#world of light is fun but i think it's story is VERY weak

[supbreak20]

I wanna see you and eway and whoever runs Jawsum and Taku's blogs to make Smash fics now

If we did that you already know I would do everything in my power to include all the small niche references I can for the lore goblins

[bubbles-for-all-of-us]

Pretty like the wind

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a/n part nine! Sorry, for the wait y'all, life is a bit all over the place and my shoulder is killing me. But please do enjoy!💨✨ Once again thank you so much for all the love. ✨🤍🫧

warning: kids, past trauma, blood, mention of puking, wounds, Illyrian camps.

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Azriel had no idea why this was the first thought that struck him after his knees bucked for the very first time. Time. Time and how much he hated it now. How greedy he was for a chance at getting more. Somewhere deep within, he had a feeling that you two were timeless. You had to be. You lingered around him. Azriel felt you even when you weren't around. As if his senses had been affected by your presence that much. Then came the emotions. Your emotions. He felt it through himself. But all that time, he pushed the thought of it away. Because it couldn't be. There was no way, and Azriel couldn't open up his heart one more time. Could face the weakness.

The spymaster knew it after the kiss. It struck him so fast and deep that his lungs had forgotten how to welcome the air. He had searched your features after. With the hope of catching a glimpse of the same knowledge. The realization. But there was nothing there. The bond that snapped for Azriel didn't snap into place for you. When you two walked into his mother's house hand in hand, he wondered why there was no dread in his chest. Why wasn't he scared or nervous about the fact that you had no idea? But the spymaster found the answer fairly quickly. You were his, in your own way. Not how most mates were, but you two were heading there slowly. Other things were clouding your mind. The new place. The fact that the kids had to face a whole different world now. So much worry, so much stress. No wonder something so delicate would slip your senses.

So Azriel had opted to hold you for the night. Make you smile while he spun Zofie around. "Higher", she screeched, her cheeks pink from the laughter. Axel stepped up to pull at your hands as well. Spinning long into the night. And then the two little ones had fallen asleep while Cordelia was telling everyone a story about how Azriel had nearly burned the house down while trying to bake cookies for the very first time. Azrie had carried them both upstairs to his bedroom. Carefully cradling them against his chest. Tucked them in before he turned to go downstairs, only to find you leaning against the doorframe. The glow in your eyes was enough to make Azriel light up with happiness himself.

"They had fun", you muttered, right as a yawn slid past your lips. "They are out cold", Azriel had laughed, his eyes darting to the sprawled-out children. "Did you have fun?", however the spymaster's attention was almost immediately back on you. You stepped closer, lowering yourself to his lap. It had felt so natural and right. Azriel's hand slipped to cradle your lower back. You only hummed in response, brushing your fingers over his lips softly before leaning in to kiss him once more. Oh, how Azriel felt as if he was on fire from the amount of emotion bubbling within him.

Odd as it was, he even went as far as thinking that this could be his forever. That he wouldn't have to face his cold and empty apartment ever again. Every time he would come home, there would be laughter. Little feet running around. He would never have to know how cold and suffocating a night could be. Wouldn't have to drown in darkness. "Can I hold you?", he had asked, nuzzling his head into the crook of your neck. Daring to go as far as to kiss your collarbones ever so slightly. He felt the laughter rippling through you even before he heard it, "You are holding me, silly". Azriel snicked himself before he lifted his gaze. "Through the night", he specified. Something completely different chimed in your eyes. There was that heartbeat that you took to make up your mind. Even if Azriel was sure that he knew the answer, "Yeah, yeah, you can", you muttered quietly, and so he did. Holding you as close as he could without making it weird between the two of you. All he could feel was you. The way you felt pressed against his chest. He just held you. Running his fingers slowly through your hair. He held you until his mind finally stopped rushing.

The sounds that left Azriel as he tore through the group of males were out of this world. His mind swirling with the memories you two shared. Gone was his rational thinking. The need to keep at least one of them alive for later use. Those thoughts were so long gone. So overthrown by the intensity of losing you, all Azriel could think and do was eliminate anything and everything that might cause you any more harm. His shadows worked almost on their own as they crawled all around the males, seeping deeper within them and making them choke on the darkness. Their veins turning black. Azriel moved in ways he had never moved before. Crossing the distance between you two in heartbeats.

The crimson that painted your hands and chest made Azriel's stomach twirl. Then his arms were on you. Holding you up. He was torn between clasping his hand over your throat and your hands. The fuckers only nicked the delicate skin on your neck, thankfully. Azriel had eaten through their souls before they could do any mire harm. He watched your frightened eyes before his sanity clicked back into place.

"Slow your heartbeat", Azriel's broad frame covered the bodies left behind him. "Azriel", you mumbled his name so quietly. As if it was the only thing left on your mind. He wasn't sure if you were horrified by him or if your pale skin was mainly caused by the blood loss alone. "Y/N, slow it down", each word seeped through the spymaster's gritted teeth. You trembled in his grip. Your vision slowly growing blurry. The coldness of the wind made you sway. You tried to plunge back into your inner self. Tried. Only to be met with a steel wall. The venom. Whatever was twirling in your bloodstream now was blocking your powers. "I can't", you whined. The only thing you could focus on now was the steady stream of blood dripping from your wrist. Azriel cupped your face between his hands. He felt that initial flinch coming from you, making him grumble deeply. "Focus on me", Azriel muttered, reaching to pour the strength and adrenaline he felt through the barely simmering bond. Your eyes flickered immediately. You swallowed the first two gulps of air greedily. Azriel felt it rather than saw it. The way the thudding of your heart grew deeper. You watched him through it all. "Good job, sweetheart. Now hold on, okay, hold on for me", you let out a sigh at the spymaster's words. Blinking once. Twice. Before your own body got too heavy. Azriel was quick to catch you. Wrapping you up in his embrace, he winnowed you to the only place and person he could think of at the given moment.

Scorching pain pulled you out of your slumber. Ripping you out of the dull thudding of your heart. You jerked up, trying to sit up, right as the most painful sob echoed. For a moment, you weren't even sure if it was you who was screaming. Just the pressure of hands on your shoulders quickly pulled you down. The hands felt like fire. Whatever was touching you was hotter than the flames of death. You tried to move from beneath it. Get away from the suffocating pain.

"Keep her still for me, boy", a female's voice rang around you. From where you couldn't tell, there was too much fuzziness all around you. You felt something sharp twisting in your palm, making you roar in response. As you tried to pull your body away, shrink into yourself. "Bloody hell, where is she getting her strength from", a male's voice filled the room. Male. Males. Panic ripped through you. Had they gotten to you? But Azriel was there? Or was he? Was it just your imagination? You tried to withdraw from the grip unknown hands seemed to have on you.

You wanted to tell them to let you go. You didn't know anything. What you did that night was pure self-defense. You had to. But all you could do was shriek. Drown in pain. Until a blanket of coldness was drawn over you, "You're safe", the voice called right in your ear now. You trembled. "Madja needs to pull the iron out of your palms, love", a cold hand ran over your forehead. Love. Azriel. You tried to blink. Rip your eyelids apart but to no avail. Then there stood a moment of silence before Azriel spoke again, "Open that side of the bond that you called to me from", back was the soldierly tone. A man who knew rules and regulations "Direct all the pain you feel to it; I'll take what I can from you", you wanted to protest. You had to. You didn't want him to feel your pain, but the moment the scorching misery shot through you, subconsciously you grasped the bond with both hands as you roared into it. Azriel only gritted his jaw harder. He knew what he felt was only a fraction of the pain that you felt, but that alone made his knees buck.

"Do it faster", the spymaster barked out, snarling at the healer, who was already moving quicker than he had ever seen her before. Cassian grumbled a warning from beside Azriel. The general had been holding onto your hand ever since Azriel had lowered you onto the medicine table. Trying to keep it steady so Madja could do her thing easier. Your back arched off the table as you choked on another sob. Azriel leaned closer. The mere need to hold you down like this made him sick. Let alone watch you suffer. Oh, how he wished he could pull the bastards from their deathbeds and slowly kill them all over again. Azriel leaned closer to you, nuzzling closer to your shoulder. He was way past caring that you were drenched in sweat from the fever or that you still had crusted blood all over you.

He quickly plucked all of his emotions out one by one. Shoving them down the unbreakable walls deep within his head, Azriel had to be a sea of calmness for you. He had to turn into that gentle breeze that cooled one down on a hot summer day. He had to suppress the agony, change it, and mold it into something that would soothe. The spymaster placed a loving kiss on the side of your head, right as you cried out once again. His shadows slowly brushed across your skin, delicate and cooling the aches. He continued to kiss your tears away until the moment your body sagged. Till he could swear you had muttered his name. Till the sound of the iron arrows hitting the tray filled the room.

"You're in charge", Azriel said bluntly, continuing to wipe his bloody hands. The room had been quiet for over an hour. Cassian had practically dragged Azriel out so the shadowsinger could clean himself up. He hadn't realized how much filth was on him until he saw his reflection in the mirror. "Aj, aj, captain", Cassian saluted. Azriel knew that out of the three of them, Cassian used humor to cope with whatever stressors surrounded him. There was no male beside him and Rhys that Azriel would ever trust with his woman. His whole world...

"I'll look after her; if a hair falls off her head, you can sit me down on a dagger", Azriel huffed at Cassian's remark. Even if his chest felt too hollow, your screaming still echoed in his brain. It felt good to have at least one thing Azriel was familiar with around. The spymaster stepped closer to the bed you were carefully tucked into. Brushing a strand of hair away from your face. The fever had dropped the moment the iron was out. But it left an unconscious body behind. "She might sleep for days; might wake up in a couple of minutes", Madja said as she bandaged your hands up. You didn't wake up. Too worn out from all that had happened.

"I'll just go see them for a bit. Make sure they...", Azriel turned back to Cassian, who stood right behind him with a knowing look on his face. "Don't rush it. Stinkers need you. I've got your girl", with a tap on Azriel's shoulder, Cassian turned to pull himself a chair. His girl. The words lingered. Azriel wondered if you would roll your eyes at that. Would you scowl? You were mad at him after all. He had upset you in a way. Now all he wondered about as he spared you one last glance was whether it would all have been different if you hadn't been upset.

Only when Azriel was standing right outside his mother's door did he realize just how tired he was. He knew he had a family to lean on. He knew that Rhys had promised to take care of the interrogations in the camp. Find out who planned this. Who ordered this. Who targeted you. He had Cassian looking after you; his brother was mind tap away if something changed, but it was still not enough. Azriel needed to see the two sets of deep golden eyes. He needed to feel their wild and young heartbeats to ground himself fully. Know that the second half of his family was safe and sound.

"Azriel", the sound of that high-pitched voice, made the coldest that surrounded the shadowsinger melt away almost instantly. The pitter-patter of the tiny feet rushing was enough to make him let out a sigh. But that blissful delight was cut off almost immediately. A firm grip. A tug. And the girl was left standing in place. "No, stay back", Axel pulled her back, and Azriel had never seen a look like this on him. Not an ounce of love or adoration. Pure steal. Anger. As if the little boy had been crushed.

"Axel", Azriel tried to call out softly, but the boy only tugged on Zofie harder. The poor girl looked up at her brother with her big eyes. "Don't come close", the boy said, pointing a warning finger at the spymaster. He had no weapon. Azriel could easily march to him, but he knew that if a line like that was crossed in a delicate moment like this, he would end up losing them forever. "Bud, why...", Azriel tried once more but, even more frustration bubbled, "You hurt YN! She said you weren't one of us. So back away", Axel's words ripped at Azriel's soul. Not one of us. But he was. He wanted to give it all to you all. He...

"Darling", Cordelia gently placed a hand on Axel's back, "We all make mistakes, and whatever happened must have been a misunderstanding". Azriel met his mother's gaze. It was warm and loving, but it was hard to ignore the questioning plea. "Where's Y/N?", Zofie asked, shifting the atmosphere in the room, "I want to see her". Her voice was so small and trembling. Azriel went stone still. How do you tell the kids that their guardian is lying unconscious after an assassination? Someone had tried to kill her. "Yeah, where is she?", Axel pressed.

"She's... She's seeing a healer", the kids stilled instantly. Axel's hand drooped. The sight alone could kill Azriel, hence why he added quickly, "I'll take you to her as soon as I can". The kids just watched him. Zofie tugged on Axel's hand firmly, and the boy instantly furrowed his broken wings out. Wrapping one around the girl, as he pulled her into his arms. He shouldn't have to. Both of them should be far away from all of this pain. From needing to be strong like this. From needing to be so grown up.

"Why don't you two go check on the soup for me?", It's Cordelia who gently pressed a loving kiss on Axel's head. "You both worked hard on it. Y/N will love to have some". Leave it to his mom to mop through his mess, Azriel thought. Leave it to her to provide a distraction for a moment. Azriel tore his head up, trying to fight the angry tears as the kids slowly turned away from him.

"Azriel...", the gentle sound of that loving voice was enough to make a choked-out sob slip past the male's lips. Azriel never cried. He just didn't. And if he did, he always cried in the presence of his mother. "Sweet boy, look at me", Cordelia's soft voice was followed by her palms guiding her son's head down, so he would meet her gaze. "I fucked it", Azriel choked out, "I just went and did it again". Cordelia shook her head quickly, "Oh, my boy, I'm sure it's not all...", but Azriel pulled away abruptly. "She didn't want to see me, and now the kids...", his breathing was becoming rigid. He couldn't lose you all. He couldn't picture a word where you all weren't linked in some way. The idea of never... "They are kids, and they are scared", Cordelia tugged firmly onto Azriel's shirt. She could tell that he was spiraling, and she was not going to let him stroll down that path once again. "Axel is scared, as is Zofie, but they do not hate you", she gripped his chin tenderly, "They need you, son".

Azriel leaned to rest his head on his mother's shoulder for a moment, bathing in the comfort of her, just like when he was a boy. "She's my...", and Azriel couldn't bring himself to say it out loud. Not until he had spoken those words to you first. But Cordelia only smiled up at him, cupping his cheek. "Oh, I know. I had a feeling. Call it mother's instinct", she bit her lip, shaking her head softly. "Now you listen to me. I said it to her, and I will say it to you. You were meant to find one another", Cordelia tapped her hands against Azriel's chest a couple of times. "Whatever happened has to be a misunderstanding. And you, my boy, will find a way to make it right once again," she said, turning and padding towards the kitchen.

Azriel sat by your bed for what felt like years afterward. Double-checking the way your chest fell and rose back up. Adjusting the blanket. Refilling the water in the glass beside your bed. Madja said that your hands might not even scar, considering that you had healing magic running through your body. The bandaged palms were a cruel reminder of how much Azriel had failed to protect you. Yet it didn't come close to the red mark on your neck. The cut on your delicate skin there made him want to pull a bucket out and hurl. If he had been even a second more late... but he made himself look. He looked until all he could see were your scars.

"Was it a lie?", the words made Azriel jump slightly, head-turning straight to your partly opened eyes. He quickly hurried to lean closer. "What", he muttered. Azriel was trying to grasp just what you were referring to. "Was this all", you ask, looking down at yourself and then back at Azriel, "Was it a lie?". And mother, the fact that your voice was so weak made Azriel want to scream from the rooftops.

"No,", he said, shaking his head quickly. But would a word so simple ever be enough? "Did you just need a distraction?", And then it hit him. It hit him so hard that if he could, he would slap himself. The way he jumped up for Elain and the way they embraced. He was banished to the sanctuary because he was perusing that woman, and back at the dinner, he pushed you aside to once again reach for someone who would never be his. And he didn't even want her to be his. Because now he knew what he he truly wanted.

"I fucking lo-like you; none of it was a lie", Azriel hated the way his voice had risen. It was way too stern. Way too demanding. He wanted to reach for you, but the look on your face said it all. "I don't want to accept it", and these six words disarmed Azriel so quickly that he had to lean against the chair for a heartbeat. He saw the way your eyes filled up with tears as you tried to keep your breathing steady. "That's okay", Azriel said bluntly, as if all of this hadn't just shattered him completely. If his heart wasn't breaking because of these words. What were they taught back then? Wasn't there a story about a male gone mad because his mate had refused his love? Had suppressed the bond so hard?

"I... This just doesn't feel right, I need...", but Azriel quickly lifted his hand, silencing you. "There's no rush. I can wait. I'll wait for you however long it takes, and if you never want it, it's okay", he blurted out, shaking his head as he moved to grab the door handle. You shook your head in return, clearly trying to reach for him. Make him stay. Make him properly listen. "Azriel", you breathed out, trying to catch his attention, but all he did was back away. Azriel muttered a quiet, "It's okay" before he disappeared into the dark hallway. Turning away. Leaving you alone. Wanting nothing more than to drown his own heart.

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Taglist: @naturakaashi @hoemadegrace @just-m-2 @thereadinggremlin

[utilitycaster]

What do you mean (from your latest post) that you think that many actual play failures are failures of ambition?

Usually, when an actual play show doesn't click for me, it's because the GM or players aimed very high or tried to push the boundaries (of the medium or system) and it didn't quite land right. It's a pretty new medium, and while I've been very openly disparaging of how much many writers in the AP space focus overmuch on novelty over consistent quality, I do think these failures are important! I think it's good to play with what the medium can be! I just think that sometimes, it does indeed fail.

Examples off the top of my head:

Too much plot for allotted length: EXU Prime was fun to watch but I think this plot really needed to be a 16-20 episode season, not an 8 episode one, which meant that we never really learned Myr'atta's motivation or the deal with Ted until years later in the real world despite that being the core plot. Similar issues have come up with various D20 seasons; I think running a one- or two- session story isn't too hard to do, or running a longform campaign isn't too hard to do, but 8 or 10 or 20 episodes can be really difficult to plan for properly, and a lot of people overfill.

Trying to bend the system too far: I wrote a long-ass post I cannot find about this for a few D20 seasons as well (notably Neverafter) and I've fallen off of WBN for a few reasons but in part because it really increasingly feels like D&D is the wrong system - the classes of D&D support the worldbuilding, but the pace and style and magic system of D&D increasingly feel like they and the narrative are in conflict.

Trying to fit in An Important Message: the infamous Rusty Quill Gaming Everything Changes [now make a monumental decision we have not once explored in 7 real world years of telling this story, in the last half of the last episode] is a big one here. This is not unique to AP (this is why Battlestar Galactica's ending is widely panned) but I think the nature of actual play makes it more likely because to some extent you as the GM must relinquish a good degree of control.

Not realizing what you need to plan for: ultimately, in my opinion, the failure of Campaign 3. I don't think the problem is that Matt wanted to bring everything together across multiple campaigns; I don't think this is a cheap setup with a pre-determined outcome (though I could be proven wrong); I think the problem is that there needed to be a much more stringent character creation process and on-rails early plot to actually get from point A to point B in a way that felt natural within the story.

Trying to break production value records while neglecting story: With the caveat that I hated nearly every second of the hour of Kollok I watched, I have yet to see a review that talks about anything it does other than how good the production values are (*whisper* they're not even that good). Burrow's End had some really good aesthetic/filming choices and some really not good ones on top of having a story I found weak; the season of Candela Obscura I thought had the strongest story had no split-screen film edits. This could just be that my AP introduction was TAZ Balance followed by simultaneous C1 and early C2, but like...I've heard incredible actual play with no music and no fancy lighting and no sound effects and no official character art, and I've watched some heavily produced stuff that had the plot of a fucking Ed Wood movie and was utterly joyless to boot. Story first; accessibility production values (clean and clear sound, transcripts, making all speakers visible if you're a filmed production) second; anything else should ONLY come after that.

[the-monkey-ruler]

If you were given the opportunity to adapt "Journey to the West" into a movie, how would you adapt it? (No necesariamente tiene que ser el libro completo, puede ser un capítulo en particular o lo que quieras).

Oooo I actually thought about this before! It was a while ago but it was so much fun to think! I will say would would do a full-on adaptation with every single arc with every arc counting!

Again I would love it to be 2D with that stretch kind of animation, I think that allowing it to be more stylized would allow designs to be more creative and expressive overall. I would also say to make it more “adult” in that there is blood and death, similar to how Samurai Jack or Lupin the 111 Part 5 is treated with being watched for a younger audience but like in no way is it just for kids either or holds back on the violence.

I would still love it to be a completely character-driven series spanning 14 years, with explored relationships and realistic development. I would still lean into a comedic tone, but still balance serious elements, with the characters treating even the most serious situations with a sense of humor. I would love to see them face challenges and lose the battle not because they are weak but rather because of their lack of cooperation. They start off as dysfunctional and at odds with each other but as the journey continues we see all five pilgrims learn how to work together and become a team. Despite initial disagreements, they eventually come together to overcome their foes, recognizing the importance of relying on each other. Very found family trope which I eat up like candy. Also a like of highlighting quiet moments between scenes, such as cooking and cleaning camp sights, and filler episodes focusing on flashbacks of characters like Bajie, Wujing, and Bailong, who feel depressed and lose their sense of self due to their new positions. I would love to show each season changing cause this is FOURTEEN YEARS and how that could be shown with changing seasons in the background.

Would still love entire character arcs for each character. Bajie once being a Marshall instead becomes a lazy pig on earth and falls into a state of depression and acts on whim, seeking fleeting joy. Throughout his journey, he proves he is a capable fighter and starts caring for others and despite being a jerk, Bajie cares in his own rough way and starts showing that while he isn't perfect he always tries to get better. Wujing, initially soft-spoken and quick to rage, initially avoids speaking due to his fear of being blamed for a single mistake. However, as he sees his brothers' loudness and brashness, he starts to see that he isn't judged for every mistake. He learns that ribbing isn't punishment, and he can relax around new people who are also screw-ups. This experience helps Wujing build self-confidence and stand up for himself without being a doormat to others. BaiLong starts off as a standoff member who doesn't speak much but he is still expressive and aggressive, like in that horse in Tangled. He sees himself as responsible for keeping Sanzang safe and is often in guard dog mode. Despite lacking scales or horns, BaiLong is treated like a brother and the pilgrims provide him with support he never got from his bio family. He is not a trained soldier but he comes to see himself as part of the group as they all have their strengths and weaknesses.

I would like Sanzang to be seen as inexperienced in the real world. He has lived in a monastery his entire life but is sheltered from other kingdoms. Sanzang sees corruption in the palace and is given a sign by Gaunyin to make a real change without politics or face-saving. The story should follow Xuanzang's Pilgrimage, where Sanzang sneaks out of Tang without the Emperor's approval, finding it worth it. But he is arrogant and believes he has everything figured out because he got to the highest level of monk in his kingdom quickly. When he meets his new disciples, he is forced to see how people with different paths of life than him have different points of view and how this challenges his own thinking. He starts to be humbled and starts to learn just as much from his disciples as they learn from him. Would love to explore Sanzang's emotional disconnect from his family trauma, including his father's resurrection and mother's suicide. Despite kidnappings, he becomes more open with his journeymates, demonstrating empathy for the stress of new responsibilities. Also, a physical transformation from his 20s to his 40s would be a concise choice as he would be the only mortal in the group, showcasing his growth and transformation throughout his journey.

But of course, I would have Wukong completely leaning into his ex-warlord persona, characterized by arrogance, cockiness, and a tendency to threaten with violence. He is charming, charismatic, and funniest, giving people a chance to walk away. His expressive and cartoonish reactions showcase his range of emotions. However, Wukong's excess of power harms the environment and people around him, leading Sanzang to push for less violent means. The use of 2D animation would showcase Wukong's creativity and innovation, capturing the audience's imagination and understanding of his power. Wukong's strength is evident in his diverse powers, but he needs to be more considerate and rely on Bajie and Wujing for protection. He learns how to acknowledge them as equals and recognizes that being the strongest person doesn't automatically make him right. In a long-running series, Wukong should gradually come to understand that he has a team and a different brotherhood compared to his past. This would be particularly interesting in the Demon Bull King episode. Wukong realizes he also was kinda sheltered in his own world, as he was surrounded by more yes-men than equals. His past brotherhood allowed him to demonstrate destructive behavior, leading to a spiral of self-sabotage. Wukong focuses on growing empathy for others, a skill that is difficult to learn. He struggles physically, mentally, and emotionally in situations, questioning his decisions. This constant battle with himself is particularly evident during a pilgrimage, where he must become dedicated to his mission and become a deity.

Wukong realizes that his power doesn't make him superior, and he needs humility, also parading Sanzang's own journey. He acknowledges that his teammates, including Bajie, Wujing, Sanzang, and BaiLong, have something to offer, even if it's not immediate strength. He starts to accept his limitations and recognizes that others can do what he can't. He hasn't realized his faults and is starting to rely on others, especially in a new group that sees him as a fellow Pilgrim. This newfound equality allows him to see himself as just like anyone else, trying his best. I would love a focus on the interaction between the five characters to maintain balance. More scenes where the initial gruff attitude changes over time, affecting the entire group or the group as a whole. This approach may seem extreme, but they believe it would be suitable for the show.

BUT AS FOR ARCS

General Yin 寅將軍- 1st Month. The first demon we see against Sanzang, would love to see Sanzang having to see his two guards sacrificing themselves for him and how that guilt carries with him for the rest of the journey. Also maybe adding a connection with Sanzang and a fear of Tigers for late down with Wukong being connected to Tigers and Sanzang being turned into a Tiger

Sanzang found Wukong right after maybe a 2nd Month. Really enjoy the idea that Sanzang chooses to help Wukong without knowing that he is disciple but just cause he trusted Wukong when he said he needed help. A clear sign of his naive nature but also how Wukong relied on that nature to save himself in the first place.

I think they get Bailong much later, maybe in the 4th or 5th month. Would love to see how Wukong and Sanzang interact on their own but also to have Bailong join to showcase Wukong's power. Would also love Sanzang poking a lil fun at Wukong saying that he could defeat dragons but he can't this one.

Jinchi Elder 金池长老 - 6th Month. would love to see how this would highlight Wukong's initial bloodlust and how he chooses to escalate situations to harm others. He didn't have to burn down a whole monetary down but he did because he WANTED to.

Black Wind King 黑風怪 - 6th Month. Same with how Wukong sees another Yao in the same situation as him with the headband and how even someone EXACTLY in the same situation as him and he still thinks Black Wind should die and how this could be a lesson in how he needs to learn to empathize. He was given mercy to try again and how so should other yao as well.

They find Bajie about 8 Months into the journey. I like to think that Wukong and Sanzang had a lot of time to themselves and that the change in the dynamics with Bajie.

Yellow Wind Demon 黃風怪 - 9 Month. This first Wukong ever gets HURT like he is BLIND. He never relied on someone before and now he has to trust Bajie the man he just fought in the last arc. It is kinda a moment he really gets scared and also Bajie shows the first signs that he does care enough not to leave Wukong for dead.

Wujing is picked up around the 11th month, nearly a year into the journey for Wukong and Sanzang but they get him after a huge miscommunication.

Great Zhenyuan Immortal 鎮元大仙 - 1st Year. First group crime together. Kinda Wukong wanted to rebel but also tried to connect with Bajie and Wujing similar to how he did with his brotherhood. He has to see that the dynamics aren't the same and struggle with seeing them as 'equals' rather than 'underlings. Would also love Zhenyaun bringing up his friendship with the Golden Cicida a lot more and how Sanzang feels about his past reincarnations.

White Bone Demon 白骨精 - 1.5 Year. CHANGE IN MORALS. Sanzang rather than fighting for not believe Wukong that White Bone Demon isn't a demon, he is more arguing that she hasn't hurt them and that Wukong shouldn't hurt anyone, human or yao, for what they MIGHT do. And Wukong KNOWS she is about to do something considering that up to this point, Wukong has killed more humans than demons on the journey Sanzang has his doubts. Bajie also acted on this point as more trying to get back at Wukong for the Fake-Gao situation but didn't think this would lead to banishment. Wukong tries and succeeds in resurrecting his home and sees that one of his past sworn brothers the Jaio Demon King sacrificed himself to keep his monkeys safe.

Yellow Robe Demon 黃袍怪 - 1.5 Year. The main change is that the wife does love Yellow Robe but also knows he is in the wrong and wants to go back to her family, also her kids don't die from the 2010 series. A lot of Bajie has to humble himself and see that he can't do this alone either and how Bailong and Wujing are gone. Sanzang is turned into a tiger but also him being hunted by humans. He sees what it's like to not be believed when Yellow Robe changes him and how this affects him greatly on the journey. Would love a reunion with Sanzang acknowledging that he shouldn't have sent Wukong away but he can't give up the idea that one should see the best in people and how he should have seen that in Wukong too.

Golden Horned King 金角大王 and Silver Horned King 銀角大王- 2nd Year. the first time the gang is back together and things are still tense but Wukong trying to lighten the mood while Sanzang trying to have a 'serious talk' all while demons are trying to capture him. Kinda more light-hearted but genuine trying is seen. Kinda like it just increases with how it goes from the Horned Kings, to their Mother, and then to the Great Fox King and it just escalates more and more to parallel how Wukong would rather just keep running from the Talk than sit down and talk to Sanzang until the end.

Lion-Lynx Demon 獅猁怪 - 2.5 Year. The fake Sanzang arc but also Wukong asking the fillet to be used to see who is real. Kinda a big show of trust but also a slow understanding of Sanzang and Wukong in how similar they are in their dedication, and willingness to put themselves in pain for each other. Also Wukong being outed as never eating humans cause he has healing powers and Wujing and Bajie poking fun at him for lying.

Red Boy 紅孩兒 - 3rd Year. Wukong OVERJOYED seeing a connection to his past. He thought that he could be an uncle to Red Boy but became heartbroken when he found out he was never mentioned to the kid and in fact he never heard of Bull King's Brotherhood, like it never existed. Makes Wukong have to reevaluate his past friendships and whether he cares more about them than they care about him. E.I. he was more used for protection than pure friendship. Asks Guanyin to show the kid mercy and Red Boy gets to be friends with Longnu and Muzha. Wukong still wants to have a connection with Red Boy but he more upset that he sees so much in himself in Red Boy, acting like his actions don't have consequences. Also love the Bajie/Wujing saving Wukong scene with Bajie giving him CPR and refusing to think someone like Wukong would die like that.

Black River Demon 鼉龍 - 3.5 Year. BAILONG ARC! I need Bailong fighting his cousin since this was more of a Wujing arc. But just how Bailong's own older brother comes to arrest the Black River Demon and we see how cold his family treats Bailong, pretending he is not even there, and how the pilgrims make an effort to show how they appreciate Bailong like his bio family never could. I would like to think Wujing conforming to him as this was originally more his arc since he was fighting underwater but more Wujing stepping up as the brother that Bailong never had.

Tiger Strength Great Immortal 虎力大仙, Elk Strength Great Immortal 鹿力大仙, and Antelope Strength Great Immortal 羊力大仙 - 4th Year. MY FAVORITE arc. Pure comedy just Wukong, Bajie, and Wujing coming together for the first time to bully/heckle another group of three together. Nothing brings people together like a common enemy and these three make sure to win every challenge with over-the-top enthusiasm. Makes Sanzang learn how to unwind a bit and come to laugh along with the hijinks. But really just need these three to have a great time committing crimes and Sanzang being non the wiser like "my pilgrims would never." Oh they would.

Spiritual Touch 靈感大王 - 4.5 Year. A more quiet episode of Sanzang seeing a village with his family name, maybe a Sanzang flashback to his mother's death and how he couldn't connect with his father. Sanzang wanted a family so bad but even when he got them back he couldn't make up for years of growing up without them and that he feel more close with Fa Ming as his caretaker. Also, Bajie trying to help with his perfect joke "Sink To The Bottom" and how he used to be a Water god. This would be a great time to have a flashback to Bajie's human past and he misses being a deity and how useless he feels in his new body. Heavy on the backstory and less on the demon.

Single Horned Rhinoceros King 獨角兕大王 - 5th Year. Bajie THOUGHT he was HELPING cause Sanzang was freezing by leaving the circle. I would love to see Wukong REALLY struggling as he loses to this guy at least five times, almost having a mental breakdown cause he even loses entire armies, heavenly armies that trusted him, and how he flashbacks to losing his monkeys against heaven. Takes a lot out of him and in the end he sees it is that the Rhino King does have the SAME weapon the Diamon snare that defeated him in the first place.

Ruler of Women's Country 女兒國國王 and Scorpion Demon 蠍子精 - 5.5 Year. I am not a fan of this being seen as a romance but more a Queen abusing her power to trap someone against their will. Poor Sanzang has been kidnapped by demons before but this is his first time being kidnapped by a human and he has to fight himself with how humans can commit horrid deeds as well which changes his worldview. Bajie, Wujing, and Wukong really become protective as women keep trying to harness Sanzang. Would love to see Wujing getting more confident and maybe touching on his own backstory at this point. Almost I'm a fan of 1996 Bajie where he is more of a romantic and he feels uncomfortable being seen as "just a piece of meat" when the women want them just because they are men.

Six Eared Macaque 六耳獼猴 - 6th Year (perfect for this being nearly the halfway point in the journey to show the balance starting to change) Kinda seeing Wukong regress to his more violent tendencies due to the Queen in the previous arc. Kills bandits without mercy and shows them proudly to Sanzang cause "humans can be evil as well" and Sanzang still wants to hold on that anyone can change for the better. Wukong on the other hand still stands that if people don't want to change then they shouldn't be given the choice. This leads to the banishment BUT THEN Wukong being FORCED to face a version of himself that never wanted to change as well. Would he still go on the journey for the wrong reasons? Would he have lost all his empathy for even his own monkeys? Did the Six Ears deserve mercy like he was once given? A lot of self-reflecting on Wukong's part on what it means to forgive others but also to forgive yourself and I think the REAL turning point in Wukong's character development from someone forced on the journey to someone who wants to be there for his own sake. Sanzang and he might never see eye to eye but Sanzang starts to realize while he can see the best in others he can't be naive to the point of putting himself in danger and Wukong starts to accept that others deserve mercy like he was given as well.

Princess Iron Fan 鐵扇公主 and Bull Demon King 牛魔王 - 6.5 Year. HUGE ARC. The first arc which Wukong really comes to terms with his own changes as a person from a warlord to a pilgrim. Another this is about seven years into the journey as well. Wukong thought he could visit an old friend but Iron Fan is pissed as him and Wukong went to see Bull King himself but sees that it is very one-sided. Bull King USED to be a genuine friend but has moved on and had a family, seeing Wukong only as someone that he used to know and Wukong has to face that he lost a dear friend not by death but because they are two different people that have grown apart. Bajie and Wujing really step up to give Wukong backup, both in a fight but also in emotional support as while they don't know Wukong's old friends they want to show their support by being his friends now. Wukong used to be alone but he isn't anymore. Wukong mourns the loss of their friendship and asks Nezha to go easy on him. Iron Fan herself moves on to work on her own cultivation but ends on a small friendship between Wukong and Iron Fan.

Wansheng Princess 萬聖公主 and Nine-Headed Demon 九頭蟲 - 7th Year. Another huge Bailong arc and how he had his falling out with his family. I do enjoy the 1987 take that Bailong's fiance left him for the Nine Headed Demon and think this is another way that the pilgrims can be there for him as they fight the demons. Wansheng tries to get back on Bailong's side when she sees Nine Heads is losing but Bailong respects himself enough now to reject her and go back to his new friends who were there for him. Would also love Erlang and Wukong to have a moment to talk about how Erlang spared his family instead of doing the Nine Generations Punishment and how he is thankful hence why they are sworn brothers. I adore Erlang and Wukong's similarities and how Wukong is still going to do what HE wants but he is aware that he is trying to find out what truly needs now in his life.

The Tree Spirits - 7.5 Year. I really loved this as a quiet arc again with Sanzang just having a great time with Tree Spirits who kidnapped him who wanted to talk poetry. All the while Wujing, Bajie, Wujing, and Bailong are losing their shits trying to look for him. More comedic than anything and allows Sanzang to interact with yao that is not violent. Would like to keep out the end where they try to force Sanzang to get married and Wukong to kill them all again. Just that they get to escape and Wukong warns Sanzang that they could have killed him. But Sanzang reassures Wukong that he wasn't in danger, that people can be powerful but that doesn't make them bad and uses Wukong himself to make that point.

Yellow Brows Great King 黃眉大王 - 8th Year. Would love to see Yellow Brows kinda like how he is in Black Myth, someone delusional that he is right and deserves to be Buddha while running what is practically a cult. Still holds a grudge against the Golden Cicada and tries to take over the journey to one-up him. Makes Wukong kinda look at this guy and see a lil bit of himself, someone who always thought he was right and uses his might to enforce it. But Wukong knows that his own arrogance leads to his downfall.

Python Demon 蟒蛇精 - 8.3 Year. Just more of a joke demon, does not speak but they get to have hijinks trying to chase her and pin her down. Would love Bajie and Wukong trying to get her pinned down and leads to wukong being eaten and he has to grow to escape and just gets all over Bajie that he hates this part of the job.

Sai Tai Sui / Great King Jupiter's Rival 賽太歲 - 8.7 Year. huge on comedy, this is Wukong pretending to be a doctor, and Bajie, Wujing, and Bailong are being absolutely hilarious by playing along. Wukong actually has no idea what is wrong with the guy just finds out that he misses his wife and instead spends his time fucking around and seeing how much outrageous stuff he can get away with in the meantime. Also Wujing and Bajie being 'nurses' who just follow along to make the situation far more silly. They make this poor king eat medicine from dragon piss and snot the demon doesn't even really matter, just these four being bafoons.

Spider Demons 蜘蛛精 and Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord 百眼魔君 - 9th Year. Sanzang just trying to do something on his own to show that he isn't useless but of course leads to him being kidnapped. Kinda hits him hard how much he can't even get water/food by himself and hits his self-esteem. Would love to see Wukong kinda having another mental breakdown seeing his friends poisoned and how he really comes to care for them even to the point of panic. Kinda like the 1999 take where the sisters don't die in the end and Wukong spares them as long as they promise to change their ways after seeing how Hundred Eyes betrayed them.

Azure Lion 青毛獅子, Yellow Toothed Elephan t黃牙老象, and lden Winged Great Peng 金翅大鵬雕 - 9.5 Year. pure comedy. There are serious moments are this would be the first three-on-three since the Daoist arc but would love to see all of them fighting together side by side in a huge epic fight. These SHOULD be serious demons and they can be but this illusion is kinda shattered when Wukong first meets them by entering their army, lying about commands, going into their cave, and beating the crap out of Azure Lion from the inside out. Like Wikong defeats these guys practically single-handedly and Sanzang has to ASK Wukong to let them go. Sadly does lead to them coming back but does end with a big battle. Also, the Million Demon Kingdom that I love would to be fully explored.

White Deer Spirit 白鹿精 and White-Faced Vixen Spirit 白面狐狸精 - 10th Year. Another comedy as Wukong pretends to be Sanzang moments but would love to see how a yao family White Deer being an adopted father to White Fox and how she dies because of his plans. It would start more silly but gets serious when we really see how White Deer cared for his daughter but at the same point, they tried to kill like 10,000 babies so that would have been worse.

Lady Earth Flow 地涌夫人 - 10.5 Year. Big fan of the idea that Earth Flow was really in love with Sanzang due to his past life from the 2010 series. However, that love is one-sided and she is too blind to her own desires to see what he really wants. Really more exploring how Sanzang always feels overshadowed by the Golden Cicada but the pilgrims reassure him that he was chosen for who he is, not because he was someone else and how they are on this journey with Sanzang, not the Golden Cicada.

Ruler of the Kingdom of Miefa 滅法國 - 11th Year. Another good example of how humans can be horrible is that this king wants all monks to be killed. Treated with more humor as Wukong SHAVES the entire kingdom's heads but I do think that this would be a good point in which Sanzang can confront the king himself in how this king took out his rage on innocents and has reached a point where he understands misplacing rage. A good balance of how the King has to be accountable and also shows how Wukong is able to start solving issues without violence.

King of the Southern Hill 南山大王 - 11.5 Year. This one is a comedy arc but more tired with tragedy as well. The leopard demon here convinces Wukong, Bajie, and Wujing that Sanzang has died, leading to the three to have a funeral for Sanzang and cry over his body. Again leads to some good moments to show how the gang cares for each other but also cuts to Sanzang hoping that his friends come get him too. Kinda have a moment where the King thinks that once the pilgrims 'mourn' they will leave but they don't know about the 6 phase of grief REVENGE! Of course, all three of them try to kill the King for Sanzang but instead, this leads to the gang just being overjoyed that Sanzang is not dead. Also Wukong still 100% wanting to kill this leopard demon for tricking him.

Prefect of Phoenix-Immortal - 12th Year. This was a kinda a more dramatic arc where a kingdom insults the good on accident and how they are punished with drought. I am taking a lot from the 1987 series in how Wukong was insulted on behalf of the people, seeing that their punishment was unfit for the crime, and how his empathy has been able to grow for him to become seen as a hero for the people. Also would love to see how Wujing really related to the people and how his own punishment left him uncertain and insecure over himself but how he was able to overcome these challenges despite what he has become.

Tawny Lion Demon 黃獅精 and Grand Saint of Nine Spirits 九靈元聖 - 12.5 Year. This one was the most interesting as this wasn't one where Sanzang gets kidnapped but rather the weapons were taken. I would change that the lions don't have to die but rather more of a comedy arc of the Nine Spirits trying to ground up his grandkids when he had a good relationship with the neighboring kingdom. This is a good example of yao and humans able to live in together without conflict and how Nine Spirits fears that his grandkids have ruined this peace. And of course, Wukong, Bajie, and Wujing use silly stunts to try to get their shit back. Also touching more on the pilgrim's own disciples the three princes and maybe even giving them names. I would just like to think that these three princes do always keep their teachings to heart.

King of Cold Protection 辟寒大王, King of Heat Protection 辟暑大王, and King of Dust Protection辟塵大王 - 13th Year. This one is something where I would LOVE Sanzang just being done with being kidnapped. Like he is not phased. He even warns the three to let him go because it as been 14 years and he really doesn't want to end this with these poor guys getting their butts whooped by his overpowering disciples. Kinda comedy but really would enjoy a good battle three on three again.

Jade Rabbit 玉兔精 - 13.5 Year. this one plays more on the 1999 series where the Rabbit is clear she wants to do this cause she hates the real Princess. It is actually nothing personal against Sanzang but just HE HAPPENS to be the one she chooses to marry. More of a mystery of where the real princess is but the gang finds her to get the Jade Rabbit arrested and Sanzang can get free of a forced marriage again.

Squire Kou - 14th Year. This one I think is the perfect arc to really end on, paralleling the first 6 bandits that Wukong fought. He could have killed the family that imprisoned them, but instead, he uses his power to freeze the bandits, get them back, convince the family that their relative's ghost is haunting them, go to Hell to get his spirit back and save the day with hurting a single human. He does an entire arc using his varieties of powers, wit, and intelligence to get out of this, a vast difference from the pure fighting warlord he used to be. I think this would be an arc heavy in symbolism and references to the first bandits they fought and Sanang SEEING the change in Wukong.

Great White Turtle 大白龜 - Of course, they make it to the end but of course, there is one last thing. I think Sanzang lost his cool and had his own breakdown at 'ruining' the scriptures something he spent so long to get but the gang trying to tell him that people make mistakes and that doesn't define them. And that maybe an imperfect world needs imperfect scriptures more than perfect ones because people need to doubt and learn for themselves. Just like Sanzang did. In the end Xiyouji is a story of hope and I think that Sanzang sees that even if things ain't perfect that doesn't make them any less valuable or wonderful and how that sentiment is seen with the new family he has found.

[itsblasttothepast]

Mind to share your personal favourite fics involving Checo regardless of what pairing?

Oh, I have a lot! I'll start with three with different pairings, and then I'll keep the recs coming.

But I have to say that writing Checo is hard, because he's perceived as clueless and naive, mostly because he keeps thinking in interviews how to answer things in english since isn't his native language and he learned as he raced (and the social media isn't his thing either); also he tends to keep quiet around chatty people, like Max, Nico or Daniel.

He is so different when he's with people close to him, or speaking spanish. Checo is sarcastic and have a very weird and dark sense of humor, but he's not a pushover, which some fics put him like he's all weak and endure all kind of shitty things.

Anyway, I'm picky with my Checo fics, so my selection probably varies from crack and humor to fluff and weirdness with a touch of angst. Hopefully you'll like some of them!

First rec: CHESTAPPEN (Checo/Max)

This is just light and fun, Checo is a little oblivious, but I've learned to live with that (he is a little spazzy).

Second rec: CHEWIS (Checo/Lewis)

This fic also has the particularity of having me intrigued by the comments, as someone said 'I know everyone just went crazy over the ig stories, they really decided to set fire to the world and their pr teams', so I went crazy looking into their IGs just to realize aeons later that the person meant that IN THE FIC, not in real life. Felt so stupid, so naturally I loved the fic even more.

Third rec: HULKENREZ (Checo/Nico)

There's something wrong in the universe because there's so few Hulkenrez stories, but they're SO GOOD, and they hardly receive love. Honestly, choosing a Hulkenrez fic was hard, I have a few favorites, but I'll continue with the fic rec, just because I'm crazy and I need to have my Stefon meme to describe them, sorry!

Also, for some reason Nico is a marshmallow in most of the stories, and Checo is all bitchy... pretty accurate, actually, Checo did most of the bitching when they were teammates.

So anon, hopefully these fics will be of your liking, but I'll keep recomending, I have many saved.

[dunedragon]

I love the world building! So theirs more?

OH BOY IS THERE but that is like paragraphs and paragraphs.

Let's see... if I was to handle a whole Vampire!Hub AU fic from scratch...

I'd probably start with vampire physiology. I'm more inclined to take a scifi than fantasy approach, and toss out the "transforming into bats, sleeping in coffins, and hanging upside down" bits.

There are many species, particularly insects, that will mimic the appearance of their prey so that they can live parasitically among them. Taking this direction, I would be inclined to say that Vampires are not human, but entirely dependent on preying off human populations and thus have evolved a sort of mimicry. They look human but have unique internal organs to feed, vocalize, prey, etc.

With this in mind, Vampires would live, age, and die like any living species would, rather than being an undead immortal presence in the world.

On that note, I think there are a handful of fun vampire quirks that could carry over, sensitivity to sun is always a favorite. They can get bad burns under direct sunlight, and since they are naturally nocturnal hunters, their eyes are weak to strong light (especially UV.) Drinking blood is a must, of course, a healthy vampire drinks their own body weight in blood each month. They are stronger than most humans, but mostly by the virtue of most humans lead a sedimentary lifestyle and vampires are predators. They are naturally silent walkers, and perhaps this is the cause for the rumor that they cannot be spotted in mirrors, though the truth is that they are just good blending into their surroundings. They may even subconsciously mimic the movement of things in the wind around them when standing idle. They are allergic to garlic, but its just really really bad hay fever allergies. Nothing more pathetic than seeing a vampire reduced to sniffling, sneezing, watery-eyed tired mess bundled under blankets because someone had garlic powder on them.

There's also the fact that, with enough blood, they have regenerative abilities and can regrow limbs. This comes into play later.

I like to imagine they would also be very instinctual. There could be several reasons for this; Vampires don't tend to raise young and that they manifest from dead human bodies through a process scientists still don't quite understand, but it helps them immediately grasp a sense of independence the moment they wake with a ravenous hunger. (On that note, this probably creates a universal pressure to cremate bodies, and that there is a weighty horror if someone goes missing without a proper burial.) This also comes with its own set of quirks; a strong prey drive, unique vocalizations, extremely territorial, and innate understand of "pack dynamics." (a pack of vampires are called a 'Thrall' and the head vampire is known as a "Lord.")

Perhaps I could even throw in a reference to the usual "Victorian vampire manor" that a lot of stories take place in and say that Vampires are naturally attracted to opulence. They like shiny things and will often give a pack Lord offerings of the things they collect from their prey. This can manifest in many character design ways depending on what is available in a particular thrall's territory.

On that note, they are very very territorial, not just against other vampires but humans as well. They tend to have huge disdain for governing systems and often go out of their way cause problems in local areas. That, added with the fact vampires can kill 1-2 humans a month per vampire, a healthy thrall of them in an area can be a huge problem.

This would also add pressure to vampire populations. Larger packs are more noticeable to the public eye, so if a thrall grows too big (or an upstart is eyeing the Lord's position too much) its common for vampires to get cast out from a territory.

That is where Dr. Hikari comes in. In this universe, he is a vampire researcher working for SciLabs in the cloudy/foggy city of Dentech. Because of it's natural weather, its a magnet for vampires, and the need to combat them is high. He is tasked with researching their biology and finding a way to manufacture a weapon against them. This isn't a new move on the human's part, they've been trying to do this for decades, but it's work and the government pays these companies well for having departments dedicated to research. It feeds his family and offers hope to the future of mankind, there's not much to complain about aside from the long work hours.

Everything changes when his son dies. Or perhaps, it's more like, everything changes when his son lives. In a move of intense grief and desperation, he uses vampire blood along with other reagents to attempt to use vampire regenerative abilities to resurrect his son… and in the process creates a new vampire.

Undoubtedly, he is probably horrified by what he did, but the event shifts his world views. Dr. Hikari and his family keep Hub a secret as he begins a side project alongside his work to try and find a way to create synthetic blood with the hopes that perhaps without the need to prey on humans, vampires and humans can coexist. Having a cooperative vampire around as his son also opens his eyes to parts of their physiology and behavior that scientists never really considered before; after all, anything that wont help in their eradication or control isn't worth learning.

All isn't well, however, Hub still needs to eat. At first it is done entirely by Dr. Hikari offering himself, but overtime it is clear that Hub is not eating enough and Dr. Hikari is growing weaker and more anemic, as well as struggling under the work load of two projects. Even with his best friend and coworker Famous helping him. The major worry to come from this is that the hungrier Hub gets, the harder it is for him to control his prey drive. Hub doesn't WANT to do the things his instincts drive him to do, but its not entirely within his control.

Insert the chaos goblin, hope seeker, and the kid who cant stay out of trouble, Lan Hikari, who can see (along with his mother) that this situation is not going well. Someone is going to die, either by overwork and anemia, or by Hub losing control. Lan decides to be 'helpful' and offer his own blood to his brother. This goes surprisingly well, though neither of them realize it right away, since drinking the blood of his genetic twin seems to do wonders for his health.

Of course, they vow not to tell their father about this because he had forbade it. Hub continues to drink his father's blood when offered but drinks a lot less of it. Someone is going to notice eventually when his health begins to improve, Hub's health also seems to be improving, and there's only one explanation: he's getting his blood from elsewhere and 'dear god I hope hes not going on night hunts.'

And thus there are adventures of the two going around and getting into trouble with humans and vampires. I think an 'opulent' kind of character like Regal makes a perfect main vampire antagonist, while Wiley makes a wonderful main human antagonist. There are a dozen ways to slip in other characters between vampire territories and human groups with their own goals.

As a final note, Hub definitely views his family unit as his "thrall" and is very protective/territorial with them. When his dad comes home from work he often finds shiny rocks Hub collected throughout the week left on his home office desk. (This also means that on an average day, Haruka wrestles with Hub's new 'dragon hoarding' tendencies as he keeps bringing shiny rocks or bits n bobs into the house.)

[terapsina]

#2 for the book worm ask game!

(ask game)

2. Favorite fantasy book(s).

(Eeeeexcellent, I do love fantasy books. Though how I'm gonna narrow it to only a few I've got no idea. Okay. I'm going to remove the very obvious choices like Lord of the Rings (though it is one of my faves)).

---

Monstrous Regiment. I love the entire Discworld series (especially The Witches) but I've also got a huge soft spot in my heart for Terry Pratchett's take on 'a girl dresses like a boy to go to war' (and thinks of everything except some spare socks in- erm... the right place). Along with Polly, the squad consists of a vampire, a troll, an Igor, a religious fanatic and two very, very close "friends" (and yes, the official summary put the friends in quotes too). And everyone has their own secret.

I love basically everything about this book and I can't tell you guys any of it because it would spoil all the fun.

The Goblin Emperor. This one's a story filled with light. Maia the half goblin son of the elven Emperor was never supposed to take the throne (or to ever even be at court. because racism). And then everyone ahead of him dies in a single "accident" and suddenly he's the new Emperor. Maia is a good person, and a kind one, and despite everything that gets thrown at him he keeps hold of that understanding of right and wrong and refuses to bend.

(I have to mention that the language of the writing is kinda hard to get into in the beginning, and the characters's have very complicated and long names, but once you get into it it really did enhance the story for me).

Good Omens. An Angel and a Demon try to stop the apocalypse and instead lose the Antichrist. I've loved that book for like a decade now and if I don't put it on a list of my faves that list would be a lie.

The King of Attolia. Third in The Queen's Thief series and my favorite one out of all of them. I've always enjoyed Outsider POV in fics. And here is a book that just... proves why. We've got Eugenides and Irene, the Thief and the Queen, and we know them from the two previous books. And adore them. But the story isn't from their POV, it's from the POV of Costis, a Queen's guard who's suddenly gotten assigned to the King. The useless, weak, undeserving king that as far as Costis is concerned doesn't deserve to even kiss the Queen's boots. And it's hilarious to read the story from the eyes of someone who knows so much less than us. And so satisfying, as he begins to understand.

(I recommend the whole series and am personally glad to have read them in the published order but Megan Whalen Turner has stated that she wrote them in a way that allows you to jump in at any point you want).

The Raven Tower. The story is from the viewpoint of a sentient, omniscient rock whose name is Strength and Patience of the Hill and it is the GREATEST THING EVER. The gods are real and must be very careful with their words, because if they speak a lie the reality will alter to make that lie the truth but if the lie is bigger than the power of the god... well. Inspired by Hamlet.

(the book also has a trans man as the main character; the other main character? The sentient rock is the narrator but the largest part of the story focuses on Eolo).

A Natural History of Dragons. The first book from The Memoirs of Lady Trent (and honestly it would probably be more honest to say that every single book from this series fits the category of fave but I'm putting up the first here because this isn't a series where you should skip ahead). The book focuses on the life of Isabella as narrated by her older self. This is the story how a Scirland lady bucked all tradition and became a world renowned expert on the Natural History of Dragons.

(this series has a piece of my heart and always will).

---

(and finally, here's some more of my favorite fantasy books that I also adore and would totally ramble about but I got tired of typing).

[ladylucksrogue]

I was going to wait til Monday to post a bit of this, you know for mental health Monday but I decided to roll with it now.

I don’t post a lot of real life things here because this tends to be my little fandom safe space where I love posting my fandom messiness and thirsting over clones and posting my fanfic.  But I have noticed a lot of peeps that I interact with are going through a rough patch.  Post Holiday blues, January blues…something.  It’s rough out there, especially in the real world.

Went through a bit of a slump myself.  Prior to the holidays, I did up my writing plan for all my WIPs.  It was very…ambitious for lack of a better word.  Like damn, I know I can write a lot in a session but we’re talking like a fic a day and that…just hasn’t happened.  So, when I missed a couple days of writing, I was hard on myself.  I hold myself to impossible standards sometimes and forget to give myself space.  

I was pretty hungover on January 1st, the wine got to me a bit more than usual and I just wasn’t feeling writing at all, though I did push myself to write a few words.  I was able to post my New Years story a couple days later but I remember posting and thinking this is shit.  This isn’t your usual, though it’s not terrible in retrospect.  I just…it got to me.  So instead of following my crazy plan I focused on some drabbles and doing Whumpuary, which is thankfully every other day, so it gives me a bit of space.  I have been working on my next installment of my fix-it, which the first scene is light hearted and it’s been fun but slow going.

Had a bit of an epiphany a couple days ago, because of a comment someone said.  And it sent me into a bit of a tail spin.  An angry tailspin that my hubby had to catch the brunt of.�� He is fabulous though and just rolls with it, lets me rant and knows that I’ll feel better for it.  Someone in our extended friends group cracked a joke about me not working yet and how I’m just enjoying sitting around at home.  It was meant to be light hearted but it hit wrong on so many levels.

I lost my job last year due to a company restructuring.  It was sudden and I was really angry at the circumstances of it.  And more importantly, because it was the second job I had lost in two years to no fault of my own.  But I still gave myself the fault in all of it.  There was a time where I really struggled to hold down a job for a variety of reasons after I got out of the military, and every time something like this happens, it digs up a bunch of stuff from then…

But the fact of the matter is, since losing my job a lot has happened healthwise and I am actually on disability.  As of right now, I can’t work.  It’s something that has been a long time coming and the timing just happened to work out.  At the same time, people who know react one of two ways, oh but you’re fine, you don’t look sick, why can’t you work, or they start on some BS about must be nice, etc.  I won’t even start on the whole who is deserving and mooching off the government stuff, because I will just make myself upset.

It isn’t nice.  For someone who has worked all their life, I would much rather go to work every day than sit at home.  Weird but true.  And I feel doubt and second guess this and wonder if I can go to work and all this is just me being weak, etc.

Comments like that from people don’t help at all.  And then it happened, the moment of clarity…because usually I’m fine on most days.  And then I was working on a scene, got up to make myself some coffee and I had a moment.  There was a sound in my apartment, no clue what it was, but it set something off in my head and for a good moment, I had this really disorienting moment of not really knowing where I was, like half in a memory and half in the present and trying to sort it.  It’s happened before.  I have PTSD, an autoimmune condition, and a whole list of things, so the amount of times something has gone wrong suddenly is long.  But I’m standing there at my kettle like nearly going into a panic attack and managed to calm myself down and sort what happened.  Had this happened at work, I would have had to go sit somewhere for a bit, wasting work time to pull myself out of it and then pretend to be productive for the rest of the day.  Because, in the immediate aftermath of this, after I calmed down, I was dizzy and exhausted and just done.  No energy left.

And the fact that I was home allowed me to go take a nap for a couple hours and reset so to speak, which is probably the best and most effective way I have found in dealing with a PTSD attack.  It works for me personally better than any med they have given me.  Can’t do that working.  Not to mention, if someone is next to you when stuff like this happens, most people are not willing to understand.  You are immediately judged and ostracized (in my experience) because you do not fit into society’s mold.  

But after all this, it made me realize that I need to give myself a bit of grace.  To allow myself moments to feel bad.  To focus on myself and be accepting.  I think it is a big part of self-care we all forget.  Like even people that don’t have medical conditions or diagnoses need to remember.  We all cannot be perfect and productive always.  Sometimes we need a break.  We need to allow ourselves that.

Especially during this time of year, when stress is high and people are frustrated.  We just all need to give ourselves a pat on the back, take things a day at a time and practice a little acceptance.  Like if we finish that chapter or art or whatever in a day, that is fantastic.  On other days we might not do much of anything, and that is ok too.

This is in no way a message saying I am taking a break btw, so no worries! To those who follow my writing, I am here and writing, just on my own time. So at times, I'll probably post a bunch at once and other times, it'll be a bit slow going. Also, keep asks and interactions coming, absolutely keeps me sane and happy to keep interacting!

[cerastes]

What are some of the greatest/most impressive feats of strength in Arknights’s story?

Taking the overall narrative and worldbuilding into account, I believe the most effective aspect of Arknights' narrative is that they managed to make Terra feel like a breathing, living world and setting instead of a vehicle for the point-of-view character to exist in and act upon. This is specially remarkable for a mobile gacha game, as settings in these tend to be exactly that sort of vehicle instead of world that give any hints of existing when outside the player's immediately vision. The way I like to think about it is, "if a tree fell somewhere in this setting while my intended point-of-view or self-insert character isn't there to see it, did it make a sound?”. In Arknights, Girls' Frontline and SIGH Epic Seven (credit where it's due), the answer feels like a yes to me, whereas in every other game of this kind, it feels like a no, if you know what I mean.

This is intrinsically tied to the cast of characters: It is an inevitability that games where a guiding principle is to release an immense number of characters throughout its lifetime will have characters that will never have any relevance whatsoever besides existing as a minor piece in the world, and Arknights is not immune to this. Even other works of a different base nature and with a much smaller casts will be victims to this: In Trails of Cold Steel, for example, you have a pretty big cast of playable characters, some of which are very well developed and have a lot of screentime and development, and others who are Gaius Worzel. However, this leads to two aspects of Arknights as a narrative and as a game telling a story and fleshing out a world that I appreciate:

The first is that those characters that do get used, are for the overwhelming majority fun and interesting to see and accompany throughout their narrative, and rarely for me, I include the usual point-of-view character in this, Doctor. I tend to have a pretty big dislike, if not disdain, for characters you're meant to self-insert into, I sincerely cannot stand them. Doctor definitely has a big of a self-insert nature to them, but there's also a lot of the Doctor that is actually pre-established, such as them being a weirdo, tending to be very effective but also causing troublesome aftermaths that others then have to clean up, and being particularly good at bonding with assassins and underworld types, among other things. More importantly, Doctor is not present in most side-stories. This is fantastic and leads to the second aspect I appreciate.

This second aspect is that the cast has legs to stand on without needing the protagonist or POV character. You'd think this is a problem mostly limited to gacha games due to their usually flimsy narratives and structures, right? Except, this is actually a huge problem in pretty much every corner of narrative art! I can think of countless comics, manga, cartoons, anime, light novels, novels, and much more, eastern and western, that just tend to have worlds and casts that center entirely around the protagonist, for the protagonist. Whether it be a US author writing out their post-apocalyptic hoarder fantasy or a Japanese author detailing the trials and tribulations of a relatable nobody that a myriad of girls want to have sex with, and even some other pieces of art perhaps not so comically easy to make fun of, it's a consistent aspect of them that the protagonist is the center of the universe, both in terms of events and what the rest of cast thinks about, talks about, and takes action upon. Obviously, this results, in my opinion, in weak worlds and weak casts that have no legs to stand on. I appreciate that even without Doctor around, Arknights does a good job of having protagonists of their own little stories in the side stories: Olivia Silence is a joy to follow when she takes the lead in a Rhine Lab story, Kroos has been one of my favorite characters to be able to experience events through with the Sui stories, Skadi and the Abyssal Hunters are exciting to watch in Abyssal Hunter stories, and the latest event as of the writing of this post filled me inspiration, seeing Reed star in a character piece that tells us more about someone so immensely reticent to open up. It's by having interesting world events occurring throughout Terra that don't have the input of Doctor, and thus lets us see more and more of this huge cast of characters taking the lead that I think is a fascinating experience for me as a reader that keeps things fresh. It's even allowed me to come to appreciate characters I initially didn't care about, such as Bagpipe and Magallan, and see, in most games of this nature, if I don't care about a character frame one, it's probably going to stay that way because, well, if I didn't care about what their limited assortment of pre-cooked lines had to sell me on, then I'm likely not going to care about that character likely not showing me a new aspect of themselves impactful enough to change my mind in an event they'll likely just be an accessory to.

It's upon this base that I think Arknights stays interesting and fresh: A solid foundation that I can agree with and that keeps things dynamic and interesting. Specific events and story beats that I think are interesting are a natural result of these baseline aspects, but it all traces back to the cradle, to these baseline aspects that facilitate those cool narratives in the first place.

[skyloftsword]

Why Tears of the Kingdom is the Breath of the Wild I was hoping for

Alright, so before I get into my rant. I really like Breath of the Wild. It's a very fun game and the events of 100 years ago are super interesting. It just... unfortunately let me down after Skyward Sword in two aspects that I personally feel Tears of the Kingdom succeeded at for me. Story and dungeons. Also please don't tell me to watch a Youtuber on why TotK is worse than nuclear war. I make my own opinions and my take on TotK is very unlikely to change. I have done 6 playthroughs and still feel this way. Spoiler warning.

Okay, so my issue with Breath of the Wild's story is how it feels like a mess at times. The memories don't even try to tell anything coherent outside of the final few. Some of them even need journals for any payoff as well. This system also limited the Champions from getting any development or character arcs. It took until Tears for me to appreciate them because Hyrule was still grateful for them. Revali's bow being treasured by Teba, Riju prays to Lady Urbosa in her diary, Mipha got Mipha's Court and Sidon's entire character arc was about how her death still haunts him and he doesn't want that to happen ever again. Daruk... got lights added to his statue's eyes I guess. Anyways, Tears' equivalent to them is the Neo Sages. Tulin, Riju, Sidon and Yunobo. They each get their own arc and you can tell how much they have grown since Breath of the Wild. What makes them better here is that they actually are relevant for more than just the Divine Beast boarding segments. Sidon deals with fear of losing his beloved Yona just like how he lost Mipha 105ish years ago, yet Yona and Link bring him to his senses. Riju goes from being stressed out about how she's too weak to defend Gerudo Town from the Gibdos with her aim, but Link returning reassures her. Tulin goes from being arrogant and thinking he can do anything all by himself to realizing that charging ahead all on his own is a bad idea and that working as a team is the best way to do things. Yunobo goes from being a manipulated crack dealer to being cowardly again for a bit to becoming courageous and willing to fight to defend Hyrule. These arcs help me appreciate the characters a LOT more. The Old Sages intentionally aren't fully fleshed out characters and its fine because they're barely on screen (their names are Ruto, Darunia, Nabooru and possibly just Medoh for the Rito Sage). Ganondorf being an actual character really helps as well. He wants to use the godlike power of the Secret Stones to his advantage to achieve total rule of the world (in the English localization at least). Rauru and Sonia are wonderful characters that actually try to help Zelda achieve her goal of returning to her time (nice opposition of Rhoam forcing her to achieve her light powers and being harsh towards her). Unlike the events of 100 years ago, the memories/Tears in this game actually focus on telling what led to the Imprisoning War in a specific order. The events in the memories and Tears also are all relevant and side stuff was pushed to the Stone Monument side adventure. Unfortunately the game is less linear than Breath (which honestly should be the other way around and is a massive storytelling issue), however Impa at least alludes to the order of the Tears when you go to the Forgotten Temple after the first one. The Fifth Sage quest is also an incredible questline that did what BotW should have done. It showed the Imprisoning War and how Ganondorf shouldn't be taken lightly. I seriously feel let down not seeing Link and Zelda fight the Calamity and losing. Also thank god you don't have to do an absurdly tedious backtrack quest to unlock the Camera, Tears, the Champion Leathers and the Kohga fight.

Onto the dungeons. I don't get why people switched up on the Divine Beasts in a positive way. They have a great gimmick and the "fights" are cool but that's it. The puzzles are... fine I guess? The visuals are cookie cutter and so are the bosses in every aspect except gameplay (and are basically just the Calamity split into 1/4). Tears' Temples are legitimately the most enjoyable dungeons in the series for me. The atmosphere, music, puzzles having a large amount of solutions, etc. Not to mention the boss fights actually being unique and very fun this time (BotW had some bangers too like Koshia and Thunderblight) and have unique fight themes that are so, so, so good. Seized Construct might be my favorite non-final battle boss theme for me. Also the pre-dungeon segments actually feeling like dungeons for 4/5 of them really helped make me like them more. Both games also have great and bad Shrines. TotK has far less bad ones and has a much better vibe with it's Shrines.

Anyways, ramble over. Thanks for reading. The only reason I made this post was because I was pissed off due to personal reasons. I love these games and this series so please don't take this as me hating BotW.

[grumpymiika]

♡ TW: Yandere, light gore

♡ I wrote this story in collaboration with DanStar!!

On a sunny morning, you eagerly prepared yourself, brimming with excitement, ready to enjoy an entire day at the amusement park.

You had spent countless hours crafting the perfect day, determined to make the most of your long-overdue day off. The anticipation was palpable—how long had it been since you last took time for yourself? Always burdened with obligations, today was a rare exception.

Sliding into your car, you turned the key and started the engine, heading toward "Dream Park." Upon arrival, you were struck by the sheer grandeur of the place. It felt surreal, as if you’d stepped into a dream. Since your youth, you had loved amusement parks, though opportunities to visit had been few and far between. Today promised to be extraordinary—or so it seemed.

Without delay, you dashed toward the Ferris wheel. Riding one had always been your dream, yet life’s circumstances had never allowed it. If only you had known what awaited you, you might have reconsidered stepping into that cabin.

The queue was long, much longer than you anticipated. Why were so many people here on a Monday? You’d specifically chosen this day to avoid the crowds. What a disappointment!

Lost in thought, you felt a tap on your shoulder. Turning, you were met with a man whose smile was both wide and unsettling, his deep brown eyes piercing straight through you. He was stunning—too stunning. His hypnotic gaze lingered on you, and you felt your heart falter under its weight.

“Uh… Hello?” you stammered, suddenly self-conscious. You had spent far too long gawking at him, forgetting to act like a normal human being.

“Hi… Uh, do you need something?” Your voice was soft, barely audible yet clear enough for him to hear.

“I don’t have anyone to ride with, and you seem to be in the same situation. Could we share a cabin? I’m not fond of being alone.”

“Of course!” you blurted out before thinking. It was painfully obvious that you had a weakness for attractive men, especially ones with such perfect features. His smile broadened—if that were even possible. That smile… You failed to notice the veiled malice behind it, mistaking it for friendliness.

Finally, it was your turn. The two of you entered the cabin, taking in the breathtaking, picturesque view as the Ferris wheel ascended.

Your joy was uncontainable; you looked like a child with a brand-new toy. What you didn’t notice, however, were his eyes—those deep brown eyes fixated solely on you. The scenery held no interest for him; only you filled his vision. He had chosen you, and he had no intention of letting you go. After all, wasn’t this your fault? Who told you to accept a stranger’s invitation?

As the seconds passed and the Ferris wheel climbed higher, the vibrant, colorful lights held your attention. You turned briefly to glance at the man sharing your cabin. His unwavering gaze still rested on you, his smile fixed. What was he thinking? That unnerving silence hung thick in the air, almost deafening.

A cold shiver ran down your spine as you felt an icy touch on your hand. Startled, you looked down to find his hand resting on yours. His eyes now gleamed with an intensity that bordered on sinister, his smile widening in a way that exuded chaotic, twisted affection. His dilated pupils seemed to pierce through your very soul.

Snapping yourself out of this trance, you closed your eyes tightly, counting to five. When you opened them again, he was gazing out the window, his expression calm. The sound of the cabin door opening was a welcome relief—it was time to leave. Thank heavens… But what was that sensation? And what had just transpired?

You hurriedly exited the cabin, unease gnawing at you. What did he want? What was his name? As you wandered the park, your eyes darted around, searching for solace. Nearly stumbling, your breath grew shallow and labored. The world around you felt like it was collapsing; the fun had vanished, leaving only dread and aversion in its wake.

“Please… Someone…” you whispered into the noisy void, your voice drowned out by the cacophony of the park. Just as you were about to collapse, a familiar figure caught you. His broad smile greeted you like an ominous shadow. Those captivating brown eyes now filled you with unease.

“You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this moment,” he said, breathless and flushed. With a swift motion, he grabbed your wrist and dragged you toward a car.

Too weak to resist, you found yourself at his mercy. In your most vulnerable state, he had emerged as your personal nightmare. He shoved you into the car with brutal force, your head striking the doorframe. Before you could even process what was happening, he climbed into the driver’s seat and started the engine.

Throughout the drive, you stared blankly at the car’s ceiling, unable to move. The foreign smells of the car filled your senses, and the light outside gradually faded, giving way to darkness.

After what felt like an eternity, clarity returned, though only faintly. Your hand fumbled for the door lock, and with a click, the door swung open. You tumbled out onto the ground, your body stiff.

For a brief moment, you lay there, gazing at the tranquil sky, watching the trees sway gently in the breeze. Then reality struck, and you scrambled to your feet, running as fast as your legs could carry you.

But you weren’t alone. Footsteps pounded behind you, growing closer with every breathless stride. The dark sky and faint moonlight made it difficult to see ahead, yet the thought of returning to your family spurred you onward.

Your breathing grew shallow and ragged, but you refused to stop. Then came a deafening sound, cutting through the silence of the forest—a gunshot. Pain seared through your leg, and you crumpled to the ground like prey felled by a hunter’s bullet.

The chase had ended.

He approached your fallen body, his footsteps slow and deliberate. The agony in your leg was overwhelming, a burning torment unlike anything you had ever experienced. Tears streamed down your face, unbidden.

What a tragic tableau—a helpless figure sprawled on the forest floor, a madman standing over her with a smoking gun.

Terribly sweet, isn’t it? At least to him, it was. For months, he had been watching you, pursuing you. A quiet, solitary man, he had never expected to fall so deeply—or obsessively—for someone. If such twisted infatuation could even be called love.

You’re in quite the predicament now. But don’t worry; he’ll take care of you. Not that you have a choice.

[mamadoc]

20 questions for fic writers

Thank you to for tagging me, @thisnightissparkling089 !

1. How many works do you have on Ao3?

I have only written 6 fics on AO3, but I tend to write long chapters and long stories.

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count?

313,810

Pretty good for 7 months, right?

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Only The Rookie. 😎

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Catch of a Lifetime

Snowed In

*Sense* You Know Me So Well

*Sense* You Know Me So Well, Too - The Sequel

The Heimlich

5. Do you respond to comments?

Every comment thread! I love interacting with people who read my stories. I think it's one of the things that makes writing fanfiction so much fun.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I have a few rules in my writing. 1 - Chenford is endgame. 2 - Only happy endings. 3 - No Major Character Death!

My reading and writing affect my mood, and I read to find a little spot of joy and sunshine.

That said, my sequel series, After the Snow Melts, has a lot more angst than my other stories. Although the ending is happy, it's not a perfect resolution of the story.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

The last (third) chapter of *Sense* You Know Me So Well is so amazingly sweet and fluffy that it would rot your teeth.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Thankfully, no. I've had a few rude requests for me to continue a story, but that's as close as I've gotten. I'm so grateful for the people that leave kind comments on my stories.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

No. I'll write 'spicy' scenes, but nothing I would consider smut or going into M or E categories.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

No. I've considered it, and I've read a few that are great. But I never have.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

As far as I know, I have not.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? 

No. But I have a few frequent commenters on Twitter/X that comment in other languages. I don't know if they read it in English or translate it, but they comment in Spanish, Portuguese, and German.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No. When I first got some story ideas, I reached out to a few writers I admired to see if they would be interested in co-writing the stories with me. None of them were interested. That's when I had to break out my big girl panties and try it by myself. 😂😎 I'm glad I did. It's been such a rewarding hobby.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Chenford🥰

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I have several ideas jotted down on my Notes app on my phone. I don't know how many of them will ever be fleshed out and see the light of day.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Hmmm... I'm not sure. I feel like my writing is very descriptive and in character so that the reader can really feel like they're seeing it all play out. At least that's what I hear back from some readers. My stories are also longer, which allows the reader to disappear into that world for longer.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I still feel very new at this and lack some confidence in my writing skills. I've tried my hand at a few action scenes, but I'm not sure they come together as well as the relationship/dialogue scenes. I'm also an older Millennial, so some of the social media aspect of fanfiction and this fandom are new to me.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I've done it once. I just used Google translate to get some easy Chinese for Lucy and her mother to have a quick conversation. But I speak French and Korean, so I could potentially add that in sometime in the future. I just don't know how well that would fit into a Chenford story.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

This one. I had never done creative writing in my adult life until 7 months ago, hence my lack of confidence.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

I have really loved writing Catch of a Lifetime. I feel like it's different than a lot of the stories I've read on AO3, but it still has the characters we know and love.

*Sense* You Know Me So Well is my favorite of my shorter stories, particularly chapter 2. It feels very realistic and true to what could have happened in the snow.

And chapter 2 of *Sense* You Know Me So Well, Too - The Sequel is the one I feel like draws on the deepest feelings and most genuine heart of Chenford.

Thanks, ladies! Tagging @makeitastrength and @queseraone and @girlintotv and @chenfordspiral if they're interested in talking about their writing.

[arachnixe]

Execution

(Part 9 of Night’s Longing - Previous: Past Hungers, Past Mistakes)

Carmen seems more withdrawn than before after sharing that story, as though even she was caught by surprise that those memories still have some power over her. A little fun in bed helps distract her for a moment, but I get the feeling she also uses it to distract me from the topic.

I try to get her to open up to me, permit herself to show even an ounce of vulnerability, but she smoothly redirects my efforts with flirtations until we’re fucking again because I simply cannot ever resist her.

At the very least I can offer her my company and my support, even when it’s four in the afternoon and I notice that Carmen’s snuck out of bed to brood in silence. I make her coffee just the way she likes, bringing it to her and sitting in the same room as her.

I wonder, and not for the first time, how much heartbreak someone her age has experienced. I guess it never gets any easier.

The story she told sticks with me for more reasons. She described a collection of vampiric abilities I have heard of but never before witnessed in the possession of any single vampire. I have heard tales, of course, of the “archvampires” slain by my ancestors, the greatest of which commanded a similarly fantastic array of powers. Until recently, I believed them to be exaggerations for the sake of inflating the reputations of those old, revered hunters. Yet Carmen’s abilities are perfectly in line with even the tallest tales.

It terrifies me the first time I watch Carmen pass by her curtains—frankly inadequate ones, letting slip a thin slice of sunlight through the gap during the pre-sundown hours—and I watch, stunned, as the light momentarily passes over her with hardly a sizzle.

“Not sunscreen,” she tells me, laughing, when I confront her with my first, admittedly silly, guess. “It is not the same ultraviolet radiation which gives humans a sunburn that also purges our kind from the world. It is specifically daylight. We are ontologically of night itself at the most fundamental level. A vampire is dispelled by the sun in precisely the same way that night is.”

I can only reply with stammering, half-formed words stumbling over each other, but she takes pity on my confusion and offers me a little more explanation.

“Resistance is not altogether impossible, though I remain a creature of night. You could say I have kissed the moon and may hide in its shadow.” She gestures as if groping for words that don’t come easily to her, at least in English. “In an occult sense, I mean to say.”

It’s clear that I’m not satisfied by such a metaphorical answer, and Carmen sighs. “It works something like your Boltman blessings. Here. One visible element of the work of many years.” She lifts her shirt to direct my attention to a particular cluster of lines tattooed below her ribs. “Before I ever became a vampire, I was something of a mystic. I have always loathed my own weakness, thus I work to diminish what flaws I cannot eliminate.”

Something about Carmen’s body language reads as vulnerable as she confesses this one small detail of her early life, and she seems relieved that I choose to pull her into a hug rather than pry further.

“Sorry.” My words are muffled with my face pressed into her. My heart isn’t done pounding with that initial panic of seeing the sunlight touch her. “I just need a second.”

Her gentle touch on my back is reassuring. “You do not need to worry about me.”

“I do a lot of things I don’t need to. Don’t try to talk me out of this one.”

“As you wish, darling.” She wraps her arms around me too. “I only mean to say that I have offered to help you overcome the circumstances of your birth, which would be an empty promise indeed from someone unable to exert similar influence even on herself. I ask you not to doubt my strength.”

I groan. “Fuck, I hate it when you talk like my dad. Worrying about you isn’t a slight, Carmen! It doesn’t mean I think you’re less cool and smart and powerful! It doesn’t mean I doubt your ability to help and protect me! It means I care about you!”

I feel a tremor in Carmen’s body, at first seeming much like sobbing, but after a moment I realize it’s laughter.

“Even now,” she says quietly, to herself, and I can’t guess what she means, but I only hold her tighter.

We stay like this together for a while longer.

---

The notification sound sends my heart bouncing around my ribcage. I check my phone, and it’s Liz. No greeting, no preamble, just a time and an address.

“Do you need a ride?” Carmen asks without needing any explanation at all.

I nod dumbly, momentarily paralyzed by the unexpected shattering of this peaceful time together before the phantom voice of my father roars in my brain to move.

I move. My gear is propped in the corner, waiting for me, and I make myself ready for battle faster than I ever have in my life.

We scream across the city in her convertible, once again hitting all the green lights—and now I’m wondering which of her tattoos controls the flow of traffic—on our way to where my target is supposed to be. The sunset casts the city in shades of gold which Carmen only requires a pair of shades to endure.

She could probably take on someone like Ylio without breaking a sweat, couldn’t she? Based on what she’s told me of herself and the stories passed down about how far beyond ordinary vampires the archvampires were, it would be no trouble for her even if Ylio brought friends to back them up.

I look to my left at her handsome face and remember how she immediately offered this very ride. How she offered to save me from the doom of my bloodline. Of course she would be willing to help. She might even insist on it.

But asking someone to kill their own is not an easy thing, is it? It’s a terrible burden to place on someone, especially when this is not her fight at all. It’s mine, for the sake of me and my sisters. Bearing the guilt of this assassination should be my burden alone.

I can’t let her come with me.

“Carmen, I don’t want your help with this.”

“As you wish.”

After bracing myself for an argument, I’m caught off guard. “Huh. Just like that?”

“Darling, I understand more than most the importance of vengeance against one’s own killer.” After a moment’s silence, she adds, “I also admit to some curiosity. How does a modern Boltman fight, I wonder? I will enjoy observing from a distance.”

A modern Boltman. In this context, hunting a vampire, I suppose that’s just what I am. It’s a role bolted through my flesh into my bones, and right now, as I wear the uniform of what I am, how can I pretend that I am anything more than Hanna Boltman, Vampire Hunter?

Deep breaths, Hanna. I can endure this the same way I always have. I just need to hold my feelings at arm’s length and let the body do as it was trained to do.

Exiting the car a few blocks early, I leave Carmen to find a place to park and a vantage from which to watch. With wary steps, I approach my destination.

I expect someone as pompous as Ylio to feed at one of the ritzy and exclusive vampire clubs. Sanguine Dreams, for example, feels like their speed; it’s a place that requires reservations in advance, and if you’ve got the connections and ability to pay for the VIP lounge, I hear they bring your food and entertainment to you live, and the presentation is supposed to be something really special. Now that I think about it, I’d bet Carmen could get in. That could make for a nice date night.

This side of town, though? It’s far removed from all Clan Sarthe fronts and infrastructure I’m aware of, and the address turns out to be an old, dilapidated building, four stories tall and from the turn of the last century. I can’t guess what it was once for. Banking? A factory? Moonshine during Prohibition? The windows are boarded up, the roof looks partially collapsed, and even the brick wall looks dark and rotting. The words “no entry” are spray painted on the side of the building.

What, does Ylio go after squatters? How unexpectedly pathetic.

It’s still early. I’m in luck that Carmen’s solar resistance means that we didn’t have to wait till full sundown to head this way. I have just enough time to scout the area, lay my trap, and find a place to hide.

The parking lot is overgrown with weeds, crumbling chunks of concrete filled by a late addition of gravel to smooth it out. Light glints off shards of glass and other assorted garbage among the detritus. Not an ideal place for a fight, all things considered. Keeping my footing here could be a challenge, but I might be able to hide something small in the cracks, cover it with gravel.

And there, adjacent to the parking lot, is another old building. Not quite so large, not quite so condemned, it should make a good place to hide. The alleyway between it and the next building down is just narrow enough for my purposes. I sprint, vault onto a friendly dumpster, leap toward the opposite building to kick off the wall and catch the lip of this building’s roof.

The roof is flat, with enough of a raised ridge around it for me to lay flat and conceal myself from anyone below me. The drop back down is only two stories, which is perfectly doable without a roll—and after seeing all the broken glass down there, I count myself lucky for that.

I prep my crossbow and settle in to wait.

It’s hard to ignore the itch in the back of my mind telling me something is off. My target isn’t just prideful; according to Liz they’re influential. They have allies. This is the sort of place haunted by weak, orphaned vampires, those without connection to their own community.

In a place much like this, back when I was a teenager, my father supervised my first few solo hunts. I remember at the time feeling shocked at how easy those kills were. Back then I didn’t even see vampires as people.

“That’s it?” I asked. “One shot to the heart, and it’s over?”

“Frail, weak, easy pickings for even a novice,” he said. “That’s the fate of anyone, hunter or bloodsucker, who lacks the support of others.”

It was one of many lessons he drilled into me repeatedly over the years.

“Without me, you wouldn’t know how to operate that crossbow. You wouldn’t have practiced your aim. You wouldn’t know where to shoot.” He severed my victim’s head to make absolutely sure they were finished. “Without my mother, I would not have known to teach you those lessons. Without the generations of Boltmans who came before us, without our clan’s hard-won discoveries and the lore of our allies, you and I would be as helpless as babes.

“Each of us is born owing a debt to our clan. Some few of us have the ability and work ethic to pay that debt in full before we die. If you manage to pass the trials, inherit my sword, and continue our family legacy, and if you or one of your descendants manages to rid this world of its vampiric scourge, then perhaps I will have done enough to pay mine off.”

I was 14 years old. “That’s a lot of pressure, dad.”

“It is the appropriate amount of pressure, Hanna. Our bloodline, like few others, is a holy one. It is blessed. We have been gifted the profound privilege to devote our lives in service to others.” He clapped me on the shoulder in a gesture that seemed like camaraderie, the sort of gesture that was as close as he ever got to expressing fatherly affection.

“Yes, sir. We are elevated above others for a reason, and it is our burden to bear that responsibility.”

“Exactly. Remember, none of us matter as individuals; all that matters is how we contribute.” Through repetition, he burned these lessons into my heart. “I do not matter, though I can make myself useful by killing monsters and sculpting you into the family’s next great weapon. You do not matter except through your obedience to me and how well you prove your dedication.”

“Yes, sir. I will make you proud.”

“See that you do. As my only heir, the worth of my life depends on the worth of yours.”

In a way, I’m glad I learned selflessness from my father. Family comes first— remembering that lesson dispels whatever unease creeps up my chest. Killing Ylio is not just a matter of revenge for my own sake; doing so eliminates a threat to my sisters. I cannot fail.

Twilight dims. Voices drift upward from the empty lot. Two figures round the corner of the broken-down building to chat in the ruins of the parking lot. One leans against the wall, looking relaxed, while the other scans in every direction, acting as lookout for threats.

I hear a soft crunch of footsteps far too close to me. I turn and see the silhouette of a third against the sky, standing on the opposite side of the roof from me. Did they leap up here just now? They’re keeping watch too, I realize, but whoever this is, they haven’t noticed me yet, their attention focused on the street below.

Shit, this is a complication I hadn’t planned for. The other person’s head turns in my direction, and I have no time to think before I fire my crossbow to stake the unexpected intruder in the heart. They collapse in near silence, the sound masked effectively by the city’s background noise of car traffic and distant sirens.

I check the body to be sure. Fangs. For the first time in years, I’ve killed a vampire again. Not even my target, just a witness, killed out of panic. Shit. Who were they? No identification, no Sarthe markings—or markings of any other clan I recognize—only a winged ouroboros tattoo on their back.

Did you have a family? Is there someone out there who will stay up wondering why you never came home? Or are you all alone in this world like those first poor, nameless victims of mine were?

I knew I might have to kill more than just Ylio. Liz said they have allies. I knew I might have to do this.

There will be time later to mourn the cost. Already I hear more voices approaching, and I think I recognize the imperious sound of my target’s among them. I reload my crossbow and wait for the right moment to spring the trap.

The three new figures approach the two. I hold my breath, straining to catch their words.

Ylio speaks first. “Look all around, the moon shines bright.”

“We and the dead make swift our flight,” replies the one leaning against the building with an air of ease.

The one on guard seems to relax after this exchange, and the two groups approach one another. Such a tight cluster of them, nearly ideal, but something makes me hesitate. That itch at the back of my mind returns. This isn’t what I expected to find. Something else is going on here.

“What news from Sarthe?”

Ylio makes a dismissive gesture. “The pieces move into place. No new risks. What obstacles remain are on track to be dealt with.”

The wail of a siren masks the reply, and by the time I pick out more words, Ylio is speaking again. “…your recovery efforts?”

“Our associates overseas have delivered his left hand to the courier. We anticipate delivery in a matter of weeks.”

“Should we be expecting you?”

“No. Best to avoid showing our faces. You’ll meet the courier directly.”

“I will set expectations accordingly.”

Shit, one of Ylio’s companions has broken away from the group, and the longer I wait, the more risk I take. It’s now or never. I twist my hand into the trigger sign and leap from my perch as artificial daylight blooms into life inside the parking lot.

Lucky break for me, the wary one was standing right at the center of the blast, and as the brief flash of light fades, all that remains of them is ash. With a twang, the one who stepped away from the blast is staked through the heart. I drop the crossbow and draw my sword.

Three badly charred vampires remain, staring me down with bloody murder in their eyes. It’s the dead of night, and their burns are healing right before my eyes, but right now I have a brief window of weakness to capitalize on. God, they’re still fast, though, dodging every swing of my blade as if I were moving in slow motion.

The one to my left lunges for me, fangs bared, and I nearly fail to raise my silvered bracer in time to defend myself. He screams in pain as the metal brands his skin, giving me an opening to strike that I have to abandon in order to dive away from the swipe of Ylio’s clawed hand.

I roll and leap to my feet, drawing a set of knives to fling in one smooth arc toward my attackers. Ylio bats one out of the air with contemptuous ease, but in a stroke of luck, one pierces the throat of the other vampire, dropping her to the ground as she hisses and claws in vain at the ensorcelled metal. She’s down, at least.

Ylio keeps coming for me, and they’re only getting faster and deadlier as their burns heal. The one who chomped my bracer is back in the fight too, and he’s furious. At the very least his blind outrage is making him a poor collaborator for Ylio, and the two interfere with one another enough for me to keep dancing out of their reach.

Still, all I can do with my sword is buy myself a little breathing room, one swing at a time. I utterly fail to land a single strike.

Then my luck takes a turn for the worse. I slip on loose gravel and tumble backward, and in a blink my assailant has pounced on me.

“You wretched little shit, I’ll make you—“

“Idiot.” I shut him up by ripping my talisman off its chain and shoving it in his mouth. You don’t stop to threaten someone in the middle of a fight, as I quickly demonstrate. When I speak the invocation, he bursts into flames. I kick the burning body at my last remaining opponent, making space to leap back to my feet.

“I know that voice. Elizabeth’s dog.”

Shit. “N-no…?” Good work, Hanna. That ought to throw them off the trail.

“You are.” Somehow they see through my cunning lie. “At last I begin to fit the pieces together. She has been hiding a vampire hunter in our midst this whole time.”

Ugh. I have one last trick up my sleeve, and I won’t be able to make it work unless they get in close. Worst case scenario, Ylio flees, knowing that I am a vampire hunter, and spreads the story of what happened here. No evidence of past heroics could save me from the condemnation that would follow. But more important than me is what would become of my sisters if they were believed to knowingly smuggle a hunter into a Sarthe stronghold.

“As if she knew.” I put as much scorn as I can muster into my voice. “You asked how a low-class vampire like her got a bloodbag of her own? I chose her for her gullibility. The status I could bring her was too good a deal to scrutinize very closely.”

I hope they buy it. Better for my sisters to be seen as fools than traitors.

“How I almost pity her.” Ylio shakes their head, accepting my story. Few things are easier than convincing someone that a person they despise is an idiot. “Ah, but instead I will enjoy using this secret to destroy her reputation.”

“You’ll have to kill me first. Without taking me as proof, nobody will believe the bloodbag you killed just got up and started murdering people back.” I grin and brandish my sword with a flourish. “But as you can see, I’m pretty hard to put down for good.”

“Cocky. But I have stalled for time long enough, and as you can see, I am back at full strength. Now, for the last time, I bid you goodbye, dog.”

Ylio moves in a blur almost too fast to track. In an instant, they are upon me, claws at my neck. My sword falls from my hand. The vampire’s deadly strike is slowed down only for the briefest moment by the gorget I wear.

However, I am ready for them, and that brief moment is all I need. I squeeze the trigger secreted in my palm and spray a fine mist of holy water—really a specially prepared emulsion of salt water and oils enhanced with theurgy—and the fine cloud halts the attack, forcing Ylio to recoil immediately.

Skin sizzles. They choke and gasp, inhaling more into their lungs, inspiring a paroxysm of coughing and hacking up blood. I run my sword through their chest, and the fight is over.

Numbly, moving on autopilot, I behead all four bodies, just the way I was taught, though only the one with the knife through her neck is still twitching and clinging to life.

Six vampires total, dead by my hand. None of them carry any identification on them, though all bear the same mark of the winged ouroboros. Except for one, I’ll never even know their names. Maybe in another life, we could have been friends.

Six more faces that will haunt me for the rest of my life. I drop to my knees and give myself permission to grieve.

Though my hands are stained with death, at least my family is safe.

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 1/16/2024

did not commit fratricide this week but it got a little close there

listening

spotify tried to rec me some electro remix of this Eartha Kitt song i did NOT care for but i did enjoy the original Mink Schmink (YouTube). very similar to last year’s favorite Peel Me A Grape by Anita O’Day. this is a particular kind of oldies #girlboss song that i am super weak to

i also have an entire album to rec! spotify recced me a movie soundtrack by this artist and i went to check out their latest work. a very pleasant outer space themed saxophone-forward experience to enjoy while trying out a very slow video game! the opening track Chaldene will let you know pretty fast if you’ll like the whole album. bouncy, in the ways that saxophones are. very cowboy bebop soundtrack adjacent? i have a data entry playlist with many instrumental albums of long pieces for when i need really consistent vibes or vibes that change very slowly and this is going to be such a good addition

reading

feeling a little bit grim about the state of the world and long-tail reporting/continuity of knowledge, partially bc some friends got fired from the games industry and are throwing in the towel (do not blame them at ALL, also now this means i don't know anyone in the industry with more than three years of experience under their belt) and partially feeling a little bit grim bc i read an article FOREVER ago from the old motherboard team at VICE about how locations were being harvested from various religious and health apps, and FINALLY that data broker is starting to see some real consequences. the ONLY reason this reporter is still following this story/is still a reporter is bc after VICE summarily fired like half the site last year, he went off and started his own site.

grim! grim article, grim context, grim all around.

watching

i would love for my best friend's son to become obsessed with a different movie than pixar's elemental. but if this is the price of having an only semi-interrupted conversation with his mom then so be it.

playing

“sail forth” by developer Quantum Astrophysicists Guild and published by Festive Vector (pair of really killer names there) is the free epic game this week. i spent a reasonably okay hour with it but do not plan to continue further. the opening area has some problems that do not interest me in whatever this game does in the next area. tldr: the actual sailing part is fun, which is good bc it's a sailing game, but there isn't enough to Do in this adventure/exploration game and it's all really far apart.

it has a particular sensibility married with its art style that makes me say “cozy game” (derogatory). your main character is named captain toot. everyone has funky sentence structure liberally sprinkled with nautical terms that come off vaguely nonsensical instead of piratical. there are a lot of almost-kennings like “deepblue” “moontiders” “fishfolk”. things of this nature. while i do love a kenning i don’t have a lot of patience for this. which is unfortunate bc this game tested my patience in several ways.

the actual Sailing part is the best part of the game. there's some very fun weather-- i have seen light and heavy fog, light and heavy rain, and a full on thunderstorm. the fact that sailing is the best part of the game would be good except everything is VERY far apart, and while the call of a blank horizon is super important in an oceangoing game (i think) when it becomes more fun to just fast travel everywhere instead of sailing the long way, i think that’s where you have to refine some things in your game. this is less of an open world and more little pockets of things in between a truly ridiculous amount of empty space. i cannot imagine this runs in an acceptable manner on switch.

the good parts of sailing are the thoughtful controls: the compass, the wind on the compass, and the little sail trim bar. you should also keep an eye on wave direction bc that will really impact your top speed. you CAN tack back and forth directly into the wind but this game will make you fucking work for it, which i do like. i also liked sailing with the camera zoomed all the way in, it felt very fast and dangerous on the very long wait to get to the next island. and then it was no longer fun on the very long sail to get to the next island. i am almost confident these islands are procgen, it’s possible i got a weirdly big seed but i don’t care enough to fire up a new save.

the general pace of the game/this first area feels a little underbaked or weirdly optimized. i got enough wood in the first hour to upgrade to the best available one-mast sloop, i fought a pirate which required a lot of precision seamanship with my one lonely bow gun, i did a race, i declined a target practice course, i poked my head into eight different map locations. despite this variety, it all felt very samey. generally the map locations have one or two things to do plus one resource (the precision seamanship required to collect resources is fun for the first two islands but then stops being interesting) or one collectible. no one island is particularly memorable. i really loved Sunless Sea, a game that also features a large map and very slow travel, but there’s a WAY more resource management and random events, and shit is simply closer together in that game.

if i was looking for a very slow podcast game and was 20% cutesier as a person this would be ideal, but for who i am right now? not for me.

making

my siblings visited! we did not kill each other, nobody had food poisoning, and nobody died! that's all i can really ask for. here's me and my sister looking at a big quilt at the 1940 Air Terminal Museum

phil went to the emergency vet sunday afternoon bc her spay site was looking Gnarly. she either has an infection or a reaction to her sutures but the treatment is the same either way. the emergency vet said we could probably skip our normal vet visit on friday but, given that we discover a new problem every time we go to the vet, we will be keeping that appointment. all recent pics of her are smushed up on my lap at a goofy angle. have a pic of mackaroni and beans

[inkdemonapologist]

Thoughts on Sammy x Norman?

It’s a good ship! I confess I like it best when it’s Weird. Norman’s strange and insensitive, Sammy’s weird and rude; it just feels like it should be built on something like, mutual roasting and an unspoken understanding that neither of them really fit in the world or trust it, and they like it that way.

As far as canon goes, I’ve talked about this before, but until I read DCTL myself I’d always assumed Norman “crazy weird” Polk would be pretty flippant about Sammy’s losing his mind – but… he isn’t? And not only that, he’s THE ONLY CHARACTER (other than Joey) that isn’t; as Sammy becomes more and more irrational and volatile, everyone in the story just chalks it up to Sammy having a few screws loose… except for Norman. His comment that “Sammy isn’t Sammy anymore” is the closest thing in maybe the entire franchise to an acknowledgement of loss when Sammy’s completely unravelled by the ink in his brain. It’s not much, but surrounded by people who either don’t care or notice what’s happening to Sammy, it feels significant.

But even then, in my own headcanons at least, there’s an inherent conflict between Sammy and Norman that I find interesting and important to preserve;

it’s the big thing I wanted to explore with Escape AU Norman and Sammy in Heart to Heart – the idea that the two of them have a very fundamental incompatibility where, under pressure, Norman makes light (ha) while Sammy becomes more intense as he swaps between defensive and deferent, and it’s so easy for the two to misunderstand each other’s intentions. Norman tries to keep things from getting too heavy, and Sammy sees someone trying to poke fun at his weak spots. Sammy lets himself be open and genuine with Norman, and Norman is immediately uncomfortable with a care that feels patronising and smothering. Sammy’s snarling is all defensive, a protective front that’s angry at his own anxiety; Norman isn’t nervous, he simply keeps the world at arm’s length because it’s more comfy there. It’s a significant gap that they have to figure out how to cross if they want to be close on more than a surface level. Because, like, it’s super easy to imagine them getting along great as coworkers until things actually start going supernaturally wrong, and the projectionist’s mistrust of Joey Drew and morbid fascination with this disaster is no longer endearing to the stressed musician who desperately needs to believe his whole world isn’t falling apart – while Norman is of course going to detach and quietly watch from a distance the more volatile and insecure Sammy becomes.

Anyway I think it’s a good ship. There’s a lot of complexity between them and I like the idea that in order for them to really make it work, they have to learn to understand each other, to trust someone who has a very different outlook. I love the “had a fondness for each other >> it all goes wrong during Joey’s mishandling of the studio and manipulation of his employees >> try to figure it all out again in the aftermath” narrative for batim ships, and this is one that could fit really nicely in that.

Also I feel like these two might ping each other’s gaydar INSTANTLY.

[isekai-crow]

The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic

I didn't go into this expecting much, because you can almost never tell if an isekai is going to be good or not (and all the subjectivity that comes with the term 'good'.)

This looks like it's gonna be hella fun.

Overall Score so far: 7.5/10

The summoning to another world as "Heros" to defeat the "Demon King" is your standard isekai plot. It's not original, but it's a good basis for a story, if that's not all there is to the premise. I'm looking forward to how this will get it's own unique twist.

The initial vibes I was getting from it were a mix of

a bad reminiscence of the beginning of "Rise of the Shield Hero" where I was worried that healing magic would be considered a bad or weak ability, and our main character Usato would be looked down on. AND

The great impression of "Wow, I want the Student President Inumaki and Vice President Kazuki to become a poly ship with Usato." I'm just gonna head cannon that the whole way though, thank you very much, they have great vibes together!

I'm thankful the first didn't come to pass, and that the second is going to be the basis for fanfic I look for in the future lol. But also, I hope the Demon King is fun, and that the fox girl doesn't bring any Loli vibes into this.

The green-haired Rose, a healing magic user who is going to train our intrepid healing hero, is the only Voice Actor that popped out at me. Which makes sense, as going through the other voices, it's a lot of small time or up and coming VAs! They're all doing a fantastic job though.

But Rose.

For a second I thought it was the Headmaster from Season 2 of Ancient Magus Bride, as she have a similar low and husky voice. But no, we have Tanaka, Atsuko - The voice of Motoko Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell, and where I recognized her from, Hanami from Jujutsu Kaisen!!! She has a very long record of supporting roles in so many anime, and I really like her voice, so I'm glad I get to listen to it here~

Episode 1 Spoilers Below!

Youve got your standard typical kid who is So Normal, and you have the Amazing and Loved By Everyone Student Body Council members, who everyone thinks are dating, and are just So Pretty and Smart and Good At All The Things.

I love how they are both interested in Usato for treating them like normal people, because as we find out, they are just typical high school students. And while they are not actually dating, just spend a lot of time together, I could absolutely peg these two as swingers looking for a third member, and that's all just delusions on my part hahahaha.

Inumaki-sempai, the Student President, is a secret Chu-Ni-Byo, or one of those edgelord kids doing the naruto run and unironically thinks they have special powers to move things with their eyes. It's a phase everyone goes through, even if they won't admit it. But she is SO HYPE to be in an isekai, and I'm right there with her. I would totally react the same way.

And of course, to feed her Chunibyo tendancies, which are immediately spotted by Usato whose image of her is shattered (good, please see her as human), she's gained the power of Lightning Magic. All she needs now is an eye patch and some bandages on her hand, along with manical laughter.

Kazuki, her second in command, seems like a typical Popular Guy, but I love that when he's getting heated over their nonconsensual summoning (despite Inumaki getting hyped in the backgroun), Usato stepping in to calm him down and point out that there is no use getting worked up, is such a good base jumping point for where things will go from here. He's not a particularly interesting character yet, but he's a good guy who wants to protect those around him. It makes sense that he gets Light Magic.

I love that Kazuki has NO IDEA what an Isekai is, and is like - "Light magic... I can blind people I guess???" Has he never even played Dragon Quest? lmao

Usato of course, gets something different, and everyone flips out. He then stops being able to read the room and puts himself in his own situation by mentioning as such in front of Rose, despite the king and magic nun trying to dissuade her from finding out. He's a Super Duper Rare Healing Magic user, because of course he is. He's Protag-kun. But it's fun to see the "tag along" who DIDN'T HEAR THE HERO BELLS WHEN SUMMONED get such a unique skill.

Bless this sweetheart. I hope they can become an awesome trio.

I can't wait to watch episode 2, and see if we get some actual twisted ways to use healing magic to fight.

My hopes for how Healing Magic can be used "incorrectly"

up someone's internal organs with a punch

be able to manipulate their blood or body water content to kill, OR

just toughen this kid up into a fighter who can heal all the damage he takes and turn him into a tank rather than just a support. ZOMBIE FIGHTING STYLE

Either way, I'm gonna enjoy this one!!

ep2 ep3 ep4 ep5 <- these will be links eventually