#200 words at most

[phantom-does-a-thing]

ok so, Funny numbers time.

I have 164 pjo fics on my ao3 which I think are almost entirely written during 2020, that's all I wrote that year except for I think 5 fics. Adding up the word count of all my pjo series... because they aren't all in the same series god I hate past phantom. It adds up to 154,483 words. But my wordcount for 2020 was 252,720 words. I do not understand the discrepancy but WHATEVER.

so I have 164 pjo fics, im not adding those all together individually but I'm gonna go off of the 154k words for this post.

I have 163 jrwi fics. And the wordcount of my jrwi series? 662,401 words. That's like 4 times the pjo series. Which I think is very, very interesting. Because they both have the same amount of fics pretty much.

[definitelynotshouting]

every so often i come to my senses and remember that this is an almost 12k fraught emotional and deeply visceral chapter literally consisting of two characters having tea

[notsosecretlyalesbian]

"You're pretty dang defeatist for someone who votes third-party. Come on. Let's go bully some sensitive artists."

Lisa Ann Walter as Melissa Schemmenti in Abbott Elementary | 02×17: Mural Arts

[bayeis]

"You like the magnus archives?? What kind of merch do you have????"

This is all I got

[volvolts]

I can’t believe people sort ao3 by comments/kudos/bookmark/completion/word count I just raw dog it out there and whatever tags and summary gets me gets me

[27twinsister]

I have written 3 fanfics based on the first episode of My Personal Weatherman, which is a very normal amount of things to write based on one 24-minute episode

[milkweedman]

Made a very scrappy little wind chime out of failed spindles. Some of them were too twisted to spin, some I made before I learnt how to off center the tips correctly, and some I just fucked up while making. It's not very windy today but generally it's super windy here, so I'm lookin forward to hearing them. They're very low and melodic. Also strung up some new lights, swept 8 months of winter debris off the back porch, put up a little tapestry, cleaned off the chairs and table... did another wind chime with the absurd amount of random keys we have which dont go to anything and which just make it really hard to find the right key, altho im having a hard time getting it to sound, so i might need to redo that one.

[rigelmejo]

Again, if anyone has seen anyone post their results of doing the ALG method long enough to speak a significant amount, let me know. I'm going to do one last search on youtube of people discussing their Dreaming Spanish progress, and even if they didn't do it completely the ALG way (since some users of Dreaming Spanish videos studied with anki or word lists or word translation lookups at some point) I hope they may still describe what activities they did to develop speaking skills after they had developed good listening skills first. I want to know: did they shadow? Did they talk on their own? Did they talk with a language partner, and was it someone correcting their mistakes or them correcting their own mistakes later, or them just talking with no monitoring of mistakes besides making sure they keep talking until understood (as in re-explain in other ways if their partner is confused)? Did they do writing exercises? Did they do speaking or writing drills?

[brigid-faye]

Canon compliant headcanon (cw: grief, bad family dynamics...canon compliance)

1984. Remus has dragged himself through the worst of it and is finding his feet again. Or so he thinks. It’s April and he’s making one of his infrequent trips to Diagon Alley when he runs into Walburga Black.

It is immediately clear that Walburga is not well. She’s wearing the same expensive clothes she always has, but there’s a shabby, unkempt air about her. Remus knows her husband died sometime in the last 6 months. She’s standing alone at the foot of the stairs to Gringotts, fidgeting. When her gaze lands on him, he’s too close to pretend not to notice.

She doesn’t know who he is, only recognizes him as someone who was important to one of her sons, and it seems like she doesn’t even know which one. She accosts him. What she’s saying is so muddled and divorced from reality that he can hardly follow her, but he gets the jist. Her husband’s funeral was poorly attended. She has no idea who he is but has somehow lumped in as a ‘friend of the family’ who should have made an appearance as she dealt with this final loss. Remus gets the impression she’s ranted this way at most people she’s encountered since Orion died.

She is unwell, grieving, and elderly. He should walk away.

She is Walburga Black and she thinks she deserves comfort.

From him.

“No,” he growls. His heart is revolting in his chest like it did when he first learned the depths of heartbreak. “Be fucking miserable. You deserve it - you’re the reason your children are dead.”

He storms away. It takes him a few seconds to realize which part of that isn’t true.

[fudgecake-charlie]

feels like its been ages since ive been here, i've just been very busy this week with lots of things and touching probably a bit too much grass? i havent drawn much recently either (the commission post was from like a week ago iirc?) but i hope that gets to change soon :] tag ramble!

[loscampbracket]

go to malta be the best footballer then get filthy rich and take over the country

what's not to love?

fr a flawless plan right there

[shayberri789]

Me finishing writing a paragraph: I'm doing SO good I can totally complete this essay before tomorrow yep. Hehe I got to talk about blorbo in an academic paper

Me trying to start a paragraph: I am in fact, incompetent. How do words work. This is all garbage. I should jsut throw this away. Fuck everything but especially this paragraph. Every word I type is trash.

Me when I FINALLY finish this essay, probably: see now that wasn't so hard, I can totally do this for my next essay

[twogeeseinatrenchcoat]

I have an oc universe. Listen to me.

Hello. It is time to talk about the one thing nobody wants to hear me talk about: my OC universe. Not because it's bad (in my humble opinion) but because I will rant your ear off for about an hour with no stop if you let me. This is not an exaggeration. The Google doc is like 9k words long and I'm not even 1/4 done.

Tldr: Magic is based on emotions, the living don't have magic, if you die in the right places you can be recreated as a spirit and have magic. Long rant below the cut.

So. I have a magic system. It's a pretty simple magic system, at its core. You'd probably be wondering how something as short as the tldr gets turned into 5k words. (...yeah.) Different emotions, different magic. You can control when you cast the magic (we'll get to that later because not really), but you can't control what magic it is unless you're really good at self-emotional manipulation.

The word for magic in this universe is "arcana," that's not really relevant except for the fact that I try not to call it magic because... I really don't know why. But, anyways.

There are two types of arcana, non-physical arcana and cast arcana. Cast arcana is arcana after it has been used by someone, it's the thing that makes the fireball that you hurl at the dragon. (Dragons don't exist) Non-physical arcana is the arcana in the air. Ambient magic, and can be drawn on to cast in some places.

There are places with higher concentrations of non-physical arcana, which are called arcana wells. Non-physical arcana is created by the emotions of the living, and so it gets concentrated when emotional events happen. Arcana wells have rankings of I--V, with I being the weakest and V being the strongest.

If you die in an arcana well, you become an arcanic echo, memory, or spirit. Echo for Rank I, memory for Rank II, spirit for Ranks III-V. Spirits share the same rankings as wells, and are the same rank as their source well, or the well that created them.

Now spirits aren't exactly reborn, right? They're more so a copy of the living, made of concentrated arcana. The higher the rank, the better the copy. Rank I (echoes) can only feel the exact emotion of the well, can't leave it's radius, and are really an extension of the well more than anything. So, sentience is a big moral problem that the majority of the population has been ignoring. They're basically highly advanced AIs, but with magic.

Back to the emotions thing! So, you'd imagine it's simple, right? No. Because I decided that it's a fucking colour wheel and made chaos theory: the magic system. Basically. Imagine the colour wheel, now assign a very specific type of happiness to every single different shade of yellow. For example, yes there's excitement, but that's really a whole block of the colour wheel, and it also covers "excitement, but with a little bit of regret, and nostalgia, and guilt," as well as "excitement, mixed with grief, and annoyance, and a sense of justice." Right?

For the longest time, I didn't know what the effect of the magic would even be. Then I figured it out, by sorting it into broad categories that then get more specific. Happiness is creative, anger is degenerative, calm is regenerative, and sadness is transformative. (Think I got that right, honestly this is one of the less-developed parts.) Basically, anger, which is a broad category of emotion (think, the entire section of red and orange on the colour wheel), corresponds to any arcana that harms anything. Broad category for a broad category, you could flamethrower a guy or strike him with lightning or poison him or anything else. And every minute difference in emotion is matched with a minute difference in its effect.

Pretty sure that covers the magic system, thank you if anyone read all the way down here!

[maxiwaxipads]

Tuxam Who Visits Bad Badtz-Maru Kingdom! (2/?)

Asphalt timbers the landscape and people decorate the buildings. The wind roams across the city, and the light illuminates below and above.

Badobarm - “It’s a bit crowded than I thought.”

His eyes—the one in black, dwindled across the back-and-forth people’s ravine as it splurged to life’s motion. Stuck in a little gap called an alleyway, he turned to the person beside his left—letting out his hand.

Tuxam - “Badobarm?”

Badobarm - “The crowd here… It’s a bit... Well,—crowded. I’m worry you’ll get lost.”

Tuxam smiled momentarily, as if to comfort Badobarm.

Tuxam - “I’ll be fine. So I’ll stick closely to void your worries.”

Badobarm—gestured forward as they became joint with the walkers. Sound was visualized and noise becoming one with consumption—colored connected and ill-defined. They walked and walked. Veered to the shoes meeting the ground—the bright cheers of advertisers in proclamation. It smelled of fresh product and the grease of good food.

Badobarm - “Hm… Is there anything you want—Tuxam?” “There’s food—but we already ate. There’s toys. Furniture. Clothes. Anything and I’ll get it for you, since it is your day.”

(Badobarm, who waits for a response) (Soon turns around, to not find him)

Badobarm - “…Tuxam?” “Oi, Tuxam! Don’t tell… (Sigh). I didn’t think I’d lose that guy so easily to a crowd…”

Badobarm - “TUUUXAAMMM!” “…I looked down too… I don’t see a flat-as-a-pancake Tuxam sprawled on the floor…”

His shoulders relaxed, as Badobarm closed his eyes. He finished taking a deep breath. Scrouging himself to look up towards the sky, before clasping his hands into a megaphone—

Badobarm - “TUUUUUXXAAAAMMMM!!!”

Echoing. And echoing. Some glanced with confused looks or continued their very way. He repeated this a few times, before pushing across the crowd to see a blue dot in the corner of his eyes. Focusing. Interacting with a shirt in hand, he gouged it with a pair of sticks. Next to him, were a few stacked shirts and plastic bags full of who-knows and whatevers. Pushing through the crowd, as he came forward to him. Tuxam.

Badobarm - “…There you are!”

(But the person he called towards was too distracted…) (He crouched down… Waving his hand towards his face, but he was too into the groove… Disastrous indeed…!?) (You can hear Tuxam mumbling to himself)

Tuxam - “…Ideally the design should be simplified but still recognizable to Lord Sam’s size and shape…”

Tuxam - “…It must express both his handsomeness and his cuteness… That is a must-have.”

Tuxam - “…I should see if there’s any cheaper fabric and thread here…” “…It would be a waste if I used my own…”

Tuxam - “…I should also prepare photocopies of my lord as well—to an artist, I’m sure a reference would be of help…”

(Looking towards the side of the knight who was strangely fixated on fixing a shirt… No. Multiple shirts.) (Plastic bags full of yarn, thread, and bootleg tuxedo sam merchandise) (Badobarm took a small plushie, and in “immaculate” imitation…)

“Tuxedo Sam” - “Tuxam! Tuxam! Look over here! I turned thiiiisssss small!”

(The knight, who was fixated on knitting a shirt, finally looked up in surprise)

Tuxam - “…My lord!? How could—”

(He noticed it was only a plushie, but managed to finish his sentence.)

Tuxam - “—you turn this small.”

(He finally noticed Badobarm, crouching down to his level while holding a small tuxedo sam plushie to his face)

Tuxam - “It’s not a good idea to impersonate a lord.”

Badobarm - “It wasn’t my intention, but—I had to get your attention somehow. And I did just that, right?”

(Badobarm placed the plushie back onto the bench, before standing up)  (Looking down to the knight, who awaited to see what he would say)

Badobarm - “Now, what are you doing here?”

Tuxam - “There’s nothing more blasphemous than an incorrect depiction of his handsomeness and cuteness, Lord Sam.”

Tuxam - “In my moment of looking around and admiring the architecture, I spotted the likeness of my lord in one of the—no in multiple shops.”

Tuxam - “As his Knight of Fragaria, it is only my right to do this.” “And I took the challenge of creating designs that could honorably express the image of Lordd Sam”

Badobarm - “Uh-huh.”

Badobarm - “Tuxam.”

(Taking off the hat Tuxam wore, Badobarm delivers a karate chip straight towards his head. It didn’t hurt, but the action was certainly noticeable.)

Tuxam - “Eh…!?”

(Tuxam held the top of his head, in surprise as he watched to see what action Badobarm would take.)

Badobarm - “When I called you out, and suddenly you weren’t there—I thought you got squished by the crowd and flatten yourself into a pancake?!”

Badobarm - “So, Tuxam. Make it an effort to tell me if you see something interesting, okay? We’re both together and spending our time together.”

Badobarm - “But after talking…” “Take this.”

(Badobarm forehead flicks Tuxam.)

Badobarm - “…And this! A personification of my anger.”

(He delivers his final blow…!? A forehead flick…!?)

Tuxam - “…My apologies, Badobarm. I didn’t meant to worry you in that way.”

Badobarm - “I didn’t think you’d be in any danger… But it did worry me when you suddenly vanished like that.”

Tuxam - “Sorry…”

Badobarm - “Take it to heart, will you?”

Tuxam - “I will…”

Tuxam - “But Badobarm, my visor, could I have it back?”

(Badobarm looks at the hat within his hands within a moment, before putting it directly back on Tuxam’s head)

Tuxam - “Thank you.”

(Tuxam readjusts to its position) (Badobarm eyes the bench—a few shirts in a distinct blue color are stacked and seemingly differentiated between each other) (Next to it a single plastic bag stuffed to the brim with Tuxedo Sam merchandise as a ball of yarn spills from it, with the end attached to a pair of knitting needles)

Badobarm - “Could I have a look at that?”

Tuxam - “I don’t see why not.”

Tuxam - “As you can observe, I differentiated the two between what I haven’t fixed and the fixed.”

Tuxam - “It is… Technically meant to be a depiction of my lord, Tuxedo Sam.” “Albeit, a bit poor in taste for my liking.”

Tuxam - “That reminds me! Badobarm, could you—”

Badobarm - “Before you finish with what you have to say…”

Badobarm - “I keep a very delicate line between separating work life with my personal life. If you have something to say, I want you to write a letter to me, ‘kay?”

Tuxam - “…Oh! I’ll keep that in mind then.”

Badobarm - “Good.” “But I’ll carry that for you, if you don’t mind.”

Tuxam - “Ah. You don’t have to do that.”

(Tuxam who takes off his hat.) (And like a magician… He takes the items on the bench and stuffs it within the hat.) (Badobarm blinks a few times.) (He blinks another time—and before he knows it, the continents that once lounged on that same bench is gone.) (Tuxam, who already has hit hat fitted onto him before Badobarm knew it.)

Tuxam - “There.”

Tuxam - “I apologies for wasting valuable time.”

Badobarm - “No—No worries. It’s best if we get going, yeah?”

(Tuxam nods in agreement, and the two of them walk together…) (Badobarm recalls the moment when he managed to take Tuxam’s hat… Wonderstruck if there was a bigger void than he had realized.) (Empathize setting and Badobarm getting lost in thoughts) (Things starting to blur and swirl like getting knocked out, the conscience of a thousand pitter patter of footsteps and the sound of the city becoming noise to the incoherent trace of mind) (something something) (Tuxam - “A gentleman should also be prepared to store his belongings.”) (That’s what he imagined.) (The figment of what a Tuxam might had said if he asked.)

Badobarm - “(What else is a gentleman…?)”

(BWAMH! Badobarm stumbles, as he reclaims his footing.) (In front of him, a convenient pole.)

Tuxam - “B—Badobarm!”

Badobarm - “Huh—What…?!”

Tuxam - “…Be a bit more careful with where you’re a walking.”

Badobarm - “Right…!”

Tuxam - “You’re okay? It doesn’t hurt?”

Badobarm - “Yes. I’m fine. Let’s just continue—”

Thus Ends The Story... (so i can brutally battle myself to the death because the reign of writer's block will soon come never...)

To summarize my problem, “I overheated my brain, and my idiocy couldn’t take it!” (And I want to have fun, not have a headache like right now </3)

Story Concepts I Wanted To Explore

The Crownmaker’s Festival revolves around the local folktale about a king who holds a contest to make a crown suitable for his royal-ness. In exchange, the winner will be granted a wish of their choice. Despite all the elaborate crowns presented to the king, a humble flower wreath wins. The person who won asked to become king for a day. 

The flowers that the participant used are known as “Bird’s Wreath." (further notes below)

The idea behind the “Crownmaker’s Festival” is to explore Badobarm’s dream to become king and whatever that entails? I find Badobarm who would rather prove himself than be dependent on a wish to grant him what he wants. (<- and writing this little in a paragraph about this character makes me want to write essays length about what his character could be like)

i remember went to a derail trying to write this...

I tried to write or outline a concrete setting.

So I started with what the atmosphere of Bad Badtz-Maru Kingdom could look like and maybe what Badobarm's house could also be. (I should have written notable landmarks instead, why am I reflecting on this now at this time...!?)

And then I came to the conclusion: "I need to make a map in order to better visualize the setting." And then I got in the process of worldbuilding (nothing complex, more like writing a few good ideas down). And then I made the map. And then I thought it would be cool if the world of Fragaria was strawberry-shaped.

i blanked out during that. i snapped out of it and realized I spent 4 hours doing most of this in this order. time goes really fast...

[pikachu-deluxe]

thinking maybe i do have something going on with me

like, i do have trouble focusing i guess it just never clicked before when i heard others say that but my thing is my brain refuses to let me think about the stuff i want to think about most of the time. i usually get music going on in the background of my brain but sometimes it turns into the foreground so it's like i can't think unless i specifically focus on obstructing the music but that's so much effort just to do things

that's why i never really thought i had trouble focusing bc i thought i was just doing it wrong or something but no this requires extra effort on my part that shouldn't be needed afaik

[fishyartist]

Wanting 2 make a scope creep nightmare of a visual novel vs my inability to focus on jack shit ever in my life.