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txttletale · 8 months

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bundletober #7: this party sucks

hello and welcome to bundletober, the numinous ritual that shall call down the damnation of angels upon our deserving heads. today's game is this party sucks by beating the binary

i won't beat around the bush: i was primed to not like this game much, which is maybe uncharitable--but games making a big deal of how 'queer' they are in their marketing copy always puts me off. this might stem back to my love-hate relationship with thirsty sword lesbians and that game's chronic tone problem, or i might just be a cynical bitch. but this party sucks surprised me in a good way. it's a pretty simple game: it's about a single protagonist (control of whom rotates around the table) going to a bunch of parties to try not to think about their ex, having a bad time, and then thinking about their ex. it's the kind of razor-sharp concept that i think TTRPGs should tackle more (or, rather, that the hundreds of TTRPGs tackling should get more attention) and imo it pulls it off well.

i've been talking a bit on the horizon machine blog about safety tools and which ones i like and don't like--this party sucks does something surprising and invents a brand new safety tool that i actually like a lot. i mean, it's by the author's own admission half safety tool and half play aid and half joke. but it does all those things really well

the IFCOBPC card is a really funny and fantrastic concept and it fits perfectly in this game -- it's a game about a queer awkward twentysomething and that also seems to be the obvious target audience, and it's a play and design space i haven't seen explored--a way to signal this kind of over-the-table emotional response without a complex mechanical framework or the extremely serious and weighty context of x-cards & the like

the other thing i like about this party sucks is that it's specifically three-player. this is a game for three people to play, there are three books, you rotate them round once each, and everything in the game is designed for that. i like this kind of restriction, because it's much easier to design tightly around three people than, say, '3-5' -- and it shows! the division of play roles into the Protagonist, the Venue, and Other People at the party makes perfect sense and gives everyone a fair amount to do. as someone who was a 'forever DM' back when i still played d&d, i now adore games that clearly delineate and distribute narrative power and responsibility.

one last thing--this party sucks has an epilogue mechanic, a real ending. and i love that! ending one-shot games in a satisfying way can often feel difficult, and having a set of prompts asking you to decide on what happens after the game is over is a great way to provide guidance for that. ultimately, though, as much as i talk about tight design, what really made the focus on queerness in this party sucks work for me when for the most part it doesn't in thirsty sword lesbians is the tone--there's a frank first-person tone, no attempt to put on a narratorial persona, only the designer talking about the game from what is clearly and unabashedly their own perspective.

if you want me to look kindly upon your game as a labour of love, talk openly about that love and about that labour in the game's text. you're allowed to do that--often, it will make that game better.

this party sucks is available for purchase as a digital download or a physical zine from itch.io

#tattletxt #bundletober 2023 #ttrpg

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netherworldpost · 3 months

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SHOP NEWS NO DATES BUT PROGRESS IS BEING MADE

The Netherworld Post Office back office, handling private client work, did not have it's expected slow season. Which is good! Production testing is very expensive!

But also I worked myself ill, which was a bad idea!

I'll be fine in a few days.

Or depending on when you read this soon-to-be-pinned everywhere post, I'm fine now!

Over the last several months, I looked at the hard question "hey why aren't we open on the public side?" and it hit me:

Instead of following through with the plan, I was sneakily trying to re-create Evil Supply Co.

Side note: If that name is familiar, but this doesn't make sense, then the short answer:

@evilsupplyco closed in Summer 2019.

I am Atticus of Evil Supply Co. Hi!

I got into a traffic accident, the ensuing next few years Covid wrecked the world, life has been intense :)

The Netherworld Post crew is the same crew behind Evil Supply Co. and we changed/are changing the name because the new shop is going to be spooky-mail-focused as opposed to experimenting with... spooky... everything.

In September or so, just before our back office busy season started, I realized I had been saying "I'm going to focus on what we do best -- greeting cards -- and everything else is secondary."

I. Uh. Kept adding things anyway. To the... list. And making. New. Lists.

(gulp)

(learn from me, don't do that)

So in the depths of Intense Client Work and then laying on a couch for several days to allow my drawing arm to heal and my brain to slow down, I realized I had been violating what I set out to do:

Make a really fun, very inexpensive, greeting card company that sells the occasional zine, and has lots of useful downloads. Some pay-if-you-want (free if you don't), some a few dollars.

...this image... hurts my feelings... because it was this is what was happening to me.

I've learned a lot in the last several months --

I'm going to recover fully.

Send all the files lingering to test print one last time.

Then when they come back, the shop opens.

A handful of weeks at most.

I wanted to launch with DOZENS of greeting cards and A HUNDRED downloads and THIRTY ZINES and and and and and and and and --

-- and we're going to launch with about 10 greeting cards, probably 5 or 6 downloads, and zines will wait while we add more greeting cards and downloads etc.

I am admittedly REALLY EMBARRASSED to be preparing a shop launch SO SMALL after SO LONG.

(I'll get over it. We'll add new stuff regularly forever.)

mailing list: netherworldpost.com

(Actual conversation with the crew. I wanted to draw all of this out and my producer Fang was like "hey why don't you instead use that time to work on the actual drawing list instead" and I was like "great idea thank you")

one last time, mailing list: netherworldpost.com

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42-clocks · 3 months

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💚 a zine on aromanticism 💚

^an informational zine on aromanticism I made for Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week

feel free to share/print!

(pages and image IDs after the break)

Image ID 1: the front and back cover. The front cover reads, “informational zine — Aromantic: What Does That Mean? — by Peter Z.”

there are two simple arrow shapes between lines of the text pointing in opposite directions.

The middle of the page has a long stripe with the colors of the aromantic flag, which extends to the back cover. the back cover side lists what each of the colors represent: green — aromanticism; light green — the aromantic spectrum; white — platonic and aesthetic attraction; gray — gray-romanticism and demi-romanticism; black — the sexuality spectrum.

The back page reads, “more resources!

TAAAP.org

Aro Spec Week.com

gsrc.princeton.edu (SAM)

aromanticism.org (AUREA)

Elizabeth Brake (aromanticism)

Aggressively Aro Spec Tumblr

Aromantic Guide.com”

End text. Two gray silhouettes of lily flowers act as embellishment. End ID 1.

Image ID 2: pages 1 and 2 of the zine.

Page 1: “Aromantic — or just ‘aro’ for short — refers to someone who experiences little to no romantic attraction to anyone — or experiences it in a different way than others. Alloromantic is the opposite — one who does have romantic attraction.” The text is green and dark teal with light green boarders around the sections.

Page 2: small letters says “this might help to understand” and arrow points to the title “Split Attraction Model” — “a way of understanding attraction by separating it into types: sexual, romantic, platonic, alterous, aesthetic, etc.

“Sexual Orientations: bisexual, heterosexual, asexual. Romantic Orientations: biromantic, heteroromantic, aromantic. — sometimes they match, sometimes they don’t! Words like biromantic and heteroromantic commonly refer to both S. O. and R. O.” End ID 2.

Image ID 3: pages 3 and 4.

Page 3: titled “A-spec Community”. Below is a Venn diagram, the left circle labeled “aro”, the right circle “ace”, the overlap space “aro ace”, this is all within a larger circle labeled “a-spec”.

“Aromantic is not the same as Asexual (little to no Sexual Attraction to anyone at all). The identities and communities are related but distinct”

Page 4: titled “Myths” with dark teal flower silhouettes on either side. Myths include “hates all romance, childish “late bloomer”, not LGBTQ+, unemotional, wants to be alone, can’t be in a relationship, afraid of commitment, can’t also be gay/hetero/etc” End ID 3.

Image ID 4: pages 5 and 6.

Page 5: “Are you aro? some common experiences: made up crushes, flirting doesn’t make sense, hard to identify romantic feelings, dating isn’t a priority, don’t like romance heavy media, dating because you’re “supposed to”, rarely if ever “fall in love”, don’t have celebrity crushes. *these are not exclusive to aros though!”

Page 6: the top of the page has the shape of an umbrella, the text inside reads “the Aromantic umbrella”. The body has four microlabel examples;

“Gray-romantic — romantic attraction rarely or weakly.” Next to it is a small rectangular flag with 5 horizontal stripes: green, gray, white, gray, green.

“Demi-romantic — romantic attraction only after a bond has formed.” Rectangular flag with a wide white stripe, narrow green, and wide gray stripe, and a black triangle on the left side.

“Allo-aro — allosexual and aromantic, no romantic attraction, has sexual attraction.” Rectangular flag with even horizontal stripes: green, light green, white, yellow, dark yellow.

“Aro-ace — aromantic and asexual, no romantic or sexual attraction.” Rectangular flag with even stripes: orange, yellow, white, light blue, dark blue. End ID.

#zine #aromantic awareness week #image id #aro #aromantic #arospec #arospec awareness week #aromanticism #aromantic pride #informational zine #image id in caption #pretend that I posted this earlier in the week lol #free to use

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hillbillyoracle · 5 months

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What Made My Life Better in 2023

One of the things I'm thinking about a lot as I get ready for 2024 is what actually made an impact for me in the last year. It was interesting to think through because it was neither what I expected nor what I had always heard would help me. Instead it was often small changes that stacked into something much more helpful and interesting when put together.

I wanted to share them in case it's helpful for anyone else.

#1 - Adaptive Cleaning

While I still use elements of other cleaning systems, the base of what I do is firmly rooted in Sarah McGlory's Adaptive Cleaning ideas. I started implementing it about halfway through the year in earnest, though I stumbled upon it a year or two ago, and it's made a huge difference. This is the cleanest my space has ever been and the fewest flares I've ever had and I genuinely do credit her ideas for being a big reason for that.

#2 - My Care Kit

About halfway through the year I also threw together this care kit that I keep by my bed. It has everything I need to do my skincare, brush my teeth, and do my makeup - all without leaving my bed. While I've felt embarrassed at just how much it's done for me, I think it's a great example of "do what works." I just don't like get up once I've sat down for the evening. And it's easier to get up if I already have all that stuff done. Not only have I kept up with skincare and other habits probably the best out of any point in my life, but the mood and self esteem boost it gives me has allowed me to do more of what I want in other areas too.

#3 - 750 Words

I start using 750 Words on a whim. I had liked doing morning pages but could never really keep up with them, especially on days when I was really struggling with my hands. I wound up really taking to it and have only missed a few days since I started in November. I wound up paying for a year of it because I'm that certain of it's benefit. I've written way more for my zines, my mental health is a little better, and it serves as an anchor habit for several others. I love the simplicity of it. I can usually crank out my freewrite for the day in about 10 minutes - I like 10 minutes being my new minimum versus the zero it was.

#4 - Laundry Day

This might seem obvious or silly to you but as someone who has tried a lot of cleaning routines, I was so used to the a load a day rule that I never questioned it. That is until I read Dana K. White's book How To Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind. She talks about her laundry system and it just completely changed my perspective. Laundry day has given me so much of my time back and I more regularly do more of our laundry. I'm sure other people were aware this was an option but I guess I needed someone to tell me.

#5 - Connecting with a Sangha

I'd been putting off connecting with a Sangha for a while. I knew I wasn't going to be in a place to go in person (I'm about an hour and a half any moderate sized city) and only meeting online felt like a pale imitation. But I was wrong. I got connected with the Furnace Mountain Zen Center based here in Kentucky and started attending more of their weekday meditation sessions and at home day retreats as I was able. It really deepened my practice and has remained a touchstone to return back to when I got through times life pulls me away. I wish I would have done it sooner. If you're Buddhist leaning in any way, I really recommend finding a Sangha - even if it's online.

I hope this sparks some ideas for other people. None of the "productivity" stuff I tried this year "worked" in the sense of sticking or allowing me to do more. The closest was probably pomodoros on a visual timer, which are genuinely helpful. But mostly it was acts of nurturance, curiosity, and care that really elevated my life this year.

May 2024 be even better!

#2024 #new years #self improvement #self care

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habken · 10 months

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Just- how long does it take you to just draw? Because the sheer amount of details you put and the coloring must take ages

I mean ofc it depends in the piece, but like aprox?? In a fully rendered piece?? Just how

It really does depend haha and I’m super bad at judging time, so I just have guesses and approximations on how long stuff took but I can try and give examples!

It’s long so I’m putting them under the cut

Usually sketches and the busts I do with a bunch of different expressions take the shortest amount of time, something like the nimona sketches I did took maybe an hour or two ? Sometimes takes a bit longer if it’s a character I’m unfamiliar with because I want to make sure I have their design right and also that I’m illustrating their personality in a more or less accurate way.

The drawings with Kaminari, I think those took 5-7 hours?? Again super hard for me to figure out exact times cause I don’t really keep track of it and I like wandering in the middle of drawing so my sense of time is real bad. The expressions probably were an hour or under, and the full bodies took a lot longer, cause there was posing, styling, shoe drawing, colouring etc. involved.

The domestic bkdk comic I did for the top tier zine took way way longer, I want to say anywhere between 40-60 hours lol. I worked on it for months so that’s about as accurate as I can give in terms of time spent. I got hung up on a lot of details with it and the colouring took forever.

The villain attack comic took about 35+ hours ? The backgrounds took forever lol, I was trying to get better with freehand perspective, I struggle the most with environments and I wanted to challenge myself with both that and with drawing a comic with more action.

Finally, the one with little bakugou and deku holding hands I think took somewhere around 8 hours ? I was trying some new stuff with colouring and also background stuff

#ask #reading this ask again you probably didn’t want a huge explanation like this LMAO sorry #generally busts- 1-2 hours. full body coloured - 3-5 hours. full piece - 10 hours #mini stupid silly comic - 7 hours #comic comic - a billion years #hope that helps

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sobredunia · 1 year

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My piece for the rpgmaker zine at @ophazines !! I love halOPE so much fr, the angel is such a cool character

@rottenkadaver @sansxfuckyou-deactivated20230515 @blacklight-system @beetroot-merchant @ashs-hellhole @h3xt0r @bree-sae @helloidkwhatimdoing-0

This piece kicked my ass in the adhd sense I had to do 5 wholeass backgrounds and then obscure them for the spotlight. Might reblog this with the unobscured piece so they're more visible idk

#nathan's notes #art #halope #zine #art zine

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5senseszine · 22 days

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👂INTEREST CHECK👂

Shout your thoughts louder than thunder because it's the last day of the interest check for our zine themed around Demon Slayer's 5 Senses!

Thanks for shares! @zinefeed @zine-scene @welovezines @anizines

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purplehairedwonder · 5 months

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2023 Fic Recap

This was quite a productive year for my writing! I contributed to multiple zines, continued working on my ongoing stories, and took part in several events. I wrote 157,450 words!

Here is a recap of my writing for the year:

One-Shots

One Piece

Gen Fic

"Summer Nights and Festival Lights" (PG | 1,200 words): On their trek across the North Blue, Rosinante and Law come across a town having a summer festival.

Written for the One Piece Summer Festival Zine.

"Heartfelt Welcome" (PG | 2,700 words): Jean Bart could see why the young captain was beloved by his men. He’d been on the man’s ship for less than a day and already felt a sense of loyalty toward him—and not just out of gratitude for freeing him. Yes, he was more thankful than he could ever put into words to Trafalgar Law for severing his collar, but it was the kindness and humanity he and his men had shown him since then that truly touched Jean Bart. He was quite aware of how rare such traits were among pirates.

Written for Heart Pirates Week 2023. Day 1 Prompts: Jean Bart and Scars

"Heart With Its Hands Full" (PG | 2,445 words): Shachi barely had time to register the blue dome spreading over him before he found himself face-down in a pile of snow several feet from where he had just been standing. He sat up, sputtering, while Law laughed. Shachi felt his own lips turning upward as he pushed himself to his feet; he liked the sound of Law’s laugh and wanted to hear it more. He was far more familiar with the sound of Law’s whimpers and gasps from nightmares, and if it took being the butt of a joke or two to get the kid to laugh, Shachi could handle that.

Written for Heart Pirates Week 2023. Day 2 Prompts: Shachi and Snow

"Restless Hearts" (PG | 2,568 words): "When I couldn’t sleep, I decided to come outside and just… see what it felt like. Being safe.”

“And? How does it feel?”

Law shook his head. “I don’t think I’m quite there yet.” He gave Penguin a wry look. “Besides, how safe can you feel when you’re on the way to take on an Emperor?”

It was not lost on Penguin, though, that Law seemed significantly less stressed on the way to Wano than he had before Punk Hazard. That, more than anything, was indicative of how Doflamingo had haunted Law. Still, Penguin hated the thought that Law, after finally putting his demons to rest, didn’t feel any measure of peace. If anyone deserved that, it was Law.

Written for Heart Pirates Week 2023. Day 3 Prompts: Penguin and Submarine

"A New Heart" (PG | 2,933 words): “What’s with those looks? You think I can’t do it because I’m a girl?”

Law rolled his eyes. “I don’t give a shit that you’re a girl,” he said. “I want to know what your angle is.” There was a small twitch in the girl’s eye, and Law knew he was on the right track. “Or maybe, more accurately, what’s your price?”

She glanced between the four of them before settling her eyes on Law. “I want to come with you when you leave.” Law raised an eyebrow. “I don’t want charity or nothing. I’m the best damn mechanic on this island. I’ll be your shipwright.”

Written for Heart Pirates Week 2023. Day 4 Prompts: Ikkaku and Repair

"Touch-Starved Heart" (PG | 2,464 words): Law was incredibly touch-starved. He had a limited tolerance for physical contact with other people, and he would remove himself—or someone else’s body parts—with his devil fruit if those limits were breached.

Yet the Hearts were an incredibly affectionate—and tactile—crew. Over the years, it had become something of a competition to see who could touch Law with affection the most frequently or for the longest without being dissected.

Clione first became aware of the competition about two weeks after joining the crew.

Written for Heart Pirates Week 2023. Day 5 Prompts: Clione and Touch

"Home Is Where the Hearts Are" (PG | 2,011 words): Law survives Dressrosa and comes home to the Heart Pirates.

Written for Heart Pirates Week 2023. Day 6 Prompt: Home

"Hearts Adrift" (PG | 3,163 words): Over the years, Law became Bepo’s compass, pointing him in the right direction. Bepo might be the navigator of the Heart Pirates, but Law was his North Star. Standing next to Law as the captain ordered the launching of the Polar Tang, watching their crewmates hustle about doing their duties to put the submarine in motion, had become home, and Bepo finally understood why Zepo had gone out to sea.

And that’s why it was so hard to watch Law’s form grow smaller and smaller as the Polar Tang sailed away from Punk Hazard. For the first time since Bepo had left Zou, he would be sailing without his trusted compass guiding him, his North Star keeping him on track.

Written for Heart Pirates Week 2023. Day 7 Prompts: Bepo and Lost

"Of Hearts and Broken Trust" (PG | 2,495 words): “I know it’s been tense on here the last few days, and that’s my fault.”

“It’s not—”

“Captain—”

Law raised a hand, cutting off the protests. “I get it. I left, and no one, not even me, knew when, or if, I’d be back. I put my own personal vendetta ahead of all of you, and you have every right to be angry with me.” He looked around the room. “I broke the trust you have in me as your captain, and for that I’m sorry. What we’re going to do in Wano… it’s going to take all of us trusting each other without reservation. So, I know it’s going to take a lot of work, but I intend to earn that trust back. And to start to repair the trust I’ve broken, I have to tell you why I left.”

Written for Heart Pirates Week 2023. Day 8 Prompts: Hakugan and Broken

"Heart Affords a Smile" (PG | 4,757 words): Contrary to popular belief, Trafalgar Law does smile. Sure, he’s more apt to smirk, and he doesn’t smile often or widely, but he does smile.

Or, five times Law smiled and one smile that inspired him.

Written for Heart Pirates Week 2023. Day 9 Prompts: Law and Smile

"Aftermath" (PG | 1,122 words): The aftermath of the fight at Winner Island.

"To Prove Worthy" ( PG-13 | 3,004 words): Drake met Sengoku’s gaze. “I want to become a Marine, like my father.”

“Your father, huh?” Sengoku murmured, his gaze going distant for a moment before he shook himself and focused back on Drake. “That’s a big decision to make, son, especially so soon after what you’ve experienced.”

But Drake was shaking his head before Sengoku finished speaking. “I’ve wanted this for my entire life. I’m more certain now than ever. Please, let me enlist.” Now that he’d started talking, the words wouldn’t stop tumbling out. “I know what my father was at the end, but he was once a good man. A good Marine. Let me honor that legacy.”

Or, after the events of Minion Island, a grieving Sengoku takes in the orphaned Drake.

Written for the Dark Waters One Piece Angst Zine.

"A Fall in the Woods" (PG | 1,497 words): While on their trek through the North Blue, Rosinante trips and sprains his ankle in the middle of the woods. It's a good thing he has a doctor as a companion.

Written for The Corazine.

Lawlu

"The Heart Is a Thing to Be Broken" (PG-13 | 5,514 words): The Straw Hats learn about Winner Island.

"Hold Fast to Dreams" (PG | 3,073 words): Law was nine the first time he had a dream that wasn’t his own. He was in a forest on an island he’d never seen before—the plants and trees were the wrong color for one thing—and he was running from an old man he called Gramps, only the man had looked nothing like either of Law’s grandfathers.

Written for 10 Days of LawLu 2023 Day 1: Soulmates.

"A Fleeting Moment (When the Sun Can Kiss the Moon)" (PG-13 | 4,356 words): Once upon a time, the Sun fell in love with the Moon.

Written for 10 Days of LawLu 2023 Day 2: Sun and Moon.

"The Heart Asks Pleasure - First" (PG-13 | 2,022 words): When Luffy was certain Law was looking at him, he said, “Take my heart.”

“What?” Law asked dumbly. There was no way he’d heard that correctly.

“Take my heart,” Luffy repeated, leaning forward. Though they were still a few feet apart on the balcony, Law suddenly felt like Luffy was looming over him. “And I’ll take yours.”

Written for 10 Days of LawLu 2023 Day 3: Promise

"Hurricane Heat in My Head" (PG-13 | 2,916 words): Five times Luffy didn't like the way someone was looking at Law and one where he did something about it.

Written for 10 Days of LawLu 2023 Day 4: Possessive

"Healing Hands and Healing Hearts" (PG | 1,488 words): Law might be a doctor, but Luffy, Law realized with a sudden flash of clarity, was a healer. Law had put Luffy physically back together after Marineford, but Luffy had put his own soul back together. And, two years later, he’d taken one look at Law’s pain and had extracted the poison from the wound that had been festering in Law’s soul for the last thirteen years.

Written for 10 Days of LawLu 2023 Day 5: Healing

"My Heart in Your Hands, My Hands around Your Heart" (PG | 1,908 words): In Luffy's lowest moment, Law takes Luffy's hand and promises that his story will not end.

In Law's lowest moment, Luffy takes Law's hand and promises the same.

Written for 10 Days of LawLu 2023 Day 6: Hand Holding

"Your Heart, Broken in My Chest" (PG-13 | 3,661 words): Luffy was far from an expert at having someone else’s heart in his chest, but he was pretty sure what was happening with Torao’s heart wasn’t normal.

Written for 10 Days of LawLu 2023 Day 8: Hurt/Comfort

"My Heart, Fragile in Your Hands" (PG-13 | 2,380 words): “I failed them,” Law whispered, and it felt like a confession—like at church in Flevance. Confession was supposed to absolve someone of their sins, right? He doubted there was a god anywhere who could absolve him of his. And yet, he confessed at the altar of Luffy. “They were my responsibility, and I failed them.”

Or, Law wakes up in the Sunny's infirmary after Winner Island.

Written for 10 Days of LawLu 2023 Day 9: Reunion.

"Our Hearts, Made Whole in Each Other" (PG-13 | 2,312 words): Luffy cupped Law’s cheek with his hand, softly grazing his thumb over a yellowing bruise. “Torao is so pretty,” he said quietly, a note of awe in his voice. Law flushed. “Torao’s heart is beating so fast.”

“Yeah,” Law agreed, swallowing. “It is.” Luffy’s, despite a few flutters, was beating steadily in Law’s chest. Law, on the other hand, felt pinned to the spot, one hand holding Kikoku and the other in Luffy’s grip.

“You should stay.”

Law blinked. “What?”

“You should stay,” Luffy repeated. “On the Sunny. With me."

Written for 10 Days of LawLu 2023 Day 10: Confessions.

"Amid the Falling Snow" (PG-13 | 6,672 words): During a supply stop on the way to Zou, Luffy convinces Law to join him in looking for a local legend. But when their search is interrupted by a blizzard, they're forced to ride out the storm together.

Written for Truffyfest Secret Santa 2023

Dark Rise

"Remorse Is Memory Awake" (Will/James, Sarcean/Anharion | PG-13 | 1,740 words): Sloane’s head hadn’t even hit the ground before James was dropping to a knee, Ettore’s sword slipping from his grip. He screwed his eyes shut as image after image flew across his mind’s eye, overwhelming him, entrapping him in a whirlwind of sensation, every sense assaulted at once. He threw his hands over his ears as if he could block out the sudden onslaught, but it made no difference.

He gasped as he realized what he was seeing—not images. Memories.

Anharion’s memories.

His memories.

Multichaptered (Complete)

"To Call Myself Beloved" (Lawlu | PG-13 | 13,202 words): Betrothal Chase: A longstanding courting tradition between pirates in which a pirate who wants to marry another must catch the object of their desire.

Now Pirate King, Luffy declares that his next order of business is getting Law to marry him. Law drunkenly snaps that Luffy will need to catch him first, thus unwittingly setting a Betrothal Chase in motion. While Luffy is all-in, Law is, unsurprisingly, a bit of an idiot.

Written for Truffyfest 2023

WIP

"Hearts With(out) Chains" (Dubcon Doflaw, Eventual Lawlu | PG-13 | 24/? | 3,223 words written in 2023): Law is reclaimed by the Family when he’s 17 and, with Doflamingo holding the lives of his crew as collateral for his good behavior, eventually becomes the third Corazon. Years later, trapped by his impossible situation, Law finds a strange connection to Monkey D. Luffy, which offers a glimpse of something he’s repeatedly had ripped away from him: hope.

"(I Made My Mind) A Sunless Space" (Dubcon Doflaw, Eventual Lawlu | R | 13/? | 38,080 words written in 2023): In another life, Minion Island goes a bit differently: a gravely wounded Corazon is recovered by the Marines while Law is taken back into the Family. Years later, Rosinante teams up with Monkey D. Luffy to rescue Law from the clutches of his brother and set him free for good.

"From the Ashes" (Gen | PG-13 | 3/? | 10,811 words): Blackbeard takes Law and the defeated Heart Pirates captive after their defeat at Winner Island.

"The Night Is Darkening Round Me" (Lawlu | R | 5/? | 21,728 words): After Law purchases a house sight unseen, he starts experiencing things he can't explain: footsteps when he's alone, a coffee mug falling from the middle of the counter, flickering lights with no electrical issues. He's a skeptic, but his friends convince him to call in a group of paranormal investigators: the Straw Hat Paranormal Group.

Of course, nothing is ever what it seems, and Law is haunted by more than just spirits in his new house.

#Proud of how much writing I was able to do this year #Trafalgar Law #Monkey D. Luffy #Donquixote Rosinante #Donquixote Doflamingo #Shachi #Penguin #Best boi Bepo #Heart Pirates #Lawlu #One Piece #Dark Rise #James St. Clair #Will Kempen #St. Kempen #Caitlin's fic

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thekingofgear · 4 months

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'Wall of Eyes' Film and Zine Gear Updates

On January 18, The Smile and Paul Thomas Anderson’s Wall of Eyes film collection was premiered at the Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Square, London. The first piece in the collection is a silent film showing the band recording Wall of Eyes at Abbey Road. We initially see the band playing and talking in the live room at Studio 2, but as it progresses we also see them giving direction (and reacting amusingly) to the London Contemporary Orchestra (a slight surprise as Jonny usually record strings at Air Studio’s Lyndhurst hall).

As you might expect, most of the instruments and gear used by the band is similar to what they brought on the road. In an interview with Lauren Laverne for the BBC, Thom mentioned that the songs were mostly written very quickly, some on tour and some in studio. “Especially with Tom [Skinner], he’s super quick… so we could have an idea, and suddenly it's off the ground within like half an hour, and we started getting into this habit of like — take three was like ‘that’s it, move on.’” So it makes sense that the band would use much of the same equipment as on tour, if only to speed up the recording process.

However, there were a couple of surprises in the silent film. One shot showed Jonny with an Eventide H9 pedal floating beside his pedalboard. Previously, only Thom had used the H9, and Thom used it as a vocal effect. Another shot showed Thom playing his black 1963 Fender Jazzmaster. Thom’s old big-box Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail could also be seen beside his pedalboard, though it wasn’t plugged in.

The Wall of Eyes Zine

In addition to watching the film by PTA, attendees could also purchase a “zine” full of photos taken by Sam Petts-Davies during the recording of the new album. The zine is printed on newsprint, reminiscent of Radiohead’s Universal Sigh and The King of Limbs newspapers. The zine mostly shows the same gear seen in Sam's previous photos of the session, and some of the photos were previously shared on social media. But there are still plenty of new details to take in!

Jonny with Thom/Nigel's worn sunburst Fender Telecaster Standard. You might mistake it for Jonny's Tele Plus given the wear on the "horn" of the guitar, but the pickups and the white binding show that it's the Tele Standard that Thom first played for AMOK touring in 2013 (it was still very worn back then).

In one photo, we can see Thom playing a Martin acoustic, perhaps from the recording of the single Wall of Eyes. Another photo shows a be-speckled Jonny on a couch with Thom/Nigel's worn sunburst Fender Telecaster Standard. But before you assume Jonny has abandoned his Les Paul, he can be seen playing his (plugged in) natural finish Les Paul Standard in the studio's control room in another photo. Jonny is also seen with the Les Paul in photos from the live room at his home studio (the grey-blue painted room from which the Smile have previously shared rehearsal footage and photos).

This photo by Sam shows Jonny with his natural finish Les Paul Standard in the control room at Abbey Road Studio 2. It's very similar, but not identical, to the photo included in the zine. This photo was posted on the band's twitter on Oct 9, 2023, but it was most likely taken in March 2023, and only posted in October to help publicize the band's fall 2023 tour. If you want to look around the control room, a 360º view is available on 360cities.net, but it appears the room has been renovated slightly since that was taken.

A wide view of the live room at Abbey Road Studio 2, taken partway up the stairway to the control room. Some particularly notable bits of gear include the Prophet 5 REV4 between Thom and Jonny's stations (presumably for shared access) and the Elektron Analog Rytm (partly blocked by Thom's head) on top of the Rhodes electric piano.

One of the largest photos in the zine, spanning two pages, shows a nearly full view of the live room of Studio 2. On the left, we can see an impressive array of synths resting on top of the grand piano, including Thom's Moog Matriarch and one of Jonny's Oberheim SEM Pro synths. Clearly the band prefer the sound of upright pianos for this project. While the grand is used as a synth table, there are two mic'd uprights just behind Thom's area. Jonny Sequential Prophet 5 REV4 is also visible on a stand between Thom and Jonny's stations, suggesting it's getting a lot of shared use. On tour, Jonny used his Studiologic MIDI pedals to play synth lines on the Prophet, and the synth can be heard layered with strings on the new studio recordings. The MIDI pedals aren't visible in studio photos, so presumably Jonny decided to play those parts by hand for the studio recordings.

Thom is seem sitting at the Rhodes piano, playing a guitar or bass. On too of the Rhodes he has a sheet of (presumably) lyrics, and also his Elektron Octatrack (which Thom previously used on the album recordings for ANIMA) Elektron Analog Rytm drum machine (which he used heavily on Tomorrow's Modern Boxes and (at least on tour for) Anima). Behind him, his phone is visible resting on top of his favorite amp for the past seventeen-ish years: a fawn JMI Vox AC30/6 from 1962 (the pre-Top Boost version).

Tom Skinner is seen playing in one of the two isolation booths for drums. Another isolation booth is set up in Jonny's section, but instead of Jonny it's Robert Stillman recording in it (at least, one can only assume Stillman based on the saxophone horn visible through the booth's window). Jonny himself appears to be sitting hunched over near the couch and coffee table — it's unclear if he's playing an instrument, or perhaps manipulating a Max patch on his laptop.

Stillman is visible recording saxophone and clarinet in other photos from Studio 2 as well. He's credited for clarinet on Read the Room, and for clarinet and saxophone on Friend of a Friend, Pete Wareham, who previously played with Skinner's past band Sons Of Kemet, is seen recording flute in another photo from Studio 2. Wareham is credited for flute on Teleharmonic and Read The Room.

This photo of Tom Skinner in Studio 2, previously posted on the Smile's twitter page, was also included in the zine. It appears to have been taken during setup: the isolation booth isn't fully set up yet, and a ladder can be seen on the right.

Another photo (above) shows Thom's guitar and bass pedalboard. The first row of pedals (closest to him) are all favorites from the past few Smile tours (check his pedalboards page for more info). On the second row, EarthQuaker Devices Sunn O))) Life pedal has been squeezed between his EQD Afterneath and his Telenordia Kompressor. There's also an array of (unconnected) overdrive and fuzz pedals resting on the riser at the top of his board (we saw many of the same pedals arrayed there in a previous photo from the session).

In that photo, we also see Thom playing his modified 1960s Gibson EB0 bass guitar through an Ampeg B-15 Portaflex combo amplifier. The EB0's original single coil pickup is replaced by a Kent Armstrong Tele Dual Rail pickup (thanks to Makoto for pointing this out) on a custom plate, presumably a mod by a previous owner. Jonny is a big fan of the Ampeg Portaflex, having used a 2000s Portaflex B15R for sessions with Radiohead and Shye Ben Tzur, and also for the Smile’s debut live stream from the 2021 Glastonbury festival. The original 1960s Ampeg Portaflex was favored as a recording amp by American bassists like James Jamerson and Donald “Duck” Dunn — both notable influences on Jonny’s brother Colin.

It's interesting to note that none of Jonny's ondes Martenot are visible in the photos from Abbey Road. On tour, it's understandable that Jonny doesn't play the monophonic Ondes, because he almost always needs to play many notes at a time to fill out the rhythm section on the Smile's songs. But the the bridge/coda of the Wall of Eyes single prominently features Ondes Martenot (though it's often layered with strings). Perhaps Jonny overdubbed those parts at his home studio, or at another studio during mixing.

This photo of Thom in the control room of an unknown studio was posted on the band's twitter account on August 30, 2023 (photo by @sampettsdavies). It's definitely not from the control room in Abbey Road Studio 2. Perhaps it's the mysterious "StudioFour" in London, which is listed as the mixing location in the album's liner notes.

This photo of Jonny on stage during a soundcheck with The Smile is also included in the zine. It was posted on the band's twitter account on Sep 5, 2023 (photo by @sampettsdavies). It, like the photo set posted 4 days earlier, is probably from the band's July 2023 tour.

#The Smile #Wall of Eyes #Jonny Greenwood #Thom Yorke #Tom Skinner #Robert Stillman #Friend of a Friend #Read the Room #Teleharmonic

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ronsenthal · 5 months

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tag game

✨get to know me✨

tagged by @whollyjoly and @xxluckystrike <3

- Name:

Jessica but since I don't really like my name you can use Jess or whatever you want

- Pronouns:

she/her/hers!

- Star sign:

So I'm a taurus, with aries moon and capricorn rising but theres is way too many aries on my chart for my own good

- # of siblings and fun facts about them (if you have any):

only child, but I do have a half-brother and we met like 2 years ago, he didn't even knew I existed and never talked after so I don't know if that really counts? (i have a really complicated family I know)

- # of pets & their names:

I have 5 (five) little monsters so we have Bowie (orange boy), Amy (white girl), Toto (black angry guy), Geminha (tortoiseshell girl) and Fedora (she is like grey with some yellow and white fur)

- Fandoms:

listen I am a mess but I think mostly BoB of course, some Percy Jackson lately, lots of Harrison Ford and Cillian Murphy??? IDK it's really all over the place

- Favorite color:

it's always changing but I love blues and lately I've been in love with some dark greens and stuff

- Favorite song:

Under Pressure by Queen and David Bowie it's like the greatest piece of music ever written, and no this is not even a debate

- Favorite author (of anything readable - books, fanfics, zines, webtoons, whatever!):

I haven't been reading a lot in the last couple of years since I had burnout but some of my faves are J. R. R. Tolkien, George R. R. Martin and Bernard Cornwell. I got into graphic novels/comics quite recently and I absolute ADORE Neil Gaiman and Art Spiegelman. As for fics since I joined BoB fandom it's been @softguarnere

- Favorite fic type:

I don't think I have a preference at all as I read a bunch of different things, I'm not really into too angsty or fantasy AUs

- Favorite Holiday:

Idk I really like christmas because all of the mood with the lights, the songs and also because it means vacation time lmao

- Do you have a partner (romantic, qpr, anything!)?:

nope

- Hobbies:

I'm pretty boring since I like to listen to music, read, watch movies and tv shows and some sports on my free time. I also love to look at maps, go to museums and cook sometimes

- Fun facts about you:

Okay so most of you already know that I'm colorblind but I'm also ambidextrous so I can use both of my hands to drawn and write stuff, but it also means I'm so prone to mess up since I get confused sometimes. I have a pretty good sense of direction and distance, like at topography classes I could walk a straight line and tell the almost precise distance, it was a recurring joke my class

tagging, if you want!: @footprintsinthesxnd, @venus-haze, @mercurygray, @ronald-speirs, @bloodstainedsaint, @ewipandora, @georgieluz and @iceman-kazansky

#tag game #a little bit of jessica

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olderthannetfic · 8 months

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Yeah I mean I’m a big fan of con culture and buying art prints there but I see the legal issues in fandom online being a problem if people are selling physical merch that’s definitely iffy. But out of curiosity, what about when people just draw fan art and post it online completely for free and people just donate to them completely separately not paying for anything just donating to someone they like kinda like throwing a 5 in a guitar case for a musical artist or those people who do character art on the street? Is that a legally dubious area? I don’t feel like that’s a copyright thing?

Also it is strange that art prints are okay but printing a fic and selling copies at cons isn’t okay? In America I mean cuz I actually bought a Japanese doujin once and it was just a fic I couldn’t read lol.

I’m not trying to make a living or anything because I do independent comic work but supplementing with tips is nice. Plus I just like drawing comics.

I doubt anyone's going to see legal trouble for accepting tips unless they get a hell of a lot and don't report them on their taxes or something. Most of the objections or lack thereof are going to be about social dynamics.

I don't have a tip jar on here because I think that would add to a vibe like I'm an influencer and everyone else is the audience rather than a more Livejournal vibe where you happen to be seeing the discussion by coming to visit me, but it's more of a community interacting. It's a vibes thing.

People used to sell zines at cons all the time. I think the difference is the desirability of the product (which makes even supposedly hard-line moral stances on fan-made stuff go out the window) and the perception of how necessary it is, how much the price is to cover costs, etc.

If you just print out a bunch of fic in a bad format and try to sell it, most people today will be wondering why you don't just put it online and let people who want to print it do it themselves. There's no sense that this printed version is necessary or special or deserves to be financially supported.

If you make a nice zine, some people will be totally fine with you selling it, including in the US. If you make one hand-bound copy but need your friend to cover the materials fee, pretty much everyone will be fine with it.

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goshdangronpa · 1 month

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about the character info thing, could you possibly do it for Ultimate Imposter? i adore them and i don't see them getting talked about a lot-

Hi ho, silver! I certainly can. A while back, I wrote a story starring the Imposter for the zine Everybody Loves Hajime. It's still in the works, and I'll post updates when a release date is announced! In the meantime, have this.

Sexuality Headcanon: My headcanon is that it doesn’t really matter to them. When an imposter embodies someone's traits, that must include the ones related to sexuality. One can only reach Ultimate level if they can flawlessly adapt to any sexual interests and proclivities relevant to their task. I assume this must mean that Imposter is neither picky nor squeamish.

Gender Headcanon: The Ultimate Imposter sneers at your limited conceptions of gender! When any identity is as easy to don, cast off, and exchange as a set of clothes, gender is more a shorthand, convenient only for narrowing down options and otherwise rather meaningless.

A ship I have with said character: I'm a diehard for tsumioda, and I still gotta hand it to twobuki as a goodass ship. There's the straight/silly comedy duo thing they've got going on, sure, but Ibuki's enthusiastic admiration of Imposter's take-charge attitude during a crisis and Imposter's surprised delight at Ibuki’s good-natured teasing truly enriches both characters. Two things they share: caring a whole lot about other people, and showing that care with little schemes. Most intriguing is one way in which they contrast: Ibuki can't be anyone but herself, and Imposter can be anyone but themself. Who better to help discover the real person at the Imposter's core than the realest person in the gang? All that from fewer than one chapter's worth of interactions! I deeply wish we could've seen their relationship explored more.

A BROTP I have with said character: Then again, maybe Imposter is totally at peace and content with their mutable identity. You know who could use a friend with that kind of insight? Hajime. It's like ... ah, but I already have a whole story about that. Really, check out Everybody Loves Hajime when it comes out!

A NOTP I have with said character: I don't have that many NOTPs in general, and I can't think of any for Imposter! Even Teruteru isn't out of the question for me after what drawbauchery's Bus AU comics have done with the breakout pairing. Imposter's a good egg and anyone would be lucky to date them.

A random headcanon: The notion that they like fast food because it's one of the few things that are consistent wherever they go makes a lot of sense, but I also like the idea that the real Byakuya Togami is secretly a fiend for a greasy cheeseburger. The real hc is that Imposter's sense of humor includes playing up aspects of someone's personality that they want to keep secret ... or may not even realize about themself!

General Opinion over said character: It's frankly incredible that the creators of SDR2 came up with the idea of an Ultimate Imposter, plunged them into the paranoid environment of a killing game, made them pose as one of the most notorious characters from the previous game ... and killed them off before that secret could even matter! When it's brought up in like Chapter 5, it means nothing!! If I don't praise Imposter often enough, it's only because I wish I knew them better.

#ultimate imposter #danganronpa #super danganronpa 2 #sdr2 #goodbye despair #ibuki mioda #twobuki #hajime hinata #thanks for asking!!#byakuya twogami #headcanons

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netherworldpost · 10 months

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Advanced Tumblr Things I Would Pay For as a Content Creator Fuck I Hate That Fucking Term But It's What We Use Now

A Google Cal etc. connection so I could manage an editorial calendar far easier. When things are in in queue they are COLOR A. When they have posted they are COLOR B. If I move them on Google Calendar, it updates in Tumblr's backed system... so I can manage it via Google Cal.

A Pinterest connection button where things would crosspost. This would be a button below "Post now" that would give me a drop down option of what board, if any, to post it to.

A Facebook/Instagram connection cross post button.

I understand the feelings a lot of people have about Facebook and Instagram.

And.

I have a lot of folks who like my stuff that are on Facebook and Instagram.

Whenever I talk about Facebook on Tumblr I invariably get a comment or ask "pfft your'e still on Facebook?"

My fellow. I am building a business. If people like spooky things are on Facebook, I'm going to have a Facebook place for me to put spooky things here.

Allow me to specifically pin a post into a backend dashboard so I can see how a specific post is doing with likes, reblogs, what it is tagged with, etc.

A dashboard that brings up the tags people have added to my posts. A slider so I can say "show me every tag everywhere" vs. "show me the... 5 most popular tags."

A dashboard that would show me a heatmap of popular times and days of the week things of mine get posted. For me, personally, this is more a comfort in "it rarely matters because this is Tumblr" versus trying to pinpoint or optimize things. I am including this specifically because I LIKE DATA and this IS EXISTING METADATA so is an easy (...easy-ish... none of this is easy) win.

A second queue. Works exactly like the first -- CONNECTED AS ABOVE WITH CALENDAR -- that let's me build a specific queue for "Hey! We have a new greeting card for sale!" The benefit of a second queue being I can pop things into here without worrying about timing and have it set to "run this once a week." Sometimes a "Hey we have a widget for sale" post needs to be scheduled. Sometimes I just need to have it run once a week.

The ability to reply to MESSAGES and INBOX and all other things via email. You know how in most support systems you get "Reply to this email to continue thread?" I am an email person. I am not a Tumblr Inbox person. I am not a Tumblr Chat person. I am an email person. Let me use this as a hub.

Speaking of email: An alert I can set up that sends me a weekly report of how many items are in queue.

An email alert I can set up when my queue hits [a figure I set].

Facebook has surprisingly robust dashboards on how posts do. Their backend system is a fucking nightmare so don't do that, but the idea of being able to quickly understand "This post about mermaids did well" and "this post about vampires did better" is good.

As above, help me understand "Early July is a surprisingly good time for your posts about vampires. Cemeteries not so much -- that is great for August, though."

A Shopify plugin. Let me add "add to cart" on a post.

A MailChimp and other email plugin. Let me add "sign up for newsletter" on a post.

I don't want data on how other people are using this platform. I want data on how other people interact with my posts.

I will pay monthly for this. The immediate justification is easy: "this would help me sell a few more zines to people who already like my zines and have stated they wish to be informed when I have new zines."

I have my email settled in place but as a bonus option: You have domains, which make sense.

Start a "We are Tumblr, here is how to manage a domain" Tumblr where you regularly post articles about domain management.

Add an email system -- just fucking partner with Google or similar, don't build a goddamn email system.

Tumblr's audience is full of weirdos making weird shit.

I can tell you from personal experience: "Hello fellow weirdo who wishes to Make Small Things for Sale. Let me help you figure out a small issue so you can take a step closer" is a viable business model.

Become the social media platform that lets folks say "I want to occasionally sell this thing I do as a hobby. And/or. I am literally just starting out. Help me do that."

@staff text me I'm cute and I have ideas.

Some of them even make sense.

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perexcri · 1 year

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there’s nothing more cruel than to be loved by everybody but you - [byler week - day 5]

yeah so i thought this fit the secret identities thing until i wrote it and realized it uhh. isn’t quite that. so enjoy whatever this is i guess - lots of miscommunication and a fun set-up for potential enemies to lovers

also it’s my personal headcanon that Will is a music snob, so if you don’t like that then uh,,,,i guess skip this one idk

title from: wilson (expensive mistakes) by fall out boy

dedicated to: the listening party for fall out boy’s new album that i went to last week in a city an hour away from me; i came up with this stupid idea on the drive there! indie record store in [city redacted], you were very nice, and thank you for having a decent selection of poetry i could pick from :]

Don’t ask Will how this ended up being his job, because he honestly doesn’t know. One day, they had a meeting for the university’s queer artists’ zine where he was complaining about everyone’s responses to the new U2 album (yes, it sounds different from other U2 albums, but obviously if you look at the lyrical and metatextual themes of Achtung Baby, it’s still very much U2), and then BAM–suddenly he’s in charge of doing the cover art for the zine and writing music reviews.

Sure, he could probably turn it down, but nobody else will take the job.

Also, he’s pretty sure they wouldn’t do it right, because, as much as he loves this group, their music tastes are…well…not everybody has an older brother like Jonathan Byers who makes sure they grow up with proper music opinions.

So, if anything, Will does this to keep the spirit of reviewing and recommending underground artists in New York City alive for the zine, and also because he doesn’t think anybody else could do it justice, no offense to them.

But Will is loathing this job for their upcoming edition. He’s sitting in that weird liminal time between class periods where people are in the chaotic throes of rushing around or throwing their notebooks open to prepare for the lecture; his elbows are pressed into the desk that’s just a little too small, and his head is in his hands. He’s staring down at the one submission he’s been putting off for precisely three semesters, because the president of the zine said it needed to be done before they moved on to new submissions, so could you please just lower your standards for one night and go listen to them play so you can write the damn review?

The Fellowship of the Ring, the submission card reads in faded pencil. Scratched under it in the slightly-fresher ink of the zine’s president’s pen, it reads: Thursday - The Purple Hall - 8 PM.

And, God, Will wishes this show was just gonna be a live reading of the Tolkein book. It would be so much better than what he knows it actually is.

The Fellowship of the Ring is a local, up-and-coming act in the underground venues of the greater New York City area that everybody loves because they sound like Nirvana and, you guessed it, throw out Tolkein references like they’re Led Zeppelin. They’re huge on college campuses, where students pass around live-recorded tapes of their supposedly-legendary performances all the time, gushing about how even the bass sounds, the peeling shrieks of guitars, the way the vocalist wavers between grumbles and ethereal, falsetto howls. They even gush about the lyrics and how they truly capture the experiences of Western youth in these first few years of the new decade: malaise, boredom, this sense that there is no great struggle for the future left for them, only an endless drowning in comfortable excess.

Will had even seen a girl with the band’s logo tattooed on her shoulder.

Which is…fine. He guesses.

If you like shitty music, that is.

See, that’s the fundamental problem here: Will likes doing these silly little reviews for live music around New York because half the time, the music is passably decent, and even if that doesn’t work, the lyrics can make up for it. There’s so much creativity in the air, and people are doing so much with it.

Not The Fellowship of the Ring, though.

Where everybody else sees innovation, Will sees reductivity; where everybody screams about the charm of the lyrics and the pop culture references they sneak in, Will sees a demeaning pandering to an audience. Every single time he has been subjected to the squawks and out-of-tune guitars of The Fellowship, he’s spent his time thinking he would be better off to save himself the time and just listen to Nirvana’s Nevermind for the millionth time, because that’s all The Fellowship’s trying to do, anyway, and at least then Will could listen to something good.

Yeah, Will hates The Fellowship of the Ring, and now he’s squeezing his temples so hard that the letters on the submission card are beginning to swim in his vision.

“Hey!”

Thankfully, Will is saved by his very friendly, incredibly good-looking neighbor in History of the American Constitution, Mike Wheeler.

“Hey!” he says, trying to gain back the energy that seeing The Fellowship’s submission card had unwittingly drained out of him.

And honestly, seeing that flash of Mike’s smile and how the fluorescents dance in his eyes, Will feels like he has enough energy to power the sun now, even if they are going to have to sit through yet another lecture about Article II–whatever the hell that means.

“What’s got you so down?” Mike asks, head tilted to the side, some of his hair tumbling into his eyes, and all Will wants to do is push it away–

But, no, he has to have a coherent conversation right now, so he shakes his head and tries his best to return Mike’s smile. “Oh, nothing…Just something for that zine I work on.”

“Oh, yeah!” Mike snaps his fingers, causing some of the buttons on his jacket to rattle together. He always wears a leather jacket no matter the weather or the rest of his attire, and today, paired with plaid pajama bottoms, held-together-by-duct-tape converse, and a baggy Care Bears shirt, it shouldn’t work, but in Will’s eyes, it does. “I think I saw one of those around! I wanted to grab a copy, but somebody else did before I could get to it.”

“I can bring you a copy of the next issue,” Will says, then, remembering the task at hand, groans and puts his head back in his hands. “That is, if I even survive it.”

“What, are they making you skip classes for it?”

“No, worse: they’re making me listen to a band I hate.”

Mike winces. “Yikes.”

“Yeah.”

“That sucks.”

“Right?”

“Can’t you just, like…push it off?”

“I did. For three semesters.” The professor wanders in with a mumbled greeting and a steaming cup of coffee in hand, and Will lowers his voice in anticipation of the lecture beginning. “That’s why I have to do it now.”

“Maybe it would help if somebody went with you?”

Despite having flirted with each other mercilessly all semester during this one shared class of theirs, they haven’t hung out much outside of it, so to be faced with the possibility of something that could potentially be labeled as a date between them is shocking. For a moment, Will can forget about the future torment awaiting him Thursday evening at The Purple Hall’s listening stage, and he thinks that maybe, just maybe, having somebody to talk to over the drone of the lazily-played guitars could make the evening slightly more bearable.

“Yeah,” Will finally says, a grin stretching across his face. “Of course. Yeah, that’d be awesome!”

Mike returns the look twofold, and one of his legs begins to bounce. “Awesome! When is it?”

As the lecture begins, Will resorts to a torn piece of notebook paper, like he’s a kid passing notes in class again to survive the boredom. He scribbles The Purple Hall - Thursday 7 PM, then hands it to Mike, who responds with a quizzical look at the paper, scratches something out, and hands it back to Will.

The Purple Hall - Thursday 7 PM 6?

Will shoots him a thumbs up, prays it wasn’t too awkward, and then folds the sheet of paper up and sticks it in his pocket.

And if he carries it around there for the rest of the week, then that’s his business alone.

---

The pros: this is one of Will’s favorite music venues, there’s several bands to look forward to tonight, and Mike seems wholly invested in the idea of this being a date, if him leaning closer and the playful hand on Will’s knee mean anything.

The cons: Will has to listen to the fucking Fellowship of the Ring in approximately ten minutes.

He’s able to put the thoughts off for the first hour. After all, The Fellowship isn’t set to perform until 8–he and Mike had met at 6 as planned, and Will has spent the first hour and a half trying to be blissfully unaware of the torturous fate awaiting him.

Even as his skin begins to crawl at the thought of having to hear those plucky, out-of-tune guitars and the lead singer screeching about the Gulf War under the guise of Star Wars references, he does feel a little settled. Mike’s fingers are surprisingly warm, and the alcohol they’ve been nursing makes his chest glow with warmth. It’s easier to laugh, to be focused solely on Mike and these wonderful, looping conversations they’ve found themselves ensnared in.

“This one’s good!” Mike half-shouts over the drum solo of the current act, consisting of just a drummer and a bassist crooning over their heady rhythms. They’re called the Jazz Squares, or something like that. Whatever.

At least they’re not The Fellowship.

“The drink or the band?” Will queries. His own head’s spinning with the beer he’s been sipping on for the better part of an hour, and he already feels lightheaded, because he’s a lightweight, and Mike’s got something to do with these pulses of courage thumping in his chest, right?

“Both!” Mike takes another long sip from his Jolly-Rancher-blue mixer. Will had asked him what was in it earlier, and all Mike had responded with was Coconut-something and a whole lot of rum!

They’ve talked about so much already–their families, their majors, their hobbies. Mike comes here a lot, he reveals, and he mentions that he plays guitar, too. He keeps it a playful secret when Will asks for more information, though: how long have you played? Do you write, too? Are you in a band, because I could put you in the zine if you wanted–

It’s a surpriseee, Mike had drawled in response, a stupid grin twisting his mouth as his fingers had vacated Will’s knee momentarily just to ruffle through Will’s hair.

As the Jazz Squares’ set finally dies down to some spotty applause (this is more of an alternative scene, after all, but a gig is a gig), Will lets out a groan, melodramatically knocking his forehead into the table, and finally drags out his notebook.

“What’s that for?” Mike asks, eyebrows high on his forehead.

“For that review I have to do,” Will grumbles.

“But isn’t that act on in, like, two hours?”

Will blinks a couple of times. He supposes he hadn’t actually told Mike which group he was here for, but he thought the fact that he originally proposed a meet-up time of 7 would have communicated enough that it was somewhere around then. “Um, no? I didn’t say anything, I guess, but I think they’re up next.”

Mike’s fingers begin to nervously tap on what remains of his electric blue potion. As his and Will’s gazes snag together for several heady seconds, he purses his lips, then throws back the rest of his drink, swallowing the last of it in just a couple of gulps.

Will slowly draws his notebook out, flipping to the page he had specifically marked The Fellowship of the Ring with a disheartened, frighteningly life-like frowny face scrawled next to it. “Is something wrong?”

Mike drags his wrist across his mouth, smearing any remaining drops of blue onto his leather jacket’s sleeve. “So this band you hate that you have to review…It’s The Fellowship of the Ring?”

“Yeah.” Will taps the top of his paper. “I didn’t say anything, but…Yeah.”

“Oh.”

“Why?”

“Um.”

Will quirks an eyebrow up. “I mean, do you like them? That’s fine, of course, I mean–people have different tastes and what-not. I’d just have to seriously question your judgment in all matters music-related, I guess.”

“Um,” Mike repeats, fingers now tapping a dangerously fast staccato against their bartop table. It makes the remaining beer in Will’s bottle slosh around. “Um…This is bad.”

“What? Are you a super fan or something?” Thanks to the alcohol, Will feels bold enough to scrunch his nose up with disgust. “I mean, fine, whatever. But seriously, if you want a second date, I’m gonna take you to a record store so you can hear some actually decent music. If you’re impressed by that fucking band’s reductive bullshit, you’ll be positively amazed by a group like The Clash or Smashing Pumpkins or–hell, even fucking U2–”

“Excuse me!” the MC calls over the mic; when the feedback whines, he takes a second to tap at the mic, then announces: “Calling everyone’s favorite up-and-coming group, The Fellowship of the Ring, for soundcheck–their set starts in five!”

The club erupts into raucous cheers. Will has to hide the involuntary groan of annoyance he lets out behind his hand.

Mike casts a nervous glance at Will, then pushes his chair out and looks like he’s going to walk away, the buttons on his jacket clicking together. He nearly trips over the saggy laces of his converse, and through the tears in his jeans, he almost looks like he’s shaking.

“Hey, wait!” Will says, reaching forward and grasping Mike’s wrist. It makes the other guy stop, a blush creeping up into his cheeks, and Will tries to push down his distaste for the band and lets out a sigh. “Listen, I’m sorry–I was being stupid. It’s just a band, after all. If you like them, that’s fine, and I will…” he swallows here, and it hurts, taking on this insurmountable task of trying to push his music-snob’s pride down. “I won’t make fun of you for it. I promise.”

Mike blinks a couple of times before a reassuring grin overtakes his features. “Uh…Nope. That’s okay, Will. It’s not for everyone. I wasn’t like…trying to run out on you or anything.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. I’m still gonna be here.”

“Then why are you getting up?”

Mike points at the stage, where a drummer and bassist are setting up their instruments, their eyes scanning the room in search of their infamous guitarist and singer. “Didn’t you hear? We have soundcheck. The set starts in five.”

Will slowly nods. “Yeah. Then the next act starts, and I have to scratch down whatever notes I can think of for them, and then we can get back to our date.”

Mike stares at him for several seconds.

And then it all catches up with Will.

“Oh, shit–”

Mike’s grin turns into something playful, his eyebrows shooting up beneath his bangs. “Can’t wait to read your official review of my fucking band’s reductive bullshit!” he says with a two-fingered salute, then spins around to make his way to the stage. He’s bathed in the dim lighting of the stage, hunching over his guitar the second he straps it around his chest, and Will wonders how somebody who was brave enough to wander around in a leather jacket and a fucking Care Bears shirt and look that good could be involved in a band that’s just–

This bad, Will finishes for himself as Mike strums his first cord, its electricity shaking the walls of the club, and he begins yet another signature Fellowship song that’s nothing more than various John Hughes and horror movie quotes juxtaposed over warring drums and guitars.

Of course Will would be stupid enough to fall for the lead singer of his most-hated band in the greater New York City area.

#byler #bylerweek2023 #ficlet #did not feel like messing around with html for line breaks today so sorry for the extra dashes :)))#also the will being a music snob thing is a headcanon so like #pls don't crucify me i just think it's a silly thing to write about #anyway #i think this could be secret identities if i'd been willing to commit more words and planning but i wasn't so <3

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i-am-a--lionheart · 9 months

Text

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@sunorweek2023 Day 5 - Kalmar Union (with delay, obvi)

Originally written for @sunor-hq Zine in 2018, with minor alterations (ever asked yourself why some nations need glasses? Here is a possible explanation and it is eh, no fun)

Names:

Kjetil - Norway

Björn - Sweden

Christian - Denmark

TW: abuse, hinted SA, post torture

R: T+

Everything was dark in this chamber; the air was as cold as ice and still so full of humidity that breathing had become a terrible exercise for him. Breathing in, breathing out, and in again.

This was nearly the only thing he could do, the only thing he could do except from experiencing this terrible pain in his whole body.

There was something cold dripping on his surely bruised cheek, something even colder than the air and the cold floor made of stones in his back. If Björn hadn’t been able to hear just the softest, the faintest of sobs, he would have thought those cold drops were plain water from the ceiling and nothing else.

The dark that surrounded him was so deep without even the slightest source of light and he was not sure anymore if it was the natural dark of the cellar he knew so well by now or if he had been blinded. He had tried to open his eyes a couple of times already since he had awoken from his painful slumber, but it was absolutely useless. His head ached so much while he tried to remember what had happened yesterday. Yesterday? The day before? He was not even sure when exactly Christian had locked him in here after another violent fight that the Swede had lost against his elder. Björn had lost his sense of time and not only this sense – the only thing he could smell was dried up blood and the fould scent of a cell that was all moldy and cold, the only thing he could feel were the cold stones in his back and the chill metal around his wrists and, of course, those cold drops that fell so steadily on his face. His mouth tasted like death to him – what differed this from death anyways?

His heartbeat was slow and shallow, his lungs were ripped, his breathing rigged, his body torn – now what was different? Everything was cold, everything felt meaningless except for the warmth he could suddenly feel on his broken arms. And those quiet sobs that echoed so loudly between these walls of stone, those sobs gave all of this a meaning. If even always-not-caring Kjetil was crying, Christian must had beaten him to the very verge of dying.

Strangely the sadness, the desperation and fear that he could sense in Kjetils behaviour made him angrier than the fact he had been abused and locked away again.

Honestly, by now Björn was used to it, was used to the weekly arguments, the fights – he had always known that a union between the three of them would destroy their bonds rather than strengthen them. It had been tough during the Viking ages once they had drifted apart and what started as the idea of a united, strong North, had ended in violence and anger.

Those arguments would always star slowly, but exploded within mere minutes into unfair fights, first with insults and accusation. But since a few months it never stayed verbal at all.

They were nations – that was the reason his weak, hurt heart kept beating – they were nations and they were bound to be brutal, merciless creatures.

His hopeless thoughts were suddenly ripped into pieces by a sharp pain coming from his eye sockets – the warmth of Kjetils hands was gone and instead he could sense a cold liquid pouring on his face and into his opened, bloody eyes. The sobs hadn’t stopped completely but they were disrupted by chanted words uttered by a shivering voice. Björn had opened his cracked lips, probably in an attempt to scream because the pain was worse than anything, but a soft hand was clenched onto his mouth while a second pressed his jaw back with gentle force.

“Quiet.”, the Norwegian’s voice was back to his usual cool tone as far as Björn was able to hear it with the exploding pain in the back of his head. If he had listened more closely, however, Björn could have heard that the fear still stained his heavy, melodious tone. But the only thing that kept the Swede busy was pain, pain, and even more pain.

Was that even Kjetil? Why would he hurt him like that? Especially in this state?! Especially even when he always proclaimed that he loved him even though he behaved so cold most of the times.

His anger got worse, filling his veins with burning blood, but a small voice inside of him told him that it was probably just a way to quicken his healing progress. Kjetil was a healer after all.

And it was just this.

When the explosions in his brain finally had stopped, his vision had begun to clear up. Björn wondered if his eyes had ever been closed at all or if they had been bloody sockets with a mess of flesh inside of them. He still wasn’t able to see the lines of the stones at the ceiling, but the face of his companion appeared in front of his now restored, sea blue eyes.

Kjetil looked sick, his face even paler as usual, his dark blue eyes held a shade so red that they stood out like drops of blood on fresh snow. On the left side the red, puffy eyes were accompanied by a deep purplish greed spreading around it. Unshed tears still filled the deep orbs of the younger, whose face was stained by those he had shed and his whole figure was shaking, from fear or cold, Björn couldn’t tell.

He felt the need to sit up and pull him into his arms but a hand on his chest stopped him from doing so.

Just now he realised the soft blue light radiating from the places that the younger one had touched.

His arms didn’t feel as cracked as before and even though his clothes were still stained by his dried blood, he could imagine that his ribcage was closed again, with fresh, sensitive skin stretching over healed bones. Björn didn’t want to imagine what amount of energy sick, sick Kjetil had used to repair him like that. And even though he tried to raise his voice to tell him to stop, it was as if Kjetil controlled every movement of him.

It took hours and hours for him to heal, even with the energy and the chants of the Norwegian and after a while the both of them could hear hard and heavy steps coming down the stairs. Kjetils eyes – now even more tired looking than before, shifted from his patient to the metal door that separated the cell from the hallway. He froze for a second – of course he should have thought about this more closely, the sleeping potion did not last as long in Christian’s body than it did in Emil’s. The Norwegian wanted to stand up but a hand around his wrist kept him on the ground – even though Björn had looked so weak and destroyed during those hours he had spent by his side – he still was far stronger than he himself war. The Swede had finally managed to free his tongue from whatever Kjetil had used to keep him quiet. “Stay.” He could not even bear the thought of Kjetil going out there, having to face this monstrosity of a nation alone. “Please.”

Kjetil turned his gaze downwards to him again, his face softer than it had been in a very long time. He looked him with a mixture of warmth, desperation and the quietest love while his lips had curled into half of a smile. “I can’t. I am sorry.”, the younger one reached down with his free hand and loosened the grip of his elder, intertwining their fingers for the shortest of moments. “I can’t.”

The sounds had become louder, and Kjetil stood up, his eyes gleaming as he tried to pull all of his courage together. For little Emil, for Björn, even for little Tino. Then he went to the door once he knew that Christian had stepped onto the last stair, opened it and locked it behind him, very well knowing that once his mostly muffled screams had reached the inside of this cell, Björn could break his chains.

#aph #hetalia #aph norway #aph sweden #sunor #hws norway #hws #sunorweek2023 #yes i am still proud of this #fuck history is dark

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