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megaboy335 · 11 months

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Anime and Manga Log [5/28/23]

Over the years I’ve thought about doing a blog to post my thoughts about various manga and anime. Recently my good buddy @silvertsundere started a weekly AniManga post where he posts some short thoughts each week. I however, usually have a lot to say. It would take me forever to write up long discussions about every single chapter update I read each week. So I’ll be picking out a few titles to talk about each week. From Jump I will discuss my weekly top 3 and anything else I want to talk about.

Weekly Shonen Jump has been the core of my reading diet for nearly 15 years now. I have been following Shonen Jump since the mid-2000s when Viz was releasing the print magazine. Later around mid-2008 and into 2009 I got into Ohba and Obata’s Bakuman. This lead me to learning about the toc rankings and I started following the magazine religiously. I love the raw energy of a Shonen Jump series. Due to the competitive nature of its ranking system the series are always trying to improve themselves and catch the readers off guard. There’s nothing else quite like it. In comparison, Shonen Magazine series frequently have an emphasis on romance (and fan service) or its a sports manga. Shonen Sunday titles are usually very chill. They prefer to develop characters at a slow natural pace. Jump series always have something happening since losing readership could cost them a position in the magazine. I’ve been entertained by series of all genres short and long out of Jump. In fact it was talking about Nisekoi that made my Tumblr blog semi-famous in 2014-16. The creed of “Friendship! Effort! Victory!” will never fail you. I’m currently reading everything from Weekly Shonen Jump, most Jump+ titles, and a few other series from other magazines. My Kodansha reads are paused at the moment because KManga is a bad app. The only Shonen Sunday series I am caught up with is Frieren (on hiatus). Eventually I’ll get caught up with a few others so I can follow Viz Media simuls. I generally only read official releases and prefer to keep scanlations to a minimum.

So without further ado, discussion for the series listed below are under the Keep Reading. I’m hoping to make this a weekly post going forward. There will be spoilers and opinions below. Be warned.

- Sakamoto Days Ch.120 - Blue Box Ch.102 - Cipher Academy Ch.25 - Naruto: Konoha Story Ch.15 [END] - Pokemon Horizons Ep.8 - Soaring Sky! Precure Ep.17

Sakamoto Days 120: Sakamoto Days is the mindless action series in the line-up right now. Its very much inspired by movies like John Wick. Lately we’ve been a backstory about Uzuki and Sakamoto’s relationship. The biggest selling point of the series is Suzuki’s endless creative imagination of cool set pieces. They never cease to amaze me with how the character interact with the location to defeat their opponent. If I had to guess, the series is about halfway complete right now. Still a ways to go, but plotlines are starting to center around the baddie of the series. This week’s chapter finished the backstory with a fight between Sakamoto and Uzuki. Instead of the grand speculate we usually have, this fight was more grounded. No dialogue for half the chapter. Just a rapid exchange of blows. Leaving the backstory in Uzuki’s pov shows this how incident is still something he thinks about, and connects his character to Sakamoto. I always look forward to reading this series. When is the anime going to be announced? Blue Box 102: The series just cleared its 2nd anniversary and its going as strong as ever. Blue Box is a slow burn romance following our main couple struggling in sports and love. Its a story filled with youth and presented with the thin loose line work of Kouji Miura. She always puts an emphasis on capturing a character’s expressions in the moment. It will frequently hold a reaction shot to show specific mannerisms. Lately, the series has been gearing up for a long awaited confession between Taiki and Chinatsu. Its been a long time coming, though I am unsure if the series will actually do it. Rom-Coms aren’t known for changing the status quo in the middle of the series. This week’s chapter teases our main couple being much closer than they imagined in terms of proximity. They’re both unknowingly to the other in the same area. That’s lead Taiki on a fast sprint to catch up with Chinatsu. Will they meet each other or just barely miss? Its hard to say. The scenery shot of the frozen lake in this week’s chapter was very pretty. Cipher Academy 25: The return of Nisioisin to Jump was near the top of my wish list, and I can confidently say he’s been delivering week after week. The story is about an academy of code solvers where literally every single thing is decided by your ability to decode a puzzle. It’s such a Nisioisin concept. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to be catching on with readers. Cipher Academy has been ranking low in the toc rankings. The recent chapters have been getting down to business with moving the plot to its ultimate goal of unearthing the big Crypto collection (yes you read right that, Nisio is writing about Crypto of all things) hidden deep within the academy. The leading Class Private of each class are going to participate in a tournament arc to determine the “Code Emperor”. Now admittedly for a manga about codes, they don’t matter that much in the grand scheme of the writing. The codes are always plot devices for the characters to interact around. Nisio’s greatest strength of conveying character traits with eccentric dialogue is very much here, and with the added visual language of Iwasaki art. Together they compliment each other quite well. But anyhow, Nisio tournament arc sounds like its going to be exciting. Iroha is going to have to put his brain into overdrive to outwit his peers. Don’t get cancelled on me Cipher Academy!

Naruto: Konoha Story Ch.15 [END] This finishes the pair of Naruto Light Novel manga adaptations that began last fall. Konoha Story was previously adapted into Boruto so I was already familiar with the story. It followed Mirai learning to believe in herself more and discovering the legacy she’s been left. Throughout the story we had cameos from several old character each of whom imparted some wisdom into Mirai. Sadly, it falls into the trap of all post-Naruto. They rely on recycling old plotlines instead of pushing the canon forward. In this case because the story is about Mirai and since Asuma died to Hidan, from the Jishin cult, Mirai has to face someone from the cult in modern day. Luckily, Kishimoto left a good foundation with the team 10 dynamics for the story to work with. At the very least Mirai’s character feel more natural in the world and something we were bound to see at some point. Overall, enjoyable and the manga was a nice way to experience the story again. [Final Score: 6/10]

Pokemon Horizons Ep.8: We’re two months into the new Pokemon anime and its finishing the prologue phase of the story. We’ve had intro arcs for both Riko and Roy. They each have an ancient artifact that’s sure to connect to a bigger plot. We know very little about the villain group right now. However, its still been great so far! First, its refreshing to have a female protagonist for a change and have main characters who can have organic character development. I guess placing them both school better connects to the target audience and game characters. Poor Riko only got to spend 1 episode in school before getting swept up in the plot. I appreciate slower pace of long running anime. Episode 8 focused on the streamer character Dot. She’s a shy in person, but puts on a high energy performance on the internet. Similar to the seiyuu’s counterpart in Bocchi. Exciting things are ahead as the gang is about to land in Paldea.

Soaring Sky! Precure Ep.17: I started watching Precure weekly during the 15th anniversary series Hugtto, and here we are at the 20th series Soaring Sky. Precure series often have some of the most solid character writing among airing shows. Unlike 1 cour incomplete adaptations, Precure gets 4 whole cours to flesh out its characters. Soaring Sky is a return to form with a focus on a central main duo and hand to hand combat. The cure designs are better made than usual for animation. That allows for most episodes to feature some nice movement or character acting when it matters most, as seen once again in this week’s episode. Sora was tasked running a relay, and she wanted Mashiro to be the one passing the baton. It was a cute story that once again reinforces the friendship bond shared between our duo. Despite monster fight feeling tacked onto the scenario this week, it featured some slick movements. Next episode is the long awaited debut of Cure Butterfly. Ageha can finally start on Precure adventures as one of the squad.

Full read/watch list for the week:

#Mega Log #Weekly Shonen Jump #the return of my Tumblr

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alex-fa-ch · 3 years

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Quartz: *pulls out axe*

Rose: Oh look at that they're finally snapping

Addict: was i wrong about them-

Sunny: DO IT PUSSY-

Quartz: *flips axe so the flat is out*

Rose and Addict: *visible relief*

#like this is what i envision #dkksksj #id love to like #if i had the logs to write the ~official~ story to everything with the dialogue yk??#gang smp

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kriscme · 3 years

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One Life to Live

Hi, sorry for the delay if you’re following this story on Tumblr. The chapters that have been put on AO3 have at last caught up with the chapters here. New chapters will go up weekly from hence on. You might find it easier to read on AO3 though. I’d link if I knew how. I’m Kris22 over there.

As always thanks to Ronja for allowing me to write fanfic of her Hunger Games fanfic “The Chance You Didn‘t Take” available on AO3 and FanFiction. Chapter 30 “Marcus presents well on TV, doesn’t he? You wouldn’t guess how much he hates it.” My hand stills as I focus on the screen and Buttercup nudges his head beneath my palm in protest. I absently go back to scratching him behind the ears and his chest rumbles in contentment. “Yeah, well, you soon learn to fake it,” replies Johanna from the other end of the sofa. “You should know that better than anyone.” “Yeah,” I say. Fake or not fake, real or not real, on television who can tell the difference? “That’s where Gale and I used to meet to go hunting,” I tell her. Cressida had Marcus stand with his back to the valley, using the mountains in the distance as backdrop. The sun was directly behind him and it shone through his golden-brown hair and set it aflame as if it were a halo. Man-on-fire, I can almost hear Cinna say. He’s the darling of the media now. I don’t envy him. I nervously wait for the moment Cressida interrupted the interview to ask me how I feel about a national park but it’s like it didn’t happen. It’s been edited so seamlessly that no one would guess there’d been a break in the dialogue between Marcus and herself. True to her word, there’s not even the slightest glimpse or mention of me anywhere. And nothing either in the separate feature she did on District 12 that had aired immediately before.

I let out my breath in a long exhale and feel the tension ebb from my muscles. I imagine Marcus in District 13 having the same reaction. We felt sure that if there were any compromising footage it would come out either before the interview was broadcast or during. And apart from that . . . um . . . incident in the woods, what else could they have on us? Only that Marcus was a guest in my house but that was a very reasonable arrangement given the circumstances. Otherwise, it was all very circumspect. No public displays of affection, no chaining naked to trees, no fights with logging companies. Only Johanna knew the extent of our relationship, and I doubt she’d have told anyone. Peeta’s engagement to Lace would have made a juicy story, but thankfully he’s protected, having done nothing to attract publicity to himself – either through his own actions or through association with another. “Looks like you’ve dodged a bullet,” says Johanna. She reaches for the remote to switch off the television and then settles back onto the sofa. A plate of Peeta-made cookies is on the coffee table delicately iced in Peeta’s signature style. She takes one and scrapes off the icing with her teeth. Johanna likes the icing best. If you let her, you’d end up with a plate of cookies that look as if mice had been at them. “It would seem so,” I reply. I wish I could feel more certain, but if I’ve learned anything from my experiences is that life seldom is. In fact, feeling safe almost guarantees that you’re not. I forget to stroke Buttercup again, and tired of my erratic attention, he decides it’s time to move on. He drops to the floor and ambles over to his favorite lounge chair, tail swishing. He leaves behind a layer of cat hair on my dark green trousers. “I told you nothing would happen,” says Johanna. “Wouldn’t want to ruin the fantasy they’d put so much effort into perpetuating, would they? I stand naked against a tree for a good cause and the media goes berserk. You get caught shagging against a tree with the current golden boy and then nothing.” “You know that’s not true,” I say, exasperated that she still thinks like this. “Maybe at one time, when it would have made the Capitol look stupid if the truth came out, but not now. They’ve had no compunction giving Marcus bad publicity in the past so I can’t see why it would be different just because I’m involved. We were mistaken about what we heard that’s all, and then we let paranoia take over.”

I’d agonized over whether I should tell Marcus about Remus and the knowing look he gave me when I returned to camp. In the end, I decided that he should have all the information just in case he needed to be prepared. That was a mistake. Between Cressida’s return to the Capitol the following day and Marcus’s for District 13 a week later, our waking hours were spent alternating between optimism that we had nothing to worry about and then dread that we had everything to worry about. Marcus was petrified that another scandal would put his mission in jeopardy. As there’s no official mandate from the central government to establish national parks, he depends on the goodwill and co-operation of individual districts and a negative association with me – any association with me, actually – could have that support withdrawn. Especially in 13 where my name is anathema. For me, it was the terror of a media onslaught, that what had happened before could happen again – my private life no longer private but entertainment to be analyzed and exploited. That the careful re-building of my life as plain Katniss Everdeen would all come to naught. That it might impact on Peeta, who’s only just now finding himself after what Snow did to him. We had our first ever real argument. I told him it was his fault for breaking his own rule and luring me into a clandestine meeting with him for sex. And he said it was my fault for . . . he couldn’t quite articulate why it was my fault but it had something to do with being Katniss Everdeen. It seems if I’d been a nobody we could have fucked in the main street (his words) and while it would likely have had us arrested in 12 it wouldn’t have merited even the smallest mention in the Capitol. Because, you know, we’re just ignorant hayseeds and they are so much more sophisticated than we are and they have no morals (my words). Oh, and he wasn’t exactly a nobody either. In fact, that was the problem. We did calm down and apologize to each other and had make-up sex, which was nice, but it wasn’t how I imagined we’d be spending our final days together – tense, fearful, with each blaming the other for our predicament. It wasn’t until the night before he departed for 13 that we came to a mutual understanding. Neither of us were at fault. We were victims of our celebrity – a celebrity that neither of us had sought. Mine was thrust upon me, and his was a regrettable consequence of his life’s work. But I did tell him he was partly to blame. If he had been fifty, pot-bellied and bald instead of young, handsome and with eyes the color of maple-syrup that could melt any women’s heart, he wouldn’t attract a fraction of the media attention that he does. And then he told me that if I had been a scraggy, wrinkled old bat instead of young and nubile with eyes like silver moons and hair evocative of midnight, all the Games prowess in the world couldn’t have made me the cultural icon I’d become. We were just too good looking for own good. And then we laughed and had sex – playful, affectionate, I-want-to-remember-this-forever sex.

But the worry was still there when we lay in each other’s arms that night, and the next morning when we said our goodbyes. It was a bitter-sweet ending to what had been an unforgettable interlude but as I watched him pass through the Village gates for the last time, rucksack piled high, long legs in hiking boots striding purposely towards the next wilderness to be saved, I was struck by the rightness of it. It was how it was always going to end; how it always should have ended. Johanna tosses a denuded cookie back onto the plate and picks up a fresh one. She ignores the pained look I send her way. “Would you have gone with him?” she asks. “If you could?” I brush cat hairs from my trousers to give me a few seconds to think about it. I’d honestly never considered it since I can’t leave 12. But there was a time when I could have happily left everything behind and followed him around the country, hiking mountain trails and making love at every opportunity. It was at the concrete house by the lake, the morning after we’d made love for the first time and there weren’t enough superlatives in the world to describe how wonderful I thought he was, although now I find it hard to determine exactly what I did feel for him.

“No,” I say eventually. “Even if didn’t mean being in the public eye again, I still wouldn’t. We don’t want the same things.” I hesitate, wondering if I should say anything, but then blurt it out. “I don’t think I’m normal.” I brace for the sarcastic response I’m sure to get, but to my relief it doesn’t come. “None of us are,” she says grimly. “You don’t go through what we have and come out normal at the end of it.” She’s silent for a moment, but then rouses herself. “But if you want me to comment further, you’ll have to be more specific,” she adds. I sigh. I don’t know to explain it to myself, let alone to someone else. “Well, it’s about how I felt about Marcus. I mean, it wasn’t that long ago when I would have done almost anything for him. He made me feel so . . . so . . . “ “Turned on?” she smirks. I feel my face grow hot. I should have known the real Johanna couldn’t be too far from the surface. “Yes, but more than that. Wanted. Desirable. And we had so much in common too. But when he left, I didn’t feel much of anything. I should have been devastated, shouldn’t I?” “Rebound.”

“What?” “It was a rebound. It’s when you haven’t got over one relationship and you dive straight into another. Marcus gave you the validation that Peeta didn’t. It’s not so complicated. Pretty simple, in fact. Happens all the time.” “It does?” “Yep. It goes like this. You feel like shit because you’re still hung-up on your ex so you’re looking for a distraction – something or someone to make you feel better. So along comes Marcus who is clearly attracted and you transfer the feelings you don’t think Peeta wants on to him. Only it doesn’t last because it’s not based on anything real.” But some things were real. I really did like him, felt a connection with him, even. And I liked the sex, but maybe that’s just a physical thing. I haven’t been with enough men to know if it’s different when it’s with someone you truly love. “A rebound is bad then?” I ask. “Depends,” she says. She takes another cookie from the plate. “Has it made you feel better or worse? And then there’s the person on the other end of it. It’s generally considered not fair to them. But, if you had to pick the ideal man to have a rebound with, you couldn’t have done better than Marcus. I told you at the beginning– one track mind. Nothing competes with saving the forests for him.” Gale. He was like that. The cause is more important than any relationship. As soon as Gale heard about the uprisings in the Districts, he no longer wanted to escape with me into the woods when just minutes before, he’d been so keen. But Peeta, he would have gone with me, even though he knew it was a bad idea. “He told me he doesn’t keep girlfriends for very long. I guess that’s why,” I say. He’d also have figured out what a liability I’d be to him. And I certainly wouldn’t want the kind of life a relationship with him would entail. That final week had been an eyeopener for us both. But at least it ended well, all things considered. I put out my hand for a cookie but change my mind when I can’t find one that hasn’t had the icing scraped off.

“You’re disgusting,” I tell her. But I can’t keep from laughing. It’s part amusement, part relief. No repercussions from that lapse of judgement in the woods and an explanation that makes sense to me about my feelings for Marcus. I feel a sudden rush of affection for the woman who’s helped me through this – and more besides. Once I compared her to an older sister who really hates you. I guess I have to revise it to an older sister who sometimes seems to hate you but really doesn’t, and you can always depend on to have your back. “I’m going to miss you,” I say. “Yeah, I know,” Johanna replies casually as if she were picking lint off a sweater. “But my reason for coming here in the first place was to help Marcus out and he’s gone. Peeta doesn’t need me anymore either. So even if I hadn’t been asked to, it still would have been time for me to go home.” “You’re going to be great mayor.” “Thanks, but I’m not mayor quite yet. I have to be elected first. It’s the way it’s done now.” Before the war, District mayors were appointed by the Capitol but now all governing roles are decided by vote. It’s the republic Plutarch had talked about, just like in the history books. The people elect their own representatives. “You’ll get it,” I say confidently. “They love you in 7. They wouldn’t have asked you to run, otherwise.” Who’d have guessed that Johanna would be destined to be Mayor of District 7, but when you think about it, it’s the perfect fit. She’ll bring passion, commitment and integrity to the role. And essential for a career in politics, a thick skin. “So, have you thought about what you’d like to do on your last night here and to celebrate your candidacy?” I ask. “How about drinks first at the pub and then dinner at that restaurant you like or maybe see a movie. Or we could do all three. Anything you like. “ “Anything I like?” she asks ominously. Images of pub crawls, strippers and naked sprints through the streets flash through my mind. “What I’d like is dinner with just the four of us. You, me, Peeta and Haymitch.” I groan. This is far, far worse. “You more than anyone know the circumstances – “ “I don’t care,” she says flatly. “Ever since I got here, I’ve been stuck between the two of you. Haymitch has too. Why don’t you think of other people for a change and how it affects them? You and Peeta are Haymitch’s family! What do you think it’s been like for him?” “He hasn’t said anything,” I say, on the defensive. “How can I know if – “

“It should be fucking obvious! How brainless can you get?” She gives me a look filled with contempt. I guess she’s back to being the older sister who hates you. I hadn’t considered it from Haymitch’s perspective. He’d have missed the dinners, I suppose, but it’s not as if they could continue forever. They were only intended to help us establish a routine. And besides, it was Peeta who showed the first signs of breaking from them. “It’s not like I started it.” As I say it, I realize how false that is. I was the one who put a complete stop to the dinners and made things awkward between Peeta and me. All because I couldn’t handle him being with Lace. “I don’t care who started it,” she says, but less angrily than before. “It’s time for it to stop. Is this how you’re going to live the rest of your lives? Forever trying to avoid being in the same place at the same time? You’re neighbors, for fuck’s sake. You’ve been in two Games and a war together. You don’t throw away a bond like that because he fucked another woman when his brain was mush. And now that you’ve fucked another man, you’re even. There’s nothing standing in your way now. So, what’s stopping you? It can’t be Lace. She’s gone.” Gone, but not forgotten. Not by me, and not by Peeta either. But Johanna does have a point. If Haymitch is a kind of father figure to us both, then that makes us his children. And having two children who don’t get along and won’t join in any family activities if the other is there too, can’t have been easy. For my own part, it has been a strain avoiding Peeta when we live so close, work similar hours, and have Haymitch in common. But it hasn’t been just me. Peeta stopped seeking me out like he used to when he found out that I’m in love him. Nothing about our situation has changed, Lace or no Lace. He stays away from me because he knows that I’m in love him and he feels bad that he can’t love me back. And I stay away from him because I know that he knows, and feel humiliated that he does. But if . . . “You’re right,” I say. “It is ridiculous. You make the arrangements and I’ll be there.” “And now that Marcus is out of the picture – “

She stops suddenly, confused. “You will?” “Yes. In fact, I can hardly wait. It’ll be fun.” I rise from the sofa to gather the cups and the plate of ruined cookies to signal that the visit is over. Johanna looks stunned as if she can’t believe how easy that victory was. She was probably all primed to go into battle and then it failed to materialize. How disappointing that must be.

“Oh, Johanna!” I call out cheerily just as she’s about to walk out the door. I’ve just remembered something Haymitch told me. “Maybe we should let Peeta do the cooking. He likes to do it. He’d always take over when we had our dinners.” If I have to do this thing, I at least want the food to be good. “Sure,” she says, still dazed. And then she’s gone. I wonder if Peeta has already agreed to it, or that she still has the job of guilting him into it too. I decide that it doesn’t matter either way. Peeta will be motivated by the same reasoning as me. The present situation can’t continue. It’s funny, in the way that’s weird rather than amusing, that mine and Peeta’s situation is now reversed. In the days following the Games and before we embarked on the Victory Tour, he avoided me for pretty much the same reasons I avoid him now. And, in turn, I avoided him for the same reason he avoids me. It’s the discomfort of being around someone whose feelings you don’t return. But there’s one crucial difference. Peeta had hope. I know that now from what Haymitch told Peeta before the prep teams arrived. He could afford to wear his heart on his sleeve knowing that there was a good chance that if I was given the space I needed, it was only a matter of time before I felt the same way. I have no hope. Therefore, my strategy will have to be different. This is about survival, not about capturing Peeta’s heart.

Peeta will have to believe that whatever I felt for him, I no longer do. That’s the only way we can be at ease with each other. I may never stop loving him, but I know how to bury my feelings so that they don’t show. I’ve had plenty of practice at it. After my father died. When I was reaped. When he started going out with Lace. I can do this. I can put on a show. I don’t even have to be good at it. In the Games, Peeta was convinced I was in love him because he wanted to believe it. So now I do the opposite and he’ll believe because he wants to believe. And if he can’t do that, he’ll pretend. We’re both very good at pretending. Chapter 31 Venia purses her lips at the state of my nails. “There’s not much I can do with these apart from a polish. If you want artificial nails, you’ll have to come back when Octavia’s here.” “It doesn’t matter,” I say. “I mostly just wanted my hair trimmed.” The shape Flavius had cut into my hair has nearly all grown out. Working at the school during the week, and out in the woods with Marcus on the weekends hadn’t left much time for trips to the beauty salon. I ask, “Where’s Octavia? Not sick, I hope.”

It’s unusual not to see Octavia at her station, her auburn head bent over her task. Since Venia re-united with her coworkers, each has settled into their former specialties as beauty therapists. Flavius is hair and makeup. Octavia is the nail expert. And Venia is skin treatments and waxing. “She left work early,” smirks Flavius. “She has a date.” Venia collects a few tools from the nail station and returns to my side. While Flavius cuts, Venia smooths and buffs. It reminds me of my days as a tribute when all three of them would be working on various body parts at the same time. “We weren’t busy, anyway,” says Venia. “You’re the last customer for the day.” I know. That’s the reason I chose to come at this time. I didn’t want to take the chance of running into Lace when she’s having her roots done. “Anyone I know?” I ask. “Possibly,” replies Venia. “He’s from 12. Thom something. Bick? Hick?” “Hickory?” “That’s it. Hickory. Octavia’s had crushes before but she’s got it really bad this time. I caught her looking through wedding catalogues.” Venia pauses mid-buff. “I’m worried for her.” “How come?” Thom is a nice guy. He was a friend of Gale’s who helped with the clean-up of 12 and gave me a ride home in his cart when I was too weak to walk home. That was the day Peeta came back. “Because of . . . you know, of what we did before the war.” I don’t miss Venia’s use of “we”. If Octavia is accused of being a facilitator of the Games, they all are.

“But doesn’t Thom already know? He was in 13 at the same time as you.” All the survivors from District 12 actually. But Venia shakes her head. “Octavia didn’t know Thom then. We didn’t mix very much with the people there. We thought it safer to keep to ourselves. Especially after the bread.” I suppose being shackled to a wall and beaten for simply taking an extra portion of bread wouldn’t exactly endear the populace to you.

I try to reassure them. “You do know that I’d vouch for you if it ever came out? And tell them how you helped prepare me for the rebellion propos and Snow’s execution?” “I know you would. And maybe we’re worrying over nothing. But we risked a lot coming here and 12’s our home now. Flavius has met someone too – he’s from the Capitol, so that’s not a concern but if we had to leave . . . And Lucia is settled in school and has made friends and Cicero has a good job at the medicine factory . . .” And so Venia goes on. Flavius chimes in too. He tells me they’re set to take on two apprentices and once the tailor has moved out, they want to expand the salon –

“What? Arthur’s leaving?” This is the first I’ve heard of it. But maybe that’s not so surprising. I haven’t seen much of Arthur lately. It’s been only been Max, Johanna and me at pub nights. Arthur is obviously spending his Saturday nights elsewhere. “Oh, he’s not going far,” says Venia. “Just to another store on the main street. He says it’s better situated for passing trade and with the dressmaking shop next door it will likely bring more business to them both.” “I don’t think more business is the only thing those two want from each other,” says Flavius with a suggestive wink. “Flavius!” chides Venia, but she can’t conceal a smile. “It’s true, though. We misplaced the stone we use for sharpening scissors and Octavia went to ask Arthur if we could borrow his. But no one was there even though the door was open. So, she went through to the back, thinking that’s where he’d be, and she caught them red-handed, kissing, and his hand was up her skirt. Octavia forgot all about the stone.” The two of them collapse into giggles. “We didn’t think he had it in him,” says Venia, when she’s able to speak. Neither did I. I can’t laugh about it though. Peeta will be devastated when he hears that Lace has moved on. And so soon after their break-up too. But as badly as I feel for Peeta, I also can’t help feeling happy for Arthur. If there was ever a man who deserves reward for long devotion, it’s him. I only hope that Lace proves worthy of it. One thing I do know is that Peeta isn’t going to hear of it from me. I’m done being involved in his love life. It’s brought me nothing but trouble ever since he made that confession to Caesar Flickerman years before. My only objective is to get over him if I can and make sure that he thinks I have. And that makes this dinner tonight so important. It will set the stage for our relationship going forward. We’ll be friends. Not necessarily close friends. But at least friends who can enjoy social occasions together and feel comfortable in each other’s company. Johanna wants us to dress up so I guess that means I’ll have to wear a cocktail dress. I have one already in my closet. It’s the emerald green dress I wore to the party in 8. But it’s long sleeved and in a heavy fabric and that makes it too hot for this time of the year. I’ll have to go down to the basement where most of the Cinna clothes are stored. There’s a whole rack of cocktail dresses to choose from. But what do you wear when you want to show that you’ve made an effort, but don’t want to appear as if you’ve set out attract anyone in particular – and by anyone, I mean Peeta.

I begin by eliminating colours that are evocative of sunsets or flames. That takes care of anything orange, red or yellow. And then anything that Lace might choose. If Lace is Peeta’s idea of feminine allure then I should make sure to do the opposite. Therefore, no pastels, ruffles and especially any kind of lace. No. No. No, I think as I reject one dress after another. And then I find it. The perfect dress. And so different from the girlish or jeweled frocks that Cinna usually dressed me in that it’s almost as if he knew that one day, I might have a need for a dress such as this. It’s in unrelieved black. Simple and unadorned in slinky silk jersey. I really like it, but Peeta, who loves colour, probably won’t and it’s sure to send a message that I didn’t dress to please him. I accessorize it with black high-heeled sandals and silver and jet earrings. The dress comes to just above the knee with a deep halter neck. It’s impossible to wear a bra without it showing, so I leave it off. I turn around to check how it looks in the mirror from the rear. The clinging fabric does set off my best asset, but since it’s a dinner and I’ll be sitting on it, no one will see it. The burn scars, although much improved from the skin treatments, are still noticeable on my back. I decide to draw attention to it by putting my hair up in a kind of messy bun. This will contrast with Lace’s unblemished skin and immaculate hair and will surely show Peeta that I don’t care at all about being attractive to him. I arrive at Peeta’s door at the same time as Haymitch. He’s wearing a dinner suit, but his white shirt has already untucked from the waistband and his tie isn’t around his neck but dangling from his breast pocket. His eyebrows rise as he takes in my appearance and his lips curve in a sardonic smile. If I needed any confirmation of how incongruous I look in this get-up, I just got it. Johanna answers the door, elegant in a wine-red fitted dress with matching shoes. She appears to have paid a visit to the salon too, because her hair is now a uniform color and has been restyled to lie flat against her skull and frame her face instead of the usual red-tipped spikes sticking up all over her head. “I like your new look,” I tell her. “Yeah, it’s more conservative than I usually go for but I figure I have to start looking the part of mayor sooner or later. But what about you? What have you done with Katniss Everdeen?” I smile and shrug. I’m unsure if not looking like myself is a compliment or not. Peeta stops short when he sees me, his mouth gaping, but he collects himself quickly. “You look beautiful,” he says.

“Thanks,” I murmur. He sounds sincere but I know how easily Peeta can fake it. “You look good too.” And he does, in a cream suit designed by Portia. We move into the dining room. Johanna’s gone to a lot of trouble. I can almost imagine we’re at one of those fancy restaurants in the Capitol. Fresh flowers, dim lighting, the furniture polished to a high sheen. The table is resplendently laid out with the finest dinnerware and gold cutlery. These came with the house. I have them too but I’ve yet to use them. I wonder if Peeta recognizes the pattern on the plates as the same as those that accompanied our feast in the cave. Johanna and Haymitch take seats at opposite ends of the table. That leaves Peeta and me to sit across from each other.

White wine is poured into cut-crystal glasses and starched linen napkins are laid across laps. I wait for either Johanna or Peeta to start bringing in the food but they stay seated. How are we to eat if the food never leaves the kitchen? I eye the woven gold basket filled with soft rolls in the center of the table. Is that all we get? Just then, Cass enters the room carrying a large silver tray. “Good evening,” he says, as places a bowl of soup in front of each of us. “I hope you brought your appetites with you. Don’t forget to save room for dessert.” And then he’s gone. Presumably back to the kitchen. “What was that?” I say to no one in particular. “Cass is doing all the cooking tonight. He’s a qualified chef. He can cook all sorts of things - not just pastries and desserts,” says Johanna. “Yes, I know that. But what’s he doing here?” Peeta answers. “Johanna thought it would be nice to have a professional do the cooking so we could relax and enjoy ourselves.” Right. I just wish Johanna’s idea of relaxation was drinks at the pub, or a barbeque in the backyard. Any place where I didn’t risk locking eyes with Peeta at any minute. We can scarcely look at each other. Every time his eyes chance to meet mine, they flit away. It’s like being back at school. We’re doing a very poor job of acting at ease with each other so far. I’m a lousy actress at the best of times but I expected better of Peeta. Clearly the knowledge that I’m in love with him freaks him out to the extent that he’s forgotten all his acting skills. The food is a welcome diversion and I tuck in. The soup is creamy pumpkin sprinkled with slivered nuts and little black seeds. Sublime. I recognize it as one of the soups at the Capitol feast. It’s followed by those delicious little roasted birds filled with orange sauce. Then fish swimming in a green sauce flecked with herbs. And then, oh, I don’t believe it! Lamb stew with dried plums! On a bed of wild rice!

That makes me think of our feast in the cave, of course. It’s even served on the same patterned plates. My eyes instinctively search out Peeta’s. Do you remember it? You must, surely. How excited we were when that parachute arrived. How careful we were to eat only small portions so we wouldn’t be sick after so many days of hunger. And then how we whiled away the time until we could eat again – snuggled together in the sleeping bag, my head on your shoulder, your arms wrapped around me, imagining our life together if we survived the Games. You, me and Haymitch, you said. Picnics, birthdays, long winter nights around the fire retelling old Hunger Games tales. You must remember it!

But Peeta doesn’t look my way. His gaze flickers between Johanna and Haymitch without it ever landing on me even though we’re sitting directly across from each other. And he laughs just a little too loudly at Johanna’s poor taste joke about prunes and how we’ll all shit well tomorrow. He remembers our feast in the cave, all right! I’m certain of it. He just doesn’t want me to know that he does. To spare me the humiliation, probably. I want to kick myself. Gawping at him like a love-sick idiot – practically begging him to remember one of our most intimate moments together. At least Peeta has his wits about him, not letting on that the stew holds any particular significance.

I quietly return to my stew. It’s not as good as I remember it and I can only manage a few mouthfuls. Saving room for dessert, I tell Johanna, when she comments. Unfortunately, there’s a long break between this course and the next. I suppose Cass wants our stomachs to have a rest before he brings out the dessert which is sure to be spectacular. But it makes the pressure to appear congenial and unaffected by Peeta’s presence that much harder when I don’t have the food to distract me.

Since I got here, Peeta hadn’t spoken a great deal, and me even less. The conversation has been carried mostly by Johanna and Haymitch. She’s been picking his brain about the challenges of town planning and the provision of services such as garbage collection and road maintenance. Johanna had better get this job for mayor. She already acts as if it’s hers. That’s why it’s a surprise when the focus of attention turns to me. I’d been occupied twisting my crystal glass around by the stem watching the colours change across its facets. Anything to keep my mind off the person sitting opposite me. “You’ll step in, won’t you, Katniss?” Johanna asks. My head jerks up. “Hmm? What – “ “She doesn’t have to,” says Peeta quickly. “Step in for what?” I ask, directing my question to Johanna. “To watch the tapes with Peeta.” says Johanna. Before I can respond Peeta interjects again. “There’s no need to bother Katniss. I’ll be fine with Haymitch.” “You won’t,” says Haymitch. “The tapes labeled ‘to be watched with Katniss’ are all that’s left. It’s probably why the content has become repetitive lately. Aurelius has obviously run out of material I can help you with.” “You need to watch all the tapes,” Johanna adds. “You don’t know what memories are missing until you do.” “Katniss has already done her share. I’ll be fine watching on my own,” says Peeta. Johanna shakes her head. “You know that’s not how it works. You need someone to put it into context. Besides, the tapes were her idea to begin with. She should see it through.” Peeta turns to me for the first time. “There’s really no need.” He’s almost pleading with me. I really want to accept his offer to not watch the tapes with him. I know he’s giving me an escape but if I go along with it, it gives the impression that I’m afraid and that’s not good either. It has to appear as if I have nothing to hide. Which I don’t. Except the part that I’m still in love with him, of course. I can see where he’s coming from. After my slip-up with the stew, he’s worried that if I’m compelled to watch the tapes with him, I’m sure to give myself away. He’s protecting me from myself. I look coolly into the blue eyes of the person who is now my greatest opponent and I promise myself I will defeat his plan. Johanna is right. I should finish what I started. Remember that my primary objective was for Peeta to find himself. And if those tapes hold the final pieces, then I’m determined that he shall have them. I will watch those tapes, no matter how bad they are, and he will never guess from my reaction that I still carry a torch for him. It’s the only way we’ll ever be able to act normally around each other. “I’m happy to help,” I say. “Same time and place?” All eyes are on him. He’s trapped and he knows it. Peeta’s nod is almost imperceptible. What a timely moment for Cass to bring out the dessert. It’s a tower of pastries filled with different flavored custards, welded together with chocolate and studded with raspberries and sugared violets surrounded by an immense web of delicate spun sugar. There’s enough for at least a dozen or more people. But the best thing about it is that its position in the center of the table effectively blocks out my view of Peeta. So, Dr Aurelius has sent tapes that he wants Peeta to specifically watch with me. I wonder if I was ever going to be told about them. Probably not if it had been left up to Peeta. He’s obviously anxious about what’s on them. That makes me think that he has most, if not all, of his memories back. Enough, at least, to guess at how I feel about him. It seems that the tapes have progressed from those which showed me either indifferent or acting a part to when I began to return his feelings. And the irony is that it’s made not a scrap of difference. I’m glad now that Dr Aurelius sent the compromising tapes first. I had never stood a chance with him, even without Lace.

Cass comes out to clear away the dessert plates and the remains of that pastry thing. He frowns at how little impact we made on it. But it really was huge. To make him feel better, I ask if he can wrap it up for me to share around the staff room tomorrow. Max will probably make some joke about chocolate covered balls and phallic symbols. We finish with tea for Peeta and me and coffee for Johanna and Haymitch. Haymitch takes from his pocket a silver flask and pours a generous slug of whatever’s in it into his cup.

The dinner finally comes to an end. I pull Johanna aside before I go, ostensibly to say goodbye to her. I won’t see her tomorrow. The train for 7 leaves very early and Peeta has offered to walk her to the train station.

“The whole night was a setup, wasn’t it? To get me to watch the tapes with Peeta again?”

She doesn’t bother denying it. “Yep. Someone had to give the two of you a nudge in the right direction.” She gives me one of her stern big sister looks. “Don’t waste it.”

“I won’t,” I say. She doesn’t have to know that I have something completely different in mind to her.

I hug her goodbye and wish her luck. I don’t know when we’ll meet again. Not with me stuck in 12 and Johanna busy being mayor but maybe she’ll find time in her schedule to visit at some point.

“Don’t be a stranger,” she calls out as I leave. Where have I heard that expression before? Ah yes, Plutarch. They were the last words he spoke to me before he left the hovercraft that brought me back to 12. Thankfully, even after that scare with Marcus, that’s exactly how it’s stayed.

“Never,” I call back. No one could ever be the little sister that Prim was. But maybe I’ve gained a pretty good substitute for an older one.

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aterriblethought · 4 years

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hi :) first of all thank you for scanlating wisc, it's looking really interesting so far! I'll definitely keep reading it. but also I randomly want to whine to you about something. there's this manhwa called freezing point and I want to read it so bad but it's not translated. I've been learning korean for the past two years and I can read enough of it to get me super interested but not enough to be able to read it freely and it's so frustrating! I have to look up so many words while reading. 1/2

2/2 I hope to soon be at a level where I can read it without having to figure out every sentence and where I get all the nuance in the dialogue. I'm thinking I might try my hand at scanlating too if I ever get there. I'd love to scanlate freezing point. anyway this was super random but I thought you might get my pain :D

I originally wanted to learn Japanese as a kid to read my Japanese Pokemon cards, but my mom thought that was a stupid idea, so I didn’t get back around to it until the start of college, and even then, it was so I could read manga before it received an official English translation. I was impatient, lol. I used to be embarrassed to admit that’s why I wanted to learn Japanese, but whatever.

I started out translating manga because I was getting impatient for Acid Town updates and people used to post raws sometimes on the MangaFox forums. It was just practice at first and I only ended up taking over after the previous scanlator got hit with a DMCA. I think translating manga when you’re not yet fluent can be very stressful but fun.

The part I enjoy most about translating is that “solving a puzzle” feeling of trying to figure out how all the parts of the sentence work together, and then the best equivalent for that in English. An exciting part of learning Japanese is when you eventually get to the part where some things just make “sense” even if you can’t explain it. Like if a sentence sounds wrong, you know it’s wrong, but might struggle to explain why. Or you understand the feeling or intention behind a sentence but can’t explain it in English. I’ve translated enough manga now that when I see a sound effect I understand the sort of sound that’s meant to evoke in Japanese, but it’s always an enormous struggle to convey in English.

I think the more challenging part of doing scanlations when you’re not yet fluent is you feel a lot of pressure to do everything right. You feel the weight of knowing that whatever you put out there is what people are going to believe and how they’re going to understand the story, so you really don’t want to mess up. Mistakes can happen even for professionals, of course, so it’s not a huge deal. But I still stress over it a lot and will try to reach out for help from native Japanese speakers if there’s something I’m truly, terribly stuck on.

I managed to pass the JLPT N3 with decent scores, but I don’t want it to seem like I’m in any way fluent. When I do translations it’s with a complicated set-up of the raws, the document I’m writing the English script in, a browser opened to Jisho.org, a browser opened to Google Translate (for when I’m REALLY stuck), and the Google Translate app open on my phone (for looking up kanji without furigana). I think some people call this “machine translation” because I’m leaning on the dictionary for unfamiliar words or phrases, but I’m still mostly using my knowledge of Japanese to translate, and you wouldn’t necessarily get the same results if you were to just run the Japanese through Google Translate. I’m at the point where I can turn around a chapter a lot faster than I used to because I can just read and understand without having to constantly pause to look up everything. In a way it feels like I magically got to this point, but I also know that behind that is countless hours of studying kanji. :\

I’m rambling a lot but what I want to actually say is that if you have an interest in understanding manga in another language and want to practice your language comprehension by translating, definitely go for it! It’s going to feel really tedious and slow and difficult but it’s worth it. Find a series you’re really interested in and passionate about to keep you motivated. Keep a log of words you looked up so you can make flashcards of them later. Make mental notes about how the word was used. If you know native speakers who can correct your entire translations that’s the ultimate bonus, but I’ve never had that luxury, haha. If you’re feeling really frustrated at your pace you can also try looking for something easier to translate, like something aimed more towards children or general audiences that has easier language. This is kind of a gamble in Japanese because stuff aimed towards little children doesn’t have kanji, and if you don’t know the words and how to discern the breaks between them, all you’re looking at is an endless string of hiragana vomit, lol. Like in Japanese you’d want something with kanji but with the furigana at least. I found the Kingdom Hearts manga series really easy to read, for instance. It might not be as interesting as a series meant for adults but if you’re really struggling it might be worth that stepping stone.

#japanese #amorphine

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greyias · 5 years

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So. I finally finished Onslaught yesterday. Have been happily chattering away my thoughts in private (mostly my squee), but still trying to get enough brain together to make a post summing up my thoughts properly.

(sorta)

Overall:

Love Arn and Tau. Just so everyone knows, I’ve would die for Padawan Nickelback. My precious boy. Their whole arc in Onslaught, from the awkward introductions, to the struggles they have over the course of the story hits me right in the Master and Padawan feels. I am a sucker for that dynamic it seems, no matter the era.

JAKARRO. DEEFOUR. MY BOYS. I will love you and squish you, and keep you safe from here on out. Also, I promise to actually bring Jakarro with me on a future toon to see what his flavor text dialogue is on Mek-Sha, etc. I just had to bring spyhubby with me on the first time. Because spyboy.

Speaking of Spyboys -- NOT ENOUGH SPYBOY. I mean, I knew his and Lana’s role would be greatly reduced going into this but geez. They could make it a little less obvious there was a divergent point regarding him at the end of Nathema Conspiracy. Granted, he could have been in every single cutscene and snarking constantly and I’d still yearn for more. Because I am a greedy person like that. But they could have balanced some of the scenes where Lana’s present and give him just a little more dialogue. Let him react at her unrelenting snarky Sith act. Don’t make me write filler fic giving him more meaty scenes Bioware -- I’ll do it! Don’t think I won’t!

That said, I did appreciate what we did get. Being able to bring whatever companion we wanted to certain cutscenes was nice (even if said companions were uncharacteristically silent), and allows me to at least imagine them there and their reactions. Also, I loved some small but appreciated moments, like the minor flirt line while leaving Mek-Sha, and hearing Theron on the radio during the Corellian flashpoint. Especially his fond exasperation as he tells us to save the day while he’ll go rescue our peeps. And of course that bit at the end, him being happy to go party on General Daeruun’s dime (a socializing spyboy?? In my expansion?? it’s more likely than you think!) -- and then deciding he wants a more private party after just one kiss. Just...

♥︎

There was also something else I noticed. On my first playthrough of new content, I like to explore the various dialogue options just to kind of see the differences in dialogue. On the very last cutscene (which was such an imposition to watch over and over again, oh noes, my OTP has kissed again, oh noes, it’s made Lana an uncomfortable third wheel again, oh noes what will we do? Play it again? I think so), there’s something really interesting I noticed, relating to the big decision, at least on a goody two-shoes LS Knight.

If you choose to remain independent, Lana’s super relieved because thank god she really doesn’t want to have to redecorate the base (please Bioware, give her an HGTV show. She’ll glower at all of the bright colors people want to paint their walls), but the Outlander looks fairly neutral. You know, the default expression the characters go through cutscenes with? She’s just like “this is fine”

But if you choose to join the Republic...

She.

Can’t.

Stop.

Smiling.

Like, this just made my heart so happy. My baby girl is just overcome with joy at it all. Being able to rejoin the Republic. Being able to rebuild the Order. Smooching her hubby. Getting the rest of her crew back. She’s happy. After all of the angst that she’s been put through over the course of the game, they actually let her smile over a well-earned happy ending. And its just so well-deserved, especially after the extended angstfest of the tr8r arc.

Smile on you dorky little Jedi. Smile on.

And then I logged off for a bit. Logged back on. Played around in Iziz some, stole a bunch of loose change people were just leaving out in the street. And then finally decided to play through the epilogue. Officially welcome Scourge and Kira back in the fold. Sure they’d set us up for future plot, and everything was going to be okay. And then.

Um.

I was not expecting that epilogue. Like I knew the basic gist of what was coming. But. Erm. I didn’t realize it was setting up the next portion of the story quite so much. Nor was I expecting the major feels it suddenly drowned me in. So much so that...

This happened this morning. We’ll see how long it takes to get finished. But... OOF. Guess Bioware couldn’t give my dorks an obnoxiously happy ending for too long.

#okay so #i started this post as a #'haha look what i started doing this morning'#and it evolved #so #i shall tag properly #swtor spoilers #swtor onslaught #onslaught spoilers #swtor 6.0 #swtor 6.0 spoilers #grey’s silly swtor tag #onderon spoilers #mek-sha spoilers #corellia onslaught spoilers #swtor release week #swtor patch day

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miraculouspaon · 6 years

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8, 9, 24 and 28 for the fic thing!!

8. Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

This is probably my favorite bit of dialogue I’ve ever written, it’s from Your Princess is in Another Castle, during the scene where Marinette is about to help rescue Adele from her captors, but Adele doesn’t know that:

“It’s interesting,” Adele said, ignoring the request. “You’ve clearly had some kind of training in this regard. If it were just you, I’d have a very difficult time doing a reading, but her,” Adele pointed to Marinette, “she’s clear as a bell. She’s barely had any training at all, right?” She studied Marinette for a moment. “Since when does the FBI hire thirteen year olds?” she asked.“I’m fifteen,” Marinette snapped before she could stop herself. Oh, God, that was officially the first thing she'd said to Adrien’s mother. Adele raised an eyebrow.“The question stands,” she said. “What is an untrained fifteen year old doing on this very dangerous mission? What, is it Bring Your Daughter To Work Day at the FBI or something?”“Ma’am, I sincerely hope I did not just hear you imply that I look old enough to be the mother of a fifteen year old girl,” Miller said. Adele didn’t answer, but instead just stood there silently in thought for a moment, before her expression narrowed.“You’re not… you're not a superhero, aren’t you?” Marinette started to turn bright red as Adele's eyes widened. “Well, that is interesting. Of course, now the question is, why on earth would you volunteer to help the FBI?”“Ma'am, I am really gonna have to ask you to leave my partner alone.”“Oh, but we have so much in common,” Adele said mockingly. “We’re both from Paris, we’re both-well, I'm not a superhero anymore, but I used to be, we…” Adele trailed off before narrowing her eyes yet again at Marinette. “Wait. A superhero from Paris… do you have a Miraculous?” Again, there was no need to wait for Marinette to give any response. “And you came here? Well, I certainly hope you people know what you’re doing, because if I just spent four years in captivity in order to keep my Miraculous away from Henrik only for you to come along with and hand him another one, I am going to be extremely put out. Which one do you have, anyway? Fox? Bee? Too much to hope you found mine, I suppose… good Lord, you don’t have one of the big ones, do you? Jesus, you do. Do you have any idea what kind of damage Henrik could do with a major Miraculous? I rejected mine because with it he could have taken over the world in a week, with yours it probably wouldn’t even take him until the end of the day, and you-”“Oh my God,” Marinette exclaimed, finally snapping, “I cannot believe I have been listening to everyone singing your praises nonstop for like a month now, you are the most annoying person I have ever met in my life.”

What I love about this scene, other than it just being like my favorite brand of awkward-in-the-middle-of-a-crisis, is that Adele is not behaving at all like how anyone would imagine in this scenario, she’s certainly not behaving anything like Marinette imagined when she imagined heroically rescuing Adrien’s mother, but it makes sense. She’s been held captive by her enemies for four years, she knows something is up but she doesn’t know what, and nobody’s fucking telling her anything. So she’s upset and she’s lashing out. I love playing with characters having limited information, and how that affects their decisions and behavior.

9. Which fic has been the hardest to write?

Heroes has certainly been the most work, no contest, it’s my most ambitious story, but aside from the final action-heavy chapters it didn’t fight me very much. No Happily Ever Afters might have had the most emotionally difficult scenes to write, particularly the one where Adele confronts Jonathan over everything he’s done, although Just Before Losing Everything is a close second on that-heck, I originally started writing Heroes to put off writing the Gabriel/Jonathan falling out. And The Diamonds in the Rough was difficult just because it got away from me, it was for a gift exchange with like a 1500 word minimum and it wound up being 12k-and it very much wanted to be longer, but there was a due date and I’d already gotten an extension. That fic might be the one I’m least happy with, just because the ending is rushed and could have been better if I’d had more time or if it hadn’t completely run away from me to begin with.

24. Have you ever deleted one of your published fics?

Mmmm not since I started writing for ML, but I think there were a few cringy fics I posted on ff.net back in 2002 that I managed to delete before my ability to log on to that account was forever lost to time.

28. Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much.

Disclaimer: I read very little fic! There are, I’m quite certain, many many many very talented writers in this fandom that I don’t read. This is mostly because it’s difficult for me, as a writer, to stay in the headspace of my own fictional worlds if I am constantly indulging in the fictional worlds of others. I make very few exceptions to this, so don’t feel bad if you’re not one of them! That being said:

@gabriel-fucking-agreste: My fandom bff, her fics about my problematic faves are always the perfect mix of sexy and compelling. She’s the one who made me see the light on Nathalie! She inspires so much of what I write in turn as well. Definitely go check out her stuff!

@metawohoo: A Witch’s Familiar is easily the most emotionally devastated I’ve ever felt reading any fanfic, possibly just any story ever. If you like anything I’ve ever written, you will love this story, go read it right now.

@seasonofthegeek: Just For Tonight is killing me on like a daily basis at this point, it’s a problem. I love the world she’s created so much. Season has an incredible talent for taking the characters we all know and love, putting them in an entirely new world, and remaking them as her own.

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nervousavenueenthusiast · 3 years

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Xcode For Windows (12 Ways To Build IOS Apps On PC)

Xcode For Mac Iphone 6s

Xcode For Ios

Download Xcode 11 For Mac

Mac Install Xcode

Xcode Iphone App

Mac Xcode

While there isn’t an official release of Xcode for Windows, I’ll show you step by step how to do iOS development with Xcode on a Windows PC using the best so. The Xcode IDE is at the center of the Apple development experience. Tightly integrated with the Cocoa and Cocoa Touch frameworks, Xcode is an incredibly productive environment for building apps for Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. Xcode provides everything developers need to create great applications for Mac, iPhone, and iPad. Xcode has unified user interface design, coding, testing, and debugging all within a single window.

Zoom in. Or out. Or don't, it's your life.

Apr 21, 2020 Developers use Xcode to create apps for iOS, watchOS, tvOS, and macOS. However, Xcode is a complex app and has only ever been available on Mac. Buildwatch is a menu bar app that lets you keep an eye on your compile times throughout the day. With a glance, you can see how much time you spent building in Xcode.

Toggle between hourly, daily, and weekly views right from the menu bar. Need a birds-eye view? Not a problem. Open the 'More info' window and go all the way back to the beginning of time.

Pin stats that matter to you.

With just a glance at your menu bar, see how much time you spent building in Xcode today and how many times you've built your apps. Or, if you prefer, just display a minimal watch icon.

Show and tell.

Hover over any segment of a graph for a deeper look at the data behind it. We'll tell you how many builds there were and how long they took.

Totals aren't the total story.

Cycle between average build time, total build time, and number of builds by clicking the header anywhere in the app.

In the grand scheme of things..

Dvd making for mac. Select from a dropdown of all your recent projects to get detailed stats, or combine all your schemes to see the bigger picture.

Not just for novices.

Use the default derived data location if you're new to Xcode, or customize it for your setup if you're a pro who needs a little extra control.

Start logging at login.

Check a box in Preferences to make sure Buildwatch is running before you get your morning coffee. That way, you'll never miss a single build.

Private, always.

We'll never track, sell, or even be able to see your data. Your apps are your business.

You can make an app for iOS even if you’re on a PC running Windows 10.

Xcode For Windows (12 Ways To Build IOS Apps On PC)

I wish I had known this when I first started because I delayed myself for 3 years before biting the bullet and buying a Mac.

Had I known about running Xcode on Windows or about the solutions below, I might’ve started building iPhone apps much earlier!

Rent a Mac

Before committing to buying a new Mac, you can actually “rent” one for development. You’ll remotely access the Mac and Xcode through your PC.

It’ll be like having the Mac desktop in a window on your Windows Desktop.

The really nice thing about this option is that the cost is really low and it’s the fastest option to get up and running.

If you decide that app development isn’t for you, you just cancel your plan.

Xcode For Mac Iphone 6s

1. MacStadium These guys were featured in the recent Apple keynote when they introduced the updated Mac Mini! They have the newest Macs available.

(Use coupon code “CODEWITHCHRIS” for 50% off your first month. If you do, please let me know in the comments below. I’ll get a small kick back at no extra expense to you so thank you for supporting my site!)

If you go down this route for iOS app development, make sure you get my Xcode cheatsheet with references and keyboard shortcuts for Windows users.

There are a couple other companies that provide this service:

2. MacInCloud This is the most well known service out of the three. You won’t have to install Xcode because it comes preinstalled. You can also do pay-as-you-go so it’s a pretty low commitment. Some people complain that it’s slow but you can try it out for yourself since it’s only about a buck an hour!

3. XcodeClub XcodeClub is run by Daniel who is a passionate developer himself. From the reviews I see, the service is fast and friendly. The pricing is less flexible than MacInCloud and you’ll have to commit to at least a month.

Virtualize MacOS

If you’re a little more technically savvy, you can use virtualization software and run a “virtual Mac” on your PC.

The services above are essentially doing the same thing on their servers and then they charge you a fee to access the virtual machine.

By setting it up yourself on your own PC, you essentially cut the middle man out of the equation.

Unfortunately it does take a little bit of technical know-how to get this up and running.

The two most popular pieces of software to do virtualization are VirtualBox and VMWare Workstation.

You can download them below and then use Google to find a guide on how to install the latest MacOS (Mojave) with either VirtualBox or VMWare Workstation.

After that, spin up your new virtual Mac and download Xcode. This is as close as you’ll get to running actual Xcode on Windows!

Xcode For Ios

4. VirtualBox VirtualBox is open source software which means that it’s free. That probably explains why it’s a lot more popular than VMWare Workstation when it comes to running MacOS on your Windows machine!

Download Xcode 11 For Mac

5. VMWare Workstation Unfortunately you’ll have to pay for this piece of software and at the time of this writing, a license costs about half the price of a brand new Mac Mini which is perfectly suitable for iOS app development. I would recommend you try VirtualBox first or try to buy a used Mac Mini.

Build a “Hackintosh”

You can also build a “Hackintosh” which is a PC that has been customized to run MacOS.

Ultimately, this behavior can lead to further high risk infections - users might inadvertently visit malicious websites. Additionally, cyber criminals use such tactics to increase the traffic of certain websites, which allows them to generate revenue through advertising. Proxy for mac server download. The presence of Proxy Virus significantly diminishes the browsing experience and can lead to further computer infections.

This requires the most effort out of all the options presented so far but it can work for someone who wants a separate physical computer running MacOS.

6. Hackintosh.com A great resource for all things Hackintosh. The first How-To section contains links to a number of great tutorials for building your own Hackintosh and installing High Sierra.

Mac Install Xcode

7. Hackintosh Subreddit I love looking for Reddit communities on anything that I’m interested in because there are always interesting conversations happening. Reddit provides a way to have a dialogue with like minded individuals, to get help and to help others!

Xcode Iphone App

8. Hackintosh Articles on 9to5mac.com I included this link because it contains up to date news and articles for Hackintosh builds.

Third Party Solutions

Lastly, there are many third party solutions that you can use to do iOS development on Windows.

You won’t be using Xcode in these solutions but you’ll be able to generate an app that can run on iOS devices.

Check out these great Xcode alternatives:

9. React Native Use JavaScript to build native mobile apps.

10. Xamarin Use C# to build a mobile app that you can deploy natively to Android, iOS and Windows.

11. Appcelerator Build native mobile apps using JavaScript.

Mac Xcode

12. PhoneGap Build hybrid cross-platform mobile apps using HTML, CSS and JavaScript.

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gettingitwrite · 6 years

Text

Rabid Writing Log #8

Words written today: about 6,000 (it got hard to keep track of during the missing scene debacle) Total words: 44,338 Goal: 80,000 by March

Favourite line: This was the woman Casey had crossed the country for, and hadn’t she moved on quickly? Favourite dialogue: "We’re already in hell. And it is our goal to see to it that the whole world joins us there.” Favourite note to myself: MAKE EMI SOUND MORE INTELLIGENT THAN HEATHER BECAUSE THEY'RE BOTH MAD AND SHOUTY

As of today, I’m officially halfway to my goal! And not only that, but I caught up on the writing I missed while I was sick! And not only that, I’m now a whole day ahead! And not only that, but I found my missing 1,000 words! (Kind of. Somehow, they got copied into the document as an image rather than text, so they weren’t showing up in the word count. Only half the scene was there though).

Excerpt under the cut (I’m a particular fan of this one. It’s a little later, when Heather’s kind of stopped being a dick)

“One year, to the day.” Heather shook her head, slouching against the bar. “Can’t believe it hasn’t been longer.

Casey had perched herself on the edge of the bar, swinging her legs gently and looking down at her knees. Her silence wasn’t what Heather had expected, and though she’d often wished that Casey would shut up, Heather found herself opening her mouth.

“What?” It came out far more accusatory than she’d intended, and Heather winced as she leaned back on her arms. Although, some of that was probably from the pain in her bitten arm, but she refused to take the pressure off of it. A little pain was good. It reminded her that she was still human.

“I was just thinking about where I was, when the story first hit the news,” Casey said. “It was so long before all this. Nobody even knew what was coming.”

“Took what, six months?” Heather asked. “Before everything went to shit.”

Casey looked at her strangely, and Heather could almost see some connection happening in her eyes. Then it was gone, and Casey was staring down at her knees again.

“Where were you?” she asked.

Heather really considered not answering. She didn’t like talking about herself, or her life before all this. But then, it wasn’t exactly a personal story, and she figured it might get Casey to smile for the first time in days.

“I was at work. Got a notification on my phone, but I didn’t even read the story until that night.”

Sure enough, Casey looked up from her knees, gaze darting to Heather just long enough to ask a question.

“Where’d you work?” Her gloom of the past few days, at least for the moment, was melting away, as she angled herself towards Heather, tucking her hair behind her ear to listen.

“Coffee shop, my day job.” Heather couldn’t help a wave of nostalgia at the memory. “Stupid hipster place, all ‘organic’ this and ‘deconstructed’ that.” Heather found herself making a face, and it must have been comical because Casey snorted, clapping a hand over her mouth to stifle the sound.

It was nice to hear it again.

“For once, she talks about herself!” Casey said, and now she was smiling, if only just, as she scooted closer, her knees brushing up against Heather’s arm. “Okay, barista by day, and by night?”

“Bartender.” Heather found herself answering without hesitation, and she pushed herself up to wander behind the bar. “I mean really, I’m right at home here.”

She grabbed a bottle of vodka, half empty, and gave it a flip. She half expected to drop it from lack of practice, but it landed in Heather’s hand, and she did her best to act like she’d never doubted herself.

“Care for a drink?”

Casey giggled, sliding from the counter to a stool, and nodded. “Surprise me.”

“One surprise, coming up.”

It had been a while since Heather had stood behind a bar, but then, it didn’t really matter. This was a rural bar, untended for a good few months at least. Heather didn’t exactly have the supplies to get fancy with it.

“One vodka and lemonade.” Heather gave a mock bow as pushed the glass across the bar, already pouring one for herself. It was the end of the world, and she’d had a rough day. One wouldn’t kill her.

“Why thank you.” Casey took the glass tentatively, and Heather raised her own to clink against it.

“To a year in hell,” she said. Casey laughed at that, nothing more than a huff of air through her nose, but a laugh all the same.

“To a year in yell,” she agreed, taking an enthusiastic swig from her glass. Heather hadn’t taken her for a drinker, had almost expected her to blanche at the taste, but Casey downed half the glass in one go and didn’t even flinch.

“So, where were you?” Heather said, swirling her own glass around before taking a sip.

Suddenly, Casey seemed very interested in her knees again. She took a long, slow sip of her drink, but it couldn’t last forever, and she eventually had to put the empty glass down.

“I was visiting my parents.” She looked away, over to the wall of stupidly old, black and white photos hanging by the bar. “It was the last time I saw them face to face.”

Heather took Casey’s glass and refilled it, because that was the only way she knew how to help in this situation. She’d never been very good with words. That’d always been Rosie. Still, she found herself trying, as she nudged Casey’s glass back to her.

“Least you get to remember them how they were, right?” It sounded weak, even to Heather’s ears, but it was what she wanted for herself, more than much else these days. Her last memories of her family were blood and rage and fear, and the crunching and snapping of bones beneath car tires.

Casey shrugged, picking up her glass and staring into it, stubbornly avoiding Heather’s eyes. It wasn’t until Heather turned away, pouring herself another drink, that Casey spoke, her voice so small Heather almost thought she’d imagined it.

“What I remember is that I lied to them.”

Heather looked up, then cursed as the lemonade she’d been pouring overflowed onto her hand. She wiped it off on her jeans, waiting for Casey to continue.

“They managed to skype me, after the phone lines went down but when the internet was still up,” she explained. “It was two days before the last evacuation, and they’d gotten me a place in it.”

“And you’d already told Emi you’d wait for her,” Heather guessed. Casey nodded.

“I knew my parents wouldn’t leave without me, so I…I told them the hospital staff were getting a special evacuation, separately. And they believed me.” Casey’s breath came out in a shudder, and Heather could hear her oncoming tears in the sound.

She reached across the bar to take the glass from Casey’s hand, setting it aside, and curled her fingers around Casey’s.

“I’ve never been much good at dealing with problems. My own or anyone else’s.” She squeezed Casey’s hand, and it was all the reassurance she knew how to give.

“We’ve got family, in England,” Casey said, the words falling out of her. “That’s where they’ll be now, wondering why I never showed up, knowing that the last thing I did was lie to them.”

She sunk down, shoulder shaking but no sound escaping her. She lifted Heather’s hand to her face, holding it tight, eyes squeezed shut.

“You’re still alive.” Heather moved her hand to Casey’s shoulder, turning the smaller woman to look at her. “You can’t change what you did, or stop them from worrying about you now. What you can do is try your damn hardest to survive until you see them again.”

Casey looked up at Heather, staring into her eyes so intently that Heather found herself the one looking away now, picking up her hand. Casey was smiling though, water and weak but definitely there, as she pressed the heels of her palms into her eyes.

#Let's write a novel #writing a novel #Rabid #writing #creative writing #fiction #zombie apocalypse #writing log #writing progress #excerpt

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virginkillerclubmanga · 6 years

Text

About Virgin Killer Club!

Hello internet! Spaztique here! And welcome to the Virgin Killer Club Tumblr Webcomic page!

What is Virgin Killer Club?

If the title didn’t tip you off, it’s an affectionate spoof of eroge visual novels and hentai (though the manga on this page is NOT hentai, so don’t worry: you didn’t stumble into porn).

Originally, it started as a gag for my yearly National Novel Writing Month vote. I added VKC because I thought it’d be fun to do something other than dark action adventure stuff for once, and more lighthearted than my typical biting satires. It won by a single vote, and it was the most fun I’ve had in NaNoWriMo for a while.

The story is pretty simple: it’s Tomoya Itou’s final year at Fuyuki Academy in a fictional suburb of the normally-laid-back Gifu region, and he’s morbidly depressed because he’s never had a girlfriend, never got his first kiss, and never had sex. Worse, all of his friends have gone on wild sexcapades, and even when he’s set up with the easiest girl in school, she rejects him. After posting an anonymous ad on all of the class billboards, he strikes it lucky when somebody finally replies, but it turns out to be Akari Kirishima, a girl who he hates and who doesn’t like him right back. They try to have sex, but it ends disastrously, leading Tomoya and Akari on a journey to learn how sex works, but also a journey of self-discovery and maturity.

I had fun writing it for multiple reasons: the cast was loveable and fun to write, I loved the romance between the two leading hopeless romantic main characters who’ve never been lucky in love until now, and, of course, I’ve never written many sex scenes. Plus, it’s full of quotable dialogue and ridiculous gags. Despite starting as a gag, I’ve warmed up to it as one of my favorite projects: so much so that I want to make it into a manga!

And no, it’s not based on the “virgin killer sweater” that’s been so popular lately, nor is it a murder mystery about a club killing virgins. It’s about a group of interconnected virgins who discover sex and, along with it, how to navigate relationships and grow up.

So, you’re writing porn? Is this hentai?

Well, no. While the original NaNoWriMo prose version of VKC is straight-up porn, the manga version is going to be nothing you couldn’t watch on Adult Swim. Here are my rules for writing this:

No shots of genitalia, no nipples, everything covered up.

Never cross the line into porn: sex scenes will only be to advance the plot, for comedy, or for educational purposes. Though, mainly comedy.

No bodily fluids, not even things that can be considered suggestive. (Well, at least the sexual ones: there’ll still be blood.)

And besides, I’m making this in ComiPo, so even if I somehow wanted to make it pornographic, I couldn’t. Not that I want to: one of my biggest regrets for VKC is that there wasn’t a clean version when I wrote it. The manga is my chance to write a (somewhat) cleaner version. I wouldn’t say it’s anywhere near as raunchy as, say, To-Love-Ru or Rosario To Vampire, but the fact the story starts with its lead characters having sex instead of building 30+ chapters to get them to first base might be something.

So, if you’re looking for porn, you’re in the wrong place.

Why post this here instead of your normal DeviantArt?

Part of the reason I’m posting it here instead of my normal DeviantArt account is because they have very, VERY strict rules regarding depictions of sex. (Even though I’ve seen several others get away with worse, including some pretty hideous fetish porn, but oh well.)

Though, this turned out to be a happy accident, because a Tumblr blog means I can do the following:

Comic navigation: Now you can cycle through the pages, start from the beginning, or head to the latest page!

Content controls: Only those who’ve logged in can see the love scenes, so no need to worry about accidentally heading to a nsfw page!

Content scheduling: No need to worry about waiting forever for the next page: new pages will be uploaded daily! (Though, next chapters will be another issue.)

Ask Box: You can ask any of the characters a question! And given the ease of ComiPo, I can probably answer it quickly!

Wait: is this gonna be one of those bait-and-switch deconstructions like Doki Doki Literature Club or Puella Magi Madoka Magicka where it starts all cutesy and goes to hell after the 1/3rd mark?

Not really. Early on, I do let the readers know this will be a somewhat serious story, complete with depictions of depression, suicide, and bullying, but at the end of the day, this is still a straight-faced romance comedy. In fact, I’d say it gets lighter as it goes on since the characters grow and mature over the course of the story.

So, no worries. Yeah, I know in my past effort Diamond In The Rough, I did the exact same thing (a kid-in-a-fantasy-world adventure story turning into an existentialist nightmare), but this story is going to start as a romance comedy (with some dark moments sprinkled here and there) and end as such.

So, when does it start?

This blog was created on Valentine’s day, and the comic officially starts of February 21, 2018. To celebrate the first upload, I’ll be posting five pages of the prologue, and to celebrate the final upload, there’ll be a PDF version of the full chapter.

Anything else?

I hope you enjoy the comic. A lot of it is based on personal experience: mostly the stuff I went through during high school and college, the depression I felt not having a girlfriend at the time, and my eventually coming-of-age in learning maybe I should work on myself than obsess over sex.

I also hope to keep in touch with any of you who like the comic. Although I’m slow to answer people usually, I’ll try my best to reply.

Thank you, and enjoy! -Spaztique

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adorkablephil · 7 years

Text

Fic: Listen (Chapter 2)

Title: Listen Rating: PG Word Count: 2.8K for this chapter Summary: Phil is a successful YouTuber, and Dan is a fan desperate for attention. Sounds like 2009, right? Except Phil is Deaf. Tags: AU, Deaf!Phil, Strangers to Friends to Lovers Author’s Note: All dates are obviously completely fictionalized, including Dan’s little subscriber count milestone. This is an AU, in case you hadn’t noticed. :) Extreme thanks to the Treehouse Mailing List for all their support and encouragement! Fic also available on AO3 here

[Masterlist of all “Listen” chapters on Tumblr]

Chapter 2: Talk to Me

danisnotonfire You said to DM you, so here I am. DMing you. This feels weird. Is it weird? I think maybe Im making it weird. 8 September 2009

AmazingPhil It’s not weird. Or if it is, that’s cool. I like weird. ;) 8 September 2009

danisnotonfire lol 8 September 2009

AmazingPhil I was interested in what you were saying about the FFVII soundtrack. Tell me more about why you like the music so much. 8 September 2009

danisnotonfire Have you lestined to it? 8 September 2009

AmazingPhil No 8 September 2009

danisnotonfire But you play the game, right? It ws in your video 8 September 2009

AmazingPhil It’s hard to explain, but I play it with the sound off. 8 September 2009

danisnotonfire ??? 8 September 2009

AmazingPhil But seriously, I’m interested. Tell me about the music. 8 September 2009

Dan’s passion for music inspired Phil to download the song “Interrupted by Fireworks” and play it loud enough that he could feel the tempo by laying his palms flat on the speakers.

After his roommates complained about the noise, he only did it again at times when they weren’t home.

AmazingPhil This is going to seem really weird, but I’ve felt awkward about bringing it up. 27 September 2009

danisnotonfire I am the king of awkward lol 27 September 2009

danisnotonfire Bring what up? 27 September 2009

AmazingPhil It’s just, we’ve been talking for weeks, and I haven’t said anything about it. 27 September 2009

danisnotonfire ??? 27 September 2009

AmazingPhil Okay, well, I’m Deaf. 27 September 2009

[a few minutes pass]

danisnotonfire You cant hear? 27 September 2009

AmazingPhil Yes, Dan, that’s what Deaf means. 27 September 2009

danisnotonfire Hey no need to be a jerk about it. I’m just surprised. 27 September 2009

danisnotonfire Why didn’t you ever say anything? 27 September 2009

AmazingPhil Well, I thought you would have figured it out from some of my videos and stuff I’ve tweeted, but then when you started talking about music, I just … 27 September 2009

[a few minutes pass]

danisnotonfire I am such an idiot. 27 September 2009

AmazingPhil No you’re not! That’s why I didn’t want to say anything! 27 September 2009

danisnotonfire why? 27 September 2009

AmazingPhil Because I liked talking to you, and I didn’t want you to be embarrassed or something. Or to maybe think I was a freak or something. 27 September 2009

[a few minutes pass]

danisnotonfire I dont think your a freak 27 September 2009

[a few minutes pass]

danisnotonfire the whole reason i started liking your videos was because you dont talk in them 27 September 2009

danisnotonfire is that weird? 27 September 2009

AmazingPhil Maybe we’re both a little weird. But I don’t mind if you don’t. :) 27 September 2009

danisnotonfire xD 27 September 2009

One of Phil’s old friends from school had gone all the way to America to attend Gallaudet University, since it was the most highly respected university for the Deaf in the world. She’d had to study ASL in advance, of course, since it was a completely different language than BSL, but she seemed to be really enjoying her studies there. Apparently the sense of Deaf community there was more than she’d even imagined in Manchester. She practically glowed when she talked about her feeling of belonging.

Phil was jealous.

He’d chosen York because of his interest in their graduate program in video postproduction, since he’d loved experimenting with film since childhood, but his isolation as an undergraduate made him wonder how well a Deaf student would be received in the graduate program. Would they even make any accommodation for him in studying what they might perceive as a definitively audio and visual medium?

He and Sharon occasionally Skyped when the time difference allowed, but she now sometimes slipped into ASL without noticing, and Phil found himself feeling like even his Deaf friends were slipping away.

AmazingPhil Maybe we could Skype sometime? I mean, I can’t talk, obviously, or hear you, but we could at least see each other in real life and not just Dailybooth pics. :] 2 October 2009

danisnotonfire How would we talk tho? 2 October 2009

AmazingPhil I don’t know. We could write on paper and hold it up or something? 2 October 2009

[a few minutes pass]

danisnotonfire ok 2 October 2009

AmazingPhil Now? 2 October 2009

danisnotonfire ok 2 October 2009

AmazingPhil YAY! 2 October 2009

AmazingPhil See you soon! 2 October 2009

Dan seemed cripplingly shy in their first Skype call. He avoided eye contact much of the time, which made communicating rather difficult, but he loosened up a bit by the end and even seemed to flirt a bit.

Phil tried really hard not to develop a crush.

He was not particularly successful.

They exchanged phone numbers and began texting constantly, not to mention the lengthy Skype calls. Dan talked about his own interest in making videos, but gloomily doubted his ability to create anything interesting or worthwhile. Phil urged him to give it a try.

15 October 2009

Phil: I think you should upload it. It’s really good. Really!

Dan: I don’t now. I’m afraid people will think its kind of weird.

Phil: Weird is kind of our thing, though, isn’t it? :p

Dan: I just dont want to look stupid or soemething. i mean it kind of sucks

Phil: Dan, it’s brilliant. I promise.

Phil: I have to ask, though. The subtitle thing. Did you do that because of me?

Dan: No. I dont know. Not really. i just liked it. I thought it looked cool.

Phil: It DOES look cool. I just didn’t want …

Dan: what?

Phil: I don’t know. I didn’t want you to be making videos for me like that just because I’m Deaf. I know that sounds stupid. Never mind.

Dan: No i now what you mean. That wasn’t why i did it. I told you i first liked your videos becuz you didnt talk in them. So I guess I liked that style, but mine is different. right?

Phil: Of course! Your style is completely different from mine! I love the old-time silent movie thing, with the title cards and everything. It’s really unique! That’s why I think it’s so brilliant!

Phil: That’s why you should definitely upload it.

Dan: really?

Phil: Absolutely!

[a few minutes pass]

Dan: ok

Dan: maybe tmorrow

When Dan uploaded his first video, Phil tweeted about it enthusiastically to encourage his own online friends and fans to check it out, and unsurprisingly people loved it.

Dan’s unique, silent film era style, complete with occasional sepia tones and use of fancy-font title cards to communicate all dialogue and narration, approached modern-day storytelling and vlogging from a completely fresh perspective. He told stories about his own life, but in a style no one had used before.

People were intrigued. Other YouTubers Phil had come to know over the years quickly began interacting with Dan on Twitter, and Dan gathered an enthusiastic audience almost right from the start.

And Dan’s looks certainly didn’t hurt. Phil tried to ignore any jealousy he felt about the amount of flirting he saw going on publicly over social media. He and Dan were friends. Maybe they flirted, but apparently Dan flirted with everyone. It didn’t mean anything.

23 October 2009

Phil: Are you going to the Halloween gathering in London next week?

Dan: no

Phil: Why not? You’re officially a YouTuber now! You should come!

Dan: I can’t

Phil: We could finally meet. That would be so cool!

Dan: I said I cant

Dan: Just drop it ok?

[a few minutes pass]

Phil: I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to push or anything.

Phil: I mean, of course if you don’t want to come, that’s fine.

Phil: I just thought it would be cool to meet you in person.

Phil: I mean, you’re one of my closest friends now and we’ve never even met!

[no response]

[after an hour, Phil logs off]

Phil took the train to London and attended the Halloween Gathering on his own, but felt Dan’s absence keenly the entire time. He brought a white board and a few different colored pens so he could communicate with people more easily, and found that YouTubers were less shy about such things than the average uni student seemed to be. They seemed to find the white board an intriguing novelty and eagerly interacted with him through it.

They didn’t treat him like a freak.

Or, at least, they treated him like their own kind of freak.

He’d discovered a different community. One that wasn’t perhaps as easily familiar and comfortable as the Deaf community he’d grown up in, but a community nonetheless.

He just wished Dan had gotten to experience it, too.

He kept in touch with another YouTuber he’d met at the London gathering, a guy named PJ who had been particularly unselfconscious about using pantomime, facial expression, and the occasional impromptu prop to communicate with Phil instead of relying exclusively on words written on the white board.

Their brains seemed to work in similarly creative ways, and they collaborated on a sort of abstract short film they’d sketched out together on a series of paper napkins during dinner at the gathering. Phil was pretty proud of the way the project turned out, and PJ seemed happy with it, too. They put it up on PJ’s channel, and it got quite a bit of enthusiastic viewer response.

Dan’s blatantly passive-aggressive jealousy about the whole thing was Phil’s first hint that his own more-than-platonic interest might be reciprocated, but he tried not to get his hopes up.

13 December 2009

Dan: I can’t believe I hit 10,000 subscribers!

Phil: Yeah, well, everybody loves danisnotonfire.

Dan: really? so that includes you? ;)

Phil: Nah. Not me.

Phil: I don’t love danisnotonfire.

Phil: I love Dan Howell.

[a minute passes]

Dan: I love Phil Lester, too.

Phil finished his graduate degree in York and returned to Manchester to find himself a flat on his own. He liked the independence but also enjoyed being closer to his family again, and some of his friends from school and college had returned to the area after uni as well.

Returning to some involvement with Deaf culture encouraged Phil to gradually shift the content of his videos, as he became more comfortable openly signing anecdotes about his life, influenced no doubt by Dan’s focus on his everyday life experiences in his own videos.

Viewer response was mixed. Some of Phil’s loyal audience rolled with the changes and seemed to enjoy the more personal glimpses into his life and personality, but others left ignorant, offensive comments about deafness and sign language. He lost some subscribers. Making his content more personal had made the cruel comments feel more personal, too. But when something online hurt his feelings, he just texted a real-life person he knew accepted him just as he was, and it helped.

Being able to sign with people again made his life richer and more fulfilling … and yet he found himself looking forward to his evening Skype calls more than any real-life interactions with his old friends. His family expressed concern that this obsession with a “stranger” on the Internet wasn’t healthy, but they just didn’t understand.

Phil had fallen harder than he ever had before, and with someone he’d never even met in person.

In a strange way, Phil felt simultaneously happier and lonelier than he’d ever been.

11 June 2011

Phil: Are you going to Summer in the City this year?

Dan: no

Phil: You have a lot of fans now. I’m sure they’d like to meet you!

Phil: And there are other people who would like to meet you, too! :p

[a few minutes pass]

Phil: Dan?

[several minutes pass]

Dan: I said no. Jesus phil just leave it the fuck alone!

Phil: Hey, I’m sorry! I’m not trying to pressure you!

Phil: I’m just starting to feel like this is kind of weird. Like I have a boyfriend I’ve never even met.

Dan: weird is what we do, right?

[a few minutes pass]

Phil: Yeah. Right.

Phil: I know.

Phil: I’d just really like to meet you.

[no response]

[after a really long time, Phil logs off]

Phil attended Summer in the City on his own again, painfully aware of how much closer he was to Dan when he visited London than when he was back home in Manchester. Painfully aware that Dan not only hadn’t wanted to attend the convention, but hadn’t even responded to Phil’s desire to meet.

He talked with other YouTubers, made plans for possible future collaborations, and hugged dozens of enthusiastic fans, took hundreds of smiling selfies. But the entire time, he couldn’t help but think that Dan was only 40 miles away, instead of the usual 200. Less than an hour by train.

So near, and yet not within reach. He felt it like a physical pain.

15 June 2011

Dan: remember when you first told me you were deaf?

Phil: Yeah?

Dan: and you were afraid i woud think you were a freak

Phil: Right, but you didn’t. Right?

Dan: of course not you idiot <3

Phil: So what’s going on?

Dan: theres soemthing i havent told you

Phil: You can tell me anything. I love you. You know that.

Dan: but its really weird

Phil: Weird is what we do. <3<3<3

[several minutes pass]

Dan: i dont talk

Phil: Like you’re shy? I wondered if that might be why you wouldn’t go to the gatherings and stuff.

Dan: no i dont talk

Phil: But you talk to me all the time. I’m confused.

Dan: i mean to people. out loud. irl i don’t talk. ever

Phil: Okay.

Dan: ok?

Phil: Yeah. Okay. I mean, I don’t talk either. Are you Deaf too? Is that why you don’t talk? Why didn’t you ever say anything?

[several minutes pass]

Dan: no i’m not deaf i just dont talk

Phil: It’s okay, Dan. I just want to understand. Why don’t you talk?

[no response]

[after a very, very long time, Phil logs off]

Phil didn’t know what to do with what Dan had told him, especially since Dan had sort of dropped a bomb and then just run off without explaining anything.

One thing was clear, though. Dan didn’t like being pushed. When he wanted to talk about this—no pun intended—he would.

Because if one other thing was clear, it was that Phil was willing to wait.

6 July 2011

Dan: You havent brought it up.

Phil: What?

Dan: You havent ever asked about the talking thing.

Phil: I did. You didn’t answer.

Dan: yeah but you havent asked again since

Phil: Did you want me to?

[several minutes pass]

Dan: I dont know. maybe

Phil: Okay. Why don’t you talk?

[several minutes pass]

Dan: I havent talked since I was 8.

Phil: Wow. That’s a long time.

[a few minutes pass]

Dan: yeah

[a few minutes pass]

Phil: Is that why you never wanted to meet?

Dan: yeah i didn’t want you to think I was a freak

Phil: Dan, weird is what we do. And I’m Deaf!

Dan: Well yeah but you dont do that on purpose.

Phil: You do it on purpose?

Dan: sort of i guess

Phil: So you could talk if you wanted to, but you don’t want to?

[several minutes pass]

Phil: Dan?

[several minutes pass]

Phil: Dan, I don’t think you’re a freak. Just talk to me.

Phil: Crap. You know what I mean.

[no response]

[hours later, Phil finally logs off]

Phil did some research into muteness that someone might call “on purpose,” just wanting to understand, and found himself wondering if what Dan experienced was maybe something called “selective mutism” or maybe a “conversion disorder.” As far as he could tell, neither one was truly something anyone did purposely, but, really, if Dan didn’t want to talk about it, Phil wouldn’t be able to understand much at all. He just wanted to educate himself a bit so that if Dan ever did want to talk about it, he’d be less likely to say something stupid and make Dan shut down even more.

12 February 2012

Dan: I have a question to ask you.

Phil: Okay.

Dan: but its making me really nervous

Phil: I love you, Dan. Whatever it is, it’ll be okay. I promise. <3

[several minutes pass]

Dan: do you think maybe i could come visit you in manchester?

Phil: Skype me right now this very minute because you have to see how big my smile is! <3<3<3<3<3

[Continue to Chapter 3]

#phanfiction #phanfic #phan #dan and phil #phan au #phanfic au #au phanfic #phan deaf au #myphanfic

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setsunatama3 · 4 years

Text

Chapter one: Exile

AN/ so people have been telling me to fix these chapters. However had they bothered to read on, they would have probably found more AN’s. Where I described my frustrations with fanfiction.net and the issues have been having with missing text with my chapter posts. Rather than reading on they post rude comments. And i have taken note and have fixed chapter one will see if i can fix this ongoing issue I am having with the other chapters. if you can't handle that then take note that i post under the same pen name on deviant art and archive of our own. Due note that i am also inspired by the following works

An old fox’s new trick

Remnant's Maelstrom Shinobi

Shattered world

Naruto the huntsman

and so many other rwby crossover fanfiction. So please stop saying that I am ripping off so and so’s story cause that's just not true and your really being rather facetious with remarks like that. For my story I wanted a naruto that not by any deus ex machina caused in the middle of battle to end up in remnant. But by the results of his own actions and choices. I see naruto as someone who moves forward always staying true to his word. While he has regrets he chose to move on with his life seeing this as a chance to start over. Kinda why I take a small dig at OFNT naruto for being a hermit for a few years in chapter two. Anyway i accept all criticism and take it with stride. How ever i write for me not you really so any who don’t like my work let me know and for the love of god log in with a username so we can start a dialogue. And so i can see where your coming from and so i can message you in return. If you can’t then please leave something so i can message you. Would prefer that over anything.

-edited 10/11/2019-

Chapter one: Exile

While lost in thought, the vast forest of Konoha Naruto reminisced about his life. He was the toad sage of Mount Myōboku, the savior of the 4th shinobi war, child of prophecy, the 7th Hokage, 2nd sage of six paths, inheritor of the chakra of Ashura, husband of Hinata and Hanabi Hyūga- Uzumaki husband of Ino Yamanaka-Uzumaki father of Boruto Himawari Inojin and Chinami all now passed, Jinchūriki of all nine bijū, and finally the founder of the new Uzushiogakure.

Naruto honestly could not believe that in the years he served his nation and the shinobi alliance that this would happen.that all his sacrifices would be in vain. Still, he couldn't help but think that in some way by restarting his clans' village, it would all be worth it in the end as with Uzu, the strongest village allied with Konoha and Kumo the world could be safe in his absence.

"Quit moping brat, it isn't like you!" Kurama snarled. “You know I hate it when you do that. After all, you can't change the past, only keep moving forward.”

"Oh, shut it, you overgrown hairball!" Naruto pouted with his arms crossed. "Anyway, since when were you mister optimism."

"Ha! I could say the same about you since when did you brood like the Uchiha?!" Kurama chortled in laughter, curling up into a small ball and yawning next to Naruto.

"What! I don't brood like Sasuke," Naruto huffed. "Just thought that the other kage would understand why I went against the alliance this time."

"The four of the five kage of today are mostly politicians," Kurama said with disdain in his voice. "They only look out for their own interest, and they fear you. Even the good ones do," he said with a sigh.

"Lord seventh," a soft voice called out. "it's time."

Naruto opened his eyes to see Sarada bowing. "I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help," Sarada said morosely. While looking down in shame at what her clan would have to do.

"Don't worry, its not your clan's fault nor is this yours." Naruto expressed with a grin as he stood up. "If Sasuke were still here, he would have said I was just too stupid to see what the aftermath of my actions, I just did what I thought was right. I saved those people from cruel and unjust punishment. And I did upset the balance by restarting uzu with them to give them a second chance."

"I'm going with you!" Sarada said with determination in her mismatched eyes. "Papa said when he gave me his eyes and power to look out for you no matter what." With one hand on her hip, she said. "besides, I'm just like you now eternally young and immortal. the chakra you and papa gave me to save my life did this; it just cost him more." Sarada explained.

With sorrow in his heart, "I'm sorry," Naruto said as expressed guilt. As he hugged her.

Sarada let out a long sigh "don't be, just like you, he lived as a shinobi should and died as a father would. For their child." Sarada said as she tried to comfort the elder Uzumaki.

"We should head to the meeting." Sarada asked, taking note of the time. "do you have a marker in the land of iron?"

Naruto nodded his head and replied. "We will talk about you coming later. I can't exactly let come with me and punish you too."

Smiling Sarada said. "and what are you going to do to stop me from following you tie me up?" while flashing her Sharingan at him.

"I just might and give you a spanking while I am at it," Naruto teased.

A sputtering Sarada smashed him into the ground, screaming, "pervert!"

-Later Land of iron five kage summit -

"We the five Kage are here to discuss the accused Naruto Uzumaki for the charges as follows:

For the charge of crimes against humanity

The destabilization of the world economy

Threats of force and violence

Allowing terrorist to start a hidden village under your name

Violating international policy

For these crimes, we shall put it to a vote on the punishment of banishment," The Tsuchikage announced to the tribunal.

"I the Hokage vote not guilty said the youngest of the kage Itachi Uchiha."

"I the Raikage vote not guilty said the grandson of Aye Ay."

"I the Mizukage vote guilty said a portly man with balding blue hair."

"I the Kazekage vote guilty said a woman of auburn hair."

"I the Tsuchikage vote guilty said a pasty looking bald man."

"With a three to two vote, we the five kage of the alliance with this sentence one Naruto Uzumaki to banishment to another world." the Kazekage said with a tone of what seemed like remorse. "So Naruto Uzumaki, what say you."

The tension in the room from the silence alone was palpable. Then Naruto spoke, "I'll go … under a few stipulations of my own---"

An outraged Mizukage railed out, " how dare you to make demands of us!" Before Naruto could even finish his sentence.

Then a sudden violent and thick killing intent flooded the room as the doors were blown off their hinges. "NO! HOW DARE YOU! "Kurama roared as he prowled through the room as if on the hunt.

"You make demands of him! And expect him to not make a bargain of his own." Kurama growled out with two glowing red eyes.

"Ehem… as I was saying my stipulations are simple, and for most of them, u really have no choice." Naruto interrupted with a straight face. "first, the alliance will now officially recognize Uzu as a hidden village, and anyone from Uzu caught violating any international laws must be dealt with on an individual basis. Second, the Biju will be allowed to come with me if they choose."

"This is nonsense; the Uchiha can subjugate the Biju, and we still have some of the Sealing arts of old! that should be plenty to control what should be our property in any way." The Kazekage dismissed out of hand until the same killing intent as before resumed with more bloodlust than ever felt before. And she fainted into a pile of her own filth.

"YOU DARE TO PUT US IN CHAINS ONCE MORE!!" Kurama bellowed now the size of an ox. With all of his tails loose and thrashing about. Damaging the room and shaking the building to its very foundations.

Naruto was about to try and calm down Kurama when Sarada stepped in, saying with a glare to the remaining kage, "my clan has been forbidden from ever doing such a thing and what remains of your old seals will not work on them anyway."

"T-the council accepts the stated terms." The once prideful Mizukage squealed out.

"Ha, cowards!" chortled Kurama as he stalked out of the room.

"My final demand is that Itachi's eyes be preserved by my clan in the event of a need for I to return outside of his lifetime." naruto concluded.

That is easily the most agreeable term, yet stated the rest of the council. "With that, this meeting is now adjourned, Naruto Uzumaki. You will have 72 hours to have your affairs in order." the Raikage sullenly stated.

"Then we shall go see to the rest of the Biju and see if they wish to come," Naruto stated as he left the room, followed by Sarada and Itachi.

The rest of the day was a solemn affair as they traveled by to Konoha then to mount Myōboku, where naruto then asked the other Biju if they would follow him into exile. To his surprise, they all agreed. And the toads insisted that he keep their contract on the that maybe one day they would see each other again.not only that, but they would serve Konoha and Uzu so long as the toads lived.

With that, they had a going-away celebration for naruto that lasted 48 hours in Uzu. As for an Uzumaki, the family is everything, and to an Uzumaki, the village is family.

Note edited as of 10/11/19

#the maelstrom of remnant #naruto #rwby #crossover #fanfiction

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next-lvl · 7 years

Text

Majority of my followers know what Wakfu is, but not all know about the game: how many wounds it left in my heart, and everyone else’s. This post isn’t gonna be precisely explaining the wrongs that Wakfu did, I just wanted to mention that, in aftermath, it was a disaster of a game that left its most loyal players hurt, disappointed and immensely sad. I still keep meeting people who love this franchise, but can’t stand the game anymore since it’s.. Changed too much and didn’t stay enjoyable, to say mildly. I’m surrounded by, literally, traumatized veterans who look back at the good old days and shed tears. And I’ve been talking a lot about GW2 recently, not for no reason.

I want you to heal, just like I did. I mean.. I’m still hurt over Wakfu and I’ll stay this way forever, but I found a game where you can feel safe, loved, cared about. Devs in GW2 are humans who talk to us, who put smileys and memes in their posts, who hang out on reddit and ingame. This’s one of the major and striking differences between Wakfu and GW2. I’m still genuinely stunned by my own experience with customer support, I had a few troubles during my 1.5 years in GW2 and the response was not only fast and effective, it was HUMAN AND CUTE. I’m still not over it. Now that I’ve been invited to be a creative partner.. I’m still not over it too. They shower their regular players and content creators in gentle attention and kindness. I cry. During the 5+ years of being the most active and visible artist in Wakfu fandom, literally promoting it with thousands of drawings, I’ve never got a tiniest bit of official recognition. Not even a single placement on official media. When I took part in contests, I never won. Overall it’s been a one-way street. During my first 1.5 years in GW2, I’ve been noticed, picked up by the team, pampered and spoiled to the point of barely believing it’s true. That’s my personal experience, but it should indicate Anet’s general attitude towards the players. They. Do. Care.

I just wanna try and convince more ex-Wakfu players to give GW2 a shot. The two games are different in the visual and core gameplay aspects, yes, transitioning from an isometric 2D turn-based to a 3D, real-time game was somewhat harsh, but boy, how glad I am that I did it.

There’s EVEN MORE TEXT, brace yourselves. :D In GW2, I found everything that I wish was in Wakfu.

GW2 is a true sandbox. You log in, you do whatever the fuck you want. Level your first (second, 12th, 33rd, 68th) char? Grind mobs and dungeons? NO. Run around, look for events, explore, literally everything you do and everywhere you go, gives xp. You can level via crafting! Which, btw, is relevant throughout the entire game, unlike in Wakfu.

You do have dungeons of two kinds, and you CAN farm them if you want, but it’s your deliberate decision. There ARE farms in GW2, but they’re fun, if you’re not trying to get a legendary weapon in a month. I personally like running around with a bunch of random people who are there to FARM events in a specific map, but that happens once every two months.

Said legendary weapons ARE hard to get and yes, they can get you burnt out in no time if you don’t have a concept of a “long term goal”. Leggies are a prestige item, and, just like other prestige items (auras, specific minis, skins, etc), they’re meant to be your ultimate show-off item. People see you and know that you’ve been through.. A lot. BUT. Your hard-earned prestige item is to stay prestige. I assume you know relics in Wakfu? Then you must know what happened to them after a few years.

There’s no devaluing in GW2. Your trophies stay relevant and rare. Your prizes, your exclusive titles, skins, etc stay exclusive. You aren’t losing half of your wealth just because the devs decided to revamp ALL GEAR FOR THE THIRD TIME.

Speaking of the gear, the orange set you get at 80, is endgame gear. GW2 is 5 years old, so that orange gear is. People crafted it on the release and.. It stayed endgame. Yes, there’s also pink gear, which ~5% better than orange and is only needed if you do high lvl fractals or are min-maxing in raids. If you’re casual or just starting, you don’t even have to think about it. But once you craft your set, it stays relevant forever. People’s effort is never shoved up their asses.

There’s no constant carrot-on-a-stick gear upgrades. Level cap is 80 since release and will stay so. The game promotes safety and stability, that’s what attracted me. You take a 2 years break? No problem, you log in and go play. Nothing has lost its value, you don’t feel inferior, you don’t need to catch up to play with your friends.

Which reminded me: there’s a wonderfully done level downscale system. You’re a lvl 80 in a lvl 16 zone? Your stats are auto-adapted so the enemies you fought as a noob are still dangerous, and your reward (xp/gold/materials) is adapted to your true lvl. You go and play anywhere you want, and get fair rewards.

Crafting materials of all levels are also demanded and relevant. Oh yeah, you can run around for hours just gathering wood/ore, familiar to Wakfu players? It’s nice and relaxing until you meet another player. Well, in GW2 all gathering nodes are NOT shared. You see a tree? It’s your tree. That dude who runs up to it won’t steal it from you.

Oh also there’s no kill steal! Which is big, imo. You’re encouraged to play together, to help people kill stuff, to contribute to any event you see around, since everyone gets rewarded equally.

Legendary stability of GW2 servers. Lemme just say: there’s no weekly maintenance. There is. No. Downtime. Even on the big update days, you can download and play pretty safely. If there’s a hotfix, the game KINDLY WARNS YOU that you need to update and you have TWO FLIPPING HOURS to do so. Before you did that, you still can play, finish whatever you were up to.

Everything revolves around player’s happiness and convenience. There are constant quality-of-life updates. Your bags are full of crap? Here, salvage it into materials with two clicks, then deposit into your bank with two clicks (from anywhere in the world), then compact the rest of your shit. Yeah, with two clicks. x’D

There’s wonderful Fashion Wars. The game offers so much customization, and it’s taken so seriously, that it’s one of the endgame aspects. There’s 30000+ achievement points to earn, which are mostly fun and make you go out of your usual way. Dailies? You get 10 points and 2 gold for doing 3 easy tasks that take ~15 minutes.

There’s LORE. There’s fun little interactions all over the world. You just did an event? Stay here and listen, probably npcs will say/do something and start another event, logically following the previous one. The world lives and breathes. You can just walk around and observe. You’ll learn so much. And of course, there’s always a good cause to laugh. Dialogues/reactions are just hilarious sometimes.

Regarding the lore: there’s a so-called personal story which accompanies you up to lvl 80, then there’s “living world”, smaller events and single maps being rolled out every once in a while - so far there’s 2 seasons available, and 1 being “historical”, not playable anymore. In that season, they fucking crushed the main capital city. It changed forever. It was an epic event, which I missed, but watched people’s videos later. Then season 2, then HoT, then season 3, and now we’re waiting for PoF, second expansion. The updates have picked a nice pace and are frequent now.

There’s just so much to do. Just go, dive into the world and drown forever. :3c And meet me on the bottom. x’DD

GW2 feels different from Wakfu, but I found similarities for myself. It’s a sandbox after all, and later endgame has a lot of strategy. GW2 is never tank-and-spank. You just, literally, can’t facetank shit here. You gotta use your skills wisely, time your dodges, play with traits/passives until it all flows together. You’ve got a HUGE BUILD FREEDOM. There’s 9 classes, each having at least 3 defined roles, with more variations. You don’t just go ranger (oh archer it’s like a cra rite??) and do pew pew from max distance. Well, yes, you have a bow and can pew pew.. Or you can be a melee fighter, you can be a full blown healer/support.. As a ranger, yes.

I’ll be wrapping up now, I swear. GW2 is true f2p. Which of course does have a few restrictions (can’t trade or use map-chat), but you can get to 80, gear up and explore to your heart’s content before you decide to pay. I personally played for 5 months, every day, before I bought HoT.

Why’d you buy an expansion? More story, more maps, new class traits, gliding in HoT and mounts in PoF. The expansion and living world content has been constantly improving, visually, mechanically and lore/writing-wise.

Other than that, there’s a gemstore offering cosmetic and convenience items (gems can be bought for cash OR ingame gold). There are infamous rng boxes, but none of those are p2w. GW2 is oriented at the western consumer, which means, yeah, they know that we hate p2w and they’ll never do that to us.

*breathes out* I had to get that off my chest. I wanna talk about GW2 forever, but it’s exhausting to do one-on-one. :P Hopefully someone’s still reading this!

Now lemme remind you that now I have those partner links, if you use this to create a new account and play for free (for an hour or two months? w/e), or this to buy an expansion, I’ll get paid a bit. Not much, but it definitely helps!

And I was gonna write this wall of text regardlessly of the partnership one day, now I just have more incentive. x’DD Plus, we’re gonna have a beta weekend on 11-13 august, where you can preview the second expansion for free! It’s a perfect timing to write this post and try convincing you. You’ll just need a f2p account, and you’ll be given a lvl 80 boost and whatnot for that beta weekend. I’m not sure yet, but I assume you WILL. Just please register using my link above, so that I get paid for the two hours I spent on this post. :D

#wakfu #gw2 #guild wars 2 #please read it's like a matter of life and death to me #gw2 is everything for me right now #and i want YOU to play a game which would love you back

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peculiarist · 6 years

Text

a letter found by my protagonist as he walks along the riverside

This whole thing is fucking bullshit, even starting this fucking page took almost an hour, just to write that it’s all fucking bullshit. Bullshit bullshit bullshit. People say that you just have to write, it will come to you, but it fucking doesn’t. “Inspiration comes when you’re working, it has to find you working” fucking bullshit. There’s no inspiration. Nothing is coming, it’s hard as fuck. There is no way I can get into the mindset of writing, I can’t even think of myself as a writer anymore. Nothing fucking happens. No ideas. No dialogue. No fucking thing. It’s all fucking bullshit. I don’t know why I cann’t get into it, but I can’t. I sit down and nothing happens. No words. So I write shit. And the whole idea that if you write enough shit it will all get out and then you can start writing good stuff, do you know what that is? That’s right, it’s FUCKING BULLSHIT. Shit breeds shit. They get together and have little shit romances and little shit weddings and little shit sex and little shit kids, until all there is is shitty shits shitting everything up.

Shit. One hundred and ninety four words on shit came far easier than anything else I’ve written for years. I fucking hate it. Depression takes everything out of you, all your motivation goes down the toilet like the SHIT IT IS, so you deal with your depression and you go through hell and you come out the other side and you sit down at your keyboard and NOTHING FUCKING HAPPENS. “Just write.” What a fucking joke. How many hundreds of thousands of words of absolute nonsense do I have to reverse vomit onto the page before it stops being bits of corn and carrot in huge brown logs? How can I read my stories and find any way to improve them instead of wondering if you can burn your computer monitor, or whether you have to print the pages out first? Why is the only thing … fuck.

Don’t give me any crappy metaphors about fertiliser, either. “Bullshit grows the best roses.” Only with a fucking seed. If it’s just bullshit, just nothing but piles and piles of fetid cow faeces, nothing grows it just fucking stinks out the neighbourhood. If you have to hold your breath every time you open Scrivener for your NaNoWriMo novel that’s a fucking sign that nothing is being fertilised, it’s just festering.

Just out of curiosity I counted the number of times I used the word fuck in the writing above - seventeen. If I was to edit them out I’d have five percent fewer words. Story of my fucking life.

You’d think drinking would help at a time like this, wouldn’t you? Alcohol relaxes you, eases depression, gets you thinking along strange paths, and BANG - story. It doesn’t help any more. Everything wears off, I suppose. Even absinthe just tastes like bad liquorice on ice. Maybe fermented bullshit would do something for me, but the local supermarket doesn’t sell that.

It makes me long for my youth, when delivering pizzas was enough to get me through the week. What the fuck kind of job will I get now? Fuck. I can’t even imagine that. I can’t even imagine getting a basic fucking job, or support from anyone, or any fucking thing.

Maybe I didn’t get over my depression.

That’s the thing though - I’ve been depressed often in my life, and I’ve always done stuff. It didn’t stop me getting through high school. I got a degree in biotechnology with depression. I get promoted irrespective of whether I’m depressed or not. I got a journalist job at the absolute worst time to try and get one (at least, the worst time before about 2010), when there was a hiring freeze on journalists. My editor literally was not allowed to hire me, and he did anyway, claiming I was an editorial assistant, not a journalist. And I got recognition in the industry. And I got head-hunted by the national newspaper. All while I was depressed. But now, nothing. There’s nothing I can do. I have no motivation, but I don’t seem to have any ability either… is that the word? Nothing I do works, or at least, nothing I do seems to work for me. My writing from years ago was good - not great, but good, with the potential for greatness. Now it’s just bullshit - this is probably the most interesting thing I’ve written for years. And that early writing just looks like shit to me now. So, was I deluded then, or is it now that I’m not seeing clearly?

BECAUSE YOU CAN NEVER FUCKING TELL. Fucking writers. They always say “don’t reject yourself, let the editor do that. Submit that story, and let them reject it”. And they always say “make sure your story is the best it can be before you submit it. Don’t submit half finished work, revise it, polish it, send it out when it’s ready”. HOW DO YOU FUCKING KNOW? Unless you’ve managed to get stories published, unless you have an editor read your story and offer advice, how do you know if it’s ready to be sent out and rejected?

NaNoWriMo isn’t for that, of course. The point of NaNoWriMo is not to publish a novel, it’s not to write some great story. The point is quite simple - show people that they CAN write a novel, even if it’s crappy. And of course it’s crappy. The point is to show people they can write fifty thousand words in a month. That they can write a book, a novel, a whatever, that editing and revision and so on and all that bullshit aside, they actually can write that much.

I’ve won like five times, but this year I have no fucking chance. I can’t write anything. It just fucking dribbles out of some clenched cows anus to drip on the ground like the minimal amount of bullshit it is.

So this is a rant, because halfway through a conversation in a riverside seafood restaurant my fingers just refused to hit keys. Because this far into the story I still don’t know what it’s about, or even what the protagonists name is. Because no inspiration is coming. No nothing is coming. So I’m ranting, and you know DAMN WELL I’ll include this in my word count. Is that cheating? Do you think that’s cheating? What if I have my character - whatever the fuck his name is - find a sheet of paper on the street, and this is what is written on the sheet of paper, so he reads it, and then it goes in the story. Still cheating? Should I add at the top of the page “a letter found by my protagonist as he walks along the riverside”? I’ll do it. I’ll fucking do it. I did it. I even bolded it so it looks like an official title. You happy now?

‘Cause I’m not. I’d rather I had some fucking point with this. I’d rather I had something to say. Anything to say. Even something without a message, or point, just fun words that make people smile and take another drink of their beer while they think of a comeback.

Something.

Anything.

But there isn’t enough absinthe in the world…

And this. All this bullshit - and it is bullshit, everything I’ve written here - all this bullshit is only one thousand two hundred and sixty words, including that number. It’s not even enough for the standard day, and I’m so far behind I need to write twice as much as that mythical person who has faithfully typed their one thousand six hundred and sixty seven words every day. (Pro tip: Never write numerals in NaNoWriMo, writing out the number in words always gives you a higher word count.)

NOT THE END (because the end is still so, so far away…)

#NaNoWriMo #look what I wrote today #that's right #fucking bullshit

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revwinchester · 7 years

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BattleXoom

Summary: The Reader and Charlie spend a night playing their favorite online video game.

Pairing: Charlie x Reader

Word Count: 1464

Rating: Teen and Up

Warnings: a little bit of cursing, allusions to sex/sexual activities

A/N: This is for week 6 of the SPN Hiatus Writing Challenge hosted by @thing-you-do-with-that-thing! There are 2 prompts in here, a line of dialogue, which is bolded, and a gif, which is inserted when it becomes relevant. Thanks for hosting the challenge this summer, Kari! Also, I made up the video game in this fic and any similarity to a real game/games is completely coincidental. I’m more of a single player, first person shooter with a solid story line kind of gamer myself (Fallout 4 is my jam right now).

BattleXoom -

“Hush woman and let me choose!” you playfully shouted at Charlie as you scrolled through the available characters on your screen, reminding yourself of the pros and cons to each one. It had been so long since you’d played anyone but Torrex and you were determined to branch out this time. It’s not like the two of you were playing for tournament points or anything, you were logged into your “just for fun” accounts so that you could mess around in game without fear of ruining your stats or reputation.

“If you really loved me there wouldn’t be a choice,” Charlie replied and you could practically hear her pout through the headphones you were wearing. She had already selected Raven, her usual character, and was waiting rather impatiently for you to make your character selection. “You’re already making me play on the laggy server because you’re stuck on hotel wifi. At least let me destroy some bitches tonight!”

You sighed into the microphone. “Fine,” you acquiesced, scrolling back to select your usual character, “but remember, the last time we played as Raven and Torrex on these accounts, someone recognized our style from Twitch or a tournament or something and called us out.”

You and Charlie were one of the highest ranking partnerships worldwide in BattleXoom, a video game that you both loved. After realizing how well you worked together in game, the two of you started competing in tournaments and eventually worked your way into bigger and bigger competitions, most recently coming in second at an invitation only tournament hosted by the game’s publisher at a major video gaming convention.

You had first met Charlie in an online forum for people looking for a partner to game with and, after playing a few rounds together, you realized that you lived two towns away and had decided to meet for coffee. You had been a little hesitant at first, you used an androgynous username because girl gamers aren’t all that accepted in the gaming world and neither of you had spoken to the other over anything but typed messages at that point. However, you had found instant chemistry on the game and hoped that, whoever this CharlieCodex dude was, he wouldn’t throw that away because you were a woman. You were pleasantly surprised to learn that Charlie was also a woman, that her name was short for Charlene, and that your chemistry carried over into real life.

The one thing you loved more than the game was Charlie and you knew she felt the same way about you. Sure, the game was was the thing that had brought you together - as well as bringing you a modicum of internet fame - but you were certain that the two of you would last well beyond BattleXoom’s height of popularity.

Normally, you and Charlie would spend a Monday night side by side in your home office, engaging in battle together before retiring to your bedroom and engaging in a different kind of activity together but your job had sent you out of town for the week and you weren’t due to return home until late on Thursday. So, instead of settling into on your comfy chair at home with your custom setup, your multi-screen display, and your girlfriend, you were sitting in a wooden chair, hunched over a tiny desk, and playing on your laptop with shitty graphics, all while using the hotel’s internet to connect to the only BattleXoom server that would support the casual gamer that you appeared to be this evening.

As soon as you and Charlie both selected characters you were transported into the game where you would have to battle against other teams of two for control of the map. The graphics didn’t move as smoothly as you were used to but you soon got the hang of things, systematically taking out your opponents as you and Charlie worked your way towards the center of the map over the next 30 minutes or so.

It was your signature style, one that Charlie had come up with, and, although many had tried, no one had really been able to replicate the way the two of you played the game with the same amount of success you had found. It worked for the two of you, though, and that was all that mattered as you took out one of the two remaining teams on the map. The last team was all the way across the island and you and Charlie directed your characters through the jungle towards them.

“I’ve only got the one screen tonight, Char. I’m gonna need you to tell me what you’ve got on these guys,” you requested.

BattleXoom worked in such a way that one half of the screen could display stats about the game and the players, giving you some info about your opponents’ statistics as the game progressed. You and Charlie had gotten pretty good at reading into those statistics and being able to extrapolate play style and experience level from the information the game provided. Without your dual monitors that you had at home, though, you had decided to disable that feature so you could have a better view of the game itself, trusting Charlie to tell you everything you needed to know throughout the melee.

Charlie filled you in on what to expect when you met the other pair that remained on the map. They seemed like a pretty good team, considering which server you were playing on and you were looking forward to the fight. You were lost in listening to her analysis and not paying as close of attention to the screen in front of you as you should have been and you ended up paying the price for that.

“Shit,” you heard Charlie say just as your health meter took a major hit.

Realizing that the other team had set a trap that you then walked right into, you both sprang into action, defending yourselves and lashing out with attacks whenever you were able. Eventually, you regained the upper hand, your experience with the game becoming exceedingly useful and increasingly evident.

“Should we do it?” you asked Charlie.

She knew what you meant immediately. “It” was a move that even some of the top teams in the world had trouble executing. Each character pairing in the game had their own signature “double down” move, as the game called it, and the level of difficulty varied depending on the pair you picked. Torrex and Raven had the most difficult double down to get right but the payoff was huge and you and Charlie had mastered it, though you seldom used it in free-play situations like this. However, after the trap the other team had laid, you were willing to make an exception here.

“Hells yeah!” Charlie exclaimed as she set herself up, counting on you to get into position as well. “On three!”

You both counted together, it was imperative that you both hit the right buttons at exactly the right time or the move wouldn’t work.

“One… Two… Three!”

Your fingers mashed the buttons in quick succession and you hoped that Charlie and you would be in sync even when separated by hundreds of miles. You were and you smiled as you watched the screen. Your character, Torrex, lifted Charlie’s into the air, holding onto her shoulder and her waist as he swung her in a wide circle. Raven kicked out and knocked your opponents onto their backs, killing one of them and seriously damaging the other.

Once Raven was back on the ground, it only took two or three more basic attacks to win the game.

After your victory was announced, you were transported back to a menu screen. “You want to play again?” Charlie asked you through your headset.

“I’m sorry, Char, I’ve gotta get up early tomorrow morning so I should probably call it a night,” you apologized. “I’ll make it up to you when I get home, though. Promise.”

You and Charlie said your good nights and signed off of the server and you shutdown your computer, putting it away before you got ready for bed. As you were brushing your teeth, your phone rang. You looked at the name on the screen and quickly spit out the toothpaste and rinsed your mouth quickly.

“Hey, babe, what’s up?” you greeted Charlie through the phone.

“Nothing,” she responded simply.

Charlie wasn’t usually one to call just for idle chit-chat. That was what texting was for, you had heard her tell someone once. “You know I love you and I love to hear your voice but why are you calling, then?” you asked.

“Victory phone sex. Duh,” Charlie replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

ALL THE TAGS! (forevers): @deathtonormalcy56 @supernaturalyobsessed @roxy-davenport @sumara62 @ginamsmith @gallifreyansass

Charlie Tags from @mrswhozeewhatsis: @mrswhozeewhatsis @vintagevalentinexx @thinkwritexpress-official @itsemmyb @beriala @crzcorgi @ellen-reincarnated1967 @deerlululucy @growleytria @thegleegeneration @SinceriouslyAmellPadalecki @sis-tafics @meganwinchester1999 @kittenofdoomage @prettyxwickedxthings @lilyoflothlorien @myfand0msandm0re @olitzisbae @iridianuniverse @shortandlongstories @ackleslaugh @roxy-davenport @chrisatplay @faith-in-dean @kreborn17 @for-the-love-of-dean @zanthiasplace @gadreelsforbiddenfruit @curliesallovertheplace @not-so-natural-spn @skybinx-blog @feelmyroarrrr @beachy2014 @deansleather @jotink78 @lucifer-in-leather @notnaturalanahi @howmanytuesdaysdidyouhave @babypieandwhiskey @mysaintsasinner @klaineaholic @supernaturalismalife

Pond Charlie Tags: @manawhaat @notnaturalanahi @bkwrm523 @roxy-davenport @jelly-beans-and-gstrings @deansleather @whywhydoyouwantmetosaymyname @mrswhozeewhatsis @wi-deangirl77 @deantbh @deanwinchesterforpromqueen @chaos-and-the-calm67 @memariana91 @teamfreewill-imagine @your-average-distracted-waffle @deals-with-demons @faith-in-dean @winchestersmolder

#spn hiatus writing challenge 2017 #hwc - week 6 #supernatural fanfiction #spn fanfic #Charlie Bradbury x Reader #Charlie Bradbury #reader insert #fluff #girl gamers #fics by Rev

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chooseandact · 7 years

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(These replies are making a monstrosity themselves.) Tagging @insectoid5, @frozenartscapes, @ultranos, @kalikoke, @hathor-frozen, @myfanfictiongarden, @mighty-meerkat, et al.

EDIT: (And again, I spawn another monstrosity. *sigh*)

@frozenartscapes reblogged your post and added: Don’t forget, I also brought in Yama and his cronies from Big Hero 6 (source). So there’s also the possibility of dragging gang activity into this as well.

(Also I now officially headcanon that all the recruiters for the Org are named Joe. Not as fake names, but real names. It gets confusing really quickly. It also doesn’t help because of Family Guy, but I also picture all of them voiced by Patrick Warburton.)

Don’t worry, @frozenartscapes, I didn’t forget Yama. I mentioned them in “DA!prompt #3” with the same source. You should’ve got a notification, but I mis-typed everyone’s “@”, so it didn’t send. :( Also, I really like the idea the male recruiters all sound like Kronk (That’s who I asssociate Patrick with; I never watched Family Guy.) More stuff below.

@myfanfictiongarden reblogged your post and added: […] Anyway, I see @chooseandact that you wrote quite a few characters down. While it would be fun to see all the HoND crew interact with Judge Frollo and our Frozen gang, add some BH6 and spy Rapunzel…. I´m for keeping things small. You can only devote so much time to one character, but with more then 8? Each of them has their own storyline etc. etc. it could be too much.

What I am with is a good funny spy-fic, with DA!Verse Elsa on a mission, Kristof, Tadahi and Anna along making things crazyer [sic], D standing somewhere, and the all evil trio Weaselton-Hans-Frollo (Frollo is such a bad guy even Hans can learn more from him-wait, is Frollo still a judge in DA!Verse? I hope so)

I hope, I could help and we could bring this baby to live :)

From one DA!rookie to another: Welcome to the club! I know I listed many characters, but that doesn’t mean we have to use everyone. They’re just some of the many people available to use in the background. Like I said, I thought adding HoND and the others strained disbelief. However, I think we can benefit by keeping just Judge Frollo and Phoebus, even if they make brief appearances:

With Frollo, we get a sense of some of the legal system’s failures (If any of us knows some basic legal stuff, it could help, but no need to go overboard [says the one who scoured the DA!depths for sources!]. If not, we can use Wikipedia or TV courts, e.g. any CSI, any Law & Order, etc.). Elsa has noticed most of the goons she sees are almost always the same people from Yama’s gang, even after honest cops have picked them up. She has suspicions but cannot act on them because of Org work.

With Phoebus, we get laughs as Sgt. Wesel tries to explain his theories to his superior, only for Phoebus to brush him off as (1) the force’s resident paranoiac, and (2) a Living Legend in the bad sense – from Phoebus’ POV, Wesel has been out of touch with reality for a while (we readers know he’s more right than he could ever imagine), but he can’t be dismissed from the force because he did Great Things in his past (and won’t let you forget it, to everyone’s ire) and has employment seniority, so he’s protected even more the local cop union. And we get a trio of good cops (Kristoff, Tadashi, and Phoebus) who sometimes simply meet just to talk, which counters your Evil Trio of Hans, Wesel and Frollo.

@mighty-meerkat reblogged your post and added: […] It’s been so long since I wrote any Mariselsa, but I kind of want Marisol at the party as well in some capacity. Maybe she’s on a separate search-and-destroy-information mission for a different handler, which immediately puts a massive spanner in Elsa’s works, because Marisol is…not very good at damage control. If she’s trying to set the place on fire, Elsa’s attempts at discretion are literally going to go up in smoke.

I like that idea! Here’s some more fic welding then: Hans is both terrified and furious at Elsa’s threat, as linked previously. He attends the gang boss’ party, as do Our Heroes, Marisol, Rapunzel (on loan from the German Org as a Field Test), Wesel, and Frollo (and Wesel’s two thugs, but as background only). Marisol has her own mission, which indeed counters Elsa’s goal and sets the building ablaze. Everyone escapes: Marisol goes her way, Elsa tracks the female target I mentioned in DA!prompt #3 (she can be the high-profile target or someone else in the hierarchy), and the rest of Our Heroes return to the Arendelle’s and await Elsa’s return. Everything unfolds as explained in DA!prompt #3, which ends in a fight that wounds Elsa, kicking off the beginning of @frozenartscapes’ fic Call for Help.

@insectoid5 reblogged your post and added: I commend you for thinking this through so thoroughly! That’s the sort of thing I don’t have the energy to do, usually […]

I love your idea of adding spy!Rapunzel, and we may as well add Cassandra (from Tangled: The Series), because I can totally see her fitting in at the Org. I can totally see Elsa being a spy, given her usual stealthy missions. Which will last up to the point where she falls out of a tree and spooks the person she’s watching. 😅

Maybe the Org has some kind of vocational cover story for banks and tax people. Like, I dunno… life insurance. 😂 (I volunteer @frozenartscapes to come up with a better one.)

[…] Also: every recruiter is named Joe: perfect! (Though how their superiors will know if all the Joes are doing a good job, if they don’t have some way of telling them apart, e.g., “tall Joe”, “short Joe”…). If a small, obscure Frozen ship can have an archivist/historian, I don’t see why this AU shouldn’t have one. You’re nominated! 😄

Why thank you! And it all started from a dress pic… In the words of Gord Bamford: “It ain’t your eyes, your lips, your nose, your hips / That got me in this mess / Blame it on that red dress” (If you didn’t notice, I think Anna’s dress/fan should keep the style but be fire-engine red bc red hair & all)

re: “Joes”: I was inspired by a scene in the Transformers 3 novel, where 3 secret agents appear. They dress the same and are not related despite all 3 being referred to only as “Johnson”, yet you still can tell who’s talking. The Org’s “Joes” are similar: they don’t need identifiers, even though “their appearance [has] been carefully conceived to leave no lasting impression on anyone who might see them.” (TF book) When someone calls for “Joe”, somehow they just know which one is needed. No one knows how or why. Elsa is unnerved and D is disturbed, even though he hired them. Anna tries to make the obligatory “take your average Joe” joke, but Elsa stops her preemptively, saying an unknown Org person did that the day after Elsa joined. Org rumor has it they were never seen again. The next day, all the Joes arrived 10 min. late with flecks of mud on their Men in Black-style suit pants’ cuffs, and Every. Single. File. with the person’s name (the digital/physical ones backed-up in triplicate, database, weapons logs, bank info, etc.) had the name wiped. Not black censor bar. Wiped. Eventually, they faded from collective memory and exist only as a rumor from senior Agents to rookies.

On the topic of the missing Org person, I found two more Org members: an unnamed duo who reviewed Elsa’s test scores and assigned her to “wetwork specialist” (from the same source as Chamomile Tea “Joe”)

Thank you for the nomination as DA!historian, and I accept the position! I’ll do what I can, when I can, but I cannot promise I will remember everything. As you can see above, I’m trying to make a coherent timeline of events for a chrono DA!blog master post. Still needs (lots of) work & is FAR from finished.

One last thought: would you all be willing to do this fic as a multi-author collab? One person writes one segment, and the next part is handed off to another, all while keeping the basic plot points as outlined above and elsewhere. I’m afraid I can’t do much beyond outlines atm bc Life™ & extreme unfamiliarity with writing fics/dialogue/scene-setting/etc (I know, get experience by writing whenever, no one is perfect the first time, etc.). Thoughts?

#Domestic Assassin AU

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