#and I don’t see enough people talking about or exploring this concept

[heyitspersephone]

Thinking about stranger things again now that the strikes are over and how, narratively, it would be way, WAY cooler to have Mike get Vecna’d instead of Will in s5

It’s just something about the way Mike’s trauma is never addressed or handled in any way?? Like, he hugs his mom twice and then when he was depressed in season 2 and 4 nobody did anything (his parents scolded him for his behavior in s2 ig but that’s not support). His best friend went missing leaving from his house, he watched his body get pulled from the quarry, watched El (in his eyes) kill herself stopping the demogorgon, watched Will be possessed, saw Bob die, was in Star Court when everything went down, saw Billy die, had his best friend move away, was SHOT AT (and really too few people talk about the shooting in Cali bc omg??), buried a body, and watched the apocalypse start. And that’s just off the top of my head.

(And yes I’m aware that the other characters (especially Will) are traumatized too but I will get to my point in a second just hold on)

The plot is geared towards this idea that Will and Henry have to have some big face off (and they should, in my opinion, but I don’t think it should be in a possession, or at least not the the Vecna kind of possession, yk?) but that makes it all the better, writing wise, to have mike be the one in danger. Will was helpless and hiding in s1, I think Will should get his big strong moments in s5 where he gets to be the hero of the story.

It would just be a lot more fun to work with Mike being Vecna’d than Will, because what are we going to bring up with Will’s visions? His dad? His sexuality? The events of s1 from his perspective? It would be cool to see, for sure, but we already know most of that. Mike, on the other hand, has a number of untapped things, like jumping off the quarry, why he’s so hesitant to tell El he loves her, how someone who was smart and kind enough to take El in in s1 and come up with the spy and sauna plans in s2 and s3 could turn into the oblivious asshole that he was in s3 and s4 (he needs therapy, ik, I still love his character but I want to explore the reasons he went from his s2 characterization to his s3 one)

It would be a very interesting parallel, I think, to explore Mike’s thought processes in this way, especially with all of Mike’s repression business (bc whether you ship byler or milkvan he is repressing his feelings HARD. Like, beyond his inability to say I love you there’s the fact that he doesn’t bring up the apparent many times he called pre-s4 during the Rink O Mania fight?? That literally would’ve absolved him of guilt in that argument since he WAS reaching out to Will the whole time? Hellooooo????).

Anyways, this all brings me to my main point: Vecna targets isolation as much as he targets trauma and guilt. The whole party was traumatized by the events in s1, s2, and s3, but Max was the one targeted. Plus, Henry went for Fred, Chrissy, and Patrick (I think his name was Patrick) instead of going for the perceivably easy targets that the mcs would make (ik narratively that would’ve made it more boring but shhh), so why Max and those three specifically? They were isolated. Lucas and Erica have each other, Dustin goes to Steve and Robin, Will and El have each other and Jonathan and Joyce, Nancy probably goes to Jonathan, and who does Mike go to?

No one. And don’t say Nancy because if those two have heart to hearts then I’m the next coming of Christ. Max separated herself from the Party in the aftermath of her grief and guilt over Billy, and it feels quite obvious that Mike was doing the same (like I said, he has repression issues). So Mike is traumatized, alone, and guilty (be it Will getting taken from Mike’s house, losing El in front of him multiple times, the many deaths he has witnessed, or the internalized homophobia angle), which makes him more of a target than Will, in my opinion (or at least an easier one, especially given his tendency to put himself on the line during fights (quarry, most of s2, s3 mindflayer fight), which would set him up on the suicidal ideation path)

Furthermore, as I’ve seen a few other people point out (and I can’t find the posts but one of them had eight screenshots of the various moments), Mike is always the one getting in the way, so it would be a strategic move for Henry to target him to get him out of the picture. Mike was the one that found El and got her involved in saving Will s1, he was the one who came up with the spy plan and called out the ambush in s2, he was the one to monologue Will out of his possession s2, he was the one with the sauna plan for Billy in s3, he was the one trying to help El get the strength to fight s4 (even if the monologue sucked ass it’s the intention that counts). As much as people like to hate on Mike, he is in the leader position most of the time when the party is grouped up (barring his mental health struggles slowing that down beginning of s3 and throughout s4, but he’s still capable of it). He’s the idea man, and he’s the one whose character’s foundations were built on the desire to keep his friends safe, so it would be a very fun plot line to watch him be the one targeted in s5. Like Will said, as lovestruck and cheesy as he was, Mike is the heart of the party when he’s on his A-game, so Henry should 100% be trying to keep him in the issues he’s been struggling with.

Obviously, Will and El are the Targets with a capital T for Henry since they’re the ones that got away or whatever, but I think Mike is a weakness of Will’s (and El’s tbh but also I think they need to have separate character arcs and I don’t exactly ship milkvan) that should be exploited.

TL;DR: Mike should get Vecna’d instead of Will in s5 because it would make sense in lore and be a very cool way to resolve his character arc

#wow this ended up being super long for no reason oops #I meant to stop at the first paragraph #oh well this was a lot of fun to type out at midnight haha #and I don’t see enough people talking about or exploring this concept #percy speaks #stranger things #mike wheeler #will byers #eleven stranger things #el hopper #vecna #lucas sinclair #dustin henderson #max mayfield #byler #character analysis #stranger things analysis #byler analysis #ish #I’m a byler shipper at heart but it wasn’t the main focus sorry

[icyharrington]

Smuttylicious fic where eddie is obsessed with people hearing you fuck 😁. He loves to give multiple orgasms and overstim you have you screaming and begging for him so everyone can hear he tends to do it on the groups vacation getaways 💦💦💦

okeeee so i just wrote a lil smut based on this ask, basically this exact concept, w/ the reader and eddie on a camping trip w argyle, jonathan, nancy, steve, and robin heehee lol hopefully y'all like :3 it's not much and honestly i feel like my writing has been lacking recently so im srrryyyy if it sucks but yea !!!

contains: dom!eddie, overstimulation, public sex kink (sort of?), exhibitionism, cunnilingus, fingering, dirty talk

wc: 1.3k

Eddie Munson is a nymphomaniac- you’re certain of it. There’s never a moment he doesn’t want your skin on his, his rough hands in a perpetual state of exploration. He’s insatiable, always willing to go for another round, his energy never depleting when it comes to pleasing you. 

He’s never been one to be discrete about his passions, and that includes his insatiable hunger for you; he shamelessly feels up your ass while you’re out together, reaching up under your tiny skirt to pull at the lace of your thong, and sometimes he’ll put his arm around you just to grope at your chest, grinning when you jump and shoot him a pointed glare. 

Even when you’re out with friends, he doesn’t pause his hormonal antics- partially due to his lack of impulse control, but also because he wants everyone to see that you’re his, see the way your cheeks go red and you start to squirm under his wordless command. It’s a constant, subtle possessiveness he exudes, and although it’s somewhat embarrassing to be blatantly objectified in front of other people, you also find it painfully sexy. 

Sometimes he’ll shamelessly smack your ass or make suggestive comments (one time at Steve's, he’d tossed his lighter on the ground in front of you, jeering, “why don’t you go bend over and get that for me, hon?”), smirking whenever you narrow your eyes or give him a playful shove in retaliation.

“Yeeesh, get a room!”, Steve always says, palm colliding against his forehead with comedic exasperation as the rest of the gang nods along in solemn agreement, though to Eddie, the jokes are nothing but fuel for his perverted little fire. 

When you, Eddie, Steve, Argyle, Jonathan, Robin, and Nancy had first come up with the plan for a camping trip, Robin had cast Eddie a stern look, her eyes dropping to examine his hand on the underside of your ass cheek. “Y’know, I have half a mind to propose that (y/n) and Eddie sleep in separate tents. Do you guys really wanna be kept up all night listening to straight people sex?”

“Oh god,” Steve had murmured, rubbing circles on his temples at the thought. “Remember the night we got trashed and you guys all slept over my place?” 

“How could I forget?” Robin griped back, before letting out a string of obnoxious ooooohhhhh fucccckkkkkkk, Edddddiiiiieeeeeee’s, not actually sounding too far off in her imitation of you.

The interaction had made you blush, avoiding the eyes of your friends who were probably visualizing you, naked, being pounded into brainless pornstar-moaning oblivion. Eddie, on the other hand, had only flashed the group a devilish grin. “Oh, just wait. This time I’m gonna make her cum ten times instead of just five.”

And he wasn’t kidding, though unlike everybody else, you hadn’t believed that he was. 

He hadn’t wasted any time, once everybody returned to their tents for the night, all comfortably sleepy and stoned and drunk; within seconds he was nipping at your neck, taking fistfuls of your curves in his big hands, squeezing hard enough to leave fingerprints, and like always, you just couldn’t bear to stop him. 

Now you’re spread out in front of him, garments discarded in careless heaps across your modest-sized tent, leaving you on display; his head is between your thighs with only his round eyes visible, glinting mischievously as they observe your vulnerable state.

You stopped being able to form cohesive thoughts about three orgasms ago, and it doesn’t seem that he has any plans on letting up soon, his tongue dipping in and out of your folds, fucking you with it. He’s ravenous, with his hands keeping your legs planted firmly apart so you’re unable to interfere. 

You grip his hair, which is knotted and unkempt, your head lolling back against your padded sleeping bag. “Eddie… please, Eddie…”

“Please what, sweetheart? Hmm?” He slides two fingers inside your slick entrance easily, flushed lips wrapping around your clit to suck harshly at it. He loves it when you’re incoherent for him, your sentences fragmented and unfinished, rendered completely stupid. 

“P-please Eddie. Need a break…” you tug at his hair with urgency, trying and failing to move your hips away from him. “S’too much.”

“But baby,” Eddie murmurs against your cunt, the bass of his words reverberating throughout the rest of your sweat-soaked body. “You taste so fuckin' good.”

A broken moan sounds out from your parted lips, and you’re unsure if you even really want him to stop. Sure, you’re overstimulated and sensitive, with every touch from Eddie magnified a thousand times over, but there's just something so fucking addicting about the way he touches you. 

“Edddieee…Eddie, I don’t want them all to hear me,” you persist, frowning as you realize how much teasing you’re going to endure tomorrow; he’s been going at it for over an hour now, making you mindlessly scream and beg and whimper as you grind desperately on his face- it’d be a miracle if nobody at the campsite heard you by now.

“But why not, babe?” Eddie questions, between purposeful licks at your oversensitive clit. “You sound so fuckin’ hot. I bet you’ve got all the guys so hard right now. Probably stroking their dicks as we speak.”

“Eddie,” you gasp as he applies intense suction to your defenseless clit, increasing the pace of his fingers as they fuck you. “F-fuck, Eddie!” 

He trails his free hand up to palm at your heaving tits, tweaking and tugging your peaked nipples until they sting. “I bet Robin likes hearing you too. Wonder if she’d ever wanna join us some time?” 

He’s so unabashedly filthy, and it turns you on more than you’d care to admit; you lick your lips, breath lodging in your throat when Eddie raises one of your legs to hoist over his lean shoulder.  “E-eddie, please.” 

“Yeah, that’s it, baby. You let everybody know who that pussy belongs to,” he grins, curling his fingers inside of you. “That feel good, hmm?”

“Y-yes, Eddie,” you choke out, hoarse and gravelly, your resolve completely undone. “So fucking good…”

“Know it’s a lot for you, baby. You’re being such a good girl, yeah?” he hums his praise affectionately, maintaining contact with your clit, which he proceeds to swirl his tongue against. “You can gimme a few more orgasms, can’t you, sweetheart?” 

“I- I think so…” you murmur, your eyes fluttering as you teeter at the brink of climax, your thighs trembling as they wrap snugly around your lover. 

He poises a brow, lifting his head a bit so you can see the arousal glinting crudely on his chin. Tilting his head, he gives you a disapproving, “You think?” 

You know from his expression to correct yourself, stirring your hips back and forth to gain a bit of traction now that he’s stilled his fingers inside of you. “I-I know I can give you more orgasms, Eddie. I will.” 

You know that you’ve just sealed your fate with the declaration, but you’ve accepted it; he jerks you forward, diving back into your heat as his fingers curve within the narrow walls of your pussy, making sharp contact with your g-spot.

You cry out, writhing your hips as he pounds into you fast, each thrust of his fingers angled with well-learned precision.  “That’s my girl. C’mon, I know you can be louder than that.” 

He’s such a fucking asshole, encouraging you to humiliate yourself further, but you’re too whipped to do anything but comply. Tossing your head back, you call out his name over and over, voice pitched and whiny and surely loud enough for all of Hawkins to hear. 

He doesn’t stop, but he does take a brief moment to meet your eyes, a smile detectable even with his features partially obscured. 

“Thaaaat’s my girl.” 

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson smut #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson x you #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson fanfiction #joseph quinn #stranger things #stranger things x reader #stranger things smut #mine #ask prompt #stranger things ask prompt

[dalishious]

My Five Biggest Fears for Dragon Age: Dreadwolf

Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is highly anticipated by BioWare fans. At one point, I would consider myself to be excited for it too, however, unfortunately the long wait with zero information about the game has only wrecked my personal anticipation. Will my hype return once we actually start to get some regular news about the game? Most likely. But until that time comes, all I find myself doing is just… worrying.

These are the five biggest things I worry about.

5. Big, beautiful maps of nothing

In both Dragon Age: Inquisition and Mass Effect: Andromeda, most of the open world maps are very… empty. Instead of creating an adventurous feeling of excitement to explore, it just makes travelling those maps a tedious task. Games like The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim or the new Baldur’s Gate 3 have open maps too, but those developers actually made use of their space with level designs. Skyrim is full of caves, ruins, etc. content to stumble upon. So is BG3, as well as introducing new dynamics to a fight depending on which direction you approach the encounter from. These games prove an understanding of how to best equip an open world concept that BioWare has only executed in a few maps across both their most recent RPGs. I do not want to see Dragon Age: Dreadwolf be yet another case of luscious forests where developers spent far too much time making look visually beautiful, and not enough time actually filling with game content.

4. Shoddy attempts at retcon

For those of you who don’t know what “retcon” means, it is short for “retroactive continuity”, and refers to the phenomenon of fiction introducing new information that is inconsistent with past information. The purpose is to revise old material. Dragon Age: Inquisition had more than one attempts at retcon that were terribly executed. For example, the player is told not once, not twice, but three different times—as if repeating it enough will erase all the extensive lore up to that point saying otherwise—that the Dalish get rid of their mages if they have “too many”. This is despite the previous games and extended materials showing that the Dalish practically revere their mages.

Now, not all retcons are bad. For example, in Marvel Comics, the superhero Karma’s real name was recently retconned to be Xuân Cao Mạnh, a real Vietnamese name, after spending years and years with the made-up Vietnamese name, Xi'an Coy Man. This is an example of how retons can be used for a good purpose, like fixing a long-lasting mistake. But what exactly is the mistake in saying the Dalish are good people who don’t hate mages like most of Thedas? That was just a cheap, transparent excuse to villainize both elves and mages further.

Cheap, transparent excuses like that make me lose faith in BioWare’s writing. It concerns me with what other lore they view as needing “correcting” in order to reinforce their idea of Grey Morality™ where it doesn’t belong.

3. Imposter characters

One of the biggest grievances I had with Dragon Age: Inquisition, was how the Hawke written in that game was in no way the same Hawke I played in Dragon Age II. I understand that it would be impossible to capture the exact customized character, but the Hawke in DA:I was placed into the game with an anti-blood magic agenda, and wouldn’t shut up about it. This is hilarious, considering how many players chose to make their Hawke a blood mage personally!

With this in mind, I am terrified that my Inquisitor, who will very likely make an appearance in Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, will be used for whatever new agenda needs to be pushed. I better not hear a single anti-Dalish comment from my Lavellan, is all I’m saying.

2. Whitewashing ahoy

For all the talk about #diversity values, BioWare has a very extensive criminal record when it comes to whitewashing their own characters. Almost every single one of their most prominent visibly non-white characters have had their skin lightened or completely washed out, as well as ethnic features erased, at some point or another. This is why I cannot share any excitement or desire for existing characters to make a return; the fear that we’ll have to see Zevran next looking like Chris Hemsworth next haunts me too much.

But this particular fear runs even deeper than individual characters. Why? Because we know that Dragon Age: Dreadwolf will be taking place in northern Thedas, which up to this point has been consistently depicted as having largely non-white demographics. I’m not saying there are no white people in Tevinter, Antiva, etc., but I am saying that if I see the same mix of 80% pale tones and 20% “everyone else” we’ve gotten from the last three games, I will absolutely flip shit. White characters should be in the minority for a change. Otherwise, what is the point of shifting focus away from the dominantly white countries in the first place?

1. This will end of the Dragon Age franchise

Is this the most likely to happen of all fears? No; it is probably the least. But after the pathetic failure that was Anthem and the lacklustre response to Mass Effect: Andromeda, I would not be surprised if BioWare is on thin ice in EA’s eyes. (Which is ironic, considering the demands made by EA to chase after multiplayer fads and micro-transactions are what got BioWare into such a mess in the first place.) Electronic Arts is a garbage company run by garbage people. That much has been proven time and again. The executives behind BioWare itself aren’t clean, either. Unfortunately it will be average employee that suffers the most punishment and blame if the game does not meet the likely very high standards set out for it. In some ways, they are almost set up to fail.

It’s not fair, and there’s not we can really do about it, because the gaming industry is run by selfish idiots. It’s because of this that if events come to pass that the Dragon Age franchise was put “on hold indefinitely” so BioWare can work on clunking out an Anthem sequel, I would be very upset, but not very surprised.

-----

Times are really tough for me, and all my patron supporters are greatly appreciated! If you like my work, please consider becoming one yourself, and I'll be forever grateful!

#dragon age #dadw #dragon age dreadwolf #dreadwolf #bioware #meta

[anxiousdreamcore]

Frontiers of Pandora story review ✨

BEWARE! Heavy spoilers ahead.

Alright, since I don’t see people talking about this game as much as I’d want on my socials, I decided to put together a little review where I talk about the story, what spoke to me, as well as some critiques.

To summarise my opinion; I love it! The story knows where it’s taking place and takes advantage of it. It covers dark topics and succeeds in staying as serious in tone as the movie franchise, which makes the campaign feel like it truly belongs in the world of Pandora.

To speak more in-depth; the plot of a Na’vi residential school had me hooked from the first moment. I think residential schools that native children were forced into are a topic not talked about often enough, so I appreciated the developers and writers bringing awareness to such facilities, even if it’s in sci-fi form. reconnecting with Na’vi heritage that was stolen from the main character and their family is executed quite well, as playing frontiers lets you get immersed into the feeling of exploration and discovery. The player is as un-knowledgeable about the world around them as the protagonist, and being able to experience new connections, abilities, places, stories and traditions side-by-side with them has been an amazing ride.

The different Na’vi cultures shown in the game are written organically. They each possess an intricate fashion based on their values, environment and history, but that is not all. Every clan has a cast of characters, bigger or smaller, who bring further life into the western frontier, help expand on the lore and provide entertainment. My personal favourites of these characters have to be Nefika and Kin, both elderly Na’vi with a welcoming presence and charm. Second to them come Eetu and Okul!

Then there is the main cast, which is MC, their three found family siblings, a.k.a the surviving Sarentu children, So’lek, Alma and Priya. We consistently stay in contact with them, both as part of the campaign and as part of our explorations, sharing experiences with them. The protagonist character is righteous, brave and endlessly adorable in their reactions to the world around them, and the trio of Sarentu forever have a place in my heart. I liked the concept of each one of the Sarentu children representing a different reaction to their past abuse and toxic relationship with John Mercer.

Nor, who had most luxury of remembering his life before being taken by the RDA, tries to distance himself as far as possible from everything human, and progressively adopts an antagonistic mindset towards his human allies, as well as a growing feeling of resentment and vengeance. I do not blame him for it and I believe it makes sense. After him comes Ri’nela, who, during Mercer’s captivity, tried staying out of sight but protecting her siblings where she could. Without Mercer, she feels insecure, constantly stumbling and at first, regularly looks guidance from Alma. She beats herself up for things that happen to Teylan and A’hari, despite being unable to have fixed them, but eventually grows into a stronger person, being able to take on the role of a Tsahik in the clan. Lastly, there is Teylan and he has to be my favorite character in the game. His bond to Mercer is strong, as T.A.P is all he ever knew, so without John, he begins falling apart. Lack of constant control and lack of ""affection"" from Tey’s "father figure" leave him feeling ten times as insecure as Ri’nela. He has a hard time learning Na’vi ways, keeps lagging behind and ultimately sticks to technology and hacking, which is worsened by So’lek’s nagging, as he obviously doesn’t know how severe Teylan’s abuse was and simply assumes that he is "lost" in the new world. Eventually, Teylan does what many abuse victims do, and returns to his abuser. An action I kind of predicted, but which still really hit me. His voice actor did an incredible job of portraying this character and the rest of the campaign I spent praying that I’ll get to bring him back home. In the end, I’m happy he’s at home and safe. 🥹💖🫶

Now to the grown ups. I don’t have much to say about Priya, but I grew fond of her. I liked her development from an awkward girl that sparks horrific second-hand embarrassment in the viewer to a resistance member who actively puts herself in the line of fire to help her friends. I found myself getting worried for her whenever she didn’t respond or was in danger.

So’lek is a character who I was immediately fond of, and I liked his growth as well. He saw himself as completely separate from human resistance members, and his thoughts are often occupied by revenge, but he comes to care for MC, the Sarentu and eventually the humans. Seeing him protect Alma when Nor attacks her was a brilliant moment.

Lastly, there is Alma herself. A very grey character who did horrible things in the past, like leading the program side-by-side with John Mercer. I liked her development, from an aloof and seemingly supportive teacher at T.A.P, to a person that orchestrated the entire project. Her grief and guilt feel organic, and I found myself having a lot of difficult feelings about her as it is obvious she cares for the Sarentu children, but her sins cannot be forgiven. I’m happy Ri’nela made the choice to simply part ways with her in peace, instead of trying to build a new bridge.

Now, for what I believe was executed badly. It’s quite unfortunate, but the game suffers from the same problem as Avatar the way of water, only quadrupled and that is; we don’t get enough time with the characters.

It feels even worse because in comparison to the movies, games don’t have to worry about pacing or time limits. The campaign can be as long as developers wish, but it came out rushed anyway. Part of the reason I got as attached to the characters as I did was because I spent time getting emotionally invested into everything they said, their minor behavioural cues and voicelines, but not everyone is as dedicated, and those people should have the right to experience a good story as well. They shouldn’t have to seek it out between the lines.

The only characters who I felt were properly developed are Teylan and Alma. They had the most extensive arcs and their growth was tied into a nice bow. But what about Ri’nela, Nor and So’lek? Nor suffers from Metkayina syndrome gets completely scrapped shortly before the finale, So’lek only gets crumbs of growth and Ri’nela is at times forgotten about completely. Her development as a character is too off-screen and between the lines for most people to catch it, and I find that sad because she’s such a sweet character when you actually get invested into her.

In the end, Frontiers of Pandora’s story feels like a good joke with all the necessary setup but only half-delivered punchline. I had very reasonable expectations and a lot of them were not fulfilled. This project is definitely miles better than whatever Ubisoft has been releasing in these last years, but I really hope that the DLCs will expand on the story further.

Verdict on the campaign; 7 out of 10. The setup and the beginning of the story were just perfect, but in the end, the characters didn’t get the treatment they deserved. Thank you for reading.

#atwow #afop #avatar 2009 #avatar 2 #avatar frontiers of pandora #frontiers of pandora #avatar na'vi #avatar fop #so’lek #teylan #eetu frontiers of pandora #solek

[sincerely-sofie]

Seeing as you have finished writing the script for your AU thingy, I wanna know, how?

Like, were you motivated the whole time? Or was it a on and off writing type thing?

i'm trying to write but I don't know if I have the motivation...

How did you keep the motivation if so?

Oh man. I have so much to say about writing and creativity that I could make an entire series of posts talking about the subject, but I'll try to keep things orderly and brief.

Disclaimer: I should let you know that I have never finished a writing project before recently finishing my TPiaG AU. Keep that in mind when reading the advice I offer— the tips I give have only been put into work in my own life over the course of the last couple of months, but they’ve proven very effective in my experience!

Sofie Creativity Tips Episode 1, go!!!

Was I motivated the whole time I was writing TPiaG / How did I stay motivated?

Absolutely not. If I hadn’t provided myself a detailed chapter-by-chapter outline for TPiaG before starting the writing process, I would have given up thanks to a mix of writer’s block and absent motivation. Motivation is a fickle muse and prone to ditching me for months on end, so I’ve adapted by trying not to rely on it, but also by creating new motivation rather than clinging to past motivation. I create motivation for myself in two ways: removing friction when writing and being my own fandom.

Removing friction is pretty simple— I create very detailed chapter outlines that remove any fear of writer’s block, set up my devices in a way to make it easy to access my manuscripts and notes, download premade writing playlists that have Pomodoro session break timers built into them, and more. Anything that makes the writing process easier to get into and enjoy doing, I make sure to incorporate into my life.

Being my own fandom is less intuitive, but a thousand times more rewarding in terms of motivation. I make memes of my characters. I write self-indulgent snippets on the side. I make AUs of my own work. I make playlists and save audio clips that suit the characters. I draw comics exploring concepts that might not get into the manuscript itself but that I want to make content for regardless. Basically, I dive in deep into the story, characters, and world, and try to do so with the enthusiasm that I give other people’s projects.

(That part is extra fun, because if I have a headcanon, it automatically becomes canon to whatever AU or original project I’m working on. I have all the power in the world when working like this, and it’s very fun.)

What changed and made it so I finished my first ever written project?

This isn’t exactly what was asked, but because I have eschewed motivation as the main driving force in my writing process, I figured I’d give another insight into how TPiaG went against the pattern of half-started and swiftly abandoned projects that came before it and actually got finished. Late into October, I adopted a new method of producing first drafts. Previously, I would spend weeks polishing the same chapter and would only move on to the next chapter once the current one was perfect. My new method is the complete opposite. I’ve started calling it Writing BFF:

Write bad

Write fast

Write fun

First up, write bad. The point of this is not to waste your time writing prettily during your first draft. Don’t bother agonizing over how to reword that one sentence to be more elegant when it does the job well enough to get its point across. Don’t go off on a 30-minute research tangent in the middle of a writing session because you want to fact-check that one detail and make sure it’s perfectly accurate when you could just put a placeholder detail in brackets and CTRL+F search and plug in something accurate later on. Don’t write pretty, write bad. And be okay with it. You can’t edit an empty page, so fill the page with as much garbage as possible so that you can turn it into gold later on.

Next, write fast. This is only effective when paired with writing bad. Don’t pause, don’t hesitate, don’t deliberate. Write as much as you can and do it as fast as you can. This idea is best illustrated by Chris Fox’s book 5,000 Words Per Hour, where he talks about increasing your WPM (words per minute) and how it makes everything about your writing better. The person who creates a beautiful first draft once every three years is doing okay, but the person who cranks out a complete manuscript every three months learns leagues more about writing than the first person does by the end of three years. The second person has practiced outlining, drafting, editing, publishing, and more with every manuscript completed. The faster you write, the better you get, because practice makes perfect and quantity begets quality.

Finally, write fun. I write what I enjoy, and if I’m not enjoying it, I pivot the project so that I enjoy it again. I like writing deeply personal stories, so pretty much everything I write is heavily based on my life and experiences— TPiaG included. Grovyle’s portrayal is deeply influenced by my experience being an elder sibling who has been a bad example of self-talk, and cleaned up my act because my younger sister started echoing how I spoke to myself. Dusknoir’s portrayal is informed by my experiences with being the therapist / mom friend in different social circles as well as attending actual formal therapy. Twig is the character that my experiences have the greatest influence on in her portrayal, and I joke about her being a self-insert, but ultimately all of the characters are self-inserts to some extent. I also enjoy low-stakes and slow slice-of-life stories that are driven by character growth. If I ever stop having fun with a project, I inject more of myself and my preferences into my work to get it back into my favor.

TL;DR / Writing advice lightning round

Write as badly as possible as quickly as possible, and have fun as you do it. Momentum yields motivation and stagnancy yields doubt. Editing comes only after the first draft is complete. Be your own fandom and your project’s biggest fan. Give yourself direction and ward against writer’s block by making detailed chapter-by-chapter outlines. Make the writing process as easy and enjoyable as possible. Motivation is a lie and if you chase after it instead of making your own, you’ll be writing on hard mode for the rest of your life. Reject perfectionism, embrace flawesomeness.

If I didn’t answer your question right, let me know! I’ll do my best to correct it.

#creativity tips with sofie #sofie answers asks #sofie says stuff #writing #writing advice #writing tips #writing motivation #writer advice #writer tips #writers on tumblr #writerscommunity #writers of tumblr

[aecu]

nct 7 dream kinks and fav sex positions

cracking my knuckles.. alright let me tackle this

mark

just based off of his personality, he might be a bit vanilla to start, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t open to exploring a bit! i could see mark being into some light choking and i’m almost 100% he would not be able to resist slapping your ass a few times if he was hitting it from the back. he would never admit it, but he absolutely has a thing for cumming inside you. it’s filthy, but he loves the way his cum looks when it’s dripping out of you. i’ve definitely written him as a harder dom before, but overall he’s probably fairly tame sexually. my knowledge on sex positions is very limited so some of these answers might be a bit boring/predictable but i think he would really enjoy doggy and sometimes missionary when he’s not feeling like a nervous wreck

renjun

renjun is like my favorite kind of person.. i love writing about people with really artsy personalities (like him and ningning) because i feel like it translates so well into all the aspects of their lives!! he doesn’t seem like someone who would be very kinky (as a dom) but i think he loves embracing the romantic side of sex. i really like thinking of him as the type to have a playlist for whenever you guys have sex. i do think he’s a bit switch-y though! he’s not afraid to let you have your way with him when you’re in charge. although he’s not in my nct masochist line (yes i have one), he’s not opposed to you hurting him just a little. pulling his hair hard enough so that he knows you’re not playing around, edging him a couple times, just little things here and there. i’ve already said he loves really intimate sex so i think missionary is kind of a given favorite position, but also he can be a little lazy sometimes so he might just resort to fucking you on your side

jeno

hear me out. i know jeno is really muscular and he just has the vibe of someone who would be super dominant, but i really love the idea of him being a switch. he has a strength kink, there’s no doubt in my mind that he does, but i can’t be the only one who would find it hot if he let you dom him despite having more than enough strength to pin you down and take you if he really wanted to. anyway, he’s a sweet guy but he’s definitely not afraid to be mean. he loves that nice blend of praise and degradation that makes you feel like there’s butterflies inside you (pretty slut, etc), and pushing you so close to your breaking point before he finally lets you cum. sub wise, i think degrading him is my favorite concept i’ve ever come up with. riding him and telling him how useless he is while you look into his eyes.. it’s just my favorite thing ever. like teasing him about how he needs you to make him feel good and how he doesn’t know what to do with his big cock.. sorry guys as you can see i’m very passionate about this. anyway! his favorite positions.. loves taking you against the wall (meaning your chest to the wall while he fucks you from behind) and another standard doggy lover

haechan

(sorry in advance i’m largely biased here) THEE switch of nct dream. a bit of a sadomasochist, he can be so mean when he wants to and is also more than willing to let you rough him up a LOT. when i say he’s mean, i mean that he would probably love straight up degradation. obviously he’s okay with blending degradation and praise if that’s what you’re into, but he would love making you feel dirty with nothing but his words. telling you how filthy you are for letting him touch you.. he’s not afraid to make you cry either. he would play the doting dom role so well it makes my head spin. i don’t know how much he’d be into extreme physical sadism, like i don’t see him being someone who’s hitting you with paddles or anything like that, but he’s not against giving you a firm slap on the cheek either. when he’s subbing, he lives for your degradation. i’ve talked about this before, but haechan has openly said that he loves being scolded/yelled at, so i think it’s kind of a given that he likes it when you’re mean to him. he’s the type to like being on his knees for you, getting used in whatever way you see fit. and even if he refuses to admit it, he loves it when you edge him, ruin his orgasms or overstimulate him. it hurts in a way that he can’t get enough of.. if he’s domming, he’s willing to fuck you in whatever ways you’ll let him. i think he would enjoy missionary the most because it gives him clear access to your neck. if he’s subbing, i personally think he would love it when you ride him (cowgirl), but tie his hands up behind his back so that he can’t touch you.

jaemin

jaemin has always been kind of interesting to me. i see him the same way i see jaehyun (lazier dom), but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. he likes making you do a lot of the work because it gets him off whenever he sees you beg for him to do something. he can more active when he wants to though, another member who’s not above roughing you up and making you cry a bit. he’s not someone i can see subbing often, if at all, because i think he enjoys having control over you more than anything. the closest he gets to subbing is letting you take the lead, but still making it very clear that you aren’t who’s in charge. besides making you cry, he loves using condescending tones with you. confusing your poor, fogged up brain while he fucks you with phrases like “i thought you said you couldn’t cum anymore? but you’re cumming around me right now anyway. too dumb to know what you want.” it’s his favorite thing to do. regardless, he loves it when you ride him. it’s always his #1 choice over everything else

chenle

chenle is a little hard for me to read. he kind of gives me that same lazy dom energy as jaemin except he’s really just cruel to you sometimes. will flat out refuse to fuck you if you stop fucking yourself onto him when he tells you to, he’s willing to edge you for days and might even fuck you without letting you cum just to see how desperate he can get you.. i don’t know what you’d call this or if it’s even a kink but your desperation is what gets him off. he’d do anything to see how whiny you get before you can’t take it anymore and end up groveling at his feet, begging him to touch you. favorite position is doggy but you have to do 90% of the work

jisung

he would start off super vanilla, almost too afraid to touch you out of fear that he’ll do something wrong and humiliate himself. it would take him a decent amount of time before he gets comfortable enough to start experimenting with you and asking if you’re willing to try something new with him. maybe he sees a video of a girl getting choked or getting her face fucked, and it makes him curious to see what you would look like in that position. i don’t think he would end up being into something like slapping very much, he’s still far too afraid to hit you, but he thinks you look so beautiful with his hand around your neck. he could eat you out and finger you for hours too, he gets so much pleasure from seeing you cum around him. another one who loves cumming inside anytime you’ll allow it. probably likes missionary the most, i couldn’t see him being into anything aside from really standard/common positions

#sorry this took forever i actually tried a little #i hope you like it :(( #mark lee smut #renjun smut #jeno smut #haechan smut #jaemin smut #chenle smut #jisung smut #nct smut #nct dream smut #asks

[writingforatwistedworld]

This is tailors anon again ! Here do to the other boys ! Player is a talented tailor and make customs clothes for them + a set inspired by the great seven. For Riddle/Azul/Kalim please ?

Love your work as usual ❤️

Self-aware au

I do not take any responsibility for you reading this no matter which age group you are from!

WARNINGS: Yandere themes, kidnapping, imprisonment, violence, blood, murder, death, obsession, possessiveness

Riddle Rosehearts/Azul Ashengrotto/Kalim Al-Asim - Darling who is a talented tailor

Why is ther new clothing in his closet?

At first Riddle thinks that some first years who haven’t heard how strict he is pulled a prank and sliced his dorm uniform to pieces

But then he takes the piece of fabric out of the dark, stuffy space and sees that no, it’s not ruined, it is a different piece he has never seen before

And then, oh boy, he sees the little note pinned on it with a small needle, telling him that this is from you for him

Imagine living in a monarchy and the current ruler, who you seduce doesn’t even look at needles, suddenly is like “Here you go. I made it myself. You can throw it away if you don’t like it

Yeah, that’s what Riddle is going through at the moment

You know, he always respected the Queen of Hearts and now the person guiding her majesty, ruling through her, has gifted him something

He immediately tries it on

Sadly it is one of the few times he ever wears it

But don’t misunderstand! He doesn’t dislike it, he just thinks these clothes are too special to be worn on casual occasions

He hides the clothing from others though

How could he ever forgive himself if these were to be stolen?

Overseer forbid that ever happens!

Because if it would it would mean “Off with their head!” and I am not talking about his special magic

He may be small but those heels must hurt enough to make someone kneel which gives him even better access to their head

But oh dear! His favourite clothing which was tailored by the Overseer was stained by this insects paint. Thankfully its red as well or otherwise the stains would be rather easy to see and hard to clean.

Happy octopus noises MP.3

But seriously, he would have burned Mostro Lounge down if you had just asked him if he was going to do that in exchange for a shirt filled with holes

And now you are giving him an entire outfit!

If Azul wasn’t loyal before he is now

He hides them from the tweels though

Why? Well… they have sharp teeth and can be quite jealous….

You catching my drift?

But let me tell you, he won’t let you go after this

And I am not talking about contract or relationship wise

You will stay in a room in Octavinelle which only he is aware of whilst providing you with the finest silks and much more needed for tailoring

And books. A lot of books. You are curious why? Well you are more or less a allknowing scholar in the Coral Sea so he would like to provide you with everything you need

Azul would have used anybody else to make them work for him and squeeze every last penny out of their talent but not with you

No, you just need to say here and be happy

Don’t mind the stains that are sometimes on his clothing though

He just has to take care of pests, most of the times first years, that have decided to explore their dorm for a bit and seen more than they should have

So keep sewing dear! Sew and smile for him! We don’t know what he would do if you would be sad!

All those golden bracelets? Worth nothing in comparison to what you made him

But Kalim is confused

Why are you making clothing? Aren’t poor people the only ones who do such things?

And now we are falling right into the problems

You see, Kalim has grown up pampered and told that such tasks are only done by people if they have no other way to get food on the table

So you are poor? No! It can’t be! You are the greatest scholar! The inspiration for the sorcerer himself! How could you be in such a position??!

The thought that this could be merely a hobby and not something out of desperation is a foreign concept for him

I might want to add that he has a room prepared just for you and you alone… maybe some locks will be your roommates…

Ok, but on a more serious note, do you realise that he is planning on locking you up under the excuse of providing for you?

Usually I would say in the Self-aware au that if you see a fae you should turn around and run away but… friendship with them might be pretty neat in this situation

You know, being protected by a monarchy from another is pretty sweet… until you also have to run away from your protector that is

Kalim will wear what you make him though

Always. And if someone dares to damage it? Whops! Seems like the next ruler will be a tyrant!

So if you haven’t given him something by now good, lets keep it that way and if my warning is too late uh… the Queendom of Roses is also pretty loyal so…

Expect gold, diamonds and much more if you are looked up and I was too late

He will never let you touch a needle again. You could get hurt! Let the servants over there do that for you darling.

#yandere twisted wonderland #yandere twst #yandere twisted wonderland x reader #yandere twst x reader #self aware au #yandere riddle #yandere riddle x reader #yandere riddle rosehearts #yandere azul #yandere azul ashengrotto #yandere azul x reader #yandere kalim al asim x reader #yandere kalim x reader #yandere kalim al asim #tw: yandere #tw: kidnapping #tw: imprisonment #tw: violence #tw: blood #tw: murder #tw: obsession #tw: possessiveness #tw: death

[inbarfink]

Okay, this is probably just me being Very Silly but… I think Roleswap AUs are a lot of fun, not just like… as a character design exercise thingy, but as a character exploration and analysis exercise… thingy.

Like, you know, it’s a game of ‘what would this character do if they were in that situation that this other character was in?’, ‘how much would change if those were the circumstances of this character’s life?’, ‘how much do you have to change about a character to make them work in this specific narrative role - and how much you just cannot change without making the character unrecognizable?’

So I’ve had a lot of fun playing around with my Adventure Time Roleswap AUs (you can get a better look at them with the AT Roleswap Tag on my blog). 

And I’ve been thinking if I could do a similar thing for Invader Zim - both because IZ has these clear Four Leads that you can swap around very neatly (actually much more than AT does lol) and… mostly because I’ve been going through yet another of my Literally Can’t Think of Anything but Invader Zim Phases and Roleswap AUs offer an exciting new opportunity to Rotate These Characters in My Head.

(For the sake of clarity, I’ll be using ‘the Alien’, ‘the Kid’, ‘the Robot’ and ‘the Sibling’ when referring to the Narrative Roles of Zim, Dib, GIR and Gaz respectively. So if I’m talking about a Dib-Zim Roleswap I’ll be talking about Zim-as-the-Kid and Dib-as-the-Alien. It might lead to weird turns-of-phrase later down the line, like Sibling!Dib when Dib is obviously always a sibling - but at least I hope it’ll be less clunky and more clear that way lol)

So, yeah, I had some Thoughts and Considerations about the idea of a Zim-Dib GIR-Gaz Roleswap, but all-in-all things fall into place pretty easily. Playing on Dib’s relatively-more-heroic role and his only-sane-man shtick by having him as a kinda Irken Rebel - he might still have the interest in magic and supernatural things that Mainstream Irken Science does not acknowledge, but mostly he’s seeing as ‘crazy’ for such ridiculous concepts as ‘conquering the galaxy just for the sake of it is Bad Actually’ and ‘maybe it’s kinda stupid to pick our leaders based entirely on how tall they are’ and ‘the Tallest are obviously blatantly figureheads and the Control Brains are running the show’. 

And to add insult to injury, it’s not just that his fellow Irkens don’t listen to his ideas - it’s that they don’t even have enough respect to treat him as an actual dangerous enemy of the state. Instead he’s seen as a crackpot and a joke. He’s basically constantly avoiding the obvious Existence Evaluation he deserves because the Tallests keep procrastinating it and pushing it back in favor of more ‘important things’. And, like, it’s not like Dib wants to be executed by the state for the crime of free thought… but it’ll be nice to know that he’s seen as a real threat. 

And of course while he’s better than most Irkens at the whole ‘Space Imperialism is Bad Actually’ thing, he still hasn’t unlearned all of the Irken propaganda about their own superiority (he’s got a Green Savior Complex basically) … and also he's got his own complex about his own superiority. Like, yeah, he’s infuriated by his people’s obsession with height because it’s a stupid illogical prejudice… but also specifically because it makes people disrespect him. When his two lazy and stupid smeethood bullies were made supreme leaders of the empire that was kinda the last straw for him.

Oh, in this AU the Tallests are basically the Same except their colors are switched. So now Red is the sillier and dumber one and Purple is the relatively more competent one. And on one hand Dib is the only Irken who seems to understand how thoroughly unfit to rule these two clowns are but he is also kinda obsessed with making them acknowledge his superiority even though he knows their opinion shouldn’t matter and thus making him the biggest clown of them all, in a way.

I’m still ironing out the details of how he gets to Earth. Something about using his hacking skills to infiltrate Operation Impending Doom 2 to try and sabotage it from within. Then, like, maybe the Earth ‘assignment’ was a trap laid by the Control Brains to get him out of the way. Or maybe he picked Earth because although the Empire sees it as unimportant - Dib thinks it has powerful arcane significance that makes it the perfect foundation for his resistance against the Empire or something like that.

I’m mostly thinking which of these is the snappiest and easiest to explain, but I do enjoy the idea of it being a trap cause it creates the possibility of a “the Alien discovers their plan is a big fat lie” scenario like in ETF, but rather than being utterly despondent and depressed like Canon Zim - Alien!Dib will be joyous and jubilantly validated at the idea that he was considered a notable enough threat to get out of the way with such an elaborate trick.

And Zim as the son of Professor Membrane is also a fun concept to consider. It’s very funny to think of him as still a megalomaniac trying to take over the world while also being just a human kid. He wants to defeat Dib because he sees him as a threat for his world domination plans (maybe not even understanding that Dib is not actually a world-conquering rival) and cause he believes that if he exposes or kills Dib he can get his hands on the advanced alien tech, which is the edge he needs in order to take over the world.

You can justify his world-conquering-obsession as, like, him growing up under the pressure of living up to his father’s legacy and he figured the only way to escape Membrane’s shadow is to go totally against everything he stands for, or that he’s subconsciously seeking revenge against the world and humanity for taking away his father's love and attention, or that he’s hoping that if he becomes an Actual Threat to the world, his dad will have to pay attention to him for a change ,or maybe it’s just ‘Zim is Just Weird Like That’. Or probably some combination of all of the above.

GIR and Gaz slot pretty effortlessly into their new roles. Sibling!GIR could be literally Zim’s little brother, or like, some genetically engineered dog monster Professor Membrane made in an afternoon. But personality-wise there’s no need to change much outside of maybe needing to tone a human version of GIR down just a tad because a human child has some biological, legal and physical limitations that GIR would otherwise lack.

Robot Gaz is basically like ‘Dib stole and reprogrammed a SIR Unit to have Free Will, still somehow struggles with the idea that Free Will means she can disobey him as well’. Pretty much as soon as they landed on Earth she acclimated better than Dib did and developed a fondness for Earth’s junk food and video games. She generally does her own thing and doesn’t really listen to Dib’s schemes to develop Earth’s defenses or harness some sort of supernatural forces against the Irken Empire or foil Zim’s plans or whatever - but mostly because disagrees with Dib’s methods and attitude rather than his goals. 

She does prefer the Earth over the Irken Empire and she does have some affection for Dib despite also finding him so annoying. She just refuses to cooperate with plans she thinks are frivolous or stupid or plainly just for Dib’s ego. When push really comes to shove, when she actually believes Dib and/or the Earth is in danger, she would come to help… usually.

So yeah, that Roleswap works pretty smoothly, but the problem starts if I try to do the two other sides of this Roleswap cube. the 'Invader GIR' and 'Invader Gaz' scenarios. This is where I get stuck... And the thing isn’t that the characters aren’t complex and versatile enough - I actually think the IZ characters are pretty multidimensional in their ridiculousness. 

It’s just that Dib and Zim’s psychology are really designed for them to play the roles of Protagonist and Antagonist - they’re very much defined to their very core by how driven and motivated they are and how much they want to take center stage. Zim's so self-obsessed he pretty much has to take over any narrative you place him in. And like 50% of Dib’s psyche can be summarized as a terminal case of Main Character Syndrome. Meanwhile, while GIR and Gaz have their own motivations - but GIR’s are generally too wild, capricious and frivolous to actually motivate a Plot, while Gaz’s very much defined by how mundane all of her motivations are. So you really have to work extra hard to make sure Zim and Dib, even when relegated to the sidekick role, don’t still find a way to steal the show.

Honestly, doing Zim as the Robot is actually something I think I can make work. If you just play up a few of Zim’s wackier elements - and especially his blind obedience and dedication to his superiors (which in this case would be Alien GIR), I think you can get a version of Zim that is recognizably Zim while still sticking mainly to the Wacky Comic Relief role.

(And for the record, Robot Zim is a modified SIM Unit, which is a Standard Issue Minion. What does the Z stand for? The Z stands for ZIIIIIIIIIIIIIIM, obviously!)

Sibling Dib was kind of a weird journey for me because at first I thought I had an easy solution for it - just Bill-fy Dib! Keep all of Dib’s bolster and UFO obsession stuff, but minus the fact that he can actually recognize an alien standing in front of his face. Probably because he just doesn’t want to admit his sister found an alien before he did - he just refuses to believe GIR is an alien and going off his wild-goose chases against his own phony conspiracy theories.

But… I think that idea is, like, too effective at keeping Dib away from the limelight? I mean, that would basically relegate him exclusively to Comic Relief and someone Gaz could have conversations with and very little plot relevancy. And I think we should be able to do better by Sibling Dib. Some way to keep him away from the Main Character Role, but still have him as a relevant and useful character from time-to-time?

Putting GIR in any sort of lead role is the much bigger problem. Like I said - GIR just too deranged and too uncontrollable to hold most plotlines, even on Invader Zim. And I can imagine grounding him just a tad, you can do, like ‘alien Invader comes to earth in order to conquer it - realizes he likes junk food and stupid TV so much that he doesn’t want to do it anymore, but still lacks any real concerns for human life or morality’. You know, I’m imagining wacky misadventures that are basically in the spirit of ‘what if SpongeBob SquarePants lacked any sense of right and wrong’ - and that will be a viable narrative, but I’m worried it’s getting too far away from the sheer id-like essence of GIR.

On the Kid corner, obviously you can make narratives in which Gaz and her motivations move the story along - Invader Zim Canon did it multiple times. It’s more of a question of how much we can keep this up. Like, okay, this is purely me and my stupid personal hang-ups. But what I’m looking for is an AU that really feels like it could be its own standalone show, and obviously it’s not going to be the same as Canon IZ - like the Invader Dib roleswap is going to have a slightly more standard heroic narrative compared to the total Villain Protagonist setup of the canon - but I want to make sure everyone fulfill their new Narrative Roles to the level you can imagine a Variety of Episode Plots that fit the 11-minutes-and-occasional-double-length format of IZ. 

And with Gaz being really defined by the fact that she cares more for being left alone or the mundane things in life or enacting terrible revenge in the name of the mundane things in life than for any of the sci-fi shit or saving the world- it kinda limits the amount of plots she should be willing to participate in and/or requires a lot of extra Set-Up to explain why she’s emotionally involved in the plot. 

I mean, I can certainly imagine a story about a hedonistic would-be Invader making a bizarre harebrained scheme to get his hands on a ridiculous amount of tacos which somehow spirals into attracting the ire of some scarily competent and spiteful little girl by, like, interrupting her Super Mario Odyssey speedrun or something and so she causally takes down his whole operation. But that sort of setup works better for a sort of hyperformulastic show like ‘Phineas and Ferb’- and ‘Phineas and Ferb’ is lovely, but Invader Zim really benefits from a wide variation of plots and episode structure. 

(That’s also the problem with a Tallests-Zim Membrane-Dib roleswap. Although the idea of an P&F style sketch starring the two lazy goofball Invaders who are just trying to get their incredibly obnoxious and megalomaniac boss off their back and are repeatedly accidently foiled by a brilliant hypercompetent child genius who also somehow remains consistently oblivious to the fact that they are aliens trying to take over the world is very Fun and I should probably do something Separate with it later)

And then there’s the idea of a Zim-Gaz GIR-Dib roleswap which is… I don’t even know where to start. That’s pretty much what that one body-switch-themed guest issue of the IZ Comics used basically because it’s the one that breaks the show’s premise the most thoroughly. The show’s most ambitious and least competent character swapped with its least ambitious and most competent and the most grounded character is swapped with the most unhinged. I am still really stuck on how to make it work?

The only real idea I have for now is maybe taking inspiration from Alien Gaz from that aforementioned comic issue’s characterization - not of Gaz-as-Zim, but of Zim-as-Gaz. Something about an Alien Invader who is genuinely invested in conquering the planet but also she keeps getting distracted? It’s hard to really say when, like I said, that’s really the only thing I have right now. 

Perhaps I need to think about all of this a bit more, or perhaps the real lesson of this Character Exploration Thingy is just that those kinda roleswaps just don’t work with the Invader Zim cast?

#iz #invader zim #role swap au #swap au #iz au #iz analysis #roleswap #roleswap au #zim #zim iz #iz zim #zim invader zim #invader zim zim #dib membrane #iz dib #dib #dib iz #dib invader zim #invader zim dib #iz dib membrane #gaz #gaz iz #gaz invader zim #gaz membrane #iz gaz #iz gaz membrane #invader zim gaz #gir #gir invader zim #gir iz

[padfootagain]

Where We Kept Our Magic (I)

How We Met

Hello everyone ! I know what you are all going to think ‘holy shit, Carole is back with a new series AGAIN how many of these does she have?!’ The answer is simple : a) I have no self -control whatsoever hence the numerous series, b)there is no excuse, I’m simply a very messy writer. However, so far, I’m keeping up with all the series, so… let’s see!

This series is a little peculiar, because it is not meant to be a real series. This will be made of scenes and snippets that are independent from one another (more or less) taken at different moments in an AU. But there isn’t one major plot binding the whole series together. The concept is simply to explore the idea of Sirius dating a muggle reader, nothing more. Each chapter = one moment in their lives. I’m starting off with how they’ve met, but the following chapter might not even be posted in chronological order, we’ll see. The idea is really to just have a collection of moments, that’s all.

Also, a huge thank you to @damalseer and @reg-arcturus-black because we’ve talked about this fic together, and I have listened to their amazing concepts for this.

Now, that being said, I hope you all like this cute concept! Let me know what you think!

****

Pairing: Sirius Black x Muggle!Reader

Warnings: none for this chapter (one mention of weed and none of the characters smoke) except for extreme fluffiness that might lead to cavities or a melting of the heart.

Summary: You and Sirius meet when you’re still young, and yet you fall head over heels for each other. But everything gets complicated when you learn that Sirius is a Wizard! Now, your whole world has to be reimagined. -This series is made of many independent snippets taken from Sirius and Muggle!Reader’s lovestory –

Word Count : 3747

Masterlist for the series - Sirius Black's Masterlist - Main Masterlist

The music is loud, maybe too much so. Banging your head under the neon lights, you get dizzy after a while. It’s hot, full of people, an underground concert somewhere in Soho. Your friend has dragged you here, and you’ve sneaked out of your parents’ house to come. They will kill you if they notice your absence.

You’re sweaty, but you can’t say that you care. Your make up is smeared by now, eyeliner getting away from your eyes, and you don’t mind. You bang your head to the music still, some rock band you didn’t know before coming here. Still, they’re good enough, they make you jump up and down like a mad woman and that’s exactly what you need. You’re seventeen, you’re young, you want to be free. And as you let the music in, let it shake your body and echo with your heartbeat, you do feel like you’re breaking barriers, even if it can’t last beyond this night.

Your friend is shouting, and screaming along the song even if she doesn’t know the lyrics, and you laugh at her. It feels good. It feels liberating… Rock’n roll and Soul and the blurred scent of weed.

“I told you it would be awesome!” Jackie shouts, sending a wink your way through her pink heart-shaped glasses.

“It is!” you nod in agreement, screaming above the music while jumping up and down some more.

“Worse getting in trouble?”

“I’m not thinking about that right now!”

“No?”

“Right now, I’m enjoying myself! I can worry on my way home!”

“Now! That’s the spirit! You know what? You deserve a beer, rebel girl!”

You laugh at that, and let Jackie disappear through the crowd to get some beer from an illegal bar at the back of the room. You’re seventeen, you’re way too young to drink, and you don’t give a damn.

The beat drops, it makes your ribcage tremble, it shakes your brain, you’re dizzy again. You don’t wait for Jackie to be back, instead, you jump and clap along to the rhythm of the song. You only slow down when you have a strange feeling, like someone is staring at you…

And indeed, when you turn around, you notice a guy looking at you, a couple of rows behind.

Tall. Long dark-hair. Even from afar he seems extremely handsome, but the cold kind of beauty that fits better to a statue than to a living thing. Unreachable. Yes, that’s what is painted all over his features. Someone to admire from afar. A leather jacket, a Queen t-shirt. You can’t see his legs, but you bet on some dark jeans. He looks like trouble. An awful lot of it… And as he stares at you, you can’t help but find him intimidating.

But then, he notices that you’re looking at him, and his lips curve into a small, crooked smile. And you kind of like it.

You turn away again, though, and Sirius averts his gaze as well. This is ridiculous, anyway. He’s in Muggle London, at an illegal concert, getting drunk with James, Remus and Peter and this… You’re probably a Muggle, like everyone around him except for his fellow Marauders. He’s spotted you through the crowd: with your woollen crop-top, your flared jeans, and the bandana in your hair, you look like a hippie.

But he’s a Wizard, you’re off-limits. Too complicated, especially for him.

Instead, he raises his cup to drink some beer, but he finds the glass empty. He mumbles some insult under his breath.

“I’ll get some beer,” he tells James, his friend nodding but too busy dancing to properly answer.

And Sirius smiles bright at the sight of his best friend, his brother, grinning and having the time of his life, sweaty and hair even more dishevelled than usual, glasses lopsided upon his nose.

They’ve been back from Hogwarts for a couple of weeks, it’s their first night out since they’ve come back to the Potters. It’s Sirius’s first summer having a real home. And so far he loves it, and tonight more than ever. They’ve sneaked out of the Potters’ house to get on the Knight Bus and travel to Soho for this concert Remus had heard about through a Muggle friend of his. And Sirius loves it. Every second of it. His friends, the beat of the music through his ribcage, the lights, the shouts, the guitar screaming, the banging of his head to the rhythm… He loves it. He feels free. He’s been feeling that way since he ran from his parents the previous summer. It hits him with full strength now that he’s out of this mess, that he can be whoever he wants. He’s broken free, it feels a lot like flying, same exhilarating feeling.

He moves across the crowd to get a drink. He’s seventeen, too young to drink, but he doesn’t care. He doesn’t care about anything tonight. Tonight is for fun, only. His problems, the struggles of his world… that can wait for tomorrow.

The bar is at the back of the same room as the concert, the music is still as loud as it was when he was in the middle of the crowd, dancing. He points at his empty plastic cup while mouthing another beer to the waiter. The middle-aged man doesn’t ask questions. He’s smoking something, and Sirius isn’t sure it’s a mere cigarette. Sirius admires the tattoos on the man’s arms, intricate details painted with black ink. He wants to look like that. He wants to be tattooed, he’s been thinking about it for a while. He’ll get his first one during the summer, it’s decided…

He thanks the waiter and pays for his beer, but Sirius doesn’t get very far. He’s barely turned towards the stage again that someone bumps into him, and half of his beer is now wetting his favourite t-shirt.

“Oh fuck! Dick! Can’t you watch were you’re…”

But he looks up and his voice dies out when he falls into your eyes.

He’s only looked at you from afar, but he recognizes you in an instant. It’s weird. Like… like he knows you already. Like he’s drawn to you, for some reason.

His voice is much lower when he speaks again.

“…going.”

Your eyes are wide-open, you apologize profusely. You almost seem afraid of him.

And you are, for a part. Sirius is even more intimidating up-close. And his voice is deep and cold, and yet you love it. You love the deep, tumultuous sound. And his eyes are of a deep grey, like a summer sky before a thunder-storm, almost black under the blinking light of the concert. He’s much taller than you, it doesn’t help with the cold calmness that oozes from his frame, a feeling of something dangerously beautiful, almost aristocratic.

“Sorry, I’m so sorry…” you keep on saying that, and it takes Sirius a moment to finally react. He has to blink a couple of times before that.

Because you look beautiful like this, under the blinking lights. You are a hippie, you have the complete set of clothes, and he loves it, you look adorable. There’s something wild and determined in your gaze too, he doesn’t really know what it is, but it makes him feel safer anyway. You’re almost intimidating, in a way…

“No, it’s me. I’m sorry,” he mumbles, and he wonders why he’s acting almost shy now, he can feel a blush spreading across his features.

You notice his reddened cheeks, and you can’t refrain a smile. He looks cuter this way, almost kind.

“I… I’m sorry, I’m clumsy as fuck, sometimes,” he speaks, but the music is too loud, you can’t catch all the words.

“I’ll pay you another drink,” you offer, speaking loudly so he can hear you, but he shakes his head.

“No, no! It’s fine.”

“I’ve ruined it.”

“Not at all. I mean… kind of. But it’s fine. You didn’t mean it.”

You’re staring at each other, and it is very strange because… because you can feel that he’s trouble and yet you can’t seem to look away. He’s a good kind of trouble, you reckon. Not the classic bad boy, there’s something more layered into these dark eyes, and you want to know what it is all about. You don’t know why you feel like you know him, already. Like… like you’re drawn to him.

He's opened his mouth to speak again when Jackie shouts your name, grinning as she spots you, and you turn towards her.

“I was looking for my friend over there. She went to get us drinks.”

“I see.”

“Sorry again for the beer.”

Before Sirius can add anything you’ve turned around and you’re disappearing through the crowd, following Jackie, and Sirius remains standing there, with his glass half-empty and his wet t-shirt stinking of beer…

It takes him a moment to shake himself out of his thoughts, to look for the guys in the crowd again, to join them once more.

He’s barely reached the group that James turns to him with a mischievous grin that clearly means trouble.

“So… found a pretty lady, Padfoot?”

Sirius rolls his eyes.

“She bumped into me and now…”

He shows his drenched t-shirt, but James is not fooled, and neither are Peter and Remus, who are shaking their heads at their friend.

“That’s why you were blushing, of course,” Remus teases him, earning himself a punch in the arm.

“Fuck off, Moony!”

“He’s right, though,” Peter adds with a chuckle. “You were mesmerized!”

“I was not!”

“You should ask her out!” James encourages his friend. “She’s over there!”

Sirius follows the direction his friend is pointing, and you’re there alright. You’re dancing again, struggling a little because of your drink. You throw your head back as you laugh at your friend… you’re charming, really, even from afar…

But Sirius shakes his head, drinking some beer instead.

“Muggle,” is his only answer, barely audible above the loud music, as Sirius is more careful now.

But his three friends roll their eyes in unison.

“Come on, Pads!” Remus encourages him as well.

“Too complicated,” Sirius shakes his head.

“It doesn’t have to be anything serious! It’s summer! You could have a fling, for a couple of months,” Peter argues.

And Sirius is hesitant now. His friend is right. It doesn’t have to be complicated. It can merely be a fling… nothing serious…

“Besides, maybe she isn’t even nice!” Remus jumps in again, still rubbing his painful arm. “You should talk to her, while you still can.”

While you still can… Why does Sirius feel such an urgency all of a sudden? As if… as if he has so much to lose, when he hasn’t, really. You’re a stranger. He doesn’t even know your name…

He wants to know it though.

He heaves a sigh, one last hesitation, before he downs his drink in one large gulp, and strides across the crowd towards you.

His heart is beating so fast, and he doesn’t even know why, because… he doesn’t know. There are no stakes whatsoever. So, why is he nervous?

You don’t notice him until he’s right by your side, and Jackie frowns at him, wondering who the hell he is.

You freeze when you turn to him.

“Hey.”

“Hey?”

Your voice is too shy, he can’t hear you, but he guesses what you said by the movement of your lips.

“I… I was wondering… would you like a drink?”

He’s cursing himself for not looking as confident as usual. He’s never stuttered like that in front of a girl before.

You seem to hesitate, and he shoots you a crooked smile. It’s charming, but it still looks a little shy. You really love that…

“I’ve kind of changed my mind about the beer,” he jokes, and it’s enough to make you smile.

Behind you, you feel Jackie’s finger poking at your side, and you know what she means without looking at her. You can hear her voice, what she would say, her exact words.

Handsome bloke who seems to be our age. You’d better say yes!

And you’ve come here tonight to feel free. No consequences for now, no trouble, you’ll think about those once you try to sneak back into your parents’ house. For now, you’re in this crazy concert, under blinking neon lights, this guy is gorgeous and there’s something pulling you to him and… and it’s enough. At least, it’s enough for a drink.

“Alright, but I’m the one who owns you a drink. So, I’m buying.”

He grins at that, agreeing with a nod, and you walk towards the bar again.

You buy Sirius his drink, but the music seems even louder than before, and when he tries to speak to you, you can’t hear a thing.

After a second try, he leans closer to speak into your ear. So close, you can smell cigarettes, leather, beer and something of citrus on him. Your head spins a little…

“Mind stepping out for a minute?”

He reads on your face that he’s scared you away. You look up at him with worried eyes, and he curses himself for it.

After all, he still looks intimidating, with his cross earing, the pentagram pendant around his neck, his charming smile…

Is he simply a teenager? Or a psychopath? No one can know, after all… and you’re just seventeen, and he’s a stranger, and you ought to be careful.

He leans closer again, and you force yourself not to breathe his scent too deeply, not to close your eyes when you feel his breath graze the skin right behind your ear.

“We can stay by the door. But it’s too loud here.”

As if to prove a point, he points at his ear, then his throat. And he’s right, of course. If you want to talk, even for five minutes, you can’t do it here.

You slowly nod, going on your tiptoes. He bends a little to bring his ear to your level.

“I’ll warn my friend then.”

He nods with a smile, lets you cross the crowd.

You warn Jackie, she tells you she’ll check on you in ten minutes, just in case. And you’re grateful for it.

Meanwhile, Sirius throws a glance towards his friends, and they all give him some thumb-ups and some ridiculous grins, and he rolls his eyes.

You come back after a mere minute, and you let him guide you upstairs again.

It’s the end of spring, the beginning of summer, but the night is still fresh, cooled down by a small breeze. It sends shivers across your skin, but that’s a nice feeling. It clears your head a little bit. After the loud sound of the concert, the lights, the crowd, the shouts… it feels good to step outside in the quiet of a night in London.

A car drives by, there’s the rushed whisper of the wind in nearby trees, but that’s about it, really. A few people are taking a break from the show too, gathered in small clusters all along the backstreet where you stand now. As a reflex, you step closer to a lamppost, looking for the light. A lost moth in a dark street…

Sirius takes a pack of cigarettes out of his jacket, and offers you one, but you decline. He lights one up for himself.

“Do you like the concert so far?” he asks after taking his first drag.

“Yeah, it’s fun! I didn’t know the band before tonight though, so… not great to sing along!”

“Didn’t know them either. I came with a friend, he’s the one who knew the band. They’re good, though.”

“Yeah, they are.”

“You came with a friend too, right?”

“Yeah, with Jackie! She kind of… dragged me here, to be honest.”

“I’m grateful she did.”

There’s flirt in his tone, and you can’t help but shy away. And you look adorable like this, Sirius loves it. But then again, you don’t seem comfortable yet, and he wants you to be so.

“We can go back whenever you want, you know? It’s fine if you prefer to find back your friend,” he offers.

And you genuinely consider accepting, walking back inside and run away with Jackie but then again… you don’t really want to. Because Sirius is beyond handsome like this: smoking, tilting his head to the side a little as he waits for an answer, his face bathed in the golden light of the lamppost.

And you love his voice. Deep, much warmer than before. More welcoming. Charming…

“It’s okay, I’m just… not really used to going to concerts like that and… this…”

He smiles at that, a smile more earnest, brighter too, and you like it. He doesn’t seem so scary now…

“Neither am I, to be honest.”

“You look like the part, though,” you joke, pointing at his leather jacket, his t-shirt, his combat boots. He laughs at that, and you find that you like the sound. It’s brighter than you expected it would be.

“True but… let’s say that I didn’t often have the opportunity to come to this kind of things. Besides, I’m still young. Plenty of time to catch up with that now.”

“How old are you?”

“Seventeen.”

You seem to relax at that.

“I’m seventeen too.”

He raises an eyebrow, his smile crooked again, near a smirk, and you like it. You really do.

“Are you still in high school?” you ask him, and he nods.

“Yeah, huh… boarding school.”

“Oh, I see. It must be nice to see your parents during the summer.”

But he merely smiles, and doesn’t answer. You silently curse yourself for obviously touching a nerve.

It’s alright though, Sirius doesn’t mind. He doesn’t reckon that it’s a conversation fit for such a night though, so he changes the topic and guides it towards you again, and finally asks for your name.

“Y/N,” you answer with a smile, and he finds that he adores the sight of it; it’s infectious, he wants to smile too now. “What about you?”

“Sirius. Sirius Black. I know, weird name.”

“Pretty though.”

You exchange a grin, but the gesture is shy for both of you.

Damn, Sirius’s throat tightens, and he’s a ball of nerves, really. He doesn’t know what it is about you that just… makes him lose his cool. But he loves it. It’s endearing. And you’re worth it. He can feel it.

He guides the conversation towards you again, and ten minutes fly by, and you forget all about Jackie who’s supposed to check up on you. Sirius is on his second cigarette, and you don’t even notice her when she smiles at the sight of the two of you and decides to leave you alone and head back for the end of the show.

You talk for a long time, actually. You’ve relaxed as the minutes flew by, you feel good now. You don’t cling that much to the light of the lamppost, you’re turned fully towards Sirius instead. Another source of light, even if this one seems more complex.

You talk for a long while, so long that people start flooding the street as the show ends. You’re both running out of time… and neither of you want to say goodbye just yet.

But it’s late. Very late, the night is heavy and the moon is declining. You must go home, and so does he.

He takes a deep breath, before diving.

“Would that be too much to ask for, if I wanted to go on a date with you?”

But you’re not so hesitant anymore, and you grin up at him.

“That would be nice.”

Sirius grins, his heart skipping a few beats.

“What about some dinner?” he offers, remembering an Italian restaurant where Remus has taken them before. “On Friday?”

But you can’t afford to take the risk of your parents saying no, and going out with a stranger on a Friday night is a lot to ask for…

“What about lunch, instead?”

Sirius merely shrugs.

“Sure. Okay. Let’s do that. There’s an Italian restaurant a couple of streets away. Let’s meet there at noon.”

“Okay.”

The two of you exchange a grin, that turns into shy chuckles.

“Alright, I’ll see you at noon next Friday, then, Y/N. And… thanks again for the drink.”

“I owed you one.”

“Still nice to be offered drinks by such a pretty girl.”

He expects you to shy away but you laugh instead.

“Wow, what a lousy line!”

He’s a little taken aback, but he likes it. You fire back; he likes that.

“It was an amazing line!”

“No, it was terrible. All it was missing was a good old wink…”

Sirius shoots you a grin and flirtatious wink in response, and you hate yourself for letting your heart miss a beat at the sight, but you can hardly help it. You laugh harder still, the sound infectious, so much so that Sirius chuckles too.

“Well, for our date, please, work on your flirt,” you tease him, and he decides that he adores this side of you…

“Very well, ma’am.”

You exchange one last smile, but you can’t buy yourself more time. And Sirius knows that he’s staring a little too much, but he can’t help it. He just wants to remember you perfectly, waiting for this date.

“Goodnight, Y/N. Be safe to go home.”

Your smile grows fonder.

“Thank you. Same to you, be careful, it’s very late. Goodnight, Sirius.”

He wants to bend down and kiss your cheek, raise his fingers to the edge of your jaw to touch your skin, judge how soft it is by himself. But he’s afraid to go too fast, to scare you away again, so he doesn’t. He looks at you as you walk towards Jackie instead, as you walk down the alley and disappear by the corner. The boys are waiting for him, amused smiles on their lips, but Sirius doesn’t notice them. He merely stares at you instead.

And you want to go on your tip-toes and kiss his cheek, rest a hand on his shoulder to see if it’s as strong as it seems to be. But you’re afraid to go too fast, to scare him away, so you don’t. You turn around instead, looking for Jackie, and you walk away, leaving Sirius alone under the light of the lamppost. But then you disappear, and he steps out of the light.

**************************************

Taglist : @reg-arcturus-black @hells-escapees @omgrachwrites @wolfmoonmusic

#sirius black #sirius black x you #sirius black x y/n #sirius black x reader #sirius black fanfiction #sirius black series #fanfic #writing #fanfiction #the marauders #marauders era #hp marauders #marauders #marauders fanfiction #hp fanfic #hp fanfiction #hp fandom

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

episode of savanaclaw chapter 1: the importance of visuals in conveying character

ADDEDUM: Sorry if you experience weird formatting and/or see repeated paragraphs when viewing this post; for whatever reason, Tumblr gave me a really hard time editing, formatting, and saving this OTL It looks totally normal on my end, but I’ve heard from some people the post looks wonky to them 💦 I’m not sure how to fix it…

The turtlesoupscans team has the first chapter out! ^^ (This is also the scanlation from which I borrow the images used in this post!)

Something I noticed when taking a closer look at the Episode of Savanaclaw is that the new mangaka is really good at drawing eyelashes 👁 👄 👁 There were so many times when I actually made a full stop while reading to admire the eyes and the lashes on like. EVERYONE especially on L*ona. I really enjoy that aspect of the new artwork! (I don’t know if this is just me, but Leona’s tail and hair also seem much longer in the manga adaptation than in the game…?)

… OKAY I NEED TO TALK ABOUT THIS NOW

I mentioned before that the manga has the advantage of using visual storytelling to help convey character in a way that the game can’t. I previously explored this concept as it applies to Cater’s general character in the Episode of Heartslabyul. But but but— (and I cannot stress this enough 😳) just from the first chapter alone, I think that the manga’s visual storytelling is going a long way to enhance episode 2.

So like in the game (2-6), there is a dorm leaders meeting in which they discuss the upcoming Magical Shift/Spelldrive tournament. It is here where Crowley suggests inducting Malleus into the Hall of Fame in order to take him off the field and give the other dorms a chance to shine. Leona interrupts and gives a brief speech about how doing that is admitting defeat before the game has even begun. He uses the story of the King of Beasts to remind his fellow dorm leaders that it is cunning, not brute strength or magical ability, that allowed him to triumph. This inspires the other dorm leaders to disallow Malleus from entering the Hall of Fame, as they all want to do their best to try and outwit him.

Now, there's nothing wrong with this scene in the game. It serves its purpose just fine. However, because of the game being a visual novel style, the story is mainly told via dialogue and 2D character models. The manga is able to greatly expand on this scene because it is not constrained to just dialogue and a few animations. Case in point, this:

In the manga adaptation of this scene, Leona gives basically the same points, but the art is a lot more dynamic. For example, when he first hears Crowley’s proposal, we get these shots which show us Leona’s obvious displeasure. There’s the slight frown, the ominous shadow over his face, and even a close up of his fingers laced together (a pose which already implies he’s a schemer):

Compare this to the limitations of Leona’s in-game model; he looks so obviously and overtly angry, which doesn’t sell him as a calculating character as well. Meanwhile, in the manga, you can still tell just how much the idea Crowley suggested has pissed Leona off, but the feelings come across on his face in a much more subtle way.

Then when manga!Leona begins his appeal proper, he physically STANDS UP from his seat at the table. This draws the other pairs of eyes in the room to him; you can see in the next panel that everyone, including Crowley, is looking at Leona. He commands the attention in the room.

Another small detail here is that manga!Leona slams a hand down on the table; previously, they were folded together. Without saying a word, you understand what this conveys: that, in addition to his intelligence, he also has power and influence in this situation, and he knows exactly how and when to use those boons to his advantage.

Actually, manga!Leona does a lot of small yet noteworthy things with his hands. Take, for instance, these next panels.

When bringing up the importance of using one’s brain, manga!Leona actually taps his head. In the game, Leona is limited to his general sprite where he lays a hand against his temple. This is the closest approximation to what the game can do to simulate that tap tap of the head, but it doesn’t really carry the full weight of the motion, especially not when paired with Leona’s annoyed in-game expression.

But then look at manga!Leona, who looks so smug and self-assured as he does the gesture. It really speaks to his own confidence—and, more importantly, we’re getting a more accurate image of what the other dorm leaders and Crowley are seeing. They’re witnessing Leona at the height of his strength, someone who uses his words to persuade and to inspire the downtrodden masses into following his lead and to make better lives for themselves. Leona now curls his hand into a fist—so now we’ve gone from the cunning laced fingers to the powerful slam of a hand on a table to a clenched fist, which, in this context, is meant to be encouraging and victorious.

Note that this is all a parallel to Leona’s Disney counterpart, Scar, who made promised the shunned hyenas a place in society. Said parallel is made even more apparent in the following page; manga!Leona literally raises his fist up, and there, right in the background, is the statue of Scar himself, haloed by sunlight, and clouds parted for him. Scar—and, by extension, Leona—appear almost “God-like” because of this deliberate composition.

At this point, Leona speaks about the King of Beasts’ great accomplishment: obtaining the crown through perseverance and wit, in spite of the odds being stacked against him. Look at how this page is framed; it’s nothing BUT Leona. He’s dominating not only the page itself, but also the discussion surrounding Malleus’s induction to the Hall of Fame. He is winning his audience over.

Again, the same lines play out in the game, but the impact just isn’t there. We just have a lot of Leona crossing his arms while looking mad and Leona with his hands on his hips. At best, he looks neutral or slightly bored by what he’s saying. At worst, maybe too angry or even pouting about the situation. It definitely doesn’t feel nearly as inspirational as him standing and raising a fist as he extols the values of the King of Beasts.

(Side note: why is Leona built like a god damn DORITO 🤡 Why’s his waist so TINY???? What is the purpose of that………………….. ….. …. . .:: … . … . . … . . .. . . this is not me simping THIS IS NOT I swear it’s not)

This next page characterizes Malleus more than it does Leona; Malleus is small here, shown with his back turned away, turning to “glance over his shoulder” at the others. This comes off as isolating, putting distance between himself, who is on such a high level, and his peers. It matches Leona’s dialogue, implying that Malleus truly is a “monster” out of their league, and they must find a clever solution to take that “monster” down.

Leona’s profile now shows slight signs of irritation right as he’s delivering the conclusion to his speech and thesis. His eyebrows are arched, he’s frowning, and he’s slightly looking down at the people he’s addressing. The tension here is palpable; you can feel the force behind his words, how strong his final statement is. It is the responsibility of everyone present at this table to find a way to defeat Malleus, not kneel over and accept defeat.

And the crazy thing is???? You can SEE in the faces of every single dorm leader how Leona’s words have affected them. You don’t need anyone to say a single word to understand what’s going through their heads. They’ve all been charmed. Look at how wide-eyed Kalim is, how Vil has his eyes narrowed (like he has realized something), Riddle is staring DIRECTLY at Leona (implied by an earlier page), and fuck Idia; the tablet’s screen tells us nothing Azul smiles knowingly.

We automatically know what the outcome is, and we know which way they will vote. This is conveyed so well, so clearly, that the manga doesn’t even bother to give us dialogue from the other dorm leaders opposing Crowley’s suggestion. The manga just immediately cuts away to a mob student being injured. (This is different than in the game, which had to show Vil, Riddle, Kalim, Idia, and Azul verbally agreeing with Leona to get the same message across.)

Anyway??? I had to get all of that out of my system 🤡 I just. Can’t get over???? How good the visual storytelling is for the manga adaptation??????

Entire lines from the original script could be scrubbed out and we still understand what is being said without them. So much character oozes off the page in the dynamic camera and composition. Scenes that I paid zero mind to in the game are sooo much more interesting when told through the manga, my eyes are glued onto the pages.

There’s so much nuance in the gorgeous artwork and the story that it’s trying to tell, and I think that’s a real testament to how talented the mangaka and the team behind Twisted Wonderland (the manga adaptation) are!! I’m by no means a fan of episode 2 of the main story, but 👀 the manga has definitely done a great job making Leona’s introduction to the audience memorable, and he feels like a much more charismatic and threatening “villain” for this episode because of that.

#twst manga #twisted wonderland manga #Leona Kingscholar #spoilers #notes from the writing raven #NOT L*ONA ROT #other miscellaneous thoughts #Grim and Ruggie look super close to their in-game models #no real thoughts on Yuuka?? #like she’s no-nonsense like Yuuken but more ‘big sis’ energy #like she drags Grim along when they’re running late #she seems more openly exasperated when Grim misbehaves etc #she’s also more outgoing #wanting to get involved in Magical Shift and all #more ‘reactive’ would be the term? though Yuuka can keep her cool #Dire Crowley #Malleus Draconia #twst analysis #twisted wonderland analysis #Riddle Rosehearts #Kalim Al-Asim #Idia Shroud #Azul Ashengrotto #Vil Schoenheit #episode of savanaclaw #episode of savanaclaw manga

[thatgirlonstage]

Think about Lucretia “still remembers Merle talking to John upwards of fifty fucking times without ever once losing his faith in fundamental goodness in the world” listening to Merle say this about his own relic and die instantly

I just. I have A Lot Of Fucking Feelings about the DAMAGE that the voidfishing left Tres Horny Boys with that extends insidiously beyond a clean cut of their memories. Taako is the most obvious example, but like—all of them are so so fucking LONELY at the start of the campaign and SO DESPERATE not to TELL people that or let them see. And they have their own individual traumas disconnected from the voidfishing that have led to that, but. Idk. The graphic novels, with the advantage of knowing the whole story, are leaning into foreshadowing this more deliberately (see eg Merle leaving Hekuba in the Eleventh Hour flashback bc he feels like “something’s missing”, as well as the above scene) but it’s not NOT there in the original, albeit totally unintentionally. They are three people whose lives got fucking wrecked out from under them and they all equally found themselves just,,, fucking adrift with no concept of how to correct that. At least in the little we know of their time before the stolen century, they all eventually found themselves at the IPRE. They found something exciting or compelling or daring enough in this exploration to want to join it, no matter how lonely their lives were before that.

I’m just stream of consciousness-ing don’t take this as super well thought out meta but it just. Fucks me up.

#taz #taz: balance #taz gn

[caninecomfort]

hello i heard you had feelings about lycanthropy and femininity. i would love to hear abt them (—canis-dentem, this is my main)

I am so glad you asked 😈 the inherent ties between lycanthropy and female biology are sooooo strong. I know it’s a theme that’s explored in the ginger snaps movies but I haven’t watched them oddly enough haha, I just realized it while working on a story idea a while back and did some research and found that other people have said it too.

basically the way that lycanthropy and the female menstrual cycle are both 30(ish) day cycles revolving around uncontrollable natural processes that happen to the human body. they both involve intense mood swings, physical pain, appearance changes (acne and oily hair etc for menstrual cycle, and obviously becoming a wolf for lycanthropy), and plenty of blood and gore. they’re also both something that is expected, no matter how much they affect a person’s life, to be kept quiet about because it makes other people uncomfortable or disturbed. even when you’re suffering you’re supposed to not talk about it for fear other people will judge you.

being a little girl and not understanding that getting my period was a sign that my body was healthy and thriving, I always felt so uncomfortable and ashamed of it even though I knew it was normal. I felt distinctly separated from other people when I couldn’t do normal activities because of something my body was affected by that I couldn’t bring myself to put into words. I think that’s such a tie into lycanthropy—a werewolf doesn’t usually understand their earlier transformations and is often in denial and refuses to admit even to themselves what’s happening. they have to skip out on their lives during the full moon out of fear people will see them for who they are. for both, the experience can make someone feel othered from society and their peers.

sometimes during my cycle I feel like my body and emotions are rebelling against me. my mood swings get so bad that I sometimes just have to isolate myself for a while so I don’t lash out at people. my cramps send me to bed for at least the whole first day of my period. this sounds all too familiar with lycanthropy, where werewolves often have to lock themselves up somewhere and suffer the pain of a transformation alone because they might hurt someone without wanting to.

then there’s the whole matter of a month-long cycle and different stages within it. the body preparing and gathering strength, then going through the big event of a menstrual period or werewolf transformation, then recovering physically from it.

since I was younger I have always liked to think of my period as a werewolf transformation. period cramps? no that’s just my bones and muscles shifting into my wolf form. mood swings? no i’m feeling aggressive because i’m a werewolf. etc. I still think about it this way and generally have always related to werewolves a lot as a form between humans and wolves.

the book such sharp teeth by rachel harrison turned my ears back toward this concept recently and got it bag on my mind! it was such a fun contemporary werewolf story with a cute romance and shockingly deeper themes about recovering from trauma.

for more on the topic…

thank you for asking!! I could ramble about this for ages. 🐺 🌕🩸

- jay

#therian #doghearted #me yapping #caninekin #dogkin #lycanthropy #werewolf #caninehearted #dog therian #wolf therian #werewolfkin #werewolf kin #lycanthropy and femininity #the thoughts are thoughting about this

[seriouslycromulent]

I noticed a few people sharing excerpts from this new interview from Christian that came out on July 6th on TVInsider.com, but most fans aren't sharing the part I found most interesting. So I thought I'd share the part I thought deserved more attention. Note: the bold purple sections are my emphasis, not the article's.

----

Speaking of his father, talk about finally getting to explore that relationship with his dad. Because you and Keith David were so good together.

Well, it’s really funny because we had come up with this idea literally in the first season. We always thought it would be funny if Eliot was adopted because Dean loves — we’re all broken toys, you know what I mean? And I think why you rooted for it so hard right off the bat is because we’re all broken toys and we’re looking to get fixed. And so we were always thinking that Eliot was adopted, his mom had probably passed. But we thought it’d be really great if we had a Black actor come in and play this role. We thought Hardison’s [Aldis Hodge] eyes would just bug out if he ever saw that, you know what I mean? And the years went by and the years went by and we kept it. I kept it as a backstory and I’d always bring it up.

I was talking about maybe Mr. T, something like that, which would’ve been fun. But I saw Keith David at an award show, and I walked up to him, I said, “Do you have a second?” And he goes, “You!” And I was like, “What?” And I just gave him a hug and I didn’t even realize what was going on. We just both ended up hugging each other. And I said, “I just want to tell you what a huge fan I am.” He goes, “Dude, I’m a huge fan.” Turns out he is a huge Leverage fan. And I couldn’t say much about it at the time, but I said, “Dude, I have something for you. I cannot tell you what it is, but if I call you, would you be interested?” He said, “Call me.”

So me and Dean hashed it out. We talked about it. The storyline was absolutely perfect. Dean wrote it. It was great. Dean directed it. And I made the call, and listen, is he worth more money than we paid him? 100 percent. But he came in and he did me a favor, and I couldn’t thank him enough the whole time. I said, “I’ve been working on this backstory in my head for over 10 years, man, way over 10 years. And you came in and just put everything together for me, man. And it was just perfect.”

It was so much fun because a lot of that emotional stuff, my dad had recently passed, and I wasn’t going to get that emotional when I saw him, but he got emotional, and everybody thought that it was because of my dad. It really honestly wasn’t. It was because I was acting with him and he was giving me what I needed, and I really wanted to show Eliot in such a different light that we had never seen him. It was important to me, and it was strange. I was literally embarrassed on set because of the emotions that we had, which was right on the money of what I wanted to do.

And it made for such a great episode.

Yeah. I mean, if it’s Christian Kane, I’m giving Keith David a hug, I’ll probably tear up a little bit right now. I don’t care about that crap. But as playing a character, as Eliot, when I turned around to them, I was literally embarrassed. And I just thought, if I’m embarrassed right now, that means I did it right.

----

This is easily the most fascinating section of the interview in my opinion, and I'm so glad that he shared it. I saw his post on Instagram talking about this a little while back in December 2022, but it was nice to see a longer version with more details about how that episode and concept came together.

I didn't know Chris' dad had passed away, and even though he said that wasn't why he started crying in that scene, it makes that moment seem even more powerful to me as a fan of the show, the character and the actor.

#leverage #leverage: redemption #fandom #christian kane #eliot spencer

[drdemonprince]

Hey Devon,

I've been thinking a lot lately about the idea of there being a hard line between "autistic" and "not autistic". Do you think that there exists some kind of innate Truth about each person, that they are either autistic or not? I guess I'm referring to the concept of a neurotype, where differences run deep, and are bridged only at a surface level, by masking/compensation. Something which, if we could measure it well enough, would clearly and unfailingly differentiate between autistic and non-autistic people.

The alternative, I suppose, is that there are grey areas, people who are in between. In that case, I struggle to understand what autism is - a category that's defined by society more than by physical reality? In that case, can you be sort-of-autistic or almost-autistic or barely-autistic? I have the sense that this is the more common situation when it comes to psychology, but it doesn't really line up with how we talk about autism.

I already went through all this with gender some years ago, and I got the answers I needed there by slowly transitioning, but I'm not sure if there's a similarly satisfying path to closure when it comes to autism. I mean, I'm both self- and formally-diagnosed anyway, but it does niggle at me. I feel like I'm in that grey area if it exists.

Keen to hear your thoughts!

I think this article about sums up my thoughts!

There is no blood test for Autism, or brain scan, or single gene we can look for, or objective measure that gives a definitive answer. All we have are flawed assessments created by non-Autistic mental health professionals, and the observations and critiques written by Autistic people themselves.

When someone comes to me wondering if they are Autistic, I always have the same advice: read writing by Autistics. Watch videos by Autistic people. Try out resources designed for Autistics, like Ear Defenders, stim toys, and weighted blankets. Join an Autistic community space, whether that’s a virtual meeting, an in-person one, or a social media hub. Explore the possibilities, and focus less on discovering objective “truth,” and more on finding what helps you feel more happy, connected, and whole.

I don’t believe in drawing an arbitrary line in the sand and saying a sufficient number of traits (or intensity of traits) makes someone categorically Autistic, especially considering that many undiagnosed Autistics have been forced to hide their more obvious traits for decades. If you have some Autistic traits but not others, it’s possible you have generalized anxiety, PTSD, OCD, social anxiety, or ADHD. Look into those disorders and their communities too. See if there are resources that are useful to you there. You can be promiscuous — we won’t get jealous. A lot of us have multiple conditions anyway. Or feel at home in multiple mental health communities, if you prefer.

As your question acknowledges, Autism is a spectrum. Or as others have written, a sundae bar with a variety of toppings. If you are somewhere on the spectrum, you’re on the spectrum; you don’t have to be the most intensely Autistic person around to count. Even if you actually have a “sister condition” like ADHD, you might still feel at home among Autistic folks, and if that’s the case, you belong too.

I have said this many times, but people need the reassurance very often: if you feel at home in the community, if you benefit from resources designed by and for Autistic people, if you recognize you share common interests with us and you want to fight alongside us for greater disability justice, you belong in the neurodiverse community. Full stop. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

You can use whatever words for yourself you feel most comfortable with, Anon, or you can just enter neurodiverse community spaces without claiming a label. You don’t owe anyone proof, and you don’t have to be “Autistic enough” to matter and belong here. We are stronger together. We’re a big, diverse rainbow, and you are welcome inside it.

In other words, I think the conclusion is very much the same one we arrive at re: queerness. The real question is never "is this individual person Autistic", it's "are all people harmed by the social mandate that we all be neurotypical" and the answer to that one is always yes. How we personally reconcile that fact wrt our own lives and how we choose to identify is up to us. we can really answer that personal question however we like.

[sixty-silver-wishes]

why do so many caligari adaptations want to make francis The Worst Ever he’s just a guy

like. yeah. he’s impulsive and angsty and doesn’t always think things through. but he’s not an asshole he’s just some nerd who’s suddenly forced into solving a murder.

and he CARES ABOUT HIS FRIENDS. idk why so many adaptations decide to make him a dick to alan for no reason when like. alan being killed is the whole reason why the plot is kicked off in the first place??? francis is so hyperfocused on solving his murder through the entire film he literally can’t prioritize anything else. we see how close they are in the beginning, even if only for a few seconds. and he trusts jane enough to put her feelings above his own, respecting her decision as to whether or not she’ll choose him, and valuing her and alan’s happiness over his own. and even though she doesn’t show any romantic interest towards him, he still sees her as a refuge and trusts her enough to be vulnerable around her. she’s the first person he talks to after he finds out alan died, and we see them walking back from the funeral together. yes, his drive to solve the murder does come before his consideration for her feelings after she was kidnapped, but like. from his end, the guy was up all night looking for answers and, from his perspective, had a valid reason to doubt what she told him. which, yeah, his timing was horrible, but it’s also significant that as soon as he could tell she was upset, he went off to investigate again, even if he didn’t believe her. he’s a flawed guy, but at the end of the day, the film shows he’s fiercely loyal and devotes everything to his friends.

and like. you can draw parallels between francis and caligari. sure. both are ambitious, goal-oriented, active participants in the narrative. they both can get aggressive. and there’s a more complicated reading you can make of both of them using the concept of changing another character’s name and role to enforce their own identity (caligari forces cesare’s name and identity upon him so that he can be “caligari,” while francis wants to marry jane, which would change her surname and her role as the object of desire. there’s a whole tangent I could go off on about this but I won’t do that right now lol). both of them exhibit strong emotions, particularly desire and hatred. but the difference between caligari and francis is that while both of them may exhibit these traits, francis cares enough about the people he loves to put their own happiness and comfort over his own. he’s willing to let go of jane if she chooses alan, and is secure enough in himself to remain friends with them if this were to happen. caligari uh. very much does not do that. while francis will sacrifice his own pleasure for his friends’ comfort, caligari goes out of his way to make people uncomfortable for his own pleasure (and it’s interesting that they both display these opposing traits with regards to how they view jane in particular).

come to think of it. why don’t more adaptations like. make caligari Worse. a lot of them seem to really want to play it safe with him. yes, they make him evil and mildly creepy, but there’s a sort of restraint that a lot of adaptations take that isn’t there in the film. the only one I’m familiar with that attempts to explore the abusive aspect of him is the fucking “they are accompanied by francis who beats cesare to death with a club” musical, and even that one seems to detach itself somewhat from caligari’s exhibition of medical abuse, as it has him controlling cesare through a potion instead of the film’s implied psychological experimentation. the 2005 film, for instance, cuts out the part where he “becomes caligari” altogether, and many others lessen his role in the story.

I feel like part of the reason why so many adaptations steer away from exploring the full extent of caligari’s character is because they’re not interested in the symbolism of it, focusing on telling a conventional horror/mystery story instead of a allegorical examination of abuse and trauma, or perhaps for some, the allegorical implications are intimidating. caligari is abuse at every level, and I think understanding that is key to adapting his character. we see his manipulation and aggression on multiple scales, from how he interacts with individual characters (especially cesare) to how he runs an asylum and his carnival exhibition. the idea of an authority figure represented in such a way was so subversive when the original film was written that janowitz and mayer had to change the script to make francis delusional; is it possible that perhaps even today, the symbolism behind caligari and what he could represent- a man in a position of power who uses it to harm others for his own pleasure and to potentially mask his own insecurities- may be too uncomfortable for some people to really get into? I don’t know. but I have to wonder why so many adaptations tend to ascribe traits more in line with his character in the original film to francis.

tbh, maybe it’s ableism. that sounds like a leap, but the adaptations that frequently emphasize that francis is “insane” are the ones that tend to portray his character the most negatively, even within the frame story. instead of exploring how, outside the frame story, being institutionalized by an ineffectual (and possibly malevolent) authority figure may contribute to francis casting himself as a hero so he can get closure in a traumatic situation, a lot of them will go, “francis is insane, so therefore he Must be an aggressive selfish jerk!” which can also serve to sanitize caligari’s character, especially the ones that decide that francis is completely delusional and wrong about everything, and caligari is simply a rational doctor trying to help him. which, considering the themes of the original film, does Not have good implications. and maybe they’re not trying to be ableist, but are still playing into tropes that stigmatize disabled people, especially those who experience delusions. but idk

#the cabinet of dr. caligari #rambles #went off a bit with this one. oops

[dailyadventureprompts]

Dapper’s 1vOne D&D: Part 1

So for anyone who hasn’t heard, D&D’s getting an upgrade. There’s been rumblings about this for the past few years, and I’ve been tentatively looking forward to it for more than a few reasons. That said, my area of focus is that of a veteran dungeonmaster who’s run the game long enough to see where the flaws in the armour are, so I’m going to be on the lookout for some very particular things:

5e is an amazing ruleset specifically because it’s all about giving DM/players the ability to make intuitive value judgements on how situations should be resolved rather than having to memorize dozens or even hundreds of individual rules interactions.  If any rules were to be added on to this, I’d want them to follow in this intuitive tradition, rather than trying to be simulationist about any aspect of the game. 

However, while the base ruleset is elegant in its simplicity, the actual GAME DESIGN of d&d 5e is absolute trash:  The DMG is a random grabbag of advice that vaguely gestures at what you should do to run a fun game while almost completely neglecting the teaching of valuable dm skills. As an example, the section on designing dungeons ( yeknow, the part of the game that’s so important it’s in the actual name) is only six pages long and is mostly art and random tables. The same is true for the entire “exploration” section of gameplay that’s supposedly one of the three central pillars of the game, with almost no enjoyable mechanics devoted to it.

5e desperately needs to reconsider how it thinks about money and  magic items. An overrepresentation of low-magic DMs in the early playtests made WOTC think that it was a good idea to discourage the use of items as rewards when really getting shiny new toys was one of the PRIMARY motivators for exploration and dungeon deviling. Plenty of people have likewise pointed out that gold has no actual use without magic items to spend it on, so either the game needs to get rid of gold entirely or start giving players a reason to spend coin hand over fist. 

While I’ve never been happier with the design of the base classes (strongly thematic mechanics, easily implantation of homebrew subclasses), we can all admit there’s a distinct fall off somewhere after level 6 or so. This is because 5e never mechanically evolves past the concept of a roving band of vagabonds cycling between the wilderness (exploration) the dungeon (combat and problem solving) and the town ( social and story) despite the fact that characters outgrow this cycle very quickly given the chance.  I want to see rules modules like sailing and exploration, diplomacy and warfare, which DMs can socket onto their campaigns as needed to give their party new challenges to face, while the rules likewise give the players new avenues of customization and specialization. 

Below the cut I’m going to go in depth with my many, MANY opinions regarding the first playtest and some of the initial prospects of one d&d, and let me tell you, the takes are hot.

Before we begin discussing first playtest doc It might please readers to know that while watching the preview videos I entered a state of feral, possibly otherworldly rage. The very distinct slow metered corpospeak  that’s been adopted by WOTC and the DnD Beyond social media teams grates like a cheesegrater against my brain, especially because I only care about 1% of what they’re talking about. I do not look forward to having to watch more of these videos in the future. 

Likewise I think it’s important to talk about my standards when it comes to design:  I don’t care about balance, I care about fun. True balance is something that’s impossible to achieve in d&d unless you want to limit the game to samey cambers and corridors where the party can expect to fight mathematically perfect opponents in laboratory controlled conditions. MY d&d is much more wild than that, so I focus my attention on whether or not people are having fun with the options presented to them.  This is why I don’t care that X build is considered overpowered, or Y “breaks the game” by being able to fly while from lvl 1:  Unless those things are in my game then they don’t matter to me, and if they ARE in my game I can either build around them or deal with them in the moment. 

Players are SUPPOSED to break the game. If I plan out an entire heist and my party breaks it by using a spell I didn’t know they had access to and a joke item I gave them four levels ago I don’t complain about things being broken, I ride the giddy wave of surprise and congratulate them on being smart/invested enough to actually put thought into the challenge I presented them. 

First up, Ancestries:  I mostly had no problem with how ancestries were handled and have no problem with how the playtest proposes change, especially since They’ve buffed a few of the less interesting ability suites. Nice to see them giving orcs an overhaul rather than going with the old halforc baggage. 

Backgrounds: Now THIS is interesting. I was a big fan of the inclusion of backgrounds as it allowed you to get statistical benefits from who your character was outside of their species/what they were as an adventurer, and the designers have evidently followed suit. Backgrounds are now the source of your ability bonuses ( which makes sense, your character would likely be doing something they were predisposed to) AND grant a thematic feat. Seems like a winning formula

Misc Rules changes: 

Feats are evidently going to be split up by level, which makes me think we’re going to see a lot more of them. If you can separate out the power level of feats with more than just ability prerequisites, then you can provide a lot of smaller, interesting feats while the powerful ones act as tentpoles.  It’s likely that we’re also going to see atleast a minor reintroduction of feat trees

I think the thing I’m most against in this playtest is how they’re doing crits, which now only multiply the weapon’s damage die rather than all dice rolled. Spells, Monsters, and Npcs apparently can’t crit… which I hate.  Crits work BEAUTIFULLY in 5e, with everything from the handfuls of dice to excessive amounts of damage function like a jackpot in combat, provoking a surge of dopamine that ties you in to combat. A single damage die (especially for weaker characters) is not worth that sort of fanfare, especially when enemies have HPpools in the hundreds.  What I COULD see this opening the door for is the expanded crit range weapons/builds from earlier editions: with weapon damage dice increasing on ranges of 18-20 or even 15-20 (depending on how you stack your build) but ALL damage dice increasing on a nat 20. This would be getting your cake and eating it as it’d allow crit builders to get their extra damage fix without denying everyone their 1 in 20 chance of getting the spotlight. 

Formalized rules for gaining inspiration are great, as you seem to get them early and often (and by rolling a nat 20). Big fan

Grappling is alright, but I will say that I’m kinda sorry to see it decoupled from skills. Grappling big bads at advantage  is one of the best  surprises in the barbarian’s/str fighter’s toolbox so I’ll be disappointed if they don’t get some specialization in it. 

Spells are now divided up into lists based on origin of the magic rather than class, a move that I’m primarily in favour of because it’ll make incorporating 3rd party spells/classes SO MUCH EASIER. As for the arcane/primal/divine sourcing, I think it might be a bit… limited? Curious if they’re going to add any more niche spell lists with specific origins later on (fiendish, feywild, etc) 

Now lets talk about that virtual tabletop:   What strikes me as funny is that WOTC has been trying to get a digital d&d working for years. 3e was bogged down in simulationism and needless rules because the system was supposed to run on a computer, and plenty of people have remarked on how crunchy 4th edition was. 

There seems to be this idea that “advancement” for d&d means taking it further and further away from the table, and while I’ll admit that online play has helped millions of people get into the game, I’m always going to think that in-person games are the best way to play for me any my groups. 

Look at this teaser for 4th edition, and behind all the nerd jokes you’ll see the drum they’re beating is that at-table play is clunky, where as digital play is sleek and futuristic. (also notice they have the exact same reassurances taht the game will remain the same despite how massive a change 4th edition was)

You’ll also note how in the One d&d preview, they talked about how people had “cobbled together” a bunch of tools to play online, whereas this new virtual tabletop was going to be the be all end all.   Not to sound conspiratorial, but a WOTC produced VTT is going to have a profit incentive to ensure you use WOTC products over your own homebrew/3rd party material, and is never going to be as flexible as something you’ve found that works best for you.  They’ve done this before, taking a section about how to make/source minis and terrain out of 3rd edition books and replacing them with advertisements for their own products.   If I REALLY wanted to get myself fitted for a tinfoil hat, I could talk about how the lack of tools in the default DMG for building adventures subtly encourages DMs to seek out officially produced ones. 

This is… fine… I guess? I can’t fault hasbro as a mega corporation for doing what’s in its nature, except in such cases where its actions directly impact the game. But we’ll have to see how that turns out with future playtest options rather than getting all conspiratorial. 

Thanks for listening to me ramble, expect more of it in the future.

#one d&d #d&d #Dungeons and Dragons #dnd #5e #1vonednd