long gone when he’s finally able to catch his breath.

****

Stiles doesn’t light the herbs Lydia mixed. He was tired of living like some reclusive monk.

He knows that Derek will probably know immediately. He knows the smell of sex could linger but he doesn’t care. He wants Derek to know and he wants Derek to come for him. He imagines the wolf coming home right when he’s just about there. He knows he’d probably run not because of embarrassment if Derek saw him.

He’d run because he knew Derek would chase. He’d run because he wanted to be caught. Stiles lets his imagination free. It’s been a week and he’s tired of caring about Derek’s sensibilities.

It would be a real hunt. Derek would simply stay on his heels nipping at him playfully, claws tearing off bits of his clothes. Stiles would run until he couldn’t breathe and then Derek would show himself. The wolf first. Its sleek black fur would glow under the moon and Stiles would lie back and tilt his chin up.

“Alpha.” He’d whisper, and Derek would take his human form naked and proud under the moon, he’d stare down at Stiles with a cocky grin. He’d enjoy watching Stiles submit to him.

“Stiles,” he’d growl and Stiles’ cock would stand up.

Stile bit into his palm, his fist flying over his cock, the sweet-smelling lotion he used as lube squishing between his fingers and making a lewd sound with every movement of his hand.

Derek’s teeth would sink into him properly this time and claim him, claim him, claim him…

Stiles gasped and came all over his fist.

Fuck. He needed to get laid before this got out of control. Before it got more out of control.

****

“So. Uhhh, about yesterday…”

Stiles is standing awkwardly in front of Derek’s bed. It’s all he’s been able to say for a good five minutes. That and some version of ‘Huuhmn. mn.’ Because Derek is currently shirtless. His feet are hooked into the openings between the bars on the baseboard of his bed and he’s burning through crunches like there’s a delicious zero calorie chocolate cake waiting for him if he hits a thousand.

His eyes skitter around the room because he knows if he keeps his eyes on Derek Hale for more than a few seconds he’ll end up embarrassing himself. He drags his palm from his chest down, just barely remembering to stop before he hits the waist of his jeans. Even he can still smell the lingering scent of sex in the room. He’s almost certain Derek’s lip curls up slightly at this but it’s hard to tell, what with all the sweat and muscles flexing.

It’s another ten minutes before Derek finishes his workout. Stiles completely forgot what he wanted to talk about. He just stands quietly watching Derek’s tight abs. When he manages to meet Derek’s eyes the wolf is glaring at him, and Stiles tries to open a hole in the floor with his mind. He doesn’t try too hard. The power of his will had been known to surprise him from time to time.

The wolf moves around him with a disgusted sniff and heads for the bathroom.

He looks even more annoyed when he exits the shower. It’s a full 3 minutes of Derek staring at the back of his neck before he finally lets himself meet the wolf’s eyes.

“What?” he asks. It’s easy enough to pretend he doesn’t already know. Derek’s kind deeply respects druids, just not Stiles shaped Druids apparently.

“You’re an Alpha-Mate”

Stiles blinks. This is first time since he was marked that Derek brought up the subject. And he sounded kinda… Pissed.

“Sooo….?” Stiles draws the word out to emphasize his confusion.

You. Are. An Alpha's. Mate.” Derek’s words come out a harsh growl that makes Stiles feel cold everywhere. Cold and Embarrassed.

“I’m not the one…”

“I’m not the one throwing myself at every wolf I come across!” Derek snarls.

Stiles cheeks pinken, but he hold’s Derek’s terrible gaze.

“I’m not the one denying my mate.” He says the words as quietly as he can, but they seem to echo loudly in the room once he’s said them.

It’s Derek’s turn to take on color.

Stiles doesn’t regret saying it.

He regrets not following when Derek walks out.

****

Allison and Scott both tell him he’s an idiot. For an hour. And then they make him read the welcome packet. He realizes after his third read-through he might owe Derek an apology.

When he gets back to their room Derek is organizing his herb garden. He keeps arranging them first by name, then color. He clears his throat and Derek pauses but doesn’t turn around.

“Did you know that wolves get really territorial about people they live with? That they only like certain people in their personal space?”

Derek moves from arranging plants to slotting his books into the low bookshelf next to his bed.

“And did you know that a wolf’s mate should probably never throw themselves at other wolves?”

He hears a quiet scoff and Derek finally looks at him over his shoulder.

“You’re asking me, a wolf if I know about wolves?”

Stiles shrugs and continues “Because I didn’t know.” He says stepping up behind him and wrapping his arms around Derek’s waist.

“You should have read the welcome packet Stiles”

Stiles lets out a choked laugh and presses his mouth to the back of Derek’s neck.

“Yeah. I know. It really is full of useful information.”

#jimtremor #stereksanta20 #*fic20 #*gifts20

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