#the one caveat is for questions is that it takes me a bit to answer

[bogkeep]

Would you recommend the SSSS comic? I know little of it beside the very beautiful artstyle and premise

to answer the question of if i would recommend SSSS as a comic: yes, yes i would.

a description for those who don't know: Stand Still Stay Silent is a post-apocalyptic horror + adventure webcomic set in the nordics (norway, sweden, denmark, finland, iceland) that have been isolated from the rest of the world and gone back to their old gods. the the world outside of safe zones is full of trolls and beasts - humans and mammals that got infected by a horrible virus and turned into monsters. the story follows a ragtag crew that ventures into the old world (derelict denmark) on an expedition to collect books.

the comic updated every workday until it concluded in 2022, and consists of two Adventures. the creator had plans for many adventures with these characters in this world, but ended it after two when she wanted to take a new direction with her life.

what i love about it:

- the art is GORGEOUS. it's been a huge source of inspiration for me. open any page and it's a masterpiece, and you will ask yourself "how the FUCK did she update this FIVE DAYS A WEEK"

- the characters are wonderful and endearing. i just, i love them so much. i am so thankful lalli hotakainen exists he is one of my #1 blorbos forever

- the world is so cool. the blend of chunky sci-fi and norse mythology fantasy magic slaps. it goes so hard. i fell so hard for this comic when i got to the big ferry ship with a viking style dragon head prow added to it. it's everything

- it really really gets nordic cultures. it's difficult to explain all the dynamics and nuances but it just gets it. it brings me as a scandinavian a lot of joy to read a story that speaks to my heart this way. the attitudes, the language barriers, the cultural differences... it was so refreshing to me in a media landscape dominated by american stories. when the pandemic hit, i decided to reread the comic because i found such an odd comfort in seeing how it depicted the scandinavian countries reacting to, well, a pandemic.

- there's kittycats

what i don't like about it:

- the most glaring and obvious flaw is that everyone in the comic is white. there's not a single character of color anywhere, not even i background shots or the prologue. there's no mention of the saami people (the indigenous people of northern europe), either. i believe this was done in ignorance more than malicious intent, but the implications are Extremely Bad and it's been bothering me (AND MANY OTHERS) since day 1. that is the number one caveat i will give to anyone wanting to check this comic out. i've been in the discourse trenches and i am not going to excuse this. it's just bad!

- you can tell in the middle of adventure 2 that the creator has kind of lost interest in the work, around the time when she found jesus i guess. like, very few people can keep up work on the same creative project for years and years and years and i think it's fine that she wanted to drop it, but it's a bit sad to see the comic dragged to its end like a limp corpse, and feeling like the creator no longer really cares about the characters.

- minna sundberg has said and done some questionable things, presumably gotten somewhat radicalised over time, and has also converted to hardcore christianity which is what her new works are about. there's nothing about this in SSSS - there is a moment of christianity represented in the story in a sort of mythological sense, just like the other religions, but this was written before minna's conversion. her new works... are a Choice. i have much to say about them, and i have, and im not gonna rehash it now.

SO YEAH hopefully this will help you take an Informed Choice! i got into this comic in 2015 and was deep in the fandom and it's for better or for worse part of my soul foundation now.

i also recommend A Redtail's Dream, minna's "practice comic" before SSSS, based on finnish mythology and the kalevala.

#stand still stay silent #might as well tag this if i wanna dig it up later

[rainydayfix]

Take One

pairing: Nomad! Steve Rogers x female reader

summary: Nomad!Steve Rogers fulfills his sex worker partner’s wishes until he can’t take it anymore.

warnings: 18+ content (MINORS DNI!!!), smut, lots of fingering (f receiving), unprotected sex

word count: 3.2k

Notes: Please do not copy, steal, etc. My ask box is currently open if you want to send fic ideas / imagines / etc.

Snippet: It was a miracle any thoughts ran through your mind but you couldn’t help but wonder how his hands – that had been through so much war, endured so many scars and callouses from fighting - could bring out something so heavenly from you. Maybe it was the fact that his hands hand been used to defend and protect so unabashedly that made them capable of showing an equal amount of devotion.

“I thought about what you asked for,” you said, resting your head on Steve’s chest as you settled in for the night. “And, I want you to finger me.”

“I always finger you,” he joked, lightly tickling you at your sides.

“No, I want you to only finger me,” you repeated. “Over and over again.”

You and Steve talked about fantasies you wanted to share. You both moaned between the sheets when you were in a race to hit that space where nothing else existed but each other. But, when he first asked if he could help you out on camera, because that was one of his fantasies, it was still a bit of a shock – leaving you a couple of days to digest, to ponder, to re-ponder, to really think about what you could ask him to do.

As your first video together, you finally settled one idea: him fingering you relentlessly. It was genuinely a fantasy of yours. You knew your body and what you liked, and always found it exciting to see your partner discover it too. And it was a blessing that Steve didn’t rest on his stamina from the serum to do all the work.

“Why only fingering?” he questioned softly. “Why not more?”

“You know why?” you answered, trying to tiptoe around one of the reasons you only wanted fingering. Truth be told it was that you weren’t ready to do a full length video with him yet. Your stream had a good fifteen videos on it so far. Thousands of followers who loved seeing your curves, seeing you naked, seeing you come. But your sex work always came with a caveat making partners turned on before becoming jealous and distrusting, or being distrusting from the start and making you feel cheap.

That was just men who were regular Joe assholes. This was Steve Rogers. Retired Captain America. Now Nomad. He stayed in the shadows. Popping up online, no matter how many creative angles you could try, someone would figure it out. Who you were. Who he was with. Where you were. Then come the headlines. The jokes. The invasion of privacy. You hoped deep down making a video out in the open with Steve wouldn’t change things, but you knew it would. “Not even you can hide underneath all this,” you finished, gingerly teasing his full beard.

A small groan seemed to be his only response. You could feel his pensiveness clench his muscles.

“I just - “ you started, before turning in his arms to face him. “I want us to be us for as long as we possibly can. And, blasting America’s ass on the internet will have the vultures coming around in a heartbeat.”

That made him break out into a small smile at least. You couldn’t help but lay next to him in silence as your fingers caressed his face – the deepened wrinkles on his forehead, the laugh lines, the freckles. Blinking up at the ceiling, deep in thought, he turned his face towards yours and gently took your hand into his. He brought it to his lips, taking his time to plant soft kisses along your fingers.

“When do we start?”

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

You know Steve asked if he could help. But you couldn’t find it to answer him with your actual voice. He ended up sitting on the bench at the end of the bed - with that ever-cool patience and calm he possessed. Positioning everything just right seemed to be the only thing to settle your nerves. It wasn’t like you were new to this. You set up the equipment a couple of dozen times before – sometimes for videos to post, sometimes with videos that didn’t make the cut. You set your phone set high on the tripod over the bed in the exact angle that would show your breasts down to your feet, if you poised your legs up right. You made sure the lighting was right – with soft lamps centered on your vanity and at your bedside.

As you slowly ran out of things to do, you started to realize you only started the channel with one person in mind – yourself. But now there was someone else you wanted your videos to mean something for – Steve.

“I’m gonna put the final touches together,” you said softly, giving the tiniest curtsy when his hand reached out for yours. He pulled you between this legs. How could a 240 lb superhero seem so small in your arms yet take up your entire world?

“This won’t change anything, this is just for us,” he reminded, running his hands over your hips and reaching his head up to nestle his lips between sternum. Your hands ran through his thick hair, gently bringing his face up. “I know,” you smiled down at him, taking his hands in yours before letting him go. “I’ll only be a minute.”

One minute turned into more than a couple of minutes as you changed your outfit. Steve honestly doesn’t need much to get going, but your “branding” wasn’t exactly in mind when you picked out the lingerie. From a technical point of view, you wanted something that showed enough skin from your breasts to your hips as the camera’s angle pointed downwards away from your face. For yourself, you wanted something that was simple but special – nothing said that better than see-through black and lace. Your hands ran over the delicate floral pattern as it shaped your taut waist, and the stockings that were lightly attached to the garter and underwear. After putting on the finishing touches of light make-up, you looked yourself over once more in the mirror before opening the bathroom door.

All of the equipment stayed exactly the same, but you weren’t the only one that had changed. A small array of candles were lit alongside the drawers across the room. The softest low-fi music played from the stereo. And, Steve stood next to the bed having changed into a long black shirt and pants, matching exactly what you wore. His eyes bore into you with an intensity that paled into comparison to the soft romantic set-up around you.

“Are you sure you just want my hands?” he asked, his voice deep and almost raw. He inhaled sharp but slowly, looking you over as his hands seemed to unconsciously rub together.

“For right now, yes,” you said – it was taking everything in you to not just shove the shoot aside and just let you fuck for the hell of it. There was so much about his body that you loved, and somehow restricting yourself to only his hands made you want him even more. The part of you that pushed you to save it for the video, caused you to turn away from him slowly before handing him the remote control and slowly crawling up the bed, trying to give him as much of a show as possible.

Once you settled onto your back, you reminded yourself to breathe as you could see Steve in your peripheral check the angle of your placement on the bed with the lens and press record. You forced your eyes to stay peeled on the ceiling, knowing that if you looked at him too soon you might call the whole thing off. It seemed like forever before his weight sunk on the bed next to you, his presence becoming a safe haven and a master in control.

When he was fully settled next to you, resting his weight on his arm, he whispered, “it’s just us.” His lips planted softly against yours, you immediately felt it start to leave you breathless and wanting more. Carefully, he left a trail of wetness as his tongue and lips ran down your neck, as his hand traveled over the rim of fabric covering your breasts and towards your stomach. Your breathing steadily grew heavily, when you felt his nails dig into your hips before gliding across your lower stomach and under your underwear.

You were careful to not shuffle too much, not wanting the position of your body to skew out of view. You also didn’t want to seem too over-eager as you peeled the underwear lower. A small smirk lifted from Steve’s mouth as he discovered you were already wet. One of his fingers dipped lowly, lightly skimming your outer lips before delving further. He didn’t seem to be in a rush and it was killing you. You couldn’t help but let out a deep breath as he added another finger, just playing with the power his touch had on you. He took you licking your lips as an invitation as he brought his fingers to your mouth, letting your head bob against them for a few seconds before he placed them back where they belonged.

He started with his digits pushing between your lips to your core, not wasting any more time, causing you to sigh heavily. It was exactly what you wanted. His motions mostly focused on dipping in and out of you, experimenting with the pace of rough and slow. When his fingers hit your inner lips in the perfect way, he alternated to hitting your core. Just like his cock that fit inside you perfectly, Steve knew the right amount of thickness and how to curve his fingers to create the same tight fit. You thought you were close to hitting your first orgasm, when he switched up the position, pushing his middle and ring finger deep inside you, and letting his other fingers pad against your inner walls. Your moan filled the room as your hand dipped low to hold yourself open a little more for his palm to slightly tap against you.

“Fuck, just like that, almost there” you gasped, as you felt your wetness coat not only his hand but slip down between your thighs underneath you. The concentration on Steve’s face, the way his eyes invited you to come all over his hand, pushed you over the edge as your moan was caught in his lips on yours, your tongues thrashing against each other. The first wave washed over you, as he finally let you up for air, and his fingers slowly returned to the caressing he had started with just minutes ago.

You didn’t expect the initial orgasm to take so much out of you, your eyes falling shut a little too quickly for your taste as well as Steve’s. You felt his hand gradually leaving you feeling empty, and the weight of him next to you lightening a bit. When he returned a second later, you felt something soft and plastic roll across your collarbone, and over the rim of your brassiere. Your eyes shot open, when you felt the odd object pulse against one of your nipples and over to the other. You caught the hot pink device looking small in Steve’s massive hand – your vibrator. The one you used in the video that Steve said was his favorite. That bastard.

His heavy breath brushed against your ear. “You can’t quit on me now. I’m just getting started, honey,” he instructed, in a gruff tone you’d never heard before he nipped your lobe between his teeth. He turned the device on and off again as he made sure to let it sail smoothly over breasts and across your stomach, just close enough for you to feel it pulsate through the lingerie. Once the vibrator made it towards your heat, you opened your legs further for him, letting him know how ready you were for him to give it to you.

This time he wasn’t waiting to take it slow and steady like he did before. This time he turned on the vibrator to the first setting for a few brief seconds, and then the second – the one that usually made you come within minutes. The only problem was that he held it right between your clit and lips – not letting you do anything to give him permission to go further or deeper. He was within the reason of pressing the vibrator right where you need it and perfect distance of making you yearn for his touch.

“Oh god, baby, please,” you cried out, and was silenced immediately, as he plunged the vibrator into you. Steve didn’t mess around with the pressure of the touch; he just let it pulse against your folds. It felt like an endless divine tease. Seconds gave way to minutes. Minutes felt like it gave way to eternity. You felt like you were heaven without actually crossing over the through the gates. You looked over at Steve with hooded eyes, wondering how much this man could possibly know exactly what you wanted without saying words, as the coil within you began to tighten and tauntingly refuse to unravel.

Gradually, the arm that was resting near your head slipped under your neck, lifting your face upwards. Knowing he wanted you to watch what he was doing, you helped by slightly lifting yourself up onto your elbows, prompting your eyes to roll back into your head before refocusing on the full view of his hand thrusting between your legs– the black of his shirt wrapped towards his elbow, and your lingerie, contrasted with the hot pink glimpses of the vibrator. It was a miracle any thoughts ran through your mind but you couldn’t help but wonder how his hands – that had been through so much war, endured so many scars and callouses from fighting, could bring out something so heavenly from you. Maybe it was the fact that his hands hand been used to defend and protect so unabashedly that made them capable of showing an equal amount of devotion.

Steve’s body tilted towards you closer, you could feel his cock through his pants on your side. “I wish it was your cock inside me so bad,” you whined, as he suddenly dropped the vibrator and replaced it with his hand, practically fisting you. Your focus stayed on the continuous pounding of his hand that matched the throbbing of the vibrator and thensome for as long as you could. You never wanted it to stop, and Steve almost made you feel like it was never going to. Your one hand gripped the sheet underneath, while the other wrestled to reach for Steve’s arm as your head bowed backwards, as your body finally let go, and you released a high pitched squeal. Steve slowly lowered your head back against the bed, kissing away some of the tears that had freed themselves from the corner of your eyes and down your cheeks, as everything in you crossed the finishing line. You could of sworn you heard him mumble ‘good girl’ before asking if you were all right, making you nod in response as your hands reached up to run through his hair and wrap around his arms.

You laid there for several moments, letting him hold you, caress you, plant kisses everywhere. You didn’t know if this was the end of your recording. You weren’t sure if you had another round in you. You weren’t sure if two times would be enough to follow with what you had on your stream already. You just wanted to rest with Steve, as much as it seemed like he just wanted to rest alongside you. He brought his hand up long enough for you to see him run it along his lips, coating his palm in his spit before dipping it inside you. You guessed he wasn’t done with you just yet as his hand splayed itself against your core– his middle finger found its home deep inside you while the rest of his palm rested on your inner and outer lips.

When his mouth started to trail down towards your collarbone, and towards your breasts, you helped him nuzzle your corset as low as it could, just letting your nipples peak out from the top, enough for him to paying attention to one, and then the other. His mouth grappled your breasts, back and forth, before he settled on one while his hands picked up the pace of strokes. It had been a long time before you felt an orgasm building from more focused attention on your delicate folds. But the ease with his hand swiping at you and the way his mouth enfolded around one of your nipples pushed your body to accept that he was building that eden in you again.

The slight slits in Steve’s palm seemed to ever so gently and rapidly rap against your opening, testing the limit if you could come against his motions. Gradually, your moans – the only sound in the room – was mixed with his own. One deep groan, one you’d never heard before surprised you, of ‘fuck it’ – signaled a swift change that took your breath away. Steve’s mouth left your breasts, his hand left your core, as he moved over you. Everything happened so fast – you helping Steve fling his shirt over your head and his pants down around his ass, a loud thud mixing with the pillow above your head getting roughly tossed to the side of the bed, and Steve filling you up with his cock. His arms snaked above you, as his weight practically pinned you to the bed. You reached down towards your ass and moved the flesh away to hold your thighs open for him more. In a matter of milliseconds, he was animalistically fucking away all of the tension that had been building up between the two of you. The mix of of his hands padding away sensitively at your core, and then every inch of you getting railed, was almost too much to bare. You actually surprised Steve lasted as long as he did before taking matters literally into his own hands. Both of your moans echoed in the room as his thrusts grew messier and faster as you hit another high, and he hit his first, feeling him empty his essence inside you. Once the pace of his thrust sfinally began to smooth over and stop altogether, you laid underneath him, your arms wrapped underneath his above your head.

“That was….” Steve began to say before, his words tapered off. All you could do was nod. His hand started to nuzzle the side of your neck, the coarseness of his beard brushing against your face as your lolled your head to the side.

“….only the beginning,” you finished his sentence before his head whipped up and in the direction yours was facing. Your phone had been knocked to the ground along with the tripod, lying next to the pillow Steve had tossed around aside. The realization drew a laugh from both of you. You were sure there was enough material you and Steve would be happy to post if you had to cut out the grand finale. There was no need for words or apologies, not being entirely sure if the phone had been damaged from the fall...the only thing you could do was reconsider what you could plan for take two.

#nomad!steve rogers #nomad!steve x reader #steve rogers x female reader #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers smut #steve rogers imagine #nomad steve rogers #marvel smut

[nanomooselet]

Episode Zero: High Noon At July

So anyway, Vash is right about everything.

Yes, I'm exaggerating. There are plenty of caveats to Vash's ideals. There are hard ethical questions surrounding humanity's relationship with the Plants, and those will have to be answered or neither species is going to survive much longer. But nothing's going to get better if all they have is Vash, busy getting shot at, and Knives, busy getting his brother shot at. What Vash has been struggling with from the opening minutes of the show is that he's been assuming all the blame for what Knives does, taking punishment and abuse from him and from humans without a word of protest, simply because he believes it's what he deserves.

And it's not. It never has been. He's never been to blame. It is, unequivocally, something Knives did to him.

From those same opening minutes, Knives has been the twin with agency. Never mind that he caused the fleet to crash and instigated the entire plot, or that he was also the one who actively sought to discover Rem's secret; I mentioned before that he offered Rem a choice before escaping in the shuttle. But what I noticed the second time was something equally crucial. Nai is the one piloting the shuttle. Vash is just a passenger, carried along as Nai steered, subjected to his decisions and forced to bear the consequences for his actions. And Nai didn't exactly... ask to be one piloting. He just sits in the chair and takes the stick, not a word said. He assumes agency for himself and for Vash both without room for discussion.

When Nai offered Rem a choice, and she refused, he resolved to give no one else he loved a choice, ever again. But Vash never got a choice, not with Nai. And that became a pattern.

When Nai told Vash: you're my accomplice, you're the one who gave me the program access code (I'm all but one hundred percent certain he means that when Vash accessed Tesla's records, Nai remembered the code he entered), Vash started to run. He fled. He couldn't bear the culpability - it's pretty much the instant he began to engage in suicidal ideation. He ceased to exercise his agency because he believed it lead to this unimaginable horror. The die is already cast: he's Nai's accomplice. It's decided.

Or rather, Nai decided.

Did Vash really keep running for a hundred and fifty years? Well, no, not quite - Knives (naturally) called time-out when Vash pointed a gun at his face. Just wait for a short while...a mere century or so. I promise I'll build a world of Plants. Even he, I think, realised slicing off Vash's arm was a bit of a dick move and had to regroup. But a hundred years later the game was back on and Knives's next move was founding his cult, stealing Plants, committing murders and framing Vash, and Vash was just as bereft of agency as before.

Vash the Stampede is a name that humanity gave him, but they gave it to him because of Knives. Note how it fits the naming scheme of the other members of his cult. Zazie the Beast. Elendira the Crimsonnail. Nicholas the Punisher. Livio the Doublefang. Monev the Gale. E.G. the Mine. A stampede is a herd of running animals too scared to think about the damage they cause as they flee for their lives. And that doesn't really apply to Vash, but it describes the twins as a combined force - Vash flees, Knives follows him bringing destruction. Vash is afraid of facing Knives; Knives is afraid of being without Vash. And between them, complete and utter ruin is left in their wake.

So what changed?

I said before that Meryl is the only other character besides Knives with agency, with a couple of exceptions, and I'll say right now that Vash isn't one of them. In this game, Vash's agency - really Vash himself, his power, his soul - is the prize. People want to have Vash. They desire him. And he doesn't think he has a choice but to fulfil those desires in order to make up for his sins, which is why he went to confront Knives in July - despite knowing, deep down, that his brother will not be convinced and he's walking to a hideous fate, perhaps his death. Vash is an Independent, but he doesn't seem to think he has free will. It's been beaten out of him so viciously he attributes all his hard-earned skills to luck and his compassion to some instinctive bodily urge, as though he's a trained animal. Which Knives takes just the most disgustingly cruel jab at - You need to smile, show your charm, and behave like a harmless pet./They only love your charm, your tricks, and the tightness of your leash. Imagine if Rem had ever heard him talk that way to his brother. (I'm curious how the translation worked there.)

Ah, Rem. We see so little of her. We know almost nothing about her, save that she was an imperfect woman who did her best, who loved both her children as hard as she could. Who chose to love them. Who told them that as long as you can make a choice, you can choose a better future.

I think that was a belief she privately struggled to hold, personally. Knowing that by her inaction an innocent child was subjected to a worse fate than death, it would have been hard to imagine there could still be a future for her. I hope that in the end she came to forgive herself, even if only a little, and not just because of the twins. But we'll never know.

And after Rem, Luida. Who told Vash he was a survivor rather than a coward and he deserved to live, and who survived herself because of Vash - the very last time he stood by, frozen, as Knives tried to take away someone he loved. Who, with Brad, showed that humans can change and learn, and that though they still need to rely on Plants they need not consume them. Who began to take real, practical steps towards that chosen future for both, who gave Vash his coat and built him his hand - a protective memory and the part of the body that reaches out to another that his brother cut from him. Because of them he found contact with his own kind, and began to bridge the gap that had always existed between the two species, and the two sides of his own nature.

And finally tiny Meryl. Inexperienced, sheltered, easy to knock down, easy to pick up, unarmed, all alone, and absolutely filled to the brim with rage. Meryl's way of caring for things is by getting righteously, furiously angry about them. I wonder how long it's been since anyone knew and cared enough about Vash to be in the position to get angry on his behalf, over what's been done to him. Knives didn't take the slightest bit of notice of her (except to dismiss her as "another parasite" because he's a bitch like that) until Vash responded to her. She wasn't even supposed to be there - Zazie just thought it would be funny. Zazie is the best.

(I always wonder if the song Vash sings was him trying to answer Meryl's frantic cries for him to wake up. If he somehow how meant to lift her closer or build the path she climbed to reach him. Conrad said he couldn't speak human language anymore. What if that was the only other way?)

These three women all shared faith in Vash and his ideals, and loved him, rather than what he's "supposed" to be or what he could do for them. All helped form him into the man he is now. Each of them had agency and made choices, even hard ones. And so in the end, Vash's victory over Knives's cruelty also belongs to them. Vash awakens because the connection forged by these women allowed him to pull himself free of the pit of corrosive pain Knives plunged him into - breaking chains of guilt his brother had forged to keep him by his side forever. When the question is asked, "Whose side are you on?" the answer is neither the side of humans nor Plants, despite what Knives thinks. It's the side of Vash choosing his own future, inspired and supported by the women who loved him, rather than being trapped and frozen in the past. Inevitably there will be mistakes, losses - even horrors.

And it'll still beat any future this asshole chooses for him.

#trigun stampede #tristampparty #trigun meta #meta: tristampparty episodes #mother is the name of god #i also have feelings about vash's angel arm #but it is past midnight #that said #it absolutely sends me that knives ACTUALLY GOT his lame cowboy planet #and he doesn't appreciate it in the SLIGHTEST #like. what more could you even WANT from the universe when you have a whole-ass cowboy planet #yes i AM sleep deprived how did you know

[lifeofpriya]

How Long? - Andrei Svechnikov imagine

[gif credit goes to @pyotrkochetkov]

summary: how long had it been going on for? was everything you knew just a big lie?

hiya everyone! i'm back with my entry for the wonderful @wyattjohnston's summer fic exchange! i had the honor and privilege of writing for @luvmmarner -- i had so much fun writing this fic as angst isn't usually a trope i tend to write about. i hope y'all enjoy and love this fic!

tw: mentions of cheating

word count: ~1.74k

You had always been a hockey fan, and when you met Andrei at a charity event that the Hurricanes hosted, it was like a dream come true. You were instantly smitten by the young Russian, and there was no denying that the connection you both had was electrifying, and soon enough, you and Andrei fell in love with each other.

Your relationship was perfect, or so you had thought. One day, you received a message from your acquaintance, Olivia – she was a friend of a friend – and in the message, she told you about how she saw Andrei out with another woman. You were shocked and devastated, to say the least. You couldn’t believe the man you loved had betrayed you like this. You felt angry and betrayed, and you wanted to confront him. You called him, but he refused to answer your calls. You decided to take matters into your own hands to get the answers you deserved.

You soon confronted the Russian, hoping it was a misunderstanding, while you were both at a café near the arena. As soon as Andrei sat in his seat, you asked him, “Have you been seeing someone else behind my back?” Andrei was taken aback by the suddenness of your question.

You could see the glint of hesitation in Andrei’s eyes as he stammered for a moment before he sighed and nodded. “I…I was seeing Olivia. But it didn’t mean anything! It was just a fling, that’s all! We weren't serious," Andrei continued. "It was just a bit of fun. I swear, it didn't mean anything."

You were heartbroken, to say the least. You couldn’t believe that Andrei had been unfaithful to you. “Andrei, how could you do this? I thought we had something special?”

Andrei hung his head in shame, unable to meet your gaze. “I'm sorry,” he said his voice barely a whisper. You felt your heart break even further. Hot, salty tears of anguish and betrayal pooled in your eyes as you stared at Andrei. He looked at you solemnly, “I’m sorry, Y/N…I never meant to hurt you, babe; I was just confused, and I didn’t know what I wanted….”

A sharp hiss escaped your lips, “Don’t you dare call me ‘babe’, especially after what you’ve done, Andrei.” You soon abruptly stood up and dashed out of the café. As you walked away, the tears began to stream down your face. You felt your heart racing as you tried to make sense of the situation. You had never felt so betrayed before. You couldn’t accept the Russian’s apology just like that. He betrayed your trust, and at that moment, you didn’t know if you could ever find it in your heart to forgive him.

As the days went by, you became increasingly distant from Andrei. You tried to move on from the whole fiasco, but in the back of your head, you knew you couldn’t shake off the feeling of betrayal. You didn’t know if you could ever trust Andrei again.

At the same time, though, Andrei’s relationship with Olivia was also falling apart as he belatedly realized that he made a colossal mistake and truly did love you. The one caveat, however, was that Olivia wasn’t willing to let him sneak away from her that easily. Andrei had to face the consequences of his actions, and Olivia made sure he would do so. She was determined to make him realize that he had to be honest about his feelings and take responsibility for the hurt he had caused.

One day, you received a package: a small box with a note attached. “I’m sorry for what I did. Please forgive me,” you mumbled the content of the message under your breath as you opened the box, inside which was a beautiful necklace with a heart-shaped pendant. You immediately knew the necklace was from Andrei; it symbolized his love for you…but you couldn’t accept it. You felt like it was too little, too late. Setting the necklace down on the kitchen counter that was conveniently in front of you, you soon grabbed your phone off the coffee table and immediately dialed the Russian’s number. “Andrei, I just got your little ‘gift’, and I can’t accept this. You hurt me too much…”

Andrei understood and didn’t push you any further. He knew he had to give you space and time to heal. You thanked him for understanding and hung up the phone. You felt relief wash over you as you placed the necklace back onto the kitchen counter. Taking a deep breath, you turned around and left the room. You went into the living room and lay down on the couch. You felt the tears begin to well up in your eyes, but you pushed them back down. You closed your eyes and drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

You decided to walk in the park one day to clear your head. As you walked around, you noticed a tree with a heart carved into its trunk, which made you stop in your tracks to look at it. As you stared at the carved tree trunk, you realized the carved heart symbolized love and commitment.

There was a part of you that wanted to be with Andrei, but you didn’t know if you could ever trust him again. You decided to take a risk by ringing him up and asking him to meet you at the park. Soon after he arrived, you showed him the tree with the heart carved into it. Not wanting to look at the young Russian standing next to you, you plainly said, “the heart carved on the tree symbolizes love and commitment…do you understand what that means?”

Andrei simply responded to your question, “I do. It means that I’m committed to you…and that I love you.”

You looked at Andrei with a raised eyebrow, “I want to believe you so much, Andrei, but I don’t know if I can. You hurt me so much, and you know that.”

He looked away, his cheeks reddening. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I know it won't be easy, but I want to make things right. It was never my intention to hurt you. I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”

You couldn’t help but sigh; you could feel Andrei’s gaze on you as he pleaded for forgiveness. You looked into his brown eyes and saw their flicker of sincerity. You knew he was genuinely sorry and that he wanted to amend things between both of you.

“I want to believe you, Andrei…but you have to promise that you’ll never hurt me again.”

The young Russian fervently nodded, “I promise, Y/N….”

You could feel your lips curl into a smile as you stared at Andrei for the first time in a long time. “Ok, I’ll give you another chance, Andrei. But! You have to prove to me that you’re committed in this relationship as much as I am.”

Andrei nodded and said he was ready to do whatever it took. You hugged him and said, “Let’s start then.” With that, the two of you began to work on rebuilding your relationship. You knew there was a long road ahead of both of you, but you were willing to work on the relationship and make it stronger.

As you walked away from the tree with the carved heart, you realized that love wasn’t just about the good times but also about forgiveness, commitment, and trust. It was widely known that you and Andrei had a lot of work to do, but you were willing to give him another chance. You knew it would take time, but you were determined to make it work. You had faith that the love between you two could overcome any obstacle. You knew it was time to start fresh and make the best of this new situation.

Your relationship with Andrei soon slowly began to heal and grow stronger; you two started going on dates again and spending more time with one another. Andrei ensured that you knew he was committed to you and that you were the only one for him. You both worked hard to rebuild the relationship, and it was clear that Andrei was genuinely sorry for his past mistakes. Over time, the two of you were able to move forward and continue to grow closer. The trust between you was stronger than ever. Olivia eventually moved on, and Andrei cut all ties with her. He knew he made a mistake by getting involved with her, but he was grateful for the experience because it taught him how much he loved you. He realized he had taken your love for granted and was determined to make it up to you. He vowed to never take you for granted again and to always put you first. He wanted to show you how much he truly loved and appreciated you.

Yours and Andrei’s love story continued to flourish throughout the years. In the end, you learned that love wasn’t always about just the good times. You knew that the relationship would require work, but you were willing to put in the effort to make it work. Andrei also learned that love wasn’t just about the excitement and passion of a new relationship, but rather, it was about being committed, loyal, and faithful to the person you loved. He was aware of his mistake, but he was deeply grateful for the opportunity to make things right with you. Andrei was determined to make you feel loved and to show you that he was sincere in his efforts. He wanted to show you that he was willing to go the extra mile to make things work. He was determined to prove his love was real and lasting.

You and Andrei built a happy and fulfilling life together, filled with love, commitment, and trust. You knew your relationship wasn’t perfect, but honestly? What relationship is perfect? You both lived happily ever after, knowing that your love story symbolized the power of forgiveness and the importance of commitment in a relationship. Despite the occasional arguments, you both knew that your bond was strong. You also understood that you had each other's backs no matter what happened. This knowledge was the foundation of your relationship and was the key to a successful and happy life together.

#andrei svechnikov #andrei svechnikov imagine #andrei svechnikov imagines #andrei svechnikov blurb #andrei svechnikov blurbs #nhl imagine #nhl imagines #nhl blurb #nhl blurbs #hockey imagine #hockey imagines #hockey blurb #hockey blurbs #carolina hurricanes

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

Hi, I think this maybe constitutes a Wales Question! So, I'm English originally, currently in my third year at Aber university, and its reputation for "that place you go to study and then never ever leave" is looking like it's holding true. I've been living with two very good friends of mine who are extremely Welsh for nearly 2 years now, and in that time I've been slowly picking up bits of Welsh culture and language (it started with me not wanting to mess up trying to pronounce the biology building name and looking like an idiot, but I got very interested from there, and plan on taking a class after I graduate).

I'm serious about wanting to live here, I've fallen in love with the town and the country ever since my knowledge of it evolved from "dragons and sheep and funny long names on road signs" that I thought as a kid, and I've genuinely enjoyed being brought into the fold and joining in stuff with my friends, But. my friends are very adamant that this means I can Be Welsh, and I'm not sure how to take it. On one hand, of course I would like to be, but I'm not sure how much I can claim that confidently- I didn't grow up here, have barely lived here for that long, and there's still a lot I don't get so I'm worried about making it weird. On the other, I think adamantly declaring myself English instead and turning them down is very very easy to take the wrong way!

As the most vocally Welsh person I am aware of on tumblr, I am humbly requesting your take on this... would it be considered unreasonable for foreigners to claim Welshness, with enough effort put in to learning ofc? It would be very nice and appreciated to get a second opinion :)

Diolch yn fawr iawn!

Okay so obviously I am slapping on a HUGE caveat here that I am No One, I am just another stranger at the shouting match who sometimes has some thoughts about things I see and the ability to amusingly compare things to other things. What follows are the lukewarm takes of Just Some Person, and not to be taken as gospel in any way.

But also lol you did ask and I love giving opinions, I do, so let's gooooo

So first up, I do think you're slipping into the fallacy here of playing the Boxes Game with something that doesn't fit neatly into boxes, as indeed nothing about humans and people and humans being people actually does. The thing about national/cultural identity is that they aren't precise, immutable data points. 'Culture' is already quite a loose and ethereal beast - you're basically drawing a circle around a bunch of things and going "Everything in here is X Culture!", and you'll be largely right doing that; but, the edge of the circle isn't, in reality, a hard border. It's a gradient. The circle will overlap with other circles, too. And sometimes even the things in the centre of the circle turn out to be absent half the time, and it's all a bit messy. Really, it's a bell curve, and you're just looking to see what turns up most frequently, with the understanding that you only get the big picture from all the data points together.

Nationality is even fuzzier, tbh. It's a highly personal thing. I'm very Welsh - my Welshness, though, looks different even from other Welsh people in Swansea, and certainly from a Welsh person living in Caernarfon. There are definitely unifying elements; but ultimately, it's something you kind of carve out for yourself, both consciously and unconsciously.

And I bring that up because part of your question is, "At what point do I cross the line into the circle? How long do I have to wait and how much do I have to do before Welshness happens? When do I get to claim the label?"

And there's no answer to that. Not for anyone. This is an identity issue, not a hard scientific concept. Kind of reminds me of a lot of questioning folks in the queer community, in fact. Humans like boxes and labels because they're comforting, but ultimately, we fit in them about as well as angry cats.

With that said, though, it's certainly true that there is a profound and observable difference between a naturalised citizen and a long-term tourist, which I think is the root of your fears here. A Brit who likes holidaying to Spain and decides to go and live there but doesn't learn Spanish, doesn't integrate with the local community, doesn't respectfully partake of any local customs (especially if they condescendingly view the local customs as quirky or quaint, or worse, look down on them), who learns nothing of the history of the area or wider country... that Brit could live there for 40 years, could even go the whole hog and get Spanish citizenship. But they are nothing more than a long-term tourist. Part of claiming culture and nationality is that it's not a spectator sport.

But by contrast, if that Brit were to learn Spanish and use it in everyday life (even if they sometimes fell back on English, or used a funky mix like Spanglish sometimes); if they learned all the history, INCLUDING and MOST ESPECIALLY all the pressure points that mean a Brit in particular cannot do X thing or make X joke; if they integrate with the local community, helping neighbours and coming to community events; if they respectfully take part in local customs, and only add elements of their own culture after learning about the customs properly so they know which bits are important and which can be amended...

Well, that's a totally different matter, isn't it?

It sounds like you're in the latter camp. It's particularly encouraging that your Welsh friends are already adopting you, in the broody chicken fashion of Welsh Mams Everywhere, because it suggests that while you may be English, you aren't English TM (you know the type). So, that's a good start, and it certainly puts you on the path to Naturalised Citizen.

So at that point, I suppose it becomes a matter of personal comfort. You're certainly right that it's still, relatively speaking, quite a new facet of your identity that you've only just started exploring and developing. Learning Welsh, when you get round to it (check with the university by the way, Aber is very keen on helping students learn and can get you cheaper/free courses), will push you several miles down that road, because that's a big effort expenditure AND it will put you in touch with the second of Wales' two dominant cultures.

But ultimately, the label you use has to be down to what you feel fits best, and what you're comfortable with. If you aren't comfortable with 'Welsh' yet, then that's completely fine - it's not for you at the minute. Put it on a back burner. Maybe use 'British' for now? In place of 'English', which is more specific. Maybe you can say you're "from England originally", or that you were born there but live here now; both of those are accurate, but also give the statement of intent. They make it clear that, as an adult, Wales is 'home'. This is where you're choosing.

In any case... croeso i'r clwb! And a thousand thanks for learning the language, and even just for the effort you've put in so far. Even just learning the pronunciation puts you miles above most English people, in spite of it being such a basic thing to do. It's more appreciated than you can know.

Also sorry this got long lol

#WALES! #closed for cleaning on mondays #asks #long post

[marcilled]

hi Vivian! I've been meaning to ask about reading dungeon meshi for a while but I've been super low on things to read for a bit now so I want to take the plunge! I wanted to ask, are there any "caveats" you have about recommending it? I know sometimes people will love a thing but actually not recommend it to others lol. I don't think this is one of those situations but I wanted to check :) Or if there's anything like "the first couple chapters are slow but then it picks up" you know. Also do you have suggestions for a good place to read it?

You've just activated an unskippable cutscene. *rubs hands together gleefully*

For those not aware (if you follow me you're probably aware... but just in case), Dungeon Meshi is a fantasy comedy manga by author Ryoko Kui about a group of adventurers who have to cook and eat monsters to survive in a dungeon. It's a seinen, meaning it's targeted more towards adults, which really shows in a lot of its plot beats and humor- like how the party nearly disbands because Laios (the party leader) can't afford to pay everyone upfront, etc. It's also not entirely accurate to call it a comedy, really, it's an action/adventure series that focuses on comedy, oftentimes dark humor. Which brings me to your question!

I don't have any big caveats for recommending Dungeon Meshi, I think it's a series just about anyone can pick up and get enjoyment out of! But there are some things I think are worth warning about, since the story actually gets pretty serious later on, and explores some potentially triggering themes.

Here's some content warnings for dunmeshi I can provide just off the top of my head (that shouldn't spoil anything on their own); Body horror, eye trauma/eye injuries, asphyxiation, cannibalism, blood, some gore, unsettling imagery, uhh general warning for? psychological themes (idk how to word this or even warn for this without spoiling though) and mentions of child abuse.

There's probably more that I'm forgetting, but despite its reputation for being silly, dungeon meshi gets pretty damn dark at times!! All the same, it is, to its core, built upon the humor- even in the tensest, most dramatic chapters, there's always something to lighten the mood, something to make you smile. It's kind of surprising, really, how masterfully Ryoko Kui finds this balance of drama vs. humor. No one illustrates this dichotomy better than Laios...

(least spoiler-y image I could find)

As for slow starts... I suppose it depends on what you're hoping to see in dungeon meshi! If you're excited about izutsumi (the catgirl), she doesn't show up until much later on in the manga. There's some other popular characters that don't show up for a while, either. Also, I just re-read the first chapter before answering this ask- the start is a bit slow, i.e. everything seems low stakes at first, but I think that's only to dungeon meshi's benefit tbh. I kinda dislike when series will show their hand way too soon. I think the premise and presentation of dungeon meshi is strong enough on its own, although the early art style is really unrefined and messy compared to the modern chapters. The art gets so much better as time goes on! As do the characterizations... You really get the sense that their personalities weren't entirely figured out yet in chapter 1. I think that's fine, though, the roots are all there.

All this being said... I'm gonna be honest with you, I've never actually re-read dungeon meshi from my initial read of it! and I've been keeping up for each new chapter since, like, 2018, which is crazy to think about... I really ought to do a re-read sometime, it'll give me a fresh perspective I'm sure. truthfully I just struggle to read things, which is the only reason I haven't reread it like 10 times. I still love it to bits anyway. I hope that this answer is enlightening regardless, and- oh! also! you can read dungeon meshi on Mangadex, though I recommend buying it physically if they sell it where you live :-)!!

Anyhow thank you for indulging me, i love talking about dungeon meshi & introducing new people to the series! i hope you enjoy it!!!

#asks #skyvirus #dungeon meshi

[saurons-pr-department]

Hey anon, I have screen-shotted your ask because I am going to try stay out of tag/term searches here, which in an of itself probably answers your question XD

So! Thoughts as they occur to me!

I did give the whole first season a watch. Partly out of giving it a chance, partly out of morbid curiosity, like when you can't look away from something awful happening in front of you even when you really want to close your eyes.

What I think is interesting actually, is that my main issues with the show have somewhat changed since I initially watched it. While watching it my only thoughts were "wrong, wrong, that never happened, wrong, wrong, wrong, look how they massacred my boy (gn), wrong!" And while those thoughts themselves haven't changed my main issues have changed to focus more on how it's such a badly structured story (the timelines feel both stretched and compressed in a way that doesn't add anything to the stories being told) and how I don't think it knows yet what it wants to be (it's Tolkien, but it's its own thing, but it's a 'prequel' in the very modern franchise sense of the word to the PJ films, but it's also not those films).

For the structure, I personally wouldn't have put two major stories into one show. I don't think there's the time for that. Both the Akallabêth and the creation of the rings exist as very sketchy narratives that cover extremely long timeframes. Original content was always going to be needed to fill the gaps. But by putting both tales into the one show, I feel they've doubled the amount of gap filling needed while halving the amount of screentime they have for it because there's now twice the amount of canon to cover (tbf, they don't seem to want canon so maybe that's not an issue for them...). To force them to run simultanously and then add original content that isn't just filling the gaps but appears to be completely original, you end up with a story that is both too empty and too full. Nothing is getting the time it deserves. Big moments feel undeserved or rushed. It takes the wind out of its own sails. (and that's without mentioning that these stories running alongside eachother just throws timelines and motivations out of whack, but I refuse to get us all bogged down in the minutiae of my grumblings!)

It's a pity, the story of the fall of Númenor and the creation of the rings have such good parallels, but that would require them to focus on things like religion and politics etc and they seem to be more interested in mystery boxes, so... oh well?

In regards the show's identity crisis, to be fair to them, that's really not that unusual in first seasons. They're not special XD Let's face it, how often have we all been recommended something that came with the caveat 'you need to get through the first few episodes/first season before it gets good and finds its feet'? Especially fantasy and sci-fi that has to establish facts about the world as well as characters in a way a drama set in the real world doesn't. I wouldn't be shocked to learn that the show hits its stride a bit better in later seasons.

However, my current biggest gripe with the show is what I'm seeing in the writers' attitude to storytelling. I can't stand it. The actor for a certain someone whose name begins with H didn't know who his character really was until after shooting the first few episodes. There's the back and forth of is it H or the guy who fell from the sky who'll turn out to be the villain. Sky man even gets some stalkers whose only purpose was to add confusion to this situation and then be immediately killed, no further context. One of the writers (I don't remember who) when asked about deviations from canon said something to the effect of 'we don't want book fans to be episodes ahead'. It's the modern Marvel school of story-telling. It's mystery boxes and twists and fears of spoilers and people knowing what's coming next. That's not how you tell a story. You need more substance than that. Big moments are only interesting if you've earned them with a well crafted lead up. And what's the point of a big moment if it adds nothing to the story in the first place. They had one of fantasy's most iconic villains, why was there a secret? The Second Age is where he's cracking out his most rediculous long cons. The man's twirling his mustache while kicking up his feet and writing 'evil' into every date in his diary for at least a millenium, what does a secret identity add to this story really?

Don't worry, I will move swiftly on from the topic of my boy who is not really my boy before we get in too deep... No one needs to hear that... But do you get my point? Big reveal. No substance.

To add a note of positivity, I actually really like Sky man's music. It's genuinely a really nice piece of music. I also liked that they wanted to add one of the 'original' orcs, that's a cool concept!

Oh! And whoever okayed those American 'stage-Irish' accents needs to be fired into the sun :D

#anonymous #answered asks #sorry for being vague i'm jus trying to stay in my corner #it's nice here #hope it makes sense? #i didn't know how much or how little detail you wanted so you got a weird middle ground

[sebsrainbowbicycle]

Your take on the horner situation makes sense but I still have a niggling feeling that the investigation could have been rigged because there isn't anything publicly available about it. So one question I had, is even an internal investigation like this audited? Is there some kind of overseeing external body that will have access to this information and be able to verify that things were done properly?

Hi, let me answer this in two parts, firstly there not being anything publicly available about the investigation. This is because legally, unless everyone involved in the proceedings gives their explicit consent, personal data cannot be shared. GDPR gives data subjects (aka the people who the data is about) protections for their privacy and their rights and freedoms should always be considered. When sharing any data you need a lawful basis, (there are exceptions but none that would cover a company sharing internal investigation information with the public), and if they don’t have one they cannot share it. Ultimately this is to protect both the victim and the accused from interference, keep them safe and afford them privacy which is a qualified human right.

Now, onto this investigation, is it possible that it was misconducted, rigged or otherwise improperly handled? Absolutely. This happens all the time, and for a myriad of reasons. Now onto next steps.

Let me caveat, everything I’m about to say is as the law is in the UK as I understand it, other countries will have different rules and laws, and I do not know what country the employment contract with this employee was in, so I’m using the UK to answer.

If an employee has raised a formal grievance, and is unhappy with the outcome because they feel it is wrong or unfair, they can raise an appeal to their employer. An employer should offer the right of appeal, and look at the case again to ensure that the procedures were followed, and that the outcome was fair. They may undertake another investigation if they feel it is necessary, with different people conducting the investigation, and they may change the outcome, or uphold the original outcome.

If the employee is still unhappy once an appeal has been conducted, or if the company refuses to conduct an appeal, they can take their employer to an employment tribunal. They would notify a body called ACAS about their intent to make a claim to the employment tribunal, and acas will offer to speak to the employee and the employer separately to try to resolve the issue without having to go to a tribunal. If this isn’t possible, the case will be heard at a tribunal. Evidence will be submitted from both sides, and a hearing will be held, where each party or their representative will present their case to the judge and any other tribunal members. The judge will ask questions of both parties, and both parties will be able to ask questions of each other. It’s a formal hearing with a judge presiding, and the judge will review all the evidence alongside the information collected on the day, and make their decision - sometimes on the day and sometimes up to a few weeks after the hearing.

If the judge found that the grievance and or appeal had been rigged or mishandled, they would not take kindly to this, and any compensation would be increased due to this, the judge will be looking to ensure any and all policies and procedures have been correctly followed, and will analyse all the evidence submitted.

After this. If the employee was unhappy with the outcome of the employment tribunal, they can ask the tribunal to reconsider the decision, but this can only be if there was an error of law, or if there is new evidence. They could also appeal to the employment appeal tribunal if they felt that the employment tribunal had made a legal mistake.

Like I said, this is only for the UK, but I hope this helps give a bit more information about what next steps could be.

#ask #anon #Christian Horner #I don’t have knowledge of how it works in other countries #but this is what the process is in the uk #Dee talks

[drowninginblox]

Torched

Part 1

Fit was accustomed to the heat, he's a Floridian after all. 2B2T's wasteland was scorching on its worst days but over time Fit was accustomed to it. The closest thing he's experienced to it was the blistering heat of Purgatory. Now, that was a bitch and a half. But not in the way that waking up in this cavern was. Granted it wasn't blazing but it was an underlying irritation. One that made Fit uncomfortable as soon as he woke up to a glaze of sweat that made his filthy clothes stick to him. It didn't help that the scratchiness of his throat aided in the irritation, an awful reminder that he needed water. Soon.

"Rose, are you there?" He asked to the cavern but he was met with nothing. If he didn't take his hearing aids out before he slept in that suspicious as fuck chair, like a dumbass, he would've been met with the infectious sound of flies and the scratches of spiders that linger close by. He sighed before taking out another piece of bread. The thought of eating it passed his mind but considering the uncertainty of his surroundings and the lack of hunger, it would be smarter to save this lifeline for later. A groan bubbled in the back of his throat but he swallowed it alongside what saliva remained. He was alone once again. From his spot, he shifted as he calibrated his thoughts to this situation. As shitty as this is, it could be a lot worse. He takes a moment to look at the sky, as inky dark as he remembered it to be. At least Pac isn't here.

"Who is Pac?"

Fit jumped slightly at the sudden company inside his mind. This wasn't the last person, right Rose. This one was too different. Jesus! You can't sneak up on a guy like that! He shouted into the caveats of his mind. "You deflected warrior." The voice cackled in amusement. Fit narrowed his brows. How many people were going to invade his mind while he was on this weird sabbatical from fatherhood? "Are you going to answer or will you continue to squabble on the ground like a cornered magmacube?" The voice questioned. It sounded like a tuant by there was a sick form of genuineness that came with her tone. Almost as if they haven't talked to a person in a long time.

Who are you? A warm hum accompanied the question while Fit brushed his palms against his pants. This could be a delusion, the heat could be getting to him. "I go by many names. Most of which are unknown to you. So for your sake, you can call me Emperess." Fit could hear her circle him as she spoke. Part of him was hoping that it was just a sign of her being physically present. But he couldn't help but wonder if her actions were calculated. She sounded like someone that shouldn't be fucked with. Decisive, wise, knowing at least from Fit's read. "I have seen many of your kind before FitMC, although your reputation is one I can't scoff at."

Did Rose tell you about me? A moment of silence followed but for some reason, Fit could sense a smile. The ghost of one lingered in her tone. "Not everything. But I know quite a few things about the people that interest me. And you, FitMC, you interest me." A strained groan of desperation broke through the silence. The American's gaze meets the sky. "If you're here to make a deal with me then you better be offering more than just food, lady." She chuckles. "No FitMc, I offer more than the simple delights of food. Although, you will be of need of it if you take my deal." His head swings in the direction of the voice. "It better be pretty good then. I may be desperate but I have standards."

"Well then, if you are truly interested in my deal, would you mind standing for me? I am an empress after all. It is very disrespectful for you to remain on the floor as we're conversing." Fit bit his tongue. Couldn't she see that his leg is fucked up? He can barely twitch the damn- wait a minute.

Slowly, he extended his leg. Not an ounce of pain laced his movement, somewhat shocking the wanderer when he dared to follow through on the request. Fit stood without strain or struggle. "Did you...?" A scoff stopped the rest of the question. "No. The child aided you in your recovery. However, she requested I come to assist you. The strain of protecting her champion is... pushing her. So I am here." A hum of understanding breaks through Fit's thoughts. The implications of who his "old friend" seeped into him, but the Floridian wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Especially when he thought he might need another... replacement if the worst thoughts were right about that fall.

"This is... I'm sorry but this is crazy." He mumbled as he extended and bent his knee. He was trying not to be too shocked. He knew Phil was worldly but he was thinking more in the well-traveled sense, not... the goldy type. "Trust me FitMc, this is only the outside. You are blind to a world unlike anything else you know." He coughed out a dry laugh. "I can only imagine," He could hear the smirk "Indeed." He sighed. "Okay, so what do you want. And who are you specifically? Nothing against you, but Phil hasn't told me a lot about his 'protectors' I thought he only had one but-"

"I am not acquainted with the warrior Philza, I am very acquainted with Rose though. For your sake FitMC, I request you keep your nose out of other god's businesses unless they make themselves known to you first. As I said, there is a world you aren't privy to. One that you shouldn't step unless you inclined after your current suffering is over." Fit looked up once again. The sun was seeping through the lips of the cavern, forcing the survivor into a spotlight he didn't want. "But I can help aid in making the load you carry easier."

Fit's throat ran drier. He didn't think that was possible. He looked around once again, thankful that he could finally get up. Talk to me. He mumbled to the caverns of his mind while approaching the various corpses. "I am willing to give you strength, warrior. So long as you give me patronage accordingly." Cautiously inspected the bodies while the voice rambled. What would that entail exactly? Rummaging through vest pockets led to him finding a semi-rusted flint and steel. "That depends on you FitMC. Personally, I prefer a kill in my honor." Fit scoffed under his breath just as he found a moldy bowl hiding under an askew hat. "However, animal blood or food to the flame is fine if it goes against your moral code. You mortals are complicated. I understand that." He didn't know wether or not he should be disturbed or relieved at that. A year ago Fit would have accepted the dedication thing no problem. I really have gotten rusty...

"Pardon?" Plenty of name tags of the people left to rot found their way into Fit's hands. Their identical faces should have left him unbothered but with the reveal of two journals, Fit could only imagine the devastation that occurred before they all met their fates. I'm not the warrior I was lady, I've changed. There was something so strange, a fact that made Fit's stomach curdle. These bodies were all in various stages of decomposition. These guys didn't die immediately, and probably not together. He could feel the acid on his tongue but swallowed it down. He can't desecrate a mass grave.

"That is true. You have grown to care for others. Much as you have let others care for you." A slip through the books reveals that most of the pages are torn out, but there are a few lingering thoughts from these long-lost souls. Whether it be fear or disgust, he pocketed them. What little they may be worth, anything is better than nothing in a land like this. "I'm guessing that this 'Pac' was one of those people, am I correct." Fit grits his teeth. He's my roommate. You touch him you're- "He will be under my protection then." Fit takes out the flint and steel and turns. Still nothing. Only him and these corpses. "The fuck you mean?"

"I mean as I say. I will ensure the flames are brighter so the monsters stray. I will make sure all under my dominion retract from them. Regardless of their dispositions. I will make sure that the determination of the neither keeps them company in your absence." Fit blinks. "I will do this, and so much more. If you are my champion."

#fitmc #Philza lore #qsmp fitmc

[noisyghost]

I have Questions!!

How was Mira immortal??

How did she trade her immortality for Ark??

Totally normal about that whole reblog chain 🤡

*twirling my hair invitingly to distract you from the 20k word document with inconsequential headworld bullshit i'm opening up behind me*

To answer your questions, i have to explain two related points. Do not scroll down and look at how long this reply is. don't look. im very normal about them.

First point: how MagicTM works in my headworld. Magic works under the laws of alchemy, aka the law of equivalent exchange. For something gained, something of equal or greater value must be lost. This, of course, facilitates the philosophical question of "what is equal to a human life." Necromancy/resurrection is not a 'forbidden art' persay, it's just that it's generally agreed upon to be impossible. People have tried, and it usually just results in a waste of time. Because when a person is dead, they're dead. You could throw a thousand sacrifices at someone and it wouldn't make a difference (this is generally considered to be because if, theoretically, you did bring someone back to life, they would just immediately die again. Because they died for a reason, bringing them back wouldn't magically fix what killed them in the first place lol).

There appears to be, however, one small caveat to this - one perfect scenario under which a hypothetical 'resurrection' would be possible. If the person has very recently died (we're talking less than a minute, the longer that brain isn't getting oxygen, the deader they get), and a very skilled magic practitioner was nearby and had something they could trade, AND bringing the person back wouldn't immediately kill them again (IE: you cant fix someone getting their head blown off!), you could hypothetically resurrect them. This would literally ONLY work in a "they just need a few more minutes for help to arrive" scenario. If any of these conditions are not met, it isn't gonna work.

The circumstances under which Ark died just happened to be so perfectly aligned that this was even possible! Werewolves are very uncommon bc werewolves are so dang big that whenever they bite someone, it usually just kills them lol. The werewolf that bit Ark physically restrained herself from biting all the way thru. If she hadn't, he would have died instantly. Then, the second his heart stopped beating, Mira immediately made the exchange without hesitation. She traded functional immortality for about 10 minutes of time, which happened to be just barely long enough to get his ass to a hospital.

Which, ofc, begs the question: "what is worth 10 minutes of life". Leading me into.....

Second point: Mira is not human. Mira is a djinn. This was a driving wedge in her and Ark's relationship at one point - not because she wasn't human, but because she lied about it and it ended up getting his sister hurt (which is. a whole other can of worms). Djinn are long lived, 'human adjacent' beings considered to be the originators of the alchemical arts of magic in the first place. Which is to say, she's very good at magic!

Because of their status of Not Being Human, their lifespans don't align with ours, and they appear to be pretty much immortal (theres a whole disclaimer list and caveats to this but it would take too long to explain and we dont have time for that lol)

So, when pressed, Mira traded her extended lifespan to buy Ark a few extra minutes. And it wasn't even really a difficult decision for her - everyone but her seems really upset about it. But pretty much all of her friends are human or human adjacent, and will live normal human lifespans, so she thinks she "doesnt need those extra years anyway".

if you will, "whats a couple hundred years on this earth without you in it?"

#shut up bug #not art #bug answers #at her core. mira is a scared little girl who gets attached to people to the point of obsession. #does it cause problems? so many. is it extremely cool and sexy of her? absolutely

[dulcesiabits]

hope i'm not over stepping my boundaries but i am curious. you said that there are some tactics you use in fanfics that cannot be used in "serious" writing. what are some of these things? or what do you think the differences between fanfic and "serious" writing is?

Hi!! This isn't overstepping at all! I'd be happy to elaborate on my thought process, but I do want to make several caveats!

I think "serious writing" wasn't a really good term for what I meant, so I regret that wording! A better term would be original writing instead. I do take every piece of writing I do seriously, even if it's considered "lowbrow," and I didn't want to imply that fanfiction was less serious or important to me. Every piece of writing deserves respect and love, because an act of creativity should be celebrated!

These are my personal thoughts, and mostly pertain to my own style of writing, so the advice I give here might not be applicable to everyone. The issue with creative writing is that there are no real rules as to what makes a piece good; it's all subjective. There might be some general guidelines for good writing, but every rule has exceptions, and can be broken if done right. This is partly why it's so hard to write, haha.

But let me answer your questions! Let me start off with your second question, just so it can set the groundwork for the first.

What do you think the differences between fanfic and "serious" writing is?

There are a lot of different categories for writing; an instruction manual is writing, just as much a piece of poetry or a short story can be. When I say "serious" writing, I meant my original writing, or my more "literary" works (said with quotations because even the very definition of literature can be debated endlessly; what gives a work merit? Sorry if I keep giving vague answers! These ideas can be approached from so many different angles that I want to give it justice and acknowledge the various complexities).

(Original writing might not be the best term, either, because non-fanfiction genres are so varied... YA, adult, literary, sci-fi, fantasy, etc... but I'm trying to keep this as general as possible).

In this case, I think that both fanfiction and original writing have their own merits; they're just different subcategories of writing, and it's like comparing apples and oranges. They're both fruit, but the flavors, taste and growth process are different, even if they share similarities. So, they're both forms of creative writing, but the skillsets that they require are different.

There are some similarities, though; they both require knowledge of prose and how it functions, characterization, the use of literary devices (similes, metaphors, etc), an understanding of pacing and how plot moves, and so on.

However, one of the major differences isn't even the craft of writing itself: it's "public perception." Fanfiction is seen as lowbrow, or embarrassing, and "original writing," while it can also be mocked, is seen as a bit more "highbrow" (not a hard and fast rule, as I'm generalizing here). Because fanfiction draws on a source material, people assume it's not as creative, silly, or requires less effort, when fanfiction writers know that's not true.

Some of the major differences between these writings involve characterization and world-building. In original writing, you'd need to build these completely from scratch, but in fanfiction, these worlds and characters are already there. Instead of building a character from the ground up, you interpret and translate an existing character into your own work (I use the term interpret and translate because all fanfiction writers are analyzing and writing their own versions of an existing character, so no one interpretation is more correct than the other (unless you completely disregard the source material), because none of us are the original author. If we were, it wouldn't be fanfiction). At the same time, fanfiction authors might build off existing characters and world-building to formulate new understandings of both (ie expanding a character or world beyond what we seen of them in a story). Both forms of writing require the ability to analyze and understand characterization and world-building, but apply them differently (creation vs interpretation).

Additionally, there are certain conventions to original writing and fanfiction writing, respectively, and the troupes utilized in both are different because they're different forms of writing. In fanfiction, you're working with a world and characters that your audience already recognizes. They already have context for the world, which means you can focus on other aspects of the narrative. "5+1," drabbles, headcanons, "AUs": these are all structures of fanfiction writing that we're familiar with, that are made possible precisely because the material you're working with is fanfiction. You couldn't necessarily do the same thing in original writing, when the audience doesn't have an attachment to or understanding of these characters.

In original writing, however, your audience doesn't know who these characters are or what the world is. Since you're working to build that connection, you have to develop the narrative as a whole, instead of taking pieces of it. "Insta-love," "boy next door love interest and brooding dark haired love interest," "secret evil religious institution," "it was all a dream": these are also some troupes that take place in some forms of original writing, which happen because original writing follows different patterns from fanfiction writing, but nonetheless, still have their own patterns and structures (which vary from genre to genre).

I do want to recognize that there are still similar troupes in both original writing and fanfiction writing! Forced proximity, pining, etc... these are used in both forms of writing (though potentially applied differently), because sometimes original writing can be just as self-indulgent or wish-fulfilling as fanfiction writing, just like how fanfiction writing can be just as literary and thoughtful as original writing.

Another difference is that, structurally, fanfiction can be shorter than original writing. You can write drabbles, snippets, and even multi-chapter fics that take years to complete, if they finish at all (I'm guilty of not finishing my own multi-chapter fic). But in original writing, you have to build the narrative yourself. You decide the plot, the character arcs, the ending, and the whole course of the story and its characters. Especially if you want to get published, you can't drop a story halfway through like you can with fanfiction (though there's no shame of getting bored with a WIP and dropping it), and there's no fandom to build your world for you.

You said that there are some tactics you use in fanfics that cannot be used in "serious" writing. What are some of these things?

When I said this, I was venting a bit about the frustrations in my own writing! I found that in my original writing, my literary writing, I'd skipped over the foundations of world-building and characterizations. I'm the sort of person who writes from the top down: I tend to focus on themes and motifs first before I decide on characters and individual scenes, and plan the end goal before I plan the details. But when I do this, sometimes the details get lost and my piece loses strength because I focus more on making my characters symbols instead of people. Fanfiction ties into this because I'm used to not having to build context for my characters and world, and when I don't do this, it's disastrous for my original writing. In fanfiction, people already know who Lyney and the Fatui are without me explaining it, but in original writing, people have no clue who my OCs or world are! If I forget to establish fundamental details of my world (like rules on how magic works, explaining the roles of certain institutions etc), it messes up my overall execution. I focused too much on the forest instead of individual trees, so to speak.

I also have a habit of making clean little sections in my fanfiction; I might do several drabbles that, together, make up a whole story, and I can skip scenes I don't want to write. However, sometimes my original writing requires that I write an extended scene, including all the "boring" set ups and character-building moments. Instead of certain context being built in, I have to write the context myself, which means I can't just skip around from emotional bit to emotional bit; I have to do the proper build-up for it (ie like how in my ruggie fic, I don't have to elaborate on what happened with Leona, and I jump around from emotional point to emotional point. But in original writing, I'd need to build the context for their relationship, why it fell apart, what made both of them act like that, their respective pasts, what NRC is, how the magic system works, etc).

When I write reader-inserts, I can be vague with details on who the reader character is, to make sure anyone can self-insert into them. However, if I were to use second-person POV in original writing, I'd need to think about intent (why this POV and not other POVs? what's effective about it? what purpose do I use this for?), and ensure I make the reader-character their own distinct person; you're not always supposed to self-insert in the reader-character in original writing, because the reasons for using second person POV are different.

In fanfiction writing, I can "let loose" and not worry over motifs or themes or other literary devices. I can just write for fun, but with my original writing, I'm more conscious of those things. Each detail has a purpose (my purpose in fanfiction is usually self-indulgence, but my purpose in original writing might be, say, to do a piece on the nature of grief, and as such, I have to pay more attention to the structure of my writing the devices I use).

Additionally, when it comes to fanfiction writing, I can lean on troupes (if I write a royalty AU, for example, there's no need to establish too many rules for the world because it's more about the characters playing different roles than the world itself), but in original writing, troupes are used with more care and purpose. Leaning on troupes and refusing to develop them beyond troupes can, in my opinion, lead to flat and uninteresting writing (if they're royalty, why? What's the world like? The system? Is there opposition? How does the government work? What's the history of the world? How does being royalty affect their interactions? Why did I make them royalty?). I can't do "short-hands" (ie leaning on troupes) in original writing, not if I want to be successful.

Also, in fanfiction writing, I can get away without a proper resolution. I can write a series of events, and explore a character's motivations and backstory, and never make it an actual "plot." But in original writing, I need resolution and a plot. I can't write a series of events, where we jump here and then there because I want to; I need those events to link together (or not link together) with a purpose (resolution is used loosely. If it's an ambiguous ending, or one where nothing changes, why? What's the purpose of that? What am I trying to express through a lack of resolution?).

So, the skills I've picked up from fanfiction writing have helped me become a better writer, but some of those skills don't translate quite as well to original writing.

#liya answers #THIS WAS SO LONG OMG.... #My apologies if you were expecting a different answer anon TT TT #It was just a really interesting question so i found myself wanting to do it justice and give you a thorough answer!!!! #i can say a lot more on the subject... but i wanted to keep it general + brief #bc if i went in further with the nuances i'd be dropping a whole 20 page paper on your lap LOL #anywayz i love talking about the craft of writing!! hmu #id love to run a writing workshop sometimes lol (maybe for fanfic?)

[deadbeatbirdmom]

Feel free to resort to 4 if I'm getting annoying, but I'm curious about 8, 10, 12, 17 & 22 for that ask game.

Not at all annoying! Thanks for the ask game questions. I hope you mean this one, it is the one I reblogged most recently.

I'll answer 4 as well anyway, and I certainly don't feel the need to resort to it with you.

On to the questions, under a read more cut because this is likely to get a bit long:

4. what was the last straw that made you finally block that annoying person?

It doesn't take much to make me block someone. All they need to do is hate on Yang or Bumbleby, and they're on thin ice if they hate on any of team RWBY. Or quite possibly if they hate on RWBY as a whole at the moment. To be clear, just criticism that doesn't actually come across as hate is fine. I'm well aware none of the above are perfect, and that makes them more realistic. No one is perfect.

Blocking also doesn't mean I hate someone. It just means I don't want to see the hate they say about something I love.

8. common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

Okay, so I'm not sure how common this is, and this is my opinion and it doesn't actually make everyone else wrong: Yang and her self sacrificial thing. I don't think she can stop trying to save her loved ones and even people she doesn't even like if she sees them in danger. It's a core part of her character. It's what she does. It also isn't like any of her team would do any differently in her shoes.

10. worst part of fanon

Jaune harem fics. They don't really affect me because of my firm belief in don't like; don't read, but even coming across their summaries on AO3 is enough to make me consider muting the author. As for here on tumblr, there's a reason I have Jaune's tag on my filtered list. And it's not because I hate him. I don't. He's not one of my favs, but I think he's a great support character, and Weiss would be dead without him. And she is one of my favs.

12. the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

I don't actually know how unpopular she is for sure, I've just come across hate for her, and the way she can be depicted in fics doesn't always tally with how she actually is in canon: Raven Branwen.

Raven is a mess. She's the deadbeat birdmom. She contributed to Yang's abandonment issues. Sure, hurting Yang should be reason enough for me to hate her, but I don't. Raven is complicated, and I'm sure we don't know exactly why she did what she did yet.

Why more people should like her: she's a complicated mess who still cares about her daughter. Yes, she did let Yang take the Relic of Knowledge and put a target on Yang's back instead of her own. But she also apologised and cried, and that isn't the sort of thing I can believe Raven would do if she didn't care. I'd be surprised if she's apologised much in her life.

Raven is also a badass and good in a fight, one of the best in the RWBY cast of characters, and that's when she isn't even using her Maiden powers.

17. there should be more of this type of fic/art

There can never be enough Yang. Granted that's with the caveat that there's some ships I have no interest in seeing, such as Dragonslayer (Jaune and Yang), but I don't mind that it exists. I just avoid it.

22. your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores

Hm. I don't know that everyone ignores it, as I'll be amazed if there's no fics at all about it, but I guess it's that Yang punched and blew up Salem's tits without facing any real consequences. That may be because it was temporary and Salem was more annoyed with others present, and it may also be because Yang's team as yet have no idea. They might have something to say about her doing that if they knew.

#ask #gorkhandsmcschmuck #Yang Xiao Long #Raven Branwen

[thydungeongal]

hello hello! i have two very specific itches i want to scratch with TTRPGs… firstly, do you know of any systems where magic users are like. terrifying? like “oh this group of level 1 bandits has a wizard with them, we need to call in the army” kinda stuff? i think a lot of systems have magic overwhelmingly common in-universe to facilitate player choice but if someone i’m fighting can shoot fire out of their hands i’m running the hell away! secondly do you know of any games where telekinesis is it’s own skill/ability? it’s so cool to me but i feel like it sometimes gets ignored for flashier abilities. i don’t know much beyond D&D/pathfinder/dungeon world so trying to branch out - thanks!!

Sorry for taking a while to answer, I've been having a bit of a rough time as of late.

I think you're right in saying that most fantasy RPGs that feature Wizards do tone them down just to make them a viable part of an adventuring party. I do know of a couple of exceptions but they all come with their own caveats:

Ars Magica. Ars Magica makes wizards seriously powerful. However, I don't think it quite fits what you're looking for, because Ars Magica assumes that players will be playing wizards. The difference in power scale becomes most pronounced in AM due to its reliance on troupe play: players will have multiple characters they control so even when they're wizard characters are out there in they towers doing wizard shit they're mortal minions might be out there having adventures. So even though wizards operate on a complety different power level from most mortals, they're still assumed to be playable.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay and its clones. Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay is interesting in the sense that while the world of Warhammer is actually pretty high fantasy, WFRP zooms in so low to the ground level that the average adventurers aren't the great heroes that lead armies on battlefields in the miniatures game, but basically outcasts and vagabonds in a grimdark fantasy setting. Wizards are playable in WFRP but as a player character you will start as an apprentice wizard who can maybe cast a magic dart if you roll high enough. If the bandits have a Chaos Sorcerer with them then you know you're in trouble. This same power scaling applies to Zweihänder and Warlock!, both of which are basically WFRP clones but with completely different philosophies: Zweihänder is truer to the system of WFRP, utilizing a 1d100 roll under system but with no established setting, and it's also much more human-centric by default than WFRP, whereas Warlock! is very much a hybrid of WFRP with the old Fighting Fantasy game books. As such, it's much simpler than WFRP, utilizing a purely skill-based d20 roll under system on top of just two stats. All of the mentioned games are great (although my only experience with WFRP is with 2e). There might be free quickstarts of WFRP and Zweihänder available to my knowledge?

As for your second question, the only games that I know that consistently deal with telekinesis are superhero RPGs, unsurprisingly. If you like a heavy crunch approach then Champions (the superhero version of Hero) would be worth looking at, but be warned that Hero System is like notoriously complex. It's got lots of moving parts. But dang if those moving parts don't rule. You can use the telekinesis rules to figure out the exact weight of objects you can throw and how much they hurt when you throw them at someone. It's really goddamn involved.

For a simpler approach to telekinesis which is also based on a familiar d20 core, there's Mutants & Masterminds. It's also a rather heavy system although nowhere near as complex as Champions, and while a lot more abstract than Champions it still manages to scratch the itch of getting to build your own weird array of powers. The telekinesis rules are simple enough: each rank of telekinesis you have allows you to apply one point of Strength at range (note: in M&M terms one point of Strength is equivalent to a +1 Strength bonus in D&D terms, instead of being a Strength score of 1). You can then apply this virtual Strength as you could your normal Strength for lifting, throwing, etc. You can even add modifiers to it to allow for direct attacks with your telekinesis (telekinetic thrusts and constricting etc.) and so on.

There's also a comprehensive online system reference document containing all the open gaming content from Mutants & Masterminds, which includes most of the rules of the game. I think it's very much worth checking out!

[per-the-jellicle-magician]

What Warsaw character is most similar to their general stage counterpart? And who's the most different? Visually or through choreography / storyline

Hi, thanks for the ask. Those are very interesting questions and the short answers are: visually it's a bit complicated, but most of the "main" characters are decently similar to their general replica counterparts, and story-wise the biggest differences I think are with Victoria, Misto, Demeter and Griz, while the rest of the "mains" are mostly similar to what you'd expect

Long answers after the obligatory read more cuz it got pretty long XD

Starting with the visual stuff, it's mostly complicated by the fact that Warsaw is a non replica and has a rather unique visual style. With that in mind, I would say most of the main characters are actually pretty similar to their replica counterparts, in that you can rather easily recognize who is who based on their costumes when they appear on stage. The patterns and shapes are different but the colours and vibes generally match (Munk is gray, Alonzo is white with some black, Victoria is white, Skimble is orange, Gus and Griz look old and falling apart etc). The only main ones that don't really look similar in this sense are Jellylorum (Warsaw is darker gray with black wig), Jemima (pale pink with black spots and black wig, very glam style as opposed to punk rock replica one) and Cass (black instead of brown).

It's a little hard to tell for me how recognizable they actually are, given how very familiar i am with them, but i'm guessing that for example here the ones least recognizable are Victor and Jemima in the second photo

Speaking of Victor, most of Warsaw' side characters don't really match visually their replica counterparts, and you basically need a cheat sheet to recognize who is who

One fun way to look at the visual similarities are Warsaw's psychic twins. They don't look very similar to their replica counterparts, but their costumes' shape and make up is the most similar to the general cats costume vibe out of all Warsaw costumes so I thought they deserve an honorary mention

And now, story-wise

I'm just gonna focus on the "main" characters, and for the most part it's pretty matched. I think the most similar to their general vibe are Jelly, Gus, Skimble and Old D. Basically they're what you'll expect, and I don't really have much to say about that. But those who are different, that's a different story. I already mentioned it's Victoria, Misto, Demeter and Griz, I can't really pick one so i'm just gonna break it down for all of them

Victoria

As opposed to the regular Vic, Warsaw Vic is very much a little kitten. I'm pretty sure someone said she was the youngest, maybe she is, either way she is very young. And with that she doesn't get a pas de deux with it's coming of age or whatnot vibe, just 2 solos. And in those solos she's taking stars out of the sky so i'd say her being at least a bit magical is another difference.

And the last one: she is really scared of Griz up until halfway through "Memory". First Griz entrence - she's hiding behind the closest adults the whole time, second one - Tumble needs to escort her off stage cuz she's not gonna move if there's no one between her and Griz, and it changes only during "Memory"

Misto

I'm putting him here with the caveat that he is quite different to the current general version. He is more similar to the old versions like old Broadway and stuff, with being full adult, using magic way more and generally being more confident and stuff. Speaking of magic, he's proficient both with actual magic and stage magic, whereas I don't think regular Misto does much of the latter. Plus his power set is closer to what general Mac got, mostly mind controlling and disappearing in the shadows. He does a lot of mind controlling everyone and moving stuff around throughout the show.

There is a difference in choreography in his song too, with some of the dancing being given to other cats or replaced by the magic show, plus the turns got moved after old D is saved. Also his relationship with Tugger, they are very much best friends, got a special handshake and a very much well rehearsed magic show, plus he is the one getting the screen and licks down and moving half the set during RTT. Like there's less fangirling and more "i got you bro" between them, at least to me.

Also, this is kinda random, but he's taller XD. Og Warsaw Misto is 180 cm/5'11 and it's just a funny detail when generally everyone else tries to have Misto on the shorter side XD

Demeter

There are 2 main differences about Warsaw Deme, and it's the fact Griz is her mother and that she seems to be less anxious and more angry when it comes to Mac. First one, adds layer to the fact she is the one to introduce Griz, and then she spends every Griz appearance torn and anxious cuz she clearly wants her back but can't/shouldn't want it.

And with Mac, yeah, to me she seems more moved on from him than general Deme, still bit anxious and scared when he attacks but also kinda more pissed off. More "he's my ex that I'm angry with" than "he's my ex that i'm afraid of". Also little less admiring him. Like she seems more anxious about the Griz stuff than Mac stuff. And while she isn't the one to spot Mac in disguise, she is very much trying to get everyone away and later after he disappears seems to use herself as a bait to get him in the open so the guys can take him out

Griz

Besides the fact that current trend is Young Griz and Warsaw one is very much old, one difference in her story is the aforementioned fact that Demeter is her daughter. Which gives her a new reason to be there and also in the song Deme states Griz was forgotten by the clan.

Another difference is Griz's motivation. This is just my theory, but based on Jemima's line in "Moments of Happiness" where the last line she sings "And you'll feel that you want to be one of us again and you'll start to live again" I don't think Griz crashed the party first 2 times with wanting to be taken back in mind.

Again, just my theory, but to me it seems she gets there wanting to see her daughter and her maybe ex-lover maybe ex-friend Old D once more before she dies, it doesn't pan out. But then Jemima comes in with this "hey follow the memory, you still got the chance". It changes Griz's mind and she comes back again. And the line in "Memory" that seems to get everyone on board, the one right before Jemi comes in, is "I so wish I could turn back time", so in a way she does actually kinda say "sorry" and/or "please take me back", whatever interpretation we want. It's not just the appeal to their goodness and memory of her (which they may or may not have consciously tried to erase), but she actually reaches out to them in this more direct way. And/or apologizes for whatever she did that made her leave and get forgotten if we wanna go with that.

So yeah, this got kinda really long and is probably more detailed than expected but well, I can talk a lot about Warsaw when prompted XD

Thanks again for the ask 💖

#oh yeah it got long and kinda detailed XD #idk if you wanted that or smth short and sweet XD #cats the musical #cats warsaw #grizabella #victoria cats #mistoffelees #demeter cats #jellicle cats #warsaw guy talks #ask post

[nerves-nebula]

How safe does Groe feel around Maureno?

what a question! it really depends, doesn't it? Maureno is the source of a lot of trauma for Groe, but their shared history is so long and intimate that they can keep interacting with each other pretty easily? like, getting all up in each others personal space and not having it feel weird? but also they've got some fucked new dynamics too!

so, like, sometimes Groe will be fully confident. snarky and sarcastic, angry, bitter, it's typical post-death self. other times it will be more reserved, not shy exactly but kinda wary. sometimes it'll be upset/scared, which can result in him lashing out (which looks pretty similar to his default snarky, bitter mood, which means sometimes Maureno doesn't realize she's scaring him)

and sometimes groe actually gets on maureno's nerves enough for maureno to threaten it, in which case it'll lash out again, OR it'll get scared and immediately fold into a whimpering sobbing mess.

it's somewhat sure that maureno wont kill it again (a conclusion he came to after years of watching maureno interact with Etik), but that doesn't really undo everything that's happened, and "probably wont kill me" doesn't really negate the fear, unease, and panic that comes with being around your abusive ex. even if they have changed, more or less.

Maureno, for her part, isn't really helping! she's trying but by god, she is not good at it! part of it is that she's still prone to aggression and violence because she's a honey badger, and there's no changing that.

another part of it is that she. uh. kind of "jokingly" sexually harasses groe. which, to be fair, isn't particularly traumatic for Groe. they know each other well enough for her to know (or at least be pretty sure) that he's not really bothered by it, if that makes sense? and if he is he has ways of letting her know. usually. idk they've gotten worse at communication in the past few centuries lol.

they're used to totally understanding each other which actually makes them WORSE at communication these days. cuz they keep assuming shit about each other.

point is: maureno uses comedy, violence, and absurdity to cope. so her making passes at groe that she thinks are inappropriate and could never be accepted (except when they are but that's um. its own mess) is kind of her way of expressing her desire to reconnect with him. but her knowing it's very unlikely.

but also like, she's gotta put it out there, just in case one day groe DOES except. not that she's AWARE that's what she's doing. her train of thought is way less emotionally competent. in her mind she's like "I'm horny i miss groe" and she goes and bothers him.

groe will, in its more confident moments, take advantage of maurenos clearly expressed desire to reconnect and be a bit of a cunt to her (hence the homoerotic glass eating).

also sometimes while raising Etik they do actually do some sneaking around and fucking, and Groe almost always regrets it.

uhhh oops i ended up ranting.

the answer is: it's complicated, but generally Groe feels more or less "safe" around Maureno. that has a lot caveats and doesn't count his PTSD and paranoia attacks, but like, yeah.

#nnstuff #ask #maureno badger #groe caluna #nnoc

[kay-elle-cee]

Drunk ask! (Hopefully you’re not drunk at the moment, also what alcohol do you drink? Firewhiskey? I don’t drink, but I have tried rosé wine & champagne before )

Okay, I prepared for this moment since you posted “I’m drink” 🍻 🥳 , without further ado, here’s my ask 🤨 if you ready!

Iɟ ʎon ɔonlp sʍᴉʇɔɥ dlɐɔǝs ʍᴉʇɥ ɐuʎouǝ ᴉu ʇɥǝ ʍoɹlp ɟoɹ ɐ pɐʎ' ʍɥo ʍonlp ᴉʇ qǝ¿

Mɥɐʇ’s ʇɥǝ ɔɹɐzᴉǝsʇ pɹǝɐɯ ʎon’ʌǝ ǝʌǝɹ ɥɐp¿

Take your time with answering, I feel a bit drunk writing that 😏

Nena you TRICKSTER how did you do your text like this??? It took me forever to read!

(Also can confirm I am not drunk since it's 8am, nor was I drunk when you sent the ask because I was asleep lol). My drinks of choice are fruity cocktails, wine, or cider. The night in question it was a fruity cocktail with vodka AND prosecco in it lol.

If I could switch places with anyone in the world for a day, it would be...hm.... assuming I keep all of their knowledge, I'm going to go with either Sutton Foster (who is currently on Broadway in Sweeney Todd opposite Aaron Tveit), Eva Noblezada (who is currently on Broadway in The Great Gatsby opposite Jeremy Jordan) or whoever is playing Aaron Burr on Broadway right now (because that is my dream role except for the fact that I am a woman and I have no talent). The caveat is this switch could NOT be on a Monday and would have to be on a day where the show is actually happening so I could perform on a Broadway stage.

What's the craziest dream I've ever had? I actually don't remember most of my dreams 😅 Or I do, but then I forget them quickly. I feel like this is such a non-answer—

OH WAIT I KNOW.

So this dream is from when I was a CHILD. Like younger than 6. I had just watched the Swan Princess and Aerosmith's I Don't Want to Miss a Thing is playing on the radio as I go to sleep (I guess). In the dream, my mom marries the villain in the Swan Princess and he kills me by slicing my Achilles tendon and then they drive away in one of these

I promise you I'm not kidding. I love that Aerosmith song, but I always think of this little fucker every time I hear it, and it's been like 25 years.

#asked and answered #I feel like these weren't the answers you were looking for #nena-96