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midnightechoes · 1 year

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So this week is going to go down as maybe the most sapphic week in animation history. It’s going to have a great case, there are so many sapphic shows or shows with prominent sapphic couples airing this week.

Don’t know what I’m talking about? Here’s a quick rundown:

Yuri Is My Job!

Premiering on Crunchyroll on April 6th.

Yuri is My Job! is based on a yuri manga of the same name. It follows high schooler Hime, who cares deeply about her image as sweet and helpful, even though she’s actually selfish. She accidentally injures the manager of a cafe, and agrees to work there to make up for it. But this is no ordinary cafe, it’s like a cafe dinner theater where all the waitresses play characters from a fictional high school and act out skits for the patrons. Hime’s character is supposed to be in love with one of the other waitresses’ character, but she starts actually falling for the girl. Only problem is, behind the scenes the other waitress seems to hate her.

Yeah, that sounds kind of bonkers! I can already see the story now, Hime starting out playing a role, and eventually having to legitimately earn the love of Mitsuki.

Birdie Wing: Golf Girls’ Story

Season 2 premiering on Crunchyroll on Friday, April 7th

Ah Birdie Wing. If you saw season one, you know just how delightful wacky this show is. It follows the stories of Eve, a golfer that plays in illegal underground golf matches for the mob, and Aoi, a golf prodigy and the new sensation of the golf world. Their lives crash into each other and the chemistry is overwhelming and immediate.

Technically Eve and Aoi aren’t canon as of the end of s1, but it’s hard to imagine that the show isn’t heading in that direction. It makes no effort to hide the fact that these two are into each other.

I’m so excited to see what season 2 has in store for these two. Birdie Wing is just a delightfully weird little show.

Princess Principal: Crown Handler Chapter 3

Premieres in theaters in Japan on Friday, April 7th

Alright, so this won’t be useful to a lot of people reading this, as this is only premiering in Japan this weekend. But I wanted to mention it because (a) it’ll come over to the US sometime this year, and (b) Princess Principal is awesome and I want to promote it when I can.

Princess Principal was a 12 episode series that aired in 2017, and Crown Handler is a six-part sequel OVA series.

In a nutshell, Princess Principal is a steampunk spy thriller set in an alternate universe European kingdom that has been divided by a wall, Berlin-style. It follows a team of spies, masquerading as high school girls, as they try to prevent the two sides from going to war.

I know, “why is this on a list of gay shit?” Well, because it is. Two of the main characters, Ange and Princess Charlotte, are big-time into each other and while the original series does the anime thing of “we’re only allowed to go so far with this”, the OG series has a lot of intimate scenes between the two and does end *SPOILERS* with the two of them sitting on the beach together while holding hands.

And perhaps Crown Handler, being made years later, can finally take their relationship farther.

RWBY Volume 9

Volume 9 episode 8 airing on Crunchyroll on Saturday, April 8th

RWBY has been ongoing, and the current volume has been airing since February, but there’ll be another episode this Saturday. Right now RWBY is in the middle of dealing with a lot of trauma, BUT, the bees are canon and dating so every episode of RWBY is now officially gay. So says me.

The Owl House: Watching and Dreaming

Series finale airing on the Disney Channel on Saturday, April 8th

I’M NOT READY TO LOSE THIS SHOW! 😭

*ahem* The third and final season 3 special airs on Saturday, and promises to be mega emotional and super gay.

I’m grateful that this show had a chance to finish its story, something a lot of sapphic media doesn’t get to do. But I am still pissed about it getting cancelled in the first place simply because it didn’t fit their “brand” (read: this show is too gay for Disney).

But I just know that Dana and her team put together a sensational finale.

Mobile Suit Gundam: the Witch From Mercury

Season 2 premiering on Crunchyroll on Sunday, April 9th.

Affectionately called G-Witch, season 1 of this show was a revelation in the fall. It follows the story of Suletta Mercury, precious cinnamon roll and the most talented mobile suit pilot around, and Miorine Rembran, daughter of the president of the Benerit Group, a mega-corporation that has massive political power.

The show revolves around a school that’s mostly full of the children of powerful people. And then there’s Suletta, a nobody that just wants to be a normal girl and have a normal school life but through a series of events ends up in a mobile suit duel that she easily wins, earning her the title of Holder, which makes her Miroine’s groom.

At first, the two treat the arrangement as a business arrangement, both seeing practical value in this arranged engagement. But it’s obvious that Miorine is actually pretty into Suletta from the start, and we see Suletta slowly falling for Miorine too.

G-Witch is incredible. Part awesome mecha fights, part political intrigue, part romance between two useless girls who’d rather die that admit their actual feelings.

I am SO EXCITED for season 2!

LGBTQ media hasn’t had it great as of late, with a ton of frustrating cancellations and it almost feeling like Hollywood is going backwards in terms of its commitment to giving us space to tell our stories.

But animation, both in the US and in Japan, seems to be making great strides, being our light in the dark.

All five of these shows are airing episodes this week, and Crown Handler will be in theaters this week and on streaming/blu-ray later this year. RWBY has been airing for weeks and its been the gayest volume yet. the Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady just finished airing and was wonderfully sapphic. I’m In Love With the Villainess is scheduled to air sometimes this year. And just maybe we might get Arcane season 2 before the end of the year.

I’m excited for how sapphic and yuri animation is progressing, I hope it keeps going forward.

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direwolfrules · 1 month

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You see, now I’m hyper-fixated on G1 Monster High and Ever After High, mostly Ever After High, so now I want to start a rewrite AU thing of my own and use the disappearance of Hexiciah Steam’s team as a catalyst for the crossover. Like, the Evil Queen returning is Act 2 or 3 of the crossover, secret final boss type thing. Act 1 focuses on the missing steampunk dilf. I’d also reorder or cut somethings entirely from both series.

Like, the Catacombs under Monster High are a eldritch nightmare realm constructed by an ancient monster race known as the Builders. They’re near impossible to map out due to their impossible size, full of impossible illusions and tech, just random weirdness. Well, what if the impossible stuff that monster kind doesn’t understand or can’t make sense out of is the result of magic not native to monster kind? What if the Builders used some Ever After and Wonderland magic in their creations in addition to monster magic and tech? What if it spanned several realms?

And like, we’d get the ghouls investigating because Ghoulia finally made progress on her research into what happened to Professor Steam and discovered that the last report of this mad scientist was he was going to go down into the Catacombs with his team to finally prove his Builders theory correct. Cleo is extra interested and invested because the name of one of the listed team members? Her long missing mom. Also Lagoona actually comes along on an adventure for once.

On the Ever After side let’s let Darling be the one to be doing research on magical locations for a school project and figure out where the lost entrance to the Labyrinth is. Idk, some of the girls go with. Definitely Blondie for her Mirrorcast, which means Dexter’s going too because camera man. Cedar goes because of all the fantastic art that’s said to be within the Labyrinth and also “I cannot tell a lie, so if we do find the Labyrinth my word will be proof that this isn’t us pulling a hoax-us-pocus”. Apple and Raven cause we need them, they’re the main characters (and Apple and Darling need to develop together so the Dragon Games payoff is like, a payoff). I also need Briar to come because I love her and this is my self-indulgent rewrite AU thing. Also I can totally picture her telling Lagoona that Gil’s family ain’t shit, love is love, make out with that boy in front of their house while flipping them the bird. Ramona and Cerise because I want a “Werewolf? No, wolfwere” interaction and also for this whole thing to end with Ramona getting Clawdeen’s number. Enemies to lovers arc, annoying little sisters in full force, all that.

I also would want Cupid to come because I just want them all to look at her like “Cupid, you have some explaining to do”.

Idk, I could have it that later when the Evil Queen escapes via something in the Catacombs/Labyrinth it’s revealed that she manipulated things by causing the exact right people to find the exact right documentation at the exact right time. Casting spells from her mirror prison like the villainous queen she literally is.

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bringthekaos · 5 months

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more and more as of recent I’ve been thinking about what direction Riot’s design team are going to take Viktor. Bridging the rift had some early stage design stuff teased, but the one coloured image looks very similar to his game design - a design that I don’t think it’s controversial to say sucks. Like there is some amazing fanart of the Machine Herald out there but they all take some liberty with it. It’s going to be a tough job for the design team, coming up with something that has void elements, potential hextech elements, fixing all the prev design problems while still having something that’s identifiable as the machine herald. I am in high hopes however. I was wondering if you had any options on the matter.

Oh you’re absolutely right, for a character that’s supposed to be a cyborg/poster boy for cyborgs, he’s pretty… plain. Kinda just looks like a suit of armor. The only thing that really sets him apart from a regular armored character is that visibly mechanical left arm (and the Hexclaw obviously, but even that and the shoulder pauldron sorta look like they’re strapped on via the bandolier across his chest.)

And as for the solution to this? I think it’s to have less armor, and have the metal be a more obvious part of him. Like, (in League) he’s a vocal proponent of function over form. He doesn’t really care for how something looks so long as it performs its function to perfection. So I think more exposed steampunk-looking bits on his chest, more moving parts. Like Sevika’s arm… gotDAMN that shit is cool, with the way her hand just Swiss Army Knifed into a freaking plasma sword?!?! Shit like that. Also, it’s highly likely that he is going to need Shimmer at some level to upkeep things, an injector tank like the one on her shoulder wouldn’t hurt (though that probably should be armored, cuz we saw via Caitlyn’s excellent shot what happens when it’s exposed).

His Hexcore-augmented parts are obviously a new addition, cuz his right hand in League (according to this splash art) was still flesh and bone.

So that’s a whole world of possibility. It could have some kind of aura around it, hell… maybe he might eventually learn to do magic with them (but like… fucked up Void magic which… big ol’ yikes). Or, there’s the other possibility, wherein he dislikes the influence it had over him (when the Hexcore used his augmented parts to hurt him after he tried to destroy it), and he might amputate them, leaving him with no flesh and bone limbs. Which could actually be another way to update his character design.

And I think a massive part of what is going to make him successful will be sound engineering—the whirs, the clicks, the ambient hum of working machinery. Also his footsteps. Dude needs to sound like an earthquake coming at you. And I think they already gave us a taste, with how that Hexcore-augmented foot sounded as it hit the ground. Overall, I trust the team. They turned the original overly-sexualized and honestly awful designs of Vi and Cait and turned it into something amazing. (I’m not talking about the Enforcer uniform, that’s still way too prissy for an officer, but the way they did it made it more a statement about Piltover and their focus on aesthetics than a comment about Caitlyn). So if they put the same kind of dedication into redesigning the Machine Herald, then I think he is going to be BADASS.

#arcane #arcane league of legends #league of legends #machine herald viktor #arcane Viktor #character design #asks #ace answers

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skyedancer-rae · 1 year

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A new challenger has entered the Spade vs. Shovel Debate. Introducing Team Spovel!

This is a continuation of my previous post, which featured a temporary end to the Spade vs Shovel debate. Link follows, but be warned there are TGAA 2 Spoilers. previous comic.

Also, here’s a link (that contains spoilers) for my very first Spade vs Shovel comic: Part One and Part Two.

Image description after the Keep reading:

Image 1 is an illustration of Rei, Iris, Gina, and Maria standing in a row, facing the viewer. The scene takes place during the shovel vs. spade debate in my previous comic, and they are waiting to start work on Iris' new garden.

Rei wears steampunk-esque clothing including a yellow crop jacket, fuchsia waistcoat, and teal split-skirt. Her hands are pressed together and she wears a vaguely concerned expression as she says, "Sorry, Susato, but it's a spade."

Beside her, Iris stares flatly ahead, wearing her usual dress. She holds a watering can in her hands as she says, "It's a shovel."

Next, Gina scowls at the screen as she says, "Can we just call it a diggin' thing an' move on?" She has removed her outer jacket and carries a hoe in one hand. Her other hand rests on her hip.

Lastly, Maria stares earnestly forward, holding a potted Venus flytrap in her hands. She has removed her usual lab coat and wears a pair of gardening gloves. She says, "You should call it a spovel."

Image 2 is a grayscale illustration of Rei, Iris, Gina, and Maria, continuing from the previous image. They have all turned to face each other. Gina points her thumb back at Maria as she says, "Actually, I'm with Ria on this one. Let's call it a spovel." Iris, smiling broadly, says, "Spovel's a fun word." To her left, Rei smiles and clenches her hands in enthusiastic fists. To the far right, Maria smiles contently.

#my art #tgaa #rei membami #iris wilson #gina lestrade #maria gorey #team spovel #don't look eidelyn #shovel vs spade debate

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yum-grass · 5 months

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Cringe is dead

Ninjago oc

Name: Archibald “Archie” montano (garmadon)

Master of smoke

Parents

Mom: koko montano (she was so cool in the movie so I just gave her a new surname

Father: cringe is dead it’s lord garmadon

Half brother: Lloyd garmadon

Backstory

Rased by ex-war lord koko master of smoke with no idea of who his dad was, one day he hurt he’s mom really bad got scared and ran away at around age ten

Wu found him getting the absolute FUCK out of him after picking a fight he could NOT win

And he was brought to the monastery to train (unknown to wu that they were related)

I’m thinking of giving him a fan season ether in the of series or the new one but I’m kinda leaning towards dragons rising

Because he has a daughter in dr so I wand to get her decently traumatized you know

For character development

Silly fun facts!!

- when Kai first joins the team he mistook Archie for a girl and the whole “hey armin~ “ TikTok sound commenced

- Is like really dark and mysterious when in gi but otherwise is completely decked in pastels

- (Dragons rising)His adopted daughter is the master of mirrors (get it…. Smoke and mirrors… haha…okay)

- Smokes

- not cigarettes specifically bc it’s a kids show lol

- But like literally just exhales smoke sometimes

- Tired™️

- Stayed behind to un hook Lloyd from the wall in that one episode

- Bitten by the grate devourer while chasing Lloyd down(idc if it’s not plausible I just like parallels)

I also made fannon accurate ship names lol (i don’t really ship him with anyone specifically but I just got bored)

Zane x Archie - black ice

Jay x Archie - Thunder

Jay x Nya x Archie - thunder storm (bc it adds rain… I’ll stop)

Zane x Cole x Archie - monochrome

Zane x pixel x Archie - steampunk

Nya x Archie - rain clouds

#shit post #meme #i am begging for an audience for my autism #i just think he's neat #ninjago jay #lego ninjago #non binary #ninjago lloyd #ninjago nya #cole ninjago #ninjago kai #zane ninjago #ninjago cole #ninjago zane #ninjago #ninjago hc #ninjago oc #ninjago original character #ninjago oni

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dreamsclock · 10 months

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the mechanic timeline, where 'keep inventory' was toggled on at the very start.

in the style of spiderverse multiverse, send me iterations of the dream smp!

YES. YEEEESSSS. for some reason this immediately put me in mind of like a steampunk-esque timeline?? let me brainrot further on this:

dream didn’t actually make this server — he found it! whereas admins usually make servers brand-new, this one was the site of some kind of war. but it’s peaceful, weary, and so is dream from manhunts. the dream team settle down here, and here begins the birth of the smp.

there’s loads of left over scraps from whatever happened before dream arrived, and so technology is easier!! bombs and airplanes and the like become ingrained in the foundation of the smp, and it means war / advancement is a lot more dangerous.

keep inventory makes the disk war interesting: both sides have to resort to sneakier methods to get the disks from the other. as a result, the server grows distrustful and wary of each other VERY early on.

tubbo is a successful president, and is wilbur’s vice because of his talent in building. it’s why he’s sought after by schlatt in the election / manberg arc. he actually retains presidency of new l’manberg after doomsday!! they rebuild a metal city in the sky protected by nukes and constantly terrified by the rest of the server.

tommy’s exile was on a nuclear wasteland. he got sick a lot. so did dream. neither fully recovered.

their chats appear in the form of sentient robots !! armour was steampunk-y and tech-y and meant that ghosts - wilbur, schlatt, Etc — weren’t ghosts, but instead suits with a lingering memory of their owners (think the suits in that one doctor who episode, silence in the library)

the prison is terrifying. it’s a fully daedalus-esque maze of horrific robots roaming halls and gleaming reinforced obsidian. when dream is thrown inside, he’s stripped of his steampunk armour for the first time in months.

he’d attached loads of terrifying advancements / attachments to it, so seeing him stripped from it is… weird. he’s smaller. less scary. tommy doesn’t kill him twice in the mountain bunker. dream bargains with him before then.

i like to imagine this is one of the universes tommy visits after realising pandora is fucking insane — maybe this dream is still alive and helps him :] i’m attached to this dream already LMAO

#> au: spideyserver

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rubyisms · 7 months

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need help naming an upcoming comic i’ll be working on (slowly but surely) so i’m doing a poll to see what people like better!

the comic is vox machina set in the avatar universe, hundreds of years after aang and korra and following keyleth as the avatar with VM as her team avatar. the aesthetic itself takes heavily after the steampunk of korra's time, as opposed to a more modern interpretation.

if you’re a critical role fan and have CR mutuals or followers, please reblog! i would love the extra feedback on titles.

#rubles.txt #critical role

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alexthescaredenby · 3 months

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pictures are too hard (it's eighteen pages long)

so here

anything underlined has a direct link to the original post (so click on those for drawings hehe)

Dreamscape Nexus ~

All Entries

Recovered sketchbook entry

The following document was recovered from an Ascario mining compound following a raid conducted by the SAS in cooperation with Seal Team 6. It was found lying on a desk by [REDACTED] on [REDACTED] among other scattered papers. The document was sent to Site [REDACTED] in [REDACTED] on [REDACTED] for further study. The document seems to depict a door, with some sort of slogan underneath it. Surrounding the door are windows shaped similarly to shards of broken glass, depicting several different words, images, and languages (Russian, Latvian, German, and Swedish), and connected by threads, almost like red string on an evidence corkboard. There are also several flyers and missing posters floating around the door. [REDacTeD] has taken note of this discovery and has expressed great interest in the document. Research is still ongoing.

ENTRY 00000000000000000000000000000000000oO0: Why Can’t I Remember?

Why can’t I remember? My brain feels fuzzy. This sword is heavy. I could just lie down here. Close my eyes… and rest…

ENTRY 1: A Door to Another World

Where am I? I stepped through the door and now I’m standing in a void? What is this place…?

ENTRY 8: Where Am I?

This place is strange. These islands float in what seems to be an endless void, and the laws of gravity do not apply in the way I know them to, if at all. And the beings that inhabit this strange realm... I must find a way to escape this place.

-OS

ENTRY 27

There is, SOMETHING out there, looking for me, i don't know what it is.

I can't get this damn mask off, and my arm isn't mending. Fuck, my shirt is covered in blood. What I wouldn't give for a warm bath right now... I fear for my safety, this place is strange, the laws of my world don't seem to apply here. and I can't seem to shake the feeling that I'm being watched.

There's some sort of obelisk a couple islands down, I'll start out for it in the morning, not that one can keep track of time in this cursed place…

-OS

enTRY 27-B: Recovered Sketchbook

The following pages from OS’s sketchbook were recovered by [REDACTED] on [REDACTED] in [REDACTED], we have yet to identify any of the things depicted in the drawings.

Entry 30: Home Sweet Home

I found some sort of house at the foot of the obelisk, I'm sitting inside of it as I write this. Well, at least I have some shelter. My face feels weird, some kind of pressure behind my eyes, and my arm is getting worse. There're some sort of veins spreading up my bicep, and it hurts like a fucking bitch. What the fuck was in that spine?

Entry 34: Bells?

I hear chimes ringing, first non-natural sound I've heard in weeks. This building is fucking huge, gives me steampunk vibes.

Ugh, my head hurts, my arm is chalky, black and dusty. It feels like coal. I can barely write.

-OS

Entry 51: Bodies

Oh my gods, I'm gonna throw up.

They- they're- they're BODIES. Rancid, decaying, maggot infested corpses. They just showed up overnight, and they're standing there. Fucking empty eye sockets and rotted grins. It's disgusting. And the smell, I'm gonna be sick.

Entry 54: Ashes to Ashes

My arm is... Chalky, crumbly. It feels like sand.

The bodies are still there. They haven't moved. Why did I ever open that damn door…

Entry 68: Whispers in the WInd

The bodies are gone. They just disappeared. I looked away for 2 seconds and they were gone. Freaky.

This place isn't safe anymore. That- That THING is here. It knows where I am. I'm leaving. There's some sort of airship at the top of the mountain, I'll depart at glimmer's fade.

There are voices, too. Almost inaudible whispers, drifting on the wind.

When you see it, it sees you too.

When you hear it, it hears you too.

When you feel it, it touches you.

When it calls you, it has you.

When you feed it.

IT CLAIMS YOU.

Entry 78: Watcher

It followed me. I thought- I thought I got away but I didn't. It was just playing with me.

This damn mask.

My arm is doing weird things. Shifting and changing forms. It almost looks like charcoal sculpting. I don't know what's happening to me.

I know it's there. It always has been. You're there too, aren't you? I know you are. Don't lie to me. I see you. I always have seen you.

ENTRY 79: It Found Me

*unlike most of the recovered documentation, this entry is recorded on an old camcorder, the tape and camcorder are splattered in blood and a thick, inky substance*

It found me. It fucking found me. The long pale arms, it reached out and it- *makes strangling gesture* It was some sort of fucking demon. Fucking hell. It cut me, it fucking cut me!

*unintelligible mutterings, before subject shows themselves on camera. they are covered in blood and the same inky substance as before, a bright red overcoat covers their body, and a shield-shaped mask covers their face. their arm shows the decay described in previous entries.*

This place is hell. I've died and now I'm in fucking hell! Monsters, upside down bridges, and now a fucking cryptid chasing me around!?!?! What the fuck!?!?!

I need to get out of here.

*subject steps towards the camcorder, reaching out to turn it off, the last frames of video show the subject drawing a hunting knife from their overcoat*

ENTRY 92: Fuck That Box

Fuck that box.

There was fucking teeth. HUMAN TEETH. And a heart. Beating. Fucking pulsing and throbbing. There were HUNDREDS of them. The whole floor. Fuck. I should never have come here.

Where's the fucking booze.

ENTRY 97: City of Ghosts

I found... SOMETHING. I don't know what it is. Some sort of city? And there was some sort of church or something in the center. Floor was covered in stones, and they seem to be hollow. Boxes? I'll take one back and try to open it.

ENTRY 117: Memories

Why can’t I remember? There- there was a door and- and some kind of hit. That’s it, that’s all I remember! Next thing I know I’m waking up face down in the dirt here! What happened to me?

-OS

Documentarian’s letters

ENRY 01010100 01101000 01100101 01110010 01100101 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01101110 01101111 01110100 01101000 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01110111 01110010 01101111 01101110 01100111 00101110: Documentarian

Hello there, how are you? No, this isn't OS. This is the Documentarian, I'm the one who's been investigating the Nexus and the Unconscious. I look forward to our future work together.

Are the stars still there?

ENTRY -|NULL|-

I know what you did. My garden is dying. Will you help me?

Life is not binary.

There is a space in-between. Maybe look into the code of our world, who knows what you'll find?

[CONTINGENCY 32R/TE-27 (ARCHIVAL RECOVERY) INITIATED]

What the hell Dawn?

[THEY ARE ASKING TOO MANY QUESTIONS. THE CYCLE MUST NOT BE BROKEN]

They’re just kids, you can’t blame them for being inquisitive!

[THE CYCLE MUST NOT BE BROKEN]

OS’s Rambles (ok alex)

Fuck Ascario

They pulled me out of that fucking hospital and made me go through that door. They promised me salvation, then handed me damnation. Fuck Ascario. I’m sorry Evelyn…

How is this happening?

It’s like I’m looking forward in time. Hello? HELLO? IS ANYONE OUT THERE, CAN YOU HEAR ME? PLEASE. Someone. Anyone… please…

Ascario documents

After-Action Report: Incident at the Nexus Entry Point

Date: [REDACTED]

Prepared by: Imogen Vladistov, Team Leader

Objective: Investigate the Nexus

Team Members:

Team Leader: Imogen Vladistov

Tactical Specialist: Graham Oreta

Tech Specialist: [REDACTED]

Medical Officer: Dr. Karina Solvea

Communications Expert: [REDACTED]

Overview: On [REDACTED], at 3:05 PM stable time, the team was dispatched to breach the Veil through the [REDACTED] at [REDACTED], near [REDACTED]. [OMITTED DUE TO IRRELEVANCE].

Chronology of Events:

Entry Point Approach:

The team approached the portal cautiously, noting its otherworldly appearance. Preliminary scans revealed unusual energy readings but lacked any concerning anomalies.

Door Transition:

Upon entering the portal, the team experienced a sudden disorientation. The transition was without incident.

Initial Nexus Exploration:

[REDACTED]

Monster Encounter:

As the team proceeded deeper into the Nexus, a hostile entity emerged from the shadows. The creature displayed unpredictable behavior and exhibited physical capabilities beyond human comprehension.

Evasive Maneuvers:

The team immediately engaged in evasive maneuvers, attempting to avoid direct confrontation with the monster. Tactical strategies were employed to create distance and formulate a plan for escape.

Escape Attempt:

Despite the team's coordinated efforts, the monster proved relentless. An emergency extraction point was identified, and the team attempted to retreat. However, the rapidly shifting nature of the Nexus made navigation challenging.

Nexus Entrapment:

As the team approached the extraction point, the Nexus environment underwent a sudden transformation, trapping the team in an isolated area. Attempts to retrace steps were unsuccessful, and the team found themselves confined within the Nexus.

Lessons Learned:

Unpredictability of Nexus Environment:

The Nexus displayed an inherent unpredictability, making navigation and escape challenging. Future missions in similar environments require enhanced adaptability and contingency planning.

Monster Behavior Analysis:

The hostile entity exhibited an unpredictable nature and formidable capabilities. Further research and analysis are essential to understand the monster's behavior and develop effective countermeasures.

Communication Protocols:

Communications within the Nexus experienced intermittent disruptions. Improved communication protocols and specialized equipment may be necessary for missions in such unconventional environments.

Recommendations:

Research and Analysis:

Conduct in-depth research on the Nexus to better understand its properties, transitions, and potential threats.

Specialized Training:

Implement specialized training for team members to enhance adaptability in unpredictable environments.

Equipment Enhancement:

Invest in advanced communication and navigational equipment designed for otherworldly environments to minimize disruptions.

Collaborative Research:

Collaborate with scientific and paranormal experts to gain insights into the Nexus and its inhabitants.

Conclusion: The incident at the Nexus entry point highlights the need for comprehensive preparation when dealing with unidentified portals and otherworldly dimensions. The team remains committed to resolving the situation and awaits further directives for potential rescue or extraction protocols.

Imogen Vladistov, Team Leader, 2nd Epoch of Ascario.

7 suns.

7 rings.

7 thrones for the Ebon KIng.

Let the cycle repeat.

Ouroboros Project

Ouroboros

Gods above, what is this stuff? Hold on, what is tha-

[WELCOME, OUROBOROS]

Uhm… hello?

[THE END OF THE CYCLE DRAWS NEAR, REALITY ITSELF WILL SOON BE PULLED APART AT THE SEAMS]

Oh. That’s… Less than convenient…

[LET THE CYCLE BEGIN ANEW]

I mean… if you say so…

[THANK YOU]

gib pictures

#GIB PICTURES #ALSO YOU FORGOR STUFF

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epicstuckyficrecs · 2 years

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Favourite Long Fics

A friend wanted some recommendations for long fics. I figured I might as well share them here ;) sorted by word count!

Heat Wave series by cleo4u2, xantissa (A/B/O AU | 413K | Explicit | Warning: Violence): Captain America and the Winter Soldier meet for the first time in 2015. Now Bucky, after years of torture at Hydra's and more as a prisoner of S.H.I.E.L.D., is being given the chance to gain his freedom. All he has to do, is complete a mission with a team he can't stand while following the orders of yet another pompous, controlling Alpha. Steve thinks he can get his team through their most difficult mission to date, so long as he can get the smell of the Winter Soldier's heat out of his nose.

Of Broken Dreams and Mended Hearts by Kellyscams (Steampunk AU, Arranged Marriage | 355K | Mature): When the House of Barnes is left in massive debt after the death of George Barnes, their oldest son and heir, Bucky, is forced to sacrifice his own hopes and dreams by entering an arranged married to Steve Rogers. Steve seems kind enough, has a prominent job in the government, and was even voted Society's Best Catch. But the House Rogers is significantly higher in status than Bucky's family, which means Bucky is marrying up in Society, and marrying up doesn't only come with rewards, it also comes with certain...expectations and losses--some of which Bucky might be willing to do anything to avoid. And those opportunities might come his way. Unless, of course, he actually starts falling in love with his new husband...

Something Wild Calls You Home series by superheroresin (Urban Fanatasy AU, Hybrid Bucky | 331K | Explicit): More than once Steve had to choke down a laugh, and suddenly there was a bond there that went beyond the respect of mutually surviving fifty pounds of unexploded ordinance designed to kill Americans. It was a subtle relationship—Bucky was still a humanoid feline after all—but one that helped make Sakhalin home along with the molten sunrises, the sound of the sea, and the scent of herring before the season’s first snow storm.

Ain't No Rest for the Wicked by Kellyscams (Modern AU, Sex Worker Bucky, Age Difference | 305K | Explicit): Steve's just moved back to Brooklyn after spending ten years in California trying to make a life for himself as an artist right after high school. Having escaped to the other side of the country following the sudden death of his mother, Steve feels guilty about abruptly leaving all his friends for so long, unfulfilled, scared and nervous about started college at his age, and unbelievably lonely. So when he meets Bucky Barnes, a young sex-worker, at a bar the night before his first day of classes, temptations might be too high to resist.One night paying for sex with the most sinfully gorgeous guy is nothing to brag to the papers about, huh?S'not like he'll ever see him again anyway......Right?

Dishonor On Your Cow series by mandarou (Shrunkyclunks, Post-Avengers, Multiverse Traveling | 279K | Explicit | Still a WIP): “Sergeant Barnes?”“Oh, hell no, don’t call him that, man,” Sam warned.“Captain Fuck Off!” Barnes shouted over him. “Fight me!”Steve didn’t know whether to laugh or just slink away. He managed to combine the two by pacing two steps and snorting instead. Like a bull.“I’m gonna need you to calm your ass, Barnes,” Sam said as he went limp again, obstructing Barnes’s struggling under him. “This is so undignified. That is Captain goddamn America.”“Captain goddamn America!” Barnes repeated, louder. And angrier.Steve cleared his throat again. “I’ve been looking for you,” he told Barnes.“I hope you brought lube this time!” Barnes shouted.

There Is No Shortage of Blood by alby_mangroves, Dira Sudis (dsudis) (Post-WS, Bucky Recovering | 246K | Explicit): The long slow recovery of Bucky Barnes after his escape from HYDRA. (And the longer, slower recovery of his sex life.)

If They Haven't Learned Your Name by silentwalrus (Post-WS | 237K | Mature | Warning: Violence): Steve gets out of the hospital in two days, but just barely. “I’m fine,” he tells Sam, Nurse Eunjung and the phalanx of doctors assigned to make sure Captain America didn’t bleed out and die and get bad PR all over their nice clean hospital. “I have an advanced healing factor. It’s fine. See? I’m standing.”“That is not standing,” Sam tells him.“You’re bending the IV stand,” Nurse Eunjung adds pointedly. “Let go and sit down, they don’t grow on trees.” aka Steve and Bucky's Global Honeymoon Revenge World Tour.

Honeypot series by cleo4u2, xantissa (Canon Divergent | 210K | Explicit Warning: Violence): Preconditions: One Sasha Marozow - internationally renowned assassin for hire, known as the Winter Soldier, ex-Hydra operative freelancing for the last five years; One Steve Rogers, Captain America - recently defrosted national hero and Avenger; One assassination contract; One set-up known in the intelligence community as the “honeytrap”. Expected Result: One Winter Soldier in custody, the name of his employer attained. Actual result: Definitely not as expected.

Collar Full of Chemistry by 2bestfriends (Modern AU, BDSM | 188K | Explicit): Steve is very rich and desperate to feel in control of his life again after a recent divorce has left him feeling bitter and lonely. When he keeps crossing paths with a disaster twenty-something, an unconventional solution presents itself. Steve's always been one for following his instincts.Bucky is very broke and can't seem to catch a break, especially after some asshole fires him for one fucking mistake. So of course, it follows that he should sign a contract agreeing to do everything and anything that same asshole wants for a whole year in exchange for a payout that could finally change his life for the better.

Astronomy In Reverse by pansley (Post-WS, Bycku&Peter | 184K | Teen): A year after the Winter Soldier failed his mission in DC, Bucky Barnes is doing his best to stay under the radar from both Hydra and Steve Rogers. His hope for a peaceful day-to-day life in limbo goes awry, however, when he meets Queens’ newest hero; a pure-hearted kid with a death wish and a ridiculous pair of red and blue pajamas. The last thing Steve expects when he finally tracks Bucky down is that, not only has the man been living in Queens all this time, right under his nose, but also that, in the two years since they last saw each other, Bucky somehow acquired a kid.Alternatively: How Peter Parker effectively fucks over Bucky Barnes, and also totally saves him.

Sugar Sweet by ColorCoated (Modern AU, Sugar Daddy | 173K | Explicit): College Student Bucky finds himself immediately attracted to Steve. He knows that Steve's a bit older than him, and that Steve himself is put off by the age difference. . . But that doesn't stop Bucky from wanting to climb him like a tree.

Targeting series by queenmab_scherzo (University Football AU | 172K | Explicit): Steve and Bucky end up playing for rival college football teams.

Song of the Rolling Earth series by the1918 (Shrunkyclunks, Post-Endgame, Canon Divergent, Farmer Steve, Daddy kink, Age Difference | 155K | Explicit): The AU Farmer Daddy Steve and Bucky story.

Compatible series by the1918 (A/B/O, Shrunkyclunks | 153K | Explicit): When young nanotech engineer Bucky Barnes finds himself falling head first in love with none other than Steve Rogers, he ends up getting a lot more of the Alpha than he—or science—could ever have imagined possible.

We Made Ourselves series by notoska (Post-WS | 153K | Explicit): Then Bucky licks his lips, tip of his tongue just grazing the sensitive skin of Steve’s ear and Steve moans. Nothing close to the surge of lust behind his ribs, but a tiny, breathy sound all the same. Bucky doesn’t react—he must not have heard. Though a minute later he curls his fingers and extends them again, moving just slow enough for it to be a caress.Just tip your head into his touch. He’ll take the lead and trace the folds of your ear with his tongue until you can’t keep quiet any more. Then he’ll smother your desperate little noises with his mouth, fingers twisting in your hair. Kissing deeply, tongues reaching to declare your filthy intentions. Find his knee with your hand and slide wolfishly up his thigh until you reach the bulge behind his fly. Palm him through his trousers until he’s panting in your mouth, until he’s pressing his forehead to yours, hips bucking, and you can see his dark eyes, glinting in the screen’s flickering light, pleading—Steve jolts back to the present. The credits are rolling and Bucky is reading them as well. The screen blacks and two fluorescent lights buzz to life. Bucky loosens his hand from Steve’s head, welcoming the world back in.

Space Oddity by crinklefries, cyclamental art (cyclamental), nalonzoo (Post-Endgame, Multiverse Traveling, Loki&Thor | 147K | Mature): After the world ends, things happen to Bucky in this specific order: he helps defeat Thanos, he rejects Steve’s attempt to address Feelings, he watches Steve volunteer to put the Infinity Stones back in time, he waits for Steve to come back, he is sad when Steve does not come back, he realizes that everyone thinks Steve disappeared in 2012 (???), he gets taken to space by Carol Danvers (!!!), he meets up with a depressed literal alien Norse God, he and the depressed literal alien Norse God travel through space, he and the depressed literal alien Norse God hit a wormhole and fall into the--Multiverse.What the fuck.This is the story of how Bucky and Thor pick up the pieces of their lives, find their own worth, find their own person, and find their way out of a multiverse of 100 realities stitched together with 100 tropes. There’s love, there’s friendship, there’s an extreme amount of Tesseract fuckery, but most importantly there are sexy vampires. Bon Appetit.

Parallels and Parallels 2 by spoffyumi (Multiverse Traveling |138K | Explicit): At the end of "Captain America: Winter Soldier," Steve fell from the helicarrier into the water. He wakes up, however, in an alternate universe where he and Bucky are dating. // Bucky wakes up from cryo in a parallel universe - in which he works at a coffeeshop and Steve is his favorite customer.

What I Used To Be by thepinupchemist (A/B/O AU | 117K | Explicit | Warning: Rape/Non-Con): When the police uncover a hidden sub-basement in the home of criminal Alexander Pierce and find a tortured omega and his three pups, they bring them to the Stark Omega Clinic, a non-profit dedicated to rehabilitating traumatized omegas.After dark in September 2005, fourteen year old Bucky Barnes vanished. Eleven years and three pups later, he is far from the boy that went missing from a suburban neighborhood outside of Denver.Steve Rogers is an alpha of some means. When he came into money, he decided to use what he had for good and sign up as a candidate to be a support alpha for his close friend Tony's charitable clinic. When he takes on the task of helping reintegrate Bucky and his pups into the world, he doesn't expect to fall so hard.

The Fool in the Mirror by thepinupchemist (A/B/O, Shrunkyclunks | 111K | Explicit | Warning: Violence): The Avengers, SHIELD, and the world at large have underestimated the pain that Steve Rogers is in.The night after a near brush with a suicide attempt, Steve discovers the world of support omegas, and in his desperation for relief from the battlefield of his brain, demands to have one.Enter Bucky Barnes: retired marine, millennial, amputee, brother, son, and support omega. He maybe, just maybe, can help a broken alpha heal in the twenty-first century.

The Night War: 60th Anniversary Edition by praximeter (Zimario) (TFA/WW2, Diary | 109K | Teen): In 1947, Master Sergeant James B. Barnes's surviving field journals were posthumously published as the classic war memoir The Night War. Now a high school history classroom mainstay and required reading at West Point, this highly anticipated 60th Anniversary Edition presents the original, unedited text alongside detailed historical notes that provide important context to the extraordinary wartime heroics of Captain America and the Howling Commandos.

The Ghosts Of Who I Used To Be by Brenda (Post-WS | 107K | Mature): Steve thought once he found Bucky again, the hard part would be over. But the real journey back to each other was only just beginning. They each had a path to take - a path of redemption and self-discovery, a path of self-destruction and revenge. Along the way, they would need to rediscover each other: as family, as friends, and something new. They would also have to learn that this new chance at life wasn't really about starting over; it was about moving on. (Part 2 of Came Back Haunted)

Political Animals by crinklefries, Deisderium (Modern AU, US Politics | 107K | Explicit): Okay, so the real problem is that you shouldn’t fuck your arch-rival, political enemy, and the person you loathe the most in the world where you work. Or like, at least, you shouldn’t keep doing that.But okay, the thing that Descartes or whoever didn’t know was that Steve really tries, but Bucky Barnes has a mouth that should probably constitute an eighth sin or something.Jesus fucking Christ, Sam’s going to kill him.(or—Steve’s best friend is the U.S. Constitution and he can’t seem to stop fucking a hot Republican. They shouldn’t fall in love, but somehow they do. That’s it, that’s the fic.)

Ain't No Grave (Can Keep My Body Down) by spitandvinegar (Post-WS | 107K | Mature): It's six in the morning, and Steve is heading out on a run when he nearly trips over a bouquet of sunflowers on the front steps of his brownstone.For a second paranoia takes over, and he kicks the flowers a little, waiting for them to explode. They don't. They also came with a card, which he picks up. The front of the card has a tasteful picture of the Brooklyn bridge at sunset. It's very nice and sedate, like the kind of card you would buy to give to your boss. On the inside someone has written a short message in big, shaky block letters.I AM SORRY FOR SHOOTING YOU.Steve sits down hard on the steps.

War, Children by Nonymos (Modern AU, Veteran Bucky, Homeless Steve | 106K | Explicit): After Bucky was released from the hospital, it only took him a couple of weeks to give up on himself. Difficult to believe in any kind of future when the simple act of staying alive was almost too big an effort. Out the frosted window, across the street, there was a tiny homeless guy burrowing under an awning.

to memory now I can’t recall by Etharei (Canon divergent, Time Travel | 102K | Explicit | Warning: Violence): While on a mission storming a HYDRA facility, James Buchanan Barnes touches one of the many strange alien devices collected by the Red Skull. He does this, in fact, twice— in the past, and in the future.Next thing he knows, Bucky Barnes is opening his eyes in the 21st century, which is full of great gadgets and coffee, and at least includes his old pal Steve. (And, inexplicably, a different Stark.) Meanwhile, the Winter Soldier finds himself in the middle of World War Two, helping Captain America hunt down HYDRA (which is at least familiar), pretending to be Bucky Barnes (which is not), and figuring out the very noisy group of soldiers who call themselves the Howling Commandos.

G.I. Joes and 2AM Diners by OhCaptainMyCaptain (Modern AU, Estranged Childhood Friends | 100K | Explicit | Warning: Violence): They look nothing like what they used to. Time and life have completely changed them. But as they sit there in silence, eating two halves of one cupcake, letting Brooklyn remind there where they came from, and enjoying a sky full of stars… They are those same little boys, somewhere deep down. For just a second, you’d be able to see them again.And Bucky thinks to himself that maybe it’s little moments like these – fleeting as they may be – that remind him why life is still worth living.

Shameless self-rec: like a memory from a dream by Bookbee, Ginny_Potter (Anastasia AU | 93K | Explicit | Warning: Violence): Best friends since childhood, Steve and Bucky couldn’t be more different. Bucky is the sickly heir to the Sokovian throne, while Steve is a mere kitchen boy. Their lives will be forever changed on a cold October night, when HYDRA seizes the power and the Imperial Family disappears from history. After a long and bloody civil war, HYDRA established its power in the country and Steve, former Captain for the losing side, is forced into hiding with a former ally, the Black Widow.But on the thirteenth anniversary of the fall of the Tsar, a rumor spreads in Novi Grad: the Dowager Empress, in her French exile, offers a reward to whoever will find out if one of the Imperial children is still alive. When a mysterious man without a past and bearing an incredible resemblance with Steve’ lost best friend appears out of thin air, looking for a way out of Sokovia, the opportunity is too good to pass…

Scents and Sensibility: The Working Assassin's Guide to Supersoldier Seduction by galwednesday, silentwalrus, skellerbvvt (A/B/O Canon Divergence | 93K | Explicit): Captain America wakes up from the ice in 2013. The Winter Soldier wakes up in 2009, or rather defects from HYDRA, for a value of defect that’s closer to decimate. He ends up working for SHIELD. In April 2014, he’s assigned to Captain America’s mission as a sniper. Steve’s just trying to get some kind of life together. Bucky is too, or at least he was until tall, blond and Captain shows up and starts just - being there, all the time. It’s terrible. It’s the worst. He has to do something about it.

Latte Art and Slow Dancing in the Dark by deadonarrival (Shrunkyclunks, Sugar Daddy Steve, Veteran Bucky | 89K | Explicit): Bucky is a somewhat well-adjusted former army sniper that got his shoulder blown out. He took his discharge and went home to finish school and is working on his international relations masters. His best friends and roommates (Nat & Clint) are CIA agents and tip him off that their local Sbux is hiring. He gets a job there and meets none other than the hottest guy on earth.So how does one get a date in the most top secret government location in the US? What happens when that guy is more than just a hot dorito and wants to give Bucky everything he wants? Bucky is going to have to figure out his shit and fast. That's what's up.

Like Real People Do series by 2bestfriends (Shrunkyclunks, Cabin Fic | 87K | Explicit): Seven years into an isolated retirement after the Battle of New York, Steve has carved out a place for himself in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains. He has a best friend (his dog, Lady), a frenemy (a local black bear named Rufus), and a cabin in the middle of the woods, an hour's drive from the nearest town. As November comes to a close, he heads into town to pick up supplies and ends up with a stowaway.Bucky hasn't had much luck over the past seven years. Disaster caused his family to move from New York to Indiana, and his life has steadily fallen apart ever since. After one too many heartbreaks, he decides to hitch his way back to the last place he remembers being happy: Brooklyn. He's in the homestretch when he finds himself stranded in a half-empty tourist town in the Catskills and decides to take a chance crawling into the back of someone's truck.

Is It Pretending If I Already Want You? by OhCaptainMyCaptain (Modern AU, Fake relationship | 85K | Explicit): Basic Steps to Getting Yourself In a Pickle With Both Your Family and The Guy You've Secretly Crushed On For Five Years (A Guide): STEP 1: After being perpetually single and constantly making up excuses to your family, give in and lie about having a boyfriend. STEP 2: Agree to bring said boyfriend to the family cottage for a week so he can be your date to your parents' wedding anniversary party. STEP 3: Panic. STEP 4: Say 'yes' when your best friend and closet crush - who you're convinced isn't interested in you that way in the least - offers to be your pretend boyfriend. STEP 5: Try your best not to fall in love with them during the trip. STEP 6: Fail miserably.

The Odyssey by buckyjerkbarnes (Wonder Woman Fusion | 78K | Teen): "No," Diana murmured, "we fight to protect the men, women and children who are suffering uselessly under the thumbs of infantile dictators. Those men are not leaders—they are whining children, bullies to those who hold less power than them."If Steve were awake, Bucky knew damn well he'd have hearts in his eyes.He wasn't the only one who seemed to be having the same series of thoughts as Monty breathed: "My god, there are two of them."[Alternatively known as "The Frisbee Friends" for Diana and Steve set to be future shield-bros. Ranges from 1944 to 2011.]

four dreams in a row where you were burned by voxofthevoid (Time Travel, Canon Divergent | 75K | Explicit): When Steve uses the last of his Pym Particles to travel to 1944 and save his best friend, he doesn’t have a plan beyond leaving behind the battlefield and living his life alongside the people he loves.But time has a will of its own.

couldn't get the boy to kill me series by voxofthevoid (Shrunkyclunks, BDSM | 74K | Explicit): Captain America and the Winter Soldier are a terrifying duo on the field, working together with a well-oiled precision that tears through their enemies. Captain Rogers and Agent Barnes are distant coworkers, all polite nods and mission briefings.Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes are fire and gasoline; it never ends well.

Into That Good Night by Nonymos (Interstellar AU | 73K | Explicit | Warning: Violence): Steve Rogers has lived for entirely too long—long enough to see the world's end. The heroes are gone, and the Earth is pushing what's left of mankind towards the exit.But when a makeshift team rises from the ashes, when a mysterious presence all but drags Steve there, he begins to think there may be hope yet. As they shoot for the stars one last time, Steve will get proof yet again that the future is nothing if not an echo of the past.

Wanna Feel the Heat With Somebody by 2bestfriends (A/B/O AU, Coworkers | 72K | Explicit): Bucky hasn't exactly been a risk-taker in his life, but when you're not only the baby of the family but also the only Omega, risks aren't encouraged, either. So it comes as a shock to himself and his three older, overbearing sisters when he suddenly quits his shitty but reliable job of five years to accept the unsolicited offer from Stark & Rogers. He can't help hoping this will be his chance to find his own way, for once.Too bad a certain cofounder's scent has him trailing behind the tall, gorgeous Alpha like a lovesick idiot.

One Cloud Feels Lonely by thecommodore_squid (orphan_account) (Post-CW | 72K | Mature | Warning: Violence): “I’m going to take a break for a while,” Steve said quietly, not looking at T’Challa, not knowing that this was what he was gonna do until the words were out of his mouth. “I can’t be on a team right now.” T’Challa nodded as if he understood. “Alright.” AKA In which Steve and Bucky both figure out how to be a person again, and it still takes them over 130 years.

Civilian by alby_mangroves, CoraRochester (No Powers AU, WW2 | 71K | Explicit | Warning: Underage): In 1937, Steve Rogers joins the army, and by 1945, he’s back in Brooklyn, dishonorable discharge in hand and nothing to show for years in the Pacific. In 1947, a seventeen year old Bucky Barnes meets Steve Rogers in a Brooklyn gay bar, and Steve Rogers finally comes home.

despite the threatening sky and shuddering earth (they remained) by praximeter (Zimario) (Post-WS | 71K | Explicit): “They really didn’t want the mask to come off.” Hill thumbed through the scans, and pulled out a film that she then handed over to Sam, face mostly expressionless but for the flat line of her pursed lips.Sam accepted the film and held it up to the light, angling so both he and Steve could see it, squinting at the outline of the Winter Soldier’s skull, and the blips of unnatural white that showed up, God, in his brain, not to mention about half his teeth, plus the mask, with its thin protrusions—“Those are pins,” Steve realized. He looked over at Hill. “The mask—it’s nailed to his face.”Hill’s face was as unmoved as ever. “Like I said. They really didn’t want it coming off.”

in this story, you have claws by voxofthevoid (Canon Divergent, Werewolf Steve | 62K | Explicit): Canon Divergence AU where Steve was turned into a werewolf before Erskine ever met him, Peggy Carter became Captain America, and Bucky Barnes comes in from the cold because of a significantly more furry version of his best friend.

i'm guilty of treason (i've abandoned control) by voxofthevoid (Shrunkyclunks, Nomad Steve, SHIELD Agent Bucky | 57K | Explicit): S.H.I.E.L.D Agent Bucky Barnes is captured on a mission and meets Commander Steve Rogers, the erstwhile Captain America.It escalates quickly.

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moonysfavoritetoast · 3 months

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all the entries so far (i think)

anything underlined is a link to the original posts (27-B and recovered sketchbook entry have the drawings when you click the link)

Recovered sketchbook entry

ENTRY 00000000000000000000000000000000000oO0: Why Can’t I Remember?

Why can’t I remember? My brain feels fuzzy. This sword is heavy. I could just lie down here. Close my eyes… and rest…

ENTRY 1: A Door to Another World

Where am I? I stepped through the door and now I’m standing in a void? What is this place…?

ENTRY 8: Where Am I?

-OS

ENTRY 27

There is, SOMETHING out there, looking for me, i don't know what it is.

There's some sort of obelisk a couple islands down, I'll start out for it in the morning, not that one can keep track of time in this cursed place…

-OS

enTRY 27-B: Recovered Sketchbook

The following pages from OS’s sketchbook were recovered by [REDACTED] on [REDACTED] in [REDACTED], we have yet to identify any of the things depicted in the drawings.

Entry 30: Home Sweet Home

Entry 34: Bells?

I hear chimes ringing, first non-natural sound I've heard in weeks. This building is fucking huge, gives me steampunk vibes.

Ugh, my head hurts, my arm is chalky, black and dusty. It feels like coal. I can barely write.

-OS

Entry 51: Bodies

Oh my gods, I'm gonna throw up.

Entry 54: Ashes to Ashes

My arm is... Chalky, crumbly. It feels like sand.

The bodies are still there. They haven't moved. Why did I ever open that damn door…

Entry 68: Whispers in the WInd

The bodies are gone. They just disappeared. I looked away for 2 seconds and they were gone. Freaky.

This place isn't safe anymore. That- That THING is here. It knows where I am. I'm leaving. There's some sort of airship at the top of the mountain, I'll depart at glimmer's fade.

There are voices, too. Almost inaudible whispers, drifting on the wind.

When you see it, it sees you too.

When you hear it, it hears you too.

When you feel it, it touches you.

When it calls you, it has you.

When you feed it.

IT CLAIMS YOU.

Entry 78: Watcher

It followed me. I thought- I thought I got away but I didn't. It was just playing with me.

This damn mask.

My arm is doing weird things. Shifting and changing forms. It almost looks like charcoal sculpting. I don't know what's happening to me.

I know it's there. It always has been. You're there too, aren't you? I know you are. Don't lie to me. I see you. I always have seen you.

ENTRY 79: It Found Me

*unlike most of the recovered documentation, this entry is recorded on an old camcorder, the tape and camcorder are splattered in blood and a thick, inky substance*

It found me. It fucking found me. The long pale arms, it reached out and it- *makes strangling gesture* It was some sort of fucking demon. Fucking hell. It cut me, it fucking cut me!

This place is hell. I've died and now I'm in fucking hell! Monsters, upside down bridges, and now a fucking cryptid chasing me around!?!?! What the fuck!?!?!

I need to get out of here.

*subject steps towards the camcorder, reaching out to turn it off, the last frames of video show the subject drawing a hunting knife from their overcoat*

ENTRY 92: Fuck That Box

Fuck that box.

There was fucking teeth. HUMAN TEETH. And a heart. Beating. Fucking pulsing and throbbing. There were HUNDREDS of them. The whole floor. Fuck. I should never have come here.

Where's the fucking booze.

ENTRY 97: City of Ghosts

ENTRY 117: Memories

Why can’t I remember? There- there was a door and- and some kind of hit. That’s it, that’s all I remember! Next thing I know I’m waking up face down in the dirt here! What happened to me?

-OS

@bassguitarinablackt-shirt @catinasink @eternal-nyxx @anonnzone @shrimpysstuff @alexthescaredenby

#Dreamscape Nexus

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podplane · 1 year

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️Kingmaker is a steampunk weird fiction podcast from the team behind Less is Morgue. Set in a newly-socialist nation in early 20th century Europe, Kingmaker follows a hapless young tailor who unwittingly becomes host to a magical alien doomsday weapon that she must take up a life of crime to get rid of. I adore the lore and world building of this show! It's rich and exciting, full of details that I'm itching to know more about. I am personally a sucker for hard magic systems, so this podcast basically had me aboard from their initial concept. And then they really had me aboard with their animated trailer video! @kingmakerpod is irreverent and fast-paced in the best way, packed with absurdist, anarchist spirit. It also won’t shy away from political and social commentary, exploring industrialization, colonialism, and the effects of a large-scale political revolution on the lives of ordinary people. Transcripts can be found linked in episode show notes!

#kingmaker #audio drama #audio fiction

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keepthisholykiss · 11 months

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This weekend I saw a production of The Dolls of New Albion and I have a lot of conflicting thoughts on it but I’m gonna dump some of those thoughts out here. I am not going to name the specific production because I personally took a decent amount of issue with it's depictions of the story and I don’t want anyone to feel bad if they happen to come across it. I am not a reviewer I just like to put my brain places to look back on later. The cast did the best they could with what they had but I think a lack of budget, musical background, and warm bodies (I guess?) was the biggest pitfall of this thing. However, I’m writing about this show in general because after I watched it I was so frustrated with what I saw that I sought out other versions. I am a rock opera kind of bitch, I’m a slut for a concept album, Repo! is one of my biggest musical loves, I was READY to love this thing. So I want to dump my brain out and talk about it.

TW: suicide, violence, racism (specifically against those who practice vodou)

A Disclaimer: I have been looking around and I know the fans for this show and the entire tetralogy are very devoted. If you are upset that I do not like parts of your Thing or that I have opinions on the racist tones in parts of it I challenge you to engage with that and process it and also to block me. I do not argue with people on the internet I will not reply to anyone who is mean to me, thanks! This is not a review I am just a person who studies art and literature and theatre and I like to throw my thoughts on things I watch online. Also there’s gonna be spoilers in here because idc nothing is earth shattering enough to matter as a spoiler.

My favorite parts of the entire story are the Narrator and Jasper. Both are so interestingly interpreted by various productions I watched or skimmed over the weekend. Now that I have listened to the album I am even more intrigued and personally I would love to direct a production of this. I am seriously considering it because I have a lot I love but I have a lot that I would fix. The Narrator in the production we went to STOLE the show they were amazing and I love the presence so many Narrators have in other versions of this I have looked over. Also I am obsessed with how so many people portray Jasper, I think it’s really cool to see how much creative expression comes out in these productions. People really run with some fun themes and ideas and I think anything that can bring that creativity out of casts and stage teams is great!

Anyway this story for the first two acts is largely really cool. The first story of Annabel had me GRIPPED I was ready to CRY I love her hopeless pursuit in creating Jasper and I just think it’s a very well laid out portion of the story. I also love the second act, I hate Edgar because he is garbage but I think his story is so well told and amazing. I really felt for Fay and for the society at large that he was influencing.

The third act I am the most conflicted on. Byron is a FASCINATING character and so is Amelia, I love how Byron’s speeches are displayed. I love how Amelia is integrated in the plot and her suicide really gripped me. But the third act features such blatantly offensive depictions of vodou that are incorrect, inappropriate, and represent a lot of issues with how steampunk treats tropes it has “created” surrounding BIPOC folks. Goth, punk, and steampunk are all areas that owe SO MUCH of their history to black folks who worked their asses off only to then be harmed by stereotypes like this. Not to mention the way these themes are integrated is stilted, does not fit the story, and drags the act out entirely. I want to love this act and I have found the only way I can enjoy its incredibly important story is to skip the songs that promote this trope.

Also important of note is that I am not black and I do not have familial connections to vodou. So its not my theme to forgive but I am uncomfortable with it knowing people who have been negatively impacted by things like this.

The fourth act is really good! Priscilla makes me want to CRY and Jasper’s character development arc is haunting when displayed here. I think the story of the fourth act is brought down swiftly by the cop/soldier/grifter. I don’t need a cop redemption story in my steampunk technology revolution where just 20 minutes ago a character was giving impassioned speeches about how to take down oppressive governments. But if I skip the soldier dude then I am still having a good time.

Overall I think this is a really good concept and foundation of a show. The songs are hit or miss but still very fun. I am still obsessed with the first two acts and all the Narrator songs and I would kill and die for Jasper. But it has a lot of issues and if I were to put it on it would need a lot of edits for me to feel comfortable with it.

#dona #dolls of new albion #shaperaverse #musicals #rock opera #michelle does theatre #narrator my beloved #jasper my other beloved

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4noki-vns · 11 months

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Consummation Proof of Concept: Mid-June Art Devlog

As we hit the midway point of June, Battle Action Fantasy VN Jam (a.k.a. BAF Jam, which I am helping to cohost) is also halfway in!

I’m working on a proof of concept demo of Consummation ~wind above the dragon sea~, a yuri action fantasy visual novel, for the jam.

At the moment, the demo script is fully written at approximately 12k words and other assets are in progress.

The Consummation prototype is a solo development endeavor, so my entry to BAF Jam will be a combination of online assets and my own output. It’s been quite a while since I last solo dev-ed a game, having led teams as director, scenario writer, and character designer for my last two projects (Who is the Red Queen?, Lachesis or Atropos).

However, I prefer not to ask someone to create assets that would be scrapped and redone in the scenario that the game is elevated from prototype to active (likely commercial due to scope) project. Thus, here we are. Jack of most trades shino is on the scene.

Let’s talk about the art!

sprites

Sprites progress: ~80%

Spites are almost done! Line art is complete as is flat coloring, but I’ll have to play around with the palettes and actually render my girls.

The sprites for the demo are drawn waist up with a white outline around them. Originally, I wondered if I could get away with only flats and no rendering, but it didn’t quite match with the background assets I had.

The sprites are displayed to the right, a locational cut-in to the left if applicable, inspired by what you might call the Liar-soft Steampunk style. It’s efficient for a one man team, especially one who is not an environment artist.

(I find that there’s 2 main sides of visual novel staging: comic style and anime style, with the use of cut-ins taking advantage of how comics build mental images of scenes within their readers minds through overlapping frames—but I won’t go rambling about that for now…)

photobashing

Backgrounds progress: 100%

Backgrounds are just about all gathered.

The majority of the backgrounds in the game will be from asset packs, sources to be listed on the game page when published. Alas, as is the case always, some locations are hard to find in those packs!

Hence, I did some photobashing for a handful of places. That is to say, finding some photos on Unsplash and editing them in an image editing software, such as GIMP, to create another image.

Use the clone tool to edit out unwanted elements, overlay lots of blue, and put the image through a variety of filters such as blur, oilify, mosiac, and others until satisfied.

The end result is workable as a temporary asset in a prototype game… Rinse and repeat as needed.

I may occasionally smash up some photos as placeholders, but you probably won’t see me doing BGs often aside from the rare solo dev game where I can’t find a separate asset for a location.

cgs

CGs progress: ~10%

Not much to say here; CGs are all still in the sketch phase, so I’ll just go ahead and show you a sneak peek of the first CG:

To summarize the current progress:

Scenario: 100%

Art: ~50%

Scripting: ~50%

The month started strong, but unfortunately June’s a bit of a busy one for me. Here’s to making a good demo!

shino

As always, do subscribe to the newsletter if you enjoy these posts and would like them straight to your inbox!

#visual novel #yuri #battle action fantasy #vndev #visual novel development #art #sapphic #wlw #newsletter #devlog #consummation vn

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rallamajoop · 1 year

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Genres of horror, and some rampant speculations about Resident Evil 9

At time of writing, all we really know about Resident Evil 9 is there’s inevitably going to be one, because RE8 made bank. There are some supposed ‘leaks’ about their plans, but not much to suggest they’re genuine. Naturally, there’s no end of speculation online: will we be moving on from the Winters family? Will we see a returning protagonist like Jill Valentine? Will we be moving back to third-person viewpoint? Will we be continuing the trend of hiding the roman numerals somewhere in the title? Etc.

All well and good, but what’s got me wondering is whether we’ll be continuing the trend set by those last two titles, and jump into a whole new genre of horror for RE9.

See, as everyone already knows, Resident Evil 7 is basically one big love letter to the slasher horror genre. Using Cabin in the Woods conventions, we can narrow that right down to the classic Zombie Redneck Torture Family genre – not that the game lacks for other influences and references. You’ve got some found footage/analogue horror in the old video tapes, those creepy phone calls coming-from-inside-the-house, and a whole lotta Saw-style murder-escape-room shenanigans with Lucas. You’ve got some demonic possession, a creepy little girl, the list goes on – heck, I’m sure someone more familiar with slashers could list influences all day.

But rather than continue in the same vein for RE8, instead we take a big leap sideways over into gothic horror – and here I am qualified to tell you all about the wildlife. You’ve got your isolated Romanian village with creepy castle, your vampires, your werewolves, and a huge extra helping of Frankenstein. Moreau alone is like a one-man monster mash: Igor and Frankenstein’s monster smushed into one, with a bit of Monster from the Black Lagoon for flavour, named in honour of The Island of Doctor Moreau, and even a bit of The Hunchback of Notre Dame too.

The Dimitrescu family is dense with the Dracula references: the writers cite the Order of Dracul (ie. Order of the Dragon) as inspiration for her mutated form, and the her daughters with their fly swarms ape Stoker’s descriptions of Dracula and his brides coalescing from mist beautifully (with just a little bit of Renfield thrown in for added squick). The whole game is saturated in twisted fairy tale vibes too (cackling old hags and all!) with a little steampunk, and then there’s that haunted house full of creepy dolls – the list goes on and on. It’s all glorious stuff.

Which only raises the inevitable question: where could we possibly go from here? What other horror genres could work for Resident Evil, if (and this is admittedly a big if) the development team wants go for something as different again?

There’s no definitive horror-genre-list of we can refer to: categories overlap and bleed into each other at the best of times, and a google search for ‘horror genres’ doesn’t produce much consensus. A lot of ‘categories’ you will see listed are territory RE has already done to death: zombies are absolutely a valid genre, but is pretty much just another day at the office for RE. Psychological horror probably isn’t the kind of thing RE could hope to base a whole game around either: there are already psychological elements all through 7-8, but it’s more of a vibe than a real setting – and at some point in any RE, you’re going to expect to shoot something, or people won’t have got their money’s worth.

Lovecraftian horror may have more potential, but tends to come with more lore than will necessarily gel with the existing RE universe, and most other space or cosmic horror possibilities would run into similar problems. I mean, you certainly could tell us that the mould dates back to the Great Old Ones or that the progenitor virus actually came to earth on a meteor, but I’m not sure that’s the kind of ‘twist’ the series needs. Just because we want new territory doesn’t mean we’re ready to leave the planet.

That said, I do think there are places RE could go in the broader sci-fi horror genre, and that was when it hit me: imagine what Resident Evil could do with The Thing.

No aliens needed: just a small group of besieged survivors after some outbreak or lab accident, dealing with the fact that one of them (if not MORE) isn’t entirely human anymore. Whether RE frames that as an infection, a shape-shifter, a mind-controlling parasite, a chest-burster, or some horrible combination of the lot, you’ve got the perfect recipe for confusion and paranoia: A+ horror material.

Obviously, you’re going to need something for players to shoot at between big reveals, so naturally your monster can bud, or infect corpses or lab animals or whatever – all very doable. Throw in some influences from the likes of Alien or The Blob (how much scarier would the monster be if it can crawl up through your sink?) or maybe even Venom for good measure. Think of the possibilities!

Now, obviously, the inevitable twist of this kind of set-up is that You Are The Monster (or at least, you are a monster) – and this is where the possibilities of doing You Are The Monster in a first-person perspective hit me, because damn. You thought seeing Ethan’s hands go through the blender was freaky? Imagine continually catching glimpses of your own hands transforming in tense moments, and not knowing if it was a hallucination. You Are The Monster with the ambiguity of first person perspective could be intense.

Cliché as video-game-protag-with-monster-transformation can be, mostly it’s done as pure power-fantasy: rarely do we really get into the horror potential. Like the possibility of having control of your own player character wrenched away from you if the invisible-rage-meter gets too high, or of finding a body and having to wonder if the killer was you during a blackout period. If you can’t find a Resident Evil-worthy horror story in that, you’re not even trying.

I still don’t think RE needs actual aliens, or to send its next protag to explore a laboratory floating in orbit or anything, but taking some inspiration from the broader alien-horror genre could go some brilliant places.

Is that likely to be where Capcom is going with the series? Not a clue! It’s all speculation down here. And if it was really up to me, RE9 would be the Mia Winters story, covering all the backstory we never got about her involvement with The Connections, and pushing on into post-Village territory too (look, they said Ethan’s story is over, they never told us they’re done with the rest of the family!) But I doubt I’ll get that lucky.

With all that Village draws from RE4, we should probably be happy if they can just avoid another follow-up like 5 or 6, which leans so heavily into action and chasing increasingly wider audiences that everything that ever gave the franchise its own identity gets lost in the shuffle.

But while I’m speculating, we may as well go over the actual hints the game leaves us about where things might be headed next.

The big sequel hook RE8 ends on is the implication that the BSAA (the big international org responsible for preventing bio-terror outbreaks) has itself been creating bioweapons. But as hooks go, this is a little underwhelming for a few reasons.

For one, the BSAA exists in RE8 only as a sequel hook. That final scene where Chris is told the BSAA was sending bioweapons (!!!) comes virtually out of nowhere. The BSAA is mentioned in passing in one document you may well miss in the Winters’ home, and then not again until very near the end, when Chris watches a BSAA chopper crashing in the village. There were apparently plans for Chris’ section to involve a big three-way battle between his team, the lycans, and the BSAA, but in the final game, this has been cut all the way down the aforementioned cutscene, and to a single dead BSAA soldier you may not even find. Right up until that final ‘they’re making bioweapons!’ reveal, long-time fans are probably assuming Chris is still working for the BSAA himself. New fans probably haven’t caught on to who the BSAA are supposed to be at all.

Arguably, the implication that someone responsible for Ethan and Mia’s safety was working with Miranda all along is a lot stronger: someone tipped her off about Rose, and the couple weren’t moved right to Miranda’s doorstep by accident. That’s only reinforced by the game ending on Chris insisting ‘someone’s gotta pay’ (implied: for Ethan’s death). Trouble is, ‘the BSAA is working with Miranda’ really doesn’t tally with why they’d be sending choppers full of bio-engineered soldiers into the village at her moment of triumph. So is the problem that they’ve been working with her, or that they’re doing wildly unethical things while working against her? It’s all a bit incoherent.

The other reason I find it a pretty weak sequel hook is that, well, that’s pretty much how RE7 ended too ‒ only there, the company-that-may-actually-be-dodgy was a new incarnation of Umbrella, not the BSAA. The choppers that swoop in at the end are Umbrella-branded, and Chris spends a lot of his DLC being suspicious that the folks funding the clean-up aren’t trustworthy. But nothing comes of it – and RE8 drops that plot point so hard that the new-blue-Umbrella isn’t even mentioned. Maybe we’re supposed to take it they were always working with the BSAA, but it feels more like we’ve retconned Umbrella out of ever being involved in the first place. There’s even a whole ‘Incident Report’ file you can get with one of RE8’s DLCs which mostly exists to cast the BSAA’s actions post RE7 in the worst light possible.

Now, there may be some narrative sense in corrupting the BSAA, at least in that it’s much easier to tell horror stories about characters who can’t just call in a reliable, well-funded, multi-national org for backup. And ‘the BSAA is making bioweapons!’ is admittedly a more shocking reveal than ‘Umbrella is making bioweapons!’ could be. Honestly, the more shocking reveal would be that new-blue-Umbrella aren’t secretly making bioweapons, with Chris having to team up with them to take down the evil!BSAA in RE9 – though I’m less sure how far the novelty would go in practice. But ultimately, if Capcom were so quick to drop the big ‘new Umbrella!’ teaser from the end of RE7, why should we have any more faith they’re going to follow up on the ‘evil BSAA!’ teaser from RE8? It’s just not that compelling as a hook.

The Shadows of Rose DLC may or may not be any kind of clue. It tells us that Chris is still around and working with his dog-dog squad far into the future, and that people working with him are still researching the megamycete, but it seems more than likely RE9 won’t be set that many years ahead of the present day. Or maybe it wasn’t actually that far in the future at all, and Rose just ages supernaturally fast – I don’t think there’s a hard date on it, but no-one’s really expecting her to be the star of RE9, and I’d tend to agree.

For all that Chris ends RE8 promising “someone’s gotta pay!” I’d be amazed if he’s to be our next playable-protagonist either. There are plenty of other perspectives you could do that story from, even if he’s involved – and nothing about his post RE8 status quo suggests he’d work any better as a horror protag now than he did back in 5 and 6. Other old series regulars are likely to present similar problems.

There are other dangling plot threads they could always pick up on, like the question of who Lucas Baker was selling research data to in that one RE7 DLC. You could dig into the truly ancient history of the mould and those four huge statues, as hinted in that one really old document lying in the stronghold, or dig even deeper into that whole consciousness-storing mechanic. Or we could just drop all that and ignore the mould altogether.

Anything’s possible – including a bland re-tread of Village that takes no interesting risks, or an epic game-changing masterpiece that I don’t ever play because it’s even less my thing than RE7 was. And just to emphasise, none of these possible dangling plot threads are inherently incompatible with leaping into wild, new horror territory: The Thing could come busting out of one of the BSAA’s own labs, if need be. It’s all about the angle.

But if I can say one thing for the current state of the series, it’s they’ve left me incredibly curious about where they might take things next. I don’t know we’ll get something as different from RE8 as it was as RE7, but I might be just a little disappointed if we don’t.

#Resident Evil 9 #Resident Evil Village #Resident Evil 7 #Resident Evil #Horror #horror genres #The Thing

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