#Got a new iPad recently and this was the FIRST thing I did

[seralica]

For anyone looking to minimize their ads on iPhone (because saying “just get android” is not an actual answer for some people)

AdGuard DNS can be installed directly into your phone so all your traffic is routed through there. Blocks ads on web and all your apps like mail apps etc. Does not block YouTube ads.

if you want to block video ads, the best way I’ve found is to use Brave and YouTube web.

To install AdGuard DNS:

Go to the link above IN SAFARI BROWSER ONLY (it doesn’t install if you use Firefox) and scroll down to option 2

you do NOT need to install their app

under option 2 open the Apple toggle

Download the link it sends you it will pop up “do you want to install profile” hit yes

switch to Settings, New Profile Added should be right at the top

install that sucker

enjoy your minimal ads experience 😊

i hate seeing people now making fun of those who care about privacy online. i've seen people saying things like "well they already have your data. what are companies going to do with it" and it's like, that's not the point. it's that companies /shouldn't/ be able to have my data and sell it. am i aware they probably already have my data? yes, absolutely. but i'm still going to try and keep them from monetizing it any further, why are we defending companies selling data they shouldn't have to begin with though?

[art]

Creator Spotlight: @jdebbiel

Deb JJ Lee is a non-binary Korean artist based in Brooklyn, NY. They have appeared in the New Yorker, New York Times, NPR, Google, Radiolab, and more. Their award-winning graphic memoir, IN LIMBO, about mental illness and difficult relationships with trauma, released in March 2023 from First Second.

Below is our interview with Deb!

Have you ever had an art block? If so, how did you overcome it?

That implies I am over my art block, but I’m still in it! I think about Kiki’s Delivery Service a lot and how she had to stop doing a thing, and that you can’t really force it, and you have to let it come back to you. It’s a pretty humbling moment, realizing there is more to life than just drawing. I’ve been trying to consume other content like reading or watching movies—anything that is not drawing-related—and to trust that it will come back to me. I think not being afraid to do the small pieces before committing to the big pieces is helpful. Because big pieces are what I am known for, I dig myself into a deeper hole, thinking that each piece has to be bigger than the last one. So yeah! Relaxing and doing the small things before overcommitting to a big piece is the best way to go about it for me.

Which 3 famous artists (dead or alive) would you invite to your dinner party?

I feel like these are all artists that I have second-degree connections with! Jillian Tamaki, Victo Ngai, and Tillie Walden would be my picks!

What are your file name conventions?

…What file name conventions? I mean, I don’t have specific file name conventions, but I actually have a public Google Drive archive! But I usually put “djjl_whatever-the-title-is_final,” and I would always know it’s the final and legit version.

What is a recent creative project that you are proud of?

I did an illustration for the whiskey brand Johnnie Walker. It’s so wild because I only had four days to finish it, and it usually takes me a week and a half if I rush. And honestly, it’s probably one of my best pieces from this year, which is funny. It was for the Mid-Autumn festival, so I made it as Korean as possible.

How has technology changed the way you approach your work?

I only use my iPad to draw everything now, and if I want to pretend that I have a steady workstation, I’ll use my Cintiq. I still am not as comfortable on the Cintiq as I am on Procreate, but it’s still pretty solid and nice. That’s the good part about technology. The bad part about technology is how AI art has been messing things up for me. I’m currently in a lawsuit about AI art as a class rep. Some of my stuff got turned into AI art late last year, so I have to give a deposition at some point. 

What is a convention experience that has stuck with you?

Honestly, they’re all good! I feel like Lightbox Expo has been really nice because it’s truly been a convention for artists. I feel like that’s where most of my audience is, and they’re all around because their purpose is to be better at art. That’s where a lot of original artists do well because they’re getting art they’re inspired by, not so much fanart. I like the Lightbox Expo because it encompasses the pure love of art very well. 

Top tips on setting up an Artist Alley booth?

Use a Y axis, not just your X axis! Take advantage of it! Branding is also something to think about. It is definitely something I’m getting better at. Having an assistant is also very important. I’ve also heard that 8.5x11 to 12x18 inches is usually a good size for prints, but I also provide postcard-sized prints because sometimes people don’t want to commit to a larger size. 

Who on Tumblr inspires you and why?

You know this is so funny. I’ve been following @alicexz for over a decade on Tumblr and other platforms. I’ve followed her work since high school, and we’ve only recently become peers. I found her, and we met for the first time in real life, and she recognized me. And then I found all my drawings from when I was in my Alice phase, back in high school, and I was like, “Yo, this is when I was trying to be you so badly!” and she was cracking up and was like “Wow, this is so good!” It was such a sweet moment. I wanted to take a picture of her holding my drawing up. It’s really nice because now we’re peers.

Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing, Deb! Be sure to check out their Tumblr blog over at @jdebbiel.

[disneyprincemuke]

how you get the girl * fem!driver

and when logan comes in with a girl on his arm, then what?

pairings: logan sargeant x fem!driver, liam lawson x fem!driver, oscar piastri x fem!driver

notes: hi it was only a kiss was the beginning of the end for my locky soldiers i fear and here u go lOLSIE OXOXOXOOXOOXOXO

(series masterlist) | (📂 the sophomore year)

“did you see?”

she tilts her head, turning around with her eyebrows furrowed. liam has walked around the barrier of their garages, sauntering in with his hands behind his back. “seen what?”

liam blinks at her. he purses his lips and shakes his head, scrunching his nose. “nothing.”

“what do you mean?” she laughs, putting her ipad down. “was i supposed to see something? why are you being weird?”

“i think he means logan and his girlfriend walking into the paddocks together.”

just like that, she can almost hear the glass around her shattering. there’s a ringing in her ears and she turns to sebastian with wide eyes and puffy cheeks. “what?”

sebastian blinks at her, his clipboard of data in his hands. “you didn’t know? don’t you guys live together?”

she blinks rapidly, trying to come up with an excuse. truthfully, only 2 people ever found out about the events of new year’s day. one of those was by default, logan’s brother, and she’d pulled liam aside during their team trip to new york to confess and vent about the events of her stay in miami.

liam’s been sworn to the highest level of secrecy, and she’s appreciated the fact that he’s kept his word. he never brings it up unless she does it first.

which isn’t a lot.

“we uh,” she drops her head and turns back to her ipad as she sucks in a deep breath, “we’ve been kinda busy lately. i didn’t know he was seeing somebody now. i was in los angeles for a while during the break.”

“that’s,” sebastian trails off, “odd. is it still weird after what happened in montreal? i thought everything was okay.”

she looks up. “it is! everything is okay! we’ve just been super busy,” she rambles, “you know… i’ve flown around for d&g and a couple of fenty events. haven’t really had the time to sit down and have a chat recently.”

sebastian hums, unsure if he’s fully buying her excuse yet. “i see. have you guys not gone to get ice cream lately?”

she shrugs and points at liam, “our schedules never really line up. sometimes logan is there, but not often. even then, there’s always something more important to talk about than our dating lives.”

liam finally clears his throat, making her eyes snap over to him. “let’s go? we’ve got an interview in a couple of minutes.”

she grins, turning to sebastian. she gives him a quick hug and hangs her head low before she follows liam back into the paddocks. “seriously? i didn’t know logan had a new girlfriend.”

“have you seriously not seen each other that you didn’t know about his new girlfriend?” liam whispers, looking around cautiously to ensure that nobody’s got the chance to eavesdrop on their conversation. he takes a step forward towards her and drops his head. “how do you feel?”

she pouts her bottom lip out with a shrug. “good for him, i guess.”

there’s no way that’s the only thing she has to say, right? “really? you’re okay with this?”

her eyes trail off to the crowd surrounding them, as if to really think over her answer, then turns back to him. “yeah, why wouldn’t i be?”

“you’re totally over the fact that you kissed on new year’s?”

“liam,” she scolds through gritted teeth, smacking his arm lightly. “you were sworn to secrecy.”

“i haven’t told anyone,” he throws his arms into the air, “but are you seriously okay with this? it’s just me — you can tell me if it bothers you.”

she tilts her head with a small grin. it’s endearing how liam is double-checking. but it’s been 7 months since they kissed. she’s kind of well over the fact by now. “i’m really okay. i’ve just been super busy. i flew in from los angeles right before touching down here. we haven’t really crossed paths in the apartment lately.”

liam pats her on the shoulder. “okay. but you can tell me anything, okay? don’t keep it in, mate.”

she smiles, “promise.”

max lifts his eyebrows, following the pair that’s just walked past him nonchalantly. his lips part in confusion as he then furrows his eyebrows and turns to the girl now approaching him. “was that logan holding hands with a girl?”

she follows his stare, tilting her head slightly. “yeah. i heard he brought his girlfriend to the race today.”

“you heard?” max scowls. “you didn’t know he had a girlfriend? aren’t you best friends who live together?”

she shrugs, “we haven’t seen each other a ton lately. we’ve been busy in our own right.” she puffs her cheeks out. “why is everyone so baffled that i didn’t know he has a girlfriend? he is a grown man!”

max puts his hands in the air as a small smile stretches his lips. “mate, relax. i was just curious. cause i thought you guys liked each other?”

“that’s crazy. where did you get that from?” she almost wants to laugh if it weren’t for the fact that max hit the jackpot with that guess. she only hoped that her wide eyes and racing heart didn’t give too much away. “he’s my best friend. with a girlfriend or not.”

max gives her a stare, one that tells her that he definitely isn’t buying her bullshit excuse. he lifts an eyebrow at her and sighs audibly. “really? you’re going to keep lying about you guys just being friends?”

she rolls her eyes. “your late-night gaming is taking a toll on you, i believe. you’re seeing things that aren’t there, max.”

“sure,” he snorts. “everyone can tell, by the way. alex, george… we know.”

she tilts her head and bats her eyelashes at him innocently. “i don’t seem to know what you mean.”

“that you and logan, at some point or another, liked each other,” max explains. “it’s only so obvious. mark my words, andretti racing driver, you guys are going to end up together someday be it in the near future or even it takes you years to figure things out.”

“you belong in a mental hospital.”

“rocky!” she feels a hand around her elbow pulling her back immediately, stumbling back a couple of steps with a soft yelp before she feels a hand on her back that steadies her. she knows that hand.

“why did you have to yank me like i’m an animal?” she whines, shaking away logan’s grip on her. “what do you want? i have a team meeting i’m gonna be late for.”

“i want you to meet somebody,” logan grins, stepping aside hesitantly. “ylona — my girlfriend.”

she tilts her head and into focus comes a slightly smaller girl compared to logan. slightly taller than her, tanned skin and the prettiest brown eyes she thinks she’s ever seen. ylona has her hands clasped in front of her shyly with a small and polite smile.

“oh, hi!” she squeals as her arm immediately darts out towards the girl. “i’m so sorry i just only got the chance to meet you now. i’ve been so busy — i’ve been out of the country lately.”

“yeah, i,” ylona laughs sheepishly and takes her hand, “i love your apartment, by the way. there’s no way you’re not an interior designer or something.”

she scrunches her nose. now, how is she supposed to hate someone as soft-spoken and lovely as ylona? she takes a deep breath, subtly looking ylona up and down. she’s just so pretty. “my younger sister actually helped with the apartment. i’d love to hang out with you after the day ends if you guys are joining us for ice cream?”

logan nods, his stare lingering on her in a way that she’s unsure what he’s trying to say to her. “of course. i’m not missing another ice cream night again in my life.”

“good!” she grins, patting his shoulder. “i’ll see you guys around. i’ve got to run.”

“who the hell is that!” alex barges into her room, george following suit as she takes sips from the drink in his hand. “when did logan get a girlfriend?”

she looks up from her phone, baffled at the comfortability that the older drivers have found in her hospitality home. especially her driver’s room. “you know, just because sebastian gives you guys immunity in the andretti hospitality doesn’t mean you should take advantage of it.”

“who is that girl? how did they even meet?”

george points at her beanbag, looking at her innocently as if to ask for permission. she nods and beckons him towards it before turning to alex. “i don’t know. i only just met her today.”

“like it’s so– what? you just met her today?”

“you also just met her today?” george pouts his bottom lip out, unsure if he should be concerned or impressed at logan’s success in hiding a secret from her. “how weird.”

“it’s seriously not that weird! we’re adults with our own lives!” she scoffs, returning her attention to her phone. “she seems lovely if you ask me. very pretty, very polite.”

she’s just opened her phone to send a message when it disappears abruptly, alex taking it into his hands and slipping it into his back pocket. “you’ve got to tell us more. there is no way you found out today like the rest of us peasants.”

she shrugs with a soft laugh. “i really have got no idea when or how they met. i’ve barely hung out with logan since we were in barcelona for the spanish gp. i’ve been frequenting los angeles a lot recently.”

“what are you doing in america instead of oxford with your family?” george scowls. “the fame’s gotten to you, mate.”

she rolls her eyes. “i’ve got sponsorships i need to show up for. seriously, it’s not that serious. logan’s 23 — let him have his girlfriend.”

“she is very quiet too, actually,” alex hums, dropping himself on the bean bag, and squeezing in with george, who scowls and pushes him away slightly to regain his space. “i don’t know. do i like her?”

george furrows his eyebrows. “logan isn’t your best friend. why are you speaking like that about his girlfriend?”

“hey, she’s going to be in the garage for a while. i have to make sure it’s an environment that i feel comfortable in.” alex looks to her for some support. “you get what i mean, right?”

she shrugs. “i guess you have a point. but you know… you can just ignore her if you don’t like her, alex.”

“it’s not the same though,” alex sighs, dropping his hands in his lap. “promise you’ll tell me when you find out more about her?”

“why don’t you just ask logan yourself?” george asks.

“he keeps running away when he sees me,” alex frowns. “i think it’s because i keep asking him if he likes rocky. i guess it’s not a good look if i keep asking that when his girlfriend is around.”

“you twat, why would you ask him that at all?” she scolds, hurling the small stuffed animal next to her towards alex. “such a stupid question to ask!”

alex catches the stuffed animal and chucks it right back at her. “i’m curious! for the record,” he rolls his eyes, “he avoids that question too!”

“that’s just stirring up the pot when you don’t have to, alex!” she hops off her massage table and runs over to where the 2 men are, arm wound back to hit the thai driver. “you’re so annoying! what is your problem?”

“i was curious!” alex screams to defend himself. “if you hit me, i’m telling james and he’ll never let you into our building to see logan.”

“i won’t have to. he’s got ylona now,” she points out before turning on her heel. “do you guys wanna go grab some coffee?”

“i know, i know,” oscar whispers, “it’s a bit sudden, isn’t it? i can’t believe he didn’t tell us.”

lily nods, leaning on the wall of the mclaren’s racing home as they await their friends so they can leave to get some ice cream. “i can’t believe even rocky didn’t know.”

oscar raises his eyebrows in shock. for him to now know, is one thing, but for logan’s literal roommate to not know of ylona’s existence until today? that’s just weird and even borderline off.

from the corner of his eye, he sees the young driver approaching them, typing away on her phone with a small grin on her face. he furrows his eyebrows and hits her gently on the shoulder as she comes to stop in front of them.

“what?”

“you and logan are being so weird lately,” oscar confesses. “seriously. what happened between both of you in the united states?”

she blinks at him. “nothing. we were just busy.”

“not spending valentine’s day together is one thing. but you didn’t even know about his girlfriend? you usually know everything,” oscar whispers, looking over his shoulder to make sure that logan’s not anywhere close to them. “what’s going on?”

“i’ve just been very caught up with my own things lately,” she laughs, putting a hand on oscar and lily’s shoulder. “relax. nothing happened between us.”

but she swears that there are some nights that she can feel logan’s lips on hers. it drives her crazy, actually. “relax. let’s just get ice cream and get to know her. it doesn’t have to be weird.”

taglist: @wcnorris @treehouse-mouse @laura-naruto-fan1998 @mindless-rock @vellicora @leilanixx @ironmaiden1313 @angsthology @cherry-piee @christianpulisic10 @elliegrey2803 @33-81 @darleneslane @nikfigueiredo @happy-nico @namgification @localwhoore @notawc @sadg3 @kazuha-pista-badam @mellowarcadefun @megatrilss1885 @peqch-pie @woozarts @meadhbhcavanagh @2bormaybenot @a-disturbing-self-reflection @inejismywife @love4lando @louvrepool

[makeitmingi]

Cause Baby You’re My Muse [Chapter 1]

Genre: Romance, Idol!AU, Music, Slight angst

Pairing: Mingi x Reader (y/n)

Characters: Producer!Reader, IdolLyricist!Mingi, IdolProducer!Hongjoong, Idol!Seonghwa, Idol!Yunho, Idol!Wooyoung, Idol!San, Idol!Yeosang, Idol!Jongho, cameo(s) by other celebrities

Summary: You always preferred producing underground, having an unknown face and governed by your own rules. But when you start freelancing for idol groups, you say goodbye to your lone wolf lifestyle as you learn to work with idol producers and lyricists.

Word count: 3.2K

Your phone vibrating against your desk was what caught your attention. Otherwise, with your headphones on, you wouldn’t have heard it. You reached over to turn it off, eyes widening when you saw the time.

“Shoot! I’m gonna be late!” You shot out of your chair and went to the bathroom. Honestly, you did not plan on pulling an all-nighter. But after you were finally able to get some beats to work, you wanted to ride that high and continue working. 

“What to wear? What to wear?” You knew you should have planned your outfit last night. In the end, you wore a hoodie, some wide jeans and a beanie, plain and simple.

“Ah... What do I need?” You stood in front of your desk, mind blanking out due to the unexpected rush to leave the house.

“Laptop, keyboard, iPad, headphones... Notebook, pen...” You swiped off whatever you could carry and dumped them into your duffel bag. There was no time to neatly arrange everything. 

“Which bus was it again?” Scratching your head, you tried to find the instructions on your phone. Thankfully, when you finally found out the route, the bus came rather quickly. You sat down and pulled a mask on.

‘Eden! Sorry, I might be a bit late. Got a little lost and was working all night... - Indigo’

‘No worries. We’ll be in studio 1. - Eden’

You sighed as you read the message. This was not the image you wanted to give on your first day at work. You wanted to maintain a professional image, not one that is tardy and not put together. 

KQ Entertainment

Looking up at the sign, you gulped and adjusted your mask before going in. The security guy at the counter looked at you. He raised an eyebrow, taking in your appearance. You wouldn’t blame him for being suspicious. You looked ordinary, not like someone who would work at an entertainment company. Slowly, you slid your pass over to him. 

“Go ahead.” He nodded to the lifts after approving of your comapny pass. Luckily you had all the access things you needed, collected the day you signed the contract two weeks ago. 

“Studio... 1!” You found the door you were looking for. Before entering, you took a deep breath, gulping as you raised a hand to knock. 

“Indigo?” 

“Eden. Hey.” You smiled behind your mask and wrapped your arms around him. Eden chuckled, reciprocating the hug and even lifting you up slightly. He pulled away and patted your head, leading you into the studio 

“Sorry, I’m late. I didn’t even know the sun had risen while I was working.” You rubbed the back of your neck. 

“Don’t worry about it. It happens to the best of us.” Eden laughed. 

As you stood there, Eden introduced you to the 6 others in the room, also known as members of ‘Edenary’. All producers of different calibre brought in by Eden himself. 

“Nice to meet you, you can call me Indigo.” You bowed and introduced yourself to them after they told you their names. Eden had briefed everyone prior, about your want for personal privacy. So you go by your producer name ‘Indigo’ and you wear a mask to hide the lower half of your face.

“We all know who you are. The famous ghost producer.” Maddox reaches out to shake your hand. 

“Yeah, honestly when Eden said he invited you to join us, we thought he was joking...” Jangmoon scoffed, making Eden roll his eyes. 

“Please, I still have a lot to learn. I look forward to working with all of you and learning new things to improve.” You shyly bowed to them. You’ve only ever exclusively worked underground.

“I heard you only recently started working with idols though. Are you leaving the underground scene?” Oliv asked.

“No, not leaving. I just wanted more exposure. My recent works with idols is all through a ghost network so no one really know me.” You explained. 

“But your name is famous, Indigo. We’re happy to have you onboard.” 

“Like I said, Indigo isn’t going to join Edenary. She is here as a freelancer, to add some new creativity and difference to our music sound. But we’re still a team that works and collaborates together, okay? I’ve already told Hongjoong to come later to meet her after his schedule.” Eden said.

“Yes, boss.” The 6 saluted jokingly and you followed suit with a small giggle. Eden scoffed, already used to the antics of the 6. You waved to them and bowed again as you followed Eden out of the big studio. 

“So studio 1 is where all the big recordings and main meetings happen. I’ll take you to your private studio.” He informed.

“Oh, right. Thank you.” You followed him down the hallway, past a lot of doors.

“So this is the producers’ floor. After you settle in, I’ll give you a tour of the rest of the building.” Eden smiled. 

“This is yours. It has the basic equipment from the brand you told me you use. I got what I could get within the budget. Feel free to add your own stuff to the set up and customise the studio to your liking.” He opened the door.

“Wow.” You were in awe. You were grateful there was some equipment so you wouldn’t have to ferry equipment back and forth.

“So the couch is a pullout like you’ve requested for. The other furniture like table, chairs, cabinets will be paid for by the company. Just put together a list and send it over to me.” 

“Thank you so much, Eden.” You bowed. 

“No need to keep thanking me. I think you have a lot of talent to offer, Indigo. One of the members of the idol group we mainly produce for, Ateez, will come introduce himself to you later. He is the leader or captain actually, name is Hongjoong. He works with us during production a lot so it’s good to meet him and get a feel for his style.” Eden said. 

“Captain?” You tilted your head in confusion. 

“It’s their concept. Pirate ship plus not wanting to follow other groups and have a leader. So they call him captain.” Eden explained with a laugh.

“Got it. Captain, not leader. I’ll be here until then.” You said. 

“If you need anything, I am in Studio 2. Oh and don’t forget to password lock your door.” He informed and left you to give you some time to settle down and set up. 

“Can’t believe I’m actually here.” You shook your head in disbelief. Never would you have expected yourself to be here, working with other people. 

Unzipping your duffel bag, you placed all the equipment you brought on the desk, in a set up that was similar to the one you had at home. It was how you worked the best and comfortably. 

“Monitors, here and here. Speakers will have to be pushed back.” You roughly sketched how you would want you full set up to look like.

“I’ll bring my equiliser... Sound mixer...” Also, you made a list on what extra equipment you would want to bring in. 

“Let’s see... What was I working on?” Putting your headphones on, you started working. Since it was getting a bit hard to breathe and you were alone, you pulled your mask down to your chin as you worked. 

Indigo, the alias name you had chosen for yourself from the time you started working. You worked with rappers and singers that mainly operated underground. Only recently you’ve been giving your works to idol groups but no one has actually met you before. You were known as the ‘ghost producer’.

But Eden reached out, giving you a shot at producing “above ground” for idol groups, where you can learn and earn a lot more. All while maintaining your privacy. So you accepted. 

*DING DONG*

“Huh? Coming!” You pulled your mask up and went to the door. Eden stood there with a very good looking male. 

Besides his handsome face, it was like looking in a mirror. He had blue hair, the colour matching your peekaboo dyed hair. He also had multiple piercings on his ears like yours.

“Indigo, this is Hongjoong. He is the captain of Ateez. Hongjoong, this is Indigo. Our new producer.” Eden introduced.

“Hi, nice to meet you. I’m Hongjoong. I am a big fan and look forward to working with you.” He seemed to hesitate reaching out to shake your hand so he opted to bow politely instead. 

“Hi, Hongjoong. Likewise. You can call me Indigo.” You held your hand out to him and he smiled before slipping his hand into yours to shake it.

“Please, come in. I only have a couch so I apologise.” You invited them in. 

“I need to go meet the big boss. Hongjoong, you stay and get to know our new producer, okay? Take care of her. Actually, you guys kind of look alike now that I look at it.” Eden noted. You scoffed playfully and rolled your eyes as Eden left. Hongjoong’s eyes widened as he cleared his throat. You still invited him in, closing the door behind him. 

“Your blue is like mine.” You said, lifting the upper layer of your hair up to reveal the bright blue underneath that matched Hongjoong. He nodded his head with a smile, fingers going to touch the ends of his blue hair. 

“So, Eden says you produce too?” You asked.

“Yes. I’m usually part of the producing team for my group but I still have much to learn.” He explained, taking a seat on the couch while you wheeled your chair over to sit. 

“Does your entire group produce? Sorry if I’m asking a lot. I just want to know what to expect.” You rubbed the back of your neck.

“No worries at all. Hmm, they don’t really produce. But they do partake in lyric writing. I’ll introduce you to them the next time we have group practice.” 

“Alright. And you can ask me questions too, by the way...” You chuckled.

“Do you always wear a mask?” He outrightly asked. You had expected it, a lot of people ask why you wear a mask and why you want to keep your identity a secret when you could gain fame. 

“Yes, it’s more a security thing. I appreciate the privacy, helps to separate my private and personal life. Maybe one day you’ll know what I look like.” You joked.

“Why did you want to work with Eden hyung or an entertainment company? The underground would be perfect for privacy.” 

“Exposure and experience. I’ve never really worked with a team, I’ve never worked outside of my underground studio. It’s usually me sending my works to others to use; whether it is lyrics or beats or melodies. And working with idols is different compared to the underground scene.” You explained.

“That makes sense. I noticed your name in the credits for a lot of recent songs. I would say expectations are also different. There is a lot more... creative freedom and liberty underground.” He stated.

“You’ve worked underground before?”

“A little... When I was still in school. It was how I met most of Edenary. But it was mainly to learn before I signed to KQ.” He said.

“That’s cool. It would be interesting to work with a team. I can’t be a lone wolf forever, right?” There was some bitterness to the part of your statement. Hongjoong nodded his head with a comforting smile. 

As you and Hongjoong talked, you surprisingly grew comfortable around him quickly, letting your guard down a little. He reminded you of a protective older brother, kind and patient.

“Well, I hope I am able to creatively add to the process, rather than burden the team.” You chuckled.

“Nonsense, I think you’re very talented.” He smiled kindly. 

“I’m looking forward to meet the other members of your team. So I can get to know all your individual styles, as well as the cohesive style of Ateez.” You smiled, wheeling yourself back to your desk to grab your phone.

“Am I not enough for you? That you need to meet my other members.” He feigned hurt, putting a hand over his heart. You shook your hands in quick denial to the point where you actually dropped your device. But Hongjoong was quick, bending down to pick it up for you. He brushed the screen to inspect it for any damage. 

“I was kidding.” He laughed as he held out the device.

“Thank you.” You received it with a small bow of your head. Hongjoong couldn’t help but reach out to pat your head, eyes full of adoration. Only when he realised what he was doing then he pulled away.

“I am so sorry. That was way out of line. I just... never had a sister before and... I don’t even know what I’m saying.” He stuttered.

“Don’t worry about it. I don’t have any brothers but it’s weird that I kind of feel like you are one.” You blushed. 

“It’s instinctive for me. Once you get to know my group, you will understand why I have to play to role of older brother, mother and father.” He joked.  

“Are they that chaotic?” 

“I always tell people that when you look at them as 5 year olds, you won’t feel so overwhelmed...” He rubbed the back of his neck, his ears turning slightly red at the tips. You laughed along with him. 

Speaking to Hongjoong was like speaking to a friend, not a celebrity. He was humble, down to earth and relaxed. There wasn’t a point where he made you feel awkward or uncomfortable. Even when talking about producing, he never showed off his knowledge or experience. 

“Once I get more equipment here, it’ll be an easier space for me to work in. But I ran a little later this morning when coming here so I grabbed what I could.” You told him.

“You work at night?” 

“I find it more productive to work at night. Lesser distractions and night is when underground performances usually happen.” You explained.

“What genre do you usually work on?” Hongjoong asked. You thought about it for a while before wheeling yourself over to your desk. You waved him over and he stood up, walking to stand beside you.

“This is what I was working on last night. The reason I was late.” You told him, playing the recording for him. 

“I’m trying different genres now, try to cater to the style of the artist I’m working with. So this is a softer R&B melody.” You explained to him, hiding your nerves.

“I like it. The flow is really nice.” Hongjoong bopped his head to the beat, fingers lightly drumming against the desk. You let out a mental sigh of relief, glad that he liked it considering he was one of the main people you would be working with from now on. But you kept all your emotions and reactions internal, maintaining a stoic face.

“Our style so far has been mainly EDM trap with dark hip hop... with dance-style anthemic songs from time to time. We try to dabble in multiple genres to show our range.” Hongjoong said.

“I’m looking forward to seeing that.” You nodded.

“Here, I’ll give you my number.” Hongjoong said. You handed him your phone and he typed your number, dropping himself a missed call to have your number.

“I have to go now but I’ll see you around.” He waved. You walked him to the door, waving to him as he left. 

You checked your phone and realised that you had been talking to Hongjoong for close to 4 hours. You went to use the washroom and when you came back, you saw a paper bag right at the doorstep.

‘Eden hyung said you hadn’t eaten since you were speaking with me. Make sure to eat. And welcome to KQ! - Captain Hongjoong’

Inside the bag, there was street food like tteokbokki, two kinds of kimbap and some fried snacks. You sent him a thank you text before breaking your chopsticks to begin eating. You ate at your desk since it was the only table you had at the moment. 

“Let’s see... Ateez music video.” You searched for something to watch while eating. You were probably the most unprepared newbie ever, not even doing research on the group that you’re going to work with. 

“Hyung, where are yo- OH MY GOSH!” You were startled by someone just opening the door, turning around in shock. Seeing someone there, you scrambled for your mask but it had dropped to the ground.

“Oh my! I’m so sorry! I didn’t know anyone was in here!” The male was flustered, bowing repeatedly.

“It’s fine. Please close the door.” You waved him off behind you. You heard the door close and you bent down to pick up your mask, putting it on. After that, you stood up and poked your head out to see if the guy was still there.

“Hello?” You called out but he must have ran off after the shock. 

“Everything alright, Indigo? I heard a shout.” Maddox also emerged from his studio, a concerned look on his face.

“Oh, yes. Sorry for disturbing. Someone just entered my studio, we scared each other and he must have ran off. I think he wasn’t expecting someone to be in the studio.” You smiled.

“Ah, we thought everyone already knew that you were going to be working in studio 8. Sorry about that.” He apologised. You shook your head.

“I guess this just means I should be introducing myself to everyone.” You giggled. He laughed and nodded his head. Since he made sure you were fine and safe, he went back to his studio. You did the same, making sure to lock the door now as you returned to your food. Now at least people would have to ring the doorbell before coming in. 

You huffed, chewing on the tip of your chopstick. Maybe it was one of Hongjoong’s group members, you didn’t really see his face clearly. You hoped that at the same time, he didn’t see your face. 

"Well, it can’t be helped.” You sighed and finished up your food, wanting to get back to work right away. 

As you continued to work on the same melody, you couldn’t help but hear Hongjoong’s fingers drumming against your desk. 

“Maybe...” You opened up the composition page and tested out adding a light drum to the background, similar to the rhythm that Hongjoong had when he tapped on your table. 

“No, this wasn’t it. What was it?” You clicked your tongue in annoyance, trying different variations of it. After some experimentation, you played it back. 

“Finally!” You threw your head back with a big, victorious smile. It sounded like a nice remix version. Maybe this was a sign that things were going to work out well for you here. 

~

Series Masterlist

[prettyboysdontlookatexplosions]

i almost bailed on new year’s because i was sleepy and the weather was horrendous, but it was three short blocks from my apartment and i’d said i’d go so i really had no excuse; when i got there for a moment i was worried it was populated exclusively by Fashionable Gay People, but then i peered into another room and found the mutual aid contingent and was relieved even as i remembered with amusement a few parties ago, back in october, someone remarking, not harshly, on our collective habit of going to parties to talk to the same 10-20 people we already know. the first thing i did in 2025 was go see no, the gael garcia bernal movie about the campaign to vote no on the 1988 plebiscite on pinochet; the second was family brunch; the third was watching the shop around the corner and confirming i am truly jimmy stewart pilled now. thursday i got a great haircut and hung out in the mulberry street library reading js&mn (i have most recently arrived at the portion after strange comes home from the war) and met a friend for dinner before seeing teeth, my second time getting around to a michael r. jackson musical just in time for closing week; not a perfect show but a wild time and i’m very glad he gets to be out there doing his thing. friday i got pleasantly fucked up and went out dancing until 3:30 in the morning with like ten people all of whom once again know each other because we like making it possible for people to get free stuff, which i guess one day i will accept is just my life now but on some level has not yet sunk in. i thought a lot as i have been thinking a lot about how for my entire twenties and then some loneliness was the defining color in my emotional landscape and i am still awkward and neurotic and shy but that just isn’t true anymore, when i thought it would be true forever. an absurdly cool trans girl i know told me she loved my hair and i went to sleep having achieved my step count for friday and saturday mostly in the span of about four hours. saturday i thought was to be for laundry and sleep but n. said a movie was playing he remembered loving so i made it into the city (after laundry) to watch todo mudo, a 1976 political thriller with a somewhat inscrutable plot (to me, knowing nothing about italian politics after the fall of rome other than that mussolini happened) and impeccable vibes, and back at home i managed to muster up the will for full body day to hit my fifth workout of the week, because i am very tough and brave.

today i tutored for the first time in two weeks and screwed up what was supposed to by my second by forgetting my own schedule, but it’s fine. i reviewed & resolutioned & brought my mom a change of clothes at the hospital and made a little page i can duplicate in my planning app that looks just like my little notebook weekly log pages except it lives in my ipad :) i have had an extremely good staycation and already have a series of nice things to look forward to in the days ahead. i feel very lucky here at the dawn of 2025. i keep thinking that, over and over.

[celestialvoyeur]

So, this time last year I was thinking about what I wanted to change in 2023.

The one thing I settled on was that I wanted to read more. I’ve always enjoyed reading but have had less time in recent years to do so, and even when I regained a bit more time to myself I was out of the habit of reaching for a book.

So I started off the year mostly listening to audio books when driving or doing things around the house and it rekindled my love of stories. I then started on e-books and would find myself reaching for my kindle or iPad during down time rather than turning on the TV.

In July I followed a random link on social media and suddenly I found myself on AO3 for the first time. I don’t even remember how it came about but suddenly I was reading my very first fan fic (‘The Promised Land’ by @gunstreet ) and learning that there was something called ‘slash fiction’ and a Star Trek sub-fandom based around the ‘Spirk’ relationship.

I’ve been a life long Trekkie, but discovering Spirk and fan fiction was like a missing piece clicking into place. Suddenly I was absolutely devouring stories, delighting in a whole new realm of Star Trek content.

Well…it changed EVERYTHING!

I did a massive TOS rewatch and for the first time ever I really, thoroughly enjoyed it, because it finally made SENSE when viewed through the lens of Spirk. I was raised in the era of TNG so I’ve never been massively fussed on TOS before. Now though I absolutely adore our boys and got so much more out of the episodes.

From there I kept exploring AO3 and finally found my way on to Tumblr and discovered this amazing community of likeminded individuals. Everyone has been so welcoming, supportive and kind, it’s been really lovely to start getting to know some of you.

As we close out 2023, the final count is as follows. I’ve read 65 novels, 88 novellas and 139 short stories. (28 of the novels were audio or e-books and everything else has been fan fiction I’ve read since July)

So I met my original goal of reading more, but as a wonderful bonus I found a new passion, a new community, discovered new talents (I’ve been loving creating my art) and have made some new friends.

Thank you so much to all of you for being part of this journey. Whether you’ve been liking and reblogging, commenting or chatting with me in DMs, I really appreciate you.

And a special thanks to all the lovely writers and artists creating ever more Spirk fan fics and art for me to enjoy.

Sending you all massive hugs and very best wishes for a happy and prosperous 2024. Xx

[wandaspillow]

I’m not him.

Natasha romanoff x daughter!reader

It’s a proofread.

Summary: after y/n got diagnosed with depression everything went downhill. 

Warnings: yelling/fighting, ed, sh, depression.

A/n: this is one of the story’s from my wattpad book. (Cuz I’m too lazy to write a new one, but I will soon)

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Y/n's POV:

It's been a few months after i got diagnosed with depression and they haven't been the best. First off my mother forgot my birthday, but remembered Peters and Peters was only a few days after mine, and on my birthday they were already decorating for his, that just made my day worst.

And then my mom forgot me at school but went to pick up Peter, maybe it’s because I’m not him?.

I mean i don't hate peter, but i do at the same time. at dinner oh my gosh all everyone would talk about is Peter and how great he is, most of the time they would say 'did you see peter math test it was amazing' or something like that.

and when they would bring me up in their conversation it would be about how bad my grades are, but their okay, I normally get B+'s or A's. and they would talk about when i get told off for ‘yelling’ or ‘hitting’ someone when they were doing it to other people.

But most of the time I was the one getting hit, punch, and sometimes kicked. And they would always get away with it.

But cause im the kid of the avengers i got yelled at, by everyone, my mum, my uncles, my aunts, and by my teacher and principal, and i don't even think they have seen the bruises or the cuts all over my body from those people.

But sometimes auntie Maria would tell her to hear my side of the story, but my mother would never listen.

That’s one thing I love about auntie Maria, she would actually listen to me.

But its okay i guess, i dont think anyone would notice anyways. but litte did i know that someone went into the school security and saw what they did to me, they saw how those people hit me, punched me, kicked me and those other people.

But they weren’t as bad as me, I took most of the hits.

they saw me putting on makeup to cover the bruise on my face and the ones on my leg, they had a shocked face looking on the screen. They thought about telling my mother but told someone else instead.

Nick Fury.

One of my favourite uncles, everyone knows he has a soft spot for me. And when Maria hill told him what was going on. My aunt found out and she knew that my mum wouldn't do anything and just say 'that's nothing' and leave it there.

When she was telling him she sent it to his iPad, then he called everyone to get into the meeting room right away. Auntie Maria gave him the footage to put on the tv and went to the meeting room where everyone was.

As they showed them the footage they were shocked, you were telling the truth and then they saw the part when you were in the bathroom covering the bruises, and my mother was shocked.

But what they didn't know about was my depression, until fury told them. Him and Maria only knew, and maybe Wanda because your thoughts have been a bit to loud recently and they haven't been the type of thoughts a 14 year old should be having.

After your mother and everyone else found out they were shocked, they didn't know you were struggling. You were always smiling you never showed that you were struggling.

You were in your room all the time, they thought you were doing homework or studying. But you were in your bed crying until you fell asleep, but of course they never knew that. Why would they?

You were never at team dinners after the first time it happened at school. They thought you weren't hungry, but really you thought you didn't deserve to eat, not after what happened and what those people said to you.

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Anyways as school finishes you waited for Lila, cause her classes are a bit longer than mine. I waited around 20 minutes until I got bored and texted her I'm going home, and she said that she had another class after.

As you were walking to the compound you saw a mother and daughter playing at the park. You wished that it was you and your mum, but she's always busy with Peter.

I walked into the compound and looked around and saw no one there, so I thought they were all on a mission or something. So I walked into my room, dropped all my stuff went straight into my bathroom.

I grabbed my kit, got out the sharp blade, placed it on my skin, then started dragging it across my wrist. I didn't even cry, I just pushed it into my skin, and that wasn't a good idea..cause it didn't stop bleeding.

But then I got flashbacks of when they said those words, 'the only reason she adopted you cuz she felt bad', 'she probably doesn't even love you'. Replaying what they said over and over.

I didn't even hear my door open, and my bathroom door was wide open. Then I heard her call my name, my mum, "y/n?.." she said walking in my room then saw me and rushed over to me.

"Detka.." she says I didn't even look at her "why didn't you tell me?" She asked, "cuz your too busy with mission and peter" I mumble and saw tears in her eyes.

"I'm never busy when it comes to you Detka, and I'm so so sorry I didn't believe you" after she said that I just hummed. "Ima just close my eyes for a little bit" I mumble, then she looks at my arms and mumbled something but I can't quite hear.

Then it all goes black.

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Natasha's POV:

"Detka keep your eyes open for me" I say and see her close them, "shit" I mumble "MARIA, FURY" I yell and wait for one of them to come.

I see Maria and she just stands there shocked, then fury came in and looked at her then me. I had tears in my eyes.

"Don't just stand there do something" I sobbed.

My Masterlist.

(Sorry it’s short)

[tensbowl]

my thoughts on beastars!

i recently finished reading beastars and honestly it’s been a WHILE since a manga had me this hooked since.. given. i used to read a shitton of manga in middle school but i gradually stopped when i entered hs (stemmed from a desire to Fit In, mayhaps..!), but i still keep up with haikyuu and given news cuz those are the ones that meant the most to me. beastars always caught my attention but because i’m frankly quite a sheep, i never read it. everyone around me told me it was ‘furry manga’ and i just didn’t care enough to do my own research LOL but here i am now, emotionally bound to legoshi. so much for defeating the furry allegations :(

i loved it btw it was a solid 8/10. there was laughter. a lot of confused laughter, but laughter. my favorite characters are legoshi, louis, and sagwan, although i think i love all of them. except for kyuu idk something about that rabbit pmo.. also completely unrelated but i’m a little scared of rabbits and when haru first showed up i was PETRIFIED. the one thing i hate most about rabbits is their black eyes (oh my god they freak me out) but there she was, standing on two legs, staring at me through my ipad pro screen with no mercy. i was shaking. but whatever i love her now and i think this made me get over my fear. so.. win/win?

i don’t remember all the arc names so i made up my own! i’ll discuss the manga in their respective story arcs and then get deep with the characters.. so i present to you my personal beastars story arcs (the way EYE saw them..)

obviously.. spoiler alert for everything..!

high school arc

this is probably my favorite arc JUST BECAUSE i’m a big sucker for high school stories. right off the bat i fw the drama club HEAVY because i do stagework at my school too! but damn these animals do it so.. difficultly? why are we not preprogramming the lights? why are we hand sewing these costumes? is there any blocking on stage? why isn’t there a stage manager to stop legoshi and bill from almost killing each other? let me loose in this drama club and i’ll have it demolished and rebuilt in 2 hours tops i’d be running it like the mf army. but whatever i guess paru did not care about the accuracy of the drama club which is all right with me (it’s not). 

my first impressions of legoshi were so strange. i know he’s not the bad guy but oh my god he’s SO AWKWARD. if i was in this universe (i’ll be saying this a lot) i would for SURE be spreading rumors about the weird wolf man in my drama club that speaks in rhymes and riddles. 

i also had no big impressions of any other characters until we get to louis. i thought jack was cool, the drama club kids were cool, and haru looked creepy but i didn’t mind her. but oh my god louis. he was driving me INSANE. i swear for every panel he showed up in i was containing all my anger. i was trying so hard not to lose my shit but this deer got on my nerves SO BAD….. HE for one spoke in rhymes and riddles and i’d be lying if i told you i understand anything of what he said in the high school arc. he got his shit together in the later arcs and got less pompous but in this arc he was losing me. and i was pissed off at him. the only thing i could think about was ‘diva syndrome’. and not in a cute ‘who is THIS diva’ way, in more like a ‘i really want to watch your ego death’ way. 

when haru tried to get freaky in the gardening club shed i lowkey was not phased. i feel like in a lot of reviews i read about beastars this was the scene that was turning people off, but i remembered my 2nd grade art teacher showing us zootopia and telling us that rabbits are very sexually active and usually have a lot of kids (why did he tell us this? idk. he got fired). so i was like ‘oh that’s just haru’s instincts!’ but also i guess.. that was kinda weird of her. but after her whole speech about how sex gets rid of the small and powerless feeling she has, we get a better understanding of her actions. though i will say, this was freaky as hell of haru. 

now i hate to admit to this (as louis is one of my skrunklies now) but i was CHEERING when he sprained his ankle. i was so happy. i thought he was going to die and i was so happy. but then a new enemy approached — bill the tiger. right off the bat i didn’t trust him. but after finding out that he drank RABBIT’S BLOOD oh it was so over. i was so over him. i was cheering for legoshi when they were fighting but when they brought that shit on stage i was done. i’m a firm believer of keeping things professional at least ON STAGE but these guys had no decorum. sigh. 

but this also got me thinking — are the animal limbs/blood being sold in the back alley market kinda like… drugs? i mean, it’s also like cannibalism (but not really..) in a way.. it’s hard to find a parallel for it. but honestly i think it’d be harder not to go to the market than to indulge in those animalistic instincts after all, so i was thinking, ‘is it really fair for me to hate bill’? and the answer was no. at least for me. i mean yeah he drank rabbit’s blood and i (and legoshi) hated him for it, but doesn’t that mean we should also be hating on like 3/4ths of the civilization in beastars? and i sure don’t. and louis says later too but i was thinking, don’t carnivores NEED to eat meat to survive? it’s kinda unfair for them, too. a double edged sword!!!! i was hooked at this point and i decided i wouldn’t hold it against bill but judge his character based on his actions later. 

i rate this arc a 9/10. one point off for strange theater etiquette. 

louis’s emo phase

this is the emo phase! basically the time frame from when louis was a mafia boss (which is so crazy). let’s talk about that because i didn’t care much about the meteor festival (apart from the fact that haru and legoshi were having some chemistry and juno’s exciting appearance). first off, louis is supposed to be a crazy big heir to a ceo’s throne.. are you telling me he has no image to protect and he can just go on and be a mafia boss to a bunch of carnivores? me personally if my son was acting like that he would never see daylight ever again. also louis was being so emo i get it he’s trying to show them that herbivores aren’t all weak and he found a place where he actually has power but oh my god this was so me in middle school. i sympathized. this was when i started liking louis because i realized that maybe i was hating earlier cuz we’re so alike. louis my son. 

it also freaked me out that legoshi was having internal conflicts about whether he likes haru in a romantic way or a predatory way, but it also only makes sense. so i was like yeah checks out! i guess these are the kind of questions you gotta have in the beastars universe. and then we explored more of the back alley market, which answered a shitton of questions i had and freaked me out a whole lot. i also will say now that haru ALSO speaks in rhymes in riddles like louis. do you think they speak in this cryptic way to each other in bed? also hi gouhin! he’s funny and kinda reminded me of my old drum teacher. 

when haru got kidnapped by the shishigumi ON SCHOOL GROUNDS (i presumed?) i was shellshocked. first off, is the mafia just allowed to roam around like that?? and there’s no protection around school? yikes!!! and legoshi’s lovestruck/extremely hungry being CHASES AFTER?? wow. legoshi and i are the same age in this arc (17) and let me tell you that if my crush got kidnapped i would stay the fuck out of that. i can’t tell if legoshi is braver or stupider than me. but i respect the grind. #forthehuzz

also when they just took out the mafia boss like that? wow. imagine being a minor and having a murder record like THAT.. jesus christ. anywho he deserved to die i love haru. i loved haru and legoshi’s interactions in the hotel after that; it was sweet but also sad cuz they’re just tryna love… but their instincts won’t let them. atp i was thinking ‘are they really MEANT to love then?’ like if their instincts are going against them. but honestly fuck your animal instincts. and maybe i misread this cuz haru is speaking in code but legoshi makes her happy and vice versa.. maybe the REAL animalistic instinct was the love we found along the way…

and a little segment on juno yayyyy! i personally love all the characters because they all feel so accurately immature in their high school ways. juno is a first year (15/16?) just craving for a cool same-species boyfriend and like.. yeah. i was thinking like that too girl. you can’t blame a girl for trying and you can’t blame a girl for loving! a lot of people seem to find juno annoying (the slander on reddit is insane) but i just think she’s a teenage girl. good for her. 

and then they also found out that riz killed tem and fought about it. riz’s backstory was kinda sad but i can’t lie to you i felt only little sympathy towards this bear. what he did was bad and he is a murderer! it seems like all these characters speak in code but this is what i got from riz’s huge monologue: even though he took strength suppressants and took on a “kind bear” persona, it didn’t stop herbivores from being scared of him. tem was the only animal that saw him in a genuinely friendly light, and that affection for tem overwhelmed riz (in a positive way but his instincts won over his logical side (sad face)) and riz ate him. he was also off his pills because taking them made him feel like more of a monster than he actually was. tbh riz was a victim of the system but that doesn’t make him any less of a killer,, but i totally get where he’s coming from. as a person who takes meds, it’s hard not to feel like some twisted thing while you’re taking them (especially if the meds are promised to ‘fix you’). and riz also created a whole twisted narrative in his own head about what happened, blurring the lines of reality and fiction.. but still he killed a dude :/ it sucks

also hold on. i went on a huge spiel about riz but i didn’t even TOUCH on the fact that legoshi went CRAZY after eating LOUIS’S LEG???? like okay damn what the FUCKK. i was laughing at first but then i saw louis’s leg all bandaged up and legoshi all crazy and my smile DROPPED. this was no joke legoshi was going primal. also makes me wonder what stopped legoshi from eating louis whole? maybe he’s just too nice for that. 

props to louis for being an amazing mafia boss. it’s the same thing as a ceo anyway but it had me kinda proud of this guy for leading an entire fleet of lions like that. also the shishigumi scared me when they were gonna kill haru but now? they’re kind of a joke. i love them though. 

overall this arc gets a 8.2/10. things were unrealistic (high schoolers nerfing a mafia boss) but also they’re all bipedal animals so what the hell. sure. mangione should spare louis. 

high school drop out arc

legoshi rightfully decides he’s had enough of this strange education system and drops out of high school! as a person who goes to boarding school though it has me wondering how he did that so easily. whatever they’re animals (what i keep telling myself). 

as a 17 year old, if i had to suddenly go fend for myself in Civilization, i would end up back on the doorsteps of cherryton sobbing. but legoshi, as i stated before, is way stronger/stupider than i am, so he did just fine. he got a shitty apartment and made friends. he also trains with gouhin to get over his predatory instincts and learn to love haru and has an acid trip involving a moth which i just filed under ‘typical shounen stuff’ in my head. it was fun but i don’t remember anything from it. also legoshi was bald in either this arc or louis’s emo arc and i liked it but EVERYONE MADE FUN OF HIM. whatever they don’t love you like i do. 

they also introduced sagwan, one of my favs! such a wise man. i love him. he’s also so kind to legoshi right off the bat which surprisingly isn’t a common feat. he also opens up the door to sea life, where they believe in a ‘life cycle’ philosophy. life isn’t too precious over there and they’re all reborn. which is cool. they talk a lot about life in this arc and it really makes you think. i might’ve shed a tear during this arc i don’t remember. at around this time though i was thinking, what happened to legoshi’s friends from high school? he doens’t have a cell phone, so does he just.. not talk to them???? i can’t lie i’d be pissed if that were me! like jack was nothing but a good friend but because legoshi is stupid and needs to Find Himself, he just kinda deserts him. but literally don’t even fret because they come back in a couple more chapters. unrelated, but jack also tries to kill himself at one point which had my jaw DROPPED. i guess yeah. dogs are engineered to be a man’s best friend (and for intelligence) which poses a lot of difficulties for them. they’re essentially genetically modified civilians. how creepy. and also his whole dynamic with being friends with his ‘ancestor’ legoshi?? wow. paru itagaki my jaw dropped a little. 

and now on to a mini that i like to call…

MINI ARC: homosexual seniors

gosha and yahya!!! i love gosha. what a kind man he is (and his story with his wife had me gasping like i was watching a soap). yahya, on the other hand, i didn’t care too much for. he was interesting, but 1) i couldn’t take him seriously because he is a horse, and 2) he’s a little fucked in the head! his carrot farm, attacking his friend’s grandson, and his strange ways of speaking all turned me off a lot. also is yahya a real herbivore if his carrots are fertilized… like that? what makes him so much better than the other animals? 

i thought gosha and yahya were good ‘two sides of the same coin’ kinda deal. also it was pissing me off how yahya was putting gosha down for choosing family. does yahya have loving parents? i’d think not from all this bitterness. also WHY was he trying to beat up legoshi like that? gosha’s better than me because i would’ve cut ties forever. 

overall i rate this arc a 6/10. not my fav! i liked it when legoshi was doing slice-of-life stuff with his new adult friends and learning more about the world, but then i was thrown off course by the homosexual horse and shounen training montages and legoshi’s crazy philosophical acid trip with the caterpillar he ate. 

melon domination

ta daaaa already the last arc. when legoshi let melon go, i was kinda pissed but i can’t blame him. legoshi spent most of his life KNOWING he was an outsider and not really knowing much about the hybrid life, and now with haru he’s almost promising to a life full of more discrimination and hate. i thought it was normal how he only wanted to connect with someone this affected by the system as his future kid/his mom will be/was, but also come on man. lock in he’s a criminal. 

also around this time i saw some arguments online that legoshi shouldn’t have a kid with haru because all hybrids will end up bad like melon. I DISAGREE HEAVILY ACTUALLY… i think melon only turned out this way because of his fucked up home life (strange predatory mother, presumed dead/deadbeat father, bullying at school) and lack of support at school or home. obviously that kind of hostile environment would raise a hostile kid. melon is not only a victim of the system but also a victim of abuse and bullying! i think that if legoshi and haru were to have a kid, that kid would be raised with love (at least in the house). and it’s not like ALL hybrids are evil — leano (legoshi’s mom) wasn’t evil, but she was ostracized by the community leading her to commit. legoshi is technically a hybrid too, but he’s not demonized because you can hardly tell he’s a hybrid. i think melon’s situation is all about his specific environmental factors.. tldr let legoshi and haru do whatever the fuck they want LMAO

legoshi communicating with the shark was SICK. people hate on the shishigumi for trying to kill louis and legoshi but like… they’re mafia! what else are they supposed to do..? lmao 

also props to melon for having a phd by the way. you could’ve been dr melon but no you wanted to pursue.. other interests, it seems..!

i’m also extremely confused about why legoshi turned white. who did that to you. he literally got whitewashed. 

the carni-herbi war was interesting to learn about (nice job jack) but the whale was SO FUNNY to me i don’t know why. and immediately cutting to yahya talking with said old-ass whale had me cracking up. the whale also had literally nothing to offer it was so underwhelming LMAO paru you lost yourself in the sauce. i respect it girl me too. 

MINI ARC: legoshi drafts himself into war

the turf war was really cool. i enjoyed this mini arc a lot it felt a lot like pokemon LMAO

the quiz was cool too! legoshi is very very knowledgeable because he makes an effort to get to know lots of different types of animals. #respect i love this guy. 

there’s a lot more that happened in this arc but honestly?! i have nothing to say about it. i thoroughly enjoyed all of it and read it with nail-biting anxiety. 8/10! two points off because of the whale thing. and kyuu oh my god that made 0 sense i’ve said this before and i’ll say it again: that whole ‘okay legoshi!’ thing could’ve been ANYONE. it could’ve been louis.  

ending

i liked the ending. i see a lot of complaints for it online but i have no qualms! i didn’t expect the world to change so suddenly (of course they’ll build another black market lol what’s a society without some crime?) and i didn’t expect for legoshi and haru to skip away into the sunset and for juno to get with louis and for everyone to make it out alive. it was realistic and the characters were lovably immature and awkward yet wise and open. i respected everyone’s vulnerability and honesty and wrongdoings. honestly this manga will squeeze right in between haikyuu and given in my heart as one of the mangas that i will never stop loving (and will love in secrecy SHH)

i still do have some lingering questions though. have they ever heard of the impossible burger? how the HELL did they evolve like this (i NEED darwin) and are there humans in this world? would it be wrong of me to say that i’m attracted to legoshi? i want to know more about that strange club yahya and legoshi went to. how did melon find time to get a phd and can i read his dissertation? why didn’t gosha just absolutely pummel melon’s dad because i totally would’ve? 

beastars, in all of its genius and strangeness, leaves us in the dark a little. but honestly i don’t mind! sometimes endings don’t have to wrap everything up nicely. though i do agree that the writing got a little messy and hard to follow towards the end, i didn’t find too many difficulties while trying to comprehend the main story. i loooved the slice of life chapters (beastrike!) and i truly think all characters are quite dimensional and there’s no true villain (you could argue melon, but i’ll argue that the real villain is… society……). 10/10 series, would totally read again. and this time, i won’t be scared of haru.

[bangtanhoneys]

SUCHWITA - Yoongi & Grace

Bora Note: SUPRISE! I thought this was going to take a few days but it came out easier than I thought. I hope you all enjoy

As a gift to ARMY who had promised to wait for him to come back from his military career, Yoongi had scheduled a surprise episode of Suchwita to be aired the day after his enlistment. Teasers were posted just as the news came that he had entered the military, causing ARMY and the world to take to social media to shout out their excitement. Finally, Grace Chu was going to be a guest. 

“So,” Yoongi started with a clap. “This was filmed just before I go into the military and I want to give you all a little gift to say I won’t be long and that I’ll be thinking of you. And what better way to do all that than by giving you the episode you’ve waited the longest for. Are you ready?” he asked, turning to each camera. 

“Okay, my guest today is BigHit’s first female trainee, BigHit’s ace, Seokjin-hyung’s world, Namjoon’s trainer, J-Hope’s sunshine, Jimin’s comforter, Taehyung’s translator, Jungkook’s mother and my support. She’s known as Korea’s Noona, ARMY’s queen and England’s rose,” Yoongi read off his iPad, echoing the words of Seokjin all those months ago. “Please give a big welcome to my sister, Gigi.”

The video that played for ARMY was a selection of video clips from the early days of their career to the most recent, each clip with a different member to reflect Yoongi’s words and ending with Grace on stage on her own with ARMY in the background.

“You always say such lovely things,” Grace smiled as she made her way towards the small table as Yoongi stood up, arms open wide with the crew loudly clapping in the background. “You’re also very cuddly these days.”

“I’m allowed to be. I’m going into the military,” he answered as he gave her a quick tight hug then released her. “Now I know you don’t do alcohol so I’ve organised some hot chocolate. But you promised me you’d do a shot of soju so I’ve got the citrus flavour for us.”

“Ah is that the new flavour?” Grace asked, picking up the bottle with an orange top. “Fitting then for the two of us.” She accepted the shot glass with a smile and clinked it against Yoongi’s, swallowing the shot in one go. “You know, not that bad.”

A large white mug with hot chocolate was placed in front of her and Yoongi, as well as finger snacks such as nachos and the like. 

“So,” Yoongi started as he wrapped his hands around the hot mug. “I’ve been told not to talk about your solo career, well I’ve been warned. But I want to ask, for ARMY’s sake, stuff is coming right?”

“Stuff is coming. Everything is planned and ready, sort of, but it’s coming.”

Yoongi stared at her and she grinned, shrugging. “That’s all you’re getting.”

“Gigi,” he almost whined. “You need to give more than that.”

“Nope. All will be revealed in time, you just have to wait.”

She nearly pointed out that he looked like that grumpy cat that was a meme a few years ago but she said nothing, distracting herself by scooping up some nachos and putting them in her mouth. 

“Fine,” Yoongi finally said. “I did kind of have a plan in my head of what I was going to ask you that wasn’t related to your career or anything like that. And I want to start by saying thank you.”

She must have looked completely puzzled so Yoongi quickly clarified.

“Thank you for always being there for me and the guys. If it weren’t for you, I don’t think we would have succeeded. You made sure we went to bed, made sure we were fed and clothed, and looked after us when we were ill. If it wasn’t for that support, I don’t think any of us would be here today. Especially Jungkook.”

“Jungkook was too young,” Grace shrugged. “He was only fifteen when he joined BigHit. In fact, everyone was under 20 when they joined BigHit and I had been there before Namjoon about a year beforehand or whatever it was. I was only nineteen when I first joined. So I felt like I had to step up and be the guide for Namjoon at least and then it just carried on for the rest of you. And then it turned into being the nanny.”

“Mother,” Yoongi corrected with one of his grins. 

“This Mother thing,” Grace laughed and watched as Yoongi poured himself a shot of soju and then another for her, just in case. “This whole thing started on Twitter or whatever. Even Jungkook never referred to me as mother until he saw it.”

“Wasn’t that the time we saw the MILF tweet?”

“Oh god that tweet,” Grace groaned and buried her hands in her face as Yoongi all but cackled. He turned his body slightly, facing more the camera than her.

“So that story, we might as well tell these stories. It was after a performance, I can’t remember which one, but all the tweets we saw were really complimentary and praised us for a job well done. I think it was Jimin, who saw the comment first and took a screenshot, sent it to the group chat. And it was something along the lines of, ‘Grace looks amazing. She looks like a proper MILF.’”

Grace quickly butted in, pointing a finger at Yoongi. “And none of you guys were quick enough to try and shield them or me from any of that.”

Yoongi shrugged, downing the shot of alcohol. “Namjoon was the one to explain it. And ARMY took it from there.”

“I couldn’t look at any of you during that week. It was just awkward,” Grace sighed and emptied her own glass of alcohol down her throat to Yoongi’s surprise. “If we’re going to tell these stories, then I need to get somewhat tipsy.”

The rapper paused and sat back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling for a moment then towards Grace. “The news about your relationship with Seokjin-hyung is out,” he started and laughed when Grace choked on the food she had just put in her mouth. “What? We might as well discuss it.”

“Aish, are we really going there?”

“Yes, ARMY needs to know.”

“You know, Seokjin was commenting on my LIVE after the news was announced and he said there was an R-rated version,” Grace explained as she scooped some salsa onto her nacho. “And since then, that’s all they ever asked about.”

“Well, we know about PG-rating version so what’s the R-rated version?.”

“Are you really going to ask me? Are you even allowed to upload this once this has been discussed?”

Yoongi shrugged, shoving a piece of food into his mouth. “Who cares? I’m going into the military soon.”

Grace lifted her head to stare at the younger man and the subtitles read on the screen, ‘She’s wondering whether to kill him or not.’

“Fine, might as well get it over with.”

She paused and laughed when Yoongi all but perked up, resting his elbows on the table with his chin in his hands as if he were a little child waiting to hear a bedtime story. This was a story very few got to hear and it had never been fully discussed by anyone, including the boys.

“So, Seokjin & I had a discussion around WINGS or just before. I knew I had started to like him more than a member of the group and he had figured out the same, but we had discussed that it was best we didn’t do anything to jeopardise the band, the comeback, the career, etc.” Grace started, folding her arms underneath her chest. She didn’t realise Yoongi, the crew, and even the audience were on tenterhooks waiting for the big reveal. 

“Nothing was done. And nothing was ever said after that. It was just the end. We weren’t going to do anything. However,” Grace stopped and bit her lower lip, wondering if she should go any further. But then Seokjin had left her in this mess so he could clean it up when he got back. 

“However,” Grace repeated with a laugh. “We were the only ones in the dorm. I don’t know where you all were but we were the only two left behind. And we had the conversation again, you know we can’t do anything.”

“But something ended up happening,” Yoongi summarised. 

“On the couch. Twice.”

It fell out of Grace’s mouth unprompted, causing Yoongi to pause as he lifted his glass of soju. “On the couch,” he repeated as if he didn’t get what Grace was telling him. You could see the cogs working and turning until finally something clicked.

“On the couch,” he all but yelled.

Grace nodded and buried her face into her hands, hiding from everything as Yoongi stood, open mouth and a dazed look on his face.

“You and Jin-hyung, on the dorms couch.”

“It was meant to be a one-off to get it out of our system, kind of.”

“But obviously it didn’t work.”

Yoongi sat back down as Grace peeked out from around her fingers.

“You know, I always suspected something happened but not like that. Not you two. Not the father and the mother of the group. We always thought of you two as the stone-cold people who did nothing wrong and yet.”

“Well,” Grace started and stopped when she realised she couldn’t explain it. “It happened and here we are so that’s the truth about the relationship. That’s the R-rated version. The PG version was the one we told the boys which was something along the lines of ‘we like each other, it won’t affect the group and we promise to be careful.’”

“Careful in more ways than one it seemed,” Yoongi stopped and poured another glass of soju. “That took a turn.”

“You wanted to know.”

“But I wasn’t expecting that,” Yoongi laughed and drank the soju. “What’s Jungkook going to think about his adopted parents? He’s going to be horrified.”

“Horrified? He’s been singing about fucking people in his songs lately, I don’t think he would be that horrified.”

“He’ll be horrified because it’s you. His noona. That kid absolutely adores you and would do anything for you, you know that.”

Grace smiled and nodded. “I know he would. You all would.”

“I want to talk about that - you and Jungkook because I don’t think many people realise what you do for him. Well, what you’ve done for all of us really. Because you’ve been there for everyone’s shit, especially mine.”

She finished off her hot chocolate and set the mug back down, leaning back in the chair. “Is this going to get emotional?”

“I don’t do emotional.”

“Says the man who broke down on stage.”

“That,” Yoongi pointed with his chopsticks. “That’s the stuff I want to talk about.”

“So,” Yoongi set the chopsticks down on the table and turned to the camera once again. “Obviously I broke down crying on stage on the last day of the tour. Everything just came tumbling out and I knew, if I couldn’t get the words out, Gigi would be there as backup for me. Adora as well but this woman here, left the audience and ran backstage to get ready to be my backup. And you’ve done that before for me, you’ve done that for everyone.”

“With Jungkook, you became his mother and I don’t mean that in the literal sense but you did. You saw a young man, with his big doe eyes and you protected him. You got him through the worst parts of his life and stood there with him, with all of us, without any judgement. He’s got his kindness and his sense of worth from you because you made sure to teach him that no matter what happens in life, as long as you know how important you are to yourself then nothing matters. And I took that to heart as well, dealing with my own trauma. I was angry with the world, angry at everything. I was putting everything I had into BTS, into AgustD, into Suga. And you said to me but what about Yoongi? What does Yoongi get? And I had to sit back and think about what do I want for myself?”

“Only because you had gone through so much in the beginning before we had even debuted. Like your shoulder, your mental health, and your relationships. The fact you were looked down on by the underground scene because you were now an idol rather than a rapper. And I remember when I heard The Last, how you spilled it all. I remember sitting there, feeling proud because you were breaking down these barriers slowly and on your own terms,” Grace interrupted. “Because I’ve always felt that no one should tell you who you are. I’ve come to realise that. It’s nice to be known as Korea’s Noona but who am I? At the end of the day when I get home to my cat and I sit down on the couch, turn on the tv - who am I? Because at the end of the day, I need to believe in myself.”

Yoongi sat there and took a good look at the woman in front of him. There had been many times when he knew Grace struggled with her identity. She was never meant to last more than two albums but Hitman Bang took the risk and extended her contract and then she became the greatest idol there was but she never felt right. There was always something missing. And he knew she had started to work on that and work on her identity, finally finding something for her to stand in and claim as her own. 

Her solo career was going to do all that for her. 

“And I tried to do that with Jungkook since he was so young and he was going to be easily moulded by what he saw, who told him what. And I wanted to treat him like Jungkook, not JK. He needed to be treated like a fifteen year old. Not an idol. So if that meant he needed a bedtime or he needed someone to make sure he had his uniform for the day, then that’s what it was going to take. Same for Tae and Jimin, they needed that. It was a structure that needed to be placed at home, in the dorm. And if I was seen as the mother then that’s what it was going to take,” Grace finished.

“You were the mother who looked after the boy's needs, Seokjin-hyung was the father in a way he controlled and scolded and cooked and woke us all up,” Yoongi started ticking off his fingers but he was interrupted by Grace again.

“You are also the father, technically. Because you do what Seokjin does but in a different way. You’re the protector and the fixer as well."

“Well yes, I do all that. So Hobi is next, he’s the first child then?”

“Hobi’s the first son,” Grace started then suddenly laughed, almost leaning backwards. “Oh, this is going to be turned into a meme.”

“What? You, me and Jin-hyung as the parents and the rest are the kids?”

Grace nodded, still laughing.

“Sounds like some weird threesome parenting,” Yoongi laughed as well, showing off his gums as he clapped with his laughter. 

“So Hobi is the first child. He’s the cleaner as well, technically. Namjoon is the second son who is the voice of reason. Jimin is third and is the kid who is just parenting gone right. Taehyung is the middle between Jimin and Jungkook, nice but a bit naughty. And Jungkook is the baby.”

“Jungkook is the baby,” Yoongi agreed. “But also a little shit.”

“He is that. But then I can say the same thing about all of you.”

“But you and me are too alike,” Yoongi pointed out with another glass of soju.

“We are. What are we called, two cats in a pod?”

“Ironic since you’ve now got a cat.”

“Min-ji,” Grace grinned as a picture of said cat was shown up on the screen.

“Did you name him after me and Jin-hyung?”

“No, though it seems like it. I was googling Korean names and that one just happened to catch my eye and the meaning fits him well.”

“But back to you and me,” Yoongi started then laughed. “I watch YouTube videos sometimes of the relationships between the members and you and I had to stop watching ours because it was hilarious. We are two cats in a pod. We are very much alike.”

“It’s more the mannerisms than anything,” Grace agreed as she took the plate of food from him. “And me and Namjoon are kind of like that,” she added. “You, me and him have known each other the longest.”

“Well, you trained him for a year and then me and Hoseok came along so it became a natural quartet though you lived with your parents, right?”

“I did until I got told by Bang PD that I needed to move into the dorm down the corridor when they had assembled the group. He didn’t want me mixing.”

“He treats you like a daughter though. You are the favourite, even Namjoon says so.”

Grace smiled and shrugged, giving nothing but everything away. 

They talked for another hour or more, reminiscing about the past and the future. How they were all waiting to come back together in 2025 when they could be a group again even though Grace knew she would have to finish off her solo tour first. 

“There’s one thing I do want to ask though, before we finish.” Yoongi said, pouring the last of the soju into the glasses. 

Grace nodded her head as if to say go on, holding up her glass of soju like Yoongi was doing.

“When are you going to make us uncles?”

Her immediate reaction was to sigh loudly and stare at the man in front of her.

“I’m joking. I promise. But I do want to say though, I’m proud of you. And I know what’s to come is going to be amazing and ARMY is going to go mental when they see what’s coming. And even though I can’t be there, I’ll be watching and I’ll be there if I can.”

ARMY would later say Grace’s smile in return to Yoongi’s words lit up the whole room.

“And I’m proud of you. And I hope you stay safe, don’t get hurt, make sure you look after your shoulder and you come back to us in 2025 because we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

They clinked their glasses together and downed the shot, putting the empty shot glasses back onto the table. The moment was broken by Yoongi clapping his hands once.

“ARMY, I hope you’re happy now. Gigi is going to take great care of you and I hope you look after her and support her all the way. I won’t be long and I’ll come back to you all when I can.”

The last Suchwita episode ended with the two hugging, Grace’s face buried into Yoongi’s shoulder as he held on tight. Almost as if she didn’t want to let him go just yet but had to. 

However, ARMY was left with one more surprise. 

It was a black screen with the words ‘She’s coming. May 14 2024.’

[90shaladriel]

Writing Interview Tag Game

Thanks for tagging me @klynnvakarian !

About Me:

When did you start writing?

In my 30s I definitely made an attempt to write a "novel" and did some world building and a few pages of writing and it didn't go anywhere. Then Late 2022 after Rings of Power season 1 just joining the Haladriel fandom I read so much fic that I thought maybe I could do some as well. Got some encouragement from other haladriel writers (crucial for me)

Are there different genres or themes you enjoy reading other than the ones you write?

I love history and science non-fiction. I mostly am writing in the fantasy fan-fiction space, but I do like sci-fi as my first love.

Is there an author you want to emulate, or are compared to often?

I either consciously or unconsciously imagine I am writing in the voice that Frank Herbert used in the Dune series. Maybe mixed with some George RR Martin and a tinge of Tolkien.

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space?

Vast majority of my writing was on an iPad lying in my bed before sleep when no one needs my attention.

What’s your most effective way to muster up a muse?

I usually write a chapter per month so it's just random thoughts or reminders while reading other fics which inspire me to write a snippet here or there when I have the energy.

The other big muse I've found in recent months was actually listening to or reading Tolkien books: "The Silmarillion", "Beren and Luthien" and "Fall of Gondolin" the beautiful prose and the rich lore just sparks new ideas I want to try to play off of or emulate in my own fics.

Are there any reoccurring themes in your writing? If so do they surprise you?

I always like stories of characters that are beaten down, up against the world, maybe a little unappreciated, but not giving up. Even if they cannot win they try their best and work hard. A lot of sadness too. I don't express much of that sadness IRL so that is a bit surprising.

Characters:

Would you please tell me about your current favorite character?

Tough call - probably the Lady of Light, Galadriel based on the ROP - characterization

Which of your characters would you be friends with in real life?

Hmm, I'm not sure if I would be best friends but I think I would get along with Ereddâz, my Orc OC from A Lord and his Builder.

I think Galadriel would ignore me and Sauron would send me to his dungeons to be a thrall.

Which characters would you dislike the most if you met them?

Melkor from my First Fire in the Void fic

Do you notice any reoccurring themes/traits in your characters?

I touched on it above, I think I like writing characters that believe they are doing the right thing. I do not like writing characters that are specifically and intentionally bad. Even my villains have plausible motivations or perspectives to justify their actions.

How do you picture your characters?

Most of my writing is currently around the Rings of Power cast and that style.

I am dabbling with non-ROP fics, like First Fire in the Void and there I pictured Mairon based on a lot of fanart that basically draws him like a pretty woman with long red hair lol.

My Writing:

What’s your reason for writing?

A creative outlet. For years and years I would day dream my own stories, going back to when I was a kid, I was also a pretty decent DnD DM making up my own campaigns. I've often had dreams of telling stories by creating video games (I am a software dev professionally) but I usually get stuck on the actual technology side of creating a game and can never get to the creative side. By writing fic, I was able to just get my ideas out there without being held back by the lack of skills in other areas (game dev, art, making a story interactive and still make sense)

Is there any specific comment or type of comment from readers that you find particularly motivating?

Ive gotten a few amazing comments that say this is their favorite fic and I can't believe it since I just write one of many thousands of fics so I feel honored, and for my WIPs a little pressured, to produce more at that level.

How do you want to be thought about by your readers?

I want to write stories other people like, I do think about how can I make a story original in a way no one else does? What's a premise no one else has or could be done differently?

But really I am mostly writing stories that I like?

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

I think putting my characters through emotionally charged or traumatic events where they have realistic responses or reactions that I or I think readers might relate to emotionally.

How do you feel about your own writing?

I read other writing and it feels so polished and natural. I often feel like I am "emulating good writing" rather than being a good writer myself. I like my stories and plots but I am not always impressed by the words on the page after writing them. Sometimes I just give up during editing and just post and people seem to like it enough.

When you write are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, do you write purely for yourself, or is it a mix of both?

AS I was saying I do think about the readers and I'm surely influenced by what I see in the community and what people respond to but every single idea is a kind of "wouldn't this be cool" idea I have myself first and then I judge how much I think other people would also find it to be cool or enjoyable. That part I sometimes guess at or things resonate with others that I didn't expect

No pressure tags!

@eowyn7023 @demonscantgothere @cliffdivingsblog @pursuitseternal @theriverwild

[justgleekout]

The Purrfect Crime

Summary: Kurt and Blaine were, as you say, “partners in crime”, but like, in the opposite sense… They were a long standing duo at the CIA. Headquarters knew they worked best when they worked together, so they just always did.

On their most recent mission however, their professional partnership is being tested as they go undercover as a married couple.

Rating: T

Words: 3,625

Additional tags: Fake Dating, spies!klaine, Friends to Lovers, crack elements, I really tried to be funny, smitten!blaine, Pining, oblivious!kurt?, Or Is he?, Alternate Universe

Notes: This work is a secret santa gift to @spaceorphan18! Merry Christmas!

First of all, I know this is a little late and I'm so sorry! I was struggling (to say the least) to get this done on time. As you can see, this is chapter one, because I just couldn't finish the whole thing and I didn't want you to wait any longer. I was so busy with work it's litereally not funny. I was pulling days from 7am til 9pm at some point. Then, when I started writing my first idea, I came to the realisation that I was including a very significant trope that was the oposit of what you had written on your wish list, so I had to start over... my own stupid mistake. Then, to make matters even worse, I spilled soda all over my laptop and it broke down completely. So I had to continue writing on my phone and ipad with a broken keyboard (I do NOT reccomend). I know, excuses excuses. I'm just bummed I didn't get it done on time. Also I now have to buy a new computer...

All that aside! I hope you like what I've got so far! I got really excited when I saw you wanted spies!klaine! A trope I absolutely love! Just note that I have never really written crack before, but I tried my best to make it fun add many silly elements! And I promise there are a lot more to come in the next part!!

Chapter: 1/?

Read on Ao3

They walked up to the gates of what could only be described as a palace (if America had those). The long and broad driveway behind the gates lead to a building so large and fancy looking, Blaine instinctively straightened his bowtie and readjusted his cufflinks. He knew he looked the part. Headquarters never sent out their agents in anything less than appropriate attire, but he couldn’t help it. He then glanced over at Kurt, who looked like he was a regular at this place, clad in a striking powder blue suit that perfectly brought out the colour of his eyes- no, Blaine, you are on a mission and he is your friend. He had to remind himself more and more frequently of the fact that they were partners in the professional sense only. No matter how gorgeous Kurt looked and how kind he was and how many flirty remarks he made at Blaine. 

“Did you get any information on what we are actually attending?” Kurt asked.

“No, chief Sylvester only gave me the location and this invitation.” Blaine held up a piece of royal blue parchment with a broken red and gold wax seal. The text on it was written in golden ink and read: 

“ Dear guest, 

Recently I received some incredible news concerning someone close to me that has enriched my life. I would like to share this news with you. Therefore, I hereby invite you to attend a celebratory party to join me in my glee on the evening of the 22nd of may at my residence. I would love to share with you a grand revelation that not even I know the outcome of. All that I will say is that it will be an evening full of surprises. 

Sincerely,

Hunter Clarington”

“What do you think it means?” Kurt asked as he took the paper from Blaine to inspect it further.

“I don’t know. But he is clearly up to something. Chief Sylvester said they got a hold of this invite right after they found suspicious signals and radiation coming from the address. They tracked all the vehicles going in and out of the vicinity. All transporting materials to build some sort of weapon… a powerful one.”

Kurt worried his bottom lip between his teeth and nodded, mulling over the information.

Blaine couldn't help but stare at Kurt's mouth as he licked his lips in thought. Blaine swallowed thickly and his breath hitched for a moment.

Kurt eyed him a little suspiciously. “Are you nervous?” he asked.

“Are you?” Great save, Blaine. Clever. 

Kurt shrugged. “A little, I guess.” 

Blaine didn’t actually expect that answer. “What? Why? You’re never nervous .” 

“Well I just don’t really fit in at these kinds of events… ”

Blaine frowned at Kurt. “What makes you say that?”

“Everyone here is rich, Blaine. I don’t know any of these etiquettes and inside jokes. I’ll stick out like a sore thumb…”

“Kurt, you are a spy for the CIA You are literally trained to fit in anywhere. I’ve seen you act. You’re a natural! And your suit looks incredibly expensive.” Better than mine anyways…

Kurt smiled at the compliment. “Thank you. I tailored it myself, actually.”

“A secret agent with secret talents. Seriously, Kurt, what can’t you do?”

“It’s not “Kurt” tonight, Remember?” 

“Right. Yes. Sorry, Mr. Ralph Murray, what can’t you do?” Blaine said to Kurt with a smile.

“Some secrets I don't dare share, not even with you, Mr. George Murray, darling. ” Kurt winked at Blaine.

And there it was; the reason Blaine was nervous in the first place. Tonight Kurt and he were Ralph and George Murray, husbands of five years, millionaires, and most importantly, on the guest list. It wouldn’t be a hard part to play; Kurt’s husband. Blaine had played that part often enough in his head. But Kurt didn’t know that, and Blaine would rather eat his bowtie than have Kurt finding out and Blaine making a fool out of himself. He just couldn't help but blush at the pet name Kurt gave him. 

Then, a sharp noise pierced his ear. Blaine flinched. This damn earpiece! And then a voice, “Hey guys, I’m glad to hear you are getting into character, but you better get in there. We have no clue where the signal is coming from within that building. And we need to find it fast. 

Right. Blaine thought. The stakes were high tonight. The nation was in danger and it was their job to secure its safety. “We best get in, then.”

“Oh before you do, I have hidden some gadgets for you in that bush over there on the left side of the gate.”

“Hold up. You have hidden our top secret, highly dangerous gadgets… in a bush?” Kurt said exasperatedly into his earpiece. 

“I figured they would be easily accessible…”

“Yeah. To literally everyone , Sam,” Kurt hissed.

“Oh… yeah…”

“Look, Sam, just tell us what you got us,” Blaine said as he crouched next to the bush, pushing the branches aside to reveal a suitcase. He opened it and Sam continued, “Alright. There is of course your trusted grenade pen, anaesthetic darts-watch and bulletproof handkerchief, but I have also added a few of my newest inventions.”

To this, Kurt shot Blaine an apprehensive look. They were a little too familiar with Sam's “ inventions” to say they were always a raging success. They looked into the suitcase and saw, beside their usual gadgets, something that looked like a small beauty case, an umbrella and a pair of sunglasses. “What the…” Kurt whispered under his breath.

Blaine frowned. “Sam, the event is inside… how are we supposed to casually pull out an umbrella or sunglasses?” 

“You're worried about the sunglasses? How do you reckon we are gonna be able to pull off using a, what is this, a lipstick ?” Kurt said as he held up a small golden tube. 

“I- hadn’t really thought about that,” Sam confessed.

Kurt looked like a vein was about to pop in his forehead as he pinched the skin between his eyebrows and pursed his lips.

“What do they do, Sam?” Blaine offered.

“Right, so, the umbrella is not only completely waterproof, it is also fire resistant and creates a perfect shield once unfolded. The sunglasses have infrared night vision and the lipstick is my personal favourite. It releases a toxic fume if you press that button on the back there, but that won't affect you when you are wearing the lipstick as it neutralises the toxins as they come close to it, so when you inhale, you're totally safe,” Sam said proudly.

Blaine had to admit the inventions sounded pretty incredible had they been more practical. “Alright,” he sighed. “Thank you, Sam.”

Kurt side eyed him and Blaine offered a shrug in return. 

“Well, we’d better get going, now. We’ll tune back in when we need you, Sam,” Kurt said and tapped on his earpiece once to hang up. Blaine followed. “Honestly, I can’t with him sometimes. I know you guys are friends, but he sure gets on my nerves.”

Maybe Sam didn't always have the best ideas, but he really wasn't bad at his job. Blaine thought. “He tries his best, though. And he is actually really great once you get to know him,” 

Kurt shook his head. “You’re too kind for your own good,” he said, but there wasn't any actual judgement in his voice. 

Blaine smiled and the blush he was sporting a minute ago returned faintly to his cheeks.

They walked through the gate towards a grand wooden front door in front of which a big woman was standing behind a podium with her arms crossed. "Names?" she said as she was eyeing them up and down suspiciously.

Blaine put on his most charming smile. “George and Ralph Murray,” he responded.

She looked at the register in front of her and her expression changed. “Ah! Splendid!" Welcome to the Clarington residence. All guests are expected in the ballroom for the welcome speech at 8:00 pm sharp. In the meantime there will be beverages and appetisers served in the grand foyer. Please enjoy your evening Mr. and Mr. Murray.”

“Thank you,” Kurt said and nodded to the woman. They walked past her as the doors opened. 

“Ballroom? Really?” Blaine whispered at Kurt as they made their way up the steps leading to the front door. “What is this place? Versaille?”

Kurt sniggered and gave Blaine a pointed look. “Play the part now, Blaine,” he said as they stepped over the threshold. 

They entered an incredible marble room with two grand staircases with golden railings on each side. Large pillars reached to the high ceiling on which, in the middle, hung an enormous crystal chandelier. Blaine’s mouth fell open and he heard Kurt release a low whistle. They quickly pulled themselves together as they were approached by a young handsome waiter. “Welcome, gentlemen. Can I offer you a drink? A glass of champagne perhaps? Cocktail?”

“I’ll have an old fashioned, thank you.” Kurt said with a confident, charming smile. See? Blaine knew Kurt had nothing to worry about. He was a natural. Blaine might have come from money, but Kurt just radiated class. 

“For me a negroni, please. Let’s save the champagne for later after the great announcement, don't you think?” Blaine said with a wink.

The young man blushed. “Certainly, sir.” 

“Say, do you happen to know anything about this speech?” Blaine asked him.

The waiter's eyes grew wide for a second. “I- I’m sorry sir, but it’s supposed to be a surprise.” 

“Of course. I’m sorry,” Blaine gave the waiter an understanding smile. The young man bowed his head gratefully and dashed away to get their drinks.

Blaine leaned into Kurt’s side, “You reckon he didn't know? Or he didn’t want to say?” he asked.

“Not sure… Would you share your secrets with the waiting staff?”

“I don’t know. I never had waiting staff.” 

“Hm.” Kurt gave him a considering look that lingered a bit too long. It made Blaine feel a little hot in the face.

“What?” he asked.

“Nothing.” Kurt shrugged. “I’m just trying to paint a picture of you.” When Blaine didn't respond immediately he added, “It's a good picture, don't worry.” There was something suggestive in the way Kurt spoke. Blaine looked at him as if to try figuring him out. Kurt was just good at playing his part. Blaine told himself. Though no one was looking at them at the moment so there was no direct reason for it.

“Let's ask around some more, shall we?” Kurt suggested, breaking the tension.

"Yeah. Good plan.”

The young waiter had returned with their drinks and they started moving through the crowd. They asked multiple people if they had any idea what they were doing here, but no one seemed to know or want to tell them anything. 

“This is hopeless. We are wasting valuable time.” Blaine slumped against one of the pillars. 

Kurt opened his mouth to respond but Blaine motioned for him to be quiet when he heard a woman speak; “See, I told you he was weird. Who hosts a party for their cat?” 

They turned to look where the voice came from. A latina woman with long dark hair in a fitted, red, velvet dress was talking to another woman. This one with blond hair styled in a stylishly messy updo and a mint green dress. 

“I would,” the blonde woman said solemnly. “And I have in the past.” 

“Yeah, but that’s different. You’re cute about it.” The dark haired woman flirted and the blonde one gave her a quick kiss. 

“Excuse me,” Blaine piped in.

The dark haired woman gave him a once over, clearly judging him.

“George Murray, pleasure to meet you.” He held out his hand and the woman took it with only slight reluctance. “This is my husband, Ralph Murray.” He gestured to Kurt who then also shook the woman’s hand. Blaine noticed that the look she gave him was a lot less disapproving. Though Blaine couldn't blame her when Kurt was wearing that suit. 

“Santana Lopez,” the dark haired woman introduced herself. “This is Brittany Pierce.”

The men shook Brittany's hand as well. “I’m sorry, we just couldn’t help but overhear… Do you happen to know what this event is for?”

“I’ve only heard rumours,” Santana said.

“I see. Where did you get these rumours from?” Blaine asked.

Santana crossed her arms. “Well aren’t you the little detective. What's it to you, anyways? 

“Just nosy.” Kurt’s smile turned a little more devious than polite, matching her energy.

“They say it’s his cat’s birthday, but that doesn’t explain the great announcement. Maybe his cat got nominated for an award.” Brittany said

Kurt and Blaine looked at each other in disbelief, and back at the women. “You can’t be serious,” Kurt said.

Santana crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. “Deadly.” 

“He can't be that passionate about a cat?”

“Wanna bet?” Santana challenged. “How do you think we know him?”

The men shrugged.

“We know him from cat shows.” Santana rolled her eyes. “Brittany’s cat, Lord Tubbington, often runs against his cat, Mr. Puss. So believe me when I say people are passionate about their cats. Anyways if you really wanna know, we heard it from Sebastian Smythe.”

“Who is that?” 

“He is one of Hunter's closest friends .” She grinned as if to imply something.

“Do you think Hunter told him about his plans for the night?” Blaine asked, trying to hide the eagerness in his voice.

“I’m sure he did. I overheard them talking about half an hour ago. Something about ‘getting it ready in the basement.’ ” She shrugged.

Kurt and Blaine exchanged a meaningful look. “Do you know how we can get in there?” Kurt asked.

“I'm sure Sebastian has a keycard to the elevator. But hold up, why do you want to know so bad?”

“Never mind that. What does he look like; Sebastian?” Kurt asked.

Santana smirked. “Oh you can’t miss him.” 

Brittany then took Santana's hand and whispered something in her ear. They giggled. “Look we’d love to stay and chat, but we, er, we gotta go.” Santana said before she was pulled away by Brittany. Santana managed to add a “good luck” as they disappeared into the crowd. 

“What do we do now?” Blaine sighed. “We have no clue where to find this Sebastian character,”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Kurt said and pointed over Blaine’s shoulder. 

Blaine turned to look, and there, in the middle of a group of people, stood a handsome man who was clearly the centre of attention. The people around him were laughing at his jokes and basically fawning over him. “You reckon that’s him?” Blaine asked.

“ Oh my god, Sebastian! You didn’t!” one of the guys closest to him laughed and flirtily touched the man’s arm. 

Sebastian petted the guy’s hand and smirked. “You should hear what I did with his father,” he said and winked at the woman next to him. The people around him all laughed.

Blaine snorted. “Well that answers that,” he said.

“He looks incredibly obnoxious,” Kurt said and narrowed his eyes. “He is flirting with literally everyone in his little group.” He grimaced.

“Maybe we can use that to our advantage?” Blaine thought out loud. However he didn’t really feel like watching Kurt chat up another man. He would just have to do it himself. “I will go and talk to him!” 

“Wait, maybe-” but before Kurt could protest, Blaine had stepped into the circle of people. Sebastian's eyes were immediately on him. 

“Well hello handsome,” Sebastian said and extended his hand towards Blaine. “I don’t think we’ve met. You look like someone I wouldn’t easily forget.” He grinned.

Despite his better judgement, Blaine blushed. The man was handsome, alright. And definitely charismatic, judging by the effect he had on the people around him. “We haven't. My name is George Murray. Are you Sebastian Smythe?” Blaine asked as he shook the man’s hand. 

“Matter of fact I am. To what do I owe this pleasure?”  

“I was talking to some friends of mine and you sounded… interesting” Blaine smiled a what he hoped was a seductive smile. 

Sebastian raised an eyebrow and turned away from Blaine for a second to make a dismissive gesture to his followers. “Could you give us a moment please?” 

The small crowd looked annoyed, some even jealous, but they obeyed, leaving the two men to themselves. Sebastian turned back to Blaine “Interesting, hm?” he grinned. 

Now that they were talking Blaine realised he didn’t actually have a solid plan. He couldn’t straight up ask Sebastian to give him the key. He would never just hand it over. Maybe Blaine could convince Sebastian to take him to the basement? But he needed Kurt with him. So he had to think of something else.

“They said you were close friends with the host,” Blaine said, trying to imply exactly whatever Santana was implying before. “I can see why he would like you,” he flirted. Apparently this was the right move, as Sebastian looked him up and down let his gaze rest on Blaine’s mouth. 

Sebastian leaned in closer. “You’re cute, George Murray. How come I’ve never seen you before?” 

“I- I’m usually very busy with eh- work. Don’t-“ Blaine swallowed. “Don’t often have time for parties.” Out of the corner of his eye Blaine noticed movement. He glanced over Sebastian's shoulder and saw that Kurt was miming something. “Back pocket!” He mouthed. What about his back pocket? Wait. Sebastian’s back pocket! The keycard was in sebastians back pocket!

Sebastian, who luckily didn’t seem to have noticed anything, spoke again, “Ah, so you're Mr. Professional, hm? Do you always obey the rules or are you capable of letting loose every once in a while?”

“Er, yeah sure,” Blaine said semi on auto pilot. How the hell was he supposed to get the key-card from Sebastian’s pocket? “What about you?” he asked. “Are you a rule breaker?”

“You could say that,” Sebastian quipped. 

Blaine laughed. He needed to get very close and personal with this man but whilst he was doing so, he might as well find out some more information.

“I was wondering,” Blaine said and trailed his finger over Sebastian’s chest. “As you’re such a bad boy, would you mind telling me what tonight is all about?” Blaine looked up through his eyelashes. 

Sebastian inhaled through his teeth. “Oh babe, I can’t tell you that. It’s supposed to be a surprise.” 

“I thought you didn't play by the rules.” 

“Why don’t you come upstairs with me where we can have a little more privacy and I can tell you all you want to know.” Sebastian said and slipped an arm around Blaine’s back. 

This was his chance. He could take it now and Sebastian wouldn't notice. He just didn’t know how to get out of the situation once he made his move. Blaine looked over his shoulder in search of Kurt and found him looking at them. Blaine gave him a quick pleading look, hoping Kurt would understand. Here goes nothing. He put his hand on Sebastian's back and slid it down to rest over his butt. “Sounds amazing...” Blaine felt the card in Sebastian's pocket. “...but I forgot to mention…” He slid his fingers into the pocket over the card, trying to pull it off as a caress, and as he retreated his hand he pulled the card out. Got it. “...that I'm married.” 

As if on cue, Kurt stepped in front of them. “Darling! There you are! I was looking for you.” He smiled a bit too sweetly at Blaine. “Who’s our new friend?” he asked and shot a murdering look at Sebastian. 

“Woah, what the hell?” Sebastian took a step back, letting go of Blaine. 

Blaine quickly slipped the key-card into his own pocket and stepped closer to Kurt. “Ralph, honey, this is Sebastian. He is a close friend of Hunter’s. Sebastian, this is my husband, Ralph Murray.”

“Husband? Wow,” Sebastian said. “Was not expecting that.” 

Kurt held out his hand. “Pleasure,” he said through gritted teeth.

Sebastian took Kurt’s hand and shook it once. 

Kurt turned to Blaine again. “Well it’s almost 8 o’clock. We should get going, darling.” 

“Right.” Blaine nodded. “Maybe we can talk later?” he offered innocently to Sebastian as if nothing had happened. “It was very nice meeting you.” 

“Sure was,” Sebastian said and winked at Blaine, clearly recovered from the initial shock. “I am looking forward to seeing you again, George.”

Kurt then pulled Blaine away by his hand through the crowd, leaving Sebastian behind. 

“Thank you for saving me,” Blaine said once they had found a quiet corner.

“You didn't really seem like you needed saving,” Kurt said coldly.  

“What do you mean? If you hadn’t shown up, I wouldn’t have been able to get away!” 

“I mean, ” Kurt said. “It didn't seem like you had such a terrible time with him. I know you needed to get the card, but how are we supposed to come across as a happily married couple when you are feeling up all the other guests.” He crossed his arms defensively.

Blaine stared at Kurt for a second. Then it dawned on him. “Wait, Kurt, are you jealous?”  

“No,” Kurt snapped. 

“Oh my god, you are totally jealous.”

Kurt’s cheeks turned red. “Shut up, I'm trying to take this mission seriously. Did you at least get the key?”

Blaine couldn't help but grin as he presented it. “Got it right here.”

“Great. Let's go try it out before he finds out it’s missing. We need to get to the basement before it’s 8 o’clock.” 

[sparklexswiftie]

Hi! ☺️ My name is Abby, and I’m from Australia! Just wanted to make a quick post on here about my Taylor journey! ✨

My first memory of anything Taylor Swift was back in 2014 when I was 10, and my mum and I playing 1989 on the way to school! It then progressed when I got my first iPad for Christmas in 2014 and all I remember is making videos on Video Star to the songs I liked, one being “Mean” 💜

I wasn’t a super super crazy fan at that time, but I would put her songs on my speaker when I did my homework, and I would learn some of her songs on my ukelele, which I played often. I was also a dancer, and made up choreography to songs I liked at the time, some being “Look What You Made Me Do”, “White Horse” and “Clean” 🩰

I didn’t consider myself a crazy fan until about 2021, when during that year, I had some bizarre stuff go on. I noticed a lump on my knee and after a few weeks, I could no longer walk. As a dancer, it was the worst thing in the world. I had surgery in December 2021 to remove the lump but unfortunately not long after, the lump returned. Thankfully not cancerous, however it caused lots of pain and leaving me unable to walk or leave the house. I got left untreated for about 2 years after being told my pain was fake, until someone finally listened to us and I had my second knee surgery in April of this year. Long story short, it wasn’t fun, and recently has returned a third time.

While all this was going on, I couldn’t leave the house and my love for Taylor only grew. I was on my way to being a die hard fan! I was making lots of swiftie crafts, drawings, collecting Taylor merch and cd\vinyls. I watch all the past tours over and over and especially this last year and a bit, watching the eras tour live streams. Listening to the words she wrote and somehow relating it to the things I was going through, made my life feel that little bit more liveable and bearable! I honestly couldn’t have got through that and what I am currently without her! 🫶🏻

I love making swiftie arts and crafts, I put a few of them in this post!

My goal here is to hopefully find some new friends that have the same obsessions that I have, and hopefully relate on the same things. And of course, talk about Taylor Swift to the moon and to saturn! 🪐

[teenytinycoffeebean]

Can you tell us more about Caelum? All of the details, please?

afksdlac YOU FOUND ME ok ok ok I'll do my best?

First, here is a disclaimer to folks about how I develop OCs. I like to build OCs as another way to explore specific characters/relationships in canon, but it doesn't always mean that the narrative I work on is entirely canon. 

In the case of my Warframe OCs, both Caelum (my drifter) and Vespar (my operator) were created initially for me to explore the more recent content in Warframe (Whispers in the Walls and the content found within that update), with a focus on having a 3rd party viewer to things that are only hinted at in canon. 

OK! With that out of the way, more about Caelum under the cut!

Just kidding, did you want more disclaimers? Sure you did. Here's some important information to keep in mind: 

I DON'T WRITE SO SORRY FOR GRAMMAR OR WHATEVER ISSUES!!!!!

Fun fact: even if I like to explore relationships and characters I'm also Bad At Consistency, just roll with it lmao

This is not complete! I have background information about Caelum (and Vespar, too), but a lot of it is not documented. This answer will serve to give background to Caelum specifically and get some of that history out there. 

What is mostly covered below is how Caelum got their name :^)

My timeline is in no way watertight and likely contradicts itself and canon more than once. Consider this a work in progress, and things are subject to change at any point at my own discretion. 

I treat Transference as something the Orokin had researched and experimented with before the Zariman event as a way to have even more control specific over Warframes. Caelum can perform Transference through both brutal experimentation and intensive training. 

I also treat Continuity as a procedure used to continue to work within the same confines of a person's experience but with a new, fresh body. In this case, it's used only to keep experiments alive. Is this in line with the actual canon Orokin? Probably not, but just roll with it, ok? 

Caelum and Vespar are not the same person in alternate realities. In this case, Caelum does not have an operator counterpart, and Vespar does not have a drifter counterpart. However, the two are linked regardless, as Caelum is the drifter that arrives in New War 

Don't @ me, but I had a really dumb idea that doesn't even actually make sense, and that's what started this whole thing. Source: Albrecht/Loid/Caelum threesome WIPs on my iPad. 

They were born without a name into a low cast under the Orokin Empire. Their early life is unknown; however, at a young age, they found themselves tethered to the whims of an Orokin master. They were enlisted into a Warframe-related project prior to the Old War, and they were labeled as "Z-7522." 

They were one of the original Warframe operators when Transference technology was in the experimental stages, requiring operators to undergo significant physical augmentation surgeries, extensive training, and many other excruciating procedures, some resulting in death. Z-7522 spent an indeterminate amount of their life as an experiment for the Orokin to test new Warframe technologies and thus underwent the Continuity procedure a questionable amount of times. After the Warframe Insurrection, however, and the project was put on hold, these original Operators were imprisoned and later disposed of. 

At this point, Z-7522 had already been "retired" by their master and, albeit temporarily, set to work in an Orokin pleasure house. There, they are introduced to a pre-Void dive incident, Albrecht Entrati, as an infrequent client, though not as the typical type of clientele... Shortly after this, Z-7522 is sought out and imprisoned alongside other Warframe operators on the heels of new orders from the Golden Lords. 

While imprisoned and awaiting execution, Z-7522’s life was bought in a shady dealing by the warden, ever-eccentric and now-barely recognizable Albrecht Entrati. Entrati had a “role” for Z-7522 and said he would use their still heavily augmented body well. Upon being brought out of the prison complex, bound by chains and assuming their life would continue under oppressive Orokin dominion, is released by Albrecht and offered a task: become Albrecht Entrati’s personal bodyguard and continue operating Warframes as requested. The one catch, however, is that Albrecht wished to study now-defunct Transference augmentation implementation and technology, which meant more potentially painful experiments for them at the hands of an Orokin scientist, albeit the most well-known one in the Origin System. Though, this new life would be a free one. Z-7522 is taken to the Sanctum Anatomica, which will become their new home. Albrecht asks to give him their name, which Z-7522 had never been asked before. It is then that they decide on their chosen name: Caelum.

Caelum is introduced to Loid, Master Entrati’s right hand, and the immense and well-pampered Kavat, Kalymos. While Albrecht is relatively standoffish and difficult to understand, Loid can explain much of what is happening in the labs and translate for Albrecht while Caelum gets accustomed to their surroundings and role. Loid is the first person to treat Caelum like a human, which Caelum is not very accustomed to at first but does warm up and develops a proper personality.

UM SO. That's what I've written in full but I've got some timeline notes written that I can post too:

Working under Albrecht and being his body guard upon trips to 1999 as well as working with Loid / help Loid and Albrecht’s relationship

Albrecht, confusingly, told them they are no longer needed (prior to Albrecht going to 1999 for the final time. Caelum does not know why but obeys nonetheless. Necraloid, on orders from Loid,  follows Caelum into the Cambian Drift to explain to Caelum what Albrecht intends to do. 

Caelum, set on finding a way to return Albrecht hijacks the derelict Railjack Erebos from the Cambian Drift, reparing it to at least general functionality, and attempts a Void-jump, believing this could replicate the time travel Albrecht had discovered. 

The Void-jump is unsuccessful and, now adrift in the Void, Caelum encounters The Tempestarii and Sevagoth’s Shadow, who are able to help Caelum prevent the Erebos from breaking up in a Void Storm as well as recover the corpse of Warframe Sevagoth which Caelum is able to bond with. 

In the Void, Caelum encounters the influence of the Man in the Walls who forces Caelum into Durivi.

In Duviri, without much knowledge how or why, all while losing time and memories. Caelum, going by the name "Aeon" in Duviri, encounters Albrecht (or a remnant memory of Albrecht) in Duviri but isn’t aware of who he is. 

Caelum is able to escape Duviri in the New War and meets Vespar.  (read: standard Duviri story arc)

While Vespar helps to repair the Origin System, Caelum seemingly vanishes, with the newly reconstructed Railjack “Erebos” that Vespar had rebuilt – “soul searching” in an attempt to regain lost memories. 

Whispers in the Walls events happen with Vespar taking the lead, supporting Loid and the Cavia before Loid mentions something that Vespar recalls Caelum speaking of. Vespar puts the pieces together that Caelum had been working in the Sanctum Antaomica in their previous life. She is able to call Caelum back and promises that she has news as to their lost memories.

Reuniting with Loid, etc, etc

UM! that's where I'm at with anything that's worth sharing! I hope if you've made it this far you're not uh too bored?

[hotroadkill]

saw this and wanted to make my own post real quick bc i’ve gotten some questions abt my art before & now that i feel a bit more secure in my style i thought i’d give a few tips to anyone who wanted that :)

first i have to address how the submission is phrased: i'm sorry & i know no one wants to hear this but “keep practicing” is not a platitude that is always going to be the best advice 😭 the real question is:

how do you make practice fun?

1. challenge yourself in a way you find enjoyable/fulfilling :)

i liked doing things like art prompts from inktobers, and to draw comics of the stories i wrote, but mostly the answer for me was “set random number goal, meet random number goal, inject the validation from completed goal directly into my bloodstream, repeat.”

i worked on things kind of systematically, which just made my brain happy; i spent one summer when i was 14 doing nothing but drawing 10 full bodies a day, all with references of course. did the same throughout the fall with hands, then eyes, then expressions, then clothes, etc etc. it always had to be 10 diff angles and positions.

i did a repeat of this 10-drawings-of-10-angles rule throughout quarantine in 2020. failed all my online classes cuz i was drawing 6-10 hours every day and ignoring my homework but still passed the year in the end 💀 i got the idea from yumeii-art; it's been over 7 years since, so idk if i remember right, but she had given a similar rule of thumb as a response to someone's question about drawing without a reference, i think.

is this the Best path? probably not, idk. and it definitely lead to awkward phases where i was much better at drawing bodies than faces, for example — but it worked for me. i liked breaking things down like that, it felt more manageable.

the other number goal was. in 9th grade i saw this post:

and i was like. y’know what? yeah. i keep feeling bad abt my art, how about i put that feeling on pause until after i’ve filled 14 sketch book. i hope this user knows i owe all my achievements to the phrase “fill 14 sketch book” powering me through years of depression and art block.

so i did fill 14 sketch book!

i met that goal between ages 14 and 19. obv this doesnt include the doodles on my homework, on other random surfaces, or the ~150 digital artworks i’d done in that time, so maybe it was more like 16 sketch book? but that doesnt matter, i had 14 labeled & organized sketchbooks that were full, and i did feel better about my art by then. this was my anime training montage. this was 90% of my improvement. this was the best art advice i’d ever gotten.

so i guess what made art the most fun to me was numbers? which sounds lame but i guess since i’m competitive & love competing against myself the most, it just worked for me.

comparisons, with 2016 on the left and 2020 on the right:

(the new sketches are still rough and lack some detail ofc but i have terrible ADHD and always found it hard to sit down and keep working on a sketch once it was “done enough” — for some reason i dont rlly have the same impatience with digital art & have less of a problem completing pieces on my ipad now) (the point is. 14 sketch book level complete. 1000% worth it)

then my 2021-2024 improvement, when i had bought my own ipad and again spent most days drawing instead of doing my schoolwork (i.. did end up failing that first year of uni):

2. try out different mediums aimlessly!

what i mean is just go ham with some charcoal or whatever you have on hand, without the determination to Make It Good. i can’t say if this helped my actual art get better but what it did do was keep the joy of it alive & i had fun which lead to more practice & therefore improvement. color pencils weirdly were my favorite. hell, my school had us do a project with linoleum printing (is that how u spell it idk) and it gave me months’ worth of art inspo.

i also recently got a gift card for a stationery store and got some nice markers and those also gave me a ton of motivation. markers r good

3. if u do digital art, find ur fave brush; it will be ur familiar ur trusted companion ur lover in a past life

for lineart i mostly use the IGB office pack, favorite ballpoint. you’ll have to buy & download it online tho i think it was like $7? but yea it was worth it. (i did a lot of work with the gesinski ink brush in past years but i think it’s a bit too “sharp” now)

but also go crazy try them all it’s fun!

4. in my opinion it’s fine to do redraws of ur fave artist’s work now and then — as long as u keep it to urself and dont take credit for it

i’ve had ppl ask to use my art as a ref and my answer is always Not Sure Why You’d Want To Bc It’s Not All That, But Yes Of Course. as u can see most of my 2021 work was redrawing panels of the “gangsta.” manga; it didn’t even end up influencing my style much, my style was already based on all the manga shit i drew at 13, but it was the only thing i was motivated enough to draw at the time, and it was valuable practice.

art teachers still stress that the best reference is to draw from life & yeah thats true maybe but idc sometimes ur just not feeling that! so mix it up, whatever works. obviously respect it if an artist says not to reference their work and don’t only reference ur art from one artist but generally i think it’s harmless.

especially when there’s a specific thing an artist does very well that’s hard to find other examples of; personally i was fighting for my life trying to find how to best translate references of dynamic movement into art of dynamic movement. and i think the bnha mangaka does this wonderfully so i often referenced thise action panels as practice. and i think it helped loosen up my art style. (and… i was extremely ridiculously mentally ill about hawks so that…. contributed…. my fave ask to date is still the person who clocked hawks as my old fave character based purely on how i draw eyes 😭😭)

tracing is a diff conversation and my advice there is it is not actually helpful and it's. idk it feels very Against Artist Code. sometimes, and i havent done it in a couple years, but if a piece REALLY isnt working i've done the thing where u trace the general movement of a pose then go from there but i've never posted completed works where i used that method bc it felt wrong. but yeah that's a separate thing that i don't wanna go too deep into

5. another fun thing that motivated me to practice was doing speedpaints!

if you draw on procreate, it's probably set up automatically already. i don't have the storage to record everything, but when i do have it on, the knowledge that i'll have a speedpaint of the finished piece pushes me to put the last necessary touches on it. (if you'd like to see some of my speedpaints i have a few on my instagram)

some more technical advice:

1. flip your canvas flip your canvas flip your goddamn canvas i KNOW it hurts i KNOW it’s like ripping off a bandaid that’s superglued to ur skin i know but YOU HAVE TO FLIP YOUR CANVAS

(when i didn’t have an ipad i’d do this by taking a picture of the drawing on my phone and flipping the image in the photo app)

IT IS THE WORST THING IN THE WORLD AND IM NOT ASHAMED TO ADMIT I’VE RAGE QUIT SOME PIECES OVER SEEING THE CANVAS FLIPPED BUT LOOK AT THIS ART BEFORE AND AFTER I’D FLIPPED IT AND FIXED HOW WONKY IT WAS: desaturated so tht the colors dont distract so much

like it's the BEST and honestly often the ONLY way you're going to catch things that were off/out of proportion/etc. flipping your canvas gives your brain a "new eye" and it's invaluable.

2. until you have color theory figured out…. i honestly depend on adding layers and setting them to color dodge, divide, multiply, overlay, etc…. i am cheating, perhaps, but it works

3. this is how i draw front-facing noses because it's what a czech woman in an extremely bad mood taught me in a cramped overheated stuffy classroom in germany when i was 12

it was our only meeting but she changed my life. i do not know how common this method is but it's possibly the only thing i can concretely give you a tutorial for. after a few times you won't need to do step 1 anymore

anddd i think that's all the advice i have that wouldn't be a repeat of every other art advice thing you've seen. i do know it boils down to "keep practicing" but again you won't get around that, and i just hope that concretely showing what's motivated me might help motivate someone else.

as an ending note, please take this sentence that motivated me just as much as the 14 sketch book rule: (via graveweaver, author of the webtoon "i'm the grim reaper")

[sweetmonsooncos]

The First Cosplay I Ever Made...

Last year, I took a dive into a very dangerous rabbit hole of sewing. It came about for two reasons:

Number One - My Mum would make amendments to my clothes for them to fit me better like shortening trouser legs and such - it always seemed so simple so I wanted to learn how to do it as well.

Number Two - Because of my body type, there were certain cosplays I just couldn't buy pre-made due to Asian sizing not catering to me.

So I wanted to share the process of me making my first ever cosplay from scratch and how I managed to achieve it.

And the cosplay is...Mikan Tsumiki from Danganronpa!

Mikan has always been a very polarising character within the DR fandom I've noticed, but me personally I really like her! She was one of the very first characters I cosplayed and she's gone under alot of alterations since I first got into her. So let's dive in to how I made Mikan!!!!!

So first thing I did was buy my fabric. I went to my local fabric shop and picked up some white, pink and blue cotton. Ultimately I didn't end up going with the blue pictured here because I made a mistake and had to buy more fabric. I went with a lighter one because I was a tit and didn't think to colour match but the lighter skirt worked out better in the end so I'm going to pretend I did it on purpose 🙈

First thing I tackled was her apron, which I figured would be the easiest thing to begin with! So, I measured out the white fabric and cut it out, then used a basic running stitch to put it altogether. I also cut a longer strip, neatened it up on the sides and then attached this to the top to make a tie for her apron. Using some red ribbon, I hot glued that down on the sides to make that piece appear. I wasn't sure whether to sew on the ribbon, but I'm actually really glad I didn't because if any of you read my Jolyne cosplay post, sewing with ribbons is a BITCH 😭

Then I went in and did the bottom of the apron, adding some very square pockets and neatening up as best I could!

I also binge watched Staged on my iPad (you can see the glorious David Tennant in the corner) while I sewed this all up and that show is just another reminder how well David Tennant and Michael Sheen work together on stuff

When it was ready, I attached the full apron together and it was done! I went in later on with a fabric pen and drew the blue symbol towards the bottom of the apron which you'll see in the finished photos.

Next was her skirt! I had a vague idea of how the skirt making would go; the first photo was the material cut to size and the second one was my first attempt at making it pleated...it wasn't great 😂 You can see from the side that it looks HORRENDOUS - I showed it to my friend and he said it looked like a parachute so clearly it wasn't giving the desired effect 🙈

After my second attempt, I was a bit put off trying to sew in pleats again, so I just ironed them down and it came out a lot better! I neatened up the top and bottom and the skirt was completed. I do want to add since I took these photos, I actually recently went and added a zip to the back of the skirt so I can get it on easier! I also made it fit me a little better too.

Next was her blouse! For this, I read up about using pre-exsiting clothes to make patterns for sewing, so I got a blouse that I use for my Kaede Akamatsu cosplay and made a pattern out of it. I then went and cut the fabric out and basically sewed it altogether.

And it was during this process, I came face to face with a new enemy...SLEEVES.

Oh my god, I absolutely CANNOT STAND SLEEVES. I tried SO hard to understand how to put them on, but I could not for the life of me work it out. To this day, I still struggle with adding sleeves to my projects and I absoliutely hate having to sew them. I made a little test sleeve out of some spare fabric to see how it would sit on my arm, but I really struggled with the fit on the shoulder so I went for a different style instead which was easier to work with (but only slightly).

So after the sleeve debacle was sorted, I went and added some elastic on the ends of the sleeves as trim, which I hoped would make it bunch up like it does in her original outfit, but it didn't really work out that well. I'm probably going to revisit this at some point in the future to make it a bit more bunched, but that's for another time! I also made a collar and gave the blouse some buttons.

This was the first try on of the complete outfit and you can tell how pleased I am with it! I was so proud of making this entire thing by myself and although it is far from perfect, I did learn a lot through the process and it felt so nice to be able to wear a cosplay I had completely made from scratch.

And here is the cosplay in full with makeup and hair!!!

For my first ever cosplay from scratch, I am extremely proud of it and am happy to say it has held up well almost an entire year later!

[highfantasy-soul]

So I'm going to poke my toe into BookTok drama for a second here, so if you're not interested in a bunch of queer people denying queer book bans, ignorance of screen readers for blind people, and assuming that a queer author saying he's experiencing the effects of homophobia as he's trying to sell his books is actually just lying for publicity....keep scrolling

This issue is layered, so I'll go through some of them.

Pretty much, a blind, gay TikToker got a pretty big following by posting videos of his husband doing harmless pranks on him due to his blindness (think 'how long will it take my husband to notice I'm surrounding him with stuffed penguins', 'how long will it take my husband to notice we're wearing the same outfit', stuff like that). It's super wholesome and shows that partners can still prank and joke with one another - including a disability - rather than having to tip toe around it and pretend the disability is so awful, horrible, they'll never be happy again if they remember they're blind.

The blind partner has a degenerative eye condition where he started out being able to see, but his vision is slowly going completely, but he had a love for art and drew a bunch, so his goal became to 1) find accessibility tools to help him draw (he found iPads with their brightness turned to max and zooming in to work on a tiny square at a time worked well for him), and 2) to publish picture books before he fully lost all vision.

The incident I'm talking about isn't the first time he's spoken out about being treated poorly due to his minority status - usually over his guide dog not being allowed in businesses or people being rude/inconsiderate about his dog. He's even been on the news about such incidents trying to raise awareness, for example, so people know that some blind people do still have enough vision to be able to look at you when you're talking to them but it doesn't mean they're safe to walk about a busy street without a guide dog.

Recently, he's been posting more content about the books that he's published - very cute children's books about a gay penguin couple helping out all their animal friends.

The incident in question was a video he posted where he was devastated because a bookstore bought 100 copies of his book, but then returned them saying 'the content isn't something that aligns with what we want in our bookstore'. He had his screen reader read out the email and only gave the first name of the sender - not naming the bookstore or the manager's full name (the same thing he did with the restaurant who kicked him out because he had his guide dog with him - his reason being that he wasn't looking to shame or punish, but rather bring awareness and hopefully the chance to learn and grow from the event).

He said it was heartbreaking that he lost that sale due to what he believes was homophobia and it's crazy that his book had been banned.

This, of course, started some discourse.

Many started making videos about this claiming that he was lying for attention and publicity (as many people obviously started ordering his book due to that video) and that his story didn't line up with 'how the industry works'. Not to mention the slew of abelist remarks about how the 'voicemail' sounded AI generated even though it's clear in the original video it's his screen reader reading off an email. And who can forget the rows of commenters under those videos claiming 'something always felt off about them', 'I always did get a bad feeling about them', 'the book isn't even that good anyways!' when the 'call out' had no proof, only a bunch of assumptions that they THOUGHT the author was lying.

So I'm seeing a few things that stand out: many indie authors have been coming out 'debunking' the 100 copy order claiming that never in the history of the world has a bookstore ever ordered 100 copies of a book, not even from a well known author. To that point, the OG poster made a follow up video explaining more about the situation in that that order was for a signing on-location. One of the bookstore employees had made the arrangements, ordered the books for the signing, but then someone higher up decided to cancel the event due to 'the content of the books'. As many others in the comments pointed out, it's normal for signing events to have 100 copies of a book purchased, especially a short children's book.

To me, this argument that 'he's lying because bookstores don't buy that many books' is a massive assumption and kinda reeks of jealousy that THEIR debut book didn't do that! No mention of the fact that this guy has a huge TikTok following or that he's been on the news several times for non-book related things. That type of exposure does lead to more people knowing your name and being more likely to put in orders.

Another claim was that 'stores wouldn't order books they hadn't personally read, especially not 100 copies/set up a signing'. This comment tells me they have never worked for a shitty boss before. Shitty bosses delegate - they make their employees do EVERYTHING and rarely look it over until the last minute because they couldn't be bothered. The author's follow-up video also said that he was informed the employee that set up the event was no longer working at the company - no detail about that situation, but a reasonable assumption would be that they were fired due to ordering 100 books about a gay penguin when the store owner was conservative and didn't want to stock gay books. Of course, the only reason for return given was 'the content of your book does not align with what we want on our shelves' so, you do the math.

I think what gets me most are gay people coming after the author claiming 'stop saying your book is banned! That's not how that works!! That's not what that word means! Stop watering it down!'

To me, this reads as so many people thinking 'book bans' are only some nebulous concept - not tangible things that can happen in every-day life. Book bans are only big, scary, Supreme Court cases where every single store in the country will no longer be allowed to carry any queer books at all. So when it happens small scale, a store telling an author they won't stock their book because it 'doesn't align with the content they want to promote', that's not actually banning - that's just a business doing what they are legally allowed to do! (Yes, a queer author literally said a bookstore refusing to shelve a queer book wasn't banning it, it was just the bookstore making a reasonable business decision).

Book bans are whenever an entity - public or private - refuse to shelve a book because it has content they disagree with. That's literally it. No laws required, no big movement by Mom's for Liberty, just a single store owner refusing to carry a product for the express reason they don't want a gay book on their shelves.

Concepts don't stop being real when they become...real. Why scream and cry all day about the US banning queer books, but then when an author comes out and says 'my book was sent back because the bookstore found out it was queer', the immediate response is 'Thatls not how book bans work!! You must be lying for attention!!'. Are book bans really a thing we need to be worried about or not? Sounds like those 'queer authors' don't actually think it could happen to them...it's only the nebulous concept they're worried about, not the every-day reality of discrimination.

Another massive thing I think has come of this discourse is leftist's purity politics. As long as you're quietly weeping in your poorly-lit apartment with shitty video quality and only 50 followers, you're telling the truth, you're down for the cause, you're really facing discrimination. The MOMENT you don't look like you're struggling anymore financially, the MOMENT you get publicity beyond TikTok, you must be lying. You magically no longer are able to be discriminated against, you must just be lying for more attention.

A queer Latino author actually said 'he's weaponizing white twink tears to sell his book' - claiming that the whole thing was just made up for publicity (with no proof). Is there a huge issue with white privilege in society and in the queer community? Yeah. But that doesn't mean that they suddenly don't also face homophobia.

It's like the left HATES when anyone succeeds at anything. Be an aspiring author, be an aspiring content creator, but the MOMENT you gain any level of success, SCREW YOU, YOU'RE A SELLOUT, YOU'RE A SHILL, YOU LIE ABOUT YOUR MINORITY STATUS FOR ATTENTION!!! Do some people lie about that stuff to get ahead, sure! But you better have proof that's what they're doing, or else you're just making being public about your minority status a minefield for EVERY OTHER PERSON WHO'S A MINORITY!! You are HURTING gay people when you dismiss their stories of experiencing homophobia - just because they have a level of success you don't!

This is a rambling rant that I don't blame no one for reading. But I just had to get it out of my system after seeing so many responses to the author's initial post where there were no facts, no evidence that the guy was lying - it was all assumptions about how the person THOUGHT the bookstore business worked, and everyone in the comments ate it up like it was fact and have started turning on this blind, gay author just trying to sell his children's books about gay penguins.

The og author doesn't need to provide 'receipts' naming the bookstore. He's worked through stuff like this privately with the offending business in order to rectify the situation without blowing up the person's life (they aren't the ones with the platform, he is, and if it's a private business, he's stated he's not interested in sending angry mobs their way, he just wants the situation to be known so others can do better).

In today's age of 'gotta show receipts so I can go mob the offending party and feel good about myself', withholding that info can look like you're just making stuff up for 'clout' or whatever - but another idea is that whipping up targeted hate isn't going to solve the underlying issue - talking about it broadly might (so if the individual business gets negative reviewed to oblivion and closes down, people don't dust their hands off and think 'well done, we did it' and walk away and ignore the numerous other businesses doing the exact same thing).

Ironically, those demanding receipts offer none of their own, only baseless assumptions of how they THINK things work and how 'well if it hasn't happened to me, it must mean it never happens!', whipping up their own angry mobs who are too eager to tear down a queer disabled author because he's gotten a level of success.