#It was inspired by the idea of Dead and Seek but to tag hmm

[thedailyvio]

Day 227

Happy Kagerou Day!

[multi-lefaiye]

⚠️ If you had to select five tags for it, right now, what would they be?

🤔 Have you had to rethink any aspect of it so far?

💡 What inspired you to want to write it?

for 2 and 4! and also.... maybe....perhapbs..... sad people wip?

Yessss!!!! thank u Bat :3c

Bleeding Over Eden:

⚠️ If you had to select five tags for it, right now, what would they be?

Ooooh yess!!! Hmm.... Everyone Needs A Hug, Hurt/Comfort, Character Study, Found Family, Angst With a Happy Ending

🤔 Have you had to rethink any aspect of it so far?

Oh yeah definitely!!!! Though it has stayed relatively close to its original concept, Arthur wasn't originally planned to come back. He was gonna stay dead and just be part of Ink's past. However, I realized how interesting it'd be to have him come back... Ink's past is quite literally haunting him!

💡 What inspired you to want to write it?

Oh so much- I think I've mentioned before that there are a few points of inspiration for Bleeding Over Eden, but I wanted to write something really exploring ideas of grief, identity, and trauma, focused on the idea of how the choices we make affect ourselves and those around us. And this is what came from that <3

In Seeking Paradise:

⚠️ If you had to select five tags for it, right now, what would they be?

Found Family, Vampires, Murder Mystery, Cults, Hurt/Comfort

🤔 Have you had to rethink any aspect of it so far?

Answered over here: [x]!

💡 What inspired you to want to write it?

Answered over here: [x]!

Sad People WIP (oh my god Sad People WIP,,,)

⚠️ If you had to select five tags for it, right now, what would they be?

Angst With a Happy Ending, Dark Humor, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Found Family

🤔 Have you had to rethink any aspect of it so far?

Honestly I'm rethinking a lot about it ASDFJK;L namely. I didn't really get that attached to the characters I listed and so none of them are developed, so I think I'm gonna revamp them from the ground up. Their base concepts will stay the same, but everything else is very likely to change. We'll see!

I'm also rethinking the setting, because while I want the relationships and mental health aspects to take center-stage, I also don't like writing pure contemporary fiction with no fantastical elements. I wanna go WILD and be SPICY. I had the thought earlier that it'd be wild if I set this in my post-apocalyptic fantasy world, but we'll see on that front.

💡 What inspired you to want to write it?

So for those who don't know Sad People WIP, that's a WIP idea I had recently ("recently" as in a few months ago) centering around a group of people who meet when they all happen to go to the same rooftop with the intent to kill themselves. None of them really feels comfortable doing so with other people there, though, so they all back out. And they end up talking and becoming friends, making a pact that they would each help each other find reasons to keep going.

I actually don't quite remember what initially inspired this, but I did find out that there is a movie out there with this concept already ASDFJK;L so that's something. However I love exploring trauma and mental health in my work in general, so this is kind of a natural extension of that. Just with a lot of dark gallows humor thrown in ASDFJKL;

[aj-the-satyr]

All the Questions......

So Tag games...... Used to do ‘em a lot then kinda fell off writing for a while and then it got quiet. Well now I got tagged in 3 of those 11/11/11 things. You know the ones answer 11 questions, ask 11 more to the 11 people you tag. Well I’m not going to tag anyone other than the 3 people asking @writersblockandapotoftea @carrotgirl-1 and @rosewinterborn and say thankyou for doing so. So here goes..... the goat tries to get through all 33 questions.

1) Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?

Hmm.... I suppose that I have a habit of making the names of both things and characters have deeper meanings. Like Grigory Zmeya, his last name means snake and he is a snake shifter type person. So stuff like that.

2) If you could ask one successful author three questions about their writing, writing process or books what would they be?

Not sure about this. I’ve read interviews with many authors where they have dispensed their advice and advice is not a one size fits all thing but I would lie to ask more personal things like favorite characters, Least favorite scene to write and most surprising side character. Stuff like that.

3) Do you have a library membership?

Nope.

4) Ebooks, yay or nay?

Used them and they are fine but I am the old school like to have the physical book in my hands kinda goat.

5) What feeling do you want your readers to get from what you write?

Wow, deep question. Enjoyment? Other than that I’d like them to have feelings for different characters, to pick favorites, to hate some and love some. I suppose I’d like my characters to be memorable but I will settle for the “That was Good” feeling after reading, even if nothing gets carried with them.

6) What time of day are you most productive?

Considering how many times I’ve written my snippets after 10pm and into the wee hours of the morning, I’d say then.

7) What is your writing Kryptonite?

Myself really. There are times I just get conflicted about my writing and rather than just let it flow and let the characters lead I will find myself deleting things and starting over many times. I’m trying to do that less but it’s hard sometimes to just let go and see what happens at the keyboard.

8) Which scenes are your favorite to write?

Huh....... I’m a dialogue heavy writer trying to get more description into my scenes so I favor just talking but am trying to change that a little.

9) What comes first in your development/outlining process plot or characters?

Well considering I don’t outline anymore (Used to waaaaay back) It would have to be characters. Make the characters and pop them in a setting. Plot will happen, hopefully.

10) What is your favorite novel to film/TV adaptadion?

Comic books count right? I love the Constantine TV show. Shame it got cancelled, love the fact they brought the character back for Legends of Tomorrow and the fact he might be getting his own show again is awesome. Love Constantine.

11) Do you think yourself as more of an artist or entertainer?

Neither really. Not something I’ve ever thought about, since you are asking me to think about it...... entertainer??

Right onto the second set of questions gonna add a read more break here to avoid taking up huge chunks of Tumblr real estate and for those people that don’t really care what this old goat has to say

12) Play fuck, marry, kill with Gandalf, Aragon and Arwen.

Er........ Kill Gandalf.... no wait he’ll come back for revenge..... Kill Aragon..... man that would be hard to do..... Kill Arwen then? But I wanted to marry her.......... Man...... Kill Aragon with Gandalf’s help, fuck Gandalf as payment and then go off to marry Arwen. Problem solved.

13) If you had to set fire to a famous building, which one would you set alight?

The Vatican?

14) If you could bring someone back from the dead who would it be?

It would be Sandra, a friend I made for a brief time on the internet who I RP’d with and had a good rapport with. She died of cancer at 20 I think, it’s hard to think about. I do always remember that I talked to her through her brother in her final days and managed to make her smile, something her brother told me she hadn’t done for weeks. Crying typing this. Yeah. Fuck yeah I’d bring her back and let her live her life. Fuck Cancer.

15) Which fictional Universe would you go into?

Star Trek. No need for money, could sit at a cafe and write all day. Great.

16) Where would you go if the world ended?

Hell. Oh wait that’s not what you were asking. Er...... nowhere. No point if it’s all gone is there? I’d stay here and still be a loner. Wow..... fun goat answers.

17) What’s you alignment?

Chaotic Neutral.

18) Lovecraft or Shelly?

Er....... as much as I love Cosmic Horror Mary Shelly was one of the most badass goths there has been. Plus the whole creating the sci-fi genre as a fuck you to Lord Byron. She is amazing and doesn’t get enough respect.

19) What’s the weirdest food you have eaten?

Sea Urchin or deep fried shrimp heads not sure which I think was weirder.

20) How do you want to die?

Die? I’m immortal. Or is that immoral? One of those.

21) Who is your least favorite character to write?

Probably The Professor since he’s a homophobic bigot who killed his own son’s boyfriend (Though he claims that was merely an accidental oversight of his grander plan) since he is not a very nice character at all. Makes my skin crawl.

22) What’s your favourite fairy tale?

Can’t say that I really have one. None of them resonate anymore, neither the grimdark originals or the fluffed up modern takes. I do however enjoy the book Dragon’s Bait by VIvian Vande Velde which is about a 15yr old girl who is put out as a sacrifice to a Dragon and ends up allying with the dragon and seeking revenge.

One more set. Almost there with the goat interrogation.

23) When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

Probably in University where I started writing a little something called “Space Gerbils” and was sending it out via email to about a dozen internet friends. They were hooked, I thought it was garbage but voila! The spark ignited. Heavily got into tabletop RPGs at the same time so that probably helped my desire for storytelling.

24) What book/Book series have you always meant to read but have not yet?

The Long Earth series by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter. I have a boxed set of them all but I just haven’t cracked the cover yet.

25) Who’s you favourite writer? 

Published? Either Sir Terry Pratchett or Eoin Colfer. But a special shoutout goes to @yuutfa for Caster. They are a wonderful storyteller and got many an emotion from me while I was reading an early draft.

26) What was your favourite book as a child?

It is one that sits on my shelf this very moment. It is called “Science Fantasy Stories” and is a collection of short stories that I read many times over as a child, back when I would consume a book a day almost.

27) Favorite music to work to?

Soundcloud generally has my back but it does sometimes throw up the odd track that makes me question if its algorithm has developed some sort of twisted intelligence Black Mirror style.

28) Hogwarts House?

Ah..... this question. I’ve read the books, saw a couple of the movies (Did not like the movies) and enjoyed every step of the way. I bought my first Harry Potter books when they were selling the first 3 as a set so I jumped in to see what the fuss was about. Never once have I thought about what House I would be in. Never. So Imma gonna say Slytherin.

29) Hobbies?

Writing?? Generally I play vidja games. Current faves being Monster Hunter World (PC), Endless Legend (PC) and Crash team racing nitro fueled (PS4) and I also daydream scenes with my characters in them. Trying to get back into reading regularly again.

30) Where do you draw Inspiration from?

Everywhere I guess. From random conversations to ideas had after playing games, watching TV or reading books. Sometimes I’m not sure where the inspiration comes from but I am just trying to let myself go at those moments, run with it. Who cares if The Simpsons already did it? Truly new ideas aren’t new anyway. (Except maybe for theoretical physics, that shit is bananas) I mean one of my characters basically declared themselves to be a God (At least in my head) after I read an article on Retrocausality. Inspiration can come from anywhere. Use it!

31) What do you consider your aesthetic to be?

Look I can barely spell that word you want me to have one as well?

32) Favorite mythology?

Favorite mythology of AJ the Satyr................

33) What do you think influences your work the most?

My co author?? But seriously working things out with them has been very helpful but also there’s this little writing discord that I’m part of that is really welcoming and a great source of inspiration and ideas. But all in all I think Neil Gaiman influences me the most when he answered a question about how he does it. He told the person asking that you just write everything down that happens in the first draft and then when you go back and rewrite you make it look like you knew what you were doing all along.

Right. One Goat, 33 Questions. And I won! Not tagging anyone else but I want this to get me going on these tag games. I can’t just hide in the dark corners of Tumblr anymore. I must face the light! Has @notanotherhour done this yet??

[mariposalass]

Say Something, My Love

Summary: Philip Hamilton has no idea of how modern Valentine’s Day works and is bad in confessing his romantic feelings for a modern day girl like her. And yet, he seeks out help in Mari’s siblings and friends to set up a date they will never forget. He didn’t expect that she is also feeling the same way too.

Setting: Mari and co.’s house in Daly City, California; February 4 to 14, 2019

Notes: Valentine’s Day story with Philip and Mari finally discovering that the other have feelings as each other big time! Inspired by @plucky-belmondo’s Valentine’s Day Imagines Prompts (namely the first 2 prompts) with my own spin. The stuff I used here include the recipes in the dinner (1, 2, 3, 4, 5), the tablescape inspiration, flowers, and the outfit Mari/me wore in this story. I’ll release a playlist for me and Philip some time after this.

Tags: Tons of crushing and gushing, Philip needs help in decoding Valentine’s Day, the feels!, romantic vibes, brief mention of character death

Philip Hamilton is in a loss for words right now. He has no idea of what he is feeling in this day and age, but for the last few weeks since he got revived back to life, these unspeakable feelings of love in one of his hosts, Mari, have grown exponentially. Still, it feels like alien territory for him to fall in love with somebody trying to help him out that he has kept his mouth shut whenever Mari notices him trying to get her attention that doesn’t involve help in adjusting to the 21st Century or just wanting to hang out with her and her family & friends.

For weeks, he kept silent on the matter, hoping that it will just fade away and he could just move on and probably find love in another woman too. Even Valentine’s Day is a foreign concept he couldn’t figure out. But these feelings and thoughts were too much for the eldest child of Alexander Hamilton to resist and he now wants to finally confront them big time, except that his father is no longer with him anymore and he is dry of ideas to court this lovely Asian woman on this ominous day.

Which is why he had arranged a last-minute meeting with Harry, Kairi, Issa, and Kirby at the basement one February night (Feb. 4 to be exact) to find a good idea while Mari was still on her way home from work. The aforementioned 4 had no idea as why they are dragged into this at first, but they know well that Philip needs some help in the matter of modern day dating. Everyone else in their group couldn’t come over though for various reasons (being sick, being out of town, work, school, etc.), but they do appreciated the offer though.

“So… You’re telling us that you, you want to date my sister?” Kairi started off the meeting with a question, sounding rather lost.

“Why, I, I, I could explain...” the young Hamilton sputtered in his words, his cheeks flushed hard.

“Philip, don’t be afraid to tell us,” Harry tried his best to reassure him, having to deal with a bad luck in dating women before Issa, the half-blood wizard can sense that Philip needed some help on the world of modern day ‘courting’ per say, “I’ll admit, I didn’t have anyone to teach me how to date a lady when I was a dumb teenager, and I ended up with two relationships that ended up badly. Yeah, I may be that big of an overprotective of a brother, but I can tell if a guy likes either one of my sisters and tries to be a respectable human, I’ll try to be supportive in any way I can.”

“You don’t say, Harry,” Philip began to sound less obnoxious upon hearing of Harry’s poor teen dating history, “I’m quite amazed that you and Issa don’t look like you’re going to fall apart.”

“Thankfully, my sisters were there for me even during my roughest time, especially when me and Issa started dating full time,” he replied, “I couldn’t thank them enough… Anyway, is there anything you want to surprise Mari this Valentine’s Day?”

Issa then stepped in, saying, “Yeah, Philip. Please tell us. We’re all ears now.”

“Well, actually, I have no idea of what to do to spend some time with her on that day!” he admitted much to their shock, “I don’t even recall celebrating it back in my old time. I guess I’m a little too old fashioned to do these strange modern day courting things you guys are doing.”

“Poyo!” Kirby’s mouth opened up in shock, dropping a bit of Strawberry Shortcake on his plate.

This confession left them a little surprised to put it lightly, regardless, Philip began to calm down from being too nervous to be in-depth and explain that he has set up this emergency meeting as to get some ideas as to make an unforgettable Valentine’s Day for Mari since she wasn’t that lucky in finding a guy who will love her unconditionally as she feared that a guy (and even a neurotypical one at that) will reject her because of her Asperger's diagnosis. This raised the alarm for the adopted siblings and friends that they wanted to help out even more than when they were earlier.

“Perhaps we can start by telling you what Mari likes and what her dream date would be like,” Issa suggested Philip a really brilliant idea.

“Alright then, as you say so, Issa,” he responded with a great approval.

“Me and Kairi will go first on this,” Harry began the dialogue, “Since we know her the longest, it’s best for us to say that she has a lot of things she likes and has in mind. First off, she likes her some literary and geeky stuff, she will devour them up like it’s breakfast. And the flowers, good Lord, flowers and butterflies are what gets her rolling. Not caterpillars though, she just finds them icky.”

“Okay, I’ll trying to keep track of what you guys are telling about,” Philip told him as he began to take notes.

“She also likes perfumes, especially those with floral scents: she’s head over heels with them,” Kairi stepped in, “It’s best that you can put one of her favorite scents on the drawer for her to see. Speaking of the flowers, she likes nearly all kinds of flowers, including Sweet Avalanche roses and baby’s breath. She just love the simple but sweet combination of the two combined.”

“You want to know what her idea of a romantic date is: having dinner out under the stars, chatting about interests (even if she knows there are those she can’t catch on), and having a nice walk to wrap things up,” Issa added in to the nuanced discussion, “Mari can be quite a picky eater, If there is something she isn’t wanting to eat or try, she will not eat that thing at all or it will take a long time for her to adjust to it. She would also love to hear some nice music from various genres playing at the background.”

“That picky?” he asked her and got a nod as an answer, “Hmm… I wonder how we can put in some music into play”

“There’s Spotify, YouTube, and SoundCloud, though we can make a playlist for that in iTunes as well,” Kairi replied.

Then Kirby has his turn to add to his chat, which is mostly composed of Poyo Speak, saying “Poyo, poyo. Popoyo, yop, poyo, yoyopo, poy, poyo!”, but everyone (but Philip) knew that Kirby was saying that they can host this date in the backyard and get it prepared for the special day of love and hearts. From the look in his face, Philip has a long way to go when it comes to understanding Poyo Speak.

“Okay then, now we gave a you basic rundown what turns her on, what are you considering to do for the day?” Issa then questioned him as the meeting nears its end.

It then became crystal clear that a dinner date at the bunch’s house backyard would the name of the game for Valentine’s Day with flowers and music involved into the mix. Everyone joined in to make the day special for both parties: grocery shopping, rummaging through storage for something to use for the al fresco dining experience, dealing with flower bouquet arrangements, going through iTunes for playlist ideas - All being done while keeping Mari out in the dark of it. Philip knows that he and everyone else in the bunch can’t risk spoiling the surprise for her in the plain sight so they would take turns distracting her whenever she notices something in their weird ‘chores’ within the next week and a half.

Meanwhile, she has her romantic feelings for Philip growing out of control in her head and it’s freaking her out! How did the world match her with him and made her falling fast for him up until this point? She has secretly keeping them away from most of the people and creatures she knows out of fear that she’ll be mocked for dating a now ex-dead guy. It just so happened during a Saturday afternoon when Mari and Kairi were sitting on a bench at an open-air strip mall in Daly City while waiting for Harry and Issa to pick them after they have finished doing the regular weekly groceries.

“Mari… You seem to be a little off in recent weeks lately,” Kairi asked her older adopted sister, her tone being of concern and worry.

“Oh, it’s nothing, Kai,” she sighed in dismay.

“Let me guess: it has to do with you being all fuzzy whenever Philip’s around?” she began to suspect something funny with her head.

“Unfortunately, yes, Kairi,” Mari’s eyes widened in horror when she heard those words.

“It seems for the last few weeks since we accidentally brought him back from the dead, you’re blushing like crazy when he’s in your line of sight,” she tried to reassure her in vain.

“Kairi, I just don’t know what to do with those feelings,” the assistant librarian wept as she facepalmed herself in anguish, “He’s cute, smart, and nice and all. But I’m worried that he won’t take me seriously in the romantic department. Plus, I never thought of really wanting on a serious relationship this badly before. What kind of an idiot am I for going all mushy over some formerly dead guy from 2 centuries back?”

“So… Okay, that was awkward. Anyway, Valentine’s Day is coming closer everyday, huh?” she reminded her of the day incoming.

“Yeah, it sure does,” Mari nodded in agreement while looking at the calendar in her smartphone.

“Sis, you can’t keep those strange feelings for long though. It’s hard, but if you want, perhaps this incoming Valentine’s Day can help you out a bit in helping you confessing them to Philip,” she advised her on the matter on hand, “Who knows? He might like you that much as much as you like him a lot.”

“Really?” Mari questioned her sister again.

“Mari, I get that having Aspergers does suck and it is not giving you an easy time at all, but you never know about falling for someone until you try,” Kairi explained to her on the matter before remembering something that she can relate on, “Remember the time when I was struggling to deal with my feelings for Sora becoming more romantic over time?”

“Still do to this day, why did you need to bring it up again?” she remembers the moment well, “You two still are dating each other though.”

“We still do, sis. It may be a long time ago, but I’m still grateful that you’re supportive of both of us early on,” the younger sister noted, “You are a great supporter all the way, now I want to pay you back by being there for you all the way. I’m pretty sure that Harry, Issa, and the others will be there for you too.”

“If you say so, Kai,” Mari sighed as her little sister did her best to give her support.

The final days leading up to Valentine’s Day are of a frantic nature as couples scramble to plan their dates out across various activities and places; meanwhile, single either try to stay away from any sign of sickening sweet love or spend some time with other loved ones and friends instead. In Mari’s crazy bunch, there was so much to do to make the best date experience for her and Philip possible. At those days, she couldn’t be allowed to go venture to the backyard for some ‘reason’ as everyone else set the place up for the night: from preparing the menu to untangling string lights and paper lanterns to putting up the tulle curtains on PVC pipes.

When the day arrived shortly after work, Mari got herself ready for the night with a little help from Issa, Karina, and Kairi, nothing too fancy since this was a date set in her own backyard anyway so she could easily get away with just a nice casual dress, jacket, and boots; whereas Philip spent the last few minutes helping Harry, Moana, Kirby, and Ahk in arranging the table properly. His mind was racing wildly as he wondered if he had done enough to make her amazed by his efforts or if he has gotten too far as those feelings for Mari grew exponentially.

Mari just finished doing the final touch-ups when she overheard Kairi calling her that Philip has something waiting for her at the backyard. She proceeded to race down the stairs in her camel-colored ankle boots to find Philip waving back at her with one arm hiding behind his back. Unlike with their first meeting at the exhibit where in he was in his old fashioned coat and cravat, he is now dressed in a crisp white and blue striped button-down shirt with long sleeves, dark wash blue jeans, and black/white sneakers Harry was able to get from a co-worker at the newspaper company he was working at.

“Wow, such a quick improvement from what we had at your revival day,” she spoke up upon seeing the new look he was sporting on that night.

“Your compliments are much welcomed,” he blushed back before he then unveiled a bouquet of blush roses and white baby’s breath in front of her, “This… This bouquet is for you.”

“Oh, why thank you, Philip,” Mari felt her cheeks to blush in response as she received the bouquet with her hands, taking a quick sniff of the flowers before she then asked a random question, “There are no caterpillars, right?”

“Made sure that there is no single one hiding behind the petals,” he answered in a reassuring tone.

He guided her through the kitchen and dining area before they stopped at the doors leading to the backyard which have been covered by curtains. Kirby floated on by and waved at them with high energy, acting as the waiter for the night. Mari then peeled back the curtains and doors as she walked down to the back porch with Philip following after her, smiling for what would be for her at the time no concrete reason other than possibly trolling her.

But it’s when she looked at there that she was struck by how much effort Philip and her friends & family had put into to make the night memorable: delicate tulle fabrics draping the small area of a lower tier patio where a small square table was residing (dressed in a cream tablecloth and lace topper), two wooden outdoor chairs waiting on standby, ordinary dishware and vintage cutlery & crystal glasses she rarely recalls her family using unless her grandmothers pull them out for special occasions, a glass-like pitcher of water, plants around the area, string lights lit from behind the tulle curtains, a vase for the bouquet in which she placed them into, and a smaller side table for the other food, serving items, and a carafe of a drink near and dear to her heart that is the Arnold Palmer. The vibes was giving her some alarms when she soon realized something she showed to Philip 3 weeks ago: film about being surrounded with nature, gorillas, and possible concerns towards colonialism.

“Channeling Tarzan, huh?” she questioned Philip’s logic behind the inspiration which hes replied back in a smile.

“That Disney interpretation of the Edgar Rice Burroughs jungle books was one of the first films you introduced me to modern day entertainment, so I thought why don’t I repay you back with this?” he politely answered back to her when she overheard songs playing out from a docked iPod beside the small side table.

“You got music playing out here too?” she asked him again which he nodded positively while she was pouring the iced tea/lemonade hybrid into the vintage glasses.

As the two took their seats, Kirby arrived waddling in with a tray holding the first course: the earthy umami taste of wild mushrooms in broth form with scattered button, shiitake, and portabello mushrooms floating on top and toasted baguette slices. The little puffball poured the soup carefully into the soup bowls with a ladle despite having no visible fingers in his stubby arms and stayed by them after he was done, because he’s quite a morbidly curious baby. Not a word was spoken as the two partake in sipping the soup, Mari used some of her baguettes to dip into the soup and eat them partially soaked which amused Philip quite a bit.

Once done with the first part of the meal, Kirby took the bowls from them and dashed back to the kitchen for cleaning and to get the next course. As the music kept on playing, Mari was twirling some hair strands anxiously, her mind was going all over the place as to whether or not she should confess her feelings for Philip now. She still remembers that talk with Kairi back at the strip mall less than a week ago, but that pondering soon abruptly ended when Kirby waddled back with the entree of orange-glazed salmon, quinoa mixed with olives & pine nuts, and a salad of baby spinach & arugula, peas, and orange segments. About midway of savoring the food, Mari suddenly stopped and looked at Philip at the eyes, taking a deep breath as she was readying herself for the big moment.

“Philip, I have some words I’ve been meaning to say to you tonight,” she started the conversation, “My head has been plagued with these feelings that has been scaring me to confess anything. I highly doubt if you’re that interested to hear it.”

“Oh no, don’t feel bad for telling me this thing,” he begged to differ, willing to listen to her (which understandably surprised her a bit) along with having those same unspoken feelings at the same time.

“Well, here goes nothing...” she muttered to herself, taking another big deep breath before she began her confessions while poking the plate with her fork, “Ever since the accidental revival more than a month ago, I’ve been developing these thoughts and feelings out of nowhere. The thing is, I’ve never dated a guy before until now. With me being an Aspie, I’m a total hot mess in the inside, my quirks can annoy some people for too long. I was scared that a guy, and a neurotypical one especially, will not date me because of it, because they can’t seem to be willing to put with me, my quirks, my stims, & my disability, and still love me even if I have meltdowns. Philip, I’m sorry if I’m rambling like a motormouth right now, I just don’t know how to put these words lightly. I… I can’t believe I’m saying to you now, but… I, I, I have fallen hard for you so badly...”

Tears were soon escaping from her eyes as she briefly looked away from Philip, bracing for the rejection or heckling and with no idea of reacting to it properly. What she didn’t expect however was what came out of his mouth being completely different from she was thinking of hearing, and it went like this:

“Mari… Please don’t get too upset right now,” he spoke up after hearing ever word she said, feeling really bad for her plight, “I can’t imagine you having a rough time with your impairment, I can’t help but to feel sorry, genuinely sorry to hear that.”

“Huh, you what?” she gasped upon hearing those words.

“Yes, I truly do,” he replied, “I just so happen to be lacking in the… dating world as you can call it in my old time as well. My Papa was determined to let me continue the family legacy into my studies and work. I was so busy with a lot of work then that I just have a few days & brief periods to myself and I couldn’t just idle so much. Then that Eacker made that wretched speech against him, it led to the duel between me, him, and a friend of mine. And…”

Philip was starting to cry, feeling choked the moment he was about to bring up his first horrible death that it snapped Mari from crying. She didn’t thought that he would break down like that in front of her, yet here they are: feeling unusually tense and still there for each other: her being an uncertain socially awkward Aspie and him being a revived overworked kid who feels burdened to keep up with his father’s own legacy only to have his life ended first in a gun shoot and return to the world of the living again.

He then mentally calmed himself down so he can get a grip on himself before he traded in his part of the tense moment, “You see, Mari. In other words, I never courted a girl, never kissed one ever… Then nearly 218 years later, there is you and your family. For all the first months, you guys are there for me regardless: your brother was able to get me a job in the newspaper company he and Issa are working at, you guys showing everything the modern world has to offer from these interesting technical devices to how much America has become into a cultural melting pot. And you’re just the most lovely woman I have ever known outside of Mama. One more thing as well: I actually start to like you more than a mere friend.”

Mari’s jaws felt as if they were about to fall off as soon as she heard those words, locked into suspended disbelief as she began to talk again, “Huh, really? Are you this serious?!?”

“Yes, I am,” he responded quickly, “I’m not kidding. In many ways, you’re quite an amazing woman: smart, witty, kind, unafraid to take risks and be yourself, creative. Even with those faults you have, you still keep on trying to live life well. My folks would’ve like to meet someone like you if they are here today. They really would. And yes, I really do love you...”

The last world sounded more like a jumbled up mess as he spoke, yet Mari can hear it clear: he really likes her regardless of how much Philip blushed as he tried to speak to her without sounding too cheesy. She giggles in between the last remaining bites of her plated meal and sips of her Arnold Palmer while he was trying to snap himself out of his slightly messed up previous words. She then told him, “Geez, I can’t believe that I just met my match, in someone from a different time period, like you. Still, I guess we just need somebody else to lean on...”

“You can say that again, Mari,” he too smiled back as he finally finished his food too.

The two kept on talking more even as Kirby took out the entree plates to the kitchen and returned with a skillet chocolate chip cookie with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce for the two to share. Mari split the dessert into two servings for herself and Philip into the new plates. As the two chatted over melting ice cream and chewy cookie parts, Harry, Issa, Kirby, and Kairi watched from the inside, gushing about as they witnessed a new relationship formed from different time periods and worlds, knowing too well that it was just the beginning.

The End

[ganymedesclock]

I always feel bad for getting angry at things that are clearly fandom jokes, but at the same time, if the jokes are not something the character would actually do (or an understandable hyperbole of how they actually are) it just... sets my teeth on edge and this may have inspired a lengthy post about Keith’s childhood and fan depictions of that I have seen.

Like. Canon Krolia is established as someone who plans things out. She’s smart, a strategist- she has to be, because she’s a career spy with a long tenure under one of the most dangerous people in the empire. Remember, we were introduced to Warlord Ranveig by Lance commenting that “I’m guessing you don’t get that title by being a good person”, during the Kral Zera he murdered someone onscreen more obviously than we’ve seen before and flung their body aside, and was experimenting on a living creature with quintessence.

Krolia has to have a pretty ironclad set of nerves to, day in and day out, for years, lie through her teeth to this guy, undermine him, and feed intel back to his enemies, her allies. Especially since, while we don’t see the two of them together, Ranveig was like four times her size. 

And that’s reflected by her behavior within the episode- “I’m guessing Ranveig is dead, since Commander Trugg is attacking my base,” she says, with complete neutrality like she’s discussing the weather report.

This is also a trained military personnel who’s received a pretty darn long and comprehensive training in the use of a sword. That is to say, someone who has a very keen idea of how this is not a toy, must be used carefully, and is very dangerous, because she regularly uses its danger pointy bit to end the lives of other things.

So the No Fun Humdrum Clockie is here to say: there’s no way in hell someone with those kind of credentials would leave her weapon where a baby could get it, much less put it directly into his lacking-motor-dexterity hands. There’s no way someone as smart as Krolia would look at her kid trying to eat his own foot because he doesn’t realize it’s attached to him yet and go “hmm, what should I give him, this nice safe baby rattle or this deadly weapon that could cause him grievous injury?”

And part of the reason this makes me mad is the assumption that Krolia’s otherness- her being an alien- would make her inept at being a parent without evidence that this is actually part of her experience. The show illustrates that it’s really not hard in this universe for sentient life to understand each other and most of their needs are similar.

It’s frustrating to insinuate that Krolia, as someone smart enough to operate as a high-stakes deep-cover spy, can’t understand how babies work and would just bash ahead cheerfully endangering her son when that’s something she tacitly refuses to do.

It’s frustrating when sympathetic galra are so often framed as baffled or incompetent- like if they aren’t specifically placental mammals themselves they must have no idea what a placenta is! (Just like humans clearly have no idea what the hell an egg is because we don’t hatch from eggs, right?)

Even though the galra in this situation would actually be better set up to understand or, at bare minimum, not be thrown that far by humans being unlike them because the humans in this setting are only just meeting aliens for the first time now- the galra have met hundreds of other sentient beings in this time. Even if you have a bunch of headcanons about humans being different from galra, it runs a pretty high risk of arrogance to act like humans are somehow more different and more special than any other sentient race that the galra can’t possibly understand us.

And when I look at something that’s just supposed to be funny like a picture of Krolia carrying Keith in a baby harness with her sword sheathed in the front of the harness I know that’s not consciously and willfully what the artist is thinking, but it’s still... frustrating, very frustrating, because... child endangerment is not funny. 

Depicting a smart perceptive character who is shown to be worried about her child’s welfare and caring about how he’s actually feeling rather than what she thinks he should be feeling, as a negligent parent more concerned with her cultural standards or expectations-

(“Why is my baby so short, and not like a galra? I was definitely not prepared for this, somehow expected that having a partner that’s not a galra at all would still mean my children have stereotypical galra phenotypes”)

-than the actual reality of her child’s situation? Is not funny. It’s just frustrating. And it’s frustrating that most of the times I go into Krolia’s tag, that’s a sizable chunk of the content- depicting Krolia as a Wacky Incompetent Space Mom who doesn’t know how babies work.

Would Krolia probably be a little more militaristic than the average soccer mom? Yeah, but look at the actual reality of her situation. Where’s Keith who grows up in this comfortable environment, and as an elementary schooler knows how to wriggle out of people’s grip and a couple of ways to break out of restraints, and he’s really good at hide ‘n seek, and he has a toy, cloth-wrapped dagger that’s weighted so he can get used to the reach of it but soft-edged so he doesn’t cut himself or poke his eye out because he’s not ready for a real one, not yet.

Because Krolia wouldn’t just be idly going at this with an expectation that her Knife Boy must grow up to be the pride of his Sword Family. Krolia’s raising Keith, however much time she was allowed to spend with him, would be tinted hard with a lens of, she’s not going to have all the time in the world to make Keith safe.

Because she’s gonna know from the start that Keith is half-galra and the empire is not safe for half-galra, it’s barely safe for full galra, and Keith’s the son of a rebel so he’s gonna learn what all Blades do, he’s gonna learn to hide.

And frankly? Keith’s dream of his father in s2e8 carries that sort of vibe. His father talks very gently and carefully in language that a young child would easily understand (which is where Keith’s memories of him stem from) but also talks about staying hidden, where the advancing enemy army can’t find them.

Keith didn’t have a Normal Suburban Childhood with a white picket fence, and he didn’t have a negligent sitcom childhood, because he had parents that loved him, but his parents were a little more worried about whether or not the lurking space empire would come after them and kill them all than they were about “our baby is gonna be a doctor!”

So yeah, the first foster parent that got Keith after he lost his father probably was more than a little concerned that he’d been raised by conspiracy theorists or some kind of cult because why does this kid have a clear sense of what to do if he was kidnapped. Who taught him how to get out of an arm-bar choke, he’s all of eight and should have a strangely committed interest in dinosaurs or dolls or something else normal.

That’s not to say nothing funny ever happened in Keith’s childhood. It’s not to say Krolia never held up her baby boy who was staring lovingly into her eyes and asked herself “what the hell am I doing,” because she’s used to high stakes, she’s used to danger, but she’s not used to having this incredibly vulnerable tiny squishy thing, and bringing him into the world she’s put him where her enemies can reach him, and he’s not ready for the universe, but he can’t be ready, and she’s used to adults that choose and willingly take those risks and not a toddler who have no idea why anyone would hate his mommy or want her- and him, and their whole family- to die.

Where’s Krolia stressing out because she thought she was ready for this but Keith is so very small and so very soft, and that’s how all babies are, sure, but they’ve never been her baby before.

And frankly, given my reads on Krolia and her partner, there were probably more than a few times Keith was upset and Krolia sorta awkwardly handed him off to his dad because oh no, those are complicated emotions, how do you handle those.

Just- there could be all kinds of funny things in Keith’s childhood, that are, I think a lot funnier than “Krolia why does our child have a knife”. 

[cosmicuncanny]

comfort and you--right back atcha :0

C: Comfort

1. how do they sit in a chair?   Jason will readily slouch in a chair and might take a nap in a chair, he doesn’t give a fuck.  Ser might see the floor as a more intuitive place to sit than a chair, like what’s up with this unnecessary wooden thing?  Her species is sentient but doesn’t really get up to tool-making and ergonomics and civilization, they’re apex predators that hunt stuff in the woods and communicate through storytelling.  They’re pretty satisfied with yknow the thrill of the hunt.  They’re monsters!

2. in what position do they sleep?  Hmm, Jason will sleep just about anywhere.  If he’s sleeping in an unconventional location (against a tree, on the floor, etc.) he might put his hands behind his head and put his hat over his face (if he’s got one) and really project a sense of being comfortable, to sort of signal he’s not in distress or anything he’s just taking a nap.  I’m thinking Ser tends to curl up, because sleeping is a vulnerable situation and also because she’s supposed to be a more spherical type of creature anyway.

3. what is their ideal comfort day?  Jason will happily do absolutely nothing all day.  Ser likes to chase stuff.

4. what is their major comfort food? why?  Jason is probably more happy to be eating in the fist place than worried about what it is.  Ser’s go-to for getting food is hunting and eating animals, it feels the most natural.

5. who is the best at comforting them when down?  It depends, for Jason.  He lives in lots of different places and gets to know a bunch of temporary connections before moving on to start over.  He doesn’t necessarily seek out comfort from others and might actually get spooked if he gets it, like what’s the catch.  Ser might drop her problems at the feet of people she knows, like HEY HELP ME DEAL WITH THIS.

Y: You

1. how old were you when you created them? 26

2. what inspired you to create them? Bloodborne!  And some other stuff.  I’ve had an art blog about these guys for a while, at @thewildthewarlikeandthewoebegone I should have some posts there that go into more about inspiration (tagged #tswriy which is an acronym for the first url I had for the blog)

3. were they different when they were first created?  Not necessarily, it hasn’t been all that long since I came up with them.  

I feel like I end up emphasizing ways Jason is silly and soft more than I emphasize ways he’s weird and cold and mean (gotta Market the ocs, gotta make content that appeals to people without context), and that might be contributing to a shift in that direction for his character?  I’m glad I’m writing a book about these guys because that’s a better place to present negative aspects of characters with enough context that they can be appreciated as more than that.  Yeah Jason gets confused by simple things and it’s kinda funny but he’ll also laugh at dead baby jokes.  He’s got a lot going on.

Ser is a super interesting original monster species & I keep coming up with more info about her.  So it’s less that she was different at first, and more that she’s only getting more powerful…

4. do you enjoy writing them more than other characters?  If I’m super into writing a character, it’s because they’ve got stuff going on that I want to explore.  It’s less a matter of, which characters are objectively my favorite, and more a question of, are the characters I’m focusing on making art about right now synced up with ideas I want to explore?  

5. what’s your favorite thing about them?  Maybe my favorite thing about Jason is that he can’t be defined by what he can contribute to others, he’s either valuable because every person is valuable or he’s worthless.  I love exploring that so intentionally.  I feel like it’s commonly accepted that people are valuable just because, but commonly practiced to define people more by contributions, and that’s not a trap I want to fall into for either my own self-perception or my perception of others.

Maybe my favorite thing about Ser is how aggressive and assertive she is, how thoroughly she’s in her own corner.  Her brand of aggression is more extreme than I’d hope for myself or the people around me, but it’s super interesting to explore as a perspective. 

[ceescedasticity]

Troll Hamilton

@dreamwaffles and I have sketched out the basics of Troll Hamilton!

So, the Summoner’s rebellion was pretty big, yes? And he couldn’t possibly have been on every front at once. So on one less-than-central front, the rebels managed to overthrow the regional governor -- a laughably out-of-touch seadweller called George George -- and settled in to try to govern their area non-autocratically. Obviously (almost) all of them got killed when the Condesce arrived to put down the rebellion, but the main character died before that in a duel.

Writing this musical is political suicide (it doesn’t help that it’s all in slam poetry, trespassing in clown specialties). A lot of the original creators were executed. Producing or attending or listening to or acknowledging the existence of this musical would be political suicide. Except.

Her Imperious Condescension loves the music. And what HIC wants, HIC gets, even if it’s the continued existence and popularity of a frankly seditious musical.

In the play, Alxand Hamilt and Aarron Bursur are both olive, to play up the parallels between them, and both had lusii who died when they were young, but Bursur has a famous Ancestor of some description. (In history, Hamilt was mustard.) Bursur and Hamilt flip between ash and pitch a bunch of times, and never really find a good enough middle leaf. At the end they flip dangerously unstable pitch, and then there’s the duel. Hamilt also had a torrid pitch affair with Jefers somewhere in there.

Hamilt’s matesprit Elizah never flipped on his even after his publicized cheating. Elizah’s moirail is Angela. There’s unresolved-quadrant-tension of SOME sort between Hamilt and Angela. Angela is teal; Elizah’s in the high-jade-low-teal ambiguity zone, and doesn’t want to end up stuck in the caverns. At the end of the show, however, she escapes the slaughter of the rebellion by seeking shelter in the caverns, because she’s the only one who can live, and someone has to tell the story.

Discussion giving rise to all this:

dreamwaffles

hi hello I am interested in discussing troll Shakespeare

also I have Thoughts about Troll Hamilton

ceescedasticity

Tell me about Troll Hamilton

dreamwaffles

so Burr and Hamilton flipped between ash and pitch a few times.

their most successful middle leaf was George Washington during the war.

there was a while where they didn't cross orbits so much and Hamilton and Jefferson had a TORRID pitch relationship

flush with Eliza, pale(?) with Angelica

dreamwaffles

anyway Washington stepped in ash a few times for Hamilton and Jefferson but really those two were born to politically brawl all the time

(ash in the Cabinet, pitch in the ....I can't make 'bedroom' rhyme with Cabinet)

but at the end of Hamilton's life he and Burr flip pitch again

and it goes sour

dreamwaffles

Itemized list of disagreements! Duel! Bam.

He and Eliza don't ever really flip black when he cheats flush

(she and Angelica are like the Scourge Sisters but also pale)

this gives Angelica reason to ....???!!! when he hits on her pale

ceescedasticity

Hee

dreamwaffles

probably he and John Laurens were a flush fling in youth

dreamwaffles

I had a six-hour drive, what can I say. :P

I bet you can guess what my soundtrack was!

ceescedasticity

Maybe, maybe!

dreamwaffles

Hamilton's caliginous quadrants are a huge huge mess

really only Washington was able to last as a middle leaf. Everyone else gave up after like. a few days.

ceescedasticity

Do you have any idea of what the framing plot would be - is it actually a revolution, or what?

dreamwaffles

that I didn't devote much time to, though it's definitely fun.

maybe like

a tribute world so that King George can be a SUPER overdramatic violet

I was thinking probably most of the cast would be at most, like, cerulean

dreamwaffles

except George

dreamwaffles

Alexander might be, say, bronze or yellow

ceescedasticity

Hmmm, that sounds right

dreamwaffles

the Schuylers could be jades? I don't know if this is a universe with +1 mother grub, I've read a few aus where some colonies take one along

Or maybe teals.

George Washington and Jefferson are as high blue as Equius

ceescedasticity

yeah

King George is a seadweller who has never been on land and knows about as much about it as the little mermaid

dreamwaffles

Burr should be the same color as Hamilton

TOTES

ceescedasticity

that's a little difficult since Burr did have those antecedents...

same color, but knows about an Ancestor?

dreamwaffles

hmm true

Yeah, famous Ancestor

I just think the whole mirroring one another is important

though maybe step him up to 'famous olive'

ceescedasticity

agreed

dreamwaffles

I guess there's no reason Hamilton couldn't be busted down to rust, but that just gets a little more classist than I was going for

yellow still has the class thing but it's less pronounced

ceescedasticity

I think olive might be best

dreamwaffles

though if he's rust it makes the 'why do you write like you're running out of time' lines of Eliza's rather more heartbreaking

for Burr?

yeah

ceescedasticity

I think Hamilton and Burr both olive, Burr with a famous ancestor, could work

Like with Thresh Prince, olive is low enough to do caste-clashing, but not TOO low

dreamwaffles

You have a point

and he did go into law, so I that does bump him up

class-wise

ceescedasticity

Now, if I were designing a Alternia AU for Hamilton, Hamilton would probably be yellow

dreamwaffles

oh, most definitely

ceescedasticity

Either set it a very, very, very long time ago so it can have an analogous ending - gov they set up lasts a while - or during the Summoner's rebellion and everything goes bad at the end

But Eliza escapes

dreamwaffles

YES

like, among the troops.

ceescedasticity

which troops?

dreamwaffles

oh, the summoners' troops. Not a focus on the main part of the rebellion, but like, what was going on on the ground while the Summoner brought in the dragon?

ceescedasticity

yes, that's a good idea

dreamwaffles

I guess that's still pretty major.

dreamwaffles

But if there were two parts to the rebellion, the one fighting the sea forces and the one fighting the clown forces

then maybe whichever one the dragon wasn't with :P

ceescedasticity

King George would make a terrible subjugglator

dreamwaffles

I was thinking put him with the seadweller troops

that way HIC doesn't have to be involved

also the musical is v subversive because IT'S ALL SLAM POETRY?!?

(iirc that's associated with the clowns?)

(and thus highbloods)

ceescedasticity

Yes, I think so, too

dreamwaffles

but the highest blood in the cast is, like

dreamwaffles

usually honestly a blue who they tape fins on

unless they can find a really chill seadweller

(Fef would probably do it.)

(no, Fef would totally do it. Eridan would NEVER)

ceescedasticity

Snerk

dreamwaffles

(It has to be a blue otherwise people get EVEN More OFFENDED by someone pretending to be a seadweller)

(though there was a very well-rated all-rust production)

dreamwaffles

(probably honestly they were all culled)

ceescedasticity

Really, it's unavoidably subversive enough it would probably be banned -- except HIC took a liking to the music

dreamwaffles

Yeah. Awkward. It's not advisable to perform within 500 miles of subjugglators

ceescedasticity

A lot of seadwellers are also highly offended by it, but pretend not to be in an effort to suck up to HIC

dreamwaffles

Linman Mirnda was posthumously honored (the clowns got him)

dreamwaffles

A very small number of trolls know that HIC likes to enter war briefings to a remixed track of 'Here comes the general'

(fix it for troll standards)

ceescedasticity

And then she does her own version of the "we are out___ed", insulting her audience in some way

dreamwaffles

*SIGH* ".....what."

because it's call and response and she WILL fork you

dreamwaffles

Kurloz is SUPER not pleased about her love for this musical

but

he can't do anything about it

ceescedasticity

Easy way for upper-ranking subjugglator to die is share some slam poetry identifiably inspired by it

dreamwaffles

which is a problem, because Mirnda sampled A LOT of classic slam

so even if the subjugglator isn't *trying* to reference Mirnda....

(how do we trollorize 'Hamilton'

ceescedasticity

Hamilt? Xander Hamilt?

Alxand Hamilt?

dreamwaffles

and Burr is gonna be ridiculous.

Aaronn Burrsr?

ceescedasticity

Aarron Burrrr?

dreamwaffles

Ehehehe

dreamwaffles

Aarron Bursur?

ceescedasticity

Elizah is easy enough... Angela?

dreamwaffles

Close enough.

dreamwaffles

(and Peggie!)

ceescedasticity

lol

dreamwaffles

(you are, btw, welcome to add this to your crossover stuff if you are inclined, just tag me. :P )

(idk if this is the kind of stuff you collect but I'm not gonna do anything with it.)

ceescedasticity

I may post a transcript of the conversation if that's okay?

dreamwaffles

Totally fine!

So if this is Summoner-era, where does Jefferson come in?

dreamwaffles

Also, Lafyet is East Alternian, I guess

because the play's like Act 1: war Act 2: LEGISLACERATORS (kinda)

ceescedasticity

Hmmmm... true

ceescedasticity

Maybe the second act takes place inside the period between when they broke the imperial forces on Alternia and when HIC the Fleet arrived to Ruin Everything -- could be weeks, months, even a sweep or two

HIC AND the Fleet

dreamwaffles

Oooh, I like it

so, like, it ends with a duel and Eliza's final song is a song of escape as everyone else dies

ceescedasticity

"We're all about to die in the imperial counterattack and you two are trying to shoot EACH OTHER?"

Not sure who says that

...Probably Karkat the first time he saw a video of a production

dreamwaffles

He definitely cried though

The background is maybe, like

engines or something? You can see HIC in the distance

or, no, better, there's a projection of ships coming in

as the pitch romance goes sour, their auspistice (the general in the last war) dead

it's a tragedy, naturally

ceescedasticity

some people just watch the first half

(lol that would be me. i would only watch the less tragic half.)

dreamwaffles

one of the ones Karkat recommends for the cultureless aliens

Tavros only watches the first half

Sollux prefers the second half but pretends he has never seen it

ceescedasticity

when Aradia was little she dug up a skull she was SURE was... idk who

dreamwaffles

Nepeta is in it for the Laurens/Hamilton and the Schuyler/Hamilton, which I guess they'd need to devote a song to before they settle

Maybe Lafyte? I can see Aradia liking him. He's swashbuckling.

ceescedasticity

yes, good

sadly I need to attempt to get some sleep

dreamwaffles

the horns were JUST RIGHT

ceescedasticity

blech worknights

dreamwaffles

fun talking to you though!

sleep well

you have full permission etc to transcribe ^_^

and do cosmetic/coherence edits