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zoropookie · 2 days

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HOW HATERS ARE BORN (HHAB)

♡ chapter twenty-three — friends? (💋)

"Hey, if any reason we don't make it out without anyone seeing us, I just want to say that," You paused to look at him while you two were walking. "I think I’d rather be in a dating scandal with an insulin pen than you."

The corners of his lips twitched. "Wow." He said sarcastically, attention mainly on where he was going. "I never knew you were capable of thinking."

"My brain power’s not for free, just so you know," You immediately responded. "I changed my mind what I said earlier. I want at least three Twitter apologies and a lifetime supply of Jason Derulo concert tickets."

Scaramouche's eyebrows furrowed, giving you the nastiest side-eye that you could have ever imagined from him. "I'd rather take my chances with the scandal, thanks.”

You rolled your eyes, nudging him lightly with your elbow. You couldn't help but look at him a lot more than usual today. The allure that rang true put him in a different light, despite the light not being your cup of tea whenever he opens his mouth.

It was almost like the gravity of the situation didn't matter anymore. Still, you remained high and mighty. "I guess I'd want to be around me too."

"You're very sure of yourself for someone who's annoying every other day of the week."

"I’ll take it. It's why I exposed you so bad, and you flailed." You smiled, which caused Scaramouche to grunt in frustration. "You got burned, and you knew it too. Despite all odds, I kind of won."

"You did? Is that why you went AWOL for two weeks when I responded?" There was a split moment of silence between them as they stood there, and Scaramouche chuckled. The sound was low and throaty in the dimly lit alleyway. "All the considering, and this is very painful to say, but you were better with words than I was."

"Is that... another COMPLIMENT I HEAR COMING FROM YOUR-? I forgot it’s three in the morning." You sighed, shoulders dropping. "I'm satisfied with being the cunning wordsmith."

“You’re also just pretty fucking unfortunate to be around, but we can stroke your ego.”

“I love that you’re taking the diplomatic approach here.” You teased, feeling your heart warm up from his staring. Both of you looked at each other, uncertain to say anything, but hesitant to break the eye contact.

“Hey— uh.” You continued, stammering on your words. “If this all blows over? You wanna…go out?”

The amount of silence that was between them should have been enough of an indication to you, but you definitely knew it was solidified once he looked at you with a blank stare. “No.”

“Yeah, no. I started feeling like I was going to vomit when I said that anyway.” You quickly recovered, turning your body away to bite at your hand. Your eyes squeezed tight in embarrassment, hoping that you melt by some galactic beam in the next two seconds.

Amongst their chatter, and the alleyway that hid both of your figures, a distant rumble slowly became louder as the sound echoed off the walls. A pair of headlights pierced the darkness, and the beams of them against the worn down pavement on the curb assured them that it was definitely the group.

"Come on, come on!" Hu Tao shouted from the window, making you and Scaramouche cringe. She clearly found joy from this, because for some reason, the smile plastered on her face spoke volumes.

You both shared a fleeting glance, a silent exchange of words before entering the car.

"Well, well, well. If I would have known that Scaramouche himself would be in my car, I would have put 3/4th's water in my gas tank." Heizou raised an eyebrow, his tone dripping with amusement and mirth.

"Oh, be nice." You pursed your lips, squinting. "Like you made an effort to help me out in the past. Now you're on your high horse?"

"Um, that's alleged."

"Really? Is it? How's that case against (Y/N)'s hater going, Officer Shikanoin? Found any way to protect them?" Lumine spoke up, her arms crossed stubbornly. "Well?"

"Listen! I was given a very narrow band of things that I can do with that! Aaaand, my hands were tied with a lot of other things." Heizou defended.

"Yeah, I'm sure your hands were tied with all the Cheetos you were picking up, the ones you spilled in some sawdust." Yanfei chimed in with a wry grin. "But I suppose I can't blame you for your...preferences."

"You knew that was an accident."

"Oh Heizou, I never saw it as an accident."

The two of them were arguing so much with input from the others in the car, that you and Scaramouche could only look at each other again and back at the scene. This was the only way the two of you were getting home safe from social media.

"You wasted 2 hours picking up every single one-"

"I don't see how this is relevant to where we're going right now!" Heizou immediately interrupted her before she could finish. "Directions, anyone? Before I hit a dead end?"

Yanfei immediately started tapping on her phone screen, pulling up the GPS navigation app she used. "So you turn left, but the rest of it is all you." She said, shoving her phone towards Heizou who snatched it out of her hand.

"Where are we going anyway?" Hu Tao asked, too enamored in Yanfei to say anything substantial until now.

"Ei has a vacation lodge, it's pretty cool, and it has way too many guest rooms. We're going there, I assume you have a key to it, Scaramouche?"

Scaramouche couldn't even respond properly, only offering a yard long stare. "How do you know she has a vacation lodge?"

"Did you forget that you're an influencer?" Another mysterious voice, almost similar to a child’s, appeared suddenly.

Nahida’s head popped up from the back seat, next to Lumine. It was less surprising knowing that all of them were clashing groups, anyway. But Aether’s eyes narrowed to the front seat.

“Officer Shikanoin…” Aether said in almost a disgusted tone. “You should be ashamed of yourself.”

“It’s definitely NOT what you’re thinking right now—” Heizou took his hands off the wheel, causing the car to swerve for a split second. “DEAL WITH IT, okay. I’ll explain when we get there.”

previous ♡ masterlist ♡ next

YOU ARE on your way to being one of the hottest streamer in your nation at the moment, racking a monthly average of 10 million viewers, but something specific bothers you about it. you know that a lot of people hate you, but there's this one account. one account that's been following you since the early days of your career. they leave a flood of rude comments in your stream, your moderators banned each account they made, but they keep making more. you are at the end of your tether. but you are yet to find out that this persistent cockroach is none other than your friend's friend (and the only other streamer that's bigger than you), scaramouche.

taglist ♡ @thystarsshine @veekoko @gumickajolli @simonisferal @kamiboo

@justpeachyteastea @feiherp @pinkismyfavcolor @aether-darling @kunisnaomi

@keiiqq @mine-lu @featuredtofu @danhenglovebot @k4zushi

@kyon-cherri @b4tm4nn @iiinaurate @quacking-simp @auroratumbles

@kookiibun @ulquiorraswife @amvpk01 @simplysm1le @h3xi2g0n3

@alatusorrow @scaranthropy @mellowberrie @magica-ren @vernith

@kabukipookie @bananasquash @suqarlaced @dellalyra @lightyagamifan

@yourfavoritefreakyhan @heartsforseo @yomishen @pwushizz @swivy123

@strxwberryfetish @ibyobi @ashfrommars4 @chemiru @ainnofinway

@agaygothicmushroom @levianamor @dragontammerz @wth121 @lylovw

@morgyyyyyyy @lovemari @suniika @melpomenelurks (bold users means i'm having trouble tagging you)

#zoropookie #hhab #scaramouche #scaramouche x reader #genshin scaramouche #genshin #genshin impact #genshin smau #genshin x reader #genshin fanfic #genshin x you #genshin x yn #scaramouche x yn #scaramouche x you

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royalarchivist · 2 months

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I love the QSMP. Not only has it introduced me to many amazing international creators, it's also introduced me to the French and Brazilian community, who are so sweet, funny, and chaotic in their own unique ways. I love seeing fans sharing their culture and learning from one another, and I myself have learned a lot this past year. I think it's incredible how QSMP brings so many different people together – all of us united in our love and passion for this project and its goals.

But passion can often evoke strong emotions, and these strong emotions aren't always positive.

The past few months, I have seen multiple waves of hate, bad-faith generalizations of communities, and racist remarks directed at fellow fans – especially those who are part of the French / Brazilian community. This kind of behavior is inexcusable, and is in direct conflict with the mission of QSMP, which is to break language barriers and unite communities.

We are a global community with a variety of people from different backgrounds. Miscommunications may occasionally occur because of cultural differences and/or language barriers, but we should use these moments as opportunities to learn and engage with other people rather than assuming the worst about them and starting fights.

Although certain issues can be resolved with communication, sometimes it’s better to block and move on. Avoid spreading negativity or hate, and save yourself the headache of interacting with people who are just looking for someone to argue with.

No matter what community we're a part of or what languages we speak, we're all here to have fun. Please remember to be kind to each other. We have more in common than we have in conflict.

#QSMP #mod talk #Additionally: we should avoid stereotyping entire communities for reasons I hope are obvious.#I think everything will work out in the end #I don't typically see this kind of stuff on here but I figured I'd post this anyways since I'm posting it to Twitter too #It's understandable that emotions are high because of everything that's happened to the QSMP community the past few months #but it's very sad to see fans attacking each other #everyone's a bit on edge it seems. I rarely use my personal Twitter but I opened it today and saw some close mutuals snapping at people #then after stepping away and calming down coming back to a conversation and apologizing #it's sad to see everyone in this state #So... comments from the peanut gallery I suppose. I do hope this helps someone though #I don't usually post things like this because frankly-#I don't think every single drama / controversy / whatever necessitates a public statement from every single member of the fandom #but I've been thinking a lot about this #Anyhoo. Hopefully I can start sharing clips again tomorrow. I've been moving the past week and life was hellish #hopefully things ease up a bit now

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blucifer08 · 1 year

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this may be one of my less cool headcanons but since Naru and Elidibus' relationship happens in the shadows throughout MSQ, they kinda need a place together and i have two different locations i imagine them hanging out in..other than him popping in on her to visit her at random, i imagine he brings her to a place he created on the Moon-- and one weirder place.. That abandoned city near Idyllshire that used to be a Sharlayan colony--for some reason for a long time I've liked the idea that he set up a place for them both there. Sharlayan in some ways parallels Amaurot so I imagine some of the Ascians liking it to some tiny degree so I think maybe he found comfort there among discarded tomes and bookshelves..and thus fixed up one of those abandoned buildings for his own purposes and Naru's. It's nothing special, just a place he can bring her when she can excuse herself long enough to get away. their relationship is all about removing themselves from their responsibiltiies for very short periods of time. so I like this hc, even if there's not really much reasoning as to why he might pick that old sharlayan colony

#narueli #gposes #lore #i copy/pasted this from a twitter thread i posted #just so you know #but i figured i'd share over here too !

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ettawritesnstudies · 1 year

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Etta's Guide to Writeblr (March 2023)

So you fled here from Twitter/TikTok... Where to start?

Welcome to Writeblr! Pull up a chair, open those documents, and pour yourself a cup of your favorite tea, coffee, or cocoa. The first thing you'll want to do is start following other writers. Check out this post for recommendations! Search through the notes to find hundreds more. Since I made that post, a bunch of people mentioned they're lurking and still trying to figure out tumblr, so I thought I'd make this post to help people get settled.

How to set up your blog

Make your blog name something not resembling a pornbot - it can be whatever you want, anything fun goes, just not [name###]. If you include "writer" or "author" somewhere in the url it makes it easier to spot writeblrs at a glance but it's not a requirement

Change your profile to something that's not the default, Make sure you have a blog title, and add a little description in your blog header if you feel like it!

Make a pinned post introducing yourself (pls don't use your real name or any IDing information for privacy's sake, this isn't facebook), a short summary of your WIPs, and links if you have an author's website/newsletter/ao3/etc. You can check my pinned post for an example

Make intro posts for each WIP! You can spruce these up with graphics (canva and unsplash are both great free resources to make edits/moodboards), excerpts, lists of tropes, character intros, etc. Link to the WIP intro in your pinned post so it's easy to find! You can update these as often as needed

If you want to make character intros, go wild. If you can't draw, piccrew is a great option. Just start talking about your WIP!

Come up with a tagging system to keep your blog organized. I recommend individual wip tags or at least one for your original writing in general so it's easy to search for your work on your blog

Keep track of Taglists for your WIPs. Whenever you post a new thing about your story, tag the people who asked to be notified to make sure they see it! Only tag people who ask to join the taglist, but it's a good way to keep track of interest. It's normal to have multiple taglists for each story+ one general writing taglist.

How to make writer friends

Reblog their work and add nice comments, either in the tags, comments, or the reblog itself People notice regulars in their notes and appreciate the attention. I promise it's not weird to compliment a total stranger

If that's too intimidating, community events are your friend!

Weekly Ask Games: These are weekly events that are loosely themed where writers send each other asks about their WIPs! The most common are Storyteller Saturday (about the writing process), Blorbsday (aka Blorbo Thursday about characters), and Worldbuilding Wednesday (about the setting of your story). If you answer these late, nobody really cares, but it's a fun way to receive prompts and learn more about other people's stories.

Ask Games/Memes: These are posts with lists of questions you can reblog from other people, sometimes themed or listed with emojis. It's common courtesy to send an ask from the list to the person you reblog it from, then people can send you questions as well, so you can talk about your stories! You can search for dozens of them

Tag games: There's a ton of different types of tag games, but basically someone @s you with a challenge/question, you reblog with your answer, and then @ a bunch of other people to continue the chain. Some common ones are Heads Up 7s Up (share the last 7 lines of your WIP), Last Line Tag (share the last line you wrote), and Find the Words (ctrl+f the given words in your doc and share the results, then give new words).

Formal events: These are community wide participation challenges organized by certain blogs! @writeblrsummerfest is every July?? August? I think? It's run by @abalonetea a few years strong, and there are daily prompts and ask games! @inklings-challenge is a month-long short story entry for Christian writeblrs. I think there was a valentines event in February. @moon-and-seraph is hosting a pitch week soon! Since these are more organized, it's very easy to find similar blogs and support!

Misc. Notes on using Tumblr

Follow the tags #writeblr and #writeblr community to find other writers, as well as other tags that interest you like #fantasy for example

If you want to bookmark a post to read later, you can like it and/or save it to your drafts

The queue/schedule function is very useful if you want to space out posts or have a backlog to keep your blog running when you get busy. This is good for the community because it gives older posts a chance to be rediscovered! You can change the posting frequency in the settings.

REBLOG YOUR OWN STUFF. People aren't always on at the same times and so it's the best way to account for people with different schedules and timezones. If you're worried about being annoying, you can tag those #self reblog or something similar and other people can filter the tag, but otherwise it's a welcomed and accepted practice.

If your excerpt is pretty long, put it under a cut. On desktop you can do this by selecting the squiggly button on the far right when you make a new paragraph, on mobile type :readmore: then hit enter.

It's polite to add descriptions to images and videos for visually or auditory impaired people. If you don't know how to write descriptions, here's a good resource

In your dashboard settings, it's best to shut off the options "Best Stuff First" and "Based on your Likes". These function as the website algorithm and suppresses the blogs you actually follow, which defeats the purpose of the site, letting the dash be in reverse chronological order. Also turn off Tumblr Live because it's malware as far as anyone's concerned.

Curate your experience, block the trolls, and be nice

Update for March 2024

How to shut off AI Scraping on your blog

Go to settings and find the Visibility tab

Scroll down to the tag that says "Prevent Third-Party Sharing"

Turn that knob over so that Automattic can't steal your work for their language training model databases >_<

The other settings will just hide your blog from search engines so they're useful for hiding from nosy parents or other Tumblr users but if you're trying to build an author platform you can leave them off.

Again, welcome to the community! I hope you have a ton of fun!

#writeblr #writer community #etta rambles #welcome to tumblr #guide to tumblr

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queerly-autistic · 2 months

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I've seen some concern about the fact that the BBC has double-billed the last four episodes of Our Flag Means Death and bumped it up later in the schedule - concerns that this means it's not doing well for the BBC - and so I'd just like to allay some of those fears, if possible? To start with, it's important to recognise that the BBC does this all the time. I was in EastEnders fandom for many years, and nonsense schedule changes were a regular annoyance. When I shared OFMD's schedule change with my little group of friends from that fandom, everyone rolled their eyes and went 'oh yeah, typical BBC shenanigans'. As an example: the BBC was really pushing EastEnders last year, they'd been hard-marketing towards the big iconic Christmas episode since February, and then, around comes Christmas, and the BBC inexplicably sticks it on at 10pm (when it's usually broadcast at 7.30pm).

So this isn't unusual. This is extremely common. There's often very little rhyme or reason to the BBC live broadcast scheduling. To try and accurately read between the lines of this is like trying to analyse the written output of a cat walking across a keyboard.

But another big thing to remember is that Our Flag Means Death is a streaming show. The BBC dropped all of the episodes in one go because they know that it's the streaming audience where the show is successful. It's the same with What We Do In The Shadows - we know that the show does well for them, because they keep renewing their contract to show it, but because it does well specifically with a streaming audience the live episode broadcasts are perpetually bumped to a weird time (sometimes one in the morning!!).

The BBC is under contract to do a live broadcast of these shows, but that's not where the audience is. And that's why the episodes get shuffled around or bumped to a late timeslot or double-billed together. Them not necessarily getting spectacular overnight live broadcast ratings is not a big barrier to potential pick-up - streaming numbers is the important metric. And, just yesterday, the BBC dropped a card for the show over the credits of House of Games, a very popular (and mainstream!) afternoon gameshow, asking people to go stream it on iPlayer. if you haven't seen it, I managed to screen-record and post it on Twitter here (subtitles included): https://x.com/QueerlyAutistic/status/1762913455051325888?s=20. This is a really, really good ad to get - a very mainstream slot that potentially brings attention to the show from new audience demographics. The fact that they put an ad-read for the show in this particular slot is more indicative to me of the fact that the show is doing well for the BBC than any predictable shenanigans around live broadcast times. They advertised the 'niche' queer pirate comedy to a very mainstream middle-of-the-day audience! That's not nothing! And the fact that they were specifically advertising it as being on iPlayer - not the live broadcast - indicates to me that that's where it's doing well: that's where they know their audience is, and they don't care about the live broadcast, because the streams are where it's at. The live broadcast is probably just a contractual obligation at this point.

Our Flag Means Death is still regularly listed under 'trending' on the iPlayer website, and the Parrot Analytics for the show in the UK are excellent. And that's what we want. That's what we need to convince streamers. Remember: the YouGov survey about the show specifically asked questions about it in the context of streaming services. Overnight figures are lovely to have, too (so keep tuning in!) but this is a show made to stream. It was all dropped on iPlayer first for a reason; they're specifically pushing it on iPlayer for a reason. And, at the end of the day, it's streamers we're currently trying to convince to pick up the show, not broadcast television networks.

So, don't read too much into it. We're still doing good, UK crew!

#ofmd #our flag means death #our flag bbc #save ofmd #save our flag means death #renew ofmd #renew our flag means death #adopt our crew #erin waffles

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incorrect-mtg · 4 months

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A two-part story I posted via Twitter Threads

She did not expect her next meeting with a member of the Gatewatch to be by randomly seeing them in her streets.

"Jace!" she called out "Long time no see! What brings you to Zendikar?"

His answering grimace was unexpected.

"General Tazri" he said "I…bring news about Gideon."

The following conversation left her tired and emotionally drained.

She closed her eyes, focusing on the image Jace had magically shared with her, of the statue they had built in his honor.

"I'll talk to some people" she said "they'll be happy to build a matching one here."

"You know he'd probably hate that, right?" Jace said with a humorless chuckle "not that it stopped us from doing it."

"If he didn't want us to built statues in his honor" Tazri replied, shrugging "then he should have thought first before becoming Zendikar's hero."

----

Over the following years, Jace became a regular — although infrequent — presence at Sea Gate. He'd come by, theyd sit down for a drink and update each other on the going-ons of Zendikar specifically and the multiverse as a whole.

And then, shortly before the invasion, it stops. She figures that the Gatewatch is far too busy dealing with the fallout of a whole new brand of horror from beyond the stars for a friendly visit. Her schedule is certainly full.

And then one day she hears Chandra Nalaar shouting her name and she knows she lost another friend.

The pyromancer looks, on one hand, exactly like the bright young woman that burned two Eldrazi titans to ashes. On the other, she looks older beyond her years, a tiredness in her eyes that wasn't there last time they saw each other. It's a look she sees all too often on Zendikar.

She takes Chandra to the same place she'd go to with Jace and they exchange tales. The pyromancer might not have Jace's telepathy, but she is an eager storyteller all her own and soon she is updated on the entire mess that was the Phyrexian Invasion everywhere else.

As their conversation winds down, she declares "Well, guess we will need to build another statue. Next to Gideon's."

"You know he'd probably hate that, right?" Chandra says, unwittingly echoing Jace's past words.

"I'd assume so" she replies "But here's the thing, Chandra – all of you are heroes of Zendikar. I'm sure there are already multiple statues of each of you all over the plane." she takes a sip of her drink and continues "and by the gods I would build a whole plaza in your honor. So if you don't want a statue yourself, stay alive. Got it?"

A moment of silence.

"Also drop by every now and then. I don't want to associate the sight of you with death." she finishes, taking another sip.

Chandra laughs before replying "Sure. When we find a path here, I'll convince Nissa we should get a house close by, how about that?"

#magic the gathering #chandra nalaar #jace beleren #tazri #short fanfic

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naturecalls111 · 2 months

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I wrote this on twitter but I thought I'd put it here too, since I occasionally get asks on how I draw/any tips I might have. On twitter I also made the caveat that I don't feel I'm qualified to give anyone tips, LOL, but I was drawing today for an assignment and felt like this is worth noting to any beginner artists who have a tendency of clinging onto sketches that they feel like they finally got right! (A.K.A, a habit I still have years later HA!) This isn't so much of a tutorial as expressing my thought process in this discovery of how to draw more dynamic pieces. I found it to be satisfying on my end, seeing it unravel, so hopefully it can help someone who may be struggling with the same thing I am.

MAKING MORE DYNAMIC PIECES, A PERSONAL STUDY!:

I wasn't upset by this drawing, but I could tell there was something stagnant about it so I ended up pushing it and redrawing it a million times to see if I could somehow make it look more dynamic.

Here's one part of the timelapse - I'm clearly adamant on trying to make this pose/composition work but while the sketch itself may look better, the stagnation hasn't changed. Perhaps this works for some people, but anyone seeking a dynamic visual will be able to spot that this simply isn't working as anything more than a semi-decent anatomy study attempting to be applied.

I changed the position of both arms, I tried to play around with the angle of the head, I tried to just the hips forward more so that the spine had increased curvature, but the main issue, really, was that the initial composition lacked the dynamism in general. It prioritised dramaticism over dynamism. Both can exist in the same piece - it did not, in this one.

This was the new sketch I started with. Less rigid base to go off of. Just getting down the general shape I wanted to score - make the spine and tail take a sort of mid-whip path, shoulders hunched, hips cant forwards, as if he's curling in on himself. I think for a dynamic piece, it's more helpful that your initial sketch uses the body as a general marker as opposed to something to do lineart over (granted, I don't really do lineart anyway, my sketch is usually the extent of my "lineart", but since this is just looking at creating a more dynamic composition, I think it still applies!)

Here it's the same principle. For the left image (the legs) I've established where the knee of the right leg goes, and where the hip that precedes the left leg will sit. These are just base anatomical structures that help me figure out 1. Whether or not the mere idea of this composition will work, and 2. where I have to stop once I start drawing. For me, having some sort of limitation for the body helps me stay within range of proportionate anatomy (not that I particularly care for the anatomy to be realistic, just proportionate to the style I'm drawing in)

On the right image is also the same principle. Establishing the movement of the arm, the elbow/arm bend, and the hand. (If you see the full sketch before the two above, I established the hand in that one too - it really is helpful figuring out the placement of the hand ahead of time.) If it looks atrocious afterwards I always have the lasso tool/eraser to save me.

The new attempt brings me to this. While preference in art is subjective, I do think I'd be staying in SOME realm of objectivity when I say this is more dynamic than my initial sketch, LOL. Of course, lighting/rendering choices help push the composition a little more, but this achieves what I couldn't do with that first sketch. I had a general idea, but it's important to know when to let go of something that clearly isn't working.

Would love for anyone to add their own tips or ideas to this post - I'm not particularly known for dynamic pieces so I'm always looking to learn. This was a really valuable study for me so I wanted to share it, but everyone has their own method and what works for me may not work for the next person!

There's a few other asks that asked me for tips on general anatomy, and more specifically legs (oh dear god, I'M going to need to study for that before writing out any sort of resource guide for that, lol) that I hope to get around to doing in the near future. Thank you for your guys' vote of confidence, haha! ❤️

#nc111 tutorials and studies #sketch #art tips #art help #study #I had a lot of fun with this piece so while part of this was definitely to passively respond to my inbox requests #a big part was also just me wanting to talk about my brain expanding as I realised how to Push A Composition #I can't wait to try more things in the future to try and get more dynamic compositions #let me know if this was helpful let me know if it was utterly useless #I'm not a great teacher but I used to tutor my neighbours 7 year old daughter and she found my methods boring but hey she got better

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david-talks-sw · 7 months

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MORE evidence that George Lucas wasn't involved in the Expanded Universe...

Almost a year ago, I wrote a verrry detailed post that explained just how little involvement Lucas had with the old Expanded Universe. There were 109 quotes used as sources, back then.

Recently, I came across 17 more so I figured I'd share:

George Lucas quotes:

So the above is him saying he doesn't actually get involved too deeply, that the EU stories were done outside his universe, that he didn't follow up on them and tried not to think of them.

We could stop right here. But let's keep going.

Quotes from other people:

People repeating that George was barely involved at all, that EU writers could pretty much write what they wanted beyond a few minor limitations, that EU stories weren't canon to the films:

(note: did a typo on Brett Rector's name, in the third one)

Similar ideas from Lucasfilm's Leland Chee and Pablo Hidalgo. Chee, in particular states something that encapsulates the whole Lucas/EU dynamic: Lucas wasn't beholden to the EU, but the EU had to adapt to Lucas' story. By and large, it was a one-way relationship.

(note: I revised the prompts Hidalgo was responding so they're easier to consume, for the unrevised thread you can go on his Twitter page).

This next one is interesting, because it shows Lucas was indeed less uninvolved during the 90s, what with answering 'OK/Not OK' questionnaires and such... before he became too busy with the Prequels, The Clone Wars and revolutionizing the film industry.

Here's just a collection of Tim Truman interviews where he explains how he created the lore surrounding the Tuskens' and their way of life, A'Sharad Hett, and the backstory for Aurra Sing.

None of that lore came from Lucas (and you'll notice that Aurra Sing's EU backstory wasn't acknowledged in any way when she appeared in The Clone Wars, which Lucas did oversee).

Finally, here are Karen Traviss' statements regarding the reason she stepped away from Star Wars. It's interesting to look at this because it's a prime example of just how little the EU's lore factored into Lucas' creative decision:

(note: this is a heavily condensed version of way longer blog posts, in which she also explained that business reasons factored into her decision)

This case is also interesting because it reinforces the fact that the narrative content of the EU didn't align with Lucas' intentions, as illustrated by what both Sam Witwer and Henry Gilroy had to say about Traviss' outlook on the Star Wars universe.

We also explored the subject in this post where we compare the rhetoric Lucas and Traviss use when referring to Dooku and Yoda.

Aaaand that's it, that's the new stuff!

BOTTOM LINE:

Just because the EU content came out while George Lucas was in charge does not mean that it aligned with his views on Star Wars. You can't use "Lucas owning the company" as an authority argument to validate the EU because:

It doesn't need validating, they're great stories.

He wasn't really involved in the development of those stories. He barely gave a crap.

For the original post with the 109 quotes, you can read it here:

#george lucas #star wars #expanded universe #star wars expanded universe #collection of quotes

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beemers-hell · 2 months

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I've seen a lot of fashion doll posting on your twitter and like, I don't exactly know how to ask but if you ever want to infodump about it on here that would be so genuinely interesting

Not pressuring you in any way of course! I just like seeing your fashion doll posting

rubs my hands together maliciously

Ok so I don't actually have anything I feel like talking about doll wise atm, I prefer making one off posts here n there about the dolls I'm into on twt more than tumblr cause I feel like twt is better suited for one off thoughts while tumblr is better suited for dedicated n thought out posts, at least with how I use it. Which is why you see a lot more wips/shitposts from me on twt than tumblr. so instead I'll just show yall my current collection!!! ANYWAY long ass post time

I've been working on finding and filling out various release lines from different doll brands im fixated on and have been rearranging my collection set up a lot cause of it lol. My shit is scattered all around my room because of how me and my little brother have divided up space for us to display both of our separate collections of things (we are both autistic and insane about our special interests) so there's gonna be a lot of photos lol

TO BEGIN: here's my display case of all my old g1 Monster High dolls I managed to hold onto since I was a kid! I got all of these back when MH initially debuted (when I was around 8 or 9) and all of these dolls have survived through my childhood/teenage years, hence why they're not in super great shape unfortunately lol

the only exceptions to this being the Día de Muertos Howliday Skelita, since obvs that's a recent release, as well as the misc. dolls I have scattered around the top of the case, those are dolls that s0uless has gifted to me over the past 2 years teehee

Moving on, to my current collection of dolls I began purchasing for myself over the past year: starting with this set of shelves next to my bed! I'm mainly using this as my Bratz shelf, but I ran out of room to fit my Skultimate Secrets Fearidescent Dolls where I usually keep my Monster High dolls, so they're there for now.

I only have Jade's reproduction doll because when the Bratz reproductions first began releasing, I was being strict with myself about not indulging in dolls again so I only let myself get Jade since shes my fav. Which I'm sad about, cause I'd love to have all the girls together for both their 20th anniversary reproduction dolls and their Alwayz dolls together. Also, there's a spot left empty next to my Alwayz Cloe bc I have Not been able to find Alwayz Sasha in stores like ANYWHERE for the past 2 months, so I gave up and ordered her online. She'll be arriving here in a couple days!!

Next up is this series of shelves above my dresser that I mainly use to display misc. figures n other shit I've come to own since I was like 12 (you can tell bc of the MHA stuff lmao) but I recently cleared some space so I could fit my Skultimate Secrets Series 1 Dolls (and Spa Day Lagoona + Scare-adise Frankie and Draculaura) somewhere, as well as having a place to display my current set of LOL OMG dolls! And also Bank art doll cameo lmao

Then we have the top shelf of my desk, which mostly has various Knicks knacks compacted into a corner but I put my two LOL OMG Tweens together there, as well as my single Licca doll that s0uless got me for this past christmas and the custom doll they made of my sona for me! <3

(fun fact me and s0uless are currently in the process of making more custom dolls of Eb, Bank, and the triplets but you'll have to wait n see on that one hehe)

And finally for dolls, here's my desk setup, where I display my main Monster High dolls! I mostly just display each Signature Doll + Their Core Refreshes here, but Monsterball Draculaura didn't have space anywhere else so she gets to chill there too lmao

Thats it for my actual dolls, but I have two other photos to share, which is just how I set up my Skultimate Secrets Series 1 Lockers + where I put the posters that come with each Bratz doll I have lmao

ok thats all I'm done now, ill update this when Sasha gets here lmao

#beemer asks #beemer irl #kind of #fuck it new tag #beemers dolls

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starcrossedsongs · 2 months

Text

I've waxed poetic about this scene on Twitter, but I figured I'd do it here, too!

(Screenshots are my own, gifs are from here, by the lovely Dana)

I'm gonna quickly preface this by saying that I have zero idea if Zillace will be more than friends this season or beyond. They're my #1 ship right now, but either way, I just can't articulate enough how much I love this moment.

Katherine talked here about how when she and Zeeko play these kinds of scenes, their own experiences as the two POC leads on the show informs it. And I love that, because it's so apparent in the way that Tiff and OA interact.

This isn't an anti-Maggie or anti-Scola post, but their dismissal of OA taking offense to the suspect being assumed Middle-Eastern ticked me off. But, even with that, I noticed this:

First, OA is just...incredibly annoyed, which is super valid.

But even while that's happening, you know who's focused on him? Tiff. It's like they're having a silent conversation, with the real one to come minutes later once they get in the house.

Even as Maggie walks ahead, they're maintaining that eye contact. If you watch the scene in real time, it reminds me a lot of 5x04, when OA snapped at the agent who made a (distasteful) "joke" about the case. Then and here, Tiff was essentially laser-focused on OA the entire time, non-verbally seeing if he's good (and in the case of 5x04, both verbally and physically).

Which makes the 6x01 scene all the more special.

It's so short—honestly, if you blink or were looking at your phone, you might miss it. But Tiff opens up the door once she and OA are near each other and out of earshot from their partners—"So much for the guy being Middle-Eastern."

Look at OA's expression here. It's almost like he's bracing himself, the way his sentence trails off. Not that Tiff would say anything remotely like the SWAT leader, Maggie, or Scola did—but to me, it just looks like he's a guy who's tired of the assumptions and treads lightly sometimes when things like this happen.

Alright, so let's break this down. Tiff's response is immediate—yeah, I know. Because she does. Yes, she and OA look different, but they've each had to see up close and personal what having skin color like theirs means in situations like this. You're always a target. A suspect. Even if you didn't do anything.

The little shake of her head as she looks back down—sort of like, "it's a shame" type of thing.

But, then the "trust me" is what gets me. Because (first of all, Tiff, he does, with his life) she's seeing the opposite side of it: how Black people are often accused without warning just because of what we look like. And it's there—the innate understanding that she's communicating with him in that moment. She knows that after what happened outside, he's seeking reassurance that he's not overreacting, that he has a right to be annoyed, and with five words, Tiffany told him, you weren't wrong.

And OA freaking sighs after she says it. You can see it in his face, the relief at the fact that she gets it. Gets him. In five words, Tiffany understands. Perhaps more than anyone ever has.

Y'all see his eyes? The way they flit over her face for a second or two—relishing the fact that, okay, this is someone I don't have to tiptoe around. I can say exactly how I feel and know they won't judge me or have some preconceived notion. They listen, they hear me, and they don't try to understand. They simply do.

This has already gotten way too long, but I'm so serious when I say that OA and Tiffany have the most unique dynamic on FBI. There's so much depth and realness, a shared life perspective, and if you see them like I do, tons of chemistry as well. I really hope S6 furthers their bond, because it's so near and dear to my heart.

Thank you for coming to my TEDTalk! :)

#fbi #fbi cbs #oa zidan #tiffany wallace #katherine renee kane #zeeko zaki #zillace #long post #otp: nobody gets me like you #analysis #tiffany x oa #fbicbs #wolf entertainment

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sugar-grigri · 3 months

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care to share some of your analyses about Attack on Titan?

Sorry for the late reply! Unfortunately, my analyses can't be found, they were posted on my previous Twitter account, when I used to analyze SNK and Vinland Saga a lot.

There's an anthology of great analyses and interpretations of SNK, it's a manga with a big community that has always taken the work very seriously (unlike CSM's) so I think in any case, it's not hard to find some nice gems.

To give you an idea Anon, I was analyzing things that I felt I didn't see very often, I was very interested in the character of Berthold, who is SNK's most symbolic character, just look at the mark the colossal titan has left in the imagination of fans. Yet his host, the human behind him, is overshadowed, and what's fascinating is how Isayama has treated the character in an implicit, subtle way, notably through symbols (yes, I love symbols).

The figure of the man hanging upside down is an image that permeates the entire end of SNK, and it was set up by Berthold.

I've always been fascinated by Eren too, but I've always analyzed him as he was written, a deliberately pathetic character.

I'm not being negative when I say this, he remains one of my favorite characters, but he has suffered from idealization. His tragic and pathetic aspect is what made Eren very human, but also quite original.

I've been following SNK since I was 13, I'd turned away from manga for a while, I even found it cringe-worthy, I had my popular girl phase who didn't like nerd stuff (which is what I've become).

One day, my twin sister dropped Berserk Volume 1 on my desk and ordered me to read and see the SNK anime that had just come out.

It was a monumental slap in the face………

So I spent my adolescence with SNK, a work that means a lot to me, even if I now see many of its flaws with a more critical eye.

But just as I see them in CSM! I don't necessarily talk about them, my analyses are personal, but I also try to make them neutral enough to make sense to many people.

I don't have any more analysis but I do have some drawings that I haven't posted here, sorry for not having more <3

#snk #shingeki no kyojin #eren jaeger #bertholdt hoover #aot #attack on titan #vinland saga #berserk #analyses #ask

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elizmanderson · 10 months

Text

queerness in The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher

book description

when you’re an old woman armed with nothing but gumption and knitting needles, stopping a sorcerer from wiping out an entire dragon-fighting organization is a tall order. no one understands why 83-year-old Edna Fisher is the Chosen One, destined to save the Knights from a dragon-riding sorcerer bent on their destruction. after all, Edna has never handled a magical weapon, faced down a dragon, or cast a spell. and everyone knows the Council of Wizards always chooses a teenager—like the vengeful girl ready to snatch Edna’s destiny from under her nose.

still, Edna leaps at the chance to leave the nursing home. with a son long dead in the Knights’ service, she’s determined to save dragon-fighters like him & ensure other mothers don’t suffer the same loss she did. but as Edna learns about the abuse in the ranks & the sorcerer’s history, she questions if it’s really the sorcerer that needs stopping—or the Knights she’s trying to save.

find it here

okay let's talk about queerness in this book

did a thread on twitter in which I said "cishet" five hundred thousand times so will probably get banned lmao but anyway I wanted to share it here too

especially since it's late in Pride Month and I have yet to post anything anywhere about it BEING Pride Month and me being queer and my books being queer, bc I've been burnt out af. so what energy I've had has gone toward planning and writing

anyway

I say "queerness in" rather than "queer characters in" because I want to talk about queerness in the book more broadly, not least bc I'm a queer creator & this is a queer book, but I've had a lot of impostor syndrome about both those things.

I figured out I was queer later in life & am a woman-presenting person w/a male-presenting partner. I've questioned my gender & sexuality repeatedly & ID'd differently over time, which is why I like "queer." I don't have to re-explain myself a dozen times. I'm queer. that's that.

but having figured out my queerness later, and having a relationship that presents as cishet, it took a long time for me to overcome feelings of ~not being queer enough~ (and sometimes I still struggle with them).

similarly, my MC is an apparently* cishet woman, unlike the MCs of many books that appear on queer book lists at this time of year. just like I took a long time to start really engaging with my community bc I worried I wasn't ~queer enough,~ for a long time, I didn't call this a queer book bc I worried it wasn't ~queer enough~. if people asked if the book was queer, I'd reply with a laundry list of explicitly queer characters rather than saying yes

fuck that though lmao. this is a queer book. let me count the ways

1. found family

as found family is so important to many queer people - by connecting us to our community, by welcoming us when bio family casts us off - found family is central to REMARKABLE RETIREMENT. while there are queer romantic arcs, the found family is the most important relationship in the book.

2. queer labels

some characters get explicit labels. Benjamin is gay. Clem is ace. queer labels are important bc they give us the ability to describe our identities and experiences! however...

3. undefined queerness

while labels are important, queerness isn't about fitting into new boxes. it's about smashing the boxes apart.

even if characters don't have specific labels applied on-page, they're queer. they don't need to claim a specific label for that to be true.*

*caveat that some media avoids using labels to pander to queer audiences w/implied queerness without ~alienating~ cishets by stating "this character is Not Cishet"**

that's not what I mean

I mean e.g. in OFMD queerness is inherent even if WORDS like queer/ace/etc aren't used. OMitB is another example (specifically Mabel) and Good Omens is yet another.

**caveat to my caveat that some media is queer-coded & avoids queer labels rather than being explicitly queer because network execs or whoever won't allow explicit queerness.

this is not the fault of the creators. sometimes it can be hard to tell the difference.

but anyway.

in REMARKABLE RETIREMENT, several queer characters are queer without using specific labels.

in some cases this is bc it doesn't come up or isn't important to them to express in the moment. like Clem is bi, but she's not worried about being bi. she's worried about being ace, because she's still kind of questioning that about herself, and she's worried it might cause problems down the road if her crush is >:[ about her not wanting to have sex. so she uses the word "ace" to describe herself in this scene but not "bi," even though she's both.

in other cases it's bc they don't have the language. Kiernan's sense of attraction and desire is described in a way that seems graysexual or demisexual (or both), and Red's sense of desire is described in a way that seems ace-spec, but neither of them use those terms, because neither of them know those terms. despite the lack of terminology, many ace readers have identified multiple ace characters based on description or experience. the lack of a specific label doesn't make those characters less queer.

similarly, some characters have not yet had this realization about themselves. which leads us to...

4. questioning

okay, back to my first asterisk of the post.

Edna is by all appearances an old cishet woman.

for most of the story, that's how she seems. that's what SHE thinks, even. she's a cishet old grandma adopting every queer young person she can find.

BUT THEN

Clem explains aceness to her

and Edna has a brief crisis bc wait a minute this sounds like her??

ultimately, Edna has too much to worry about right now to spend time questioning whether, at the age of 83, she might be somewhere on the ace spectrum

so it doesn't come up again

but that moment of crisis is THERE, & that too is queer

5. queernormativity*

I write queernorm worlds, largely bc I viscerally hate coming out lmao

it doesn't mean everyone's a queer scholar

like Clem has to explain "ace" to Edna, bc Edna thinks blankly of a deck of cards & doesn't understand what that has to do with sex

but it DOES mean queer folks get to just be and do

*caveat that this is not remotely to imply that a story is less queer if its world ISN'T queernorm

it's just a way in which MY story is queer

6. all the queer characters

not gonna do a list (even though my original idea for Pride Month when I was young and optimistic and thought I'd have energy to do it way back when was a list of queer characters), but virtually every character in this book is queer in one way or another

on twitter this is where I ended because 6 seemed like a good number for Pride since June is the sixth month, but tumblr gets a bonus

7. the author is queer

happy pride, buy my queer book

#the remarkable retirement of edna fisher #e.m. anderson #e's writing #pride month #pride month books #queer book recs #book recs #fantasy books #indie author #2023 debuts #2023 books #queer is not a slur #adding that one simply bc I said 'queer' five hundred thousand times as well as cishet so just in case lol

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gortius-viii · 4 months

Text

Flag podcasts reviews

How do you do, fellow flag nerds?

Over on my twitter I've been writing over the seasons a thread of reviews of the many vexillological podcasts to be found on Spotify at least, as that's where I listen to podcasts. And I think that i might as well port it over here so those lucky people without Twitter may read it and enjoy those podcasts too.

Here you'll find the original thread.

And you can listen to everything I mention in this hand-crafted Spotify playlist, enjoy!

As you probably figured out, reviewing a whole-ass podcast in less than 280 characters can be a bit tricky and limiting, but I would say that they are pretty decent nonetheless. I'll expand on any I am not sure about, and be sure to send me some you've found yourself, and I guess that I'll be amending this post if that's the case. Also, the reviews were originally in Spanish, so I'll try my best to translate them as faithfully as possible. Without further ado, let's begin.

Episodes 140, 446 and 447 of 99% Invisible

Very well produced and informative. They share very interesting and not very well known stories relating to flags. I just with there was more of them! The Roman Mars city flags TED talk is a good companion to this podcast.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

2. Vexed Flag Podcast

A entertaining and informative podcast in which two friends talk and discuss the history and meaning of the flag the episode is about. I like the flag selection and the fact that they have a complementary instagram. Well produced.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

3. The Vexillocast

Another podcast in which two friends talk about flags. This one has a few monologues that serve as a sort of introduction to vexillology. The discussions are interesting, but it's a bit too informal and amateur for my taste. Also they're very lefty which was very funny to me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

4. Vexillum

In contrast to the other ones reviewed here, this one only has one caster. It is very short and only covers the principles of vexillology and vexillography. Also not as formal as the other ones, and weird things happen to the music and voice sometimes.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

5. Why the flag?

Another podcast in which flags are monologued about. This one is centred around telling the story of a different flag every episode. Very well produced and even tells things I didn't know about. The definition of a vexillological podcast.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

6. A Kiwi, 2 Brits, & A Yank - Talk Flags

The natural extension of the Instagram account of the creators. The episodes are a bit too long but entertaining until the end. I'd say it's a podcast for the vexillonaire (someone passionate about flags), but not the vexillologist. We'll have to see where it goes.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

7. Banderista

It tells very interesting things that even I didn't know, and it is the only podcast in Spanish, which makes it even better. The only thing I disliked was that I felt like it was all improvised, and the music constantly sounding in the background can be annoying.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

8. Flag Theory

The perfect example of "short & sweet". Episodes less than 20 minutes long, in which the flag is evaluated and it's meaning explained. In the last episodes the people interviewed are really interesting.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

9. Flagged For Content

I don't know how they do it, but the podcast just keeps getting better. Every guest is interesting and special in their own way, and the flag selection and following discussions are also great. Must listen.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

10. Flagged (English version)

Very similar to Flag Theory, it describes the flag, it's meaning, and the changes that it has undergone. There isn't enough content in my opinion. I wish there were more episodes, they're all pretty short, under 10 minutes always. You aren't loosing anything by listening to it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

11. Passion Project Podcast

Nothing special. It is a short podcast composed of short episodes that talk over the basics of vexillology. Unfortunately it has several editing mistakes, such as the audio repeating and such.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

12. Unfurled: The story of our flags

SURPRISINGLY good. Well produced, the music, the narrator, and the script are surprisingly good, it also talks about unusual things of vexillology. I just wish there were more episodes.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

13. pride flags / Fun with flags 1 / Fun with flags: Episode 1, Italy, Peru and Kenya / Flags / Fun with flags

Amateur. They're superficial with the meaning of the flags and except some cases it's nothing serious. It is clear that they were school projects. Don't recommend.

⭐️⭐️/5

14. Episode "Vexillology" of Timeless with Julie Hartman

Surprisingly good. Explores the basics of vexillology and it's based on and goes into detail of the contents of the book "Worth dying for" by Tim Marshall. Not too deep and well produced. BUT, I do want to warn you, this programme in general is financed by the Pragers, and the rest of the podcast is very clearly neoconservative and conspiratorial propaganda.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

15. Interview with Silvio Fernández in Pausa café podcast

Doesn't deliver on it's promises. It has nothing to do with vexillology but rather the symbols of two cities: the place where the interviewer and interviewee are from, and a Italian city were a congress was taking place. The audio quality is also dreadful. Not worth it. It is also in Spanish, if that's relevant for you.

⭐️⭐️/5

16. Episode "Vexillology with E. Tory Laitila" of the Ologies podcast

Fantastic. Entertaining from beginning to end, it covers frequent questions and facets of vexillology, while also some obscure ones. My only complain is that the host was just constantly surprised and that was a bit annoying. Recommend a lot.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

17. Episodes 69 (nice), 70 and 71 from the Hágase el mae podcast

It's interesting seeing two people go into the world of vexillology almost from 0. It's not very deep, it boils down to them reviewing flags, but if you have the time, it's fine. Also, it's in Spanish, AND for Spanish speakers this may be a bit hard to listen too (it certainly was for me) because of the costarican accent they've got.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

18. "Vexilología: La ciencia de las banderas", in the Ciencia del fin del mundo podcast

Imagine you put a flag nerd in front of a micro, well, the result is this podcast. And also the flag nerd in question is the boss of the two hosts. Very funny.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

And that was my review of every vexillological podcast I have heard yet. Thank you for sticking around if you have and I hope you listen to some the ones that caught you eye. Until next time!

#Spotify #vexillology #podcast #podcasts #flag #flags #flag podcasts #review #podcast review

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24-05txt · 8 months

Text

Got tagged in a writing train on Twitter so I thought I'd share the snippets here, too! First two are already posted and are just my favorite parts, the last two are teasers of projects I'm VERY excited to share. Links and snippets under the readmore 🌟

Figure Study

Ghost asks Soap to draw him like one of his French girls, in not so many words. Things devolve from there.

John slides his sketchbook onto the desk, then slowly—so slowly—leans down, puts his elbows to his knees, and runs his fingers across his scalp.

Deep breath in… Slow breath out.

When he can lift his head again, Ghost is still asleep in the same position he was before, as if he didn’t just make John the victim of the biggest display of trust since a cat showed a human their soft underbelly.

“Fuck you,” he whispers, and glares at the man in front of him. Ghost doesn’t so much as twitch under the scrutiny. John considers waking him up again, and this time he gets as far as standing and taking a single step over to the bedside before he hesitates. He keeps fucking realizing how much bare skin is on display, and the revelation attacks from a different angle every time, always catching him off balance. Ghost’s head is level with John’s abdomen and he wants to know what Ghost’s jaw would feel like pressed against his palm. He wants to know quite desperately actually, and after a moment John realizes that he’s not only staring, but that his hand has lifted up to Ghost’s shoulder, coming up to cradle his face like it’s already made the decision to do so without Johnny’s conscious input.

He holds himself still for a breath, thinking hard. Then, gently, he cups Ghost’s jaw in his palm. Stubble tickles his fingertips like a greeting and all the thoughts he has swirling around fall silent.

His mind is blank; the room seems that much quieter for it.

Then Ghost sucks in a slow breath, shoulders rising. His eyes crack open for a moment, then fall shut. They open again when he turns his face into John’s palm, brows furrowing slightly like he’s confused. John’s heart thuds, blood running cold, but he can’t bring himself to move.

“Johnny…” Ghost's voice is low, thick with sleep. His lips brush against the skin of John’s inner wrist. John can’t move, can barely think, but manages something he hopes resembles a smile.

“Mornin’ sleepin’ beauty. How’s yer nap?”

“Mm…” Ghost blinks once, twice, closes his eyes and sways dangerously forward, leaning into John’s hand. He can’t help but brush his thumb up the bridge of Ghost’s nose. Blonde lashes flutter in response. His heart thuds again. “Goin’ back to sleep.

“If yer gonna take an afternoon nap in my bed like an old man, at least put some pants on, hell’s bells,” he chides, mouth running of its own accord. (It’s for the best, really. Otherwise, he might just spend all day making Ghost’s lashes flutter with a finger on the bridge of his nose.)

Ghost hums philosophically and tries to press his entire weight into Johnny’s palm—he really does seem intent on sleeping that way. John’s heart is in his throat now, throbbing painfully; he feels like he’s just run a mile, like he should be out of breath and gasping but he’s just standing in front of his Lieutenant, cradling his face in his hand, like an idiot.

To Lie Down With Dogs - Ch.1

Soap finds a stray dog on base. Obviously, he investigates.

He’s woken up from some night-terror or another, (he won’t bother himself with recounting the details when he knows it’ll only make his shoulder ache and his chest tighten in panic) and even thought the sky is still closer to black than blue, he decides to take himself out for a walk. It usually helps to get some fresh air, remind himself of where he is and where he most certainly is not. Finding a conversation partner also helps, but it’s both too early and too late for that.

He gets one foot through the door before he spots movement out of the corner of his eye and nearly has a heart attack. For a moment, there’s a man crouched in the shadows bracketing the light spilling from the door. Waiting for him, mere meters away. Before he can do much more than pull his knife, it steps close enough to take shape.

A dog, not a man. Big enough that it has to be the same one he saw not too long ago. Its head is lowered warily, tail limp, but it doesn’t bark or growl or try to bear down on him any. Its eyes are reflecting the light, glowing a flat, sickly green, and the whole thing is fucking creepy. He can’t stop staring. (He wonders a bit if he’s still dreaming.) After a tense moment, he remembers reading somewhere that making eye-contact with dogs isn’t a great idea—canine-speak for ‘wanna have a go, mate?’—so he turns his head just a little, watching the dog from his periphery, trying to calm his pounding heart. (Dream or not, Soap doesn’t want to get bit.)

If it were so inclined, this would be a good time for it to try and take Soap down. There aren’t many other people awake, he’s out on his own, and he’s just as good as turned his back to it. Great going, Sergeant MacTavish. Ghost would have his fucking head.

The dog just looks up at him for a moment, standing less than a meter away. It doesn’t even blink.

Then it shakes its head, pointed ears flapping, and trots away. It passes in front of him—close enough to reach out and touch, like he and his knife aren’t a concern in the slightest.

Soap half-thinks to follow after it to find out where it came from, and is graced by the mental image of his forearm caught between those wicked jaws, gleaming eyes flashing red. He thinks better of it, and lets the stray wander off into the dark.

HAUNTINGS I: Architectural

WIP I want to talk about so so so much. Very self indulgent. Summary from my notes:

Soap is assigned to a safehouse in Mexico while assisting Mexican Special Forces with investigating a Cartel's movements. During the events of Las Almas he returns to the safehouse to seek the assistance of the residing ghost who tried to warn him of Shepard's betrayal.

He doesn't fall asleep so much as he passes out on that cellar floor. Dragging himself to the upstairs bathroom once he's awake is possibly one of the hardest things he's ever done, least of all because he still can not compel himself to leave the skull on the floor where it lay. He sets it on the toilet seat while he tends to his hands, tediously pulling each splinter, cutting out the one firmly embedded in the heel of his palm. Afterward he very nearly bathes in antiseptic solution, would drink it if he thought it could do him any good.

Then he steps into the shower, turns the knob as hot as it can go, and scrubs himself raw. He spends the rest of the hot water sat on the floor of the tub, knees pulled to his chest, making eye-contact with the man sitting on the lid of the toilet.

As the water starts to run cold and the grimy, itchy sensation finally recedes, he takes a breath to speak.

"How did you know Shepard would betray us?"

"He killed me." The ghost that used to haunt this house has scars that turn one half of its mouth into a tooth-bearing grimace, and the other into a gruesome smirk. It's a natural blond, with pale lashes that frame dark eyes and shaggy hair slightly too long to be in regulation with the drab tac-gear it's wearing. It could have been handsome, under different circumstances.

"What'd you do?" Soap asks. He doesn't have the energy to gentle his voice and the question comes out harsh, accusatory. The ghost frowns.

"Loaded question…" it mumbles, which is so patently ridiculous that Soap's humor cycles right back around to rage.

"Oh, aye? Is it? Cannae imagine." For all that it's still raining outside and the water is still running, Soap's tone is dry as the desert. The ghost's frown turns into a scowl.

"No, you can't," it says sternly, anger quickly overtaking the calm it had been presenting before. "You didn't get buried alive under a foot of fucking concrete—"

"You didnae have yer heid minced by a bloody poltergeist for a week straight, get shot by some two-faced slimy bawbag, nearly drown in sewer water and trek for two fecking hours just to shove your hands in a stranger's emaciated corpse on the off-chance of getting some help!" His voice strains at the end of his sentence, out of breath and fuming, but he's not done yet. "There's nobody! Ah have nobody on my side right now—Graves took the base, Rudy and Alejandro could be dead, Price is halfway 'cross an ocean and fucking Shepard is behind it all—that schemin', stinkin'—" his words become garbled, choke him, and his eyes sting even under the spray.

Lost and Found - Ch.?

Zombie AU, also SUUPER self-indulgent. First chapter is posted, but here's the current summary:

Running into a lost kid in post-outbreak Colorado makes a scouting mission infinitely more complex for our favorite duo.

“Well, I'm just going to check your vitals real quick, alright?” the nurse has shuffled closer while he was distracted, and is reaching one hand toward his wrist. He can't really be bothered to protest, so he just grunts and lets them take his pulse.

They do a few more things with his arm, but he struggles to pay much attention as the painkiller starts to drag him under again. He doesn't know when they leave, but he knows they're no longer prodding at him when Soap pushes through the curtain.

“Hey there, Ghost.”

It's a struggle to try and fight away the haze enough to force his eyes open and his face toward Soap, but his efforts are well-rewarded by a clear view of the other man's stupid lopsided grin.

“They got you good, aye?” Soap lifts a hand to his face, and Ghost cannot for the life of himself stop his eyes from fluttering closed as Soap slides a finger down the bridge of his nose. When he finally gets his eyes open again, Johnny’s smile has widened to a blinding grin. “Like a wee bab right now, you are. Off yer fuckin’ head.”

Johnny's thumb traces the shape of his cheekbone and the words go in one ear and out the other; he can hardly be expected to focus on both things at once under these fucking conditions.

Sudden laughter sparks something sharp and warm in his chest, and he fights his eyes open again to realize his face is securely cradled in the palm of Johnny's hand.

“Och, I'm sorry. Gowan, back to sleep with ye. I'll leave you be.”

Every cell in Ghost's body must be acting in tandem for him to react as quickly as he does, grabbing Johnny's wrist before he can get more than a step away from the cot he's laid in. He yelps, maybe; Ghost is more concerned about the look he's given as Johnny turns back toward him. Something about the expression makes his chest clench.

That's all! If you care to ask any questions or want to know more feel free to ask I love to chat about my AUs and shit lmfao.

#cod:mwii #fic.txt #ghost #john soap mactavish #simon ghost riley #ghostsoap #soap #fanfic #cod fanfic #cod fandom #wips #wip weekend #cod angst #cod au #hurt/comfort #wolf at the door au #existance after death au #figure study #lost and found

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joshriku · 1 year

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ages ago i asked for prompts on twitter and i think ava had requested cherik + bodyswap, and i forgot i wrote that til i found it looking at my files so i figured i'd also post it here ages later lol it's too short for ao3! but perfect length for tumblr.

“I don't know how you do it,” says Charles.

His voice—it's Erik's, no doubt. Words coming from his mouth, his body. His body, that Charles is currently inhabiting.

“Do what?” asks Erik, with—with his voice, God damn it. This whole situation is so strange.

It's supposed to wear off in a few hours, said the other teachers. Just a mutant learning to control their powers, nothing else. But now Charles is Erik, and Erik is Charles, and it's been the most insanity-inducing hours of his life. They haven't left Charles' room, as they decided to spend this ordeal as quietly as possible: in bed, reading.

“This. Alone with your thoughts,” Charles says. “I'm miserable. And overstimulated, even though I am not doing anything. It's…”

So much. His skin is prickly, impossible to touch. He can sense the clock ticking—not just the one inside the mansion, but everyone's. Phones buzzing or vibrating. The kitchen. Jewelry. The televisions. The satellites. The cities further away. The core of the Earth—

Erik takes his hand. Charles takes a moment to note how different his own hand is, when he's being touched—this is not comforting. So many times he's held someone, held a student, tried to comfort them with a gesture. And now that he's being comforted by his body—God, he should never be close to people.

“Breathe in,” Erik tells him. “Narrow your focus to one thing. Try your wheelchair.”

It's such a big power. To narrow it to something so small like his wheelchair feels like an impossible task, but then he notices a little helping hand: it's sloppy and careless, but the undeniable sensation of a telepathic push. Erik’s not good at it—good God, how is he holding up with all those voices?—but he’s good enough to guide Charles to his objective.

His body slumps against the bed, once the world is reduced to just the wheelchair.

“How do you do it?” Charles repeats. “It’s so quiet. It’s so lonely. And this power—it’s too great, I’m afraid. How does your body not fall apart? How does your mind not fall apart? How do you—”

Erik cuts him off. “I am wondering the same thing about you, as we speak. There is so much noise. People cannot stop thinking, not even for one second. How do you not go insane?”

He supposes the same questions he asked have the same answer Charles would give Erik: you get used to it. You settle into it like a second skin, until one day you no longer get to think about it.

“You get used to it,” he says, although he knows Erik must have heard it, anyway. His grip on Charles’ telepathy isn’t that good—Charles presumes he doesn’t know how to leave his mind. Erik hums anyway. “I suppose it’s more impressive right now, to be in a body where—it’s truly yours. Mine, it feels like it shares a bit with every single person. I cannot stop myself from seeing through their lenses, even for a second. I guess being alone right now—truly and well alone, it just… makes me wonder. How you don’t go insane. How you talk to people, how you are such a good judge of character. I can only be one because of my powers, and even then, I can go so wrong.”

Erik raises an eyebrow in his direction. It’s so odd, looking at his face. Does Charles really look like this? No wonder he got into so many arguments. He’s rather annoyed at that face.

“Funny, again. I have been pondering that myself. If I could listen to every thought, every sentiment, and every motivation behind someone’s actions—well, perhaps I’d become a hermit. It takes incredible strength to do this. I admire you.”

Charles smiles a little. “I suppose we are both so exceptional,” he says. He squeezes Erik’s hand again, trying to focus on Erik’s body, wanting to be held by it instead. “Only a few more hours to go.”

“Maybe we won’t go insane in three hours,” Erik smiles back. “Who knows? We have got plenty of time.”

#cherik #writing #occasionally ill be like hii does anyone have prompts and its like the most fun i have at night #i love when i have the taking requests mood. hope it strikes again

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