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#the technical aspect improved but i feel like i ended up taking away most of the charm ... which is .... frustrating lmao
teardew · 2 years
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drew over something from june 2017
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universitypenguin · 11 months
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Smut, the way you write it 🤌🤌🤌 as someone who hasn't dipped their toes into smut yet. Spill your secret, Alice.
How do I write smut like you?
Write, then let it rest and revise. Let that rest and revise again. Revise as many times as necessary - sometimes it takes longer, sometimes you’re just in the zone and the words are flowing.
Nobody writes a good first draft - it’s literally never been done. Make sure to give enough detail to get your point across, but remember- your reader’s imagination is capable of doing most of the work.
When you describe something be precise about physical locations. For example, “he touched her hip” is very different than “he touched her waist.” Remember which character’s hand went where! This is an important second draft check and it always saves me. You can’t give your character three hands when he’s only supposed to have two. Writing smut this is a very common problem, which I’ve heard described as “phantom limb syndrome.”
Focus on your character’s reactions. Smut isn’t good because it’s hot, it’s good when it makes the reader feel something emotional. You’re doing two things at once in a smut scene - first, showing erotic moments as they can only be conveyed by the written word, and second, you’re revealing internal thoughts and feeling of your character that would only occur in this context. For example, Lloyd and Princess. The smut chapter was frequently in his perspective due to the fact that I wanted to establish his emotions. The only reason he’d admit to those specific feelings so honestly was because they were being enhanced by passion.
Pace yourself in the build up to the main event - readers need foreplay. I always make people wait. Making the right promise to your audience is very important. Then, you have to lure them along with breadcrumbs in the form of interesting little twists and turns. Your reader has already set their expectations based on the feel of your writing and the things you’re focusing their attention on. They know they’re heading towards a gingerbread house. If you lay a trail of breadcrumbs and fail to deliver the expected “gingerbread house” at the end, they will not be pleased. Make your promise to the reader, and pay it off with the right currency. For example - don’t set up a hot, explicit erotic smut scene and then cut away before things get good. Technically, this might work if you’re writing a “closed door romance” but that’s usually not the style on Tumblr.
I’ve found the chapter warnings we put in the headers tend to set reader’s expectations. Those absolutely help not only for safety, but to direct you towards what stories you’d want to read.
Also, don’t be afraid to keep a file of all the good smut scenes you read. Go through it and make notes over what they did well and why it worked for you. Think about how you could use the same type of device in your work and try it out. I’m not saying to copy their work! But in the same way a chef can make an omelette in thirty different styles, you’ll start to see patterns in good writing that you can follow to improve your own technique.
Beta reader feedback is another important aspect of good writing. You can get lost and not see the forest for the trees, you know? Don’t ruin a piece that’s improving because you’re frustrated. Take your time as you write and the remember: breaks are an important part of the process!
Hopefully this helps! Also, I’m just one writer with a personal opinion and my own experiences. There are many different approaches to creative writing and they’re all valid.
💕
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mindfulstudyquest · 4 days
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❥﹒♡﹒☕﹒ 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗶 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲
𝟭. quantity over quality ( 🌿 )
if you've landed on this profile, you're probably an academic overachiever, or a control freak, or both. i know the feeling of wanting to do everything perfectly, but we are simply human, and it is not possible to be good at everything right away. your first projects, your first models, will not be excellent, you will end up redoing the same drawings over and over again, but there is no point in wasting time redoing the same axonometry ten times until it is perfect. go ahead, experiment, you will improve visibly. i look at the differences between my works six months later and i am amazed at how much i have improved in such a short time. you will too. don't be afraid to make mistakes, ever.
𝟮. architecture is not study, it is life ( 🪸 )
sure, we go to university, we take exams, but you don't study real architecture at school. your professors can only give you the foundations on which to build your future, the technical standards, advice, laws, but if you really want to know architecture you have to read, learn, explore, in the most disparate fields possible. architecture is not art, not really, architecture is a home, it is life, as such, it must be lived. you will never design something meaningful if you don't know how to live.
𝟯. be humble, you're young ( 🐢 )
you will study architecture for the rest of your life. you'll never stop learning new things about it, and that's awesome. don't rely too much on one person's point of view, no matter how cultured they may be, they will never know every single aspect of architecture, and neither will you. all you have to do is build your vision based on your studies and experiences. you will probably change your mind many times, you will probably fall into wrong beliefs, you will discover new things every day, you will only stop learning when you die.
𝟰. you don't have to be good at drawing ( ✏️ )
it is certainly an added value, but it is not a fundamental thing. you will draw little or nothing freehand, most of the drawings will be purely technical and almost all digital. you don't need to know how to draw on a program like AutoCAD, but i can assure you that you will lose sleep over the floor plans of your projects.
𝟱. prioritize practical projects ( ☕ )
concentrate on the models and drawings you have to turn in, i assure you that they take up much more of your time than they seem. always plan ahead when making a project (an unexpected event can always happen) and NEVER print on the day of the exam.
𝟲. be kind to yourself ( 🪻 )
everyone has their own time to improve. i chose to study architecture at the last minute and before starting university i was so scared by the idea of being surrounded by people much better than me who had probably been studying the subject for years and had always dreamed of becoming architects. it doesn't mean anything. if you have the right determination it will take you very little time to make great improvements, no one is your competition, your only opponent is yesterday's you, the only thing in front of you is the finish line. maybe you're the next renzo piano and you don't know it yet.
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Exactly what Deductible In Auto Insurance Adventures
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samflir · 1 year
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A Zoomer's Opinions on HFR: Revisited
Warning: this post describes shots from Avatar: The Way of Water that are not in the trailers and could therefore be considered spoilers.
I was mistaken when I said in the first post about high frame rate that Avatar 2 would not be in HFR, it simply seems that James Cameron sees potential in the technology when applied selectively, as it was in the film.
I saw Avatar 2 in IMAX 3D HFR at the Glasgow Science Centre recently and I can finally say with absolute confidence that I want 24fps gone forever. In the leadup to Avatar 2's release, I was quite worried that finding a HFR screening would be effectively impossible, as it had been for Gemini Man. I went in fully expecting GSC's older generation of digital IMAX projector to only be capable of 24fps. (fun fact: IMAX film projectors were modified for 48fps playback for one film, a capability that was never used since afaik)
After the IMAX ident ended and the 20th Century Fox logo started playing in silky-smooth 48fps, I was so excited that I said "THAT'S HIGH FRAME RATE!" to my dad sitting next to me lol. My heartrate jumped and I felt awe like I'd never once felt in a cinema before. It was a surreal moment.
I was amazed by the silky-smooth motion and distinct realism of the 48fps shots the entire time. Underwater shots of bioluminescent fish and plants looked particularly beautiful, with the high frame rate perfectly conveying how the ripples on the surface create ever-changing reflections. Action set pieces such as the destruction of an RDA maglev train, boats launching and gunfights looked incredible, and the high frame rate added to the frantic pace of fast action scenes.
I felt more immersed in the story and world than I ever have before. Combined with 3D, HFR on an IMAX screen looks almost exactly like looking directly at something happening in real life. A particularly memorable shot of an RDA worker drowning on a sinking ship benefits enormously from this treatment and made me feel like I was looking at something that really happened.
HFR is not perfect though. Predictably, some of the fully-CGI HFR shots look like those cutscenes in video games that are rendered in the game engine at full framerate. These are mostly shots completely removed from any sort of live-action capture, such as scenes of Na'vi characters and establishing shots of CGI creatures, environments and vehicles. This is because the only other place I've experienced narrative HFR is these sorts of cutscenes, and I'm sure that if I watched more HFR movies, I'd come to appreciate its more unique look. This still didn't take me out of the story any, it's just what I felt it looked like (and it's not the look James Cameron was going for, I assume).
Another problem is the reason I specified "the 48fps shots" earlier. Avatar 2 is in fact a mixed-framerate film, but it mixes them way too much. Some shots lasting less than a second are in 24fps surrounded by 48fps shots, and they look like a slideshow. Transitions down from 48 to 24 are not subtle, and remind me why I hate 24fps so much. Ideally 24fps should be dropped altogether, to stop drawing attention away from the story and towards technical aspects of the film. This would also allow time for the eye to adjust, and not have to deal with constant jumps up and down in visual smoothness.
Overall, I feel that my first experience of watching a film in HFR has met most of my expectations and exceeded some. It did improve immersion and my emotional investment in the story but it did also look like a videogame and make the 24fps transitions look awful. Future movies should definitely stick to one framerate, and that framerate should be higher, preferably a lot higher, than 24.
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nice-kill-tanaka · 3 years
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🌄Kyoya + Rival Fiance🌌
Summary: Had you two not been paired off since you were young, your intellectual spats would have been much more...uncouth...to say the least. But, being maritally connected might be the needed push for you to realize your collective potential.
A/N: Outlet for needless unresolved sexual tension™️?? Yes please!
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👓Kyoya Ootori👓
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You met Kyoya when you both were around twelve years old
Your respective fathers had reached a long-lasting stalemate in their efforts to merge their companies in a way that was satisfying to both sides. And this was a last ditch effort to successfully complete the deal crucial to your father’s company in particular
Your parents were reluctant, as you were their only child. But, cautiously decided to go through with it after you gave your (albeit, slightly uninformed) consent
It was a dinner for yours and the Ootori families alone. One to finalize the deal. One to introduce the young future “lovers”
You sat across the table from one another, exchanging glances of matching intensity and analytical intent
You knew next to nothing about the quiet boy in front of you. But, you did know that he, just like you, were used to being the smartest person in the room. And, if not the smartest, the most observant
Your first words at that dinner never went beyond greetings and farewells. Very suffocatingly cordial for what was supposed to be two young and bright kids brought together for what their parents described as the “greater good”
Make no mistake, you both knew that this arrangement held more benefits than a successful business deal
But, something about your future husband made you want to intellectually step on his neck (Lovingly of course ❤️😚🔪). And it was the same sentiment vice versa
Up until you and Ootori (The name you insisted on using to address him) started attending the same school, neither of you could pinpoint why the competitive tension between you two was so strong
But, you and Ootori do figure it out eventually, through learning about each other’s pasts
I’ll put it like this:
Unlike Ootori, your gifts were never overshadowed by well-off or talented family members. Though praise wasn’t a frequent thing either. You were always subconsciously told to improve though. Through that, you were almost always the one on top. And you knew it. You liked it there, sure, but you were never complacent. You wouldn’t be caught dead being surpassed because you didn’t bother to try
You were the monarch, and you stayed that way through working, soaring to higher levels than your adversaries could ever imagine
Kyoya, being the eclipsed moon to virtually everyone’s sun, had to learn how to flourish in the background. He knew that a lot of the time, he was the most capable person in the room, but other people didn’t recognize that. So, he had to make his mark through craftier methods
He was the one with his sights set on your throne. The only one able to conquer it. And you knew that
In summary your relationship is a constant back and forth between Kyoya using his silent cunning to surpass you, and you reclaiming your place with pure drive and spite. You were the one he wanted to overthrow, and he was the assassin you wanted to outsmart
“Hm, I wouldn’t have expected the fleeting top student to score so far below me. I suppose this is part of another big plan, Ootori?”
“Well, L/N, I’m sure you’ve noticed by now that the class average is unusually higher than normal. You’ll have to work a little harder next time to maintain your far lead won’t you?”
Or:
“That’s the third time you’ve eaten lunch with the Tsuin sisters this week L/N. I didn’t know you were looking for new friends.”
“Networking is never a bad thing Ootori. I got their parents’ company to invest in our fathers’ partnership in less than a week. But sure, call it ‘looking for new friends’.“
Something like that 😂
The thought of becoming personally involved outside of social performances never left your minds. But, the lack of cooperation between you deemed the option unnecessary
You and Kyoya were still strictly rivals when you both met Tamaki Suoh
You, for one, never quite understood Tamaki and his motives. Especially when he proposed an idea he had for what he called a “host club”
When Tamaki spoke to you individually, he suggested that you become the club’s manager, since you politely declined becoming part of the act
The second time you spoke with Tamaki, it was with Kyoya, and you quickly realized what was going on
Though, you weren’t sure what made Tamaki think you and Kyoya would make a good team. You knew the potential was there, but pride was another big hurdle to clear
But, through a bit of convincing (and Tamaki’s puppy dog eyes), you and Kyoya agreed to partner up in running the technical business aspects of the host club. Kyoya as the vice president, you as the manager
Things were a little rocky for the first week or so of business. Both you and Kyoya had the same end goals in mind, but the friction was in how to go about it
Your approaches were more straightforward. Practicality and efficiency were what mattered to you. Sure, you didn’t mind playing the long game. But, if you didn’t have to, you wouldn’t
Kyoya’s approaches were intricate and methodical, designed for the sake of the long game. He was willing to wait for everything to fall into place, even if it wasn’t the best for the short term
But, since you knew Tamaki wouldn’t be much help to your dilemma, you and Kyoya had your first genuine conversation
“We do get things done eventually. But, only after a disagreement on our approach.”
“I suppose you’re right, L/N. Functioning the way we are now would only hurt us long-term.”
“So, is that an agreement to collaborate?”
“Of course. Besides, if we’re to be married one day, working as one unit is something we’ll need to learn.”
Kyoya gave you a cunning, yet teasing smile as he walked away. The club, undoubtably hearing what he said to you
You raised an eyebrow and gave a dumbfounded glance at your rival, who you just let stalk away without hearing your reply
This was the first time either of you verbally acknowledged your arranged marriage. Or, at least, met it with something other than dismissal and a nasty look towards the other person
Your ears and the skin between your eyes burned with heat, though you were sure it was only from Kyoya exposing your arrangement to the entire club. You had never felt so flustered by him, and you weren’t sure if you wanted to welcome the feeling yet
Kyoya on the other hand, wondered why he said what he did. It was something that slipped out in an attempt to make you all hot and bothered with no chance to reply. A small victory for him. But, what did he actually think of marrying you?
...Well, to be honest, he kind of liked it
Being able to marry someone on his intellectual level meant things would never be boring. Especially with you being so self aware
Besides, two minds for business meant neither of you needed to inherit something to be successful. You two could build your own economic empire from the ground up and still have time for vacationing on the weekends
((Ignoring the fact that Kyoya also finds you physically attractive. So, you guys would legit be the prettiest couple in Ouran))
From then on, your relationship became like a shiver of sharks. Dangerous individually, but when you see them together?
Pick a god and pray.
With your combined cunning and observational skills, no one can pull a fast one on the host club
Your little jabs at each other slowly became more playful, leaving the other with a burning face and a ghost of a smile
Even Honey-Senpai began religiously shipping the two of you
“Kyo-chan, Y/N-chan, can I be the ring bearer at your wedding?”
To which you both stare down at the cheeky little boy, then back at each other, aware of what he was doing. You smirk with endearment, and speak first:
“Well, that’s a big responsibility, Honey-Senpai. You think you can handle it?”
“You can’t get any cake on your suit, remember?”
Honey-Senpai faltered immediately at Kyoya’s last statement
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[🌌Take this for your travels, bud. Don’t worry about paying me or anything, everything’s on the house! Though 🍁likes🍁 and ☘️reblogs☘️ are appreciated!🌄] — Reagan
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lady-of-lyon · 3 years
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So, I made one post a while back about how awesomely feminist the show Wild Kratts was, with how its two main female characters were women of color in engineering and deserving roles of power, female villains who weren’t motivated by spite or quest for youth, etc, but today I wanted to talk about something slightly different, that I’ve wanted to cover for a while now, because I also think it’s very good - and that’s how the show portrays masculinity, in a way that’s really positive!
First, we have our two main characters, Chris and Martin Kratt. Keep in mind these two are basically self-inserts - and there are plenty of creators, especially males, who have used self-insert characters in really scummy ways - all I have to say is Powerpuff Girls reboot and you know exactly what I’m talking about. Even if they weren’t literal self-inserts, male characters, superheroes especially, oftentimes serve the male power fantasy, being just the strong, stoic, all-powerful person so many boys are told they’re supposed to be. I could get into a whole discussion about how the male power fantasy is present even when males are not (ever look through a fashion magazine and wonder why there are so few men? Sure, part of it is that the industry thrives off exploiting women’s insecurities, and men aren’t as concerned for their appearance, but another part of it is so that the guy, looking through it, can feel like he has no competition for these women - there’s a reason so many comedians have jokes about fashion magazines being their sexual awakening as kids. It’s really scummy) but that’s not what this is about. So, the bros had every opportunity to do just that - make themselves these traditional heroes who aren’t actually really good role models, like batman or what have you. It’s certainly not uncommon for celebrity cartoons to do stuff like that. But Martin and Chris chose a different approach. They’re pretty strong standouts for positive masculinity. They’re openly affectionate - both with eachother as brothers, and with their friends. They cry, sometimes over little things - most of the time when big superheroes cry, it’s ‘cause they lost the girl they loved or their mentor or something like that, only in the big, most agonizing moments do they shed a tear. But here, Chris or Martin will cry just because they’ve had a bad day, or because they’re overwhelmed and overjoyed that someone named a mantis after them! In a lot of shows or movies when a guy cries over something little, it’s usually played for laughs, or to emasculate him, but here it’s casual without being unreasonable or overdone. The brothers cry just ad much, maybe even more (haven’t gone back and counted or anything) as the girls do. Not to mention, it’s a very nice depiction of a loving, healthy sibling relationship. As the youngest sibling myself, it’s refreshing to see a pair who don’t abuse eachother with noogies or cruel and snarky remarks. When they do fight, it’s never a screaming match, and also because they had a conflict of interest or disagreed over a fact, not because, say, one of them stole the other’s shirt or is neglecting the other’s feelings. Kids, being very impressionable, get exposed to a lot of abusive sibling relationships played as normal in media, and start thinking this is how siblings are and should act. For instance, my sister (who is now my best friend and has gotten over all these bad habits over time) when she was younger watched a lot of Kim Possible, a show that is great, but has a bad family dynamic with Kim and her little siblings. The “tweebs” as she calls them are always irresponsible, destructive, and making Kim annoyed to no end. My older brother was one of the most polite, reserved, kind little kids, but she still treated him like he was a brat and a nuisance, because that’s what shows like Kim Possible taught her little brothers were. Additionally, I was always treated like a spoiled crybaby who just wanted attention and got away with everything - I was not any of those things, ever, but that’s what shows teach you little sisters are. Sure, Wild Kratts has a smidge of that, with Chris seemingly being the stereotype of the know-it-all little sibling, but instead of being constantly looked town upon for being too “perfect” like with Hailey Long in American Dragon, Martin often praises his brother for his abilities. Sure, Martin gets annoyed when Chris tries to correct him on things, like in the episode Wolf Hawks, but everyone else does too, so it feels more like a take-down of mansplaining than a sibling spat.
I talked too in the feminist post about how refreshing it is that Chris and Martin more or less willingly put themselves under the authority of Koki and Aviva, two women of color. I don’t think it’s possible to say any one character is the “leader,” they all work as a evenly balanced team, but it’s safe to say that Koki and Aviva make the more responsible decisions. The bros try to get out of their calls a few times, but the show plays it more like they’re being irresponsible, and less like they’re renegade cool dudes who don’t take nothing from nobody, especially not two girls. They are pretty much always punished via karma for their reckless choices, most especially in To Touch a Hummingbird, where their arrogant attitudes blow up in their faces rather spectacularly. We also never see the narrative most present in sitcoms, where the male leads mess up and go out of their way to cover it up and ultimately gets away with it - after all, you have to root for them, right, because sure they messed up and had no consequences, but aren’t they just so lovable? No, here Martin and Chris always have to fix their wrongdoing, and it’s always deserved when they get comeuppance. Another aspect of the show I like is that, many times, when the bros get captured or are in peril, they are saved by the women - and most refreshing of all, there’s never a moment of “wink wink nudge nudge wow I can’t believe I had to be rescued by a GIRL” or even “wow you saved me you’re pretty good honey guess I shouldn’t have underestimated you, you go girl!” No, when the girls save them, it’s just - you know, relief? Because they were saved? It’s never a scenario played as an exception, or any more dire than when the bros need to rescue eachother. The bros are genuinely happy to have them as teammates. The show even did the standard “boys vs girls” episode in the form of When Fish Fly - but instead of being actually girls vs. boys, it’s engineers vs. adventurers. There’s nothing really gendered about it - the girls happen to be engineers, and the boys happen to be adventurers. And the episode doesn’t end with the boys being “wow gosh darn I shouldn’t have doubted you girls are better at everything,” it’s a mutual agreement that both parties have hard jobs. Basically, the bros are very naturally respectful of women. That plays more into their feminist narrative too, but either way, it’s refreshing.
Then, we have Jimmy! Jimmy, the lovable gamerboy pizza man. At first glance Jimmy seems like the stereotypical cowardly, pathetic, emasculated loser. He’s frightened of most things, as of yet has no power suit, and he BAKES for crying out loud! But none of these things are framed as terribly bad traits. Sure, we laugh when he screams and runs from an animal, but though it happens over and over, the crew doesn’t get sick of it. They don’t berate him or belittle him because he’s so gosh darn cowardly. There’s a great scene in Rattlesnake Crystal where Jimmy has to deliver something to the bros alone, in the middle of a spooky desert. He is terrified the whole time, sprinting off after he delivers the goods. When Martin and Chris run into him, they don’t laugh at him for being spooked, they just greet and then bid fair well to their friend. To them, this is just Jimmy, and there’s nothing wrong with it. Jimmy isn’t coddled, but he is reassured many times that he’s a valuable member of the team. I love that little message, that you’re just as important of a person even if you can’t do as much or have greater limits. When his friends do try to get him over his fears, it’s not because they have to, that the day will somehow be ruined by Jimmy’s incompetence p, but because they’re his friends, and want him to experience fun and wonderful things that he would otherwise miss out on. But what Jimmy CAN do is just as important! Jimmy is a gamer, which in a lot of shows, is portrayed as a lazy, useless, mindless hobby. But here, because he plays video games, it makes him essential for piloting the ship and teleporting important items. There’s always the joke that video games improves your hand/eye coordination, but recent studies have shown it has much better effects. It can make you much better at keeping track of multiple moving objects and processing technical but variable information- two traits which, fittingly enough, are really really important for air traffic controllers and airplane pilots! He also demonstrates a lot more courage behind the wheel of the Tortuga, which makes sense - in an impersonal setting, he would have more sense of calm and control and courage, because it’s so similar to a video game world. It’s not all too different with how I feel more emboldened to pick fights with people on the internet, but get crazy anxious if a real person so much as looks at me. So Jimmy’s love of video games isn’t because he’s irresponsible, it has real benefits. A quick last point - Jimmy also eats a lot, but they thankfully don’t make him fat or greedy or anything like that. He never takes food from people, he actually bakes, and shares it with others! Having the baker be a boy is a lovely touch.
I might do another post about the toxic masculinity of the two villains, (or four villains, I guess, if I wanna discuss the minions) but I’ve got other work to do, and this post is long enough already, so I’ll get around to it later. I’ll sum it up with this - Wild Kratts is a show that teaches boys it’s not only ok to be kind, but essential. The brothers protect defenseless animals, advocate for things “icky” and “weird,” like bugs or snakes or worms - not because they’re boys, and boys like icky things, but because they genuinely see the beauty in all life, and are encouraging us to slow down and do the same. The Wild Kratts are heroes who save the world not by being the strongest or smartest or coolest, but by looking after those who are exploited and vulnerable, who are essential to the world, even if they can’t always do everything. In Wild Kratts the only weaknesses a man can have isn’t what he can’t do, but what he does do that he shouldn’t have. Sure, it’s a cute show about two funny guys who have cool powers, but it’s also a show about accountability, compassion, respect and trust. The show says “boys will be boys” in all the right ways - Martin is a lovable goof with a heart of gold, but he still has to get his act together when he messes up, and he’s still creative and smart and openly sensitive. Chris is a bit of a know-it-all show-off, but he can also mess up as much as his brother, and is still bold, brave, adventurous, and can put his money where his mouth is. Jimmy is a cowardly, napping, eating machine video-gamer, but he’s still a valued member of the team, has incredible skills and talents, and will always help his friends, even if he is really, really scared. It is so important to have role models like these, in a world dominated by unhealthy machismo. The Wild Kratts are heroes who save the world - both animated, and real.
All they need now is a canon queer character, and I’ll stan them forever! My money’s on Aviva!!
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ddarker-dreams · 4 years
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Yandere Behavior: Chrollo Lucilfer
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→ Yandere MBTI type: CAMS. (Cruel, Aware, Manipulative, Strict).
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Chrollo as a yandere is difficult to grasp. There’s a lot that’s up in the air. You might believe you’re beginning to understand him, only to have that way of thinking torn away. The main problem can be attributed to Chrollo not even fully knowing what he wants from his relationship with you himself. For someone so introspective, Chrollo doesn’t have solid reasoning for what he does, and he even acknowledges this. Not that you’ll ever be privy to this information.
From his point of view, he thinks of you in between a material obsession and someone he cares for. Chrollo has a vague idea of what love is from reading. He just doesn’t have his own experience with love to draw comparisons and knowledge from, and sees it all through a tainted lens. For the sake of manipulating you he’ll call what he feels love. It stops just short enough of valuing you as a fully functioning human being, yet isn’t belittling enough to classify you as a thing. You’re in a limbo.
While he’s technically the least cruel of the yandere adult trio, that doesn’t amount to much; as he has his own unique ways of being awful. Chrollo has a charisma to him that brings you into conversation, whether you’re verbally responding to him or not. The meager amount of tact he possesses isn’t enough to make up for the sharp as knives discussions he broaches. His bluntness is hidden behind a thin veil of charm, disguising the distressing questions and comments as good-natured.
That being said, he’s not wholly sadistic. Chrollo isn’t talking to you with the intention of upsetting you like some others (*cough* Hisoka *cough* Pariston), he wants to pick your brain, and gain insight. You being upset is more of a... byproduct, as he sees it. Another aspect to learn from. You’re so different from him, growing distraught at things he could care less about. He finds it interesting. He’s the devil’s advocate type of guy with you.
You’re likely pictured in his head as a belonging at first, that fleshes out into something beyond that. A way to pass the time that wouldn’t leave his mind. Chrollo would genuinely be surprised by this development, especially when he picks up on hints of affection towards you. He’d dislike the thought if anyone bothering you.It doesn't sit well with him and he’s not sure exactly why. He’s seen far worse and turned his back. Then there’s you, someone capable of stirring up emotions within him in a way that shouldn’t be possible.
Chrollo has absolutely no qualms about plucking you from your carefree life for his own benefit. He’s a thief, and you just so happened to be the next target to catch his eye. You’re either going to be tagging along with him, or staying in a home far removed from society. He’s made it painfully clear that resistance will only serve to make your situation worse. The gap in power between you two is downright laughable, his connections to the underworld vast. He won’t actively flaunt this unless you make a point of testing him.
Travelling with Chrollo is both the best, and worst part of your relationship. It beats being cooped up in a stuffy house full of nothing but books you can’t read and boarded up windows, but god is it tiring. By the time your jet lag is improving and you’re getting used to your hotel room, he’s already telling you to pack your stuff for a new destination. Half the time he doesn’t even bother telling you where you’re going.
Chrollo also leaves at unholy hours of the night. Then he comes back with items that you swear you’ve seen in a pamphlet or something before. If he catches you staring at it long enough he’ll tell you, or hint at its origin with a weird smile. You get the feeling the clothes you caught him discarding with blood splotches on them have a connection, but feel too sickened to confirm the suspicions.
There’s a good chance you’ll run into a Troupe member or two. Their interactions with you range from either ignoring you entirely, or being so friendly that it’s creepy. Chrollo describes you as his lover to them, but the label does not feel fitting whatsoever. When the more outgoing members ask you questions to be polite, you get a feeling they already know the answers. You don’t want to know why they have so much information on you. How long was he running surveillance on you exactly...? 
He’ll take you to a variety of places, since he feels confident in his ability to keep you from acting out. The places you frequent the most are: museums, art galleries, local bookshops, and the highest rated restaurants in the area. You’ll be taken aback by how talkative he can be in some areas, subtly flaunting his vast knowledge to you. He’ll take your hand and lead you from place to place, acting almost like a tour guide. Reciting the history, importance, and other trivia about the places you go.
The illusion of freedom that getting to explore the world brings is fleeting. At the end of the day, you’re still imprisoned, even if it’s in a world class suite. You’re expected to go along with his whims without complaint. Chrollo tells you that he’ll make it worth your while, but that doesn’t do much for you. 
His romantic gestures can feel... hollow, in a way. They’re too perfect, uncanny even. You can never fully tell how genuine he’s being with you. He’ll compliment you but it feels almost degrading, or he’ll give you a kiss and stare just a bit too long to see if your reaction is the one he wants. The times where he’s most real with you is when you get him started on a topic of interest. Any other forms of vulnerability that you witness are planned to the letter, to get you to trust him more. It’s easier to mold you as he pleases if you’re more amiable to him, after all.
Quotes.
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“We’ll be leaving early tomorrow morning, so pack you stuff before going to bed. It’ll be a long flight.”
“You’re wondering where I got this from? Admittedly, it’s a long story... if you think you can stomach it, I’ll tell you.” 
“It’s understandable that you’re distraught, new situations can be intimidating. With time, all pain fades. I’m willing to wait.” 
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softluci · 3 years
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atla hcs
i’ve been thinking about this for a minute, and i wanna do a set of headcanons for how i think the brothers (and eventually the undateables) would feel about certain avatar: the last airbender characters, or something along those lines. i actually just wanted to talk about lucifer and azula, so everything else here is a bonus. this doesn’t matter, but for what it’s worth: wherever the mc pops up, they will be gn, enjoy!
also: this kinda goes without saying, but there are most definitely spoilers in here. for which seasons? i don’t remember, i watched this show when i was nine, but proceed with caution if you have yet to watch it.
lucifer
if it’s one thing you are not gonna play with him about, it is princess azula. this man is an azula supremacist, and while he might not say those words exactly, anyone would be able to tell that’s the case if they talked to him about the show for longer than two minutes. he actually wasn’t even interested in the show until azula showed up, and he will readily admit this to anyone who inquires about it. what makes it funny is the fact that her first appearance is literally, like, ten seconds, so that means he saw her and immediately knew she was the best, which, like—real recognize real. is he projecting? am i projecting? yes, no. in that order. shut up.
he actually almost couldn’t hide how proud he was when azula almost killed aang, this man is deranged. the same way he takes her wins personally, he takes every loss of hers personally as well, so when she lost that agni kai? 🚶‍♂️ 
the average azula enjoyer believes azula should get a redemption arc, lucifer believes azula should simply get whatever she wants, and the difference between those two things is striking.
average azula enjoyer: i believe azula deserves to heal and redeem herself. it isn’t fair that she was left with her tyrannical, abusive father during formative years of her childhood, with no one to help her or show her what it means to be good. she cannot be blamed for the way she turned out. it especially isn’t fair that she gets no redemption for evil things she did at age fourteen, for a year, while the entire show is iroh’s redemption arc, and he was doing evil for decades—he is literally called “the dragon of the west” because of it. additionally—
lucifer morningstar, resident azula supremacist: everything azula did, she was right to do, because i would’ve done the same. there was never a point at which she was wrong, it’s just unfortunate that nobody could keep up with her, her father included. the only reason why she ended up losing, ultimately, is because this is a children’s show, and good is supposed to win out. it was plot armor. if this were realistic, she would’ve beaten everyone—at the very least, she would’ve beaten zuko in the final agni kai, it’s just that he broke the rules and brought backup. at the time of the agni kai, she was literally the strongest firebender in the show. that’s actually the only part of this lucifer is right about, but you can’t tell him that.
if you ask him what his favorite quote in the show is, he’ll immediately say, “i can see your whole history in your eyes. you were born with nothing, so you’ve had to struggle, and connive, and claw your way to power. but true power? the divine right to rule? is something you’re born with.” and he will do it so well that it’ll give you the chills. 
in actuality, his favorite quote is, “i’d really rather our family physician look after little zuzu, if you don’t mind.” it’s just that it doesn’t have the same chilling effect as the first one. 
does he like any other characters? does he even care about any other characters? he has a deep fondness for sokka because he reminds him of mammon.  yes, and they are katara and suki, with honorable mention to avatar kyoshi. 
does he hate any characters? no, but if you mention avatar kuruk or uncle iroh to him, he might get annoyed. is mildly frustrated by aang, but has the sense to cut him some slack for being twelve and the last of his kind. never speak of ozai.
mammon 
toph supremacist. frequent user of the phrase, “toph is just fucking class.” knows for a fact that toph is the best and strongest bender in the entire show, and no one has ever managed to convince him otherwise. mainly because nobody really disagrees. like, have you ever even seen toph slander?
just like lucifer with azula, he wasn’t invested in the show until toph showed up, which, once again, is funny, because technically her very first appearance is only a few seconds long, so that means he saw her for a literal second and just knew. you can’t even be mad at that, real recognize real. 
no one will ever see him more proud than when he’s talking about one toph beifong. he can’t get over her raw, unbridled talent, and he really never should. if you let him (so, if you’re levi), he will spend so much time analyzing her character and every single one of her strengths, from the fact that she’s the only one who knows when azula is lying, all the way down to the fact that even though she projects a tough persona, she can still be vulnerable, AND—
not only is she strong, but her personality is simply untouchable. this girl grows on literally everyone; like, even lucifer likes her, even though he’ll die before saying it out loud. 
he gets so smug whenever someone asks him who his favorite is and it’s because he knows his taste is top tier, and what makes it worse is that no one can even disagree because toph is just that good. 
will never admit it, but he was shaking and crying during the scene where it looked like toph and sokka were literally gonna die. was also gonna cry when toph almost drowned. basically: he is eternally grateful to suki. 
his favorite line in the entire show is, “i am the greatest earthbender in the world! don’t you two dunderheads ever forget it.” it’s just fucking class.
does he like any other characters? he sees himself in sokka, he’ll tell you that much. he also knows that satan and lucifer like sokka because of him, and he found out because he heard them talking about it. to their joint dismay, they turned to see him standing behind them, grinning like an idiot, and they couldn’t even scare him into leaving them alone when he hugged both of them at the same time because, one, they didn’t really want to, and two, they couldn’t turn off their fondness for him fast enough ^_^. did they reciprocate his hug? did they stay like that for a little bit? did lucifer kiss the tops of their heads? maybe so🤨
does he hate any characters? not really, but he doesn’t particularly like azula because she scares him and makes him sad, like lucifer and doesn’t see her appeal. once tried to make a case for why she shouldn’t have a redemption arc and felt painfully human from the way he almost died. do not mention toph’s parents to him. the name ozai should also never be on your tongue.
levi 
resident sokka enjoyer and suki appreciator. do not ever call sokka dumb in front of this man unless you want a proper lecture. unlike a few of his brothers, he doesn’t like sokka just because of his similarities to mammon. he also likes sokka because he relates to him on a personal level. 
levi absolutely knows what it’s like to feel inadequate and outshined by people younger than you. he absolutely knows what it’s like to feel like your competence is overlooked. while he might be unfamiliar with how it feels to strategize for a war and lose a battle, but it is one of his biggest fears and it absolutely crushed him to see sokka go through that. 
on a lighter note, levi has a deep appreciation for sokka’s comedic value, despite the fact that it can overshadow his intelligence. levi would actually venture to say that he likes sokka’s funnier side because it overshadows his intelligence to the point that it throws the opposition for a loop. this is the aspect of sokka that reminds him of mammon. 
it also seriously warmed his heart to see how everyone missed sokka while he was away for sword training; he especially liked that episode because it was just an affirmation of the fact that sokka is an integral part of team avatar, which he really needed to see. 
you know who else is an integral part of team avatar who needs to be recognized as such more often? suki. do you know how much pain levi is in every time he thinks about the lack of suki screentime . it’s a lot . suki is just too good for the amount of screentime she has, he’s sorry, but it’s true. this is evidenced by the scene of her literally running across prisoners’ heads to apprehend the warden of boiling rock. that scene speaks for itself—she and the other kyoshi warriors end up as zuko’s body guards for a reason. 
he will never let anyone forget that if it weren’t for suki, sokka would still be a misogynist. she was an essential element to sokka’s growth as a character and everyone had better remember it or so help him. also , he is a firm believer in the fact that suki was the best love interest for sokka, with zuko as a close second. don’t ask questions. rip yue but argue with the wall.
his favorite line in the series? 
“zuko’s gone crazy! i made a sand sculpture of suki, and he destroyed it! oh, and he’s attacking aang.” 
it’s not profound or cool or anything like that, but it makes him smile and giggle every time he thinks of it ^_^. 
does he like any other characters? he has a lot of love for toph and azula for the sole fact that the series improved exponentially after both of their introductions; he thinks both of them are in leagues of their own and seeing them in action just puts a smile on his face. he’s also inexplicably fond of king bumi. 
does he hate any characters? not particularly, actually! he pretty much respects and appreciates everyone, except the guy who mutilated his thirteen year old son for speaking out of turn.
satan 
just pick a girl. any girl. and from the way he talks about them, you’ll think they’re his favorite. he can and will go on about the girls of atla for the rest of eternity.
but since we’re being specific:
katara appreciator. azula enjoyer. basically, between him and lucifer, no tongue raised against azula shall prosper. he has a deep respect for each of their wraths. he also really must have a thing for angst because both of these characters just break his heart. 
if you let him (in other words, if you’re levi), he will go on about how it’s not fair that people call katara annoying when, in reality, she just hasn’t healed from the trauma of seeing her mother’s corpse at age eight, followed by having to take care of her village, meaning she got literally no time to grieve properly, and—
call katara annoying in front of him and you might actually have to meet god for your shallow views of such a deep, complex character. 
he will also go on and on about how katara would be the best bender in the show, if it weren’t for toph, who is untouchable. instead, he’ll talk about how katara almost killed pakku for being misogynistic and how she single handedly beat azula during sozin’s comet. you will frequently hear this man say, “katara aang’s master for a reason,” and he’s right. 
similar to if you call katara annoying, if you call azula scary in front of satan, he’s bullying you. he’s sorry, but it has to happen. no way you’re scared of a traumatized fourteen year old, what are you, eight? or do you have no understanding of azula’s depth? both are unacceptable. 
satan is the average azula enjoyer, times about seven. you simply won’t get away with speaking poorly of azula in front of this man, so if you’re like mammon and don’t like her, you better tread very carefully. 
one time mammon tried to be like, “azula is too far gone to deserve redemption anyways,” and satan literally reverted to his demon form as he said: “if i were abandoned with my terrible father as a child, with literally no one to help me, and then my friends betrayed me, and then, as i was about to be crowned ruler of my country, my dumb fucking idiot brother showed up with his dumb peasant friend for backup, which isn’t even allowed, i might be mad forever too, actually—” and then he threw the nearest chair at mammon for his criminally bad take.
another reason why satan loves azula so much is because he’s convinced she’s a lesbian and satan is the most “let’s go lesbians!!!” person you will ever meet. you actually can’t convince him that she isn’t a lesbian. forget chan. nobody gives a fuck about chan.
what’s his favorite line in the entire series? 
“trust me, zuko—it’s not going to be much of a match.” 
like, come on. katara is just too good. 
does he like any other characters (other than the girls of atla)? he’ll never admit it, but he has a lot of respect for sokka and a soft spot for him because he reminds him of mammon. he also has a lot of respect for aang because he reminds him of beel of how well he handled literally everything despite being twelve. 
does he hate any—yes. never speak of avatar roku. or iroh. or ozai. for good measure, don’t mention general zhao either. 
asmo 
what lucifer is to azula, asmo is to ty lee. like do i even have to say anything else. but for what it’s worth, he also love, love, loves azula because she reminds him of lucifer, from her strength and class, all the way down to her descent into madness. and even though she breaks his heart just as much as she does satan’s. he may or may not have cried over azula in satan’s room while they were talking about her. unlike lucifer and satan, he can respect it if you don’t like her, but it’ll make him so sad. 
but enough about azula. ty lee is where it’s at for him. her subtle strength and unwavering love is something to die for, and he will defend it against anyone, up to and including lucifer, and he’ll win too. asmo is not to be trifled with and neither is ty lee; he can make a strong argument as to why ty lee is the strongest character in the show, and you will have a very hard time trying to refute his points. (the main point being: it’ll be really hard to win a fight against someone who can paralyze you in a few seconds, bender or not.)
the fact that ty lee ran away from home because she was tired of the fact that nobody ever saw her as her own person is just something that tugs at asmo’s heartstrings. he thinks ty lee’s bravery is just something that can be so personal. 
also—he has a massive appreciation for the fact that, even though there’s a war going on and ty lee is in near-constant danger, she still has the sense to maintain her appearance and worry about the skincare of not just herself, but also people she’s close to. that is a detail he will never let anyone forget. 
never mentions it in front of lucifer but one of his favorite scenes is when she paralyzes azula to save mai. once again: ty lee’s bravery is just something that can be so personal. 
he doesn’t have a favorite line in the series, but his favorite exchange of dialogue is between ty lee and azula, wherein ty lee is trying to teach azula how to flirt. he thinks it’s the cutest thing in the world.
does he like any other characters? of course! he likes everyone ^_^ . you’d actually be hard pressed to find someone he hates. ozai. it’s ozai. he has a real soft spot for mai because she reminds him of belphie. something about their shared aversion to affection is just so cute to him!
beel
aang supremacist, will hold steadfast to the fact that aang is the best character in the show and you will struggle to figure out how to convince him otherwise. 
if you ask him why aang is his favorite, the first thing he will do is gesture to a picture of him and say, “look at the material,” like it’s the most obvious thing in the world, before diving into a ten minute in depth character analysis for this boy. 
come on. he shouldn’t even have to explain himself. not only is aang one of the strongest, most competent avatars to exist, ever, he also mastered all four elements in a year, when he was twelve—he’s literally a different breed. and he managed to beat ozai in his own way, without killing him, as a means of staying true to a culture that could have literally died with him at any point in the show. aang is just fucking class.
he also admires aang for his near unwavering kindness and lighthearted nature. and for never going berserk and killing everyone he sees, especially after finding out his people were killed while he was in ice.
you have no idea how much pain beel was in when he found out that the air nomads were just gone. seeing a child find out that not only their family is gone, but also the entirety of their people and culture, just absolutely broke his heart. and that guilt aang was feeling? hit way too close to home for him. 
he also thinks it’s really nice that aang was so quick to forgive zuko after everything, and the two of them ended up being really good friends. it just puts a smile on his face. 
after some reflection with levi, he would’ve liked to see the full scope of an airbender’s power in the series; as in, he would’ve liked to see someone suffocated, but it’s okay, because aang wasn’t like that.  and he heard it happens in the next series over.
anyway, beel’s favorite quote in the show...well, it isn’t really a quote, as much as it’s a dialogue between two characters. it’s the scene where toph asks, “do you really think friendships can last more than one lifetime?” and aang says, “i don’t see why not.” it could bring a tears to his eyes just thinking about it; and in the next series over when it’s proven to be true, he absolutely cried. 
does he like any other characters? he’s actually really fond of zuko and mai because they both remind him of belphie. he also likes sokka for the same reason lucifer and satan like sokka. he has a deep appreciation for katara because aang would literally be dead without if it weren’t for her.
does he hate any characters? well, he doesn’t really like azula. he feels bad for her, but he doesn’t like her. but as for who he hates? take a wild guess. 
belphie 
zuko makes him sob is his number one. yes zuko is his favorite because of his redemption arc, yes he sees himself in zuko, no he will not explain any further than that, what’s your point🤨
in actuality, he will never be able to properly articulate how important it is for him to see that redemption is, indeed, attainable, if you put the work in. in a similar vein, he will also never be able to give words to how important it is for him to see that forgiveness is also attainable.  it means the world to him. that is why it makes him cry. the feeling is overwhelming. i’m gonna cry if i think about it for too long.
he will cling to the fact that zuko is the best character in the show, and he will cling to it even when zuko embarrasses him by saying stupid shit like, “no lightning today?” and even when zuko is so awkward it causes him physical pain. that’s his number one and he’s not changing on it!
firm zukka supporter. will not argue. that’s all.
what’s his favorite line in the entire series? it’s one of the two you’re thinking of. make that decision for yourself.
does he like any other characters? he positively adores aang and will readily admit that it’s because he reminds him of beel. bonus points for aang because he also loves the dynamic between him and zuko. toph is a distant third, mainly because he just really likes her attitude. he looks at her and thinks, now this is someone who would not hesitate to kick lucifer’s ass. 
does he hate any characters? you better believe it. he hates iroh because he reminds him of dia. he can’t really bring himself to like azula because she makes him a different kind of sad. and if you know what’s good for you, you will never mention ozai. 
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ndconceptarchive · 2 years
Text
TMB Interview with Cathy & Jeanne Roiter
This was an interview published on True PC Gaming.com on May 29, 2012:
TPG was proud to interview the Twin Sisters of Development, Jeanne and Cathy Roiter from Her Interactive.  They speak to us about their latest point-and-click adventure title, Nancy Drew: Tomb of the Lost Queen.  You will read about their thoughts on setting difficulty levels, social networking, the use of a female protagonist, fears of texting, and much more.
Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your role in the development of Nancy Drew: Tomb of the Lost Queen.
Jeanne Roiter: At first glance, a college degree in Art History seems an odd fit, but it taught me there is no one way to view anything. Attack something from a different angle and you’re guaranteed to get a different result. As Lead Tester, my goal is to ensure that everyone playing our games has the best user experience possible. Which means test analyzes every aspect of the game and how they do, and sometimes do not, work together.
Cathy Roiter: I grew up all over the country, graduated from a liberal arts school with an art degree, am an avid birder, love to travel (especially when it involves birding), and adore puzzles, be they jigsaw, slider, or logic. As the designer, I was involved in nearly every stage of TMB. That included story development, character design, puzzle creation, environmental logic, music direction, running focus groups, playing/testing the game, and a thousand and one other things during the project cycle. There’s never a dull moment for me.
How did you get started in developing PC games?
Jeanne Roiter: I actually began at Her Interactive in Technical Support, working directly with our users. During that time, I learned a lot about what our users expect from the games, common issues in-game play and installation, and became very familiar with our brand. One fateful day, I was dropped into the test team to help out and quickly discovered my true calling lay in the logical, creative, and critical thinking required for testing our games. It wasn’t long before I moved into test full-time and later down the road into the lead position.
Cathy Roiter: My first gaming job was as the production intern here at Her Interactive. Shortly after starting, I got the chance to design the mixing drinks puzzle in The Haunting of Castle Malloy. It all grew from there.
Where did the idea for Nancy Drew: Tomb of the Lost Queen come from?
Cathy Roiter: Egypt had been tossed around for years as a possibility, but it was the increase in resolution that came with our new UI that really cinched it. The new resolution meant art would really be able to do the setting justice. At that point, there was no question that Egypt would be the first game to take advantage of the changes.
What are some of the successes and failures you learned from in developing Nancy Drew: Tomb of the Lost Queen?
Jeanne Roiter: Change can be good. We introduced an entirely new User Interface with this game and it absolutely improved the game experience with its intuitive design. Change can also be bad. Major overhauls, like the UI, usually require more resources and time.
Cathy Roiter: I’m most proud of the fact that the majority of reviewers commented on how TMB wasn’t a clichéd Egyptian game. We wanted to make it feel different and we did, through careful planning and design choices. As for the failure, that was definitely tied to trying to be too realistic. I backed myself into a corner by being determined to use nothing but 100% accurate hieroglyphs. Thanks to my walkthrough team, the realization that I was in no way fluent in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, and a decision to go with a little artistic license, I redesigned the hieroglyph system to one that actually worked with the game instead of against it.
In its current form, how close is Nancy Drew: Tomb of the Lost Queen to your initial vision?
Cathy Roiter: Farther away than I expected, but I’m happy with the end result.
Speaking about the Nancy Drew series in general, how do you feel about using a strong female protagonist without the need to be over-sexualized or using other stereotypical elements?
Jeanne Roiter: The Nancy Drew PC games were established long before I joined Her Interactive, but a strong female character remains, for me, one of the most compelling things about the product we create. I think it’s incredibly important to keep these types of role models current and relevant for both female and male players.
Cathy Roiter: I’m all for a strong female. There are so few titles that have any type of independent, intelligent, and confident females, let alone having one as the main protagonist. I’m extremely grateful that I get to design for a series that does.
Were there any challenges you faced in ensuring Nancy Drew: Tomb of the Lost Queen would run on the various PC system configurations?  Also, speak about any problems developing for Mac.
Jeanne Roiter: For this game, we increased our resolution by about 30%. These enhanced graphics are immediately apparent when you see the game, but 64MB video cards started to exhibit performance issues while running the game. We ended up increasing our minimum system requirements to 128MB video cards, which is still incredibly low for modern PC games.
Please talk about developing the art style, level design, and music for Nancy Drew: Tomb of the Lost Queen.
Cathy Roiter: TMB was a lot of fun to design. Not only did I grow up on Egyptian mythology, but I had also recently returned from an amazing vacation touring the ancient Egyptian sites. Art seemed to appreciate the slew of photos I dropped in a reference folder. Personal experience is the best design tool. There is nothing like getting out in the world and seeing what it has to offer.
Outside of creating the game itself, what is the toughest aspect of being a PC developer?
Jeanne Roiter: While this falls out of my scope, it’s probably getting the product out and visible to the public. With so many titles on the market these days, it’s a challenge to get traction with new players.
Cathy Roiter: Living up to the fans’ expectations. Our fans are a loyal group and I always want them to love every game. We try to create a different experience in each game, which means that some games they’ll like more than others, but that doesn’t make it any easier to see less than positive reviews sometimes...
Some devs admitted their games were too hard upon release because they became experts as they developed the game.  Talk about setting the difficulty levels for Nancy Drew: Tomb of the Lost Queen and if you faced a similar challenge.
Jeanne Roiter:  In addition to focus groups and beta testers, the internal test team does their best to keep a critical approach to game difficulty. The first weeks of testing are quite informative as testers attempt puzzles for the first time. Towards the end of the project, we may reach out to other departments, like marketing or sales, for fresh eyes. The goal is for our players to come out of a puzzle with the satisfaction that results from discovering a solution on their own terms.
Cathy Roiter: Our difficulty levels are something we keep a very close eye on. We offer two levels to play in the game itself and run focus groups to test difficulty levels on puzzles or activities that we’re concerned about. I’m constantly updating and tweaking puzzle settings to offer just the right amount of challenge as I get feedback from testers, focus group panels, and beta. A few games back, I moved hints from Nancy’s friends to a new Hint Hotline on the phone itself. While some of our fans miss calling for hints, the hotline has allowed us to provide leveled hints that better help the player than a single phone call ever could.
How important is it to get instant feedback about Nancy Drew: Tomb of the Lost Queen from users through online message boards and other social networking sites?
Jeanne Roiter: Online resources are a good place to find out about issues with a new release. Instant feedback allows us to get issues resolved quickly if need be.
Cathy Roiter: I’m constantly on the boards after a release to see how the game has been received. All feedback, be it positive or negative, helps confirm what we’ve been doing right or wrong. I also like seeing if fans are picking up the hints we drop in about future games. Looks like some of them are noticing a few of them from TMB!
How much value do you place on the opinions of those who review Nancy Drew: Tomb of the Lost Queen professionally?
Jeanne Roiter: Since our games have a smaller target demographic, the professional reviews often come from gamers who might not pick up a Nancy Drew title on their own. Hearing what resonates with them helps us incorporate design features that reach out to all types of players. This is an invaluable source of information as we work to make our games more accessible to a wider audience.
Cathy Roiter: I value the professional reviews a lot. They allow me to better judge how a new player to our games would feel after playing. It’s helpful to get that new set of eyes on any game.
There are rumors flying around the studio about your feelings towards texting.  Why are both of you so adverse to the wonders of mobile technology?  You do know that everyone is doing it, right?
Jeanne Roiter: I’ll admit it has to do mostly with the fact that I don’t want to lose one of the last vestiges of verbal interaction in our increasingly wired lifestyle. I’m also rather fond of my archaic flip phone.
Cathy Roiter: I wouldn’t follow the lemmings off the cliff either.
We would like to thank Jeanne and Cathy for their wonderful answers and everyone at Her Interactive.  You can pick up Nancy Drew: Tomb of the Lost Queen on the official site and Steam.
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midoriyashotos · 3 years
Text
Anguish of the Quirkless
Fandom: My Hero Academia
Rating: Teen and Up Audiences
Relationships: Midoriya Izuku/Todoroki Shoto (could be platonic... though I ship them a lot lmao)
Characters: Midoriya Izuku, Todoroki Shoto; MENTIONED - Bakugo Katsuki
Summary: Izuku doesn’t explode.
But burn after burn, he can’t take it anymore.
AO3 / Fanfiction
A/N: I had no reason to write this other than the fact I’ve been really angry and I needed to write something down.
I guess this is technically my first Tododeku fic? But like, it isn’t the focus here, so interpret it the way you want (if you can). I hope this didn’t turn out to be too OOC, though.
Please be aware of the tags and disclaimers below. Be safe. <3
TRIGGER WARNINGS - childhood trauma, past bullying/abuse and injury
*NOT BAKUGO/BAKUDEKU FRIENDLY!
--
Izuku doesn’t explode.
If anything, he’s more than scared of explosions. The explosions that silence him, that burn his tongue and his arms and legs, and the notebook of his fanboyish train of thought. The blasts that keep happening no matter how far away he is.
So no, he doesn’t explode. He probably can’t.
--
Though every time he stares at the blond spikes of his classmate, Izuku is sickened by a cocktail of years of combustions.
Maybe he does admire the beauty of the explosions when far away. Depending on them, they can actually be quite beautiful when done for the greater good. But when he’s so near, to try to reach them, Izuku gets injured. It’s probably his fault to begin with.
But even with patience and care, Izuku is always exploded back to where he’s been stuck in since he was four.
Izuku is always behind Katsuki. He can’t go around him and walk away. He can’t push him aside, he can’t as much as talk to him. Katsuki will forever be a wall, a minefield that will remain activated until the end of time.
And most importantly, Izuku can never explode back.
He hates explosions, after all.
--
The flaming blend of feelings, however, reach his mind at times he should be feeling okay.
The image of himself exploding Katsuki, of yelling at him, beating the crap out of him sickens the young hero to no end.
But it replays in his head still, even when they’re not fighting and instead having fun with their other classmates. Izuku stares at Katsuki for mere seconds and the thoughts come to him. The freckled boy swallows it all back, until it comes to haunt him at night. Until the burns sting his arms and his heart.
Izuku has tense nights, yet he never explodes. Ever.
--
You’d think Izuku would be happy here. He is happy, though, to be where he’s dreamed of for so long.
But each day that passes, he seems to get worse, he’s sick and tired and angry, and the combustions are closer to his heart. The fantasies become more violent, they’re disturbing. Izuku stains his hands, massacring the remaining of blond hair and hateful red eyes.
Izuku could never take blood from someone. It’s awful – he’s being awful. What would others think? What would everyone else think? All Might, his mother, his friends?
Izuku knows he can cry, but what about the rage? What about the ticking bomb inside him? The bomb that might be close to destroying all around him?
He can’t let anyone see.
Least of all Katsuki.
--
Thankfully, U.A. owns several gymnasiums for the students to train. Few, though, are somewhat left aside due to the new ones, but they don’t really close them. His classmates don’t seem to use them either, as far as he’s concerned.
Izuku finds the classic training tools, including several, big punching bags – different from those you see in common gyms, obviously. They’re able to take up a lot more damage, useful for physical-focused quirks.
He prepares and attacks. Holding it back, Izuku knows to be careful, to protect others. He hates explosions. He hates hurting others.
(All everyone has ever done was hurt him. Why? He was powerless. Quirkless. Deku.)
(That’s why he reclaimed the name, to transform it into someone who could be trusted, someone who could never hurt.)
Izuku kicks, dodges, as if in a real fight. He gives the bag mercy. Probably unnecessary.
(No one gave him mercy.)
(Midoriya Izuku, a boy who could never do wrong, who did nothing but exist.)
(He was exploded like no one ever was.)
The boy’s hands shine red with One for All, as do his eyes. The punching bag absorbs the power, becoming harder to punch and overcome. Izuku continues to spare it, to no avail.
(No matter what he does, he’ll continue to be blasted on the face.)
(Whether he’s powerless or not. The explosions will punish him until he’s gone.)
It’s then that the bag’s energy turns against him and blows him away, Izuku falling back and failing, once again.
It’s all too familiar.
Izuku roars.
He advances with his all, at the same speed as Gran Torino’s, but with a rage unknown to others. A rage from no hero. Heroes don’t feel hate, only towards evil – yet never, never to this extent. With revenge comes nothing. No hero should be selfish.
(This doesn’t come from a hero. It comes from… a boy? A monster?)
And Izuku is attacking the bag with no barriers holding him back. The second time it attacks, Izuku doesn’t let himself fall again. He returns at full speed and destroys the bag. He’s yelling this entire time, his throat hurting yet he’s far from quitting.
“WHY?!” Izuku demands from the bag. “WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO ME?!”
As always, he gets no answer, only blows and ignorance. And he’s punching it again.
The red of the bag infuriates him, it’s all he sees, and he wants to eradicate.
All those years, all that time never fighting back, never looking for solutions after years of rejections; they all come back to stab him again.
You’re useless.
Pathetic.
You need to deal with it.
“You RUINED MY LIFE!” Izuku screams, eyes shut but red, dams overflowing. “AND YOU DON’T EVEN CARE!”
Despite his cries and punches, they’re not moving, they’re not listening. When have they ever? When?
“I HATE YOU!” Izuku yells, his most disliked words. He’d never say to anyone.
“I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!”
“I
HATE
YOU!!! ”
 CRASH!
He yelps at the force thrown back at him. Smoke enters his nose, painful coughs echoing.
When Izuku looks back, he gasps without making a sound.
He didn’t destroy just one bag – it fired back and damaged the other ones, now abandoned on the floor.
And even then—
Izuku growls and punches the floor, this time without any power left.
He’s still burning.
It doesn’t matter. It never matters.
Now everything smokes and suffocates him, and he’s crying the most he’s ever did.
That’s why he hates explosions.
--
Izuku doesn’t go to Recovery Girl, nor does he tell anyone. He hopes Aizawa-sensei never finds out what he’d done. He looked for cameras and, thankfully, found none.
He lies to his friends he trained in the woods and got a little ahead of himself. As a response, Uraraka tells him to be careful and Iida insists Quirk training should be balanced for him, as a hero in training. Two important statements, of course.
Todoroki, however, observes.
It’s the most he does. Todoroki watches and sees all, barely saying much. He reads people like no one else does. He was the first to realize something would go wrong with Iida, when the latter had wanted to seek his brother’s almost assassin.
This is different, though. So much different.
Izuku ignores it the best he can.
--
Late at night, he can’t sleep. The green-eyed boy sneaks in the kitchen, to grab some tea to make. His classmates seem to have healthy sleep schedules, especially when exams are out of the scene.
So slow steps take him off guard, and Izuku hides his arms under his sleeves.
“Midoriya.”
He sighs deeply. “Oh, Todoroki-kun… it’s just you. What’s up?”
Todoroki shrugs. “Couldn’t sleep.”
“Oh. Me neither.”
“Hm.”
Todoroki is doing it again, he can tell. Watching him. (Judging.)
Izuku hates being watched – he’s watched the entire time.
The tea doesn’t take much longer to be ready, so Izuku barely bats an eye to Todoroki and makes his way to the stairs.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he mumbles.
“Wait, Midoriya—”
“What ?”
Izuku regrets the moment he hisses, but he’s so tired.
“Just…” his classmate hesitates. “Take care of yourself, okay?”
Todoroki’s tone has… softened.
Izuku doesn’t turn around.
“… Good night, Todoroki-kun.”
--
The days go by like usual. It’s like nothing happened. No one has found out, or so he hopes.
Todoroki hasn’t talked to him since that night. Or well, Izuku tries to avoid looking at him for too long in the first place. They have lunch together with the rest, but there’s no direct contact at all.
Todoroki isn’t the kind of person you can make excuses. He reads into your tone, he knows something is wrong. While Izuku’s relationship with him has definitely improved since the Sports Festival and Stain, he still finds that aspect of him a little intimidating. Because Todoroki, in contrast, is hard to read most of the time.
Izuku might as well be avoiding him. Of course, he’s polite when Todoroki has a question or when he asks for a favor. Though he rejects the suggestion they train together in the next day. Mostly, because Izuku’s wounds still sting, and he refuses to go to the infirmary.
At last, Izuku finds himself going to the old gymnasium, with no intention to seethe like before, even if the urge screams in his brain. It looks… the same, on the outside. As for the inside…
Instead of the gray smoke and destroyed reds, Izuku stops as soon as he catches white strands connected to wine, fire red. A fire that doesn’t explode, but fire, nonetheless.
Izuku’s veins fill with One for All, and before he goes Full Cowling to get as far away as possible, he’s less than lucky to expose himself.
“Midoriya?”
Nononononono—
Even though Todoroki isn’t using his Quirk, Izuku feels like he’s frozen by his giant ice spikes, caught to explain himself.
Why on earth is Todoroki here? Does he also know this spot? Oh, of course. Todoroki often trains alone but Izuku never knew where. Oh my god.
There are no words shared or spoken, least of all whispered. Izuku can’t bring himself to look up. There’s only shame to be shared. No one was supposed to find out and yet he just revealed himself. Stupid. Idiot!
A step.
“Midoriya…”
Izuku shakes his head.
“I know what you’re going to say.”
Todoroki stops. “What?”
“… that I’m supposed to be a hero, right? That I shouldn’t have done this? I- I know I shouldn’t have.” Izuku clenches his jaw and his fists, to contain the trembling rage. “I shouldn’t be angry.”
The fallen punching bags stare.
“But I didn’t know what to do with this anger. It only kept growing and- and it keeps growing inside of me, these thoughts, this scream in my throat,” Izuku spits out without much thought. “I’ve been hurt my entire life and I hate- I hate hurting people back, I hate wanting to hurt them, but I hate them, too, I hate-!” For a moment, he bites back the poisonous name, yet he can’t take it anymore, he’s tired of being silenced by the explosions.
“… I hate Kacchan. I hate that he always explodes me in the face, I hate that he used to go after other kids, too. He always explodes and hurts people, and he doesn’t give a shit.” Izuku’s tone is wet, soaked with weight. “He doesn’t give a shit about me, he still hurts me no matter what I do, and I’m sick of it. And god, all I want is to punch his fucking face and scream, because he never cared about making me cry or burning me at all, he- he doesn’t care! And I don’t know why I still do, why I even try to communicate with him! Nothing I do is enough for him!”
Izuku observes the multiple layers of old wood under his feet, each second finding new details, new splinters.
“This is why I don’t explode. Why I never burst out. I-I don’t want to hurt anyone… but I’m still so angry, Todoroki-kun. I’m only feeling worse than before.” The freckled teen pathetically dries his drowned face. “It’s like nothing is ever going to get better.”
The temperature is a bitter cold, despite the sun outside.
Izuku cries like that boy he’d known in Middle School, the one that would weep to himself in the shadows after getting burned on the face.
“W-What should I do?” He asks to no one.
It’s, again, a question without an answer.
Except…
His arms are taken by two hands that slowly pull up his sleeves, revealing the wounds from the hazard. The hands brush against his blistered skin as gently as possible. One hot, the other cold, but equally mindful.
“I think…” Todoroki whispers, “you need someone.”
Izuku’s face is close to the piercing gray and blue eyes, the ones who always read him… but not in judgment, he realizes. They read each sentence, each word of himself and take it to their heart, hopefully to come up with a meaningful response.
“Because then… who will protect you from the explosion?” Todoroki questions, his right hand reaching Izuku’s left.
The question is one he’s never considered. Izuku makes sure no one gets hurt, and maybe he’s successful at that, yet…
Todoroki’s face is close enough for their heads to touch, some of his red and white bangs touching Izuku’s forehead.
“It’s okay to be angry, Midoriya.”
“You’re… not mad at me?”
“Why would I be?”
“I don’t know,” Izuku gulps, “I feel… disgusting.”
“I understand. But you’re not disgusting. You were hurt.”
Izuku’s mouth quivers. “I don’t want to hurt anymore.”
Todoroki’s hands move from his arms to his shoulders, pulling him forward. Izuku shivers.
He’s…
Todoroki has never hugged him before.
Sure, they’ve gotten so far as friends. But after all this time, they’ve never touched each other; least of all Todoroki, who is, reasonably, a more reserved person.
The hug is far from awkward, nonetheless. It’s… good. Izuku has never been hugged like this. Even with the crime scene of his anger right there for Todoroki and everyone else to see… the red-and-white-haired boy chooses to hold him.
(After all, he’s also a boy. A boy afraid of his thoughts. Afraid while no one knows.)
Izuku returns the contact, his face somewhat under Todoroki’s chin.
“I’m sorry Bakugo is a piece of shit.” He adds quietly, “Well, more than he already is.”
That manages to attract a miserable laugh.
“It’s okay.”
“It’s not.”
Izuku hums, not up to protest as he melts in his touch. He could never have imagined Todoroki to be this… comfortable.
The permanent smell of smoke and dust does eventually bother him, so Izuku suggests, “Want to get out of here?”
“Sure.”
And they leave the gymnasium behind, hopefully their secret will be left alone.
Todoroki takes Izuku to a tree, the leaves green like the latter’s hair. There’s enough of a shadow to cover them from the sun, from the burning flames far away. Todoroki helps a little with the burns, his ice the most soothing Izuku has felt.
Until the sun sets, their hands are intertwined, scars only they know.
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Note
Hi! Could you do whole alphabet for Echo too? I'm so inlove with your Rex one. So soft
Tumblr media
A/N: Sorry, I couldn’t find a nicer gif of my boy. Also, REBLOG AND COMMENT IF YOU LIKE THIS! These take just as much time as a drabble or one-shot to finish. Spread the love.
A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)
Echo pre and post-Citadel is a cuddler.  He cuddles, and talks, and tries to stay awake for as long as he can, because he doesn’t want to lose a second with you.
B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)
He loves your legs. King of looking respectfully whenever you wear something with a short hem line. 
Pre-Citadel, he liked his hands.  They’re steady and true.  Not to mention dexterous fingers which you seemed to appreciate.
Post-Citadel, he likes his eyes.  They’re different from before, a bit paler, sunken, but still undeniably human.  He needs to remind himself of that fact every now and again.
C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)
Pre-Citadel, he loved cumming inside you. Nothing felt better than the feeling of his cock buried in your cunt as you milked him for all he was worth. He could stay inside you forever. 
Post-Citadel, cumming on his part isn’t really an option, but he be damned if he doesn’t try to make up for it by having you cum again and again.
D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)
Wanted to have a three way with you and Fives.  He wasn’t interested in having sex with Fives, rather he wanted to share you with someone he trusted.  He thought about he and Fives taking turns with you until you were sex drunk and covered in each of their cum.
He’d never dare bring this up with you or Fives.  All the same, even post-Citadel, he still thinks about it.
E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)
Not a lot.  He gets nervous around people he’s attracted to and often ends up repeating the last sentence they said on instinct.  Some people find it endearing, but it hasn’t gotten him laid that often.  He’s had sex once, maybe twice before meeting you. 
F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)
Pre-Citadel, you on top and riding him into the sunset.  Save a horse, ride and ARC Trooper.
Post-Citadel, you laying on your back allowing him a perfect view of your face as he fucks you with a vibrator. Bonus points if you dig your finger nails into his arms until they sting.
G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)
He’s the same both pre and post-Citadel. He puts all his attention on you, but every now something awkward happens. This makes him nervous, which means he rambles and says something that gets you laughing and then him laughing until you’re a mess of giggles. So a sweet balance of tender and silly.
H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)
Pre-Citadel, pretty close shaven down there.  He generally tries to keep all things neat and titty and that includes his private parts.
Post-Citadel, well there isn’t anything to worry about.
I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)
Pre-Citadel, a nice balance of sweet and tender to just for fun. He called you beautiful every time you were together and tried to show how much he cared.  But, there were times when it was just for fun.  A pleasurable way to spend what limited time with you he could.
Post-Citadel, he’s still sweet and loving, but there’s more of an edge there.  A quiet desperation, as if he’s trying to prove something when you’re together.  The praises come more raggedly and a storm of unspoken emotion takes over him.  It’s more intense.
J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)
Pre-Citadel, he didn’t do it that often and honestly a little embarrassed when he did. He can’t help but be paranoid he’s brothers will stumble in on him and he knows the ragging he’ll get if they do.  Plus, it feels...well, a little childish when he knows you’re just a phone call away.  At the very least with phone sex, you’re with him in some way.
Post-Citadel, there’s nothing to jack.
K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)
Pre-Citadel: Fuck, he loves it when you call him a good boy.  There’s just something about that little endearment that drives him wild especially with you fucking yourself on his cock like you own it.  Add in some hair pulling and biting and he’s lost. 
So, needless to say, total sub.
Post-Citadel: Still likes to be called good boy, but gets a different kind of satisfaction in pinning you to the bed.  Has started experimenting with tying you to the bedpost and finding that he likes it.  Developing some dom tendencies.
L = Location (favorite places to do the do)
Pre-Citadel; your apartment on Courscant.  Just a little home away from his brothers, completely your own with no chance of either of you having to do the walk of shame and getting shit for it.
Post-Citadel: same thing, but has expanded to his room on the Marauder.
M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)
Pre and Post Citadel; seeing you in a short tight skirt giving him a perfect view of your legs and proper framing of your ass. Pair this off with a few dirty words in his ear and he’s checking the clock every five seconds for his shift to end.
N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)
Pre-Citadel: Pegging.  You tried it once, he wasn’t into it, moving on.
Post-Citadel: No restraints for him.  Nothing to take away his senses or any kind of agency.  He needs a way out at any given moment.
O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)
Pre-Citadel: split right down the middle between giving and receiving.  He was an absolute mess every time you went down on him.  His rambled and groaned and begged until his climax hit him like a train.  He’d be a trembling mess once you were done with him. 
On the other hand, he loved giving. If you decided to ride his face, he was a happy man.  Maybe a little too enthusiastic and messy, but damn if it wasn’t satisfying.
Post-Citadel: It’s all about the giving and his technique has improved considerably.  He has learned how to tease it out, make you squirm and even make a smug remark or two before finally letting you cum. This pacing also will keep him down there for hours.
P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)
Pre-Citadel: Fast and enthusiastic.  He wanted to make you feel good, feeling energizing thrill when you were together and that meant wanted to make you cum fast and frequently.
Post-Citadel: He’s more willing to take his time.  He wants to enjoy every second that he can with you and that means slow and steady, absorbing every little twitch and moan your body produces.
Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)
Pre-Citadel: More often then you’d think.  He wants to give you what you want, but if you guys ever worked together he feels like he needs to be ready to go at a moments notice.  So that means a lot of quickies in supply closets and empty locker rooms.  It was against regulations, obviously, but he did gets a kind of thrill in breaking the rules with you.
Post-Citadel: Not as much his thing.  He really, really wants to take his time with you and he’s more than willing to wait.  Honestly, seeing you so pent up for him sends it’s own kind of trill down his spine.
R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)
Pre and Post-Citadel; He’s willing to experiment.  You guys do your research and properly talk about it before hand, setting boundaries and safe words, if needed.  If there is one thing you guys have always been good at, it’s communicating.
S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)
Pre-Citadel: The rounds didn’t last so long (10 to 15 minutes), but he had a great recovery time.  Number of rounds averaged about 2 to 3 per night.
Post-Citadel: Literally as long as you can stand, and maybe a little longer.
T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)
Pre and Post Citadel: Plenty of toys and frequently used; vibrators, dildos, handcuffs, cock rings, the works.  If anything post-citadel, the number has expanded.
U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)
Pre-Citadel: Terrible at teasing.  Just the worst. Cannot tease to save his life. Needs to give you everything the moment you ask for it.
Post-Citadel: Has learned how to tease and is an asshole about it.
V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)
Pre and Post-Citadel: Talks a lot during sex.  Rambles about anything and everything that comes to his mind. It’s like a filter has been removed.  It starts as desperate breathy whispers and end with loud declarations and pleading.
W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)
Pre-Citadel: He actually considered turning deserter for you.  He never told you or anyone, besides Fives.  But there were moments with you laying quietly in his arms, he wondered what would happen after the war.  He didn’t know if he would have to say in the GAR or if he would be free to leave.  And if he was forced to stay, would he? He couldn’t imagine keeping this up forever; meeting in dark corners, sneaking out to your apartment, as if what you were doing was wrong. If the war ended and the Senate decided to keep them as soldiers, he would leave.  He would leave for you.
Post-Citadel: He still wonders about the war and how it will end.   He wanted to be your husband.  To give you children and a quiet life somewhere warm and safe.  But, given what he was now, normal would never be an option. It eats at him in the dark with you pressed quietly against him.  If he were a selfless man, he’d let you go.  But he won’t.  He can’t. He doesn’t want to.
X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)
Pre-Citadel: Standard issue thick clone dick.  Can and will fill you up until you’re bursting at the seams.
Post-Citadel: The dick is gone and the Techno Union did not deem it necessary to get him a replacement one. Technically they do exist, but they’re ridiculously expensive and most won’t sell to Clones.
Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)
Pre-Citadel: Surprisingly high.  Before he met you, he was convinced he was the horniest virgin in the GAR. So, when you did get together you guys were going at it like rabbits.  Call it years of repression finally letting loose.
Post-Citadel: The drive isn’t what it was, but he still wants to give you pleasure.  More like 2 to 3 times a week as opposed to every night.
Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)
Pre and Post-Citadel: Can and will stay awake for as long as he can.  Even if you can see his eyes drooping, he’ll force them open for as long as you’re awake, rambling long into the night.  He wants to be with you as long as he can.
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imagine-turtles · 3 years
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Hey! I just discovered your blog and I love your writing and your characterization of the boys, and I wanted to ask how you think the boys would act around a crush? Have a nice day!
Hi!! Thank you!!  Hope it’s everything you wanted!!
Leonardo spends an excessive amount of time trying to convince himself that even if he wasn’t a mutant turtle and even if his job wasn’t incredibly dangerous and even if any aspect of his life was remotely suited for relationships, there was no guarantee they’d even like him back.  Upon failing to talk himself out of it, he tries to completely ignore any feelings he has, and really only comes across as inconsistently moody.  His crush could have a difficult time parsing out how he feels about them, and might even reach the conclusion that they make him uncomfortable.
There’s a chance Leonardo never acts on his feelings until getting a nudge from his family.  He’s devoted his life to ensuring their well-being, and he almost feels as if he’s betraying them by sharing some of this devotion with someone else.
If his feelings are acknowledged, personal hang-ups addressed, and the stars are aligned, Leonardo might actually try to flirt.  Not that he’d ever call it that.  He takes a surprisingly analytical approach and reasons that he should try to make them enjoy being around him; he starts off a little awkward, but upon receiving positive feedback he zeroes in and does not let up.  
He’d deny it if asked, but somewhere in his room is a small notebook filled with everything he knows about his crush, filed away for future reference.  Interests, topics to avoid, potential gifts, date ideas, important anniversaries, likes and dislikes--it’s all in there.
Raphael is the most emotional of the brothers, falling hard and fast while simultaneously demanding whoever dare mention a “crush” return to the Barbie Dreamhouse from whence they came.  Any attempt at teasing will embarrass him to no end, and he might even try to prove he doesn’t like them by pretending he doesn’t even notice them.  Like Leonardo’s reaction, this could lead Raphael’s crush to believe he doesn’t particularly like them.
Not only is he the most insecure about their mutant turtle status, Raphael is also larger than his brothers, and thus sees himself as even further from a “normal person” than the rest of his family.  He’d need his crush to blatantly display interest before entertaining the idea that he’s got a chance with them, but once they do?  No holds barred.
Raphael starts with inviting them to join him for everything.  Everything.  They can’t get through a single conversation without being asked if they want to hit the rooftops, or watch a movie, or just come over and they’ll figure out what to do when they get there.  He starts with things he thinks he can impress them with, to prove he’s grade-a boyfriend material, but at some point realizes they’re not thinking about any of it when he inevitably gets roped into something he fails miserably at.  It’s almost as if they weren’t expecting him to live up to his own idealized self 24/7...  Who could’ve guessed?
Definitely spends an embarrassing amount of time imagining the rest of his life with them: engagement, wedding, honeymoon, anniversaries, trips, kids, the whole nine yards.
Donatello takes an approach similar to Leonardo’s, but ramps it up a notch to the point of straight-up studying his crush.  Are their personalities compatible?  Would they be open to dating a mutant?  Are there biological barriers?  How can he integrate their interests with his?  What he lacks in natural charm he makes up for in willpower and raw data.  He identifies their top love languages and bases his entire plan of attack around a hybrid schedule of planned and spontaneous “events” ranging anywhere from targeted compliments to useful little gifts.
And boy, does he pile on the gifts.  Donatello is well aware that his strength lies on the technical side of the tracks, and he overclocks the hell out of it.  All his crush’s devices are optimized, protected, and loaded with any software they fancy.  When he’s invited to their home, he’s already taking note of everything he could offer to improve: plumbing, wiring, appliances, vehicle maintenance, electronics, the works.  He’s already used to building turtle gear out of garbage and scrap metal, so ordinary home repair with store-bought materials couldn’t be easier.
Donatello’s scientific method is more successful at earning his crush’s attention than his brothers realize, as he prefers to keep the majority of his efforts one-on-one to reinforce the positive association with him.  He’ll still trip over a few words here and there, and he’s thrown off-kilter when they say something unexpected, but he recovers far more quickly when his brothers aren’t around to point it out.  
Like Raphael, he’ll want to spend even more time with his crush, but Donatello wouldn’t necessarily want them to drop what they’re already doing--just do it in his room.  He might even carve out a little lab space for them to do their thing while he does his, provided they aren’t too distracting.
Michelangelo, like Raphael, doesn’t take long to form a crush.  He’ll have multiple crushes at once, and owns up to every single one without an ounce of shame.  While his brothers keep their romantic inclinations close, he has no trouble making his interest obvious, because why bother pretending he’s not into them?  He’ll pile on the compliments in a way that comes naturally only to him, a haphazard slew of pop culture references and genuine insight that’s nothing less than absolutely honest.
If a crush shows interest, the game changes.  Every romance trope he’s ever seen is fair game, and no, he won’t try to be sneaky about any of them.  If it works, great!  If not, well, on to the next one!  Michelangelo has a knack for tuning in to others’ emotions, and he uses this talent to its full advantage when figuring out what his crush likes.  
An arm slung around their shoulders during a movie, a playful kick during a particularly heated game night, a cuddle sesh he simply needs on account of his cold blood, you can even ask Donnie--he’ll welcome any opportunity for close contact and milk it as long as he can.
Michelangelo spends a great deal of time trying to figure out how to balance trying to make his crush laugh and trying to be serious.  What if he’s only good at being funny?  What if they don’t want to hang out with Serious Mikey?  It’s only after his crush flat-out shows they want to be around him even when he’s not actively trying to be entertaining that he knows he’s really in deep.
~~~
There’s a decent amount of teasing among the brothers when it comes to crushes, but none of them would do anything to actually jeopardize any of the others’ chances at finding love.  And if the romantic interest can’t handle a teensy bit of brotherly heckling?  Might not work out anyways.
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mira--mira · 3 years
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Question from an aspiring writer:
How do you stay motivated on one project for such a long time?
I personally have the attention span of a goldfish, and whenever I have an idea I either have to write down everything my brain can spew immediately or have it be lost in the void for eternity.
Never mind going back and turning my outline into a fic or gasp editing.
Do you have any tips and/or tricks you use?
Ok, I got completely carried away with this just fyi, but hopefully I ended up answering your actual question 😂 tl;dr at the bottom.
To be honest, staying motivated is a tricky thing, one that I feel I'm still learning how to do even now and varies a bit between shortfics/oneshots and multi-chaptered fics/longfics. For a bit of background, I've been writing fanfic for about a year and a half, but I've been writing original fiction since I was seven, over a decade and a half, and I still wrestle with it. It's definitely a learning process.
One thing I wish someone would have told me when I was starting out was the power of ~scenes~ in either multi-chapters or one-shots. All writing is ultimately made up of scenes, but if you're struggling to put things together, focusing on an individual scene, or multiple short scenes, might help you focus on getting something completed, and it's something that eventually can be applied to longer works as well. Writing has been a snowball process for me and once I started getting anything completed, I felt more secure in knowing what I could write comfortably and what was out of my comfort zone, eventually getting to the point where I felt comfortable tackling bigger and longer projects and knowing I could stay with them.
OoT's interlude chapters and the snippet series are both good examples of scenes because I wrote them with that intention...even if most of them are actually two or three scenes combined. "Gai meets Hashirama and Madara", "Hashirama gets revenge on Kakashi", "Tatsuki and Hashirama pick flowers for Madara, then give them to him" etc. were all my starting points.
If you're first starting out and feel comfortable with outlines of some sort before you start writing I would encourage you to try and write down a bullet point list of your scene(s) and what you know you want to happen in it.
"Gai meets Hashirama and Madara"
* Hashirama meets Gai first, mistakes him for Lee.
* Madara is shopping for a gift for Hashirama
* Madara finds Gai and Hashirama, they spar, Gai kicks his ass, both of them love him.
This is how my initial outline looked for the first interlude chapter, technically each one of these "points" are their own scenes stuck together. Outlining is different for everyone, some people like super specific points, others even less detail than this. For me this is a nice middle that gives me a roadmap for the chapter, but allows plenty of room to naturally diverge and add detail. Play around with outlines and see what you're comfortable with/what gives you the best results.
I'm not sure of your individual situation, but if you're struggling to put together fics in general something like this might help. Doing this process again and again personally helps me stay on track and gives me a sense of progress.
This sense of progress is ultimately key and why I think motivation differs slightly between one-shots/short fics and longfics. If you confine the individual scene to a one-shot, that might give you the motivation to complete it. Even if you start writing and you get interrupted/can't finish having in one setting, bullet points sometimes help inspire me to finish because I'm not starting from scratch when I return to writing. The whole "eat an elephant one piece at a time" thing was difficult for me to learn, but ultimately proved true. Learning to chip away at something bit by bit is going to be the only (healthy) way to write longer projects you can't complete in one sitting.
For longer projects, it's a similar beast just on bigger levels and with an added dimension. I would actually suggest something similar to OoT for a starting project because it is ultimately broken up into arcs that you know and can reference, instead of making a lot of og content for a fan setting. Maybe not go into it thinking, 'I'll do a complete rewrite' but once you feel like you're ready for a longer project 30K+ or so, the rough outline method and the ability to follow arcs was what got me started when I eventually decided to make the fic multi-chaptered. Try writing one arc and keep yourself contained in that. Now the added dimension aspect in general for longfics is that you eventually want to plot individual chapters in a multi-chaptered longfic and individual arcs (character, plot, etc). This comes with practice. I honestly don't think there's a way to get around that. It's something that I'm still trying to work on and I can look back at my early work and see how I've improved, how I can recognize where things didn't go well in certain places, and how I would change them if I was writing today. That's a good thing to be able to do, it means you've grown! The other thing I find that helps with staying motivated week after week for longer projects is to roughly know where you're going and to try to be excited about a plot point/scene/chapter/etc that you're going to write. Really try to hype yourself up. For me, it's a moment that comes at the very end of the chunin arc and I start grinning even thinking about it because I know it's going to be awesome. It's always what gets me through the rough days, imagining the moment I'll get to actually write that scene in its entirety (it's definitely already outlined and I mentally play it out at least twice a week lol) and is a big motivating drive.
So far I think this is pretty standard stuff if you're an outliner and you've been writing for a few years, but the other thing motivational-wise for me is having a schedule. From reading this message alone, I would not suggest it for you right away. Get comfortable finishing small things and feeling confident that if you let an idea sit for a week or two, you can pick it back up and continue. But if you eventually dip your toes into longfics (and don't plan to pre-write everything before you publish) that routine and rhythm really helps keep me going. I've made a commitment, I've posted it online, I'm going to stick to it. No one is going to jump down my throat if I fail to keep it (this is still a hobby and having fun is the most important thing) but in my mind I should commit to it unless something irl prevents me from doing so. Don't put a tight deadline on yourself, I'd start with once a month or if you write shorter chapters every three weeks. This also would help you build up and get a readership, interaction being another big motivational key.
Also, it's important to accept that sometimes you bite off more than you can chew, and when you feel completely demotivated from a fanfic project...it's okay to drop it. It's okay to take a step back and work on something else. Maybe you'll come back to it, maybe you won't. If you can, try to pinpoint what it was about that project that made you demotivated, were you pushing yourself too much and you got burnt out, was it an ongoing series and your interest for canon lagged and so did the fic, was it just too stressful to keep juggling plotpoints, etc. and keep that in mind moving forward. Every experience can be a learning one and eventually make you a better writer that can eventually tackle those bigger projects. Don't be afraid to take on big aspirational projects, but don't walk into them blind either. Above all, and this is repeated a lot because it's true, enjoy what you write. Some days you might not. That's true with anything, but any project you take on the good should outweigh the bad.
This is my wrap up of the motivational section but I also wanted to throw my two-cents in about editing because "oh no editing" is a perspective I've seen from a lot of writers, and used to have myself, but I think is going to stifle your progress in the long run.
Here's the thing: you need to look forward to editing.
You don't have to be jumping for joy, but editing, imo, should be a positive thing. You have all these great ideas, you made it into a fic, something you wrote, and now you get to go back and make it even better! This is a tough attitude to adopt. I'm not going to pretend otherwise. It took me a long time to unlearn the negative attitude and even then sometimes I still wish the editing was already done once I type in the last period. But I've learned to at least appreciate what editing does and I try to think to myself as I'm going through and making changes things like "wow, this suddenly became so much better. X plot point that I thought of ten pages from now is suddenly being hinted at and doesn't come out of left field. The transition points are a lot cleaner, it's not so jarring anymore. I bet the readers are going to love this little detail. Here's some foreshadowing that I hope someone picks up bc it's going to come back in like 5 chapters from now" it's hard, especially when you start, but this is something you made, and now are actively making better and that's something to celebrate.
I hope this helps anon! I know it's a lot and I'm by no means an expert but I've been doing this for more than a decade because I love it and I want to help others get into writing to! I have no problem answering any writing questions you may have if you find this helpful!
tl;dr
-motivation is slightly different between short/long fics.
-starting out, learn to outline by scenes and focus on finishing small projects and getting to a point where you feel like you can put something down and come back and pick it up again in a week. Completion is key and will help you feel satisfied/know your limits.
-long projects also can work on the scene-to-scene outline but now with individual chapters and individual arcs. It's tough to balance both but comes with practice. Bit-by-bit is key, as is having 'one moment you can't wait to write', possibly a schedule if it works for you, and reader feedback are all huge long-term motivational points.
-editing is tough but learn to look forward to it instead of dreading it.
edited: added a bit more/few typos fixed
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raisansgrapeon · 3 years
Text
My Views on Some of the Cast of the DSMP
We got a lot of things flying left, right, and center right now about characters in the dream smp fandom and I love it. I love seeing the perspectives and the stances and everyone's opinions as long as we're all being civil about it. So, I'm civilly putting in my two cents about... Well... Everything. But mainly just Ghostbur, Phil, and Techno since this post would get obscenely long if I did everyone.
I'd like to just say one thing about my approach to this story:
The characters are morally ambiguous. No one is the good guy. No one is the bad guy. No one is an exception.
Yes, even Dream falls under this.
These are all people, and I always hesitate to call people bad or good in real life because there is so much more beyond what I can see of them, and I think it's a testament to the wonderful acting, improv, writing, and character establishment/writing that it can get me to see fictional block men who do things like claim their mother is a salmon and fill their palaces with flamingos as people.
With that information, I say that I love every character for who they are in the context of the narrative and how they play their role in said narrative.
And I love how each and every one of them are in the wrong somehow in some way.
Ghostbur is suffering the loss of everything he built, technically, a fourth time over.
First with Dream's initial explosion of L'Manburg, second with the actual explosion of L'Manburg, third with the explosion of Logstedshire, and finally with the final explosion of L'Manburg. He's hurting and yes, we all feel immensely bad for this little amnesiac ghost boy who only ever wrote books and built what he loved.
But he acknowledges that he's also hurt people. He knows that. That's why he wants to be resurrected. Even if he forgets conversations, impressions and residual feelings and ideas still hold over, since he clearly didn't just forget about his desire to be resurrected after he forgot his spat with Phil. He recontextualizes his desires and feelings under new sources but the idea of, this is the only way I can make everyone feel better, still lingers. Fundy told him that he needed to stop running away from his problems and face them. He may have forgotten that conversation, but the idea that who he is and what Ghostbur, as an entity, represents is hurting everyone, lingers.
Ghostbur has hurt people. Not of malicious intent, but intent does not dictate the feelings and actions of those around you in response to your own actions. Ghostbur uses his blue to forget his sorrows, and that action cuts those around him off from the emotional reconciliation Ghostbur knows they need from him.
Even then, who he is is not primed to deal with the fallout that would come if he even had voluntary control over his amnesia. Ghostbur insists he's not Alivebur, but he kinda is in a way. Both are very rigid in their beliefs when their mind is made up. There is no negotiation afterwards. Ghostbur's fundamental ideals have been locked in from the start of his existence. He makes others happy, and he restores L'Manburg. The idea that he no longer has the capability to do either of these things as he is now lingers without context. A ghost of a conversation forgotten that got held onto as the only good thing to come out of it.
Ghostbur is not 100% good. He's airheaded and well meaning, but he's never addressed the core issues that he caused.
Phil is trying to prevent what happened to his son from ever happening again.
Phil is a bigger picture man. He sees the world around him as a collective that works together to maintain itself. He doesn't have many personal ties beyond Techno and Wilbur in canon. He truly acts like a third-party hanging above the fray watching as the tides of war ebb and flow. He sees the corruption and sickness that lies within L'Manburg that killed his son thrive long after the mad king had been struck down. He held hope that in the wake of tragedy, Tubbo and the citizens would turn the tides, but they proved him wrong. What killed his son tried to kill his friend, and Phil was going to stop it.
But Phil was too zoomed out to see the personal aspect that L'Manburg held. He was too focused of the bigger picture to remember that Friend was in his house. He couldn't see L'Manburg as the home of many. He was still too detached from the feelings of the people to understand why Ghostbur was upset in the first place. The conversation between the two was not about Phil trying to get Ghostbur to understand why L'Manburg needed to go, it was Ghostbur trying to get Phil to understand why this was not the right option.
Philza has hurt people. He hurt his son by not only aiding in the destruction of his son's home and Friend, but also refusing to see the individuals in the conflict. He hurt Fundy by rejecting him the moment he realized that his grandson was following the tide of battle in the wrong direction. In the end, Phil never chose to see the situation from any other perspective other than his own.
He's disjointed and disconnected from the world around him. He truly loves and cares for two, at one point three, people on the server canonically and beyond that is an ambiguous blur. This isn't really his battle, in all honesty. He came when he saw that Wil was gonna do something everyone would regret, and he tried to step in and stop it, but beyond that, he was never there for anything. He never cared about L'Manburg and he never cared about its people. He's kind and caring to those in passing and he has a sense of nobility and honor where he respects and helps those who helped him. Still, he sees the world around him as a collective, and rarely anything more.
Philza is not 100% good, but he's not 100% bad. He's principled and intelligent, but he has no concept of how his actions affect the individual beyond the collective.
Techno has been abandoned and played like a fiddle this whole time.
Technoblade is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the most straightforward character in the smp in terms of motivation. He is explicit and blatant about his anarchy and goals. Yet, somehow, everyone keeps falling into the thought that Techno is a naturally passive force that can be activated into action. In actuality, Techno is very proactive. He prepares and plans beyond wartime. He acts swiftly and precisely. He follows Sun Tzu's tenants faithfully. He does not idle and sticks to his most recent plan to a T if he thinks he can win.
But Techno doesn't see outside himself. He knows what works for him but is blind to others' needs and desires. Anarchy is how Techno can live comfortably, but not everyone can and certainly not everyone in the server. He plays by his rules and rational and imposes those thoughts onto others, not understanding when they act contrary to his understanding and thus rules them to being irrational on purpose. That they just want to ruin his life.
Techno has hurt people and we all know this. Everyone here believes that Techno betrayed them not when he wouldn't join their government, but when he wouldn't leave well enough alone. He did that too late. If he had conceded at the end of the Manburg-Pogtopia war that he did what he was called to do and just left for retirement in the first place, he could've lived just fine. But he's proactive, and he felt betrayed by them when they instantly instilled not only a new leader, but one under the same format and structure that had already failed twice. But who ever said that was his problem?
Techno, as well as everyone but especially Techno, sees himself as the one in the right all the time. He doesn't regret a single thing he's done, at least not anywhere I've seen. He is sure in his beliefs, lifestyle, principles, and logic. He enforces these on other's and sees them as ignorant and dumb for thinking different to him. It takes a lot for him to let bygones be bygones, and it's easy to provoke him into action. Albeit, none of this is helped by the literal chorus of voices constantly memeing in his head, but my point still stands.
Technoblade is not 100% bad, nor is he 100% good. He's motivated and honest, but he doesn't think about other's preferences having the possibility of having a logic behind them.
I could go on and on with nearly every main player in this story but this is what I have off the top of my head.
Basically: no one is good. No one is bad. They all make mistakes as a result of their flaws and those mistakes negatively affect real people in real ways. And I wouldn't have them act any other way.
Your favorite doesn't need to be a saint. You don't have to bend over backwards to defend your fave in order to make them the morally correct person in any given situation. Let yourself love a rich, flawed character. Because they deserve to be loved for their flaws and all.
They deserve to be loved as people.
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black-streak · 4 years
Text
Little Pistol - Nothing Personal
Chapter 2
First Previous Next
It'll be a minute before Tim is actually introduced here, by the way. Mostly because I'm not 100% certain who exactly I want him to be affiliated with and how he'll operate yet.
Which reminds me, I'm opening that to a vote that I'll post tomorrow. It's open to all, but anyone tagged in this should expect to be tagged onto that as well. I would like your input, please.
LP Taglist
@zalladane @moonlightstar64 @amayakans @elmokingkong @queen-in-a-flower-crown @karategirl119 @dreamykitty25 @danielslilangel @melicmusicmagic @xahriia @sassakitty
Permanent list
@naoryllis @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @my-name-is-michell @maribat-is-lifeblood @dast218 @novicevoice @shizukiryuu @princess-of-fangirls @bigpicklebananatree @pirats-pizzacanninibles @abrx2002 @breemeister @darkthunder1589 @thestressmademedoit @severelyenchantedwonderland @isabellemasen @multi-fandom-freak0221 @fantasyloversblog @bzz75 @cloudiedraws @jardimazul @orbitsvt @gingerdaile @sotheresthatthought @kadmeread @novaloptr @unabashedlyswimmingtimemachine @crazylittlemunchkin @18-fandoms-unite-08 @tiny-goddess-of-chaos @ladybug-182 @toodaloo-kangaroo @the-alice-of-hearts
~---~
The next battle came as a stark contrast to the normal. Chat still flirted, still tried to get close, but he kept fighting, kept helping even when she ignored him. Then, the most amazing thing happened. She got hit after getting distracted by one of his comments and instead of yelling at him for it and being pushed off in turn, he turned to the akuma. Without a word from her, he stopped his comments and went after the cursed object with a single minded focus she'd never seen from him before. Within ten minutes with minimal help on her part, he was presenting her with the blackened hair tie of the victim. 
"A token, m'lady," he bowed, but kept his eyes downcast.
"Thank you, Chat," she managed to get out in her surprise, taking the item and working her magic on it and the city alike.
"I'm sorry," he murmured at her side, "I distracted you and got you hurt. That's my fault."
"It is," she agreed, not wanting to lie and say it wasn't, but also fighting back her urge to comfort him, "You'll do better next time," she stated.
"Much better," he promised, peeking up at her in hope of forgiveness. She swallowed back her instinct to grant it.
"Good," she nodded and took off back to school.
She spent most of the school day comparing his attitude this time to the last akuma attack, startled to realize what a difference a single conversation could make. She did that. She managed to make him change. Sure, she was injured, but only the once and he even said he was sorry! Took responsibility for his mistakes. That was unprecedented. She couldn't help but wonder how much pushing it would take to stop him completely. To incite obedience. Not that she planned to push it to that level, but it was a curious thing.
As she pondered on the logistics of such an act, just for the fun of it, she stepped out of the classroom, intending to head out for the day, she noticed Chloe shooing Sabrina off. Probably to act on some offhanded whim of the blonde. Marinette can't help the niggling thought of how she could change that as well. What words would it take to set Sabrina free? What made Chloe tick? 
As she passed Alya, the reporter talking to Nino, or rather, at Nino, she thought of how to switch the roles. How to encourage Nino to express himself more openly. To be comfortable in his own skin enough to confidently express it. 
Her grin grew as she planned out exactly how each encounter went down, coming up with on the spot ideas and improvising at a drop of a hat for whatever response they might have. It reminded her of the thrill of figuring out a particularly difficult lucky charm. Plus, it was perfectly harmless to consider right? As long as she didn't act on it. And even if she did, it would benefit them all, so really, it didn't hurt to consider.
And if the outcomes were as good as Chat's were, even better. If she went through with it, that is.
A week came and went and as did another attack.
Chat waited until the akuma was caught and purified to flirt, ensuring she never became distracted by him or anything else for that matter. He called out any incoming projectile, caught her attention anytime anything happened that she might've missed. Took another hit for her. That frustrated her, but the rest was a needed reprieve from the stress of akuma's past. And then he started flirting.
"Chat, what are you doing?"
"Well surely, I've proven my dedication to you, m'lady. I figure we might celebrate?"
"You've proven nothing of the sort," she stated, head tilted in confusion.
"I did to! I made sure you weren't harmed, I took the attack seriously, I even apologized and caught the akuma for you last time!"
"That isn't proof of love, Chat. That's basic human decency. I would do that for any hero or civilian for that matter. If that's a show of devotion to you, I'd hate to see how you treat people you're indifferent to," Ladybug countered, lips pursed and eyebrows pinching in.
"I'm perfectly nice to people I don't know," he defended himself quickly.
"Oh," her expression swiftly morphed, eyes widening into a look of taken aback surprise, "So you treat strangers well, but those you care about are lucky to hear an apology from you? Thank kwami I'm a ladybug then, I guess."
"That's not what I meant, of course I apologize when I'm in the wrong," he backtracked.
"So you think last time was the only time you messed up with me," she clarified.
"Well no…" Chat hedged, looking down again.
"You've barely proven that you don't hold malicious intent towards me. Don't push your luck, kitty. Black cats don't have any," she stated, taking off to leave him alone with his thoughts once more.
Arriving home, she dropped the transformation, collapsing on her chaise and shaking her head, "I can't believe I said that. Oh my gosh, I actually said that," she stared off into the distance.
"Neither can I. That was very harsh of you, Marinette, I'm disappointed in you," Tikki spoke up from her knee where she sat glaring with a pout on her face.
However, instead of immediately groveling as she normally did, Marinette's eyes sharpened as they snapped to the creature, sick of the treatment she'd received from the goddess since she first implemented this new tactic, "Was anything I said a lie?"
"No, but you could've said it in a nicer way," she insisted.
"When has carefully and nicely ever worked with him in the past?"
Tikki opened her mouth, but Marinette swiftly cut her off, "Never. It always ends with you chastising me and me apologizing for something that wasn't my fault. Nothing ever changed. But this, being direct with him, it works. He's changing, finally," she felt relief in letting this out, especially in the face of someone so hypocritical in her expectations on her compared to that of her so-called partner.
"Marinette, you can't just change people into who you want them to be!"
"I'm not changing him. I'm telling him what I see and how I feel and he is reacting to that information how he sees fit," she corrected, eager now at the prospect once more.
Tikki frowned, considering this point, "That's technically true… I still don't like it though."
"It's okay Tikki, you'll see soon enough," she reassured.
As day shifted to night, she pulled out her tablet, checking for any news on her new favorite hero.
Nothing to discover today, though she did start making a few sketches of his suit, looking at possible redesigns. Adjustments or details that could be made to improve the overall look or functionality. Granted, it looked very functional already. 
She was startled to discover that even she wouldn't change much in that aspect. It became blatantly clear that he designed the suit to accommodate him perfectly, playing up his strengths and drawing away from any potential weaknesses. It only further her admiration and assured her of her choices. 
The next attack came sooner than expected, Hawkmoth apparently deciding he had more free time than them. As though that hadn't been obvious from the beginning. Surely, they knew that from the start and didn't need this reminder. Didn't the man have a job or something? Could he get back to it, please?
Speaking of, Chat was doing a remarkable job of trying to follow a purified white butterfly off into the horizon, wanting to please her by taking the hunt for the villain to heart. As though she hadn't tried that already. 
You'd think he hadn't listened to a word she'd said before the way he retraced her own work over again. Rolling her eyes, she let him humor himself, waiting until he came back, tail tucked and ears flattened, to admit his failure.
Sitting down, she relaxed into her spot. This was going to take a while.
It was three am and she had pulled up the newest article on her Robin. She still hadn't found his official name, but she thrilled to see new pictures of him, though still shadowed and from such terrible angles. Apparently he had more recently been seen working alongside another. Something he hadn't done before as far as the city of Gotham knew, still so ignorant to him being their very own wonderful Robin. She couldn't really be bothered to look further into who he was seen working with, but something in the back of her mind twinged as her heart stuttered to know he was willing to fight alongside another.
Closing up the window and shutting down her tablet, she fell asleep with a smile.
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