#too many scenes to try and do a consistent coloring sorry

[iamacolor]

I figured it was the thing you couldn't tell me the other day so I tried to help you in subtle ways.

A GOOD DAY TO BE A DOG - EPISODE 3

[pinkberrytea]

30 Questions for Your Tav!

From this post!

Your Tav as a Companion

1. What would your Tav’s greetings be (at different levels of approval)?

Negative

“Hm… hm…” “Hm, yes?” “Er…”

Neutral

“Oh, hello.” “Hm? Oh, I’m sorry, did you need something?” “Yes? How can I help?”

Medium

“Oh, you’re here!” “Oh! Is there anything I can do for you?” “Hey, you!”

Flirting

“Hm? Oh! Oh… h-hi!” “You’re here! I-I mean, what can I do for you?” “H-hello! Wait, does my face look weird? Ugh, please don’t stare!” “I was just thinking of you! O-oh, I’m sorry, did I say that out loud?”

Partnered

“Yes, love? Whatever it is you need of me, I’m yours.” “Oh, my love, just gazing upon you makes my chest feel so tight…” “Is such happiness really possible? Sometimes it doesn't feel real...” “Oh, darling…”

Bhaal’s Chosen

“This body is but a vessel. Words are useless.”

Broken up

“Oh, uh… hi.” “Please... please don't.”

2. Describe their tent setup! What’s on the outside? The inside?

Mav’s tent would probably be very humble and barebones at first, since she never really owned anything prior to her abduction. However, with time, I could see her trying to spruce it up with stuff she finds along the way, maybe decorate it with candles and flowers, books, pillows, cute stuffed animals Karlach would get her as gifts. Needless to say, it’s Mav, so the color palette would consist of mainly whites and reds!

3. What would their character quest be titled? Why?

Since she’s Durge the boring answer would be “The Dark Urge”, of course, but if I were to give it a Mav flair, maybe something like “Bloody Rose” could work?

4. What would your Tav’s romance scenes look like? How many would they have?

Oh, this is a fun one! I’m guessing Mav would have three romance scenes, one for each Act:

Act 1

Once the player raises her approval enough, a dialogue option will become available when speaking to Mav, something along the lines of “Careful there… a less charitable soul might mistake your overfamiliarity for flirting.” She would blush in response, and ask if it bothers the player that she’s been trying to get closer to them. If the player replies it doesn’t, then she’ll ask them to meet her later, and the next long rest, she’ll have an exclamation mark over her head. Upon speaking to her, the scene will trigger: she will take the player to a secluded place in the forest, where they can take a walk and talk in private. After some light banter, she’ll start by saying that from the moment she left the Nautiloid, she’s been stuck in a living nightmare, and everything terrifies her, most of all herself—this darkness within her that she still knows not the source of, and her past, a shadow looming threateningly over her. “But with you… I feel safe. Safe from myself.” The player is then prompted to choose whether to say they’re scared of her too, kiss her, or pick up a flower and tuck it behind her ear. The first option ends the scene (and the romance—bby gurl is hurt 😔); the second initiates some soft lovemaking in a field of flowers; and the third gets the player +15 approval with her after she gives them the sweetest little giggle and a peck on the cheek (the player may initiate lovemaking with her here as well by asking if she’d be okay with it).

Act 2

Since she’s Durge, Mav’s Act 2 romance scene would have to be tied to Durge’s Act 2 resist scene. It wouldn’t be that different from the original, except the player would witness the scene from the perspective of the love interest being woken up—they’d have to pass a persuasion check to get her to admit what Sceleritas has told her (if they don’t, rather than murdering them she’ll run away and spend the night by herself, and in the morning, end the romance while claiming she doesn’t want to risk anything like this happening ever again). After hearing what she has to say, they’d then tie her up and stay by her side throughout the night, whispering words of comfort in her ears. Once the Urge leaves her, she’ll be incredibly thankful and ask the player if she can hug them—if they agree, they’ll become partnered with her!

Act 3

Mav’s Act 3 romance scene varies greatly depending on whether she has resisted the Urge or become Bhaal’s Chosen—in the latter case, she won’t be herself anymore, the real Mav will be dead. However, the Urge will allow the player to use her body if they so wish; if the player accepts, this will immediately trigger a scene where they engage in rough, bloody sex with her on top of the altar at the Bhaal Temple. By the end of it, they’ll have to pass a perception check to stop her from sticking Bloodthirst inside their chest.

If she has resisted, then instead she’ll be crying quietly at camp, and the player can offer to comfort her—they’ll then take a romantic bath together under the soft moonlight, during which the player helps Mav wash away all the dried blood while making sweet love to her. The morning after, she’ll thank them for trusting her, for seeing the good in her even through all the darkness. “You cared, even when I had already given up on myself. I’m yours, body, mind and soul. For however long you’ll have me, I’ll be there. This I promise.”

5. Describe their idle animations!

Playing with her hair while idly rocking her body back and forth, tail swishing leisurely.

Sitting on a chair near her tent while sipping on some tea and reading a book (and nearly spilling the tea over the book at times).

Picking up a flower and tucking it behind her ear, only to then panic thinking someone is watching her and taking it off immediately.

Bending over to pet Scratch and the owlbear cub.

Looking at the player like she means to walk towards them, hesitating, trying again and then giving up.

6. How would the player go about meeting them in Act 1? What is their introduction?

Mav would be kneeling by one of the dead bodies at the Nautiloid crash site, holding her head with both of her hands, covered in blood. As soon as the player approached her, instead of scurrying off or attacking, she’d jump into their arms crying while saying something along the lines of “Dead… dead… they’re all dead… I’m scared…” Welp, see the mousy little weirdo with the big wet doe eyes and the offputting and unstable disposition (who may or may not be a tad homicidal)? Congrats, she’s your problem now!

7. Describe their arc. How would a player help resolve it? What choices can be made? Can your Tav be turned down a dark path, or pulled to a lighter one?

Mav is Durge, so her arc would be pretty much what we already see in-game. However, unlike with her canon counterpart, the Urge is a separate entity from herself. If she does decide to embrace Bhaal, this will thus result in a complete erasure of her individuality—instead, she will become an avatar for the Lord of Murder, and Mav as the player knows her will be no more.

8. After Act 3, what does their life look like? What are they talking about at the reunion party?

This varies a little depending on whether Astarion has ascended or not—if he hasn’t, then the spawn will be gone and they’ll be traveling the world looking for a way for him to be in the sun. While they do eventually settle down and realize that their life together, however imperfect, is already happy enough as is, at the time of the party, they’re still out and about, staying awake throughout the night and then sleeping during the day. Mav is his own personal blood bag, and it becomes rare for him to feed on anyone else that not her.

If he has ascended, then they’ll also be traveling, but for entirely different reasons! Mav wants to see the world, and he is more than happy to indulge her, pampered little consort that she is. He puts his plans of taking over Baldur’s Gate on hold for her; while Mav knows that she cannot get him to give up on them completely, she does try to gently distract him from his ambitions, wanting nothing more than for him to realize that living eternally in each other’s arm is in itself a privilege unlike any other.

In both cases, she is his light in the darkness, the trembling flame keeping him from being consumed by the shadows, albeit in different ways. And in both cases, they adore each other deeply and are attached at the hip, codependent to a fault. At the party, she doesn’t talk much about herself, unless prompted; the others can tell though, that she loves him, he loves her back, and they’re each other’s home—this will never change.

Back to Basics

9. What’s the significance behind your Tav’s name?

Mav actually has two different names! Sol, the name given to her by her foster parents, means “sun” in Latin, so that’s a simple one. As for Mavka, her real name, it means “the dead” in Old Slavic. Mavkas are a type of nymph or female spirit in Ukrainian folklore, known for luring young men to their deaths, although their evil is not always intentional. I like the contrast between the two names, I think it encapsulates her duality well!

10. Does your Tav have a last name? Is there a meaning behind it?

Mav was adopted into the Provoss clan, an upper class family hailing from Baldur’s Gate, whose patriarch, Sigurd Provoss, was a fervent follower of Tyr. He’d take her in under the pretense of raising a devilish child into a devout woman, yet as time passed, his fanaticism would consume him completely, to such extent that he’d forsake all else in his fixation with dominating her, including the family business. This would inevitably result in major losses to the Provoss’ now abandoned cattle herds—by the time of their untimely demise, the clan had been facing near destitution.

11. What is your Tav’s go-to comfort food?

Mav loves sweets foods, especially berries and milk tea!

12. Does your Tav have any tattoos or scars? Why?

Despite Mav’s torture at the hands of Kressa, the tadpole would prevent her from becoming scarred then; her only scar thus dates back to when she was still a child, resulting from the first in a series of events that would culminate in her awakening as Bhaal’s Chosen. Specifically, the base of her left horn has a nasty scar on the spot where it meets her skin, though it’s usually concealed under her hair. It was made by her own foster sister, who’d ambush her one day in an alleyway alongside a group of friends, brandishing a rock: “We’re family, right? Yet we don’t look alike at all. I mean, look at you—you’re a foul-blood! As your sister, I’d be doing you a kindness by ripping off those hideous things on your head.” They’d then hold her down and start hitting her with the rock, cutting a gash across her forehead—at that moment, Mav would finally give herself to the Urge, losing consciousness momentarily only to wake up with blood on her hands and the ground beneath her painted red with the innards of her attackers, who’d all been brutally murdered.

13. What is your Tav’s main color palette? Why do they choose those colors?

Mav is a whites and reds girlie through and through—she probably gravitates towards reds in particular due to her Bhaalist origins.

14. Where are they from? What was home like?

Mav is from Baldur's Gate, born and raised!

15. Is your Tav more likely to fight/flight/freeze/fawn?

Freeze, at first. Depending on the situation, also fawn.

16. What do they do for fun, when not adventuring? What are their hobbies?

Mav loves reading, mostly poetry and sugary sweet romance novels. The cheesier, the better!

17. Do they have any enemies outside of the main plot? Any friends?

Outside of the main plot, not really. None alive, anyway.

18. Where/with whom do they feel safest?

With Astarion—he is her safe haven, her anchor, her shield.

19. What is their MBTI Type?

ISFJ-T (Defender)

Deep Dives

20. What is their relationship to touch? Do they shy away from it? Do they need it to feel present?

Mav is very cuddly (and touch starved). Bear hugs, head pats, nose rubs, forehead kisses, she loves it all, though she doesn’t typically initiate pda—girlie is a bit shy!

21. Describe a defining moment from their past, which makes them who they are today!

The demise of her foster family by her own hand—or rather, by the Urge, as she was but a passenger inside her own body then, forced to helplessly watch them die one by one, crying out her name while begging for mercy.

22. How is your Tav’s relationship with their family? Their parents?

Mav’s foster family was terribly abusive towards her, her father most of all. He was obsessed with her, to the point of insanity, and this would in turn earn her the resentment of her foster mother and sisters—who truth be told, he’d treat horribly as well, yet when at one point Mav tried to bond with her mother over his victimization of them by telling her about his nightly visits to her room, instead of compassion and understanding, she was met with a slap across the cheek: “Don’t you dare speak of this, not now, not ever. Ungrateful child.” Her real family was of course not much better; Bhaal, her true Father, saw her as a means to an end, a sacrificial lamb, made to be consumed and then cast aside as soon as she was no longer of use to him.

23. How does your Tav act in situations of stress? In moments of peace?

In moments of peace, Mav’s presence is comforting to those around her; in situations of stress, she tends to either freeze or look to others for help.

24. What does your Tav consider to be their own biggest character flaw?

Mav is painfully self-aware and knows full well that most of the time, she comes across as too clingy and gullible. Her thirst for connection also makes her rather prone to selfishness and hypocrisy; she’s willing to forsake her morals entirely for those she loves. In that same vein, she hates that she cannot just let herself be kind without associating any so-called selfless acts with her overwhelming need for acceptance.

25. What is something they would die on a hill over?

Her love and devotion to Astarion. Especially as his consort, she will not allow others to imply she is not by his side of her own volition: “Please don’t patronize me. You think I don’t know what I’m doing? That I’m some damsel in distress? I know you mean well, but please don’t pretend that you understand this. That you understand us. You don’t. No one does.”

26. Give us one of your Tav’s secrets!

Mav actually can’t hold her liquor at all, so she usually abstains because she’s terrified of making a fool of herself. She will cry, puke, ask everyone if they love her, beg for their forgiveness, lean on them and fall asleep, drool all over their clothes. Her cheeks also become super flushed—Astarion thinks it’s adorable, and a bit hilarious.

27. What is the worst thing they’ve ever done/said to someone they love?

Nothing. When confronted by Karlach about choosing Astarion over her, Mav would say nothing. She was lying in her tent then—instead of apologizing, giving an excuse, saying anything at all, she’d hide under her blankets and start sobbing quietly, like the heartless coward she is. Karlach would forgive her eventually, though Mav still doesn’t believe herself worthy of such grace; of such love.

28. Describe a smell that reminds your Tav of childhood.

The metallic stench of stale blood.

29. What fears keep them up at night?

Herself; the Urge.

30. What does your Tav want more than anything?

To be loved. Deeply. Unconditionally. Forever. For good.

[itz-me-brett-duh]

His Harmony, Her Hope Part 2 ❤️🐢

(Side Note: I’m not that great at fight scenes yet😢. POV changes. Thanks again @rinksu-no-joo for the idea and being so awesome!)

063 POV:

A loud blaring alarm shook her immediately awake. Red blazing light blinked and flashed around room, as she quickly hopped out of bed to see what the commotion was all about.

One of the men with masks was calling out their numbers, “323, 458, 063, 917,…” unsure of what to do she made her way over.

“Sir, what the hell is going on?” One of her peers asked over all the noise.

The look he gave 801 made it clear she was speaking out of turn to a superior. “You all are being transported to Japan to meet Master Shredder, but first we need to give you an injection.”

It had been years since 063 had any injections. She wondered if she was strong enough now to take on the pain. But before she could think about it much longer, Doctor Stockman was already calling her number.

She quickly followed him into his lab. He always had so many cool gadgets but she knew better than to touch them. Still it was nice to look at them, especially to distract herself from the immediate and intense pain. His chemical filled beakers, test tubes, and other scientific equipment, usually grounded her when her world started to spin.

Today was different though, as she looked around to see the changes he made throughout the years, she noticed the box of neatly stacked syringes. The fluid in them was different in color and consistency than she was use to. She braced herself for impact, trying her hardest not to use her natural defense mechanisms. If she poisoned Doctor Stockman she would be in a huge heap of trouble.

But as he slowly pushed the needle into her soft flesh, she realized that despite a little prick she felt no pain at all. Actually, it felt fine…numb…and painless.

As she drifted out of consciousness, she could hear him shout: “She’s done…take her…917!” Maybe they were all being punished. Maybe this was the end…She felt nothing as everything, even her own thoughts, went dark.

…

Raphael POV:

“It appears the Foot Clan been building something right under our noses! Now they’re transporting it to their base in Japan.” Donnie typed away as a maps and diagrams popped up on his computer screens.

“Is this the same place that Shredder is hiding out at?”

“Yes Mikey…Look guys, their ship hasn’t left New York waters yet, we have to try and stop them-“

“And see what exactly it is they’re taking.” Leo interrupted, nodding in understanding.

“Mkay so what are we waitin for? Let’s go already.” Raph was already ready. As soon as he heard Donnie say Foot Clan he knew it was bad. And then they were on their way.

…

Every inch of the ship seemed to be guarded by Shredder’s henchmen. Nevertheless they were pretty bad at doing their jobs, each of the turtles quickly and quietly disarmed some of them.

“Cowabunga motha fu-“

“Mikey!” Leo whispered furiously.

But it was too late the others had already noticed their presence on board. “Great going idiot!” snapped Raph, already preparing for battle.

“Sorry dudes, I gotta little carried away.”

As they kicked, punched, and overall fought the Foot Clan, Donnie spewed information about where their precious cargo was located on board. “We’ll have to go down to the third level!”

“Guys! Check it out.” Leo gawked as he finished his opponent with a final thwack to the back of his head and pointed.

There, in the distance were more ships.

“More…?” Raph wondered why they needed so many ships.

“Let’s head down below, and figure out what it is that we’re dealing with. Then we can see if we need to tackle all these other ships” Leo stated, opening a hatch that lead below.

After fighting off more Foot Clan guys than they could count, they finally arrived to a singular box, on an otherwise empty level.

To Raph it didn’t look like anything they could open easily. “Well what now leader?” He looked over to Leo.

It still angered him sometimes that Leo was in charge, but Leo tried to give each of them, but especially Raph more leadership moments from time to time.

“Well whatever it is, it’s probably to difficult to open. But it looks like it’s an important piece of the puzzle for whatever they are building. We need to take it back to the lair. Donnie check for tracking devices, Raph do you mind?” Donnie finished up and pushed it over to him.

Raph grunted as he lifted the heavy metal box. He was surprised that it was pretty light for a metal box with supposedly something inside. But he decided maybe that was what Shredder wanted them to think, and didn’t say anything.

…

063 POV:

She was cold. It was dark. But she could…she could hear voices…? She wasn’t dead! Before she could get too excited she calmed herself and listened.

“Raph careful! We don’t want to destroy what’s inside!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever.”

These weren’t voices she recognized. Who could they be? Why did they not know she was in there? Why was she in there? Where was there? She didn’t know. She stayed cautious. She felt cramped and alone, just as she felt as a child. She jolted as she heard the awful sound of metal being cut. Sparks and small pieces of metal pierced her soft skin. It surprised her more than it hurt.

Then she saw light. It was bright and her eyes had to adjust, but she was able to make out him…And he…peered down curiously at her…

[warmsol]

hey isa! Do you have some advice for a beginner who wants to start a story? I know it's a lot of work, finding the right cc, buildings everything, create sims etc. Do you have a favourite blog to browse for such cc for storytelling? Also I could use some advice what's important for taking pictures - what's the best crop solution for tumblr? What font and font size is the best to use? And hoooow do I write dialogue without adding too much and still keep it interesting? Sorry if this is a lot, but I really admire your work and loved to start a storytelling simblr again!

hii! i think it’s awesome you want to dive into storytelling. i’ll answer your questions under the cut 🫶🏼

1. as for finding cc, i’ve just accumulated a ton over the last few years, no specific blogs but rather just browsing on tumblr. you can always check if your favorite blogs have a cc finds account, many do! mine is @warmfinds which could be useful. but yeah when it comes to cc, i suggest really thinking about what you’ll need! like, say you have a scene coming up in the kitchen, gather some kitchen pieces that you can use for that scene. it might be more helpful to break up the search according to scene rather than trying to find things all at once for your story. (also suggest downloading telegram and joining dollhouse mafia.. or keeping up with the vault… cough)

2. for taking screenshots there are some guidelines you can loosely follow (highly suggest watching this video for a quick breakdown) here you’ll find the different types of shots you can include in your posts! considering this is sims, there are some limitations so just allow yourself to get creative with it.

for most of my story posts, i’ve stuck with 1280x720 resolution. but recently i’ve been playing around with sizing, so unless you’re focused on consistency don’t be afraid to try out different crop styles.

3. font! the font i use is arial. it’s straight forward, and easy to read. i’ve used this my entire storytelling journey and haven’t had a complaint. at the end of the day just remember that the font is probably the most important part! pick something easy and clear to read. also, switching colors when a character is talking is highly encouraged. if that’s not your style, at least add a name tag for easy following along.

4. sooo, when it comes to dialogue, it’s really something you learn as you go. i had a tendency to write very lengthy in the beginning, i wasn’t a seasoned story writer so i sucked at knowing what to cut and trim. my biggest advice is to write out everything. ramble. let it be a mess. get out everything you want your characters to say. it’ll be rough, and that’s fine. once you’ve sat on it, go back and edit it. keep what’s important, what moves the story! i spend a good amount of time editing scene dialogue until it feels right. one huuge thing that helps is reading out loud! if it flows well spoken it’ll feel more like a natural conversation. just don’t be too hard on yourself, we all start somewhere. it’s a muscle that needs to be exercised and you’ll find your rhythm as you practice. (like seriously compare my first posts to now and it’s night and day, and i still have room to improve)

lastly i just want to say pleeease have fun. don’t pressure and compare yourself. i’ve fallen down that trap many times and it literally stopped me from posting. but as long as you remember this is all a fun hobby, i think you’ll be okay.

i hope this was somewhat helpful ♥️ also once you start posting lmk! i wanna follow along heh

[yuseirra]

Hello, I just wanted to tell you that your work had inspired me to make my own animatics (the first "proper" one is almost ready!), and your art style was the primary influence for my storyboarding. I still remember the first time I watched one of the animatics of yours, and was absolutely blown away by it. Fast forward a year, and I am making my own fan art for another niche, indie game. So, I wanted to thank you personally, and I hope I can share what I did with that inspiration!

I still recall when I first started really imagining animation as it relates to characters in a setting and plot. The animatic of yours is like a knitted blanket, all of the characters go together despite the colour scheme being very different. I was memerized by the coordination - it was like a dance, almost!

So, I started wondering about other games I played, and I thought "Maybe I can try something like that too". It wasn't easy, I suck at art, but I learnt quite a lot. For example, how to blend two different scenes with different rooms in a fluid manner. Or how to protray a character with only a few sketches, as I cannot make every frame colourful.

I deeply recall going back to the"Road Less Taken" video, as well as so many others, and slowing down the speed to 0.5, so I could see every single frame slowly, and trying to figure out how to add movements that won't be too "noisy". In that time, I tried experimenting with art styles, and sort of mixed up a lot of brushes together.

One particular moment was when I tried to make a "dramatic" moment in my badly drawn sketch. I remember seeing that you would take a black and white frame, and then, the next frame would be the same thing but in colour. I thought it was so cool! So, I tried it.

It didn't work out as I hoped (my colouring was messy and poor). The technique I am currently using is by using a black and white sketch, and then the same frame with 3 colours. But I learnt that I could adjust the layers with filters, until the lightening had enough contrast. This way, it would seem "dramatic".

Sorry, that was super long of an ask. My first proper animatic won't be good, but that is another learning experience! If I have the courage, I may post it on Tumblr. Honestly, I really am glad I stumbled upon your videos, else I would not have done all of that drawing and creativity.

So, thank you for everything!

I came across this message first thing in the morning and it's made me have so many different feelings.. before I say anything further, I'd like to tell you that I feel this message is wonderful! I'm glad to have you had stumbled upon my videos, too.

Ah, my Road Less Taken fanvideo.. and my other videos too. Being reminded of it really hurts me because I loved everything I put into it, I put in a lot of passion, I put in a lot of love, I bought the artbook, played the game it was based on and went through to do a full analysis, went back and forth through the plot, I just couldn't bear upholding it though, I just couldn't. I'm sad it turned out to be the way it is now since I was really sure I did a great job with it with the skills I had, and I love what I did with it, but I don't regret having it taken down. It took me some time to muster the courage to do it, and I feel lucky that people were very accepting about it too. ^^ It existed and it was able to give a lot of people fun as it did for me, and I'm very happy that was the case. I know that work of mine was really loved, and I'm glad I could create something that could do something like that. I hope I can do that again and I'd probably have a chance to, since I have a life ahead of me.

Enough about me and let's talk about you and your message! Aaaah wow, this is really incredible! Have you seen my channel though? My early videos (and I may still would draw that way) aren't so colorful and proper you know! A lot of them are consisted of sketches of what I want to see in that certain segment. It's very interesting and exciting to hear from your perspective, because I hadn't considered my movies to be so "proper" enough either!! That's why, I can say for a fact, that "Oh you'll do well and do a wonderful job" with 100% sincerity. You came to the right person. I mean look at me! I posted videos like that all the time and just because I thought it'd be fun! If you went to some other talented artist who has these bizarre techniques and astounding professionalism who could create full-fledged CLEAN animations it may not sound so convincing. But i'm someone who starts from scratches and lines and posts those without shame. Drawing colored movies was a huge challenge in my part as well and it took me awhile to feel I'll be skilled enough to do it- perhaps you're already getting a huge head-start compared to how I started out because moving up that one step for me took years to do.

You can do it!! You can!

If there's something I learned from posting my drawings and works out here, it's that you just do what you wanna do. Not everyone will notice you, and your works may not be blown up out there as you wish it to be, yeah, but there's always going to be someone that comes along and appreciates it, which is a miracle on its own. For me, one of those people is you. You'll have someone who comes up to you and does the same thing for you, too if you keep sticking out there. Until then, just continue doing what you love and have fun, without having recognition being your only motive. I made my works for myself (to share, of course, but there were things I was so passionate about I felt I HAD to put this out there and let everyone notice how GOOD and FITTING it is) and although having thousands of people love my works, and tens of hundreds of thousands watch 'em together with me was wonderful.. it all feels like a dream now, the number doesn't matter as much for me. If numbers mattered, I'd have given up a long time ago because there's always people who are so much better than you. However, there's something that only you can do and think of.

See? You're already telling me about your unique style and is thinking of what you could do to make it more effective. That approach you're using is something that I'm unfamiliar of doing. Even if we had the same ideas, I wouldn't be able to create the same things you do and that's what makes yours special! Good luck with that, never did I think what I drew would be able to inspire you to create your own, I should work harder myself to make sure I don't get beaten by you so fast XD, You see, I'm a slow improver. I have artist friends who've gone places and make incredible art. But I can still be one too, as long as I keep drawing. I hope you do that too, as well as keep having fun in the way. And please remember about me if you become famous one day, okay? 'v')9

"The animatic of yours is like a knitted blanket, all of the characters go together despite the colour scheme being very different. I was memerized by the coordination - it was like a dance, almost!"< Ah, I really liked this part of your ask, too. The coordination part is something I really tried hard on when I make an animatic! I sit down and listen to music one day and then something hits me. 'Huh? Isn't this that? And that part works with that and can't this be used to convey this?' Very vague expressions but that's actually how it works in my head. The inspirations come very fast, and when that happens, I sit down and write up a memo to see if the whole song really fits along with the stories I know. And when I'm convinced that it works, I start weaving the two different stories together, the lyrics and the story of the material I wish to make a video out of. That process really makes my heart race because yes, like how you've described it, it feels like a dance, or a knit. Like 90% of the animatics I've made happen like this, so I have no idea when I'll get another inspiration. Till then, I just keep having fun with the fandoms I'm in! Having a good understanding of the source material helps. If you know it well, then everything folds together as one. The song and the story does it for you, and you just follow through its flow.

"slowing down the speed to 0.5, so I could see every single frame slowly, and trying to figure out how to add movements that won't be too "noisy". <this part ;v;...hnngh I have no words.. goodness I had NO idea someone would look at my videos with such intense care.. I don't consider my videos to have the most..how do you put it, creative effects out there, a lot of the effects I put in are something that's built in in the base program or something really simple! You'll be able to learn it in a jiffy no problem. I really look up to vids that have these wacky, shiny and fast-paced effects myself.. One thing I think I could do a pretty good job on, on the other hand, would be the pacing! And that has a lot to relate with the songs you're using. Where the instruments come in, the beat, parts where the vocal stresses, I use the songs I really like, so it makes me think oh, a panel could be added there, and there! and let's make this one drawing show up longer than the others! All that. If you understand the materials you're using (the song, the story, your art) you'll be able to coordinate them well within the limits of your abilities. As I said earlier, that's going to be something only you could do, and what's unique. They say creativity isn't about making entirely new stuff, you know! It's more about putting two different things together in a way no one else has. So movies and fanarts are a great way to show yours :)

I've had others who inspired me to create a video. I've seen lots of fanvids and there were amazing ones, (the fact I was in the kagepro fandom when it was still releasing new songs explains a lot, doesn't it? That surely was a huge inspiration) but I think what's given me the final push to start was seeing my artist friend make a short 6 second one on her tumblr a few years ago. There it hit me that I might be able to do it too, so I asked them what program they were using and made mine right away.

I still have it in fact, it's this video, and I made this one too shortly after. And then I realized that although it wouldn't be perfect, making a video itself isn't something too much of a big deal. You make one and that's it! Because I enjoyed it,(I loved the idea of seeing my own drawings move) I made more.. and I won't be so afraid to, either, because I could always go back to making those simple ones if I wished. Make colored and detailed ones if I wish to push myself further. I'm happy I was able to inspire you to make yours. I hope your experience making stuff would be as enjoyable and exciting as mine!

I'll be happy if you can show me your first video, too!// Whether if you do, or if you don't, I will cheer for you~ Thank you so much for telling me all this. I'm honored to know I was able to give you such a positive impact, because you never know what influence you're giving to someone unless they tell you.. and this, IS SO TOUCHING. You're doing all these things because you were able to find the good, you had it in you always! I'm glad I played a part somewhere on the road. 'v')9

Good luck with your videos~ I'll.. keep making mine in the future too! ;v; GOD I found a song for persona but I gotta finish P3R to get a better understanding for this plot once again, I'm going to do an even better job than I ever did, in the long run. So you too, I know you'll keep improving, so take your time and have fun on the way!

[suchagallabitch]

Fandom Tag !

i was tagged by the lovely @auds-and-evens & @vintagelacerosette thank you stinks 🥰

Your Name: Elle 😸

Your First Fandom(s): The Hunger Games and Percy Jackson

How did you first get into fandom? I was like 11 so forgive me for not remembering all that well but I honest to god think it was Wattpad 💀 I had always likes to write and I saw that people were writing stories about the books i loved and i was like yeah i gotta do that and now here we are nearing a decade since 😭

How long have you been engaging with fandom spaces? I think I was still in 5th grade when I started reading and writing fanfiction so sufficed to say quite some time

How often do you read fanfics? honestly not very often. I am horrible at consistently reading and like if i have the spare time i would rather write than read BUT i am trying to read more to support my lovely stinky friends and their amazing work 🫶

Top 3 characters from your current fandom(s): Ian Gallagher ofc my favourite man, Mickey That also does without saying and my main woman the woman the myth the legend SHELIA 😩😩😩😩😩😩

Have you ever written a fic for a fandom? if so, shout it out! I have 46 published shameless fics so go read them stinkies 🤨 I will shoutout my favourite(s) though if anyone is in the mood for some galladads

- wasn’t it beautiful running wild till you fell asleep before the monsters caught up to you?

- now i send their babies presents

- but we can patch it up good

- it was as good as our song

Have you ever drawn fanart for a fandom? if so, shout it out! I cannot draw to save my life 😭

Share a personal headcanon that you feel very strongly about: A silly one is that Ian Gallagher is obsessed with SVU idk why thats a constant in my fanfics it just is. An actual serious one I have and I love so dearly is that Carl becomes a social worker. I feel like it makes sense because he wants to help his community out and he went through DCFS so he knows how it feels to be one of those kids. It just makes SO much sense to me especially since it seemed Carl was getting tired of being a cop but still wanted to help. How he passed school? I have no clue. I say Lip and Bryn (my gf oc for him) helped him cheat online school because that feels topical. OH also a fave headcannon is that Ian and Mickey have many many chickens thank you Mel ( @gardenerian ) i am forever obsessed with the chick crew

You're trying to convince a friend to get into your current fandom(s) with you. what episode, clip, or scene are you showing them? That’s actually a funny question for me because once i talked about random shameless plot lines to ky friend for like an hr and she was genuinely so traumatised she couldn’t believe it. another time i showed random clips to a group of my friends i also definitely traumatised them. but then my other two friends started watching the show hc of me. I always say im a plauge on everyone bc we usually end up watching shameless. Bonus my amazing breathtaking spectacular friend had started rhe show a long time ago and is now actively trying to finish it because she wants to read my fanfics 😭😭🥹🫶. I realise i didn’t answer the question but i would show Ian stealing Yev and the sorry im late scene i feel like that encompasses the show pretty well and is enticing

And finally, what does fandom mean to you? This feels like an essay question prompt lol. Idk man a bunch of cool people coming together to make some cool things and consume media together and you know what?? we shlay 🫶

second tag….

name: smelly ellie at your service

age: a year older next week 😇

Where in the world are you? Florida (derogatory)

The meaning behind your UR: Im a gallabitch what can i say i also had this user before i joined the server so maybe im a psychic too

Your second favourite color: my favourite colours are all in a tie with one another so pink yellow and burnt orange are simultaneously my first second and third favourite colour

any pets? my son chidi who is definitely a human inside a cats body

favourite season? Winter! It doesnt get cold here but i can pretend

Last thing you read: The 7 husbands of evelyn hugo i DEVOURED that book i read it in like a day 😭 if anyone wants to chat about this book please come forth

Last song you listened to: (you) on my arm

What are you wearing right now? my work uniform lol i am actively currently not doing my job

A hobby of yours: writing ofc and i would say bitching us also up there. That said i need more hobbies and really wanna (re)learn how to crochet

and finally, what are you up to today? I wish I could say nothing ☹️✊. Gotta finish my shift and then do some school work unfortunately maybe i’ll write a lil who knows!

I’m gonna try and tag some friends i don’t usually in the spirit of fandom ! play along if you please 😌😊

@imikhailo @sam-loves-seb @babygirlmickey @michellemisfit @magnificentcollectivehurricane @secret-gallavich @rereadanon @damnnmilkovich @takeyourpillsbitchh @mickmilkowitch @tear-soaked-cheeksdonteverlast @twinklyylights @milkoviched @firecrxtch @milkovetti @chicanomick @mickeys-been-staying-at-ians @gallavichlover19 @nyhmeriah @ianstummy @mickeys-notebook @filorux @mrmillagher @mixkeymilkovich @too-schoolforcool @adakechi @ian-galagher @tsuga-of-mars @mikhailoaleksandrmilkovich @gallavichgeek @lesbiangallagher @milkovichs @flamingbluepanda @ianspettyagain @callivich 🫶🫶

[dog-forest-spirit]

What are your theory as to why Sunrise keeps clinging to the Inuyasha rights? They have been absorbed by Bandai, and yet they are clinging to them. Cash cow Gintama merch they still had their stickers on until recently, their own huge franchise Gundam given over to Bandai quite a while ago, but the Inuyasha anime? Still copyright 2009 Sunrise. They insisted on giving Sesshoumaru red and white also as a theme color, but now have given him a greyish purple because of the manga. But still they cling to it. Inuyasha is quite big internationally, is that why? But Gintama was the mos exported series for quite a while..! But many fans pretend it doesn't exist anymore after their stupid "what if" story (checked last merch for that, and that was in July 2022 while Inuyasha has long into next year, Moroha unsurprisingly has more of his self-insert than herself in her merch, that stupid tanuki thing). And I got to admit that I still feel a little queasy when I rewatch the first anime, especially later episodes with Rin after knowing what fantasies some of the people involved had 🤢.

When they finally lose the rights, will they be brought up quickly? As many fans want a more faithful adaptation, or will Bandai snatch them up again to take them and give to another company within them to animate? Do you think Takahashi will try getting involved with who they go to when that time comes? I really hope they'll tone down Miroku. The "eew, grooming" scene is really important so I wish it could be part somehow without one of the heroes being a creep, (it was before sumisawa got involved)

Imagine the cool transformation scenes where Inuyasha's ears and colors change during sunrise properly animated! I want to see it!

A new anime that will set it free from the grossness of the past..! Maybe even have Sesshoumaru's mother calling Sesshoumaru a hogosha and ask him why he chose a human rather than a yōkai or at the very least finding a wife first before adopting so he doesn't have to take care of her alone..! Or her in-character calling Rin another pet along with Jaken, which Jaken corrects with Sesshoumaru being Rin's hogosha but not correcting himself being called a pet because that seems in-character for him somehow. And hopefully a new translation of the manga as viz's Americanization where they'd rather introduce Hawaiian words rather than treating a Japanese series as Japanese..!

Sorry for babbling...

They are probably holding on to them because it’s more profitable to keep them than to sell them to someone else and I have zero idea tbh :( sunrise is so ass backwards they handled the yashahime controversy in the WORST possible way they consistently picked the worst option every single time and I hope we can get a new adaption but I don’t know if it’ll happen any time soon :( I’m sure inuyasha was more popular internationally and that’s a big ^^ but ranma 1/2 was huge too and it hasn’t gotten a new adaption urusei yatsura JUST got one I feel if we get one it won’t be for another 10/15 years but if we get one I hope it gets the fruit basket treatment inuyasha has its faults but it’s a really good series and introduced anime to an entire generation of adults but I feel inuyasha is left out of the “iconic 00s” anime conversation which is also :/ I’m going to be optimistic but I don’t know how realistic it’ll be but we didn’t think we’ll get a sequel (pedobait family show spin off spoof) so 👀

I would LOVE a prequel and would have preferred that over whatever yashahime was but only if sunrise does NOT touch it I want a studio who really cares about the source material and doesn’t treat these adaptions like fanfic and throws cheap plots in with even worse characterization for money most anime doesn’t run nonstop anymore so if we get one hopefully it gets the love it deserves

[the-insomniac-emporium]

Tag Game Thing

ayyyye another one (but not one from when I was drifting in the timeless void of Conceptually Tuesday), got tagged by @chthonicsiren , gonna tag @melthedwarf because I can >:) (edit: tagged the wrong person first cuz tumblr autofilled the url, sorry!)

1: Are you named after anyone? Yes! My birth name/not-quite-deadname is a tribute to my ma's maiden name. Without saying what either are, I'll just say that her maiden name followed a patronymic format (ex: Johnson), and my birth name is one of the feminine variants/related named (ex: Johanna?). My chosen name, Jordan Van Daalen, is a fun one! My friend and I were in drama class together, and were paired up for an assignment where we had to write a short script (we were given random phrases to start and end the scene with). We're both Huge Fucking Nerds, so we went Overboard, basically fleshing out both of our characters (and then we napped on each other). Jordan Van Daalen was what a random name generator gave me for my character. Less than a year later I realized I am some sort of non-binary, and decided to use that lil name as my future name, as well as eventual pen name :D

2: When was the last time you cried? Uh. Okay, so, like... sometimes when I'm really tired but can't sleep, I'll start improvising a little song? Just, like, whisper singing to myself? And it usually ends up being an emotional ballad about old traumas (or, you know, stuff from whatever media I've been binging)? also when I yawn my eyes water a tiny bit? so what I'm saying is that every time I can't sleep and end up singing dumb little songs, I end up crying. how often does that happen, you ask? well, buddy, I picked this url for a good reason. (it was probably yesterday)

3:Do you have kids? Does being the oldest in the friend group (and also being the dad friend) count? because I am the Father of some of these gremlins. no? oh. well, I am going to an auncle/ent soon, so that's close enough :D

4: Do you use sarcasm a lot? Depends on my mood? I'm less sarcastic than my brother, but definitely more sarcastic than either of my parents. I know that means nothing to any of you, but hey, that's my answer.

5: What's the first thing you notice about people? Uhhhhhhh if they give off gay vibes asdfghjkl; Honestly it varies, which I feel like is a given? I look for things that stand out- colored hair, piercings, if they have any jewelry, etc.

6: What color are your eyes? Okay, well, my ID says hazel, I used to describe it as "hazel green/green hazel", and I think a poet might describe my eyes as something like "sea foam green around sandy brown". However, a Certified Dick could just as easily call my eyes "snot green with a pinch of yellow". Could also just shrug and go "muddy green?". except in some lightings the "green" part seems like it might be vaguely blue, and I have been slowly driving myself insane trying to figure out a consistent color palette I can use when drawing self portraits/inserts because I can't get a decent pic of my eye to use a reference and I'm too awkward to ask someone (with less shaky hands) to do it for me. anyway, I spent ten minutes drawing what is arguably the best attempt I've ever made at making an accurate portrayal of my eye color:

7: Scary movies or happy endings? Generally speaking I prefer happy endings, but it feels weird to separate that from scary movies. However, I don't tend to watch many genuinely scary movies? I like horror comedies. I also very much enjoy watching shitty/low quality horror movies and roasting the fuck out of 'em. Humor is part of how I cope with actual scary movies/games too, though. That and pretending to try and scare the monsters :3 running through the scary dark hallway going "a-boogily-boogily-boo!" and rapidly snapping the camera from side to side like I'm jumping out at people. the monster goes rawr? I SAY IT LOUDER

8: Any special talents? I mean, I think most folks who follow me on here know that I've got a bit of talent in several types of art/creativity (music and writing are probably my big two)? But I can also beatbox a little, my arms are weirdly flexible (possible double-jointed at the shoulders?), and I am surprisingly good at picking things up/throwing them with my feet. That last one is 50% for throwing dog toys and 50% for picking up small things I dropped when I don't want to bend over. Weird? Yes. A talent? Probably not.

9: Where were you born? I think I was born in Seattle, WA, USA. It was definitely in the Seattle area, it just might have technically been a neighboring city.

10: What are your hobbies? Other than the aforementioned artsy shit, I play a lot of video games, in a variety of genres. My favorites are probably the Mass Effect series, Fallout: New Vegas, Persona 5: Royal, Horizon: Zero Dawn, and Spider-Man PS4. I need you to know how difficult it was for me to not list over a dozen games. Please understand. THERE ARE SO MANY GOOD GAMES FUCK. Also, idk if it super counts as a hobby in other people's minds, but I love LEGOs! My room is filled with them :D

11: Have you any pets? None that are, like, fully legally mine. My household has a dog, Bella, but I am unfortunately her least favorite. She loves letting me give her chin scritches first thing in the morning though :')

12: What sports do you play/have you played? KENDO, BITCHES. GET SMACKED WITH BAMBOO

13: How tall are you? Soooooo tall. Massive. Giant. A true, genuine image of a Viking Warrior.. ... ..... in other words I'm 5 feet and 3.5 inches. the .5 is incredibly important to me. On a good day with boots I can almost pass off as 5'5" tho, soooooo. I'm also built like a shit brickhouse (yes I know that's not the correct saying), so at least tall people can't throw me (I throw them)

14: Favorite subject in school? Three-way tie between English/Language Arts, Drama/Theatre, and Art class!

15: Dream job? Writer, artist, all around generally a Professional Nuisance. Maybe taking the place of a forgotten, half-dead God at a lonely shrine, slowly restoring it until it's something worth remembering, eagerly having unforgettable conversations with the rare passerby, never gaining enough fame or worship to have any real power over the world. Just enough to be a face that lingers in your memories, in your dreams, the little voice you hear when you need it most.

[crispykodraws]

You told it’s fun drawing Azula with different haircuts. Do you enjoy changing other characters hair styles too?

I’m not a great drawer, but when I try to, I always rely so much on the hairstyle to make the character identifiable. It’s nice that your Azula still looks like Azula.

Hey!

Admittedly, I don't draw other characters as much as my favorites, so I don't get many chances to draw them with different hairstyles. But when I do, I try to make it look similar to their canon hairstyles (until I decide not to). And it is pretty fun, I'd say. I generally don't draw things if I don't enjoy it.

I dunno about Azula still looking like herself since it seems like a lot of people were confused by my Fire Lord Azula lol. But I'm glad you think so!

I think it's natural to rely on hairstyles to make characters identifiable because it's hard to avoid the same face syndrome. I do it a lot too. Cartoon characters go through several iterative designing to make them look unique and then the audience get used to those shapes and colors. I think that's why some first time watchers do a double take at Azula in the bedroom scene with Zuko in Book 3.

What helps, I guess, is taking the character's personality, expressions, and vibe into consideration. Like if you draw Mai with different hair, it's probably best not to draw her with Azula's big smug smirks or Zuko's expressive body language or Ty Lee's roundish shape/edges. Clothes are also a nice cheat code :D

And then, there's contextual and textual clues. For textual clues, I can caption this image:

with "June ruffling Azula's hair" and no one will argue with me (probably) because this is my drawing. I make the rules here.

For contextual clues, it helps that your drawing has a story or it can be a snapshot of scene. Like this image:

Some people may recognize who this is, but maybe some people aren't convinced. So put her in a scene with 3 idiots:

Suddenly, it's (hopefully) super obvious that that is indeed Mai. Putting them next to the more unique looking characters (Zuko and his iconic scar) or imagery (not in here but the Fire Nation insignia for example) are great shortcuts to making them recognizable.

But you also don't have to do all of these. You don't have to tell the story to others or define a shape language for the character or put contextual clues. As long as you enjoyed the process, then your drawing is already a great success. And the more you draw them, the more you'll figure out the most visually appealing thing about them for you and eventually keep those elements to form a consistent design.

Anyway, all I'm saying is go wild, have fun lol

Sorry for the unsolicited art tip and the long answer. But thanks for the ask! :)

[fangirleaconmigo]

I like hearing the thoughts up people who watched this season 2 of twn so I'm very excited to see your thoughts!

Thank you, nonny! Sorry for the delay. I had so many feelings after I watched it that I've just been silently processing and stewing.

I think TWN season 2 is a very different experience depending on whether you've read the books and are attached to the characters as written or not. It also depends on your expectations of fantasy action shows.

I used to waitress, and a restaurant owner I worked for once told me that the most important element of how someone evaluates service is their expectations going in, and I still think about that a lot.

Spoilers, and extremely critical thoughts under the cut. (Some positives too.)

Before you hit 'keep reading' I also want to make clear that this is all personal. Other people are allowed to feel differently and are no less valid. We are all unique mixes of culture and experiences and identities and will by nature see this all differently. That is fine and good. In fact, that's what makes art, and our interactions with it, so fascinating and dynamic. Now, here goes.

If your expectations are...a fun fantasy action ride, I think it fit the bill. The Witcher S2 was better than the average fantasy show.

The cast is phenomenal this season. I think the acting leveled up all around. (Myanna Buring just slayed me, so did Anya, Joey, Mimi, Henry, Freya, Anna, they were all amazing)

The locations are stunning.

The monster fights are fun.

There's more magic, more sign usage, and lots of intrigue.

There were some characters that were magical onscreen together. (Yen and Jaskier, Yen and Tissaia, Fringilla and Francesca, Geralt and Istredd were fucking delightful, and I did love a lot of the Geralt and Ciri scenes. )

Yasen Atour was a delight the little we heard from him

The bruxa was fantastic, Ep1 was great.

I was shocked and pleasantly surprised that we got the Rience torturing Jaskier and Yen saving him scene.

Ciri training!! Wooo!!

Nenneke! Wooo!

Also, I loved a lot of the new (non book) plot points even some others didn't.

For example, I thought Yen losing her magic was a great opportunity to show how resourceful, gutsy, brave, and brilliant she was without magic. She was a force of nature and I loved watching her go.

I also loved everything they added about her mixed heritage.

I loved the Sandpiper concept.

I love that they gave Istredd his own plot points apart from Yen. I think when you make 'exes' (and in the context of the show, one of the few men of color) into cardboard cutouts its unsatisfying. So, I appreciated that they gave him a real role.

I appreciated that, unlike the games, they actually kept Triss's scars, and didn't try to force the love triangle that a lot of fans seem to want. So, on one hand, there was a lot to like.

However, on the other hand, if you you want consistently good writing when it comes to character work and relationship development, we didn't get that, whether you've read the books or not.

TWN pretty obviously comes up with the plot, then stuffs 90% of the relationships and character development into the cracks. Then they step back and go...Ehhhhh it’s fine.

In response to critiques that the show lacks organic character and relationship development, the showrunner essentially said on social media that the books are too slow and you can't just have people hanging out and getting to know each other in a tv show. (In fact, according to the showrunner herself, several conversations that do happen in S2, only happened at the insistence of Henry Cavill)

I think that's dismissive of a vast middle where you can have conversations AND action. There are shows and movies that do so just fine. It's tricky, and it'll never be as deep as the source material, but it can still be great and satisfying. But you do have to put a bit of trust in your audience.

Also, it's not just time spent. It's cohesion and consistency. So whether the character/relationships ships work for you (with all the jerks forward and backwards and jarring missing bits) is whether, through your personal experience, you can fill in the blanks with your own imagination. If you can, you may not even notice. If you can't, you're left scratching your head.

(For just a few examples, why didn't Yen and Geralt talk about the wish???? She was devastated and dumped him for it and now they're kissing? It's resolved?? When?? Why aren't we taking her feelings of betrayal about that seriously? I want that conversation!

What happened to Tissaia's dimeritium poisoning from the prior season? Jaskier's burns from the prior scene? Why in season two, does this supposedly epic male friendship still feel so one sided and thin?

Fil is Francesca's husband???? Why did I not know that until the moment the baby emerged?

Why did Lamb blame Eskel's death on Ciri BEFORE we knew she was attracting monsters? Etc etc etc).

Further, relationships go through hamfisted conflicts, since the only bumps and barriers they seem to be able to conceive of are assault, consent violations, and betrayals, which they glide past as soon as they need to move the plot along.

(That's why when people were like..."Geralt and Ciri didn't have a bonding arc. It was flat." I just feel like...shhhh don't let them hear you. They'll have one of them horrifically betray the other and call it an arc. Let's just leave it, I'm begging you.)

Also, they have the showing and telling working at odds with the story. They tend to TELL the foundational stuff, ie, who people are, how they feel about themselves and each other. Then they SHOW the “exceptions”. And yet, showing is so much more powerful!! Therefore, the exceptions become the rule in the eye of the viewer.

(Geralt SAYS that Kaer Morhen is protected and secret because of pogroms against witchers and threats of genocide, but then you SEE it as party central, like everyone in the continent goes through there to be drugged or killed or just to pick up a vial and be off.)

The actors valiantly elevate their scenes emotionally to imbue them with nuance and contradictions and emotion. (Myanna and Joey were both fucking heroic in imbuing lines with meaning that wouldn't have been there without them.) But they can't do it all.

The show also continues to raise interesting social themes it doesn’t quite know how to land and lay out amazing characters it doesn’t quite know how to truly value. TWN and race or TWN and sexuality could fill up several other posts.

So, if you want a fun action fantasy show that you don’t want to think too hard about, you’re golden. It was 10/10. I have shows like that. I watch and I refuse to read the source material or think about things like plot holes or inconsistencies. If you're watching The Witcher like that, you are blessed.

If you want a GOOD show with quality character and relationship work, it was a 7/10, and it was only that high because Henry Cavill is powerful enough to push for script changes on set.

(The showrunner said she had written a joke for after Roach died and he pushed for something heartfelt instead. Also, Henry said that the script called for a sex scene for when Geralt and Yen reunite, and he and Anya pushed for that sweet family scene with the three of them actually bonding. Also, Geralt's lines to Ciri from the books were added at his insistence. I think the writing would've been a 6/10 at best without him.)

NOW how was the show for me?

Well I'll let you guess.

I read the books between S1 and S2 and fell in love with them. I watched the showrunner tweet that she'd read Blood of Elves twenty times and was taking it seriously as an adaptation. That she wasn't going to have to make up much because there was so much there. She said she heard all of the constructive critique about how the relationships were treated S1.

So, I am a book fan, and I had hope. Expectations. Not that they would be duplicated exactly, but that the spirit of the themes and the characters would be treated respectfully.

I also happen to be a person who has written several hundred thousand words of fic about Eskel, (and read more) because I connect with him and love him in particular. One of my most popular witcher posts is the character analysis I did of him.

I also happen to be a person who loves Yen and Ciri's relationship so much it almost hurts. I could probably write a Phd thesis on what that relationship means to me.

I also happen to be a person who loves Kaer Morhen more than is reasonable, and was so excited to see it onscreen. (It was aesthetically pretty! Beautiful gowns sets. But I was more excited for the wolf witchers inside of it.)

Those were my most anticipated pieces of the story going in.

Now, I know I said that I'd let you guess how I like it, but when have I ever shut up about anything? Well, I loved ep 1. I recapped and reviewed it and gave it an A. Then, the rest of the season happened.

And for my favorite, most anticipated characters and relationships, other than some good Geralt and Ciri moments, it was character assassinations and missed opportunities.

I'm sure there are those who would disagree with me. I'm sure they could make cases for why it made sense for Yen, the woman who never let down Ciri a day in her fucking life, would turn her in to the deathless mother (changing her mind when it was too late, and only because Ciri's power made her 'special'). How it made sense that a woman who, even though she struggled being vulnerable and committed romantically, always always worked in Geralt's best interests behind the scenes, would betray him in matters of his own daughter.

I'm sure they could make a case why Vesemir, a man who passed through a long hard journey and rocky moral past, to become the moral center of the world of witchers, (I could bring book quotes to back this up if anyone is interested in my Vesemir thoughts) would betray Geralt and accept 'consent' from a traumatized, grieving, child.

I'm sure they could claim that one gauzy flashback of Eskel being nice to Geralt once in a hallway made up for what they did to that character. I'm sure they could explain why the misogyny of how the sex workers were treated, and why they were in Kaer Morhen in the first place didn't take the entire concept of the witchers out back and shoot it execution style.

But I'd disagree with all of them. Very strenuously. Very emphatically. I may still write some specific critical posts about TWN and Yen and Ciri, or Eskel, or the witchers in general, just to get these things off my chest.

It's actually turned the show into something a lot more difficult for me to interact with. I have to work a lot harder now to separate out the good and still enjoy it. I still adore the cast, and love parts of the show. But dear anon, that shit felt fucking brutal. I stared into space for an uncomfortable amount of time after finishing the season. I considered deleting all my witcher social media and abandoning my wips. I texted my friends. When my son asked how it was I said very slowly....well...it gave and it took away. I didn't know what else to say.

I calmed down. I'll keep watching the show. I'll keep loving and hyping the cast. But now I have a fundamentally conflictual relationship with the show. And now my expectations are on the floor. They are subterranean. Maybe having zero expectations, no matter what is promised to book fans on twitter, will help. It's all about expectations, after all.

I hope my feedback isn't too much of a downer. I'm sorry if it is and you regret sending your ask. D: I try really hard to see the positives of things and to be fair and to consider other perspectives. But there's no way around how fucked over I feel as a book fan of witchers and of Yen and Ciri's relationship specifically.

But thank you for asking and feel free to ask for clarification on anything or for any sources cited. XD

[ganymedesclock]

Ooh ooh ooh, how about your version of Sonic for the powers thing?

You see, Sonic is fast, because if he doesn't keep ahead of his problems, he'll have to actually think about them, and then he'll have a crisis.

This is partially a fun opener joke and it's also not. I'll let you decide how much of each it is. In the meantime, I'm going to talk about what my reads of various canons inspire in me, and how that informs Worlds AU, a bit more than talking about Worlds AU itself.

So Sonic in the initial game canon, started out with an extremely simple conceit. You can see this mirrored across all of the non-Amy classic characters: Sonic runs, that's his thing; Tails flies, Knuckles punches, Eggman makes robots and also problems, which sort of condenses into one thing considering the role robots have in the classic games.

(that damn caterkiller has cost me SO many attempts at a chaos emerald...)

This sort of got to be a problem as the games advanced. In particular, the Sonic game I started on was Sonic Adventure 2, which pitted Sonic very prominently off of Shadow. At this point, character concepts are no longer about simple capabilities, and every other member of the cast has grown up. (even Amy... though not too much. sorry Amy). Tails is now building robots to go with how his flight allows him to reach unconventional 'tricky' routes; Knuckles is now more of an adventurer, explorer, and even a mystic given his history and relationship with the emeralds. This earthly pugilist sense grounds him in a more versatile skill-set.

Sonic... basically his gimmick was remaining true to the classic formula- he was still the one going fast, popping those shuttle loops, and tumbling through a chaotic universe. Yes, they absolutely polished this and put flourishes on it- now he's grinding rails and flipping on poles, this sense of street-smart parkour that carries him cheekily through any environment...

But he's played off Shadow, where the thing about Shadow, especially in the first game, is Shadow is a person who suppresses most of his personality for his context. Not in an inorganic or badly written sense, mind- but he outright says to Rouge at one point that it doesn't matter if anything he remembers is fake- in essence, that it's more real than he is, and a dead person's wish is more important than his life.

Shadow is a soldier, is an alien, is a bioweapon, is a teleporter and he shoots lasers. We are beyond the days of simple conceits; if he was conceived in the classic era, he'd have probably been either only a jet-skater or a teleporter, and that one conceit about how he moved through the world would've been through everything.

Sonic picks up the chaos control from Shadow- in direct reaction to Shadow- and this is commented on. In this scene, Sonic not only rejects Shadow's unhealthy obsession with context- that where he came from was everything- but mirrors it with an attitude that, frankly, to me, rings just as unbalanced- Sonic basically denies having a backstory whatsoever.

"What you see is what you get!" he says.

And that flew in the classic era. We didn't really have a consistent or strongly-drawn backstory over why Sonic was fast. Most continuities around that era point it to either an accident or a happenstance synergy with an outside force. But we didn't really need a story over why Tails can fly or why Knuckles had spurs on his fists.

But in the modern era... there's context. Many characters have superpowers. And more and more, there was a sense that those superpowers had context and history, whether the outright spelled, like Shadow (he was engineered to be capable of this; if you look at him, he has most of the abilities you'd expect of a boss fight in Resident Evil, minus the squelchy, infectious sorts and the Black Arms imply he could well have those and just not use them)

...or the simply alluded, such as Blaze's ominous comment that her flames are the reason she was always alone.

Sonic... clearly has powers. He's been reframed to keep up with he setting as it changes. But that exchange between him and Shadow- where Shadow looks at what Sonic is capable of, looks at him, and asks, verbatim, "what are you," and Sonic delivers a non-answer so naked and so certain that there's not really anything to say to that.

To this end, while I think it's highly intuitive that they picked the wind as the motif to spice Sonic up to- with its sense of freedom, and with its association with speed- I think there's also something about air in general that connects to Sonic.

Air is... omnipresent. It has an extremely complex seething system high overhead. Enormous paths and belts and spirals of wind curl over us all the time, pushing clouds the size of entire states around like it's nothing. When you look at the sky, it looks stationary. But wait, squint- it's actually moving. It's actually moving really fast.

One of my absolute favorite characterizing moments of Sonic is in Archie Comics, specifically the post-reboot series. To keep context minimal, Tails confides in Sonic that he's losing his memory of a certain incident that affected both of them, and he's worried; Sonic reassures him, typical hero big brother best friend, and gives him a big hug. The scene is warmly lit.

The very next panel is literally in the shadows, over Tails' shoulder and behind his back. And Sonic's expression is... troubled. Telling. We immediately understand from that alone he just lied, and has no ability to 'just remember for Tails'.

Sonic is not a vacuous person. He's not empty, he's not innocent, and he's certainly not just your same good nostalgic friend who never changed or got complicated so you don't have to reevaluate all of those things- the guy you can always count on, just like the sky is always there- but he sure pretends to be all of those things, and tries to keep the stormy weather as far away from other people as possible.

This is given another heroic-sounding-but-actually-concerning context in Sonic Unleashed, one of several games in which Sonic shows a maybe suspicious but profound aptitude for darkness where he guzzles and serves as a very powerful conduit for the energy of Dark Gaia, who is strongly connoted with rage, despair, denial, and other states considered bad for your health.

Sonic asks Chip- who he's just found out is Dark Gaia's counterpart- if it was his protection that kept him from losing his mind the entire time. Chip denies this, and states instead it's that "you never let the darkness win."

The thing is... anger and sadness are actually pretty important to feel. And it's actually not true that Sonic as a character doesn't feel anger- there's a few rather notable scenes in which he really loses his cool, some of them within Sonic Unleashed itself (he actually scares Eggman at the culmination of the Egg Dragoon fight) and in the game Sonic and the Secret Rings he actually achieves a super form powered by negative emotions- and that game also ends on a surprisingly melancholy note, where Shahra, when leaving Sonic, specifically gives him a bunch of tissues, a nod to how they met, and specifically "So you can cry as much as you need to."

Sonic is a good person. But Sonic is also... kind of a liar. He has this powerful connection to these highly destructive and dangerous entities- Dark Gaia, Chaos- and this is a thing he, pointedly, doesn't wonder about. And it's not arrogance, or an inability to consider the possibilities- in Sonic Colors he is very real with himself that he can't outrun a black hole, but only admits that once Tails is out of earshot on the one safe ride away from it- and while gearing up to try to do so anyway.

Wind is a contradictory thing. In the sky, we consider the possibility of ultimate freedom; flight and wings are often depicted as symbols of enormous power and efficacy because the very notion of being able to go wherever you want to captivates us.

On the other hand, though, a state of freefall is terrifying. In the unparalleled freedom of the sky, absolutely nothing can catch you if you fall.

(you know, except Tails, if you're fighting Eggman in Marble Garden- I'll leave)

We can talk about a bolt from the blue, a sudden storm or a just-as-sudden clear blue sky... the mechanisms of the air around us are often very hard to perceive for their superficial simplicity. And on sunny days when the wind lazes slowly through the leaves, it's hard to think of it as capable of hurricane forces.

I guess the note I want to leave this on is, it's pretty interesting how Sonic genuinely likes running, but he also tends to either outrun or fight anything that stresses him out- and "what he is" and "what he's capable of" is something he really doesn't like talking about even if he's happy to show or compete it.

[antiloreolympus]

7 Anti LO Asks

1. Do you know what really gets my blood boiling about this comic? Persephone and Demeter's relationship.

In the myths, Demeter and Persephone loved each other more than anything. Their reunion is so important - it marked the coming of spring and growth. A whole cult was dedicated to this for crying out loud. Yes, the myths were far from perfect, but the Persephone and Demeter myth showed the strength of a loving mother-daughter relationship with Demeter searching endlessly to find her child that was ripped away and had her innocence forcibly taken.

Now, RS is not the only author to make Demeter this over-bearing mother type in order to put more positivity onto the Hades-Persephone relationship. However, RS takes this trend to a whole new level - to the point where I would even consider it misogyny.

How is it, she takes this beautiful mother-daughter relationship and makes it out to be an abusive and controlling one, and then takes the Hades-Persephone relationship from a forceful one to a loving, perfect relationship with no problems? How is it ok to ruin one relationship to elevate another?

I understand that many versions of the myth try to downplay Hades' actions, and even make it so Persephone actually falls in love with him and there is no rape. But it doesn't change that this relationship was problematic, and meant to represent the loss of innocence.

Then fans have the gall to claim this comic is feminist and then claim on top of that that Demeter and Persephone's relationship was the same in the myth? These fans clearly don't know the myths, and neither does RS.

Making Hades a good person is fine. Changing it up a bit to make Persephone's loss of innocence something else is also fine. But ruining Demeter and Persephone's relationship? Especially when Persephone has to spend half the year with her? So horrible. 

2. im sorry, but rachel cant introduce KRONOS coming back and then dropping it for several episodes to focus on a stake-less trail and persephone not knowing what lingerie to seduce hades in. like thats too much of an earth shaking development and huge stake plot point to just ignore for months to focus instead on something as minor as hxp's relationship, which only points out a huge flaw: why is hxp's relationship so minor in this? isnt the whole point supposed to be about them?

3. I think LO completely dropped the ball over Hades’ characterization. 

From the first ep I thought ok, this is good, we have some bones to see he’s not that lucky in love and is just tired and lonely, and while ignoring the creepy actions towards Persephone, I thought ok, Artemis hates him, Hestia hates, even Ares hates him, maybe once Persephone finally sees the underworld and probably gets to know him it’ll be a clever twist and they’ll be proven wrong. The underworld will turn out to be fair and just, the citizens will love Hades, he’ll be revealed to be a good leader and king and not like his brothers, it’ll be like everyone saying Hades of myth isn’t actually that bad, and it’ll help reinforce why this sweet and bubbly Persephone wants him, she sees the real him, not the mean rumors and assumptions, this is perfect.

And then it just didn’t happen. The exact opposite happened, actually.

We’re shown the LO underworld is cruel and unjust, where the poor dead are forced into slavery and Hades created a harsh class divide with him and him only on top, the citizens hate him, the underworld gods don’t trust him and openly seem ok if he’s taken out of power, he’s not a good leader and king and doesn’t even want the job yet keeps it for his own ego and grip of power m, and on top of it all he is just like his brothers, if not worse. He loves to get violent over any little slight against him, he hoards wealth and resources to enrich himself while his citizens starve and struggle to survive, he’s corrupt, he controls all the media and laws to bend to his will, sleeps with his brothers wife for centuries behind his back while claiming to be holier than thou, he has sex with his secretaries who are made dependent on him for any way to survive, and now he lusts after his barely legal intern who is also now dependent on him for her way to survive, and that’s only what I remember off the top of my head.

LO perfectly set up to prove Hades isn’t the devil or the false pop culture assumption that he’s evil and to show some actual facts from myth, and yet Rachel only ended up reinforcing exactly that and even making him even worse with her made up ideas, all while thinking having Persephone ignore or excuse it somehow makes it not bad or even a good thing. It’s honestly kind of impressive just how bad of writing that actually is. 

4. Chapter 172 is not that interesting. It’s setup had me excited to see Hephaestus and Hera and learning more about echo, but it’s cut so short. Because again the story can’t leave HXP out for 2 seconds.

I can also see why Zeus is gonna go insane. 

5. i agree w/ other anon. LO should have pulled a PJO or a BoZ and just made up OCs and have them interact with the gods than whatever Rachel thinks shes doing, which is lying she's being accurate and faithful while completely changing all of it, removing what is needed, and adding what isnt so that it lines up with no actual myth besides like, various 50 shades fanfic she read in 2015 and some popular tumblr text posts.

6 . the animation studio behind blood of zeus literally can only draw one face for the men and one face for the women and they were still able to make the gods all look distinct and hot while LO can't even bother to use more than 6 colors and can only have the women look as tiny as possible with the biggest boobs while the men are all just lego men.

7. ////FP SPOILERS////

Okay so like I stopped reading LO way back before season 1 ended, and a majority of my knowledge of the series comes from what I read here on your blog which is enough for me lol and I decided to read the latest 5 chapters just to see what's up (on zahard. I refuse to give the actual series any views)

And I just. Could not take the whole scene with Daphne running from Apollo seriously? The anatomy and art inconsistency was so distracting that i genuinely could not find it serious. Even when Thanatos discovers her hibernated body I couldn't take it seriously because of how she looked?

And when Hades had that call (??? Was it a call? Or his inner dialogue? I couldn't really tell ngl) with Zeus and said he's causing Persephone unnecessary distress, and that she didn't pose any threat. B!tch??? She killed a ton of mortals??? She has no control over her powers???? She's literally a fugitive for the aforementioned things??? She apparently woke Kronos up? (Idk if anyone knows about that, again my knowledge only spans to whatever I read here) Hello????

And I have a lot to say about the chapters starting the trial but I'll only mention one thing; Hades saying "I don't think blindly supporting my little brother would be doing him any favours (as a ruler)" had me cackling. This is coming from a guy blindly supporting a girl he's literally only known for a few weeks, who's like what, only recently turned 20? Sit tf down Hades you're not cool, you creepy ass overgrown smurf.

Overall I still hate this series lmao. Regarding art though I feel like I wouldn't be so miffed about the anatomy much if the character designs were consistent and the story was compelling. They literally change hairstyles and body types frame by frame, and it's distracting.

The timeline from what I read here is laughable. 4 years in publication with almost 200 chapters and you're telling me only like a month has passed canonically. That's wild and such poor writing.

And as someone who literally will sympathise with any lead character pretty quickly, the story makes me hate them. It makes me want to root against them. I also hate the fact this trash is somehow top ranked on webtoons when so many other stories are far better then it.

Anyway, many thanks to this blog for existing and allowing me to dump so much text here to vent out my hate for this series lmao. You the mvp fam, hope you're having a good day 🥂🥂🥂

[thewhizzyhead]

a non-filipino's guide to trese: ep 1

So some of my mutuals decided to check out Trese aka the Netflix adaptation of the Filipino horror comic book series that I keep rambling about here and then since well um most of my mutuals aren’t from the Philippines fshfs I decided to make a long-ass post that basically consists of me rambling about the cultural context present in Trese with fun little tidbits about Filipino folklore. I’m not an expert on Filipino mythology so um I just typed out the stuff that I know and the stuff that I looked up on Wikipedia so um take this with a grain of salt aaaaa I’ll save the extensive google scholar research ramble on folklore present in Trese for another day.

I’ll try to find the sites where I got some of the information from cause um yea I kinda had a bit of a hard time finding the other shit so um once again, take the stuff here with a grain of salt. Also, feel free to add more info if you guys got any!

SO ANYWAYS ENJOY ME RAMBLING ABOUT EPISODE 1 OF TRESE WOO

+ MRT and LRT (Manila Metro Rail Transit and Light Rail Transit) are train systems in NCR (the capital region) and yea them suddenly stopping and malfunctioning in the middle of the goddamn rail is a daily occurrence and we have been trying to deal with this bullshit for years but alas, corruption and negligence are sweet sweet drugs.

+ When the MRT broke down, you'd see a red bee in the flashing billboard right? Well that's Jollibee and that's probably the most well-known fast food restaurant chain here heck there are even branches of it abroad!

+ According to many youtube comments along with other social media posts that I am way too tired to link here, the opening theme is an Ifugao ethnic song called Balluha'd Bayyauhen but with modern accompaniments and I think the song is about a fruit called a balluha that the character in the song tries to it but cannot swallow. (someone please correct me if I’m wrong here fjkfs)

+ The first um monster that we see Alexandra interact with is the White Lady of Balete Drive. White Ladies or “Kaperosa” are a type of female ghosts typically dressed in ghostly white dresses or similar garments. According to legend, she died in a car accident while driving along Balete Drive (a two lane street formerly lined with Balete Trees which are said to be a home for spirits and mysterious creatures) in Quezon City while other accounts say she died waiting for the arrival of her lover; others also say that she was a teenage girl who was run over and killed by a taxi driver at night and then buried around a Balete tree while another variation of the tale claims that a student from the University of the Philippines was sexually assaulted and killed by a taxi driver nearby and so said ghost haunts the street in search of her murderer. There are many other variations but according to local rumor, the legend was fabricated by a reporter in 1953 in order to make an interesting story. What remains consistent in many variations is that apparently taxi drivers would be stopped by a beautiful lady asking for a ride and if one would look at the rear window, they would see that the white lady in question is bruised and drenched in blood.

+ There are a lot of mentions about "lakans" and stuff in reference to Alex and her father right? In precolonial times, the term is used to refer to the paramount ruler or the highest-ranking political authorities in Tagalog communities (so um NCR and some parts of Region 4). In Muslim communities, they are called sultans while communities with strong trade connecitons with Indonesia or Malaysia called them Rajah. Datu is umm the more generalized term though when it comes to discussing the leaders of the precolonial Filipinos.

+ So, Alex’s mom is a babaylan and back in the pre-colonial period, each barangay (which a native filipino term for a village or a district; said term is still used today to describe um divisions in municipalities like) had them and these are basically Philippine shamans and they specialized in communicating with the spirits of the dead. To my knowledge, the role of babaylan went to women and yea people assigned male at birth but then identified as female were also allowed to become babaylans and they would be treated with the same respect given to any woman back then (honestly I dunno much about lgbtq+ stuff back in the precolonial times but all I know is that precolonial Filipinos were much a lot more welcoming towards trans identities bUT THEN THE SPANIARDS CAME AND UM ERR RUINED THAT); also the writing Alexandra's mom did in that one scene with the dagger is in Baybayin - preHispanic Filipino script. I dunno what she wrote down though. .

+ Also I kinda find it funny that the people here esp those who were at the White Lady scene are um,,, not at all surprised? Like yea quite a number of filipinos have their own superstitions and beliefs and all that but um yea the people in Trese seem very used to the bullshit,,,which in retrospect, isn't at all inaccurate fsdfd I MEAN WE DEAL WITH UNSURMOUNTABLE AMOUNTS OF BS ON A DAILY BASIS SO I DON’T THINK DEAD GHOSTS WOULD EVEN FAZE MANY FSKJDS

+ The one that appears right before Alexandra talks with the duwende (the one in the manhole) is called Laman Lupa (which i guess translates to um "What is in the earth"? just um YEA THEY ARE DIRT CREATURES). normally this is an umbrella term for duwendes and nunos but in Trese they are servants of these aforementioned creatures.

+ Duwende (which came from the Spanish phrase "dueno de case" which means "owner of the house") or dwarves in Filipino folklore are known to be mischievous and magical environmental guardians. They are believed to reside in trees or under earth mounds (those that live in the latter are called nuno sa pundo or old man of the mount) which is why quite a lot of Filipinos say "tabi tabi po" or “excuse me” when wandering around a forest or earth mounds as a sign of respect and in the hopes the duwende won't torment them. If the person is friendly, the duwende can also be friendly in return and will bring that person good lucl; otherwise, those who destroy their homes by stepping on them will face their wrath in form of heartless curse and predictions of ominous and disastrous fates. A duwende's color also depends on their budhi or conscience: to my knowledge, white duwendes are kind, red ones give protection amulets, green ones are firnedly with children and the black ones give nothing but trouble.

+ Chocnut aka the snack Alex bribes the nuno with is a very yummy chocolate snack made of coconut milk, crushed peanuts and cocoa powder. They are umm about an inch in length and maybe half an inch in width so it's fairly small; that being said I WANT THE CHOCNUT THAT ALEXANDRA HAS CAUSE HOT DAMN THAT'S A BIG CHOCNUT

+ In Trese, the creatures in the MRT scene and in the warehouse Alexandra visits after she talks with the duwende are called "aswang". In Philippine folklore, it is an umbrella term for any kind of monster so um an aswang in Luzon would be very different from the aswang in Mindanao. According to what I saw on wikipedia, they can be classified in 5 categories: the vampire (self-explanatory um they drink blood), the viscera sucker (the manananggal, i'll get to that next time), the weredog (cats and pigs are also possible but um yea they target pregnant women), the witch (self-explanatory boom curses and stuff) and the ghoul (they gather near trees in cemeteries to feast on human corpses). Aswangs are often described to have a long, hollow tongue, sharp claws and sharp teeth, although they do also have human forms.

+ To my knowledge, Ibwa, the leader of the aswangs in the warehouse, is a creature from Tinguian or Itneg mythology (they, like the Ifugao, are an indigenous ethnic group in northwestern Luzon) though I could be wrong about this dksfsf Ibwa seems like an ethnic filipino term tho wah I can't remember where I once read that. But anyways, Ibwa often stalk sthe house of a dying person to steal its body. In order for the ibwa to NOT succeed in that, some people burn holes in the garments of the dead and put a sharp iron object on top of the grave since those are most powerful weapons against aswangs which is what Alexandra uses to subdue the Ibwa and kill all the other aswangs (the knife alex uses is named Sinag which means "ray of light".)

+ ALSO I AM SO SO GLAD THEY KEPT THE FILIPINO SWEARS IN THE ENGLISH DUB YES YES THIS IS A VERY GOOD JOB so lemme discuss the versatility of tangina-

+ Also umm Bossing is a nickname of Vic Sotto - one of the three pioneer hosts of Eat Bulaga! which is the longest running Philippine noontime variety show. Over time, most probably due to the show's popularity, the term "bossing" then became um slang for "boss" or "chief"

+ Translation of what Alex says when she's stirring the eye inside the cup: “In the eyes of others, secrets will reveal themselves.”

+ Sidenote: The English dub's pronunciation of many of the tagalog lines are um yea they r pretty good but they could use a bit of work but then again I'm really not that good in speaking in Tagalog so who am I to judge gkdkf sorry po guys conyo po ako-

+ Maria Makiling is arguably the most famous of all the diwatas (ancestral spirits, nature spirits, or deities) in Philippine Mythology; she is associated with Mount Makiling in Laguna as the guardian spirit of the mountain. Mount Makiling is said to resemble a profile of a woman and people associate the profile with Maria herself. She is also known as a goddess by the name of Dayang Masalanta and people would pray to her for safety and to stop storms and earthquakes. That's the goddess Alexandra's mother mentions right when she tells Alex to hide. (Translation to what she said there: Maria Makiling, goddess of the mountain, bless us.)

+ ALSO YEA THAT MAYOR IN THE MRT STATION IS UMMM RATHER REMINISCENT OF MAAAANY POLITICIANS AND PUBLIC SERVANTS HERE LIKE BELIEVE ME I CAN THINK OF SO MANY NAMES RN. THEY WOULD FLAUNT THEIR MACHISMO AND PROMISE THAT THEY THEMSELVES SHALL PUNISH THE PERPETRATORS HARSHLY BUT IN THE END THEY DONT MEAN SHIT AND ARE IN OFFICE TO SERVE ONLY THEMSELVES AND TO SHIT ON THE REST ESP THOSE OF THE POORER SECTORS AND *NOTHING IS DONE ABOUT IT*. WE LIVE IN HELL OKAY. also hmm how the police are represented here is umm,,,interesting,,, like i know there are sOME good police officers like the ones alexandra assists but like,,,our current sociopolitical climate + the many cases showcasing the corruption in the police force + tHE SHEER AMOUNT OF POLICE BRUTALITY HERE would ummm beg to differ. but um anyways-

+ Also Mang Inasal posters can be seen in the MRT station backdrops and um it’s a very famous restaurant chain here and they serve lots of barbecue and other filipino stuffs and i miss them a lot God their halo halo is very yummy

+ Santelmo - oki so this is the fire face thingy that Alexandra summons inside the ruined train. This is the shortened version of the term "Apoy ni Santa Elmo" or "St. Elmo's Fire" - this is a weather phenomenon wherein plasma is created from an electrical discharge from a rod like object in an atmospheric electric field. This phenomenon was used to warn of imminent lightning strikes or storms (there is a chapter in Noli Me Tangere where Pilosopo Tasyo talks about that bUT I'LL SAVE THE NOLI ME TANGERE RAMBLES FOR ANOTHER DAY). But according to Philippine folklore, santelmos - which are said to be souls of people lost as sea - are balls of fire that appear where accidents or big arguments happen. In Trese, santelmos (alex's santelmo being "The Great Spirit of the Binondo Fire") can be called to assist in supernatural investigations

+ Translation of what Alex says when she draws the circles to meet with the purple ghosts: "Souls, where are you off to? I'll be entering too, so please open the door."

+ Remember the scene at the train with all the purple ghosts and the woman in a veil? Yea the woman is an emissary of a goddess named Ibu and she is the Manobo (again, another indigenous ethnic group but this time they're from Mindanao; fun fact we have around 134 ethnic groups) goddess of deceased mortals and the queen of the underworld; she also serves as a psychopomp and guides the newly deceased souls to the other side (having an MRT be the ride to the underworld isn’t in the legends tho so fkkjsf)

+ The aswang in the top hat is called Xa Mul and according to the Isneg/Apayao people (yay another ethnic group but this time in northern Luzon - the Cordillera regions to be specific), they are an evil spirit known to swallow people whole.

+ Alex has two henchmen right? Yea they are named Crispin and Basillio and No I still don’t know who’s who and I'm really sorry about that fsfjs so anyways the names Crispin and Basillio are actually those of two brothers featured in the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo novels (Crispin is younger and Basilio is older) which are basically the national novels here cause um yea written by national hero Jose Rizal as sociopolitical commentary about the Spanish regime here. I don't know if I want to spoil this cause I kinda want other people to read the novel too fskfs BUT ALL IN ALL, ONE OF THEM DIES IN LIKE THE 10TH OR 11TH CHAPTER OF NOLI ME TANGERE (and the novel has 64 chapters btw) AND UM YEA-

+ OKI SO TO ADD MORE CONTEXT TO THE SQUATTER STUFFS MENTIONED IN TRESE (we r gonna use the tiny font here because holy shit this rant is long): So,in the Philippines, especially in the capital region, there are lots of slum areas called squatters. These are dense urban settlements made of compact makeshift housing units that aren't really officially recognized by the government. This is um very reflective of the poverty situation here and there are maaany factors that come into play here and if i were to go into depth about this topic, that rant would probably turn into an academic paper so for the sake of brevity, let's just say that Things Are Fucked Up Here. Oftentimes the poorer sectors are being ignored and left to their own devices despite tons of campaign promises to make things better and easier for them. The communities that live here are incredibly vulnerable to floods, fires, and the like and afaik no concrete solutions have been in effect to protect these people and their settlements. There have also been many times where squatter areas are dismantled or demolished despite protests of people living in those areas and yea I understand the need to make space and the need for renovation but the people should still be offered some sort of temporary settlement or financial compensation thingy that doESN'T fuck them over but alas, we have an anti-poor government. That being said, I really like Trese Ep 1's portrayal of governmental negligence, but I also have some thoughts, especially in regards to the mayor being arrested THAT FAST which um believe me, NEVER FUCKING HAPPENS BECAUSE MANY MAYORS AND A LOT OF POLITICIANS HAVE THE POLICE IN THEIR POCKETS SO UM ERR YEA JUSTICE IS RARELY A THING HERE BUT UM ANYWAYS YEA THE GOVERNMENT LIKES TO SHIT ON THE POOR WOO LET'S SAVE THE USE OF SOCIOLOGICAL LENS ON THIS MATTER FOR ANOTHER DAY

+ The news channel reporting the arrest of the mayor is ABC-ZNN WHICH IS AN OBVIOUS REFERENCE TO ABSCBN aka the top media conglomerate here (that has been fucked over by the government so many times to the point that they had to shut down operations last year which is all sorts of unfair so seeing them being referenced here kinda made me happy gksfks)

[silversatoru]

the thin line between hope and despair

yelena x gn! reader

synopsis: you’re in love with yelena, and she feels nothing for for you. constant hook-ups and faded morals = very messy feelings

tags/warnings: nsfw, some smut?, angst, unrequited love, one-sided feelings, fuck buddies

word count: 2.5k

a/n: for my my sweet bby girl @brandmeyelena <3

Yelena knows what she’s doing with you isn’t right — on so many fucking levels. Taking advantage of your utter desperation for her over and over again when she knows damn well that she couldn’t care less about you. It wasn’t fair, especially for you, but she just couldn’t really find it in herself to feel sorry for someone so pitiful. You were so willing to devote yourself to her in exchange for mere crumbs of her affection, and it was pathetic. You left a sour taste in her mouth, a taste of sorrow and complete wretchedness, but you were also the perfect distraction. The perfect relief from all of her stress and all of her responsibilities with the volunteers. She was tired, and you were just so damn desperate to make her feel better — so how could she refuse? The answer was simple, she couldn’t.

That exact thought process is what landed her here today, with her fingers around your throat and your eyes rolled back into your head. She knows you love it too, being used like this — the way your cheeks grow flushed and your eyes get foggy when she cuts off the circulation to your brain. But she doesn’t do it for you — Yelena enjoys these things just as much as you do, her power hungry ego being fervently stroked by dominating you like this. Pinning you underneath of her and giving you orders made her feel in control — and that was perfect, because god knows she isn’t in control of anything else in her life right now.

Get down, she’d hiss at you, pointing to the floor with her long, slender index finger. Your pathetic frame would sink to your knees instantly, wordlessly doting to her every command. She’d lean back on her shoulders, her hips propped on the edge of the bed, and give you an expectant look. You know what to do. Do it, her voice would snarl, her empty eyes swirling with hunger. You’d feverishly obey, launching yourself forward and graciously opening your mouth for her pussy. You were dedicated to your craft, taking your time and ensuring that your tongue consumed every inch of her. Yelena’s head would fall back and, raspy, wet noises gurgled from her throat. She was entirely consumed by this twisted bliss — and she was a horrible monster for letting you do these things to her, but she felt far too good to care.

So now here you were, your tongue buried deep inside her while you worked desperately to make her feel better. She was quieter than usual today — the only things to leave her lips were small groans and half-assed insults. Things like the occasional “faster” while she pulled your hair, or “stupid slut” when you weren’t doing things quite right. The slander only made you work harder however, and honestly anything that came out of the blonde woman’s mouth was music to your ears. You stared up at her with rose-colored glasses, living in a delusional world where you truly believed Yelena cared about you.

It was a dreadfully fucked up dynamic — this relationship the two of you had, if it could even be called that. One of you lived in a terrible fantasy of what could be and the other was practically incapable of feeling human emotions. It was truly only a matter of time before the world started burning around the two of you.

A very short matter of time.

Yelena was spasming underneath of you now, warm juices and shaky convulsions racking through her body and into your mouth. You drove your tongue deep against her contracting walls, your eyes squeezed shut. A disgustingly sticky mixture of her fluids and your own saliva dripped down your chin as you finally pulled away, a bitter taste hanging on your tongue.

And Yelena was always quick to leave, she never stuck around any longer than she had to. She came, she came, and then she’d pull shitty excuses out of her ass as to why she needed to leave so soon. Those reasons more often than not consisted of one person — Zeke Yeager. Whether or not there was something romantic between the two, or if she was just highly devoted to him, you could never tell. You weren’t even sure if you wanted to know, honestly, because the answer might just break your heart.

Why don’t you stay tonight, Lena? You looked over at her as she pulled her trousers up her long, gangly legs. You craved something deeper with her, something more than just occasional casual sex — but it was really too bad that she didnt reciprocate those feelings at all. Sorry, there's a meeting tonight. I have to go. She’d respond, her voice dull as she carelessly brushed you off and slipped on her boots.

Will Zeke be there? Your voice always got low when you talked about him, but you made intentional efforts to hide the jealousy in your tone. Of course he’ll be there, he is the leader, she’d state dully as if this was obvious, and maybe it was, but it still made your chest ache.

You spend a lot of time with him lately, even outside of meetings, you’d state your observations out loud for the first time. Confrontation wasn’t something you enjoyed, and you certainly weren’t any good at explaining your feelings either. But your heart was starting to nag you lately, and you needed to voice your opinions before it was too late.

We’re preparing for a war, her eyes grew incredibly narrow, try not to make such selfish accusations right now. The words were like daggers of guilt stabbing between your ribs. Yelena had a way with words — a shiny silver tongue that always made you believe what she said without a doubt. You started to believe that you were being selfish — after all the war was very real and Yelena was very involved, that's probably all it was.

You’re right, I’m sorry. I just wish you were around more. Your voice was much quieter now, shame and remorse churning in your stomach -- maybe you would have been better off not saying anything at all.

We’re busy. You have to understand where I’m coming from here. It’s hard for me to make time right now, she’d continue to spew nonsense into your impressionable ears. She didn’t like that you were starting to question her, not at all. She’d say whatever you needed to hear to keep you around at this point — she didn’t plan on losing her little fuck-toy anytime soon. If you needed a little affection to keep you complacent, then she’d just need to put on a little show for you.

Come here, I’m sorry, her tone grew softer, but not at all sincere. You helplessly sunk into her spindly arms, and she pulled you tight to her chest. Just hold on until after the war, okay? Once we make the world a better place, we can do whatever you want.

More false hope, false promises, and false reassurance. The war would be brutal, you’d probably die at some point in a terrible event of collateral damage. You’d die and then Yelena would never need to fulfil her empty promises -- it was that easy, and you’d never know the difference.

That sounds nice, you’d smile, your heart warming at the idea of living in a free world with Yelena by your side. You fell ignorantly for her words, missing every single warning sign and every single red flag. Maybe if you’d noticed the subtle darkness in her eyes, the strain in her tone, or the way she hugged you a little too roughly, you could have saved yourself from the ensuing heartbreak. Or maybe if you had realized that with you being a scout and her being a follower of Zeke, it was unlikely that the two of you would ever work out. But you stupidly refused to consider any of these things, and it was going to cost you your heart.

That fateful memory was a few months ago, and now the both of you were in Marley, anxiously waiting for Eren’s plan to unfold. You were partnered with your friend Connie, his lips twisting into a thin line as the two of you hid in the shadows on top of an industrial building. You were incredibly capable with your 3dm gear, and even more capable with the new gun technology, but you were practically useless with your head in its current state. You watched the streets with fervent eyes, dashing them up and down nearby alleyways and hoping for any sign of Yelena. The attack hadn’t even started yet, but not knowing her whereabouts made you incredibly uneasy. She was probably wherever Zeke was, of course, but you liked to think that wherever she was, she was worried about you too.

Yelena was hiding in plain sight, dressed in a traditional Marleyan Army uniform with fake facial hair wrapped around her chin. She did as she was ordered, trapping two of the titan shifters in a large hole and then retreating back to her position. She was focused solely on her task, and on Zeke and how she could ensure his safety, and honestly, the thought of you hadn’t crossed her mind once tonight.

When Eren’s attack came, it came suddenly and violently -- and it was like nothing you’ve ever seen before, or at least not since the colossal and armored titans attacked so many years ago. Before you could even take in the horrifying scene in front of you, Connie was grabbing your hand and ushering you to run, the two of you taking off with your 3dm gear. You couldn’t stop your eyes from wandering as your body swung through the air, frantically searching the streets for the tall, blonde woman who owned your heart. But maybe you should have paid less attention to finding her, and more attention to where you were going.

Connie’s shrill scream shook you to your core, and at first you didn’t even notice the array of guns pointed right at the two of you. A group of Marleyan soldiers were lined up atop a building, every single nozzle of their firearms preparing to shoot at you and Connie. Your friend shot his gear downwards, swooping underneath the scope of the guns and shouting at you to follow him. And you tried, you really did, but you were horribly distracted and accidentally shot your gear into the very edge of a building. The hook crumbled the corner of the building and was unable to secure itself, sending you hurling to the ground beneath you. Your breath was wiped clean from your chest as you smacked against the ground, dust and dirt filling your lungs. Connie was forced to swing up onto a higher building, narrowly avoiding the bullets and unable to come down after you. Your bones ached as you peeled yourself off the ground, looking up just to see pieces of rubble hurling towards you. What the FUCK, Eren? You silently cursed out that irresponsible titan boy, scrambling to avoid the giant chunks of building that were quickly getting closer.

You thought you’d made it, your heart beat gushing in your ears as you launched yourself towards another building, only to be knocked back down by a slab of broken concrete. Pained yelps squeezed out from your throat as your body fell helplessly back to the ground. This fall did a number on you, your ears ringing and your head pounding with a dull pain. The large piece of rubble had crashed into one of your legs, rendering your leg immobile and absolutely crushing your gear. Connie couldn’t help you, not when saving you guaranteed his own demise — you needed to do this on your own, unless-

“Yelena!” You called out to the towering woman who was stumbling towards you. Her arm was wrapped around an injured Zeke, and she was working hard to carry him to safety. Levi must have rocked his shit again, you’d have to thank him for that if you made it out of this alive.

Yelena stopped momentarily when she saw your mangled leg, but not even an ounce of concern crossed her determined face. She looked you up and down, and then glanced down at Zeke as if she was weighing her options.

“I’m sorry,” She shot you a horribly unsypathetic look, dragging her gaze away from you and hurrying off with the injured blonde boy.

It was so simple, so short, and there wasn't the smallest hint of remorse in her voice. Your brain couldn’t process how easy it was for her to leave you there, your mouth hanging open in a small “o”. You would give your life for Yelena, and she didn’t even blink when you were faced with certain death — and that’s when it all started to set in. The delusional facade that you’d imagined between the two of you was shattering, small pieces of glass memories crashing and crumbling around you. The cruel owner of your pitiful heart felt nothing for you, and it had taken this long for you to finally realize.

All of the days and nights the two of you spent entangled in each other's arms had meant nothing. All of the time you spent with your lips locked against hers and her large hands caressing your body had been devoid of anything more than lust for her. Terrible embarrassment washed up inside of you as you recalled all of the sinful things you did for this cold-hearted, unfeeling woman.

Your motivation to fight was gone, your eyes locked onto Yelena’s tall figure as she ran further away and out of view. She’d picked Zeke over you again, she always did, and she always would. She practically worshiped him, like he was some kind of fucked up, twisted god. You weren’t sure why you ever thought you could compete with that.

In the midst of your complete breakdown, a firm arm wrapped around your waist and pulled you into the air. Connie had come back for you, cold air stinging your face as the two of you shot up to the safety of a tall, nearby building.

“Fuck, y/n, stop being so careless! And I hope you’ll finally give up on that lanky bitch after she walked right past you like that,” he let out an exasperated breath, slumping behind a large brick wall.

“Sorry… thank you,” you mumbled, “You really shouldn’t have risked your life like that”.

“No, but that’s what people are supposed to do when they care about each other. Is it finally sinking in, that she's been using you for the past year? I tried to tell you so many time-,” He continued to ramble on in frustration.

Every one of his words poured salt into your already burning wounds, tears beginning to leak from your eyes. Yelena didn’t care about you, she never did — she’d never even sacrificed time for you, never mind compromising her or Zeke’s safety for you. And you were stupidly ignorant to ever think that she saw you as more than a toy she used to pass the time.

[mysugardaddyissatan]

I’m too lazy to do this for 30 days so I’ll just do all of it lmao and maybe reminisce after a year or so if I still feel the same way as I am now

(I hold out reading on-going BL manhwa so pardon me for the lack of content)

Day 1: Twittering Birds Never Fly

- I just finished the movie so this is my favorite right now lmao. Yoshiro is so fucking sexy and Doumeki is a devoted cinnamon roll. I don’t even like Yakuza stories that much (Honto Yajuu is the only Yakuza story that I really like before reading this).

Day 2: Harada

- I’m willing to give my soul to him, I loved the dark humour and how twisted his characters are.

Day 3: Color Recipe, Happy Shitty Life and Yatamomo

-  You’re asking too much so imma give my top 3.

Day 4: Puppy Love

- I just hate this type of uke, annoying and useless

Day 5: Killing Stalking

- I don’t want them to know what type of shit i’m into so I just recommend the most popular yaoi ever

Day 6: Caste Heaven

- well it’s on hiatus and I wanna kill myself for reading it so soon

Day 7: Everything Seki Sabato, Zaria and Echo Jiro drew

- what plot? we’re here for the fap lmao (i’m not a shotacon I swear)

Day 8: Love Is An Illusion

- it’s like watching a mexican drama teleserye at 4 in the afternoon

Day 9: BJ Alex

- Still like it tho, but not as much as before

Day 10: Megumi and Tsugumi

- I just love how stupid Tsugumi is and how understanding Megumi to him #goals

Day 11: Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai

- All of this manga covers are just—-

Day 12: Life Senjou no Bokura

- THE ONLY MANGA THAT MADE ME CRY. FUCK THIS SHIT MY HEART ACHES WHENEVER I REMEMBER THIS

Day 13: Warehouse

- like every manhwa ever? I wanna frame it and hang it in my room

Day 14: 19 Days

- I really loved stories where I should drink holy water after reading it but damn THIS IS JUST TOO CUTE. There’s too many daddies lmao

Day 15: Color Recipe

- I mean it focuses on the hairdressers at first which I find boring but when the plot twist shows damn I was hooked. Fukusuke is so damn consistent from beginning to the end. He’s a manipulative psychopathic asshole through and through lmao

Day 16: Walk On Water and Down and Dirty

- they have similar art style. i was weirded out at first but THE PLOT IS SO GOOD. I have zero expectation but it turns out so smut and sexy. I fell in love. McQueen and Lee Gyung is just AHJAHHHASDASKD step on me

Day 17: Cherry Blossoms After Winter and Here U Are

- don’t get me wrong the art is so beautiful but the translations are bad in CBAW. And I can’t really relate in manhua so there. I’ll still try to reread it when it’s completed

Day 18: ?????

Day 19: At The End of the Road

- One of the first one that I really like. I don’t like live action so I’m just gonna recommend some shounen ai

Day 20: Ghost Child

- it has the same ambiance and premise as Painter of The Night. Please be more popular so someone will translate it lmao

Day 21: Fukusuke (Color Recipe), Seungho (Warehouse) and He Tian (19 Days)

- I have a thing on psychopaths I think lol

Day 22: Yoshiro (Twittering Birds Never Fly), Azusa (Caste Heaven), Shin (King’s Maker), Hyungdo (Down and Dirty) and Taemin (At The End of the Road)

- I personally like strong, fearless, independent and “doesn’t give a fuck what other people think” ukes. Even though they have a dark past, they stay strong. I really loved characters like that. They are so beautiful.

Day 23: Yarichin ☆ Bitch Club

- as long as they’re happy with their club activities, i’m happy

Day 24: Hikizuru Oto

- this is just so fucking twisted, this needs to be longer

Day 25: Eleceed

- i’m sorry my brain is dead and everyone from Eleceed is gae for each other okay

Day 26: Every 3p manga

- I give my life for monogamy. I can stand ukes with slutty past but I would never buy any 3Ps

Day 27: King’s Maker

- hey I lived for this kind of plot. I liked how it doesn’t focus on love but on political and societal issues. The plot here is so deep. AND THE SMUT SCENES ARE FUCKING HOT REEEEEEE

Day 28: Happy Shitty Life

- this is the first time I read where the main characters are both ukes. the humour is so dark I can feel my soul slipping out

Day 29: Adam no Rokkotsu

- I feel like it will be good anime. The seme has a multiple personality disorder.

Day 30: Dear Door

- I love everything with the tags (Mystery, Horror, Psychological, Police, Detective). I see this genres, I buy the book lmao

_________________

imma see if after a year I still like the mangas in here :)

[helnjk]

Only Us - F.W.

Fred Weasley x fem!reader

This is for @slytherinsunrise ‘s 1k writing challenge! I’m using the song Only Us from Dear Evan Hansen because it makes my heart go 🥺❤️Congrats on 1k, lovely!! I hope you like it 🧚🏼‍♀️

Word Count: 3k 

Warnings: Mentions of the war, PTSD, angst, non-linear healing, alcohol consumption, hurt/comfort

A/N: The tags make it sound really sad but I promise if you stick with it, it gets better!! Also, listening to the song while reading is: a good idea. 

---

The war may have ended, but for Fred, healing was nowhere in sight. 

The nightmares were getting consistently worse. Each night he would jolt awake, sweat coating his forehead and clammy hands grasping for any sort of confirmation that he was fine, George was fine, everyone was safe. It was getting to a point where he could barely reach eight hours of sleep a week, and he could tell it was affecting him in everything he did.

His friends and family constantly sent concerned glances his way, taking note of the bruised color his eye bags were sporting, the shake in his hand, and the heaviness he always seemed to drag along with him. 

“I’m worried for you, mate.” George said one morning, as he found his twin staring blankly at the-by then cold-cup of tea clutched in his hands. He could tell that Fred had been up long before the sun rose, “I think you need a break, a change of scenery, anything really.” 

“I haven’t gotten the faintest idea where I could go, though,” Replied Fred.  

“Think about it,” George urged, but said nothing else on the matter. He settled instead on the rest of his plans for today. 

Instead of taking his twin’s advice, Fred took his twin’s advice. 

He figured since he wasn’t going to be able to get hours in to sleep, might as well use them to numb his pain. A change of scenery was what his twin had recommended after all. Often, he would find himself sneaking out of the flat above the shop, once he knew George was fast asleep, and apparating to the nearest muggle club. 

Something about the reckless atmosphere, the knowledge that all of these people knew nothing of the war that ravaged so many lives, called out to Fred. Here, he could be whoever he wanted to be. He wasn’t some insomniac war-hero with anxiety, he was just Fred. 

Clear the slate and start over

The bass pounding in his ears, sending jolts through his body as he waded through the crowded dance floor, bright flashing lights distorting the faces of the bodies around him, Fred felt more free than he had in a long time. 

His mind was numb, almost empty. It was much too loud and too packed for him to think about anything else except the beat of the music and the heat of the crowd. 

When his thirst became too much, he made his way to the equally crowded bar, signalling the bartender and slapping down some muggle money he had stashed away in his pocket. Something, or rather someone, caught his eye as he reached for whatever was placed in front of him, and all of a sudden his drink and his parched throat were forgotten. 

Y/N. 

Standing at the far corner of the bar, away from the crowd, you stood nursing your drink and swaying slightly to the music. 

You had been in his year when he was at school and you were partners in a few projects, but he hadn't heard from you since he and George left Hogwarts with a bang. He was so entranced with the sight of you, seemingly glowing in the pulsing light, that he almost didn’t notice the jagged scars running down from your temple to your pulse point when you turned his way. 

Without thinking, he made his way towards you. It was almost like a scene from those muggle movies Hermione went on about, the way your eyes locked and how his heart pounded in his chest, almost in time with the beats of the music.

“Fred Weasley, as I live and breathe!” You exclaimed once he was near enough to hear you, throwing your arms up and wrapping him in a tight hug. 

“Y/N,” He said, eyes dancing with amusement at your enthusiasm which was clearly because of the liquor running through your veins, “It’s been too long.” 

“It has,” You agreed with a smile, “Now what’re you doing all the way here in the muggle world? I’ve heard you’ve got yourself a pretty successful joke shop.” 

He shrugged nonchalantly, trying to hide the fact that you caught his attempt at escapism, “Just needed a breather, and what better way to do that in a muggle club? Perfect place to go when I don’t want to know anyone and I don’t want anyone to know me.”

 “Oh I’m sorry! Did you want to be alone? I can sod off, I don’t mind.” You rushed out, going to gather your things and move so that he could have some privacy.

 “Don’t be daft,” He chuckled, putting his drink down and taking a seat next to you, “I was the one who approached you, wasn’t I? Reckon it would be nice to have a chat with an old friend.”

 You quirked an eyebrow at him but didn’t argue, it was nice to see a familiar face after escaping the wizarding world for so long.

 “Alright then, Weasley.” You smiled, looking into his eyes. 

 After that night, Fred couldn’t seem to get you out of his mind. You had changed since he last saw you in school, well, the war had changed everyone, but still he was intrigued. He didn’t mention anything about the scars on your face and you didn’t speak a word about the bags under his eyes or the tremble of his hands. When you were together, it was just the two of you, everything else seemed to just fade into the background. 

 He asked for your owl address and suddenly, you two were exchanging letters daily. You told him how you worked in the muggle world, taking a break from most things magical in an attempt to clear your head from everything that went down in the war. In return, he told you about his near death experience and how it affected him in his everyday life. 

 George took notice of his twin’s change in demeanour. He could tell that the nightmares still plagued him and sometimes sleep still evaded him, but now it seemed like Fred had a skip in his step. The light in his eyes that faded the day he woke up in the hospital bed was slowly starting to filter back in. 

 You often found yourself smiling giddily to yourself whenever the twins’ large barn owl tapped at your window. These letters from Fred were slowly becoming the highlight of your day. Something about them was just so raw, so real, that you couldn’t help but pour your deepest thoughts and feelings into a parchment in reply. 

 Soon, letters turned into coffee dates and surprise appearances at your job to take you out to lunch. Your days were filled with unending laughter and the pit in your stomach was slowly easing up. 

 The first time Fred kissed you, you were outside the door to your flat. He wore a slightly bashful expression and a blush slowly creeped up his neck. The kiss was sweet and soft and everything you were searching for after the war. You invited him inside after that.  The night was filled with a steady flow of kisses shared on the couch and whispered words of admiration and acceptance. 

 Try to quiet the noises in your head

 “Sometimes I’m afraid that I’ll never be the person I used to be,” Fred spoke up one night as you were wrapped in his arms and he trailed soft touches along your arm. It was a peaceful evening, the both of you content with basking in the presence of the other. 

 You shifted slightly in his arms to get a better look at him. His gaze was unfocused, “What do you mean?” 

 “The war took so much from me and everyone I love,” He elaborated, “I used to be so reckless, act first think later. My main goal in life was to make people laugh, to bring happiness to their days. Now I don’t know if I can ever fully be happy myself. It’s hard when the nightmares and the anxiety are holding me back.” 

 You took a deep breath, “Do you know how I got these scars?” 

 His eyes shifted towards you, running along the white and slightly puckered flesh along the side of your face. He shook his head, no. It hadn’t been a topic he wanted to bring up in fear of offending you, and you hadn’t really acknowledged them either. 

 “I’m muggleborn. The war was tough when basically the whole world was trying to track you down and take you away,” He hummed in agreement, knowing first hand what it felt like to go into hiding, not knowing what the next day would bring, “Greyback and his group found me eventually.” 

 Fred sucked in a breath at the mention of the werewolf, but you shook your head with a small smile gracing your lips, “I’m tough. I got away as quickly as I could, but not before he gave me these to remember him by.” 

 In a flash, Fred had pulled you on top of him, making sure to wrap his arms securely around you. You let out a surprised gasp at the sudden movement, but made no move to escape his grasp. He peppered kisses all along your scars, not leaving one inch of the skin uncovered. 

 You sighed contentedly when he finished, leaning your head against his chest, “The war changed all of us, simple as that. I don’t think we’ll ever be the same people we were before. I still get freaked out when I have to sleep alone at night, and I tend to double and triple check if all the locks and wards are in place, but when I’m with you everything seems to melt away.” 

 The silence was so deafening that you were afraid that he could hear your heart hammering in your chest. You had never really voiced any of these concerns outloud before, and you were afraid that you’d said too much. 

 “The only times I’ve ever been able to quiet my mind after the war are when I’m with you.” He says this so factually, but so quietly that you almost didn’t hear it. He doesn’t wait for you to reply, “I can see a future with you, and I haven’t been able to see a future for myself in a long time.” 

 The two of you lapsed into silence, taking comfort in the presence of the other, and no other words needed to be said. 

 You don't have to be scared you're not enough

'Cause what we've got going is good

 Slowly, things seemed to fall into place. Fred began enjoying once again the creative process that the shop demanded, throwing himself into collaborative work with his twin. You were getting more and more confident integrating magic and the wizarding world back into your life. Of course, you still loved your muggle job but you had missed the thrill and ease that the magical world brought into your life. 

 A routine formed between the two of you as well, slowly incorporating more and more time spent together until you finally decided to move in together. 

 The first time you had woken up because of a garbled shout, your heart almost burst out of your chest. You hadn’t realized you were reaching for your wand until you saw the culprit of the sound. Fred was sat up beside you and you could see his silhouette running a hand through his hair.

 You were quick to notice his stuttering breath and the sheen of sweat coating his forehead. Silently, you sat up and shuffled closer to him, leaning your head against his shoulder. The moonlight filtered through the window, casting a shadow on his face, but you could see the gears turning in his head. 

 “I’m sorry,” He muttered after long minutes of silence.

 “You have nothing to apologize for,” You whispered back, pressing a soft kiss to his neck, “I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.” 

 “I just feel like they’re never going to leave me alone, the nightmares,” You heard him mumble, “And I don’t wanna drag you through this shit with me.” 

 You snake your arms around him, pulling him to you with his head resting on your chest and beginning to rake your fingers through his hair before speaking again, “You’re not making me do anything love. I’m here, you’re okay, we’re okay, and that’s all that needs to matter right now. We’re in this together, remember?” 

 “Together,” He echoed, burying his face in your chest and taking all the reassurance he could get from your body so close to his. 

 The next time you panic as the sun sets and your flat turns dark, he’s there to hold your hand  and reassure you that he’s there and you’re safe. He lets you double and triple check all the windows and doors, and presses a mug of calming tea into your hands when you’ve tired yourself out. 

 You’re found curled up on the couch, grasping the warmth that the cup of tea provides, and he drapes a blanket over your chilly legs. 

 “C’mon then, make some room for me,” He says gently, and you scoot over enough for him to take a seat beside you.

 “Sorry,” You murmur, still clutching at your mug of tea, eyes slightly glazed over, “I know it’s a lot to deal with when I get like this.” 

 “Nonsense, love,” He says, pressing a kiss to your temple, “If I get to wake you up in the middle of the night because of a nightmare, then you have all the right to make sure we’re safe before we settle in for the night.” 

 The two of you sit in silence, Fred’s calming presence slowly easing you out of your stupor and your heart begins to slow. That night, he carries you up to bed and tucks you in once he notices that your eyes have shut and your breath evens out on the couch. 

 You learn each other’s ins and outs, what makes him tick and what makes you laugh. It’s a slow process, but you could see a light at the end of the tunnel. 

 The war and all of its casualties begin to seem further and further away, the more the both of you learn to live with your own demons and eventually let them go. 

 You and me

That's all that we need it to be

And the rest of the world falls away

 “Oi! If it isn’t the bird that’s caught my brother’s fancy!” 

 A smile stretched across your face as you entered the brightly colored shop and heard the familiar baritone of your boyfriend’s twin. You heard him before you saw him, up on the second floor, leaning against the banister with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. 

 “Hey George,” You called up to him, “Fred in?” 

 “Of course you’re only concerned about dear old Freddie, got no time for a chat for little old me?” He teased, making his way down to you and giving you a friendly embrace.

 You laughed lightly as you returned the gesture, “I’ll always have time for you George, but your brother’s supposed to be on his lunch break right now and I wanted to try that new restaurant that’s opened up down the street.” 

 “Oi, Freddie! Your bird’s here to whisk you away from doing any actual work around here!” He called out, which made you laugh even harder, and then turned to face you again, “Don’t forget, because mum won’t let me hear the end of it if you do, but you’re invited to lunch this Sunday! The whole family’s excited to meet you.” 

 You nodded your head just as Fred poked his head out of the door leading to the back office, “Here already love? Give me a mo’ and I’ll be right out.” 

 -

 The moment your feet touched the ground outside of The Burrow on Sunday, your heart began to race. The unique house, held up by mostly magic no doubt, seemed to loom over the pair of you, and suddenly all your fears came rushing back.

 It was a gorgeous day out, the fields surrounding the house seemed to glow in the sunlight. Laughter and conversation flowed through the open windows, and you could see glimpses of silhouettes moving around inside, but you were suddenly unable to take a step forward. 

 Fred was absolutely beaming beside you, it was the first time he had been back at the Burrow since he met you, and he couldn’t wait to introduce you to everyone. They had all been curious about the girl who was able to get him out of his rut and teach him how to live again.

 He noticed your hesitation though, and gently took your hand. 

 “You alright love?” He asked, rich brown eyes locking with yours. 

 “Just nervous,” You admitted, “Don’t know how they’re going to feel about me when they take a look at my face and see that I’m literally and figuratively scarred.” 

 These insecurities had plagued your mind the duration of the week leading up this moment. Fred was loving and kind and looked past all of your imperfections, but old habits die hard and they rear their ugly heads at just the right moment. 

 As if he could read your mind, he took your face gently in his hands, thumbs gliding over skin and reassuring you with his gaze, “I love you, and my family will love you too. We’re in this together, remember? You and me.” 

 Just like when you had first reencountered each other at the dimly lit club, the whole world seemed to fade around you and you leaned into his touch. Here was the man who held your heart in his hands, who bared his soul out to you and learned how to heal with you. Nothing could get in the way of how deeply you felt for him. 

 You took a shuddering breath and nodded your head. It would be okay. You were with Fred, and he was all you needed. 

 Grateful for the most beautiful soul in front of you, you pressed a sweet kiss on his lips, “I love you too. Together.”