#i wanted to draw them but i wanted to keep the facelessness... that's important.... so. helmets. helmets is the way. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

disruptivevoib · 24 days

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mx voib how on earth do you go about designing your hmsw variants, i'm so jealous

Oh I feel fancy now!

Anyhow, I don't have any distinct go-to process but generally having a good idea for the au or the concept I want to design them based on and stemming from there.

Many of my more baseline Aus are close to my canonical designs. With the re-designs of Eleutheromania having a half/half Heart to match the Mind design and make him more distinct.

Then there are the more abstract things like the "Death Thirds" Which is an au I've not really spoken on, and I don't recall if I've posted them here. Though I know I have on Twitter. (I recall CJ liking the Soul design)

Those are meant to be more ethereal, uncanny and inhuman designs. They are VERY self indulgent and more an experiment than anything. Though I knew I wanted to use the Mind design off the album cover for CCCC as baseline inspo for Mind. Soul happened kind of accidentally tbh. I was doodling and he came about.

Theres a set I'm drawing right now which have been far more in-depth. But thats because they stem from an existing media. But that's all I'll say on that one!

As for the smaller guys... I wanted to draw an HMS which was closer to 'canon' in some ways or just different from my typical used for the Song Pieces! They actually well exemplify some thematics in terms of square mind, circle heart, triangle (with rounded edges) soul. Which is a motif I've had since even my VERRRRY very very first concept ideas for my HMS designs!! Shape language is very important to me, and its something I highly suggest learning about or messing with.

I also like to take their canonical clothing; Mind's leather jacket or black vest, Heart's hoodie, Soul's jacket and apply or manipulate it to fit a design. The stripes in my Soul jacket I believe aren't how the real jacket CJ owns is but more so ripped from Kai @/calamarispiderart ?

But yeah! Overall. Themes, motifs, things like that are key in my designs.

Pluto is also a good show of that. I wanted to make sure he looked as faded and washed out as he felt. So his hair is white and his colors, even his Heart and Mind's colors are desaturated and a little off. Lacuna Mind leans into navy and teal while Lacuna Heart is nearly pink!

The Swap designs are also a good example. Viscera is a Whole with nothing in him, and while now I see Soul as more exemplifying that- Whole needs to exist in this au more physically. So— Viscera takes that place. He's a husk and a shell. The half mask with an empty void on the otherside showcases just as much. And for as uncanny and blank as he seems, he is soft. His face is always very soft and maybe a little bit sad. Ennui, Swap!Mind maintains the half/half motif of my Mind designs if only to keep him recognizable. But, his source is a jagged and sharp edged heart and the strings run in a simplistic but sharp form of a heartbeat. Electricity forced to be another way. His features are also softer still from the typical Mind design! Even in what he wears! Judge I have fewer notes on other than his blindfold is not present and in its place is his brain source, obscuring both his eyes if he technically has them at all. Astray, Soul, is faceless. For what is Soul supposed to even be without the mask? Especially when he doesn't know much of anything at all.

Sooo yeah! Just. A big ramble that boils down to the answer of... I try most often to make sure the designs convey the personality or story of the character in some way. Themes and motifs or ideas from or for the au also play that same part.

Course I cannot tell you why the au where they are in eternal snow, Mind has white hair. That is far more a "felt like it" moment than anything else.

Sorry if this is too broad or non specific. I can probably go more into depth on particular designs but yeah! And sometimes a design is one and done. Other times they need many thumbnails or concepts to cycle through. My own designs for the canon HMS have changed a lot in little ways since I began drawing em!

#voidthoughts #hope that helps.#I'd get images and write or draw on them but my tablet did die yesterday so im in the awkward stage of #can i fix it or do i have to buy a new one #asks #thank u tho anon!!#i love character design very very much i could talk about it forever.

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dailyadventureprompts · 2 years

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I have an idea for a tattoo shop run by warforged on a train that randomly jumps between realms. I’m wondering though, how can it be implemented into an adventure?

Planescape: The Wholly Incomprehensible Railway Company

When you're traveling through the Astral Plane you have to remember a few important details: For one, you’ left distance and direction along with that grubby little dirt-world you call home meaning unless you have the will to fold time and space in on each other you're going to need a form of conveyance to reach your destination. Next, don't stare. Just about everyone finds that rude and those that don't will consider it an invitation. Finally, keep very close hold of your ticket. You don't want to imagine what they'll do to you if they think you're freighthopping. No really, don't; they have a fallacious cell onboard and it'll just get worse the more you dwell on it.

Setup: While mages can fool about with portals and ships hewn from the limbs of the world tree, the common denizens of the astral plane must make use of more plebeian but equally whimsical forms of conveyance. Enter the locomotives of the Wholly Incomprehensible Railway Company, literal trains of thought that provide entities of all kinds with transit across the sea of dreams. More than simple machines, the trains of the WIRC are able to will themselves across the cosmos by way of their semi-sentient engines along a set of conjured rails, summoning up a bespoke demiplane in their wake to protect their snaking passengercars from the rigors of astral travel.

These trains stop over at stations across the multiverse, though with little rhyme or reason for what worlds get visited or in which order, as the WIRC is prone to stopping dozens of backwater realms and nightmare dimensions before veering back to anywhere on the prime material. This often leads to travelers having to wait weeks or months as the train seems to take every detour possible before reaching their desired destination, meaning the atmosphere on board is more akin to a slow moving oceanic liner than any sort of public transit; Entities and aliens poke about socialize, take entertainment in a number of dining cars and amusement cabins, or hold up in their cabins to gaze at the cosmos streaming by their window.

The actual company that operates the Wholly Incomprehensible railway is a bit of a mystery, operating through a series of faceless bureaucrats and imposing psionic spheres called “stationmasters”. They’ll hire anyone and everyone, so it’s not uncommon to find Gith, Vedalken, or orphaned Inevitables acting as porters, conductors, and engineers along with dozens of other unidentifiable species.

Hooks:

Actually securing a ticket for a train of thought is easier than one would imagine, as most planear megalopolises have a station of the Wholly Incomprehensible located somewhere through their alien foundations. Find a queue, hope that you can pantomime to the being on the other end where you want to go, pay the fare, and prepare for your extended journey among the stars. That said, the WIRC’s inconstant schedule and chaotic nature means that many of the less popular stations will go unvisited for decades, or even centuries at a time, leading to an increasing number of them being in disrepair and home to all manner of planear wildlife that creeps in a long the tracks. The staff and stationmasters are supposed to keep things in shape, but after years of neglect the former are prone to finding other jobs and the latter are prone to breaking down or going mad without something to micromanage. Seeking a means of planear travel may see the party delving a forgotten station overrun with monsters and overseen by a lunatic construct, desperate to draw someone in and have them summon the train again.

Being that the traincars of the Incomprehensible engines are contained within a demiplane, it’s fully possible for a party to end up there by accident, either by way of a teleportation mishap or by getting swept up in the wake of one of the trains while trying to traverse the astral sea. This is unlucky in multiple ways, as exit from the train is impossible until it has made a scheduled stop, and the various employees of the WIRC are contractually compelled to hunt down stowaways and while some of them are willing to give the party a head start on finding a ticked or an excuse, others zealously peruse their obligation heady with the promise of corporate reward.

On each of the incomprehensible trains there are communities of people who have decided to make the train their home. Some are lifelong staff with nowhere to return to, a few are passengers who by sheer dumb luck have been waiting decades for the train to find its way back to their stop, and there are yet others who’ve decided to stay on the train, preferring the comfort of the endless engines to whatever they’d find when disembarked. These enclaves of “Unembarked” operate like little villages unto themselves in stations and sleepers and baggage cars, scavenging and trading for what they can and providing shops for those that need it. Somewhere along the way the Unembarked picked up tattooing as a cultural skill, inking the eldritch filagree and twisting mechanisms of their ever-steaming homes into their flesh as a means of oneness with the train. They’re willing to share some of their skills with outsiders, including the magical tattoos said to incorporate maps of the Incomprehensible route into their designs.

Sometimes a machine gets a mind of its own, which is a very bad thing to occur when that machine is traveling at high speed through unknown dimensions and is relied on by dozens to hundreds of people for their safety. During one of the party’s trip along the WIRC’s line, some quirk of psionic feedback gives the brainstorm that drive’s that train’s engine a nightmare, sending it hurdling through dark dimensions as the semi-sentient mechanism wrestles with the existential horror of existence. To stop this runaway train, the party must battle through a gauntlet of otherworldly horrors swept aboard during the engine’s thrashing, make their way to the engine, and calm the mind of a castle sized entity that was never meant to be fully alive in the first place. Botching this mission could strand the whole train out in limbo, or in some new, even stranger realm.

Art

#planescape #teleportation accident #astral #Faction #dungeon #dnd #dungeons and dragons #adventure #5e homebrew #homebrew adventure #mid level #portals #construct #psionics #inevitable #shopkeep #spelljammer

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tragedyboycentral · 1 year

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So I'm copy-pasting my own essay I added onto another post to post on my own. But the amount of people out here who truly DON'T understand the historical importance of WTNV, from a queer media perspective, boggles me.

I want you to imagine the year is 2012. Gay marriage won't be legalized for another three years. A podcast starts to make the rounds, your friends are watching it so you think sure. Let's check it out. And then you here the narrator start to talk about the new scientist in town. And right there, in the first introduction, they make it clear. "And I fell in love instantly." There was no building up, no hiding it, no queerbaiting. Right there in the first episode they told us that Cecil was Gay and in love with Another Man.

And if you weren't there then there arent WORDS for how ground breaking this was at the time. How amazing it was for the tumblrbase, consisting largely of closeted/ discovering pre-teens, to hear this. The finale of Legend of Korra, where two women holding hands was GROUND BREAKING?? That wouldn't happen for another two years. This wasn't an everyday occurrence and hell, I would argue even today, a whole decade later, there still aren't many pieces of media doing it like wtnv was (and still is).

Not to mention in horror media, queerness is traditionally used to notate something scary. The scary lesbian woo'ing another woman and killing her was a horror trope for a reason. In media queerness is used as almost exclusively as a corrupting, disgusting, force. But Cecil's queerness wasn't just loved, it was celebrated within the media itself. His love interest was a 'normal' guy from out of town but Cecil's oddities are why Carlos loves him. Every aspect of Night Vale is odd, is queer, and that queerness becomes acceptably mundane in a beautiful way. The entirety of Night Vale of a concept was taking all that was Queer and celebrating it.

And in greater terms of media, Welcome To Night Vale is what single-handedly changed podcasts from 'the thing your dad listened to' to something interesting and accessible to young people. It practically introduced the concept of narrative podcasts and is still the roadmap many of them use today. Massive media like The Magnus Archives, The Penumbra Podcast, and hell I would argue even the popularity of other media like TAZ? It only happened because WTNV brought not just an audience to podcasts, but a QUEER audience. A queer audience who, once they were old enough, only needed a mic and cheap editing software to start making their own queer content just as fast as they were consuming everyone else's.

But back to 'sexyman'. Again. Tumblr's base is 12-14. And we're given not just the first gay character most of us have ever seen. But a dutiful boyfriend who loves his husband and his cat. Who gets into silly little squabbles with his silly little nemesis. Who's CHARMING. Of course the internet fell in love. But beyond his personality. He had the Homestuck/ Bill Cipher/ Wheatley bonus of not having a canon design. People keep mentioning he's faceless as a weird element but that was the DRAW back then. It was an INTEGRAL part of the appeal. Sure, the basic 'blonde white twink' design was/is the most popular- it was 2012- but some people got creative. No matter what your attraction was too, you could picture him looking like that. He's a good boyfriend AND he's hot?

Sure, The Onceler was insanely popular and so was Sans. But people were either lusting for them or Hated them. But Cecil?? Cecil was our hot gay mentor. He was the closest thing a lot of younger queers on tumblr had for an adult queer role model. He was the basis for so other tumblr sexymen.

TLDR: "Did wtnv have cultural impact?" jesus fuck yes it did.

#wtnv #cecilsweep #tumbly sexyman poll #cecil palmer #part of my charm

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russilton · 1 year

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Hi, I hope this isn't weird, but as I see this kind of discourse from one of my favourite author I just wanted to check in if that's a kind of thing you're dealing with too. Without any judgement to anyone. Is it really that important to you guys that we leave comments? Aren't kudos enough? And do you agree that writers have to answer to comments?

It’s alright anon I figured I might get a message like this and I do appreciate having the chance to share my piece because I utterly agree with Susi on every part.

Something that’s worth understanding is I do not have a single artist or writer friend who doesn’t face this issue. Every single one one them, without fail, puts their heart on the line to create and share fan work, and all of them, myself included, struggle with a lack of response. Every gif maker, writer, artist, edit crafter, web weaver, all of them live for the positive comments we receive, the praise. I don’t know a creative without a praise kink, frankly.

This has been true for every fandom I’ve been in since I started posting art online in 2011, and fic in 2017, but it is ESPECIALLY present in F1 RPF because the space is so small, and usually people are so used to clinging to anonymity that the space feels even smaller.

Long discussion under the cut, because I wanted to try and honestly explain the mental process behind why authors and artists ask for a comment.

Speaking from my own experience now (that I’d still put money on being a similar experience for others), posting work of any kind online is a bargain. Yes you do it for yourself in part, but if it was just for myself I wouldn’t post it. When you post, you make the mental deal of “am I willing to accept potential hate or disinterest in this, for the chance to receive love and praise on it”. If you’ve been here a while you’ve seen the anons I’ve received at times; transphobic, homophobic, or just plain hateful. Some were too hateful to even post. I have had an Instagram page make a collage of my art just to laugh at it. But I keep posting, because for me, the joy and community I receive from comments and tags on my work make it worth that bargain. There’s some work that isn’t worth the potential backlash to post. That’s why any of the nsfw art I draw never leaves my close mutuals. I’m not willing to share it online when the result of it would pale against the risk.

Creative work is a deeply personal and heart baring process. It cannot be done easily some days. Yes it’s fun and funny and entertaining at times, but most times when I’m writing, I end up stood utterly alone in my own mind with myself. I cant write if I’m too depressed, because that experience of being alone with myself is too painful. Even on a good day it can be hard. So when I choose to go to that place, remain alone to pour my mind into something I write or draw, it is an exhausting labour of love. It takes hours, I’m not a fast worker, some people are faster than me, some are even slower. I’m alone for all of it.

And so when you put that all together. The work, the creative process, the editing, the cleaning, the preparing for posting, the process of tagging and sorting work so it’ll be seen, then self promoting… the least we can ask for in return is a comment?

You have to understand, kudos or likes are great, but it’s a hand sticking out of the void and giving you a thumbs up. It’s silent, faceless, impression-less. Imagine sending your family a deeply personal message and the response you get is just “👍”. Yeah it’s technically a response, but it’s disproportionate to the Labour afforded beforehand. People posting online are seeking a human connection, that little snap of closeness all human beings through history have craved. A kudos doesn’t really satisfy that craving. I would rather get 20 kudos on fic, but every single one has a comment, than 1000 silent ones. It’s just a number, it takes half a second to press that button and move on. It makes you feel like a cheap commodity that’s consumed and spat out, and that doesn’t even speak for the shame of a thousand eyes looking at your work and saying nothing at all.

When you comment or leave a tag, it shows me you took a second to absorb what I’ve showed you. It slowed you down, made you pause or take a breath, it DID something to you, just like it did something to me to make it. That’s a connection, that snap of a bond. Myself and that commenter now share something, and usually it’s a simple act of gratitude that you see all the work I’ve done to give you something, even if the comment is just “I really liked this!thank you for writing it”. It’s a paltry amount of work compared to what happened to get us there. But I feel less alone for just a little while, just like that fic did for you.

I understand that is still hard to do on occasion. You may be tired, you may feel over exposed or sick, but again you have to remember how hard that creative worked to give you something. On tumblr at least you can still reblog without a comment and increase the chance of someone else doing so. Ao3 doesn’t have that. Even when people filter by kudos they still have to be looking to read something with those tags. It doesn’t do much for the author who is sat faced with numbers. Their work made you feel, think, or just escape your own mind, by commenting, you are giving them the chance to have a moment of the same.

I have a screenshot folder full of comments that have made my day. It’s packed with the words that kept me going, when I doubted I could write at all, when I wondered if my art was good enough. They make a meaningful impact on my life the way I hope my work does for others.

And then you have to understand how… ungrateful it seems, to have people go “well you don’t reply fast enough, so I’m not going to comment.” I understand we all want that connection again, of a reply, and that’s why most authors TRY to do so!

But that author or artist has spent hours creating something for you, they have emotionally laboured and worked and bared themselves, asked you just to say something as your payment, and then you have asked to be paid for that honour? That’s like going into a store, paying for something, and then going “because you didn’t give me an extra gift for paying rather than stealing, I shall simply steal it in future”. That’s kind of insane right? Especially when the work you receive was hand made with love by the person sat in front of you.

I don’t know a single creative person on f1blr I haven’t seen go “I don’t know if posting this is worth it”. And that should worry people. If you come online and devour content without return, you are going to see people stop posting and walk away. I’ve seen it happen over and over and over. This isn’t the hungry hungry caterpillar, you aren’t 5, you don’t get to have your cake and eat it too if you don’t pay the baker who made it. In this case nobody in fandom has the incentive of making a living to continue. I can’t buy things for myself with comments. We don’t get paid. Instead they’re just going to stop sharing and return to only giving cake to people who respond. I’ve got art and fic I wrote only for my friends, because I wanted a reaction and giving it to them was a sure fire way to get it, because I trusted them.

If it becomes more effort to post than it does the return, I simply just won’t. I owe nothing to a faceless void, and so said void should try being less faceless. That’s all people are asking for.

#asks #anonymous #Mark’s fic tag #mark’s art tag #wank/rants #wow long post #reblogs fine #cause some people need to learn

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animehouse-moe · 6 months

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Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective Episode 3: The Case of the Benizome Hot Spring Murder (Part 1)

This show is really proving that it was made for me, and it sort of blows my mind that I wasn't really all over it before it aired. Regardless, I'm all over this episode and what Diomeda brings with it, so there's a mountain of stuff I want to talk about!

First of all, Ibata's storyboarding is even better than his work on the first episode for the series. Their focus on objects and using sharp perspective and depth of field to highlight them is sublime for series like this. It just draws you into the scenes so much as you pour over the details in the various scenes.

Also this piece. I love this part, and you can see it in the first episode as well where Ibata shows a few cuts from the leg down. What I love about it here though is that it's used to signal the entrance of Spitz into the scene, which is a lot of fun.

Anyways, I think the point of Ibata being a good storyboarder and being incredibly well suited to Ron is apparent, let's talk story. We get more info on Ron this episode as they show us that it's not a tattoo on his neck, but rather a scar leftover from his BLUE days. Despite that though, Ron claims that the scar has special meaning due to the sixes that appear in it.

This all thanks to a precursor cold open with BLUE, where we get a very tense exchange. Here, we find out that Spitz (the character I mentioned earlier) is tasked with finding out if Ron is doing any detective work. The principal of BLUE gives Spitz some very specific rules, which he delightfully ignores as he effectively sets up the mystery for Toto and Ron in this episode.

I just think it's great fun. We have a formula that's appeared to us. Someone dies, Ron gets involved and the mystery gets solved.

However, in three episodes we've seen consistent changes to these rules.

The second episode saw Ron pass the sleuthing off to Toto so that he could solve the mystery.

And this episode has placed a culprit in front of the people involved right away. Even further, the mystery isn't solved within the span of a single episode.

It's so so great how they're able to change the shape of this series without altering its form. It keeps things so incredibly fresh and creative while providing a theme and feel to follow loosely.

And it's able to integrate the comedy with that so effortlessly. In the second episode, Ron donned a humorous disguise and played into it to provide both humor and hints for viewers.

In this episode we shift the focus of the humor to Spitz, where his intense desire to challenge Ron provides a bit of comedy, as well as potential tips for the viewers. I mean, just imagine that Spitz orchestrated this whole thing just to try and expose Ron. The potential for humor alongside the mystery is truly impressive, I can't begin to wonder how the author's able to come up with ideas like these that marry both sides of the show so well.

Anyways, back into the episode. There's some surprisingly well done cuts! A lot are just super detailed still drawings, but I still think they look very very good.

Also, the environment art for this episode? Super pretty. I love the look of it so much, and it matching with the weather outside is great.

And then there's the visual storytelling. Man oh man I loved this reveal, and for two reasons.

First of all, only Amamiya and Ron dare wade into the water where the dead body floats. This part's just a fun little detail that shows that this pair are involved and interested in the murder, while Toto is more external/distant to it. Also, faceless characters are very apparent in this episode, nd I'm really a sucker for this style of direction. When done with intent it can be a really fun piece.

Anyways, this second layout is far more important. Before a claim can even be made about who killed the woman, the scene betrays the answer. Spitz intended to single out Amamiya, and the layout conveys that by how it separates here, keeping her in the water next to the body while everyone else remains outside. It's almost as if they're framing it like they caught Amamiya in the act.

And I love that they show it from both sides, where it's the group looking out at Amamiya as the suspect, and Amamiya trying to justify herself against the group of people that looms over her.

The whole episode is just as detailed as this. There's all sorts of little bits and pieces, odds and ends and fun little references that do things like make the viewer believe that Spitz is orchestrating the mystery and hand-feeding it to Ron so that he can't resist. There's solid, and even once or twice, great animation in the episode and comedy that reverses roles (Amamiya accidentally wanders into the Men's bath while drunk). It's just a world of content that screams fun and engaging. The dynamics are energetic and well defined, the mysteries are well thought out and provide a great deal of hints and context, and the overall style and execution is really good. I don't know if I could ask for more from Diomeda, truthfully. Well, maybe I'd ask for the episodes to come out quicker so I could get my fix for this series.

#ron kamonohashi #isshiki totomaru #totomaru isshiki #kamonohashi ron no kindan suiri #ron kamonohashi: deranged detective #ron kamonohashi's forbidden deductions #mystery anime #comedy anime #anime and manga #anime #anime reccs #anime recommendation #anime review

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drabbleposter · 19 days

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## abandoned fic

The room, frequently warm from sparked candles and welcoming with his boss’ cordial expression, had run cold. No, the candles were still there, and his boss was still strangely smiling despite the news he had just delivered, but it was something different. Like the tightness in Person A’s throat suddenly clear to him, or the frustration drawing his fingers in and unveiling fists at his sides, or the emotion pulling his face this way and that way.

The cause of this sudden change was words, a statement capable of changing Person A’s life only for the worse. Something that his boss fit on his tongue too easily for the punch it delivered. You’ll have to work with him in order to work against him.

It’s somewhere close to the saying, keep your friends close but your enemies closer, maybe just an inch off when it comes to wording but spot on when it comes to meaning. They both mean the same thing, play along with the enemy in order to hit them correctly–either physically or mentally, or any other way. And both of them ring true in all of the things Person A had witnessed or done himself, which also raises his suspicion towards those he does know pretty well.

But who was the him in question, the one that made Person A’s ire boil over at the mention? He looks like this, tall, virile, charming, and whatever simple and not extravagant synonym there is to fit in that bunch. He’s sweet (or was sweet). He was a gentleman towards everyone he knew, a samaritan, saying only the kindest things, yet, he was the same one who said the cruelest words that Person A has ever heard. Well, he never said it, never to Person A at least. But those small explanations could only fit one person, Person B. His ex high school sweetheart, his ex, that Person B.

Though, his boss didn’t know that Person B was his ex. Person A didn’t tell him that–it wasn’t important (and Person A hated holding onto a scarring past). Which ultimately makes Person A’s frustration his own fault because maybe if he addressed the fact he would have redirected the task onto someone else.

But Person A has his own principles, never let his personal life and relations interfere with his work. Person B was one of them, he was a relation. And even though he’s now in the same field of work that Person A is–perfect, right?--his memories and history with Person B are personal, and long gone.

“Okay, if it will help then I will. Do you have a location?”

“Daejeon. It will be a long ride but at least you have a hotel to look forward to when you get there. Heard from Person D that they’re planning on getting there two days from now, so you’ll have a head start, and don’t worry, your work will be beyond helpful for us.”

“So what exactly do you want me to do?” Person A asks.

“Just try your best to get close to him. You’re the more faceless worker of our bunch, it’ll be easier for you since only your name is the thing out there at this moment.”

It’s funny, his boss’ reasoning, because if only he knew that it would be useless here. Person B knew his name, he knew his face, he more than likely paired them together when hearing the name because how could he not. Person A was the name he said everyday, the face he saw everyday, you can’t just erase the value of both of those like it’s nothing. No matter how cruel Person B was, he couldn’t do that, and no matter how much Person A had grown to hate him, he couldn’t either.

“Okay. I’ll do my best then, and I’ll pack my bags as quickly as possible.”

“Great.” His boss smiled. “Then I’ll call a driver to your place in about an hour from now. For now, though, you are dismissed, and I wish you luck, Person A.”

There’s a churn in his gut, causing the after effect of guilt that he didn’t raise his voice and say he couldn’t do it, that he didn’t tell his boss why everything wouldn’t work, but he lets the feeling swallow him whole as he only nods before leaving the room without saying anything.

The ride to his place is quiet, no music and barely the small sound of the tires of his car driving over the pavement. The sound of motion lingers around in his ears, ping and pong. No music, no cars honking, nobody in his passenger seat saying this or that, but it’s loud.

His thoughts repeat in an endless cycle. A repeat of the interaction with his boss, the echo of his boss’ request, and the story behind him and Person B. The interaction was more stilted than usual, so Person A was surprised that his boss didn’t catch onto it. His boss’ request was daunting and dreadful. His and Person B’s story was fucking sad. Not the, shedding tears and screaming into a pillow sad, but the throwing his phone and being seconds from stabbing holes into Person B’s car sad (well, not that sad, but if you asked him at that time when he was high on impulse he would have said that).

Person A sighs, resting his forehead against the wheel when he arrives home. The car’s still running because he had yet to turn it off. The frustration like an ongoing fuse. It just feels immature to still be mad at something that occurred in the past, something that happened years ago. It already happened, but he’s still mad over it. Why couldn’t he just let it go?

Then after a while, Person A’s just one more shirt away from being done with packing the clothing section of his suitcase when he hears a car honk just outside of his apartment. An hour had passed just like that, and he only packed in a few sets of pajamas and going-out clothes for him to go.

Well now it’s just pack whatever he can while he can. Packing was a hassle, he had to conjecture the weather as well as what he’d feel like wearing, and most of the time he was never in the mood to wear what he had ended up packing too. It wasn’t much of a problem before, like years ago. When he didn’t want to wear what he packed–which was more often than not–he’d borrow Person B’s clothes, use his black hoodie despite having the same one just in orange, borrow his sweatpants, necklaces, but not anymore, and never anymore.

The proceeding honk results in Person A slipping whatever is on his desk, accessory-wise, in his bag. The clamor of jewelry sounding out as it lands on top of his clothes. Hygiene related products were already packed, they were his top priority, so the accessories being last was the favorable option.

He ushers down the stairs with his suitcase in tow, spotting the matte black car parked temporarily near the curb. He climbs into the front seat after sliding his suitcase in the back, muttering a quick apology for his time delay but the driver shrugs it off.

“Is this task any easier?”

Person A looks out the window, perching his elbow on the armrest and dropping his cheek into his palm. Trees blur by in motion lines, bushes, greenery in general, but it’s a weird and almost funny contrast to the cars that don’t. “Easier than the typical tasks?” Which primarily consisted of risking his life with a seventy-percent chance that he wouldn’t make it out alive. He hums in contemplation. Was it easier? Meeting up with an ex, trying to get close despite the rift between them that not even the longest bridge could connect, and trying to make things work. “No, it isn’t. Maybe harder. Way harder, Person C.”

Person C glances at him, almost as if pitying him. “Then what is it? Your task.”

“I have to try to get close to one of them…Ja–Jongseong.” It’s been so long since he had mentioned the name, or even mentioned him in any way. He avoided it since that day, since the breakup, but now that he had to, the habit of calling him by his nickname came back to him as if they were still dating. It was pathetic how part of him lurched to still grab that false reality of them being together. Regardless, Person A hated him, he was an asshole, not the person that Person A had fallen for before. “Basically getting close to him so it’d be easier to target the team after.”

“Ah, like keep your friends close but your enemies closer.”

“Pretty much.”

“So how is it harder then? It doesn’t sound bad.”

“It just feels harder, that’s it.”

Person C hums, but Person A’s pretty sure he doesn’t understand it still, but Person C doesn’t ask further. When they finally get to the hotel with the faint tunes of Justin Beiber and Post Malone playing throughout the ride quiet enough for Person C’s small lip syncs to sound louder than the lyrics themselves, Person C pulls Person A’s hotel room card out of the sun visor. “Here. You don’t have to worry about going to the front desk but if they question you, show them the card. You’re on the D hall of the second floor, room number is on there.”

“Alright,” Person A murmurs. He unbuckles his seatbelt and steps out of the car when Person C unlocks the doors. “Thanks. Will you also drive me back?” He pulls his suitcase from the backseat.

“Yup,” Person C chimes. “Good luck.”

Person A grins. “Thanks. I’ll need it.”

He closes the car door, waves Person C goodbye as the boy drives off, and enters the hotel. It’s clean, floors beaming back at him and bouncing back the reflections of both him and his suitcase. A quick scan gets his approval, but it wasn’t like he was entirely skeptical about the place either given that it was his boss who assigned it for him. Mr. Lee was nice enough to not do him wrong, especially since he’s such an asset.

Nobody questions him, probably too busy with others to investigate someone who looks like he knows what he’s doing. So he gets situated in his room after a while, finding his way around easily. He was familiar with hotels, the many trips visiting Person B’s family in the U.S. made him that way. Bitter memories. Bitter memories.

He lays his suitcase on the bed, careful of keeping the wheels off of the white blankets in case any dirt had gotten on them. The morning dew remains for a while when it’s cold, so there’s a high chance that it did. It’s just to check and make sure that he packed everything he needed, that’s all. He moves the zipper along the line of the zip, peeling the top back to behold the mess of jewelry on top. He picks apart the necklaces in the pile. A silver one here, another that was rose gold, another that was gold,and another–another one he remembers too well. Its origin (borrowed from him and never given back because he was told to keep it), who gave it (him, Person B). Yet the thing he didn’t know was why he still had it, why was it on his desk? He should have thrown it away a long long time ago. He really should have. Fuck.

“They arrived in Daejeon. Person D planted a tracker and it seems like either the entire team, or just Jongseong is heading toward a speakeasy near Seongnam-dong, probably meeting up with someone there. If you want to get any information feel free to go but be careful. Use an alternative name. But if you don’t want to and want to wait, you can. That’s just what I have right now that I can provide you with.”

“Update me when they arrive.”

“You’re going to go?” Mr. Lee asks.

“Yes. Anything to get started on this, so I’ll go. I kind of prepared an outfit for something like this just in case so I might as well use it even if it will only be once.”

“Good. Then I will send you the address. They seem to be arriving at 7:00, either exactly or around that time.”

“Alright,” Person A says, lifting his back off of the mattress. As much as he should have spent his time exploring the area, since he’s never really came here from what he remembers, he stayed in the hotel bed, finding ways to busy himself with his phone instead, for heading out would have been too risky. “I’ll head there as soon as possible, then.”

“Great.”

Enough time later, after a shower, a new set of clothes, styling his hair wavy for what took longer than his shower, and an abhorred glance towards a particular necklace before he chose the silver, he was on his way to the address he was sent. A smooth ride, it was, the taxi driver didn’t speak, only when saying hello and goodbye which Person A preferred more than anything for he wasn’t fond of chit chat. Then only two words have him entering the speakeasy. Though they had a history of being hidden or disguised in plain sight, as time progressed, that stopped being the case, but they still had the occasional person inside checking for passwords in order to get in, that stayed.

It was only about 7:37, the hotel wasn’t far but the getting ready process took the most time. Hopefully they would still be there–well, not too heavy on Person B.

They’re a bit like clubs, but more formal due to the long tradition of big groups meeting up at them rather than the much more common clubs people frequent. So it makes sense that they come here out of all places.

All of that aside, this has to be a regular interaction, nothing too stiff and intentional, so why not indulge in himself beforehand? If it’s just a simple sip, it won’t hurt. Yet, when he approaches the bar and the bartender greets him with a smile before asking what he would like, Person A answers; “Absinthe. Cocktail.”

Liquid courage. That’s what he needs if he’s meeting up with him again.

“Of course. And then for you, sir?”

Person A looks at him confused. The bartender’s gaze hadn't moved from his direction but he was the only one there, in that seat. He darts his eyes to the side, but that guy already had his drink, so his last option was to look behind him.

“Just a whiskey on ice, nothing as strong as absinthe.” His voice is different, same enunciation but just a semitone or two deeper than the voice he possessed back in high school, much more smooth and bewitching. He mentions Person A’s choice of absinthe, which insinuates that he’s going for a conversation. He knows. The bartender left by the time Person B had asked him a question. “Here? In Daejeon?”

“What do you mean by that?” Person A keeps his back turned towards him. Eye contact is too much, speaking is just enough.

#gang #exes

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onlineearningselite · 1 year

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Top 5 Tips for staying motivated and consistent on a faceless YouTube channel

Introduction

If you're running a faceless YouTube Automation channel or want to learn youtube automation step by step you know how challenging it can be to maintain motivation and consistency without a personal brand to anchor your content. With no recognizable face or personality to draw viewers in, it can be challenging to build an audience and keep them engaged over the long term. But with the right strategies and mindset, it's possible to succeed as a faceless creator on YouTube. In this post, we'll share some tips for staying motivated and consistent on a faceless YouTube Automation channel.

Set clear goals and expectations

One of the most important things you can do to stay motivated and consistent on a faceless YouTube channel is to set clear goals and expectations for yourself. Define what success means for your channel, and set specific goals that align with your vision. Do you want to hit a certain number of subscribers? Generate a specific amount of revenue? Create a certain type of content? Having clear goals will help you stay focused and motivated, and give you a sense of purpose as you create content.

Create a schedule and stick to it

Consistency is key when it comes to building an audience on YouTube. Set a regular posting schedule that works for you, and stick to it as closely as possible. Use a content calendar to plan and organize your videos, and consider outsourcing tasks like editing or thumbnail design to save time and streamline the process. By creating a schedule and sticking to it, you'll establish a predictable rhythm that viewers can rely on, and build momentum as you publish more content.

Engage with your audience

As a faceless YouTube creator, it's important to find other ways to connect with your audience and build a sense of community around your channel. Respond to comments and messages, use polls, surveys, and Q&A sessions to solicit feedback and ideas, and collaborate with other creators in your niche. By engaging with your audience, you'll build trust, loyalty, and a sense of camaraderie that can help you stay motivated and inspired.

Focus on quality over quantity

While consistency is important, it's also essential to prioritize quality over quantity. Rather than churning out videos just to hit your posting schedule, focus on creating high-quality content that aligns with your goals and resonates with your audience. Don't sacrifice quality for the sake of posting more frequently; instead, take the time to craft videos that are well-written, well-produced, and engaging. Consider investing in equipment or software that can help you improve the quality of your videos, and hone your craft over time.

Stay motivated and avoid burnout

Creating content on a consistent basis can be mentally and emotionally draining, especially if you're doing it alone as a faceless creator. To avoid burnout, it's important to take breaks and prioritize self-care. Celebrate milestones and accomplishments along the way, and seek support from friends, family, or online communities. Remember that building a successful YouTube channel takes time and persistence, so don't be too hard on yourself if you're not seeing results right away.

Conclusion

If you're looking to take your faceless YouTube channel to the next level or want to Start A Faceless YouTube Automation channel, I highly recommend checking out the course "Tube Mastery and Monetization" by Matt Par. This comprehensive course provides everything you need to know to start and grow a successful YouTube Automation channel, regardless of your niche or level of experience.

Here are just a few reasons why I think this course is worth checking out:

In-depth training on all aspects of YouTube Automation channel creation and management. From finding profitable niches to creating engaging content, optimizing your videos for search, and building a loyal audience, "Tube Mastery and Monetization" covers everything you need to know to build a thriving YouTube Automation channel.

Proven strategies that have worked for Matt Par and his students. Matt has built multiple successful YouTube Automation channels from scratch and has taught his strategies to thousands of students around the world. The course is packed with real-world examples, case studies, and actionable tips that you can apply to your own channel right away.

Click here to get started

Ongoing support and resources. When you enroll in "Tube Mastery and Monetization," you'll get access to a private community of like-minded creators, as well as ongoing support and updates from Matt and his team. You'll also get access to exclusive resources, templates, and tools to help you grow your channel faster and more effectively.

A comprehensive approach to monetization. One of the biggest challenges for faceless YouTube creators is figuring out how to monetize their channels without relying on personal branding. "Tube Mastery and Monetization" provides a range of strategies for monetizing your channel, from affiliate marketing to sponsorships to creating and selling your own products.

A 60-day money-back guarantee. If you're not completely satisfied with the course for any reason, you can get a full refund within 60 days of purchase, no questions asked.

In short, if you're serious about building a successful YouTube channel as a faceless creator, "Tube Mastery and Monetization" is an excellent investment. With its comprehensive training, proven strategies, ongoing support, and focus on monetization, this course provides everything you need to turn your YouTube channel into a profitable business.

#YouTube Automation #Online business #Business #Make money online #Make money from YouTube #Make money from home #Earn money online #Online Earning #YouTube Automation channel

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advantagemains · 2 years

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Farseek faceless menace

#Farseek faceless menace for free

#Farseek faceless menace how to

Beast Whisperer is the lower-cost option, but Soul of the Harvest is arguably better despite the additional mana required as it supports cards like Scroll of Fate and Whisperwood Elemental much better. Beast Whisperer ($2.95) and Soul of the Harvest ($0.49)īoth augment the draw power of this deck in a huge way. Obviously that’s the best case, which means it doesn’t always happen, but at its worst it still represents good card selection. I really enjoy activating this with an empty hand and drawing three cards. This morph creature has been seen in other years of Commander precons but is notably absent here. Whisperwood Elemental ($0.49)Ī very powerful engine for generating face-down 2/2s, Whisperwood Elemental also acts as minor wrath protection as long as you have some face up creatures. Copying spells can give this deck access to some effects it lacks, and that’s hugely important with such a focused strategy. If you want to be the one at the table managing mischief, I strongly suggest this friendly Quanar.

#Farseek faceless menace for free

Its job, largely, is to return face up creatures to our hand so we can replay them face down, possibly for free and possibly to draw a card (thanks Kadena!) You can also leave mana open to respond to wrath effects or targeted removal with this friendly cat’s effect. This humble uncommon is actually quite powerful. Whether it’s cards, a good fight, a Scry 2, or just a power/toughness upgrade, getting more value out of something we’re already trying to do is a big deal. Aphetto Runecaster ($0.25), Temur War Shaman ($0.35), Unblinking Bleb ($0.15), and Salt Road Ambushers ($0.25)Īll three of these are here to give us more out of turning things face up. Master of the Veil (sorry Liliana, different Veil) is a less optimistic, lower-cost version. It’s here working its magic again by letting us rebuy on triggers we get from turning things face up. One of my favorite creatures from Legions, Weaver of Lies was a significant component of my 60-card casual morph deck at the time. Weaver of Lies ($0.35) and Master of the Veil ($0.49) Don’t worry–the deck is still the right size. I’ll warn you now that I did want more creatures in this deck, so there will be more cards added here than I cut above. Great Oak Guardian and Apex Altisaur are good creatures, but they’re a bit costly and off-theme. (Do combine Mirrorpool with it, though – thanks to Bennie Smith for the great tweet that tipped me off to this!) Thought Sponge and Voice of Many get outclassed by other card draw engines, including Kadena itself. (Make sure you check out the Commander Newsletter, where I’ve written about Volrath already and either will write about Grismold or already have, depending on when this is published.) Scaretiller is an awesome card in a deck that supports it, which this is not. Grismold, Rayami, and Volrath all deserve their own decks and don’t fit well here. I’m going to start out by cutting some creatures–particularly, ones without morph. Morph is one of my personal favorite mechanics, partially because the friends I made playing in Onslaught block are some of my best friends to this day and partially because it’s just sweet.įor reference, here are all the original decklists for the precons. Since we’ll be working with Kadena, we’ll focus on the morph (and, to an extent, manifest) theme. The idea is that pumping money into Commander decks by buying hyped-up cards isn’t a direct path to victory or fun instead, synergy and theme are the big motivators here. Because of how linear time works, prices and availability may have changed since I wrote this, and if that happens, I apologize for the inconsistency. That way, you can see how I keep things within budget.

#Farseek faceless menace how to

That amount is more of a significant expense for some than others, but the idea is to show you how to improve a deck on a budget.Īs we go through the improvements, I’ll list the prices (from, of course) of the cards I’m adding. As you may recall, the premise is to take the preconstructed decks and spend up to $50 (before tax and shipping) to improve them. This time around, we’ll be focusing on the Faceless Menace deck featuring Kadena, Slinking Sorcerer. The time has come for our final Commander 2019 Budget Precon Upgrade. Other Commander 2019 $50 Budget Upgrades Merciless Rage | Primal Genesis | Mystic Intellect

#Farseek faceless menace

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formulawonu · 3 years

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Hi! I have a request for you if you can, can a request based on “champagne problems” by taylor swift where either daniel, lando, lewis or carlos are dating the reader and think it’s time to propose, and they do it in front of their families or the whole grid but the reader says no, and they broke up, and years later they run into each other again and talk. you can choose the ending between fluff or keep it angst.

champagne problems / lewis hamilton

(gif is not mine! credits to the owner)

warnings: angsty :'(

a/n: i fell in love with this request, thank you so much for it. i got immensely sad writing the last few lines of this :/ taylor swift knows what she is doing. i hope my writing did justice to this beautifully sad song <//3 tried doing smth different and wrote in third person/more of lewis' pov. big cheers to lewis getting 100 wins — what an incredible feat!!! hope you guys enjoy this one :D

He thinks he sees her from across the room but an extra glance tells him it’s not her. She wouldn’t show up here. That isn’t her — something he’s had to learn ever since she left his life two years ago. He is here with someone new and she reminds him of the stars that never fail to show up in the night sky every night. She is constant and he doesn’t need to second guess with her. She understands who he is and knows what he thinks. He is genuinely happy. But she is not her.

“I would like to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?” He says, looking up at the love of his life from where he is kneeling. They are surrounded by his family and their friends. The most important people in their lives that have become an extension of who they are and know how perfect the two of them are for each other. He planned it all out — the intimate dinner full of all the things she loved. Her favorite food, her favorite people. He wanted to make sure everything was perfect. Everyone in this room knew it was only a matter of time until they both took the next step forward in the relationship. In this moment, however, he only sees her. That is how it is whenever she is around. It feels like tunnel vision: all roads lead simply to her.

He has always believed that love was unique to different people. He is, no doubt, in love with his current girlfriend and he is so sure of that. She is the calm before and after every storm. He also knows that despite this, a piece of him and the love he is capable of giving will always remain with Y/N. He will never forget how it felt to love her, just as he knows she won’t ever forget loving him.

Something is wrong. All he sees is her and yet she looks terrified. Tears are forming in her eyes and there is an emotion that he can’t quite place yet. It is an emotion he doesn’t see often. “Y/N?” He whispers, trying to read her. At this moment, he doesn’t care that everyone is standing around the both of them. He just wants to make sure she is okay. She looks away from him and looks around the room. He squeezes her hand, trying to get her to just focus on him. He is trying to reassure her that everything is okay. She looks back at him then at the open small box in his other hand. She starts shaking her head, the tears now falling from her eyes. Everything seems to be going wrong.

“I love you, Lewis.” His girlfriend whispers as he sways her back and forth on the makeshift dance floor. It is his friend’s wedding. “I love you more.” He is satisfied with the way his life has turned out. It was difficult the first few months she had left his life and he honestly thought life wouldn’t be okay again. Everything reminded him of her. There were pieces of her in his apartment and pieces of her everywhere he went. Time passed by so slowly as if it wanted him to sink in the emptiness that came when he lost her. But he met her — she made everything bright again and allowed him to see colors in the world that turned grey. She was patient with him. She took the time to understand him and let him find himself again. He is happy. He is in love.

“I- I can’t.” She whispers, still shaking her head. The tears won’t stop falling from her eyes. He understands the emotion in her eyes now. She is overwhelmed. It is regret. He can feel tears building up in his own. Everything begins to spin around the two of them. “Lewis, I… I can’t.” He tries to remain holding her hand, but she forces hers out of his hold. He looks up at her, speechless. There are so many things he wants to tell her. He wants to tell her to forget about everyone around the two of them. He wants to tell her it doesn’t matter how it happens or that they don’t need to get married right away. He would be happy being engaged forever if it meant she would be by his side. He wants to tell her that they could ditch the party and just lock themselves up in their apartment if that was what she wanted. But he doesn’t. He can’t because she is long gone now. She has run outside of the room and has left him in the center of everyone’s gaze. He cannot move. He is stuck on one knee, with his mother’s ring in his hand. Everything feels like it’s in slow motion. The first thing he does is close the box and drop it in his suit pocket. He slowly stands up, refusing to look at anyone else. He doesn’t know how to react or how to be. Everything is wrong.

While he is leading his girlfriend back to their table, something catches his attention in the corner of his eye. He has to blink a couple of times, trying to register that it is actually her. There, standing by the bar, is the girl who had left him two years ago. She is standing on her own, her body language still very familiar to him. She does not want to be seen and is trying to simply be a faceless stranger in the crowd. She would not be here if she didn’t need to, but his friends are her friends too and the bride is a good friend of hers. “That’s her, isn’t it?” His girlfriend says, following his gaze. “She’s beautiful.” He flashes a smile at her, nodding. “Yeah. I didn’t think she was going to be here, actually. None of us have actually seen her since it happened.” “Do you want to say hi to her?” He fully focuses on his girlfriend now, trying to understand if she is challenging him or simply curious. All he sees is genuine questioning. “I think you should speak to her, Lewis.” He is unsure if that is the right decision. He does not know what he wants to say to her anyway. “Go. It will make you feel better, even if you don’t know what to say.” She gently nudges him towards her and he is left reluctantly walking towards the woman he has not spoken to since she left him kneeling.

“Hi.” Words escape the both of them, the casualness of a greeting seeming so unfitting for the two. “Hi.” She replies. “How ironic that we’re seeing each other here.” He offers, trying to break the ice. He is not used to this, the awkwardness enveloping the two of them when once in the past he felt he could talk about absolutely anything with her. She visibly draws back at the reminder of the last time they had seen each other too. “Why are you here, Lewis?” She asks with a smile on her face. She was never the type to beat around the bush, that much he knew. She always went straight to the point, never afraid to hear things she might not want to. Like ripping off a bandaid, she once said. “I honestly don’t know why either.” There was no point in lying to her. He doesn’t know what to say, neither does she, and yet it felt right that he could speak frankly to her about the events of the past. “You look happy,” She starts, looking genuinely pleased for him. “You deserve to be happy.” Two emotions bubble up inside of him, one he has not felt in ages. Frustration and defeat. It is all coming back to him.

“We could’ve been happy too.”

She sighs, refusing to meet his eyes. She is still surveying the room, taking in everyone celebrating the union of two lovers. He did not like that about her; she always knew how to hide her emotions. Better put, he did not like how he could not read her anymore. “I don’t want to fight you, Lewis. I didn’t come here to do that.” She picks up her glass of champagne that she has left on the counter of the bar, sipping at it. “Dom Pérignon.” She adds. The champagne she is drinking is her favorite and it is the same one that everyone was drinking the night it happened. Or should’ve happened. A wry smile forms on his face. “I know you don’t owe me an explanation nor should you have ever felt you owed me a marriage, but I just wish you talked to me about it. That was our thing. We always talked about it.” She finally meets his eyes, studying him.

“I just didn’t have anything to say.”

“How could you have nothing to say?”

“I did not know what to say.”

“Then you should’ve said that.”

“I did not have a reason, Lewis. Is that what you want to hear? When you got down on one knee, a thousand thoughts were in my head and none of them told me to say yes. I’m so sorry and you know I loved you immensely—I still do—but I could not for the life of me come up with a reason to know for sure I wanted to say yes.” Just like ripping off a bandaid.

He does not know what to say and he wants to laugh at how she is still able to leave him speechless after all this time. “Well, I’m sorry you felt that way.” That is all he is able to say in reply. “I’m sorry I couldn’t say yes.” She finally meets his eyes, the familiar gaze of the woman he once swore he would give everything up for. “My mom wants a sorry too.” He finally says after a while, trying to lighten up the mood. “I miss her.” She replies, a small smile forming on her face. His mom absolutely loved her and held a special place in her heart for her. She was just as crestfallen as he was when she saw what had taken place two years ago. “She misses you too. Everyone kind of misses you too. I don’t understand why you had to disappear.” She shakes her head. “It wasn’t me, Lewis. All of this,” She says, gesturing around the grand ballroom. “Is not me.” “Then why are you here?” He doesn’t mean it as an insult, he just wants to know. She frowns at him. “Because Joe and Louise are my good friends, Lew. I wasn’t planning to stay long, though. I just promised Louise I was going to come by and I keep my promises.” He knows she does. He shakes his head at her. “I didn’t mean it that way. It’s nice to see you again, honestly. Nice to know you’re still alive.” “I know you didn’t. But I just don’t know who I am when I’m here. It’s all so….” She pauses, trying to think of the right word. “Intense? Overwhelming? Heavy? I don’t know. It just makes you feel so small.” He nods but he still can’t grasp that she had felt this way all this time. Maybe he didn’t know her as well as he thought he did. “Don’t blame yourself, Lewis. I can see you doing that now. It was just me.” There is amusement in her eyes and he can’t understand how she is so candid about all of this. “I just don’t understand how I feel like I didn’t- don’t know who you are. I don’t know where it all went wrong.”

She studies him, noting how the creases in his forehead have formed. Something he always does when he is deep in thought. “Lewis, you knew me better than anyone else in this world and I don’t want you to ever feel like you didn’t. What we shared was good, right? It was brilliant.” She offers him a small smile, a consolation for all that has gone on between them. “I will always love you. I don’t think I need to tell you that. You will always be special to me. But what was screaming at me when you got down on one knee was that whatever was happening… It wasn’t right. And I wouldn’t forgive myself if I ever let you go into something so wholeheartedly with me in it half-heartedly. That wouldn’t be fair to you. You deserve someone who would jump into darkness headfirst with you. I hope she is that for you.” She glances around the room again, probably noticing the eyes of spectators that have now noticed the both of you together again. She is beginning to get conscious. The emotions that were beginning to reveal themselves through her eyes are disappearing once again. She is withdrawing. He nods, trying to internalize everything she has just said.

“I’m sorry I lost you. I know you don't want me to apologize, but I’m sorry we ended like that. There are times I wish you were still in my life and there are times I still think about what it would be like if it was us in this position.” His words hang in the air, the both of them looking around the room. “But I’m doing okay. She’s great - I think you two would get along, actually. I honestly hope you’re doing okay. It sucks that I don’t know what you’re doing. I hope you know that you’re still always welcome to just hang out or whatever. Have a chat to update me on your life, Y/N. Don’t be a stranger.” She nods, smiling at him. She drinks the rest of her champagne before setting the glass back on the bar counter. “That is great to hear, Lewis. I still keep up with your races, you know? A hundred wins, you’ve finally done it. No matter what, I am always going to be proud.” She places a hand on his shoulder, a fleeting squeeze on it, then she drops it. “I’ll try not to be one. But either way, just know I’ll always be rooting for you.” She straightens out her dress then tucks her hair behind her ear. “I’ve gotta go.” She says, looking up at him. He tries to remember how she looks in this moment because he knows he doesn’t know the next time their paths will ever cross again. She is in a floor-length dress and her hair falls in waves just by her shoulders. Her eyes alight with assuredness and confidence, something that he now realizes he barely saw back then. She is happy too. That is all that matters. He nods, giving her a small smile. “Goodbye, Y/N.” She smiles back at him too. “Goodbye, Lewis.” She begins to walk away, not once looking back. Just like how it was two years ago.

“Hey, Y/N.” He calls out to her. She is not far enough for him to draw attention. She turns around, her head tiled to the side. “We almost had it all, didn’t we?” She chuckles and he can feel the sadness in it. She nods, still chuckling. “We really did. Cheers.”

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seaquestions · 4 days

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Hiiii passing by to say that I'm absolutely in love with your art for 621 and Rusty bc I think it's so so so cool and that's such a cool way to keep them faceless and that idea has been living in my head rent free ever since I saw it and I wanted to ask if it's ok to use it as inspo to draw them as well

aw thank you!!! when it comes to fromsoft characters the facelessness is so so key. its sooo important.

and yeah ofc u can use it as inspo!!

#asks

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kadekuro · 2 years

Note

do you have refs for your fua head-canons?

yeah! I use PureRef (tasch recommended and approved ;3) to keep all of my favorite character drawings and refs on hand.

And a reminder that all visual headcanons of the characters are valid!

its been awhile since i talked abt FUA and ive got time so im gonna ramble a bit abt my design thoughts too

Harley's Desi (indian subcontinent diaspora)!

based on my gay community mentor from when i was first figuring out i was trans (was also desi and a trans man, super cool and helped me during one of my lowest times. much love if youre still following! <3)

his hair is sometimes hard to get right bc like, desi hair tends to fall between straight and curly, but with sooo much volume, it’s so gorgeous

i actually looked up radd's design for harley (click here), along with the only other fanart of harley at the time (click here), before coming up with mine, and i liked radd's design, but i didnt wanna fall into the "black man = deep voice" hole, but also didnt wanna make a tumblr white sexyman podcast design lmao (even tho the VA for harley at the time was hella white and even the current VA ajgsfjkhaha)

i actually drew my, eli's, and radds designs all together once for a textpost! (click here)

Love is Korean, as hinted in the show through her name (Nari).

originally love was tall because i wanted a tall asian lady, but alas. also i thought she was older (the shock when you find out she doesnt know the foundation's reputation for death o-o). you can see her design got a little more soft and energetic to reflect the show's hints that she's like, around 20 or something. i love her <3

love's hair is based on like, my personal experience with having long shiny asian hair. HAIRTIES DONT STAY. every day it would just slip down slightly and make that stupid muchroom shape lmao.

also hair is SUPER IMPORTANT in a lot of asian culture, even in modern day, so long hair bc she's close to her family and still figuring out how to be independent and stuff. also it just looks nice on her, i think she can kick ass with long hair

I never actually decided on a specific background for lanc deeper than "Asian", maybe Laos on his dad's side? but I like to think he's pretty americanized (like me lol), so it's not something he thinks about too much.

i honestly don't have much to say on lanc? his design has changed the least, tho i draw him with stubble more often now. also i super project onto him lmao

Klein is white.

her design was based on my boss at the time (and one of my coworkers), who was super charismatic and has a perfect mix of optimism and exhaustion, and who was also fat, and no less wonderful of a person for it. i think a lot of fandoms have a culture of fatphobia (coughmcytcought) and i want to encourage fat characters and designs in our fandom, because hey! we exist!

klein is also the hottest character in FUA

i keep forgetting her scars hfdjkhfd, but yeah she seems reckless enough to have shit blow up in her face (the singing rock that was basically a sound grenade, anyone?) and shes been part of the foundation for awhile

radd doesnt have a lot of drawings of klein posted, but there is the group drawing from awhile back (click here)

Raddagher is also white. But also. This was not my original design for her.

YEAH THATS RIGHT, ALPHA VERSION RADDAGHER WAS JUST A HELMET BECAUSE I THOUGHT SHE WAS HEAVY DUTY SURVEILLANCE HAHAH,, also i thought a big buff faceless security lady was a cool idea. might repurpose the design for an OC in the future

a lot of raddagher’s design is based on radd’s designs, which actually existed before the show iirc, but i wanted some flavor, so goggles and blue hair, and a big comfy security jacket. i have been drawing them with glasses more often tho

the shark teeth doodle is from a joke about radd being part shark

THATS NOT ALL THOUGH. I HAVE ONE MORE THING. THAT’S RIGHT, THE UNVOICED CHARACTERS.

Dr Shao is so wonderful??? Nonbinary Asian and highest ranking member aside from Klein??? the gays keep winning QwQ

Alves and Simmons each cameo in my textpost memes, see if you can find them lol. Their designs are kinda up in the air tbh but I think Simmons is white.

Dr Gravett is based on based on my black coworker that's basically my work mom. her hair is always immaculate, including the style i drew gravett with, which was dutch pigtails. thinking about it maybe she should have more scars considering her personnel file...

The Short Mean One and The Tall One from botany :3 tbh i dont have a lot to say about their designs i just think they’re two pretty besties

also psst check out radd’s designs for upper management too! (click here)

anyways thanks for asking! hopw you enjoyed! imma go pass out now.

#find us alive #fua #raddagher #character design #scp #long post #eyes #eye contact #i adore shao i hope they get more mentions

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system-of-a-feather · 2 years

Note

10, 12, 24, 27 :)

10) What’s the weirdest thing you’ve came into the front to find?

You already know this one, or at least one of yall know this one. The one time the little drew "Gay Hentai Loving Hitler" something very weird. It sparked Riku's fire into drawing because it made them mad.

Personally? I can't really say. Usually I'm the one leaving behind weird shit. -XIV

Look I’m debating if I should share the photo I took of that or not because it is really just weird. Its not NSFW but like... I don’t know what the fuck is going on in that child’s brain. All I know is that I couldn’t stand having this body’s art talents going towards that. -Riku

12) What is co-fronting like for you? Do you co-front with your alters frequently?

Annoying. We co-front frequently when we are around our fiance - at least me, the Child and Riku and its both kinda annoying and whatever. It's like sharing a single mic attached to a headset and everyone taking turns stealing it from each other. When we aren't around our fiance, Riku and I spend a lot of the time co-con or like... vaguely co-con in the sense that one of us is there albeit they may not be attending much at all to the actual front or whatever. The two of us have annoyingly good access to communicate with one another - for better or worse. -XIV --

OKAY I REALLY WANTED TO DRAW THIS BUT I DONT THINK ILL EVER GET AROUND TO IT BUT LIKE XD

Literally its really funny imo. XIV might call it annoying but most of our iconic-system moments are in co-con or co-fronting. Co-con with literally anyone is just really fun and amusing a lot of the time, cause I’m a fool (affectionate) 99% of the time and very much do appreciate bizarre or snarky comments from back behind me. XIV and Ray always provide the best shit 10/10.

Co-fronting is actually equally annoying as it is fun / funny. I actually co-front with the largest number of alters pretty well at this point, but primarily “The Triumvirate” since XIV became co-host of me, him, and the Child; but I also co-front with Lucille relatively frequently and Ray rarely. It’s annoying particularly with the Child since everyone keeps taking brief controls over while I’m trying to get something done, but honestly, I’m a hyper social extrovert so I really really appreciate having other parts around.

If I were to go like two or three days without hearing a part at least in co-con I’d be a bit sad ngl XD -Riku

24) Which alter takes the longest showers?

This implies we don't dissociate to the void and become a faceless nameless blob in the shower.

Jokes aside, we actually usually use shower time to let the body go through the motions while parts that are near can just discuss life shit and sort issues out. Like most of the time, unless Riku's thinking about their stories or they brought the birds in to shower with them, two to like five parts usually just end up discussing things - both important and mundane - until we are out. So we just like, usually take long showers chronically. -XIV

27) Do you have any stuffed animals? Do they belong to the whole system, or individual alters?

Yes, many. They all belong to the Child. Even if they weren't originally hers, they are now and she will kill to protect them. Feral child. -XIV

#alter: riku #alter: xiv #ask #asks

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flying-nightwing · 4 years

Text

Fluff Alphabet - Jason Todd

Hello guys! This is my first alphabet because I saw everyone do it and i wanted in. I took this alphabet. I had a lot of fun to indulge in Jason, because well. Do I need to explain?

Anyhow, enjoy this little thing inspired by my feelings for Jason Todd!

Disclaimer: This is my vision of the character and in no way an universal truth

Check out my masterlist in bio // pinned!

A = Attractive (What do they find attractive about the other?)

Your eyes. Jason could get lost in them by a simple glance. They say eyes are the windows to the soul, and he found it to be very true the second he met you. He will sometimes doubt he’s worth your love, but your gaze is enough to reassure him at every turn. He also can’t get enough of that spark that lights up when he makes you laugh, it draws him in. Your eyes are so kind and loving, the rest doesn’t really matter to him.

B = Baby (Do they want a family? Why/Why not?)

Let’s be truthful here, Jason is terrified of having kids. Everytime the discussion gets even close to the topic of family, he gets vivid images of his own father with him and it fills him with dread that he'll end up just like him. Then, he thinks about his lifestyle and how just being the Red Hood (or having been, as a matter of fact) could endanger his family. But I think deep down he craves having a family, having kids (whether they’re biologically his or adopted), because he’s just that natural caring person.

C = Cuddle (How do they cuddle?)

Continuing on that natural caring person wave, Jason will usually cuddle as the big spoon. His large frame makes it ridiculously easy for himself to wrap around you completely, and he loves to see you curled up around him, safe and comfortable in his arms. He likes to know he’s shielding you from any potential danger, it just eases his conscience. But sometimes he’ll have a bad day, or a rough patrol, and he’ll wordlessly slip in your hold in bed. It surprises you every time how small he can make himself, with his head on your chest above your heart and latched around your waist holding for dear life. Then, he’ll rely on you to make him feel safe, and he’ll fall asleep like that (he also likes when you play with his hair when he gets like that).

D = Dates (What are dates with them like?)

Jason is insanely romantic, nobody can prove me otherwise. With the amount of novels and books he read, it would be hard not to know how to be an exemplary lover. However, doing grand gestures in public and/or expensive shits is not his style. So it isn’t rare to come back home from your job after a tough week, to see Jason lighting up candles on a rose petals covered table, smiling at you and telling you to get changed in your pajamas and relax a bit before he finishes cooking (probably one of you favourite meals, or something new he knows you’ll like to surprise you). Dancing on your building’s rooftop or driving outside the city to take a walk under the stars are also his ideas of dates. It’s always something private and meaningful and a proof Jason is a hopeless romantic.

E = Everything (You are my ____ (e.g. my life, my world…))

“You are my reason to keep going on.” I believe at some point after he came back from the dead, Jason had a really hard time finding a reason to keep living (finding out he was replaced as Robin, that Batman didn’t kill the joker, etc…). He was in a really dark place and numb to everything. But then, he met you and suddenly life wasn’t so terrible. After a while, he even finds himself excited to get up in the morning (or early afternoon if he’s been on a long patrol) and smiling at random times. He wants to make an effort for you, because you deserve his best self and the least he can do is try (you still love him at his worst though, and he still can’t wrap his head around it but he’s insanely grateful for it).

F = Feelings (When did they know they were in love?)

One night, Jason woke up in sweats and screaming his lungs out. He had a nightmare where you were kidnapped and tortured by the joker the way he was; it was the first time you were the victim in his nightmares (usually it was faceless people or himself, and even sometimes his brothers. But never you). He found himself wanting to have you in his arms, needing to have you in his arms, and that’s how he knew it wasn’t just a crush anymore, that he was in deep with you.

G = Gentle (Are they gentle? If so, how?)

People have this misconception that Jason is rough, judging by the everything about him. But you would have never foreseen him to be so delicate and gentle with you. He is very strong and can be rash sometimes, but with his lover, he is always careful. He has enough pain and hurt in his life there is now way he’d put the most important person in his life through that. You have to almost beg him to be rough with you, and he’ll only let go if he’s 100% sure you’re okay with it.

H = Hands (How do they like to hold hands?)

Absolutely. He’s not big on PDA but he always wants to hold your hand, especially in public. He can get uncomfortable if there are too many people around, and the little subconscious squeezes of your hand never fails to bring him back to reality and help him focus on you instead of feeling trapped. Also he’s afraid of losing you in a crowd, even if he’s tall and could spot you easily. So yeah, his hand in yours is a constant.

I = Impression (What was their first impression?)

Depends on how you met really. It’s hard to say really, he might have seen you as an angel, or as a simple acquaintance until he discovered your character and you grew on him. He’s a versatile boy in the people he falls for.

J = Jealousy (Do they get jealous?)

Not jealous per say, but insecure. Everytime he sees you talking with someone who seems to be (subconsciously or not) flirting with you, he gets this feeling you’ll suddenly realize you could do much better than him and leave him for someone less broken, less messed up than him. It creeps in his chest and hurts like a heart attack, and it only dies down when you inevitably come back in his arms and look at him like he’s your world. Then, the storm dies and he knows he at least got one more day with you. And as much as the idea of Jealous Jason showing you who you belong to (wink wink) is appealing, I don’t think it would happen unless it has been established both of you were into that kind of foreplay and he knows for sure you’re in for the long haul with him. Then it becomes a game rather than an actual insecurity thing.

K = Kiss (How do they kiss? Who initiated the first kiss?)

Jason’s kisses are soft and wholesome. You can feel every ounce of love and admiration he has for you, and even if they do get emotional or even dominant at some points, it’s never forecefull. Who initiated the first kiss is nebulous, I think it was more of a mutual thing than an unilateral decision. I like to think it happened in a magnet effect, where both parties met halfway because Jason is a very respectful person in general (except if you piss him off for real) and he wouldn’t make you uncomfortable by kissing you without your consent.

L = Love (Who says ‘I love you’ first?)

It’s gotta be you. Jason, who’s afraid of saying it and getting rejected/mocked would definitely not want to get his feet wet first (what if you laugh? What if you leave?). He will show it in his way, but he’d wait for you to say the words first. But once it’s out there? Hooty hoot. He’ll say it like a mantra. He’ll never ever stop saying it at every occasion he gets.

M = Memory (What’s their favourite memory together?)

At the fair in your city. Spending the afternoon going from attraction to attraction, having fun in the small roller coaster you were pretty sure was one heavy loaded train away from toppling down. After sun down, you went from game booth to game booth, collecting small and colorful stuffed animals and eating everything sugary and fat you could get your hands onto. You were convinced you could beat the rigged shoot the duck game, and when you couldn’t, Jason stepped in and absolutely made the smug smirk drop from the guy’s face. You walked away with a giant Panda, sleepy as hell after you sugar rush, and Jason had to carry you out of the car bridal style. That picture you took on top of the ferris wheel is on his nightstand and is his favourite possession of his.

N = Nickel (Do they spoil? Do they buy the person they love everything?)

No, he’s not that kind of guy. I think he’s much more into meaningful acts and gestures than buying your love. He would sometimes spoil you if the occasion came to it, but I don’t think he’d be the type to open up his wallet as a demonstration of love.

O = Orange (What colour reminds them of their other half?)

Aqua blue. No other reason than the fact it’s probably the color the most opposite to red. While he absolutely loves to see you wear red things (it drives him crazy in the sweetest way), he doesn’t want to associate you with the darkest part of him. You’re the beautiful blue to his glaring red, because you’re the best thing in his life and he wants to outline and highlight you out as much as possible.

P = Pet names (What pet names do they use?)

I don’t think he has a signature pet name, he probably uses one that fits with the object of his affections and the history he has with them. He’d also be mindful of what you like and don’t like, and adjust them accordingly.

Q = Quaint (What is their favourite non-modern thing?)

Libraries. The old ones that smell of paper and leather. The ones with the shelves that climb up to the wall and the old worn seats that are just perfect to sit into and read for hours. Jason loves a calm environment and a quiet victorian library does the trick just well.

R = Rainy Day (What do they like to do on a rainy day?)

Read, cuddles, adult cuddles... ;) I think Jason likes rainy days because it gives him an excuse to spend time with you at home. He’d probably bake something in the afternoon and you might or might not turn it into a flour war, make a mess in the kitchen but make a bonding activity of cleaning it up after (he and you know when to be kids and when to be mature and you both respect the line, and that’s why it’s so fun). Rainy days are domestic days and nothing is more pure or adorable than domestic Jason. It’s a hill I’ll die on.

S = Sad (How do they cheer themselves/others up?)

That’s a tricky one, because when Jason spirals down he has trouble getting out by himself. But when you are down, Jason will go to hell and back to make sure you feel better. He’ll cook you your favourite thing, skip patrol to stay by your side, do a dumb tik tok dance to put a smile on your face or hear you laugh. He’d be attentive to your needs and do everything in his power to help you.

T = Talking (What do they like to talk about?)

Everything. Jason is a smart boy, he’d enjoy either talking about art, or about larger questions in the universe, or maybe about the birds that made a nest outside. Jason is incredibly easy to talk to when he’s receptive to the person talking to him, and that surprises anyone who knows him on the surface or less.

U = Unencumbered (What helps them relax?)

Massages, but only by you. He trusts you, he is as comfortable as he can get with you seeing him shirtless with his scars (no professional masseur/se will ever get up close to him), and with you touching him in perhaps more sensitive or vulnerable places. He’d close his eyes and let involuntary moans when you’d unknot the tension in his muscles (and you’d secretly enjoy having such a force of nature all putty and soft under your hands). Then it’d be cuddle time and he would be relaxed as he’s ever been.

V = Vaunt (What do they like to show off? What are they proud of?)

That’s simple: you. You’re his beautiful partner, the only one he has eyes for, so the world should see how great you are. He’d find a way to place you in every conversation, whether it would be to point out that hey, you can do that too, or because he just can’t shut up about you. That earns him infinite teasing from his family on how soft he is for you, but he can’t bring himself to care because he loves you so much.

W = Wedding (When, how, where do they propose?)

Jason wanted to marry you, and you had talked about it enough as a couple that he knew you wanted it too. But he wanted to wait for the right moment and he couldn’t plan that. The proposal probably happened at an unexpected moment, like when you tried to make him soup when he got injured and ended up messing it up bad. You came back to the couch and apologized to him profusely, and with stars in his eyes he asked you to marry him. Or when one of his enemies tried to take you while taking out the trash, but you chucked the garbage bag AND the metal lid to them, and Jason got down on one knee the second you finished recounting the story, out of breath from running back inside. The wedding was a private affair (Roy was his best man) somewhere quiet and meaningful, without too many artifices or big set up. It was perfect for you two.

X = Xylophone (What’s their song?)

This is a hard one. I feel like Jason would be into soul/jazz, in the style of Marvin Gaye, Nat King Cole or Frank Sinatra. To some extent he is a very old school person, and I believe music is one of the topics that falls into that old school side of him. It’s just a feeling, it’s how I imagine Jason. Unforgettable by Nat King Cole would be his to-go song when it comes to you.

Y = Yes (Do they ever think of getting married/proposing?)

Oh yea. Jaybird’s got the ring in mind as soon as he knew you were the one. See Wedding above.

Z = Zebra (If they wanted a pet, what would they get?)

I don’t think he’d want a pet, because he can be absent often, or he wouldn’t have enough time. But if he’d have to, he’d get a cat, I think. Walking a dog morning and night would get a little bit much, especially since sometimes he might have trouble getting out of bed after patrol. But a cat, a rescue stubborn older cat who has seen others, that would be a match. The cat would be distant at first, but one morning he’d wake up with his grump of a feline curled beside his pillow and purring, or after a rough day the cat would bring him its toy and Jason would just. Cry. Because this little creature became his friend. And it’s so pure. (Also Jason building cat trees and climbing installations for the cat? Satisfying image).

#Jason Todd #jason todd fluff alphabet #jason todd x reader #jason todd x you #red hood x reader #jason todd imagine #red hood #red hood imagine #dc #dcu #dc universe #dc imagine #dcu imagine #dc universe imagine #batfam #batfam imagine #imagine #red hood x you #outlaws

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joshslater · 3 years

Text

Twitching

Similar stories and bonus material on my Patreon.

To my surprise people keep joining the stream. Usually it was only my friends and occasionally someone random that watched me play. Space strategy games are not the most audience-friendly. They require you to know a lot about the game mechanics, and they take a long while to play through a full campaign. But all my mates know the game, and are just here to socialize and sometimes provide a tip.

This evening is different though. It had started with some "Lucy333" joining what must have been almost an hour ago. More than 30 minutes for sure. But over the past 10 minutes I've gotten 12 more viewers I think. Suddenly there is a coin sound effect and the chat stream lights up with a donation. $2 from Lucy333 and the text "Hey, spaceboy! Take your shirt off!"

I can instantly feel myself blushing. I'm flattered for a few milliseconds. I'm aware of the streams with girls showing lots of skin to get donations. I've never watched any of them. I'm not even aware of any with boys in them, but I know they exist. "Thanks for the donation, Lucy. This isn't that kind of stream though, clearly." I'm just playing for my mates when we don't feel like meeting up or doing something else. And I know I'm not a looker, though not shockingly ugly like Pete. Honestly, if there wasn't a pandemic going on we would probably do exactly the same thing anyway, playing space strategy and talk Marvel.

There is a flurry of responses from the newcomers in the chat. "Do it! Do it!" says one Donnatrix. "It could be that kind of stream," says fluffy2000. Soon my mates start cheering on as well. It basically turns into a dare. I'm not proud of my body, but I'm not ashamed of it either. It just is. Fuck it. I don't know what I'm going to be teased for more, if I take my shirt off, or if I don't. I reckon if I do what they ask for they have less ground to stand on. I set the game speed to low, say "Ok then", take off my headset, and pull off my T-shirt.

I'm met with a torrent of cheers in the chat. "Now it is that kind of stream," says fluffy. Donnatrix drops $5 and the comment "YAAAASSS". It feels weird. I can't decide if this is a group of sorority girls that randomly and sarcastically sexualize nerds, or if they are genuinely supportive.

"Thank y'all. Now back to trade route 14 to Zephyr-C". My emissary mission hasn't moved far at this speed. I'm about to increase the in-game speed when I get another $2 donation from Lucy. "Spaceboy, keep the game in slow mode and jump over to Heavenly Bodies."

I have no idea what she is talking about, if she even is a she. Her message is instantly met with a wave of support from the other newcomers. At this game speed it would take hours before I need to take any action, and I'm already up a Whopper meal without having done anything, so I reckon I can play whatever they want me to play for a while. Who knew I was that easily bought? "I don't know what that is," I say into my headset.

A few seconds later Lucy sends me a private message with a TinyURL. "This better not mess with my game rig. If it's porn I'll switch back to the game." I say. "It could be that kind of stream too." fluffy offers in the chat. "He could use some porn tbh" my friend Mike responds. I click the link.

The browser loads something that looks like a web game. It's a character creation screen with a faceless, very neutral model on the screen. Looks like those posable figures you use when learning to draw. There are no controls, except a set of buttons that offers you to upload settings, import from Facebook, and similar. I click the Facebook one, click a few approvals, and a progress bar that only lasts a few seconds appears. When it is gone there is a 3D model of me on the screen. "Wow! This looks just like me." Whatever AI they have combing through my online photos managed to get almost everything right. I'm wearing some sort of speedos, but I don't own any, so that part was a miss, but the model looks spot on. "Whatever else they have in the game, I don't think they are going to top this."

A long list of sliders and customizations appear on the screen. It looks like an incredibly detailed character creation screen. I try moving the height controller and is met with a message box saying I'm out of credits, and that I need $10,000 to change my height to whatever I moved it to. Clearly not real money. "I can't change anything". Lucy responded I need to share it. I exit fullscreen on the game and move the browser over to my other screen so everyone on the stream can see. "No, you need to click the share button in the UI and post the link in the chat", Donnatrix writes.

A big gift-wrapped box appears in the corner of the game window. I click it and it presents the text "Hair color and style" with bold letters and below that a text message from Lucy "I think this will be cute on you." I click accept and the 3D model is updated with new hair. It's dark blonde or whatever the oxymoronic name is for it, instead of my usual rat brown hair. It's short on the sides and on top is a big swooping quiff. It looks utterly silly. "Thanks, nice one," I tell the stream. I see a lot of cheers coming in the chat, but I'm a bit perplexed about the "OMYFUCKING GDO!" from Mike. It's just silly hair.

Immediately a new gift box appears on the screen, and soon after a (2) is added on top of it, possibly indicating two gifts waiting. I find it a little bit cute that these girls are essentially playing with paper dolls, but digitally and modeled after someone real. I open the next gift, "Facial Features" from Julia_Awesome. I click accept again, and the doll on the screen is updated. Weirdly it felt like a flash of heat hit me, like those flame effects on concerts. The doll still looks like me, but pretty fictionalized. The face is much sharper, not just less fat, but probably also some bone structure changes as well. It's equally interesting and disheartening, like one of those really good mobile phone filter apps that makes you into a photo model. Makes you understand how unobtainable the Men's Health cover look really is. "Thank you, Julia, but I'm not sure about this look."

I'm ignoring the chat, though I see it is going bananas. I'll have to read that later when the stream is over. I open the next box. Another two has already arrived. This gift is from Donnatrix and is "Core Body", whatever that means. It feels like a gut punch. Perhaps not that, because it doesn't hurt, but it knocks the air out of me. Almost made me fall out of the chair. I'm confused about what is actually happening though because things don't make sense. My body looks deformed. It takes a moment before my brain stops associating what I see with HR Geiger's nightmarish paintings and start to understand what I really see. My body is suddenly a lot leaner and a hell of a lot more stacked than before. Proper abs muscles like a pan of Hawaii rolls.

I look up at the main screen for the first time in what feels like an eternity. The model on the screen looks ripped as well. How stupid can one person be? I turn to the side monitor and look at the window from the webcam. It's me, all new muscles, strong jaw, and a silly quiff on top.

"Hold up! Hold up! Hold up! This is insane! This isn't possible."

"lol, of course not" I see moving by in the chat. I go back to the program. Four more gifts waiting. I look at the model on the screen. I look at the webcam view. "Arms" says the next gift with the text "Promise to flex for me." Well, fuck Zephyr-C and trade route 14.

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whump-a-la-mode · 3 years

Text

Nemesis - Part 5

I wasn’t going to write this the same day as Villainsicle, but I just got so excited with the cliffhanger from last time!

At long last, it’s time for Hero to make their move.

In accordance with the votes from last time, Hero is going to keep up the ruse, and keep pretending to be Director.

CW//Mentions of recreational drugs/marijuana, forced sedation, medical setting, stretchers, IVs, talk of death/execution

When Hero met the team they had been newly assigned to, it had only been Teammate who had smiled.

It had been a few days, now, since that somewhat awkward meeting. The same sentiment had continued, however. While the rest of the team seemed merely to tolerate their new member, Teammate had been warm, welcoming.

So, it only seemed to reason that when Hero finally moved into their new dorm, it was Teammate who was giving them the mini tour.

“It’s not much.” The door creaked as it swung open on its hinges. Hero struggled to see the room within, peering their head over the precarious stack of boxes held in their hands. “But, it’s yours. Um, feel free to put your stuff down.”

Hero nodded gratefully, placing their luggage on the bed as Teammate began to gesture about.

“That’s, uh, well that’s obviously the bed. You sleep on a bed, right? Or do you use some kind of like, dog bed? Sorry, that was stupid.”

Hero snickered.

“No, no, you’re fine. I do sleep on a human bed.”

“That’s good, cause it’s the only kind we’ve got. So, yeah. That’s the bed. That’s the bathroom, through the door. That’s the dresser, feel free to use that for, clothes and stuff.”

“What about that door?”

“Oh.”

Teammate moved over to said door, sliding it open, revealing an empty closet that stood several feet deep.

“We’ve all got these. It’s just a closet.” They smiled. “I don’t know why they’re so big like that, but, hell, you could have someone live in there, I bet. It’s big enough, no one would ever notice.”

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“Friend. I’m so glad you could come visit. I missed seeing you, last week, but I understand how busy you are this time of year. How are you finding everything?”

Hero gritted their teeth, gaze meeting that of Head Doctor. A warm smile replied to with a tense, nerve-wracked countenance.

For the briefest moment, Hero stood in a university building, hostages behind them, and a faceless nemesis before them.

Their tongue flitted over their teeth. They didn’t bother with an accent, there was no way they would have been able to keep it up. Their normal, stupid voice would have to do.

“I missed you, too. I apologize for dropping by so suddenly. Everything is just great, thank you.”

Head Doctor’s brow furrowed, their jaw twisting a moment as they gnawed on the inside of their cheek.

“Friend, your voice sounds different. Are you alright?”

“Yes, do not worry yourself. My allergies are acting up terribly today.”

“Are you certain that it is only allergies? You sound like a kid, again. Here, if you have a moment, perhaps we can go to my office. I’m not too busy, right now.”

“No, no, that won’t be needed.”

“I insist.”

Hero gulped, hoping only that it was not visible. In their ear, a nerve-wracked Hacker’s voice chirped:

“Y- you’re, uh, you’re the director, right? Just, like, order him to shut up!”

Opening their mouth, Hero sputtered, but managed to make out the words:

“If I was worried about my voice, I would tell you.” Their nerves turned rapidly to fury. “I didn’t come here to be berated. I have a- a meeting in an hour. I came here for a reason, and it wasn’t to chat.”

Hacker’s snickering only made Hero’s stomach twist into a tighter knot.

“O-Oh. I apologize, Director. We will just have to be friends off the clock, then.”

“Certainly.”

“What is it that I can help you with, then?”

Every piece of Hero’s body insisted for them to flee, to quickly make their excuses, duck out the door, and get out of this stupid suit. They could go home, go to their dorm, go smoke pot with Teammate. Everything would be okay, and they would never have to think about this place, or Villain, or Hacker, or any of it, ever again!

It would be so easy. They were risking everything, throwing it all away, and for no reason.

Leaving would be so simple, and yet...

If they left Villain here, they knew they would never sleep again. For the briefest moment, they were glad that they had never had much in the way of impulse control.

“My charge.” Hero turned, gesturing to where a twitching Villain sat, prostrate upon their hospital bed. “This is them, yes?”

“Villain? Yes.”

“Good. I will be taking them with me, then.”

Head Doctor’s expression of uncertainty turned to one of an agape jaw.

“I don’t- If you would like them to be moved to another facility, we can certainly arrange that, but-”

“That’s not what I said, is it? I have a car, here. I will be taking them with me.”

“Sir, are you absolutely certain? By your own order, they are on a very strict regime of medications. Removing them from the IV- It could be disastrous.”

Hero felt their stomach drop to their feet. Stupid! They hadn’t even thought about that, oh god, oh god. This stupid plan, it was going to kill Villain, wasn’t it? Maybe? Hell, they weren’t a doctor.

Even if it did kill them, though...

Did it really matter? As if they were really alive, right now.

“I am well aware of that!” The tone of their own voice nearly made Hero jump. “I have another facility set up, again, on my orders. They will be taking over care, from now on.”

“We have a transport vehicle for this very situation, Sir.”

“Not for this very situation, no. This is not a normal transfer.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t tell you that. It’s a highly classified matter. There is no driver in our employ that I can trust to manage this transfer, and thus I will handle it myself.”

“Oh.” Head Doctor frowned, as though a black-hued light bulb had turned on above their crown. “Sir if... If you want them disposed of, I agree that this may not be the best facility to arrange that, but we do have facilities that can perform that procedure.”

Hero bit their tongue with enough force to draw blood.

“I will arrange it myself, Head Doctor. I assure you, everything has already been worked out. Are you going to keep standing in my way, or do I need to bring in security?”

Head Doctor shook their head quickly.

“That won’t be necessary. What do you need?”

“Their IVs removed.” Even before Hero finished their phrase, the doctor was already at their patient’s bedside, withdrawing tubes from veins. Villain took in a sharp, shuddering breath. “And a transport stretcher prepared.”

“I assume you would like them to be restrained, too?”

“How long should the medications keep them down for?”

“Another twelve hours, maybe.”

“That will be more than enough. Don’t hassle yourself.”

“Of course, Sir.”

Hero’s legs moved like those of a newborn deer as they backed away towards a wall, leaving room for the orderlies and nurses to scurry about like an ant colony.

Some part of their mind, twisted by adrenaline and anxiety, could not help but remind them of the moment in their childhood when they had adopted a dog. The hurried, overworked vets, scurrying about the animal, checking vitals and microchips.

The dog had had no say in the matter. And, in this matter, Villain had no say, either.

The medical staff seemed not to feel any such sympathy, hands moving swiftly to shift about their paralyzed charge. Cursory checks were made of blood pressure and breathing and the like, though far more attention seemed to be directed upon the removal of various tubes and monitors. Following their detachment from the hospital bed, Villain was shifted by a dozen hands onto a thin blue cushion, laid atop a rolling contraption of wheels.

Hero hoped that the straps that tightened the unconscious person down were only strictly necessary.

Despite their anxiety telling them otherwise, the whole process only lasted a minute two, after which the remaining medical staff filed from the chamber, leaving only Head Doctor in their cyan scrubs.

“Thank you, friend.” Hero ducked their head, moving away from their place in the corner. “They are ready, then?”

“Yes, Sir. Do you need help getting them to your vehicle?”

“That would be great, yes.”

The two positioned themselves on either side of the rolling contraption, with Hero doing their very best to keep their eyes forward rather than down as they began to direct the stretcher through narrow hallways.

It was too light. It should have been heavier, they were certain.

The facility was terribly small, and it was only a minute later that the imitator and the medic stood, alone, in the parking lot, white picket fence far behind them.

Head Doctor glanced a moment at Hero’s beat up SUV, but their nerves kept them from commenting on the matter. Leaving the stretcher a moment, Hero moved to the back of the vehicle, prying open its rear hatch and flattening the seats.

“I assume this is an undercover operation, then?” The way Head Doctor said it implied the statement to be a joke.

“Something like that. How do we, um... I haven’t done this before.”

“It’s not that hard. Especially not when your patient may as well be a feather-- keep that in mind for your dosages, too. They’ve lost weight. Anyways, um, just fold the stretcher like so, and... Can you help lift?”

Hero nodded, doing their best to keep the stretcher flat as they raised it. The contraption hardly fit in the back of their vehicle, but it did fit, even as it was practically wedged between the walls. What was most important was that it sat low enough that the unconscious patient could not be seen through the windows-- at least not from a distance.

There was a sense of terrifying finality as they closed the vehicle’s rear hatch.

They were doing this.

Oh, they were going to get so caught.

What then? This had to be just about the worst offense a hero could commit. Using their powers and their position and the aid of a career criminal to break a villain out of prison. It seemed like a child’s hyperbole-- ‘What should we do if there’s a tornado and a fire and an earthquake? What then?’

Except, this time, there was no ‘what if’ to it.

It was these spiraling thoughts that distracted them just enough that they forget, momentarily, where their feet were landing. A split second of distraction, and they found themself on their back, head spinning from the fall.

Stupid.

They didn’t realize until they were back to their feet that their earpiece had fallen onto the pavement.

“Director? Are you alright?” Head Doctor raised a brow. “Oh, you dropped this.”

They knelt down, plucking the earbud off the ground, lifting it to their face to investigate.

And, in accordance with Hero’s fantastic luck, it was that exact moment in which Hacker decided to speak:

“Hero? Hero? Are you there? You cut out there for a moment. Head Doctor didn’t get you, did they?”

The doctor’s icy gaze lifted to meet that of the copycat.

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It was hard, to get out of the city.

The tendrils of concrete and glass reached out in a looping spiderweb of interstates and one way roads. Moving in a straight line was not an option, for every attempt made to do so would lead to the city herding you back in.

In the end, it must have taken Hero an hour and a half to reach what could be vaguely described as a ‘rural area.’ At the very least, it was outside of the inner city, which was what mattered surtout.

At the very least, the long drive had allowed them a moment to catch their breath.

Unlike some other buildings controlled by Organization, the rehab facility did not have much in the way of a security force-- unless you counted Head Doctor, which Hero did not. Unfortunately, the same thought had not seemed to have the doctor’s train of thought.

It was amazing just how little attention Hero had attracted, screeching out of a rehab facility’s parking lot with a screaming doctor chasing after them up to the property line. They could only assume that no one wanted to get involved in hero business.

Organization, however, would certainly be interested, once they heard about the incident.

Thus, Hero had spent the past hour and a half white-knuckling the steering wheel, steering around endless intersections, until they had found the smallest piece of rural land. A gravel parking lot, from which a flock of starlings had fled at the approach of Hero’s car.

Beneath the vehicle’s suspension, tires settled on broken up rocks.

Hero glanced in the rear view mirror for the thousandth time, but saw only the same thing as always-- endless, empty road.

For the first time in an hour and a half, they let themself breathe. Their car’s engine exhaled as they turned it off and twisted around in their seat.

Villain had not moved.

The few straps on the stretcher did little more than keep them from falling off the cushion. If they had any desire, any ability, to move, they would have had no trouble.

But they were still. Alive, eyelids twitching and chest moving, but still.

Taking care to avoid jostling the stretcher, Hero climbed from the driver’s seat to the back of the vehicle, crouching down at Villain’s side.

As gently as they could manage, Hero held their nemesis’ hand.

“Can you hear me?”

It was a stupid question. Of course Villain couldn’t hear them. Yet, as soon as Hero’s mouth opened, they found themself unable to close it. Unable to still their tongue.

“I don’t... I know it’s been a long time.”

A wave of orange light washed over the two as the sun drifted below the window.

“I know it’s been a long time. And maybe this is stupid. Maybe you hate me. Maybe you want to go back there. Go back to sleep. Maybe that’s all you want. But... I want to help you.

I don’t know anything else. I just know I want to help you.

We weren’t friends, before. I know that. We both know that. And, if I’m being completely honest, I don’t know why I’m doing this. We hated each other. Maybe I still hate you, but...

We can figure that all out later, okay? Right now, I just want to help.”

It was in that position that the nemeses sat, breathing in their first tastes of non-city air in so many years. Outside of the vehicle’s walls, the sun drifted below the horizon, replaced by its lunar sister.

When the last shreds of twilight were at last dead, Hero felt at long last safe to return home. One last time, they squeezed Villain’s hand.

Villain squeezed back. The slightest movement-- perhaps a simple involuntary reaction. Perhaps it didn’t mean anything.

But, to Hero, it meant everything.

On the return trip to the city, the streets were far quieter, and thankfully devoid of any sort of Organization search patrols. In fact, their arrival at the HQ was almost too uneventful. But, they weren’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Had they not been so stupid, so reckless, they would still have help. They would still have Hacker. Their friend could have guided them through the HQ, guided them on how to avoid the security cameras.

But Hero had been stupid. They had been reckless. Now, they were alone.

At the very least, the parking lot was deserted, and they met no resistance as they unstrapped Villain from their transport. They haphazardly covered the device with a tarp, all the while struggling to keep their limp friend from falling over.

Any strength that Villain had once held in their legs had long since been stolen away from them. After a few clumsy attempts to get them to their feet, Hero resolved to a simple bridal carry.

They could only hope that Villain would not remember this. They would never hear the end of it.

Without the benefit of an eye in the sky, all Hero could do against the possibility of cameras was to lean over the load they carried, hoping it at least obscured Villain’s face.

The HQ was deserted.

At this hour, it was never deserted.

The very thought made their blood turn to frozen slush, but they had no choice but to keep moving. Keep moving to the elevator, then out of it. Keep moving to their floor, then their quarters.

At the very least, Teammate’s snoring still echoed. Not everything was out of place.

Well-placed steps led Hero to their dorm, locking the door behind themself.

They looked down.

Villain was in their room. Their dorm. They were really never going to hear the end of this, were they?

Unfortunately, hours spent panicking over their nemesis’ condition had not spontaneously made Hero a doctor. Whatever they were going through right now, helping them through it was beyond them.

They had no medicines. No treatments. But, they had a closet, and a pile of blankets within. When Villain was finally tucked into the makeshift bed, they were almost invisible beneath the layers of fabric.

Though they were not quite sure why, Hero smiled.

That odd expression remained on their face as they got to their knees, staring upon their work.

For once, they had done something right. They had succeeded at something. Take that, Leader!

Villain twitched.

For a moment, Hero thought that their nerves had simply made them hallucinate the movement. But, no, they certainly had not dreamed it, as a moment later, the small movement repeated itself.

Villain opened their eyes. They spoke as though their tongue was made of ice, but that did not make their voice any quieter.

“Please, no! Please! Please, don’t do this! Help me help me help me someone help me. Please! I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it!”

The sobbing grew to such a point that it shook Hero’s chest, like the thrum of a bass, echoing through the floor.

“Please!”

Through all the chaos, Hero was surprised that they even heard the knock at the door, and the quiet voice that came with it:

“Hero? Hero, it’s Teammate. Is everything okay in there?”

“I didn’t mean to see it! I won’t tell Hero, I promise! I promise!”

All at once, Hero understood the saying of being caught between a rock and a hard place.

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Thanks so much for reading! Just like last time, there are two options along with every part of this story. Alongside each options is a question, so that you guys can give more specific suggestions if you so wish. The option that receives the most votes will be the choice that our Hero makes!

A.) Hero has gone this alone for too long, and Teammate is their friend. Let Teammate in. - How should Hero quiet Villain?

B.) Teammate is a risk, and Hero has already taken enough of those. Don’t let them in - How should Hero explain this?

#whump #whumpee #whumpblr #whump community #hero villain whump #nemesis #choose your own adventure #choose your own whump #villain whumpee #powered whumpee #drugged whumpee #drugged villain

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