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goosemixtapes · 11 months ago

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max's top books of 2023 :3c

as usual, these rankings are based on some arcane mix of objective quality + my personal enjoyment (previous year's lists)

it was another weird reading year! i did a lot of reading for school, more so than in the past; some of it was really good and some of it was, uh. well, some of it was william wordsworth. nothing i absolutely loathed, though (most of the reads i disliked were books i could at least appreciate on an art/history level), which is cool. so i'm bringing back the runner-up category. did not make it onto my top ten list but were really good anyway: beartown by fredrik backman (books that no joke made me understand why people are insane about sports) and the GORGEOUS re-release of my dear @yvesdot 's debut, something's not right, which i have read before but will always gladly revisit again.

my top anticipated release for 2024 is alecto the ninth again.

(but shoutout also to just happy to be here, king cheer, and henry henry. trans people! shakespeare, even!)

and the list! in increasing order of enjoyment, with pictures this year!

10. The Common Liar by Janet Adelman

no, i can't believe i'm doing this either. i can't believe i did all that preamble and the first book on my list is an academic thesis analyzing shakespeare's antony and cleopatra. but also? it's the only book anyone ever needs to write about shakespeare's antony and cleopatra. janet adelman said it all. which is cool, because i have a fixation on that play, but also sucks, because i was also trying to write an essay on it and mine wasn't nearly as good. btw if anyone wants to buy this for me, somehow, for the $120 it costs on amazon because academia is awful, i will send you my address,

9. Robert Icke's Oresteia

i don't need to say anything about this play, because it's the source of "this was always going to happen. she's been dead since the beginning." that should be enough. but after becoming deranged about the oresteia last year, i finally read this, and holy shit, this adaptation of the story is so fucking genius and icke's writing is so fucking good. it's antiwar! it's about mental illness! there's gender! the fucking ENDING! (i have a pdf if anyone would like it. anything to plug this play bark bark bark rufrufruf grrrrrr)

8. Down Girl: the Logic of Misogyny by Kate Manne

this is a little bit cheating, because i haven't finished this book yet, so maybe in the final chapters manne will say something like "what if we blew up every orphan" and i'll have to retract this. but right now it's fucking excellent! i've been making an effort to read more nonfiction lately, and this one shines; manne sets out to analyze misogyny not as a personal hatred of women that some men harbor, but as an intricate and structural system forcing women into the role of Giving (attention, affection, power, etc; sometimes their lives). and it's sooooo smart. some of it is stuff i already know (and some of it is Academic Philosophy TM that goes right over my head), but manne articulates her point excellently and i can feel it rearranging my brain, so it's going on the list for longevity and skill!

7. Dictator by Robert Harris

does this book objectively deserve to be on this list? you know what, yeah. i'll say it with my whole chest. i don't like how harris writes women and there are plenty of things to pick at in his cicero trilogy, but i had so much goddamn fun reading it that i can't not put it on the list. this was my year of being really really into cicero, and this was fun to read alongside e-pistulae. harris is sooooo good at making ancient roman politics gripping. the last scenes of this book. augh. ack. ough!

6. Detransition Baby by Torrey Peters

there are a lot of valid critiques of this one (a lot of bad critiqus, too, but such is writing literally anything about transness), but i fucking adored it. i LOVE dual timelines, i LOVE unlikable characters, and i FUCKING LOVE TRANSSEXUALITY! moreover, i love that peters isn't afraid to Go There, to poke at the messy ugly sides of transness (and queerness in general) that i think a lot of us don't like acknowledging, especially to cishet people whose view of the community is already skewed. i don’t think this is the One Great Trans Novel; i think there are a lot of great trans novels, and we need more. but this one did hit me RIGHT in the chest, and i couldn't put it down.

5. Wrath Goddess Sing by Maya Deane

the iliad but achilles is a trans woman and she's fighting the war on both mortal and divine levels and she and helen have an insane homoerotic half-god rivalry and everybody is fucking crazy. pitched as "for fans of TSOA" but as i said in my review if TSOA is a pleasant but watery iced tea then this book is gasoline laced with crack. there is a bisexual transgender threesome. i fucking love women. book of the fucking summer

4. White Teeth by Zadie Smith

i probably enjoyed wrath goddess sing more, but i can't not rank this book highly on this list. this book is such a fucking masterpiece. it's tolstoy for the modern age. it's a sprawling multi-familial multi-cultural multi-generational epic about race and gender and religion and science and humanity and britishness. smith's prose is fucking amazing; her character work is even better; this book has no plot but it uses its length sooooooo well. the first zadie smith i've read, but by god there will be more. she wrote this at TWENTY-FIVE. that's fucking CRAZY. do you know how much control over your craft you have to have to write this at twenty-five. bonkers. it is also the only enjoyable book i read in my modern literature class, so shoutout to white teeth for keeping me sane,

3. The Secret to Superhuman Strength by Alison Bechdel

this book is ostensibly about bechdel's relationship with exercise. it is actually about bechdel's relationship with her own body, her own soul, her desire for individualism in the style of the transcendentalists, transcendentalism in general, mortality, and aging. i can't really tell you more than that because i didn't actually "read" this so much as i absorbed it through my skin like a frog while trying not to tremble like a little purse dog. i am not gonna lie man i did not have a very good. um. august. or september. or october november december. so this book really could not have come at a better time. alison bechdel i am obsessed with you

2. The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel

ALISON BECHDEL I AM OBSESSED WITH YOU!!!! this one narrowly edges out secret to superhuman strength because... well, i'm sort of rating the entire comic strip's run, and dude. holy shit. i love lesbians so much. this strip is such an important piece of lesbian history; it reminded me that a lot of the things lesbians (and LGBT people in general) argue about and deal with today are... the same things we've always argued about and dealt with, from intracommunity label discourse to global politics to hitting on women badly. but history aside--it's also just really fucking good! it's really funny! if you are a neurotic leftist, as so many of us are, it's hysterical! it's smart! it's hot! it's heartwarming! i read it over the first half of the year, in little bits and pieces, and by the end i felt like i really had gone decades with these characters. really just. so good. the power she has the range she has

1. the suzanne collins reread

okay. this one is definitely cheating. because i usually like to keep this list to books i'm reading for the first time, and i HAVE read the hunger games and the underland chronicles. but i read them, like, almost ten years ago, and i was not prepared to be so thoroughly fucking bodied by them this time around, now that i have critical thinking and analysis skills. we all know the hunger games is a fucking banger, so let me pitch the gregor the overlander series: something of a modern alice in wonderland setup, where the eleven-year-old main character falls into an underground world full of strangeness, except this world isn't whimsical, it's dangerous and stuffed with giant talking animals like bats and rats and cockroaches. there's a war on. there are plagues. there are war crimes. there is a plotline that is extremely explicitly about ethnic cleansing. there is some of the most heartbreaking fucking shit you've ever read in your goddamn life. there is also a rat who quotes macbeth and the underlanders revere a guy named bartholomew of sandwich. this series is for middle schoolers. i cried. not when i was a middle schooler reading it the first time; i mean now. so i'm breaking my no-rereads rule, because it really would be a lie to say that my best reading experience wasn't revisiting all of collins' work with my friends (yes, i read TBSOS; i think it's fine but not great). sorry to give publicity to an author who definitely doesn't need my help, but a few years ago my #1 spot went to shakespeare, so.

if you've read this far: thank you! please tell me your thoughts! tell me your favorite books of 2023! tell me which books you're excited for in 2024! and have a very lovely new year :)

#max.txt #misc book tag #readings

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dreamcrow · 1 year ago

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20 questions

i was tagged by several people (thank you @niemalsetwas, @babblish, and @creativenicocorner), who in doing so have conveniently eliminated many of the people i would have thought to tag myself, haha. let's see... @falling-hand-in-unlovable-hand, @eri-223, @sidhewrites, if you like? plus anyone else who would like to steal.

1.) how many works do you have on ao3?

41 posted; 0 drafts.

2.) what's your total ao3 word count?

189,246. (?!)

3.) what fandoms do you write for?

oh, ask not for whom the hyperfixation tolls. (toa, obviously.) i do have a few fics i've deleted, though, in fandoms i don't currently have any fics for. maybe i should republish them on anon? 🤔

4.) what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

in my sleep i dreamed of waking

all that dazzling dawn has put asunder

it's a lovely day in stricklake month

misc. trollhunters prompts

sophisticated/manipulated

oh...they're (almost) all str/icklake, lol. and so old! is it strange that i feel so disaffected by this? well, probably not. a good lesson in kudos being merely a measurement of "how many times people pushed the kudos button," i suppose.

5.) do you respond to comments? why or why not?

i try to! part of my general attitude of "fandom is a conversation." i worry i don't always have all the spoons to make my replies what i feel they "should" be, but i do always want to convey my gratitude for people taking the time to leave a comment at all.

6.) what's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

oh, that's easy: notstantinoplefic! unfortunately it's not yet approached something even remotely publishable, so that probably means very little. ¯\_( ᐛ )_/¯

other than that...probably the first or second parts of minor arcana. probably the first, more than the second. skrael's chapter ends on something awful but he's about to enjoy a good bit of (however fleeting) catharis; bellroc however doesn't get any closure for what happens in their chapter until they meet nari, a couple centuries later.

7.) what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

...do i have a fic that doesn't have an ultimately happy ending? 😂 oh, i am too soft. even the horrible vicious ancient wizard gods tend to go out with full stomachs, warm beds, and someone on their side.

8.) do you get hate on fics?

i'll not lie: i have glimpsed the occasional drama from over my meticulously-curated rose hedge. but most of it seems to be from children, and for all my various weaknesses, i think i can survive being vagueblogged by people who aren't old enough to vote. if not: my anon is on ╮ (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.) ╭

9.) do you write smut? if so, what kind?

i am ATTEMPTING. most of the smut i've ever read has left me generally ??? baffled, glazing over, skipping through (without animus) to the next part. again, this is not the fault of the author; it's true even of things i can tell objectively are well-written, titillating, otherwise universally acclaimed. but i enjoy thinking about character exercises, and i am not completely untemptable, so this year i've been trying to make some progress on my longtime agenda of "get the horrible bird wizard railed."

...none of which is terribly apparent given that none of it is published, ofc! but. hopefully. that may change in the not-too-distant future.

10.) do you write crossovers? what's the craziest one you've written?

tbh i am very picky about crossovers. but i must admit... skraelroc necro/cav au... a man is Considering

11.) have you ever had a fic stolen?

i've had people repost my art, which (as someone who does not think of himself as an even remotely skilled artist) was very surprising. but never fic.

12.) have you ever had a fic translated?

none that i know of.

13.) have you ever co-written a fic before?

the closest i've ever come is probably blue wizard boyfriends, which is inspired by some rp shenanigans between a friend and me. but even so, my take on douxie in that series has diverged quite a bit from hers! so it doesn't really feel like "cowriting."

14.) what's your all-time favorite ship?

as your #1 friendly neighborhood degenerate not-even-actually-incest pornographer, i simply must say: nothing quite hits like a ship you literally invented

15.) what's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

to be completely honest, i do still feel the occasional pang of nostalgia for my gr/avity f/4lls fic. i had a lot of world built for it, a whole sequence/interaction arc for the characters (and not just the couple). unfortunately, even this many years later—even if i never got directly harassed—the nastiness of that fandom has still left a very strong impression on me. it was the first time i think i ever saw a/ntis in action, and i don't think i have any desire to pick that story up again.

16.) what are your writing strengths?

...worldbuilding? present tense, apparently. 😂 i've also been told i have a knack for—ah, how did he put it. understated emotional closeup shots? i think of such kind comments often, haha.

17.) what are your writing weaknesses?

discipline. not using too many semicolons. recently: not using paired adjectives. mainstream fanon. not going back over published work and finding a billion small things to fix (though i'm getting better at this).

18.) thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

...mainly: "you're lucky i didn't make myself learn actual ancient egyptian for all those dumb little skraelroc shmoop fics i keep setting in ancient egypt"

otherwise? i err on the side of under-doing it, but i love doing this. i love seeing this in fic, even if it's not a language i know. it's like a little easter egg!!

19.) first fandom you wrote for?

a very old anime fandom which i will not be revealing on main. probably twenty years ago, at this point. almost certainly on ff.net.

20.) favorite fic you've ever written?

oh, i'm not sorry. i am thinking of minor arcana so often these days, but i really am pretty proud of it. even now, more than a year later! once i have the time to go through and fine-tune everything, i'm going to bind it. it's a very weird fic, probably, but one that is nevertheless (or perhaps because of this?) very dear to my heart.

#q&a #wip tag #ask games #i am emotional! how am i supposed to send emails now

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sandpapersnowman · 10 months ago

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2,3, 8, 11, 16, 24!

SO MANY okay I'm doing saltburn, gosling, and baldurs gate fandoms lol

2. a headcanon you weren't sure about but have come to like

I've been stuck on this for like 10 minutes but I can't think of any headcanons I haven't immediately liked or disliked orz

3. a character that fandom has helped you appreciate

saltburn: Venetia for sure!! I've been reading a fic where her and Oliver become friends and talk on the phone together a lot, it leaves me cold by nicelittlestyleslad!!!

goslings: I still have yet to see half Nelson but Dan is definitely a character I don't think I would have even looked at if not for sascha and his amazing henry/Dan stuff!

baldurs gate: fandom has taken me from hating gale to being neutral on him tbh. he's. okay I guess

8. you hope more people will come to appreciate ___ (a ship, trope, episode, etc)

saltburn: desperately want more fics where Felix is just. such a bottom. I've read some feminization fics w him recently but they just didn't hit like I wanted. I need that man dressed like an egirl

goslings: RICHARD AND HENRY my toxic yaoi boys I love them so much

baldurs gate: we need more wyllstarion. I need them to surpass bl**dw**ve as the top astarion ship

11. what fic or piece of art are you proud of making?

saltburn: oh man I'm really loving the fic I'm writing for kyn, your love can do what no one else can, and I have tons written ahead for it ksfnfn

goslings: I love my richard/henry series so much. they're both such weird characters and they go together So Well, I love them, and I have a lot of fun writing them!!

baldurs gate: honestly I love everything I've written for astarion but I Especially love one I'm working on for ascended astarion and my terrible bard guy. it's awful and I'm having a blast

16. a tiny detail in canon that you want more people to appreciate

saltburn: spoilers but. the fact that Felix looks at Oliver's lips in that one close shot in the maze. the fact that Oliver is petting his face with his thumb in the shadow of his cheek. also Oliver baring his teeth when he's silhouetted with farleigh hoooogh

goslings: not technically a character thing but the fact that ryan gosling has called himself 49% woman. I love him. also listen to Dead Man's Bones

baldurs gate: when astarion smugly goes to pick a lock and rolls a 1

24. how has fandom positively impacted your life?

man I could go on forever about how almost all of my friends have been met through fandom, or how I write every day because of it, or how I'm actually like learning and getting better at drawing because I want to draw certain things

fandom has also done a lot of bad for me in the form of being subjected to shitty takes and meeting a few awful people but for the most part like. I would probably not have otherwise found a sense of community anywhere else because I've been so socially reclusive my whole life

and it's helped me develop socializing skills that DO make me confident enough to talk to non fandom people and like people irl and stuff

Basically like. despite all the wildness I'm grateful that I've been able to find like-minded cool people in basically every fandom I've been in

more specifically though

saltburn: so much of the fandom is like very young adults I've noticed? but it's funny being called grandthey at age 26

goslings: the goosecoooord I love yall and I love all the stuff we do. I've written so much stuff I never would have dipped my toes in because yall have been cool and supportive and awesome

baldurs gate: astarion made me and my girlfriend bisexual and has also gently bridged my knowledge gap to dnd to the point that I could probably enjoy playing it/ttrpgs in general

thanks for the ask!!! :3

#ask games #anon #asks #anon asks

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summerlycoris · 9 months ago

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Yknow. Something that really guts me is that- I'm gonna have to explain this.

I was pretty much mainstreamed, yeah?

In primary school, i was in a regular classroom. With a teachers aid at my second school, and a socialisation class at my third school, a cooking class at J block with other disabled kids at my fourth (and last) primary school.

In highschool, I had less mainstream subjects due to effectively bargaining for them. (Told the junior school vice principal, if they put me in P.E i would flunk out deliberately again.) I had learning access (special ed, but local euthemism) classes in outdoor rec (all throughout highschool, replacement for P.E) and visual art (in 11th-12th grade- alongside OP level visual art! SCORE!)

But most of my classes were mainstreamed.

The statistics on mainstreaming talk a lot about how it's the gold standard. Inclusion of disabled kids into regular classrooms sets us up for success. We graduate more. We get better jobs.

We help teach our nondisabled peers how to be less awful to people who are different to them, just by being there. And they help socialise us, too.

Win win!

... Right?

If it isn't obvious yet- no, I don't think that's right.

I don't think that's right at all.

These studies. Do they actually ask disabled kids who've been mainstreamed what we think?

Or do they just go off test scores? Off percentage of adults in employment after school? Off graduation statistics?

My worst memories of school. Were in the schools where I was most mainstreamed. My second primary school, and my third primary school.

My autistic ass being in a regular classroom at my third primary school didn't teach my peers how to emphasise with autistic people. My friend being in her class, with cerebral palsy, didn't teach nondisabled kids how to treat her with dignity.

I can't speak for her. But for me, I was left to the sharks. They could taste my blood in the water, from prior years of being ostracised and bullied. And they went for the kill.

Even when my teacher told them I was autistic, in the hopes of getting them to understand. It just confirmed to them, that I wasn't just a suspected weirdo anymore. They thought I could pass my autism to them, by standing or sitting near them.

It was 2006. I was eleven, and mum confided to me later- she thought she'd come home from work one day and find me hanging.

Those were my worst experiences with school.

But my fourth primary school? I had the cooking class weekly, and could meet other disabled kids through it. There was a play at the end of the school year, run by J block, where we all got to practice and play parts. I could go hang out at J block for big lunch and little lunch. It was open to disabled kids and their friends every lunch, until after I graduated year 7.

(Where they stopped offering lunchtime play at J block, to 'encourage the kids to play with their peers more.' My little brother was still there. The kids in his class tried to drown him at school camp in year 7. He'd hang around the other disabled kids in corners of the yard, trying to avoid being picked on. Does this sound like success to you?)

My highschool? Didn't have a block you could go into for disabled kids at lunchtime. But there was a courtyard in front of the learning access staff room, where we would all sit. In grade 8 through 10, i rarely sat there. I'd take my lunch to the library stacks and read anytjing and everything, hiding away from everyone. (I couldn't stand to talk to people anymore. Figured if I studied social skills, I could be good enough.)

Anyone who wandered out *could* be picked on. Especially if they hadn't learnt how to hide their blood yet. I remember seeing a year 12 girl, who would walk out near the cafeteria. She read a lot of books. The other teens would tease her relentlessly, and she would scream and cry and pull her hair. She hadn't learnt it yet. That it doesn't make people care, to see you cry. It just makes them laugh harder. That doesn't make what they did to her okay. I was in year 8, and i rememver asking some of those teens, 4 years my senior, why they were doing this to her. They laughed me off, tried to make excuses.

... But people generally wouldn't mess with you if you were in that courtyard. Because the teachers were always around, and I guess it just registered as an unpopular place to sit.

And having seperate classes- outdoor rec and visual arts- helped me meet other disabled kids, helped me feel better after a day or two of being mainstreamed. Kinda like a release valve. I didn't have to worry so much. Especially in year 11 and 12- those years were HARD- I had 4 OP subjects. The kind queenslanders take to get into university. (Most students had 6 though, if they wanted an OP score. To go to uni straight after school, you needed a good OP score.)

Like, those 5 years of schooling? Were the best I'd ever had. They weren't perfect. I was NOT okay enough mentally to really take advantage of the relative ease of highschool. But they were good. And I'll take good.

I guess that's what I'm trying to get at. Those years, where I had the most support, the most help? The least forced interaction with nondisabled people? Were the best years. And in year twelve, I even tried talking more with my nondisabled classmates. I went on my first regular highschool camp in year twelve. (Previously, I'd only gone on learning access or outdoor rec camps.)

But- this is the bit that guts me- I bet my bottom dollar that, somewhere in some statistics on mainstreaming, I'm included as a 'success story'. A positive statistic. Used as proof that mainstreaming works.

I'm proof that it causes undue suffering, at least in my books.

But because I did 4 OP subjects. Because I graduated. Because I got a HA10 in Maths A. Because I got a job out of school for 15 hours a week. Because I went and got a cert III disability. Because a few years after, I got a full time job...

Compared to the kids I volunteered with at a special school, I'm a 'success story'. Compared to my peers who had full learning access classes, and live in supported accomidation now, I'm a 'success story'.

... Fuck that idea. Fuck mainstreaming. The damage done to me, I still have it. I can't believe people like I used to, before I started school. I don't make friends easily, or at all. It's a miracle I'm not part of a much more depressing statistic. Just another autistic life gone too soon.

Getting a job and 'living independently' is not the sum of a persons life. I would've preferred to attend a special school and have less 'prospects for a normal life'-

At least I would've had a life worth living then.

#summerly talks #just another shitty vent post #but seriously- fuck mainstreaming. and fuck anybody who says its okay because 'the stats say-'#the stats are invalid if they're not taking into account the misery kids feel being left to fend for themselves #if they don't take our feelings into account #suicide tw

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moki-dokie · 1 year ago

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Yes but there is a difference in being viscerally uncomfortable and going on the attack. You can be extreme levels of uncomfortable all by yourself. You can write it in a diary how awful you think it is, all the feelings it makes you feel. You can talk to your therapist. You can simply acknowledge the fact it makes you uncomfortable in a way nothing else possibly can, and then you can move on without having ever said a word either to the author of said fictional incest or in general on a public forum where the only goal of doing that is either attention, conflict, or an echo chamber. nobody that has ever argued this point has said people shouldn't be allowed to be uncomfortable. that is not what OP said or even implied. it is, in fact, immature and stupid to outright attack people for it who are in no way, shape, or form directly interacting with you about the subject. mature and well adjusted adults do not behave that way. and it shows a huge lack of basic knowledge, reading comprehension, and critical thinking skills. and it's also pretty damning evidence that anyone who behaves in such a manner has a serious issue distinguishing reality from fiction. I expect that behavior from 5 year olds, 8 year olds, hell even upwards of 15 year olds. anyone well into their 20s and beyond that still behave this way have some actual problems that they should be getting professional help with but alas that isn't the world we live in. the world we live in is one where unhinged people exactly like being described and shown end up the loudest and most heard, and often times end up in prominent positions because of it. there is room for sympathy for those who do feel discomfort, and even those who wind up triggered - especially if they've taken all the precautions they can and still stumble upon it. There is no sympathy at all for those who spend their time actively hunting writers down to attack, calling them out, sending others to harass them, or otherwise engaging with the very content and people associated with it they claim to abhor. i have 0 tolerance for delusional virtue signaling, which is exactly what the issue is.

secondly, incest has been prevalent in fiction throughout all of written history. from the very first known work of fiction to now. not just medieval times. not just victorian times. not just gothic times. there isn't a sudden resurgence of it now either. it has always been there and in abundance. because as much as people like to deny it, incest is a part of human history and is still very much a thing - it just isn't usually what fiction makes it out to be. second and third cousins marrying is hardly scandalous when you have something much darker, and taboo in the vast majority of cultures. not only that, but fiction that is based around real things that happen is always going to hit harder and find a wider audience. taboo subjects have always been and will always be tantalizing to explore in fiction.

And lastly, again the example you provided is not really what the issue at heart is. siken's work has been riddled with 'problematic' subject from the start. those who are clutching their pearls over this never actually read his poetry, they just liked the little snippets they found here on tumblr and on pinterest. suddenly they heard something they're familiar with and they've deemed cancel-worthy. mozart was incestuous and extremely likely to be into a scat fetish. einstein was incestuous and committed SO many acts of adultery. charlie chaplain liked his orgies and he liked sexually harassing women during auditions. eric gill was incestuous, also a pedophile and into bestiality. yet these are all beloved people of history. all people who contributed greatly to the arts that we still celebrate today. and most people don't know these little perverted factoids about them until much later in life because nobody teaches that in the history books. regardless, i've never in my life known someone to stop enjoying the music of mozart or stop using the fonts of eric gill after learning the problematic people they were. that's not to say it has never happened. and there are plenty of people who simply cannot separate the creator from their creation and you know what? thats fine. if discovering siken was into wincest ruins his poetry for you, that is a you problem. that should not be a you + everyone in earshot + total strangers on the internet problem.

it is the difference of simply venting disappointment and discomfort like "well damn i don't like to associate with anyone into this sort of thing and now i can't enjoy the poetry with this knowledge. oh well that means i get to search for a new favorite poet i guess!" and "I can't believe siken endorses incest that is appalling and we should burn his books. if you defend him you're a sicko that likes incest too. anyone who would read or write about it would only do it because they get off to it. this is the kind of shit that needs to be censored on ao3 it's disgusting" + seeking out people to start shit with in the comments of random posts on the matter are not the same.

i’m not like an incest shipper (although like yeah me and 10k other people shipped wincest in 2013) but the more i see people absolutely losing their minds over the concept of fictional incest the more i laugh like come the fuck on now like this trope is quite literally hundreds of years old and we’re acting like it was invented by fanfiction writers. “richard siken condones incest” “ethel cain condones incest” you mean the artists who write about the rotten and the wretched and the unhealthy and the abusive enjoy digging into fictional relationships that are just that. have you lost your goddamned minds. do you ever read anything except for steven universe fanfiction. like could you handle a 12th grade english lit module on the god of small things.

#i can't even believe this is a thing with siken like #how are people authentically like this is baffling #people squicked out need to stop making it literally everyone else's problem #anyway long post sorry

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mypunkpansexualtwin · 3 years ago

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Hello 😳 I’m here for the himbo bard please 🤲🏻

Yes!! Hi Lou! The lad himself! Thyris Awe Griswold, bard extraordinaire (kinda) and Lucy's other future spouse because he and Thaavia are kind of a package deal. (Don't let those first two rough photoshops fool you, he's definitely not short, he's 6'0, he's just also a sucker for the absurdly tall, prickly ones.)

He's fun! Raised by a pair of halfling shepards along side their daughter after losing his biological family to an ambush as an infant. He's been hunting down leads on the biological family (doesn't consider them his real family, his real family are the folks who raised and love him) after finding out at about 15 years old that he's technically more magical than your average tiefling and he wants to know what the fuck is going on with his bloodline. He's got some strong blue draconic sorcerery that is the sole source of his magic (given that our setting doesn't have True Bardic Magic, it's a lost art, his "bard" levels are flavored as his sorcery turning bard shaped through his own practice).

He's very sweet and earnest, an utterly devoted hopeless romantic who finds something to love about half the people he meets, especially Thaavia and Lucy. (As mentioned, he's a sucker for a tsundere who's actually taller than him, and being 6' with a penchant for high heels, that second bit isn't the easiest standard to meet.) Not full on stereotypical slutty bard, but not far off either. He walks the line between Himbo and "was probably a golden retriever in a past life" like an acrobat on a tightrope. Skilled player of the hurdy-gurdy and the wooden tongue drum, uses his music to enhance his storytelling, uses his magic to enhance his music, and uses his overall vibe as a performer to come across as unassuming and unthreatening as possible. Definitely no slouch in a fight, though, and can be downright vicious when cornered.

First met Thaavia about 10 years before campaign start after he got his nose broken by the father of his latest lover (admittedly after talking the man down from outright gutting him) and Thaavia fixed it. By walking up to him and resetting it without so much as a word of greeting or warning. After the pain wore off, he offered to buy her and her brother breakfast as thanks, mentioned they were traveling in the same direction, and after a lot of warming up to him, they've been completely devoted to each other ever since. He and Thaavia are in an open relationship given that their respective goals keep taking them in different directions, but plan on settling down together eventually.

First met Lucy (sorta?) in the battle royale we had over the last month or so, except the Lucy he met was a future AU version of the man who was a time wizard and had already been married to Thyris for A While. In-game, they haven't actually met yet, but it's definitely gonna be interesting having them meet up and have Thyris half recognize Lucy as he is as the weird older tiefling calling him pet names and saving his life from the weird alternate dimension arena and all the shit in it that wanted to pull him apart like a twizzler.

Jury (and by that I mean the DM) is undecided on whether or not he and Thaavia have a daughter, but regardless of what happens in regard to that decision, their 8 y/o goliefling daughter Velita will always have a place in my heart.

#my ocs #thyris griswold #answers to questions y'all actually asked #cashweasel #hello I hope you like him he's great #this is. pure stream of consciousness here #opposite of no thoughts head empty #many thoughts brain geysering #I really hope at least half of this makes sense #also sorry for the slow response we had another game start today #tiefling oc #dnd oc

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pfreadsandwrites · 3 years ago

Text

九つの命/9 Lives Translation

Hi!! So, @foxy-and-tales asked me to tell her what was going on in the comic mentioned in this post. After skimming through it, I thought it'd be good practice - and it'd be easier to answer her question - if I just went through it and told her what it all meant. I realised by that point I was doing a translation, and since I was going to the trouble anyway, I thought I'd post it publicly.

So, the full comic is here. It's basically a comic that has 7 little stories about Kakashi's ninja hounds and their lives with Kakashi. It's an adorable, heartfelt story and I absolutely love the personalities that the artist gave all the ninja hounds and the depictions of their relationships with Kakashi.

My translation will be this post, follow it as a script. I don't have the skill or knowledge to edit and typeset and change the images myself - and I wouldn't do that anyway, as it would involve reposting the art and changing it without the artist's consent. But I do think that not referring to the pictures as you're reading through the script really harms how sweet this story is, so if you can go through the comic slowly whilst referring to my (amateur) translation of it, I hope you can get a glimpse of that!

WARNINGS: There is a depiction of an already dead dog in part 4 😢, and some (human!) male partial nudity in part 6 (😉)

Tagging: @scaredlittlefoxy @lemony-snickers @backalleykat @whatshernameis @gwedosuns @topsyturvy-dream @ice-icebaby @cosmiclattes

This is also the artist’s note that follows after the comic, that I’m putting here:

(Artist’s note translation)

"This is a story about the daily life of Kakashi and the eight ninken.

The ninja dogs’ personalities etc mightn’t be faithful to the source material.

The dogs live free range in Kakashi’s house.

There is an illustration of a dog dying, though it isn’t any of the ninken. Please take note.

You don’t have to read it, but below this are the dogs’ personalities:

Shiba: Friendly and sensitive

Biscuit: Childish and Selfish

Akino: Calm and cool demeanour

Bull: Timid and Quiet

Urushi: Ladykiller. A little bit dim. (Note: Himbo!)

Guruko: Annoyingly helpful and naggy

Uhei: Pure-hearted and cheerful

Pakkun: Same as in the series"

Some notes and then onwards into the translation under the cut:

Please take heed before continuing:

I’m not a professional translator, in fact I’ve done very little of this, so there’s some guesswork and liberties taken, and I don't claim that that there’ll be no mistakes.

I’ve separated it out by sections and pages, so you should be able to follow the story from following the speech bubbles (right to left) and referencing the lines here by speaker

Each space between a line denotes that it’s the next speech bubble

A new line but no change in speaker will denote that it’s the same character talking, but in the next panel or speech bubble

Italics means the character is thinking or flashbacks. I'll try and make this obvious as I go but the artwork should make that clear too.

Brackets are my additions, or me translating things like signs etc, or brackets will have smaller background dialogue not in speech bubbles. I'll try to make this clear as I go.

Stuff surrounded by * denotes actions or onomatopoeic actions/words in panels

Ask me if there’s any parts that confuse you about the story!! The way I’ve done this isn’t easy to follow but it's the best my dumb brain could come up with

TRANSLATION:

Title page

(p.1)

ここのつのいのち

9 Lives

(p.2)

1. ‘I won’t tell anyone’

(SFX: dogs playing and wagging tails)

Kakashi: Hm? You’re not gonna play, Shiba?

Shiba: …No. …Hey, Kakashi’

Kakashi: Hm? What?’

Shiba: There’s a girl I like’

Kakashi: Ohhh… I won’t tell anybody.

I won’t tell ~ I won’t tell ~

(p. 3)

Shiba: She’s really cute…

Kakashi: That’s great ~

Shiba: But I haven’t even spoken to her once

Kakashi: You should go for it ~

(SFX: *happy dog panting*)

Shiba: I’ll come back as soon as I’ve talked to her!’

Kakashi: Yep!

Shiba: I’ll be right back, definitely!

Kakashi: Ok, ok (lit. Yes yes)

(p.4)

Shiba: She’s already got someone (lit. she’s already in a couple/has a mate)

Kakashi: I see…

Shiba: She said her mate hurt his leg and can’t walk so he's staying at home…

(p.5)

Kakashi: Shiba, you know.. have feet that can walk anywhere…

So maybe you’ll meet an amazing girl again, won’t you?

(*dog cries*)

Kakashi: ...I won’t tell anyone. (*Comforting doggy*)

I won’t say anything. I won’t say anything.

(Kakashi: Aw, Shiba is pretty sweet to me, huh?)

2. Biscuit’s Sausage (note: I know his name is technically Bisuke in Japanese, but Biscuit is his dub name and it’s too adorable so that’s what I’m going with here! Also suits the personality he has in this story. What a biscuithead this boy is)

(p.6)

Biscuit: -You’re so sneaky, Kakashi! I wanted to eat sausages!

*crying dog noises*

(Uhei: Sorry, Kakashi…

Guruko: I told you!!)

Kakashi: You know if you eat sausages, Biscuit, your tummy will get sick, right? I’m boiling cod for you right now

(*tantrum noises, pounding feet and barking*)

Biscuit: *angry puppy noises* I hate fish, you idiot! I said I want to eat sausages! Sausages! Sausages!

Kakashi: *sternly* Biscuit

Biscuit: *whimper*

(p.7)

Biscuit: Kakashi, you IDIOT!

(2. Biscuit’s Sausage)

Biscuit: *sniff*

(Sign says Konoha Pet Food)

Biscuit: This is the store that sells the dog food Kakashi buys! Wow, maybe they have sausages here too!

(p.8)

Biscuit: I wonder if I'll be able to eat as much as I want… *gulp*

But if I did that, Kakashi would get in trouble

No, maybe…

*heart pounding*

Kakashi kept it (this) a secret just from me, because I'll get sick...

(Apron says Konoha Pet Food)

Shop Lady: *shuffles*

Biscuit: I didn't do anything yet!!! * heart pounding*

Shop Lady: Oh my… you really just talked!

Shop lady: You’re Kakashi’s pup, aren’t you?

(p.9)

Shop lady: Kakashi got you to come here, huh?

(Shop lady: you’re a good boy!)

Bisuke: Oh, no-

Shop lady: Though, he shouldn't have made you come pick it up without contacting us, huh? Here, sausages!

Biscuit: Sausages?!

Shop lady: There’s a pup among you guys that can’t have normal sausages, right?

It was a request from Kakashi.

He said he wanted me to make some especially for the puppy who can’t handle meat.

(p.10)

Shop lady: Well, here you go!! You’ll tell Kakashi we’re sorry for making him wait, won’t you?

Biscuit: Oh, um… But I don’t have any money…

Shop lady: It’s fine, because it’s Kakashi!

Whenever he has free time, he comes to pay.

I have a deal with him, you see. And he can't get the food if he's not here...

Next time, come together with Kakashi, okay?

(p. 11)

Kakashi: *casually picks up Bisuke* Thank you! This is for you ~

Shop lady: Thank you, come again!

Biscuit: Kakashi…

Kakashi: Hm?

Biscuit: Sorry…

Kakashi: Yeah…

I’m sorry too. I gave everyone else sausages while keeping it a secret from you.

I thought you’d definitely want some if you saw…

(Kakashi: But I got caught.)

(p. 12)

Kakashi: But…. Everyone’ll want some if they see this, too.

How about stopping by the park and eating it there?

We’ll keep it a secret from everyone 😊

Bisuke: *happy face licking and barking* When we get home, I’ll eat the cod too!!

Kakashi: Uhh… Well, Uhei and Guruko already ate it…

Bisuke: WHAT?!!!

(Flashback, Uhei and Guruko saying ‘Cod! Me too!! Me too! I want to eat some too!’)

3. Kakashi’s smile

(p. 13)

*paws thudding on ground/running away*

Kakashi: …Got you.

Akino: Ack!

It’s always only me that you brush so roughly, Kakashi!

Kakashi: It can’t be helped, can it? You have the thickest fur, Akino

*brushing softly* It’ll be over soon, it’ll be over soon…

Other doggies: That seems nice to me, Akino…

Kakashi: Hey, it’s falling out, it’s falling out ~

Akino: !!!

Kakashi: Look, it’s a mini Akino!! So much fur…

Akino: That’s too much hair off the bottom, Kakashi! Wha…

(p. 14)

*Kakashi continuing to laugh at his mini Akino*

Akino: There are times now where Kakashi summons us, even if he doesn’t have any business for us to take care of…

(Back then) he never ever summoned us outside of missions…

(p. 15)

Akino: He was doing all kinds of things, but he was the kind of person who never had a smile on his face…

Kakashi: If I had more time, I could make an even hairier one, you know

(Other dogs: *laughing* Akino: That’s a lie!)

Akino: Kakashi…. You're having fun?

Kakashi: *genuine smile* Yep, I am!

Akino: *smile* If you feel like it, you can keep going…

Kakashi: Oh?

(Later, Akino notices Kakashi has put sunglasses on the mini Akino)

4. Timid Bull (CW Animal Death)

(p. 16)

Bull: I’m the last ninja hound that came to Kakashi’s home.

Before that, I was living in a training centre for ninja hounds.

(4. Timid Bull)

The dogs I lived together with there… were all adopted when they were puppies.

But I still lived at the training centre, even as I became fully grown.

Ninja Hey, that dog looks tough, doesn’t he?

Centre manager: Yes, but… he’s not all that suited for battling…

Despite how he looks, he’s actually a timid dog.

Bull: I… I’m scared of insects. I’m scared of noises.

I’m scared of blood.

Centre manager: Because he can understand the stories of troubled humans, you see…

Bull: I’m scared of anything other than myself.

(p. 17)

Bull: Nobody would want a dog like me, right?

Kakashi: I found a good boy ~

Bull: *panicking* There’s no manager here!

Kakashi: Hello ~

Bull: …Hello… *heart pounding*

Kakashi: Ah, one that talks, huh…

Would you like to become one of my pups?

(p. 18)

Bull: Me…? Me, really? Quit it… That’s enough joking around.

Kakashi: What do you mean?

Bull: No-one wants me (😢)

Kakashi: No-one?

I want you, though.

Bull: What kind of a strange person would want me, I thought

(p. 19)

Bull: There were lots of dogs at Kakashi’s house

(Happy barking doggy noises)

Uhei: Woah, you’re huge! But among these guys, I have the fastest legs, you know!!!

Guruko: And I have the best nose!!

Biscuit: And I’m whiny!! (Note: lit. ‘I’m selfish!’)

Shiba: I have the sharpest bite!

Pakkun: I am the wisest. (Note: Pakkun I think uses Kansai-dialect Japanese lol so he sounds kinda... distinct. This is hard to convey for me lol)

Urushi: I’m popular with the ladies ;)

(Akino: I’m the fluffiest!)

Bull: I was so confused

You… you’re not scared of me?

I’m huge, and I have a scary face… So no one comes near me.

They all said they weren’t scared.

The reason, they said together, was…

(p. 20)

‘Because Kakashi brought you, Bull!’

Everyone was totally relaxed, as if they had no worries at all.

They all clung to me as if it was completely natural to do so.

I realised that there’d always be someone beside me.

(p. 21)

*sounds of paws scuffling against ground in first two panels*

*jumping to the ground noise in third panel*

Kakashi: …Bull, this way is a dead end.

Bull: …Sorry.

I couldn’t go back to where you were, and I thought so, but -

(p.22)

Bull: *looking at dog* He asked me to stay by his side.

…He was an enemy, but he was already dying.

That’s why, Kakashi….

Kakashi: …Yep.

Let’s give him a send-off together.

(Note: this was a tricky one because Kakashi says 送る, which means send, and is used with mail etc, but can mean to say farewells to the deceased, which is why Bull comments on it on the next page)

(p. 23)

Bull: He wanted to say ‘I want to bury him’

But Kakashi said ‘send-off’.

Lightly, as if his life force was still there

There… there are a lot of things that scare me.

When I was waiting for this dog, I was scared.

But I couldn’t refuse his request.

(p. 24)

Bull: …I’m spineless.

Kakashi: Everyone else has lots of things they’re scared of, you know.

That’s why they all stay by your side, Bull.

If you’re there, everything will be alright. That’s how everyone feels.

If you’re close by, everyone’s able to feel safe.

(p. 25)

Kakashi: ….This puppy, too.

Dying dog: …Please…

Bull: That dog…

Dying dog: Stay with me, until the end…

Kakashi: Because you stayed with him, Bull, he felt at peace, didn’t he?

Bull: I don’t think that dog was happy…

…Kakashi.

He was very thin, and he also smelt like he was sick

To protect themselves, his owner didn’t treasure this [this dog’s] life.

Kakashi, I…

Somehow, I..

I’m very…

(p. 26)

Bull: I wanted to cry out as loud as I could..

Kakashi: Yeah… (I’m not sure who’s saying this line)

Bull: For feeling guilty towards that dog, and for knowing Kakashi…

For my life being here now.

For my life, I wanted to cry it out until the blood came out of my throat.

(p. 27)

Bull: That dog…

I wonder, was that dog ever able to feel like this, even once?

(Flashback) Doggies: Because Kakashi brought you, Bull!

Uhei: Hey!!! Bull!!

Shiba: You’re late!!

I was worried, you know!

Guruko: (to others) Hey, Bull came back!!

Bull: I’m Bull. The dog that Kakashi found.

5. Urushi’s scales

(p.28)

Urushi: I think I’m good looking

(5. Urushi’s scales)

Girl pups: Ahh~ Urushi…~

Urushi: I’m popular with the ladies

(note: he uses メス, which means bitch in the literal sense - a female dog - and all the puppers use it to refer to human women too. So I just left it as ladies, as I don't think the pups mean it to be crass, they just use dog language and apply it to humans as well as themselves)

Sometimes I’m told ‘it’s probably because you’re one of Kakashi’s ninken’, but…

(Background lettering over the other dogs says ‘Unstylish/Uncool/Lame’)

But my other friends aren’t all that popular, really.

Still, I think it’s because I really am good-looking after all.

(Choruses of ‘Urushi~’, ‘Ahh…; and ‘Let’s play together, Urushi)

Urushi: Hehehe…

Being good-looking is a great thing.

Guruko: Hey, Kakashi!

(p. 29)

Guruko: You got hit by a girl again, didn’t you?!

Kakashi: *laughing* No…

Akino: Why were you hit by a girl? Do girls not like you?

Uhei: It looks like it hurts…

Kakashi: Nooo ~

Shiba: You’re so strong, Kakashi, why were you hit?

Biscuit: You couldn’t avoid it?

Guruko: *Steam from nostrils* I’ll fight her for you!

Kakashi: It’s fine, it’s fine ~

What are you saying?

(p. 30.)

Urushi: Kakashi said ‘I took responsibility’.

Sometimes humans say things I don’t understand…

Girl dog: Urushi… pair up with me.

Urushi: If Kakashi’s saying it, it must be important…

Be… Because I’m one of Kakashi’s ninken?

Girl dog: It has nothing to do with that. I like you, Urushi

Urushi: Wow… *heart pounding*

Girl dog: Pair up with me, and…

I want you to leave the ninken. (Lit. Stop being a ninken)

(p. 31)

Girl dog: I love you, Urushi, but what if, on a mission, you…

I can’t stand the thought of that!

Leave the ninken, and… always stay in the village with me?

Urushi: This girl’s a beauty, and has a kind personality…

I think that I might want to be with her…

Should I leave the ninken?

(p. 32)

Urushi: *perplexed*

Kakashi, Bull and Biscuit: *zzz, sleeping sounds*

Urushi: If I said I wanted to leave the ninken…

Kakashi: (in Urushi’s imagination) If that’s what you want, Urushi

It’s fine with me! (Background: It would be a shame, though…)

Urushi: I feel like Kakashi would say something like that…

Do I want to do that…? Not really, but… *sigh*

Hey, Pakkun.

(p. 33)

Pakkun: Something bothering you?

Urushi: Yeah, there is

I have to decide between two things, but it’s difficult…

I want both of them, but I can’t have them.

Pakkun: … Is it a girl problem?

Urushi: Yep ~

Pakkun: That’s just like you, Urushi. (Pakkun’s imagination shows two girl pups arguing:

Urushi!! Which one will you choose, me or her?! *indignant barking*)

When making a decision about something, one needs to think about what’s most.

...important to oneself.

Let’s say you balance both sides on your scales…

Urushi: My scales?

Pakkun: For example….

(p. 34)

It’s not the physical weight, but the weight of what you think is precious and important. It’s the weight of those feelings.

If you think about which is heavier, you’ll find the answer.

Kakashi: You guys are having a kinda complicated conversation, huh…?

Pakkun: Oh, Kakashi, you woke up, did you?

Urushi: *heart pounding*

Kakashi: My scales lean towards sleep, you know..

Let’s eat soon, okay? Please…

Urushi: Kakashi…. Are you happy that I’m here?

(p. 35)

Kakashi: Hm? Yeah, I’m happy!

Urushi, of course I’m happy ~

(Note: the word Kakashi uses is 嬉しい, which is ‘ureshii’ so Kakashi is making a pun with Urushi’s name here.)

Urushi: *blush* Okay!

Pakkun: What we were just talking about… Don’t talk about it in front of Shiba.

Urushi: Huh? Why?

Pakkun: Seems like he recently had his heart broken…

(p. 36)

Urushi: The thing that’s most important and precious to me… isn’t you.

That’s why I can’t be with you.

I can’t be with you, but… you’re a beautiful and amazing lady.

So, let’s meet again one day ~

Biscuit: Kakashi! Kakashiiiii! It’s awful!!

(p. 37)

(*throbbing pain*)

Biscuit: Urushi’s hurt!!

(*dogs barking*)

Guruko: Let’s go fight them!! *steam from nostrils*

Shiba: No way, is it a girl? Kakashi, you better tell him off!!!

Kakashi: Did you get into a fight with a dog from the village?

Urushi: No, it’s not that…

I took responsibility.

I’ve got a manly mark on my face, heh~

Shiba: You better tell him off!! *bark*

Pakkun: That’s it…

6. Kakashi’s Helper Team!

(p. 38)

Kakashi: I’m home~!!!

Guruko: ?!!! Kakashi, you stink!!

Kakashi: *sweetly smiling* Oh, stop it…

I saw Asuma after a long time, and we talked and ended up getting some drinks… It was nice to see him… *flops down on floor*

Guruko: Take a bath!!!

Don’t go to sleep!!

(*soundly sleeping*)

(p. 39.)

Guruko: Uhei! Uheiii!

Uhei: What is it?

Guruko: Let’s clean up Kakashi!

(6. Kakashi’s Helper Team!)

Uhei: Ehh… But if he wakes up, he’ll take a bath himself, won’t he?

(SFX: Heave-ho! Heave-ho!)

Guruko: We can’t leave Kakashi as he is when he’s this stinky! It’s fine, take it off!

Uhei: Uh, this is stuck half way, I can’t take it off

Guruko: Because you haven’t taken off his leg bandages!

(p. 40)

Guruko: Damn, this is stuck half way *pulling*

Uhei: Isn’t that because you haven’t taken off his headband?!

Guruko: This is enough, let’s carry him to the bath like this!

(*dragging noises*)

Uhei: Won’t his clothes get wet?

Guruko: It’s fine, because we’re going to wash them anyway!

Uhei: It’s amazing… Kakashi still hasn’t woken up!

Guruko: Okay, let’s wash him!

Uhei: Isn’t that… the shampoo that we use?

Guruko: It’s totally safe!!

If it’s fine for us to use, it’ll be fine for Kakashi too, right?

Uhei: I guess…

(p. 41)

Uhei: We can wash his body, but what about his clothes?

(SFX: *scrub scrub*)

Guruko: If we wash them together, it’ll be fine! Hey, pour some hot water over here ~

Uhei: Okay!

(SFX: *splash*)

Kakashi: *suddenly yelling* I’m gonna die!!

Guruko: *screaming*

Kakashi: Even with my face covered, if you pour hot water on me, I can’t breathe, you know!! You really can’t do that.

Guruko: You woke up…

(SFX: *heart pounding*)

Uhei: You really scared me…

(p. 42)

Kakashi: You’d started something, and I wondered how far you’d carry on… Ah, I’m drenched.

Guruko: Ah, I’m sorry, Kakashi!!

Kakashi: Well, anyway.. you guys ended up cleaning yourselves pretty good too. You’re all drenched, too.

Guruko: Then I’ll go get some towels!!

Uhei: Kakashi, Kakashi

Guruko acts the way he does, but he really loves looking after you!

Kakashi: I know.

Biscuit: I want to have a bath with Kakashi too ~

Guruko: That’s not it! It’s just all slippery (note: not accurate, but the gist is that Biscuit misunderstands and Guruko puts him straight)

7. I’ll always love you

(p. 43)

(Flashback)

Sakumo: Pakkun…

Pakkun…

I have a favour to ask.

(Present)

Pakkun…

(SFX: Snoring)

Kakashi: Pakkun..

(SFX: Gasp)

Pakkun: Huh?

Kakashi: It’s time to eat.

(p. 44)

Pakkun: Alright.

(Other dogs: Food~ Food ~

Kakashi: Yes ~ Yes ~)

(Flashback)

Sakumo: Pakkun…

Pakkun….

Pakkun..

(p. 45)

Pakkun: Kakashi?

Kakashi: Hm?

Pakkun: For the mission report before… You didn't need me, did you?

Why did you bring me?

Other dogs: We want to come too!!

Kakashi: It’s just Pakkun for today

Kakashi: Hmm…

Hey, let’s relax here for a little while.

Pakkun: What’s this…

Kakashi: Come on…

Well…

(p. 46)

Kakashi: I want to talk about Dad.

…No. Maybe it’s a confession?

Talking about Dad…. Felt like something we couldn’t even broach. Ever.

I think you felt this way too, right, Pakkun?

I couldn’t tell you earlier that ‘it’s all right now’. Even though it was.

It was just a matter of timing, I guess…

Pakkun: But I wasn’t waiting for you to say that… Even if you’d have said it earlier, that’d have been good, but..

Why, out of the blue like this?

A change like that… Just like…

Just like…

(p. 47)

(Flashback)

Sakumo: I have a favour.

(Present)

Kakashi: The day Dad died…

Ever since then, for a long time, now… I became strange.

I’ve been nothing but trouble for you.

Pakkun: Kakashi-

Kakashi: Even though… you were hurting over Dad not being here too.

(p. 48)

Kakashi: Dad was your first master, right?

You really were precious to him.

….The other day, when you were having a nap, I woke you up, didn’t I?

It might have been because of the food, but your nose was twitching.

At first, I thought you were growling.

When I woke you up, you had a really startled expression when you looked at me.

I understood right away.

You were thinking about Dad, right?

(p. 49)

Kakashi: You were having a dream about Dad that time, right?

Thank you for always being considerate towards me…

But it’s alright now.

From now on, I want you to tell me…

The things about Dad that only you know.

(p. 50)

Pakkun: Sakumo…

(Sakumo: Pakkun…)

Pakkun: …really was a loving, kind man.

Kind, and…

(Sakumo: Pakkun…)

Pakkun: Kind, and…

…Kakashi.

I’ll tell you about Sakumo.

The things I’ve always wanted to tell you

I’ll tell you now.

Kakashi: Okay.

(p. 51)

Kakashi: Thank you for telling me about Dad, Pakkun.

Pakkun: …Don’t you dare die.

(Pakkun…)

I’ve had enough now.

Yeah. Enough.

(p. 52)

(Sakumo: I’m asking.…)

Pakkun: Sakumo…

The two of you are exactly alike.

Kakashi: Oh, really?

Pakkun: Everything’s alright now.

(p. 53)

“Kakashi!”

(p. 54)

(No text)

(p. 55)

Kakashi!

(p. 56)

Kakashi

(Note: I think the favour Sakumo asked of Pakkun was to take care of and be mindful of Kakashi always. This isn't outright stated)

#naruto #kakashi #kakashi hatake #hatake kakashi #pftranslates #fan comic #translation #fan translation

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otherworldsivelivedin · 4 years ago

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Under the cut you will find links to...

16 Teen to Explicit rated Snowbaz:

Canon Compliant / Post Canon

Canon Divergence

Alternate Universe

CANON-COMPLIANT/POST-CANON

Good to You: for @ferelden-loser, words: 11,029—Rated: E

Simon has decided to treat Baz to a sophisticated meal for Valentine’s day; but when they get there, they find they’re more interested in each other than the food.

🥂😏🥂😏

Three Sheets to the Wind for RooBadley, @giishu and @ninemagicks, words: 1,608—Rated: T

Simon and Baz have had a few too many bevvies and are off their face. Trashed. Utterly wellied. And, for some reason, Baz’s eyebrow looks down right good enough to lick.

47 British ways of saying "I'm drunk" and a messy Baz's sexy eyebrow dancing.

👬🍷👬🍷

Hot in Here: for @xivz, words: 2,599 —Rated: M

Simon Snow can’t dance.

At least, that’s what I thought.

Post-canon, 90s/00s R&B, Thirst Trap!Simon

🥳🕺🥳🕺

Sweet Like Chocolate, words: 2,491 —Rated: T

Simon wants to get out of London and Baz knows just the place... full of chocolate, soft Christmas vibes, childlike wonder, snow and more fluffy softness than I’ve ever let myself write before ❤️ (and a tiny bit of jealous Baz, because I love that shit)

Post-canon, soft as fuck, engaged and happy

🍫🍫🍫🍫

Omertà, words: 5,711 —Rated: T

(Vera’s a Normal. She rationalizes all our strangeness by pretending we’re in the Mafia. Father spells her innocent whenever it gets to be too much for her.) - p.157, (Kindle Edition.)

Oblivious Vera™, on the day Baz gets kidnapped.

Omertà - (n.) An oath, Taken by the Mafia; Code of Silence

“Deleted” scene, TW: Kidnapping (canon level), Perceived Mafia Violence (not explicit)

🍷🍷🍷🍷

Serves You Right, words: 11,127 —Rated: T

Cook Pritchard does the cooking, with a few helpers, and we all take turns serving at mealtimes. On weekends, it’s help yourself. - p.34 (Kindle Edition)

...what if Simon and Baz were forced to serve together at mealtimes?

Simon & Baz growing up together (Years 5-8), Canon-compliant, “deleted” slice of life scenes, 5+1

🧈🧈🧈🧈

Cater to You, words: 2,259 —Rated: T

Simon’s been therapy baking for a while now, and we all know Lady Ruth loves to feed everybody cake...

Post-canon ❤️soft Snowbaz❤️, because it’s a basic requirement on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

Follow-up ficlet to Serves You Right but, as everything is canon-compliant, you don't have to read Serves You Right first!

🍰🍰🍰🍰

Today was awful, but then there was you, words: 845 —Rated: T

Simon has had a bad day. Baz is worried and wants to comfort him, but will Simon talk?

Post-canon, emotional hurt/comfort, domestic

🍝🍝🍝🍝

Agatha Returns, words: 656 —Rated: T

Agatha returns from California and Penny may have messed up... hasn’t Simon told Agatha yet? Oops.

CO Canon-compliant, WS Divergence.

👬👬👬👬

CANON-DIVERGENCE

Phantom at the Opera: for @tea-brigade, words: 13,388 —Rated: E

Simon Snow is stuck at the opera with his bloody ex—stuffy tux and strangling bow tie included. He might as well just drown his sorrows at the bar; it’s shaping up to be an awful night, after all. That is, until he spots a familiar raised eyebrow. (Merlin. Has it always been that attractive?)

Includes Art!

Reunion, Second Chances, Banter, So much flirting and thirst, Violinist!Baz, Porn with Feelings, Semi-Public Foreplay, Praise Kink, Early twenties Snowbaz

🥂😏🥂😏

Raising a Demon 😈: with @scone-lover for @krisrix, words: 28,571 —Rated: T

Magickal Life Skills class doesn’t seem like it can get any worse… that is, until the 7th years are given fake Magickal babies to take care of for a week. Tasked with keeping a tiny human alive, Simon and Baz must deal with the trials and tribulations of Magickal parenting, including crying, night feeds, and… explosions?

It’s a chaos demon. Instructions not included.

Crack with feelings, and they were fake parents oh my god they were fake parents

😈😈😈😈

This is Our Lives: for @liz-snow, words: 4,298 —Rated: T

When Madam Bellamy assigned us a “This is Your Life” essay about our roommates, I thought I’d hit the jackpot.

This is your evil life, Basilton Pitch; full of sacrificial virgins, dark rituals and rats that must taste rank.

Turns out, we actually have to interview each other.

And sometimes, answers only bring about more questions. (Questions I don’t want to think about.)

Getting Together, Watford 7th year, Emotional hurt/comfort, Enemies to loves in 4K

✍️✍️✍️✍️

ALTERNATE UNIVERSE

Shot to the Heart: for @scone-lover, words: 5125 —Rated: T

Baz is on the rug. He’s supposed to be dead, probably. Instead he looks up into the barrel of a haphazardly handled gun and the crazed blue eyes of a man in a neon green tracksuit.

Simon’s a thief, just looking to make some easy cash by looting a dead man’s flat. But, turns out, the man isn’t dead after all. (Does that mean he has to kill him?)

OR: The one where Snowbaz have a meet-ugly and agree to be a shitter, low-budget version of Bonnie and Clyde.

😈👬😈👬

I Meant It, You’ll See: for @vampire-named-gampire, words: 6917 —Rated: T

If I’d have known when I woke up this morning that I’d be chasing after a bloke with what I’m pretty sure are romantic feelings sloshing around in my gut, I’d have gone straight back to bed.

Especially if I’d known that bloke would be Baz.

But, I have to go after him. I can’t let him board that train without telling him I meant it.

Everything was the same—but no magic, Rom-com style feel good, banter, text fic, Older Snowbaz Flatmates

📱 📱📱📱

Watford Wonderland: for @vampire-named-gampire, words: 8,288 —Rated: T

Simon and Baz are yearly rival crochet peddlers at the Christmas Market, but it seems this year, Simon’s thoughts and feelings for Baz are getting all tangled up in knots.

Severe misuse of crochet puns and metaphors, you’ve been warned.

Non-magical Alternate Universe, rivals to lovers

🧶🧶🧶🧶

Strangers Like Me: Words: 19, 421 —Rated: T

The Magickal Creatures of Britain have been hiding in their gilded cage for far longer than any of the Dragon Elders can remember by the time Ebb hears a baby crying outside the Gate.

Simon is taken in and raised alongside the rest of the dragons and magickal creatures in Wales; but whilst he hopes that most of his new “family” accept him, it’s common knowledge that humans will suck them dry of magic, given half the chance.

When Strangers arrive at the edge of the forest, Simon takes it upon himself to do anything he can to protect his family. They’re suspicious, after all—especially that one human, with his long dark hair and piercing eyes.

Humans aren’t to be trusted. Humans are monsters, aren’t they?

COBB Art

Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Simon is raised by Dragons, Scholar!Baz, Expedition seeking magic/creatures, Welsh Mythology & Folklore, Elemental Magic, So much worldbuilding, Slow Burn

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grailfinders · 4 years ago

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Fate and Phantasms #Gudako: Gudako

Happy April Fools! We were going to do Scathach today, but this thing crawled into my home and it won’t go away until I make a build of it. So here’s Gudako.

Check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here!

We’ll then return to our regularly scheduled Scathach.

Race and Background

Ritsuka Fujimaru is a human, but you’re an awful little gremlin with a penchant for lechery. In other words, a Lightfoot Halfling. That gets you +2 Dexterity, +1 Charisma, and makes you Lucky, Brave, Nimble, and Naturally Stealthy. This means you can re-roll ones on attacks, checks, and saves, have advantage against being frightened, can move through larger creatures, and can hide behind them as well.

We’re also making up a Gambler background for you, giving you proficiency in Deception and Insight.

Ability Scores

Even if you’re a weird awful version of FGO’s master, you’re still FGO’s master, so your Charisma is pretty freaking good. After that is Constitution- I don’t know how you survived the end of that last book but you did, so that’s probably con based. After that is Dexterity. It might just be the art style, but you’re kind of noodly, and incredibly fast. Your Strength isn’t amazing just yet, you’re still kind of a nerd. After that is Intelligence, then Wisdom. You play a gacha game. Enough said.

Class Levels

1. Sorcerer 1: Mages in the Nasuverse are kind of a weird mix between sorcerers and wizards, but since you never really learned about magic that means you’re 100% the former!

Thankfully, being a sorcerer opens us up to the gacha of the magic world, Wild Magic! At first level you can cast Spells using your charisma, and first level or higher spells can activate your Wild Magic Surge. After casting such a spell, you roll a d20, and on a 1 you then roll on the big ol’ table and get weird magic stuff. If you’d rather roll more often, your Tides of Chaos can force the issue. You can spend it to gain advantage on an attack, check, or save once per long rest. That being said, you can speed things up at your DM’s discretion, recharging the tides with a mandatory roll on the wild magic surge table.

Speaking of spells, you get a bunch of cantrips here. Friends and Mage Hand will improve your relationship with Mash, Prestidigitation takes care of all of that “actual magic” stuff, and Message lets you use your phone like a phone. Weird, I thought this was a gacha console?

For first level spells, Chaos Bolt brings the gacha into your combat, with the spell’s damage type based on the damage roll you make. It also has a chance of bouncing off and hitting another target for theoretically infinite damage. Expeditious Retreat will give you that gremlin speed you’re known for.

Finally, you get proficiency with Constitution and Charisma saves, as well as the Arcana and Intimidation skills. You just kinda give off this aura, y’know?

2. Sorcerer 2: Second level sorcerers become a Font of Magic, giving them sorcery points equal to their level that they can spend to make new spell slots. You can also do the reverse, but that won’t be useful until next level. You also learn how to bring out a creature’s hidden desires with Id Insinuation, which forces a wisdom save (DC 8+chr mod+ proficiency) or the target is incapacitated and takes psychic damage. There’s a reason your little eggplant has trouble fighting you off.

3. Sorcerer 3: Third level sorcerers get Metamagic, ways to use your sorcery points to enhance your magic. You strike me as a buster meta player, so Empowered Spell will let you get the most damage out of your spells (and also let you cheat a bit on Chaos Bolt). You also learn how to skip the casting animations on your spells thanks to Quickened Spell, turning an action casting spell into a bonus action.

On top of that, Hold Person lets you hold a person down while you have your way with them. By that I mean attack them, duh. Get your mind out of the gutter.

4. Sorcerer 4: Use your first Ability Score Improvement to bump up your Strength. Trust me, it’ll help out later.

You can also cast Create Bonfire for the survivalist in you, or you can Mind Thrust on the people you’re holding. It’s still nothing lewd, it just deals psychic damage, and if a creature fails the intelligence save it can’t take reactions until the end of its next turn and has to choose between moving, taking an action, or a bonus action next turn.

5. Sorcerer 5: Fifth level sorcerers get third level spells, and Conjure Lesser Demon lets you summon Mephistopheles to the battlefield! Actually it’s just eight manes or dretches, but it sounds like it would summon Mephistopheles. Those demons are just as loyal as Mephy though, so... keep your distance.

6. Sorcerer 6: Sixth level wild mages can Bend Luck as a reaction, adding or subtracting 1d4 from any check, save, or attack you wish near you. Now you really have protagonist powers! You can also cast Haste now for additional gudaspeed.

7. Sorcerer 7: Seventh level sorcerers get fourth level spells, and Conjure Shadow Demon does exactly what you think it does. You can conjure a shadow demon- I think Cursed Arm would probably count for this? Also, this demon’s slightly more cooperative, but it will probably turn on you after the fight’s over.

8. Sorcerer 8: Use this ASI for more Charisma. You can also Conjure Barlgura, which also does exactly what you think it does; conjures a barlgura. What, you don’t know what a barlgura is? Yeah right, everyone knows barlguras! They’re so iconic I don’t even have to tell you which servant they’re like!

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

What the hell? It’s been eight levels already and we haven’t even summoned a four star yet! I’m so salty I’m gonna....

9. Barbarian 1: Going into barbarian lets you turn your gacha salt into Rage, giving you extra bonus damage on attacks, getting advantage on strength saves and checks, and you get resistance to physical damage types. You also get an Unarmored Defense, letting you continue your fight even in the nude.

10. Barbarian 2: You can now make Reckless Attacks, gaining advantage on all attacks for the turn at the cost of taking attacks at advantage for the round. Your Danger Sense also gives you advantage on dexterity saves that you can see coming. You might think that’ll help when Berserker of Learning with Manga turns on you. You’d be wrong.

11. Barbarian 3: Did you think the gacha was over just because of a class change? Hah! Thanks to Tasha’s, you can set down the Path of Wild Magic at third level, giving you Magic Awareness, an action to sense magic within 60′ of you proficiency times per long rest.

More gachaly, you get a new Wild Surge when you rage. It’s a smaller table than your sorcerer surges, but it’s more consistent. It’s the friend point gacha to the other’s quartz gacha.

You also get Athletics proficiency from your Primal Knowledge, for better sprints.

12. Barbarian 4: Bring your Strength even higher so hitting people is actually a good idea.

13. Barbarian 5: You get an Extra Attack each action now, and your Fast Movement adds 10′ to your movement speed, making you not the slowest person in the party any more!

14. Barbarian 6: At sixth level, your Bolstering Magic lets you spend an action to either A) add a d3 to a creature’s attacks or checks for 10 minutes, or B) regain a creature’s spell slot, with the level based on the roll of a d3. You can use the second one once per creature per long rest, but your total number of uses is equal to your proficiency bonus each long rest.

15. Barbarian 7: Seventh level barbarians let their Feral Instinct take hold, gaining advantage on initiative rolls. You also can ignore surprise by raging. Your Instinctive Pounce lets you move up to half your speed when you rage. You like pouncing.

16. Barbarian 8: Use this ASI to bump up your Constitution for more health, more AC, and stronger rage spells.

17. Barbarian 9: Your Brutal Critical gives you an extra die of damage when you deal a critical hit, as you rub gacha salt in the enemy’s wounds.

18. Barbarian 10: Your last wild magic goody is the Unstable Backlash- when you take damage or fail a save while raging, you can roll on the wild magic table and replace your current effect. More gacha, MORE GACHA!

You also get more Primal Knowledge for Survival proficiency. I think you kinda ended society as we know it in at least one timeline, so you’ll need it.

19. Barbarian 11: Your Relentless Rage gives you a guts skill of your very own! When you would normally drop to 0 hp you can make a constitution save to say at 1 hp instead. The DC increases each time, but resets on short rests.

20. Barbarian 12: Your final level is another ASI for more Strength. Hit people, it’s real simple.

Pros:

You are just so random, which makes it hard to strategize against you. Your enemy can’t know what you’re gonna do if you don’t!

You’re pretty beefy, but you can also send in a demon squad to cause chaos in your stead when you’re feeling lazy.

Halfling’s lucky is so useful it honestly deserves its own pros spot. Nat 1s are for nerds!

Cons:

Mixing conjuration and rages is never going to end well, especially when those conjurations want you dead.

You’re so random that you can’t really strategize for anything. Yeah, it won’t be boring, but you can’t be as precise as other builds.

For a lot of this build, your shortness can be an issue when it comes to mobility. Being the slowest person in the party when running from demons (that you may or may not have summoned) is a serious problem.

#FGO #Fate Grand Order #D&D 5e #Gudako #Fate and Phantasms #Barbarian #Sorcerer

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darkpoisonouslove · 4 years ago

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Winx Club Rewrite Is a Go

I don’t know how I ended up here because I’ve always maintained that rewrites aren’t my thing (and I still kinda do) because it feels a lot like reading the same thing over and over again and to me it can be annoying. Yet, here I am with my very own Winx Club rewrite.

I started writing the first episode today but I have A LOT planned out already. Seasons 1 and 3 are pretty solid already even if there is still a lot of character work to be done and logistics to be figured out. I also have some structure for seasons 2 and 4 and I figured out the backstory of the Wizards of the Black Circle yesterday and that gave me an indescribable feeling which is pretty much what I took as a sign that it’s time to talk about this project.

To explain what I am doing - I am taking everything and changing it while keeping it the same. If that doesn’t make sense, then imagine that I am keeping the major plot points and most of the episodes (I have removed some because they are just irrelevant) have the same starting and ending point as they do on the show but there are big changes between those. Seasons 5, 6 and - you’ll find out in a sec - are going to have a lot more changes. I have removed transformations and switched around some of the transformations so that they are earned at a different point than in canon. I have picked a place to end this already and I have arcs for each season.

Now when it comes to the seasons, I have removed season 7 which will be done as a “movie” and will have additional plot still because there really is THAT little to season 7. Season 8 becomes season 7 in my rewrite and is the last and final season. It is the end of Winx’ journey and I think it is a satisfying end to a pretty long story. I am keeping the movies but:

1) There will probably be “movies” after seasons 1 and 2 as well just to make the structure make sense and because I feel like there is enough to be talked about between the seasons.

2) SotLK is majorly different from canon because there was no sense to that movie and only plot holes instead. I’ve saved what was salvageable from it and mostly put it in season 3 to free the whole movie for more interesting and logical stuff to happen. The end goal is the same, though - bringing Marion and Oritel (and Domino) back.

3) Magical Adventure is the least changed but there will be several changes here as well. The plan is to make the movie relevant on a wider level than just to Winx and the Specialists but I still don’t have that clear a vision of it. Just some things that I want to see but need piecing together.

3) The “movie” after season 5 will deal with the season 7 plot instead. I have switched them around. There will be Kalshara and Griffin and Faragonda and some major Bloom drama as well. I need to make these pieces connect, too, but this one feels almost coherent at the current time.

4) Politea is saved for the last movie that is after season 6. You’ll see why. Anyway, major Daphne and Bloom feelings are planned for that movie... and I don’t know what else yet. We’ll see.

I am currently working on all of the seasons and all of the movies at once so it is a bit of a mess. I write down and rewrite ideas. Everything is one big map in my head that isn’t completely translatable to someone else. Anyway, you can find everything I have posted about this in the “wc rewrite” tag. You can ask me questions if you have them and I’ll see how much I’ll share while trying to resist the urge to spoil everything because I have been at this for about 5 months now and I have so many ideas that I adore and want to talk about. Despite that I have no idea how quickly I can work on it. This is bound to take years which was the hardest part of this project for me to reconcile with but I really want to do it. So let’s see how that goes.

I want to say that I am planning on doing one episode a chapter but because I have decided to both develop the characters and be self-indulgent, that will make the chapters long. I don’t think that they are devoid of tension or action, however, because this thing is packed with so much stuff happening. Here’s a little sneak peak from the first episode:

“Bloom, honey, wake up,“ Vanessa’s mellow voice reached her through the colorful explosion into which her dream was retreating.

“Just five more minutes, mom,” Bloom mumbled as she wormed her head under the pillow to block out the interruption. She reached for the fairy princess in her dream with hair of liquid light and a touch like sinking through the reflective surface of a mirror that showed none of Bloom’s own features to her. She’d lose not just the way but her own self if she let go of the figure in front of her.

“You’ll be late for school, sleepy head.”

The woman evaporated in a heap of steam with a nasty hissing sound that rattled Bloom’s bones as she jumped into bed. Vanessa’s apologetic smile came into focus to draw a groan out of Bloom’s parched throat as she threw her head back.

“Not funny, mom,” Bloom grabbed her fallen pillow from the floor and plopped herself back down on her mattress, eyes wide open as the image of the fairy burned in her mind. “I wanted to see where she’d lead me!”

“Who?” Vanessa sat down on the edge of the bed.

“The fairy from my dream,” Bloom covered her eyes with her free hand to narrow her focus to the woman. “I’ve seen her before, I just...” she threw the pillow next to her on the mattress. “I can’t remember where.”

“Well, I’m not surprised. You’ve read every book on fairies that you could get your hands on. It’s only natural that they’ve started blurring together,” Vanessa chuckled.

“Yeah, but it’s not that.” Bloom shot up once again, her vision spinning for a moment from the sudden action. “She’s not a character. She’s something... someone else.” She twisted a strand of hair around her finger looking for the warmth enveloping her at the presence of the mystery fairy. It couldn’t be the first time she’d dreamed about her but she couldn’t recall more than that. “Grandma always said that dreams are important.” Another reason not to let go of the fleeting imagery in her head.

“I’m pretty sure she meant the other kind of dreams,” Vanessa’s amusement was more of a ghost itself now that Bloom had mentioned the newest loss in their family. It was her who had to stay open and talk to Bloom about Mike’s mother when he froze every time the topic was brought up until Bloom could no longer bear to cause him that. “Did you finish your art project last night? I sure hope it was inspiration that kept you up so late and not the lack of it.”

Bloom beamed despite the deflection. “I did!” She jumped out of bed as her mom made space for her to launch herself at her desk where her masterpiece was covered by stray sheets to keep her parents from peeking without her there to see the reactions. Finals had really inserted themselves in all areas of her life–including dreams–to throw a wrench in her works. Finishing a drawing she’d been sitting on for over a month had let her breathe fresh air again. “Here it is.” She pulled two sheets from the pile. “This is the sketch I did during spring break.” She’d spent a whole day wandering Gardenia looking for the building to put her vision into. “And here is the one I’ve reimagined.”

Vanessa gasped, hands flying to her mouth as her eyes gleamed with unformed tears. Not unlike her response to Bloom’s first steps in art back when she’d been three but, somehow, her reactions had developed to match Bloom’s growing skillset without giving undue credit.

Bloom’s heart swelled in her chest with pride boosted by the trust she had in her mom. Her work was almost complete now that it’d accomplished the desired effect with one parent. She’d been in awe herself by the alterations she’d made to Earth architecture to make it elaborate and alien enough for a fantasy... something. She still couldn’t decide what format she wanted to create her world in. Comics were a handy option but a vision of an elusive deal for a TV show still reared its head every time she reached for a pencil and a blank sheet of paper. And there was, of course, the popularity of video games accompanied by her lack of skills or contacts when it came to coding. There was always one more step to the door of her fairy utopia but she had to focus on the art for now.

“I hope that keeping this up will be easier after school is done stifling my inspiration,” Bloom chewed on her lip as she waited for her mom to collect herself enough to give the verdict of whether a summer job was about to take over that function now.

“Uninspired? You?” Vanessa shook her head in disbelief. “Honey, you have the imagination to create worlds and I am sure that one day you will,” Vanessa reached out cautiously towards the museum Bloom had created for her fantasy world. Her fingers barely brushed the paper to leave no traces of their presence and the bittersweet look on her face was too much for Bloom to stand. Her art was not meant to be an untouchable monument. It was supposed to be a temple, a home. Maybe her yearning had come through too well.

#winx club #wc rewrite #winx bloom #winx vanessa #my wips #my writing #my fanfiction

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wrienne · 3 years ago

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My Cheating, Amnesic Fiancé

Chapter 8: Wrath

It was your parents.

“Sweetie? We’re sorry we haven’t been able to call you back until now - Jungkook’s parents have been in an uproar ever since noon, trying to find a cheap ticket back to Seoul. We didn’t make you worried, right?”

Your father’s soft, low, humming voice comforted your ear. You had admittedly been slightly concerned when they hadn’t answered even at lunchtime. You had left a voicemail that you had something important to tell them, but not had the time to consider it any longer due to school and battle planning.

“Did you know their boy was in an accident yesterday night?”

Your mother’s sharp voice pierced through the line, making you grimace. She was a lovely woman, strong, determined and the female you admired the most in the whole world, but her voice could seriously cut diamonds.

“Yes,” you said, holding the phone slightly away from your ear as you lowered the volume. “I was with him at AMC and he’s--”

“Good Lord,” your mother exclaimed, interrupting you. You could already see her shocked expression and her clutching her cross necklace. “Was it so bad he had to go to the hospital? What happened?”

“Well, he--”

“I thought he was supposed to be performing with his band yesterday.” your father added.

You sighed. Whenever you spoke with your parents, they were like this. Stuck by the heads, knowing the other so well they could complement as well as end each others’ sentences. They were even equally skilled at interrupting you.

“Hush, darling,” your mother said. “She’s trying to explain. As you were, (Y/N),” she prompted you.

“As I was just about to say before both of you interrupted me,” you began, stepping aside to let an old woman past, “he somehow miraculously survived being hit by a car and only broke his arm. However--”

“There, I told you,” your mother said to presumably your father. “That boy has more vigor than a cat with ninety-nine lives and more luck than is humanly possible. He must have an angel guarding him.”

“Stop dad,” you said before he could voice his input. “Jungkook is alright physically. It’s just that--”

“Did he scratch that handsome face of his?” your mother asked. “Or did he get any other unsightly marring on his body?”

Her tone made it sound like you had told her the Louvre had been set ablaze. She loved expensive art and was particularly fond of old European artistry. The burning of the Louvre would have broken her.

“No, mom,” you said wearily. “But he’s gotten amnesia.”

“What is that?” your father asked after both of them had paused for a beat.

“It means he cannot remember the most recent years of his life.”

“So...?”

“He doesn’t know anything about his company or his members. He is kind of skittish also, and has a hard time trusting people, even the doctors.”

“But he’s quite fine? You’ve met and spoken with him?”

You nodded, even though you knew they couldn’t see you. “Yes, he still knows and trusts me.”

“What about his career?” your mother asked.

“That’s the trickiest part,” you told them, feeling strangely relieved to have someone to share your concerns with. Even if these someones were your parents. “There was a specialist at the hospital who spoke with his manager, who in turn told me. There is a kind of unconventional way to get his memories back, but there’s no guarantee it’ll work. I am going to try and make him remember the past five or so years through...” You hesitated, not really certain what you should call the sloppily written list you had tucked into your back pocket. “...various techniques,” you decided finally.

“I see,” your father said. “I don’t understand why they’re in such a rush back home then.”

“Well, he did get hit by a car,” your mother said pointedly.

“Very well. Now, (Y/N), what was it you just had to tell us?”

You stiffened. It was time for you to tell them you had broken the engagement. You opened your mouth to speak, but found your throat constricted. You swallowed hard, then tried again. To your parents' credit, they didn’t try to push you. Perhaps they had heard the tension in your mere gulp.

“Jungkook…” you began slowly. “He has a girlfriend.”

Your voice broke. Your chest ached. You hated it, but the image of Jungkook and Park Yi-Jae resurfaced in your mind for what felt like the hundredth time. Even though it felt like your heart was threatening to break out of your body, you couldn’t lie and pretend everything was alright. You wouldn’t intercept their love.

Silence. Deafening silence.

“Are you certain?” your mother suddenly asked.

Surprisingly, your father didn’t step in to add something to the conversation.

“I saw them yesterday, before the accident,” you answered. “They looked very happy together.”

“Is it someone you know? Do you know her name?”

“Does he remember her?”

“Park Yi-Jae,” you managed, even as you frowned at the third question. “No,” you told your mother.

“That Park Yi-Jae?” Your father almost raised his voice. He never raised his voice. “The girl always prancing around on TV?”

“Shush, you hypocrite. You always watch her shows."

“I do not!”

“So that’s why they’re in such a hurry back home,” your mother muttered, ignoring your father. “They’re probably going to try and do some damage control and get you back with Jungkook. I told you I didn’t hear it wrong.”

“Wait, you knew?” you wondered incredulously. You felt your fingers tighten around your phone. “Still you wanted me to tell you?”

“We didn’t know what to believe until we had heard it from you, sweetie,” your father said in an attempt to calm you down. “Your mother heard it only faintly. She’s grown so old, we can no longer rely on her magical ears solely.”

Your mother did have eerily good hearing. Not necessarily when she and you argued over some petty things or whenever you told her you needed to bring food for an outdoor trek or something as a child, though that could have been because she stubbornly refused to listen or was too busy working. But she could hear gossip from the other side of a fully sat and vibrantly busy restaurant and hear the first few drops of water before a rainfall.

“You need to get back together with that boy, (Y/N).”

“No,” you said automatically, woken out of your brief reverie.

“Yes you do and you will. It is absolutely imperative.”

“He loves her,” you said stiffly. “Even though he can’t remember, I know he does. The way they were, just, it was--”

“It doesn’t matter, (Y/N). You and Jungkook have to marry.”

“Perhaps,” you said sharply, getting ever angrier. “But not to one another, we don’t.”

“Don’t be childish, of course you two will marry each other. You’re perfect for him and he’s perfect for you. There’s no question you will make a beautiful couple.”

“We don’t want to,” you said coolly. “I don’t want to marry him.”

“Darling, perhaps--” your father began.

“No, don’t you try,” your mother snapped at your father. “(Y/N), this marriage was decided the year the two of you were born. You will not undo it just because Jungkook hurt your feelings by sleeping with another woman.”

“No!” you shouted suddenly. Your eyes stung and your voice sounded wrong, harsh, and the bleak interior of the hallway made for awful acoustics. “It’s nothing like that, don’t you get it? Don’t answer it, by the way, I have homework and other stuff to do, so I can’t talk anymore.”

“We will talk about this when we get back, (Y/F/N).”

Without exchanging goodbyes, you ended the call abruptly. Still, you heard your mother’s voice, as if on repeat inside your skull. The words coiled around you and cut into your skin, like cold metal wire, and you seriously considered punching one of the mailboxes. Deciding that it would cause ten times more harm to you than you could ever hope to inflict on it, you leaned your forehead against the cool, concrete wall and tried your best not to scream in fury, frustration or whatever else the enormous swirl of emotions stewing about in your stomach could be called.

You heard the double glass doors open behind you and two or three pairs of feet hurry inside, probably eager to get in from the cold. You didn’t consider the vague familiarity of their voices as they immediately began whispering loudly. You didn’t even notice someone approaching you until they touched your shoulder lightly.

“Excuse me?” asked a light male voice. “Is everything alright?”

You spun about as you wiped your eyes. The guy recoiled sharply, his eyes widening first in surprise then in something else. He was shorter than the other two guys standing by the elevator with grocery bags in each of their hands, both at a safe running distance toward the entrance doors should you have shown yourself to be some weirdo. All three were dressed casually, like typical guys about your age, and with their faces and hair covered, you almost didn’t recognize them.

But they recognized you.

“(Y/F/N)!”

It was V, or perhaps more accurately: Kim Taehyung. You recognized him for his low voice now and because he was Se-Eun’s favorite member after Jungkook, something she had reprimanded you very heavily about during lunch when you had guessed her “list” completely wrong.

“What is she doing here?” The guy who had approached you on his own looked from his friends to you, obviously confused. You were fairly sure he was Park Jimin.

“Don’t ask me, ask her,” mumbled the third one. He hadn’t taken off his mouth mask so you couldn’t see anything except his eyes. You couldn’t tell who he was, but he was shorter than Taehyung yet taller than Jimin.

Taehyung caught you off guard by approaching you with solid determination, passing Jimin, who had backed a few additional steps, without even a glance. He stopped almost directly in front of you, his eyes hard, his eyebrows knitted tightly together.

“What did you do to Jungkook?” he demanded.

“I--” Your voice broke, and you cleared your throat. “I did nothing to him.”

“Don’t lie to me.” Taehyung strained to lift the hand he held the drooping grocery bag with and pointed a surprisingly long, elegant finger at you. He didn’t touch you, merely hovered it in front of your chest, yet you could feel the tension in the room suddenly skyrocket. “You told him something or did something that made him... angry like that. It’s your fault he can’t remember any one of us and might never be able to perform again. Don’t you get it? It’s your fault!”

It was as if his words breached the dam of guilt you had felt growing larger ever since you got the first call from Kim Sejin. Now, you weren’t about to cry in front of people you barely knew, at least because of the absurdity in the whole situation. Your second way of dealing with emotions seemed much better however, since, unlike the mailboxes, Taehyung’s jaw or nose probably could break without you breaking, too.

“Damn it, Taehyung!”

The guy you hadn’t been able to identify dropped his grocery bags and stormed toward you. He stepped in between the two of you as he firmly pushed Taehyung away, then tore off his mouth mask. Though, from this angle, you could still not see much else than the back of his head and his shoulders.

“It’s nobody’s fault!” he barked. “It was an accident. Jungkook was drunk and wandered a bit off the pavement, while the driver was tired and perhaps shouldn’t have driven. This isn’t really anyone’s fault, least of all (Y/N), who wasn’t even there!”

“Hoseok-hyung is right,” said Jimin quietly. “We can’t just put the blame on something or someone because it’s easy. It’s not right.”

Hoseok. Jung Hoseok. J-Hope. Now, you knew who Taehyung’s nose or jaw savior was.

Taehyung didn’t even seem like he had heard what the other two guys had said. He glared at you, ostensibly furious, and you suddenly wondered what would have happened if Hoseok wouldn’t have stepped in. You doubted an idol would have the folly to harm a civilian, but one never knew.

Then finally, Taehyung broke away from your gaze and went surly toward the elevator. There, he leaned against the wall beside the buttons and checked his phone after placing the grocery bags on the floor.

Hoseok turned around and, noticing how close you two stood together, quickly took a step back. He gave you a friendly smile.

“Sejin-manager told me you slept at the hospital with him,” he said carefully, like he was worried you would snap. “I presume he recognizes you?”

You nodded. You didn’t trust your voice just yet.

“I’m glad to hear that,” said Hoseok, genuine relief filling his eyes and smile. “How is he?”

“He’s annoying,” you couldn't help but say, and was glad to find your tone steady. “He won’t eat, wear the hospital gowns or obey the professionals. I was practically forced to stay there over the night.”

Hoseok chuckled almost hesitantly, as if he didn’t know whether you were kidding or not. “Ah, well, he’s always been a proud kid.”

“Too proud,” you agreed.

“What are you doing here?” asked Jimin. He crouched by the grocery bags Hoseok had dropped and carefully put back the items that had spilled out.

“I came here to pick up some of Jungkook’s clothes.” You held up the largest duffel bag you had found at home, which, if not for the brand name plastered all over it, would have looked like a body bag. You couldn’t wrap your head around why people found stuff like that fashionable. But then, perhaps only morbid people had the means to spend thousands on something as ugly as that bag. Your mother had bought it years ago. “I was just about to call one of you and ask which floor you live on.”

“Sejin gave you our numbers, huh?” Hoseok curled a finger around his chin. “I’m not sure about how I feel with our manager giving our numbers to an unknown girl.”

“I did consider auctioning them out,” you admitted. “Not for the money, but merely to see which type of people believed me and how much they would be willing to spend.”

He frowned, again a bit suspicious about the nature of your words, before he laughed. “Not exactly what I would have done if I were in your shoes, but that’s interesting to hear. Jungkook never told us about you, so I had no idea you had humor like this. Actually… have you eaten dinner yet?”

“No,” you replied before you realized what you had said.

“Great. Eat with us.”

#MCAF #wrienne #ao3 #bts fanfiction #bts x reader #bts

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ihni · 4 years ago

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You know how it’s easier to remember one bad comment than a hundred good ones?

Well. @granpappy-winchester:

1. I love your art.

2. It always makes me smile.

3. You were one of the very first artists I commissioned and I still love that piece to pieces.

4. I have stickers of yours on my fridge.

5. I have a pillow with your art on it and I won’t let anyone sit on it.

6. I also have a notebook with your art on it which I used as a diary so I could watch it every day.

7. I have TWO BOOKS that I have printed that has your art on the covers of them (I asked permission), and I feel all soft inside when I see them.

8. Your art is so expressive.

9. You have so many different styles, yet all of them is so YOU, and I am insanely impressed and jealous of that. <3

10. Your anatomy is ON POINT even though it’s stylized.

11. Your lines are so ... flowy.

12. They have so much LIFE.

13. I don’t understand how you can create such expressive art in flowy lines, but you do, and I can’t do anything but be grateful of it.

14. The way you colour makes me make NOISES when I see it.

15. Seriously, it’s like some kind of noise is punched out of me when I see some of your pieces. Because you work with colours in a way that I can only dream of, and the way you put them together and MAKE them go together is beautiful.

15. The shades of their skin, and the blushy faces. Makes me want to reach out and touch.

16. AND THE DETAILS! THAT YOU ONLY SEE IF YOU ZOOM IN! Like Billy’s freckles. Mmmm. <3

17. You draw Billy so muscly (yes that’s a word now) and Steve so lean at times and I love it.

18. SHOULDERS. And THIGHS. ‘nuff said. Yes, that’s a compliment.

19. HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIR. I am impressed with ANYONE who can draw hair, but the way you do it is exqui... ex... that word that I can’t spell that means LOVELY and RARE and BEST and goes with the italian “mwah” hand gesture and eyes closed in bliss.

20. Body hair. The fact that you add it at all is a favorite thing of mine, and also how you draw it is A+

21. The expressions on the faces you draw. Ugh, to have that skill. Seriously, you draw such wonderful expresions that each grin, each fallen face, each glance just feels true to whatever character you draw it on.

22. Fashion baby. You draw clothes so good, and I would totally hire you as an illustrator if I had to make a collection at some point. That’ll never happen, but I WOULD.

23. How do you draw noses that makes me want to BITE them? Noses are awful! But you make them cute from ALL angles!

24. Oooh and speaking of cute - the red ears?? Yeah. Mmm.

25. I know I mentioned details before, but it’s worth mentioning again because with your art, I find that I have to zoom in and really look, and every time I do, I discover something new. A tattoo here, a piercing there, a piece of jewellry there ...

26. The way you express feelings with stuff like little hearts and stuff. Simple, but so effective.

27. Billy’s scars. Okay everyone knows I love them but the way YOU draw them, makes me wanna touch. And I don’t wanna touch a whole lot of people.

28. (The scars on Billy’s hands that you sometimes draw are my favorite, and deserves a mention of their own.)

29. I’ve never been able to draw hands, myself, but the way you do it? You make it look so EASY even though it’s not. Mmm, lovely veiny worker’s hands. <3

30. The tape boys that you designed for the Summer of ‘85 zine are so cute and have stolen my heart. <3

31. Billy’s eyes and lashes. That is all.

32. The fucking MAGIC you work with colours. I KNOW I mentioned it before but that was the way you worked with colours in pieces ... this time I mean the way you can just slap shapes and colours on things or behind things and it TRANSFORMS pieces, you know? Like the one you did with Billy and Steve in horrible workout wear (that piece added two years to my lifespan). Background? Star and colours, and immidiately it is transformed into something I want to EAT. Also the one year anniversery of Billy’s death drawing. COLOURS. LOOK AT THEM COLOUR COMBINATIONS.

33. No one draws 80s fashion like you do.

34. No one draws wet hair like you do (one day I shall commission you do draw the boys in the rain, just you wait ...)

35. Have we talked about tattoos yet? No? GREAT. Because that is another thing I love about your art. How you just ... play with tattoos, and how it looks so GOOD. Billy with all those tattooes and piercings? The flowers and the colours? The way you sometimes draw him with a variation of his tattoo? I love.

36. SPEAKING OF, YOU DREW BILLY IN THE COLLAR AND I WILL NEVER NOT BE GRATEFUL TO YOU FOR THAT.

37. The way you work with light and shadow to show the eye where one should look in a picture is amazing and I wish I could live in your brain when you draw it.

38. On that note, the way that some of your highlights are just WHITE in some pieces (the one where they’re in the bathtub and the one where they’re smoking on the pool chairs) makes my heart purr. Yes. Purr. You read that right.

39. On THAT note (the piece with the pool chairs and the orange) - you are a wizard with colours, we’ve established that, but you are ALSO a wizard with a limited palette and one day I aspire to know a TENTH of what you can do with like black and white and one more colour.

40. The comic that you drew for a holiday exchange is still something I go back to and read now and then, and the way you planned that out is etched into my brain at this point.

41. Like, the car on the road being used as a divider of sorts. Fucking genius.

42. Smoke. Smoking is bad for you but you always draw smoke so that I want to try to catch it between my fingers. So flowy, like it has a life of its own.

43. I know I’ve mentioned skin colour before but also the DIFFERERENCE in skin colour between Billy and Steve? Yes. Good.

44. You can create such tender pieces that I feel like my heart is about to burst when i see them.

45. you can also create such FUNNY pieces that I laugh out loud.

46. Whatever mood you want to capture, you capture. And you make us feel it too. Thank you for that.

47. The Harringrove fandom is so lucky to have you, honestly. I am so grateful that you’re here.

48. You are a very talented illustrator, and now I’m not even talking about how you draw the boys. I am talking about your skills at creating graphics, illustrations, and other such things.

49. (People will get to witness some of this when they get the zine, and I personally can’t wait!)

50. Speaking of: you are an amazing team member and I am so so happy to be on the same team as you.

51. You do everything that can be expected of you and MORE, so much MORE.

52. Your ideas are amazing, you work fast and everything you do is high-quality. I have learned so much just by watching you and listening to you and reading what you write, and for this I thank you.

53. If someone mentions a random idea or just something that they can’t articulate, you take it and you run with it and you turn it into GOLD. You transform random words into FINISHED PIECES and ... I just ... your VISION, man, it’s out of this world.

54. You are very dependable, and I would be honored to work with you on any given occasion.

55. You are so NICE and friendly <3 I have never been intimidated or afraid to talk to you (except in the very beginning when I was star-struck into terror).

56. You are generous. Donating your time and skill to be a part of the charity drives, AND providing people with more Harringrove art? Thank you.

57. You know that simpler style that you have? With the slightly blockier/straighter lines? Yeah, I love that one too. You know I do, but It should be said again.

58. In one piece that you did, I couldn’t stop staring at the way you drew a jacket. I know it’s a weird thing to say but I just ... You have a way of drawing clothes that makes them stylized, but STYLISH.

59. That little shine? The dot of white you add, to metals and eyes. It brings your pieces alive.

60. HOW HAVE I FORGOTTEN TO MENTION BILLY’S EYEBROWS UNTIL NOW?? I swear, you can make them as thick as you want and they will never be too thick.

61. (same goes for thighs. thank you for how you draw thighs)

62. HOW can you have such a soft style and such a blocky style at the same time, and STILL MAKE IT SO OBVIOUS THAT IT’S BY YOU?? I am amazed.

63. I would pay ACTUAL MONEY to just stand beside you and stare at you while you work. Too creepy? Yeah. Too creepy. Sorry. But I just ... I love watching art get made, and YOUR art? Is etched onto my HEART.

64. You deserve the world. ALL the good comments. Ever.

65. AND YOU ARE A WRITER, TOO. It’s honestly UNFAIR how talented you are.

66. I haven’t read through all of the “falling for you in hawkins, indi-fucking-ana” series yet (I KNOW!!!!!) because i’m saving it for a time when I can properly enjoy it, but it has been open in a tab on my computer (and my phone, so I don’t lose it if I accidentally close my tabs on one of the devices) forever.

67. I HAVE read other pieces of your writing though and I love them.

68. Sometimes when I need a short fluffy piece, I go back and re-read “A Day at the Fair”.

69. And “no longer one raindrop he is the endless sea“ made me cry. Made me feel like I’d been kicked in the chest.

70. (I printed both of those, just to keep to myself.)

71. I love the WAY you write, the language you use, the senteces you use, the way you write the characters and how they talk to each other. Your use of italics, your use of imagery. I love it, and I wish I could write like that.

72. I know many other people who love your writing too. I keep seeing comments on it on things and in discord servers etc.

73. Oh and art too of course. Everyone around me loves you and your art, because I only surround myself with people with impeckable... impecc... FLAWLESS taste, obviously. :D

74. Back to art! You once drew Billy in those jeans with suspenders thingies (What are they called? The jeans that goes up over the shoulders ... only he only had it over one shoulder. Anyway) and I will be forever grateful.

75. Sometimes you post WIPs and sketches, and I get all blushy and excited and has to breathe heavily because it’s like drugs to me.

76. Sometimes you make one art, and you colour it differently, and you post both of the versions? And I have spent TOO much time comparing the two pieces to try to work out how you do your magic, but I never do. And the funny thing is, that I can almost never choose a favorite!

77. You love Billy. And that is SO relatable.

78. You wanted MORE for Billy, which is ALSO so relatable, and I cannot help but feel comfortable in your prescence (online prescence, whatever) because I know you are like-minded in that regard.

79. You are so PRODUCTIVE. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t demand any creator to PRODUCE or just provide content - I am deeply grateful for every piece - but you have a whole LIBRARY of works, and it is amazing to me. How you keep giving and giving. Thank you for that.

80. No matter how you draw your characters (you can draw them in ANY way, in ANY style) they’re always recognizable.

81. I love watching you experiment with art. New styles, new things. Because you do it so well, and it’s so satisfying to see you grow.

82. And no matter what style you use, it doesn’t take away that you have the BASICS, you know your shit! Anatomy, perspective, colour theory ... I see you, and I know you know it.

83. *happy sigh* I would honestly watch you draw anything. Any time.

84. Your art manages, somehow, to be messy and clean at the same time, and it has been years and I still dont’ know HOW, but I will enjoy spending years ahead trying to figure it out. Either way, I’m into it.

85. I love how there is no obvious masculine or feminine in your art. Or maybe there is, and I just don’t catch up on it. Either way, sometimes it feels like there’s a play on it, and I like it a lot.

86. That first commission I got from you, more than a year ago now? Remember? Well, I was so afraid to let you know I wanted something changed in it, but you were so nice about it and changed it without a comment, and you made it so much better than I could have hoped for. Really made me dare to reach out for more commissions later. So really, YOU’RE the reason why I have so little money right now, lol (thank you).

87. All your pieces Packs A Punch. No matter if it’s art or writing.

88. SPEAKING OF WRITING. *GASP* I CAN’T BELIEVE I ALMOST FORGOT ABOUT YOUR TAGS. You are the tag QUEEN, and often I see a post and then I have to go and see if you have reblogged it because i just KNOW that you’ll have written a masterpiece in the tags.

89. Your tags are better than many fics.

90. I don’t understand how you can write such tiny masterpieces in only a few sentences, but you do. You take something - and image or a gifset or someone’s idea - and you create this whole THING from it and I am often BOMBARDED with images from that alone.

91. My brain loves your tags. It’s like my brain is the canvas and your mind is the paint and your tags are the brush (... it’s late here, okay, I should sleep, but that made perfect sense in my brain).

92. You are a fucking INSPIRATION. You are an old lady with a watering can, making sure other people and their ideas can grow. You sew good things wherever you go.

93. Okay you’re not an old lady (I think). This is not really a comment so I’m gonna go with 93 again.

93 (again). I’d totally buy an art book with your art and your tags. Just, for your consideration, for the future. Just sayin’.

94. Okay this is random and I don’t even like butts much but I really like how you sometimes draw Steve’s bony butt. It’s like, it’s there, but it’s not? I don’t know how to describe it and now I’m digging myself into a hole here but I LIKE it, is my point.

95. You are sweet, you are talented, you are nice, you are productive, you are a good person.

96. I don’t know what you do for a living in real life, but I hope you have people around you who appreciate you for all that. And that they see how special you are.

97. There was something I was saving for last ... what was it? OH, the way you plan out your pieces? Like, the way you just don’t put something front and center, but there is actual thought behind angles and placement and light and darkness and such? It creates art that feels so real, in whatever way you choose to depict them.

98. You, and your art (drawings, fics, tags, whatever)? You spark joy.

99. Thank you for being who you are, and for being here with us.

100. I love you. :)

#Granpappy-winchester #100 good things #you're amazing #please know that #okay now it's late and i have to sleep but #don't let the bad people get you down #there are more of us who love you than there are of the assholes #<3 #granpappy winchester #lazybakerart

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popculturebuffet · 4 years ago

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Ducktales Shadow Into Light (Lena Retrospective): Friendship Hates Magic! (Commission by WeirdKev27)

Hello all you happy people! And welcome, and to some of you welcome back to Shadow Into Light, my fully paid for but gladly done Lena retrospective, covering everyone’s faviorite lesbian emo shadow’s personal jounrey through all three seasons and some brucey bonuses.

So this time we pick up in mid-season 2.. yes MID season 2. Though for once taking so long to adress things had valid reasons. It dosen’t make the 8 month wait for Lena to return and for Violet to show up, her concept art having been shown off shortly before Shadow War aired during San Diego Comic Con, any less aggravating, especially since the episode did air overseas before that but never leaked anywhere properly. So I knew she’d be okay but not HOW.

As I said though.. they had their reasons. The episode was set for episode 8 in production order, right behind whatever Happened to Della Duck? which answered the other big cliffhanger from season 1, Della’s exile on the moon. So while this episode was back in the queue, along with Della’s, which had to wait till after the christmas episode to air because said episode takes place before it. So waiting on this episode was fair on the crew’s part even knowing it was a hiatus.

It ended up getting pushed back by a week once the episodes started airing.. but as outlined last time, THIS TIME Disney actually moved it for good reason instead of just doing so because shut up. See the problem with moving episodes around in season 2.. is Della’s return. Several episodes that in theory could’ve easily been pushed back instead of this one, Depths of Cousin Fethry, Treasure of the Found Lamp... couldn’t because they take place BEFORE Della came back and it’d be weird to air them after. One features Donald, the other dosen’t but still lacks Della and it’d be weird if it did> While this episode takes place before Della comes back or was at least meant to, no one appears in person, and Beakly mentoning “the boys and scrooge” at the bin could simply be her forgetting Della’s a part of things for a second. It’s not entirely in character, but it’s much easier than explaning why Della’s not there and Donald is.

They also moved one episode ahead of this.. but it’s one I approve of. See from episode 7 onward the episodes were aired in week long duckbombs, woo-ooo. I I don’t fault disney for it or the reason I suspect they had for doing this: while it wasn’t the intended way of airing, they likely did this airing style to get shows on Disney Plus quicker for it’s debut and given they’ve sunk a LOT of money into the streaming service and it’s a key part of their future, I can’t blame them for wanting the entire series thus far on the platform at launch. It’s one of if not their most popular show at the moment. They wanted it front and center.

So this one took an extra week to air, and an extra day as they aired raiders of the doomsday vault right after Della’s return in “Nothing Can Stop Della Duck!”.. which is also not a bad move. Fans wanted more of Della and her bonding with the kids, I wanted more of that so while the wait was grumble inducing, it was worth the tradeoff to get more of this character and her bonding with Dewey.. and let’s face it Glomgold. You know what i’m about at this point.

So there were delays but not the mind boggling ones that reshuffled the season last time and by next season there’d be zero reshuffling with both holiday episodes designed to go anywhere. So with the history and the agonizing wait out of the way join me under the cut as a snark knight returns, a new fan faviorite debuts and Beakly gets sucked into Launchpad’s awful fandom.

We open our story at the Duckburg Library. Man I fucking miss the library. I mean you can go by apointment and what not but I also have library card debt and stuff, and it’s just not the same.

Anyways naturally Webby is going there to research the Shadow Realm in hopes of finding something to bring Lena back. Last week was “Children’s Card Games, Dark Magic and You! by Professor Yugi Moto which while enlightening got her nowhere. Next up is “Shadow Games on Motorcycles!: How a Crimson Dragon defeated a giant Shadow Monster and brought the dead back and I helped by Doctor Yusei Fudo”.

But that one’s not in yet so she instead goes to the Librarian to get another book.. and it’s Quackfaster! Horay! As for why she’s working two jobs, she’s saving up for a retirement condo in BIRDDDBAAADDOOOSSSSS. I had to type it that way it’s ape law.

But her next book “I Went there and it Sucked, My Time in the Shadow Realm by Mayor of New Jersey Joey Wheeler” is taken by “another strange little girl”. Quackfaster, you chase people around with a scimitar. Just accept your the weird one and live with it like me. You’ll be happier that way.

And so we finally meet Violet whose introduced pitch perfectly. Webby gives out her usual “Hi I”m Webby”.. and Violet simply holds a finger up, finishes her page and gives a simple “Yes?” It demonstrates her quite nature, her love of reading and her lack of social skills all in one fell swoop. The ensuing dead language off is also pretty damn adorable reminding me of that scene from “Lisa’s Wedding” where she and Hugh fight over a book and reading it before making out.. minus the making out because these are children, no one wants that, and Webby is taken. .and even then again children. Most we get is an innocent peck and some blushing.

So Violet, finding out Webby needs it and is researching the arcane too offers to research together tonight, bringing a sleeping bag just in case it goes on long... to Lena’s unheard objections as she’s rattled by the break in her normal routine with Webby, and the possibility of Webby falling for someone else. I mean this i framed as a friendship thing... but you can only say “friend” so many times in a work before you sound like a retired grandma in denial about their granddaughter.

Later at the Mansion, Beakley is enjoying a nice quiet afternoon to herself. Turns out once a month Scrooge has “Binventory Day” where he and the boys catalogue the bin for hours giving her a night to herself and Webby. Webby loudly interuppts the peace as is Cartoon Law, but Beakley is pleased Webby is getting back on the friendship horse.

Bentina ends up ruining it a bit though by bringing up her previous slumber party disasters... which even Lena at her most jealous admits were her fault and only agrees to in the hopes Webby’s going to cancel. Instead Webby decides to make this the most normal sleepover ever! The one where her new friend is coming to specifically help her with magic.

Bentina tries to back her grandaughter/daughter down from this insane logic, but Webby does, if innocently clap back well to her being the one to give her “Be yourself” advice. “I’m not like you Granny, I need to have friends”

And while Webby quickly flees after Beakley tries to deny it.. she’s not wrong. She has exactly one friend who she works for and no social life to speak of.. and as far as I can tell she’s fine this way. Beakley is happy with her work and raising Webby and has someone to talk to in Scrooge. She has everything she needs, while Webby is a social butterfly.. a socially inept social butterfly. She needs people and loves meeting new people and needs friends and not just her family. One’s an introvert the other’s an extrovert. I’m both at times, and before you ask why yes it is a living nightmare thank you so much for asking. I get where both are coming from. And Beakley clearly had friends at one point it’s just a long war with FOWL and a sudden granddaughter probably whittled it down to just Scrooge. It’s okay to be yourself.

So this is where the plotlines split off, so as usual, i’m splitting the up.

Launchpad and Beakley in Getting To Know You And Getting Sucked INto Your Strange and Lovely Fandom

So Beakley naturally cries out “name one person I don’t get along with.. and in walks Launchpad , Nature’s Perfect Himbo, having destroyed the gate and at least being honest he probably will again. Why he’s here when the boys and Scrooge are all gone?

But I don’t care as this subplot is just.. a nonstop delight. Starting with Beakly inviting Launchpad to sup with her.. which just confuses him. Look Bentina you have to use small words.. it’s a miracle he gets up in the morning, dreses himself and hasn’t died in a tragic gasoline fight accident. You have to know your audience. Still funny.

And “not knowing your audience” continues as Beakly serves them pea soup but Launchpad is intimidated by the spoons and while she does offer to help instead tries to use all of them then a straw and then falls facedown in his soup. And this is the SECOND TIME Beakly’s left someone living at the mansion to die. I mean that’s not a lot but it’s still weird it happened twice.

Finally they sit quitely, Beakly reading the Scarlet Pimpernell, and Launchpad doing a coloring book. And besides the odd couple energy what I really like about this subplot.. is that it fleshes Beakly out> This is one of her ONLY plots in the entire goddamn series, yes really. 70 episodes and she only got five spotlight episodes/plots. But it does at least show her off: her upperclass pedigree we really don’t see often, showing that while she applied to the job as maid out of necisity she knows her stuff, her love of classic literature and her being out of touch with the common person. It’s not a ton but it’s more than ninja butler or “stop having fun with your kids della and be a parent”. I mean she wasn’t wrong but she could’ve been nicer about it given the circumstances.

So Launchpad, given Beakley’s never shown any interest in him as a person before, assumes she’s going to fire him and was just softening him up. I mean Scrooge himself outright said he never would and if he did he’d do it to your face, hard as it’d be. But that aside, he’s fine with getting to know her once he knows that no he’s not being fired she just wanted to hang out, he’s everyone’s friend. But naturally an upperclash british former super spy and a dumb as a bucket with a heart of gold pilot have nothing in common, not even aircraft as “plane go up, plane crash going down’ is about the extent of his actual knowledge on aircraft that isn’t instinct or dumb luck.

He does manage to break the ice though, mistaking her book for a Darkwing Duck book and deciding to show her the show since it might be something they have in common. At first she’s as unintuhsed as you’d expect a british lady who never watches the telly watching a 90′s kids show would be.. but by the end she’s gotten all the way into it.

It’s really endearing, showning that two vastly diffrent people with nothing can common can be brought together by something as simple and glorious as liking the same show. I’ve had it happen with me. She naturally is all for filiming his fanscript after the finale provides no answers, being the one to suggest it and the two end the episode shooting it with her in full darkwing duck cosplay. I’ts a cute and entertaining subplot and a nice contrast to the main plot which while not super dark, does have a fog of tension over it. Speaking of which.

Webby, Lena and Violet: In Two’s Company, Three Accidently Creates Monsters That Nearly Take Your Girlfriend Off Into The Shadowy Abyss So the slumber party gets underway with Webby shooing away Duckworth after clearing out her room to greet Violet herself and violet having brought pie... a great callback to an earlier joke where Webby wondered if pie was normal at a sleepover. No but it should be. So Webby welcomes her in to her totally normal room devoid of anything. Nothing suspicious about that.

So Violet tries to get her into research, specifically Tulpas, an actual magical concept, a mental construct of some kind created out of desire, imagination or what have you. Gee I wonder if that will come into play this episode. Webby.. wants to play baggle or what have you or do makeovers and drags Violet along to do the second thing after Violet asks about Magica. Lena then finds something glowing in Violet’s bag...specifically, her old amulet, cracked but still working and flowing with Magica’s power.

Lena assumes Violet is Magica and goes to warn Webby only to find her HORRIBLY MUTATED! Naturally it’s a misdirect, as it turns out Violet is just REALLY good at special effects makeup. It’s something I honestly forgot about her... i’m betting one of her dad’s is an effects artist. Just saying that’d be neat. But Webby gives the “i’m normal really even though I live in a giant mansion with my dad I don’t know is my dad and my grandma whose actually my adopted mom” game away by pointing out the demon’s fang is crooked and Violet is curious and heads to Webby’s room finding a picture from said demon. He signed it and everything. Good man that Rakshaka.

Webby is worried Violet will be freaked out by all the weird but nope, she enjoys it. And it’s not a suprise: violet is actively researching the shadow dimension. Why WOULD she be scared off. The conflict was in Webby’s head all along.. and partly out of PTSD, but we’ll get to that. Webby still tries to get her to baggle but they settle on ancient rune dice baggle and summoning some spirits. Lena scoffs.. until it actually works. It does make sense though: As we’ll see in her last starring role, Lena is kinda like Wanda Maximoff: she has an extreme amount of power but she has no idea how to use it and is simply making up most of her magic as she goes along or took magica’s lead. But the spell means Lena can touch the dice so she spells out don’t trust her.. but forgets she’s dealing with two nerds who love unlocking puzzles and assume the message is on the dice themselves.

Webby and Violet decide they need more clarity and resume the seance.. which summons mysterious white shadow creatures Lena saw before.. .some now taking Magica’s shape. And Lena’s panicked “Oh not again” says it all. So Lena tries the tried and true bedsheet ghost cliche, grumbling about it but showing up as a ghost without any abillity to speak or talk to webby dosen’t do anything and Violet tackles the sheet before deciding to grab the amulet to dispiate the spirit.. only for Lena to show up for a breif second before she does show making the panicked child look incredibly supscious.

Webby naturally tackles and interrogates Violet wanting the full story. And it turns out the big secret is.. Violet is entirely normal. Nothing to do with Magica, no possesions or secretly being her or a minon of hers... she was just a logic obsessed 12 year old who thought magic was a myth.. until the Shadow War proved “Nope it’s real everything you know is wrong. Up is down black is white and short is long”. She just happened to be close to the bin and found the amulet when the remains of the staff fell near her and compacted back into it.

It’s a brilliant reveal. See first watch around your genuinely unsure if Violet is a real person or not.. unless you went in knowing she is, but semantics. Point is most first time viewers didn’t know she’d be a beloved member of the supporting cast and didn’t know what to expect. But looking back... it makes no sense. If Magica had the amulet.. why would she need to infiltrate the mansion. Revenge? Possibly but she’d want Scrooge there too. Even being evil on her own Violet had valid opportunity to pilfer Webby’s magical items, she has an entire box of magic rocks right there and then simply zap her with the amulet. But she didn’t.. because Violet is a person. When she DOES use it she’s utterly terrified, and we can see her breathing heavy, scared.. something Magica has NEVER been of Lena. To Violet it was just a ghost. Webby hadn’t told her about lena and any information she had about her was second hand from newspapers and the like.

Webby is sympathetic, as Violet’s feeling of being sheltered from this greater world naturally resonates and while Lena is still supscious, having reincorperated, it’s clear Webby trusts violet and simply dosen’t want to loose another friend to magic. Here trying to hide it now takes another tone.. she knows Lena was behind it.. but is so afraid of it consuming violet the way it did Lena, she forgets almost ALL of the weird magic stuff in sleepovers was magica’s manipulation, and that Lena died because her creator was a monster, not because of magic. Magic is not inherently good or bad, it just is, and that will come back as a theme in a few episodes. It allowed Magica to ravage the town and kill Lena.. but it allowed Lena to exist in the first place and while the terrible events with Magica clearly shook her.. it also shook violet out of her complacency and got her to research a world she never would’ve considered. Good can come from bad.

And it’s with this in mind that Violet.. does not give up. She’s stayed in her box enough.. and now she knows the spirit is a friendly one.. she figures they can bring Lena BACK using the amulet. After all it was lena’s and the source of her powers.. it might be the key to reiviving her. And while Lena, if invisibly as always, remarks it’s dangerous.. Webby, with no hesitation agrees to get her girlfriend back. It’s risky sure.. but what Lena hasn’t gotten is she’s WORTH the list. She’s so full of self loathing from both her manupations of webby and Magica’s gaslighting and abuse that she can’t see herself being worth anything even as Webby spent MONTHS trying to save her, clearly still loves her, and only didn’t want violet getting hurt because she misses her. Webby still loves and needs her for who Lena is.. Lena just can’t it and it hurts to think about that.

So the girls once again try to summon Lena and it starts to work.. but also summons the Tulpa’s back... this time taking Magica’s form and causing a suspcious lena to panic.. and suck both of them into the shadow realm. We get the reunion we’ve been waiting for as Webby tackle hugs her happily.

But it’s soon cut short as Lena still thinks Violet is just manipulating Webby, lying to her and that “she’s mine!”

For the record Joss Whedon sucks, not taking that out on Anthony Stewart Head or the guys who actually wrote the episode. Moving on.

I feel Lena’s jealousy comes from the aformentioned self loathing, mixed with a life of having to live just to surivive at the beck and call of a throughly awful person who didn’t consider her a sentient being worthy of anything especially love. She can’t fathom anyone else loving Webby the way she does because she feels once webby has anyone else.. she won’t need her. It’s toxic and wrong.. but it’s easy to see why that’d happen when sh’es only had one healthy relationship. She barely knows the boys, Beakly only grew to tolerate her and she was only friends with Scrooge for like.. a minute. Webby is the only person she knows, loves and trusts and she just can’t risk loosing that and can’t convince herself to share.

In a realistic scenario Lena would have to simply learn to trust and let her girlfriend have other relationshps and that hogging her all to herself is inhernetly toxic and bad. And while she still does we’re talking about a living pile of shadows smooching a clone, so yeah instead the tulpas come out and drag her off..and take Lena’s form. While Lena tries to blame Violet, Violet has absolutley none of that and makes Lena see the hard truth: Lena is so worried about being forgotten, she created the tulpas by accidnet. As I said her power is raw and unfocused.. so she didn’t do it on purpose nor did she realize how toxic she was being. This finally snaps Lena back to reality, and see Violet geniunely cares about Webby and any ulterior motives were just in her head, so the two agree to work together, using a similar chant to the one from Jaws to destroy the Tulpas and save Webby.

So the shadow realm is disapated and our trio are returned to the human world.. but Lena, not being part of it and no longer having a tether.. starts to disolve, with a really heartbreaking scene of Webby holding her hand, as does violet. But.. then a miracle happens. Since the Bracelet was Lena’s link to Webby, and to her own magic, with it and the amulet close by.. both swirl around Lena, and the power of love.. for a new friend and a first love... revivies her. Mist parts.. and we get one heartwarming sign that after all this time “I’m back?!” Lena is confused.. but once again part of this plane of reality. She’s free and WEbby triumphanthly hugs her with Violet joining in. By letting go of her hate.. Lena returned to who she loved. They also run into the end of the other subplot and Launchpad’s casual hey lena is just great.

So our heroes are reunited and doing horror makeup and I really love Webby’s updo here and wish more works fan nd otherwise used it. WE get a final fakeout as Lena seemingly disovles and Violet reveals herself as magica.. only for it to be a prank and Webby to just be glad the love of her life and her new best friend get a long. We get one last hearwarming image and we close out.. with Lena finally having what she always wanted freedom. And while she may not know it yet in accepting violet.. she’s finally found family. More on that in a few weeks.

Final Thoughts: This episode is excellent. It’s not the best of the Lena arc, that comes next and it does drag once or twice.. but overall it’s a really great character piece, with a nice ballance betwen the tense main plot and the funny and goofy subplot. It adds more to Lena’s character, finally brings her back, while giving us a new and throughly fascenating new character to rave about in Violet, as well as giving Webby her own personal squad. It’s a great episode.. and only leads to a better one. But we’ll get to that in a week or so. First we have a bit of a detour and my plug.

If you liked this review, follow for more, spread it around, and join my patreon. It’s almost time for new patreons to pay up and if you hit my stretch goal i’ll review a darkwing duck episode next month and every month! We’re just five bucks away people! And if you’d like to just comission a review directly it’s just 5 bucks an episode and avaliable via my dms, ask or discord.

Next Time on Shadow Into Light: We take a break from the last two Lena episodes to go to one of her sources as we head back to Ducktales 87 with Magica’s Shadow War! I know almost nothing going in so... Shadow betrayals and stuff? Yay?

Tommorow: It’s Fenton’s birthday! And since i’ve done a LOT of ducktales recently and can’t do super ducktales till I hit my next stretch goal at 25 bucks, we’re going back to ST Canard at long last for Gizmoducks second apperance.. which can’t possibly be worse than the first so i’m excited. Let’s get dangerous tommorow!

#lena sabrewing #webby vanderquack #ducktales #weblena #violet sabrewing #shadow into light #friendship hates magic #great title by the way #bentina beakley #launchpad mcquack #darkwing duck

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bluesylveon2 · 4 years ago

Text

My My I Could Never Let You Go

Summary: Sasha Zoe just wants her dad to walk her down the aisle. There is only one problem: she doesn't know who her dad is! Sasha invites 3 men in hopes of finding out which one is her father. What could possibly go wrong?

Pairings: Levi x Hange, Sasha x Niccolo, and other background relationships

Disclaimer: This is a Levihan Mamma Mia au. This fanfic is inspired by Mamma Mia which is directed by Phyllida Loyd, written by Catherine Johnson, and uses music from the pop group ABBA. Attack on Titan is a manga/anime series written by Hajime Isayama and published by Kondasha

A/N: Is it too late to say that Sasha’s wedding takes place in the first week of August? (edit: I realized my mistake and I fixed it) Tbh this chapter is short and just filler BUT it does set up what will happen in the next few chapters. You could say it helps with the subplot. I did make a few edits to the fic, especially last chapter because I’m nit-picky like that.

Need to catch up? Catch up here!

Ch 8: Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy

2 months before the wedding

It was a beautiful, sunny day in Kalokairi, and Hanami could not agree more as she sips her coffee in front of the Swell Cafe Bar.

The smell from her coffee was wafting her nose, the warm sunlight on her sun-kissed skin, the beautiful view, and the slight breeze that moved her sundress a bit were perfect for her.

She tapped her foot to the music playing in the background. The owners were playing an old 80's jazz song. Hanami wasn't familiar with it, but she liked listening to the beat. She also noticed the waiter shyly glancing at her every now and then as he worked.

Aw, she thought. It seems like he's too shy to walk up to her. He kept subtly glancing at her since she sat down.

Hanami looks in the man's direction and gives him a bright smile and a small wave, causing the guy to blush and look away with embarrassment for getting caught.

Hanami chuckles to herself. She considered winking at him, but she didn't want the poor guy to blush much.

She rests her head on her palm, and her gaze returns back to the sea. She reflects on what has happened in the past few months.

2 months ago, during Easter break, Jean approached her with a plan to win over Mikasa. At the time, Hanami was unsure if he would be able to pull it off. Everyone knows how much Mikasa likes (is that even the right word?) Eren. Yet, everyone knows about Jean’s huge crush on Mikasa.

She only agreed after Jean offered to pay for everything during their "meet-ups" (she insisted that they take turns instead and Jean agreed), assist her with her Maid of Honor duties for the wedding when she had to go back to college (Hanami did her best to exclude him from anything related to Sasha’s dads), and do any other favors for a year. Hanami knew Jean was serious after the conditions.

You see, Hanami used to not like Jean back in high school. He was cocky, arrogant, and annoying (at least to her and (not)surprisingly, Eren). Hanami made sure to express her dislike for him. However, Jean changed after an incident when Marco broke his right leg and Jean was too late to stop it. He became more mature and considerate of his friends. As a result, both he and Hanami decided they could be friends, and everything went from there.

And so, Hanami agreed with one condition: Jean must teach her how to dance.

The reason being is Hanami’s Austrian friends invited her to one of the many balls held during ball season in Austria. Everyone in Hanami’s friend group knows she cannot dance, especially in heels.

Luckily for her, Jean was the only available guy with a decent enough dance experience to teach her.

(All the guys agreed that Jean was the best dancer of all of them. Eren is a close second.)

The two would sometimes bicker, but they had each other's backs. They define their friendship as comfortable, per se; they were comfortable enough to actually kiss each other to get out of a sticky situation.

Hanami could remember an incident a few days ago when Sasha decided that the two, plus her and Niccolo, to take a trip to Skiathos to take a break from all the wedding plans. They had settled for a party at a local beach bar at night. Skiathos is known as a party island after all. Niccolo and Sasha had separated from the group to swim in the sea, so Jean offered to buy Hanami a drink since they were alone.

About 10 minutes had passed since and Jean did not return, so Hanami went out to find him. She did not expect to find him at a table near the bar surrounded by girls without holding any drinks. Despite how cocky Jean looks, he cares about personal space and making sure his friends are ok. He would hate it if someone decided to harass Hanami while he was gone.

The girls were getting a bit too close to him, so Hanami decided to step in. She strutted to his side while ignoring the other girls and proclaimed how much she missed him. She then grabs his hand and subtly squeezes it, to which he squeezes it back, giving her permission to do what she was about to do.

Jean had turned to face Hanami, wrapped his arms around her waist, and pulled her close to his body. Hanami looks up at him and grabs the collar of his shirt with both hands. She pulls him down for a kiss while ignoring the other girls who were still present. She wrapped her arms around her neck, while Jean's hands played with the hem of her cover-up. It was nothing sweet and cute like what normal couples do. Their kiss was more heated and was enough for the other girls to leave them alone.

They never brought it up again just for their own sakes. Jean and Hanami made an agreement to help each other by acting as if they were dating as practice for Mikasa. Hence why they kissed during the party. The two even agreed to squeeze each other’s hands as a sign if they were comfortable to proceed. Jean had no experience with dating, and Hanami had one boyfriend back in high school. She had more experience with dating than him.

(Hanami only mentioned that Jean had improved on his kissing skills and left it at that).

Hanami continues looking at the view as she waits for Jean. Apparently, he requested that they meet up one more time, and this is very important. Hanami questioned why this meeting was important. Did they not cover everything in the plan? Is there a plot hole they might have missed? She does not turn her head when she hears the man of the hour heading in her direction.

“You’re late. If you came any later, then I would go on a date with the waiter instead,” she teases and turns around to fully face him. He wore a white long-sleeve button-up shirt that he rolled up the sleeves. He also had on slacks and a pair of dress shoes. She found it strange that he decided to dress nicely when it was only 10 am. Usually, he dresses in casual clothes. She eyes the camera in his hands.

Jean sits in the chair across from her and places the camera on the table. “This is not a date, Hanami.” He dismissed with no hint of a laugh anywhere. “I’ve-” he hesitates for a second. “-been thinking about something lately.”

“Oh,” Hanami says and leans forward a bit. She noticed his hesitation and folded her hands on top of the table. She gestures to the camera on the table, “What’s with the camera?”

"I’m just practicing for school. I need to take a picture of something I admire and paint it for the school's art exhibit."

Hanami chuckles. "Too bad Mikasa is not here. She is the perfect subject for your painting."

Jean shifts around in his seat uncomfortably. Hanami notices but does not ask about it out loud. Why did he look uncomfortable? She thought he would at least agree with her.

"About that..the plan with Mikasa..." He trails off, sounding almost uncertain and confused.

"What’s up?." Hanami asks and raises an eyebrow. She was taken aback. Did Jean notice a hole in their plan? She sits up and stares at him intensely. She's getting the answer one way or another.

“Did we miss something with the plan?”

Hanami knew that Mikasa would not arrive at Kalokairi until days before or maybe the day before the wedding. Jean’s plan was a long shot. Who knows if Mikasa would fall for him in such a short amount of time. Then again, they have been friends for a while now.

“No...It’s nothing,” He says dismissively. Hanami raises an eyebrow. Jean was never this jumpy during their past meet-ups. She is not one to pry, but something is clearly on Jean’s mind and he was the one who insisted on meeting up today. Looks like she might have to play a secret weapon.

“Ohhhkayyy,” she says, holding out the word. She slumps in her seat, feigning disappointment.

“Don’t tell me you’re backing out of the plan? It would be a shame to put all that time to waste.” Suddenly, she smiles a wicked smile.

“Don’t you agree, Jeanbo?”

Jean breaks out of his trance and looks at Hanami with shock. He was speechless. Jean could name only two people from his friend group who knew his childhood nickname. Marco, for obvious reasons, and Armin. Armin found out on accident and promised Jean not to tell anyone. How did she know?

Checkmate.

“How do you know that?” Jean asks with a hint of fear.

Hanami places her elbows on the table and rests her hands on her head. “How did I know?” She smiles slyly and raises her eyebrows.

“I met your mother last summer when Sasha and I were visiting Annie in Paris. Sasha wanted to take a road trip around France, and we ended up in Strasbourg as a stop for some sightseeing. You should’ve seen how shocked we were to find your mom in town. She was even shocked when we mentioned that we knew you! It’s a good thing we recognized her from the various letters she sent and the old photos.”

Hanami looks at Jean, who is still speechless. She continues her story.

“You were on your trip in Spain with Marco at the time, so the girls and your mom wanted to keep it a secret. Don't want to ruin the surprise, you know?"

Hanami chuckles to herself.

"Although she did ask if one of us was your girlfriend though. I think she wants grandchildren soon, Jeanbo.”

Hanami laughs at her little joke. Jean was too busy blushing to even laugh at her joke. Doesn’t his mom know that he is too young for that?! He decided to take note to never bring any of his female friends back home.

“Anyways, she even made us her famous omelets, which were the best I ever had! You have to make me someday, Jean. Don't even try to back out of it. Your mom said you could make it." She looks at him

She even showed us your baby pictures! You look so adorable!" she gushes.

Meanwhile, Jean has not said a word. He was too shocked to even talk.

"It's too bad you changed…" Hanami trails off and glances into Jean's golden-brown eyes. Suddenly, she stands up from her seat and leans forward. One of her hands rested on the table for support, and the other was reaching out to Jean's face.

Jean only watches as Hanami gently grabs his chin. He was too flustered to make any move to stop her. Her thumb was in the front, and the rest of her fingers were in the back. He doesn't make a move to stop her. He only blushes instead.

"You just had to grow a beard and your hair out into a mullet. You know, most guys can’t work it, yet here you are. Congrats, I guess."

She tilts his head left and right as if she was examining him. She leans closer to his face that Jean can feel her breaths fan his face.

"You also got taller and muscular too." She tsks with slight annoyance. "I wonder why no other girls on the island haven't jumped you yet, huh, lover-boy?." She laughs while referring to the fact that Jean harbors a crush on Mikasa for years now.

Her hand trailed up from his chin to cup his cheek. Jean stays still and continues to watch by looking into Hanami's espresso brown eyes behind her glasses. He hoped she could not see him short-circuiting with how close she was.

He feels her shift the hand on his cheek to pinch him. Hard.

"Ow! What the hell, Hanami?"

"You just had to lose all that baby fat and get a sharp jawline instead! I’m going to miss the pinchable cheeks I never actually got to see!"

Jean breaks out of his trance and raises his hands up to stop Hanami.

Two can play this game. What was the best thing to do in this situation? Grab both her cheeks as retaliation.

"You hypocrite! You're the one with chubbier cheeks than me!"

The two continue pulling at each other’s cheeks and throwing insults at one another. They completely ignored that they were in a public area and people nearby can see them. There was an elderly couple nearby who watched the scene unfold. They couldn’t help but laugh to themselves because it reminded them of when they were young. The waiter from earlier was starting to doubt his impression of Hanami. Who knew she was also childish?

Hanami and Jean’s bickering went on for a few minutes until Hanami gave in.

“Ok. Ok. You win, Jean!” she says after sitting back down in her seat. She rubs her now sore cheek. Yeesh, that guy has a grip.

She looks up at Jean’s face. It looks more relaxed and not as tense as before as a result of earlier.

Hanami mentally high-fived herself because her plan of getting Jean out of his whatever he was going through was a success. Now it was time to get serious.

“Jean. I can tell something is on your mind.” She reaches forward to place one hand on top of his on the table. She does not make any motion to hold it.

“It’s fine if you don’t want to tell me specifically. However, just know that I am here for you, and I am happy to listen. I promise not to say anything.” She finishes with a smile.

Jean gulps and takes his hand away to tug on the collar of his shirt. Hanami just watches him patiently.

“It’s about the plan with Mikasa...I think we need to change tactics.”

Hanami crosses her arms and raises an eyebrow. “How so?”

“We...need to get Mikasa jealous.”

Hanami chuckles a bit. She has never seen Mikasa jealous in all of her years knowing her. Unless you consider that one instance with Annie training him, but Hanami thinks Annie didn’t view Eren that way. Hanami could not help but wonder how they can get Mikasa to feel jealous of a random girl with Jean in a short amount of time. Again, it depends on when Mikasa and Historia arrive.

“How do you plan on achieving that, Jean?” Hanami asks and takes a sip of her coffee. Things are starting to get interesting now.

“How are things with the bachelorette party?” Jeans suddenly ask, changing the topic. Hanami places her cup down on the table and looks at him suspiciously.

“Well, it is definitely going to be at the hotel plaza. Sasha had requested it there. Oh! Hange and her band are going to perform too. Hange wants to relive her glory days, or so she says. Why do you ask?”

Jean presses his lips in a thin line as if he was contemplating what to say next.

“I need your help with something for the bachelorette party.”

Hanami’s suspicious look never left her face. She takes some time to think about what Jean just said.

Suddenly, it all clicked in her head. She points an accusatory finger at him and glares at Jean.

“Don’t tell me you plan on inviting male strippers to the bachelorette party?!” Hamani yells and startles Jean as well as some passersby.

“No! Do you want me to get killed by practically this whole island?!” Jean exclaims, leaning forward in his seat to cover Hanami’s mouth. He keeps it there for a minute before leaning back to take a deep breath. Of course, Hanami would quickly jump to conclusions.

“No.” He says again calmly. “I need your help setting me up with-” He glances around him, looking slightly unsure. “-Rico when she arrives.”

Hanami looks at him dumbfounded. “Come again?”

Jean sighs and looks at Hanami with a serious face. “You heard me. I want you to set me up with Rico.”

“Rico? As in Rico Brzenska, the three-time divorcee? You do realize she is old enough to be your mom, right?”

“Of course I know that! It’s all part of getting Mikasa jealous!”.

Hanami nods her head, trying to understand whatever just came out of Jean’s mouth. To her, it sounded as if he must have gone mad or something. “Uh-huh. Do you plan on going after Pieck next?”

“No! She’s married!” He exclaims while blushing.

Hanami smirks and crosses her arms in front of her chest with triumph. “Exactly.”

Jean rubs his temples and looks at Hanami with a serious face. “Look, Niccolo came up with an idea about crashing the bachelorette party. Of course, we will make sure to let you have your fun before the guys come in.”

Hanami nods along, showing Jean she is following the story. “So you want me to help you get close enough to “seduce” her (she uses air quotes on the word seduce) that you end up dancing with her at the party and hope that Mikasa notices? Let me guess, you plan on adding more attempts right before the wedding and maybe at the reception?”

“Exactly. You can even try to put in a good word for me when Mikasa comes.”

Hanami nods again in understanding. “Ok, but I won’t do it for every interaction, ok? Only if it is just us two. I don’t want the other girls to raise suspicions if I start complimenting you randomly. Also-” She clamps her hands together. “-I won’t gatekeep Mikasa from Eren. If they want to talk, then I will let them talk. I don’t want to raise any suspicions between the two if that makes sense.”

Jean nods in agreement. “Ok. That sounds like a deal. You will help put in a good word for me to Mikasa, I can try talking to Rico before the party, we will work together to get me close to Rico. You also can't tell Mikasa about my old nickname. It's embarrassing enough that more people know it.” He holds his hand out for Hanami to shake.

Hanami laughs at how serious Jean was. She thought it was kind of funny to see how dedicated he was to this plan. She shakes his hand to seal the agreement. “I promise not to tell Mikasa, Jean. I do have some doubts about the Rico part. I don't mind saying ‘I told you so’ if things go south.”

She places her hand back down on the table and looks at Jean. She smiles, and it even catches him off guard. “You put a lot of effort into this, Jean. You deserve to be happy with Mikasa.”

“Y-y-yeah. You’re right.” Jean rubs the back of his head nervously, causing Hanami to laugh again.

Hanami continues smiling as she stands up and grabs Jean’s hand. “C’mon! I paid last time, so it’s your turn to pay for the food and I’m very hungry! I’m craving some walnut pie with ice cream!”

Jean never questioned her request. That woman had a sweet tooth second to Annie’s. He sighs as Hanami lets go of his hand to call over a waiter and start ordering a whole list of food.

This woman is going to be the death of him.

I know this is a filler chapter, but I am currently working on ch 9 right now. It is a good way to look at Hanami’s character though.

Updates may take a while because the semester is about to end

I chose Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy because I can see it fitting Jean and the many Nicosasha Tiktoks I used to get with this song.

The timing in this fic might be weird because I try to make it somewhat accurate with the research I find.

Speaking of research, this fic is basically a list of places I want to go to in the future. Too bad I can’t go now 😭

#levihan #levi x hange #levihan fanfiction #nicosasha #erwin x hange #mike x hange #mikenana #aruani #hitch x marlow #marco x mina #pokkopikku #snk #aot

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