#i just don’t have it in me to tag things for the most part atm

[cupcakeslushie]

hi lovely how r u?👋🏽

ok so im very new here but i did binge a good chunk of the separated au tag yesterday soooo needless to say it's been on my mind all day (plus that oneshot that someone wrote of donnie's pov and meeting mikey and raph did NOT help) but all this to say..

i don't remember the exact wording so apologies if im mis-paraphrasing but i believe in one post u said that au!donnie is a lot more uhhh "affection seeking" than canon donnie?

do u possibly hav sketches of what that would look like? is he less touch averse than canon donnie or does he just perceive, receive and search for "affection" in a different way? cuz if he is more physically affection i will in fact pass away😭. and as an avid disaster twins enjoying i am more curious in this aspect of him i regards to au!leo specifically🙏 (ig this is just me requesting said sketches if not. BUT OFC U DONT HAV TO IM JUST CURIOUS) anywyas i love ur brain this au is everything🥹🤝🏽

Hello I’m doing very well! 👋🏻

He still very much has canon!Donnie’s texture hangups and he’s often uncomfortable when things get “real”, but here he is very very very affectionate with his family. (I know I’ve said this before, but I don’t 100% buy that canon Donnie is as touch averse as the movie made him, since in the show he initiates hugs and often leans into group hugs. I think he believes he’s got to grumble to keep up his bad boy image, but for the most part he secretly loves getting hugs from his family but that’s just me. I could totally be wrong in that assessment. Anyways! Back to Sep!Donnie)

At first his displays of affection are very much over the top and performative because he doesn’t really know how positive touch works, but this boy craves any kind of hugs, head pats, and turtle piles he can get. Plus, here he has no bad boy image to maintain so he has no problem seeking out any and all forms of affection from his fam.

I’m kind of realizing I’ve sorta swapped him and Leo’s personalities to a degree lol. Sep!Leo is kind of the aloof-thinks-they’re-the-bad-boy, but awkward with displays of affection one, while Sep!Donnie is the one craving validation and attention 🤣

I don’t have any disaster twins sketches atm but I promise you won’t be wanting for that type of scenario very often as I tend to do more fluffy ideas in between the angst of comic updates (Feral Leo AU not withstanding lol 😝) -❤️

#separated au #ask slushie #rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt separated au #rise of the tmnt

[jesuisici33]

tease tidbit tuesday

tagged by @wikiangela @forthewolves @eddiediaztho @eowon @mammameesh tagging @hippolotamus @alyxmastershipper @apothecarose @thewolvesof1998 @folk-fae @wildlife4life @monsterrae1 @911-on-abc @theotherluciferr @heartshapedvows @bonheur-cafe @disasterbuckdiaz @loserdiaz @giddyupbuck putting most of this under the cut, because i highly doubt this wip will be finished, hence putting this for tease tidbit tuesday okay, putting buddie in a miraculous ladybug au since that show and buddie are brainrotting me super bad atm. if some of this doesn't make much sense, that's because i just wrote this. basically, eddie is ladybug and buck is chat noir. (keeping eddie as ladybug because male ladybugs are still called ladybugs so *shrugs* anyways that's it here's the snippet!

The thing is, Buck may not be able to see Eddie, but Chat Noir is. 

It’s reckless and stupid. Possibly on the verge of letting his secret identity become known if he does this. He can already hear Maddie’s arguments of checking in on the Diaz’s in his superhero persona while this lawsuit is still going on. How he might slip and say something so Buck Eddie can’t help but figure out that it’s him. Maddie always claims that if she didn’t see him transform right in front of her when she moved back she would figure out Chat Noir is him anyways. 

For some reason he doesn’t care. He knows Eddie is trustworthy. If anyone can keep a secret, it’s Eddie. 

Buck lands on the Diaz balcony railing when he’s face to face with the man himself. He has to force himself not to yelp in surprise. Still in the Chat Noir persona which means he has to appear calm, cool, and collected. Along with suave and secure in what he’s doing. Eddie, meanwhile, pulls back in shock at the sudden intruder on his property. 

“Chat Noir?” he asks. Eddie’s eyes rake over him as if he can’t believe Buck is actually there. Or well, that Chat Noir is actually there. Buck has to admit the disbelief in Eddie’s eyes is more welcome than the hostility he’s seen earlier today at the grocery store. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Oh. Um. Patrol?” Buck winces as his tone makes the statement into a question. “Patrol. I’m doing patrol right now. With Ladybug. He has the other half of the city. We do it about once a week to make sure everyone stays safe from being akumatized.” There. Sounds legit. 

Eddie’s mouth twitches up. Buck is familiar with that expression. He gives Chris that same look whenever he’s lying to his dad. Eddie will let Chris lie to him long enough to realize that whatever web he’s spun has become too tangled for him to weave himself out of. Buck’s not sure why Eddie is currently giving him that look, but he’s going to ignore it. “Right. Sounds fun. How do you two coordinate all that? Big city like LA? Must be complicated.” Eddie leans back against the balcony, allowing himself to get closer to Buck who’s still crouching on the railing. 

Jumping fully onto the balcony, Buck waves his hand in the air. “Ah, you don’t want to learn all that. Too boring.” Eddie snorts. “Anyways, how are things with you, Eddie?” 

“How do you know my name?”

Buck scrambles to think of some lie. “Also part of the job description. To know every person I’m supposed to save. You’re Eddie. You have a son, Chris.” His smile widens. “Awesome kid, by the way. Great choice of costume last Halloween.” 

That brings a groan from Eddie. “He went as you. Of course you think it was a great choice.”

“And you made a fantastic Ladybug with him. Though not as great as the original.” He brings a finger to his lips. “Don’t tell him I said that.” 

A laugh escapes from Eddie’s lips as if he couldn’t help it. “I’ll…I’ll try not to.” There's silence for a few seconds.  “My friend had a bet on how many people would wear Chat Noir costumes.” 

Buck tries to keep his composure under control. He remembers that stupid bet he did. Although at the time it didn’t seem stupid. An ego boost - a way to see how much everyone in the city actually likes him. He was looking forward to Halloween. Constantly going to stores to see which costume would be sold out the fastest. Ladybug’s was always the winner by just a hair. When he saw Chris dressed as him he felt such elation he felt like he had all his powers without wearing his suit right then and there. 

“Oh? Who won?” he asks, pretending as if he didn’t already know.

“I - I think he said Ladybug did.” Eddie rubs his hand over his mouth. That’s when Buck notices the bruises.

“Hey. What happened here?” He goes over to take hold of Eddie’s hand. Eddie immediately snatches his hand back. As if snatching his hand would erase the fact that Buck already saw the damage. 

“Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

“Eddie. Come on. It’s me.”

Eddie’s brows furrow at him in confusion. Right. Buck forgot. He’s not Buck, he’s Chat Noir. There’s no reason for Eddie to confide in him. No reason for Eddie to trust him. “I mean, who better to unload your problems than a random superhero, huh?” 

Eddie looks like he’s fighting something within himself. Then finally he nods, agreeing. “I just needed to punch something.” The words send an uncomfortable sense of deja vu. Something Ladybug said at their last akuma attack. I need an excuse to punch something right now. 

“Any-any particular reason?”

“Buck.” Buck winces at the venom that laces Eddie’s voice when he says his name. “My friend. Or, at least I thought he was. Sometimes I even thought he might be-”

Buck holds his breath as he waits for Eddie to finish his sentence. Might be what? “Things are just really fucked up right now. Chat Noir, I don’t think this is something you can fix right now. Or Ladybug,” he adds as an afterthought. 

“Are you sure? Just tell me what’s going on and I can talk to Buck and-”

Eddie gives him a sad smile. “No. But thank you. Really.” His hand settles on Buck’s shoulder. Like it’s done so many times before. “Go out and finish your patrol.” The smile then turns sly. “Say hi to Ladybug for me, will you?” 

Buck watches Eddie head back inside. When Eddie notices Buck still hasn’t moved, he makes a shooing motion with his hand. The movement is so similar to Ladybug that Buck can’t help but roll his eyes and jump away onto the next balcony. Shaking his head, he grumbles under his breath how stubborn the man is. 

Maybe he’ll just have to do more “patrols” and see if any chinks in Eddie’s armor start to crack. 

He’s not really paying attention to where he’s going. Just enjoying the feel of the night wind against his body as he’s gliding through the city. So it’s a surprise when suddenly a familiar, wry voice says next to him, “Patrolling without me, kitty?”

“Ladybug? Shit, where did you come from? How did you even know I was here?”

The red and black spotted suit shakes with laughter at Buck’s fumble. “I hear things. Have any news to share?”

#is this stupid? yeah #but is this fun? definitely

[jackwolfes]

thank you for tagging me @sixofsol !! 🥰💖

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 

144 on my public pseud, 85 in my lil anon collection, 3 floating around secretly in another anon collection, and about 10-15 super super old ones that i orphaned from various asunder fandoms over the years. so at least 232, probably closer to 250 (dear god)

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

1,688,252 words of non-orphaned works (dear GOD)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

primarily six of crows/SAB netflix, but recent fandoms that i might write more for soon include: red white and royal blue, percy jackson, winter’s orbit, bbc merlin, the last binding series, & the pulleyverse 

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

hours (whumpy firstprince fic)

you owe me for blowing up my bed (sab verse missing scene)

like putting on a costume (wesper PWP)

gorgeous (wesper PWP)

a choice of two locked doors (wesper arranged marriage)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

i always try to!! but i’m not the best at it all the time 😅 i make more of an effort to reply to comments that are longer or that draw out particular parts of the fic that the reader liked!

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

i’m a big slut for a bittersweet but hopeful ending rather than angsty ones!! like possibly my ghost jesper fic because the final scene is Quite Literally wylan dying but like, that’s kinda happy given context???

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

i am still personally enamoured with the vibes in the final scene of ACOTLD 🥰 and it makes me very happy! so! that one! 

8. Do you get hate on fics?

uhhh most regularly i just get snarky gobshites trying to be like, clever and smug about shit, which never really works because i generally don’t care? but then also i sometimes get transphobic hate speech so idk 😅

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

i can't answer this non-sarcastically but like YEAH I'm a VERY HORNY WRITER and I feel like it says more about you than me if you haven't been able to guage that 😅 idk I have gotten a lot tamer though by including porn in longer fics compared to the very explicit collection of PWPs I used to write?? 

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

the closest i’ve gotten to crossover is sneaking shadow and bone characters into SOC fics! or like, the most subtle of references and cameos when I need random OCs like Easter eggs 

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

a few times but i’ve always been vindicated by the fact they’ve never been well done? like it's always been word for word plagiraism (and also the ao3 abuse team is very good at taking things down)

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

not that i’m actually aware of! just podfics sometimes which has been nice 😊

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

never finished one but i’ve got 2-3 wips being co-written with my girlfriend atm 😊

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

i feel like it’s a cop out to say wesper but like,,,, 😅 idk! i like my lil stupid guys!! i like their vibe! 

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

I think my problem is that I'm delusional enough to think that I will finish literally all of the WIPs I have started and want to finish even though that's like, 100 fics or something idiotic 😅

16. What are your writing strengths?

Themes and foreshadowing I think!! Like running themes for sure but I've had definitive compliments on my plotting before! I also think I'm pretty good at dialogue, especially arguments, and narrative tension/feelings! 👀

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

i am not very good at cutting my darlings which means things get a bit meandering and diluted sometimes 😅

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

i can get behind it in certain circumstances! personal preference is to translate large chunks of text ie "'[English words],' he said in [language]" but I do write individual words like pet names in other languages 

19. First fandom you wrote for?

fucking hetalia when i was like, 12 🫥 but i have also in past written for: homestuck, haikyuu, yuri on ice, the adventure zone (balance & graduation) and (CONSTANTLY forget this) miraculous ladybug! some of which are better than others ngl 😅

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

well this is like asking me to pick children & is also cruel when i have 230 of them klajdsfsadjfk  UHHH? i mean this is wicked cheating but im really attached to the bridgerton au i haven’t actually finished yet! it’s fully written, but needs editing, and one that i really really like!! in terms of fics i’ve POSTED, i really like “not just girls” (trans egg wylan), “you yearn to feel no hunger” (SAB-verse coda/character study) and a real deep cut, “only imaginary people disappear to peru for ten years” (missing scene from the lost future of pepperharrow)! idk i like a lot of the fics i’ve posted which is a nice position to be in 😅

most folks i know have done this i think but tagging: @kelliealtogether @apricior @doorsclosingslowly & anyone else that sees this & fancies it 😇

#text #tag games

[changelingsandothernonsense]

Wip when I get the time.

Hey! I got tagged again. Thanks to @thequeenofthewinter, @mareenavee, @friend-of-giants, @archangelsunited and @elfinismsarts for the tags, I'll get to everyone's posts! I've been avoiding certain parts of the internet this week for my sanity so have been a bit slow getting to things <3 Anyways this week is art and writing again. I've finished 1 art, almost finished another and started one that is a little on the NSFW side, yay me. Oh and because I've been down it's obviously more Josh because that's all my brain can draw atm. Art!

Yeah, Glock!Josh is almost done and the meme is almost over! Next art is under the cut coz length lol.

And here's the most self-indulgent thing I have ever created...the safety version!

It is very self-indulgent, will be a massive pain in the ass and I can't post the full image outside of discord and pillowfort but dammit I'm going to paint this!

Now writing!

More Josh, he's gotten off the boat and is stuck in a room. What's he gonna do? Fuck with Socucius Ergalla of course! It's all dialogue so feel free to skip and just look at the art. :)

“Thank you, now on to the next question,” the Breton paused for a moment, did he expect Teldryn to interrupt him again? “Your cousin-”

“I don’t have a cousin,” Teldryn interjected, oh he was going to enjoy this.

 The Breton sighed before continuing his line of questioning, “Your cousin has given you a very embarrassing nickname and, even worse, likes to call you it in front of your friends. You asked him to stop, but he finds it very amusing to watch you blush.”

“Well, I don’t know what you Bretons like to do with your cousins but-“

“Will you shut up!” The Breton finally raised his voice at him, just the rise Teldryn was looking for.

“Of course, officer, please do continue with these very important questions,” he pointed at his right ear, “I’m all ear.”

 “Your three options are, A. Beat up your cousin, then tell him that if he ever calls you that nickname again, you will bloody him worse the next time.”

Teldryn nodded, he’d let him finish this one.

“B. Make up a story that makes your nickname a badge of honour instead of something humiliating. Or C. Make up an even more embarrassing nickname for him and use it constantly until he learns his lesson.”

“All three,” Teldryn stated before scratching his nose again.

“Choose one please,” the Breton’s tone was becoming increasingly irate.

Teldryn laughed and took a step towards the desk, sitting on its edge. His chains shook as he moved, “You see first I’d cover for myself, make that name sound all heroic in front of these friends.” He moved some of the papers to the side, earning a somewhat mortified look from the Agent. He grinned at the Breton before continuing, “Then I’d call my cousin over, wait for him to use it again and beat the shit out of him. Teach him a lesson and all that. I’ll have plenty of ammunition for an even worse name later!” He laughed to himself before standing back up and returning to his original position, “It’s fucking brilliant!”

The agent just pinched the bridge of his nose, bit his tongue, “Next question.” Teldryn would take that as a win.

“There is a lot of heated discussion at the local tavern over a group of people called 'Telepaths'. They have been hired by certain City-State kings. Rumour has it these Telepaths read a person's mind and tell their Lord whether a follower is telling the truth or not.”

Teldryn remained quiet this time, why not let him continue this one?

“What do you think of this rumour? A. This is a terrible practice. A person's thoughts are his own and no one, not even a king, has the right to make such an invasion into another human's mind.”

Well, this was an odd one, didn’t the Empire use these sorts of mages in their spy rings?

“B. Loyal followers to the king have nothing to fear from a Telepath. It is important to have a method of finding assassins and spies before it is too late.”

“What kind of bootlicking response is that?” Teldryn muttered under his breath, it earned him a stern glare from the Agent before him.

“And finally, C. in these times, it is a necessary evil. Although you do not necessarily like the idea, a Telepath could have certain advantages during a time of war or in finding someone innocent of a crime.”

“How are any of these answers options?” Teldryn shifted his weight where he stood, why was this room so hot? “Oh, I don’t know…The first option is the least stupid.”

“That is the most common response among recruit- “The Breton paused, he’d clearly misspoken, Teldryn decided to keep that bit of information for later, “amongst those being released.”

Teldryn just nodded silently, the word recruit still swimming in his mind.

“Question five, your mother sends you to the market with a list of goods to buy. After you finish you find that by mistake a shopkeeper has given you too much money back in exchange for one of the items.”

And the thought of his mother trusting him with coin and a list sent Teldryn into another laughing fit, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, please continue,” This was just ridiculous!

The Breton furrowed his brow. Clearly, he was trying his best to keep his composure, “Do you A. Return to the store and give the shopkeeper his hard-earned money, explaining to him the mistake. B. Decide to put the extra money to good use and purchase items that would help your family. Or C. Pocket the extra money, knowing that shopkeepers in general tend to overcharge customers anyway.”

“Is this a trick question?” Teldryn asked, “You do know what I was arrested for? Right? It’s in that fancy notebook you’ve got there.” Teldryn pointed to the ledger that the Census and Excise Agent had closed earlier.

“It’s a hypothetical situation, now could you please answer the question without all the commentary please.”

“What do you think?” Teldryn shook his head.

“I don’t know, you need to answer the question.”

“The latter,” he looked up at the ceiling and noticed a long, thin crack in the plaster, how much longer was this going to take? He was beginning to feel restless, for a variety of reasons, he did just wander off a cramped ship after all.

The Breton took a deep breath before moving on to the next question, “While in the marketplace, you witness a thief cut a purse from a noble. Even as he does so, the noble notices and calls for the city guards. In his haste to get away, the thief drops the purse near you. Surprisingly no one seems to notice the bag of coins at your feet.”

“Oh, another trick question ha?” Teldryn moved back onto his heels, the shackles around his ankles pinching at his skin. He really wanted those things off. The old man ignored his comment.

“Do you choose option A. Pick up the bag and signal to the guard, knowing that the only honourable thing to do is return the money to its rightful owner.”

“What bullshit!”

The Breton glared at him again, “Do you B. Leave the bag there, knowing that it is better not to get involved.”

“Also bullshit and terribly stupid.”

“Or finally do you choose C. Pick up the bag and pocket it, knowing that the extra windfall will help your family in times of trouble.”

“Oh, come on officer! What kind of leading questions are these?” Teldryn watched as he scribbled something down into that ledger. Notes? Was he being assessed? Teldryn sighed, “Fine, the last one.”

“Thank you, question seven, your father sends you on a task which you loathe, cleaning the stables. On the way there, pitchfork in hand, you run into your friend from the homestead near your own. He offers to do it for you, in return for a future favour of his choosing.” He paused, glancing at Teldryn for a moment before continuing, “Do you A. Decline his offer, knowing that your father expects you to do the work, and it is better not to be in debt.”

“That’s stupid.”

“Enough commentary please,” the Breton snapped. He wrote something else down in that ledger as he continued his line of questioning, “Do you choose option B. Ask him to help you, knowing that two people can do the job faster than one, and agree to help him with one task of his choosing in the future.”

“Also stupid,” Teldryn interjected again.

“Please just let me finish,” no, this was stupid and Teldryn was adamant that he’d prove that point, “Or finally C. Accept his offer, reasoning that as long as the stables are cleaned, it matters not who does the cleaning.”

Teldryn smiled, He attempted to fold his arms but got caught in the chains, he leaned back instead, “Oh that’s easy, if the s’wit is stupid enough to want to shovel guar-shit, then he can shovel guar-shit.”

“Interesting way to put it, most ah, prisoners choose the second option,” he continued scribbling down what Teldryn assumed was his answer or a commentary on his answer, he couldn’t quite see.

“Well then, most prisoners are stupid,” Teldryn offered, he found another knot in his hair to fiddle with. It felt greasy, he didn’t like it one bit.

“Question eight, your mother asks you to help fix the stove. While you are working, a very hot pipe slips its mooring and falls towards her.”

“No.”

“Excuse me?” The Breton questioned, pausing long enough to dip his stylus into the inkpot.

“I’m not helping mother with a stove! This question is stupid! Next!”

“Please, we only have two left!” the Breton’s composure slipped again as he raised his voice at Teldryn, “Now option A-“

“Next. Question.” Teldryn growled through gritted teeth, he was officially over these questions and it seemed that in this case, the Census and Excise Agent was just as willing to move on.

He flipped through a few pages, marking each as he went, the elderly man appeared to be clenching his jaw as he went, “Question nine, while in town the baker gives you a sweet roll. Delighted, you take it into an alley to enjoy only to be intercepted by a gang of three other kids your age. The leader demands the sweet roll, or else he and his friends will beat you and take it.”

“Kid sounds like a dick, if you ask me,” Teldryn interjected, really what was the point of this?

#wip whenever #my art #my writing #teldryn sero #dunmer #danger!josh #skyrim #morrowind #nerevarine!teldryn #nerevarine #Morrowind fic lol

[emberlyric]

January Progress Review and February Goals

First up, most important: Anomaly First Draft Progress

Words written for Anomaly in January:

About 29k words written in January! I’m at 60k total!

So that means Part 1, the laboratory arc is completed, Part 2 is well underway and just got to maybe the Act 1 disaster? I think? I’m trying not to plan out these things too heavily when making a rough draft, I feel it takes away some of the spontaneity.

Also - a rough series outline for Anomaly was completed. So far it is looking as though Anomaly will be a trilogy.

Art & Animation

I finished two animations in January! Wow I never thought I would find myself toiling around with animation again but I did it. And it was actually fun?

Pics completed: 1 Emeren portrait, 1 Aleto full-body, 1 Emeren & Jaith, 1 Scylie bust, 1 Shraya full-body, and 1 anatomy study. And then if you count the pics I had to make for the animations, I guess it would be 2 Emeren portraits and 1 Emeren full-body. I also have the beginnings of a character design sheet for Emeren.

February Goals!!!

Reach 75k words for Anomaly - should be pretty easy, I might extend this

My new art schedule starts today, Feb 1st. Basically, for one week I draw a sketch of a character every day, and then for the following week I work on completing them. We will see how it goes - in my experience art schedules become that “ugh now I’m forced to draw what I don’t want to draw atm” feeling, but this might give me enough freedom to just…avoid that

One or two more animations - I have an idea in mind for a new animated header gif

Comics! I really want to start making lil comics of my Anomaly characters. With the rough draft going so well all I have to do is pick out lil scenes from the draft and make comics out of them.

Character design sheets - I’m putting off doing these until the designs are finalized, but Emeren, Jaith, Aleto, and Shraya should be good to create by now

Introduce new characters - Lumir, I swear I’ll get to introducing you soon, outside of tag games!

Okay I think that’s it! Let’s get this month started woo!!!!

#writeblr #emberlywrites #emberlyricart #february goals

[madsworld15]

WIP Wednesday

Not tagged by anyone but I wrote some beautiful stuff for my unpublished WIP.

Brian/Justin, Future AU, Type 1 Diabetic Brian, Teacher Justin, Teen Gus, Discussions of Abuse

“Jack Kinney was an unkind man when he was sober and a downright cruel one when he wasn’t. He was rarely sober.”

Brian paused, put his book on his bedside table and sighed. His left hand went up and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I never told him I was gay until a few weeks before he died. But that didn’t mean he didn’t already have plenty of things to hate about me. In his eyes I was never supposed to exist. Except when I got older and had a high-paying job. Then I existed as an ATM.”

“I guess part of me kept paying him because I believed maybe that time he’d care. Maybe that time he wouldn’t ask me for it and instead ask me about my life.”

“You just wanted him to see you.” Justin whispered as Brian’s hand came down and he looked Justin in the eye.

“He used to beat me until I stopped crying. Then when I was a teenager he would punch me to make me into a man. Nothing I ever did was good enough. Not my straight A’s in school. Not being on the soccer team. Nothing.”

Justin managed to pull Brian to his chest just as the man whispered. “Why wasn’t I good enough?”

Justin kissed him on the cheek and hugged him tight. “You are enough for me, our friends, and most of all you are more than enough for Gus. Don’t let the ghost of Jack Kinney tell you otherwise.”

No pressure tagging: @winderlylandchime @kiranerysed @vulcanscully and anyone else who sees and wants to do it.

#queer as folk #fanfiction #brian kinney #justin taylor

[transcrafting]

Your tags on the Mei agency post are so true. Especially the shipping part, people really act like her and Red Son are just like. Hunt|ow with a different coat of paint, it completely erases Mei's whole entire character.

Anyways, say more

I love complaining thank you for giving me an opportunity

I've watched TOH but it isn't really my thing so I never really cared about Huntlow much but I think I get what you meant and honestly I think the characterization of Redson in the fandom erases a lot of Redson's actual character too

I feel like the fandom tends to erase his character and infantilize and that unfortunately happens to most traumatized/abused characters which. As someone who has gone through abuse is really gross imo. I don't really think about Redson that much so I don't have too many points for him but yeah mischaracterisation sucks

Onto Mei, who I have a lot of points about. I feel like the fandom reduces her personality down to “bubbly girlboss” when she’s really not. Honestly I think the only time that she actually is bubbly (that i can remember atm) is when she’s making fun of or mocking people (main example that comes to mind is her with redson in rotsq) her temper is kind of just removed from her character by most of the fandom even though it’s a reoccuring trait that she’s had since the pilot. I guess the reason could be that she was more angry than usual in s4 ep9 and since it was one of the main things in that episode people actually noticed it (because no one in the fandom actually notices Mei unless she has something major in an episode) but there was a reason she was so upset. I think anyone would be upset if their best friend had a breakdown in front of them and then flew away to where you wouldn’t be able to find them and then you were forced to wait around and do something that you perceive to be useless instead of stopping the person who caused all of this. I’ve seen some people call it out of character which is already bad but seeing it attributed to Redson just feels worse because she’s already only ever talked about in relation to other people. In general I feel like some people don’t really get the point of Mei’s character and only talk about her in relation to OTHER PEOPLE (even with how people talk about the samadhi fire thing for some reason??)

I think Redson and Mei work together so well because they’re so similar. With stuff like both of them feeling out of place in their families (small complaint again but the fandom generally doesn’t talk about Mei’s family issues either and imo they probably effect how she deals with emotions which is interesting), feeling like they will never live up to expectations, they both seem to have a few shared interests and their personalities bounce off eachother very well beause they have similarities but not too the point where they’re the exact same person. I think the whole samadhi fire training (while unfortunately mostly off screen) developed their characters and relationship with eachother so much. Their friendly banter (idk if that’s the word) actually seems friendly whereas before the training it was a bit antagonistic. Both of them having the samadhi fire at one point causing Redson to be able to help Mei in a way that no one else probably could have. Speaking of that I think it’s also really interesting that Redson doesn’t seem to want the fire back at all people also never talk about that.

I think this problem exists with every character in the show actually. Everyone gets put into small character archetypes just to fit into the view of shipping and other stuff to a degree where people just miss the entire point of a character. I think people should have fun with what they want but some people treat it as if it’s canon. The reason it annoys me so much with Mei in particular is partially because she’s my favorite character and partially because there’s literally no other content of her alone which is exclusive to the fandom actually I’m pretty sure she has the most centered episodes out of everyone in the main crew (aside from MK but he’s the mc so it makes sense)

Have a silly image of her

#lmk mei #mei #mei dragon #sorry this is so unorganized #i wrote this on the spot #also sorry for complaining so much it will happen again

[hasarjunadoneanythingwrong]

I like your blog and I've thinking of making a fanblog of a fgo character and wondered of you had any tips?

Hmmm ok let me ruminate

Dont theme it around a specific character unless you know very well you’re going to be obsessing over them daily for the next year or so. If you aren’t sure your fav character is one you fixate on enough to be posting daily about but you still want to name it for them you can always theme it after them but still post about others anyway. This also helps reduce running out of things to talk about

Not every post you make is going to be a hit. Learn to make the posts YOU want to make, and not what you think others will enjoy/will be popular, and you’ll find you feel less resentment if something you worked hard on doesn’t get tons of attention

Consistent posting is your friend if you want to build a strong base. It doesn’t always have to be good, or even daily! (Although I recommend reblogging stuff daily) This is mainly related to getting others to interact back with you-more people are liable to realize you’re an actual person and want to talk to you, send you asks, or comment on your posts if you’re active.

Making anything is better than making nothing. Some of my favorite posts are just silly text post edits or drawing over ‘cursed’ images that I did back when I didn’t have a good tablet. Some of my most popular posts are memes that took about 5 minutes to make! It doesn’t always have to be serious or ‘well done’ by your standards as long as you enjoy it.

Interact with other blogs. Reblog from them, put nice things about their own art or commentary on posts in the tags, send them asks if they’re a character based blog that wants that sort of thing. I’m less good with this tbh (shy) but it’s nice to have other people’s stuff on your blog as well, and nice to let them know if you enjoy their work!

Try not to take things personally. Part of being a focused fandom blog, especially oriented around loving a specific character, means that sometimes people won’t agree with your opinions or they’ll find you annoying. This can be hard to deal with, but generally speaking it isn’t personal and the nice people who are more than happy to join you in appreciating them will outweigh any stress. That being said, don’t be afraid to block people yourself.

Manage your time. This is an important one! Basically, don’t go so hard on focusing on your blog that you then burn out and can’t think of anything for 3 months. This is a bit hard to manage but the basic gist of it is to take frequent breaks and don’t feel bad about doing so (esp if you’re like me and make large quantities of art or something similar)

Get inspired! A lot of what I make isn’t just comics or drawings, but memes and edits that I saw years ago I edited to relate back to my interest. Look around for things that you found funny or interesting and see if any remind you of your fav. Just make sure to note in the tags or description if you were inspired by an artist’s actual comic instead of a more generic meme.

That’s all I have atm, I hope it helps ^v^

#my asks #ough…. #hopefully this is useful idk tho #anyone else who has advice feel free to chime in

[saevus-brutalis]

— WIP WEDNESDAY (and updates in general)

tagged by; @onlymeandlife thxthx (i’m so bad at doing tags as of recent dhjesb)

posting this very late but oh well

i have too many unfinished old sketches than i’d like to admit 😔 but i’m gonna share a snippet of two three most recent projects i’m working on atm

edit; since making this draft i made some more sketches but they’re 😬 rOUGH to say the least so enjoy my favorite ones

tagging 😳; @noirapocalypto @katsigian @spicyraeman (not sure if y’all been tagged in this but if you have something cool to share you’re invited 😼 no pressure as always tho!)

— art

finally dusting off Vincent 😮‍💨

last time o drew him was in uhhh june??? (may?? ig coz i was tryna get that piece done for pride month but—)

yea it’s been a while :]] but he’s back; you may not have seen him as of recently but i’ve been working on him behind the scene (aka lore dumping on whoever would listen lol)

it’s mostly coz i didn’t know what to draw of him, didn’t have any inspiration, and his face turns out good once in a blue moon but let’s not talk about that dhdhdh

but earlier this month i had a ✨ vision ✨ of him in a suit and we’re here now 😮‍💨

once in a while i like putting my man in fancy/designer clothes okay 🤨

cheeky closeup of some details ✨😌

a huge project i’ve been working on since the beginning of december (or maybe since last week of november even); so i don’t wanna show too much before it’s finished 🤫

you could see a bit more in my 2023 art summary (mostly just Dion sitting there in all his glory) but there’s still a bit more. it’s a first proper illustration with a full background for me so the work is going slow

still need to fix a perspective on one thing, perhaps redraw Dion’s face, coz i’ve been experimenting with that; but the lineart is pretty much all done. all it needs is to pick a color scheme, block out colors and start shading (the worst part arguably)

very proud of this one and i’m excited to finish it and show the whole thing 🥺🥺

and last but not least some studies of my beloved tiefling child

trying different head and nose shapes for that guy but it also kinda turned into an expression study? kinda?

#edging y’all with those zoomed in cutouts #but i want the vincent piece to be a surprise djdjdh #current wip #wip wednesday #art wip #oc: vincent elijah vahn #saevus-brutalis art #saevus brutalis art #wip #oc: dion

[un-local]

Rogier 7 8 9

7) Ship(s) with them that I like or at least consider:

[1] Past Rogier and D. (Now very divorced) (This will not change) Love that one. To copy paste my end notes from an upcoming chapter:

I just don’t see a way they can have a meaningful relationship without one of them folding and giving up the respective principles that they hold onto so tightly. With the tangled union of Darian’s grief and faith, and Rogier’s... everything, I just don't see that happening. And with their differences in ideology, I don’t see Darian bringing out the best in Rogier, not really. Since to maintain what they have, Rogier is always going to be the one accommodating that—in all his usual, (well-meaning, usually unintentionally) deceptive ways. A bummer, but I think they can still have their somber moments, like in this chapter.

[2] Fia/Rogier. (ONLY with ulterior motives on both sides)

I love them as a dynamic. Neither of them are upfront with their motives, really. (Rogier wasn’t in Stormveil—he only is after he’s injured, and the player helps him with the knifeprint.)

Now, I don’t think they’re liars, persay. I just think that they’re dishonest—in that they’re both playing things close to the vest. It influences what they say and when to a major degree. Especially to each other. Their oppositional goals drive their dynamic, and that's what makes it fun to me.

I do I think they have a certain respect for each other, despite it all.

[3] Rogier/Tarnished I think could be great.  D and Fia are too ideologically opposed to Rogier's goals to be anything but bittersweet. A Tarnished who’s sold on Rogier’s vision could be a game changer for him. 

It’s something I’m… flirting with… in Still Waters. We’ll see. Atm, its really only there if you want it to be there. 

What can I say. (Slowly) escalating, unspoken bi4bi tension is my favorite dynamic. That quiet, undying loyalty that comes only after truly knowing someone... Oh baby. Hell yeah. BUT, like I said, nothing's set in stone. The main plot is written to be wholly focused on an exploration of Rogiers character—as he is now, and his evolution after surviving deathblight. 

8) Made-up connections with other characters that weren't in the canon 

(friends, enemies, whatever)

Now this is my jam!

[1] Roderika. This is something that’s gonna be in the next update of Still Waters. I have some relevant thoughts in my end notes I'll condense into something shorter:

I’ve noticed a focus on fairness with her. Reciprocity. Seeking a just balance in interpersonal affairs. So when Rogier gives her comfort, but denies her the ability to offer the same, that’s what gets her. The inequity of being shut down like that, especially from someone who is so clearly full of it. (Clearly to her, at least.) Roderika’s impulse here to speak kindly is sweet. And with her abilities and similar background, she can parse through his bullshit better than most. It's what he needed to hear, but certainly not how he needed to hear it.

[2] I think he’s partial to Hewg. His sword is upgraded +8 when you get it, I think Hewg was at least in part involved in that. (It could have been upgraded before coming to The Lands Between, but I like to think some of that work was Hewg's.) 

[3] I can't imagine he’s too fond of Gideon. Who is, by the end of things, though?

[4] Highly improbable, but it's funny: If he's found Sellen, she’s sick of all his questions. He's relentless in his pursuit of knowledge, and even she has her limits.

I'd love to think that boss outside her chambers was to keep him from pestering her specifically.

Again, this is absurd, but it's a funny thought.

[5] In a world where he's teamed up with the Tarnished, I think he'd happily do wonders for Boc's self esteem.

Idk, I think one good talk with Rogier would circumvent that whole thing with Rennala. (But Boc definitely still deserves to hear his mother's voice again. Maybe they both try to make Boc feel better. Tag team of emotional support. Lol. Anyway.)

[6] On the idea of traveling with the Tarnished: can he see Melina? He can’t see grace, so it's funny to imagine he can’t see Melina either. The Tarnished he's traveling with just suddenly starts talking to thin air.

In my fic, he's surviving deathblight, and I'm going to have to address this somehow. Such is the nightmare-logistics of writing ER long fic. 

9) Backstory Headcanons

I answered this already here, but I have a few more! 

[1] In my fic, he landed on the shore of the Mistwood. His first death in The Lands Between was absolutely by Runebear. Naturally, this will be played for comedy in due time.

[2] In his life before The Lands Between, he's held his own in a duel. He was certainly not the one who proposed it, though. 

(Now, how dangerous the duel itself was or wasn’t—readers preference.)

[3] His first death, where he realized he was Tarnished, was blessing to him—an opportunity to get out of the life he was expected to live. It was the perfect way to get away and start really pursuing what he cared about. (Glintstone Sorcery. For real. Not just as a status symbol.) (Which, based on the prisoner class description, it was a status symbol of some kind.)

But he does miss the food, though. 

Hmm... a drastic way out of a life he never wanted? Sounds familiar... You bet I'm getting to that eventually ;)

[4] The impossible standards, emotional deprivation, and lack of true support wasn't just something he faced from high society. He dealt with it as much in the home as he did outside of it. It's where he learned to keep his real emotions at bay.

He spent his "entire" life behaving with detachment—I can't imagine it started anywhere else than in his own home.

[ Ask Game Link! ] Send me character and a number!

#hare answers #hare posts #rogier #elden ring

[bramblewolfbooks]

A list of games I want to make one day at Bramblewolf Games

In production

The following games are actually actively at some stage in the process of being made. They probably AT LEAST have a dedicated notebook of me working out mechanics, themes, and goals.

Protect the Sacred

Status: In Production

Protect the Sacred has long since graduated from wall to full notebook (I'm actually on my second notebook),  but it started on the wall and I’m just now removing it.

Protect the Sacred, my next big game project, is an anti-colonial magical pulp adventure in the style of Indiana Jones or Hellboy where you play adventurers with folklore based powers working to protect, preserve,and reclaim magic, monsters, mystical artifacts and more and as living culture. On the cultures own terms. I’m planning a separate post soon describing my goals for the game on a mechanical, thematic, and narrative level. But I can tell you the original notes read things like “Inverse Indiana Jones- how ethical is ‘it belongs in a museum?” and “deconstruct the idea and role of a dungeon in an adventure...but keep the fun!”. But I think the biggest notes are “Anti-colonial, not decolonial” and “non-christian kitchen sink supernatural world. Let people define their own terms.” I can’t wait to show you how this has shifted and evolved already.

Brave_Heart

Status: Pre-production

The game currently in the lead to be the next thing to graduate from notebook. Brave_Heart seeks to be a digimon-inspired game aimed at kids that seeks to capture the focus on the childhood emotional journeys of the original. All while weaving in the Tech wonder/fear of the early internet, environmentalism, and the pseudo jungian psychology that made it feel like smt for kids.

Mechanically, I want it to be dice and math light and thus more accessible for kids. I’ve been looking at diceless games like Henshin (by reckoning, still the best super sentai game on the market atm) and thinking about playbooks inspired by crest. I think there is something of value in asking kids what do they like the most about themselves.

Having these playbooks build energy makes the human side important and highlights the “boy” parts of boy and monster. I think my biggest sticking point atm is...how I integrate the tags I would love to use to let kids build their monsters? How do I get that to mechanically matter? I got inspired by the digimon cardgame with a way to illustrate the building of data in a digivolution. But there is a big mechanical gap I got to fill about how to make the “digimon” interact back. How do I make the monster part matter without sacrificing the math-lite feeling? How do I make them feel like part of the same game?

Ideas on the postboard

(Unnamed) Streetfighter Tactics RPG

One day I would really like to make a hard core tactics rpg inspired by fighting games in the style of LANCER. I think taking fighting game archetypes and martial arts styles and turning them into “licenses” in the form of “belts” would translate way too well. The biggest hurdle here is likely the amount of intense testing and balance this would take. I don’t have the audience to push this one the way it’d need to be. My own internal sense of balance is just not at that level yet where I could do it all myself.

At least not for big tactics games where I have to worry about ranges, damages, and the balance of a status effects in isolation.

But boy do I want to make it. The intense combat focus would just make sense, and I know I could give it something satisfying narratively with enough time. My gut reaction would be to tie it into some themes about self-improvement and development. The effort and work it takes to follow a passion.

(Unnamed) Silver Disc Story/Space Fantasy

I really want to make a game that captures the vibes and feeling SNES to ps2 era jrps give me.  But what I have on the sheet has been slowly branching off into two different games. I can’t tell if I actually want them to be two different games or if this is something that needs to be one. A lot of this game is going to build off what Protect the Sacred is doing. At least if it works.

But one part of this game really wants to be a classic sword and sorcery crystal fantasy. Something with airships and magic trains that evokes things like the classic final fantasies. I’m a big believer that all the best fantasies have a train.

The other is a big sci-fantasy weird west that shifts the focus to an indigenous perspective. The idea of a post alien invasion world people are forced onto as a metaphor for a reservation. Complete with an evil parasite empire to fight against.

Maybe this is a sign to make a system with two different settings? if so, how do I make the game itself matter?

(Unnamed) Quirky Kids Horror

I would love to make a game that captures the quirky horror of things like goosebumps, fear street, and are you afraid of the dark. The type of horror that made you feel like you were getting away with something as a kid. I’d want it to focus on investigation and keeping it together over combat. A spooky cursed town full of strange things. Maybe add a town builder to make it feel like home, even if this cursed town always has the same name.

(Unnamed) Anti-Harry Potter Magic School

Fuck Harry Potter and fuck terfs, but if anime and x-men has taught me anything, there will always be a craving for a world were you could go to a special school, learn about your cool unique little powers, and have adventures with high interpersonal drama. Superpower class will always be more exciting than algebra.

But the thing that strikes me about these schools, whether we’re talking about HP or Percy Jackson, is that they are exceedingly eurocentric and white (the word halfblood wouldn’t show up in either text if they weren’t). PoC tend to be afterthoughts and set painting and I haven’t seen one not be shit and weird about indigenous folk. I want to challenge and push back on that. I think my tags system could bring a lot to a set up like this.

Delinquents

I want to make some sort of rpg very invested in the shonen battle anime and very specifically that delinquent with a tie to the supernatural. I have a lot of feelings about those sort of kids and figures like Yusuke Urimeshi or Ichigo Kurasaki. Most of them from being a problem kid myself and how society tends to treat you. I think there is something to talk about there. Kids like that deserve to imagine themselves as heroes.

Meddling Kids

"What if everyone in scooby doo was secretly a monster and solving very human crimes?" I actually really, REALLY want to do something with "Meddling Kids". The idea of secret werewolves using werewolf powers to solve real estate fraud via haunting sounds very funny to me. Like. "Well I know it's not a ghost. I KNOW what a ghost is. This isn't it."

But also what if instead of traditional monster, each species sort of were representative of an aspect of reality? Nature, conflict, emotions... They know the monster is fake because it doesn't conform to the rules of their hidden world

(Unnamed) Card Game RPG

I think I solved one of the internal lingering problems of how to make a deckbuilding tcg rpg work. It's the dangling tantalous fruit of the game devs. A many people want to tie character growth /to/ the deck which has so many issues. Not the least of which is any strategy would need to be scalable. But, what if you remove that aspect and make character growth be shown in a set of commander-type powers split into various playbooks?  Maybe growth could be shown in different ways. Narrative powers. Tricks. Player powers that could manipulate how you interact with cards or the field. Like "I make this into x kinda field" or "I provide buffs to these thing" or  "I can hand our shield or heals" "I can destroy x type of thing".

The deck becomes an expression of character.

The biggest issue this one faces would be I'd need to make a whole damn tcg on top of a whole damn rpg.

#indie games #Indie TTRPG #ttrpg #game dev

[blorbologist]

15 questions/15 people

Got tagged by @lumiereandcogsworth <33 ty! just the distraction I needed!

1. are you named after anyone? Yes, twice over! The Maggie part of my name comes from my mother’s grandmother, Margaret. There’s also a second part to my name I get from my father’s mother. (Fun fact, my brother’s got a name that’s been used for... I think four-five generations at this point KNTRKRTN The name I know my dad by is technically a middle name of his!)

2. when was the last time you cried? Oooofff... hmm. I think watching The end of Campaign 1 [TLOVM people do not click]. Especially the twins bit was my last really big cry. I teared up for TLOVM s2 eps 3 and 4 a lil, but that was just. full gross sobs. 

3. do you have kids? Nope! Cats don’t count. I am responsible for 40 corn snakes though :D

4. do you use sarcasm a lot? Oh, yes. 

5. what’s the first thing you notice about people? Hmmmmm I’m... not sure? Generally any big identifying features that aren’t eyes. So hair color, tats, silhouette. And even then I suck at identifying people, whoops.

6. what’s your eye color? Blue! They lean towards blue-grey most of the time, but as is the nature of Eyebols they can vary depending on lighting. Not very saturated blues usually, though - leaning slate, darker blue and even soft greenish sometimes. Another fun fact: neither of my parents have blue eyes, so I’m a fun lil recessive trait lucky shot in this way. 

7. scary movie or happy endings? Happy endings! I’m a huge coward and cannot watch scary stuff. 

8. any special talents? UHHHH writing a super massive longfic has got to count? I can draw decently good, and animate a lil if I have the time for it. wtf qualifies as a special talent uhhhh I know so much shit about dinosaurs you wouldn’t believe it? I apparently have a knack for experimental design, but we’ll see how that develops. I can belch very loud semi-on-command??!?

9. where were you born? Québec! [gonna add the accent on mobile it feels Sinful not having it there]. 

10. what are your hobbies? Writing, poking at worldbuilding/AUs and meta, drawing rarely, D&D [my lil lv1 D&D1E Cleric might die next session :D], listening to podcasts while I code data.

11. do you have any pets? Yes! Two young cats (Miss Thing and Pam, short for A Mistake or Something and Dopamine respectively) and Crumble, my beardie <33 getting on in years a lil ;;

12. what sports do you play/have you played? not much of a sport person - as a kid I was always the one coming in last on every athletics test. Thankfully my peers usually treated me like a charming class pet instead of bullying me for it, but over two decades in and doctors still haven’t figured out what the fuck is wrong so all physical activity is. eurg.

13. how tall are you? 5′4″!

14. favorite subject in school? take a wild guess - science. Though I only got biology classes in CEGEP, given the pure and applied sciences stream meant taking chem and physics instead :C Drama ended up being a surprising favorite, too, I initially thought I was gonna hate it. Art class was mildly stressful needing to adhere to the deadlines and follow the instructions, but drama? Drama was a fucking blast

15. dream job? sighs wistfully,,,, an academic research position... with tenure... a nice lil lab all my own... easy NSERC grants to fund my research... likely working with birds or reptile cognition. ATM I’m still figuring out exactly what I want my specialty, my niche, to be, but in the moment I’m very interested in how visible phenotype [color and pattern] interacts with the neurobiology of an animal and thus its behavior. Really wanna keep looking at species whose cognition is really overlooked, or has been in the field for a long time. I’d love to work with crocodilians or varanids sometime, or chickens!

tagging: @fatal-blow @mothmoron @cryptidfuckery @rightpastnowhere @katia-dreamer @essayofthoughts @burr-ell @romeoandjulietyouwish @ghostofwhitestone @waltwhitmansbeard @percivalium @angry-velociraptor @ anyone else who wants to be tagged because im Sleeby and going to bed and dont wanna keep looking for people to tag - nini! <3

#tag game

[storytellingdreamer]

Watching Granada Holmes: Silver Blaze

Image description: Holmes and Watson sit side-by-side in a train carriage, dressed for a day out. They are studying something just out of shot. / end image description.  

I’ve fallen behind a bit on these recaps. We watched this episode a couple of weeks ago. Oh well, life is busy atm. Read my other Granada Holmes recaps here.

This episode is rather fun. There are some high stakes, yes, but it’s also full of Holmes and Watson tramping about the countryside, finding the necessary clues, and having a bit of fun at the expense of stuffy rich people along the way.

Also, it’s a horse episode! This satisfies my inner horse-nerd immensely. (Horses were my passion for several years as a kid.)

The opening scene gives off a spooky vibe, as there are no words spoken, only hoofbeats, accompanied by ominous horns from the soundtrack. Also, there’s that guy with the binoculars, and all those people looking grouchy. The grouchy people could be excused by the presumed early hour – horses were/ are usually exercised rather early in the day. The guy with the binoculars, though – he might be trouble.

And then we’re back at 221b, though it took me a minute to recognise it. This is a perspective of Holmes’s room which I’m not used to! Fortunately, after a moment, Holmes goes into the more recognisable sitting room, to consult with Watson. This time, we have arrived in the middle of an ongoing case, which Holmes has been trying to solve from London. Unfortunately, he’s had no luck, and the local constabulary have merely irritated matters. So they must go to the country themselves.

Once Holmes has come out of his funk at his blunder (of assuming the horse thief and murderer were the same person) and realised that he’s accidentally making Watson feel unwelcome, that is. It must have been quite the consuming case so far!

“Mrs Hudson! We’re off to Dartmoor!” Holmes yells – and so they are.

We have another classic “discussion of the case in the train carriage”, with several delightful differences. One is that Holmes is entertaining himself by estimating the train speed using his knowledge of the distance between telegraph poles, and how long it takes to travel between two. Perhaps he’s then using the knowledge to estimate if their time of arrival will be on schedule or not.

It amuses me because I do something a little similar when driving between towns sometimes – though I get the car’s speed from the speedo, not by telegraph poles and pocket watches!

The other lovely thing about the train scene is that for once, we get a shot of Holmes and Watson sitting next to each other. It’s where I took the intro image from. Also it’s (yet another) instance of Watson reading something out to Holmes.

Next, we are introduced to Colonel Ross, the horse’s owner, and Inspector Gregory, the detective on the case. Holmes and Watson tag-team to gain the information Holmes needs to begin filling in the blanks. Quite a bit of it, even if most of it is still muddled.

Colonel Ross proves himself to be an irritant and a half, earning the ire of Holmes and Watson by saying that he didn’t want Holmes there in the first place… “I don’t like amateurs, you see.” At that Watson’s face goes very still, and Holmes gives a big “ha!” of indignant laughter. (It’s another Brettism – Holmes does that laugh when he’s particularly offended, usually after being snubbed in some way.)

Things proceed in that way for the next chunk of episode, with Holmes and Watson investigating the stables and the outbuildings and interviewing the maid and stable hands. The flashback parts of this were good, as was Holmes’s characteristic hand of comfort. Then, of course, the inspector takes over, filling us in on his own part in the case so far, with his own theories added in.

Meanwhile, Holmes has taken note of all the things that might be of interest. Including very loud guard dogs that were quiet during important events, and the usefulness of curried mutton to disguise a drugged supper. There’s also the business about a “cataract knife” (a lovely bit of Watson providing info there!) and a receipt found on Straker’s body, made out to a different man for a dress that Mrs Straker knows nothing about. I guessed what the latter meant when Holmes checked! Poor Mrs Straker.

(What I *didn’t* get was Holmes and Watson’s little exchange about betting, as if Holmes doesn’t know Watson was a bit of a gambler at times – wasn’t that fact established in one of Granada’s earliest episodes, when Holmes deduces Watson isn’t going to lend a friend money because Watson’s chequebook is still locked in Holmes’s drawer, and he hasn’t asked for the key?)

That aside, I think half the fun of this episode is that the clues are all there in the telling, and we put them together with Holmes for the most part. Either that or Holmes fills us in in dribs and drabs as we go. Instead of, say, all as a big ramble from one character at the end (*cough* SIGN *cough*).

The other half of the fun, as I mentioned earlier, largely comes from rambling with purpose upon moors, the horses, and getting one over rich people. I particularly enjoyed the scenes where Inspector Gregory knew enough about Holmes’s methods to provide him with shoes as samples – but, being so stuck in his own theory, failed to look further. Holmes has his own theory, of course, which turns out to be correct.

“You see the value of imagination,” Holmes opines. “…We imagined what might have happened, acted upon a supposition, and find ourselves justified.”

With the scent hot, Holmes and Watson give chase, and so unravel that part of the mystery. After extracting a promise of silence and good behaviour from the would-be thief/saboteur and then having a bit of fun at Colonel Ross’s expense, the only matter remaining is to figure out what happened to Straker.

Holmes, however, has all the clues to that, too. After all, he knows horses.

They are flighty creatures. Prey animals with finely tuned danger senses. Silver Blaze trusted the one who led him out of the stable, yes – but not when they led him over the hills to a quiet place, instead of going the more routine way to the track. Not when the person was probably giving off all sorts of signs of their own nerves and upset. Especially not when they began fiddling around with Blaze’s feet, with Blaze only loosely secured, and the position completely different to when, say, a blacksmith tends to the feet. Especially with the person’s head in prime striking distance.

It's no wonder what happened next. And no wonder that Holmes calls the person “unworthy of [Ross’s] trust”. To think of doing that to a horse, just so they could win some money from Blaze losing the race!

The wrap-up scene is very atmospheric, tying all the threads together. Colonel Ross gets to show off again, only for Holmes to be decidedly unimpressed (that bell! Ugh!) and Watson gets the honours of explaining the set-up to the conclusion… so Holmes can then be Dramatic with the tiny scalpel and an apple.

#granada holmes #silver blaze #sherlock holmes #john watson #the horse episode #watching granada holmes

[evies20dollars]

Tag 9 people you want to get to know better

Thank you for tagging me @sparklestheunicorn​ 💕❤️💕

Three ships: I’ve done this one a few times for the most part it’s unchanging, definitely Evie and Sam from the Diviners and Catra and Adora from She-Ra are my top two, it’s hard to pick a third, but probably either Jude and Cardan from the Folk of the Air or Leah and Fatin from The Wilds

First ever ship: Sam and Freddie from iCarly

Last song: Sofia by Clairo

Last movie: Dating Amber

Currently reading: A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K Leguin and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms both for school and then i’m also still trying to finish The Sweet Far Thing, the third book in the Gemma Doyle Trilogy, but it’s long and i got busy, and I was reading Harrow the Ninth but I didn’t finish it before i had to leave for school and it had to go back to the library and yeah, have to either buy that or wait ages to get it from the local library where i study ://// oh and yeah i also read like 160 pages of The Atlas Paradox but same deal as Harrow had to go back to the library and also i wasn’t really enjoying it too much so i tried to prioritize Harrow, I’d only started The Atlas Paradox first because it came in faster from the library anyways yeah can you tell i’m incredibly chaotic lmao

Currently watching: I started rewatching H2o: Just Add Water which i haven’t watched since I was a kid because i needed a comfort show, besides that not really much atm, I don’t have the time, but I want to get into more Portuguese language shows soon

Currently consuming: I’m assuming this means food in which case nothing, but the last thing i had was a bit of a raspberry white chocolate brownie I got from one of my favorite cafes earlier

Currently craving: That brownie, but it’s night time and i make a general rule not to eat close to when i’m going to bed

Tagging: @vfd-inked-kid @all-you-had-to-do-was-neigh @protectcosette @zarazara510 @lunasink @let-tyrants-fear @conflictgoblin @annalimons and @astrarche-x 💖

#tag game #about me #mutuals 💕 #The Diviners #evie o'neill #sam lloyd #eviesam #catra #adora #catradora #spop #sam puckett #freddie benson #icarly #a wizard of earthsea #the gemma doyle trilogy #a knight of seven kingdoms #h2o just add water

[jellyjaws]

replies are begin buggy atm so: @ person who explained the causes of the porn ban/porn unban but not really : yeah i know all of that, i just felt all the context wasn’t necessary to explain to get my point across, which is that “this site is still garbo about being able to sort out what actually should be getting filtered and if you want to draw porn, you’re gonna have a bad time”

@ person who explained the new word for vore tag : good to know! i’ll tag my stuff as that from now on, but it’s still not going to fix the issue, as even posts that having to do with vore or tags with vore, don’t show up in otherwise populated tags. my account is... idk shadowbanned? is probably the term?

anyway the real irony is when i went into certain tags to see if my stuff was showing up in them (i rarely go into tags for the purposes of looking for content myself) is there was still tons of erotic content and even porn, LOTS of live action images and GIFs, it’s just that there’s fuck all -art- left getting in, bc most artists are like me and all but gave up this site as a platform for that particular part of their work

and to think all this coulda been avoided, if instead of just sitting on their fucking hands doing nothing to get rid of the rampant Cheese Pizza on this website no matter how much the userbase yelled at them, and how much writing was on the wall that this NEEDED to be addressed, they waited until it blew up on them in a way that they couldn’t keep ignoring, and HAD to do something, and again instead of putting in actual effort, paying for actual moderators and staff to set up new contextual guidelines, clean things up properly, and then keep them clean, they just banned any kind of smut altogether and had a profoundly inadequate bot be its primary enforcer, bc that was easier

hate it

[rurpleplayssims]

Check In Tag

I was tagged by @curiousb! 🥰

Thank you for the tag, I was intrigued by this one when I spotted it doing the rounds. I’m going to put my answers under a the Keep Reading belt as I’ve decided to write a novel again! 🤣📝

Why did you choose your URL?

A couple of schoolfriends called me Rurple when I was in my teenage years because I used to dye my hair a reddy purple colour (hence Rurple, but it’s better than Pred! 🤣) I saw other Simmers using the ‘playsSims’ tagline and I didn’t have any other ideas. I’m glad I used it as I can now use the addition for my CC Finds blog which is RurpleFindsCC.

How long have you been on Tumblr?

RurplePlaysSims has been on Tumblr since February 2021. 

My RurpleFindsCC blog has been on here since I decided to separate my CC from my main blog which I'm a lot happier about, which I’ve done since September 2021. 

I’ve got another blog on here which I’ve had for a few years but hardly ever use (not sure I know the username and password..) but that was mostly to reblog BBC Sherlock memes and funny things. 

Do you have a queue tag?

See now, I’m not quite sure what this means. I am guilty of having quite a long queue (it’s 76 posts long atm!) but is this to do with the mass post editor to move them to the queue? If so, I don’t use it. 

Anything thing that is an actual CQ post and therefore part of the story, gets written up and then moved to the queue chronologically. That’s why I got so annoyed when Tumblr lost three of my posts a few months ago because when they were retrieved, I had to post them out of sync. 

I made the tags so because then it’s easier for someone to read the entire story (if they wanted to, that is some undertaking with over 1500 posts!) by just clicking the ‘Next Page’ button.

Why did you start your blog in the first place?

I’m not quite sure. I think I was bored one day and stumbled across some TS2 stories and I fell in love with them. I think it was @holleyberry’s Dossanina story which first introduced Sim stories taken with screenshots to me. 

I was already very familiar with TS2 machinima and series on YouTube as I once tried a go at making some (They are so embarrassing to watch back now as my spelling was AWFUL and I clearly had no access to a spellchecker!) I think those videos are still live and you’re welcome to laugh at my attempts of a riveting story.🤣 Just PLEASE do not judge my ability on them! 🙈 I was 13/14 years old when I was making these. I had to borrow my parent’s computer, which was a very old Windows XP and I was restricted in when I could play Sims. So the videos were very...cringe for me to watch them back. Seriously, they were awful. You can find them for yourself, no way am I tagging them here! 🙈🙈🙈

My game was so poorly organised back then, from my custom content hoarding and my Downloads folder was a DISGRACE. Nothing like the strict regime I have nowadays. 

Why did you choose your icon/pfp?

Well it was originally a picture of myself but  some people made comments on how nice I look. I am AWFUL with appearance-related compliments. 🙈 It could’ve been worse I know but that’s just how I am.

So I changed it to one of the pictures I’d done with Althea Campbell, the founder from my BaCC in this challenge. 

I like how people only know me on here as a creator and who likes to issue praise where it is well deserved. I know how much people’s love of your craft/story will motivate you to do more. I know that I’d have stopped CQ ages ago if people didn’t care about it. 

As you’d see (if you’re ruthless in tracking them down!) with my TS2 attempts, nobody watched them so I gave up with no motivation to carry on, hone my craft and build a skill. 

I love to write (as the length of this post clearly says!) and I love how most of you only know me via my story and the comments I leave. 

I love that, whilst my family know I have a blog and a story on it, they won’t read it or leave comments. I’m cool with that. It gives me more freedom to write because I’m then not worried that if I write that a character does something, the people who know me might wonder if I’ve done that thing in the series. Hopefully that makes sense.

Why did you choose your header?

I chose the header after I decided to make my main blog strictly for the story and behind the scenes content for Campbell Quay BaCC. So I took a (then) current picture of the neighbourhood. 

I am never changing it as it shows how empty my neighbourhood was back then compared to now. 

What’s your post with the most notes?

Apparently, according to Tumblr Top, it is this post which was a reblog of the original post for me completing Campbell University (154 notes). 

In second place, which still gets likes and reblogs to this day, is this one where I recommend people to read the Dossanina  story I mentioned above (114 notes). 

How many mutuals do you have?

Is that when you follow a blog that follows you back? How the hell do you check this?! 🤣 

I know it’s quite a lot as whoever follows me, if they post Sims content (preferably TS2) I will nearly always follow them back in thanks. 

How many followers do you have?

I have 376 followers.

How many people do you follow?

I follow 797 blogs.

Have you ever made a shitpost?

Yes! 🤣 Just follow ‘random Jess note’ tag on my blog and you’ll see some. Beware of the ones that have ‘RANT’ as well. 

How often do you use Tumblr each day?

I’d use it in my sleep if I could. 🤣 

I have had an active queue for months now so even if I’m not looking at the site on my app or computer, I still get notifications of blogs I follow and if people leave likes or replies in my posts. 

If I’m home for the day and have nothing planned, I’m on Tumblr, either editing some new posts or backing up my story on another site.

More information soon when I get most of the story inputted. It’s taking FORVER as I have to manually copy and paste the text and pictures individually but I’m scared that my blog might be accidently(?) deleted like some Simmers have of late. 

Did you have a fight/argument with another blog once? who won?

Not that I am aware of, I don’t like fights of any kind. 

I like to keep the peace. If I’ve pissed any of you off, for goodness sake tell me so I can explain or apologise! 

How do you feel about ‘You need to reblog this’ posts?

It’s a combination of tempting fate and “With all due respect, don’t tell me what to do.” 

But, in special circumstances I will reblog without question. But as a rule, I like to keep my blog for just my story content. 

Do you like tag games?

Do you really think I wrote all this out because I didn’t want to? 🤣 

I think I’ve completed all games and challenges that people have tagged me in thus far. 

Do you like ask games?

Did you not read the previous answer? Ask away. 

I try my best with WCIFs but I’m not perfect.

Which of your mutuals do you think is Tumblr famous?

Well I mostly see Simblr-Tumblr and in my eyes they are the following:

@deedee-sims

@plumbtales

@lesyasun

@linacheries

@veranka-downloads

@pixeldolly

@fanseelamb

@mdpthatsme and so many more!

Do you have a crush on a mutual?

No, but every Simmer I meet on Tumblr are always very kind and supportive which means the world to me.

I’m going to tag anyone who wants to have a go! 🥰📝

#RurpleAnswers #Check In Tag