#to the point that Pitch can tip the scales and effect them so much

[stormingfrost]

Kinda obsessed with the historical context of Rise of the Guardians. Pitch wanting the Dark Ages to come back, which historically was the decline of culture and records. The Guardians rose at the same time as the Renaissance with the rise of culture, knowledge, and science. (Tooth in particular mentions that she hasn’t been out in the field for 440 years, give or take, which would put that smack dab in the middle of the Renaissance) 

The way Pitch doesn’t want the world to change, the way the Guardians change in tune with the world. The way Jack, who lived in has a human in the 17th or 18th century, who lived in the time after the Renaissance and lived witnessing the world all the way to the modern era, is there to show the Guardians how much they missed and how they can further change and improve for the more modern world. These characters are immortal beings who have so much power over the world, it makes so much sense that when they fall and rise in power it impacts the world that they want to influence, for better or for worse. 

[happybird16]

•Chapter Two•

Naga!Levi Ackerman/Fem!Reader

Summary: Growing up, the forest's edge always darkened the far corner of your small village. The giant, twisted branches overhead rendered the forest floor a terrifying, pitch black. You shouldn't be here. There's creatures here, dangerous ones.

Overall warnings: Past references to child abuse, blood, scars, gore, mystery, eventual sex, inhuman genitalia (Levi is a snake man), horror vibes.

Chapter warnings: Horror vibes, mystery, Levi is a bit mean

Chapter length: 3.1k

Ao3 Link

The most special of shoutouts to my beloved friend and beta @theferricfox!!!! Also, credit to @the-milk-anon for the snake banner!!

Note: Happy Monday y'all!

Last Chapter | Next chapter

The cave isn't that much warmer, but it's practically balmy compared to the frigid mountainside. It's dry and tiny with barely enough room for you to stand up tall and not much wider across.

As you take in the surroundings of the small cave, you can't help but marvel at its unexpected cleanliness. Despite its size, it feels cozy and inviting compared to the harshness of the mountain outside. The floor is covered with a layer of evergreen branches, providing insulation, and on top of that, a variety of furs in different colors and textures create a makeshift bed. From small rabbit furs to a large bear pelt, the assortment is impressive. The only exposed section of grey rock is in a corner near the entrance, where a small extinguished fire pit sits, still carrying the faint scent of smoke and the refreshing aroma of pine.

"So this is your home," you mutter, a mix of curiosity and gratitude in your voice.

You don’t know what you imagined, but you had pictured at least a few bones scattered about, signs of a more lived-in space. However, as you enter the cave, you find it surprisingly devoid of such remnants. The Naga slithers in behind you, curling up and using the length of his tail as a self-made blanket. He quickly drifts back to sleep, seemingly finding comfort in the familiar surroundings.

With the Naga occupying a significant portion of the cave, there’s little space left for you to move around. You find a small corner where you can sit or lean against the rocky wall. The cave, though cramped, exudes a sense of coziness, aided by the scent of the furs scattered across the floor.

Cold air seeps into the cave through the entrance, sending occasional shivers down your spine. Despite your exhaustion, you reach out to locate the man who is quietly napping, his head weighed down by a deer pelt. The weariness in your body threatens to overpower you, and you know that resting here would likely result in falling into a deep slumber.

As your fingers brush against the man's wet clothing, you realize the extent of his soaked garments. The dampness clings to his body, worsening his already precarious state. The thought of him being on the verge of hypothermia intensifies your concern.

With trembling hands, you squat beside him and begin the slow process of peeling off his wet clothes, gently untangling them from his curled-up form. The chill in the air lingers, urging you to work swiftly to protect him from further exposure.

From such proximity, the Naga's human-like features become more evident and captivating. His complexion appears healthier, having absorbed some of your warmth. While his face still bears the effects of the biting wind, with flushed and stinging cheeks, his lips have regained their vibrant pink color. As he breathes softly, his slightly parted lips reveal glimpses of the white points of his fangs, extending beyond the plumpness of his bottom lip. Notably, his ears are pointed, gracefully curving upward to delicate tips.

Lying on his side, he faces the far wall of the cave, which he refers to as his nest. His arms are tightly tucked against his chest, as if seeking comfort and warmth. Alongside his arms, the long, black length of scale and muscle coils around his waist and shoulders, resembling a protective embrace. Despite the improvement in his condition, he continues to shiver and his teeth chatter, while his tail coils tighter and tighter, indicating lingering discomfort.

Feeling a sense of urgency, you quickly gather the firewood from where you'd spotted it outside the cave, concealed behind a sizable boulder. Using the flint you had brought, you skillfully ignite a small fire. Fortunately, its strategic placement near the entrance allows the smoke to escape outward, sparing the interior of the cave from becoming filled with its sting. Placing the Naga's clothes nearby, you hope that they will dry out by the time he awakens.

Whenever that will be.

Your mind becomes plagued with doubts and questions as you intermittently pause in your actions. Why are you here? Why are you helping this creature that may pose a threat to you? The thought of potential danger looms, but you push it aside, refusing to dwell on it. Instead, you channel your focus into maintaining momentum, refusing to surrender to despair.

He's still shivering, his tail shifting yet again as he tries to find warmth. With a sense of empathy, you shuck your coat off and tuck it carefully over his shoulders as much as you can. Remembering how he sought your warmth earlier, you lie down next to him, pressing yourself into his side, your chin digging into his shoulder. He presses back, a portion of his tail curling around you in a protective gesture.

Exhaustion finally takes over, and your eyes grow heavy. This is the furthest you've ever been from home, and now you find yourself cuddled up for warmth with an inhuman stranger. It feels strange to sleep fully clothed, the pommel of your knife digging into your hip. Yet, the softness of the furs and sheer exhaustion overcome any discomfort, and the man's soothing breaths lull you into a deep sleep.

Pain.

Pain jolts through your body, abruptly pulling you from your slumber. A sharp yelp escapes your lips as the searing sensation pierces your left shoulder blade and reverberates along the back of your head. “Wha-” you manage, before your head meets stone once again. Disoriented, you struggle to focus your eyes, blinking in an attempt to clear your vision. As your surroundings come into view, you are met with the unsettling sound of a loud hiss.

Your ears ring, the sound high and metallic. You can't even hear yourself whimper in pain, all that fills your senses is an angry, serpentine hiss. Teeth. Huge, shiny white fangs are the first thing to fill your vision, snapping angrily in your face.

“Human,” the Naga snarls, face twisted up in fury. With a powerful slam of his hand against the stone next to your head, his sharp claws leave deep grooves in the wall. He looms over you, exuding an intimidating presence, his lips twisted in a wide display of teeth. Tone seething with fury, he asks, “Why are you here?”

Thrown forcefully into the back bottom corner of the small cavern, the pain intensifies in your shoulder and rear, evidence of the rough treatment you've endured. The Naga's presence is overwhelming, and he appears distinctly inhuman in his towering form. His eyes, sharp and glowing, exude a wildness that sends a shiver down your spine. Previously, when he was slithering by your side, he seemed smaller, his eyes barely reaching your chin. But now, he appears gigantic, a formidable mass of coiled muscle.

Gasping for breath, you scramble with your hands and feet, trying to sit upright in the bedding. Your mind is still foggy from sleep, and the throbbing ache in your head makes it difficult to comprehend the situation. Does he not remember you? The confusion weighs heavily upon you, adding to the sense of disorientation.

“You-” Struggling to find your voice, you cough and attempt to clear your throat, feeling as though a heavy weight is lodged within it. Fear courses through you, causing your body to tremble as you try to speak. "I... I found you. You were on the brink of freezing to death."

His eyes narrow, blazing with molten silver in his fury. "Don't you dare lie to me," he spits, his chest heaving with anger. The muscles in his arm tense, and his sharp nails dig deeper into the unyielding stone. His mouth remains open, his lips stretched wide in a silent hiss. "How did you discover my nest?"

The menacing sound of his nails scraping against the cave wall fills the air, sending shivers down your spine. With as close as his nails are to your ear, the sound might as well be a roar. The sheer terror he exudes makes your heart race uncontrollably. "I... I followed the trail you left in the snow," you stammer, your voice trembling. Desperately, you press yourself as tightly as possible against the rough wall. "You were unconscious. I... I brought you back to safety."

He refuses to grant you any distance, leaning forward to growl menacingly in your face. "And you just happened to venture this deep into The Maw? A human?" The end of his tail coils around your legs, securing you in a tight grip. "I've slain your kind before. Tell me why I shouldn't snap your bones right now?"

Your mind scrambles, frantically searching for something to say that could save you. At the same time, your fingers dig at the tail traveling threateningly up your waist. You're so fucking stupid. “I- I just wanted to help.”

“Help? A human?” The Naga’s scoff echoes through the cavern, his tail squeezing even tighter around your waist, causing you to wince in pain. “Let you go? And risk you betraying me?” he snarls, his grip unyielding. “You humans are deceitful creatures, only ever help yourselves. Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t end you right here and now!”

“S-top!” Tears well up in your eyes as you desperately search for an answer, your fingers desperately clawing at his scales. You know this might be your last chance. “Please, just give me a chance to prove myself,” you plead, your voice filled with desperation. “I’ll do anything you ask.” Luck. Luck. The magic of Naga scales is supposed to be good luck. Of course that wouldn't be the case for you, though. “Just let me go! Please!”

His head cocks to the side, his eyes flaring with an intense glow. “Why? You let yourself into my home? Pressed yourself to my side like some needy feline? Why should I let you go?”

“I was just trying to warm you up!” Your fingers scrape against the smooth scales, unable to find any leverage. The coil tightens around your torso, constricting your breathing. You wheeze, pleading, “Please!”

His frown deepens, his grip relenting slightly, allowing you to gasp for air. “Why?” he questions, his voice filled with suspicion. “So you can stab that shiny little knife of yours into my back later?”

"You can have it," you manage to say, blinking rapidly as tears well up along your waterline. "Just please, let me go."

He plucks the knife from your belt, inspecting the metal pommel. "I could just use it to slice your throat," he hums at the thought. "That'd be a fitting price for trespassing."

"Don't," you choke out, your mind swimming with red. Pinching your eyes tight, your hands slam into his scales, one last ditch attempt to push him off. "It'd make a huge mess," you joke, your voice wry. Black threatens along the edges of your vision.

He pauses, his back straightening. With a slow blink, he snorts, loosening his grip to release you completely. Your chest heaves as you struggle for air.

"Fine. Go," he says curtly, pointing towards the entrance with a clawed finger.

"Go?" you repeat, surprised by his sudden change of heart.

"Leave," he commands, his nostrils flaring and his face scrunching up in disgust. "I don't want to smell sweaty human any longer." He says the word with disdain, his voice teeming with revulsion.

The wind continues to whistle loudly, whipping through the trees with such force that you can hear branches snapping in the distance. You're not sure how long you were asleep, but the storm appears to have persisted during that time. The crack-like entrance is partially obscured by several feet of fresh snow.

"In the storm? I'll die," you protest, gesturing vaguely out towards the winterscape.

The man grunts, clicking his tongue. "I don't care. You're going to die either way. Either freeze or end up a bloody mess on the forest floor, for all I care."

You hesitate, the toes of your boots just an inch into the snow that has built up along the entrance. You kick at the pile, but the heavy wall of wet snow barely budges. Turning back towards the man, you muster the courage to ask, "Can I... can I at least have my coat?" You gesture towards the garment draped carefully over his shoulders.

His head snaps to the side, spotting the coat. Nails digging into the fabric, he frantically tears it from his own form, shoving it so hard into your grasp that you're forced to take several steps backward, sinking into the snow.

As you tug on your coat, your fingers immediately find deep gashes along the arms, evidence of his sharp claws. It doesn't really matter now. With a deep breath, you shift back and forth on your feet. Peering through the entrance, you can barely tell it's daytime. There's a small opening between the mountain wall and the dark expanse of trees, allowing for several yards of sunlight to filter through the rapidly shifting clouds. The sight is beautiful, at least for the fleeting moments before an angry gray cloud moves overhead, obscuring the sunlight. The freshly fallen snow sparkles softly, pure and untouched. It appears deep, judging by the distant trees. It's at least up to your waist at the moment and rapidly growing.

"Human," the creature's deep tenor pipes up not far behind you, causing you to jolt and clutch your chest. You didn't even hear him approach, not even with the crunchy pine needle bedding. "Are you going to leave, or do I need to make you?"

"Y-yeah," you stutter, feeling a mix of gratitude and trepidation. At least the first encounter in this hostile place had been somewhat kind. With your luck, the next encounter probably won't end so well. As you steal one last glance at the Naga, his glittering black scales dominating the cave floor, you hunch down to pull yourself free from the small entrance of the cavern. Taking a deep breath, you take a resolute step forward. Then another. And another. The snow crunches loudly as you struggle to push through the waist-high pile.

Already, the cold has you shuddering, and your hood flies back, allowing the biting wind to viciously attack the sensitive skin of your cheeks and ears. They burn excruciatingly, and you've only taken a few steps forward into the sunlight. From a few yards ahead, the darkness of The Maw beckons.

Behind you, the Naga shuffles back into the far corner, satisfied to see you trudging into the distance. Curling his tail up with a huff, he drags his gaze across the entirety of his little nest. It's a mess, with furs and pelts strewn about. The scent of sweat and human permeates the air, the saltiness thick on his senses with every flick of his tongue. Noticing the small fire in the corner, he spots his clothes carefully folded nearby, drying. You've taken the time to dry his clothes for him. With a heavy sigh, his eyes slide back to the entrance.

"Human!"

Startled, you turn at the loud bark, barely having reached the edge of the forest. The Naga is lingering back in the entrance of the cave, watching you with a plain expression. "Huh?"

"Come back," he calls, beckoning you with a flick of his wrist.

You must be hearing things. Between the ache along the back of your skull and the wind whistling in your ears, whatever he's saying must be distorted. Still, he continues to gesture, his clawed fingers reaching out into the cold. Intrigued, you decide to follow, making your way back towards him with increased pace.

One hand on his hip, he sighs, his shoulders sagging. "Fine. Human, you can stay."

"W-what?" you stammer, unable to believe your ears.

"Just until the storm ends," he asserts, pointing with a finger. With a swaying motion of his hips, he shifts to the side, allowing you entrance. "Then you're on your own after that."

He's being kind? At least, you think so. He's welcoming you into the warmth and safety of his home, even if it's only for a limited time.

It feels as though you're standing on the edge of a chasm, choosing between two potential deaths—now or later. With a steadying breath and a single step forward, you willingly enter the literal den of a snake.

The Naga's sudden change of heart surprises you, but you cautiously step back into the cave, grateful for the reprieve from the biting cold. The warmth wraps around you like a comforting embrace, and you find solace in the flickering firelight. The Naga observes you closely, his expression inscrutable.

"Thank you," you mutter, still wary but relieved to have a temporary respite from the storm.

He grunts in response, his eyes narrowing as he studies you. You can sense a mix of curiosity and suspicion in his gaze. The tension between you lingers in the air, but for now, he has allowed you to remain in his cave.

The Naga retreats to his corner, coiling his tail around himself once again. You take a moment to assess your surroundings, noting the neat layer of furs and the remnants of the fire. It's not the most comfortable or inviting place, but it offers shelter from the harsh elements outside.

With aching muscles and a throbbing head, you find a spot near the fire and settle down, leaning against the rocky wall. The coat, now torn and scratched, provides some warmth as you wrap it around yourself. The pain in your shoulder and head serves as a constant reminder of the perilous situation you're in.

The Naga's mood seems as unpredictable as the storm raging outside. You know you can't stay here forever, but for now, you're grateful for the small respite and the opportunity to regain your strength.

Outside, the storm rages on. Tomorrow is another day, and you will face whatever challenges lie ahead, whether it's finding a way back home or navigating the unfamiliar territory of this creature's domain. With each passing moment, you feel a glimmer of hope flicker within you, lit by sparkling onyx scales. Despite the darkness that surrounds you, you are determined to find a way out, to escape the clutches of The Maw’s ominous grasp. The weight of the unknown presses upon your shoulders, but you refuse to succumb to despair.

For now, you rest, taking advantage of this respite to gather your thoughts and recharge your energy. Deep inside, you cling to the belief that there is a better outcome waiting for you, one that surpasses the grim scenarios your mind conjured when you first stumbled into this treacherous realm. Watching scales the shade of midnight glitter tauntingly in the flickering flames, you can't help but hope for a better outcome than the one you imagined when you first stumbled into The Maw’s dark grasp.

[pitchbusinessblogs]

How to Make the Most of Pitch Business Blogs

With the ever-growing digital landscape, businesses are increasingly using blogs as a platform to establish authority, foster relationships, and promote their products or services. Pitch business blogs, in particular, are excellent tools for startups, small businesses, and even established companies looking to share their value propositions and gain a competitive edge. But to truly benefit, it’s essential to know how to maximize their potential effectively.

Here’s a detailed guide on how to make the most of pitch business blogs, with strategies that can drive engagement, capture leads, and ultimately help grow your business.

1. Understand Your Target Audience

Before starting a pitch business blog, you must understand who your audience is. Knowing their preferences, interests, and needs allows you to tailor your content to resonate with them.

Research Audience Pain Points: Identify common challenges and questions your target audience faces. For example, if your pitch business blog targets entrepreneurs, they might be interested in topics like funding, marketing, or scaling a startup.

Use Audience Analytics: Tools like Google Analytics, social media insights, or customer surveys can provide valuable data on audience demographics, reading habits, and engagement levels. Leverage these insights to create more relevant and impactful blog posts.

Creating audience-centered content will not only make your blogs more engaging but will also position your business as a reliable source of information.

2. Craft Compelling and Informative Headlines

Your headline is often the first thing a reader sees, and a compelling headline can make all the difference in whether they click through or scroll past. For a pitch business blog, the headline should be informative and captivating.

Use Power Words: Incorporate words that evoke curiosity or a sense of urgency, such as “ultimate,” “essential,” “guide,” or “how-to.”

Optimize for SEO: Include focus keywords like “Pitch Business Blogs” naturally in your headline to improve search engine ranking.

Be Specific: Headlines that promise specific takeaways, such as “10 Tips for a Winning Pitch Business Blog” or “How to Craft Effective Business Blog Pitches,” tend to attract more readers.

With a headline that promises value, readers are more likely to dive into your blog content and read on.

3. Focus on Value-Driven Content

Your pitch business blog’s core purpose is to provide value, so focus on delivering useful and actionable insights. For example, instead of a post that simply promotes your business, consider sharing valuable strategies or insights that solve a reader’s problem.

Address Common Challenges: Create content that directly answers common industry questions or addresses typical pain points in your niche.

Educate Your Audience: Position your brand as an industry expert by sharing valuable information, tips, and resources. For instance, a blog post on “How to Stand Out in a Crowded Marketplace” can offer practical advice while subtly showcasing your business’s unique strengths.

Balance Information and Promotion: While it’s okay to mention your services, ensure that the content remains primarily educational rather than overly promotional. This builds trust and credibility with your readers.

4. Make Your Content Readable and Engaging

The way you present your content matters as much as the content itself. Readable and engaging blog posts can retain readers’ attention longer and improve your overall engagement.

Use Short Paragraphs and Sentences: Avoid large blocks of text, which can overwhelm readers. Keep paragraphs short and to the point.

Incorporate Subheadings: Subheadings help readers quickly locate specific information. They also make the blog visually appealing and easier to scan.

Include Bullet Points and Lists: Lists and bullet points can make information more digestible. For instance, if you’re outlining a process or tips, breaking them into bullet points increases clarity.

Add Visuals and Examples: Include images, charts, or infographics to make complex ideas more digestible. Real-life examples also help readers understand how the information applies to their situations.

5. Optimize for SEO

To increase your pitch business blog’s visibility, optimizing it for search engines is crucial. This will help your content reach a wider audience organically and improve your chances of ranking higher on search engine results pages.

Use Keywords Strategically: Incorporate keywords like “Pitch Business Blogs” and related terms naturally within your blog. Place them in key areas like the headline, introduction, subheadings, and meta description.

Focus on Long-Tail Keywords: Long-tail keywords like “how to make the most of pitch business blogs” can attract more targeted traffic, as they tend to be less competitive.

Optimize Meta Descriptions and Alt Text: Create a concise and enticing meta description with focus keywords to improve click-through rates. Also, use descriptive alt text for images, which helps with image search rankings and accessibility.

Internal and External Linking: Link to other relevant posts on your blog to encourage readers to explore more of your content. Additionally, linking to credible external sources can improve your content’s authority.

6. Tell a Story

Storytelling is an effective tool for capturing attention and making your content memorable. In a pitch business blog, storytelling can help illustrate your points, make abstract concepts more relatable, and give readers an insight into your brand’s journey.

Use Real-Life Scenarios: Share stories about how your business overcame challenges, achieved milestones, or helped clients succeed. For example, a blog post on “How We Overcame Common Startup Challenges” can resonate with other entrepreneurs.

Include Customer Success Stories: Sharing client success stories can add credibility and show prospective clients the potential results of working with you.

Keep the Tone Conversational: A friendly and conversational tone makes your blog posts more engaging. It also allows readers to connect with your brand on a personal level.

7. Utilize Call-to-Actions (CTAs)

A well-placed CTA encourages readers to take the next step, whether it’s signing up for a newsletter, downloading a resource, or contacting your business.

Incorporate Subtle CTAs: CTAs should blend naturally within your content. For instance, after providing helpful information, you might encourage readers to explore your services with phrases like, “Ready to take your business to the next level? Contact us today.”

Offer Free Resources: Free downloads, like eBooks or templates, can serve as effective lead magnets. By offering a free resource that complements the blog content, you can encourage readers to engage further with your brand.

Use Action-Oriented Language: Phrases like “Learn More,” “Get Started,” and “Explore Our Services” can motivate readers to take action without sounding overly promotional.

8. Leverage Social Proof

Social proof adds credibility to your pitch business blog. When readers see that others trust your brand, they are more likely to engage and explore further.

Showcase Testimonials: Share testimonials from clients or partners who have benefited from your services. This demonstrates that your business is trusted and capable.

Highlight Industry Recognition: If your business has received awards, certifications, or mentions in industry publications, mention them on your blog.

Encourage Comments and Shares: Social media engagement can serve as a form of social proof. Encourage readers to leave comments and share your blog on their platforms, expanding your reach and reinforcing your authority.

9. Promote Your Blog Content

Creating great content is only part of the process; promoting it effectively ensures that it reaches a larger audience. Here are ways to promote your pitch business blogs:

Share on Social Media: Use platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook to promote your blog. Tailor the posts to suit each platform and use relevant hashtags to expand your reach.

Email Marketing: Share your latest blog posts with your email subscribers. A dedicated email newsletter with links to your blog can drive consistent traffic.

Collaborate with Influencers: Connect with industry influencers who can amplify your blog’s reach. Consider offering guest posting opportunities to mutually increase visibility.

Repurpose Content: Turn blog insights into social media posts, videos, or infographics to reach a broader audience.

10. Track and Measure Performance

To understand if your pitch business blogs are delivering value, track key performance metrics. This will allow you to refine your content strategy and make data-driven improvements.

Monitor Website Analytics: Track metrics like page views, average time on page, and bounce rate to assess engagement levels.

Track Conversions and Leads: If your blog includes lead generation forms or CTAs, monitor the number of conversions they generate.

Analyze Reader Feedback: Comments and feedback can provide insights into what readers found useful and what they want to learn more about.

Regularly Update Content: Refresh outdated information, add new insights, and update SEO elements periodically to keep your blog posts relevant and high-ranking.

Conclusion

Pitch business blogs, when executed effectively, are powerful tools that can increase brand visibility, generate leads, and build lasting relationships with customers. By understanding your audience, focusing on value-driven content, optimizing for SEO, and promoting your content, you can maximize the benefits of pitch business blogs. As you track performance and adapt your strategies, your pitch business blog will become an invaluable asset in your overall marketing strategy.

[inspireblog123]

7 tips to enhance your business writing

Tips to enhance your business writing

Interacting with customers, business partners, and other stakeholders is not a casual chat. It is a formal corporate conversation that follows a few basic rules.

One should constantly follow the correct procedures when writing for business. For example, formal emails are direct and to the point.

In the body of an email, it is never acceptable to make a joke or intentionally insult someone. These actions only leave a negative impression.

Additionally, it is difficult to rebuild damaged commercial relationships.

Top 7 suggestions for improving business communication

Building solid relationships with stakeholders would be much simpler if you were aware of the proper company communication improvement ideas.

Here are the top 7 pieces of advice that, when followed properly, yield positive outcomes.

1.Analyze the mindset of the reader:

When communicating with someone, it’s important to consider their mindset and tailor your approach accordingly. For example, when pitching a product to a product manager, they may be interested in reading through all the features and you may be able to use a casual tone. However, when communicating with a CEO, you should be more formal and to the point, as they likely don’t have time to read through all the details and expect their subordinates to do so. Therefore, it’s important to analyze the mindset of the person you are communicating with in order to effectively communicate on a corporate scale.

2.Make sure that the content is free of grammatical mistakes:

Grammatical mistakes in your email or business proposal can lead to a negative response from the recipient. It is important to proofread and carefully review business content to ensure it is error-free. Even experienced writers can make mistakes, so it is important to take the time to carefully review and check for errors. While it can be tiring to thoroughly review content for errors, it is necessary to avoid taking chances and potentially damaging your professional reputation.

3.Produce top standard business content with a grammar checker:

Proper software can make handling tasks easier, reducing the time needed to complete them and improving their quality. Using grammar checking tools can be especially helpful because they can catch mistakes that the writer may have missed, such as incorrect nouns, conjunctions, punctuation, and sentence structure. It is important to ensure that business writing, including emails, presentations, and brochures, is free of errors. To save time and avoid having to manually check for mistakes, consider using online grammar checking software so that you can use your time for other productive purposes.

(Tips to enhance your business writing)

4.Do not overstuff the content with technical jargon:

Email-related discussions need to be in a casual tone. This facilitates the reader’s comprehension of the material.

It’s not a good idea to use technical jargon unnecessarily. For instance, excessive usage of “development,” “programming,” “back end code,” and similar terms should be avoided if the email subject is about software development.

On occasion, non-technical users—such as business developers—would receive emails. They find it challenging to comprehend this jargon.

5.Avoid overambitious claims:

One style of corporate writing that is frequently employed is the business development email. These emails are written by brands when they are attempting to maintain current customers while also attracting new ones.

A customer’s preferences can change quickly due to the intense rivalry among brands. So make sure to talk logically and realistically.

This indicates that exaggerated assertions should be avoided. Customers regrettably tend to disregard brands that make excessive claims about their superiority.

6. The utilization of “you” & “we”:

There are usually two parties involved in business communications. The first is the brand, and the second is the customer.

Be aware of the appropriate pronouns if you are emailing a customer. You should always use “we” rather than “I” when speaking on behalf of the company for instance.

This is so that the buyer knows they are purchasing goods and services from the business, not from you personally. Use the third person singular for the customer instead.

This means that rather than using “they,” the client must be addressed as “you.” Customers of your products need to perceive that you are speaking with them as a consequence.

In other words, it’s crucial to use a conversational tone.

7. Employ a proper format while composing emails:

When a business message has a clear layout, it appears impressive. Emails sent by businesses are typically formatted professionally.

Make sure the email content does not appear odd in any way. These formats leave a bad image.

As a result, people scan the text rather than carefully reading each line.

(Tips to enhance your business writing)

 

Appropriate email subject and body:

To avoid confusion and create a professional image, it is important to ensure that the subject of your email aligns with the content of the body and that you stay focused on the purpose of the email. Deviating from the subject can give the impression that the sender has an amateur or confused mindset.

[meruz]

once again i am answering asks in a big compilation post. included is... gotham, patrick stump, tips about drawing backgrounds, tips about drawing in general, links to my faq, and infinity train

like.... the tv series? No... I’ve drawn dc comics fanart before, though. But it’s been years since I’ve been really into it. I like jumped ship like 10 years ago when the New 52 happened LOL.

AFJHDSLKGH I’m sorry I (probably) won’t do it again??

Actually full disclosure I have a truly cringe amount of p stump drawings/photo studies in my sketchbook right now LOL. He’s just fun to draw... hats, glasses, guitar, a good shape... but I don’t think I’ll rly post those until I can hide them in another big sketchbook pdf.. probably Jan 2022. Stay tuned........ (ominous) 

(ominous preview)

These are all sort of related to backgrounds/painting so I grouped them together even though they’re pretty much entirely separate questions.... ANYWAYS

a) How is it working as a BG artist? Is it hard? What show are you drawing for?

I think you’re the first person to ever ask me about my job! Being a background artist is great. It’s definitely labor intensive but I think that could describe pretty much any art job (If something were rote or easy to automate, you wouldn’t hire an artist to do it) and I hesitate to say whether its harder or easier than any other role in the animation pipeline. Plus, so much of what truly makes a job difficult varies from one production to the next, schedule, working environment, co-workers etc. But I will say that I think while BGs are generally a lot of work on the upfront, I think they’re subject to less scrutiny/revisions than something like character/props/effects design and you don’t have to pitch them to a room like boards. So I guess it’s good if you don’t like to talk to people? LOL

A lot of my previous projects + the show I’ve worked on the longest aren’t public yet so I can’t talk about em (but I assure you if/when the news does break I won’t shut up about it). But I’m currently working on Archer Season 12 LOL. I’m like 90% sure I’m allowed to say that.

b) ~~~THANK YOU!! ~~~

c) What exactly do you like to draw most [in a background]?

@kaitomiury​ Lots of stuff! I really like to draw clutter! Because it’s a great opportunity for environmental storytelling and also you can be kind of messy with it because the sheer mass will supersede any details LOL. 

I like to draw clouds... I like to draw grass but not trees lol,,, I like to draw anything that sells perspective really easily like tiled floors and ceilings, shelves, lamp posts on a street etc.

d) Do you have any tips on how to paint (observational)?

god there’s so much to say. painting is really a whole ass discipline like someone can paint their whole life and still discover new things about it. I guess if you’re really just starting out my best advice is that habit is more important than product. especially with traditional plein air painting, I find that the procedure of going outside and setting up your paints is almost harder than the actual painting. There’s a lot of artists who say “I want to do plein air sometime!!” and then never actually get around to doing it. A lot of people just end up working from google streetview or photos on their computer.

But going outside to paint is a really good challenge because it forces you to make and commit to lighting and composition decisions really quickly. And to work through your mistakes instead of against them via undo button.

My last tip is to check out James Gurney’s youtube channel because hes probably the best and most consistent resource on observational painting out there rn. There’s lots other artists doing the same thing (off the top of my head I know a lot of the Warrior Painters group has people regularly posting plein air stuff and lightbox expo had a Jesse Schmidt lecture abt it last year) but Gurney’s probably the most prolific poster and one of the best at explaining the more technical stuff - his books are great too.

e) Do you have tips for drawing cleanly on heavypaint?

@marigoldfool​ UMM LOL I LIKE ONLY USE THE FILL TOOL so maybe use the fill tool? Fill and rectangle are good for edge control as opposed to the rest of the heavy paint tools which can get sort of muddles. And also I use a stylus so maybe if you’re using your finger, find a stylus that works with your device instead. That’s all I’ve got, frankly I don’t think my drawings are particularly clean lol.

f) Tips on improving backgrounds/scenes making them more dynamic practicing etc?

Ive given some tips about backgrounds/scenes before so I’m not gonna re-tread those but here’s another thing that might be helpful...

I think a good way to approach backgrounds is to think of the specific story or even mood you want to convey with the background first. Thinking “I just need to put something behind this character” is going to lead you to drawing like... a green screen tourist photo backdrop. But if you think “I need this bg to make the characters feel small” or “I need this bg to make the world feel colorful” then it gives you requirements and cues to work off of.

If I know a character needs to feel overwhelmed and small, then I know I need to create environment elements that will cage them in and corner them. If a character needs to feel triumphant/on top of the world then I know I need to let the environment open up around them. etc. If I know my focal point/ where I want to draw attention, I can build the background around that.

Also, backgrounds like figure compositions will have focal points of their own and you can draw attention to it/ the relationship the characters have with the bg element via scale or directionality or color, any number of cues. I think of it almost as a second/third character in a scene.

Not every composition is gonna have something so obvious like this but it helps me to think about these because then the characters feel connected and integrated with the environment.

Some more general art questions

a) Do you have any process/tips to start drawing character/bodies/heads?

I tried to kind of draw something to answer this but honestly this is difficult for me to answer because I don’t think I’m that great at drawing characters LOL. Ok, I think I have two tips.

1) flip your canvas often. A lot about what makes human bodies look correct and believable is symmetry and balance. Even if someone has asymmetrical features, the body will often pull and push in a way to counterbalance it. we often have inherent biases to one side or another like dominant hands dominant eyes etc. you know how right-handed artists will often favor drawing characters facing 45 degrees facing (the artist’s) left? that’s part of it. so viewing your drawing flipped even just to evaluate it helps compensate for that bias and makes you more aware of balance.

2) draw the whole figure often. I feel like a lot of beginner artists (myself included for a long time) defer to just drawing headshots or busts because it’s easier, you dont have to think about posing limbs etc. But drawing a full body allows you to better gauge proportion, perspective, body language, everything that makes a character look believable and grounded.

Like if you (me) have that issue where you draw the head too big and then have to resize it to fit the proportions of the rest of the body, it’s probably because you (I) drew the head first and are treating the body as an afterthought/attachment. Sketching out the whole figure first or even just quick drawing guides for it will help you think of it more holistically. I learned this figure drawing in charcoal at art school LOL.

oh. third mini tip - try to draw people from life often! its the best study. if you can get into a figure drawing/nude drawing class EVEN BETTER and if you have a local college/art space/museum that hosts those for free TREASURE IT AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT, that’s a huge boon that a lot of artists (me again) wish they had. though if youre not so lucky and youre sitting in a park trying to creeper draw people and they keep moving.. don’t let that stop you! that’s good practice because it’s forcing you to work fast to get the important stuff down LOL. its a challenge!

b) I’ve been pretty out of energy and have had no inspiration to draw but I have the desire to. Any advice?

Dude, take a walk or something.... Or a nap? Low energy is going to effect everything else so you gotta hit that problem at its source.

If you’re looking for inspiration though, I’d recommend stuff like watching a movie, reading a book, playing video games etc. Fill up your idea bank with content and then give yourself time/space to gestate it into new concepts. Sometimes looking at other art works but sometimes it can work against you because it’s too close. 

Also something that helps me is remembering that art doesn’t always have to be groundbreaking... like it’s okay to make something shitty and stupid that you don’t post online and only show to your friend. That’s all part of the process imo. If you want to hit a home run you gotta warm up first, right? Sports.

I should probably compile everytime i give tips on stuff like this but that’s getting dangerously close to being a social media artist who makes stupid boiled down art tutorials for clout which is the last thing i want to be... the thing I want to stress is that art is a whole visual language and there are widely agreed upon rules and customs but they exist in large part to be broken. Like there's an infinite number of ways to reach an infinite number of solutions and that’s actually what makes it really cool and personal for both the artist and the viewer. So when you make work you like or you find someone else’s work you like, take a step back and ask yourself what about it speaks for you, what about it works for you, what makes it effective, how to recreate that effect and how to break that effect completely, etc. And have a good time with it or else what’s the point.

for the first 2, I direct you to my FAQ

For the last one, I don’t actually believe I’ve ever addressed artwork as insp for stories/rp but I’ll say here and now yeah go ahead! As long as you’re not making profit or taking credit for my work then I’m normally ok with it. Especially anything thats private and purely recreational, that’s generally 100% green light go. I only ask that if you post it anywhere public that you please credit me.

(and I reserve the right to ask you to take it down if I see it and don’t approve of it’s use but I think that case is pretty rare.)

a) @lemuelzero101 Thank you!!! I haven’t played Life is Strange but actually  that series’ vis dev artist Edouard Caplain is one of my bigger art inspirations lately so that’s a really high compliment lol. And yeah I hope we get 5-8 too...!

b) Thank you for sticking around! I’ve been thinking about Digimon and Infinity Train in tandem lately, actually. They’re a little similar? Enter a dangerous alternate world and have wacky adventures with monsters/inanimate objects that have weird powers... there’s like weird engineers and mechanisms behind the scenes... also frontier literally starts with them getting on a train. Anyways if anyone else followed me for digimon... maybe you’d like Infinity Train? LOL

c) @king-wens-king I’M GLAD MY ART JUST HAS PINOY VIBES LOL I hope you are having a good day too :^)

a, b, c, d) yessss my Watch Infinity Train agenda is working....

e) aw thank you!! i think you should watch infinity train :)

[seventhstrife]

SubScorp Week 2021 Day 4: Lust 2/3

I literally don’t even want to talk about this, I’m still so mad it got so long LOL

Read it on AO3

Part 1

Raiden's hand glowed a cool, piercing blue as he passed his palm over the length of Kuai Liang's body in a slow, pensive motion. His eyes were narrowed in concentration and Hanzo, pacing just far enough away so that he would not disturb them, did not like the frown that was slowly growing on Raiden's face.

Kuai Liang was stretched across a small bed, one of many that lined this room in Raiden's temple. It was one used for the sick, and the lingering scent of medicine made Hanzo's skin crawl—though he made himself stay. Clean as it was, he could not help associating the scent with death, for often people found their end not on the battlefield, but later, quieter and painfully and without dignity, trapped in their own bodies as it failed them.

He wanted Kuai Liang gone from this place as soon as possible.

His fears that a simple healing would not be enough were confirmed when Raiden finally retracted his head and gave a small shake of his head.

"I have never seen magic like this," Raiden began. He met Kuai Liang's narrowed, glassy eyes squarely. "Skarlet indeed has crafted something that is as unique as it is deplorable."

"You can not help him?" Hanzo all but demanded, scowling. Once more, the thunder god's machinations cared not for the casualties left in their wake.

Raiden looked over at him, expression grim and apologetic.

"I can not. This magic was created to serve a specific purpose and tampering with it in any way may only increase its adverse effects." Raiden dropped his gaze back to Kuai Liang. "I am well aware of the practices of your clan, but there is no other solution. You must allow this to run its course."

Kuai Liang stiffened, face pinched tight with distaste—though Hanzo alone could also detect the faintest flash of...fear...in his eyes.

"You can not mean—"

"Without a partner, the poison will not abate. And should you ignore it for much longer, the heat will boil your blood until it bursts—a very slow, very painful death, Sub-Zero."

The harsh grinding of Kuai Liang's teeth was audible. "There must be another—"

"There is not," Raiden cut in, as brutally blunt as Hanzo could remember. But he was not unkind, and understanding could also be seen in his expression. "There are many here who would gladly assist one of Earthrealm's defenders."

Hanzo...did not want to hear this, he realized. Raiden was offering to find Kuai Liang a partner, a partner who would aid him while he suffered the effects of an aphrodisiac—the implications of that could not be mistaken, and he was no fool. And while it would have been uncomfortable to hear any ally experiencing such a thing, with Kuai Liang, it burned worse. His mind shied away from even the thought of Kuai Liang with another in that way. He hated it.

Kuai Liang bore an expression that plainly said that he felt the same. He raised himself up so that he sat on the edge of the cot, every visible inch of skin flushed, arms trembling ever-so-slightly—not with fatigue, but pain. Even now, a kaleidoscope of red bloomed just beneath his skin, as if the burning roil of his blood would burst at any moment.

"I will not," Kuai Liang grit out. Even with his voice slightly shaken from smothered pain, his tone brooked no argument.

Raiden's frown deepened.

"This is your life, Sub-Zero. And in service of that life, a compromise must be made."

Kuai Liang winced as if Raiden's words were barbed.

"Bedding a stranger, using them in such a way—it is disgusting," and despite himself, a note of pleading bled into Kuai Liang's voice.

It made Hanzo wince in turn, heart going out to his friend who had not asked for this, who he knew would ultimately endure such a coupling but hate every moment of it.

Hanzo dug his fingers into his upper arms, hard, where they were crossed. He stared at the marble stone beneath his feet, to better master the urge to speak. He had no say in what Kuai Liang chose to do.

Raiden made some noise of understanding and from the corner of his eye, Hanzo saw how he gently clasped Kuai Liang's shoulder, voice pitched low in understanding.

"It must be done," Raiden told him. "But they will be discreet, you have my word."

And Hanzo thought he could do this, could keep his mouth shut and quietly support his friend, even if that meant waiting at Raiden's temple as he bedded another, but he proved to be his own undoing when he saw the look on Kuai Liang's face, pained all this time, yet only now suffering, only now, did the poison truly seem to take hold.

Quiet despair and resignation dimmed his eyes and slumped his shoulders with defeat—a look he'd never seen Kuai Liang wear before and would give much to erase.

Kuai Liang opened his mouth. "...Very w—"

"What if it was someone you knew?"

The words felt as if they were coming from another person, and Hanzo was half-tempted to look behind himself when Raiden and Kuai Liang's heads snapped to him.

The urge to blush was almost as great as the sick fear that seized his heart, but he owed Kuai Liang at least this much, at least an offer. Anything that would wipe that look from his face.

Hanzo uncrossed his arms, straightened from the wall he'd rested against when Raiden's conversation had begun in earnest. He looked at Kuai Liang and Kuai Liang only.

"If you trusted this person," Hanzo continued, barely able to hear his own voice over the riotous clamor of his heartbeats, "Would it be easier?"

"I..." For the first time in memory, Kuai Liang seemed genuinely lost for words. He stared at Hanzo as if he'd never seen him before, brow furrowed, body still wracked with jerks and shivers as the poison progressed. Kuai Liang licked dry lips. "Are you...You would...?"

Hanzo bowed his head, grateful he would not have to offer himself so plainly. "I would."

Kuai Liang blinked, shook his head and turned his head away with a deep frown. "I could not ask that of you—"

"And you are not," Hanzo said firmly, drawing Kuai Liang's gaze back. "I am offering."

Kuai Liang appeared so conflicted and his hand tightened into a fist over the fabric of his pants. Indecision warred plainly on his face, and Hanzo suspected it was not on his own behalf.

Quiet and calmly, Hanzo said, "I will take no offense either way," he assured.

He knew, from time and observation, that Kuai Liang, much like himself, was a deeply private person. While others would suffer no qualms having pleasing, ultimately meaningless sex with another, for Kuai Liang it would be a form of torture. Vulnerability, of any sort, was anathema to his very being, and Hanzo knew how much it would hurt him, to have to compromise his self-control in this way.

And if there was anyone else, Hanzo would have retrieved them and brought them to Raiden's temple already—but there was no one else. Hanzo was Kuai Liang's closest and, truly, only confidante.

But the bonds of friendship did not necessarily mean Kuai Liang would be willing. With his offer, Hanzo hoped to at least soothe—if not all, then some of Kuai Liang's worries. It was his hope that the trust they had forged in their friendship would help ease Kuai Liang's guilty conscience for having to expose himself to another.

Kuai Liang was silent for a long moment as the red marks across his arms and face shifted and writhed like living things. He stared at Hanzo, panting, but his expression was difficult to decipher. He was clearly unhappy, but Hanzo had no idea of what his true thoughts were, whether he was dissatisfied with Hanzo's offer, whether he found the idea distasteful or not, or if he was still wrestling with the concept of having to lay with anyone, period.

"Then..." Kuai Liang bowed, as best he could from a sitting position and wracked with pain, "I accept."

It was difficult not to flinch—but Hanzo did his best to school any shock from his expression. The offer was freely made, and meant, but it was more than a little surprising that Kuai Liang had...accepted.

Raiden, whose face had displayed clear surprise at Hanzo's offer before he'd quickly assumed an expression that was carefully blank, stood.

"Then it is decided," he said, tone firm and business-like. His eyes held a spark of curiosity as he looked at Hanzo, but he did not speak of it. He placed a hand on Kuai Liang's shoulder and held out his other to Hanzo in a beckoning motion. "We are running short on time. I will take you to a place you will be undisturbed."

There was a flash of light and a cacophonous clap of thunder, and Hanzo found himself in a clearing, the trees a pale birch where they skirted the boundaries of a small building, a single-story made of white stone and topped with vibrant red clay tiles that sloped into elegant, pointed tips. It bore a sharp resemblance to Raiden's temple, though on a much smaller, humbler scale.

"This once belonged to an old friend who tended the gardens of my temple," Raiden said. He dropped his hold from their shoulders, eyes going distant as they traced the clearing and whatever phantom memories he saw with his ancient eyes. "But it is within the bounds of my influence and thus, under my protection. You will be safe and undisturbed here."

Raiden appeared to visibly pull himself back from his thoughts. He looked between Kuai Liang and Hanzo and whatever he saw on their faces made him incline his head decisively.

"I will ensure my people are aware that this area is off-limits for the time being." He bowed one final time. "I shall leave you. May the Elder Gods protect you, and should the poison worsen, do not hesitate to call on me."

Raiden raised his fist and in a blinding crash of lightning that nearly deafened them, he was gone.

In the ringing silence he left behind, Hanzo stared at the scorched earth as a slow, creeping anxiety grew, just waiting to swallow him whole as he realized exactly what would happen next—what he had volunteered himself for.

And Hanzo was not a religious man. Not since his clan had been brutally murdered, their cries to the gods answered not by those above, but by cold, merciless blades.

But he found himself calling on them now.

Kuai Liang met his eyes once he forced himself to look away from the place Raiden had vanished from, and though pain tightened Kuai Liang's features and furrowed his brow, flushed his skin with a thin sheen of sweat, Hanzo could feel his heart skip a beat, felt an answering clench in the pit of his stomach that betrayed his true feelings in a way that shamed him.

And the way Kuai Liang looked at him—he was close to this man, had fought countless times at his side, knew him better than perhaps anyone else, but that dark look in his eyes, unreadable but watching in a way Hanzo had never seen before—he was not unmoved by that, either.

...Elder Gods. Have mercy on me.

[fishmongeringstudies]

twenty three: after the end of the song the singer's voice travels down the hallway into the room at the other end, where god is braiding a skein of light into your hair

it's a five minute walk from the apartment in singapore to the subway station. after exiting the building, take a right, wait for the red light to turn, then keep walking until you see a sleek gray building rising out of the pavement at the end of the path. the station is underneath. take the escalator, elevator, or the stairs. all three of them will dispense you in the same wide underground space with the polished marble floor. buy a ticket or three. walk through the gantry. head down another flight of stairs, and then another, until you arrive, at last, at the promised place.

i'm told america is a country of cars. since the invention of the gas-powered vehicle in 1886 it has been unable to rid itself of this idea, this dream of flying, faster than light being chased out of the sunset, through suburbs, cities, and towns, and so to prove its ephemeral strength to an audience which wasn't looking, the distance between each grew wider. the average american spends nearly an hour behind the steering wheel each day. in the spring my friend told me, while picking a grilled cheese sandwich apart with a fork, that he drove eight hours to get to college.

it takes less than an hour to drive from one end of singapore to the other. if the traffic is good and you don't get lost in the central business district, staring down week-old acai joints and cafes full of shimmering mass-produced wall decor, it could take less. it took me an hour and a half to crawl from the west coast to the east on a weekday morning. i went by train, bus, and foot.

motion proves existence. if i can bring this body to five different points on a map then i have left a mark on all the places in between, in each footprint pressed into the soft dirt of each route. to exist in confinement is to be visible from one place only. and that place is hell.

this morning the elevator smelled like someone threw up in it. when i stepped inside with my laundry hamper slung over my shoulder i didn't notice the smell because i was too busy making brief but awkward eye contact with the other person who had been waiting for the elevator, who whispered once the door slid shut in a voice like ginger ale poured over a bed of pearls, 'first floor?' then pressed the button with a manicured nail. the elevator dumped us on the first floor and we walked off in opposite directions. after dumping a week's worth of sticky summer heat in the wash, i came back. and so did the smell of vomit.

today is saturday, which means last night things happened in this building that i don't know about and have no desire to look into. at about midnight i heard someone screaming from some distance away and looked outside to see a skinny figure tearing down the sidewalk that led up to our dorm, pinwheeling their arms like a madman or a pigeon with a bad case of flight anxiety. they sounded like someone had put the rosetta stone through a voice distortion program. behind them, out of sight, came the echo of high-pitched, shrieking laughter. after a moment, they stopped swinging their arms and turned to stare back down the empty, moonlit path. WHAT'RE YOU LOOKING AT, HUH? they bellowed, like a god. i looked away from my window.

they say college is about trying things you will regret and doing them with a brand of stupid fearless pride unique to the peculiar creature that we call the college student anyway, because nineteen year olds don't know what fear looks, sounds, or tastes like. the logic behind this is as follows. the corporate workplace doesn't tolerate individuality on principle, so if every kid's going to have an obligatory three hour long soul-searching indie film shot about their life then they might as well do it in a controlled setting along with a thousand other kids who are going through the same thing. some of them may be film majors. in which case, your indie film will be very good. some of them may be engineering majors. in which case your indie film will be very bad. regardless, you're guaranteed to come out of your choice of higher education money-making machine with something to tell your parents that'll make them bawl their eyes out and send you, cherub-cheeked and smiling, to your room.

they say college will change your life. i know because i said it. i wrote a poem about it. when i was eighteen i said i was going to take a bottle and a bottle-opener and then i was going to hop on a plane to america and then- fireworks and stars. the disneyland effect. step through these gates and all your anxieties will go away. everyone will live forever. your grandfather doesn't wish you were dead. and magic, oh, magic lives right here, under the skin of the clavicle, where all wishes are made. mouth on neck. a resuscitation activity.

but someone needs to cut the grass. each morning at eight a man in a green vest takes a lawnmower and drives it up and down the football field across from this building. the lawnmower is loud. it reverberates in my head and makes it hard to concentrate on pretty much anything, so i get out my earplugs and i sit there in the static and resign myself to half an hour of nothing. i can only begin to imagine what it must be like to be the person sitting there, at the heart of all the commotion, making eight am on a saturday morning sound like a symphony orchestra. and then i stop trying. because imagining pain is nearly the same thing as feeling it. because our brains know how to do more than they're worth. we could replace the imagination with a photograph and a virtual-reality headset and it wouldn't live up to half the stuff that goes on behind the eyelids, to the cinematic masterpiece that we wake up to each morning. this is why we tell such good stories. this is also why we struggle to finish them.

this morning i woke up with a turquoise ocean on my tongue. in my sleep i walked to the end of the world, where a single island stood guard over a sliver of sea so bright it hurt my eyes to look at it. the island was populated with ferns and palm trees and flowers in shades of pink and silver, brimming with a vitality that stood frozen in a motif of life itself, the ferns not swaying, the flowers empty of bees. it looked like a place you went to die. we stood there staring at this snapshot of death until my mother and sister got up and began to run back towards the center of the world, to its beating red heart, and i scrambled to catch up to them but everything in my backpack had fallen out somewhere in between reaching this raft of terror and stopping to look up at the gray sky and i began to panic. i bent over to pick up notebooks, pencils, a crumpled water bottle, all the while begging the others to wait for me. just give me a minute. just give me a little more time.

under the assumption that people can and always will hurt other people, every relationship becomes a matter of discerning who will make the first cut and who will be the one left standing on stage, clutching a bloody arm and calling out for a friend who cannot reply. even the other half of your soul, narrated as such by the poets, can seek to end you. after all, self-destruction is in vogue again. it is the ultimate act of defiance against a state obsessed with keeping its citizens alive in the most horrible ways possible. it is also, always, unexpected.

under the assumption that life is a three hour long indie film about self-discovery, everything you do cannot and will not be held against you when you are twenty-eight and your boss digs up the old paper trail of who you were in college, unless you buried a body in the backyard with your best friend, freshman year. people change people change people. change. people change. people fall into rabbit holes and emerge with new hands, new eyes, new teeth. people do things. every day, we wake up and we make the decision to do things. sometimes the thing is going to the park. sometimes the thing is making breakfast.

either way, we are performing miracles. because motion is about dislocating yourself from the socket, about cutting the person out of the painting; even if you put them back in the same painting, the act of returning tips the scales significantly in favor of the heart. which beats, through all of this strange, repetitive violence, down the elevator, down the path that leads to the subway that you haven't been on since the start of february, when you believed in no one but yourself. little has changed since then. but you understand now. you are not heading for the promised place. you are the promised place; you are a promised person. you promised yourself when you were born that you would live to see the grass grow out after a long, dry winter. and now here you are, ready to live it all.

06.12.21

[hyperfixationtimego]

Happy little hcs to atone for my sins

Taka and Hina are study buddies

Sometimes Aoi manages to get Taka off track because she’s just so enthusiastic and wants to hear about all of her friends’ hyperfixations and special interests

37.2 minutes later

Taka’s infodumping about how he despises moral philosophy but also thoroughly enjoys it bc that’s how moral philosophers are

Or he’s infodumping about political science and debate tactics and how speeches were effective or not for various reasons

Sakura and Mondo work out together

It started off as a coincidence when they were in the gym at the same time but it kept happening so they called it a schedule

They talk about their SOs and they’re smiling

Sakura teaches Mondo certain stretches and exercises to help relax different muscle groups for whenever he pulls a muscle or has a flare up from the thing with the bikes

Leon constantly asks Chihiro to turn alter ego into a vocaloid or at least program a bit of that tech into their system

Bc he would rather shave his head again than talk to Sayaka about producing music

He just has so many ideas

And it’s cool when there are kinda punk rock songs that are covered in an 8-bit or a vocaloid style

Byakuya and Celeste have a small series of bets with low stakes about what their inferiors classmates will do to lead up to them jingling away morosely like the fools they are

Sayaka shamelessly advertises her group’s mercy to her classmates and friends

Everyone gets their nails painted at some point

Nobody knows how Byakuya got roped into it but it worked

Makoto has rainbow loom

Atua forgives you

anyway YEAH LEGIT?

Hina has fully and thoroughly fallen in love with all of her friends and classmates’ expressions whenever they’re talking about something that excites them omg 🥺

she sees someone rambling and having a good time and hears the enthusiastic pitch of their voice as well as the general Vibe™️ that they’re giving off and she just???? [Y E A R N]

:)

and also just???? her and taka being study buddies is so valid oh my god??? they’re really close because of it!!! And Taka always loves hanging out with her because he knows she’ll let him just Talk??? and he adores that about her????? And she’ll be ENGAGED which!!!!!! oh my god!!!!?????

hi in this house we love and adore hina

And Sakura and Mondo???? absolutely?????

they have friendly competitions over who can lift the most weights/do the most reps/etc. (they do it sparingly, ofc! bc Sakura at least knows that they’ll both be subconsciously trying to beat the other as opposed to listening to what their bodies need in the moment. Sakura is the single braincell of class 78 no I won’t take it back because it’s true)

and they totally doooooo like they both get such cute loveydovey pining expressions whenever it’s Their Turn™️ to discuss the latest cute thing their partner(s) did. and listening to the other talking???? oh my god it’s literally the neatest thing????

Sakura looking at Mondo: I would die for this man

Mondo looking at Sakura: this woman is literally beauty and perfection in human form

THEY’RE SUCH GOOD FRIENDS OKAY???

also chihiro joins them for training sometimes!!!! She obviously isn’t able to do as much as the other two are, but both Sakura and Mondo are always so proud of her progress??? They’re like “you are so cool and strong do you know that??? you better know that”

and speaking of chihiro hdbdvdvdvdvdvdvdvd on GOD Leon will Not leave them alone abt it and they’re just like

“y....you do NOT have the attention span,.......you’re gonna get frustrated within like the first five minutes......and then I’ll have done all that work for nothing..............”

but Leon’s >:( no I won’t!!!! music is my Passion!!!!!!!!

so it’s like *sigh* okay

and anyway leon genuinely does rlly like it???? like he gets burned out very easily and can only compose things in short bursts, but he’s always so so so proud of the finished products??? (Even if nobody else likes it but shush 😌)

and it makes chihiro :D to know that something she made (even if it was done with reluctance) has brought one of her closest friends so much happiness????? she’s also like good for Leon but also if he ever bothers them about something like that again they are Literally Going to Snap but that’s another story for another day vwv

AND YEAH LIKE. HE DOESN’T MIND TALKING TO HER ABT MUSIC IN GENERAL BECAUSE IT’S AN INTEREST THEY SHARE (quite possibly one of the only times they will have a conversation without one constantly insulting the other ❤️) BUT. ADMITTING TO HER THAT HE NEEDS HELP WITH IT IS THE WORST HE HATES IT HE HATES IT HSBDBSBD

god okay so. his first impression of her when they had just come to hope’s peak and met for the first time was “oh my god!!! she’s a pop idol!!! so she must know a lot about music!!! maybe she’ll help me become a popular musician!!!” and her immediate reaction when she first heard him ask was to literally roll her eyes and he was like oh okay fuck her actually

and then slow burn enemies-to-friends 💛

WHEBDVSVS CELESTE AND BYAKUYA JUST BEING RICH ASSHOLES IS SO FUNNY??? LIKE THEY HAVE WEALTH SOLIDARITY AND THEY ACT ALMOST LIKE alright your status makes you worthy of my time, I suppose-

they’ve had bets on everything from how many times kirigiri will pass out from exhaustion by the end of the school day, to how long it’ll take before Kirumi finally Loses Her Shit, to how many people will be harmed by Komaeda’s luck while hanging out with him.

Mfs about to die smh

and dhdbwvwbsvwvwb yeah like??? sometimes a normal conversation with maizono will turn into her being like “yeah, and by the way, if you’re looking for a change of style and wardrobe, you should check out the newest shirt my band just released as part of our merch drop, and-”

Makoto is the one who gets baited into her merch ads most often sndbsbsbdbdbw

even mentioning the word “merch” around Leon or Kaz will earn her a lot of groaning and sighing, and occasionally a pillow or other soft object being hurled at her face 💛

oh my god they all have a manicure spa day,,,,,,,class bonding 🥺

hdbdvdvdv they got Jill to break into his dorm and kidnap him ngl like the specifics they gave her were something along the lines of “use as much force as you need to without killing him” and she was like “DONE”

and okay I’m not gonna talk abt everyone’s nails but now I’m thinking about it and like-

Sayaka gets like a lighter violet background with gold and white stars smattered around them, more concentrated in some areas than others, and it’s generally very pretty 🥺

chihiro’s are a different solid pastel color on each finger!!! it’s very kidcore and fun and they love it so muchhhh!!!

leon gets a little self-conscious when it’s his turn because his nails are highkey disgusting from all the time he spends playing baseball - there’s dirt trapped under them and everything so he’s just like hhhhhhh anxiety go brrrr but anyway he gets solid black because he’s edgy and cool like that 😎

I think Taka gets a French manicure with little dark red flowers pressed towards the tips because!!! simple yet pretty!!!

Celeste probably takes the longest because her request is sooooo complicated like it’s black and red and long ass acrylics with overlapping patterns and everyone else just kinda sits there feeling h o r r i b l e for that poor nail stylist

Toko gets a checkerboard pattern, with each nail having a different neon color in place of white!!! Because she knows that Jill will find it cool and pretty and colorful the next time she fronts (visual stimming jill?? 👀)

Togami just picks whatever will get him out of the chair quickest hdbsvdvdvdbdbdb

anyway Makoto????? rainbow loom????? absolutely

he has so many bracelets!!!!! so many so many so many and he knows how to create such a wide variety of styles it’s so cool!!!!!! he wears a bunch of them at any given time because they are so fun to fidget with!!!! and rubber texture hvvvvhvv!!!!

and he creates personalized ones for his friends, too, like he knows their favorite colors and sometimes picks up on whether they prefer a certain style or not from the way they react to the other ones he’s made and it’s!!! just so neat!!!!!

I’m thinking about it and!!! he has a bi pride fishtail, a trans pride arrow stitch, a black and neon green railroad, a pastel pink/blue/purple/yellow ladder, a jelly yellow and green dragon scale, a rainbow double cross, and a bunch more!!! he also has a bunch with charms and beads added into them!!!!

He also makes them for his friends even if he knows they won’t wear them!! Like Toko, for example, isn’t the biggest fan of jewelry because she doesn’t like the texture, but he creates one for her anyway and fills it with so much love (it looks like a daisy chain!!!! because at least she’ll be able to look at it and hold it and still be interested in it without it needing to be on her wrist!!!)

he makes a ton of bright colored ones for Mukuro (usually either single or inverted fishtail because he knows she wouldn’t enjoy wearing anything too heavy or overbearing) so that she has more mobile visual stims!!!

similar for Jill!! although most of hers tend to be black and bright neon rainbow in various bulkier styles!!!! Jill will also force him to let her look at his bracelet-covered arm whenever they hang out because. my god,,,,,,so many Colors™️

he’s found that togami prefers black and white simpler styles, and that Kyoko absolutely adores singles, fishtails, and double fishtails in any shade of purple, and that Mondo likes any of the larger styles in darker colors + blacks and grays!!! Chihiro loves anything with jelly and glitter bands!!!

Leon usually only wears one at a time, but he cycles through every single one that his boyfriend’s ever made for him because????? GOD they’re so cool and his boyfriend is so crafty and incredible and just,,,,,,,,,hvvvhvv every time he looks at the one he’s wearing he’s able to calm himself down and remember that Makoto loves him........it’s also very good for stim and fidgeting <3

anyways sorry yes Makoto with a rainbow loom is filling me with serotonin and it’s canon now

[xenosgirlvents]

Hey can I rant to you about how I find the mono-focus on the very much human dominated forces of Chaos as the real bad guy of 40k to be honestly even worse than the Imperiaal focus?  You know what I always wanted in 40k?  Lizardmen, Alien Ogres, Space Dwarfs, Skaven, and some Vampire Counts to the Necrons’ Tomb Kings.   In WHFB only three playable armies were human (five if you count the undead as human) and WHFB had a larger number of independent factions than 40k.   Meanwhile in 40k about half of all the armies in the game are Imperial and another large chunk are the equally insufferable legions of Chaos as the two factions circlejerk over who is the more racist and xenophobic.   While in FB you had the annoying emphasis on Chaos as the one true threat (which is increasingly being emphasised in 40k including the awful, awful retcons they want to do to the war in heaven where what was supposed to be the xenos equivalent to the horus heresy gets “akshually the real bad guy is chaos lawl” shoved into it), humanity was just a part of the struggle against it or other forces such as Undeath or the Greenskins.  Not even the biggest part, with the High Elves, Lizardmen, and Dwarfs all bearing more of the burden than the Empire or Bretonnia.   Meanwhile, while theoretically 40k is a setting where non-chaos bad guys are more relevant and more able to defeat Chaos and take over as the one; the non-humans actually do less.  Chaos is the only bad guy faction allowed to have permanent wins, to be undefeatable without any asterisks marks and whose fanboys (including GW’s writing team) love to endlessly circlejerk about how opposing Chaos is useless because they’ll get you in the end. And how 40k is really about humanity’s inevitably doomed succumbing to Chaos and how the Chaos Space Marines and Daemons are the destined victors and blah-de-blah.  Any time an effective counter to chaos is written about in any other faction’s lore; the Chaos favouratism gets to show with “akshually chaos overcomes this because phhbbbbbt” with eye-rolling descriptions of how Chaos overwhelms say; the Tyranid hive mind by scattering it with the great rift, or how the death guard can infect nurgle, or how actually Tzeentch only pretended to lose to the Eldar or how Slaanesh actually pulled a fast one over the T'au.   Nobody is allowed to be more of a threat than the Chaos Space Marines and Daemons even though the former are literally a bunch of spoiled paramilitary stormtroopers salty about the Emperor saying they weren’t allowed to rule over normal humanity like god-kings and the latter have lore that is fifty million variations of “lol inevitable victory”.  The Chaos Space Marines are so lacking in numbers, so incapable of large scale cooperation not riven with petty fratricidal personal rivalries, so bereft of a functional logistical train, and are lead by such an insufferable band of edgy cartoon villains that they should honestly be little more than a nuisance that the Imperium only focuses on because of their symbolic threat. An annoyance compared to the much more organised and vastly more numerous and far better at exponentially scaling up power of the Necrons, the Tyranids, or the Orks. One that is carrying out an empty, pointless rivalry sparked largely over a bunch of stormtroopers being furious about not being allowed to be kings.  Wouldn’t it be more thematically meaningful and fit better into the cosmic horror that 40k wants to be if Chaos was actually mostly a symbolic threat that would be ignorable if the Imperium wasn’t still spooked over what amounted to an attempted religiously motivated military coup ten thousand years ago and that ultimately; this petty rivalry doesn’t matter? That the bitter hatred over Horus’ coup ultimately is meaningless in the face of the fact that this galaxy, this universe, has never belonged to humanity or anything spawned of it?  Khorne may feed off the violence of humanity and many minor xenos species; but Gork and Mork are a far more pure form of warmongering and what we now know as the Greenskins are just the tip of the iceberg compared to what they can really do when the WAAAGH! gets rolling. Nurgle may be an infestation of humanity’s despair and inability to progress but the Tyranids are the cancer that will kill the universe itself. Tzeentch may be clever and ancient as the firstborn of Chaos; but the Necrons have plans stretching back to before even the very idea of Tzeentch came into being.   And of course, unlike the Dark Elves; the Druklhari aren’t really a major villain or threat. Vect is just kind of an asshole in his own little corner, not one of the top big bads the way Malekith was.  But nah instead we get CHAOSCHAOSCHAOSCHAOSCHAOS coupled with ADB and Reynolds’ bizarre (but in hindsight, given what we’re shown of Chaos; sensible) revelation that actually Chaos is even more racist than the Imperium.  It leads to 40k’s central conflict being between Satanist Ethnonationalist AnCaps and TradCath Ethnonationalist Reactionaries. Creepy bloodthirsty edgelords versus Roman bust twitter pfps.  None of the other villains are ever allowed to “usurp” Chaos’ place as “the real threat” and any time non-chaotic bad guys get a time to shine, the Chaos writers pitch a fit and force in awful reminders that Chaos is actually the real threat behind everything and can never ever lose.   It makes Chaos come off less as an interesting villain and more of a childish edgelord fantasy written by a bunch of kids who go “nuh uh!” everytime they take the L or insinuate that spikelord edgy mcgee is anything less than the coolest bad guy ever made.  The fandom makes fun of Abaddon because he textually hasn’t really done much in thirteen tries? Well actually retcon in some outlandishly complicated super duper secret plan so that he and his army of *checks notes* less than one million racist storm troopers in ancap colours are actually totally the greatest threat in the setting and not the vastly more organised Tyranids or more tactically competent Necrons or the more numerous Orks.  People still make fun of abaddon because he looks like a goofy mook rather than an awesome overlord (at least Archaon looks like someone you’d immediately figure for as the big bad of a setting; Abaddon looks more like…the real bad guy’s stupid but strong brute muscle enforcer)? Have an entire novel series written to squee about how awesome and cool he is which literally none of the other “big bad” factions’ primary characters have ever gotten.   Also I am sick to death of how GW pushes Khorne as the unbeatable poster bad boy of the entire setting over and above even the rest of Chaos. Yeah his aesthetic is simple, marketable, and he’s incredibly easy to write into plots (even if I think there’s never been more interesting takes on Khorne where he’s shown as actually capable of cleverness in the pursuit of maximising mindless death and destruction as we see in Dawn of War 1 and Dawn of War 2 Retribution; where the Khornate villains have an impressively clever scheme even if the end goal is just “kill people”) and you can explain his concept to anyone.  Please stop trying to throw him into literally everything and let other bad guys have even a little bit of spotlight.   Octarius and Armageddon? Khorne crashes the party. Tzeentch threatens Luna? Well akshually Khorne invades Terra, take that nerds.  Where does Khorne even get all these worshippers to yeet themselves into every warzone in existence when he probably offers the least to his followers that most people would want? 

So on some points I agree with you, others I disagree, and in some places I understand the general feeling you’re conveying but am not quite so vitriolic.

Yes; I wish 40k as a setting was more akin to WHFB and AoS in that it permitted more factions to matter. 40k is, I agree, so myopic in it’s focus that it becomes frustrating. If the other factions weren’t playable I would understand, certainly, but if you’re going to offer players a chance to invest in the Xenos factions but then just never give them any return on that investment it feels like nothing more than lying to people.

Similarly; I also wish we saw more of a non-Human (and even then more of a non-Chaos Space Marine) component to Chaos. I find it hard to take Chaos seriously as a universal force when, over their supposedly non-linear/infinite period of existence they seem to never have done anything other than obsess over one species who, compared to the majority of other playable species in the game, have been around insanely briefly.

Yes; I do agree that I wish at times Chaos wasn’t used to usurp Xenos threats just to pull the old ‘but Chaos was the true villain all along’, see what you mention about the Hive Mind and the Great Rift, about Chaos usurping Orks on Armageddon etc. etc.

However, I disagree that Chaos is remotely as irritatingly favoured in the lore as the Imperium. Yes, it is true, that it is not infrequently written in vague terms that ‘you are all doomed, Chaos comes for you,’ but, in the majority of cases, this is purely informed, never shown. It is akin to the lines that tell us ‘Aeldari are so smart and elite,’ but then we just get shown them being curbstomped over and over again. We’re ‘told’ Chaos is some great looming threat which will win...but in practise they do only mildly better than Xenos in the lore, with Chaos losing the vast majority of everything they ever do in the lore, just like Xenos. I will admit Chaos has, lately, done *marginally* better in the lore, and that is definitely connected, as you say, to the active focus to make Chaos the ‘big bad’ now, but it is still only marginal.

I do agree that I would prefer not to see Chaos made to eclipse all other threats but my main motivation here is just because in 40k, as you point out, Chaos is never separated from the Imperium. In WHFB and AoS Chaos can take on a plurality of forms and is not just a ‘spikier’ version of the main human faction. For this reason the recent feeling I have had is just that 40k is increasingly becoming a clone of the Horus Heresy which, as someone who likes Xenos, is obviously a disappointment.

I don’t share your very strong disdain for Chaos. For the most part, in 40k’s lore, I feel Chaos is largely akin to Xenos in that we’re all glorified punching bags for Space Marines (you yourself point out Abaddon’s memetic loser status). I concede Chaos does *marginally* better but, at current, that is so inconsequential to me that it doesn’t bother me anywhere near as much as the treatment of Xenos vis-a-vise the Imperium.

My personal take is I think the favouritism as an antagonist, shown to Chaos, is less detrimental to the cause of Xenos agency in the lore than the raging boner GW and BL have for the Imperium and, in particular Space Marines. 

I also, in general, think Chaos would benefit from being developed in a more nuanced way. I don’t see them quite as cardboard-cut out as you seem too (not denying many are because BL and GW can’t write non-Imperium characters well mostly) but I think many of them have, and to an extent do also, get treated more nuanced in some of the literature. I do think a big failing here is that Black Library has made *some* efforts to make *some* of the Chaos characters interesting and nuanced but, for some reason, GW tends to just ignore this. Hence Magnus can in his own novels be portrayed as sympathetic due to his loyalty to his people and desire to not persecute Psykers, but then when appearing in a campaign supplement just makes the stock-generic ‘bow before me mortals/I am your doom/all shall fall’ comments with little to no character.

Personally, and this is recognizing as I said above that I do understand some of the points you’re making, I feel like Chaos players and Xenos players, in terms of the lore treating us like crap, have more in common than not. But, again, that’s just my personal opinion! 

[tickleraptorss]

hey yknow that one ask game w the characters? yeah i did that w the chocobros

under a read more bc this shit long lol <3 i literally cannot get enough of these boys

noctis

on a scale of 1-10, how ticklish are they?

uhhhhh definitely like AT LEAST a 9. he’s ticklish as hell.

where is their most ticklish spot(s)?

his feets and his hips :D his hips are worse tho.... gentle scribbles get him to squeak

which spots are they not ticklish?

nowhere lol

what is their laugh like?

so so cute... his voice pitches higher when he laughs and it’s quite like?? Light but it gets real loudy and even squeaky if you get the right spots

do they enjoy tickling? if yes, is it a fun platonic/familial thing, or kinky thing to them, or can it be both depending on the circumstance?

he enjoys it when he’s in the mood for it! he only rly trusts his S/Os with it tho, it’s more a romantic and/or platonic thing for him!

are they more often a lee or ler, generally?

def more lee-leaning but he’s generally a switch

who is someone in their life that they tickle often?

PROMPTO.... he tickles prompto all. the. time. bc prompto’s just too cute and too ticklish for his own good and the prince loves taking advantage of it :)

who is someone in their life that they get tickled by often?

ignis and gladio get at him pretty often bc he can’t do much to defend himself (i mean, exacting revenge on ignis isn’t always the best idea. and honestly, no one can get themselves out of gladio’s iron grip)

does the word “tickle” or any variation of embarrass them?

if he’s being teased with it then yeah. but other than that he can say it/hear it without freaking out

are they embarrassed about their ticklishness, and do they try to deny/hide it?

he is so. embarrassed. about being as ticklish as he is. if it was only a little or like average he’d be fine, but since he’s super ticklish he gets rly embarrassed about it. he will lie about it if you ask him, although the blush on his cheeks gives him away p easily

would gentle tickling or rough tickling affect them more?

depends on the spot. for example, squeezes to his hips are more effective! while gentle skittering gets him all giggly and squeaky, if you want a rly good reaction out of him, squeezes are the way to go. generally gentle scribbles work better on spots like his tummy, sides, ribs, and feet.

is there a specific spot that they enjoy being tickled, either exclusively or more than other spots? what is it?

he likes back tickles…. even though he’s so ticklish he can’t sit still. they’re nice, but his back is covered with lil sweet spots and if you even just brush over one he will die. other than that he likes it…. even if he tries to deny it through his giggles >:)c

is there a spot that they can’t stand to be tickled, either because it’s just too sensitive, or it’s uncomfortable/painful/etc? what is it?

not really? i mean there’s probably a spot on his legs that’d be uncomfortable but. that’s bc of childhood injury nd stuff.

would they ever purposefully bug a friend/partner/sibling into tickling them, and if so, how would they go about it?

noctis is a little brat, but it’s easy to tickle that brattiness out of him. and he knows this, and definitely uses it to his advantage. noctis doesn’t get lee moods as often as, say, prompto, but he does have them. and his way of getting tickles is by acting extra bratty. although sometimes it backfires, specifically with ignis. because ignis knows he likes it, and often won’t do anything until he asks.

does teasing affect them?

noctis is def affected by teasing, for sure. i mean, reducing the stubborn prince to childish giggling is enough to embarrass him, but teasing him on top of that? his ears will turn red. he will definitely deny the fact that he’s cute and ticklish if you tease him about it (in which you can then tickle him into admitting it haha)

prompto

on a scale of 1-10, how ticklish are they?

10. maybe an 11. poor chocoboy is too ticklish for his own good

where is their most ticklish spot(s)?

his tummy is so sensitive…… he makes the cutest sounds……

which spots are they not ticklish?

lol as if anywhere on prompto couldn’t be ticklish

what is their laugh like?

the best way to describe it is like. it’s cackly, squeaky and high-pitched. snorts on occasion but only if you get at his bad spots

do they enjoy tickling? if yes, is it a fun platonic/familial thing, or kinky thing to them, or can it be both depending on the circumstance?

prompto. loves. tickling. being tickled, tickling others. he is all for it. sees it as a fun bonding thing!! and he’s never been secretive about it either

are they more often a lee or ler, generally?

(points at him) Lee. although he’ll tickle noct sometimes

who is someone in their life that they tickle often?

i’d say noctis often falls victim to his random tickle attacks. after all, he has the best chance against noctis bc both gladio and ignis are too Powerful for him. (not that he won’t still try lol)

who is someone in their life that they get tickled by often?

noctis, gladio and ignis all tickle him on a pretty regular basis tbh

does the word “tickle” or any variation of embarrass them?

yessss he can’t say it himself if he’s in a lee mood. outside of that context he can usually say it, but he blushes when he does.

are they embarrassed about their ticklishness, and do they try to deny/hide it?

not really! if you asked him if he was ticklish he’d be like “yeah i’m p ticklish!” like he knows that he’s gonna get tickled either way so he might as well yknow, be honest. although if you tease him about how ticklish he is he will blush

would gentle tickling or rough tickling affect them more?

prompto loooooves gentle tickles. little scribbles on his tummy get him all riled up and giggly and flustered and it’s the most adorable thing. and he doesn’t rly try to push you away either he just kinda sits there and takes it and oh my god lil sunshine man

is there a specific spot that they enjoy being tickled, either exclusively or more than other spots? what is it?

he likes being tickled p much everywhere! but he is partial to tummy tickles bc. yknow. worst spot lol

is there a spot that they can’t stand to be tickled, either because it’s just too sensitive, or it’s uncomfortable/painful/etc? what is it?

nope!

would they ever purposefully bug a friend/partner/sibling into tickling them, and if so, how would they go about it?

oh yeah, although he doesn’t have the same methods noctis does. he’ll usually tickle one of his boyfriends in hopes of them getting back at him, and if that doesn’t work he’ll just ask. although… asking doesn’t come without hesitation, blushing and stuttering ofc.

does teasing affect them?

okay listen of course it does bc. look at prompto. how can you NOT tease him???? he’s so CUTE???? his laugh gets all squeaky when you tease him and he just whines and tries to protest but can’t get anything out through his giggles and AAAA

ignis

on a scale of 1-10, how ticklish are they?

probably like. 7 or 8. not as bad as prompto or noct but still definitely up there

where is their most ticklish spot(s)?

he’s got a lot of sweet spots, altho they’re more obscure. back of his ribs, his ears, the back of his knees. the back of his ribs are the worst tho.

which spots are they not ticklish?

he doesn’t rly have ticklish legs except for the back of his knees.

what is their laugh like?

ignis’ laugh is v unique. kinda deep, but can get higher-pitched, and he also definitely snorts when he laughs

do they enjoy tickling? if yes, is it a fun platonic/familial thing, or kinky thing to them, or can it be both depending on the circumstance?

ignis doesn’t mind being tickled, but he does thoroughly enjoy tickling any of his boyfriends. he does it more to sorta put them in their place and remind them that he is definitely the most ruthless when it comes to dishing out tickles (despite what gladio might say)

are they more often a lee or ler, generally?

more on the ler-leaning switch side!

who is someone in their life that they tickle often?

he tickles noctis like. all the time. lil bratty prince needs to know his place. and also he’s cute and ignis likes taking advantage of his weakness. he tickles prompto and gladio too, but noctis is his more common victim.

who is someone in their life that they get tickled by often?

noctis and gladio get at him a lot. prompto not so much bc prompto knows you do not mess with ignis bc ignis doesn’t get even, he gets revenge. (although if prompto’s really in the mood to be wrecked he will go after ignis)

does the word “tickle” or any variation of embarrass them?

nope, ignis can say and hear it without any trouble. even when he’s being teased it doesn’t affect him as much.

are they embarrassed about their ticklishness, and do they try to deny/hide it?

ignis is p embarrassed abt being ticklish in general, but more so his reactions to it. his boyfriends are v understanding tho so it’s smth that stays between the four of them.

would gentle tickling or rough tickling affect them more?

gentle tickles…….. especially while teasing…… it gets to him so bad.

is there a specific spot that they enjoy being tickled, either exclusively or more than other spots? what is it?

ignis doesn’t rly have a preference, like i said he doesn’t mind it, but he doesn’t actively seek it out like prompto or noctis do. although don’t tell anyone that he loves having the palms of his hands tickled bc it feels nice no shhhh don’t tell

is there a spot that they can’t stand to be tickled, either because it’s just too sensitive, or it’s uncomfortable/painful/etc? what is it?

not that i can think of!

would they ever purposefully bug a friend/partner/sibling into tickling them, and if so, how would they go about it?

not really, as stated before ignis doesn’t rly seek it. although he will often jump at any opportunity to tickle noctis.

does teasing affect them?

only certain teases affect ignis. but when they do, they really get to him. his face gets all red up to the tips of his ears, his laughter turns to a higher pitch. it’s adorable. so when noctis discovers that ignis is weak to tickle talk as well, he’s all like (eyes emoji)

gladiolus

on a scale of 1-10, how ticklish are they?

hmmm he’s the least ticklish of the bunch. probably a 6. i’d say he’s around average ticklishness

where is their most ticklish spot(s)?

get under his arms and he’s done for :)

which spots are they not ticklish?

he’s not super ticklish on his back or legs tbh

what is their laugh like?

have you heard him laugh??? it’s so pure i can’t even describe it it’s like. Deep. but goofy. i love it

do they enjoy tickling? if yes, is it a fun platonic/familial thing, or kinky thing to them, or can it be both depending on the circumstance?

he loves tickling his boyfriends….. and he will never stop loving it. he just thinks the fact that all his boyfriends are super ticklish is really adorable and how could he not use that to his advantage tbh?? he just loves seeing their reactions to the tiniest touch

are they more often a lee or ler, generally?

LERRRR oh my god such a ler

who is someone in their life that they tickle often?

he tickles prompto, ignis and noctis a lot. iris too.

who is someone in their life that they get tickled by often?

well, noctis and prompto often try to tag team him only to get pinned down and tickled half to death. ignis knows better than to not even try to get back at gladio, bc the couple of attempts there have been, it did not end well for iggy. so gladio doesn’t get tickled too often, it’s only rly when the three of them exact revenge together.

does the word “tickle” or any variation of embarrass them?

nahhh he’s cool with it

are they embarrassed about their ticklishness, and do they try to deny/hide it?

he doesn’t rly get embarrassed by it. like yeah he’s big strong “i literally picked up a stone pillar bigger than me and bonked a bunch of dragons with it” man but he’s just chill with it. like if you ask him he’ll say that he is ticklish, bc he knows if you try anything he can get back at you very easily.

would gentle tickling or rough tickling affect them more?

rough. tickles. baby. digging under his arms or into his ribs get the funniest cackles out of him. not to say that gentle tickles don’t affect him at all, he’s just more responsive to rougher tickles.

is there a specific spot that they enjoy being tickled, either exclusively or more than other spots? what is it?

uhh gladio doesn’t get tickled often but. forearm tickles are nice. ignis will occasionally just drag his nails over gladio’s arms and while it’s not enough to make gladio laugh, it’s enough to tickle a little. but it feels nice so he doesn’t mind.

is there a spot that they can’t stand to be tickled, either because it’s just too sensitive, or it’s uncomfortable/painful/etc? what is it?

nope!

would they ever purposefully bug a friend/partner/sibling into tickling them, and if so, how would they go about it?

he does the opposite. he goes out of his way to find an excuse to tickle any of his boyfriends when he feels like it lol. sometimes there isn’t even a reason other than “i just felt like it”

does teasing affect them?

only in some circumstances. will i elaborate? not really. im tired lol

[black-streak]

Waiting For The Worms - The Show Must Go On

Part 4

Sooo, this isn't nearly as dark and has very little angst in comparison to the point I'd almost say it isn't? It's pretty much just an update on life in a way. Which is also part of why it took so long for me to write. Like, the struggle was real. Next chapter will go back to your regularly scheduled heartbreak.

Warnings from chapter 1, while mostly inapplicable for this part, still in effect.

The gallery: @northernbluetongue @thethirdwheelfriend @shizukiryuu @theatreandcomicfreak @michellemagic @karategirl119 @moonlightstar64 @my-name-is-michell @mystery-5-5 @zalladane @queen-of-the-trash-planet-tm @miraculousdisapointment @dorkus-minimus @jardimazul @allthebooksandcrannies @g-arya @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @persephonescat @mycupisbroken @luciferge @18-fandoms-unite-08 @dawnwave16 @alwaysreblogneverpost @kris-pines04 @mysteriouslyswimmingfan-blo-blog @weird-pale-blonde-person @you-will-never-know-how-i-think @kokotaru @naclychilli @slytherinhquinn @clumsy-owl-4178 @ladybug-182 @darkthunder1589 @evil-elf16 @dast218 @lysslovsanime @emilytopaz @naoryllis @iloontjeboontje @thepeacetea @danielslilangel @finallyaniguana @i-like-fairytail-and-stuff @vixen-uchiha @yuulxd @bleeding-heart-romantic @magic-inthe-stars @st0rmy-w1th1n

~---~

The next year of Jason's life was hectic to say the least.

It started with the downfall of Lila Rossi. Which consequently, he had no part in. She stepped on the wrong toes, made a few too many contradictions and suddenly a pile of lawsuits were stacked against her. Her mother went completely ape shit on her and pulled her out immediately to be shipped off to a very strict boarding school. More like a juvenile detention center if the rumors were true.

For the first month, no one approached him. The guilty, stricken looks upon his classmates' faces told a million stories of apologetic remorse, but since becoming a jaded, snarky outcast, 'Marinette' was no longer the person you could give a simple apology to and expect forgiveness. And no one wanted to be the first to get shot down.

Eventually, the first apology came. Surprisingly, Alya tried to win his favor. She groveled and apologized up and down on how terrible she and Lila had been and named every reason in the book as to why she had reacted and treated Marinette the way she did in an attempt to explain herself. While it wasn't necessarily surprising that she would be the first to not fear him, it was shocking she saw the error of her ways so soon with all that bull headed ego she carried around.

Bravery got her nowhere, however, as Jason only lifted an eyebrow, arms crossed as he leaned back, and calmly replied.

"Cool story, still betrayal."

As the girl sputtered before him, he turned back towards Chloe, continuing to make their plans for the day. After two minutes had passed and Alya still stood there hunting for her words, he turned back.

"Can you leave? Sometime today would be nice."

And so the precedent was set. While it took another week for someone else to approach, they seemed spurred on by the ease of Alya's dismissal. Suppose they figured if the biggest offender only got mild verbal abuse and dismissal, things had to go more smoothly for them.

Nino came next, awkward shuffling and avoided eye contact included. He pushed through his apology, beating around the bush and trying to defuse the situation at the same time he built it up. It only served to piss Jason off. They deserve better than this. At least meet her eyes if you're going to apologize and expect me to believe it.

"Uh… Marinette? Did you hear me?"

"I'm sorry, were you talking to me? I assumed you were talking to the desk next to me and minded my business. Would hate to be accused of eavesdropping."

He flinched at the reminder and finally looked him in the eye.

"I'm sorry. What we did was wrong. What I did was wrong and I am so beyond sorry for it. There is no excuse for my behavior."

"You're right. There isn't. Do better in the future."

"I will!," he rushed to reassure Jason, voice hopeful, "Does this mean we can be friends again?"

"No. Do better for those who chose to be your friend in the future."

"Oh… okay, yeah, that's fair," Nino gave a downtrodden look and wandered off.

Next came Sabrina and Rose, who didn't so much as apologize to him, but instead tried to reattach themselves to Chloe and Juleka's sides as if nothing had happened at all. This might not have thrown Chloe in the slightest, but poor Juleka looked a moment from having an anxiety attack. Chloe made short work of both girls, dismissing them entirely and when Rose started to cry and stare at Juleka for reassurance that everything was okay, Jason pulled the goth into a hug, glaring at the little blonde girl, until eventually she received the hint and ran off, tears streaming down her face. Apparently Nathaniel gave Marc the same treatment.

Lastly Kim, Alix, Max, Ivan, and Mylene came as a group. They must've taken comfort in their numbers, hoping it would somehow protect them from him singling them out. Thought everything would go smoother that way. He could hear Juleka grumbling at his side where they sat under a tree for lunch. They both appreciated the shade and quiet peace of the place. Marc sat on her other side, writing away in a journal.

"Hey Mari, we wanted to apologize for the way we've been acting lately," Alix took the lead.

"Yeah, it was really uncool of us," Kim followed up, the others nodding along.

They looked imploring. Like they were waiting for some sort of forgiveness. He couldn't help but wonder if they thought their actions were somehow better. That he couldn't really be mad at them because they weren't the ones who lied or lead the pack against his soulmate. They didn't make harsh accusations or physically attack Marinette. So somehow, they were better and their apologies could be less.

How fucking rude. How presumptuous. How entitled to think his time, thoughts, feelings were forfeit in their need for forgiveness. Marinette deserved better in her time here than these heartless bastards. None of them ever defended her either. Or him for that matter. Not one of them tried to so much as change the subject to avoid harping on him. None cared when his soulmate never returned to her body. Maybe that wasn't fair, but at the very least they could've approached him in his grief when it was easily displayed. Everyone here had a soulmate and knew the signs of loss for when one died. Surely they knew that this person in this body lost their other half. And yet not a soul outside of his group had offered condolences.

"That's all you have to offer? That it wasn't cool?" Juleka asked, tone quiet but sharp.

"Well it's not like we-"

"Let me cut you off there, before you piss me off. You didn't personally attack me, you just watched and snickered behind hands. Joined in to the cruel jokes and snide remarks. Encouraged those who did attack. At least they had the decency to be that way to my face and let me know where we stood. You? Hiding behind others actions and grouping up to give half-hearted sorrys that you barely think of before you speak? Now you guys are the ones that truly infuriate me. Either you believed I deserved the treatment I received but refused to be singled out for it. Or you thought what was happening was wrong and were too much of a coward to step up and help me out. I'm not sure which is worse. Either way, I don't want to see a single one of you approach me again. I don't mean enough to you to make a stand? Then you don't mean enough to me to even speak to. Get out of my face."

When his little speech was done and the startled masses ran off with an added glare, protests held on the tip of tongues, Jason slumped back against the tree, taking small comforts in the silent support of his two companions.

Adrien never approached. That was for the best.

His friend group was also something new. Marc, Juleka, Chloe, and Kagami. The group technically leaned more female than anything, but after the heavy masculine energy of his old life, this turn of events felt refreshing. It helped that Marc came out as nonbinary and Jason couldn't help but relate in a way with his view of this body fitting as female, but his mind staying firmly male. Altering his soulmate's body to fit would never happen, but it also didn't match him. 

The group only grew stronger and more resilient after Jason agreed to revealing identities in the team. After the loss of Mari and the stripping of the ring from Adrien, Jason found it necessary to place new permanent holders. With Kagami and Chloe having screwed up their original hero personas, the placement became a challenge. 

He started out with figuring out his new cat. 

Talking it over with Fu and dragging the decision out way longer than it needed to, he eventually convinced the old guardian of Kagami's worth. She took to Plagg with ease, the design of her look altering to match. The suit stayed all black but wasn't leather and had gold detailing. The ears and tail looked more realistic as well. Her hair went pitch black and eyes went to shades of gold. Kagami insisted her new name be Serval.

Next came Chloe who ended up comforting Jason the most through his despair, whether she knew the reason for it or not. Without the bee as an easy go to, he ended up giving her the Dragon. Sure, the mix wasn't the best ever, but it kept her on the offensive side and more active, so it worked the way they needed it to. Her outfit consisted of tight fitted scales in shades of black and blue. Unlike when Kagami used the dragon, her and Longg took more to the shades of blue that came with most weather. Her shock of blonde hair played nicely with the idea of lightening on a stormy day. She went with Nimbus.

Surprisingly, Marc became the next holder. Jason planned on handing off the fox to Juleka, only to realize it wouldn't quite suit the girl. She stayed in the shadows most of the time, yes, but not really by choice. She wanted to be a model and show up in photos more than anything, so it made no sense to stick her with another identity she had to hide in. Add on the fact that she wasn't necessarily the most creative and well, Jason couldn't hand off an illusion piece to her. That's when Marc came into play. The kid had creativity in spades and preferred to avoid the spotlight. Marc and Marinette grew closer with all their time spent in the art room and courtyard together and especially with Nathaniel having ditched them. With Marc starting to build a spot of their own within the group, it only made sense to pair them with the Fox.

Now that he thought about it, the whole team really stuck with black. Marc had a black velvety almost shapeless form, with white tail, ears, sash, gloves, and boots. Their eyes fell white on gray on black and gave off an eerie feel. They choose Jocular for their hero name.

Finally, Jason hunted down the perfect miraculous for Juleka. The mouse. Quiet and unseen, playing in the background until the moment was right. And then she was everywhere, a multitude taking over the scene and overwhelming the enemy in a matter of moments. Perfect for the girl who hid behind her bangs but longed for the spotlight. Mullo played to both halves of her personality. The suit that came with consisted of a deep vivid purple that matched her bangs while detransformed. While in costume, the highlights disappeared and her eyes shined purple as well. The fit was reminiscent of a belted, hooded tunic with black leggings and matching purple booties. She went with Fievel. Turns out Juleka had an interesting favorite childhood movie. Months later, they would find themselves sitting around a tv, watching the old animated musical, but in the beginning, they just took it in stride.

The last major change came in a heavier bond forming amongst his team.

When Jason agreed to reveal identities, if for no other reason than the guilt of already keeping one major secret from the group, things spiced up. For one, Juleka and Marc traded their respective miraculouses back and forth depending on their comfort level for the day. If one felt more ready for the spotlight, they took to the mouse for the battle. If one felt especially creative at the moment, they tagged in for the fox. Of course, they jumped in with whichever they had when an akuma hit while separated, but the switch off seemed to comfort them.

Secondly, Chloe started running more interference to allow them escape time if stuck up in civilian form. Her false bratty attitude and daddy issues came into play here, despite her actual maturity about both. It helped to amp it up from time to time.

Lastly, Kagami and Jason begin to switch on occasion.

Plagg hadn't been outside the ring since Jason removed him from Adrien and Kagami received him. The shock and horror on his face when Tikki told him the reality of their situation broke Jason a little more. The cat insisted on spending more time with Jason after that. His soul resonated better with the ring anyways, so the time spent as the cat holder felt soothing after so long as the ladybug, despite this body feeling more receptive towards Tikki's magic. 

As an added bonus, the two kept the other's costume and attributes such as eyes and hair. Between that and the heavy magical glamour hiding their identities, no one, not even Hawkmoth, knew which one was which until their fighting style came into play at which point, it was too late. Luckily, with the sneaky aspects of the mouse and fox, the other two became quite the ambush as well. Add in Chloe showing up with one of three different powers at any given moment, and Hawkmoth's akumas became easy prey.

By the time the year ran out, their team ran as a well oiled machine. Despite the horrific heartbreak festering in his heart, Jason felt hopeful. Hopeful that they might take down the villain that had taken over his soulmate's life from so young. That this battle at least might end on a happy note. That soon he would be free to seek out justice for Marinette once and for all.

[dragonrajafanfiction]

Dragon Dancer IV: Zero

I heard the wind through the trees first. It carried the scent of pine needles to my nose and that opened my eyes. Darkness still reigned, so not much time had passed. I sat up and was steadied by a pair of hands.

I looked up into pair of reptilian eyes and gasped. Lu Mingfei was still more dragon than human, leaning in the shadow of a large tree. He held up a finger to his lips, curving a sharp claw. He was breathing heavily, like he’d run the whole way here.

Were we hiding? I tried to get up and he held me down. His grip tightened and he shook his head. He suddenly crouched, his wings folded up against his back.  A helicopter shined spotlight over head.

Fenrir’s bone armor had turned black and had was falling away from him in pieces. He’d used the Word Judgement against the members of dragonslayers come to kill him. Everywhere I had looked, there was nothing but dead bodies falling from the sky.

Could it be that he had expended all his remaining power? He was only one quarter of his strength. With Fenrir’s bones crumbling, he must have used all the power in them as well.

“They’ll be using infrared.” I whispered. “You’ll have to let me teleport you.”

“First, I need the bones of Constantine.” He whispered back to me.

“Do you know where they are?” 

He nodded once. 

The sound of the helicopter swung away from us and we relaxed for a moment. 

He looked into my eyes. “No matter what... don’t come out of cover.”

“Mingfei...”

“I’ll have to face them. I can hear... they’ve surrounded us. They’re coming.”

“Are you going to die?”

Mingfei lifted one claw and drew it along the contours of my face. Then he stood up and walked away from me. I was lying, propped up against a tree, half buried in sticks and leaves. I stayed quiet.

The trees thinned out in the distance. The roar of the helicopter returned, incredibly loud, throwing down gales of wind that sent the forest swaying. Someone jumped from the helicopter, directly in front of Mingfei.

This shadow of a figure tossed aside his trenchcoat, and I saw a person who was only slightly less of a dragon than Mingfei was. Even in the dark of night, his skin was so pale it practically glowed. His hands reflected the moonlight, glittering with fine white scales.

I swallowed. Was this one of them? The dragonslayers of Beowulf? I shrank lower to the ground, doing my best not to be seen.

The helicopter was rotating in the sky, making slight adjustments in angle and altitude. A sound, like a sharp whistle of air reached my ears and the sight of a long dark harpoon ripping through Mingfei’s back reached my eyes. It sliced clear through him, exited out the other side. The tip opened into array of hooks that bit into his chest when when the helicopter lifted. Mingfei was taken off his feet and left dangling in the air in front of the man.

The attack was so swift and unexpected that Lu Mingfei couldn’t react. I heard him gasping, struggling against the harpoon that held him. His body suddenly stiffened and he began to howl and scream, his voice higher pitched than humanly possible. I saw smoke rising from his body and realized that they were sending electricity through his body at a rate strong enough to kill someone. A light, bright and pulsing like the sun appeared at the point of contact and I was forced to look away.

After an interminable amount of time, the torment stopped and Lu Mingfei was limp. 

The man strode forward and knelt down, rubbing the tips of his finger into the ground. They came up dark. He ran his tongue over them and let out a sigh closing his eyes.

I lay low, suppressing the small whimpers from coming out of my throat, but I couldn’t hold back my tears. Grief welled in me like a breaking tsunami I had to hold my breath to keep from screaming. My nails dug into the ground. I had to stay still and quiet but all I wanted to do is rip the world in half. I pressed my face to the ground and tried to control my breath. But I inhaled a long involuntary gasp that would have been audible had the sound of the helicopter not concealed it.

“Are you surprised? You shouldn’t be. We caught your brother like this you know.” The man raised his voice so Mingfei could hear him over the sound of the machine. 

“We heard that a Dragon King may have escaped a secret lab in Siberia. We couldn’t just sit back and watch. We called out all the elites. Even some of my family were there.”

“It was an extremely tragic battle then as well. He was different from all the dragon swe had contact with. He was very adaptable and very cunning. Like a human. He wasn’t as strong as Norton or Fenrir. But with a simple dagger, he killed hundreds of A-level and S-level secret party members along the way. Just when the mission was nearly defeated, we received a high level order to clear the field as we were going to deploy our most powerful weapon, even if it meant killing other nearby party members.”

“The weapon was a person who could use the Speaking Spirit ‘Rhine’. This power can only be used once in a lifetime, as it obliterates the user in what can only be described as a nuclear explosion.”

“This kid had many ways to escape, but the Rhine user had captured his companion, a little girl. Then he did something that was completely inconsistent with dragon standards. He carried the daggers and kept going. He killed everyone standing in his way. The people he killed were actually decoys. Distractions. He didn’t expect that  what waited for him was a nuclear explosion.”

I lifted my face from the dirt. Mingfei was still hanging limp, his eyes closed.

The man let out a deep sigh. “What a lonely child... unwilling to give up his last companion.”

“A hundred square miles of forest was burned. The child was lying on the ground. He was still alive but the girl had escaped somehow. He was able to take “Rhine” at close range but was immobilized. So we plunged the legendary weapon, Gungnir, directly into his heart.”

Mingfei lifted his head at that.

“Have you seen it? The Secret Party collected it ages ago. Anyone who contacts it dies immediately. But not this child. Its lethal effect was balanced by the boy’s own vitality. He can’t die, but he can’t wake up either. But you... you are not as strong as he is.”

“The people... in the helicopters. You sacrificed their lives .... too?” Mingfei rasped.  He could barely speak, the effort of breathing put pressure on the hooks in his chest with every agonizing inhalation. His words came out in a rush to relieve the pain. 

“Of course. They knew what they were facing. They expected to die and were quite willing to do so. Your powers are incomplete, but you would still have to be weakened for us to capture and kill you.”

“If... I hadn’t... killed them...  What would you have done?”

The man barked out an incredulous laugh. “If you hadn’t... Dragons are bloodthirsty. It is your instinct to kill. Such hypotheticals are pointless.”

He reached into his coat and pulled out what looked like a short sword. It’s cutting edge glowed the bright red of sage stone.

“Before you... before.... you kill me... answer the question.”

The man said nothing. Nothing that I could hear anyway. If he did answer, it was drowned out by the pulsing reverberation of gunfire. Bright beams of light erupted from the trees and impacted the helicopter. Its rotors suddenly stopped and it began to fall. I was scooped up only a few feet off the ground by someone, a young woman who deposited me out of the danger of falling debris.

Her blond braids whipped from her face, her cold gaze faced forward as she raised the automatic weapon at the man and squeezed the trigger. The sound was impossibly loud and I clapped my ears over my head and clambered to my feet. The man pulled out his gun but dropped it and staggered backwards.

The young woman, who looked like she was barely out of high school, coolly reloaded, walking forward, firing, her face impassive until she reached his body.

She reloaded again, fired again until the heat distorted the muzzle and the gun misfired.

I rushed to Mingfei’s side and then I heard voices in the woods. The girl dropped her automatic weapon and pulled out twin pistols. She stepped on the chain holding Mingfei and fired until the bullets snapped it apart. She looked at me, her expression icy in her blue eyes. “Get him out of here. You see that rise in the distance?” 

I turned my head, following her gaze. 

“There’s a truck. The skeletons are there. Get him to them.”

I struggled to lift his limp form but I knew how to do a fireman’s carry. “Thanks... whoever you are.”

She shoved in another clip. “Call me Zero.”

[yourdeepestfathoms]

False God AU

based on my own story and the characters in it, Tales From The American Slaughterhouses (or: Wake Me Up When September Ends)

The UK government has decided that human soldiers are no long exceeding their expectations, so when the US comes to them with a proposition, they accept. A special chemical has been created called “miasma”. When infused with human blood, it will mutate that human into a monstrous creature that has never been seen before. Permanently.

These mutants are called “False Gods” and must wear thick metal collars (Restrainers) at all time, which keep them in their dormant forms and pump human hormones into their brains to stop them from being completely feral. However, when the collar is removed, they will transform into their godly bodies and lose their humanity. Hopefully, this will only ever happen in war towards enemies.

They’re housed in old slaughterhouses on the edge of England--or so everyone thinks. But below the ocean lays the underwater city, No-Man’s Land, housed in domes of glass and lit up brightly in the depths. Here, the False Gods live normal lives, or as normal as lives mutants can live. And they all go about their days with the same thing in mind: they will never see the surface ever again, unless it’s to kill. 

Now, let’s meet our Gods.

Aragon- The Church Lamb

Description: Out of most False Gods, Aragon appears one of the most human. The only real outlandish feature about her is her pitch black ram head with large ears and horns that curl around her head. Her eyes glow gold in the darkness. She’s also usually seen wearing suits with a cross necklace that she never seems to take off. She likes to dress snappily.

Procedure: Aragon was a willing test subject who signed up to be mutated. Her procedure consisted of a dead ram’s head being sewn onto her own head and then left in stasis for three days so it can fuse to her skull after the miasma was given. She had to breathe through a tube for those three tubes, but her procedure was one of the more painless ones.

Anne- The Leviathan

Description: Anne always appears in her full God form because of experimentation gone wrong, but she’s very stable with her human mind. She’s a very large sea dragon, with varying shades of green scales and bioluminescent stripes all along her legs, tail, neck, and wings. 

Procedure: After being injected with lizard’s blood and miasma, Anne was kept in a salt water pool for a week, where she grew all her new appendages and her skin rotted off. However, she was unable to be given a Restrainer because she was far too mutated, so, instead, she was pumped full of human hormones.

Jane- The Winter Owl

Description: Jane is a tall, anthropomorphic snowy owl with pure white feathers and black streaks. Her wings are usable and can also double as hands (think Ritos from LoZ). She also wears a dark grey bow tie.

Procedure: Like the medieval torture method, Jane was tarred and feathered, then injected with miasma and snowy owl blood.

Cleves- The Brazen Bull

Description: Cleves is very much like a minotaur, with dark brown fur and hock-jointed legs with hooves and a tail and everything. The only catch is that she can light her entire body on fire. The tufts of fur on the end of her tail are always burning, even when she sleeps. Her horns also glow like lava and smoke often comes from her mouth and nostrils when worked up.

Procedure: Cleves was injected with bovine blood and miasma before placed into a heated room, where she would inhale smoke for several hours through an oxygen mask.

Kitty- The Chimera

Description: Kitty sure is a chimera alright. The bottom half of a snake and the torso and head of a human, wings of a bat, horns of a deer, thick paws of a lion. Her scales are pink with black diamonds and cover her entire body except her face and stomach, so she doesn’t wear any clothing.

Procedure: You would think her transformation process would be painful, but it actually wasn’t. She was put under while her new limbs were sewn on and kept asleep until they fused with her body fully. Only a little bit of soreness once she woke up, but fine nonetheless, unlike many others.

Cathy- The Organ Donor

Description: Cathy also looks very human, much like Aragon. You may even think she was normal if it weren’t for her second pair of arms. In reality, Cathy can mutate her body into very horrific shapes, but she prefers to stay as normal as possible. She can feel no real pain and gets her name from the way she can duplicate her organs, making her a very valuable False God.

Procedure: Cathy was one of the first False Gods, and therefore her procedure wasn’t as in depth as some of the others. She was simply injected with miasma and then had to wait for the effects, which was when her ability to duplicate organs appeared.

Bessie- The Blue-Eyed Blackbird

Description: Bessie, as her name may suggest, is a bird creature, sort of like Jane, but slightly more human. She’s covered in black crow feather from head-to-toe, except on her stomach and face. She had hock-jointed bird legs, large wings, and big feathery ears that stick out from the sides of her head. However, she is always wearing a white plague doctor mask and cloak because she hates her appearance. She also hates herself in general and doesn’t talk very often. Also, birds sometimes grow out from her right eye.

Procedure: Bessie was a victim of suicide and her corpse was brought into No-Man’s Land and brought back to life (people get paid to bring in bodies for testing). She was injected with miasma and crow’s blood, then left to transform, which was painful, especially for her wings.

Maria- The Birch

Description: Maria appears as a humanoid tree creature. She has four legs instead of two and thick, branch-like arms with sharp points for fingers. Moss and shrubs grow all over her body, which is made of bark instead of skin.

Procedure: Maria was injected with miasma and tree sap, then left to soak in sunlight as she transformed.

Maggie- The Bog

Description: Maggie is a tall, alien-like swamp creature with aquamarine scales and webbed fins running down her spine, tail, and extending from her elbows and ankles. She also has a finned ruff at the sides of her head.

Procedure: Maggie’s procedure was similar to Anne’s, injected with miasma and reptilian blood, but she was bathed in a vat of hot mud until she transformed.

Joan- The Angel of Death

Description: Joan is a very strange case, in which her process sort of got messed up. She has giant grey moth wings with red spots like eyes on them, hock-jointed fuzzy legs, silk glands in her wrists, and antenna. Think Mothman, basically. But then, she has strange floppy ears made of fuzzy silver fur (that fades into light blue at the tips). Her blonde hair has turned silver at the roots as well. She also has a glowing halo, tiny devil horns, and a long, thin tail with a light blue tip. Nobody really knows what she was supposed to be. Also she wears overalls.

Procedure: Joan is the newest addition to No-Man’s Land when she went into the abandoned slaughterhouse facility to show off to her “friends.” Of course, she was captured and tested on against her will, where she was injected with miasma, moth blood, and some other type of blood. Within seconds, silk began to pour out from her wrists and consume her, trapping her in a cocoon, where her wings grew in painfully, legs snapped into a new position, spine elongated into a tail, and organs began to rearrange themselves. It was quite a traumatizing experience, especially in such a tight space.

[luigiblood]

Mario Artist Talent Studio

This is developed by Nintendo internally this time. The second in the suite, it was bundled with the Capture Cassette and a microphone. These are not required by the software.

There is something I didn't say about how to play Mario Artist, I would actually recommend plugging both a controller and a mouse. Using both at the same time can be very efficient when editing stuff for any title of the Mario Artist suite.

This one is more akin to Mii Maker, in which you can create a character. The word Talent, also referred as "Tarento", describes a celebrity of pretty much any kind who regularly appears in media.

There are 3 modes:

Make a Talent, in it is the main character editor.

Make a Movie, which is actually a full fledged movie maker.

Gallery, to show off talents and movies.

Make a Talent

When it comes to make a character... oh boy where do I begin. It's one of the most fully featured character editor I have ever seen, it's filled with love, it's no joke. You can edit the face, the head, the body, the voice (sort of), and details about the character itself.

The face is technically a single texture that you edit, so you have a lot of choice on how to do it: You can make a face using sample parts included with the editor, in which you can do honestly a lot of styles and the skin color you want.

You can capture a face from the Capture Cassette or the Game Boy Camera, which works the same way as Paint Studio, or even just import a picture that you have made with Paint Studio if you want to.

After that, you can actually apply make up on top if you want some additional details that you cannot add otherwise. And then the expressions, which is nothing but a distortion of the face texture. You can do a lot or simply go wild and do some absurd faces...

I only talked about the face editor. The head & body editor works in a similar fashion and some features are shared between both. You basically just select between a HUGE amount of parts, unfortunately you cannot import 3D models for this.

The head editor allows you to select the hair, nose, mustache, hats and much more. You can even sort of reshape parts by moving, rotating or scaling them back & forth. Nothing prevents you to use parts in ways not intended by the devs.

The body editor is a little more limited because the clothing available entirely depends on the body type (Male, Female and Other) of your talent. But there's still a lot of choice. You can change some features of the body, even DK style.

But there's one major feature that's shared between both editors and that's the color selection and patterns. Almost every part for the head or body can have their colors changed or even apply a pattern. You can also change the texture feel.

The patterns can either be captured via Capture Pak or Game Boy Camera, or taken from a Paint Studio image, or simply making it directly via the pattern editor, which may remind you of Animal Crossing... without the 16 color limitation. You can even save your own patterns.

This alone is a feature that shouldn't be underestimated with combined with all the parts that you can customize. You can even have a reflected pattern and have a metal feel.

Then there's the voice editor which is just sample male or female voices with pitch changes. That's it.

You can still have a custom voice to your talent, and that's with the microphone (plugged into the Capture Pak). The talent will just parrot your voice and save it.

The info details editor is pretty simple, you can edit the talent's name, job, birthday, catchphrase, gender, and some free space that you can put anything into.

There's literally 10 gender choices, but technically speaking they're all male & female alternating. You can put N/A and ??? as genders if you desire, it's still technically male/female in manners, but still cool to have such options.

You can also have your talent in what's called "Show Time". Basically it's all light hearted mocapped animations of varying situations, ranging from unfortunate moods to pretty funny, it's just for show. :)

Make a Movie

This about covers the Talent Studio, now let's talk about the Movie Studio. This mode could have been really popular if this came out to the west back then.

A movie can only have 3 actors, and 4 background pictures, and only one actor can appear at a time on the screen. You might have to stretch your creativity with these limitations, but they made up for it by having insane customization.

First of all, the actors can be talents, of course, but you can also use 3D models, either samples, or your own from Polygon Studio. That's already pretty cool.

For the backgrounds, either you select from the wide range of sample backgrounds, or you capture one, or you can just import a picture from Paint Studio. The movie editor also offers solid color backgrounds that do not count here.

Here's a tip: Since 2D images is a common format, you can take screenshots of your movie and reuse them. Same deal for pictures taken in 3D World or of your stage from Polygon Studio (more details when I'll talk about Polygon Studio).

The movie editor is where it gets insane. A scene contains a single actor and background, and from there, you can do anything. The actor can use an animation, for which you can repeat a certain amount, and a camera setup for the scene.

The amount of sample animations is insane, and if that was not enough, you can make your own one using up to 8 keyframes. The camera can be customized, and treats the background and actor seperately, and it's what you use to move actors / background from point A to B.

And even then, that's just the basics of the scene. Then there's the full editing mode, which appears more like a video editor. That's where you can setup the actor's mood, lighting, special effects, transitions, captions, drawings...

All of them comes with samples... and you can still customize most of them the way you want. There's also music and sounds, of course.

You can record up to 3 custom sounds for a movie. You also have a sound vault to keep up to 8 recorded sounds.

Unfortunately there's no Sound Studio, so no real custom music possible. Gotta deal with samples most of the time. At least there's a high quality version of Baby Mario's crying sound from Yoshi's Island (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNcWqRhLxiE)

There's actually a bunch of movies that were uploaded to the Internet, here's a compilation of some of them:

Rambling about Talent Studio

This should be about it for the Movie Studio.

Mario Artist Talent Studio was shown as early as 1997 during the 64DD Showreel for Spaceworld 1997, as "Talent Maker", alongside "Picture Maker" and "Polygon Maker". "Sound Maker" would be also announced around that time.

We know it was one of Miyamoto's pet projects, where he really wanted some kind of character creation, an idea that he had experimented since the Famicom Disk System. He really kept going with it, he was obsessed with it, again on 64DD, then GameCube, then the Wii.

Heck, Miyamoto even pushed the project during his keynote at GDC 1999, with some humor to add.

One of the cut contents of Talent Studio is also a minigame which is sort of like Super Monkey Ball, it was shown in 1997. And then just like Paint Studio, seemed to have been removed in the last year of development.

Talent Studio has some importance in Nintendo's development history, outside of the Miis.

The Show Time mode is full of motion captured animations, directed by Shinya Takahashi (yes, that person in recent Nintendo Directs!) & Tsuyoshi Watanabe. I have recently uncovered a Show Time Edit mode, check out this video that showcases it:

You can also find cheat codes to access it in the Talent Studio page from @CuttingRoomWiki.

During development of its successor, Stage Debut for the GameCube, they reused Talent Studio assets. It also required the use of the "GameEye", the camera for the GBA. This was a time when Nintendo was very experimental.

Which then another project took its place, called "Ningen Copy Manebito", and the GBA camera would be called "Manebito Camera". Outside of the trademarked logos, all we know is that they used Stage Debut's engine as a base according to Iwata Asks.

And that should be about it for this Talent Studio thread. Next one will be about Mario Artist Polygon Studio.

[stevenuniversallyreviews]

Episode 133: Dewey Wins

“But...I’m hurt.”

I started reviewing the Week of Sardonyx in late 2017. It was slow going thanks to grad school and student teaching and licensing tests and my job (boy do I not miss those days), but I’d clawed my way through Cry for Help in October and Keystone Motel on the first Sunday of November. In those reviews, I wrote at length about how this was the most devastating arc of the series, a massive argument spanning multiple episodes with no easy answers.

Then the Friday after my Keystone Motel post was uploaded, Cartoon Network dropped the Breakup Arc on us all at once, and I had to make some edits.

There’s no official name for the span of episodes between Dewey Wins and Kevin Party, but considering it features not one but two breakups, with only one reconciliation by the end, I think my nickname is apt. Just under a fifth of Season 5 is devoted to six consecutive episodes designed to make us miserable, and on top of being an outstanding sequel to the Week of Sardonyx, it’s the best precursor we’ve got to adolescent trials of Steven Universe Future. 

The Week of Sardonyx is strengthened by numerous previous episodes where Pearl does bad things without consequence, making it something of a shock when her actions are finally addressed. In a similar way, we’ve been taught from Log Date 7 15 2 and Kindergarten Kid and The New Crystal Gems that emotionally draining arcs are followed by cooldown episodes, and Dewey Wins sounds like the name of a fun adventure with our goofy mayor. There’s no situation where the Breakup Arc would be a pleasant affair, but the pattern adds an extra layer of angst as our anticipated relief period ends up more stressful than the arc we needed relief from.

But not every big arc gets a cooldown. Our very first, ending with Jailbreak, is followed by one of the Breakup Arc’s major prequels: Full Disclosure, an episode about missed phone calls and the importance of keeping friends in the loop regarding space adventures. The ghosted party is flipped, as Connie now refuses to talk to Steven, and watching his struggle gives an even greater appreciation for Connie’s own turmoil (not just from Full Disclosure, but Steven’s reckless self-sacrifice).

We know something’s wrong from the moment we see her, in a way that’s different from Greg and the Gems’ wide-eyed concern. Her discomfort manifests just as it did in Mindful Education: a downcast expression and curt demeanor made more apparent by Steven’s cheery chattiness. But because she’s the only one of them that has truly taken the lessons of that episode to heart, she soon expresses her feelings outright (after a brutal “Of course I’m happy to see you”—Grace Rolek only needs one scene to be the episode’s MVP). Her complaints are all valid: this is not the first time she’s been left on Earth, and her sense that Steven isn’t taking her seriously is confirmed when he can’t even take her seriously within the conversation. She’s as direct as she can be, but when Steven refuses to acknowledge her pain, her anger takes over and she shuts him out. Lion’s side-eye is icing on the cake.

My biggest issue with Dewey Wins, however, is Steven. I’m torn, because it’s easy to justify his behavior throughout the episode as a result of recent trauma and the relief at surviving such a harrowing experience (and, later, the same sleeplessness that made him snap in Rose’s Room and Warp Tour). It makes sense that his martyr complex is intensified by his experience with Lars, that he falls back on helping others at the cost of his own well-being on instinct. But his flippant dismissal of Connie’s emotions still feels off, especially because it comes with a heretofore unseen swagger about his own heroism. She pours her heart out, making it clear that she wants to keep being Jam Buds but he’s making it really difficult, but every word goes right over his head. This is a version of Steven that somehow doesn’t get that “hurt” can refer to emotions instead of physical damage.

Throughout the episode, but particularly in this opening scene, Steven feels exaggerated for the sake of honing Connie’s argument. Perhaps it’s necessary, considering how easy it is in first viewing to see his sacrifice as noble rather than selfish; we need to see a more extreme version of his behavior to understand that going it alone was a bad move, or else Connie’s arguments seem small against the scale of the stakes. It’s further complicated by the fact that Steven’s sacrifice was noble, even if it was selfish at the same time. This isn’t a case where Steven is fully right or fully wrong, so it’s bound to be confusing to hear that his traditionally heroic move wasn’t as great as he (or we) first thought.

So yeah, I get why Steven is acting this way for the sake of the show. And, again, I can find reasons to explain his sudden emotional idiocy, making it leagues better than a true Annoying Steven episode. But it still comes across as clumsy to me; I can see the wheels turning to move the plot along in a way that’s normally hidden better on this show. His final monologue where he realizes that Connie felt the way he feels about Dewey abandoning the race feels like something from another show, a show that’s way more on-the-nose than Steven Universe is at its best. It was probably the right move, because as much as I can’t stand it when media is patronizing to young audiences, this lesson is complex enough that it’s worth a little clunkiness to ensure that the message gets through to smaller viewers. But compared to the elegance of our recent space adventure, Dewey Wins sacrifices polish for clarity when we usually get both.

But enough about what doesn’t work for me, because so much of this episode works for me. Even if his behavior feels forced, Steven provides seamless in-universe exposition recapping his space adventure. His follow-up conversation with Sadie has the same kind of douchey detachment that he shows Connie, but in a way that’s far more consistent with his character: dismissing Connie’s emotions is out of left field for him, but it makes plenty of sense that he’d see Lars as “okay” despite being trapped in space, considering the alternative was a very real death. And, of course, there’s the matter of the episode’s actual hero.

Nanefua Pizza has been my everything since Beach Party, and it’s thrilling to see her gain more prominence in the tail end of the series. Her beef with Mayor Dewey has been running since Political Power, the Dewey episode that established all the flaws that drive him out of office in Dewey Wins. Then, she responded by rallying rioters to tip over his truck, but now she takes a more civic-minded approach to effect real change. Still, she’s driven by the same anger at Dewey, and can only become a true force for good when she gains a new appreciation for his struggles.

While the correlation between Dewey and Steven is obvious well before Steven straight-up says there’s a correlation (a moment that’s made easier to swallow when Dewey points out he has no context for Steven’s friend troubles), the general conflict between Nanefua and Bill(iam) is a more fascinating study on blame. At first, both candidates believe in the power of blame, with Nanefua laying all the city’s troubles on Dewey’s inaction and Dewey arguing that taking the heat is his greatest strength: in his mind, there’s not much he can actually do about the cosmic misfortunes that befall Beach City, but giving its citizens somebody to blame gives them a sense of control that’s necessary in a chaotic world. And both of these viewpoints can be found in Steven’s self-image.

Steven, like Nanefua, is quick to lay blame when anything goes wrong. But Steven, like Dewey, sees the absorption of blame as a virtue. So he loops between those two positions, looking for someone to blame at the drop of a hat and only finding himself. The ensuing guilt make him want to fix the problems of others to atone, rather than focus on the underlying cause of his own issues, and if that sounds familiar it’s because Steven Universe Future is entirely about how important it is to break this loop.

But obsessing over fixing things is also how Pearl tries to solve her argument with Garnet in the Week of Sardonyx: she focuses on finding Peridot instead of doing anything about her own actions until she has no choice but to talk things out. And, as I said back in my Friend Ship post, it evokes something Pearl once said about humans (which it turns out applies to Gems): 

“They want to blame all the world's problems on some single enemy they can fight, instead of a complex network of interrelated forces beyond anyone's control.”

When was this said? In Keep Beach City Weird, in regards to Ronaldo. The same Ronaldo who poured gas on the fire in Full Disclosure by presenting the idea that heroes are aloof and keep their friends at a distance. So in a way, the Breakup Arc can be chalked up to ignoring the good Ronaldo lesson but taking the bad Ronaldo lesson to heart. But more on him in Gemcation.

Steven’s turmoil lends a somber edge to Nanefua’s powerful change of heart, where she rejects her past choice to blame Dewey. She apologizes for her own part in pointing fingers, because blame is a lousy substitute for getting things done, and forgives him for not being perfect. She pitches the act of helping as a community effort, rather than something that any one person must do alone; she remembers that the lyrics are “we can be strong in the real way.” She’s giving Steven all of the answers well before Steven Universe Future shows how much his guilt loop will continue to plague him, but he isn’t ready to listen yet, and leaves the debate dejected instead of empowered. (Considering Jenny’s appeal to taking breaks during trying times in Joy Ride, and an adventure with Kiki about not spreading yourself too thin on behalf of others in Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service, this is the third time a Pizza woman’s fantastic advice has gone ignored by our hero.)

Even Dewey seems better off than Steven, accepting defeat by acknowledging that Nanefua would make a better mayor. And he’s right! She sets up actual services to account for alien threats, services that end up changing the universe in a way Dewey’s brand of keeping the peace never could. He may need a new job (Sadie foreshadows both his fate and her own imminent career change in one fell swoop), but there’s a sense of calm as he passes the torch after a full episode of Joel Hodgson’s hammy anxiety.

I appreciate that Dewey is allowed some points in his favor even as he flubs his way out of office. Yes, he should be more thoughtful and attentive: his vow to find a new donut shop kid when presented with news that Lars is trapped in space is even broader than Steven’s reaction to Connie’s pain, but the mayor has always ridiculous so I don’t mind at all. Yes, he should try and do something to address the concerns of his citizens beyond saying everything will be fine. But it’s not lost on the show that it isn’t easy running a town that’s a lightning rod for alien encounters, so Dewey remains sympathetic even if his ineptitude must be addressed. After all, if he’s gonna stand in for Steven in a metaphor that’s clear enough to be monologued about, it’s important to point out that it’s okay when you fail against impossible odds. Neither Dewey nor Steven can do everything on their own, no matter how much power they wield.

Steven might skip a few crucial lessons of Dewey Wins, but he at least learns one. Perhaps in an earlier season, that would be enough to mend fences with Connie. But time makes you bolder, children get older, and she’s getting older too. She’s been more than patient with being treated like an afterthought, so the moment she’s had enough is bound to be a big one. Thus, we end with a cliffhanger, one that pulls Steven into the same landslide that’s surely consuming the rest of the town after his kidnapping. The Barrigas are missing a son, and Sadie’s missing a romantic friend. Bill Dewey is no longer Mayor Dewey, and Nanefua has a whole new set of obstacles to face. Greg and the Gems have their son back, but his kidnapping was traumatic for them as well, and Connie gets that trauma on top of her stated complaints. And Steven had learned two lessons instead of one: it’s important to take your friends seriously, and timing is everything.

It’s gonna be a rough week.

We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

I do like it, really. But Steven’s behavior takes it down a few notches, regardless of my ability to find ways to explain it. Great episodes don’t require the audience to seek ways to justify a character’s weird behavior. There’s more good than bad here, but I’d be lying if I said I loved Dewey Wins.

Top Twenty-Five

Steven and the Stevens

Hit the Diamond

Mirror Gem

Lion 3: Straight to Video

Alone Together

Last One Out of Beach City

The Return

Jailbreak

The Answer

Mindful Education

Sworn to the Sword

Rose’s Scabbard

Earthlings

Mr. Greg

Coach Steven

Giant Woman

Beach City Drift

Winter Forecast

Bismuth

Steven’s Dream

When It Rains

The Good Lars

Lars’s Head

Catch and Release

Chille Tid

Love ‘em

Laser Light Cannon

Bubble Buddies

Tiger Millionaire

Lion 2: The Movie

Rose’s Room

An Indirect Kiss

Ocean Gem

Space Race

Garnet’s Universe

Warp Tour

The Test

Future Vision

On the Run

Maximum Capacity

Marble Madness

Political Power

Full Disclosure

Joy Ride

Keeping It Together

We Need to Talk

Cry for Help

Keystone Motel

Back to the Barn

Steven’s Birthday

It Could’ve Been Great

Message Received

Log Date 7 15 2

Same Old World

The New Lars

Monster Reunion

Alone at Sea

Crack the Whip

Beta

Back to the Moon

Kindergarten Kid

Buddy’s Book

Gem Harvest

Three Gems and a Baby

That Will Be All

The New Crystal Gems

Storm in the Room

Room for Ruby

Lion 4: Alternate Ending

Doug Out

Are You My Dad?

I Am My Mom

Stuck Together

The Trial

Off Colors

Like ‘em

Gem Glow

Frybo

Arcade Mania

So Many Birthdays

Lars and the Cool Kids

Onion Trade

Steven the Sword Fighter

Beach Party

Monster Buddies

Keep Beach City Weird

Watermelon Steven

The Message

Open Book

Story for Steven

Shirt Club

Love Letters

Reformed

Rising Tides, Crashing Tides

Onion Friend

Historical Friction

Friend Ship

Nightmare Hospital

Too Far

Barn Mates

Steven Floats

Drop Beat Dad

Too Short to Ride

Restaurant Wars

Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service

Greg the Babysitter

Gem Hunt

Steven vs. Amethyst

Bubbled

Adventures in Light Distortion

Gem Heist

The Zoo

Rocknaldo

Dewey Wins

Enh

Cheeseburger Backpack

Together Breakfast

Cat Fingers

Serious Steven

Steven’s Lion

Joking Victim

Secret Team

Say Uncle

Super Watermelon Island

Gem Drill

Know Your Fusion

Future Boy Zoltron

Tiger Philanthropist

No Thanks!

     6. Horror Club      5. Fusion Cuisine      4. House Guest      3. Onion Gang      2. Sadie’s Song      1. Island Adventure

(No official promo art for most of the Breakup Arc, given the way they were released, but I can’t be too mad when we get brilliance like this from ajora.)

[studioserra]

A Complete Guide to Landscape Photography

There is little that compares to the grand majesty of nature. The allure of impossible rock formations, the breadth of expansive beaches, and the fairytale feel of canopied forests never ceases to stun even a well-seasoned landscape photographer.

Capturing stunning landscapes is an art in itself. Landscape shots require a deep knowledge of sense of scale, and how best to utilize the right time of day to one’s advantage. Follow the landscape photography tips below to land a great shot.

What Is Landscape Photography?

Landscape photography is photography that occurs in the great outdoors. It is separate from what we know as nature photography. Usually, landscape photography captures an impressive natural scene—an imposing mountain range, a serene, sprawling field, a river roaring by—untouched by human presence (besides the photographer’s, of course).

For all beginner landscape photographers seeking to explore the earth while capturing their own magnificent images, here is a complete guide to get started.

What’s the Best Camera for Landscape Photography?

While it is possible to take photographs with any camera, consider investing in a mirrorless digital camera or DSLR for your landscape photography needs.

Mirrorless and DSLR cameras provide maximum control over camera settings, which means not only is the baseline quality of the image automatically superior, the possibilities of creating professional-looking pictures are endless.

Mirrorless and DSLR cameras also allow the photographer to swap lenses.

For sweeping landscape images, like canyons and caverns, go with a wide-angle lens such as Nikon’s 14-24mm.

For more detailed and close-up images, don’t be afraid to use a zoom lens or telephoto lens, like Canon’s 70-200mm.

Experiment with different focal lengths (the distance in millimeters between the lens and the camera’s sensor) to see how the same vista can render in different ways.

Do You Need a Tripod for Landscape Photography?

A sturdy tripod is a landscape photographer’s best tool. Manfrotto manufactures a professional-grade line at an affordable price point. The basic function of a tripod is to act as an extension of the photographer. The tripod stabilizes the camera so you can take the exact shot you want.

A tripod is ideal in low-light situations or during night photography, as the steadiness allows you to lower the shutter speed without sacrificing ISO, or grain. A tripod is also useful for experimenting with angles and perspective; depending on the landscape, you may choose to photograph shooting up, across, or down to produce the desired effect.

What Are the Best Settings for Landscape Photography?

A competent landscape photographer possesses the fundamentals of good photography: knowing how and when to adjust exposure, aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. It is particularly important to have a good grip on these elements since most landscape photography occurs in the great outdoors, where weather and light can change dramatically—and quickly.

Aperture is the size of the lens opening, which lets in light.

Shutter speed is the duration of time the lens is open; low-light or long exposures depend on lower shutter speed to bring in as much light as possible.

ISO increases brightness, however, depending on the strength of light, ISO might also add grain. Know the difference between a lower ISO and higher ISO and the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Some photographers use grain to their advantage, but for a crisp image, try not to rely too heavily on ISO to compensate for light. All of these elements lead to exposure, which is the combined light that enters the camera sensor after adjusting aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. Manual mode controls each element separately, aperture priority favors the lens opening over other settings, while Automatic mode adjusts all elements automatically.

How to Focus on the Subject in Landscape Photography

Most landscape photography relies on wide-angle lenses and a large depth of field to adequately capture the subject. A high aperture, adjusted with the f-stop, allows most of the subject to come into sharp focus.

Use the gridlines in your viewfinder or screen to find focus.

Begin at either the top or bottom third of the frame, but don’t be afraid to experiment.

While there are some examples of landscape photography that prioritize the foreground, resulting in a blurred background (known as a shallow depth of field, or portrait effect), most landscape photography captures the entire scene at once.

If you have trouble getting clear focus across the entire frame, it is always possible to take a few shots with different areas of focus then layer them together in Photoshop during the editing process.

RAW vs. JPEG: Which Is Better?

There are a variety of file formats, the most popular and familiar of which is JPEG. JPEG files automatically compress details, which results in image quality loss. RAW files, however, retain all data and information.

While the processing time for RAW files is longer, the resulting images are easier to edit and higher in quality. All DSLR and large format cameras offer RAW as a file format. Advances in smartphone technology means your iPhone or Android can also shoot in RAW, with assistance from camera apps like Lightroom or ProShot.

How to Properly Compose a Landscape Photo

An easy tip for beginner landscape photographers is to build your scene around the horizon. Refer to the Rule of Thirds, which is a popular trick for composing perfectly balanced and aesthetically-pleasing photographs.

The Rule of Thirds crosses three horizontal lines with three vertical lines

You can set these up through your viewfinder or on the back screen of your camera

The points where those lines meet are the points of interest; place the most dynamic or compelling parts of your subject here

Take care to keep the horizon along that middle horizontal line, and you should have a foolproof formula for a picture-perfect scene.

How to Find the Best Light

The best light is soft and diffused, with a dreamy quality to it. True tones pop against that subtle light, which makes natural landscapes look all the more breathtaking. Early mornings before sunrise and late evenings, just before sunset, offer this “golden hour” light that photographers chase. When preparing for a shoot, make a note of sunrise and sunset times to plan accordingly.

You can also buy some lens filters to aid when the light is not to your advantage. A neutral density filter, for example, reduces the intensity of light and color coming through the lens, while a polarizing filter can help with things like darkening the sky and suppressing glare from reflective surfaces, like bodies of water.

Once the sun goes down, an entirely unique scene emerges. Experiment with long exposure photography to capture shooting stars, light trails left by passing cars, and other natural phenomena. Long exposure builds upon the basics of photography, but requires a few extra tools along with some additional know-how.

In order to take a proper long exposure photograph, set up your tripod and set the frame.

If the tripod is in a precarious position, weigh it down with a bag filled with rice, sand, or rocks.

Next, you’ll want to set the camera to bulb mode through the DSLR camera settings. Bulb mode manually forces open the shutter past the typical standard of 30 seconds. The longer the shutter is open, the longer the exposure.

A remote shutter release or cable release connects to the camera so you don’t physically have to hold down the shutter button to capture the exposure. Once you’re ready, click down to open the shutter and start the photograph. Once you’re done, click down again, and you will have completed a long exposure photograph.

How to Edit Landscape Photos

Post-processing is an important finishing step for landscape photography. Upload the RAW files into Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom, where you can adjust everything from exposure to contrast.

If the perspective angle is off, use the Edit > Perspective Warp tool to adjust the plane.

Lightroom is good for making quality edits to an image, whereas Photoshop offers a larger variety of options for transforming an image, down to the pixels. This is useful if you need to airbrush, smooth, or add other effects.

How to Become a Better Photographer

Being in nature is a pleasure and a privilege. There is an unspoken rule to leave the environment as you found it. But that being said, exploration is key to landscape photography. For beginners, it may seem daunting to go off the beaten path; this, however, is precisely where you will find the best scenes. Take hundreds, if not thousands, of photos experimenting with different techniques, perspectives, and angles. The best way to become a better landscape photographer is to simply get out there, enjoy the great outdoors, and capture as many images and experiences as possible.

Master photographers like Jimmy Chin honed their craft for decades before embarking on full-time creative careers. With Jimmy Chin’s MasterClass, learn to form the principles of your visual narrative, how to pitch, land, and work with clients, and which gear is essential for shoots--and how you can leverage the editing process to full effect.

Become a better photographer with the MasterClass All-Access Pass. Gain access to exclusive video lessons taught by photography masters, including Jimmy Chin, Annie Leibovitz, and more.