#i've put a link if you wanna learn more !!

[pyromaniac-cyndaquil]

It's been a lot of work over a lot of time but I think I can finally share this...

PMD:EoS, but with all of the starters!

...Including Grookey, finally!!!!! 🥳

Introducing PMD: Expanded Sky!

This is a public mod available to download now! It adds in all starters from unova all the way to paldea, as well as zorua, axew and rockruff, and allows evolving eevee into sylveon.

Speaking of which, fairy type has been patched into the game! Disarming voice replaces milk drink and moonblast replaces judgement, which was unused.

Some non-traditional starters are no longer available as hero options in this due to lack of space, but are still available as partners. (Skitty can be chosen as a hero in version 1.0.0 only, so download that version instead of the latest if you wanna use her! Riolu and Shinx are available in version 1.2.1 and below)

If one of your faves was taken off the hero roster (eg vulpix, skitty, riolu, munchlax, etc), I have a tutorial here on how to quickly edit the patched file to put them back in :)

Several regional variants have been added! Alolan Raichu, Alolan Marowak and Hisuian Typhlosion are now available as potential evolutions for their respective base stages.

Partners across both rescue team and all three versions of explorers are available too, including Cubone, Munchlax, Machop, Vulpix, Riolu, etc

Sprites and portraits are courtesy of the brilliant PMD Sprite Repository and the many incredible artists who contribute to it!

Credits for all improvement patches, sprites and portraits are included in the download, as well as an explanation on how to patch the game and the full starter list.

The mod is split in two versions to accommodate all the partners - MIDDAY version and MIDNIGHT version. The download includes both, as well as the tool required to patch your game! You'll need a clean US copy of pmd eos at hand.

A full list of moves learned by newly added Pokémon can be found here, as well as info on how to evolve them and their IQ groups.

If you run into any issues, feel free to drop me an ask or DM and I'll see how I can help/what I need to fix!

You can find the download for this rom hack here!

Edits/updates noted under the cut:

(27/04/23)

The overall mod now has a name - expanded sky! Reflected earlier on in the post.

I've been informed that the included patching tool (XDelta) doesn't work on mac, and after some digging around and discussions in dms we found this tool works for Mac instead.

Added graphics to the post displaying which heroes and partners are part of the hack.

(11/05/23)

Added link to learnset compilation for all new pokémon.

(17/05/23) Version 1.1.0 has been released!

Sobble is now a starter, replacing Skitty (Skitty is still accessible by downloading v1.0.0 on the download page). Sobble is also now a partner in MIDNIGHT.

Zorua/Zoroark's moveset has been tweaked slightly

Base forms of all new starters can now be found in Oran Forest, and can be recruitable in the post-game. The new fire starters can also be found in Giant Volcano.

Extra portraits and sprites were added for Cubone, Psyduck and Machop. Like the rest of the new assets in this mod, these were imported from the PMD Sprite Repository, and credits are on the title screen and in the readme.txt.

Extra credits + more in-depth instructions for patching the game included in the readme.txt.

(18/05/23)

Added a link to a tutorial on swapping out heroes for others already existing in the game.

(22/05/23) - Version 1.1.1 has been released!

Fixed genders for female starter options on the quiz. Updated Fuecoco to use new portraits and sprites. (Credits to Garbage)

(23/05/23) - Version 1.1.2 has been released!

Female starters from gens 5-9 can now evolve correctly (save for starters who don't have evolutions in the game yet - these are listed in the text file in the download)

Rockruff can now evolve, and Midnight Lycanroc's evolution method has been fixed to use the Lunar Ribbon as intended.

(15/06/23) - Version 1.2.1 has been released!

In 1.2.0, a second version of the mod was included in the zip compatible with melon emulator, and potentially others that were having issues with saving.

Fairy gummis were also made available as mission rewards and shop items.

There's a couple more things that can be seen in the changelog including bugfixes, but the main other thing promised was that Froakie and Litten can now evolve directly into Greninja and Incineroar. Due to an evolution flag not being set this ended up untrue, but has been fixed in 1.2.1.

This post claimed dazzling gleam is in the game, but it should've said disarming voice.

🆕 (10/03/24) - Version 1.3.0 has been released!

Dusk Lycanroc, Drizzile, Inteleon, Grookey, Axew and Fraxure have been added, as well as Alolan Raichu, Alolan Marowak an Hisuian Typhlosion.

Axew replaces Shinx in the hero roster, and Grookey replaces Riolu. Additional portraits and sprites added for starter evolutions, including vanilla starters. Sleep animations have been copied over to EventSleep/Laying/Wake animations if missing.

Greninja erroneously had the same moveset as Froakie. This has now been fixed.

Credits are no longer displayed on the title screen.

Sprite, portrait and patch credits can now be viewed by talking to a Cyndaquil NPC on the crossroads.

Evolution help can also be accessed by talking to this same NPC.

#pokemon #pmd #eos #pmd eos #rom hacks #I'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS FOR SO LONG... REALLY HOPE U GUYS LIKE IT #pmd expanded sky

[glitchedember]

Hiya!

So we all know that AI generators like Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, DALL.E, Sora.AI, etc. have stolen the work from artists online to train their AI and since AI is starting to get quite scary, I've decided I'm going to start protecting my work via Nightshade, but I want to also talk about it with you and link to the official sites to Glaze and Nightshade, so you can get either of these programs to try.

First off, we'll start with Glaze AI.

What Glaze aims to do is to act on the defensive against AI. Glaze will scramble their generators by placing a “protective glaze” over your work, and what this will do, is when your work is fed into the AI, it'll trick the AI into thinking your work is something entirely different from what it is, simply by making small changes that only the AI will pick up on

To quote the official site “Glaze is a system designed to protect human artists by disrupting style mimicry. At a high level, Glaze works by understanding the AI models that are training on human art, and using machine learning algorithms, computing a set of minimal changes to artworks, such that it appears unchanged to human eyes, but appears to AI models like a dramatically different art style.”

I've tried using Glaze, but it's a very big program and my computer can't handle that, but I do highly recommend trying it out if you have the space for it.

If you wanna try it out, the link to the site can be found here.

Second is Nightshade.

Nightshade is aimed to “attack” the AI your work is being fed into. Like Glaze, Nightshade puts a protective “glaze” over your work, but it poisons your work and tricks the AI into messing up the user's prompt.

To quote the official site “Nightshade works similarly as Glaze, but instead of a defense against style mimicry, it is designed as an offense tool to distort feature representations inside generative AI image models. Like Glaze, Nightshade is computed as a multi-objective optimization that minimizes visible changes to the original image. While human eyes see a shaded image that is largely unchanged from the original, the AI model sees a dramatically different composition in the image.”

This program is also pretty big, but it's what my laptop is able to handle, so from here on out I'll be protecting my work with this. I'll also go back and protect my older works even if it's not as appealing as my newer works.

If you wanna try it out, the link to the site can be found here.

Keep in mind, these are only temporary solutions while we wait for more permanent ones.

But even if it's temporary, it's better than having no protection against the AI bros.

#glitch talks #fuck ai art #fuck ai all my homies hate ai #nightshade #glaze #protect your art #ai art is theft

[wayfayrr]

Hello! Congrats on 300 followers!! (your 300 follower event idea is so cute btw omg)

Could i request a soft mulled wine with candy canes to eat in please?

Here's your order - I hope everything is to your tastes <3

it's super fun to see how the same prompt can be done so differently for different characters!!! Wild especially is one of my favourites because he's just soooo - it's hard to put into words but I just love him so much

[Event masterlist]

“I don't think I've seen those plants before, my slate isn't recognising them either…”

“Must be something unique to legends Hyrule then, they must've just vanished before your time.”

He’s still focused on whatever is growing above us, although I could've sworn we were just standing under pines. Ones that are common in his home, is there something I’m missing here? What is he focusing on so intently? Is there somethin- 

“You’re looking at the mistletoe? Does it really not exist in your hyrule… I guess that means the traditions doesn’t exist either then, does it?”

“Tradition?”

“So I’m right then? It doesn’t?”

Why does he seem a little ashamed by that, his ears have drooped and he doesn’t want to look at me. Is he that used to always knowing about plants or is it that he’s worried about having lost his memories about it. 

“to be fair wild, I'm not entirely sure it exists in hyrule anyway. might just be something from my world.”

“what kind of tradition is it, do you miss it at all?”

“hmm, well it's mostly just fun… depends on who you're with really. Want me to show you what it is?”

he's perking up a bit now, still a little down but that should change in a moment seeing as he's nodding. 

“You sure? you don't even know what it is and you wanna go through with it?”

“You’re not making it sound like a good thing… Twi isn’t going to lecture us for this is he?”

“No, no of course not. Not unless he’s got a secret crush on me anyway.”

“Wha-”

Before he had a chance to respond, I already had a hand on his collar pulling him toward me. If he wants to learn about the mistletoe then what could possibly be better than experience. I’ve been wanting to kiss him for a while now too, so it’s a perfect excuse. His lips are so soft, incredible considering how he lives the shrine must’ve had some permanent effects after it all. Kissing him is awkward to say the least, the mixture of him being caught so off guard and the fact he’s frozen solid leads to a very quick attempt at a quick peck on the lips. 

Until it's over, and I've pulled away from him. It'd be a lie if I said I wasn't mildly disappointed by how little he reacted, maybe I was reading all the signs wrong and he simply didn't care for me like that. I should have given him more of a hint to what I was going to do, if he doesn't like me then it was simply cruel to force him to kiss me.

“I - sorry I didn't - I made you uncomfortable I should've told you what it was. I'm sorry link.”

“That’s the tradition then? Pressing your lips to someone elses?”

“Not quite - it’s to kiss whoever you’re standing under it with but I didn’t want to overwhelm you with...hu-!”

The disappointment must’ve shown on my face, or he just… did he just want to kiss me again? This time he’s the one taking the lead, holding my face so gently in his hands sliding his fingers slowly into my hair. The fact that he’s likely never kissed anyone makes it more clumsy, gently and softly he’s trying to find the best way to do it and I’m loving every second of it. Even despite it being the most uncertain kiss I’ve ever had… it’s taking my breath away simply how much care is going into it. Drawing a soft gasp from me too with how he’s biting faintly on my lips. 

Everything has to come to an end eventually though, as he pulls away with a smirk and the cutest blush I’ve ever seen in my entire life. I’ll have to devote a lot more of my time to flustering him from now on, there’s no possible way that I could go without seeing that at least once more in my life. I would rather the shadow simply kill me than be condemned to that fate. 

“That was -”

“Ishouldv’easkedI’msosor-”

“ - It was amazing link. Would you… if I asked would you do it again?” That seemed to be the final thing to fully overwhelm him, with his face going from being softly dusted with blush to being a scorching crimson while he’s trying to shy away in his own hair. If I didn’t think I could go without the one before, then I already know I’ll die if I don’t get to see it more often. It’s a shame he’s trying so hard to hide it, if only I could just…

“[Name]... What are you?”

“Oh! I um… I wasn’t thinking I just. I you look so cute and I just, you don’t need to hide yourself away from me link.”

Just a shaky breath and nuzzling his head on my hand in response. He can’t even look me in the eye. 

“Does this mean that you like the tradition though?”

this is evolving into a proper taglist now, if you'd like to join feel free to ask! - @sketchyspook, @fanfic-fairy-fountain, @mushroomwoods, @glowyskull

#soft flustered wild? a favourite of mine #lu wild x reader #link x reader #botw link x reader #botw x reader #linked universe x reader #moss✦writes #candy✦canes #help I installed that animal crossing typing extension when I was writing and couldn't stop laughing

[nonsensical-pixels]

MY WEDDING TRAUMA: A SURELY-SIMS x ICE-CREAMFORBREAKFAST COLLABORATION, CONVERTED TO THE SIMS 2 [download - 👰🏽🤵🏽]

are you tired of brides in white dresses and toddlers with perfect pink flower baskets? is cereal packet gameplay just not doing it for you anymore? maybe you'd like your weddings to put the 'strange' in strangetown? search no more, the ingredients for the strangest wedding in sim nation are finally here!

so, since i caught that one virus, i've been playing around a bit more with ts2 cc creation and finally had the time to work on converting a big set again. but then... what to convert? the answer came to me in the links section of a random lookbook... in a sort of fever dream. a set that captures the recent theme on my blog, families, and yet completely destroys it at the same time: my wedding trauma.

everything here is remarkably versatile. i mean, i know for a fact that people aren't just going to use that jumpsuit for a wedding, elvis needs more freedom than that! there are 9 cas items and 6 buy items for a total of 17 items in this set!

the original ts4 collaboration is complete perfection; it has just the sort of trashy, nonsensical vibes that the ts2 wedding department is sorely lacking. my conversion of this isn't perfect, i'm still learning how to do clothing and there are some minor issues mentioned below the cut, but overall i think that it came out pretty good and i hope it invokes some chaos in your game. 💥

credits go to @ice-creamforbreakfast for most of the cas part of this collaboration, and to @surely-sims for the buy mode part!

keep reading for more info, rambles, and preview pics!

PART 1: BUY MODE (6 items by @surely-sims)

ITEMS INCLUDED ARE: 1 - Fancy Folding Chair - 1.7k polys 2 - Margarita Tower - 3.4k polys 3 - Pizza Party Banquet Table - 1.5k polys 4 - Tiki Mug - 1.7k polys 5 - Toasting Bucket - 2.3k polys 6 - Wedding Arch - 10.2k polys*

individual previews are also to be found in the download!

THINGS TO NOTE: - The wedding arch is quite high-poly compared to other objects (10k) but that is the max for the polycounts. - The collection file included in the 'Surely-Sims' folder should go in the Collections folder in Documents.

PART 2: CAS (8 items by @ice-creamforbreakfast and 1 by @surely-sims)

ITEMS INCLUDED ARE: 1 - Brandi Dress (YF-AF) - 3.9k polys 2 - Elvis Glasses (TU-EU) - 1.7k polys 3 - Elvis Jumpsuit (YM-AM) - 4.9k polys 4 - Goopy Jacket (TM-AM) - 2.3k polys 5 - Jess Hair (YF-EF) - 5.4k polys 6 - Kelly-Marie Hair (TF-EF) - 9.4k polys 7 - Malborough Dress (YF-AF) - 7.1k polys 8 - Newport Headpiece (YF-AF) 9 - Trashleen's Cigarette Bouquet (YF-EF) note: the Jess Hair is not part of the original set but is included because the Newport Headpiece is meant to pair with it.

individual previews are also to be found in the download!

THINGS TO NOTE: - The clothing may have some bone assignment issues (especially with straps) & mild gaps. - The 'Goopy Jacket' has a mild discoloration around the neckline. - All hairs are in @skittlessims Skittles Hair System - The 'Elvis Jumpsuit' is paired with 4t2 SP01 Pointed Stud. Converted by me :) - The 'Malborough Dress' is paired with Ice-CreamForBreakfast's Jessica Shoes.

PART 3: THANKS & RAMBLE

have one final pic of the quirky couple and their patchwork family (ex-wife and dog included) 💞

this set was such a rollercoaster to work on, but also so, so much fun! i hope you guys enjoy it as much as i do 🥺

for anyone who's wondering--yeah i'm back for now, requests are still closed, wips depend on whether im in the mood... but from now on releases should be less queued and have a more 'personal touch' 😏

i'll get around to posting the discord-exclusives i released while i was gone... eventually. there's a few that i'm keeping for myself x

anyway... happy simming, hope you enjoy these conversions, and have a lovely day simming! if you use these feel free to @ me, i wanna see the chaos and the cool stuff these are used in 🥰

love,

~ Ky (nonsensical-pixels)

#s2cc #sims 2 cc #the sims 2 #sims 2 download #ts2 #the sims 2 cc #ts2 download #4t2 #4t2 conversion #4t2 buy #4t2 cas #long post

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

02/28/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Cast&CrewSightings; Rhys;Taika; HowToHelp; Guardian Survey; Ranker; AdoptOurCrewAnalysis; 50DaysInTheGravyBasket; New Watch Parties; Pirate Radio and Yes Man; Watch Party Reminders; California In Person Events; Fan Spotlight; Articles; Love Notes; Daily Darby/Today's Taika

Another VERY eventful day crew. There's actually more but I needed to get some permissions to share so hopefully I'll have them up tomorrow! Hope you are all having a lovely day/night! <3

= Cast & Crew Sightings =

== Rhys Darby ==

Rhys is out here being silly and thoughtful on his IG Stories again!

== Taika Waititi ==

Rita has been so kind to us fans by providing us footage on her IG Stories! We get to see our silly guy being happy and silly!

== How to Help ==

= Guardian Survey Link =

The Guardian would LOVE to hear your feedback! If you have a few moments to help, feel free to fill out the survey! Survey Link

= Ranker =

Great job all! Looks like we're already up to #1! Thanks @_irene_adler on IG for capturing this!

== Adopt Our Crew Analysis ==

Our friends over at @adoptourcrew have put together some awesome data regarding our Captain Rhys Darby!

== 50 Days in the Gravy Basket ==

@saveofmdcrewmates posted this video today marking "50 days since the cast, crew and fans of Our Flag Means Death were plunged into the Gravy Basket."

@giulianaazr has created this video to remind us that there is a way out! 🏴‍☠️🥹

Tumblr / Twitter / Instagram / Youtube

== New Watch Parties! ==

= Pirate Radio! =

More details coming tomorrow!

= Yes Man! =

Join us for a Yes Man Watch Party!

Graphic by@ICouldBeFamily

Where: #RhysDarbyFaction Discord When: March 10th 12 Noon PST / 3PM EST / 8PM GMT Who: Need Access? Reach out to @AspirantAbby42 on twitter, or @gentlebeardsbarngrill here on Tumblr!

Watch Party Hashtags:

#HellYesRhys

#RhysDarbyFaction

#AdoptOurCrew

#SaveOFMD

== WATCH PARTY REMINDERS! ==

= People of Earth S2 =

People of Earth S2 continues tomorrow Feb 29 at 9 pm GMT / 4pm EST / 3pm CST / 1pm PST. Need access? Reach out to @iamadequate1!

#PiratesOfEarth

= Uncle Season 2 Watch Party! =

Wed 28th + Thurs 29th GMT - 8pm / ET - 3pm / PST - 12 pm Streaming on I-player! Outside the UK? Follow this VPN tutorial to learn more. 

#ForTheNewUncle

== In Person Events ==

Nothing Moves Without The Crew!

Thank you to @WGA_fandomLove on twitter for letting us know about this meet up in Los Angelos California! Please visit their twitter and follow for more information!

Gay Pirate fandom friends in the LA area - let’s rally in solidarity with @IATSE on the eve of their negotiations with the AMPTP. They represent Hair & Makeup, Costumes, Grips, Set Decorators, Props, Camera Operators - basically all the magical people that made OFMD shine!

== Fan Spotlight ==

= February Love Collage Fest! =

Thank you again to @wndrngnomad for these collages!

Day 28: The friendships of the cast and crew!

= Cast Cards by @melvisik! =

Our wonderful crew-mate @melvisik has been kind enough to share their trading cards of the cast members with us over the last several weeks! These are super cool because you can see some other shows they've been in as well! They've said it's okay to print them out, use them as trading cards, or anyway you'd like :) Wanna see more? Check them out over on the Repository!

== Articles ==

"The Best Series In March" - German Article ty to @Addie__H for the translation of the title.

== Loves Notes ==

I apologize lovelies, I think the last few days are finally catching up to me so I'm going make this short tonight. HOWEVER, I WILL SAY -- I saw so much Safe Space Ship today and it warmed my heart so much. So many of you are reaching out to crew-mates and giving encouragement and I'm so very proud of you <3. Seriously, I don't know of a better fandom out there (and I've been in a quite a few in my day) where there has been so much acceptance and support. I know we're all struggling a bit with disagreements/concerns over renewal efforts, but you all are still just out there giving love left and right. You really are just the most amazing group of individuals and I'm so honoured to be here with you. I've probably said this a thousand times, sorry but it's what runs through my head whenever I see the love you're sending out. I am going to take advice from @thelatestkate and sign off and go get some rest. See you all in tomorrow-world, love you dearies <3

== Daily Darby / Tonight's Taika ==

Just some goof for tonight. Nothing too similar except I know quite a lot of us look at Taika like that all the time (respectfully).

Tonight's gifs are brought to you by:

Rhys: @fandomsmeantheworldtome

Taika: @ofmd-ann

#daily ofmd recap #daily ofmd recaps #ofmd daily recap #ofmd daily recaps #rhys darby #taika waititi

[meanbossart]

A long over-due ask compilation (Art & Music)

It's vaguely based on a short story from the book "The Consumer" by Michael Gira, specifically "The Boss". I think it came up in conversation with a friend or something when I was picking a new username, so that's how we arrived at it - this was almost a decade ago so, my memory on it is a little hazy!

{MORE UNDER THE CUT]

HAHA thank you so much!!! Glad you enjoy what I do 😎🍻

I BELIEVE this little guide I put together over here might be helpful to you, also! I touched on pretty much everything you brought up.

As for reference material when it comes to facial expressions, I have a mirror next to my desk which I glance at often and make weird faces at LOL and for consistency, it's really a matter of learning to dissect and remember facial structure. It's just something you end up developing an eye for when you've done it for long enough! Naturally, if we're talking about drawing existing characters, it's always helpful to just look at some pictures of their mugs and take a minute to define what features about them make their faces recognizable - I touch on this at the link above as well!

I do plan on making a "drowstarion" (love that, by the way LOL) playlist eventually, life's just been kicking my ass and I hardly have the time 😭and when I do, I just wanna draw.

Otherwise I don't have any other playlists floating around at the moment, BUT the one my boyfriend made for his Vellioth comic can be found here, and it might scratch a similar itch!

Thank you! I believe this was in reference to this post. Something like that takes me about... An hour??? If we're talking just the colors, at least. Though that's a really rough estimate because I take a lot of breaks, so my sense of time when I work ends up pretty skewed. Even if the application of the colors themselves took less than 20 minutes I probably spent 2 hours just staring at it LOL.

My friend, I have no idea. I'm in a constant battle between "I want to draw more realistically" and "I want to simplify my art so I can draw more/faster". What you see is the result of that ongoing brain-tug-of-war.

Also, just the way I assume everyone else develops theirs - they see stuff they like and emulate it until their art is Frankensteinish enough to be it's own unique thing!

I'm far from a Type O Negative buff, BUT I'm happy to share some of my favorites with you! They're quite scattered across a couple of their albums so I'm not sure I have a favorite, but I would say October Rust is a good starting point.

In no particular order, these are my most listened tracks of theirs: -Love You to Death -Black N.01 -Haunted -She Burned Me Down -Can't Lose You -I Don't Wanna Be Me -Be My Druidess -September Sun -Tripping A Blind Man

Alas, I was one of those people who was already drawing in kindergarten 😅 though I would say I only started taking it seriously when I was around 15-16 years old. As someone who has tried their hand at several other hobbies since reaching adulthood, I get what you're saying that it can kinda feel like... You missed the wagon? I've felt that way about all kind of things lol

That said, I've seen adults managing to develop their art skills extremely fast and effectively before. Understanding where and how you need to improve, and how to follow lessons/guides best is something that is vastly improved by maturity and knowing how to best hone your time, attention, and resources - and those are skills we completely lack as children. So, I sincerely believe that as long as you commit yourself, you can definitely get to a point that you're happy with in a couple of years if not less.

JUST DO IT BUDDY we are all just people looking through a screen and you won't ever see, talk, or meet 99% of the folks who ever clap eyes on what you post. Whenever you start getting nervous about sharing something, take a minute to ask yourself why you're nervous, and if none of the reasons have any genuine substance besides being afraid of what people "might think", just go ahead and post it. You're no mind-reader after all, and if you are, I doubt you can hear what a guy from Argentina or wherever is thinking about the art you made.

Point is, nobody online can touch you 🤷and if someone doesn't like what you do, they can simply choose to not interact with it, and if they do you can block and move on. There are zero reasons for you to feel "bad" about putting up a doodle when our experiences on the web are so easily curated nowadays.

#ask compilation

[petricorah]

i wanna start making comics but like. i dont really know how??? are there any tips that you could give me perhaps?

hi!

i've been working on trying to compile a list of resources for people (@aangsfrogs--i didn't forget!) who want to make comics for a long time. It would consist of some of my personal tips and a lot of links to other people's PDFs and youtubes. But that's...a hefty project, so if you had any specific questions for the meantime, my askbox is open!

But, for just beginning, here would be my tips:

Read comics. Read manga and webcomics and cartoons and medical comics. There is so much out there, and reading is such a big way to learn. If you see something you like, take a moment to think about why you like it. Are the expressions or colors appealing? Did it make you feel a certain emotion? Analyze what the artist may have done to get across what they did. (Is it the camera angle? the style they chose to draw in? the paneling? the pacing? the color? etc.) Doing this over time will help you recognize the tools available for telling stories through this medium, and you'll be able to put them in your own work.

Try to think about what you want to make comics about. What moves you? What topics interest you? What ideas or tropes do you love in media or think about often? What do you hate and wish was done better? What characters are you drawn to, or what characters do you want to create? (What about them compels you?) I find it's hard to create an idea out of thin air, but if you start writing down random ideas you have, you'll start thinking about them, and over time, you'll have a bank of things to pull from when you want to create.

Lastly, anatomical skill or knowledge of color does not a comic make! You don't have to know much to begin, and there aren't rules. Just start drawing what is meaningful to you!

This is just cursory and doesn't get into super specifics like paneling or scripts or plotting or colors or thumbnailing or....etc, but I'll try to expand my list of resources and get that out! And, hmu if you have any specific questions on topics!

happy drawing~

Book list under readmore:

Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics and his Making Comics. These books are taught in like, every comic class ever. While not my complete favorite, they do a good job of showing some history and fundamentals, and how easy it is to make comics even if you don't have a lot of drawing experience.

99 Ways to Tell a Story: Exercises in Style by Matt Madden: Really good if you don't know how to start analyzing comics. (Also it's just a fun visual exercise.) It shows the same short story done in 99 different styles with different emphasis on different moods and points of view.

The PreHistory of The Far Side: A 10th Anniversary Exhibit by Gary Larson and The Calvin and Hobbes: Tenth Anniversary Book by Bill Watterson: Two great books with work from my two favorite cartoonists. They both have writings from the author about getting ideas, developing stories, and being a comic artist.

Uncanny Bodies: Superhero Comics and Disability, edited by Scott T. Smith and José Alaniz and Black Comics: Politics of Race and Representation, edited by Sheena C. Howard and Ronald L. Jackson II: These two aren't really about making comics, but they are great collections of analysis about old and new comics alike.

By no means a complete list, but some good ones that I can think of off the top of my head.

There's also the book Webtoon School: Everything you need to know about webtoon creation and story writing. To be honest, I didn't read this completely through because it was a bit more fundamental than I was expecting, but it gives a good cursory look of how to write comics if you're just starting out! It covers some history, how to write stories and arcs, etc.

Also, look to your favorite writers! A lot of webtoon/webcomic artists do tutorials or youtube videos. for instance, velnxi has this great tutorial up I really suggest looking at here.

#how to make comics #mytutorials #comics tutorials #asks #i also want to do a post on how to analyze comics #because analysis is often talked about in english or writing classes #but most dont talk about how to analyze a comic which i think can be a bit different #if people would be interested in that lmk #can yall tell i almost went to school to teach comics lmao. i love talking about this stuff

[cpunkhobie]

Pretty much the whole post comes from Ballad of a Rat Man because of course it does

#splinter # ‘huh I feel so attached to glory that I shall lie to my son and put his prized possession into a demolition derby simultaneously using it as #an excuse to hang out with my son I otherwise have a hard time connecting with. this is a totally normal thought process to have and does #not come from 100s of unprocessed traumas and emotions At Fucking All!' my baby girl GO TO THERAPY #…... I needa screenshot those tags and put them into an analysis one second (link)

Aight ok so I'm not going to talk about each individual trauma that lead to Splinter's thought process in this episode because that is a post for another day, but I do wanna focus on why Splinter and most parents don't process their trauma until after their kids' development years.

So the thing is that before his sons's were teenagers, despite all of his fucking trauma Splinter literally Wasn't In a Place to be able to process his trauma and raise 4 kids. That's not something you can do while having to be responsible for 4 other peoples lives, especially as a single parent. Your own emotional wellbeing and focus on general wellbeing is something you have to sacrifice in that situation. He physically does not have the time to process his emotions AND keep his sons alive and well when they are defenseless babies and young children who cannot safely think for themselves.*

That's also why his son's emotional developments are stunted, which is something that unfortunately was unavoidable given their situation. Something I've delved deeper into in this post(link). Because you can't neglect the emotional needs of yourself without also neglecting the emotional needs of others. Without an understanding of your own thought processes, unhealthy behaviors then get put onto, and in the case of parenting, echoed onto other people. And in parenting how much your kids copy you is something that can be both fascinating and painfully detrimental.

In Splinter's case repressing his own emotions to raise his sons taught his sons to also hide, repress, and isolate themselves and their feelings from others. Something that sews this blanket of distrust and suspicion across his entire family. And it sucks, because even if Splinter had gotten a chance to process this inherent distrust of others built into him by his family's generational trauma, there's a very slim chance that this emotional repression wouldn't have gotten passed down anyway.

Because again, this emotional neglect is something that was unavoidable. And that's the worst fucking part about it, the fact that no matter what the Hamato family is always set up to distrust each other. And like, god something about that just fucking gets to me man. Especially when you look at the Finale and movie because the whole thing really is just about trust.

"You said you wanted to hang out with us, you lied!" "I did not lie about wanting to hang out with you..." I just. Fuck dude, it's about integrity and it's about trust. And it's about half truths and fear.

Splinter lied to his son not because he didn't want to hang out with him, it's because he was terrified of further analyzing his feelings to find out what they really mean. How that lust for glory comes from a long history of never being able to live up to expectations, and then having that be used against you in an abusive relationship.

Big Mama's glorification of Yoshi in the Battle Nexus was never about glorifying him, it was about objectifying him. And using his insecurity as a power-move that makes sure he stays in her control even years later. It keeps him as her thing that she can use. Ough I could so go more into this but that's for a later date. More about this specifically here(link) and here(link).

Looking for a deeper understanding of his emotions would mean learning or teaching himself from scratch how to do something he hadn't done in years if ever.** It would mean really having to pick apart his trauma and thinking "where does this lust for glory come from." And the truth is that lust for bright glory comes from a dark, dark place. Lush with disappointments, inadequacies, and fucking abuse trauma. And that's terrifying so he lies. And what's the harm in that if it's an excuse to hang out with his son right? A son he already has a hard time connecting with for *gestures to the above* but also because his son is autistic.

It's about a fundamental misunderstanding of your family members but a lust to better connect and understand them. And that's what the Ballad of Rat Man is about, it's about choosing to connect with your family over hiding from your traumas. It's about the horrifying ideal of being known.

It's not just about Splinter seeing Donnie but it's also about Donnie seeing him. It's about seeing his dad in a way he hadn't seen him before, an at least insecure if not deeply hurt person . And it's about him finding understanding and connection and remorse with that. About understanding if not where that pain comes from, at least understanding that it's there; and that it's a pain they both share. It's about trust, and integrity. And kicking butt and taking names !!!!

And yeah I think that's it

*god I just needa cry abt this part for a bit. Like as a parent it's your job to teach your child how to think for themselves which is something that is so hard because it also admits having to let them go and that is so fucking hard both for the parent and the kid. God. The way I phrased that made me sound like a parent I'm literally a teenager

**the something I'm referring to being processing his emotions

#rottmnt analysis #rottmnt #jonah with a megaphone #rise tag #Donnie #splinter

[unexpectedstormy]

Why Podfics are Important

A big part of why I like podfics so much is because to me it is an accessibility feature. There are times when I cannot look at a screen due to light sensitivity or I don't have spoons/brainpower to interact on Tumblr or or I'm too unfocused to read a fic but I still wanna be distracted and think about blorbos and podfics are perfect for that.

The problem is that there aren't very many of them.

When I first discovered them, I filtered for LU fics with no smut or MCD and there were only like 27 podfics. I listened to all of them in about 2 days. I was disappointed there weren't more, but the ones that were there were all excellent. So I asked myself why not try my hand at making them?

It took me about a week to figure out how to record audio, edit, where and how to host it, and how to link to AO3; and now that I know how to do it, I can record and post a fic in a couple of hours. You don't get alot of attention or fanfare for doing it--podfics are nowhere near as popular as ordinary fics, but it's a public service and its just plain fun. Actually its addicting. Every time I finish recording and posting a podfic my brain is like a sled dog pulling on a rope begging "More! Do more podfics!"

In an ideal world, I think every fic should have a podfic version. It would benefit everyone, not just disabled people. Not only are they good for low spoons time, they're also great for ordinary times when you're doing chores or riding the bus or something and you want something to listen to, just like you would listen to any other podcast. Not to mention the fact that by making podfics, you get to learn the valuable modern skill of recording audio and posting it.

I have a motto: "Try anything once," meaning, I'm game to try out learning any new thing and there's no commitment to do it long term or even do it more than that one time. Its just fun to learn and experiment. I've been trying a new thing every year for the past several years and have had fun gaining a bunch of oddball jack-of-all-trades skills like slacklining, longboarding, watercolor, digital art, and podfics.

I'd like to encourage everyone to try making a podfic and seeing how they like it (it does take a couple of podfics to really get your feet under you though). If you like it, or if you're willing and able to, making more podfics would be an invaluable service to provide for the fandom. And if you can't make podfics for whatever reason, why not just listen to a podfic and drop a kudos or comment or something to let the person doing them know that you appreciate it?

If anyone wants to know how to podfic, please feel free to reach out to me and I'll do what I can to help. Also, I'll be putting together a "how to make a podfic" post in the near future so keep an eye out for that.

#reposting this because something went wrong with the last time I posted it #podfic #fanfiction #linked universe

[theneighborhoodwatch]

which character do you think is the most sus and why

honestly i think everyone has at least one trait that makes me Wonder about them, so. i'm just gonna list those under the cut instead. i've gone over some of these in more detail in previous speculation posts, but i don't wanna just link to them for the 48545674567456th time, so consider this a spiritual sequel to that old ass conspiracy board i made. any links are to stuff that isn't readily available on the actual website. anyways:

wally:

do i really need to explain this one

okay i'm just gonna pick one of the less obvious things: have you ever noticed that his bio uses present tense the most? like after the little introductory blurb it introduces him as "wally is" as opposed to everyone else's "(x) was"? someone in my discord server pointed that out once and i haven't been able to stop thinking about it.

barnaby:

what little we learn about his relationship to wally from the website is Odd; both of their bios mention not only that they were best friends, but that this was stated Multiple times throughout illustrated pages and the like, as if someone was really desperate to impress upon people that These Two Are Totally Besties, We Swear. you'd think this would be a poor attempt to disguise there being some animosity between the two, but that doesn't seem be the case, either.

other than that, though, barnaby actually seems pretty normal - perhaps deceptively so...

frank:

has a first name that ends in a consonant and a surname that ends in a long "-ee" sound, as opposed to everyone else having a first name that ends in a long "-ee" sound and a surname that ends in a consonant.

is noted to have no canonical backstory; the only other character who falls into this camp is wally.

is an entomologist/lepidopterist (or at least an Enthusiast about those subjects) in a town where the only wildlife present seems to be bugs. this was first mentioned in an ask from 2020, so normally i would hesitate to put this here, but post-website launch concept art never shows there being any non-insect (or at least non-arthropod) wildlife, so i think it is Likely that this still applies.

there are Conveniently little to no notes regarding the construction of his physical puppet - all that the WHRP seems to have been able to confirm is that it did actually have a head-spinning mechanism.

julie:

hails from a cave in what is Explicitly noted to be the same forest that surrounds home; post-website launch concept art definitely seems to allude to there being something in those woods, or at least the general idea of julie wandering "out of bounds."

has the most detailed family background by way of her siblings having actual designs and names. her bio clarifies that they didn't live in Home, but no other characters with family members seem to need this clarification. is the implication that This level of detail for side characters is unheard of? then again, barnaby's mom also has a name and design...

can speak to flowers/plants, which definitely sheds a new light on whatever might be going on in this may 2021 concept art. i've seen a lot of people interpret the title of this piece - "liar!" - as an accusation from julie towards someone else (most commonly frank) but given that that the script linked in the february 2023 audition post establishes that julie is capable of lying about what a plant tells her for her own convenience, albeit in a far more playful context... who's to say that she isn't the liar?

sally:

her puppet is all but outright stated to have required more puppeteers than any other character.

having a character who's a playwright/director and whose house is built to resemble a mini theater in a story that relies so heavily on the fourth wall (or lack thereof) as a source of horror feels like a very... Dangerous combination.

some people have tried to draw parallels between her backstory and that of old testament satan, buuuut i'm not entirely sold on this. it feels a bit too outlandish even for me, considering that any remaining christian imagery seems to have been relegated Solely to wally and/or home.

her introductory blurb seems to have a nod towards poppy? "She’s a fire-cracker who is willing to let her imagination run wild in the name of a new adventure, albeit at the occasional expense of her more cautious neighbors." that aforementioned audition script Also all but outright confirms that this is about poppy, given her and sally's interactions there, i.e. sally trying to get poppy to come out of her shell by casting her as the lead in her next play and Clearly thinking very highly of her, but pushing her past her limits just a bit too far too fast. again, much like julie and lying, it's all in a playful context, but i wonder... sally, are you paying enough attention to your friends?

i could also make a joke about my sally/poppy agenda, but. i will refrain. for now.

poppy:

is the only walk-around puppet to not have a live-hand variant.

her puppet also apparently has no surviving photos of it? or at least not any photos of it in its entire eight feet of glory.

in a similar vein to the possible relationship between sally being a playwright and welcome home fiddling with the fourth wall so much, i feel like poppy being a recluse in a series where one of the Main Themes is supposed to be "what happens when a Home becomes just a House/what it's like to live in a decaying home" is a very convenient setup for horror - one that Excites me as much as it scares me. if something happened to her, i wonder, how long do you think it would take for someone to notice?

eddie:

his theme color, purple, is used very sparingly in his actual design compared to the rest of the cast and their colors - it only shows up on his eyelids and maybe the inside of his bag? even designs like poppy and howdy's make more use of their respective theme colors than eddie's. it being on the eyelids is an interesting choice, too, given the eye motif that's been present throughout so far. eyes are the windows to the soul and all that.

purple also makes an appearance just outside of his post office, in the form of a sprig of lavender with a butterfly on it - and, well. something about purple signifying secrecy/hidden truths, perhaps?

according to this post-website launch concept art, the only two clocks in the entire neighborhood are: A) the street clock between howdy's shop and eddie's post office, and B) the watch upon eddie's wrist. both also seem to share some design elements with him (and maybe sally?) - namely, the eyes.

and of course, his backstory. or rather, the fact that his backstory is so half-assed that it's a running gag that he can't remember his hometown and the most we know about his mom is that she has the same job and She Exists, Probably. like that's fucked up in the context of welcome home, right? we can agree on that?

howdy:

howdy is an adult and yet Not a butterfly. he never actually pupated he just got Bigger. this is never explained or addressed in-universe as far as we are aware.

and also this is in the presence of a lepidopterist, aka a guy who should Definitely be aware of the fact that howdy should have pupated by now. foreshadowing for a future point of contention? a future alliance, even?

howdy. the shipments. where are your shipments coming from howdy.

home:

much like wally, this one is so obvious that i feel stupid for even dedicating a bullet point here. just fucking look at anything on the website talking about or involving them. this house is All Unsettling Trivia.

imagine i am beaming this brian david gilbert clip directly into your brain whenever i discuss their relationship with wally until further notice

like i've said before, i don't think they're evil evil (or at least, not evil without reason) but i do think whatever they and wally have going on is, like, Not Healthy. they have codependent swag imo.

#anonymous #ask #welcome home #wh speculation #this post is 50 miles long i'm so sorry

[milk-geoculus]

Ok that post I reblogged made me really think about Gamings localization and I try not to think about it too much buuut... English slang and phrases DO NOT mix with his character AT ALL.

I get why localizations happen but I also feel like sometimes they are kind of unnecessary and drift from how the character is meant to be. Sometimes the "equivalent" is so far off its unrecognizable and makes them seem like a whole different character

So I put the voice lines that really bothered me into the DeepL translator to see what the literal translation might be.

This is also just my opinion and not meant to cause drama. Personally I'm just not a fan of a lot of localizations and think they should only be used where absolutely necessary and should stick as closely to the translation as possible. Or just add a note explaining it. This is not a hate post, I really love Gaming. I just wanna make a post about it.

This will be in a couple parts

1. "When Thunder Strikes"

Complete difference. No need to localize this? Perhaps it was too similar to other characters or its an incomplete portion of a phrase in Chinese that English players won't understand the reference to.

It does show his more energetic personality however I personally don't like the phrases used. I will admit it is funny.

2. "Good Evening"

I feel like the literal translation " so if you're here, you cant eat it" makes sense just fine? Perhaps if people aren't used to reading things like that it could get confusing.

Its literally just "if you dont come with me you will really miss out" "you'll miss out on a great opportunity".

I just dont like the phrase "use it or snooze it" bleh

3. "Hometown"

Hoyo please remove "dope" from your vocabulary.

I dont mind "nibbles" too much but it wasn't even there in the first place?

4. "Chongyun"

I actually really wanted to talk about this for a while not because of the "for real" but because of "heatiness" aka "Yeet Hay" which is mentioned alot since chenyu vale was released.

I am weirdly obsessed with this concept because it perfectly describes something I couldn't explain to other people about food and nobody seemed to understand. And I just love that it's getting mentioned in Genshin more because it's great and I wish others would learn about it.

First just get rid of the "for real"

Now the best way I've learned to describe "heatiness" is by trying to find an example the person im explaining it to may have experienced. If that makes sense. But this is a post so I can't do that.

You know when you've eaten a lot of it and for some foods it kinda coats your throat and you start feeling really weighed down and coughing more? Thats yeet hay. Its this feeling of discomfort and warmth.

Some time ago for a time I had quit drinking soda and started drinking more tea and felt a lot more energized. The soda made me feel really weighed down and I found that I stopped coughing so much after not drinking it for a while. Same with beef. Ive replaced most recipes that contain ground beef with ground turkey. Not only does turkey absorb flavor better its not nearly as greasy and is even softer than beef without fat. I really like it personally.

But learning to identify "Yeet Hay" foods and trying to consume them in moderation has improved my health and general wellbeing

Those are obvious examples but I don't eat a lot of seafood or tropical fruits so I can't tell you if they do anything. But I have noticed the effects of yeet hay and I do try to understand it because doing so has improved my life and how much I actually enjoy eating food I make.

You can learn more about it and "Hon Loeung" in this link

I think that website explains it pretty well. Even if you cant grasp it fully, you should still be able to understand that some food need to be eaten in moderation or it will affect your health. And anything to help you learn to identify those foods, i think, is good.

5. "Qiqi"

Fuck "munchkin".

I think it's so cute for him to call QiQi "little sister". Forever mad at localizations that get rid of it and people that think referring to others as "aunty, older brother, little sister ect." Means they are family. American-centrism makes me mad in general but I digress.

I dont know why the chinese version is

一二七七…二二七七…

Yi er qi qi... Er er qi qi

Perhaps I'm not far enough in learning Chinese to understand it? Or maybe he is saying her name? But he says "qi qi" on the CN voice over. I wonder is this what Qiqi actually says? I dont know.

Also idk why it translated as "bu bu lu" but that sounds so cute.

Thats all the photos I can fit in this post so ill see you in the reblog

#milk post #genshin impact #genshin #genshin gaming #genshin ga ming #ga ming #listen i just have things to say. #especially about yeet hay. i love yeet hay. yeet hay is great

[kitkatopinions]

Okay, so I just watched a Miles Luna cameo video talking about the chant Pyrrha does to unlock Jaune's aura, link here to the reddit post of it. And it's a very interesting video for a number of reasons. Please note that while talking about this, I wanna be aware that my interpretations of what he's saying may not be definitively true. Miles Luna is someone I don't know and I'm unable to ask for clarification on anything he says. I'm simply talking about what this video made me think and how it came across, not trying to say like "this thing he said definitely means blah blah blah." This was just very interesting and I wanted to talk about what I found interesting and what I got out of it.

So he was answering the question "what's the deal with Pyrrha's aura unlocking chant thing in volume one? Was it like a standarized thing, or was the mantra unique to a person's beliefs?"

I'm going to be putting things that Miles said in indented and then talk about the things I think are worth talking about.

"I've always been in the camp that it's the latter, that that's like a Pyrrha Nikos thing."

So this'll happen again, but it's just interesting that Miles' answer comes in the form of 'this is how I saw it' rather than 'this is how we saw it,' which makes it seem like there wasn't an agreed upon conclusion or even an agreed on supposition on what this moment even was.

"The story behind that is a wild one, it takes us back to volume one. Back when me, Monty, and Kerry were... Learning how to tell stories." *Laughs* "Stories that lasted more than like - you know - five minutes, and build worlds and stuff. And back then, you know, so much stuff was rough around the edges. And it was a lot of experimentation, and just trying things, and having to just like, throw ideas out there and commit to them because we just had to work really quickly and..."

Miles talking about how rushed they were, how they didn't know how to tell a real story yet and were just 'throwing out ideas and committing to them' is just... To me, it really seems like it indicates what I already thought, that things weren't 'planned from the beginning' because they were just writing, and writing on a deadline, so they were putting things into the story without fully thinking them through and committing to them because it was all they could do.

"I remember we were trying to establish, you know, we need to teach the audience how aura works. First off-" *Laughing* "I don't think we did a super good job with that. The same with semblances, and a bunch of things."

It's so funny to me that if rwde posters and rwby critics said something along those lines, like 'they weren't good at telling us how aura worked' or 'they really just didn't establish a lot of things very well,' many anti-rwde posters would just hate us. XD And this is what I mean when I talk about how overly defensive some people in the fandom are, because one of the main writers and creators can look back and laugh about the ways they went wrong in the early volumes and recognize that they weren't the best at storytelling, and meanwhile there are fans that would be like 'ummm why do you need your handheld? Obviously aura works like *insert headcanon here* and you should've gotten that through the brilliant scene, you fucking idiot." Like, it's so much easier for me to fondly smile and shake my head at the sort of charming follies of early-RWBY. Random tangent, but it reminds me of watching a movie with my ex-boyfriend where he got angry that I said a character who was getting in a physical fight was aggressive and he rewound the movie several times and made me watch the character start a physical fight repeatedly to 'prove to me' that the character wasn't being aggressive, and I was just sitting there thinking 'I would like this movie a lot more if you weren't so defensive over it.' But anyway, back to the video.

"But I remember we were like 'okay, well Jaune's kind of our like - our big dummy who needs to be taught everything so the audience can learn a lot through Jaune. So Jaune doesn't - It makes sense that Jaune doesn't have an aura, and maybe he like um, unlocks it at some point like during the - the Emerald Forest trials, but like how?' And we were trying to figure stuff out, and Monty goes like-" *Shrugs* "'What if we just have Pyrrha unlock it for him?' And we were like 'how would that work?' And he was like 'I don't know, man, Pyrrha's supposed to be the best. Maybe she's really in tune with her aura. And so like, you know, maybe if like, people are really in tune with themselves and - and in sync with their aura, they can give people with more potential - they can just give them a little nudge.' And we went 'yeah, sure! Why not?'"

So if you applied the ideas of the two criteria here to world building, you have 'People who are really in tune with themselves and in sync with their aura can unlock other auras' and 'People who have potential can get their auras unlocked.' Which means potentially characters who are shown to be confident, self-assured and who know who and what they are - like Glynda, Robin, Maria, maybe WBY now that they had their 'I am a Huntress' moments - could hypothetically have this power if it hadn't been dropped. And who has potential is a bit trickier, but civilians who can or want to fight, maybe? So, would Whitley count as being able to unlock an aura? See, the interesting thing is that I wouldn't consider Pyrrha to be particularly self-assured emotionally. Physically, yes, but emotionally I think she suffers from some insecurities that might give her blind spots. So maybe unlocking aura requires someone to be physically in tune with their body.

"I remember Monty wanted to write uh, Pyrrha's monologue and - and it's so Monty. Um, but it's one of the few things where he was like 'Hey, can I take a stab at that? I think it would be fun.' And he did, and I think it's really great."

Him saying 'one of the few things' is also interesting to me. But I do tend to have the opinion that from what I've heard, Monty would have ideas and Kerry and Miles are the ones that did most of the writing and like, turning the ideas into a firm thing. That's just the vibes I've gotten from the way that they've talked, and this just kind of makes me think that more.

"And it's very - It comes across as very, like, mystical. And like, ooh, exciting, mysterious. Because that was - that was kind of what we wanted the vibe to be about like aura. Like it's this spiritual thing that like, we understand how we can kind of use it um, practically, in combat. But like, emotionally and spiritually, there's so much more depth there. It has room to grow, there's things about it we don't understand. And um, we felt that what Monty wrote kind of encapsulated that sort of mysterious, spiritual um, like, side of it. And also for Pyrrha too. Like it made her seem like she was just levels upon levels higher than where Jaune was at the time. And we also felt - I mean I definitely feel as though, that it's something that like, she likes to think about and something that she says to herself to give her courage. Because if she's gonna fall in battle, then so be it. But she believes that her spirit - that there's a part of her that will live on, long after her body falls, and will go to some other plane on some grand adventure."

A part of me wishes that this had been so much more explained, but also I feel like the spiritual part of things isn't something that I want heavy emphasis in when it comes to the characters that seem to disregard their lives a bit, if that makes sense? Like, don't get me wrong, I'm not one of the people who think that Pyrrha going to fight Cinder is some indication of fault with her or Ozpin or something, I think it's perfectly logical that she went up to fight Cinder. I just also think that adding in that Pyrrha thinks 'if she falls then so be it,' before having her actually die. RWBY has a very dicey at best track record when it comes to suicide (Penny, Ruby in V8) and I think adding in these elements for Pyrrha would just have made it even worse.

"And I think that gives her the courage to... Be Pyrrha Nikos, out on the battlefield, fighting for the lives of others. That's kind of always been my take on it. But yeah, the short behind the scenes answer is um, Monty thought it would be a cool thing to do. Um, that was the answer to a lot of things from back then."

More 'not everything was well planned' indications here.

"Um, and I - and I like it a lot too, because we were really trying to explain to the audience that the creatures of Grimm don't have souls. There should be no moral quandaries about slaughtering hordes and hordes of these scary looking creatures."

Okay, so... I'm going to get into some controversial stuff here, because if they wanted to ensure that there were no moral quandaries about fighting the Grimm in the early seasons, why were they comfortable having the White Fang being such prominent enemies who Team RWBY would throw off of train cars that were blowing up in a tunnel soon to be overrun by Grimm? To me, if I was concerned that people would take issue with the main protagonist mowing down animal-like creatures that acted mindless and therefore had to establish that they don't have souls, I would be five times more concerned with making sure my main protagonist wasn't just tossing aside talking sentient humans especially if I had made them part of an in-universe marginalized minority group. Just a thought.

"And then, you know, on the opposite side of that, if the things that all of our protagonists fight are soulless, then we should make something that makes huntsman and huntresses really strong, it's the fact that they do have a soul that can manifest itself in ways that can protect the user - like the body of the person. Uh - uh, it's just something that, I don't know. It's like warm, fuzzy like faith and belief. And just, it felt like the nice counterbalance to the like, hollow, cold, violent Grimm."

What's interesting to me about this statement is that they wanted Huntsman and Huntresses specifically to counterbalance the Grimm by having proof of their humanity in their souls being so blatantly represented. If it were me, I would have humanity in general separated from the Grimm through their souls. But it's almost like the only people they care about and the only people they want the audience to care about are the hunters and huntresses, and not the civilian figures and random people just living their lives. I think that does sort of come across in the writing with things like Cinder killing people on the bridge in volume eight and knocking them down but then later on Yang saying in volume nine that they saved everyone, and Weiss throwing the guards into the ocean never to be seen again, and no one really bringing up or caring about how Mistral is pretty much defenseless, and so on and so forth. I think this also comes across in the fandom, where I've seen people talk about 'why would we care about the NPCs' and things like that. This just makes it seem to me that the writers don't really care about civilians.

"So yeah, that's kind of my all over the place answer, I hope you like it. Because that's how I always felt about it. We kind of just rolled with it back then, because we had to, because we had to work so fast, with so many constraints working against us."

The fact that even the main writers and creators seemed to be on time crunches where they couldn't take the time to really figure things out speaks volumes I think about how Rooster Teeth does business. Also, more little reasons here to not believe everything was planned from the beginning. Miles Luna says they just rolled with things not even because they wanted to but because they had to, because they didn't have time to put more thought into what they'd do before they did it.

"And we were super inexperienced. Um, if I were to do it all again, I would wanna - I would wanna dig into that more. I think there's some cool, untapped potential there. And in a million other places in the show."

This is so true that there is so much untapped potential in RWBY. But I just think it's really funny that once again, this is something rwde posters and rwby critics would get blasted for saying. XD Like I remember one time posting like 'there's so much I would change and explore more in RWBY if I could reboot it' and someone in the comment section was like 'I bet your writing sucks, idk why you think you could improve anything about RWBY.' If I said RWBY was full of untapped potential and I wish it was dug into more, I might get accused of being a know-nothing idiot or an obnoxious entitled brat, lol. XD

"Um, but, you know, those rough edges and that sort of like - amateur is too strong a word - but the - the over ambition of RWBY, I think has always been one of its greatest strengths and also greatest weaknesses."

For once, I completely agree with Miles Luna. One reason why RWBY is something I keep coming back to is that there's just so much there to work with, so much that could be really good. But it's also one of the biggest flaws of RWBY that it always packs so much in that it just doesn't seem to have any interest in properly exploring or following through on, and I do think it would be a much better written show if the writers would just stop and take a breath and scale back and edit to what they can handle. It's like filling your fridge with a ton of perishable food in the hopes of cooking amazing meals, but then not taking the time to ever really cook or do anything good with the ingredients and then throwing together a hodgepodge sandwich before (or even after) things start spoiling in the fridge. It's great for creativity and it makes me want to actually cook something good with all those ingredients, but you still think they shouldn't have been that ambitious and you're like 'next time you go shopping just buy stuff for a regular old sandwich because apparently you can't handle it, and this sandwich has moldy cheese, too many vegetables, balsamic vinegar, mustard seeds, uncooked lobster, and a twinkie. What were you thinking?' Anyway, long spiel short, RWBY has great potential, endless heaps of good ideas that are inspiring and that's one of the best things about the show! But it's also way too ambitious and it leaves the show in a mess. I don't even have a good solution that would keep the scope of the show and how it gets the creative juices flowing without being too much for the writers who can't seem to do any real depth or follow through, I'm just talking. XD

"Uh, but it has a lot of charm, and we had a lot of heart back then. And i'm glad that people still think about volume one to this day. It's just cool."

It's interesting to me that Miles Luna says 'we had a lot of heart back then.' Now again, I'm not trying to say 'Miles Luna definitely meant that they don't have heart now,' because I don't know him and I don't know what he meant, but just the nostalgia in his tone and the way he talked, it made me think about how RWBY used to feel like this loved thing that people really wanted to do, whereas now sometimes RWBY feels like the thing that people don't want to do that they're just plugging away at, and like skipping past loads of exposition and having their characters act exasperated and tired out by everything. I've gotten to that state where I was really excited about writing something, and then when I got out of the mood to write it and was just forcing myself too, it would leak into skipping over important things and just writing the characters to go through the motions in like vague annoyance because I was vaguely annoyed. It's a sign that I need to grow as a writer, but it also makes me go 'do I really want to even be writing this, does this even spark joy' and sometimes the answer is no. And it just kind of feels like sometimes that's what RWBY is now, a project people don't want to do anymore that no longer sparks that same joy that it used to.

But on a better, lighter note, I'm glad too that people are still thinking about volume one, because it often feels like the RWBY fandom on the general whole just doesn't even like the early volumes and wants to forget them, or even forget seasons 4-6 sometimes. Some people will act like the only thing that matters is the present, and looking at the setup or the early established things is just stupid when it's like... No, that's the whole thing that RWBY was built on. Volumes 7-9 alone don't tell a complete story. It's a hodgepodge sandwich full of a bunch of mismatched stuff maybe, but I really feel like the people that eat the whole thing and might complain about the bad parts actually like the sandwich way more than the people who take the top piece of bread and then tell you that all that other stuff doesn't matter anymore. XD But yeah, that's just the things that I was thinking about when I saw that cameo video.

#rwde

[ventique18]

Malleus Draconia: Masquerade (Chapter 2)

Link to Part 1 here

Diasomnia Dorm - Lounge

Malleus: A song... That sort of thing as thanks?

Azul: To merely dismiss it as "that sort of thing"... You don't seem to realize your own worth.

Azul: If the famous Malleus would exhibit a heart-rending performance at the exchange program...

Azul: It would be the highest honor for the host school Noble Bell College to witness.

Azul: It would also be a once-in-a-lifetime memory for all the participants of the exchange.

Azul: Compared to any half-hearted souvenir, this would definitely be a much more beautiful gift.

Sebek: Human... No, AZUL-SENPAI..!

Sebek: You really do understand the splendor of Lord Malleus! I've changed my opinion of you! You have a wonderful perspective!

Malleus: Hm. Is that so?

Sebek: Yes! If I, too, were to receive a song from Lord Malleus... I WOULD FEEL LIKE I HAVE ASCENDED TO HEAVEN!

Silver: I also like singing. If you sing with all your heart, you can easily convey your feelings to anyone.

Azul: Indeed. A song costs nothing, yet it leaves a moving impression. It's especially perfect for students to prepare...

Azul: It's the most cost-effective present there is!!

Lilia: And suddenly we're back to the harsh reality of the world... Well anyway, I also think a song is a good idea.

Lilia: If you can show how friendly you are by singing, even Malleus will find it easier to get along well with others.

Lilia: As for what song to perform at the City of Flowers' Noble Bell College... I can think of one.

Lilia: It's an old song passed down from generation to generation in the City of Flowers. They would enjoy a performance of a piece that locals love and know well.

Malleus: I see. Lilia, I would love to learn more about this piece of music.

Malleus: Silver, Sebek. I'd like you to gather the other participants of the exchange program.

Malleus: I've little experience working on music with a large group, therefore it'll surely be much more difficult to prepare than when I'm alone.

Malleus: Once the program has been decided and the parts allocated, we shall begin with practice... I'll be busy from now on until the departure date.

Azul: Indeed. Let's do our best!

-- Next Scene --

Azul: For this inexpensive gift of a song, I will be chosen as the main vocalist too. Everything's going according to plan, but...

Malleus: Ashengrotto. For this part, you were off by half a beat.

Malleus: I listened to the recording of our chorus earlier, and I don't think we blend well at the part where you sing with me.

Malleus: That's not good. Lilia said that harmony is important in the chorus.

Malleus: Perhaps I am the cause. We have to pinpoint any areas for improvement, so for that reason, let us start over from the top.

Azul: Wha-what amazing proactivity... This eagerness!

Azul: Even though I've also put together a practice program before, to start a lesson with strictness that exceeds even that... is beyond my expectations.

Malleus: Shroud, follow Lilia's example once more. Listen closely.

Lilia: The pitch here is like this: "Lalala~~~". Like that!

Idia: ............... a........... a......................

Malleus: What's wrong? Your voice won't come out.

Idia: N, no... Please rethink this..!

Idia: I-It took me so much effort just to get here, you know! Can't you at least praise me?!

Azul: You sure were able to drag yourself our of your room. I wonder if pigs would fall from the sky today too?

Idia: I wish a meteorite would just fall and cancel everything, you know.

Idia: I don't wanna be chosen as a main vocalist, so I was just talking to Ortho about how to avoid it...

Idia: But then Silver and Sebek just forced the door open! How dare you!

Idia: I didn't think top-notch security would lose to brute force! I'll have to upgrade that tonight.

Lilia: Kehehe... If you tighten your room's defense, then we'll just increase our offense.

Lilia: If Ignihyde has robust security, then Diasomnia has no shortage of firepower.

Malleus: Yes, Silver and Sebek, as well as the entirety of Diasomnia students...

Malleus: Until the exchange program ends, we must prioritize the success of this song. This is why I'm being strict.

Idia: So that's why the Diasomnia students were glaring at me wherever I go! Their housewarden is abusing his authority?!

Azul: So you didn't even skimp out on surveillance. That's true leadership.

Malleus: Now now. Everybody in this exchange program is an important part of this precious gift.

Malleus: And us main vocalists more so. Both of you are the most important part of this gift...

Malleus: Which is why you will not leave Diasomnia until you can sing the first verse perfectly.

Idia: He's serious..!

Idia: Even though I already don't wanna practice anymore, it's even harder to bear this level of tension!

Azul: Yes. And what's even worse is...

Lilia: Well then, let's stop with the chatter and get back to practicing. Since we'll be starting again from the top, let's have Malleus sing first.

Lilia: Music, start!

Malleus: Afraid of the dawn~

Malleus: Wishing again and again~~

Azul: Malleus... He's so good at singing!

Azul: It's not just his technique... He has the power to stir the heart of those who listen.

Idia: Aren't his facial expressions too good? Is vocal singing also a requirement in the education of the next King of Briar Valley?!

Lilia: It's true that in order to hone his creativity, he also received musical education in Briar Valley to some extent...

Lilia: But you seem to be much more exceptional than usual. You must have practiced a lot.

Malleus: Indeed. Everyday, I practice by myself for two hours after waking up, and then another two hours before retiring for the night.

Azul: If we're to sing along with Malleus, we have to be on par with his skills...

Azul: This isn't the time to settle for the usual practice. I have to put in the same effort!

Idia: Practicing with the entire group, practicing with the main vocalists, and then practicing alone for four hours..?!

Idia: Where do you get all that energy from..! When and how do you even sleep!

>> To be continued

Link to part 3

#THEY'RE SO FUNNY OHMYGOD #Malleus REALLY isn't a powerful person for no reason #he is VERY hardworking #twisted wonderland #twst spoilers #glorious masquerade #malleus draconia #azul ashengrotto #lilia vanrouge #idia shroud

[solradguy]

Hey Sol! I remember quite a while ago, someone asked you about how to get into archiving stuff and you answered with a little guide of sorts of useful programs/websites/etc.

Do you still have that guide up? Is there somewhere I can learn more in-depth about how to begin archiving too?

Tumblr search is failing me and I can't find that post now... So! I'll type it again. Lately I've been thinking about writing some kind of "archivist's manifesto" type thing for my Neocities in an effort to hype people up about archiving and to guide them on how to do it. When I write that up I'll post it here too.

Here's a big post I wrote on how to scan books and where to upload them (this is also linked in the big GG masterpost that's in my pinned): https://solradguy.tumblr.com/post/722512206034501632/sol-radguy-scanning-guide

That guide also has some tips on photo editing that may be useful for non-book scanning stuff, like some free program alternatives.

I've tried finding professional guides on how to archive media but most of them are written for people looking to archive family photos/things and not web media or physical books. None of them have been very helpful, honestly. One thing they recommend doing that I think IS helpful though is the rule of 3: Keep 3 copies of an archive somewhere. A physical hard drive, cloud storage, a second hard drive stored separately from the first (in case of accidents/hardware failure), uploaded to separate file hosts, and printing new physical copies are some. Doing any 3 of those is highly recommended. I do the two hard drives and cloud storage/file hosts ones. My hosts are generally Archive.org, Neocities, and Google Drive.

Be very careful about trusting image hosting sites with valuable scan data because they come and go like the wind. Photobucket, Tinypic, Imageshack... They're either dead or require a premium to host files now, which doesn't help hobby archivists at all. Imgur's demise is on the horizon. It's just the way it goes with these due to how expensive and space-consuming image hosting is.

Absolutely 1000% do not ever use just Discord for archiving/hosting things. Nothing on that platform can be backed up easily or with automation, and the guys that run it have already made weird choices the community didn't want while also putting more and more things behind the Nitro paywall. I suspect they're going to kneecap image and file hosting some day soon, too.

For archiving someone else's files, something that helps greatly (if it can be done) is either including the source of the file in the file's name or writing a separate document with the sources and whatever other additional information there is.

Here's a basic example of some Sol images from my Sol folder:

The first two are from the Counterside collab event and then the second two are official art but the file names are descriptive and it saves time sourcing them for things later. For archiving fan art/fiction, the filename is a good place to put the artist credit. Something like [Artwork Title]-[Artist Name]-[Original File Creation Date].format ("Sol Badguy Missing Link - Daisuke Ishiwatari - May 14 1998.jpg," or however you wanna organize the folder) works good.

Windows 11 didn't like working with Japanese text in file names for some of the Vastedge stuff I archived and I had to translate/romanize them. If you can't read Japanese/source's language, just do your best (number them instead?) and include the native language text in a .TXT file if possible.

A more complex example from the Vastedge .TXT doc:

The Vastedge materials archive is pretty dense and had a lot of contributors so the first half of the .TXT document's just credits for who did what. This is useful for if something gets lost because we'll know who to go bother about it. Among other things.

The next section is a long stack of details about the files themselves. I won't paste the whole thing here, it's pretty long. It covers how the archive came to be, issues with some of the files, how the files were obtained, and some other stuff:

The last half of the .TXT doc is a listing of the folder contents. I included this for quick reference and because sometimes archives get fractured by people only reuploading certain parts of it. Future archivists or anyone else going through this archive now have a list of what should be in there and will know if something is missing.

Archive.org/Wayback Machine has a browser extension for quickly archiving webpages. I have that and WebP / Avif Image Converter by Nullbrains (Chrome, might be on Firefox?) installed to quickly archive pages and convert image files as I save them.

In summary:

Upload/store things in multiple places

Include credits wherever you can, however is easiest for you

Try to keep files in the most widely compatible formats (jpg, gif, bmp, png, tiff, mp3, mp4, txt, pdf, flac, etc). Google's .DOC, Clip Studio Paint's .CLIP, and similar file formats meant for a specific piece of software may not be supported in the future.

A bad/incomplete archive is better than no archive at all. Consider how exciting Sappho poetry fragments are compared to what it would be like if we didn't have anything. Don't worry about making it "perfect."

Hope that helps some!! I'll try to write the manifesto for my NC soon

#asks #long post #archiving

[shion-yu]

Out of the Woods (part 1)

Just a shameless Rey sickfic that got absurdly long so going to split it into two parts. Rey's toyhouse link. Part 2.

Felix typically rose well before Rey did. An insomniac by trade, it was rare for him to sleep more than a few hours at a time - that was, if he managed to sleep at all. In many ways this turned out to be quite useful in his chosen career as the prince's hired protector. Staying on guard at all hours of the day was not an issue for him. There was a personal benefit as well: Felix found the early morning hours to be the most peaceful and enjoyed his quiet time alone. Even so, Rey didn't usually sleep quite this late. The sun was already fully up and the air was bright and warm, late summer quickly turning to autumn. The crisp smell of changing leaves mixed with the coffee that Felix had brewed for himself. 

By nine it was more than late enough to excuse waking the prince. Felix knelt beside Rey's sleeping bag and shook his young charge’s shoulder firmly. "Rey, it's time to get up. You can't sleep all day." 

Rey groaned but didn't open his eyes. "Don't wanna."

Felix rolled his eyes at the spoiled young man. "I've already broken down camp and it's getting late," he said. "Get ready to go or I’m leaving you here.”

"Who put you in charge?" Rey grumbled, but sat up nonetheless. He rubbed his eyes and squinted at Felix, long black hair tangled in the back and his bangs hanging messily over his eyes. Felix held back laughter at the sight of Rey’s bedhead and dished up a bowl of porridge he'd made over an hour ago now.

"Eat," he said, handing Rey the food. Rey made a face and looked away. "What's wrong?" Felix asked.

Rey shrugged and reluctantly climbed out of his warm cocoon, shivering as the crisp forest air hit his skin. "Nothing. I'm just not hungry," he said. This wasn't unusual; Rey had skipped breakfast plenty of times before and his appetite fluctuated as quickly as his mood did. When Rey was in bad spirits, he ate like a bird. Felix wondered if today’s lack of appetite had something to do with the bad dreams Rey had been having last night. He knew because Rey had been grunting and shifting constantly until Felix had thrown an arm over him. The pressure seemed to calm Rey and eventually he stilled, although an occasional moan still passed through his lips throughout the night. 

"Just eat a bit," Felix told him. Sometimes working for the prince felt like being a doctor, parent and therapist too. "You need energy for the day."

Rey grumbled but obliged, managing less than half of the bowl before he couldn't stomach any more. Then he got changed into clothes for the day which Felix had laid out for him. A simple white shirt as always with black pants and his gold embroidered jacket. His long black hair was brushed back and tied neatly with a thin black ribbon into a ponytail. He was a creature of habit when it came to his appearance, that was for sure. 

Felix thought Rey seemed to move slower than usual, but thankfully they weren't expected to meet Rey's next suitor for several more days so there was no rush to reach their destination. They mounted the horses and headed towards the direction of the next town. Conversation was neither of their strong suits, so the mostly quiet journey was both typical and comfortable for the two of them.

By late afternoon they'd made good progress, but they were still far enough away that one more night in the forest would be necessary. Felix went about making camp and dinner while Rey tended to the horses. Freya, Rey's beloved squirrel fox who spent most of the time in his pocket, chattered away on his shoulder. Rey nodded as if he could understand what she was saying. Sometimes, Felix wondered if he actually did.

Once dinner was served, Felix watched with one eyebrow raised as Rey picked at his food yet again. "What's wrong?" He asked. "Does your stomach hurt?" He'd learned by now that asking specific yes or no questions was the best way to get the truth out of Rey when it came to asking him if he was alright - otherwise, the boy was perpetually 'fine'.

"Mm," Rey hummed affirmatively. The crackle of the fire in front of them made it difficult to hear the admission, but Felix was sure not to miss it.

"Go ahead and sleep," Felix said. "We'll get to sleep in a proper bed tomorrow."

It didn't seem to matter that they were in sleeping bags though. Rey fell asleep almost instantly and didn't rise until Felix once again woke the young prince himself. At least, he was going to wake him when he noticed how blotchy Rey's complexion was. Upon touching Rey's cheek, Felix could immediately feel an unhealthy heat radiating outward. He sighed realizing what he was in for. Rey was often sick, something that his family had informed Felix about ahead of time. This had been since childhood, but it had gotten worse after his time in captivity no doubt. 

Felix wanted them to make it to the next town tonight so that Rey could sleep in a warm bed before he could get any worse. He hated to wake Rey when he was ill though. Not only because he felt bad, but because sometimes Rey’s attitude was awfully foul when he wasn’t feeling well. Still, he managed to wake Rey by pulling the boy up by both arms into a sitting position and brushing his hair for him until Rey was aware enough to push him away.

“What are you doing?” He asked, agitated. His voice was raspy and he winced at the pain in his throat as he spoke.

“Getting you ready to go,” Felix said. “You need a proper bed tonight. Do you think you can ride your own horse?”

“Of course I can,” Rey said, scowling. He was going to ask why wouldn’t he be able to accomplish such a thing, but a violent chill passed through his body and he realized there was no point in hiding the fever he could feel brewing when Felix was already touching him. His body ached down to his bones and his skin prickled uncomfortably. Worst of all was the pain in his throat. Still, he was stubborn to his core and brushed Felix off, standing and saying, “I can dress myself.” The way he swayed unsteadily on his feet did little to support this claim, but he didn’t care. Felix, knowing better than to argue, left Rey to his own devices and finished breaking down camp. 

Once Rey was dressed, Felix forced another bowl of tepid porridge into Rey’s hands. As expected Rey tried to insist he wasn’t hungry but Felix shook his head at him. “You need to keep up your strength. We’ve got a long day ahead of us,” he said. 

Rey’s stomach flopped uncomfortably at the prospect of eating but he managed a few meager spoonfuls before he handed it back to Felix. “I’m full,” he said weakly. Felix could see that he was serious this time and sighed. At least Rey had drunk most of his tea.

They set out soon afterwards, Felix pushing the pace to make it to their destination. He watched Rey closely, trying to make sure the prince was keeping up. Rey was at first, but it was only an hour later when he veered off the path and half fell off of his horse before stumbling a few paces away to vomit. Felix winced at the sound and dismounted his own horse. He put a hand to Rey’s back supportively and was dismayed to find the prince felt much warmer than before. “Let’s take a break,” he said once Rey was no longer heaving. He led Rey to a nearby fallen tree and sat him down. 

Rey groaned and rested his head in his hands. “Dizzy,” he rasped. His already raw throat hurt ten times worse now thanks to the burn of stomach acid.

Felix fetched Rey’s canteen from the horses and handed it to him, kneeling. “Drink,” Felix said.

Rey looked distressed at the idea of putting anything back into his stomach. “I don't know,” he murmured cautiously. 

“Just a little,” Felix urged him just as he had this morning. “You’re going to get dehydrated otherwise.” Rey looked like he wanted to protest, but he also understood that Felix was right. He managed a few tiny sips before he handed the canteen back to Felix. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths through his nose, telling his body to keep it down. 

They set out again after a few minutes, Rey still managing to be on his own horse but with Felix leading it for him this time. They only made it half an hour this time before Rey stopped his horse again, his eyes closed tightly. “Felix,” he said weakly, “I-I can’t.” Felix managed to jump off his horse just in time to catch Rey as the prince passed out and toppled over. 

“Dammit Rey,” Felix muttered worriedly. He could feel Rey’s fever had become far too high to be up, but at this point they weren't going to make it to town before nightfall. They would either have to give up on traveling and Felix would have to do his best to take care of Rey here, or they needed to plow onwards anyways. It was a difficult choice where neither option was good, but he also now believed that Rey probably needed to see a doctor. Rey was ill on a regular basis after all, but rarely did his fever get this bad. And now, Felix could see a blotchy red rash on Rey’s stomach and chest that was creeping upwards towards his neck.

Felix made the difficult decision to keep moving. He tied their horses together and practically dragged Rey onto the saddle in front of him. He held on tightly to the burning prince in front of him and pushed the horses to go as fast as possible, tied together as they were. His arms ached trying to keep both Rey and himself on the saddle. Occasionally Rey was able to hold on himself, but other times he was dead weight in Felix’s arms. He had terrible chills and Felix could feel his body jerking uncontrollably against his own. Each time they went over patches of rough ground Rey whimpered and Felix swore he heard him mutter, “I’m gonna die,” but when he asked Rey if he'd said anything he received a clipped, “No.” 

They made stops every hour or so for them both to rest. Rey vomited almost immediately every time Felix forced him to drink more water so he decreased his request from several sips per stop to just one or two. He dampened cold cloths and kept them pressed against the back of Rey’s neck, but they became hot too quickly to really help. The rash continued to spread, and now it was all over Rey’s arms and in patches on his face. Felix reminded Rey not to itch but he wasn't sure Rey was listening. Felix had never seen Rey look so miserable before and of course the temperature began to dip considerably that night. 

“We need to get you to a doctor,” Felix said worriedly during one of their breaks. Rey didn't answer from his position where he lay on the ground; he’d stopped speaking hours ago, his throat too sore to even try. “I’m not sure we’re going to make it tonight... Unless I go on ahead.” 

Rey grabbed onto Felix’s sleeve, his eyes immediately wide with panic. He shook his head quickly and to his dismay he couldn't help but keep tears from forming. Felix looked sorry he had even suggested it and patted Rey gently on the arm. “No no, I won't leave you behind,” he confirmed. Rey relaxed his grip and closed his eyes again. 

Felix bit his lip. Rey had never been sick like this before, at least not out here in the woods where there was no way to get help or medicine. He didn't know what to think of the rash either but it scared him, as did the high fever that hadn't broken all day. 

“Do you think you can make it if we travel at night?” Felix asked. Rey’s eyes fluttered open again and he looked at Felix half-lidded and exhausted. But he slowly nodded yes. Felix forced what he hoped was a confident expression. “Good boy,” he said. “We’re almost there.” Another two or three hours, surely, but almost. Felix hoped.

He wrapped two blankets around Rey and helped him get onto the horse once more, Rey whimpering uncontrollably at the pain the movement caused him. “I know,” Felix said, his tone full of pity. He hated this, too. “It’s going to be okay, my prince.”

Rey was beyond fully comprehending the situation, but he just knew they needed to keep going. They needed to get away - to run. That's what they were doing, right? Running. Far, far away from the people who had hurt them...

Dreams and reality were becoming blurred. He heard Felix’s voice shouting and he thought, run. I have to run. But if he left Felix behind, Felix would die, wouldn’t he? He’d chosen to run before, but now... He couldn’t leave Felix behind. Not again. He tried to lurch to grab his friend, to bring him along, sobbing. 

“REY!” 

Rey froze, the scene wavering and disappearing in his head. He realized then that Felix was holding onto him for dear life so that he didn't leap face first off their horse onto the ground. One shaky hand reached into the air for nothing while Felix held desperately on to the other. Was he crying? He turned his head to see Felix’s desperate expression in the near darkness.

“Did we make it out?” He heard himself say. He couldn’t understand the expression on Felix’s face just as he couldn’t understand his own question, the context fading as quickly as the details of the dream itself. 

“Yes, Rey,” Felix said. His voice wavered. “We made it out. Both of us.” He pulled Rey close to him and hugged him tightly. Rey wanted to ask him where they were going and where they’d been before - what they were running from - but then everything went black and what little awareness he did have left him once again.

Cont. Part 2

#shionwrites #oc: rey #whump #sickfic #male whump #sicknario #sick whump #fever whump #illness whump #fever #hurt/comfort #hurt comfort #caretaking #whump community #whump writing #whumpblr #angst

[narsh-potatoes]

Never apologize for rambling abt your OCs on my post. I love y ou (and HOHHH THAT SOUNDS SO INTERSETING I'M LOOKING)

OKAY COOL FUCK YEAH THANKS

im using you as an excuse to talk about my very own home-grown blorbos now

So!!!!!!!!! i literally only have half of a design for the two of these ocs, i've only drawn one of them ONCE and i don't count it cuz i wanna redesign him COMPLETELY (that piece is not even canon, i had to do that for a class so i put stuff in there that doesn't even belong to the type of story it is </3), i've written for the two of them a couple times but im not even sure THAT'S canon anymore

(here's the art in case you don't wanna click on a link)

i think the writing might still be canon tho, i do still kinda like a lot of the stuff it went over with that. N E WAYS.

basically there's this pair of witches (they don't. really have. names. oops. they did but i don't like them anymore) who enlisted and then eventually rose to the top of fighting this war/apocalypse/encroaching disaster that has been ongoing for a LONG time. like, they're at the end of the world but turns out the end of the world is a hell of a lot slower than anyone imagined. they've been fighting it for a long time (and it does involve actual fighting? like i like to think that this apocalypse acts more as like. locust swarm but the bugs are big big buggy boys that hates you hates you hates you and eats the magic out of the world)

and the first (we'll call him A) is the one who rose up in the ranks to be best of the best very quickly, because his kind of magic is very powerful and was critically effective in the fight. and the second guy (we'll call him B) is kind of. worst of the best. SORT OF. he was best of the best because he fought alongside A and B's brand of magic explicitly deals with the bond the two of them shared. (i call it bonds magic cuz i can't think of something better for now) (yes it's power of friendship) (there more to that but whatever) it was IMMENSELY powerful!!! not moreso than A's magic, but still!! very powerful!!! so B rose up because A pulled him up (not entirely true!!! but you get the point. nuance)

BUT THEN. sometime after they had been in the war for a long ass time, A leaves. either from shame, either he's disillusioned, something happened, he won't say. and just kind of. leaves B behind. who still is very much part of the war and won't say anything to sway A's mind because he cares too much about what he thinks

years later, B's still part of the war/doom effort. and magic in the world has kind of deteriorated so much that it's. honestly kind of hard to come across a solid magic user these days. they still teach them and still get people to join the effort, but compared to the older days, it's a lot less. people can learn magic, everyone can, but it's hard to get like. a professional, someone who has unlocked the higher abilities of magic. people like A or B.

speaking of! yeah. B is still part of the war effort. and it's NOW at the period of time where he's the worst of the best, but he's the only one they've got. they still keep him around because who else is there, really, and also he can still utilize the powerful bond magic he made way back when with A, so he's still very powerful but it's just. different. ya know? he's standing in the shadow of just the IDEA of A, and he's not even here anymore. and it's not filled with resentment, never. never resentment. he could never tarnish that. it's only ever love. and looking up to A. it didn't feel like he cast a shadow because to B, to him, he only ever cast light.

but also. A left. left him. alone.

so he's dealing with that in a perfectly reasonable manner (not thinking about it)

meanwhile A has decided to live a pastoral life away from the apocalypse and is totally not repressing his issues either. <3.

and like!!! the council or whatever that's in charge of all the witches is like "hey. B. you know your way cooler friend? you still keep in touch right?" and sends him off to go find A again after all these years to bring him back to the war and there's a whole mess of meeting again and having to meet with all the things you left unsaid, and all the everything and OOUAOUGHFF it's a whole mess.

anyways i want to make this a comic but also i kind of need to. yknow. design and draw the comic if i want to make the comic. so like. rage.

#teehee #asks #joyflameball #i think about these guys near constantly #so many themes i want to explore with them #they? probably? die in the end? #i don't know. i haven't written a plot for them #but the love mattered. it mattered because we were here and it existed #that kind of thing ya know? #it's a “it's so hard to love when it's like this but i'll do it anyways. even if it hurts. because it's you. and i would again and again” #crying screaming throwing up #but yeah maybe they'll live maybe they die in the end. i'll find out eventually